i^'IEXICAN PICiTURE WRITINGS OP ALEXAroER VON Hin'O^OIiDT By Edward Beler. amiitHttMJiUiiafti .f'jKifi,ii*i:yi,,jij,'iiiii! 14' Huntington Free Library Native American Collection 4.fcl7iy /MARSHALL H. SAVILLE COLLECTION CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 097 634 970 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924097634970 THE MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS OF ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT IN THE ROYAL LIBRARY AT BERLIN EDUARD SELER 123 CONTENTS » Page Preface '. 127 Fragment I, plates i-v 188 Fragment II, plate vi .* 154 Fragments III and IV, plates vii and viii 176 Fragment \', plate ix 187 Fragment VI, plate x 190 Fragment VII, plate xi 196 Fragment VIII, plate xii 300 Fragments IX, plate x; X, XI, and XII, plates xiii, xiv (A and B) xv 209 Fragment XIII, plate xvi 312 Fragment XIV, plate xvii 217 Fragment XV, plate xviii 221 Fragment XVI, plate xix 221 Conclusion 228 125 MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS OE ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT" By Eduard Seler PKEFACE The sixteen fragments of ancient Mexican picture writing, which are reproduced in colored plates, belong to a " remarkable collection made in the year 1803 in the kingdom of New Spain ", which was "presented to the Koyal Library by Baron Alexander von Hum- boldt, in January, 1806 ". This statement is made by Friedrich Wilken, on pages 155-156 of his History of the Royal Library of Berlin, printed in the year 1828. Wilken mentions " thirteen frag- ments of historical hieroglyphic writing of the Aztecs upon paper made from the fiber of the Agave americana, together with a codex 14 feet in length belonging to it, in similar hieroglyphic writing ". The number does not correspond with the number of pieces now in the library, for, according to his statement, there should be but 14. The reason of this is that two of the original strips were cut in half, lengthwise, and pasted on the same folio page, side by side. These are the pieces shown in plates ix, x, xi, and xii, as I shall describe more in detail in the course of my explanation of these pieces. With the exception of fragment I, which has been preserved in its original form as " the folded codex ", all the pieces are pasted upon folio pages and bound together in an atlas. The title page is reproduced in the heliotype atlas. It has been retained, although the historic and archeologic remarks which it contains do not harmonize with our present knowledge of these subjects. Alexander von Humboldt, who copies and describes fragment II of the collection in his Vues des Cordilleres et Monuments des Peuples Indigenes de I'Amerique, plate xii, under the title " Genealogie des Princes d'Azpapozalco ", states that he bought the document in Mexico at the public sale of the collections of Gama (the well- known astronomer and author of the work Las dos Piedras, whose full name was Antonio de Leon y Gama). Humboldt suggests that iBerlin, 1893. 127 128 BTTBEAXT OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 it may formerly have belonged to the " Museo Indiano " of the Milanese historian and antiquary, Cavaliere Lorenzo Boturini Ber- naducci. Since various other of these fragments, as I shall here- after show, certainly did belong to Boturini's collection, and we know that Gama actually knew of, used, and possessed a great part of Boturini's collection, we may venture to conjecture that the other pieces of the collection brought together by Alexander von Humboldt were acquired in the same waj'. I'ragments II and VI were published and described by von Hum- boldt in the above-mentioned illustrated work, Vues des Cordilleres et Monuments des Peuples Indigenes de I'Amerique. Only a small part of fragment II, however, was reproduced, and that without the explanatory notes which accompany it, and neither of the two frag- ments was quite perfectly and correctly reproduced. Fragments I and II have also appeared in colors in the second volume of Kings- borough's great work, Mexican Antiquities. Fragment II. however, is without the explanatory notes. Close examination readily shows that neither is by any means accurately nor exactly reproduced, either in drawing or color. The Avhole collection was exhibited in the year 1888 in the rooms of the Royal Library, with the other manuscripts and printed matter relating to the history and languages of America, during the sessions of the International Americanist Congress at Berlin. The four hundredth anniversary of the day on which Columbus first