THE TAJIN TOTONAC PART 1 KELLY AND PALERM 



267 



tially local wars. Tezozomoc (pp. 74-76, 81-88) 

 reports an initial combat with Texcoco, followed 

 by one with "Chalco" (Tlalmanalco, map 14, No. 

 4; see footnote 3, map 11). Torquemada (1 : 151- 

 153) begins the Mexican aggressions with 

 "Chalco," which received intermittent pommeling 

 until it finally was subjugated in 1465 (table 17, 

 No. 4). With "Chalco" temporarily in hand, 

 Moctezuma indulged in another local flurry, this 

 with Tlatelolco (map 14, No. 50), the sister city 

 of Tenochtitlan (Torquemada 1 : 157) . Although 

 its ruler was killed, Tlatelolco was not conquered 

 until much later, in 1473, under Axayacatl (table 

 18, No. 3). 



It seems likely that early in his career Mocte- 

 zuma made inroads in modern Morelos (map 14) , 

 which logically should have preceded his aggres- 

 sions in northeastern Guerrero (Torquemada 

 1 : 157) ; Veytia (2 : 213) confirms the relationship 

 between these conquests. The incursions in 

 Morelos are entirely innocent of dating, but the 

 other campaigns just mentioned took place prior 

 to 1448, the ninth year of the reign (Torquemada 

 1:157). 



With the completion of the Guerrero conquests 

 there was a lull, but shortly thereafter Moctezuma 

 looked toward the Gulf of Mexico. At this time, 

 commercial relations with the provinces of the east 

 coast were both extensive and intensive; profes- 

 sional merchants from the principal pueblos of the 

 Valley of Mexico were active in the southern 

 Huasteca and participated in the markets held 

 every 20 days in "Tzicoac," 33 Temapache, and 



33 Melgarejo (n. d.), on the basis of a nineteenth-century state- 

 ment, seeks to identify ancient "Tzicoac" with a modern settle- 

 ment known as Dr. Monies de Oca, near Tuxpan. He does not ac- 

 cept the evidence of Meade (p. 290), who reports that a 1695 

 document (AGN, No. 18) identifies this ancient pueblo definitely 

 with modern Chicontepec. In the same volume of the Archivo, 

 Palerm has found parallel statements for the years 1693 and 1694. 



There seems no real reason to doubt that Chicontepec and 

 "Tzicoac" are one and the same. (1) The late seventeenth- 

 century documents state so definitely ; that for 1693 reads, "En 

 el pueblo de chicoac o chicotzontepeque por otro nombre chicon- 

 tepeque . . ." (2) Old "Tzicoac" is said by the Suma (No. 135) 

 to have two subject settlements, "Aguatlan" and "Tilcjpojapan" ; 

 the former still exists as Ahuatlan, the latter presumably, as San 

 Pedro Tziltzacuapan (Mexico, Quinto censo, 1930), both in the 

 general vicinity of modern Chicontepec. (3) The same ctwomen- 

 deros, Diego de Coria and Pedro de Meneses, are involved. Both 

 are reported for "Tzicoac" (Suma No. 135; Epistolario 9:9; 

 Garcfa Pimental, 1904, p. 159; Icaza, Nos. 12, 65). For Chicon- 

 tepec, Hernando de Coria and Pedro Bermudes are given (Epis- 

 tolario 14: 75). But this difference results merely from the fact 

 that the latter record Is from a subsequent period, for we know 

 that in "Tzicoac," Diego de Coria was succeeded by his son, 

 Hernando de Coria, and Pedro de Meneses, by his son, Pedro 



Tuxpan (map 14, Nos. 48, 79, 78) (Tezozomoc, pp. 

 105-106). 



It is precisely these merchants who were respon- 

 sible for Moctezuma : s first major campaign on 

 the coast, because, for some reason or other, the 

 Huastecan pueblos decided to exterminate them. 

 Tezozomoc (p. 105) suggests that the cause was 

 "envy, ill will, or the desire to rob them." How- 

 ever, in view of the role generally played by 

 Mexican merchants, as precursors of conquest 

 (Acosta Saignes, pp. 10-11), it seems not unlikely 

 that the real cause was the understandable desire 

 of the Huastecans to remain free of Mexican con- 

 trol. In any event, there was a general massacre, 

 through the simple expedient of pushing the vic- 

 tims over a cliff. Following this, the Huastecans 

 prudently erected a series of fortifications and 

 awaited the outcome. 



Traders from Tulancingo carried the news to 

 Moctezuma (Tezozomoc, p. 105), who notified his 

 allies — Netzahualcoyotl, of Texcoco, and Totoqui- 

 huatzin, of Tacuba — and the machinery of the 

 Triple Alliance went into motion. The campaign 

 was short. Divided into small political units (M. 

 Cuevas, 1914, p. 221), the Huastecans apparently 

 were not organized for concerted action. On the 

 contrary, the Mexicans were good strategists and 

 employed the device of hiding part of their troops 

 until a critical moment. The vanquished Huas- 

 tecans then took refuge on a hill and, by means of 

 interpreters, asked for a truce, offering generous 

 tribute, which Tezozomoc (p. 110) lists in detail. 

 The Mexicans and their allies returned trium- 



Bermudrs (Garcfa Pimentel, 1904, p. 159). In short, ownership 

 is identical. 



There seem to be, in fact, only two difficulties. The Codice 

 Chimaipopoca (p. 64) lists both Chicontepec and "Tziuhc6huac" 

 in the same paragraph, which suggests that they are distinct 

 towns. And the linguistic situation is not entirely reassuring. 

 Tezozomoc does not state definitely that "Tzicoac" is In the 

 Huasteca or that it is Huastecan in speech. But he speaks (p. 

 105) of the massacre of Mexican merchants there and in 

 Tuxpan ; and later, in the course of reprisals, he refers (p. 109) 

 to the enemies as Huasteca. Still later (pp. 292, 294-295), he 

 again implies that "Tzicoac" is Huastecan. Durau (1:165) 

 mentions "the Huasteca of Tamapachco and Xochpan and of 

 Tzincoac . . ." The general impression certainly is that 

 "Tzicoac" is a Huastecan pueblo. 



With respect to the speech of Chicontepec, we have found only 

 two sixteenth-century reports. One gives Mexlcano, Tepehua, 

 and Otomi for the cabecera and its subjects (Doctrinas, p. 219) ; 

 the other mentions only Mexicano (Epistolario 14:75). Ac- 

 cordingly, if "Tzicoac" is to be identified with Chicontepec, it 

 must be assumed that both Tezozomoc and Duran are speaking 

 loosely — In terms of the general area which lies to the northeast 

 of Mexico, and not in terms of a zone where Huastecan speech 

 was current. 



