Nahuatl poetry: characteristics, authors and most representative poems

Inscriptions on monuments, ceramics and codices today attest to the greatness of the Nahuatl language cultures that, in addition to all their architectural and scientific development, they forged a writing system and, with it, a literature worthy of being known, especially its poetry.

Although the conquest of America meant the destruction of pre-Columbian institutions and productions, not all was lost. As for literature, cosmogonic and annals of history survived, but above all, poetry.

The Nahuatl language acted in the pre-Hispanic era as a lingua franca of the Aztec and Toltec world. The Aztecs, who arrived in Mexico-Tenochtitlán around the 13th century AD. C., they were heirs of the Toltecs, who had flourished between the IX and XI centuries and already knew the writing. It is also known that the Teotihuacanos spoke Nahuatl and that the Olmecs left the oldest inscriptions.

These cultures developed a mixed writing system that included pictographic, ideographic, and phonetics that have not yet been deciphered, although it is true that most of his legacy was from oral tradition.

According to Miguel León-Portilla, translator and specialist in the field, the conqueror Bernal Díaz del Castillo and the missionary Andrés Olmo, also a Nahuatl philologist, witnessed the existence of books and codices in the cultures prehispanic. But the work of Bernardino de Sahagún stood out singularly.

Friar and chronicler, Sahagún compiled much of Nahuatl poetry in a manuscript called Mexican songs and in another call Romances of the lords of New Spain. These materials were only rediscovered and translated in the 19th century, at which time the study of Nahuatl literature began.

Nahuatl literature categories

Those who wrote were called or considered tlamitini, which means "those who know things." Actually, tlamatinime (plural) acted as philosophers or poets.

From a literary point of view, the documents found to date give an account of two genres that were cultivated in the pre-Hispanic era:

• Tlatolli (word or speech), stories and prose discourses on history, knowledge, etc.; includes the xiuhámatl, that correspond to the annals of history;
• Cuícatl (song), which correspond to the poems and songs.

Of all these genres, will be the cuícatl, that is, the poems or songs, the focus of our reflection. Miguel León-Portilla has written abundantly about these, due to his aesthetic and cultural relevance.

Characteristics of Nahuatl poetry

Nahuatl poetry was perceived as a source of ancestral knowledge and memory. Through her, knowledge was passed down to generations. Along with this, it is presumed that cuícatl they were also perceived as divinely inspired. In that sense, it is believed that those who wrote Nahuatl poetry did not consider themselves only poets, but philosophers.

The poetic pieces that we find evoke memories and promote internal dialogue, so that spirituality and introspection are very important elements.

According to León-Portilla, rhythm and measure are added to this as formal elements. It is known that some of these poems were conceived to carry musical accompaniment or to be sung. The Nahua poems thus have a lyrical tone.

Authorship

Although a quantity of anonymous literature existed, signed texts also abounded. In some cases only the name of the poet is known. In others, there is knowledge of some biographical features.

Although some Nahua writers signed their works, they did not abide by anything resembling Western individualism. The Nahua poets embrace a tradition and, thus, go to each other with total freedom, within a certain sense of brotherhood and a spirit of collaboration. At least that's what Zora Rohousová says in her essay "Under the Flowering Tree."

For Rohousová, the guilds and elitist groups of pre-Hispanic troubadours shared the lexicon and images literary, without this being a factor to be underestimated, since the dominant culture tended to the perception of society like an everything.

Themes and purposes of Nahuatl poetry

Nahuatl poetry reflects on the deepest facts of life, but does not answer questions or reach decisive conclusions. For poets, life is presented as a mystery that cannot be solved.

This vital mystery is the main concern. The peculiarity of human destiny, which is nothing other than the inclement passage of time and inexorable death, is the most obvious anguish.

Faced with this, romantic love can do little. It is not, in fact, an essential concern of poetry. Researchers say that love never had a place in pre-Hispanic Nahuatl poetry, despite the presence of certain erotic poems. And it is that they do not talk about their own life or personal concerns, since the notion of individualism does not exist, just as there is no aesthetic value of originality.

In reality, the poets address the concerns shared by the elite. His themes will be, then, the passage of time, death, war, and poetry and art as flower and song. Along with this, cosmogonic myths, religious beliefs, friendship were also represented. on earth and, last but not least, the invocation of god, called "the giver of lifetime".

