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- Title
DOS MITOS TLAPANECOS DE MALINALTEPEC.
- Authors
Cantú, Félix Ramírez; Van Der Loo, Peter L.
- Abstract
"Two Tlapanec Myths" is a contribution in which the two authors colaborate. Felix Ramirez Cantú, speaker of Tlapanec, a language also known as me'phaa̲, is a member of the community of Malinaltepec, and Peter Lodewijk van der Loo is an anthropologist and ethnohistorian. They present two texts, published here as transcribed in a practical orthography by Félix Ramírez, and translated into Spanish and English. In their introduction the authors also briefly discuss the complex history for the place names used for Malinaltepec in Tlapanec and Nahuatl, and clarify their definition of the term myth. In their commentaries they point out several parallels and contrasts with other Meso-american traditions. The first myth is " Mba̲tsuun, dxaguíi gajmí bigo̲ 'Fire, his Sister and the Lightning Bolts'", which concerns the origin of rain. Recorded in November 1979, it was narrated by Felipe Chávez Poblano (1900-1996), of Malinaltepec, a respected specialist in Tlapanec ritual. It was transcribed in April 2009 by Ramírez Cantú. Mba̲tsuun is the proper name of the Fire God. The authors note that the figure of Mba̲tsuun's sister is called in Tlapanec Gu̲mba I̲'kho̲ Ginii, meaning Old Woman (Gu̲mba) Crocodile (I̲'kho̲) First (Ginii), in which the word for crocodile can also be understood as "devourer". The Old Woman has the power to make anything her own by setting it on fire with her fiery tongue. Mba̲tsuun steals this power from her to pass it to his sons, the Bigo̲, giving each son fire in the form of a lightning bolt with which the rains will come. After having been robbed, the old woman is reduced to receiving offerings from the people in the form of the counted bundles which the Tlapanecs use for their rituals. The second myth, " Xo̲we ga̲imaa iya mi'xá 'Opossum and the Pulque'", narrated and taped in May of 1983- In this case Félix Ramírez Cantú, was also the narrator. The Tlapanec invoked the help of the opossum, the culture bringer of Tlapanec tradition. The first use of pulque in the myth leads to discord among the people. With the help of the animals the quarrels are resolved, but the warning stands that pulque brings as much danger as pleasure, an example in which a myth provides a code of behavior for our time. Thus, the Tlapanecs traditionally drink pulque with certain ritual precautions.
- Subjects
MEXICO; NATIVE American mythology; TLAPANEC (Mexican people); TLAPANEC language; FOLK literature; LITERARY criticism
- Publication
Tlalocan, 2011, Vol 17, p61
- ISSN
0185-0989
- Publication type
Article