THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 — KELLY AND PALERM 



157 



The raw, tuberous root of the jicama (presum- 

 ably Pachyrhizus ; no specimen) is another starchy 

 product. It is little grown in Taj in and is eaten 

 only occasionally, as if it were a confection. It is, 

 however, prominent in the offering prepared for 

 the dead on All Souls' Day. 



Additional starches are acquired exclusively by 

 purchase, either in the local stores or in Papantla. 

 They include rice, macaroni, a variety of other 

 pastas, marketed in various forms for use in soups, 

 as well as commercial crackers and bread. 80 From 

 time to time, someone in Taj in makes bread in 

 quantity, for sale to the neighbors. And a Totonac 

 who goes to Papantla often brings back rolls or 

 sweet bread for the family. 



PROTEIN FOODS 



The ancient Totonac priests of "Cempoala" are 

 said to have eaten, in the middle of the morning, 

 "sometimes meat, other [times] beans . . . prepared 

 in many ways" (Las Casas, p. 461). In Tajin to- 

 day, eggs and legumes supply the chief protein 

 elements of the diet, followed in importance by 

 meat, game, and fish. 



Eggs. — Eggs are added early to the diet, and 

 one 14-month old child, still nursing, is said to be 

 quite capable of consuming an egg and five tortil- 

 las daily. Since most families keep fowl, the 

 supply of eggs usually is generous. They are a 

 common dish in most households and are prepared 

 in various ways, none very complicated. 



Boiled eggs are a common breakfast dish, eaten 

 with tortilla and chili sauce. Sometimes eggs are 

 "broiled" (asados). A bit of salt is dropped on 

 the baking plate, and on top of it an egg is broken. 

 Ash is blown from burning embers, which then 

 are placed on top of the griddle, close to the egg. 

 The latter is served with chili sauce. 



Probably most often eggs are fried in lard. A 

 frugal housewife gives the following recipe for 

 five persons: Three eggs are fried; over them is 

 poured a sauce made by grinding together 8 peeled 

 chilis (of the kind known as pico de pa jaw), about 

 10 wild tomatoes, and salt ; to the resulting paste, 

 water is added. 



For an ailing person, an egg is prepared in a 

 special way. A small amount of maize dough is 



80 A local shopkeeper says that the items most in demand in 

 Tajin are lard, rice, crackers, salt and kerosene 



ground to a fine paste and is diluted with water. 

 An egg is broken into the dough, and salt and finely 

 chopped onion added. The result is of the con- 

 sistency of "thick atole." It is poured on the hot 

 clay griddle where it solidifies, later being turned, 

 so that it may cook on both sides. 



It has been noted above that eggs sometimes 

 are added to certain kinds of maize cakes. 



Beans and peas. — Two kinds of tamales (pula- 

 cles and capitas) with bean filling have been de- 

 scribed above, in connection with maize cookery. 

 It also has been mentioned that cooked arrowroot, 

 either ground or entire, often is combined with 

 beans. 



Beans "of any kind," including cowpeas and the 

 pigeon pea, are eaten green or dry. In both cases, 

 the beans are shelled and boiled. Coriander, goose- 

 foot, and one of the following vegetable oils are 

 added : 



a. Dry squash (pipidn) seeds are toasted and ground 

 on the metate; a small amount of water is added. The 

 paste is squeezed in the hand to extract the oil. The now 

 dry pulp, known as orejitas de pipidn (little ears of pipidn ) 

 is added to the beans. Later, when the latter are served, 

 the oil is poured over the top. 



b. Toasted sesame seed is ground and added to the beans 

 as they cook. 



c. The dry physic nut (Jatropha, No. 192) is shelled, 

 toasted, and ground ; and the resulting paste is cooked 

 with the beans. Sometimes it is combined with sesame, 

 but never with squash seed ; nor is the latter mixed with 

 sesame. 



d. Seed of the local perennial cotton is toasted and 

 crushed lightly on the metate, to be added to the beans. 

 Relatively few families use this oil; it may have been 

 more popular before the introduction of sesame. 



Shelled green beans sometimes are prepared as a 

 stew (huatape). They are boiled with salt, and 

 maize dough, thinned with water, is added as 

 thickening. Different cooks favor different sea- 

 soning. One adds a small leaf of aguacate oloroso, 

 (No. 248) together Avith ground wild chili, either 

 green or dry. Another uses either quitacalzon 

 (Phytolacca, No. 29) or the aromatic avocado. 

 Some prefer the shredded leaves of acoyo bianco 

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



Dry beans of any kind often are fried. First, 

 they are shelled and boiled. Onion is browned in 

 lard; the beans are drained and are added to the 

 hot fat and onion. With a wooden spoon, they are 

 mashed thoroughly. Later, the bean broth is 

 added and the mixture allowed to simmer until it 

 thickens. 



