Relación de Michoacán
Also known as: Relación de las ceremonias y ritos y población y gobernación de los indios de la provincia de Michoacán, Relación de Michoacán
The Relación de Michoacán is a 16th-century chronicle compiled under Spanish rule, documenting Purépecha history, religion, and society, including myths, rituals, and dynastic traditions.
Description
The Relación de Michoacán, produced in the 1540s under the commission of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, is the most important surviving source on the Purépecha (Tarascan) people of western Mexico. Written by an anonymous Franciscan friar with the assistance of indigenous informants and scribes, the work provides a vivid account of the origins of the Purépecha dynasty, their rituals, social structure, and military conquests. Divided into three main parts, it narrates mythic origins, the rise of the Uacúsecha dynasty, and detailed descriptions of religious ceremonies. The text is both an ethnographic report and a mytho-historical record, blending indigenous oral tradition with the colonial agenda of documenting native cultures. Rich in detail, it preserves accounts of gods, sacred rituals, and the cosmological worldview of the Purépecha people at the moment of Spanish conquest.
Historiography
The Relación de Michoacán survives in a single manuscript, now housed in the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid. It was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza and compiled by a Franciscan friar, likely in collaboration with Purépecha nobles and priests. Scholars debate the degree of Spanish editorial framing versus indigenous voice. Rediscovered and studied in the 19th and 20th centuries, it remains a crucial text for understanding western Mesoamerican culture.
Date Notes
Commissioned by the first viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, likely compiled in the 1540s from indigenous informants in Michoacán.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Tariácuri
- Hiripan
- Tangaxoan I
- Curicaueri
- Xaratanga
Myths
- Origins of the Purépecha Kings
- Migrations and Founding of Tzintzuntzan
- Sun and Fire Cult Rites
Facts
- The Relación de Michoacán was commissioned by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza.
- It is the primary ethnographic source for the Purépecha civilization.
- Compiled in the 1540s by an anonymous Franciscan friar with native informants.
- It combines mythic, historical, and ethnographic material.
- The work is divided into three main parts: origins, dynastic history, and rituals.
- It preserves Purépecha cosmology, religion, and political structure.
- It survives in a single manuscript in Madrid’s Biblioteca Nacional de España.
- The deity Curicaueri is described as the supreme god of fire and war.
- The dynasty of Tariácuri and his heirs is central to the narrative.
- Spanish colonial goals shaped the framing of indigenous testimonies.