The Darker Side of the Renaissance Ly) Tly lz
WALTER D MGNL
nn bo bo
' l F C Pss
I L·
Contents Cpyrht © y th Uvrty fMh f Mh 1995 Al rht rrv Plh th Ut Stt f Amr y h vrty f Mh Pr Mtr th t Stt fAmr f Amr Prt i- ppr 1998 997 996 1995
Preface vii
4 3 2 1
oduton duton On Descibing Ourselves Descrbing Ourselves: Comparaism, Dierences, and Pluritopic Hermeneuics
catalgu rcd f th i availal th Btish Lira A P catalgu
PART THE COLONIZTION OF LNGUGES Lr f Cr Ctl-Plt Dt M, Wltr h rkr f th R lty l ty,, trrtrlty, trrtrlty, � lzt / Wltr D Ml m. p. Il Il rphl rfr (p (p ) ISBN -472-327X (lk ppr Lt AmriHtrrphy 2 IHtirphy 3 RSp 4. Lt AmrHtry 600. L htryLt Ar 6 IWrt 7 Wrt WrtHt Htry ry 8. Ct Ctrphy rphySpH SpHt try ry 9 Lt AiMpHt. I tl 4097M56 1995 98'.O320
1
apte [ Nebja in he New Wold: Renaissance Philosophy of anguage and the Spread of Western Literacy 29 hapte The Materiality Materiality of eading and Wriing Cltures: The hain of Sonds, Graphic Signs and Sign Cariers 69 RT 2 . THE COLONIZTION OF MEMORY pt 3 Record Keeping without Letters and Wrin g Histories of People wihot Histoy Histoy 125 ap' 4 Genres as Social Pactces: Histoies Ekylopadeas, and the Limits of Knowledge and Understanding Understanding 171 RT 3 . THE COLONIZTION O SPCE apt 5 The Movable Center Ethnicity, Geomeic Projecions, and Coexising Teritorialiies Teritorialiies 219 hapte 6 Ptng the mericas on the Map Cartography and he olonizaon of Space 259 od On Modeity, Colonization, and the ise oOccidentalism 315 Notes
335
Blography 385 Inex 415
Preface
e argme ha follows s aross he rre dso beee e eassae ad he early mode perod. Whle he oep of Rassance refers o a rebh of lassal legaes ad he osuo of mas sholarshp for hma emapao ad ealy mode eo emphaszes he emergee of a geealogy ha anoes he moe ad he posmode, he darker sde of he Reassae u erles, sead he rebh o he lassal ado as a jsao of oloal expaso ad he emergee of a geealogy (he early oloal perod) ha aoes he ooal ad he posoloal s raher ha a leal suesso of perods I oeve he oexs ee of lsers (Reassae/darker sde of he Reassae; early moeolonal perod egheme/darker sde of he Enlgh eme mode/oloal perod oher words he Reassae s oeved hs boo ogeher wh s darer sde ad he early moe ogeher wh he early olonal perod Why he "Darker sde of he Reassae ad he sxeeh ad seveeeh eres ad o for sae he lae egheeh or lae eeeh ees whe he larges poo of he world was der oloal rles? Oe of he reasos s ha my eld of expese s o Eglsh b Spash/a mea/merda lral hsos more mpora are e s ha he legaes of sh mperal sm ad Freh ad Germa oloal expaso are o oly drely rlaed o my professoal ang b o my persoal expeees as well d we al ow how mpora persoal experees are wha I oeve l boo as osloal leorzg For sae whaI e mode/olonal perod (aordg o le prevos geealoges)
is a moment in which English, French, and German constute them selves as the languages of modernity and of the "heat of Europe Pac (according to Hege), reegating Castilian and Portuguese s lan guages not well suited for scientic and philosophica discourses. hen Mn Descates in Amsterdam, towrd 1630 merged iteracy with numercy and redrected the notion of scientic igor and philo sophica reasoing in French, the Castilian and Portuguese languages remained attached to the heavy iterate and humanistic egacies of the European enaissance. If we could detect a reorientation of phio sophica and scientic discourses toward the beginning of the seven teenth centuy, it wod be wothwhie to note that such reoentaion was attached to specic lnguages (the anguages of the mode perod: English, German, French) nd concided with the moment in which Amsterdam began to replace Sevie as the Weste center of economic transactions at the closue of the Renaissance/ealy mode/coloial period and the opening up of the Eightement/ mode/coonia period Why then did I wite this book in English and not in Spanish? Wriing in Spanish means, at this time, remain at the margin of contemporay theoretca discussions In the wold in which scholarly pubications are meaingl, there are more readers in Englsh and French tha in Spanish. Like students writing a dissertation in a "minor iterature, it requires a doube eot to know the canon ad the copus. To write in Spnish a book that attemps to inscribe Spanish/Lain Aerican and Amerndian egacies into curent debates on the Renaissance/eay mode period ad into colonial egacies ad postcolona theories means marginazng the book be fore gvng it e possibity of paticipating in an intelecta conversa ton, whch, since the eighteenth centuy, has been dominated by German, French, and-more recently-by English I wil have more say about the issue a couple of paragraphs beow when I introduce Goria Anzalda's contribution to theoizing colonal egacies. The legacies of the Spaish Empire in the Ameicas are what con nect the eenth and sixteenth centuries wth the present, be that present the purilingual and mucutral Andean or esoamerican societies in Latin Ameica o the emerging Latino cultures in the Uited States. Thus, my justication for focusing on the ealy colonia period and he darker side of the naissace (instead of on the Briish Empire) is hat my own situation-contray to thinking om ad about colonial Austalia, New Zeaand, or India-at present is con nected with le legacies of the Spanish Empire, with tle more reent U.S. inperial expansion to Latin Ameca and Latin America migra tions toward the United States. Finay, the need reinscribe the viii
egacies of the "daker side of the Renaissance and the "ealy cooia ix eiod into curent dscussions on coonia egacies and postcoonia eoies emerges om the need to decoonize scholarship and to de Prfac center epistemological oci of enunciation. I agree wi a of those insising that cooniaism is not homogeneous, that we should pay mor attention to the diversity of colonial discourses, that ostcoloiaity cannot be generaized, and so foh. It is precisely be cause I agree with the need to diversi coonial experiences that I am interested in diversiing loci of enunciations om where coonia lgaies are studied and reinscibed in the present It woud be mis laing to assume, in other words, that postcoonia theories coud oly emerge om the legacies of the Bitish Empire or be postulated as monoogca and theoretcal modes to descbe the parculares an diversity of colonia experiences; it would be miseading to as sume, also, that ony the theoretica egacies of the anguages of mo et (French, German, English) are the ones with scientic egit ima. Inscibing the anguages of the Ealy colonial period (Spanish, ortuguese, Quechua, Aymara, Nahuatl) into the theoretical an guages of modeity is a rst step toward intellectal decolonizaon an the denal ofthe dal ofcoealness(see ina) y position on this issue is neither that of personal interest nor ending toward te defense of natona anguages, cultures, and tra ons. On the contray, it is founded in my strong conviction that on of the ich avenues of postcoonial theoizing is, precisely, to oen up the possibiities of diverse and egitimate theoretical oci of enunciation and, by so doing, to relocate the monoogic and univer s subject of knowledge inscribed in te mode/coonial period (ie., Amsterdam as the new economic center and Descares as the aadigmatic ex ampe of the mode mind ). If the Spaish Empire elined in the mode/coonia period and Casiia became a secondcass aguage in reation to nguages of European moder y (French, English, and German), it was, mainy, because Castiian a ost its power as a knowedgegenerating language It became a aguage more suited for litera and cutura expressions at the mo ment that kowedge was articulated by stressing the primay ualities of reason in philosophica ideas and scienc arguments and suppressing the seconday qualies conveyed in feeigs and emo ions. A acture withi the Romance languages took place in the moe period whie French maintained the expressive lair at uted to the Romace languages, it was also the anguage of philo sopca rigor and of one of the coonial powers of modernity. This actre was emphasized aer World War II, when the planet was ided into three ranked aeas and Casiin (and Potuguese) be
xii well as the uses of space and tme as the means by which cultural derences are atculated. Thus, while the denial of cOelness Peface emerged as one of the main conceptual consequences of the growng privilege of time over space in he organizaton and rankng of cultures and societes in the ealy mode/colonial peod, te denial of te denialofoealss one of the major tasks of postcolonal heorizing The third stage of Weste expansion and globalizaton, of which we are pa and parcel, is curently located aer Word War II. Some of he landmarks of this third stage are he movements of decolonizaon in Bish, French, and German colonies; the growng expansion of the Unted States, and the substtution of all forms of terrtorial colonial ism by globl markeing and ances. We he subject I am wtng in he st stage of globalizaton, the \vtingsubjct is about is located in us, a secon thrst of tle book is (I hae . -� already argued) understanding e past and speaing the present In he present being spoken (which also speaks of us), theories aculat g he globa re theories speaking he present in a postmode and If posmode and expressions either because we ar not out of modernity or colonialism or because by using hem the preference tlat modernity attributes to tmeover space is reinforced, I would like to emphasize that, in spite of ll tle ambiguies, posmoderny and postcolonialiy designate (in my argument) the locations of wo dierent modes of counteng modey. Ifdeconstrucionn is a mode or operaion associated with the fomer, decolonizaion" is the corespondng one associated wth the latter Glora Anzalda (1987), theorzing on borders, boundies, and places of culturl contact, provides more heoretcal insights that I can develop here I just menon a few of them First, here is he double reinscrpton of Spanish. On he one hand, Anzalda reinscribes Spanish (a third world language) into English (a rst world language) by sessing the dicules of taming a wild tongue. Curiously enough, he concept of taming a lguage" (akn to Nebjas phlosophy of lguage, whch I anyze in he st chapter) is recast by Anzalda as a strategy of resistance, whe in Nebrija taming a language" is a strategy of conrol, government, and colonization On the otler hand, Anzlda rescribes the Aztecs' concept of panng nd wring ( Tlilli n Tlapalli [The red ink, the black ink]) d, by so doing, she contests Nebrija and Aldrete (who I also analyze in he rst chapter) by denying that writng is representaton of sound (Nebrija), and at languages are bound to one tertory (Aldrete) In the second place, by linking language and gender Anzalda allows for geoculturl nd chronological recongrationsgeoculuraly because spanic �
erica is (i Anzalda's work) extended to and inscribed within he xii nited States and chonologically because he noton of ispanic erica blurs the boundares between the colonial and the no or Peface postcolonil, since Spanish was the ocal language of both the col onial empire as well of the neo or postcolonial natons on he one and, and it is spoken in ano communies in United States on the oler Furleore, tle links Anzalda established beween gender and language allows for tle displacements of geoculturl concepts suc as America, Our Ameca, spaic America, ain America, etc, as far l these concepts are founded in and by discursive forma ons resupposing masculiny as tle constituonal subject of geo culturl categories Instead, Anzalda displaces the accent om he limitaton of geographicl spaces to eir borders, locations in wic languages (Spanish, English, Nahuatl) and gender (male, femle, homosexual, heteosexual) are le conditons of possibiliy for e creaion of spacesinbetween as a dierent way of nkng zalda's great theorecl contribuon is e :om � ee lnk rather thn a hbspac taabot a hd hinkingspace of Spanish/an Amercan ad Amenn gaies the condiion of possibility for Spnish/at Amecan an Amerindian postcolonial theoies. In ths regard, Anzalda's orderlands" join forces wh Rodolfo Kusch's concept of pago cosis" (upon which I elaborate in he introducon), with Dussel's mt of modeiy," and witl Abdelkebbir Khaibis une pense autre" Khabi, like nzlda, constucts a transdisciplinarity space fo linking about colonization om the personal inscrpion (linguis c and personal) in colonial legacies raler than writing abot colo nization om the ules of a disciplina game Such are te places om ere I intend, in wting this book, speak le present by theorizing te past.
uring the time that lis book has been in poducton, a number of signicant acles and books have been published I would like to menon ony a handl direcly impinging on he generl line of my argumentEnrique Dussel (to whom I referred above) published Euocent ism and Modeity," the rst of his Frankrt ectres (Dussel 993a), and an entire book about the myth of modeiy (Dussel 93) Dussel's rguments in both publications are a extension of is earl work on he philosophy of liberaon on which I comment in e intoduction. Edwad Said's Impeialism and Clte appeared
xi
Pace
Libra. Norman Fiering, its director, was organzing an inter discipinar conference on The Book in the Americas." It was June, 1986 and he conference was being panned for June, 1987 I re : sented my ideas to Fieing in rough form and deed my contbuon to he conference as a comparave anaysis of the book" in European and Amerinian socieies at he me of the encounter He encouraged me to submit a writen version of my ideas; he paper was accepted, ceebrated by some, and ooked at wth suspicions by ohers. It went hrough severa revisions before becoming chapter 2 of his book un der the new tte The Materiaity of Reang and Writing Cutures." I am in debt to Pau Geh and Michae Paencia oh for he time tley took to read the piece and make vauabe criica comments. I am aso hank to Ezabeh Hi Boone for makng me beeve hat my ap proach to writng and he book was interesting and origina. In wring chapter 2 I became aware of the compicies beween he histo of the book and the histoy of writng during he European Renassance. I was fortunate to have met Ignacio Osoro Romero m Mexico in 1981 His knowedge of the cassica radition in Mexico, his insighs in reading he compex process of educaon durng the co onia perod against the grain, om schooing to he universi, om he Franciscans to the Jesuits, were ve much responsibe for he shape and content of chapter I. I was abe to brng into a dierent context what, previousy, I had earned om other expers i n the Span ish and European Renaissance: Luisa Lpez Grigera, Francisco o, Juan Bausta Avae Arce, and Eugenio Ascencio (see B oone and Mg noo 1994) Aer wring chapters I and 2 I retued to my previous research and pubicaons on enaissance histoiography and the histories f the Indies I immeiatey reaized hat I had to reame he ssue m comparative tems and in coonia situations. Chapters 3 and are the outcome of rewriing what I had aready pubished on te tp (Mig noo 1981 1982 1985, 1987) as we as of reaming what I had aready pubished on the reationships among histo, terature, and ction (Mignoo 1981 1985 1993) The rst deparure om what I had a ready wrten up to that point came wih my increasing interes : I iteracy. I was fortunate enough to work fo r about four years, st m a reang group, and then as co-teacher of wo graduate seminars on iteracy, wih Deboah KeerCohen, Anne ugges Ger e, and Bruce Maneim at the Unversi of Mchigan The diaogue with co eagues in inguistics, psychoogy, Engish, education, and anthropo o enormousy \videned my itera perspecves on iteracy. An int �r scipinary and nteaiona conference took pace at he Uversy of Michigan (Literacy: Interdiscipina Conversaons," Fa 199),
which I was abe to verbaize the conecons between iteacy and xix istoriography. My contrbuon to the conference proceedings (Lit eracy and Coonzation: Writing Histories of Peope wthout His Peface toy") aowed me to aricuate iteracy and historiography and to move om e brighter to the darker side of the enaissance. A pre ious attempt was made in 1989 when I was invited by Nancy Farriss o icipate in a workshop on The Coonization of Languages: Verba an Non-Verba," organzed by the Latin Amercan Center and he versity of Pennsyvania. There I met Serge Gruzinski, whose La colonizasion de lJimaginaire Socits indnes et occidentalisation ans Ie Mxiqe espagnole, xvme-xviiime sicles (1988) greay anged my view on the historiography of he Inies Gruzinski's ook and the exchange of informaton and ideas enteraned thereafter, together witl my reaing (durng he same years) of the concept o iteraure and histo in Edouard Gissants Caibbean Dis01e (1981) and anajit Guhas piece on Indian historiography and sub te studies (Guha 1988), conributed to my rewring of the piece I resented at te workshop organzed by Nanc Farriss A year ater I sent the paper to aymond Grew, who encouraged me to submt a revised version to Compative Sdies in Socie and Histo. The e was pubished under he tie On the Coonzaion of Amerin ian anguages and Memories." Neither of the wo artices I just men ioned are pubished as such in he book. They are isper sed, so to se, over chapters 2, 3 and 4 M interest in maps goes back to 1981 when I met Ren Acua in eco. He was eiing the ten voumes of the Relaciones Geogas e co, pubished by the U niversidad Autnoma de Mxco be een 1982 and 1989 My interess and curiosi were expanded in 186 at he John Carter Brown Libra, when I was studying Euro ean cartograph y of the sixteenth centu and disco vered he wold ma at the taian Jesuit Mateo cci made in China toward the end of e sixteenth centu The entire chapter 5 has been organized aroun this map and the maps of the Relaiones Ge'as. I am inete to Susan Danforth for her eness paence trying to unerstan m y pro ject and in ding the material I needed. InJune, 1987, during he conf erence T he Books in the Ameicas" ( lso a te John Carter Brown Libra), I met Ban Har ley, wih w om I remaned in ouch untl hs deah in December , 1991. B an's sge combinaon of carographic er ution and heoretcal sophs i aion saped m y percepon of maps mor e han I can do jusce to in s rece. It was naur al that being inter ested in maps I decided to sen some me at the Newberry Libra and take advantage of eir onerl Renaissance and A yer coecons as well as their Her mon
Dunlap Center of the History of Cartography. There I me Da vid Bouissert, direcor of the cener, Jerry Dnzer, and David W oodPfac ward. Their generosity and wisdom lrgely contributed o wha he reader will d in chapters 5 and 6. Finally, I am indebed o the condence and enthusiasm of Doris Sommer and Beniez jo for in viing me o present my preliminary ideas on the issues, in the f all of 1989, at Amherst College Nina Scot, who aended he alk and listened to he st version of what is now chapter 5, encouraged me o present i again he following year a the University of Massachusets. I did. A preliminary version of chapter 5, under he same itle, was published in he conference proceedings (CevallosCandau e al.
xx
1994)·
Chaper 6 has a dierent hough relaed history, and again he John Carer BrownLibrary is in the picure. Julio Orega in vied me to participate in an NEH seminar in Jue, 1991. I presened l ere a rough version of what is now chaper 6. A s version was prined by Randolph Macon W oman's College in heir series of Philip Thayer MemorialLectures A second version was published i l e st issue of Latin A m" 'c«n Colon al Review (1992) and, cor ected and enlarged, became what is now chaper 6 Although much of wha wen in this chaper was a produc of my previous research a tle John Carer Brown and he NewberryLibraries, I also beneted om the help and gneosy of David Bosse at he Clements Library (University of Michigan), who always found the missing pieces and hidden informa-
ion. I have oulined ome of my many deb articulated around ignicant moment in tle proce of doing reearch and wriing the book I have many other no le ignicant deb, boh o inuion and peron In he r place I hall mention tle year I pen at le Initute for the Humanitie a tle Univerity of Michigan a A. Barlet Giamati Faculy Fellow (July 1991June 1992), where I wa able wrie and rewrite par and whole of e book. The leaderhip of i director, JameWnn, nd le widom ofth Fellow, boh culy and graduae tuden, greatly enhanced tle general perpective in whch I amed he main hei of he book. In le ll of 1992 I cotaught a graduate inerdiciplinary eminar with Feando Coronil (Beyond ccidenlim: Rehinking How the We Wa Born"), which greatly inluenced wha I wroe in the aerword I owe thank o Anon Shamma for haring with me hi idea about writing and he book in Arabic hioy and abou tle pace in beween he Ilamic and Europen world. I am indebted o Fama Mge Goeck for haring with me her knowledge and ide about
lieracy in the Otoman empire and i relaion o Europe Pior xxi ichalowky wa alway a ource of inrmation abou le hitory of wiing in ancient Meopoamia and a bundle of energ y when it came Pac o dicuing theorie of wriing and repreentaion Lat bu not leat, there are a erie of deb owed o hoe who lped no in the idea dicued or informaion inroduced in the ook but in i ve producion, in the maerialiy of reading and witing culure. George Baudot introduced mein he early 1970 an i Touloueo the beauty of the Nalatl language and he orie told by the mendican iar in early colonal Mexico. I owe mor than I can expre to the enthuiam ofLAnn Field, Execuve Eior a the Univeriy of Michign Pre. When I had u a general iea of the book and perhap a dra verion of two chaper, ome ime in he fall f 1988,LeAnn made me believe in le relevnce of the proec I am no exaggeraing in aying ha perhap vihou tha iniial enthuiam thi may not have been a book bu a erie of article ulihed in dieren oual. I am enormouly indebed o Marianne Graho, who, wih patience and avoir faire, read and reread a aer dra of the enire book, making valuable edtoril recommendaion a the level of he enence and paragraph, ideniing reeiion or idea no clearly expreed, a well a underlining wha efound intereting and appeling. When I began writing the book I wored cloely il Noel Fallow, then a graduae uden a the iveriy of Mchigan, now n aitn profeor a Tulane UniveriyFallow maery of Englih nd hi experience in edting hi own er aricle made my life much, much eaier He lo tranlated om Spnih ino Englih everal quotation om ixteenh and eventeenhcentury author When Fallow wa out of reach, aureen Dyoka (lo a graduate tudent a he Univerity of Michi gan)ook hi place in ranlating om Spanih into Englih. I hall add at oth Fallow and Dyoka were vey eriouly intereted in trnlaion an already had experience of heir own in ha eld. When I ame o Duke Univerity in Jnu, 1993, I had to deal with the icult tak of obing reproduction permiion for all of the nineur illutraion. It wa a tak in itelf, probably vey much like gaeing informaion and writing an exra chaper I am indebed o iin Peola,Lia ONeil, and Debbera Caron for heir uperb ob. r i o thak the anonymou employee a he Univeriy of Michigan ibrary who o diligenly proceed my conan reque for infoaion, ricle, and book and en them o me via email or rough campu mail. Ellen McCarlY and the ediorial eam at the ivei of Michigan Pre were a model of eciency, care, and
xxi patience in the last stage of the book. Finally , A nne W y lie A ndrea W y lie Mignolo, and A lexander W y ie Mignolo the peope w:th who: Oh, he Prac I li ve, were kind in excess o ver the y ears understandg that or sta y research do to home lea ve to had stil writng the book" when I awa y to wite. IS
Introduction On Desribing Ourselves Desribing Ourselves: Comparatism, Dierenes and luritopi Hermeneuts
his book is about the colonization of anguages, of memories, nd of sace that took place when he fourh par" of the world the New o d, began to emerge in the European consciousness. The book ocuses many on cent Mexico or nhuac although examples ae so rawn om colonial Yucatn and coonial Pe Chronoogically e accent is placed on the sixteenh centuy ahough examples om erndan cutures of today are invoked to show that colonizaion is not ehnd us but has acquired a new form in a ransnatona world Lingisticly the focus is on Castlian and Amerindian languages mostl Nahua although some of the concusions will illuminate e diversity of colonia experiences in te mericas Overll, the stu oers a view of the Spnsh (as wel as the European) Renais snce om the perspective of its colones and by doing so, joins other eors to retnk the boundaries of the Renassance by chating eay moe stues. While Renaissance stues re orented toward he eiteranean and oen assume the connuity of the classica tradiion studies of the early mode period tu toward the Atantc and e acic and advocate the perspectve of te coonies.! e book is divided into three pars, each comprising two chapters e st part expores the philosophy of writing in e Europen Renssance as a decisive ctor in the poiics of language implemented b e Crown and the reigious orders in he New World. It also brings o lght some of the diculties Europeans had in understnng wit
[2 TD Sid ofth Rissn
concept of a plurtopic hermeneuc I am developing here. While Dusse!'s analectic allows for a radical rethinking of he object to be understood, described, or interpreted, pluritopic calls into question the posionaliy ad desai j. One has impression hat ussel remains a concept of knowledge hat questons the conceptualizaon ofhe Oher as a subject to be understood, wthout questioning te understandng subject itself. However, his conribu on to the constrcton of disciplinay postcoloal loci of enncia on should not be dismissed27 It is not he whole picture of philosophy of liberaton as practiced by Dussel hat I am interested in, but in hs policizaon of phe nomenology ad he inroduction of analectc as an alteatve locus of enunciaton. Such a move has put Dussel at odds with Marxist hinkers, since he sees analecc as a better alternave to dalecc ad a philosophy ofliberaon as an alteave to Marxsm28 M y paricular problem wih Dussel is hat he intro�uEtion_oet esults in conceiving he mins as d tological raher han as a mov able an aionl concept Dussel, however, is not a solitary voice climing he gt of he margin speak, produce, and ansmit kowledge The ican writer and literay crtic Ngugi Wa ThiongO has arculated a similar idea in a dierent manner. Thiong'O speaks of alternave centers, instead of centers and periphery. By analyzing Conra; and Lammin oMy Sin Thiong'O concludes that Conrad is cricizing he empire om he very center of its expasion, while Lamming is criticizing it om the center ofresisnce. dwad Kamau Brahwaite suppored his idea by talkng about and reading his poery A crucial moment of his search for a rhyhm and a voice, whch corresponds wih his livng expeience in the Caribbean, came when the skiddng of a pebble on he ocea gave him a sound and a rhyhm he could d by reading Mlton or Shakespeare. A second crcial moment came when he perceived he parallels beween he skidding of he pebble on the ocean and he calypso, a rhythm he could d by listeing to Beehoven.29 Michelle Cli, on her par, indrecy joins tese clams when she states tat one of he eecs of assimilaon in he Anglocenrism of Brish West India culture "is hat you believe absolutely in the he gemony of he Kng's nglish and in he rm in which it is meant to be expressed Or else your wring is not literature it is folklore and can never be ar. . . . The anglica ideal-Milton, Wordsworth, Keas-was held before us wih an assurance hat we were unable, and would never b enabled, to compose a work of similar correct ness. . . . No reggae spoken here30 While Thiong'O, Lamming,
and Brahwaite simultaneously constct and heorize alteative cen ters in what have been considered he margins of colonial empires, atnos in he United States and Black Americans are demonstratng at either the margins are also in the center , as Thiong'O puts it, hatkowledge and aesheic norms are not universally established by a transcendent subject but are universally established by historical sujecs in diverse cultual centers Glora Anzalda, for instance, has aculated a powerl alteaive aestetic and political hermeneutic placing herself at he crossroads of hree traditions (Spaish merican, Nahua, and AngloAmerican) and caring a locus of enunciaion where dierent ways of knowing and of individual ad collective expressions meet.31 But perhaps the best example of a pioneerng eort to understand olonization in the New World, and parcularly in te Andes, by acicing a pluritopic hermeneucs-witout giving it a name-was rovided by the Agentinian philosopher Rodolfo Kusch.32 For politi l reasons, Kusch was teaching at a nothern Argennian university, Slta, durng he [960s Northe Argentina had in the past been part oe Inca empire, and Kusch realized how much of the Inca legacy remained in weniethcentY Per, Bolivia, and norhern Argenna e egan to pracce a comparaive ehnophilosophy, moving from te system of thoughts praciced by the Inca elite in e sixteenth enry under Spanish le) and by peasants of Amerndian descent t te Weste philosophical tradition practiced in urope and re earsed in he colonial periphey Kusch's analysis, moving from one aon ofthoght to he other, was not just an exercise in pluritopic ermeneutcs but, I will venture to say, e minimal step to be aken fo e consituon of dierential loci of enunciation and he estab lisment of a polic ofintellectual inquiry hat will go beyond cultural rlatvism. Kusch's phlosophical inqui was motvated by a need felt by Latn ericanintellectuals since he second half ofthe nineteent century, te need to discover or to invent he cultural identy ofAmerica, an amiguous noun hat sometimes implies South or Lan America and sometimes the enre American connent, including the Caribbean ush uses it in both senses, indicang he derences between Amer inan and ropea legacies in S, Central, and Noth America is mn argument revolves around te dstincton between causal anseminal om semen, seed, origin, source) ways of thinking as e refer to wo generic conceptual ameworks and their aer ma, enacted and illusrated in he West. The rst is a raonal hink ing in he lightenment tradon in a capitalisic economy The oe, enacted by te Amerindias of coloal imes and peasants of
[3 Dscibing Ous/vs Dsibing Ous/ps
meindan descen oday s a atonal tnkng n e ay eco nomc syse ms n Mesoameca a vaey of ways of lvng nde Wes� e Daer en economy snce e sxeen and seveneen cenies If ee s Side ofte a dcoomos layng o of Ksc's nvestgaon e dcoomy Renaissance ends once e compaes meindans of yeseday w peasans of oday Eopean nkng of yeseday and oday people n e cy and n te con te mddle class n e an cenes o nort and so of eanic and e acc Kscs an alyss goes ack o e ways of nkng efoe e eay mode peod wen e semnal n e pcomng Wes was ancoed n elgon He egns y loca ng n e Wes two modes of og a e same time a e ndelnes e leation from elgos tnking proclamed y e deologes of modey om e Renassance o e Enlgenmen How ese wo modes of nking neac n e so of meca (s paadgmac examples ae Bolva e gentna and Cle and moe speccally e g plaea of e lms eween Bolva and Pe! on e one and and Benos es on e oe s wa Ksc aemps o dsenangle y means of concepal analyss ne mngled w pesonal expeence s n noten genna and s en Bolva as well as analyss of e mddle class on e osks of e cy of Benos ies n e dalecc eween casal and semnal ways of nking Ksc nds as well as fonds (0 namng a d space n wc a plopc eeneics cold e pacced Ksc ses e s as a meme and pacpan n e socety dven y casal ways of nking s an geninan plosope e s ale o go eyond a sce of dcoomos opposions and nd e semnal pae a connecs e dden ndegond of Wese og w explc merindan ades wc a ve e ssed e assmla on o casal ning even og peasans of mendan descen lve wn a yd conex n wc e commodcaon of a cas n Snday fames makes does no ease semnal ades manained among e memes of e own commnes By com paring alenaive plosopes n s own and negong cones w e same ocal langage Spans and smla ln gstic me ndan congaions Ksc s no longe e osde ng o nde sand e Oe fom away e Ote fo Ksc s pa of s own con pa of s own eveday lfe and commny Us and ey ae ssmed n a d space n wc o ecome we e memes of s con e neos of a colonal legacy In a lage conex Ksc s-lke e meindans w wom e conveses and pon wom e eecs-a meme and pacpan of e mecas He s no an anopologs wo ae nsng s wo o ee yeas of eldwok wll expend e es of s lfe n a s 1
wod envonme n witng ao s o e dsan fends makng a S caee o of s o e exended eldwok eefoe e execse of a lopc emeneics s moe an an academc execse o Ksc a Debng s a eecon on e polics of nellecal nq and a staegy of Ourse clal neenton. Wiing cles acqes a wole new mean Decrbing ng wen nellecal nqy s pa of e cle saed y e self Ourse same and e oe y e sjec of sdy and te ndesandng sjec s e plopc emenec I am ng o aclae moves toward an neacive concep of knowledge and ndesandng a eecs on te ve pocess of conscting (eg png n ode a oon of e wold o e known33I s fasionale nowadays o ell a sory fom deen pons of vew o sow ow elave e nvenion o ey s Wa a plopc appoac empases s no cla laivty o mltclalsm e soca and man neess n e ac of ellng a so as polcal neention. e poltcs of enacing and of consrctng loc of enncaon ae a sake ae an e divesy of epesenaonsesling fom deenal loca ons n ellng soes o ldng eoies s pon e ecal menson of knowledge and ndesandng sold e nodced. o plopc ndesandng mples a wle e ndesandng sec as o assme e r of wa s lown and ndesood e o se also as o assme e exsence of aleave polcs of loca on w eqal gs o clam e t e cal polm aises en e deal elavsm n wc examples lke s one ave een as oveook e fac a coexsence of pespecve does no always ae lace wo a dsplay of powe elaons and sometmes vo lnce s f e epsemologca and onologca aspecs of a pl o ndesandng cold e deal w n es of elatvsm s eal dmenson nves one o look a e congaon of powe lal elavsm may e an mpoan sep n ndesandng cl l eences Kscs pacce sggess a falls sor f s no analyed n e conex of powe and domnaon om s on of vew e colonaon of langages of memo and of space o e analyed n e followng capes seds lg on e ve ocess of ndesandng olona saions nve one o enk e emenecal legacy. I emeneics s dened no only as a eecon on man nde sanng aso as man ndesandng self34 en e adion n wc emenecs as een fonded and developed as o e eas n ems of e plaly of clal adions and acoss clal ondares ana cass s concep of daopcal emenecs om c I depa as follows:
16 Te Darker Side fthe Renaissance
Diatopical hermeneucs s the required method of nterpretaon when the dstance to overcome, needed for y understandng s not just a distance whn on single culture . f a temporal one . , but rather the dstance beween two (or more) cultures, which have independently developed in derent spaces (topoi) their own methods of phlosophzing and ways of reachng ntel igiblty aong wth her poper categoes35 One aspect dsinguishes Panikkar's concept om my own: te kind of"derent spaces impled n coonia si tuaons Thus, colonial stuatons and coona semoss present a hermeneuica dlemma for the understandng subject interested n the herarchy establshed by he dominaon of one cuture (ts hstoy, nstutions, ad ndvd uas) over another Historcay, the anayss of colonal stuatons has been studed and narrated om ponts of vew prevaent in derent domans of the coonzing cutures, even when he interpreter advo cates he rights and goods of coonized cultures. Coonia semiosis brings the followng dlemma to the fore: what is the locus of enunca ton om whch he understandng subject comprehends colona st uaions? In other words n wich of the cuural tradons to be un derstood does the understandng subject pace h m- or herselfby constructing hs or her locs of enuncaton How can the act of read ng and the concept of interpretaton be rehought wthn a plur topicaly orented hermeneuics and the sphere of colonal semoss These questons ar ot ony reevant when broad cultural issues such as colonal stuations and coonal semoss are beng consdered, but aso when more specc ssues such as race, gender and class are taken into account It is n ths sense hat Dusse's analectic s a necessa complement to a plurtopc hermeneuc emphaszng the ocus of enunciaton and chaengng the unversaly of the understandng subject Gadamer eay states the goals and justicaons of phosophca hermeneutics: My thess sand I thnk t is a necessa consequence ofrecognz ng he operatveness of histor n our condonedness and nitudehat the thing which hermeneutcs teaches us s to see through the dogmatsm of assering an opposon ad separaton beween he onoin, naural radiion and the reectve appropri aton of t For behnd ths asseton stands a dogmatic objectvsm that distots the ve concept of hermeneutca reecton tsel In this objectvsm he understander s seeneven in the socaed sciences of understanding ke hstoynot in relaionship to the
hermeneuic iuaion and the constant operatveness of hstory in hs own consciousness but n such a way as to impy that hs own understandng does not enter nto the event3
17 0 Describing O'selves
The Mexcan histor and phlosopher Edmundo O'Gorman Deibig esees reconsderaon at ths pont for hs contbuton to the de- Oursees centengof the knowng ad understandng subject and contribuing he constructon of a postcolonal locus of enuncaon. 3 I have no quare wih and, indeed enhusiascay endorse Gadamers criicsm o a positivistc concepton of knowedge ad understandng on the same grounds that I accept OGoman's critcism ofposvistc hstoography (boh come om the same source Hedegger's ctique of storographcal understandng).38 The poson I ke n hs book istances tsef, however from Gadamer at he same me that it aproaches hat of O'Goman ad assumes the paadox that a model of ought so mu centered in the Weste philosophica pracces such as philosophca hemeneucs) engendered a counterdscourse an a cic of Western historography om the coonia centers (to foow Thiong'Os approach) Thus Dussels analeccs and O'Gormans nvenon depart om he philosophcal adion engenderng em to become ateave mehodologes for understandng soca rocesses and cutura aicts outside e scope of a phlosophical eeneucs or a unversal pragmatcs. It s on Dusse's and OGorman's posophcal moves, rather than on ther entre philosophcal osons hat I would lke to captaze. Let's take another step in ts recion adamer's notion ofan ongoing, natural tadton presupposes a monotopic hermeneutic in whch the locus of enuncaton ofshe or he wo derstands beongs to he same tadton nvented by the ver at of understanding. On the conta colonia stuaions depa om te ied and hegemoic arangements of an evouionay (cvlz ing) pocess at bega in Greece and reached hose counes tat acepted it as her own ogin From the perspecive of colonia stua ons is elp to remember tat, toward the eeventh centu, an hristendom and Musim Araba were both coinetors of he ree; and hat Lain and Aabic were e laguages of secuar ad sare \vsdom Thus, f hermeneuc is rescted to "our ongong natural tadon and tlat taditon s the GrecoLain one, en her meneutc s regiona and restricted to one specc knd of tadion n e oher hand f hemeneuic could be extended beyond the recoRoman legacy to understand non-Weste radtions, then t oul not be mono topic but plurtopic. That is to say, the idea that an unerstandng subject located n the "natura, ongong tradition of
the West is in a posiion to understand nonWestern legacies must be rejected if the understanding subject does not cal into question the Da ve act of understanding and, instead, projecs a monotopic underSid ofh standing over multingua and pluricultual words. When Gadamer Rnaian reads in the Romantics the desire to overcome he classics and discover he charms of he past, he r, the alien (he Midde Ages, Inda, Chna, and so on), 39 he redenes hermeneuics in he context of intercultura understanding, alough the understanding subject remains located in one specic cuture, one hat caims he right to intercutural hermeneuc understanding 18
Hermeneutics ma be deed as the atempt to overcome ths distance in aeas where empath was hard and agreement not eas reached. There is alwas a gap hat must be bdged Thus, hermeneucs acquires a centra pace in viewng human expeence. That was indeed Schliemachers intiion he and his associates became the st to deveop hermeneuics as a foundaon, as the prima aspect of socia experience, not on for the scholal interpretation of texs as documents of the past, but also for understndng the mste of he inwardness of the other person This feeling for the individuai of persons, the reaizaion hat the cannot be classied and deduced according to general rues or aws was a signcant new approach to the concreteness of he other.0 Overcoming the cassical radition and encountering the f and the aien did not chnge the monotopical conceived hermeneutc, for he understanding subject and his or her locus of enunciaton maintained a Euopean posiion. The question of how an Indian or a Chinese coud understand the r and the aien was never asked, much less how encounters beween Europeans and Chinese (see chap 5 or beween Europeans and Amerindians in the sixteenth centur could be understood toda, and b whom and from where such an understanding was achieved. or understanding sixteenhcentur encounters during he epansion of Christiani and European poiica and economic power would be a dierent enterprise if undetaken om the perspecive of members of concing groups in power (who had the abii to speak and be heard) in Europe, China, or (Latin) Ameica Monotopic hermeneutics sered to maintain the universai of European cuture at the same me that it justied the tendenc of its members to perceive hemseves as he reference point to evauate al oher cutures. What European counies such as Spain and Potuga attained during the siteenth and seventeenh centuries (and what was carried on b Engand, rance, German, and Hold dung the
ighteenh and nineteenh cenuies) was the economic ad politica power hat made possibe the universaization of regional values. oonial situatons imp a purali of taditons (instead of an "ongoing natura one), call for a rion of Gadamers phio� sphca hermeneutcs, and invite a puitopic, instead of a monotopic, ermeneuics. Whie in Ds's hermeneucs te piosopher re s e voice of Knowedge ad sdom, and in his case, he nowedge and Wisdom ofe People, in a dialogic understandng he ro of he phosopher or schoar is as much to tak as it is to isten to oher voices taking about expeiences alien to him or her. If"natual tradions are questioned and regionazed (i.e., there are as man naturaradions as there a communiies inventing hem), then he universal positon ofhe understanding subject can no longer be man tined Race, gender, class, and natonai are al impotnt dimen sions in the process ofunderstding oneselfas we as in the discipin process in which the queston, hat is to be understood is answered. However, if a uires a compaatve we might, then, easil fa into the ra iv utijptse roduct 0fcoloia or hat it began wth Herodotus; or perhaps even bewith Homer or the onian writers.42 I prefer to hink hat if comparative processes need an origin, itike man othersshod not e ooed for among the Grees but among some of he features common to iving organisms Disceing dierences b identies, and vie versa, also seems to be a feature of human inteigence,43 and, consequent, so are comparaive attitudes.44 Wh should compara be interpreted as a Greek invenon instead ofas a human need for eter) adaptaton and suival Comparave categories formulated isciplnar terms are what we might atribute to the coonial exansion ofthe eentl through seventeenth centues, whch implies a onl he Weste foundaon of knowedge was an authorized a o knowng, comparing, and formuatng comaave categories. hemore, it woud be possible to ague that most comparative sies (of teratures, reigions, languages, histoes, carographies, et) are founded on a monotopic hermeneutcs Consequentl, an ternave compaasm grounded on a puritopic hermeneucs is at e same time a need and a chalenge: a need, because colonia situa ons are dened b tle asmmet of power reaons beween te wo (or more) poles to be compared; and a chaenge, because n teave mehodoog must dea with and detach itsef om the resuposiions ofhe estabished metlodoogical and philosophica foundatons om which it depats: in this case, compasm and monotopic hermeneuics.
19 OnDibing Oulv Dibing Olv
Davd Wallace has observed that one of the chief istorical markers of the naissance is te "dscove'' and colonizaion of the fouh TeDarker and nal continent, the New Wold; ad the most powerl redeni ide ofhe ton of the Renaissance paradigm took place in nineteenth-centu Renaissance Europe, amid (and as pat of) the carving p of Aican, Asian, and Ausalia teitoies beween European powers,45 that is to say, dur ing te last stage of impeial expansion. But the fourth pa of te wold was nown as such only om te perspective of Euopean cos mograpy. Muslm and Chinese concepons of te earh, as we will see in chapter 5, did not dvide the known world in the same way Nothing in nature itself dvided the wold in four pars rather it was a human invenon wihin a partcuar cultural traditon Since scholars in te gowing eld of colonial discourse have o account for a com plex system of semioc interactions emboded in te spread ofWest e literacy, a concept such as colonial smiosis has the advantage o removing one om the tyanny of the alphabetoriented notons of text and discourse, and the disadvantage of addng to an already vast and sometmes consg vocabul On he positve side, it dees a eld ofsudy in a paralel and complementa fashion to such preexist ing tems as colonial histo, colonial colonal economy, and so on However, the noion of coloal semiosis reveals at the same tme that language-centered colonia studies are moving beyond the ream o he witten word to incoporate ora and nonalphabetic witng sys tems as well as nonverbal gapic systems and that parallel notions such as coloal or colonial hsto shoud be rethought om the perspectives opened up by a pluritopic hemeneuc If signs have neiter dened propetes nor teleologically dvine or intenonaly human oientaons but acquire such qualities when ey enter into a nework of descrptions by those who, in one way or other, se em, then what ar te citeria for vaidang one de scription over nother? The queston is neither new nor insigicant The simple answer I would lie to risk here is: perfomance, not coe spondence It is he nction of e descripton raher han e accu racy of the represenaton Enactng is perrming, not looking for corespondences with the world or for te true meaning of a sentence, a text, an object, an event Perfoming means both having te ski and knowing how to use it, forskill alone is not enough to make a person a good player, a superstar, or he leader of the community The point am tying to make is that scholars studying he culture (whether na tional, ehnc, or gender) to which they belong ae not necessarily subjectve, just as scholars sudying culures to which hey do not belong are not necessarily objective Since I believe that heores are 20
not necessarly te insruments required to understnd somethng a lies outside te theo, but, on the conra, tat heories ae he instuments required to constuct knowledge ad understnding (in acaemia they would be clled "scholaly or scienic desciptons), mus of"subjective and "objective consttutes examples, not epis temological statements.
From the point ofview of either a constucvist epistemology, in whih the world (or the text) is constucted by the subject as "repre sentaton,46 or a perfoatve (enactive) one, in wich the neous sstem consitutes itself as a subj ect of knowledge ad understading a constnt process of selfdenion and self-adaptation,47 it will be rUe tat the persona (individua) and social situaton of the knowing suject will be played witin te ules and procedures of a dsciplne even in the case in whch they will be contested) as well as withn the omuniy of which the scholar is a membe. Consucting or per foming knowledge and understanding implies, in he nal anaysis, a the living orgasm in any of its possible descriptons (nervous sstem, person, self, scholar, scientist, etc) prevals in its interacions ,t the world at te same time hat it competes with and cares for oe lving organisms ofe same species in its ialogue and relaons e opposite would be tue for an "objective noon of nowl ege: te order of the wold and dsciplina ules will prevail over the {rganism's needs, personal obsessions, ad hum interests ccord ingl, in neither case could we say that a better (deeper, more accurate, mor trustwohy, more informed, etc) knowledge or understanding is attined For if we approach knowledge nd understanding om a onstrucivist or a perfoative point ofview (even takng account of e ierences beeen them, and limitng it to he actual congura on o disciplina enterprises), the audience addressed and the re seacer's agenda are equally relevnt to the constuction ofthe object o suject, as ae te informaton and models available to te under staning subject. Thus, the locus of enunciaon is as much a pa of te owing and understanding processes as are he data for he isipli (e.g, sociologcal, antopological istoical, semiologi al, et) constucon of the "real Consequently, he "true account oa subject matter, in te fom of nowledge or understading be tansated in the respecive commuities ofinterpretaon as much for its orespondence to what is taken to be real as for the authorizing lous of enunciaon constructed in the ve act of descibing an objec t or a subject. Furthemore, he locus of enunciaton of te discourse eing read woud not be understood in iself but in te context of eious loci of enunciation hat he curent dscourse contests, cor
21 Describing Ourseves Desribing eV
22
rets, or expands. It is as much the sayin (and the audience invoved) as it is what is said (and the word referred to) that preseres or transDarkr fos the image of the rea constructed by previous acts of saying. id oft This book is interdisciplinary (or muldiscipinary, as some woud Rnaissan prefer) in content and method By interdiscipinary I mean that practitioners of several disciplines converge in studying a situaton or in soving a problem; or a practtioner of a discipline borrows fom and relates his or her ndings to other discipines In both cases, a rethinking of problems, questions, and methods that had been asked by previous schoars in their own scipines takes pace Expanding disciplina boundaries is a tendency ofour time, eary described by Ciord Geertz, that postmode thinkers constanty dwel upon48 The force behind this tendency is n issue in which I wi not get involved at this point However, I woud like to state, succincly, how is situation impinges on te posion I am taking in this book. My disciplinay training combined the history of iterature discourse anaysis, and semioics under he abel "theY ofiteratre Semiocs (or semiology, which I prefer, rit s tes wth philology) and discourse analysis have lost the glamor they enjoyed eny years ago. They have, however, set an agenda of questions to be asked and pob lems to be soved The semioogical perspective introduced into tle agenda of the social sciences and the humanities raises uestions re ated to meanings and interpretations, focusing on the producion, tnsmission reception, and postprocessing of signs. Ceainy, Peirce's semiotcs was to logic what Saussure's semiotcs was to linguistics. otmans approach to the semiologica perspective introduced, instead, a context abeed "the semioc of culture, which I perceive as compaible with cultura studies.4 Balhin's contributions in tis respect were by no meas egligibe ideoogical questons were introduced, genres were approached om a semiologica perspective, and the old debate between hermeneutic and epistemo logica, beween natura and human, sciences, intoduced by Dilthey, was recast5 Derrida's own work, in the late 1960s and early 970s, owes a great dea to the semioogical approach, even if he placed himsef in opposion. De laramatoloie could not have been conceived without the wdespread dision of Saussurean semiologica inguiscs and its adaptaton by LviStauss in theoreical anhropology5 Finally, in this geneaogy of debts, Foucaults cocept ofdiscur sive formation emerged om the eed to go beyond e abstact signier/signied appoach to language and the need to look not at absract linguistc codes regulating spee, but at the ncioning of scourse in histo nd sociey. 52 This appoach is not unike tat of Bakhtn These re some of the references I have in mind when I t
aout semiotics However, none of he above formuaons contemlated coonia situatons in their discussions of eiher the abstract or e historical aspects of signs and discourses Thus, the eed to intouce the noton of coonia semiosis. Sign producion and transmission across cutural boundaries and negoations beteen or discourses and dirent kinds of writing sstems open up new horizos for which le schoar can hardy nd a aition in litera studies Descripons and expanations of human ommunication across cutura boundaries conont he schoar with e imits of a linear noion ofhistory and invite him or her to repace it t a nonlinear histo; to replace causal reatons with a network of onnections; to accept that the "same object or event is conceived uite dierenty in dierent cultures and tat it is not enough to say tat any abstract thought or knowedgedriven activiy in noneste cuures is like science or philosophy and, rhermore, that tere are narrtves and songs that are ike oral iterature. The cX of te matter is that when cutural dierences go beyond common memoies expressed in dierent anguages, we have no alternatve but to unerstand the dierences in reaion to our own identit and to look a ourselves as others Whie this is, indeed, a ve dicult thing t o do, iis precisely what te huma sciences (socia sciences and the humaniies) attempted: to invent a (meta)language by means ofwhich we ou ecome obserers of our own interactons. The pobem is that tradiiona epistemoogical distncton beween paticipant and osee is not sucient, since, as paricipants, we are aready obseers. We are , so to speak, obserers wce over Let me elaborate on is istncton I ave tried to cast it in terms of paicipant/obsever and schoar sienst)/obserer with te help ofMaturana's distncon beween esions and expanations, and the oe played by the obseer i n ea of tlem.5 3 There is an impotant dierence, early visibe aOug not expicit, in Maturana's noon of obserer Simpliing a rae compex argument, I woud venture to say tlat, according to aurana, we who conceive ourselves as human beings become obseers oour interactions, and, in the process of becoming conscious seers, we generate descriptons and representatons of that which e ave oserved. Speech is, perhaps, one of the most powerl semi means to increase he domain of communicatve interacon, but ilso lows the paticipnts in the speech to reect upon speech itself an aout speaking interactions Briely, to be humn (folowing this lgi) is ot ony to interact semioticaly but to use language to generate esitons of the domain of interactions in which we are parici ns n e other hand, ifspeech is a means to describe our semiotc
23 Dscribig OursFs Dscribing Ous
interacions, it is not he only one. We also have wrng and other ways of using sounds and signs to interact as we to describe our TeDm'ker own interacions. Whether speech (and phabetic wrtng) are the ide ofthe most power sign systems for communicating and describing our Renaissane communications is not a probem I wil pursue here. Language (in whatever manifestation, not ony speech and alphabec writng) a ows r a doman of interactions at the same ime that it allows the obsr to descrbe his or her own interacons as paricipant, either in semiotic-communicative or ny other knd of soci interactons The ct that I am interested in te former shoud not alow us to forget that we, as raonal anims, not only interact but have invented sign systems to describe our interacions Thus a performative concept of cognition not oy impinges on our description of the word, but also on the descripions of our (human) descrpons of te world. We not only use a tool; we lso justi its uses as seected om among many possibiiies. The use of te too is as ideologca as te descripions invented to usi its use. But at stl another level, Maturana's obsever is no longer te per son who descibes but she or he who expains. This second obseer is te scientst: "A scientists, we want to provide expanaons for the phenomena we obsee. That is, we want to propose conceptua or concrete systems deemed to be intentonaly isomorphic to (modes of) e systems that generate te obseved phenomena. 54 Thus, the st interestig aspect emerges when comparing the goals of the scholar (scienist)obseer and the nctons of modes and expana ions in scientic practces with the goas of the paricipantobseer and e ncton of deitions and descriptons in he practices of eveday ife The chaenge ofthe humn sciences is not only what has aways been pointed out, the coaescence of the object of study wit te subject studying it, but the posioniy and politcizaton of he understanding subect and is or her drive to now or understand. A more complex set ofproblems has to be resolved when the schoar o socia scientist has to negotiate s f her own cultura world as con ceived in eveday practice; he conceptual scheme of the discipnay (meta)anguage wih the cutura word and the conceptua scheme of the dscipinay (meta )anguage of other social worlds In our centuy antropoogsts began to realize hat te Azande may not have diSCipinary practices caed anthropology However if e Weste anropologist can obsee" he Aznde and describe teir customs both as a prticipantobseer and a member ofa derent culure, and as scientistobserer of a dscipina world caed nthropoogy, te possibiities of being obseved," at various eves, are cerany open to consideration, 55 as is he quesion of repacing the Azande's own seldescripion wh the more authoritave and scienic one pro 24
ed by anthropoogica training. Ts point takes us back to our 25 revious consideraion of te mobiiy of the center, the power to spek or write nd he constructon of oci of enunciaton What Dribig foows is an eor to understand otherse, to shae up he pattes of OWSc!JlCS uderstanding inherited om the European Rnaissance and e Desribig French Enightenment, by paying them against the disartculaton e!s an rearicuaon of knowledge inherited om coloni and neo coloni egacies.
