The contribution of an American woman
that fell in love with Mexico’s culture
By Florelisa Hernández – February 2009
• Thelma D. Sullivan and her translations from the Nahuatl
• Pregnancy and Delivery in the time of the Aztecs
Thelma D. Sullivan was one of the foremost Nahuatl scholars of the twentieth century and the author of a compendium of Nahuatl grammar.
She was born in New York City en 1917 and died of cancer in 1981, she was ill for almost 20 years.
In 1950 she arrived to Mexico City, there she learnt Nahuatl (the language of pre-Columbian Mexicans) with Angel Maria Garibay K, and with Dr. Miguel Leon-Portilla.
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| A pregnant woman accompanied by a midwife. Florentine Codex Book VI |
She wrote few books about the Nahuatl language, among them a compendium of Nahuatl grammar, and translated texts from Nahuatl to English. In this article we will present an excerpt from the Florentine codex, translated to the English by Thelma Sullivan, the text is rich in information about the Pre-Columbian Mexican beliefs related to pregnancy, delivery, and the deification of women that died during delivery. Also, it contains information about the way mexica women experienced pregnancy and delivery, the importance of the delivery process, its rites, and beliefs, advises and practices, some are in practice to this day.
In her work Thelma translated, interpreted, and made contributions as a professional, and also as a woman, although she was never a mother.
Pregnancy, Delivery and deification of women that died upon delivery.
Texts from Florentine Codex, Book VI
Translation from Nahuatl to English by Thelma D. Sullivan
In the militarist Aztec theocracy, the glory achieved in the battle, was not exclusive to men. A pregnant woman in time to delivery was seen as a warrior that started a battle and like the warrior she would achieve the glory, either as a captor, or as a captive. If she was victorious she will deliver a child alive, the glory was motherhood and the baby was the trophy. If, on the contrary, she died during delivery with the baby still captive in her womb, her death was as noble as a warrior’s, and alike him, she would ascend to Heaven, to the House of the Sun.
The preparation of the young woman to face her first great battle started as soon as she got pregnant. The announcement of the pregnancy was accompanied by a solemn and happy celebration with the presence of the two families. Happy because she had in her womb a “precious stone, a feather of quetzal (precious bird)” the seed of the ancestors that sprouts again, as a promise of the continuity of the lineage. Solemn because birth is something so mysterious, so dark, as the womb itself, full or risks.
Close to the seventh or eight month of pregnancy both families get together again in a celebration to decide upon the midwife. They are heading to the crucial times, the pregnant woman needs now the special care of a toltecatl, amantecatl, itlanahuatil in totecuuyo, “an artist, an artisan, someone that receives its powers from Divinity” an expert in what we call the magic of medicine.
Then the texts follow with very precise information, they are the only ones in Nahuatl literature that talk about the beliefs and practices related to pregnancy and delivery. They start with the hiring and acceptance of the midwife, and include the rules the pregnant woman has to follow during the last months of her pregnancy in order to achieve a happy battle, part of them are common sense advise-like, part are pure superstition, and part a clever mix of both. The treatment offered by the midwife consists of massages, baths, womb’s manipulation, details about delivery either in normal and difficult conditions, the procedures performed by the midwife to deliver a dead baby and save the mother, and at the end the story of a woman that following the family’s wishes is let to die with the dead son inside her womb to achieve the utmost glory, her transformation in one of the Cihuapipiltin or deified women. Also, a great part is dedicated to women’s prayers, intertwined in the texts.
As a whole, the texts present something more than an interesting compilation of medical pre-cortesian data. They also contain the essence of Nahuatl conceptions about women.
And have a strong symbolic force: The pregnant woman facing the battle of delivery, the midwife which powers come from the deity, the temazcalli, (pre-Columbian sacred bathhouses resembling the earth’s womb) dedicated to the Mother Goddess that exerts her power over the sick and pregnant woman, and over all, the Mocihuaquetzqui, the woman that dies with the baby in her womb, and whose organs have the power to make the young warriors invincible and help the sorcerers to cast spells upon their victims. Email to a friend Excerpt from The Confinement
Nahuatl:
Nochpuchtzin, ca moyaouh, quen timitztochiuilizque: a iz onoque inmonantzitzinuan, ca moneixcauiltzin, uel xicmana in teueuelli:nopuchtzin, noxocoyouh: ca tiquauhcihualt, xicnamiqui, quitoznequi: ximotilini, xicmotlaehecaluili in quauhcihualt, in cihuacoatl, in quilaztli.
Translation:
“My daughter, the battle is yours. What are we to do for you? Here are your mothers, yours alone is the task. Take up the shield, my daughter, my little one, you are Quauhcihuatl, work with her! This means, put fort all your strength, emulate Quauhcihuatl, DCihuacoatl, Quilaztli” |
Florelisa Hernández
E-mail: florelisa77@hotmail.com
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* Florelisa is an Art Restorer, writer, translator, and Certified Interpretive Guide by the NAI, (US). She offers her freelance services of writing, translating, public relations, and marketing consultant. You can reach her at pv@biokhronos.com.mx
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