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 The
tamale is recorded as early as 5000 BC, possibly 7000 BC in Pre-Columbian
history. Initially, women were taken along in battle as army cooks to
make the masa for the tortillas and the meats, stews, drinks, etc. As
the warring tribes of the Aztec, Mayan, and Incan cultures grew, the
demand of readying the nixtamal (corn) itself became so overwhelming
a process, a need arose to have a more portable sustaining foodstuff.
This requirement demanded the creativity of the women…..hence the
tamale was born.
The tamales could be made ahead and packed, to be warmed
as needed. They were steamed, grilled on the comal (grill) over the
fire, or put directly on top of the coals to warm, or they were eaten
cold. We have no record of which culture actually created the tamale
but believe that one started and the others soon followed.
The tamale caught on very fast and eventually grew in
variety and diversity unknown in today’s culture. There were plain
tamales, tamales with red, green, yellow and black chile, tamales with
chocolate, fish tamales, frog, tadpole, mushroom, rabbit, gopher, turkey,
bee, egg, squash blossom, honey, ox, seed and nut tamales. There were
white and red fruit tamales, white tamales, yellow tamales, dried meat
tamales, roasted meat, stewed meat, bean and rice tamales. There were
sweet sugar, pineapple, raisin, cinnamon, berry, banana and pumpkin
tamales. There were hard and soft cheese tamales, roasted quail tamales,
ant, potato, goat, wild boar, lamb and tomato tamales. Well, you get
the idea.
The sizes, colors and shapes varied almost as much as
the fillings. They were steamed, oven-roasted, fire-roasted, toasted,
grilled, barbecued, fried and boiled. The wrappings were cornhusks,
banana leaves, fabric, avocado leaves, soft tree bark, and other edible,
non-toxic leaves. The most commonly used were corn husks, banana and
avocado leaves.
Over the millennia, the varieties were minimized to the
most common now being red and greed child, chicken, pork, beef, sweet,
chile, cheese, and of late, vegetables. Also changed was the every day
occurrence of making the tamales. With the preparation being so labor
and time intensive, tamales became holiday fare, made for special occasions.
This tradition remained for thousands of years, with the women of the
family working together to make the sauces and meats, preparing the
masa, and finally assembling and wrapping the tamales before steaming
them in large pots on the stove. The process takes all day, the preparation
often starting one of two days in advance. It is virtually unheard of
to make a few tamales. In most cases, when they are made, hundreds are
made at a time. Everyone, young, old, family and friends, is invited
to tamale feasts where they are enjoyed, savored and loved by all.
Tamales have always been loved by the Hispanic people
and in the 1900s they have become known and loved by all cultures as
much as sushi and dim-sum, which were, in the past, also holiday and
celebration foods.
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