The Nahua Perception of Death and its Influence on the Mexican Phoenix

Freya Abbas

Certain forms of art are privileged in society in the sense that they may be able to express feelings that would otherwise be considered shocking and inappropriate by the elite. Art that can easily be dismissed as pure emotion or fantasy is in a unique position which allows it to object readily accepted beliefs in society. The place of troubadour poetry in New Spain is one example, as the genre puts a distance between the speaker and the subject that permits the speaker to show exaggerated displays of emotion. The lyrical tradition of the exaltation of the beloved even protects female writers like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, allowing her to express romantic desire for another woman in a strictly Catholic society (Powell 9). This can be observed in her elegy for the vicereine Leonor Carreto, which the traditional scholarly interpretation aims to situate in the larger history of lyric poetry that began with Sappho. Critics have noticed lyric conventions in the elegy, such as the unrestrained passion for the object of the mourner’s adoration and the anguish felt by Carreto’s passing. Yet the status of the lyric genre in New Spain provided Sor Juana the freedom to not only write about romantic desire, but also speak of controversial theological perspectives, such as presenting the very different Indigenous Nahua and Catholic views on death as complementary, rather than opposing forces.

Even in a genre associated with passion and unbridled emotion, Sor Juana still engages with logic and reason to entertain complex philosophical and theological points about death. The scholarly focus on the themes of grief and love in the elegy for Leonor Carreto may overlook the poem’s theological arguments. The elegy contains an attempt to reconcile two different ideas on death, the Nahua and the Catholic belief system. In Nahua metaphysics, death deals with everyone fairly and equally. It is inevitable, natural, and viewed as a part of life rather than as the binary opposite of life. This is made most obvious by the Aztec beliefs of the afterlife, as “They believed that a man’s final destiny was determined, not on the basis of his moral conduct in life, but on the nature of his death,” (Portilla 127). Those who died of old age went to a place called Mictlan to live as skeletons, while those who died of drowning went to Tlalocan to live with the rain god, and so on. One can see how this contrasts with the Catholic view of death, which is seen as the opposite of life, can be reversed by a miracle, and does not treat everyone equally, as God must judge everyone to determine if they are deserving of heaven or hell. In the elegy, imagery representing the Catholic view of life and death as binary opposites is used as is an allusion to the Nahua goddess of death and her impartial treatment of those who die. These views are united and presented as two halves of one whole later on in the poem. Sor Juana’s passionate elegy for the vicereine represents the speaker reconciling two different belief systems surrounding death; the Catholic view that death is the opposite of life and affects people differently based on their deeds, and the Nahua view that death is a part of life and has an equal effect on everyone regardless of the life they had. This representation of Nahua and Catholic views on death as complementing, rather than opposing each other, is accomplished by alluding to both Nahua and Catholic worldviews on the nature of mortality.

Early on in the poem, the speaker uses imagery from a Catholic worldview to express her grief. This involves using life and death as binary opposites with the imagery of light and darkness. The Catholic idea of mortality presents life and death as contrasting, opposing forces that can never be reconciled. The association of life with light can be seen in the line “Lovely light than in the past you gave” (de la Cruz, line 4). The vicereine is said to have given light with her presence when she was living –– a light described as being “lovely.” This links the concepts of life, light, and goodness, which would all be considered the binary opposites of death, darkness, and evil. The imagery of death conjures these opposing forces in line 8, “Black tears shed by my grief-stricken pen.” The tears of grief and mourning for the dead are described as “black,” highlighting the association of death with darkness. Furthermore, the pen is personified as being “grief-stricken” which characterizes death as evil because it inflicts suffering on those who mourn the losses of their loved ones. The speaker introduces Catholic beliefs about death using imagery in the form of binary opposites traditionally used in Christianity to symbolize the difference between life and death. Catholic beliefs are integrated in the poem using imagery that represents the evil and despair caused by death and contrasts death with the opposite force of life. Yet, the poem later goes on to represent death as being essential to life, as inspired by Nahua philosophy, and seeks to connect this to the Catholic tradition to present a new, unified Mexican worldview on death. The tendency to present metaphysical concepts as tensions between two opposing forces is not limited to Catholicism, but also appears elsewhere in the Western philosophical tradition, which can be decentered for a fuller understanding of this elegy.

In addition to the imagery of binary opposites used in the beginning of the poem, the speaker of the poem uses personification to introduce the Nahua perspective on death. In the continental European tradition of lyric poetry, allusions are often made to Greco-Roman paganism. Being a New World poet, Sor Juana draws on the pantheon of the Nahua and not only personifies death, but deifies it in a method similar to how older lyric traditions would deify love. Line 9 makes a mention of “Stern Death herself.” This evokes the image of Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte, a saint in Mexican folk Catholicism depicted as a skeletal woman whose roots were in the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, the goddess of death. The veneration of death as a goddess is already unacceptable as per the Catholic worldview, which can only view death as evil and unworthy of worship. The description of death as “stern” is also seemingly at odds with the Catholic worldview, as it suggests that death has strict rules about treating everyone equally rather than assessing their deeds. It makes no difference to the Nahua goddess of death whether a person is wicked or pious. Death is further personified in line 10 as one “who (strictly accurate) brooked no excuse.” This represents that there is no negotiating with death as the goddess will not listen to any “excuse.” Death is final in the Nahua worldview and there is no chance of a miracle that will resurrect the dead like Lazarus was in the case of Christianity. A further characteristic of death in Nahua spirituality is its inevitability, which is conjured in line 11 with the use of the word “fate.” Fate is a powerful concept in many polytheistic religions that do not believe in free will but have a more deterministic philosophy. The use of this word stresses that death is unavoidable. By deifying death, personifying it as an entity that “brooked no excuse,” and evoking the power of the word “fate,” the speaker presents a view of death as fair, final and inevitable. These views correspond with the Nahua belief that death is a part of life rather than the binary opposite of it. This appears to create tension in the poem with the Catholic worldview, but it is later reconciled with it.

