Gulf of Mexico Pacific Ocean

Transcription

Author: Jaime Echeverría García
Editorial director: Nathalie Armella Spitalier
Editorial assistant: Vicente Camacho Lucario
Assistant editor: Natalia Ramos Garay
English translation: Rose Vekony
Art directors: Emmanuel Hernández López and Alexandra Suberville Sota
Design and layout: Jovan Rabel Guzmán Gómez
Design assistant: Berenice Ceja Juárez
Outsiders and Outcasts in the Mexica World
Volume 1 in the series The Other
Original title: Extranjeros y marginados en el mundo mexica
First Spanish edition: 2012
First English edition: 2013
© CACCIANI, S. A. de C. V.
Prol. Calle 18 No. 254
Col. San Pedro de los Pinos
01180 México, D.F.
+52 (55) 5273 2229 / +52 (55) 5273 2397
[email protected]
www.fundacionarmella.org /english
ISBN (Spanish version): 978-607-8187-36-2
ISBN (English version): 978-607-8187-44-7
All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work in whole or
in part, in any medium and by any method, is prohibited
without the authorization of the copyright holders.
Cover design: Jovan Rabel Guzmán Gómez
Outsiders
and
Outcasts
in the Mexica World
Jaime Echeverría García
Prologue
In describing its own society, a dominant culture often identifies itself with the highest values of civilization. Mexica nobles, artisans, and merchants, whose worldview is
reflected in several sixteenth-century sources, gave details of their lifestyle, their bodily
care, their bearing, and their manner of walking, eating, greeting, laughing, and crying.
Certainly they recognized differences between the customs of nobles and commoners,
but both were inscribed within the realm of an urban society, ordered and contained by
the law. The Nahua-Mexica considered themselves a civilized people.
The Mexica coexisted with other groups and neighbors whose customs they condemned. The differences between them and these others strengthened their idea of
civilization and positioned them at its center. Every difference, every contradiction presented the opportunity to affirm themselves as an urban society, heirs to an ancient and
prestigious way of life passed down from the Toltecs. Even the Huastecs, who centuries
before had scandalized the lords of Tula with their immodesty, embarrassed the Mexica
with their crude sexuality. The Mexica had incorporated into their morals the notion of
restraint.
Foreigners offered a useful contrast against which the Mexica could delineate the qualities of their social and moral order; it was as if their presence served to exemplify the
deviations that were to be avoided. For instance, the Mexica always wore the same
ensemble: for men, a loincloth called a maxtlatl and a cloak; for women, a skirt and a
blouse, or huipil. This was the correct way to dress, not the way “the others” did. Those
“others” included Purépecha men, who wore a long closed shirt instead of a cloak. It
was supposed that they wore no loincloth underneath, so their genitals would brush
against their thighs as they walked.
In addition to this image, which helps give shape to the notion of Mexica identity, Jaime
Echeverría also makes use of his expertise in anthropology and psychology to explore
another type of alien relation: that which arose between the Mexica who were guided
by the precepts of their society and those individuals who, lost in the hubbub of the
hectic metropolis, hazarded a living by wandering, begging, or committing crimes.
In recent years we have come to recognize the importance of this population of marginalized figures in the Nahua cities of the central basin, and surely there were many
like them in other Mesoamerican cities as well. Their presence betrays certain cracks in
the social structure: worker communities and noble lineages are not the whole picture.
There were also those with no neighborhood, no home, no lineage; men who roamed
the marketplace looking to help carry a merchant’s sacks in exchange for some food;
acrobats and jugglers; and many more.
In the improvised lifestyle of marginals, Mexica ideology found the perfect contrast
to demonstrate the value of their orderly customs. Vagabonds went about filthy and
unkempt, while some marginals were trapped in the vice of drink or earned their living
through practices that ranged from irregular to illegal. The habitual drunk, according
to Nahua descriptions written in the sixteenth century, did not even resemble a person,
with his puffy face, his shouting, his tattered clothes covered with excrement... His image is one of all that is removed from the orderly customs of a civilization.
The scandalous contradiction of norms relating to the body that the prostitute produced with her lascivious public presence and the temporal and verbal incoherence that
the lunatic projected are other behaviors explored in this book, which brilliantly shows
us how the Mexica constructed their notion of “the other” to affirm themselves, with
satisfaction, as being on the right side of difference.
But antinomies are present in all civilizations, since each one constitutes a wide net that
holds not only the standards that structure society but also the conflicts, the traditions
that preceded the civilized state, and even the dysfunctional practices.
Dr. Pablo Escalante Gonzalbo
Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
November 2010
Contents
7
11
Introduction
19
38
Mexica Moral and Behavioral Systems
The Proper Way to Walk
Clothing and Personal Grooming
Speaking
Eating Habits
Sexuality
The Portrayal of Foreigners and Interethnic Relations
The Otomi and Other Highland Dwellers
The Cuextecs
The Michoacanos
Other Foreigners
The Mexica’s Nahua Enemies
Marginals vis-à-vis the Mexica Social Order
The Vagabond
The Lunatic
The Drunkard
The Prostitute
52
Conclusion
54
Glossary
60
Notes
63
Bibliography
69
List of Illustrations
71
Photo Credits
Introduction
T
he Mexica1 made up one of the most significant groups of people in ancient Mexico. The consolidation and expansion of this group dates to the
Late Postclassic (A.D. 1200–1521), the period preceding the conquest of Tenoch
titlan. The Mexica arrived in the basin of Mexico after other Nahua tribes had
already occupied the best lands. They settled temporarily in various places
until, free of all subjugation, they established their definitive settlement on
a small islet that Huitzilopochtli, their tutelary god, had designated for them.
Huitzilopochtli, tutelary god of the Mexica, ordering
them to abandon Aztlan. Tira de la peregrinación.
In spite of their precarious beginnings, they achieved great strength in a
short time and became one of the major powers of pre-Hispanic Mexico. The
warring and expansionism of the Mexica state, along with the systematic
practice of sacrificing foreign captives, enabled them to come into contact
* In Nahuatl all words are naturally stressed on the penultimate syllable, making the addition
of accents (generally used in Spanish transcriptions of Nahuatl) unnecessary. This work omits
the accents accordingly.
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7
with a great variety of people having different languages and customs, on
whom they imposed tribute. War and tributary subjection were among the
catalysts for interethnic relations among Nahua groups2—those who lived in
the basin—and foreign-speaking people.
Expansion of the Mexica Empire (based on López Austin and López Luján).
MEXICO
MEXICO
ME
TZ
Tuxpan
TI
Texcoco
Tlacopan
Tzintzuntzán
TL
ÁN
Gulf of Mexico
TLAXCALA
MICHOACÁN
Tlaxcala
Tenochtitlan
TEOTITLÁN
DEL CAMINO
YOP
I
TZI
NCO
COATLICÁMAC
MIXTEC
LORDLY
Oaxaca
DOMAINS
TUTUT
EPEC
Pacific Ocean
Mexica Empire
Triple Alliance
Independent political units
SOCONUSCO
Road to Soconusco
But these peripheral cultures presented a great many customs that were not
in keeping with Mexica practices: those concerning food, bodily treatment,
styles of dress and adornment, and the characteristics of sacrifices, among
other features. The fact that foreigners spoke a language other than Nahuatl
was one of the essential criteria that formed their alterity. We need only read
Introduction
Contents
8
GU
book 10, chapter 29, of the Florentine Codex—compiled by the Franciscan friar
Bernardino de Sahagún in the second half of the sixteenth century, with the
collaboration of Nahua informants—to see what the Mexica, and the Nahuas
in general, thought of their foreign neighbors, both near and far. This text
exposes their Nahuacentric view of different ethnic groups, for it does not
stop at describing the physical characteristics and cultural ways of these
people but also criticizes them, measuring them against the Mexica’s own
ideals. This can be seen very clearly and schematically in references to the
Otomi and the Cuextecs.3 While pointing out their supposed faults, instead of
giving an objective description of those aspects, the text exalts the Mexica
moral system. Everything that does not agree with that system becomes a
transgression. Thus, the foreigner was made out to be an immoral being,
moreover characterized by dullness and ineptitude.4 At the same time, the
way in which the Mexica spoke of non-Nahua foreigners reflected the wars
they waged against them, since all were considered enemies of the Empire
for continually countering their military attacks and resisting their tribute.
Foreigners were incorporated not only in the moral system but also in rituals, myths, and war; they played important religious and social roles.
Human sacrifice through heart extraction.
Florentine Codex.
Introduction
Contents
9
The Otomi were portrayed with long hair and cloaks made of wild animal skins.
Florentine Codex.
But the Mexica also recognized and repudiated those in their own community
who did not completely satisfy their social and moral requirements, such as
youths who failed to respect parental orders, or heavy drinkers, vagabonds,
lunatics, and women of loose or “happy” ways.
Foreigners and socially marginalized figures shared many traits of immorality; indeed, their identities could be merged into one: the Cuextec man
resembled the drunkard and the lunatic; the Otomi woman and man, the
prostitute and vagabond, respectively. They constituted the Mexica counterideal, a common element in the general process of self-definition through
negative identification—that is, through what one is not.
Prostitute holding flowers and shown with
sea motifs. Florentine Codex.
Introduction
Contents
10
Mexica Moral
and Behavioral Systems
M
exica moral ideals can be summed up by the adage tlacoqualli in
monequi, “the good medium is necessary,”5 exhorting moderation
in one’s dress, bearing, speech, eating, and sexual behavior. This principle was
expressed through a series of admonitory speeches called huehuetlatolli, or
“ancient word.” Such speeches were an everyday part of family life, among
not only nobles but also artisans and macehuales. They included courtesy
formulas along with advice, exhortations, and warnings that parents would
give to their children.6
There were surely differences among
the huehuetlatolli for different classes,
and not merely in terms of rhetoric.
For example, although moderation was
urged at every social level, the ruling
Mexica goddess in the typical female
posture: resting on her knees.
FCAS collection. INAH 1041-210.
Mexica man in the typical male
posture: standing.
Museo Nacional de Antropología.
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11
A ruler exhorts his people. Florentine Codex.
class enforced the most stringent limits on
behavior in order to justify their superior
status before the macehual masses. In
this way the noble distinguished himself
from the peasant, while, on another level,
this behavioral code distinguished the
Mexica ethnic group from all others and
positioned the foreigner at the opposite
extreme in terms of correct behavior.
A father exhorts his son to good
behavior. Florentine Codex.
