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The Chalcan Woman’s Song: Sex as a Political Metaphor in Fifteenth-Century Mexico*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Kay A. Read  and
Jane Rosenthal
Kay A. Read
Affiliation:
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
Jane Rosenthal
Affiliation:
Chicago, Illinois
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Extract

In 1479 (the year 13-Reed), some men from the towns of Chalco-Amaquemecan and Tlamanalco went for the first time to sing in Mexico-Tenochtitlan: the Mexica (Aztecs) held hegemony in the area, including Chalco. The song they sang was a war song called the “Song of the Woman Warrior.” They played it for the tlatoani, or ruler, Lord Axayacatl (ca 1469-1481), performing it in the patio outside his house of women. Unfortunately, the performance got off to a rather slow start. A man from the area of Tlamanalco in Chalco, one who had never played the drums before or directed a song, made a very bad showing.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 62 , Issue 3: Translating Native Voices in Colonial Latin American History , January 2006 , pp. 313 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 2006

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Footnotes

*

Jane Rosenthal and I translated Nahuatl texts together for twenty years, beginning when I was her student in graduate school at the University of Chicago in 1983. Sitting around her kitchen table on regular Friday mornings for three or more hours, we slowly worked our way through a great number of texts over those years. Somewhere during that time, our relation moved from student working with teacher to friend working with friend and friends traveling to Mexico together. Her linguistic training and long years working with the language were a good complement to my historical-theoretical training. Unfortunately, she passed away early in 2004. So, sadly, this translation is now being published in memory of her. I am also indebted to John Schwaller, who kindly read the paper and offered some useful comments on both editing and issues of translation; I very much appreciate his efforts.

References

1 By the time of the Spanish Conquest in 1521, the Mexica had not called themselves Aztec for several centuries, nor did other groups call them by that name. Indeed it is no accident that the Spanish City, which rose on top of their capital Tenochtitlan was named Mexico City, or that the country also bore that name.

2 Tlatoani is the náhuatl term for ruler and literally means “the one who customarily speaks something,” which underscores a ruler’s role as an orator and the powers of his words.

3 The dates of all the Mexica tlatoanis or rulers prove slippery because the sources rarely agree on them. The dates I use are a compromise. Whenever possible, I chose dates upon which multiple sources agreed, but sometimes I have used a particular date just to create a coherent historical line of rulers. Similar problems occur for dating anything in pre-Conquest history because each town kept its own calendar, and rewriting actual history to fit mythological history was considered both an appropriate and even necessary activity.

4 Bowing low and ritually eating a bit of dirt was the customary form of homage paid to the tlatoani.

5 Codex Chimalpahin as reproduced in Relaciones Originales de Chuleo Amaquemecan: Escritas por Don Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin and translated by Réndon, S. (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1982), pp. 211–14 Google Scholar.

6 See, for example: (1) Cantares Mexicanos. As reproduced in Cantares Mexicanos: Songs of the Aztecs. Translated by Bierhorst, John. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1985), pp. 385–91 Google Scholar; (2) León-Portilla, Miguel, Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992), pp. 267–80 Google Scholar; or (3) K., Angel Ma. Garibay, Poesía Náhuatl: Cantares Mexicanos, Manuscrito de la Biblioteca Nacional de México (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1993), pp. 55–60.Google Scholar The abbreviation for all versions of the Cantares will henceforth will be “CM,” followed by the translator’s name.

7 CM, Bierhorst, p. 384.

8 Smith, Jonathan Z., Map is Not a Territory (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, E. J., 1978), p. 307 Google ScholarPubMed.

9 Schroeder suggests that the Chimalpahin tells the story this way because a rivalry existed between Tlamanalco and Amaquemecan. Because he is from Amaquemecan, Chimalpahin delights in telling a story that puts Tlamanalco to shame. That may be true about the event, but it doesn’t override the possibility of my more political interpretation of the song itself whose original purpose was something other than to simply glorify Amaquemecan. See: Schroeder, Susan, Chimalpahin and the Kingdoms of Chalco (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1991), pp. 89, 90Google Scholar.

10 Chìmalpahìn, Schroeder, pp. 110-111, 115-197.

11 Ayocuantzin’s history is a curious one. Although he ruled the highly important city of Itztlacozauhcan of the Amaquemecan region of Chalco, Ayocuantzin originally was from the lesser city of Tlailotlacan; but with Mexica approval, exchanged his rulership with Coazacatzin, who was considered too young to rule such an important town as Itztlacozauhcan. Ayocuan’s rule ended when Mexico-Tenochtitlan conquered the Chalcan region in 1465. See: (a) Chimalpahin, Schroeder, p. 50; (b) CH, Réndon, pp. 86-88, 102-03, 204-05. (The abbreviation for the Chimalpahin will henceforth appear as “CH”); (c) “Annals of Cuauhtitlan” as reproduced in History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca and translated by Bierhorst, John (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1992), p. 110 Google Scholar (the “Annals” henceforth will appear as AC); and for the Náhuatl text of this same codex see: Codex Chimalpopoca: The Text in Náhuatl with a Glossary and Grammatical Notes also translated by Bierhorst, John (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1992)Google Scholar.

