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Codex Chapman

Tlacametl or Maguey Plant

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Physical Medicine The Nahua civilization were expert on the plants and herbs in the surrounding area. Although there were religious and spiritual components to their healing, there also was a deductive and methodical approach to treatment. Specific plants and herbs were recognized for their abilities in healing, and regimented treatments were passed down, some ending up cataloged in the Florentine Codex for us to analyze. Some of their vast understanding of thousands of plants and herbs and healing teqniques was lost and not all archived. The majority of names for plants only exist once in the Florentine codex and lack context as to what they were and where they came from. With the information we have from the Codex, we are going to start to analyze their medicinal practices in the images depicted, and the way they conducted treatment.
Healers were a respected part of the Nahua community, and their vast knowledge of sicknesses and medicinal treatments allowed them to diagnose and cure a myriad of afflictions. The image to the right depicts the treatment process using an herbal remedy of Coaxoxouhqui powder and water. The healer would have the patient drink the mixture, and it would allow them to identify where the pain was located. This image stands out compared to many of the other pictorial depictions of healing simply because the face of the patient is not seen. This could be a visual cue into the mystery of the sickness. Concealing the face of the individual, it shows that there is information unknown about the affliction as the healer tries to identify.
Tlatlancuayeh was a common treatment for anxiety of the heart, arms that become paralyzed, with a sluggish disposition, whose mouth becomes twisted, and whose legs wobble. From what we can understand from the Nahuatl translation, it could be speculated that this herb was a treatment for a heart attack or something similar. For use, it was recommended to cook the leaves and blossoms and drink and bath in it. It was also a cure for stomach inflammation, pain in the chest, fever, and chills.

Tlatlancuayeh pictured to the right is another example of an image identifying the characteristics of the plant. What is most interesting about these pictorals is that they go under the surface to depict the root of the plant because the root was an important identifier.

Maguey Plant - this plant is referred to many times in the florentine codex and has many uses. Also known as Tlacametl. The honey extracted from this plant is used in many medicines. Maguey leaf was also commonly ground up and mixed with pine resin, which could be applied to a sore to cure gout. The leaves itself were also used as a bandage to help wounds heal faster.

The honey extracted, called pulque, was also mixed with another medicine Chichicpatli (found in the bark of a chichiccuahuitl tree), which could be a cure for chest, belly, or back pain.

The healer is wearing an identifiable white robe while tending to the wound. Based on the cure for this rash, it is likely that the healer is dressing the rash with powdered Tlaquequetzal from the bowl they’re holding. There were two types of rashes that they classified. Tlacazolnanahuatl or filthy pustules, and the second being less severe, called Tecpilnanahuatl or small pustules. Both of these were described as painful and debilitating. However, both types were treated similarly. Cures were to drink an herb called tetlemaitl and then to cover the rash with powdered Tlaquequetzal. After, it is recommended that you drink an infusion of Cuauhtlepatli four to five times a day and take lots of baths.

