Totonaques

The Totonaques , people Amerindian, lived on the mountainous coasts of the east of the Mexico on arrival of the Spanish in 1519. Nowadays, they reside in the states of Veracruz and Puebla. They built the city précolombienne El Tajín. Until the middle of the 19th century, they were the first world producers of Vanille.

Geography and lifestyle

The area occupied by Totonaques, called Totonacapan, was spread out roughly Papantla in north with Cempoala in the south. Totonacapan was a hot and wet area. Parallel to the culture of Corn, Marrow S, Bean S and Pepper S, Totonaques were distinguished from their neighbors by the production of Ambre liquid and Coton. Even during disastrous the Famine of 1450 - 1454 concerning the heart of Mexico, the area remained a center of Mexican agriculture. At that time, of many Aztèques were forced to be sold or sell members of their family like slaves in Totonaques in exchange of corn essential to their survival.

The totonaques women were expert in Tissage and Broderie; they got dressed in a splendid way and decorated their hair of feathers. The brother Franciscain Bernardino de Sahagún testified that these women were “completely elegant”. In the same way, the men got dressed well, avoiding multicoloured clothing, collars, bands around the arms, and of ornaments coming from the invaluable Quetzal.

History

The area of Totonacapan was the object of the Aztec military incursions of the middle of the 15th century until the arrival of the Spaniards. In spite of the establishment of Aztec fortifications in all the area, the rebellion remained endemic. The principal centers totonaques were Papantla, with a population estimated at 60.000 individuals in 1519, Xalapa (approximately 120.000), and Cempoala (approximately 80.000). Cempoala was the first Amerindian city met by Hernán the Cortes in its walk towards the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. Totonaques de Cempoala united their forces with those of the Cortes and, with the Tlaxcaltèques, contributed significantly to the Spanish conquest. Totonacapan was integrated into the Spanish mode with relatively little violence, but the area was devastated by the epidemic S during the 16th century. Today, roughly 400.000 speakers totonaques live the area with horse between the states of Puebla and Veracruz.

See too

External bond

Nicolas Ellison, “Totonaques today, between crisis of the development and new claims”, Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos , VAT, put on line on February 16th, 2007, reference of November 18th, 2007, available on: Nuevomundo.revues.org

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