Bernardino de SahagÃÆ'ºn ( Spanish: Ã, [bernar'ÃÆ' Â ° ino ÃÆ' Â ° e saa ' c) 1499 - October 23, 1590) was a Franciscan priest, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the evangelization of colonial New Spain Catholicism (now Mexico). Born in SahagÃÆ'ºn, Spain, in 1499, he traveled to New Spain in 1529. He studied Nahuatl and spent more than 50 years in the study of the beliefs, culture, and history of the Aztecs. Although he was primarily devoted to his missionary work, his remarkable work of documenting indigenous views and culture had earned him the title of "the first anthropologist." He also contributed to the Aztec Nahuatl description of the language. He translates Psalms, Gospels, and Catechisms into Nahuatl.
SahagÃÆ'ºn is probably best known as the compiler of the
Video Bernardino de Sahagún
Education in Spain
Fray Bernardino was born Bernardino de Rivera (Ribera, Ribeira) 1499 in SahagÃÆ'ºn, Spain. He attended the University of Salamanca, where he was exposed to the currents of Renaissance humanism. During this period, the university in Salamanca was heavily influenced by Erasmus, and was the center of Franciscan Spanish intellectual life. It was there that he joined the Order of Friar Minor or Franciscans. He may have been ordained sometime around 1527. Entering the order he followed the Franciscan habit of changing the name of his family for the name of his hometown, became Bernardino de SahagÃÆ'ºn.
The Spanish Conquistadores led by HernÃÆ'¡n Cortez conquered the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (on the site of the present Mexico City) in 1521, and Franciscan missionaries followed shortly thereafter in 1524. SahagÃÆ'ºn was not in the first group of twelve monks, arriving at New Spain in 1524. A report, both in Spanish and Naha, of the disputes made by these Franciscan monks in Tenochtitlan soon after their arrival was made by SahagÃÆ'ºn in 1564, to provide a model for future missionaries. Thanks to his own academic and religious reputation, SahagÃÆ'ºn was recruited in 1529 to join missionary efforts in New Spain. He will spend the next 61 years there.
Maps Bernardino de Sahagún
Evangelization New Spain
During the Age of Discovery, 1450-1700, the Iberian rulers paid great attention to the missionary evangelization of indigenous peoples found in newly discovered lands. In Spanish and Portuguese Catholics, missionary projects are funded by Catholic kings under real patronatoes issued by the Pope to ensure the work of Catholic missionaries is part of a wider conquest and colonization project.
The decade after the Spanish conquest witnessed a dramatic transformation of indigenous culture, a transformation with a religious dimension that contributed to the creation of Mexican culture. People from both Spanish and indigenous cultures hold various opinions and views about what is happening in this transformation.
The Evangelization of New Spain was led by Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinian brothers. This religious order founded the Catholic Church in colonial New Spain, and directed it for much of the 16th century. The Franciscans in particular were very enthusiastic about the new land and its people.
The Franciscan friars who went to the New World were motivated by the desire to preach the gospel to new people. Many Franciscans believe that there is a great religious significance in the discovery and evangelization of these new people. They were amazed that the new people existed and believed that preaching to them would bring the return of Christ and the end of time, a set of beliefs called milenarianism. Simultaneously, many of the monks were dissatisfied with the corruption of European society, including, at times, the leadership of the Catholic Church. They believe that the New Spanish is an opportunity to revive the pure spirit of primitive Christianity. During the first decades of Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica, many indigenous people converted to Christianity, at least superficially.
The monks employed a large number of indigenous people for the construction of churches and monasteries, not only for the construction itself, but also as artists, painters and sculptors, and their works were used for decoration and evangelization. In this process, the native artists added many references to their habits and beliefs: flowers, birds, or geometric symbols. Friars thinks the images are decorative, but Natives recognize their strong religious connotations. A mixture of Christian and Indian symbols has been described as Indocristiano or Indochristian art. Inspired by Franciscan spirituality and Catholic humanism, the monks organized indigenous peoples into utopian communities. There was a massive influx of indigenous peoples turning to Catholicism, measured by the hundreds of thousands of baptisms at the center of massive evangelization founded by the monks.
In the early stages, the colonial evangelization project seemed quite successful, despite the antagonistic behavior of conquerors. However, native people do not express their Christian faith as the missionary monks expect. Many still practice pre-European religious rituals and retain their ancestral beliefs, as they did for hundreds or thousands of years, while also participating in Catholic worship. The brothers have disagreements about how best to approach this problem, as well as disagreements about their mission, and how to determine success.
At Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco
SahagÃÆ'ºn helped establish the first European high school education in America, Colegio Imperial de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco in 1536, in what is now Mexico City. This then serves as a basis for his own research activities, as he recruits former students to work with him. Colleges contribute to mixing Spanish and indigenous cultures in what is now Mexico.
