Clean Aztecs, Dirty Spaniards

The ones commenting their justification for Spaniard filth have not cited their sources; in other words, they’re information is illegitimate and emotional at best.

Very engaging read; it is such a delight uncovering the other half of my identity that refuses to be forgotten. It is bittersweet but encouraging to know that there are people sacrificing their time and effort to preserve our long lost culture. Thankyou!

Biased article full of myths, nonsense claims and inacurate info. Firstly you use some anecdotes of a random english traveler of the 19th century (who wasn’t even an historian) and his nonsense baseless claims as a source for saying the spanish were smelly and dirty instead of actual historical documents. You even go as far as to say, based on that traveler baseless claims, that Cardenal Cisneros banned bathing to converts, that dirtiness was seen as purity by the spanish monks or that the worst it could be said of the jews and moors is that they bathed which are all complete nonsense claims that are not supported by any historical evidence. Not to add that many of your claims like when you say that the christians of the north of Spain didn’t wash, you don’t even give any source for them, revealing how flawed this article is. Secondly you say that aztecs fumed the spaniards with incense as they approached for their smell which is another myth because it’s only mentioned that the aztecs lit incense when the emperor met the spaniards probably because it was a ritual practice when meeting the emperor considering it was lit before they could even know how the spaniards smelled, not because they stank. Also i doubt the mexicas minded if the spaniards smelled or not because there are archeological evidence that some spanish conquistadors were eaten by mexicas ????. Thirdly, the claim that the spaniards refused bathing because it was associated with the moors it’s another nonsense claim with no historical evidence

very infomative!

Wonderful article! I’m American and have lived in Mexico City and have studied Mesoamerican history extensively. What’s interesting is if you observe carefully, here in Mexico City, many of the cleanliness habits still show themselves in present day. For example, a few years back I wrote an article on the extreme cleanliness of bathrooms across this city (one of the largest & most populated in the world). I went around to different restaurants (and none of the, upscale) to take pictures of their bathrooms at random times...they were always incredibly shiny, well stocked, ever lacking in soap, etc. I’ve also lived in London, Hamburg & Barcelona and have traveled extensively in Europe...you just do not find the level of cleanliness there that you do here. Upon arriving in CDMX, I was connected to a wealthy family in Coyoacan (husband & wife were both scientists and worked for multinational Pharma companies). I told them about the blog I was writing on the bathroom topic and the gentlemen said “I’ve never experienced dirtier bathrooms in the world—he was also very well traveled—than those I came across in Paris. They just do not have a bathroom culture (no tienen cultura de baño).” Id never heard that term... but I now understood that spotless bathrooms are a deeply embedded part of the culture. Likely goes back to the Aztecs having an extensive network of public bathrooms.

Buen día, me gustaría saber si tienen más información sobre la fotografía del mural en biombo de Roberto Cueva del Río. Quiero saber dónde se localiza actualmente y en qué fecha fue pintado. Es para una cita. Agradezco su ayuda.

Very informative article I really liked it. I used to work with a Spanish coworker and I am sure she rarely took baths because her hair was always greasy and she smelled really bad. Made me wonder if that’s still a Spanish thing nowadays.

Muy mal documentado y apesta a leyenda negra anti española. Si se escribe un articulo histórico hay que documentarse mejor. Por cierto qué hacían los aztecas con los cientos de miles de humanos que sacrificaban? Es un “pequeño” detalle que no cuenta. Y quiénes construyeron el alcantarillado y redes hidraulicas? Los españoles
Sobre el tema en España..... Podía ser así después de los godos, pero la única fuente que utiliza para ilustrar una historia de 15 siglos es la de un viajero del siglo XIX?
Normal que los conquistadores fueran sucios, si habían viajado 3 meses en barcos de vela y luego se establecieron en fuertes que luego transformaron en ciudades

Hello! I was wondering which source was used to uncover information about the xiuhamoli plant/Saponaria Americana? Many sites state that none of the saponaria plants are endemic to the americas so I was wondering if maybe it was a mistake? Ipomoea murucoides is also a plant with soap-like features that has white flowers. I’d like to know as I am very curious. Thank you for the post~~ 3

The Aztecs did not have public servants. But slaves bought or captured in war. Slavery was very common in the America’s. When the Spaniard’s reach Tenochtitlan. They stunk horrible. They did not defeat a 250k mexica Army. But defeated them with biological warfare. And more than 100k allies. There’s alot of information missing. Research a little more

Ha! Knew there was something off about the Spanish! Thanks again for proving the superiority of the Mexica!

