ITY OF CALIFORNIA
BRINTON S LIBRARY OF
ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE.
NUMBER VII.
ANCIENT
NAHUATL POETRY,
CONTAINING THE NAHUATL TEXT OF XXVII ANCIENT
MEXICAN POEMS.
WITH A TRANSLATION, INTRODUCTION, NOTES AND
VOCABULARY.
BY
DANIEL G. BRINTON, A.M., M.D.,
Professor- of American Linguistics and Archceology in the University
of Pennsylvania.
PHILADELPHIA :
D. G. BRINTON,
1890.
LIBRARY
OF
Aboriginal American
Literature.
No. VII.
EDITED BY
D. G. BRINTON. M.D,
PHILADELPHIA.
1887.
PREFACE.
It is with some hesitation that I offer this volume to
the scientific pubHc. The text of the ancient songs
which it contains offers extreme and pecuhar difficulties
to the translator, and I have been obliged to pursue the
task without assistance of any kind. Not a line of them
has ever before been rendered into an European tongue,
and my endeavors to obtain aid from some of the Nahu-
atl scholars of Mexico have, for various reasons, proved
ineffectual. I am therefore alone responsible for errors
and misunderstandings.
Nevertheless, I have felt that these monuments of
ancient native literature are so interesting in themselves,
and so worthy of publication, that they should be placed
at the disposition of scholars in their original form with
the best rendering that I could give them at present, rather
than to await the uncertain event of years for a better.
The text itself may be improved by comparison with
the original MS. and with the copy previously made by
the Licentiate Chimalpopoca, referred to on page 48.
My own efforts in this direction have been confined to a
faithful reproduction in print of the MS. copy ot the
Abbe Brasseur deBourbourg.
The Notes, which might easily have been extended, I
V
83091
VI PREFACE.
have confined within moderate compass, so as not to
enlarge unduly the bulk of the volume.
To some, the Vocabulary may seem inadequate. I
assume that those persons who wish to make a critical
study of the original text will provide themselves with
the Nahuatl Dictionaries of Molina or Simeon, both of
which are now easily obtainable, thanks to Mr. Julius
Platzmann for the reprint of Molina. I also assume that
such students will acquaint themselves with the rules of
grammar and laws of word-building of the tongue, and
that they will use the vocabulary merely as a labor-sav-
ing means of reaching the themes of compounds and
unusual forms of words. Employed in this manner, it
will, I hope, be found adequate.
In conclusion, I would mention that there is a large
body of Nahuatl literature yet unpublished, both prose
and poetry, modern and ancient, and as the Nahuatl
tongue is one of the most highly developed on the Amer-
ican continent, it is greatly to be desired that all this
material should be at the command of students. The
Nahuatl, moreover, is not a difficult tongue ; for an
Englishman or a Frenchman, I should say it is easier to
acquire than German, its grammar being simple and reg-
ular, and its sounds soft and sonorous. It has special
recommendations, therefore, to one who would acquaint
himself with an American lan£:ua2:e.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE, vi
INTRODUCTION,
§ I. The National Love of Poetry, . . 9
§ 2. The Poet and His Work, . . .12
§ 3. The Themes and Classes of the Songs, . 13
§ 4. Prosody of the Songs, . . . • 1 7
§ 5. The Vocal Delivery of the Songs, . . 20
§ 6. The Instrumental Accompaniment, , .21
§ 7. The Poetic Dialect, . . . .26
§ 8. The Preservation of the Ancient
Songs, 31
§ 9. The LX Songs of the King Nezahual-
coyotl, . . . . . . .35
§ 10. The History of the Present Collec-
tion, . 47
Ancient Nahuatl Poems :
I. Song at the Beginning, . , . . -55
II. A Spring Song, an Otomi Song, a Plain Song, 59
III. Another Plain Song, . . . . .61
IV. An Otomi Song of the Mexicans, . . -65
V. Another Plain Song of the Mexicans, . -67
VI. Another Chalco-song, a Poem of Tetlapan
Quetzanitzin, 69
VII. Another, 71
vii
VUl
CONTENTS.
VIII. Composed by a Certain Ruler in Memory of
Former Rulers,
IX. An Otomi Song of Sadness,
X. A Spring Song of the Mexicans, .
XI. Another, .......
xii. A Spring Song, a Song of Exhortation, be
cause Certain Ones did not go to War,
xiii. A Song of Huexotzinco, .
XIV. A Christian Song, .
XV. The Reign of Tezozomoctli
XVI. A Song Urging to War, .
XVII. A Flower Song,
xviii. A Song of Tollan, .
XIX. A Christian Song, .
XX. A Song Lamenting the Toltecs,
XXI. A Song of the Huexotzincos, Coming to Ask
Aid of Montezuma Against Tlaxcalla,
XXII. A Flower Song, .....
xxiii. A Song of the Prince Nezahualcovotl, .
XXIV. Another,. ......
XXV. A Song of Lamentation, ....
XXVI. A Song Relating to the Lord Nezahual
PILLI,
xxvii. A Christian Song, .....
Notes,
Vocabulary, .......
Index of Nahuatl Proper Names, with Explana
TIONS, ........
73
75
77
79
8i
83
87
89
95
99
105
109
III
113
117
119
121
123
125
127
129 •
149
171
ANCIENT
NAHUATL POETRY.
INTRODUCTION.
§ I . The National Love of Poetry.
The passionate love with which the Nahuas cultivated song,
music and the dance is a subject of frequent comment by the
historians of Mexico. These arts are invariably mentioned
as prominent features of the aboriginal civilization ; no pub-
lic ceremony was complete without them ; they were indis-
pensable in the religious services held in the temples ; through
their assistance the sacred and historical traditions were pre-
served ; and the entertainments of individuals received their
chief lustre and charm from their association with these arts.
The profession of the poet stood in highest honor. It was
the custom before the Conquest for every town, every ruler
and every person of importance to maintain a company of
singers and dancers, paying them fixed salaries, and the
early writer, Duran, tells us that this custom continued in
his own time, long after the Conquest. He sensibly adds,
that he can see nothing improper in it, although it was con-
B 9
10 INTRODUCTION.
demned by some of the Spaniards.' In the training of these
artists their patrons took a deep personal interest, and were
not at all tolerant of neglected duties. We are told that the
chief selected the song which was to be sung, and the tune
by which it was to be accompanied ; and did any one of the
choir sing falsely, a drummer beat out of time, or a dancer
strike an incorrect attitude, the unfortunate artist was in-
stantly called forth, placed in bonds and summarily executed
the next morning ! -
With critics of such severity to please, no wonder that it
was necessary to begin the training early, and to set apart
for it definite places and regular teachers. Therefore it was
one of the established duties of the teachers in the calmecac
or public school, "to teach the pupils all the verses of the
sacred songs which were written in characters in their
books. ' ' ^ There were also special schools, called aiicoyan,
singing places, "where both sexes were taught to sing the
popular songs and to dance to the sound of the drums. ^ In
the public ceremonies it was no uncommon occurrence for
^ Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espaiia, Tom. I, p.
233 ; and compare Geronimo de Mendieta, Historia Eclesiastica Indiana,
Lib. II, cap. 31.
2 Sahagun, Historia de iVtiez'a Espafla, Lib. VIII, cap. 26.
* Saliagun, Historia de Ahieva Espafla, Lib. Ill, cap. 8.
* Citicoyan, from cuica, song, and the place-ending yan, which is added
to the impersonal form of the verb, in this instance, cuicoa. Mr. Bancroft
entirely misapprehends Tezozomoc's words about these establishments,
and gives an erroneous rendering of the term. See his Amative Races of
the Pacific Const, Vol. II, p. 290, and Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana,
cap. 18.
THE NATIONAL LOVE OF POETRY. 11
the audience to join in the song and dance until sometimes
many thousands would thus be seized with the contagion of
the rhythmical motion, and i^ass hours intoxicated (to use a
favorite expression of the Nahuatl poets) with the cadence
and the movement.
After the Conquest the Church set its face firmly against
the continuance of these amusements. Few of the priests
had the liberal views of Father Duran, already quoted ;
most of them were of the opinion of Torquemada, who
urges the clergy " to forbid the singing of the ancient
songs, because all of them are full of idolatrous memo-
ries, or of diabolical and suspicious allusions of the same
character." '
To take the place of the older melodies, the natives
were taught the use of the musical instruments introduced
by the Spaniards, and very soon acquired no little pro-
ficiency, so that they could perform upon them, compose
original pieces, and manufacture most of the instruments
themselves. -
To this day the old love of the song and dance continues
in the Indian villages; and though the themes are changed,
the forms remain with little alteration. Travelers describe
the movements as slow, and consisting more in bending and
swaying the body than in motions of the feet ; while the
1 Juan de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, Lib. VI, cap. 43.
2 Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, Lib. XVII, cap. 3. Didacus
Valades, who was in Mexico about 1550, writes of the natives : " Habent
instrumenta musica permulta in quibus Kmulatione quadam se exercent."
Rhetorica Christiana, Pars. IV, cap. 24.
12 INTRODUCTION.
songs chanted either refer to some saint or biblical charac-
ter, or are erotic and pave the way to orgies. '
^ 2. The Poet and his Work.
The Nahuatl word for a song or poem is cuicatl. It is
derived from the verb atica, to sing, a term probably imi-
tative or onomatopoietic in origin, as it is also a general
expression for the twittering of birds. The singer was
called cuicani, and is distinguished from the composer of
the song, the poet, to whom was applied the term cuicapicqui,
in which compound the last member, picqui, corresponds
strictly to the Greek Trofjjrr^?, being a derivative oi piqui, to
make, to create." Sometimes he was also called ciiica-
tlamantini, ' ' skilled in song. ' '
It is evident from these words, all of which belong to the
ancient language, that the distinction between the one who
composed the poems and those who sang them was well
established, and that the Nahuatl poetry was, therefore,
something much above mere improvisation, as some have
thought. This does not alter the fact that a professed
bard usually sang songs of his own composition, as well
as those obtained from other sources. This is obvious from
the songs in this collection, many of which contain the
exi)ression /// cuicani, I, the singer, which also refers to the
maker of the song.
1 Descriptions are given by Edward Muhlenpfordt, Die Re/'ublik Mexico,
r.d. I, pp. 250-52 (Hannover, 1S44).
* Molina translates piijui, " crear 6 plasmar Dios alguna cosa de
nuevo." Vocabiilario de la Lengtia Mexicana, s. v.
THE THEMES AND CLASSES OF THE SONGS. 13
In the classical work of Sahagun, the author describes
the ancient poet: "The worthy singer has a clear mind
and a strong memory. He composes songs himself and
learns those of others, and is always ready to impart either
to the fellows of his craft. He sings with a well-trained
voice, and is careful to practice in private before he appears
before the public. The unworthy singer, on the other hand,
is ignorant and indolent. What he learns he will not com-
municate to others. His voice is hoarse and untrained,
and he is at once envious and boastful.'"
§ 3. The Themes and Classes of the Songs.
From what he could learn about them some two cen-
turies or more after the Conquest, the antiquary Boturini
classified all the ancient songs under two general heads,
the one treating mainly of historical themes, while the
other was devoted to purely fictitious, emotional or imagi-
native subjects.^ His terse classification is expanded by the
Abbe Clavigero, who states that the themes of the ancient
poets were various, some chanting the praises of the gods
or petitioning them for favors, others recalled the history
of former generations, others were didactic and inculcated
correct habits of life, while others, finally, were in lighter
vein, treating of hunting, games and love.^
His remarks were probably a generalization from a chapter
in Torquemada's Monarquia Indiana, in which that writer
1 Sahagun, Historia de Nueva Espana, Lib. X, cap. 8.
2 Boturini, Idea de una Nueva Historia General, p. 97.
» Clavigero, Storia anlica di Messico, Lib. VH, p. 175.
14 INTRODUCTION.
states that the songs at the sacred festivals differed in sub-
ject with the different months and seasons. Thus, in the
second month of their calendar, at its stated festival, the
people sang the greatness of their rulers ; in the seventh
month all the songs were of love, of women, or of hunt-
ing ; in the eighth the chants recalled the noble deeds of
their ancestors and their divine origin ; while in the ninth
month nothing was heard but verses fraught with lamenta-
tion for the dead/ With less minuteness, Father Duran
gives almost the same information. He himself had often
heard the songs which Montezuma of Tenochtitlan, and
Nezahualpizintli of Tezcuco, had ordered to be composed
in their own honor, describing their noble lineage, their
riches, their grandeur and their victories. These songs
were in his day still sung at the public dances of the
natives, and he adds, "although they were filled with lau-
dation of their ancient rulers, it gave me much pleasure
to hear the praises of such grandeur." There were other
poets, he observes, who lived in the temples and composed
songs exclusively in honor of the gods.'^
These general expressions may be supplemented by a list
of terms, specifying particular classes of songs, preserved
by various writers. These are as follows: —
melaJiuaciiicatl : this is translated by Tezozomoc, "a
straight and true song."'' It is a compound of melahuac,
straight, direct, true ; and ciiicatl, song. It was a begin-
' Torciucmada, Monnn/iiia Iiuiiana, Lib. X, cap. 34.
2 Duran, Hist, tie la Indias de A^ueva EspaHa, Tom. I, p. 233.
' Tezozomoc, Cronica Afexicana, cap. 64.
THE THEMES AND CLASSES OF THE SONGS. 15
ning or opening song at the festivals, and apparently de-
rived its name from its greater intelligibility and directness
of expression. A synonym, derived from the same root,
is tlamelauhcayotl, which appears in the title to some of
the songs in the present collection.
xopancuicatl : this term is spelled by Ixtlilxochitl, xompa-
cuicatl, and explained to mean "a song of the spring"
(from xopan, springtime, cuicatl, song). The expression
seems to be figurative, referring to the beginning or early
life of things. Thus, the prophetic songs of Nezahual-
coyotl, those which he sang when he laid the foundation
of his great palace, bore this name.^
teiucuicatl : songs of the nobles {teuctli, cuicatl). These
were also called quauhcuicatl, "eagle songs," the term
quauhtli, eagle, being applied to distinguished persons.
xochicuicatl : flower-song, one singing the praises of
flowers.
icnociiicatl : song of destitution or compassion.
noteuhcidcaliztli : "the song of my lords." This ap-
pears to be a synonymous expression for teucczdcatl ; it is
mentioned by Boturini, who adds that on the day sacred
to the god Xiuhteuctli the king began the song so called.^
miccacuicatl : the song for the dead {jniqui, to die,
cuicatl). In this solemn chant the singers were seated on
the ground, and their hair was twisted in plaits around
their heads. ^
1 Ixtlilxochitl, Historia Chichimeca, cap. 47.
2 Boturini, Idea de una Nueva Histo7-ia General, p. 90.
* Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana, cap. 53.
16 INTRODUCTION.
In addition to the above terms drawn from the subject
or character of the songs, there were others, of geograph-
ical origin, apparently indicating that the song, or its tune,
or its treatment was borrowed from another locality or
people. These are : —
Huexotziticayotl : a song of Huexotzinco, a Nahuatl \.o\\Xi,
situate east of the Lake of Tezcuco. This song was sung
by the king and superior nobles at certain festivals, and,
in the prescribed order of the chants, followed a fnelahuac-
cuicatl. '
Chalcayotl : a song of Chalco, on the lake of the same
name. This followed the last mentioned in order of time
at the festivals.
Otoncuicatl : a song of the Otomis. These were the
immediate neighbors of the Nahuas, but spoke a language
radically diverse. The songs so-called were sung fourth
on the list.
Cuextecayotl : a song of the country of the Cuexteca,
or Cuextlan, a northern province of Mexico.
Tlauancacuextecayotl : a song of the country of the
Tlauancacuexteca.
Anahuacayotl : a song of Anahuac, that is, of a country
near the water, either the valley of Mexico, or the shores of
the ocean.
Some very ancient sacred songs were referred to by
Tezozomoc as peculiar to the worship of Huitzilopochtli,
and, indeed, introduced by this potent divinity. From
1 See Sahagun, Historia de Nenva EspaJia, Lib. W, chap. 17, and
Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana, cap. 64.
PROSODY OF THE SONGS. 17
their names, cuitlaxoteyotl, zxi^^ tecuilhuicuicatl,^ I judge
that they referred to some of those pederastic rites which
still prevail extensively among the natives of the pueblos
of New Mexico, and which have been described by Dr.
William A. Hammond and other observers.^ One of these
songs began,
Cuicoyan nohuan mitotia ;
In-the-place-of-song with-me they-dance.
But the old chronicler, who doubtless knew it all by
heart, gives us no more of it.^
§ 4. Prosody of the Songs.
The assertion is advanced by Boturini that the genu-
ine ancient NahuatI poetry which has been preserved is
in iambic metre, and he refers to a song of Nezahual-
coyotl in his collection to prove his opinion. What study
I have given to the prosody of the NahuatI tongue leads
me to doubt the correctness of so sweeping a statement.
The vocalic elements of the language have certain pecu-
liarities which prevent its poetry from entering unencum-
bered into the domain of classical prosody.
The quantity of NahuatI syllables is a very important
element in the pronunciation of the tongue, but their
quantity is not confined, as in Latin, to long, short, and
^ Ctdtlaxoteyotl, from cuitatl, mierda; tectdlhuicuicatl, from iecuil-
huaztli, sello, tecuilonti, el que lo haze a otro, pecando contra natura.
Molina, Vocabulario.
2 William A. Hammond, The Disease of the Scythians {morbus femi-
naruvi) and Certain Analogous Conditions, in the American fournal of
Neurology and Psychiatry, 1882. ^ Cronica Mexicana, cap. 2.
18 INTRODUCTION.
common. The Nahuatl vowels are long, short, interme-
diate, and "with stress," or as the Spanish grammarians
say, "with a jump," con saltillo. The last mentioned is
peculiar to this tongue. The vowel so designated is pro-
nounced with a momentary suspension or catching of the
breath, rendering it emphatic.
These quantities are prominent features in the formal
portions of the language, characterizing inflections and
declinations. No common means of designating them
have been adopted by the grammarians, and for my pre-
sent purpose, I shall make use of the following signs : —
a. , short.
a , intermediate.
a , long.
a , with stress.
The general prosodic rules are : —
1. In polysyllabic words in which there are no long
vowels, all the vowels are intermediate. •
2. The vowels are long in the penultimate of the plurals
of the imperatives when the preterit of the verb ends in a
vowel ; the Ci of the can of the imperatives ; the i of the
t'l of the gerundives ; tlie last vowel of the futures when
the verb loses a vowel to form them ; the penultimates
of passives in lo, of impersonals, of verbals in oni, illi, olli
and oca, of verbal nouns with the terminations yan and
can; the 0 of abstract nouns in otl in composition \ and
those derived from long syllables.
3. Vowels are "with stress" when they are tlie finals
in the i)lurals of nouns and verbs, also in the perfect pre-
terite, in possessives ending in a, 6, 6, and in the penul-
PROSODY OF THE SONGS. 19
tiniate of nouns ending in ///, tia and tie when these syl-
lables are immediately preceded by the vowel. •
The practical importance of these distinctions may be
illustrated by the following examples : —
tdtli , = father.
fdt/i , = thou drinkest.
tatli , = we drink.
It is, however, evident from this example that the quan-
tity of Nahuatl syllables enters too much into the strictly
formal part of the language for rules of position, such as
some of those above given, to be binding; and doubtless
for this reason the eminent grammarian Carlos de Tapia
Zenteno, who was professor of the tongue in the Uni-
versity of Mexico, denies that it can be reduced to defi-
nite rules of prosody like those of the Latin. '^
Substituting accent for quantity, there would seem to
be an iambic character to the songs. Thus the first words
of Song I, weije probably chanted : —
Nino' yo I no' notza' cainpa' nicu id yec tli' ahui aca' xochiiV :
etc.
1 On this subject the reader may consult Paredes, Compendia del Arte
ae la Lengtia Mexicana, pp. 5, 6, and Sandoval, Arte de la Lengua
Mexicana, pp. 60, 61 . Tapia Zenteno whose Arte Novissima de la Lengua
Mexicana was published in 1753, rejects altogether the saltillo, and says
its invention is of no use except to make students work harder ! (pp. 3,
4.) The vowels with saltillo, he maintains, are simply to be pronounced
with a slight aspiration. Nevertheless, the late writers continue to employ
and describe the saltillo, as Chimalpopoca, Epitome 6 Modo Fdcil de
aprender el Idioma Na/niatl, p. 6. (Mexico, 1S69.)
* Arte Novissima de la Lengua Mexicana, pp. 3, 4.
20 INTRODUCTION.
But the directions given for the drums at the beginning
of Songs XVIII, XIX, etc., do not indicate a continu-
ance of these feet, but of others, as in XIX: —
Indeed, we may suppose that the metre varied with the
subject and the skill of the poet. This, in fact, is the
precise statement of Father Duran,' who speaks of the
native poets as "giving to each song a different tune
{sonadd), as we are accustomed in our poetry to have the
sonnet, the octava rima and the terceto."
§ 5. The Vocal Delivery of the Song.
Descriptions of the concerts so popular among the Nahuas
have been preserved by the older writers, and it is of the
highest importance to understand their methods in order
to appreciate the songs presented^ in this volume.
These concerts were held on ceremonial occasions in
the open air, in the village squares or in the courtyards
of the houses. They began in the morning and usually
continued until nightfall, occasionally far into the night.
The musicians occupied the centre of the square and the
trained singers stood or sat around them. When the sign
was given to begin, the two most skillful singers, some-
times a man and a woman, pronounced the first syllables
of the song slowly but with a sharp emphasis ;- then the
drums began in a low tone, and gradually increased in
' Duran, Historia de Nuez'a EspaHa, Tom. I, p. 230.
2 The singer who began the song was called cuicaifo, " the speaker of
the song."
THE INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT. 21
strength as the song proceeded ; the other singers united
their voices until the whole chorus was in action, and
often the bystanders, to the numbers of thousands, would
ultimately join in the words of some familiar song, keep-
ing time by concerted movements of the hands and feet.
Each verse or couplet of the song was repeated three
or four times before proceeding to the next, and those
songs which were of the slowest measure and least emo-
tional in character were selected for the earlier hours of the
festivals. None of the songs was lengthy, even the longest,
in spite of the repetitions, rarely lasting over an hour.^
The tone in which the words were chanted is described
by Clavigero, Miihlenpfordt and other comparatively recent
travelers as harsh, strident and disagreeable to the Euro-
pean ear. Mendieta calls it a "contra-bass," and states
that persons gifted with such a voice cultivated it assidu-
ously and were in great" demand. The Nahuas call it
tozqiiitl, the singing voice, and likened it to the notes of
sweet singing birds.
§ 6. The Instrumental Accompaniment.
The Nahuas were not acquainted with any stringed in-
strument. They manufactured, however, a variety of objects
from which they could extract what seemed to them melo-
dious sounds. The most important were two forms of
drums, the huehuetl and the teponaztli.
1 The most satisfactory description of these concerts is that given by
Geronimo de Mendieta, Historia Eclesiastica Indiana, Lib. II, cap. 31.
I have taken some particulars from Boturini and Sahagun.
22 INTRODUCTION.
The word huehuetl means something old, something
ancient, and therefore important and great. The drum
so-called was a hollow cylinder of wood, thicker than a
man's body, and usually about five palms in height. The
end was covered with tanned deerskin, firmly stretched.
The sides were often elaborately carved and tastefully
painted. This drum was placed upright on a stand in
front of the player and the notes were produced by strik-
ing the parchment with the tips of the fingers.
A smaller variety of this instrument Avas called flapanhne-
huetl, or the half drum, which was of the same diameter
but only half the height.' Still another variety was the
yopihuehuetl, "the drum which tears out the heart,"- so
called either by reason of its penetrating and powerful
sound, or because it was employed at the Yopico, where
that form of human sacrifice was conducted.
The teponaztli was a cylindrical block of wood hollowed
out below, and on its upper surface with two longitudinal
parallel grooves running nearly from end to end, and a
third in the centre at right angles to these, something in
the shape of the letter I. The two tongues left between the
grooves were struck with balls of rubber, /////, on the ends
of handles or drum sticks. These instruments varied greatly
' Literally, " the broken drum," from tlapana, to break, as they say
tlapanhuimetzli, half moon. It is described by Tezozomoc as " un
alambor bajo." Cronica Mixicana, cap. 53.
2 From yollotl, heart, and //, to tear out. The instrument is mentioned
by Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicaua, cap. 48. On the Yopico, and its
ceremonies, see Sahagun, I/islon.i di Nuez'a Espafla, Lib. II, cap. i, and
Appendix.
THE INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT. 23
in size, some being five feet in length, and others so small
that they could conveniently be carried suspended to the
neck. The teponaztli was the house instrument of the
Nahuas. It was played in the women's apartments to
amuse the noble ladies, and the war captains carried one
at the side to call the attention of their cohorts on the
field of battle (Sahagun). The word is derived from the
name of the tree whose wood was selected to make the
drum, and this in turn from the verb tcponazoa, to swell,
probably from some peculiarity of its growth.'
A much superior instrument to the teponaztli, and doubt-
less a development from it, was the tccomapiloay " the sus-
pended vase" {tccomatl, gourd or vase, piloa, to hang or
suspend). It was a solid block of wood, with a project-
ing ridge on its upper surface and another opposite, on
its lower aspect ; to the latter one or more gourds or
vases were suspended, which increased and softened the
sound when the upper ridge was struck with the ullip'
This was undoubtedly the origin of the marimba, which I
have described elsewhere.^
1 Simeon, however, thinks the name arose from the growing and swell-
ing of the sound of the instrument (notes to Jourdanet's translation of
Sahagun, p. 28). Mr. H. H. Bancroft gives the astonishing translation of
teponaztli, " wing of stone vapor !" (^Native Races of the Pacific States,
Vol. II, p. 293.) Brasseur traced the word to a Maya-Quiche root, tep.
In both Nahuatl and Maya this syllable is the radicle of various words
meaning to increase, enlarge, to grow strong or great, etc.
2 Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Espafia, Lib. II, cap. 27.
3 See The Gtiegiience, a Comedy ballet in the Nahuall Spanish dialect
of Nicaragua, Introd., p. 29. (Philadelphia, 1883.)
24 INTRODUCTION.
The musical properties of these drums have been dis-
cussed by Theodor Baker. The teponaztli, he states, could
yield but two notes, and could not have been played in
accord with the huehuetl. It served as an imperfect
contra-bass. '
Tht omichicahuaz, "strong bone," was constructed some-
what on the principle of a teponaztli. A large and long
bone was selected, as the femur of a man or deer, and it
was channeled by deep longitudinal incisions. The pro-
jections left between the fissures were rasped with another
bone or a shell, and thus a harsh but varied sound could
be produced.'^
The tetzilacatl, the "vibrator" or "resounder," was a
sheet of copper suspended by a cord, which was struck
with sticks or with the hand. It appears to have been
principally confined to the sacred music in the temples.
The ayacachtli was a rattle formed of a jar of earthen-
ware or a dried gourd containing pebbles which was
fastened to a handle, and served to mark time in the
songs and dances. An extension of this simple instru-
ment was the ayacachicahualiztli, "the arrangement of
rattles," which was a thin board about six feet long and
1 Theodor Baker, Ueber die Musik der Nord-Ainerikanischen IVilden.,
PP- 51-53- (Leipzig, 1SS2.)
2 Omitl, bone, chicahuac, strong. A specimen made of the bone of a
fossil elephant is possessed by Seiior A. Chavero, of Mexico. See Tezo-
zomoc, Cronica Mexicana, cap. 55, and the note of Orozco y Berra to
that passage in the Mexican edition. Also Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Es-
paHay Lib. VIII, cap. 20, who lii<e\vise describes most of the instruments
referred to in this section.
THE INSTRUMENTAL ACCOMPANIMENT. 25
a span wide, to which were attached bells, rattles and cylin-
drical pieces of hard wood. Shaking this produced a jingle-
jangle, agreeable to the native ear. The Aztec bells of
copper, tzilinilli, are really metallic rattles, like our
sleigh bells. They are often seen in collections of Mexican
antiquities. Other names for them were coyolli and yoyotli.
Various forms of flutes and fifes, made of reeds, of bone
or of pottery, were called by names derived from the
word pitzaua, to blow (e.g., tlapitzalH, uilacapitzli), and
sometimes, as being punctured with holes, zozoloctli, from
zotl, the awl or instrument used in perforating skins, etc.
Many of those made of earthenware have been preserved,
and they appear to have been a highly-esteemed instru-
ment, as Sahagun mentions that the leader of the choir
of singers in the temple bore the title tlapitzcatzin, "the
noble flute player."
Large conches were obtained on the seashore and framed
into wind instruments called quiquiztli and tecciztli, whose
hoarse notes could be heard for long distances, and whistles
of wood, bone and earthenware added their shrill notes
to the noise of the chanting of the singers. The shell of
the tortoise, ayotl, dried and suspended, was beaten in
unison with such instruments.
Recent researches by competent musical experts con-
ducted upon authentic specimens of the ancient Mexican
instruments have tended to elevate our opinion of their
skill in this art. Mr. H. T. Cresson, of the Academy of
Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, has critically examined the
various Aztec clay flutes, whistles, etc., which are there
preserved, and has reached the following conclusions: —
c
26 INTRODUCTION.
"I. That upon the four-holed clay flageolets the chro-
matic and diatonic scales can be produced with a full
octave.
" II. That the clay whistles or pitch pipes, which may
be manipulated in quartette, will produce an octave and
a fourth.
"III. From the facts above shown, the Aztecs must
have possessed a knowledge of the scales as known to us,
which has been fully tested by comparison with the flute
and organ.'"
This result indicates for the instrumental accompaniment
a much higher position in musical notation than has hitherto
been accepted.
§ 7. The Poetic Dialect.
All the old writers who were familiar with the native
songs speak of their extreme obscurity, and the difficulty
of translating them. No one will question the intimate
acquaintance with the Nahuatl language possessed by Father
Sahagun ; yet no one has expressed more strongly than he
the vagueness of the Nahuatl poetic dialect. "Our enemy
on earth," he writes, "has prepared a thick woods and
a dangerous ground full of pitfalls, wherein to devise his
evil deeds and to hide himself from attack, as do wild
beasts and venomous serpents. This woods and these pit-
falls are the songs which he has inspired to be used in his
service, as praises to his honor, in the temples and else-
where ; because they are composed with such a trick that
' H. T. Cresson, On Aztec Music, in the Proceedings of the Academy
of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1883.
THE POETIC DIALECT. 27
they proclaim only what the devil commands, and are
understood only by those to whom they are addressed.
It is well known that the cavern, woods or depths in
which the devil hides himself were these chants or psalms
which he himself has composed, and which cannot be
understood in their true significance except by those who
are accustomed to the peculiar style of their language."^
Not less positive are the expressions of Father Diego
Duran, contemporary of Sahagun, and himself well versed
in the native tongue. ''All their songs," he observes,
"were composed in such obscure metaphors that scarcely
any one can understand them unless he give especial atten-
tion to their construction."^ The worthy Boturini was puz-
zled by those which he had collected, and writes, " the
songs are difficult to explain, because they mystify his-
torical facts with constant allegorizing,"'' and Boturini's
literary executor, Don Mariano Echevarria y Veitia, who
paid especial attention to the poetic fragments he had re-
ceived, says frankly : " The fact is, that as to the songs I
have not found a person who can fully translate them,
because there are many words in them whose signification
is absolutely unknown to-day, and moreover which do not
appear in the vocabularies of Molina or others."*
The Abbe Clavigero speaks in somewhat more definite
1 Sahagun, Historia de Nueva Espana, Lib. II, Appendice.
* Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva Espaiia, Tom. I, p. 233.
3 Boturini, Idea de una Ntieva Historia General, Appendice, p. 95.
■* Echevarria, Historia del Driven de las Genles de Nueva EspaHa, Dis-
curso Preliminar.
28 INTRODUCTION.
terms of the poetic forms and licenses of the language.
He notes that in the fragments of the ancient verses which
had been preserved until his day there were inserted be-
tween the significant words certain interjections and mean-
ingless syllables, apparently to fill out the metre. Never-
theless, he considered the language of the chants, "pure,
pleasant, brilliant, figurative and replete with allusions to
the more pleasing objects in nature, as flowers, trees, brooks,
etc."^
It is quite evident from the above extracts that in the
translation of the ancient songs in the present volume we
must be prepared for serious difficulties, the more so as the
Nahuatl language, in the opinion of some who are the
best acquainted with it, lends itself with peculiar facility
to ambiguities of expression and obscure figures of speech.'^
Students of American ethnology are familiar with the fact
that in nearly all tribes the language of the sacred songs
differs materially from that in daily life.
Of the older grammarians. Father Carochi alone has
left us actual specimens of the ancient poetic dialect,
and his observations are regretably brief. They occur
* Clavigero, Storia Antica di Messico, Lib. VII, p. 175.
2 " Ihre Sprachen sind uberreich an doppelsinnigen Ausdrucken die sie
absichtlich anwenden um ihre Gedanken zu verbergen. Geistliche haben
mir versichert, dass sie obgleich der Aztekischen Sprache vollstandig mach-
tig, oft den wahren Sinn einer Beichte nicht zu verstehen vermochten,
weil die Beichtende sich in rSthselhafter und metaphorreicher Weise
auszudrilcken pflegten." Carlos von Gagern, Charakteristik der Indiau-
ischen Bevdlkerioii; Mexico's, p. 17 (in the Mit. der Geog. GeselL,
Wien. 1837).
THE POETIC DIALECT. 29
in his chapter on the composition of nouns and read as
follows : ' —
"The ancient Indians were chary in forming compounds
of more than two words, while those of to-day exceed
this number, especially if they speak of sacred things;
although in their poetic dialect the ancients were also
extravagant in this respect, as the following examples
show: —
1. TlauhquechoUaztalehualto tonatoc.
2. Ayauhcogamalotonameyotimani.
3. Xiuhcoyolizitzilica in teocuitlahuehuetl.
4. Xiuhtlapallacuilolamoxtli manca.
5. Nic chalchiuhcozcameca quenmach totoma in nocuic.
1. It is gleaming red like the tlauhquechol bird.
2. And it glows like the rainbow.
3. The silver drum sounds like bells of turquoise.
4. There was a book of annals written and painted in
colors.
