Indigenous views of the European conquest of Mexico as encountered in the Cronicas and the indigenista writers Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Ries, Carol Estelle, 1926- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 08/10/2021 16:35:59 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/318985 INDIGENOUS VIEWS OF THE EUROPEAN CONQUEST OF MEXICO AS ENCOUNTERED IN THE CR ONI CAS AND THE INDIGENISTA WRITERS by Carol Estelle Rles h A Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Graduate College, University of Arizona 1950 Approved: ^ 2 2 , r of Thesis / Date' mmo^kmmmws To Professor Albert William Dork, a friend partners and counselor in this undertakings my deepest thanks are offered TABLE OF CONTENTS Ohapter ; " •' ; - PART I INTR 0D1JGTI0H' @ o 000000000000 © o © ,0 o. © © © © ©v © o © © ©. © © I 'To.gPlElT^ O o o o o p o .O p o o o o o o o p o p.'o p d o Before the Gbag.mest 000 0 0 000000-0000 0 0000 0 Clim'bing Aboard the Bandwagon © © © © © © © © :© . '© 11 The People Air -their Feelings © © © © © ©.©»© © 14 IT * L: $51. AFTERMATH' OF .TEE WAR '0 ,0 . 0 O O O O O O O OO P o o ,o .0 .6 0 G-iierrilla Warfare O 0 0 O O O O 0,0 o o o o" o o o o o o o o Under = the Eneomiehdas System © „ ©.© © © © © © © © © 32 Qnetzalcoatl Bows to the Virgin © © © © © „ © -© © 37 gOHOWIOE 0-0 o o o 0-0 o o o o p o p o o o o 6* o o,o_o ao opo © o o. o o - v;-;: , ,//b PART^ II . - : 1. IjnROUUOTIUh 00000 00 ©o ooopo o 000 000 0 0 0000 0 000 4 b IIIo LOOKING BACK AT THE 00NQU1ST © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 50 . ' Some Modern Writers View the Conquest Per rod © © © © © © © © © © © © © ©* © © © o © © © © © © ©-© © © © © © © 50 Present.Viewpoint of the Religions - • . Beaetions to the Conquest ©©©„©.© © © .%■■©■ © © : 74 IF „ ... CBBEENT: MBZICAN; PR0BIS1B OAHSED BY THE ^ o o o o c o c o o o o o boo oo o o co o o o o o -o o o o91 o o Status of the Indio © © ©.©.© „ .© © © © © © .© © © © © ©'© „ © 91 Mestizaje © © ,© © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 1.20 SUMMARY ©©ooo©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©ooooooo©0©©p©op 131 iii FOOTNOTES' PA S T I INTRODUCTION i'll 6 las estrellas die© q.w los. hoffitees nos pai-eeeas, _ - : desd© la soledad del f irmamento, Stomds agiSados por el vientOp gusanos gue se arcastran y pereeen? ■ Ivla,nuel Jose QthtSn T$ie stars look down upon men 5 Here Is a strange, thought 9 a topsy-turvy one 9 and yet one that is fertile in its sug­ gest ion o For If the stars could look down upon the face of mans what would they seef If this thought were applied to the Spanish conquest8 and the native people were substituted,$n place of the stars9 then when those native stars looked down upon the conquests what would they have seen? ifhat would their reactions and- feelings have been toward the phenomenal accomplishment that changed the course of their lives so tremendously? The his­ tories of the conquest have been written by the victoriouss not by the vanquished<, Firsthand accounts were sent back to Spain by the commanders of the conquering forces 9 and these were duly-filed away in musty vaults for the enlight­ enment of our generation*. Informal letters from Spaniard; to Spaniard g New World to Old Vforld., furnish us with the vivid details of the military ruse# and the hand-to-hand 2 fightingp of the victories achieved and the hardships en­ dured 0 later* as the priests arrived to carry on their work of evangelizing the pagan people of this new continent* they set down their impressions and knowledge in scholarly works based on careful observation and study* lacking in social perception and definitely one==sided0 How* then* can we,know what the stars might have per­ ceived? Fortunately* there were some native works written shortly after the conquest" and in the Spanish writings there are some unconscious hints furnished by those authors sympathetic to the, native cause0 It is from the latter two that material is drawn for this study« , fhe;increased attention given the native and the empha­ sis placed on his importance in the Mexican culture are in­ dications that thinking Mexicans are trying to understand their national heritage* are trying to resolve the conflicts of the raceso They see their country as a mestizo and a problem childc It Is a problem child which has.: been separated from its foster parents by a war for independence a terrified by its big brother to the north* confused by an allegiance to its native and Spanish bloods* and shackled by its vague • . 