Martín de la Cruz (late 15th century - ¿?) Was a very important Mexican indigenous during the 16th century as he was the author of the codex that is now known as Cruz-Badiano. For many years, his role in this publication was not recognized as it should.
Today it is known that he was the main author and Badiano was in charge of his translation. The codex written by the indigenous man was very relevant due to the study that was carried out on the medicinal herbs of the time in Mexico.
Codex De la Cruz-Badiano, treatise on Mexican culture on medicine and herbalism. Via Wikimedia Commons.
In addition to his work on the codex, Martín de la Cruz stood out for his work at the Santa Cruz school. Despite not having any training as a doctor, the indigenous man was in charge of taking care of the health of the students of the institution. Children were believed to respond positively to natural and typical treatments from indigenous communities.
Biography
His date of birth has not been determined with certainty, although it is believed that he was born during the year 1510. There are several hypotheses about his birthplace. On the one hand, it is said that he was originally from Xochimilco, the municipality that today is called Santa María de Nativitas. However, other historians claim that he was a native of Tlatelolco.
He was an indigenous person, despite the fact that his name suggests that he was part of a Spanish family. The name of Martín de la Cruz arose because he was baptized by Spanish priests in that way.
Most of the facts about his life have been assumptions that were made from the information that appears in the codex that he wrote. On the first page of the work, the indigenous man stated that he did not have any type of education in the medical area. He assured that his knowledge was acquired thanks to experience.
It must be remembered that in the 16th century it was very common for indigenous communities to have people with knowledge of natural medicine. This discipline was considered the traditional method of healing. Martín de la Cruz affirmed that his knowledge is due to the teaching he received from his parents and grandparents.
It was learned that De la Cruz was a healer at the Colegio de Santa Cruz, but there are no references to when this work began. Indigenous children responded better to the traditional medicine performed by De la Cruz.
Official documents
There are very few papers where information about the life of Martín de la Cruz has been captured beyond the codex he wrote.
One of the documents, dated 1550, was found in the General Archive of the Nation. There it was evidenced that the viceroy granted him lands and the right to produce on them. It is in this paper that it was recorded that De la Cruz was a native of Tlatelolco and that he was an Indian.
Later, a paper from 1555 was obtained that expanded the information on Martín de la Cruz by stating that his birthplace had been the San Martín neighborhood. Perhaps for that reason the Spanish religious decided to name it, since Martín was the town's saint.
Most famous work
Francisco de Mendoza y Vargas, son Antonio de Mendoza (viceroy of New Spain), asked Martín de la Cruz to gather in a work all the possible information about the medicinal plants that were used in Mexico.
The intention was that the collection would serve as a gift for the king at that time in Spain, Carlos I. Francisco de Mendoza wanted this work to also be able to convince the Crown to approve the shipment to Spain of these medicinal plants.
To fulfill its mission, the text had to be translated from Nahuatl, one of the most important indigenous languages in Mexico. For the translation, the director of the Colegio de Santa Cruz entrusted Juan Badiano. He was also indigenous, but he was fluent in Latin because he was a teacher at the educational institution.
The codex was completed in July 1552, just before the viceroy's trip to Spain between August and September. In the Nahuatl language the work received the name "Amate-Cehuatl-Xihuitl-Pitli." In Latin the title was Libellus de medicinalibus indorum herbis, which can be translated into Spanish as The Little Book of the Medicinal Herbs of the Indians.
Over the years, historians called the work the Codex De la Cruz - Badiano. It was one of the most important publications on the medical area of the time before the Spanish conquest.
characteristics
The Cruz - Badiano Codex was a work consisting of just over 60 pages. The information presented there was divided into 13 chapters. Different remedies and images were captured on the medicinal plants that were discussed there.
The drawings were made neither by De la Cruz nor by Badiano. Information on the roots of the plants, the shape of their leaves and the most favorable soils to grow was detailed.
The classification of plants in the codex was done according to the traditional indigenous system. That is, the names appeared in the Nahuatl language and were very descriptive.
The first nine chapters refer to different ailments according to the parts of the human body. The first chapter dealt with the head and covered all possible areas, from the feet, the eyes, to the teeth or the knees.
From chapter nine to 13 we discussed solutions for ailments such as tiredness or other more general complaints. There was also space to discuss problems that arose during childbirth or mental issues.
Importance
It was a very important book in Europe because of the content that was captured, but also because of the way it was written. In the 20th century, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) decided to publish a new edition. Some of the medicinal plants that were named by De la Cruz were analyzed in more depth.
The work allowed to have more knowledge about the herb of to, known in Nahuatl as zoapatle. De la Cruz said that it was a plant that served to help in the process of giving birth. A few years ago it was confirmed that this plant has an element that helps in the contraction of the uterus.
Over the years, three translations of the work were made into English. The first was published in 1939 and the last at the beginning of the 21st century. In addition to the Latin version, there are also two Spanish editions.
He
The idea of the Codex was for it to be sent to Spain. During all these years it had several owners. It ended up in the Vatican Apostolic Library in Vatican City at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1992 the Pope at that time, John Paul II, decided that the original version of the Codex Cruz - Badiano should return to Mexico. After more than 400 years, the book returned to the country and today it is one of the pieces in the Library of the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.
Controversy
The life of Martín de la Cruz became closely linked to Badiano to the point that many of Badiano's biographical data were extrapolated to De la Cruz, although these were not correct.
At first the text was recognized worldwide as the Badiano Codex or also as the Badiano Manuscript. This happened after Emily Walcott's translation of the work in 1939. It was the most popular version of Indian work.
In the rest of the versions the authorship of De la Cruz was correctly placed, although it is normal to speak of a joint work.
Monument
In Xochimilco there is a moment to commemorate the contribution of Badiano and De la Cruz to the history of Mexico. There it is stated that both were doctors, although Badiano is undoubtedly given more importance.
The tribute to both is in the Rotunda of the Illustrious Characters of Xochimilco. De la Cruz is also defined as a wise man and an indigenous botanist.
References
- Comas, J., González, E., López, A. and Viesca, C. (1995). The cultural miscegenation and the New Spanish medicine of the s. XVI. Valencia: Institute of Documentary Studies.
- Cruz, M., Bandiano, J. and Guerra, F. (1952). Libellus de medicinalibus Indorum herbis. Mexico: Editorial Vargas Rea and El Diario Español.
- León Portilla, M. (2006). Nahuatl philosophy. Mexico, DF: National Autonomous University of Mexico.
- Medrano González, F. (2003). The plant communities of Mexico. Mexico: Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources.
- Sahagún, B. (nd). Ancient Mexico: Selection and Rearrangement of the General History of Things in New Spain. Caracas: Ayacucho Library.