Style in Nahuatl poetry

According to León-Portilla, the stanzas of the poems in the Nahuatl language, as well as the units of expression, are organized by pairs, which implies that it is a non-linear development at the content level.

In that sense, an essential trait would be the parallelism. In poetic terms, the parallelism corresponds to those sentences with a related connotation or line-lines, in which a complement or a contrast is seen. León-Portilla gives the following example: "In Tlatelolco affliction is already spreading / suffering is already known" (huexotzincáyotl, folios 6v-7r of Mexican songs).

Another characteristic element of the Nahuatl style of poetic composition is the repeatability of the ideas that, within the same text, re-emerge again and again. It is presumed that this characteristic responds to the desire to emphasize the meaning and the message.

But one element that stands out above all is the diphrasism. Diphrasism, as expressed by León-Portilla, quoting Garibay in his text, "consists of pairing two metaphors that, together, provide the symbolic means of expressing a single thought."

Among the examples pointed out by León-Portilla himself, the following can be named: In ixtli, in yóllotl, which translates "face, heart", to refer to the person; / In xóchitl, in cuícatl, which means "flower, song", to refer to poetry; n ibíyotl, in tlahtolli, which means "breath, word", alluding to the word or speech. Both words in each group are different metaphors for the same concept.

Along with these style elements, the so-called interjective particles. These are syllables without meaning that fulfill the function of giving rhythm and musicality to the text.

Classification of Nahuatl poetry

Different subgenres can be recognized within Nahuatl poetry, as indicated by León-Portilla, each of which receives its name according to its content and, in some cases, according to its function.

Teocuícatl

The teocuícatl, or songs to the gods, were the subject of teaching of the calmécac or "row houses." Like the telpuchcalli or "youth houses", they were a kind of educational centers.

The teocuícatl related the primordial events or evoked the divinity. They could function as sacred hymns set to music for ceremonies. They also had a solemn and esoteric tone.

Xoxicuícatl and xopancuícatl

It is important to know that for the Nahua poets, poetry was itself a subject for reflection, but it was called metaphorically. The xoxicuícatl, or songs to poetry (flower), and xopancuícatl, or spring songs, are a clear expression of this. For example, to call the poet he was named as "precious bird, red bird." Thus, the poems would be "flowers, perfumes, precious stones or quetzal feathers".

Cuauhcuícatl, ocelocuícatl and yaocuícatl

The cuauhcuícatl, or songs of eagles, the ocelocuícatl, also known as ocelot songs, and the yaocuícatl, which are the songs of war, are the various ways of naming the poems extolling the glories of famous captains, the battles and triumphs of cultures over other They could also be sung or performed.

Icnouícatl

The icnouícatl, or songs of sadness or anguish (orphan), for their part, were those in which the poet philosophizes about the mysteries of life, such as time and death.

Teponazcuícatl

The teponazcuícatl are those poems made to be strictly musicalized. They were the origin of drama in the Nahuatl culture.

Ahuilcuícatl and cuecuexcuícatl

Ahuilcuícatl and cuecuexcuícatl are those poems referring to songs of pleasure or songs of tickling respectively.

Nahua Poets and Poems

Tlaltecatzin

Born around 1320. He was lord of Cuauhchinanco in the 14th century. Contemporary of Techotlala, lord of Texcoco between 1357 and 1409. Singer of pleasure, woman and death.

