Translated Christianities. Mark Z. Christensen

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СКАЧАТЬ early date of the sermon and its goal to reform the Nahuas, particularly the nobility, remind us of the concerted effort among ecclesiastics in the 1530s to reform many of the baptized Nahua nobility who continued to practice precontact traditions that conflicted with Christianity—specifically polygamy, idolatry, and avaricious living. Trained Nahua youth were often the messengers of such reform, and certain Nahuas, such as don Carlos Ometochtli, scoffed at the audaciousness of such young boys in instructing them to relinquish their idolatry and polygamy.¹⁰ Although the assertion is speculative, it is tempting to consider this sermon as reflective of the messages these young religious assistants brought to the ears of the Nahua nobility.

The Nahua authorship and influence of the text also emerges in its native rhetoric and misspelling of common Spanish words (such as “diaplos” or “tiablos” for diablos). Interestingly, the orthography and penmanship of the sermon indicates that two individual Nahua hands wrote the script, suggesting that the sermon we have today is a copy of a separate Nahua-authored manuscript.¹¹ Regardless, the Nahuatl sermon itself represents an excellent example of those texts ecclesiastical authorities would surely have confiscated had they known about them or their contents. Here, it seems the goal of the Nahua author(s) was not to replicate a doctrinally accurate account of the conversion of Saint Paul or the ministry of Saint Sebastian but rather to use these figures in didactic stories that aligned more evenly with Nahua culture. Whether written for use in the convents and local schools to train other Nahuas, or as a Sunday sermon, the result is a wonderful example of how Nahuatl religious texts could familiarize Christian doctrine and contain very unorthodox material.

      The “Nahuatl Bible” (before 1560), 1–16

      Then, along with the others, Paul’s horse was running; our lord God brought about that his horse was struck by lightning. And then Paul’s body quickly crumbled greatly and all turned to dust. His demons just gathered it up and put it in a cloak. And then Paul went straight to heaven.

      And when our lord God saw Paul, he said to him, “Why did you kill Sebastian, for he builds temples for me and sweeps on the road by which they enter my home in heaven? I am merciful to my children, the poor or humble who are afflicted, who endure hardships and earn their way with effort. I am not merciful to those who have possessions, belongings, and many houses but to those without houses on earth who greatly suffer.

      “Now, Paul, really look where the humble come to settle. I am caring for the happiness, prosperity, riches of those who cry, are sad, sigh, who always go about seeking me, languishing greatly, joining their hands, who kneel down. This heaven will be the house of them only; here are their houses, houses of gold; they will come to sit on golden seats, for no one else sits on their seats. And now that you have beheld it, Paul, can you count all that is here, the eternal happiness and prosperity? And now that you have seen it, look also at hell, for there is much fire and smoke there, and the smoke reeks badly. My children the angels will go along, taking care of you.”

      Then the angels took him to hell. And Paul saw things in hell; he was very frightened and wept; he stood on the hot coals for only a short time, but it seemed to him like twenty years. He saw the semblance of the devils and demons with their iron tongs with which they cut us up; they place our bodies in metal tubs; the evil ones never give relief in all eternity. Paul saw and beheld a great deal; all the torments cannot be expressed, cannot all be told, we cannot mention them all here. And when Paul came to, he greatly wept and was very sad.

      The angels told Paul, “Be afraid, look upon the evil demons with fear! Serve them no longer, no longer make offerings to them, get rid of those whom you served and venerated as gods, before whom you bled yourself and also before whom you were cutting your ears, the evil demons.”

      And when he had regained consciousness, three times he said, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

      Then all those who were there, who had been keeping his body, said, “Is the ruler (Paul) a bad omen for us? And how is it that his body was collected and we gathered it up in bits?”

      But Paul told them, “Don’t take me for something monstrous, my lords, let me loose. As to what I saw and beheld, now I will speak to you and tell you what I beheld; for we sinned greatly when we killed God’s beloved, such a thing should not have been done. Go and bring back Sebastian’s body; because of this I had died. But now our lord God still favors me.”

      Then, they went to get Sebastian from where they had repeatedly shot arrows at him. And when they went and got Sebastian, from very far away there could be seen his light that our lord God in heaven placed upon him (Sebastian). Then they loosened his body; it was still as though he had not died; he was still very sound; the reason he was very sound was that the angels of God helped him; they brought him to Paul’s home.

      Then he (Paul) said, “O my honored noble, greetings; I went to heaven and saw our lord God, and I also went to see things in hell. It was on your behalf that I went to behold things. And now, let the evil devils that are in my home be burned.” This is what Paul said.

      They then removed those (idols) they had taken to be gods and cast them down in the patio and there they burned and scorched them. And when they had burned, Paul told Sebastian, “O my honored noble, Sebastian, since the devils have been burned, for your sake baptize me.”

      Then, he (Sebastian) told him, “It is not I who is to baptize you; a person will baptize you who lives very far away; let them go call him; his name is Peter.”

      When he had come, Paul related to him how it was when he went to see heaven and hell. Then Peter baptized Paul and he (Peter) changed his name; he baptized and called him Paul. After he had baptized him, he taught him reading and writing. It did not take a whole day to teach him, but just a short time. By midday, he could already write; he wrote everything having to do with prayer and holy examples, and everything about how we people of the earth, we humans, are to live respectfully.

      And in addition, we all will earnestly pray to our father Saint Paul. The reason that we will earnestly pray to him is that he believed afterward, and with us too it was after we believed that we burned the evil demons we had taken to be gods. We are not alone or the only ones who have done it this way; for our father Saint Paul did it the same way, for which reason we will earnestly pray on his feast day to our lord. Also, he (Paul) will pray to our lord God for us; that is all of the statement; it is to be observed well.

The story of the life of God’s beloved, named Sebastian, who was truly a very great preacher and servant of our savior and lord Jesus Christ; he was a true child of God. Sebastian was preaching in an altepetl;¹² he was revealing his message and commandments; he was spreading the message and orders that the Christians called his commandments, the divine orders of God. And Sebastian was preaching to the people and very truly they had known and been inspired by the sermon; they saw and understood a very great deal of the divine words that Sebastian showed them and made known to them.

      When his pupils had learned much of the divine words, Sebastian then assembled all the rulers, nobles, and all the commoners. He told them, “Come all of you, you rulers and nobles.” Then he said, “You heard and understood God’s word as I told it to you; not only is it said that God will have mercy on us in heaven, but we will do many things so that he will be very merciful to us and very happy with us now. Listen you rulers and nobles! God does not want you to have many women (wives) or many slaves. Today, that is all with which I do my duty toward you so that God can favor you. Cast out your women and your slaves and all your home dwellers! May they leave! And as to your houses, grant them to those who have no house, give them to the poor. And your gold/silver, all your property, your cloaks, СКАЧАТЬ