Macehualli
Macehualli ( Nahuatl mācēhualli , plural: mācēhualtin ) was the name of the Aztecs and their Nahuatl-speaking neighbors for the free farmers who made up the majority of the population. The etymology of the name is obscure, a connection with the term ma'cēhualli , merit, is impossible because of the different sounds.
The Macehualtin had the right to use a piece of land. They were obliged to serve in the war and were able to become nobles through service in the war. Towards the end of the Aztec period, a large part of the Macehualtin in Tenochtitlán no longer lived from agriculture, but from handicrafts or retailers.
Nowadays, the term is also used as an ethnonym for the Nahua and most Nahua groups as a self-name. It is pronounced and written in different variations, e.g. B. Maseuali, Maseualli, Maswoal, Mösiehuali , Spanish Macehual , plural Macehuales . The Nahua word has also passed into other indigenous languages in Mexico , in which it is also used as a self-designation by the peasant population, e.g. B. in Mayathan : Máasewalo'ob or Macehualoob ( Maya farmers of Yucatán ).
literature
- Olivera de Vásquez, Mercedes: Pillis y macehuales - las formaciones sociales y los modos de producción de Tecali del siglo 12 al 16. Centro de Investigaciones Superiores del INAH, Ciudad de México 1978 (in Spanish)