Nican Mopohua: The Virgin Mary appears to Juan Diego in Mexico City, ca. 1695
English Translation
| Here is recounted and told in an orderly fashion how by a great miracle the consummate Virgin Saint Mary, Mother of God, Our Queen, first appeared at Tepeyacac, called Guadalupe.
First she revealed herself to a humble commoner named Juan Diego, and afterwards her precious image appeared in the presence of the first bishop, don fray Juan de Zumárraga. And [here are related] all the miracles she has worked. It had been ten years since the altepetl [city-state] of Mexico had been conquered and the weapons of war had been laid down, and peace reigned in the altepetls all around; likewise the faith, the recognition of the giver of life, the true deity, God, had begun to flower and bloom. Right in the year of 1531, just a few days into the month of December, there was a humble commoner, a poor ordinary person, whose name was Juan Diego. They say his home was in Cuauhtitlan, but in spiritual matters everything still belonged to Tlatelolco. It was Saturday, still very early in the morning, and he was on his way to attend to divine things and to his errands. When he came close to the hill at the place called Tepeyaca, it was getting light. He heard singing on top of the hill, like the songs of various precious birds. Their voices were [swelling and fading], and it was as if the hill kept on answering them. Their song was very agreeable and pleasing indeed, entirely surpassing how the bell bird, the trogon, and the other precious birds sing. Juan Diego stopped to look, saying to himself, "Am I so fortunate or deserving as to hear this? Am I just dreaming it? Am I imagining it in sleepwalking? Where am I? Where do I find myself? Is it in the land of the flowers, the land of plentiful crops, the place of which our ancient forefathers used to speak? Is this the land of heaven?" He stood looking towards the top of the hill to the east, from where the heavenly, precious song was coming. When the song had subsided and silence fell, he heard himself being called from the top of the hill. A woman said to him, "Dear Juan, dear Juan Diego." Thereupon he stepped forward to go where he was summoned. His heart was not troubled, nor was he startled by anything; rather, he was very happy and felt fine as he went climbing the hill, heading toward where he was summoned. When he reached the top of the hill, he saw a lady standing there; she called to him to go over next to her. When he came before her, he greatly marveled at how she completely surpassed everything in her total splendor. Her clothes were like the sun in the way they gleamed and shone. Her resplendence struck the stones and boulders by which she stood so that they seemed like precious emeralds and jeweled bracelets. The ground sparkled like a rainbow, and the mesquite, the prickly pear cactus, and other various kinds of weeds that grow there seemed like green obsidian, and their foliage like fine turquoise. Their stalks, their thorns and spines gleamed like gold. He prostrated himself before her and heard her very pleasing and courtly message, as if inviting him and flattering him, saying to him, "Do listen, my youngest child, dear Juan, where is it that you are going?" He answered her, "My patron, noble lady, my daughter, I am going to your home of Mexico-Tlatelolco. I am pursuing the divine matters that the representatives of the lord our Lord, our friars, give and teach us. Thereupon she conversed with him, revealing to him her precious wish. She said to him, "Know, rest assured my youngest child, that I am the eternally consummate virgin Saint Mary, mother of the very true deity, God, the giver of life, the creator of people, the ever present, the lord of heaven and earth. I greatly wish and desire that they build my temple for me here, where I will manifest, make known, and give to people all my love, compassion, aid, and protection. For I am the compassionate mother of you and of all people here in this land, and of the other various people who love me, who cry out to me, who seek me, who trust in me. There I will listen to their weeping and their sorrows in order to remedy and heal all their various afflictions, miseries, and torments. And in order that this my act of compassion which I am contemplating may come to pass, go to the bishop's palace in Mexico and tell him how I am sending you to put before him how I very much wish that he build me a house, that he erect a temple for me on the level ground here. You are to relate every single thing that you have seen and beheld, and what you have heard. And rest assured that I will be very grateful for it, and I will reward it, for I will enrich you and make you content for it. You will attain many things as my repayment for your efforts and labors with which you go to put in motion what I send you for. And so, my youngest child, you have heard my message. Get on your way, make every effort." Thereupon he prostrated himself before her, saying to her, "My patron, O Lady, now I am going to carry out your message. Let me, your humble subject, take leave of you for a while." Thereupon he came back down in order to go carry out his errand, coming to take the causeway that comes directly to Mexico. |
Nahuatl Original
| Nican mopohua motecpana in quenin yancuican
Hueytlamahuizoltica monexiti in cenquizca ichpochtli
Sancta Maria, Dios inantzin, tocihuapillahtocatzin,
In oncan Guadalupe Tepeyacac, motenehua Guadalupe.
