The tamal is a curlpaper Amerindian prehispanic (it would have more than 5000 years), which is prepared starting from flour of Maïs - or dry bean mashed potatoes, even a mixture of several flours cooked with lime, oil (in Mexico one uses Saindoux), bubble, and then, often, a last ingredient who can be salted (meat, ragout) or sweetened (fruit, often grape or pineapple); the whole wrapped in ear sheets of corn, but which can be also sheets of Bananier, then cooked with the vapor.

The tamales in the beginning were intended to the warriors of share their ease of transport. They were as varied as the being the Sandwich can are today.

The tamales exist in various countries of Latin America. In some, they receive the name of humintas or humitas . It however seems to come from the Mexican high plateaus. The word tamal comes precisely from the word náhuatl tamalli . With the Venezuela the tamales are called Hayacas and are prepared for the midnight supper of Christmas.