Motolinia's history of the Indians of New Spain

Motolinía, Toribio, -1568; Steck, Francis Borgia

Book

Motolinia's history of the Indians of New Spain

Academy of American Franciscan History • 1 • Published In 1951 • Pages: 20, 358 , 9 plates

By: Motolinía, Toribio, -1568, Steck, Francis Borgia.

Abstract
One of twelve pioneering Franciscan missionaries, Toribio de Benavente (aka Motolinía) served between 1524 and 1539 as the head of monasteries first in Mexico City and later in Tlaxcala (where much of the text was composed) with intervening missions to Guatemala and Nicaragua. His largely firsthand account concentrates on the cities of Mexico, Tlaxcala and Puebla, and the surrounding Nahuatl-speaking central highland region. This work provides significant documentary information on the Aztec empire under its last emperor through its conquest and subsequent “spiritual conquest” by the author and others up to 1541. As to be expected, emphasis is on the religious life of the people—their gods, religious feasts, human sacrifices, etc.—with a good portion of the text devoted to the conversion of the Indians to Catholicism and European cultural practices. In addition to the history of the missionary effort, Motolinía also provides information on warfare, temple construction, the calendar, childbirth customs, merchants, self-torture, superstition and sorcery, Indian-Spanish relations, geography, education, and native uses of the maguey plant.

Missions

Acculturation and culture contact

External relations

Ordering of time

Ecstatic religious practices

Organized ceremonial

Spirits and gods

Form and rules of government

Chief executive

Classes

Musical instruments

Ceremonial during infancy and childhood