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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



settled a particularly rugged spot, which appealed be- 

 cause of its defense possibilities. 



From this site, called "Mizquihuacan" [modern San 

 Francisco Ixquihuacan?], the Totonac spread until they 

 peopled a great stretch of highlands and extended their 

 domain to the coast. Tradition lists 10 generations of 

 "chiefs," with succession from father to son. Each is said 

 to have reigned precisely 80 years — a remarkable feat at 

 which Torquemada marvels, at the same time assuring the 

 reader that it has been "proved by very authentic and 

 creditable histories." 



During the term of the second chief, the Chichimecs 

 appeared as a threatening cloud in the west and established 

 themselves at "Nepoalco," 6 leagues from "Mizquihua- 

 can." 35b They were poor, naked, and ate raw meat. The 

 Totonac received them kindly, instructed them in the arts 

 of clothing themselves and of preparing their food. Ami- 

 cable relations, thus established, continued for some 

 centuries. 



Following the death of the eighth Totonac chief, his 

 two sons ruled jointly. But this dual arrangement was 

 not successful ; the Totonac were divided in their al- 

 legiance and were weakened by civil war. The Chichi- 

 mecs, now numerous, took possession of Totonac territory 

 and from that time treated the Totonac as their "vassals 

 and subjects." 



The Chichimec dominance later was followed by Mexi- 

 can control. Regardless, the Totonac line of "chiefs" 

 was not forgotten. One of the brothers of the ninth 

 generation left a son ; and the son of the latter accepted 

 Christianity, thus bringing the Totonac "dynasty" to 

 the time of the Spanish Conquest. 



Although at variance with respect to the origin 

 of the Totonac, the Tlacolulan and Zacatlan ac- 

 counts agree concerning Chichimec dominance, 

 followed by Mexican conquest. In addition, the 

 sixteenth-century relaciones both of Zacatlan and 

 Misantla mention a Chichimec peopling of To- 

 tonacapan, although in this case, the Chichimecs 

 apparently appear in the role of original settlers. 



In short, several independent sixteenth-century 

 sources record a Chichimec invasion of Totonaca- 

 pan, without providing specific clues concerning 

 the identity of the intruders. The term "Chichi- 

 mec" is applicable to any Mexican people of non- 

 sedentary, rustic culture (Mendieta 4 : 188; Duran 

 1: 13; Munoz Camargo, p. 28), not necessarily to 



351> Below Zacatldn, at a point just upstream from Axaxalpa, 

 the east slope of the great barranca is known today as Ne- 

 popualco. The latter cannot be identified with Torquemada's 

 "Nepoalco," provided we are correct in suggesting that "Miz- 

 quihuacan" is to be Identified with modern Ixquihuacdn. 

 Torquemada places "Mizquihuacan" 4 leagues from Zacatldn 

 and 6 from "Nepoalco." Ixquihuacan is slightly less than the 

 specified 4 leagues but is, at most, a league from modern 

 Nepopualco. 



a determinable linguistic or political entity. 

 Sahagun (3: 120) indicates that the Chichimecs 

 were of diverse speech, and the internal evidence 

 suggests the same (Kirchhoff, 1947, pp. xxxi- 

 xxxii). It seems pretty apparent that the term 

 was applied successively to quite distinct peoples in 

 the course of the centuries. As the earlier groups 

 of Chichimecs absorbed the culture of the seden- 

 tary populations with which they came in con- 

 tact, the designation no longer was applicable and 

 was used, in turn, to indicate other nomadic 

 peoples. 



However, it is evident from non-Totonac sources 

 that the Chichimecs in question — or at least one 

 group of those in the Zacatlan zone — are to be 

 identified with the followers of Xolotl, a semi- 

 legendary leader who founded a long dynasty, first 

 at Tenayuca and later at Texcoco, in the Valley 

 of Mexico. 36 



Once established at Tenayuca, Xolotl extended 

 his power to "Tenamitic," which is the "Atena- 

 mitic" of Torquemada (Boban 1 : 75 ; Kadin, p. 

 41); and his two grandsons 37 took possession 

 of "Tenamitic" and Zacatlan respectively (Boban 

 1:109; Ixtlilxochitl 1:97, 104, 269, 475, 2:45; 

 Torquemada 1 : 63 ; Veytia 1 : 258-259) . At the 

 same time, the Chichimecs apparently occupied 

 Huauchinango, which was at least in part Totonac 

 during the sixteenth century, as well as other 

 pueblos in the same general area, but outside the 

 bounds of Totonacapan (Torquemada 1:45). 



Supposedly, the Chichimecs of Xolotl were of 

 Otomian speech (Jimenez Moreno, 1942 b, p. 



30 Traditionally, the Chichimecs came out of the north. The 

 original seat of Xolotl apparently was located in the Huasteca, 

 immediately north of Totonacapan, and his wife, Tomiyauh, was 

 designated as "Senora de los Cuextecos" and "Sefiora" of the 

 provinces of "Panuco, Tampico y Tamiyauh" (Ixtlilxochitl 

 1 : 268, 277). In this identification Veytia (1 : 229, 245) concurs. 



*' Ixtlilxochitl is not consistent in the naming of these two 

 grandsons. The one who became leader at Zacatlan he calls, 

 upon different occasions : Toxtequihuatzin, Totzin, Atencatzin, 

 and Huixaquen (1:97, 104, 269; 2:45). Similarly, his first 

 Chichimec ruler at "Tenamitic"is named: Apotzoctzin, Toxte- 

 quihuatzin, Tloxtequihuatzin, and Cozanatzin. 



Ixtlilxochitl apparently contradicts himself concerning Toxte- 

 quihuatzin. Despite his assortment of names, none of the latter 

 agrees with that given by Torquemada (1 : 280) for the first 

 Chichimec ruler at Zacatldn, namely Xihultlpopoca. However, 

 much later, Ixtlilxochitl (1 : 136) lists Xihuitlpopoca as "Sefior 

 de Zacatlan" — not in the days of Xolotl, but at the beginning of 

 the reign of Tecbotlalatzin, the fifth Chichimec ruler. 



The discrepancy between the two sources may be chiefly one of 

 time, attributable perhaps to the short memory of Torquemada's 

 informants. Or it may be that the Chichimec conquest was not 

 really effective until many years followiBg the death of Xolotl. 



