#aph aztec

[dahliamorena]

Cuetlaxochitl, Flower Of Fallen Warriors

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everybody who’s celebrating! Did you know that the “poinsettia” flower originated from Mexico? And that it had a tie to fallen the Aztec warriors? I go into on my Instagram about this!

Quick disclaimer; my Aztec survived the sack of Tenochtitlán, he’s alive and well I just wanted to make this aesthetic lol

[peonycats]

MISC ART DUMP 4

from top to bottom, left to right:

Turkey, Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan goes on Turkey’s podcast)

Lebanon, Palestine (The dress leb is wearing came frm one of zuhair murad’s collections btw)

Singapore (Oh you’re dominant and sterile? Why don’t you make sure your paper work is laminated and sterilized?)

Bahrain (subscribe to her channel right now 😡😡)

Israel, Singapore (some art i drew for a meme lol)

Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Iraq (This is so old so that’s why like Iraq and Azerbaijan look weird haha)

Madagascar (This was an Instagram art trade for a mutual’s beautiful madagascar oc!!!)

Aztec Empire, Mexico (Insta art trade for @dahliamorena​‘s lovely mexico oc and aztec oc!!)

BONUS:

[asitrita]

I just spent half a day arguing with someone who claims aph Spain is practically Arab because of Al Andaluz and I can't with people

That person didn't know any basic history. If Spain is Arab because of Al Andalus, India must be an exact copy of Britain and the quintessential Anglo Saxon society. And at least they do speak English, lol.

That person probably fed on all the Orientalist propaganda and ridiculous stereotypes about Spain. But the influence Arab culture had in Spain is minimal and superficial. Sure, there's some Arab influence, but it is pretty superficial and non transcendental to Spanish culture, society, or identity. Its biggest contribution to Spain was it acting as its adversary, hence reinforcing the Roman and Christian identity of Spain's population. They should just ask themselves what language do Spaniards speak and what is the predominant religion in Spain.

Also, just ask the person if they think Arabs are responsible for mass genocide in Spain and killed all native inhabitants so everyone in Spain is Arab now.

Tbh, I'm sure they don't even distinguish between Arab and North African/Berber culture, nor are aware of the process of Reconquista, let alone know the difference between Emirate and Caliphate, or the existence of the Taifa kingdoms.

Anyone who thinks Spain is an Arab country, or even somewhat Arab, because of Al Andalus, is either an ignorant/delusional fool, or a troll, or maybe both.

As for aph Spain, I would think nation personifications represent the people living in those regions. Since people living in Spain today are not Arab, not even remotely so, and are descendants of the Northern Christian people who repopulated the south + buckets of Christian people who lived in the south under Muslim rule but who never converted and were later assimilated again within a Christian, Greco-Roman, and Medieval European context and culture, I see absolute no reason to make aph Spain Arab, nor anything remotely similar. That would make as much sense as creating an OC of the Mexica (Aztec) empire and making him/her Spanish, or making India a Saxon warrior, or Nigeria a Viking sailor (actually, maybe even less sense, if that's even possible).

[nopall-i]

Jeweled Feathers

Finally drew more of my Aztec OC .

[sailorgreywolf-legacy]

I finally finished this! Aztec and her older sister Toltec. I wanted to capture how they looked before Aztec became a powerful empire.

[another-mexico-oc]

Chibi Mexico and Mexica (or Aztec) Empire.

I did this while listening to Centuries by Fall Out Boy. They are watching a comet, one of the many signals that, legend says, were prophesying the end of an age, and the beginning of something new. (Cough, cough... Spain...)

[aphmexphil]

"The scouts have arrived, sir, and they report that both sides have stopped fighting...they say that, based on the rumors that have been floating around there...that it's likely they are considering joining forces with the newcomers."

[ask-littlenewspain]

Does New Spain remember the Aztec Empire? Was the Aztec Empire her Mother?

|| She didn't know what happened to Aztec Empire... yet.

[ask-united-mex-states-archives]

Just felt a little historical vibes, is all—

(( I felt like drawing Aztec Empire. I wanted to give the eagle warrior headpiece a shot, but went all out in the end.

Then I felt the need to draw a babey Maite,,, ))

[lyccag]

Azteca culture

[dahliamorena]

can we see ur olmec oc again i love him 🥺

So Olmec actually belongs to my friend @lubby-beez but because she’s swaggy she lets me use her for my cringe lore lol.

Tia Olmec is also known as the “mother culture” of MesoAmerica. The word “Olmec” comes from the Nahuatl “Ōlmēcatl” meaning “rubber people”. I found this interesting article that describes the rubber making process of the MesoAmericans incase anybody would like to read it!