12 Although lineages generally structured all relationships, this was not done in a rigid way such as royal succession in Europe. Merit and circumstances also proved important factors in determining succession; and could become reasons for altering the usual succession rules. Chilmalpahin, Schroeder, pp. 111-13, 163-69, 183-85, 188-93,205-13.

13 On the issue of women’s roles, we need to remember the paucity of resources we have either about or by women, and that the vast majority of our resources were collected or written after the Spanish conquest by males either from the conquering class or males now enmeshed in the male-dominated conditions of colonialism. Moreover, this was the sixteenth century and the Spanish conquerors came from a society in Europe enmeshed in the era of the inquisition, when thousands of women lost their lives because they were accused of being witches. Spanish-Catholic attitudes toward women were hardly sympathetic during this period. Moreover, it is well known that contemporary male anthropologists often find it difficult to learn about the female end of the societies they study simply because the women may not want to talk to them or let them into their lives too closely. How much more must this be true when working with materials over four or more centuries old? We really have very little idea about what actually went on inside the homes of these women or who voiced what to whom. We do know that some women served as temporary rulers or regents in the place of their young sons, as was the case with Coazacatzin’s mother. We also know that on rare occasions these women served as full rulers with full powers. One of these was in Chalco in Tzaqualtitlan, where the daughter took over the rulership when her father died because there were no sons (Chilmalpahin, Schroeder, p. 183). Furthermore, Gillespie, Susan in The Aztec Kings: The Construction of Rulership in Mexica History (AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1989)Google Scholar, writes extensively on the powerful symbolic role the female line played in Mexica rulership. We also have two examples from Palenque in the Maya area: Lady Kanal-Ikal (ruled 583-604) and, of course, the well-know example of Lady Zac Kuk (ruled 612-640). Linda Schele and David Friede! tell us that neither one served as a mere regent for her young son, but held full powers because their reigns were used to enact a shift in lineages, thereby creating a power shift. In the case of Zak Kuk, her son Pacal took over after 25 years of her reign; but nevertheless, she still may have maintained power for he did not erect any monuments—a tangible sign of a person’s power—until she died. I.e., we need to be cautious about our presumptions until and if we can garner more evidence for the actual roles of women. See Schele, Linda and Friedel, David, A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya, (New York: William Morrow, 1990), pp. 216–225 Google Scholar.

14 For example, in 1440 the Mexica ruler, Lord Motecuhzoma I (ca 1440-69) called on the Chalcan town of Tlacochcalca to bring the power-filled insignia of their potent patron deity to help them defeat the Tepaneca. Chilmalpahin, Schroeder, p. 96.

15 CH,Rendon, pp. 182, 102-03, 204-05; AC, Bierhorst, p. 110.

16 (Chimalpahin, Schroeder, p. 34)..

17 For example, the author of the “Anales of Cuauhtitlan” tells us that the war cools off in Amaquemecan, but shifts to Huexotzinco (AC, Bierhorst, p. 110).

18 Chilmalpahin, Schroeder, pp. 74-75.

19 Tracy Duvall formed a similar thesis about this same song (in conversation, 6 November 1994). I also have written on some of the sexual images of rulership embedded in this poem in “Sex, War, and Rulers: Mexica Royal Images of Boundary Breaking and Making” in In Chalchihuitl, In Quetzalli, edited by Keber, Eloise Quiñones (Lancaster, CA: Labyrinthos Press, 2000), pp. 159–68 Google Scholar.

