The Garden History Society

The Garden History Society
Concept of the Garden in Pre-Hispanic Mexico

Author(s): Patrizia Granziera
Source: Garden History, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Winter, 2001), pp. 185-213
Published by: The Garden History Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1587370 .
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PATRIZIA GRANZIERA
CONCEPT OF THE GARDEN IN PRE-HISPANIC MEXICO1
The famousAztec royalgardensamazedthe firstconquerorsfor theirvariety,extent and

elaboratelayouts.Therewere royalgardensin and nearthe Azteccapitalin Tenochitlan,
Chapultepec,Huastepec, Ixtapalapa, el Pefion, Tetzcoco as well as in more distant
locationslike Atlixco (Puebla).Gardensof the elite, as with those on the templegrounds,
were maintained by a large labour force and contained ornamental, aromatic and
medicinal plants. In a world like the pre-Hispanicone, where man was intimately
connectedwith natureand where flowers,plants and trees were thought to have a soul
like human beings, gardenscertainlyplayed an importantrole in the urban landscape.
This paperwill try to explainthe symbolicmeaningof these gardens,showinghow they
may havereflectedsome conceptsof the pre-Columbianworld view.
In Mesoamerica,the whole of the cosmos was animate:the cosmic forces earth,
water, wind and earthquakewere seen as animatedbeings and were incorporatedinto
myth and religion.One of the most importantmyths recountedin the sixteenth-century
literaturewas the creationof the Earthand the Sky. The mythdescribesthe formationof
the Earth and Sky as the tearing apart of the goddess Tlaltecuhtli.Tlaltecuhtliwas a
monstrousbeing with eyes and mouths in her joints, who floated in a great sea. From
parts of her body, hills and valleys, trees and plants were created.Her hair turnedinto
trees, flowers and herbs;her eyes becamespringsand caves;her mouth riversand large
caverns;her nose mountains and valleys.2It is easy to see that with a mythological
traditionsuch as this, all geographicalphenomenawere seen as both animateand sacred.
The Sun, Moon, Earth, Water and Fire were the main forces in the Mesoamerican
Pantheon.
Anotherimportantmythwas the creationof the FifthSun,or our World.According
to Sahagun'saccount,therewas Earthbut no Sunor Moon. Therefore,the gods sacrificed
themselvesso that these heavenlybodies could be createdand the Sun could feed on the
blood and thus move acrossthe sky.3The gods died in the processof creationbut their
divine substance, 'soul', was present in all the elements of creation: stones, minerals, trees,
plants, human beings and planets. For this reason, the deities were represented in
anthropomorphic form as well as in the form of animals and flora (Figure i). This
reverence for nature was reported with amazement by the friars Motolinia, Bartolome de
las Casas4 and Duran. The latter wrote:
Thus they passed their lives among the flowers in such blindness and darkness, since they had
been deceived and persuaded by the devil, who had observed their love for blossoms and
flowers ... even the bark of resinous trees was reveredso that it would create a good fire. The
Facultadde Artes, Av. UniversidadIooI, Col. Chamilpa, C.P. 622I0 Cuernavaca,Morelos, Mexico.

I86 GARDEN HISTORY 29:2
ancientblindnesswas suchthatevenlargeandsmallanimals,fish,andtoadpoleswereadored
andrevered.s
FLORA AND FAUNA IN PRE-HISPANIC GARDENS
Thus, plants were deified. Maize (Zea mays L.), the Mesoamerican staple crop which
played an important role in the development of Mesoamerican agriculture, was considered
to be one of the gods. In the Nahuatl language, 'theocintli' (maize) means 'food of the
gods'. Many plants and flowers were related to gods. The quetzalmizquitl (Parkinsonia
aculeata L.)6 (Figure z), a cactus plant with large leaves that looked like feathers, was
considered sacred and it was associated with Quetzalcoatl, the plumed serpent, one of the
most important Aztec gods.7
Cihualcoatl-Quilaztli (woman serpent), one of the multiple aspects of the Mother
Goddess, a deity who helps women during delivery and pregnancy and also protects the
vegetal process (quilitl means vegetable), was associated with the cempoalxochitl (twenty
flower) or flower of the dead. This flower, Tagetes (erecta Linn.),8 continues to play a
prominent role in the autumn festival honouring the dead.9
Figure i. Birth of a deity. The plant is a

Philodendron spp. Cultura Maya, Classic period,
Jaina, Campeche, Sala Maya, National Museum of
Anthropology (MNA), Mexico City.

CONCEPT OF THE GARDEN IN PRE-HISPANIC MEXICO I87
~-v' *~ - ~" '~' Figure z. Qtuetzalmizquitli, Florentine Codex, Bk

~
'~'~-- ..... XI, f.i67V. Medicean Library, Florence.
The Goddess Xochiquetzal (flower-feather), patron of artesans and sexual love, was
associated with the flower izquixochitl (Bourreira huanita Hemsl.),10 a flower that,
according to Francisco Hernandez, was very much appreciated for its fragrant smell and
curative properties. It was mixed with cacao to make chocolatl." The izquixochitl in
nahuatl means toasted maize (Izquitl-xochitl) because its seeds pop out like toasted corn.
It has been considered a symbol of life, the metaphor of maize, and a basic plant in
Mesoamerican alimentation.12 Tlaloc, the God of Rain, was also represented by some
hallucinogenic plants that grew on humid soil or in the water. One of them was iyauhtli
(Tagetes lucida Cav.), known today as pericon.13
Another interesting plant that could be related to the God Macuilxochitl (five
flowers) is the ololiuhqui (Turbina corymbosa Rafin. or Morning Glory)14as the plant has
a five-petalled flower (Figure 3).15 Fertility, flowers, singing and dancing were all
associated with Macuilxochitl as well as Xochipilli, the Aztec Prince of Flowers. The
famous sculpture of Xochipilli (Figure 4) found on the slopes of the volcano Popocatepetl
is decorated with several stylized flowers that have been identified with well-known
hallucinogenic plants like ololiuhqui, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and sinicuichi
(Heimia salicifolia Link & Otto),16 a sacred mushroom (Psilocybe aztecorum Link &
Otto).17Thus, it has been suggested that Xochipilli undoubtedly represents not simply the
Prince of Flowers, but, more specifically, the Prince of Inebriating Flowers including the
mushrooms which in Nahuatl poetry were called 'flowers' and 'flowers that intoxicate'.18
Almost all the flowers used in pre-Hispanic world had properties that provoked a state of
ecstasy. Eighty to one hundred species of plants produced this condition. For example, in
Mexico there are forty-five kinds of tobacco or Nicotiana and seven species of Datura, a
plant called by Mexicans toloache19 a modern version of the ancient Nahuatl Toaloatzin
(inclined head in reference to its nodding fruit). They were also known as Tolohuaxihuitl
and Tlapatl (Figure 5). They were employed not only to induce visual hallucinations, but

Figure 3. Ololiuhqui. Florentine Codex, Bk XI,

--- _ -f.Iz9'. Medicean Library.
also for a great variety of medicinal uses, especially when applied to the body to relieve
rheumatic pain and to reduce swellings. In the Codex Badiano (I552), considered the first
indian herbal, the plant is mentioned as an analgesic or pain reliever.20 Another plant with
hallucinogenic properties is the pipilzintzintli (Salvia divinorum Epling & Jativa), which
represents the God Pilzintecuhtli (baby prince), another aspect of Xochipilli and also
related to the Sun and sometimes described as the husband of Xochiquetzal.21
All these plants and many others were used for shamanic reasons. They served as a
means of communication between man and gods and many of them were considered gods
themselves. However, they were also used as medicinal plants. In i65I, the physician of
the King of Spain, Hernandez, described the ololiuhqui as having the following qualities:
Ololiuhqui, which some call Coaxihuitl or snake plant, is a twining herb with thin, green,
cordate leaves; slender, little resin, it banishes chills and stimulates and aids in a remarkable
degree in cases of dislocations, fractures, and pelvic troubles of women. The seed has some
medicinal use. If pulverized or taken in a decoction or used as a poultice on the head or
forehead with milk and chilli, it is said to cure eye troubles. When drunk, it acts as an
aphrodisiac. It has a sharp taste and is very hot. Formerly, when the priests wanted to
communicate with their gods and to receivea message from them, they ate this plant to induce
a delirium. A thousand visions and satanic hallucinations appearedto them. In its manner of
action, this plant can be compared with Solanum maniacum of Discorides. It grows in warm
places in the fields.22
As might be expected from the high value placed on plants and flowers by
Mesoamerican people, gardens were well stocked with ritual and medicinal plants. In
aristocratic and royal gardens, magnificent botanical collections acquired an importance
beyond the recreational and pleasurable. Since food crops were supplied to the nobility
through tribute, these elite gardens excluded practical edible plants and contained instead
ornamental, aromatic and medicinal plants associated with ritual needs or emblematic of
an high status. In a chapter entitled 'Of the gardens which Montezuma went for
recreation', the scholar Cervantes de Salazar reports as follows:
This great monarch had many pleasances and spacious gardens with paths and channels for
irrigation. These gardens contained only medicinal and aromatic herbs, flowers, native roses,
and trees with fragrantblossoms, of which there are many kinds. He orderedhis physiciansto
make experiments with the medicinal herbs and to employ those best known and tried as
remediesin healing the diseases of the lords of his court. These gardensgave great pleasuresto
all who visited them on account of the flower and roses they contained and of the fragrances
they gave forth, especially in the mornings and evenings. It was well worth seeing with how
much art and delicacy a thousand figuresof persons were made by means of leaves and flowers,
also seats, chapels, and the other constructions which so greatly adorned these places. In this
flower garden Montezuma did not allow any vegetablesor fruit to be grown, saying that it was

r;??i??l;?;:i:??*??*
.
ur I
F . ..)i..???;r
: ?? ?"iil
V*
Figure 4. Xochipilli, Mexica Culture, Post-classic, Tlalmanalco, MNA; published in Arqueologia Mexicana,
7/39 (I999).

