Tameme (term): Difference between revisions

Tameme is a word that comes from the Nahuatl tlamama, meaning load. In Honduras and Mexico it means Indian magazine. The porters carrying loads on their backs (which could be people, taxes, items for trade, etc.). In Central America, the dominant culture Nahua-Mexica sometimes served tamemes chibcha.

In colonial times the condition of servitude of the Indians, who in most cases became vassals of the [[Spanish[[ became widespread. Today, in Mexican Spanish, the word tameme usually derogatory connotation of "subordinate" the discrimination from the Indian that was consolidated in the Colony.

History

In pre-Hispanic Mexico, and generally throughout Mesoamerica, there was not any animal capable of being used in the loading and transport of goods and had to use man, this is how the "tameme" emerged. From the arrival of the Spanish in the area (first expeditions starting in 1493), they begin to replace sometimes by animals such as horses carrying the conquerors, but has not specifically brought to the load but to combat, so the porters were still widely used.

Job characteristics

Miguel León- Portilla, describes tlamemehs as "porters trained from childhood" , from the class of commoners , devoted exclusively to freight in the Aztec culture." They began to exercise since childhood, carrying on average 23 kilos and did a daily commute of 21 to 25 kilometers before being relieved .

With the Spanish conquest in 1521 the first domestic species cargo arrived, but continued to be used to tamemes by lack of roads, were considered of lower status in the social scale , only slightly higher than the simple soldiers of his militia . Porters that were located on the outside of the markets or swap meets , providing services transporting purchases were made on them , but the most important were the porters who served in the expeditions of the merchants.

Before leaving each shipment , carefully calculated the number of porters that included, taking into account the time of its duration, the number of casualties possible in your course , etc. . They carried all the goods that the merchant was about to sell on the trip, which often lasted for years. When the expedition reached a resting place , were granted special attention to the passage of the night, so they could recover what their strenuous efforts , recognizing the value of their work. When they returned to base, the expedition porters were engaged to rest, not acting in the tianguis , or mingling with the other porters .

In remote areas or for economic reasons, this profession continues even today.

Applications and tools

The porters used in their work the backstrap, which was a wide, thick leather front side leading mecate at each end holding the load to the back of tameme in some mecapales textiles and wood structures were used.

Sources

Sherman, William. Trabajo Forzado nativo en Siglo XVI América Central, University of Nebraska Press, Nebraska, 1979;

Newson, Linda. La supervivencia de la India en Colonial Nicaragua, University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma, 1987;

Barrantes, Ramiro. Evolución en el trópico. Los Amerindios de Costa Rica y Panamá, Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 1993. Libro en línea: [1]

Denevan, William, la población indígena de las Américas en 1492, la población indígena de las Américas en 1492, Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1992 (Edición Segunda).