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Quiz about La Malinche  Forgotten Mother
Quiz about La Malinche  Forgotten Mother

La Malinche: Forgotten Mother Quiz


Just how much do you know about Hernán Cortés' interpreter and lover? Take this quiz to find out!

A multiple-choice quiz by tiffanyram. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
tiffanyram
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
233,421
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
471
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. How many children did Malinche have? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Before learning Spanish, which two languages did Malinche speak? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Malinche's first child, Martín, was born before the conquest of Tenochtitlán.


Question 4 of 10
4. What was the name of Malinche's husband? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. When Malinche was first given to the Spaniards as a gift, she was not immediately placed in the position of interpreter. Who was the soldier whom she was originally supposed to serve? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Malinche is not the original name for Malinche. In fact she is known by several names including Malinche, Doña Marina and Malintzin, but what was her original name? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Malinche is known as a traitor to Mexico because the men of which movement in Mexico's history used her as a scapegoat for the fall of the Aztecs? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. La Malinche is associated with several myths, one of which is "La Llorona." Who was the original "Llorona" said to have been? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. There is now a word that has political associations which comes from Malinche's name. That political term in Mexico is "malinchista."


Question 10 of 10
10. What is the name of the famous chronicler who provides us with much of the information that we know about the real Malinche? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. How many children did Malinche have?

Answer: 2

Malinche gave birth to two children. The first was a son named Martín, who was son of Cortés. The second was a daughter named María, who was born to her husband, Juan Jaramillo.
2. Before learning Spanish, which two languages did Malinche speak?

Answer: Náhuatl and Maya-Quiché

Interestingly, Malinche was familiar with many dialects in both Náhuatl and Maya-Quiché. This lends support to what the chronicler Bernal Díaz del Castillo says about Malinche in his "History of the Conquest of Mexico". He says that Malinche was born to a noble family, which means that she would have been taught the different dialects of Náhuatl. She would have learned Maya-Quiché during her years as a slave.
3. Malinche's first child, Martín, was born before the conquest of Tenochtitlán.

Answer: False

Malinche did not give birth to a child until after the defeat of Tenochtitlán. Some historians seem to believe that this was the case because she was of too much value to Cortés as an interpreter for him to risk her getting pregnant. Coincidentally, once she was no longer of such great value for his plans for the Aztecs, she bore him a son.
4. What was the name of Malinche's husband?

Answer: Juan Jaramillo

Though Malinche bore a son to Cortés, she never married him--he had a wife and children in Spain, along with numerous slaves who also bore him sons in the New World. She was married to Jaramillo during an expedition to modern-day Honduras.
5. When Malinche was first given to the Spaniards as a gift, she was not immediately placed in the position of interpreter. Who was the soldier whom she was originally supposed to serve?

Answer: Hernando Puertocarrero

Malinche was originally given to Puertocarrero. She was going to serve as other female slaves did-- as a bed mate and cook to the Spanish soldiers. Shortly after her arrival among the Spanish, Puertocarrero returned to Spain and Cortés discovered her bilingual abilities. She was then spared the fate--for a time--of a traditional slave woman and was used as an interpreter.
6. Malinche is not the original name for Malinche. In fact she is known by several names including Malinche, Doña Marina and Malintzin, but what was her original name?

Answer: Malinalli

The original name given to her was Malinalli because she was born on the 12th day of the Aztec calendar. The Spanish baptized her as Doña Marina. To the indigenous, she was Malintzin because -tzin is a suffix of honor. There are several theories as to how the name Malinche came about, but it was most likely caused by the Spaniards misunderstanding the pronunciation of Malintzin since they were not accustomed to the way the indigenous spoke.
7. Malinche is known as a traitor to Mexico because the men of which movement in Mexico's history used her as a scapegoat for the fall of the Aztecs?

Answer: nationalist

During the nationalist movement of the 1800s, Mexican politicians wanted to break away from Spanish roots and return to their indigenous heritage. During a time when Latin America was gaining her independence, in Mexico, all things Spanish were frowned upon. Since Malinche was viewed as helping the Spanish by serving as interpreter, she was blamed for the defeat of the Aztecs. Feminists argue that this was a form of machismo and that she was blamed because she was a woman, and that some hold the view that women are the source of evil.
8. La Malinche is associated with several myths, one of which is "La Llorona." Who was the original "Llorona" said to have been?

Answer: Cihuacóatl

Cihuacóatl was an Aztec goddess. Her name means "woman serpent." She is said to have walked the streets at night crying for her lost children, hence the name "La Llorona." There are some parts of Mexico where it is believed that Malinche is the woman who walks the street at night crying for her lost children.

She lost her children physically because her son, Martín, was taken from her by Cortés and sent to Spain and she died a few years after the birth of her daughter. Also, she is symbolically known as the "Mother of the Mestizo." Since her "children" now look on her as a traitor, she has lost them.

She was not the first indigenous woman to give birth to a mestizo child, but she is symbolically the most important.
9. There is now a word that has political associations which comes from Malinche's name. That political term in Mexico is "malinchista."

Answer: True

Malinchista is a term which appears in dictionaries and is used by politicians. It is used to describe a person who exhibits "the love of foreign things." Since Malinche was made into a traitor during the early 1800s--nearly three hundred years after her death--she has been thought of as such for about two hundred years.

As a result, the term "malinchista" has developed for politicians to use to describe their rivals when they think that their opponent has too much love for things that are non-Mexican.

It is a way of almost insulting them and make them look like a traitor themselves.
10. What is the name of the famous chronicler who provides us with much of the information that we know about the real Malinche?

Answer: Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote "The History of the Conquest of Mexico" where he provides many details about his experiences as a soldier and conquistador in Cortés's army. He knew Malinche personally and describes her as being of fine character. He also tells us how she came to be a slave after being born into a noble family and about her life as interpreter and her marriage to Jaramillo.
Source: Author tiffanyram

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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This quiz is part of series Tiffany's Mexico Quizzes:

Here's a list of any quizzes about Mexico that I've written. Not all of them are about the geography, some are about history and people, and even a couple of Spanish quizzes.

  1. Oh My! I said what?! Easier
  2. Aztec Sacrifices Tough
  3. Jalisco, Mexico Average
  4. La Malinche: Forgotten Mother Average
  5. Oaxaca Cheese and the Mexican Market Average
  6. The Art of Mexico Average
  7. Archaic Spanish and Other Spanish Phenomena Average
  8. Oaxaca, Mexico Average

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