Live dancing

For the Aztecs, living was dancing. Like many other Amerindian peoples, dance was an essential activity in their life as individuals and as a community. With great frequency they danced either to rehearse, either for personal reasons or because they were participating in a public ceremony. If one reviews the descriptions made by the missionary friars of the 16th century about the festive ceremonies that they had throughout the year, one will realize that there was not a single one in which they did not dance. The painted representations of dances in the Tovar and Durán codices also show the importance that this activity had among the inhabitants of Anahuac.

For the Aztecs, Huehuecóyotl, the “old coyote”, was the patron god of dance, song and the arts. Although playful and seductive, he guided men and women in the series of movements that they executed to the sound of the vertical drum. huéhuetl (made of a wooden log and covered with a leather) and of the horizontal wooden drum, teponaxtle . The ancient Nahuas had a very particular fondness for dance. It is no coincidence that their ancestors – who had the character of gods, men and priests at the same time – were generally represented in the Codices dancing. They are shown in motion, in balance, with one foot on the floor. The bodily movement of the gods certainly repeated the magical dance of the universe. Indeed, if one observes the different positions that the planets occupy in the celestial vault during the year, as well as their movements among themselves, one will be able to notice a majestic dance performed with a perfect compass. What appears slow from Earth is actually extremely fast.

huehuecoyotl-aztec-dance

Dance, as practiced by the Aztecs, was an exercise  Endurance physique that required discipline, strength, and flexibility. The trunk of the dancers was straight but not rigid, like a tree of life with its roots well planted in the ground and the top of its branches in the sky. His arms were close to the body and his forearms were horizontal with his fists clenched. The movements of his legs were elevations of the knees to the height of the hips, with a cadence that used to vary in the same dance. The dancers learned to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth in order to prolong their effort and limit their fatigue. His whole body was in motion. The dances lasted long hours and even whole days. His bare feet kept hitting the floor hard to get the attention of Tlaltecuhtli , Mother Earth, and request her intercession.

They were aware of the meaning of each sequence of movement. Likewise, they lent their body to give life to specific combinations of numbers, of hits on the floor, of advances and retreats, turns, jumps … Each number, be it 4, 7, 9, 12 or 13 had a high symbolic value. Dance was the mathematical language of the cosmos.   The four elements were omnipresent. The serpentine movement made reference to the earth, the zigzag represented the water, the flights in the air to the wind, moving forward and backward fueled the fire. In addition, they integrated the cardinal directions in their choreography. In fact, the relative position of the dancers in the squares where they performed reproduced the cosmic order. They turned and bowed first to the East – the direction in which the sun appears – then counterclockwise, then North, West, and finally South. In this way, the Aztecs sought to stop the celestial movement of the stars that could destroy the Fifth Sun and, therefore, destroy all humanity once again.

Aztec-musicians-dancers

It is important to know that all the dances with a sacred character were prayers directed, ultimately, to God. These dances of merit were called macehualiztli , while the profane dances had the name of netotiliztli . In any case, faith was the engine that animated the dancers when they performed a piece in a festive ceremony. They knew of the extraordinary power that dance had, especially when there were several thousand who performed it to the beat. They mobilized an incredible force, in addition to being an extraordinary sound and visual spectacle.

In their dances, each person had their colorful and comfortable attire, as well as their plume, which indicated their rank. Aztec warriors did not bring weapons when they danced, but hand rattles ayacaxtli Y chachayotes tied at the ankles. Their dances were not to attack someone outside, much less fight each other. For this reason, the vile Pedro de Alvarado and his men could cowardly massacre thousands of dancers who performed dances in honor of Huitzilopochtli -god of war- in the Greater Temple, because none of them were armed. For the Aztecs, dancing was a way to reaffirm their faith and show the Creator of all things how much they loved him. Fasting, praying, dancing, and offering his blood were closely linked activities.

Aztec-dancing-plumes

It is also important to know that at school cuicacalli , young people of both sexes learned by heart and rehearsed these beautiful choreographies. In cuicatl in xochitl (“the song and the flower”) were called these artistic activities of first importance for the Aztec people. Dancing was not an activity reserved for the nobles, but rather everyone, men, women of all socioeconomic conditions, practiced it. Moreover, those who sold themselves as slaves in the markets taught their ability as a dancer to seduce potential buyers. In general, dance was highly valued among the Aztecs and, more widely, among all ancient peoples. For them, dancing was celebrating life.

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