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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 13 



isolation, surrounded by Mexicans, the Spaniards 

 now were among friendly people and could count 

 on abundant food, good quarters, and healthful 

 surroundings. 



At the same time, the discovery of "Quiahuix- 

 tlan" by Monte jo — sent with two of Cortes' pilots 

 to explore the coast — resulted in the location of 

 a good anchoring adjacent to Totonac territory, 

 and the fleet was moved to this haven. 



Once in new and more secure surroundings, the 

 Spanish conqueror was able to formulate plans 

 which on the sandy shores of San Juan de Ulua 

 had appeared impossible. In the course of his 

 conversations with the Totonac, Cortes had come 

 to realize the precariousness of the Mexican con- 

 quest, and he now felt that it was feasible to move 

 inland to the court of Moctezuma. It is no exag- 

 geration to claim that the attitude of the Totonac 

 sealed the fate of the Mexican Empire and the 

 destiny of Hernan Cortes as definitely as, later, 

 Tlaxcalan loyalty to the Spaniards was to make 

 possible ultimate victory following the disaster of 

 the Noche triste. 



CONQUEST 



The Spanish conquest of Totonacapan is almost 

 unique in that the Totonac were received into the 

 Spanish empire as allies, that is, as subjects incor- 

 porated into the empire through the will of their 

 own native leaders. This is particularly true with 

 respect to southern Totonacapan; the northern 

 coast and the highlands were taken over by the 

 Spaniards following the defeat of Moctezuma and 

 the surrender of Cuauhtemoc. But the use of 

 military force against the Totonac, in all of 

 Totonacapan, is recorded only for the pueblo of 

 Almolonga (Paso y Troncoso 5:118), which re- 

 belled during the siege of the Mexican capital. 

 In short, the conquest of Totonacapan was sin- 

 gularly free from the violence and cruelty which 

 characterized that of other parts of New Spain. 



TOTONAC-MEXICAN HOSTILITY 



It is not difficult to understand the reasons for 

 the Totonac attitude, which so profoundly influ- 

 enced the conquest of New Spain. Through a 

 series of brutal wars with the Triple Alliance, the 

 Totonac had lost their independence and had been 

 subjected to heavy tax levies. Moreover, the ar- 

 rival of the Spaniards had given rise to a series of 



Mexican campaigns in the course of which tribute 

 had been augmented and cruelties carried to an 

 extreme. 49 



Assuredly, the Totonac hoped, with Spanish 

 aid, to challenge Mexican supremacy anew and to 

 avoid the reprisals which had followed previous 

 resistance. Candidly, they trusted the power of 

 the Spaniards, which they claimed to know 

 through the earlier skirmishes in Tabasco and 

 "Potonchan" (Diaz del Castillo 1 : 161). 



THE QTJETZALCOATL MTTH 



The influence of the promised return of Que- 

 tzalcoatl has been discussed frequently with rela- 

 tion to the Conquest, but chiefly with respect to the 

 Mexicans and Moctezuma ; its influence on coastal 

 pueblos, particularly Totonac, scarcely has been 

 considered. 



Moctezuma and the Mexicans were convinced 

 that the arrival of the Spaniards — be they Que- 

 tzalcoatl himself or simply his envoys — marked 

 the end of the rule of Tenochtitlan. Accordingly, 

 the myth of Quetzalcoatl was instrumental in para- 

 lyzing the initiative of the towns of the Valley of 

 Mexico. But what was the Totonac reaction ? 



It is evident that the Totonac likewise regarded 

 the Spaniards as supernatural, for once this be- 

 lief weakened (ftn. 54, p. 29), their attitude to- 

 ward the conquerors changed radically. In short, 

 it may be said that the myth presumably aided the 

 Spaniards in establishing friendship and alliance 

 with the Totonac. Although the early sources do 

 not make specific mention of the Quetzalcoatl 

 myth among the Totonac, they report roughly 

 equivalent ideas. 50 Moreover, in "Cempoala" has 

 been found a clay statue, with various attributes 

 of Quetzalcoatl (Garcia Payon, 1949 a, pp. 12—15), 

 and the same site has a temple dedicated to the 



49 ". . . se alternron muchas provincias que querfan negar la 

 obedieneia n Motceuhzoma por las demasiades imposiciones de 

 tributos que cada dla, les ponfa, usando mas de crueldad y 

 tiranfa que de piedad . . . y los que esto mas frecuentaban fueron 

 los de las provincias de Tonacapan que llegaban hasta las costas 

 del mar del Norte, que parece que su Divina majestad iba dis- 

 poniendo las cosas como vefa que eonvenfa para la entrada de su 

 santa fe cat61ica en este nuevo mundo" (IstlllxochitI 2 : 332-333). 



50 Tenian gran esperanza en ella, que por su intercesion les 

 habia de enviar el Sol ft su hijo, para librarlos de aquella dura 

 servidumbre . . ." (Las Casas, p. 325). 



"Tnmbien se hallfi que en algunas provincias de esta Nueva 

 EspaSa, eomo era en la Totonaca, esperaban la venida del Hijo 

 del gran Dios (que era el sol) al mundo, y decfan que Labia de 

 venlr para renovarlo y mejorario en todas las cosas" (Mendleta 

 3:200). 



