I came across a lovely little hoard of traditional Aztec poems, prayers, and songs the other night. These were originally recored in Ruiz de Alarcon’s 1629 work, Tratado de las supersticiones y costumbres gentílicas que oy viven entre los indios naturales desta Nueva Espana, commonly referred to as “Treatise on Heathen Superstitions” for short in English. For example, he’s posted prayers for safe travel, for love, and even a myth in song about Xochiquetzal and the Scorpion. Professor Joseph J. Fries of Pacific Lutheran University is the person who has generously posted these precious literary treasures, and he includes a bit of commentary as well. Thank you, Dr. Fries!
Click HERE to read some Aztec poems!
Xochiquetzal, Goddess of the Arts
September 29, 2008 | Categories: Culture, Literature | Tags: adorar, antes de la conquista, Aztec, Aztec religion, Azteca, ética, belief, calendar, Caxxoch, Centeotl, ceremony, Chalchiuhcueye, Chalchiuhtlicue, chant, chaos, Chicome-Xochitl, Cinteotl, Cipactonal, Conquest, cosmology, costumbre, creencia, Cuaton, cultura, culture, dios, dioses, divine, ethics, evil, faith, fe, filosofía, flower and song, Francisco X. Alarcón, god, goddess, gods, good, Heathen Superstitions, huehuetlatolli, Huitzilopochtli, hymn, idea, immoral, in xóchitl in cuicatl, indígena, Indian, indigenous, indio, Joseph J. Fries, la religión de los aztecas, liturgy, Mesoamerica, Mexica, Mexicayotl, Mexico, Miguel León-Portilla, mito, Moquequeloa, Moquequeloatzin, moral, morality, myth, Nahua, Nanahuatl, Nanahuatzin, New Spain, oración, order, Oxomoco, philosophy, piedad, poem, poema, prayer, pre-Christian, pre-Columbian, pre-Conquest, Pre-Hispanic, Precolumbian, preconquest, Prehispanic, priest, Problem of Evil, Quetzalcoatl, reflexión, religion, ritual, Ruiz de Alarcón, sacrifice, scorpion, song, tecpatl, Telpochtli, teología, Teotihuacan, Teotl, theology, thought, Tlaloc, Tlaltecuhtli, Tlalteuctli, Tlalticpac, Tlazolteotl, Tonacacihuatl, tradicional, traditional, Tratado de las supersticiones y costumbres gentílicas, worship, Xapel, Xochiquetzal, xochitl | 3 Comments
Tlacatecco 