The Proper Way to Walk
A father instructs his son:
You must be prudent in your travels;
peacefully, calmly, tranquilly […] are you
to go, to take to the road, to travel. Do not
throw your feet much, nor raise them
high, nor go jumping, lest you be called
foolish, shameless. Nor are you to go very
slowly, or drag your feet.7 […] neither too
hurriedly nor too leisurely, but with honesty and maturity [are you to go].8
Otherwise, as Sahagún indicates, one
would be called ixtotomac cuecuetz.
The young noblewoman was told to walk
without haste, that is, without restlessness (cuecuetzyotl),9 and without wandering, so as not to seem ostentatious;
she was to keep her head lowered as
she walked, showing no pride; and she
was not supposed to look up or from
side to side, since that would indicate
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12
hypocrisy. Nor should she behave
sheepishly or cover her mouth, and
by no means could she look someone
directly in the eye.10 She was to walk
neither hurriedly nor slowly, neither
lifting her feet high nor dragging them;
moving in a straight line, with no swaying motion.
Noblewoman. Florentine Codex.
Clothing and Personal Grooming
The type of clothing a person wore constituted a language that communicated
his or her status: social class, ethnicity, and age; it also indicated how to
act and what attitude to take toward a
particular individual. It is possible that
the Nahuas related certain attire and
adornments with specific behaviors,
since moderation in dress prevailed
over excess and ostentation. Neither
men nor woman were to wear gaudy
clothes (topallotl), garments covered
in adornment, because doing so would
imply vanity, “little sense and folly”;
but nor were they to dress in tatters
(tzotzomatli), “a sign of poverty and
baseness” for nobles and of ridicule for
the rest of society.11
There were quite precise instructions
on how to wear a cape or cloak correctly. A young pilli was forbidden to
let it drag on the ground or to wear it
hanging so far down that he would trip
on it while walking. Nor was he to knot
it so short that it would sit very high, or
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13
Noblewomen displaying different hairstyles, based on their social status. Florentine Codex.
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14
to tie it at the armpits. Instead, it was to
be tied in such a way that the shoulders
would be kept covered.12
Young men were also persuaded to
shun adornment:
Do not comb your hair constantly; don’t
keep looking at yourself in the mirror;
don’t continually adorn yourself; don’t
groom yourself all the time; do not frequently desire ornament, because it is
nothing more than the devil’s way to trap
people.13
An old man with his cape knotted at armpit level. Codex Mendoza.
Speaking
Parents urged their children to speak
slowly and deliberately, without gasping or using shrill tones. The occasions
on which a young person could speak
were also strictly limited, but when
they arose, the child was to keep from
uttering needless, empty words.14 As
one might imagine, these admonitions
pertained especially to the children of
nobles, emphasizing the great care to
be taken in bodily expression so as
to establish a clear distinction from
the commoners. Polished and elegant
speech (pillatolli) was contrasted with
that of a coarse, rude, or rustic nature
(cuauhtlatolli).15
The huehuetlatolli also show the relation that existed between speech, the
control of one’s passions, and the rulers.
No one who told “dirty jokes [or said]
mocking words” or spoke insolently
was worthy of occupying a government
position; a person who spoke in that
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15
manner was called tecuhcuecuechtli,
“which means ‘buffoon.’ ” The profile
of the Mexica ruler and military leader
was clearly delineated: one who was
given to prayer and devotion, tears
and sighs; humble, obedient, prudent,
unpresumptuous, and peaceful.16
Eating Habits
Five men of various ages eating inside a house. Florentine Codex.
Control of human conduct extended
to diet as well: “Above all you will be
prudent in drink, in food.” Etiquette
dictated that at meals, meat was not to
be consumed hastily, and tortillas, for
example, were to be held carefully so as
not to break them.
Eating a lot of food or eating very quickly were forms of disorderly b
ehavior.
The amount of food taken at each bite
could not be very large, and one was
not to swallow without chewing. Stirring one’s food was frowned upon, as
was dipping it in the sauce bowl. Any
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16
Prostitutes could be found at crossroads. They would proffer drinks to men,
who were supposed to refuse them. Florentine Codex.
behavior that would provoke laughter
or mockery was to be strictly avoided.17
Another food-related record notes that
nobles were afraid of being poisoned or
put under an evil spell; thus they were
to proceed cautiously with enemies and
avoid any food they might offer. Likewise, young noblemen were to shun
food or drink from the hands of women,
especially wicked women (cihuatlahue
liloc) and prostitutes (ahuianime), of
whom they were to “live in fear.” It was
said that such women might mix potions in the food to provoke excessive
carnal desire in men,18 which would
lead to illness and even death.19
This exhortation stipulated that only
men could serve food at the court of
the Tenochtitlan rulers, and at Nahua
courts in general, marking another
difference from the practices of other
thnic groups. Not only were their
e
servers male, but also the rulers would
never eat with women.20 Ahuitzotl,
the eighth Mexica tlatoani, sent messengers to all the provinces hostile
to the Empire to invite their rulers to
the festival of Huitzilopochtli and
to his coronation. When the messengers
returned, the tlatoani showed great
interest in learning about the foreigners’ customs, and of all the information
he was given, what most surprised him
was to discover that the rulers’ women
served food to the men who came to the
palace, as happened with the Tenochca
messengers themselves.21
In quite the opposite fashion from the
Mexica and other Nahua groups, the
cazonci, or Tarascan ruler, “was served
in his house only by women,” and the
women who filled this role would bring
him his food bare-breasted.22
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Sexuality
The mazacoatl was a snake with two horns, on account of which it was
likened to a deer. Florentine Codex.
On the basis of the huehuetlatolli, we
infer that sexual relations among the
nobility were to take place only within
marriage, and they were to be characterized by moderation. Thus, a male’s
sexual appetite was to be kept in check
until he had become a “perfect and robust man.” Young men were cautioned:
“Do not throw yourself at a woman
the way a dog throws itself at its food;
be not like a dog eating and drinking
whatever it is given, giving yourself to
women before your time.”23
Frequent carnal pleasure not only had
repercussions on the body, but it also
disturbed the relations among people
who lived together.24 The Nahuas used
the meat of the mazacoatl25 (“deersnake”) as an aphrodisiac, although it
was to be consumed with care, since
men who ate too much would always have an erect penis and would
ejaculate continuously, which could
even cause their death.26 According to
Nahua informants, all those who ate
mazacoatl without moderation could
have sexual relations with four, five,
or even ten women, four or five times
with each.27 “And those who do this die,
because they empty themselves of all
bodily sustenance and become dry, and
they die weak and gaunt.”28 Unlike men,
whose health would decline as a result
of carnal excess, women did not suffer
such consequences. Two old women
told Nezahualcoyotl: “We never tire […]
of this deed; […] our bodies […] receive
everything that is thrown at them and
desire more […], and if we do not do
this, we do not have life.”29
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18
The Portrayal of Foreigners
and Interethnic Relations
A
long with Mexica expansionism came a series of representations of
non–Nahuatl-speaking foreigners, doubtless promulgated by those in
power but shared by the rest of the public. The gist of these representations
was the outsiders’ supposedly immoral behavior in contrast with prestigious
Mexica morals, reflecting the extreme ethnocentrism of Mexica culture. Such
stereotypes had quite likely been fabricated in earlier times by other Nahua
groups, but with the rise of the Empire they must have been intensified to
justify the power exerted over other groups.
The political conflicts that led to
military confrontations between
the Mexica and other populations
were fertile ground for the construction of such derogatory social
representations, precisely because
the foreigners resisted submission.
Cultural differences, in themselves
a source of inspiration for ethnic
stereotypes, also contributed to
their creation. The list of stigmas
included the foreigners’ manner of
dress and adornment, their eating
habits, their sexual customs, and
other types of behavior. The Mexica
used spatial metaphors to indicate
moral and immoral behaviors. Thus,
displacements from the center to
the periphery, and movements
within the latter zone, had immoral
connotations. The center, a secure
space characterized by community
life and social relations, was opposed to the peripheral rural areas,
perceived as dangerous.30 A person
who committed immoral acts was
described as someone who entered
those areas.
A Mexica warrior (right) battles a warrior from
Cuetlaxtla (left), a tributary province of the Empire
that had rebelled. Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
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19
Notions about the highlands and woodlands were transferred onto the people
who lived in such places. The Otomi as
well as the Chichimecs, Mazahuas, Ma
tlatzinca, and Ocuiltecs settled in these
dangerous areas and were in continual
contact with wild animals and rustic
foods, so that their long residence in
the wilderness stripped them, in some
sense, of part of their humanity.
The ethnic denominations tlalhuicatl,
cuextecatl, totonacatl, and tohueyo
were used in social interaction to refer
to imprudence (anezcalicayotl), which
also implied “little ability or skill”
(amozcalia). It was common to ask, “Are
you indeed a crude Otomi?”31
Mazahua women accompanied by a small deer that
indicates their ethnic origin. Florentine Codex.
The Otomi and Other Highland Dwellers
The differentiated occupation of the
land constituted a way to perpetuate
otherness among ethnic groups and to
label moral qualities as different, but
this occupation was impelled by historical reasons, which became strategic.
The Otomi were constantly besieged by
Nahua groups until they were displaced
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20
to the highlands or reaccommodated
within the same territory. This fact
may have led to their specialization in
wilderness activities. They did not conceive of farming as the basis of their
food supply;32 once they had consumed
all their maize they turned to gathering roots and prickly pears.33 Thanks
to their geographic situation, deer
hunting, the cultivation of maguey, and
exploitation of the forest provided them
with exchange goods, such as animal
skins, string, and wood, allowing them
to trade with Nahua villages from which
they obtained salt and cotton cloaks. In
symbiotic fashion, the Otomi and the
Nahuas mutually benefited from what
each extracted and produced. If the
Nahuas supplied them with salt, for
example—which was indispensable for
preparing food—the Nahuas in turn received large quantities of wood to build
the roofs of their houses, prepare stucco and lime, and fire ceramic objects.34
Otomi woman and man. Florentine Codex.
Woodcutters chopping and transporting wood. Florentine Codex.
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21
INAH 1441-115.
FCAS collection.
Zoomorphic vessel depicting a coyote. It is characterized by the signs of old age, seen in
the canine’s face, and by the animal’s erect penis. On the basis of these traits it is possible
to identify the subject as the Otomi god Huehuecoyotl, whose name means “Old Coyote,”
associated with lust and fertility. This deity is a reflection of the boundless sexuality
attributed to the Otomi by the Mexica.
