Part 7

2. Ni quetzaltototl niyecoya ye iquiapan ycelteotl yxochiticpac nihueloncuica oo nicuicaihtoa paqui ye noyol ahuay.

2. I am like 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. Xochiatl in pozontimania in tlallaicpac oquihuinti ye noyol ahua.

3. The fuming dew-drops from the flowers in the field intoxicate my soul.

4. Ninochoquilia niquinotlamati ayac in chan oo tlallicpac ahua.

4. I grieve to myself that ever this dwelling on earth should end.

5. Zan niquittoaya ye ni Mexicatl mani ya huiya nohtlatoca tequantepec ni yahui polihuin chittepehua a ya ye choca in tequantepehua o huaye.

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. Ma ca qualania nohueyotehua Mexicatli polihui chile.

6. Let me not be angry that the grandeur of Mexico is to be destroyed.

7. Citlalin in popocaya ipan ye moteca y za ye polihui a zan ye xochitecatl ohuaye.

7. The smoking stars gather together against it; the one who cares for flowers is about to be destroyed.

8. Zan ye chocaya amaxtecatl aya caye chocaya tequantepehua.

8. He who cared for books wept, he wept for the beginning of the destruction.

XXVI.

_Toto tiquiti tiquiti ic ontlantiuh tocotico tocoti toto titiqui toto titiquiti._

_Toto tiquiti tiquiti, then it ends tocotico, tocoti toto titiqui toto titiquiti._

1. Oya moquetz huel oon ma on netotilo teteuctin aya ma onnetlanehuihuilo chalchihuitl on quetzali patlahuac, ayac ichan tlalticpac, ayio zan nomac onmania ooo y xochiuh aya ipalnemoa ma onnetlanehuilo chalchihuitl.

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. Oyohual in colinia o on in icelteotl ipalnemaa Anahuac o onnemia noyol ayio.

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. In yancuica oncan quixima ipalnemoani ca ye Nonoalco ahuilizapan i in teuctli yehua Nezahualpilli y yece ye oncan aya in tlacoch tenanpan Atlixco ayio.

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. Zan momac otitemic motlahuan zomal a ica ticahuiltia icelteotl in teuctli yehua.

4. Thou hast filled thy plate and thy cup in thy hands and hast rejoiced in the one only God, the Lord.

5. Y yeho aye icnotlamati noyollo, zan niNonoalcatl, zan can nicolintototl o nocamapan aya Mexicatl in ca yio.

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. On quetzal pipixauhtoc motlachinolxochiuh in ipalnemoa zan ca nicolintototl, etc.

6. The beauteous flowers of thy battles lie abundantly snowed down, O Giver of Life; I am like a wild bird, etc.

XXVII.

_Toco toco tiqui tiqui ic ontlantiuh toco tico tocoti._

_Toco, toco, tiqui, tiqui, and then it ends toco, tico, tocoli._

1. Ma ya pehualo ya nicuihua in ma ya on acico ye nicaan aya oya y[)e]coc yehuan Dios in cayio in ma ya ca ya onahuilihuan tepilhuan a ayamo acico ya yehuan Dios oncan titemoc yehuan Dios a oncan huel in oncan tlacat y ye Yesu Cristo in ca yio.

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. In oncan tlahuizcalli milintimani mochan aya moxochiuhaya Dios aya chalchiuhcueponi maquiztzetzelihui onnetlamachtiloya in ca yio in oncan ya o nepapan izhuayo moxochiuh aya Dios a.

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. Zan ye xochitl moyahua oo zan ca itlatol in ipalnemoani o ontepan ye moteca anahuac ooica tichuelmana atl on yan tepetl ayio.

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. Zan temomac mania cemilhuitl in niman ye tehuatl toconyaittoaya ipalnemoani.

4. Our day is in thy hand, and soon we shall see thee, thou Giver of Life.

NOTES.

NOTES FOR SONG I.

The song is an allegory, 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 disqualifies for ordinary joys. As in medieval tales, he who had once been admitted to fairyland, could nevermore conquer his longing 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.

1. The word _peuhcayotl_ from _peua_, 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.)

1. _Ninoyolnonotza_, a reflexive, frequentative form from _notza_, to think, to reflect, itself from the primitive radicle _no_, 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 of _yolnonotza_ is not found in any of the dictionaries. 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.

_chalchiuh_ for _chalchiuitl_, the famous green-stone, jade or emerald, so highly prized by the Mexicans; often used figuratively for anything noble, beautiful and esteemed.

