Anahuac

“ And how the Tezcucan has exulted! It is hard for the sufferer to love his wrong-doer,—O so hard! But this I will, and as an oath take the promise: as long as the king acts for Anahuac, not imperilling her safety or glory, so long will I uphold him; this, O Tula, from love of country, and nothing more! ”

“ It was a striking spectacle,—that of these rude warriors lifting up their orisons on the summit of this mountain temple, in the very capital of heathendom, on the spot especially dedicated to its unhallowed mysteries. Side by side the Spaniard and the Aztec knelt down in prayer; and the Christian hymn mingled its sweet tones, of love and mercy with the wild chant raised by the Indian priest in honour of the war-god of Anahuac! It was an unnatural union, and could not long abide.
A nation will endure any outrage sooner than that on its religion. ”

“ No, it is not a storm like that, but one in which the passions of men shall sway them as the tempest sways the mighty tree; a storm in which blood shall flow and once more stain and soil the beautiful face of Anahuac; and sorrow shall find place in the hearts of many people, and lamentation shall ascend."
The voice of the hunter was like one inspired. The hermit felt it, and replied:
"The language of Tezcot is the language of a prophet. Whose hand is in the strifeful storm of which he foretells?"
"The hand of Maxtla, king at the royal city of Azcapozalco, is in it," answered the hunter. ”

“ Will you stand by the men of your own customs and country, though they have been your foes at times, or will you throw in your lot with the stranger? Choose, ye people of the Otomie, and know this, that on your choice and that of the other men of Anahuac, depends the fate of Anahuac. I am your princess, and you should obey me, but to-day I issue no command. I say choose between the alliance of the Aztec and the yoke of the Teule, and may the god above the gods, the almighty, the invisible god, direct your choice. ”

“ Captain Mayne Reid "The Rifle Rangers"
Chapter One. The Land of Anahuac.
Away over the dark, wild waves of the rolling Atlantic—away beyond the summer islands of the Western Ind—lies a lovely land. Its surface-aspect carries the hue of the emerald; its sky is sapphire; its sun is a globe of gold. It is the land of Anahuac! ”

“ AMONG some of the tribes of Anahuac a farmer or a mechanic or a merchant might be counted as a man; not so was it with the fierce Aztecs. Every male in that tribe was born to be a warrior; it was only when he was maimed, sick, old, or, worse than all, an outcast from his clan, that he could not claim the privilege of going to the battlefield. Even the priests took a leading part in every conflict. It was not only their business to interpret the will of the gods, but they marched at the head of the Aztec troops bearing a little image, or talisman, of the most famous of the war-gods of Mexico. ”

“ At this point, as the Spaniards advanced with silken banners streaming bravely out in the fresh152 morning air, burnished mail, and glittering weapons, proudly prancing steeds and rumbling guns, they were met by immense throngs of spectators, who had poured from the city to witness the strangest sight ever beheld in Anahuac. Not only did the astonished natives line both sides of the causeway with dense walls of curious humanity, but the waters of the lake were alive with thousands of their canoes. ”

“ ANÁHUAC, a geographical district of Mexico, limited by the traditional and vaguely defined boundaries of an ancient Indian empire or confederation of that name previous to the Spanish conquest. The word is said to signify “country by the waters” in the old Aztec language; hence the theory that Anáhuac was located on the sea coast. One of the theories relating to the location of Anáhuac describes it as all the plateau region of Mexico, with an area equal to three-fourths of the republic, and extending between the eastern and western coast ranges from Rio Grande to the isthmus of Tehuantepec. ”

“ Nezahualcoyotl himself was a poet, and very beautiful are some of the songs which have come down to us in the Spanish translation of the Tezcucan chronicler.
No wonder that under such a king the Tezcucans became the most refined and civilised of all the people of Anahuac. The Mexicans, their rivals in luxury, splendour, and power, were but humble disciples in the crowning glory of science and culture. ”

