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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=ES-MX link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Listeros:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I should be working on a paper about the historical context of the Huamantla map, and another about the role of the Otomi in pre-Hispanic central Mexican society, but the Cantares Mexicanos keep popping up and getting in the way. There are worse sorts of distractions, like committee meetings and annual reports, so I’m not complaining.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First (a few months ago) came a request by a concert pianist to evaluate the accuracy of Brinton’s translation of a verse from the “Huexozincayotl” song from the Cantares Mexicanos, which a composer wanted to incorporate into a contemporary piece for piano. I translated it, and then compared my translation with Brinton’s, Garibay’s, and Bierhorst’s translations, which gave me a limited glimpse into the evolution of the art/science of Nahuatl translation over the last century or so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Then came the lively discussion on the Nahuat-l list last week, in response to John Bierhorst’s post with the link to his article on Ian Mursell’s Mexicolore site.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Last night I picked up the new book Negotiation within Dominion, edited by Ethelia Ruiz and Susan Kellogg, and began reading Ethelia’s chapter “Fighting destiny”. There she deals with native and mendicant involvement in the 1566 encomendero revolt. Citing the Anales de Juan Bautista, a text in Nahuatl translated by Luis Reyes, she mentions the performance of dances and songs with the same titles as some of those in the Cantares Mexicanos manuscript (Chichimecayotl and Atequilizcuicatl), both with plenty of martial metaphors, in the context of a noble wedding in Mexico City, in 1564. Ruiz interprets this passage in these terms:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“The singing of those songs during the wedding of Santa Maria Cipac, member of the lineage of Tenochtitlan and the last royal lord to govern, was not done just to entertain the audience. The songs had an important symbolic content for the Indians who listened to them, and they transmitted a message specifically centered on the greatness of the native kings and lords as well as the ritual importance of war. Those elements carried a traditional meaning, one of resistance, just at the time when the Tenochca were threatened by strong fiscal pressures and when their governor was seeing his power of negotiation with the colonial authorities on this subject seriously diminished.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This mention of the performance of the cantares in a specific historical, social, and cultural context in the second half of the sixteenth century is certainly relevant to the discussion. Song and dance with pre-Hispanic roots are related to issues of cultural resistance and ethnic identity to this day. Similar manifestations of resistance may be found in the visual arts, notably the facade carvings and nave paintings of the Augustinian church at Ixmiquilpan (<a href="http://www.paginasprodigy.com/dcwright/sangre.htm">http://www.paginasprodigy.com/dcwright/sangre.htm</a>), which parallel the Cantares in some ways: native martial imagery is combined with forms from the Old World and is used to fortify traditional native culture, giving these symbols a new, vital role within the colonial context. If this seems out of synch with existing models of the society of New Spain, then these models need to be revised.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>OK, back to work.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Saludos,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>David<o:p></o:p></p></div><br/><br/><br><br><FONT face="Tahoma" size="2"><br>=======<br>Mensaje de correo electrónico analizado por Internet Security - No se encontraron virus ni spyware.<br>(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, base de datos de virus/spyware: 6.16510)<br><a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51>http://www.pctools.com</a><br>=======</FONT>
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