El simbolismo de la "yotextli" en las fiestas del año solar mexica

Abstract

This article analyzes the uses and ritual functions of corn dough – the yotextli – in the cycle of religious festivals organized into eighteen 20-day periods called “veintenas” of the Mexica calendar year. It is known that in ancient Mesoamerican cultures corn did not represent only the basis of daily sustenance, but it was also a key component of their worldview. During these ceremonies this cereal was used as the main offering to the gods in the following form: seasoned tortillas and tamales, cob, grain and dough. The use of yotextli was recorded in specific ritual contexts. For this reason, these particular religious festivals deserve further study. Therefore, in this work we will apply an introductory linguistic approach to the study of this substance. This will be followed by the detailed analysis of the “veintenas” during which the dough was prepared and used. This linguistic approximation will also provide an opportunity to study the symbolism of the presence or absence of the nixtamalización process in the preparation of our food. We will use pictographic sources and we will integrate our colonial data with those of the contemporary ethnographic literature.

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