QUIROGA: a MEXICAN MTHSriCIPIO — BRAND 



&1 



cited in the Relaci6n were given names is strength- 

 ened when we discover that a ruler of Tariaran or 

 Mechuacdn (modern Tzintzuntzan) was Zinzuni, 

 which means hummingbird. This name bears no 

 apparent relationship to those of other lords in the 

 area although presumably all were related. It 

 is of interest to note that Zinziin (Tzintzun, 

 Cingiin, etc.) is one of the four most common 

 Indian surnames in the PAtzcuaro area today. 

 We should mention here that Boturini (1746) hsts 

 among the manuscripts that he collected in Mexico 

 in the eighteenth century a "Lista de las familias 

 que hubo entre los Indios Tarascos, y los tributes 

 que pagaban a sus casiques," but this appears to 

 be lost. 



Since many of the surviving Tarascan sur- 

 names are names of items in nature (especially 

 of birds, but including other animals, plants, 

 rocks, etc.) , the existence of a totemic system may 

 be indicated. However, the matter is very 

 doubtful. Such names might well represent 

 nicknames or given first names that were trans- 

 formed into surnames under European influence. 

 We must remember that in English we have such 

 family names as Hawk, Fox, Flower, Apple, 

 Rose, Hawthorne, Sparrow, Bean, Bear, Bu-d, 

 etc., and with no implication of a totemic origin 

 or connection. Also, names of occupations and 

 status are encountered, such as Achd (a lord or 

 ruler) which is still found in the Sierra Tarascan 

 villages, Anita (derived from Anitani, one who 

 combs or cleans cotton and wool) which is quite 

 common in the Quiroga area, and Cacari (a 

 stone cutter) which is present in Quiroga. This 

 may mean that the Tarascans had or were de- 

 veloping the occupational type of name which has 

 given us so many names, such as Smith, Taylor, 

 Bishop, Lord, etc. 



Supplementary material can be obtained from 

 the colonial documents housed in the Archivo 

 General de la Naci6n in Mexico City, especially 

 in the divisions on Indians, Lands, and Con- 

 gregations. A survey of the first four volumes of 

 the Ramo de Ihdias, which cover the later part 

 of the sixteenth century, shows that in the Taras- 

 can villages more than half of the names cited 

 were a combination of Christian first name and 

 Tarascan surname, as in Angel Tzintzun of 

 Capdcuaro, Juan Coneti of Cher^n, and Fran- 

 cisco Cuini of Tupdtaro. In second place, 



with perhaps a third of the names, were combina- 

 tions of two Christian names, as in Francisco 

 Gabriel, Pedro Miguel, and Miguel Constantino. 

 Finally, there was a sprinkling of common Spanish 

 names, such as Lorenzo de Morales, Marcos 

 Garcia, and Pedro Herndndez. All of the above- 

 named individuals were pure Indians, since any 

 mestizos or Spaniards were classified as such. 



For Quiroga itself we have the collection of 

 documents, beginning in 1534, which constitute 

 the titles of the Indian pueblo of Cocupao and the 

 adjacent congregated pueblos of Sanambo and 

 Zirandangacho. In 1603 there was presented 

 a list of the Indians of Zirandangacho-Sanambo 

 who were settled on lands just south of present- 

 day Quiroga. Among the 25 families mentioned, 

 all had Indian surnames excepting possibly 

 3 — Cantor, Abrero, and Cachas. The others 

 included 4 Cuiris, 3 Tzitzique or Tzintziqui, 2 

 Petacuas, and a scattering of such extant names 

 as Anitani, Tzintzun, and Guaciis or Huacuz. In 

 1603 we find that lands bordering Quiroga were 

 owned by Alonzo de Cdceres (given variously as 

 Caserez, Casares, Cdzares, and Cazarez). In 

 1681-82 Indians of Quiroga had such names as 

 Juan Guacasa, Juan Anita, Juan Cuiris, Juan 

 Miguel, Sebastian Andres, Pedro Melchor, and 

 Juan de la Cruz. By 1714 we find the Indian 

 officials of Quiroga with the names Diego Juan, 

 Agustin Antonio, Nicolas Martin, Jose Guzmdn, 

 and Miguel de Cdceres. One mestizo citizen of 

 the pueblo is mentioned, Juan de Mendoza; and 

 the lands to the south and east belonged to Fran- 

 cisco Javier de Silva and Manuel Ponce de Le6n. 

 The latter person, either a Spaniard or a mestizo, 

 and a citizen of Pdtzcuaro, and his family held 

 (and had held since about 1622) all of the lands 

 that now comprise the rancho of Atzimbo, and 

 perhaps Caringaro, Icudcato, and Sanambo. 

 Among the known relatives of the Ponce de 

 Le6n family, hving in the area, were individuals 

 with such family names as Diaz, Barriga, Tovar, 

 Diaz Barriga, and Rueda. It is noteworthy 

 that today the Ponce family is well represented 

 in the ranches and in Quiroga proper, as is true 

 for the Tovar family to a lesser extent; while the 

 Barriga, Diaz, and Diaz Barriga families have 

 their greatest representation in the ranchos, 

 and the Barriga, in first place, are as numerous 

 as the next two families together in the ranchos. 



835S47— 50 