Singing

In solitude I sing
to the one who is Ometéotl
... In the place of light and heat,
in the place of command,
the flowery cocoa is sparkling,
the drink that intoxicates with flowers.
I have longing
my heart savors it,
my heart gets drunk,
in truth my heart knows:
Red bird with a rubber neck!
fresh and burning,
you light up your garland of flowers.
Oh mother!
Sweet, tasty woman,
precious flower of toasted corn,
you just lend yourself,
you will be abandoned,
you will have to go,
you will be emaciated.
Here you have come
in front of the lords,
you wonderful creature,
you invite pleasure.
On the mat of yellow and blue feathers
here you stand upright.
Precious toasted corn flower,
you just lend yourself,
you will be abandoned,
you will have to go,
you will be emaciated.
The blooming cocoa
it already has foam,
the tobacco flower was distributed.
If my heart liked it
my life would get drunk.
Each one is here
on the earth,
you gentlemen, my gentlemen,
if my heart liked it,
he would get drunk.
I just grieve
say:
don't go
to the place of the fleshy.
My life is a precious thing.
I just am,
I am a singer
golden are the flowers that I have.
I already have to leave her,
I only contemplate my house,
the flowers remain in a row.
Maybe big jades,
extended plumage
are they my price?
I'll just have to leave
will ever be,
I'm just leaving
I'll go get lost
I abandon myself,
Ah, my Ometéotl!
I say: go me,
as the dead are wrapped,
I singer,
so be it.
Could someone take over my heart?
Only then will I have to go,
with flowers covered my heart.
Quetzal plumage will be destroyed,
the precious jades
that were wrought with art.
Nowhere is your model
on earth!
Let it be so
and that it is without violence.

Cuacuauhtzin

He lived between approximately 1410 and 1443. He was governor and poet of Tepechpan. He was also a successful warrior in his campaigns.

Sad song

Flowers eagerly my heart desires.
Let them be in my hands.
With songs I grieve,
I only rehearse songs on the ground.
I, Cuacuauhtzin,
I eagerly desire the flowers,
that they are in my hands,
I am unhappy.
Where will we really go
that we never have to die?
Even though I was a precious stone
even if it was gold,
I will be fused,
there in the crucible I will be pierced.
I only have my life
I, Cuacuauhtzin, am unhappy.
Your kettle of jades,
your red and blue snail so you make them resonate,
you, Yoyontzin.
It has arrived,
the singer is already standing.
Rejoice for a short time,
come to introduce yourself here
those whose hearts are sad.
It has arrived,
the singer is already standing.
Let the corolla open to your heart,
he lets her walk on the heights.
You hate me
you doom me to death.
I'm going to his house
I will perish.
Maybe for me you have to cry
for me you have to grieve,
you, my friend,
but I'm leaving now,
I'm going home now.
Only this says my heart,
I will not return one more time,
I will never come out on earth again,
I'm going now, I'm going to your house.
I just work in vain
Enjoy, enjoy, our friends.
Are we not to have joy,
are we not to know pleasure, our friends?
I will take the beautiful flowers with me,
the beautiful songs.
I never do it in the time of greenery,
I'm just a beggar here
just me, Cuacuauhtzin.
Shall we not enjoy,
shall we not know pleasure, our friends?
I will take the beautiful flowers with me,
the beautiful songs.

Tochihuitzin Coyolchiuhqui

He lived between the 15th and 16th centuries. He was governor of Teotlatzinco, a contemporary of Nezahualcóyotl. He is known as the son of Itzcóatl, a Mexica who ruled Tenochtitlán.

We only came to dream

So Tochihuitzin said,
This is what Coyolchiuhqui said:
Suddenly we come out of the dream,
we only came to dream,
not true, not true
that we came to live on earth.
Like grass in spring
it is our being.
Our heart gives birth
flowers sprout from our flesh.
Some open their corollas,
then they dry.
So Tochihuitzin said

Nezahualcóyotl

Nezahualcóyotl or fasting coyote (1402-1472). Chichimeca monarch of Texcoco. Main military and political ally of the Mexica. Called the Poet King.

Where will we go

Where will we go
where death does not exist?
More, for this I will live crying?
May your heart straighten:
here no one will live forever.
Even princes came to die,
funeral packages are burned.
May your heart straighten:
here no one will live forever.

See also 11 poems of Nezahualcóyotl.

Nezahualpilli

He lived between approximately 1464 and 1515. He succeeded his father Nezahualcóyotl in Texcoco. The nobility considered him the fittest of heirs. He was a poet and they considered him a just and wise man. More than 100 children are attributed to him.

Thus Huexotzinco came to perish

I'm drunk
my heart is drunk:
The dawn rises,
the zacuán bird already sings
on the fence of shields,
over the dart fence.
Rejoice, Tlacahuepan,
you, our neighbor, shaved head,
as a Cuextec with a shaved head.
Intoxicated with liquor of flowery waters,
there on the shore of the water of the birds,
skinhead.