Part I
The Colonization of Languages
Chapter I Nebrija the New Word Renaissance hiosophy of Language and the Spread of Weste Literacy
okng Back from Beardo Jos de Adrete: The Lingustic Unicaon of Spain and te igisc Diversty of te Indies war he en of he eenh entury, a phiosophy of anguage ase on the eebraion of the etter an of veauar anguages eg to eerge in Europe. Eio Antoo e Nebrija paye an iportant roe in this eveopent by writng one of the rst graars ofa eauar anguage, Castian, an he rues ofits ohography. Boh treatises, the graar of Castiian (1492 ) an the rues for ohogra 157 , nue substana prefaesi whih Nebrja a out the istoia sigane of the invention of he aphabet an the ipo oanguage i he onsoiation of the Spanish epire. When Nebria s wing his graar of Castian he kingo of Castie, ner e authority ofIsabea an Ferinan, was beoing e srongest e Iberian Peninsua, though the Moors sil ha onro ofGranaa an Coubus ha yet to subit his projet to an inreasingy ower an busy queen. ne hne years aer Nebrija's onribuion to anhoring asilian anguage by writing graars, voabuaries, an ohogahi rues, Bernaro e Arete, ike Nebrija o Analusia, pubise his renes de eng cten (166) Ahough several essas an treaises eebraing the vtues of Castiian ha areay 29
been bihed dring he ixeenh cen, Adree' conribion wa a narraive oi origin2 Nebrija' graar had been bihed D'r in Salaanca, one o he o ioan cener o learning in he Sid oth kingdo o Caile dring he ie o Ferdinand and Iabella Al Rnaissan dree' work aeared in Roe, and he nderlined he c ha he r reaie on he origin o Cailian angage wa blihed in he lace where he angage ie originaed. He d no i an ooniy o deend hi ain hei, ha Cailian deived o Lain and wa cored by he Viigoh dring heir conqe o he Iberian Peninla o he end o he h cen o he end o he evenh.3
Recognion ha he Visigohs were vanquishers and ye adoped the language and cuture ofhe vanquished did no preven Aldrete om defending a second hesis throughout he histo of humankind, conquerors haveinictedtheirlanguage on he conquered One ofAdrete's chapers expresses he thesis in is ile, "The Vanquished Receive the Language of the Vanquishers, Surendering Their Own wih Their Land and People. In his chapter, Aldrete deals with the exampes of he Iberian Peninsula and the (West) Ines.4 In the Iberian Peninsula he nucleus of his argument was povided by the dierences beween the Romans d he Arabs (or the Moors) Arabic was obviously he anguage used in all those terrioies le Moo had und ir contol: Catilian nde he Moors los not
only eir language, bu sometimes theirreigion, and oen theirives (La lenga casellana, book I, chap. 22, p. 139)· But the Arabs e signicant poons of e peninsua in which peope were able to presee their sense of territoriai by preseing heir reigion, Christianiy, and their language, Casilian. Aldree dierentiates le invasion ofe Moors from tha ofthe Romans The Roms invaded the entire erritoand ofcourse imposed their language. Aldree ad wo impotan reasons o disinguish beween he wo invaions. One of Adrete's points was historica: because he Romans invaded he entire peninsula, Romans and Castilians became on and the same peope ("cn os romanos con los cuales se hzieron unos los Es� paoles ), a legacy so strong ha even he Visigoths could no aler it A second point was reigious: the origin of the Caslian nguage in the Iberian Peninsula wen ogether with the expsion of Chris ianiy Adrete recognized reigion as the mos imporan ay fo maintaining or chging a language.5 Consequenly, since Lain was
the language linked t Christianiy,Aldree erceived at te corrupion ofLain by the Visigohs d not aterthe more round connec ion bewe"n Lan and Chrisianiy, which was ansfered to mode veacur languages and resuled in a cea disncion om Herew, anguage which was inked o Lain hough he Bibe, andArabic, the
o he Moor, he Koran, and e "oher Alogh he Moor oc- 31 cied e Iberi Peninla or alo eigh cenrie o he eighh o he eenh) and, like he Roan, had ahabeic wriing Nb« in th nd a reigion o he Book, Cailian langage derived o Lain Nw Wod whie he Arabic inence wa oy regiered a he lexica level (L eng cen 167). Two reigion, reaed o wo dieren langage, coexied in he Iberian Peninla or ao eigh cenrie ( eng csen 175) and, o iorany, he Arabic angage and he Iaic religion never cceeded in reacing Caiian nd Chriianiy (L eng csen 164-75) The argen aowed Aldree o exain e exanion o Cailian langage beyond e bondarie o he Cailian kingdo o reach Navarra, Eeadra,andAndacaandojiconnivancewihChrianiby reing e gh again he Moor. he coiciy beween langage and reigion had no been reed by Nebrija a he beginning o Caile' ole a an ierial power Qeen Iabela' erceion o Caile nied nder Chriiniy, however, wa a egacy ranered by Aldree' ie a cen lae o he hiloohy o he ae o he hiloohy olangage. lree wa reonding o hi dobe endowen when he reed a he Arabconra o he Roanno only had a dieren lngage b o a dieren religion Exanng he angage and reonqering eriorie were ar and arcel o a dobe egacy ha a i roo in he eary onh o 149, when e ejecion o he oor cobined wih e blicaon oNebrija' gaar. a Adree ha o ay abo e We Indie i aiy derived ohe Jei aher Jo de Acoa, who en a long ar o hi lie i er. Acoa received eh inion o he Jei in Mexico ao he Mexica cre and hio and bihed hi His·i n mo de s 1590 Acoa' book and Francico L6ez e ara' Hispni iri blihed in 555, were wo ohe o y read nd ranlaed book dring he ixeenh cen. The ei coa had a eren agenda han G6ara, Hen Co' ivae chaain Te had a rong inere in nderanng aer naral and han in he Indie. The aer choe o celebrae he o by decribing he and, e eole, and, ainly, he Saniard' ee. Following Acoa' Hiori Adree realized ha here were o onarchie in he Indie, one o he "Inga, 0 Inca del Pir, an e oher in New Sain, belonging o he king o Mexico. ree wa aicrly inereed in leaning o Acoa' reor a echa wa he ocia langage ( nsimi "he genera angage) ohe Inca eire and ha Naha in Mexico had a iiar nion or he Azec or Mexica, a hey reer ca eeve) pie. Boh were angage a he conqeror ioed on he
fhis hess coud be defended n those cses n whch gven lnguge 37 dervedom Ln, t would be more dcult to jus the ranston Nebrja il the of Amerndn speech to Ltn letters. But t s not necessa to prove Aldrete ght or wrong, snce under- Nw W01'/d stnding the gme he ws pyng, he soc forces nourshng t, nd the complcy beween knowledge, humn nterests, nd locus of enuncon s more relevnt to my goas. Hs defense of the connuty of he clssca tdon s perfectly rtcuted n te double geneogy he trces: not oly spoken Ltn but Ltn letters derved om Greek (La lCga ctellana, book 3, chp. 28).7 The thess olds ts force s ong s the colonzon ofAmerndn lnguges, by modelng hem ccording to the Ln grmmr, s gnored. Adrete constucts hs model whn lrger mework cuted by Nebr century erler. The mework ws bounded, t one end of the spectrum, by Ltn s the nguge of leng and cvy, nd by sn s the lnguge of the nton. At te other end s the be iefn te power of the letter to tme he voce, to preserve the glory of the pnce nd the memores of nton, nd to pgrade the soca nd cultur processes of the Amerndns, who, even though they were not brbrns, hd not yet been bessed wth he most mrvelous umn nvenon, whch, s Nebr hd argued, ws the etter. IS
TJeDarker Sideofthe Renaissance
g .J. Th phbe ad maua labor i te Midd le Ages Couresyof Bibiotque Municiale de Dijo.
tienen pcular form de letr. Con 10 qu os que recben nueu lengu, tm ben l et, cn que se escrue, s l perden, tmben los crcteres propos del. I ss se pe rdio l letr de Espa con lengu, lbos.] : the rst ssert ht In Aldrete's prgrph I perceive wO min theses its wtten counters letter he every spoken lnguge presupposes pariculrnguge y � tht is rst, the pr. The second, inferredom to the letter thtt ed y srong so is n) Csti (like Greek or Lin or he letters belong would be impossible towrite in one languge with would write it in ing to 1e other, becuse no one who writes Ltin of grmmars o g writn Greek letters. Aldrete does not menton the y vey we lred time tht Amerindin languges, prctice by lphbetc to lien ges lngu ars, known; by means of these grmm es oere prctc Such et6 lphb writng were written in the Ln he coul ugh (tho hess hypot te's Adre to obvous counterexmples ndin lnguges were hve defended his thess by syng tht Amer knd ofletters). Eve not wrtten t l nd therefore not nked to any
okng Foad om Elo Anonio de Nebija: The Invention of Letters and the Need to Tame he Voce few yers er e mrge of Queen Isbe of Cstle nd Kng ernnd ofArgon and Scly n 469, ndmrk n the story of one o e most power empres n humn hstory, Nebr ws bck n Sn er hs tenyer resdence n Itly, where he bsorbed e des oe tme, ncudng the deas ofhe st1dia hmanitatis. More thn tweny yers woud epse between the mrge nd the glorous dy n ch Grnd woud be reconquered nd colonl empre n s uknown and woud beg n to gow The yer 1479 ws, however, tuing pont n he rpd chnges Isbe nd Ferdnnd wee mosng on chotc kngdom conroed by power nobemen Econom conro over the nobles nd complton of the Roya Ordnnces gve to the ture Cthoc kngs sod foundon to move om reorgnzon to e budng ofte Cstln kngd om. Durng e folowng yers tle cour of Ferdnnd nd Isbel begn to �snguish tself om erer Spansh cours. One derence ly n the
uence of humanstc educaton. Isabella had not been exposed to umistc studes as a chld. A an adolescentn the solated case of
Arvalo, sh lad swing, mbroidring, and horsback riding, and th rudimnts of a gnral ducation wr providd b a local prist. T Darkr Isablla had ambions ofsomthing dirnt for hr childrn, and sh ide oft surroundd hrslfwith a ll hand of intllctuals who would bcom Rnaissanc wll known in th histo of Spanish lttrs Th Italians Pitro Mar r dAnghira Ptr Mar) and Marino Siculo tutord hr chil drn in philosoph and tholog. Svral ars latr, ths mn would b at th prstgious Univrsit ofSalamanca taching atn, rhtoric, and gammar nxt to Nbria During th arl 1480s, whn Ptr Matr was in cour of th crown of Castil, Nbrja publishd his inuntal Itoductions latin, which hlpd introduc th studi hnanitatis in Spain and bgan what Francisco Rco has trmd Nbrias ght against th �barbarians. During h arl months of14 9 2, Qun Isablla nd Nbriawr th protagonists of a wllknown ancdot in th histo of Spanish cultur: th momnt in which Nbria ord t Qun Isablla th grammar of Casilian, whos advantags h carll dscribd in th prologu Now, Your Majs,lt m com to h last advantag hat ou shall gan from m grammar For h purpos, rcall th tim whn I prsntd ou with a dra of this book arlir this ar in Sala manca At this m, ou askd m what nd such a grammar could possibl s Upon this, h Bishop ofAvila intruptd to answr in m stad. What h said was this: "Soon Your Mast will hav placd hr ok upon man barbarians who spak oulandish tongus. B this, our victo, ths popl shall stand in a nw nd, th nd for th laws h victor ows to th vanquishd, and th nd for tl languag w shall bng with us. M grammar shall s to impar thm th Castilian tongu, as w hav usd grammar to tach atin to our oung It coms as no surpris that Qun Isablla did not immdiatl undrstand what us a grammar of a vrnacular languag could possi bl hav. Although sh was awar of th prstg that would b brought to th tongu b a grammar, which until thn had bn rstrictd to th languags of th Scripturs Hbrw, Grk, and an), sh had not t mad tl connction bwn languag and powr va coloniation. It was Frdinand, a r all, who had his s on Aragon and Castls pansion ovr Europ, not Isablla, who was mainl intrstd in th unication of Casl. Th possibili ofthink ing about outlandish tongus across th Alanc was not vn a uto pian dram. Such issus wr th task of th humanist ies an
man of lttrs (jrisprits rathr than a mothr and a woman of as Nbrija, indd, had his plans v wll chard. The concise and powerl argument advanced in the introducto
notes to his Grautica castellana are well known, and it is not neces-
sa to go into detail here.21 It is worhwhile to remember however that one ofle remarkable features ofNebrja's work was hi� claim fo: a pact beween "amas y letras at the precisemoment the kngdom of astle was becoming a mode state rled by men of letters The ourishing ofthe ats, especially the at oflanguages, org rammatica, is rhetorcally emphasized by Nebrija, who conasts tle image of a newbeginningwiththe uinsle by he enemies ofthe Christian faith:
Now lat th Church has bn purid, and w ar thus rconcild to God, now that th nmis of th Faith hav bn subdud b our arms, now that ust laws ar bing nforcd, nabling us all to liv as quals, what ls rmains but th owring of th pacl as. And among th ars, formost ar thos oflanguag, Vhich sets apaO tbe wld anma laae whcb s the uque dstinctio oan tbe meas the kind oderstandin wbich ca be rpassd oly by coteplatio It is to speech that Nebrija primarily refers. That language, and language alone, dstnguishes human beings from otler livingsystems is a beliefupon which an ideological network was built. The elevaton olanguage authorized he eorts by philosophers and men ofletters t expand upon a linguisc foundati on; in the early mode period, tis implied a complex network in which the medieval trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and the modern studahuma litates comple mented the spread ofWestern literacy in an arrayo ffrms: from teaching reading and writing in Lain and vernacular tongues to writng grammars oftongues alien to he GrecoLatn tration Nebrija introduced humanistideas in Spain, and, as a humani st, he ew that tle power of a unied language, via its gramma r, lay n teaching it to barbarians, as well as contolling barbarian langua ges by ing their grammars. Erasmus had not yet reinterpreted the mean ingof civilitas, but itis easy toimagine lat he ideawas already in the a. Brngingcivilizaton to le barbarians meant dierent things om erent loci of enunciaton, of course. One suspects tlat the Vis igoths, seen as barbarians b the Romans, had an image of tlemselves as te Civilizers, even if they admired and adopted Roman laws, langua�es, and customs. But these were he terms in which Nebria spoke os present to Isabella. In our own tme, we understnd Nebra's
39 N in t NJ Wd
Nebrija and Adrete the same patte was stil at work and the grammar and geneaogy of a language were amed not in evolutiona! Te Dm'er terms but as presigious egacies That is, a nguistic and synchronic ide ofhe hierarchy was at work during the sixteenth and eary seventeenth ce nRaissance turies. Konrad von Gesner's deition of barbarian ngua ges oersa paradigmatic example of a ame of mind famiiar to Nebrija and Aldete. Gesner considered eve! lnguage barbian except Greek, Lan and Hebrew, the oldest ofthem al nd the anguage impanted by God.34 Writing, however, was conceived according to an evoluon mode. When Nebrija ceebrated the invention of alphabetica writing, he described the period before the invention of the letter: "before etters were dscovered, images were used to represent the thngs whch peope wanted to record such as the gure of the ight hand stretched out which meant generosity, and the cosed st whch meant avarice nd he ear denoted memo 35 Another exampe is given in Juan Bausta Pomar, a descendant on the matea side om the Texcocan nobiity and son of a Spaniard, who was bo i 535 in New Spain. I n Reain de Tecoo 582) the phosophy oflanguage that ceebrates the etter and treats it as an evolutionastage beyond a previous sign system is so enenched that Pom applies it to measure the Amerindian leve of cutura achevements. In hs repot on the education of the Amerndian nobiity he writes, 44
Procuraban os nobles para su ejercicio y recreacin deprender a gunas artes y ocios, como era pintar, entalar en madera piedra u oro, y abrr piedas ricas y dares las formas y tes que queran a semejnza de nimales, pjaros y sabandjas. Aunque estas piedras esmaban no era porque entenderan de eas guna virtud 0 pro piedad natu, sino por a eza de su color y por haber pocas de elas Otros a ser canteros 0 carpinteros, y otos a conocimiento de las eselas y movimientos de los eos, por os cuaes advinaban agunos sucesos turos Y e entiende qe i tiean e, egaan a acanza ncho eceto natae peo como apinta no on fU capacepaa etene en ea a memoia de a coa qe e pintan, no paaon adeante, poqe cai en miendo e qe m a cabo egaa, 'a con St ciencia. [The nobles woud for their exercise and recreation, attempt to learn some arts nd trades, such as painting scupting in wood, stone or god and working precious stones and giving them the forms and sizes they wanted, in the ikeness of animals, birds, and vermin Although they valued ese stones it was not because they
understood them to have some natural vitue or property, but 45 rather for the neness of their coor or because hey were scarce Others were stonemasons or carpenters, nd other s had knowledge Nebrija in te of the stars and movements of the heavens, by whch they divined New World ture events And i ce that they had poeed ette, they Vod have come togap many naa ecet; bt a painting ae ie capabe oetaining in them the memo othe thingpainted, theydid not advance, becae amot a oon a the one ho had made the mot poge died, h knoedge died ith him The spread of Western literacy of which Pomar is an example as well as a convinced agent thus took conicting directions as it was supported by dierent and sometmes conicting ideas about anguages, wring and cutural ideoogies. Spoken languages were somewhat detached om writing when the question of origin was iscussed But writing came into the picture when the consoidaton oveacular languages, whose classica legacies paced them next to nonbarbarian languages needed the letter to tame the voice and grammar to control the mobilt of the ow of speech Wrtng was then the end resut of an evolutiona!) process, one of the highest acievements of humn inteigence Pedro de Gante a reative of Cares I and the rst Francscan to arrive in Mexico aer the fal of Tenochtit, expressed his reactions to the Mexicas ina fmous etter adessdto Philip II eporng 01 he dicuis that h missionaies a in leaing Amerndian languages because ey were peope wihout writng without etters without written characters and witout ny kind of enlightenment" (era gente sin escriptura, sin letras, sin caracteres y sin umbre de COsa alguna").38 he philosophy ofanguage shared by these me provided a mode r the interpretation ofAmerindian wrting systems at thesame tme tat it justied writing the grammars of Amerindia anguages as a means to teaching reading nd writing Spreading literacy meant teachngAmerindians what theWestern man ofletters understood by reaing and writing. Reading and writing, of course, are not neces saily what the missionaries understood as such: They understood a kd ofnegotaton with sgns that te Mexcas conceived in terms of intig and teing ora stories by ooking at the painng.39 Thus the erindan reations with written signs had to be changed. rng grammars ofAmerndananguages was a compex process wih more at stake than just the cognitive issue suggested in the previous paragraph There were rst the technica impications ofusing e Latin aphabet to transcribe sounds of anguages ien to the Greco-Latin traditon. And there were lso ideoogica aspects ofuni-
cton, which Nebij clely tted gol in hi gmm neihe of which w fee, howee of conct with the miione' JeDake gol in wiing gmm of Ameindin lnguge, we hll ee Fncicn miionie de Gnt mong them, ied in New de ofe Renaissane Spin in 1524, wo ye e Nebij deth nd een ye ethe publicton of hi Regl unde he goence of Chle V; te Jeuit followed in 1572, unde Philip I he Fncicn et foot in Mexico few month e te fll ofenochtiln to Cot' myt w Cot in fct, who equeted om Chle V piitul itnce to Chitnize te indigenou people, not necely to Hipnize them Ctile unied unde one eligion nd one lnguge w the idel of Ibell nd Nebij, bt not neceily of Chle V who lied in Flnde until he w eenteen ye old nd w f emoed fom hi gndpent pticully hi gndmote, idel A Holy Romn Empeo hi enegie wee ineted in Euope he thn in the linguitic nd eligiou uniction of Cile. hi hi in ttenton i eident fo exmple, in Chle' tetment of Cdinl Jimnez de Cineo,confeo ofQueen Ibell ince 1492 nd te mt powel gue in the eligiou conguion of Spin, who w dimied egent when Chle V took poeion of the Cown of Ctile nd Agon he Fncicn not only leed indigenou lnguge ley lo wote thei gmm glnce t Ameindin lnguge gmm wien by Cilin fi in Mexio duing he ixeenh nd eenteent centuie how tht the mjoiy of them begn with dicuion of the lette of the lphbet nd by identing thoe lette Ameindin lnguge did not he. None of them howed ny concen with te cipt of the clic ciilizton in he centl plte hei common inteet in identiing the miing lette indicte tht celebting te inenion of witing nd nding it ogin wee no longe iue nd tht witing ytem tt did not cll immedite ttenton to te epeenttion of ound wee ofno inteet he new peoccuption expeed by the gmmin ugget tht the lette hd been pomoted to n ontologicl dimenion with cle pioiy oe the oice well ny othe witing ytem g 1.2 he clicl tditon w ineed nd the lette no longe hd the ncill dimenion ttibuted to it by Aitotle D inerpreion) but hd become te oice in itelf while nonlphbetic witng ytem wee uppeed. he dicontinuity of the clicl tdiion duing the encounte with Amendin lnguge emeged in the comn nd epeted expeion et lengu cece de tle let thi lnguge lck uch nd uch lette). If indeed the peon who mde uch n eion w not peuppoing tht the lette w not locted in the
oice but outide" of it miione nd men oflette would he 47 pointed out wht cl of ound picul Ameindin lnguge Nbja he hd inted ofnocing wht it lcked. he Jeuit Hocio Cochi in hi wellknown Ae de ng NCI Wod eic (1645, begin hi wok by noting tht the Mexicn ln guge lck een lettend, in the nextecion uge thoe lening the lnguge to ponounce it coectly0 hee i n undetndble pdox but pdox nonethele, beween the eion tht lnguge lck gien numbe oflette in elton to n lphbet ceted fo nonelted lnguge nd the uge to ponounce it coectly. Of coueAmeindin lnguge did not lck lette but implied dieent one nmely thoe tht wee not within the ound ytem of the Romnce lnguge But the fi pogm conited of tming (Nebij nd Cochi ue the wod reduir the Ameindin ln
Fg. I,2. a The alphabet in geometric pojection during the Renaissance; b, te alphaet and ook illmination dring the Renaance
guages not analyzng he connecton beween pctodeographc wrting and speech whch was o a deren kind han ha beween ee speech and alphabetc wring The convcton that Latin was a unver ie e sal lngusic system and tha he Lan aphabe was an approprate e ool to represen sounds olanguages no related to t was expressed by he Domncan Domngo de Santo Toms (49970 n the prologue o hs grammar o Quechua: Ths language s so n agree men wih Lan and Caslan n ts sructure tha looks almos lkea premonton (predction) that he Spanards wll possess t."41 And naurally he olows by lnking language and errio. No only s Quechua a sophscated language observes Domngo de Sano Toms but s also the language through whch the ruers as well as he people communcate n he enre Inca tertoy whch he es mated o be more than one housand mles long and several hundred wde (). There s a reveang ambguy n the hisoy o the spreadng o Wesern leracy by among other means wrting grammars oAmer ndian languages that I woud lke o explore n the remainder oths chapter. The ambguy s relaed whether t was Nebrjas Lan r Caslan grammar tha provded the mode to wre grammars o Amerndan languages. And t s revealng because oNebrja's deol ogy underlyng each grammar. Boh he ars who underook the ask o composng grammars o natve languages and contempora schoars who have suded he hsoy poltcs and deology o alpha betizaton and converson during the colona period recognze Nebrja's nuence. Bu t s not clear to what exten and n what capacy hs presence n he New World !e ts mark I should ndcate why thnk we are ced wh an mpoan ssue here how an deo ogy oanguag changed even came no conct wth ts own eects as was carred ou by deren agents n the New World We should dstngush between two levels oNebrjas nuence One s techncal and relates o the model oered by hs Lan and Castilan grammars to hose who were nterested n wring grammars o he natve lan guages. The second s poltca and deologcal and relaes to the programs Nebrja attachedto hs grammar oLan on he one hand and to hs grammar and othography o Castan on he oher. Le's take these ssues one at a time rst the relative nuence o the Latin or he Castan grammar on he echncal level It s common to nd among Nahuat specalsts assetons such as the ollowng: In one sense s mporan to stress that Antono de Nbrjas lngusc model as much n hs Are as n hs Diccionario, both
publshed n the na decade o the eenth centu was the ore 49 mos conbuon n contemporay Europe and an nspraon or oher works oa smlar naure n the Old World and no long aer Ne i e n the Amercan contnen as wel.42 W The dae mentoned (the nal decade o he eent cenuy") ncaes ahe Gamtica cateana s reerred . The vews ots Nahuatl specals conrast however wh obseVaons made by spe als i noLatin n New Spain. Accordng er ndngs he expresson el are de Anono" reerred during he coon period t Nebrjas Latn grammar43 The sudy o Mexcan lbrares drng e sxteenh centuhas shown hat he phrase reerso he Lan but no to the Castian grammar and tha s he Latn and not the astilan grammar that had been ound n monasic lbrares.44 Scholars who have suded the mpac oNebrja Europe have un derlned he exraordnary success o the Latin grammar ( troducOC atinae 48 and he curious negec o the Casilan grammar. e went hrough no ess han y edtonsdurng he authors leime whle the Gramtica cateana ell nto almost com te oblvion and was never reprinted unl the second halo the ghteenth cenu already an mportant ndcaton that Castlan was e language o communcaon bu no o leng The dsparty between the nta lack o neres n he Castlan grammar during erjas ime and the ncreasng aenton t receved aer tle nne eenth century s due accordng o Francsco co to tle growng mac o the classcal oula language s he companon o he emre" revamped i the Italan and Spanish Renassance.45 ets also remember the A de a enua cateana y eicana, ulshed n 171 by Alonso de Molna. In hs prologue he auhor reors that the rst par ohis grammar s devoed to a morphologyo e Mexican language and that he olows the model o the Latin and astilan grammars. Thereore he dvdes he sentence o te Mex can anguage nto egh pars. Ths ndcaton s most valuable snce we ow that Nebrija was clear n sayng ha he Latn sen tence s dvded no eght pats e Castlan no en. So we can conclude ha Molna ollowed he Latin grammar alough to complcae e mysery er he does not seem vey conceed abou making te dsncon etween te wo grammars Ths s probably because a e echical level when there are grammaical models otwo languages tha are losely conneced does not make much derence which one s use to write e grammar o a language oally unrelaed I am more neresed n exploring he deologica mplcatons o a
eDke Side ofhe Renaiance
g 14 h g of h y h hm oy Mxc c h coq oo Boc Vc
spek" nd nue s compnon of the empre" How much of ths ws relevnt n the coontion of the New World Wht re the sns ofthe scontinuty ofthe clsscl trdition n the process ofthe expnson of the Spnish colon empre? Let's tke coser look t oth prorms n New Spin (om pproxmtey 1520 o 1650) ennn wth the Hspnicn of the ntves.
ookng Foard from Nebrja's Lngstc Programs and Backward from Adrete's Concerns e Dcles of eacng Castlan From the sxteenth to e ehteenth century the kins of Csle procimed nd dssemnted over the New World hundreds ofws promotin the Cstilnion" of the Amerindn poputon Techin lnue tht hs oth spoken nd wrtten versons mples not ony techn to spek ut techn to red nd wte Conse quently the dssemntion of Weste ltercy took mon others the form oflws nd edcts tht were crcuted mon dmnistrtve nd relous nsttutions s we s the prcce of techn redn
ndwrtin skils.51 Furthermore the mssonries contruted to the 53 sred of Western ltercy y wrtin hundreds ofrmmrs ofAmerndn lnues nd dptn hundreds of doctrnes om the Neba i the hrstin trdtion. 52 The rst prorm the Ltintion of Cstie s old mode found n the New World (more speccly n New Spin three drent houses. The rst nd most trnstoy ws the Colee of Snt Cru de Ttelolco where Cstln ws used lthouh Nhu nd Ltn were tuht53 The second ws the nversty of exico founded circ 550, where Centes de Sr occuped the rst chir ofLtinty (rmmr nd rhetorc.5 4 Fnllythe Colee of Sn Pedro nd Sn Po ws founded few yers er tle rrv of e Jesuts n Mexico (15). Snce tle promuton oftle Lws ofBuros (152-13), the encomenderos (concesson hoders were sked to tech the Inns how to red nd write Cstiln In 1526 Chres V so ordered tht the nives e nstucted out the purposes nd prorms tht the rown of Cstie ws n the pocess of mplementn for New Spn In 1535 ndmentl w ws procmed y whch school educton for the sons of Mexic chefs nd prncp lords ws mndtoy56 e schoon ws to e supesed y e rs nsted of the enco eeros nd the Amerindins selected for schooln were supposed to e Chrstnity decent morls ood overnment nd the sn lnue" Chles V procmed the sme lw second me n 50; Php I folowed sut n 59. In 169 nd 1620 the w ws yet n crcuted. 57 A cursoy lnce t the Leyes de Inds snce the promulton ofte Lws of Buros nd the creton oftle ouncil of the Indes (52) shows tht throuhout the coonl erod unti the ehteenth century the phorism la lgua a/e del imperio ws conce of te Crown nd rety t the ev of the norms On the other hnd the rst prorm ppied n the New World nuded techin Cstiln to the Amerindns nd n prctice t of fered more dicuties thn Nerjs triumphnt ccount suested Becuse t ws contry to the techin os mplemented y the endicnt rs nd the Jesut orders durn the coon peiod the Hsncn ofthe Amerndns remned tthe evel ofedicts royl orers nd lws. The two enemes of the mplementtion ofNerj's rom n New Spin were the rs who were convnced tht ther ols woud e etter cheved fthey leed nd wrote rmmrs of erndn nues nsted oftechn Cstn to the ntves nd secondtle convction t the unversty nd the esut colees tt the suia humaniais ws te est mode of educton to cvie the ew World colones And thouh n the weknown Conclio III
Provicia Mexicao (1585) ad III Cocilio Povicial de Lima (1583 ) a agreemet to teach Castiia to the Ameridias as e Dake reached it is ot atogether clear that a decisive i the poitics of de oft lagage took place. I the cocilioit as recommeded that fooRenaane ig the athority of the Tidee Rlig Chista doctie od be taght i Castilia to the chidre ofSpaiards to Back saves ad to the Chichimec; bt to te Qecha ad Nahatspeakig peopes Christia doctrie shold be taght i their o lagages. The Medicat fiars ere less iterested i teachig Castiia to te Amedas tha i covetg them to Chistiaity Castiia as te agage of eveday tasactios bt ot ecessarily of formal schooig0 The Jesits taght Castiia i their missios here they ere teachig good cstoms as el as Wester cas. Higher edca tio as geeraly reseed eticaly to the chidre ofSpaiards ad socialy to Ose bo i te higher iches of society. Drig e secod halfof te sixtee cetry cocer for edcatig e Ameridias as repaced by cocer for te Creole poplatio the aim as to avoid sedig Creole childre to stdy i the earest metopolis.6 The icogros goals ofte Cro ad the friars as el as e social tasformatios takig place i ceters sch as Mexico or Lima reveaed that a crios iversio of Nebijas programs as takig place: hile Nebja proposed earig Lat as meas oficatio ad cosolidao of he Chisi repbi e firs e Ne Wod had the optio ofAmeidia agages as a meas to e same goas The mode of e Reaissace phiosophy of lagage paced Ameridia agages i the catego of "adveitos beo the rage of the paradigm oered by Greek Lati ad Hebre ad of corse of those veacar agages bor from sch prestigios acestors as Aldrete empaticay arged Hoever Ameidia agages (especiay i Nahat ad Qecha as iga acas ofa arge mber of Ameridia commities) became istrmets of Christiaizatio ad acired i some sectors of the cooia society a crecy comparabe to Castiia ad Lati. The Colegio Sata Cz de Tateolco remas as a paradigmatc exampe of te igistc triogy (Nahatl La Castiia) ofcooial Mexico that challeged e ligistic triogy of e d Word (Greek Lat Hebre) ad sggested a e breaki the cotiity ofthe classica traditio I this case the iece of e rst Nebrja the Nebija coceed it the Christia repblic seems ite obvios althogh it as o loger Lat as e lagage of koledge ad isdom bt Nahat tat served te prposes at had (g. .5). The i to isert Ameridia lagages i the curiclm ext to the classical oes ad to orgaize 54
at e same tme iteracy campaigs to itegrate e aready margia 55 Ameidia popatio i a iberal socie shos e dobe bid of te Creoe metai i societies deeply steeped i Ameridia tradi ebante tios Ths the appopriatio of Castilia as te agage of e a ew old io et togeer ith the discotity of the GrecoRoma tradi to by the icorporatio of te history ad agages of aciet Mexico. Aer Mexica idepedece i 82 the egacy as sch tat a hadl ofliberal ikers defeded e idea that Nahat Tarasca and tomi shod be leed together ith Lati Thus, writing grammars as wel as preaching and witing sermons and vocabuaries ofAmerindian anguages had priority over teaching asiian for the Mendicant iars and, later on for te Jesuits. And wen Castlian was taught, it was not in the context of higher edu cation where Latin was the paradigm. While de Gante's curiculum in te Franciscan hands at the beginning of Weste education in exico consisted of reading and writing singing arithmetic, and ristian doctrine, in the Jesuit missions reading nd wing compemented the teachng ofWeste manua abors. Literacy became in e second pat ofthe sixteent centuy, just one more component in e total process of Westeizing the Amerndans in e Jesuit missions. From te point ofviewof the early Fanciscan iars in Mexico, teght against tedeviwasmore important an e sociaizaton of
Fg .. Wtng wthot lettes: Myan gyph
5
coloized commuitie d their coolidatio i the Spaih empire I 570 the Fracica had already coviced Philip II that i New JDak Spai Nahuatl wa ideed the compao laguage o the empire. I Sid o" tle ame year Philip II ouced i a royal order (Cedula Reale Rnaissanc 47. Achivo Geeral de la Na, Mexco that Nahuatl would be the ocial laguage othe Amerd What i remarkable i thi cae i ot the implicit umptio hat laguage ad huma territorility could be ettled by royal decree rather tha by huma ature d huma memore but the act that Philip II modied a previou decree, publihed by Chrle V i 550 a well a hi ow edict o 55 which etablihed that Catlia would be taught to the Ameri di Whe the III Coucil determied to itegrate Catilia ito the curriculum (i 583 i Lma ad 585 i Mexico d to teach the laguage to Ameridia, ocial codio had aleady amatically chaged New pedagogical itituto orieted toward the educa tio o a icreaig Creole popuatio had overpowered the pedagogical ittuto orieted toward the educatio o icreaigly margil Amerdi populatio. It wa i tle cotext o the educatio o expadg Creole populatio that Nebrija program, tated i the itroducto to h Lati grammr, wa revamped almot a cetuy later The trace othe rt Nebria ie, the program utiig hi Irodcioe ine) are obvou i the liba o he Collg o Sata Cz de Tlatelolco Matle who made a library ivetory, oud that betwee 535 ad 00 approximately a doze othe three hudred book i the library were writte i Catilia ad the ret i Lati. Three book writte by Nebrija were part o the collecto Oe o tlem wa a editio o hi Lat grammar prited i Graada i 540 It come a o urpre, the, that Indio graduated om the College o Sata C z de Tlatelolco We kow that beig taught Lat did ot require jut learig a oreig laguage, but learg a whole body o kowledge ad ytem o thought. The wellkow Bdin Codex ( 55 2) re ma a a paradgm o the d m to tle Amerd. The true title othe Bdi" Codexi em de medicii indorm heri. ) It wa writte by a Ida Mar de la Crz, a doctor, ot o much by traig a by experece, ad the text wa tralated to Lati by Jua Badiao, alo a tudet at Sata Crz de Tlatelolco The exitece ad iuece o the coegio werea I have already poited outtritory, altlugh extremely reevat rom 53 to the lat year oe ixteeth cetry, whe teachg Lati ad di hmieto the Amerdia wa perceived a a dgerou eterpre Whe the Jeuit rrived i Mexico, i 572 e teachig o Lati ad the humitie chaged directio ad wa targeted to
ward the Spah ad Spihdecedat populatio, rather tha to the chldre o the Ameridia obility Thu, the actality oNebria wa more dicerble durg the ev eteeth cetu amog the Jeuit, ad oce aga, ot becaue o h Catlia but becaue o hi Lat grammar We hould bear i md that whle, o the oe had, grammar vocabularie, ermo d Chritia doctrie were writte i Lat d the humaite were tught to the chidre othe Amerida obiliy Catilia wa maily a itrumet o commuicato, ot o cholarly leig. There wa o exceptio to thi relity amog e Jeuit Ooro Romero ha collected a impreive amout oioatio about the librie ad curicula o the Jeuit college, ad would like to tre two o hi dig. Firt Vicecio Luch, well kow or hi kowledge o Lati, reek, ad ebrew, wa oe o the mot importat gure i the oudato o euit tudie i New Spai Grammr wa o coure te core o a curriculum i which Laity wa he mai coce. oro Romero quote rom a letter addreed to Pedro Sachez
Fg. 1.6. The spread ofWeste teacy n central Mexico: a rea-
ise ofAmeindan medcne wrten n Nahuatl, n alphabetc wrting and translated ino Latin (Marn de la Crz, Libel/S de medicinalibusindotm hebi)
57
Nbijainth ld
58 Te Daker Sde ofhe Reaissace
(povincial de la compaa" in Mexico) and signed by Mercuriano ( Genera de la Compa de Jess" in Rome) En los estudios de letras humanas deseo mcho se garde el orden, canto se pudiere, que aq en Rma s tiene, qe es el ms ltH y ms compendioso de todos. E padre Vicencio Lanoche tene pratica desto, y podr ayudar a qe as se efecte; porqe destos principios de lanidad, importa mucho el excercicio y el ben orden que ac (e n Roma) se tiene [In the stdy of he humanities I wold like, as far as possible, to follow the same order that we follow here i n Rome, which is the most sel and sccinct of all Faher Vcencio Lanoche is practced at this, and he will be able to help its being carred ot becase of these principles of Latinity, the practce and good order that we follow here in Rome are of great import] Nebrijas program for the Latinization of Castle was not antagonistic to that of the Jesits. 66 It comes as no surprise, then, that the Jesits wold take Nebrijas Latin grammar as one of their basic textbooks Second, a report written in 1586 about New Spain inclded a section abot the esi dcation in the city n which it was pointed out that grammar was studied in for classes: rhetoric, philosophy, tw lessons on theo and one on case of conscience (lense en este colegio gramtica, en caro clases retrica, osoa, dos lecciones de teoray na de cass de conciencia") !t was in is context that Mato Gaindo, in 1636, pblished the st editon of his plcacin dellibro 10 de Antonio de Nebria whc was reprinted during the seventeenth an eighteenth centries. In 1640 Toms Gonzlez published his Epcacin de la ilabassbre el lib-oVde Neb" ija and, in 1642, the Explicacin de la wantidad de las sflabas el libro qinto del Ae de Antonio de NebrijaToward 1650, Diego de Lpez published Breve explicacim dcl libro cuarto de Antonio Nebriscs;Toms Gonzlez pblished De a1e rhetori libri tres Ae de Antonio in 1652 and 1657 respectively It shold be remembered that the arte de Anton o" refers to the Latn and not to th e Castlian grammar.67 We have arrived at 1657 and the pblication of grammar books in Mexico, having begn in 1481 with the question of the letter The dream ofIsabella and Ferdinand was changing slowly into a conce that Span was losing its Eropean and Atlantc hegemony Nebija introduced, in his Reglas de la Oograa en la lenga castelana a heoy of writng in which the domain of the letter took over the
doman of the voice, reversing the ancilla role of the letter with 59 respect to the voice in the Greek philosophical taditon Ths inversion was, indeed, the rst manifestaton of he disconnity of the Nebija n the cassical tradion in the mode world The second manifestaon Wold took place the moment the modern wod encountered the other " and alphabetc writing met ora tradons and pitoideographic wri�ing systems (gs 17, 1.8) n Castile the theoy of the letter led to a theory ofwriting that transcended the regionaityof spoken langages and colonzed the voice,8 but applicaton of the theoy in the New Wold led to the colonization of Amerindian anguages (by wting their grammars) and the colonizaton of the Ameindan memories (by wrting their histories, as chap 3 wll show). In the eighteent century we stll hear te echoes of the early colonizaton oflanguage both in the sphere of speaking and that ofwtng. More than a century aer Aldrete's L Iga, the archbishop of Mexico, Francisco Antonio Lorenzana y Buitn1 pblished his classic Ca'as pastoalesy edictos.69 In his Pastora V" we stll hear Aldretes complant of the Spanish falure to teach Castlian to the Amerndans The ttle of te Pastoral V" is, appropriately, Para que los Indios aprendan el Castellano," and in the rst sentence Lorenzana claims that aer more than two centries the situaton in ths respect is pretty mch the same as it was for Cots, in need of interpreters of the langages." He points ot the diclties presented by what he per ceived as the mltplication o Amendan langages in the area of Mexico, Puebla, and Oaxaca All of this is happening, obseres Lorenzana with dsmay, despite the nmeros laws and decrees formulated by the Crown mandating that the Castilian langage be taught to the erindan. His dsmay is complemented by a historical reasoning very simiar to that expressed by Aldrete 150 years before in Seville No ha habido Nan Clta en el Mndo, que cando extenda ss Conquistas, no procurase hacer 10 mismo con su Lengua os Griegos tuvieron por brbaras las dems Naones, que ignoraban la suya: Los Romanos, despues que vencieron a los Griegos, precisaron estos qe admitesen s Lenga Latna, de Lao, Campaa de Roma, con tanto rigor, qe no permitan entrar para negocio alguno en el Senado, a el que hablase otra Lenga estraa There has never been a Cltred Naton in the World, that when it extended its Conquests, dd not attempt the same with its Language: the Grees took for barbarians those other Nations that remained ignoant ofits speech; the Romans, aer conqering the Greeks, required them to accept their Latin Languagethat of
Latium, the Roman counyside-with such rigor that they did not alow anyone who spoke anoher, foreign lnguage to conduct busi ness in the Senate.]
a
Whie on of his reasons to teach Caslian was because he van quisher aways imposes its language on he vanquished, as Adrete proudly insisted, the other takes a surprising tu in linguisc hier archy. Contra to the high esteem in which the early Mendicant iars nd Jesuits held Amerindian languages, Lorenzana retus to an early sixteenthcentu European linguistic phiosophy i n which Lain, Greek, and Hebrew are he three superior languages, to whch Nahuat could not really be compared Lorenzana is convinced hat when onl y one language s spoken n a naton and hat language s the language of te sovereign, an expandng love and miliari be tween persons are engendered, in a way hat wll be impossible wit out such a common language While it could be accepted tat sharing the same language engenders love among hose persons speaking it (albeit love in wo languages is also possible), it is more dicult to
b
Fig. 7 Wriing without letters. Graphic signs in central Mexico and the Vaey of Oaaca: «, a sign for the year; b, historica personages c, a marriage scene rom Picture Wltingom Ancient Southe Mexico: Mtec Pace Sns and Maps by May Eizaeth Smith Copyright © 973 by the University of Okahoma Press
c
6
Nebja in te New Wod
ccep n Meco ngge sod be e ngge of e soveegn vng n Spn. B fo oenzn ee s no enve Te Darker no ony becse of poc ees b so becse of e ngsc Side ofte ecy: 62
Reas1JC
B ndo y con consdec6n os Idoms n vos de os Indos Qn sn cpco de de conoce qe s como Si Ncn e bb 10 e y es s I dom? Qn pod comp e Mecno cn e Hebeo y cn odo y es eng mea no obsne qe gnos dcen qe es qe b16 neso pme Pde Adn ensedo po Dos? Qn e g con e Gego qe e eng n eegne y fnd y cn odo y es mer 0 0 menos cs mer? Qn nepond e Mecno e n en cyo Idom enemos dcdo odos os bs Sgdos de
Snos Pdes Gegos y qndo eqso se esco en e Mndo y con odo y no y Nco qe be comnmene e po n? [nd now edcng o consdeon o e sndy ngges of e Indns: wo cod seosy f o cknowedge js s e Non ws bbs so ws nd s e ngge o cod compe Mecn w Hebew n spe of e c s ded ngge even og s some sy s spoken by o s Fe Adm nsruced by God? o cod eqe o Geek wc ws sc n eegn nd fecnd ngge even og s now ded o es mos ded? o cod p Meicn befoe n no wc ngge we ve ransed e Hoy Books of e Hoy Geek Fes nd wc s s eqse [ ngge s s eve been wen n e od even og ee s no onge ny Non ses pe n n evedy speec? oenzn nodces Csn n s seres of compson o owe even e e consdeon of N nd by eenso Amendn ngges: A e Mecno po 51 escso y bbo e ceon ms bndn o Csenos qe e pndeon nvenndo vs compos cones de vocbos p done os Indos en s eng no enn mnos p os Snos Scramnos de Iges n p os Mseos de nes Sn F y n oy no se n p s epccn os popos y qe den cb de. [Te Mecn (ngge) n sef mege nd bbos ws mde moe bndn by e Csns wo eed nd nvened vos composons of wods so o do n e ngge e Indns d no ems fo e Hoy Scmens of e Cc no fo e Mysees of o Hoy F nd even ody ey cnno nd e own wods) o epn em sc s wod gve n ec e.
ig 1.8. ,'aslatg Maya glyps to t ltts o t Roma alpat Dgo d Ladas Rcai de a coa de Yuat
Opnons sc s ese sond ogeos o sensve de og ey beong o e ps-o t ede sspcos of e wys e Spnds condced e bsness n e Ides. B oenzn's semens e no bred n e ps no e ey qe fee of Spns coonzon Te son epeed sef nde e Engs Fenc nd Germn epnsons dng e e egeennd nneeen cenes nd s s ve ody mong
Neia te New Wod
the classcal radton took the form, rst, of the coonzaon of the voce and second, of the appropraon of angages and ctres Darr otsde the ream of the GrecoRoman radton. One of the conseSidf qences was the fadng ot of eve wrng system except he alphaRnaian bec However, conta to Aldretes belefs, the death of a wrtng system does not mpy the dsappearance of a cltre and ts cltra constrcon of tertoray. Economc possesson and ega conto cannot be eqated wth cogntv mappng Amerndan ctres conned and contne to lve, nowadays, n ther ora tradtons, as wtnessed by the hndreds of Amerndan commntes n the Ycatn pennsa, Mexco, Paragay, or n ndean Per.75 Amerndan angages, n other words, are also ted p wth tertoralty, f by ter rtoraly we nderstand a sense of beng and belongng beyond the admnsratve and ega apparats by whch the and s owned by a handl of people and the naton symbolcally consted by ts ntel lectals. The sva, n fact, of natve angages from the o Grande to era del Fego, as wel as the ctra pattes and tradtons assocated wth those langages, shows once mor that t s n and by 66
UO
RRU
qui n Amera Bral . vl alb god, n pm Dmil aut Sujs qu lngu fcri alqu rrun:
Eom pfetm qui pro Fie CtholcS P�t ampnd ovd;qu gegi s ib 1 oere dii au di.
O O UU
PARUM REG
"OANE]SEPHE EqvIARA ET EGVE Mt:zo. Epco JU�dnnt ol E4 pr; Conim oeiVnutxn! o ot rt U an 1nn 1 Mtxini o t Dfj' C n !
Fig. Reorganizing the libra: the place of ancient writing and ooks in the Creole cultral hito o Mexico, toard the ecod halo the eighteeth cet
angage that terrtores are created (or nvented) and not necessarly n and by the etter. Re cent nvestgaon on he ethnography of speakng has shown that he cstoms and tradtons of commnties are mbedded n ther own lngsc tradton7 Bt Renassance men of letters (lados nvolved n the stcaon of the Eropean expanson cod not have had e perspectve one has today on coonzed perpheies Sch men were not n a poson to nderstand the nterconnectons between he letter, angage, and tertory W hat Aldrete was cleary atcatng at the heght of he Spansh coona expanson was foreseen by Nebrja when Castle had not yet ventred foh n the colonzaon of the New World. Cerany, Nebra's Castlan gramma found ts home durng the second haf of the eghteenth centuy and, many, durng te neocoonal perod Naton buldng went hand n hand wth the na vctory of he Castan language Ahough Ltn was s taugt, t" ost the charm and appea t had durng the colona perod. Fnaly, Castan was a anguage to be taught and used n wrng the memories of the new (national) territories. Another historica paradox: he grammar that Nebrja had ntended to see the expanson of the Spansh empre n f act ser ed as a too to hep bud he natons that aose o e lberaton of the Spansh co onzaon7 A new hstoography and terrtora con cton emerged om the runs of the Spansh empre. In countres lke Mexco, the orgn of Castlan whch worred Aldrete two centures before, was no longer an ssue : asilan aso emerged om the runs of the Spansh empre, as the anguage of a new hstorography and tertoia const ucton.
Nbra£ Nw rd
hapter The Materiality of Readin and Writin Cutures: The Chain of Sounds, Graphic Sins, and Sin Carriers
o Nng That Object a Book? leo Veegas was a wellkow hmas ad ma of leers the Spa of Charles . He was he eaher of Ceaes de Salazar, who we o Mexo arod 1550 ad beame te rs professor of rheo r a he eal versdad de Mexo. 5 Toledo Veegas lshed the rs par of a ambos proe etled Pime«pate e las deecias de libos que hay en el uieso. He provded he followg deo of he book
[ book s a ark of depos whh, by meas of essetal formao or lgs or gres, hose hgs ha belog o he formao ad lary of dersadg [ entendimiento are deposed Followg the rles of logal dsorse a he tme, Veegas proeeds o aalyze eah ompoe of the deo The book s a a rk, e says, bease he o s derved from the verb aeda o ighe), ad e book ges gorae. The book s a deposoy ease, he same way he ark oaed tgs books keep le reasres f kowledge. Frhermore, hgs are deposed "by meas of essetal formato bease he Dve Book oas he for� mao ad kowledge ha God has of hmself ad hrogh whh he ows everythg pas prese, re, ad possble Bease of hs
dve essece God produces ad egeders the eteal Verb by meas of whch he creates evethg The deto also cludes }D "thgs because thgs ar sgs that brg foatio about some� Sdofh thg else. Fally gures are cluded because of the dversty of Rnaa wtte letters Thus gures bascally meas "wrtte letters Aer deg the book Veegas toduces the dstco be twee the "archetype book ad the "metagraph book2 He calls the rst exempla or decado (rule or patter) ad the secod tao (lkeess) or taslado (traslato movg somethg from oe place to aother) The rst s the ucreated book read oly by the agels the secod the book read by huma begs The archetype book s the epresso of the Dve Word ad the cotaer of all kowledge God as the supreme wrter has epressed the tuh the Book of Nature ad the Holy Book (archetype) whch has bee scrbed alphabetc characters. The huma book has two ctios: to allow huma agets to kow the creator of the uverse by readg hs book ad a t the same tme to esure evey huma epresso whch the devl mafests hmslf by dctatg lse books
70
21 \Viti ad the mateaty o i ais A mdeva cde
That the Holy Book was the epresso of the Dve Word ad the 7 1 huma book a cotaer of kowldge ad the scrpto of the hu ma voce alphabetc wrg was take for grated durg the " steeh cetury ad the dea sill has valdty commutes of aaof belevers. the steeth cetuy what mssoares ad me of let Radng and ters perceved Ameda sg carers was molded by a mage of ng the book to whch Veegas's deto cotrbuted Oe ca also Cuu surmse that the cocrete eamples Veegas or ay educated perso steethcetury Castle had md were the medeval codces ad the recetly pted books (g 21)3 That hypothetcal perso had probably forgotte what a book mght have bee before papys was replaced by vellum ad le roll by he code ad perhaps forgot te also that wrtig dd ot requre a book (g 22 Such a perso mght ot have bee aware that the asformato ad subsequet use of the code form Chrstay ad the reproducto of the Bble played a crucal role.5 Thus whe a mssoay a educated solder or a ma of letters was eposed to the artfacts the ecas amed a0X tli ad the Maya amed ' he descrbed them as objects folded lke a accordo ad traslated these tems as "book (g. 2 I Cha ad Japa durg the eeth cetu aatves pated o folded scree ad hagg scroll were very commo ad te boud book famlar to Europea me of letters lke Veegas was pobably U ow But sce Spaards were ot sure what id of books the Amrda "books wr thy fard that th words of th dvl were regstered them whout suspectig that the oto of the wrtte word mght hav e bee ale to the Amedas7 ad the vey dea of the devl questoable The Spaards took acto cosstet wth what they beleved a book to be ad what they percevedAmer das to have Oe reacto was to bur them perhaps wth the calm ad secure sprt that characterzes Dego de Lada's descrpto:
These people used ceta characters or letters wth whch they wrote ther books about ther atques ad ther sceces; wth these ad wth gures ad certa sgs the gures they uder stood ther matters made them kow ad taught hem We foud a great umber of books these letters ad sce they cotaed olg but supersios ad lsehoods of the devl we bued them all whch they took most grevously ad whch gave them great pa Msuderstadg was etreched the coloato of laguage Lada presupposed equal meas of commucato ad socal prac tces such a way that readg ad wrtg were the same both for
fJ
Fig 2 Wriig who ooks grapc iscripios o so i aci Egp; J iscrpio o a a sc o a pocrom as amog h ac Maa; sam scs "odd
c
a
Spaniards nd the inhabitants of the Yucatn peninsula; he also pre- 7 supposed the concept of letters among he Maya, whch he dsinguished om characters. Finlly, because he was accustomed to seeing medieval illuminated books, he assumed that the Maya h aao! were also written and illusrated wih pictures. It did not o ccur to him Radng and that such a dsncton might not be relevant to the Mayas anda around 5 6 6 gave a descripon (instead of a deition) of the mate- Cuus rality of Maya "books It is worthwhile when reading it to keep in mind Venegas's deiton: They wrote their books on a long sheet doubed folds, whch was then enclosed beeen o boards ely oamented; the wring was on one side nd the other according to he folds e pap the made om the o ots ofa tee andgae ta htensh ceentfo tng upon. Some of he principl lords were leed in these sciences, om interests, and for the greater esteem they enjoyed thereby yet, they did not make use of them in public. (Itaics mine)9 anda might have had no choice but to talk about "their leters and "their books, rather than think in tes of "our uh and ask what concepts he Maya used to designate the basic units of their wring; or to ask wheher he disinction beteen painng and wrt ing mae sense for hem and consequenly, what was the purpose o esc ing "their books as having pictures illusratng tleir writing. Lna could have asked also whether he Maya dsnguished "book om "aper, since uh seems to refer to the surface in which signs are insc bed and to the obect created by wrtten signs in a soid surface mae out of tree bark (uh). But here is sll more why dd anda elieve that tle materialiy of Maya writng was to be understood terms of books and why dd he not think hat tey could have had
b
other surces in which signs were inscribed and writing practced? 10 For Landa writing was naturay conceived in terms of papers and D'r books; and books in terms of the medieval manuscript and the print Sid fh ing press which were also the examples Venegas might have had in Rnaian mind some wenyve years before Landa's report n Anhuac among the Nalatlspeaking peope, the term regulary empoyed to refer to the matera surface on which painted narratves were inscribed was amxtli Brother Toribio de Benavente (Motolina) who arrived in Mexico in 154, reported on such Mexica �books" Contrary to Landa, Motoinas description oscillates between he materiaity of inscriptions and the conceptual genres he perceived in Mexcas books n a etter Motoina repoted to Lord Antonio Pimentel 7 4
shall reat of this land of Anhuac or New Spain ...according to the ancient books which the naves had or possessed.These books were written in symbos and pictures.This was eir way of wring supplying teir lack of an alphabet by the use of symbos.. These natives had ve books which as said were wrtten in pictures and symbols The rst book deals with years and caculatons of time; the second with the days and with the feasts which the ndians
Fg 23 Wiing nd he meili o he sign ies Mxic amxi
obsered during the year; the hird with dreams ilusions, supersons and omens in which the ndians beieved; the fourth, wih baptisms and with na es that were bestowed upon children; the h, with the rites, ceremonies and omens of the ndia ns relave to marrage Ony one of al tese books, namely the rst can be trusted because it recounts the tuth Borgia Stecks tanslation leaves out important wording om the original namey Motolina's statement tlat only he rst book can be trusted becase the other four wereinvented by e devils.t is curous to note that a simiar obseration was made by Landa in connecton wih the Maya concept of time This secton ranslated Maya gyphs into alphabetic writing and reported hat he sciences which hey taught were he reckoning of the years monhs and days the festivas and ceremonies, he adminisraion of thir sacraments he omens of the days, heir methods of divination and prophecies events, remedes for sickess antquites and the a oeading and itig by thei letes and the chactes heeith they ote and by pictues that illustated the itings12 enegas's dual typology, distnguishing between the archetype and e metagraph book alowed an interpretaion of te latter tlat emeged n lmo eve epo about wing and book the New Wo : it might be the book of the devil which contained not science but sperstiton not trth but lsehood.Material dierences across cutures in writing pracces, he storage and tansmission of informaion, and e constructon of knowedge were erasedin a process of naogy a ght in he name of God against te devil e game of the word became hus a conceptual gae that iminged on understanding across cutures (what is behind" words suc as amoxtli uh and book?) on the exercise of power (who is in a osiion t decide whose kowledge is truh what container and s ign carrier is preferred and should be trusted) and tJe colonizaion of anguage The only artcts that Motolina rusted he named xihutonalamatl (book counng te years).is derived from amoxtli, a ant that grew in the lakes in the Valey of Mexico and from whose ar sign carriers were prepared Amatlacilo ws a name for he iniiul whose social role was to paint on the amatl it was anste as scrbe" Other expressions reated to socia roles in wring atvities have been derived, such as uei amaailo which Simeon translated secretary or prncipal wrter"; and aso amoxtlacilo, e transa ted as scribe, author." Simeons translaons of he
75 aiaif Rading and rii Curs
rst as secreta" and the second as author" suggests that noxtli might have referred to books" and amatl to paper." n any case, no t JDarkr only was the materiaity of the artifact derent, but als o the socia role Sid /h and the conceptualizaion each culture associated to t he signs (letters Raia or paintng the sign carrier (aoxtli or book, and to the social roles (tlailo or scribe, as well as te activities (wring/readng and looking at/telling a stoy. These conceptualizations varied according to respective taditions, cultural and social uses, and the materiality of reading and writing interactons. Spaniards, however, had the last word and took for ganted tat their reading and writing habits their human and dvine books, and teir ways of organizing and transmitng knowledge were better and exempt fom devilish design. The spread of Weste literacy, then, dd not only take te form of reading and writing. t was also a massive operaon in which the materiality and the ideology of Amerindian semiotic interactons were inter mingled with or replaced by the materiality and ideology of West ern reading and witing cultures
riing wihou ord wihou Paer, wihou Pen Writng does not presuppose the book, although during the steenthcentuy celebration o the letter, it was naowed down t o mean ust that amost exclusively ts image is so stong i n cultures of the book that those who do not belong to hem, as we no longer do, are not aways aware of what a book means.13 Aternave sign cariers (like newspapers were not yet available, and the complicity between writ ing and the book was such that the possibility of wting on clay, animal skn, tree bark, and the like was beyond the cultural hoizon of he time Venegas's deniton of te book, ve much ike Nebrias celebraton of the letter erased previous materia means of writing practces or denied coeval ones that were not alphabetcally based Keeping with examples fom the Yucatn peninsula, we obsee that te many Spanish descriptions and reactions to Maya wring practices were presented as if Weste books and the equivalent of Western paper were the only sign caers. The colonizers paid less attenon to writng ed in stone and in potte, which had ve wide use and signicant social nctions.4 The reader of such descriptons as Landa's and Motolina's was invited to conceive Maya literacy in European terms and never the inverse, imagining what Europeans might lack if te point of reference were Maya script and sign cariers. A few years aer Landa wrote his elaci another Franciscan,
tonio de Ciudad Real, obseed in hs repot on te life of Brother 77 onso Ponce that the Maya should be praised above all oter people oNew Spain for three things. He was impressed, rst, by e charac- ters and gures (he caled em letas) with which the Maya wrote Ma'iaiof their naaives and recorded eir past (which he called hioia). The Radig ad second noteworhy aspect was their religion and sacricial rites Wiig evoted to their gods (which h e called idols). And third were the Maya Cus caendas inscibed in atifacts made of tree bark He described them as consisng of ve long strips almost a third of a 'a (thirythree inches wide, which were folded ��and came to be more or less like a quartobound book." He also obseved the spread of Maya literacy. nly the priests of the idols" (ah kins) and eve so oen a noble erson understood such gures and letters." er the conquest, however, our iars understood them, knew how to read them, and even wrote tem" 15 he analogy with a quartobound book is indeed quite revealing. e medieval bound manuscript was basically similar in format to te rinted book during the Renaissance When paper was introduced i n Euope toward the end of he thirteenth centu, replacing previous sign cariers (such as parchment, it was folded in two or four (in lio or in quao and then assembled in segments (sciculus of four to six sheets. Medieval and Renaissance printed books ac quired a very di stincve foat in relaton to previous rolls or scrolls Yet one c an nd in standard histories of te book the notion that te rst books were scrolls.Such expressions presuppose that a given material format (the medieval and Renaissance book was imperfect when invented and nall achieved an essence that was in potentia since its i nception. This evolutiona model of writing and the book was to a great extent an invention of the European Renaissance, and it was precisely the model enacted by missionaries and men of letters when they describ ed Anerindian wiing practices and sign cariers. t is somewhat curious that e analogy was made between Amerindian noxtli or uh and uatobound book instead of the scoll, to which new pieces could be added, and which could be olled and unrolled. n his famous description, Beal Daz del Casllo chose instead to say that Mexic an books were folded like Castilian fabric. I would like to elaborate on this point, taking an example om current ways of talkng about wring. An evolutonay model still seems to prevail, according to which tue wting is alphabetic wring an is instinguishable om the book, which, in its turn, is indisinguishable om the material form of the European medieval and R nissance examples.
ollowing David Dinger, for example, hree knds of wring can
be visualized embyo, nonalphabetic, and aphabetc.He cals the last two pure" writing. It is possible, he says, to count as writing any TeDarker semiotc mark . . an individual makes and assigns a meaning to," and Side ofthe the antiquiy of writing is perhaps comparabe to the antiquiy of Renaissance speech But a critica and unique breakthough into new worlds of knowledge was achieved within human consciousness not when simpe semiotic marking was devised but when a coded system of visible marks was invented whereby a writer coud determine the exact words that the reader woud generate om the text."16 Writing thus conceived is restricted to syllabic and alphabetic writing If this distnction is vaid from the standpoint of th e histo of writing, enography, or paleography, it is not as satisfacto om the semiotic point of view I am ess concerned with the change of name, whether we call an action writing," than with a change of leve directing us away om the particuar lexicon and expressions of a culture inked with the representation of a particuar mode of interaction and toward a discipina understanding, i n which a concept is bonded to its theoretica deni tion One needs, rst, a theoretical deition of graphic signs and of graphic semiotic interactions before moving into a historica cassication of dierent stages in the development of writing. Semiotically, a graphic sign is, then, a physical sign made with the purpose of estab ishing a semiotic interaction. Consequenty, a human interaction is a semioc one if there is a community and a body of common knowedge according to which ( ,) a person can produce a graphic sign with the purpose of conveying a message (to somebody else or to him or herself); b) a person perceives the graphic sign and interprets it as a sign produced with the purpose of conveying a message; and ( c) at person atributes a given meaning to th e graphic sign. Notice that in this theoretcal denition of writng the inks between speech and writing are not necessa because wring is not conceived of as the representation of speech In this sense writing is a communicative device common to all cutures, although its conceptualizations and uses diverge and not every member of a community has access to writing, whereas in Walter Ongs conception, writing is limited to alphabetic or sylabi systems For its part, book is a concept united with writing ony in e concep tualization of a culture in which witing is understood in the restricted sense dened b y Diringer and Ong. To avoid the ambiguities caused by the use of concepts that presee, in a discipina context, e same meaning they hod in cutural (nondisciplinary) expressions, a theoreica deniton is needed. Before giving a denition of book, I will rst attempt a description In what follows I rey on Diringer's classic study devoted to t he book bere printing 17 My own recognition of his important contribution wi not prevent me om chalenging some
of his basic presuppositions. The most relevant of his presuppositions 79 for the issues explored in this chapter is revealed by his consistency in using the term book in the restricted sense ished by his own West Te ern and contempora cuture and projecting it toward di rent times Materiai of and paces Let me ilustrate this statement. Diringer writes: Reading an d Libri Lintei (linen books") are mentioned by Livy not
existing in his own tme, but as recorded by Licinius Macer . . who stated that inen books" were kept in the temple ouno Moneta They were not books" in the modern sense, but simpy vey ancient annas and libri magistratum (�books of magistrates")1 8
Despite thecaution (they were not books in the mode sense"), iringer transates libri" a books" Diringer certainy knows that libri lintei designates ancient chronices of the Romans that were writ ten on inen and preseed in the Tempe 0uno Moneta But it is not own for sure that they were books, since libri may have been used to esignate the solid surface on which writing was performed (a possible extension om the origina meaning the inner bark of a tree) Thus , libri litei could be ust writing on inen"; Ubri magistratu could e translated as writings of the magistrates." A second example comes fr om the idea that papys was the main witng material f or books in e Gr ecoRoman world. Although pa s was indeed e prima witing mateia, it does not foow that it was for wr iting books, but r aer just r a multtude of writing ur oses (eg, recor ding data for ture use, everyday human interactions, communication with gods)19 To be inscribed and tr ansmitted, a graphic sign cer tainly needs a medium. But om is point to the ook is a long road. Diringer states that the Gr eek word biblos means e pith of the papys stalk"; it gave origin to biblio, the common wor f or papys scro" or 'papyrus rol" whose plura was biblia aprus rolls," td bibla, the scrolls" In this case, Diringer translates te scr os" as the equivaent of book"20 With regard to te Roman excon, Diringer r eates that the modern w ord v olume" derives fom e Latn 'olm1en (a thing roed up); it is formed from e v erb "olvere (to r ol) and r ender s the Greek ylid-os (cyinder ). In this ontext pol,lia vhJer (to unrol) w as oen used in the sense of to rea" (olia cO jicre). When, aer all this infor mation, Diringer rates tat e term VO like liber (to pee the inner bark of a tr ee), w as in common use for book," te quotation marks do not solve te pr oblem of the manner in w hich a community repr esents its Ow n ob jects and socia interactions. For an educated member of Weste culture, the word book is associated w ith a body of know ledge (and representations) far om the meaning of a r oll ( 1'0IltC ) of inner bark
Writw Culture
he genera probe of the sion of horizon or he sion of culu expressions, is aso vaid in the case where amotli is translated as eDrker book." Side ofthe Contay to the corrupted nature of wring in whch Plato repreRi sented graphc seiotic interactons, nohing is found but the utost praise (and God as the archeypal writer) in Christiay. In this fo of representaion, the tongue becoes synonyous wit the hand and the universe with e Book26 While Socrates anchors knowedge in the psyche and conveys it through ora transission of signs, Chisianiy secures knowedge in te Book and conveys it rough te graphic transission of signs. One coud surise tat the idea of the book ay have entered into the syste of representaon of graphic seioc interaction at he point when wrting gained its a� tonoy fo orliy and the book repaced the person as a receptace and a source of knowledge. It is quite coprehensible that when the word was detached o its oral source (the body, it becae attached to he invisibe body and the sient voice of God, which cannot be heard but can be read in the Holy Book However, the teologica view of wring deveoped by Chistianity and te episteologica view of knowledge provided by Socrates d Pato (where God is not ony he archetype of he writer but aso he archetype of wisdo), oined forces durng te ddle Ages27 and extended to he Renais sance Nature is he book God wrote, and to know nature is e best way to know God. Cuius quotes a teling passage o Luis de Gra nada's S mbolo de la in which Granada uses te expression to think phosophically in this great book of eathy creaures" to ean tat because God put us in ont of e avelous book of the enire universe" we ust read the creatures as ive etters and hus, t hrough the, read of the exceencies of their creator. hristianity is not, of course, te only reigion having a holy book or Scripures (eg, the Ko, he Torah) But it shares with those others the disequiibu of power beween reigions possessing te Book and hose without it. At stake here is he ole payed by the book as a text dung the process of coonizaon cried on by literate societies As a atter off act, the oe of the book in our understang of te colonia period in the New Word ay not have been entirey exploited. One could, perhaps, prot by taking exape o Jack Goody and using it as an aaogy To pracce te Asante reigion, obsees Goody, you have to be Asante. Due to he ack of written native tracing te border beeen he intea nd the extea space, of what is preibed and perited o what is proscbed and forbidden, te idea" attached to h Asante region vaies consideraby over tie. Reigions founded on alphabec wrng and he coesponding idea of the book are, concudes Goody, generay rigions 82
of conversion, not siply religions of bih. You can spread the, like ja And you ca persuade or force people to give up one set of beiefs d pracices and take u p noer set."28 What is ipoant here is not e content" of the Book but rather the vey existence of the object in which a set of regulations and etaphors was inscribed, giving to it the specia status of Truth and Wisdo. It is now easier to understand Motolinas etaphoricl anguage when he refers to a nd describes Aztecs' books" One can aso understand the context of eaning underlying the episteologica etahors he epoyed to describe their books." By selecng the rst, he proects te cogive coponent of the ide a of te book; by ching e second, he dws o the heoogica coponent of the idea of te Book in which tth nds its warraty. fMotoina cast he devil as the auhor of he false books, it was not only because the dev was guily of a wrongdoing in this world, but aso because he had a housd faces n his case, the face he showed was reated to te saalizaon of the Book in hristianiy The odel of witing and the book ebedded in the European Renssance, and generay dened by Venegas, erased ny of te ossibilities for dierent wring systes and sign cariers that issionaes and en of letters ight have inquired about rater than escribing by anlogy with heir own ode Because the paradigatic exape of writing was alphabetic and refered to the eeval codex and he Renaissnce pnted book, the Peuvian quipu was virtualy eliinated fro the perspecve one can get about the ateiity of reading and witing cultures. There was ceainy ore tan a reaing and wriing culture in both the uropean Renaissance and e colonia New Word. However, as we have seen in the st chapter, the odel provided by the alphabet and the book was he paradigatic exaple of e aterial facets of reading and witing. The quipu ceainy did not go unnotced aong those who were in Per obsering Aerindian cutures duing the rst centuy of te conquest. Acosta, in his Hitoria natural y mol e la ndia 5 9 ) evoted severa chapters (book 6) to descriptions of Aerindian writing systes, coparing e with alphabetic as well as Chinese writing. Acosta refers to the quipu when he wtes about eory and record keeping in Peru. He begins his descpion by noicing the ierences between he quipu and other wriing systes: Los indios del i, antes de venir espaoles, ningn gnero de esctura tvieron, ni por etras ni por caracteres, 0 cias 0 gurilas, coo os de a Cina y os deMxco; s no por eso conseon enos a eoa de sus anigualas, ni tuvieron enos cuenta para todos los negocios de paz, y guera y gobieo29
Te Mteriiof Redigd Writig Ctre
e Daer Side ofe Raissac
[The Inans o Peu beoe the Spanias came ha no so o witng not ettes no chaactes no ciphes no gues ike those o China o Mexico but in spite o this hey consee no ess the memoy o ancient loe no i they have any ess account o a hei ais o peace wa an govenme nt The quipu was consiee by Acosta a va i sign o eco keeping but not equivaent to witng since it cou not be consiee ettes chaactes o gues g 2.4).Acosta's eiton o witng then pesuppose hat a gaphic sign (ette chacte images) inscibe on a soi suace pape pachment skin bak o a tee) was neee to have wiing. A bunch o knotte stings o eent coos woul not quai o an insightl obseve as anayt cay mine as Acosta Howeve when Acosta has to escibe what a quipu is an how it is se he cannot avoi using the notion o witing an what is mo he makes a peect anaogy between witing with ettes an wing with stings coos an knots In Acosta's eition Son qupos unos memoias 0 egistos hechos e amaes en que ivesos uos y ivesas [sic cooes signic vesas cosas [Quipus ae a kin o eco keeping o egiste mae out o sets o banches in which a ivesiy o ots an a ivesiy o coos mean ieent things] What attacte Acostas attention howeve was not the mateia ap peaace o the quipu but what he Inca i with it. Acosta hought hat whateve cou be one wih books in mattes o ecoing the past keeping tack o the aw itua an business mattes coul be aso one with the quipus "os ibs pueen eci e histoias y leyes y ceemonias y cuentas e negocios too eso suplen os quipos tan puntualmente que amia). Thus Acostas hesitaton between the ct that quipus wee not wing o books although they peome ike witng a books. Moe stiking in ths espect is the analogy Acosta estabishe with aphabec wting
Fg 24 Witing and mateiali o sign carriers: an Andean quipu b a texie wih an unidenied coat o arms, pobaby from olonia Peuvian amilies (sixteen/seveneenh enury?) Charls ttr Klingund Curtey Musum ine Ars, Bsn.
