Diego Durán (c. 1537 – 1588) was a
Dominican friar
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the
Aztecs
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
, ''The History of the Indies of New Spain'', a book that was much criticised in his lifetime for helping the "heathen" maintain their culture.
Also known as the Durán
Codex
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
, ''The History of the Indies of New Spain'' was completed in about 1581. Durán also wrote ''Book of the Gods and Rites'' (1574–1576), and ''Ancient Calendar'' (c. 1579). He was fluent in
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
, the Aztec language, and was therefore able to consult natives and
Aztec codices
Aztec codices ( nah, Mēxihcatl āmoxtli , sing. ''codex'') are Mesoamerican manuscripts made by the pre-Columbian Aztec, and their Nahuatl-speaking descendants during the colonial period in Mexico.
History
Before the start of the Sp ...
as well as work done by earlier friars. His empathetic nature allowed him to gain the confidence of many native people who would not share their stories with Europeans, and was able to document many previously unknown folktales and legends that make his work unique.
Early life
Durán was born sometime around 1537 in
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. His family traveled to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
when he was about seven years old. Later he wrote "although I did not acquire my milk teeth in Texcoco, I got my second ones there."
[Diego Durán, cited in Doris Heyden, "Diego Durán", in ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'', vol. 1, Chicago: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997, p. 421.]
Durán grew up in Tetzcoco (
Texcoco), in the present state of México, an important learning center where there had been an extensive pre-Hispanic library of books in pictorial form, now called “codices.” The inhabitants of Tetzcoco spoke Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec, and the boy soon spoke it as well as his native Spanish. This served him well in his later work among the natives as a friar and as an ethnographer, interviewing Nahuatl-speaking people in rural areas.
When he was still young, his family moved to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
where he attended school and was exposed to
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
culture under the colonial rule of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, as well as the many Africans brought by the Spanish as slaves. According to Heyden, Durán was often puzzled by the mix of races and cultures and their significance for social class.
Life within the Church
In 1556 he entered the
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
and was sent to
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
in 1561 after being trained in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.
He resided for a time at a
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
, or
friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
, in
Oaxtepec
Oaxtepec is a town within the municipality of Yautepec and the Cuautla metropolitan area in the eastern part of the Mexican state of Morelos. Its main industry is tourism, mostly aimed at the inhabitants of nearby Mexico City, and the town poss ...
,
and there he found many informants within the Church. He is believed to have been tutored by Dominican Fray
Francisco de Aguilar, who had once been a soldier involved in the
siege of Tenochtitlan
The Fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was a decisive event in the Spanish conquest of the empire. It occurred in 1521 following extensive manipulation of local factions and exploitation of pre-existing political divisions ...
. Aguilar later joined the Dominican order, and had much to tell Durán about the Aztecs at first contact. He was cited frequently by Durán in his ''History''.
Durán later became a vicar at a convent in
Hueyapan
San Andrés Hueyapan is a small town in the rural northeastern part of the Mexican state of Morelos, formerly in the municipality of Tetela del Volcán. It lies at an elevation of ca 2000–2500 metres above sea level on the southern slopes of t ...
and it was there that he learned the most from the native Nahuas. The convents had been issued a decree by
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
to preach the Christian word to native rural villages and Durán ventured into the villages frequently to converse with the natives there. The clergy were to also observe native customs and to search for ancient documents. particularly the lost Holy Scriptures of
Saint Thomas (who was believed to have been the basis for the Aztecs'
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nahu ...
).
He developed a close association with the people he was attempting to convert, which led him to criticize the clerics and
conquistadors
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
who never learned the natives’ language, writing "they should know the language well and understand
he people
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
if they have any pretense of obtaining fruit. And the clergy should not acquiesce by saying they need know only enough of the tongue in order to hear
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
and that is enough." (''Book of the Gods and Rites'') and scorns the Spaniards' crude use of the language that made the natives scoff.
Durán was torn between two worlds, his own people, and the Aztecs. On one hand, he respected the Aztecs and their governmental organization before the conquest; and he grew to admire the native people of Mexico, and often said so. On the other hand, he was repulsed by certain acts of his native informants, particularly human sacrifice. It was, after all, his duty to evangelize them and his
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
background gave him a great disdain for such things. Another of his duties was to document the cultural ways and practices of the native people to serve as a manual for other monks in their attempt to evangelize them. Although his purpose was to detail the "heathen practices" as a manual for other missionaries, he also wanted to make it pleasant to read and useful to others.