not kingly to cultivate plants for utility or profit in his pleasance.He said that vegetablegardens
and orchardswere for slaves or merchants.At the same time he owned such, but they were far
away and he seldom visited them.23
Together with Cervantes, another famous scholar, Lopez de G6mara, confirmed in

I552 that Montezuma in his gardens did not include edible plants as those should be
grown in the gardens of the lower classes.24
Royal gardens were, in addition, vast collections of plants from the most remote
corners of the Aztec tribute empire demonstrating the extent of the empire and the power
of the ruling class. Bartolome de las Casas describing the gardens of Montezuma says that
he had 'orchards and gardens with all kinds of flowers that one could find in that
kingdom, which are not few in number'.25According to Duran, the plants that composed
these royal gardens showed 'the grandeur of Mexican authority who desired to be called
and perceived as lords of creation in the water as well as on land ...'.26 The most
wonderful of Montezuma's gardens were those in Huastepec (Morelos), probably the
oldest botanical gardens in the world. Duran and the historian Tezoz6moc tell us that
Montezuma the Elder (I440-69; Ilhuicomina) following the advice of his brother Tlacael
decided to lay out the garden of Huastepec. He dispatched messengers to the tropical
coast region with the request to the Lord of Cuetlaxtla for plants with roots of cacao
(Theobroma cacao L.),27 hueynacaxtli (Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Willd.) Griseb.),28
yolloxochitl (Talauma mexicana G. Don),29 cacahuaxochitl (Quararibea funebris Visch.)
(Figure 6),30 izquixochitl (Bourreria huanita Hemsl.), hualcaxochitl (Philodendron
pseudoradiatum Matuda) (Figure7),31 cacaloxochitl (Plumeriaacutifolia Poir.),32tlilxoch-
itl (Vanilla planifolia Andrews)33and other valuable flowers that grew in those hot lands.
He also asked that these be brought carefully by native gardeners from the same region
7z; t, \;. , ,ffn,,. q'e.Ce fiat -
d: ..'
Figure 5. Tolohuaxihuitl or Toloache and

X m
^r ri~ag
nt;a/^r\f 'Nexehuac, two plants of the Datura family.
Qonfra Ia*frwUmJOL
mW 'Libellus de MedicinalibusIndorumHerbis',f.29.
National Library of Anthropology and History
(BNAH), Mexico City.

CONCEPT OF THE GARDEN IN PRE-HISPANIC MEXICO I9I
:x~,:~,mr*~*i-
C~-~-..~;
"*07X-ts
'C4EA-'t-<t|
0~~:...
i -M ..... ... ?* . ?, r ~.,....:: ~O.,*.::ef.
S!,
?,,, .t*S
s...
a...~~~~~~~~~~~??~ -1: . :
? 7t* 2 >~~i iiit, _
Figure 6. Cacahuaxochitl and

: rt/-~
v^
mr/f.
Yolloxochitl. 'Libellus de
I Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis',
f53v.
fcar-x{
L"'..a^ d
.:r""nzrJ4t
Figure 7. Huacalxochitl,
'Libellus de Medicinalibus
Indorum Herbis', f.I8v.
capable of replanting them in the customary way. On receiving the message, the Lord of
Cuetlaxtla immediately gave orders to have a number of all kinds of plants dug up with
their roots enclosed in earth and had the bundles dispatched to Mexico.34 Interestingly
enough, almost all these plants are mentioned in the Codex Badiano as a remedy against
the tiredness of those who cover public or administrative positions.35

Li Li
. Figure
.. 8. Centre of the five
directional trees. Codex Borgia,
pl. 53. Angel Palerm Library,
CIESAS, Mexico City.
It is worth mentioning the ceremony observed by the gardeners after planting the
trees. They fasted for eight days, and piercing the upper ears, they sprinkled their blood
on the soil. They also made a great sacrifice to the god of flowers offering him many dead
quails after having sprinkled the plants with their blood. They assured the people that
after observing those ceremonies, none of the plants would be lost and that they would
soon bear flowers and fruits.36 This ceremony portrays a mystical relationship held
between people and the earth: the people feed the earth their blood and bodies and in
return the earth feeds the people by yielding plants. The belief that one's own blood could
be exchanged for crop growth was so fundamental that it is represented on Codex
Borgia,37where a maize plant fertilized by blood being drawn from the sexual organs of
two kneeling males, sprouts from the body of an earth goddess (Figure 8).38
The botanical gardens of Huastepec were so famous that Dr Hernandez, the Spanish
physician who was sent to New Spain by the king to compile a natural history of this
country, spent most of his time (I570-77) at Huastepec describing and drawing the plants
he saw there.39 This important work, together with the Codex Badiano, is the most
important source extant on Mexican medicinal plants. The other garden that Hernandez
visited was the garden of Tezcozinco, owned by the famous poet King Nezahualcoyotl. It
is reported by Clavijero that this illuminated king loved nature so much that not only did
he study plants and animals, but also being unable to have specimens of many of the
tropical species, he had pictures of them painted from nature and copied on the wall of
his palace:

NothingamusedNezahualc6yotlmorethanthe studyof nature.He acquireda knowledgeof
astronomyby frequentlyobservingthe movementsof stars.He devotedhimselfto the studyof
plantsandanimals,andbeingunableto havelivingspecimensof manyof the tropicalspecies,
for climaticreasons,hadpicturesof all the plantsandanimalsof the Anahuacregionpainted
from natureand copiedon the walls of his palace.The famousphysicianHernandezwas
eyewitness to these paintings, as he recordsin his Historia natural . ..40
Flowers were very much appreciated by Mesoamerican societies because they were offered
to the gods, and flowering branches were also given to leaders to strengthen them for their
tasks and to affiliate them more closely with the divine powers. Their fragrance was
thought to be derived from gods and was equated with leadership. Odoriferous flowers
like yolloxochitl (Talauma mexicana G. Don),41 izquixochitl (Bourreriahuanita Hemsl.),42
cacaloxochitl (Plumeria acutifolia Poir.),43tlilxochitl (Vanilla planifolia Andrews)44were
considered a luxury and therefore one of the attributes of the ruling class. Appropriated
to some extent by the ruler and the elite, the plants became an indicator of rank that
reinforced the social hierarchy in the Aztec Empire.4s
The native worshipper used different varieties of flowers for specific purposes, self-
consciously aware of their symbolism. Certain herbs and flowers were offered in the
spring, for example, while others were selected to celebrate the harvest and at the
beginning of the dry season. Almost all the native plants were known for their medicinal
effectiveness or psychotropic qualities. Psychotropic plants such as cacao, the ololiuhqui
(Turbina corymbosa Rafin.)46 and the toloache (Datura stramonium L.)47 were also
claimed by the ruling class who reserved the right to communicate directly with the gods.
SACRED TREES
Trees in Mesoamerica were similarly significant. Both real and symbolic, they acted as
important cosmic metaphors. In Mesoamerican mythology, the world was imagined as
floating in a large lake and as having at its centre a mountain or large tree that connected
the sky, the earth and the underworld. While the most important and sacred tree was this
central tree, Mesoamerican belief also includes references to four other trees at the four
corners of the Earth that helped support the sky. The four trees are associated with the
four cardinal points, as well as with a specific deity, colour and bird whose identities
varied regionally.48These larger trees usually grow out of a monster mask, the gaping jaw
of the earth monster, a sacrificial victim or a crouching earth deity.
The most famous examples of this are the trees of the four quarters of the world in
the Borgia, Fejervary-Mayer49(Figure 9) and Vaticanus 37735? codices. In the Codex
Fejervary-Mayer, each of the four trees grows out of a terrestrial symbol and is
surmounted by a supernatural bird. These birds have been identified with the quetzal
(east), yellow macaw (north), blue hummingbird (west) and white sea bird (south). In the
Codex Borgia, a full page is devoted to each of the five directional trees of the world. All
of these (the Codex Borgia trees) grow out of the bodies of Cihualcoatl figures, female
supernaturals in their destructive, death aspects. Mythological trees are also found in the
historical Mixtec codices generally at the beginning of the history of the ruling dynasties.
In the Codex Vidobonensis,51 an anthropomorphic tree with the head of a goddess at its
roots gives birth to the first male and female ancestors of the Mixtec people (Figure io).
Trees in pre-Columbian art are generally depicted with their roots growing out of the
heads of an earth monster, with fruit flowers growing on them and birds or insects in their
branches.52

