After eight years of living in New Mexico and learning about its history and culture we have come to this realization – the answer to most questions about the state’s past and practices includes the phrase “the Moors.”
Q. What’s with all the dirt houses?
A. Its called adobe and it is a mixture of dirt, sand, straw and water. The Spanish learned it from the Moors and brought the concept with them to New Mexico – where they discovered that the local Pueblo Indians used the same building material.
Q. What are those small beehive-shaped adobe structures that look like dog houses?
A. They are outdoor ovens called “hornos” – and also started with the Moors. The Spanish introduced them to the Puebloans.
Q. What’s that slender rounded rod with tapered ends that’s used to spin fiber into yarn?
A. It called a “malacate” – and likewise originated with the Moors. The Pueblo and Navajo Indians have their own versions.
So the other day we were having lunch at “Little Anita’s” in Albuquerque after visiting that city’s Art Museum. It is one of our favorite restaurants and possibly the one we have frequented the most in the 43 years we’ve been visiting/living in New Mexico. In 1993, our second trip, we decided to spend our initial night in ABQ rather than driving to Santa Fe immediately after flying all day. Our hotel was on the edge of the city’s “Old Town” – a Spanish plaza with centuries-old adobe houses that are home to New Mexican eateries and tiny artisan shops selling jewelry, rugs, pottery, art... – all watched over by 18th-century San Felipe de Neri Church.
As we walked from our hotel to the plaza we passed a restaurant that looked local, not too fancy, not too expensive and not too crowded and decided to try it for dinner on our way back. It became our traditional first-night-in-town dining spot. As their website says “you had me at chips and salsa.” We would add, “and sopapillas,” which come unbidden as a side dish and/or dessert.
Square or triangular in shape and accompanied by honey, sopapillas are a light, airy, puffed-and-hollow-centered fried bread made from a simple leavened dough of flour, baking powder, salt, and water or milk. From that first bite back in ‘93 they became our favorite New Mexican food. They differ slightly from eatery to eatery. Little Anita’s are, to our taste buds, among the best.
And you guessed it. It’s history involved the Moors.
Like many ethnic terms, “Moors” has taken on various meanings across the ages. Shakespeare’s Othello is referred to as “the Moor” because of his dark skin color. As used in this essay it refers to a Muslim army of Arabs and North African Berbers (many fair-skinned) sent in 711 A.D. by the governor of the Maghreb region of northwest Africa to seize control of the Iberian Peninsula – at the time controlled by the Catholic Visigoth kingdom.
The takeover ended Christian rule and established Muslim control of the territory, which they renamed Al-Andalus. It stayed that way until 1492 when the Moors ceded the city of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon whose “dynastic union” in 1469 formed the foundation for the unification of Spain. This surrender solidified the de facto consolidation of Spain under the Catholic Monarchs.
So, in addition to the above, what types of changes did the Muslim Moors introduce?
They established numerous schools and universities (Córdoba and Toledo e.g.) and made education widely accessible leading to a period of significant scientific and intellectual development. Instituted the concept of a structured medical profession and developed new surgical instruments. Introduced important mathematical and astronomical knowledge such as the use of Arabic numerals and the astrolabe. Brought in new crops like oranges, lemons, and cotton grown using advanced irrigation and agricultural techniques. And built a sophisticated urban infrastructure with paved, lit streets and public baths.
As to religion – during the Visigoth era (415-711 AD) Muslims were not a significant presence, while Jews were initially tolerated then increasingly persecuted after the Visigoths converted to Catholicism in the late 6th century. Under Muslim rule Jews were initially considered a protected minority (“dhimmi,”) allowing their culture, philosophy, and science to flourish. Many held influential positions in the government and participated in trade. Catholics likewise were “dhimmi,” but not allowed as much social and economic freedom as the Jewish population. Resistance to the Muslim occupation began almost immediately and as Catholics regained territory the Moorish rulers imposed harsher restrictions on both religions – who in turn sought refuge in the reconquered Christian areas.
