THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



173 



each session is the occasion for a modest feast. All 

 the above are small gatherings at which there 

 probably is a maximum of 30 persons. 



But there are large feasts also, when a family 

 entertains 100, or even 200, guests. As a prelim- 

 inary to nuptials, the groom brings gifts to the 

 bride's house ; this is the occasion for a large festi- 

 val, with a second on its heels, when the wedding 

 takes place. Moreover, feasts are strongly asso- 

 ciated with death — one at the wake; others par- 

 ticularly on the ninth and eightieth days following 

 death; and still another on the anniversary of a 

 year. 



Large feasts likewise are associated with cer- 

 tain religious observances. When the image of a 

 saint is brought to Taj in from a neighboring town, 

 the more pious and the more prosperous make 

 arrangements in advance for the santo to halt 

 successively at their houses. At each stop, the 

 saint is feted; a dinner is prepared more or less 

 for the public at large; and music and native 

 dances add to the pleasure of the saint. Some- 

 times — particularly after the sale of the vanilla 

 crop — a family decides to buy a new image for its 

 domestic shrine. When this image is duly blessed, 

 a major festival takes place. Certain special days 

 in the Catholic religious calendar also are cele- 

 brated from time to time. At least occasionally, 

 when a new cross is dedicated, there is a big fiesta 

 in the home of the donor, on Holy Cross Day 

 (May 3). 



With so many opportunities for festivity, social 

 life in Taj in is sprightly. Since the community is 

 small, a fairly high percentage of the population 

 participates in the frequent round of social gath- 

 erings. We should guess that some sort of festival 

 touches most families about once every 2 or 3 

 weeks. 



At all feasts, meat is served in one form or an- 

 other. For the little family celebration following 

 the birth of a child, tamales are the only acceptable 

 dish. And they likewise are the dish par excel- 

 lence for most of the feasts associated with death. 

 Generally at the latter, atole, totopos (p. 155) , and 

 bollitos de anis (p. 153) also are standard fare. 

 Upon other occasions, a soup or stew of chicken 

 or turkey sometimes is served, but the most accept- 

 able menu is chicken, turkey, or pork in mole 

 sauce, accompanied by tortillas and coffee. So 

 strong is the association of certain dishes with 

 certain feasts that when we artlessly asked if 



tamales were to be served at a wedding, we were 

 regarded with aghast surprise, and then were told, 

 with great amusement, "If there were tamales, it 

 would seem more like a funeral than a wedding." 



Evidently turkey and tortillas were standard 

 company food in the early sixteenth century, for 

 the Spaniards were offered that fare in "Quia- 

 huixtlan," and by certain settlements subject to 

 "Cempoala" (Diaz del Castillo 1 : 169, 174) . How- 

 ever, we suspect that mole sauce may not be ancient 

 among the Totonac. It appears to have no native 

 name and, moreover, one of the chilis considered 

 essential in this dish is said not to grow in Tajin; 

 today, at least, it is purchased in Papantla. 



Even for small feasts, the hostess generally is 

 assisted by a few female friends or relatives ; and, 

 at large feasts, there is a formidable corps of 

 neighbor women who come, by invitation, to give a 

 hand. Despite the hard work involved, women 

 enjoy the flurry and apparently are much pleased 

 when they are asked "to grind" (maize), to haul 

 water, or otherwise to give a day or two of hard 

 labor gratis. Some women have special skill in 

 preparing certain dishes — such as tamales or 

 totopos — and they are much sought when a festi- 

 val is in the offing. 



Preparations start sometimes 3 days in advance 

 and not infrequently the visiting cooks remain all 

 night, instead of returning to their homes. The 

 Totonac kitchen is ill-equipped to prepare food 

 for a hundred or so guests, and most of the cook- 

 ing actually takes place in the open-air patio adja- 

 cent to the kitchen (pp. 207-208). Utensils are 

 borrowed from friends, and the whole undertaking 

 proceeds with a minimum of confusion and dis- 

 order. Individual festivals will be described in 

 Part 2 of this report. 



At large feasts, the men of the household serve 

 the tables, 6 at which guests of both sexes are seated. 

 There is a steady stream of men, often barefooted, 

 who bring tortillas, bowls of mole, and pitchers of 

 coffee to the table. They serve quietly and without 

 confusion. We attended one feast where a lone 

 youth attended close to 50 guests ; he was unflur- 

 ried and managed with remarkable dispatch. 



Apparently only male relatives, by blood or mar- 

 riage, are eligible to serve, probably because they 

 have free access to the kitchen, where are clustered 



< 



9 The men waited on table in Texcoco in the days of Netza- 

 hualcoyotl (Torquemada 1 : 155). 



