Tlalloc-Tlallocan: El Altepetl Arquetípico
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El Canto Del Ave Huactli: El Patrono Secundario De La Trecena Ce Olin (1 Temblor) Del Calendario Ritual Del Centro De México Llamado Tonalpohualli
Marta Gajewska (Universidad de Varsovia) EL CANTO DEL AVE HUACTLI: EL PATRONO SECUNDARIO DE LA TRECENA CE OLIN (1 TEMBLOR) DEL CALENDARIO RITUAL DEL CENTRO DE MÉXICO LLAMADO TONALPOHUALLI Resumen: El objetivo de este artículo es presentar un detallado análisis del huactli, el ave que desempeñaba, casi únicamente, la función del patrono secundario de la decimotercera trecena ce olin (1 temblor) del tonalpohualli, el calendario ritual del centro de México. Como el segundo patrono de dicha trecena, el ave huactli representaba a Tezcatlipoca, “el Espejo Humeante”, el muy conocido trickster mesoamericano. En el estudio se recopilan, en la medida de lo posible, todos los datos concernientes al ave en cuestión, comenzando por sus representaciones gráfi cas en los códices calendáricos, para confrontarlas a continuación con las menciones sobre el huactli en las fuentes alfabéticas. Puesto que la risa del ave y la función burlesca de Tezcatlipoca parecen tener fuertes vínculos en la cultura náhuatl, se plantea un acercamiento al rol tricksteriano del dios en la fi esta toxcatl, en los convites consagrados a Omacatl y, fi nalmente, en el mito de Tula. Palabras clave: cultura náhuatl, códices, religión, iconografía, Tezcatlipoca, trickster Title: Th e Song of the Huactli Bird: the Secondary Patron of the Trecena Ce Olin (1 Earthquake) of the Ritual Calendar from Central Mexico Called Tonalpohualli Abstract: Th e purpose of this paper is to present a detailed analysis of huactli, the bird which played, almost exclusively, the role of the secondary patron of the thirteenth trecena or thirteen- day period ce olin (1 Earthquake) of tonalpohualli, the ritual calendar of Central Mexico. -
Mayan Life Path Astrology for Mel Gibson Page 3
Mayan Life Path Astrology for Mel Gibson With interpretations by Bruce Scofield Prepared by: Astrolabe 350 Underpass Road PO Box 1750 Brewster, MA 02631 http://alabe.com 1 800 843-6682 0 13 247 26 234 39 221 Day Sign Ocelot 52 208 Mel Gibson Peekskill, NY 65 Lord 2 Jan 3 1956 Trecena 195 Itzli 4:45:00 PM 1-Lizard 41°N 17'24" 73°W 55'15" 78 182 Year 9-South 91 169 104 156 117 143 130 Mayan Life Path Astrology for Mel Gibson Page 3 Mel Gibson Peekskill, NY Jan 3 1956 4:45:00 PM Mayan Long Count: 12.17.2.3.14 Sacred Day: 154 Night Lord: 2 Birth Year: 9-South (Grass). The Astrology of Time Like many peoples, the ancient Maya and Aztecs studied the mysterious influence of the rhythms of the sky on earthly life. However, the sophisticated way in which they organized and interpreted these rhythms is uniquely their own. Every 24 hours, the Sun rises and sets, creating the basic cycle of life around which we set our clocks and calendars. Using this all-important cycle, the day, as their basic unit, the ancient American astrologers found that there is significance in many cycles that are even multiples of the day. About 100 years ago Europeans discovered similar cycles (there are many of them) and called them biorhythms. The most important Mayan/Aztec cycles were those of 1 day, 9 days, 13 days, and 20 days. In addition, they discerned a 52-year cycle composed of 4- and 13-year cycles. -
The Toro Historical Review
THE TORO HISTORICAL REVIEW Native Communities in Colonial Mexico Under Spanish Colonial Rule Vannessa Smith THE TORO HISTORICAL REVIEW Prior to World War II and the subsequent social rights movements, historical scholarship on colonial Mexico typically focused on primary sources left behind by Iberians, thus revealing primarily Iberian perspectives. By the 1950s, however, the approach to covering colonial Mexican history changed with the scholarship of Charles Gibson, who integrated Nahuatl cabildo records into his research on Tlaxcala.1 Nevertheless, in his subsequent book The Aztecs under Spanish Rule Gibson went back to predominantly Spanish sources and thus an Iberian lens to his research.2 It was not until the 1970s and 80s that U.S. scholars, under the leadership of James Lockhart, developed a methodology called the