Yen caa manoo e stos tantos uos y uicos y hilos atas unos coaos os vees otos azules otos bacos na mente tantas deencias que s como 0sotos e veinte y cuato etas guisoas en eentes maneas sacamos tantas innia e vocabos as estos e sus uos y cooes sacaban innumeables signicacines e cosas.3 [An in eve bunle o these so many geate an esse knots an te stngs some e othes geen ohes blue othes whte in s0 as man dences as e ae with ou tweny-ou ettes aanging them in ieent ways to aw oth an innity o wos: b
86
so did they, with their knots and olors, draw orth innumerable meanings o things3
e Daer It seems evident aer reading Aosta as well as other writers who Side fhe desribed the quipu that not only was the material image o a roll or Raisse
sroll orgotten nd replaed by the quartobound book, but the meaning o tethad aso aded out o the voabulary o the tme Teo in Latin meant to make" and mor speily to weave" By anserene, it was also used in the sense o join or t together," to interae or to intertwine.Hene, txtum invoked the idea o something woven or made ino a web It was aso transerred by Roma rhetoriians to aphabeti written ompositons to denote the texture o a omposition dcend ttn tee) What Aosta missed, beause he assumed that wring presupposed graphi signs insribed on at sures, was the tatle aspet o the quipu Mode sholars who have reently studied tem in detai obsee that the quipu maker produed meaning, reorded memory, and worked with numbers by traing gures in sp ae. In the proes s o organizing weaving strngs and olors, and o knottng them, the qpcamayoc had to hange le direton o the strings nd the position o the olors rela tive to eah other This proess, the authors b, was not simply preparatory to tle real making a reord It w as an integral part o quipu making or writing.The materiality o quipu making invites interestng omparison with the brush and the stylus, te instruments o Mexa and European writing praties The quipumaker's way o reordingdiret onsttionrequired tatile sensitvity to a muh greater degree.In at, the overall aestheti o tle quipu is related to the tatle the manner o reording and the reording itsel are deidedly rhythmi the rst in the ativity, tle seond in tle eet We seldom realize the potental o our sense o touh, and we are usualy unaware o its assoiaton with rhythm.. In at, tatile sensitivity begins in the rhythmi pulsatng environment o the unbo hild a r in advane o tle development o other senses33 The tatle sensitivity pereived today in the quipu maker would have been obsure to Renaissane men o letters who were thinking in terms o letter wrting and books as the paradigmati model o produing meanng and keeping reords Aosta, as we have seen, ertainly did not miss the similarites between gar (to organize or weave letters, strings, little stones, or bens) in order to produe meaning and keeping reords.But he ailed to see the tatle dimension in quipu making. Quipu makng was , then, a important ativity in Ina soiety, im
ortant enough to have a soia role assigned to it, that o the quipu maker uaman Poma de Ayala, in his Nua cOoncay buengobero l a ew drawings that illustrat what a quipu and a qupucmayoc loo like (g.2.5).For Aosta to onsider tle qupcmyocas a soial roe equivalent to a medieval sribe (g.2.6), a Renaissane seret, or a man o letters (g 27) would perhaps have been beyond his o izons.Or perhaps he was also seeing, om a dierent perspetive, te transormation that uaman Poma de Ayaa saw when he depited n Ina olonial seretary (g 2.8); this, we an imagine, res ulted om the soia tansormaion o the anient quipu maker in the olonial soiety. In medieval urope (as well as in tle Islami world), the pratie and oneptualization o writing were loser to physial labor thn an intelletual pursuit (see g. Dcte was the verb tlat desribed tle atvi that today one would desribe as wtng and omposition e generation o a text began with the ditation tlat tle crbe insribed in wax tablet aer orretons introdued by the dctato it was transrbed in parhments.Writng, then, required not only a skl whih al parts o tle body were engaged, but also the skill to repare te instruments (stylus, eather, ink, parhments, et) The transormation om the and the crbe to the onsoldation o otl ativities in one person began to take plae perhaps towrd tle sixteenth entury.3 However the idea that wrting implied the voie i not vanish as quikly as one might suppose aer the trnsorma ion o readng brought about by the multipliaton o mausripts, u ing the early ourteenth entury and the inventon o the prnng ress, in the seond hal o the ourteent entuy.Titu Cusi Yupanki reorted in 57 how peope om northe Pe ru witnesse d the arrival o te rst Spaniards and desribed them as bearded men who talked to emselves lookng at piees o white abri3 In Anhua, the tlaculo was tle soil role equivalent to tle Peruia quipu maker, te medieval sribe, or tle Renaissane seretary see g 6.19) He did not desee as muh attention om the Spanish wters, however, as those who had the wsdom o the word tlama tnm in Nahuatl amata in Aymara and Quehua qo naoh in ayaCahiquel), anslated as orators" or philosophers" by Spanis hronists Sahagn, or instane, who dd suh a tl rough job in researhing and desribing Mexia ulture, devoted an entire book, out o te twelve in his Florentne Code (1 578),3 to rhetori and moral ilosophyThe was prataly hidden in a hapter he devoted to te rasmen and disguised under tle name o the oiales de a luma" [eather rasman (g.29).The Mendoza Code gathered mandate o eroy Mendoza towrd 5 50, has the culo ad his son in tle ontext o artsans in Mexia soiey (g.2.0)3
e Maeiai of Readigad Wriig Cuure
or books, om ancient painted papers ve old and painted by elder and dear nobles from the towns of Tzacualtitlan Tenanco Chiconchua c they wrote them before I arranged them and wrote this st'' [De cinco partes libros de antiguos papeles pintdos muy iejos hechos pr los aniguos queridos nobles que eron de zacualtlan Tenanco Chiconchuac antes que yo los arreglara e compuesta esta historia]. The reference to ve units or parts (also c lled "libros by Chmalpan) reminds us of Motolina's classication oAztecan "books or pares (pieces) What Ose pieces might have been can be surmised by what Chimalpan refers to as ve units of nted amoxtli. He describes rthermore where the information comes om:
88
T Dar/I Sid fth Rnaianc
J Maeriali of Redingand Wriing Culur
Estos viejos relatos eron hechos durante el tiempo de los seores nuestros padres nuesros antepasdos Y estas pints d pueblo y
Fi 26. Wriin and social role: a
sie i edievl Europe. Courtey oBibliothque Mnicipal de Dijon
c
Fig 2.5 Writin and social roles Adean qipamayoshe adminiration of the empire
n M u n Ch imlpan, bo aroun d 1579 in Franc isco de San An t atl uem c an,39 le sev eral reaciones, written in Na hu Ch alco-Am aq and in L tin scr ipt, about he origin, peregr in ation a nd m em ores of people of his ar e . In his "Octav a Relac i n (E ighth relation ), Ch i m al pan d escribed in det ail his sources as w ell as th e process of w ritng about them . He specied th a t the in forma ion cam e from "v e part s
r, t
oi'
90
Te Daker Side fthe Renasance
l ista.i de las li1js 1tas eron guardados mientas a Dios plugo dare vida, por Don Diego Hendez Mochntzetzalohuatzin, Prncipe reinane quien se hzo espal y muri en CeCalli, 55· Entonces, el papel pintado y la historia de los linajes antiguos eron dejados a su querido hijo el seor don Domingo Hernndez Ayopochtzin, quien se i1 en l wnt de las libas y pi1t6 I" libra escribidolo C01 etrs, sin aadirle nada, sino como un fd espejo de las cosas que de al se taslad6.4 [These old stories were made dung the time of the lords our thers, our ancestors. And these paintngs of the people and the history of the ancient nobiliy were kept, as lo ng as it pleased God to grant him life, by Don Diego Hendez Mochintzetzaohuatzin, reigning Prince who became a Spaniad and died in CeCal, 155·]
Fig 27 Writing and social roles a Renaissance man of letters
Then, the painted paper and the hsto of the ancient nobility were le to hs beloved son, the esteemed Don Domingo Hernndez Ayopochtzin, who instructed himself in the teling of the books and then painted a book, writing it in letters, adding nothing, but rather as a faithl miror of the thngs translated om there]4 In the same way that the proper names are already a clea manifestation of colonia semiosis, so are the vocabulay and the cogntive sttures of those who lived, thought, and narrated between the wold of the painted maxtli and the alphabetic written books The leaing process alluded to by Chimalpan (se instry6 en la cuenta de los lbros," leed to nterpret the books]) also indicates the superposition of two knds of schooling: the old one, in which a part ofleai ng was to look at and t intepret the books; and the new one, in which Chimalpan himself was educated ad learned to repace the pi1ts
g. 2.8 Wrng and socal roles: a colonial secreta, a possible transormation of a quipcmayoc
91
1"
Materialif Reading and Writi Cutures
by aphabti writng, and t mv sph tward wrttn ps. Th fat tt Chmapan s mantand n hs wrtng t rptitv stru tur f th ra s ndiatv f th turs f na smss n th Te Darke Side ohe transtin m ra narrativs, n whih rpttn s a pat f vday Reaisae sph, t an aphabti writtn prs (n bth th Latin and Spansh, m whh Chmapan d t wrt n Nahuat) By th sxtnt ntury, ths rptitin had arady ary stabshd ts dstntn with vrsatin Evn n mdrn Spansh transatin th hs f a rhythm sph ud b hard pap pntad y a hstra d s najs angus" [th pantd papr and th nag hst], ahra y h pntad, h srit n tas un br" [t paint a bk, wrtng t wt ttrs]; m 0 prst, br d sus antpasads, m 10 prprin" [h and t t m, t bk f hs anstrs, h mad t avaab t m.4 If thr wr at ast v annt bks, as Mtna and Chma pan mntind, prhaps th lacuilo was nt ust n sng prsn, gnray tand t pant any f thm, and prhaps tr was a dv sn f abr and a divsn f tranng as. Dn Fand d Ava Ixtxht was a dsndant f t sam Txan famy wh hstd d d Gant arund 523. What mrgs frm th wrds f 92
{
Fig. 29 Wiing n ocil ole aio mong he ehe in
Mxian hrnsts suh as Chmapan and Ixtxht s what th Sansh hrnsts had sm duts n undrstandng (r at ast n srtng ut n a way that wud st b satsfatry fr tdays radr): that bt Spansh and Amrndans rrdd thr past as w as thr wsdm n graph and ra frms; that bth quay trasurd ts rrds, vn f y had drnt prsptvs n th vaus that shud b attrbutd t th ra and th wrttn; and that th qupus n t Ands and th pantd sgns n Msamra wr th quvant f ttrs Th Spansh nvr undrstd that, f th Amrndans akd ttrs, thy thmsvs by th sam tkn akd qupus and a0xli. And wh t Spansh had mn f ttrs, th Inas had qipcamaocand Mxas io. Ixtxht and Chmapan an xtnsv dsrptn f thr r kng mthds. Ixtxhts wrttn Spansh was qut mprssv, vn thugh h aways rtizd th Spansh ntrprtatin f Mx an hsty A a hstran wrng n agrmnt wit th nvntins st hstrgraphy and aphabti wrtng, h f und hs sur nrmatin n annt pantd amoxli as w as n ra rprts and mmrs f t drs (ehe) In rdr t nd ut th trut aut th past f Nw Span, xxht ud nt trust t n trat pnns f varus autrs (mst, f nt a, Spanards) wh rt ts hst. H ddd t k nt pantd rrds f t ians thmsvs, as w as t t sngs thy usd t rgstr tr mmrs y d s ants n qu as bsrvaban, autrs muy gravs n su md d na y fautad"). Th authrty, ardng t xxht, was n t hands f th mst dstingushd and ws p [gnt muy ust y ntndda], wh kd at th vnts as ary and ntgntly as t mst srius and ustwrthy au trs and hstrians f t wrd [ s ms gravs y ddgns autrs istrs d mund]. Ixtxt bakd up hs assrtn by sayng at t dstngushd and ws pp h trustd as th tmat au trty had fr ah gnr f rrd kpng thr srbs (criore aco): uns qu trataban d s anas pnnd pr su rdn a s sas qu aaan n ada a, n da, ms y hra. Ots tnan a su arg as gnagas y dsndnas d s rys y srs y prsnas d na, asnnd pr unta y raz6n s qu naan y brraban s u mran, n a msma unta. Uns tnan udad d as pn turas d s trmns, mts y mnras d as udads, prvn as, pubs y ugars, y d as surts y rpartmnts d as trras, uyas ran y a qun prtnan.Otrs, d s b rs d as Js, rts y rmnas qu usaban n su nddad; y s sar
93 Te Mateiaio Readig ad �Vitig Cutes
dots d los timos d sus idoltrs y modo d su docrin idol ric y d ls sts d sus flsos dioss y c!ndrios Ynalmene
9 JDrkr Sid of Rissc
lolofo abio que enan enre el eaba a S aro el pina oda a ieni« que aban alaaba ne«r de memoria odo lo ano que Obaban en u ienia e hiori; odo 0 al mud el iepo n la ada de lo ee ore, y los rjos y rscucions d sus dscndints y l cmi dd d sus sditos y vslos43
[som dt wi t nnls, lcing in ordr t tings tt d occurrd in c yr [rcording t] dy mon nd our O rs wr in crg of t gnlogis nd dscnt of t kings nd lords nd rsons of nol irt noing itlly tos wo wr orn nd rsing tos wo did in t sm mnnr Som took cr of ining limits oundris nd ordrs of cits rovincs towns nd villgs; nd t cling nd distriution of lnds wos y wr nd to wom ty longd Otrs [lookd r] ooks of lws ritus nd crmonis t ty rccd in ir unli nd t rists [rcordd] t tims of tir idolris nd t mnnr of ir idolrous doctrin nd t fs of tir s gods nd cndrs ndnal, he philoopher
95 Mariai of Radiugad Wrii Cuurs
and JVie en aon hem were enrued wih painin al he knowlede hepoeed and had atained, and wih eahinom memo all he han he obed in hei hiorie and lore; all of whih ime alered wih hefall of he kin and lord, nd t lors
b
fJ
= :
g 2 Wrtg a cal rle a acio a h amg the ata; wevg Ahac a te e
. =
CJ
-
96
and persecutions of their descendants and the calamity of their subjects and vassals. ]44
Dar Ixtilxochit's distincion, or lack tereof, between the scribes ( Sid of Raiac rior luilo) and wise men lofo abio lamaini) in other chronicles establishes an attractve analog Wit the situaton in te European Middle Ages It is not obvious that bo nctions were par of the same socia role, since there were, precisely, dierent names for ose who had wisdom and ose who had skill It is not surprsing, ten, at Sahagn placed te lailo among e crasmen although according to the sources, here seems to be a closer connec ton between the lilo laoni (skilll in speaking, but also gover nor and laaini (having te wisdom of the word tn beween te laio and e expert in several cras In Ixtilxocht it is perhaps due in par to the process of trnsculturaton and e changing pat tes (as he himself noticed at e end of paragraph tt blurred the disnction between ani and lamaini For the Spaniards, ver much used t e idea of philosophers and wise men who were at the same time scribes, he distinctive and complementary ncions ofthe laini and e lailo went almost unnoticed. The Spaniards erased e dierences beween the two cultures by using eir descrip ton of themselves as a universa frame for understanding erent cultura raons. Venegas's dnion of book sands as a para gmatic image of a cultura product that was at once a distincve materal obect, written in alphabec characters by a wise man, tat had to be read by or explicated by intelligent people From te per spective opened by Venegas's description, we can understand today pr of e dicules e Spaniard had in understanding the mate rialiy of Amerindans' reading and wring culture, as well as the ac tion tey had taken, eiter by burning their "books or slowly erasing em by teaching the Amerindian to change te materal congura ton of reading and writing and the format in which signs were in� scribed and infoaon graphically recorded so tat it m ight be orally sseminated
Talking about Grahic Signs Sgn Carrers and Persons of Knowledge and Wisdom Shortly aer te rst twelve Franciscans arrived in Mexico on their mission to convert the Amerindian to Chrisianity (see chap 1, a historcal diaogue took place beween e Franciscans and repre sentaves of te Mexca nobility and men of wisdom The dialogue was apparenty recorded at e me it took place, probably over sev-
eral weeks in 152. Alphabeic writng aows for e inscripion of what is said but not for a description of te scene of speakng Mexica wring allowed for e inscripton of e scene but not for what was said Near 1565, in e Colegio Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, Saha gUn found e scattered notes, probably le by one of the welve Franciscans or by an Amerindian already familiar wi alphabetc wriing He put te pieces together and provided a ee and some what istored translation of e Mexca noble and wise men He gave e dialogue e form of a Chrisian docrine, wi e tite of % qio y doria hriiana The manuscript was found in e atican's secret archives and was published for he st time in 924 The ct that it was found i n Rome and not i n Seville suggests once more that Chrisianizaion and Hispanizaion were to dif ferent programs, even during the period in which Charl es I ofCasile nd Aragon nd Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire joined bOt goals in one person. In the 1560s it was still possible to believe that conversion was quik and easy and that e Mexican recognition ofChrsianiywas so obvious hat there was no room for doubt. But my interest here is to listen" to the dialogue again at that paricular moment in which te uesion ofreading, wring, books, and knowledge came to e foreground. Let's rst look at the transcription ofthe original in Nahuatl n te close Spanish translation provided by en-Porlla as well as e English translaon by Kor de Alva4 The scene of speaking is roughlye follOwing. The welve Franciscan friars, in a meeting with e nobles and atoani (goveors), explain to them their own mis sion, and eir roles as agens of God nd e emperor The lao"i resond to the Franciscans in the terms ranscribed below and end tir speech at he moment in wch they decide to consul: wih the amatinime (wise men):
7
Auh inin, totecujyoane [Y, he aqu, seores nuesros,] [And tese, oh our lords,] ca oncate in oc no techiacana, [estn los que an son nuestros guas] [indeed, ey are tere, ey still guide us] in techitqu, in techamama [els nos llevan a cuestas, nos gobiean,] [ese who cay us, these who gove us,] yn jpampa in taiecultilo [en relacin al servio [in relation to ese being sered]
97
Mariai of Radigad Wrii Cu
yn johoqulz n jnmccholzq n jlhuc [e curso y el prceder ordendo del celo] [h he jouey, the orderly course of e hevens,]
c n oeou yn jnlccuhcv [de los que son nuesros doses, de los cules es l merecmeno] [ndeed, these who reour gods, hese who hve her mer]
7eDarke Side o"e Renaissance
n uh ovl xelv [c6mo se dvde noche] [ccordng o how e ngh s vded]
cujlpllj hpllj [ col, el a ( gene del pueblo):] [h of te al, of he wng,] In lmczque, n lenmcque, [los scerdoes oenddores, os que oendn e ego,] [he ones who oer hngs, he ones who oer ncense,]
Auh n quztce, [los que esn mrndo (eyendo),] [And ese continully look ,] 780
uh n quequezcov mo [y mbn los que se llamn quequezlco] [nd hose nmed he felered serpens,]
n qujllzce n moxlj [los que desplegn (ls hojs de) os lbrs,] [lese coninully cuse he book o cckle,]
n lolmnjme [Sbos de l pabr,] [hese re knowers of he word,]
n ll, n lpall, [ n negr, l n rj,] [e bck, e color,]
uh n jnequjuh n qujmocujluj [su oco, con e que se fnn,] nd her chrge, Wl whch hey rouble lemselves,]
n lcujol ququjce [los que enen su crgo ls pnurs.] [ e pning ey connully cy]
n oll n emjlhl [durne l noche y e d,] [by ngh, by dy,] n coplemalzl [ of rend de copl] [s e c of bung copl,] n lenmqjlzlj [el oecmeno del ego] [he c of oering ncense,] n vztlj, n cxol, [espns, rms de beo] hos, acxoyatl, 775
n neolzl. [ cc6n de sngrrse] [he c of blood letng,] n quj, n qujmocujluj [os que mrn, os que se fan con] [These see, tese rouble hemseves,]
n qujpouhce, [los que cuenn (0 reeren 10 que leen)] [hese connully rele ,]
C ehonn echqujc, [Els nos llevn,] [Indeed, hey re e ones who coninualy crry us,] 8
echcn, echolol [nos gu, nos dcen el cmno.] [tley gude us, ley cuse the erth o spek o us,] ehontn qujecpn [Los que ordenan] [They re e ones who pu n order,] n uh vez c xvl, [c6mo ce el ,] [such s how yer fs,] n uh oloc n onalpoalj, [c6mo sguen su cmno l cuen de los destnos y los ds] such s how he coun of e desnes-fess follows s p,]
99
Te Maeialiof Readingand Witing Cultues
e Dae Side ofhe RmaisJace
a tiqujacaca [Que podamos darles] [Let us gve them]
auh n cecempoalapollj [y cada una de las ventenas,] [and each one of he complete counts ,]
1
790
ehoann yntenjz, ncoco, de elos es el encargo, la encomenda,] [they have ther charge, ther commsson,] y mam n teutlatollj [su carga la palabra vna] [er duty whch s le vne word,] Auh n tehoantn [y nosoros,] [and we are those] ca a ye yo totequjuh s60 es nuestro oco ] [ndeed, who bu t have as our sole tas,] 795
n jhyotzn, yn jtatotzn, [su alento, su paabra] [Hs precous breath, Hs precous word.]47
qujmocujtauja, [de esto se ocupan] they rouble themselves W t,]
(n mjtoa) teuatl lacnolj. [Lo que se llama el agua dvna, el ego ( a guerra) ] [ (what s caled) divne water, e .]
The daogue contnues wth tle meetng between the tetechtin (n charge ofthe mlta apparatus) d the l1tinime (members of the nobe cass n charge of the relgous apparatus), where tey dscuss the answer they wl gve to he welve Francscans. Ths scene s folowed bytle moment whch loni and tla1ainime retu to tal wth the Francscans and, ths tme, the word s n the mouth of te ta1ntilimc. Their answer is a respectfl dsagreement wih the Chrstan doctrine presented by the Francscans One of he central onts s the dscourse about he Christian God and the Mexca in Tloqe in Naaqe (the Owner of Nearby and Together). The tlamatiime refer to' the Chrstian God as in Tloquc in Naaqc and tey express ther admraion that he Spanards have come "fom the clouds, the fog, om the ve nsde ofthe mmensewater" n order to ng hs book, hs panting, the celesia word, he dvne word" [Y1 Tx, y jlacuol, 990; in ilicac aolli, i eoaolli 991] Aer steng to e laaiie, te weve Francscans begn ther reply as follows:
auh a ehoal ypan tlatoa, [y tambn de esto tratamos,] And ony we speak on t, ]
a much tamechlhuzque [Todo os 0 dremos] [Indeed, we w tel you evetng,]
tictocujtlauja yn jtequjuh [nos encargamos de los trbutos] [we troube ourseves wh the rbute,] yn cUjtlapj, yn atapallj [de a cola y e la (de puebo) .] ofthe ta, the wng. .
803
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
tamehaqutzque [os 0 haremos esuchar,] [we wl cause you to hear t,] 10
nta aqunequ [y s e s que vosotros quers.] [fyou desre t]
Ma DC tqujnnechicocan [Permdnos que reunamos] [Le t us, for now, assembe th em,] yn lmacazque, n quequetzalcoa [a os sacerdotes, a os quequetzalcoa] [the ones who oer thngs, te feathered serpents]
yoa u el tamhlpahutzque [Y os habremos de tranqulzar] [And we wl be able to cause you to have a l heart] ehca n tehoantn tcpa [porque nosotros guardamos] [because we guard t,]
lor
Tbe
Maeiali Readigad Wiig Cu/e
102 e Drer Side ohe Rice
11 5
in tuamuxtli in tutlatolli [el libro divino, la palabra divina] [the divine book, the divine word,] in onan neztoc ycuiliouthoc [en donde se ve, est escrita] [there, where it lies visible, it lies painted] tlatlamantitoc [est debidamente dispuesta] [it lies arranged,] in ixquich yatoltzin toda la que es su palabra,] [all that is His precious word,] in tloque naoque [del Due del cerca y del junto ] [s one te Possessor ofthe Near, Possessor ofthe Surounding]
The scene of speaking shows vaous aspects relevant for understanding concng religious views that impinge on the ideas of writing, the book, and the social roles associated with reading and writing pactces LenPotila was inclined to oer alteave readings when he translated the activities perrmed by laolmaijm those who have e wisdom ofthe word) line 769 . The translaion ofline 779 is los que estn mirando" [those who are looking at], and LenPorlla
adds leyendo" [reading] The following line is translated los que
cuentan" [those who narrate], and the parenthesis specis those who refer to what they read," which, following the logic introduced in the previous paragraph, could be translated as those who naate what they look at," instead of read" The following line, 781 could be read without parenthetical claication as those who unfold the book," although in this case e parenthesis rler species that it is
indeed te pages of [the book]" that are being unfolded At tIis point it is necssay to introduce Sahagn'5 own ee translation of lines 761-803, which he summarizes in one paragraph, and more specically what coesponds to lines 761 to 781:
Dems de esto sabed, Seores nuestros, que tenemos sacerdotes que nos rigen y adiestran en la cultura y seicio de nuestros dioses; ay tam bin otros muchos que tienen civersos nombres, que en tienden en el servicio de los templos de noche y de das, que son sabios y bils ans ra d la rboci y crso d los cilos 1 crca d 1ss cos11brs aniguas inn los libros d nsra anuallas n qu sudian y ojan d 1c y d da
[And thermore may you know, good sirs, that we have priests who direct and train us in the culture and service ofour gods there are also many others who have diverse names, who understand the seice of the temples by night and by day, who are as wis and
103
e Merii o skill in rgard o roluion and cors of ans as y Redig d ar in rgd o our ancin cusoms; yold booof ancin Wriig Cuure lor ic y sdy ad look pon by and day]
Sahagn distinguishes understanding the trajectoy ofthe stars and the conguration of the sky om looking upon" ojar the books ayand night A w shall see, such a distinction is less clearly made in the paleographic edition and in LenPorilla's and Kor de Alva's translatons Since Spanish orthography was not clearly established in te midsixteenth centuy, despite Nebrija's eorts, was tempted to translate ojar to look at) Spanish: car los ojos, mirar O acin a drminada par; Latn oculos concr) by pese" to read trough, to read with attention), which would be more akin to ojar going through the pages of a book; Latn: folia 'o'r This second option would be close to LenPotilla's clarication of his translaion, in which estan mirando" [they are looking at] replaces the verb san lydo they are reading) Also notable in LenPotlla's translaion and absent in Sahagn's version is the verb despliegan" they unfold], which once again corresponds to Beal Daz del Casillo's escption of the Mexica a1o!i: they unfold them like Castlian ieces of fabric" Sahagn could not have been aware, by 16 o what a Mexica painted arict was and what dierences there were between reading" in eenth and sixteenthcentuy Spain and MexcoTenochttln While Sahag places the accent on the book, the Nahuatl version as well as LenPorilla's translation) emphasizes the spoken words an their agents, laolmainim those who have the wisdom of the word, laol + lamaiim Molina, in the sixteenth century, translated laolli as word," while Simeon, toward the end of the nineteenth century, was more generous in his renderng and translated it as seech, discourse, exhortaton, histoy, stoy" He also rendered the eved expression laolll as histo, process, life, biography50 ore recently, LenPortilla interpreted the same word in the context ofthe Mexica concepton of oly which would be closer to what in late eenth and sixteentlcentuy Europe was understood as cultural tradition and civility n this context, laolll a word designating, at the same time, speech or discourse and, specically, a iscourse in which the mem of past events and deeds was pre
seved. LenPorla rendered hs second meanng by the expresson "dscoursemem' (palabra-crdo).5 The dscourse ofhe prinipalescharge ofhe mary apparaus, Te Dm'ker Side othe bu also sk n speakng (tlatoque)2 noduces a derence beRenaissance ween wo soca roles her own and ha of he tnatiie, and consequenly wo conceps of dscourse: he rs skl n speakng, he second havng he wsdom of he word. On op of he Azec herarchy, tatofni and tlmatnim (whch, neresingy enough, s wren tlatolmatini1e lne 769 ofhe paeographc verson) arehe soca oles n whch he power of he spoken word s emboded Wha does mean "o be n charge of he panngs, o readthe red and back nk? Does mean ha hey are n charge ofnerpreting hem or wring them? Is the tlamatini also a tlawilo?Appareny no. Those who have he wsdom ofhe word ar hose who can ook a he sky or a he paned books and nerpre hem o el sores based on her dsceng of he sgns The ora narrave of he wse men seems o have a socal nc on as we asa rank supeior o he tlaci/o who was placed by Sahagn among hose who were skedcasmen. A Spanard's undersandng ofAerndan witing pracces and sgn carers was ned by an emergng dea of progress ha wen hand n hand wh he orgn ofcomparave ehnoogy. The model organzed he word and nerculura reaions n erms ofwha Faban expressed n he fomua �he dena of coevalness 53 Such a dena, cerany a work n he auhors have commened on n chaper I, comes wh partcular force and clearness n Juan Bausa Pomar. Pomar was born n he same own as xlxoch, around 1535. He was wel nrmed abou he Amerndan pas and Texcoco (capa of Acouhacan and one of he ces of he rple aance, wh MexcoTenochtln and Tacopan) and was eae, probaby educaed n he schools founded by de Gane n he same cy, a decade before he was bo was om he perspectve of an educaed person ha he descrbed he educaton of he nobes n h s native own. A was already poned ou, Pomar paced he power of knowedge n te leers and n e body, snce whou leers kowedge s lmed. I seems ha dsregardng he derence n soceies and memores, he lack ofeers was an obseva ion made n dren mes and deren paces. Marn de Mua Pe makes observaons abou he Incas smar o lose of Pomar abou he Mexcas: 104
Aunque a Ynga y a sus renos les fa el arte an ndustrosa de saber leer y escrbr, med an mos y convenene para comuncarse as genes de unas provncas a ors, y para salr os hombres de as ineblas de la gnoranca, y acanzar e uo an
deseado de sabosy, y rascender y acanzar os secreos descono cdos, y aun casos suceddos de anos mares de aos como ene mos, sabemos y gozamos medae las leras.54
105
Te Materialiof [Although e nca and h s kngdoms lacked he mos ndsros Readig and a of knowing how o read and we, a mos mous and conveWrti en means for peope o communc ae among deren provnces, Cultures
and for men o say fl om he shadows ofgnorace a nd reach the mos desred te of wse men, and transcend and reach unkown secres, and even evens anspred over many housands of yes, such as we possess, know and enjoy by means ofleers]55 Boh Pomar and Mua recognze a Mexicas and Incas had teir ways of kowing, ahough he lack ofeers pu them i a posiion lower han he Spards. Before inroducing e leer as a waray o kowledge, Pomar menons ta n the educaton of e nobes there is a picuar branch in whch "they specialize in he kowledge ofhe sarand he movemen ofhe skyn ordero predc he re (see lnes 775-85, above). The whoe range ofquesons regarng he maeay ofreadng and wrng culures seems o be summarzed n hese t\'o examples. he ncreasng relevanceofalphabeicwing n Wese culure conued o he chnge n meang ofhe Lain verb legere (o read) ne of s orgna mengs was o dsce. I chaged when egan o be appled o scernng he leers ofthe aphabe n a ex ad acqured he mode sense ofreadng One ca suse tha legere, n e sense ofookng a and dsceng he menng ofwhaever one s ookng a, s precsely wha s mpled n wha Pomar repors abou te Mexcas' "knowledge of the sars d the movemen ofhe s, andwha he tlatoqlte who spokeohe welve Francscans had n
mnd when tey refered o hosewho have "he wsdom ofhe word as ose who are "looking a and why LenPola ws ncned o a leyendo (readng) nex o "hey are lookng a. In e same way e tlamati"ime looked a he sky, hey also looked a the nscrpions n sod surces made ou ofe ee bark, whch they nfoded, and looked a.56 Thus, he Spanards and the Mexicas had no only eren maeral ways of encodng and ansmng kowledge bu so-as s naura-deren conceps ofhe acivies ofreang and wng. Mexicas pu he accen on he ac ofobservng and eng ou loudhe sores ofwha heywere lookng a(movemens ofhe sky or e black and e red ink). Spaards sressed reading he word raher a reading the world, ad made he eer he anchor ofknowedge an undersandg Conemplatng ad recountng wha was on he
10 Dar Sid ofth Ra
patg (a0xtli) wee ot eough, fom the pot of vew of the Spaads cocept of eadg, wtg, ad the boo, to esue o ect ad elable owedge Ths coctg vew eached ts pea Sahag's Coloquios the momet whch the twelve acscas had to expla fo the secod tme to the tlamatinie ose who have he wsdom of the wod) what they have explaed pevously to the tlatoque goveo ad sl speag). Sahag povdes hs ow tepetato ofMexca dscouse see es 0980 above) ad shes t \vth the cootaos uoudg the Spash cocept of wtg ad authoty: todo est s declaaemos my po exteso s 10 ques oy y satszeos mos e todo, pque teWS sagrada escriptra dOde se ontie todo 0 que osdire0s que son palabras de aque! que da elser y el vivir en tds las cosas Esta sagada escptua, de que muchas
vezs s emos hecho me, s cosa atqusma so paabas muy vedadeas, cessmas, dgas de todo cdto.57
the.5 Less famla to schoas dealg wth sma topcs ae com- 07 mucatve stuatos acoss cutues whch agets ae, so to spea, o deet sdes of the lette The Mexcas had a set of cocepts to oute the semotc teactos, ad the egotatos wth the Matai of soe wods, wtte sgs, the socal oles ad cos attached to Radig ad such actvtes They also had a acuato ofthe soca ad egous Writig cos of spoe wods ad wtte sgs that could hadly be Cut taslated to Weste categoes eg, phosophe, ma of lettes, scbe, o poet) wthout suppessg ad msudestadg) the actvtes, gve a cotext whch e coceptuazato of semoc teactos s based o a deet matea coguato of the eadg ad wtgcutues. O oe sde ofthe daogue, the agets wee membes of a leaed cutue whch the deology of the lette ad e boo was equated wth eag ad wsdom. O the othe sde, e atcpas wee membes ofa socety whch wsdom ad lea gwee deposted the body ofthe eldes (ehue ad looed at
[we shall expa all ofths at geat legth fyou wsh to hea t, ad we sha sats you wth a ou explaaos, because we have the sacred s'ipture wherein are contained all the things we shall tell YO for they are the wor oHe who gives being and le to all things. is sacred scripture, of whch we have spoe may tmes, s ve a-
cet, wods ae most tue, dete, ad wothy of beef]
Itwould have bee dcult fo the tlamatinime to udestad the coectos betwee huma wtg ad the wg of God, o betwee the achetype boo ad the metagaph boo, accodg to Veegass dstcto, whch was atually embedded the aswe povded by the tweve acscas g. It would have bee equally dcult fothem to udestad a cocept oftuth that pesup posed both a phlosophy oflaguage that pozed the ette ad a egous belef that attbuted the al tuth to the wtte veso of the spoe wods poouced by God.5 t the same tme, t was just as cult fo the twelve acscas to udestad that the mate ty ofMexca eadg ad wtg cultue dove them to a cocep tualzato of the wod, the pated boos" ad the elatos betwee wods ad sgs \vth the i Tloqe in Naaqe the Owe of the Nea ad the Togethe) that was ot ecessaly costcted aod aphabetc wtg. Gods metapho of wtg, accodg to whch hs wods ae dctated to me, s so wel ow that we eed ot pess the dea
g 2. A oemo eectve o oug Sg uoue wh "book
toms than to exploring Amerindian conceptualizations of their dis cursive practices and means of recording the past. The authority of Darkr aphabetic writing and its naturl" links with histY and rhetoric Sid ft ished sucient proof for the Spaniads to look at other cultures Rnaissa as infeior. Al ofwhich illustrates, once more, the diculties ofunder standing dierences and using derences to constuct power posi tions. Sahagn' tanscription of ora Mexican scoursesand the sub sequent compilation by un Bautsta (600) under the titIe of Hemctlatolli (a Nahuatl expression meaning ��ancient word or dscourse of the lders")69 are paradigmatic examples fthe authority of tIe elders in a society in which ora trans mission is more important than wrtten communicaton, and wisdom is deposited in te living body rather tIan in tIe book. The Franciscans (Olmos, Sahagn, Jun Bautista) documented native discursive practices,butnot their own categoization and evaluation ofverba behavior.7 am not implying tat tey should have, since am well aware tIat this possibility was not within their scope ofknowledge or expectations t was a natural assumption for a mn of letters in the sixteenth centu to consider the GrecoRomn legacy to be te true categorization and evaluaon of speech in matters of grammar and rhetoric, nd not to worry about what the Ameindians might have thought about their own speaking and writing activies. The missionaries collected and transcribed what had been said but did not collect Amerindian conceptuaizaions, nor did they describe in (et0graphic) detail diverse acts of saying The classical legacy in the eld of rhetoric had stressed te descripton ofacts of saying not necessaily for the understnding of tem, but rather to teach and encourage good discursive perfor mances Missionaries had, erefore, some standards torecognize and evauate a good speech as a good perfoance but did not have the tools to undetake a description of saying acts, taking into account communicative situations, socia roles, and sex and gender in semiotic and verbal interactions Speech nd oral discursive genes were valued, although not enough to equate them with written discursive genres Let's take a closer look at the discourses collected by Saagn as examples of Aztec rhetoric and moral philosophy And let's examine criticaly the image ofte Amendian le by tIe Span ish missionaies nd men ofletters who judged and depicted tIem in relation to their lack of letters. A preliminary organization of discourse, compiled by Saagn according to their content, follows?1 \2
I.
The st eight chapters are devoted to the monologues addressed to the gods by high religious and politica ocers, in w hich the gods are asked for help to solve the problems aicting society
2 Chapters 9 through 6 are illustratons of human communicative
situations related to public aairs and civil govement AtIugh there are also in this group discourses by the newly appointed leader directed to the gods, they are in the tone of thanking tIe gods for his new social status What characterizes this group of dscourses is their ncton in the politcal adminstraton of tIe society. Thus, tIere are discourses tat the leader addresses to the nobility or to the people, as well as dscourses that the nobility address to the people in suppor of the newly appointed leader. Those who were in charge of pronouncing tIis kind of scourse were characterized as skilll in speaking" 3. he third group comprises tIe discourses that the leaders adressedto their sons in order to tain them in the aministaton of public airs and as ture leaders of their people; nd the discourses addressed to their daughters, training nd teaching them their role in society and in te preservation of the un blemished image of their lineage. t is aso in tIis context that t he mothers' discourse to their sons and daughters could be included, making te disncton between parental relations and socia roles. Ths group seems to illustate te dscourse ponouced by social leaders d members of the nobility 4. e fourh group embodes those discourses pronounced by the eople for tIe education of their children. Most of them ae ori ented toward procreation, addressed by botI the mother and tIe ther (g. 2.2). One question tIat immeately comes to mind is related to the formal character ofthese discourses, their transmissionand their pronuniaion in derent situations by members ofdierent genetons. Ac ese examples of one specic situation, or ae they models of iscourses pronounced and repeated in an indenite number of similarsituations? The amount ofavailable Imehetlatolli aswel as the lack
o information about te socia contion of tIeir production and recetion does not alow for an empirica descripon ofte ole this iscursive genre played in Aztec society. However, a genera descripion could be underaken, based on both te contibution ofspecia sts in Nuat culture who have studed the h1ehetlatoli,72 and on ontemporay studes on the etIography of communcaion that ave sed light on te structure and nction ofdiscourse in societies in ic ora communication is ndamenta in politics, social relaions, education, religion, and so on73 Te hchuetlatolli were anscrbed in aphabetic writing by the Frnisca iars fom 546 (tIe date when Andrs de Olmos might ave colected them) until 600 (the date when Juan Bautista pub-
Matriali f Rading and Wrtig Clt's
b
Fg 2.12 Ga eeenaons oseeche oseeche
lishd his own colcton). Angl Mara Garibay has askd what h h raon btwn Omoss, Juan Bauistas, d Sahagns colcons Da'k might hav bn. His answr is h folowing. Sd fth Examinando l roblma con dtnci6n, no halo ms rsusta Rnaan qu a d a xstncia d dos fondos documntas, ambos ocdnts d Omos. E rimro sra d mnos rcogidos d rsonas oulars, 0 sa d a gnt mnor, y s qudaa arovchado tanto or mismo Omos n su Gramtca, como or Jua Bautsta n ici6n. E sgundo rorio rorio sra l qu s tom d abios d gnt rincial, tncint a a noblza y sacrdocio, nca qu udo informar sbr stas matrias Y sta coccin s a qu tuvo y arovch6 Sahagn ara obra, incororndoa n su libro VI74 6
[Having xamind xamind th robm at ngth, I can nd no othr aswr than th xistnc of two docum ntary ntary rsoucs, both of thm orginatng in Olmos. h st was robably lmnts gathrd om ol, that is om th common fok, and Olmos himsfin himsf in s Grammar as w as Jua Bausta in his dion must hav avild tmslvs tmslvs ofhis rsourc. h scond sourc roba by cam sraght om h mouths of th rincial o, h nobliy and crgy, crgy, h only ons who woud b abl t inform hm ofuch ofuch mttrs. And i collcon i h on Shagn had ad usd for his work, which h incoroatd into book ]7 Garibay commnts undrin th rlaionshis btwn socia straticaton and dscusiv roducon roducon h gnric nam ofhehet latolli, idntiing discursiv gnrs that cut across distnct social strata, accntuats th ag of th rson authorizd to ronounc thm (words or discours of h ldr") as wl as th tadiiona vau of th discours itsf ancint word") . It is w known hat in socits in which kowldg is transmittd oraly, h drs a h storhous ofwisdom7 It is lso wl kown hat t h auhoity ofth dr was sill rlvant during h Euroa Mid Ags, whn h socia ncton of witing had not yt sursdd th valu attachd to th iving mmoyof th body as a tasur trov and h ag of h rson as dosito for ad authoity on wsdom.77 hus, whil a sociy hat has wing and atributs to it a gratr vu than to ora discours uss books for for th organization d tansmission of knowldg? a sociy in which ora transmission is ndamntal uss h drs as organizrs ofknowdg ofknowdg and as sign carirs. Ahough it woud b cult to mak any gnaizaion about h cutura ncion of sch and is rvac in socia if among th
tcs basd on th corus coctd by Sahagn, it is nonthlss intrsing to ook at two ascts ratd to th socia ncon of sch hat mrg om s cocon cocon h st is h us of sch to train sakng bhavior. hus, b it th mothr addrssing hr aughtr or th fathr addrssing hs son, or vic vrsa, sch b avior aars to b vy imorat in h social formation of h aoscnt What folows ar rcommndaions givn by h mohr adoscnt daughtr, following following t fahrs rcommndaions hr adoscnt lif: toward hr gnra bhavior in lif: And thy sch s ch i s not to com foth foth hurridy hurridy A hou at to sak, thou at not to b bruish, not to ush, not to disquit hy sch is to com forth forth in raquiiy and wih gnnss hou a not to u nor to lowr much [thy voic] A l0U to sak, as hou ar to addrss on, as hou to grt on, hou at not to squak. ou not to murmur. Saight forward is y sch to com foth in mdi um voic is i t to com forth; nor ou to mak it nci.79 It is intrsting to obsr hat h mohr's rcommndaons on vra bhavior ar givn in th contxt of olr bodly bhavior Saagn introducs th squnc of discours in chatr 9 om c th rvious quotation is takn, rcomnding st t lac wl wl \ithin hr th wordsof words ofhr hr fahr" fahr" (whch (wh ch Sahagn anscribs in ca hn th mohr told hr how to iv wl, how to rsnt rslf, rslf, how to sak , how to ook at on, h ow to wk, and how not to intrfr in anors lif ad how not to abus anor" nsor as sch, contrary to wring, rsuoss h rsnc of th od in v act of sakng, it should surris no on tat th counsing about sch rfrs to th contxt of bodyrlatd bavior how to wak wl, how to rsnt onslf, how to look at anor h hrs advic to his son is also givn in a contxt of oyratd bhavior, altough tl kind of acts lat ar mntiond mark th distncton btwn th social rols of mal d fmal. ulic rahr than domsic lif lif coms acoss in tl hr's coun s to s son Prudnc ubic contnnc in atng d drinking, drinking, modraon in sing ar som of th rcommndd bhaviors nxt to sch
I)
lU atto at to sak v sowy, v vy y dlibratly; tl0U at not to sak ury, not to ant, nor to squak, lst it b said ofh ofh at hou growlr, a squakr. Aso ou art not to c out, s t a groanr, a growlr, ou b known as imbcil, a sham ss on, a rusic, vry much
Maalf Radng Radngand a nd Cultu
a usti Moderately, middlingy thou to ary, to emit thy spirit, thy words nd thou ar to improve, to soen hy words, the voie.8 voie.80
guages s a onsequene, the ideas assoiated with the objet desig nated by those words are suppressed and replaed by the ideas and the
9
the n and the exicon that word in the exico associated with that dge associated k nowedge ody of knowe s, lated. Thu Thus, al is rans ranslated. original which the origin cuture into i nto which ns of th of thee cuture expressio expressions
This example illustates that etters or a writng system that allows for the transripton of speeh is t a neessa ondiion for iviliza ton; iiterate peope an have vey sophisated manners, be highly onerned with eduaion and with soial behavior If, in the ream of tehnology, there are a number of things hat annot be done without wrtng, in the ream of human ulture ad behavior here seem to be no wtten ahievements that annot be equaly attained by speeh. If wring as wel as speeh disnguishes he human speies fom oher organisms with neus systems, it is speeh that was dveoped before witnginto an instrument of eduation, soia organizaton, and oordinated human interations nd even when writing developed as an insrument of reigious power, soia organization, and human interation, speeh was not abandoned. I am not ing to defend, with this argument, the Western logoentri radition hat Derida worked so hard t debunk2 I am ony suggestng that the t that ontemporay inguisti siene was founded on he experiene of speeh and suppressed wng om its eld of inquiry does not neessarily mean that writng in he West was never preferred over speeh; that it was a sign of a superor evel of ulture and a true measure of iviizaton Renaissane philosophy of wriing, prior to and durng the olonization proess, bears witness to the t that he vaue of speeh over writng in Pato and the subsidiay ole attibute d to writing in ristote and in Saussure were invered duing the late European Renaissane.83
the tansaon of a of aOxtli as "book does not apture the dierenes erenes
Matral f Radgand Wrtng Cultur
8 Darkr Sd ft Rnaan
Book Is Not Necessarily a Book: The Th e Materiality of of Signs and Their Descritions
Spaniards translated amxias amxi as "book The previous disussion suggested, I hope, he impiatons of suh a transation, given the fat that the network of meaning merindians assoiated with he mate riality of their reading and wting utures was suppressed and sup panted by he network of meanings Spaniards reated around similar kinds of ultural prates. While the translation of axlias axli as "book or libr may be orret inasmuh as his rendeing oers the best alteaive in the Engish or Spanish exion, it i s also misleading sine it does not take into aount the eymoogial meaning of words and the soial tion reated to those tansations in the respetve lan
object , such su ch as ed to the the object, iies reat reated activiies aization n of of the activ conceptuaizatio in the conceptu
write/tlacuilliztli tlacuilliztli and "to read/ read/amxita paial desrip "to write/ on of the knowedge assoiated with the word bk and the verbs t Iit and t red in foueenth foueenth and eenthent eenthentury ury Spain, and a omparison with their Nahuat equivaents (xtli, tlacilliztli xita) woud soon make it evdent that te ztes oud hardy ave had books in the same sense hat Casians understood that word word T hey did, neveheess, have books.4 he point I am tying to make here is te foowg: whie it is scratching sense of scratching writing (in t,e sense saying that writing generalize by saying possible to general meanco mean meant to co materia meant kind of materia aces or using using any kind surf aces on soid surf
ing) is an ativity ommon to ultures on this panet (and it is ikey ta evey ulture with wing systems has expressions to designate network)) "meaning network zation n (Le, (Le, the "meaning tualizatio conceptuali actvities), the concep es actvities), c. The same Iltre spcif spcifc. same actvity is cIltre associated associated WitI the word and the actvity rs ign carie ca riers raity of sign s the mate m ateraity relation relatio n to made in could be nt stateme statement the is neiher nei her B oo" ures erent cult c ultures ton in di cepuaiza izaton their con c oncepua and es surces ted with with solid solid surc ept associa associated concept universa conc namee nor nor the universa rsnam unive univers
ih graphi signs are insbed, preseed, and ransmitted It is
lying its its regiona regiona ble of app of applying capable of a culture culture capa of view of a the point of view onfrom nfrom the es that could could er cutur cutures cts of oth of other objects practicess and obje similarr practice concept concept to simila
see anient Midde East ay tablet and Egyptan papys as foreners of Weste and Chrisan books If the hypothesis is that bk esignates the objet and impies its representaion in a nework of semioti interations, en the queston "What is a book? shoud e answered in the same way that the question "What is witing an e answered a book is not an objet whose essenta propey an be iened, but rather a ultual and regional interpretaton of a spei in o objet. Witng, although it refers to an atviy raer than to anojet, an ojet, folows the same ogi Mexias refered to he red and blak i to desrbe an ativiy simiar to what Spaniards refered to as wiing8 The development of speeh and the extension of hands to srath solid sures (originaly "to write ame om he ngog sharp; sharp; in ks with somethin something marks Sa.on writa scratch mar meant "to scratch rita and meant
Ilandi it was rita "to srath; in Swedish rita "to draw, to rae; in uth, rijte, and in German ris, "to tear) have inreased the ompexity of semio behavior among te speies homo and have onuted to the onsoidaon of features we reognize as human
120
Because in he Wes he concep of wrtng was associaed wih activities of scraching or drawing graphic signs on solid surces, PeruDark vi quipus presend a lo of dculies o be inerpreed and acSd fth ceped as wrng Rnaan If e properies ha make an objec a book are neiher in te obec nor he class of objecs of which he book is one exampe (mnly because here is no such ng as an essenil mening suppoing al dieren ideas of e book bu, raher, changing concepons of sign carriers), ten we have o seek an answer o he queston wiin he specic culura descriptons ofsimiar ofsimiar kinds ofobecs. ofobecs. The queson now becomes "Wha knd of conception/descripon does a culure associae wih a class ofphysica ofphysica objec s made mad e of grapc grapc marls on a solid surce or in visualy knoted and colored srings Or somesometing equvaen, such as "For whom is a physical obec il a given se of characeristcs a book? How much is the idea of the book based on e alphabe and on ieracy Wha knd ofbooks' do we d in sociees with nonaphabeic wring sysems? One possible aner o tis se of quesons seems obvious: aoxli and vh were words coined o designae a class of objecs witin a society l picoideographic writng sysems, whie book durng e eenl cenuy, was a word used o designae a class of objects witin a society a a complex sage of aphabetc lieracy. This answer, however, does no el us much abou the kind of represen represenaion aion associaed, associaed, in each culure, wh he words in queston. To explore s issue, i is necesa o relavize te noon ofthe ofthe book ta we al br ng wit us and become obseers of our own cutura presupposions. Le us explore rs he quesion ofwrting ofwrting and hen e quesion of he book According o curen esimaes, the biological nes of homin hominids ids o whch human beings belong is a lineage abou een mlion years old. The human hum an feaures feaures o which one is accusomed accuso med today were were con solidaed farmore recently (abou lee million years ago) One ofthe ofthe cucil aspects ofhis ofhis consoidaton was te emergence of a parcular knd of semioc ineracon speech All species of aimas characerize hemselves by their onogeneic, communcative, and semiotc behaviors The rs accouns for all te actons of te individua; the second for for their endency o live in "common union wit other ind� viduals ofhe ofhe same species; he lrd for heir abiliy o exchange signs To live in common union implies communicative behavior ad, therefore, he transmission and exchge of signs. If speech and wrng disinguished the species Homo sapiens om oher species, reading (om he ngloSaxon ee, o disce) seems o be one aspec in e sphere of semioc ineracions shared by al species of anmas atough no evey species uses hands o wre, they cerany are abe
behavior ofother ofother anmals as wel odisce o disce ( e. , o read) the semiotc behavior
e changes in naure.
2!
If i is true ta wit speech a form of semioc ineracton wa introduced tla had a signcan impac on biological conguraton Matral f (enlargemen of brn size) as well as on e organization of commu- Radngand nal ife (law, mily mily ife, ife, plning, pln ing, ec.),8 e c.),877 wh writing (om picogra- Wrtng phyo he alphabe) bo a restrucuring of though and a reorganiza- Cultur ion of social life were aained Wring (in he general sense of he use of hds and te exension of hands itl a sharp instrumen, bush, pen, fabric, fabric, ec .) , ogether wth wth speech, dsinguishes he neworkof work ofsemioc semioc ineracions proper o hums om te more limied one found in oher animl species. Wring, which is of ineres here r its ties o he book, seems o be a uiversal of culure the book, owever, is no The book could be conceived as a general obec among communiies itl deren wriing sysems ony if here is agreemen o cal "book y kind of maeril or solid surface on wich graphic graphic signs are nscrbed nscrbed ( e, e book as mere obec); i is culure specic if wha a culure undersands by "book (eg, Holy Book) trscends the objec and i becomes a ex: te idea of he oec on which graphic signs are scrbed as conceived by he cuure roducing and using i.
onng m ope o have avoided te dangers of placing an alpowerl colonizer in on of a submissive nave by king a mounain deour, in whch the snakeike road I folowed paced the reader in on ofa of a vas scec view. You may have perceived, in he disance, ha colonal semiosis implies consan ineracons where reations of dominaton canno be avoided, adapaon by members ofclures ofclures in conc ake lace, and opposition opposition ( om om "inside) and resisnce resisnce ( m "ouside "ouside ) e ocia power is enaced in varous forms. forms. Speaking, writng,and writng, and sign caiers, as we as heir concepulizaon, was one se ofreations of reations in which colonizaion ook place. Thus, he spread ofWesern ofWesern lieracy led o he idea of e book was also lnked o he appropriaton and efense ofclurl ofclurl eiories, ofa physical space oaded wih meaning. e Wese book became a symbo of he eer, in such a way ha wing was maiy conceived in erms of te sign carrers: paper and e book. Reading and wring pracices were more d more con cved in erms ofe ofe sign carier reading he word became more and more deached om reading the world, as the lamaiime woud have prefeed refeed to say. say.
