Aztecs on Stage: Religious Theater in Colonial Mexico

Aztecs on Stage: Religious Theater in Colonial Mexico. Edited by Louise M. Burkart. Translated from the Nahuatl by Louise M. Burkhart, Barry D. Sell, and Stafford Poole. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011. Pp. ix, 244. Illustrations. Reading Guide. Pronunciation Guide. Glossary. Appendix. References. $24.95 paper.

Louise M. Burkhart, professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York, Albany, introduces us to the complexity of Nahuatl drama through an English translation of six Nahuatl plays.

In her introduction, Burkhart traces Nahuatl drama from 1533 forward as a blend of Aztec and European traditions, explaining that the rituals of the Aztec people had a theatrical component that was rapidly recognized by the monks and identified with the Spanish religious theatre. Nonetheless, although the Nahuatl drama form has its base in the European religious theatre, "Nahuatl theater belonged to the Native American people" (p. 6).

Burkhart divides the Nahuatl plays into two types: morality plays, characterized by the importance of confession, and stories inspired by the Bible in which Native Americans could see their own history reflected. She also looks...