New Philology, which focuses on native- language driven research on colonial Mexican history.3 The New Philology has become an important research method in the examination of native communities and the ways in which they changed and adapted to Spanish rule while also holding on to some of their own social and cultural practices and traditions. This historiography focuses on continuities and changes in indigenous communities, particularly the evolution of indigenous socio-political structures and socio-economic relationships under Spanish rule, in three regions of Mexico: Central Mexico, Yucatan, and Oaxaca. Pre-Conquest Community Structure As previously mentioned, Lockhart provided the first scholarship following the New Philology methodology in the United States and applied it to Central Mexico. In his book, The Nahuas After the Conquest, Lockhart lays out the basic structure of Nahua communities in great detail.4 The Nahua, the prominent indigenous group in Central Mexico, organized into communities called altepetl. -
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL NOT for DISTRIBUTION Figure 0.3
Contents Acknowledgments ix A Brief Note on Usage xiii Introduction: History and Tlaxilacalli 3 Chapter 1: The Rise of Tlaxilacalli, ca. 1272–1454 40 Chapter 2: Acolhua Imperialisms, ca. 1420s–1583 75 Chapter 3: Community and Change in Cuauhtepoztlan Tlaxilacalli, ca. 1544–1575 97 Chapter 4: Tlaxilacalli Religions, 1537–1587 123 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Chapter 5: TlaxilacalliNOT FOR Ascendant, DISTRIBUTION 1562–1613 151 Chapter 6: Communities Reborn, 1581–1692 174 Conclusion: Tlaxilacalli and Barrio 203 List of Acronyms Used Frequently in This Book 208 Bibliography 209 Index 247 vii introduction History and Tlaxilacalli This is the story of how poor, everyday central Mexicans built and rebuilt autono- mous communities over the course of four centuries and two empires. It is also the story of how these self-same commoners constructed the unequal bonds of compul- sion and difference that anchored these vigorous and often beloved communities. It is a story about certain face-to-face human networks, called tlaxilacalli in both singular and plural,1 and about how such networks molded the shape of both the Aztec and Spanish rule.2 Despite this influence, however, tlaxilacalli remain ignored, subordinated as they often were to wider political configurations and most often appearing unmarked—that is, noted by proper name only—in the sources. With care, however, COPYRIGHTEDthe deeper stories of tlaxilacalli canMATERIAL be uncovered. This, in turn, lays bare a root-level history of autonomy and colonialism in central Mexico, told through the powerfulNOT and transformative FOR DISTRIBUTION tlaxilacalli. The robustness of tlaxilacalli over thelongue durée casts new and surprising light on the structures of empire in central Mexico, revealing a counterpoint of weakness and fragmentation in the canonical histories of centralizing power in the region. -
God of the Month: Tlaloc
God of the Month: Tlaloc Tlaloc, lord of celestial waters, lightning flashes and hail, patron of land workers, was one of the oldest and most important deities in the Aztec pantheon. Archaeological evidence indicates that he was worshipped in Mesoamerica before the Aztecs even settled in Mexico's central highlands in the 13th century AD. Ceramics depicting a water deity accompanied by serpentine lightning bolts date back to the 1st Tlaloc shown with a jaguar helm. Codex Vaticanus B. century BC in Veracruz, Eastern Mexico. Tlaloc's antiquity as a god is only rivalled by Xiuhtecuhtli the fire lord (also Huehueteotl, old god) whose appearance in history is marked around the last few centuries BC. Tlaloc's main purpose was to send rain to nourish the growing corn and crops. He was able to delay rains or send forth harmful hail, therefore it was very important for the Aztecs to pray to him, and secure his favour for the following agricultural cycle. Read on and discover how crying children, lepers, drowned people, moun- taintops and caves were all important parts of the symbolism surrounding this powerful ancient god... Starting at the very beginning: Tlaloc in Watery Deaths Tamoanchan. Right at the beginning of the world, before the gods were sent down to live on Earth as mortal beings, they Aztecs who died from one of a list of the fol- lived in Tamoanchan, a paradise created by the divine lowing illnesses or incidents were thought to Tlaloc vase. being Ometeotl for his deity children. be sent to the 'earthly paradise' of Tlalocan. -