Paadially de ehlgy has eued us he "egigs f he (il) i ha irls sees diss ad apes Dak have ee he e id f sufae hh g is ised Sd fh The e fs fsage ad eieval f ifai a i he pRnaa ess f eliiaig u ish has. S e ill eed pese pages d he eessa pees f ifa. We ae al eady havig aess alphaeial ad heai eus hih a ha e eed The eaph f he Divie B uld e eplaed he y he eaph f he Eleri B a eal daa a i hh all lledge ll e ai ed A pfess f leaue eahig Bges's "The Liary f Bael ll have epla his he sudes ha a " ad a "liay ee urg he pess f lizai heve he as eved y Spaiads as a ae hih ledge he Ne Wrld uld e depsied as a ae y eas f hh sgs uld e asied he eplis ad ally as a e hh rh uld e diseed fr falsehd he la ipsed ve has. he hee als played a very pra le he evese pess f sig asss he eplis he lal perphey. Pied s failiaed he disseia ad epdui f ledge ad eplaed i he Ne Wld he pae f he ail ad he i f he amxli ad iued he lza f laguages
22
Part The Colonization of Memo
hapter
3
Record Keepin ithout Letters and Writin Histories of People without Histo
History Literature d Colonzation
animated debate 0 the interreations between hist iteratue,
and cton about ten years ago awakened the interest ofscholars in the umantes, who wee beginning to ook at othe kinds of dscouses eond literature, and of hose in the socia sciences, who wee tu ing their attention towad discursive phenomena. The woks of Hay en White heped widen the scope of an issue vey much discussed since the 95 in hstoiography and the philosophy of science, but e much ignoed in he human sciences at large. The debate, i luminatng in so many respects, emained, howeve, withn he elm oe lette and the Weste conceptuaizaion of histo, liteature, an ction. Two ofthe formuas popurized by Whte "the ction of ctual epresentaton and '�histo as itea act, ustrate my oint.2 Histoy and literatue have in common an aphabeticlly wit ten naratve The idea that every naraive abot cs nd events is ctional was suppoed by he beief that an aphabeticaly written narratve does not capture the essence of the events but is a paricuar organization of he given. Ceainly the simirities between histoy anliteatue ae not suppored by beliefin the ction character of n kind of epesentaton. While hsto is hetoricaly grounded, iteature is based on a ogicophilosophca conception of scourse. e st belef is reguated by a set of convenions goveing he constucion of verbl nrraves the second by a set of conventons eglating the eatons a scourse estabishes with the word and in oUconvicton aboutits reiabity egardingthe events be ng repored.
5
6 TleDarker Side ofthe Renaissane
A second feature of the debate was its chronological ame. With a few exceptions, its paradigmatic examples were taken from Weste historiography since the eighteenth centuryan interestng period indeed, since it is the perod in which the ve concept of iterature replaced the enaissance concept of poety; human letters as a languagecentered form oflowledge was replaced by belles leres as a languagecentered form of enjoyment It is also a period in which the concept of ction replaced he notion of mimesis and versimilitude and became one ofhe distinctive features ofliteray narratves In this chapter I will move back in tme and space, to encounter alternate forms of wrting, recording, and transmitting the past that allow for a reaming of he debate on ction, literature, and histo in he con text of literacy, colonizaton, and wring histories ofpeople without histo' The scussions on histoy, literature, and ction acquired a new dimensionwith the hisoriography introduced by the Indian group of subalte studies History began to be explored in its compliciy with empires Ranajit Guha epressed it sucincty by saying that the historiography ofIndian natonalism has been dominated for a long tme by colonialist and bourgeoisnatonaist elitism and tat bo originated as "ideological poduct of Brish rule in India4 Gayatri Spivak has noticed that te concepts of territoriaiy and of woman are quite relevant in subate stud es. Teitoialiy in subalte studies is anchored with kinship and communiy In my own book, inste ad, territoialit is linked more it communiy and with the implementaton ofc�gnition by the group of people in power B ut perhaps what is more impoant in the reaming of historiography by the group of subalte studies is the compliciy beween the subject and obet of investgaton (as I attempted to develop it in the Introducton), between subatern studes and subalternity Or, to put it in other words, it is not us t the conceptua reaming of histo as narave, literature, or con that matters but, raher, the ways in whch understanding the past could impinge on speakng the present as political and epistemological interention During the same years that the Indian subate studies group were dismanting e complicty between historiography and empire and building new links between scholarship and politcal interention, Edouard Glissant was oveuing te legiances between histoy and literature and building new links beween scholarship and political interenon, looking at histoy nd literature once again om the perspective of the empire rater than om their epistemological underpinnng For Glissant histoy and lterature were just instuments of the Weste empire to suppress and subjugate oher forms of re
cording the past and of nding means of interacon for which literature became the paradigm: History is a highly nctional fantasy of te West, orginating at precisely he tme when it alone "made the history of the World. At tis stage, Histo is wrtten with a capital H It is a totaliy that excludes oher histories tat do not t into that of the West . . Literature attains a metaexistence, the allpowerlness of a sacred sign, which wil allow people it writng to think it ustied to dominate and rulepeoples with an oal civilization. . Itis again this double hegemony ofa Histoy with a capita H and a Literature consecrated by the absolute power of the written sign hat the peoples who untl now inhabited the hidden side of the eath fought, at the same time they were ghing for food and eedom. My own reading ofAmerindians' and Spaniards' record keeping is loser to Glissants aming than to Whte's or Guha's. It attempts to ircumvent the universality of"histo and to conceive "historogray" as a regional Weste invenon (partcularly in its postRenaissanceversion); and to conceive record keepingofhuman memores as a more general practce ofwhich Weste hstoriography is one of its manifestions. The fat hat this regiona reordkeeping manin a compliciy wth empire and imperial expnsion gave it its unversal value and allowed imperial agencies to inscribe the idea that people WiIOut wring were people whout historyand that people wthout istoy were inferior human beings.
Literac and the Colonization ofMemory: Writing History ofPeople withont History For more han a centu, fromBroer Ram6n Pan (who remained in le Caribbean and lived with ,e Amerindans between Colombuss rst and second voyages) to he Francscan Juan de Torquemada o toward 615, nished a vast naratve in which he included the oiin of the Mexica, he conquest of Mexico, and the Franciscan activities dung the sixteenth centuy), a conce and a complant ersisted.? The concern was the Amerindians' qualicaons to have isto (because of their lack ofletters) and leir competence to tell coerent narratves. Torquemada expressed his opinion in the following manner:
127 Record Keeping without Leers
Dark Sd of Raa
One of the hngs whch causes the most conson n a republc and whch grealy perplexes those who wsh to dscuss ts causes s he lack of precson wh whch l,ey consder her hstory; for f hstoy s an account of events whch are tre d actually happened and those who wtnessed them and leaed about l,em neglected to presee he memory of tem t requre an eot to wt them down aer they appened d he who wshes to do so wll grope n the dark when he tres for he may spend hs lfe collatng l,e verson whch he s told only to nd that at the end oft he stll has not uravelled the ul. is 1 somthing lik this is what happns in th hit1 of pain fjust as th ancint inhabi tan i not aJ ltt o w n fanilia with thm, s thy nith l cos ofthi histo. The belefhat oly alphabetc teracy allowed r a relable record ng of the past was so authortatve among Spansh ntellectuals of he sxteenth century hat the soce n whch they lved anslated tl,e medeval by ltaos (men ofletters) and changed ts mean ng to desgnate tl,e socl roles nvolved n wrng maters The cele braton of alphabec wrng analyzed n the prevous chapters led Antono de Nebrja not oy to consder tl,e letter the greatest nven ton of humanknd but also to elaborate on he connectons between alphabetc wrtng and histo. In hs Rglas la O1ogaa n la lga castlna (57), Nebra repeated lmost verbatm what he had sad n hs Castan grammar twen-ve yers before about the greaness o f the letter. But n ths case he ted up the nventon ofletters Wt tl,e glor ofhe prnce ad all ose who beg n a poston of power need to be remembered: For Palmedes n the Ton r d not win as much renown n organzng battles gvng l,e passwords passng on hs sume assgnng the watches and vgls n dscoverng weghs and mea sures as i th inntion off1 ltt'S: he Greek y d hree more aspated letters ch ph th.9 rom l,e letter to he glor of the prnce there s ceranly a great gap d an drect oad si nce t s tl,e nvenon ofletters raher than the sateges ofwar that establsed the glor of the prnce. However there s also a erent coecon between the lette r and he glo of he prince tlat resurfaces n Torquemada's complant about he lack of letters among the Mexca Torquemadas concept of hsto (or hstorography) mples the domnant Cceonan deton of t whch was forged on the experence of aphabeically wrten nrra-
tves accomplshed by Greek and Rom hstorns as well as the reorcal legacy of mperal ome (my Cceroan d Qun an) . t was l,e belefn te accurate preseaton ofmemo and he glorcaton of the past by means ofaphabetc wtng that resuted n apowerl complcy between he power of he letter and he autor of hsto So conceed was Nebja n tamng tl,e voce that the consequences of hs eot went beyond the st-level coecton be tween he oral and ,e wtten to reach a second level of cultura ltecy n whch tamng the voce mpnged upon the control of memoy. rom such a phlosophy oflanguage and wtng t shoud come as no surpse hat Spansh men ofletters apponted hemselves to wte own t,e hstory that An erdans coud not properly wrte because o her lack of letters Ths belef was so long-lved that even Bar tolom de las Casas who fought hs l aganst the belef of hs compaots ad men of letters hat Anernans lacked ntegence a humay had o choce but to amt hat hey belonged to t,e lss of barbarns dented wth he terates:
al
he second class of barbarns are those who lack a lterry lan guage [qu lterl semone carent1 whch coesponds to the r ma teal omatc language as s Lan to us and thus know how to express what th hnk. Sce it was common beiefat he time (clearly expressed in hstoiographca treases) that history was composed of words and hings, the "lack ofhistor Spars rered to should not be taken as a lack ofsignict "hings (events, beief, ideas, memories) in he
enian past, bu just as the lack of written nraves accomished by he agency ofletters For Spanrds id not question he ue of Mexica or Maya inscptons, since they fe whin the rnge of documentaion that Renssance historans used to tel stores aout the past Mexica or Mayan narraves of their own past were tken by Spaiards as equivalent to the evdence provided by coins, mes, and other kds ofinscrpions, butcertalynot as eqvaent to a wrttennrratve by Thucyddes or Tacitus How did the Mexicas nrate ther past? To what knd of evidence were Spirds looking when theycomplned or rsed doubts about e accuracy of Amerindian wrtten memories? Mexca writing was
manypito-ideographc, wiha fewsigns torepresent sounds. Figure 3· is a condensed version ofhe Tira de aperegrinacin, a narrative at i its origal form is folded as n accordion, about three meters long ad een centimeters wde. The Timde laper1'inaci6n (whch
129 Rord Kpng whou r
bears te ae o te Itaa kgt Beardo Botur Beadu wo oeted t aog oter Mexa aqutes aroud 740) was eDarkr robaby ated ra 50. Aloug ated uder te Sas Sd oft ue t was doe by a acilo robaby o te rst geerato aer te Renaane oquest wo resered ve u te stye o te aet odes. e i arates te Mexa eregrato o Azt ae o or g aged to be soe ae bewee urret Soue Caora a orter Mexo (state o Cuaua to ter ot o arva Cautee ad eot (urey Mexo Cty. Letsook bey at e rst "ater (te esode te ue r e oer o te eregao aratve ( g. 3.2). e woa ad a seated o e e are reseted te ovetoa Mexa ostures
a g. 31. The CdexSe/d m the Mxtec e gn nted nd 2 t tels the st the begnnng genegy sttng t the e ght cne nd mvng n Bsthedn shn The bth ncess s n dcted by the mblcl cd.
b Fg 3·. de a pera: m tn t le) t Tnchttn (btt m cente
nd costumes of ther gender she s with her feet folded under her, covered by her long st nd qechqeit4 he sts on hs rump, w Da hs bent legs covered n ont by hs co. If, s human gures, both d ofth are ypcl, hey hve so been sngled out by ther proper nmes: Raac round shed (chiali s tched by lne to her hed, dentiing her s the pestess Chmlm. Thus, her mge conveys the meng boh of n ndvidu and of group. The next humn gure, unnmed nd stndng n hs cnoe, nctions not s patcpnt but to convey e ction of rowng cross the e. The other protgost s the tb pron (nd god) Hutzopochtl, conventionly idcted on he right sde by the sml human hed helmeted wth the hed of hummngbd. The potgosts re, therefore, Chi malm, the Mex cs, nd Hutzlopocht.12 Of course, chngng the mterilty of wtig prctces engenders tetive concepons ofredng ctvtes The verb t ead hs lredy been dscussed n the prevous chpterdd not exst in Nhutl Axita hs been trsted s redng boo," n expresson ht cn be understood by lteate Weste person, but such nson does not render ts ll meaning. Amxita s compound word whose roots re amxtli, tee n he Vlley of Mexco nd, by extenson, the br of tee n whch wrig ws nscribed, nd ta whch means to nrrte" to te sto One cn surmse tht those who were trned to rd" the boos" (suc h s he Tia de " peeginain looed t the pcture whle tellng the sto. Cer 1 32
� Fig 32 el o d
pgnacr cee levg
nly, the ntepreton chnged when he nterpreter changed and, minly, when he ruler for whom the ntepreter wored changed Torquemd ws cerny bothered by wht he perceved s errc narrtve nd unstble menng s opposed to stedy contro of meng though n lphbecaly written nrtve under the e of hsorcl wrtng He ws unbe to mae distncon between the human need to record tle pst nd tle varety of forms the llment oftht need mght te It ws hrd for hm, s for ny Spnsh mn of letters, to understnd tht nrrtives recordng he pst could ncton ndependently, outsde speech nd ts conrol by lphbetc wring; nd tht visul lngge nd spta relons re perfecty understandbe to hose mlr wth the pctoral convenons. Ifwe compre Mexic pinted nrtives recordng the pst with Western wrtten nrrtives recording the pst, we re ble to denti, n both, common mix constuted by the prtcpnts, the events, the spil octon, and tempor marer. We can lso d tht both nds of narrive hve, mong others, the mporant ncton of dentiy udng or the Renissnce m en of letters, tht ws not enough hey decded tht histoy shoud the conditons estblshed on the experence of phbetcally wrtten historicl nrrives. Snce merndans dd not lll tht condion, the le'ads pponted temselves to write e hsto ofts people wthout hsto" The noion ofhstory nd of people whout history, whch, f not hegemoic, was ceranly substanta dung le sxteenth centu, eveloped om phlosophy oflngge bilt on he experience of alphabetcwring. A few decades before Torquemada, Father Acosta ( Jesut lvng n Peu) stepped fowrd to take poston n the debte s to wheter the Amerindis cked nteigence Wth persuasve aguments he suppored the dea hat Amerndans were nte gent human bengs. What they lacked was not ntegence, but letters In book 6 of hs HisOl'i« natral y moral de las Indias (1 590), cost sttes ht nobody hd dscovered tht "he Indns make use oletters," and om ths assumpton he develops a heo ofwrtng based on Arstotle and the expeience of Chese and Amerndian ritg systems. Acosta beleved that letters were nvented t sgn the words we ponounce ad ht words re mmedte sgnls ofthe concepts and thoughtsofman (he was, ofcourse, refeing to human engs). Both letters nd voce were creted n order to understnd higs: le voce for those who could commucate directly n the sme spce; letters for tlOse who coud not be present but woud be ble to red wht hd been wrtten. Acost emphszed tht sgns or sgns that were produced to sgn other than words could not truly e clled etters, even lOugh they could be wrtten: pinted mge
133 Rd Kpg wthot tt
of he n no a cler of wrien leer depcng he n, b a paintng Baed on th ampton, Acoa made wo nference: ma n ( hmankind) ha hree deren way ofrecordng memore by Da ofth leer and wrng (prmay example are he Greek, Latin, and He· Rnassan brew); by panting (prma exa mple Acoa fond n almo evey known cvlzation); and by cpher and characer; and (2 ) none ofthe cvlzaon of the Inde ed leer, b they dd employ boh m age and gre I wa only naral ta Acoa wa rpried by te repor ofTovar, a Je lving n Mexico who nformed Acoa abo he Mexca clre, abo te Mexca mean of recording the pa, and abo her elegan and ophicaed way ofpeaking How cold tey have hoy f tey dd no have wriing, and how cold hey be o elegan n ter peech f they dd no have rheorc? aked Acoa Tovar, who wa famlar wth the Mexica' art of memoy, attemped an explanaton of how boh remembeng he pa and rememberng long enence cold have worked wtho the help of leer He agreed, however, wh Acoa' concern abo he Mexca lack of leer and wrting In a leer o Acoa Tovar gge ta even f hey have deren ype of gre and characer ed o wie hng [ecrbr la ca], ther gre and characer ar no a cen a or wring1 4 The heo of wrting held b y Spanh m en of leer dring the Renaiance hold become clear om hee example The complcy between alphabeical writing and hoy, appled o Amerindan clre, elced Acoa' typology ofwrting He conclded ha anybody can keep record of the pa, b hoy can only be wren wth leer Wha wa he fondaion for th concepton of wrng ho? Wha wa the phloophy of horography tha made ch a connecon w wrting poble? I common knowledge tha whn he legacy ofmperal Rome, work ch a he Ad ei De oraore and nsiuione oraoria were he bac rheorcal reae for any hmanc edcaon They mpoed and ranmed he dea tha ho narraon and narration he central pat of conrcng a ex disposiio) I alo a wellknown c ha Qnlan n e nsiuione oraoria (book 2 chap 5 ) dinghe hree kind o narraion: abula the the removed from h and appled o ragedy and epc; a fegned narratve ha appled o comedy; and nally, isori whch wa condered he e narration of pa even The complcy beween hoy and alphabec leracy come from a clre whoe learned member were able o wre opicaed reaie (rheorc) abo oral performance (ora) and wren narave (hora) They lad he grondwork for concevng he wring of hory n em of he ndamenal of oraoral d 134
I )
coreal of h a byprodc of he mpotion and growng relevance of alphabetc wrtng a the man leang device Laer, a bac eaie ofhmanc edcaon, the work of Ccero and Qnlan haped he mnd of toe who wold wrie hore of the New World and colonzed ernian memore
Describing at One Sees Remembering Past Events d Conceiving Histo he concep ofhoy n he Wee worldwa bo a the ame ime and Thcydde (c a the alphabe Herodo (c 48-425 46-4 were condered he fater of hoy and Greece the orgnal place of alphabeic wring Alhogh th pcre cold be callenged from e perpecive ofnew developmen n the hioy of wing,6 I pec ha ll wdepread among langagecenered dcplne The Greek non [p mean ny or leang by nry a well a he narratve by mean of whch wha wa learned by nrng wa alo repoted The verb p ndcaehe action ofnring, raher han a pecc kind ofn and repor wa degnaed by isoria n he Ialan Renaance The wrer of pL cold hmelfhave been he eyewtne, or he cold have ed e report of drec nforman who had wneed the even hemlve Temporalty and he chronology of even were no nececomponen of pL The conncton of pL and W wh a lating chronology ofhe even repoted ook place many year laer, wen oman wrer began o nre no he pa ofRome and e beginnng of te empre Tac, wring he hory of Rome ng he r ceny ed the expreon o refer o he even ha ook place before he ime of h own bh and isoria o refer o he event conemporay wh h own bography However, 1) and Tac were oman horan ch a Lvy (5 9 wng abo a bec maer, Rome, ha they were able o race o begnnng and hogh developmen nl her own day One mortan derence between Herodo, on he one hand, and Lvy an Tac, on he oher, wa ha he laer wo wrer were lvng n a ocety n whch alphabeic wrting and graphc record keepng coned pat of he ocey el Herodo and Thcydde, nead, lve n a ocey n whch record were ll kep n he body me moy an ranmed orally Ccero dention of hory, baed on the Roman experence, became he andard denon drng he Eroean Renaance and wa oen repeaed by horan of he New orl: esse esem emporum iae magisra iam menoria eri
BC
S
BC
AD
BCAD
13 5 Ro Kpng wthot Ltt
tatis luce et vetustatis nuntian (wtness of tme mode of lfe, lfe of memo lght of tut, and messenge of anquy) Towad te end of the fouteent centuy Ibn Khadun (1332TeDarker Side ofte 406 one of the classcal Aab hstoans wote a monumenta MltRenaissane qaddiah, an extensve oveew o ntroduction to hs ICitab al-Iba whch Rosenthal tanslated as "Wold hst o.1 7 The mode eade mght wonde f "hstoy n Fanz Rosental's translaton shoud be undestood n the sense the wod had fo Heodotus o athe t would be cose to e Lan meanng of htor;a. Fo the Roman hstoans the wod had a meanng close to ��a naratve account of past evens than to ��epot on wtnessed events In fact, Ibn Khaldun's wtten naatve and epot esembles moe a compen dum of human cvlzaton wth parcula attenton to te Aabc wod tan a histori" a a Tactus o Lvy Futemoe, Khaldun at taches geat mportance to phlosophy If on the one hand, he gounded hs wok on the sgncance of the wtten (kitab) he was also awae of he mpoance of phosophy n undestandng he past of human cvzaton and te pesent of Aabc socetes. In Rosen thals tanslaton, Ibn Khaldun emaks,
The nne meanng of hstoy [kitb] on the oe hand nvolves speculaton and an attempt to get at t e trh, subte explanaion o he causes and orgns of exstng thngs and deep knowledge of the how and why of events. [Hsto (kitab)] theefoe, s m ooted n phlosophy. It desees to be accounted a banch of [ph losophy] (1:6) The complcty between wng about the past and a ational foun daion of ts undestandng (phlosophy) clealy dstingushes hs con cepton of itab om Lvy's noton of historia Bondo's noton of istoria o as Casas's noton of historia.8 In the West, thee s a e makabl e tendency to lnk hsto wth hetoc nstead of phosophy, paculaly ae the powel legacy of Cceo and tle Roman hsto an If by he eeventh cent both the Muslm and the Westen Chsan wold wee nhetos of Geek phosophy hstoy seems to have taken deent oots n hese cultues In Italy, t owa rd the en d of te th rteent an d beg n nng of th e four teenth cenries, tings bega n to tak e a n ew turn. Almost ten cent uries a er th e f all of t he Roma n E mpir e, It ay wa s a cong lom er ate of city -sta tes, an d it beca me te ocus of a n ew deveopmen t in h isto rogra ph cal w rtin g. Cochr ane ha s descrbed t he condt on s fa cltatng h e dev elopm en t of a conscousn ess th at nuen ced hstoro graphcal wrting in th e West unl the seven te ent centu.19 Hma nist historiog raphy, accord ing to Cochr ane, blended a pract ice
o ecod kee png (ricordaZ) found among wealthy fames witn he tvng Italan cty-states and the chonologcal oganzaton of facts and events cultvated by the medeval chonst wt the hetocal expeence and tanng nheted om the blossomng doan of ttes n the Roman wold. Roman hstoans (such as Lvy and Tactus) and Itaan hmanst stoans (such as Brn and Bondo) saed a deep sense of te past based on e stoage of wtten ecods tat dstngushes hem om Geek hstoans, fo whom wtng hsto was moe elated to the wtten epot of the nvesgaton of curent events than wt te econstructon of the past based on wtten ecods. Contray to Roman hstoans humanst hstoans had an mage of tle se and fall of le RomanEmpe at tle same me that a pespective n the ten centues elapsed om ts ll to the pesent ays New Wold hstoans wee depved of such a pespec ve on e past The stoes ey wee telng and tey ew well began n 1492. A eep sense of the past, paadoxcaly, dd not belong to them who wote hstoy but to those who the Spansh doubted had hstoy because tey dd not have wting. The tenson between those who had e memoes and those who apponted tlemselves to wte hsto was not an easy poblem to solve even by a cael and elentless eson such as Beadno de Sahagn. New Wod hstoans aproached le subject matte wth a concept of hstoogaphy nheted om le Roman and human adon a e ame me lat ey found emselves n a stuaton moe akn to Heodotus and T ucyddes tan to Lvy o Bondo Let's exploe he ths dstincton, makng a stop n te sxt centuy AD, a centu consdeed to be one of te st stages n the conguaon of moden Euope20 In erospect thee nterelated ctos played a substanta ole n ths pocess: le se of Chstianty, te GecoRoman legacy, and the mmgaon of Gemanc com muntes Ths centuy has also been chaactezed by contasting By zantum n whch an eowas beng made to econsttute the Roman Empe, wth tle West, n whch a plualy of newbo ctystates elaced te unty ceated by mpea Rome Hspana o the Ibean Pennsula was lnked to Byzantum, and togethe wt ca and Italy was one of te stategc ponts fo a Byzantne econstucon of the O1'bis terrar modeled on te Roman Empe. Hspana was the lace n whch the Hspano-Romas essted Byzantum In Hspana, Sevlle was tle place that n the eghth centuy AD wtnessed the uslm expanson A centu befoe, n 556, dung the evval of the Vsgothc cutue, Isdoe was bo n Sevlle Isdoe of Sevlle s a good example of the Hspano-Roman ntellectual of he sxt h centuy A.D who contbuted to a noon of hstoy elated to alphabetc wt
37 Record Kepilg withot Leters
ing ha wld prv ial h r xpansin f h hisian Ws and h nsin f a nw ida f Erp niving and Darr wing hisy was, n db, an impran sp in drin f d ft nslidang h lassial lgay His as a disiplin r dsrsiv Rnaan prai bam a sbsanial l in sh an nrpris Ls xplr Isidr f Svills np fhistoria. k 1 f his fams Etimologia2 bgins wih an xplrain f h lr hap 3 ) and nds wih a dniin fwriing hisy haps. 41-44) Narally, his link am Isidr m Varr's disinin, in high dain, bwn h rivim and h qadrivim.22 Wriing his was a sbmpnn f h rivim grammar, rhri, and dal). In Isidr's viw hlr had b n invnd wri dwn and mainain mmris f hngs" [rs mmria] lrs, arding a lling imag sd by Isidr, nabl s i hings p," hs kping hm frm ying away wih all hs ngs ha ar frgn El s d las lras s inrd para nsrar l rrd d las sas, ps para q n hyan pr l lvid, s aan n las las; ps n na varidad d sas, ni das s pdrian aprndr d idas, ni ilmn s rndan n la mmria2 3 [h s flrs was bgn in rdr prsv h mm f hings, fr in rdr ha hy may n fall in blivin, hy ar hrd by mans f lrs; fr wih s h a vaiy f hings, i wld b impssibl la hm all by harsay, and i wld b n asy ask rain hm in mm] Isidr ralls, in his nx, h nn f litratio liray) in rdd by Var rfr h knwldg f rading, wring, and nng. Nmray (ratio) is inldd in h np flir ay h nnns bwn h lr ( li) and h a frading ( l) wr al<n fr grand bas, h said, h wrd lttr ms m lgitra whih mans pn h way fr hs wh rad" [lgn ir]; as wll as h fa ha wha is rpad is rpad in h a frading (i n ldo itrant) his inrprain shws ha by h f h sixh n, riginal maning f lgr � disrn"had aqird a rsrid maning, ha f disrning lrs f alphab" r rading (lr in Spanish; liI in Ialian).24 Isidr's np f hsy was infrrd m ha f ir. Hisry, said Isidr, is h naraiv fpas vns, and i is als h way f knwing pas vns. H was n prbd by s wn ranslain
h Grk apo t historin s r knw) r by fa ha h Grk xprssin h was ranslaing did srss h a fsing h prsn knwing and h agny fh y rwinsss) as ppsd rmmbring vns pas. Isidr did n priv dirns bwn Grk and Lan nps fhis H was vn lss bhrd by nsqns fhis wn ranslain, whn h says, fr insan Ps nr ls anigs, nadi sribia hisria ms q aqlls q ran sgs y habian vis las sas q naraban, ps mjr nms 10 q hms vis q 10 q sabms d idas.25 [r amng h anins, wih xpin nly hs wh wr wnsss and wh had sn h hings hy narrad wr his, fr w ndrsand wha w hav sn br han wha w knw by harsay] In hr wrds, Isidr was n nrnd wih h disnin bwn a naraiv f winssd vns whih will bm pas vns m a r prspv) and a naraiv f h narraiv f winssd vns. as h was n inrsd in sh a disinin, h was abl blnd a npn f his as a narrav f pas vns wi a npin fhis as a naraiv fwissd vns Las sas q s vn s rrn sin qivain. Esa disiplina prn a l a grama, prq s sribia sl 10 q ra dign d sr nid n mmria Pr an, las hisrias s aman mn mns, prq ppan las sa s saladas S ls llam sris pr aslain, ad s nmbr asisor d girnaldas d rs [hings ha ar s n ar rprd wih any ambigiy his isiplin pans grammar, fr nly hings dmd why f mmy wr wn dwn. hrfr, hisis ar alld mnmns bas hy prpa nabl vns. igravly, hy wr alld srisfrm h xprssin sisom, garlands f wrs] h lak fdisinn bwn his as rp fprsn vns y an ywinss and hisry as rrd fpas vns rmains in Isidr wn h dsribs h hisia gns." On h n hand h dsingishs hr gnrs arding mhds f rganizing im mrids ning by days; calnd nng by mnhs; and anals nng by yar). O n h r hand, h disingishs his
139 Rcord Kpng wthot tr
1eDarkr Side oftbe Rmaissanc
om annals on the assumpton that the latter is a narrative of he ancient imes and past events that the historian could not witness, whereas histia is a narrative of the events taking pace during the historians me2 In Ital, nine centures aer Isidore of Seville, humanist historiograph woud begin to blur the distincton between annals and hsto. The understanng ofhisto (apo t hist01·ei)as an eewitness account began to be conceived as the narraive of past events, which were saved om oblivion b written records and transmitted to ure geneatons b alphabetc narratves New World istorians found themseves in a situaton simiar to Isidore of Seville and later the humanists: the were unable to accept that past events could have been recorded wihout necessarl haVing letters, and, unike Isidore, the faied to recognize the distinction between annas and histo Thus, it is in te context of the disconinui of the classical tradiion that we might understand some ofthe tensions and diemmas ced b New Word historians as we as some of the peculiaries of New World historograph brie discussed in he previous section
Rcording the Past without Writte Words: Discursive Types beyod the Classical Tradion A arge and increasing number of sudies in the
ethnograph ofspeak ing and on fok txonom over the past fo ears have convincingl demonstated that the Weste categories of genres, so powerl codied during the European Renaissance and transmitted to the colonial peripher as par of the package of spreading aphabeic iterac, ar, like the Weste notion ofhisto, a regional conceptualization of discursive types and not a universa catego b which nonWestern discursive typologies could be estabished27 Such studes are of great help in guessing what the Spaniards (as wel as, ater on, he English, French, or German colonizers) could have misunderstood b using Weste categories as a model to understand nonWestern scursive tpes, instead ofthinking in a model ofhuman categorizaton in order to understand e similarites and dierences between Mexicas and Spaniards. Cerainl, the Spaniards were in no positon to do so. fthe had done it, here would be no reason to write his book We have seen, in the previous chapters, some examples of te wtngreated genres One pricularl cear ilusration is provided b he Texcocan historin Feando de Alva Ixtlilxochit when he refers to the sourcebased knowedge (recorded in Atec writing) in which his historical narative, folowing Weste historographical
conventions, is cast Mguel Le6nPorilla oers a use complement to Ixtlilxochitl's descripion b his reconstrucon of a Nahuat word mil expressing the Mexica concepuaizaton of oral discourses as we as written records.28 The concept of tltc£tl, whch Le6n Poria translates as tolteqidad,or the peculiarit of the Toltecs cul tural identity,29 is the most inclusive one. A such, toltecyotl was a word empoed among the Totecs (tle civiization preceding the Mexicas,om whom he claimed heir cutural legac) t refer to the cultura radition and identity of a human nd socia communit preseved, among other forms, b means of oral nd written transmissions: Tltecytl adds Le6nPotia, abarcaba la tnt negr y la tint Ja sabidurala escritura e calendario, libros de pinura, conocimiento de los caminos que siguen los asos, las ates, ente elas a msica de las autas, bondad recttud en e trato de los seres humanos, e arte del buen comer, la antgua paabra, el cult de os dioses, diaogar con llos n uno mismo.30 [encompassed black ink and ed wisdomwritng and the calendar, books of paintngs, knowledge of the course of the sars, he arts, incuding pipe music, goodness nd honest in tle teatment of one's felows, the ar of good eaing, the a ncient word, he cult of the gods, of conversing itl them and \vith onese] The concept of tltecytl seems to have escaped the scutin of earlier chronicers, missionaries, and men of etters, since the quesioned the Amerindians' competence to tel coherent stories and never paid attenton to Amerindian agencies for keeping the communities' ties and denng their cultura ident Had the missionaries rezed that tltCcatl, om whch tltecytl was itself derived from tn (te ci ofthe Toltecs) and that among its meanings were, rst, e person who lives in a tlln or who belongs to the Toltc communit and, second, the arisans and the wise men, he would have erceived tat te Amerndians from the lle ofMexico were not so much dirent om the Spniards from the kngdom of Castile From tltat! came toltecytl, which means evertling that perains to an that is characteristic of those who live in a tolm, or ci" [el conjunto de todo aqueo que perenece es caracterstico de quienes iven en una Tlln ciudad]. In te Lain West the equivalent concept woud be ciilization, derived om ci'itas which meant, in ticuar, the condition or privleges of (oman) citzens, ciizen si"; and, in genera, the citzens united in a communit, the bod
41 Record Keepilg without Letters
politi the stte. 32 The Mexi hd their own set of ters to desig nte their own ode of preseing their own eories d trdi Da tion.33 If tll ws key onept in he Tolte onsrution of eir doft Rnass own identiy to whih ny kind of�histo is relted ws key word n the sen eld devoted to oneptuling dsursive ongurions nd disursive ypes. Tlatll6tlis derived o tatlli, whose bsi enings re rst word or disourse nd seond wordeo or disourseeo disourse whose funtion is to presee nd tnsit the eoy ofthe pst In his seond sense it ould lso be understood s �essentil disourse It is he disourse by ens ofwhih the ounity onstued enlrged nd trnsit ted the ide ofitsefnd the res ofits own pst34 While in the st sense atll6tlrefers to he speking opetene of eve eber of the ounity the seond is ore resrited nd it is pplied to ore liited kind of disourse those reuiring prtiulr soil roles to be delivered nd those relted to the tion nd preseon ofte olletive eo Wht is interesting bout he uses of tlatll6t is tht it ould be pplied to both orl nd written genes:35 Lo ue l oieno e slo objeto de tadici6 al ps ser te y ontenido de los libs indenas uy esritur oprend representiones estilids de distintos objetos es dei pi togrs siiso ideogrs y en enor grdo glfos de r ter fono36 Tht whih in th e beginning ws erely the objet of al tadi tin bee the thee nd ontent of indens b whose writing inluded sylied representtions of dierent objets tht is pitogrphs s well s ideogrs nd to lesser degree glyphs of phoneti hrter.]37 Thus e disinon beeen orl nd written signs to presee d reord the eories of the ounity onrdits in one sense the hevy Western ephsis on histo relted to writing nd in n other retes lndspe of disursive genres in whih orl nd writ ten ypes re prt of disursive ongurtion referred to by tlat6tl The disursive ongurtion tht in the West during the sixteent entu is referred to s epted s ebers of its lss only written disourses historil nrrtive biogrphy hronile) nd reteds onseuene lndspe in whih on y written genres were prt of the historiogrphil disursive ongurtion3 In the doin of orl genres it is woth entioning s n exple hue-
ntzaliztli n expression used to refer to nrrtive of pst n 3 ent) events delivered by n elder person he) te-0zalizli used to refer to the nrrtive bout soe events or person; nd nlly Rcod hehuetlatllithe nient disourse delivered lso by the elders) used Kpng refer to the wisdo philosophy) upon whih soil behvior is wthot regulted nd he younger generton eduted Whle he rst o t dsursive ypes ounting for events nd �person proesses bi ogrphies) euivlent to Western hsto the ltter is euivlent to este philosophy In the rel of orl interions ll these disur sive ypes re disinguished fro dierent disursive ongurtion enoted by the word cuicatl song) used to refer to rhythi dis ourse generlly delivered in ssoition with usi nd whose event in e Weste trdition would be the dithyrbi speies wih ply inor role in ristotles poeis d whih bee lyri oe during he reorgniion of genes in e Europen Renis sn)9 ypes of written pitoideogrphi) nrrives hve been fored in onneion wih he teril sign rriers. Am ws the Nhul wor to ne the surfe upon whih grphi signs were insribed euivlent to bibls, in Greee or ppys in Egypt nd the sciptum c in Ltin); mtli ws used to refer he enseble of e sign rier nd the signs insribed on it Thus by cecemilhiamxtli, the ens referred to dily ount ofevents nd by cexih-mtl to ely ount. en otll rther speied tht xiuatl the evlent to the Weste nnls. The expression in hcu amtli ws eployed to refer to sign rriers ofgrphilly xed events of nient ties40 Perhps it ws disursive type lt ould hve been use s n exple by Frneso Ptrii hd he been wre of its eistene lost onteporry to the yers in whih he ws ontest ing e ieronin notion ofhisto. But this st will be told in the next setion
History of Writing d e Writing of History (Boturini d Vio)
e eots of the Itln knight Bernrdo Boturini Bendui to ol let nd understnd nient Mexin nners of reording the pst is n exeplry nd forgotten se.41 It is urious one lso. Boturini s n Itlin nd follower of Gibttist Vio. He wrote in Spn is out nient Mexin histo for Creole ounity in the New old nd for Spnish intelletul udiene not redy for innovve o llenging ides Boturini went to Mexio in 35 er per
egrnaton ta ook hm ou ofIay n 1 733 because of he war beeen Php V and France agans the Hapsburgs. Bourn spen a Dak few months n Engand and hen moved o Lsbon where he was well d oft receved n he roya house. He dd no say long however and moved Rnaan o Madrd. Because of hs regous devoon he walked om Madrid t Zaragoza o vs he emple ofNuestra Seora. I was n Zaragoza as a resul of s devoton tha he eaed abou he cul of he Vrgin of Guadaupe n Mexco who had become amos a cenuy earer the symbol of the Creoe populaton and consciousness Bourin dd no hesae n decdng o vs Mexco. Once here he dvded hs me beween e goal of hs msson (he Vrgin of Guadaupe and he dscovey of Mexcan ancen hsory Before s deah n 1555 he was able o nsh hs Idea de a ne'« stora general de la A1ca Septentronal prned n 1746 he s volume of he Hsto 144
ra general de la Amerca Seponal De cronologa de susp cpales naconcs, prined n 1749 (g. 3.3. I would be an undersaemen o say tha Bourni' s work remaned margina in he iso of hsorography aough he had durng hs me a few srong sup poers None however suppored Bourini for he same reasons we are neresed n oday tha s Bourn's new concep of hsory and hsoriographica writing. The few sudes and comments on Bourn's work are manly n eaton o his new idea of wrting hiso. Bourni was an admrer of Gambatsa Vc whose rs edton of he Scenca no prma (SNP) (1 730 he knew. Folowing Vicos model ofa niversal hs o of humanknd Bourn expermened wh he hsoy of he ancien Mexcan and divded in ree ages te age of gods e age of heroes and e age of men (or huma n bengs Ths dstncton whch has been traced back t ancen Egyp and was known hrough Varro was expanded by Vco. To each age Vco arbued a pacula knd ofanguage. During e age of e gods he anguage was heroglyphc; durng he age of he heroes he anguage was composed of signs and of emprsas hericas [eroc enerprses] and n he age of men e language was epsolary and hey were abe o communcae across space. Vi came o the concluson ha a cvl hsory was possble because each naon was able o wre s own hsoy n te characers correspondng o each perod. The heory of he three ngustc (or semoc sages n he evouton of umanknd ha Vico ad ou n book 3 chaper 25 of SN shoud be undersood n the conex of the Chrsan hsoy oflanguage wose orgin ws arbued o Adam. er Adam came te pluralty oflanguages promped by the epsode of Babe o whch we briey auded n chaper Fnaly there was he long and obscure age
exendng between Adam and Homer of wch Hesiods eogo" ("che vse ceaene nnanz dOmero) provided a gossay of he s language of Greece. Vco's vocabulay o descrbe speech and wtng s no aogeer clear and s gven on occason o ong and compex debaes. Vco employs the word lingua (language) for boh seech and wtng, although he also resots o scriberc) letera) and camerewhen referring specicay o wring. Someimes even a spe name is given o a caratec) for insance, gCoglfci (hieroglhc Thus when Vco describes he language of the rs age he magnes ha such dvne language (lngua) was somewha smilar o e Egypian hierogyphcs and impies a correlaton beteen the reeknds oflanguages and the ree knds of characers. The rs oes anguages as a divine menal language by mue reigious
145 Rod Kpng wtot Ltt
ats Of divine ceremonies, he second "was by heroic bluzonings,
i. 33 trn acc r dt s de de a nc
toa d la Ama ttoal
E N NE
GL
E EENN F J
OBRE MATERIL CPI DE FGURAS, ymbols J Carre J Gegc CtJs, .nu[i de utoe I 1tmte fbet
AL
Y N
N U REL UPRM NSE] DE IND
E VE E BE H
9 2 RUE E RENEE 9 D T
7
146
TC Dar
d oft Rnassa
wth whch rms re mde to spe, d the thrd s rtcute speech, whch s used by tos tody. 4 he three ds of chrcters re, rst, the dve, propery ced herogyphcs, used by tos ther beggs . . d they were cert mgve uverss, dctted turly by the hum mds te poperty of deghtg te uform he secod s te heroc chrcters, whch wer so mgtve uverss to whch they reduced the vrous speces of heroc thgs, s to ches e deeds ofvlt ghters d to Uysses the devces of cever me. d the thrd s the vugr chrcters whch wet og w e vugr guges, or etters.4 For e secod ge, te guge of rms, Vco does ot oer equvet exmpe, s he does for e rst ge he guge (ligua) of e thrd ge s, ccordg to Vco, speech d phbetc wrtg, wt Homer ts pdgm. hus, ot oy does Vco trce evoutory pocess om te ge of gods to e ge of m, but he so trces evoutioy process ofguge ccordg to whch e st stge coespods to etter vog [te phbet47 Cosequety, whtever cuture hs ot reched such stge rems somewhere bewee the rst d the secod ge. However, Vo's heoy s ot s smpe s s troducto prgrph suggests, d secod redg c pobemtize e rst Vco's dsgreemet wth ose who mted tht the org of speech preceded the og of wrtig (ee) d hs weow hess tht both hve commo og cotested he Ressce phosophy ofguge tht ceebrted the etter, pvg the wy for schors such s Botur, who ws be to perceve wht escped sxteethcetury me ofetters d mssores. Vico sttes hs thess ve obscure d probemtc formu tute e zoe proo scrvedo [every to spoe by wrtg. t ws esy for Botur to cocude, foowg s premse, tht e merds, pior to the rrv of te Europes, hd er ow wy of wrtig, by speg d by herogyphcs d e guge of rms ccordgy, d foowg Vo's secod premse, by whch eve to wtes ts hstor e guge coespodg to ech ge, Botur cocuded t the Mexics hd er ow mer of wtig hsto. hus, he etled hs rst report o hs dgs ew de of hstoy, precse becuse he rezed ht phbetic wrtg ws ot ecess cod to for wrg hstory, despte e fct tht sxteecetury schors hd dcutes uderstdg ths. Botu's cotbuo ws ot so much hs dvso of Mexc hstoy three ges, sce he sup pressed e ct tt the Mexcs temseves dvded ter ow chrooogy to four ges prevous to the preset.4 Hs m co
tuto ws hs recogtio of the Mexcs' ow egtmte wy of recordg e pst. Certy, Botui too s de vey r, d we soud ot ecessry expect wht ws mpossbe to dever wt e eghteethcetry hozo of owedge t ws more eough tht Botur uderstood tht e merds hd ther ow vube wys of preseg memores. By recogzg s he d rect troduced ew phosophy ofwrtg upo whch to evlute ed mers of preservg memores. Botur ws be to sove much of te puzze preseted to sxteethcetu obsevers of e merid hsto of witg d ther wrtg of hstoy: mey, tt every hum commuty hd ts ow mer of recordg te st d t e covce bewee phbetic wrtg d hstoy ws rego veto ofe West He coud ot go fr eough to recogze tht the Mexcs ve ges were s desbe s Vcos three s mode ws of oe evoutoy word, ot of tertes. o's dctum ��Eve to spoe by wrtg deserves, t ths ot, er exporto Vco, cotry to Nebrj, cosdered e et just oe form of wrtg. Wrtig to Vco met y d of vsbe sg somehow reted to e word ofdes d ot ecessry toseech he dsticto betwee writg d de (d ot bewee ig d speech) s cruc, for by leere he refers to y vsbe sg (e uder or stom, e prm guge of the rst ge [ oo 3 chp. 3 p 89) , d by leere voarehe udes to phbetc rtg d the rtcuted guge of the ge of e me (or um begs). Vco uses caraere(chrcter the sese ofscrpt) s yss d depcto of the word ofdes. Foowg hs dstc io etwee the word of sgs ( leee d leere are) d te wo ofdes ( caraere) he proposes dvso ofbor betwee e osopher, who des w aaee d the phoogue, who des wt ere4 he foowg chts Vco's cocept of ligua d the reos bewee lr d carre Lingua comprses eere: percept, vsbe sgs aare: cocept, met des lari: percept, udbe sgs
he reewy dscto s use for remppg Vco's cocept of e ree ges of the wod d ther correspodg guges, of em e rem of e lee (ot araere or pai) the guge of e gods (where the leere r tur sgs red or terreted s herogyphs), te guge of te heoes (where the lee re mmde sgs red s sgs ofwr), d the guge of hum gs (where te leere re lei oari or phbetc wg).
14 Rord Kp wthot Le
on a larning xprinc On of t lon I am laing om Bot urini i o ay it i to rcogniz otr valu and o dic ult it i T Dak to lt tm tand on tir on A cond apct at dr pcial attnton i t fact tat Mxi oth Rnassan ca v ag of t ord r not caractrizd by voluton of languag and riting, but by an volution ofnourimntDuring t rt ag or Sun (Sun 4 Tigr) t main utnanc a bellotas de i" (olm oak aco). During t cond ag (Sun 4 Wind) a tranformation took plac in baic nourimnt and popl at a kind of atr maiz (<etli). n t ird ag (Sun 4 Fir-Ran) a tp ard a takn in food uppo and t «eentia upplantd by inoopi a knd of root of maizlik plant T cang ndd up in t ag (Sun 4 Movmnt) n ic maz, plant and dibl ncountrd in almot vry ingl naratv of origin of Amndian popl bcom t principa nourimnt Tu, il Vico pro pod a univral itory dividd in r ag it a particular 15 2
nd of languag attacd to ac, Mxica bivd in a univral itory dividd in v ag and it a partcular knd of food attacd to ac i modl Uivd ovr, and it Uivd itin a ct complicity it apabic riing For vn ifVico took a gant tp in rlation to Nbrija bo in o to put apabtic ting nxt to otr rng form and n r to account for t mul tanity of t origin of pc invnon and of t invnton of rit ing, i on modl rmand itn an idology in ic languag (c and ting) ad am privlg tat food ad in t Mxi ca modl ofuivra ito n Boturini applicaion ofVarroVico modl to organiz Mxca tory i lookd at cloly, on i atonid by t imulta nou uprimpoiion and upprion ofcultura modl For xam l Egyptan ao vidd univral itoy in tr ag, but ty col av not attacd to ac ag a particular kind ofanguag in ay tat Varo, o lvd in a priod and cultur ic t itllctal lit r in ll poion of apabtic ring, could av on55 Languag, in otr ord could b ud a a tnctiv fatur in a modl ofunivra itoy but languag i not ncarily a inctiv fatur of univral itory itl Tu, Boturin tood at croroad btn a Egyptian lgacy trformd by Vrro and inororatd it in t Wt claical tradition T Mxc on mo of univra to a aln to bot Egypia and t t caica lgacy, and t ncountr bn t Wt and xica modl (or bttr popl acing and intpring accord into dirnt modl of uvral ito) brougt a n igt into ractic and concptualizaton of rcording t pat Lt litn to at Bourini a t ay about iu
Siguindo la ida d la clbr diviion d lo tmpo qu n aron lo Egypcio rpartido la Hitoria ndiana n tr Ead la pmra, la d lo Dio la gunda, la d lo Hro: trcra la d lo Hombr, para bxar por grad uccivo ata uando nutro ndo allaron conttuido n u Govirno Humano, y latron n la Amrica u mprio, Ryno, y Sorio y pr conquitado pr la Arma Epaola aparta o d u ngua dolatria abrazando la F Catolica y ta u dtrmin tratar d u ca n dico r impo, ivino, Hroyco, y Humano, qu 10 mimo, qu l doctiimo arron xplca n tr tr, Obcuro Fabuo Hitorico.56 Fg 34- Th Mxc o r cc dvd four r of hr r ch c d r o d of h s co
[Folog ida of famou diviion ofim, a taugt by t Egypian av dividd ndian Hitory into r Ag; t rt i
15 3 R Kpng wthot tts
154
Te Dark Side fthe Rcuassance
he Age ofhe Gods; he Second, he Age ofhe Heroes; nd hird, he Age ofMan In this way here is a gradul descen o he poin a which our Indians esblished heir Humane Govemens, and heir Empires, Kingdoms, and Dominion spread hroughou America unti, vanquished by Spanish arms, hey renounced their idoaous ways and embraced he Cahoic faih Thus I decided o describe heir ways in he aforemenioned hree ages Divine, Heroic, and Human, whch ar he same as those ha he earned Varro expains as folows: Obscure, Myhica, and Hisoric] The ension between conlicing models naurlly persisedas I undersand i-al along Bourini's boo. he admiration for e Mxicas' exac chronology was no enough o accep i in is own righ ViD and Yar were auhories ofBourini's own cultura pas ha he could no avoid, while Mexican chonoogy was a remarkable consucon ha he coud ony admire Thus, in chaper 3 of his Nueva hisoria he followed Vico cosely nd aemped o characerize the ages of he wold according o he language pacuar o i He identfed and described the mute speech" ('�habar mudD," parlari muti") of the Diviniy in he originl ime of Mexican civiizaion, appying Vico's exicographic derivation and ansformaon of he Greek expression myhos ino the Lain (mu, inacua)57 Since Boturini did not have the phiological background exhibited by his indirec menor in developing his argumen, he jus saed he case in a form ha could ony be undersood by someone miliar wi Vi
Mas creyeron en esa primera Edad, que odas las cosas necesarias, y ues l suseno de la vida humana, eran verdaderas Deidades, y pr eso as demosraron con Geroglicos Divinos menaes, que son unos Generos ngidos Divinos, que es enseo el enendimieno humano por aquea naura propensi6n de deeiarse de 1 uniforme, y porque 10 que no podn hacer con a absracci6n de as formas por universaes, 10 hacian con los Reraos, y Semenz as, as que ir expicando con una inerpreacin naura, clara, y evidene hasa e da de hoy no sabida, y aun negda a los enendimienos ndianos (Idea 9 S 8 [Ye in his rs age hey believed ha ll of the hings ha were necessay for susaning human life were re deiies, and conse� quently hey depiced hem inelecualy wih divine hieogyphs, whch are makebeieve divine genres These hey earned hrough
human undersanding and the naurl endency o ke pleasure in he unifom, and tey dd wih porais and kenesses wha tley coud no do il universaly abstc foms, he likes of which I shl explain wih a naural, clear, and obvious inerpreation, never before seen, and withhed even om ndin undersanding] Bourini solved the probems ha Amerndian hisoy presened o someone mking an eort o cas i in Vios caegories by ising and descrbing heen major deiies and explaing e meaning of each ofhem in Azec cosmology or exampe, e s deiy, Tezcatlipoca, is described by Bourini as Geoglico de la Divina providencia, primera Didad Indiana, da a enender, como nuestros Genties confessaron se governaba el Mundo pr una Sabiduria Divina, que enia su asieno en el Cieo, y a su cuidado odas as cosas humnas (ea II) [The hieroglyph of divine rovidence, he s Indan deiy, so o speak, so our Gentes ackowledged a he world was goveed by Divine Wisdom, whose throne was in heaven, and in whose care were al human hings] Moving fom deiy o deiy, Bourini described he Me xcas' narave of e origin and order of he world. His seria desciption was preceded by an expanaion ofhow he Mexicans wroe heir hisories: Y porque no quedassen las primeras csas cn descuido olvidadas, componan os Indios, y referian a puebo la hisoia antigua con una Fabulas Divinas, que separar de las demas de oros empos, mandolas a su ugar adequado, y explicandolas en e propio sen tido de sus Auores, que eron Poeas Theologos, y baxo de sim acro de varias Deidades, preendieron hisoriar las cosas de a Religion, y cosumbres de sus iempos (Idea, 10) [And so ha te s ings would no be houghtessy forgoen, he Indians composed he ancien hisoy by din ofdvine ales and relaed them o te peope, which separaed hem om all oher tmes, and ey invoke hem a he appopriae tme, and deliver hem in e way heir auhors mean em o be, who were poe heoogians, ad behind the image of various deiies tley sough he hisories of their region and he cusoms of he tmes.] Bour closed his report of the rs age by saing tha since his age was goveed by he mue language of the God" i mus have
15 5
Record Keepng wt!lt Lette
begun fnecessity by simuang the divinies. At this pint Bturini became awre fthe dicuties f attung the cmpatibiity between e Dre he anguage (in he specic sense f Hebrew Casiian r Nahuat) Side the and anguage as "vine hiergyph f the st age. His accunt is Rice vey reveaing f the dicuties he must have encuntered. Burini assumed that during he st age the "engua muda de s Dises (the mute nguage f e gds) was prevaiing It was necessay herefre t have the simuacrum f he divinity since reigin (r "prvidenza accrdng t Vi) was he very rigin and fundatn fa nains. hus
he ancient Mexcans. n s regard n ess interesting is Bturinis intepretatin f the histrigrphy f te secnd age in he ight f ics e and phisphy f anguage and writing. he secnd ar devted t the age fheres was divided in w sectins wih a transin chapter In te rst p Bturini identes he Symbs Herics r symbs fte age fte heres. He begins by describing te signs fthe sun and the mn and fws wit adescriptn fthe smbs fe days and the years. He cery describes the intercn netins between he fur eements the rganizatn f space and ime a represented by the same set fsymbs (see gs. 3.4 nd 35
Y cm era precis que en crdenar as enguas (sav a Hebrea que empez6 y dur6 siempre engua de un s Dis) cnviniessen s hmbres en cmun pensamient assi es e mas fa expi carse a s principis cn Gergics Divins que cm Genrs mentaes arrasraban tras de si en cmpendi diatads cncepts s que n pdin ests primers Fundadres dar a entender cn a engua articuada a que e en esta Edad muy escasa y de pabrs reguarmente mnsyabas e imperativas que discurs ern y sn as raizes desta engua Madre Indiana Nahuat y cn a que s primers padres mandaban a sus hijs y niets as csas que debian executar pes e imagino qe los sbditos mas bien dmostban obediencia cn el silencio.
Tecatl (Fint): Suh Fire and ne fthe fur seasns depenng n sign dminating the year. Fr instance when the year s dmi nated b Ac ecpat is Summer; but when ecpat dminates he Yer ecpa is Spring. ai (Huse): East Eah and same rtain f te fur seasns Toctli (Rabbit) Nh Air and same rtain fr the fur seasns catl (Reed): West Water and same rtatin fr the fur seaOns.