5. I see my song unfolding in a thousand directions, like a
string of precious stones,"
1 Carochi's translations are not quite literal. The following notes will
explain the compounds : —
1. Tlauitl, red ochre, quechoUi, a bird so called, aztatl, a heron,
ehualtia, reverential of ehua, to rise up ; hence, " It (or he) shone
like a noble red- winged heron rising in flight."
2. Ayaniil, mist ; cofamaloti, rainbow ; to7iameyotl, shining, brightness ;
ti, connective ; viani, substantive verb. " The brightness of the rain-
bow is there." There is no conjunction " and " ; Father Carochi seems
to have carelessly taken ayauh, which is the form of ayatiitl in com-
30 INTRODUCTION.
From the specimens presented in this volume and from
the above extracts, I would assign the following pecu-
liarities to the poetic dialect of the Nahuatl : —
I. Extreme frequency and richness of metaphor. Birds,
flowers, precious stones and brilliant objects are constantly
introduced in a figurative sense, often to the point of
obscuring the meaning of the sentence.
II. Words are compounded to a much greater extent
than in ordinary prose writing.
III. Both words and grammatical forms unknown to the
tongue of daily life occur. These may be archaic, or manu-
factured capriciously by the poet.
IV. Vowels are inordinately lengthened and syllables
reduplicated, either for the purpose of emphasis or of
meter.
V. Meaningless interjections are inserted for metrical
effect, while others are thrown in and repeated in order
to express emotion.
VI. The rhetorical figure known as aposiopesis, where
a sentence is left unfinished and in an interjectional con-
position, for the conjunction auh, and. Each of the lines given is a
detached fragment, without connection with the others.
3. xiiiit/, something blue or green; coyolii, htWs; tzitzUicaliztli, tink-
ling. " The golden drum's turquoise-bell-tinkling."
4. xiuhiic, blue or green ; tlapalli, red ; ctiiloa, to paint or write ;
amoxtli, book ; manca, imperf. of tnani. " There was a book painted
in red and green."
5. chahhiuhtiitl, the jade; cozcatl, a jewel; W(V<7/'/, a string ; totoma,
frequentative of toma, to unfold, unwind. " I unwind my song like
a string of precious jewels."
i
PRESERVATION OF THE ANCIENT SONGS. 31
dition, in consequence of some emotion of the mind, is
not rare and adds to the obscurity of the wording.
§ 8. The Preservation of the Ancient Sotigs.
In a passage already quoted/ Sahagun imparts the inter-
esting information that the more important songs were
written down by the Nahuas in their books, and from these
taught to the youth in the schools. A certain branch
of the Mexican hieroglyphic writing was largely phonetic,
constructed on that method to which I have applied the
adjective ikonomatic, and by which it was quite possible to
preserve the sound as well as the sense of sentences and
verses.^ Such attention could have been bestowed only on
the sacred, royal, or legendary chants, while the composi-
tions of ordinary poets would only be disseminated by oral
teaching.
By one or both of these methods there was a large body
of poetic chants the property of the Nahuatl -speaking
tribes, when they were subjugated by the Europeans. Among
the intelligent missionaries who devoted their lives to mas-
tering the language and translating into it the doctrines
of Christianity, there were a few who felt sufficient interest
in these chants to write some of them down in the orig-
inal tongue. Conspicuous among these was the laborious
Bernardino de Sahagun, whose works are our most valued
1 See above, page lo.
2 On the Ikonomatic Method of Phonetic Writing, with special ref-
erence to American Archeology. By D. G. Brinton, in Proceedings of
the American Philosophical Society, for October, i886.
32 INTRODUCTION.
sources of information on all that concerns the life of the
ancient Nahuas. He collected a number of their sacred
hymns, translated them into Spanish, and inserted them into
the Appendix to the Second Book of his History of New
Spain ; but this portion of his work was destroyed by order
of the Inquisition, as a note in the original MS. expressly
states.*
A certain number, however, were preserved in the original
tongue, and, as already noted, we find the able grammarian
Horatio Carochi, who published his Grammar of the Nahuatl
in 1645, quoting lines from some as furnishing examples of
the genuine ancient forms of word-building. He could
not, tlierefore, have doubted their antiquity and authenticity.
A number of these must have come to the knowledge and
were probably in the possession of the eminent mathema-
tician and antiquary Don Carlos de Siguenza y Gongora,
who lived m the latter half of the same century (died 1700).
It was avowedly upon the information which he thought he
gleaned from these ancient chants that he constructed his
historical theory of the missionary labors of St. Thomas
in Mexico in the first century of our era. The title of
the work he wrote upon this notion was as follows : —
" Ft' nix del Occidente San Thomas Apbstol, hallado con el
notnbre de Qiietzalcoatl entre las cenizas de antiguas tradiciones,
consenuidas en piedras, en Teoamoxtles Tidtecas, y en cantarcs
Teochichimecas y Mexicanos.^^
For many years this curious work, which was never printed
1 This fact is mentioned by Lord Kingsborough in his great work on
Mexico, Vol. VI, p. 533.
PRESERVATION OF THE ANCIENT SONGS. 33
was supposed to be lost ; but the original MS. is extant, in
the possession of the distinguished antiquary Don Alfredo
Chavero, of the City of Mexico.^ Unfortunately, however,
the author did not insert in his work any song in the
native language nor a literal translation of any, as I am
informed by Senor Chavero, who has kindly examined the
work carefully at my request, with this inquiry in view.
Half a century later, when Boturini was collecting his
material, he found but very few of the old poems. In the
catalogue of his MSS. he mentions (XIX, i) some fragments
of ancient songs, badly written, on European paper, but
he does not say whether in the original or translated.
The same doubt might rest on the two songs of Neza-
hualcoyotl named in his Catalogue (V, 2). He does not
specifically state that they are in the original. The song
of Moquihuix, King of Tlatilulco, in which he celebrated his
victory over the Cuextla, which Boturini states in his text
(p. 91) as in his possession, is not mentioned at all in his
Catalogue, and it is uncertain whether his copy was in
Nahuatl.
His literary friend, however, Don Mariano Echevarria y
Veitia, removes the uncertainty about the two songs of
Nezahualcoyotl, as he informs us that they were in the
original tongue, and adds that he had inserted them in
his History without translation.'^ I have examined the man-
^ It is described in the Anales del Museo Nacional, Tom. Ill, p. 262.
2 Echevarria's words are " los pongo en su idioma." Hist, del Origen
de las Gentes que poblaron la Nueva Espafia, Discurso Preliminar, in
Kingsborough's Mexico, Vol. VIII.
34 INTRODUCTION.
uscript of his work, now in the Lenox Library, New York
City, but it does not contain these texts, and evidently the
copy used by Bustamente did not.^
Boturini included the translations of the two odes of
Nezahualcoyotl in a work on the Virgin of Guadelupe, only
a fragment of which has been preserved. One of the
chapters in this Latin Essay is entitled De Indorum Poeta-
non Canticis sive Prosodiis, in which he introduces Ixtlil-
xochitl's translation and also a song in the original Nahuatl,
but the latter is doubtless of late date and unimportant as
a really native production.^
The fragments of Boturini's library collected by M. Aubin,
of Paris, contain a number of the original ancient songs of
the highest importance, which make us regret the more that
this collection has been up to the present inaccessible to
students. In his description of these relics published in 1S51,
^L Aubin refers to the Historical Annals of the Mexican
Nation (§ VIII, 10, of Boturini's Catalogue) as containing
" historical songs in a dialect so difficult that I have not
been able to translate them entirely," and adds that sim-
ilar songs are preserved in others of the ancient annals in
his hands. ^
1 See his Tezcuco en los Ultitnos Tievipos de sus Antigtios Keyes. Parte
IV (Mexico, 1826).
2 See the description of this fragment of Boturini by Senor Alfredo
Chavero in the Anates del Museo Nacional, Tom. Ill, p. 242.
* M. Aubin, Xotice sur ttne Collection d Antiqttites Alexicaines, pp.
8, 9. (Paris, 1S51.)
THE LX SONGS OF KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL. 35
§ 9. The LX Songs of the King Nezahualcoyotl.
The most distinguished figure among the Nahuatl poets
was Nezahualcoyotl, ruler of .Tezcuco. His death took
place in 1472, at the age of eighty years. His father, Ixtlil-
xochitl, had been deprived of his possessions and put to
death by Tezozomoc, King of the Tepanecas, and until the
death of the latter at an advanced age in 1427, Nezahual-
coyotl could make but vain efforts to restore the power of
his family. Much of the time he was in extreme want, and
for this reason, and for his savage persistence in the struggle,
he acquired the name "the fasting or hungry wolf" —
nezahual-coyotl. Another of his names was AcolmiztU,
usually translated "arm of the lion," from acuUi, shoulder,
and niiztii, lion.
A third was Yoyontzin, which is equivalent to cevetor
nobilis, from yoyoma {cevere, i. e., fetnora mover e in re
venerea) ; it is to be understood figuratively as indicating
the height of the masculine forces.
When his power became assured, he proved himself a
liberal and enlightened patron of the arts and industries.
The poetry and music of his native land attracted him the
more as he felt within himself the moving god, firing his
imagination with poetic vision, the Deus in nobis, calescinius,
agitanfillo. Not only did he diligently seek out and
royally entertain skilled bards, but he himself had the credit
of composing sixty chants, and it appears that after the Con-
quest there were that many written down in Roman char-
acters and attributed to him. We need not inquire too
closely whether they were strictly his own composition.
Perhaps they were framed on themes which he furnished, or
36 INTRODUCTION.
were selected by him from those sung at his court by various
bards. The history of the works by royal authors every-
where must not be too minutely scanned if we wish to
leave them their reputation for originality.
He was of a philosophic as well as a poetic tempera-
ment, and reflected deeply on the problems of life and
nature. Following the inherent tendency of the enlight-
ened intellect to seek unity in diversity, the One in the
Many, he reached the conclusion to which so many think-
ers in all ages and of all races have been driven, that
underlying all phenomena is one primal and adequate
Cause, the Essence of all Existence. This conclusion he
expressed in a philosophic apothegm which was preserved
by his disciples, in these words: —
]pan in chicunauitlamanpan meziica in tloque nahuaqice
palne nohuani teyocoyani icel teotl oqiiiyocox in ixquex qiiex-
quex in ittoni ihuan amo ittoni.
" In the ninth series is the Cause of All, of us and of
all created things, the one only God who created all things
both visible and invisible."^
To perpetuate the memory of this philosophic deduction
he caused to be constructed at Tezcuco a stone tower
nine stories in height, the ruins of which were visible
long after the Spanish occupation. To this tower he gave
the name Chililitli, a term of uncertain meaning, but which
we find was applied in Tenochtitlan to a building sacred
1 rrinted very incorrectly in Lord Kingsborough's edition of Ixtlilxo-
chitl's Relaciones Ilistoricas (Rel. X, Kingsborough, Antiquities of Mex-
ico, Vol. IX, p. 454).
THE LX SONGS OF KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL. 37
to the Nine Winds.' To explain the introduction of this
number, I should add that a certain school of Nahuatl
priests taught that the heaven above and the earth below
were each divided into nine concentric arcs, each lead-
ing farther and farther away from the conditions of the
present life. Hence, there were nine heavens, abodes of
the gods, and nine lower regions, abodes of the souls of
the dead. Another school taught that there were not nine
but thirteen of these stages.
The sixty poems by Nezahualcoyotl are mentioned by
various writers as in existence after the Conquest, reduced
to writing in the original tongue, and of several of them
we have translations or abstracts.'^ Of four the transla-
tions claim to be complete, and were published entire for
the first time in the original Spanish by Lord Kingsbor-
ough in the ninth volume of his great work on the Anti-
quities of Mexico. Since then they have received various
renderings in prose and verse into different languages at
the hands of modern writers.
I shall give a literal prose translation from the Spanish,
numbering the poems and their verses, for convenience
of reference, in the order in which they appear in the
pages of Lord Kingsborough.
1 See Sahagun, Historia de Niieva Espana, Lib. II, Appendix.
2 Bustamente puts the number of the songs of Nezahualcoyotl at
eighty, of which he could find only one extant, and this, as I understand
his words, in Spanish only. See his Tezcuco en los Tiempos de sns An-
tiguous Reyes, p. 253 (Mexico, 1826). When Alexander von Humboldt
visited Mexico he sought in vain for any fragment of the songs of the
royal bard. Vues des Cordilleres, etc., Tom. II, p. 391.
38 INTRODUCTION.
The first is one referred to, and partly translated by
Ixtlilxochitl, in his Historia Chichimeca (cap. 47). He
calls it a xopancuicail (see ante, p. 15), and states
that it was composed and sung on the occasion of the
banquet when the king laid the foundations of his great
palace. He gives the first words in the original as fol-
lows:—
Thixoconcagiiican ani Nezahuakoyotzin ;
And the translation : —
" Hear that which says the King Nezahualcoyotl."
Restoring the much mutilated original to what I should
think was its proper form, the translation should read : —
"Listen attentively to what I, the singer, the noble
Nezahualcoyotl, say:" —
I.
1. Listen with attention to the lamentations which I,
the King Nezahualcoyotl, make upon my power, speak-
ing with myself, and offering an example to others.
2. O restless and striving king, when the time of thy
death shall come, thy subjects shall be destroyed and
driven forth ; they shall sink into dark oblivion. Then
in thy hand shall no longer be the power and the rule,
but with the Creator, the All-powerful.
3. He who saw the palaces and court of the old King
Tezozomoc, how flourishing and powerful was his sway,
may see them now dry and withered ; it seemed as if they
should last forever, but all that the world offers is illusion
and deception, as everything must end and die.
4. Sad and strange it is to see and reflect on the pros-
THE LX SONGS OF KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL. 39
perity and power of the old and dying King Tezozomoc ;
watered with ambition and avarice, he grew like a willow
tree rising above the grass and flowers of spring, rejoicing
for a long time, until at length, withered and decayed,
the storm wind of death tore him from his roots, and
dashed him in fragments to the ground. The same fate
befell the ancient King Colzatzli, so that no memory was
left of him, nor of his lineage.
5. In these lamentations and in this sad song, I now
call to memory and offer as an example that which takes
place in the spring, and the end which overtook King
Tezozomoc ; and who, seeing this, can refrain from tears
and wailing, that these various flowers and rich delights
are bouquets that pass from hand to hand and all wither
and end even in the present life !
6. Ye sons of kings and mighty lords, ponder well and
think upon that which I tell you in these my lamenta-
tions, of what takes place in spring and of the end which
overtook King Tezozomoc ; and who, seeing this, can
refrain from tears and wailing that these various flowers
and rich delights are bouquets that pass from hand to hand
and all wither and end even in the present life !
7. Let the birds now enjoy, with melodious voices, the
abundance of the house of the flowery spring, and the
butterflies sip the nectar of its flowers.
The second song is preserved in a Spanish metrical
translation only, but which from internal evidence I should
judge to be quite literal. The words of the poem do not
40 INTRODUCTION.
represent it as a composition by the royal poet, but one
which was sung before him, and addressed to him. It
admonishes him to rejoice in the present moment, as the
uncertainties of life and fate must at some time, perhaps
very soon, deprive him of their enjoyment.
II.
1. I wish to sing for a moment, since time and occasion
are propitious; I hope to be permitted, as my intention
merits it, and I begin my song, though it were better
called a lamentation.
2. And thou, beloved companion, enjoy the beauty of
these flowers, rejoice with me, cast out fears, for if pleas-
ure ends with life, so also does pain.
3. I, singing, will touch the sonorous instrument, and
thou, rejoicing in the flowers, dance and give pleasure to
God the powerful. Let us be happy in the present, for
life is transitory.
4. Thou hast placed thy noble court in Acolhuacan,
thine are its lintels, thou hast decked them, and one may
well believe that with such grandeur thy state shall in-
crease and grow.
5. O prudent Yoyontzin, famous king and peerless mon-
arch, rejoice in the present, be happy in the springtime,
for a day shall come in which thou shalt vainly seek these
joys.
6. Then thy destiny shall snatch the sceptre from thy
hand, thy moon shall wane, no longer wilt thou be strong
and proud, then thy servants shall be destitute of all things.
THE LX SONGS OF KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL. 41
7. In this sad event, the nobles of thy line, the prov-
inces of might, children of noble parents, lacking thee as
their lord, shall taste the bitterness of poverty.
8. They shall call to mind how great was thy pomp,
thy triumphs and victories, and bewailing the glory and
majesty of the past, their tears will flow like seas.
9. These thy descendants who serve thy plume and
crown, when thou art gone, will forsake Culhuacan, and
as exiles will increase their woes.
10. Little will fame have to tell of this wondrous maj-
esty, worthy of a thousand heralds ; the nations will only
remember how wisely governed the three chieftains who
held the power,
11. At Mexico, Montezuma the famous and valorous, at
Culhuacan the fortunate Nezahualcoyotl, and at the strong-
hold of Acatlapan, Totoquilhuatli.
12. I fear no oblivion for thy just deeds, standing as
thou dost in thy place appointed by the Supreme Lord
of All, who governs all things.
13. Therefore, O Nezahualcoyotl, rejoice in what the
present offers, crown thyself with flowers from thy gar-
dens, hear my song and music which aim to please thee.
14. The pleasures and riches of this life are but loaned,
their substance is vain, their appearance illusory ; and so
true is this that I ask thee for an answer to these questions :
15. What has become of Cihuapan ? Of the brave
Quantzintecomatzin ? Of Conahuatzin ? What of all these
people ? Perhaps these very words have already passed
into another life.
16. Would that we who are now united by the ties of
(UNIVEBSITYI
42 INTRODUCTION.
love and friendship could foresee the sharp edge of death,
for nothing is certain, and the future ever brings changes.
The third is a "spring song" in which the distin-
guished warriors of the king are compared to precious
stones. Such jewels were believed by the Nahuas to pos-
sess certain mysterious powers as charms and amulets, a
belief, it is needless to say, found among almost all nations.
In verse i8 there is a reference to the superstition that at
dawn, when these jewels are exposed to the first rays of
the sun, they emit a fine vapor which wafts abroad their
subtle potency. The poem is in Spanish verse, and the
original is said to have been written down by Don Fer-
nando de Avila, governor of Tlalmanalco, from the mouth
of Don Juan de Aguilar, governor of Cultepec, a direct
descendant of Nezahualcoyotl.
III.
1. The flowery spring has its house, its court, its palace,
adorned with riches, with goods in abundance.
2. With discreet art they are arranged and placed, rich
feathers, precious stones, surpassing in luster the sun.
3. There is the valued carbuncle, which from its beau-
teous center darts forth rays which are the lights of knowl-
edge.
4. There is the prized diamond, sign of strength, shoot-
ing forth its brilliant gleams.
5. Here one sees the translucent emerald suggesting the
hope of the rewards of merit.
THE LX SONGS OF KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL. 43
6. Next follows the topaz, equaling the emerald, for the
reward it promises is a heavenly dwelling.
7. The amethyst, signifying the cares which a king has
for his subjects, and moderation in desires.
8. These are what kings, princes and i-nonarchs delight
to place upon their breasts and crowns.
9. All these stones with their varied and singular vir-
tues, adorn Thy house and court, O Father, O Infinite God !
10. These stones which I the King Nezahualcoyotl have
succeeded in uniting in loving liens,
11. Are the famous princes, the one called Axaxacatzin,
the other Chimalpopoca, and Xicomatzintlamata.
12. To-day, somewhat rejoiced by the joy and words
of these, and of the other lords who were with them,
13. I feel, when alone, that my soul is pleased but for
a brief time, and that all pleasure soon passes.
14. The presence of these daring eagles pleases me, of
these lions and tigers who affright the world,
15. These who by their valor win everlasting renown,
whose name and whose deeds fame will perpetuate.
16. Only to-day am I glad and look upon these rich
and varied stones, the glory of my bloody battles.
17. To-day, noble princes, protectors of the realm, my
will is to entertain you and to praise you.
18. It seems to me that ye answer from your souls,
like the fine vapor arising from precious stones, —
19. "O King Nezahualcoyotl, O royal Montezuma, your
subjects sustain themselves with your soft dews.
20. " But at last a day shall come which will cut away
this power, and all these will be left wretched orphans.
44 INTRODUCTION.
21. "Rejoice, mighty King, in this lofty power which
the King of Heaven has granted you, rejoice and be
glad.
2 2. "In the life of this world there is no beginning
anew, therefore rejoice, for all good ends.
23. "The future promises endless changes, griefs that
your subjects will have to undergo.
24. "Ye see before you the instruments decked with
wreaths of odorous flowers ; rejoice in their fragrance.
25. "To-day there are peace, and goodfellowship ; there-
fore let all join hands and rejoice in the dances,
26. " So that for a little while princes and kings and
the nobles may have pleasure in these precious stones,
27. "Which through his goodness the will of the King
Nezahualcoyotl has set forth for you, inviting you to-day
to his house."
The fourth song has been preserved in an Otomi trans-
lation by the Mexican antiquary Granados y Galvez,^ and
in an abstract by Torquemada.'^ The latter gives the first
words as follows: —
Xochitl viaviani in huehuetiilan :
Which he translates: —
"There are fresh and fragrant flowers among the groves."
1 Tardes Americanas, pp. 90-94. (Mexico, 1778.)
2 Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana^ Lib. II, cap. 45. The word
huehuetitlan, seems to be a misprint for ahuehuetitlan, from ahuehuetl,
with the ligature //, and the postposition tlan, literally •' among the cy-
presses."
THE LX SONGS OF KING NEZAHUALCOYOTL. 45
It is said to have been composed at the time the king
dedicated his palace.
IV.
1. The fleeting pomps of the world are like the green
willow trees, which, aspiring to permanence, are con-
sumed by a fire, fall before the axe, are upturned by the
wind, or are scarred and saddened by age.
2. The grandeurs of life are like the flowers in color and
in fate ; the beauty of these remains so long as their chaste
buds gather and store the rich pearls of the dawn and
saving it, drop it in liquid dew ; but scarcely has the
Cause of All directed upon them the full rays of the sun,
when their beauty and glory fail, and the brilliant gay
colors which decked forth their pride wither and fade.
3. The delicious realms of flowers count their dynasties
by short periods ; those which in the morning revel proudly
in beauty and strength, by evening weep for the sad de-
struction of their thrones, and for the mishaps which drive
them to loss, to poverty, to death and to the grave. All
things of earth have an end, and in the midst of the most
joyous lives, the breath falters, they fall, they sink into the
ground.
4. All the earth is a grave, and nought escapes it ;
nothing is so perfect that it does not fall and disappear.
The rivers, brooks, fountains and waters flow on, and
never return to their joyous beginnings ; they hasten on
to the vast realms of Tlaloc, and the wider they spread
between their marges the more rapidly do they mould
their own sepulchral urns. That which was yesterday is
46 INTRODUCTION.
not to-day; and let not that which is to-day trust to live
to-morrow.
5. The caverns of earth are filled with pestilential dust
which once was the bones, the flesh, the bodies of great
ones who sate upon thrones, deciding causes, ruling assem-
blies, governing armies, conquering provinces, possessing
treasures, tearing down temples, flattering themselves with
pride, majesty, fortune, praise and dominion. These glories
have passed like the dark smoke thrown out by the fires
of Popocatepetl, leaving no monuments but the rude skins
on which they are written.
6. Ha ! ha ! Were I to introduce you into the obscure
bowels of this temple, and were to ask you which of these
bones were those of the powerful Achalchiuhtlanextin, first
chief of the ancient Toltecs ; of Necaxecmitl, devout wor-
shiper of the gods ; if I inquire where is the peerless
beauty of the glorious empress Xiuhtzal, where the peace-
able Topiltzin, last monarch of the hapless land of Tulan ;
if I ask you where are the sacred ashes of our first father
Xolotl ; those of the bounteous Nopal ; those of the gener-
ous Tlotzin ; or even the still warm cinders of my glorious
and immortal, though unhappy and luckless father Ixtlil-
xochitl ; if I continued thus questioning about all our
august ancestors, what would you reply? The same that
I reply — I know not, I know not ; for first and last are
confounded in the common clay. What was their fate
shall be ours, and of all who follow us.
7. Unconquered princes, warlike chieftains, let us seek,
let us sigh for the heaven, for there all is eternal, and
nothing is corruptible. The darkness of the sepulchre is
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT COLLECTION. 47
but the strengthening couch for the glorious sun, and the
obscurity of the night but serves to reveal the brilliancy of
the stars. No one has power to alter these heavenly lights,
for they serve to display the greatness of their Creator,
and as our eyes see them now, so saw them our earliest
ancestors, and so shall see them our latest posterity.
It will be seen that the philosophy of these songs is
mostly of the Epicurean and carpe diem order. The certainty
of death and the mutability of fortune, observations which
press themselves upon the mind of man everywhere, are
their principal staples, and cast over them a hue of mel-
ancholy, relieved by exhortations to enjoy to the utmost
what the present moment offers of pleasure and sensual
gratification. Here and there a gleam of a higher phi-
losophy lights the sombre reflections of the bard ; his
thoughts turn toward the infinite Creator of this universe,
and he dimly apprehends that by making Him the sub-
ject of his contemplation, there is boundless consolation
even in this mortal life.
Both these leading motifs recur over and over again in
the songs printed in the original in the present volume,
and this similarity is a common token of the authenticity
of the book.
§ 10. The History of the Present Collection.
The most recent Mexican writers formally deny that any
ancient Mexican poetry is now extant. Thus the eminent
antiquary, Don Alfredo Chavero, m his elaborate work.
48 INTRODUCTION.
Mexico a traves de los Siglos, says, " the truth is, we know
no specimens of the ancient poetry, and those, whether
manuscript or printed, which claim to be such, date from
after the Conquest."^ In a similar strain the grammarian
Diario Julio Caballero, writes: "There has never come
into our hands a single poetic composition in this lan-
guage. It is said that the great King Nezahualcoyotl was
a poet and composed various songs ; however that may be,
the fact is that we have never seen any such composi-
tions, nor met any person who has seen them."'-
It is important, therefore, to state the exact provenance
of the specimens printed in this volume, many of which
I consider to have been composed previous to the Con-
quest, and written down shortly after the Nahuatl language
had been reduced to the Spanish alphabet.
All of them are from a MS. volume in the library of
the University of Mexico, entitled Cantares de los Mexi-
canos y otros opusculos, composed of various pieces in
different handwritings, which, from their appearance and
the character of the letter, were attributed by the eminent
antiquary Don Jose F. Ramirez, to the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.
The copy I have used is that made by the late Abbe
Brasseur (de Bourbourg). It does not appear to be com-
plete, but my efforts to have it collated with the original
have not been successful. Another copy was taken by the
late well-known Mexican scholar Faustino Chimalpopoca,
1 Op. cit. Tom. I, p. 795.
* Gramviatica del Idioma Mexicano, p. iSo. (Mexico, 1880.)
I
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT COLLECTION. 49
which was in the possession of Senor Ramirez and sold at
the vendue of his books in 1880. It is No. 511 of the
catalogue.
The final decision of the age of the poems must come
from a careful scrutiny of the internal evidence, especially
the thoughts they contain and the language in which
they are expressed. In applying these tests, it should
be remembered that a song may be almost wholly ancient,
that is, composed anterior to the Conquest, and yet dis-
play a few later allusions introduced by the person who
preserved it in writing, so as to remove from it the flavor
of heathenism. Some probable instances of this kind will
be pointed out in the Notes.
The songs are evidently from different sources and of
different epochs. There are two notes inserted in the
MS. which throw some light on the origin of a few of
the poems. The first is in connection with No. XII. In
my copy of the MS, the title of this song is written twice,
and between the two the following memorandum appears
in Spanish :
''Ancient songs of the native Otomis, which they were
accustomed to sing at their festivals and marriages, trans-
lated into the Mexican language, the play and the spirit
of the song and its figures of speech being always re-
tained ; as Your Reverence will understand, they displayed
considerable style and beauty, better than I can express
with my slight talent ; and may Your Reverence at your
convenience approve and be entertained by them, as a
skilled master of the tongue, as Your Reverence is."
50 INTRODUCTION.
From its position and from the titles following, this
note appears to apply only to No. XII.
The second note is prefixed to No. XIV, which has no
title. It is in Nahnatl, and reads as follows : —
i
H
Nican ompehua in cuicatl motenehua melahuac Huexotzin-
cayotl ic moquichitoya in tlatoque Huexotzinca mani me-
catca; yexcan inic tlatlamantitica, teuccuicatl ahno^o
quauhcuicatl, xochicuicatl, icnocuicatl. Auh inic motzot-
zona huehuetl cencamatl mocauhtiuh, auh in occencamatl
ipan huetzi yetetl ti ; auh in huel ic ompehua centetl ti ;
auh inic mocuepa quiniquac iticpa huehuetzi y huehuetl,
zan mocemana in maitl ; auh quiniquac iyeinepantla oc-
ceppa itenco hualcholoa in huehuetl ; tel yehuatl itech
mottaz, ynima ynaquin cuicani quimati iniuh motzotzona;
auh yancuican yenoceppa inin cuicatl ychan D. Diego de
Leon, Governador Azcapotzalco ; yehuatl oquitzotzon in
D. Frco Placido ypan xihuitl 155 1, ypan in ezcalilitzin tl
Jesu Christo.
This may be freely translated as follows: —
i
Here begins a song called a plain song of Huexotzinco
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT COLLECTION. 51
as it was recited by the lords of Huexotzinco. These songs
are divided into three classes, the songs of the nobles or
of the eagles, the flower songs, and the songs of destitu-
tion. (Directions follow for beating the drum in unison
with the voices.) This song was sung at the house of
Don Diego de Leon, Governor of Azcapotzalco ; he who
beat the drum was Don Francisco Placido ; in the year of
the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ 155 1."
This assigns beyond doubt the song in question to the
first half of the sixteenth century, and we may therefore
take its phraseology as a type of the Nahuatl poetry shortly
after the Conquest. It is also stated to be a native com-
position, and from its contents, it was clearly composed
by one of the converts to the Christian faith.
I
ANCIENT
NAHUATL POEMS
I. Cuicapeuhcayotl.
I. Ninoyolnonotza, campa nicuiz yectli, ahuiaca
xochitl : — Ac nitlatlaniz ? Manozo yehuatl nictlatlani in
quetzal huitzitziltin, in chalchiuh huitzitzicatzin ; manozo
ye nictlatlani in zaquan papalotl ; ca yehuantin in ma-
chiz, ommati, campa cueponi in yectli ahuiac xochitl, tla
nitlahuihuiltequi in nican acxoyatzinitzcanquauhtla, ma-
noze nitlahuihuiltequi in tlauhquecholxochiquauhtla ;
oncan huihuitolihui ahuach tonameyotoc in oncan
mocehcemelquixtia ; azo oncan niquimittaz intla one-
chittitique ; nocuexanco nictemaz ic niquintlapaloz
in tepilhuan, ic niquimellelquixtiz in teteuctin.
2. Tlacazo nican nemi, ye nicaqui in ixochicuicatzin
yuhqui tepetl quinnananquilia ; tlacazo itlan in meyaquet-
zalatl, xiuhtotoameyalli, oncan mocuica, momotla,
mocuica ; nananquilia in centzontlatolli ; azo quinnanan-
quilia in coyoltototl, ayacachicahuacatimani, in nepapan
tlazocuicani totome. Oncan quiyectenehua in tlaltic-
paque hueltetozcatemique.
3. Nic itoaya, nitlaocoltzatzia ; ma namechellelti y
tlazohuane, niman cactimotlalique, niman hualtato in
quetzal huitzitziltin. Aquin tictemohua, cuicanitzine ?
Niman niquinnanquilia niquimilhuia : Campa catqui in
yectli, ahuiac xochitl ic niquimellelquixtiz in amohuam-
potzitzinhuan ? Niman onechicacahuatzque ca nican
tlatimitzittitili ticuicani azo nelli ic tiquimellelquixtiz in
toquichpohuan in teteuctin.
4. Tepeitic tonacatlalpa, xochitlalpa nechcalaquiqueo
oncan on ahuachtotonameyotimani, oncan niquittacaya
in nepapan tlazoahuiac xochitl, tlazohuelic xochitl,
54
I. Son^ at the Beginning.
1. I am wondering where I may gather some pretty,
sweet flowers. Whom shall I ask ? Suppose that I ask
the brilliant humming-bird, the emerald trembler ; sup-
pose that I ask the yellow butterfly ; they will tell me,
they know, where bloom the pretty, sweet flowers, whether
I may gather them here in the laurel woods where dwell
the tzinitzcan birds, or whether I may gather them in the
flowery forests where the tlauquechol lives. There
they may be plucked sparkling with dew, there they come
forth in perfection. Perhaps there I shall see them if
they have appeared ; I shall place them in the folds of
my garment, and with them I shall greet the children, I
shall make glad the nobles.
2. Truly as I walk along I hear the rocks as it were
replying to the sweet songs of the flowers ; truly the
glittering, chattering water answers, the bird-green foun-
tain, there it sings, it dashes forth, it sings again ; the
mocking bird answers ; perhaps the coyol bird answers,
and many sweet singing birds scatter their songs around
like music. They bless the earth pouring out their sweet
voices.
3. I said, I cried aloud, may I not cause you pain ye
beloved ones, who are seated to listen ; may the brilliant
humming-birds come soon. Whom do we seek, O noble
poet ? I ask, I say : Where are the pretty, fragrant
flowers with which I may make glad you my noble com-
peers ? Soon they will sing to me, " Here we will make
thee to see, thou singer, truly wherewith thou shalt make
glad the nobles, thy companions."
4. They led me within a valley to a fertile spot, a
flowery spot, where the dew spread out in glitter-
ing splendor, where I saw various lovely fragrant flowers,
56 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
ahuach quequentoc, ayauhcozamalotonameyotimani, oil-
can nechilhuia, xixochitetequi, in catlehuatl toconnequiz,
ma mellelquiza in ticuicani, tiquinmacataciz in tocnihuan
in teteuctin in quellelquixtizque in tlalticpaque.
5. Auh nicnocuecuexantia in nepapan ahuiacxochitl,
in huel teyolquima, in huel tetlamachti, nic itoaya
manozo aca tohuanti hual calaquini, ma cenca miec in
ticmamani ; auh ca tel ye onimatico nitlanonotztahciz
imixpan in tocnihuan nican mochipa tiqualtetequizque
in tlazo nepapan ahuiac xochitl ihuan ticuiquihui in
nepapan yectUyancuicatl ic tiquimellelquixtizque in
tocnihuan in tlalticpactlaca in tepilhuan quauhthya
ocelotl.
