FRANCISCO LOPEZ DE GOMARA
(1511-1566?)
GOMARA was Hernan Cortes personal chaplain in later life
and was never in the Americas, he wrote his own Spanish account of the invasion.
Many people that the words actually belong to Cortes and that Gomora wrote it out for
him
It is because of his book that BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO wrote his book
as he felt that Gomora was showing Cortes in a positive light.
Gomara has suffered from the reputation of having lied. Bernal Diaz
in writing his "True History" constantly berated him. Only in recent
years has it been shown that Diaz himself was writing more of a Relation
de Servictos than a precisely accurate account. As Diaz's own inflated
reputation for strict veracity has declined, G6mara's has ascended.
Since Gomara was Cortes's own personal chaplain after about 1540, it
has been thought his information concerning the conquest came largely
from the conqueror himself.
In describing the festival dances, Motolinia's
description of which has already been given, Gomara said:
"Another pastime of Moctezumas much enjoyed by the court and even by the whole city
(because it was very good, long drawn out, and open to the public), was a dance performed
after he had dined either at his command or voluntarily by the townspeople
for his service and pleasure.
It was called netotelixtli, a dance of rejoicing and
merriment, and was performed in the following manner:
Long before it began, a large mat was spread in the courtyard and upon it two drums
were placed, a large one called a teponaztli, made of a single piece of wood, very well
carved, hollow, but without a skin or parchment head, although it is played with
drumsticks like our own.
The other is a very large, tall, round, and thick, like our drums, hollow, carved, and
painted. Over one end a tanned deerskin is very tightly stretched: the more tightly, the
higher the tone; the more loosely, the lower.
(Huehuetl)
It is played with the hands, without sticks, and has a deep bass tone.
These two drums, accompanied by voiced (although these are not very good) are loud
and not at all ill sounding. The songs are joyful and merry, or they are ballads in praise
of past kings, reciting their wars, victories, deeds and the like.
It is all done in rhyme and has a very pleasing effect.
When the time comes to start, eight or more men whistle very loudly and beat the
drums softly, Then the dancers come on, dressed in rich mantles woven of many colors,
white, red, green, and yellow; in their hands bunches of roses or plumes, or fans of
feathers and gold. Many carry wreaths of flowers, very fragrant; others wear feather caps
or masks made to represent the heads of eagles, tigers, alligators, and other wild beasts.
At times there are as many as a thousand dancers, or at least four hundred, all of them
noble and important persons, and even lords, the greater and higher they are, the more
closely do they gather around the drums.
(The dance is not done by "the people" but only by the nobles and/or important
persons, and the greater and higher the more closely are they to the drums)
They dance in rings, their hands joined, one ring within the other. They are led by two
agile and skillful dancers, and all obey these two leaders: if the leaders sing, the whole
chorus responds, sometimes more, sometimes less, just as is done here and elsewhere.
Everyone follows the times et by the leaders, save only the outer ranks, which, because
they are so far away and so many, must dance twice as fast as the others and work twice
as hard. Nevertheless, all of them raise and lower their arms, their bodies or their heads
along, at the same moment. It is done with no little grace and with such feeling for unity
that no one gets out of step. So wildly, do they dance, indeed, that it is quite amazing.
At the beginning the dancers sing ballads and move slowly, playing singing and dancing
quietly and with much gravity; but as they get warmer they sing popular ditties and gay songs,
the dance is livelier, and they move quickly and vigorously.
(He states that the dancers sing the songs, not singers.)
Since the dance lasts a long while, they get thirsty, and drink from mugs and pitchers
served them by cupbearers. At times also the buffoons come out, mimicking the other
peoples in dress and speech, playing the drunk, the fool, or the old woman, to the vast
entertainment of the spectators.
Everyone who has seen this dance says it is a fine thing to watch, better than the zambra
of the Moors, which is the best dance we know here. It is much better when performed
by women then by men, but in Mexico women do not dance it in public. "
QUESTION:
if the women do not dance in public where did he see them dance?
was it only for Moctezuma in his palaces or ????)
and yet another passage
"More then six hundred, (some say more than a thousand) gentlemen, and even several
lords, assembled in the yard of the main temple, where that night they made a great
hubbub with their drums, conches, trumpets, and bone fifes, which emit a loud whistle,
They were naked, but covered with precious stones, pearls, necklaces, belts, bracelets,
jewels of gold, silver and mother of pearl, wearing many rich plumes on their heads
They performed the dance called macehualixtli, which means "reward through
work" (from macehualli, a farmer) This dances is like the netotelixtli that I have
described, in which they spread mats in the temple yard and places drums upon them.
They danced in rings, grasping hands, to the music of the singers, to which they
responded. The songs were sacred, not profane, and were sung to praise the god whose
feast we being celebrated, to induce him to give them water for grain, health or victory,
or to thank him for giving them peace, children, health and the like.
Those who knew the language and these ceremonial rites said that , when the people
danced in the temple (on this occasion, they performed very differently from those who
danced the netotelixtli, in voice, movement of the body, head, arms, and feet, by which
they manifest their concepts of good and evil. The Spaniards called this dance an arjeto,
a word the brought from the islands of Cuba and Santa Domingo."