.I
1
Figure 9. Five directions of the World. Codex Fejervary Mayer, p. i. Angel Palerm Library.
At the classic Maya site of Palenque, an eighth-century Mayan ruler, Pacal, was
buried in a stone sarcophagus or tomb. The sculptural design on the lid of the sarcophagus
depicts a cross-like tree surmounted by a celestial bird, probably a quetzal. The tree acted
as a passage between the land of the living and the dead. Through this 'Tree of Life',
Pacal's soul could ascend to the eternal life of a deified ruler. A pre-Hispanic king
maintained order in the cosmos. This pivotal role was declared through World Tree
symbols that appeared in the case of Mayan society on his sceptre, apron and head-
dress.53Thus, a 'precious willow, a ceiba, a juniper' were often metaphors for a god, the
king, a governing official or a teacher.54
As natural metaphors of the World Tree, two important trees were singled out for
their size and longevity. These species were the ceiba (Ceiba pentandra Gaertn. or giant
silk cotton tree)s5among the Maya and the ahuehuete (Taxodium mucronatum Tenore.)s6
among the central Mexican people. The ceiba is called the yaxche or yax imixche (green

Figure io. Mixtec creation accounts: a scene of tree

birth. Codex Vidobonensis, p. 33. BNAH.
tree) in yucatecan Maya. The giant ceiba can attain a height of I40 feet and a trunk
diameter of 8 feet. The red colour of the ceiba's new leaves and sap are associated to the
bloodlines of a community. The tree can also seemingly 'rejuvenate' as branches of the
ceiba take root quickly.57Like the ceiba in its dimensions and age is the ahuehuete called
also sabino or cedar by the Spanish58and referred to as cypress in eighteenth-century
literature.59Both trees offer a generous shade and symbolize protection and security. The
ahuehuete is also mentioned in Aztec mythical history as a mythical couple took refuge in
its trunk after the great deluge provoked by the end of one of the cosmogonic Suns:
'Titlacahuan called the one named Tata and his wife called Nene, and he told them: you
will not want anything more; you will make a hole in a very big ahuehuetl and get inside
it when the eve will come and the sky will sink! . . .60 The ahuehuete has a very long life.
The most famous ahuehuete in Mexico is the 'arbol de Tule' in Santa Maria del Tule in
the state of Oaxaca. It has a trunk diameter of 36 feet and it is one thousand years old.
The tree is also a central part of ceremonies that feature wooden poles such as pole
climbing rituals and the Juego del Volador or Flying Pole ceremony of Papantla, Veracruz.
In addition, most settlements in ancient Mexico were divided into four original parts built
around an intersection, which was then subdivided and which corresponds to the quarters
of the world. Often a shrine that was reserved for the gods stood at a crossroad or on a
square.61
With all this charge of symbolism, it is not surprising that trees and especially the
ahuehuete played an important role in Aztec gardens. As reported in 1844, the base of the
hill at Chapultepec gardens was surrounded by a grove of beautiful ahuehuetes: 'The
gardens of Moctezuma stretched for miles around the hill ... and the soil there still
receives the shade of these gigantic cypresses, with a circumference of more than fifty feet
,62
Some of these trees still survive today in 'El Bosque de Chapultepec'. Motolinia
describing the palace of Nezahualcoyotl at the base of Tezcozinco hill also mentions 'a
garden containing more than a thousand very large and very beautiful cedars (cypresses)

trees ...63 In 1883, the American diplomat Brantz Mayer described the same ancient
grove of cypresses, known as 'El Bosque del Contador' and standing in the level plain
north-west of Tezcoco, as 'one of the more remarkable relics of the princes and people of
Tezcocan monarchy . ..64 and he gave the followings details:
the grove is formed by a double row of gigantic cypresses, about five hundred in number,
arrangedin a square correspondingwith the points of the compass and enclosing an area of
about ten acres. At the north-westernpoint of this quadrangleanother double row of lordly
cypresses runs westwardly towards a dyke, north of which there is a deep oblong tank walled
and filled with water. ... Along the raised banks and beneath the shadows of the double line
of majestictrees were the walks and arborsin which Nezahualcoyotl and his courtiersamused
themselves . ..65
In the garden of Huastepec (today a holiday centre) there is also an area still called 'El
Bosque' where is the spring of the River Yauhtepec that crosses the state of Morelos. This
bosque is characterized by the presence of big trees among which the older are the
ahuehuete.66
From the above descriptions, it can also be deduced that the pre-Hispanic garden
was composed of two areas. One was near the dwellings of the king where nature was
tamed by man and where medicinal and ornamental plants were cultivated around pools,
water works and pavilions and another, often referred to in colonial literature as 'El
Bosque' (the woods), which stretched into the surrounding natural landscape. This zone
was often dedicated to the king's hunting parties. Cervantes de Salazar tells us that
Montezuma in addition to his gardens of aromatic and medicinal plants had:
houses in extensive groves of trees surroundedby water so that the game could not escape and
he could be certain of his quarry. In these woods there were fountains, rivers, tanks with fish,
rabbit warrens, steep high rocks among which were stags, fallow deer, hares, foxes, wolves,
and other similaranimals which the Mexican lords hunted much and very often ....67
ANIMALS
Animals were another important feature of these gardens. The first Spanish people who
saw them inform us that there were many different species of animals in these gardens.
When Cortes reached the town of Iztapalapa, 7 miles distant from Mexico-Tenochtitlan,
he wrote enthusiastically about the gardens and the different kinds of birds and fish he
saw there:
There are both upper and lower rooms and very refreshing gardens with many trees and
scented flowers, well constructedbathing places of fresh water with steps leading down to the
bottom ... the pool contains many fish and differentkinds of waterfowl such as wild duck and
garganey,so many in fact that they almost cover the water.68
In Tezcoco, Itlixochitl, a descendant of King Nezahualcoyotl, also reported the presence
of many different animals:
there were houses for birds, where the king kept all kinds of different birds and animals,
serpents and snakes brought from differentparts of New Spain, and those he could not have
alive, he had them made of precious stone and gold, and the same was true for fish. He had fish
from the sea as well as fish which breed in riversand lagoons, so that not a bird, fish or animal
on earth was missing there, either alive or made out of gold and precious stone ....69
However, Cortes and Bartolome de las Casas were even more amazed when they first saw
the zoological garden of Montezuma with all kinds of birds, felines, snakes and fish. As
De las Casas reported:

CONCEPT OF THE GARDEN IN PRE-HISPANIC MEXICO 197
Montezuma not only had houses and lodging for men, but also for beasts, birds and different
animals, they were buildings not less big nor remarkablethan those for men. He had houses
for birds, with many rooms and with corridorsbuilt on pillars of jasper, each pillar of a single
piece, which in Spain were much valued. These corridorsled to a very big orchard,where there
were ten or twelve pools, some of salted water for waterfowl that live and breedin salted water
and others of sweet water for those who live and breed in this water.... There were in these
pools such a big numberof waterfowl that all those birdsfrom two hundredleaguesof distance
seemed to have gathered there. They were of differentcolours and species and shape that no
one of our group knew whether there could be in the world such a variety and number....
There were more than three hundredpeople that took care of these birds ... he had something
else very noteworthy and large with many rooms and lodgings high and low. In some of them
there was another kind of fowl, the birds of prey; they were well taken care of like the others.
... In the lower rooms there were cages made of very strong beams where there were lions,
tigers, jackals, foxes, wolves and all kinds of ferocious animals.... He would send people to
find all these animals and put them in his cages to show the grandeurof his domain, and for
this reason the big crocodiles, which we call water lizards, were not missing nor were the small
ones and the ferocious snakes, vipers and iguanas ... In others he kept only generousfowl like
falcons, goshawk, sparrow hawks, eagles and all such species and in another one he kept kites
and vulturesof all kinds ....70
The famous zoological garden of Montezuma that impressed the 'conquistadores' so

much were not created merely for the recreation of the king. The animals collected there
represented probably the 'nahualtin' of the gods. Pre-Hispanic gods also manifested
themselves in the form of animals. The goddess Itzpapalotl took the form of a butterfly,
Quetzalcoatl of a serpent and Huitzilopochtli of a hummingbird. Actually, gods could
appear in the form of more than one animal: Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror) is sometimes
represented as a jaguar, a coyote, zopilote (vulture) or a guajolote (turkey) (Figure II).71
In addition, the myriad fauna in the pre-Columbian menagerie were arranged
between the cosmic division sky, earth and the underworld as the universe was thought to
be divided vertically into thirteen heavenly layers. The four inferior being the earth and
another nine floor below the earth. Certain animals were selected as visual equivalents of
this universe, as metaphors for celestial bodies, the surface of the earth or the underworld
realm. Some animals were associated with two levels at once. Such animals were more
powerful for representing the features of several cosmic realms. The best known is the
plumed serpent Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. The fusion of snake and bird combined the
forces of sky and earth into a powerful supernatural. These animals were accorded
dominion over the heavens and the earth, powers that were adopted by the ruling
hierarchy.
Generally sky animals were associated with the celestial Sun, the Moon and Venus,
where they acted as messengers between man and his deities. Logically, these included
many of the birds with particular importance assumed by the eagle, parrot and
hummingbird. Birds of prey like the vulture, eagle and falcon were all metaphors of the
sun. Their speed and visual acuity were models for the successful hunter and warrior. In
Nahuatl, cuauhtli means eagle and the Mexicans called the morning sun cuauhtlehuani or
soaring eagle, and the evening sun cuahtemoc or descending sun.72 The eagle (Aquila
chrisaetus and other species),73 seen as the supreme solar deity, played a fundamental role
in the founding of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. The eagle was also an emblem for one
of the Aztec elite warrior organizations. Aztec terms of fearlessness and warfare were
given eagle qualifiers. Since these qualities were incarnate in the Aztec ruler, he was

