Codex Borgia
Encyclopedia
The Codex Borgia is a Mesoamerica
n ritual and divinatory manuscript
. It is generally believed to have been written before the Spanish conquest of Mexico
, somewhere within what is now today southern or western Puebla
. The Codex Borgia is a member of, and gives its name to, the Borgia Group
of manuscripts.
The codex is made of animal skins folded into 39 sheets. Each sheet is a square 27 cm by 27 cm (11x11 inches), for a total length of nearly 11 meters (35 feet). All but the end sheets are painted on both sides, providing 76 pages. The codex is read from right to left.
The Codex Borgia is named after the Italian Cardinal Stefano Borgia
, who owned it before it was acquired by the Vatican Library
. In 2004 Maarten Jansen
and Gabina Aurora Pérez Jiménez proposed that it be given the indigenous name Codex Yoalli Ehecatl, Nahuatl for "Night and Wind", although it is not certain that its creators were Nahuas.
among the effects of Cardinal Stefano Borgia. The Codex Borgia is presently housed in the Apostolic Library, the Vatican
.
(day sign), each trecena
of 13 signs forming a horizontal row spanning two pages. Certain days are marked with a footprint
symbol. Divinatory
symbols are placed above and below the day signs.
Sections parallel to this are contained in the first eight pages of the Codex Cospi
and the Codex Vaticanus B
. However, while the Codex Borgia is read from right to left, these codices are read from left to right. Additionally, the Codex Cospi includes the Lords of the Night
alongside the day signs.
Page 14 is divided into nine sections for each of the nine Lords of the Night
. They are accompanied by a day sign and symbols indicating positive or negative associations.
. Each of the twenty sections contains four day signs.
The bottom section of page 17 contains a large depiction of Tezcatlipoca
, with day signs associated with different parts of his body.
-- as a personification of Venus
-- through the underworld, to a "cosmic narrative of creation". The sequence apparently ends with a New Fire ceremony, marking the end of one 52-year cycle, and the start of another.
, the sun god, receiving blood from a decapitated bird. Surrounding the scene are the thirteen Birds of the Day, corresponding to each of the thirteen days of a trecena. Page 72 depicts four deities with day signs connected to parts of their bodies. Each deity is surrounded by a serpent. Page 73 depicts the gods Mictlantecuhtli
and Quetzalcoatl
seated back to back, similar to page 56. They likewise have day signs attached to various parts of their bodies, and the entire scene is encircled by day signs.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n ritual and divinatory manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
. It is generally believed to have been written before the Spanish conquest of Mexico
Spanish conquest of Mexico
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The invasion began in February 1519 and was acclaimed victorious on August 13, 1521, by a coalition army of Spanish conquistadors and Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés...
, somewhere within what is now today southern or western Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
. The Codex Borgia is a member of, and gives its name to, the Borgia Group
Borgia Group
The Borgia Group is the designation given by scholars to a number of mostly pre-Columbian documents from central Mexico, first identified by Eduard Seler. They are distinguished by their religious content, while the pre-Columbian codices of the Mixtec group are principally historical...
of manuscripts.
The codex is made of animal skins folded into 39 sheets. Each sheet is a square 27 cm by 27 cm (11x11 inches), for a total length of nearly 11 meters (35 feet). All but the end sheets are painted on both sides, providing 76 pages. The codex is read from right to left.
The Codex Borgia is named after the Italian Cardinal Stefano Borgia
Stefano Borgia
The Most Rev. Dr. Stefano Cardinal Borgia was a senior Italian prelate, theologian, antiquarian and historian.Cardinal Borgia belonged to a well known family of Velletri, where he was born, and was a distant relative of the House of Borgia. His early education was controlled by his uncle...
, who owned it before it was acquired by the Vatican Library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
. In 2004 Maarten Jansen
Maarten Jansen
Prof. Dr. Maarten Evert Reinoud Gerard Nicolaas Jansen is a Dutch academic and professor of Mesoamerican archaeology and history. As of 2007 Jansen holds the position of Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University, Netherlands...
and Gabina Aurora Pérez Jiménez proposed that it be given the indigenous name Codex Yoalli Ehecatl, Nahuatl for "Night and Wind", although it is not certain that its creators were Nahuas.
