The Aztecs at Independence: Nahua Culture Makers in Central Mexico, 1799–1832

263 Pages·2016·3.381 MB·English

by  Miriam Melton-Villanueva

The AzTecs AT
Independence

mIRIAm meLTon-vILLAnuevA
THe aZTeCs aT
iNDePeNDeNCe
Nahua Culture Makers in Central Mexico, 1799–1832
TUCSON
The University of Arizona Press
www.uapress.arizona.edu
© 2016 The Arizona Board of Regents
All rights reserved. Published 2016
Printed in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 16 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-3353-4 (cloth)
Cover design by Leigh McDonald
Cover photo by Miriam Melton-Villanueva
Publication of this book is made possible in part by funding from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
College of Liberal Arts, and by the proceeds of a permanent endowment created with the assistance of a
Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Melton-Villanueva, Miriam, author.
Title: The Aztecs at independence : Nahua culture makers in central Mexico, 1799–1832 /
Miriam Melton-Villanueva.
Description: Tucson : The University of Arizona Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016008674 | ISBN 9780816533534 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Nahuas—Ethnic identity. | Nahuas—Writing—Sources. | Nahuatl imprints—
Sources. | Nahuatl language—Social aspects—Sources. | Nahuas—Religion—19th century. |
Nahuas—History—19th century—Sources. | Nahuas—Social life and customs—19th century—
Sources. | Nahuatl-Spanish dialect—Mexico—Sources.
Classification: LCC F1221.N3 M45 2016 | DDC 305.897/452—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn
.loc.gov/2016008674
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
In memory of my father and dedicated to my mother and
son who traveled with me to the Huasteca Veracruzana
to learn more than Nahuatl
x

conTenTs
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
1. Inside the Altepetl of san Bartolomé 20
2. spanish-Language Texts by nahua escribanos 45
3. The escribanos Who still Wrote in nahuatl 64
4. nahuatl Formulas over Time and in other Altepetl 84
5. death Rites, Local Religion, and Women on church Grounds 102
6. household Ritual 127
conclusion 145
epilogue 158
Appendix 1. Testament List from the Independence Archive
with Reference Codes 161
Appendix 2. Notaries of the Independence Archive by Altepetl 169
Appendix 3. Sample Testaments 173
viii Contents
Notes 189
Glossary 225
Bibliography 227
Index 239
ILLusTRATIons
Figures
1. Map of the Metepec-Region Altepetl 5
2. Lienzo de Tlaxcala 8
3. The Changing Boundaries of the New Nation after Independence 11
4. My First Sight of San Bartolomé’s Parish 21
5. Known Deaths in San Bartolomé, 1799–1832 23
6. Officials of the Cabildo and Fiscalía in San Bartolomé 30
7. Nahuatl- and Spanish-Language Wills in Four Altepetl, 1799–1832 47
8. Spanish-Language Testament of Tiburcio Valentín 48
9. Spanish-Language Testament of Alejandro Justo 48
10. Nahuatl-Language Testament of Tiburcia Valenciana 68
11. Nahuatl-Language Testament of Manuela Lugarda 69
12. Example from the Hand of Rufino Faustino #1 76
13. Example of the Hand of Rufino Faustino #2 77
14. Opening the Independence Archive 85
15. Two-Page Testament Style on One Sheet 86
16. Four-Page Testament Style on One Larger Folded Sheet 87
17. Official Seal from Secular Notarial Archive 88
18. Bernardino Antonio Nahuatl-Language Testament, 1812 93
19. San Bartolomé’s Canopy of Trees 103