Stephanie Wood

The Cosmic Conquest: Late-Colonial Views of the Sword and Cross in Central Mexican Titulos

Rare indigenous perspectives on the Spanish Conquest and Christianization of Mexico are gleaned from late-colonial Nahuatl manuscripts known as primordial titles, or titulos, from central New Spain. Although the coming of the sword and cross had become cosmic events by I65o or later, when titulos were recorded, there is mounting concern in them about the growing penetration of Spaniards and mestizos into outlying Indian towns and their encroachment on increasingly scarce resources. Otechmotlayocolili Totlatocatzin Rey [i]nic oticchiuhque inin armas ca tonechicahualiz ca totlapalihuiliz mochihuaz inic titomaquixtizque in ihuicopa in Caxtiltin inic amo techmahuizpolozque anoze tlein techcuilizque anoze Toteopixcahuan techtolinizque. [The King, our lord, granted us (the right) to make this (coat of) arms; it is our strength and our assistance. It will be made so we can free ourselves of the Spaniards, so they will not dishonor us or take something from us, nor will our priests afflict us.] -Municipal Codex of Cuernavaca (BNP, MM, 29I/z92) An outward reverence for the Spanish king juxtaposed against a profound distrust of local Spanish colonists and priests-these are but two of the many recurring themes running through the growing body of indigenouslanguage documents known as titulos primordiales (primordial titles). Recorded in various central Mexican Indian communities during the latter half of the colonial period, these informal municipal histories are among the best sources for examining the popular consciousness of New Spains Ethnohistory 38:2 (Spring I991). Copyright ? by the American Society for Ethnohistory. ccc ooI4-1801/9I/

Adopted Saints: Christian Images In Nahua Testaments Of Late Colonial Toluca

I.5o. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.134 on Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:28:10 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Sword and Cross in Central Mexican Titulos conquered peoples.1 As such, they contain examples of indigenous popular lore that can be elusive in so many other types of ethnohistorical sources. Titulos form a unique genre. They do not conform to more traditional conventions found in Nahuatl-language annals, for example, and the majority were not written in the polished language of professional Indian notaries. It is highly unlikely that their production was ever supervised by Spanish officials or priests. Free in form and idiosyncratic, they were composed primarily for a local Indian audience by literate individuals who were at least temporarily outside local power structures. Deciphering these cryptic documents, which deviate so from Western historical traditions, contain a very different sense of chronology, and have many orthographic and linguistic rarities, is a major challenge. Exact dates of composition, precise authorship, and the original context of most of the known titulos have been lost, weakening the modern historians ability to assess their full thrust and to grasp completely their spectacular indigenous voice. What messages and attitudes do they convey? What traditions and cultural expressions? To what extent do they speak for the average citizen? Is their emphasis on the community exaggerated? Are self-interested individuals or factions really behind their composition? These and other questions are still being explored, as the study of primordial titles is in its infancy.2 One way of advancing our exploration of such questions is to scrutinize a number of the recurring themes in titulos. Among the more obvious themes are the ways in which they depict the Spanish invasion, the coming of Christianity, and the Indians opinion of the intruders who had come to live in their midst. Do we find the same vivid Conquest-era descriptions of Spaniards lusting after gold as in such works as the Florentine Codex (Sahaguin I950-82, book iz: chap. iz) or Miguel Le6n-Portillas (I962, 1985) edition of these and other indigenous accounts? Do we find the same emphasis on the heroic assistance given Cortes by communities like Tlaxcala and Huejotzinco, which in the sixteenth century curried favor with the Crown for their deeds?3 Or, many generations after Cortess triumph, had the collective Indian consciousness reframed the Conquest and the changes it set in motion? How had the foreign invasion come to figure in the indigenous peoples sense of their own history? Was it viewed with some degree of acceptance, tolerance, or perhaps indignation? If so, what might account for these changing perspectives? Before beginning the analysis of these specific themes and questions, it is necessary to sketch out the genres major characteristics. I77 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.134 on Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:28:10 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Transcending Conquest: Nahua Views of Spanish Colonial Mexico

The European occupation of Mesoamerica, set in motion by Columbus voyages now almost five centuries ago, proved both enduring and pervasive. Not content simply to trade with the indigenous peoples from distant coastal forts or entirely new towns, the Spanish conquerors of Mexico moved right into Indian cities and, increasingly over time, Indian towns, villages, and their hinterlands. The conquerors intention behind living in such close proximity was to better extract the local peoples services and tributes and to convert them more effectively to every aspect of Hispanic culture. From the moment of their arrival Hernando Cortes and his followers sought to introduce a new king, a new god, and a new way of life into the land they called New Spain.