Esperanza,

So you want to be a food anthropologist, uhh? That must be an 
interesting field!  Did you know that tamalli is Nahuatl for tamal?

You're right about the pork tamales, pork (and lard) became an 
available filling until after the Spanish colonization.  But before 
that, tamales came in a much wider variety that what we can now 
imagine, for example, tamales were made of fish, tadpoles, bees, 
honey, seeds, frogs, ants, tomato, corn, sweets, anything that was 
available at the time.

According to some, the original recipe of this millenary dish came 
out of the need to create a portable food, one that warriors could 
easily take with them to the battle fields, etc.  The tamal wrap was 
ideal as it protected and preserved the food from contamination, etc.

There is plenty of information available online if you do a search 
for a combination of keywords, like tamalli, tamal, nahuatl, masa, 
etc.

Now, speaking about the indigenous (Amerindian) diet versus what 
experts say is the "ideal diet", you have a really important point 
there.  Those of us who have partial Amerindian ancestry have our 
genetic makeup "wired up" for a low caloric intake, frugal diet, as 
our ancestors had for thousands of years.  Therefore, it is not 
unusual (or I should say it is very common) for Mexican-Americans to 
suffer from diet related diseases, like diabetes, obesity and others, 
when instead they follow the typical fatty, high calorie, American 
diet.  Statistics don't lie.  I can also see the difference between 
members of my family who have migrated to the US and those that have 
stayed in México.  The same thing is true for members of my wife's 
family.  Have you noticed anything similar?

Victor


--- In ranchos@yahoogroups.com, latina1955@a... wrote:
> I have also thought of tamales - the supposedly Indian tradition 
that was  
> passed through generations.  Did you know that food is the last 
thing to  "go" 
> in ethnic identity - which is why I should have become a food  
anthropologist - 
> my passion for history and food...
>  
> Here's the question - when I make tamales, I use a lot of lard.  
But  lard 
> comes from pork, which was really brought here from the Spanish - 
so now  the 
> "pure" Indian tamale got "mexicanized"!!! Has anyone ever come 
across  tamales 
> that were not made of lard - or is there a recipe out there that 
might  have 
> been more "indigenous" than I am aware of?  Or perhaps the 
indigenous  used a 
> different type of fat?
>  
> By the way, speaking of food and diet - has anyone considered that 
the  
> typical diet of the indigenous people is what experts are saying is 
the  best?  
> Vegetables, no fat, very little meat, etc?  
>  
> Esperanza