Background, copyright and credits
Perspective of this website
A trip to Mexico in 1995 triggered my fascination for the Aztecs or more properly named 'Mexica'. It made me want to see the world through the eyes of the pre-conquest Mexica. Since the calendar plays such a central role in Aztec culture, I used it as the anchor for further study. The desire to understand the Aztec perspective on the foundation of life and being has materialized in this website.
In creating this website I did not allow myself much artistic freedom.
My intend has been always to stay as close as possible to the authentic truth.
To be able to do so, I preferably use academic sources.
However, since Nahua (peoples speaking Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica) culture did not end after the conquest, I carefully used sources based on the living tradition of the tonalpohualli.
Further, my aim is to present information in an accessible and understandable way.
Elaborating on ancient religious practices that inhabitants of planet earth in the 21th century tend to find gruesome, does not help in getting the core of the message through.
That notion played an important role in selecting the information I present on this site.
People who helped me creating the Azteccalendar.com website
Over the years, many people have helped me in creating and improving this website. The following people deserve credit for their support, one way or the other. 'In order of appearance':
- Ricardo J. Salvador and Victor Mendoza-Grado
- Ricardo J. Salvador and Victor Mendoza-Grado supported me when I created the Aztec Calendar Hypercard program, the predecessor of this website.
- William Horden
- William Horden provided me a living reading of the tonalpohualli, based on contacts with Francisco Rodriguez Cortes, a current day Mexican calendrist from Chiapas. The texts on the qualities of the days and trecenas are written by William.
- Rudolf van Zantwijk
- Rudolf van Zantwijk was so kind to let me attend his courses in Nahuatl at the Utrecht University. Tlazocamati!
- Marta Ramirez
- As a modern day tlacuilo, Marta Ramirez supplied me with great hand painted daysign glyphs in the style of the Codex Borgia.
- Rick Holmer
- Rick Holmer, author of The Aztec Book of Destiny helped me with the correlation of the cycle of the Night Lords.
- Ian Mursell
- Ian Mursell, the director of Mexicolore granted me permission to use the daysign glyphs that Mexicolore had commissioned Felipe Dávalos to make for them.
Felipe Dávalos is known for the work he has done for National Geographic Magazine and the illustrations he has done for many books on pre-Hispanic Mexico.
Mexicolore has a great site on Aztecs that is definitely worth a visit.
- Susan Milbrath
- Susan Milbrath, author of "Heaven and Earth in Ancient Mexico: Astronomy and Seasonal Cycles in the Codex Borgia", helped me to add Nicholson’s veintena alignment.
Sources
Azteccalendar.com is the result of much study. The most important books on my shelves and bookmarked sites are in the following list:
- Bierhorst, John (translator). History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca
- Codex Chimalpopoca is the primary source for Aztec myths and legends.
- Berdan, Frances F. & Patricia Rieff Anawalt. The Essential Codex Mendoza
- The most comprehensive, most extensively illustrated document of Aztec civilization.
- Diaz, Giselle & Alan Rodgers Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript
- An incredible Mixtec ritual and divinatory manuscript.
- Dúran, Diego . Book of gods and rites and the ancient calendar
- Written in the late 1500's, this is a very important source on Aztec culture, although not fully accurate.
- Edmonson, Munro S. The book of the year: Middle American calendrical systems
- The book of the year is the ultimate source for answers in correlation matters. An impressive work.
- Furst, Jill & Leslie McKeever. The natural history of the soul in ancient Mexico
- Explores basic Precolumbian beliefs among ancient Mesoamerican peoples about life and death, body and soul.
- Holmer, Rick . The Aztec Book of Destiny
- Summarizes the Aztec perspective on the spiritual nature of time. Presents a neo-rendition of ancient calendar books.
- Knab, Timothy J. A War of Witches: A journey into the underworld of contemporary Aztecs
- Anthropologist Knab's highly personal and compelling narrative on the magico-religious belief system of contemporary Aztecs.
- Léon-Portilla, Miguel . Aztec Thought and Culture
- A must read for those interested in the Aztec perspective on life.
- Marcus, Joyce . Mesoamerican Writing Systems : Propaganda, myth and history in four ancient civilizations
- A great primer on mesoamerican writing systems.
- Milbrath, Susan . Heaven and Earth in Ancient Mexico: Astronomy and Seasonal Cycles in the Codex Borgia. University of Texas Press, 2013.
- Provides an innovative perspective on the content and significance of the Codex Borgia.
- Miller, Mary & Karl Taube . An illustrated dictionary of the gods and symbols of ancient Mexico and the Maya
- This has been an import source for the information presented on the Aztec gods and deities.
- Thomas, Hugh. Conquest : Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico
- Epic history of the fall of the Aztec empire.
- Young, Karl. The continuum of life in Codex Borbonicus
- Part of an online essay on animals and human stages in the Aztec continuum of life. A help in the interpretation of the Codex Borbonicus.
- Zantwijk, Rudolf A.M. van. Handel en Wandel van de Azteken
- This book introduced me to the mechanism of the calendar.
Copyright and feedback
This website contains copyrighted material. Unless stated otherwise, it is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. For inquiries, you can contact me by email.
René Voorburg - voorburg (at) xs4all.nl.