The Legacy of Mesoamerica History and Culture of a Native American Civilization, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 6 INDIGENOUS LITERATURE FROM COLONIAL MESOAMERICA 233

Box 6.1 Codex Borbonicus

One of the earliest colonial codices is the Codex Borbonicus,once thought by some to be pre-
Columbian. Most colonial codices are bound along the left-hand margin like European books,
but the Borbonicusretains the screenfold format. The first part is a 260-day calendar, painted in
a style that is purely pre-Columbian except for the fact that space has been left next to the
painted symbols in order that Spanish glosses may be written in, as they are in some instances
(Figure 6.9).

Figure 6.9 Codex Borbonicus.A page from the 260-day ritual calendar. The water goddess
Chalchiuhtlicue, “She of the Jade Skirt,” presides over the thirteen-day period commencing
with the day One Reed. Reprinted with permission from Codex Borbonicus.Graz, Austria:
Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, 1974, folio 5.
(continued)