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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 13 



This is a festival dish, served particularly at the feast 

 which takes place 80 days following the death of an 

 individual. 



d. Piilacles (Totonac name said to be the same) . These 

 are tamales with a filling of bean paste, ordinarily made 

 of the frijol de Costilla. The beans are boiled until nearly 

 dry. In the meanwhile, chili of any kind is ground, to- 

 gether with wild tomato. Oil is extracted from ses- 

 ame, squash seed, or the physic nut. (Jatropha, No. 192) 

 and is added to the beans, together with the chili and 

 tomato. Coriander and the shredded leaves of acoyo 

 bianco or acoyo Colorado (Piper, Nos. 72, 184) are 

 dropped in for good measure. Some use the young stems 

 of acoyo, but this is said to give a "very strong flavor." 



Dough made of ground nixtamal is flattened on the palm 

 of the hand ; a bit of the bean mixture is slapped on it 

 and the dough folded over. A wrapping of corn husk or 

 of papatla (No. 128) leaf is applied, and the yulacles then 

 are steamed. In most households they are the standard 

 dish for Fridays during Lent. 



e. Capitas (puliikstapu) also are made with a bean fill- 

 ing. Brown sugar is added to the ground nixtamal, and 

 with the palm of the hand the dough is pressed so as to 

 form an even layer on a cloth which is placed over the 

 grinding surface of the metate. On top of the dough is 

 spread a layer of cooked beans (not ground) and brown 

 sugar. The cloth then is lifted at the far end of the metate 

 and is doubled toward the worker, so that about 15 cm. of 

 the dough and filling are folded over the lower layer. The 

 cloth is pounded lightly, then peeled from the top. Again, 

 it is doubled toward the worker, so that another 15 cm. 

 of overlap follows. The end result is alternating layers of 

 dough and beans, enclosed within maize dough. With a 

 sharp bamboo, pieces are cut from the "loaf" and are 

 wrapped in dry corn husks, to be steamed. 



/. Tamales (wat'). Basically, these are similar to the 

 preceding dishes, but differ in that they have meat filling 

 and are wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. 



A number of banana leaves are hacked from the tree 

 and are placed one on top of another. The stack is set on 

 the table and, with a sharp knife, the leaves are cut in 

 squares whose size is determined more or less by the width 

 of the leaf. The leaf squares then are dropped into boiling 

 water or are braised on the baking plate, so that they will 

 be soft and pliable. Such treatment also is necessary "so 

 that the juice of the banana will not be released." 



In the meanwhile, the nixtamal is ground, then reground 

 with a bit of salt. The filling is prepared by grinding the 

 cultivated chili with the wild tomato to form a sauce. No 

 garlic, onion, goosefoot, or coriander goes into tamales. 

 The raw meat — either pork or fowl — is cut in small pieces 

 and mixed with the sauce. 



A bit of the maize dough is placed on one of the leaf 

 squares and, on top, a dab of meat and sauce. The leaf is 

 folded so that two edges join one another and these again 

 are doubled. The ends then are folded toward the center 

 and the contents thus thoroughly encased. The tamales 

 are packed in a pottery vessel, on a cribbing of twigs, and 

 steamed. 



Sometimes the tamales "refuse to cook," or some cook 

 well and others not. This difficulty is attributed to the 

 "touch of a dead man" (los tento el muerto). To avoid 

 this disaster, a few leaves of aguacate Oloroso (No. 248) 

 are tossed into the fire. 



By and large, tamales are prepared for very special 

 occasions: for a celebration which takes place after the 

 birth of a child ; for All Souls' Day ; and for the festival 

 80 days following the death of a person. For these occa- 

 sions, tamales are socially correct ; but they definitely are 

 not acceptable for weddings. For festivals generally, 

 meat with mole sauce is preferred to tamales, because a 

 serving of mole involves less meat than does one of 

 tamales ; "mole is more economical." 



Other maize dishes. — Except for tamales and 

 related forms, maize is not combined with meat 

 or beans. There is, for example, no equivalent of 

 the pozole of western Mexico, which is essentially 

 a hominy cooked with pork or fowl. The remain- 

 ing Totonac maize dishes are chiefly cakes or 

 breads, although for convenience, we have in- 

 cluded at the end of this section pinole, a confec- 

 tion made of toasted and ground corn kernels, and 

 two recipes based on maize fungus. 



a. Gorditas (little fat ones; stululii caw). The meal is 

 prepared as for tortillas, but the cake is not formed by 

 patting. It is, however, shaped in the hands. The result- 

 ing cake has the same diameter as a tortilla, but is about 

 2 cm. thick. It is cooked on the baking plate, and upon 

 being removed from the fire, the upper surface is mashed 

 with a spoon and lard and chili added. The latter may be 

 wild chili ground to a powder, or it may be a sauce pre- 

 pared by crushing wild chili with tomato. A variant, 

 combined with dry pea paste, is described later. 



o. Bocoles (caw; same name as tortilla). These are 

 essentially the same as tortillas, but salt and lard are 

 mixed with the dough. Again, the cake is formed in the 

 hands, but is not patted. It is small (5 cm. diameter) 

 and somewhat thicker than a tortilla. As usual, it is 

 cooked on the flat baking plate. 



A sweet version is prepared by adding brown sugar, lard, 

 and fennel to the dough, which then is formed into cakes 

 as just described. 



c. Tortilla de elote (fresh corn tortilla; iskake'). This 

 dish is related more in name than in fact to the regular 

 tortilla. It is made of fresh, thoroughly ripe corn, not 

 quite dry. The grains are cut from the cob with a knife, 

 an effort being made to remove them entire. The kernels 

 are ground and mixed with brown sugar and lard. A small 

 amount of the paste is placed between banana leaves and 

 the upper leaf patted to spread the dough in the form of 

 a round cake. The latter is placed on the baking plate 

 without removing the leaves. When the cake is turned, the 

 leaf is peeled from the cooked side. These fresh corn cakes 

 are eaten hot. 



d. Titines (Totonac name not recorded) are made of 

 nixtamal ground without the addition of water. The 