20 This translation has been a joint venture between Jane Rosenthal and myself. We used four sources for Náhuatl transcriptions: (a) Cantares Mexicanos, as reproduced in a facsimile edition coordinated by Léon-Portilla, Miguel (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México, 1994)Google Scholar; (b) Cantares Mexicanos (CM, Garibay, 55–60)Google Scholar; (c) Cantares Mexicanos (CM, Bierhorst, 385–91 Google Scholar); and (d) 15 Poets, León-Portilla, 267-80. While Bierhorst’s transcription is quite accurate when compared to the facsimile; unfortunately, problems of accuracy often due to the practice of regularizing the language arose in both of the other two. Although we also have striven for an accurate transcription, our translation differs considerably in a number of instances from the translations produced by Garibay, Léon-Portilla, and Bierhorst. For our translation, we drew from the following dictionaries and grammars: (a) Andrews, J. Richard, Introduction to Classical Náhuatl (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1975)Google Scholar; (b) Bierhorst, John, A Nahuatl-English Dictionary and Concordance to the Cantares Mexicanos (CA: Stanford University Press, 1985)Google Scholar; (c) Lawrence H. Feldman, A Guide to the History, Morphology, and Lexicon of Náhuatl. (Mimeographed and copyright, Lawrence Feldman, 1964); (d) Karttunen, Frances, An Analytical Dictionary of Náhuatl (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983)Google Scholar; (e) Molina, Fray Alonso de, Vocabulario en lengua Castellana y Mexicana, preliminary study by Portilla, Miguel Leon (Mexico City: Editorial Porrúa, 1970)Google Scholar; (f) Siméon, Rémi, Diccionario de la lengua Náhuatl o Mexican, 2nd ed. (Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1981)Google Scholar; (g) Sullivan, Thelma D., Compendio de la gramática Náhuatl (Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1983)Google Scholar; and (h) Sullivan, Thelma D., Compendium of Náhuatl Grammar, translated by Sullivan, Thelma D. and Stiles, Neville, edited by Miller, Wick R. and Dakin, Karen (Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 1988)Google Scholar.

21 The flowers are spatially, perhaps even cosmologically arranged. Mani describes the action of water spreading in a pan; and its close cousin, mana describes the action one uses when patting out tortillas. These two, along with several other words, appear frequently as spatial-ordering words in Cosmological myths and texts.

22 Linebreaks are marked with [-].

23 The action seems to be one of making a flower wreath for the head.

24 The scribe has frequently left out “n” after a vowel. These are marked with either “~”, or “-” over a letter, as in: ã, ẽ, or ỹ.

25 The psp. -yan means a place where habitual activity takes place. So this is their usual place for spinning.

26 This phrase should read something like, “there was my raising of the song of the tlatoani…” But that is rather awkward in English, so we have opted for a smoother read on this one.

27 The suffix -ton diminishes the object it is modifying, making it smaller or, in the case of an adult like Axayacatl, adding a derogatory quality.

28 Past translators have translated this passage as Axayacatl being surrounded with flowers. Perhaps more accurately, the war song is being twisted up and entwined like weaving a flower wreath or adornments.

29 She knows life on earth, as opposed to life in the sky (ilhuicatl) or underworld (mictlan).

30 Ahuiltia means to entertain, waste time, give pleasure, or to play (Karttunen 1983, p. 8). This noun phrase, as before, sounds awkward in English, so we have turned it into a verb phrase.

31 This appears to be a euphemism for a penis. And since Axayacatl is the only male around, it must be his.

32 Again, while this precedes a clear shout, it is both different in sound and appears translatable. And again, this seems to be some sexual imagery suggesting that Axayacatl’s penis has already become hard. The etc. at the end may mean more shouts, or more sexual imagery, the recorder is not eager to get into.

33 The first “lo” in ololotzin has been crossed out in the manuscript.

34 Apparently another sex-war-music metaphor! Or, this could be based on the place-name Tocuillan or Tocuiltitlan (near Texcoco), and so means singing the Tocuillan song (tocujleuhtivi); but, that requires using the single root cuica (to sing) both for the place name and song. The Florentine source then would read ‘“The Place of Our Song song.” See: Sahagún, Fray Bernardino de, The Florentine Codex: A General History of the Things of New Spain, translated by Anderson, Arthur J. O. and Dibble, Charles E., 12 books, 13 parts (Salt Lake City, UT: School of American Research, University of Utah Press, 1953-1982)Google Scholar, bk XII, Chp. 15:41. The Florentine henceforth will appear as “FC.”

35 This appears to be another sexual euphemism, in keeping with the previous ones. While the root here could be quiquiÇoa, to whistle; it seems more likely it’s the closely related verb quiquiçoa, to play an instrument or blow a horn. The -huía causative ending replaces words ending in “-ou” such as this, but not those ending in “i,” which become -iltia.

36 This is the second set of drum beats dividing one stanza from another.

37 Apparently yet another sexual metaphor. Built on “tree,” in its reduplicated form, ųuahųuauhti, it means “to be stiff” and in its noun form, quahquahuitl, it references the earlier horn-blowing, and also means lance or support bars for a roof (Diccionario, Siméon, pp. 404, 405). The metaphor also appears to build on the previous image of Axayacatl’s stick rising up. It could also be referring to lighting the fire under the woman’s ashpot coming soon. Since horns were blown in war victory parades (FC, Sahagún; bk XII, Chp. 15:41), this appears to be a multi-level metaphor: sex, hard stick-penises, blown like war horns, and starting women’s fires. Or, war equals sex.

