The rabbit on the face of the moon: mythology in the mesoamerican tradition

292 Pages·1996·1.89 MB·English

by  Alfredo López Austin

The Rabbit On the Face of the Moon :
title:
Mythology in the Mesoamerican Tradition
author: López-Austin, Alfredo.
publisher: University of Utah Press
isbn10 | asin:
print isbn13: 9780874805215
ebook isbn13: 9780585131788
language: English
Indian mythology--Mexico, Indian
mythology--Central America, Indians of
subject
Mexico--Folklore, Indians of Central
America--Folklore.
publication date: 1996
lcc: F1219.3.R38L716 1996eb
ddc: 299/.72
Indian mythology--Mexico, Indian
subject: mythology--Central America, Indians of
Mexico--Folklore, Indians of Central
America--Folklore.
Page iii
The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon
Mythology in the Mesoamerican Tradition
Alfredo López Austin
Translated by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano and Thelma Ortiz de
Montellano
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH PRESS
Salt Lake City
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©1996 by the University of Utah Press
All rights reserved
¥ Printed on acid-free paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
López-Austin, Alfredo.
The rabbit on the face of the moon : mythology in the mesoameri-
can tradition / Alfredo López-Austin; translated by Bernard R. Ortiz
de Montellano and Thelma Ortiz de Montellano.
p. cm.
A collection of essays that originally appeared in various issues of
México ingígena and Ojarascas.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87480-521-X (cloth : alk. paper). ISBN 0-87480-527-9
(pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Indian mythologyMexico. 2. Indian mythologyCentral
America. 3. Indians of MexicoFolklore. 4. Indians of Central
AmericaFolklore. I. Title.
F1219.3.R38L716 1996
299'.72dc20 96-26928

Page v
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Introduction ix
1 1
The Rabbit on the Face of the Moon
2 9
Myths and Names
3 15
Invention and Discovery in the Mythical Concept of the
World
4 21
Clay
5 27
The Words of the Incantation
6 33
Myths in the Mesoamerican Religious Tradition
7 39
Sayings
8 45
An Amazing Fruit
9 51
The Miracle of the Eagle and the Cactus
10 61
The Eclipse

Page vi
11 71
The Antichrist and the Suns
12 81
Tales about Opossums
13 91
The Name Tarasca
14 99
Our First Parents
15 109
The Left Hand, the Right Hand
16 115
Complements and Compositions
17 123
Synonymies
18 133
Ziryab
References Cited 141
Translators' Note 149
Index 151
Page vii
Illustrations
1. Three representations of the moon as a vessel 2
containing a rabbit
2. Mixtec representation of the moon 3
3. Rabbit carrying the moon and deer carrying the sun 40
4. The eagle on a cactus 55
5. The eagle eating a serpent on a cactus 56
6. The eagle eating a bird on a cactus 57
7. Relief on the Teocalli of the Sacred War 58
8. Hand positions used by the Achi to indicate the seasons 65
9. The moon goddess with a rabbit on her lap 67
10. Zapotec vessel representing the opossum god 84
11. Monkey figurine with an Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl mask 86
12. Preclassical clay whistle 87
13. Andesite image of Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl 87
14. The Mixtec Lord 9-Wind 88
15. Oxomoco and Cipactonal 104
6. Two elderly diviners 105
17. Oxomoco as Itzpapalotl and Cipactonal writing the 106
day sign
18. Two old people from a Tlatelolcan mural 107