6. Ca moch nicuitoya in nicuicani ic niquimicpac
xochiti in tepilhuan inic niquimapan in can in mac
niquinten ; niman niquehuaya yectli yacuicatl ic
netimalolo in tepilhuan ixpan in tloque in nahuaque, auh
in atley y maceuallo.
7. Can quicuiz? Can quitlaz in huelic xochitl? Auh
cuix nohuan aciz aya in xochitlalpan, in tonacatlalpan, in
atley y macehuallo in nentlamati? Intla y tlacohua in
tlalticpacca gan quitemacehualtica in tloque in nahuaque,
in tlalticpac ; ye nican ic chocan noyollo noconilnami-
quia in ompa onitlachiato y xochitlalpana nicuicani.
8. Auh nic itoaya tlacazo amo qualcan in tlalticpac ye
nican, tlacazo occecni in huilohuayan, in oncan ca in
netlamachtilli ; tlezannen in tlalticpac ? tlacazo occecni
yoliliz ximoayan, ma ompa niauh, ma ompa inhuan
noncuicati in nepapan tlazototome, ma ompa nicnotla-
machti yectliya xochitl ahuiaca xochitl, in teyolquima,
in zan tepacca, teahuiaca yhuintia, in zan tepacca, ahuiaca
yhuintia.
ANCIENT NAHUATL TOEMS. 57
lovely odorous flowers, clothed with the dew, scattered
around in rainbow glory, there they said to me, " Pluck
the flowers, whichever thou wishest, mayest thou the
singer be glad, and give them to thy friends, to the
nobles, that they may rejoice on the earth."
5. So I gathered in the folds of my garment the vari-
ous fragrant flowers, delicate scented, delicious, and I said,
may some of our people enter here, may very many of us
be here ; and I thought I should go forth to announce to
our friends that here all of us should rejoice in the dif-
ferent lovely, odorous flowers, and that we should cull
the various sweet songs with which we might rejoice our
friends here on earth, and the nobles in their grandeur
and dignity.
6. So I the singer gathered all the flowers to place
them upon the nobles, to clothe them and put them in
their hands ; and soon I lifted my voice in a worthy song
glorifying the nobles before the face of the Cause of All,
where there is no servitude.
7. Where shall one pluck them ? Where gather the
sweet flowers ? And how shall I attain that flowery land,
that fertile land, where there is no servitude, nor affliction ?
If one purchases it here on earth, it is only through sub-
mission to the Cause of All ; here on earth grief fills
my soul as I recall where I the singer saw the flowery
spot.
8. And I said, truly there is no good spot here on
earth, truly in some other bourne there is gladness ; For
what good is this earth ? Truly there is another life in
the hereafter. There may I go, there the sweet birds
sing, there may I learn to know those good flowers, those
sweet flowers, those delicious ones, which alone pleasur-
ably, sweetly intoxicate, which alone pleasurably, sweetly
intoxicate.
58 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
II. Xopancuicatl, otoiictiicatl, tlamelauhcayotl.
1. Onihualcalac nicuicani nepapan xochitlalpan, huel
teellelquixtican, tetlamachtican, oncan ahuacli tonam-
eyoquiauhtimani, oncan cuicuica in nepapan tlazototome,
on cuicatlaza in coyoltototl cahuantimani inin tozquitzin
in quellelquixtia in tloque in nahuaque yehuan Dios,
ohuaya, ohuaya.
2. Oncan nicaqui in cuicanelhuayotl in. nicuicani,
tlacazo amo tlalticpac in peuh yectli yancuicatl, tlacazo
ompa in ilhuicatl itic hual caquizti in conehua in
tlazocoyoltototl in quimehuilia in nepapan teoquecholme
zacuantototl, oncan tlacazo quiyectenehua in tloque in
nahuaque, ohuaya, ohuaya.
3. Niyolpoxahua in nicaquia ni cuicani, acoquiza in
notlalnamiquilizo quin pepetlatiquiza in ilhuicame, nel-
cicihuiliz ehecayotiuh in iquinalquixtia in ompa
ontlatenehua in zacuanhuitzitzil in ilhuicatl itic, ohuaya,
ohuaya,
4. Auh nohuiampa nictlachialtia in noyollo auh tlacazo
nelli in amo ixquich quehua in tlazotototl, tlacazo ye oc
tlapanahuia in ilhuicatl itic yyollo in tloque in nahuaque
mochiuhtica, ca intlacamo teuhyotiuh in notlalnamiquiliz
azo huclquinalquixtica ittazo in tlamahuizolli in ilhuicac
ic papaqui in ilhuicac tlazototome ixpan in tloque
nahuaque, ohuaya, ohuaya.
5. Quenin ah nichocaz in tlalticpac ? ye nican tlacazo
onca nemoa)'a ninoztlacahuia, nicitoa aqo zan ye ixquich
in nican in tlalticpac ontlamian toyolia, macuele ehuatl in
tloque in nahuaque, ma ompa inhuan nimitznocuicatili in
ilhuicac mochanecahuan ca noyollo ehua ompa nontlac-
hia in monahuac in motloc tipalnemohua, ohuaya,
ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 59
II. A Spring Song, an Otonii Song, a Plain Song.
1. I, the singer, have entered many flower gardens,
places of pleasaunce, favored spots, where the dew spread
out its ghttering surface, where sang various lovely birds,
where the co}'ol birds let fall their song, and spreading
far around, their voices rejoiced the Cause of All, He
who is God, ohuaya ! ohuaya!
2. It is there that I the singer hear the very essence of
song ; certainly not on earth has true poesy its birth ;
certainly it is within the heavens that one hears the lovely
coyol bird lift its voice, that the various quechol and
zacuan birds speak together, there they certainly praise
the Cause of All, ohuaya ! ohuaya !
3. I, the singer, labor in spirit with what I heard, that
it may lift up my memory, that it may go forth to those
shining heavens, that my sighs may be borne on the
wind and be permitted to enter where the yellow hum-
ming bird chants its praises in the heavens, ohuaya !
ohuaya !
4. And as in my thoughts I gaze around, truly no such
sweet bird lifts its voice, truly the things made for the
heavens by the Cause of All surpass all others, and un-
less my memory tends to things divine scarcely will it be
possible to penetrate these and witness the wondrous
sights in heaven, which rejoice the sweet heavenly birds
before the face of the Cause of All.
lived here in vain illusion ; I say that whatever is here
on earth must end with our lives. May I be permitted
to sing to thee, the Cause of All, there in the heaven, a
dweller in thy mansion, there may my soul lift its voice
and be seen with Thee and near Thee, Thou by whom
we live, ohuaya ! ohuaya !
60 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
6. Ma xicaquin nocuic in tinocniuh xochihuehuetl inic
tzotzonaya ilhuicacuicatl in nicehuaya, ic niquimellel-
quixtia in teteucti, xochicueponi in noyollo izqui xochitl
nictzetzelohuaya ic malitiuh in no cuicatzin ixpan in
tloque in nahuaque, ohuaya, ohuaya.
III. Occe al mismo tono tlamelaiihcayotl.
I. Xochicalco nihualcalaquia in nicuicani, oncan icac
in chalchiuhuehuetl, oncan chialon ipalnemohuani in
teteuctin xochitl tzetzeliuhtimani, tolquatectitla, xoya-
caltitlan, onahuiaxtimani in xochicopal tlenamactli huel
teyolquima, cahuia ca ihuintia in toyollo ixpan in tloque
in nahuaque.
2. Ic motoma tocuic xochiahuia ca ihuinti in toyollo?
Aoc ticmati inic nepapan xochicuicatl ic ticcecemeltia in
tloque nahuaque quen ahtontlaelehuian ; tinocniuh ma
nohuehuetitlan ximoquetzaya nepapan xochitl ic ximo-
panaya chalchiuh ocoxochitl mocpac xicmanaya xicehua-
yan yectli yancuicatl ic melelquixtia in tloque in na-
huaque.
3. Tleymach tiquilnamiquia can mach in nemian
moyollo ic timoyol cecenmanaya ahuicpa tichuica
timoyol popoloaya in tlalticpac ? Ca mach titlatiuh
xihualmocuepaya xiccaquin yectli yancuicatl ximoyol-
ciahuaya xochiaticaya onahuiaxtimani oncan nicehuaya
in yectli yancuicatl nicuicani ic nicellclquixtia in tloque
in nahuaque.
4. Xihuallachian tinocniuh in oncan icayan xochi-
huehuetl tonameyo ontotonauhtimani quetzal ecacehuaz-
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 61
6. List to my song, thou my friend, and to the flower-
decked drum which kept time to the heavenly song
which I sang, that I might make glad the nobles, raining
down before them the flowery thoughts of my heart as
though they were flowers, that my noble song might
grow in glory before the face of the Cause of All, ohu-
aya ! oh u ay a !
III. Another Plain Song, to the Same Ttine.
1. I, the singer, entered into the house strewn with
flowers, where stood upright the emerald drum, where
awaiting the Giver of Life the nobles strewed flowers
around, the place where the head is bowed for lustration,
the house of corrupt odors, where the burning fragrant
incense spreads and penetrates, intoxicating our souls in
the presence of the Cause of All.
2. Where shall we obtain the fragrance which intoxi-
cates our souls ? We do not yet know the various flower-
songs with which we may rejoice the Cause of All, how-
ever desirous we are ; thou my friend, would that thou
bring to my instrument various flowers, that thou
shouldst clothe it in brilliant oco flowers, that thou
shouldst offer them, and lift thy voice in a new and worthy
song to rejoice the Cause of All.
3. Wherefore should we recall while the soul is in life
that our souls must be scattered hither and thither, and
that wherever we go we are to be destroyed on earth ?
Rather let us hide it, turn from it, and listen to some
worthy new song ; delight thy soul with the pervading
fragrance of flowers, as I the singer lift my voice in a new
song that I may rejoice the Cause of All.
4. Come hither, thou my friend, to where stands the
drum, decked with flowers, gleaming with brightness.
62 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
ticaya on xopaleuhtimani in oncan ic chialo ic malhuilo
inipetl in icpal in tloque in nahuaque ; xic cahuaya in
mixtecomatla xihualmocuepaya tohuan, xic ehua in
yancuicatl nicuicani ic niquellelquixtia in tloque in tla-
neciz inic moyoUo caltitlan.
5. Tlegannen in nicyocoya in nitlaocolcuica inic
niquimilnamiqui in tepilhuan, in tlazomaquiztin, in
tlazoteoxiuhme, in quetzaltotome, in moteyotico, in
motleyotico in tlalticpac? in ocnoma caquizti inin tenyo,
inin cahuanca, campa neltiazque ? Ca zan titlacatico ca
ompa huel tochan in canin ximoayan inocapa in yolihu-
ayan aic tlamian.
I
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 63
green with the outspread plumes of the quetzal bird,
where are looked for and cared for the seats near the
Cause of All ; leave the place of night and clouds, turn
hither with us, lift thy voice in the new song I sing so
that I may rejoice the Cause of All, as the dawn ap-
proaches in the house of thy heart.
5. Of what use is it that I frame my sad songs, that I
recall to mind the youths, the beloved children, the
precious relatives, the dear friends, famous and celebrated
as they were on earth ? Who now hears their fame,
their deeds ? Where can they find them ? All of us are
but mortal, and our home is there in the Hereafter, where
there is life without end.
64 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
IV. Mcxica otoncuicatl.
I. Nicchalchiuhtonameyopetlahuaya, nictzinitzcanihui-
caloaya, niquilnamiquia nelhuayocuicatla, nic zacuan-
huipanaya yectli yancuicatl nicuicani, nicchalchiuhtlazo-
nenelo ic nichualnextia in xochicueponallotl ic nicellel-
quixtia in tloque in nahuaque.
2. Zacuantlazoihuiticaya tzinitzcan tlauquechol ic
nicyaimatia, nocuicatzin teocuitlatzitzilini nocuic nitoz ;
miahuatototl nocuica cahuantimania, nicehuaya xochitzet-
zelolpa ixpan in tloque nahuaque.
3. Qualli cuicanelhuayotlo, teocuitlaquiquizcopa nic-
ehuaya, ilhuicac cuicatlo nictenquixtia, nitoz miahuato-
totl, chalciuhtonameyotica, niccueponaltia yectli yancui-
catlo, nicehuaya xochitlenamaquilizticaya ic nitlaahuialia
nicuicani ixpan in tloque nahuaque.
4. Teoquecholme nechnananquilia in nicuicani coyoli-
cahuacaya yectli yacuicatlan, cozcapetlaticaya chachal-
chiuhquetzalitztonameyo xopaleuhtimania xopan xochi-
cuiatl onilhuica ahuiaxtimanio, xochiahuachtitlan nihual-
cuicaya nicuicani.
5. Nictlapalimatia nicxoxochineloaya yectli yancui-
catlan cozcapetlaticaya, etc.
6. Nocontimaloaya nocontlamachtiao xochiteyolquima
cuicatlan poyomapoctli ic ye ahuian ye noyollo, nihual-
yolcuecuechahuaya, nicinecuia ahuiaca, xocomiqui in
noyolia, nicinecuia yectliya xochitla netlamachtiloyan,
xochi ye ihuinti noyolia.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 65
IV. A?i Otomi Song of the Mexicans.
1. I, the sinfrer, polished my noble new song like a
shining emerald, I arranged it like the voice of the tzinitz-
can bird, I called to mind the essence of poetry, I set it in
order like the chant of the zacuan bird. I mingled it with
the beaut}^ of the emerald, that I might make it appear
like a rose bursting its bud, so that I might rejoice the
Cause of All.
2. I skillfully arranged my song like the lovely feathers
of the zacuan bird, the tzinitzcan and the quechol ; I
shall speak forth my song like the tinkling of golden
bells ; my song is that which the miaua bird pours
forth around him ; I lifted my voice and rained down
flowers of speech before the face of the Cause of All.
3. In the true spirit of song I lifted my voice through
a trumpet of gold, I let fall from my lips a celestial song,
I shall speak notes precious and brilliant as those of the
miaua bird, I shall cause to blossom out a noble new
song, I lifted my voice like the burning incense of flow-
ers, so that I the singer might cause joy before the face
of the Cause of All.
4. The divine quechol bird answers me as I, the singer,
sing, like the coyol bird, a noble new song, polished like
a jewel, a turquoise, a shining emerald, darting green
rays, a flower song of spring, spreading celestial fragrance,
fresh with the dews of roses, thus have I the poet sung.
5. I colored with skill, I mingled choice roses in a
noble new song, polished like a jewel, etc. (as in v. 4).
6. I was glorified, I was enriched, by the flower-sweet
song as by the smoke of the poyomatl, my soul was con-
tented, I trembled in spirit, I inhaled the sweetness, my
soul was intoxicated, I inhaled the fragrance of delicious
flowers in the place of riches, my soul was drunken with
the flowers.
66 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
V. Otro Mexica tlamelaiLhcaciucayotl.
1. Zanio in xochitl tonequimilol, zanio in cuicatl ic
huehuetzi in tellel in Dios ye mochan.
2. In mach noca ompolihuiz in cohuayotl mach noca
in icniuhyotl in ononoya in ye ichan ; ye nio loyontzin
on cuicatillano ye ipalnemohuani.
3. Ma xiuhquechol xochi, zan in tzinitzcan malintoca
zan miqui huaqui xochitl zan ic tonmoquimiloa can
titlatoani ya ti Nezahualcoyotl.
4. Ma yan moyoliuh quimati in antepilhuan in anquau-
htin amo celo ca mochipan titocnihuan, zancuel achic
nican timochitonyazque o ye ichano.
5. Ca ye ompolihuiz in moteyo Nopiltzin, ti Tezozo-
moctli aca ca ye in mocuica ?> aye a nihualchocao ca
nihualicnotlamatica notia ye ichan.
6. An ca nihuallaocoya onicnotlamati ayo quico, ayoc
quemanian, namech aitlaquiuh in tlalticpac y icanontia ye
ichan.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 67
V. Another Plain So7ig of the Mexicans.
1. I alone will clothe thee with flowers, mine alone is
the song which casts down our grief before God in thy
house.
2. True it is that my possessions shall perish, my
friendships, their home and their house; thus I, O
Yoyontzin, pour forth songs to the Giver of Life.
3. Let the green quechol birds, let the tzinitzcan twine
flowers for us, only dying and withered flowers, that we may
clothe thee with flowers, thou ruler, thou Nezahual-
coyotl.
4. Ye youths and ye braves, skilled in wisdom, may
you alone be our friends, while for a moment here we
shall enjoy this house.
5. For thy fame shall perish, Nopiltzin, and thou,
Tezozomoc, where are thy songs? No more^ do I cry
aloud, but rest tranquil that ye have gone to your homes.
6. Ye whom I bewailed, I know nevermore, never
again ; I am sad here on earth that ye have gone to your
homes.
68 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
VI. Otro cJialcayotl, canto de Tetlepan Qtietzanit-
zin.
1. Aua nocnihue ninentlamatia zan ninochoquilia in
monahuac aya yehuan Dios, quexquich onmitzicnotla-
machtia momacehual cemamanahuac ontonitlanililo in ic
tontlahuica tontecemilhuitiltia in tlalticpac.
2. Macazo tleon xoconyoyocoya ti noyollo, yehua cuix
ic nepohualoyan in oncan nemohua yehua, in atle tlahuelli
in antecocolia huel on yecnemiz in tlalticpac.
3. In quimati noyollo nichoca yehua huel eza ye nelli
in titicnihuan, huellenelli nemoa in tlalticpac in tonicniuh
tlatzihuiz yehuan Dios.
4. Xontlachayan huitztlampayan, iquizayan in tonatiuh,
ximoyollehuayan oncan manian teoatl tlachinolli, oncan
mocuica in teucyotl in tlatocayotl yectliya xochitl in amo
zannen mocuia, in quetzallalpilo niaya macquauhtica,
chimaltica neicaloloyan in tlalticpac ic momacehuaya in
yectliya xochitl in tiquelehuia in ticnequia in tinocniuh in
quitemacehualtia in quitenemactia in tloque in nahuaque.
5. Nentiquelehuia in tictemoaya in tinocniuh yectliya
xochitl can ticuiz intlacamo ximicaliya, melchiquiuhticaya,
mitonaltica)'a ticmacchuaya in yectliyaxochitla, yaocho-
quiztli ixayoticaya in quitemacehualtica in tloque in na-
huaque.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 69
VI. Another Chalco-sono-, a Poe7n of Tetlepan
Quetzanitzin.
1. Alas, my friend, I was afflicted, I cried aloud on thy
account to God. How much compassion hast thou for
thy servant in this world sent here by thee to be thy sub-
ject for the space of a day on this earth !
2. However that may be, mayst thou so dispose my
heart, that it may pass through this place of reckoning,
without anger, without injury, and live a good life on
earth.
3. My heart knows how truly I weep for my friend,
how truly as it lives on earth it cries aloud for thee, my
friend, to God,
4. Let thy soul awake and turn toward the south,
toward the rising of the sun, rouse thy heart that it turn
toward the field of battle, there let it win power and fame,
the noble flowers which it will not grasp in vain ; adorned
with a frontlet of quetzal feathers I went forth armed
with sword and shield to the battlefield on earth, that I
might merit these noble flowers with which we may re-
joice as we wish our friends, as the Cause of All may
reward and grant to us.
5. Vainly, O friends, do we desire and seek where we
may cull those noble flowers unless we fight with bared
breasts, with the sweat of the brow, meriting these noble
flowers, in bitter and painful war, for which the Cause of
All will eive reward.
70 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
\'II. Otro.
I. Tleinmach oamaxque on in antocnihuan in an Chia-
paneca Otomi, omachamelelacic : in ic oamihuintiqueo
octicatl in oanquique ic oamihuintique, xicualcuican, in
amo ma in anhuehuetztoqueo, ximozcalicano in antocni-
huan nipatiazque in tochano, xopantlalpan ye nican, ma
quiza in amihuintiliz, on xitlachiacano ohuican ye anma-
quia, O !
2. Ca yeppa yuhqui in tizaoctli in tlalticpac, quitema-
cao ohuican ic tecalaquiao teoatl tlachinolH quitoao texaxa-
matzao teopopoloao on canin xaxamanio in tlazochalchi-
hiuitl, in teoxihuitl, in maquizth tlazotetl in tepilhuan in
coninio in xochitizaoctHo cuel can in antocnihuan in toni-
cahuacao.
3. Ma ye ticiti in xochitlalpan in tochan xochitlalticpac-
ilhuicacpaco in huel ic xochiamemeyallotl on ahuiaxti-
mani, teyolquima yohhz ahuach xochitl in tochan in
Chiappan, oncan timalolo in teucyotl in tlatocayotl in
chimalxochitl oncuepontimani tonacatlalpan.
4. Quemach in amo antlacaquio in antocnihuan to-
huian tohuiano xicahuacano, in tizaoctHo teoatlachino-
loctli ; ma ye ticiti in ompa tinectilo in tochan xochiahu-
achoctH, zan ic ahuiaca ihuinti in toyollo, tetlamachtio
tcyolquimao tixochiachichinatihui netlamachtiloyan in
toquizayan xochitlalpan tonacatlalpan : tlemach oamax-
queo? xichualcaquican in tocuic in tamocnihuan, etc.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 71
VII. Another.
1. What have you done, O you our friends, you Chia-
panecs and Otomis, why have you grieved, that you
were drunken with the wine which you took, that
you were drunken ? Come hither and sing ; do not
lie stretched out ; arise, O friends, let us go to our
houses here in this land of spring ; come forth from your
drunkenness, see in what a difficult place you must
take it.
2. For formerly it was so on earth that the white wine
was taken in difficult places, as on entering the battlefield,
or, as it was said, where the stones were broken and de-
stroyed, where were broken into fragments the lovely
emeralds, the turquoises, the honored precious stones, the
youths, the children ; therefore take the flowery white
wine, O friends and brothers.
3. Let us drink it in the flowery land, in our dwelling
surrounded by the flowery earth and sky, where the
fountains of the flowers send their sweetness abroad ; the
delicious breath of the dewy flowers is in our homes in
Chiapas ; there nobility and power make them glorious,
and the war-flowers bloom over a fertile land.
4. Is it possible, oh friends, that you do not' hear us ?
Let us go, let us go, let us pour forth the white wine,
the wine of battle ; let us drink where the wine sweet as
the dew of roses is set forth in our houses, let our souls
be intoxicated with its sweetness ; enriched, steeped in
delight, we shall soak up the water of the flowers in the
place of riches, going forth to a land of flowers, a fertile
spot. What have you done ? Come hither and listen to
our songs, O friends.
72 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
VIII. Ot7'0, Queuh ce tlatohuani in quimilnaviiqid
in tlatoque.
I, Tlaocolxochi ixayoticaya ic nichuipana in nocuic
nicuicani, niquimilnamiqui in tepilhuan, in teintoque, in
tlagotitoque in campa in ximohuaya, in oteuctico, in
otlatocatico in tlallia icpac, in quetzalhuahuaciuhtoque in
chalchiuhteintoque in tepilhuan, in maoc imixpan in
maoc oquitlani ; in ye itto in tlalticpac iximachoca in
tloque in nahuaque.
2. Y yo ya hue nitlaocolcuicaya in niquimilnamiqui in
tepilhuan, ma zan itla ninocuepa, ma niquimonana, ma
niquinhualquixti in ompa in ximoayan, ma oc oppa
tihua in tlalticpac, ma oc quimahuizoqui in tepilhuan in
ticmahuizoa, azo huel yehuantin tlatlazomahuizozquia in
ipalnemohualoni, quemmach tomazehual in tlazaniuh
ticmatican in ticnopillahueliloque ic choca in noyollo
nino tlalnamiquiliz huipana in nicuicani choquiztica
tlaocoltica nitlalnamiquia.
3. Manozo zan nicmati in nechcaquizque intla itla yectli
cuicatl niquimehuili in ompa ximohuayan, ma ic niqui-
papacti, ma ic niquimacotlaza inin tonez inin chichina-
quiliz in tepilhuan. Cuix on machiaz ? Quennel nihu-
alnellaquahua ? Aquen manian ompa niquimontocaz ?
Ano niquin nonotztaciz in ye yuh quin in tlalticpac.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 73
VIII. Composed by a Certain R2iler in Memory of
Former Rulers.
1. Weeping, I, the singer, weave my song of
flowers of sadness ; I call to memory the youths, the
shards, the fragments, gone to the land of the dead ;
once noble and powerful here on earth, the youths
were dried up like feathers, were split into fragments
like an emerald, before the face and in the sight of
those who saw them on earth, and with the knowledge of
the Cause of All.
2. Alas ! alas ! I sing in grief as I recall the children.
Would that I could turn back again ; would that I could
grasp their hands once more ; would that I could call
them forth from the land of the dead ; would that we
could bring them again on earth, that they might rejoice
and we rejoice, and that they might rejoice and delight
the Giver of Life ; is it possible that we His servants
should reject him or should be ungrateful ? Thus I weep
in my heart as I, the singer, review my memories, recall-
ing things sad and grievous.
3. Would only that I knew they could hear me, therein
the land of the dead, were I to sing some worthy song.
Would that I could gladden them, that I could console
the suffering and the torment of the children. How can
it be learned ? Whence can I draw the inspiration ? They
are not where I may follow them ; neither can I reach
them with my calling as one here on earth.
74 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
IX. Otro Tlaocolcuica Otomitl.
1. In titloque in tinahuaque nimitzontlaocolnonotzaya,
nelcicihuiliz mixpantzinco noconiyahuaya, ninentlamati
in tlalticpac ye nican nitlatematia, ninotolinia, in aye
onotechacic in pactli, in necuiltonolli ye nican ; tlezannen
naicoyc amo y mochiuhyan, tlacazo atle nican xotlacue-
poni in nentlamachtillia, tlacazo zan ihuian in motloc in
monahuac ; Macuelehuatl ma xicmonequilti ma mona-
huactzinco oc ehuiti in noyolia, ninixayohuatzaz in motloc
monahuac tipalnemohuani,
2. Quemachamiqueo in motimalotinemi co y in
tlalticpac in ayac contenmatio in atlamachilizneque o
tlacazo can moztla cahuia on in amitztenmati in titloque
in tinahuaque inic momatio ca mochipa tlalticpac,
nemizqueo ninotlamatli motlaliao niquimittao, tlacazo
mixitl tlapatl oquiqueo ic nihualnelaquahua in ninoto-
linia o tlacazo ompa in ximohuayan neittotiuh o, cazo
tiquenamiqueo quiniquac ye pachihuiz ye teyoUoa.
3. Ma cayac quen quichihuaya in iyollo in tlalticpac
ye nican in titlaocaxtinemi in tichocatinemia, ca zacuel
achic ontlaniizoo, tlacazo zan tontlatocatihuio in yuho
otlatocatque tepilhuan, ma ic ximixcuiti in tinocniuh in
atonahuia in atihuelamati in tlalticpac o ; ma oc ye
ximapana in tlaocolxochitl, choquizxochitl, xoyocatimalo
o xochielcicihuiliztlio in ihuicpatoconiyahuazon in tloque
in nahuaque.
4. lea ye ninapanao tlaocolxochicozcatlon, nomac
ommanian elcicihuilizchimalxochitlon, nic ehuaya in
tlaocolcuicatloo, nicchalchiuhcocahuicomana yectli yan-
cuicatl, nic ahuachxochilacatzoa, yn o chalchiuhue-
hueuhilhuitl, itech nictlaxilotia in nocuicatzin in nicuicani
ye niquincuilia in ilhuicac chanequeo zacuantototl,
quetzaltzinitzcantototl tcoquechol inon tlritoa quechol in
qui cecemeltia in tloque, etc.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 75
IX. An Otomi Song of Sadness.
I. To thee, the Cause of All, to thee I cried out in
sadness, my sighs rose up before thy face ; I am afflicted
here on earth, I suffer, I am wretched, never has joy
been my lot, never good fortune ; my labor has been of
no avail, certainly nothing here lessens one's suffering;
truly only to be with thee, near thee ; may it be thy
will that my soul shall rise to thee, may I pour out my
tears to thee, before thee. O thou Giver of Life.
2. Happy are those who walk in thy favor here on
earth, who never neglect to offer up praise, nor, leaving till
to-morrow, neglect thee, thou Cause of All, that thou may-
est be known in all the earth ; I know that they shall
live, I see that they are established, certainly they have
drunk to forgetfulness while I am miserable, certainly I
shall go to see the land of the dead, certainly we shall
meet where all souls are contented.
3. Never were any troubled in spirit on the earth who
appealed to thee, who cried to thee, only for an instant
were they cast down, truly thou caused them to rule as
they ruled before : Take as an example on earth, O
friend, the fever-stricken patient ; clothe thyself in the
flowers of sadness, in the flowers of weeping, give praises
in flowers of sighs that may carry you toward the Cause
of All.
4. I array myself with the jewels of saddest flowers ;
in my hands are the weeping flowers of war ; I lift my
voice in sad songs ; I offer a new and worthy song which
is beautiful and melodious ; I weave songs fresh as the dew
of flowers ; on my drum decked with precious stones and
plumes I, the singer, keep time to my song, as I take it
from those dwellers in the heavens, the zacuan bird, the
beautiful tzinitzcan, the divine quechol, those melodi-
ous birds who give joy to the Cause of All.
76 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
I
X. Mexica xopanancatl tlamelatihcayotl.
1. Tlaocoya in noyollo nicuicanitl nicnotlamatia, yehua
za yey xochitl y zan ye in cuicatlin, ica nitlacocoa in
tlalticpac ye nican, ma nequitocan intech cocolia intech
miquitlani moch ompa onyazque cano y ichan, ohuaya.
2. I inquemanian in otonciahuic, in otontlatzihuic
tocon ynayaz in momahuizco in motenyo in tlalticpac,
ma nenquitocane, ohuaya, etc.
3. Inin azan oc huelnemohuan in tlalticpac mazano
ihuian yehuan Dios quiniquac onnetemoloa in tiaque in
canin ye ichan, ohuaya.
4. Hu inin titotolinia ma yuhquitimiquican ma omo-
chiuh in mantech onittocan in tocnihuan in matech
onahuacan in quauhtin y a ocelotl.
5. Mazo quiyocoli macaoc xictemachican, can antla-
huicaya y caya amechmotlatili in ipalnemohuani, ohuaya.
6. Ay ya yo xicnotlamatican Tezcacoacatl, Atecpane-
catl mach nel amihuihuinti in cozcatl in chalchihuitli, ma
ye anmonecti, ma ye antlaneltocati.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 77
I
X. A Spring Song of the Mexicans, a Plain So7ig.
1. My heart grieved, I, the singer, was afflicted, that
these are the only flowers, the only songs which I can
procure here on earth ; see how they speak of sickness
and of death, how all go there to their homes, alas.
2. Sometimes thou "hast toiled and acquired skill, thou
takest refuge in thy fame and renown on earth ; but see
how vain they speak, alas.
3. As many as live on earth, truly they go to God
when they descend to the place where are their homes,
alas.
4. Alas, we miserable ones, may it happe'n when we
die that we may see our friends, that we may be with
them in grandeur and strength.
5. Although He is the Creator, do not hope that the
Giver of Life has sent you and has established you.
6. Be ye grieved, ye of Tezcuco and Atecpan, that ye
are intoxicated with gems and precious stones ; come
forth to the light, come and believe.
78 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XI. Otro.
1. Nicchocaehua, nicnotlamati, nicelnamiqui ticauhte-
huazque yectliya xochitl yectli yancuicatl ; ma oc tonahui-
acan, ma oc toncuicacan cen tiyahui tipolihui ye ichan,
etc.
2. Achtleon ah yuhquimati in tocnihuan cocoya in
noyollo qualani yehua ay oppan in tlacatihua ye ay oppa
piltihuaye yece yequi xoantlalticpac.
3. Oc achintzinca y tetloc ye nican tenahuacan aic
yezco on aic nahuiaz aic nihuelamatiz.
4. In can on nemian noyollo yehua? Can liuel ye no-
chan ? Can huel nocallamanian ? Ninotolinia tlalticpac.
5. Zan ye tocontemaca ye tocontotoma in mochalchiuh,
ye on quetzalmalintoc, zacuan icpac xochitl, za yan
tiquinmacayan tepilhuan O.
6. In nepapan xochitl conquimilo, conihuiti ye
noyollo niman nichocaya ixpan niauh in tonan.
7. Zan nocolhuia : ipalnemohua ma ca ximozoma,
ma ca ximonenequin tlalticpac, mazo tehuantin motloc
tinemican y, zan ca ye moch ana ilhuicatlitica.
8. Azo tie nello nicyaitohua nican ipalnemohua, zan
tontemiqui y, zan toncochitlehuaco, nicitoa in tlalticpac
ye ayac huel tontiquilhuia ye nicana.
9. In manel ye chalchihuitl, mantlamatilolli, on aya
mazo ya ipalnemohuani ayac hueltic ilhuia nicana.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 79
XI. Another.
1. I lift my voice in wailing, I am afflicted, as I remem-
ber that we must leave the beautiful flowers, the noble
songs ; let us enjoy ourselves for a while, let us sing, for
we must depart forever, we are to be destroyed in our
dwelling place.
2. Is it indeed known to our friends how it pains and
angers me that nev^er again can they be born, never again
be young on this earth ?
3. Yet a little while with them here, then nevermore
shall I be with them, nevermore enjoy them, nevermore
know them.
4. Where shall my soul dwell ? Where is my home ?
Where shall be my house ? I am miserable on earth.
5. We take, we unwind the jewels, the blue flowers are
woven over the yellow ones, that we may give them to
the children.
6. Let my soul be draped in various flowers ; let it be
intoxicated by them, for soon must I weeping go before
the face of our mother.
7. This only do I ask : — Thou Giver of Life, be not
angry, be not severe on earth, let us live with thee on
earth, take us to the Heavens.
8. But what can I speak truly here of the Giver of
Life ? We only dream, we are plunged in sleep ; I speak
here on earth ; but never can we speak in worthy terms
here.
9. Although it may be jewels and precious ointments
(of speech), yet of the Giver of Life, one can never here
speak in worthy terms.
80 ANXIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XII. Xopanadcatl nenonotzalaticatl ipampa in
aqiiiqiie amo on mixtilia in yaoc.