[And it was necessary at in crdinaing the anguages (i te exceptin f Hebrew which was and ever sha be he anguage f ne Gd) men agreed n a cmmn mde f thught and s initiay it was easier fr tem t express themseves it divine hiergyphs which hey dragged behind them ike inteectu genres in a cmpendium f vast cncepts and he rst funders were unabe t express such cncepts aricuatey fr anguage in this age was mited f mnsyabic wrds nd mperatves he basis f their speech and the rts f e Indian mter tngue Nahua he anguage hat e st thers used t te teir chidren and gradchidren what t d fr I am sure tat their subects did nting mre than t bey in sience.] It wud be temping here t accuse Bturini fhaving a generus imaginatin It wud be mre benecia instead t underine e fundains m which his imaginatin departs: a new cncept histry and a new cncept f the reains between histy and writing cme fr m he merging in Bturinis persna fVics ther and phsphy f writing and his wn encunter wih he recrds
But he missed nce again te pptuity t bring t te fre grund at e Mexica magic number was fur and nt tree (gs. 3 63. he tansin chapter is devted t e rn sfrmatin that t ace m the age f gds t te age f heres. Bturini imag inaivy cncudes that a "Metamrphsis Indina cud be written as cmement f he "Metamrphsis vidana. Bturini ceary agrees wit Vic when he mves t the heric and miitary symbs an rea arrws bws escdos, nd s n as the nguage f the sec n age. Next t he heric-miita symbs Bturini paced he eripiica symbs:
misma Lengua Symbica que en e parraf antecedente se emst6 ser engua de Armas e tambien engua de Gve cn a qua nuesrs Indis diern raznes de as tierras que havian aiad args temps evandas assimism pintadas en sus es us symbizadas muy a 10 vid pr as peregrinas tas y res que prducian pr agun particuar eserz que hiciern en esmntaras y reduciras a a abr Idea, 77) e same symbic anguage which as previusy stated is te anguage f rms was as the anguage fgvement wit which u Indians gave accunts ftheir ands which tey had inabited fr many years and ikewise they bre em painted n heir sis and symbized vividy r by stange and wers that
15 7 Recd Keeig witht ers
15 9 Fiay, he aso paed, i the seod age, the oigi of a ao modo de histoa" [a stage mae ofwtig histo] by ots (what the Peuvias aed quipu ad the Mexias poalzizi) ad by oa sogs whih Botui osides to be eit eofhistoi o poet vaue. is woth quotig what Botuii has to say about the quipus as a mae ofwtig histOY as a aswe to Gaiaso's questio to his ue ad Aostas questio to ova os Quipu egao a a mayo exeeia y o tata subimidad de atio e igeio duao asta a oquista, que siieo a os Empeadoes Ias paa matiua sus iumeabes Vassaos da
t ;ju.,- m
b
Recd Keeig wih
L
T Drkr Sid th Rnissnc
16 1
10
160
Rcrd [ig witht Lttrs
W YOqe, a n desps de la Conqia no podian tanacimente losIndios peranos ena en el Aabeto Eropeo, olvidar la antiga costmbre de S Qip cotinaron en sarlos an tinpo en todo Acosta reere qe vi comercios, y necesidades de la vida; y el na Mger lega a la lesia con n manoo de cordones Ndos, con el qal abri al Conssor l pas de conciencia. Idea, 85
al
86 )
.D. 660
.D. 660
2
(492)
(1521)
.D 660 tecaxtli, amoxtli
Fig. 3.7 Th ha fth wr n Mrc fr th od Bi
coud ae suggested to i tat te e ee istoies itten by te oe And, in ct, Ciapan's incusion in signicant oents of Darr te ist ofSpain, o 1479 to te conquest ofMexico and ae, is Side fthe a iid exape tat a uniesa istoy coud be itten o dieent Rcuic oci ofenunciatons tin te sae cutue, ic aso eans dieent cutua pespecties and odes Botuini natuay fe sot once again and coud not aoid te teptation ofntegating t Aeindan past into a uniesa istoy itten o a Euopean pespectie 162
wthout
teative Renaissance Legacies rancesco Patrizi and Euiara Eguren
En e dico a 660 ent, igoosante abando, en 1stos ndos a teca Edad, sea e Tipo Histic, y assi s a anisto, que is tabajos Liteaios, estendiendose desde a Consion de as Lenguas, que e e ao de 2497 que cacu antes, ndado en a opinin de os asta e de 660 de a Encanacion, que e de 5859 de a Ceacin de Mundo, segun dicos X toan a cago a Histoia de 3362 aos, que pono aeentad en pde de aguna ta Pua, ine se patiaente ia, y de tanto gusto, y utiidad a Pubico, que de bade a ignoancia se pod ocupa en desucia Id, 140) [Stcty speakng, tat sae yea, 660 s te aia of te tid age fo ou ndians, tat is istoica tie, and so it becoes cea tat y itea studies, ic coe te ie of te consion of anguage, ic took pace in te yea 2497, as cacuated pe iousy, based on te opinion of te LX, unt te yea 660 ofte ncaationic as the yea 5958, in e ceation ofte od, again accoding to te LX, ae deaing it te istoy of 3362 c, nee aig been itten about befoe, is y excusie piiege, and suc an enjoyabe on, and of suc use to te pubic, tat it oud be foois to cai otewise] Peaps because Botuini as oing Vico, and Vico is not aays easy to educe into a singe intepetation,62 te integation of Aeindians to a Euopean uniesa istoy coud be intepeted fooing to ines of easoning ne intepetation oud ae te Aeindians subodinated to uniesa istoy Te oe oud gie pioiy to Aeindian istoy and peceie te conquest as pat o an autonoous istoy (tat of te Tid Age as e as a discontinuit fthe egua o ofeents and a natua" ay of ecoding te n both cases, a diatopica (o puitopic eeneutics is equied, since Botuini akes eident tat tee is no ason to beiee tat one ode of uniesa istoy is substantiay oe accuate an te ote Botuni's acieeent, ten, coud be ocated in is subesion of one singe pincipe ed by peious Castian and Euopean
Pintaban, no escian no saan de as, sino de pintas Si an signica agna cosa eoabe, paa que a supisn os ausentes n tiepo en uga, usaan de pintuas, sgn aquo u insinu Lucano, cuando dixo Si aeo de da cdito a Faa s de Faenicia eon os pieos ue n toscos caates se atieon a seaa as bozes duadeas o aa sabido Mepis e seceto e escii en coteas de os Bibios Soas as eas, aes y aniaes adaan e enguae isteioso ue estaa en soas piedas escupidos63
Recd witht
L
eDrker Sdefthe Rce
[hey dd ot wrte they pted: they dd ot se etters bt rther ptgs. Ifthey wted to express somethg memorbe so tht those bset me or pce wod kow of t they sed ptgs ccordg to ht whch Lc sggested whe he sd: If we re to gve cret to Fme hose of Phoec were the st Who ogh chrcters vetred to set stg words Memphs hd ot kow the secret of wg o Bbos Oy the bests brds d ms rded he mysteros gge tht y scpted oy stoe64
gr y gre qoted hs pssge order to defed he de tht thogh Mexcs were ot fmr wth phbetc wrg ey s my other cvzed socetes the pst hd ther ow wrtg system for recordg he pst. Oe c srmse om the exmpes o Botr d gr y gre tht the Cceo cocept of storyws so ttched to phbetc wrtg tht becme most dsgshbe om re getae to the pot ht t ws beeved tht hstory ws mde ofwords d thgs d ot tht t ws st oe teve mog my of recordg the pst .6 smrvew ws dvced drg the sxteeth cetry by dsset phosopher Frcesco Pz (g. ..66 he ceebrto of e eter (s we hve see chp. d ts compcy wth hsto were so strog drg the sxteeth cetury t teveperspecve r the rsk of beg codemed to obvo. Frcesco Ptrz
RUORUM HSOR RORUM &
LL HISTORIA LG
F C C . ..
Fg. 3.. A Bbthec excn ecrbg cet xt
g
&
Recrd Keeg wtht Leters
BBLHECA
MXCN
165
&
&
n r reg e nn X
FDNND V HSPNRUM R OO NUNUP
T@US RUS
x
P EE X
66
was near both possibiites. he second haf of the sixteenth century was, in Itay, the period in which historiographica treatises ourished C he Ciceronan radition was the most reevant, athough aternative Sid /th views began to emerge in the voices of Bodin and Patrizi he mor Rnssc poitica and aw-oriented view of history defended by Bodin saw its days of gory during the eighteenth century, when the inuence of rhetoric was decining6 he more eccentric view defended by Patrizi had ess chances ofsurva in a sociey in which aphabetic iteracywas one of the yardscs used to measure civiizations, to consoidate the images ofthe sef-same and is distinction om otheess6 Curiousy enough, Patrizi's view so indirecty ourished in the eighteenth cen tuy in Vicos wor, athough te Itaian phioogue and phiosopher did not mae a concerted eort to rescue Patrizi's ideas om obivion o better understand Patrizi's oppositona conception of history, et's remember the egacy of the rhetoricians ofimperia Rome6 As we mentioned in the previous section, in sixtenth-cent European universities rhetorca treatises such as Ad eru D orate and Isttto oratoa were on evey reading ist for a serious humanistic educaion. hese treatses both constructed and conveyed the idea that history was narratve and that narrative was the body" of history hus narrative was not ony important in wrting history, but aso history was the true narrative itse hat is to say, history was both what happened and what was narrated, histo and historiography Consequenty, there was not much dierence in saying that history was narrative than in saying that histo was the memor ofpast events in narrative form Patrizi was not reay connced that the Roman rhetorica egy
expects to arrive at a denition of histor (4�cosa 'historia sia" Bider
grasped te idea ofhow historyis made, but he insisted that he was not ear yet as to what history was. At ths point Compte Giorgio, the third partcipant, interenes by asing a seemingy rhetorica question: what ese coud history be but writing? Patrizi repied with another question: what if history was aso pantng (pntura) If we consider is answer om the perspectve presented by Acosta some twentyve years ater, it is, frany, surprising. Aer questionng that history was just te narrative of the past, he questioned that historca narra ve be considered ony in terms ofwriing impying, of course, aphaetic writng One of the exampes he provided was the history of exander III, painted in the ha of the Veneian Counci. But certiny the dissident Patrizi was not content with just presenting te iea that a paintng was as vad as aphabetic) writing in reaton to istory he pushed the issue rher and defended the idea that scupte and painted record eeping are more propery hstory tan written ones, because they revea the events to the eyes without need ofmedi ation by words At this point, and aer questoning that history be considered nothing more tan a narratve ofpast events and a written narratve, he moved to question whether historybe narrative at a! He introduced his argument by asing a queson to Bideuc cio woud you consider histo scuptures and paintng tat incude a narratve ettere narranti acuna cosa ? Bideuccios answeris cerainy ar mative, and the justicaon is that e words attached to scuptures or ainng are te narratves ofsome ind ofevents. Patrizi consistenty issented and argued tat history was not narration but memo. Memor is what countsaccording to Patrziin a denition of wat history, and not the ind of signs empoyed to eep a record of as events. Since the exampe provided by Patrizi on this occasion was Egyptian histo, which deveoped, according to him, om their man ner ofeeping records ofthe Nies oods, I surmise tat natura signs were so in Patrizi's view authorzed means to presee the memo of ast events It is at s point at Patrizis concept of externa boos ays an imporant roe in his argument e denition ofhistory proposed by Patrizi impied a phiosophy
67 Rcd Kng witt s
168 Te Drker Sde Ithe Rmc
69 Recrd Keepng wthut Letter
hapter
Genres as Social Practices Histories, Enkyclopadeas) and the Limits of Knowlede and Understandin
tter Writing Han Counicaon, an Historiograhy ete Maty (Peto Martie d'nghiea) as an talian humanst o aound 1480 joned the cout of Isabella and Fedinand and ecame part of the inteectua movement that put Castie above all oes in the Spanish ingdom He as conceed th the politca stuaion beteen Spain and tay and shaed Isabellas peoccupation it astle as el as Fedinands inteest in the Spanish domain n uoe Snce 1492 Pete Maty had been attenve to the amicaions of oumbuss voyages and of Spanish expoatons His pefee means of expesson and communication as ette ting i as he cealy articuated in a lette to his younge addessees as a natua activty ofa man ofeaing In hs ette to Gberto son o ount Boomeo dated Janu 5 1493 Pete Marty stated u pade ue me escibe con mucha fecuncia me enva aguna vez ue ta tus saudos pe hasta aha ninguna cata tuya Po tanto ue voy a esponde s no me han lamado? Soo puedo eirteuna cosa: hemosa taea es en a juventud a de povoca a los maoes de edad de elos pueden en erto modo oba 10 ue han e scbi po su cuenta S po veguenzaaunue esto no sea opio de gente honadano se aUeven a haceo adun menD cutu y sen de menos utlidad
epistola e Dr Sdeft Renissnce
Genress Sci Pctices
( epistola)
0 10
epistola epistola epstolis amiliares
epistolis negotiales
173
eDrkr Sde fthe Renssnce
customs, society, an eigion wee patofthe memoy ofhis peope compaison with Gicciaiis histoy oftay coul be help hee. The peios covee by Pete Maty's Decades an Guicciadini's histoy e vey simia. The foe moves om 1492 to 53, the atte om 149 t 534 Guicciaini, conta to Maty, wote the histo of his ow people, in a moment of hstoica istess fo his count. Guicciaini, who was bo in 483 an ie in 54 was aso a contempoy ofthe events he naate, although he was some thity yeas younge than Pete Mty. I have etemine to wite about those events which have occue in Italy withn ou memoy, even since Fench Toops, summone by ou own pinces, began to sti up ve geat issensions hee: a mostmemoabe subect in view ofits scope an vaiety, an of the most teibe happenings; since fo so many yeas Itay suee all those camities with which miseabe mots ae usualy aficte, sometimes because of the ust ange ofGo, an sometimes because of the impiety an wickeness of othe men. 4 Duing the same yeas that the Italian caamities" wee beginning, Pete Maty was celebating the en of the Castilin calamites": Este es e n e as caamiaes e Espaa, este es el tmino e los feices haos e esta gente bbaa que hacesegun icenunos ochocientos aos, a man e cone Julin, vin e Mauitania e one siempe conseaon e nombe e Moosy opmi6 cuel y aogantemente a a vencia Espaa Oh oo cuanto e hasta ahoa su cuea, su eeza e inhumana pa con os cautivos cistianos n, mis Reyes, aeptos a Dis, ivan p tiea aquea cuel tina, quebantaa po os escaabos e aos entos5 This is the en ofthe caamities ofSpain, this is the tuning point of the goo foune of this babaous peope whoas they say some eight hune yes ago, une the commn of Cont Juin, came om Mauitania, om whose name they ae ca Moos, an they oppesse an vanquishe Spain with aogance an cuety. Oh woe! Thei cuelty, thei feocity, an inhmani against the Chistian captives is unsupasse Finay, you Majesties, une Gos auspices, you a binging own that cue ty anny, which has been boken by yeas of constnt efeat. Pete Matys ceebation of Castiian success di not estain hi om foewaing ofthe events that wou soon take pace in Ity He
aniipate them in a consoatoy lette he aesse to Cain Ascaio Visconti on the death of Cardinal Arcimboldi. Peter Mayr susecte, in a lette ate June 2, 492 that a wa between Itay an Fance was imminent. But whie Pete May was convesingwith his
taian ees about the Italian events, he was also infoing the achiso of Ganaa as wel as Castian nobemen about the Italia oiic climate. In aette ate Septembe , 492, an aesse to he count ofTendilla:
tencion!, iluse Cone, que cicua e umo e que Alfonso, tuo suceso el Rey Feo en e ino e Napoles ha aastao a su pae a que tate con e Rey Caos e Fancia e aojale el gobieno e ucao e Miln a Luovico Sfoza, poque se opone a enteg las ienas e ucao a joven Juan Gaezzo, eno e Afonso Bewae, iustious Count! Fo umo has it that Afonso, tue successo of ng Feano in the kingom of Naples, has put it ito his the's hea to negoate with King Chales of Fnce with e aim of oustng Luovico Sza om the govement of the uchy of Mian, because he eses to einquish conto of the uch to Juan Gaezzo the younge, Afonso's soninaw. ete Matywas becoming inceasingy concee vith the Itaian siuaion towa the en 492 the beginning of 1493 The vey as in wich Coumbus appoache the Inies, Pete Maty was ig about the pesagios" an pon6sticos" of the Itali cisis e osee in a lette aesse to Scanio Sfoza, viscount, cain, an icecanceo that Noto, iustsimo Pncipe, que se est pepano un nuevo es tpito e amas y escucho con aviez los nuevos y peniciosos lanesque se baaan paa lama a los anceses a Itia. . . Yo, que m uelo e las cosas e mi patiae a cua siempe eon os anceses enemigos encanizaosopio que no ebe metese en opio lecho una vboa un escopi6n paa que con su veneno inione e el vecino7 I oseve, illustious Pince, that a new clash of as is being ee, an hea with pique inteest the new an penicious ans eing ai to cl the Fench t Itay. . . I, who am paine by te is of my countyof which the Fench wee aways bitte enemieshol that one shou not amit a vipe o scopion into
177 res Sc Prctces
Te Dre Side fthe Renissnce
in las Dcadas a gan coiente tadicional de os ios de viaje o ms que su aut no haya asado a las giones en que tn sament se ocua Se ata de un fen6meno en extem intee sante meecedo de ms atenci6n de a que ha eciido; es ao as como n sato atrs dentro del desaollo deolgco del proceso de la storograa Peo no un sato as deido a un eaccionismo imuesto las xigencias de nuevs tms de nuevs olemas qe no encontan ci caida dento de los modes foados o la edci6n el gusto ofesionaes de la oca En aparenca p es, s una espece de marca at1s pero S verdde1o sentdo strba en que se nca as renovacn de problemtca del conocmento strco que langdeca en la a estrl prsn de los caabones tradconales en eft es de nots a est esecto que a gan evouci6n que en ese camo eesenta el ensamiento del silo XV no udo haese eaizado sin la exaodnaia aea de los hozontes temcos deida ecisamente a los conistas indi anos y que duda cae que a Pedo May e coesonde n siio eeminent en esa emsa2 1
[n conclusion we can say with al ceainty that given its imay intenton he Decades constted a so of histoogahica wok of the foma ye found in the Renaissance ut since at he same tme thee ae chaacteisics of a esh cando that eca he acha ism of Heodotus it is necessay to shaen s cassicaion so to nk he Decades to the geat taditional tend of tave iteatue since the autho has not een to the egions uon which he vai ousy exounds We e deaig with an extemely inteesing henomenon wohy of moe attenon than it has eviousy eceived t sometng oa leap backward wtn te deologcal development ote process ostorograp Yes it is not a ea ackwad due to its eactonay natue a natue imosed uon it y he demands o new themes new olems hat could not easily e accommodated wthin the estashed edte mods and the ofessiona tastes o he age In appearance ten t sa sort step backward bt ts true meanng stemsom teact tat torces to reconsder problems storcal owledge problems tat lased n te sterle prson tradtonal beve and in fact it is woth oining out in his esect that the geat evoltion that eighteenthcentuy thought eesets in hs eld cod not have taken lace without the extaod nay oenng of thematic hozons de ecisely to e ndian choices and thee is ite dout that Pete Maty ays a e eminent a in ths enteise]
we disegad O'Gomans hetoic and lace he accent on the oganizaon of knowedge athe han on its content the intuion a ete May's Decades a ste ack in he histo of hstoioga shod e emhasized New Wold histoies of the sixteenth cen tu eginnng with Pete Matys esemled Heodous's stoa ae an the stora of he Romans and humanists fo at leas t thee easons The most ovous which have aleady mentioned is the ncony etween he events eoed and he life san of the histo ians eoting them The invesgaion of he hstoian ased on the eo of eyewtnesses (like Pete Maty o a comination of eyewit nessesand dect exeience (like Oviedo y Vads as Casas o Acosta ae te most ovious chaacteisics of sixteencentuy hstoioga secondeason is the hstoins contact wth unknown ands and unown eoe which aallels much of Heodotuss investgaon ae an Roman o humanist histoans naang he ast of thei ow emie o citys tates A lid ecuiay is the ecounte eteen aeson who is ae to oganize knowledge in ahaeic witng an din oo f wth eole wihout ahaetic wig whose concet of e ast and whose anne of ecodng and telling stoes aout the as ee totay alien to Westen native atioaliy Since have aeady discussed the st eason i tle evious aags et's exloe he he second and td W hat disiguished man histoans fom Heodous was the ct at while Heodotus oe in he oundaes eween Geek and foeig wods and ulues Roman histoins wee mainy conceed wih constucng e sace and memoes of Roman tetoaiy The exeences of umis histoians wee cose to he latte than to the fome 22 iies ie Foence wee fe colones of the Roman mie that vloedinto owe cystates owe enough to have oignatos an executos of histoogahca witng Cies ike Rome fome e cente of a oiica and economic emie ecame he cente oe histian wod and leefoe owel enough to justi iing oei histo Consequenty when Bni wote he his to o loence nd Biondo the histoy of Rome hey wee ooking a to ten cetuies of histo in the taian eninsua Thei exei ene s uite eent om a eatec histoian lke Heodotus eong wha he saw o head o of a sedentay one like Pete May o ecived wtten infoaon om eyewnesses aout distant lans and eoes when ahaec witng was aeady estaished in a ie ange of the olation
in hstoogahca wing (as wel as in ohe discsive genes e a ienti and dstngush thee knds of agents (he oiginato exeuto o histoan and the souce of infoaion [o info
11 Genres«s
Scil Pctic
mat) ad a et f dicuive gee ( ame) the Pete May t ly ha the ditici fhavig witte a hitry i lettewitig C Darer fm but al f havig bee ifmed by mea f lette. Thee i Sid fthc the a milike image betwee the date the evet mateialized ad Reuaissanc wa epted i epitlay fm by a eyewite aget the e had ad the mmet whe Pete Marty eceived a budle flette fm the New Wld ad wte the lette i which heeprted t hi Italia cfee the evet that mateiaize d a few mth ealie. Pete Marty' appt with thi ucebaed kwledge wa quite dieet m the egiati f humait hitia with thei uce. Cchae ha ditguihed i Bui' 369444 hitf Flece the ifat ucebaed kwledge (medieval chicle ad rordzas mem bk witte by membe wealthy Fletie familie) ad the ucebaed wledge dicuive gee maily the Rma hitia23 Pete Martyculd t have delved i the pat f the ubject matte he wa witig abut f e dicuive gee hat pvided him with the uce baed kwledge wa the ame gee i which he had t gaize ad tamit wledge. Lette wtig i i the t place the clet ubttute t al cveati Whe the itelcut a t haig the ame phyi cal pace (ad thee ae vice caie uch a the telephe tape ecde) alphabetic witig allw the tamii f wedge ac pace Hitigaphy which twad the ed f the ee cetu ccupied a paicula place ext t pet i the ctext f the tivium (gamma hetic ad lgic) eteda the tivium itel idicate alphabetc wtig ad gaphic ecd (ci meda achitectue a well a all f witte ecd) Hit igaphical witig wa t a mi image f ucebaed kwl edge a it wa f Pete Maty wh ed a fmidable example f the civace betwee the lette (i .e alphabet) lette witig ad hitigaphy i the acquiiti gaizati ad tamii wledge. It i helpl t emembe a that while stora i ee meat eprt f a eyewite lette wtg (i Eglih) efe t a fm f cmmuicati that carie" th e vice that cat behead i a gaphic ecd that culd be ead The Spa ih talat flette wig i arta The Do"ro de at1dades (te eightee cetu dictia fthe Academy f Spah Laguage) ep ta aa cme m the La aa which mea the ki fa aimal the bak fa tee i which a meage t be immediately caried u t hi/he eceive wa witte dw ( ee chap. ) Epla, i Lati wa ued t efe t a witte ad diect cmmuicati betwee peple ad wa ematicaly ad cultually elated t a meege 82
oupite-:vey much used, also, in the context of g�v t as a social pactce pefomed by the cpstlares( o secetaIes oe state) Genres, Audences
Pckging Iormaton
So fa I have descibed the elatonship between two of the agents . involved (the executo, lette wite, o histoia) and the infomat (lette executo the between Lt' exploe rthe the elationship te o histoian) and the oiginatos ofthe lettes and the Deades. T ast seven Deades wee dated 1524, hity yeas ae the st, e te auto was about seventy yeas old. They wee dedicated to Fanisco Maio Sfoza, duke of Milan. Pete Maty opens the last Deae by tracing the history oftheir originators: La pimea de mi Daceca de Nuevo Mundo dediquela al o ateno de Su Excelencia, el viccancille Ascanio, Pncipe Ilus imo ue e entre lo cadenale, y po ninguno aventajado, p'que C0 reiteradas ilstancias Ue mandaba c01nlicar a St Exceena 10 que aoteiera e ess regiocs oidentales. Como inigne tesimonio de 10 que digo te ofezco Maino Caacciolo, hombe otao de todas las vitudes y expeiencias, potonotaio Apos t6lico leco de Catania, y a pesente embajado junto a tu pe sona, el ual ea scetaio de Asani cuad el Oceano cmezaa a abinos sus putas, ceradas desde el pincipi del mundo ata nueto da EI ay a! 10 declaaquien eciba mi esito en nombe de S eo y edactaba u eputa, egn e la itaa.24 [ eicated the t book ofmy Deades about the New Wold to Yu Excellency'S pateal une, ViceChancello Acanio, l luiou Pince, who upaed cadina and al othe in excellencefr bypeistent demand he ordC/'ed me to send repo toY0lr EelC1y ofwhat washappening i1 these H'cstem regions. As distingisetestmony ofwhatI say I present Marino Caracciolo, a man enowe with all viues and experiences, Apostolic nota elect of Cataia at present your persona ambassador, who was Asani's sereta wen the ocean frst opened its doors to us, which had een lose since the earths creation until our time. It was heas he imslelareswho received my writings in your lord's name an rote he replies, as they were dictated to him. J Te events of the New World were a theme ofconversaon and a CUisi at Peter Martyris in a position to satisf. Whateverhe said,
G£rcsas Scial Pcices
placd hs wrtng n th contxt of mory aganst oblivion n of th nctons that Cicro attributd to hisory writing hr is not& Dr ng wrong thn n accpting D orbe W decades at sam tim as Side te dcads (th organization of knowldg at th lvl of th dispositio) Renissnce and lttr wrting (organizaon of knowldg at th lvl of t applatio) modling it according to th spcc prson bng addrssd. h dicults xist only ifour goal is to t vry possibl txt nto on and only on dscursv p nstad ofudrstanding th complx tis of a txt in th contxt of th discursiv yps availabl to t writr ad th audinc as wll as h intracton of norms and convntons 86
The Truth Is lso Relative to the Locus of Enunciation d the Norms of e Genre: Histories Encycloedias d
ps
I hav compard tr Martyr with uccardini and hav mntond Lonardo Bi a coupl of tms. comparison btwn an Italan om rto who wrot about lornc toward 44 and an Italan om Mlan who studid n Rom from 477 to 487, thn movd to ""
de la e (a gntman of th court) and ultmatly spnt thirty yars of hs lif writing about t Nw Word to hs Italia inds might te comparison is being made in order to pn down the derences between humanst hstorograpy and NewWord hstories. The setof questons summarized under who is writingwhat, for whom, and why, acquires in the comparison a new meaing. New Word histories, even in the form they take n the work of Peter Martyr (a man of letters writing n Latn to his fellowItaians about the New Word) opened up
alent to the
but without the temporal distance between
organzed, nterpreted, and transmtted; on the other hand, letter writing s not oly the document but aso the genre of the scholar dscourse Letter wrting became, in Peter Maryr, the substitute o Bruni's wellorgazed narrative based on the sourcebased knowlsourcebased knowledge rnshed by previous GrecoRoman histD
rans. If Lonardo Bruni has dstincton of markng th bgnning of humanist hstoriography27 tr Martyr a humanst himslf has th dsnction of nauguratng th knd of writing tat wi ll b a distinctiv fatur of th darkr sd of Europa Rnaissanc and mansthstorography: th hybrd cultura products gnratd by and n colona situatons. Bardno d SahagUn whom w hav alrady ncountrd n th prvious chaptrs was a rancscan who contra to tr Martyr wnt to Mxco in 529 and lvd and wrot thr t rst of his lf. dividd hs work nto twlv pats nstad oftn wrot in Castilian and Naa nstad of Lan. h form of gathrng ad organizng nformaton considrably changd from on work to th othr. But tr ar also othr ctors worthy of consdration. round 56 whn SahagUn bgan to work on th organization of th massiv amount of nformaton h had collctd about mrindian cultur and hstory Sir rancis Bacon was bo in Englad. By th scond haf of th sxtnth cntury Sahagn was an alrady matur and sasond rancscan workng on th organzaton of knowldg om culturs ln to him w young Bacon was rthnkng th Wst pistmological tradton and rorganzation ofknowldg28 h nd rsults n both cass wr quit dsparat indd as thy illustrat altrnatv concptons of knldg. Nvrthlss boh drw om th ncyclopdic tradtion Bacon was concd with rshaping and su prsdng his own tnc traditon h Wst organzaton of owldg. Sahagn nstad was concrnd wth shaping t kowlg ofa tradition to which h dd not blong and had to dal wth th conict btwn hs own thnic tradtion and t on h was tryng to undrstand. n of th main drncs btwn Sahagn and Bacon s th rol thy playd in history of th ncyclopda: rst dspt Sahagns orts and achvmnts hs Florentne Codexhas not bn includd in t standard hsto of ncyclopdias;29 scond Sahagn usd th ncyclopdic mod to organz nformaon whl Bacon ctically xamnd t. Bacon was placd at h crst ofWstrn constrcton of knowldg; Sahagn n th prphry of Wst xpansion. h ct that Saagn has on bn compard with what an tropologica knowldg would b in th nntnl cntury a forrunnr of anthropology bfor anthropology was bo could b rxamind in ts contxt. Howvr whil Bacon was having a dcisv mpact on th manstram of Wstrn intllctua lif Sahagn as bing slncd in t priphry of a incrasingly rlgous conomic and intllctua consolidaton ofEurop and its domnation all ovr th word. Whl tr Martr coctd hs nformation om lttrs h
al
Gnres Sc Prctices
receved om the Indes Sahagn's basc nformaton came from or contact wth merndn peope (g. 4.1). Beond the conversatons e Dker across ngustc nd cutural boundares entertaned b Sahagn an Side!the hs nformants there was also an nterestng crosspa n the Uses o Renissnce anguages and wrtng sstems. Not on Spansh nd NUatl but aso aphabetc nd pcture wrtng sstems were prt of te daoge (g. 42) 18 8
l the thngs we dscussed the gave to me b mens ofpaintins, for that was the wrtng te had sed the grammarans sang them n ter anguage and wrtng te statement beneat te pantng. In gatherng nformaon Sahagn cononted dcutes tha were not even dreamed of b Peter Martr who moved eel an
asbetween etters n Spansh comng om the Ines and letters n e was sendng to hs ends n Ital and n Span. What n the revious two chapters were abstract considerations about writing, the oo and te notion ofhistory during te sixteenth century acquired oncrete dimensions and presented dy dicultes for Sahagn: Tese people had no etters nor any characters, nor did they know
o to read or wrte the communcated b means ofmages and ntngs and a ther antqutes and the books the had about em were panted wth gures nd mages n such a wa that the ew and had memor of the tngs ther ancestors had done and a e in their annas, moretlan a thousand years back before the avl ofte Spansh n ts land. Most ofthese books and wrtngs re bued at the tme of the destructon of the other dolatres
Fg. 4 Wrng oher ue n xeencenu Mexo Sahagn
n CO Meries esci
Sahagn
Prirs riles oad 150)
Gnress Sci Prctices
90
Naua's great cutural possessions3! First, then in the vilage of 9 Teeulco Sahagn repored tat
TJc Darkcr Side of'c Renaissance
In te said village I had al the leaders assembled, togetler with te ord of te village, Don Diego de Mendoza, an old man of great istncton and abiity ve experienced in civil militar and poi a and even idolatrous matters. Having met wih lem I proposed wat I intended to do and I asked hat they give me qualied and exerienced persons Wil whom I coud talk and who woud be ae to answerwhat I asked They answered tat they woud discuss e ropositon and give me an answer another day and s they too eave of me Another day the ord and the leaders came and, aving made a soemn speech, as they used to do tlen, they pointed out to me ten or tweve leading elders and told me I coud speak i them and that tey would tuly answer everthing tlat might e ased of tem. There were aso four latnists, to whom I had taugt grammar a few years earlierin the College ofthe Hoy Cross in latelolco th these leaders and grammarians who were aso eaders I conversed many days nearly two years foowng he order of the ra outine I had made2
Fig. 4.2 Mixing wriing wth drawing in ate edieval Europe: a page from Chroliqucs, by Bead de Tuy
bt many hidden ones whih we have now seen did survive and are still kep1 Vhh Ve hae underood thei, antiquities ( 2:6 5; italis mine)
Sahagn le expicit descripions ofhis working method They are ve oen quoted and are we nown by those fiarwih sixteent centur Mexico I would ie to repeat them however in this context It should be menioned aso hat Sahagn had specic questions prepared in advance in order to ll the main purposes ofhs inqu: to know he ancient religion to create or inspire texts om whic a rich vocabuary could be obtained ( acpi"o) and to record te
ward 560 Sahagn moved om Tepepulco to Tateloco ara wit a sigicant amount ofwritten material where he repeated at e ad done n Tepepuco when he began to collect informaton ral assembing l the leaders [in Tlateloco], I proposed to hem e usiness ofmy wrtngs and asked them to desi gnate for me severa ae eaers wih whom I coud examine and discuss the writings I had rougt om Tepepuco." The signicance of this second stage lies in fac at it was devoted to work witl Amerindians i n order to work on te rst written dra rather han in coectng more information ansmied orly or in Mexican writng
e goveorand the mayor pointed out to me eight or ten leaders osen om among al of them ve skll in teir anguage and in e ings of their antiquiies with whom in addition tofor or fe collegiates, all fVho V,'e ilinga) we cosed o in te ege for a perod of more than a year, everthi ng I had brought omepepuco was corrected and expanded a of which had to be rewitten om a terrble copybecauseit hadbeen writtenhurriedly. 6-7)
Genres as Socia Pctic
Finally, Sahagun moved om Tateoco to Mexco-TenochtitJn, where he stayed in the Franciscan convent for a period of hree years, Te Drker s working on hs wing, bt at hs po int doing it by himsef.33 He Side te was reaching the point of the al organizaon where the discrsive Renissnce genres and pattes of his own cltres wod begin to take over the discrsive genres and ctra pattes of hs informants: for a period of hree yes I read and reread these wings of mine by mysef, went back d coected them, and divided them into
books into elve books, and each book into chapte and s0e boo into chaptersand paragraphs and he Mexicns added andcor rected many things in he elve books while they were being pt into smooh copy, so that he rst saners thogh which my works were sied were hose of Tepeplco, the second those o Tlateoco, the third hose of Mexco; and in l these scnes there were colegetned gammarians34 hogh here is st a ong stoy of Sahagun's manscript e teen 1564 or 1565 and 578 when he wrote he version of Florentine Codex known today (g 4.3) the basic organzation in books, in chapters, ad in paragraphs was basicaly decided in those thee yeas in Saint Frncis, in Mexico35 Bt sch organization belongs to a cltre in whch alphabetic wing nd the idea ofthe book merged to create a visal and cogniive patte for the organizationand ransmis sion of knowedge. It is to ths organizaton hat I w devote he foowing pages, now that a generl idea abot how Sahagun gathere and assembed his informaion has been reated. It is not whot a cetin hmor that Sahagun repoted abot people's qeries on the Calepino he was wing It was not withot spse that Sahagun repied to his iends, teing them that he was not writg a diconay, ike Calepino did Shagun nderstood ve we that even if sch a work wod be sel, he was not in a posiion to do for the Nahal what Cepino dd for Latn Diconaes need a traditon ofwritten words to become reaes. What the missionaies cold do was to write vocabarios chap 1) or, as Shagun saw his project, to do the necessay grondwork to aow others to write ic onaries. Here ae SahagUn' reecions on hs ad Clepinos projects: It wold ceainy be highly advantageos to prepare sch a se work [a dciona 1 for those who want to lern his Mexca lan gage, as Ambrosio Clepino did for those wtng to lern Latn and the meanings of is words, bt there has certay been no
•;%z¥
#ju , ; j K q« , 4
tc, y" d
,
/ldc :", .1'" )n
f:1«6
; YM4
: < *
J / K t"u./4 9/ k
g fg he Cw u eahg he g e: a age e au Frentine dex b Bea e Sahag 58)
oortniy becase Calepino took the words and their manings
tei eor� and their metaphoom the reading othe poets and oatorsand Latin authors substantiating evething he said withthe autorssaings, a oundation that hae not had due to the lack o ettersand wting among th people; bt whoever wold want to o it cod do so with facility, becase by my abor twelve books ave een written in he poper and nar angage of his Mex an tonge, which besides beig an entetaining and potable mosition presens al he ways of speakng and al e words this langage ses, jst as well sbstntiated and se as those written by Vrgl, Cicero, and the other Latin authors.36
193 Genress Sci ctices
iscontinuity of the Cassica Tradition Genres erindian Organization of Knowedge in e
202
Colonial Period
D£ Sd fth Rssnc
{
/
kykios paidia
kiospaidia
conta to Bacon, whom he peceded by seveal centuries, used the Geek legacy in a dieent context ofknowledge and undestanding. He suggested that the ogazation of kowl A- Kwaizmi,
edge is not univesal but cultue dependent and had the wisdom t bring that to h foegound Bacon's silence about alteaive foms of knowledge and his univesalizaon of the egional concept o histoy, philosophy, nd poet as fom of knowng male one foget that alteatives existed and that the egional could hadl e accepted univesally. Ibn Kutaiba, seveal centuies befoe and contar to Sahagn, oganized the known accoding to the needs o n expanding Islamic empie. Thus, he begn by powe, wa, and nobili. Education came aer, and it was related to the shaping of the youngste's chaacte If encyclopedas (because of thei comle stoy) ae boh gouping the known and oganizingways ofknowing, SahagUn's encyclopea oers he wonderl spectacle ofMexica ivlization as known by a Spanish Fanciscan at the same time tat it hides om us the Mexicas own organizaion of their own ways o knowing. A glimpse at the silence behind the noise of the For Codx allows one to peceive he hybid cultual poducon byAe indians who learned he alphabet and, by writing, constructed a lous ofenunciaion dierent om e one caed by an Italian humanist in the cour of Ferdinand and Isabella, as Peter Martyr, or a Sps Franciscan who began his work under Chrles I and nshed it un
i ixi, i yoo ocay on
w
wa).
203 Gn Scl Pts
204
205
cDakc' Sdefthe Rassacc
Gcuesas Scal Pactces
x
Book of
hi/amBlam o[Cmaycl
Ppl h ofChlam Bala
Book
ooks fCh/amBalam
Popol VIh
Boo of Chlam Balam of Chaycl Tmn.s2
cm
207
206
repoorio de os ipos Genress Scil Pctices
e Drker Side fthe Renssnce
Boos of Chiam Baam epoorio de os iempos
Uario o01o repoo.ios) de los tiempos,
"a Chiam Baam
A
2,
Boos ofChi/am Baam
w Books of /m Baam
A
�tt"id>(
'e f " h,"Ito
b
�h $ 01 of
Books ofChi/am Baam repoorio de os ie1pos
211
Gesas oa Pates
Retorica
HistO·ia de la literatra Natl
. 4 Ol ene n ncet Mec: Mexc fm f eb eh depced n he Foente Codex
2 3
2 2 Popol
Teake deofte Renassane
oa
t
evel of semioc teracons oral interacons � ten nteracons
v
v
concetuazaon of conceualizaon of riten ineracons oral interacons
evel of concetuaizaon of semioc interacons Fg 47. h miti q
Y
e ae de ofthe Renassane
Flornn Cod Boos
C/am Blam,
hlaoll
Boos of Cham
Balam
Boo ofC/am Balam
laol
The Colonization of Space
Capter
he Movable Center Ethnicity, Geometric Projections, d oexistin Territorialities
a Ricci's Move Negoating Ethnic Centers d eometric Projections ound 1584, accoring to the sto tol by Father Rcci himself the Ciese Manains visite the rst Jesuit mission establishe at Shao xing. Te hinese saw on a wall of the mission-room what was for em an astonshing epiction of he earh Although it is not ceain ma ather Ricci took wih him to hina it is presume hat it sa ring ofAbraham Otelius's Tpsorbsta (1570) (g 1 Te inese Manrins seeme to be astonshe by the ct hat looe like a sphere mosy covere by water; an they were e sll more astonishe when they realize that the hinese empire u to hen ey believe was not only at the center of he eath u lso occupie almost its entre surface was reuce to a small on o lan in he upper-righthan coer of the map DElia eonstructe his cucial moment in the folowing narratve: Rici ad osee hat his guests before looking at he worl map in e Euopean language isplaye on the wall of his resience in SaoKig complaine when they saw heir hina on the right and side, at the en of the known worl an near the coer instea oat he center of he worl as unil then they ha believe
Rc lught it inopporune to be ang at e prie ofthe hinese an aewars wihout geng any closer to the geographical
e Movabe te
Teak de o!te Renassan
B .
.1. A p obs teum 7)
/" 1
�
222 TeD'kcr Side ofte RlaisslCe
simila to the encounte between two dieent conceptions ofwiing and the book, as we exploed in chapte 2, a propos of Sahagn's C% qios y dom'ina Christiana? Ricci's move towad the Chinese was not the same as the Fanciscan's move towad the Meica Rici was able to concede and change the geogahical cente, althoug e may neve have doubted that the etnic ceter emined in ome But Ricci was dealing with maps, ad not with the Holy Book, as as seem to have the case with the Fnciscans. G!ic st, a dssociaton allowed the introducon of a double between a cnte�detine (ome, Jerslem, o i a a cente deeined geometrically, which does not eplace u comlements the ethnic one; second, the assumption (so well illustrated by Rcci) that "cusof obseration (geometiccenteLdoes not disrut o interfee with the locus of ennciaton (ethc cente) It seems obvious to me that, fo Ricci, the ethic cente eine i ome, although geometiclly he was able to place the Pacic an China in the cente of the map, as if geomety wee the waranty o a nonethnic and neutral odeing of the shape of the earth. By edawing the wold map and placing the Pacic instead ofte Atantc at the cente ofte word (g 5.3), Ricci was able detac the etic om the geometric ationlization of space. Fom te geometric pespecve, the suface of the eth cold be dawn om equally valid (and movable) centes of obseration Howeve, e Chinese Mndains wee not yet in a position to accept such a mov, and thei st eaction was to wonde how thei ethic cente co
ave een decenteed The Mandains astonishment, as peceived by i imsel showed tat the powe of te cente does not depend neessrily on geometic ationlizaton but, on the contra, that ometic ationalizations ae enacted aound thepowe ofthe ethic
ente. Once the ethnic pespective is detached om the geometric i
ne, e authoitative cente becomes a matte of political powe e thn of ethic subjectivity That is, in my undestanding, the
il imension ofRicci's move and the poweofcatogaphic evo
luon in the West since the eary eenth centuy.9
Alough the histoyofFatle Riccis map in tl,e catogaphic hisbeyond tle scope of this chapte, JO a glimpse at it wi lp in undestanding tle stuggle between coexisting teritoial eesentatons durng e economic and eligious expansion of the Wst. Rici's map encounteed strong opposition d esistance in a, altOugh it ws moe eadily accepted in Japan Curent wold mas inted in Japan (g. 5.4 ) show the location oflands and wate tr othe East is
t
I
ot
Fig. 5.3. A lat-sixteenth-centuy alteative pespectve o f the world: Rcci's mappa1loldo
A twentieh-centuy Japanese perspecive: a world
in 1988
map prnted n
22 3 Te Movable Center
introduced by Rcci's redrawing ofWeste world maps as does the
Japanese map shown in gure 5.5 , om the eighteenth centu. The world map began e ae Japanese catographic taditon based on Rccis
instead, the situaton de ofthe with the Sho6 w6l ma of 1645. In China it was Ch'en has ded preten Jesuits the an Ricci as Rassa was not as smooth did not make Rcc met dly reporte who people ofthe some that shown a distincton between the traditional western regions" in Chinese catography and Europe 2 The ocial histoy of the Ming dynast
written while Rcci was sl in China, does not follow Rccis map In some cases criticism ofRi has been quite hash, as can be appreciated in the following evaluation:
Lately Mateo Ricc utlzed some false teachings t fool people an scholars unanmously believed him. . . . The map of the wol which he made contans elements ofthe fabulous and mysteious,
world: Ric's Fg. 5 5 A eghteenth-centuy Japanese perspective of the pespective recast n a diferent graphc tradton
nd is downight ttempt to deceive people on things which the personll cn not go to ve for themselves. It is rell lie the ic of pnter who drws ghosts in his pictures. We need not scuss oler points but justte for exmple the positon ofChin on the mp. He puts it not in the center but slight to the west nd nlned to le notl This s ltogetler f om tutl, for Chn sod be i the center of te word, which we cn pove b the ingle ct thtwe cn see le Str restng t the zenth ofthe even t md ight How cn Chin be reted lie sml unimortnt count nd pced slightl to the noh s in ts mp? This rel shows how dogmtc hs ides e. Those who tst hm s t the people in his coun re fond oftrvelling but such n eror s this woud certl not be mde b wdeltrvelled mn1
is temptng t lest in m cse to red te preceding prgrph complnt om someone who defends hs positon lthough he is ute the wrong. The temptton comes om the nturl tenenc to udge colonil situtons om te point of view of wht in cls the denl of coevlness"14 The impresson the reder ges om Ricci's ccount is tlt the Chinese crtogrphers nd inteletuls were behind" in time, not et quite s developed s their Euoen counterprts I S Such n impression stems om e dictum sous nd outstnding mode scholrs who re ble to s when esg Rcci's contrbuton to Chinese crtogrph, tht it gve e nese tue picture of the wod s it ws then nown." Such generliztons re bsed on denottve concept of tle sign nd on te oespondence tleo of rl, whch disregds t�locus nd cs of ter suect of enuncition s well s tle escriptons Inste, universl nowing subject is presupse nd idented wth le regionl Europen ctogrphic perIf the dictum tre picture of te world s it ws then wn" is replced b the tue picture of le world s it ws ten Euopens nd Chinese," le sttement would do justce olol situtons in which t lest two perspectives on the wod est he tibuton of tre vue depends on the perspectve ten he speng subject s cn be seen in Rcci's s well s in iese scholrs' respective ccounts. We now tod tht the Jesuits he end of the sixteent centu were eiter not wre of or ignre the chnges i the imge of the cosmos intoduced b eicus The lived in universe whose center ws the erth d e sn. There ws dierence between te Jesuit nd the schors, noneeless, nd the dierence ws relevnt not t
eMovae Cente
he mcromacrocosm theory beeves that humanty s a tte wor and that he word had the form ofa great man (or human beng) e eake Chrstan verson of s theory s eempled by the body o ideofthe Chrst as ustrated n gure 56 he map (g 57) proRenaissane vdes a paradgmatc usraton of terrora representaon n Chrs tan cosmology Whe the human body n general suggess he fou horzonta drecons (head and feet ndcang east and west and etended arms north and south) and the movement ofthe sun and te moon mar the eastwest orentaon Chrstan cosmoogy located the east (sunrse) net to Chrst's head where Paradse was also placed. Jerusaem and Chrsts navel concde whch justes the metaphor te nvl ofthe world" gven to a pace that s at the same me the center of the human body and the center of the cosmos power of the center s very smar n concepton to e rectangua
nese word map" shown n gre 5 2 n whch the Mdde Kng 229 om as a ncton smlar to Jersaem n Chsan conography f s map" compes wth a poltcal rather than wth a regous or osophcal organzaton ofthe terrtory e descrpon provded n Cente e ook ofLieh (about 25 ) paces he Mdde Kngdom n e center offour oceans and between e southemost coer of he es poe and the noremost corner of the east poe:
the outhemoster ofthe ste ple es a and hat etends no one nows how r It s caed the Kumang and here the forces of Yi and Yang do not meet, and therefore the conrast
between cold and warm does not exist . . . The peope do not eat,
56
5 The body oChrist and the ordering ofthe earth: the EOlmap
Tea Sde ofthe Rna
and do not wear garments, but sleep almost te tme . e Middle Kingdom lies amidst te Fo ceans, to the nort an sout of the Yellow Rver and to the east and west of te Great Mountan (taisan n an area r greater than a tousand square mles Dark and lght are separated . . Nature thrves, te as and te cras are highly developed. . . . In te noemost coe te eastpole les a land called Fu-lo. It s always hot tere,sunan moon shne constany wt a glarng lght. . . . They do not eat cooked food. They are hard and cuel by nature.25
al
Thus, te geographcal center appeared to be corelated n some cases to the human body, sometmes to the four drections, and oe tmes to bo (see na, the dscusson of ancent Cuzco) There are cases, I submt, n whch e orderng of space takes the human bo as model and ts navel as te center of te cosmos; noters,e bo s taken as a reference pont postoned at the center ofthe four ho zontal and two vertcal drections. Space, relgous belef, and etl order come together n an ethnc ratonalzaton of space where e center s determned by a semantc conguraton orgnatng n te human body and extendng to te space and lfe of the communty as a center.26 There s no reason to tnk at n preColumban cvlzatons a smlar conguraton ofthe cosmos dd not exst. Afredo Lpez Aus tn has devoted an extensve and we-documented study to tracng te network between e descrpton ofe body, the conguraton o e cosmos, and the system of deas among te Mexcas.27 He sug gested a connection between e three vertical levels of the cosmos (sky, surface of te eart, and underword) and te ree sprtual o energetc centers. The bran (tonalli corresponded to the hgher s the heat ( toolia to te lower sly, and the kidney ( iotl to eart's surce and the underground. Snce te sun was placed n lower sky, t was related to te human heat, and e head, or te ran, also receved te name of cat (or sky). Through the cosmos, e energetc centers were related to the nuclear famly the celestal Fa ther, te eartly Moter, and, n between, the place of the Chldren The body was aso related to te calendar. Each sgn of the twenty-a untcycle (equvaent to Western mons) corresponded to a pat te body. It was related to medcne n e sense that the dsorders e body and ther agnoss were based on te correspondence e tween e ll part of the body and e corespondng day n e u cycle. Wthin anethnc t medeval T/0 ma or Mexca four corners of the world), e sacred place establshes
TeMab Cente
Fig. 5.S The arth ivide in hree an he hree sons ofNoah: AsiaShe, Europe-Japheth and Mria (Lybia)-Ham
where space and time meet; where the vertca and the ozontal jon forces wtb tbe movement ofte skes and tbe changes oseason When Bernardno de Sahagn n the nal copy ofte had to account for tbe drection of winds n Mexa astroog, he requested a to depct-wtbn a rectangle-tbe ound and dvded n ee parts (g 5.8 ), as t was usually esied n Chrstan cosmology (g. 5. 9), and enplaced e wnd ireons n tbe four coers of tbe rectangle. It certanly dd not esae Sahagn tbat tbe Mexca dvded tme n four and at to each n time tbere ws a corresponding place n space (see, e.g ., g. 3.7, wch mssonares assocated wth tbe four cardnal ponts. But
n an event, Salagn dd not stess te mxing ofspace and time n Meia cosmology, and he used a T/O map (n whch te meeting ntote crossbar and stem ofthe wthn te a mark Jerusaem as di ter ofe word; see cap. to account Cn�;aton eeavensand a crcle dvded n four to account for the organzaion ome was ponted out n e prevous chapter, one of tbe models followed by Sahag was BartolomaeusAnglics's Depoprietatibs
he 1492 edton of ts text ncluded a descrpton of te
ol modeled on T/O shape. There was ceainly a long, strong
ion ofe cosmos dvded n ree parts, so strong at n 578
when he was shing the Flontin Codx Saha n overlooked that a fout part ofthe earth had been added amost a centuy earlier. The Teake name of Cosmas Indicopeustes is seldom mentioned during the de o!the period, altough he stands at te vey foundaton ofsuch a taditon. Ra His Chistian Topogaphy is one ofthe rst descriptions of a tripartite and Chrisan conception of the eath.28 In his description Cosmas pacedAsia in the Orient Lybia (and not Aica in the southwest, and Europe in the northwest. The west it is wotwhile to remember was at the time divided between Lybia (which would become Aca) and Europe (which woud be identied more and more with the Christian West during and aer the sixteenth century).29 It shoud come as no
surprse then tat the we-known edieva T/O aps systeat- 23 3 iy placed Jerusae at the center. The ap shown in gure 5 8 was 56 63 6) Etimologia. e Moabe use to iustrate sidore of Sevies ented with the East at te top te ap contains the naes of te Cente ree continents and identies each with one ofNoahs sons: Asia with E�p wit apheth, and rica with a.3 Between Rccis ove ( at the end ofthe sixteenth cent and te ristan T/0 aps (during the European Middle Ages) cae the uating of te Ptooaic traditon and the ordeing ofspace accord ing to a geoetric center. By showing tat the geoetric center is " ovable and that the obseer could be reoved o te position estaished by his/her body counity or center of power, Rcci sowed tat te ters (e.g Christian Europe, Roe could oestwithout conict wit g s (eg China, te Pacic. cis ove has at least two readings One readng focuses on the aragatic changes taking place in sixteenth-century Europe: te ositon of the earth in te uverse was being dspaced fo e center to a peripheral orbit. The second reading focuses on the ief tat the etnic axis di was being replaced by an obectve an geoeticaly cacuated mpadi. Bot readings unrave two sies of the sae coin: ethnic centers reained as always attached to anoseer paced at the center ofa counity or ofa ocus ofpower; geoetric cacuus created the ilusion that a universal, objective and nonethnic obsever was possibe. The ode idea of science is part an ace of te dissociation, in the Weste tradition between an eni center (which becae subjective, politica, and ideologia an a geoetc one (which becae objective neutra and scientic) an roduces the iusion that geoety is not attached also to a basic enic perspective. e Doinican friar Diego Durn aso working in Mexico aound e e that Sahagn was writing his lotin Codx had a sighty ierent version of the Mexicas four diensions of te (g. 5) eir attitudes towad the Mexica were aso quite dierent tan e attude Ricci had vis--vis the Chinese. Durn accounted for the sion of space and tie in the Mexica cosoogy and described the ouning of the yeas in relaion to tle division of te earth
AD
£ UUG
.
a
' g�oppt{Dfal gUr on ICo!ciom
b
Fig. 5.9 Circling the square and reducig the four coers of the world to the three sections of the TjO maps: a SahagU's depictio of the wind against the backgroud ofa (iverted) T/O map; b, a possibe modl, Bartholomaeus AgliCS, Dc proprietatils rerum, in the edition of 14
e round circe was divided into four pats, each pat contaning iteen years The st part beonged to the East e second to te orth the tird to the West, and te fouth to the SUt The rst at beonging to te East was caled the Thieen Years of the Reds and so it was that each square of the thrteen contained a iure ofa reed and te nuber ofthe yearin tle sae way that we
! c 1
MY T T
+ T T
Red T
a
Black Tezr�tjpo
k
u
\7hire QIel�3fcoat
a
eMovabe Cente
Fig. 5IOa . Sahagun's rendton ofAztec cos� mology (1 578) : The circle overaking the square, and the four comers ofthe world
2 35
:�
b
Te:clhpoc�
h
M · S hcm3lU1US c
Fig 510 b A preCopernican diagram of the universe (from Peter Apianus's Cosmograpbia,
b
reckon the y on this present yer, s in December, Such n such thing hppene in this yer
we sy,
Since the Mexc themsees iie te wor in four prs, Durn Shg i em justice not ony in moeing the fourh coer e wor but so in nking spce n ime here remine hower, o imensions in which the Christin moe see to coonie ic cosmoogy by tuing it into Weste concepts of spce n e In pintngs foun in Amerinin coices in which their own smogrphy n cosmoogy re epicte e shpe of squre or retnge is preferre to tht of the cice he esign in th Code aMayer (se g 36 shows the four iections ofe unierse me n spce n s te mnner in which the Mexic escrbe to wht Shgn n Durn escribe to n for Europen reer Here, he four irections ofspce n time stemme o the of the Sun (or empo Myor (g which ws t the e time scre pce n the ne ofthe wor: it ws te center of e four horiont irections; the center of the horiont orgniothe unierse in thireen pces boe (heens n nine beow,
f
f
H=W';, pA!.r \;<= «
e obe Cente
"
$
@ 6 6 >
<
"
) d
b
53
c
TDa Seoh Rnaiane
ere r roads no he c} each one o sho anes n breadh and enre paed hand
BC
Te ab Cene
forma rbs romae
d te
5 0
5
Te Da'kr Side ofte Renaiance
57
The anecdote is one more exame of inteient interretation ethnic rationaizaion and socia behavior that have been mainaized by other equaly inteient interretation and socia behavio om eoe in conro of economic oitca and technooic ower at is reevant for my arument is hat today the community of Misminay bases the oranization of teresial and cees sace on the ancient nca cosmooy of he four quaters of the wo Coexistin cosmorahies in atewenethcent Lain Ameca miht not be he same sociay as they were durin the sixteenth cen tu but it shows that he denial of coevaness i s an ideooica deition of intercutural reations.The exame of re sentday Mismina woud make Guaman Poma de Ayaa's apadi more reevant to discussion for it aows us to understand e imact of as caoahy in reacin Aztecan ethnic rationaizaions of sace eometic ones and usin them to suress the coexistence of ar histoies and cosmorahica concetions in the coonized areas. Undeeah he surface of what ooks at rst ance rety mu ike a sixteenthcentu Euroean ma the four coers of the wol sketched by the diaonas .58 of the rectane in whic mapamdi is inserted the dee conitive sucture is what ives apdi its Andeanike rationaization of sace. Contra to oher simiar cosmooies in the Andes e dvision of he four ua ters ahais) was at its tu subdivided into uer"
·7#
A Te arker deoftc Rcuassacc
+
e Movabe
mu
+
POTiF 59
POta do
Da Side fth aissace
e Mbl Ce
· a
! I
Darr Sid oft Rnaianc
the Andes medieval Christian Europe). Transformation does no mean suppression of what was there before but a rdistribti vrrelaons. It has been suggested that among the mostimpoan changes intoduced with the rise of capitalism were in teritorial con saces (of wich Lpez de Velasco ors a goo ceptions example) and in oscung sources of power by multiplying the ureaucratic apparatus (of which te Crown the Council of the and the House ofTrade are a good example see below). Thus new teitoial dimensions did not conceal other alternatives but ove powered tem in te inteational arena. The st pa of this capte is devoted to the eors made by European men ofletters and geogra phers to put the Americas on the map The second par is devote t mapping naming and administering the Indies one of the main responsibilities of the Council ofthe Indies. And the tird brings to e foreground territorial concepon and mapping" om the Aeindian perspective a repressed locus of obseation (perspective) at is at te same time a locus of enunciatio (speech writing painting. From theAmrian perspective teritoialiy consisted ofeg the center rther thn ofempting the space. The memo thati have surived among Ameindians of territoriality as a way of govern ing deing social relationships and organizing populations a to negotiate the new reality of complex bureaucracies of having ei space emptied or negated and of guring out the new and disguise sources of power The image of the earth that an educated European living towar the end of the eeth centu might have had is illustrated y Hen ricus Maellus's map composed circa 490 (g. The map invites us to imagine that a hypothetical person living about ve hunre years ago cod have guessed that the distance om the extreme es (the Iberian Peninsula) to the exeme East (Japan and the coasts o China) was the same on both the ont and te bac of the map. us our hypothetical person might have surmised that the East coul b reached by navigating West and that the distance beteen West an East on the unnown side would be similar to the distance beteen West and East on the nown side of the map. Accoring to su calculus tat hypothetical person would have thought that the cente of the nown pat of the eah was a hypothetical point halva e tween West and East and between Noh and South. The center of the world had not always been determined tha a. About seven centuries before Henricus Martellus's world ma edcated Christian might have had a dierent picture ofthe world an its center as illustrated by te T maps iscussed in the previous chapter.2 In T/O maps the crossbar of the T represents the Don
of
ile te sea of Azov and other bodies of water. These water masses searate Asia om Aica and Europe while the stem of le T repre sents the Mediteanean Sea partitioning Aica om Europe The rossbar and the stem meet at the center fte circle where Jersalem is located. These maps were not drawn necessrily with the prpose of onveying geographical nowledge for the center of the world was no etermined geographically but ideologically. It wold cerainly be wrong to thin that Matellus's map at the en of the eenth centu had the same convincing power that a old map has for us today. It would be more accurate to believe that ways wold on\it no paricit asone of nonEropean cultres. That is to lr say it ws in Europe where the Matellus world map was meanin Cerainly our hypothecal edcated Euopean had the ri ght to elieve that Martellus's map depicted the world as i t was just as the iese had the right to believe that te wold too the shape of a luster of nested rectangles or later on was centered on the Pacic instead of te Atlantic as we have also seen in the previous chapter Butnone ofthis was nown to tle hypotleticalEuropean obserer iing with the images provided by Crisan
9
6I
tigh Amricao th Ma
Da'ker Side ofhe asace
mp. For pero coeitig wth uch geocomogrphy Chi e ited i the wy it hd bee coceptulized by Europe d A c or Thutiuyu Ameridi did ot eit t l becue hey were ot i the Europe' Europe' horizo. The Chiee eem to hve hd more vgue ide bout Europe th Europe hd bout Chi which hould ot eceriy be iterpreted e kowledge but rther hvig o eed to kow Ameridi o the other hd were igort bout the eitece of Europe Europe were bot the eitece of Ahuc or Thutiuyu The world how ever eited i it dverity depite the mutul igorce mog member of dieret cuture It i importt to remember tht ech culture put itef it ef t the ceter of the world ad whoever beloged to tht culture turally" beieved tt thi w o Our hypothetic eret Europe oberver w jut oe oberer mog my with dieret kowledge of the prt of the world d their cogurto th kow i other culture The Eean Invenn f an
bs
Bgs
Aroud 193 bout hree yer er the pubictio of Mrtellu' mp te imge tht educted Europe might hve hd ofthe ofthe bc of mp coud be illutrted by the drwig tht h bee ttribute to Coumbu g 62).3 For te who were cloely relted to te Coumbi dveture d were be to ee te rwig t w te moet et ew imge of te te other ide of the the m m beg t emerge i the coioue f�ur y yotheticl otheticl Europe Europe oberer. The ivere pr ;v o true lthough it h ot bee w ocumeted the Europe perpecive ow did the ide d the imge of u 10w people d d emerge i the cociou of the Ameri di? How woud they t te New World" (Europe i Afric ito eir od comogrphic d comologic comologi c repreettio We do ot 0w 0w Becue thi viewpoit i rgey igored it i ey to beieve tht there imply w ot oe. Oe ofthe ofthe reo perhp for uc occurrece w tht the Ameridi did ot hve much of of chce t9 gure it out Ameridi itellectual ruler d educted pero of Meomeric d the Ade did ot hve e opportuity o tme to dpt their view of the uivere whe ew irmtio eg to ow ito teir culturl domi. Europe were much better re pred to regiter orgize d diemite ew iformtio. Oe empe of tht proce w ddig fourh p of te erth. The Meic htori d phioopher Edmudo O'Gorm houd be credited with te 1dmet ide tt the Americ o
D
M Fig 62. Unde ndene ned sp spaces aces: aJ coa coast of of La Espa spaol ola, at attribu tributed to Colum olumus (14 (1492) 92); b il ilustr ustration ations of of olumbu lumbuss's let letters ters tra transla nslated into Ital Italian (ca. 1506) 150 6)
America) were not discovered but invented Te cogent argument he developed to t o support is teoy oers oers a counterpar to our ou r ypoteti TDarkr cal European obseer OGorman carved a new nice in wi Side ofthe alteative obsever could be located and a new perspective devel Raissal oped Wie te ypotetica European obseer assumed tat one's own point of view corresponded wit the the point of view or wat the world realy looked like, O'Gorman made te European perspective relatve His main contribution was to make us tink along te lines we ave been following om te beginning of is capter and is f book: tat America was not an existing enty in te middle o an unknown ocean, witng to be discovered, but tat it was a Euroean invention. Certainly, te mass of land existed, and te Amerindians and teir own conceptua territoril and cosmological representations existed, but they were not "Americans because America, as a wa o conceiving te four parts of te world, did not exist Te growing Euroeaawareness unknown par o te eat became a decisive facn te procss of integrating e unknown to te known, wic also trnsformed te conguraiono on o te known. In te process of describing oteess, our ypoteial obsever elped redene e concept of te self·same, self·same, at is t sa, elped to consct e idea of Europe in e process of invenng a New World. Tus, rater tan a ypoteca obsevr placing imsl or er in a well·dened Europe and discovering an unown America, we ad a long process in wic e invention of Aeria forced a redeniion of Europe Europe and its place p lace on te globe gl obe Puttng Put tng Americas on te map also meant redeing Europe and te coninental conguraons sown in T/O maps Let's now te a ofenting teAe te Ae icas d redening Europe. Around597 or (about seventeen or eigteen years ae Martellus's map (bo in Antwerp, Antwerp, but of German German Ruysc (bo . parentage) publised is Univeralior Univeralior og"ii g"i i orbis tabula onfeta onfeta obsC1'aioni 'aioni in Rome (g 63 ). Tis map was publis publise e onl onl four years aer Amerigo Vesucci's letter, known today as 10'IS (1503), in wic e introduce e idea tat te mass extending sout of Cuba and Santo Domingo was not te coas Asia but an unknown part of e planet He rerred to it as instead of unknown unknown world. Once again our ypoecal obsever sowed is unconscioj!gance unconscioj!gance and deep belief ta wh •. for im was not kno� h;cbe, of necessity, new; tat wateve not knon exist mp, was constructed under te same presuppositions Looking at te map now nd inking about ow muc new
uropeean obser server ver ad at te begin ginnin maon a Europ ning of the the sixte ixteen entth
tu to cange is image ofte te worl orld, one can notice, entu ice, r rst, st, ta tat in
ula only mode c's Tabula ode·d usc' ·daay Sout outh Americ erica, a, wic wic lies lies below low D oming om ingo o and Cuba, uba, or Hisp H ispan San Santo aniola iola and and Isabela sabela,, is depic depicted ted.. ould be obsev on, i t could obseved ed tha that the land Seon, land has been been idenif denifed ed as
rcis sive ncte crc ive Mundus novus." '�r rra sancte s." Te fact act t tat hi his ma map as
and t te in Rome, an taat t te lan lands bein nte b eing g exp explor lored were iden deni ieed as
ands,, enc ence New New World," o ol lands rld," so sows it was far from rom being geoeo-
eutrall and polit aly neutra ga aia litically ically unmarke rked. Geog eograp rapiical cally we oce, ce, owever ver, ow clos so soul no lose te Caribb ibbean ean and t tee "New "New
to the coast Wld" Wld" were to coast of ofAsia. Asia.