38 A nexcomitl, or ash pot, was the vessel used for soaking maize in lime water (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 171); an apt metaphor for the female sexual organ: shaped like a pot, warmend moist, in which babies are prepared as though corn. Moreover, very young children were singed ritually like corn, when dedicated to their future schools (FC, Sahagún; bk II, chp. 37:164-66; chp. 38:169-71).

39 Could this little circle drawn between or above some letters mean a glottal?

40 A marginal note remarks that this is a Chalcan expression, or maybe Chalcan dirty talk.

41 Teteca, as it appears here in the transitive form, means “to lie down with a woman” and “to make a bed or warp cloth” (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 233), thus creating a metaphor linking sex and weaving. Such sexual-textile symbolism will continue to appear.

42 Tlamách means variously quietly, calmly, little by little, and without conflict (Diccionario, Simeon, p. 607; Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 278).

43 This is a very sexy word. Xima means to smooth or plane wood; but the closely related word tlaxima, which means adultery, also appears here (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 325; Introduction, Andrews, p. 484). Given those two possible roots and their context in this particular passage, surely the lovers haven’t moved suddenly to the carpenter shop! Neither is what we understand as adultery its probable intent; that meaning may be the result of the 16th century Spanish translators’ prudery (who rarely waxed graphic over this topic). More likely, the rhythmic action of planting wood has become a metaphor for the sexual act to which all the previous passages have been leading. This seems especially likely when the element is noted, which denotes the instrument by which the action of a verb is carried out (Compendium, Sullivan, pp. 104; Compendio, Sullivan, p. 134). It also fits with all the wooden metaphors for sexual organs that appeared just before this.

44 This sentence presents a very odd construction. It appears that the author is using two negatives in the imperative mode to produce an emphatic positive (Compendium, Sullivan, pp. 267; Compendio, Sullivan, pp. 325-26). In other words, she’s not telling him to stop, but to keep going.

45 This is one of those tricky passages. It’s possible that ozo is really ahzo, and the root is ihcuiloa, or “to paint” then it would read: “maybe I am painted,” as in body painting. But, that would mean accepting a mistake in the manuscript, an often dangerous assumption, and the passage would not fit with the sexual imagery so prominent up to this point.

46 Cuecuetzoca means “to have an itch” (Vocabulario, Molina, p. 27v). However, this itch needs to be understood in an emotional way; for, the un-reduplicated root, cuehtzo? and its reduplicated form cuecuetzoa, means to “become disturbed,” “emotional,” and “upset” (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 69; Diccionario, Simeón, p. 132).

47 Although unclear, the manuscript seems to indicate an “in” here, and that makes sense.

48 “To injure” (ihtlacalhui, Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 100) carries a moral message, for it also means to be “corrupted,” “damaged,” “ruined,” “spoiled,” and “broken” (See Burkhart, Louise, The Slippery Earth: Nahua Christian Moral Dialogue in Sixteenth Century Mexico, [Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press 1989], p. 28 Google Scholar). This is true especially in the reflexive, the form that appears here.

49 The Xiuhauecholli or cotinga bird (momotus lessoni goldmani) is described as a bird with herb-green feathers and a blue tail and wings (FC, Sahagun; bk. 11. pt 12, chp. 2, para. 1:20, n. 9:20).

50 This rather obscure word cluster seems to be referring to the manner of embrace spoken about in the following phrase. Molina tells us that this embrace is one in which “abracarse dos poniendo el uno la cabeça en el cuello del otro” (Vocabulario, Molina, p. 50v).

51 Macochoa means to embrace by putting your head on the neck of the other (Diccionario, Simeon, p. 247). In other words, they are hugging each other.

52 Quetzalli, the word used here, means both the plumage of the Quetzal bird and precious.

53 Both this and the Green Quecholli bird mentioned above appear to be euphemisms for female sexual parts. Dibble and Anderson identify the Tlauhquecholli as the Roseate Spoonbill (FC, Sahagun; bk. 11, pt. 12, chp. 2, para. 1:20).

54 This appears to be a description of a lover’s bed.

55 She appears to be referring to her state of marriage, of living in her husband’s household and what people are saying about her there. Oquichtli means “man,” “male,” and “husband” (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 183, 180).

56 “Making things” probably is referring to spinning and weaving, which has sexual connotations.

57 There is an odd little flourish over tlpc, which seems to indicate the missing letters in the word for earth’s surface, where people live. I.e.: this as a short cut for a very common word.

58 A tzotzopaztli or batten (sometimes also called a beater) is a stick used to beat the threads into place while weaving.

