- Biography
- Birth and family
- León-Portilla Education
- Professional beginnings
- Marriage of León-Portilla
- León-Portilla and the work of Sahagún
- Validity of León-Portilla
- Research areas
- Last years of life
- Philosophy
- Awards and achievements
- Plays
- A worthwhile effort
- Fragment of
- Poem in Nahuatl by Miguel León-Portilla "Ihcuac thalhtolli ye miqui"
- Translation into Spanish "When a language dies"
- Phrases
- References
Miguel León-Portilla (1926) is a Mexican philosopher, historian, anthropologist and writer, distinguished in the world of letters for his studies of Nahuatl. His main interest has been focused on the Mexican indigenous peoples of the pre-Hispanic stage, especially in their traditions, customs, thoughts and beliefs.
León-Portilla's work is a vindication of the origins of the Mexican people, and he has also sought to keep both indigenous literature and languages, especially Nahuatl, current. His dedication and perseverance have earned him a wide number of recognitions and awards.
Miguel León-Portilla. Source: NotimexTV, via Wikimedia Commons
Some of the most prominent titles developed by the Mexican philosopher have been: Nahuatl philosophy studied in its sources, Vision of the vanquished, The reverse of the conquest and Fifteen poets of the Nahuatl world. León-Portilla is one of the main defenders of indigenous values.
Biography
Birth and family
Miguel was born on February 22, 1926, in Mexico City, into a family of intellectuals and historians. His parents were Miguel León Ortiz and Luisa Portilla Nájera. He was related to the archaeologist Manuel Gamio, and to Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, a precursor of Mexican modernism.
León-Portilla Education
León-Portilla's first years of education were spent in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Later, he pursued higher studies in the arts at Loyola University, in Los Angeles, United States. Then, in 1956, he received a doctorate in philosophy from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Professional beginnings
Miguel León-Portilla began to develop quickly in the professional area. In 1955 he began his relationship with the Inter-American National Indigenous Institute, first as deputy director and then as director, positions that he held until 1963.
Later, starting in 1963, he served as the main authority of the Institute of Historical Research of the UNAM. From that time were his works The ancient Mexicans through their chronicles and songs and The reverse of the conquest. Aztec, Mayan and Inca relationships.
Marriage of León-Portilla
The philosopher married in 1965 Ascensión Hernández Triviño, a Spanish philologist and linguist, whom he met in Barcelona in 1964, during the International Congress of Americanists. As a result of the marriage, their daughter María Luisa León-Portilla Hernández was born.
León-Portilla and the work of Sahagún
Miguel León-Portilla devoted himself largely to publicizing the work that Fray Bernardino de Sahagún had done on Mexico before the conquest of the Spanish. In addition to naming him as the first anthropologist of the Nahuas, he also revalued and gave rise to the works of the Spanish.
Ascensión Hernández Triviño, wife of Miguel León-Portillo. Source: Tania Victoria / Ministry of Culture CDMX, via Wikimedia Commons
Validity of León-Portilla
Miguel León-Portilla has remained in force throughout his life, both in the field of history, as in that of research and philosophy. Since 1957 he has taught at the UNAM, and at the same time he has been an emeritus researcher at the Institute of Historical Research of the same university.
The philosopher has crossed borders with his different projects and research. In addition to giving talks and conferences worldwide, he has also been part of the Institute of Different Civilizations of Belgium, the Society of Americanists in France, the Mexican Society of Anthropology, and other recognized associations.
Research areas
León-Portilla, since his beginnings as a professional, has worked in different areas of research in his country. He studied the pre-Hispanic cultures that inhabited central Mexico, and also worked for the protection of indigenous rights.
His projects also covered Hispanic humanism, the ways of interrelation between cultures between the northwestern part of Mexico and the southwestern part of North America. Finally, he conducted studies on the ethnohistory of Baja California and on the Nahuatl culture.
Last years of life
The last years of Miguel León-Portilla's life he has lived in the exercise of his profession, and receiving recognition. Among his latest writings are: Nahuatl philosophy studied in its sources, Francisco Tenamaztle, The arrow on the target and Bernardino Sahagún, pioneer of anthropology.
Some of the awards he has received are: Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X, Alfonso Reyes International Award, Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Seville, among others. In January 2019, he was admitted to the hospital for respiratory conditions, and his recovery has been slow.
Philosophy
The philosophy of Miguel León-Portilla has been based on the knowledge of the Mexican pre-Hispanic past, in order to understand the present, and, as a people, reach a conscious state of knowledge. The writer has argued that before the conquest, the natives already had their own literature and history.
The historian also considers art, within his philosophy, as a way of knowing and knowing; all this with a good basis, by virtue of the fact that ancient peoples even used it to communicate. From there León raises the appreciation of Mexicans for their own, to be able to accept the present and the future.
Bernardino de Sahagún, a key figure in Miguel León-Portilla's investigations. Source: http://www.elmundo.es/ladh/numero14/sahagun.html, via Wikimedia Commons
Awards and achievements
- Editor of Nahuatl Culture Studies of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1959.
- Member of the Mexican Academy of Language, in 1962. He held chair VII.
- Corresponding member of the Cuban Academy of the Language.
- Director of the Inter-American Indian Institute from 1960 to 1966.
- Elías Sourasky Award, in 1966.
- Director of the Institute of Historical Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, from until 1976.
