Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind (The Civilization of the American Indian Series) by Miguel Leon-Portilla

Author:Miguel Leon-Portilla
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Published: 2012-11-28T07:00:00+00:00

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Nahuatl Man

Creator of a Way of Life

The Nahuatl wise men were not scientists in the modern sense of the word, but in their effort to develop “faces and hearts” they conceived as systems a social order, an ethical code, and a theory of history, art, and education. In their totality these institutions constituted the basic foundation of all forms of human life. With the passage of time these systems were perfected, and became a chief interest of the Nahuatl thinkers.

A complete study of the systems which consolidated the Nahuas’ way of life cannot be undertaken here. We will consider only those aspects which show the Nahuatl philosopher involved in creating and developing the cultural standards to be transmitted from generation to generation through what we call education, a well-defined moral code, history, and art. The principles underlying the Nahuatl institutions reveal that the tlamatinime engendered an authentically creative movement of immediate social significance.

The Nahuas had two words for education: Tlacahuapahua liztli, “the art of strengthening or bringing up men,” and Neixtlamachiliztli, “the act of giving wisdom to the face.” The written sources on the educational practices of the Nahuas are so abundant that a book could be written on that subject alone.- Such a book might reconstruct—as did Jaeger’s Paideia for the ancient Greeks—through the educational system all the richness and profundity of the Nahuatl concept of man.

Among all peoples education is the means of communicating to new generations the experience of the past and the intellectual heritage. Such communication has a twofold purpose: first, to form and develop the individual as a person and, second, to incorporate him into the life of the community.

Greek education, embodied in the Paideia, emphasized the personal development of the individual. This was not the case among the Nahuas, who were more interested in the assimilation of individuals into the life and highest ideals of the community. This should not be taken to imply contempt for the individual personality (face and heart), for several texts, speaking of the development of “face and heart,” indicate the contrary.

For an understanding of the Nahuatl approach to education one factor is particularly important—the concern of the elders for integrating the individual, from the very beginning, into the life of the group of which he would always be a significant part. Clavijero wrote:

“Nothing,” says Father Acosta, “caused me so much admiration and seems to me more worthy of praise and remembering than the care and discipline with which the Mexicans raised their children. In effect, it would be quite difficult to find a nation which in its times of paganism gave more attention to this element of highest importance to the state.”1

From infancy, parental teaching at home revolved around the idea of strength and self-control. These concepts were instilled in the child by means of long moral talks and rigorous discipline. Thus the Codex Mendoza illustrates the child’s reduced ration of food, which was intended to teach him to control his appetite.2 It also depicts his first training in domestic chores, such as carrying wood and water.

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