Annals of Native America : how the Nahuas of colonial Mexico kept their history alive

"For many generations, the Nahuas of Mexico maintained their tradition of the xiuhpohualli. or "year counts," telling and performing their history around communal firesides so that the memory of it would not be lost. When the Spaniards came, young Nahuas took the Roman letters taught to them by the friars and used the new alphabet to record historical performances by elders. Between them, they wrote hundreds of pages, which circulated widely within their communities. Over the next century and a half, their descendants copied and recopied these texts, sometimes embellishing, sometimes extracting, and often expanding them chronologically.The annals, as they have usually been called, were written not only by Indians but also for Indians, without regard to European interests. As such they are rare and inordinately valuable texts. They have often been assumed to be both largely anonymous and at least partially inscrutable to modern ears. In this work, Nahuatl scholar Camilla Townsend reveals the authors of most of the texts, restores them to their proper contexts, and makes sense of long misunderstood documents. She follows a remarkable chain of Nahua historians, generation by generation, exploring who they were, what they wrote, and why they wrote it. Sometimes they conceived of their work as a political act, reinstating bonds between communities, or between past, present, and future generations. Sometimes they conceived of it largely as art and delighted in offering language that was beautiful or startling or humorous. Annals of Native America brings together, for the first time, samples of their many creations to offer a heretofore obscured history of the Nahuas and an alternate perspective on the Conquest and its aftermath."--Amazon.com. Read more... Abstract: This study of colonial Mexico's Nahuatl-language annals brings the xiuhpohualli tradition to life. Author Camilla Townsend has deduced the authorship of most of the texts and thus is able to place the works in their rightful contexts and render the stories more accessible to modern ears than they have been before. Read more... "For many generations, the Nahuas of Mexico maintained their tradition of the xiuhpohualli. or "year counts," telling and performing their history around communal firesides so that the memory of it would not be lost. When the Spaniards came, young Nahuas took the Roman letters taught to them by the friars and used the new alphabet to record historical performances by elders. Between them, they wrote hundreds of pages, which circulated widely within their communities. Over the next century and a half, their descendants copied and recopied these texts, sometimes embellishing, sometimes extracting, and often expanding them chronologically. The annals, as they have usually been called, were written not only by Indians but also for Indians, without regard to European interests. As such they are rare and inordinately valuable texts. They have often been assumed to be both largely anonymous and at least partially inscrutable to modern ears. In this work, Nahuatl scholar Camilla Townsend reveals the authors of most of the texts, restores them to their proper contexts, and makes sense of long misunderstood documents. She follows a remarkable chain of Nahua historians, generation by generation, exploring who they were, what they wrote, and why they wrote it. Sometimes they conceived of their work as a political act, reinstating bonds between communities, or between past, present, and future generations. Sometimes they conceived of it largely as art and delighted in offering language that was beautiful or startling or humorous. Annals of Native America brings together, for the first time, samples of their many creations to offer a heretofore obscured history of the Nahuas and an alternate perspective on the Conquest and its aftermath."--Amazon.com For many generations, the Nahuas of Mexico maintained their tradition of the xiuhpohualli. or "year counts," telling and performing their history around communal firesides so that the memory of it would not be lost. When the Spaniards came, young Nahuas took the Roman letters taught to them by the friars and used the new alphabet to record historical performances by elders. Between them, they wrote hundreds of pages, which circulated widely within their communities. Over the next century and a half, their descendants copied and recopied these texts, sometimes embellishing, sometimes extracting, and often expanding them chronologically.The annals, as they have usually been called, were written not only by Indians but also for Indians, without regard to European interests. As such they are rare and inordinately valuable texts. They have often been assumed to be