The Legend of the Suns

Preamble

1Here are wisdom tales made long ago, of how the earth was estab­ lished, 1 how everything was established, how whatever is known started, how all the suns that there were began.2 There are 2513 years today, on the 22nd day of May, 1558.

The first sun

2This sun was 4 Jaguar: it was 676 years. These people, w ho lived in the first age, were eaten by jaguars in the tim e of the suri 4 Jaguar, and what they ate was 7 Straw.3 That was their food. 75 s And it was 676 years that they lived, and thirteen years that they were eaten by the man eaters, destroyed, and finished off. Then the sun was destroyed. And their year was 1 Reed. 75 b And when they began to be eaten, it was on a day sign 4 Jaguar, right when they were being finished off, when they were being destroyed.

The second sun

3This sun is named 4 W ind. These people, who lived in the second [age], were blown away by the wind in the time of the sun 4 W ind. And when they were blown away and destroyed,4 they turned into monkeys. All their houses and trees were blown away. And the sun also was blown away. 1. For the textual mamaca read momanca. 2. Read in k in tzin tk in izquitetl in amanea tonatiuh. 3. Here and in lines 75:20, 75:30, and 75:41 the ancient people’s foods are designated by calendric names. Similarly, in the Ruiz de Alarcón Treatise on Superstitions, com is called “7 Snake” and squash is “7 Eagle” (RUIZAL 125 and 126; for a guide to figurative names in Ruiz de Alarcón see RUIZA 301-17). Although the foods in our text remain unidenti­ fied, it may be conjectured that these early staples are wild seeds or primitive grains, becom­ ing progressively more like com—as in variants of the myth preserved in “Códice Vaticanus 3738,” “Histoyre du Mechique,” and “Historia de los mexicanos por sus pinturas” (for dis­ cussion see Moreno, “Los cinco soles,” p. 205). 4. Anticlimactic word order reversed in the translation.

4The fourth sun And what they ate was 12 Snake. That was their food. It was 364 years that they lived, and only one day that they were blown by the wind, destroyed on a day sign 4 W ind. And their year was 1 Flint.

The third sun

5This sun is 4 Rain. These people5 lived in the third one,6 in the time of the sun 4 Rain. And the way they were destroyed is that they were rained on by fire. They were changed into turkeys. And the sun also burned. All their houses burned. And it was 312 years that they lived. But when they were destroyed, it rained fire for only one day. And what they ate was 7 Flint. That was their food. And their year was 1 Flint. And it was on a day sign 4 Rain. And when they died they were children. Therefore today they are called the baby children.

The fourth sun

6This sun is named 4 Water. And for fifty-tw o years there was water. These people lived in the fourth one,7 in the tim e of the sun 4 Water. And it was 676 years that they lived. And they died by drowning. They turned into fish. The skies came falling down. They were destroyed in only one day. And what they ate was 4 Flower. That was their food. And their year was 1 H ouse. And it was on a day sign 4 Water that they were destroyed. All the mountains disappeared. And the water lay for fifty-tw o years. And when their years were com plete,8 then Titlacahuan gave a com ­ mand to the one called Tata,9 and to his wife, who was called Nene. H e said to them, “Put aside your cares.10 H ollow out a big cypress, and when it’s Tozoztli [April] and the skies come falling down, get inside.” 5. Inic ei, for inique i. Cf. line 75:35. 6. Ie etlam anti nenca. See following note. 7. Ic nauhtlam anti nenca (lived in the fourth one). The expected form is ic nauhtlam antli nenca. Lehmann writes ic nauhtlamantinenca. 8. That is, when they were to be destroyed (prior to the fifty-two years). 9. Intoca nata. Read itoca tata, following Velázquez, who points out that the form is tata at 76:6. 10. Lit., Don’t care about anything anymore (GLOS: dazoda:da). Following Horcasitas, the free transladon would be “Don’t work anymore” (“An Analysis of the Deluge Legend in Mesoamerica,” p. 195). In modem folkloric variants the man has been trying to clear his

7Origin of the new-fire ceremony 75:49

876: 5 76:7 And so they got inside. Then he sealed them in and said, “You m ust eat only one of these com kernels.11 A lso your wife must eat only one.” W ell, when they had eaten it all up, they went aground. It can be heard that the water is drying. The log has stopped m oving. Then it opens. They see a fish. Then they drill fire and cook fish for themselves. Then the gods Citlalinicue and Cidalatonac looked down and said, “Gods, who’s doing the burning? W ho’s sm oking the skies?” 12 Then Tidacahuan, Tezcadipoca, came down and scolded them. H e said, “What are you doing, Tata? What are you people doing?” Then he cut o ff their heads and stuck them on their rumps, and that way they were turned into dogs.13

