Náhuatl Stories: Indigenous Tales from Mexico

by Pablo González Casanova, Desiree Gezentsvey (Translator)

Náhuatl Stories is the first English translation of one of Mexican literature’s classics. The Nahuas—backbone of the Aztec empire—were the pre-Hispanic indigenous people of central Mexico and the Náhuatl literature presented in this collection conveys the customs, traditions, rituals, and beliefs of a culture with a very complex sociopolitical structure. Their cosmology sees gods, human beings, and nature coexisting and interacting on a daily basis. Today, more than 1.5 million people still speak Náhuatl, the second most widely spoken language in Mexico after Spanish, but it is largely underrepresented in literature. These 14 stories were first collected by Pablo González Casanova in 1946, and this unique new edition presents the English translations facing the original Náhuatl texts and includes the author’s introduction as well as an introduction by Miguel León-Portilla, an authority on Nahuatl history and literature.

Genres: Anthropology, Short Stories

143 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2001

Reviews

[Lenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuentos náhuatl que Pablo González Casanova se encargó de recopilar y traducir. Se leen rápido y lo mejor, se encuentran gratis en la página de la UNAM.

—Qué, buen hombre, ¿no sabes que un bien con un mal se paga?

[Julián Maldonado Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

«—¿Cómo te va, buen lobo?
—¿Y tú cómo amaneciste, zorro?
—¿Qué andas buscando por aquí?
—Aquí estoy descansando a la sombra de este arbolito.
—Ahora veo, pues, que mi mamá no tenía por qué decirme mal de usted.
Le pregunta:
—¿Qué te dijo? ¿Habló de mí?
—Que no me acercara junto al lobo, que era muy malo y me devoraría.»

Pablo González Casanova, Cuentos indígenas

[Birch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb