#totonac

[folkfashion]

Danza de los Voladores flyer headdress, Mexico, by Valeria Luongo

[exiled-prince]

Today marks 3 years since Onyx Equinox aired. Even though I was late to the party, I'm glad I found this show. Among most of the media set in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Onyx Equinox is the one of the few with the most historical accuracies. It's a show that inspired me to continue my personal project. Thank you, Sofia.

[artifacts-archive]

Figure of a Seated Leader

Totonac

300–600 CE

This naturalistic figure ranks among the finest works of the Remojadas sculptural tradition. The artist modeled the face of a youthful chieftain as an idealized type, yet there is also a sense of individual portraiture. Sitting cross-legged, with arms extended to the knees, the young ruler’s body conveys tension. He is elegantly dressed with an elaborate turban, belt, and skirt. The jewelry adorning his wrists and neck represents flowers, while the embroidery of the belt likely signals his rank and status.

source

[harpagornis]

Another of my favourite scenes

[minimewtreasures]

Artisans: ThunderVoice Hat Co.

Instagram: Thunder Voice Hat Co.

Shop: TVHC | Thunder Voice Hat Co.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

woke up and someone spilled vanilla extract all over my dash, so as punishment you strange little beasties are getting all the VANILLA FACTS i know:

vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice in the world (2nd to saffron)

which is why more than 99% of what we call "vanilla extract" is actually vanillin (vanilla's dominant flavor compound) and is not extracted from real vanilla.

luckily, even professionals struggle to tell the difference when it comes to things like baked goods. but there is a distinct difference in non-heat treated products like vanilla ice cream. real vanilla has a more complex, individualized flavor profile.

why is vanilla so expensive? because it is a ridiculously delicate & demanding crop. complete primadonna.

vanilla beans come from vanilla orchids. these crazy flowers bloom for A SINGLE DAY and have to be HAND-POLLINATED in a process that is exhausting, delicate, and requires specialist knowledge passed down over generations.

then, if you're lucky, you get vanilla beans.

which then require months of further specialized treatment.

the entire process takes about a year and can go wrong at any stage

vanilla has been cultivated for over 800 years (possibly much longer). the first known cultivators are the Totonac, an indigenous people of Mexico.

the Aztecs used it as a sweetener to balance out the bitter taste of cocoa. it was popular in a drink called xocolatl--the precursor to modern hot chocolate!

it is only pollinated by a very specific orchid bee!!!

which is why no fruit could be grown outside of Mexico until the 1800s

Edmond Albius, born into slavery, invented the pollination method we still use today--launching a global industry when he was just 12 years old.

today, the majority of the world's vanilla is grown in Madagascar

if you want real vanilla, read the labels carefully--it's harder to find than you think!

in conclusion, those tiny black specks you see in fancy vanilla ice cream? those are vanilla bean seeds! itty bitty orchid seeds!!! they are delicious and also a PRISSY BITCH!

(src)

[megalithicmarvels]

Ancient Dwarf Dwellings or Extravagant Tombs?

SAVE YOUR SPOT By Derek Olson Did you know that along the lush coast of Veracruz Mexico is a mysterious site known as Quiahuiztlán that hides 78 strange structures left behind from a forgotten civilization known as the Totonacs? Appearing as miniature temples, these structures stand approximately 5 feet tall, and the entrance that leads inside each one is only about 1 foot high!  The…

[spencerslover-blog]

Did you know Tláloc? He's one of the most important and formidable gods in the Aztec pantheon! He was considered the god of rain, water, lightning and agriculture. His name derives from the Nahuatl words tlali meaning 'earth' and oc meaning 'something on the surface'. However, the origins of the god are probably much earlier as he shares many similarities with the Olmec God IV and the Mayan God B or Chac. In the various Mesoamerican cultures Tláloc appears as Dzahui for the Mixtec and Tajίn for the Totonac. Oh, I'm rambling, sorry.

