Jessica's History 465 Blog 2010-02-08 13:32:00

The “Congratulations to a Married Couple” written by Tetzcoco nobles shows both the influence of the Spanish and the heritage of the Nahua people. The intent was to standardize the expectations of people who considered themselves nobility. Part of this process involved the idealization of traditional pagan systems, but these were now combined with the value system of the Franciscan monks and the Spanish nobles who were beginning to influence the Nahua. Both the native and Spanish nobility felt that they were united by class similarities, so they were willing to modify elements of their cultures so that they could form mutually beneficial relationships.

One recurring element in the text is references to the God of the Catholic Spanish, as well as the Holy Mother and the sacraments. Though the Nahua had their own deities prior to the arrival of the Spanish, they were largely able to adapt their own systems of worship to the Catholic system in order to please the Franciscan monks and conquistadors. This made religion another unifying factor for the nobles, and this dialogue uses such imagery in order to emphasize the uniformity of the blended society.

The groom is encouraged to work on the provisions needed in the household and to constantly be alert to the needs of those around him. Even as he sleeps he is charged with protecting his family at all costs and ensuring their happiness. This responsibility is similar to the traditional roles of Nahua men. Going to war to gain worth and glory was the way they supported their families and their standing in the community. Even though the Spanish discouraged war and many of the blood sacrifices that followed the capture of prisoners, the Nahua retained the symbolic nature of their gender roles.

The bride’s advice is to work tirelessly in the home to keep it clean and hospitable for her family and community. She is also responsible for the food and drink that anyone in the household needs, as well as the duties of spinning and weaving. These had been women’s responsibilities throughout Nahua history, and while the Spanish usually thought of these jobs as acts of servitude performed by women as weaker creatures, the natives saw them as a way for women to wage their own war against chaos and evil spirits. So the translation of a similar worldview was not always based on the same motivations, but allowed the two cultures to merge.

One important thing to keep in mind about these dialogues is that they were a guideline for a new noble culture. Those who wrote them were hoping to unite the Spanish and Nahua nobility to increase their own power and avoid serious conflict with the newcomers. This does not mean, however, that all of the natives agreed with these new principles. They were merely an ideal guideline for interactions based on the ancient structures of Nahua society and the traditional ideals of the colonizing Spanish. But they do show how the colonial society developed in ancient Mexican cultures and the effect the changes had on the native peoples.