The Ilhuica of The Nahua, Is Heaven Just A Place?

The Ilhuica of the Nahua: Is Heaven Just a Place?
Author(s): John F. Schwaller

Source: The Americas, Vol. 62, No. 3 (Jan., 2006), pp. 391-412
Published by: Cambridge University Press
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The Americas
62:3 January 2006, 391-412
Copyright by the Academy of American
Franciscan History
THE ILHUICA OF THE NAHUA:

IS HEAVEN JUST A PLACE?
he Nahua concept of heaven was one of the central issues that

missionary friars confronted as they attempted to reconcile Chris
and Nahua thought in the early sixteenth century.1 The Nah
believed in the existence of both celestial heavens and subterranean hell
possible destinations for individuals after death. The celestial realm
which there were thirteen, were in general pleasant places. The subterra
realms were unpleasant. Unfortunately for the friars, the mechan
whereby one could come to enjoy or suffer in these realms depended n
the quality of one's life, but rather on the particulars of one's death, the
of one's birth, and other features of one's existence. For instance, those
died by water, or lightening, were consigned to the heaven of the god of ra
Tlaloc. For the Nahua this post-mortem existence was corporeal, altho
the nature of one's body might change in the process. The Nahua did
have any easy equivalent for the Christian soul.2 This essay will look
ticularly at the Nahuatl word for the sky, ilhuicatl, and how it function
both pre-Columbian thought and in the works written after the conquest w
greater, or lesser, degrees of Christian input.
The Nahuatl word for the sky, as noted, is ilhuicatl. Two forms of the wo
also appear frequently in texts: ilhuicac, "in the sky," and ilhuicatl itic, "wit
the sky."3 In much of the existing Nahuatl literature from before the conqu
1 My deepest thanks go to R. Joe Campbell, Frances Kartunnen, and Kay Almere Read who
read this work in various stages of its development and provided me with wise counsel and sugge
Any errors, misinterpretations, or other shortcomings are obviously my own.
2 Louise M. Burkhart, The Slippery Earth: Nahua-Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth Cen
Mexico (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1989), pp. 47-58. See also, Jill Leslie McKeever Fu
The Natural History of the Soul in Ancient Mexico (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 199
I3 lhuicac consists of the stem form of the noun (ilhuica-) plus the locative suffix (-co) in whi
final -o- has been suppressed. Ilhuicatl itic or itec (ihtic or ihtec) is a postpositional phrase, the N
equivalent of the prepositional phrase in English. It literally means "inside of' as inside of a belly
sources also read ilhuicatli itech or ilhuicatitech, another postpositional phrase roughly equiva
"attached to the sky," but defined as "in the sky." Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castell
391
392 THE ILHUICA OF THE NAHUA
ilhuicatl is simply a geographical marker indicating t

geography there were three planes along the vertical
the surface of the earth, tlalticpac, and the underwo
means "on the surface of the earth / dirt."4 Mictlan refers to the subterranean
world and means the "place of the dead."5 While humankind inhabited the sur-
face of the earth, other creatures, forms of men, and beings, inhabited the thir-
teen levels of the sky and the nine regions of the underworld.
The word ilhuicatl was common enough in texts dating from before the
Spanish conquest. In fact it formed part of the name of one of the most
famous huei tlahtoani6 of the Mexica. The ruler in the mid-fifteenth century,
responsible for beginning the expansion into empire, was Motecuhtzoma
Ilhuicamina. This name could be translated and "he scowls in lordly anger,
he shoots arrows to the sky." He is also know as Huehue Motecuhtzoma, or
Motecuhtzoma the elder, to differentiate him from the tlahtoani who gov-
erned at the time of the arrival of the Spanish, Motecuhtzoma Xocoyotzin, or
Montecuhtzoma, the younger. While it is not exactly clear how the elder
Motecuhtzoma received his epithet of Ilhuicamina, it probably resulted from
the story of his birth. According to the legend, the tlahtoani, Huitzilhuitl, in a
dream, was led to woo, Miahuaxihuitl, the daughter of the ruler of nearby
Cuernavaca [Cuauhnahuac]. The ruler of Cuernavaca was a sorcerer and
closely guarded his daughter from all potential suitors. In another dream,
Huitzilhuitl was directed to place a precious stone in an arrow, and to then
shoot the arrow into the compound of Miahuaxihuitl. On a stroll she found
the lovely arrow, and feeling that it was heavier than it should be, broke it
open. Upon finding the stone, she put it between her teeth to test it. Upon
doing so, she accidentally swallowed it. In this way she magically became
pregnant, and bore a son, Motecuhtzoma Ilhuicamina. Consequently his epi-
thet of "he shoots arrows in the sky" may come from miraculous conception.7
mexicana y mexicana y castellana, intro. by Miguel Le6n-Portillo (Mexico: Editorial Porrda, 1970),
second part, f. 37v. Frances Kartunnen, An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, second edition (Norman,
OK: Oklahoma University Press, 1992), pp. 99-100, 103-104. R. Joe Campbell, A Morphological Dic-
tionary of Classical Nahuatl (Madison, WI: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1985), p. 123.
4 The Nahuatl word for dirt or earth is tlalli. Tlalticpac is tlalli, plus a ligature (-ti-) and a postposi-
tion (-icpac) meaning "on or at the head (top) of." Campbell, Morphological Dictionary, p. 342. Kartun-
nen, Analytical Dictionary, pp. 94-95, 277. A related word is tlalticpactli, "it is the surface of the earth."
5 Mictlan is a combination of micqui, "a dead person" and postposition (-tlan) meaning "place of."
Campbell, Morphological Dictionary, 189. Kartunnen, Analytical Dictionary, pp. 147, 282-283. A
related word is mictlanti, "it is the place of the dead."
6 The huei tlahtoani was the highest ruler of the Mexica. The title literally means "great speaker" and
has been commonly translated as emperor.
7 Nigel Davies, The Aztecs (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980), pp. 49-50; Fer-
nando Alvarado Tezozomoc, Cr6nica mexicayotl (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de M6xico,
1992), pp. 94-95.
JOHN F. SCHWALLER 393
In order to explore the use of the term ilhui

the conquest, one must also consult pre-conqu
able were all copied down after the conquest.
many of these texts have been corrupted by Ch
conquest and when the text was copied. There
clusions and interpretations against what is kn
beliefs. The two largest collections of pre-Colu
rial are the Cantares Mexicanos and the Romances de los sefiores de la
Nueva Espafia. The Cantares are widely available in a facsimile edition and
in a transcription and translation by John Bierhorst.8 The Romances are
housed in manuscript form at the Benson Latin American Collection of the
University of Texas at Austin. Angel Maria Garibay transcribed and trans-
lated most of the poems in the Romances.9 Unfortunately, in both collections
there are poems with significant Christian content. Consequently one must
examine all the poems to see if the images and concepts are more consonant
with Nahua religious and moral beliefs or with Christianity. In both collec-
tions, a significant number of works are authentic pre-conquest pieces.
Lastly, within the corpus of poetry there are fewer images of the sky upon
which to draw, compared to other types of imagery, thus making the process
even more difficult.
In the Cantares, there are a few illustrative uses of ilhuicatl and its variants:
Yn ilhuicac itic ompa ye ya huitz in From heaven, ah, come good flowers,
yectli yan xochitl yectli yan cuicatli good songs.10
In this selection, the sky, or heaven, is seen as the source of good things, a
place of delight. Frequently, it is then contrasted with the surface of the
earth, tlalticpac. A few lines later in this poem one finds these lines:
onen tacico tonquizaco in tlalticpac Alas, it's for nothing that we've come to
be born here on earth.
In zan cuel achitzincan tlalticpac Earth is but a moment.l'
8 Cantares mexicanos, facsimile edition (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mdxico,