I. Nictzotzonan nohuehueuh nicuicatlamatquetl ic
niquimonixitia ic niquimitlehua in tocnihuan in atle in
yollo quimati in aic tlathui ipan inin yollo yaocochmic-
toque in inpan motimaloa in mixtecomatlayohualli anen
niquito huay motolinia y, maquicaqui qui y xochitlathui-
cacuicatl occeh tzetzeuhtimania huehuetitlana, ohuaya,
ohuai.
2. Tlahuizcalteochitla oncuepontimani in ixochiquiya-
opan in tloque in nahuaque, onahuachtotonameyotimani
in teyolquima ; ma xiqualitacan in atle ipan ontlatao, zan-
nen cuepontimanio ayac mahaca quelehuiao in antocni-
huan amo zannen ya xochitl yoliliztlapalneucxochitla e.
3- Quiyolcaihuintia}'a in teyolia, zan oncan ye oniania,
zan oncan ye oncuepontimania quauhtepetitlan in ya
hualiuhcancopa y ixtlahuatlitica oncan inemaya oc teoati
tlachinolli a. Oncan in epoyahuayan in teoquauhtli
oncan iquiquinacayan, in ocelotl, ipixauhyan in nepapan
tlazomaquiztetl, in emomolotzayan in nepapan tlazopili-
huitl, oncan teintoque oncan xamantoque in tepilhuan.
4. Tlacuah yehuantin in tepilhuani conelehuiao, in
tlahuizcalxochitlan ya nemamallihuao ic tetlanfinectiao,
in ilhuicac onocon iceolitzin yn iotepiltzina quitzetzeloti-
manio a in tepilhuan in quauhtliya ocelotl, in quime-
mactiao in xochicueponalotlon in quimihuintia yeyol-
xochiahuechtlia.
5. In ic timomatia in tinocniuh zan ne yan xochitlon
in tiquelehuiaon in tlalticpac, qucn toconcuizon quen
ticyachihuazon, timotolinia in tiquimiztlacoa a in tepilhuan
xochitica cuicatica ; ma xihuallachican in atle y ica
mitl, ehuaon zan moch yehuantin in tepilhuan zacuanme-
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 81
XII. A Spring Song, a Song of Exhortation,
Becattse Ceidain Ones did not go to the War.
1. I strike on my drum, I the skillful singer, that I may
arouse, that I may fire our fi-iends, who think of nothing,
to whose minds plunged in sleep the dawn has not
appeared, over whom are yet spread the dark clouds of
night ; may I not call in vain and poorly, may they hear
this song of the rosy dawn, poured abroad widely by the
drum, ohe ! ohe !
2. The divine flowers of dawn blossom forth, the war
flowers of the Cause of All ; glittering with dew they
scatter abroad their fragrance ; bring them hither that they
be not hidden nor bloom in vain, that they may rejoice
you our friends, and not in vain shall be the flowers, the
living, colored, brilliant flowers.
3. They intoxicate the soul, but they are only found,
they blossom only on the lofty mountains, on the broad
plains where glorious war finds its home. There is where
the eagles gather in bands of sixties, there the tigers
roar, there the various beloved stones rain down, there
the various dear children are cut to pieces ; there the
youths are split into shards and ground into fragments.
4. Stoutly do those youths rejoice, laboring for the
rose of the dawn that they may win it ; and in heaven,
He, the only one, the noble one, pours down upon the
youths strength and courage, that they may pluck the
budding flowers of the pathway, that they may be intoxi-
cated with the dew-damp flowers of the spirit.
5. Know, my friend, that these are the only flowers
which will give thee pleasure on earth ; mayest thou take
them and make them ; O poor one, search out for thy
children these flowers and songs. Look not hither with-
out arrows, let all the youths lift up their voices, like
82 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
teoquecholtitzinitzcatlatlauhquecholtin moyeh yectitine-
mio in onmatio in ixtlahuatlitican.
6. Chimalxochitl, quauhpilolxochitl ic oquichtlama-
timani in y antepilhuan xochicozcaocoxochitl ic
mapantimanian, quitimaloao yectliya cuicatl, yectliya
xochitl, imezo imelchiquiuh patiuh mochihuaya in quicelia
on in teoatl tlachinolli ; y iantocnihuan tliliuhquitepeca
in tiyaotehua huey otlipana, ma huel xoconmanao y ye
mochimalo, huel xonicaon in ti quauhtliya ocelotla.
XIII. Htiexotzincayotl.
I. Zan tlaocolxochitl, tlaocolcuicatl on mania Mexico
nican ha in Tlatilolco, in yece ye oncan on neixima-
choyan, ohuaya.
2. Ixamayo yectH in zan ca otitech icneli ipalnemohu-
ani, in za can tipopohhuizque in timacehualta, ohuaya.
3. Ototlahuehltic, zan titotoHnia timacehualtinquezo
huel tehuantin, otiquittaque in cococ ye machoyan,
ohuaya.
4. Ticmomoyahua, ticxoxocoyan in momacehualy in
Tlatilolco cococ moteca cococ ye machoyan ye ic ticia-
huia ipalnemoani, ohuaya.
5. Choquiztli moteca ixayotl pixahui oncan a in
Tlatilolco ; in atlan yahqueon o in Mexica ye cihua
nelihui ica yehuilo a oncan ontihui in tocnihuan a,
ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 83
zacuan birds, divine quechols, tzinitzcans, and red que-
chols, who live joyous lives, and know the fields.
6. O youths, here there are skilled men in the flowers
of shields, in the flowers of the pendant eagle plumes,
the yellow flowers which they grasp ; they pour forth
noble songs, noble flowers ; they make payment with
their blood, with their bare breasts ; they seek the bloody
field of war. And you, O friends, put on your black
paint, for war, for the path of victory ; let us lay hands
on our shields, and raise aloft our strength and courage.
XIII. A Song of Huexotzinco.
I. Only sad flowers, sad songs, are here in Mexico, in
Tlatilolco, in this place these alone are known, alas.
2. It is well to know these, if only we may please the
Giver of Life, lest we be destroyed, we his subjects,
alas.
3. We have angered Him, we are only wretched
beings, slaves by blood ; we have seen and known afflic-
tion, alas.
4. We are disturbed, we are embittered, thy servants
here in Tlatilolco, deprived of food, made acquainted with
affliction, we are fatigued with labor, O Giver of Life,
alas.
5. Weeping is with us, tears fall like rain, here in
Tlatilolco ; as the Mexican women go down to the water,
we beg of them for ourselves and our friends, alas.
84 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
6. In ic neltic o ya cahua Atloyantepetl o in Mexico
in poctli ehuatoc ayahuitl onmantoc, in tocon ya chihuaya
ipalnemoani, ohuaya.
7. In an^Iexica ma xiquilnamiquican o yan zan topan
quitemohuia y ellelon i mahuizo yehuan zan yehuan Dios,
yehua anquin ye oncan in coyonacazco, ohuaya.
8. Za can ye oncan zan quinchoquiz tlapaloa o anqui-
huitzmanatl incan yeuch motelchiuh on ya o anquin ye
mochin, ha in tlayotlaqui, ah in tlacotzin, ah in tlacate-
uctH in oquichtzin y huihui ica 9a ye con yacauhqui in
Tenochtitlan, ohuaya.
9. In antocnihuan ma xachocacan aya ma xaconmati-
can ica ye ticcauhque Mexicayotl huiya, zan ye yatl
chichixhuiya no zan ye tlaqualH chichixaya zan con aya
chiuhqui in ipalnemoani ha in Tlatilolco y, ohuaya.
10. Tel ah zan yhuian huicoque hon in motelchiuhtzin
ha in tlacotzin zan mocuica ellaquauhque ac achinanco
.in ahiquac in tlepan quixtiloto in coyohuacan, ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 85
6. Even as the smoke, rising, lies in a cloud over
Mount Atloyan, in Mexico, so does it happen unto us, O
Giver of Life, alas.
7. And you Mexicans, may you remember concern-
ing us when you descend and suffer before the majesty of
God, when there you shall howl like wolves.
8. There, there will be only weeping as your greeting
when you come, there you will be accursed, all of you,
workers in filth, slaves, rulers or warriors, and thus
Tenochtitlan will be deserted.
9. Oh friends, do not weep, but know that sometime
we shall have left behind us the things of Mexico, and
then their water shall be made bitter and their food shall
be made bitter, here in Tlatilolco, as never before, by the
Giver of Life.
10. The disdained and the slaves shall go forth with
song ; but in a little while their oppressors shall be seen
in the fire, amid the howling of wolves.
86 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XIV.
1. Zan tzinitzcan impetlatl ipan, ohuaya ; on tzinitzcan
iceliztoca oncan izan in ninentlamatia, in zan icnoxochi-
cuicatica inocon ya temohua ya ohuaya, ohuaya.
2. In canin nemiya icanon in nemitoconchia ye nican
huehuetitlan a ayiahue, ye onnentlamacho, ye mocatlao-
coyalo ay xopancahteca, ohuaya, ohuaya.
3. Ac ipiltzin ? Achanca ipiltzin yehuayan Dios Jesu
Christo can quicuilo antlacuiloa quicuilo ancuicatl a
ohuaya, ohuaya.
4. O achan canel ompa huiz canin ilhuicac y xochin-
tlacuilol xochincahtec a ohuaya ohuaya.
5. In ma ontlachialoya in ma ontlatlamahuicolo in
tlapapalcalimanican y ipalnemoa y tlayocol yehuan Dios,
ohuaya.
6. Techtohnian techtlatlanectia y icuicaxochiamilpan,
intechontlatlachialtian ipalnemohua itlayocol yehuan
Dios a ohuava.
7. Ya ixopantla ixopantlatinenemi ye nican ixtlahuatl
yteey, za xiuhquechol quiahuitl zan topan xaxamacay in
athxco ya ohuaya, ohuaya.
8. Zan ye nauhcampay ontlapepetlantoc, oncan
onceliztoc in cozahuizxochitl, oncan nemi in Mexica in
tepilhuan a ohuaya ohuaya.
ANXIENT NAHUATL POEMS. ^' 87
XIV.
1. Only the tzinitzcan is in power, the tzinitzcan arouses
me in m)- affliction, letting fall its songs like sad flowers.
2. Wherever it wanders, wherever it lives, one awaits
it here with the drum, in affliction, in distress, here in the
house of spring.
3. Who is the royal son ? Is not the royal son, the
son of God, Jesus Christ, as was written in your writings,
as was written in your songs ?
4. Is not the flowery writing within the house of
flowers that he shall come there from heaven ?
5. Look around and wonder at this scene of many
colored houses which God has created and endowed with
life.
6. They make us who are miserable to see the light
among the flowers and songs of the fertile fields, they
cause us to see those things which God has created and
endowed with life.
7. They dwell in the place of spring, in the place of
spring, here within the broad fields, and only for our sakes
does the turquoise-water fall in broken drops on the
surface of the lake.
8. Where it gleams forth in fourfold rays, where the
fragrant yellow flowers bud, there live the Mexicans, the
youths.
88 A^XIENT NAHUATL POEMS. )
XV. Tezozomoctli ic motecpac.
1. Zan ca tzihuactitlan, mizquititlan, aiyahue Chico-
moztocpa, mochi ompa yahuitze antlatohuan ye nican, . }
ohuaya, ohuaya.
2. Nican momalinaco in colcahuahtecpillotl huiya
nican milacatzoa in Colhuaca Chichimecayotl in
toteuchuahuia.
3. Ma oc achitzinca xomotlanecuican antepilhuan
huiya tlacateuhtzin Huitzilihuitl a ya cihuacoatl y
Quauhxilotl huia totomihuacan Tlalnahuacatl aya zan ca
xiuhtototl Ixtlilxochitl y quenman tlatzihuiz quimohmo-
yahuaquiuh yauh y tepeuh yehuan Dios ica ye choca
Tezozomoctli ohuaya ohuaya.
4. Yenoceppa mizquitl yacahuantimani Hueytlalpani,
anquican itlatol yehuan Dios a ohuaya, ohuaya.
5. Can onyeyauh xochitl, can oyeyauh yeh intoca
quauhth ocelotl huia ya moyahuaya xehhuia Atloyante-
petl Hueytlalpan y anquizan itlatol ipalnemohua ohuaya
ohuaya.
6. Oncuiltonoloc, onechtlachtiloc, in teteuctin cemana-
huac y huel zotoca huipantoca y tlatol ipalnemohuani,
huel quimothuitico, hucl qui.ximatico y yollo yehuan
Dios huiya chalchihuitl maquiztliya tlamatelolliya tizatla
ihuitla za xochitl quimatico yaoyotla ohuaya ohuaya.
7. Oya in Tochin y miec acalcatli, Acolmiztlan teuctli
zan Catocih teuctli Yohuallatonoc y yehuan Cuetzpaltzin
Iztaccoyotl totomihuacan Tla.Kcalian ohuaye Coatzi-
teuctli Huitlalotzin za xochitl quimatico yaoyotla ohuaya
ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 89
XV. The Reign of Tezozomoctli.
1. From the land of the tzihuac bushes, from the land of
the mezquite bushes, where was ancient Chicomoztoc,
thence came all your rulers hither.
2. Here unrolled itself the royal line of Colhuacan,
here our nobles of Colhuacan, united with the Chichi-
mecs.
3. Sing for a little while concerning these, O chil-
dren, the sovereign HuitzilihuitI, the judge Quauhxilotl,
of our bold leader Tlalnahuacatl, of the proud bird
Ixtlilxochitl, those who went forth, and conquered and
ruled before God, and bewail Tezozomoctli.
4. A second time they left the mezquite bushes in Hue
Tlalpan, obeying the order of God.
5. They go where are the flowers, where they may
gain grandeur and power, dividing asunder they leave
the mountain Atloyan and Hue Tlalpan, obeying the
order of the Giver of Life.
6. It is cause of rejoicing, that I am enabled to see
our rulers from all parts gathering together, arranging in
order the words of the Giver of Life, and that their
souls are caused to see and to know that God is precious,
wonderful, a sweet ointment, and that they are known as
flowers of wise counsel in the affairs of war.
7. There were Tochin, with many boats, the noble
Acolmiztlan, the noble Catocih, Yohuallatonoc, and
Cuetzpaltzin, and Iztaccoyotl, bold leaders from Tlaxcalla,
and Coatziteuctli, and Huitlalotzin, famed as flowers on
the field of battle.
90 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
8. Tley an quiyocoya anteteuctin y Huexotzinca ? ma
xontlachiacan Acolihuacan in quatlapanca oncan ye
Huexotla itztapallocan huia yeyahuatimani Atloyantepetl
a ohuaya.
9. Oncan in pochotl ahuehuetl oncan icaca mizquitl ye
oztotlhuia tetlaquahuac quimatia ipalnemohuani oyao ai
ya hue ohuaya.
10. Tlacateotl nopiltzin Chichimecatl y tleonmach itla
techcocolia TezozomoctU tech in micitlani ye ehuaya ata-
yahuili quinequia yaoyotl necahztlon quima Acolhuacan
ohuaya.
11. Tel ca tonehua ticahuiltia ipalnemohuani Colihua
o o Mexicatl y tlahcateotl huiaya atayahui-li quinequia
yaoyotl necaliztl qui mana Acolhuacan a ohuaya ohuaya.
12. Zan ye on necuiltonolo in tlalticpac ay oppan
titlano chimalli xochitl ay oppan ahuiltilon ipalnemohua ;
ye ic anauia in tlailotlaqui xayacamacha huia ho ay ya
yi ee ohuaya ha ohuaya.
13. Inacon anquelehuia chimalli xochitl y yohual
xochitli tlachinol xochitl ; ye ic neyahpanalo antepilhuan
huiya Quetzalmamatzin Huitznahuacatl ohuaye ho ha
yia yi ee oua yi aha ohuaya.
14. Chimal tenamitl oncan in nemohua yehua necalia
huilotl oyahualla icahuaca yehuaya on canin ye nemi in
tecpipiltin Xiuhtzin xayacamachani amehuano o ancona-
huiltia ipalnemohua ohuaya.
15. In ma huel netotilo mannemamanaloya yaonahuac
a on netlamachtiloyan ipan nechihuallano ohuaye in
tepiltzin can ye mocuetlaca ohuaya, ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 91
8. For what purpose do you make your rulers, men of
Huexotzinco ? Look at Acolhuacan where the men of
Huexotzinco are broken with toil, are trod upon like
paving stones, and wander around the mountain Atloyan,
9. There is a ceiba tree, a cypress tree, there stands a
mezquite bush, strong as a cavern of stone, known as the
Giver of Life.
10. Ruler of men, Nopiltzin, Chicimec, O Tezozomoc-
tli, why hast thou made us sick, why brought us to death,
through not desiring to offer war and battle to Acol-
huacan ?
11. But we lift up our voice and rejoice in the Giver of
life; the men of Colhuacan and the Mexican leader have
ruined us, through not desiring to offer war and battle to
Acolhuacan.
12. The only joy on earth will be again to send the
shield-flower, again to rejoice the Giver of Life ; already
are discontented the faces of the workers in filth.
13. Therefore you rejoice in the shield-flowers, the
flowers of night, the flowers of battle ; already are }'e
clothed, ye children of Quetzalmamatzin and Huitzna-
huacatl.
14. Your shield and your wall of safety are where
dwells the sweet joy of war, where it comes, and sings
and lifts its voice, where dwell the nobles, the precious
stones, making known their faces ; thus you give joy to
the Giver of Life.
15. Let your dancing, and banqueting be in the battle,
there be your place of gain, your scene of action, where
the noble youths perish.
92 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
1 6. Quetzalipantica oyo huiloa ahuiltiloni ipalnemo-
huan yectlahuacan in tapalcayocan a ohuaya ohuaya.
17. Oyo hualehuaya ye tocalipan oyohua yehua
Huexotzincatl y tototihua o o Iztaccoyotla ohuaya
ohuaya.
18. Ace melle ica tonacoquiza y nican topantilemonti
Tlaxcaltecatl itocoya cacaHa in altepetl y Huexochinco
ya ohuaya.
19. Cauhtimanizo polihuiz tlalli yan totomihuacan
huia cehuiz yioUo o antepilhuan a Huexotzinca.y ohuaya
ohuaya.
20. Mizquitl y mancan tzihuactli y mancan ahuehuetl
onicacahuia ipalnemohua, xonicnotlamati mochi eh-
manca Huexotzinco ya zanio oncan in huel on mani
tlalla ohuaya ohuaya.
21. Zan nohuian tlaxixinia tlamomoyahua y ayoc an-
mocehuia momacehual y hualcaco mocuic in icelteotl oc
xoconyocoyacan antepilhuan a ohuaya ohuaya.
22. Zan mocuepa itlatol conahuiloa ipalnemohua
Tepeyacac ohuaye antepilhuan ohuaya ohuaya.
23. Canel amonyazque xoconmolhuican an Tlaxcalteca
y Tlacomihuatzin hui oc oyauh itlachinol ya yehuan
Dios a ohuaya.
24. Cozcatl ihuihui quetzal nehuihuia oc zo conhui-
panque zan Chichimeca y Totomihua a Iztaccoyotl a
ohuaya ohuaya.
25. Huexotzinco ya zan quiauhtzinteuctli techcocolia
Mexicatl itechcocolia Acolihuiao ach quennelotihua
tonyazque quenonamican a ohuaye ohuaye.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 93
1 6. Dressed in their feathers they go rejoicing the
Giver of Life to the excellent place, the place of shards.
17. He lifted up his voice in our houses like a bird,
that man of Huexotzinco, Iztaccoyotl.
18. WHioever is aggrieved let him come forth with us
against the men of Tlaxcallan, let him follow where the
cit}' of Huexotzinco lets drive its arrows.
19. Our leaders will lay waste, they will destroy the
land, and your children, O Huexotzincos, will have peace
of mind.
20. The mezquite was there, the tzihuac was there, the
Giver of Life has set up the cypress ; be sad that evil has
befallen Huexotzinco, that it stands alone in the land.
21. In all parts there are destruction and desolation, no
longer are there protection and safety, nor has the one
only God heard the song ; therefore speak it again, you
children ;
22. That the words may be repeated, you children, and
give joy to the Giver of Life at Tepeyacan.
23. And since you are going, you Tlaxcallans, call upon
Tlacomihuatzin that he may yet goto this divine war.
24. The Chichimecs and the leaders and Iztaccoy-
otl have with difficulty and vain labor arranged and set
in order their jewels and feathers.
25. At Huexotzinco the ruler Quiauhtzin hates the
Mexicans, hates the Acolhuacans ; when shall we go to
mix with them, to meet them ?
94 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
26. Ay antlayocoya anquimitoa in amotahuan an
teteuctin ayoquantzin ihuan a in tlepetztic in cacha
ohuaya tzihuacpopoca yo huaya.
27. Ca zan catcan Chalco Acolihuaca huia totomihua-
can y amilpan in QuauhquechoUa quixixinia in ipetl icpal
yehuan Dios ohoaya ohuaya.
28. Tlazoco a ye nican tlalli tepetl yecocoliloya cema-
nahuac a ohuaya.
29. Quennel conchihuazque atl popoca itlacoh in
teuctli tlalli mocuepaya Mictlan onmatia Cacamatl
onteuctli, quennel conchihuazque, ohuaya ohuaya.
XVI.
1. On onellelacic quexquich nic ya ittoa antocnihuan
ayiaue noconnenemititica noyollon tlalticpac y no-
conycuilotica, ay niyuh can tinemi ahuian yeccan, ay
cemellecan in tenahuac y, ah nonnohuicallan in quenon
amican ohuaya.
2. Zan nellin quimati ye noyollo za nelli nicittoa
antocnihuan, ayiahue aquin quitlatlauhtia icelteotl yiollo
itlacoca con aya macan. Machamo oncan? In tlalticpac
machamo oppan piltihua. Ye nelli nemoa in quenon
amican ilhuicatl y itec icanyio oncan in netlamachtilo y
ohuaya.
3. O yohualli icahuacan teuctlin popoca ahuiltilon
Dios ipalncmoluiani : chimalli xochitl in cuecuepontimani
in mahuiztli moteca molinian tlalticpac, ye nican ic
xochimicohuayan in ixtlahuac itec a ohuaya ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 95
26. Set to work and speak, you fathers, to your rulers,
to your lords, that they may make a blazing fire of the
smoking tzihuac wood.
27. The Acolhuacans were at Chalco, the Otomies
were in your cornfields at Quauhquechollan, they laid
them waste by the permission of God.
28. The fields and hills are ravaged, the whole land has
been laid waste.
29. What remedy can they turn to ? Water and
smoke have spoiled the land of the rulers ; they have
gone back to Mictlan attaching themselves to the ruler
Cacamatl. What remedy can they turn to ?
XVI.
1. It is a bitter grief to see so many of you, dear friends
not walking with me in spirit on the earth, and written
down with me ; that no more do I walk in company to
the joyful and pleasant spots ; that nevermore in union
with you do I journey to the same place.
2. Truly I doubt in my heart if I really see you, dear
friends ; Is there no one who will pray to the one only
God that he take this error from your hearts? Is no one
there ? No one can live a second time on earth. Truly
they live there within the heavens, there in a place of
delight only.
3. At night rises up the smoke of the warriors, a
delight to the Lord the Giver of Life ; the shield-flower
spreads abroad its leaves, marvelous deeds agitate the
earth ; here is the place of the fatal flowers of death
which cover the fields.
96 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
4. Yaonauac ye oncan yaopeuhca in ixtlahuac itec
iteuhtlinpopoca ya milacatzoa y momalacachoa yao-
xochimiquiztica antepilhuan in anteteuctin zan Chichi-
meca y ohuaya.
5. Maca mahui noyollo ye oncan ixtlahuatl itic, noco-
nele hua in itzimiquiliztli zan quinequin toyoUo yaomi-
quiztla ohuaya.
6. O anquin ye oncan yaonahuac, noconelehuia in itzi
miquiliztli can quinequin toyoUo yaomiquiztla ohuaya
ohuaya.
7. Mixtli ye ehuatimani yehuaya moxoxopan ipalnemo-
huani ye oncan celiztimani a in quauhtlin ocelotl, ye on-
can cueponio o in tepilhuan huiya in tlachinol, ohuaya
ohuaya.
8. In ma oc tonahuican antocnihuan ayiahue, ma oc
xonahuiacan antepilhuan in ixtlahuatl itec, y nemoaqui-
huic zan tictotlanehuia o a in chimalli xochitl in tlachi-
noll, ohuaya, ohuaya, ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 97
4. The battle is there, the beginning of the battle is in
the open fields, the smoke of the warriors winds around
and curls upward from the slaughter of the flowery war,
ye friends and warriors of the Chichimecs.
5. Let not my soul dread that open field; I earnestly
desire the beginning of the slaughter, may thy soul long
for the murderous strife.
6. O you who are there in the battle, I earnestly desire
the beginning of the slaughter, may thy soul long for the
murderous strife.
7. The cloud rises upward, rising into the blue sky of
the Giver of Life ; there blossom forth prowess and daring,
there, in the battle field, come the children to maturity.
8. Let us rejoice, dear friends, and may ye rejoice, O
children, within the open field, and going forth to it, let
us revel amid the shield-flowers of the battle.
98 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XVII. XochictticaU.
I. Can ti ya nemia ticuicaniti ma ya hualmoquetza
xochihuehuetl quetzaltica huiconticac teocuitlaxochi-
nenepaniuhticac y ayamo aye iliamo aye huiy ohuaya,
oh u ay a.
2. Tiquimonahuiltiz in tepilhuan teteucto in qua
ocelotl ayamo, etc.
uhtlo
3. In tlacace otemoc aya huehuetitlan ya nemi in cui-
canitlhuia zan qui quetzal in tomaya quexexeloa aya
icuic ipalnemoa qui ya nanquilia in coyolyantototl on-
cuicatinemi xochimanamanaya taxocha ohuaya, ohuaya.
4. In canon in noconcaqui in tlatol aya tlacazo
yehuatl ipalnemoa quiyananquilia quiyananquilia in
coyolyantototl on cuicatinemi xochimanamanaya, etc.
5. In chalchihuitl ohuayee on quetzal pipixauhtimania
in amo tlatolhuia, noyuh ye quittoa yayoquan yehuayan
cuetzpal ohuaye anquinelin ye quimatin ipalnemoa
ohuaya.
6. Noyuh quichihua con teuctlon timaloa yecan
quetzalmaquiztla matilolticoya conahuiltia icelteotlhuia
achcanon azo a yan ipalnemoa achcanon azo tie nel in
tlalticpac ohuaya.
7. Macuelachic aya maoc ixquich cahuitl niquin no-
tlanehui in chalchiuhtini in maquiztini in tepilhuan aya;
zan nicxochimalina in tecpillotl huia : zan ca nican nocuic
ica ya nocon ilacatzohua a in huehuetitlan a ohuaya
ohuaya.
8. Oc noncoati nican Huexotzinco y nitLltohuani
ni teca ehuatzin huiya chalchiuhti zan quetzalitztin y,
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 99
XVI I. A Flozver Song.
1. Where thou walkest, O singer, bring forth thy flow-
ery drum, let it stand amid beauteous feathers, let it be
placed in the midst of golden flowers ;
2. That thou mayest rejoice the youths and the nobles
in their grandeur.
3. Wonderful indeed is it how the living song de-
scended upon the drum, how it loosened its feathers and
spread abroad the songs of the Giver of Life, and the
coyol bird answered, spreading wide its notes, offering up
its flowery songs of flowers.
4. Wherever I hear those words, perhaps the Giver of
Life is answering, as answers the coyol bird, spreading
wide its notes, offering up its flowery song of flowers.
5. It rains down precious stones and beauteous feathers
rather than words ; it seems to be as one reveling in
food, as one who truly knows the Giver of Life.
6. Thus do the nobles glorify themselves with things
of beauty, honor and delight, that they may please the
one only god, though one knows not the dwelling of the
Giver of Life, one knows not whether he is on earth.
7. May I yet for a little while have time to revel in
those precious and honorable youths; may I wreathe
flowers for their nobility ; may I here yet for a while
wind the songs around the drum.
8. I am a guest here among the rulers of Huexotzinco;
I lift up my voice and sing of precious stones and emer-
100 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
niquincenquixtia in tepilhuan aya zan nicxochimalina in
tecpillotl huia ohuaya ohuaya.
9. A in ilhuicac itic ompa yeya huitz in yectliyan
xochitl yectliyan cuicatl y, conpolo antellel conpolo
antotlayocol y in tlacazo yehuatl in Chichimecatl teuctli
in teca yehuatzin ica xonahuiacan a ohuaya ohuaya.
10. Moquetzal izqui xochintzetzeloa in icniuhyotl
aztlacaxtlatlapantica ye onmaHnticac in quetzalxiloxo-
chitl imapan onnenemi conchichichintinemi in teteuctin
in tepilhuan.
11. Zan teocuitlacoyoltototl o huel yectli namocuic
huel yectli in anq'ehua anquin ye oncan y xochitl y ya
hualyuhcan y xochitl imapan amoncate in amontlatlatoa
ye ohuaya ohui ohui ilili y yao ayya hue ho ama ha ilili
ohua y yaohuia.
12. O ach ancati quechol in ipalnemoa o ach ancati
tlatocauh yehuan Dios huiya achto tiamehuan anquitzto-
que tlahuizcalli amoncuicatinemi ohui, ohui, ilili, etc.
13. Maciuhtiao o in quinequi noyollo, zan chimalli
xochitl mixochiuh ipalnemoani, quen conchihuaz noyollo
yehua onentacico tonquizaco in tlalticpac a ohuaya
ohuaya.
14. Zan ca yuhqui noyaz in o ompopoliuh xochitla
antlenotleyoye in quemmanian, antlenitacihcayez in
tlalticpac. Manel xochitl manel cuicatl, quen conchihuaz
noyollo yehua onentacico tonquizaco in tlalticpac ohuaya
ohuaya.
15. Manton ahuiacan antocnihuan aya ma on nequech
nahualo nican huiyaa xochintlaticpac ontiyanemiyenican
ayac quitlamitehuaz in xochitl in cuicatl in mani a ichan
ipalnemohulani yi ao ailili yi ao aya hue aye ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 101
aids ; I select from among the youths those for whom I
shall wreathe the flowers of nobility.
9. There comes from within the heavens a good flower,
a good song, which will destroy your grief, destroy your
sorrow; therefore, Chief of the Chichimecs, be glad and
rejoice.
10. Here, delightful friendship, turning about with
scarlet dyed wings, rains down its flowers, and the war-
riors and youths, holding in their hands the fragrant xilo
flowers, walk about inhaling the sweet odor.
II. The golden coyol bird sings sweetly to you,
sweetly lifts its voice like a flower, like sweet flowers in
your hand, as you converse and lift your voice in singing,
etc.
12. Even like the quechol bird to the Giver of Life,
even a^ the herald of God, you have waited for the dawn,
and gone forth singing ohui, etc.
13. Although I wish that the Giver of Life shall give
for flowers the shield-flower, how shall I grieve that your
efforts have been in vain, that you have gone forth from
the world.
14. Even as I shall go forth into the place of decayed
flowers, so sometime will it be with your fame and deeds
on earth. Although they are flowers, although they are
songs, how shall I grieve that your eflbrts have been in
vain, that you have gone forth from the world.
15. Let us be glad, dear friends, let us rejoice while w^e
walk here on this flowery earth ; may the end never come
of our flowers and songs, but may they continue in the
mansion of the Giver of Life.
102 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
1 6. In zancuelachitzincan tlalticpac aya ayaoc noiuhcan
quennonamicani cuixocpacohua icniuhtihuay auh in amo
zanio nican totiximatizo in tlalticpac y yiao ha ilili yiao.
17. Noconca con cuicatl noconca o quin tlapitzaya
xochimecatl ayoquan teuctliya ahuayie, ohuayiao ayio yo
ohua.
18. Zan mitzyananquili omitzyananquili xochin-
calaitec y in aquiauhatzin in tlacateuhtli ayapancatl
yahuayia.
19. Cantinemi noteouh ipalnemohuani mitztemohua in
quemmanian y mocanitlaocoyan, nicuicanitlhuia, zan ni
mitzahuiltiaya ohuiyan tililiyanco huia ohuaya ohuaya.
20. In zan ca izqui xochitl in quetzalizqui xochitl pix-
ahui ye nican xopancalaitec i tlacuilolcalitec, zan nimitz-
ahahuiltiaya ohui.
21. O anqui ye oncan Tlaxcala, ayahue, chalchiuh-
tetzilacuicatoque in huehuetitlan ohuaye, xochin poyon
ayiahue Xicontencatl teuctli in Tizatlacatzin in camaxo-
chitzin cuicatica y melelquiza xochiticaya on chielo
itlatol ohuay icelteotl ohuaya.
22. O, anqui nohuia y, ye mochan ipalnemohua
xochipetlatl ye noca xochitica on tzauhticac oncan
mitztlatlauhtia in tepilhua ohuaya.
23. In nepapan xochiquahuitl onicac, a}'a, huehue-
titlan a a yiahue, can canticaya quetzaltica malintiniani,
ya, yecxochitl motzetzeloaya ohuaya ohuaya.
24. Can quetzatzal petlacoatl ycpac o, ye nemi coj'olto-
totl cuicatinemiya, can quinanquili teuctli ya, conahuilti-
anquauhtloocelotl ohuaya ohuaya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 103
1 6. Yet a little while and your friends must pass from
earth. What does friendship offer of enjoyment, when
soon we shall no longer be known on earth ?
17. This is the burden of my song, of the garland of
flowers played on the flute, without equal in the place of
the nobles.
18. Within the house of flowers the Lord of the
Waters, of the Gate of the Waters, answers thee, has
answered thee.
19. Where thou livest, my beloved, the Giver of Life
sends down upon thee sometimes things of sadness ; but
I, the singer, shall make thee glad in the place of diffi-
cult}-, in the place of cumber.
20. Here are the many flowers, the beauteous flowers,
rained down within the house of spring, within its
painted house, and I with them shall make thee glad.
21. O, you there in Tlaxcala, you have played like
sweet bells upon your drums, even like brilliantly col-
ored flowers. There was Xicontecatl, lord of Tizatlan,
the rosy-mouthed, whose songs gave joy like flowers, who
listened to the words of the one only God.
22. Thy house, O Giver of Life is in all places ; its
mats are of flowers, finely spun with flowers, where thy
children pray to thee.
23. A rain of various flowers falls where stands, the
drum, beauteous wreaths entwine it, sweet flowers are
poured down around it.
