Abstract

BRODA, Johanna. The Festival of Atlcahualo and the Ritual Landscapes of the Valley of Mexico. Trace (Méx. DF) [online]. 2019, n.75, pp.9-45. ISSN 2007-2392.

Summary: This article begins by remembering Michel Graulich, with whom I shared the interest in studying the festivals of the Mexica calendar. This contribution picks up on the results of numerous research studies conducted on Mexica festivals of the rain gods and the sources from the sixteenth century that provide detailed information on the rituals held in the Valley area. One of the most interesting aspects of these was the sacrifice of children in the dry season to summon the rains. The exact sites where these sacrifices took place were recorded by making field trips in the Valley. Here, it was discovered that these rituals formed a cosmogram of the bearings of the universe and were linked to calendar registrations and astronomical observations; i.e.; they were based on the geographical and climatic conditions in the Valley during the Mexica era.

Keywords : Atlcahualo; twenty-day cycles; ritual landscapes; Valley of Mexico; Mexica calendar.