o*:.; ,...^s '^^^s. i . .* j ^

i'. '-
:
!ii!
,'=
ii.~.i
W. L ,
:1= ,e' Figure 11. Tezcatlipoca under
the form of a turkey. Codex
ESr
Il'|:;gSB'''*"1 -'f .- 4
;,, z':'< ^.
' 2R, ...-. . .
... J
2 ?i
?
Borbonicus, p. 17. Angel Palerm
Library.
likewise compared to an eagle. It is not surprising that the Aztec ruler Montezuma kept
eagles in his garden.
The hummingbird (Troquilidae)74was another solar metaphor associated with the
deity of war and sacrifice Hutzilopochtli (hummingbird-left). This bird when cold, during
the night or for short periods during winter, can assume a torpid state. For the Aztecs, it
appeared to come to life again in the spring at the very time of renewed life and planting.
These phenomena were also analogous to the sun's 'rebirth' or rising every morning in
the east. His long beak is also a carrier of sexual connotations as it is plunged deeply into
the corolla of flowers to suck their nectars.75Another bird much appreciated especially
for its plumage was the quetzal (Pharomacros mocinno).76Its feathers were as valuable as
green gemstones and gold. They were used to adorn gods such as Quetzalcoatl and
Xochiquetzal and to decorate their high-class dresses. The Mexican king used to wear a
quetzal head-dress. The quetzal was often painted on the cosmic tree of the east, where
the sun rises, a cardinal point always associated with fertility, abundance and richness.77
Parrots (Amazona xantocephala)78 and scarlet macaw or guacamaya (Ara macao)79were
the two other birds prized by all Mesoamerican people for their feathers. These birds
together with quetzal were among the tropical species demanded as a tribute, to help meet
the demand of the Aztecs. They were associated with Venus, the morning star, a sky deity,
and because of their prominently green yellow feathers with sprouting corn.80
Snake, toad, turtle, crocodile, armadillo, monkey and frog were all animals
associated with the earth and fertility. When it breaks the water surface, the dark green-
brown shell of a crocodile or turtle resembles an island. A reptile floating in water was a
metaphor for the earth's surface. One Nahua creation myth recounts that primeval earth

_JlM,i
"'- v ' 'j A ~;^: Figure iz. Statue of Coatlicue, She of the Serpent
ij:1 *s ~^ f
_ L_*i----- *~ Late Post-classic Aztec. MNA.
wSkirt,
was formed from a reptilian creature: 'from the waters they created an enormous fish
known as cipactli which was like an alligator, from this fish the earth was made . . ..81
The snake (Crotalus spp. and Microrus spp.)82 was generally a metaphor for rain and
blood, equally perceived as a life-giving liquid. Associated with the rain cult, serpents
took the form of rain deities or served them in one capacity or another. In classic Mayan
imagery, the deity Chac emerges from the jaws of a serpent. The Mexican rain god Tlaloc
often holds a snake symbolizing lightening and rainstorms. Serpents were an important
insignia of Aztec earth goddesses such as Coatlicue (she of the serpent skirt) (Figure iz)
and Chicomecoatl (Seven serpent) the most prominent goddess of corn.83
Beneath the face of the earth lay the underworld, a dark watery realm. The animals
representing it were waterbirds, fish, conch shell, jaguar, bat and owl. Waterbirds can fly,
swim and also dive beneath the water. As birds that could penetrate all three strata, they
had a great cosmological significance. Their feathers were also used in ceremonial dress.
As an exclusively nocturnal hunter, the jaguar (Felis onca)84was thought of as part of the
underworld. The animal's high speed and massive strength make it dominant in the
tropical forest and inspired man's respect and awe. Priests and rulers alike appropriated
the jaguar's valour and power. Olmec, Maya and Aztec chieftains and kings were
seated on thrones decorated with jaguar imagery or covered with jaguar pelts. Kings also
used to eat its heart to become braver. The jaguar was also connected to the earth, the

200 GARDEN HISTORY 29:2
rains and the night. The starry night was compared to the skin of this animal. A jaguar
monster mouth characterized the cave-like opening to the Olmec underworld. In
Tenochtitlan, several skulls and a complete skeleton of a jaguar were found among the
offerings dedicated to Tlaloc.85 Owing to their value, jaguars were the supreme sacrificial
animal. They were also probably kept in captivity for sacrificial purposes. The Aztecs
emphasized the jaguar in their war cult as it represented one of their elite military orders.
Eagle and jaguar knights were rewarded for their sacrificial courage with lavish honours
during life and with the promise of a celestial destination after death. In a sense, the
pairing of the jaguar and eagle defined the complementary halves of the cosmological
order. The eagle as the supreme day-sun animal represented the sky and air in opposition
to the night-sun jaguar associated with watery earth and underworld.
The universe was viewed by Mesoamerican people as an interrelated chain dominated
by recurring cycles of life and death, day and night, rainy and dry season. The division of
the yearly cycle into two parts, one corresponding to the 'day sun' (i.e. dry season) and
the other to the 'night sun' (i.e. rainy season) was a fundamental concept of pre-Hispanic
vision of the cosmos. Gods, plants and animals were all metaphors of this dualistic system
that opposes heaven, light, igneous, masculine, active to earth, moon, darkness, water,
feminine, passive. Therefore, one can say that the presence in the royal gardens of animals
that represented the sun, sky and heaven, and animals associated with earth and the
underworld assured the ties of the elite with cosmological powers and helped the king in
his divine task of keeping the order in the cosmos for his people.
SYMBOLISM IN PRE-HISPANIC GARDENS

Until now, we have seen how the pre-Hispanic garden was a source of medicinal plants
and a cosmic paradigm. It is debatable whether it could have also been an embodiment of
paradisical ideas. For the Aztecs, there were three possible afterlife alternatives. One was
Mictlan or the underworld where common people who died of ordinary sickness went.
One had to make a long and dangerous journey to reach this place. After four years of
passing between clashing mountains, entering regions guarded by a serpent or a green
lizard, resist obsidian-bladed winds and cross a nine-fold river, one would at last reach
Mictlan. The purified essence would then go to Tlalocan ready to get out into the world
again.86The second underworld was the House of the Sun (Tonatiuh Ihuicatl), open to
warriors, sacrificial victims and women who died in childbirth. In some literary
descriptions, the House of the Sun is a plain with maguey cacti and thorny shrubs, but
more frequently it is a garden with fragrant flowers and a 'place of wealth a place of
joy'.87 The third was Tlalocan, home of the rain god Tlaloc. Tlalocan was a luxuriant
terrain reserved for those who died of drowning, leprosy, venereal disease, sores, dropsy
and for children sacrificed to Tlaloc. Sahagun described this terrestrial paradise as a place
situated in the east, where all rivers originate. A rich fertile soil where all kinds of plants
grow, where there are the most beautiful aromatic flowers, cacao trees and hule trees
(Castilla elastica Sesse in Cerv.),88 the yolloxochitl (Talauma mexicana G. Don)89 and
other odoriferous flowers. All kinds of birds were present - with precious feathers like
the quetzal and scarlet macaw and precious stones like jade, turquoise, silver and gold.
Tlaocan, he continued, is the place of eternal spring, never is there withering, forever
there is sprouting, there is verdure, it is eternally green.90
The Mural of Teopantitla in Teotihuacan was first in identified 1942 as a
representation of the Tlalocan described by Sahagun.91The mural represents several tiny

'pJ
A.:.U?
Figure 13. Detail of Teopantitla mural, Teotihuacan. Reproduced in the

Teotihuacan Room, MNA.
figures swimming, relaxing and playing in a place with rivers, caves, vegetation, birds and
butterflies. Recent investigations have recognized some of the plants as maize, oceloxochitl
(Tigridia pavonia (L.f.) DC?),92 cacao, toloache (Datura stramonium L.),93 yauhtli
(Tagetes lucida Cav.),94 ololiuhqui (Turbina corymnbosaRafin.)9s and papaver (Papaver
somniferunz L.)96 suggesting that part of this paradisical garden was dedicated to the
cultivation of medicinal plants (Figure I3). This is also proved by the presence of some
figures depicted in the act of curing people (Figure I4).97 If this is the case, the pre-
Colombian garden described by the first Spanish eyewitnesses as a place filled with
aromatic flowers, medicinal plants, brightly coloured tropical birds, pools and rivulets
corresponds to the Mesoamerican concept of a sacred garden heaven. In addition,
Tlalocan merged with Tamoanchan, the mythological locus associated with the creation
of both the gods and mankind. Like Tlaocan, Tamoanchan had all the positive attributes of
a terrestrial paradise 'the place of rain and mist where the children of men are made,

Figure 14. Detail of Teopantitla mural, Teotihuacan. One can observe that various figures are depicted in the
act of curing people. Reproduced in the Teotihuacan Room, MNA.
where the jewelled fish are sought ....98 Thus, Tamoanchan had both celestial and
terrestrial features of the 'paradise of origins'. In the codices of central Mexico,
Tamoanchan was often represented by an anthropomorphic tree sometimes with fruits
and flowers, sometimes broken. In the Cantares Mexicanos, a series of poems in Nahuatl
language, it is frequently referred to as a blossoming tree:
The Blossoming Tree erect is in Tamoanchan
There you were created, there we were given the law;
With royal words it made us turn;
This god of ours for whom everything lives.
Which gold do I cast, which jade do I carve
Our brotherly song;
Like a turquoise for four times
He makes us turn four times in Tamoanchan,
Tamoanchan, home of the giver of life.99
Tamoanchan has been identified with the cosmic tree, the axis mundis, centre of the world
and place of origin, with its roots in the underworld and its branches in the sky. The scene
in the mural of Teopantitla has been interpreted as a representation of Tamoanchan and
Tlalocan, and the tree behind the god figure as representing the cosmic tree of
Tamoanchan, where opposite forces meet to create the world of man (Figure 15).100

Figure 15. Detail of Teopantitla mural, Teotihuacan. The tree behind the god figure probably represents the
cosmic tree of Tamoanchan. Reproduced in the Teotihuacan Room, MNA.
There is more to it. Tlalocan, paradise of the rain god, was in a way the
conceptualization of a space underneath the earth full of water, which connected the
mountains to the sea. As Sahagin indicates, the ancient inhabitants of Mexico believed
that all rivers proceeded from a place called Tlalocan: 'And they say that the mountains
were only magic places, with earth and with rock on the surface, that they were only like
ollas or like houses, that they were filled with the water which was there ....,101 Large
and deep caves were a particularly apt entrance to Tlalocan and Duran tells us that Tlaloc
is the 'God of rain, Thunder and Lightening. The Name means Path under the Earth or
Long Cave .. ..102 In the codices, it is often depicted inside a mountain or a cave and in
the valley around Mexico City there was a sanctuary high up on Mount Tlaloc dedicated
to him (Figure i6). The cult of mountains and caves is a fundamental aspect of the cult of
Tlaloc, thus associating him with fertility, earth goddesses and the night.103
Mountains and caves were sacred to Mesoamerican people as they were sources of
ethnic origins and creation myths (Aztecs traced their origins back to a place called
Chicomoztoc or seven caves) they were the domain of the earth gods and thus associated
with fertility. According to an Aztec myth, Tonacatepetl 'Sunshine Mountain' or
'Sustenance Mountain' was the mythological source of food crops.'04 It may be exactly
for this reason that pre-Hispanic people preferred to build their gardens on top of

Figurei6. Tlaloc insidehis templeon Mount

Tlaloc. Codex Borbonicus, f.z4. Angel Palerm
Library.
mountains and hills where there were springs and caves. The garden of Chapultepec was
laid out on the top of the 'Chapulin' (grasshopper) mountain. Tepetl means mountain in
Nahuatl and the spring that issued forth at Chapultepec was canalized to provide the city
of Tenochtitlan with water.105The toponimous of Huastepec is composed of huaxin
(guaje) a fruit tree that grows in the area and tepetl, mountain. As we can see from a
colonial map of I580 (Figure 17), there were three 'ojos de aguas' or natural pools in
Huastepec. One of them is now called 'la Poza Azul' owing to its transparent blue water.
The River Yauhtepec here originates and in ancient times it crossed the famous botanical
garden of Montezuma. Near this natural pool a sculpture of a serpent was found, an
animal, as we have seen, associated with water and fertility. Hernan Cortes in 1521
writing about Huastepec mentioned this river:
Guastepeque ... it was the finest, most pleasant, and largest that ever was seen, having a
circumferenceof two leagues, and a very pretty rivulet with high banks ran along it from one
end to the other . .. there were lodgings, arboursand refreshinggardensand an infinitenumber
of different kinds of fruit trees; many herbs and scented flowers. It certainly filled one with
admirationto see the grandeurand exquisite beauty of this entire orchard.106
The deities worshipped in Huastepec were Cihualcoatl-Quilazli, Xochiquetzal, Xochipilli-
Macuilxochitl, all gods related to fertility, procreation, dancing and singing. Another
important god was Matlacxochitl (ten flowers) a kind of goddess of medicine, which
confirms the importance of Huastepec as a botanical garden.107Nezahualcoyotl also laid
out his garden on the sacred hill of Tezcotzinco (Figure 18) and used the canalized waters
flowing down from the springs of Mount Tlaloc to create ponds with panoramic views
from the hillside. The hilltop was defined by a spiralling path reached by rock-cut stairs
rising from the probable site of Nezahualcoyotl's villa on the southern slope below.
Another path traverses the hill along the east-west axis. There were baths and pools
placed at the cardinal points around the circumambulating path. On the summit were

Figure 7..n..,Re 985). Acuna

Nationa
Figure I7. Map of Huastepec, I580; from Pintura de Huaxtepeque .., Ren Acuna edn (I985). National
General Archive (AGN), Mexico City.
found the remains of a Tlaloc shrine. Below, to the east, monumental sculptures were
dedicated to agricultural divinities. Other natural shrines in Tezcozinco include a cave at
the transition-point between Nezahualcoyotl's residence and the botanical collections on
the lower south slope of the hill.108
Thus, the Mesoamericans created gardens on natural sacred places where the work
of man in the form of canals, pools, temples, reliefs existed in perfect harmony with
natural features such as mountains, caves and springs. This garden was not only a
representation of a terrestrial paradise, a Tlalocan-Tamoanchan, but also it was a ritual
place where kings and magnates performed rites that linked their people to the sacred
forces of the earth and sky that gave them life. However, there is another aspect of the
garden that was equally important: its political iconography. On the rocks of the hill at
Chapultepec and Huastepec there were reliefs representing the effigies of the king and his
ancestors whose function was to remind the population of the royal family accomplish-
ments. Montezuma told his brother Tlacaelel:
... Brother,see all the hardshipsandafflictionsthatwe haveendureduntiltodayto maintain
this republicandhow we haveexpandedandenlargedthe Mexicannationby winningmany
wars.Wedeserveto be remembered, me
forthisreasonI decidedthattwo statues,representing
and you, will be carvedin the gardenof Chapultepec. There,in stonethat stonecutterswill
considerthe best,we will be carvedfor perpetualmemory,as a rewardfor our work.So that
oursonsandgrandsonsseeingoureffigieswill remember ourgreataccomplishments andstrive
to imitate us ....109

.

In Huastepec Tezozomoc reports how Montezuma the Elder (Ilhuicamina, 1440-69) had
sculpted on the rocks of the garden the effigies of his ancestors:
Another day Moctezuma called Cihuacoatl and told him: Tlacaeletzin, I am also informedthat
there is a very pleasant place in Huastepec, where there are rocks, gardens,springs,flowers and
fruit trees. Cihuacoatl Tlacaeleltzin answered to this and said: Sir, it is very well agreed that
there [in Huastepec] will be representedthe kings, your ancestors ....110
The gardens of Tezcozinco also incorporate the imagery of national history represented
by Nezahualcoyotl, fifteenth-century warrior-king and founder-father of the imperial
Tetzcocan state. The historical sources describe at the summit of the hill a sculpture
........... :a.. . ~ y .,. ..... ., .: .a...

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Figure i8. Tetzcotzinco. Photo: Michael Calderwood.

Figure i9. East Collector. Photo:

Michael Calderwood.
carved in the stone matrix of the mountainside of a coyote-like figure. In effect, this was
the name glyph of Nezahualcoyotl or 'Fasting Coyote'. The king image was represented
as a feathered wolf, probably a figure similar to the Aztec sculptures of a plumed coyote
or 'coyotl inahual', in Nahuatl.11 Another much more complex sculptural relief described
at length by Ixtlilxochitl illustrated key events of the Tezcocan' s ruler life. According to
the sources, the reliefs were situated near the first collector of water (east side) on a
circular stone sculpted on the rock and they represented the coat of arms of Nezahualcoy-
otl (Figure 19). There exists a Tezcoco's coat of arms, awarded to the city by Carlos V in
I551, that coincides with the Ixtlilxochitl's description of the reliefs on Tezcozinco.11
This coat of arms refers to Nezahualcoyotl in his warrior role alluding to his conquests
and as a poet alluding to his songs and poems, represented by a flower and a drum. War is
represented by an arrow and a chimalli (shield) and by water and fire. An arm with a bow
and arrow near a hill (tepetl) refers to the altepetl or territory of the chichimeca-alcohua.
The arms (acolli) and the lion (miztli) which support the coat of arms form the second
name of Nezahualcoyotl 'Acolmiztli' or 'lion arm'.113Finally, Ixtlilxochitl mentions that
facing the north side there were three frogs sculpted on the rock at the border of a pool
and they alluded to Tenochitlan, Tetzcoco and Tlacopan; the three allied cities which

Figure zo. Tezcoco bath. Photo:

Michael Calderwood.
from I431 governed the centre of Mexico for almost a century (Figurezo). The sculptures
at Tezcozinco were commissioned by the monarch to remind the population of his
historical achievements in the early fifteenth-century wars that established Texcocan
independence and built an empire in alliance with Tenochitlan. His personal memorial
was an integral part of the sacred gardens of Tezcozinco, thus proving that this garden
like the one at Chapultepec and Huastepec served also as political propaganda.
CONCLUSION
The animistic sacred geography of the Mesoamerican people made them layout their
gardens around ritual places such as mountains, springs and caves. Their gardens were
sacred places associated with the curing of physical and spiritual ills and conveying the
idea of a terrestrial paradise. At the same time they served the king to reinforce his ties
with the cosmic forces through the presence of certain animals and plants and to convey
certain patriotic and political ideas by means of its architectural iconography. Pre-
Hispanic people created paradise-like gardens for worship and contemplation which
reflected the harmonic integration between nature and man and where nature continued
to have a prominent role.