This became a vehicle for student evangelization, as well as the recruitment and training of native men to Catholic priests; it is the center of the study of the native language, especially Nahuatl. The college contributed to the formation of Catholic Christianity in New Spain and became an important institution for cultural exchange. SahagÃÆ'ºn taught Latin and other lessons during his early years. Other brothers taught grammar, history, religion, scripture, and philosophy. Indigenous leaders were recruited to teach about indigenous history and traditions, which caused controversy among the colonial officials concerned with the control of the indigenous population. During this period, the Franciscans who affirmed the full humanity and the capacity of the indigenous people were regarded as suspects by the colonial officials and the Dominican Order. The last few rivals hinted that the Friars supported idolatry. The monks should be careful in pursuing and defining their interactions with indigenous peoples.
SahagÃÆ'ºn was one of several siblings at school who wrote important notes about indigenous life and culture. Two excellent products from college scholarships are the first "herbalism" of the New World, and what maps are now areas of Mexico City. "Herbs" is a catalog of herbs and their use, including their descriptions and drug applications. Like herbs, the Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis is written in Latin by Juan Badianus de la Cruz, an Aztec teacher on campus, perhaps with help from other students or teachers. In this document, plants are taken, named and presented in accordance with the Aztec organization system. The text explains where plants grow and how herbal medicines can be made from them. This "herb" may be used to teach native medicine on campus. The Mapa de Santa Cruz shows urban areas, road and canal networks, drawing activities such as fishing and farming, and a wider landscape context. Herbs and maps show the influence of Spanish and Aztec cultures, and by their structures and styles convey the fusion of these cultures.
Working as a missionary
In addition to teaching, SahagÃÆ'ºn spends several extended periods outside Mexico City, including at Tlalmanalco (1530-32); Xochimilco (1535), where he is known to have married; Tepepulco (1559-61), Huexotzinco, and also evangelized, leading religious services, and giving religious instruction. He is the first and foremost missionary whose purpose is to bring people from the New World to the Catholic faith. He spent much time with indigenous people in remote villages, as a Catholic priest, teacher, and missionary.
SahagÃÆ'ºn is a gifted linguist, one of the few Franciscans. As an Order, the Franciscans emphasized the evangelization of natives in their own language. He began his studies of Nahuatl while traveling across the Atlantic, learning from native nobles who returned to the New World from Spain. Then he is recognized as one of the most proficient Spaniards in this language. Most of his writings reflect his Catholic missionary interests, and are designed to help church people preach in Nahuatl, or translate the Bible into Nahuatl, or give religious teachings to indigenous peoples. Among his works in Nahuatl is the translation of the Psalms and Catechism. He may have compiled his book Psalmodia Christiana at Tepepolco when he was collecting material for Primeros Memoriales. It was published in 1583 by Pedro Ocharte, but was circulated in New Spain before it was to replace with Christian texts songs and poems from Nahuas. His curiosity drew him to learn more about the Aztec worldview, and his linguistic skills enabled him to do so. Thus, SahagÃÆ'ºn has the motivation, skills and disposition to study people and their culture. He conducted field research in Nahuatl's original language. In 1547, he collected and recorded the huehuetlatolli, the Aztec's formal oration given by elders for moral teaching, youth education, and the construction of cultural significance. Between 1553 and 1555 he interviewed indigenous leaders to gain their perspective on the Mexican Conquest. In 1585 he wrote the revised narrative conquest, published as Book 12 of the Firentine Codex, one of his last works before his death in 1590.
Field research
After the initial mass conversion spirit in Mexico has subsided, Franciscan missionaries are beginning to realize that they need a better understanding of indigenous peoples in order to effectively pursue their work. SahagÃÆ'ºn's life changed dramatically in 1558 when the new province of New Spain, Fray Francisco de Toral, assigned him to write in Nahuatl on topics he considered useful for missionary projects. The Province wants SahagÃÆ'ºn to formalize its study of indigenous languages ​​and cultures, so that it can share with others. The priest has a free hand to conduct his investigation. He's done research for about twenty-five years, and spent the last fifteen years or so editing, translating and copying. The field research activities can be grouped into previous periods (1558-1561) and subsequent periods (1561-1575).
From his initial research, SahagÃÆ'ºn wrote a text known as Primeros Memoriales. This serves as the basis for the next, larger Historia General . He conducted his research in Tepeapulco, about 50 miles northeast of Mexico City, near Hidalgo right now. There he spent two years interviewing about a dozen village elders in Nahuatl, assisted by a graduate of a native college in Tlatelolco. SahagÃÆ'ºn asks elders about religious rituals and calendars, family, economic and political habits, and natural history. He interviews them individually and in groups, and thus can evaluate the reliability of the information shared with him. His assistant speaks three languages ​​(Nahuatl, Latin and Spanish). They participate in research and documentation, translation and interpretation, and they also paint illustrations. He published their names, described their work, and gave them credit. The images in Primeros Memoriales convey a mixture of original and European artistic elements and influences. The analysis of SahagÃÆ'ºn's research activities in this early period indicates that he developed and evaluated his own methods for collecting and verifying this information.
During the period 1561-1575, SahagÃÆ'ºn returned to Tlatelolco. He interviewed and consulted with more elders and cultural authorities. He edited the previous job. He expanded the scope of previous research, and developed his method of interviewing. He rearranged his project along the lines of the medieval encyclopaedia. It is not an encyclopaedia in contemporary sense, and can best be described as the world's books, as they seek to give a relatively complete presentation of knowledge about the world.
Methodology
SahagÃÆ'ºn is among the first to develop methods and strategies for collecting and validating the original New World cultural knowledge. Long ago, the scientific discipline of anthropology would formalize ethnographic methods as a scientific research strategy for documenting beliefs, behaviors, social roles and relationships, and world views of other cultures, and to explain these factors with reference to the cultural logic.. His research methods and strategies for validating information provided by his informants are precursors of modern ethnographic methods and strategies.
He systematically collected knowledge from various informants, including women, who were acknowledged to have knowledge of indigenous cultures and traditions. He compared answers obtained from various sources. Some passages in his writings seem to be transcriptions of informers' statements about religious beliefs, society or nature. Another section clearly reflects a series of consistent questions presented to different informants with the aim of obtaining information on a particular topic. Some readings reflect SahagÃÆ'ºn's narrative of events or comments.
Significance
During the period in which SahagÃÆ'ÂÂ n did his research, the Spanish conquerors were greatly outnumbered by the conquered Aztecs, and worried about the threat of indigenous insurrection. Some colonial rulers regarded his writings as potentially dangerous, as they lend credibility to indigenous voices and perspectives. SahagÃÆ'ºn is aware of the need to avoid the Inquisition, which was founded in Mexico in 1570.
SahagÃÆ'ºn's work was originally performed only in Nahuatl. To fend off suspicion and criticism, he translated parts of it into Spanish, sent it to several Franciscan colleagues for review, and sent it to the King of Spain with several Friars back home. His last years were difficult, because the utopian idealism of the first Franciscans in New Spain faded while the Spanish colonial project continued brutally and exploitatively. In addition, millions of indigenous people die from recurrent epidemics, as they have no immunity to Eurasian diseases. Some of his last writings reveal feelings of despair. The crown replaced the religious order with the secular priest, giving the monks a much smaller role in Catholic life in the colony. The new Franciscans arriving at the colony had no previous Franciscan faith and fervor about the Indian ability. The pro-native approach of the Franciscans and SahagÃÆ'ºn became marginalized with the passage of time. The use of the Nahuatl Bible is forbidden, reflecting the wider global retrenchment of Catholics under the Council of Trent.
SahagÃÆ'ºn's The general historia was not known outside Spain for about two centuries. In 1793 a bibliographer cataloged Codex Firentine at the Laurenti Library in Florence. The work now carefully bounces in three volumes. A scientific community of historians, anthropologists, art historians, and linguists has been investigating Sahagun's work, subtlety and mystery, for over 200 years.
The General Historia is the product of one of the most outstanding social science research projects ever undertaken. It is not unique as a chronicle of encounters with the new world and its people, but it stands out because of SahagÃÆ'ºn's attempt to gather information about foreign cultures by questioning people and perspectives from within that culture. "The scope of Historia's coverage of the genuine contact moments of Central Mexico native culture is unparalleled by other sixteenth-century works that seek to depict the original way of life." Especially in his own mind, SahagÃÆ'ºn is a Franciscan missionary, but he is also entitled to be given a father's degree from American Ethnography.
As a Franciscan Convent
SahagÃÆ'ºn has been described as a missionary, ethnographer, linguist, folklorist, Renaissance humanist, historian and pro-native. Scholars have explained these roles as emerging from his identity as a missionary priest, a participant in the Spanish evangelical spirit to transform the newly encountered people, and as part of a wider Franciscan millenarian project.
Founded by Francis of Assisi in the early 13th century, Franciscan Friars emphasized loyalty to the Incarnation, the humanity of Jesus Christ. Saint Francis developed and articulated this devotion based on his experience of contemplative prayer in front of the Holy Cross of San Damiano and the practice of mercy among lepers and social exiles. The Franciscan Prayer involves consciously remembering Jesus' human life and parenting practices for the poor and marginalized.
St. Francis's intuitive approach is expounded into the philosophical vision by Franciscan theologians, such as Bonaventure of Bagnoregio and John Duns Scotus, prominent figures in the Franciscan intellectual tradition. The philosophy of Scotus is based on the excellence of the Incarnation, and may be a very important influence on SahagÃÆ'ºn, since Scotus's philosophy is taught in Spain at this time. Scotus absorbs St. Intuitive insights. Francis of Assisi and his devotion to Jesus Christ as a human being, and expressed it in the broader vision of humanity.
Religious philosophical anthropology - a vision of humanity - can shape a missionary vision of man, and in turn missionary behavior on cultural boundaries. The pro-native approach of the Franciscan missionaries in New Spain is consistent with the Franciscan philosophy of John Duns Scotus. In particular, he describes philosophical anthropology that reflects the Franciscan spirit.
Some specific dimensions of SahagÃÆ'ºn (and other Franciscans in New Spain) reflect this philosophical anthropology. Indigenous people are believed to have dignity and deserve to be respected as human beings. The monks, for the most part, were deeply troubled by the conquerors' abuse of the natives. In the collaborative approach of SahagÃÆ'ºn, where he consistently gives praise to his colleagues, especially Antonio Valeriano, the value of the Franciscan community is expressed.
In his five decades of research, he practiced the philosophy of Franciscan knowledge in action. He is not content to speculate about these new people, but meets with, interviews and interprets them and their worldview as an expression of his faith. While others - in Europe and New Spain - debate whether indigenous peoples are human and have a soul, SahagÃÆ'ÂÂ n interviews them, trying to understand who they are, how they love each other, what they believe, and how they make sense in the world. He fell in love with their culture. Even when he expressed his disgust at the practice of human sacrifice and their continuing worship, he spent five decades investigating the Aztec culture.
Disappointment with "spiritual conquest"
Learning more about the Aztec culture, SahagÃÆ'ºn grew increasingly skeptical of the depth of mass conversion in Mexico. He thinks that many if not most of the conversions are superficial. He also became concerned with the tendency of his Franciscan missionary fellow to misunderstand the basic elements of traditional Aztec religious and cosmological convictions. He became convinced that only by mastering the original language and worldview, the missionaries could be effective in dealing with the Aztecs. He began an informal study of indigenous peoples, their beliefs, and religious practices.
In Codex Firentine, SahagÃÆ'ºn writes many introductions, addresses "to readers", and interpolation in which he expresses his own views in Spanish. In Book XI, The Earthly Things, he replaces Spanish translations of Nahuatl entries on mountains and rocks to illustrate the current practice of worship among the people. "After discussing springs, water, and mountains, this for me is a great place to discuss the main cultures practiced and still practiced in the waters and mountains."
In this section, SahagÃÆ'ºn denounces the association of the Virgin Guadalupe with the pagan Meso-American god. The Franciscans of that time were particularly hostile to this cult because of its potential for the practice of idolatry, for it incorporated the Virgin Mary with an ancient goddess.
In this place [Tepeyac], [the Indians] have a temple dedicated to the mother of the gods, whom they call Tonantzin, which means our Mother. There they made many sacrifices in honor of this goddess... And now that the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe was built there, they also called her Tonantzin, who was motivated by preachers calling on the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Tonantzin. It is not known exactly where this early Tonantzin might have originated, but this we know for sure, that, from the first use, the word means ancient Tonantzin. And that is something that must be corrected, because the true [true] name of the Mother of God, Santa Maria, is not Tonantzin, but Dios inantzin . It seems to be the discovery of Satan for idolatry under the confusion of this name, Tonantzin.
SahagÃÆ'ºn explains that the Santa Ana church has become a pilgrimage site for Toci (Nahuatl: "our grandmother"). He admits that Saint Ann is the mother of the Virgin Mary, and therefore literally the grandmother of Jesus, but SahagÃÆ'ºn writes:
All those who came, as in the past, to the Toci party, came under the pretense of Saint Ann, but because of the ambiguous words of the [grandmother], and they respect the old way, it is believed that they came more for the ancient than modern ones. And thus, also in this place, idolatry seemed closed because so many people came from a distant country without Saint Ann who had done miracles there. It is clear that it is an ancient Toci of Saint Ann [who they worship].
But in this same section, SahagÃÆ'ºn expressed his deep doubt that Christian evangelization of the Indians would take place in New Spain, especially since the devastating 1576 pestilation destroyed the indigenous population and tested the victims.
[A] greeting the Catholic Faith, [Mexico] is a sterile and very painstaking land to be grown, where the Catholic Faith has very shallow roots, and with a great deal of fruit labor is produced, and from little cause planted and wilted. In my opinion, the Catholic Faith can withstand a little time in these parts... And now, at the time of this plague, after testing the faith of those who confess, very few respond correctly before confession; thus we can be sure that, despite being preached to more than fifty years, if they are now left alone, if the Spaniards are not interceding, I am sure that in less than fifty years there will be no traces of sermons that have been done for them.
History of SahagÃÆ'ºn of conquest
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