Origin of the new-fire ceremony

976 8 76:io Now, it was in a year 2 Reed that the skies were [again] smoked. This is how we ourselves exist, how the fire drill ignited. When the sky was established was in a year 1 Rabbit.14 [Yes,] this is h ow 15 the fire drill ignited, when fire appeared [for the new-fire ceremony].16 land, but the trees he cuts down keep rising up again; finally, in one version, a spirit appears to him, saying, “Don’t work anymore, because the world is coming to an end.” See Paredes, Folktales c f Mexico, no. 1 (version told in Spanish by an Otomi of Nahua ancestry in Tlaxco, Puebla); other variants are summarized and discussed in Horcasitas, “An Analysis of the Deluge Legend.” For still further variants see Bierhorst, Mythology of Mexico and Central America, p. 215. 11. In a modem Nahuad variant from San Pedro Jicora the man, unaccompanied by a wife, loads the hollowed-out log with com and other supplies, then seals himself in: kuakin ya ukalak kuakin umutsákua kual ktpepetx in puerta (when he has entered, then he closes himself in; then he sealed the door thoroughly) (Ziehm, Nahua-Texte 1:136). 12. Why are the gods annoyed? In several of the versions discussed by Horcasitas (see note above) the survivors of the flood give offense because they kindle fire before being told to do so. In other variants the problem seems to be that the survivors have eaten forbidden meat; either the fish represents the inhabitants of the previous world (implying cannibalism) or it is said to be carrion (fit for animals, not humans). In a few of the variants Heaven is annoyed simply because someone has survived a destruction that was supposed to have been total. 13. Read chichime. 14. The author alludes to a story he has not told. Recall that the skies came falling down in line 39:39 above. Afterward, according to the variant in HMPP ch. 5, Tezcadipoca and Quetzalcoad changed themselves into a pair of tall trees and lifted the sky to its present position; when this occurred, “the year was Rabbit.” 15. Read izcatqui in k. 16. The somewhat fuller statement in HMPP ch. 6 has it that Tezcadipoca—in a year “Reed,” the second year after the flood—originated the custom of drawing fire from the fire

10The restoration of life 76 : i2 N ow, it was dark for twenty-five years.17 ?6 i4Well, it was in the year 1 Rabbit that the sky was established. And when it had been established, the dogs sent up smoke, as m entioned above. And after the fire drill had ignited— after Tezcatlipoca had drilled fire— he smoked the skies once more, and this was in a year 2 Reed.

The restoration of life

1176 25 76 2 6 76 27 76 3o 76 32 76• 35 76:36 76:38

12And then the gods talked to each other and said, ccW ho will there be? Sky has been established, Tlalteucdi has been established. Gods, who will there be?” They were sad. Cidalinicue, Cidalatonac, Apanteucdi, Tepanquizqui, Tlallamanqui, H uicdolinqui, Quetzalcoad, and Tidacahuan [were their names]. Then Quetzalcoad went to the dead land, and when he came to the dead land lord, the dead land lady, he said to him, ‘T ve com e for the precious bones that you are keeping. Pve come to get them .” Then he said, ‘T o do what, Quetzalcoad?” And he answered him, “Ids because the gods are sad. W ho will there be on earth?” The dead land lord replied, “Very well. Blow my conch horn and circle four times around my precious realm.” But his conch horn was not hollow. Then he summoned worms, w ho hollowed it out. Then bumblebees and honeybees went in. Then he blew on it, and the dead land lord heard him. Then the dead land lord answered, “Very well, take them!” But he said to his messengers, the dead land people, “Spirits, go tell him he has to leave them here.” But Quetzalcoad said, “N o, I’m taking them forever.” And then his nagual said to him, ‘T ell them, ‘I’ll leave them [with you].’ ” Then he said to them, he shouted to them,18 “I’ll leave them [with you]!” and he quickly ascended. Then he takes the precious bones. The male bones are in one pile, the female bones are in another pile. Then Quetzalcoad takes them, wraps them up, and comes carrying them off. drill; “and when the flame had been drawn, it was the festival of making many and large fires.” (For descriptions of the ceremony, held every fifty-two years, see FC 4 :1 4 3 -4 4 and FC bk. 7, ch. 9; and note the “year-bundle” feasts, always in 2 Reed, mentioned above in lines 11:25, 29:51, 51:27, and 60:5.) 17. This agrees with HMPP ch. 7, which explains that the sun was created in the twentysixth year after the flood. 18. Lit., to him.

13The discovery of corn 76 42 7 6 .4

14Again, the dead land lord said to his messengers, “Spirits, Quetzalcoad is really taking the precious bones away. Spirits, go dig him a pit.” Then they went and dug it for him. So he fell into the pit, stumbled and fell, and quail frightened him and he lost consciousness. Then he spilled the precious bones, and the quail bit into them, nibbled them. And when Quetzalcoad came to, he cried. Then he said to his nagual, “My nagual, how will they be?” And he said to him, “H ow will they be? They’ve been ruined. Let them go that way.” 19 Then he gathered them together, picked them up, wrapped them. Then he carried them to Tamoanchan. And when he had brought them, the one named Quilaztli, Cihuacoatl, ground them up. Then she put them into a jade bowl, and Quetzalcoad bled his penis on them. Then all the gods, who have been m entioned, did penance: Apanteuctli, H uicdolinqui, Tepanquizqui, Tlallamanac, Tzontem oc, and number six20 is Quetzalcoad. Then they said, “H oly ones, humans, have been bom .” 21 It’s because they did penance for us.

The discovery of corn

15Again, they said, “Gods, what will they eat? Let food be looked for.” Then the ant went and got a kernel of com out of Food M ountain, and Quetzalcoad met the ant and said, ccWhere did you get it? Tell m e.” 6 But it won’t tell him. H e insists. Then it says, “Over there,” and it shows him the way. s Then Quetzalcoad changed into a black ant. 77 3 77.