Although the Otomi may have been
harshly criticized, clearly this did not
prevent the residents of the central
valleys from establishing commercial
relations with them, since the exchange
of goods was an essential activity that
satisfied the primary needs of both
parties. These interactions allowed the
Mexica—and the Nahuas in general—to
fabricate a precise image of their surrounding neighbors based on the place
where they settled (such as the woods
and the mountains) and the symbolic
associations that it suggested, along
with the animals that lived there (such
as rabbits and deer).
The Otomi were considered “stupid,
coarse, and inept,” as well as greedy,
since anything that looked good they
The Otomi were associated with wild animals
and wilderness. Florentine Codex.
would buy, even if they didn’t need it.
Given that they wore any type of clothing, including clothes proper to the
nobility, they possibly did not respect
social rank.
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The Otomi were closely associated with rabbits and deer, not only because they were mountain
dwellers but also because those were among their main food sources. Florentine Codex.
Finally, once they finished working their
land, “they went loafing about, without
busying themselves in the exercise of
any other labor, except that they would
go hunting rabbits, hares, quails, and
deer with nets or arrows.” They were
also said to get drunk. Within Mexica
society, the word otomitl itself amounted to an insult, since “one who was
inept and had very bad taste in dress
would be designated in this way.”35
For the supposedly refined taste of
Mexica women, Otomi women wore
much adornment, with red feathers on
their feet, legs, and arms; they made up
their faces and dyed their teeth black.36
Like them, Mazahua and Matlatzinca
women, young and old, painted their
faces yellow or red and likewise put
feathers on their arms and legs; for
that reason these groups were also
called “inept and coarse” (amo ozca
lia).37 Anyone dressed in rags would be
called “useless and miserable, roaming
mountains and plains in search of herbs
to eat and firewood to sell.”38 Owing
to Nahuacentrism, people who were
Toponym of Otompa showing an Otomi
represented with long hair and red face
paint in vertical and horizontal lines.
Codex Mendoza.
badly dressed “were called Otomi as an
insult.” The Otomi were criticized for
their vain and gaudy attire (topallotl);
they dressed sloppily and in any type of
clothing, sometimes even wearing garments that specifically corresponded to
the leaders.
Another ethnic group discredited on
account of its inappropriate garb were
the Totonacos (totonaque), who, like the
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23
Otomi, also dressed pompously, violating the Mexica norm of sober attire.39
Among those who wore their capes
carelessly were the cuachic, that is, the
Otomi soldiers known for their courage
and daring, who were called “furious or
crazed in war” (yaotlaueliloc); likewise
jesters and dancers. All of these “grab
any new garment they see,” drag and
trip on their cloaks, leave their shoulders bare, and walk heedlessly, shuffling their feet and turning around as
they walk.40
of repression of impulses, according to
the Mexica, led the Otomi to have sexual
relations in excess, generally symbolized by the number five. As seen earlier,
it appears that the Mexica body could
not withstand multiple carnal contacts,
and that only under the effects of an
aphrodisiac could men maintain a constant erection and ejaculation, although
the price was death.
Of course, neither the yaotlaueliloque
nor the “shorn and wild” (tlaotonxinti)
Otomi were given public duties, since
they were considered too impulsive and
“inept at matters of ruling.”
Moreover, in reference to someone who
ate too much or who quickly consumed
all his provisions, it would be said: “You
alone destroyed what was yours, like
an Otomi.”41 This was because the Otomi
had a custom of eating maize before
harvest time, so that when that period
arrived, the little that remained was
used to buy turkeys and dogs to make
tamales, which were generally served
at banquets. Once they had exhausted
the entire yield of the harvest, they
turned to eating rustic foods.42 This was
evidently considered characteristic of
savagery and reinforced the immoral
status that the Mexica and other Nahua
groups had assigned them.
Finally, having little or no repression of
their impulses made the Otomi vigorous
soldiers, a quality greatly appreciated
in a warrior society like that of the
Mexica. The actual source of this valor,
however, was not respected by lords or
rulers, whose governance required an
attitude of moderation. This same lack
Macuilxochitl (“Five Flower”), the god
of games, was strongly linked with pleasure
and sexuality. One of his most characteristic
features is a hand extended over his
mouth, used to indicate the number five,
a component of his name and the symbol
of excess. Sometimes instead
of a well-defined hand, a design that
suggests one is shown over his mouth.
Florentine Codex.
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24
INAH 1666-2431. FCAS collection.
Anthropomorphic ceramic sculpture of the type known as xantiles. Based on the swirled
designs that frame the mouth and cheeks, the subject may be identified with one of
the deities whose name included the number five. Although the facial adornment
comprises nine swirls, only five are visible in profile, from either the left or the right.
The number five was the symbol of excess.
Here we find a reference to the Mexica’s
lesser physical capacity as compared to
the Otomi. It was said that if the Otomi
male could not sexually satisfy his
woman up to ten times, she would become upset, and the two would separate.
Likewise, if the Otomi woman’s physical
constitution was not good enough to
enable her to have sex up to eight or
ten times, the man would be displeased
and would separate from her.43
Another group culturally related to the
Otomi were the Matlatzinca, also called
Cuacuata and Toluca. They lived in the
province of Matlatzin
co, in the highlands of Toluca,44 and like the Otomi,
they were deemed fierce warriors.45
The seventeenth-century historian
Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl46 said
that the Otomi as well as the Mazahuas, Cuextecs, and Matlatzinca were
“extremely warlike people.” He also
considered them proud and arrogant.47
Along with the Chiapanecs, the Xiquipilas, the Otomi, and the Mazahuas, they
were essentially branded as rebels.48
Quite likely this notion resulted from
their refusal to be subjugated and
forced to pay tribute.
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The Matlatzinca generally carried their slingshot with them at all
times, and even wore it on their head. Florentine Codex.
The Cuextecs
The Cuextecs lived in the province of
Cuextlan, in today’s state of Veracruz.
They were also called tohueyo and
panteca or panoteca, names derived
from Pantla or Panotla (today Pánuco).
The coastal area additionally went by
the name Tonacatlalpan, “Land of Sustenance,” for its abundance and variety
of foods.49
Toponym of Cuextecatl Ichocayan (“The place
where the Cuextec weeps”), which was one of the
points through which the Mexica passed in their
peregrination. The sign consists of a Cuextec—
shown with a pierced nose—who sits weeping at
the top of a hill. Tira de la peregrinación.
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Cuextec woman and man wearing colorful clothing. Florentine Codex.
To the Mexica, the Cuextecs’ manner
of dress was simply scandalous. They
painted their hair different colors—
some yellow and some red—and parted
it down the middle, letting it fall over
their ears, and leaving the hair at the
nape long. They wore multicolor capes,
strung seashells on their back and
feet, and adorned themselves with jade
bracelets, quetzal insignias on their
back, and feather fans.50 But the most
scandalous aspects of their appearance—the ones that caused the greatest
disturbance for the Mexica—were the
supposed absence of a maxtlatl (loincloth); the piercing of the nasal cartilage, which was a male practice, so as
to encrust a golden tube holding a red
plume; as well as filing and blackening
of the teeth.51
Equally important motives for scorn
were the Cuextecs’ native cult of
Tlazolteotl and the fact that they did not
consider lust a sin.52 These constituted
conclusive evidence of their sexual exuberance53 and their shameless nature.
The Cuextecs’ supposed nudity, as well
as the drunkenness and insanity that
were attributed to them, were explained
through a myth. It was said that when
An Acolhua warrior named Chicome Tecpatl
(“Seven Flint”) seizes a Cuextec by the hair,
while another Acolhua grabs him by the arm.
The Cuextec is identified by his pierced nose,
the bells hanging from his waist, and the
triangle designs along his side. Xicotepec Codex.
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INAH 1666-252 2/2 and 1666-114 1/2.
FCAS collection.
Faces of sculptures belonging to Remojadas culture, whose main
characteristics notably include dental mutilation by filing and blackening
of the teeth with pitch.
pulque was made, the rulers and the
elders gathered, with Cuextecatl, their
patron deity, among them. They were
offered pulque, and each one drank
four cups, but the god drank five. Thus
inebriated, he threw off his maxtlatl in
front of the people. In shame at his nudity, he decided to abandon the earth,
and he took his lineage with him. From
that moment on, the Cuextecs would
imitate the drunkenness and nudity
of their god; owing to the former, they
went around crazed, as if always eating mixitl and tlapatl54—an allusion to
the effect that these psychotropic plants
had on behavior. This myth served as
a moral lesson in Mexica society. To
someone who did not understand (amo
mozcalia) or acted as if inebriated, the
Mexica would say, “He’s the image of
Cuextecatl. Have you by any chance
drunk five pulques? He drank five
pulques. Because he did not have only
four; he downed five pulques.”55
Besides being included in myth, Cuextecs were incorporated into ritual owing to their sexual exuberance. In the
festival of Ochpaniztli, Cuextecs played
an important fecundating role, as can
easily be inferred from plate 30 of Co
dex Borbonicus. At the center of this
image appears the priest who personifies the goddess Toci, surrounded by
eight figures who carry paper phalluses
of exaggerated size; six are Cuextecs,
distinguishable by their characteristic
conical cap, or copilli, and the other two
are mimixcoas. According to Eduard
Seler,56 with “the enormous phalluses
they carry, they symbolize sexual love,
the carnal act, and fertility.”
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Cuextecs with paper phalluses of exaggerated proportions accompanying the goddess
Toci during the festival of Ochpaniztli. Codex Borbonicus.
Ceramic figure of a Cuextec woman who has blackened and filed teeth, as well as body tattoos.
Museo Nacional de Antropología.
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The Michoacanos
The chief fault that the Mexica saw in
males who lived in Michoacán was their
lack of maxtlatl, because they were
clad in only cicuilli or xicolli—sleeveless
jackets that came down to the knee.57
According to Sahagún,58 these were a
sort of huipil that was knotted over the
shoulder. The women wore only short,
narrow skirts of the same length.59
The Michoacanos’ custom of not wearing the huipil and maxtlatl—garments
considered markers of cultural difference among the Nahuas—made such
an impact on Mexica mentality that the
latter attempted to explain it through
myth, as they had also done with
the Cuextecs. Thus, the tales of their
peregrination recounted, with slight
variation, that the Michoacanos and the
Mexica formed a single group, together
with the Malinalca. However, upon arrival at Pátzcuaro the Michoacanos
stripped naked to go in the lake. While
they were frolicking in the water, the
Mexica hid their clothes and pressed
on, leaving them behind.60
The Tlaxcalteca version indicates that
in order to cross the sound, the Michoacanos made rafts by tying logs with
their maxtlatl. Because the men were
naked, they removed their women’s
huipils, leaving them with only their
skirts. Behind them came the Mexica
and the Tepaneca, who kept their clothes
on while crossing the inlet. Through
onomatopoeia, the Mexica called them
Tarascos “because their genital members swayed from leg to leg, making a
sound, especially when they ran.”61
Warrior from Xiquipilco battling a
Michoacano, who wears a cicuilli instead
of a maxtlatl. Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
Tarasco women wearing only
skirts; their breasts are bare.