A Mat of Serpents: Aztec Strategies of Control from an Empire in Decline
A Mat of Serpents: Aztec Strategies of Control from an Empire in Decline Jerónimo Reyes On my honor, Professors Andrea Lepage and Elliot King mark the only aid to this thesis. “… the ruler sits on the serpent mat, and the crown and the skull in front of him indicate… that if he maintained his place on the mat, the reward was rulership, and if he lost control, the result was death.” - Aztec rulership metaphor1 1 Emily Umberger, " The Metaphorical Underpinnings of Aztec History: The Case of the 1473 Civil War," Ancient Mesoamerica 18, 1 (2007): 18. I dedicate this thesis to my mom, my sister, and my brother for teaching me what family is, to Professor Andrea Lepage for helping me learn about my people, to Professors George Bent, and Melissa Kerin for giving me the words necessary to find my voice, and to everyone and anyone finding their identity within the self and the other. Table of Contents List of Illustrations ………………………………………………………………… page 5 Introduction: Threads Become Tapestry ………………………………………… page 6 Chapter I: The Sum of its Parts ………………………………………………… page 15 Chapter II: Commodification ………………………………………………… page 25 Commodification of History ………………………………………… page 28 Commodification of Religion ………………………………………… page 34 Commodification of the People ………………………………………… page 44 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………... page 53 Illustrations ……………………………………………………………………... page 54 Appendices ……………………………………………………………………... page 58 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………... page 60 …. List of Illustrations Figure 1: Statue of Coatlicue, Late Period, 1439 (disputed) Figure 2: Peasant Ritual Figurines, Date Unknown Figure 3: Tula Warrior Figure Figure 4: Mexica copy of Tula Warrior Figure, Late Aztec Period Figure 5: Coyolxauhqui Stone, Late Aztec Period, 1473 Figure 6: Male Coyolxauhqui, carving on greenstone pendant, found in cache beneath the Coyolxauhqui Stone, Date Unknown Figure 7: Vessel with Tezcatlipoca Relief, Late Aztec Period, ca. -
The Bilimek Pulque Vessel (From in His Argument for the Tentative Date of 1 Ozomatli, Seler (1902-1923:2:923) Called Atten- Nicholson and Quiñones Keber 1983:No
CHAPTER 9 The BilimekPulqueVessel:Starlore, Calendrics,andCosmologyof LatePostclassicCentralMexico The Bilimek Vessel of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Vienna is a tour de force of Aztec lapidary art (Figure 1). Carved in dark-green phyllite, the vessel is covered with complex iconographic scenes. Eduard Seler (1902, 1902-1923:2:913-952) was the first to interpret its a function and iconographic significance, noting that the imagery concerns the beverage pulque, or octli, the fermented juice of the maguey. In his pioneering analysis, Seler discussed many of the more esoteric aspects of the cult of pulque in ancient highland Mexico. In this study, I address the significance of pulque in Aztec mythology, cosmology, and calendrics and note that the Bilimek Vessel is a powerful period-ending statement pertaining to star gods of the night sky, cosmic battle, and the completion of the Aztec 52-year cycle. The Iconography of the Bilimek Vessel The most prominent element on the Bilimek Vessel is the large head projecting from the side of the vase (Figure 2a). Noting the bone jaw and fringe of malinalli grass hair, Seler (1902-1923:2:916) suggested that the head represents the day sign Malinalli, which for the b Aztec frequently appears as a skeletal head with malinalli hair (Figure 2b). However, because the head is not accompanied by the numeral coefficient required for a completetonalpohualli Figure 2. Comparison of face date, Seler rejected the Malinalli identification. Based on the appearance of the date 8 Flint on front of Bilimek Vessel with Aztec Malinalli sign: (a) face on on the vessel rim, Seler suggested that the face is the day sign Ozomatli, with an inferred Bilimek Vessel, note malinalli tonalpohualli reference to the trecena 1 Ozomatli (1902-1923:2:922-923). -
