"Ajijic was anciently settled by people who came from the north, and their origin is explained by a legend. There was a place called "Whiteness". It was far to the north. And from the seven caves of the place called Whiteness, seven tribes set out towards the south. The leader of the last tribe was Meci and his peoplecalled themselves "Mecitin". All of the seven tribes came from Aztlan (which is Whiteness in the Nahuatl tongue) and all the seven tribes were called Azteca, the people of Whiteness.

They came down from Aztlan and wandered southward with many stops, deviations and adventures. This migration was probrably taking place in the second half of the 11th and the first half of the 12th centuries. Nobody knows how far they came and where to look for Aztlan. You might refer to the place called Whiteness to a tradition of Asiatic migration to America. You might say that Aztlan is the Whiteness of Siberian snows and Behring ice. Or, you might say that Aztlan is brother to Asgard and never existed at all--anywhere nobody knows whether the Azteca took over an older legend and adapted it to themselves.

Nobody knows by which of the many possible routes the Amerindians filtered sothward. So, it would be absurd to expect to know anything about a village called "The Place Where the Water Springs Forth". The first colonists arrived in the 1300s. They were Nahuas from San Juan Cosala. When they arrived, they found scatters of Indians living on the shores. These are believed to have been Tarascan wanderers from Michoacan, which borders on the southeastern end of the Lake.

The Nahuas were different from other Indian tribes around the Lake. These primitives lived on Chapala's vast shores with no thought of founding permanent pueblos. Nor were they curious about their own origins, their forefathers or their names. Their vision of the worldwas simple. They were completely absorbed with the rendering of tribute to their gods. It was through pleasing these deities that the sun shone and the rains fell on their land. Obtaining their daily sustenance was their primary reason for being. Their second priority was defending themselves against hostile Tarascos and other neighboring tribs. To ward off such attacks, the Nahuas established complex barricades on the shores of this immense Lake, dwelling place of the goddess Machis."(June Nay Summers, VILLAGES IN THE SUN, pag.38,39)

 

 

 

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