trod the soil of the New World gave the managers of the Royal Library the desired opportunity to render the entire col- lection more accessible for general use by multiplying it, photograph- ically at least, as their means did not then admit of reproduction in colors. To me was intrusted the honorable task of accompanying those pages with a few words of explanation, for which I herewith express my thanks to the administration of the Royal Library. FRAGMENT I This fragment (plates ii to vi) is a strip of agave paper 4.3 m. long and somewhat more than 8 cm. wide, painted on one side and then folded fourteen times, thus making a book about a foot in length. The painted side is divided lengthwise by vertical lines into 5 strips, and by other lines cutting the former at right angles into 75 sections. I will designate the longitudinal strips from right to left by the let- ters A, B, c, D, and E (plates ii to vi) , and the subdivisions beginning at the bottom — for there the reading begins — by the figures 1 to 75. The lower end is imperfect. It is obvious that there was still another i-^ection below, which was painted in similar fashion and possibly formed the end of an entire missing row. The upper end looks as if it had been sharply cut off. As the entries of material objects BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 28 PLATE II MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT I, PART 1 SBLBK] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 129 (columns c to e) cease in the fifth section from the top, it may be assumed that this was the end of the strip, and that it was not further written upon because, for some reason, the entries ceased altogether. In column b four pictures follow one another in regular repetition. These I will designate by a, b, c, and d, proceeding from below upward. Thus we have a in sections 1, 5, 9, 13, etc., b in sections 2, 6, 10, 14, etc., c in 3, 7, 11, 15, etc., d in 4, 8, 12, 16, etc. The picture a, plate ii, shows a dark-colored face with a large round eye, a row of long tusks, and over the lips an angular blue stripe curved downward and rolled up at the ends. This is the familiar face of the rain, thunder, and mountain god of the Mexi- cans — Tlaloc by name — a face the features of which were supposed to be produced originally by the coils of two snakes, their mouths, with long fangs in the upper jaw, meeting in the middle of the upper lip."^ The face of the rain god here stands for his chief festival, the sixth (according to the usual reckoning) of the eighteen annual fes- tivals of the Mexicans, known as Etzalqualiztli, that is, " when they eat bean food " (beans cooked with whole kernels of maize)." The second of the four pictures (b, column b) is a white strip painted over with black acute-angled figures, wound about with a red band, from which two yellow tufts protrude at the top. The white strip painted with angular figures represents a so-called teteuitl, or ama-teteuitl, a strip of white bark paper (the inner bark of a variety of fig) upon which certain figures are drawn with liquid caoutchouc. These teteuitl were in general use as sacrificial gifts. At the feast of the rain gods they were hung upon long poles in the courtyard of the house ; " they were fastened on the breast of the small idols of the mountain gods,* and were burned in honor of the fire gods." These were easilj' prepared images of the gods to which they were offered. The picture of the god, or his symbol, was drawn on the paper with caoutchouc.^ The red band which is wound around the paper is a leather strap of the kind that were much used, either col- ored or gilded, as ribbons and for ornamental purposes." And, finally, the yellow tufts which protrude at the top represent a broom. These brooms were made of a hard, stiff', pointed grass, which was cut with sickles in the mountainous forests of Popocatepetl and Ajusco.'' The whole picture is a symbol of the old earth goddess called Toci, " our " See Seler, Das TonalamatI der Aubinschen Sammlung, in Comptes Rendus du Sep' ti&me Session du Congrfes International des Atngricanistes, Berlin, 1888, p. 584. " See DurSn, v. 3, sec. 6 ; Sahagun, t. 2, chap. 6. ' Sahagun, v. 2, chaps. 20 and 35. " Sahagun, v. 2, chap. 32. « Sahagun, ¥. 9, chap. 3 ; v. 2, chap. 34. r See Sahagun, v. 9, chap. 3. " See the hieroglyph of Cuetlartlan, " The Land of Leather ", in the Mendoza codex, v S, p. 21 ; T. 51, p. 1. ' "See Sahagun, t. 10, p. 24; v. 8, p. 61 (Bustamante edition), and a comment on the passage by the editor. 