Mexica

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This article is about the pre-Columbian people. For other uses, see Mexica (disambiguation).
Mexica
Music and dance during a One Flower ceremony, from the Florentine Codex.
Total population
Regions with significant populations
Tenochtitlan
Tlatelolco
Languages
Nahuatl
Religions
Aztec religion
Catholicism (after the Conquest)
Related ethnic groups
Other Nahua peoples

The Mexica (Nahuatl: Mēxihcah, pronounced [meːˈʃiʔkaʔ]) or Mexicans (Spanish: Mexicanos) were an indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico, known today as the rulers of the Aztec empire.

Contents

[edit] Name

There is much disagreement over the etymology and meaning of the name Mexica (Nahuatl Mēxihcah, which is plural; the singular is Mēxihcatl), and the related place name Mexico (Mēxihco) where they lived.[1]

The name of the modern nation of Mexico and its capital Mexico City are derived from the Nahuatl name Mēxihco.

The seven caves of Chicomoztoc, as depicted in the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca.
The seven caves of Chicomoztoc, as depicted in the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca.

[edit] History

Main article: History of the Aztecs
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[edit] Culture

[edit] Language

Main article: Nahuatl

Like many of the peoples around them, the Mexica spoke Nahuatl. The form of Nahuatl used in the 16th century, when it began to be written in the alphabet brought by the Spanish, is known as Classical Nahuatl. Nahuatl is still spoken today by over 1.5 million people.

Huitzilopochtli, the patron god of the Mexica, as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
Huitzilopochtli, the patron god of the Mexica, as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis.

[edit] Religion

Main articles: Aztec religion and Aztec mythology

The Mexica religion had multiple gods, including a sun god, a rain god and many others. The Mexica believed that the gods needed to be nourished with human blood, in order to keep the world in balance. It has become a common belief that the sacrifices had their hearts cut out, but in truth, only human sacrifices to the sun god, Huitzilopotchtli were killed this way. Each god had a different method of sacrifice (for example, sacrifices to the rain god were tied to a post and shot with arrows, the dripping blood represented rain)

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[edit] Literature

Main articles: Aztec codices and Nahuatl literature
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The Aztec sun stone, on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
The Aztec sun stone, on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

[edit] Art

Main article: Aztec art
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[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Andrews (2003): p. 500.

[edit] References

  • Andrews, J. Richard (2003). Introduction to Classical Nahuatl, rev. ed., Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3452-6.