REFERENCES
1 An earlier and much abbreviated version of this 19Lozoya and Lozoya, Flora Medicinal de
paper was read at the IIth Annual Afro-Hispanic Mexico, 248.
Literature and Culture Conference, San Jose, Costa 20 Martin de la
Cruz, Libellus de Medicinalibus
Rica, July zooo, and which may appear in the Indorum Herbis, trans. Juan Badiano (Mexico:
Proceedings of the Conference. Fondo de Cultura Economica, Instituto Mexicano
2 Angel Ma. Garibay (ed.), Teogonia e Historia de del Seguro Social, 1991). The manuscript, housed in
los Mexicanos (Mexico: Porrua, 1965), io8. the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico
3
Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, Florentine Codex: City, was written in I552 by Juan Badiano, who
General History of the Things of New Spain, trans. translated from Nahuatl into Latin the knowledge of
Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (Santa the Indian doctor Martin de la Cruz. The Codex has
Fe: School of American Research and the University one hundred and fifty colour paintings of medicinal
of Utah, I95o-82), bk VII, 3-9. plants used by the Indians. Almost all were identified,
4
Fray Toribio de Benevente Motolinia, Historia f.29r.
de los Indios de la Nueva Espana (Mexico: Porrua, 21 Heyden, Mitologia y Simbolismo de la Flora en
1995), ch. 3, 26-7; Fray Bartolome de las Casas, el Mexico PreHispanico, II3.
Apologetica Historia, 2 vols (Mexico: Universidad 22 Hernandez, Historia Natural de la Nueva
Nacional de Mexico, 1967), ch. I, 639-40. Espana, bk II, 225.
5 Fray Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites 23 F. Cervantes de Salazar, Cronica de la Nueva
and the Ancient Calendar, trans. and ed. Fernando
Espana (Mexico: Museo Nacional de Arqueologia
Horcasitas and Doris Heyden (Norman: University Historia y Etnografia, I936), II, 24-5.
of Oklahoma Press, I97I), z38. 24 L6pez de G6mara, Historia de la Conquista de
6 Carlos Viesca Trevino, 'Usos de las Plantas
Mexico [Zaragoza I552] (Mexico: Porrua, 1988),
Medicinales Mexicanas', Arqueologia Mexicana, 7 I09.
(I 999) 25 'huertas y jardines de todas las flores que por
7 Ibid. todo aquel reino se podian hallar, que no son pocas
8 Robert
Bye and Edelmira Linares, 'Plantas . .'; Fray Bartolome de las Casas, Apologetica
medicinales del Mexico prehispanico', Arqueologia
Historia, ch. L, 268.
Mexicana, 7 (I999), 4-II. 26 Fray Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de
9 Fray Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de
Nueva Espana, bk II, zo8.
Nueva Espana (Mexico: Porrua, I967), bk XIII, i8. 27 Cacao: products from the cacao tree claimed to
10Salvador Diaz Cintora, Xochiquetzal (Mexico:
be restricted to the upper class. The high value placed
Universidad Nacional de Mexico, 1990), I8.
on cacao was based on its function as currency in
1 Francisco Hernandez, Historia Natural de la
Nueva Espana, Obras Completas, 4 vols (Mexico: pre-Conquest exchange systems and on its use as a
Universidad Nacional de Mexico, 1976), bk IV, 389. prestigious beverage and stimulant. Sahagun refers to
12 Angel MariaGaribay, Veinte Himnos Sacros de
chocolate as 'the privilege, the drink of nobles, of
los Nahuas. Fuentes Indigenas de la Cultura rulers'; Florentine Codex, bk VI, 256; X, 93. The
Nahuatl. Informantes de Sahagun (Mexico: consumption of chocolate was limited to wealthy
Universidad Nacional de Mexico, Insituto de upper class, to the elderly or those honoured for their
achievements by the state. The cacao bean also has a
Historia, 1958), I65.
13Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana: stimulating effect on the drinker because of the
alkaloid theobromine. The effect of the cacao drink
Mitologia y Tradiciones (Mexico: Everest Mexicana,
as a stimulant is referred to by Sahagun when he
1985), I03.
14
Xavier Lozoya and Mariana Lozoya, Flora writes that the beverage 'makes one dizzy confuses
Medicinal de Mexico (Mexico: Instituto Mexicano one, . . deranges one'; bk XI, II9-o0. Chocolate
del Seguro Social, 1982), 231. was also known as an aphrodisiac: a conviction that
15Doris Heyden, Mitologia y Simbolismo de la prompted its continued cultivation by Spanish
Flora en el Mexico PreHispanico (Mexico: settlers and boasted its popularity ratings among
Universidad Nacional de Mexico, I983), 23. sixteenth-century European nobility.
28
16 Jose Luis Diaz, 'Plantas Magicas y Sagradas de Hueynacaztli: this flower dried and grinded
la Medicina Indigena de Mexico. Etnofarmacologia y together with mecaxochitl and tlilxochitl was put
Psiquiatria Experimental', in Historia General de la inside the flower yolloxochitl and hung around the
Medicina en Mexico, 2 vols: I, Mexico Antiguo, ed. neck of travellers as an amulet; Martin de la Cruz,
Fernando Martinez Cortes (Mexico: Universidad Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis, 8I. It has
Autonoma de Mexico, 1984), 231-50. been suggested that the smell of this plant has
17 Gordon Wasson, 'The role of flowers in Nahuatl hallucinogenic properties; Carlos Viesca Trevifo,
culture: a suggested interpretation', Botanical 'Los psicotr6picos y la medicina de los gobernantes
Museum Leaflets [Harvard University], 23 (I973), entre los aztecas', in Estudios sobre Etnobotanica y
305-24. Antropologia Medica II (Mexico: Instituto Mexicano
18 Richard Schulte
Evans, Plants of the Gods para el Estudio de las Plantas Medicinales, 1977),
(Rochester: Healing Arts, 1992), 151. 45-58.

29
Yolloxochitl: an important flowering tree was also a remedy against poisonous animals;
known as 'heart flower'. Hernandez mentions that Hernandez, Historia Natural de la Nueva Espana, bk
the tree was 'appreciated by the Indians as much for III, i6I.
its medicinal uses as for its beauty and the aroma of 34Hernando Alvaro Tezoz6moc, Cronica
its flowers'; Hernandez, Historia Natural de la Mexicana [I588] (Mexico: Porrua, I980), 370-I;
Nueva Espana, bk II, 5. The yolloxochitl was so Fray Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva
esteemed by the natives that according to Sahagun's Espana, bk II, 247.
informants the tree was cultivated only for the 35 Martin de la
Cruz, Libellus de Medicinalibus
nobility and its flowers were used in offerings to the Indorum Herbis, 57.
most important deities; Florentine Codex, bk IX, 36
Fray Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de
330. Part of yolloxochitl's importance was the Nueva Espana, bk II, 248.
physical resemblance of the unopened bud to the 37 The Codex
Borgia (Apostolic Library, Vatican,
human heart, as expressed in its Nahuatl name Rome) is one of the most beautiful of the few
(yollotli, heart; xochitl, flower). The Aztecs surviving pre-Colombian painted manuscripts. Its
considered the heart the centre of a person's life and special significance has been seen in its detailed
spirit and the animating force. The plant's magical depiction of highlands Mesoamerican gods and the
powers were manifold. When dried and hollowed ritual and divination associated with them.
out, the yolloxochitl bud was filled with a mixture of 38 Gisela Diaz and Alan
Rodgers. The Codex
other flowers and hung around the neck of the Borgia. A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient
travellers as a protective amulet. It was - and in Mexican Manuscript (New York: Dover, I993), pl.
rural Mexico still is - considered the most efficacius 53; also Cecilia Klein, 'The ideology of autosacrifice
medicine in heart diseases. The plant was also used at the Templo Mayor', in The Aztec Templo Mayor,
to expel bad humours from a patient's chest; Martin ed. Elisabeth Boone (Washington, DC: Dumbarton
de la Cruz, Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Oaks, I987), 293-363.
Herbis, 77. 39William Prescott, Historia de la Conquista de
30 Cacahuaxochitl: in Nahuatl it means 'precious Mexico [1844] (Mexico: Porrua, I985), 85.
flower' and it is the flower of the cacao tree. Because 40 'Pero en nada se deleitaba tanto Nezahualcoyotl
of its beautiful smell, the flowered branches were como en el estudio de la naturaleza. Adquirio
much used in ritual ceremonies. algunos conocimientos de astronomia con la
31 Huacalxochitl: in Nahuatl it means 'basket frecuente observacion que hacia del curso de los
flower' and it was one of the most venerated flowers astros. Se aplico a conocer las plantas y los animales,
by the Aztecs. In addition to having medicinal value, y porque no podia mantener en su corte, por razon
the huacalxochitl was one of the most noteworthy de clima, los propios de otros paises, hizo pintar al
ritual accessories in Aztec ceremonies; considered so vivo en su palacio todos los vegetales y animales de la
precious and aromatic that the supreme Aztec ruler tierra de Anahuac, de las cuales pinturas fue testigo
Moctezuma II offered the flower at the temple of the ocular y se aprovecho en parte un siglo despues el
Aztec deity Huitzilopochtli. It was also used to celebre naturalista Hernandez, como el mismo
decorate military heroes and the 'tlatoiani', i.e. the testifica su Historia natural .. .'; F. Javier Clavijero,
ruler. The value of huacalxochitl was related to Historia Antigua de Mexico [I78I] (Mexico: Porrua,
fertility through the sexual symbolism inherent in its I99I), I, II5.
blossom; Sahagun, Florentine Codex, bk II, 209; 41 Lozoya and Lozoya, Flora Medicinal de
Hernandez, Historia Natural de la Nueva Espana, bk Mexico, I I.
42 Salvador Diaz
IX, 389. Cintora, Xochiquetzal, i8.
32 Cacaloxochitl: in Nahuatl it means 'crow- 43 Bernardo
Baytelman, Acerca de las Plantas y de
flower'. Hernandez affirmed that it was a flourishing Curanderos. Etnobotanica y Antropologia Medica en
tree mainly used for its beautiful aromatic flowers. el estado de Morelos (Mexico: Instituto Nacional de
He wrote that the natives made garlands with it and Antropologia y Historia, 1993), 71.
the flowered branches of the tree were offered to 44 Carmen
Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, 139.
governors or important people. He also indicated its 45 Heyden, Mitologia y Simbolismo de la Flora en
medicinal use for stomach diseases; Historia Natural el Mexico PreHispanico, 49-57.
de la Nueva Espana, bk IX, 403. Martin de la Cruz, 46
Lozoya and Lozoya, Flora Medicinal de
however, prescribes it as a remedy for those people Mexico, 23I.
who suffered from a shock; Martin de la Cruz, 47 Ibid.,
248.
Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis, 76. 48] Jacques Soustelle, El Universo de los Aztecas
33 Tlilxochitl: in Nahuatl it means 'black flower' (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1982),
and is commonly known as vanilla. The black I44-76; Miguel Leon Portilla, La Filosofia Nahuatl
sheaths of the flower were highly praised for their (Mexico: Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 1997),
pleasant smell. It was added to chocolate drink to 99-IIz.
enhance its taste. Hernandez wrote that it was 49 Jose Corona Nunez (ed.),
Antiguedades de
prescribed to those who spat blood. It was also used Mexico basadas en la recopilacion de Lord
to provoke women's menstruations, accelerate their Kingsborough, 4 vols: IV, Codex Fejervary-Mayer
labour and ease the extraction of a dead foetus. It (Mexico: Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico,