1994); John Bierhorst, Cantares mexicanos: Songs of the Aztecs (Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 1985). Many scholars take serious issue with much of Bierhorst's work in translating and inter-
preting the poems of the Cantares. Nevertheless, he has done a fine job in transcribing the text.
9 Angel Maria Garibay, Poesia Nahuatl, (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de M6xico,
1993), vol. I, second edition.
10 Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 162-163. Bierhorst English translation of the Nahuatl.
" Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 162-163. Bierhorst English translation of the Nahuatl.
In this poem and in many others, the sky is associated w

nemoani, frequently translated as the "Life Giver." Th
in the following lines from the Cantares:
ayoc nello on quittoa Mexica can It isn't true that Mex

innelhuayo in ilhuicatl in canon in him. Their source i
tlatoa ipalnemoani. where Life Giver sings!12
In many of the poems in which the term ilhuicatl appears, it merely sig
nifies the sky, although further extended meanings are also possible. Tak
the following example:
Ye huilia iztac quauhtli mapopoyahua The true White Eagle brightens.

ye quetzaltototl ye tlauhquechol y Quetzals, roseate swans, have
mopopoyuahque ilhuicatl itic brightened in the sky. O Tlacahuepan.13
tlacahuepantzin
It is entirely possible that ilhuicatl itic here simply refers to the highest
regions of the sky. Certainly birds are appropriate images for the sky. Th
use of birds in Nahuatl poetry is quite common, as are images of flowers an
precious stones. These images refer to precious items and can serve as sym
bols of friendship. On the other hand, the images could refer to regions o
heavenly delight to which warriors slain in battle were thought to go. Othe
images in this poem refer to the battle field:
Can anhui, can anhui yhuihuayan And where do you go? And where do
yaonahuac teopan you go? To plume land! To battle! To
spirit land!14
The selections studied thus far have come from the Cantares mexicanos.
The other large collection of Nahuatl verse, the Romances de los sefiores de
la Nueva Espania, does not have many references to the sky using ilhuicatl
or its variants. The general theme that runs throughout the Romances is the
transitory and fleeting nature of life on earth. It extols the precious and beau-
12 Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 252-255. Bierhorst English translation of the Nahuatl. Bierhorst curiously
translates the words "to say, " ihtoa, and "to talk," tlahtoa, as "to sing." In this selection quitoa would
usually be translated as "they say it," while tlatoa would be "he talks."
13 Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 378-379. Bierhorst English translation of the Nahuatl.
14 Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 378-379. Bierhorst English translation of the Nahuatl. In this quotation,
Bierhorst has gone a bit beyond the literal meaning of the words, as in many other instances. Here he has
translated teopan as "spirit land." Teopan literally means "divine land" or "land of the gods." Only in an
extended poetic sense one could say it is "spirit land," but it conforms more to his unique interpretation
of the poems than to what most other scholars have found in the collection.
tiful things of earth, such as flowers, birds,

poetry, and friendship. Yet in the end these poe
the brief span of life. An example of this type of p
selection:
Ma nicnocozcati nepapan xochitl, I make necklaces for myself of varied

ma nomac on maniya, ma flowers,
nocpacxochihui: They spread in my hand, my garland of
ticcauhtehuazque tlalticpac ye nican. flowers
zan tictotlanehuia, o tiyazque ye ichan. We will leave the earth here,
We are only loaned to one another,
we will go to his house.15
No speculation appears in the texts about an afterlife, other than return-

ing to the dwelling of a divine power, generically referred to as ichan, "his
house." Other divine locations mentioned in the poems are Omeyocan, "the
place of duality," Tamoanchan, a mythical place of origin, Ximohuayan, "the
place of flaying," with reference to the abode of the deity Xipe Totec, "the
flayed one."l16 Among the few lines that do contain the word ilhuicatl, or its
variants, are the following.
Cuicachimal ayahui tlacoch quiyahui It mists the shield song, it rains arrows
tlalticpac on the earth.
in nepapan xochitli on yohuala ica Various
ya tetecuica ilhuicatl, the sky thunders.
teocuitla chimaltica ye on netotilo With gold shields, already they go
dancing.17
In this selection, the sky figures as the place of origin of thunder. It is also
associated with the falling of flowers, a common metaphor in Nahuatl, that
probably refers to the life-giving power of rain. The rain falls which in turn
nourishes the earth and allows for the flowering plants to sustain life. The
15 Garibay, Poesia, pp. 73-74. Garibay translates the passage as: "Higame yo collares de diferentes
flores; est6n en mi mano, haya mi guirnalda de flores. iTenemos que dejar esta tierra, solamente la damos
en pr6stamo unos a otros! iOh, tenemos que irnos a su casa!" Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
16 Garibay, Poesia, pp. 27, 29. and 61. Omeyocan is a place of divine origins, where the lord and lady
of Duality supervised the creation of the world. Tamoanchan is a mythic place from where the Nahua
and other Mesoamerican peoples began their migrations that brought them into the civilized world of
Mesoamerica. Xipe Totec is a Nahua god associated with the spring and regeneration. He was tradition-
ally depicted as a priest wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim. Schwaller English translation of
the Nahuatl.
17 Garibay, Poesia, p. 15. Garibay translates the passage as: "Niebla hay cantos de escudo: iluvia de
dardos sobre la tierra: con variadas flores se rodea el cielo mientras retumba estrepitoso, con escudos de
oro se hace en 61 baile." Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
interesting association in this selection is the double ref

noted, images of war often encroach on even the most i
A second use of ilhuicatl comes in a poem dedicated t

name appears here with the honorific suffix -tzin. Whi
name of one of the last Mexica emperors, in this poem it
the same name.
In zan ya mocuepa moyollo Your heart turns, Cuauhtemoctzin.

