From Codex to World Heritage: The Relevance of Sahagún’s Work in the Study of Indigenous Cultures

Abstract

The work of the Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagún is widely recognized in the field of anthropology, primarily due to his methodological contributions. The research techniques he employed—such as learning the native language, placing emphasis on linguistic aspects to understand the culture and worldview of “the others”, carefully selecting informants from all social strata, and designing open-ended questionnaires—seem more akin to those of modern British social anthropology than to practices from 500 years ago. In 2015, his work was designated as part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World program, an acknowledgment aimed at highlighting his cultural contributions and preserving the world’s documentary heritage as a symbol of humanity’s collective memory. This designation has renewed Sahagún’s prominence as a precursor of this discipline. This study explores the impact of such recognition and the enduring value of his work. In a time like the present, where interethnic tensions and rejection of difference are on the rise, Sahagún’s work stands as an unquestionable legacy against intolerance and ethnocentrism.

Keywords

• social anthropology
• interculturality
• cultural heritage
• Memory of the World
• Colonial Ethnography
• Anthropological Linguistics