THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



53 



used (Lombardo Toledano, p. 14) . Palerm, who 

 spent several days in the Sierra de Puebla, deter- 

 mined that the three barrios of Eloxochitlan still 

 bear Totonac names : puskan (lugar llano) ; tankan 

 (aoajo) ; kijilapan (en una loma). 



The dearth of native place names in the Taj in 

 area is difficult to explain, since Totonac is widely 

 spoken and since the modern community has been 

 established close to 75 years. Although relatively 

 brief, this period certainly should provide ample 

 time for the development of a local terminology. 

 But the fact remains that with the few exceptions 

 given above, natural features about Taj in seem to 

 be devoid of names — either Totonac, Mexicano, or 

 Spanish. 



It is understandable that Mexican pueblo names 

 might have been preserved more readily than the 

 Totonac equivalents, 87 and there is no doubt that 



dad), Tagtoininat (Union), cagllihfnat (esperanza), tlanlfxpotot 

 (buen fin). It is important to note that the document itself indi- 

 cates that the latter names, with the abstract qualities, were 

 assigned by the Spaniards who made the survey. 



For 1719, the litigation between Chumatlan and Zozocolco 

 (AGN, No. 4) provides a large series of place names, some with 

 Spanish translation. At that time, the people of "San Miguel 

 tonatico Sosocolco" [Zozocolco] claimed the lands of "San Fran- 

 cisco Xalostoque" [Jalostoc] and other lands "included under the 

 names and landmarks" as follows : 



Boundary with Huehuetla : Xonalhpauh (Pagua amarga) 

 [bitter pagua, a fruit similar to the avocado]. 



Boundary with "San Francisco Caxguacan" [Caxhuacan] : 

 Chaxanchihuiz (seis Piedras). 



Boundary with Jonotla : manta xacanat (Mollejon de Camote) , 

 tampochihuix (piedra Undida), haca (Sapote), Yxagpon (su 

 Cumbre), laca tlalhuachihuix (piedra Amarilla), Polizihu in Vel- 

 pomacxpata (Yladero, o Torsedero), nacca agalueotno (lugar de 

 Machetes de Yerba), Zapapachihuix (piedra Blanda) . 



Further landmarks along the boundaries of Zozocolco are 

 specified as follows : Catachagni (lugar aplanado con torta de 

 Cal), Ixpocotnozcatan (bebedero de sierbos), Xihuitxanant 

 (cabello flor, o for de cabello), Naccaxcot natiat (lugar de tierra 

 agria), Nactapac. [sic] xalanc (lugar de paredes de San Mateo) 

 [elsewhere in the same document, reference is made to "paredes 

 viejas de San Mateo"], Nactacipihquihui (lugar de Palo de Sciba), 

 Naccocat (lugar de Aguacatci), Agmoxni (cumbre de monos) , 

 Catapozgatayanque (el Rajadero), Chaneatquihui (Palo de Cana), 

 huanguax (Eco, 6 adonde Beiumba el Eco), Naccagatiti (el 

 Carrisal) . 



In two suits dated 1738 (Chumatlan vs. Zozocolco and Zozo- 

 colco vs. Jonotla ; AGN, Nos. 4 and 5 respectively), we find a few 

 more place names. At least one has been mentioned previously. 

 The first document mentions the top of "a hill, which in the 

 Totonac language is called yxacpun, and in Spanish, su cumbre." 

 The second also mentions yxacpon and gives the same meaning. 

 It adds "tierras nombradas Catahin" and "tin parage que nom- 

 bran en el Ydioma Totonaco Lixligni . . ." Incidentally, this 

 second document contains considerable text written in Totonac ; 

 copies have been given Dr. Norman McQuown, who is making a 

 study of the Sierra Totonac language. 



"For example, we know that in Sinaloa native names were 

 suppressed because the Spaniards were accompanied by Mexicans, 

 who translated local terms into their own tongue (Sauer, 1934, 

 p. 6), with the end result that, today, most pueblo names are 

 Mexicano-derived. 



throughout Totonacapan, towns generally bear 

 Mexican designations. The explanation lies, we 

 suspect, in an old and somewhat obscure Nahuan 

 element in Totonacapan, which has been discussed 

 previously ( pp. 6-7, 19-20, 23-24 ) . We doubt that 

 the preponderance of Mexican pueblo names re- 

 sults from the intimate ties between Totonacapan 

 and Tlaxcala ( Waitz, cited by Krickeberg, pp. 30) , 

 from the relatively late conquest by the Triple 

 Alliance, or from Spanish evangelization — al- 

 though all these must have contributed to the use 

 of Mexicano as a lingua franca in Totonacapan. 



THE MODERN COMMUNITY 



Because of the dense vegetation, a casual visitor 

 to the famous archeological site of Taj in has no 

 inkling that half an hour on foot, south of the main 

 pyramid, there is a cluster of 35 households about 

 an open plaza. This cluster is the heart of the 

 modern Totonac community of Tajin. Here the 

 school is situated and here the political adminis- 

 tration is centered. By far the greater part of 

 the people live, however, in scattered houses, 

 in clearings in the monte, effectively hidden from 

 those who travel only the principal trails. 



Modern Tajin has a relatively brief history. Al- 

 though we doubt that the entire zone was depopu- 

 lated with the destruction of the ancient center, 

 about A. D. 1200 (p. 14), there is no proof, as 

 far as we know, that the modern Totonac of that 

 zone are lineal descendants of the builders of the 

 pyramids. As a matter of fact, as will be seen be- 

 low, the present population has been culled from 

 a wide area about Papantla. 



COLONIZATION 



Informants do not have a very clear picture of 

 the establishment of the modern community. Dur- 

 ing the middle of the last century, "few people" 

 lived in the Tajin area. At that time, "the land 

 was not privately owned," and the few Totonac 

 "planted wherever they liked, without asking per- 

 mission of anyone." The head of one family was 

 Ignacio de la Cruz; another was Miguel Andres, 

 from the Comalteco area; a third was a woman 

 named Carmen Juarez, who lived with her three 

 nieces. All were Totonac; but a lone man, known 

 merely as Agustin. "when drunk, claimed to be 

 Italian." 



