The excerpts from “An Aztec Account of the Spanish attack” and “Cortes Wants Cholulans To Destroy Idols” describe the events which unfold during the conquest of the indigenous American population from the perspective of both sides. From these passages, it is possible to identify several differences within the religious culture of both nations and identify key points which affected the relations between persons in the account.
On account of Aztec representatives about the Spanish attack, it is possible to observe the deification of Spanish people. This can be seen from the dialogues which characterize the speech of king Montezuma. For example, the Aztec king employs honorifics throughout the text by referring to Cortes with “Our lord” or “The Sun” (Leon-Portilla, 1992). According to the text, the king and his subjects considered conquistadors to be gods descended from heaven (Leon-Portilla, 1992). It can be seen from the lines: “Our Lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth” (Leon-Portilla, 1992). These lines represent some of the religious beliefs of Aztecs. The indigenous people most likely believed that a deity – The Sun or Quetzalcoatl – would return from heaven and lead his people to prosperity. The text also describes a fiesta that would be held if such an event were to happen. At the fiesta, a god would be dressed in all his finery and ornaments, numerous people from the tribe would gather for celebration dressed in “embroidered cloaks, their turquoises, their lip plugs, their necklaces, their clusters of heron feathers, their trinkets made of deer hooves” (Leon-Portilla, 1992).
On the other hand, the report of Díaz del Castillo does not have room for such a bizarre case of deification. However, the account describes the fact that Cortes executed an influence comparable to a king. He appointed a representative from the local population per the suggestion of their customs (Díaz del Castillo, 1904-1905). He also was adamant about the enforcement of Christianity among the Aztec people (Díaz del Castillo, 1904-1905). He desired this cultural transition. Hence, according to the text, Cortes challenged their religious beliefs. The religious differences structured their relationship negatively. It is possible that Cortes was not interested in the recognition of Aztec culture. He demanded the seizure of idols’ worship, making sacrifices, holding celebrations with human flesh, robbery, and customary offenses (Díaz del Castillo, 1904-1905). Here, the Spanish regarded personal beliefs higher in comparison to others. Therefore, Aztec were forced to wash a temple with limestone and create a chapel with the cross. For Cortes and his crew members, the chapel’s presence was an essential religious custom they sought after coming to the new land and dimming local religion as inferior and false exploited the population.
In conclusion, there are numerous cultural differences signified in the two texts. First of all, the difference in religion is the most significant point which exists in both accounts. Aztec people worshipped idols on of which The Sun is believed to return to the tribe and rule over it. Spanish, like most Europeans at the time, were Catholics. This difference in religion and culture manifests itself in the relationship between the two nations. As the two fail and most likely do not acknowledge their differences, this relationship is negative and oppressive. The oppression is seen on the Spanish account, where the demand to stop local religion was documented.
References
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal. (1904-1905). Chapter 83: Cortes wants Cholulans to destroy idols. Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (Vol. 2). México: Oficina tipográfica de la Secretaría de foment.
Leon-Portilla, M. (Ed.) (1992). The broken spears: The Aztec account of the conquest of Mexico. Beacon Press.