7238— No. 28—05 9 130 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 28 progenitrix ", or Teteo innan, " mother of the gods ", and of the eleventh (according to the usual reckoning) of the eighteen annual festivals of the Mexicans, Ochpaniztli; the " broom feast " or " house- cleaning festival", celebrated in honor of this goddess. For the broom, which symbolizes one of the first domestic, that is, feminine, occupations, was a special symbol of this goddess, who was therefore also the goddess of purity, of purification and eradication of sin." The teteuitl paper with which the broom is bound together is in our Pig. 30. Headdresses and f.ags from Mexican codices. picture b painted with figures which again denote an attribute of the same goddess. The Mexicans in their paintings represented the raw, unspun cotton by acute-angled figures or groups of parallel lines on a white ground. Cotton, as a material for woman's work, was for that reason one of the chief attributes of the above-mentioned deity. Her headband (see a, figure 30) called i-ichcaxochiuh, "her headband of cotton ", was made of that material.* A strip of unspun cotton hung from her ear peg and loose cotton was bound to the end of the spindle which she wore between the hair and the headband (c and d, figure 30) . « Seler, Das Tonalamatl der Aulilnsclien Sammlung, volume cited, p. Qf>l. ' Veroffientlichungen aus dem KHniglichen Museum fiir VOlljerkunde, v. 1, p. 148. SBLEH] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 131 In c and cZ, figure 30, we also see a paper covered with drawings of cotton fastened to the back of the goddess's head. That the paper in our picture b, painted with the acute-angled figures, is, like the broom, a symbol of the earth goddess is most' clearly shown by the fact that the broom which, in her picture, the goddess Toci carries in her hand is wound round with paper similarly painted. Thus we see it in &, figure 30, which'is taken from the picture in the Sahagun manuscript of the Bibliotheca del Palacio at Madrid, which repre- sents the various ceremonies of the feast Ochpaniztli. The third picture in the coliimn, which I designate by c (plate ii), represents a flag apparently made of striped woven stuff, with stream- ers of the same material fastened to its top. Such flags were, it seems, called quachpamitl — derived from quachtli, " a square piece of woven cloth ", and pamitl, " flag ". Among the Mexicans, as among the nations of the Old World, flags and other insignia played an important part in war. The Mexicans, however, as a rule, did not carry these insignia free in their hands, but strapped upon their backs, though it seems that flags of the same sort and shape as the one represented in our picture c were also waved. in the hand. The signal for battle was given with them, as we learn from Sahagun. Thus we read in the Aztec manuscript of the Academia de la His- toria at Madrid: " Yn quachpanitl, coztic teocuitlapanitl yoan quet- zalpanitl, yn teeuitia yyaoc: j'n omottac ye meuatiquetzaya izqui quachpanitl, niman cemeua yaoquizque ynic miccali ". Sahagun (book 8, chapter 12) translates it somewhat inexactly : Tambien usa- ban de unas vanderillas de oro, las cuales en tocando al arma las levantaban en las manos, porque comenzasen a pelear los soldados (" They also used certain golden flags, which, when the call to arms was sounded, they raised in their hands, because the soldiers began to fight ") . The correct translation is as follows : " The flag of woven stuff, the flag of plates of gold, and. the one made of quetzal feathers, they call the people in war time to prepare for battle. When men see how the quachpamitl (flags of woven stuff) are raised on every hand, then the warriors go forth to battle ". The raising of the flag, then, was the signal to begin battle. Panquetzaliztli, the raising of the flag, therefore, was the name of the festival — the fifteenth, according to the usual reckoning — which the Mexicans celebrated in honor of the god Uitzilopochtli, who was especially regarded as the god of combat and war. In Codices Telleriano- Eemensis and Vaticanus A this festival is represented by the figure of the god himself holding a flag in his hand {g, figure 30) , which shows essentially the same characteristics as the one in the picture c, plate II. Elsewhere the quachpamitl is painted by itself, as in later 132 BTTBEAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [edll. 28 calendars, from which I reproduce the figure with the legend in e and /, figure 30, and also in our picture c, plate ii, which illustrates the