1619. Hence the origin of mortality? (an interpretation offered in Bierhorst, Four M asterworks, p. 69; cf. RUIZAL 371). But according to the variant in “Histoyre du Mechique” (pp. 26-27), the bones were those of giants that had formerly inhabited the earth (cf. line 2:31 above); the accident, therefore, explains why people today are small, compared to the giants. Mendieta’s version (bk. 2, ch. 1; adapted in Clavijero, bk. 6, ch. 2) has it that the accident resulted in broken bones of different sizes, thus explaining why some people are tall and others are short. An incantation for treating fractures evidendy alludes to this myth, saying, “ . . . Lord Quail! What are you doing with this Dead Land bone that you’ve splin­ tered, that you’ve shattered? . . . “ ( . . . tecuçoline . . . den dc-aida in micdanomid: in oticpoztec, in odcxamani. . . . ) (RUIZ 163, RUIZA 267-68). 20. Lit., someone’s six, a peculiar but seemingly feasible soludon proposed by Velázquez. Lehmann reads techiquaçeca as a proper name. 21. The translation follows Garibay, Literatura de los aztecas, p. 20 (“¡Dioses nacieron: son los hombres!”). Lehmann has “Gods and men have been bom.” Velázquez’s “Bom are the vassals of the gods” and Gariba/s “Men have been bom of gods” (Epica náhuatl, p. 27) seem incorrect.

17The fifth sun 77 :9 7 7 :1 0 77 -.il U 77 N

1877 i6 77.18 77:2o

19It shows him the way, and he goes inside. Then they carry it out together. The red ant, it seems, showed Quetzalcoad the way. Outside he lays down the kernels, then he carries them to Tamoanchan. Then the gods chew them and put them on our lips. That’s how we grew strong. Then they said, “What will we do with Food Mountain?” Then Que­ tzalcoad went and tried to carry it, tied it with ropes, but he couldn’t lift it. Then Oxom oco counted it out,22 and Oxom oco’s wife, Cipactonal, also counted its fate. The woman is Cipactonal.23 Then Oxom oco and Cipactonal said, “Nanahuad will strike Food M ountain,” for they had counted it out. Then all the dalocs arc summoned, blue dalocs, white dalocs, yellow dalocs, red dalocs. Then Nanahuad strikes it,24 and the foods are stolen by the dalocs.25 The white, black, and yellow [com ], the red com, the beans, the ama­ ranth, the chia, the fish amaranth, all the foods were stolen.

The fifth sun

20:3o 77 :3 2 This sun is named 4 M ovement. We who live26 today [have] this one, it’s our sun, though what’s here is [merely] its signification, because the sun [itself] fell into the fire, the spirit oven, at Teotihuacan. It’s the same as the sun of Topiltzin, Quetzalcoad of Tollan. And before it was the sun, its name was Nanahuad, whose home was yonder in Tamoanchan. Eagle, jaguar, falcon, w olf.27 6 W ind, 6 Flower: both are names of the sun. 22. Lit., Then Oxomoco counted things out for it, i.e., Oxomoco counted com kernels to divine the future of Food Mountain (MOL: dapouia:nite = echar fuertes a otro el hechizero o agorero con mayz). 23. The author emphasizes his disagreement with the tradition that Cipactonal is the male, Oxomoco the female (FC 4 :4 :6 : Oxomoco cioad . .. auh in Cipactonal oqujchtli). 24. With lightning. In a modem Nahua variant of this myth, Nanahuad (called Nanawatzin) is the captain of the thunderbolts. See Taggart, N ahuat M yth and Social Structure, p. 90; see also NED: nanahuad 3. For a full list of Middle American variants of the Hidden Com myth, see Bierhorst, Mythology o fMexico and Central America, p. 215. 25. The translation agrees with both Lehmann and Velázquez but seemingly violates Carochi’s rule against naming the agent of a passive verb. See GN sec. 2.2. 26. For tonneimi read tonnemi. 27. These four animals figure in the myth that is about to be told (see 7 7 :4 8 -5 2 below). In the text a small circle with rays, like a miniature sun, appears between the words for “eagle” and “jaguar.”

21The fifth sun 7 7 : 34 77 :3 5 77 3

2277: 4 3 77: 4

2377 :48 77:49

2477 : 55 78 i

25Now, here is what is called the spirit oven. For four years it burned. Well then, Tonacateuctli and Xiuhteuctli summoned Nanahuatl. They said to him, “You are the one who must keep the sky and the earth.” And then he was very sad. H e said, “W hat are they saying? There are gods, and I am a worthless invalid!” They also summoned 4 Flint, the m oon. The ones who summoned him were Tlalocanteuctli and Nappateuctli. And so Nanahuad fasts. H e takes his spines and his needles. Then he gives thorns to the m oon, and they do penance.28 Then Nanahuad bathes first. Afterward the m oon bathes. H is needles are plumes, his spines are jade. H e uses jade as incense. And when four days have gone by, they feather Nanahuad, and they chalk him .29 Then he goes o ff to fall in the fire, and 4 Flint meanwhile sings and dances for him like a woman. So Nanahuad went o ff to fall in the fire. But the m oon only went to fall in the ashes. And so he went off. And he was able to grab the eagle and carry it along.30 But he could not carry the jaguar. It just stood next to the fire and jumped over it.31 That’s how it became spotted. At that time the falcon became smoke-colored. At that time the wo lf was singed. These three were unable to go with him. Well, when he got to the sky, Tonacateuctli and Tonacacihuad bathed him. Then they sat him in a quechol chair. Then they adorned his head with a red border. Then he tarries in the sky for four days. And then he appears on 4 Movement. But he spent four days without m oving, just staying in place. Then the gods say, “W hy doesn’t he move?” Then they send the blade falcon, who goes and tells the sun that it has com e to question him. It tells him, ‘T h e gods are saying, ‘Ask him why he doesn’t m ove.’ ” Then the sun said, “Why? Because I’m asking for their blood, their color,32 their precious substance.”33 28. That is, they puncture themselves with the needles, or thorns, in order to draw sacri­ ficial blood. Cf. 4:38 and 6:52 above. 29. Sacrificial victims were customarily smeared with chalk and crowned with feathers (see NED: tïzatl/ihhuid). 30. Hence the origin of the eagle’s dark plumage. See the variant at EC 7 :6:12. 31. Anticlimactic word order reversed in the translation. 32. In Mendieta’s variant (bk. 2, ch. 2) the sun refuses to move until the gods sacrifice themselves (“hasta haberlos muerto y destruido á ellos”). 33. For intlacoca I read intlaçoca[uh], Lehmann reads inin tlacoca and translates the whole phrase, “I’m asking for the noble blood of those who did the damage.”

