La Malinche Thesis

La Malinche
Today in Mexico, the word “malinche” or “malinchista” is used to describe a person who betrays his or her own people. This term has its origins on the name of the Native American woman, la Malinche or Doña Marina. She played an important role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. La Malinche became Hernan Cortez’s translator, advisor, and lover during the conquest period. Her knowledge of Mayan and Nahuatl languages gave Cortez the necessary tools to conquer the Aztec empire.
Malinche was the daughter of a noble Aztec ruler of a Nahuatl speaking village. According to historians, she was born around the 1505. La Malinche was educated since her early years, something that was not very common for women in those days, but being

the daughter of the chief gave her such a privilege. However, her father died when she was still young and this event changed the rest of her life. After her father’s death, her mother remarried and gave birth to a son. Shortly after, she was abandoned and sold as a slave to Mayan traders.
In 1519, when Cortes arrived to America one of the first tribes that he defeated was a Tabascan tribe.

As part of their customs, the Tabascan chiefs gave the Spaniards many gifts as symbol of peace. Among those gifts were twenty Indian slaves, including La Malinche. At first, the Spaniards did not want to cohabit with them because they were not baptized. Once baptized, la Malinche received the Christian name of Marina. Her knowledge of the Maya and Nahuatl languages were notice by Hernan Cortes and soon after she become one of his translators when he needed to speak with the Indian tribes. Hernan Cortes also had another translator, Jeronimo de Aguilar, who had been rescued by Cortez after spending eight years of slavery with the Mayans. During his years of slavery, Aguilar learned the Mayan language, which turned out to be a valuable asset for

Cortes.
However, Aguilar only dominated the Mayan language, contrary to Marina who spoke Nahuatl and Mayan. Together, Aguilar and Marina, helped Cortes to communicate with the Aztec tribes. According to Bernal Diaz del Castillo, "Without the help of Doña Marina, we would not have understood the language of New Spain and Mexico"(1). First, Marina translated the Nahuatl speech in Mayan to Aguilar, and then Aguilar translated it in Spanish to Cortes. Shortly after, Marina learned Spanish and she became Cortez’s main interpreter. Furthermore, she became Cortez’s mistress, and later gave birth to his son, Martin, one of the first mestizos in history. Soon after the conquest, Marina married to another conquistador, Juan Jaramillo and bored him a daughter while Cortes returned to Spain, and married a Spanish woman.
La Malinche was an important resource to Cortes.

She did not only translate for him but she also served as a spy for the Spaniards. She also saved Cortes and his men from many embarrassing moments, as well as bloodsheds, and her knowledge of Aztec culture gave Cortes many advantages. One of these advantages was that the natives believed that Cortes was Quetzalcoatl reincarnated, and that he was coming back to reclaim his people. Even though, this belief did not last for long time, it gave Cortes the opportunity to attract Moctezuma’s attention. Without her, many negotiations between Moctezuma and Cortes would have been

impossible.

Even though, La Malinche helped Cortes conquest the Aztec empire, she cannot be entirely responsible for what happened. Many tribes were tired of the constant abuses and demands from the Aztec empire and they were waiting for an opportunity to overthrow the Aztecs. Despite what many people believe about her, she was a compassionate woman. Bernal also states, “she showed the nobility of her character and her concern for her fellow ‘Mexicans’” (2). However, many people in Mexico remember her as a traitor who sold her people to the Spaniards. Nevertheless, the negative image that she possesses is due to the “influences of Catholicism.” Cypress states, “In the Catholic faith women were not supposed to talk in public. And she talked. In Aztec culture, Moctezuma, was the Aztec ruler, known also as Tlatoani, or 'he who speaks.' Only the powerful spoke. And this slave woman broke the rules when she became a translator” (2). Despite what people believe, La Malinche was a very clever and important woman that formed part of the Spanish Conquest.