[Outline of Nahua ethnopsychiatry]

In this paper we will show some historical and cultural aspects of the Aztec's medicine and cosmology at the XVI century. The Aztecs or Nahuas used to believe in different kinds of anemic entities, the most important ones being the tonalli, the ihiyotl and the teyolia. At the time the word tonalli meant, simultaneously, the particular "genius" of everyone, good fortune and the "star" or destiny. The tonalli's loss was a cause of illness and dead and it could be provoked by some physical violent acts or by sudden feelings of fright. The most frequent expression of this sickness was named tetonalcahualiztli. The hispanic designation of this problem is susto. The Nahuas used many kind of psychological proceedings in order to alleviate anguish and to treat mental troubles. Illness was considered by nahuas practitioners as the balance's loss of the organism, not only of its own components but also of its relationship with the world.