Meaning of "Pátzcuaro
The word “Pátzcuaro” has various meanings. According to different scholars, the roots of the name of this city could be, “Pashcuaro”, which means “where they dye black”; “Petatzecuaro” which translates as “place of foundations”, also called “Petatzecua”, which in turn means “stone or origin of man”, proper sites for the seat of “Cúes” or temples – which allude to ruins belonging to another ancient and unknown civilization that in turn were found by the pre-Hispanic founders of the city-; “Petatzimícuaro” which means “place of cattails”.
There are those who affirm that “Pátzcuaro” means “place of joy.” However, perhaps the mythological point of view is from which the true meaning of the name of the city could be recognized, since the Relacion de Michoacán1 specifies that the name of Pátzcuaro was Tzacapu-Arocutin-Patzcuaro, which means “where is the entrance to paradise”, that is, where the dead went, where one lives and enjoys, considering Lake Pátzcuaro as the door to such a place.
History of Patzcuaro
Pátzcuaro lies in what once was the independent kingdom of Michoacán, whose capital was Naranxan before the thirteenth century. Later Tzintzuntzan, meaning “humming bird place” became the capital and was repopulated by the illustrious Vasco de Quiroga in the year 1540, after the devastation caused by Nuño de Guzmán, an spaniard conqueror. This city boasts a coat of arms, featuring a distinctive drape of blue and white, granted by king Carlos V in 1553. If you pronounce the word “Tzintzuntzan” you can easily imagine its meaning. Many hummingbirds can be seen in the area, especially early in the morning.
The only clue that exists to have an idea about the founding of Pátzcuaro is found in the aforementioned Relation of Michoacán given to the Viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza. It maintains that the Chichimeca chiefs Páracume and Vápeani, the second sons of Curatame, grandchildren of the first Vápeane, great-grandsons of the first Páracume and great-great-grandsons of Sicuracha, found a seat for their tribe “in the neighborhood of Pázquaro called Tarimichundiro.” Here they began the construction of their temples or cues in a place where there were four rocks together, they chose this place because the number four was sacred to them, representing the four cardinal points and the four stars of the constellation "Southern Cross", to which that they revered. This tribe has its historical beginning in Hiréti-Ticáteme, chief of Zacapu, the place from which they emigrated.
Although the “Relation” indicates that the founders of Pátzcuaro were Chichimec chiefs, it does not make clear the date on which the foundation took place. However, the date of 1360 has been set to mark the death of Parácume and Vápeani, so it is assumed that the founding of Pátzcuaro took place around 1324.
At that time, the lake and its surroundings were inhabited by three indigenous groups that were continually fighting. One was known as the “coringuaro”, another as the “isleños” and the third was the “chichimecas”. The latter recognized Hireti-Ticáteme as the ancient chief, and had the god Curicaveri and the goddess Cueravaperi as their main deities. The Purhépecha reign was inaugurated with Tariácuri, the first chief, to whom the title of Cazonci was applied, equivalent to that of monarch. . He divided his kingdom between Hiquingare, Hiripan and Tangaxoan while he was still alive, but he retained the highest authority until his death. He placed his son in Pátzcuaro and his nephews Hiripan in Cuyucan (Ihuatzio) and Tangaxoan in Tzintzuntzan. The first place became the religious capital; the second in the military capital and the third in the political and administrative capital.
Later, the government was reunited in a single hand with Tzítzípandácuari, who was succeeded by Zuangua, during whose government the Spanish arrived in the country and who died in 1519. His successor, Tangaxhoan II or Tzintzincha, is the ruler who will be victim and witness of the domination of Michoacán by the Spanish. With him, therefore, the pre-Hispanic era ends to fully enter the conquest.
Still, because the Purhépecha culture lacks a written language, its origin and history remains somewhat of a mystery. Their stories, legends, customs are passed from one generation to another through oral tradition transmitted by the elderly, who have a very particular place in their social scheme. From the above, various theories have been derived regarding their origin: there are even those who claim that this race comes from a branch of the Mexicas themselves and there are also those who relate them to the Incas, stating that they arrived from Peru, arriving in this region first through the Santiago River in Nayarit and then passing through the state of Jalisco. According to another version, this place was inhabited by the “pre-Tarascos”, a word that means “sons of god” referring to the god “Tares” (?).
There exists another -more accepted- theory about the name now given to this native race (Tarascan): this states that the name Purhépecha was used until the beginning of the sixteenth century, and that the word “tarasco” is a corruption of the word “tarascue” which in the native dialect means “brother-in-law”. This term was adopted by both the natives and Spaniards as result of the relationships of the Spaniards with the women of the region, and now it is used to designate the inhabitants of the old Purhépecha’s empire. Nevertheless, whichever is the correct version, the reality is that the natives of the region proudly call themselves and their language Purhépecha.
We know that during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Purhépecha empire was a powerful and prosperous civilization whose influence spread as far as what now are the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Colima and Guerrero. Much attention has been paid to Cortés and to the Aztecs, but it should be remembered that the Purhépechas had already discovered iron and that they were the only people that the Aztecs or Mexicas were unable to defeat in the many battles they fought (except when they were allied with the Spaniards).Even so, according to history, 30, 000 Aztec warriors were taken prisoner by the Purhépechas in the battle of Taximaroa, (today the city of Hidalgo) against the armies of Cristóbal de Olid, a cruel Spaniard captain which finally defeats Tanganxhúan II, one of the lasts Purepecha’s emperors and then, according to the choice of each prisoner, each was sacrificed or taken as a slave by his captors.
Pátzcuaro was founded in 1324 by the king Curátame and reconstructed in 1372 by his descendant Tariácuri. As in the rest of Michoacán, this region did not escape atrocities, committed first by Cristóbal de Olid and later by the bloodthirsty Nuño de Guzmán, a captain in Hernán Cortés’ army. According to Guzmán’s own documents, „...they (the Purhépecha) are men of inferior race whom Cortés wants to get rid of...”.In 1528, a small band of mercenaries headed by Nuño de Guzmán was about to be sent back to Spain due to the discontent that his atrocities were causing his government. He then decided to make a cruel and unnecessary attempt at conquering the west of México.
La caída y el arresto de estos hombres por las autoridades españolas no borró de ninguna manera el caos y la destrucción creados en Michoacán. Debido a la quema, violación, asesinato y esclavitud de gente pacífica e inocente, Nuño de Guzmán se recuerda tristemente como el símbolo de una invasión maligna y del poder de un conquistador sin bandera, credo ni raza, que cree en la fuerza y la violencia extremas como únicos recursos de convencimiento.
In a short time, the grand and powerful Purhépecha nation was completely devastated. The culture was destroyed, its temples, houses and fields sacked, and the people who escaped death and torture were dispersed throughout the mountains of Michoacán. Had it not been for the effort of one man whose ideals, good judgment and ability to put into practice the morals that he preached, it is doubtful that the Purhépechas would have survived.
This man was don Vasco de Quiroga, who arrived in México in 1531, and about seven years later became the first bishop of Michoacán.
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