59 Queloa means to “say or do something intentional,” “deceive,” “obsfucate,” “seduce through action or speech,” or “make fun of someone.” In its extended meaning, queloloni, it means to “tease,” or “riducule someone” (Siméon 1981, 421).

60 There is probably a political intent behind these words. The word’s root, “spreading out” (mana), is the kind of spreading that occurs when one pats out tortillas (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 135). This word often appears in creation stories where the earth’s surface is spread out and formed. Here, because it is immediately followed by references to war and enemies, it seems to be referring to Axayacatl’s expansionists tendencies.

61 It’s possible that a particular person is being referred to; but given the context, it seems more likely that man has been abstracted into manliness or husband-ness, even though the usual abstracting suffix -yo is missing. Oųuichtli means man, male, or husband; here it appears as the direct object of the verb to speak (ihtoa); and, adding -yo would turn the word into semen, which is not the passage’s apparent intent (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 180).

62 This is a difficult passage. Given the context of earlier passages, it possibly means to ridicule or make fun of one’s weaknesses (naualaua; Diccionario, Siméon, p. 303), a translation that is in line with earlier references to teasing. But, its root also means a sorcerer (ibid.; Analytical Dictionary, Karttunen, p. 157). In other words, it also could mean to bewitch, a translation that could make sense of the refer ences that follow on speech and drunkenness, both having to do with ritual settings involving the manipulation of various powers. Moreover, rulers were known for their skills as nahuallies. The root also refers to the particular powers or alter ego that a person might have. This extra-personality could leave a person’s body and go on magical trips. The god Quetzalcoatl, a mythic ruler himself, sent his nahualli to confound his enemies the lords of the dead in order to steal the bones from which humans would be made (Sacrifice, Read, pp. 71-72). Perhaps both meanings are intended; he ridicules her because he can bewitch her with his speech, causing drunkenness. The problem is compounded by the unusual ending. It’s possible that it is a purposive optative ending on an imperfective (Introduction, Andrews, p. 125), but the command ma is missing (tenechnahua lan: te-nech-<nahuala(ua)>-n, you-me-ridiculepurp. opt?). See López Austin for more on the nahualli (Body, Lopez Austin, pp. 362-75).

63 This market imagery indicates that the singer is referring to her marriage alliance with Axayacatl. For, while patla means to exchange (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 189), tlapatalia means to trade and its noun form tlapatlaliztli means to barter (ibid, p. 290). In other words, this is not just a simple case of a conquest with the winner taking the spoils. Instead, it is a complex situation of political maneuvering which involves both war and marriage.

64 Remembering that the songs in this poem are war songs, this is a fairly direct reference to the political expansion of the Mexica domain through war.

65 The sexual connotations of this verb are not to be ignored, especially when the following text is considered. Teca means to stretch out and lie down with a woman (Siméon 1981, 441 ). In other words, war is spreading over them, and The Mexica are expanding their territory in the way that a man lies with a woman. All these are towns or areas near Chalco. Cohuatepec (Coatepec) was both the name for Chalco’s neighboring province in the late colonial period, and a town in that area ( Charles, Gibson, The Aztecs under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810 [CA: Stanford University Press, 1964 Google Scholar], map 5, 88-89). Axayacatl conquered the town either during his rule or just before he became ruler, and was ruled by only a military chief (FC, Sahagún: bk. 3, pt. 3, chp. 1:1; chp. 6:21; bk. 8, chp. 1:8; AC, 110). In 1454, during the reign of the tlatoani preceding Axayacatl, Motecuhzoma I, Quauhtenampan was the site of warfare between them and Chalco (AC, Bierhorst, p. 107). Panohuayan lay in the province of Chalco within the region of Amaquemecan, and therefore was located in the songsters’ ancestral homeland (Chilmalpahin, Schroeder, pp. 65-71, 110-11; Gibson, Aztecs Spanish Rule, map 5, pp. 88-89; CH, Rendón, pp. 102-04, 204-05). Interestingly, after 1488 when its rulership was restored, Panohuayan traced its lineage through a women’s line, beginning with a daughter of the male ruler in 1488 (Chimalpahin, Schroeder, p. 66). Motecuhzoma I conquered Panohuayan in 1456 (CH, Rendón, pp. 00, 201).

66 It would seem that, when the Mexica stretch out with their female conquests, this is not by mutual consent. Instead it is likened to rape. In the Legend of the Suns, similar imagery is used. There the rape of the warrior woman Chimalman takes place when Mixcoatl conquers her town Huitznahuac. This results in Quetzalcoatl’s birth, from which Chimalman dies. See: “Legend of the Suns,” Codex Chimalpopoca, as reproduced in History and Mythology of the Aztecs: The Codex Chimalpopoca, translated by Bierhorst, John (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, 1992), pp. 139–62, 153Google Scholar (henceforth, the “Legend” will appear as “LS”).