- Member of the Mexican Academy of History in 1969. He occupied the XVII chair.
- Member of El Colegio Nacional, in 1971.
- Commendatore for the Italian Republic, in 1977.
- Serra Award, by the Franciscan American Academy of History, in 1978.
- National Prize of Sciences and Arts, in 1981.
- Alonso de León Award, in 1982.
- Member of the Governing Board of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, from 1976 to 1986.
- Honorary member of the Seminary of Mexican Culture.
- Doctor Honoris Causa by Dé Toulouse Le Mirail (France), in 1990.
- Aztlán Award, in 1992.
- Benito Juárez Medal by the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics, in 1992.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Colima, in 1994.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (Bolivia), in 1994.
- Belisario Domínguez Medal in 1995, by the Senate of the Republic of Mexico.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from Brown University (United States), in 1996.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in 1998.
- Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X, El sabio (Spain), in 1999.
- Order of the Academic Palms in rank of commander (France), in 2000.
- Alfonso Reyes International Award, in 2000.
- Bartolomé de las Casas Award (Spain), in 2000.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the Carolina University (Prague), in 2000.
- Menéndez Pelayo International Award, in 2001.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from San Diego State University (United States), in 2002.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the Ibero-American University of Mexico City, in 2002.
- Doctor Honoris Causa by the Pontifical University of the State of Hidalgo, in 2007.
- Doctor Honoris Causa by the Metropolitan Autonomous University of Mexico, in 2009.
- Juan de Mairena Award, in 2010.
- Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Guadalajara, in 2010.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Alcalá (Spain), in 2010.
- Letras de Sinaloa Award, in 2012.
- Anahuac Medal in Humanities, in 2012.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the Pontifical University of Mexico, in 2014.
- Fray Bernardino de Sahagún Medal, in 2014.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, in 2016.
- Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Seville, in 2017.
Plays
The sections that were annexed contained some experiences and experiences that were translated from Nahuatl. In addition to a correspondence to Felipe II, where the natives told him about the abuses of the Spanish; and finally, a hymn in the native language.
A worthwhile effort
The development process of the work took place thanks to the interest that León-Portilla had in making the history known before and during the colonization. So he learned the Nahuatl language, to be able to inquire into the documents. The identity and preservation of memories were its main objectives.
Fragment of
“… The conquerors show their interest in gold. When the Spaniards had settled in, they then interrogated Motecuhzoma regarding the resources and reserves of the city; the warrior insignia, the shields; They sought much of him and much required of him the gold.
And Moctecuhzoma then guides them. They surrounded him, they clung to him. He was in the middle, he was ahead of them. They squeeze it, they carry it around… ”.
Poem in Nahuatl by Miguel León-Portilla "Ihcuac thalhtolli ye miqui"
"Ihcuac thalhtolli ye miqui
mochi in teoyotl, cicitlaltin, tonatiuh ihuam metztli;
mochi in tlacayotl, neyolnonotzaliztli ihuan huelicamatiliztli, ayocmo neci
inon tezcapan.
Ihcuac tlahtolli ye miqui
mocha tlamantli in cemanahuac, teoatl, atoyatl, yolcame, cuauhtin ihuan xihuitl
ayocmo nemililoh, ayocmo tenehualoh, tlachializtica ihuan caquiliztica
ayocmo nemih… ”.
Translation into Spanish "When a language dies"
"When a tongue dies
divine things, stars, sun and moon;
human things, think and feel, are not reflected anymore
in that mirror.
When a tongue dies
everything in the world,
seas and rivers, animals and plants, they neither think nor pronounce
with glimpses and sounds
that no longer exist… ”.
Phrases
- "To guide the men who were to live here, it was necessary to rescue the roots of ancient culture, the testimony of memory, the consciousness of history."
- "I am not a fungus, far from having been trained in isolation there have been several teachers who have influenced me, Mexicans and foreigners."
- “… I am convinced that the presence of these and many other exiles was a huge benefit for Mexico. What Mexico won, Spain lost ”.
- “The problem is that globalization can affect and even destroy the cultural values of other peoples. It homogenizes them, but it does not usually aim to achieve a situation of equality but rather to economic conquests ”.
- "I am one of those who believes that we can learn a lot from the native peoples of America, Africa and Asia."
- “History, like the arts and great humanistic creations, constitute by themselves its permanent value. Of course, they do not have a chrematistic purpose, but are the very thing that enriches the human being due to its intrinsic value ”.
- "The chronicle and the history of victors and losers in America provide valuable lessons and their reading illuminates the significance of contemporary experiences."
- "A Mexican who does not know that legacy (the pre-Hispanic one) is unable to know himself."
- “Specialists affirm that, together, the prehistoric times and the ancient history of central Mexico span at least ten thousand years. Compared this period with the three hundred years of colonial life and the century and a half of a modern independent nation, it will be seen that it is appropriate to call the pre-Hispanic millennia the subsoil and root of present-day Mexico ”.
References
- Hernández, V. (2006). Miguel León-Portilla. Mexico: Essayists. Recovered from: essayists.org.
- Miguel León-Portilla. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
- Tamaro, E. (2019). Miguel León-Portilla. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
- Miguel León-Portilla. (S. f.). Mexico: Native Peoples. Recovered from: pueblosoriginario.com.
- Miguel León-Portilla. (S. f.). Mexico: The National College. Recovered from: colnal.mx.