The unification of these metaphysical systems and the presentation of Nahua spirituality and Catholicism as complements rather than opposites, is accomplished through an emotional appeal. The griever attempts to reconcile both worldviews using a lyrical, exaggerated display of emotion. She recognizes the futility of protesting death, as according to the Nahua worldview it is impossible to reverse it. Yet, she still wants to defy death, and longs for the miracles of Christianity. This internal conflict in the psyche of the mourner begins in line 2, “To feelings that still long for you in vain.” This line indicates that grievers are in denial about the true nature of death as they struggle with different worldviews. They long for their beloved, but do not realize how hopeless and “in vain” this longing is. The mourner then gets desperate to reverse what happened as she cannot accept that death is final. This desperation is most obviously represented in line 9, “Let compassion move stern Death herself.” This line appears to be an emotional climax in the speaker’s desperation. She believes that emotion rather than reason should be used to oppose death while being aware of the futility of emotional pleas. She uses personification to represent these emotional pleas and further deifies them as love, just as she deifies death. Love is deified as Cupid or Eros from Greco-Roman mythology, as is made clear by the description of love as “blind” in line 11. This blind love is said to have “wanted his sight restored that he might see you” (referring to the vicereine) in line 13. This shows love as making an emotional plea for an impossible miracle –– the restoration of his sight. Yet, love is aware that death is stern and does not listen to any excuses, so he “finds his eyes are useless save to mourn you” (de la Cruz, line 14). Christians fear death, rather than viewing it as a part of life, while the Nahua consider it a definite fact. These beliefs do not have to contradict each other as they are simultaneously present in the mourner’s thoughts. The mourner understands that her beloved is gone, but is also aware that the inevitable and natural characteristics of death do not make it less painful for those who mourn. Nahua and Catholic beliefs are reconciled by saying that death is inevitable, irreversible, and affects everyone in the same way, but is also tragic and evil for the pain it inflicts.

It may come as a surprise that the lyrical genre gave Sor Juana, a nun, such freedom to represent ideas about religion that would likely be considered heretical in her time. In addition to the “unchaste” romantic nature of the poem, she extensively alluded to a Nahua goddess. This does not seem as shocking when put into the context of 17th century New Spain, where there were a number of folk saints inspired by Aztec mythology. For example, the virgin of Guadalupe was similar to the earth goddess Coatlicue. The mixing of Indigenous and European religion, especially in rural areas, was not uncommon. Past scholarly interpretations have focused on biographical information about Sor Juana, such as her relationship to the vicereine, in order to analyze the poem. Even though they have not been able to uncover many of the specific details about her love life, “No one denies that Sor Juana displayed in her writing depths of emotion and erotic desire associated for us with erotic relationships” (Powell 9). As a result, the current interpretations of the poem focus on the relationship between the speaker and the beloved in the poem and note that “This elegiac sonnet gives rein to Sor Juana’s grief, implying a literary as well as affectionate relationship” (Powell 10). This interpretation could be enriched with some analysis of the role of Nahua spirituality in Sor Juana’s life and how she personally maintained her interest in it while still being a member of the church. There is evidence this played a significant role in her life, as she was known to have studied Indigenous knowledge of medicinal herbs. It is also clear that she was a well-educated woman who enjoyed participating in philosophical and theological debates. Many of her poems, though filled with the passionate emotions of the lyric genre, often contained reasoning such as the points about aesthetics made in Poem 145. Much of the analysis of the elegy for Leonor Carreto that was approached from a biographical lens was incomplete as it did not consider Sor Juana’s interaction with Nahua culture nor her tendency to embed philosophical arguments in many of her poems, and as a result the complementary nature of Catholic and Nahua beliefs that were explored in this poem may have gone largely unnoticed.

The unification of two different metaphysical views in the elegy also reveals a truth about the nature of conquest. Physical destruction of a group cannot eliminate the influence of their spirituality. Attempts to subvert Indigenous religions often leads to them continuing in a more discrete fashion or even mixing with the prevailing religion so that they become inseparable in the hearts of many of the people. This admixture is what led to a distinct Mexican identity and is also the reason why thousands continue to pray to Santa Muerte. The Catholic church does not approve of her cult following, but despite their power they cannot stop it. The moments in which religion matters most to people are when they are confronted by something they do not fully understand, such as death. These are the moments in which there can be complicated inner conflicts in people’s lives where they consider different religious ideas on death. Mexican elegies can provide an insight into these internal conflicts. Many views can exist simultaneously in one mourner. This gives a fuller understanding of representations of religion in colonial states. The situation of colonization as it impacts religion cannot be explained in terms of binary opposites, but rather by understanding how a society seeks to unify elements of both beliefs into a single, coherent system of thought.

Works Cited

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Ines. Elegy for Leonor Carreto. Mexico City, 1674.

Portilla, Miguel L. Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind. University of Oklahoma Press, 1963, https://books.google.ca/books?id=OI9J7RR1awC&printsec frontcover#v=onepage&q=mictlan&f=false. Accessed 1 December 2020.

Powell, Amanda. La Respuesta. 2nd critical ed., The Feminist Press, 2011, https://muse.jhu.edu/book/14516#info_wrap. Accessed 1 December 2020.