THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 — KELLY AND PALERM 



21 



With the Mexican conquest of Totonacapan, we 

 emerge from the realm of pure tradition, for the 

 Mexica were in nominal control of Totonacapan 

 when the Spaniards arrived. Moctezuma's tribute 

 collectors were to be found all along the Gulf 

 coast and, as a matter of fact, descended upon 

 "Quiahuixtlan," precisely at the time the Span- 

 iards were being entertained royally by the Toto- 

 nac of that pueblo. 



ANTECEDENTS 



Following the aggression of the Chichimecs and 

 Teochichimecs, Totonacapan seems to have en- 

 joyed relative freedom from highland pressure 

 for approximately 200 years, that is to say, until 

 the middle of the fifteenth century. At least, the 

 ancient sources make scant mention of Totona- 

 capan during that time. This is understandable, 

 for these are precisely the years when the balance 

 of power in the Valley of Mexico was being estab- 

 lished — the years which saw the long struggle for 

 supremacy between Azcapotzalco and Texcoco; 

 the years when the Mexica were beginning to come 

 into their own ; the years when the so-called Triple 

 Alliance between Mexico, Texcoco, and Tacuba 

 was born. It is clear that the peoples of the Valley 

 of Mexico were amply occupied with local 

 problems. 



Moreover, these two centuries of relative peace 

 must have been years of adjustment in Totonaca- 

 pan; years when the recent Olmeca-Zacateca and 

 Chichimec-Teochichimec invaders were absorbed ; 

 years during which the culture we know as Totonac 

 was formed. Too, it was the time when "Cem- 

 poala," the sixteenth-century Totonac center on 

 the coast of Veracruz, grew to importance, having 

 been founded approximately at the time Taj in was 

 destroyed (Garcia Payon, 1947, pp. 331, 332). 

 All told, the silence of the ancient sources con- 

 cerning highland-coast relationships during this 

 period probably is not the result of oversight ; the 

 internal evidence suggests major activity localized 

 in the Valley of Mexico and, at the same time, a 

 period of adjustment and advance in Totonacapan. 



During this era, Tlaxcala emerged as a power 

 in the central highlands. As at Cholula, its early 

 population was called Olmeca ("Hulmecas, y 

 Cacatecas"; Torquemada 1:263). It was dis- 

 lodged, but in this case, by the Teochichimec in- 

 vaders, who established themselves at Tlaxcala and 



who thereafter were known as the Tlaxcalteca. 

 Tlaxcala appears to have played a minor role until 

 the days of Netzahualcoyotl (1431-72), a famous 

 Chichimec ruler at Texcoco, at which time it ap- 

 peared as his supporter and ally (Ixtlilxochitl 

 2 : 140, 195, 203) . 



Perhaps the common Teochichimec background 

 at Tlaxcala and in parts of Totonacapan con- 

 tributed materially to amicable relations between 

 these two provinces. But whether or not it was 

 based on a feeling of affinity, it is clear that a long- 

 enduring friendship existed, 42 as well as a 

 sprightly commerce. When, finally, the Triple 

 Alliance undertook the conquest of Totonacapan, 

 there was a further bond between Tlaxcala and 

 Totonacapan : enmity toward the Mexicans. 



There is no record of a Tlaxcalan conquest of 

 Totonacapan. 43 Relationships appear to have 

 been basically commercial, although there are 

 several indications of military commitments (as, 

 for example, in the Cotaxtla campaigns, which will 

 be mentioned later) . Owing to its limited natural 

 resources, Tlaxcala was obliged to look to the 

 lowlands for certain merchandise: gold, cacao, 

 cotton, honey, wax, feathers, and salt (Muiioz 

 Camargo, pp. 105, 111). To obtain these prod- 

 ucts, its merchants trafficked from the Gulf to 

 the Pacific. At first, they traded side by side with 

 the Mexicans, on amicable terms. Later, acute 

 rivalry developed (Mufioz Camargo, pp. 105-108) , 

 with Totonacapan and other coastal provinces a 

 chief bone of contention. Torquemada 44 states 

 flatly that the main reason for the Mexican con- 

 quest of the lowlands was the disruption of Tlax- 

 calan commerce. 



42 A friendship which endured through the Spanish Conquest 

 and which was of utmost importance to Cortes, who exploited it 

 thoroughly. 



The only hint of friction between Tlaxcala and Totonacapan is 

 found in a statement, made in 1581, by informants at Zacatlan. 

 According to them, Moctezuma aided them in their wars with 

 Tlaxcala (Relacion de Zacatlan). 



43 Muiioz Camargo (p. 70 ; repeated by Torquemada 1 : 161, 269) 

 makes grandiose statements concerning the Tlaxcalan settlement 

 of a great part of Totonacapan and adjacent zones. This we have 

 interpreted as applying to an early Teochichimec occupation, pre- 

 Tlaxcalan, in the strict sense of the word. But if Muiioz Camargo 

 chooses to identify the Tlaxcalans with their Teochichimec for- 

 bears, as apparently he has done, he might justifiably make such 

 a claim. 



44 ". . . procuraron de apoderarse de toda la Totonacapan, y de 

 las provincias de los Tohueios, Xalapanecas, Nauhtecas, Mexcal- 

 tgincas, y otras muchas que caen, acia la Costa, y Mar de el Norte 

 que son muchas, solo, a fin de impedir la entrada, que podian 

 hacer estos Tlaxcultecas, en ellas, estorvandoles las Contrata- 

 ciones, y Grangerias, que tenian en todas estas Tierras" (Tor- 

 quemada 1 : 198). 