Jades and quetzal feathers
they have been destroyed with stones,
my great lords,
those drunk with death,
there in the water fields,
on the water's edge,
Mexicans in the Maguey region.

The eagle screams
the jaguar groans,
oh, you, my prince, Macuilmalinalli,
there, in the region of smoke,
in the land of the color red
straight the Mexicans
they wage war.
I am intoxicated, I am from Cuexteca,
I with florid shaved hair,
over and over I drink the flourishing liquor.

May the flowery precious nectar be distributed,
oh my son,
you strong young man,
I pale.
Wherever the divine waters extend,
there they are fired up,
Mexicans drunk
with the flowery liquor of the gods.

To the chichimeca I now remember,
for this I only grieve.
For this I moan, I Nezahualpilli,
I remember it now.

Only there it is,
where the flowers of war open their corollas
I remember it and that is why I cry now.
On the Chailtzin bells,
in the interior of the waters he is frightened.

Ixtlilcuecháhuac with this shows arrogance,
takes possession of the quetzal feathers,
of the cold turquoise the cuextécatl takes over.
Before the face of the water, inside the war,
in the burning of water and fire,
over us with fury stands Ixtlilotoncochotzin,
for this he is arrogant,
seizes quetzal plumage,
the cold turquoise takes over.

He is flying the bird with fine feathers,
Tlacahuepatzin, my holder of the flowers,
as if they were rabbits the strong young man chases them,
the cuexteca in the maguey region.
Inside the water they sing,
the divine flowers cry out.
They get drunk, they scream,
princes who look like precious birds,
the Cuextecas in the Maguey region.

Our parents have gotten drunk,
intoxication of force.
Start the dance!
The owners of the faded flowers have gone to her house,
the holders of the feathered shields,
those who guard the heights,
those who take living prisoners,
they already dance.

Ruined the owners of the faded flowers go,
the holders of the feathered shields.
My prince goes bloody,
yellow our Lord of Cuextecas,
the one dressed in a sapote-colored skirt,
Tlacahuepan is covered with glory,
In the mysterious region where it somehow exists.

With the flower of the liquor of war
my prince is drunk,
yellow our lord of Cuextecas.
Matlaccuiatzin bathes with the flowery liquor of war,
together they go where it somehow exists.
Make ya resonate
the trumpet of the tigers,
the eagle is screaming
on my stone where the fight is made,
above the lords.

The old men are leaving,
the cuextecas are intoxicated
with the flowery liquor of the shields,
the Atlixco dance is done.
Make your turquoise drum resound,
maguey drunk with flowery water,
your flower necklace,
your plume of heron feathers,
you the one with the painted body.

They already hear it, they already accompany
the flower-headed birds,
to the strong young man,
to the owners of the tiger shields who have returned.
My heart is sad,
I am the young Nezahualpilli.

I'm looking for my captains
the lord is gone,
blooming quetzal,
the strong young warrior is gone,
the blue of the sky is her home.
Do Tlatohuetzin and Acapipíyol come
she to drink the flowery liquor
here where do I cry?

Macuilxochitzin

Macuilxochitzin is the name of a female poet. It can translate the venerable Five Flower or refer to one of the titles of the god of the arts, song and dance. She was born around the year 1435 in Tenochtitlán, and was the daughter of Cihuacoatl Tlacaelel, royal counselor of the Aztecs. She became the mother of Cuauhtlapaltzin, an Aztec prince.

Singing

I raise my songs
I, Macuilxóchitl,
with them I rejoice the "Giver of Life",
Start the dance!

Where do you somehow exist,
to his house
the songs take away?
Or just here
are your flowers?
Start the dance!

The matlatzinca
It is your deserving people, Mr. Itzcóatl:
Axayacatzin, you conquered
the city of Tlacotépec!
There your flowers went to make turns,
your butterflies.
With this you have caused joy.
The matlatzinca
It is in Toluca, in Tlacotépec.

He slowly makes an offering
of flowers and feathers
to the "Giver of Life."
Put the shields of the eagles
in the arms of men,
where the war burns,
in the interior of the plain.
Like our songs,
like our flowers,
So you, the skinhead warrior,
you give joy to the "Giver of Life".
The flowers of the eagle
they remain in your hands,
Mr. Axayácatl.
With divine flowers,
with war flowers
he is covered,
with them he gets drunk
the one next to us.

