Point South Mexico - Real Estate and Lifestyle Magazine

In the last article we looked at the Aztec document, the Codex en Cruz. These pre-Hispanic chronicles or annals contained dated events recorded in chronological order. The priest or scribe familiar with the symbols in the pictorial manuscript would then use it as a kind of prompt book or mnemonic guide that could be turned into a continuous historical narrative. This way of recording history passed continued into the post-Hispanic period. For example, the Anales de Cuauhtitlan (in Nahuatl) follows the annalistic format but also contains long narrative passages interspersed with mere lists of dates in chronological order.

In the last article we looked at the Aztec document, the Codex en Cruz. These pre-Hispanic chronicles or annals contained dated events recorded in chronological order. The priest or scribe familiar with the symbols in the pictorial manuscript would then use it as a kind of prompt book or mnemonic guide that could be turned into a continuous historical narrative. This way of recording history passed continued into the post-Hispanic period. For example, the Anales de Cuauhtitlan (in Nahuatl) follows the annalistic format but also contains long narrative passages interspersed with mere lists of dates in chronological order.

Half man, half god, Quetzalcoatl, the "Feathered Serpent," remains the most enigmatic figure in ancient Mexico. Many different theories and explanations have been offered to explain this strange, bearded figure who mysteriously disappeared but whose return was prophesied. According to some accounts Cortés was identified with Quetzal-coatl, which, it is said, contributed to the downfall of the Aztec empire. It is not my intention here to add one more theory but simply to review briefly some of the evidence we have for the life and times of Quetzalcoatl, both as a deity and as a man. In view of all that has been written on the subject to date, the ancient Aztecs probably would not even recognize the contemporary image of the most important deity in all of Mesoamerica.

In the center of the grassy divider of Avenida Madero, directly in front of the Palacio Municipal in Chapala, stands a stark stone of pale gold cantera with six names engraved in black. To the left of the names is the simple-but for Mexicans, profound-statement "Se Murió por la Patria" ("He died for the country.") These are the names of Los Niños Héroes-"the heroic youth"-who are honored in México every September 13.

Many people are horrified when they read about the ancient Aztec ritual of large-scale human sacrifice, especially the practice of removing and wearing the skins of sacrificed victims for ceremonial purposes. The Spanish Conquistadors and the priests who followed them into Mexico in the 16th century were so horrified that they used this as one of the God-given "reasons" for totally destroying Aztec civilization. However, there is another side to the story.