nanacameh

[David Gloster]

Dear Tom,

sorry for the late reply.

I found the term nanacatzitzen, relating to halucinogenic mushrooms, in a
transcription given to me in 1975 by Luis Reyes García. Luis had collected the
information in his own home town of Amatlán de los Reyes, Veracruz, from Felipa
Reyes, about 70 years of age at the time and daughter of a "partera empírica"
who was active up till around 1910. She recounts how and why her forefathers
used to consume the mushrooms.
In her account she only uses the term nanacatzitzen, she doesn't use the verb
you mention, nanacatia. An alternative name for these mushrooms was tlacatzitzen
(hombrecitos). This name comes from the "little people, like children" that the
person eating the mushrooms sees during the halucination and who answer his/her
questions. The tlacatzitzen are supposed to come from Tlalocan, therefore it is
the earth which answers the questions, as the earth on which we live sees
everything and knows everything.

Hope this is of interest.

Best regards

David Gloster
Munich, Germany

tom grigsby wrote:

> Estimados listeros,
>
> I’ve collected nanacameh (< nanacatl, hongo) as one of the interchangeable
> words used for the ahuaqueh, the invisible owners of water that inhabit the
> netherworld in Tepoztlan, Morelos.  A verb form, nanacatia, is used as a
> synonym for “to benumb.”  Has anyone come across similar uses of these terms
> in their fieldwork or library research?  I’d appreciate any citations that
> you can give me.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom Grigsby
>
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