Article suitable for all

Clean Aztecs, Stinky Spanish...

Meeting of Aztecs and Spanish Conquistadores

As the Conquistadors approached the Mexica (Aztec) capital the Aztecs covered the Spaniards with incense. The Spaniards took it as an honour, but the Aztecs just couldn’t stand the pong...! (Written by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore and Katherine Ashenburg)

Many things about the Aztecs amazed the Conquistadors, like their super-fertile chinampas or ‘floating gardens’ (Pic 1), and the size of their great capital city (Pic 2). When in Europe roads were never swept and people just emptied their chamber pots into the streets, the Aztecs employed 1,000 cleaners to sweep and water their streets daily, built public loos in every neighbourhood, and carried human poo in canoes for use as fertilizer.

While London was still drawing its drinking water from the polluted River Thames as late as 1854, the Aztecs supplied their capital with fresh water from the nearby hill of Chapultepec by means of TWO aqueducts. The sacred importance of water is clear from the Aztec word for ‘city’ - altepetl which means ‘water-mountain’ in Náhuatl.

But probably nothing seemed more weird to the Spaniards than the Aztec attitude to personal hygiene. Simply, for the Aztecs being clean was COOL. One Conquistador reported, in a tone of wonder, that Moctezuma bathed twice a day. He did, but there was nothing extraordinary about that for an Aztec, since EVERYBODY ‘bathed often, and many of them every day’ in the rivers, lakes or pools.

They didn’t have true soap but made up for it with the fruit of what the Spanish called the ‘soap-tree’, and the sticky root of the ‘soap-plant’; both gave a lather rich enough to wash body, hair and clothes with (Pic 4).

The Mexica also used deodorants, breath fresheners and ash to clean their teeth with (Spaniards of the time cleaned theirs with urine!) The Aztecs cleaned their bodies – and souls – in steam baths. An outside fire heated one of the walls via a small tunnel to red-hot, and the bather threw water on the hot wall, creating steam (Pic 5).

Aztec dads told their daughters: ’Wash your face, wash your hands, clean your mouth. Never make up your face nor paint it; never put red on your mouth to look beautiful. Make-up and paint are things that light women use - shameless creatures. If you want your husband to love you, dress well, wash yourself and wash your clothes.’ So there!

Into this clean world, thundered the Spanish. The 16th century was a REALLY dirty time in Europe: ever since the Black Death, people avoided water and washing like the plague; and the Spanish in particular thought and taught that being dirty was a Christian Virtue.

They hated and distrusted the well-washed ways of the Moors who had conquered their country. Arab Spain sparkled with water, whether in fountains, pools or bath-houses. One of the first things the Spaniards did when they later defeated the Arabs was to destroy the wonderful Moorish baths (Pic 8)...

And then, sadly, they never stopped destroying...

Learn more about the steam bath Read the full article ‘Clean Aztecs, Stinky-poo Spanish’Did the Aztecs invent the sauna?

Comments (6)

anonymous

29th Jun 2024

That last message was a bit dark

AT Flint Eyed Sun

1st Aug 2023

One of the worst tragedies to happen upon our Mother Earth a true holocaust in the true old world the Americas a place of true sophistication destroyed by the savage Spaniards, savage Christian’s who killed in the name of a “god” of peace and really for greed whereas the true peoples of the Americas killing, sacrificing to give back to the gods in the only true way, with flesh blood and bone for… with life is death and with death is life… so the sacred continues sacrifice is but a representation of this, and this way of war, this flowery war is one I admire… the new generations my brothers n sisters will awaken from the east to the west the Sun God Father will shine the realisation across the whole world and with it to his children, most praise to the noble Mexica for keeping it real n thanks to this site for sharing so much great info on this mighty civilisation n proper way of life, Flint n obsidian forever

Javier

18th Apr 2023

Would you please cite the sources from which you infer that in the Spain of those days dirt was considered a Christian virtue and the Spaniards systematically destroyed Arab baths? My information goes a little to the contrary. There are still many Arab well-conserved and visitable Arab baths in Spain and at least three of them built by Christians, one in Girona, another in Valencia and one in a nun house (“convento de religiosas”) in Valladolid. But I look forward with interest to hearing the academic sources supporting your affirmations.

Mexicolore

This is a very reasonable request. We’re writing to the author of the article to ask for more details...

Carlos Guadarrama

5th Jan 2021

WHAT AN AWESOME FREAKING PAGE!!! Seems to be presently managed and still active. I’m glad. I plan to really dig into this site. Awesome read and post, I love reading about MY culture! Unfortunately that’s up to me to do since I live in America. The haters can kick rocks! Please keep the content coming!

Isaa

9th Oct 2020

What a nonsensical article. Europe was not as dirty as portrayed, nor Aztecs as clean. This pseudopropaganda is really stupid. You could’ve mentioned sacrificed or children ritual killing by the Aztecs.

Mexicolore

If you were to give any kind of meaningful evidence for your statements we might have a modicum of respect for you. As things stand, this sort of feeble, aggressive and loudmouthed criticism is just childish.

Sarah Conner Conner

11th May 2020

[Being dirty was a Christian Virtue.]
Rubbish. I’m a Christian and I know for certainity that bathing regularly IS BY NO MEANS SINFUL. AT ALL. I bathe at least once every single day and thoroughly wash my privates. Not to mention I put on deodorant every day.

Mexicolore

Of course it isn’t considered sinful today, but this piece was trying to take us back to the 16th century, when attitudes were VERY different!

Meeting of Aztecs and Spanish Conquistadores