_huitzitzicatin_, a word not found in the dictionaries, appears to be from _tzitzilca_, 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 similarity 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 hundred nests being found in one tree (see Eduard Mühlenpfort, _Versuch einer getreuen Schilderung der Republik Mexiko_, Bd. I, p. 183).

_acxoyatzinitzcanquauhtla_; composed of _acxoyatl_, the wild laurel; _tzinitzcan_, the native name of the _Trogon mexicanus_, renowned for its beautiful plumage; _quauhtli_, a tree; and the place-ending _tla_, meaning abundance.

_tlauquecholxochiquauhtla_; composed of _tlauquechol_, the native name of the red, spoon-billed heron, _Platalea ajaja; xochitl_, flower; _quauhtli_, tree; and the place-ending _tla_.

_tonameyotoc_, the root is the verb _tona_, 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_; _mo_ is the reflexive pronoun, 3d sing., often used impersonally; _cehcemel_, is a reduplicated form of the numeral _ce_, one; it conveys the sense of entire, whole, perfect, and is thus an interesting illustration of the tendency of the untutored mind to associate the idea of unity with the notion of perfection; _quixtia_ is the compulsive form of _quiza_, 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, accusative form of the pronoun.

_nocuexanco_; from _cuexantli_, the loose gown worn by the natives, extending from the waist to the knees. Articles were carried in it as in an apron; _no-cuexan-co_, my-gown-in, the terminal _tli_ being dropped on suffixing the postposition.

_tepilhuan_; from _pilli_, boy, girl, child, young person, with the relative, indefinite, pronominal prefix _te_, and the pronominal plural termination _huan_, to take which, _pilli_ drops its last syllable, _li_; hence, _te-pil-huan_, somebody's children, or in general, the young people. This word is of constant occurrence in the songs.

_teteuctin_, plural with reduplication of _teuctli_, a noble, a ruler, a lord. The singer addresses his audience by this respectful title.

2. _ixochicuicatzini_; _i_, poss. pron. 3d sing.; _xochitl_, flower; _cuicatl_, 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 _Dictionnaire_, but given by Tezozomoc, _Cronica Mexicana_, p. 202).

_meyaquetzalatl_; 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 _xiuitl_, 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_, turquoise-bird, is the _Guiaca cerulea_, Linn.; _ameyalli_, from _atl_, water, _meya_, to trickle, and the noun ending.

_mo-motla_; to throw one's self, to dash one's self against something, etc.

_centzontlatolli_; literally," four hundred speeches." The numeral 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 polyglottus_, _Calandria polyglotta_, and _Mimus polyglotta_.

_coyoltototl_, literally, "the rattle-bird," so called from its peculiar notes (_coyolli_ = a rattle), is one of the _Tanegridae_, probably the _Piranga hepatica_.

_ayacachicahuactimani_; 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 _ti_).

_hueltetozcatemique_; composed of _huel_, good or well; _tetozca_, from _tozquitl_, the singing voice; and _temo_, to let fall, to drop; _que_ is the plural verbal termination.

3. _ma n-amech-ellelti_, vetative causative from _elleloa_, to cause pain.

_cactimotlalique_, appears to be a compound of _caqui_, to listen, to hear, and _tlalia_, to seat, to place.

_amohuampotzitzinhuan_, a compound based on the pronoun of the second person plural, _amo_, the particle _po_, which means similarity or likeness, and the reduplicated reverential plural termination. The same particle _po_, appears a few lines later in _toquichpohuan_; _potli_ = comrade, compeer.

4. _Tepeitic_, from _tepetl_, mountain, _ititl_, belly, from which is derived the proposition _itic_, within, among. The term is applied to a ravine or sequestered valley.

5. _quauhtliya ocelotl_, the expression _quauhtli, ocelotl_, is of frequent 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 tloque in nahuaque_; this expression, applied by the ancient Nahuas to the highest divinity, is attributed by some to Nezahualcoyotl (see above, p. 36). It is composed of two postpositions _tloc_ and _nahaac_, 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 Mislerio de la Santisima Trinidad_, p. 11 (Guadalajara, 1871). The epithet was applied in heathen times to the supreme divinity Tonacateotl; see the _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, 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); Tezozomoc, _Cronica Mexicana_, cap. 55; D.G. Brinton; _The Journey of the Soul_ (in Aztec and Aryan Myths), Philadelphia, 1883.

_yhuintia_, causative form of _ihuinti_, to make drunk. The Nirvana of the Nahuas was for the soul to lie 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).

NOTES FOR SONG II.

On the signification of the titles given to this poem see the Introduction, § 3.

1. _yehnan Dios_; literally "who are God;" the introduction of the Spanish _Dios_, God, is in explanation of _in tloque in nahuaque_; 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.

