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The Return to Coatlicue: Goddesses and Warladies in Mexican Folklore
Folklore yields important information about society and culture, helping to propagate beliefs, morals, and values. The study of Mesoamerican folklore offers a unique opportunity for understanding the religious syncretism occurring when powerful groups colonize others. This work provides insight into a selected number of narratives, rituals, and artifacts originating from pre-Conquest, colonial, and revolutionary periods. The purpose is to disclose issues of militarism, religious syncretism, resistance, and gender relations in Mexican society.
276 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 29, 2018
At the beginning of 2017 I went to Mexico City for a business trip. The day I flew in I went to El Museo Nacional de Antropología, which was the most impactful museum that I have yet visited.
There in the Sala Mexica stood the imposing figure of Coatlicue. I was captivated. I couldn't stop circling around the looming statue. I would go and look at other exhibits and then would return to gaze at Coatlicue.
She left an indelible impression on me and I have been searching for more information and background on the goddess. In that search I picked up Grisel Gómez-Cano's book and I am glad I did. It was a fantastic surprise that not only does it touch on Coatlicue but it is a well-researched book on the evolution of goddess worship, folklore and female power and roles in Mexico. Coatlicue as a syncretic mash-up of various female deities in the area and her continual presence in the Virgin of Guadalupe has left me with much to ponder.
There in the Sala Mexica stood the imposing figure of Coatlicue. I was captivated. I couldn't stop circling around the looming statue. I would go and look at other exhibits and then would return to gaze at Coatlicue.
She left an indelible impression on me and I have been searching for more information and background on the goddess. In that search I picked up Grisel Gómez-Cano's book and I am glad I did. It was a fantastic surprise that not only does it touch on Coatlicue but it is a well-researched book on the evolution of goddess worship, folklore and female power and roles in Mexico. Coatlicue as a syncretic mash-up of various female deities in the area and her continual presence in the Virgin of Guadalupe has left me with much to ponder.
June 14, 2017
This was the first book I've read about pre-conquest Mexico and I quickly recognized that the author subscribes to a binary definition of gender. Because this is my first book on the subject so I cannot comment on the extent of this erasure, however I think it undermines the author's attempts at elucidating the patriarchy in pre- and post-conquest mesoamerica.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews