A Lost World on the Map

This chapter begins by discussing a sixteenth-century Indigenous map, painted on bark, known as the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan 2. The map describes the Nahua people’s mystical journey to their homeland, near the sacred city of Cholula, in today’s Mexico. While scholars debate its exact meaning, it raises vital questions about what it is to be Indigenous in Mexico today. The chapter examines other elements of Mexican culture that reveal Indigenous traditions, such as Day of the Dead rituals, or represent Indigenous resurgence, such as the Zapatistas.