Citlalmachiyotl1

“The Star Sign” is an exquisite example of colonial Nahua literature, one of the pearls
of the erudite vein of native writing created as a result of the dialogue between the
indigenous and European traditions. It has been transcribed, translated and provided
with a rich study by Louise Burkhart, whose expertise and insightful interpretations
have transformed our knowledge of colonial Nahua religiosity and Nahua theater over
the last three decades. T is Epiphany play attests to the vivid and constant reinterpretation of Christianity from the perspective of indigenous cultural traditions and
concepts, as well as to the essential role of theatrical performances for native audiences.
Despite the late date, its language is elegant and traditional, probably the result of
a conscious attempt to retain and continually renew the high speech of the ancestors,
of the sophisticated Nahua culture, the survival of which was becoming more and
more threatened in the increasingly Hispanicized late colonial world.

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