15 03 and 52 Between 150 5 20, Ma ain Wa9 9<; ;lle llerr, a man ofle of lettter ters uggessted te name ted te ame Amerca in ono wo sugge onorr o o ucci, ci, publis lised ed is terre nov nove, in Str Tbul bula ter traasbo sbourg (g g 6.4). 4) . Below low Hispani panioola and Isa· Santo nto Dom Domingo ngo and Cuba) we la la Sa we can see see w wat isis toda todayy nor ore e nezueela, olo olomia and Venezu la, emergin ging as if in a dream eam. Walds ldseem eemller ller ame ofTerraN lso lso used e name ra Nova being ing ess ess pre presumptuous an and and so sow wed in more wat we ave ave see seenn in te previ revioous
6· 3.
Ima Imagini inig spac spacee and pla place ce: : Ruysch sch's Uliv's liv'sai aior or cogniti niti rbi rbiss
Putingthe Americas 01 tbMap
266 Te Darer Side oft" Renaane
map (fg. 63). However, Waldseemller is more specifc in mking a distincion between the South and Central America o today That is not all, however, or tera 10M has not only been geographically placed on the map, but also culturally and conceptully integated into the imaginaion o our hypothetical observer wild animals and naked people living in the wildeess were shown asinctive asinctive atures oe tcY HOlm, which only a ew decades earlier ear lier was unknown to Eupean observers. In 520, Petrus Apianus published his Tipus ",-bis mjJ'crsalis ol lowing a Ptolemaic pojection but in a hearshaped orm (fg 6·5) This time the chosen name was Ameica instead instead oMundus Novus or TeraNova. Changing Changin g names shows, once mor, tha thatt Ameicawas Ameica was not something essentially determined and waiting to be discovered. The process process o naming naming hints at that o in�ntion: the !era !era'' o the unknown to the know in he eXsinan eXsinan coslidation othe Eropean min It shuld be remembered th the ime Waldsee exiJQLy .l�L exi Hisletters His letters had not been published and no inor
Fig. 64 Waldsccmllcr's abula terre terre nove (1
he Aztecs tecs was circu ion about he ircula lati tin ng amo among learn m aion earneed a n d liter iteraate peanss. Euro European he frst frst detai 1540 one o he detailled maps In 154 maps depic depicing ing the th e Ame Americ ricas as as a
xtending ng fom the the Nor mass Norh assnd extendi h to the the � Poles Poles was pubpub -
named N01 N01JlS orbi lie ie orbiss, and . I t was na and its autho uthorr w a s th the wellHk ellHkn nown gaphe bastian pher Sebas tian Mnster ter (fg aro aroga (fg. 6 .6). .6 ). The dista istan nce om the the Asisi-
eier coast was ei er yet yet know coast knownn or or not a not cons conside idered red releva relevant, nt, since since gu s) was (Zipaangus was placed placed exre exreme Ja Jaan (Zip mely ly nea nearr the the Mex M exica icann coa coastlin stlinee name Novus ovus Orb Orbis was was attach e name attacheed only only to tle tle south souther ernn part. part. The The annibas we o tee canniba we saw in Waldseem lan lan ot ldseeml ller ler''s map map was was locat located ed in
area ov same area vld anim nimals an e same and people eople living livingin in the wilderne lderness. ss. A leg leg ead, hangin anging g om om the branch n n a head, ranches, es, have have been been nea neatty arrang rranged ed to
str tr a e.
toward was towa rd 55 5 lat t was lat he he wo wold ld began began to loo look to our hypo hypohe hetitiit does does today today or many peop people le on on
Europea ean n obser observverve er ve ca Europ muc much h as as
lanet.t. For For theo ls ls lane heoretic retical al as wel welll as for pract actica ical pur purpposes oses,, it is in interterremember tha esn esngg t reme that Charle arles V of Spain gave gave the the Agnese ese map 6. 7 to his his son son Phili Phili I, I, who whow was to to con contro troll th the destiny tiny
Fig. Fig. 6.5 6. 5
Apianu anus's s's Tp orbs orbstw twiiJ'crsnl J'crsnls s
Puttng the Amcraso t'Map
of Sp d ts doms for te rest of te cet However, I m most terested uderlg te scope of tls mge of te worl Dak d clrg wy I sd tt for my people o ts plet, te ide fth world tody looks s t dd te seveteetl cetu ofAs, naic For educted perso Jp d probbly lrge prt ofAs, te world tody looks looks s t dd r perso educted te steet o seveteet cetuy Certly, tere s ot muc derece betwee Ageses mp d te Jpese world mp sow prevously (g wt te ecetio tt te Amercs re ot te etreme Wes, were tey ve sce bee stuted, but te eteme Est. From suc perspectve, As s ot te Oret, s s bee costructed Europe tellectuls sce te eg teet cetuy,4 ce tuy,4 but te cete o te world. It s stll plced to te est of Euope, toug t c rd rd be costrued s te Oiet oly we tere s stll eormous mss ofld of ld rter est of As. Te Oret, cosequetly, s te Oe from te perspectve of our ypotetcl Europe obsever, bt o o ecessrly om te pot ofvew ofvew ofpeople peop le lvg C d J, wo would perceve te Amercs s te Oret. Te cse of te Or 268
55
e Oretlsm s qute deret om te de of te Weste ;: ;:ceted cete d ected b b tctus bo Amercs orer to dstgus temselves d ter terrtoy om wt Eu roe veted d costed s te New World As ws lredy sug geste, t ws ot oly geogrpcly tt e Amercs beg to be ut o te mp I te process, tere ws lso te poltics of mg represetg te brbrs brey toced o te emple of represetg Terr Nov, d Amerc o te oe d, d wt te t e vus o Orbs, Terr cbls o te oter Lets te go bck to te ed of ofte of te ! m m eet cetury d trce some of tese steps e eet
oplng e Borders wi Imgin Words emeHm eme Hm Scedel s perps less fmlr fmlr to cotemporr cote mporryy ree ree tn te ttle ofte book ChOicle bo ok e edted, e Nre ChOicle omeumwdely omeum wdely red s ow tme. Te tet s bee descrbed s lgm ofleged, cy, d trdto terspersed wt occ
y
OI bi bi { ig Mnser's NOI
gnese's world p
269 Pig the Amica the the Mp
sioal scietc facts or authetc pieces ofmode learg A wol map cold ot be lackg i a chroncle of such a type ad tme (g. Drl/' 6.8) His world map, draw appromately three years aer Mar Sd of} teUus's, shows a diret shape ad propoto of lad ad wate Rnssnc masses, although the lad distbutos are similar i both maps. Spi ad the Atlatc coast ofAfrica were placed i the etreme le, while Idia ad hia were i the extreme right. However, the iterest te map holds for us today dos ot lie so much i the shape i which te world was depicted, as i the curos ihabitats of its coes. I the lehad bo rder tle map shows otladish creatres ad beig that were believed to ihabit the rthermost part of the earth: a si armed ma; a sigered rry huma beig, male or female; a cetaur a for·eyed ma ad a hermaphrodit e I lateeethcetu Europe, as i Chia the outermost corers of the world were sposed to be ihabited by such creatures or by ferocious barbarias. Nor was it suprisig that Colmbus was reported to have heard o dogheaded ad pigtailed people . 270
ocrj
Fig 6 8.
Invening he oher: world map illusrating NurbI
Chronc Imagining the other and dening the self-same: Blaeu's
" mericae nova tabula
was also able to representthem more "realistically Beteen 1626 an 676 in London, John Sp published hs America with thoe known pai that n"oboth peope anda/'ofbuiding (g 6.10). Speed supposedly ook he idea ofillustating te borders om
en Bleu n sowe costue ures, wo e took o trv loue nrtives n illustrtions publise previously e trition oninue in Aster in 639 wen Jnszoon Visscer publise is worl p in wic te borer cquire new n sinicnt iension in te Europen process of puttin te Aerics on le ( 6) es st tke look t te four coers ofte p. Europe n i re represente by \vellsse lies wile Aic n Aeric Copin e represention rerepresente oEurope wit tt ofAsi ierence eeres in position Europe is sitin on te roun wile Asi is sittin on cel us wile Asi is siilr o Europe in tlt bot re wellresse lies, ey ier in e surce on wic tey re sitin. However Asi is siilr to Aer ic n Mric since bot tese seinke woen re sittin on nise rillo n le crocoile respectively Asi becuse se is ell esse resebles Europe wile se lso resebles Aic n eric becuse se is sitin on n nil
Fig 60 Speeds Ameia it those kownepas in that k olde 627
igI issches oa tos team oisgeogapia 639
During the rst halfofthe seventeenth centuryhe French-German cartographerWillen Blaeu published his Americae 10M taba (1630) eke as pat ofhis well-known alas (g 6.9)· A signicant change of name Side ofthe can be noced in this map. The nothe and southe partshave been Renaissanc named America Septentrionalis and America Meridionalis, respc� ively. Furthermore, the image ofthe cannibals and dogeaded eo ple has given way to a more humane perspective of he inhabitans o 7
he unknown lands athough the less civilized image has not been
changed. The borders oftl,e map areillustated wih people and cites
ofheAmericas. Once the outemost unnown parts ofthe eartl wer explored there was no longer reason to believe that outlandish crea� tures inhabited tlem. By hat time our hypoheica European osever had a more concrete idea ofthe habtan of te Americas an
73 P tingthe Ameicas on t"eMap
74 e arker Sde fte Reaace
America, depcted as a naked or semnaed woman wth bow an arows and sometmes wth a decaptated head n her arms, was pat o the latsxteenth and seventeenhcentry conoogy acconng fo the forth part of the world. The dawing shown n gre 6. was sgned by Ces Vsscher, a Dtch panter om the st halfof seventeenth cent. The nscripton nder the portat efers to Amerca as the most strange of all the known contnents and states
that people n the Amercas ve n the wildeess wthout laws. Wy thearmado becomes the embem (or at least one of the most dstncive ones) s a sto that desees to be retod, because t mpnges on the process of puttng the Americas on e map. Roger Balow
descibed the armadlo n hs Brief Se
( 1540),
a
translaton ofMamn Fendez de Enciso's Sma degeoga (1519) ,
as folows: There s a knde ofsma beastes no bgter han a pgges ofa mone and s olde, and the fete, the hede and e eaes be bod and hs head s all covered savng hs eares wth a she moce
Fig 6.2 Ridig he dillo Coelis Visschers merca ca
ie the e ofa tOuga, bt t s he ve propoon of a aed 75 01e for hs shelle hangeth downe by hs sdes and afore hs brest
movng as t were hanged by gynowes hnges, or oche lke the appes of a compete harnes. It s an admraon to behod t. t fedeh e a horse and hs tae s e a pgges tae, saving t s sraght hs qotationshed new ght abot he se o fanmas on maps, on e stats of the amadllo as a New World emblem, and on the elaions between the armadlo, the tOga (te), and the horse. Sayng that the amadlo s le a horse, and that Amerca rdes hm nstead of a ose lmnates the nothe opean magnaton en t came to nvent the New World Mch bee Vsscher's l straton and some tweny yeas afte Baows transaion, Francsco endezwho was apponted by Php II to wrte the natral sto of New Spandentied the armadlo by ts Nahat name aotoi) and by a Spansh synonym (0 ej bitio) ernezs anaogy between the armadio and the abbt cetanly deactsom the analoges vith te horse proposed by Barlow and challnge the deoogcal nderpnnngs of the mage sed to depct eca as te foh part of the world. It was cetanly a chalenge ose eects n the Eopean poplaon went nnotced. In fact, ernndez's manscripts, as many others fe New , remaned npblshed Instead, Thodore de B' Gand oaes (50-634 cclated wdely at te begnnng fhe seveneent cent, ptting the Amercas on he map n a ve paricla a. erca, nstead of Ne rld became the refered on ·testant co§ ageo opose the celes of Santgal.7 Among le many attracons of Bys col l are two ass revant to tl1e process ofpting the Amercas n e map. The st s tat several word maps and maps of the ecas are nclded.8 Most nteresting for o prpose ae he ones swn n ges 64 and 6.5 The capon of gre 64 reads mea sve Novs Orbs respect Eopaeorm nfeo glob terresrs as (Amerca or the New Word, inferior [ower? 1 pat of the Jesa globe wh respect to he Eopeans natons) nfeor e nterpreted as paced n a owe part accordng to sch and s geographca oentaon" or as less developed, o oflesser qa l." In te context ofB's pctoa narratve, t ceary s both. Once e ercas have been placed n the context ofthe world (g 64, a etled map s repodced for pates ater (g 6.5. Ths new map eca, n whch Amerca Septenrionas s dsngshed from
ttngte Arca te Mp
Darzer
ide the Renaiance
me Medols s otemo to he ms ted by Bleu d Seed The seod set s he emhss o the deo of blst sees o the y of the hbtts of the New ldd 0 suvvl ofmostsd ouldsh etues oultg t. The lu so of mo By's llusttos should ot ome s suse f oe emembes tht the sxteeh etuy suh etues wee stll lve d well. ht s susg s ht whe By ublshed the st volume eough exlotios hd bee heved to kow qute well tht o oe sw suh etues. But of ouse suh edg wll esuose oesodee theoy of tuth sted of efomtive oe led to oogh eeseto The ques to the s wht ws By tg to heve by segsu mges
uttg he mes o the m suh wy? Sds d
27
tes mog meds o fo he suosedly ( the eyes of B ety) outldsh tzes oftle New old The exlo mgt hve to do wth the oetios bewee degded hum tue s the eslt of degded hum behvo. Ths oetio ewee eths d tue ws desbed det the sxteeth euy mbose P's 73 d u ldodos 603) d bove ll te ubof de om lo wh both P d e y boowed sevel exmles. ee e t lest two uveses of meg utg oss the dsusso of mostes oges gels d demos. Oe s ehl d
Nbria i te New Wrld
Fig 613 lacig he eicas i the lower par o he world": B s America ive Nv rbi secod par, 159
Fig 614. Corecing the drawing, keeping he place: de B's America (thid par, fonispiece)
otUguese were neil,er accountable for the presumably cannibalistic
-
has to do with the contol of sexual behavior, and the other is eth nogaphic and has to do with the conceptuaization of the New TDarr Wold. The monsters, together wth the cannibas and naked people, Sd oft" oer a stong complement to the geographical place that Ameica Raan occupies in the map: inferior with respect to Europe and the Euro� peans.11 Let's now go back to gures 6. and 612 and look at the two sides and the top and bottom borders Asians, Aicans, and Americs_ men and women-are stading on their ft, whle Europeans re represented by maes mounted on beauil, aggressive horses One should notce, also, t hat the men are actualy riding the horses while the wmen ae just sitting on top of the animas And one co her obsee that the horse was, at that time, a hghly vaued anima, ve much a part of civilized life, related to war, conquest, an power 12 Finaly, it should be noticed that males mounted on horses ae not anonymous mae ypes, but wellidentied heroes in the hs toy of the West The map is not ony making a statement abou gender and ethnic dierences but about historic and cultural dstinc tions as well. The contrast between women siting on wild animals an men ridng hghly vaued horses, in addition to the conrast beween men riding horseback and people standing on their feet, creates an other set ofimpotant disnctions in the process ofputtng the Aer icas on the map and constructing the image of he other by deng te selfsame. Janszoon Vissches map was chronologicaly preceded b he rs known ma laborate borders rinted in ages" in 594 (g. 6 ) 3 This map intoduced in the ro cess of thelands and people that had already been emergingin Ruysch's, Waldseemlers, and Apianuss maps, as if in a dream America Mexicana and America Puana are he names used to distin guish southe om northe ands. Magalanica (or he Souh Pole) appears here as he h prt of the world The representation of four coninents, however, is the same a the on we saw in Janzsoon Visschers map, to which Magallanica has been added, at the bottom between America and Aica. The lady represening Euope is s rounded by fuits nd has one of her feet on top of a T/0 map, s suggesting that Euope dominates the world Asia and Magllaica re dressed but sit on wld nmals. America and Aica are also sittn on wild anims, but seminaked The America Peuana and Mexicana
ence felt in mapmaking, and the cannibaistc feast one can see under
insired by one of By's designs, ofwhich three of the thirteen pats a aready been published by 594 (g 66) Finaly, it should be noted that all these maps have something in
ommon: in a cult�th1aek ng, here conventions _
ave
that reading proceeds om le to ight and om top
to ba-irarcfor a meningl dis;bun o objecs on the sac ol"age a Io been established The places where the four oninents were located ar highly signicant, reinforcing the mean
ig ready expressed by clothing and sitting positions. Euope, of ourse, is at the upper le corner. Following in hierarchical order, we
see well-dressedAsiain the upperright coer.Aica and Asia seem to
ave been given equal weight in the hiechy ofhe four coers, for
erica appears on the le in Lischotens voyages, while it is on he onJanszoon Visscher's map. Aica, ofcourse, has been placed in an inverted position suggesting that both America and Aica were in
'
have their feet on a box ull of gold. Two s�-�mi; idyllic scenes ar
depicted, although would not be surpised if what is being cooe re pats ofhuman bodies, turning the o CHinto a cannibalis tic feast Of course, B's Gd yg was already making its pres
o
279
Mexcna nd Peruana (bottom le coer of the map) had been
Fig. 6.15 The inuence ofB in artographic imagination: Linschoten's 01'h tcrrarU11 tipus(I594)
Pttingh Ars "Map
equally exchangeable places at the bottom ofe map, while Eurpe andAsia remained in xed psions with Eurpe occupying the most Te Dar!r signifcant one. Maps are not territories, as he dictum goes. We could fllw te Side ofthe Renaslce chronology ofis process up t te eighteen and nineteent centuries, looking at he changes in carographic representaions wen mapping was not onlyin the hands ofEuropean cartographers but also ose who became engaged in e pocess f nation building, in Nor, Central, and Sou America as well as in the Caribbean. But his process would take us to faraeld and wuld require a change o topic The fcus would no longer be the emergence ofe "Americas in he Eurpean consciousness, but the emergence of e idea of he Western Hemisphere, and he replacement of the ideas assciate
Fig. 616 An example ofthe model: Ey's Outa wilis It casis hostibS utatr (H the soldiers ofOutina handle their enemies)
the name of New Word in the cnsciousness fAmerican inteetuals, both om the Nor nd he Souh My hypothetca Eurean obseer woud have to be compemented wi a hypotheic erican obserer Neither the American nor the European is a monoithic eniy but compex agencies divided by anguage, reigion, n ecnomical projects lthough I wlnot pursue tis deveopment er, I wi retu t it at the cose of this chapter. aing by Mandate and by Questionnaires: Putting the Iies on the Map
utng the Americas on te map om the Euopean perspecve was nt necessariy a task devted to ding he tue shape of the earh; it as so reated to cntroing territories and coonizing he imaginan opeope n bh s of the Aanic: Amerindians and EurThe spread of European literacy in the New Wrd coonies rnsmitted a concepton of the world proected in European cartgrahy. The spread f cutur iteracy in Europe showed he eduate Eurpean he nature of an unown continent Ecnomic exansin, techngy, and power, rather han ruth, is what charac� teze European carography ary n, as we as the naina cargrahy of e Americas at a ater date. From he perspecve of the Counci of e Ines (funded in 1524) and the House ofTrade founded in 1503, t1eir need t put the nies on e ma was uit dier"t om that ofnor1e Eupean rographers nde ofetters So farI have primariy paid attenion t!rcess ofintegrating le fou1 pa ofe wrd with the three reay own I did not emphasize he pocess f mapping the detais arger totalies, a sinction made by Ptemy in is Cosmogrphy an flowed by Renaissance catographers. Ptoemy singuished geogrhy, concerned wi te enire own word, om chgrawith pacuar paces. 4 Ptemy suggested t1at geog ra was ike depicing e head, chorography ike depicing one its ars (the eyes, the ears, e nose). When Peus Apianus pub lse is Co1ogrphia, he took Ptemy metaphor at pedem litte an expained te distincon between he tw wi1 pare esigns in which a wod map was printed next t a humn head and e map of a ciy next o a design of e human ear (g 67) But en i comes to maps nd mapmaking, the quesion remains eer chorography shoud be appied t the mapping f a county in a cntinent or a ciy or pace wthin a county In what fows I wluse Ptoemy's sinction as parae to he disncion between
PUil1g the Amricasl the Map
D Geographie
Darkr Sidof Rnaissanc
C O S 0 G Fo.Il Smiitude dee
b
n
A L Chorograpied Ia prticulee defciption dglieu.
[ ( ,
I'
tr cu:
.
dl V) aquu egarie fe ulement a�. (oy"m, fnsuol� fmbn ac u
2
(
UedmonreOtSlechafes
p pres IesmondCJn icu ieuxonenu,com"me fotv, orde m pplesay¥ours desriu eres.&luusaulechoes
s,&atresches famabes Fbble meed6sJaion�tou inta mdedauusleuxpa-
Et f di�11e fa aompUe e icuiscomme vngpa ouoC «:a vgfel oyel ouvne orlc.
Simiitude dicee
574)
z 57,
Fig 617 The huma body model fo geogaphic discouse: eus piauss Cmgapia (3 (see chape I fo moe o he huma ody ad he lee
574 in which he included fouteen watercolor mas of he Spanish possessions of he Indas Septentrionales ( from
570
60,
Piliines, Moluccas, etc.) (see fgs. 5. 15 and 5.1 6) This repo as a natural outcome of the visitaon to the Council of the Indies oere by Philip I and part ofOvando's recommendaton to have a
Pig rcas h Map
system to coect and organize information abot the things" of the to be Indies Amerindians who had the chance to draw a did not have the chance, however, to oer JDarer attached to te Se ofhe their own territoria perspecves Ths, when the entire corps of Renaiance L6pez de Veasco's geographic description is ooked at we have in deed a ve interestng perspeciv on the process of pttng the Indies instead of the New World or America) on the map. Let's then coser ook at his process The rst step toward h description and demarcation of the Indies was a pbished set of Roya orders) in which a nota of each province or state was responsi be for coectng nd writing down in the a reevant informaon conceming the Ins Occidentaes, which wod ater be passed to the The ocia chost was expected to organize and chek the infona· tion of he book wih a view to writing an encycopedia of the geogra phy, histoy, ethnography, and natra histo of the Indies, hs com pying wih Ovando's recommendation to make a systematc accont abot the things' of the Indies" Lpez de Veasco's was hen, te st systematic accont er Ovando's recommen� daion and the rst systemac char of the Spanish transatanic pos sessions. Prining did not rectly favor L6pez de Veasco's accompishments nti l1e second haf of the ninetenh centy However, his verba description was expanded and his maps were re drawn for a printed edition, pbished by Herrera y Tordesias in one of the vomes say end of he second) of his Herrera y Tordesias was appointed in his was reprinted and transated severa imes n w J and he eighteenth centy For a practica prposes, Herrera y Tor desias's version of the became he_referece for mapping i' theinto Spanish possessions om Forida to the Phippines. Te scces
j sive reprinng of he work dring the coonia period bears witness to
its aoritaive impo. The Madrid etion, printed to amn the Antwerp edion in which tweve of the foteen maps were omit ted bears witness to tl1 contining signicance and actaity of te maps7 The premise hat he ands were new" and in need of eing mapped is obvios in te way Lpez de Veasco approached is description What did L6pez de Veasco geographicay) conceive nd how d he describ the and he chared in foreen maps? Aow me to repeat in his context, a few words already qoted in the re vios chapter
e Indies the islands and terra rma in the Ocean which are commonly called the New World are the lands and sas which lie
witin the boundaries of he Kingdom ofCastie, which is a hemispere or hafof the word, begiing at [80 degrees west from a
ng he Amrica meridian circle which passs through 39 degrees longitude west of "eMap
e meridian ofToedo8
At a rst glance the distinction between the Indies, the islands an terra ma . . commonly called the New World" seems a simple question ofsynonymyThere is more t it, however han a phiosophil queston ofmeanng and reference ( .g the morning" and the
evening" stars refer to the same panet Venus). Let's st devote our
attenon to the Indies, the islands and terra a" (which is e exression used and adapted, in Herrera y Tordesilas's Hist01·ia). l9
and soute Indiesere naturay divided, according e to Oez de Vasco, by the Panama straits. The reading of a geo-
gaR sin (Panama straits) in terms ofa
exame of the benng of natura and geographcal course that warrantsthe truthvaue ofthe map: L6pez deVeasco assumed that it wasnot the map hatcreated the division but nature itse But it isaso an exampe ofhe underyingassumptions ofthe understander (in his
ase L6pez deVelasco) reading natural" signs (he Panama straits) in
e context of a natura" tradition (nonnatura signs). T he eastern
Ines presents a dierent kind of problem to he geographer and mamer of e Council ofthe Indies, for naturally" these islands onged to Asia rather than to e commony caed New Word."
Te criteria in this case were no longer geographic and natural" but oliical e island belonged to he transaantic possessions of te Sanis kingdom. L6pez de Velasco did not seem besieged by the ontraction when he described le hrd part ofthe Indies:
e West Ines are a the isands and terra 1a which ie within e bondaries of the kingdom of Castie, to the westemost point, whose ontiers, as I hav said, extend to the oher side of the wod to the city of Maca whence to e East and New Spain; ere is a arge gf consising of many isands big and sma, and many coastlines ad mch dy and, whch form he Spice Isands aso ced the Macan Isands), te Phiippines the Coast of ina, the Leqias d Japanese Isands te Coast ofNew Ginea, 1eSoomon Isds and the Thieves Isands20 he Indies, as the ocial name adopted by Opez de Velasco instea of NewWorld, began to make sense. New World could not have
TDarkr Side ofhe Renaiance
Trade.23 On the other hand, Columbus (but not Vespucci) may aso be seen in te context of mapping associated wth the Counci of the Indies. Followng e second voyage, in wch erdinand and Isabella explicily ordered Colmbs to make "entera reaci6n de 10 que veres [a whole repo ofwhat you might see], we can see tle eecs he questionnaire attached to e memorandum had on mapmng and geograpcal descripons in he context of European Alanc exploraions Mapping nd geographical descriptons associated wit tle House of Trade showed ess conce Witl simiar actvities by te Counci of the Indes or by professiona carographers and men o eters In the context of learning, the mi n queson was to conce� tuize, in writing and in mapping, e lands unknown to them Tus, Orbs Novus, Nuevo Mundo, andAmerca were he names most com mony used in e context of lerning. The repo written by Pete Martyr was named De orbe 0'0 decades (see chap. 4) d was clea wrtten in a humanst context, whie he st "hst of Oviedo Vads, written win te Crown's poltca and economic context, was clled Generly at1a istoria de las Indias (5 37- 8). But lis is not . Maps and words have a distinctive graphic con guraton today just as ey did for an educated European of e sixteenth centuy. This was certainy the case when the process o putng he mericas on he map, by dawing coaslines and namin places, was at stake Columbus's rage of naming reves he commer cial and poitical dmensions of s enterprise, subsequenly pursue by te House of Trade and le Counci of he Indies Tls may ave been beyond Coumbuss orgina movaon, but not that of e kngdom of Castie, as expressed in the Capitulaons ofApri 492 To reread Columbus in he context ofs dialogue (or and written) vt tle Crown is not rfetched, since he wrote what he did wit a specic audence in mind and not in order to express his personl toughts d feelings Coumbuss problem was to communicate not ony witl he Indans, but more impoanly vh le Crown His at ofnaming was, on he one hand, a gi to hs benefactors and, on te other, an inscripton ofnew paces in Caslian and Chrisan old mem oy. Semantic appropriation is not exacty tle same as poical an adminisrative appropaon. The dierent strategies invoved in o cases should not prevent us om ooking at hem as two sides o e same coin Like mapping, naming is also a semanc move atace to the poical and economic srategies of e Crown, as we as e religious crusade engineered by Rome. Coumbus appeaed-at erent times and vt dierent intensitesto both contexts. In stead, Vespucci's etter t his Italian eaed iends reveas what su
sequently would become a ve well dened (nonSpsh mapping acviy wih which his name was associated he Transformaon of Social Roles and the Aministration of the Indies
Let/'ado (man ofletters), a word of common use in sixteenth-centu aslian, summarized aneork ofmeaning derivedfrom the name of e alphabec unt: let/'a (eter), as we have readyinsistedin chapter J. oward the sixteenh century let/ado had wo basic meanings in le icioa;o de autoridades, compiled in tle eighteent centuy: (a) letrado was appled to tlDse who possessed scenc knowedge, for e idea of scienc knowledge was matched to the wrtten word or tters (" etado es edocto en las ciencias queporque estas se amon letras, se e do este nombre Vene de atino liteat/s, que signca 10 mismo); and (b) let/'ado was also applied to those expert in aw scribes, notaries, lawyers) raher han in sciences ( let/ado se ama comunmente a abogado Lat. Jurisperits Casidimf). lDugh it seems obvious at let/ado comes om the Lan litteatus, what is not obvious is tat the meaning of litteratuswas te same as he meaing atrbuted to letrdo. Parkes obseves tlat in tle ie Ages litterats was only apped to those who possessed owedge of Latn, and it was sometimes reated to learning (g 6.9). Marava in a work pubshed tweny yes before comple mented is obseaion by nong tat earng was conceived in tems ofte GrecoRoman tadition Canchyhas repoed tat whie oward tle weh centuy cle;ms so meant litteras and lais meant illieats the synonymy was due to a semanc chge by means ofwich littert"s and cl/'is became interchangeable Wi terms meaning "learned or "schoary.25 He has aso suggested hat wile te thesis clericnsaicsw a medeva creaon, literats ilierats had a Roman orgin. Thus, te descripon we d in te ghteenthcentuy S pish Diccioario de at01'idades comes om e Rom raher tan om te medieva background.
The second meanng ofhe word lerado can be better understood
anst tle background of he rst Toward the second haf of tle eenth century, tle semanic changes atached to he word let/ado were signs ofhe social chnges taking pace in he domain ofknow 1ege and administaon In ct, while a let/ado in te sense of "a
eed and scholary person mayseem at st glance to have a more roment social roe ,an a let/'ado as "a person schooed law and
Puingthe Americasol he Map
lega matters," cerain derences may be perceived uponcosenspecion. Gil Fernndez has expanded on he classic study by Mravall,26 e Daker devoted to the dea ofknowledge in he Mddle Ages and he correSide ofthe spondng symboic representaon ofsocial oes reated to t, by deRenaissance scribing the dstbuon ofsocia roles and ncons ofgrmmarians, men ofetters (letados), and humanists during the sixteenth centur. Whie in he Middle Agesaccordng to Gi Fendezhe er archy ofknowedge had the theologians as a superor caste in reation to the grammrans, lawyers, and notaes, the situaton began to change in Spn toward the end of the eenth century Expers in legl matters began to hod posiions of ncreasing mporance.27 they gained in social staus so the meaning of he word letadoshie They became a caste that detached iseffom both he medeval cler;cus and the Renassance humast. In he context ofhe colonzaion of the New Word the letrados (men ofetters) were in charge o te inteectual egitimation oftheconquest, whereas he letrados( expers
Fig 6 19. How a humanist may have looked: Sebastian dl Piombo's
Humanist (ca. 1520), National Gallery, Washington
in w nd eg mtters) took over everthing conceing olcymk ing nd dministon Pts 1 nd of is ook hve een devoted , ly, to he tsk of men ofletters Let's now devote some me to Pting the exore the signicnce of the men of lw he jursts nd Amcao some of ther work, such s the Ordennzs de Inds nd the teM re rdgmtc exmles of he socil oles in chrge of the orgnizton of the New Wold nd the com liy etween lhetc wring, teritori, nd coonizion I ve redy menioned tht in he sixteenh centur the just egn to ly ole eul or even more imotnt hn the humnst the ureucrt took over the orgizion of soend e he scussion ofides to the intelectu he Councl of e des, wch ws e sureme nstuion for rs concernng e Indies nd he dmisron of the New World , hd execuve , jul, nd egisltive nctons It conssted of coknddgger ounlors on one sde nd roed counciors on the oher Men of rms nd men of etters he tter domnted the council though see force of numers nd through their exerence n the rs of e Ines, snce mny of hem hd een udges n high cours or hd le govement osts in he New Wold All cets of life were sue to he ursdicton of the council, from high oiics detied nformon on geogrhy, olticl history, ntur hstory, nd so n e Ordennzs de nds re good exmles of this stuton n, lso, of the ncresing role yed y litercy n the colonizion e ew Wod r exme, contns hlosohy fo e mnistrtion, nd it is mde cer ht if the memers of he ounl of the ndes were honest ersons of nole stock nd reute inege ersons rods en costumres, nolez, y imiez e linjes), it ws ecuse they were selected ccordng to their owlege letters) nd udence escogidos en les y rudenc) s so seced n the consituion of the Counci of he ndes e resdent would e dvised y eight who were men of letters relted not to scence ut to lw
of
was enry devoted to undeinng he signicance of reang and wing leters as a regula aair ofthe counc. Coonal adminstators ere aware that he technoogy ofwring provded by the alphabet
me it ossie to eectively conduct usness like the telehone n leoc mai of today) and tke contro of ,e people and the an comping a huge set of reguaons (01-dCf1zas) and a quesonnre (the Memorandum), whch generated a massive amount of nformaon ( the Rlacioesgeogrjcas de Idias). Let/ados and cosmgraers joined frces totrace the boundaries (in words and maps) newly acqured domains (fg. 620).
The Councl ofthe Indes, ofwhch L6pez de Velasco was the s ocal cosmogaphe, was the man nsttutonal locus fo the oganmassve nfomatoneDae zaton, plannng, and mplementng of the trc elation to asymme an , howeve as, Side ofhe gatheing opeaton29 Theew one hand, and te the on adt1z) Mmor the Reaie technology between the enjoyed benets adt1I Me0 the Whle othe the on to the powe ex· elated ly" natura was (which pess pntng ofthe ecsed by the councl), the memoria! wee handwtten and neve Jmnez de l Espnted n the tme. The st edton was that of the undestandng fo entaton docum pada, n the spt ofpublshing ton o of nfoma sson tansm a as g pntn of the past athe than The � rel ed cioes, poduc was t that tme the at al opnon nuent m conthose fo e, Howe dawn hand and tten handw us, wee tol ofthe admnstraon ofthe Spansh empe n the New Wold, te of nfomaton fo relacions epesented an mpotant souce ode to wte hston councl choncles and cosmogaphes ofthe ies and chart new teritoies. y The y questons lsted n the Memorandum geneall ended u
on the desk o a notay ubic, who would gathe a eesentatve numbe o Sansh and natve eole who, at the tu, would o e the answe to each queston oay, whle the nota ublc would them n wtng and send them to his sueo e assng ough sevea stes o the admnstratve heachy, the ned u n the hands o some n the counc The teno o he lette sent by the kng to hs goveos was as ollows HE KING: Know ye, U Goveo o hose o ou ouncl o the Indes havng at varous tmes iscussed the ocedue that should be establshed n ode that whn t thee can be cetan and detaled nomaton about the hngs o the sad Indes, so that the councl can attend to the good govement, t has seemed a oe thng to decee that a geneal descrton be made o the whole condton o ou Inies, slands, and the ovnces, the most accuate and cetan ossble In ode that you roey ad n omng such descton, you comly wth the nstuctons that have been rawn u o t, n ited om They ae heewth beng sent to you Because t s ou that such descrtons be made seccaly n each ovnce, we ommand you to make a descrton o that cty n whch you esde an o the aces wthn ts jursicton as soon as you eceve ths, ou edula oushall send to each othe goveos, corregdos, and alcaldes o e strcts wthn you usdcon the nu mbe o e sad Insucons whch you deem necessa o them to stbute among the towns oSaniards and oIndans wthn the scoe o the dstct, town, o mayoalty You shal dsatch them unde command that as romty as ossbe they shall comly and do what ey ae oeed to do by the sad Instructons ou shall collect the eots at may be made n each lace You sall send them, togethe wth le you youselhave eaed, as romtly as ossble to ou ouncl o e Inies, o evew It wil avse us thee ae uts n them, and o what cause, and make aroate ecommendatons Sgned, San Loenzo el Real, 5 May 77 I, HE ING2
, nd the Fig 620 The complicity between letterwriting, �apping llo and HS. Band d ai Ca' o' Piomb del buines ofthe state: Sebastian , Wahington Secreta1] azd Po Comographers (1516), National Gallery
at s elevant n s ocess s e act that the oal eot gven ose who wee nvted to atcate was wtten down by a
29
0
Pig he America he Map
(nota! pbic) who tansoed an oa discose into a written (a phabetic) epot with adinistratve pposes. When copared wi eDe the pitoideogaphi witng syste and apping in preCobian Sid !h centa Mexco, or instance, the Rlcionsgeogrcas aso sered to Ric israte the interenton o aphabec iteacy in pictoideog raphi teracy Aphabetc witng had not ony ade t possibe to insce what had been sad in a conicatve sitaton (osing oever te act o saying and hearing in which the nota! and the inoant wee invoved) and to deveop its own conicative stategies, bt aso aowed the detachent o aphabetic witng and apping in a a that is dict to iagine in pitoideogaphc witng and a ping.33 In ct, when we ook at he aphabetc witten epos and te ap o the cions we peceve a dsnce between the t Uc greate than that beteen native writing systes and apping: conqest as we as postconqest, native aps were a oe than an organization o space, a ocaizaton o paces, and an indicaton o dstances. They were ainy teitoia congations ceated b te recodkeeping and spaa bondaies. The o aps o Ca nchn (g. 62) associated with the His0ia olcacicmca4 are one o the ost cear exapes o territoia oganization in a soc in which histo and geogaphy had not been dened a o dieent discipines Whie apping the new teritoies was systeaticay hand the Conci o the Indies by eans o the Memorandu, the ora epors and the aps povided by the Aerindians were absorbed an conroed by the adinistrative nework and the y qestons iste on it. Thee o the qestions reqested a ap or pira. Ths, e Indios viejos" who dew the piuras o severa o the relacios toward 580 (and who presaby were bon toward 50-0 ten to een yeas ae the arriva o he tweve Fanciscans who ben t spread o Weste teracy n Mexico), wee aeady between a tra ton in which apping and writing were both detached o see and a new earning experence in which wting reprodced an xed speech and apping eained independent o it The tanso aion was twood on the one hand was the process oeaning new conventions o teitoia odering and, on the othe the pocess o socia transoaton by which toward the end o the sixteent en t the lalo ceased having the crca nction he had ha n peconqest tie and that had sived thogh the rst ha o te sixteenh cent, dging by the nbes o postconqest codies that have been dated aond that te It is had to becase oa oinoaton, whether the Indos vieos reered to by the Sanis notay in the written eport o the rlacios ebodied the siv o 29
Fg. 62 1. Ateative territorialities: Map o/CIahtilchn 2 (ca. I550), space and time among the Toltecs-Chichimecs
Thus it should be kept in mind hat the acs of describing mapping or paintng the space depicted or invented) and he way ofdepicting Te Dae or inventing) it re interelated althogh at clearly disinguished Side fhe levels The st coresponds to he level of acon he second to he Raic relations beween signs and their content; he hird complies with a given way ofdoing things with si gns and cogntive pattes. The wellnown g 6.22) is a ne example o Amerndian om the mid-sixteenh century. Ahough e events and space descbed and the pattes of descipons sup posedly srived om preconquest times the act of painting itselfis a colonil one and therefore a case of colona semiosis. The traces the terrtory in its spai as well as temporal bound ries: he chat of he space om the legend Azn to he Valey o Mexico and he char of he peregrnation of time om the point of origin Aztln) to te point of arival Chapultepec ). When com pared with e g. .1) one woud tend to believe that the former is colonil wIe te later came to us as a
g 622 Alenaive eioialties: Mapa Sa ca 55, og and peegation of te Azecs
preconquest aifact. Whe both race he peregrinaon om a place 299 of orgin to he actua habitat there are obvious dierences beween respond less to indge Nba in he the o Hman gres in the n the latter te N Wold nous pates h e counting of the years is clearly indcated and he signs re simar to he numericl signs encountered in otler codices om the Vley ofMex the years have not been indicated. The ico n te years shown in gure .b in aabic numerals have been added and represent a scholarly reconstuction raher han an originl colonial chronologcal sng. W e kow however as seen in chapt er 3 that he preColumbian ruling class had developed sophisticated mes of me reckoning that hey applied to place social events in e and to eep record of he past. When compared wih European maps he is ve imprecise as far as locaon longitude and latude) is conceed. TS nd of geographical "imprecsion has been interpreted in negatve e.g what the Amerindians did not have) rather th posiive eg. what he Amendis did have) terms. Teritorial conceptions among the Aztecs were of course dissimil r to hose of the pash Gra Marnez repors hatthe teritoaliyofhe water ill) encompassed both t he natural resources as well as te meo of um hsto Contary to Europe maps te dd not imply a precise delimitaon of geographic boundaies. Geograplc limits were zzy and varable nd it was oen the case that beween two there were disputed lands as we as empy spaces. Garca artnez concluded that it was duing the process ofcolonizaion that a more deed sense ofspace law and history was pojected onto he am not sre whether we should conclde at what the pards perceived as a "lack ws de to the fact that he Mexica were simply unable to match the piards' teritoril concepza ion or raer at they realy did not "lac anyting because tIey had ierent ways of llling similar needs. The ct remains tat loca ions are determined by he storcal and sociological signicance of an event in the collecve memory �invenng he peregrinaion and chting of he Nahuatl world. To place te point of origin Azln) nd te point of rrivl Chaputepec) in two opposite coers is inication not only of a peregrnation in time bu t also of a conscien ious use of graphic signs to indicate hat the o points ofdeparure and arival e .g. my addition) are e most istant in space. n he words ofRadn "t is not an nual account set own year for yea but like he Tira Boturni shows unstakable evidence of systemaizaion. 4 On he oher hand Aztn d hapultepec are the sites to which more space is devoted in the
3 e Dae Sde fhe Raance
they arc not only points ofdepature and arrival; ofall te plaes indiated by the peregrinaton, they are the most signiant. Duverger suggests tat the peregrinaton of Azn was an "inven ton aer the arrival at the Valley ofMexio4 An obvious statement perhaps, although a neessa one for the understanding of olonia semiosis and Amerindian "mapping during the preolonial as well as olonial period If during the expansion of he Mexia empire mas like these satised peoples' need to reassure themselves and teir on tadion in front of rival ommunies, it is no less relevant that te uling lass of Amerindian ivilizaions moves om being in powe to being disempowered Consruion of ethni we) identies however, is not limited to power On te onrary, ats of opposition and resistane and the to suive require a strong sense ofindivid� ual and ommunal identity In our next example, the four of Cuauhinhn2 have a more omplex histo tan e previous two not only beause there are four maps but also beause of eir obsure onneons wih te a narraive aount of Amerindian om munites om the ValeyofPuebla3 Map no 2 (g 62) is one more example of the "migration eme (the Toltes peregrinaon om Chiomozto to Cholula) ofwhih te and are good Azte examples All three maps arc pito graphi registers of events of persons patiipang in the events o spatial boundaries nd loations of legenda origin, as well as he atual habitat The fat that spae and time are ombined in the same might appear strange to a Western eduated person of he twenet entu austomed to a straightfoard distintion beween geogra� phy and histo between maps and narratves To an eduated person living in eleventh-entu Europe these would have been raer familiar At least one type ofmedieval map was a ombination o spatial boundaries with narratve elements The fat that one o e major soures of medieval was Orosiuss is already a telling example of te ompliity e tween geography and hsto ofraing boundaries and telling stories. It was not until the sixteen entu that geographers and historians would be learly dsinguished When L6pez de Velaso, r instane i ofte Counil ofthe Indies in 5 te was appointed position implied bol tasks geographer as well as hroniler. In 596 however e post was divided in two one for a geographer and t oher for a hroniler or hstorian Herrera y Tordesillas beame te hronilerhistorian, while hs forerunner Lpez de Velaso, was a geographerhroniler Thus the mixng of spae and tme in ter itoial ordering parallels the mixing of soial roles assoiated wit
ing and paintng: the was a more versaile soial role tan e geographer and the histoian ere is one more impotant element in Amerindian territorial oneptualization and depiton at is not obvious in the previous ree peregrination examples This single impotant element is e four orners of the world disussed in hapter 5 We have seen that s aspet transends spei legay and tradions and is found in esoameria, in the Andes among the Navajos, in anient China and i Jewish and Christan osmologies.4S It organized e world and the ommunaion between earth and heaven when information about istantplaes on eath and tehniques for alulang those distanes were neither available nor neessa The onnetion between the osmos and the ea isteadQf sae and ime is what manifests ei tertorial depion in pre or nonapitalist ivilizatons The ur oers of he world is a ndamental ognive pattern, whih eomes blurred one ethni enters in the West are disguised under geometr projetions (see hap. 5 One remarkable example ofle onneon between osmos earth, and human territorialiy is pro ie y the Texoan historian Feando de Alva Ixtilxohi l at e enning of he seventeenth ent in a narraive aount of how e fouroer pattern oered to his anestors a model for territorial orering and ontrol Ixtlilxohitl a member of the Texoan no i, evoted a great deal of is life to traing e genealogy and sto of his people What follows is his narraon of how X610t (a leaer of the TolteClhime people) took possession of the land eyears aer he deline and fall of the Tolte empire
en X610tl was building his new ity of Tenayua, in the same ye of II he deided to take possession of the enire land, from one sea to the other and for is purpose he gathered together s vassals and he told them at he wished to take posses sion of e land, placing his bouday markers on the highest
es; and galering bundles of long grass whih grew in the mountains . . . he set light to them, for wthout any opposition he onsidered e land hs own without having to take it om any one now itl0ut breaking the word of Iauhtzin, his great granther, for the Toltes had long sine ome to an end, and if and remain, tley were few and were le land whh was to their ling where ey and leir desendants might setle; establishing an stribuing vllages and towns, provines and ites, with e formlites ad rites and eremonies whih bet this task and in ore to subsist they reated ommon land and forests for al so untng 0's resoluton and mandate was aepted by his lords and
3 Pung e Amao he Map
303
302
Puttig te Ameri the Mp
eDke Side ofthe Ric
Aer having marked the bounday limits determined by X610tl, and having sent te four ords to take possession ofal te remaining and om one sea to te other, and having arrived by his time at hs city, X610tl ordered tlat all the and which fel wiin te st bounday be distributed among his vassas, gvng each noble is share ofpeople, and a town which he might found wit them, an he ed ts rst demarcaton in order to settle it rst Wi te peope he had, and to the second demarcation, which extende across e enire and om one sea to the other, h e sent the fou ords so at tIey might multipy, and so tat tose who migt come woudgraduallyadapt and settle the enre and, as aeards his descendants setled there, naming each town aer he nobe whofounded it, and in the places marked byte Toltecs, such as te cities, no new names were given, and tIs is what was done, as can be seen in the demarcaion ofthe city ofAzcaputzalco, which went
Fratured Territoria Ordering Dislaing the Locu o nuniation
580 Because the four "wings or '�corners ofthe world are also foun in the Bible,47 it is temptng to say that the Christian inuence ha made its way into the Ixilxochit narraive. I wouldprefertosay (as I suggested in the previous chapter) that he fourcoer cosmolog is common to both ancient Mexcansand ancient Hebrews and thats basic human way of organizing e territory had dierent deveopments in unreated cutura taditons. In any event, al te examples commented on in this secton not only suggest Amerindian cognive
5
65
then the pintas attached to settlements and land lgations . The reacions, as t has been mentoned n the prevous chapter, were a Drker repot by mandate, guded by the y questons prepared by te Side ofthe Counc ofte Indes, and eventualy prnted and dstributed among enissne the admnstators of te Spansh possessons n the West and ast
304
16 alhough the a wrtten verson was the responsbly of a nota pubc The pinturas attached, accordng to queson 0 were qute oen drawn by ndos viejos y prncpales" Queson 0 ofhe Mem oandum (n whch the y quesons are lad out as wel as nstrucions for competing te questonnare) requested, speccaly, a pin-
0
From the begnnng, the queston tself mposes a cosmoogca orentaon hat s not algned wth what can be consdered Amerndan orentations Whle n Mesoamercan (as well as early Chrstan) cosmoogy spaa orientation was determned by the sunrse and sunset, European cartography of he late Renassance preferred No and SOUtl. The drecton of the sn's movement and the sacred pace (Paradse) were relaced by mode technology and the compass 51 A deepy rooted patte for spatal orentation, based on cosmoogca experence and relgious connotatons, had been repaced by a more concrete need for chartng navgaon and measurng dstance wt the Arctc and Antarcc poes as reference ponts. On te other hand, when e pi1tlas were drawn by the Amerndans, they showed a dstrbution ofspace at s not fond n the pinturasshown n Tim de /£peregrinain Mapa Senza, or Mapas de C"alhtih . I suspect that the dierences could be read both n a chronologca and a communcative context Chronologcaly, he pita of te e/aiones were produced at te ed of the sxteenth century when te Castilan conquest of te terrtoywas well advanced, while he Map" Se1z, Tira de la peregrinacin, and Mapas de Cuahtinch1 are all om e st half ofthe centuy Whether Iese ree were drawn for te nternal use ofthe communty (as seems to be the casen the Historia tolteca-chichemeca) or drawn to nform Spansh mssonares about ther past (as seems to be te case of e Mapa S'eZ),
O
Putting the Amercs theMp
6.23)
oads om ves and ae commonly ound n ohe maps" o n dcae the decon o mgaons A s glance s possble o conclude e D!r ha although he spaces ae well delmed he monase occupes a Side f" moe pomnen poson n he pinta han he hll Ths concluson Renince may be due o ou Wese eadng habs (le o gh and op o boom) Fom he decton n whch some o he ancen genealog cal codces wee dawn and nepeed howeve ths s mpes son could be poven wong A �bousophedon" eadng has been sug gesed o the undesandng o seveal genealogcal codces n whc
ig 623 cued eioiliies e pit oCimluacnoyc
ase he eleva obecs could be placed owad he boom le nsea othe uppe gh Bu n any case wha s sng n he oveall zaton o he space s he concng coexsence ohe Amen- Pigthe a andSpansh ethnc spaces a ellng example o a hybd eoal Americ 01 "Mp eesenaon n he conex o colonal semoss he pin o Chmalhuacn s no an solaed case Alhough mo examples could be extaced om the 1eacio1s I am moe neesed n suggestng he geneal dmenson o the phenomenon a could be also lusraed n maps ound aached o land lgaons In he pinta oHuasepec (g 624) he posons occuped e houses o Chrstan and Amerndan egous pacces have ee nveed (he emple on he op le and the monasey on the oom gh) Te cene o he map s le empy ete as no mans lan o as he place n whch Amendan and Castlan spaces neac ei1ta was dawn owad he end o he sxeenh cenury n the sae o Oaxaca Alhough te conex o he relacions o the land selemens and gaons ae deen he cognve paes o spal oncepualzaon om e Amendan pespectve owad he
ig 6 Fcued eioilies: e nt o Huasepec
end of the sixteenth century, make it clear that he which a still properly Amerindian teriorywas depcted was being replaced b eDke whch the territory is dvided and the center eher empted Sde ofte or shared. 53 Rennce Finally, here is the hat the center has been empied Orelus as well as 6pez de Velasco proceeded as f no conceptualzaton of space had existed before hey were able to map he "new land. On the contr, for Guaman Poma as wel as for many who had the chance to paint or describe ther town, they felt that their n territoy remained but was occupied by someone ese. There s a dier ence, however, in he work of e responsble for many of he n the and Guaman Poma's The derence s ofscale and of cosmographcal and cosmologic awareness mainy The who painted he ma of ChimhuacAtoyac lmited hmself to what the (and e notay pubc who enacted t) requested: a descripion of the town where the races of the complicity beween city ad cosmos have been erased What remains is e coalescence ofwo wordvews in the same place In Guaman Pa's the coalescence of wo worlds, nstead, has been proected nto a cosmologcal dagram lnk ng geography wih a tnscendent design of the cosmos However, te of e anonymous and Guama Pomas are complementary ndeed Whle the rst is gounded n e conlcng merger of the (Amerindan organization and adminsation ofland, space, and memory) with the encomienda (Span ish organzaon and adminstaon of land possession and produc on), the second s grounded on he concing mergng between e four coers and e center, on he one hand, and e coexistence o e Indias de Per wih Caste, on e other What is more impressive, however, is the sustained eor of Gua� man Poma de Ayala to map e world and contest the om an Ameindian perspective et me expand on these two aspecs one at a time. And allow me to refer again the drawing of le (g. 5) which has already been analyzed om a dierent perspecive in he prevous chapter The depicion of shows an organizaion vemuch lke e one seen in e of ChimahuanAtoyac and Huastepec (gs 23 an 2 ) The space between the two worlds has been le empy n order to descrbe heir coexistence Much like he temple and the monas teries n he previous examples, e Indies (Las Indas) at te top ofe pcture emphasizes the East where te Sun (e Inca God) rises; belo te empy space dividing the wo worlds s placed Castilla. The sym bolc rchness of his aso les in he fact at Lpez de Velas 308
co's map has not only been nverted, but has been redrawn from a fourpillar cosmology according to which the Indies and Castile are Putti1g the o at he center of e world.54 The existence ofwo centers is the best example I can provide ofthe Ameico coexistence of territo representation om e Amerindian point of t"eMp vew. It s so a paradigmac example of colonal semoss and hybrd cultura products: whle pez de Velasco as well as oer European mamakers n order to char e Spanish possessions es Indies) or a New World, Amerindans in ore to accommodate er sense ofinvaded teritoriaiy, coexisng w foreign ones And empying the center also means, in tls context oescrption, changing e locus of enuncation. Whle e s placed at he beginnng of the y he is placed toward the end and followed by aout sxty drawngs ofPen towns, some ofl1em qute simlr to om the (g. 25) If one tkes into aount ths secon, it looks simiaralugh invertedto pez d lasco's gener map of the Indas Occidentales, followed by hirteen detled maps of dierent audencias. In both cases, a general iure of the Spanish domains or the world is shown, and hen fol lowed up by the pars of the totaity (eg., he eyes d te head) en one reads the and he sxty town drawings togeer wi the he sense that a new locus ofenunci aion is being caved by pung he Indes of Peru (nstead of e ericas or te Indas Occidentales) is reinforced. But alteative loci oenunciation wthout the suppor of insituional power oen are noeard when ey speak heir present, although they are eqently relimed as forgotten or suppressed examples to understand the past
ne Sace, Several Terriories Many Acual Worlds utting te Americas on he map om the Eropean perspective was no necessariy a task devoted to nding the re shape of he eah; it was aso related to controlling teritories, diminishing non European oncetualization of space, and spreading European carographic lit er; t1 colonzing the imagination of people on both sides ofhe anc Amerndans and Euopeans Ths s not to say hat he eos to exand Weste cultures did not engender opposition and re \ sstance It s simply to recognize that the power of e economic and rlious expansion and e force of e prning technology have een the most persuasive among al possible imagnable alternatives e sread of European lteracy in the New World colones transmt
I
\
One oe mn Fg 625 pitus o owns tced to Relciongeogrcsb one o te sy owns drwn by Gumn m, pled e mp1ndi
t to ducated Amrindians and Creoles teir own territorial aware 3 1 ness and te idea tat America was t four part ofte world Cer tinly, sc a perspecve was neiter necessarily sared by evone, Putingte no e only possible altativ, but obviously by ose wo ad te Americasol ow and conrolled cains ofcommunication and programs ofdu te Mp aion Had Islam, instead of Crisianity, "discoverd unknown lan and pople, not only migt America not ave been America, but wold not av been te four par ofte world bcause, om t rspctiv ofIslamic geograpy and cartograpy, te ear was not i in tre pas Economic expansion, tecnology, and powr, ra t rut, caracterizd European cartograpy early on, and naon carograpy of e Amricas at a later dat From t point ofviw of Amrindians ofte past as wll as of rsent, teir cosmograpic and cosmologic taditions were and at rally count as territorial organizaion. Uron as sown te nnuity ofInca cosmology in contemporary Peru, and Gossen as sn a similar patte among Camulas of sout Mexico ( g 5 yprovide good xampls ofcommunities r wom, ven toa, e Americas does not ave te same maning it ad for our otcal Europan obseer,5 or for t intllctuas and nation uilrs a t beginning of te ninteent century wo revrsed te Eroean prspectiv by puting te Americas on t map not as ia in te Nw World but in te West Hmisper.57 ama te ciy and te place, is at te center of t art. For e el wo live in tis cosmology, Amrica is still not on te map e iabit e same space, altug tey live in a dirent world an ltatie trritoy Amerindians in Sou an Cenr as wll as Nave Amricans in t United States ave kept i traiions aliv and trrioria organization is for tem, as for ano ls, a ndamental aspct ofteir cultural idntity y are onstan tacing us not only tat maps ar not te terito, but also a rocss ofinvnting and putting te Amricas o n te map was n an eelasting pisode of past, but an open procss toward te e
62
b
n is an previous capter I made an eort to understand colo niaon o sace istorically as well as toreticaly Historically, I o a e colonial xpansion as e darker side of t European nc orically, I attemptd, rst, o displace qustions to rresentaions of te colonized wit qsons rlatd
to e efoaces at both ed of the sectum (cooze ad colozed) as wel as bewee (coloze exe coozed adDk ataio). Secod I made a eot to suggestfolowg OGoSidefte mans sema wosto cae a ocus of eucaio fom whch to Renisce loo at he Euoea Reassace fom he esecve of coloa ad ostcoloal wolds Revesg a histocal esecve s at he same me a heoetcal ad a deoogcal move. Theoeically t edeoogcaly t mles the c ques of ecao aale ad ooste to he oc of ecao cea oogy stead of loog at magal soceties fom the esectve of academc cetes t ooses to loo at cltual ad oltical cetes om he academc mags. Loc of eucato ae oly aaly elated to the hysca domcles ad academc aao of seaig ad wg sbjects. They ae costucted by both og and detachg oesef om evous efomaces.58 Thee s o easo to mt the questo whee te 2
San Jose San Jeronim
' "
Sun o
� o",
F,.h"
l t,i J ,
Lay r f th Sky
d f h Undwold
h un by Nigh
Fig 6. 26 Chmulas orderig of he world, i he secod half of he wenieh ceury
subate ca sea to he oacademc wold Oe ca wess eve a academc fe a cea subaltey dsgused ude he abe of "otes o the way that ublcaos ae teed out ad fel- Putting te owshs ae admsteed ad awaded. Am'is My eos have bee addessed to udestag some secc te Mp Euoean (ad ot just Sash) moves uttg the Amecas o the ma ad admstag the des as we as some Ameda moves om Mesoameca ad the Andes) accommodatg the eceio and cosuctio of tetoaly to ew socal ad cultua eals I have aso ted to avod the dea that Saads o Euoeas msudestadg o goace of Ameida tetoalties was a wog eesetatio of hem whe Amedas themseves wee ot alowed to tel he ght a of e sto. Istead I have attemted to suggest that Euoea moves mag ad vetg a ew Wod and Sash moves towad admstaig ewly dscovee lads ad eoe wee moves eated to he eed to justi the exasos by seadig the owledge ad cotolg tetoes. sma vew could be aled cetay to udestadg Amea semotic efomaces befoe dug ad ae e coquest excet at o the oe had Amedas ( Mesoameca ad the es) had o choce but to yed (coutg aso suessed ellios) to Euoean and Sash tetoal coto ad that o the oe he cosmoolical uses oftetoaty to ogaze ad gove ee oveoweed by a tetoal coceio attached to comex ueaucaces ad isgused souces ofowe hat emed saces by gog evious exstg tetoialtes. Euoea mas and Sanish tetoia admstao stocally became he "tue eesetaio ofa New Wod and he Idas Occdetaes. Loog at em as soa and semotc teacios ad tetoial coo stead o as eesetaos of a otologcal sace (as L6ez de elasco esied the Saits of Panama) oes u ew ways ofudestadig whch cogtive attes become embedded soca actos ad eesetatos become efomaces of coozaio.