fifteenth annual festival, the feast Panquetzaliztli. Finally, the fourth picture, which I designated by d, plate ii, shows us the head of a well-known deity, the red god Xipe, whose original home was near Yopi, in the deep ravines of the Pacific slope, but whose worship was widely spread throughout the highlands, and par- ticularly in the capital, where it was celebrated with special pomp. It is a peculiar characteristic of this god that he goes about clad in a flayed human skin. Therefore, at his feast victims were not only slaughtered in the usual manner by tearing out the heart, which was offered up to him, but afterward the corpse was flayed and its skin put on by such persons as, for any reason, wished to show the god special devotion. It was worn by them continually during the twenty days following the festival. This feast, called Tlacaxipeualiztli, " man flaying " — ^the second, according to the usual reckoning — is represented in our picture d by the head of the god Xipe. Thus we have in a, b, c, and d of column b, plates ii and iii, the pic- tures of four yearly festivals, namely, the sixth, eleventh, fifteenth, and second, according to the usual reckoning. The sixth feast was separated from the eleventh by 5X20, or 100, days; the eleventh from the fifteenth by 4X20, or 80, days; the fifteenth from the second by 5X20-f .5, or 105, days (in this interval fall the nemontemi, the five superfluous days, which were counted at the end of Izcalli) , and, lastly, the second was 4X20, or 80, days, distant from the sixth, giving a total of 100+80-f 105+80, or 365. These four festivals, it is true, do not divide the year into four quarters, except approxi- mately. It is as exact and regular as is possible in a year composed of eighteen parts of 20 days each and 5 superfluous days. We will now consider column a (see plates ii and iii), the first on the right hand of the strip. Here we invariably find, together with the feast Etzalqualiztli (a of column b), a picture and several small circles, which express a certain number. Here, again, we have four pictures, which follow one another from below upward in regu- lar alternation. I will designate these, beginning at the bottom, by a, /?, y, and S. The first character, a, is composed of an eye, a vertical ray, and two lateral parts, probably derived from the drawing of a cross, the arms of which cut each other at a somewhat acute angle. This is the symbol of the four cardinal points (see the variant of this char- acter, e, figure 31, from the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca Laurenziana) , but may, perhaps, have some connection with the drawing often found on spindle whorls (see «, 6, c, and d^ same figure) SELBE] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 133 of two eyebrows surrounding the hole of the spindle, supposed to be the eye. Compare h and ?, figure 31, taken from a list of persons in the towns of Uexotzinco and Xaltepetlapan (Mexican manuscript No 3 of the Bibliothcque Nationale in Paris) and denoting persons of the name of Olin. The whole character stands for the word olin, " that which rolls ". It is the seventeenth of the twenty day signs of the Mexicans, and was regarded as standing in special relation to the sun. The form which the character takes in our picture «, plate ii, most resembles that which we see in Codices Telleriano-Remensis and Vaticanus A (see /, figure 31), and it is not wholly without sig- h^ immm^W Fig. 31. Variations of the Mexican seventeenth day symbol. nificance in deciding the question of the origin of the picture writing under consideration. The second sign of column a, which I call /J (plate ii) , represents the head of the wind god, Ehecatl, or Quetzalcoatl. He has a pro- truding, trumpetlike mouth, for the wind god blows (see also e, d. and e, figure 41). Generally speaking, this figure suggested whirls and circles. Hence his temples were built in circular form. The cap which he wears is cone-shaped. The ends of his headband and his breechclout are rounded. His head ornament is the spiral snail shell. He wears snail shells as a necklace, and his breast ornament, the eca- ilacatzcozcatl," as well as his ear ornament, is carved from a huge « Veroffentlichungen aus dem Koniglichen Museum fur Viilkerkunde zu Berlin, pp. 128, 129. 