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Tlatelolco Market
WRITTEN BY CHINNE OKORONKWO FIGURE 1 MAP OF TENOCHTITLAN
Digging deeper into the world that was Tenochtitlan before the conquering of Spain's Cortes, I found the lifestyle to be exciting and surreal all in one. The architectural feat that the Aztecs were able to accomplish combined with the very complex leadership established gave the city a complexity that I found interesting. An area that I wanted to get to know deeper and understand a bit better was the marketplace. Within Tenochtitlan was the market of Tlatelolco, which could be seen from the twin temples and adjacent to the state buildings. With the detailed work of Diaz, Harvey, Hutson, and Kellogg, I constructed a story on what it might be like to have navigated the market and other prominent landmarks as a young girl living within Tenochtitlan.
This morning my mother and I are setting out to visit the Market of Tlatelolco. Leaving our house upon the water we squeeze our way down a narrow footpath lining the thoroughfares In the distance I can see canoes lining the lake bringing merchandise and provisions into the city.
Upon reaching the main causeway we ran into congestion as many others headed for the markets; people watchers or bystanders use the area as respite as it is one of the few large land areas to dwell. However busy the city got, the beauty and orderliness maintained, the streets consistently clean. From time to time you could see men in the streets sweeping the roads and cleaning the canals.
TRAVELING TO TENOCHTITLAN
THE JOURNEY OF A YOUNG WOMAN
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Figure 2
The Great Exchange Aztec Market. Trade and Transport
Walking into the market I took in the vastness of my surroundings, the boundless space with rows upon rows of goods murmured with excitement. People wandered through the paths with enthusiasm as they socialized and took in the impressive items laid before them. Unlike many other areas of Tenochtitlan, the market was a vast space without waterways impeding, breathing in the open space I forge forward. We walked through a street dedicated to gold, silver, and jewelry Moving through the next division my wandering eyes were met with the skins of great beasts like lions and tigers as well as otters, red deer, and plenty more.
My mother and I turn down a street filled with a plethora of herbs from far and wide. We see stands for roots and medical herbs that grow out in the country, liquids, and ointments, all remedies for the sick. I remember seeing some of these in our home, wondering what each substance treats.
The organization of the market made me feel safe and comfortable, the market was very well established and kept in good control. Sprawling rows divided by goods were patrolled by principal merchants whose job was to help maintain the quality of the goods and see to fair pricing, as well as protect from theft. Albeit the principle merchants keep the market safe but continually remind me what is to become of those who break the law. Looking past the open space into the distance I can see the temple of Hiutzilopochtli rising above, anyone perched atop could peer down and see the bustling market.
At once, a commotion stirred on the far side of the market, and a traitor was caught. As per law the thief is swiftly taken by the principal merchants and put to death on the spot. The gruesome event not necessarily sitting as gruesome to the masses as the traitors' dismembered body parts are cheerfully passed around the market, even children joining in.
Adding to the chaos of the market are the foreigners calling attention to themselves with innative dress, not to mention the warriors flaunting about. Singing rang through the crowds as the slaves danced and preformed for their sellers.
An additional 50,000 transient population could be gained on a market day. Harvey
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Peeling away from the commotion of the market my mom and I settle into a row with an abundance of fresh vegetables. I begin picking out maize from a small merchant's offerings. As I picked out maize to purchase I pushed forward the cacao beans in my hand to the lady merchant. Taking the beans in her hand she analyzes the small stash, feeling it sufficient, she places the beans in a large holder among the other Cacao beans, cotton mantles and copper ax heads she had collected thus far. The woman silently hands back to me the maize I have picked. Walking back through the market boys and girls teased adding to the sway of market goers, for one might find their partner in life, maybe even settle upon marriage.
I always enjoy coming to the market.
Getting my first tastes of life in Tenochtitlan and adulthood. One day I aspire to become a vendor, although I can’t voyage far and wide like my father to gather goods to sell. I can be amongst those who help organize the market and assist in its regulation. Leaving the market I felt a bit sad, I so enjoyed walking amongst my city peoples and seeing what boundless items were found and created. Impossible to see all in one day, we will be back again.
F i g u r e 3 C a c a o b e a n s b e i n g t r a d e d f o r M a z e a t t h e T l a t e l o l c o M a r k e t F i g u r e 4 T e n o c h t i t l a n a s t h e v i s u a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n b y D i e g o R i v e r a o f M e x i c o C i t y
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Sources Used to Create Narrative
Díaz del Castillo, Bernal, and John Ingram. Lockhart. 1844. The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz Del Castillo. London: J. Hatchard and Son.
Harvey HR. Public health in Aztec society. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1981 Mar;57(2):157-65. PMID: 7011458; PMCID: PMC1805201.
Hutson, Scott. “Carnival and Contestation In the Aztec Marketplace.” Dialectical Anthropology, 2000.
Kellogg, Susan. “The Woman’s Room: Some Aspects of Gender Relations in Tenochtitlan in the Late Pre-Hispanic Period.” Ethnohistory 42, no. 4 (1995): 563–76. https://doi.org/10.2307/483143
Image Citations
Figure 1 - Leibsohn Dana and Mundy Barbara E. . Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820. http://www.fordham.edu/vistas, 2015.
Figure 2 - Mickens, R. The Great Exchange: Aztec Market. Trade and Transport. Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture. Accessed December 2022. https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/ourglobal-kitchen-food-nature-culture/trade-and-transport.
Figure 3 - Rivera, Diego. Diego Rivera Mural, Mexico City. Fine Art America. Ulrike Welsch, November 13, 2018. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/diego-rivera-mural-mexico-cityulrike-welsch.html.
Figure 4 - Rivera, Diego. Tenochtitlan Mural. Fine Art America. Diego Rivera, October 4, 2021. Diego Rivera Mural, Mexico City Painting by Ulrike Welsch - Fine Art America Tenochtitlan Mural Mixed Media by Diego Rivera - Fine Art America Diorama in Our Global Kitchen Exhibition Illuminates Amazing Food Heritage in Aztec Market | AMNH.
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