Diego Durán facts for kids

Diego Durán (born around 1537 – died 1588) was a Dominican friar, which is a type of religious brother. He is famous for writing one of the first Western books about the history and culture of the Aztecs. His book, called The History of the Indies of New Spain, was finished around 1581. Some people at the time criticized him because they thought his book helped the native people keep their old traditions.

This important book is also known as the Durán Codex. Durán also wrote Book of the Gods and Rites (1574–1576) and Ancient Calendar (around 1579). He was very good at speaking Nahuatl, which was the language of the Aztecs. Because of this, he could talk to native people and read Aztec books (codices). He was also able to use information from earlier friars. Durán was a kind person, which helped him gain the trust of many native people. They shared their stories with him, even though they usually didn't talk to Europeans. This allowed him to write down many unknown folktales and legends, making his work very special.

Early Life in Mexico

Durán was born in Seville, Spain, around 1537. When he was about seven years old, his family moved to Mexico. He later wrote that even though he wasn't born in Texcoco, he grew up there.

Durán spent his childhood in Tetzcoco (Texcoco), which is now in Mexico. This city was an important place for learning. It had a large collection of ancient books made of pictures, now called "codices." The people of Tetzcoco spoke Nahuatl, the Aztec language. Young Durán quickly learned to speak Nahuatl as well as his native Spanish. This skill was very helpful later in his life. It allowed him to work among the native people as a friar and to interview Nahuatl-speaking people in the countryside.

When he was still young, his family moved to Mexico City. There, he went to school and learned more about Aztec culture. This was during the time when Spain ruled Mexico. He also saw many Africans who had been brought to Mexico as slaves by the Spanish. Durán often wondered about the different groups of people and how they fit into society.

Life as a Friar

In 1556, Diego Durán joined the Dominican Order, a religious group. After training in Mexico City, he was sent to Oaxaca in 1561. For a while, he lived in a convent (a religious house) in Oaxtepec. There, he met many people who gave him information. It's thought that he was taught by another Dominican friar named Francisco de Aguilar. Aguilar had been a soldier during the siege of Tenochtitlan, a major battle. He later joined the Dominican order and told Durán many stories about the Aztecs when the Spanish first arrived. Durán often mentioned Aguilar in his History.

Later, Durán became a leader at a convent in Hueyapan. This is where he learned the most from the native Nahua people. The convents had been ordered by King Charles V to teach Christianity to people in rural villages. Durán often went into these villages to talk with the native people. The religious leaders were also supposed to observe native customs and look for old documents.

Durán became very close to the people he was trying to convert. This made him criticize other religious leaders and conquistadors (Spanish conquerors) who never learned the native language. He wrote that they "should know the language well and understand [the people] if they have any pretense of obtaining fruit." He also said that clergy shouldn't just learn enough to hear confession. He even made fun of the Spanish for using the language poorly, which made the natives laugh.

Durán felt caught between two worlds: his own Spanish culture and the Aztec culture. On one hand, he respected the Aztecs and how they organized their government before the Spanish conquest. He grew to admire the native people of Mexico and often said so. On the other hand, he was upset by some of the things his native informants did, especially human sacrifice. It was his job to teach them Christianity, and his Catholic background made him strongly dislike such practices. Another of his duties was to write down the cultural ways of the native people. This was meant to be a guide for other monks trying to convert them. Even though his main goal was to describe "heathen practices" for missionaries, he also wanted his work to be interesting and helpful to others.

In 1585, Durán returned to Mexico City because he was sick. He lived and worked in the Convent of St. Dominic. There, he worked as a translator, changing texts from Nahuatl to Spanish for the Inquisition, a religious court. He died in 1588 from an unknown illness.

Important Historical Works

An excerpt from The History of the Indies of New Spain showing the founding of Tenochtitlan.

The History of the Indies of New Spain, also known as the Durán Codex, has 78 chapters. It covers everything from the Aztec creation story to the time after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. It also includes a timeline of Aztec emperors.

In the 1500s, friars often used each other's writings without saying where they got the information. Some experts believe that the Durán Codex was used to create another book called the Ramírez Codex. Others think that both the Durán Codex and the Ramírez Codex used an even older, unknown work called "Chronicle X." In 1596, another friar, Agustín Dávila Padilla, mentioned Durán as a source in his book, Historia de la fundación y discurso de la Provincia de Mexico.

The Durán Codex was not published until the 1800s. It was found in a library in Madrid by José Fernando Ramírez. In his book Ancient Calendar, Durán explained why his work would stay hidden for so long. He said, "some persons (and they are not a few) say that my work will revive ancient customs and rites among the Indians." Durán disagreed, saying that native people were already very good at secretly keeping their own customs and didn't need his book for that.

Today, Durán's work is incredibly valuable to archaeologists and others who study Mesoamerica (the region of Mexico and Central America). It is also important for scholars who study the history of native groups. There are only a few Aztec codices (books) that survived from before the Spanish invasion. So, books written after the conquest, like Durán's and Sahagún's, are very important. They help us understand archaeological findings and create a history of native people using texts they produced themselves.

See also

In Spanish: Diego Durán para niños

• Aztec
• Crónica Mexicayotl
• Nahuatl
• Dominican Order
• List of people from Morelos, Mexico