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SOME REMARKS ON THE TEPONAZCUICATL OF THE PRE-HISPANIC NAHUA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2016

Agnieszka Brylak
Agnieszka Brylak*
Affiliation:
Institute of Iberian and Iberoamerican Studies, University of Warsaw, ul. Oboźna 8, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland
*
E-mail correspondence to: [email protected]
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to use the example of one type of pre-Hispanic Nahua song, the teponazcuicatl, or “log-drum song,” to present the problems that arise in the classification of preconquest Nahua verbal art identified by sixteenth century Europeans according to Western criteria of categorization as songs, poetry, or the verbal component of performances. A close examination of this genre, focused on its relationship with performance and, particularly, with pre-Hispanic theater, provides insights into how sixteenth century scribes' interpretation of Nahua oral discourse and the graphic arrangement of the alphabetically transcribed text influenced in the way Nahua culture and discourse are perceived.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , Fall 2016 , pp. 429 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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