About us they open
the flowers of war,
in Ehcatépec, in Mexico,
he who is by our side gets drunk with them.
They have been daring
the princes,
those of Acolhuacan,
you Tecpanecas.
Everywhere Axayácatl
he made conquests,
in Matlatzinco, in Malinalco,
in Ocuillan, in Tequaloya, in Xocotitlan.
This way he came to leave.
There in Xiquipilco to Axayácatl
an Otomi wounded him in the leg,
his name was Tlílatl.

He went to look for his wives,
He told them:
"Prepare a truss for him, a cape,
You will give them to them, you who are brave. "
Axayácatl exclaimed:
"Let the Otomi come
that he has hurt my leg! "
The Otomí was afraid,
he said:
"They really will kill me!"
He then brought a thick wood
and the skin of a deer,
with this he bowed to Axayácatl.
He was full of fear the Otomí.
But then his women
for him they made a plea to Axayácatl.

Cacamatzin

Cacamatzin or Cacama lived between 1483 and 1520. He ruled in Texcoco. The son of Nezahualpilli and Chalchiuhnenetzin, Moctezuma's sister.

Singing

Our friends,
listen to it:
let no one live with the presumption of royalty.
The fury, the disputes
be forgotten,
disappear
in good time on earth.
Also to me alone,
recently they told me,
those who were at the ball game,
they said, they murmured:
Is it possible to act humanely?
Is it possible to act with discretion?
I only know myself.
They all said that
but no one is telling the truth on earth.
The fog spreads
snails resound,
above me and the whole earth.
The flowers rain, they intertwine, they twirl,
they come to give joy on earth.

It's really, maybe like at home
our father works,
maybe like quetzal plumage in green time
with flowers it is nuanced,
here on earth is the Giver of life.
In the place where the precious drums sound,
where the beautiful flutes are heard
of the precious god, of the owner of heaven,
red feather necklaces
on the earth they tremble.

The fog wraps around the edges of the shield,
a rain of darts falls on the earth,
with them the color of all flowers darkens,
there is thunder in the sky.
With shields of gold
there the dance is done.
I only say,
I, Cacamatzin,
now I only remember
of Mr. Nezahualpilli.
Do you see there,
maybe they talk there
he and Nezahualcóyotl
in the place of the atabales?
I remember them now.

Who really won't have to go there?
If it is jade, if it is gold,
will he not have to go there?
Am I a turquoise shield,
once again which mosaic will I be embedded again?
Will I go out on earth again?
With thin blankets will I be shrouded?
Still on the ground, near the place of the drums,
I remember them ...

By Axayácatl

Its name means face of water. He lived between 1469 and 1481. He was a Mexica ruler. Successor of Moctezuma I and father of Moctezuma II.

Singing

Flowering death has come down here to earth,
is approaching and already here,
In the region of the color red they invented it
who were with us before.
The crying rises,
towards there people are driven,
in the interior of the sky there are sad songs,
with them you go to the region where you somehow exist.
You were celebrated
you made divine words, in spite of it you have died.
He who has compassion on men makes a crooked invention.
You did so.
Did not a man speak thus?
He who persists, gets tired.
No one else will the Giver of Life forge.
Day of tears, day of tears!
Your heart heart is sad.
Will the gentlemen come for the second time?
I only remember Izcóatl,
that's why sadness invades my heart,
Was he already tired
Has fatigue conquered the Owner of the House,
the Giver of Life?
Nobody is resistant on earth.
Where will we have to go?
That is why sadness invades my heart.
The party of people continues,
everyone leaves.
The princes, the lords, the nobles
they left us orphans.
Feel sad, oh ye sirs!
Does someone come back,
does someone come back
from the region of the fleshy?
Will they come to let us know something
Motecuhzoma, Nezahualcóyotl, Totoquihuatzin?

They left us orphans
Feel sad, oh ye sirs!
Where is my heart going?
I, Axayácatl, look for them,
Tezozomoctli abandoned us,
that's why I alone give way to my grief.
To the townspeople, to the cities,
that the lords came to rule,
they have been orphaned.
Will there be calm?
Will they come back?
Who about this could let me know?
That is why I alone give way to my grief.

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