THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



31 



to change their clothing and to cut their hair. This 

 perhaps may be taken as a symbol of early evan- 

 gelical procedure in New Spain. 



Following these first steps, real missionary labor 

 began with the arrival of the Franciscans, in 1523. 

 Although they did not scorn high-handed proce- 

 dures and even force, they relied more on the effects 

 of preaching and conversion. The first figure of 

 this new era in Totonacapan was Fray Andres de 

 Olmos. 



According to Mendieta (4: 95, 96), Padre Ol- 

 mos proceeded from Mexico to Hueytlalpan, and to 

 "the sierras of Tuzapan, where he was several days 

 and converted and baptized all that people, and 

 learned and knew very well the Totonac language." 

 Among his labors is mentioned the construction of 

 a hospital in Hueytlalpan (Epistolario 14: 77). 

 Apparently he also was active in Cuautenco (Paso 

 y Troncoso 5: 153), a pueblo subject to Tetela; in 

 fact, he is credited with renaming it San Esteban. 



Manifestly, the importance of the work of Fray 

 Andres de Olmos and his knowledge of the Toto- 

 nac language indicate a much more prolonged stay 

 in Totonacapan than that reported by Mendieta. 

 We may assume that his labors in that area began 

 prior to 1530, in which year he founded the first 

 mission in the Huasteca (M. Cuevas, 1942, 3 : 409- 

 410) , for Mendieta (4: 96) states flatly that Olmos 

 proceeded from "Tuzapan" to the Huasteca. 



However, he evidently returned later to Toto- 

 nacapan, for there are two documents (Olmos) 

 signed by him in 1540, in the pueblos of Hueytlal- 

 pan and "Matlatlan" respectively. Both concern 

 the heresias of a Totonac chief in "Matlatlan"; 

 one is a letter from Olmos to Bishop Zumarraga ; 

 the other presents evidence concerning interroga- 

 tion of witnesses. Moreover, a document dated 

 1578, in Hueytlalpan (AGN, No. 2), states that 

 Olmos was in charge of the mission in that pueblo 

 46 years before, or in 1532. 



Olmos' work in Totonacapan was continued by 

 Pedro Cintos — an old soldier of Cortes and con- 

 queror of Hueytlalpan, and encomendero of that 

 town and of non-Totonac Tlatlauquitepec. There 

 "he worked to enrich himself at the cost of sweat 

 and blood of the Indians he held in encomienda" 

 (Mendieta 4: 127). But he suffered a change of 

 heart, "when most absorbed in greed for temporal 

 things," and dedicated himself thereafter to the 

 propagation of the faith (Mendieta 4: 128). 



A third, and more tenuous, figure evidently was 

 roughly contemporaneous with Olmos and Cintos. 

 This is Fray Francisco Toral, who reached Mexico 

 with Olmos and the famous first group of 12 Fran- 

 ciscans. Nothing is known of his activities in 

 Totonacapan; in fact, the assumption that he 

 proselytized there is based exclusively on a lost 

 work 58 attributed to him. It is said to have been 

 written some time between 1524 and 1572 (Ricard, 

 p. 345), a span so broad that it gives little clue to 

 dating. Between 1557 and 1560, Toral was head of 

 the Franciscan province of the Santo Evangelio 

 (Ricard, ftn. 7, p. 84), and it is possible that his 

 Totonac contacts dated from this period. Pre- 

 sumably, they were prior to 1561, when he was 

 named Bishop of Yucatan and Cozumel (M. Cue- 

 vas, 1942, 1: 303). 



In summary, there were two principal early 

 figures in the missionary labor among the Totonac, 

 Fray Andres de Olmos, and the ex-soldier, Pedro 

 Cintos; both appear to have concentrated their 

 efforts in the northern part of the present State 

 of Puebla. A third figure, Fray Francisco Toral, 

 remains dim, but apparently must be considered 

 a contemporary of Olmos and Cintos. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE EVANGELIZATION 



Naturally, missionary progress was more marked 

 in Totonacapan once the Franciscan order began 

 to radiate influence from its principal seat in 

 Tlaxcala, which had jurisdiction over Totonac 

 missions in the sierra and in southern Totona- 

 capan. 69 



The arrival, in 1533, of members of the Augus- 

 tinian order gave new impetus to the missionary 

 labor among the Totonac. They were active in 

 the northern highlands and established a center in 

 Huauchinango, whose convent dates from 1543 

 (Ricard, p. 94). Another important Augustinian 

 base was in Pahuatlan (Epistolario 14: 78), from 

 which center nearby Totonac pueblos were minis- 



68 Arte, vocabulario, doctrina cristiana y sermones en lengua 

 totonaca (Ricard, p. 348). 



60 "... a Tlaxcala acudfa Zacatlan, y todas las serranfas que 

 hay por aquella parte hasta la mar, y lo de Xalapa tanibien hnsta 

 la mar, y lo que cae hacia el rfo de Alvarado . . ." (Mendieta 

 2: 94). 



In part, this is confirmed by the Relacion de Zacatlan : ". . . 

 ques obispado de tlascala tienen a carpro y administracion este 

 pueblo y sus subjetos tres frayles franciscos que administran la 

 dotrina on esta dicha cabescera del dicho obispado." 