Princeton University Library Chronicle and Are In- Vited to Participate in Meetings and to Attend Special Lectures and Exhibitions
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CHRONICLE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY L I B R A R Y C H RO N I C L E P 3w2 Q volume lxvii ∙ n u m ber 2 ∙ winter 2006 · LXVII · N O . � · WINTER ���� PULC-Winter06-cover.indd 1 3/7/06 9:38:52 AM Friends of the Princeton University Library The Friends of the Princeton University Library, founded in 1930, is an association of individuals interested in book collecting and the graphic arts, and in increasing and making better known the resources of the Princeton University Library. It se- Editorial Board cures gifts and bequests and provides funds for the purchase of rare books, manu- gr etch e n m. ober f r a nc, Editor scripts, and other materials that could not otherwise be acquired by the Library. Membership is open to those subscribing annually seventy-five dollars or more. m a r i a a. di bat t ista c h a r l e s c. g i l l i s p i e Checks payable to Princeton University Library should be addressed to the Trea- fred i. greenstein wanda gunning surer. Members receive the Princeton University Library Chronicle and are in- vited to participate in meetings and to attend special lectures and exhibitions. n a nc y s. k l at h pau l e. s igm u n d don c. sk em er the council Nancy S. Klath, Chair Alison Lahnston, Vice-Chair Charles Heckscher, Secretary G. Scott Clemons, Treasurer 2003–2006 Peter Bienstock Joseph J. Felcone Christopher Forbes Peter H. -
Land, Water, and Government in Santiago Tlatelolco
ABSTRACT This dissertation discusses conflicts over land and water in Santiago Tlatelolco, an indigenous community located in Mexico City, in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The specific purpose of this study is to analyze the strategies that the indigenous government and indigenous people in general followed in the defense of their natural resources in order to distinguish patterns of continuity and innovation. The analysis covers several topics; first, a comparison and contrast between Mesoamerican and colonial times of the adaptation to the lacustrine environment in which Santiago Tlatelolco was located. This is followed by an examination of the conflicts that Santiago Tlatelolco had with neighboring indigenous communities and individuals who allied themselves with Spaniards. The objective of this analysis is to discern how indigenous communities in the basin of central Mexico used the Spanish legal system to create a shift in power that benefitted their communities. The next part of the dissertation focuses on the conflicts over land and water experienced by a particular group: women. This perspective provides insight into the specific life experience of the inhabitants of Santiago Tlatelolco during Mesoamerican and colonial times. It also highlights the impact that indigenous people had in the Spanish colonial organization and the response of Spanish authorities to the increasing indigenous use of the legal system. The final part discusses the evolution of indigenous government in Santiago Tlatelolco from Mesoamerican to colonial rulership. This section focuses on the role of indigenous rulers in Mexico City public works, especially the hydraulic system, in the recollection of tribute, and, above all, in the legal conflicts over land and water. -
The Correlation Between the Colonial Northern Zapotec and Gregorian Calendars