134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 whelk shell. The head of the wind god here stands for the second of the twenty day signs of the Mexicans, which was called Ehecatl, " wind ". The form which the character has in our figure likewise resembles most the form which is drawn in Codices Telleriano- Remensis and Vaticanus A. The third sign {y, plate in) in column a shows us the head of a deer, which is most unnaturally drawn, having upper incisors, but is plainly intended to represent a deer, as is shown by the branching antlers. The seventh of the twenty day signs of the Mexicans was designated by the picture of the deer (Mazatl). The fourth sign, (J, is a death's-head, with fleshless jaw, a great, round eye with an eyebrow, and a protruding tongue, such a head as was customarily used among the Mexicans to represent death or the death god. But here the skull- is covered with a green bush, the sepa- rate stalks of which end in small yellow knobs. This green bush rep- resents grass, and is illustrative of the rope twisted of grass (mali- nalli), which has been used from remote antiquity down to the pres- ent day for cording heavy burdens, such as charcoal, etc. The whole denotes the twelfth of the twenty day signs of the Mexicans, called malinalli, " that which is twisted ". The green bush is combined with the death's-head in this picture, because the rope twisted of grass suggested the mummy bales corded with rope, like a burden which has the form given to the bodies of the dead. Perhaps, too, the grass itself, shooting up anew with the first showers of rain and then withering quickly, awakened the thought of the transitoriness of earthly things. At any rate, it is a fact that malinalli was consid- ered a sign of misfortune; that decay, destruction, and change were supposed to follow swiftly in its train. We may also note in regard to the form of the sign that our picture S most closely resembles the forms in which this sign of ill omen, malinalli, is represented in Codices Telleriano-Remensis and Vaticanus A. The Mexican numerical system was vigesimal. Therefore the num- ber 20 naturally formed the basis of computation of time. The peo- ple designated each one of the 20 consecutive days by a particular sign. But with these twenty signs they combine the numerals 1 to 13 in such a way that each of the consecutive days was designated by a sign and a numeral. If, therefore, the numeral 1, combined with the first sign, served to designate the first day, then the fourteenth day took the fourteenth sign, and also the numeral 1 again. Thus a period of 13X20, or 260, days was reached as a higher chronologic unit. For no day received the same numeral and the same sign until after the expiration of this period. The period of 13X20, or 260, days was called tonalamatl, " the book of the day signs ". BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY MEXICAN PAINTING— HUMBOLDT FR 3'JLLETIN 23 PLATE III DLDT FRAGMENT I, PART 2 SELER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS PP.AGMENT I 135 The Mexicans reckoned 365 days to the year, and I have already stated that they divided the year into eighteen periods of 20 days each and 5 superfluous days, called nemontemi. These 5 superfluous days were regarded as unlucky days, as useless, fit for no serious business. Hence the ancient Mexicans said of them " acam pouhqui ". This undoubtedly means " they were held in no esteem ", but accord- ing to the original meaning of the words they may also signify '• they were not counted ". It has therefore been inferred that these 5 days were left blank; that the continuous series of signs and numerals was not applied to them. In an article which I presented to the Anthropologic Society at Berlin in the year 1891," I pointed out that the whole Mexican system of designating the year — namely, that the consecutive days were designated by four signs, each two of which were 4 days apart — and the Mexican periods of 52 years were intel- ligible only if we assume that the 5 nemontemi, the superfluous days, were named and numbered in the same way as the others. Our manuscript, plate i of the present series, affords the best proof of this theory. In column b the pictures follow in regular alternation, and ap- proximately denote the beginning of every quarter of a year for a consecutive series of years. Besides the first of these, the symbol of the feast Etzalqualiztli, there are in column a numerals and signs which, taken together, denote each the date of a certain day. In the lowest of them, in square 1a (plate ii), the small circles, which represent the numerals, are imperfectly preserved. But from what remains, and from the connection of the whole series, it may be inferred that the numeral 12 should stand here. If we introduce this numeral we see that in column a (side by