A Scattering of Jades

by Sullivan, Thelma D.

• ISBN13: 9780816523375
• ISBN10: 0816523371
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arizona Pr

Summary

Long before Europeans came to America,the Aztecs created a unique culture based on myth and a love of language. Myths and poems were an important part of their culture, and a successful speech by a royal orator was pronounced "a great scattering of jades." A Scattering of Jadesis an anthology of the best of Aztec literature, compiled by a noted anthropologist and a skilled translator of Nahuatl. It is a storehouse of myths, narratives, poems, and proverbs--as well as prayers and songs to the Aztec gods that provide insight into how these people's perception of the cosmos drove their military machine. Featuring a translation of the Mexicayotl--a work as important today for Mexico's concept of nationhood and ideology as it was at the time of the Conquest--these selections eloquently depict the everyday life of this ancient people and their unique worldview. A Scattering of Jadesis an unsurpassed window on ancient Mesoamerican civilization and an essential companion for anyone studying Aztec history, religion, or culture.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	13	(2)
The Aztec World of Ancient Mexico	15	(36)
Mesoamerican Origins	17	(1)
The Toltecs	18	(1)
The Gods	19	(2)
The Aztec Quest	21	(2)
Founding the Center of the Aztec World: Tenochtitlan	23	(3)
The Empire	26	(3)
Tenochtitlan	29	(3)
The Conquest	32	(4)
The Spiritual Conquest and the Preservation of Classic Aztec Culture	36	(3)
``A Polished Eye'': Understanding the Aztec World	39	(1)
Human Sacrifice	40	(2)
The Balance of Life	42	(1)
Women in Aztec Society	43	(1)
The Warrior's World	44	(1)
Contradictions of the Aztec World	45	(1)
World-Centering	46	(1)
Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli	47	(1)
A Scattering of Jades: Classic Aztec Literature	48	(3)
Translating the Aztec World: Thelma D. Sullivan	51	(182)
Form and Style in Aztec Literature	53	(6)
The Aztec World	59	(48)
The Ancient Suns of Mexico and Quetzalcoatl Codex Chimalpopoca: The Anales of Cuauhtitlan	61	(21)
The Origins of the Peoples of Cuauhtitlan	62	(2)
The Ancient Suns of Mexico	64	(3)
The Chichimeca	67	(2)
Quetzalcoatl, the Priest	69	(13)
The Finding and Founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan The Mexicayotl	82	(19)
The Cronica Mexicayotl	85	(16)
The Conquest of Mexico: the Words of the Conquered Fray Bernardino de Sahagun's History of All Things of New Spain (The Florentine Codex): The Final Chapters of the Conquest	101	(6)
How the Tlaltelolcans with the Mexicans and Their Lords Surrendered to the Spaniards	102	(2)
Remarks Directed by the Capitan Don Hernando Cortez to the Lords of Mexico, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, After His Victory, Demanding the Gold That Had Been Lost when the Spaniards Fled Mexico	104	(3)
Life and Death in Ancient Mexico: The Orations of the Elders	107	(42)
A Necklace of Jades
The Huehuetlatolli: Words of the Ancients; Words of Wisdom	109	(2)
Death	111	(3)
Life	114	(2)
The People and Their Ruler	116	(5)
O Precious Necklace, O Quetzal Feather!
Pregnancy and Childbirth	121	(2)
Hiring the Midwife	123	(10)
The Lying-in	133	(3)
Cutting the Umbilical Cord	136	(3)
The Washing of the Newborn Child	139	(2)
The Midwife Addresses the Newly Delivered Woman	141	(1)
The Warrior Woman	142	(3)
Invocation of the Warrior Woman	145	(4)
Prayers and Songs of the Gods	149	(32)
A Prayer to Tlaloc	151	(9)
O, Tlaloc!	152	(8)
The Songs of Ancient Mexico	160	(4)
Five Poems	161	(3)
The Songs of the Gods: Ten Prayers of the Primeros Memoriales	164	(17)
Fray Bernardino de Sahagun's Primeros Memoriales: Of the Songs That Were Given Voice in Honor of the Gods Both Within Their Temples and Beyond Them	166	(15)
Words of Jade: Proverbs, Metaphors, and Conundrums	181	(52)
Nahuatl Proverbs, Conundrums, and Metaphors, Collected by Sahagun	183	(42)
Some Proverbs That They Said and Still Say	185	(16)
Some Conundrums That They Tell and Try to Guess	201	(3)
Some Figures of Speech, Called Metaphors	204	(21)
The Metaphors from the Orations of Fray Andres de Olmos	225	(1)
The Manners of Speech of the Elders in Their Ancient Orations	226	(7)
Abbreviations	233	(1)
Sources and Readings	234	(29)
Index	263