The period of Muslim rule is sometimes referred to as the “age of convivencia,” suggesting a coexistence, but it was actually characterized by a strict social hierarchy rather than true equality. And it became even less convivial after the completion of the Reconquista in 1492.
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand were extremely devout Catholics who saw religious uniformity as a sacred duty and the key to political power. Jews and Muslims were given the choice to convert to Catholicism, be expelled from Spain or face harsh penalties such as enslavement or even death. Jewish converts were known as “Conversos,” Muslims “Morescos.” Those changing from Islam enjoyed a greater degree of social mobility compared to those leaving Judaism – although both still still faced suspicion and discrimination. A good number left the country. Others chose a feigned conversion – living outwardly as Catholic while secretly retaining the practices and rituals of their real faith. Many of these “Crypto” (“concealed”) Jews/Muslims migrated to the New World hoping that different surroundings and people unfamiliar with them would make it easier to maintain their disguised dual religiosity.
The principal purpose of the Spanish Inquisition was rooting out and punishing these non-converts and sham Catholics. Thus the tribunal set up a New World branch office in Mexico City. “The courts of the Inquisition published lists of suspected Jewish practices to encourage others to report them … ‘observing Sabbath, wearing clean clothes on Friday, eating kosher food, fasting on Jewish holidays, burning hair/nail clippings, washing hands before prayer, celebrating Passover … drinking kosher wine...’” (jlifenj.com) Punishments ranged from imprisonment to confiscation of property to public execution, often by burning at the stake.
No one was immune. In 1662, the ecclesiastical tribunal arrested New Mexico Governor Bernardo López de Mendizábal and his wife, Teresa de Aguilera y Roche, on suspicion of Crypto-Jewery. The charges were fabricated by Franciscan priests with whom he had political differences. The couple was jailed in Mexico City where he died and she was eventually released due to a lack of credible evidence. In 1671 his case was formally dropped.
Most Crypto Jews however were never discovered – even by their descendants. Aided by organizations such as the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, some surprised families in New Mexico today are finding their real religious roots.
“One of the ways Jewish traditions were kept alive through the centuries was in the women’s cooking and baking. Many of the dishes prominent in New Mexico’s cuisines are strikingly similar to Jewish dishes passed down through the centuries. Case in point: biscochitos, New Mexico’s state cookie. ‘My Catholic family used to make them for Christmas,’ [said Crypto-Jew descendent Isabelle Sandoval.] ‘My mother used butter, not lard. I use Crisco.’
“Many recipes of the Crypto-Jews … are preserved in a fascinating cookbook, ‘Drizzle of Honey: The Lives and Recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews’ by Dr. David Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, who use actual trial testimonies of the Inquisition, including recipes, to reveal how Crypto-Jews retained their Jewish practices in the home while seemingly leading a Christian life on the outside.” (jlifenj.com)
So, are there Crypto-Kosher sopapillas?
Well, it's complicated.
The Spanish Jews in Al-Andalus already had something quite similar to New Mexico sopapillas called Sephardic bimuelos in their stash of recipes. Another fried dough pastry called sopaipa (from Mozarabic “xopaipa,” meaning “bread soaked in oil”) was popular among the Moors. Spanish colonists (including conversos and cryptos) brought this Moorish recipe to the Americas and adapted it for local ingredients and tastes resulting in the sopapilla we know today. After the Inquisition both dishes became associated with Jewish heritage, with families making either or both of them for Hanukkah and other holidays – served with honey.
Secret family recipes have probably been around since the beginning of humankind. Today the Food Network has a multi-generational home-cooking competition that celebrates them. BUSH'S® Baked Beans uses their “spokes dog” Duke to hype theirs. And dear reader it is likely that your ancestry boasts (perhaps only in private) of at least one such culinary item. Ours does.
They all were good – or else why would they have lasted through multiple generations? Some were very good. And here in New Mexico a few, literally, were “to die for.”
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