26How the sun was given a drink 78 6 78 8 78 9 78:ii 78 h

272 i Then the gods hold council. And then Tlahuizcalpanteuctli grows an­ gry. H e says, “W ell, why is this? I’ll shoot him! H e must not stay put!” Then he shoots him. But he failed to hit him. M eanwhile the sun is shooting at Tlahuizcalpanteuctli, and he succeeds in hitting him because his arrows are like shafts of flame. And then the nine layers34 covered up his face. This Tlahuizcalpanteuctli is the frost. Then all the gods get together: Tidacahuan, H uitzilopochtli, and the women Xochiquetzal, Yapalliicue, Nochpalliicue. And there35 in Teotihuacan they all died a sacrificial death. So then the sun went into the sky. And then goes the m oon, w ho had fallen only in the ashes. And when he got to the edge of the sky, Papaztac came and broke his face with a rabbit p ot.36 And then at a crossroads he m et the tzitzimime, the coleletin, and they said to him, “Come here.” They detained him for a long while, dressing him all in rags. And so it was the sun of 4 M ovement that appeared at that time. And at that tim e, too, he established nightfall.

How the sun was given a drink

28N ow, M ixcoad37 lived for thirty-nine years, and his wife was named Chimalman. 78:26 And Topiltzin had fifty-six years.38 It was in 1 Reed, certainly, that he traveled, that he went away, that he left his city, Tollan. And it was 4 Rabbit when he died, in Tlapallan. 78 30 It was in a year 1 Flint that the M ixcoa were born. The way it happened, 34. “Nine layers” refers to the heavens in line 4:46 above. But it may also refer to the underworld (see NED: chiucnàuhixdâhuad). 35. Read in ye mean. 36. Hence the origin of the supposed rabbit image on the face of the moon. In Sahagim’s variant of the myth, one of the gods strikes the moon not with a “rabbit pot” but with a rabbit per se (FC 7:7:28). The rabbit pot, tochtecomatl, is mentioned by Sahagùn in a quite different context: it was used as the vessel in a wine-drinking ceremony, in which the singerparticipants were called centzontotochtin, four hundred rabbits, a group of spirits associated with wine (FC 2 :194:3, cf. FFCC 1:24:7). 37. Labeled pictographs in the manuscript at this point show Mixcoad and Chimalman and their son Topiltzin, also the town of Tollan, the mountain Xicococ, and four houses named cohuacalli (serpent house), tcocuitlacalli (gold house), chalchiuhcalli (jade house), and xiuhcallt (turquoise house). Two additional glyphs, both simple squares, are labeled ce tecpatl (1 Flint) and ceAcatl (1 Reed). Immediately above the ceA catl glyph are the words 52 años (52 years). 38. Topiltzin, also called Ce Acad or Quetzalcoad, was the son of Mixcoad and Chimal­ man (see 80:4 3 -5 1 below).

29How the sun was given a drink Iztacchalchiuhtlicue gave birth to four hundred M ixcoa, then she went into a cave. And when they had gotten into the cave, their m other deliv­ ered again, and five more M ixcoa were bom . The first is named Cuauhtliicoauh, the second is named M ixcoad, the third is a female named Cuitlachcihuad, the fourth is named Tlotepe, the fifth is named Apanteuctli. 78: 3 8 And when they were bom, they entered the water,?9 put themselves in the water, spent four days in water. And when they came out, M ecitli suckled them. This M ecidi is Tlalteuctli. And so we today who are Mexica are not really Mexica but M ecitin. 79 2 And then the sun commands the four hundred Mixcoa: he gives them darts and says to them, “Here is how you will give me a drink, how you will serve me”— also a shield. And the darts are precious darts. They have quetzal wings, egret wings, troupial wings, teoquechol wings, roseate spoonbill wings, cotinga wings. “And the one who is your m other is Tlalteuctli.” 7 9 :6 But they did not do as they were commanded. They just shot birds, they just played. At that point [the darts] were called bird darts. 7 9 :7 And when they catch a jaguar, they do not give it to the sun. And then, when they get the jaguar, they feather themselves. And while they’re feath­ ered, they sleep with women. 79 : i o Then they tipple on pulque and get com pletely drunk, com pletely intoxicated. 79 h And then the sun commands the five who were bom last: he gives them thorn darts, gives them a spirit shield, and says, “My children, pay atten­ tion. You must now destroy the four hundred M ixcoa, the ones who fail to say, ‘Mother! Father!’” 79 i s Then they put themselves in a m esquite, and seeing them there, they say, “W ho are these people that are just like us?” Then they made war on each other. 79 i7 Then Cuauhtliicoauh went into the tree, and M ixcoatl went into the earth, and Tlotepe went into a m ountain. Then Apanteuctli stood in water, and their sister, Cuedachcihuatl, stood in a ball court.3940 79 2o Then they surrounded them. N one of them were in the m esquite any­ more, they were in hiding, and the tree cracks and splits open on top of them, and Cuauhtliicoauh comes out from inside the tree. 79 24 And then there’s a shaking of the earth, and out comes M ixcoatl, w ho had gone into the ground. 39. A newborn infant, bathed by the midwife, was said to “enter” the water (FC 6: 176:24). 40. The narrator seems to be punning on Cuauhdi and tree ( quabuitl), Tlotepe and mountain (tepetl), Apanteuctli and of an (water place), Cuedachcihuad and tlachco (ball court).