24. Where the brilliant scolopender basks, the coyol
bird scatters abroad its songs, answering back the nobles,
rejoicing in their prowess and might.
104 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
25. Xochitzetzeliuhtoc y, niconnetolilo antocnihuan
huehuetitlan ai on chielo can nontlamati toyollo yehua
ohuaya ohuaya.
26. In zan ca yehuan Dios tlaxic, ya, caquican yehual
temoya o ilhuicatl itic, y, cuicatihuitz, y, quinanquilia o,
angelotin ontlapitztihuitzteaya oyiahue yaia o o ohuaya
ohuaya.
27. Zan ninentlamatia can niquauhtenco ayahue can
XVIII. Nican Ompehua Teponazctiicatl.
Tico, tico, toco, toto, aiih ic ontlantiiih adcatl, tiqiii, ti ti, tito,
titi.
1. Tollan aya huapalcalli manca, nozan in mamani
coatlaquetzaUi yaqui yacauhtehuac Nacxitl Topiltzin,
onquiquiztica ye choquiHlo in topilhuan ahuay yeyauh
in poHhuitiuh nechcan Tlapallan ho ay.
2. Nechcayan Cholollan oncan tonquizaya Poyauhte-
catitlan, in quiyapanhuiya y Acallan anquiquiztica ye
choquiHlon ye.
3. Nonohualco ye nihuitz ye nihui quecholi nimamah-
teuctla, nicnotlamatia oyah quin noteuc ye ihuitimaH,
nechya icnocauhya nimatlac xochitl, ayao ayao o ayya y
yao ay.
4. In tepctl huitomica niyaychocaya, axahqueuhca
nicnotlamati\-a o yaquin noteuc (etc. as v. 3).
5. In Tlapallan aya mochieloca monahuatiloca ye cochi-
ztla o anca ca zanio ayao, ayao, a}'ao.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 105
25. Scattering flowers I rejoice you, dear friends, with
my drum, awaiting what comes to our minds.
26. It reaches even to God, he hears it seeking him
within the heavens, the song comes and the angels an-
swer, playing on their flutes.
27. But I am sad within this wood. * * *
XVIII. Here begin Songs for the Teponaztli.
Tico, tico, toco, toto, and as the song approaches the end,
tiqni, titi, tito, titi.
1. At Tollan there stood the house of beams, there
yet stands the house of plumed serpents left by Nacxitl
Topiltzin ; going forth weeping, our nobles went to
where he was to perish, down there at Tlapallan.
2. We went forth from Cholula by way of Poyauhtecatl,
and ye went forth weeping down by the water toward
Acallan.
3. I come from Nonohualco as if I carried quechol
birds to the place of the nobles ; I grieve that my lord
has gone, garlanded with feathers ; I am wretched like
the last flower.
4. With the falling down of mountains I wept, with
the lifting up of sands I was wretched, that my lord had
gone.
5. At Tlapallan he was waited for, it was commanded
that there he should sleep, thus being alone.
106
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
6. Zan tiyaolinca ye noteuc ic ihuitimali, tinahuatiloya
ye Xicalanco o anca zacanco.
7. Ay yanco ay yanco ayamo aya ayhuiya ayanco
ayyanco ayamo aye ahuiya que ye mamaniz mocha mo-
quiapana, oquen ye mamaniz moteuccallatic ya icno-
cauhqui nican Tollan Nonohualco ya y ya y ya o ay.
8. In ye quinti chocaya teuctlon, timalon que ye mam-
aniz mochan (etc. as v. 7).
9. In tetl, in quahuitl o on timicuilotehuac nachcan
Tollan y inon can in otontlatoco Naxitl Topiltzin y aye
polihuiz ye motoca ye ic ye chocaz in momacehual ay yo.
10. Zan can xiuhcalliya cohuacallaya in oticmatehuac
nachcan Tollan y inon can yn otontlatoco Naxitl
Topiltzin (etc. as in v. g).
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 107
6. In our battles my lord was garlanded with feathers;
we were commanded to go alone to Xicalanco.
7. Alas ! and alas ! who will be in thy house to attire
thee ? Who will be the ruler in thy house, left desolate
here in ToUan, in Nonohualco ?
8. After he was drunk, the ruler wept ; we glorified
ourselves to be in thy dwelling.
9. Misfortune and misery were written against us there
in Tollan, that our leader Nacxitl Topiltzin was to be
destroyed and thy subjects made to weep.
10. We have left the turquoise houses, the serpent
houses there in Tollan, where ruled our leader Nacxitl
Topiltzin.
108 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XIX.
Tico toco toco ti qttiti quiti qiiiti qiiito ; can ic mocjicptiuh.
1. Tlapapal xochiceutli niyolaya nepapan tonacan
xochitl moyahuaya oncueponti moquetzaco ya naya aya
ye teo ya ixpan tonaa Santa Maria ayyo.
2. An ya ya cuicaya zan quetzala xihuitl tomolihui
yan aya ye nitlachihual icelteotl y ye Dios aya ni itla-
yocolaoya yecoc ya.
3. Zan ca tlaauilolpan nemia moyollo amoxpetlatl
ipan toncuicaya tiquimonyaitotia teteuctin aya in obispo
ya zan ca totatzin aya oncan titlatoa atlitempan ay yo.
4. Yehuan Dios mitzyocox aya xochitla ya mitztlaca-
tilo yancuicatl mitzicuiloa Santa Maria in obispo ya.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 109
XIX.
Tico, toco, toco, tiquiti, qiiiti, quiti, qiiito ; tvhcre it is to
turn back again.
1. Resting amid parti-colored flowers I rejoiced; the
many shining flowers came forth, blossomed, burst forth
in honor of our mother Holy Mary.
2. They sang as the beauteous season grew, that I am
but a creature of the one only God, a work of his hands
that he has made.
3. Mayst thy soul walk in the light, mayst thou sing
in the great book, mayst thou join the dance of the rulers
as our father the bishop speaks in the great temple.
4. God created thee, he caused thee to be born in a
flowery place, and this new song to Holy Mary the
bishop wrote for thee.
110 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XX.
1. Tolteca icuilihuia ahaa ya ha on tlantoc amoxtli ya
moyollo ya on aya mochonaciticac o o Toltecayootl aic
aya ninemiz ye nican ay yo.
2. Ac ya nechcuiliz, ac ye nohuan oyaz o, nicaz a anni
icuihuan aya y yancuicanitl y yehetl y noxochiuh non
cuica ihuitequi onteixpan ayyo.
3. Huey in tetl nictequintomahuac quahuitl, nic-
icuiloa yancuicatl itech aya oncan nomitoz in quem-
manian in can Jiiyaz nocuica machio nicyacauhtiaz in
tialticpac, y onnemiz noyol zan ca ye nican ya hualla y
yancoya nolnamicoca nemiz ye noteyo ay yo.
4. Nichocaya niquittoaya nicnotza noyollo ma niquitta
cuicanelhuayotl ayama nicyatlalaquiya ma ya ica tial-
ticpac quimman mochihua onnenemiz noyol y. Zan ca
teucxochitl ahuiaca ipotocaticac mocepanoayan toxo-
chiuh ay ye ayao ohuiy on can quiya itzmolini ye no-
cuic celia notlatollaquillo ohua in toxochiuh icac iqui-
apani ayao.
5. Tel ca cahua xochitl ahuiac xeliuhtihuitz a ipoto-
caya in ahuiyac poyomatlin pixahua oncan ninenenemi
nicuicanitl y ye aya o ohui y on ca quiya itzmolini ye
nocuic celia, etc.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. Ill
XX.
1
1. The Toltecs have been taken, alas, the book of their
souls has come to an end, alas, everything of the Toltecs
has reached its conclusion, no longer do I care to live
here.
2. Who will take me? Who will go with me? I am
ready to be taken, alas. All that was fresh, the perfume,
my flowers, my songs, have gone along with them.
3. Great is my affliction, weighty is my burden ; I
write out a new song concerning it, that some time I may
speak it there where I shall go, a song to be known when
I shall leave the earth, that my soul shall live after I
have gone from here, that my fame shall live fresh in
memory.
4. I cried aloud, I looked about, I reflected how I
might see the root of song, that I might plant it here on
the earth, and that then it should make my soul to live.
The sweet exhalations of the lovely flowers rose up
uniting with our flowers ; one hears them growing as my
song buds forth, filled with my words our flowers stand
upright in the waters.
5. But the flowers depart, their sweetness is divided
and exhales, the fragrant poyomatl rains down its leaves
where I the poet walk in sadness ; one hears them
growing, etc.
112 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXI. Huexotzincayotl.
Viniendo los de Hiiexotzinco a pedir socorro d Moteuczoina
Tlaxcalla.
1. Tlacuiloltzetzeliuhticac moyoliol tiMoteuczomatzi
nichuicatihuitz nictzetzelotihuitz y o huetzcani xochin-
quetzalpapalotl moquetzalizouhtihuitz noconitotia chal-
chiuhatlaquiquizcopa niyahueloncuica chalchiuhhuila-
capitzli nicteocuitlapitza ya ho ay la ya o haye ohuichile
amiyacale.
2. Ohuaya ye onniceelehuia moxochiuh aya ipalne-
moani yehuaya Dios aya ilihuaca nahuiche nictzetzeloaya
noncuicatilo yaha y.
3. Tozmilini xochitl in noyolyol ay yahue tozmilini
xochitl noteponaz ayanco ayancayome oncana y yahue
nicxochiamoxtozimmanaya itlatol ayanco ayanca yomeho.
4. Xompaqui xonahuia annochipanicantiyazque ye
ichano nohueyetzinteucth Moteuczomatzi, totlaneuh tlpc
totlaneuh ueHc xochitl o ayanco.
5. TIachinoltepec yn ahuicacopa tixochitonameyo timo-
quetzaco y yehuan Dios a ocelozacatl ypan quauhtli
choca ymopopoyauhtoc y yanco y liyan cay yahue ayli
y yacalco y ya y yeho zaca y yahue.
6. Ohuaya yche nipa tlantinemia ixpan Dios a ninozo-
zohuayatlauhquechoi, zaquan quetzal in tlayahualol pa-
palotl mopilihuitzetzeloa teixpana xochiatlaquiquizcopa
oh tlatoca ye nocuic y yanco ili, etc.
7. Nehcoya ompa ye nihuithuiya xoxouhqui hueyatla
ymancan zanniman olini pozoni tetecuica ic nipa tlania,
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 113
XXI. A Song of the Huexotzincos, Coming to
Ask Aid of Montez7ima Against Tlaxcalla.
1. Raining down writings for thy mind, O Montezuma,
I come hither, I come raining them down, a very jester,
a painted butterfly ; stringing together pretty objects, I
seem to be as one cementing together precious stones, as
I chant my song on my emerald flute, as I blow on my
golden flute, ya ho, ay la, etc.
2. Yes, I shall cause thy flowers to rejoice the Giver
of Life, the God in heaven, as hither I come raining
down my songs, ya ho.
3. A sweet voiced flower is my mind, a sweet voiced
flower is my drum, and I sing the words of this flowery
book,
4. Rejoice and be glad ye who live amid the flowers
in the house of my great lord Montezuma, we must
finish with this earth, we must finish with the sweet
flowers, alas.
5. At the Mount of Battle we bring forth our sweet
and glittering flowers before God, plants having the
lustre of the tiger, like the cry of the eagle, leaving
glorious memory, such are the plants in this house.
6. Alas! in a little while there is an end before God to
all living ; let me therefore string together beauteous
and yellow feathers, and mingling them with the dancing
butterflies rain them down before you, scattering the
words of my song like water dashed from flowers.
7. I would that I could go there where lies the great
blue water surging, and smoking and thundering, till after
a time it retires again : I shall sing as the quetzal, the
114 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
zan iquetzal in tototl xiuhquechol tototl no chiuhtihuitz y
ni yahuinac ya Huexotzinco Atzalan ayome.
8. Zan niquintocaz aya niquimiximatitiuh nohueyo-
tzitzinhuan chalchiuhquechol y canca xiuhquechol in
teocuitlapapalotl in cozcatototl ontlapia ye onca Hue-
xotzinco Atzalan ayame ;
9. Xochi Atzalaan teocuitlaatl chalchiuhatl y nepa-
niuhyan itiatoaya in quetzalcanauhtli quetzalnocuitlapilli
cuecueyahuaya yliya yliya yaho ayli yaho aye huichile
anicale.
10. Huecapan nicac nicuicanitl huiya zaquan petlatolini,
ma nica yeninemia nicyeyectian cuicatla in nic xochiotia
yayaho yahii.
I
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 115
blue quechol, when I go back to Huexotzinco among
the waters [or, and Atzalan).
8. I shall follow them, I shall know them, my beloved
Huexotzincos; the emerald quechol birds, the green
quechol, the golden butterflies, and yellow birds, guard
Huexotzinco among the waters {or, and Atzalan).
9. Among the flowery waters, the golden waters, the
emerald waters, at the junction of the waters which the
blue duck rules moving her spangled tail.
10. I the singer stand on high on the yellow rushes;
let me g-o forth with noble song-s and laden with flowers.
116 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXIL
Tico tico ticoti tico tico ticoti mill ic ojitlantiuh in cuicatl
totoco totoco.
I. Xichocayan nicuicanitl nicitta noxochiuh zan nomac
ommania zan quihuintiaye noyollo ni cuicatl aya nohuian
nemia, zan ca ye noyollo notlayocola in cayo.
2. Xiuhtlamatelolla quetzalchalchiuhtla ipan ye nic-
matia nocuic aya ma yectlaxochitl y, zan nomac ton
mania, etc.
3. In quetzalin chalchiuhtla ipan ye nicmatia yectli ye
nocuic yectli noxochiuh annicuihuan tepilhuan aya
xonahuiacan a ayac onnemiz o in tlalticpac ayo.
4. O an niquitquiz ye niaz yectli nocuic yectli noxo-
chiuhui annicuihuan tepilhuan aya.
5. O huayanco o nichocaya a huayanco o cahua y
yahue nictzetzelo xochitl ay yo.
6. Mach nohuan tonyaz quennonamica o ah nicitquiz
xochitl zan nicuicanitl huiya ma yo a xonahuiyacan to ya
nemia ticaqui ye nocuic ahuaya.
7. Ay ca nichocaya nicuicanitl ya icha ahuicaloyan
cuicatl ha Mictlan temohuiloya yectliya xochitl onca ya
oncaa y yao ohuayan ca ya ilaca tziuhan ca na y yo.
8. Amo nequimilool amo neccuiltonol antepilhuan
aychaa ohuicaloyan cuicatl.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 117
XXII.
Tico, tico, ticoti, tico, tico, ticoti, and then the song ends
with totoeo, totoco.
1. In the place of tears I the singer watch my flowers;
they are in my hand; they intoxicate my soul and my
song, as I walk alone with them, with my sad soul among
them.
2. In this spot, where the herbage is like sweet oint-
ment and green as the turquoise and emerald, I think
upon my song, holding the beauteous flowers in my
hand, etc. (as in v. i).
3. In this spot of turquoise and emerald, I think upon
beauteous songs, beauteous flowers ; let us rejoice now,
dear friends and children, for life is not long upon earth.
4. I shall hasten forth, I shall go to the sweet songs,
the sweet flowers, dear friends and children.
5. O he! I cried aloud; O he! I rained down flowers
as I left.
6. Let us go forth anywhere ; I the singer shall find
and bring forth the flowers; let us be glad while we live;
listen to my song.
7. I the poet cry out a song for a place of joy, a
glorious song which descends to Mictlan, and there turns
about and comes forth again.
8. I seek neither vestment nor riches, O children, but
a song for a place of joy.
118 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXIII. Ycuic NezaJmalcoyotzm.
Totoco totoco tico, totoco totoco ic ontlantiuh tico titico ti tico
tico.
I. Nicaya quetza con tohuehueuh aoniquimitotia
quauhtlocelo yn ca tiyayhcac in cuicaxochitl, nictemoan
cuicatl ye tonequimilol ayyo.
2. Ti Nopiltzi o ti Nezahualcoyotl o tiya jMictl a quen-
onamica y yece miyoncan ay yo.
3. Quiyon quiyon caya nichocaya ya ni Nezahual-
coyotl huiya queni yeno yaz o ya nipolihuiz oyamiquitla
ye nimitzcahua noteouh ypalnemo o tinechnahuatia ye
niaz nipolihuiz aya, yo.
4. Ouenon maniz tlallin Acolihuacan huiya cuixoca
quen mano o ticmomoyahuaz in momacehuah ye nimitz-
cahua noteouh, etc.
5. Can yio cuicatli tonequimilol quipoloaya a in
totlacuiloli tepilhuan 00 maya o huitihua nican aya ayac
ichan tlalticpac 00 ticyacencahuazque huelic ye xochitl
ayio.
6. O ayac quitlamitaz monecuiltonol ypalnemoa a
noyolquimati cuelachic otictlanehuico Nezahualcoyotzin
ay oppatihua nican anaya y chan tlpc. Oon yn ay
oppatihuain tlalticpacqui, zan nicuicanitl ayaho onnicho-
caya niquelnamiqui Nezahualcoj^otl aya ho.
7. Xo acico ye nican in teotl aya ypalnemoa, ayaho
on nichocaya a niquelnamiqui Nezalhuacoyotl ayio.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 119
XXIII. Scmo-s of the Prince Nezahualcoyotl.
Totoco, totoco, tico, totoco totoco, then it ends zvith tico titico,
titico, tico.
1. I bring forth our drum that I may show the power
and the grandeur in which thou standest, decked with
flowers of song : I seek a song wherewith to drape thee,
ah! oh!
2. Thou, my Lord, O thou Nezahualcoyotl, thou
goest to Mictlan in some manner and at a fixed time, ere
long.
3. For this, for this, I weep, I Nezahualcoyotl, inas-
much as I am to go, I am to be lost in death, I must
leave thee ; my God, the Giver of Life, thou commandest
me, that I go forth, that I be lost, alas.
4. How shall the land of Acolhuacan remain, alas ?
How shall we, thy servants, spread abroad its fame ? I
must leave thee ; my God, etc.
5. Even this song for thy draping may perish, which
we have written for our children, it will no longer have
a home here on earth when we shall wholly leave these
fragrant flowers.
6. Alas! thy riches shall end; the Giver of Life teaches
me that but for a little while do we enjoy the prince
Nezahualcoyotl, nor a second time will he come to his
house on earth ; no second time will he rejoice on earth;
but I the singer grieve, recalling to memory Nezahual-
coyotl.
7. Let us seek while here the god, the Giver of Life ;
I grieve, recalling to memory Nezahualcoyotl,
120 ANXIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXIV.
Quititi, quititi, quid tocoto, tocoti tocoto tocoti zan ic
vwaicptiiih.
1. Ma xochicuicoya ma ichtoa nichuana ayyahue
teyhuinti xochitl ao ya noyehcoc ye nica poyoma
xahuallan timaliuhtihuitz ay yo.
2. Ma xochitl oyecoc ye nican ayyahue ^an tlaahui-
xochitla moyahuaya motzetzeloa ancazo yehuatl in nepa-
paxochitl ayyo. Zan commoni huehuetl ma ya netotilo.
3. Yn quetzal poyomatl aye ihcuilihuic noyol nicui-
canitl in xochitl ayan tzetzelihui ya ancuel ni cuiya ma
xonahuacan ayio zan noyolitic ontlapanion cuicaxochitl
nicyamoyahuaya yxoochitla.
4. Cuicatl ya ninoquinilotehuaz in quemmanian xochi-
neneliuhtiaz noyollo yehuan tepilhuan oonteteuctin in ca
yio.
5. Zan ye ic nichoca in quemanian zan nicaya ihtoa
noxochiteyo nocuicatoca nictlalitehuaz in quemanian
xochineneliuhtiaz, etc.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 121
XXIV.
Qitititi, qidiiti, quiti tocoto, tocoti, tocoto, tocoti, then it is to
turn back again.
1. Let me pluck flowers, let me see them, let me
gather the really intoxicating flowers ; the flowers are
ready, many colored, varied in hue, for our enjoyment.
2. The flowers are ready here in this retired spot, this
spot of fragrant flowers, many sorts of flowers are poured
down and scattered about ; let the drum be ready for the
dance.
3. I the singer take and pour down before you from
my soul the beautiful poyomatl, not to be painted, and
other flowers ; let us rejoice, while I alone within my
soul disclose the songs of flowers, and scatter them abroad
in the place of flowers.
4. I shall leave my songs in order that sometime I
may mingle the flowers of my heart with the children
and the nobles.
5. I weep sometimes as I see that I must leave the
earth and my flowers and songs, that sometime these
flowers will be vain and useless.
122 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXV.
Tico toco tocoto ic ontlantiuJi ticoto ticoto.
1. Toztliyan quechol nipa tlantinemia in tlallaicpac
oquihuinti ye noyol ahua y ya i.
2. Ni quetzaltototl niyecoya ye iquiapan ycelteotl
yxochiticpac nihueloncuica oo nicuicaihtoa paqui ye
noyol ahuay.
3. Xochiatl in pozontimania in tlallaicpac oquihuinti
ye noyol ahua.
4. Ninochoquilia niquinotlamati ayac in chan 00
tlallicpac ahua.
5. Zan niquittoaya ye ni Mexicatl mani ya huiya
nohtlatoca tequantepec ni yahui polihuin chittepehua a
ya ye choca in tequantepehua o huaye.
6. Ma ca qualania nohueyotehua Mexicatli polihui
chile.
7. Citlalin in popocaya ipan ye moteca y za ye polihui
a zan ye xochitecatl ohuaye.
8. Zan ye chocaya amaxtecatl aya caye chocaya
tequantepehua.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 123
I
XXV.
Tico, toco, tocoto, and then it ends, ticoto, ticoto.
1. The sweet voiced quechol there, ruhng the earth,
has intoxicated my soul.
2. I am hke the quetzal bird, I am created in the house
of the one only God ; I sing sweet songs among the
flowers ; I chant songs and rejoice in my heart.
3. The fuming dew-drops from the flowers in the field
intoxicate my soul.
4. I grieve to myself that ever this dwelling on earth
should end.
5. I foresaw, being a Mexican, that our rule began to
be destroyed, I went forth weeping that it was to bow
down and be destroyed.
6. Let me not be angry that the grandeur o^" Mexico
is to be destroyed,
7. The smoking stars gather together against it : the
one who cares for flowers is about to be destroyed.
8. He who cared for books wept, he wept for the begin-
ning of the destruction.
124 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXVI.
Toto tiquiti tiquiti ic ontlantmli tocotico tocoti toto titiqiii
toto titiqiiiti.
1. Oya moquetz huel oon ma on netotilo teteuctin aya
ma onnetlanehuihuilo chalchihuitl on quetzal! patlahuac,
ayac ichan tlalticpac, ayio zan nomac onmania ooo y
xochiuh aya ipalnemoa ma onnetlanehuilo chalchihuitl.
2. Oyohual in colinia o on In icelteotl ipalnemaa
Anahuac o onnemia noyol ayio.
3. In yancuica oncan quixima ipalnemoani ca ye
Nonoalco ahuilizapan i in teuctli yehua Nezahualpilli y
yece ye oncan aya in tlacoch tenanpan Atlixco ayio.
4. Zan momac otitemic motlahuan zomal a ica tica-
huiltia icelteotl in teuctli yehua.
5. Y yeho aye icnotlamati noyollo, zan niNonoalcatl,
zan can nicolintototl o nocamapan aya Mexicatl in ca
yio.
6. On quetzal pipixauhtoc motlachinolxochiuh in
ipalnemoa zan ca nicolintototl, etc.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 125
XXVI.
Toto tiquiti tiqniti, then it ends tocotico, tocoti toto titiqui
toto iitiqidti,
1. Come forth to the dance, ye lords, let there be
abundance of turquoise and feathers ; our dwelling on
earth is not for long ; only let the gods give me flowers
to my hand, give me abundance of turquoises.
2. Come let us move in the dance in honor of the one
only god, the Giver of Life, while my soul lives by the
waters [or, in Anahuac).
3. The Giver of Life made known a new song after the
lord Nezahualpilli entered the strongholds of Nonoalco
and sped his arrows within the walls of Atlixco.
4. Thou hast filled thy plate and thy cup in thy hands
and hast rejoiced in the one only God, the Lord.
5. Alas, how I am afflicted in my soul, I, a resident of
Nonoalco; I am like a wild bird, my face is that of a
Mexican.
6. The beauteous flowers of thy battles lie abundantly
snowed down, O Giver of Life; I am like a wild bird,
etc.
126 ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS.
XXVII.
Toco toco tiqid tiqui ic ontlant'mli toco tico tocoti.
1. Ma ya pehualo ya nicuihua in ma ya on acico ye
nicaan aya oya yecoc yeliuan Dios in cayio in ma ya ca
ya onahuilihuan tepilhuan a ayamo acico ya yehuan
Dios oncan titemoc yeliuan Dios a oncan huel in oncan
tlacat y ye Yesu Cristo in ca yio.
2. In oncan tlahuizcalli milintimani mochan aya moxo-
chiuhaya Dios aya chalchiuhcueponi maquiztzetzelihui
onnetlamaclitiloya in ca yio in oncan ya o nepapan
izhuayo moxochiuh aya Dios a.
3. Zan ye xochitl moyahua 00 zan ca itlatol in
ipalnemoani o ontepan ye moteca anahuac ooica tic-
huelmana atl on yan tepetl ayio.
4. Zan temomac mania cemilhuitl in niman ye tehuatl
toconyaittoaya ipalnemoani.
ANCIENT NAHUATL POEMS. 127
XXVII.
Toco, toco, iiqiii, tiqui, and then it ends toco, tico, tocoti.
1. Let my song be begun, let it spread abroad from
here as far as God has created ; may the children be
glad, may it reach to God, there to God whom we seek,
there where is Jesus Christ who was born.
2. There the dawn spreads widely over the fields, over
thy house, and thy flowers, O God, blossom beauteous as
emeralds ; they rain down in wondrous showers, in that
place of happiness; there alone may my flowers, of
various leaves, be found, O God.
3. There the flowers are the words of the Giver of Life;
they are upon the mountains and by the waters; we find
them alike by the water and the mountain.
4. Our day is in thy hand, and soon we shall see thee,
thou Giver of Life.
I
NOTES.
SONG I.
The song is an allegor>', portraying the soul-life of the poet.
By the flowers which he sets forth to seek, we are to understand
the songs which he desires to compose. He asks himself where
the poetic inspiration is to be sought, and the answer is the same
as was given by Wordsworth, that it is to the grand and beautiful
scenes of Nature that the poet must turn for the elevation of
soul which will lift him to the sublimest heights of his art. But
this exaltation bears with it the heavy penalty that it disquali-
fies for ordinary joys. As in medieval tales, he who had once
been admitted to fairyland, could nevermore conquer his long-
ing to return thither, so the poet longs for some other condition
of existence where the divine spirit of song may forever lift him
above the trials and the littleness of this earthly life.
There is no sign of Christian influence in the poem, and it is
probably one handed down from a generation anterior to the
Conquest.
I. The word peuhcayotl (rom peiia, to begin, intimates that this
was a song chanted at the beginning of a musical entertainment.
The verses are longer, and the phraseology plainer than in many
of those following. There is also an absence of interjections and
lengthened vowels, all of which indicate that the time was
slow, and the actions of the singer temperate, as was the custom
at the beginning of a baile. (See Introd., p. 20.)
I. Ninoyolnotiotza^ a reflexive, frequentative form from notza,
to think, to reflect, itself from the primitive radicle 110, mind,
common to both the Nahuatl and Maya languages. The syllable
yol is for yollotl, heart, in its figurative sense of soul or mind.
The combination oi yolno7iotza is not found in any of the diction-
aries. The full sense is, " I am thinking by myself, in my heart."
ahuiaca, an adverbial form, usually means " pleasant-smelling,"
though in derivation it is from the verb ahuia, to be satisfied with.
quetzal, for quetzalli, a long, handsome blue feather from the
quetzal bird, often used figuratively for anything beautiful or
precious.
129
130 NOTES.
chalchinh for chalchiuitl, the famous green-stone, jade or em-
erald, so highly prized by the Mexicans ; often used figuratively
for anything noble, beautiful and esteemed.
htdtzitzicatin, a word not found in the dictionaries, appears to
be from tziiziica, to tremble, usually from cold, but here applied
to the tremulous motion of the humming bird as it hovers over a
flower.
zacuan, the yellow plumage of the zacuan bird, and from simi-
larity of color here applied to the butterfly. The zacuan is
known to ornithologists as the Oriolus dominicensis. These
birds are remarkably gregarious, sometimes as many as a hun-
dred nests being found in one tree (see Eduard Muhlenpfort,
Versuch ehier getreuen Schilderimg der Republik Blexiko, Bd. I,
p. 183).
acxoyatzinitzcanquauhtia ; composed of acxoyatl, the wild
laurel ; tzitiifzcan, the native name of the Trogon mexicanus,
renowned for its beautiful plumage; guauhtli, a tree; and the
place-ending //a, meaning abundance.
tlauquecJiolxochiquatthtla ; composed of tlauqiiechol , the native
name of the red, spoon-billed heron, Platalea ajaja; xochiil,
flower ; qiiaiihtli, tree ; and the place-ending tla.
tonameyotoc, the root is the verb totia, to shine, to be warm ;
tonatiuh, the sun ; tonameyotl, a ray of the sun, etc. As warmth
and sunlight are the conditions of growth and fertility, many
derivatives from this root signify abundance, riches, etc.
mocehcemelquixtia ; wo is the reflexive pronoun, 3d sing., often
used impersonally ; cehcemel, is a reduplicated form of the nu-
meral ce, one ; it conveys the sense of entire, whole, perfect, and
is thus an interesting illustration of the tendency of the untu-
tored mind to associate the idea of unity with the notion of per-
fection ; quixtia is the compulsive form oi qiiiza, to go forth.
onechittitique ; 3d person plural, preterit, of the causative form
of itta, to see ; ittitia, to cause to see, to show ; nech, me, accusa-
tive form of the pronoun.
noniexanco ; from cucxantli, the loose gown worn by the
natives, extending from the waist to the knees. Articles were
carried in it as in an apron ; 7io-cuexan-co, my-gown-in, the ter-
minal ///being dropped on suffixing the postposition.
tepilhuan ; ixompilli, boy, girl, child, young person, with the rel-
ative, indefinite, pronominal prefix te, and the pronominal plural
termination /rwaw, to take which, pilli drops its last syllable,///
NOTES. 131
hence, te-pil-hiian, somebody's children, or in general, the young
people. This word is of constant occurrence in the songs.
tetenctin, plural with reduplication of tetictli, a noble, a ruler,
a lord. The singer addresses his audience by this respectful
title.
2. ixochiciiicatzini ; i,'poss.Tpron.2,ds\ng.\ xochitl,^ovj&r\ cui-
caii, song ; tzin, termination signifying reverence or affection ;
" their dear flower-songs."
yuhqui tepetl, etc. The echo in the Nahuatl tongue is called
tepeyolotl^ the heart or soul of the mountain (not in Simeon's Dic-
tionnaire, but given by Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana, p. 202).
vieyaqiietzalatl; from meya, to flow slowly, to trickle ; quetzalli,
beautiful ; atl, water.
xiuhtotoameyalli ; the root xiuh meant originally green (or
blue, as they were not distinguished apart) ; hence xiuiil, a leaf
or plant, the green herbage ; as where the Nahuas then were this
was renewed annually, xiuitl came to mean a year ; as a comet
seems to have a bunch of fiery flames growing from it, this too was
xiuitl, and a turquoise was called by the same term ; in the
present compound, it is employed adjectively ; xiuh-totol, tur-
quoise-bird, is the Guiaca cerulea, Linn. ; anieyalli, from atl,
water, ineya, to trickle, and the noun ending.
mo-motla; to throw one's self, to dash one's self against some-
thing, etc.
centzontlatolli ; literally," four hundred speeches." The nu-
meral four hundred was employed, like the Greek " myriad," to
express vaguely any extraordinary number. . The term may be
rendered "the myriad-voiced," and was the common name of
the mocking-bird, called by ornithologists Turdus polygloittis,
Ca/audria polyglotta, and Miinus polyglotta.
coyoltototi, literally, " the rattle-bird," so called from its peculiar
notes {coyolli^ a rattle), is one of the Tanegridae, probably the
Piranga hepatic a.
ayacachicahuacti)nani' ; composed of ayacachtli, the rattle (see
ante, page 24) ; and icahuaca, to sing (of birds) ; to the theme of
this verb is added the connective syllable ti, and the verb mani,
which, in such connection, indicates that the action of the former
verb is expended over a large surface, broadly and widely (see
Olmos, Gram, de la Langue Nahuatl, p. 155, where, however, the
connective ti is erroneously taken for the pronoun //).
hueltetozcatemique ; composed of huel, good or well ; tetozca,
132 NOTES.
from tozquitl, the singing voice ; and tenio, to let fall, to drop ;
que is the plural verbal termination.
3. ma fi-amech-ellelti, vetative causative from elleloa, to cause
pain.
cactiniotlaliqiie, appears to be a compound of caqui, to listen,
to hear, and tlalia, to seat, to place.
aniohuanipofzitzinhiian, a compound based on the pronoun of
the second person plural, a}no, the particle />c, which means simi-
larity or likeness, and the reduplicated reverential plural termina-
tion. The same particle /o, appears a few lines later in toqiiichpo-
huan ; potli = comrade, compeer.
4. Tepeilic, from tepell, mountain, ititl, belly, from which is de-
rived the proposition itic, within, among. The term is applied to
a ravine or sequestered valley.
5. quauhtliya oceloti, the expression quauhtli, oceloti, is of fre-
quent occurrence in the ancient Nahuatl writers. The words
mean literally " eagle, tiger." These were military titles applied
to officers commanding small bodies of troops ; figuratively,
the words mean control, power, and dignity ; also, bravery
and virtue. Comp. Agustin de Vetancurt, Teatro Mexicano,
Tratado II, cap. 3.
6. in tloqne in nahicaque ; this expression, applied by the ancient
Nahuas to the highest divinity, is attributed by some to Nezahu-
alcoyotl (see above, p. 36). It is composed of two postpositions
i/oc and nafmac, and in the form given conveys the meaning " to
whom are present and in whom are immanent all things having
life." See Agustin de la Rosa, Analisis de la Platica Mexicana
sobre el Misterio de la Santisinia Trinidad, p. 11 (Guadalajara,
1871). The epithet was applied in heathen times to the supreme
divinity Tonacateotl ; see the Codex Tellenatio-Retncnsis, in
Kingsborough's Mexico, Vol. VI, p. 107.