01
erwor On Modernt, Colonzaton, and the se of ccdentalsm
I I
I
I I
31 5
I
Dk Side of"e Reissce
and inguistic legacies are becoming par and parcel of the conrcon of mlticutura and heterogeneou tradiions and he emergence of n identie, al of which have been suppressed both by colonia regimes and postcolonial nation buiders. Second, human migrations impy migraon of he languages and memories upon wh man communitie are buit, communies hat may ourish wihin a territorial tructure aien to he anguage and cuture of the migratory peoples. Such has been he cae of ainos or ispanics in he United State,who are in he process of destabilizing not ony the strcture of traditona AngloAmerican culture but also tradiiona Spanish American culture. It would cerainy be a mitae to oo at the aino experience in Anglo America as an accompihment of the expanion of he Spanish cuture and not alo as the end of Nebrja's and Adretes dream in the uny oflanguage and territo. Since my exploraons have centered on the coonia period, I have not paid much attenion to the double bind of the ideoogues of naon building in SpanshAmerica during the nineteenth century, whopayed an impor tant role in the concve proe of negotiaing the Spanish legacy and ceebratng the Amerindian' preSpanish pat while at he ame time suppresing it burning present and rting with new form of economic (Engish and German and cultural (French Enlighten ment imperialism In the context of he darer ide of the enassance (or he eary mode perod), what I have ried to aricuate hroughout (whie insisng on comparave analysis and pluritopic hermeneuics to char the coexistence of dierenia loci of enunciaion in coonia situations could be recast in he inuentia description of modeity and he modern experience articulated by Berman: There is a mode ofvita experienceexperience ofpace and ime, ofhe selfand ohers, ofife's posibiliies and peristhat i shared by men and women a over he world today. I wil call ths body of experience "modey. To be mode is to nd ourseves in an environment that promise us adventure, power, joy, growh, tranformaon of ourselves and the wordand, at the ame me, hat threatens to deroy everything we have, everythng we now, evethng we are. Modern environments and experence cu across a boundaries of geography and ehniciy, of class and na tionaity, of reigion and ideoogy: in this ense, modeity can be aid to unite all manind. But it i a paradoxical uniy, a uy of disunity it pours us all into a maestrom ofperpetua disintegration and renewa, of sgge and conradicon, of ambiguiy and anguih. To be mode is to be part of a universe in which, as Marx aid, "al hat is soid melts into air
Ahough I shared Pery Andersons enthusiasm when I rst read s paragraph, I was also disappointed, as I wa already we into the ieas that haped thi boo. In Berman's descrption of "modeiy I missed it darer side, the dierential experiences ofpace and me, of Modei seech and wriing, "hared by men and women a over the word Coloitio) wo lived in periphera colonia and potcolonia situation. Even if d e Riseof one can accept atere are fe remaning areas of the globe un- Occidtlism expaio the est, his doe not mean hat whoever is ouched by Wete exansion becomes automaicaly Wster prson who exeriences sace an me Kra or in he Andes in the same way that a peron experiences them in Paris, Bombay, or Buenos Aires. If one can assume, for intance, at territorialiy is universaly constructed according to similar human experiences of anguage, locaon, and memories, one can aso argue hat efdescripons vary not ony in coona ituaion but imperal and naona environments as wel owever, the Western expansion initated in the sixteenh centu rought to he foreground the need to negoate dierences across utures and to rethn the lins beween dierences and value Aoug we human beings all inhabit the same word, not everyone les in he same territory. Modeity i a period in the hitoy of he est, in whch contact and dominaion beween human cultures reaced their pea. Thus, reecions on coonial experiences are not o correcve exercies in understanding the past but hep tools in seng he present Crica perspecves on Westevalues and ways oiing have much to gain from understanding colonial situaons: te are side ofhe European enaissance and Weste modeit, ea, but ao the brighter ide of a utopian ture.3 e rst half of he boo deals wih he basic isues of speech and ing and he second with space and ime. Chapter serves as a ransiion between he uestion of wriing to wring histoy, invo ig he concept of tme. he last wo chapters emphasize the notion o ace a it centers on the mapping of he word. The four oncetsech, writing? ! together serve as a ooe mewor to analyze the spread ofWete iteracy and one of i maor consequences, he Occidentaization of he globe. Such a arger se oconceps would reuire a much lengier examination to ae the schoarly genealogy of each of hem. I will imit mysef, instead, to a few observation to contextualize he man argument of e oo Severa mes I have been aed to comment on Jacues Derrida's in connecton to my own approach to itera and coonizaon. Derrida' pervasive anaysi ofa ongang
O·�
eDke Sid oft"e Rssnce
ofme that impinged on the concept ofhisto and created the neCes sa conditon to place dierent conceptual ameworks somewhere in a temporal scae that had its point of arriva in the present, sixteenh centuy hrista European civilizaton To Mesoamerican people discoverng the land of Japheth, anslating dierences into values based on a tme ame would have been impossible because the Maya placed more emphasis in a cyclical caculus of me and the computa tion ofhuman life according to the rhythm ofthe universe, rather than in the progressive sto of human life itself( eg, self, autobiography), as was the case in the European Renassance3D To move beyond cul tural relatvism implies dealing wth both the question of he obseer and the spatalization of ime First, then, he queson of he obseer urrenty there is a signi cant amount of kowledge about pre-olumbian civilizaton in te mode-day mericas, although the way in which merindians and Native mercans om the early sixteenth centu on iagined Euo peans in tIeir conceptual amework is far less documented han is te reverse. One of he most impotant reasons for ts is the incommen surabili between the European humanist and the merindian and Natve mercan concepts an uses ofowlege an som The terate legacies of Spaniards as well as northern Europeans are cer tainy massive What is mor importat, ho\evr, is not the quanty butthe ways in which negoiatons between parcipants and obserers have been handled The daecc between Europeans as paricipnts i the process of coonization and Europeans as observers [te po cess was constant and persistent A icia Spanards and Euro peans in genera lived and acted according to goals, desires and needs prompted by a given conceptual framework (or, if you wish, a set of conceptual ameworks A brs, Spanish and European liteati became the judges able compare and evaluate incommensurable conceptual frameworks One ofthe ccial points in the constcton ofotheess was, precisely, this disguised movement between descr ing oneself as belonging to a given amework and descrbing onesel as belonging to the one Scholars of today, inheritors of te humanist legacy, have not only the ethical obligaion of describing incommensurable conceptua ameworks, but aso the hermeneu caly dicult task ofreestablishng the lost equilibrium between what, at one level, were alteatve conceptua ameworks and, at the other, became organized in a hierarchy of vaues established by hose who were at the same time paicipants and obsevers By playing both roles at the same tme, European intellectuals were able to implemen (om Europe or om the New Word) leir obsever's descptons and to tie them up wth he exercise ofimperal power Thus, practi ing a plurtopic heeneutcs may be a way of detaching our descrip
ions as obserers from our descriptons as paicipants by undeinng an maintaining the discontinuity between "our (as scholars edu cate in the Western raditions and practitoners of academic 0" siplnes conceptual framework and that of"our ancestors Thus, Mode constucting loci ofenunciaton and building, on he one hand, on the Colonition sconinuity ofthe Western tadition as enacted in colonial situations nd te Rise of an, on the other, on the discontinuity of meindian legacies were Occidcntl;sm tansformed and became part of the lived experiences (or, better, of e omains of interactions conscted as ived experiences) in the ericas during he colonial period onstrucng such loci of enun iaon implies that the rules ofthe disciplinay practces (iteray stud ies, hilosophy, histo, anthropology, etc are grounded in the per son (auto )biography of the scholar or socia scienst This brought to scolarship he heavy load of paicipaton in eveyday life hat was ase out on the glorious day when schoaly and scienc pursuits were conceived as detached from he personal stoy of the scholar and e sienst A assumes a constant movement etween the scholar as obserer and partcipant as wel as between the moments of dscontinuity ofpast and present conceptual ameworks what of the second part of the equaton, he question of spa lizing tme! The overall concepion of this book, more clearly evoped in the al two chapters, is to read temporal arrangements e.g, denia of coevalness) into geographica distributions. Let me say, efore expanding on this idea, that the dculties of attachng con etual ameworks to geographical spaces in what Berman calls "a moe of vital experience and in our postmode age of constant migraions and relocations of communities were not necessariy pres ent uring he early modern period oncetual frameworks �ere ineed more attached to geographical locatons han they are now; was ipal ntellectuals and by nation uilers Thus, one ofmy main eos was to postulate a denal of the enil of coevalness by spatiaizing time and by suggestng coevolu ona histories as alternaives to evoluona ones told om a locus oenunciation conscted as the master locus The constcon of a este ersectve was hen e conscon of a master locus of in which the v1 concepion and entrenched with colonia expansion and warrated imeal and the nation-state apparatus Atthis point he queston of spaializing tme becomes related to e ueson of the obseer, plurtopic hermeneutcs, and the poitcs ointellectua inquiy The processes of coloal expansion at began sixteenth centuy n paralel to e growing consolidation of e owing and understanding subject placed in a given geography,
330
consruced over e uins of wo Wesern languages aached o knowledge and wisdom (Greek and Lain) and siuaed in a growing De idea of a progressive or evoluona ime ame Such a developmen Sd fthe uled ou he possibili ofimagining ha aleave loci of enunciaRensne ion and coevoluonar hisories were aso possible From he ear mode period o he eigheenh cenur the consolidaion ofawa of knowing as a mirror of naure crical reviewed b Richard Ror was pu in place M assumpion in his book is ha such a con solidaion of was of knowing implies he complicit beween te regional locus of enunciation of a paicipan Wese Euopean culure and he universal locus of eunciaon of science and philoso ph of a subjec placed ouside time and space This is more precisel wha I ave earlier (and elsewhere) called he universaizaion of e regional conceps of science philosoph and knowledge. Wha one winessed in he sixeenh cenu during he earl encouners beween Euopean lierati and inellecuals of nonEuropean cultures grew coalesced and reached is peak aer he eigheenh cenur wih he expansion of he Bitsh and French empires 22 Cainl uversal was ofknowing have been called ino quesion om wihin the Wese adiion (Niezsche Heidegger Derrida) and no onl om e colonia periphe A his poin om" is no us a geographical locaon bu mainl a geograph of experiences om people living ere" who canno live here" or who would like o live there" Scholarship and social sciences a s poin approach he posion developed b liera wriers engaged wih he language and he place" One example is provided b George Lamming. In an aricle wrien in he lae 1950s he asked wh Wes Indian wriers om Barbados Tridad and Jamaica prefered living in London o he Britsh Caribbean and om here negoiaing the place ofhe wier and her or his lieraure in relaon o his or her language and region I more ineresed in he second paragraph bu the s is necessa o undersand he second more ll: In he Caribbean we have a glorious oppouni of making some valid and peanen contibuion o mans life in this cenu Bu we mus sand up; and we mus move The noveliss have helped; e when he new Caribbean emerges i ma no be for hem I be like he ure an iem on he lis ofpossessions which he nex generaion of wriers and builders wll claim I am sill oung b ordina sandads (tirwo o be exac) bu aread I feel ta I have had i (as a wrer) where he Briish Caribbean is conceed. I have los m place or m place has desered me.
his ma be he dilemma of he Wes Indian wrier abroad: ha e hungers for nourishmen om a soil which he (as an ordinar iizen) could no a presen endure The pleasure and paradox of m own exile is ha I belong wherever I am M role i seems has raher o do wih ime and change han wih he geograph of ircumsances; and yet there s always an are ofground n he New Word whh keepsgrowng ehoes my head I can onl hope ha ese echoes do no die before m work comes o an end2
second example is provided b persons placed in beween dieren languages and raditions cona o he case of Lamming in wic he language of he colon is he same" as he language of the meropolin cener When he scholarscientis (and wrier) as obseer is placed in a space in between he space in which he universli ofWesern reason encouners dieren raonaiies culural relaivism becomes ransformed: om relave concepual frameworks a could be compared and anazed o hbrid concepual ameors om which new was of knowing emerge A tis poin he uesion is no longer how o use he enighening guidance of Wes e noons of raionali in order o undersand colonial colonia and Third World experiences bu raher how o ink om rid conceu amwrks and saces in beween This has been e lesson for me ofcolonial situations coplemened and expanded oa b wriers and ariss (AicanAmericans Lainos women of color ec) and b former inellecuals from he margins like Franz anon or Csaire in e Caribbean or Rodolfo Kusch in Argenina I roposed a comparative and philological methodolog and a plu ioic hermeneuics as jusicaon in order o deal wt problems rlaed o culural relaivism consrucion of he oher and under sanding subec M main assumpion is la in order o deal wih ulural dierences culural relaivism is necessa bu no sucien ile a philological approach allows me o undersand he bes I can ulurerelatve consrucs comparasm allows me o go beond and o undersand drenes in e conex ofcommonali of smlartes hman ageny And i allows me o iden specic issues in which eindian culures were misundersood and misinerpreed b Eu roean lierai precisel because of heir recogniion of universa similariiesin hum an beings (Alhough the reverse ceainl ook place as well i was no smmeric and we do no have e same quani of records) Represenaion is a noion I have ied o avoid as much as possible in m argumen I sa ha I was ineresed in how European peoples an communiies consruced he idea of he selfsame insead of in
331
0"
od, Colonton, ndtheRseof Ocdentlsm
how they "represented the other, it is because my interests are lo cated more in nactmnt than in prsntation f, iyou wish, in e ker rprsntation as actmt. But this ormula may deeat the pur Sde ofthe pose o chaging the perspectve oaalysis by chaging the premises Rece under which the analysis is carried out Rprsntation in the hum ities rests on a denotative philosophy olguage according to whch names represent things and maps represent the territories. There is a second meaning o representation mor common in the social sci ences used to reer to persons speaking or being in place o others. In this case there is not a relaton o '�conceptual or visual likeness that bounds the representation to the represented but a relation o wat both notons have in common namely being in place o something else The t cses on the smlartes beteen the representaton and what is represented, whle the second rests on the delegaton o responsibility om a larger group o people to one person or to a smaller number o representatives Going back to the notion o representation in the humanities, the concern wth the representaton o the colonized (its accuracy or inaccuracy its rights ad wrongs) emerged om withn the same pistm or which the notion orepre sentation is such a crucial one Thus, the conce with the representa ton o the colonzed ocuses on the discourse o the colonzer ad one orgets to ask how the colonized represent themselves, how the dpict d conceive themselves as well a how they speak or them selveswithout the need osel-appointed chronists, phlosophers, mis sionaries, or men o letters to represent (depict as well a speak or) them To ask how the Mexica represented the Spanish is a dcult question, rst because o the lack o documentation d second be cause it is not cler that such a notion was estabshed among the Mexica It is unir to ask members o a culture derent om ous how they do something we do. It is not ir because it assumes that whatever we do has a universal value and as such, evey culture on earth has to do it, one way or another i they pretend to be human And tlis brings us back to the question ocultural relativism Iwe assume that evey culture in the world has to have actvities similar to ours although dierently conceptualized, we have a alse start, since one culture (the one to which the humities d the social sciences belong) is attributed a universal value, and the possibility olooking at tlings otherise is automatically ruled out Thus while comparsons continue to be made om the European perspectve questions in a dierent directon are seldom asked How, or instance, did Euro peans conceiv what among th Mexca was rd to a amoxtli or huhutlatol/i? So culturl relativism is not enough, iall there is to it is tat derent cultures are dierent To go beyond relativism is neces 332
say, st, to question the locus ofenunciation om whch the notion
33 3
ism d to constantly change the topos of comparison; and ally, to
Mod, Colonzton ndteRseof Occdentlsm
of cultural relativism has been produced; second, to question the moel or culture used as a reference point to illustate cultural relatv-
exlore cultural relativism in colonal situatons where cultures are not
ol dierent but struggle for imposition, resistance adaptation, and
rasormation hus the notion oenactment
X
r:e s o
e locus of
ar�J roduced instead By enactment I
of
rst, an alternative conception ocogniton Whle cognton as
reresentaon presupposes aworld outside te organismthat is either
mentlly or graplcally represented cognton as enactment imples a te orgnism consttutes and places itself in the world by constructing an environment through a dynamic domain ofinterction
neiler the world rst and then the organsm's mind representng it,
nor e organism rst represenngwhat is outside oit The old alter nave between realism and idealism vanishes nizes that
a
soon as one recog0 and tlat,
ereore, the queston whether the organism represents the world or e world leaves its imprints the organism has to be transcended An orgaism is such not only because o its structural organization but lso because o its coupling with other elements o the world out o wic he organsm creates its nironmnt Iwe take tlis general assumpon to the relm oliving organisms own as huma beings ad to the domain ointeractions known as ulture, te preerence r enactment over representation can be bet te understood. I huma beings are conceived not as the mirror o nature (e. g, being in ad knowing oa world outside tlemselves) but as evloping activities in order to avoid death, to reproduce to have lasure ad to expad their domain o interactons (in any o te iverse possible orms such an expansion may tke) then the realm o enactments rather than tle realm orepresentations takes precedence in unerstanding human cultures. In wat sense could enactment be more usel tha representation iunerstading colonial situatons? One o the particularites in col ozaton processes is that people om quite derent cultures Cme ce to ace and ght to presee or appropriate territories both as ossessions and conceptualizatons o space. Thus understading colonil situations implies understanding dierent knds o atiitis erormed by persons belonging to erent communties and, conse uently wth erent programmed needs and domains o interac ion. I one looks at representatons instead oat enactments one cn
aa colonizer om the iteenth to the twentieth centrie, om Span to Britain adthat certan repreentation or lietle are in T Da'ke erior or barbarou. I one look at enactment intead orepreenta Sde ofh tion, and cogtion a enactment, one can not onl ecape the hier Renaane archical decription o culture but, more important, look at ttes acro culture in a dierent light For intance, a twentiethcentury oberer can urmie, when comparing an illumiated medeval code or a wonderl Renaiance book to a panted eica code, that while the latter i a piece to be admired, it cannot be put at the ame level a the medieval code or the Renaiance book Book, in the et, became entrenched with writing and with truth, be it the tth o God b divine revelaton in the Hol Book, or be it the truth o human being b written narrative in hitorical book he eica coce, intead, remaned a curiou object related to devilih deign or mthical imagination. I one look at cultural object a reult oactivitie repondng to human need rather than aiact b mean owhich the mirror onature i etended and the nature othe world i captured in viible ign, then enactment become morerele vant than repreentaton What one can achieve b th mean i to look, rt, at colonial ituaton rom the perpective o cognitve en actment and human activitie in dierent ociee and, econd, to look at the tranormaton o actvite and cognitive enactment into intrument o power, control, and domination Thu, the book i about uch tranrmation in the domain o peech and writing, in the doman ointerpreting the pat and anticipating the uture, and in the domain o charing pace and building territorie, during the earl modern period, a well a about the tranormation owa oeeing, aing, and undertanding, toda and in the ture 334
Notes
NTROUCIO
lss othis idicatd, all traslatios ar my ow 1 chags i litracy scholarship iitig a rthikig th ld o litra studis ha b xamid i th cotxt o Noth mrica ad Euroa scholarship by Lah Marcus, Raissac/Early Modr Stud is," i Rdang he oundae ofLe'a Sud n Englh Nw York: o aguag ssociatio, (1992 ,41-63 orcl argumt i aor o risiig th otio oRaissac, to accout or Wst coloial xpa sio as o o its dsci aturs, has b adacd by Daid Wallac, arig p im ad th World: Mdialaissac ur Wars; isto iogray ad Prsoal Histoy, (workig papr II, Ctr or wtith tu Studs, irsity oWiscosi, Miauk, 1991 ha xamid rct scolarly works o ad i th Nw World that ha cotributd to riig th Raissac i litray scholarship i h Darkr Sid o th aissac: Coloizatio ad th Discotiuity o th Classical raditio, enan Qal4 o 4 (1993: 808-28 Rot L Colliso, Enlopaeda: Te H hougho he e wor: Har Publishig Compay, 1964 3 am tikig oCor Wsts prsuasi articulatio o th politics o itllctual iquiy i h Nw Cultural Politics o Dirc," i Ma nalaon aJd Cempo Cul, d Frgusso t al, 19-38 (Nw usum o Cotmpoary rt Cambridg: M Prss, 1990 4 il Foucault, Lahologe du ao (Paris: Gallimard, 1969 5 Patriia Sd, Coloial ad Postcoloial Discours" (riw ssay, n mean Reeah Re e 26, o 3 (1991: 181-200; Waltr D Mig olo, oloial ad Postcoloial Discours: Cultural Critiqu or cadmic oloialism?" (commts o Sds ssay, LanAma R Rw
l
2
8 no. 3 (193): 120-34, and Darker Side" ,
PtrHulm, Colonal Ee Euopad he Nae Cabbean,
5
Notesto Pages 7-8
I492797(New Yok: Methun e 1986); and "Subvesve Archpeagos: Coo na Dscourse and the Breakup of Contnenta Theo, Dispositio) speca ssue on Coona Dscouse, d R Adoo and Wate D gnoo, 36-38
exanson as movement toward the perpheiesthat, of course fom the esecve of a Euopean obsever (see Chapte6) Fom the perspectve of
(1989): 1-24. 7 Pop W} Libro del tiempo, ans Adrn 1. Chez (Buenos Ares: Edcones So, 1987) An anthoogy ofMayan teratue wth commentaes s
age of adca tansfomatons. take the cente/pephery dichotomy om mmanue Waesten e Modern WorldStem: Capitalist ricul tre and theOrins oftbe European World-Economy in tbe S.'tewth Ct (eYork: Academc Pess, 1974), vo I, athoug h am aware of the ctcsm to wch Waesten has been subjected many for denyng to perphea formations the own hstoes Se, fo nstance, Eesto Laau, "Feudasm an aptasm n Latn America, N L Riew 67 (1971): 19-38 and Ret Benne, "The Oigns of Captast Deveopment A Ctque ofNeo Sman Maxsm, New Le Review 104 (1977): 25-93 One ofthe man goas othis study s, precsey, to bring to the foregound the "hstores and e "centers that European mssonaries and men ofettes dened to peope omcoona pephees Ony wthn an evoutonay modeofhsto coud centeand pephebe xed and ontoogzed Wthn a coevoutonay mode an a utopc hemeneutics, centers and peiphees coexst n a constant stugge ofpowe, domnaton and esstance Jos Ortega y Gasset, "The Dcutes ofReadng (trans Carence E Panenter) Dioges. 28 (1959); 117, and Man and People (New York: W, Noton, 1963) M Bakhtn's conces wth phoogy and wth anguage n acton eevant to the present dscusson, aeexpressed n "The Poem of Speech Genes and "The Pobem of the Text n Lngustcs oog, and the Human Scences: An Expement n Phosophca Analy ss, n Spee" Gre and Other Late Esays tans V W McGee 60-131 usn Unversty o f Texas Pess, 1986) 15 am ndebted to Aton Becker fo cang to my attenton Ortegay Gasset's "new phoogy and fo showng to me ts sgncance fo unde standng semotc pactices acoss cutura boundaes See Aton Becker, "extBuidng Epstemoogy and Aesthetcs n Javanese Shadow Theate, ispositio 13-14 (1980): 13768 16 che Foucaut, Les mo et les chses: Une archologie des sci1ces hu mai",s Pais: Gamad, 1966), 355-98 7 Pau Rcoeu, Her11eutics and the Human Sciecs: Essa 01 Lanuage Action and Interpretation, ed and tans John B Thompson (Cam dge and Pas: Cambdge Unvesty Pess; Pas: Edtons de a Masondes Sences de 'Homme, 1981) 18 A soca scence approach to coona stuatons was proposed by eoge Baande, La stuaton coonae: Appoache thorque (1951), tans D. Gama as "The Coona Stuation: A Theoretca Approach, n Te Soiolo ofBlack Aica: Social Dynamics i Ctral Aica(New Yok: Paege, 1970), 34-61 Recent deveopments have been coected and edted Geoge W Stocking, J Colonial Sitatio1 Esays on the C01Jtextualizati0 Ethnogaphic Knowledge (Madson: Unvesty of Wsconsn Press, 991), esp 36 and 314-24 For a moe deveoped argument on the contbu tion ote human scences (o humantes) to undestanding coona stua ons, see Wate D Mgnoo, "On the Coonzaton of Amerndan Lan-
Litera1'a Maya, d Mecedes de a Garza (Caacas: Bboteca Ayacucho 1980) Fo an Engsh tansaton s ee Popol Vuh, tans Denns Tedlock (Ne\; York: Smon and Schuste, 1985) 8 Or "dscouse ofcoonasm, n Hom K Bhabha's expesson, "The Othe Queston: Deence, Dscmnation, and the Dscourse of Coona sm, n Liteature Ptis, an d eo Papersom the Esex Conference [97698 F. Bake e a, 148-72 d (New Yok: Methuen, 1986) 9 Fo a thoough descripton of the qupus, see Maca Asche and Robert Asche Code ofthe Qt: A Sdy in Media, athematis, and Culture (Ann Abo: Unvesty of Mchgan Press, 1981) 0 Colonial semiosis s not suggested to epace the noton of coonal dscouse but to ceate a wde context of descpton, of whch coona dscouse s an mpotant component Coona semoss s suggested, nay, wth the ntention of edawng the boundaes of a ed of study many nhabted by texts aphabetcay witten by the coonzes o n the an guages n ode to open t up to a wder spectum ofsemotc nteactons n Ameindan anguages and n nonaphabetc scpts II The forgotten connections between text and texte have been ex poted by Denns Tedock and Babaa Tedock, "Text and Texte: Language and Technoogy n the As of e Quch Maya oual ofA1thropological Research 41, no. 2 (1985): 121-46 12 The Latn aphabet ntroduced by the Spanads, e pctodeographc witing systems of Mesoamecan cutures and the qupus n the Andes deneate patcua systems ofnteactons that took pace dung the coonal peod fwe wee to mt the use ofthe tem discorse ora nteracons and resere text fo wtten nteractons we woud need to expand the atter tem beyond the ange ofaphabetcay wtten documents to embace a matera sgn nscptons By dong so we woud hono the etmoogca meanng of text ("weavng "texte?') and just the nsetion ofthe qupus nto a system n whch wtng had aways been undestood as scatchng o pantngon sod suces, but not as weavng Two metaphors come to mnd the Latn anaogy between witng and powng, on the one hand and the mode smarites between text and texe. As an activt, wtng has been conceved and compaed wth powng; as a poduct the text has been conceved and compared wth the ntricaces of textes 13 am usng thoughout ths book the dchotomy center/periphe I am not usng t on the assumpton that thee s one ontoogca center (Eu ope) and vaous ontoogca perphees (the coones) hope to show that the cente s movabe (see chap ), as s the persona ponoun," ad as ae the notons same and te othe t so happened, howeve, that dung e sxteenth centu Euope began to be constued as the cente and coona
te European peripheies, the cente remained where it was although in
337
Notesto Pages 89
guages and Memores: Rnassance Theores ofWrtng and the Dscontnuy ofthe Classcal Tradton, Comparatie Studies in Socie and Hist01Y 34, no NotestoPages 10-12
2 (1992): 301-30 19 See Donald Roberson, Mexican Manscript Painting ofthe EI) Col�
onial Period: e Metropolitan Schoo (New Haven: Yale Unversty Press, 1959), 179-90 20 HansGeorge Gadamer, Philosopical Hermeneutics, trans and ed Davd E Lnge (B erkeley: Unversty ofCalfoa Press, 1976) 21 Kurt MuellerVollmer, Language, Mnd, and Artfact: An Outlne of
Hermeneutc Theoy snce the Enlghtenment, n Tl' HermeneuticsReader exts ofthe Germa radition from te Elte1ent to the Present, d Kurt MuellerVollmer, I-52 (New York: Connuum, 1985) 22. Ramundo Pankkar, Whats Comparatve Phlosophy Comparng? n nterpreting across B0d'ies: New Essa i Comparative Philsopy d G J. Larson and E Deutsch, n6-36 (Prnceton: Prnceton Unversy Press, 1988) 23. EnrqueD Dussel, Philsop)ofLibetio trans Aqulna Marnez and Chrstne Morkovsky (Maknoll, N.Y: Orbs, 1985). 24 Horaco Cerutt Guldberg, Filsoja de I libeacin latiJamericana (Meco Cty: ond de Cltura Econmca, 1983). 25 I would lke to note, for the reader no t famlar wth Dussels work,
that there s no contradcton between hs herm eneutc and Marxst reectons. Dussel's detaled readng ofMars Grndriss(L producci terica d arx Un com1Jtrio a los «GruJdrisse» [Mexco Cty: Sglo XI, 1985]), s contextualzed n Duss's own concept of "a Lanamecan Marxsm groundng "a Latnamercan lberaton phlosophy What may sound lke a contradcton from th pont of vew of contnntal European phlosophy (how could one m heeneucs and Masm) seems to be a common phlosophcal practce n the postcolonal Amercas Coel West has convncngly analyzed ths phenomenon n North Amercan phlosophy n TeAmri can Easio1 ofPilosopy:A GealogyofPragmatism (Madson: Unverstyof Wsconsn Press, 1989) 26 Dussel, L produccin terica, 10831 See also "Teologa de l a lbera6n y marxsmo, Cde170s AmericaJos n.s 12, no I (1989): 138-59, and keep n mnd that Dussl develops two parallel arguments: Marxsm and ph losophy of lberaton and Masm and theology oflberaton I am ndebted to Maro Saenz, who perceved the smlares beween my dea of a plurtopc hermeneutcs and Dussels an alectcs Our personal conversaons have been complemented b y myreadngofsome ofhs unpublshed papers, n parcular, "Memo, Enchantment, and Salvaton: Lan Amercan Phlosophes of Lberaon and the Relgons of the Oppressed (October 1991, mmeographed) 27 The speccaton "dscplna postcolonal loc of enuncaton underlnes the fact that ts n the dscplnes (e g. , the human scences) where the construcon of authortatve voces beyond the unversalzaon of Weste epstemology was, and stl s, dcult. The pactc oflterature has been, n general, the possblty for postcolonal ntellectuals to make her voces heard And, n general, ltera wrters have been more successl than scholars
n e human scences n escapng unversalzaton, d �nated as scholars been by mode European paradigms for the acquSltlOn, orgallzatlon,
ave an dstribution ofknowledge. . 28 or a detaled crtque of Dussel's lberaon phlosopy sa Mam, see Ofela Schutt, Orgns and Tendences of the Phlosophy of iberaon in Lan Amercan Thought: A CrItIque ofDussel's EthI, PJ1'10sophicalForum 22, no. 3 (1991): 270-95 .
Ngug wa Thongo lectured on "Resstance he Lterature of the �, and . I Dscourse n Afia Diaspora: PostEmancipaon and Post-CoIoa 29·
Ewar K Brahwaite read his poetry in the 1991-92 works�op serIes The Inventions of Afrca: Aica in th Literaturs. of he Coent and the · ora, Center for roAmercanStudes, UversyofMclgan, Apl 17, Dsp . the Md: e 0 s 192• See also Ngug Wa Thong'O , Decolo1g nguage in Aican Liteature (London: J. Currey, 1986) ; and Edw�rd K . Batwait, Hist0Y Ofthe Vic: Te DevelopC1t ofNatw Lag�g m Anlohone aribbean Poe y(London: New Beacon, 1984) or a crcal a al sis o Ngugi Wa Thiong'Os posion, see Kwame Antlny App�ah, Topologies of Nativism," in In ky Father's House: Aica t tbe Phlosophy of Cuit"re (London: Methuen 1992), 47-72. 30 Mchelle Cl, e Land of Loo Behind (thaca, NY: rebrand Boo, 1985), 13 3 Glora Anzalda, Borderlands/La otera: Te New stiza (San ansco: Spnsters/Aunt Lute, 1987) 32 I am referrng her manly to Rodolfo Kusch, Amrica profunda Buenos Ares: Hachette, 1962), and El pesaiento idena ) popular C merica (Buenos Ares: Hachette, 1973) 33 Rger Charerhas underscored he fact that we can no longer postulatein our understanding a general subject such as "th French man, and we
ave to work on the partculares ofmlple subects. Howver, Chater has lmte hs obseatons to the subject ofstudy or to be understood and has no emphaszed the need to take a smlar poston vsvs th e knowng or unrstandng subect See "ntellectual Hstoy or Sococultura Hstoy? The rench Trajctoes, n Mode European ntllctual Hst0Y: Reapraisals a1d New Perspecties d D. La Capra and S L Kapn, 13-46 ; aca ol U nvrsy Press, 1982) A source ofChae s p�n could e foun n Perre Boudu, La disticti: Critiqe socle du Jent (Pas: Mnut, 1979), 13-46 3. he dsncton was ntroduced by Habermas (1970) n hs reply to aamer: "Hrmenutcs refrs to a capably' whch we acqure to th e extent thawe come to master a natual language Th art ofnterptaon s e counterpat ofthe a of convncng and persuadng n stuatons w er: raccalquestons are bought to decson Phlosophcal hrmenucs a erent matter: t s no t an at but a crtquehat s, t brngs to conscousness n a reectve atttude experences that w have oflanguag n the eercse o our communcatve competence and thus n the course of socal nteracon w ohrs through language Jrgen Habermas, "On Hermeneutcss lm to nversaly, n MuellerVollmer, Te Hermentics Rade; 2 osonvsvs Habermas wll be smlar tothe poson am takng vs
33 9
-
Notesto Pags 2-15
Gmtica, Tpuztiailolli: mp'sos en Nhuatl Notesto Pages 48-53
Colegios y prosores jsuitas qu esearo Latin in Nuea paa 572-767 Las bibliotca 10vohispaas
EaWelizacin y conquita: eriencia aciscana en Historia d e la mrica caci e Mxico en la poca colonial Elmdo ida El do ida La eaZa de/latin a los ndios
Santa Cruz de Tate/olco: La prime biblioteca aca dmica de las Amricas Las biblioteca 10vohispanas,
Hitoria de las bib/i
otecs en Pbla Nebria, EI hmaniso catella0 del siglo XV Paorama,
Lorzo Valla e mansi italiao
Etudios de historia del pe1amiento esp1ol Libellus de medicialibs idom herbis
Biblioga sobre la castellaizaci de 0sgpos idas de la eblica Micaa, La cquista espiritual de Mxico: Ensayossobre el apos tolao los mtodos misioeros de las rdes mdica1tes en la Nueva Espa e [52324 a 572, La educacin como cquita Em esaciscana en Mxico La real y Ptcia Uniersidad d Mxico Haismo Mxico
Q
tma
colegio de San Pdro y San Pablo
e
el slo xvi El sis�
oliosy prosoesjesuitas. copilaci de Leyes de los i0 de las ndias, madadas imprimir y ublica o a Magestad atolca del rey Don Carlos Bulletin hispa1ique La lgua de Cristbal Coln radici y el dioma
Catilla, la
lnuae n la e11aa
La aabetizaci La poltica del Lguaserlas: S 0Y desso
Disrso de claur del rso de exaneos de la Uividad Mendez Pelayo Simposio de Filologa beroamerica
an
Colombia: Bosqueo htrico del haismo colombiano
347 NotestoPages 53-54
35 6 Ntst Pags
fica inguistiqu t cl� nialismj itttu t clnialism xpiJ � lnial u dans la litu mansqu£ ancais£,
35 7 Nts t Pags
Flntin Cdx 1
Flntin Cdx, Mnaqua indiaa, Hut/atll: stimnis d la antigu palaa
D lagammatlgi Witi Mats: F th Hands fth Elish
hhutlatlli Etdisd Histiad lit
Clt Nhat a atl, Hhtlatlli" W fSahag{,
SixtnthCntu Mxic: T
Mxican Mancipt Painting, T
Rhtica ltat hat
abic B b T abic Kitab and alKitab,
I
huhutlatlli tas dl XII Cngsd itt Ibamiana Pliical anguag and Oat in ditinal Sci
KnVldg bf Pinting and : T ian aditin in Changing Kala
lita
Elutin [th Bain: atin [th S anguag and Spcis
TMantl fthPptRlinand Pliticsin Ian T bic B
fKnVldg,
Rvistad Occidnt; ctustlctusdansa
Fanc d Jci Rim Ptics
e itat Rluin in Gc
Flnin Cd, Flntin Cdx, h a
T Bih f Witi
35 8
Te Apha betan d the Bin Te ateizatio ofWiti
..
otesto Pages
o hange Pace:ztec eemonia ndscapes
otes to Pages
a isibii) Teoies ofHisto e opi ofDi Between Histo and iteat'
Don Faa de Zmaga Pime Obispoy Aobispo deMxico Fiooga
I, antiques"
q Litertua
Selected Subte17 Studies,
att
Te Muse ans to Wit Reectionson ai and iteacyom Atqui to the P t Te teate Reoution in Gece and Its utua e ences Eay HistY ofthe Aphabet An Intoduction to West SmiicEpaphy and Paeogphy e in ofWitin Te Oins ofWiting e Muqaddiah An Itoduction to Histo Ab be codita
Seected Subate' Studies aibbean Discouse Seected says Racioj Maqua india o'qua indiana I II Regas de oga Apoogtica istoia
Histo am ab icinatione 'omaJ' decades e decadi Histia and Histoiogaphy in the Itaian Re� ance Histoia de as Indias tt entuies
Histoians an d Histoiogphy Foence i the A Histo ofFoJce and the oties in
te Ae o the Grand Dus
h eent et Te Language ofHistoY in tbe R£aissanc: Rhetoric and Historical
ioess in Fotine Humism A
EuoctisJ guage otes
359
TheInventio1J ofAmerica.
Emoogis
Cr,
O ar Sp,
ad, mr rl, Sm Gard·Pabr (ar r Urard Pra,' raaij ad Cr,
A marl mma Ela Aaa, (Blba: Urdad d D, CHT dr Marr d Aglra, d ad ra Lp d r (Madrd Impra lr aa G6gra, Gl Frd, ar Malag-Barl, Rl Cla Amra, ga, pa x, d Cal am, (Frak Mrva, am Mrp, Ar LrWrig, (Brk ad L Agl Ur Cal r a r, Sgl, "Pm ma, (r: r Ca Call, La pla m gr lar: Ur r, D la agdad a la dad mda laa, N Lawr, "N lr gr Ap bra br la plgraa l prmr Ram pal, S, r a, d dr, Dg Gr Lr a L al Okar Krillr, (r: ri Ur r, r Mar, (Aa d ar, ra aq r A a rpr, B Ar Bal, rala m Mar ar b Mar Dka Marr d Aglra, lr Ma Cmalpa, ralad b Mar Dka Fra Giard, ra ad d Sd Alxadr (r r Ur r, bk Marr d Aglra, lr Mar Marr d Agla, lr 4, Spmbr Marr d Aglra, lr Obr I Crl g, lr, prdg ala r ad wdrig ab Fr aud, wa w da br Clmb' laig O Al l Sab, Rb B, d,
(la O E Grd, B la: Ur laa r, SAl, (Marid Clra ipa, l I; b Bria ra Da a, O a ad rgrap dr Car Spai ad al l Rma Empr, A Mrl-Fai, (a Camp, Edmd O'Ga,
0
O'Grma, Wlx, a,
(Mxi C Srara d Eda bla,
S a a
Bar, Cag Nwb Lbrarad Ur Cag r, Marr d Agla, dad bk a Marr d Aglra,
dad
bk
a ! a Baa Aall�Ar, La mmra d Gl Fd d , (Madrid a raa, ra, La ard, (Cam g Cambrdg Ur r, Cll, Saag, al m a a Sa a' map dd p Flr ld a a rpri ar r d Alrd L6p Ai, Rar Md Fra Brard d Saa Qar, Edm, Saag, Nla dOlwr, a Mar Mx (Sal Lak C Ur Ua r, Saag, al m B Gla, Crbi Er Mx, l Cr, Ma: Cmx Aa, al m Saag, S apr r mr dal ab a d Oad rb grig ad rgag a ab Spa Id DaldRbr,Sx-CrMxaElpdia ra Brardi d Saag,
F G. Rtsch, (Bonnae, Gonzlo Ferndez de Oviedo y Valds, vols (Madrid Imprenta de la RalAcademia de la Histora, Two of the classical articles on Oviedo y Valds are OGoan, and Jua Bautista Avalle¥Arce, (Madrid: Pora Turazas, For the place of Oviedo y Valds in the context o New World historography, see Walter D Migolo, "Cartas, cr6icas y rela cioes del descubriiento y la conquista, i (Madrid: ed Iigo Madrgal, Ctedra, On the orgaization of ad other discursive aspects of te see Stephanie Merrim, '''U e Oculto Anat� my of Ferdez de Oviedos and o its encyclopedic charac ter, the chapter that Jos Rabasa devotes to Oviedo y Valds i his (Norman: Uiversit of Oklahoma Press, Francisco Hedez, tras Francisco Hedez (Mexico City: UiversidadNacionalAut6nomade Mx ico, A master summa ofscietic practice i coloial Mexico and the role played by Hendez can be foud i EliasTrabulse,"Tres mometos de la heterodoxia cientca e el Mxico colonial, no Rtsch, Fracesco Della Corte, (Geoa: Fracesco M Bozzi, Jacques Fontaine, (Pars: Etudes Agustiniees, Fracis Baco, vol. of ed. J Spedding, R L Ellis, ad D D. Heath (London, italics mie This very idea was already expanded on i book chap and rther developed i book chap I have beneted mainl from two studies on Bacon and the orgaization of knowledge Jardie, ad Antonio Prez� mos, (Oxford Clarendon Press, For a usel oveview of a expression embracing bot aals and biographical arratives, from the third to the thirteen cetuy, see (Princeto: Prnce Hamilto A Gibb, to Universit Press, For the meaning of ad its social and ideological dimesions in the Arab tradition, see Pederso, Gonzalbo Aizpur, Romero,
here is another dimension ofliteracy and resistace illustrated by the oumetato related to testaments, land litgatons, ad other forms oflegal isutes whose integrao i my argument would force a log detour Se, owever, F Karttune, "Nhuatl Literacy, in d. G A Collier, R Rosaldo, ad j D With (Nw York: Acaand A Anderso et al, emic Press, (Berkeley ad Los Angeles Universit of lifoia Press, I am lmiting my xamples to te philosophy ofwrt ig (and therefore to th e sphere of "high culture) ad the frame it provided fo wing grammars of Amerdia laguages and histories of Amerindian ultres, ratr tha to te cosequences manifested i particular cases in wi Sanish grammarians ad historians could have been transformed by itercultural experiences. At the same time, I am limitig my examples of resistance to the sphere of iteractos framed by members ad representa� es o Spaish literate culture. Wile I hope that my argumet does not ovince the reader that am celebrating "high culture, at the same time I oe the reader will uderstad that a critical examiatio o f its phenomea is no lss relevat than exploring more "popular ones Some ofthe basic studies on the issue are Bernard Weiberg, (Chicago: University of Chicago ress, Antoio Garca Berro, (Madrid Plata, ad Barbara Kefer Lewalski, (Cam� ge: Haard University Pre ss, European intellectuals ad political leaders are becomig aware ofthe callenge of a multi ethnic world to the classical t radition Foer British ime minister Margaret Thatcher, in her Burger speech, invoked the comon exerience rooted in the Europea classical traditon and celebrated witout aologies) the stor of how Europeans explored, colonized, ad ilize much of the world, as a venture of talet, skill, ad courage (see asmin Alibhai "Commuit Whitewash, Jauar A telling example of the perpetuation of fractured symbolic worlds in colonial sitaions is provided by Lucy R Lippard, (New York: Pantheon Books, ercedes de la Garza, (Caracas: Biblioteca acuco, prologue; Victoria Bricker, 'Yucatecan Maya Literature, In supplement to niversit of Texas Press, cet editions of these two wellknown uro S Edmoso, ed and trans, (Austin Universit of Texas Press, and
See the masterl summay by Erque Florescano, "La reconstrccin hist6rica elaborada por la nobza indgena y sus descedientes mes tizos, in (Mexico City: Secretara de Educaci6n Plica,
lh L Rys, (Washigton, ..: aegie Institution of Washigto, Royce, Rm6n Arzpalo Marn, 'The Idia Boo k in Colonial Yatn (pa
Mesoameican Sites and Wod� Views
3 74 Notes to Pages
984
98! 43-26
50 elacio s
3 75
elacioesgeogjcas t te ossoadsofthe Ea ad 55 98, e Histo ofa yth te Sky Pacitambo and the Oin ofthe Inks 990,
44 Histo ofRelio20 (98 99-223. 45.
iepo y elad 68 ook ofthe Gods 329 46 Piot 428. 4. Valley ofico 96, 28-302;
989
el peamito Maya
9986;
56. Te
ztec oght and ltue 963, 44-50; e Fh S o Heaves o Eas J ay Jtasting te ztecs and the 95, 20-34 48 20-2 Space Geogpy aJ Politics in the Ealy Roman Empie 99,89-208 49 Descipcin 50 La c'ic ojcial de las Indias Occidentales udio histico y tico aceca de la histoiogaa mayo de Hispao mica e los slosXVI a XVIII 940, 09-49. 5 Relaciones geogjcas de Indias Relaciones geogjcas 5586, Hispanic meican Histoical Riew 3 (964 34-4, Relacioesgeogjca, Handbook ofMiddle meican Indians 964-6, 2-5, Guide to Ethoistoical Souces 230-95. Relacionesgeogjcas 6-66, Descipcindelap'oviciaycidadde laxcala 2 Relaciones de Indias Na Revista de Filologa Hispnica 35, (98 45-84, Inla 552 (990 -2 52 Geoga y descipcin iesal de las India a ecopilada p' el cosJgafo conistauaJ Lpez de lasco desde el a oletn de la Sociedad Geogjca Madid 8 53 596 Desciption Histoia geal 54. elaioJesgeogcas elaciones gecas
ence 5 58
ndean osmologies though ime Pesistce and Eme 992 ime and the Oth 2 Empies of ime alda lock and ultues 989
5. the meica opics
O
osvision Ethnoastoomy and chaeoastoomy 8-24 982
60. ompaative Stuies i Socie and Histo 29 (989 566-93; Vision and Revision -98
in ayaStudies 6
990. iempo y calidad 3
62 tdiosde utua Nhuatl2 (96 38-26. axis mundi aaphy in the aditional slamic and Sth sian Societi 992, 2332-8 63 39 I 64. omentaios 65· ossoads Te equ System of uzco Te Sol anizatioJ ofthe apital ofthe Ica 964 66. ooads 4
NotestoPages
6
77
Annals21966) 1-94, NosoPags
Nos o Pags
Aals26191) 93-83. 68.
1992) mappamd
69. 0. mappamd
Fall ofNaral Man m and h Oh Losfacors d la da d progrso n l Rac 1963)
3 mo spao
Ida ofPrss An Inqu no Is Orn a nd Growh 1932
6.1
a oProgr.
Suds n h Anhropoloofal Comcaon 5,
2
199) 11-2, Smoca 36, 1-2 1981) 51-106, Wrg and Rssanc n Coloal Pru 986),92 1.
Guaman Poma Ann So o r Rsarchs n h Lns ofHuman Progrss om Saag hrough Babarm o Claon 910). chnolo ologand h Ida ofProgr 1991).
HPTR I
90
6
Human rroralIoandHs 1986), 28-51. Caographca4 1981) 18-22
Anna ofh ocao ofAmrcan Graphrs5, 4 1985) 510-21, apamd." 3. Alas ofColumbus and h Gra Dscors 1990) 4 Ornasm 98). 5. A Brf Smm of Gograph 1540), R 932), Suma dgogaa 1519) 948). 6 Hsora naurald Nua pana 1959), 3296. . LAmrqu d odor d B Un collcon oagsprosan du XVI. sl 198).
8 NotetoPage
(par Lriue Dioerigthe N Worl
97) 9 0
ie ile 20 2
Le poula Carte arine u xiiie a 984), ,23-3 Deripin 407 Lepoulan
De te et proe 97),
a e
982)
II
n onte a
22
b oogrja 0), 983), 288 eaa e lageoga la e Ctrata 9)
23 in Lerie 47-7
Te Bounarie ofHani: Hu an nial ahine aie ie 2
978), 983) 2,
99), 3-8 per en ient: Ue itt Le ph et la per: La ulpabiliatio
Lion Hut:
&
Bulletin 99) 29-4 3 4 Spae an Plae e Soial Logi ofSpae 984) Culturalthropoogy 7 [992]) Spae Ieti a n the Politi ofDrene I Geograa y eripin unieral e la ia 894) La rnia ojial 7 Hitoriagenel 8 Deripin y earain e la Iia i entale 74) , Colein e to i ito rlatio al ebriito uita y aiai e la atua oe ione epal e a y eana aao e lo rhio el Reino y epeialte e/e Iia 87), 40; 9 Uniere a naabili toti Trr orb Deri Deriptio 9) in 74)
nna ofthe oiation oferian Geographer 7, 2 927) 39-0 eo real ypreo e la Iia: S htoria oaia iy labora£at£a hata la ternai e la Caa e ut£ 2 93) i eria 28 24 2 Te eieal Worl -77 973) Sribe Srpt an Reae: Stuie in the Couiation retao an Dieination ofei?al ext 99) Reita e etuio poltio 70 93),
tuio e hitora el peaito epol 97), 34-80; Litey in Hitorial Pepetie 983), 7-22, eo to Writt Reor: nglan - 2 2 28 29
Fro
Panoraa 23 -98 334
Relaione Gogrja 77-8, Relaone Relaioe Geogrja 77-48, Guie to thohitorial Soure 283-242 olo 30 iao e iagiarie 988), 0-38 3 4-2 32 77-48, 2233 33 34 Htoria tolteahiheea 97) Lo apa e Cahtih y la hitoria tolteahihiea
3 79 NottoPage
Noso Pags
enthusiasm, commitments ad cical skils taught me to see my own project in a new ight Marshall Berman A Ta Is o s no A: T p of Mo (New York: Simon and Schuster, 92) 2 Per Anderson, �
Eao93 (196) 6-21 9 Scrbner, Literacy in Three Metaphors, 16 1 Marshl McLuhan Usa Ma: s of an (London Sphere Books, 967) 9394 Ruth Finnegan The Myth o Literacy" (paper presented at the con erence Literacy Culture, and Mind niversi o Michign, Oct ober 1991) 2 See Mignolo, Darker Side 13. Jos Antonio Maaval, Losfaos a Ia Pso Rna mo spo (Madid: Real Academia de a Historia, 1963) 4 Berce Hamton Poa Tog x�C pan (Ox ord: Oxod niversit Press, 1963); Otis H Green, pan an Ws aon (Mason: versit o Wisconsin Press, 196) vo 3 Leopod Zea, Ama nasoa(Mexico City: Fondde Cultura Econmica, 95) and Dsuso 16 Feando Coroni, Beyond ccidentaism (paper presented at te conerence Power: Thnking across Discipines nversity oMichigan, anu
1992 ) Ca Inqu, orthcoming
7 Arturo Ardao, E nomb a a Ama Lana (Carcas: In stuto Andres Bello 197) Ahur Preston Whitaker T Ws Hmsp Ia: Is Rs an Dn (thaca, NY Coel niversity Press 1954) 19 Francis M Rogers Qs fo Ea Csans: av an Rumo ofDsov (Minneapos: niversi o Minnesota Press,
B
1962) 2 Farss Maa o
2 Richar Posop an Mo of Na (Prnceton N: nceton niversit Press, 19 ) 22 A recent overview is provided by the artices colected in Nicholas B
24 While in the Introduction o this book I exploited some o the ideas avanced by Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela in this conclusio I miny beneted om Rosch t a, Bos M
Nos o Pags
Bblogaphy
From Loke to Saure: a on the Stud oLanguage and Inteleal Hito
From Lke to Saure: a nteleal Hito
1
the Stud oLangage and Rhetoria
NationState and Indian in tin Ameria Hitoia Natural Moral de la Idia Relaioe geogra del lo i: Mio uaman Poma: Writing and Reitane in Colonial
Semiotia Studie in the Anthropolo o al Communiation nguael: S deo en la eneanza
el oren prinipio de la lengua atellaa mane que oi e a en aa
Varia antigidade de paa, Aa orprovinia ioverin the Ne World
0
ro
Jaua 23, 1989 Alha, Yasm Commuy Whewash." Alva xllxchl, Feado de Ed. Edmudo OGoma Mexco Cy Uvesdad Nacoal Auoma de Mxco, 1975 Am, Sam. Tas Russell Mooe New Yo: Mohly e vew Pess, 1989 Tas Rosa Cusmsy de Cedeo Mexco Cy: Sglo X, 1989 Amsele, JeaLoup e alleus (Pas: Payo, 1990 Adeso, A, e al. Beeley ad Los Ageles: Uvesy o Caloa Pess, 1976 Adeso, Pe Modedad y evoluc." Comp Ncols Casullo, 96 Bueos Aes Puo Su, 1989 Adews, E A Revsed y Chalo Lews ad Chales Sho Oxod: Claedo Pess, 1980 Azalda, Gloa Sa Facsco: Spses/Au Lue, 1987 Appah, Kwame Ahoy Topologes oNavsm. " Lodo: Oxod Uvesy Pess, 199 Adao, uo. Caacas: suo Ades Bello, 1978 hem, Rudol 2d d Beeley ad Los geles: Uvesy oCaloa Pess, 1988 Aaza, Elea. as aad Blao: Uvesdad de Deuso, 1989 zpalo Ma, am The da Boo Coloal Yuca." Pape pe seed a e coece The Boo he Amecas Jo Cae Bow Lay, Bow Uvesy, Jue 181 1987 Asceso, Eugeo legua compaea del mpeo: Hsoa de ua dea 43 1960 de Neja e Espaa y Pougal" 399413· sche, Maca, ad Roe Asche A Ao Uvesy o Mchga Pess, 198 Avalle�Ace, Jua Bauisa. Las memoas de Gozlo Fedez e Ovedo." Madd Pa Tuazas, 198 Ave, Anoy NewYo: Basc Books, 1989 Baco, Facs 1605 ol 2 o Ed J. Speddg, R Ells, ad D . D Heah. Loo, 185774 163 ol. 1 o Lodo, 185774 160 ol. 4 o Baco, Roge Tas. R B . Bue. New Yo Russell ad Russell, 196
-
- -
Bagow, Leo, ad R A Selo Camdge Cam� idge Uvesy Pess, 1964 Baly, Joyce Baddel. Map oTexupa (Oaxaca, 1579 A Sudy oFo ad But 54 ( 972 : 457 Meag" Ed Mchael Holqus Ba, M. M Tas Cayl Emeso ad Mchael Holqus Aus: Uvesy o Texas Pess, 198 Tas V W McGee. Ausi Uvesy o Texas Pess, 1986 Balade, Geoge The Coloal Suao: A TheoecalAppoach." Tas D. Gama New Yo Paege Pulshes, 1970 1540 Ed E. G. R Taylo Balow, Roge odo Haluy Socey, 193 A aslao o Ma Fedez de Ecsos Sevlle, 1519 Madd: Joyas Blogcas, 1948 Bao, Has Chcago: Newu La ad Uvesy o Chcago Pess, 1968 Base, Joseph W Meapols: Wes Pulshg, 1978 Bauma, Rchad, ad Joel Shze, ds Camdge: Camdge Uvesy Pess, 1974 Bece, Alo TexBuldg, Epsemology, ad Aeshecs Javaese Sadow Theae." 1314 (1980 13768 Be�mos, Da alycal Caegoies ad Ehc Gees" Aus: Uvesy oTexas Pess, 1976 Bea, Mashal New Yo Smo ad Schuse, 198 Besom, Oavo, ad Magel gols. Padova: Edce eoe, 1986 Baa, m K The Ohe Queso: Dce, Dscmao, ad he Dscouse o Coloalsm. " d F Bae e 1487 New Yo: ehue, 1986
ol 2 Mexco Cy: Uvesdad NacoalAuoma de Mx� 1985 Beo, Dee Chcago: Uvesy o Chcago Pess, 1990 Boo, Flav ece, 1484 100 m. Dsiued y Samuel Goldwy, Los geles, 1991 Lodo Blace, Cae, ad Mchael Loewe, ds lle ad Uw, 1975 Bleeg, Gea, cmp . Madd: Edcoes de Culua Hspca, 1951
L
epuza mp en Nua 9 Ae Tugh and ue. Bbgph 963 FaMae Taama de Phea. 95 Leaue Handbf Mdde Amea nda 95 ea Ape de a ua a 9. emp adad epenam maa 96 e Eud de ua Nhua. 92 a A n he e fa A 99 Anhpge a. 95 95. . e pque R£aane Gene: Ea Te, H, and epean 96 e Mum Dve fEupe. 92 R Mxed Beng New A a uAmea. 99. 59 B.C-AD 7) Ab Ube nda I 99. Ap Dag
400
97. ep man e dega La nepe de I anu Ja 9 . Eda Mexa Aga de dJen ahagn 95.
