Table of Contents
Nahuatl/Aztec
Nahuatl language, spoken primarily in central Mexico, is part of the Uto-Aztecan family with variants of the language predating the Aztecs. This is a short videofor a brief guide on the language.
The term Aztec emerged from nineteenth century scholars to define the Nahuatl-speaking group in Central Mexico, “Aztec is actually an eponym derived from Aztlán, meaning “Place of the White Heron“, a legendary homeland of seven desert tribes, called Chichimecs, who miraculously emerged from caves located at the heart of a sacred mountain far to the north of the Valley of México. They enjoyed a peaceful existence of hunting and fishing until they were divinely inspired to fulfill a destiny of conquest by their patron gods Mixcoatl and Huitzilopochtli” (The Beginnings of the Aztec)
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Gods and Symbols
The Florentine Codex by Bernardino de Sahagun Click Here
“Offering of Flowers” provides a Spanish outsider's perspective on a festival dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec deity of war. Flowers, or xochitl are offered. According to Gordon R. Wasson, flowers serve as a common motif in Nahuatl poetry (306). As Wasson writes in their article, “ A peculiar trait of Nahuatl poetry is the preoccupation of the poets with 'flowers': they write incessantly about flowers but they fail to distinguish the kinds of blossoms, though Nahuatl was rich in botanical terminology” (305). This reflects the flowers in Bernardino's “Offering of Flowers':
“I offer flowers. I sow flower seeds. I plant flowers. I assemble flowers. I pick flowers. I pick different flowers. I remove flowers. I seek flowers. I offer flowers. I arrange flowers. I thread a flower. I string flowers. I make flowers. I form them to be extending, uneven, rounded, round bouquets of flowers” (SaF 35).
However, Wasson argues that flowers in both Aztec poetry and art relate to mushrooms (Wasson 305). Even if the flowers within Bernardino's codex refer to mushrooms, the aforementioned excerpt remains communal.
Flowers as Symbols
Flowers were pivotal in Aztec culture as they were used as offerings to both deities and royalty, such as Moctezuma (“Aztec Flowers”). Aztecs kept pleasure gardens, also known as xochitecpancalli (“Aztec Pleasure Gardens”). Dahlias and marigolds were common flowers in these gardens (“Aztec Pleasure Gardens”). The gardens themselves were kept by nobility (“Aztec Pleasure Gardens”). Xochitla, or the general garden, were kept by commoners and were common fixtures in Aztec cities (“Aztec Pleasure Gardens”). As Doris Heyden describes in her text Mythology and Symbolism of Flora in Pre-Hispanic Mexico, flowers symbolized much of Aztec daily life and mythos, such as friendship, gods, creation and humans (“Aztec Pleasure Gardens”).
Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli, as the god of the sun and war, served as one of the major deities in Aztec religion (Cartwright). As the god of war, Huitzilopochtli is associated with warriors and rulers (Cartwright). Despite his spirit animal being an eagle, this sun deity also goes by the names “Blue Hummingbird on the Left” and “Hummingbird of the South” (Cartwright). The Aztecs paid homage to him through offerings of quail eggs and flowers (Cartwright). Bernardino de Sahagun refers to the feast of Huitzilopochtli in his “Offering of Flowers” (“Huitzilopochtli”). This was partly because of Huitzilopochtli's close association with Xochipilli (“Huitzilopochtli”).
Xochipilli
Xochipilli is the deity of flowers along with the rising sun and reproduction (Romero). Other names that Xochipilli goes by in Aztec religion is “Main One in Charge of Giving Flowers” and “Nobel Flower” (Romero). Common depictions of Xochipilli include marigolds, tobacco, and dahlia (Romero). However, Osiris González Romero contends the Xochipilli was also associated with use of psychedelic plants (Romero).
Works Cited:
“Aztec Flowers.” Aztecs and Tenochtitlan, https://aztecsandtenochtitlan.com/aztec-civilisation/aztec-flowers/
“Aztec Pleasure Gardens.” Mexicolore, https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/aztefacts/aztec-pleasure-gardens#:~:text=When%20the%20Spanish%20reached%20Mexico,a%20'horticulturally%20sophisticated%20people'.
Cartwright, Mark.”Huitzilopochtli,“ World History Encyclopedia, 27 Aug. 2017, https://www.worldhistory.org/Huitzilopochtli/.
De Sahagun, Bernardino. “An Encyclopedia of 16th-Century Indigenous Mexico.” Digital Florentine Codex, External Link
Famsi. “John Pohl’s Mesoamerica - the Aztecs Pg. 1.” FAMSI, www.famsi.org/research/pohl/pohl_aztec1.html. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.
“Huitzilopochtli.” Oxford Reference. . . Date of access 5 Mar. 2025, <https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095949416>
“Nahuatl: Language of the Aztecs.” YouTube, LangShack, 19 Feb. 2020, youtu.be/9_gp1I5Njig?si=r7UBubyuDIRWqlRb.
Marhenke, Randa. “Maya Codices - Table of Contents.” FAMSI, www.famsi.org/mayawriting/codices/marhenke.html. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.
Read, Kay Almere, and Jason J. González. Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Romero, Osiris González. “Xochipilli: Psychedelic Plants, Song, and Ritual in Aztec Religion,” 13 Sept., 2024, https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2024/09/xochipilli-psychedelic-plants-song-and-ritual-aztec-religion
Wasson, R. Gordon. “THE ROLE OF ‘FLOWERS’ IN NAHUATL CULTURE: A SUGGESTED INTERPRETATION.” Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, vol. 23, no. 8, 1973, pp. 305–24. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41762283. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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