67 The middle vowel sound -ya is reduplicated in this version of Axayacatl’s name. This may be a typo, or it may be on purpose to keep the rhythm of the song going.

68 This may refer to Chalco’s apparent own past willingness to take a lesser status and ally with Tenochtitlan and Texcoco. Although from Chimalpahin’s point of view, she was conquered by the Mexica, the author of the “Anales of Cuauhtitlan”(Cuauhtitlan was an important ally of both Mexico and Texcoco) claims that the Chalcans began negotiating with Tenochtitlan and Texcoco to offer themselves as allies, at first secretly in 1462 and then openly in 1463; they “joined ranks” officially in 1465, the year Chimalpahin claims they were conquered. Motecuhzoma I was ruler of Tenochtitlan and Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco; Axayacatl was a war leader at the time. A Chalcan leader, Tlaltzin Teuctli, died in 1465, cooling the war off in Amaquemecan. Schroeder does not list him as one of the rulers of the towns of Amaquemecan, which might suggest that he was not a full ruler for the title “teuctli,” although rarely used, tended to refer to a rank lower than tlatoani. He may have been a particularly effective military leader. The Anales tells us that Chalco was denied proper rulership by Tenochtitlan and Texcoco, receiving only military leaders for the next 21 years (until after Axayacatl’s term). Finally, beginning in 1465, the war shifted to Huexotzinco (AC, Bierhorst, pp. 3-4, 108-110; Chilmalpahin, Schroeder, pp. 161, 169), where the Chalcan rulers had gone into exile.

69 As ruler of one of the important cities in the valley (see n. 11), Ayocuan gave the woman a superior genealogy. While he switched places for the rulership of ltztlacozauhcan with his cousin Coazacatzin; just one year before he took on the rulership, a second cousin from the same family, a female named Maquitzin, married the Tlacaellel of Mexico-Tenochtitlan and son of the tlatoani Huitzilihuitl (CH, Rendón, pp. 187-88). Genealogy was a major means for ordering political structures. Chalco’s con quest had not been easy and she remained an uneasy ally, a relationship that had been forced by war. Thus, this passage (that is repeated again in the next verse) is both a plea for recognition of her well-bred lineage and a subtle threat.

70 The Tepaneca region was the home of Azcapotzalco, ancient rivals of the Mexica. They were the first group whose rule the Mexica were able to overthrow with the help of the Triple Alliance.

71 This sexual relationship probably is also a marriage alliance gained by war; hence this is not so much sexual shame (as the Spanish chroniclers assumed) as political shame. Although chahua means someone in an irregular relationship, non-legitimate relationship, someone likely to arouse jealousy, or a mistress (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 45), this must be understood from within the political system that was based on marriage alliances.

72 The phrase suggests that the Tlatilolcans just gave up simply because the Mexica told them to. Indeed, many fled to the marshes to hide when it appeared that they were losing. See: Durán, Fray Diego, The History of the Indies of New Spain, translated by Heyden, Doris (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994), chp. XXXIV, pp. 260–61 Google Scholar. Durán’s history henceforth will appear as “HI.”

73 Sacrificial offerings were often feathered before being sacrificed. She’s wishing that she had been sacrificed instead of living like this.

74 Xayacamachan is a name of a ruler in Huexotzinco (AC, 55, 67; HI, chap. XLIII, 332). Huexotzinco was an enemy of Mexico, the place to which the Chalcan rulers tied when conquered by the Mexica (HI, Durán, chap. XXVIII:231 233, chap. XXXIX: 293, chap. XLIII:329, 335; AC, Bierhorst, p. 110).

75 This may be an alternative spelling of the place name, Quauhquechollan, a town that was situated near Atlixco. This would make sense, for Atlixco and Huexotzinco were both allies of Tlaxcala and considered enemies of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. The Mexica had been unsuccessful at conquering these areas. and instead waged the flowery wars with them. Indeed, Durán says that they were at constant war with them. Both towns were also two of six regionally related towns invited in secret to high state events at Tenochtitlan such as Axayacatl’s funeral and Ahuitzotl’s temple dedication. Many captives were sacrificed from both places at the latter event (HI, Durán, chap. XXVIII: 329, 231; chap. XXIX: 233; chap. XXXIX: 293; chap. XLIII: 335).

76 “Established” is based on the word “settled”, which is rooted in the word for earth, a reference to the close connection of settled rulership and particular areas of land (talia, tlalli (maicitepalnochahuatlalia: ma ik [Ø] i-tepal no-<chahua>-<flalia>: may thus [be] its-by aid of my-concubine-settled).