Cuauhtemoctzin
Cuauhtli ixpan in tlalli mocuepa In front of the eagle the earth turns.
ilhuicatl olinia ica cahualoc The sky is in movement; it is
chichimecatl in tlacamazatl. abandoned with the Chichimeca
Deer-Man.18
The Nahua did not envision the earth as rotating on its axis around the sun.
Rather when the poem talks of the earth turning, it is a movement that per-
sons could feel, perhaps like an earthquake. The word associated with earth-
quakes, ollin, which means "movement," then appears in the next line
describing the sky as in movement. The Chichimeca were the nomadic
hunter gatherers of the northern arid regions of Mesoamerica. The Nahua
felt that they were variously either barbarians or fierce warriors worthy of
emulation. Clearly this brief poetic piece is full of movement and convul-
sions. It juxtaposes the heart of Cuauhtemoc jumping (in his body), with the
convulsions of the earth, with the torments of the sky.
From these selections from Nahua poetry, one can see that by and large
the word ilhuicatl, and its variants, were used to describe the sky. In many
instances it does have tangential divine references, seen more in the
Cantares than in the Romances.
The word ilhuicatl went through a subtle change with the arrival of the
Spaniards and their efforts to Christianize the Nahua. As noted, in order to
describe the Christian heaven the friars needed to either create a new term,
adapt a pre-existing Nahuatl term, or merely continue to use the Spanish
word cielo. For example in describing the Christian concept of sin, the mis-
sionaries adopted the Nahuatl word tlatlacolli, which means "something
damaged." To refer to the devil, the missionaries variously used the Spanish
18 Garibay, Poesia, p. 38. Garibay translates the passage as: "Tu coraz6n se revuelve, oh Cuauhte-
moctzin: delante del Aguila la tierra se convulsiona los cieles se mueven: es que ha quedado abandon-
ado el chichimeca Hombre-Ciervo." Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
term diablo or a Nahuatl word adopted for th

man."'9 Yet in the end, the missionaries genera
tian ends when discussing the Christian heaven
The works of Fr. Bernardino de Sahag6n pro

changes that occurred in the word between
worlds. His Historia universal de las cosas de
tine Codex was a compendium of information
culture. It was written using native informants
native scribes and research assistants. While it is a Christianized text,
Sahagtin attempted to present Nahua culture in terms of itself and not nec-
essarily through a Christian lens. Consequently scholars have traditionally
relied heavily upon it for glimpses into pre-conquest culture.
The word ilhuicatl and its variants appear 108 times in the twelve vol-
umes of the Florentine Codex.20 Fully 27 of these occurrences are in the
form of ilhuicaatl (note the double "a"), or its variants. This word means
"sky water" and is normally translated as "ocean" or "sea."21 Sahagi6n
explained the word by noting that the Nahua believed that the sky and the
sea actually merged beyond the horizon. Consequently oceans were called
"heaven water" to differentiate them from other bodies of water such as
lakes which were surrounded by land."22 His description of the sky in this
section helps to understand Nahua use of ilhuicatl:
in ye huecauhtlaca, in nican nueva The people of old, the people here of

espaiia tlaca, momatia, ihuan iuhqui New Spain, thought and took as truth
neltocaya, ca in ilhuicatl, zan iuhquinma that the heavens [the sky] were just
calli, nohuiyampa tlaczaticac, auh itech like a house; it stood resting in every
acitoc in atl direction, and it extended reaching to
the water.23
Another 7 uses of ilhuicatl are clearly in reference to the Christian

heaven, and so also fall beyond the analysis of pre-conquest usages of the
19 Burkhart, Slippery Earth, pp. 28-29, 40-42.

20 My thanks to Prof. R. Joe Campbell for his expertise in providing me with all the occurrences of
ilhuicatl and its variants in the Florentine Codex, the Coloquios y doctrina christiana, and in the
Psalmodia christiana.
21 Molina, Vocabulario, part 2, f. 37v.
22 Bernardino de Sahagdn, Florentine Codex, translated and edited in 12 vols. by Charles Dibble and
Arthur J. O. Anderson (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1950-1979), Book 11, p. 247. In all
selections from the Florentine Codex I have modified Sahagdn's idiosyncratic orthography to the more
standard system to assist in comprehension.
23 Sahagtin, Florentine Codex, Book 11, p. 247. Dibble and Anderson English translation of the
Nahuatl.
term, although this issue will be considered later.24 T

the word ilhuicatl, and its variants, fall into several ca
quent use has the word associated with either tlalticp
"land of the dead" or "underworld," or with both. T
good example is the following from Book One, in the
god Tezcatlipoca.
Tezcatlipoca: inin huel teotl ipan Tezcatlipoca: he w

machoya, nohuiyan inemiyan: god, whose abode w
mictla, tlalticpac, ilhuicac. the land of the dead,
heaven.25
In several passages in the Florentine Codex ilhuicatl is juxtaposed with

the sun, tonatiuh, and in turn frequently refers to death or the underworld.
These passages note that upon death some persons did not die but followed
the sun. The next example discusses the death of warriors on the field of
battle:
auh zan no iuhqui impan mitoaya in and just so was it said of those who
yaomiquia quitoaya, quitoca in died in war; they said that they
tonatiuh: ilhuicac yauh followed the sun; they went to
heaven26
Along a similar vein, the word ilhuicatl is also juxtaposed with known
worlds in the afterlife, such as Tlalocan. As noted, Tlalocan is the afterworld
ruled by the god of rain, Tlaloc, and received those who had died by drown-
ing or other water-related deaths.
auh inic moztlacahuiaya: quitoaya inin for thus were they deluded: they said
oelaquiloc: ompan huia in ilhuicac, this drowned one went there to heaven,
in itocayocan tlalocan the place named Tlalocan.27
The intrusion of Sahagdin's editorial voice appears in this selection in that he

