Learn Totonaca in Takilhsukut
- Website Go to website
- Phone number Call
Just over a mile away from the archeological site is this space, which houses the Centro de las Artes Indígenas, which was created with the intention of providing the artisans from various towns within the state with better conditions for the development of their trade. Here, you can learn Totonaca and learn about the process of cotton spinning. In 2012, UNESCO gave it the status of Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Takilhsukut Park is made up of 42 acres of land, divided into areas with classrooms which host continuous learning workshops for the community. This could be your first encounter with the history of the Totonaca people.
Without doubt, the Centro de las Artes Indígenas has become a leading example for its achievements in passing down traditions. In total, there are 16 House-Schools where different Totonaca arts are taught, including “generous word” (language), poetry and oral narration, pottery, painting, the healing arts, dance, music, theatre and traditional cooking, among others, all within an environment that reproduces a traditional Totonaco or Cachiquín town, as it is also known.
In the Mundo del Algodón (World of Cotton), Ixpulatama Panamak, they explain the medical uses of a product that is only used in cities for mild wounds. You will observe the cross-stitch used for embroidery and the expert hands that manipulate the loom.
The Casa de la Palabra Florida, Pumastakayawantachiwín, is a space where elderly people have done their part to make sure that their Totonaca descendants will learn their traditional language, but in a playful way, using the game Takamán. This is the perfect solution for a generation who stopped teaching their children their mother tongue. Along the way you will meet children and young poets, narrators, writers, and novelists, all of them excited to share their knowledge with anyone who wishes to receive it.
Parque Temático Takilhsukut, Tajin, Papantla, Ver., México
See map