CHAPTER TWO: PILGRIMAGE AND THE TEMPLE OF DEATH IN THE ANCIENT MEXICAN MANUSCRIPTS; Alessia Frassani

CHAPTER TWO PILGRIMAGE AND THE TEMPLE OF DEATH IN THE ANCIENT MEXICAN MANUSCRIPTS ALESSIA FRASSANI Pilgrimage, the ritual journey to sacred places, is a universal feature of religion found in cultures worldwide. Destination and route are equally... More

CHAPTER TWO PILGRIMAGE AND THE TEMPLE OF DEATH IN THE ANCIENT MEXICAN MANUSCRIPTS ALESSIA FRASSANI Pilgrimage, the ritual journey to sacred places, is a universal feature of religion found in cultures worldwide. Destination and route are equally important in a performative act that deeply affects both the psyche and social status of the individuals involved. The ancient pictographic manuscripts from central and southern Mexico offer a unique opportunity to study this ritual practice in indigenous Mesoamerica from a variety of perspectives, since pictography was the preferred medium of communication in the Postclassic period (A.D. 900-1521). Despite the rise of hegemonic forces throughout Precolumbian history, Mesoamerica always remained multiethnic and some hundred different indigenous languages are still spoken today. Relying minimally on phonetic components, pictography successfully enabled community and long-distance communication between people of different ethnic backg Less