Sxeenhen : Te W fSahag, -49 974 V
a a a edad epaa de 979. Depn de a nda Odae 574
Depn demaan de a nda Odae. 574. e de du nd, eav a deubm£, qua azan de a anua pee epae de Ama Oeana,
aaddeAhvdeRen, mepeamenedede nda 40 7 . Gegafa dep unvea de a nda 94 Bbgaph 97 aa pae ed. 77. Uuvee fhe Mnd A Sem e fuue. 990 avaux e m de gne 976. Suue fex and Semfue, -2. 973 Ltea e name LexpaJ % na ve da a aue maneque ae, 97. 627"
Ea Mee We Te e n hna 73-207
92 On fMnd
Pmehean Fe: Ree e 93 Dp 4 (99) 36-
3. ua fhe AmeaJ Aadem fRe Sude 2 (94) 33-66 ead Ame (96) -7 e Language f he na ne he Eupean nvan 99. e H fa gaph n he adna am and Suh Aan See, 2 56-74 992 uadeHpamean97-9 (96 6). dehadepeam epa2-60
Eud
Lfae de a dea de pge e Ramen epa/ 963 Reva de 0 ud p 7 (953) Ed de ha de pem pa, 345- 967. Anhpga uua queAn pea he Human Se 96
402
Bibligraph
Marcus Leah "Renaissance/Early Modem Studies In Rdraing th Bndari fLitr Std in Englih d Stephen Greenblatt and Giles Gun, 41-6 New York: Modern Language Associaon, 12 Marshack Alexander Rt f iiizati: gniti Bgig f Man irt A Smbl, and Ntatin New York: McGaw-Hil,
12 Martn Rubio Mara del Cren ed rcci dl gaD Dig d atr it i pangi Madd: Edicions Atas, 188 Martyr Peter [Martir de Angra Pedo] D 'b dcad Alcal de Henars 15 Trans D. Joaqun Tores Asensi as Dcada dl N Md, 82 Rpt Buenos Aies Editorial Bajel 44 Epitlari: Dcmt idit para itria d Epaa Ed and trans Jos L6pez de Toro Madrid: prenta Gngora 15 Mathes Miguel Santa rz d latllc: La prima biblitca acadmica d la Amrica Mexico City: rchivo Histrco Mexicano 182 Matos Moctezua Eduardo Aztc New York Rizzoli, 18 Matuana Hubeto Biology of Language: Th e Episteology of Reality n Pchlgand BilfLang and ght: a i Hnr fEric Lb ed G A Mller and Eric Lenneberg, 2-64 New York: Aca deic Press 8 Maurana, Hubeto and Francisco Varela r fKnwldg: Bi lgical Rt f Hman Undrtanding Boston: New Science Libra,
18 Maupertus Rxiphilphiq r lri d lang t d la ca tin d mt 148 In Maprti, rgt t Main d Bira r ri d lagag d Ronald Grisley Geneva: Droz 1 Mayans y Siscar, Gregori Or d la lnga pa Madd: Ediciones Aas 18 McLuhan, Marshal Undrtanding Mdia ti fMan London Sphere Books 16 Mela Batoeu Elgara cnqitadrdcid: Enad thitria Vol. 6 Asuncin: Biblioteca Paraguaya de Aropologa Auncin Uni versidad Catlica 85 Mendeta Gernio de. Hitria clitica indiana 5 Mexico City Pora 154 Menndez Pelayo Marceino Hitria d la ida ttica n pa 2 vos Madrd: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Ciencas 4 Menndez Pidal Ran atilla, la tradici l idima Madrid: Austral
145
La lga d ritbal ln Madrid Austral 142 Mer, Stephanie Un Mar Magn e oculto' Anaoy of Fernndez de Oviedos Hitriagnral natral d la India » Rita d tdi Hi
pi (84) 1-1
A
Michaowski Piotr �Early Mesopotaia Counicative Systes: Liter ature and Writng In Intatig Aitic Eirnt i th Ancit Nar Eat, ed Ann C Gunter 5-6 Washington DC Sithsonian nsttution 1
Mgnoo, Walter D "Anhuac y sus otos: La cuestin de 1 letra en el Nuevo Mundo Rita Latinamricaa d rtica Litria 28 (188) 28-
5
"Caras crnicas y rlaciones del descubriiento y 1 conquista In Hitria d la littra hipanamrina: pa clnial, d Iigo Madrigal 5-116 Madrd: Ctedra, 182 - "Colonial and Postcolonial Discourse: Culural Critique or Aca deic Colonialis? Latin Amrican Rarc Riw 28 no. (1) 2-4·
- "Coents on Hareys Deconstructng the Map' gaphica 26 no. (18) -
- "The Darker Side of the Renaissance Colonization and the Discon nuity of the Classical Tradition Rnaianc Qrl45 no 4 (winter
12) 88-28
- "Discursos pronunciados con l corazn caliente: Teoas del haba del discurso y de la esctura In Amrica Latina: Palabra ltra, lit& tra coordinated by Ana Pizaro 52-62 So Paulo: Meorial de Arica Laina 4 - "Doinos borosos y doinios tericos illa 2 (85) 2-
4
- "La graa 1 voz y silencio. Ila 552 () -2 - "La historia de 1 scritura y 1 escritura de 1 historia. n D la cnica a a na naatia mxicaa d. M H Forster and J Oega 1-28 Mico City Oassis 86
- "Literacy andthe Colonizaon ofMeo: Writing Histories of Peo
p without Histoy In Litrac: Intrdiciplina nratin ed Deborah Keller-Cohen -4 Nowood, N.J: Ablex 4· "Lgica de las seejanzas y polticas de las diferencias: Sobre 1 lite ratura que parece hisoria y antropologa y viceversa Litt Hi tria a Amrica Latina, 5-62 So Paulo: EDUSP 1 "E1 andat y 1 oenda: La Dcripcin d la princia cidad d lcala de Diego Muoz Caargo y las Rlacin d India Nva Ria d Fillga HipJica 5 no. 2 (8) 45-84 "E etatexto historogco y 1 historiograa indiana Md
Langag Nt 6 (81) 58-42 "Nebija in the New World The Question ofthe Letter, the Coloni zaon of Aerindan Languages, and the Disconinuity of the Classica Traon LHmm 22-24 (2) 18-2 "On the Colonizaton ofAendian Languages an d Meoies Re nassance Theoes ofWritng and the Discontnuiy ofthe Classical Tradi on arati Stdi i Sci and Hit 4 no 2 (12) 30.
"The Postcoloal Reson: Colonial Legacies ad Postcolonia Theo es Meo in lbalizatin and ltr, Conference Reader Nov 12 14) Duke Center for Ctcal heo Fothcoing n Kapana Seshad-Cooks and Fawzia zal-Khan ds Dimin fPtclial
Stdi
403
Bibligraph
, "Que las d tcxtos son gncos? Fundmntos d tpologia tx Bibligph
al. Ata Ptia 4-5 (198-83): 551 . "Rc( modlng) th Lttr Ltray and Ltratur at Intrston Smots nd Ltray Studs In On Smiti Mdling, d. M Andr son nd F. Mrrll. Brln: d Gruytr 1991 _ "Smoss Cohrn and Unvrss of Manng In xt and Disus Cntdns d. Mara-Elzabth Cont J S Po and E Sozr 483-55 Amstrdam John Bnjamn 1989 _. Sgns nd Thr Transmsson: Th Quston fth Book n th Nw World Witing withut Wds Altativ itais in Msamia and th Ands, d E. Boon and W. Mgnoo . Durham NC Duk Unvrsty Prss 1994 , "Toas rcnanstas d la srtura y la oloza6n d las lnguas natvas. In Simpsi d llga bamiana, 11-1 Zaragoza Lbrs Ptos 199 gnolo Watr D. and Colln Ebahr '�Alfabtzan y ltratura Los huhltatlli omo jmplo d smoss olonal Atas d X C gs d ittua bamiaa, d Jose Orga fothomng Mllr Ahur G. "Transformatons ofTm and Spa: Oaxaa Mexo ra 15-1" In mags fMmY: mmbing and psntatin, cd. S Kuhlr and W. Mlon 1415 Washngton D.C: Smthsonan nstuton Prss 1991. Molna Alonso d A d la nga mxiana astllana 151. Madrd Edons Cultura Hspna 1945
Vabulai n gua astllana mxiana mxiana astllana
151 Mxo Cty: Edtoral Poa 191. MorlFato frd. "Lcspagnol lngu unvrsll Bullti hispani 15 (1913: 3
. Histigaphi d Chals int. Prs H Champon 1913 Morgan Lws H Anint Si sahs in th ins fHuman Pg ssm Savag thugh Babaism t Civilizatin Chago: Charls H Krr 191 Motolna Torbo d. Mmials Mxo Cty: Lus Gara Pmntl 193 Mtias Hist fth diasfw Spain, trans Frans Borga Stk Washngton DC.: Aadmy ofAmran Fransan Hstoy 1951 Mottahdh Ry P Mantl fth Ppht: li and Plitis in an. Nw York Smon and Shustr 1985 Mudmb V Y "For Sad Why Evn th Ct ofImprlsm Labors undr Wstrn Sks ansitin 63 (995: 34-5.
. vti fAia Gsis, Philsph, and th Od fKnwl dg. Bloomngton ndna Unvrsty Prss 1988 MullrVollmr Kut "Languag Mnd nd Artfat An Outln of Hr mnut Thoy sn th Enlghtnmnt. In Hmnutis ad Txts fth Gman aditin m th Enlhtnm nt t th Psnt, d Ku MulrVollmr 1-5 Nw York Contnuum 1985.
ofLttrWrng. n hti in thMiddl s: A Hist fhtial Saint Augustin t th naissan Brkly and Los Angls Unvrsty of Calfoa Prss Bibligph 194, 194-68 Mura Matn d Hitiagnl dl P 159 Ed Manul Balstros Madrd Hstora 16, 1986 Navh Josph E Hit fth Alphabt: An ntdutin t Wst Smiti Epph and Palgaph. Jrusalm Magns Prss 198 Nbnzahl Knnth Atlas fClmb and th Gat Disis Chago: Rnd MNlly 199 Nbrja Elo Antono d Gamtia d la lga astllana Salamana 149 London Oxford Unvrsy Prss 196 . glas d la gafa astllana Saamana 151. Ndham Josph and Wang Lng. Sin and Ciilizatin in China Cam brdg: Cambrdg Unvrsty Prss 1959 Nolau dOlwr Lus Fa Badi d Sahag [- Trans Mauro J Mxo Slt Lak Cty Unvrsty ofUtah Prss 198. Nolt Claud. Spa, Ggaph, and Pliti in th Eal man Empi. Ann Arbor Unvrsty of Mhgan Prss 1991 Nsbt Robrt Hist fth da fPgss Nw York Bas Books 198 OGorman Edmundo Cisis pi d la inia hitia Mxo Cty: ImprntaUnvrstra 194 Cat hiads d ndia l XV Pd Mt d Anga, Gzal Fdz d Oid Vald, Balm d la Casas, sph d Asta Mxo Cy: Srtara d Eduan Pbla 19. ida dl dsbmit d Ama Hitiad sa ittai tia d sdamts Mxo Cty: Unvrsdad Naonl Autn oma d Mexo 1951 invin d Amia ivsalisai d la ltua idtal Mxo Cty: Unvrsdad Naonal Autnoma d Mexo 1958 . nti fAmia A nui int th Histial Nat fth Nw Wld and th Maning ftsHitY Bloomngton Indna Unvr sty Prss 1961 ng Waltr J Oali and ita T Thnlgizing fth Wd. London Mhun 198 Oppnhm A L At Msptamia A Pait fa Dad Ciilizatin Chago Unvrsty of Chago Prss 1964. Murphy Jams J As ditaiis: Th
Ortga y Gasst Jose. "Th Duls of Rang Trans. Clarn E Par mntr Digns 8 (1954) 1-1 Man and Ppl. Nw York: W WNo on 1963 Osoro Romo Ignao biblitashispaas Mxo Cty: Srtara d Eduan Pbla 1986
Clgis pfsssitas u sa atin n Nua paa [. Mxo Cty: Unvrsdad Naonal Autnoma d Mexo 199
406
Mexico City: U iersidd Ncio
Aut6o de Mxico, 1990
Mexico City Sct de Edu
cci Pbic, 19 Oiedo y Vlds, Gozalo Feadez d
Rpppo, Joe Mythic Imges, Histoicl Thought, d Pited exts: he Pez d the Witte Word 43, o (197: 43-1 Rel Acdemic Espol Edici6 Fcsimil Mdid Editoi Gedos, 194
4 ls Mdrid: Ipt de Re Acdemi de Histoi, 1 Pgd, Athoy
Mdid Boix, 141 Reyolds,L D, d N G Wiso
Cmbidge: Cmbrdge Uiesity Pess, 192. P, m 1493 Ed Ju Jos Arom Mexico City: Fodo de Cultu Ecomic, 1974. Pikk, Rimudo " Wht Is Comprtie Phiosophy Comprig? I ed G J Lso d E Deutsch, -3 Priceto: Prceto Uiesity Pess, 19 P, Amboise Ed Je Cd Gee Libie Doz, 1971 Eglish ts Jis Pliste, Chicgo Uiesity of Chicgo Pess, 192. ed Did Prkes, M B The Litecy of the Lity I Diches d A Tholby, -77 Lodo Adous Book, 1973
Lodo: Hmbledo Pess,
1991 Ptrizi [Ptitio], Fcesco Ve ice: Ade Aibee, 10 Pu y Mti, Jos M El libo pedido de ls pltics 0 Coloquios de los dce pimeos misoeos de Mxco I Rome Tipogr del Seto, de Dottoe G Bdi, 124 Pedeso, Johes Ed Robet Hiebnd rs Geof fey Fech Piceto Piceto Uiesity Pess, 194. Peey Cl os Vo 1 Stigo Editoil Uie sit, 193 Pez-Rmos, Atoio Oxfod: Clredo Pess, 19 Pied, Jos . "he Gme of Crticl Al 19 (199: 34-1. Pom, Ju Butst (Sigo Ed Joqu G czbcet Mexco Cty Bibiotec Ecicopdc de Estdo de Mxco,
)
1975·
bs, Jos No Oklhom Uiesity Pess, 1993. di, Pul Bekeley: Uiesity Pubicos ofAmeic Acheoogy d E th ology, 1920 Rdes, W G L Pris Amd Coi, 190
Oxfod: Cedo Pess, 1991 Ricd, obet Ts Agel Mr Giby Mexco City Fod de Cult Eco6mic, 19 ichudeu, Frncois Pis: De, 199 ich, Piere Pis Deel, 1979· Pis: Edi tios du Seui, 192 s Joh Cotei Columbi Uesty of South Coli Pess, 197 co, Fcisco " Lecci6 y heeci de Elio Atoio de Nebrj I d Victo Grc de l Co ch Slmnc Acts de l Acdemi Lite Rcetist, 1991 Slmc: Uiesidd de Smc, 197 Ricoeu, Pu ed. d ts Joh B hompso Cmbidge: Cmbrdge Uiesiy Pess; Ps: Editios de l Miso des Scieces de 'Homme, 191 tsch, F G III, 32-402 Boe, 14 ivs Sccoi, Jos Muel Bogota: stituto Co y Cuevo, 1949 Robetso, Dod New He: Yle Uiesity Pess, 199 with Ctog ""The Pitus' Mps) of the I ed Howd Cie, 12243-7 Austi: Uiesity ofexs Pess, 1972 ""he Sixteeth-Cety Mexic Ecycopedi of Fry Bedio de Shg o 3 (19: 17-2 Roges, Fcis M Miepolis: Uiesiy of Miesot Pess, 192 ty, Richd. Piceto: Pceto Uiesity Pess, 191 Rsd, Did Rubes's Muich Its Sources d Sigicce 1 (199: 29-41
40 9
408
Bibliograpy
Erlbaum, 1978.
I
a
R R
40 Bibliography
Selected Subaltern Studies, d Rnjit Guh nd Gyti C. Spivk, 3-33 Nw York Oxford Univrsity Prss, 1988 Stvnson, E. L Th Gogrphic Activiis of th Cs d Contrt� cin. Anna ofthe Association ofAmeric Geogphers7, no. 2 1927): 39-60.
Stocking, Gorg W, Jr. Colonial Sitatio Essays on the Ethnographic Knowledge Mdison Univrsiy of Wsconsin Prss, 1991 , d bservers sed Eayson Ethnogaphic Field Work. Mdson: _ Univrsiy of Wisconsin Prss, 1983. Strt, Bin V. Literac in Teo d Practice Nw York Cmbdg Uni vrsity Pss, 1984. Struvr, Nncy. e Language ofHisto i the Rena isance: Rhetoric and Hisorical COscio i Florti Humanism Princton Princton Univrsity Prss, 1970. Sullivn, Lwrnc "Abov, Blow, or Fr Awy Andn Cosmology nd Ehic Ordr. In Cosmolo and Ethical rde1': New Studies in Compa� tive Ethics d. R W. Lovin nd F Rynolds, 98-132. Chicgo: Univrsiy ofChigo Prss, 1985. Sullivn, Thlm Th Rhtorcl Orons, or Hhuetlatolli"In Sixteth Centu Mico e Work ofSaagI'm, d Muno S. Edmonson, 79-110• Albuqurqu: Univrsiy of Nw Mxco Prss, 1974· Tt, Robt Brn Eyos sobre la istoriogfa pisula del slo Xv Trns. Jss Dz Mdid Edtori Grdos, 1970 Tdlock, Dnnis. e Spoken Wordand theArt ofIteretatio1J Phildlphi Univriy ofPnnsylvni Prss, 9 2 . , trns. Popl h e Denitive Edition ofthe aya Book ofthe _ Dawn ofL and the Glories ofGods and Kings Nw York Simon nd Schustr, 1985 Tdlock, Dnnis, nd Brbr Tdlock. "Txt nd Txtil Lngug nd Tchnology in th Arts of th Quiche My jo1'1al ofAnthropological Research 41, no 2 (1 985): 12146. Tubr, Brd Europischs und Amriknischs im fhnuzilichn Diskurs ubr Stimm und Schri Roma nisti i Geschichte d Gegenwa Bnd 24, 47-59. Hmburg Hlmut Busk Vrlg, 1989 Thiong'O Ngugi W Decolonizi1g the Mind e Politics ofLanguage in Aican Liteture London: J. Curry, 1986. Rsistnc in h Litrtur of th ricn Dispor Post Emncipon nd PostColonl Discourss. Ppr givn t h work shop srs Th Invntions ofrc ric in th Litrturs ofth Conti nnt nd th Dispor, Apl 17, 1992 Univrsity ofMichign Torqumd, Jun d. MOarqua Indiana. 1615. 6 vols Ed. Mgul L6n Portll. Mxico City Univrsidd Ncionl Aut6nom d Mexico, In stituto d Invsgcions Filol6gics, 1977 Tory, Gooy Champ eu: Auqul et conte1 art et science de la dee et vyepropoion d lettres aiques, qO dit au]'emt lees antiques et
vuairem t lees romaies proportionees selon e c orps et visagemain 41 Pris, 1529. Trbnt, Jurgn. Parlare Scrivdo Dconstucv Rmks on Drd's Bibliogap Rding ofVico Tns Mth B. Hlfr. In Nw Vico Studies 43-58 Nw York Instiut for Vico Stuis, 1989 Trbuls, Elis. Trs momntos d l htrodoxi cinc n l Mexco colonil Reista Latinoamericana de Historia de las Ciecias y la cologa 5, no. 1 (1988) 7-18 Tun, Yi-Fu. Space and Place: e Perspectie ofpericeMinnpolis Uni vrsiy of Mnnsot Prss, 1977 Urbr, Grg, nd Jol Shrzr, ds. NationStatand Indians in LatiA1eria. Austin Univrsity of Txs Prss, 1991 Uton, G. At the Croroads ofthe Ea and teSkyAn Andean Cosmolo Austn Univrsity ofTxs Prss, 1981 Te Histo ofa Myth: Pacaritambo and the rigin ofthe InkasAus n Univrsiy of Txs Prss,1990 Vll, Lornzo. In sx ibros lgntium pto. 1442? In Prosatori Latini del Q'ocento. Ed E Grin Mlno: Monddori, 1952 Vndstppn, H. "Chins A ndth Jsuits in Pking I n Eat Meets Wes: Te esui in China, 1581773 d. C. E. Ronn nd Bonni B. C. Oh, 103-27. Chicgo: Loyol Univrsiy Prss, 1982 Vrl, Frncisco. Conocer Las ciencias cognitivas Brclon: Gds, 1990 Vrl,FrnciscoJ, EvnThompson,ndElnorRosch TeEmbodied Mind Cognitie Scice and Human perience Cmbrdg MT Prss, 1991 Vrgs Los, Mro. E hablado Brclon Six B, 987 Vonns, Trnti Disciplia1'1m libris commentari. Vr, Mrcus Trntius. n the Latin Language Trns Rolnd G. Knt. 2 vols. Cmbridg Hrd Univrsity Prss, 1951. Vazquz d Espinos,Anto nio Compendioydescripci6nd elasIndiasccidentales II 1620 Mdrid: Edicions Atls, 1969. Vlsco Cbllos, Rmulo, nd Migul Mldondo Hu, ds. a/ fabetizacin en la Nuea pa: Leyes, cduls reales, ordenanZs, bandos, pst'al y o]'os docntos. Mxico City Sctr d Educc6n, 1945. Vngs, Ajo. Primera pae de las der1Jcias de bros qu e hayen e iveo. Toldo, 1546. Rpt Brclon PLibros, 1983. Vicns Vvs, Jim, comp Hitoria de Espaa y America: Socil y Econ6m ic. Mdrid E itor Vcns-Vvs, 1971. Vico, Gimbtst. ute e opere di Giambaita Vico. Miln ld Mon ddor Edtor, 1957. Trns. Thoms Goddrd Brgn nd Mx Hrold Fisch s Te w Science ofGiambatta Vico. Ithc Coll Univrsiy Prss, 1948 Vl Rojs, Alfonso Los concptos d spcio y mpo ntr los grupos myncs contmporanos. In iempo y reaUdad e elpamito maya, d. Migul nPotill, 119-68. Mxico City Unvrsidd Ncion Au t6nom d Mexco, 1986 Vivs, Ju n Luis De raione studii puerilis. 1523. -
412
Detade De tadedsdscp dsdscplns lns 153 15 3 191
Bblogaphy
Te Invented Real] 41-61 1984 An Intoducton to Radcal Cstctsm Cstctsm Te Invented Real] 1-40 1984
fFloentneeHumanstHstoogaphy J TeDevelopment TeDevelopment ofFloentn HumanstHstoogaphy the the Feth Ctu 1969 thnopoetcs A Fs tea� R toal Symposu, 8-94 196 Lamacn Lamacn de la hacd hacdaa po po colonal 1983
AJales6 191) 93-83
Geschchte n Wssecha ssecha d Untecht Untech t 8 195 316-34
Aal Aale1 e1 1966 1-94
Gogaph gaph du Monde a a Moyen Moyen e e t la Rassance, 51-68 989 Knoledge Knoledge befoe Pnt Pnt g g and an d ae Te T e Indan adton n n Chagg Keala 1985
1991
Te Ons of Wtng, tng, 11-36 1989 TeMode WoldSystem oldSystem Captalst Captalstcultue cultu eand and the Ons ofthe ofthe uopean Woldconomy oldcon omy n the Steenth C 194 Imago Mund 19 1965 38-45 Te Symbol Symbol of of Subodnaton Subodnaton Indan Ident n a Gatemal own 198 HstY ofLtea Ctcsm n the Italan Renassance 1961 e Ides of the Weste Weste Semtes Sem tes Conce Co nceg g the Navel av el of the ath 1 1 1916 Te Te Ameca Ame cann vaso ofPhlosophy: fPhlosophy: A Gelog Gelogy ofPagma fPagma tsm 1989 Magnalzaton and R Contempo Cultues 19-38 1990 e Pvot ofthe Fou Qates: A Pelmna nqu nto the Ons and an d Caacte ofthe ofthe Anct Chnese C C 191 e Wese Hemphee Idea Idea Its Its Rse and an d Declne 1954 Te T e 'opcs ofDscouse 198 Ho Ho Boo and an d Holy Holy adton adt on IntJatonal IntJat onal Colloquu Colloq uum m held n the Fal ofTeolo Unves ofMancheste ofMancheste 10-36 1968
Cca
9: A the e of of ploaton, ploaton,
J
83-8
1991 I, Ca' Mappamd Te T eHstoofCaogaphy ofCaogaphy togap n Pehstoc, Pehstoc, Ancen Anc en d Medeval uope and the Medt'a� Jean, 86-369 198
Aals A als ofthe Assocat Assocaton on ofAnecan Geog Geoga aphes phes5 5 4 1985) 5101 Los mapas de Cahtch y la hstoa aogca pe hspnca 1981 Amca en a hsoa hsoa 1958 magnacn n y la babae bab ae Dscso desde la magnac 1988 R Te T e Ceqe System of Czco: Te Socal Soca l Oaaton ofthe J Captal fthe Inca 1964 La lete et la vo: De la lteatue» mdvale 198
Bblogpy
Index
Acatn,175 Ahilles 146 Acoluan,104 Acosta, Jos d, 31-33, 65, 83-87 109, no, 133, 134, 148, 150, 159-61, 167, r81, 216, 247 Adam 40, 62, 63. 144, 145 Adan 184 ca, 137 220, 232 233 236 237 248, Afca, 261262,270,2732 78279,323 Agnese, Battsta 267-69 Aldete Beado d, 29-37, 41, 43 44, 52,54,59,6166,67315 52,54,59,6166,67315 316 316 Aldete, os de, 2 Alexnde Alexnde III, 167 Alexande e Geat 19 Alexandia, 240 Afonso (suesso of King Feando in Naples),177 Alfonso X ( Sabi), '79 Aliante, 64 lIdsi, 236, 237 AKhwazm AKhwazmi, i, 201 , 202 Alva Ixtlilxhitl eando d, 92 93, 96, 14°,141,161203,204301302 14°,141,161203,204301302 Ameca, Ameca, 153, 154, 237, 264-66, 269 27179,288,311, 324-26 324-26 Amea Mdionlis, 272 mea Septentonal, 144, 145. 151 Amea Septentionals, 272 275 Ameas 14, 14, 220 259-62 264 26769, 272-78, 272-78, 280,281, 288, 31, 313 324,326-28 Ameindian legaies and lnguage/teto, 66-67 and e ogniation of knowledge, knowledge, 203-16 speeh and susive genes, 203-16
4 5
spaceime, 245-55, 296-303 nd weaving/paintng/w weaving/paintng/wng ng 71-O4 wting and eod eod keeping 8 9-O8, 130-35140-63 moxtlijoo/ moxtlijoo/vuh. vuh. 10 defiton 69-75, 78-81 188-89 etymology of 75-80 and folded sceen, 71 Holy, 71, 82-83 and teitoy 74-76 Amstedam Amstedam 27 3 Anhua, 74. 74. 87, 95, 109 262, 296 Andalusia, 29, 31 Andeson Pe, 317 Andes, 93, 95, 242, 249, 250, 259, 262, 301 301 313,317 Anglius Baolomaeus (Batholomew de Glanville), Glanville), 194, 195, 197, 201, 231 , 232 Antati, 32 Ansuu, 252 Anwep, Anwep, 26 4 nzalda, Gloia, 13 Apianus, ets, 266, 267, 278, 281, 282 Aagon, 38, 41, 46 97, 174, 184 Aimbold (Cadinal), 177 Aeto Aeto 186 Aevalo, 38 Agenna Agenna 6, 13, 14 321, 331 istotl istotle, e, 46, O, 8, 143, 19 8, 208, 21 , 318 Ahim Rudolf Rudolf 22 7 Azpalo Man Man mn, 206 20 7 Asio Vehanello), 183 184 Asenio, Eugenio, 40 Asia 220, 220, 231-33 , 237, 248, 261-65 268, 273,278-80,285 Atahualpa r8 Augusne (Saint) 40, 43
416 de
Aaputlo Aaputlo 3 02 A, 30 32 240 242, 297 298, 299 300 aon S Fans 87 200 20 adano Jun 56 atn, atn, M M, 8 22, 24 andnello anal) 292 abados, 330 aelona, 74 alow alow Roge, 274 275 eethoven Ludwg van, 2 enavente, Tobo d, 74 Motolna emn, emn, Mashal, Mashal, 36 37 329 ondo, Flav 36, 37 78 8 lau, Wllen, 27-73 odn Jean 66 olva, 3, 4 ombay 37 320 oges Joge Lus, 22 oomeo, oomeo, Glbet Glbet 7 73 omeo, Jun ount) 7 74 75 otun enadu e eado ado 3, 30 436568,200 oundaes of vlaton vlaton 27 -79 and oloned spaes 30- ultual boundes 23-26 ofhum ofhumans ans 270-77 awate Edwad amau 2 3 al 325 e Vtoa 24 tn334 sh aibbean 330 un Leonado, 37 78 8, 82 86, 87 hodoe d 275 277-79, 280 uenos Aes 4, 37 yantium 37
ee o
aamaa 08 alepno, Amboso 92 93 alfoa 30 antmpe, homas of 95 , 97 apa Huayna Gauanaapa" Gauanaapa") ) 32, 33 aolo Maino 83 abbean, 2 3 2 7 244, 265 280 327 330,33 aoh Hoo e Jesut) 47 ae Gemell 22 asas asas atolom de las , 29, 36 8, 26 asle 29-3, 38-4 46 50-53 58 59,
67,7,97 4774757985 4774757985 245253 245253 285288308, 39 39 326 eaU90 entl Amea 3 266 280 35 entl Mexo 60 sa, Am 33 haloAmaq haloAmaquemea uemean, n, 88 hamula, hamula, 3, 32 hapultepe 30 298 299 haes ofSpan ofSpan hales hales V) 34.45 46 50,53,56, 699779,202239267 haes ing of Fne) 77 homoto 300 honhua honhua 89 hhnauhteatl, 302 hhuahua, 30 hle, 4 hmalhuan 305, 307 hmalhuanAtoya, 306 308 hmalpan uahtehuantn Fnso de Sn Antn Mun, 88-93 6 62 74 74 75204 hna 8 7 83, 84 69, 29-26 233 240.243,245,246 240.243,245,246 25252, 254, 254, 259 259 260,262,268270285 30 30 hnhaysuu, hnhaysuu, 252 holula 300 hst, hst, 228 2 29 eo eo,, , , 35, 36 38, 66, 73, 86, 93 es 236-43 and osmos 235-43 udad Rel Antono d 77 lanhy, Mhael 289 lassal tadton onnuty of) and epstemology epstemology 320-2 and genes, 203- and languages 46-47, 59 67 and memoes, 40-63 and spae 240-58 l, Mhele 2 ohane Eh W 36 ollasuyu, 252 olonal ultual studes, 35-6 dsouse, 7-9 semoss 7-9 20 29 passm Tns laon) stuatons 9 332-34 olumba 265 olumbus hstophe 29, 27, 7-77, 85262263270286-88 85262263270286-88 ompasm and lo of enunaon 226-40, 303-9 and phlology - 33-34
(
and plutop heneneuts, - 25758,33-42 ondilla Etenne onnotd onnot d 43 onad Joseph,2 opeus 225 doba Agentna) 32 doba Span), 240 ots ots Hen 3 46, 59 226, 237, 240 242266 osmologes Anden 232-40, 248-50 Mesoamean 232-40 248-53 . Jos, 32 u Matn de la 56 uaunnhn 294, 295 297, 300 304 uba 264 265 untnsuyu,252 uus, Est Robe, 8 82 uo uo 60, 6, 230 249 25 3, 254 Deolonaton/postolonal Deolonaton/postolonal theong, 0-28, 0-28, 35-34 dEla, Pasquale 29 Denl of oevlness, oevlness, 36-60 225-30 and ulual elavsm 326-30 denal ofthe ofthe 249-5 254-58 329-30 Deda Deda Jaques, Jaques, 22, 8, 37-2, 330 Da del astllo, eal 77, 03 Deenes and vlues 247-50 37-20 Dne Davd 77-8 Dsplnaityn Dsplnaityn tedsplnay and olonal ultul studes 35-7 onguaton of of 39-2 0 and lo ofenunaton ofenunaton 329-3 tanng, tanng, 22-25 32-22 Dsusve genes 40-43, 83-86 and alphabe wtng 7-75 208- and Ameindan ognaon ofnowl edge 203-6 and audene, audene, 83-86 and ognton 94-96 and enylopeds, 86-203 and folloe 22-6 and gamm 55-57 and lous of enunaon 86-202 and speeh 2-6 and uth 86-202 Doman ofnteaons 23-24 and olonal semos, 5-29 and the obseve 24-25 Dougas, Fede 08 Dun Dego. 226, 233-35, 24-43 246, 255 Duss, Duss, Enque, Enque, , 2 6 7, 9 Duvege Duvege hsan 300
Egua y Eguen, Juan Jos d 64 65 6365 Eypt Eypt 42 7243 44,237 44,237 Els, Nobe 34 Eley Eley Wayne 248 , 249 Enatement pefonane) pefonane) and olonation, 333 and eptemoloY, 23-2 5 and lvng ognsms, 24-28 332-34 and epesentaton, 32-3, 33-35 Enylopeds, Enylopeds, 86-20 3 England, 8, 44 87 200 256 35 Esmus, 34, 39,40 Espada, Jmne Jmne de la 29 2 Espo Espola la ) 263 265 286 Estmadua,3 Ent and entes 29-25 255-58 and geome entes, 243-50 255-58 and hstoy, hstoy, 78 -80 and atonaton of spae spae 226-3 0 238-4 and teitoaty teitoaty 242-4 5 Euope, Euope, 3 8 20 35 3844649,77, 8789033738 787 787 90 90 20 20 220 220 224 224 23,23-33,237 23,23-33,237 248, 256257, 260-62264 260-62264 268-70, 268-70, 273,278-8286296300,325-28 273,278-8286296300,325-28 Euopean Renassane/eay mode peiod, 4 38 35-6 323-34 and ateave leges 63-68 and the boo 77 82-83 de de sde o fthe, -7, 37-8, 323-28 and theo of wng wng 34-3 6 and wting, wting, 82-83 8 6 Faban Faban Johanne, Johanne, 04 225 247 , 256, 258 Fnon, Fant, 32 33 Fende Gl 290 Aagon 29 30 37 38 ,4 , Fednnd ofAagon 587,202,288 Fende de Enso, Man 274 Fnnegn Ru 223 Flandes 46 Floene 8 82, 86 94 99 326 Floda 4 32, 244 Fouault, Mhel 5 22 Fne 8 4 74, 77 97 237 35 Fee, aulo, 322 Gadame, HnsGeoge 6-9 Galeo, Juan 77 Gante edo edo de 45 46 55 92 04 Gas Juln 63 Gaa Mane Mane eado 29 9
Inde
418 Index
GardJaso e Ia Vega Vega,, nca, 150 159. 160 161172 204.247.249 204.247.249 Garibay, Angel Maa u6 2U Gascogn,237 Gal323 Gz, Clifor 22 Gener an ecation, 38, 15-6 an mapping, 273-76 an speech, 2-S an the state 37-43 an writing, 93-95 Geneva, 320 Gemany 18 Gnns (El) 179 Gesner Konra von, 44 Glissant, George, 126 127. 169 Gonzlez Toms 58 Gooy, ack, 82, 321 Gossen, Ga 214. 215 31 Gra Hay 320 Gramsd Antonio 321 Ganaa Lis 82 Ganaa 29. 37. 41 56, 177 Greece 17. 135 143 145, 168, 198, 320 Grzinsk erge, 324 Gaalpe 325 Ganahami 175 Gatemala 205 213 Gha, Ranajit, 126 127 Gicdarini Gicdarini Fancesco Fancesco 174 176, 1 78 1 86 Gyanas 325
Ham 231 233 Hegel, Georg Wlhelm Fech 318 Hiegger, Martin 17 330 Hemenecs analectc me o, 1-7 an colonial semiosis semiosis 15 -20 an compaasm, 258-59 326-34 an crossctral nestaning, nestaning, 1 0710 an ierential loci o oennciation ennciation 31618 an misnerstaning/colonizaon 259-65 monotopic monotopic 17-22 an paicipant/obseer, 329-31 plitopic (enition) 12 15-18 331 an sensibility 315, 329-30 Henez Diego Ayopochtzin, Ayopochtzin, 90, 91 Henez Deg oMocnztalolatzn, Mocnztalolatzn, 90 Henez Francisco, Francisco, 198 , 275 Heroots 19 135 136 179 180 181
Herrea y Toesillas Antonio 33 246 255285, 300 300 Hesio, Hesio, 145 Hispania,137 Histoy an alphabetic witing 135-4 0 229 an Amenian Amenian caenar 151- 63 an 135 an (conscton o ) histoical even 178-83 eic, eic, 175-76 an ction 12527 an literatre 125-27 an memoy/cor memoy/cor keeping, 129-32 140-71 an people wiot, 127-35 an 137 an selenition 135-40 an sbalte sties, 126 an nerstaning the past, 136-38 an wting 143-71 owiting owiting143-71 Hobbes Thomas 324 Hollan, 6 18 Holy Roman Empire, 40 Homer 19, 145, 146 148 Hong Kong, 223 Hastepec, 307 308 Hitzilopochtli Hitzilopochtli 132, 240 249 Hlme, Peter, 7 Hman boy an geographical cente 230-32 an letters, 51-53 an the omphalos synome 227-30 an sacre places 226-30
les
·ordZ
berian Peninsla 2933 50, 137, 178, 260 cahtzin 301 nia 18, 126, 237, 270 nias el Poniente 244 325 nias Meriionale 244 nias Oientales 325 nias Occientles, 309 313 325 326 nias eptentrionales 244 nicoplestes, nicoplestes, Cosmas, 23 6 nies nies (East) 148 243 246 286, 304 325 nies nies o Per Per 253. 254, 30 8, 309 nies (West) 30-34 148, 177, 188 194, 199243-45 253-56259. 260,281 282285286,291-943 282285286,291-943 °0,304, 308,309 308,309 313325 an 237 relan 200 sabla, 265
sabella (Qeen o Castile), 29-31 37-39 41,46,58, 177,202,288 177,202,288 siore oeville, oeville, 137-40, 194, 197, 201 233,236 talian Peninsla, 181 taly, 37 40, 41, 50, 136 137 140 144, 166171174176-78 166171174176-78185 185 197, 197, 324 324 lichchitl lichchitl 104 zptal302 zptal302 amaica 330 apan, apan, 71 220 224 260, 267 268 apanese slans, 285 apheth, 231 233 326, 328 ersale ersalem, m, 222 228 229, 231 233, 237, 243, 243, 255 imnez e Cisneos (Carinal), 46 an Basta Basta 112 113 6 Kea�, 12 Keala 317 Khaln Khaln bn 136 236 2 37 Klor e Alva, orge, 97 103 Knowlege o 21 constctiist concept o an epistemology, 21 an loci oennciation, o ennciation, 23-25 obective concept o2 o2 1 organization o 3, 171 an paticipant/obseer, paticipant/obseer, 23, 24 Knowlege Knowlege an social rol hmanist 289-91 (man oetters) oetters) 289-91 Kristeller Oscar 173 324 Ksch Roolo 13-15 331 Ktaiba, bn (Qtayba) 20
len'o
aet an e 148 amming, George 12, 330 331 ana, Diego 62 71 73-76 angage an colonial expansion, 63-64 an civilization 34-35 an clothing 34-35 acoss cltres, 29, 32, 61-64 an geogphy, geogphy, 33- 40 an labor labor 35-3 7 an th e law,50 an meicine 50-52 57-58 an nation, nation, 35, 6 7 anking o 44 anteritoiality an teritoiality 30, 48, 59-60 65-67 anch Vcnco 57, 58 atin America 6 13 18, 250, 323, 326 atini, Bnetto 197 ebrixa Antonio , 42 Nebria
eelso
enPotilla Migel 97 102-5 11 1·3 212,248 eqias, 285 e e"" ean, 277 etterwting 171-75, 178-208 an encyclopeia 208 an hisoy, 129-70 208 anthe an the ene ospeaking, ospeaking, 182-83 Levinas Emmanel, vitas Clae, 22 318 321 ewis, Bea 237 iga 174 175 ima, 54 172 ingiscnifcation, ingisc nifcation, 41-46 isbon, 144 teracy alphabetic 294 alteatives 58-68, 5-24 an iscrsive genres 212-16 an hito Histo) logographic, 294 an mapping pace) an nmeacy, 138-40 an teaching Castilian 53-55 theories theories o, 321 -23 ses o o 65 an Weste expansion 43-52 65-66 ivy, Tito 79, 135 136 137 ocke ohn, 323 ocs o ennciation an cltral relativism 327-29 332-33 efnition, 5 6 ierenial erenial 316-17 330 an isciplina isciplina pacce pacce 32 9-3 3 an actre spaces, 303-9 an knowlege 21, 23-25 an paicipant/obsevers paicipant/obsevers 328- 34 an the politics olocaion, 15, 311-13 an repesenation, 333-34 an tition 18 an tth 186-202 onon onon272, 272, 32330 pez Diego , 58 pez Astin Alreo 230 pez Calixto Mariano Mariano 31 2 pez e Gmaa Fancisco 5 31 174 216 Lpez e Velaco, an, 4, 32, 33, 243, 244,246, 244,246, 253-57,260 282 285-87 292296297 292296297 300 300 3 °8 3°9313 pez Pieo os Maia, 207 orenzana y Bitrn, Francisco Antonio, 59-64 Lotman, M 22 can 163 164 msen, msen, Charles, 22 7
(see (see
419 Inde
40 Index
Lybia, 232 Macr, Liciniu5 79 Madrd, 144 Magallanica (Sou Pol), 278 Magh,237 Maldonado, Juan, 227 Malinaco 302 MaIue:28 Manv John, 26 MarvaU os Antonio, 26 289. 290, 324,32 Mllus, Hny 260-64. 270 Ma, Manul 64 Matiniqu, 324 Mar Mar Ptr, Ptr, 3 38 171-88, 202 208 21,216,288 Max, 316 Maths, Migu, 6 Maturna Humbo, 23 24 Mautnia 176 Mimu Lon X (Pop), 184 McLuhan Marshall 323 Mditrranan, 34. 237 2 Mmphis, 163, 164 Mndita Grnimo d, 208 Mndoza, Digo d (Vicroy), 87. 191 Mrcuriano, 8 MCy, MCy, 42 Msoamca 14 93, 160 168, 242 21, 29,262,301,304, 29,262,301,304, 313 Mxico Mxico,, , 3 32,4, 46,0, 4-6,8 9,62, 64-67,69 64-67,69.. 74, 74, 83,84,96, 127,130, 134 134 144, 144, 149, 149, 10,11, 6663174187,188190192, 63174187,188190192, 196201 196201 204208,210226,233240243 204208,210226,233240243,, 246266,294 246266,294,, 296 296 303,30,320, 32432 Mxico iy, iy, 64 MxicoTnochtitn, 103 104, 192 21, 239,240242 Midd East, 9 Milan 177 186 Milton John 12 Misminay, 249, 20 Modiy Modiy 31-34 Molina, Alonso d, 49 Moluccas 244 Montzuma, 296 Morls, Ambrosio d 179 Motolina, 74-76, 83 89, 92 Bnavnt Mnstr, Sban 267 268 Mua P, Man d, 104 10
K K
o
Napls 177
Napoon , 32 Navarr, 31 Nbrja, Elio Antonio d 2, 29-31 37-8, 6 67, 67, 76103128,12914713 178, 178, 31 316, 316, 319, 319, 320 320 Lbxa Nw Guina 28 NwSpain Nw Spain 31, 44,46 49, 0 2, 3, 6 8 64, 64, 74 74 7793, 128, 128, 196,207, 196,207,27 27 28,296 Nw Wold Wold,, 6 8, 20, 32, 41, 48 0, 2 4, 4, 967, 967, 7,82,83, 122,13,137 122,13,137,, 143,161, 143,161, 169, 169, 179, 179, 181-83 181-83,, 18,186 197,198, 197,198, 203216,244,24,23-, 203216,244,24,23-, 29,262264-66,269,27, 29,262264-66,269,27, 277, 277, 278, 278, 28128 286,288, 290-9 290-92 2 303, 309, 3 313, 31, 324 32, 328,331 Nw York, York, 6 Nitzch, Frdrich W Wilhlm, ilhlm, 33 0 Noah, 231 233 21 Nopatzin, 302 NohAmca Amca 13 280, 31 , 31, 326 327 Nouvll Frnc (anada), 172
lo
O'Gonan, Edmundo, 17, 179, 181, 262, 264, 264, 312,324 Oaaca aca 9, 60 307 Ocampo, Floan d, 179 ccidnaism (Eurocntsm), 323-27 and capitalism, 240-7, 29-6 and histo witing 127-0 and litrcy, -7 and mapping, 262-69 and mapping ndis 281-89 and Orintalism, 266-69 and rationalizaion of spac, spac, 240-7 and Wst Hmisph, 268-69 31 Old World, 49, 4, 32 Oiv, Lon, 326 327 Olmos, Andrs d 2, 2, 3, 6 Ong, Waltr, 78 Orosius Orosius 300 Oga y Gasst, os, 8 Olius Abrham, 219 220, 221 24, 308 Ovando Ovando,, uan d 194 199 244 Ovido y Valds, Gonzalo Fndz d, 173,181, 173,181, 18,197, 18,197, 288
Pagdn, Anthony 26 Panama, 24, 28 Pan, Rmn 6, 127 Panikkar, Rimundo, , , 16 Parguay, 66
Par, Ambois, 277 Pars Pars 317, 31 8, 320 Parks, M B, 289 Pagonia, 24 Patizi, Frncsco, 3, 143 163, 16-68 Paulo (Pop), 163 Pau y M, os 326 Pkng, 240 Pirc hals Sandrs, 22 Pu 1, 13, 14, 31, 33, 66, 83, 84, 87, 133, 172,204,249,20,26, 172,204,249,20,26, 3 Phadus, 81 Php V, 14 Phip (ofSpain), 32, 33, 4, 46, 3, 6, 179194,197, 199200,202, 204 204 244, 244, 267,27 3241,24, 28 32 Philippins, 4, 3241,24, Phlosophy Phlosophy oflanguag and aphabc wring, 29 and Amrndin languags, 4 and h classical trdion, trdion, 40-42 and intrpiv modl 4 nd naon, 30-4 and Wst trdion, 40-41 Phlology nd compasm 8-12 and dcolonization, 12-1 and disciplinay knowldg, 21-23 and gammato!ogy, 318-22 and hnucs, 16-20 and pacipant/o pacipant/obs bsr r 2 3-2 Phoniia Phoniia,, 16316 4 Piccolomini Ena Sylvio (Pop Pius ), 326 Pimntl, Antonio 74 Piombo Sbsano dl, 290 292 Plato 81 82 8, 318 Pliny h Eldr (Gaius Plinius Scundus), 194,197-99 Poma d Ayala Guamn, 87, 204 246, 20-6, 308 31 Pomar, Pomar, uan Bausta 44 4, 104, 10 Ponc, Alonso 77 Potuga, 18, 27 326 Pto, Pto, Lus 321 Ptolmy, 236, 237 243 281 Publa,9 Publa,9 Quinlian, Quinlian, 110, , 1 3 Rdin Paul, 299 Ricci, Ricci, Mato (Fahr), 4 219-27 233 243, 243, 24, 24, 246,22, 246,22, 24-7 24-7 Rco, Frncsco 38, 49 Rman Empir, Empir, 41, 136 137 , 178, 18 1 240
Rom, 40, 8, 64, 97 129 134 13, 137, 166, 166, 173178,181,186, 198, 198, 222,223, 22,2 26,264,26,288 Romro Osoio, 7 Ry, Ry, Rchard Rchard 33 0 Rosnal, Frnz, 136 oussau, oussau, J, 43, 318-20 Rys, Rlph L, 20, 206 Ruysch, ohnns 264, 26, 278
Sacrobosco, 286 Sahagn, Badino d 2-4, 87, 96, 97 102-619, 110, 2, 6, 7, 37, 187202208209, 202208209, 211,216,222,226 231,232-3, 231,232-3, 242,243,24626297 242,243,24626297 Said Edward, 323 Saamanca, 30 Salazar, ants ants d 6 9 Salomon slands, 28 Sanchz, Pdro 7 San Lornzo l Rl, 263 San Luis Potos, 6 Santa ruz, Aonso d, 286, 287 Santndr, Santndr, 18 Snto Domingo, 18, 264 26 Santo Toms, Toms, Domingo d 48 Saussur, Frdinand d 8 22, 18 318 Schdl, Hann, 269 Schlnachr, Schlnachr, Wilhlm 18 Scrbnr, Sylvia, Sylvia, 3 22 Svill Svill 99 7, 137 240, 320 Shm, 231, 233 Sforza Sforza,, Frncisco Frncisco Maro, 183 Sforza Sforza,, Ludonco, Ludonco, 1 77 Sfoa, Scanio 1 77 Shakspar, Shakspar, illiam 12 Shaoxing, 219 Sicily 37 Siculo Marno, 38 Simon, Rm 7 80, 103 Socrats 81 82 Solar, Antonio, 172 South Amca, 13, 26 266 280, 287, 3, 3 326, 327 South Mxico, 3 Spac and citis, 237-4 and coxisting tritoralis, 246- and communis' slfdscripon slfdscripon 22728 and cosmologis, 301-2 and mpy cntrs, 26- and hnic/gomtc hnic/gomtc cntrs, 23 3 nic ronalization ronalization of, 226- 30
421 Index
422 Idex
and four coe/four continent s, 2283 cture ctured, d, 339 geometic rationaliation of 243-50 and geopolitcl cnters 236-37 and locus of enunciation 303-9. aII-I3 and mapping e West West Indies, 245-60 micromacrocosmos micromacrocosmos theo y o 228-32 and place, 28183 and teritories 309-12 Spacein btwen/third btwen/third spac/hybidi spac/hybidity ty and cities/cosmos, 227-43 and coexisting tertoaltis, tertoaltis, 246-54 and fractured terrtorialities 303-13 and knowledge, 96u8 and languages, 55-68 and locus of enunciation 1I-22, 325-34 and mapping 21926 and mateial cultures cultures 8z and memories 129-35 14043, 150-63 and e Orniati on fkowledge, 18721S
and writing/weaving/painng, 8096 Spain 2, 18, 33, 37. 39. 46, 58 62, 64. 69 . 103, I9. I9. 162 171, 174-76 178 179, 186, 186, 200204253,255 200204253,255 257,268, 270,275,290,296,315, 270,275,290,296,315, 324-26 324-26 334 Spanish Aeica 316
Speaking ad nd/hity, 73Bl and knowldge, oIS and e obsvr 262-65 and powr 24350 and power/owldge power/owldge 260f, 282-89 and social behavior U6-18 and writing 279-80 Speed John, 272 Spvak, Gayatri, 126 Steck, Borgia 75 Strasbourg 265 Syia, 237 Tacitus, 129, 135-37 Tahuantinsuyu249, 250, 252, 262 Tdlock, Dennis, 213 Tnanco,88 Tnayuca,3 Tendilla77 Tenochn 45, 46,130175235,2 39 24042249
Teohuateuhci Teohuateuhci Cacamatin, 175 Tcppulco, 191 192 Tetcuco III Tecaipoca Tcoco,4 coco,4
Teo6mo Teo6moc c 24 Theodor Theodor anc, 324 Thevet, Andre 277 Thieves Island 285 Thiong' Ngugi Wa 12 13 Third World, 331 Thucydides 129 135, 137 Tierra d1 Fuego 66 Tlacopan 104 56, 97, 191, 192 Tlatlolco 50, 53, 54, 56, 203
Tlaxcalla, III Toledo 69, 246, 285 Topiltin 302 Torquemada, J uan d, 65, no, III, 127, 128 13 3
Wordswoh,William , {2 Writing/weavin/paintng and Ameindian legacies, 71-104 and e book, 81 defition itio n of 78-79, 8-19 ofhistoy 143-71 and knowledge, 93-96, 103-8 and mapping 279-80 and memoy/hstoy 93f and nation, 35 and physical labor, 8788 and uipu-makng, B3 and remedy, 43 and selfdescription, selfdescription, n821 and social roles 76, 86-89. 95-96, 28994
Tovar, Tovar, Juan Bautista 65 134 159 Tnslation, 69 passim. colonial semi osis Trnidad,33 Tudor May, 200 Tunisia, 237 Tuy, Tuy, Beard de 190 Tacualttan8
lysses 146 United State 6 13, 3I1, 316 323 Uon, 249, 3I1 Valla, Lorno, 40, 4[, 50 Valley o Meico 132, 141, 240, 297 297 298 300
VaHey ofPuebla, 297, 300 Varro, Varro, Marcus Terentius J38, 144 151 T53, 154,199
Vengas Alejo 69-76, 83, 96 105, 194 Veneu1a, 265 Venice 237 Vspucc Vspucc Ameigo, 185, 264 265 286-8B Vio, Giambattista, 3, 14357, 161-63, 166 16B,200201
Virgil,3 Visconti Ascanio ( Cadinal), 177 Visscher, Co1is, 274, 275 Visscher, Jan5oon 273 278 279 VivesJuan VivesJuan Luis 34 ·0 Waldseemller, Waldseemller, Main, 26567, 278 Wales, 200 Wallace, David 20 Wahington 290, 292 Watch Nathan 252 Wattan Wattan 321 Weste hemisphere 311 325, 326 Wheatley, Paul, 242 White ayden, 125, 127
and speaking OB-IS and speech, 35, 37-39 317-20 and visible signs, 63-65, 96-108 Xocoitlan, 302 X10tl, 301 302 Yocotl Yocotl,, 32 64, 6673, 76, 204 204 Yucan, 4, 62, 64, 207
Yupanki, Titu Cusi, 87 Zaragoa 144 Zea Leopold, 324, 325 Zudema,R T [Tom] 249 252
Index
426
Iuaton Cdi
Vatiana ome. Fig 59b, eprinted by pcission om Bartholomeus Anglius De proprietaribJm rerum 49 Bibliota Apostolia tiana ome Fig 5a printed om Eduardo Matos Motzuma e New York: izzoli 989 Fig S b John Carter Brown Library at Brown University Providene I. Fig S 1 eprinted om Eduardo Matos Motezuma e New York: izzoli 989 Fg 5 Reprnted by peission om Ib*Khaldun 71eM"qadd�'mahAn Inoduction to History Pineton N: Pineton University Press 958 Fig 53a The Newberry Library Chiago Fig S 3b Fronspiee to the sixth part ofTheodor Dery's Grands Voyages Courtesy of the John Carer Brown Library at Bown Ui* Fig 5 3 Reprinted om Paul Wheatley e ot ofthe vrsity Providene Four Qrters: A Preliminary Enquiry into the Orins and Caracter ofte Ancient Chinese Ci Chiago: Adine 97 Fig 5 4 Frontispiee ofthe Codex Mendoza. Bodleian Library Oxford Figs. 5 5 and 5 Illustration by Lpez de Velaso om Antonio Herrera y Tordesillas Historiageneral delos he/sde loscastellanosenlasIslas de Tierra FiJe delmar ocano 8 vols Madrid Imprenta Real 10 -5 Fig. 5 7 Reprinted by peission om Gay Urton At the Crooads oftheEarth andteSky: An Andean Cosolo Copyight 9 8 By permission of the author and the Uni versity ofTexas Press. Figs 5 8 and 59 Repinted by peission om Guaman Poma de Ayala Nuea coronica y bu gobio, 587- 5 The Royal Library Copenhagen Fig 50 eprinted om Johannes Fabian Time ad the Other Ho AnthropoloMak Is Object. New Yor: Columbia Univesity Pess 983
©
Chapter Fig Henrius Matellus Germanuss world map 490 Courtesy of The Bitish Library London Fig. a The Newberry Libray Chiago Fig b Bibliotea Nazionale Centrae Fig 3 Reprinted by peission om Ptolomaeuss Geographia The Newberry Library Chiago Fig 4 tudio Editions Ltd London Fig 5 Reprinted om C ulius olinius os Cs Miori e Newberry Library Chiago Fig Courtesy ofthe James Ford Bell Library University ofMinnesota Fig 7 Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University Providene RI Fig 8 Courtesy of the Newberry Library Chiago Fig 9 Courtesy of the Royal Geographial oiety London Fig 0 Courtesy of the Hunngton Library an Marino Cali Fig Claes Janszoon Vissher Bibliothque Naonale Paris Figs 3 and . 4 Courtesy ofe ohn Carter Brown Library at Brown University Providene RI Fig .5 The Newberry Library Chiago Figs and 7 Courtesy of the ohn Carter Brown Library at Brown University Providene RI Fig 8. Reprinted from M Cuesta Domingo Alonso de Santa CrZ y S Obra Cosmograca Madid: Consego upeior de Investigaiones Cientias " Institut Gonzalo Feandez de viedo Fig 9 ebastiano del Piombo Portaitofa Humanist amuel H Kress Colletion 994 Board of Trustees Naonal Gallery of Art Washington DC Fig. 0 ebastiano del Piombo Cardial Bandillo Saul, Hs Secretary and vo Geaphers amuel H Kress Colletion 1994 Board of Trustees National Galley ofArt Washington C Fig. Arhivo General de l a Nain Fig Muso Naional deAntopologa Peru Fig. 3 Arhivo Gen eral de Indias eville Fig 4 Reprinted by permission of the Benson Latin Ameri an Colleon The University ofTexas at Austin Fig. 5ab eprnted by peis sion om Guaman Poma de Ayala Nea coronica y bgobierno, a 5 The Royal LibraryCopenhagen Fig Reprinted om Gary Gossen Cham"las the World oftheS: me ad Space in a Maya Oral radiioJ Cambridge Mass Harvard University Press 974
©
©