30Xiuhnel and M imicb 79:25 7 9 . 26

31And the mountain breaks apart, collapses, 41 and out comes Tlotepe. Then the water chums, and out comes Apanteuctli. And then they conquered them, destroyed them, and served the sun and gave it a drink. And the few who remained came and spoke to them in order to appease them, and said, “We have annoyed you. Go to Chicomoztoc. It’s your cave. Enter. It’s your home. Can it still be our cave? You’ve ruined our cave, our home. We’ll just settle at the cave’s edge.”

Xiuhnel and Mimich

3279 4 i 7 9 :44 7 9 :46 79

3379 so 79 s i

34Then two deer descend [from the sky], 42 each with two heads. And two of the Mixcoa, one named Xiuhnel, the other named Mimich, go hunting in the desert lands. Xiuhnel and Mimich chase the deer, trying to shoot them, chasing them all night, all day, finally wearing them out in the evening. Then they tell each other, “Come on, you build your shelter there. I’ll build mine over here. Hah! Those bad ones are coming now.” And then the ones who had been deer passed by, now changed into women. “Xiuhneltzin! Mimichtzin!” they cried .43 “Where are you? Come here. Come drink, come eat.” Hearing this, they said to each other, “Come on, don’t speak to them.” But Xiuhnel did speak to them. He said, “Come here, sister.” And she answered him, “Xiuhneltzin, won’t you have a drink?” And Xiuhnel drinks the blood, and then he lies next to her. But when he had lain with her, 44 then she turned over on top of him and bit him, breaking open his chest. Then Mimich says, “Alas, my elder brother is eaten.” But the other woman is calling to him. “Man-child,” she says, “won’t you eat?” Mimich doesn’t answer. Then he uses the fire drill and makes fire. And when Mimich had made it, he rushed into it. And the woman ran after him, into the fire. All night she ran after him, still running after him when it was noon. And finally, at noon, a pot cactus descended [from the sky] . 45 The woman fell on top of it and got stuck. 41. Read huitomi. 42. The variant in HMPP (ch. 8) reads, “hubo un gran ruido en el cielo y cayó un venado de dos cabezas.” 43. Read tzatzitibui, lit., they go shouting. 44. Lit., But when he had laid her. 45. Cf. line 79:35 above.

35O rigin of the sacred bundle so :4 so :s And when he saw that the ogress lay fallen, he shot her repeatedly, then turned around and came back. He .. . f 6 comes crying because his elder brother has been eaten.

Origin of the sacred bundle

36so : 7 Then those spirits, the xiuhteteuctin [fire lords], hear him, and they go to get the woman, Itzpapalotl. Mimich leads the way. And when they get her, they bum her. so : io And then they all shined forth: first, the blue flint shined. Second, the white flint shined. They took the white one and wrapped it up. Third, the yellow flint shined. They didn’t take it, they just looked at it. Fourth, the red flint shined. And again they didn’t take it. Fifth, the black flint shined. Again they didn’t take it. so i6 But Mixcoad made the white flint his spirit power, and when they had wrapped it up, he backpacked it .4647 8 0 :i 7 Then he goes off to make conquests in a place called Comallan, back­ packing the flint. It’s his spirit power, Itzpapalotl. And when the Comalteca heard about it, they came out to meet Mixcoad, and they laid down food for him, just to appease him. so :2i And then he went to Tecanman, and they also appeased him. They said, “How goes it with the gentleman ? 48 Let him be welcome. Well now, get him some pulque .4 9 1 wouldn’t hack him to pieces here !” 50 so 24 And then he went to Cocyama and made conquests. And when he had conquered in Cocyama, he went to Huehuetocan and conquered again. 46. The text has tlam atzayantibuitz tlatzonilpitibui[t]z tiam achiotm huitz, lit., he comes parting [or separating] something, comes tying something with regard to his hair, comes marking [or designing] something. According to Velázquez, Xiuhnel is separating himself from the woman, also binding and styling his hair. According to Lehmann, he has parted his hair, has swept his tresses into a chieftain’s coif, and is sporting designs on his flesh. Gingerich’s interpretation (in “Three Nahuad Hymns,” p. 218) essentially agrees with Lehmann: “[He comes] parting and tying his hair, painting his face.” Garibay (in Epica náhuatl, p. 22) gives: “va lentamente apartándose, va trenzando sus cabellos, va haciendo el afeite de pintura de su cuerpo” (he goes slowly withdrawing [from the woman], goes braiding his hair, goes applying cosmetic paint to his body). For me the passage is inscrutable. See GLOS: machiyoda:da, matzayana:da, tzonilpia:da. 47. The variant story given in lines 1 :1 5 -1 9 above implies that the bundle contained the “ashes” of Itzpapalod. See also line 50:36. 48. Lit., What does the noble one do? (using the honorific form of ayi:da, to do some­ thing). Cf. NED: chihua:da 2, where similar phrases carry the meaning “What ill befalls?” or “What mishap occurs?” 49. Lit., “Get his thorns,” or “Get thorns for him.” 50. Following Velázquez, I read ma nican niquitzo[l]tili, assuming a playful allusion to the “thorns” (i. e., pulque) of the preceding sentence. Lehmann reads ma nican niquitzotili, which might be given in English as “Let me not cause him to become filthy here!”