Relación de Michoacán.
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The Michoacanos, like other groups,
were considered warlike people,62 an
assertion that denotes their resistance
to being conquered by the Mexica;
none of their lands was ever occupied.63 It was also said that they lacked
food-related skills, which may reflect
the Michoacano custom of cooking food
to be eaten over two or three days, or
even a week,64 instead of preparing
meals on a daily basis.
Tarascos eating human flesh in a ritual context. Relación de Michoacán.
Other Foreigners
One group that resembled the Cuextecs
in appearance were the Totonacos. The
males dressed in cloaks, maxtlatl, and
footwear, and they adorned themselves
with jewels, necklaces, quetzal plumes,
and other types of earrings. They used
fans, cut their hair “curiously”—as Sahagún indicates—and looked at themselves in mirrors. The women wore
colorful skirts and embroidered huipils.
This gaudy manner of dress was not
limited to the noble class, since common women wore blue skirts like the
noblewomen; they put feathers and
multicolor ribbons in their braided hair
and adorned themselves with flowers
when going to the market.65
Glyph of Zempoala that depicts a Totonaco
with a large labret. Codex Mendoza.
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The Tlalhuica lived in the hotter regions
of the province of Tlalhuican,66 whose
main town was Cuauhnahuac (now
Cuernavaca, in the present state of Morelos). Cotton, chili, maize, and flowers
all grew well in this fertile zone. The
Tlalhuica were the only Nahua group
to be criticized by the Mexica as if they
were foreign-language speakers. To the
Mexica they were “very coarse [people],
and with very rough speech”;67 that is,
they spoke Nahuatl crudely. Father José
de Acosta68 stated that “they were the
coarsest” of the seven Nahua tribes and
that Tlalhuica in fact “means people
of the highlands,” which should be understood more as an insult than as an
etymological definition.
Tlalhuica children drinking pulque at the festival
of Pillahuano. Codex Magliabechiano.
Like other foreign groups, the Tlal
huica were criticized for dressing with
“vanity and pride” and going around
carrying flowers; they were also notorious for being “very cowardly” (huel
mauhque)69 and, as with the Cuextecs,
they were portrayed as people of
unbridled sexual conduct.70 In this case,
too, the characteristics of the places
where they lived were extended to the
group itself: if the land was abundant,
as Cuauhnahuac was, then those who
lived there were as well, but in sexual
terms.
The Yopime or Tlappaneca were the
inhabitants of Yopitzinco, in the present
state of Guerrero. The common name
that the Nahuas gave them was tenime,
but they were also called pinome, chin
quime, and chochontin.71 All of these
ethnic denominations indicated a state
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Tlalhuica in their extremely fertile geographic milieu. Florentine Codex.
of immorality for the Mexica, who would
use these same terms to insult wicked
people.72 It was said, as of all the others,
that the Tlalhuica were very “inept and
incompetent and coarse”—even worse
than the Otomi.73
In the province of the Mixteca (a
mountainous zone) lived the Mixtecs or
pinome, chochon, and nonoalca. Their
customs included painting their faces74
and carrying bows, arrows, and axes
to defend themselves from wild beasts.75
Also living in this province were the
Chochos of Coaixtlauac, who were always having conflicts with the Mexica
army and its allies because they never
permitted merchants to pass through
their lands; indeed, they would kill them.
In the time of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina,
it is said that one hundred sixty traders
from several of the Empire’s provinces
were robbed and murdered there. On
another occasion, merchants coming
from Coatzacualco died in the city of
Huaxac (Oaxaca) at the hands of Mixtecs and Zapotecs.76
Such actions against the Empire led the
Mexica to label them “intelligible [sic, for
‘unintelligible’] and wicked,” rustic and
stupid; they would also disparage them
as “useless little Otomi.”77 According to
Fray Diego Durán,78 the hochones [sic,
for chochon] were among the groups
most feared by the Mexica, since they
were “demonic and wild people.”
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Yopis punishing adultery by mutilating the culprit’s nose. Codex Tudela.
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The Mexica’s Nahua Enemies
The interaction that the Tenochca established with the enemies far from
their borders was not the same as
that maintained with those who lived
nearby; relations also varied if the
group shared their cultural model or
belonged to a different one. For example, the rivalry between Tenochca
and Tlatelolca, in spite of both groups
being Mexica, was motivated precisely
by their proximity, which was so close
that it became worrisome at times;
skirmishes and confrontations between
them were a daily occurrence.79
Tensions between the two groups apparently increased following the Tlate��
lolca tlatoani Moquihuix’s mistreatment
of his Tenochca wife, Chalchiuhnene��
tzin��
, who was the older sister of ��
Axayacatl; this led the latter to conquer
Tlatelolco.80 The conflict between those
two governments further intensified,
it is said, because of abuses inflicted
on the people of Tlatelolco—the rape
of noblewomen and the destruction
of an irrigation channel—by those
from Tenochtitlan.81 Relations between
the two groups grew so tense that
Axayacatl’s conquest of Tlatelolco, whose defeated ruler, Moquihuix,
flung himself from his city’s Templo Mayor. Codex Mendoza.
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the Tlatelolcas, lamenting the treatment received from their neighbors,
remarked that it seemed as if the latter
saw them more as foreigners than as
what they really were: members of the
same lineage.82
Quite different was the relationship
that the Mexica established with the
Tlaxcalteca, also of Nahua descent. This
group filled an important role within
Mexica ideology because they took
part in the Flower Wars, fought in order to obtain captives for sacrifice to
Huitzilopochtli. Moreover, they acted as
the eternal adversary of the Tenochca,
with whom they also avoided entering
into bonds of marriage and kinship.83 In
spite of this, the Mexica never assigned
stereotypes to the Tlaxcalteca, and they
recognized their skill at war.
The Chalca, another Nahua group,
were among the boldest enemies of
the Tenochca, “very valiant and courageous.” The two groups had several
confrontations, since the Chalca were
continually rebelling. According to Fray
Juan de Torquemada,84 these “uprisings
and struggles” went on for thirty years.
So great was the Chalca’s bravery that
in order to motivate Tenochca soldiers
when they were about to face an intrepid enemy, they would be told that
their adversary was not as valiant as
the Chalca.85 Finally, owing to these
constant insurrections the tlatoque of
the Triple Alliance agreed to leave the
Chalca issue unresolved, since “the harm
they suffered was greater […] than the
good they obtained from them.”86
The Chalca killed five Mexica and destroyed four of their
canoes as an act of rebellion. Codex Mendoza.
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Cuextec with an exaggerated nose piercing to encrust a small tube, and with tattoos or scarifications
going down one side in the form of triangles and circles. Florentine Codex.
For the Tenochca, it is clear that the
Tlatelolca, Tlaxcalteca, or Chalca enemy
differed considerably from the Cuextec
or Michoacano. The first three were
Nahua speakers and shared numerous
cultural traits with them, so the ethnic
difference was less of a problem. The
last two, however, not only opposed the
Tenochca plan of conquest, but they
also had a radically different culture;
for that reason they were perceived
as possessing a strangeness that went
beyond the political conflict, and which
the Nahuas so exalted in speech, drawing, and sculpture that they came to
create a caricature of “the other.”87
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Marginals vis-à-vis the
Mexica Social Order
“T
he process of marginalization,” wrote Bronislaw Geremek,88 “was based
on an exclusion that moved people outside social bonds, on their voluntary abandonment of those bonds, or on their loss of a place in society’s
division of labor or in the allotment of social roles.” In Mexica society, rebellion was also a reason for exclusion. Various figures within this group
remained on the margins of social relations owing to their insubordination
toward the established order and parental commands. As a result, they would
lose family and social ties, professions, and, in general, their prerogatives
as members of a community. In the case of rebellion, the loss was incurred
through the marginal’s own initiative—which is not to say that the rest of the
population did not consciously and willfully exclude the rebel, but rather that
the transgressor’s own behavior led to his exclusion. Throwing off the yoke
of imposed cultural values could provide a sort of momentary freedom, but
the consequences were quite serious.
At first, parents would try to orient the behavior of their children
through moral speeches. If these
did not produce the desired effect,
corporal punishment would follow:
children would be forced to inhale
chili smoke, or they would be left to
lie on the damp ground all day long
with their hands and feet tied, or
they would be flogged with cords.89
These punishments were severe
enough to correct the ways of any
disobedient child.
who could be forced to exercise
that profession simply to support
themselves.90 Like lunatics and
vagabonds, they did not face official
punishment, but they were socially
repudiated, as can be seen in the
great variety of epithets directed at
them.91
Nonetheless, there were people who
preferred to resign themselves to
social death, such as lunatics and
vagabonds, whose existence was
marginal but not subject to judicial
penalties. Drunkards, on the other
hand, could be condemned to death
if they repeated their offense.
Another distinct case of marginalization was that of prostitutes,
A mother punishes her daughter by making
her inhale chili smoke. Codex Mendoza.
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A father punishes his son by leaving him lying on the cold earth. Codex Mendoza.
Besides exhortations and physical punishments, emotions were employed as a
tool of dissuasion. The moral speeches
contained in the huehuetlatolli transmitted a specific affective and psychic framework through shame and
repugnance,92 which constituted a
very effective way to instill authority
and the norm. Thus, when the Mexica
confronted people who violated their
value system—whether foreigners or
marginals—they would activate scruples, shame, and dissatisfaction, thereby
provoking the rejection of the transgressive person and his actions. These
same emotions could prevent the person from infringing the norm, since this
would be considered a repugnant act.
The Vagabond
The constant feature of all these proscribed figures was that they were associated with the periphery, that is, with
essentially nonhuman spaces—such
as forests, mountains, ravines—and
with the animals symbolically related
to those places. These associations all
pointed in the same direction: to their
condition of immorality. A young person would be warned that in going
against the moral order, “alone in the
ravine, in the crags, he will find himself;
he will end up […] alone in the pasture
[zacatla]; in the woods [cuauhtla] he
will fall.”93 By distancing himself from
the human space and penetrating the
The forest and some of the animals
that belong in it. Florentine Codex.