Acahtopa quimohtitihtzino ce macehualtzintli itoca Juan Diego. Auh zantepan monexiti in itlazoixiptlatzin in ixpan yancuican Obispo, don fray Juan de Zumárraga. Ye yuh mahtlacxihuitl in opehualoc in atl in tepetl México, in ye omoman in mitl, in chimalli, in ye nohhuian ontlamatcaman in ahuacan, in tepehuacan. In maca zan ye opeuh, ye xotla, ye cueponi in tlaneltoquiliztli, in iximachocatzin in Ipalnemohuani, nelli teotl Dios. In huel ihcuac in ipan xihuitl mil y quinientos y treinta y uno, quin iuh iquezquilhuioc in metztli diciembre mochiuh: oncatca ce macehualtzintli icnotlapaltzintli, itoca catca Juan Diego, iuh mihtoa ompa chane in Cuauhtitlan, auh in ica teoyotl, oc moch ompa pohuia in Tlatilolco. Auh sabado catca, huel oc yohuahtzinco quihualtepotztocaya in teoyotl ihuan in inetititlaniz. Auh in acico in inahuac tepetzintli in itocayohcan Tepeyacac, ye tlatlalchipahua. Concac in icpac tepetzintli cuicoa, yuhquin nepapan tlazohtotomeh cuicah; cacahuani in intozqui, iuhquin quinahnanquilia tepetl, huel cenca teyolquima, tehuellamachti in incuic, quicenpanahuia in coyoltototl, in tzinitzcan, ihuan in occequin tlazohtotomeh ic cuicah. Quimotztimoquetz in Juan Diego, quimolhui: ¿Cuix nolhuil, cuix nomacehual in ye niccaqui? ¿Ahzo zan nictemiqui? ¿Ahzo zan niccochihtlehua? ¿Canin ye nica, canin ye ninohta? ¿Cuix ye oncan in quihtotehuaque huehuetqueh, tachtohuan, tococolhuan, in xochitlalpan, in tonacatlalpan? ¿Cuix ye oncan ilhuicatlalpan? Ompa onitzticaya in icpac tepetzintli, in tonatiuh iquizayampa, in ompa hualquiztia in ilhuicatlazohcuicatl. In oyuhceuhtiquiz in cuicatl, in omocactimoman, in ye quicaqui hualnotzalo in icpac tepetzintli, quilhuia: "Juantzin, Juan Diegohtzin." Niman zan ye motlapaloa inic ompa yaz in canin notzalo, ahquen mochihua in iyollo, ma noce itla ic mizahuia, yece huel paqui, huellamachtia, quitlehcahuihta in tepetzintli ompa itztia in campa hualnotzaloc. Auh in ye ahcitiuh in icpac tepetzintli, in ye oquimohtili ce cihuapilli oncan moquehtzinohticac. Quihualmonochili inic onyaz in inahuactzinco. Auh in oyuh ahcito in ixpantzinco, cenca quimomahuizalhui in quenin huellacempanahuia inic cenquizca mahuizticatzintli; in itlaquentzin yuhquin tonatiuh ic motonameyotia, inic pepetlaca; auh in tetl, in texcalli inic itech moquetza, inic quimina; in itlanexyotzin yuhqui in tlazohchalchihuitl maquiztli, inic neci; yuhquin ayauhcozamalocuecueyoca in tlalli. Auh in mizquitl, in nohpalli ihuan occequin nepapan xiuhtotontin oncan mochichihuani yuhquin quetzaliztli, yuhqui in teoxihuitl in iatlapallo neci. Auh in icuauhyo, in ihuitzyo, in iahuayo yuhqui in coztic teocuitlatl in pepetlaca. Ixpantzinco mopechtecac, quicac in iihyotzin, in itlahtoltzin in huel cenca tehuellamachti, in huel tecpiltic yuhqui in quimococonahuilia, quimotlatlazohtilia. Quimolhuili: "¿Tla xiccaqui, noxocoyouh Juantzin, campa in timohuica?" Auh in yehuatl quimonanquilili: "Notecuiyoe, cihuapille, nochpochtzine, ca ompa nonahciz mochantzinco Mexihco Tlatilolco,nocontepotztoca in teoyotl, in techmomaquilia, in techmomachtilia in ixiptlahuan in tlacatl, in totecuiyo, in toteopixcahuan. Niman ya ic quimonochilia, quimixpantilia in itlazohtlanequiliztzin. Quimolhuilia: "Ma xicmatti, ma huel yuh ye in moyollo, noxocoyouh, ca nehuatl in nicenquizca, cemihcac ichpochtli Santa Maria, in inantzin in huel nelly teotl Dios, in ipalnemohuani, in teyocoyani, in tloque nahuaque, in ilhuicahua, in tlalticpaque, huel nicnequi, cenca niquelehuia inic nican nechquechilizque noteocaltzin. In oncan nicnextiz, nicpantlazaz nictemacaz in ixquich notetlazohtlaliz, noteicnoihtaliz in notepalehuiliz, in notemanahuiliz, ca nel nehuatl in nammoicnohuacanantzin, in tehuatl ihuan in ixquichtin inic nican tlalpan ancepantlaca, ihuan in occequin nepapantlaca notetlahzotlacahuan, in notech motzahtzilia, in nechtemoa, in notechmotechilia, ca oncan niquincaquiliz in inchoquiz, in itlaocol, inic nicyectiliz, nicpatiz, in ixquich nepapan innetoliniliz, intonehuiz, inchichinaquiliz. Auh inic huel neltiz in nicnemilia in noteicnoihtaliz, ma xiyauh in ompa in itecoanchan in Mexihco obispo, auh tiquilhuiz in quenin nehua nimitztitlani inic tiquixpantiz in quenin huel cenca niquelehuia inic nican nechcalti, nechquechili in ipan in tlalmantli, noteocal; huel moch ticpohuiliz in ixquich in otiquihtac, oticmahuizo, ihuan in tlein oticcac. Auh ma yuh ye in moyollo ca huel nictlazohcamatiz, auh ca niquixtlahuaz ca ic nimitzcuiltonoz, nimitztlamachtiz, ihuan miec oncan ticmacehuaz ic niccuepcayotiz in mociahuiliz, in motequipanoliz inic ticnemilitiuh in tlein nimitztitlani. Onca ye oticcac, noxocoyouh, in nihyo, in notlahtol; ma ximohuicatiuh, ma ixquich motlapal xicmochihuili."e; Auh niman ic ixpantzinco ommopechtecac, quimolhuili: "Notecuiyoé, Cihuapillé, ca ye niyauh inic nicyectiliz in miihyotzin, in motlahtoltzin, ma oc nimitznotlalcahuili in nimocnomacehual". Niman ic hualtemoc in quineltilitiuh in inetitlaniz; connamiquico in cuepohtli, huallamelahua Mexihco. |