Abstract

THOUVENOT, Marc. The world of Ilhuitl: its rhythms and durations. Trace (Méx. DF) [online]. 2019, n.75, pp.86-127. ISSN 2007-2392.

Summary: The Nahuas had two methods of measuring time. Both methods are distinguished by a set of characteristics that define two different worlds, the world of the Tonalli and the world of the Ilhuitl. Two different conceptions -one qualitative and the other quantitative- of the same unit of time: one day. In the world of the Tonalli, days are grouped preferentially into periods of thirteen, whereas, in the world of the Ilhuitl, the fundamental unit is twenty. However, samples obtained from both Nahuatl sources and texts written in Spanish have shown that in the world of the Ilhuitl, the twenty-day period was only a special case and the entire social life was in fact not only governed by cycles of twenty days, but also and above all by multiples or sub-multiples of that unit.

Keywords : Ilhuitl; religious and social life Náhuatl; twenty-day cycles; Tonalli; thirteen-day cycles.

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