morphology and sacred landscape

[John Sullivan, Ph.D.]

Listeros,
	I would like to explain how I think Nahua place names work. There  
have been many poorly written compilations of Nahua place names. Poor,  
for two reasons. First, because their authors generally do not have a  
good understanding of Nahua morphology. And second, because while they  
provide translations of the noun (simple or agentive) or verb (Magnus,  
you are absolutely right. What I meant to say is that passive/ 
impersonal verbs are not linked to -can) to which the relational  
ending is suffixed, they do not explain WHY these nouns and verbs were  
chosen in the first place. I believe that Nahua place names allude  
directly to some aspect of Mesoamerican sacred landscape, in other  
words, to some aspect of the migration process from Aztlan to  
Chicomoztoc to Colhuahcan. This may include physical aspects of the  
landscape, animals, plants, actions and deities. A well written work  
on Nahua place names will explain the morphology of each name, as well  
as how it ties into the universe of sacred landscape. This is  
something I plan to do in the future with María Elena Bernal García  
and Angel García Zambrano from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de  
Morelos.
John

John Sullivan, Ph.D.
Professor of Nahua language and culture
Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas
Zacatecas Institute of Teaching and Research in Ethnology
Tacuba 152, int. 43
Centro Histórico
Zacatecas, Zac. 98000
Mexico
Work: +52 (492) 925-3415
Fax: +1 (858) 724-3030 (U.S.A.)
Home: +52 (492) 768-6048
Mobile: +52 1 (492) 103-0195
idiez at me.com
www.macehualli.org

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