nepantla

[Rudiger V. Busto]

The term appears in Diego Duran's work referring to the predicament of
religious "inbetweenness" by his Christianized Nahuas.   The term has
received new attention by Chicanos/as as another way to refer to
the"borderlands" identity of life "between the hyphen".  I am currently
completing a chapter for a book on Chicano religions that traces the
nepantla idea up through the recent Chicano uses -- any other references to
early uses of the term would be, certainly welcome.

>In the preface to _The Darker Side of the Renaissance_, Walter Mignolo
>states that the word "nepantla" was "coined by Nahuatl speakers in New
>Spain during the sixteenth century to designate the inter-space between
>cultures" (xvi).
>I am familiar with the word, but I was not aware that it was coined in
>the sixteenth century. Mignolo doesn't give any source for this claim.
>Does anyone have any information either supporting or negating it?
>Thanks,
>Galen


*************************************************
Rudy V. Busto		rude at leland.stanford.edu
Assistant Professor		 415.552.0257
Religious Studies
Stanford University
(ON LEAVE 1999-2000)