side with the Etzalqualiztli of column b, plates II to vi) the following dates of days are given : Olin Bheeatl Mazatl Malinalli 12 13 14 2 3 4 5 G 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 2 3 4 __ Here the numeral 14,* which does not really belong to the designa- tion of the days, is invariably to be read as " 1 ", for only the numerals 1 to 13, as I have stated, are used in addition to the twenty characters to designate the consecutive days. " Zeitschrift fiir Ethnolcgie, v. 13, pp. S9-133. * The 14 in the manuscript is an error of the native artist. C. T. 136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Table III. [BULL. 28 1 1 1 a S .a 1 9 a 1 ■s s ■s 1 o o 1 O Eh 4^ i 1 •i-l 1 I ^ o u 1 1 3 J ■s 1 g 1 1 1 Olein 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 Teopatl 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 Quiaultl 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 Xochitl 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 Cipactli 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 Ehecatl 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 Cam 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 3 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 Cuetzpalln 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 * 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 Coatl 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 Miquiztli 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 Mazatli 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 Tochtli 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 Atl 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 6 12 6 13 ItzcTiintli 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 Ozomatli 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 Malinalli 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 Acatl 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 Ocelotl 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 Quauhtli 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 Cozcaquauhtli 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 If, after making this correction, we consult a table of the Mexican calendar, we see, assuming that the 5 nemontenri were named and numbered continuously in the same way as the other days, that the dates of the days given in column a are always exactly 365 days apart. This, I think, clearly proves, first, that the pictures drawn in col- umn B are actually the beginnings of quarters of years, and the dif- ferent pictures a are meant to show the annual recurrence of the feast Etzalqualiztli ; second, that the statement that the 5 nemontemi were not counted can rest only on a misunderstanding. But our manuscript is of importance to chronology in yet another respect. It is well known that the Mexicans called their years by the four day signs Acatl, "' reed " ; Tecpatl, " flint " ; Calli, " house ", and Tochtli, " rabbit ", which they combined with the numerals 1 to 13 in the same way as in naming the days. seler] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITlKGiS — FRAGMENT I Table IV. 137 1 Aoatl 1 Tecpatl 1 Calli 1 Tochtli 1 Acatl 2 Tecpatl 2 Calli 2 Tochtli 2 Acatl and so on 3 Calli 3 Tochtli 8 Acatl 3 Tecpatl as before. 4 Tochtli 4 Acatl 4 Tecpatl 4 Calli 5 Acatl 5 Tecpatl 5 Calli B Tochtli 6 Tecpatl 6 Calli 6 Tochtli 6 Acatl 7 Gain 7 Tochtli 7 Aoatl 7 Tecpatl 8 Tochtli 8 Acatl 8 Tecpatl 8 Calli 9 Acatl 9 Tecpatl 9 Calli 9 Tochtli 10 Tecpatl 10 Calli 10 Tochtli 10 Acatl 11 Calli 11 Tochtli 11 Acatl 11 Tecpatl 12 Tochtli 12 Acatl 12 Tecpatl 12 Calli 13 Acatl 13 Tecpatl 13 Calli 13 Tochtli In my treatise, already mentioned above," I laid stress on the fact that the origin of this nomenclature lies in the acceptance of a year of 365 days, and that the years were simply named after a certain lead- ing day. In fact, if we assume, for instance, that in one year the leading day was the second one in table III, page 136, bearing the sign Tecpatl and the numeral 13, then in the next year, that is, after the lapse of 365 days, the same day would take the sign Calli and the numeral 1, and so on. Now, at the outset it is most natural to suppose that this leading day, from which the year was first named, was the first day of the year, and that the first days of the consecutive years bore the signs Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli. It can not well be denied, as I demonstrated in the above-mentioned article,* that at the time and place it first occurred to scholars that only four of the twenty day signs fell upon the first