“Any contact with the Mexican people, however brief, reveals that the ancient beliefs and customs are still in existence beneath Western forms. These still-living remains testify to the vitality of the pre-Cortesian cultures. And after the discoveries of archaeologists and historians it is no longer possible to refer to those societies as savage or primitive tribes. Over and above the fascination or horror they inspire in us, we must admit that when the Spaniards arrived in Mexico they found complete and refined civilizations.”  (Octavio Paz, 89)

Change of Language

Photo: oaxacaoaxaca.com

Before I start with my first examples of what culture is, I would like to explore what culture is. According to The Journal of Psychology, “Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group’s skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society through its institutions. For example, the word “blouse” has absolutely no meaning until it is assigned one. It is a meaning that is learned, shared, and understood within the English speaking community. “Blusa” is “blouse” in Spanish. The similarity is not a coincidence because both languages have a strong background in Latin. When we look at the Hueyapan Nahuatl word for “blouse” we find that they call it “saco”, which means “bag” in spanish. Culture is learned symbols that are shared by a group. The natives in Mexico did not pick up the word “saco” from just anywhere, it is just a small example of European influence on their language. The natives originally called it: Huipíl.

The words are examples of the symbols that are mentioned in the definition of culture that I provided, buy I would like to focus on the attitudes, values, and motives. These are the main elements that make up a community’s worldview.

Aztec Poetry

Let’s go back a little. Ruiz de Alarcon translated Aztec poems into Spanish in the seventeenth century and called the collection “Tratado de las Supersiciones y Costumbres Gentilicas que oy Viven Entre Los Indios Naturales Desta Nueva Espana“. A look at the heathen superstitions and customs that were believed between the native indians of New Spain. The title suggests the negative view that Catholics had of Aztec culture.

To Earthworms Before Fishing With A Hook

A red chichimec is a metaphorical fish hook. The poem implies that the fisher wants to catch all of the fish. Notice anything here? The white spirit is someone who is there to help. Iztac-Tlamacazqui literally means “white-one-who-gives-something”. This comes from the legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl in which Iztaccihuatl, a princess, falls in love with Popocatepetl, one of her father’s warriors and is falsely told that he had died in battle. She dies of grief and when he returns, he goes to her grave outside of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) and the gods covered them with snow, turning them into mountains. The name Iztaccihuatl literally means “white woman” because the mountain outside of Mexico City resembles a woman sleeping on her back. I would not want to make assumptions but this could possibly be a cultural factor that affected how Moctezuma acted towards Hernan Cortez when the Spaniards were first arriving on top of the effect of Moctezuma thinking Cortez was Quetzacoatl.

Iztaccihuatl (Library of Congress)

Journey

The poem is strongly marked with repetition, notice the endings with “tl” in the first four lines of the first stanza, the “an” of the second stanza, the “nemi” of the third, and the “az” of the fifth. Unlike European poetry, the Aztecs didn’t focus on rhyming, but rather a kind of alliteration. It gives the poem musical unity that can be found in most Aztec poetry. Some people argue that this a poem for a pochtecatl, or traveling merchant that is preparing himself for travel. Notice how the poem starts with I myself, I quetzalcoatl, I the hand, indeed I the Warrior. This suggests that the merchant must be wise about as prepared for what is to come on his travels. The last three stanzas are ambiguous as to how the knife is to be used, it suggests either preparedness for a confrontation or a self sacrifice.

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