

THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



93 



New World domesticate, native to South America 

 (Lee and Sheppard, p. 4). A post-Cortesian in- 

 troduction among the Totonac is suggested by the 

 apparent Spanish derivation of the "native" term. 



In Talaxca, north of Papantla, the Totonac are 

 said to eat the eggs, yet the bird is regarded by 

 Maria Loreto as something of a luxury. Its chief 

 function is to consume the ants (arrieras) which 

 damage the gardens, and other pest, the sonsopepe, 

 described as similar to a cockroach. 



In Tajin, it is said that duck may be served with 

 mole sauce and that the eggs either are boiled or 

 fried ; "they turn somewhat green when cooked in 

 fat." However, we know only three households 

 with ducks and none seems to exploit them. Jose 

 Maria Garcia has the largest number, with two 

 drakes, about a dozen females, and a large brood of 

 young. They eat "raw maize, mud, and small fish 

 from the arroyo." Some 10 years ago, Don Jose 

 Maria bought the ducks from Macario Lopez, of 

 Ojital. Although he has maintained the stock, he 

 makes absolutely no use either of meat or eggs and 

 keeps the ducks "only because he likes them." 

 Similarly, Emilia Morales has an elderly, decrepit 

 female, which he likewise appears to keep exclu- 

 sively for sentimental reasons. 



As with other fowl, it is customary to remove a 

 feather when a duck is sold or killed. 



males and females is not very marked. Since this breed makes 

 little noise, it sometimes is called the pato mudo (mute duck). 



The distribution of the Muscovy duck is imperfectly known. It 

 crops up occasionally among some of the circum-Caribbean peoples 

 (Steward, p. 31) but seems seldom to be reported for Mexico. 

 In modern times, it is found among the lowland Totonac in Tajin, 

 Ojital, and Talaxca, and among the Maya (Steggerda, p. 146). 

 A Huastecan lad, Tomas Martinez, from the Tancanhuitz area, 

 does not recognize the duck from description. It is said to be 

 common in "Indian communities" in modern Colima (Sauer, 

 1948, p. 65). 



We have not attempted to search the literature for early Mexi- 

 can references and few reports have come to our attention. In 

 the late sixteenth century, a native domestic duck is mentioned 

 in Michoacan (Relacifin de Ajuchitlan), and in the seventeenth, 

 one of unspecified antecedents is reported in Oaxaca (Burgoa, p. 

 21). Landa (p. 247) relates that the ancient Maya raise (crian), 

 for their feathers, large white ducks (anadones) , which he 

 believes to have been introduced from Peru. Domestication is 

 by no means certain, since elsewhere the same authority (p. 251) 

 states flatly that the only domesticate is the dog. He may refer 

 merely to ducks kept in captivity. 



Sahagun (3:191), who gives considerable attention to flora 

 and fauna, lists only the wild duck. Diaz del Castillo (1 : 321) 

 speaks of wild and tame ducks. The ancient Mexicans used 

 duck feathers extensively, and there are two references to ponds 

 stocked with them (Cortes, in Gayangos, p. 94; Cortes, in Loren- 

 zana, p. 77). In one case, the term "Lavancos" is used, which in 

 itself implies a wild form. Probably it may be concluded that 

 the Mexica kept ducks in captivity but did not domesticate them. 



Pigeons are even scarcer than ducks. We know 

 of only two households, each with a handful. 

 Some years ago, a dovecote was built at the school 

 and the teacher attempted to encourage the breed- 

 ing of the birds, with little success. A local super- 

 stition associates them with bad luck : 20 "One 

 earns no money if he has doves in the house ; or his 

 wife may leave him ; or he may die." 



Although not domesticated, bird pets may be 

 mentioned here. Sometimes young wild doves are 

 captured in the nest and are brought home to be 

 reared in a cane cage ; "many die." The mocking- 

 bird is said not to survive in captivity. Occasion- 

 ally, the oriole (calandria) and a parrot (cotorra) 

 are mentioned as pets, but we have seen none. An 

 ancient reference suggests that the coastal Totonac 

 kept parrots on large scale, for among the gifts 

 presented by "Quiahuixtlan" to representatives of 

 the Mexican ruler, were "many birds of papagayos, 

 yellow and green, very pretty and tame, and some 

 speak Mexican words" (Tezozomoc, p. 218) . 



Probably the wild pheasant, commonly known 

 as the chachalaea (Appendix D, No. 4) , is the most 

 popular pet. Either the bird is captured young, 

 or eggs are taken from the nest and are set under 

 a barnyard hen to hatch. When the pheasant is 

 large, it generally escapes unless caged. In the 

 house of Agapito Bautista, a small tame chacha- 

 laea is housed in a gourd, which hangs in the kit- 

 chen. A large opening has been cut, as an en- 

 trance, and the walls of the gourd perforated for 

 ventilation. Near the bottom, is affixed a small 

 cross stick, where the bird can perch. 



In Tajin, as in other parts of Mexico, the tale of 

 the crossing of the chachalaea and the domestic 

 hen crops up. The hen, it is said, is placed in the 

 cage with the male chachalaea. Several inform- 

 ants had heard that in Papantla, the hybrid was 

 bred for cock fights. Only 7 years ago such cocks 

 are said to have participated in the fights staged 

 in Papantla to celebrate Corpus Christi. 



The hybrid cock is described as very small and 

 long-tailed; fearless, it is willing to tackle any 

 opponent, regardless of size. Owing to the slight 

 weight of these fighters, it is said that they were 

 unpopular and the crossing was not continued. 

 This is, even to detail, the same story which circu- 



-° In Tuxcacuesco, Jalisco, pigeons also are associated with ill 

 fortune (information from Jos6 Maria Corona), and the same 

 holds for at least some pueblos of the Distrito Federal. 