8. ximoayan ; this word does not appear in the dictionaries of
Molina or Simeon, and is a proof, as is the sentiment of the
whole verse, that the present poem belongs to a period previous
to the Conquest. The term means " where all go to stay," and
was the name of the principal realm of departed souls in the
mythology of the ancient Nahuas. See Bartholome de Alva,
Confessionario en Lengua Mexicana, fol. 13 (Mexico, 1634) ; Tez-
ozomoc, Cronica A/exicaua, cap. 55; D. G. Brinton ; The Jotirney
of the Soul (in Aztec and Aryan Myths), Philadelphia, 1883.
yhuiniia, causative form of ihiiinli, to make drunk. The Nir-
NOTES. 133
vana of the Nahuas was for the soul to He in dense smoke and
darkness, filled with utter content, and free from all impressions
(" en lo profundo de contento y obscuridad,"Tezozomoc, Cronica
Mexicana, cap. 55).
II.
On the signification of the titles given to this poem see the In-
troduction, I 3.
1. yc/iuan Dios ; literally " who are God ; " the introduction of
the Spanish Dios, God, is in explanation of /« tloque m nahiiaqiie ;
so far from proving that this song is of late date, this vouches
for its genuine ancient character, through the necessity for such
explanation.
2. nelhuayotl, the essence or source of something, its true
nature ; probably from nelli, true.
teoquechobne ; the prefix teoti, divine, is often added as an ex-
pression of admiration. Sahagun mentions the teoqiiechol as a
bird of brilliant plumage.
III.
The poet recalls a recent attendance on the obsequies of an
acquaintance, and seeks to divert his mind from the gloomy con-
templation of death and the ephemeral character of mortal joys
by urging his friend to join in the pleasure of the hour, and by
suggesting the probability of an after life.
I. xochicaico ; compounded oi xochitl, flower ; calli, house ; and
the postposition, co. The term was applied to any room
decorated with flowers ; here, to the mortuary chamber, which
Tezozomoc tells us was decked with roses and brilliant feathers.
ipalnemohiiani, literally "the one by whom life exists." The
composition is /, possessive pronoun, third person, singular ;
pal, postposition, by ; nemoani, singular of the present in ni of
the impersonal form of the verb «<?;«/, to live, with the meaning
to do habitually that which the verb expresses. It is an ancient
epithet applied to the highest divinity, and is found in the Codex
Telleriatw-Reniensis, Kingsborough's Mexico, Vol. VI, p. 128,
note.
tolquatectitlan, from toloa, to lower, to bow ; quatequia, to im-
merse the head ; tlaii, place ending. In the ancient funeral cere-
134 NOTES.
monies the faces of the assistants were laved with holy water.
On this rite see the note of Orozco y Berra to his edition of the
Cronica Mexicana of Tezozomoc, p. 435 (Mexico, 1878).
xoyacaltitlan ; from xoyaiii, to spoil, to decay, whence xoyanh-
gui, rank, unpleasant, like the odor of decaying substances.
xochicopal tlenauiactli, "the incense of sweet copal," which
was burned in the funeral chamber (see Tezozomoc's description
of the obsequies of Axayaca, Cron. J/ex., cap. 55).
2. The translation of this verse offers some special difficulties.
IV.
A poem of unusually rich metaphors is presented, with the
title " A Song of the Mexicans, after the manner of the Otomis."
It is a rhapsody, in which the bard sings his " faculty divine,"
and describes the intoxication of the poetic inspiration. It has
every inherent mark of antiquity, and its thought is free from
any tincture of European influence.
2. Diiahuatototl, literally, " the corn-silk bird," iniahua being
the term applied to the silk or tassel of the maize ear when in
the milk. I have not found its scientific designation.
6. poyomatl ; the poyomatli is described by Sahagun {Hist, de
la Nueva Espana, Lib. X, cap. 24) as a species of rose, portions
of which were used to fill the cane tubes or pipes used for smok-
ing. He names it along with certain fungi employed for the
same purpose, and it probably produced a narcotic effect.
V.
From the wording, this appears to be one of the lost songs of
Nezahualcoyotl, either composed by him or sung before him.
(See the Introduction, p. 35.) It is a funeral dirge, dwelling on
the fact of universal and inevitable death, and the transitori-
ness of life. There is in it no hint of Christian consolation, no
comfortable hope of happiness beyond the grave. Hence it dates,
in all likelihood, from a period anterior to the arrival of the mis-
sionaries.
I. tofiequimi/ol ; I take this to be a derivative from qnimiloa,
to wrap up, especially, to shroud the dead, to wrap the corpse in
its winding sheets, as was the custom of tlie ancient Mexicans.
NOTES. 135
The word, however, seems an archaic form, as it does not lend
itself readily to analysis.
The expression in Dios, I explain as in the note to II, i, and do
not consider that it detracts from the authentic antiquity of the
poem.
2. yoyoiitzin ; on the significance of this appellation of Nezahu-
alcoyotl, see Introduction, p. 35.
3. //' Nezahualcoyotl ; " thou Nezahualcoyotl." The princely
poet may have addressed himself in this expression, or we may
suppose the song was chanted before him.
5. Nopiltzin; the reference is to Quetzalcoatl, the famous " fair
God " of the Nahuas, and in myth, the last ruler of the Toltecs.
See D. G. Brinton, American Hero Myths (Philadelphia, 1882).
The term means " my beloved Lord." On Tezozomoc, see Intro-
duction, p. 35.
6. The text of the latter part or refrain of verses 5 and 6 is cor-
rupt, and my translation is doubtful.
VI.
Most of the poems in this collection are not assigned to any
author, but this, and apparently the one following, are recorded
as the compositions of Tetlapan Quetzanitzin. He is evidently
the personage spoken of by Sahagun as " King of Tlacopan," as
present with Montezuma on the occasion of his first interview
with Cortez. Later in the struggle Tetlapan appears as the asso-
ciate of Quauhtemoctzin, the " King of Mexico." (See Saha-
gun, Hist, de la Nueva Espana, Lib. XII, cap. 16 and 40.) M.
R^mi Simeon explains the name to mean " he who deceives the
people by magic ; " deriving it from quetza, he places ; te, the
people, tlepan, on the fire. A simpler derivation seems to me pos-
sible from tetlapatiqui, miner, or quarryman (literally, stone-
breaker), and qaetzalli, red; qiietzatzin, the lord or master of the
miners.
Both this and the following are war songs, and have marked
similarity in thought and wording. The introduction of the
Spanish Dios was doubtless substituted by the scribe, for the
name of some native god of war, perhaps Huitzilopochtli.
I. Alia ; this word I take to be a form of the interjection ji'a/;«^,
or, as Olmos gives it in his Gravunar, aa.
136 NOTES,
2. nepohtialoyan ; "the place of counting or reckoning," from
pohica, to count. The reference is not clear, and the translation
uncertain. In some parts of ancient Mexico they used in their
accounting knotted cords of various colors, like the Peruvian
quipus. These were called nepohualtzitzin.
4. This verse is remarkable for its sonorous phrases and the
archaic forms of the words. Its translation offers considerable
difficulty.
xontlachayan, I take to be an imperative form from tlachia, to
look, with the euphonic 07i.
teoatl tlachinolli,\\X.QXdX\y "the divine water {i. e. blood), the
burning," and the expression means war, battle. In one of his
sermons Fray Juan Bautista describes the fall of Jericho in the
words, otialtitechya in altepetl teuatl tiachinolli ye opoliuh, and
explains it, " the town was destroj-ed with fire and blood" {Ser-
tnones en Lengua 3/exicana, p. 122). The word tiachinolli is from
chinoa, to burn.
quetzalalpilo ; a compound of quetzalli, a beautiful feather, and
tlalpiloni, the band which passed around the head to keep the
hair in place.
5. melchiquiuhticaya ; " he who presented his breast," an
imperfect, reflexive form. Molina gives melchiquiuh petlaiihqiii,
with the translation despechugado. Vocabulario Mexicana, s. v.
VII.
The second specimen from the muse of Tetlapan Quetzanitzin
is the noblest war song in the collection. It is an appeal to his
friends to join in a foray to Chiapas. The intoxication of the
battle field is compared to that produced by the strong white wine
prepared from maguey, which was drunk only on solemn occa-
sions. The bard likens the exhaustion of his fellow warriors
from previous conflicts, to the stupor which follows a debauch,
and he exhorts them to throw it aside.
I. oamaxque, o, pret. a>n, you, axque, 2d pi. pret. from ay,
to do.
odicatl, apparently an old form from odli, the intoxicating
beverage prepared from the maguey.
oanqiiique, 2d pi. pret. from cui, to take.
ohnican, a place of difiiculty and danger.
NOTES. , 137
The frequent addition of the terminal o in this and the succeed-
ing verses is merely euphonic.
2. icoatj tiachinolli ; see note VI, 4.
/;/ inaqiiiztli tlazotetl, the beloved jewels, a phrase which iiuli-
cates that the broken stones and splintered emeralds referred to
are the young warriors who fall in battle, the pride of their
parents' hearts, who are destroyed in the fight.
The tizaoctii, white wine (^tizatl, chalk, hence white, and octli,
wine), referred to in this passage, is said by Sahagun to have been
drunk especially at the feast of the god Papaztac, one of the
many gods of the wine cup. Hist, de Nueva EspaFia, Lib. II,
App. Tezozomoc mentions it as handed to the mourners at
funeral ceremonies. Cronica Mexicana, cap. 55.
3. xochitlalticpacillmicacpao ; in this long compound oi xochitl,
flower, Haiti, earth, and ilhuicatl, sky, with various postpositions
and the euphonic terminal o, the final /a gives the sense of loca-
tion, towards, in the direction of.
chinialxochitl ; " the shield flower," the shield or buckler of
the ancient warriors, ornamented with tassels and feathers, is
not unaptly called the flower of war.
VIII.
The entire absence in this lament for the dead of any conso-
lation drawn from Christian doctrines, points clearly to a date
for its composition earlier than the teachings of the missionaries.
Its cry of woe is hopeless, and the title attributes its authorship
to one of the old chieftains, tlatoani, who held the power before
the Spaniard arrived.
1. quetzalJuiahuaciuhtoque, from qtietzalli, fmaqui ; in teintoqjce,
the splinters ; the same simile is employed in VII, 2.
2. ximoaya?t,SQ& note to I, 8. The occurrence of this term here
and in verse 3 testifies to the fact of a composition outside of
Christian influences.
IX.
The title does not necessarily mean that this song is a transla-
tion from the Otomi language, but merely that the time to which
it was chanted was in the Otomi style ; or, the term Otomi may
J
138 NOTES.
have reference to the miHtary officer so called. The word is per-
haps a compound of <?///, path, and mitl, arrow.
The bard sings the vanity of eartlily pleasures, and the reality
of earthly pains ; he exhorts himself and his hearers not to neglect
the duties of religion, and lauds his own skill in song, which he
compares to the sweet voices of melodious birds. There is
nothing in the poem which reflects European influence.
1. xotlacueponi ; the meaning of this compound is obscure. It
is not found in the dictionaries.
2. The terminal o is inserted several times in the passage to
express emotion and fill the metre.
mixitl tlapatl. A phrase signifying the stupor or drunkenness
that comes from swallowing or smoking narcotic plants. See
Olmos, Granunaire de la Layigue Nahuatl, pp. 223, 228 ; oquiqiieo
is from i, to drink, or cui, to take, the o terminal being euphonic.
X.
The poet expresses his grief that his songs all dwell on pain-
ful topics; he exhorts his hearers of the vanity of fame and
skill in handicrafts, and of the uncertainty of life ; closing, he
appeals especially to those of Tezcuco and Atecpan to listen
and believe his warnings.
In spite of the introduction of the Spanish word Dios, and the
exhortation to " believe," in the last line, it is possible that the
substance of this song was due to purely native inspiration ; yet
it may have been, like Song XIX, one of those written at an
early period for the converts by the missionaries.
XL
In a similar strain as in the last poem, the bard bewails the
briefness of human life and friendships. He closes with an appeal
to the Master of Life, of whom no mortal tongue can speak in
worthy and appropriate terms.
6. ihuiii, apparently a form of ihuintia.
tonan ; the reference appears to be to Tonantzin, Our Mother,
otherwise known as Cihuacoat!, the Serpent Woman. Slie was
the mythical mother of tlie human race, and dispensed afflictions
I
NOTES. 139
and adverse fortune. See Sahagun, Hist, dc la Xiieva Espana,
Lib. I, cap. 6. Tlie name is a proof of the antiiiuily of the poem,
which is throughout in the spirit of the ancient reUgion.
XII.
As stated in the Introduction (| lo), a note prefixed to this song
introduces it as a transhition from the Otomi into the Nahuatl
tongue. It admirably illustrates the poetic flexibility of the Na-
huatl.
3. epoyhicayan, from epoalli, sixty ; teoquauhtli ocelotl, " divine
eagles, tigers." These terms refer to the warriors bearing these
titles.
tlazomaqidzietl, " beloved, precious stones," a figure of speech
referring to the youths who go to war. The same or similar
metaphors are used in previous songs.
5. The fifth and sixth verses present serious difficulties of con-
struction which I do not flatter myself I have overcome.
XIII.
The inhabitants of Huexotzinco were in frequent strife with
those of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, and on various occasions the lat-
ter captured many prisoners. The present poem is represented
to be a composition of one of these prisoners when he and his
companions were confined in Tlatilolco, one of the suburbs of
Tenochtitlan. It breathes hatred against his captors and an
ardent thirst for vengeance. The latest date at which I find cap-
tives from Huexotzinco detained in Mexico is 1511, and it is to
this year, therefore, that I assign the composition of the poem.
5. Atloyantepetl; this name possibly means " the mountain of
the place of the water-falcons " {atl, water ; tlatli, falcon ; yan,
place-ending; tepetl, mountain). I have not found it in other
writers. (See Index.)
8. tlaylotlaqui; Simeon, on the authority of Aubin, explains
this term as the name of a tribe living near Tezcuco. In deri-
vation it appears to be a term of contempt, " workers in filth or
refuse," scum, offscourings. It also appears in Song XV.
10. The construction of this verse is so obscure, or the text
so imperfect, that the translation is doubtful.
140 NOTES.
XIV.
This poem, chanted in 1551 before the Governor of Azcapo-
tzalco, by Francisco Placido, a native of Huexotzinco, is a Chris-
tian song in the style and metre of the ancient poetry. See the
Introduction, p. 51.
I. impetlatl ; the ordinary meaning of />^//ai'/ is a mat or rug; it
is here to be taken in its figurative sense of power or authority,
chiefs and other prominent persons being provided with mats
at the councils, etc.
XV.
This extremely difficult composition seems to be a war song,
in which the bard refers to the traditional history of the Nahuas,
names some of their most prominent warriors, and incites his
hearers to deeds of prowess on the battle field. I do not claim
for my version more than a general correspondence to the
thought of the original. In several parts, especially verse 18,
the text is obviously defective.
1. tzihitactitlan ; " the land of the tzihuac bushes." The tzihu-
actli is a small kind of maguey which grows in rocky localities.
The tenth edifice of the great temple at Tenochtitlan was a wall
surrounding an artificial rockery planted with these bushes. Sa-
hagun, who mentions this fact, adds that the name of this edifice
was Teotla/pan, which literally means " on holy ground." {Hist,
de la Nueva Espana, Lib. II, App.) The rnizquitl is the common
Mimosa circinalis.
Chicomoztoc ; "at the Seven Caves," a famous locality in Mex-
ican legend, and the supposed birthplace of their race.
2. Colhuacan is probably fur Acolhuacan ; the early rulers of
the latter were of the blood of the Chichimec chiefs of the Tepan-
ecas.
4. Hueytlalpaii, " at the ancient land," perhaps for Huetlapal-
lan, a locality often referred to in the migration myths of the Na-
huas.
5. Atloyan ; see note to XIII, 6.
9. The ceiba and cypress trees were employed figuratively
to indicate protection and safeguard. .See Olmos, Gram, de la
La)igue Nahuatl,\>. 7.11.
12. On tlailothiqui, see note to XIII, 8. The interjectional
appendages to this and the following verse are increased.
f
NOTES. 141
15. Tepeyacan was the name of a mountain on which before
tlie Conquest was a temple dedicated to the " Mother of our Life,"
Tonantzin.
16. thipalcayocan, "the phxce of shards," of broken pieces, /. e.,
the field of battle.
19. The word fotomihuacan, which has already occurred in vv.
3 and 7, I have translated as referring to the war captains of the
Mexican armies, called otonii (see Bandelier, On the Art of War
of the Ancient 3Iex~icafis, p. 117). I am quite open for correction
however.
27. iti ipetl icpal; in a translation of an ancient song, Ixtlilxo-
chitl renders the expression /« ipetlicpalin teotl, "en el trono y
tribunal de Dios," Historia Chichimeca, cap. 32.
29. Mictlan ; the place of departed souls in Aztec mythology.
XVI.
In this stirring war-song, the poet reproaches his friends for
their lukewarmness in the love of battle. He reminds them that
life is transitory, and the dead rise not again, and that the
greatest joy of the brave is on the ringing field of fray where
warriors win renown. It is in the spirit of the Scotch harper : —
" 'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life,
One hour of such a day."
1. Each verse terminates with an interjectional refrain. The
frequent introduction of the particle on is intended to add
strengtli and gravity to the oration.
2. oppan piltihna. Compare this expression with that in v. 22,
p. 44.
3. xochimicohuayan, should perhaps be translated, " where the
captives to be immolated to the Gods are taken." The xochbn-
ique, " those destined to a flowery death " were the captives who
were reserved for sacrifice to the gods. See Joan Bautista, Ser-
monario en Lengua Mexicana, p. 180.
4. yaoxochimiquiztica, " pertaining to the slaughter of the
flowery war." This adjective refers to the peculiar institution of
the " flowery war," gnerra florida, which obtained among the
ancient Mexicans. It appears to have been a contest without
provocation, and merely for the display of prowess and to take
142 NOTES.
captives to supply the demand for human sacrifices in the
religious rites. On this see Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana^ cap.
96.
XVII.
In this long fragment — the closing strophes are missing in my
MS. — the bard represents himself as a stranger appearing before
the nobles of Huexotzinco at some festival. The first two verses
appear to be addressed to him by the nobles. They ask him to
bring forth his drum and sing. He begins with a laudation of the
power of music, proceeds to praise the noble company present,
and touches those regretful chords, so common in the Nahuatl
poetry, which hint at the ephemeral nature of all joy and the cer-
tainty of death and oblivion. An appeal is made to the Master
of Life who inspires the soul of the poet, and whose praises
should be ever in mind.
The words Z>/6).f and a«^^/c»//;/, in verse 26th, indicate that the
poem has received some " recension " by the Spanish copyist ;
but the general tone impresses me as quite aboriginal in character.
2. quauhtlocclotl, see note to I, 5.
3. In this verse, as frequently elsewhere, the syllable ya is
introduced merely to complete the metre. Ordinarily it is the
sign of the imperfect tense, and has other meanings (see the Vo-
cabulary), but in many instances does not admit of translation.
8. noncoaii, for 7ii-on-coatl, I am a guest.
18. The references in this verse are obscure, and I doubt if I
have solved them.
20. "The house of spring; " compare the expression in v. i, of
Nezahualcoyotl's song, p. 42.
21. A long oration of Xicontecatl, lord of Tizatlan, may be
found in Clavigero, Hist. Antica di Messico, Tom. Ill, p. 40. The
expression in camaxochitzin, from cmnail, mouth, xochitl,
rose, flower, and the reverential tzin, is noteworthy.
24. petlacoatl, the centipede or scolopender ; ixom pet/ati, mat,
and coal/, serpent, as they are said to intertwine with each other,
like the threads of a mat (.Sahagun, Lib. XII, cap. 4K
NOTES. 143
XVIII.
At this portion of the MS. several poems are preceded by a
Hne of syllables indicating: their accompaniment on the teponaz-
tli (see Introduction, p. 32).
The present number is one of the most noteworthy songs of the
collection. It belongs to the ancient cyclus of Quetzalcoatl
myths, and gives a brief relation of the destruction of Tollan and
the departure and disappearance of the Light God, Quetzalcoatl
Ce Acatl. As I have elsewhere collated this typical myth at
length, and interpreted it according to the tenets of modern
mythologic science, I shall not dwell upon it here (see D. G.
Brinton, American Hero Myths, Phila., 1S82).
The text of the poem is quite archaic, and presents many diffi-
culties. But my translation, I think, gives the general sense cor-
rectly.
1. huapalcaUi ; literally, "the house constructed of beams." This
name was applied to the chief temple of theToltecs ; the ruins of
an ancient structure at Tollantzinco were pointed out at the
time of the Conquest as those of this building (see Sahagun,
Hist, de la Nueva EspaJia, Lib. X, cap. 29).
coatlaquetzalli ; this edifice, said to have been left incomplete
by Quetzalcoatl, when he forsook Tollan, had pillars in the form
of a serpent, the head at the base, the tail at the top of the pillar.
(See Orozco y Berra, Hist. Antigua de Mexico, Tom. Ill, pp.30
and 46.) The structure is mentioned as follows in the Atiales
de Oiauhtitlan : —
^^ Aiihiniquac nemia Quetzalcoatl quitzintica, qiiipeuahtica iteo-
cal quiinaman coatlaquetzali ihuan amo quitzonquixti, aino qui-
pantlaz."
" And when Quetzalcoatl was living, he began and commenced
the temple of his which is the Coatlaquetzali (Serpent Plumes),
and he did not finish it, he did not fully erect it."
Nacxitl Topiltzin, " Our Lord the four-footed." Wa^;rz// appears
to have been the name of Quetzalcoatl, in his position as lord of
the merchants. Compare Sahagun, ubi supra, Lib. I, cap. 19.
2. Poyauhtecatl, a volcano near Orizaba, mentioned by Sahagun.
Acallan, a province bordering on the Laguna de los Terminos.
The myth reported that Quetzalcoatl journeyed to the shores of
the Gulf about the isthmus of Tehuantepec and there disap-
peared.
144' NOTES.
3. Nonohualco ; the reference is to the cerro de Nonoalco,
which plays a part in the Quetzalcoatl myth. The words of the
song are ahnost those of Tezcatlipoca when he is introduced to
Quetzalcoatl. Asked whence he came, he replied, " Nihuitz in
Nonohualcatepetl itzintla, etc." {Anales de Cuauhtitlan).
4. The occurrences alluded to are the marvels performed by
Quetzalcoatl on his journey from Tulan. See my American
Hero Myths, p. 115.
5. The departure of Quetzalcoatl was because he was ordered
to repair to Tlapallan, supposed to be beyond Xicalanco.
8. qitinti, for iqiiifitia ; the reference is to the magic draught
given Quetzalcoatl by Tezcatlipoca.
9. In teil, i?i qnahiiitl; literally, " stone and stick ; " a very com-
mon phrase in Nahautl, to signify misfortunes.
XIX.
In this song we have avowedly a specimen of an early chant
prepared probably by Bishop Zummarraga for the native converts.
The accompaniment on the teponaztli is marked at the beginning.
The language is noticeably different from the hymn to Quetzal-
coatl just given (XVIII).
XX.
Another song of the antique Quetzalcoatl cyclus. It bewails the
loss of Tulan, and the bard seeks in vain for any joyous theme to
inspire his melody, reflecting on all that has bloomed in glory
and now is gone forever.
3. Tetl-quahitl ; see note to XVIII, 9.
XXI.
The occurrence to which this poem alludes took place about
the year 1507. The chroniclers state that it was in the early
period of the reign of Montezuma II, thilt the natives of Huexot-
zinco, at that time allies of the Mexicans, were severely harassed
by the Tlascallans, and applied, not in vain, to their powerful
suzerain to aid them. (See Tezozomoc, Cronica ilfexicana, cap.
97.)
NOTES. *145
The poet does not appee\r to make a direct petition, but indi-
rectly praises the grandeur of Montezuma and expresses his own
ardent love for his native Huexotzinco. The song would appear
to be used as a delicate prelude to the more serious negotia-
tions. It is one of the few historical songs in the collection.
From the references in verses i and 3 we infer that this singer
held in his hand the painted book from which he recited the
couplets. This may explain the presentation of the piece.
I. hueizcani; one who laughs, a jester, perhaps the designation
of one who sang cheerful songs.
chakhiiihatlaquiquizcopa; a word of difficult analysis. I sus-
pect an omission of an /, and that the compound includes
tlaquilqui, one who fastens and puts together, a mason, etc.
5. The sense is that the warriors of Montezuma when on the
field of battle, shine in their deeds like beautiful flowers in a field,
and win lasting fame by their exploits.
inopopoyauhtoc . The grammarian Olmos explains the reflex-
ive verb ino-popoyauhtiuh to signify "he leaves an honored mem-
ory of his exploits." See Simeon, Dictionaire de la Lang ue Na-
huat/, sub voce.
7. Huexotzinco atzalan ; "Huexotzinco amid the waters."
This expression, repeated in verse 8, appears inappropriate to
the town of Huexotzinco, which lies inland. In fact, the descrip-
tion in verse 7 applies to Tenochtitlan rather than the singer's
own town. But the text does not admit this translation. Per-
haps we should read "Huexotzinco and Atzalan," as there are yet
two villages of that name in the state of Puebla (which embraced
part of ancient Huexotzinco).
10. petiatolitii, I have derived from petlatl, suspecting an error
in transcription. The reference is to the rushes in the mat on
which the singer stood.
XXII.
The ordinary sad burden of the Nahuatl poets is repeated with
emphasis in this plaint. It is a variation of the Epicurean advice,
"Eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die." Both the
sentiment and the reference to Mictlan in verse 7, point it out
as a production uninfluenced by Christian teaching.
7. The word ahtcicaloyan, place of sweetness, would seem to
be identical with ohuicaloyati, place of difficulty, in v. 8; I iiave
regarded the latter as an error of transcription.
146 NOTES.
XXIII.
Althougli No. V. is probably one of the lost songs of Nezahual-
coyotl, the present is the only one of the collection which is defin-
itely attributed to him. The language is very archaic, and in the
sentiment there is every mark of antiquity.
The text is apparently a dialogue, which was chanted as
strophe and antistrophe, the one singer speaking for the King-
the other for the bard himself.
The word teotl is used for divinity, and it is doubtless this word
for which the copyists of some of the other songs have substi-
tuted the Spanish Dios, thus conveying an impression that the
chants themselves were of late date.
The last verse, however, seems to be by one who lives after
the time of the great poet-prince, and is calling him to memory.
XXIV.
It will be seen that there is a wearisome sameness in the
theme of most of the short poems. Probably the bards followed
conventional models, and feared for the popularity of their pro-
ducts, did they seek originality. Here again are the same
delight in flowers and songs, and the same grief at the thought
that all such joys are evanescent and that soon " death closes
all."
I consider the poem one of undoubted antiquity and purely
native in thought and language.
XXV.
The destruction of the Mexican state was heralded by a series of
omens and prodigies which took place at various times during
the ten years preceding the arrival of Cortes. They are care-
fully recorded by Sahagun, in the first chapter of the 12th book of
his history. They included a comet, or " smoking star," as these
were called in Nahuatl, and a bright flame in the East and South-
east, over the mountains, visible from midnight to daylight, for a
year. This latter occurred in 1509. The song before us is a bod-
ing chant, referring to such prognostics, and drawing from them
the inference that the existence of Mexico was doomed. It was
NOTES. 147
probably from just such songs tliat Sahagun derived his inforiii-
ation.
1. ioztliyan, I suppose from tozquiil, the singing voice, in the
locative ; literally, " the quechol in the place of sweet-singing."
2. iquiapan, from i, possessive prefix, quiauatl, door, entrance,
house, /<?//, in.
5. An obscure verse ; tequantepcc, appears to be a textual error ;
fcquaiii, a ravenous beast, from qua to eat ; tepee, a mountain ;
but tcquantepehua occurring twice later in the poem induces the
belief tequani should be taken in its figurative sense of afllic-
tion, destruction, and that tepee is an old verbal form.
7. XoehitecatI, " one who cares for flowers," is said by Sahagun
to have been the name applied to a woman doomed to sacrifice
to the divinities of the mountains {Hist. Nueva Espana, Lib. II,
cap. 13).
8. ainaxtecatl, or ajtioxteeatt, ?iS the MS. may read, from amoxtli,
a book.
XXVI.
This seems to be a song of victory to celebrate an attack upon
Atlixco by the ruler of Tezcuco, the famous Nezahualpilli. This
monarch died in 1516, and therefore the song must antedate this
period, if it is genuine. It has every intrinsic evidence of anti-
quity, and I think may justly be classed among those preserved
from a time anterior to the Conquest. According to the chro-
nologies preserved, the attack of Nezahualpilli upon Atlixco was
in the year XI tochtli, which corresponds to 1490, two years before
the discovery by Columbus (see Orozco y Berra, Hist. Antigua
de Mexico, Tom. Ill, p. 399).
XXVII.
My MS. closes with a Christian song in the style of the ancient
poetry. It is valuable as indicating the linguistic differences
between these later productions of the sixteenth century and
those earlier ones, such as XXVI, which I have not hesitated to
assign to an epoch before the Spaniards landed upon the shores
of New Spain.
VOCABULARY.
The Roman numerals refer to the songs, the Arabic to the
verses, in which the word occurs. Abbreviations: lit., Hterally ;
ref., reflexive; pret., preterit; rev., reverential \ freq., frequenta-
tive; post., postposition ; Span., a Spanish word.
A, adv. No, not, in comp.
A, ji. For att, water, in comp. ; as acalH, water-house, i. c, a
boat.
A, iiitcrj. Oh ! ah ! placed after the word on which stress is
laid.
P^c, pron., interj. Who ?
Aca, proti. Some, any ; somebody.
Acalli, n. A boat, of any kind.
Ach, dubitative particle. Indeed ? is it not ? etc.
Achitzinca, adv. A little while, a short time.
Achquen, rt^c'. At what time ? When?
Aci, r'. To reach, to acquire.
Acohuetzi, v. To console, to make glad. I, 3.
Acoquiza, v. To lift up, to raise, to increase in dignity or power.
Acotlaza, :-. To console.
Acxoyatl, n. The wild laurel.
Ahauia, v. To rejoice, take pleasure in; freq. of ahuia.
Ahuachia, v. To wet one's self, to bathe. VII, 4.
Ahuachtli, ;/. Dew, moisture.
Ahuehuetl, n. The cypress tree ; Cupressus disticha.
Ahuia, V. To rejoice, to be joyful.
Ahuiac, adj. Agreeable, pleasant, sweet.
Ahuian, adj. Content, satisfied.
Ahuicpa, adv. From one place to another. 111,3.
Aic, adv. Never.
Altepetl, «. Town, city, citadel.
Amech,/>r<?«. rel. You, to you.
Ameyalli, n. A fountain, a stream; ///., flowing water.
Amilli, 71. Watered and arable land. XIV, 6.
140
150 VOCABULARY.
Amo, adv. No, not ; amo ma, no other ; anio zannen, not in vain ;
pron., you, yours.
Amoxpetlatl, «. Book-mat. See XIX, 3.
Amoxtecatl, «. See XXV, 8, note.
A.n, pron. You.
Ana, V. To take, to grasp, to seize.
Anahuia, v. To be dissatisfied .
Anca, art'y. Of the kind that. XVII, 12.
Ane, adv. Hollo ! in calling.
Angelotin, n. Angels. Span. XVII, 26.
Ano, adv. As little, neither.
Anozo, conj. Or, perhaps.
Aoc, adv. Not yet.
Apana, v. To clothe.
Apano, V. To ford, to cross water. XVIII, 2.
Aquen, adv. Nothing, in no manner.
Aquin, proti. Who ? in aquin, he who.
At, adv. Perhaps, perchance.
Atayahuili, for at ay a iieli. Not yet, not even.
Atihuelmati, v. Not to be well. IX, 3.
Atl, n. Water.
Atlamachtia, v. To praise one ; ref., to be proud.
Atle, pron. Nothing.
Atley, in alley. Without.
Atonauia, v. To have a fever, to be sick.
Auh, conj. And, even, also.
Axalli, ;/. Bar-sand, water-sand.
Ay, V. pret. oax. To do, to make.
Aya, adv. Not yet, not now.
Ayacachtli, n. A musical instrument. See p. 24.
Ayahuitl, n. Fog, mist, vapor.
Ayauh cozamalotl, n. The rainbow; ///., "mist of water jewels.'
Ayoc, adv. Already not. Ayoctle, nothing more.
Ayoquan, a^/r'. Aoc-iuan. Nothing like it, unequaled. XVII, 17.
Ayoquic, adv. Nevermore. V, 6.
Azan, adv. Not a little, not a few.
Azo, conj. Or, perhaps, percliance.
Aztlacapalli, n. The tail feathers of a bird. XVII, 10.
Q., pron. rel. He, her, it, him ; poslpos., with, by, in, from, at.
Ca, adv. Already, yes, because, for, truly, only.
VOCABULARY. 151
Ca, V. To be (in a place).
Csi, postpos. With, by, by means of.
Cacali, v. To discharge arrows.
Cacopa, />(?j/. Toward, towards.
Cahua, v. To leave, to let, to desert, to stop, to lay down.
Calaquia, v. To enter, to go in.
Calli, ;/. A house ; in comp. cal, as nocal, my house.
Calmecac, u. A public school, p. lo.
Camapantli, ;/. The cheeks, the face. XXVI, 5.
Camatl, n. The mouth.
Campa, adv. Where, whither.
Can, adv. andpostpos. Where.
Canauhtli, «. A duck. XXI, 9.
Canel, adv. Since, as, because.
Caqui, v. To hear, to listen to.
Catlehuatl,/>r(3«. Who? which ? whoever, whatever.
Catqui, v. irreg. From ca, to be (in a place).
Cauhtehua, v. To leave a place.
Caxtlauitl, n. A kind of ochre. XVII, 10.
Ce, adj. and art. One, a, an.
Cece, or Cecen, adj. Each, every.
Cecemelquixtia, v. To come forth wholly, perfectly. I, i.
