Aztec pregnancy

[Gingerich Willard P.]

Tim Knab included the "Precious Necklace" texts in his 1994 edition of
Thelma's translations:  A Scattering of Jades.  New York:  Simon &
Schuster/Touchstone, pp. 121-147.

WG
Willard Gingerich
St. John's University
718-990-1442  FAX 718-990-1894
gingeriw at stjohns.edu



-----Original Message-----
From:	Frances Karttunen [SMTP:karttu at nantucket.net]
Sent:	Monday, November 22, 1999 6:41 PM
To:	Multiple recipients of list
Subject:	Re: Aztec pregnancy

At least some years ago Thelma Sullivan was the ultimate authority on
pregnancy and childbirth among the Mexica.  I don't have copies of these
articles of hers at hand, but it would be worth looking into them:

Sullivan 1966.  "Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Deification of Women Who
Died in Childbirth" in Estudios de cultura nahuatl 6: 63-95.

Sullivan 1980.  "O Precious Necklace, O Quetzal Feather!  Aztec Pregnancy
and Childbirth Orations" in Alcheringa/Ethnopoetics 4: 38-56.

Sullivan 1982.  "Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina: The Great Spinner and Weaver" in The
Art and Iconography of Late Post-Classic Central Mexico (E. Boone, ed):
7-35.

----------
>From: SPoole8257 at aol.com
>To: Multiple recipients of list <nahuat-l at server.umt.edu>
>Subject: Aztec pregnancy
>Date: Mon, Nov 22, 1999, 5:24 PM
>

> Dear Neteros:
>
> There is an assertion that is rather often made about the image of Our
Lady
> of Guadalupe of Mexico, that is, that the black belt around the Virgin's
> waist was a Nahua symbol of pregnancy.  I have searched various sources
from
> Sahagun to Soustelle to more recent ones and have not found mention of
such a
> custom.  Has anyone ever encountered this?
>
> It has also been said that this custom was the source of the Spanish word
> "encinta," meaning pregnant, despite the fact that it is derived from
Latin
> and has cognates in both French and Italian.
>
> Incidentally, the belt was originally purple and has turned black with
time.
>
> Stafford Poole
> SPoole8257 at aol.com
>