(1511-1566?)
GOMARA was Hernan Cortes personal chaplain in later life
and was never in the Americas, he wrote his own Spanish account of the invasion.
Many people that the words actually belong to Cortes and that Gomora wrote it out for
him
It is because of his book that BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO wrote his book
as he felt that Gomora was showing Cortes in a positive light.
Gomara has suffered from the reputation of having lied. Bernal Diaz
in writing his "True History" constantly berated him. Only in recent
years has it been shown that Diaz himself was writing more of a Relation
de Servictos than a precisely accurate account. As Diaz's own inflated
reputation for strict veracity has declined, G6mara's has ascended.
Since Gomara was Cortes's own personal chaplain after about 1540, it
has been thought his information concerning the conquest came largely
from the conqueror himself.
In describing the festival dances, Motolinia's
description of which has already been given, Gomara said:
"Another pastime of Moctezumas much enjoyed by the court and even by the whole city
(because it was very good, long drawn out, and open to the public), was a dance performed
after he had dined either at his command or voluntarily by the townspeople
for his service and pleasure.
It was called netotelixtli, a dance of rejoicing and
merriment, and was performed in the following manner:
Long before it began, a large mat was spread in the courtyard and upon it two drums
were placed, a large one called a teponaztli, made of a single piece of wood, very well
carved, hollow, but without a skin or parchment head, although it is played with
drumsticks like our own.
The other is a very large, tall, round, and thick, like our drums, hollow, carved, and
painted. Over one end a tanned deerskin is very tightly stretched: the more tightly, the
higher the tone; the more loosely, the lower.
(Huehuetl)
It is played with the hands, without sticks, and has a deep bass tone.
These two drums, accompanied by voiced (although these are not very good) are loud
and not at all ill sounding. The songs are joyful and merry, or they are ballads in praise
of past kings, reciting their wars, victories, deeds and the like.
It is all done in rhyme and has a very pleasing effect.
When the time comes to start, eight or more men whistle very loudly and beat the
drums softly, Then the dancers come on, dressed in rich mantles woven of many colors,
white, red, green, and yellow; in their hands bunches of roses or plumes, or fans of
feathers and gold. Many carry wreaths of flowers, very fragrant; others wear feather caps
or masks made to represent the heads of eagles, tigers, alligators, and other wild beasts.
At times there are as many as a thousand dancers, or at least four hundred, all of them
noble and important persons, and even lords, the greater and higher they are, the more
closely do they gather around the drums.
(The dance is not done by "the people" but only by the nobles and/or important
persons, and the greater and higher the more closely are they to the drums)
They dance in rings, their hands joined, one ring within the other. They are led by two
agile and skillful dancers, and all obey these two leaders: if the leaders sing, the whole
chorus responds, sometimes more, sometimes less, just as is done here and elsewhere.
Everyone follows the times et by the leaders, save only the outer ranks, which, because
they are so far away and so many, must dance twice as fast as the others and work twice
as hard. Nevertheless, all of them raise and lower their arms, their bodies or their heads
along, at the same moment. It is done with no little grace and with such feeling for unity
that no one gets out of step. So wildly, do they dance, indeed, that it is quite amazing.
At the beginning the dancers sing ballads and move slowly, playing singing and dancing
quietly and with much gravity; but as they get warmer they sing popular ditties and gay songs,
the dance is livelier, and they move quickly and vigorously.
(He states that the dancers sing the songs, not singers.)
Since the dance lasts a long while, they get thirsty, and drink from mugs and pitchers
served them by cupbearers. At times also the buffoons come out, mimicking the other
peoples in dress and speech, playing the drunk, the fool, or the old woman, to the vast
entertainment of the spectators.
Everyone who has seen this dance says it is a fine thing to watch, better than the zambra
of the Moors, which is the best dance we know here. It is much better when performed
by women then by men, but in Mexico women do not dance it in public. "
QUESTION:
if the women do not dance in public where did he see them dance?
was it only for Moctezuma in his palaces or ????)
and yet another passage
"More then six hundred, (some say more than a thousand) gentlemen, and even several
lords, assembled in the yard of the main temple, where that night they made a great
hubbub with their drums, conches, trumpets, and bone fifes, which emit a loud whistle,
They were naked, but covered with precious stones, pearls, necklaces, belts, bracelets,
jewels of gold, silver and mother of pearl, wearing many rich plumes on their heads
They performed the dance called macehualixtli, which means "reward through
work" (from macehualli, a farmer) This dances is like the netotelixtli that I have
described, in which they spread mats in the temple yard and places drums upon them.
They danced in rings, grasping hands, to the music of the singers, to which they
responded. The songs were sacred, not profane, and were sung to praise the god whose
feast we being celebrated, to induce him to give them water for grain, health or victory,
or to thank him for giving them peace, children, health and the like.
Those who knew the language and these ceremonial rites said that , when the people
danced in the temple (on this occasion, they performed very differently from those who
danced the netotelixtli, in voice, movement of the body, head, arms, and feet, by which
they manifest their concepts of good and evil. The Spaniards called this dance an arjeto,
a word the brought from the islands of Cuba and Santa Domingo."