Mexica: A History Podcast

Tag: nahua

  • Who was La Malinche, Malintzin, Marina?

    One of the most intriguing women in history is an indigenous woman who would become known as La Malinche. Her origins are clouded in a fog of varying details, but generally point to some ideas of who this woman was. Some folks report her birthplace as Olutla (Gomara), others as Tepeticpac (Florentine Codex), or maybe it was Huilotlan (Alva Ixtlilxochitl).

    Her actual name is believed to be Malintzin and she seems to be from a town near the coast south of San Juan de Ulua. Most of the tales about her indicate she was at least a noble, if not a full on princess, in a high ranking family in a small town near Cotaxtla. Some accounts say she was sold by her family to support their sagging stake in society. Other tales say she was kidnapped in a raid. By some means she was separated from her family and her town and ended up in a market where she was acquired by the Maya as a slave.

    Cortes and La Malinche
    An artist’s depiction of the meeting of Hernan Cortes and La Malinche with the Aztec emperor Montezuma II.
    (more…)

  • Who are the Nahua, Aztec, Mexica?

    Nahua, Aztec, Mexica

    As I’ve delved into “Aztec” culture I’ve learned of the many nuances of how the world refers to these people from the Valley of Mexico. Understanding who the Aztecs were takes an understanding of the politics of the Valley. Most Americans think of the Aztecs as Montezuma’s native people that were conquered by Cortes. That concept fits in as a hyper-simplistic footnote to the overall genocide of Indigenous people across North America, a “here’s how THEY did it” anecdote of complicity.

    Illustration of a moonlit Tenochtitlan and Lake Texcoco, by Tomas Filsinger.

    Lost in that simplified narrative is the cultural nuance of Aztec identity and the survival of a “mestizo” culture. Let’s delve in. A familiar European comparison might be the early British Empire, at least for identity structure. Ireland, Scotland and England share the English language. Politically, they are the United Kingdom, three kingdoms united. But if you call an Irishman English he would be quite offended. The people grouped together as Aztecs were also culturally distinct.

    (more…)