CONCEPT OF THE GARDEN IN PRE-HISPANIC MEXICO 2II
I972). The Codex Fejervary-Mayer (Liverpool 8 ... Tiene muchos cuartos altos y bajos, jardines
Museums, UK [Ethnology Collection]) is a codex of muy frescos de muchos arboles y rosas olorosas; asi
the Borgia group and represents a pre-Hispanic ritual mismo albercas de agua dulce muy bien labradas con
calendar. sus escaleras hasta lo hondo ... y dentro de la
50 Ibid., III, Codex Vaticanus B (3773). The Codex alberca hay mucho pescado y muchas aves, asi como
Vaticanus B (Apostolic Library, Vatican, Rome), lavancos y zarzetas y otros genero de aves de agua,
which includes Codex Vaticanus (3773), Codex tantas que muchas veces casi cubren el agua .. .';
Vaticano Rituale and Codex Fabrega, represents a Hernan Cortes, Cartas de Relacion (Mexico: Porrua,
pre-Hispanic ritual calendar. 1992), 50.
69 'estaban la casa de
51 Codex Vidobonensis Mexicanus (Graz: aves, en donde el rey tenia
Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1963). Codex todos cuantos generos y diversidad habia de aves y
Vidobonensis (Nationalbibliothek, Vienna) is a animales, sierpes y culebras traidas de diversas partes
mixtec historical manuscript that deals with local de esta Nueva Espana, y las que no podian ser
history and royal genealogies from various habidas estaban sus figuras hecha de pedreria y oro, y
communities of the Mixteca Alta and surrounding lo mismo era de los peces, y asi de los que hay y se
crian en el mar como en los rios y lagunas, de tal
regions.
52 Esther Pasztory, The Murals of Teopantitla, modo, que no faltaba alliiave, pez ni animal de toda
Teotihuacan (New York: Garland, 1976), 15z-3. esta tierra, que no estuviese vivo o hecho figura y
53 Linda Schiele and Mary Ellen Miller, The Blood talla en piedras de oro y pedreria .. .'; Fernando de
Alvo Ixtlilxochitl, Obras Historicas (Mexico:
of Kings (Forth Worth: Kimball Art Museum, 1986).
54 Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana, 80. Chavero, I895), 97.
70 'No solamente Montezuma tenia casas y
55 Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, izo.
56 Bernardo Baytelman, Acerca de las Plantas y de aposientos para hombres, pero tambien para bestias
Curanderos, 71. y aves y diversos animales, no menos grandes y de
57 Schiele and Miller, Blood of Kings, 277-8. notables edificios que las de los hombres. Tenia casa
58 Hernandez, Historia Natural de la Nueva
de aves, y esta era de muchos aposientos y con sus
corredores edificados sobre unos pilares de jaspe
Espaia, bk II, 46. cada pilar de una pieza que en Espafia fueron de gran
59 Victor Jimenez, El Arbol de Tule en la Historia
(Mexico: Codex Editores, I99o). precio. Caian estos corredores sobre una huerta muy
60 '. . .Titlacahuan llam6 al que tenia el nombre de grande, por lo cual habia distinctos diez o doce
Tata y a su mujer llamada Nene, y les dijo: iNo estanque, algunos de agua salada para las aves que
viven y se mantienen por el agua salada, y otras de
querais nada mas; agujerad un ahuehuetl muy grande
agua dulce para las que por ella viven y se crian....
y ahi os metereis cuando sea la vigilia y se venga Andaban en estos estanques tan inmensos numeros
hundiendo el cielo!. . .'; Leyenda de los Soles, in de aves que parecian todas las de docientas lenguas
Codice Chimalpopoca, trans. De Primo Fernando haberse alli ayuntado. Eran de diversos colores y
Velazquez (Mexico: Universidad Autonoma de especies y formas que ninguno de los nuestros que las
Mexico, 1945), II9-64 (IZO). vian sabian determinar si podian ser por el mundo
61 Fray Juan Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, 3
tantas ni tales.... Servian y estaban dedicados para
vols (Mexico: Salvador Chavez Hayhoe, 1943), II, 44. la cura de estas aves treciento personas.... Otra
62 'Los jardines de Moctezuma se prolongaban por
cosa tenia muy notable y muy grande con muchos
millas alrededor del cerro ... y el suelo es todavia cuartos y aposientos altos y bajos. En algunas habia
sombreado por gigantescos cipreses mas de cincuenta otras maneras de aves, y estas las de rapina, curadas
pies de circumferencia . ..'; Prescott, Historia de la como las pasadas.... En las salas bajas estaban
Conquista de Mexico, 280. hechas jaulas de vigas muy recias, donde estaban,
63 Fray Toribio de Benevente Motolinia, Historia
leones, tigres, adives, zorras, lobos y toda manera de
de los Indios de la Nueva Espana, 147. bravos animales.... Todos los mandaban a buscar y
64 Brantz
Mayer, Mexico Aztec Spanish and poner en sus jaulas para monstrar la grandeza de su
Republican, z vols (Hartford Brake, I853), II, 276. estado y por eso no faltaban los grandes cocodrilos,
65 Ibid.
66 que comunemente llamamos aca lagartos de agua, y
Antonio Zepillo Castillo, Cronica Florida de de los pequenos de tierra y culebras feriosisimas y
Oaxtepec (Mexico: Instituto Mexicano del Seguro vivoras y iguanas.... En otra solo tenia de las aves
Social, 1994). generosas como los halcones, azores, gavilanes,
67 'casas en
bosques de gran circuitos y cercados de aguilas y de todas especie de ellos y en otra milanos y
agua para que las salvajinas no saliesen fuera y la buitres de cada especieo ralea . . .'; Fray Bartolome
caza estuvise segura. Dentro destos bosques habia de las Casas, Apologetica Historia, z66-8.
fuentes, rios y albercas con peces, conejeras, vivares, 71 Carmen
Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana;
riscos y penoles en que andaban ciervos, liebres, Oliver Guilhem, 'Moqueries et metamorphoses d'un
zorras, lobos y otro semejantes animales en cuya caza dieu azteque: Tezcatlipoca, le 'segneur au mirroir
mucho y muy a menudo se exercitaban los sefiores fumant"' (Paris:Institut d'Ethnologie CEMCA,
mexicanos .. .'; Cervantes de Salazar, Cronica de la I997).
72
Nueva Espana, 24. Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, 63.

