Indian Languages Database
Record Details
Geschichte von Mexico aus spanischen und mexicanischen Geschichschreibern, Handschriften und Gemälden der Indianer zusammengetragen.signifying moral and metaphysical concepti
Leipzig: Schwickertschen Verlage, 1789 [v.2: 1790]
Physical Description: 2 v. : ill., maps ; 23 cm. (8vo) v.1: [2], xv, [1], 638 p., [7] folded leaves of plates; v.2: [6], 610 p., [1] folded leaf of plates
Call number: B789/ C617g
Accession number: 07467
Notes: Contains Nahuatl vocabulary relating to natural history; religious, calendrical, and numerical systems; and abstract concepts.
Natural history vocabulary includes terms for flora, fauna, and minerals (p. 37-125) and “Verzeichniss der vierfüssigen Thiere in Amerika” (v.2, p. 428-443), a list of over 100 animals including many native terms.
Terms for deities, festivals, years, months, and days (v.1, p. 401-407, 411-414, 596-613) are supplemented by related vocabulary in “Erklärung der dunklen Figuren” (v.1, p. 616 [i.e. 614]-623), an exegesis of symbols used for calendar wheels, cities, and kings (illustrated on folded plates 3, 4, 7, and 8 facing v.1, p. 638), and in “Brief des Abts D. Lorenzo Hervas, Verfassers des Werks, Idee des Weltalls, an den Abt Clavigero, über den Mexicanischen Kalender” (v.1, p. 624-634).
“Von den Sprachen der Amerikaner” (v.2, p. 527-535) contains Nahuatl numerical terms and a sample of words for moral and metaphysical concepts, listing over 50 terms in Nahuatl with German equivalents in parallel columns.
“Verzeichniss einiger Europäer und Creolen, die über theologische und moralische Materien in den Neuspanischen Sprachen geschreiben haben” (v.2, p. 550-552) groups authors under 15 language headings: Mexicanischer, Tarascanischen, Mayaischen, Mixe, Kiche, Cakchiquel, Tauramaranischen, Tepehuananischen languages and those of the Otomies, Zapotecas, Mistecas, Totonacas, Populucas, Matlazincas, Huaxtecas; “Schriftsteller die in obigen Sprachen Grammatiken und Wörterbücher verfertigt haben” (v.2, p. 552-553) includes all the same languages with the exception of Kiche.
Chiefly a synthesis derived from other published sources, especially Torquemada. Translated into German from Charles Cullen’s English translation of the original Italian, Storia antica del Messico, first published Cesena, 1780.
To access digital facsimile copy of book, click here.
Languages: Nahuatl
Genre: Vocabulary
Region: Spanish America
