“THE LEGEND OF VANILLA”
WRITTEN BY THE ILLUSTRIOUS PAPANTLA BORN DIPLOMAT JOSE J. NUÑEZ Y DOMINGUEZ:

“The Totonacs, the most artistic race of the pre-columbine America, after having carved the marvelous stone ornaments in Teotihuacán decided to settle on the coastal lands in the Gulf of Mexico. They did not practice human sacrifice yet, pantheist by temperament they worshiped the sun, the wind, water and earth; their offerings to the gods consisted of flower bouquets and “copal” incineration. in holocaust they sacrificed some wild animals, though they adored birds, especially those with bright feathers that they used for the plumage of their golden “copilli”.

Once established in the coastal region, they constructed the kingdom of Totonacapan, one of whose capitals besides Cempoala and Mixquihuacan, was Papantla that in their language means “land of the shinning moon” . they were the first leaders of the settlement raised sanctuaries for their central deities among which stood out the goddess “Tonacayohua”, who looked after crops, bread and food. she was compared by early historians to the goddess “Ceres” of roman antiquity.

On the summit of one of the highest mountains surrounding Papantla was the temple dedicated to Tonacayohua and in charge of its care and rites was twelve maidens who were devoted since childhood and made a vow of chastity for life.

In times of king Teniztli, one of his wives bore him a girl of such beauty that they called her “Tzacoponziza” (Morningstar) and so that no one enjoyed her sight she was consecrated to the cult of Tonacayohua.. But a young prince called “Xzakan-oxga” (young deer) fell in love with her and though he knew that such a sacrilege was punishable with beheading, one day that Morningstar came out to capture some turtle doves to offer to the goddess, he kidnapped and ran away with her to some hidden ridge in the mountains. But they didn’t get too far when the apparition of a fire exhaling monster forced them to go back. When they reached the highway the priests were already expecting them and without any hesitation beheaded both Xzakan and Morningstar. With their bodies still warm, they were taken to the temple were they took their hearts out as an offering in atonement to the goddess and the corpses were thrown from the ridge. But it happened that the grass in the place of their sacrifice dried up as if their spilled blood had some malefic spell. Some months later a different bush began to grow so prodigiously that in a few days the place was covered by tall and thick foliage. When it reached full growth, right next to its trunk was the new sprout of a climbing orquid amazingly growing and attaching its beautiful guides to embrace the trunk of the bush resembling a woman’s arms with its fragile and elegant leaves. the scorching tropical sun hardly crosses the thick fronds of the bush, the soothing shade shelters the orquid allowing it to thrive like a bride in the arms of her lover; one morning she was covered of minimal flowers and the whole place was filled with an extraordinary aroma. Overwhelmed by such prodigy, the priests and people concluded that the blood of both princes had been transformed into the bush and orquid. making their surprise even greater when the fragrant flowers turned into long and thin beans that when seasoned and matured let out a perfume even more penetrating, it was as if the innocent soul of Morningstar quintessence in a most exquisite fragrance.

The orquid became the object of reverence and cult; it was declared a sacred plant and elevated to divine offering in every Totonac altar.