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Those who roamed were likened to wild animals, such as rabbits,
because they never settled in one place. Florentine Codex.
wilderness, he would become a fugitive
(choloani),94 he would turn wild (cuauh
tlacatl) and, as a result, become a vagabond: “he became a rabbit, he became a
deer, he found the path of the rabbit, of
the deer,95 and the plains.”96 In this way
rustic spaces connoted spaces of immorality.97 Book 6 of the Florentine Codex
cites this metaphor:98
“You have turned into a rabbit, you have
turned into a deer.” These words are said
of one who no longer lives at home, who
no longer obeys his father or mother, who
flees when they try to give him advice,
doesn’t hang around there anymore, no
longer stays at home, spends the whole
day somewhere else, sleeps somewhere
else, has become like the rabbit, like
the deer; that is why they tell that one:
“You have turned into a rabbit, you have
turned into a deer, you slink around, you
have become hardened, you have gone
down the rabbit’s path, the deer’s path.”
With regard to the image depicting a
vagabond in the Codex Mendoza, Luz
María Mohar99 mentions that “the concept of the vagabond reflects a concern
Vagabond with crooked feet.
Codex Mendoza.
that was instead colonial.” Nonetheless,
although the figure was very present
in medieval Europe,100 this concern was
also relevant to pre-Hispanic Nahuas;
hence the constant insistence on incorporating the difrasismo (a Nahua
metaphorical pairing) of “turning into
a rabbit, turning into a deer” in the
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Depiction of a cihuateotl with crooked feet. Codex Vaticanus B.
huehuetlatolli, as a way to prevent
moral deviation that was harshly criticized by the Mexica.101 (We should also
note, however, that this difrasismo was
extensively used by the missionaries
in their evangelizing effort, as Louise
Burkhart has shown.)102
The immoral state of the vagabond in
the Codex Mendoza is associated with a
physical abnormality: crooked feet. His
deformed lower extremities symbolize
the fact that the vagabond has strayed
from the straight path of morals, having
turned to the periphery and wandered
through it. In general, disability of the
legs or feet indicated the abandonment
of ideal behavior, as can also be seen
in the image of a cihuateotl, a woman
who died during childbirth because she
did not confess her misdeeds—usually
of a sexual nature,103 such as an adulterous relationship, for example. In
fact, the only characteristic that defines
the cihuateotl in the Primeros memo
riales104 is adultery (tetlaximaliztli).
The Mexica’s insistence on the figure
of the vagabond reflects their concern
that young people were prone to go
astray and to fall to ruin during their
adult life.105
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Slovenly vagabond with long, unkempt hair. Florentine Codex.
They knew that detachment from work
would make someone a vagabond, a
condition that could lead to delinquency and an inveterate fondness for the
ball game or dice (patolli).106
The image of the vagabond presented
in book 6 of the Florentine Codex is
accompanied by the insults hurled at
those outsiders who prowled neighborhood streets. These insults referred to
their physical appearance and behavior: they were called “disheveled” and
accused of idleness.107
If we were to establish a gradation of
human beings, the vagabond would occupy the lowest rung, verging on inhumanity. At the far opposite would be
the ruler, whose person was endowed
with a sacred nature. These two figures
constituted either end of Mexica civilization,108 between which there existed a
great diversity, with these differences
progressively delimited. Such extremes
were defined on the basis of the degree of humanity that each deserved,
expressed through the bodily manifestation that was restrained by the
control of one’s impulses. The tlatoani
huey tlacatl was the member of society who possessed the most dignity
and demonstrated the greatest physical moderation. His opposite was the
amotlacatl, “nonhuman,” a person
of utterly negligible status who had
stripped himself of his humanity—and
not merely in a m
oral sense. This description fit the vagabond well. He embodies a regression of the civilizing
process: his wandering recalled that
period of history—now surmounted—
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that was regarded as lamentable. For
the Mexica, this period was personified
by the Chichimecs, who in the realm of
myth symbolized the original state of
human groups and the uncivilized past
of the Nahua peoples, characterized by
their wandering and their life in wilds,
conditions that over time became immoral. The consubstantial characteristics of the Chichimecs109 were similar
to those of the vagabond, so that the
two figures could be confused. Thus
the presence of the vagabond called to
Ruler. Florentine Codex.
The Chichimecs used to put elders to death. Here nature,
the milieu in which they lived, stands out. Florentine Codex.
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Chichimec man and woman. Florentine Codex.
mind the m
emory of a past that was
now disowned, since it was contrary
to the prevailing cultural project. An
example of this rejection can be seen
in the insults aimed at women who
wandered through a foreign community: it was said that they ate their food
without seasoning it with chili. This
suggests that they did not belong to a
community, and therefore lacked both
family and home, which deprived them
of access to a domestic garden and to
the salt distributed at the market.110 The
vagabond had to do without the products of cultural activities such as maize,
chili, and salt.
Sources recount an episode in the life
of the Acolhua tlatoani Nezahualcoyotl that illustrates this well. After the
murder of his father, Ixtlilxochitl, at the
hands of the Tepanec tlatoani Tezozomoc, Nezahualcoyotl was pursued
Nezahualcoyotl, Acolhua
tlatoani. Codex Ixtlilxochitl.
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and forced to flee, taking refuge in the
mountains. There he found all the Acol
hua lords in hiding; they recognized
him and came out to greet him. At that
moment he realized his own condition
as a vagabond, asking them “what they
were doing hiding away there, and if
they wanted to live their lives in the
mountains,” and telling them to “return
to their lands and live like people and
not like animals in the forests and deserts; [for] what was there for them to
do tucked away in that place?”111
The source further relates that near
Tlecuilac, the tlatoani saw many people who followed him, all citizens of
Tetzcuco, together with some nobles
and relatives of his. On witnessing this
scene, with emotion and anger in his
words, he ordered them to return to
their homes, saying to them:
Where are you going? Which father are
you following who would shelter and defend you? Don’t you see how sorrowful
and alone I go through these mountains
and deserts, following the trails and paths
of rabbits and deer, and that I do not
know whether, where I’m going, I shall be
well received?112
Fear of the return to a savage state was
present in the Mexica mentality, and
that of the Nahuas in general, because
they knew that the symbolic frontiers of
civilization were permeable and could
be challenged. Thus Nezahualcoyotl
experienced a transitory period of the
loss of civilization, which placed him
on the same level as the vagabond or
the Chichimec. But later he was able to
reenter society when he recovered the
control of his city.
The Lunatic
When we encounter this figure of alterity, we must keep in mind that there
is no uniform way to speak of this
phenomenon: no single lunacy existed.
Rather there were lunacies, and in their
diversity we can perceive their varied
causes.113 The different types of lunacy
ranged from stupidity, divine possession, and the performance of witchcraft
to a true pathology or the product of
disobedience, that is, moral lunacy. All
transgressed the code of social and
moral behavior, but sometimes the offense focused more on lasciviousness
and other times on the perversion of
language or on uncontrolled behaviors,
or even the rebelliousness of children.
Sahagún’s text declares that the wicked
young man (telpuchtlahueliloc) is
crazy (yollotlahueliloc),114 a concept that
underlines the heart’s being affected by
evil or madness. The description of this
figure emphasizes his sexual immorality, and for this reason Charles E. Dibble
and Arthur J. O. Anderson translated the
term telpuchtlahueliloc as “the lewd
youth.”115 Sahagún’s informants said:
He goes around drinking young pulque.
Inebriated, foolish, afflicted, drunk, besotted. He goes acting out with mushrooms,
acting out with mixitl, anxious, lecherous,
shameless, excessively attired, gasping,
foul-mouthed, devious in speech, cursing,
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Lunatic. Florentine Codex.
presumptuous, vain, pedantic, proud, depraved, mocking, debased, covered with
excrement, covered with shit, full of dust,
full of garbage.116 He has a concubine. He’s
got his lines (to convince women). He
lives in concubinage, he lives in vice.117
Thus, the perversion and excess that
defined the lunatic turned him into an
undesirable, feared being. Owing to his
conduct he could not establish social
interaction, since he acted as if he had
consumed hallucinogenic plants or
drunk pulque. All the above characteristics would make the telpuchtlahueliloc
an amotlacatl, “inhuman” or perverse,
cruel, and licentious in behavior.
This description of the lunatic recalls
that of the Cuextec: both acted as though
they had ingested psychotropics, both
dressed pompously—an aspect that also
recalls the Totonaco—and both were
characterized by unbridled sexuality.
Likewise, both figures largely resembled
Person ingesting peyote. Florentine Codex.
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the ahuiani, the prostitute, owing to
their dissipated behavior.
The lunatic was also characterized by
his lack of bodily restraint. He was a
person who would scream and run to
and fro, never sitting still, behaviors
reminiscent of the Chichimecs118 and
wild animals. He was also defined by
gestures such as hitting the back of his
neck, hanging his shoulders and raising his back, deportment similar to that
seen in individuals who ate mixitl and
tlapatl and drank pulque.119
The Drunkard
The drunkard provoked disgust and
fear. When he ran out of money to buy
pulque, he would pawn his maxtlatl.
He went about covered in dust, filthy
and unkempt, his face and body scarred
with every fall he took. But his behavior
was even worse than his appearance.
According to Sahagún,120 the drunk
utters insulting and offensive words […]
goes around dancing and singing out
loud […] And he scorns everyone […] and
throws stones or sticks, or anything that
comes to hand. And he goes about disturbing everyone. And in the streets he
impedes and gets in the way of those who
pass […] And he doesn’t lie down to sleep
quietly, but instead moves about restlessly.
Carelessness was also apparent in his
house, which he kept very dirty, full
of manure, dust, and saltpeter, since
there was no one to clean it; he did
not sleep there, instead sleeping in other people’s homes. “He lost his sense
of shame and is shameless.” For that
reason “everyone looks down on him,
since he is a publicly dishonored man.
And everyone regards him with disgust
and abhorrence […] And they leave
him alone because he is the enemy of
his friends.”121
Drunkard falling over a precipice. Florentine Codex.
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47
Drunkard. Florentine Codex.
The drunkard’s actions did not harm
only himself. Besides the insults he
shouted on the street at anyone who
came his way, he had the habit of “lying
with married women or stealing others’
things, or jumping over walls, or taking some women by force, or frolicking
with them. And he does all this because
he is drunk and out of his mind.”122
Francisco Hernández123 mentions that if
drunkards could not force themselves
on women, they would abuse men.
The punishment imposed on a macehual who got drunk for the first time
is significant in view of the drunkard’s
association with the periphery and
with wild animals: lunacy is the link
between them.