77 Tlaomepiya means “to be a bigamist” or “to keep more than one woman” (Analytical Dictionary, Kartunnen, p. 288).

78 Ahuiyani or pleasure woman is often translated as courtesan or prostitute. In this case, it probably refers to the women gained in war as tertiary marriages or the tlacihuantin or “evicted women.”

79 Cahualli means widow, widower, and someone who is left behind or abandoned. This last meaning seems to make much sense here, for she has been abandoned without her consent by her city in this strange man’s house (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 20).

80 An old maiden may suggest that, because she is not receiving sex as a maiden should, she becomes old before her time. I.e., another term for Axayacatľs neglect of her. Ichpochlli means young woman, maiden, or virgin (Analytical Dictinonary, Karttunen, p. 93).

81 The optative form is used here, suggesting a wish.

82 This look is in the imperative form, meaning a demand.

83 War’s metaphors usually are dry like fire, and often are represented by war shields.

84 For more on the nature of these powers see: Read, Kay, Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos (Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press, 1998), pp. 146–47 Google Scholar; and Townsend, Richard F, State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1979), p. 28 Google Scholar.

85 Sacrifice, Read, pp. 137-44; Read, Kay A. and Gonzalez, Jason J., Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 20–24 Google Scholar; Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings as translated by Tedlock, Dennis (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985), p. 140 Google Scholar.

86 CH, Rendón, p. 182; AC, Bierhorst, p. 73.

87 For example, see: AC, Bierhorst, p. 74; CH, Rendón, pp. 89, 189.

88 Kay A. Read, “His Breath and Word, His Face and Teeth: Verbal Images of Rulership in the Florentine Codex” (II Simposio Códices y Documentos sobre México, Siglos XII-XVII, Photocopied, 1994); Townsend, Richard F., State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1979), p. 28 Google Scholar.

89 After all, Axayacatl’s title is the tlatoani, which means “one who customarily speaks something.”

90 John Schwaller pointed out that given the ubiquitous nature of the formal laudatory address of -tzin—one hardly finds a ruler’s name without this honorific attached—the use of the diminutive -ton in this context must have sounded quite “astounding” to any Nahuatl speaker (in communication, 5 August 2005).

91 See Austin, Alfredo López, The Human Body: Concepts of the Ancient Nahuas, translated by Montellano, Thelma Ortiz de, and Montellano, Bernardo Ortiz de, Vol. 1 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press 1988), p. 53 Google Scholar for a discussion of the balanced dualisms between males and females.

92 Ibid., pp. 190-91, 229-32.

93 Ibid., p. 190.

94 Ibid., p. 293-95.

95 Rulers did not appear to follow the usual sexual prohibitions of Nahua society, probably because their philandering served political purposes. Supposedly Xicotencatl, Lord of Tlaxcala, had 600 wives, and Lord Motecuhzoma II had 150 wives pregnant at the same time ( Austin, López, Body, p. 302 Google ScholarPubMed). Of course, this could be a Spanish exaggeration; but even ifit is, this does not discredit the possible existence of such procreative fertility. Motecuhzoma II also would rub himself with a perfume made from the flower poyomatli to seduce women when he joined in public dances; the pleasure women were probably using this same perfume to attract men. A few sources suggest that even homosexuality was an option for rulers as was marriage with a sister (ibid, pp. 302, 303-304, 308). Finally, as we will see, rape resulted in conquest. See: (LS, Bierhorst, p. 153). Rulers simply did not conform to the usual elite restrictions, which were quite rigid. See: “Sex,” Read, pp. 160-61; and the Codex Mendoza, as reproduced in The Essential Codex Mendoza, commentary by Frances Berdan, F., and Patricia Rieft’ Anawalt (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997)Google Scholar, f. 9v.

96 CH, Rendón, p. 182.

97 LS: 159, 160.

98 CH, Rendón, p. 189; AC, Bierhorst, p. 98.

99 AC, Bierhorst, p. 104.

100 CH, Rendón, p. 102-03, 204-05.

101 AC, Bierhorst, p. 110.

102 Cihuanemactin: <cìhua>-ne-<mac(tia)>-tin; woman-each other-to hand over-pl. Tlacihuaantin (see n. 71).

103 Burkhart, Slippery, p. 151.

104 Zantwijk, Rudolf van, The Aztee Arrangement: The Social History of Pre-Spanish Mexico (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press), p. 179 Google Scholar.