37The deeds of Ce A catl And when he had made conquests in Huehuetocan, he went to Pochtlan and conquered once more.

Mixcoatl and Chimalman

38And then Mixcoad goes off to make conquests in Huitznahuac. Meeting the woman Chimalman, he lays down his shield and positions his darts and his dart thrower. She just stands there naked, no skirt, no blouse. And having sighted her, Mixcoad shoots her repeatedly. He shot one at her and it just went over her. She ducked. The second time he shot at her, 51 it went by on one side. She just dodged. The third time he shot at her, she caught it in her hand. The fourth time he shot at her, she made it pass between her legs. And when Mixcoad had shot at her the fourth time, he turned around and went away. And the woman ran and hid in a cave, she went into a gorge . 52 And again Mixcoad adorned himself and got darts. And then he went and looked for her again, but he couldn’t find her. Then he killed some of the Huitznahua women, and the Huitznahua women said, “Let’s go down and get her.” They said to her, “Mixcoad is looking for you. Because of you, he’s killing your sisters.” And so they fetched her, and she came to Huitznahuac. And Mixcoad went again and met her, and again she stands there, exposing her crotch. And he lays down his shield and his darts. And again he shoots at her. Again a dart went over her, and one passed by her side, and she caught one in her hand, and one went between her legs. After that he took hold of her, and he lay beside this woman from Huitznahuac, this Chimalman. And with that she became pregnant.

The deeds of Ce Acatl

39so si Now, when he was being born he gave his mother great pain for four days. And so, he was bom, this Ce Acad. And no sooner has he been bom than his mother dies. And Ce Acad is brought up by Quilaztli, Cihuacoad. When he has grown a litde, he goes 51. Lit., he hurled it at her. GLOS: daxilia:te-da. 52. Read oztotl atlauhcan.

40The deeds of Ce A catl si :3 si :s si :6 8i :7 si 9 si io si : i4 si : is si 2o si 24 si 28 si 3o si :32 si :34 off with his father to make conquests. And he learned war by taking cap­ tives in a place called Xihuacan. Now, Ce Acatl’s uncles, who are of the four hundred Mixcoa, 53 abso­ lutely hated his father, and they killed him. And when they had killed him, they went and put him in the sand. So Ce Acad looks for his father, asking, “Where’s my father?” Then the king vulture says to him, ‘They’ve killed your father. It’s over yonder that he lies, that they’ve buried him.” So he went and dug him up and put him in his temple, Mixcoateped. Now, his uncles, the ones who killed his father, are called Apanecad, Zolton, and Cuilton, and they say, “How will he dedicate his temple ? 54 If there’s only a rabbit, if there’s only a snake, we would be angry. A jaguar, an eagle, a wolf would be good .” 55 And so they told him this. Ce Acad said—he told them—“All right. It shall be.” Then he called the jaguar, the eagle, and the wolf. H e said to them, “Come, uncles. They say I must use you to dedicate my temple . 56 But you will not die. Rather you will eat the ones I use to dedicate my temple— they’re those uncles of mine.” And so it was without any real purpose that ropes were tied around their necks. Then Ce Acad summoned gophers. H e said to them, “Uncles, come! We must dig a hole in our temple.” And the gophers scratched away. They dug a hole inside it, and with that Ce Acad entered his temple and came out at the top. Now, while the uncles are saying, “We’re the ones who’ll drill the fire on top,” they’re rejoicing, having seen the jaguar, the eagle, and the wolf all in misery. And when they’ve recovered their presence of mind, already Ce Acad is drilling the fire. Then his uncles are furious, and off they go, Apanecad in the lead, climbing quickly. But Ce Acad rose up and broke his head with a burnished pot, and he came tumbling down. Then he seizes57 Zolton and Cuilton. Then the animals blow [on the fire]. Then they sacrifice them. They cover them with hot pepper, cut up their flesh a litde. And after they’ve tortured them, they cut open their breasts. 53. Evidently among the “few who remained” after the massacre. See line 79:29 above. 54. A presumed copyist’s error duplicates in iteocal (his temple). 55. An attempt to frustrate the hero. According to the variant in “Histoyre du Mechique” (ch. 10), his antagonists are confident he will be unable to capture these animals. 56. Read noteocal. 57. Read quintzitzquia.

41The stinking corpse si :37 si 38 si 39 si 40 si 4 i si 43 si 44 si :46 And then Ce Acad makes more conquests, in a place called Ayodan. When he had conquered, he went on to Chaleo, to Xicco, and con­ quered again. And having conquered, he went on to Cuixcoc, and again he conquered. He went to Zacanco, conquered again, then to Tzonmolco, conquered again. To Mazatzonco, conquered again. To Tzapodan, conquered again. Then he went to Acallan, crossed over the water, and conquered again, 58 and that’s how he got to Tlapallan. There he took sick. He was sick for five days, then he died. Well, when he was dead, they set him on fire, and he burned up.