[wumblr]

vanilla production facts

it is an orchid

the flower blooms one day per year and must be manually pollinated. pollination causes the base of the flower to swell almost immediately, from there it takes weeks to develop into a seed pod

vanilla costs about $300/lb. this being the pulp of the fruit itself, the extract we are familiar with is dilute. second only to saffron for expense. the price also tends to fluctuate greatly depending on the abundance of any given year's crops

there are three strains of cultivated vanilla. cultivation dates as far back as the totonac people in the 12th century, who live in present day veracruz, on the eastern coast of mexico. the olmecs may have also used wild vanilla in cooking thousands of years earlier

vanilla was cultivated in european botanical gardens but not really used much for 300 years after the colombian invasion of mesoamerica until finally some idiot realized the melipona bee doesn't live there, which may not have even been the correct type of bee (possibly euglossine)

five years later (1841) a 12-year-old slave named edmond albius on the island of reunion figured out how to manually pollinate the flowers, which is an extremely delicate and difficult process. some french botanist claimed to have invented this process, and people believed him for over a century

the aroma doesn't develop until after the seed pod is harvested and processed. it must be sorted, graded, blanched, then alternately sweated and dried for 15-30 days. the blanching halts fermentation, which makes one wonder, what is a fermented vanilla seed pod like?

synthetic vanillin is derived from eugenol, from clove oil, and lignin, from any number of sources. the vast majority of synthetic vanilla is made from wood creosotes which occur as a product of lignin pyrolysis (fire). its major source is, like anything, the petrochemical industry, which requires heat to fractionally distill oil into several byproducts (kerosene, naphtha, gasoline, etc). which is to say, 85% of synthetic vanilla is made from the wood smoke of the oil industry. you might be inclined to ask "doesn't this pollute" which, if you recapture the smoke to sell its particulate creosotes to synthetic vanilla producers, no, i guess not really, or "why don't they use oil to heat the oil" because it is more profitable to sell the oil and burn wood to make it, obviously

it is difficult to tell the difference between natural and synthetic vanilla in baked goods, because the baking process burns off the distinctive notes, most of which differ by growing region (tahitian vanilla is floral, indonesian vanilla is smoky, mexican vanilla is woody or spicy, bourbon vanilla from reunion has an alcoholic richness)

price markup occurs not at the point of farming, but after the point of curing. there is no set price for green vanilla beans, but there is a set price for dried vanilla beans, after they have passed through several middlemen from farmer to broker to curing. after this point, they are marked up several more times before finally making it to grocery store shelves in the form of bottled extract

in 2017 a cyclone destroyed maybe 30-80% of madagascan vanilla crops, where possibly as much as 60-80% of the global supply of vanilla is grown. in the 5 years since then, the price has not recovered, but boy howdy, have the labels gotten more fancy in specifying when it's from madagascar, haven't they?

70% of madagascar lives below the poverty line, despite the island producing the majority of the world's supply of the second most expensive spice

by volume, the number of vanilla beans imported to the united states every year is nearly two for every single member of the population (~640m, for a ~330m population)

anyway stop pouring a whole bottle of it into a cup for a joke what the fuck is wrong with you people i hope to god that ibuprofen potion post was staged with some vaguely brown liquid. also the word vanilla etymologically derives from the latin vagina meaning sheath ok bye

[mapsontheweb]

