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History Of The Conquest Of Mexico, The Aztecs (part seven) The Postclassical Era Book: Chapter 17: The Americas On The Eve Of Invasion Author: Prescott, William H Date: 1992
Document: Aztec Women And Men
In the mid-16th century, Bernardino de Sahagun, a Spanish missionary, prepared an extraordinary encyclopedia of Aztec culture. His purpose was to gather this information to learn the customs and beliefs of the Indians and their language in order to better convert them. While Sahagun hated the Indian religion, he came to admire many aspects of their culture. His work, The General History of the Things of New Spain, is one of the first ethnographies and a remarkable compendium of Aztec culture. Sahagun used numerous Indian informants to tell him about the days before the European arrival and so, even though this work dates from the postconquest era, it contains much useful information about earlier Aztec life.
In the following excerpts, the proper behavior for different roles of both women and men in Aztec society are described by the Aztecs themselves.
Father
One's father is the source of lineage. He is the sincere one. One's father is diligent, solicitous, compassionate, sympathetic; a careful administrator of his household. He rears, he teaches others, he advises, he admonishes one. He is exemplary; he leads a model life. He stores up for himself; he stores up for others. He cares for his assets; he saves for others. He is thrifty; he saves for the future, teaches thrift. He regulates, distributes with care, establishes order.
The bad father is incompassionate, negligent, unreliable. He is unfeeling ... a shirker, a loafer, a sullen worker.
Mother
One's mother has children; she suckles them. Sincere, vigilant, agile, she is an energetic worker - diligent, watchful, solicitous, full of anxiety. She teaches people; she is attentive to them. She caresses, she serves others; she is apprehensive for their welfare; she is careful, thrifty - constantly at work.
The bad mother is evil, dull, stupid, sleepy, lazy. She is a squanderer, a petty thief, a deceiver, a fraud. Unreliable, she is one who loses things through neglect or anger, who heeds no one. She is disrespectful, inconsiderate, disregarding, careless. She shows the way to disobedience; she expounds nonconformity.
The Ruler
The ruler is a shelter - fierce, revered, famous, esteemed; well-reputed, renowned.
The good ruler is a protector; one who carries his subjects in his arms, who unites them, who brings them together. He rules, he takes responsibilities, assumes burdens. He carries his subjects in his cape; he bears them in his arms. He governs; he is obeyed. To him as a shelter, as refuge, there is recourse. . . .
The bad ruler is a wild beast, a demon of the air, an ocelot, a wolf - infamous, avoided, detested as a respecter of nothing. He terrifies with his gaze; he makes the earth rumble; he implants, he spreads fear. He is wished dead.
The Noble
The noble has a mother, a father. He resembles his parents. The good noble is obedient, cooperative, a follower of his parents' ways, a discreet worker; attentive, willing. He follows the ways of his parents; he resembles his father; he becomes his father's successor, he assumes his lot.
One of noble lineage is a follower of the exemplary life, a taker of the good example of others; a seeker, a follower of the exemplary life. He speaks eloquently, he is soft-spoken, virtuous, deserving of gratitude. He is noble of heart, gentle of word, discreet, well-reared, well-taught. He is moderate, energetic, inquiring, inquisitive. He scratches the earth with a thorn. He is one who fasts, who starves his entrails, who parches his lips. He provides nourishment to others. He sustains one, he serves food, he provides comfort. He is a concealer [of himself], a belittler of himself. He magnifies and praises others. He is a mourner for the dead, a doer of penances, a gracious speaker; devout, godly, desirable, wanted, memorable.
The bad noble is ungrateful and forgetful; a debaser, a disparager of things, contemptuous of others, arrogant, bragging. He creates disorder, glories over his lineage, exdols his own virtues.
The Mature Common Woman
The good mature woman is candid. She is resolute, firm of heart, constant - not to be dismayed; brave like a man; vigorous, resolute, persevering - not one to falter. She is long-suffering; she accepts reprimands calmly - endures things like a man. She becomes firm - takes courage. She is intent. She gives of herself. She goes in humility. She exerts herself.
The bad woman is thin, tottering, weak - an inconstant companion, unfriendly. She annoys others, chagrins them, shames, oppresses one. She becomes impatient, she loses hope, becomes embarrassed - chagrined. Evil is her life, she lives in shame.
The Weaver Of Designs
She concerns herself with using thread, works with thread. The good weaver of designs is skilled - a maker of varicolored capes, an outliner of designs, a blender of colors, a joiner of pieces, a matcher of pieces, a person of good memory. She does things dexterously. She weaves designs. She selects. She weaves tightly. She forms borders. She forms the neck. . . .
The bad weaver of designs is untrained - silly, foolish, unobservant, unskilled of hand, ignorant, stupid. She tangles the thread, she harms her work - she spoils it.
The Physician
The physician is a knower of herbs, of roots, of trees, of stones; she is experienced in these. She is one who conducts examinations; she is a woman of experience, of trust, of professional skill: a counselor.
The good physician is a restorer, a provider of health, a relaxer - one who makes people feel well, who envelops one in ashes. She cures people; she provides them health, she lances them, she bleeds them . . . pierces them with
an obsidian lancet. Main Page
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