C H A P T E R O N E JOHN JUSTESON A N D DAVID TAVÁREZ The Correlation between the Colonial Northern Zapotec and Gregorian Calendars INTRODUCTION This paper provides evidence for the correlation between dates in the Gregorian calendar and dates in the Zapotec calendar, as it was in the northern Sierra of Oaxaca near the end of the seventeenth century.1 It concerns specifically the correlation of two calendrical cycles that are not only found in the Zapotec calendar system but that are widely distributed in Mesoamerica: the 260-day ritual calendar and the 365-day calendar (the VAGUE YEAR). Based on the data provided by Córdova (1578a: 204–212), the sixteenth- century Zapotec ritual calendar can be seen as a permutation of two inde- pendent cycles, each of which advances once a day: a thirteen-day cycle (the TRECENA, referred to by Córdova as the cocii¯), whose successive days are named by successive numerals from 1 to 13; and a twenty-day cycle (the VEIN- TENA), whose successive days are named by a fixed sequence of roots, mostly of 17 JOHN JUSTESON AND DAVID TAVÁREZ TABLE 1.1. Colonial Zapotec day names, mostly as extracted by Kaufman (2000a) from Córdova (1578a), and from calendars reported by Alcina Franch (1993) for the Villa Alta and Choapan regions of Northern Zapotec. Capital E transcribes a letter that appears sometimes as e¯ and sometimes as I¯; EE is for ee¯ varying with ii¯. The symbol = joins the compounded units within a compound word. Meanings are due to Kaufman, informed by Urcid (1992, 2001). -
Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire : Myths and Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition / Davíd Carrasco ; with a New Preface.—Rev
Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire Myths and Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition Revised Edition David Carrasco ~University Press of Colorado Copyright © 2000 by the University Press of Colorado International Standard Book Number 0-87081-558-X Published by the University Press of Colorado 5589 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 206C Boulder, Colorado 80303 Previously published by the University of Chicago Press All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. The University Press of Colorado is a cooperative publishing enterprise supported, in part, by Adams State College, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Mesa State College, Metropolitan State College of Denver, University of Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, University of Southern Colorado, and Western State College of Colorado. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Carrasco, Davíd. Quetzalcoatl and the irony of empire : myths and prophecies in the Aztec tradition / Davíd Carrasco ; with a new preface.—Rev. ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87081-558-X (alk. paper) 1. Aztec mythology. 2. Aztecs—Urban residence. 3. Quetzalcoatl (Aztec deity) 4. Sacred space—Mexico. I. Title. F1219.76.R45.C37 2000 299'.78452—dc21 00-048008 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To my mythic figures -
The 52-Year Calendar of the Aztecs in the Postclassic Period 231 The
the 52-year calendar of the aztecs in the postclassic period 231 Chapter Four THE rITUAL PRACtICe oF tIMe oF THE 52-YEAR CaLeNDAR oF THE POStCLaSSIC aZTEC CIVILISATIoN It is from the Nahuatl-speaking Nahua culture called aztec, or Mexica1 as they called themselves; primary data of the ritual practice of time of the 52-year calendar are still in existence. I do not claim, however, that the Mesoamerican 52-year calendar or its associated ritual practices only ex- isted in aztec or Nahua society and culture. the term “aztec”2 derives from aztecatl,”person from aztlán”. aztlán— which can be paraphrased as “the white place” or “the place of the herons” in Nahuatl—was the designation for their place of origin. the aztecs con- stituted a part of the last Nahua faction whom invaded the Basin of Mexi- co after the decline of the toltecs (probably around 1100 AD) after leaving their place of origin (aztlán or Chicomoztoc).3 Not only their name but in addition their identity was hence transformed from chichimec4 when the aztecs founded the city tenochtitlan in 1325 AD (1 Calli according to their 52-year calendar), today known as Mexico City, on a few islands at the western part of the tetzcoco lake in the valley of Mexico. this became the capital of their transient realm in the northern and central part of Mexico from 1325 AD to 1521 AD (López austin 2001; Quiñones Keber 2002: 17). a triple alliance called excan tlatoloyan (“tribunal of three places”)—com- prising the cities tenochtitlan, tetzcoco and tlacopan—was established in 1428 AD by the regents Itzcoatl of tenochtitlan, Nezahualcóyotl of tetzco- co and totoquihuatzin of tlacopan.