refers to this belief as a delusion. This serves to both undermine the value of
the information, but also to provide a bit of a confirmation. Sahaguin recog-
nized that the native peoples accepted Tlalocan as a truth. He therefore
chose to undercut it with his editorial comments.
24 It should be noted that all of these references, save one, appears in the Appendix to volume One,
which is a kind of short doctrinal piece and quite different from the rest of the Codex.
25 Sahagdn, Florentine Codex, Book 1, p. 2. Dibble and Anderson English translation of the Nahuatl.
26 Sahag6n, Florentine Codex, Book 9, p.25. Dibble and Anderson English translation of the Nahuatl.
27 Sahagtin, Florentine Codex, Book 11, p. 68 Dibble and Anderson English translation of the Nahuatl.
JOHN E SCHWALLER 399
The last occurrence of the word ilhuicatl to be considered is its use
merely as a place, not juxtaposed with other places on the vertical axis, no
juxtaposed with death or the various afterworlds. Two examples are parti
ularly interesting. One deals with the miraculous emergence of a sacrificia
stone from the sky.
auh in otequiyauh, zatepan hualtemoc and when the stones rained, then from
ilhuicacpa centetl huei techcatl ompa in the heavens a large sacrificial stone
chapoltepecuitlapilco in huetzico fell; there at Chapoltepecuitlapilco28
Note that in this example the variant of ilhuica used is ilhuicacpa. This for
of the word refers specifically to the place of the sky, the "sky place." In
similar manner, several of the sky references in the Florentine Cod
describe astronomical events such as comets, the constellations, and the
other heavenly bodies. The next example describes the appearance of
comet some ten years before the arrival of the Spaniards to New Spain.
huel inepantla in ilhuicatl, huel well into the midst of the heavens, well
iyolloco in aciticac ilhuicatl, huel into the center it stood reaching; well
ilhuicayollotitech into the heart of the heavens it was
arriving29
In this selection there are three occurrences of ilhuicatl and its variants. Two
of them are the simple singular absolutive (ilhuicatl). The third is a com-
pound word ilhuicayollotitech meaning "near to the heart of the sky."30
Sahagtin also sought to explain some of the more opaque terms in Nahu-
atl to Spanish speakers.31 In two instances he touched on uses of the word
ilhuicatl. In Book Two he described a structure in Tenochtitlan called
Ilhuicatitlan, "in the sky." This structure received this name because of a
column that was used for sacrifices. Moreover the column was used as a
gnomon in sighting the appearance of a specific star, associated with the sac-
rifices. Consequently the column was called "in the sky" since it determined
when the particular star had entered the sky.32 The second specialized term
was simply ilhuicatl when it referred to the binding wall beam and also to
28 Sahaguin, Florentine Codex, Book 3, p. 29. Dibble and Anderson English translation of the Nahuatl.
29 Sahagoin, Florentine Codex, Book 8, p. 17. Dibble and Anderson English translation of the Nahuatl.
30 The suffixes include yollo, seen earlier in the selection means "heart.' The last part is titech: the
ligature -ti and a postposition -tech meaning "adjacent to or attached to."
31 Pilar Maiynez, El calepino de Sahagoin: Un acercamiento (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econ6mica,
2002), p. 134.
32 Sahagdin, Florentine Codex, Book 2, p. 186.
the facade because it supported the parts of the building

ines as the heavens support the sky.33
While some of the usages of the word ilhuicatl in th

have clear references to a specific afterlife, by and larg
the sky as a physical reality. This reference as a physica
appear alone or in juxtaposition with the two other pla
world along its vertical axis, namely the surface of the
world. As a result one can conclude that while the term
quest times carried with it some connotations of an aft
dominantly was used simply to refer to the physical real
As noted there are a very few overtly Christian passag

Codex. Most of these appear in the Appendix to Book I. I
writes extensively, still in Nahuatl, against idolatry and in
tian religion. One passage, in particular, utilizes the
manner that sets this section apart from the rest of the
the Christian message, the "Word of God," Sahagtin wri
inin teotlatlatolli ixillantzinco, This Word of God lieth folded in the

itocatlantzinco, in tonantzin sancta bosom, in the womb of the Holy
iglesia, cuecuelpachiuhtoc, Church, our mother, like the gold of
iuhquimma ilhuicac teocuitlatl, heaven, the emeralds of heaven, the
ilhuicac quetzaliztli, teoxihuitl, turquoise, the gems, the precious
temaquiztli, tlazotetl ipam pohui ... stones which belong to her ...34
These images are a true mixture of Nahua and Christian symbols. On the one
hand there is the juxtaposition of the word of God with things heavenly. The
Church is depicted as a woman who holds the word of God inside of her
very self. Moreover, this word is precious to the extreme. The Nahua sym-
bols of preciousness are invoked, turquoise, precious stones, gems, and even
the Spanish favorite, gold.35 Two of these symbols are described as heav-
enly, namely gold and turquoise. Of these the turquoise is more native, the
gold more Spanish. Yet, clearly, in this passage the word ilhuicac does not
refer to the physical reality of heaven, but to things heavenly.
33 Sahagin, Florentine Codex, Book 11, p. 115.

34 Sahagtin, Florentine Codex, Book 1, p. 63. Dibble and Anderson English translation of the Nahuatl.
35 The Nahuatl word teocuitlatl literally means "god excrement." The term in fact was somewhat
vague in pre-Columbian times, referring either to gold or silver. Sometimes for clarification gold was
called cuztic teocuitlatl, "yellow god excrement," silver, yztac teocuitlatl, "white god excrement."
Molina, Vocabulario, Spanish-Nahuatl, f. 91, 96v.
Sahag6in also composed other works that can

standing the meanings and uses of ilhuicatl.
is his Coloquios y doctrina christiana. Thi
1564 as a type of historical work to documen
sionaries. Sahag6n sought to describe the firs
ciscan missionaries and the leaders of the Na
its inspiration from historical events, Sahagu
work to make it more didactic. Consequently
history, it is a series of dialogues between t
the native leaders about the nature of God. In
ciscans as they begin their missionary effort
natives, while the wise men of the Nahua, th
to counter the Christian doctrine. While judg
centuries is clearly a difficult labor, all the e
ing this work as a helpful tool for other mission
native religion. Also lending strength to this
Sahag6n composed the work in Nahuatl with
hood so that other priests would be able to u
efforts of evangelization, understanding gene
Sahaguin used traditional Nahuatl rhetorical

the power of his arguments.36 While actual
seems to be attempting to recreate a dialogu
that he chose, then, to write in an archaic s
easily see how he patterned his rhetorical str
lines. Take, for example, his description of the
in iehoatzin nelli teutl He is truly God

nelli tlatoani truly a lord
in nouian in ilhuicac in tlalticpac everywhere, in
in mictlan in the region of the dead37
This selection clearly makes reference to the traditional Nahu

of the world as divided into three planes, the sky, surface of t
underworld. In this it has some similarity to the description of the
Tezcatlipoca, seen above. Moreover, it is an example of early h
36 John F. Schwaller, "'Centlalia' and 'Nonotza' in the Writings of Sahagdin: A New I

his Messiological Vision," Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl, vol. 33, pp. 295-314
37 Two different transcriptions and translations are available for the Coloquios
Sahagtin, Coloquios y doctrina christiana, ed. Miguel Le6n Portilla (Mexico: Univ
Aut6noma de M6xico, 1986), pp. 114-115, lines 268-271; Bernardino de Sahagtin, "T
Dialogue of 1524," edited and translated by Jorge Klor de Alva, Alcheringa / Ethno
p. 74, lines 266-269. Translation of Nahuatl by Schwaller.
that it also makes reference to one of the central statements of Christian

faith, the Nicene Creed. The Creed sought to resolve issues early in the his-
tory of the Christian Church regarding the nature of God. It stated:
I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and of earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son
of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God of true God. .. .38
Sahagfin has taken the essence of the opening of the creed and condensed
it into a few short lines that would resonate with a Nahuatl speaker. While
the Creed speaks of only "heaven and earth," Sahagfin has added the third
level accepted by Nahua thought, namely the underworld, mictlan. Never-
theless, it is of interest that here Sahagfin used ilhuicatl simply as a physical
place, part of the traditional trilogy.
Later in the discussion, Sahagfin returns to these two points, the power of
the Christian God over the three regions, and the paraphrasing of the Creed:
iehica ca in ixquich because, indeed, all