Bonus doodle of Tia Olmec and young Aztec if they ever got the chance to meet;

[peonycats]

Can you do a female Aztec Empire with baby Mexico?

(from left to right: tlaxcala, mexico, aztec empire/mexica)

"back when days were as good as they would ever get, when i was innocent to the ways of the world and every apple in father's eyes was mine to hold, i used to dream of a woman in white, who would say to me: your future is wide, little one, but never forget the futures lost to build it."

(This little blurb caption was written by my friend! Historical footnotes about the fashion and more below the read more!)

Historical Footnotes:

I actually headcanon that mexico never really knew Azteca, or at least, not in any “conventional” sense. For most of Mexico’s life, Tlaxacala was her dominant mother figure, though she had many other parents, including Azteca/Mexica.

Uh Tlaxacala and Azteca/Mexica did not get along well at all, the latter being a constant imperial menace to the former, and resulting in Tlaxacala being more than grateful for the opportunity to flip the odds on the Aztec Empire.

Unfortunately, there’s not that many sources on fashion or clothing of Colonial Mexico prior to 1700s, so I’m basing Tlaxcala and Mexico’s clothes on European fashions of the late 1600s. 

Tlaxcala’s dress has virago sleeves, a style of sleeves made of strips of fabric into two puffs by a ribbon or fabric band above the elbow. It was popular in the 1620s-1630s.

Her off the shoulder dress top is based on a painting of Princess Mary, daughter of King Charles, which dates to the latter half of the 17th century. Honestly i did kinda combine multiple styles for this dress wheezes. The color scheme and overall style is inspired by a Van Dyck portrait of Marie-Louise de Tassis!

Mexico is wearing a dress inspired by the Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress, a painting by David Velazquez!

God if I wanted to be truly accurate to the historical time period, I would’ve put Mexico in a farthingale but those are ugly >:(((((((

Azteca/Mexica is wearing a huipl, a sort of sleeveless blouse commonly worn by women in Mesoamerica. 

mexico might be a little too young looking for the time period but I’m only realizing this now writing these notes fuck

all in all i’m not the happiest with this (particularly with Mexico and tlaxcala’s outfits), hopefully in the future I can do better work and research :////

[stirringwinds]

haven’t drawn the aztec empire in a while, so thought it was about time. in aztec tradition, hummingbirds were associated with the god of the sun (and war). 

[scribblebee-ink]

Currently working on their redesigns!

Hehewuti, you said that you have met the Aztec and Mayan, so would like to know how they looked? And how was their behavior?

Aztec was very energetic and a little gory at times. He had two pets, a parrot,(less of a pet, more of a bird that followed him around), and a duck.

Maya was also energetic, but less so than Aztec. She looked up to him in art and focused on her art and developing her written language. 

[nopall-i]

N(ice) F(ucking) T(ighs)

[sailorgreywolf-legacy]

Mexica caught a glimpse of color out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and, saw that there was a hummingbird hovering near a flower. The midday sun of the garden shone bright on its feathers. The wings were beating so quickly that they appeared to be a blur.

Little Mexica watched it with fascination. He liked the color on the feathers and the way that it shifted in the light was entrancing. It was beautiful, he thought. Even a little magical, like an animal that was more magic than the rest of the world.

He had never seen an animal like it before, and he wanted to know everything about it. The animal seemed so unending fascinating to him, so different from all the other things he had seen.

There were many different birds, he knew that. His mother had showed them to him before, both the ones that were flying in the skies, and those that were in the market for food. He even knew about the beautiful sacred birds whose green feathers made headdresses, and the one eating the snake in the pictures on his mother’s palace.

But those were all big birds, and this was a small one that looked incredibly colorful. The way its wings moved fascinated him.

He wanted to know everything that he could about it, and if it was special to the gods like other animals. It seemed like such an incredible creature that it must be special to one of the gods.

He smiled to himself as his mind filled with all the questions he wanted to ask his mother. He wanted to know everything about every part of the world, but at the moment he really wanted to know about the specific creature. She always had the answers to whatever he asked, and he felt like she knew everything that there was to know in the world.

“What are you looking at my cub?”

Mexica immediately turned to face his mother, and pointed excitedly at the bird. He said, tripping over the words as he rushed to get them out, “Look at the bird, Mama. What is it? Is it magic?”

There were more he wanted to ask, but his mother’s kind smile made him stop. He knew she would tell him in time, and it would do no good to overwhelm her.

She followed his gesturing and seemed to see what he was pointing at. Then she said, “Yes, that is a magical bird, little one.”

As she said it, the hummingbird seemed to finish what it was doing at the flower and flew towards them. Mexica noticed and smiled at the prospect that it would come closer so he could see it better.

