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Aztec Religion and Art of Writing
Investigating Embodied Meaning, Indigenous Semiotics, and the Nahua Sense of Reality
Series: - Numen Book Series, Volume: 161
Author:
Winner of the 2020 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Historical Studies
In her groundbreaking investigation from the perspective of the aesthetics of religion, Isabel Laack explores the religion and art of writing of the pre-Hispanic Aztecs of Mexico. Inspired by postcolonial approaches, she reveals Eurocentric biases in academic representations of Aztec cosmovision, ontology, epistemology, ritual, aesthetics, and the writing system to provide a powerful interpretation of the Nahua sense of reality.
Laack transcends the concept of âsacred scriptureâ traditionally employed in religions studies in order to reconstruct the Indigenous semiotic theory and to reveal how Aztec pictography can express complex aspects of embodied meaning. Her study offers an innovative approach to nonphonographic semiotic systems, as created in many world cultures, and expands our understanding of human recorded visual communication.
This book will be essential reading for scholars and readers interested in the history of religions, Mesoamerican studies, and the ancient civilizations of the Americas.
"This excellent book, written with intellectual courage and critical self-awareness, is a brilliant, multilayered thought experiment into the images and stories that made up the Nahua sense of reality as woven into their sensational ritual performances and colorful symbolic writing system." - DavÃd Carrasco, Harvard University
In her groundbreaking investigation from the perspective of the aesthetics of religion, Isabel Laack explores the religion and art of writing of the pre-Hispanic Aztecs of Mexico. Inspired by postcolonial approaches, she reveals Eurocentric biases in academic representations of Aztec cosmovision, ontology, epistemology, ritual, aesthetics, and the writing system to provide a powerful interpretation of the Nahua sense of reality.
Laack transcends the concept of âsacred scriptureâ traditionally employed in religions studies in order to reconstruct the Indigenous semiotic theory and to reveal how Aztec pictography can express complex aspects of embodied meaning. Her study offers an innovative approach to nonphonographic semiotic systems, as created in many world cultures, and expands our understanding of human recorded visual communication.
This book will be essential reading for scholars and readers interested in the history of religions, Mesoamerican studies, and the ancient civilizations of the Americas.
"This excellent book, written with intellectual courage and critical self-awareness, is a brilliant, multilayered thought experiment into the images and stories that made up the Nahua sense of reality as woven into their sensational ritual performances and colorful symbolic writing system." - DavÃd Carrasco, Harvard University
Dr. Isabel Laack, Privatdozentin at the Institute for the Study of Religion, Heidelberg University, Germany, is the author of Religion und Musik in Glastonbury (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011) as well as numerous articles in the field of the aesthetics of religion.
Isabel Laackâs Aztec Religion and Art of Writing makes an important departure from the way aesthetics, semiotics, and studies of religion have been applied to our understanding of Aztec civilization and culture. Furthermore, by relocating the epicenter of scholarly âgaze,â to religion and regions beyond Christianity and Anglo-American or European contexts, Laack offers an innovative postcolonial aesthetic approach to religion. Laackâs bold methodological departure from her own graduate training provides encouragement for scholars of all stages to chart similar pathways for themselves.
- Jury of the AAR 2020 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Historical Studies.
- Jury of the AAR 2020 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion: Historical Studies.
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Introduction
â1âIntroducing the Subject
â2âIndicating Sociopolitical Relevance
â3âRealizing the Aesthetics of Religion
â4âOutlining the Chapters
1 Methodology
â1âDoing Research in a Postcolonial World
â2âWriting History
â3âClarifying Perspectives and Objectives
â4âSummary
2 Living in Cultural Diversity
â1âDrawing on History
â2âLiving in the Central Highlands
â3âLiving in Religious Diversity
â4âConclusion: Diversity within the Nahua Tradition
3 Living in Relation: Being Human in Tenochtitlan
â1âHow the World Came to Be
â2âHow the Human World Came to Be
â3âHow the Cosmic Dynamics Unfold
â4âLiving in Cosmic Relations
â5âLiving in Social Relations
â6âLiving ProperlyâLiving in Balance
4 A World in Motion: Nahua Ontology
â1âAztec Notions of âDivinityâ
â2âThe Nature of Teotl
â3âTeotlâs Realization: Nahualli and the Layers of Reality
â4âA World in Motion: The Fifth Era
â5âThe Problem of Ephemerality: What Is Really Real?
