[Aztlan] pozol(e)

[Nick Hopkins]

I can't find my notes with all the Maya words, but here is a list of  
maize preparations, mostly drawn from Berlin, Breedlove and Raven,  
Principles of Tzeltal Plant Classification, Academic Press, 1974  
(with some additional notes).  Three distinct stages of development  
of the ears  (1-3) are used in different ways (note that these three  
growth stages correspond to what is reported for the US Southeast as  
three distinct types of maize: 6-weeks corn, hominy corn, and flour  
corn).  An outline, with some Tzeltal, Chol, Nahuatl, Mexican  
Spanish, etc, terms:

(1)  Tzeltal /hi/, Spanish jilote (< Nahuatl xilotl); baby ears  
(kernels not yet fully formed); Chol /jajch/
	a. boiled, husk and all; eaten with husks
	b. braised over coals, husk and all; eaten with husks
(2) Tzeltal /ahan/, Spanish elote (< Nahuatl elotl); roasting ear  
(kernels fully formed, but still soft); Chol /wajtan/
	a. boiled, husk and all
	b. braised with husk on or off
	c. braised and then boiled
	d. kernels removed and ground
		i. ground once
		ii. ground twice
		iii. ground three times
	Ground dough can be
		1. wrapped in husks and boiled/streamed (like tamales)
		2. patted into cakes and cooked on griddle (like tortillas)		
		3. mixed with water and made into a gruel (like pozol, but sweeter)
		4. boiled and fermented to make a thick drink (atole); Chol /'ul/
		I think the latter two are like Seminole sofki, the antecedent of  
grits.
(3) Tzeltal /nal/, Spanish mazorca (ear; kernels are /ixim/), mature  
ear (kernels are hard); Chol /ixim/
	a. shucked and braised
	b. shucked and shelled for kernels
	Kernels can be
		i. popped
		ii. browned on griddle
		iii. browned on griddle and ground, made into gruel (Spanish  
pinole); Chol /ch'ilom, ch'ilim/
		iv. boiled in lime water to remove seed coats, then ground (Spanish  
masa, nixtamal)
		1. patted into cakes and griddled (tortillas)
		2. wrapped in husks (or banana leaves, in the lowlands) to make  
tamales
			2a. mixed with beans to make tamales
		3. mixed with water to make drinks (pozol); Chol /sa'/
		3a. with sugar
		3b. with chiles
		3c. with squash seeds
		3d. fermented to make Spanish pozol agrio; Chol /paj sa'/

And probably many more; these are the dishes that are just maize with  
a little flavoring.  Obviously there are other dishes that have maize  
as an ingredient (e.g., soups and stews).  So a diet of maize doesn't  
have to be boring!

Nick Hopkins