Cecemeltia, v. re/. To rejoice, to feel glad.
Cecemeltic, adj. Complete, whole, entire.
Cecemmana, v. To disperse, to scatter.
Cehuia, 7'. To rest, to repose.
Cel. Sole only.
Celia, V. I. To receive, to obtain. 2. To blossom, to bloom.
Cemanahuatl, «. The world, the universe.
Cemelle, adv. With peace or joy. Usually with a negative aic
cetnelle, never peacefully. XV, 18; XVI, i.
Cemilhuiltilia, v. To detain one for a day.
Cemilhuitl, n. One day.
Cen, adv. Forever, for always ; cenyauh, to go forever, to die.
Cenca, adv. Very much, exceedingly.
Cenci, adv. Elsewhere.
Cenquixtia, v. To select from, to pick from,
CentzontlatoUi, n. The mocking bird. Tardus polyglothis ; lit. ,
"the myriad-voiced."
Centzontli, adj. fium. Four hundred, used for any large num-
ber.
152 VOCABULARY.
Cepanoa, v. To unite, to join togetlier.
Chalchiuhitl, n. The Mexican jade or green stone ; emerald
Jig., green ; precious.
Chane, n. Inhabitant or resident of a place.
Chantli, n. A dwelling, a residence ; in conip., chau.
Chia, V. To wait, to expect.
Chialoni, n. That which is awaited or expected.
Chicahuac, adj. Strong, powerful.
Chichia, v. i. To make bitter. 2. To obey. XIII, 9.
Chichina, t'. To snuff up, imbibe, or suck up, especially the
odors of burning incense, through a tube. VH, 4; X\TI, 10.
Chichinaquiliztli, n. Torment, pain, suffering.
Chihua, v. To make, to do, to happen ; chihua in noyollo, my
heart is troubled, I am pained.
Chimalli, n. The native shield or buckler. VI, 4.
Chitoni, v. To sparkle, to glitter.
Chitonia, v. To gain, to realize a profit. V, 4.
Chittolini, v. To bow down, to sink.
Choca, V. To cry (of animals and man).
Ciahui, v. To fatigue one's self, to tire.
Cihuacoatl, ;/. A magistrate of high rank ; ///., " woman serpent."
Cihuatl, ;/. A woman.
Citlalin, n. A star.
Co, pos//>os. In, from.
Coa, or Cohua, v. To buy, to purchase.
Cochitia, v. To sleep.
Cocoa, z'. To pain, to give pain.
Cocolia, V. To hate.
Cocoya, z'. To be sick.
Cohuatl, or Coatl, ;/. A serpent ; a guest ; a twin ; the navel ; a
spade.
CohuayotI, «. Buying, purchasing. V, 2.
Colli, ;/. Ancestor, forefather.
Coloa, z'. To twist, to turn, to bend.
Comoni, z'. To crackle (of a fire); to be turlnilent (of people).
XXIV.
Con, prou. Some one ; comp. of c and on.
Copa, postpos. By, toward.
Copalli, ;/. Resin, gum copal.
Coyoua. r. To cry, to yell. XIII, 7.
Coyohuacan, n. Tlie place of wolves. XIII, 10.
I
VOCABULARY. 153
Coyoltototl, n. The coyol bird, Piranq;a hepatica.
Coyotl, //. Tlie coyote, the Mexican wolf.
Cozcatia, v. To deck with golden chains. IV, 4.
Cozcatl, n. Jewel, precious stone ; a string of such ; a chain or
collar.
Cuecuexantia, v. To gather in the folds of the robe.
Cuecueya, v. To move to and fro. XXI, 9.
Cuepa, V. To turn, to return, to bring back.
Cueponi, v. To blossom, to bud, to bloom.
Cuetlani, :/. To wilt, to perish. XV, 15.
Cuetzpalti, v. To act as a glutton, to revel in. XVII, 5.
Cuexantli, n. Gown, robe, petticoat.
Cui, V. To take, to gather, to collect.
Cuica, n. A song, a poem.
Cuicani, n. A singer, a poet.
Cuicoyan, n. A place for singing. See note to p. 10.
Cuihua, V. Pass, of cui, q. v.
Cuilia, V. Rev. of cui, q. v.
Cuiloa, V. To paint, to write.
Cuiltonoa, v. To be rich ; to rejoice greatly ; to enrich or cause
joy. XV, 6.
Cuitlatl, n. Excrement, dung.
Cuix, adv. An interrogative particle.
Ecacehuaztli, n. A fan.
Ehecatl, n. Wind, air.
Ehecayo, adj. Full of wind, stormy.
Ehua, V. To lift up, especially to raise the voice in singing.
Elchiquihuitl, 71. The breast, the stomach.
Elchiquiuheua, v. To fatigue, to tire. VI, 5.
Elcicihuiliztli, 71. A sigh, a groan.
Elehuia, v. To desire ardently, to covet.
Ellaquahua, v. To animate, to inspire.
Ellelaci, v. To suffer great pain.
EUelli, «. Suffering, pain.
Ellelquixtia, v. To cause joy, to make glad.
Elleltia, v. Ref.,\o regret, to repent, to abstain ; act., to prevent,
to hinder, to impede, to cause pain.
Epoalli, adj. num. Sixty
Eztli, n. Blood.
K
154 VOCABULARY. • '
Huahuaqui, v. To dry up, to wither wholly. VIII, i.
Hual, adv. Hither, toward this place.
Huallauh, v. irreg. To come hither.
Yi\i.3.n, postpos. In company with; also, a plural termination.
Huapalcalli, n. Houses of planks. See XVIII, i.
Huaqui, v. To dry up, to wither.
Huecapan, adj. Lofty.
Huecatlan, adj. Deep, profound.
Huehuetl, «. A drum. See page 22.
Huehuetzi, v.freq. To fall often.
Hueiyotl, ;/. Greatness, grandeur.
Huel, adv. Well, good, pleasant.
Huelic, adj. Sweet, pleasant, fragrant.
Huelmana, v. To make smooth, or even ; to polish, to burnish.
Huetzcani, ;/. A jester, a laugher. XXI. i.
Huetzi, V. To fall.
Huetztoc, V. To be stretched out, to be in bed.
Huey, adj. Great, large.
Hueyatlan, n. Place of increase, from hueya, to grow greater.
"i^ysxz, postpos. Toward, against.
Huica, V. To accompany ; to carry off; to govern, to rule, to
direct.
Huihuica, v. To follow in crowds, or often.
Huihuitequi, v. To gather, to pluck.
Huilohuayan, n. Bourne, goal, terminus ; from hiiiloa, all go.
Huipana, v. To put in order, to arrange.
Huitomi, v. To split, to fall. XVI 11, 4.
Huitz, v. To come. ^
Huitzitzicatin, n. The humming bird. I, i.
Huitzitzihn, n. The humming bird, Trochilus.
Huitzli, 71. A thorn, especially of the maguey. I
Huitztlan, n. The south ; huitztlainpa, from or to the south.
I, V. Pret. oic. To drink.
Itpron. His, her, its, their.
Ic, cotij. For, since, because; prep. With, towards, by, in;
adv. Where ? when ? zan ic, as soon as, often, only, on pur-
pose.
lea., posi. With him, her, it, etc.
lea, adv. Sometimes, occasionally.
Icac, V. To stand upright.
VOCABULARY. 155
Icahuaca, :'. To sing (of birds).
Icali, :'. To war, to fight. VI, 5.
Icauhtli, n. Younger brother. VII, 2.
Icelia, :'. To incite another, to devote one's self to.
Icnelia, :-. To do good, to benefit.
Icniuhtli, //. A friend, a companion ; toctiihuan, our friends.
Icnopillahuelilocati, v. To be ungrateful.
Icnotlamachtia, v. To excite compassion.
lcTp3iC, postpos. Upon, over.
Ihuan, coiij. And, also.
Ihui, adv. Of this kind, in this way.
Ihuinti, V. To intoxicate, to make drunk.
Ihuitl, n. Feather, plumage.
Ilacatziui, v. To twist, to twine.
Ilacatzoa, v. To twine around, to wind about. X\ 2.
Ilcahua, v. To forget.
Ilhuia, z\ To speak, to say, to tell.
Ilhuicatl, n. Heaven, the sky.
Ilnamiquilia, v. To remember, to call to mind.
Ilpia, V. To bind, to fasten.
Im. See in.
Imati, V. To be skillful or wise ; to prepare or arrange some-
thing skillfully.
In, art. and pron. He, they, the, which, etc. ; in ma oc, mean-
while ; /« ic, so that, in order that.
Inaya, v. To confer, to hide. X, 2.
Inecui, v. To smell something, to perceive an odor. IV, 6.
Inic, adv. For, in order that, after that.
Inin, pron. These, they.
Iniquac, conj. When.
Inne, conj. But.
Inoc, adv. While, during.
Inon, pro7t. Those.
Intla, conj. If.
Intlacamo, adv. Unless, if not.
Ipalnemoani, «. A name of God. See III, i, note.
Ipampa, adv. Because.
Ipotoctli, ;/. Smoke, vapor, exhalation.
Itauhcayotl, n. Fame, honor. XVII, 14.
Ithua, V. To see. for itta. XV, 6.
Itia, V. I. To drink; to cause to drink. 2. To suit, to fit.
156 VOCABULARY.
Itic, posfpos. Within, inside of.
Itlani, V. To ask, to solicit, to demand.
Itoa, V. To say, to speak, to tell.
Itonaliztli, ;/. Sweat ; fig., hard work. VI, 5.
Itotia, n. To dance in the native fashion.
Itotiliztli, n. Dance.
Itta, V. To see, to behold.
Ittitia, V. To show, to make evident.
Itzmolini, v. To be born, to sprout, to grow. XX, 4.
Itztapalli, n. Paving stone. XV, S.
Itztoc, V. To watch, to keep awake, to wait for. XVII, 12.
Ixamayo, adj. Known, recognized. XIII, 2.
Ixayotl. n. A tear (from the eyes).
Ixcuitia, V. To take example.
Iximachoca, n. The knowledge of a person.
Iximati, v. To know personally.
Ixitia, V, To awake, to arouse.
Ixpan, postpos. Before the face of, in presence of.
Ixquich, adv. As many as.
Ixtia, V. To face a person, especially the enemy ; to watch-
Ixtlahuatl, n. Open field, savanna, desert.
\-&.\.\z.x\, postpos. Before the face of.
Ixtli, n. Face, visage ; eye.
Iza, V. To awaken, to arouse.
Izcali, V. To arise, to rise up.
Izhuatl, n. A leaf of a,tree, etc.
Izhuayo, adj. Leafy, with leaves.
Izqui, adj., pi. izquintin. As many, so many, all ; izqui in quezqui,
as many as.
Iztac, adj. White.
Iztlacahuia, v. To deceive, to cheat.
Iztlacoa, V. To search for; ref., to take counsel.
Ma, adv. Sign of optative, subjunctive and vetative ; ma oc, yet
a while.
Maca, V. To give, to present.
Ma ca, 7ieg. Do not.
Macaic, adv. Never.
Macazo tlein, jteg. No matter, for all tliat. VI, 2.
Macehuallotl, «. Servitude, slavery.
Maceualti, v. defect. To merit ; to be happy.
VOCABULARY. 157
Macehualtia, v. i. nifio, to make another a vassal, to reduce to
vassalage; fiite, to give vassals to one; nita, to impose a
penance on one.
Mach, adv. An intensive particle.
Machtia, v. To cause to know, to teach, to learn.
Maciui, adv. Although, granted that. XVII, 13.
Macquaitl, n. The native sword. VI, 4.
Macuele, adv. Would that — sign of the optative.
Mahaca, adv. Not, no.
Mahui, :•. To fear, to have fear.
Mahuizti, v. To be esteemed, to be honored.
Maitl, ;/. The hand, the arm. In comp. via, as noma, my hand.
Malacachoa, v. To twine, to fold. XVI, 4.
Malhuia, v. To regale, to treat well, to take care of.
Malina, v. To twine, to wreathe.
Malintiuh, v. To twine, to twist, to enwreathe.
Mamalia, :'. To carry.
Mamalli, v. To enter, to penetrate. XII, 4.
Mamana, :'. To arrange a feast, to set in order. XV, 15.
Mamani, v. See Mani.
Mana, v. To offer offerings. XVII, 3.
Manca, :-. Imp. of JMani.
Manen, neg. That not, that it does not happen, etc.
Mani, v. To be (of broad or wide things); to be stretched out.
Manozo, adv. Or, if.
Maquiztli, n. A bracelet or other ornament of the arm. Ill, 5.
Mati, z'. To know. J?e/., to think, to reRect; gui-maii rioyo//o,
I presume, I doubt ; nonno-mati, I attach myself to a person
or thing.
Matiloa, v. To anoint, to rub.
Mazo, adv. Although.
Meya, :■. To flow, to trickle.
Miahuatototl, n. A bird. IV, 2.
Micohuani, adj. Mortal, deadly.
Miec, adv. Much, many.
Milli, 11. Cultivated field.
Miqui, v. To die, to kill.
Miquitlani, v. To desire death. X, i.
y\.\\z,pron. Thee, to thee.
Mixitl, n. A narcotic plant. See tlapatl. IX, 2.
Mixtecomatl, n. A dark night, a dark place. Ill, 4-
158 VOCABULARY.
Mizquitl, n. The mesquite. XV, i.
Mo, pron. i. Thy, thine; 2. Pron. ref. 3 sing., he, him, they,
them.
Mochi, adj. All.
Mochipa, adv. Always.
Moliniani, n. One who moves, or agitates. XVI, 3.
Momolotza, v. To cause to foam, to cut to pieces. XII, 3.
Motelchiuh, 71. The governor of Tenochtitlan. XIII, S.— See
telcliilnia.
Motla, r-. To throw, to fall. I, i.
Motlali, adj. Seated, placed, in repose.
Moyaua, v. To conquer ; to become cloudy or troubled (of
water) ; to talk about ; to boast.
Moztla, adv. To-morrow.
\i\&\m3iZ, postpos. Toward, by, along, near to.
Nahui, adj. man. Four.
Nalquixtia, v. To cause to penetrate, causative of nalqiiiza, to
penetrate.
Nananquilia, v. To answer, to reply to.
Nantli, ;;. Mother, tonan, our mother, etc.
Nauhcampa, adv. In four directions, to four places.
li&,pron. Reflexive pronoun 3d person in verbal substantives
and impersonal verbs.
Ne,pron. for nehuatl. I, me.
Necaliztli, n. Battle, combat.
Nech,/>rc«. ]\Ie, to me.
Nechca, adv. There, down there ; like the French la-bas ; oc ye
iicchca, formerly, once.
Neci, V. To appear, to show one's self or others.
Neco, V. Pass, of negui, q. v.
Nectia, v. To desire, to wish for.
NecuiltonoUi, n. Riches, possessions.
Neicaloloyan, ;/. The field of battle.
Neiximachoyan, ;/. A place where one is taught. XIII, i.
Nel, adv. Hut.
Nelhuayotl, n. A root ; Jig., principle, foundation, essence.
Nelihui, adv. It is thus, even thus ; viazo nelihui, though it be
thus.
Nelli, adv. Truly, verily.
Neloa, V. To mingle, to shake, to beat.
VOCABULARY. 159
Neltia, --. To verify, to make true.
Nemactia, :-, i. To receive, to obtain. 2. To give, to grant.
Nemayan, adv. In the course of the year. XII, 3.
Nemi, r. To live, to dwell, to walk.
Nemoa, v. impers. To live, to dwell.
Nen, adv. Vainly, in vain.
Nenchiua, v. To do in vain,
Nenectia, v. To obtain by effort. XII, 4.
Neneliuhtica, adj. Mixed up, mingled together.
Neneloa, v. To mix, to mingle.
Nenepanoa, v.freq. To mix, to mingle. XVII, i.
Nenequi, v. To act tyrannically; to feign; to covet. XI, 7.
Nennemi, v. To wander about.
Nenonotzalcuicatl, ;/. A song of exhortation.
Nentaci, :■. To fail, to come to naught. XVII, 13, 14.
Nentlamachtia, v. ref. To afflict one's self, to torment one's self.
Nentlamati, v. To be afflicted, disconsolate.
Nepa, adv. Here, there. Ye nepa, a little further, beyond. XXI,
6. Oc nepa, further on.
Nepaniui, v. To join, to unite.
Nepantla, posfpos. In the midst of.
Nepapan, adj. Various, diverse, different.
Nepohualoyan, 11. The place where one is reckoned, read, or
counted. VI, 2.
Negni, v. To wish, to desire.
Netlamachtiliztli, n. Riches, property.
Netlamachtiloyan, ;/. A prosperous place. IV, 6 ; VII, 4.
Netlanehuihuia, v. To have an abundance of all things. XXVI, i.
Netotiliztli, ;/. Dance, dancing.
Netotiloyan, jt. Place of dancing.
m, pro?!. pej'S. I. Before a vowel, «.
Nican, adj. Here, hither.
Nihui, adz'. From no-i'/iut, thus, of the same manner. XVIII, 3.
Niman, adv. Soon, promptly.
Nino, pron. ref. I myself.
Nipa, adv. Here, in this part, there.
No, rto':'. Also, like, ^/c'j/^/i, in the same way, thus. Pron.lly^
mine.
Noca, pron. For me, for my sake, by me.
Nohuan, />;'(?«. With me.
Nohuiampa, adv. In all directions, on all sides.
160 VOCABULARY.
Nohuian, adv. Everywhere, on all sides.
Nonoyan, «. Place of residence. V, 2.
Nonotza, v. To consult, to take counsel, to reflect.
Notza, V. To call some one.
Nozan, adv. Even yet, and yet, to this day.
Obispo, «. Bishop. Span. XIX, 4.
Oc, adv. Yet, again ; oc achi, yet a little ; oc achi ic, yet more,
comparative; oc pe, first, foremost.
Ocelotl, «. The tiger; a warrior so called. See note to I, 5.
Ocoxochitl, n. A fragrant mountain flower. Ill, 2.
Octicatl, 71. See note to VII, i.
Octli, n. The native wine from the maguey. In comp., oc.
Ohuaga, hiterj. Oh ! alas !
Ohui. adj. Difficult, dangerous.
Ohuicaloyan, n. A difficult or dangerous place. XXII, 7.
Ohuican, n. A difficult or dangerous place.
Ome, adj. Two.
Omitl, n. A bone.
Ompa, adv. Where.
On, adv. A euphonic particle, sometimes indicating action at a
distance, at other times generalizing the action of the verb.
Oncan, adv. There, thither.
Onoc, V. To be lying down.
Oppa, adv. A second time, twice.
Oquichtli, 71. A male, a man.
Otli, n. Path, road, way.
Otomitl, ;/. An Otomi ; a military officer so called.
Otoncuicatl, «. An Otomi song. II, i.
Pachiui noyollo, v. I am content, satisfied. IX, 2.
Pacqui, v. To please, to delight.
Pactli, ;;. Pleasure, joy.
"PaX, posfpos. By, by means of.
Pampa, postpos. For, because.
Pan, postpos. Upon ; apan, upon the water.
Papalotl, 71. The butterfly.
Papaqui, v. To cause great joy.
Patiuhtli.w. Price, wages, reward.
Patlahuac, adj. Large, spacious.
Patlani, v. To fly.
\ VOCABULARY. IGl
Pehua, 7'. Pret., openh, to begin, to commence.
Pepetlaca, :-. To shine, to glitter.
Pepetlaquiltia, v. To cause to shine.
Petlacoatl, n. The scolopender, the centipede. XVII, 24.
Petlatl, >!. A mat, a rug (of reeds or flags) ; Jig., power, au-
tliority.
Petlatotlin, n. A rush suitable to make mats. XXI, 10.
Petlaua, v. To polish, to rub to brightness.
Peuhcayotl, n. Beginning, commencement.
Pilihui, V. To fasten to, to mingle with. XXL
Pilihuitl, «, Beloved child. XII, 3.
Pilli, n. Son, daughter, child. A noble, a chief, a ruler, a lord.
Tepilhuan, the children, the young people. Nopiltzin, my lord.
Piloa, V. To hang down, to suspend.
Piltihua, :-. To be a boy, to be young.
Pipixaui, v. To snow, to rain heavily.
Pixaui, V. To snow, to rain.
Pochotl, n. The ceiba tree; fig., protector, chief.
Poctli, ;/. Smoke, vapor, fog, mist.
Poloa, :•. To destroy ; to perish.
Popoloa, V. Freq. o{ poloa.
Popoyauhtiuh, v. To leave a glorious memory. XXI, 5.
Poxahua, v. To work the soil, to labor.
Poyaua, v. To color, to dye. XVII, 21.
Poyaui, :■. To become clear, to clear off.
Poyomatl, ;/. A flower like the rose. IV, 6.
Pozoni, V. To boil, to seethe ; fig., to be angry.
Qua, V. To eat.
Quahtla, n. Forest, woods.
Quahuitl, ;/. A tree ; a stick ; fig., chastisement.
Quaitl, n. Head, top, summit.
Qualani, v. To anger, to irritate.
Qualli, adj. Good, pleasant.
Quatlapana, v. To break one's head ; to suffer much.
Quauhtli, n. The eagle; a warrior so called ; bravery, distinc-
tion. I, 5.
Quemach, adv. Is it possible!
Quemmach amique, rcl. Those who are happy, the happy ones.
IX, 2.
Quenami, adv. As, the same as.
162 VOCABULARY.
Quenami can, adv. As there, the same as there, sometimes with
ofi euphonic inserted, queno7iami.
Quenin, adj. How, how much.
Quennel, adv. What is to be done ? What remedy ?
Quennonamican. See under quetiami.
Quequentia, v. To clothe, to attire.
Quetza, v. Nino, to rise up ; to unite with ; to aid ; nife, to lift up.
Quetzalli, ;/. A beautiful feather; Jig., something precious or
beautiful.
Quetzaltototl, n. A bird ; Trogon pavoninus.
Quexquich, pron. So many as, how much.
Qui, proH. rcl. He, her, it, they, them.
Quiauatl, ;/. Entrance, door. XVII, i8.
Quiauitl, ;/. Rain, a shower.
Quimiloa, y. To wrap up, to clothe, to shroud the dead. XI, 6.
Q\x\n,profi.rel. They, then.
Quiquinaca, :-. To groan, to buzz, etc.
Quiquizoa, v. To ring bells. IV, 3.
Quiza, V. To go forth, to emerge.
Quizqui, adj. Separated, divided.
Quiztiquiza, v. To go forth hastily. XXII.
Tapalcayoa, v. To be full of potsherds and broken bits. XV, 16.
Tatli, ;/. and v. See p. 19.
Te, pron. pers. 1. Thou. 2. Pron. rel. indef. Somebody.
Teahuiaca, adj. Pleasing, agreeable.
Teca, pron. Of some one ; te and ca.
Teca, V. To stretch out, to sleep ; to concern one's self with.
Moteca, they unite together.
Tech, posfpos. In, upon, from. Pron. Us.
Tecocolia, ;/. A hated person, an enemy.
Tecomapiloa, n. A musical instrument. See p. 23.
Tecpilli, ;/. Nobleman, lord.
Tecpillotl, n. The nobility ; noble bearing, courtesy.
T&hua-n, pron. i. We. 2. With some one.
Tehuatl,/);-t);/. Thou.
Teini, v. To break, to fracture.
Tel, conj. But, though.
Telchihua, :-. To detest, to hate, to curse.
Tema, :'. To place something somewhere.
Temachia, v. To have confidence in, to expect, to hope for.
i
VOCABULARY. 1G3
Temt, r-. To be filled, replete ; to be stretched out. XXVI, 4.
Temiqui, :•. To dream.
Temo, V. To descend, to let fall.
Temoa, v. To search, to seek.
Tenamitl, ;/. A town; the wall of a town.
Tenauac, posf. With some one, near some one.
Tenmati, :■. To be idle, negligent, unfortunate.
Tenquixtia, v. To speak forth, to pronounce, to declare.
Tenyotl, n. Fame, honor.
Teoatl, ;/. Divine water. See VI, 4, note.
Teocuitla, «. Gold, of gold.
Teohua, ;/. A priest. XVII, 19.
Teoquechol, «. A bird of beautiful plumage.
Teotl, II. God, divinity.
Teoxihuitl, ;/. 'Turquoise ; Jig., relation, ruler, parent.
Tepacca, adj. Causing joy, pleasurable.
Tepeitic, n. Narrow valley, glade, glen.
Tepetl, ;/. A mountain, a hill.
Tepeua, v. To spread abroad, to scatter, to conquer. XV, 3.
Teponaztli, n. A drum. See p. 22.
Tepopoloani, v. To slay, to slaughter.
Tequani, ;/. A wild beast, a savage person.
Tequi, :'. To cut.
Tetecuica, v. To make a loud noise, to thunder. XX, 7.
Tetl, 71. A stone, a rock. In comp., te.
Tetlamachti, ;/. That which enriches, glorifies, or pleases.
Tetlaquauac, rt(^'. Hard or strong as stone. Comp. of /f// and
ilaquauac.
Tetozcatemo, v. To let fall or throw forth notes of singing. I, 2.
Tetzilacatl, ;/. A copper gong. XVII, 21. See p. 24.
Teuctli, ;/., pi. tetenctin. A noble, a ruler, a lord; in teteudin,
the lords, the great ones.
Teucyotl, «. Nobility, lordship.
Teuh, postpos. Like, similar to.
Teuhyotl, n. Divinity, divineness.
Teyolquima, adj. Pleasing, odorous, sweet.
Teyotl, ;;. Fame, honor.
Ti, pron. i. thou ; tivio, ref. ; tic, act. 2. we ; tito, ref ; tic, act.
Tilani, v. To draw out.
Tilini, v. To crowd, to press. XVII, 19.
Timaloa, v. To glorify, to e.xalt, to praise.
164
VOCABULARY.
Timo, pron. ref. Thou thyself.
Tito, pron. ref. We ourselves.
Tizaitl, n. Chalk ; anything white ; an example or model.
Tizaoctli,;/. White wine. See VII, 2.
Tla, adv., for ititla, if; pron. ifidef., something, anything ; postpos.
in abundance.
Tlacace, interj. Expressing astonishment or admiration. XVII, 3.
Tlacaqui, v. To hear, to understand.
Tlacateuctli, w. A sovereign, a ruler. •
Tlacati, v. To be born.
Tlacatl, n. Creature, person.
TIacazo, adv. Truly, certainly.
Tlachia, v. To see, to look upon.
TIachihual, ;/. Creature, invention.
Tlachinolli, n. Battle, war ; from chinoa, to burn.
Tlacoa, v. To injure, to do evil, to sin.
Tlacochtli, «. The arrow.
Tlacocoa, v. To buy, to purchase. X, i.
Tlacohua, v. To buy, to purchase.
Tlacohua, v. To beat, to chastise.
Tlacotli, ;/. A servant, slave.
Tlacouia, v. To split, to splinter.
Tlacuiloa, v. To inscribe, to paint in, to write down.
TIaelehuiani, adj. Desirous of, anxious for.
Tlahuelli, ;/. Anger, ire.
TIahuica, w. Servant, page ; also, a native of the province of
Tlahuican. (See Index.)
TIailotlaqui, ;/. " Workers in filth ; " scum ; a term applied in
contempt. XIII, 8 ; XV, 12, 14. Also a proper name. (See
Ltd ex.)
Tlalaquia, v. To bury, to inter.
Tlalli, ;/. Earth, ground ; tlalticpac, on the earth.
Tlalnamiqui, v. To think of, to remember.
Tlalpiloni, n. An ornament for the head. VI, 4, from iipia.
Tlamachti, v. ref. To be rich, happy, prosperous.
TlamahuizoUi, ;/. Miracle, wonder.
Tlamatillolli,;/. Ointment; anything rubbed in the hands. XI, 9.
Tlamatqui, adj. Skillful, adroit.
Tlamattica, adj. Calm, tranquil.
Tlamelauhcayotl, w. A plain or direct song. II, i.
Tlami, v. To end, to finish, to come to an end.
VOCABULARY. 165
Tlamomoyaua, :-. To scatter, to destroy. XV, 21.
Tlan, posfpos. Near to, among, at.
Tlaneci, v. To dawn, to become day. Ye tlaneci, the day breaks.
Tlanehuia, v. Nicno. To revel, to indulge one's self in. XXI, 8.
Tlaneltoca, v. To believe in, to have faitli in.
Tlania, v. To recover one's self, to return within one's self.
Tlaniicza, v. To abase, to humble. IX, 3.
Tlantia, v. To terminate, to end.
Tlaocol, adj. Sad, melancholy, pitiful, merciful.
Tlaocolia, v. To be sad, etc.
Tlaocoltzatzia, v. To cry aloud with grief. I, 3.
TIapalhuia, v.,rel. To be brilliant or happy; act., to salute a
person ; to paint something.
Tlapalli, ;/.and at^'. Colored; dyed; red.
Tlapaloa, v. To salute, to greet.
Tlapanahuia, adj. Surpassing, superior, excellent ; used to form
superlatives.
Tlapani, v. To dye, to color. XVII, 10.
Tlapapalli, adj. Striped, in stripes.
Tlapatl, n. The castor-oil plant ; the phrase viixitl tlapatl means
stupor, intoxication. IX, 2.
Tlapepetlani, v. To sparkle, to shine forth.
Tlapitza, v. Yr.pitza, to play the flute. XVII, 26.
Tlaqualli, ;/. Food, eatables.
Tlaquauac, adj. Strong, hard.
Tlaquauh, adj. Strongly, forcibly.
Tlaquilla, adj. Stopped up, filled. XX, 4,
Tlaquilqui, n. One who plasters, a mason. XXI, i.
Tlatemmati, v. To suffer afflictions.
Tlatenehua, v. To promise.
Tlathui, V. To dawn, to become light.
Tlatia, v. i. To hide, to conceal ; 2. to burn, to set on fire.
Tlatlamantitica, adj. Divided, separated.
Tlatlatoa, v. To speak much or frequently. XVII, 11.
Tlatlauhtia, v. To pray. XVI, 3.
Tlatoani, n. Ruler, lord.
Tlatocayotl, ;/. The quality of governing or ruling.
Tlatolli, 71. Word, speech, order.
Tlatzihui, v. To neglect, to be negligent ; to be abandoned, to
lie fallow ; to leave, to withdraw.
Tlauantli, 71. Vase, cup. XXVI, 4.
166 VOCABULARY.
Tlauhquechol, n. A bird, the red heron, Platalea ajaja.
Tlauillotl, «. Clearness, hght. X, i.
Tlaxillotia, v. To arrange, sustain, support. IX, 4.
Tlaxixinia, v. To disperse, to destroy.
Tlayaua, v. To make an encircling figure in dancing.
TlayaualoUi, adj. Encircled, surrounded. XXI, 6.
Tlaylotlaqui, ;/. See XIII, 8.
Tlayocolia, v. To make, to form, to invent. XIV.
Tlayocoyalli, n. Creature, invention.
Tlaza, V. To throw away ; fig., to reject, to despise.
Tlazotla, v. To love, to like.
Tie, pro?i. int. and rel. What ? That.
Tleahua, ^^ To set on fire, to fire.
Tlein, pron., int. and I'el. What ? That.
Tleinmach, adv. Why ? For what reason ?
Tlenamactli, ;/. Incense burned to the gods. Ill, i.
Tlepetztic, a(7)'. Shining like fire, //^//./^/^-//c XV, 26.
Tletl, n. Fire.
Tleymach, adv. Why ? Wherefore ?
Tleyotl, n. Fame, honor.
Tlezannen, adv. To what good ? Cui bono ?
Tliliuhqui, adj. Black, brown.
Tliliui, V. To blacken, to paint black. XII, 6.
Tloc, postpos. With, near to.
Tloque nahuaque, ;/. A name of divinity. See I, 6, note.
To, proH. posses. Our, ours.
Toca, V. To follow.
Toci, n. " Our ancestress," a divinity so called.
Toco, V. Impers. of toca.
Tohuan, pron. With us.
Tolinia, v. To be poor, to be unfortunate.
Tolquatectitlan, ti. The place where the head is bowed for lus-
tration. Ill, I.
Toma, V. To loosen, to untie, to open. XVII, 3.
Tomahuac, adj. Great, heavy, large.
Tonacati, v. To be prosperous or fertile.
Tonacatlalli, ;/. Rich or fertile land.
Tonameyo, adj. Shining like the sun, glittering.
Tonameyotl, n. Ray of the sun, light, brilliancy.
Tonatiuh, n. The sun.
Toneua, v. To suffer pain ; nitc, to infiict pain.
VOCABULARY. 1G7
Toquichpohuan, n. Our equals. I, 3.
Tototl, ;/. A bird, generic term.
Tozmilini, adj. Sweet voiced. XXI, 3.
Toznenetl, ;/. A parrot, Psittaais signaius.
Tozquitl, //. The singing voice, p. 21.
Tzalan, postpos. Among, amid.
Tzatzia, v. To shout, to cry aloud.
Tzauhqui, v. To spin. XVII, 22.
Tzetzehui, v. To rain, to snow ; fig., to pour down.
Tzihuac, ;/. A species of bush. XV, i.
Tzimiquiliztli, n. Slaughter, death. XVI, 5.
Tzinitzcan, ;/. A bird, Trogon Mexicanus.
Tzitzilini, ;/. A bell.
Tzotzona, v. To strike the drum.
Uallauh, :'. To come. See huallaiih.
Uitz, V. To come.
Ulli, ;/. Caoutchouc. See p. 22.
Xahua, v. To paint one's self, to array one's self in the ancient
manner. XXIV, i.
Xamani, v. To break, to crack.
Xaxamatza, v. To cut in pieces, to break into bits.
Xayacatl, ;/. Face, mask.
Xelihui, v. To divide, to distribute.
Xexeloa, v. To divide, to distribute.
Xilotl, ;/. Ear of green corn.
Xiloxochitl, ;/. The flower of maize. XVII, 10.
Ximoayan, ;/. A place of departed souls. See I, 8.
Ximohuayan, n. Place of departed spirits. VIII, i.
Xiuhtototl, n. A bird, Guiaca cerulea.
Xiuitl, ;/. A leaf, plant ; year ; anything green.
Xochicalli, n. A house for flowers, or adorned witli tliem.
Xochimecatl, ;/. A rope or garland of flowers.
Xochimicohuayan, n. See XVI, 3, note.
Xochitecatl, ;/. See XXV, 7, note.
