DOCUMENTARY FILM
Prehispanic origin
The history of the stone broth is remote, it is not known exactly at what time it was discovered. What we do know is that it is a pre-Hispanic dish, a totally indigenous dish, own and creation of the ancient Chinantecos. It should be noted that the community of San Felipe Usila, was never conquered in its entirety as in other parts of the Mexican Republic, proof of this is that there are no colonial works in the region and also until now the indigenous people retain their mother tongue that is the Chinanteco. It is not said that the typical stone soup dish was jealously reserved by the natives for a long time, because it represents our ethnic, cultural, traditional identity and history that is a symbol of coexistence, unity, respect and peace among the Chinantecos and distinguished visitors.That is why their preparation is collectively, men divide the task of fishing, select the stones, look for the firewood and make the fire to heat the red-hot stones, which at the time are added to the soup to carry out the cooking.
The gradual arrival of the Spaniards resulted in the extraction of various mineral resources that the Chinantecos did not value them. The local people knew that food was the true source of life and that is why they kept the stone soup secret as their cultural and vital treasure. So this relevant tradition must remain that way with its authenticity.
The origin of the stone broth is totally Chinanteco and pre-Hispanic of the community of San Felipe Usila. This is what the elderly lords of the town tell it. They say that the stone broth is discovered when men see the need to cook their food, this happens after the discovery of corn (mother corn and we her children). This happened approximately 5000 years ago, the phrase used by the elders of the town is the following <
Fishing was one of the first ways of feeding that humans developed, and this is very related to the stone broth since San Felipe Usila is a community with lots of water. The river previously abounded a great diversity of fish and shrimp, also they cross streams, springs, and a lot of vegetation throughout the territory. The primitive Chinantecos proceeded with the passage of time, carving the large stones that are on the bank of the river, shaping it like a pot using utensils such as diamond (which abounded in the region before the conquest) to do so. These stones are found on the river bank until today. The concave shape they gave to the stones is 50 to 70 cm in diameter, with a depth of approximately 40 cm. And in those concave shaped stones they made the stone broth, for a group of 20 people, they all ate around the stone together, that is why for us the stone broth is not a common dish, since it has a lot of meaning that It represents the love of neighbor, unity and the way of collective work. Over time, as man evolved, the ancient restless Chinantecos continued exploring nature in order to experience another way of making the stone soup, since that had worked well for them in the first stage.
Now they think of making the stone broth on the riverbank, on the sand in the same way giving it the shape of a pot, but this time they resorted with the pozole leaves (similar to the banana leaves). Then on the pot-shaped sand they put several layers of these leaves so that the water did not seep and it worked for them. Obviously they implemented other techniques so that the stone did not have direct contact with the leaves and so they did not burn. And similarly, a group of 15 to 20 people, including children and women, sat around the broth.
Finally the modern Chinantecos, implemented another way to prepare the stone broth, of course respecting the same recipe (the traditional one), this time in a special container known as jícara, similarly on the river bank. This time the order is individual, everyone carries their jícara, but it is still a collective and coexistence work between the closest beings and distinguished visitors. After this brief historical review we can realize why women cannot and should not prepare this dish. Stone broth is a symbol and sustenance of the development of Chinantec man and the livelihoods specific to the masculine gender, inspired by the local environment to honor his women and show them his devotion and gratitude. I consider that primitive men were very intelligent, since until today we can appreciate the great works they have done, an example of this is also the pyramids that everything is built with accuracy. In the same way the stone broth is cooked in a time of 3 to 4 minutes to one hundred percent.