History
The Codex Borgia was brought to Europe, likely Italy, some time in the early Spanish Colonial period. It was discovered in 1805 by Alexander von HumboldtAlexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
among the effects of Cardinal Stefano Borgia. The Codex Borgia is presently housed in the Apostolic Library, the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
1–8
The first eight pages list the 260 day signs of the tonalpohualliTonalpohualli
The tonalpohualli, a Nahuatl word meaning "count of days", is a 260-day sacred period in use in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, especially among the Aztecs. This calendrical period is neither solar nor lunar, but rather consists of 20 trecena, or 13-day periods...
(day sign), each trecena
Trecena
A trecena is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The 260-day calendar was divided into 20 trecenas. Trecena is derived from the Spanish chroniclers and translates to 'a group of thirteen' in the same way that a dozen relates to the number twelve...
of 13 signs forming a horizontal row spanning two pages. Certain days are marked with a footprint
Footprint
Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes...
symbol. Divinatory
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
symbols are placed above and below the day signs.
Sections parallel to this are contained in the first eight pages of the Codex Cospi
Codex Cospi
The Codex Cospi is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican pictorial manuscript, included in the Borgia Group. It is currently located in the library of the University of Bologna....
and the Codex Vaticanus B
Codex Vaticanus B
Codex Vaticanus B, also known as Codex Vaticanus 3773, is an Aztec ritual and divinatory document. It is a member of the Borgia Group of manuscripts. It contains 49 leaves, 48 of them are painted on both sides.- History :...
. However, while the Codex Borgia is read from right to left, these codices are read from left to right. Additionally, the Codex Cospi includes the Lords of the Night
Lords of the Night
In Mesoamerican calendars, the Lords of the Night are a set of nine gods that ruled over a particular night. They were cyclical, so that same god recurred every nine nights.In the Aztec calendar, the Lords of the night are...
alongside the day signs.
9–14
Pages 9 to 13 are divided into four quarters. Each quarter contains one of the twenty day signs, its patron deity, and associated symbols.Page 14 is divided into nine sections for each of the nine Lords of the Night
Lords of the Night
In Mesoamerican calendars, the Lords of the Night are a set of nine gods that ruled over a particular night. They were cyclical, so that same god recurred every nine nights.In the Aztec calendar, the Lords of the night are...
. They are accompanied by a day sign and symbols indicating positive or negative associations.
15–17
Pages 15 to 17 depict deities associated with childbirthChildbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. Each of the twenty sections contains four day signs.
The bottom section of page 17 contains a large depiction of Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. One of the four sons of Ometeotl, he is associated with a wide range of concepts, including the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty,...
, with day signs associated with different parts of his body.
29–46
Pages 29 through 46 of the codex constitute the longest section of the codex, and the most enigmatic. They apparently show a journey but the complex iconography and the lack of any comparable document have led to a variety of interpretations ranging from an account of actual historical events, to the passage of QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
-- as a personification of Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
-- through the underworld, to a "cosmic narrative of creation". The sequence apparently ends with a New Fire ceremony, marking the end of one 52-year cycle, and the start of another.
47–56
Pages 47 through 56 show a variety of deities, sacrifices, and other complex iconography.57–60
Pages 57 through 60 allowed the priest to determine the prospects for favorable and unfavorable marriages according to the numbers within the couple’s names.61–70
Pages 61 through 70 are similar to the first section, showing various day signs winding around scenes of deities. Each of the 10 pages shows 26 day signs.71–76
Page 71 depicts TonatiuhTonatiuh
In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky...
, the sun god, receiving blood from a decapitated bird. Surrounding the scene are the thirteen Birds of the Day, corresponding to each of the thirteen days of a trecena. Page 72 depicts four deities with day signs connected to parts of their bodies. Each deity is surrounded by a serpent. Page 73 depicts the gods Mictlantecuhtli
Mictlantecuhtli
Mictlantecuhtli , in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan , the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He was one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and was the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld...
and Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
seated back to back, similar to page 56. They likewise have day signs attached to various parts of their bodies, and the entire scene is encircled by day signs.