5 Understanding a World in Motion: Nahua Epistemology
â1âEpistemology
â2âKnowledge Experts: Wise (Wo)Men and Scribes
â2âPeople with Special Insights
â3âThe Inspiration of Knowledge and Its Expression
6 Interacting with a World in Motion: Nahua Pragmatism and Aesthetics
â1âHuman Agency: Seeking Balance
â2âHuman Duties
â3âInteracting with Rituals
â4âInvolving the Senses and Aesthetic Media
â5âThe Concept of the Teixiptla
7 Expressing Reality in Language: Nahua Linguistic Theory
â1âNahua Oral Tradition
â2âReconstructing Nahua Songs
â3âThinking in Nahuatl
â4âNahua Imagery
â5âThe Relationship between the Spoken Sign and Reality in Nahuatl
â6âNahua Imagery and the Problem of Rationality
8 Materializing Reality in Writing: Nahua Pictography
â1âThe History of Writing Systems in Mesoamerica
â2âThe Writing System of the Nahuas
â3âSocial Text Practice
â4âBooks and Authors
â5âNahua Culture between Orality and Literacy
9 Understanding Pictography: Interpreting Nahua Semiotics
â1âThe History of Evaluating Aztec Writing
â2âDifferent Kinds of Meaning and Knowledge
â3âSeeing Reality: Nahua Semiotic Theory
â4âInterpreting Nahua Pictography
10 Interpretative Results: Nahua Religion, Scripture, and Sense of Reality
â1âFrom Religion to Being-in-the-World
â2âFrom Scripture to Semiotics
â3âInterrelationships: Semiotic Theory and Embodied Meaning
Conclusion
References
Index
Plates
Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Introduction
â1âIntroducing the Subject
â2âIndicating Sociopolitical Relevance
â3âRealizing the Aesthetics of Religion
â4âOutlining the Chapters
1 Methodology
â1âDoing Research in a Postcolonial World
â2âWriting History
â3âClarifying Perspectives and Objectives
â4âSummary
2 Living in Cultural Diversity
â1âDrawing on History
â2âLiving in the Central Highlands
â3âLiving in Religious Diversity
â4âConclusion: Diversity within the Nahua Tradition
3 Living in Relation: Being Human in Tenochtitlan
â1âHow the World Came to Be
â2âHow the Human World Came to Be
â3âHow the Cosmic Dynamics Unfold
â4âLiving in Cosmic Relations
â5âLiving in Social Relations
â6âLiving ProperlyâLiving in Balance
4 A World in Motion: Nahua Ontology
â1âAztec Notions of âDivinityâ
â2âThe Nature of Teotl
â3âTeotlâs Realization: Nahualli and the Layers of Reality
â4âA World in Motion: The Fifth Era
â5âThe Problem of Ephemerality: What Is Really Real?
5 Understanding a World in Motion: Nahua Epistemology
â1âEpistemology
â2âKnowledge Experts: Wise (Wo)Men and Scribes
â2âPeople with Special Insights
â3âThe Inspiration of Knowledge and Its Expression
6 Interacting with a World in Motion: Nahua Pragmatism and Aesthetics
â1âHuman Agency: Seeking Balance
â2âHuman Duties
â3âInteracting with Rituals
â4âInvolving the Senses and Aesthetic Media
â5âThe Concept of the Teixiptla
7 Expressing Reality in Language: Nahua Linguistic Theory
â1âNahua Oral Tradition
â2âReconstructing Nahua Songs
â3âThinking in Nahuatl
â4âNahua Imagery
â5âThe Relationship between the Spoken Sign and Reality in Nahuatl
â6âNahua Imagery and the Problem of Rationality
8 Materializing Reality in Writing: Nahua Pictography
â1âThe History of Writing Systems in Mesoamerica
â2âThe Writing System of the Nahuas
â3âSocial Text Practice
â4âBooks and Authors
â5âNahua Culture between Orality and Literacy
9 Understanding Pictography: Interpreting Nahua Semiotics
â1âThe History of Evaluating Aztec Writing
â2âDifferent Kinds of Meaning and Knowledge
â3âSeeing Reality: Nahua Semiotic Theory
â4âInterpreting Nahua Pictography
10 Interpretative Results: Nahua Religion, Scripture, and Sense of Reality
â1âFrom Religion to Being-in-the-World
â2âFrom Scripture to Semiotics
â3âInterrelationships: Semiotic Theory and Embodied Meaning
Conclusion
References
Index
Plates
Scholars, teachers, and readers interested in the history and aesthetics of religion, Mesoamerican studies, anthropology, art history, semiotics, writing theories, embodiment, and the ancient civilizations of the Americas.