THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



25 



from the point where the latter had left off, and 

 reached the island of San Juan de Ulua, opposite 

 the shores of the present city of Veracruz. He re- 

 mained 7 days in that spot, while "the Indians of 

 nearby towns came to trade their gold and jewels" 

 with the Spaniards' stores (Diaz del Castillo 

 1:87). At this point, the Spaniards were very 

 close to Totonac terrain, and if the Totonac were 

 not among the traders, at least, it seems likely that 

 they were aware of the arrival of the strangers. 



Grijalva continued his trip northward, along 

 the coast, passing what apparently is modern 

 Tuxpan, and reaching a large river which the party 

 named Rio Canoas. 47 At the mouth of this river, 

 the Spaniards were attacked by natives in canoes 

 before they continued north, to reach "a very large 

 point, difficult to skirt and with many currents," 

 for which reasons they did not proceed further 

 (Diaz del Castillo 1:90). 



The identification of the so-called Rio Canoas 

 and of the large point of land has aroused discus- 

 sion. Toussaint (pp. 72-73) suggests that the 

 river is the mouth of the lake of Tamiahua and 

 that the point is Cabo Rojo. In any event, there 

 is no doubt whatsoever that the expedition of 

 Grijalva ran the full length of the coast of Toto- 

 nacapan, from south to north, and, on the return 

 journey, from north to south. 



CORTES 



The circumstances which made Hernan Cortes 

 chief of the new expedition are well known. We 

 shall not consider them, nor the incidents of travel 

 as far as San Juan de Ulua where, following 

 Grijalva 's example, Cortes established a base camp 

 on the mainland. Nevertheless, the aims of Cortes 

 were quite distinct from those of his predecessor. 

 Far from being satisfied with barter, he did not 

 conform to his instructions from Diego Velazquez 

 and converted his expedition into an extraordinary 

 enterprise of conquest. 



The Spaniards had settled themselves in a zone 

 which was in sharp dispute among the native 

 peoples. Nevertheless, at that moment, Mexican 



supremacy was undisputed, and the strangers 

 were received by representatives of Moctezuma 

 the younger. Among them was the Governor of 

 Cotaxtla, who was in charge of a group of tribu- 

 tary pueblos, some in the immediate vicinity of 

 San Juan de Ulua (Coleccion de Mendoza 5 : 84). 



With this meeting, the long diplomatic struggle 

 between Cortes and the envoys of Moctezuma 

 began. The former insisted on proceeding to the 

 court of the Mexican rulers; the latter tried to 

 persuade him to remain on the coast. The situa- 

 tion became tense. Provisions, with which the 

 Spaniards had been generously provided at first, 

 were all but cut off ; the natives no longer visited 

 the camp; and an attack was feared. To crown 

 the difficulties, the bay of San Juan de Ulua proved 

 inadequate for the fleet, and the camp site turned 

 out to be unhealthfiiL 



In a few dramatic pages, Diaz del Castillo 

 (1:156-160) describes the situation and the dis- 

 couragement which made the men eager to return 

 to Cuba. During these trying circumstances, two 

 incidents proved decisive for the Conquest: the 

 discovery of the town of "Quiahuixtlan" and the 

 arrival at the Spanish camp of a group of friendly 

 messengers sent by the chief of the Totonac center 

 of "Cempoala." This is the first actual contact 

 between Spaniards and Totonac of which we have 

 record and it is depicted graphically by Diaz del 

 Castillo. 48 



With amicable relations established between the 

 Totonac and the Spaniards, the difficult position 

 of Cortes and his troops changed radically. A 

 few days following the meeting, the party moved 

 to "Cempoala" where, instead of being in hostile 



47 ". . . vimos las sierras que se dicen de Tuxtla, y, mas 

 adelante, de ahJ a otros dos dfas, vimos otras sierras muy mas 

 altas, que ahora se Hainan las sierras de Tuxpa . . . Y yendo 

 nuestra derrota vimos muchas poblazones, y estarian la tierra 

 adentro, al parecer, dos o tres leguas . . . llegainos a uno rfo 

 grande y muy corriente, que le pusimos nombre rio de Ca- 

 noas . . ." (Diaz del Castillo 1 : 90). 



48 "T un dfa, estando yo y otro soldado puestos por espfas en 

 unos arenales, vimos venir por la playa cinco indios, y por no 

 hacer alboroto por poca eosa en el real los dejamos llegar a 

 nosotros, y con alegres rostros nos hicieron reverencia a su 

 usanza, y por senas nos dijeron que los llevasemos al real. To 

 dije a mi compafiero que se quedase en el puesto, y yo irfa con 

 ellos, que en aquella sazon no me pesaban los pies como ahora que 

 soy viejo. Y desde que llegaron adonde Cortes estaba, le hicieron 

 gran acato, y le dijeron Lope luzio; lope luzio, que quiere decir 

 en lengua totonaque : "Sefior, y gran seiior." Y trafan unos 

 grandes agujeros en los bezos de abajo, y en ellos unas rodajas 

 de piedras pintadillas de azul, y otros con unas hojas de oro 

 delgadas, y en las orejas muy grandes agujeros, en ellas puestas 

 otras rodajas con oro y piedras, y muy diferente traje y habla 

 que trafan que la de los mexicanos que solfan estar con nosotros. 

 Y como dofia Marina y Aguilar, las lenguas, oyeron aquello de 

 Lope luze, no lo entcndian. Dijo la dona Marina en la lengua 

 de Mexico que si habfa alii entre ellos naliuatlatoa, que son in- 

 tfirpretes de la lengua mexicana, y respondieron los dos de aquellos 

 cinco que sf, que ellos la entendfan, y dijeron que fuGsemos blen 

 venldos . . ." (Dfaz del Castillo 1:160). 



