Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Dance of the Moors

"In Chichicastenango the war between Alvarado and the Quiché is enacted. Among the Chortí it is called the Dance of the Huaxtecs, and represents the battle between Cortés and the Huaxtecs, who are called Black Men. A man impersonates Cortés's interpreter, Malinche. ... Two variants of this dance are performed in JacaItenango, 'the Corté relating to the Conquest of Mexico ... [and] ... the Moors telling of the wars between the Spaniards and the Moors.'" 1

In 1774, the Mexican Inquisition investigated sorcery in Huamantla and Huauchinango, and it moved to suppress the native dances 'Santiago' and 'Temascles' throughout Mexico." 2

"In 1623, Antonio Prieto Villegas, Inquisition Commissioner for the province of Zapotitlán investigated the Achí of his region who were performing prohibited dances, especially the Tum-Teleche, a pre-conquest tragic dance-drama." 3 The Tum-Teleche is also described as a masked dance of companion spirits. 3

1   Victoria Reifer Bricker, "Ritual Humor in Highland Chiapas", University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 1973, p. 177 (plate 31).
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2   R. Greenleaf, "The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History", Vol. XXXIV(3), Jan. 1978, p. 328.
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3   R. Greenleaf, "The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Inter-American Cultural History", Vol. XXXIV(3), Jan. 1978, p. 332.
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4   Stephen Houston and David Stuart, "The Way Glyph: Evidence for "Co-essences" among the Classic Maya", Center for Maya Research, 1989, Chapter 30, p. 1.

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