First and Second Most spoken Indigenous languages in Mexico by state

by mexidominicarican8

<div class="md"><p>60 Most spoken Indigenous languages in Mexico (ones that appear on the map are in bold)</p> <ol> <li><strong>Nahuatl</strong> (Nahuatl, Nahuat, Nahual, Macehualtlahtol, Melatahtol): 1,651,958 speakers</li> <li><strong>Yucatec Maya</strong> (Maaya t'aan): 774,755 speakers</li> <li><strong>Tzeltal Maya</strong> (K'op o winik atel): 589,144 speakers</li> <li><strong>Tzotzil Maya</strong> (Batsil k'op): 550,274 speakers</li> <li><strong>Mixtec</strong> (Tu'un sávi): 526,593 speakers</li> <li><strong>Zapotec</strong> (Diidxaza): 490,845 speakers</li> <li><strong>Otomí</strong> (Hñä hñü): 298,861 speakers</li> <li><strong>Totonac</strong> (Tachihuiin): 256,344 speakers</li> <li><strong>Ch'ol Maya</strong> (Winik): 254,715 speakers</li> <li>Mazatec (Ha shuta enima): 237,212 speakers</li> <li><strong>Huastec</strong> (Téenek): 168,729 speakers</li> <li><strong>Mazahua</strong> (Jñatho): 153,797 speakers</li> <li>Tlapanec (Me'phaa): 147,432 speakers</li> <li>Chinantec (Tsa jujmí): 144,394 speakers</li> <li><strong>Purépecha</strong> (P'urhépecha): 142,459 speakers</li> <li>Mixe (Ayüük): 139,760 speakers</li> <li><strong>Tarahumara</strong> (Rarámuri): 91,554 speakers</li> <li>Zoque: 74,018 speakers</li> <li>Tojolab'al (Tojolwinik otik): 66,953 speakers</li> <li><strong>Chontal de Tabasco</strong> (Yokot t'an): 60,563 speakers</li> <li><strong>Huichol</strong> (Wixárika): 60,263 speakers</li> <li>Amuzgo (Tzañcue): 59,884 speakers</li> <li>Chatino (Cha'cña): 52,076 speakers</li> <li><strong>Tepehuano del sur</strong> (Ódami): 44,386 speakers</li> <li><strong>Mayo</strong> (Yoreme): 38,507 speakers</li> <li>Popoluca (Zoquean) (Tuncápxe): 36,113 speakers</li> <li><strong>Cora</strong> (Naáyarite): 33,226 speakers</li> <li>Trique (Tinujéi): 29,545 speakers</li> <li><strong>Yaqui</strong> (Yoem Noki or Hiak Nokpo): 19,376 speakers</li> <li>Huave (Ikoods): 18,827 speakers</li> <li>Popoloca (Oto-manguean): 17,274 speakers</li> <li>Cuicatec (Nduudu yu): 12,961 speakers</li> <li>Pame (Xigüe): 11,924 speakers</li> <li>Mam (Qyool): 11,369 speakers</li> <li>Q'anjob'al: 10,851 speakers</li> <li><strong>Tepehuano del norte</strong>: 9,855 speakers</li> <li>Tepehua (Hamasipini): 8,884 speakers</li> <li>Chontal de Oaxaca (Slijuala sihanuk): 5,613 speakers</li> <li>Sayultec: 4,765 speakers</li> <li>Chuj: 3,516 speakers</li> <li>Acateco: 2,894 speakers</li> <li>Chichimeca jonaz (Úza): 2,364 speakers</li> <li>Ocuilteco (Tlahuica): 2,238 speakers</li> <li>Guarijío (Warihó): 2,139 speakers</li> <li>Q'eqchí (Q'eqchí): 1,599 speakers</li> <li>Matlatzinca: 1,245 speakers</li> <li>Pima Bajo (Oob No'ok): 1,245 speakers</li> <li>Chocho (Runixa ngiigua): 847 speakers</li> <li>Lacandón (Hach t'an): 771 speakers</li> <li>Seri (Cmiique iitom): 723 speakers</li> <li>Kʼicheʼ: 589 speakers (1.1 million in Guatemala)</li> <li>Kumiai (Ti'pai): 500 speakers (110 in USA) </li> <li>Jakaltek (Poptí) (Abxubal): 481speakers</li> <li>Texistepequeño: 368 speakers</li> <li>Paipai (Jaspuy pai): 231 speakers</li> <li>Pápago (O'odham): 203 speakers</li> <li>Ixcatec: 195 speakers</li> <li>Cucapá (Kuapá): 180 speakers (370 in USA)</li> <li>Kaqchikel: 169 speakers (440,000 in Guatemala)</li> <li>Mochoʼ: 126 speakers</li> </ol> </div>

[manymanydolls]

Josefina says Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Since Josefina was gifted to me by my partner, who is Indigenous Mexican (Totonac/Nahua), I made her a traditional Totonac outfit to wear for the event. The huipil (blouse) embroidery was my favorite part!

On a more serious note, Indigenous women in Mexico experience levels of violence almost three times higher than non-Indigenous women living in the same areas, including physical and sexual abuse and a lack of access to the legal system to seek justice. In your acknowledgement of Hispanic Heritage Month, please remember the struggles of Indigenous Latin Americans, and Indigenous women in particular who face inequality due to their sex as well as their ethnicity.

[worldfoodwine]

Vanilla: A journey from the ancient Totonacs to your kitchen! Dive into its rich history and versatility in sweet and savory dishes.

Learn how to make the most of vanilla in your cooking adventures.

Vanilla ice cream has been one of the top three favorite ice cream flavors in Europe and U.S.A. for decades.

[artifacts-archive]

Figure of a Woman in Ceremonial Dress

Totonac

700–900

In the afterlife, it was the role of deceased noble ancestors to communicate with the deified forces of nature on behalf of their people. Presented as offerings at ancestral shrines, mold-made figures of this kind were sometimes reshaped while the clay was still moist to give them more individualized facial features.

source

[majestativa]

Every true civilization keeps the soul alive, sustains the desire to stay awake. Explain how high Mexican civilization says awake. […] Distinguish between the currents: Maya, Toltec, Otomis, Anaxtec, Nahuatl, Totonac.