105 CH, Rendón, p. 189, 192; AC, Bierhorst, p. 98.

106 CH, Rendón, p. 103, 206-07.

107 Ibid., pp. 104,208.

108 Sweat, bodily waste, or filth or tzotl (Analytical Dictionary, Karttunen, p. 319) also often carries a moral implication. When one has become dirty or soiled it is often because of one’s own failure or immoral actions. One is compared, then to the excrement which must be used to fertilize the field (Burkhart, Slippery, pp. 87-121; Sacrifice, Read, pp. 123-24, 135-36, 152-53, 171-74).

109 HI, Durán, chap. X: 91.

110 Durán does not say whether or not Chalco received any land, usually the loser did not; but then usually the losing warriors did not receive such honorable symbols, either (HI, Durán, chap. XVII: 147-48).

111 CH, Rendón, p. 205.

112 Seen. 65.

113 CH, Rendón, p. 205.

114 LS, Bierhorst, p. 153; Read, “Sex,” p. 163.

115 CH, Rendón, p. 187.

116 See: Read, Kay A., “More than Earth: Cihuacoatl as Female Warrior, Male Matron, and Inside Ruler” in Goddesses Who Rule, Bernard, Elisabeth and Moon, Beverly, eds. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000: 51–67 (pp. 58-62)Google Scholar.

117 CH, Rendón, p. 189; AC, Bierhorst, pp. 85.

118 AC, Bierhorst, pp. 85-88.

119 CH, Rendón, p. 193; AC, Bierhorst, p. 95-98.

120 HI, Durán, chap. XIV; 121; AC, Bierhorst, p. 128; and Davies, Nigel, The Aztecs: A History (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press), p. 82 Google Scholar

121 AC, Bierhorst, p. 98.

122 CH, Rendón, p. 191, 203; FC, Sahagún, bk. 8, chap. 2:7.

123 AC, Bierhorst, p. 96.

124 CH, Rendón, p. 203.

125 AC, Bierhorst, pp. 112-15.

126 HI, Durán, chap. 32-34: 247-62, plate 22; CH, Rendón, p. 104, 206-07, 208.

127 CH, Rendón, p. 203, 208.

128 Cities with which one was allied were often addressed as “one’s mother, one’s father,” which makes sense with the idea of a female internal ruler and a male external ruler. Here the address likely indicates Chalco’s kinship with Mexico as wife-givers running through the Tlacaellel’s or matron’s line (CH, Rendón, p. 85).

129 HI, Durón, chap. XXVIII: 231 233, chap. XXXIX: 293, chap. XLIII: 329, 335. See also: Codex Telleriano Remensis, as reproduced in Codex Telleriano Remensis: Ritual, Divination, and History in a Pictorial Aztec Manuscript, commentary by Keber, Eloise Quiñones (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995), p. 218 Google Scholar; and Códice Xolotl, facsimile edition, Dibble, Charles E., ed., (Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1980), p. 79 Google Scholar.

130 CH, Rendón, p. 96.

131 Both Durán and Chimalpahin report this; not surprisingly, the historian Ixtlilxochitl of Texcoco has a somewhat different story (HI, Durán, chap. XV: 125-129, n. 3, p. 128; CH, Rendón, pp. 96, 193; Obras Historicas, Ixtlixochitl, Fernando de Alva, edited by O’Gorman, Edmund, tomo II [Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, 1985 Google Scholar], chap. XXXIII: 86-88).

132 HI, Durán, chap. XXIV: 194-201; see also: Telleriano Rememsis, Quiñones Keber, pp. 219, 222.

133 AC, Bierhorst, p. 136.

134 Castillo, Bernal Díaz del, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico: 1517-1521 (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Diaz, Giroux, 1956), pp. 184, 346, 368Google Scholar.

135 Trouillot, Michel Rolph, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1995), p. 27.Google Scholar

136 Is it sufficient to simply understand gender roles as strictly divided between males and females with the two never mixing? For example, the Mexica Tlacaellel, the second in command to the Tlatoani, dressed in the costume of the goddess, Cihuacoatl, for rituals because he held her powers and, in this capacity, served the role of an inside ruler or the symbolic matron of Tenochtitlan. Other cultures also sometimes mix these roles, so that a male role can be taken on by a woman, or vice versa. Among the Igbo of Nigeria, even though a dualistic system of gender complementarity is widely prevalent, highly successful women can take on the social role of a father, owning and running their own compounds that contain an extended family. It would pay us to not be too quick to assume what the roles of either males or females are in this situation because of’ the complex circumstances under which our documents were collected and the fact that often we simply don’t have sufficient information (see n.13). See: Read, “More than Earth,” pp. 58-62; and Uchendu, Victor, The lgbo of Southeast Nigeria (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965) p. 86 Google Scholar.

137 Aztec Kings, Gillespie, pp. 3-120.

138 Chimalpahin, Schroeder, pp. 56, 183-84.

139 Ibid., pp. 66-70.