AZTEC LITERATURE: MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS - HISTORY - 2025

The literary artistic manifestations of the Aztec culture are known as Aztec literature. The Aztecs were not a community in the habit of recording their own history, but literature had other purposes.

But access to his literary works has not been easy for several reasons. On the one hand, very few samples are preserved in good condition.

Unfortunately most of the original texts were lost in colonial times. They were burned by the Spanish thinking that they were black magic prayers.

The few remaining samples are codices with the Aztec writing system, which was composed of ideograms and signs.

On the other hand, the alienness of this language makes the translation complicated, since there are no common elements with Spanish to rely on.

But the pieces that have been successfully translated have been enough to understand the literary style of the Aztecs.

Main features

In written Aztec literature there are no historical or narrative records. The myths about its creation and the stories of great battles were of oral tradition, not written.

The written records that exist are called codices, and they record almost entirely poems and religious songs.

But in general Aztec literature was designed to be recited, not read. The texts that are preserved functioned as records of these works. It is characterized by being rich in literary resources, such as metaphor and euphony.

For the Aztecs, literature - especially poetry - was associated with nobility. It was held in such high esteem that the three largest cities of the empire, Tenochtitlán, Texcoco, and Cualhtitlán, were the great literary centers.

The codex Borgia

The most complete and extensive piece translated is the Borgia codex. Its importance lies in the fact that it provides a lot of information about the cultural and religious customs of the Aztecs.

There are 76 pages and it begins with the Tonalpohualli calendar. This is constituted by a year of 260 days. Record the priests' predictions about good or bad dates for certain actions.

After the calendar there is a record of the pantheon of the Aztec gods. In the text there are physical and personality descriptions, as well as some creation myths.

Third, the most important religious rites of your religion are described. They even briefly describe the most cruel and controversial of Aztec rites: human sacrifice.

Central themes of Aztec literature

Literature was an art of great importance in Aztec society. It was considered a superior art form, and therefore only the noblest had easy access to it.

Even the children of the wealthiest paid to attend schools where they were taught poetry.

Due to this elitist treatment, the central themes in this literature are war and religion, branches that only the most privileged ran.

Songs for the gods

Religious literature was the highest in Aztec culture. This consisted of songs of praise to the gods and hymns to recite during the sacrificial rituals.

These songs that were exclusively intended for priests were called teocuícatl.

These poems and songs were accompanied by dances and staging, dramatizing the lyrics.

War literature

It is known that the Aztec people were warriors by nature, and that part of their greatness was obtained through the conquest.

It is not uncommon to suppose that within Aztec literature the songs of war were also of great relevance.

They are called yaocuícatl, and they are songs that call for war and inspire bravery in the fighters. They record myths about battles of heroes or of the gods themselves.

Themes of interest

Aztec religion.

Aztec calendar.

List of Aztec gods.

Aztec architecture.

Aztec sculpture.

Aztec art.

Aztec economy.

References

1. Nahualt languages. (2017) britannica.com
2. Ancient Aztec Art. (2017) aztec-history.com
3. Aztec. (2012) ancientscripts.com
4. Aztec writing and literature. sutori.com
5. The literature of the Aztec civilization. school.net