Interested in the Indigenous cultures of Mexico?
The British Museum is offering a series of online events as a commemoration to the 500 years that have passed since the Aztecs were beseiged by conquerors from Spain.
This co-curated series of events conveys a frame of reference from Mesoamerican cultures. The relevance of the fall of the empire is portrayed in contemporary themes.
The Mixtec, Nahua and Mayan regions and cultures were significantly damaged by the European conquest. These events seek to decolonize the quincentenary invasion of Mesoamerica and promote the importance of including descendent communities in studies of their Indigenous heritage is promoted in this series of events.
Also covered in the series are features from corresponding segments of Mesoamerica.
Contemporary academic and creative Mixtec, Nahua and Maya interpretations are presented by Indigenous academics, historians and experts.
The presenters use contemporary Indigenous languages, and their academic knowledge to portray new interpretations of codices, pictorial manuscripts and glyphic inscriptions from the collection.
An important historical manuscript is a codex. A codex is a painted pictorial history of indigenous people (mainly Mexico). It may or may not have printed text and/or recorded names and may have origins from the Mixtec, Nahua or Maya.
Photo of Chantepew contemporary images: see Chan Tepew – Inicio | Facebook
As a plus, the lectures and presentations are in Indigenous languages, Spanish and English and include live translation and closed captioning.
The week includes the following:
- Wednesday, June 23 Maya Region
- Thursday, June 24 Maya and Nahatl Region
- Friday, June 25 Nahuatl and Hñähñu Region
The full series can be viewed on the British Museum link: Ancient writing, contemporary voices | British Museum
In order to attend and secure a slot, you can register via the site booking link.
