Representing Aztec Ritual: Performance, Text, and Image in the Work of Sahagun (review)

This book is yet another contribution to the worldwide celebration of the quincentenary of the birth of Sahag�n. The essays included in it, in general, come from a session offered at the 1997 meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory. Although the book deals to a slight degree with the life of the Franciscan, it focuses primarily on the representation of Aztec ritual in his work, most notably in the text and images of the Florentine Codex. The authors run the gamut from historians of religion, to historians of art, to ethnohistorians. The book mines a hitherto undeveloped theme in studies of pre-Columbian America; namely, what, in particular, were the rituals practiced before the arrival of the Spaniards? In so doing, the authors of Representing Aztec Ritual have uncovered a wealth of information that will no doubt spur others to pursue this line of research.

The book consists of eleven chapters, the first of which is a general introduction written by the editor, Eloise Quiöones Keber. The introduction presents the broad outline of Sahag�n's life, briefly discusses his methods of representing Aztec ritual, and then considers the nature of the Aztecs before and after their description by Sahag�n. Some might cringe at the repeated use of the word "Aztec" in the title and throughout the introduction and work as a whole. Quiöones Keber notes that although the peoples of whom the books speaks were Nahuatl speakers, and part of a polity frequently called the Mexica, the term Aztec here is used to refer to those inhabitants of the political entity known as the "Aztec empire," as opposed to constituent groups within the larger polity (such as Mexica), or the vaguer and more general term of Nahua.

The chapter following the introduction is by H. B. Nicholson. In this piece he provides an outline of the biography of Sahag�n, his missionary efforts in New Spain, his role in some of the political issues of the time, and a brief history of the Sahaguntine corpus. Following that, Eduardo Matos Moctezuma focuses on Sahag�n and the sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan. Specifically, Matos Moctezuma compares the details provided by Sahag�n in his various works regarding the ceremonial precinct with the discoveries of archeology and with indications provided in other ethnohistorical sources. Sahag�n posited that there were seventy-eight structures within this area, although only some thirty-six can now be identified. In the fourth chapter of Representing Aztec Ritual, Nicholson returns to discuss the representation of the veintena ceremonies in some of Sahag�n's first field notes, the "Primeros memorials." After an in-depth analysis, Nicholson then compares the Sahag�n representation with other known examples, such as Dur�n's depictions and those of the Telleriano-Remensis. While focusing on only three of the possible eighteen direct comparisons, Nicholson notes that although there are clear differences, the similarities point to the sharing of some basic religious concepts and ceremonial practices.

After these general studies, the next essays focus on more particular issues. Guilhem Olivier studies the representation of the feast of Tezcatlipoca during the month of Toxcatl. In Toxcatl, the fifth month of the Aztec year, an impersonator of the god was taught courtly manners and how to play the flute. At the end of the month, however, he was ritually sacrificed. Olivier concludes that because of the symbols, imagery, and ceremonial development, in this celebration the ruler became linked to the god Tezcatlipoca and to a renewal of his rule. Continuing the theme of rulership, Kay A. Read then discusses the land of the dead (Mictlan) and its link to rulership and ritual. Read sees the rituals surrounding the death of the ruler as representing the breaking of ties with the...