Wash the nixtamal several times to remove any lime left over from soaking. Put nixtimal and soup bones in 5 quarts of water, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about an hour. Remove soup bones, cut any meat off the bones, chop and return to the pot with the nixtamal. Discard the bones. Wash the tripe well and cut into bite-size pieces. Put tripe into a pot, cover with a couple inches of water, heat to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain tripe in a colander, rinse with water and add to the pot with meat and nixtamal. Sprinkle coarse salt over garlic and crush with the back of a dinner fork. Saute onions, chiles, and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes. Add to pot along with the dried chiles, spices, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 or 6 hours until the tripe and nixtamal are tender, skiming off any foam that forms on the surface during the first few minutes. Remove the formerly dried chiles, place in a blender and puree with a bit of the cooking broth. Return the chile puree to the pot, stir in and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. Serve steaming hot in large soup bowls with condiments available on the side such as chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, thinly sliced serrano chiles, crushed Mexican oregano, crushed dried red chiles, and hot table sauce to add per individual discretion. Note 1: if using canned hominy, leave out until the last hour of simmering before removing the dried chiles. Note 2: I use beef soup bones rather than the more traditional pigs feet or cows feet. They probably dont add the same flavor and richness to the broth but theyre easier to deal with. Posted to CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V3 #213, by Rich McCormack on Thu, 16 Jan 1997.