The stinking corpse

42si 47 si si si

43s i : 53 si 55 82

444 Now, in Tollan the people were no more . 59 Huemac was ruler. The second was called Necuamed, the third was Tlaltecatzin, the fourth was called Huitzilpopoca. The four were left be­ hind by Topiltzin when he went away. And the ruler of Nonoalco was called H u etzin .. . . 60 Now then, an omen came to him: he saw an ash-bundle man, 61 a giant. And it was the very one who was eating people. Then the Toltecs say, “O Toltecs, who is it that’s eating people?” Then they snared it, 62 they captured it. And what they captured was a beardless boy.63 Then they kill it. And when they’ve killed it, they look inside it: it has no heart, no innards, no blood. Then it stinks. And whoever smells it dies from it, as well as whoever does not smell it, who [simply] passes by. And so a great many people are dying. Then they try to drag it away, but it cannot be moved. And when the 58. A presumed copyist’s error duplicates no. 59. For clarity the author might have added: “And here is how it came about.” 60. A blot in the manuscript obscures what may be a tide or other designation following the name Huetzin. 61. See note to the translation at 50:37. 62. For quipia I read qutlpia (see GRAM sec. 5. 2). Evidendy Lehmann has the same idea, translating “Da nehmen sie fest.” 63. Read amotlanetentzotzonyotiai Lit., a boy who does not provide himself with some­ thing to serve as one’s lip hairs. A doubtful translation, possible only if the element ne is taken as a replacement for te (as it seems to be in CAROC 80v:27,30). Following Velázquez, one might read amo tlane tentzotzoyotia, who has no teeth and has filthy lips.

45The fa ll cfTollan rope breaks, those who fall down die on the spot. And when it moves, all those who come in contact with it die. It eats them all. 82:7 Well, now that it could be moved, all the young men, old men, children, and young women fixed it up. They tied it with eight ropes. Then they dragged it off. 82 io When they got it to Itzocan, it rose up. And those who were dragging it failed to let go of the ropes and were simply left hanging. Well, as for anyone who had grabbed a rope and just held on to it, 64 it carried him aloft.

The fall of Tollan

46Then Huemac played ball. H e played with the dalocs, and the tlalocs said to him, “What do we win?” 82 is Huemac said, “My jades, my quetzal plumes.” 82 i6 And then to Huemac they said, “Likewise, you win our jades, our que­ tzal plumes.” 82 is So they played ball. Huemac won. Then the dalocs were about to switch it, about to give Huemac an ear of green com; and instead of their quetzal plumes, the shuck 65 in which the green ear grows. 82: 2i But he did not take it. He said, “Is this what I won? Wasn’t it jades? Wasn’t it quetzal plumes? Well, bring it here!” 82 23 So the dalocs said, “All right. Give him the jades, the quetzal plumes. Fetch those jades of ours, those quetzal plumes!” Then they fetched them, then they went away. 82:25 Then they said, “Very well. But we are definitely hiding our ‘jades.’ The Toltecs will have to suffer. And for four years.” 82 27 So then it snowed, the snow fell knee deep, and the crops were de­ stroyed. It was in Tecuilhuid [June or July] that it snowed. 82 29 Except that in Tollan, where there was intense heat, all the trees, the prickly pears, and the magueys dried up, and all the stones broke apart and were shattered by the heat. 82 3 i And when the Toltecs are suffering, when they’re dying of hunger, then they’re sacrificed. Well, perchance if anyone is keeping a litde something for himself, then he buys a litde turkey, makes himself a tamale, and eats. 82 35 Well then, a litde old woman selling banners setties herself at Chapoltepecuidapilco, and whoever buys a banner goes and dies on the stone of sacrifice. 64. Anticlimactic word order reversed in the translation. 65. Read toquizhuatl. I 56 ThefaU ofTollan

4782 53 83 i

48i2 And when the four years of hunger had passed, the tlalocs appeared in Chapoltepec, where the water is. And milk com—food— is rising to the surface. And there’s a Toltec who is nearby, and he picks up the food, and he feeds on it. And then a tlaloc spirit came out of the water and said to him, “Hey, fellow! Do you recognize this?” And the Toltec said, “O lord, 66 I do indeed. It’s been a long time since we lost it.” ‘"Very well,” he replied. “Now stay here and let me tell the master.” And he went back into the water. He wasn’t gone long. Then he reappeared carrying an armload of green com, 67 and he said, “Hey, fellow! Here it is. Give it to Huemac. Now, the gods are asking for the daughter 68 of Tozcuecuex, 69 for [one of] the Mexitin, for they want to eat her70—for the Toltecs are to go on eating very little, the Toltecs are to be destroyed. There are to be Mexica. And they [the Mexica] are going to give her to them at Jade Whirlpool, at Banner Place.” 71 Then he went to inform Huemac, telling him how the tlaloc had told him what had to be. Then Huemac was sad. He wept and said, “Perhaps it is so. Perhaps the Toltecs are to pass away. Perhaps Tollan is to be destroyed.” Then he sent, he dispatched, to Xicococ two of his messengers, someone named Chiconcoad, also Cuedachcoad, to go and ask the Mexitin for their daughter Quetzalxotzin, who was not yet grown, who was still a child. So they went to Xicococ and told them, “Huemac sends us. He says, T h e dalocs have appeared, asking the Mexica for a daughter of theirs.’” Then the Mexica fasted. They mourned her for four days. And when the four days were up, they took her to Banner Place. Her father went with her. Then they sacrificed her. And in that place the dalocs appeared again, to Tozcuecuex, saying to 66. Read totecuyo, i.e., toteucyo. 67. The ink here is too faded for the word to be legible in the Velázquez facsimile, but both Velazquez and Lehmann read elotl or ellotl. 68. Facsimile unclear. The reading follows León y Gama (see following note). 69. Tozcuecuex was the leader of the wandering Mexica, or Mexitin, shortly before their arrival at Chapoltepec (UAH secs. 1—2, 123-26, 136; cf. CHIM 134, 273); when the Mexica were stricken by famine and disease, Tozcuecuex sacrificed his own daughter (UAH secs. 124-25). Here, in a fuller version of the story, we learn that the gods’ request was conveyed to the Mexica by the Toltecs. 70. Or, they would eat her. For the future tense with conditional meaning see GRAM sec. 6.4. 71. The famous whirlpool in the Lake of Mexico, where human victims, jewels, and banners spattered with liquid rubber were offered to the rain gods and other spirits (FC bk. 2, chs. 20 and 25; TEZ ch. 80).

