206 UNIT 2 COLONIAL MESOAMERICA
Box 5.2 Ana Gets a New House Site: San Miguel Tocuillan, 1583An unusually detailed Nahuatl record of a land transfer provides insight into how colonial town
government operated. This document comes from the town of San Miguel Tocuillan, a lakeshore
community located near the larger town of Texcoco, to the east of Mexico City. Written by the
town notary, this record was intended for local use; it is not directed to Spanish officials and as-
sumes that the persons mentioned are known to the reader.
The text tells of a woman named Ana who, along with her husband, Juan, and their small
son, also named Juan, has been staying for a month in the home of her older brother, Juan
Miguel, who is a member of the town’s council or cabildo.It is possible that they lost their for-
mer residence because of flooding: The brother’s house is described as being on high ground.
Ana decides to petition the council for a plot of land on which she and her husband can build
themselves a new home. Her brother goes off to gather four other members of the town coun-
cil, telling his sister the following: “Don’t worry, younger sister. Let me go and get them right
away, and you be making a tortilla or two. There’s nothing for you to worry about; there’s pulque
for them to drink when they come.”
Juan Miguel returns with the councilmen, and Ana invites them in and serves a snack. After they
have eaten, she asks them for a piece of the town’s communal land, which she describes as be-
longing to the town’s patron saint. Following the customary rules for polite speech, she expresses
herself very humbly in this way: “I have summoned you for a negligible matter. Here is what we beg,
that we might apply for a bit of the land of our precious father the saint San Miguel, for we want to
put up a little hut there. I don’t have many children; the only one I have is little Juan alone. May we?”
The councilmen agree to grant her request, and the entire group immediately heads out to
find a suitable piece of land. Ana chooses the spot, and a square lot is measured out. The rest
of the proceedings are recorded as follows:
Then Ana said, “Thank you very much; we appreciate your generosity.”
Then the rulers said, “Let it begin right away; don’t let the stone concern you, but let it
quickly be prepared to begin the foundation.”
Then Ana said, “Let’s go back and you must enjoy a bit more pulque.”
Then the rulers said, “What more do we wish? We’ve already had enough.” And Ana wept,
and her husband wept, when they were given the land.
Then Ana said, “Candles will be burnt, and I will continue to provide incense for my precious
father the saint San Miguel, because it is on his land that I am building my house.”
Then Juan Miguel said, “We thank you on behalf of your precious father. Let it always re-
main this way.”
When all five lords had spoken, everyone embraced.
The notary and all five councilmen signed the document. All six men have simple Spanish
saints’ names as their surnames, such as Juan Miguel, but all claim for themselves the noble title
“don.”
An indigenous perspective pervades this account. Rather than just summarizing the results,
the notary has meticulously recorded the words spoken (or allegedly spoken) by the parties in-
volved throughout the process. This reflects the continuing importance of oral expression in na-
tive life: Written documents exist to record what people say, not to replace the spoken word with
impersonal prose.
The conduct of public life is highly ceremonialized: People do not simply carry on a con-
versation, but give formal little speeches. The parties share food and drink before getting down
to business. They treat one another with much respect. The successful petitioners weep in a rit-
ualized display of humility and gratitude. All parties embrace at the close of business.
Religious beliefs are closely tied up with this economic transaction: The land “belongs” to
Saint Michael; Ana promises to make offerings to the saint as if in fulfillment of a religious vow;
and her brother invokes San Miguel as the symbolic father of the cabildomembers.