The document, which left Mexico by ship in 1840, returned to its homeland by plane in 2026. This 20-folio manuscript of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, created apparently by a master of the Otomí people, combines traditional Mesoamerican pictography with European writing and recounts the migration of the Mexica from Aztlán, the founding of Tenochtitlan, the rule of the tlatoani, and the arrival of the Spaniards.
France handed over the codex for three months as part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Mexico. The exhibition at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City will last until 6 December. In exchange, Mexico sent to France the Codex Boturini, also known as the "Pilgrimage Strip." The agreement on the mutual exchange was reached by Presidents Claudia Sheinbaum and Emmanuel Macron in November 2025.
The Codex of Azcatitlan is divided into three parts: the migration and founding of the capital, the rule of the rulers, and the events of the Spanish conquest with evangelization. Bright colors — red, blue, green, and yellow — depict warriors in feathered headdresses, rituals in pyramid-temples, and scenes of everyday life. Such manuscripts served not merely as a chronicle but as the living memory of a people, passed down from generation to generation.
Since 1898, the manuscript has been kept in the National Library of France. Its temporary return became possible thanks to cooperation between the ministries of culture and the anthropological institutes of both countries. Representatives of indigenous communities, in particular the Hñähñu of Ixmiquilpan, have already repeatedly made requests for repatriation, and negotiations are currently underway about a possible permanent return.
Such exchanges emphasize how fragile and at the same time how strong the connection is between past and present. The codex, which has survived centuries and an ocean, once again appears before the eyes of those whose ancestors created it. It is not merely a museum exhibit but a testimony to how the histories of peoples continue to influence contemporary relations between states.
The exhibition is accompanied by a facsimile and explanations that allow visitors to trace the document's journey from the seventeenth century to our days. Specialists note that the storage conditions in Mexican repositories today make it possible to ensure the proper preservation of such monuments.
Cultural heritage gains strength when it returns to those who gave it birth.