“ Anahuac, the ancient Indian name of New Spain, or Mexico. The valley of Mexico, or Tenochtitlan, is, according to Humboldt, situated in the centre of the cordillera of Anahuac. This valley is of an oval form. Its length is 183⁄4 leagues, estimating from the entry of the Rio Tenango into lake Chalco to the foot of the Cerro de Sincoque, and 121⁄2 leagues in breadth, from St. Gabriel to the sources of the Rio de Escapusalco. Its territorial extent is 2441⁄2 square leagues, of which only 22 square leagues [Pg 260] are occupied by lakes, being less than a tenth of the whole surface. ”

“ They had to cease being what they were for centuries, to accept and be submissive slaves to colonists. The project was literally disappearing all vestige of the ancient native civilization. However, it was not so. The millenary Anahuac civilization tree was torn down by the colonizer with the language axe. But the root was kept under Mother earth, it kept alive the piece of trunk which stubbornly remained. And from the deepest life came with impetuous force and the trunk flourished. The Anahuac civilization did not die and survived colony. ”

“ Consider also the fate of those great peoples of the land of Anahuac. They did evil that good might come. They sacrificed the lives of thousands to their false gods, that their wealth might increase, and peace and prosperity be theirs throughout the generations. And now the true God has answered them. For wealth He has given them desolation, for peace the sword of the Spaniard, for prosperity the rack and the torment and the day of slavery. For this it was that they did sacrifice, offering their own children on the altars of Huitzel and of Tezcat. ”

“ In pure, strong love there is an element akin to the power of prophecy,—something that gives the spirit eyes to see what is to happen. Such an inspiration quickened the ’tzin, and told him Anahuac was not saved, though she should be: if not, the conquerors should take an empty prize; he would leave them nothing,—so he swore,—neither gods, gold, slaves, city, nor people. He set about the great idea by inviting the New World—I speak as a Spaniard—to take part in the struggle. ”

“ The philosophy of the Anahuac civilization, the Toltecáyotl, is the most filtered work of their creations. The philosophical thought that not only explains the world and life; but also gives meaning to human life, allowing the transcendental existence in the spiritual plane.
All that can be seen and felt of the immeasurable ancient grandparents’ heritage finds its foundations and most solid structures, in the anahuaca philosophy. ”

“ His buskins, for such they might be called, were of crimson leather, and a crimson fillet was wound round his hair, which was, otherwise, almost covered with little tufts or tassels of cotton-down of the same hue. Each of these singular decorations was the evidence and distinguishing badge of some valiant exploit in battle; and it was therefore manifest to all in the slightest degree acquainted with the customs of Anahuac, even at the first sight, that the barbarian was a man of renown among the Mexicans. ”

“ It is important to highlight that the Anahuac civilization war and weapons, had nothing to do with the European war conception. War in the Anahuac was an activity to "take captives to feed the Fifth Sun". The objective of the war in the Postclassical period was not to kill, destroy or obliterate. The wars were negotiated and agreed through messengers. The date, place and number of warriors were agreed. They usually took place in open fields, and very seldom in cities. This only occurred as "punishment", for example: when an ally joined an enemy. ”

“ The plateau east of Anáhuac sometimes known as Huitzilapan was found by the Spaniards in the possession of the independent republics, or cities, of Tlascala, Huexotzinco, and Cholula. The people who occupied this part of the table-land were the Teo-Chichimecs, of the same language and of the same traditional north-western origin as the Aztecs, whom they preceded in Anáhuac. Late in the thirteenth century they left the valley of Mexico, and in several detachments established themselves on the eastern plateau, where they successfully maintained their independence of all foreign powers. ”

“ North of Anáhuac the surface settles into wide plains between short sierras, until monotonous quietude is attained in the prairies of Texas and New Mexico. Crossing the isthmus of Tehuantepec at a diminished altitude the cordillera rises again and stretches out into the broad and lofty ranges of Central America, where the Maya nations made their home.
Earliest among the Nahua nations to stand forth upon the mythic record are the Toltecs, whose first supremacy in Anáhuac is placed in the sixth century. ”

