They address the current situation of horror stories from pre-Hispanic tradition

The ahuízotl, a strange being that lived in Lake Texcoco, had one hand on its tail with which it dragged whoever it could to the bottom, and then left the corpses on the shore, without nails, hair or eyes.

This history is repeated almost without variations to this day in Querétaro and Puebla, said historian Ignacio de la Garza Gálvez in the conversation. Scary stories from indigenous tradition.

The researcher of Mesoamerican cosmogony said that Brother Bernardino de Sahagún wrote about that creature that caused storms in the lake and drowned the fishermen, faked the voice of a crying child or disguised itself as a woman to attract men.

He added: This story continues to be told, and not only in the central area of ​​Mexico. Looking for examples, I found the story of ahuízotl in a dam in Querétaro. Just as if they had read Sahagún. You can also find in Puebla the anecdote of a child who ran away from home and saw a similar animal near a lake at night; It turns out that there they had found a body without nails or hair.

De la Garza Gálvez explained that fear in pre-Hispanic tradition could cause a person to lose their soul or go crazy; He could even die from this strong impression.

In the Colony, the belief in this evil was incorporated and persists. He added: Today, the beings of the mountain, the goblins, La Llorona and the black charro produce fear; have to do with this great impression.

During the talk, moderated by Hispanicist Justine Monter at the House of Humanities of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the researcher added that a part of the cosmogony of pre-Hispanic peoples survives in modern times through stories about phenomena linked to ancestral divinities.

The modern Cihuacóatl

The specialist addressed ancient myths, such as that of the goddess Cihuacóatl, who was transformed into the modern Llorona; the recurring manifestations of the god Tezcatlipoca, as a coyote, mortuary bundle, whimpering child or fleshless skull that chases people, as well as that of the nahuales and stories about the dead that are present.

The teacher in Mesoamerican studies said that the word astonishment It has to do with shocking or very frightening encounters linked to the divine, which they knew as teotl, a Nahuatl concept without translation into Spanish.

Ignacio de la Garza said that he was cured of fear in various ways; Some ways to restore the soul involved rituals with water or chili. The healer has to go to the place of the impression, speak to the entities that retain the souls, the famous chaneques, to restore them..

Representation of the story of the ahuízotl in the ‘Florentine Codex’. The strange dog-shaped being lived in Lake Texcoco, it had one hand on its tail with which it dragged whoever it could to the bottom and then left the corpses on the shore, without nails, hair or eyes.

Tezcatlipoca, the appeared god

The historian said that the Day of the Dead is a European holiday, but the indigenous people began to do it the way they celebrated their dead, and there were not enough friars to tell them that it was not like that and that the offerings did not have to be so many..

Lower class Spaniards ended up adopting some of these beliefs and were denounced before the Inquisition for believe in superstitions, such as that the owl’s song announced death or in nahuals.

He explained that one of the first to write these stories was the missionary Friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Among them, that Tezcatlipoca could appear to people on lonely roads in the form of a headless man with his chest open, known as the night ax. This god could make himself visible to test people’s bravery, to avoid danger or simply to mock them.

De la Garza Gálvez explained that in the Mesoamerican world what the natural and the supernatural implied were very different. “At night, and in places where the patron gods were not, apparitions occurred, and the gods did whatever they wanted. Animals could even talk and scare people. It’s where the dead can come out.

“Already in pre-Hispanic times it was believed that the deceased lived with people. One died and became something else. Humanity had been created to work. The cosmos and everything that existed were dead gods that had been transformed.

The dead became teotl; They had to continue working, often in the shape of animals, like ants, skunks or owls. These were servants of the lords of the dead, and one of their jobs was to notify of another death.

Ignacio de la Garza Gálvez concluded that these narrative models are still valid and it is still said that the dead can make the living sick and that we live with them. Therefore, these stories continue to be updated.