in ioli in nemi in ilhuicac in tlalticpac. those who come to life, who live in
heaven, on the earth,
auh in mictlan and in the underworld
ypaltzinco ioltinemi ... live through Him ...
oquimochiuilli in ixquich ittoni He made all things seen
auh in amo yttoni ... and unseen ...39
For Sahagfin in the Coloquios, while he clearly associates ilhuicatl w

the Christian God, it continues to be a physical place, and not what mig
considered as the realm of heaven where people go to live for ete
according to Christian thought. Only once does Sahag in make a vagu
erence to this concept using ilhuicatl:
auh inic oquichtli And as a man

ompa moietztica in ilhuicatl itic there he is in the center of
in itlatochantzinco. in his honored ruler's house.40
38 This is the English version of the Creed that is generally accepted by major Christia
tions, including the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, and Episcopal Church.
39 Sahagdin, Coloquios, pp. 162-163, lines 1203-1205, 1211-1212; Sahagdn, "The Azte
Dialogue," p. 136, lines 1214-1217, 1223-1224. Translation of Nahuatl by Schwaller. Not
icpac and ilhuicatl placed in juxtaposition, so are in iolli and in nemi (the heart, the life) w
potentially constitute a diphrase relating to the energy of life.
40 Sahagdn, Coloquios, pp. 128-129, lines 565-567; Sahagdn, "The Aztec-Spanish Dialog
lines 565-567. Translation of Nahuatl by Schwaller.
JOHN F SCHWALLER 403
In this passage, Sahagtin argues that God is

man, his holy dwelling place is in heaven. I
as the court of the Lord God, where saints
the divine, Sahagvin relies on borrowing an
vocabulary, namely "empyrean heaven.""41
seen immediately above to describe it, no
cachantzinco," "his honored ruler's house."
In one instance in the Coloquios Sahagin u

divine, which is in marked contrast to his g
ing about the message of Christ, namely
Christian Bible, Sahag6n has the Nahua l
saying the following:
ca oanquihualmotquilitiaque, Indeed you have come to bring it to us,

in iamox, in itlacuilol, his book, his painting [writing],
in ilhuicac tlatolli, in teotlatolli the heavenly word, the divine word.42
Sahagtin's use of ilhuicatl in the Coloquios can be contrasted with his use
of the word in another work he composed at essentially the same time, the
Psalmodia christiana. This latter work was a compilation of songs to be
sung by the Nahua in church and for religious celebrations. Sahagtin noted
that the natives enjoyed singing during their worship. Nevertheless, the
songs they sang had their roots in the old religion. In order to rectify this sit-
uation, Sahagtin composed songs with Christian content suitable for cele-
brating the new religion. Needless to say, these songs are filled with refer-
ences to the Christian heaven using ilhuicatl. By contrast, in the Coloquios,
Sahag6in used the word and its variants 23 times. In the Psalmodia, admit-
tedly a longer work, he used it 204 times.43 One of the constructions that
appears frequently in the Psalmodia is ilhuicatl itic, meaning "within the
sky," seen above describing where his "honored ruler's house" was located.
Arthur J. O. Anderson translates this expression uniformly as "empyrean
heaven," also seen above. Other authors also adopted this convention, as
will be seen.
41 Sahagdn, Coloquios, pp. 168-169, lines 1340-1347; Sahag6n, "The Aztec-Spanish Dialogues," p.
145, line 1360. Translation of Nahuatl by Schwaller. The empyrean heaven was the highest of the celes-
tial spheres surrounding the earth, in classical thought. It was composed of fire. Consequently it became
associated with the Christian heaven, being the highest heaven.
42 Sahag6n, Coloquios, pp. 146-147, lines 899-901; Sahag6n, "The Aztec-Spanish Dialogues," p.
117, lines 909-911. Translation of Nahuatl by Schwaller.
43 Bernardino de Sahagtin, Psalmodia Christiana (Christian Psalmody), translated by Arthur J. 0.
Anderson (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1993).
Other works composed in the sixteenth century al

into uses of Nahuatl words in a pre-Columbian co
Olmos, another Franciscan missionary, was one of th
make a concerted study of Nahuatl. The product of h
earliest grammars of the language, the Arte para ap
cana, compiled by 1547.44 As an appendix to this
metaphorical expressions of the Nahua and translated
These metaphors provide some unique glimpses into
that would otherwise be nearly incomprehensible to
of these metaphors contains the word ilhuica:
Yehica initzon tlan iniqua tlan Up on the high place, the exalted place
inquiza in moquetza he emerges, he stands forth.
yn quixopehua inipetl inicpal in dios He dishonors the mat, the throne of
in ocelotl ynahaztli in cuitlapilli the jaguar, the wings, the tail of the
ictepan colini yn ueitetl eagle.
in uei quauitl Before the multitudes, the great stone
auh yn ilhuicatl yc nanatzca and wood image curves
auh in tlalli olinih.45 heaven resounds,
the earth quakes.46
The Spanish word "dios" appears in this text. While it is difficult to

why, perhaps Olmos wished to disassociate this metaphor from the p
Nahua deity to which it originally applied. The theme of this met
translated as "Desecration." The Spanish introduction to it states: "
sins of disobedience god gives pestilence and contrary times."47 T
ilhuicatl in this selection fits well with the pattern seen in other uses in
by pre-Columbian times. Namely it depicts a physical place, the sky
abode of the divinity. As with other examples, it is clearly juxtaposed w
earth, tlalli, in this selection. As noted tlalticpac was the surface of the
Tlalli refers to the actually physical reality of the earth, or dirt. Ad
the selection is clearly contaminated by Christian influence, but otherw
well with generally accepted views of Nahua thought.
44 The work exists only in manuscript, although editions of the manuscript held in Paris
lished in the nineteenth century. The various manuscript copies are also known by different
ing the one noted here as well as Arte de la lengua mexicana and Gramatica y vocabulario
mexicana. John E Schwaller, A Guide to Nahuatl Manuscripts Held in U. S. Repositories
Academy of American Franciscan History, 2001), pp. 111-12.
45 Judith M. Maxwell and Craig A. Hanson, Of the Manners of Speaking That the Old
The Metaphors ofAndrds de Olmos In the TULAL Manuscript (Salt Lake City: University of
1992), pp. 58, 89-91.
46 Maxwell and Hanson, Of the Manners, p. 174. Translation by Maxwell and Hanson.
47 Maxwell and Hanson, Of the Manners, pp. 89, 174.
When the Christian missionaries began th

term they generally adopted to describe the
While many of the very first catechisms u
heaven, from the middle of the sixteenth c
the colonial period, ilhuicatl was the word
sionaries had to contend with the other pre-
so developed their own unique manner of us
atl grammar and in the contexts into which
The next section will look at the use of the word ilhuicatl in four differ-
ent spiritual guides written in Nahuatl to assist in the conversion.48 The first,
a compendium of Christian doctrine was written by members of the Domini-
can Order and printed in 1541, barely twenty years after the conquest. The
second, a confessional guide, was composed by Fr. Alonso de Molina of the
Franciscan order and published in 1569. The third, the Colloquios de la paz
y tranquilidad christiana en lengua mexicana was published in 1582, writ-
ten by the Franciscan friar, Juan de Gaona. The fourth, also a confessional
guide, came from the pen of Bartolom6 de Alva, a secular priest, and was
printed in 1634. These four guides represent four periods in the evangeliza-
tion as well as the approach of Dominicans, Franciscans, and secular priests
to the conversion process.
The Dominican Doctrina cristiana was one of the first works published
in New Spain. One unique feature of early printing in New Spain was that a
significant number of the books printed were in native languages, princi-
pally Nahuatl, and destined for use in the conversion of the natives. The
1541 Doctrina includes a significant section that deals with heaven. In order
to present the benefits of embracing Christianity and the terrible suffering
that awaited those who failed to convert, the friars presented two descrip-
tions, one of heaven, the other of hell. The section on heaven is as follows:
Ynic ceccan ompa ynilhuicatlitic: This one place is within the sky. Indeed
ca ompa catque ynixquich cemicac there are all the eternal riches, all the
necuiltonoliztli: cemicac eternal prosperity. We could not even
netlamachiliztli: in amo uel imagine it; we could not even say it.49
tiquilnamiquizque yn amo uel
tiquitozque
48 Clearly Sahagdn's Coloquios and the Psalmodia were also written as spiritual guides, but since
they form part of the over-all picture of the Sahaguntine opus, they were considered along with the Flo-
rentine Codex.
49 Doctrina cristiana en language espaiiola y mexicana por los religiosos de la Orden de Santo
Domingo, facsimile edition (Madrid: Ediciones Cultura Hispinica, 1944, f. 12. Original Spanish gloss:
The section goes on to describe more of the pleasures

poverty, suffering, heat or cold, sadness or fatigue. It the
ilhuicatl but "cenpapacoaya: anozo parayso." Cenpap
"glory." In Nahuatl it means something closer to "place
Anozo parayso simply says "or Paradise." So in this in
cans consciously avoided using the term ilhuicatl for
They located paradise in the sky, but then used a neo
actually give it at name, at the same time that they f
Spanish term as well. Similarly, the Dominicans relied
for Hell, "infierno," rather than describe it as mictlan, th
At some points they did, however, refer to Hell a
"underworld hell.""51 This might provide a point of ph
the place called Hell is located in the underworld.
On the other hand the guide goes on to frequent

ilhuicatl, as the location of the residence of God, either as "in itlato-
cachantzinco in ilhuicac," "his honored ruler's house in heaven," or "in itec-
panchantzinco in ilhuicac," "his honored noble palace house in heaven."52
In contrasting the pains and suffering of Hell with the pleasures of heaven,
the Dominicans specifically wrote:
Auh ynic oactitomiquilizque Such that when we will die he will take
quimouiquiliz in tanima yn ompa in our souls there to his royal honored
itlatocachantzinco in ilhuicac in ompa house in heaven, there forever will be
quimocenpelia yn inecuiltonoliz yuan had riches and happiness, his glory.53
in icenpapaquiliz yn igloria.
"El un lugar alla en el cielo: a donde todos los plazeres eternos y perdurables. y todas las riquezas y todo
el descanso y glorias mas sin comparacion que nosotros podemos pensar ni dezir." The Spanish gloss of
the material is exceptionally more rich and complete than the actual Nahuatl. Schwaller English transla-
tion of the Nahuatl.
50 Cenpapacoaya should probably have a final -n, cenpapacoayan. The root stem of the word is
paqui, meaning "to be happy." The -cen means "the one"; while the -yan refers to a place where the
action of the verb occurs. The repetition of the first syllable of paqui, -papa, and the adding of the imper-
sonal suffix -oa changes the sense to mean "to rejoice." So all together the word would be "place of great
rejoicing."
51 Doctrina cristiana, f. 18.
52 Doctrina cristiana, f. 11v and 48. The two expressions use two different words for a ruler. The first
is based on the word tlatoque the plural form of the word tlahtoani, meaning "one who is accustomed to
speaking," which was the title used by the rulers of the large city states of the Nahua, especially the
person known as the Aztec emperor. The second word is based on tecpan which refers to the palace of a
local ruler, a tecuhtli, and so this word is doubly a residence, but of a ruler with slightly less stature than
a tlahtoani. Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
53 Doctrina cristiana, f. 14v. Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl. This reading must be
taken as a tentative one. The print face of the original makes it difficult to be sure about some of the
words, especially quimocenpelia. Original Spanish gloss: "Y despues que nosotros murieremos lleve las
JOHN F SCHWALLER 407
Thus, while the term ilhuicatl provided the ph

house, the notion is that the house is the actu
Of course, God is not the only resident in th

angels and the saints. The Dominicans also use
other divine creatures and where they reside. I
she is usually denominated as the "Quee
cihuapilli."54 The Dominicans took some pains
heaven and of spiritual beings. Early on in the
lion of the angels led by Lucifer. Confronted w
his loyal angels to expel the rebellious ones f
Auh niman quimonauatilli in dios ynic Then G

cequinti angelesme yn qualtin yn angels, his
itlapepenalhuan ynic ompa threw them [th
quinualmotlaxiliz yn ilhuicac. heaven.55
The Dominicans describe the power and auth

similar to Sahaguin in the Coloquios, essentially
creed:
Ca quimomachitia: in ixquixh nouian Indeed he

cemanauac catca yuan in ixquich the world, a
nouyan cemanauac omochiuh; yuan throughou
quimomachitia in ixquich axca and made al
mochiua yn ompa ilhuicac yuan nican and here on
tlalticpac nouyan cemanauac. world.56
Taken as a whole, the Dominicans seem to be moving from the use of

ilhuicatl as a simple place descriptor to having it take on all of the charac-
teristics of the Christian heaven. It is not entirely clear whether their sepa-
ration of paradise, as God's abode located in heaven versus the general
region of heaven, is a clear cut distinction. It is clear that there is some con-
nuestras animas alla a la su casa real al cielo: a donde para siempre tiene aquellas sus muy grandes
riquezas y sus perdurables gozos que es su gloria."
54 Doctrina cristiana, f. 54. This is just one of dozens of references to Mary as Queen of Heaven.
55 Doctrina cristiana, f. 24v. Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl. Original Spanish gloss:
"Luego en continente mando Dios a los otros buenos angeles sus escogidos que los echassen de alla del
cielo."
56 Doctrina cristiana, f. 17v. Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl. Original Spanish gloss:
"Porque el sabe todas las cosas que en el mundo fueron: y todo lo que en el mundo universo se ha hecho:
y todo lo que al presente se haze. Asi alla en el cielo como aca en la tierra, como por todas partes del
mundo."
fusion between the terms. Their reliance on some Span