_teoquecholme_; the prefix _teotl_, divine, is often added as an expression of admiration. Sahagun mentions the _teoquechol_ as a bird of brilliant plumage.

NOTES FOR SONG III.

The poet recalls a recent attendance on the obsequies of an acquaintance, and seeks to divert his mind from the gloomy contemplation 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.

1. _xochicalco_; compounded of _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.

_ipalnemohuani_, literally "the one by whom life exists." The composition is _i_, possessive pronoun, third person, singular; _pal_, postposition, by; _nemoani_, singular of the present in _ni_ of the impersonal form of the verb _nemi_, 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 Telleriano-Remensis_, Kingsborough's _Mexico_, Vol. VI, p. 128, note.

_tolquatectitlan_, from _toloa_, to lower, to bow; _quatequia_, to immerse the head; _tlan_, place ending. In the ancient funeral ceremonies 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 _xoyaui_, to spoil, to decay, whence _xoyauhqui_, rank, unpleasant, like the odor of decaying substances.

_xochicopal tlenamactli_, "the incense of sweet copal," which was burned in the funeral chamber (see Tezozomoc's description of the obsequies of Axayaca, _Cron. Mex._, cap. 55).

2. The translation of this verse offers some special difficulties.

NOTES FOR SONG 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. _miahuatototl_, literally, "the corn-silk bird," _miahua_ 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 España_, Lib. X, cap. 24) as a species of rose, portions of which were used to fill the cane tubes or pipes used for smoking. He names it along with certain fungi employed for the same purpose, and it probably produced a narcotic effect.

NOTES FOR SONG 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 transitoriness 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 missionaries.

1. _tonequimilol_; I take this to be a derivative from _quimiloa_, to wrap up, especially, to shroud the dead, to wrap the corpse in its winding sheets, as was the custom of the ancient Mexicans. 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, 1, and do not consider that it detracts from the authentic antiquity of the poem.

2. _yoyontzin_; on the significance of this appellation of Nezahualcoyotl, see Introduction, p. 35.

3. _ti 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 Introduction, p. 35.

6. The text of the latter part or refrain of verses 5 and 6 is corrupt, and my translation is doubtful.

NOTES FOR SONG 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 associate of Quauhtemoctzin, the "King of Mexico." (See Sahagun, _Hist. de la Nueva España_, Lib. XII, cap. 16 and 40.) M. Rémi 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 possible from _tetlapanqui_, miner, or quarryman (literally, stone-breaker), and _quetzalli_, red; _quetzatzin_, 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.

1. _Aua_; this word I take to be a form of the interjection _yahue_, or, as Olmos gives it in his _Grammar, aa_.

2. _nepohualoyan_; "the place of counting or reckoning," from _pohua_, 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 _on_.

_teoatl tlachinolli_, literally "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, _otlaltitechya in altepetl teuatl tlachinolli ye opoliuh_, and explains it, "the town was destroyed with fire and blood" (_Sermones en Lengua Mexicana_, p. 122). The word _tlachinolli_ 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 petlauhqui_, with the translation _despechugado_. _Vocabulario Mexicana, s.v._

NOTES FOR SONG 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 occasions. 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.

1. _oamaxque_, _o_, pret. _am_, you, _axque_, 2d pl. pret. from _ay_, to do.

_octicatl_, apparently an old form from _octli_, the intoxicating beverage prepared from the maguey.

_oanquique_, 2d pl. pret. from _cui_, to take.

_ohuican_, a place of difficulty and danger. The frequent addition of the terminal _o_ in this and the succeeding verses is merely euphonic.

2. _teoatl tlachinolli_; see note VI, 4.

_in maquiztli tlazotetl_, the beloved jewels, a phrase which indicates 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 _tizaoctli_, 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 España_. Lib. II, App. Tezozomoc mentions it as handed to the mourners at funeral ceremonies. _Cronica Mexicana_, cap. 55.

3. _xochitlalticpacilhtuicacpao_; in this long compound of _xochitl_, flower, _tlalti_, earth, and _ilhuicatl_, sky, with various postpositions and the euphonic terminal _o_, the final _pa_ gives the sense of location, towards, in the direction of.

_chimalxochiti_; "the shield flower," the shield or buckler of the ancient warriors, ornamented with tassels and feathers, is not unaptly called the flower of war.

NOTES FOR SONG VIII.

The entire absence in this lament for the dead of any consolation 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. _quetzalhuahuaciuhtoque_, from _quetzalli, huaqui_; _in teintoque_, the splinters; the same simile is employed in VII, 2.

2. _ximoayan_, see 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.

NOTES FOR SONG IX.