Johanna Broda
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas
Mesoamerican Offerings in a Comparative Perspective
This paper establishes a classification of Mesoamerican offerings (mainly Aztec and modern Nahua) based on archaeological, ethnohistorical, iconographic and modern ethnographic evidence. It proposes some theoretical concepts in approaching this study and focuses on themes underlying the offerings related to cosmovision, the growth of corn crops and fertility in general, petition for rain, animals related to water and earth, etc. A comparative perspective is established with offerings of the Aymara of Bolivia on the one hand, and with historical descriptions of Hopi altars and dry paintings, on the other. The paper concludes that offerings and altars convey a deep cosmological meaning that is shared by the ancient tradition of Native American religions including the American Southwest, Mesoamerica and the Andean cultures.