His head would be shaven publicly in the
square and the market, and his house would
be sacked and demolished, because the
law says that he who forgoes reason does
not deserve to have a house, but should
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live in the field like an animal; and the second time he would be punished by death.124
The figure of the drunkard was to be
relegated to the periphery so as to
isolate him from the city and from com-
munal life. In discussing transgressions
committed by others, the two types of
offenses most frequently mentioned
in Nahua texts are drunkenness and
sexual excess: the rabbit represented
the first and the deer the second.125
Head of a man. His eyes, made of red shells, convey his
drunken state. Museo Nacional de Antropología.
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49
INAH 1441-210.
FCAS collection.
The rabbit was an animal closely linked to drunkenness.
The Prostitute
Of all the marginal types, the ahuiani,
“the happy woman,” as the ancient Nahuas called her, received the greatest
number of disparaging epithets, ones
that give an idea of the extreme disapproval with which her activity was
regarded. Nonetheless, as mentioned
earlier, prostitution was not punishable by law, a fact that demonstrates
the ambivalence that existed among
the Mexica, and the Nahuas in general,
toward this figure. The prostitute can
be understood as the counterpart to
the Mexica woman: while the latter was
governed by moderation in her person
and in each of her acts, the former
behaved in the complete opposite manner: she used excessive adornments,
she looked at herself in the mirror, she
put on too much makeup, she darkened
her teeth and wore her hair loose.
Her movements and postures were
provocative: she walked with her head
held high, brazenly swinging her hips;
she wore perfume, chewed gum, and
winked her eye at men, laughing.126 The
ahuiani thus seems to have served as
the counter-ideal of feminine behavior,
against which women could contrast
themselves and from which they could
distance themselves.
Sahagún’s informants described the
prostitute crudely, indicating how she
perverted herself and the people, as
well as how she dressed and moved
her body in ways that explicitly sought
to attract men’s attention and incite
their desire. The ahuiani was said to be
a wicked woman who indulged in lust.
“She is the site of waste […] lascivious
old woman, lustful genitals […] Shitty,
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Prostitute with loose hair wearing a huipil decorated with floral designs. Florentine Codex.
filthy little dog, she corrupts herself like
a bitch.”127
The description of the prostitute also alludes to her immoral condition through
a difrasismo that has been mentioned
several times above, namely, that of following the path of the rabbit and the
deer, which indicates her ambulatory
activity of going to and fro. Likewise,
it indicates that lunacy was one of her
characteristics, since she was said to go
around drunk with mixitl and tlapatl.128
To a great extent the prostitute’s immorality, like that of all marginal figures,
lay in lunacy, which permeated all
her behavior, since all those attitudes
and actions that ran contrary to the
socially and morally established norm
were instantly consigned to the camp
of lunacy. Ingesting pulque and psychotropics were two ways of altering behavior, and these were projected on the
social plane via discursive forms that
explained abnormal conduct as crazy.
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51
Conclusion
M
esoamerica constituted an extensive territory with a great number
of different cultures and languages. This situation promoted multiple
interethnic relations, which continue to this day with Mexico’s indigenous
groups. The Sierra Norte de Puebla, for example, is home to Nahuas, Otomi,
Huastecs, Totonacos, and Tepehuas, which gives the region certain special
characteristics and a defined cultural output. Ancestral concepts can still be
heard there, such as the negative portrayal of the Otomi, so ingrained in Nahua thought. Among the Nahuas of Atla (in the municipality of Pahuatlán), a
common insult is “It’s as if you were xita” or “You’re acting like an otomite,”
designating slow or stupid people with specific reference to the Otomi of
San Pablito, Atla’s neighboring village, as reported by José de Jesús Montoya
Briones.129
The Mexica, as an expansionist group, confonted numerous societies with
notable cultural differences. Such interethnic relations must have been established earlier by other Nahua groups as well.
As we have seen, one trait that helped shape the Mexica people was their
extreme ethnocentrism, which structured a good part of their identity. In
their process of identity construction, foreigners played a very important
role, since they constituted models for all that was not to be imitated—features, moreover, that the Mexica rejected and harshly criticized. They would
contrast these different cultural forms with their own, which they conceived
to be true and ideal. This practice corresponded to the paradigm of Mexica
civilization, gaining force as the Empire consolidated and reached its apogee.
A dichotomy that encapsulated the differences established between the
Mexica and all other non–Nahuatl-speaking groups was that of the center
and the periphery, concepts constructed from the dominant viewpoint. Although these concepts imply a spatial character, they are best understood in
a symbolic sense: the center is where each of the characteristics that form
the Mexica canon, and that of the Nahuas in general, is found, whereas the
periphery contains all those traits that are opposed to them because they are
different—that is, all the foreign non–Nahuatl-speaking cultures.
Political conflict exaggerated this cultural difference. When the Empire encountered resistance to its conquest of other peoples, it spread a multitude of
negative representations of its enemies that drew on their ethnic difference
(note that in general, the type of relation that two societies establish can
be inferred from the representations they create of each other). This was
evident in the case of the Michoacanos and Cuextecs, who were incorporated
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into Mexica myths for the purpose of disparaging them (among other reasons). In this way, political conflict generated an ideological conflict, which
in turn helped heighten the former.
In considering the construction of alterity, we cannot neglect the psychological component. The figure of the foreigner was made up of those aspects
repressed by the Mexica that became unconscious material, which could be
projected only through specific cultural figures on whom no repression was
exerted. Thus, lunacy, drunkenness, and lust were imputed to the foreigner.
At the same time, within Mexica society there existed marginal figures whose
closeness with the foreigner was so great that the two could even be merged.
Lunatics, drunkards, vagabonds, and prostitutes wandered the streets disturbing community order. Just like the foreigner, they respected neither the
canons of physical appearance and social interaction nor the established
moral norms: some went about in rags or in overly fancy clothes; others
were given to excess; still others behaved so incoherently that their actions
were categorized as a state of lunacy, resembling those of a person who
ingested pulque or psychotropic plants.
In studying outsiders and social outcasts from the Mexica point of view, we
are not providing actual information about them but rather penetrating the
ethico-moral system of the Empire; what we see are its cultural projections.
Prostitute. Florentine Codex.
Conclusion
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53
Glossary
Ahuianime (plural of ahuiani)
The term literally means “happy women” and was used to designate women in Nahua
society who engaged in prostitution. Their exaggerated and sensual manner of dress,
adornment, and movement ran counter to the model of the ideal Nahua woman.
Ahuitzotl
Mexica tlatoani who ruled from 1486 to 1502. His reign was characterized by a politics
of intimidation and subjection, as well as by an increase in the number of human
sacrifices. Because of the pressure he exerted on his subjects, his name became
synonymous with ill-treatment; thus, a person who is beset by someone will say:
“So-and-so is my ahuizote.” When he ordered that a body of water be channeled from
Coyoacan to Tenochtitlan, it flooded the city and indirectly caused his death.
Amotlacatl
Noun meaning “inhuman”; it was applied to persons whose conduct was seen as
immoral or whose sexual behavior was abnormal, as well as to those who committed
illicit activities, such as murderers and thieves. It was also used in a political sense,
reflecting conflicts that existed between two or more groups.
Bernardino de Sahagún, Fray
Franciscan friar who settled in the center of Mexico and in Tepeapulco, Hidalgo,
among other places. From 1558 to 1580 he compiled, with the help of indigenous
informants, an extensive work on Nahua culture, an indispensable reference for any
study of this group.
Bronislaw Geremek
Medievalist born in Warsaw who worked on themes of marginalization, poverty, and
charity in the Middle Ages and later centuries.
Charles E. Dibble and Arthur J. O. Anderson
American scholars of the Nahuatl world who, in twelve volumes, translated the Florentine Codex in its entirety into English.
Chichimecs
Northern groups who emigrated south after the fall of the Toltec Empire in the twelfth
century A.D. They founded several settlements in the Valley of Mexico and established
links with Toltec towns. This contact led to their adoption of cultural practices belonging to Nahua groups. In the realm of myth, the Chicimecs correspond to the primordial
state of human groups, characterized by savagery.
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Cihuateotl (plural cihuateteo)
Name given to a woman who was deified for having died giving birth to her first
child. The Mexicas believed that the cihuateteo lived in the West, or Cihuatlampa,
“In the direction of the women.” They would emerge from there armed and would
return accompanying the sun as it set. After their journey, the cihuapipiltin, as they
were also called, would descend to Earth to frighten mortals or to devote themselves
to women’s work. They were thought to cause maladies such as paralysis or sudden
illness.
Codex Borbonicus
Document containing ritual information, possibly created before the conquest in the
Valley of Mexico.
Codex Mendoza
Also known as Codex Mendocino, this colonial work included the Matrícula de tribu
tos, which contained the list of tributary provinces of the Mexica Empire, as well as
the nature and amount of their tribute. Another section of the codex deals with the
daily life of the Mexica, such as education, marriage, and occupations.
Cuextecs
Also called Huastecs, they lived in Cuextlan, in what is now the state of Veracruz.
They were constantly criticized for their style of dress and adornment and were
ascribed faults such as drunkenness, excessive sexuality, and madness.
Diego Durán, Fray
Dominican friar who produced a history of the Mexica, their gods, and their rituals,
published in 1581 as Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e islas de tierra firme.
Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl
Texcocan historian, a direct descendant of Nezahualcoyotl. His most important work,
written in the seventeenth century, is Historia de la nación chichimeca, which recounts the Chichimec migration to the Altiplano Central, among other subjects, and
the development of their civilization into the Acolhua culture.
Florentine Codex
Fray Bernardino de Sahagún’s final work on Nahuatl culture, unique in its genre for
the cultural knowledge it imparts. It was based on questionnaires answered by people
who lived before the conquest. A profusely illustrated bilingual work, it is made up
of twelve books, with the Spanish text translated directly from Nahuatl by Sahagún.
The Spanish version is known as Historia general de las cosas de la Nueva España.
Francisco Hernández de Toledo
Named chief medical officer of the Indies by King Philip II, he was sent on a scientific
mission to the New World. From 1572 to 1577 he investigated with indigenous doctors
the plants of New Spain and other colonies, among other natural history subjects. He
also wrote a treatise on the history and culture of the Nahuas.
Glossary
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Huehuetlatolli
Literally meaning “ancient word,” the term designates speeches on ethics or morals
delivered by authority figures—fathers, rulers, nobles, etc.—exhorting people to lead a
life of rectitude and obedience.
Huitzilopochtli
Tutelary warrior god of the Mexica, who guided them along their peregrination until
they definitively settled in the Basin of Mexico. To him, together with Tlaloc, the
Templo Mayor of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was dedicated.