In 1585 Friar Diego returned to Mexico City in ill health to live and work in the Convent of St. Dominic there, as a translator from
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
to
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
for the
Inquisition
The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
. He died in 1588 of an unknown illness.
Historical works and influence
The ''History of the Indies of New Spain'', sometimes referred to as the Durán Codex, contains 78 chapters spanning from the Aztec creation story until after the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...
, and includes a chronology of Aztec emperors.
The friars of the 16th century borrowed one another's material without citation. Some scholars believe that the Durán Codex formed the basis for the
Ramirez Codex Ramirez may refer to:
People
*Ramírez (surname), people with the surname ''Ramírez''
* Ramirez (Brazilian footballer) (born 1987), full name Washington Ramirez Cruz Santos, Brazilian footballer
Locations
* Ramirez, Texas
* Ramirez Canyon Park, ...
although others believe that both
Ramirez Codex Ramirez may refer to:
People
*Ramírez (surname), people with the surname ''Ramírez''
* Ramirez (Brazilian footballer) (born 1987), full name Washington Ramirez Cruz Santos, Brazilian footballer
Locations
* Ramirez, Texas
* Ramirez Canyon Park, ...
and the Durán Codex relied on an earlier unknown work referred to as "Chronicle X". In 1596, Durán was cited as a source by Fray
Agustín Dávila Padilla in his ''Historia de la fundación y discurso de la Provincia de Mexico''.
[Heyden xxx.]
The Durán Codex was unpublished until the 19th century, when it was found in the Library of Madrid by José Fernando Ramírez. In his ''Ancient Calendar'', Durán explains why his work would go so long without being published by saying "some persons (and they are not a few) say that my work will revive ancient customs and rites among the Indians", to which he replied that the Indians were quite good at secretly preserving their own customs and cultures and needed no outside help.
Durán's work has become invaluable to
archaeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
and others studying
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
and scholars studying
Mesoamerican
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Withi ...
ethnohistory
Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may n ...
. Although there are few surviving
Aztec codices
Aztec codices ( nah, Mēxihcatl āmoxtli , sing. ''codex'') are Mesoamerican manuscripts made by the pre-Columbian Aztec, and their Nahuatl-speaking descendants during the colonial period in Mexico.
History
Before the start of the Sp ...
written before the Spanish invasion, the more numerous post-conquest codices and near-contemporary works such as Durán's and
Sahagún's are invaluable sources for the interpretation of archaeological theories and evidence, but more importantly for constructing a history of the natives from texts produced by the natives themselves, as exemplified in the
New Philology New Philology generally refers to a branch of Mexican ethnohistory and philology that uses colonial-era native language texts written by Indians to construct history from the indigenous point of view. The name New Philology was coined by James Lock ...
.
See also
*
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
*
Crónica Mexicayotl
The ''Crónica Mexicayotl'' is a chronicle of the history of the Aztec Empire from the early Nahua migrations to the colonial period, which was written in the Nahuatl language around the 16th century. Its authorship is debated because the earliest ...
*
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
*
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
*
List of people from Morelos, Mexico
The following are people who were born, raised, or who gained significant prominence for living in the Mexican state of Morelos:
''This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by exp ...
References
Further reading
*Durán, Diego. ''La Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme''. edited by Angel María Garibay. Mexico City, 1967.
*Durán, Diego. ''Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar''. Translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden. Foreword by Miguel León-Portilla. 2nd ed. Norman, Okla., 1977.
*Fray Diego Durán's ''The History of the Indies of New Spain'', translated, annotated and with introduction by Doris Heyden. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
External links
an article analyzing the Aztec Eight Commandments as documented by Durán*High-resolution scans o
The History of the Indies of New Spainin the original Spanish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, Diego
Aztec scholars
Historians of Mesoamerica
Novohispanic Mesoamericanists
16th-century Spanish historians
1530s births
1588 deaths
People of New Spain
People from Morelos
Spanish Dominicans
Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries
16th-century Mesoamericanists
16th-century male writers
Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain
Dominican missionaries