49H istory c f the M exica

5083: 2 4 8 3 :2

51him, “Tozcuecuex, do not be sad. Your daughter is really with you. Open your tobacco flask.”72 And there they placed his daughter’s heart, together with all the differ­ ent foods, and they said to him, “Here is what the Mexica are to eat, for the Toltecs are to be destroyed.” And then it becomes cloudy.73 Then it rains, it pours. For four days it rained. Every day and every night the water is being absorbed. Then all kinds of plants sprout up, all the herbs and grasses. But their com ing into existence was superfluous when the com sprouted. Well, Toltecs did the planting, and when we arrived in a m onth or tw o, already the com was grown, already it was formed. Now, when the com was formed, it was in the tim e of the year sign 2 Reed. And it was in 1 Flint that the Toltecs were destroyed. That’s when Huemac went into Cincalco. Then some groups turned back, and som e went on, dispersing every­ where. N ow then, the Mexica are com ing. And setting out at this time are 1. Tezcacoad Huemac, 2. Chiconcoatl, 3. Coatlayauhqui, 4. Cuidachcoad. There are thirteen years. It’s 1 Reed. Well, he [Topiltzin?] left these people in command, these four whose names were— the first man, named Coadayauhqui; the second, named Cuiltachcoad; and the third, named Chiconcoad; and the fourth, named Tezcacoad, w ho is Huemac. And it’s thirteen years that they were in com ­ mand, that they were traveling.

History of the Mexica

5283:38 83:40 83 42 83 44 Now, it’s fifty-eight years since they came from Colhuacan, from Azdan, since the M exitin departed. It’s 1 Flint. N ow, here’s when they were at Chapoltepec, still in the tim e of H uitzilihuid. For forty years they were there. It’s 13 Rabbit. Now, here’s when they were in Colhuacan, in Tizaapan. It’s twenty-five years. Well, when the Toltecs went away in 1 Flint, that’s when the Mexica set out from Xicococ. It was thirty-seven years until they arrived at Chapol­ tepec. And there at Chapoltepec they spent forty years. 72. Read miyeteam. 73. The following Sentence is preceded by the letter ‘o’, which could be the interjection Oh! or a copyist’s error. i S8 H istory of the Mexica Then the Colhuaque hired them as mercenaries, the Xaltocameca having gone and hired them out, and the Mexica came and gathered there in their territory74 and said to them, “FU sleep right here in your territory. Pm going over there.” Then they slept in their territory there. 83 : si It seems that it was only in this manner that they went and guarded them. Well, then the Colhuaque set out, and they m et them and said, “You have entered the homeland of the Colhua and the Xaltocamecad and the Cuauhtddancalqui, and the Acolhua and the Tenayo and the Azcapotzalcad, as well as Cuahuacan and Mazahuacan, also the Xiquipilcad and the Madatzincad and the Ocuiltecad and the Cuidahuacad, the Xochimilcad, and others.” 84 4 The Colhuaque were in command there. They’re the ones who captured H uitzilihuid. Then Mexica women and children were stolen. And the other Mexica, escaping, went and gathered themselves at A cocolco, where they spent six days. 84 9 And this is when they landed here in Tenochddan, which was still just a place of bulrushes, just a place of reeds, where they suffered hardships for fifty years, and they had no ruler. As yet the Mexica just minded their own business. 84 : i2 There are fifty-one [years]. It’s 2 H ouse. Colhuacan. Tenayocan. Well, here are the Mexica conquests that were made: Colhuacan and Tenayocan, just tw o. 84:i5 [Marginal numeral:] 1 N ow, it was at this tim e that King Acamapichdi became ruler, and he ruled for twenty-one years. Twenty.75 1 Flint.76 Xochim ilco. Cuidahuac. Cuauhnahuac. M izquic. Well, here are the conquests that he made: Xochi­ m ilco and Cuidahuac and M izquic and Cuauhnahuac— Acamapich made conquests in four places. 84 2 i [Marginal numeral:] 2 N ow, here’s when Acamapichtli’s son, named H uitzilihuid, was ruler, and it was for twenty-one years that he ruled. 9 H ouse. Xaltocan. Acolman. Otompan. Chaleo. Tetzcoco. Tollantzinco. Cuauhtidan. Tolddan. Well, here are the conquests that were made. Eight were the nations that H uitzilihuid conquered.