This image depicts a healer curing a patient suffering from jigger fleas, which would breed on people's backs. Since bathing did not work, it was recommended to put powdered Toa leaves on and into the wound. If the swelling went down, powdered Iztacpatli was placed to heal the wound, followed by green tobacco and hot lime in drop form covered in a Maguey leaf to seal off the wound. The steps to cure are very particular and clearly went through a process of trial and error to get to the treatment that was probably passed down generations to be written and then cataloged in the Florentine codex. This is one of many examples of how thoughtful and regimented Nauha treatments were. Not only did they have specific herbs that they understood would help cure certain sicknesses, but they also had step-by-step guides on treatment, just like you would find online today.
Healers would often use of the maguey leaf or Tlacametl. It could be grilled and boiled with salt, and the juice could be applied to an injured head. This image itself is unique compared to the others on this page because it includes the plant used for the treatment in the pictoral of the treatment being done. The plant in the image is an identifiable Tlacametl plant and would be used for treatment of a head injury shown above. Again the drawing goes slightly below the surface showing us the root of the plant which could maybe mean that the root is an important part of the treatment. Not all pictorals of plants reveal below the surface to show the root. It is often the ones that have an important medicinal value involving the root that then include it in the image.
The Value of Nauha Healing in Society
The scope of their understanding of medicine cannot be shown in this article. In fact, it took Francisco Hernández, who traveled from Spain, to study medicinal herbs in Tenochtitlan, and because of the magnitude of the task was so much that he spent seven years attempting to catalog it all. During his time there, he developed an immense respect and admiration for the Nauha people and their study of medicine. He was quoted as saying, "I marveled, in this and in innumerable other herbs, which are nameless among us, how in the Indies, where people are so uncultured and barbaric, there are so many herbs, some with known uses and some without, but there is almost none, which is not known to them and given a particular name" (Hernández, 425). Clearly cataloging and understanding the world around them was extremely important to Nauha citizens. Motchuzoma the first established one of the first botanical gardens that was used for medical research, as well as a collection of all the different types of plants species. In fact patients were given different herbal remedys on the condition that they would report back on the results of the medicine. Innovating the idea of experimental groups for medicinal research. This allowed for healers to empirically understand the effects of the herbal and plant remedies. Due to this extensive research and established botanical garden Aztec farmers and healers developed a level of understanding and skill that far surpassed any other civilization at the time. Aztec healers were described “Aztec battle surgeons tended their wounded skillfully and that they healed them faster than the Spanish surgeons.” (Torquemada, 325). In fact not only were these remedies effective medical treatment then but modern studies have shown that more than half of the ingredients they used were effective in studies done either in animal trials, clinical trials or use in folk medicine.
The Rediscovery of Nauha Healing
Clearly there needs to be more research put into an in depth understanding of Aztec herbal medicine because it seems we have only scratched the surface of what they discovered thousands of years ago. The most notable catalong Franzisco Hernanzez spent all most 10 years putting together was tragically lost in a fire leaving only one incomplete copy as our only reference of this catalog. However, recently the Mexican government has started to sponsor research into the effectiveness of Aztec Herbal and Plant remedies. It is a type of science called ethnopharmacology that is the study of humankinds use of natural plant materials for medicinal purposes. Through interacting with indigenous healers today and learning about the herbal medicines they prepare and then can bring samples back to a lab to test for effectiveness. A study done at SDSU on specifically 16th century Aztec remedies have found conclusive evidence that the plants used contain “a broad spectrum of activities including…antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic” (Bejar, Reyes-Chilpa et al. 2000). This research is so essential especially because of how under researched and represented Aztec civilization is compared to more western civilizations there is so much we could stand to learn and benefit from their discoveries. This important research could shed some light onto the lost but revolutionary ideas they made. Who knows the impact their discoveries could be for the way that we treat people today. It is unfortunate that their important research was brushed aside for so long when it clearly has stood the test of time.
Work Cited
Burns, Corrinne. Where Aztecs Meet Scientists, February 19, 2009. https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/health/where-aztecs-meet-scientists.

DE ORELLANA, MARGARITA, Paige Mitchell, JULIO GLOCKNER, Clara Marín, MERCEDES DE LA GARZA, ANTONELLA FAGETTI, Karen Cocq, et al. “Sacred PLANTS.” Artes de México, no. 127 (2017): 64–80. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45199020.

Hernández, F. 1959-1984. Obras Completas. 6 vols. México: UNAM.

Ortiz, Bernard. “Aztec Health Section.” Introduction to aztec health. Accessed May 6, 2024. https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/health/.

Torquemada, Friar J de. 1975-1983 [1615]. Monarquía Indiana. M. León Portilla, ed. 7 vols. México: UNAM (1615).

Somolinos d’Ardois, G. 1960. “Vida y obra de Francisco Hernández.” In Hernández Obras Completas, vol.1, 97-440. México: UNAM

Waldstein, Anna, and Cameron Adams. “The Interface between Medical Anthropology and Medical Ethnobiology.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 12 (2006): S95–118. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3803981.