Nociones de etnometeorología nahua: el complejo ahuaques-granicero en la Sierra de Texcoco, México

Abstract

The link between the ahuaques, or rain spirits of deified dead, and the testífero or ritual specialist in the magical control of the weather shapes an ancient and elaborate mythical system in the Texcoco Sierra. For the local Nahuas, the ahuaques send lightning bolts and hail from their place of dwelling to gain control of the anima of earthly beings and objects and, inversely, shower the earth with fecund supplies of rain to ensure prosperity. The testíferos are chosen to be intercessors between the level of the ahuaques and the human level: they perform rituals to drive off hail and bring rain and preside over curing ceremonies to recover spirits stolen by the ahuaques. As a form of atmospheric cycle, the complex is connected to a widely generalized conception of Mesoamerican cosmovision that makes the orderly functioning and reproduction of the cosmos dialectically possible.