— Antonin Artaud, The Death of Satan and Other Mystical Writings, transl by Alastair Hamilton & Victor Corti, (1974)

[ditchdwellersupreme]

Hekate's Money Spell

Check out the original post here!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Aiden Blackheart (@aidenthevvitch)

Over on my instagram, I shared a spell I did last night to help stabilize, and maintain my money. I am going to discuss it in further detail here.

As stated before, this spell was given to me by Hekate, and I am only now preforming it. As I worked it last night, I entered into a tranced state, and communicated with Hekate.

She first told me about how to continue to work the bowl, feeding it regularly with herbs, coins, water, pomegranate juice, and a few other materials. She also told me that I could incorporate other spirits into it, though this would be a bit more tricky and difficult, though quite beneficial if done right.

Later on into the trance though, I began to sense the form of a snake coiling around the bowl. I followed it for a bit, before questioning The Queen about it. She described it as "The Money Serpent" (who also goes by many ancient names), a benevolent money spirit I could learn to work with, later on.

As I waited for the candles to burn down, I decided to do a little research into this spirit, and discovered something quite shocking: The Money Serpent is a Mexican (Totonac) spirit from mythology and folklore. And not only that; The Money Serpent may be an aspect of Quetzalcoatl, The Feathered Serpent, Our Precious Serpent Lord.

This is a spirit I have much reverence for, and was quite shocked to see show up in a seemingly unrelated place. Hekate had also mentioned to me that I could create a sigil for this spirit and share it with others. I think that I am going to begin to work with this spirit and share his knowledge with all of you!

There was one last bit of gnosis that came from this experience.

As the candles burned close to the bank dirt, the wax began to set alight, and melt away fully into the dirt, blackening it. The mystery of Dark/Black Earth is a reoccurring theme in meditations and prayers. I'm still not quite sure what it is exactly, but it is truly amazing to see it enter into reality through spellwork. I eventually blew out the fires, as I feared them getting too big, and they went out with one breath. Smoke billowed for a while, until I was finally able to lay the blessed dollar in the earth.

This was truly a wonderful experience, and I hope it was interesting for you all to read as well! Please, feel free to reach out and ask questions about this spell! I'd love to discuss it further with you all!

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: African Europeans by Olivette Otele

African Europeans by Olivette Otélé

Africans or African Europeans are widely believed to be only a recent presence in Europe, a feature of our ‘modern’ society. But as early as the third century, St Maurice—an Egyptian— became the leader of a legendary Roman legion. Ever since, there have been richly varied encounters between those defined as ‘Africans’ and those called ‘Europeans’, right up to the stories of present-day migrants to European cities. Though at times a privileged group that facilitated exchanges between continents, African Europeans have also had to navigate the hardships of slavery, colonialism and their legacies.

Olivette Otele uncovers the long history of Europeans of African descent, tracing an old and diverse African heritage in Europe through the lives of individuals both ordinary and extraordinary. This hidden history explores a number of questions very much alive today. How much have Afro-European identities been shaped by life in Europe, or in Africa? How are African Europeans’ stories marked by the economics, politics and culture of the societies they live in? And how have race and gender affected those born in Europe, but always seen as Africans?

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

On Savage Shores by Caroline Dodds Pennock

We have long been taught to presume that modern global history began when the "Old World" encountered the "New", when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America in 1492. But, as Caroline Dodds Pennock conclusively shows in this groundbreaking book, for tens of thousands of Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit and others —enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, traders—the reverse was true: they discovered Europe.

For them, Europe comprised savage shores, a land of riches and marvels, yet perplexing for its brutal disparities of wealth and quality of life, and its baffling beliefs. The story of these Indigenous Americans abroad is a story of abduction, loss, cultural appropriation, and, as they saw it, of apocalypse—a story that has largely been absent from our collective imagination of the times.

From the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII to the Aztecs who mocked up human sacrifice at the court of Charles V; from the Inuk baby who was put on show in a London pub to the mestizo children of Spaniards who returned “home” with their fathers; from the Inuit who harpooned ducks on the Avon river to the many servants employed by Europeans of every rank: here are a people who were rendered exotic, demeaned, and marginalized, but whose worldviews and cultures had a profound impact on European civilization.

The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber

For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself.

Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume.