Mexican and Central American Mythology

by Irene Nicholson

Near Fine Hardcover Text/BRAND NEW 7 Bright. Gilt embossed maroon linen boards/Fine. DJ/VG; price clipped; strong & sound w/edge nips, chips & surface rubs. Illustrated endpapers. Survey of myths & ledgens of the early Americas stemming back to 5th century BC. Published w/o ISBN; ISBN subsequently assigned. 141 pgs w/archival photographs (24 color plates) & drawings from Irene Nicholson ( - 1968). An exciting look at Maya, Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Totonac, Toltec and Aztec cultures before Spanish arrival.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1967

Reviews

[Mateen Ar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book at all. I am giving it 2 stars because it has many interesting images (not all of which feel relevant to the text they accompany, nor are they well-explained).

The book discusses central American religious and mythological beliefs. Going into this book with limited understanding of the background of this region, I learned very little about the different cultures about which the book speaks. The Nahua, Mayas and the Aztecs are the most prominent of these cultures, but I still know very little about them. The book goes about their mythologies in a thematic way, introducing the themes mainly through story analysis (the stories themselves are summarily narrated). I understand that some of these cultures are very similar, to the point where the same gods appear with sl,ightly different names. But I have no idea what gods do what, how they were worshipped (except for Quatzicoatl) and what their cults entailed. Usually gods are introduced as 'X, god of rain', where later several other gods of rain are introduced with no explanation as to why there are so many of them.
Finally, I was very unimpressed at the denigration of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture in comparison to Judeo-Christian religious understandings. In fact, I believe that the author's view of religion and mythology is flawed, and thoroughly unacademic and opinionated.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly a well-researched tome, the emphasis is on merging culture, history, and myth. While stories do make up a significant portion of the text, I felt they tended to be subsidiary to the culture and history exploration and presented more as artefacts than as engaging tales. So for those interested in an academic book on how stories provide windows and mirrors for culture and history, this book is on super. For storytellers looking for tales to share...not so much.

[Lannan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very Nahua/Aztec-centric, which detracts for me as I was looking for some more culturally well-rounded information. I learned a few new things, and the author made some interesting arguments, but the fact of the matter is that anthropological and arcaheological understanding of most of the non-Aztec peoples of Central America just wasn't that developed at time this book was published and so much must be read with a very skeptical eye. Specifically, the level of knowledge about the specific gods and their effects and mythologies are extremely primitive, and still are.

Also, the heavyhanded moralizing about human and animal sacrifice got old very, very fast. There are really only so many times (in a book about mythology and symbolism, no less) when its appropriate to talk about how blood sacrifice is wrong, barbaric, and led to the destruction of their civilizations. Even though this is a dated work, I still prefer a certain level of respect and unbiased writing in an scientist's account of their subject.

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is perhaps the most well written of the Hamlyn books I've read, and the author comes across as more of an expert than the others. Like the Egyptian one, this book had a thesis geared to dispelling popular misconceptions about the myth at hand: that Mexican theology was not centered around subjugation and the sacrifice of human hearts, but that such things came later with the Aztec conquest; before then, the Nahua and Mayan religions emphasized the self-sacrifice of the humble and the victory of the spiritual over the material or base urges. Unlike the Egyptian book, this one made a good case for the thesis, although Nicholson tends to over-explicate the various symbols in the myths to the point of stretching credibility. Other than its main thrust, the most interesting aspect of the book was its bewildering presentation of the amazingly accurate and complex Maya and Aztec calendar.

[SmokingMirror · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would hope this book is true: that the Nahua religion contained a deeply mystical aspect apart from, but perhaps induced by, the strict rituals, and that some, or many, aspired to Omoteotl, a divine reality beyond the system of gods and blood sacrifice. Unfortunately, the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs indicates that war and sacrifice were a historical commonplace throughout Mesoamerica, not the decadent aberration Ms. Nicholson depicts it as being. Could not the two--the reaching out for divinity and the constant warfare and bloodshed--coexist as two extremes, both sublime and degrading?

The photos and reproductions from the codices are wonderful, for the most part not the same old images shown in every survey study.

Well worth reading, if only as a contrast with more timid and disengaged presentations of Aztec (mostly) mythology.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it. Mesoamerican mythology is confusing and contradictory (and the layout of this book does little to aid understanding), and Nicholson does their best to present it. The photography in this book is of less well known works of the Mexica and Maya, and the author's passion is plainly visible. I'm still hungry for more, but great read!