Aztec homosexuality: the textual evidence.
Male and female homosexuality among the Aztecs during the period immediately prior to the Spanish Conquest has been studied infrequently, even though a Nahuatl document, the Florentine Codex, written shortly after the Spanish Conquest, contains a number of texts on the subject. The Florentine Codex has been translated into English; however, the translators use biased and erroneous translations in the sections of the manuscript which mention homosexuality, and the actual meaning is unavailable to anyone who does not know Nahuatl. This paper is a new translation and an introductory study of the available texts on homosexuality in the Florentine Codex. The attitudes of the Aztecs toward homosexual men and women can be inferred from these texts, and there are tantalizing fragments which given an indication of how homosexuality fit into Aztec society.
Kimball
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Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118.
D005260:Female; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D007197:Indians, Central American / Q000266:history*; D008297:Male; D008373:Manuscripts as Topic / Q000266:history*; D008800:Mexico