Codex Borgia

The Aztec Codices were books written by the Aztecs before the European arrival, and some even during the colonial era. Before the arrival of Europe, these books were mainly pictograms, not meant to actually represent a spoken language. During the colonial era though, many books were developed with pictograms, the Nahuatl language using the Latin alphabet, and even Spanish.



These books were created with deer skin or bark paper, as a collection of folded screens (Coe, and Koontz, 2008, pg. 211) and painted using mineral and vegetable pigments. The books were designed to be read in a continuous fashion from right to left (Díaz, Rodgers, Byland, 1993, pg. xiii). These books were kept in temples, seminaries, and state archives. The books contained information regarding history, economic accounts, maps, calendars, and legends. Sadly, not many of these books have survived. During the Conquest, Franciscan friars began a massive book burning.

The Codex Borgia is considered to be one of the most beautiful Pre-Columbian codices. The majority of the book is dedicated to the 260 day calendar, and the various ceremonies and celebrations associated to the days. The book also depicts many Mesoamerican deities, rituals, and divination. While only a portion of the book is understood, it is safe to say that it is a ritual book, used like a reference guide for ceremonies and other rituals.

The original Codex Borgia resides in the Apostolic Library of the Vatican. The codex is believed to have been made in the central highlands of Mexico, right before the arrival of the Spanish. After being taken back to Europe, the codex's travels are unknown until about the 18th century. In 1805, Alexander von Humboldt discovered the codex in the belongings of the recently passed Cardinal Stefano Borgia. The Cardinal aquired the book from his neighboring family the Giustinianis, who had it for some time. During their ownership of the book, they entrusted it in the hands of their servants who gave it to their children as a play toy, mistreating it, and even burning portions of it. After much legal wrangling, the book finally found its way into the Vatican Archives where it remains today (Díaz, Rodgers, Byland, 1993, pg. xiv).

The First Ten Pages of the Codex Borgia:

These first eight pages depict the 250-Day ritual calendar, known as tonalpohualli, the book of the days:

After page eight, th next four pages depict the 20 deities of the 20 named days, four to each page. Each quarter of the page depicts the Deity, an eloborate Day Sign, and another figure or group of figured along side. The deities and the day signs have direct association with one another, but at times its difficult to understand the connection.