Ixtotomac cuecuetz
According to Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, the phrase means “person who goes looking in all directions, as if insane,” and “person who goes about without honesty and
seriousness, like a frivolous troublemaker.”
José de Acosta
Jesuit priest who in 1590 published his Historia natural y moral de las Indias, with
one section devoted to the religion, customs, and history of the ancient Mexicans.
José de Jesús Montoya Briones
Researcher, ethnologist, anthropologist, and historian from Zacatecas. In his first
investigative work, Atla: Etnografía de un pueblo náhuatl, published in 1964, he
compiled photographs, historical archives, interviews, and his own observations to
document the geography, flora and fauna, culture, society, and customs and traditions
of the village of Atla, in the Sierra Norte de Puebla. He also provided information
essential to the creation of several rooms in the Museo Nacional de Antropología.
Among his most important publications are Cien años de violencia en la Huasteca
(1996), Jerez y su gente: Región de vírgenes, nomadismo y resistencia cultural (1996).
Juan de Torquemada, Fray
Franciscan friar who compiled a history on the pre-Hispanic Nahuas and other Mesoamerican groups, their gods, and their society, as well as a history of the conquest
and colonial society. The title of his work is Monarquía indiana, and it was written
between 1592 and 1603.
Late Postclassic
The final historical period of pre-Hispanic Mexico, which ran from A.D. 1200, shortly
after the fall of Tula, to 1521, with the destruction of Tenochtitlan by the Spaniards.
Louise Burkhart
Professor in the Anthropology Department of the University at Albany (State University of New York). She has studied pre-Hispanic and colonial Nahua morals. Her work
The Slippery Earth: Nahua-Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth-Century Mexico
is an essential reference on the topic.
Glossary
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56
Luz María Mohar
Mexican social anthropologist, researcher at the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios
Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS) of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología
e Historia (INAH). Her research focuses on the organization, tribute, and economy of
the indigenous villages of the center of Mexico in the sixteenth century.
Macehuales
Members of the lowest social rank and the productive class of Mexica society. Their
behavior contrasted in all respects with that of the nobles; not having to maintain a
position of prestige, they lived in a more relaxed manner.
Mimixcoas
Primordial beings destined for sacrifice. They appear in the origin myth of sacred
warfare: four hundred mimixcoas were created to feed the Sun and the Earth, and
when they did not fulfill their mission, five more were created to destroy them.
Mixitl and tlapatl
Psychotropic plants that could lead to madness. Those who ate them were described
as having immoral behavior, verging on insanity, as said of the Cuextecs.
Moctezuma Ilhuicamina
Ruler of the Mexica from 1440 to 1469. His reign saw continued territorial expansion
and the consolidation of the Flower Wars, fought to obtain victims for sacrifice to the
gods.
Nahuacentric view
The particular way that the Nahuas (especially the Mexica) represented foreigners
through the filter of their own cultural categories. Thus, this entire group of people
that fell outside the established parameters of their culture was criticized and stigmatized for the different manner in which they spoke, dressed, ate, or had sexual
relations.
Nahuas
Groups that shared Nahuatl as their language, with its regional variants, across the
entire Altiplano Central. With the expansionism of the Mexica Empire, Nahuatl spread
throughout a large part of Mesoamerica. Several Nahuatl-speaking groups emigrated
as far as Central America. Today this language is spoken in Mexico City and in the
states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Mexico, Guerrero, San Luis
Potosí, Durango, Michoacán, and Jalisco, as well as in Guatemala, El Salvador, and
Nicaragua.
Nezahualcoyotl
Tlatoani of Texcoco who recovered control over his city and the Acolhua provinces
during the rule of the sovereign usurper of Azcapotzalco, Tezozomoc. He was one
of the rulers who founded the Triple Alliance of the Late Postclassic in the Valley of
Mexico.
Glossary
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Otomi, Mazahuas, Matlatzinca, Ocuiltecs
Groups in the Oto-Pamean linguistic family who lived in arid, wooded zones of the
valleys of Mexico, Hidalgo, Toluca, and Puebla-Tlaxcala. Except for the Matlatzinca and
Ocuiltecs, these groups tended to settle in scattered villages whose economy centered
on hunting and gathering, while intensive farming was of little importance. Because
they were held in low regard among the Nahuas, the Otomi are the group most often
mentioned and criticized in colonial sources. Nonetheless, their valor in war was
recognized and rewarded.
Pilli (plural pipiltin)
Mexica hereditary nobility that occupied important positions in government as well
as in the military and the priesthood.
Telpuchtlahueliloc
“Wicked young man,” characterized as immoral in all areas of conduct, but especially
in sexual aspects.
Tenochtitlan
City founded in 1325 by the Tenochca faction of the Mexica group on the islets located
in the western part of the Lago de Texcoco.
Tlalhuica
Group that settled in the hotter regions of the province of Tlalhuican, whose main
town was Cuauhnahuac (Cuernavaca, in today’s state of Morelos). They were the only
Nahua group to be criticized by the Mexica as if they were foreign-language speakers;
the Mexica insulted them for their coarse manner of speech.
Tlatoani (plural tlatoque)
Term meaning “he who speaks”; the title received by each successive ruler, who occupied the highest position on the social scale. Moreover, on being enthroned the ruler
acquired a divine nature, granting him the ability to speak with the god Tezcatlipoca.
Tlazolteotl
Goddess of filth. A deity associated with the Huastec region, she was thought to be
responsible for sexual trangressions but also absolution for them through confession.
Toci
“Our grandmother”; considered the mother of the gods. She provoked earthquakes
and was also the patroness of doctors and soothsayers, as well as the guardian of
sweat lodges.
Totonacos
Group that lived in the region of today’s Vercruz. They shared many cultural traits
with the Cuextecs, such as their manner of dress, which was likewise considered
excessive.
Glossary
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Triple Alliance
Union formed by Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan under the leadership of its
rulers (Itzcoatl, Nezahualcoyotl, and Totoquihuatzin, respectively) during the Late
Postclassic period. It granted great political and military power to its members, particularly Tenochtitlan, the head city. This unprecedented military force obliged many
neighboring villages to pay tribute.
Glossary
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Notes
1. The name Mexica comprises
two groups that were
differentiated from the time of
their peregrination until their
settlement on the lake island:
the Tenochca and the Tlatelolca.
They founded the twin cities of
Mexico-Tenochtitlan and MexicoTlatelolco. When we speak of the
Mexica we are referring to both
groups, unless the term Tenochca
is used, to distinguish them from
the Tlatelolca.
2. Nahua groups in general,
since the armies of the Triple
Alliance—consisting
of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and
Azcapotzalco—were made up of
all the groups in the basin, who
had been conquered previously.
However, this did not include
Nahua groups on the other side
of the Sierra Nevada—the
Tlaxcalteca, the Huexotzinca, and
others—whom the Triple Alliance
never was never able to conquer.
3. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 176–181,
185–186.
4. See Escalante 1996, 446.
5. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 41, 231.
6. García Quintana 1976, 66.
7. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 22, 121.
8. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6,
ch. 22, 576.
9. Nahuatl terms for many concepts
will be given in parentheses.
10. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 19, 101–102.
11. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 19, 100,
ch. 22, 123; idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6,
ch. 19, 560, and ch. 22, 578.
12. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 22, 123;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6, ch. 22, 578.
14. Ibid.
15. See Escalante 1992, 30–31.
16. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 20, 110;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6, ch. 20, 568.
17. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 22, 124.
18. Ololiuhqui would also be put in
food or drink to cause madness
(Sahagún, Florentine Codex, bk. 11,
ch. 8, par. 1, in López Austin
1974, 75).
19. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 22, 121–125;
Hernández, 1986, bk. 1, ch. 17, 85.
20. Motolinía 1971, second part, ch. 3,
308–309.
21. Alvarado Tezozomoc 1944,
ch. 68, 307.
22. Relación de Michoacán 1989, third
part, ch. 3, 200.
23. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6,
ch. 21, 573.
24. Ibid., 574.
25. Ibid., vol. 3, bk. 11, ch. 5, 1044.
26. Ibid.
27. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 22, 125–126.
28. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6,
ch. 22, 580.
29. Ibid., ch. 21, 575.
30. Sahagún, Florentine Codex, bk. 11,
ch. 6, fol. 109v–110r, in López Austin
2003, 182; Chimalpain 1991, 26;
Alvarado Tezozomoc 1998, 17.
31. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 186;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29, 969.
32. Escalante 1998, 170; idem 2004a, 201.
33. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 179;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29,
962–963.
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60
34. Escalante 2004a, 202.
35. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 178–179;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29,
962–963.
36. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10,
ch. 29, 962.
37. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 183;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29, 966.
38. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 19, 100, and
ch. 22, 123; idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6,
ch. 19, 560, and ch. 22, 578.
39. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 184.
40. Sahagún 1969, bk. 6, ch. 22, 123;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 6, ch. 22, 578.
41. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 180.
42. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10,
ch. 29, 963.
43. Ibid., 964.
44. Ibid., 964–966.
45. Durán 2002, vol. 1, first treatise,
ch. 22, 240; Alvarado Tezozomoc
1944, ch. 48, 206–207.
46. Alva Ixtlilxochitl 1997b, ch. L3, 144.
47. Alvarado Tezozomoc 1944,
ch. 48, 205.
48. Ibid., ch. 61, 273.
49. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 185.
50. Codex Matritense, fol. 187v, in
León-Portilla 1965, 23.
51. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 185–186;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29, 969.
52. Sahagún 2002, bk. 6, ch. 7, 504.
53. See Seler 1980, 1: 123–124; Burkhart
1986a, 67.
54. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29,
975–976; López Austin 1985, 312–314.
55. Codex Matritense, fol. 194v,
in León-Portilla 1965, 29; see also
López Austin 1985, 314.
56. Seler 1980, 1: 122.
57. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 189.
58. Sahagún 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10,
ch. 29, 972.
59. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 189.
Notes
60. Durán 2002, vol. 1, first treatise, ch.
3, 72–73; Acosta 2006, bk. 7, ch. 4,
364; Alvarado Tezozomoc 1944, ch. 1,
9; Veytia 1944, I, bk. 2, ch. 13, 295.
61. Muñoz Camargo 1998, 66–67; also
Veytia 1944, bk. 2, ch. 13, 296.
62. Alva Ixtlilxochitl 1997b, 244;
Torquemada, 1975, bk. 3, ch. 42, 459.
63. Torquemada 1975, bk. 3, ch. 42, 459.
64. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 189.
