Nahuatl Folktales

Illustration by David Delgado (Aka Chango Chilango) www.behance.net/uno-muerte | @dr_camazotz/

​The following 13 English translations present some of the native Nahuatl folktales collected by Pablo González Casanova, published by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). González Casanova started gathering a great number of folktales during his employment at the National Museum, in Mexico, which he compiled into a manuscript titled "Folklore náhuatl". This was believed to become the beginning of the edited book "Cuentos indígenas", with its first edition in 1946. 
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These translations are a fraction of the stories compiled in this book and constitute an effort to propagate indigenous folktales. As Miguel León Portilla states in the book introduction, "The historical and current study of the Mexican indigenous is an essential instrument, not only to understand our human reality, but to also know a most important aspect of the universal man." The following English translations came from the Spanish translations, but were carefully revised by a nahuatl speaker to ensure accuracy. 

A link to the book "Cuentos indígenas" is included here. In this book. You will find the complete collection which includes the Nahuatl folktales with their corresponding Spanish translations.  ​

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Click on an image to read a story in English

The Snake and the Man | Translated by José Campos and Cameron Davis

The Lion, the Cacomistle, and the Vixen | Translated by Kaitlin Earley and Trevor Evans

The Little fox and the Wolf | Translated by Adilyn George

The Vixen and the Hare | Translated by Johnathan Moore and Nubia Lujan

The Bunny and the Snake | Translated by Shannon Pyle

The Rich Man and his Animals | Translated by Danae Race and Nelly Rubio-Rayas

The Lazy Boy and the Bunny | Translated by Ashley Smith and Faith Vanderburg

The Old dog and the Coyote | Translated by Daniela Villegas

The Lion and the Cricket | Translated by Paige Willman

The Little Coyote and the Skunk | Translated by Cuauhtemoc Zaragoza

The Gardener Child | Translated by Lizeth Enríquez

The Maiden and the Beast | Translated by Ilianna Corral

The Red Grasshopper | Translated by Daniela Villegas

Edited by
Rossy E. Lima
5/6/2020

Rossy Evelin Lima, PhD, is an international award-winning poet. She has been awarded the Gabriela Mistral Award by the National Hispanic Honor Society, the Premio Internazionale di Poesia Altino in Italy, the International Latino Book Award, the Premio Orgullo Fronterizo Mexicano award by the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, the Premio Internazionale La Finestra Eterea in Italy, among others. She is the president and founder of the Latin American Foundation for the Arts, and was named Poet of the Year by the Americas Poetry Festival in New York. 

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