73 Ibid. 97 Ibid.
98
Ibid., 49.
74 Sahaguin,Florentine Codex, bk II, zIO-Iz.
75 Jeanette
Favrot Peterson, Precolombian Flora 99 'El Arbol Floreciente erguido esta en
and Fauna (San Diego: Mingei International, 1990), Tamoanchan/ Alli tu fuiste creado, se nos impuso la
5. ley;/ Con regias palabras nos hizo dar giros,/ Ese
76 Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, nuestro dios por quien todo vive./ Cual oro yo fundo,
47-9. cual jade yo labro/ Nuestro hermano canto;/ Como
77 Ibid. una turquesa por cuatro veces/ Nos hace girar cuatro
78 Raul Valdez
Azua, 'Los Animales domesticos', veces en Tamoanchan,/ Tamoanchan que es la casa
Arqueologia Mexicana, 6 (I999), 32-9. del dador de la vida'; Angel Maria Garibay, Poesia
79 Ibid. Nahuatl, 3 vols (Mexico: Universidad Autonoma de
Peterson, Precolombian Flora and Fauna, 22
80
Mexico, I963), II, I39.
Miguel Leon Portilla, Historia de los Mexicanos
81 100Alfred L6pez Austin, Tlalocan y Tamoanchan,
(Mexico: Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, I963), 226-9.
35- 101Sahagun, Florentine Codex, bk XI, 247.
82 Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, 102
Fray Diego Duran, Book of the Gods and Rites
73-5. and the Ancient Calendar, 54.
83 Peterson, Precolombian Flora and Fauna, 103
Doris Heyden, 'Caves, gods and myths: world-
36-7.
84 Carmen
Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, 15. view and planning in Teotihuacan', in Mesoamerican
85
Johanna Broda, 'Templo Mayor as a ritual Sites and World Views, ed. Elisabeth P. Benson
space', in The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan: Center (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, I98I), I-39.
and Perifery in the Aztec World, eds Johanna Broda, Also Johanna Broda 'The sacred landscape of Aztec
David Carrasco and Edoardo Matos Moctezuma calendar festivals: myth, nature and society', in Aztec
(Berkeley: University of California Press, I987), 92. Cerimonial Landscapes, ed. David Carrasco (Niwot:
Also Michel Graulich, Afterlife in Mexican Thought University Press of Colorado, 1999), 75-1z0.
(Frankfurtam Main: Circumpacifica/Peter Lang, 104Richard F. Townsend, 'Coronation at
I990). Tenochtitlan', in The Aztec Templo Mayor, ed.
86Alfred L6pez Austin, Tlalocan y Tamoanchan Elisabeth Hill Boone (Washington, DC: Dumbarton
(Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1994), Oaks, 1987), 37I-409.
223-4. 105William Prescott, Historia de la Conquista de
87 Sahagun, Florentine Codex, bk III, 47; VI, 38, Mexico, 277.
II4. 106'Guastepeque ... es la mayor y mas hermosa y
88
Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, 137. fresca que nunca se vio, porque tiene dos lenguas de
89
Lozoya and Lozoya, Flora Medicinal de circuito, y por medio de ella va una muy gentil ribera
Mexico, iii. de agua, ... Hay Aposentamientos y jardines muy
90Ibid., bk III, 45; VI, 35; XI, 247. frescos, y infinitos Arboles de diversas Frutas y
91Alfonso Caso, 'El Paraiso Terrenal en muchas Yerbas y Flores olorosas que cierto es cosa de
Teotihuacan', Cuadernos Americanos, 6 (1942), admiracion ver la gentileza y grandeza de toda esta
Iz7-36. Huerta'; Hernan Cortes, Cartas de Relacion
92 Oceloxochitl: in Nahuatl it means 'tiger flower'. (Mexico: Porrua, 1992), 124.
The Aztecs named it flower of the ocelot (jaguar) for 107 Druzo Maldonado, Deidades y Espacio Ritual
the dark spots on its red and yellow petals. The en Cuauhnahuac y Huaxtepec (Mexico: Universidad
flower was awarded special importance because of its Nacional de Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones
resemblance to the jaguar, a status element in Aztec Antropologicas, zooo), II8-24.
Mexico. It was used to make crowns and garlands. 108Richard F. Townsend, 'Pyramid and sacred
Not only were its bulbs considered sweet and edible, mountain', in Ethnoastronomy in the American
but also the flower was consumed to promote Tropics, ed. Anthony Aveni (New York: Academy of
fertility; Carmen Aguilera, Flora y Fauna Mexicana, Sciences, 1998), 37-6I; The Aztecs (London: Thames
97. & Hudson, 1993). Also Miguel Medina, Arte y
93 Lozoya and Lozoya, Flora Medicinal de Estetica de el Tetzcotzinco, Arquitectura de Paisaje
Mexico, 248. en la epoca de Netzahualcoyotl (Mexico:
94Bernardo Baytelman, Acerca de las Plantas y de Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 1997).
Curanderos, 156. 09 '... Hermano, ya veis los trabajos y afliciones
95 Lozoya and Lozoya, Flora Medicinal de con que hasta el dia de hoy hemos sustentado esta
Mexico, 231. republica y c6mo hemos ensanchado y engrandecido
96 The
plant has been recently identified by Dr la naci6n mexicana, venciendo en muchas guerras.
Xavier Lozoya as one of the plants represented in the Justo sera quede memoria de vos y de mi, para lo
mural of Teopantintla. This opens the possibility cual tengo determinado de que se labren dos
that opium or some of its varieties could have existed estatuas, una mia y otra vuestra, dentro en el cercado
also in pre-Hispanic Mexico; Xavier Lozoya, 'Un de Chapultepec, y que allii,en la piedra que mejor
Paraiso de Plantas Medicinales', Arqueologia pareciere a los canteros, quedemos esculpidos para
Mexicana, 7 (1999), 14-2I. perpetua memoria, en premio de nuestros trabajos;

para que viendo alli nuestra figura, se acuerden 11m Fray Agustin Davila Padilla, Historia de la
nuestros hijos y nietos de nuestros grandes hechos y Fundacion de la Provincia de Santiago de Mexico
se esfuercen a imitarnos .. .'; Fray Diego Duran, (Brussels, 1625), 619-zo; quoted in Miguel 0. de
Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espana, 245. Mendizabal, 'El Jardin de Netzahualcoyotl', Ethnos
110'A otro dia llam6 Moctezuma a Cihuacoatl, y III, I (I9z5), 92; Fernando de Alvo Ixtlilxochitl,
dijole: Tlacaeletzin, tambien soy avisado que esta un Obras Historicas (Mexico: Chavero, I895), 237.
sitio muy deleitoso en Huastepec, donde hay penas 112 Fernando de Alvo Ixtlilxochitl, Obras
vivas, jardines, fuentes, rosales y arboles frutales. A Historicas, 211.
esto respondi6 Cihuac6atlTlacaeleltzin y dijo; Sefior,
113 Rodrigo Martinez Baracs, 'El Tetzcotzinco y los
es muy bien acordado que alla [en Huastepec] figuren
Simbolos del Patriotismo Tezcocano', Arqueologia
los reyes vuestros antepasados. ..'; Tezoz6moc,
Cronica Mexicana, I75. Mexicana, 7 (I999), 52-7.
CORRIGENDUM
David R. Coffin, 'Venus in the eighteenth-century garden',

Garden History, z8 (zooo), I73-93 (on p. I78)
The quotation on the Temple of Venus at Stowe, Buckinghamshire,was inadvertently

ascribedto Catullus,while in fact it derivedfrom 'PervigiliumVeneris',written by an
anonymousauthor.


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Concept of the Garden in Pre-Hispanic Mexico

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CONCEPT OF THE GARDEN IN PRE-HISPANIC MEXICO1

The famousAztec royalgardensamazedthe firstconquerorsfor theirvariety,extent and

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FLORA AND FAUNA IN PRE-HISPANIC GARDENS

Figure i. Birth of a deity. The plant is a

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~-v' *~ - ~" '~' Figure z. Qtuetzalmizquitli, Florentine Codex, Bk

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Figure 3. Ololiuhqui. Florentine Codex, Bk XI,

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Together with Cervantes, another famous scholar, Lopez de G6mara, confirmed in

7z; t, \;. , ,ffn,,. q'e.Ce fiat -

Figure 5. Tolohuaxihuitl or Toloache and

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? 7t* 2 >~~i iiit, _

Figure 6. Cacahuaxochitl and

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Figure io. Mixtec creation accounts: a scene of tree

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The famous zoological garden of Montezuma that impressed the 'conquistadores' so

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o*:.; ,...^s '^^^s. i . .* j ^

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SYMBOLISM IN PRE-HISPANIC GARDENS

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Figure 13. Detail of Teopantitla mural, Teotihuacan. Reproduced in the

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Figurei6. Tlaloc insidehis templeon Mount

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Figure 7..n..,Re 985). Acuna

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206 GARDEN HISTORY 29:2

........... :a.. . ~ y .,. ..... ., .: .a...

*i.i ... .' C ;. ,- l Y

Figure i8. Tetzcotzinco. Photo: Michael Calderwood.

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Figure i9. East Collector. Photo:

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Figure zo. Tezcoco bath. Photo:

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David R. Coffin, 'Venus in the eighteenth-century garden',

The quotation on the Temple of Venus at Stowe, Buckinghamshire,was inadvertently

This content downloaded from 205.133.226.104 on Thu, 1 Aug 2013 13:02:52 PM

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o:.; ,...^s '^^^s. i . . j ^