Do you know if the Aztecs painted their canoes? I’m trying to model one. Thank-you.

i was born on july 6th 1994 so what does that mean in the aztec calendar also in england uk where your website is at how many people actually know Nahuatl and spanish are aztecs well known over there

its me again do you know if aztecs had toilets or what did they use if you know please let me know

i like your website but why is your website saying my people the aztec/mexica were originally asian we migrated from southwestern U.S. last time i checked that was north america

I’m MEXICAN, this site is WONDERFULL, I want to thanks to all people that make it possible. This information helps to have a rigth vission of the many cultures before the spaniards came.
Thanks a lot.

I was trying to find a place to leave a message about this marvelous site, and i guess i will leave it here.I live in Mexico and prehispanic culture is almost forgotten or neglected by the majority of people. Mexicolore is a stupendous site for all those that love mexican antiquities and wish to understand and dwell on them deeper. Thanks to u is not enough. Eternal gratitude to all that make Mexicolore possible. Seriously!

That would explain the misconception the Spainards had about being treated like Gods, it was not because they were Gods the Tenocha burned incense (as is the custom in the Catholc church) around them, it was because they must have been pretty ripe after a few sweaty months in the tropics.

Being quite aware about the risk to provoke ire of other users, I have to say just for reasons of historical objectivity that in certain cases the Mexica, especially Mexica women, were obliged to go as unwashed and dirty as their Spanish contemporaries. Hygienic procedures were strictly forbidden during the days of mourning for male relatives who died in combat, and in this case the period of mourning lasted 80 days. So, one can imagine how these sad widows, sisters and mothers looked like by its end. According to well-known native chronicler Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc, the grandson of Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, bathing was prohibited for wives of warriors, whose husbands went to war. In this case describing rituals, performed in Tenochtitlan after departure of Mexica forces, Tezozomoc notes: “And from that day the women didn’t wash their faces, nor hands, nor their heads, and didn’t bathe themselves and had their faces, hands and legs very dirty and greasy” - y las mugeres todas desde aquel día no se lauauan las caras y manos, ni la cabeza ni se bañaban , que tenían las caras, manos y piernas bien suzias, mugrientas (See for example, Alvarado Tezozomoc H. Crónica Mexicana cap. 77, 2001 Madrid: DASTIN, Historia, p. 330)
Of course, these were “extraordinary” life circumstances but if we remember that wars were frequent in Prehispanic times... Also this prohibition of any hygienic procedures was obligatory for those priests, who were supposed to be in direct contact with gods.

My, what a lovely article. For centuries after the recomiendas were smashed by Mexico’s cheating power hungry Spaniards Mexico’s history was rewritten by them to demoralize and steal the soul from the people who worked hard to make peace, who tried to share in the beauty of their cities and land. May the creator bless you!

Dear sir, I have just finalized my new book on diseases transmitted and caused by arthropods, in Portuguese, with 35 chapters. Each chapter has a small figure under its number. The only chapter still without such illustration is the one on the influence of human behaviour on disease occurrence. I would greatly appreciate if you could authorize the utilization of "Pic 5: Washing hair; Florentine Codex, Book 2" for this. If you authorize this utilization, this would be recognized in the Acknowledgements section. I doubt there would be a way to the editor paying for this utilization. Sincerely yours Prof. dr. Carlos Brisola Marcondes Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Florianópolis (SC) Brasil.