both largely anonymous and at least partially inscrutable to modern ears. In this work, Nahuatl scholar Camilla Townsend reveals the authors of most of the texts, restores them to their proper contexts, and makes sense of long misunderstood documents. She follows a remarkable chain of Nahua historians, generation by generation, exploring who they were, what they wrote, and why they wrote it. Sometimes they conceived of their work as a political act, reinstating bonds between communities, or between past, present, and future generations. Sometimes they conceived of it largely as art and delighted in offering language that was beautiful or startling or humorous.Annals of Native America brings together, for the first time, samples of their many creations to offer a heretofore obscured history of the Nahuas and an alternate perspective on the Conquest and its aftermath. For many generations, the Nahuas of Mexico maintained their tradition of the xiuhpohualli (SHOO-po-wa-lee), or "year counts," telling and performing their history around communal firesides so that the memory of it would not be lost. When the Spaniards came, young Nahuas took the Roman letters taught them by the friars and used the new alphabet to record historical performances by elders. These written texts were carefully preserved and even expanded upon for over a century. The annals, as they have often been called, were written not only by Indians but also for Indians, without regard to European interests. As such they are rare and inordinately valuable texts. But they have also been difficult for recent generations to understand. They have often been assumed to be both largely anonymous and at least partially inscrutable to modern ears. Now Nahuatl scholar Camilla Townsend, by dint of careful research, has been able to deduce authorship in the case of most of the texts, allowing her to restore them to their proper contexts and make sense of long misunderstood documents. She follows a remarkable chain of Nahua historians chronologically, generation by generation, telling of their lives and exploring what they wrote and why they wrote it ## Abstract After the Spanish conquest, the Nahuas of colonial Mexico learned the Roman alphabet and used it to transcribe oral performances of traditional histories of their peoples. These texts were called xiuhpohaulli in Nahuatl and are usually referred to as “annals” now. They were produced by indigenous people and for indigenous people, without regard to European interests, and they therefore provide the closest view of pre-Columbian historiography we are ever likely to find. Over the course of the colonial era, the annals changed with the times, but for over one hundred years their flexibility allowed for incorporating the new without obliterating the old. Usually these texts have been assumed to be anonymous, but Camilla Townsend has deduced authorship in the case of most of the key texts, and in so doing, has been able to place them securely in their proper contexts, thus rendering them more legible to modern readers. Each chapter begins with a selection from a key text, then considers who wrote it and why, before finally embarking on an exploration of its meanings. This Study Of Colonial Mexico's Nahuatl-language Annals Brings The Xiuhpohualli Tradition To Life. Author Camilla Townsend Has Deduced The Authorship Of Most Of The Texts And Thus Is Able To Place The Works In Their Rightful Contexts And Render The Stories More Accessible To Modern Ears Than They Have Been Before. Old Stories In New Letters (1520s-1550s) -- Becoming Conquered (the 1560s) -- Forging Friendship With Franciscans (1560s-1580s) -- The Riches Of Twilight (c. 1600) -- Renaissance In The East (the 17th Century) -- Epilogue: Postscript From A Golden Age -- Appendices -- The Texts In Nahuatl -- Historia Tolteca Chichimeca -- Annals Of Tlatelolco -- Annals Of Juan Bautista -- Annals Of Tecamachalco -- Annals Of Cuauhtitlan -- Chimalpahin, Seventh Relation -- Don Juan Bautista Buenaventura Zapata Y Mendoza -- Annals Of Puebla. Camilla Townsend. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Annals of Native America 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 10 Acknowledgments 12 Glossary 16 Introduction 22 1. Old Stories in New Letters (1520s–​1550s) 38 2. Becoming Conquered (The 1560s) 76 3. Forging Friendship with Franciscans (1560s–​1580s) 120 4. The Riches of Twilight (Circa 1600) 162 5. Renaissance in the East (The Seventeenth Century) 196 Epilogue: Postscript from a Golden Age 234 Appendices: The Texts in Nahuatl 248 Historia Tolteca Chichimeca 248 Annals of Tlatelolco 251 Annals of Juan Bautista 254 Annals of Tecamachalco 262 Annals of Cuauhtitlan 267 Chimalpahin, Seventh Relation 273 Don Juan Buenaventura Zapata y Mendoza 275 Notes 280 Bibliography 322 Index 334