MEXICO CITY.- Mexico and France will continue discussions over the possible repatriation of the Codex Borbonicus, one of the most important surviving pictorial manuscripts associated with Mexica ritual and calendrical traditions, as communities in Hidalgo renew calls for its return ahead of the New Fire ceremony expected in 2027.
The issue emerged during the closing of the Mexico-France International Symposium on Mesoamerican Codices, an event that brought together scholars, cultural officials and Indigenous communities to examine the history, preservation and contemporary meaning of manuscripts that have survived from the centuries surrounding the Spanish conquest.
Held both online and in person, the symposium drew more than 30,000 participants, according to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH. Organizers emphasized the participation of Indigenous communities whose histories remain closely tied to the manuscripts discussed during the gathering.
Among the most closely watched subjects was the future of the Codex Borbonicus, a richly illustrated manuscript containing ritual, calendrical and divinatory material. The codex is held in France by the National Assembly and has long occupied a prominent place in scholarship on Mexica culture.
Jos Alfonso Surez del Real y Aguilera, an adviser to Mexico’s presidential communications office, said at the National Museum of Anthropology that efforts to seek the manuscript’s return would continue. He pointed to what he described as growing international sensitivity toward cultural heritage held outside its place of origin.
The latest request has particular significance for residents of Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, who have asked Mexican authorities to pursue the codex’s return ahead of 2027. According to INAH, the manuscript preserves prayers and procedures associated with the “binding of the years,” a cycle completed every 52 years in several Central Mexican calendrical traditions.
That cycle culminated in the New Fire ceremony, a major ritual marking the renewal of time and the beginning of another 52-year period. The prospect of commemorating the ceremony in 2027 has added urgency and symbolic weight to calls for the codex to return to Mexico.
The discussion formed part of a broader cultural exchange between Mexico and France centered on Mesoamerican manuscripts. The symposium was organized by Mexico’s Ministry of Culture through INAH in collaboration with the French Embassy in Mexico, and is expected to result in a published anthology of research presented during the event.
The cooperation has also extended to exhibitions. The Codex Azcatitlan has been presented at Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology, while the Codex Boturini has traveled to the Museum of the National Library of France, reflecting a parallel effort to make important manuscripts accessible to audiences in both countries.
The closing sessions also highlighted the relationship between cultural institutions and the communities that regard these manuscripts as living records rather than simply historical objects.
Residents of San Miguel Amatln, Oaxaca, visited the National Library of Anthropology and History to inspect the condition of the 16th-century Codex of San Miguel Amatln, which INAH has safeguarded for 66 years at the community’s request.
“This document is the ‘birth certificate’ of our community, and it is an honor for us to know that it is being well cared for,” said San Miguel Amatln mayor Salvador Lpez Santiago.
Baltazar Brito Guadarrama, director of the library, led community representatives into its Codex Vault, where the manuscript is kept under carefully controlled conditions of temperature, humidity, storage and security.
For Brito, that relationship of trust is central to the institution’s role.
“It is a great responsibility for us, as a library, that communities place their trust in us to safeguard their documents,” he said, describing the manuscripts as fundamental to both local history and everyday community life.
The symposium closed with officials and specialists from Mexico and France stressing continued cooperation over research, conservation and access to Mesoamerican codices. The question of the Codex Borbonicus, however, is likely to remain at the center of that dialogue as the 2027 New Fire commemoration approaches.
