Laughing Flower : The Symbolism of Creativity in the Aztec Religion

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  • 花は笑う : アステカ人の宗教における創造のシンボリズム
  • ハナ ワ ワラウ : アステカジン ノ シュウキョウ ニ オケル ソウゾウ ノ シンボリズム

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In ancient Mexico (Mesoamerica), where a series of great civilizations such as the Aztec and the Maya flourished before the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century, the flower was one of the most distinguished religious symbols. It represented Tamoanchan, the mythical place of origin. While there exist several studies that refer to the cultural significance of the flower in Mesoamerica, they have hardly paid enough attention to the fact that the theme of the flower is intimately related to that of "laughter." I realized this through examining some Spanish and Nahuatl (the ancient Aztec language) documents from around the 16th century and archaeological materials. In this essay I present some examples from religious poems and mythologies of ancient Mexico which show the remarkable relationship between the flower and laughter. Then, to inquire further into the religious meaning of laughter for the Aztecs, I refer to modern mythologies of the Mexican indigenous groups (documented in the early and mid-20th century) and show that the theme of laughter was, just as that of the flower, one of the important cosmogonic symbols in the Aztec religious tradition.

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