Martha Elena Romero: The bookbinding of a sixteenth-century Mexican manuscript as evidence of the encounter of two cultures

The 16th century in Mexico represents the time and the place of the encounter of two cultures: the indigenous peoples who populated Mesoamerica, and the Europeans, represented by the Spanish, who led and directed the conquering expeditions. With the arrival of the Spaniards in the American continent, the concept and way of life of the indigenous inhabitants was changed; European traditions and customs blended in with those of the indigenous, transforming existing ways of living. In addition, the great territories that belonged to the Spanish Empire during the sixteenth century (and until 1640) favoured the mobility and circulation of ideas, goods and people among the Spanish colonies around the world, including Mexican lands. This clash of cultures and technical exchange that were taking place in Mexico, were reflected in all aspects of daily life and work.

This blend of traditions and knowledge manifested themselves both in the raw materials used and in the ways of execution of the different crafts produced by indigenous people. Spaniards taught indigenous the various techniques used in Europe; materials and tools that did not exist in Mexico were imported in order to make objects of everyday use to which the Spaniards were accustomed to, including textiles, ceramics, shoes and the technologies of animal husbandry amongst others.

It should be mentioned that the provision of raw material in Mexico was monopolised by the Spaniards, whose aim was to prevent the American colonies becoming self-sufficient. In order to achieve this, the monopoly strictly controlled all the good that managed to arrive safely to the colonies. However, the provision of goods from Spain was neither sufficient nor efficient, and the high cost of transport and of added tariffs, resulted in very high retail prices that only a minority were able to afford. As a consequence, raw material and tools that were used for the manufacture of indigenous arts and craft were, in some cases, also used for manufacture of everyday objects that were required by the European settlers. Materials and tools of both American and European origin were used without distinction until the point where those that prove to be more suited to the various crafts were finally chosen.

In the specific case of books, indigenous had books before the arrival of the Spaniards know as codices. Depending on which geographical zone of Mesoamerica the manuscripts were manufactured, the materials selected for the support of the pictographic writing normally consisted of amate paper, paper made the fibres of maguey (Agave americana), iztle (Bromelia pita), and cotton, or of tanned deerskin coated with a type of white varnish specifically prepared as a writing surface. Sheets prepared from these materials were joined with glue or stitched in strips, then they were folded as a concertina structure (like a Chinese screen) to form the text block. Once the text block was formed, the book was provided additional protection by means of two individual wood covers placed at the beginning and at the end of the codex. The covers gave the indigenous books, when closed, a similar appearance to books as we know them today. In pictographic writing they explained subjects such as astronomy, economics and the military. Therefore, when the Spanish conquerors arrived at the territory that later would be named Mexico, they found that the indigenous peoples had a highly developed, functional system of document registry that not only covered governmental subjects, but also provided written testimony of knowledge of transcendent importance for each one of the cultures

The materials and techniques of book production also underwent great transformations under European influence. Although it is certain that some of the new codices were written on traditional amate paper, the text blocks of many new pictographic books produced in Mexico were painted on European paper. The technique of folding over sheets or leather strips folded as a concertina gave way to European formats formed by folios, or gatherings, held together by through-the-fold sewing passed around leather or fibres supports. The structural changes that transformed the Mesoamerican book did not take place through a process of adaptation; the techniques of manufacture of the pre Hispanic codices were replaced by the imposition of European bookbinding traditions.

The colonial Mexican book is an object that vividly represents the encounter, the confrontation and the transformation of two cultures. This transformative influence is evident not only in the contents of books, where pictographs coexist with alphabetic scripts, but also in its materiality. It is possible to find textblocks written on indigenous paper and then bound in European parchments, or to find books with European-made paper gatherings sewn on supports made of animal skins and bound with indigenous paper.

In this context, this work is about the bookbinding of a Mexican manuscript of the sixteenth century, when the craft of bookbinding was introduced in Mexico, that belongs to the National Library in Mexico. The manuscript is written in an indigenous language, over European paper. Although the binding reflects a clear European influence, the cover was made of indigenous paper. In this manuscript, the clash of cultures described above is evident in the use of both American and European materials and in the binding, which is made using an European technique.