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The Nahua

 

 

     In understanding Nahua culture one must look at their history in regards to how they conquered neighboring kingdoms, developed their religious beliefs, and shared their culture. The latter way of life when the Spaniards came in and conquered, has resulted in absorbing other cultures and beliefs along their campaign of creating a greater empire. In Miguel Leon-Portilla’s book, Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World, he gives broad accounts of the Nahuatl poets, including women and men, and their works. 

Mexican 100 Peso mint, Bank of Mexico, Dec 2005

This 100 peso note includes the image of Netzahualcóyotl

     The poet, Nezahualcoyotl, shares in one poem about the sun god, a most revered god to which many human sacrifices were made. In the poem he is referred to as the Giver of Life, a term which later is aligned to the Christian God.  This reference was assigned by the Franciscans as they found the best terms to translate Christian meaning to Nahuatl religious ones. Nahua culture was rich with celebrations, festivals, plays, poem readings, songs, dance and human sacrifices. There is much literature circulated about how this mighty empire was mostly built on human sacrifice. However, Louise Burkhart argues that, “The official Aztec doctrine that the sun required constant feeding with human hearts to continue on its daily round was an elaboration upon this basic symbiosis between sacrifice and cosmic maintenance.”[1]

 

 

 

Musicians and poets (Codice florentino, ix) Drawing in the Florentine Codex. Artist Unknown, 1569.

A poem by Nezahualcoyotl:

 

“They shall not wither, my flowers,

they shall not cease, my songs.

I, the singer, lift them up.

They are scattered, they spread about.

Even though on earth my flowers

may wither and yellow,

they will be carried there,

to the innermost house

of the bird with the golden feathers.”

(Cantares Mexicanos. Manuscript in the National Library of Mexico ed. Antonio Penafiel. Mexico City, 1994) 

'Flower Songs' were a particular theme in Nahua culture. The poets would have a specific patter of writing these poems. They kept close to the rhythms of speech. Their poetics included repetition of ideas in parallel form and used many metaphors. They typically were performed to a certain beat of hand drums. 

While many scholars argue about the frequency of human sacrifices it seems that over the historiography on this manner there is still much exaggeration to how often they participated in these kinds of rituals. The focus on human sacrifices upstages the rest of Nahua culture and life.  The Nahuas had a great civilization, and as Leon-Portilla explains that when Cortes came into Tenochtitlan he “amazed at the splendor of the Aztec metropolis.” Leon-Portilla goes onto share that “it was not only the pyramids, sculpture, and painting which astonished the conquerors. They came to know something about the organization of the political, social and religious life of the Aztecs.”[2] Even the first Franciscan missionaries that shortly followed Cortes were impressed at the record keeping of the people.

 

 

 

TLILLAN CALMECAC-XIKIYEHUA IN XOCHITL (canto nahuatl)

nemati yao, May 2013

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