days of the years, it was those very days Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli with which the years then and in that place began, or at least that these days were then and in that place, for whatsoever reason, chosen as the first days of the years. To be sure, the admission of this contradicts the assertions of Duran and those of Cristobal del Castillo, quoted and used by Leon y Gama, as these make the Mexican year begin with Cipactli, that is, with Cipactli, Miquiztli, Ozomatli, and Cozcaquauhtli, respectively. But I saw an indirect proof of my theory in the circumstance that ancient records from two remote and widely separated places, Mez- titlan on the borders of Huaxteca and Nicaragua, made the series of twenty day signs begin with Acatl; and I furnished a direct proof by showing that in the Mayan manuscript at Dresden the years do not indeed begin with Kan, Muluc, Ix, and Cauac, with which, according to Landa and the books of Chilam Balam, the Mayas began their years in later times, but with Been, Ezanab, Akbal, and Lamat, » Zeitschi-ift fiir Ethnologic, " Zeitschrift fur Bthnologle, 1891, V. 22. r. 23, p. 102. 138 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bpll. 28 the characters which correspond to the Mexican Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli. It is true our manuscript (plate i) does not mention the first days of the years, but in cohimn a it gives the days on which the sixth feast of the year, Etzalqualiztli, fell. We know that in the so-ealled months, or periods of 20 days, which were named for. the various yearly festivals, the actual feast of the respective name always fell on the last day of the period. If, there- fore, as our column a shows, in the 19 years presented here the feast Etzalqualiztli, the sixth festival of the year, fell on the days Oleiu Ehecatl Mazatl Malinalli 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 • 1 2 3 4 then it directly follows that the first day of the seventh period (named for the feast Tecuilhuitontli) must fall on the days Tecpatl Calli Tochtli Acatl 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 And if, with Sahagim, we put the beginning of the year on the first day of the period named for the feast Atlcaualco we shall have the following series for the first days of these 19 years : Tecpatl Calli Tochtli Acatl 10 n 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 From our manuscript, which, so far as I know, is the only Mexican manuscript that contains a long series of j'ears, or, more exactly speaking, dates of days extending over a long series of years, it there- fore follows positively that the Mexicans began their years with the characters Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli, just as the Maya priests who wrote the Dresden manuscript began their years with the days corresponding to the same four characters. This result, which 1 reached on grounds of a more general na- ture, and which, as we see, is directly obtainable from our manu- script, has been still further confirmed by evidence very recently published. At the last session of the Americanist congress which met at Huelva Mrs. Zelia Nuttall exhibited upon a large chart a recon- BUREAU OF AMERICAN EThtMOLOGY J iiji BMi. yM^ ^^^5 ho '3 MEXICAN PAINTING-HUM BULLETIN 28 PLATE IV DT FRAGMENT I PART 3 SELBHl MEXICATSr PICTURE WRITINGS — FRAGMENT I 139 struction devised by her of the Mexican calendar, further particulars concerning which she lias reserved. Upon this chart was the follow- ing passage from an important Mexican pictui-e manuscript, which belongs to the Biblioteca Nazionale at Florence, and which will soon be published in facsimile by Mrs Nuttall: Es de notar que siempre comienga el aho en un dia de quatro, el uno que llaman acatl. Y de alii toman nonbre. O en otro que llaman calli. Y de alii toman non- bre. O en otro que llaman tecpatl. Y de alii toman nonbre. Y de otro que llaman tochtli. Y de alii toman nonbre (" It is to be noted that the year always begins on one of four days — the, one which they call Acatl, and from there they take the name; or on another which they call Calli, and from there they take the name; or on another which they call Tecpatl, and from there they take the name; and from another which they call Tochtli, and from there they take the name ") . This is clear and intelligible, and Mrs Nuttall has correctly made this passage the starting point for her researches. It is quite another question, and one which I must touch upon here, whether the month Atlcaualco, stated by Sahagun and