1 , . ■ ' . feeling of guilt or Malinchismo0 Mexico is young* with a brilliant future ahead that can be fulfilled if the internal problems of the mestizaje cam be reconciled, Today Mexico realizes that the native founts of culture flow richly and purely» The Indian blood* so long suppressed* is beginning t© eourse throughthd literature and art9 through the com- mtoal aoti¥iti@So One philosopher^ Jose Taseoncelos ^ is '.alhcere:- Ih M s belief that the mixture of blood is a very favorable element; of Mezleo8a present strength and future growths; ^ v : " ;; :; • ^ ; / - "Bow: doYfiij, 0 AzteeSj, to the great god Tezeatlipoeao : WGrsMj) M s image in yom?, temples'/. invoke his pre senee from - th© peaks, .of>;yomr 'pyr^Mds/ carry M s idols- to your hearths ^ ■ call upon him:as you scatter your maizeseed. for he is oiani=» : potent'-pueh, might ;hayeheeh the ©xhortatidhv Aztec priestas he chanted the ritual devotion to the ardent 'believers In the cult of. fezcatlipoeao -Fear grips the heart of the mighty Mootezuma as he bends to worship the ?,go u l ©f the world»58 Now his priests have begun to pierce their ■tongues and slash their bodies 1#.'their fr#nzy- to proff er • / /their blood; to the gods. The sacrificial victims are bound to the altars atop. the towering teoeallis while-/their- /hearts "are torn from them and presented, dripping : red- lif e > to the great/and: mysterious powers»/: And/in: Tucatan a t : the / same. \ //’i momentg perhaps-a high priest i s offering his tribute to. - a’: ■ god by hyrtlihg a chosen maiden into the deep cenoteV / / :;. Human life is;judged by its sacrificial value/ otherwise; it / /is' ■meaningless^/-./ g-./') ///: - ;/'' / /’:"//.;■//■ - ;i '/ .: v id/yet this apparent barbarism is only one phase of 5 a. highly-=deirelop@d. civilization0 The Aztee and the Maya ' ritually and materially p as well as- in their contemplative and meditative intellectg were very close to the ancient Greek civilization with its worship of gods and idolss and its high mental growth <, With the Aztec and Mayan, as with the Greek, the intellect exceeded the materialistic in de­ velopment o Some of their religious hymns have survived which indicate a deep feeling for -poetry of a contemplative 4 : • ' : ■ - or meditative moodo The concept of an after life was one of their chief con­ cerns » The common people believed in a type of heaven and hell, but the thinkers questioned the existence of an after lifed There was mo "happy hunting groundM for these Latin : American natives= Even death was a type of struggle, for . the warriors who had died in battle were required to help one god return to earth each day and bring light to fight . the forces of evilo To the Indian, life was a futile striv­ ing for existence, full of pain, suffering and intense dis­ illusionment o The elements attacked him in their fury, as did the invading tribes with their barbaric cruelty0 He saw disease and pestilence take away M s loved ones, and he knew that death was lying in wait for him at any time 0 Ho wonder that he adopted a type of darpe M e m philosophy, o o o el tema constante de q.ue siendo la Vida.- ©f£mera y teniendo que vivir una sola vez en el mundo, hay que aprpvechar el momenta qu@ pasa con darlo a la alegria Q 5 Yet these peoples were realists in their everyday 6 necessitieso The Mayans had a .well-executed social and guber­ natorial system with .provisions made for the maimeds poor and hlindo Their lords 0=0 lived in peace with each other amusing them­ selves with their accustomed pastimes of dancing» • feasts and hunting.00 =« The natives of Yucatan were as attentive to the matters of religion as to those of government o & . The [email protected] lived hy a well-defined code of rules de­ termined "by their emperor and his advisers0 Speaking of the Aztec princesj, Prescott says: - 'Their' spacious.palaces were provided with halls for the different councils s who aided the monarch in the transaction of business 0 The chief of these was a sort of privy councilp composed in - part j probablys of the four electors chosen by ■ :: the nobles after the accession? whose placess when made vacant by deaths were immediately supplied as before0 . It was the business t o» to advise; the kingp in respect to the government of. the prov­ inces j, the administration, of the revenues j and j, indeed on all great matters of public interest <,7 iBOugh has been said's,- however j to show that the Aztec and Tezeuean races, were advanced in civilization very far beyond the wandering tribes of Berth America.