Xochitl, //. A flower, a rose.
Xochiyaotl, 71. Flower-war. See XVI, 4, note.
Xocomiqui, v. To intoxicate, to become drunk.
Xocoya, v. To grow sour. XIII, 4.
Xopaleuac, ;/. Something very green.
168 VOCABULARY.
Xopan, «. The springtime.
Xotla, V. To blossom, to flower; to warm, to inflame; to cue,
to scratch, to saw.
Xoxoctic, adj. Green ; blue. XVI, 6.
Xoyacaltitlan, «. The house or place of decay. Ill, i.
Y. Abbrev. for ihuafi, and in, q. v.
Ya, adv. Already, thus; same as ye; v., to suit, to fit. Part.
euphonic or expletive. See note to XVII, 3.
Y&n, postpos. Suftix signifying place.
Yancuic, adj. New, fresh, recent.
Yancuican, adv. Newly, recently.
Yaotl, n. War, battle.
Yaoyotl, ;/. Warfare.
Yaqui, adj. Departed, gone, left for a place.
Yauh, v., irreg. To go.
Ye, adv. Already, thus ; ye no ceppa, a second time ; ye ic,
already, it is already.
'^Q,pron. He, those, etc.
Ye, adj. num. Three.
Yece, adv. But.
Yecen, adv. Finally, at last.
Yecnemi, v. To live righteously.
Yecoa, v. To do, to finish, to conclude.
Yectenehua, v. To bless, to speak well of.
Yectli, adj. Good, worthy, noble.
Yehuatl, />;-£»«. He, she, it. YX.yehuan, yehuaiitin.
Yehuia, v. To beg, to ask charity.
Yeppa yuhqui. Formerly, it was there. VII, 2.
Yhuintia. See ifminti.
Yocatl, n. Goods, possessions ; noyocauh, my property. XV, 26.
Yocaua, n. Master, possessor, owner.
Yocolia, v. To form, to make.
Yocoya, c'. To make, to invent, to create.
Yohuatli, n. Night, darkness.
Yolahuia, v. To rejoice greatly.
Yolciahuia, v. To please one's self, to make glad.
Yolcuecuechoa, v. To make tiie heart tremble. IV, 6.
Yolehua, v. To excite, to animate.
Yolihuayan, ;/. A place of living. Ill, 5.
Yollo, adj. Adroit, skillful ; also for iyollo, his heart.
VOCABULARY. 1G9
YoUotl, V. Heart, mind, soul.
Yolnonotza, v. See note to I, i.
Yolpoxahua, v. To toil mentally.
Yuhqui, adv. As, like.
Yuhquimati, v. To understand, to realize.
Zacatl, n. Herbage, straw, hay. XXI, 5.
Zacuan, n. Feather of the zacuan bird ; fig., yellow ; prized.
Zacuan tototl, n. The zacuan bird, Oriolus dotninicensis.
Zan, adv. Only, but; zan ciiel, in a short time ; zaneti, perhaps ;
Zan lien, in vain.
Zancuel achic, adv. A moment, an instant ; often ; za7i ye, but
again, but quickly.
Za.nio, pro n. I alone, he or it alone.
Zoa, V. To pierce ; to spread out ; to open ; to sew ; to string
together; to put in order.
Zolin tototl, n. The quail.
Zoma, V. To become angry.
Zomale, adj. For comalli, vase, cup, XXVI, 4.
L
INDEX
OF NAHUATL PROPER NAMES, WITH EXPLANATIONS.
AcALLAN, 105. "The place of
boats," from acalli, boat. An
ancient province at the mouth
of the Usumacinta river; but
the name was probably ap-
plied to other localities also.
AcATLAPAN, 41. A village
southeast of Chalco. From
acatia, a place of reeds, and
pan, in or at.
ACHALCHIUHTLANEXTIN, 46.
The first chief of the Toltecs ;
another form of chalchiiihto-
nac Both names mean "the
gleam of the precious jade."
Compare Torque mada, Mo7i-
arquia Indiana. Lib. III.,
cap. 7 ; Orozco y Berra, Hisl.
Antigua de Mexico, To\\\. III.,
p. 42. The date of the begin-
ning of his reign is put at a-d.
667 or 700.
Acolhuacan, 40, 91, 119. A
compound of atl, water, and
colhuacan, (q-v.) ="Colhua-
can by the water," the name
of the state of which Tetzcu-
co was the capital, in the val-
ley of Mexico.
AcoLMizTLAN,89, from
AcoLMiZTLi, 35. A name of
Nezahualcoyotl (see p. 35),
also of other warriors.
Anahuac, 125. From a//, water,
nahnac, by, = the land by the
water. The term was ap-
plied first to the land by the
lakes in the Valley of iMe.xico,
and later to that along both
the Gulf of Mexico and the
Pacific Ocean.
Atecpan, 77. " The royal resi-
dence by the water " {all, lec-
pan). I do not find this
locality mentioned else-
where.
Atlixco, 125. "Where the
water shows its face " {all,
ixlli, CO). A locality south-
east of Tezcuco, near the
lake, so called from a large
spring. See Motolinia, His-
toria de los Indios, Trat. Ill,
cap. 18.
Atloyantepetl, 85, 89, 91.
Perhaps iox allauanlepetl , "the
mountain that rules the
waters " But see note to
xiii, V. 6.
Atzalan, 114. "Amid the
waters " {all, Izalan). Per-
haps not a proper name; but
two villages in the present
State of Puebla are called
Atzala (see Orozco y Berra,
Ceografia de las Lenguas de
Mexico, pp. 212, 213).
AxAXACATZiN, 43. Probably
for axayacalzin, reverential of
axayacatl, the name of a
species of marsh fly. It was
also the name of the sixth
ruler of Mexico (flor. about
1500), and doubtless of other
distinguished persons. See
Ixtlilxochitl, Hisloria Chichi-
ineca,cap. 51.
AzcAPOTZALCo, 50, 51. An an-
cient town in the valley of
Mexico, once the capital city
of the Tepanecas (q. v.). The
word means " place of the
ant-hills," from azcapulzalli.
Aztecs, 25. A Nahuatl tribe
who derived their name from
their mythical ancient home,
Aztlan. The derivation is
obscure, but probably is from
171
172
INDEX.
the same radical as iztac,
white, and, therefore, Father
Duran was right in transla-
ting Aztlan, "place of white-
ness," the reference being to
the East, whence the Aztecs
claim to have come. See
Duran, Historia de las Indias,
cap. II.
Cacamatl, 94, 95. The refer-
• ence appears to be to Caca-
niatzin (the Noble Sad One,
from cacamaua, fig. to be
sad), last ruler of Tezcuco,
son and successor, in 1516, of
Nezahualpilli. He was put
to death by Cortes.
Catocih, 89. A doubtful word,
which may not be a proper
name.
Chalco, 16, 69, 95. A town
and lake in the valley of
Mexico. The people were
Nahuas and subject to Mexi-
co. The word is probably
derived from Challi, with the
postpos. CO, meaning " at the
mouth" (of a river). See
Buschmann, Ueber die Az-
tekische7i Orlsnatnen, s. 689,
and comp. Codex Ramirez,
p. 18.
Chiapa, Chiapaneca, 70, 71.
The province and inhabitants
of Chiapas, in Southern Mex-
ico. There were colonies of
Nahuas in Chiapas, though
most of the natives spoke
other tongues. The deriva-
tion is probably from chia, a
mucilaginous seed highly es-
teemed in Mexico.
Chichimecatl or Chichi -
MEGS, 88, 89, 91, loi. A rude
hunting tribe, speaking Nah-
uatl, who settled, in early
times, in the valley of Mexi-
co. The name was said to
be derived from chichi, a
dog, on account of their de-
votion to hunting [Cod. Ra-
mirez). Others say it was
that of their first chieftain.
Chicomoztoc, 88, 89. " At the
seven caves," the name of the
mythical locality from which
the seven Nahuatl tribes de-
rived their origin. The Co-
dex Ramirez explains the
seven caves to mean the
seven houses or lineages
(totems) of which the nation
consisted.
Chililitli, 36. Name of a tow-
er of sacred import. It is
apparently a compound of
chia or chielia, to watch, and
tlilli, blackness, obscurity,
hence " a night w-atch-tow-
er." It was probably used
for the study of the sky at
night.
Chimalpopoca, 43. " The
smoking shield," from chi-
nialli, shield, andpopoca. The
name of several distinguished
warriors and rulers in an-
cient Mexico.
Cholula or Cholollan, 105.
Name of a celebrated ancient
state and city. From choloa,
with the probable meaning,
'' place of refuge," " place of
the fugitives."
CiHUAPAN, 41. Name of a war-
rior, otherwise unknown.
From cihuatl, woman, pan,
among, with.
CoATZiTEUCTLi, 89. A name
compound of coatzin, rever-
ential form of coatl, serpent,
and teucili, lord.
CoLHUA. A people of Nahuatl
affinity, who dwelt in ancient
times in the valley of Mexico.
See Colhuacan.
CoLHUACAN, 88, 89, 91. A town
in the valley of Mexico. In
spite of the arguments to the
contrary, I believe the C0I-.
hua were of Nahuatl lineage,
INDEX.
173
and that the name is derived
from colli, ancestor ; colhua-
can, the residence of the an-
cestors ; with this significa-
tion, it was apphed to many
locahties. It must be distin-
guished from Acolhuacan. Its
ikonomatic symbol was a hill
bent over at the top, from
coloa, to bend.
CoLZ.\ZTLi, 39. Probably for
Coltzatztli, one who cries out
or calls to the ancestors {colli,
tzatzia). A chief whom I
have not found elsewhere
mentioned.
CoNAHUATZiN, 41. A warrior
not elsewhere mentioned.
By derivation it means
"noble son of the lord of the
water" {conetl, ahua, tzin).
CuETZPALTZiN, 89. A proper
name, from cuetzpalli, the
4th day of the month.
CuEXTLA, 33. A province of
ancient Mexico. See Tor-
quemada, Monarqiiia Indi-
ana. Lib. II, caps. 53, 56.
CuLTEPEC, 42. A village five
leagues from Tezcuco, at the
foot of the mountains. De-
riv., colli, ancestor, tepetl,
mountain or town, with post-
pos. c; " at the town of the
ancestors."
HUETLALPAN Or HUETLAPAL-
LAN, 89. The original seat
of the mythical Toltecs. The
name is a compound of hue,
old, and Tlapallan, q. v.
HuEXOTZiNCO, 50, 83, 91, 99,
113. An independent State
of ancient Anahuac, south of
Tlascala and west of Cholula.
The name means " at the
little willow woods," being a
diminutive from hiiexatla,
place of willows.
HuiTLALOTZiN, 89. From hu-
iilalloil, a species of bird,
with the reverential termina-
tion. Name of a warrior.
HuiTziLAPOCHTLi, 16. Tribal
god of the Me.xirans of Te-
nochtitlan. The name is usu-
ally derived from hititzitzi-
lin, humming bird, and
opochili, left {Cod. Ramirez,
p. 22), but more correctly from
huitztli, the south, iloa, to
turn, opochtli, the left hand,
" the left hand turned toward
the south," as this god di-
rected the wanderings of the
Mexicans southward. The
humming bird was used as
the "ikonomatic" symbol of
the name.
HuiTZiLiHuiTL, 89. "Hum-
ming-bird feather." Name of
an ancient ruler of Mexico,
and of other warriors.
HuiTZNAHCACATL, 91. A ruler
of Huexotlan (Clavigero); a
member of the Huitznahua,
residents of the quarters so
called in Tezcuco and Te-
nochtitlan ( Ixtlilxochi tl ,
Hist. Chichimeca, cap. 38).
IXTLILXOCHITL, 35, 46, 89. A
ruler of Acolhuacan, father
of Nezahualcoyotl. Comp.
ixtli, face, tlilxochitl, tlie
vanilla (literally, the black
flower).
IzTACCOYOTL, 89, 93. "The
white wolf." Name of a war-
rior otherwise unknown.
Mexicans, 67, 83, 85, 87, 123,
125. See
Mexico, 83, 123. Name of the
town and state otherwise
called Tenochtitlan. Mcxitl
was one of the names of the
national god Huitzilopochtli,
and Mexico means " the place
of Mexitl," indicating that the
174
INDEX.
city was originally called
from a fane of the god.
MiCTLAN, 95, 117, 119. The
Mexican Hades, literally," the
place of the dead."
Montezuma, 14, 41, 113. The
name of the ruler of Mexico
on the arrival of Cortes. The
proper form is Moteiihzoinat-
zin or Moiecuhzonatzin, and
the meaning, " he who is
angry in a noble manner."
(" sefior safiudo," Cod. Ram-
irez, p. 72 ; "qui se fache en
seigneur," Simeon, Diet, de
la Langue Nahuat/, s. v.).
MoQCiHuix, 33. The fourth
ruler of Tlatilolco. He as-
sumed the power in 1441, ac-
cording to some writers
(Rustamente, Tezcoco, en /os
Ultinios Tiempos de sus An-
tigiios Reyes, p. 269). Tiie
name probably means " He
who comes forth a freeman."
See Ixtlilxochitl, Historia
Chichinieca, caps. 36, 51.
Nacxitl Topiltzin, 105, 107.
NacxitI, "the four footed"
{nahui, ixitl), was the name
of one of the gods of the
merchants (Saiiagun, Hist,
de Niieva Espana, Lib. I, c.
19). In the song it is applied
to Quetzalcoatl, who was also
regarded as a guardian of
merchants.
Nahuatl (9, etc.). A term ap-
plied to the language other-
wise known as Aztec or
Mexican. As an adjective it
means " well-sounding," or,
pleasant to the ear. From
this, the term Nahua is used
collectively for all tribes who
spoke the Nahuatl tongue.
A'a/iuatt also means clever,
skillful, and the derivation is
probably from the root na, to
know.
Necaxecmitl, 46. Name of
uncertain meaning of a per-
son otherwise unknown.
Nezahualcoyotl, 35, 67, 119.
Chief of the Acolhuas, and
ruler in Tezcuco from 1427
to 1472, or thereabouts. He
was a distinguished patron
of the arts and a celebrated
poet. See p. 35, et seq.
Nezahualpilli, or Nezahu-
alpizintli, 14, 125. Ruler
of Acolhuacan, son of Neza-
hualcoyotl. His accession is
dated in 1470 or 1472.
NoNOHU.ALCo, 105, 125. Name
of one of the quarters of the
ancient city of Mexico ; also
of a mountain west of the
valley of Mexico. The deri-
vation is probably from orioe,
to lie down ; onohua, to sleep ;
onohuayan, a settled spot, an
inhabited place. The co is a
postposition.
Nopal or Nopaltzin, 46.
Ruler of Acolhuacan, a. d.
1260-1263, according to some
chronologies. The name is
from iwpalli, the cactus or
opuntia.
NopiLTZiN, 67, 91. "My son,"
or " my lord," a term of def-
erence applied to superiors,
from pilli, which means son
and also lord, like the old
English child. Cf. Topiltzin.
Otomis, 16, 49, 58, 64, 71, 95.
A nation which inhabited a
portion of the valley of Mex-
ico and region adjacent, en-
tirely dissimilar in language
and appearance from the
Nahuas. The etymologies
suggested are unsatisfactory.
Popocatepetl, 46. "The
smoking mountain," the
name of a famous volcano
INDEX.
175
rising from the valley of Mex-
ico.
POYAl'HTECATL, I05. A Volca-
no near Orizaba (Sahagun.
Hist, de Nueva Espana, Lib.
I, cap. 21). Derived from
poyaiia, to color, to brighten.
QUANTZINTECOMATZIN, 4I. A
warrior not otherwise known.
The name is a double rever-
ential, from quani, eater, and
teconiati, vase, " The noble
eater from the royal dish."
QVAUHQUECHOLLAN, 95. A
village and plain near the
southern base of Popocate-
petl. It means "the place of
the quechol woods," or the
trees among which quechol
birds are found. See Moto-
linia, Historia de los Indios,
Trat. Ill, cap. 18.
QuAUHxiLOTL, 89. Name of a
large tree, and applied to a
warrior, ruler of Iztapallocan,
whom Ixtlilxochitl, King of
Tezcuco, placed at the head
of his troops in his war with
Tezozomoc. See Clavigero,
Storia Antica di Messico,
Tom. I, p. 185.
QUETZALCOATL, 32, I43, 144.
See note on p. 143.
QuETZALMAMATZiN, 91. Name
of a warrior, "the noble one
of the beautiful hands" {qtiet-
za/li, 7na>na, pi. of niaitl, and
rev. term. tzm). Perhaps the
same as Quetzalmemalitzin,
ruler of Teotihuacan, men-
tioned by Ixtlilxochitl, His-
toria Chichnneca, cap. 35.
QuiAVHTZiN, 93. Name of a
warrior, "The noble rain"
[quiatiitl, tzin).
Tenochtitlan, 85. The cur-
rent name for the City of
Mexico; literally, "at the
stone-nopal," from tetl, stone,
nochtli, nopal, and postpos.,
tlatt. The term refers to an
ancient tradition.
Tepanecas or Tecpanecas,
35. A powerful nation of
Nahuatl lineage, who dwelt
in the valley of Mexico. They
were destroyed in 1425 by the
Acolhuas and Mexicans, and
later the state of Tiacopan
was formed from their rem-
nants. Comp. probably from
iecpan,a. royal residence, with
the gentile termination.
Tepeyacac, Tepevacan, 93.
From tepef/, mountain, j-arrt/"/,
nose, point, and postpos , c.
I. A small mountain on
which the celebrated church
of the Virgin of Guadalupe
now stands. 2. A large town
and state subject to ancient
Mexico, now Tepeaca in the
province of Puebla.
Tetlapan Quetzanitzin, 68,
69. A ruler of Tlatilolco, con-
temporary of the conquest.
See Note to Song VI. '
Tetzcoco, now Tezcuco, 14,
35, 36, 77- Capital city of
Acolhuacan, and residence
of Nezahualcoyotl. It has
been called "the Athens of
Anahuac." The derivation
of the name is from a plant
called tetzcuUi {Cod. Rami-
rez).
Tezozomoc, Tezozomoctli,
35. 39. 67, 88, 89. A ruler of
the Tepanecas, celebrated for
his warlike skill and severity.
His death is placed in the
year 1427. The name, like
Montezuma, is derived from
zonia, to be angry, in this
case from the reduplicated
frequentative form, zozoma.
TizATLAN, 103. "The place of
white varnish" {tizail), the
name of one of the four quar-
ters of the city ofTlascala.
176
INDEX.
Tlacomihuatzin, 93. "The
noble cousin of the lynx"
{t/aconiizt/i, lynx, hitan, post-
pos., denoting affinity, tzin,
reverential). The name of
a warrior.
Tlacopan, now Tacuba, 135.
A small state west of Mexi-
co and subject to it, built up
on the ruins of the ancient
Tepanecas. Comp. from tla-
cotli, a slave.
Tlahuican, 118. A Nahuatl
province south of the valley
of Mexico, so called from the
cinnabar, tlahtdtl, there ob-
tained (Buscimiann ; but the
Cod. Ramirez gives the
meaning" toward the earth,"
from tlalli and hide).
Tlailotlacan, 140. One of
the seven divisions of the
city of Tezcuco (Ixtlilxochitl,
Hist. Chichiyneca, cap. 38).
Tlailotl.^qui, 84. Literally,
"workers in refuse," or
"scavengers." Said by M.
Aubin to have been a tribe
who settled in Tezcuco in
the reign of Quinantzin. The
term is apparently one of
contempt.
Tlalman.\lco, 42. A village
near the foot of the volcano
Pojjocatei^etl. Derived from
tlahnanalli, level ground,
witii postpos. CO.
Tlalnahuacatl, 89. "Dweller
on the land;" name of a
warrior.
Tlaloc, 45. God of rain and
the waters ; a famous divinity
among the ancient Mexicans.
The word means " stretched
on the earth," and the idol of
the god represented a man
extended on his back holding
a vase.
Tlapallan, 105. A mythical
land from which the Toltecs
were fabled to have come
and to which Quetzalcoatl
returned. The derivation is
from tlapalli, color, especially
red.
Tlatetolco, Tlatilulco, 33,
83, 85. A suburb of the an-
cient city of Mexico, founded
in 1338; from t late Hi, a
mound, ololoa, to make
round, the sense being " an
island." See Motolinia, His-
toria de los hidios, Trat. Ill,
cap. 7.
Tlaxcallan, now Tlascala,
89, 93, 103. " The place of
bread," from tlaxcalli, bread.
Site of a warlike tribe of Na-
huatl descent, east of the
valley of Mexico.
Tlatzin, 46. Chief of a town
of the Chichimecs, situated
on Lake Chalco. He flour-
ished toward the close of the
14th century. From tlatli, a
falcon.
ToCHiN, 89. From tochtli,
rabbit ; name of the brother
of the Tezcucan ruler Quin-
antzin, and of many other
personages.
TOLLAN, or TULAN, 46, I05,
107. The ancient mythical
capital of the Toltecs. The
common derivation from to-
lin, a rush, is erroneous.
The name is a syncopated
form of to?iatlan, " the place
of the sun."
ToLTEC, properly Toltecatl,
46, III. An inhabitant of
Tollan. The Toltecs were a
mythical people, whose civil-
ization was supposed to have
preceded tiiat of the Aztecs.
TopiLTZiN, 46, 105. " Our son"
or " Our lord " (see Nopil-
tzin). The term was espe-
cially applied to Quetzal-
coatl, q. V. See Orozco y
Berra, Hist.Antig. de Mexico,
Tom. Ill, p. 54.
INDEX.
177
ToTOQUiLHUATLi, 41. From to-
toquilia, to act as agent or
lieutenant. Ruler of Tlaco-
pan. The verse of the song
in which this name occurs is
given in the original Nahuatl
by Ixtlilxociiitl, who says it
was very popular throughout
New Spain. See his Hisioria
Chichiineca, cap. 32.
XiCALANCO, 107. A locality
on the borders of the prov-
ince Tabasco. The people
spoke Nahuatl. Deriv. xi-
calli, gourd or jar, and post-
pOS. CO.
XlCOMATZINTLAMATA, 34.
Name of a warrior not other-
wise known. The compound
seems to mean "skillful with
angry hand " [xicoa, maitl,
tiaynati).
XicoNTECATL, 103. Name of
several distinguished Tlas-
calan warriors, lords of Tiz-
atlan. See Clavigero, Hist.
Aiitica di 3Iessico, Tom. Ill,
pp. 38 and 40, One was a
favorite of Nezahualcoyotl.
See Ixtlilxochitl, Hisioria
Chichimeca, cap. 40.
XlUHTEUCTLI, 15. The god of
fire, literally," the lord of ihe
year," or "of the foliage."
XiUHTZAL, 46. A queen of an-
cient Tollan, said by Clavi-
gero to have ruled from A.
D. 979 to 984. Other writers
give tlie name more correctly
Xiuhtlaltziji, "Lady of the
Green Fields," and place her
death in 987. (Orozco y
Berra, Hist. Antig. de Mex-
ico, Tom. Ill, p. 45.)
XoLOTL, 46. An early if not
the first king of the Chichi-
mecs. His death occurred
in 1232.
YoHUALLATONOC, 89. "Shining
at night." Name of a war-
rior.
Yopico, 22. A division of the
ancient city of IMexico, con-
taining a temple of this name.
The word means "the place
of the tearing out of hearts"
{jo//to/,pi, co), from the form
of sacrifice there carried out.
YovoNTZiN, 35, 40, 66, 67. A
name of Nezahualcoyotl.
See p. 35.
LIBRARY
oi-
Aboriginal American Literature,
Edited and Published by
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3
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Rapport Annuel sur les Recompenses et Encouragements, Paris, 1S85.
The following list of the numbers of the library already issued
will acquaint the reader with the character of each. All are printed
in uniform style, on heavy laid paper, of the best quality, and are
bound in cloth only. Each work can be had separately for the
price affixed.
No. I. THE CHRONICLES OF THE MAYAS.
Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 279 pages. Cloth, uncut, $5.00. ($3.00
when a complete set Is ordered).
This volume contains five brief chronicles in the Maya language
of Yucatan, written shortly after the conquest, and carrying the
history of that people back many centuries. To these is added a
history of the Conquest, written in his native tongue, by a Maya
Chief, in 1562. The texts are preceded by an introduction on the
history of the Mayas; their language, calendar, numerical system,
etc.; and a vocabulary is added at the close.
" Dr. Brinton's work upon the history of the M.iyas of Yucatan, is a most import.int
contribution to the literature of American antiquities. Comparative linguists, as well as
archaiologists, will find a new and very interesting subject of study in these remains." —
The {London) Saturday Review.
" Jede Chronik wird im Originaltext, in englischer Uebersetzung und mit erkliirenden
Noten mitgetheilt. Diese Chroniken setzen mis in den Stand, die Geschichte des Maya-
Stammcs eine geraume Zeit hinter die Epoche der Eroberung des Landes durch die
Spanier zuriick zu verfolgen." — Prof. Friedrich Miiller in the Mitt, der Wiener
Anthrop. Cesell.
4
" The author treats in a learned introduction of the name Maya, of the linguistic
family designated by this word, of the origin of the tribe so-called, of their hieroglyphic
books, and of the modern monuments of their literature. * * • The capital piece in
the volume is the chronicle of Chicxulub, written by Nakuk Pcch, in 1562. Here we
have to do with an instructed and intelligent man, a Cacique deeply concerned in the
great events of which his country was the theatre on the arrival of the Spaniards, who
relates facts of which he was an eye witness. * * * In publishing these chronicles,
and this interesting record of a native chieftain, the editor has rendered an important
service to history." — Revue d'Ethnographie, 1SS4.
No. II. THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.
Edited by HORATIO HALE. 222 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.
This work contains, in the Mohawk and Onondaga Languages,
the speeches, songs and rituals with which a deceased chief was
lamented and his successor installed in office. It may be said to
throw a distinct light on the authentic history of Northern America
to a date fifty years earlier than the era of Columbus. The Intro-
duction treats of the ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois.
A map, notes and a glossary complete the work.
" Mr. Hale's book is likely to make an epoch in North American Indian historj',
giving, as it does, a. clearer insight than we have had before into the political constitu-
tion and fortunes, and the personal character of the famous ' Six Nations,' who played
so prominent a part in the land before and during the Revolutionary War." — American
Journal 0/ Philology. Vol. V.
" This work may be said to open a field of Indian research new to ethnologists. * *
These precious relics of antiquity are concise in their wording, and full of meaning.
* * * The additions made by Mr. Hale are almost as valuable as the text them-
selves."— The Nation, New York, September 13, 1883.
" The reputation of the author added to this fascinating title, will insure its favorable
reception, not only by ethnologists, but also, the reading public. * * * A remarkable
discovery, and indisputably of great ethnological value. * * * A book which is as
suggestive as this must bear good Uu\t."—Scieitce, August 31, 1883.
" The book is one of great ethnological value, in the light it casts on the political and
social life, as well as the character and capacity, of the people with whom it originated."
— Popular Science Monthly, November, 1883.
" It is full of instructive hints, particularly as bearing on the state of so-called sav.ages
before they are brought in contact with so-called civilized men. Such evidence is, from
the nature of the case, very difficult to obtain, and therefore all the more valuable."—
Prof. F. Max MuUer.
" It is a philosophical and masterly treatise on the Iroquois league and the cognate
tribes, their relations, language, mental characteristics and polity, such as we have never
had of any nation of this Continent." — Dr. J. Gilmary Shea.
5
No. III. THE COMEDY-BALLET OF GUEGUENCE.
Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 146 pages. Cloth, uncut, $2.50.
A curious and unique specimen of the native comic dances,
with dialogues, called bailes, formerly common in Central America.
It is in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish jargon of Nicaragua, and
shows distinctive features of native authorship. The introduction
treats of the ethnology of Nicaragua, and the local dialects, musi-
cal instruments, and dramatic representations. A map and a
number of illustrations are added.
" Critics and Scholars are bound to recognize the value of this curious book." — The
{^London) Saturday Re^'iew.
" We have here a work of careful research. Nothing seems to be lacking which the
interests of this new field of study demand." — The Boston Universalist Quarterly.
" The GiiegUence is the only specimen now known of the native American comedy.
The character of the principal figure is a marked type of that peculiar kind of humor
preferred by the native mind. This original production, with its valuable notes, should
attract attention and awake an intelligent interest." — The Universalist Quarterly,
18S4.
No. IV. A MIGRATION LEGEND of the CREEK INDIANS.
By A. S. 6ATSCHET. 251 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.
This learned work offers a complete survey of the ethnology of
the native tribes of the Gulf States. The strange myth or legend
told to Gov. Oglethorpe, in 1732, by the Creeks, is given in the
original, with an Introduction and Commentary.
" Mr. Gatschet's book is devoted to the early history and traditions of the tribes that
inhabited the watershed of the north shore of the Gulf of JMexico.-especially the Maskoki
family, the most important member of which was the Creek Nation. The first part
treats of tlie ethnic and linguistic groups of this region, the second part of the Kasi'hta
form of the migration-legend. A second volume is to give the Hitchiti version, the
notes .and vocabulary. Mr. G.atschet has put into convenient shape a good deal of infor-
mation respecting these tribes, and seems to have proceeded cautiously in the use of his
authorities. He leaves undecided the question whether the Creeks crossed the Missis-
sippi going eastward in their migration. His remarks on the mytholog}', though brief,
are judicious. The linguistic remarks also are brief. The author thinks that the
parent Maskoki language cannot now be reconstructed ; at most a comparative grammar
of the existing dialects might be written, and he points out what these dialects have in
common, so far as can be m.ide out from published accounts." — American Journal 0/
Philology.
6
No. V. THE LENAPE AND THEIR LEGENDS.
By Dr. DANIEL G. BRINTON. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.
Contains the complete text and symbols, 184 in number, of the
Walam Olum or Red Score of the Delaware Indians, with the
full original text, and a new translation, notes and vocabulary,
A lengthy introduction treats of the Lenapc or Delawares, their
history, customs, myths, language, etc., with numerous references
to other tribes of the great Algonkin stock.
" The editor, as might be expected from his well-known attainments, has illuminated
this Indian narrative with a great wealth of illustration, historical, ethnological, and lin-
guistic, set forth in a clear and attractive style. The recent history of the Delawares,
their religious belief, their customs and language, are carefully explained, so far as is
necessary for an understanding of the original work. .Altogether, the volume may be
fairly said to form one of the most important and interesting contributions to American
archaeology and ethnology that have appeared for many years. "^ — The {Neiv York)
Critic.
" Dr. Brinton's wide reading and industrious research enable him to present us with
useful materials, among which, if employed with due caution, the ' Walam Olum ' must
certainly be reckoned. The historical introductions are also valuable, especially as early
Americana, copiously quoted here, are very scarce, and so expensive as often to be out
of the reach of the student." — The London Saturday Re^'iew.
"Dr. D. G. Brinton's latest contribution (No. V) to the Library of Aboriginal
American Literature is not less valuable than its predecessors. It gives many legends
of the Lenapes and redeems from oblivion an aboriginal chronicle which has long been
looked upon askance by Americanists and denounced, by not a few, as a forgery of the
eccentric Raiinesque." * * * The Kansas City Review, l8SS-
No. VI. THE ANNALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.
Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 234 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.
The original text, written about 1562, by a member of the reign-
ing family, with a translation, introduction, notes and vocabulary.
This may be considered one of the most important historical
documents relating to the pre-Columbian period.
" Dr. Brinton's volume is one of those complete and satisfying treatises, marked by
careful research, clear exposition, and judicious comment, to which he has accustomed
his readers. The translation bears every mark of painstaking fidelity ; and the intro-
d ..ction, notes and vocabulary supply all the aids that a student will need. It is to be
hoped that the present work will be followed by the Popol Vuh of the Quiches— that
remarkable record to which Brasseur's fanciful interpretations gave special notoriety,
and which, uiuier Dr. Brinton's recension, will assume its proper place and permanent
value." — The (New York Critic.
7
Dr. Brinton has added another interesting book to his editions of American texts.
The Cakchiquels occupied a ponion of the area of the present State of Guatemala. The
annals here published are from the pen of one of their own authors, a member of a dis-
tinguished family. He describes the early history of his people and the arrival of the
Castilians, with the events that followed their conquest. These are not very remarkable,
but they serve to give a picture of the times.
The editor has prefixed an index in which he discusses the ethnological position of the
Cakchiquels; their culture; their capital city; computation of time; personal and
family names ; tribal subdivisions ; terms of affinity and salutations ; titles and social
castes ; religious notions and language. The people, like the Mayas and Aztecs, were
agriculturists and builders. They had the art of picture-writing, but the editor leaves it
undecided whether their system was derived from that of the Mexicans or that of the
Mayas. Their literature consisted of poems and dramas. The form of government was a
limited monarchy, the regal power being divided between two families, to one of which
belonged the author of the Annals. — TVjtr American Journal of Philology.
No. VII. ANCIENT NAHUATL POETRY.
Edited by D. G. BRINTON, M D. 176 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.
In this volume twenty-seven songs in the original Nahuatl are
presented, with translation, notes, vocabulary, etc. Many of them
date from before the conquest, and none later than the sixteenth
century. They have remained wholly unpublished and untrans-
lated ; several are attributed to the famous royal poet, Nezahual-
coyotl. The introduction describes the ancient poetry of the
Nahuas in all its bearings.
Contents. — Introduction ; the National Love of Poetry among the Azteca ; the
Poet and his Work ; the Themes and Classes of the Songs ; Prosody of the Songs ;
Vocal Delivery of the Songs; the Instrumental Accompaniment; the Preservation of
the Ancient Songs ; The LX Songs of the King Nezahualcoyotl ; the History of the
present Collection.
XXVII Ancient Nahuatl Poems, with English Translation.
Notes, Grammatical and Historical, upon the Native Text.
Vocabulary. Index of Nahuatl Proper Names, with Analysis.
In spite of the patient researches of Boturini. von Humboldt, Lord Kingsborough and
others devoted to the preservation of the literature of the ancient Mexicans, not a single
song of an authentic character has ever been published in the native tongue. Prescott,
in his History of the Conquest of Mexico, Mlihlenpfordt, and later, H. H. Bancroft,
have offered incorrect translations or imitations of these interesting productions ; but
in this volume, for the first time, the genuine originals are printed, with a coherent
English version.
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