He was even more thrilled when it flitted around his head, seeming to look at him inquisitively as it did so. For a moment, he felt like the bird had almost human curiosity in him. It was looking at him with its bright little eyes.

Then it flew up and did the same around his mother. Mexica tugged at her cloak with his little hand and said impatiently, “What is it doing?”

He wanted to know so badly. Had he imagined that it was looking at him with interest and curiosity? What kind of magic was it? Was its attention a blessing?

The curiosity was burning him up inside. She disentangled his hand from her cloak and squatted to be at his level. She said, as patient as ever, “When someone goes to the afterlife, they can come back to see the people that they love. But, they can’t come back in their human body.”

He nodded, remembering all the stories she had told him about the afterlife, about how people went through a journey to get there. He remembered that the little dogs that his aunt had were the guides to the afterlife. He had told his aunt that he also wanted a dog, and she had smiled at him and said that he would have to wait.

His mother rested a hand on his shoulder gently and continued, “Once per year, they can come back as a spirits if you set up offerings to guide them back. But, sometimes they like to come back other times to see how things are.”

Mexica thought he understood. It would be bad to never see your family again, so of course they came back. It made sense to him and, he nodded.

She pointed at the direction that the bird had flown away and said, “When they do, they look like that, especially when they were great warriors in life. I am sure that was one of your ancestors coming to see us..”

Mexica felt a sudden sense of honor. One of his ancestors coming back to see him was an incredible thing. But, he also thought that he must have looked foolish babbling his questions in that way.

He must have looked worried that he had not made the best impression on one of his ancestors, since his mother reacted by moving her hand from his shoulder to caress his face as she said, “Don’t worry. I am sure they were proud of you just like I am. I know your grandparents would have liked to meet you if they were still alive.”

He straightened his back and pushed his chest out, like he was trying to look impressive. He wanted her to be proud of him, and he wanted his grandparents to be proud too.

She laughed a little and said, “Don’t strain yourself, little one. There will be time to be a mighty warrior when you grow up.”

Mexica let out the breath he was holding and let himself relax. Aztec stood up and offered him her hand, and said, “Shall we see the rest of the garden?”

Mexica nodded enthusiastically and took her hand. He hoped that they would find something else that was new and exciting.

-----------------------------------

Mexico was leaning against his best friend as they sat on the porch of his home. He was watching the afternoon fade into a pleasant evening. The sky was slowly turning from orange into a velvety twilight.

In particular, he was watching a flowering vine where three hummingbirds were feeding. Cuba followed his gaze and said, “That’s more hummingbirds than you usually see in one place.”

Mexico took a sip of the wine that he was holding and said, “I think it’s the flowers here. I have always seen so many of them here, even when I was still a colony.”

He had never had a good explanation for it - at least not one that seemed rational. He remembered an old story or two that his mother had told him, but it always felt a little childish and pagan to voice them.

Cuba was stroking his hair, and it was very pleasant and soothing. He felt like he was with the one person who would never judge him for voicing a kind of pagan sentiment. This was a safe place, and he knew it in his heart.

He said, beginning to test the idea of saying what he thought, “I have always liked them, ever since I was a child.” Cuba continued to run in fingers through his hair and said, “Hummingbirds?”

It didn’t sound like judgement, just a question of clarification. Mexico replied, “Yeah, I think they are beautiful.”

He saw Cuba nod out of the corner of his eye, and took it as a good sign. He drew in a breath through his nose and added, “My mom once told me that they’re my family coming back to see me.”

He hadn’t said that to anyone since the conquest, and it felt strange saying it. It felt like something he should not believe as a rational man. But, in his heart he felt like it was more true than the idea of heaven and hell.

Cuba said, “Do you think that is true?”

Mexico wasn’t sure what he should say. On a rational level, he was aware that it was possible that those who were dead were just dead.

But, he wanted to believe that it was not so simple, and that his parents could return and see who he had become. There was also a memory from a century ago that he couldn’t forget. It was of another place where he had seen his parents again. He remembered the feeling of his mother’s hug, and it was hard to believe that it had all been an exceptionally vivid dream.

He took another sip of wine and then said, “I don’t know. I want to think so.”

As he said the last sentence, he could hear the echo of a scared little boy in his voice. It was the sound of someone who wanted so badly to know that his parents could watch over him.

It wouldn’t be new to Cuba, who had met that little boy when he was most scared and most in need of a friend. This vulnerability was something that he could only trust his best friend with.

Cuba said, “Well, if it is, then I think your family is keeping an eye on you. I think they love you very much.”

Mexico smiled to himself. He liked that idea. He liked to think that his mother was still with him, and was maybe even proud of him. He decided to let himself bask in that thought for the rest of the night.

--------------------

APH Mexico and Aztec Empire Aesthetic