Both reviled as a traitor and hailed as the mother of Mexico, Malinche is an enigmatic figure whose legacy has been the subject of controversy, legend and adulation from the . Malinche was an enslaved Indigenous girl who served as a translator and cultural interpreter for the Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts, eventually becoming his mistress and the mother of Corts' first-born son. Alfredo Ramos Martinez; La Malinche (Young Girl of Yalala, Oaxaca); c. 1940; oil, canvas; Framed: 1 3/4 x 52 1/4 x 42 1/2 in. (Spanish pronunciation: [mati kotes el mestio]; c. 1523 - c. 1595) was the first-born and illegitimate son of Hernn Corts and La Malinche (doa Marina), the conquistador's . She may also have had very little affection for the society that had allowed her to be enslaved and ruthlessly exploited when she was still a child. [69][85], The Spaniards were received at Cholula and housed for several days. Corts gave Malitzen to one of the noblemen who served under him. They respected and trusted her and portrayed her in this light generations after the Spanish conquest. Her parents named her Malinalli, after the goddess of grass. Her given name was Malinalli, and she was named for the 12 th day of the ancient Mesoamerican calendar. La Malinche was a young Indigenous woman given to the Spanish conquistador Corts as a slave along with 18 other women. accessed 10 June 2019, Hernando Corts on the Web: Malinche / Doa Marina, Making Herself Indispensable, Condemned for Surviving: Doa Marina (Part 1), Making Herself Indispensable, Condemned for Surviving: Doa Marina (Part 2), La Malinche, an ambivalent interpreter from the past, Leyenda y nacionalismo: alegoras de la derrota en La Malinche y Florinda "La Cava", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Malinche&oldid=1148416933, A reference to La Malinche as Marina is made in the novel, La Malinche appears in the adventure novel, Doa Marina appears in the Henry King film adventure, La Malinche is portrayed as a Christian and protector of her fellow native Mexicans in the novel. She had to serve the interests of her master, or risk death at his hands. She uncovered plots to betray the Spanish, giving Corts time to stop them before their enemies did any serious damage. [37][33], Her family is reported to have been of noble background;[37] Gmara writes that her father was related to a local ruler,[38] while Daz recounts that her parents were rulers. [29][d] Records disagree about the exact name of the altepetl where she was born. Delilah Montoya, Codex #2 Delilah: Six Deer: A Journey from Mechica toChicana, 199295. Later Tlaxcalan visual records of this meeting feature Malinche as a prominent figure. But, was she a cunning traitor of her nation or a [2] Corts chose her as a consort, and she later gave birth to his first son, Martn one of the first Mestizos (people of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry) in New Spain.[3]. [7][8][9] The Nahua called her Malintzin, derived from Malina, a Nahuatl rendering of her Spanish name, and the honorific suffix -tzin. A new exhibition asks if the 16th-century Indigenous interpreter was a traitor, survivor or icon. Many painters from that era who painted him almost always showed him with Malinche by his side. [40] Another hint that supports her noble origin is her apparent ability to understand the courtly language of tecpillahtolli (lordly speech), a Nahuatl register that is significantly different from the commoner's speech and has to be learned. Desde la dcada de 1960, movimientos de feministas comenzaron a hacer una revisin de quin fue realmente la Malinche y qu papel jug en la conquista espaola. [78][79], The first major polity that they encountered on the way to Tenochtitlan was Tlaxcala. Cholula had supported Tlaxcala before joining the Aztec Empire one or two years prior, and losing them as an ally had been a severe blow to the Tlaxcalans. La (Doa Marina) Malinche. However, Hernn came to know soon that one of the women that were offered to him, Malinche, was highly skilled in speaking the dialects and languages of almost the entire Mexican region. Scholar Kristina Downs explains in Western Folklore that La Malinche was given to Corts originally as a slave, and there is no indication that their relationship involved love or even enthusiasm. Her father died soon after she was born. It was a very violent history that brought many of those cultures together here in New Mexico, at the same time, where we are trying through exhibitions like this to do the work of acknowledging the violence that happened upon the intersections of those cultures," says Lopez. Spanish conqueror Hernn Corts eyed the vast lands of Mexico and North America and engaged in a battle with the Chontal Maya in April 1519. The term malinchista refers to a disloyal compatriot, especially in Mexico. Another possibility is that the Spaniards simply did not hear the whispered -n of the name Malintzin. Doa Marina La Malinche - her story. Privacy Policy Contact Us In 1519, as Spain began brutally ravaging Mesoamerica, conquistador Hernn Corts encountered the secret weapon who would help seal his victory: La Malinche. [115], Some historians believe that La Malinche saved her people from the Aztecs, who held a hegemony throughout the territory and demanded tribute from its inhabitants. What function does La Malinche serve in Latin American culture? Malinche was not too happy about the entire deal, but she could not do anything to turn it around. Although La Malinche was revered in some Indigenous records, Montoya points out that the Spanish may not have seen her in that light, even as she navigated several languages. La Malinche , the title of this lithograph, was the indigenous woman who translated for Corts between Maya, Nhuatl, and Spanish during his first years in Mexico. [101], Although Martn was Corts's first-born son and eventual heir, his relation to Marina was poorly documented by prominent Spanish historians such as Francisco Lpez de Gmara. During Cortss conquest of the Aztec Empire, Malitzen served at his right hand. She was a Nahuatl woman, born in the actual State of Veracruz. According to firsthand accounts published by Bernal Diaz, one of the Spanish conquistadors who arrived with Cortez and who knew Marina, she was from a minor noble family in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in south-central Mexico. [50] She was later purchased by a group of Chontal Maya who brought her to the town of Potonchn. La Malinche's father died when she was very young. Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts (1485-1547) traveled to Mexico in 1519, where he eventually overthrew the Aztec empire and helped build Mexico City. What part did Malitzen play in the conquest of Mexico? For the conquistadores, having a reliable interpreter was important enough, but there is evidence that Marina's role and influence were larger still. She soon gave birth to Jaramillos daughter, Doa Mara. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization helping the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways. Photography courtesy Denver Art Museum, Bibliothhque Nationale de France, Paris. Thus, she prevented a major bloodshed. How does her myth compare with the facts of her life story? It includes women important to Chicano history such as the Virgin of Guadalupe and ends with a Chicana activist. b. Malinche's birthdate is unknown, but it is estimated to be around 1500, and likely no later than 1505. The story of the enslaved Native woman who acted as the primary interpreter for Hernan Corts during his conquest of the Aztec Empire. Yasmin Khan [12][44] Daz wrote that after her father's death, she was given away to merchants by her mother and stepfather so that their son (Malinche's stepbrother) would have the rights of heir. On [this] and other occasions, La Malinches presence made the decisive difference between life or death, wrote scholar Cordelia Candelaria in the journal Frontiers in 1980. What factors in her life complicate characterizing her as a villain? [26], Malinche's birthdate is unknown,[21] but it is estimated to be around 1500, and likely no later than 1505. (4.4 x 132.7 x 108 cm) 50 x 40 3/8 in. Name: Malintzin, La Malinche and Doa Marina Born: Approx. Malinalli Tenpatl, Malinche, Doa Marina or La Malinche (c.1502 - c.1529) was born in southern Mexico in the present state of Veracruz. She was named Malintzin at birth and she was later recognized as La Malinche. Over the years, historians have carefully studied the first-person accounts written by the soldiers and historians of that era to conclude that she was the real conqueror of Mexico. Several accounts also write about her abilities to negotiate. She was to become the ethnic traitress supreme. Villagers, seeing the statue as nothing more than a commemoration of mass genocide, loss of culture and traitorous sexuality, erupted into chaos and protests ensued. Hernn Corts himself is known as one of the most-hated conquerors of the Mexican lands. Have a correction or comment about this article? We look back at the history of the holiday. After her fathers death, she was sold to slavers by her mother. Her age is unfortunately not mentioned in any of the important source texts, but we can assume she was a young woman at the time she was presented to Cortes. JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City. Gracie Anderson [51][e] Her acquisition of the language later enabled her to communicate with Jernimo de Aguilar, another interpreter for Cortes who also spoke Yucatec Maya, as well as his native Spanish.[54]. While Corts himself referred to her just briefly in his letters, and only identified her as an interpreter, scholar Cordelia Candelaria writes in Frontiers: her paramount value to the Spaniards was not merely linguisticShe was an interpreter/liaison who served as a guide to the region, as an advisor on native customs and beliefs, and as a competent strategist. Leading the procession is a young girl dressed in white with a veil. Privacy Statement DE CAPO; 282 PAGES; $24.95. This gave her an unusual level of education, which she would later leverage as a guide and interpreter for the Spanish. Indgena mesoamericana. In the early twentieth century, white colonizers exploitation of women in West Africas Gold Coast stoked anti-colonial politics. At first, Malitzen was paired with a Spanish priest who could speak Yucatec, but she quickly learned Spanish so she could serve as Cortss only interpreter. Despite being a slave, she was treated better than the other slave girls due to her above-average beauty and intellect. According to Daz, she was approached by a Cholulan noblewoman who promised her a marriage to the woman's son if she were to switch sides. She spent her early life growing up in the Nahuatl-speaking borderlands of the Aztec and Mayan empires. She was born in the late 1400s. When Hernn brought her face to face with her mother who had abandoned her, Malinche forgave her. Hernn won and was offered 20 young women by the Chontal Maya people of Potonchn as a token of respect. Her mother had a soft corner for her young son and did not want Malinche to take what was her sons by right. Her second name means "person who has a way with words, who talks a lot and with animation" in Nahuatl, as if those who named her had sealed her fate and history. Some people (us included) believe she was a teenager. This woman is often viewed as both the great . Why is Malitzen such a hated figure in Mexican history? Painted amate paper onboard, photographs, and string; 18 x 60 in. Cookie Settings, Phoenix Art Museum: Museum purchase with funds provided by the Friends of Mexican Art, 1979.86. She's the goodness of the play and the goodness of the dance," Chavez says. One work on display in the show, Antonio Ruzs 1939 painting El sueo de la Malinche, depicts a slumbering Malinche in a gilded bedframe, her expression troubled, as Mexican architecture rises from the landscape created by the slopes of her body within the bedsheets. After her father's death, she was sold to slavers by her mother. Lopez says it also seeks to clarify the true nature of the state of New Mexico, going beyond the idea that Anglo, Hispanic and Indigenous communities lived peacefully alongside one another for centuries. Writing for JSTOR Daily in 2019, Farah Mohammed explained, Throughout Cortss travels, Malintzin became indispensable as a translator, not only capable of functionally translating from one language to the other, but of speaking compellingly, strategizing, and forging political connections.. Very little is known about the woman variously called Malinalli, Malintzin, Doa Marina, and La Malinche. 1750. ", Delilah Montoya, Codex #2 Delilah: Six Deer: A Journey from Mechica toChicana, 199295. Corts retaliated against the planned uprising by massacring thousands of Cholulans. 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