When Should We Cry? Ritual Weeping in Nahua (Aztec) Culture in Light of Early Colonial Sources

Abstract

The article examines the sociocultural context of ritual weeping among Nahuas (Aztecs) in light of Early Colonial Spanish and Nahua sources. First the article analyzes historical evidence about calendar, occasional, and life cycle ceremonies in which weeping was one of the key elements. It then examines the ideological and social background of these actions, in particular the notion of tlamacēhualiztli—ritual selfmortification with the purpose to gain favour and support from supernatural beings and men of higher social position, and to reach desirable goals. The article concludes that tlamacēhualiztli was one of the basic concepts which shaped individual and collective behavior of Nahuas in daily life; it was one of the main ways to construct and establish hierarchical relations within society—and between man and environment. Tlamacēhualiztli ritual weeping among Nahua used to be one of the main ways to smooth emotional tensions in critical situations—for example, in the case of a relative’s death in combat—and served as an effective mechanism of applying emotional pressure on supernatural forces and higher strata of society. Additionally, ritual weeping was an important component of calendar rites related to water and fertility deities, occasional rites caused by natural disasters and social crises, and rites of passage marking transitions between states of being.