"parafso" and "infierno" indicate that they were not e
adopting the Nahuatl terms outright.
By the time of Molina's confessional guide, the usage o

to refer to the Christian heaven had become even mor
clearer example can be found than the following passag
this section Molina extols the benefits of confession and notes that a full and
complete confession would close the mouth of Hell for the penitent:
uel quitzaqua ym mictlan ycampa truly close hell truly behind him and
auh uel quitlatlapoutiquetza inizquitetl truly it will open the door of heaven
ilhuicac tlatzacuillotl for all times57
In this selection the word ilhuicac, which means the "sk

in the Spanish version as "glory." Also of interest, Moli
use the Spanish word for Hell, "infierno," rather than th
or some combination of the two.
Clearly between the time of the Dominican Doctrina and Molina's con-
fessional guide, the missionaries had abandoned neologisms for heaven and
begun to adopt ilhuicatl. This is further seen in descriptions of the heavenly
court. At the conclusion of the general confession of sins, Molina has the pen-
itent call on Saints Peter, Paul, Michael, and Francis, "and all the saints who
reside in the heavenly court:" yhuan y ye muchintin sanctome yn ilhuicac
monemitia.58 Here ilhuicatl has become a specific place, and the synonym for
the heavenly court, at the center of paradise, the Christian afterlife.
Molina also uses the term ilhuicatl itic, "within the sky," to describe the
ascension of Jesus into heaven and the assumption of the Virgin:
Asencion ytlecahuiliztzin ylhuicatl itic The ascension is the honored raising

yn totecuyo Jesu Christo within the sky [of] our Lord Jesus Christ
Assumpcion yniquac motlecaui ylhuicatl The Assumption is when God's

itic ytlazonantzin dios, sancta Maria honored mother, Saint Mary, was
raised within the sky59
57 Alonso de Molina, Confesionario mayor en la lengua mexicana y castellana (1569), facsimile edi-
tion (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de M6xico, 1984), f. 17. Original Spanish gloss: "Y abre
de par en par, todas las puertas de la gloria." Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
58 Molina, Confesionario, 19v. Original Spanish gloss: "Y de todos los sanctos de la corte del cielo."
Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
In other contexts, however, Molina uses bot

ilhuicac to both mean "within the sky" or "w
Molina is well known more for his work as

for his missionary efforts. The Nahuatl-Span
was written by Molina and published in 1571
tion, all of the definitions for ilhuicatl and its
"cielo." The one exception is ilhuicatl itic,
empireo, o parayso celestial," "empyrean hea
course, in Spanish the word "cielo" can al
mean heaven, just as in English we use the t
sky, albeit in a slightly more poetic manner.
When looking at the Spanish-Nahuatl sec

slightly different perspective emerges. Under
two entries: "parayso terrenal-xuchitlalp
celestial-ylhuicatlitic, ytecentlamachtiay
"earthly paradise-place of flower gardens, g
adise-within the sky, God's glorification."
has not equated the word ihuicatl definitively
tainly one construction, ilhuicatl itic, had de
Fr. Juan de Gaona's work, the Colloquios

published in 1582, after Molina's work. Neve
editor, Fr. Juan de Zarate, indicated that it h
forty years earlier. If this were true, then G
rary to the Dominican Doctrina and one of t
loquios de la paz had remained inedited until
Order resolved to publish it and commended
Zarate, professor of Theology at the Univer
work of the various appearances of the word
one can be characterized as describing a p
likens the soul yearning for God to one wh
for rain.64 All of the other instances of ilhuica
tian heaven. One of the best examples of thi
59 Molina, Confesionario, 27v-28. Schwaller English transl

60 Compare Molina, Confesionario, f. 92v, lines 14-15, and M
61 Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y m
ile edition, intro. by Miguel Le6n Portilla (Mexico: Editorial P
62 Molina, Vocabulario, Spanish-Nahuatl, f. 92. Interesti
two terrestrial paradises in Nahua mythology.
63 Juan de Gaona, Colloquios de la paz y tranquilidad en l
1582) unnumbered Prologue, f. 5v-6.
64 Gaona, Colloquios, f. 17v.
In totecuio Jesu Christo techmotemolico Our Lord Jesus Christ descended to us

in nican tlalticpac, inic itetlaoculiliztica here on earth so that with his compas-
techmouiquiliz ilhuicac sion he will carry us to heaven65
One interesting feature of this selection is the juxtaposition of ilhuicac with

tlalticpac. Although it was a feature of pre-Columbian literature, here it is
seen in a purely Christian context, emphasizing the Incarnation of Christ as
a human. This concept is repeated later in the work in another instance
where the two are juxtaposed:
... totecuio Jesu Christo, in ilhuicaua, . . . Our Lord Jesus Christ, [who came]
in tlalticpaque, in cruztitech from heaven to earth, on the cross he
mopetlauiltitcac, momiquilia. was stripped, he died.66
Consequently, it is clear that by 1582, when Zarate edited and published the
book, the generic Nahuatl word ilhuicatl had come to describe the Christian
heaven, rather than just the physical reality of the sky.
As noted earlier, the songs from the Cantares mexicanos also included
some overtly Christian references. The entire work was probably collected
around 1585, with some additional material added as late as the 1590s. Con-
sequently, while about half of the material in the collection is pre-Columbian,
half is not, and dates from the middle decades of the sixteenth century. The
intrusion of missionary concepts regarding heaven can be seen as contrasting
with the earlier locational style references to the sky. One of the clearest
instances of the use of ilhuicatl in the Cantares clearly in a Christian context
is from a song that is dated to 1564, and explicitly translates part of the Bible:
Ye quitohuaya in dios quiyocoya yacatto God says it, and creates it: first was the
yehuatl in tlanextli ya yinic omilhuitl light. And on the second day he made
ye qhichiuh yn ilhuicatlo ohuiya the sky67
Several of the songs seem to be Christianized versions of older songs,

unlike the one immediately above that was clearly Christian from the outset.
Among these Christianized songs, there are several that are called teuc-
cuicatl, "Lord songs," or "Ruler songs. In two of these songs, one following
another, there are clear references to the Christian notion of heaven encom-
passed in the Nahuatl word ilhuicatl:
65 Gaona, Colloquios, f. 11. Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.

