Daniel Graña-Behrens

The tlamatini is related to four diferent religious and artistic activities. One is the priestly function…. The role as calendar priest included not only supervising the 260-day count but also performing prophesies based on that calendar and on other knowledge, such as astronomy, and serving as a teacher. Also within this role was that of physician or healer who cured the people. A second job performed by the tlamatini was that of soothsayer, one who heard confessions and was a mediator between the people and the deities… “a wise man, an owner of books and of writings”… A third function of the tlamatini was that of sorcerer… the sorcerer was not only a “counsellor” but also, and more precisely, a “guardian” who kept an eye on the community as a whole. The last role of the tlamatini was that of owner of sacred books, one who counted the days and watched over the prophecies.

Click here to view the PDF.

Originally published as a chapter in Mesoamerican Memory Enduring Systems of Remembrance, University of Oklahoma Press, 2012. Republished here with thanks.