In 1684 a Mixtec man from Oaxaca, Mexico, murdered his spouse and left a letter, written in his native language, on the victim's body. The murder note attempted to justify his violent crime by accusing her of committing adultery. This article translates and analyzes the original murder note and examines the trial and similar criminal records for evidence of cultural attitudes toward crime and punishment, adultery and domestic violence, and sexuality and sin. This unique case also raises issues concerning native writing and language, ethnic identity, and cultural change in colonial Mexico.
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