Mesoamerican Voices
Mesoamerican Voices presents a collection of indigenous-language writings from the colonial period, translated into English. The texts were written from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries by Nahuas from central Mexico, Mixtecs from Oaxaca, Maya from Yucatan, and other groups from Mexico and Guatemala. The volume gives college teachers and students access to important new sources for the history of Latin America and Native Americans. It is the first collection to present the translated writings of so many native groups and to address such a variety of topics, including conquest, government, land, household, society, gender, religion, writing, law, crime, and morality. The authors present more than 60 native-language documents that speak to many aspects of indigenous culture and colonial society, organized into separate chapters; each chapter contains an essay that summarizes the documents, and each document is introduced and briefly analyzed.
Table of Contents Map Preface & Acknowledgments
PART ONE Chapter 1. Mesoamericans and Spaniards in the Sixteenth Century Chapter 2. Literacy in Colonial Mesoamerica
PART TWO Chapter 3. Views of the Conquest Chapter 4. Political Life Chapter 5. Household and Land Chapter 6. Society and Gender Chapter 7. Crime and Punishment Chapter 8. Religious Life Chapter 9. Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy
Glossary References and Readings Index
List of Documents and Images
Chapter 3. Views of the Conquest
3.1 A Nahuatl Account of the Conquest of Mexico in Book XII of the Florentine Codex, and Selected Illustrations
3.2 Excerpt from the Nahuatl Annals of Tlatelolco
3.3 Four Images from the Lienzo of Tlaxcala
3.4 The Nahuatl Title of Mexicapan, Oaxaca
3.5 The Mixtec Title of Chapultepec, Oaxaca, and an Accompanying Map
3.6 The Title of Motul, a Pech Maya account of the Conquest
3.7 A Chontal Maya Account of the Conquest, Excerpted from the Title of Acalan-Tixchel, 1612
Chapter 4. Political Life
4.1 Letter from the Nahua Cabildo of Tenochtitlan to the King of Spain, 1554
4.2 Letter from the Nahua Nobles of Xochimilco to the King of Spain, 1563
4.3 Debate Over the Removal of the Governor from the Nahua Cabildo of Tlaxcala, 1556
4.4 Complaints Against Congregation from the Nahua Cabildo of Tlaxcala, 1560
4.5-6 Petitions from the Maya Cabildos of Tahnab and Dzaptun to Alleviate Colonial Burdens, 1605
4.7 Petition from the Maya Cabildo of Xcupilcacab to Replace their Town Governor, 1812, and a Photograph of a Page of the Document
4.8 Mixtec Palace Possession Ceremony, Teposcolula, 1569, a Photo of the Palace in 2003, and an Image of the Mixtec Yuhuitayu from the Codex Becker II
4.9 Excerpt from the Mixtec Codex Sierra, or the Community Accounts of Santa Catalina Texupa (1550-1564) and Reproductions of Two Pages from the Codex
Chapter 5. Household and Land
5.1 Portion of a Nahuatl Census from the Cuernavaca region, ca. 1540
5.2 Nahuatl Grant of a House Site in San Miguel Tocuillan, 1583
5.3 Concerns Over the Sale of Nahua Nobles’ Lands, Tlaxcala, 1552
5.4 Zapotec Land Transfer from Zimatlan, 1565
5.5 Nahuatl Testament of Doña María Juárez, Culhuacan, 1577
5.6 Last Will and Testament and Inventory of Goods and Properties of the Mixtec Lord of Yanhuitlan, don Gabriel de Guzmán, 1591
5.7-5.9 Maya Testaments of Juan de la Cruz Coba and Mateo Canche, and the Settling by the Cabildo of the Estate of Josef Cab, Ixil, 1766
5.10 Testament in Kekchí Maya of Magdalena Hernández, Cobán, 1583
5.11 Acknowledgment of a Maya Land Sale, Ebtun, 1769
5.12 Litigation over Land in Mixtec Yanhuitlan, 1681
Chapter 6. Society and Gender
6.1 Assessing the Maize Tribute in the Nahua Cabildo of Tlaxcala, 1548
6.2 Debate in the Nahua Cabildo of Tlaxcala on the Cultivation and Sale of Cochineal, 1553
6.3 Privileges and Assets of Don Juan de Guzmán, Nahua Governor of Coyoacan, c.1550
6.4 Nahuatl Testament of Ana Juana, Culhuacan, 1580
6.5 Mixtec Testament of Don Gerónimo García y Guzmán, Teposcolula, 1672
6.6 Mixtec Testament of Doña Lazara de Guzmán, Teposcolula, 1691
6.7 Mixtec Testament of Lucia Hernández Nuquihui, Tepsocolula, 1633
6.8 Maya Testament of Juan Cutz, Motul, 1762
6.9 Lawsuit by Diego Pox against don Jorge Xiu, Maya governor of Dzan, over Alleged Judicial and Sexual Misconduct, c.1580
6.10 Excerpts from Chimalpahin’s Diario
Chapter 7. Crime and Punishment
7.1 Nahuatl Petition of Simón de Santiago before the Cabildo, 1584
7.2 Mixtec Testimonies Recorded After an Attempted Homicide in Chalcatongo, 1581
7.3 A Mixtec Murder Note from Yanhuitlan, 1684
7.4 Petition of a Nahua Family Concerning the Death of a Son, Malinalco, 1641
7.5 Maya Testimony by the Cabildo of San Román Campeche on the Alleged Rape of a Maya Girl by a Spaniard, 1766
7.6 Maya Petition of Complaint Against a Spanish Priest by the Towns of Oxtzucon, Peto, Tahdziu, Tetzal, and Tixmeuac, 1589
7.7 Anonymous Petition of Complaint Against Four Friars, over Alleged Professional and Sexual Misconduct, Mani Region, 1774
7.8 Account of the Maya Tekax Revolt, by Cabildo Member Andrés Chan, 1610
7.9 Maya Testimonies Regarding the Seditious Behavior of a Desorejado from the 1761 Uprising, Hoctun, 1762
Chapter 8. Religious Life
8.1 A Mixtec Origin Legend from Cuilapan, c. 1600
8.2 Quiché Origin Legend, from the Title of Totonicapán, 1554
8.3 The Yucatec Maya Origin Legend and Annals of the Xiu, from the Book of Chilam Balam of Mani
8.4 Excerpt from the Testimony of an Unbaptized Mixtec Priest During the Inquisitorial Trial of Yanhuitlan, 1544
8.5 Nahuatl Decree Against Dancing With Feathers Around the Crucifix, Issued by the Cabildo of Tlaxcala in 1550
8.6 Letter to the King of Spain from Maya Rulers of the Canul and Other Rulers in the Calkiní Region on the Subject of Spanish Priests, 1567
8.7 Letter to the King of Spain from Maya Rulers of the Pech and Other Rulers in the Mérida Region on the Subject of Spanish Priests, 1567
8.8 Ecclesiastical Dispensation for a Mixtec Marriage, 1622
8.9 Nahuatl Testament of Angelina from San Simón Pochtlan, Azcapotzalco, 1695
8.10 Excerpt from the Nahuatl Story of the Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, 1649
Chapter 9. Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy
9.1 Nahuatl Speeches from Book VI of the Florentine Codex, and Selected Images
9.2 Excerpts from the Nahuatl Midwife's Speeches from Book VI of the Florentine Codex, and Selected Images
9.3 Excerpts from the Nahuatl Tetzcoco Dialogues, c.1570s
9.4 A Prophesy on Morality, from the Maya Book of Chilam Balam of Mani |