65. Ibid., 184; Sahagún 2002, vol. 2,
bk. 10, ch. 29, 967.
66. Siméon 2002, 599.
ch. 2, 64.
68. Acosta 2006, bk. 7, ch. 3, 361.
69. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 186.
70. See Códice magliabechiano 1991,
pl. 40v.
71. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 187;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29, 970.
72. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 7, 25;
ch. 14, 51; ch. 16, 60.
73. Ibid., ch. 29, 187; idem 2002, vol. 2,
bk. 10, ch. 29, 970.
74. Sahagún 1963, bk. 11, ch. 12, 256;
Anales de Cuauhtitlan 1945, 67.
75. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 188;
idem 2002, vol. 2, bk. 10, ch. 29, 971.
ch. 22, 238, ch. 28, 280.
77. Ibid., ch. 22, 239–241; ch. 28, 280;
ch. 65, 547; and Alvarado
Tezozomoc 1944, ch. 33, 134.
ch. 22, 240.
79. See Clendinnen 1991, 47–48.
80. Torquemada 1975, bk. 2, ch. 55, 239;
Alvarado Tezozomoc 1998, 117.
ch. 32, 306; Alvarado Tezozomoc
1944, ch. 41, 178.
ch. 32, 306.
Contents
61
83. Muñoz Camargo 1998, 143;
Torquemada 1975, bk. 2, ch. 82, 301.
84. Torquemada 1975, bk. 2, ch. 44, 213;
ch. 47, 220.
ch. 22, 240.
86. Torquemada 1975, bk. 2, ch. 49, 223.
87. Nicholson 1991–1992, 70–71.
88. Geremek 1990, 368.
89. Códice Mendoza 1964, third part,
pl. 61, 126; Garibay 1943–1944, 99.
90. Escalante 2004b, 270.
in López Austin 1996, 2: 275–276.
92. See Elias 2000, 159.
93. García Quintana 1974, 156–157.
94. Molina 2004, Nahuatl-Spanish
section, fol. 22v.
95. For García Quintana (1974, 157n21)
this expression connotes “to be
lazy”; López Austin (1996, 1: 446),
on the other hand, notes that “to
turn into a deer, to turn into a
rabbit” meant acquiring bestial
characteristics as a result of
having left the established course.
96. García Quintana 1974, 156–159.
97. See Burkhart 1986b, 122.
98. Sahagún 1993, bk. 6, ch. 43,
fol. 209v, 137.
99. Mohar 2000, 235.
100. See Geremek 1990.
101. See Burkhart 1986b; Echeverría
2005, 127–131.
102. Burkhart 1986b.
103. Costumbres, fiestas… 1945–1948,
fol. 363v, 55; Ruiz de Alarcón 1987,
sixth treatise, ch. 1, 197.
Notes
104. Sahagún 1997, fol. 271r, 122.
105. See López Austin 1996, 1: 327.
106. Códice Mendoza 1964, third part,
pl. 71, 146.
107. Escalante 2004b, 270.
108. Escalante 1996, 449.
109. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 29, 170–175.
110. Escalante 2004b, 270.
111. Alva Ixtlilxochitl 1997a, 343.
112. Alva Ixtlilxochitl 1997b, 70.
113. Echeverría 2005, 88–113.
in López Austin 1996, 2: 274.
115. Sahagún 1961, bk. 10, ch. 11, 37.
116. These four adjectives refer to
impurity caused by sexual
transgression (López Austin 1996,
2: 274n47).
in López Austin 1996, 2: 274.
118. Garibay 1943–1944, 98–99.
120. Sahagún 2002, vol. 1, bk. 4,
ch. 4, 357.
121. Ibid., 358.
122. Ibid.
123. Hernández 1986, bk. 1, ch. 13, 72.
124. Alva Ixtlilxochitl 1997b, ch. 38, 102.
See also Hernández 1986, bk. 1, ch.
13, 72; and Mendieta 2002, bk. 2I,
ch. 30, 262.
125. Burkhart 1986b, 118–119.
in López Austin 1996, 2: 275–276.
127. Ibid.
128. Ibid., 276.
129. Montoya Briones 1964, 181.
Contents
62
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List of Illustrations
Page 7: Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
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Page
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Page
Page
Page
Tira de la peregrinación, pl.
1, in Galarza y Libura 1997.
8: López Austin and López Luján 1997, 216 (based on Robert H. Barlow).
9: Sahagún 1979, bk. 2, app., fol.
121v.
10a: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 29,
fol. 125r.
10b: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 15,
fol. 39v.
11a: Collection of the Fundación
Cultural Armella Spitalier.
11b: Museo Nacional de Antropología.
12a: Sahagún 1979, bk. 6, ch. 14, fol.
53r.
12b: Sahagún 1979, bk. 6, ch. 20,
fol. 85v.
13: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 13,
fol. 35v.
14: Sahagún 1979, bk. 8, ch. 14, fol.
31r.
15: Codex Mendoza 1964, third
part, pl. 72, 149.
16: Sahagún 1979, bk. 11, ch. 2,
par. 3, fol. 30r.
17: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 26,
fol. 70r.
18a: Sahagún 1979, bk. 11, ch. 5,
par. 3, fol. 82v.
18b: Sahagún 1979, bk. 6, ch. 41.
19: Codex Telleriano-Remensis
1964, fourth part, pl. 15, 288.
20: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 29,
fol. 133r.
21a: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 29,
fol. 127r.
21b: Sahagún 1979, bk. 11, ch. 6, fol.
109v.
22a: Collection of the Fundación
Page 22b: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 29,
fol. 129r.
Page 23a: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 29,
fol. 129r.
Page 23b:Codex Mendoza 1964, first
part, pl. 3, 11.
Page 24: Sahagún 1979, bk. 1, ch. 14, fol. 12.
Page 25: Collection of the Fundación
fol. 131r.
Page 26b: Tira de la peregrinación,
pl. 5, in Galarza and Libura
1997.
fol. 134r.
Page 27b: Codex Xicotepec 1995, sect.
10.
Page 29a: Codex Borbonicus 1993, pl.
30.
Page 29b: Museo Nacional de Antropo
logía.
Page 30a: Codex Telleriano-Remensis
1964, third part, pl. 10, 278.
Page 30b: Relación de Michoacán
2008, third part, ch. 7, 201.
Page 31a: Relación de Michoacán
2008, second part, ch. 13, 58.
Page 31b: Codex Mendoza 1964, first
part, pl. 22, 48.
Page 32: Codex Magliabechiano 1991,
pl. 41r.
Page 33: Sahagún 1979, bk. 10, ch. 29,
fol. 136r.
Page 34: Codex Tudela 2002, pl. 75.
Page 35: Codex Mendoza 1964, first
part, pl. 9, 22.
Page 36: Codex Mendoza 1964, first
part, pl. 4, 12.
Contents
69
fol. 50v
Page 38: Codex Mendoza 1964, third
part, pl. 61, 126.
Page 39a: Codex Mendoza 1964, third
part, pl. 61, 126.
Page 39b: Sahagún 1979, bk. 11, ch. 6, fol.
110v.
fol. 209v.
Page 40b: Codex Mendoza 1964, third
part, pl. 71, 146.
Page 41: Codex Vaticanus B 1972, pl.
79.
fol. 201r.
fol. 211v.
122r.
fol. 121v.
Page 44b: Codex Ixtlilxochitl 1996, pl.
106r.
fol. 24v.
par. 5, fol. 142v.
Page 47: Sahagún 1979, bk. 4, ch. 5, fol.
13v.
Page 48: Sahagún 1979, bk. 4, ch. 3, fol.
8v.
Page 49: Museo Nacional de Antropo
logía.
fol. 39v.
fol. 40r.
Contents
70
Photograph Credits
i
Berenice Ceja Juárez
Page 11a.
Pages 9; 10a; 10b; 11b; 12a; 12b; 13; 14; 15;
16; 17; 18a; 19; 20; 21a; 21b; 22b; 23a; 23b;
24; 26a; 26b; 27a; 27b; 29a; 29b; 30a;
30b; 31a; 31b; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38;
39a; 39b; 40a; 40b; 41; 42; 43a; 43b;
44a; 44b; 46a; 46b; 47; 48; 49; 51 and 53.
Miguel Ángel Marín Hernández
Pages 22a and 50.
Sofía Armella Spitalier
Pages 25 and 28.
Contents
71
Jaime Echeverría García received undergraduate degrees in Pyschology from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and in Archaeology from the Escuela Nacional de
Antropología e Historia. He holds a Master’s in Anthropology from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and is presently completing his doctorate in Anthropology
at the same institution. His lines of research are madness, alterity, and fear among the
ancient Nahuas, and he has published several works on these subjects.
Scientific committee: Alfonso Arellano Hernández, Antonio Reyes Valdéz, Carlos
Guadalupe Heiras Rodríguez, Carlos Viramontes Anzures, Cristina Corona Jamaica,
David Jesús Arreola Rodríguez, Elsa Julieta del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Serrano
y Peña, Emiliano Gallaga Murrieta, Eugeni Porras, Francis Pimentel,
Francisco Rivas Castro, Gabriel Lalo Jacinto, Ismael Arturo Montero García, Ivan
Franco Cáceres, J. Daniel Flores Guiérrez, Júpiter Martínez Ramírez, Joel Santos
Ramírez, Julia del Carmen Chávez Carapia, Laura Castañeda, Lina del Mar
Moreno Tovar, Lizeth Barreto Saucedo, Luis Alberto Martos López, Luis Felipe
Bate Peterson, Luis Enrique Ferro Vidal, María de Jesús Rodríguez-Shadow, María
Elena Ruiz Gallut, María Isabel Mercado Archilla, Martha Chávez Torres, Mary
Goldsmith, Mauricio Gálvez Rosales, Miriam Judith Gallegos Gomora, Nadia Giral
Sancho, Nicolas Balutet, Osvaldo Roberto Murillo Soto, Pablo Montero Soria, Pablo
Valderrama Rouy, Peter Biró, Raúl Martín Arana Álvarez, Raquel Padilla Ramos,
Rocío García Valgañón, Rosemary Joyce, Samuel Villela Flores, Tobias García
Vilchis, Verónica Ortega Cabrera.
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Pre-Hispanic man accorded food a central place and a vital importance in his
culture. Products such as maize, beans,
squash, cacao, and chili have their origins in Mesoamerica and form part of
the cultural heritage of humanity. This
catalogue, published in connection with
the exhibition Eating and Being: The
Gastronomic Roots of Mexico, seeks to
honor the link between foods and the
lives of human beings.

Gulf of Mexico Pacific Ocean

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