66 Gaona, Colloquios, f. 106. Schwaller English translation of the Nahuatl.
67 Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 268-269.
Zan niquinmahuizohuaya a ilhuicac in I marvel

chanequeon a yn Angeloti ... angels ...
Ocelotlalticpac olini yehuaya oyohualli This jaguar earth is shaking, and the
ylhuicatlin nanatzcatimomana y ye screaming skies begin to rip. Espiritu
temoya o in spilito xanto Santo, Life Giver, descends ...68
ypalnemoani ..
In these two examples the remainder of the poems are fairly reflective of
pre-Columbian norms. In fact in the second example, if one merely removed
Espiritu Santo and replaced it with the name of one of the Mexica gods, the
piece would fit well into the pre-Columbian poetic canon. In fact the term
ipalnemoani, "Life Giver," or "the one through whom one lives," was one
of the names used prior to the arrival of the Spanish for the supreme gods,
the duality Ometeotl.69
By the seventeenth century, the association of ilhuicatl with the Christian

heaven had become ubiquitous in the Nahuatl literature. This is clear in the
usage of the word ilhuicatl in the confessional guide of Bartolom6 de Alva,
published in 1634. In outlining the benefits of confession, like the Domini-
cans before him, Alva offers up the opportunity for the penitent to ultimately
go to heaven. Alva describes that place in the following manner:
Auh in ilhuicatl ca Heaven is the royal palace of God, and

ytlatocatecpanchantzinco in Dios, auh there all are eternally enjoying
ca zemicac ompa papacoa, necuiltonolo themselves, rich and prosperous an
netlamachtilo ilhuitihua enjoying [their just] rewards.70
The terms used in this description do not differ greatly from those found in
the Dominican Doctrina. Both talk of enjoyment, riches, and prosperity. The
Nahuatl words used in both cases are also the same, necuiltonoliztli
(necuiltonolo) and netlamachiliztli (netlamachtilo). Moreover, Alva even
uses the same verb that lies at the heart of the Dominican neologism cenpa-
pacoaya, namely papacoa, for "rejoice" or "enjoy oneself." What has
changed is the use of ilhuicatl as the word for the Christian heaven.
68 Bierhorst, Cantares, pp. 352-353.

69 Miguel Le6n Portilla, Aztec Thought and Culture (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press,
1963), pp. 93-94.
70 Bartolom6 de Alva, A Guide to Confession Large and Small in the Mexican language (1634), ed.
Barry D. Sell and John Frederick Schwaller (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), p. 89.
At the same time, the word ilhuicatl must also serve

for the sky. Alva continues in this tradition when he
of all things by the Christian God:
ca atle onca ytla oc centlamantli in manel Even though the

huel mahuiztic tlachihuali in iuhqui works like the hea
ilhuicatl, tonalli, metzli cicitlaltin ... moon and the stars ...71
Yet a unique feature of Alva is that he begins to equate heaven more exactly
with things divine, as is done in the Christian tradition when one speaks of
heavenly gifts, or heavenly punishment. In a section in which Alva criticized
the natives for many sins, most particularly that of drunkenness he writes the
following:
amo nozo yehuatl in ilhuicac Is it not perhaps the punishment of

tetlatzaquitiliztli Heaven?72
As a result in the writings of Alva ilhuicatl has diverged s

a simple physical place to becoming a synonym for God a
The shift over approximately a century moved the Nahuat
essentially interchangeable with the Christian concept of h
The so-called "spiritual conquest" of Mexico involve

issues. Not the least of these was communicating basic conc
tianity into Nahuatl. The two concerns in this endeavor we
to the Christian doctrine and to avoid unwitting additi
Nahuatl. The missionaries eventually resolved to use the N
the sky as a close substitute for the Christian heaven.
shown that while there were pre-conquest similarities, in ac
sionaries pushed the word far beyond its original meaning
associated it with the concept of heaven than it had origin
process took several decades. Obviously the biggest shift o
the first forty years of missionary activity. Later scholars
orate the concepts, until by the seventeenth century the l
back very near the first conceptions, but having abandon
favor of the more common Nahuatl word, ilhuicatl.
University of Minnesota-Morris JOHN F. SCHWALLER

Morris, Minnesota
71 Alva, A Guide, pp. 78-79.

72 Alva, A Guide, pp. 94-95.

The Ilhuica of The Nahua, Is Heaven Just A Place?

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The Ilhuica of The Nahua, Is Heaven Just A Place?

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The Ilhuica of the Nahua: Is Heaven Just a Place?

Author(s): John F. Schwaller

THE ILHUICA OF THE NAHUA:

he Nahua concept of heaven was one of the central issues that

ilhuicatl is simply a geographical marker indicating t

In order to explore the use of the term ilhui

In zan cuel achitzincan tlalticpac Earth is but a moment.l'

8 Cantares mexicanos, facsimile edition (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Aut6noma de Mdxico,

In this poem and in many others, the sky is associated w

ayoc nello on quittoa Mexica can It isn't true that Mex

Ye huilia iztac quauhtli mapopoyahua The true White Eagle brightens.

tiful things of earth, such as flowers, birds,

Ma nicnocozcati nepapan xochitl, I make necklaces for myself of varied

No speculation appears in the texts about an afterlife, other than return-

interesting association in this selection is the double ref

A second use of ilhuicatl comes in a poem dedicated t

In zan ya mocuepa moyollo Your heart turns, Cuauhtemoctzin.

term diablo or a Nahuatl word adopted for th

The works of Fr. Bernardino de Sahag6n pro

in ye huecauhtlaca, in nican nueva The people of old, the people here of

Another 7 uses of ilhuicatl are clearly in reference to the Christian

19 Burkhart, Slippery Earth, pp. 28-29, 40-42.

term, although this issue will be considered later.24 T

Tezcatlipoca: inin huel teotl ipan Tezcatlipoca: he w

In several passages in the Florentine Codex ilhuicatl is juxtaposed with

The intrusion of Sahagdin's editorial voice appears in this selection in that he

The last occurrence of the word ilhuicatl to be considered is its use

the facade because it supported the parts of the building

While some of the usages of the word ilhuicatl in th

As noted there are a very few overtly Christian passag

inin teotlatlatolli ixillantzinco, This Word of God lieth folded in the

33 Sahagin, Florentine Codex, Book 11, p. 115.

Sahag6in also composed other works that can

Sahaguin used traditional Nahuatl rhetorical

in iehoatzin nelli teutl He is truly God

This selection clearly makes reference to the traditional Nahu

36 John F. Schwaller, "'Centlalia' and 'Nonotza' in the Writings of Sahagdin: A New I

that it also makes reference to one of the central statements of Christian

iehica ca in ixquich because, indeed, all

For Sahagfin in the Coloquios, while he clearly associates ilhuicatl w

auh inic oquichtli And as a man

In this passage, Sahagtin argues that God is

In one instance in the Coloquios Sahagin u

ca oanquihualmotquilitiaque, Indeed you have come to bring it to us,

Other works composed in the sixteenth century al

The Spanish word "dios" appears in this text. While it is difficult to

When the Christian missionaries began th

The section goes on to describe more of the pleasures

On the other hand the guide goes on to frequent

Thus, while the term ilhuicatl provided the ph

Of course, God is not the only resident in th

Auh niman quimonauatilli in dios ynic Then G

The Dominicans describe the power and auth

Ca quimomachitia: in ixquixh nouian Indeed he

Taken as a whole, the Dominicans seem to be moving from the use of

fusion between the terms. Their reliance on some Span

By the time of Molina's confessional guide, the usage o

In this selection the word ilhuicac, which means the "sk

Asencion ytlecahuiliztzin ylhuicatl itic The ascension is the honored raising

Assumpcion yniquac motlecaui ylhuicatl The Assumption is when God's

In other contexts, however, Molina uses bot

Molina is well known more for his work as

When looking at the Spanish-Nahuatl sec