Academic literature on the topic 'Aztec mythology'

AbstractEduard Seler's 1909 analysis of the various birds and their associated symbolism in the Mexican codices is one of the most thorough undertakings of its kind; however, although numerous revelations have been made in the realm of codex research over the past century, no comprehensive attempt has been undergone to revise Seler's initial identifications. The present study reviews the major bird species from Seler's original essay. Seven codices from the Borgia and Aztec Groups are assessed, so as to compare species traits and symbolic representations between both regions. The study incorporates recent research on the central Mexican codices, symbolism, myths, and ethnohistoric accounts, in addition to discoveries made over the last century in the fields of ornithology and zooarchaeology, in order to revise the identifications made in Seler's original work and to create a more comprehensive review of the roles each of these birds played in ancient Mexican mythology.

In the late 1960s, Mexican American and Chicana/o students and faculty began to create new cultural and academic spaces at the University of Southern California (USC). As outspoken advocates, they promoted a collective social identity as they questioned USC’s commitment to fulfilling the moral and humanistic responsibilities of its educational mission. These students and faculty members took part in the formation of ethnic studies and Chicana/o studies on their campus and in higher education generally. Their activist contributions, however, have been ignored by USC and by most of the scholarly community. Yet, through their work and use of parrhesia (saying what one means with frank speech), the core Chicana/o movement concepts of Aztlán (the conception of a sacred homeland, borrowed from the Aztec cosmovision archetype of origins) and Chicanismo (a collective Chicana/o cultural nationalism) have been woven into the mythology of USC, creating a Chicana/o legacy of deep education and learning.

The Latin American metal collective represents a big portion of the metal artists and fandom in the American continent. México has a powerful metal scene and an equally strong devotee population. There is one particular band that represents a collective voice capable of depicting the nation in the present moment. Cemican is a band that fits into the genre called Aztec folk metal. Their albums have shown an affinity for Aztec and Mayan mythology, and their sound is a flux between the sordid loudness of thrash and death metal riffs and the vibrations of pre-Hispanic instruments. Their performances present re-enactments of rituals reminiscent of the capture of enemy warriors and the heart extractions performed on these. Local audiences get drawn in by the sound of metal but also by the recognition of themselves through the Mexican elements. Mexican audiences reach a certain level of community at the moment of witnessing their performance; this sense of community extends to aspects including feelings of exploration and belonging. Today, México stands as a fertile land for metal music, where elements from two colliding cultures and belief systems can be integrated, and the resulting artefact achieves an indomitable sound. Traditions like the Día de los Muertos (or ‘Day of the Dead’) and its closeness to the idea of death as comical, as well as the merging of polytheism and Christianity have given metal music in México its own communal identity. The search for authenticity in identity is also a fact that is present in Mexican metal music through symbolic practices and representations. The paradigm and dynamic change as the conglomeration of European-influenced sounds clash with the religious syncretism of the actual Mexican people.

Luis Valdez, tarım işçilerinden oluşturduğu tiyatrosunun temellerini Chicano kültürünü referans alan üç sacayağı üzerine kurmuştur: daha çok politik içerik taşıyan doğaçlama kısa oyun anlamına gelen actos, Maya ve Aztek mitoloji ve efsanelerini yansıtan mitos ve de oyuna müzik, şarkı ve dans yorumu getiren corridos. Bir Chicano kimliği yaratıp, Chicanoların öz kültürleri ile bugünkü yaşamlarını içselleştirebilmeleri Valdez’in oyunlarında yer alan temaların en çok öne çıkanlarından birisidir. Bu makalede, Valdez’in, Zoot Suit, Bandido! ve I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges! isimli seçilmiş üç oyunu ele alınmıştır. Bu oyunların incelenme nedeni, her birinin bir yandan toplumdaki Chicano önyargısını hicvederken, diğer yandan oluşturulmaya çalışılan Chicano kimliğinin şekillenmesine yardımcı olmasıdır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Valdez’in neredeyse tüm oyunlarında, en az ana karakter kadar sahnede varlığına işaret edilen Chicano olmak “düşünce”sinin, “eylem”e dönüşümündeki süreç irdelenmektedir. Hâlihazırda var olan Chicano kimliğinin ve Chicano topluluğunun varlığını reddeden kesime tanıtılması halinde “varlık,” bir olgu olmaktan çıkıp bir eyleme yani “olay”a dönüşür. Bu bağlamda, tiyatro okuruna/izleyicisine, Chicano Tiyatrosu’nun Amerikan Tiyatrosundaki yerini özellikle sosyokültürel ve politik mesajlarla göstermeye çalışıldığı gözlemlenmektedir. ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH Reflections of Chicano Culture in Selected Plays of Luis Valdez Luis Valdez established his theater consisting of farm workers on a trivet, taking Chicano culture as a reference: actos improvised short play with more political content, mitos reflecting Maya and Aztec mythology and legends, and corridos bringing music, song, and dance interpretation in play. Creating a Chicano identity and internalizing their mother culture and present lives is one of the outstanding themes in Valdez’s plays. This paper discusses three of Valdes’s selected plays, Zoot Suit, Bandido!, and I Don’t Have To Show You No Stinking Badges!. The reason why these plays are analyzed is that each of them helps to shape the Chicano identity, while satirizing the Chicano bias in society. For this purpose, in almost all of Valdez’s plays, the process of transforming the “idea” of being Chicano, which is indicated at least as much as the protagonist’s presence on the stage, into “action” of becoming Chicano is scrutinized. In the case of introducing the already-existing Chicano identity and community to those who deny its existence, “being” turns from being a phenomenon into an “action”. In this regard, it is observed that it is tried to exhibit Chicano Theater’s place in the American Theater especially with sociocultural and political messages.