In the spirit of the aphorism “a picture is worth a thousand words,” I recommend stopping by the British Museum’s Aztec collection online. They have available 27 photographs (well, 26 if you ignore the crystal skull that’s been proven to be a hoax) of beautiful Aztec and Mixtec artifacts. Among them are statues of Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Mictlantecuhtli, Tlazolteotl, Tlaloc, Xochipilli, and Xipe Totec, as well as a rare mosaic ceremonial shield, a turquoise serpent pectoral, and a sacrificial knife. The images are thought-provoking and intense, as these objects speak wordlessly the vision of the Nahua peoples without Colonial censorship.
Click HERE to visit the British Museum’s Aztec Highlights.
As a bonus, I located an excellent photograph of a jade mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, God of Time and Fire, which is a part of the British Museum’s collection but is not on their website. Thank you Z-m-k for putting your fine photography skills to work on this worthy subject material and for your kindness in sharing it under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 License.
Jade Mask of Xiuhtecuhtli
October 4, 2008 | Categories: Arts & Sciences, Culture, Media, Photo, Religion, Things | Tags: adorar, antes de la conquista, atl-atl, atlatl, Aztec, Aztec religion, Azteca, ética, belief, British Museum, cache, ceremonial shield, ceremony, Chalchiuhtlicue, Chalco, Colonial, costumbre, creencia, crystal skull hoax, cultura, culture, dios, dioses, drum, Eagle Warrior, ethics, faith, fe, filosofía, flayed, god, goddess, gods, gold, Grand Temple, House of the Bows and Bells, Huey Teocalli, idea, image, indígena, Indian, indigenous, indio, itzpatl, jade, jewelry, knife, la religión de los aztecas, Mesoamerica, Mexica, Mexicayotl, Mexico, Mexico City, Mictlantecuhtli, Mictlanteuctli, mirror, Mixtec, Mixteca, Moctezuma, Montezuma, moral, morality, mosaic, Motecuhzoma, Nahua, obsidian, pectoral, perforator, philosophy, photo, picture, pottery, pre-Columbian, pre-Conquest, Pre-Hispanic, Precolumbian, preconquest, Prehispanic, Quetzalcoatl, reflexión, religion, sacrifice, serpent, statue, stone, tecpatl, Templo Mayor, teología, Teotl, tepetlacalli, teponaztli, Tezcatlipoca, theology, thought, Tlaloc, Tlaxcala, Tlazolteotl, tradicional, traditional, turquoise, worship, Xipe Totec, xiuhcoatl, Xiuhtecuhtli, Xiuhteuctli, Xochipilli | 3 Comments
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 