Mechica: Indigenous Origin of the Chicano Hybrid Identity
Rolando J. Diaz Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Both Homi Bhabha and Gloria Anzaldúa speak of a “third” element that emerges as a “structure of ambivalence” (Bhabha 217) and as a “new consciousness” (Anzaldúa 102). Bhabha develops his concept of culture in terms of class, gender, and race, whereas Anzaldúa bases her concept of culture in terms of fluid, and transient borders. The term Mechica and the Chicano hybrid identity (historical, cultural, and linguistic) are presented here as an amalgamation of various components that when brought together result in something new, something distinct, and something altogether greater than the sum of its parts. The native roots of the Chicano can be traced back to the Aztecs and to other indigenous people in what would become Mexico. His European roots were introduced by the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The complexity of the Chicano is that he is both the conqueror and the conquered. He is an amalgamation of both the indigenous and the European. He speaks the language of conquest (Spanish in Mexico; English in the United States), yet holds on to remnants of Nahuatl. This paper will approach the Chicano identity as hybrid of the Indigenous/Native American and the European/Spanish patrimonies.
In Mesoamerica prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Natives did not wear very much clothing because being naked was not something shameful. The naked body was accepted and people did not see it in a shocking view. There were strict hygiene protocols. According to some ov the Spanish Chronicles, when they arrived in Mexico, they could not believe how clean everything was. It is said that Natives would go to bath houses sometimes twice a day. They were clean and smelled fragrant.
There was a system to keep track ov waste. In Mexikah culture, feces was collected in canoes carefully under bridges that had loos at regular intervals. It was taken away and used as manure or fertilizer in agriculture.
The use of Urine. Alfredo López Austin explains:
‘Without a doubt, urine was the product of the human body most used in ancient therapeutics [remedial medicine]. It was utilized to treat the sternum [breastbone], dandruff, boils on the head, ringworm of the scalp, abscesses, wounds, ear infections, chapped faces, neck infections, and even tartar on the teeth as well as internal contusions [bruises], this last requiring the medicine to be drunk.’
In general Native Americans used organic matter for diapering which was disposable and biodegradable. It is shown in the remains found in many sites throughout the Americas that infants wore little to no clothing which indicated that they must have used plants to diaper them.
For example, the Comanche made moss diapers because of it’s medicinal benefits, moss promotes healing by absorbing moisture from skin and is used for treating conditions like eczema. Moss’s antiseptic properties prevents diaper rash. “Most would use the hide of an animal as the cover portion, but they packed the diaper…animal hide was what many Native American cultures used to make clothes, since the cultivation of cotton was not introduced until the English settlers came, and grass and mosses, specifically milkweed, were great for stuffing…” They put moss or finely shredded cedar in the cradleboards with the baby during long travel. They would change it periodically.
Something that was not really discovered or talked about much was when the baby was asleep with the mother or being held in her arms. According to oral tradition and also recent studies done with tribes that are not in contact with today’s social class. The mother can sense if the baby needs to release bodily fluids. It’s common sense to a mother that the baby is having a bowel movement with any sign of flatulence. One can also predict after the baby has just eaten and their abdomen makes sounds of digestion. A native mother would also know if they were about to urinate because they begin to move right after they wake and a draft comes in. Ultimately there is sixth sense connection between mother and baby that signals these needs.
Children learned to be rid of waste or were “potty trained” much earlier than they do today. The psychology behind that theory is that they were naked so in essence they freely disposed ov many different toxins. A child is able to sense this concept at a very young age.
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