Aztec mythology; Indian mythology -- Mexico; Mexico -- Religion
Ternaux-Compans, Voyages, Relations et Mémoires originaux pour servir à
l’histoire de la découverte de l’Amérique. (Paris, 1837–1841, 20 vols.)
This contains Mendieta, Tezozomoc, Ixtlilxochitl, Camargo, etc.
Navarrete, Coleccion de los Viages y descubrimientos. (Madrid,
1825–1837, 5 vols.)
Many texts and rare works are also to be found in Lord Kingsborough’s
Antiquities of Mexico (London, 1830–1848), especially Dupaix, Monuments
of New Spain (in vols. iv and vi); translation of the text of the
interpretative codices (see Appendix of this work), Sahagun (in vol.
viii), Veytia, Historia del origen de las Gentes que Poblaron La
America Septentrional (in vol. viii). Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana (in
vol. ix), Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chichimeca (in vol. ix), Pimentel,
Ritos, Antiguos, Sacrificios, etc. (in vol. x).
PART II
(Works written from 1800–1920)
Alexander, Hartley Burr, Latin-American Mythology. (Boston, 1920.)
Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico. Tom. i, Mexico, 1877. (In
progress.)
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, The Native Races of the Pacific States, 5 vols.
(New York and London, 1875–1876.)
This great compilation is admirable as a painstaking précis of the
extensive sources relating to Mexican and Mayan history and religion,
but its author and his assistants confined themselves to collection and
compilation alone, and ventured upon no critical treatment of the
subject, for which task, they admit, they were not equipped.
Batres, L., Archæological Explorations in Escalerillas Street, City of
Mexico, Year 1900. (Mexico, 1902.)
Beuchat, H., Manuel d’Archéologie Américaine (Amérique
Préhistorique—Civilisations disparues). (Paris, 1912.)
A useful if somewhat condensed review of American archæology. Chapitre
iv, livre ii, gives a short and not very thorough account of the gods,
rites, priesthood, and magic of the ancient Mexicans. Chapitre v deals
with the Calendar, and chapitre vi is useful for reference regarding
the manuscripts and writing. There is a good bibliography.
Brasseur de Bourbourg, E. C., Histoire des nations civilisées du
Mexique et de l’Amérique Centrale durant les siècles antérieurs à
Christophe Colomb. 4 vols. (Paris, 1857–1859.)
The Abbé Brasseur’s idea was to explain American mythology as the
apotheosis of history. But he unearthed many priceless materials, some
of which are included in this work.
Brinton, Daniel Garrison, American Hero Myths (Philadelphia, 1882);
“Were the Toltecs an Historic Nationality?” (Proc. Am. Phil. Soc.,
xxiv, pp. 229–241, 1887); Essays of an Americanist (Philadelphia,
1890); The Myths of the New World (3rd edition, revised) (Philadelphia,
1905).
Brinton’s books are all well written, but his ideas regarding mythology
generally are now a little out-of-date. His works, however, will repay
perusal. The student must be on his guard against Brinton’s
etymologies, as his knowledge of the native languages, though
extensive, was not exact.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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