Quichihuah Ca Ininyollo (We Do it Wholeheartedly): Documenting and Teaching Community through Tamales in Huastec Story and Practice
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Abstract
In the case of the indigenous Huasteca community of Veracruz, stories regarding food traditions during the Miccailhuitl or Day of the Dead festival function as a repertoire of memory to transmit knowledge about the community’s cosmovision as well as the significance of certain dishes. Chichiquilli are steamed corn cakes wrapped in plantain leaf and stuffed with various meats, sauces, and spices from the Huastec region of Veracruz, Mexico and are a common offering on Miccailhuitl altars. The deceased family members, known as the animahtzin then consume the dish, along with a variety of foods, over the two-day holiday. The importance of this dish in establishing and strengthening social relationships within the indigenous community is made evident through an oral story originally intended for children. It is both a cautionary and didactic tale that centers the chichiquilli-making process to delineate the ideal social behaviors for community members during the festival. The purpose of this work is to analyze both how the intersection of food and story reveals the aesthetics of food practices and a community’s social value system, and why this this dialogue is necessary when addressing the problematic history that exists between the folklore field and indigenous cultural practices. Through a short story originating from the municipality of Chicontepec, in la Huasteca Veracruzana, I analyze how the stages of making chichiquilli for Miccailhuitl transmit collective values that create a sense of identity for the Nahuatl community that persists beyond the physical world, and how we can learn from specific examples to participate respectfully and faithfully in the documentation of indigenous practices.
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