Nahuatl Resources

Q: Did the Mexica have a script form of language?Yes! The Mexica, Mixtec, and Mayan cultures of Anahuac (the lands between two waters) had each evolved a system of writing. These writing systems include glyphs, iconographs, and symbols that represent syllables and recorded histories. Following the European invasions of Anahuac in the early 1500's and their reactionary destruction of indigenous culture and artifacts, only 15 precolonial codices, or ancient manuscripts of "MesoAmerican" cultures exist today in the world. These codices were designed to convey historical, cultural, genealogical, and socio-political events..This page serves as a resource to online sites with valuable information on the Aztec/Mexica, Mixtec and Maya codices, as well as info on the Nahuatl language of the Mexica. The Uto-Aztecan-Nahuatl family of (AMERIND classification) indigenous New World languages is currently or formerly spoken in the U.S. Great Basin, the U.S. Southwest, Southern California, and southward to Mexico and parts of Central America. The AMERIND group also includes all other indigenous languages of the Western Hemishere, except those of Athabaskan or Inuit-Aleutian origin (SOURCE: Webster's Dictionary. Random House. 1991). Stay tuned for additional links on Inca civilization - or send me your favorite Nahuatl - Indigenous language website resource for listing here:.BELZER, AMANDA This site is hosted by nativeweb.org - and includes examples of the Nahuatl language (expressed in Roman letters for English reader comprehension) used by Mayans, as well as a brief listing of Maya numerals.BENNET GARY.This site is by Gary Bennet, a computer reseach consultant with an extraordinary interest in "MesoAmerican" culture. Following a visit to the Yucatan penisula in 1986, Mr. Bennet began a quest to study the ancient scripts from precolonial artifacts of Mexico. Here, he provides web audiences with a fascinating tour of precolonial Anahuac artifacts, the land, the people, and the hallmarks of civilization that continue to stand and bedazzle the world today.BETO. This page is by Beto, a young and talented Chicano student at UC Berkeley, who is studying poetry, history, politics, and a number of languages , including Nahuatl. Raised in the Watts ghetto of L.A., Beto provides his audience with a unique, unscripted, and unconventional background that combines a creative blend of street smarts, secular genius, and an indigenous spirit connected with the land and the people. In one of his sections, Beto describes the concept of Ollin (Pronounced Oh-Leen): "Ollin is the name of the central figure in the sun stone of the Mexica people, the peoples that lived in the land now called Mexico (and the U.S. South/ Southwest). Ollin Tonatiuh, Ollin Sun, was the fifth incarnation of the sun and the universe to the Mexica. The Four previous suns were destroyed. Translated from Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica, this poem tells that creation story: The Suns." CRAPO, PETER.This page is a preview of research on a late 1500's Classical aztec manuscript titled "Anonymo Mexicano." The research involves a Nahuatl to English translation by professor Peter Crapo of Utah State University, who has been working with Dr. Bonnie Glass-Coffin on this project. Dr. Crapo is a Renaissance investigator with numerous publications including the definitive dictionary of the Big Smokey Valley dialect of Shoshone (University of Nevada Press), Spoken Bolivian Quecha (2 Vols., Karoma Press), "Cultural Anthropolgy: Understanding Ourselves and Others," and the coauthorship of "Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Introductory Psychology."DE BUEN, JORGE.This page is by Jorge de Buen of Tijuana, Mexico, who provides a comprehensive population listing of indigenous speaking peoples in Mexico. These results are extracted from the XI Censo General de Población y Vivenda, 1990, Instituto de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI).DRIBBLE, CHARLES. This page is a published article that pays tribute to Charles Dribble, a renowned University of Utah scholar honored for his life's work on the "Florentine codex." This site includes image extracts of various Mexica codices and numerals. Although I have not yet followed-up on Dr. Dribbles' work, which includes a unique collection of 53 Aztec facsimiles-reproductions at the Marriot Library right here in Salt Lake City, "he is considered the best in the world in the scholarship and understanding of the natives in Mesoamerica." According to the University of Utah, "he is credited with furthering the use of The Florentine Codex as an essential resource, making it accessible to further study and preserving the knowledge of the Aztec civilization."ETHNOLOGUE.com is a place where you can conveniently find many resources to help you with your research of the world's languages. Ethnologue.com is owned by SIL International, a service organization that works with people who speak the world’s lesser-known languages. This particular page lists members of the Uto-Aztecan language family. JORDAN, DAVID K. This site contains a few notes on Classical Nahuatl by David K. Jordan, professor of Anthropology at the University of San Diego and provost, Earl Warren College.MCKELLEY NANCY.This site is by Nancy McNelley and includes examples of Maya writing with syllables: "Mayan hieroglyphic writing is made up of symbols that represent whole words (logographs) or syllables consisting of consonant-vowel pairs (CV) or vowels (V)." Learn about the Mayan writing system, Mayan architecture and the Inuktituk language of the Inuit as well. SCHWALLER, JOHN F.This site is by Associate Provost, Professor of History, John F. Schwaller of the University of Montana - Missoula. Dr. Schwaller is versed in Spanish and an educator of international courses including: colonial and modern Latin American History; Mexican History; African and Caribbean History. He is the author of a number of articles, books, and pamphlets that deal with Mexican and Spanish culture, history, language and lifestyle. An additional link from this site provides links to a tri-dialectal Nahuatl/English/Spanish translation dictionary.copyright 2002. Citlalin Xochime:citlalin@att.net