Classical , Modern and Transnational

Nahuatl Literatures

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HARSHVARDHAN SINGH
 Indigenity

Indigenous peoples are people, communities,

and nations who are native to a particular area.
 Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance,
acquisition and expansion of colonies in one
territory by people from another territory.
Nahuatl
 History
•Nahuatl languages comes from Uto-
Aztecan which is the native language of
many of the Americans.
•Spread from Central America to
Canada.
•Many other countries and parts of
Mexico
•According to linguistic theory these
many members may have shared a
common past before parting ways
 since at least the 7th century AD. It was the
language of the Aztecs, who dominated what is
now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic
period of Mesoamerican chronology.
 During the preceding century and a half, the
expansion and influence of the Aztec Empire had
led to the variety spoken by the residents of
Tenochtitlan becoming a prestige language in
Mesoamerica.
Many words from Nahuatl have been borrowed
into Spanish and hence have diffused into
hundreds of other languages. Most of these
loanwords denote things indigenous to central
Mexico which the Spanish heard mentioned for
the first time by their Nahuatl names.
 Classical Nahuatl Writings
•In 1325 the last of indigenous group, Aztecs came and
settled in Mexico City
•They had their political hegemony, glory, religion and
other problems all painted (syllabic and pictorial meanings)
•The Creation and quality of such codices declines as they
died of diseases and wars and hence their population
decreased by 95 %
•Attention to colors and astronomical and aesthetic details
in such codices waned as the roman alphabet became a
more common way to depict Nahuatl culture.
Nahuatl alphabet (Nāwatla'tōlli)

Nahuatl pronunciation
 Modern Nahuatl
•General Emiliano Zapata was one of the most clebrated
heroes of the Mexican Revolution and also a speaker and
writer of Nahuatl
•Zapata repeats in his writings to fight with your full heart for
the rights of indigenous and not be driven by extreme
thoughts of colonialism but to be consistent at the centre.
•His writings were motivation for his army and they won
against the corrupt land policies by President Porfirio’s
•Although Mexican revolution was brought by them but they
could barely make any differences on the language aspects as
were expected and promoted by Zapata.
 Transnational Nahuatl
Language
•Now they have formed indigenous hubs because
their popoulation is marely left but it is suprising to
see that they still have formed hubs in cities to
maintain their culture and language.

•Their grassroots magazines, Somos Medicina,

interwines Nahua images and language with
contemporary issues.
 Conclusion
•Classical, modern and transnational literature
and cultural productions evolved on contested
terrain across colonial histories and state borders.
•While disease and wars threatened Nahua
communities with near-genocide in the colonial
era, Nahua communities learned to fight for their
legal rights through Spanish courts for their
languages even in 1800’s
Tlazohcamati
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