“ Most of the gods were deified heroes.... Occasionally we find very distinct traces of an older sun-worship which has succumbed to later forms, introduced according to vague tradition from Anahuac.” The view of Tylor (Anahuac, 191) is that the “civilization,” and consequently the religions, of Mexico and Central America were originally independent, but that they came much into contact, and thus modified one another to no small extent.” ”

“ Even Mexican mules must slacken their speed, however, when among the roughest of Mexican hills; and as they paused a little for breath, we craned our necks out of the windows for a backward glance at the great vale of Anahuac, which lay between us and the rising sun. Ah, glorious valley! right willingly would I be thumped and pounded by a hundred diligences, could I transport myself at will back to thy eastern or thy western brim! How sorry am I that I was not with Cortés and his knights when they first peered within its precincts, that I might give vent to my admiration ”

“ Subsequently, while Tlacaelel was the Tenochtitlan Cihuacoátl, ordered the destruction of the ancient Cem Anahuac history and created a new version, where the Aztecs occupied a central place, appropriating the Anahuac origin myths. As the famous pilgrimage that started at Chicomoztoc, [3] place of "the seven caves" in search of a promised land, guided by a messiah born of a Virgin Mother. Later the conquistadors and missionaries in the 16th century portrayed the Aztecs as cannibals and idolaters to justify their crimes "against humanity". ”

“ Yet as a legend it retains its charm; and as history the graceful fabric need not be utterly destroyed while the monuments at Texcuco and the manuscripts of Nezahualcoyotl attest the existence of such a king and such a court. Until the diligent research of those explorers who are now busy in searching for the facts of early Mexican history, have fully established them, we may enjoy the tale of past magnificence upon the plateau of Anahuac. ”

“ The great benefit derived from this and similar institutions was seen in the Tezcucan authors and orators, who stood far in advance of those of any other nation of Anahuac.
Prince Hualcoyotl himself was one of the most illustrious of their writers, especially in compositions of a poetical nature. Such lines as the following are attributed to him by historians:
"If there are bounds to pleasure, the saddest life must also have an end. ”

“ Generally the collapses of other civilizations have shown that this resulted from a series of factors that contributed to the collapse of a civilization model. In the case of the Anahuac civilization it is still a mystery that not has been deeply researched, especially when it occurred as a "concerted action" in a very short time and in a vast territory, comprising from Nicaragua in Central America, up to the northern United States. ”

“ The Oajacan coast region or tierra caliente, if we may credit the result of researches by the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg, was sometimes known as Anáhuac Ayotlan, as the opposite coast of Tabasco was called Anáhuac Xicalanco. Both these Anáhuacs were inhabited by enterprising commercial peoples, whose flourishing centres of trade were located at short intervals along the coast. Material relics of past excellence in architecture and other arts of civilization abound in Oajaca, chief among which stand the remarkable structures at Mitla. ”

“ WHEN a day's march from Cholula the army was welcomed by some of the notables of the city, but passage was refused to the Tlascalans, who encamped therefore without the gates.
As the strangers proceeded through the crowded flower-decked streets they thought they had never seen so fine a town as this sacred city of Anahuac. "It is more beautiful from without," wrote Cortés later in a letter to Charles V., "than any city in Spain, for it is many-towered and lies in a plain. ”

“ The supreme ideal of the Anahuac civilization was profoundly and secretively studied in the calmecac.
So that if the telpochcalli was closer to a boarding school in our times; the calmecac was very similar to a monastery, where self-control was promoted, so life was more self-disciplined and less institutional demand. Young people studying at the calmecac, men and women, had a conscious commitment to polish and become the best of themselves, to serve with greater responsibility and effectiveness to their community and the supreme divinity. ”

“ Nor is it unimportant to remark how comparatively recent appears the whole civilization of Anahuac. Even if, as is not improbable, the race who peopled Mexico and Tezcuco were ruder and fiercer tribes, who descended upon an older civilization, and yielded to its subduing influence, (like the shepherds in Egypt or the Tartars in China,) yet that which we are able, on the authority of the earliest traditions, to throw up into the highest antiquity, comes far within the historic times of the Old World. This recent origin effectually cuts off all possible connexion with the West ”