others to be the first month of the year, is really the one which was the leading, or first, month at the time when the designation of the years, accord- ing to the four days Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli, first came into use. This question, it seems, should be answered in the negative. The most important statement by the old writers which makes an agreement between the Mexican and our chronology and a compari- son of the Mexican designations of the years with certain days of any one year possible is that made in Sahagun, book 12, chapter 40, where it is stated that the capture of Quauhtemoctzin, which put an end to the desperate defense of the city of Mexico, occurred on the day ce Coatl, " 1 snake ", of the year yei Calli, " 3 house " : Auhin omoman chimalli inic tixitinque in xiuhtonalli ei calli, auh in cemilhuitlapoalli ce Coatl (" When the shield was laid down (the war ceased), while we fell to the ground, that was the year ' 3 house ' and the day ' 1 snake'"). (Biblioteca Lorenziana manuscript.) This day was, as we know from the letters of Cortes and Gomara's history, Tuesday, St. Hippolytus's day, August 13, 1521." The Aztec writer Chimal- pahin says the same thing in his Seventh Relation: Yhcuac canque yn tlatohuani Cuauhtemoctzin ypan cemilhuitonalli ce cohuatl * * * ic matlactlomey mani metztli agosto, ypan ylhuitzin S. Tipo- lito, martyr (" They took King Quauhtemoctzin prisoner on the day ' 1 snake ' * * * on the 13th day of August, the feast of the holy martyr Hippolytus ").* On the basis of this statement Orozco y Berra, in the second volume of his Historia Antigua y de la Conquista de Mexico, tried to find an agreement between the Mexican and Euro- » Cartas de Hernan Cortes, ed. Gayangos, Paris, 1866, p. 257 ; Gomara, Cr6nica, chap. 143. " Anales de Domingo Francisco de San Anton Mufioz Cliimalpahin Qiiaulitleliuanitzin. Seventh Relation, edid. Rgmi Simeon, p. 194. 140 BUREAtr OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 pean chronologies ; but the attempt failed in the most essential points, since Orofe'co favored the erroneous view that the Mexicans began their yeafS, and therefore also what they called their months, with the days Cipactli, Miquiztli, Ozomatli, and Cozcaquauhtli. In order to make the matter clear, I will mention still another point of agreement. In the Seventh Relation of Chimalpahin (page 188 of Remi Simeon's edition) we read that the entrance of Hernan Cortes into Mexico and his reception by the kings of the three allied kingdoms, Mexico, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan, took place on the day chicuey Ehecatl, " 8 wind ", the ninth day of the month QuechoUi: " ypan cem ilhuitlapohualli chicuey ehcatl, auh yn ipan ynin metz- tlapohual catca huehuetque chiucnahuilhuitia quechoUi ". We have also a statement in regard to the same day in the Aztec account which is preserved in the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca Lorenziana. This latter account agrees with the former in stating that the coming of the Spanish occurred in the year ce Acatl, " 1 reed ", on the 9th of the month QuechoUi — or, as the author says, on the eve of the 10th of the month QuechoUi — but it differs from it in saying that this day was not designated as a day " 8 wind ", but as ce Ehecatl, " 1 wind ", and that would be a day 20 days previous to the other : " auh in izquilhuitico in Mexico in ic calaquico in Espafioles: ipan ce hecatl in cemilhuitlapoalli : auh in xiuhtonalli ce acatl, oc muztla tlamat- lactiz quechoUi : auh in cemilhuitique ome calli : vel iquac in tlama- tlactli quechoUi ". If we consult Spanish historians we find, in Ber- nal Diaz del Castillo's Historia Verdadera, the day of the Spanish entrance given as November 8 of the yea;r 1519. The writer of the account in the Sahagun manuscript continues his computation from the date given above by counting each month, to which fact I would call attention here. This was, no doubt, the usual historic chronology, for on page 136 of Codex Vaticanus A we see the months which elapsed during the stay of the Spaniards in the city similarly set down. The writer of the Sahagun account reckons in this way to the feast Toxcatl, when Alvarado fell upon the unarmed Mexicans decked for the feast and slaughtered the flower of the Mexican nobility, and then onward to the feast Tecuilhuitontli, that is, the completion of the month Tecuilhuitontli. On this day, he says, the Spanish fled by night from the city : " Niman quival- toquilia tecuilhuitontli, ie oncan in quizque, vel ipan in ilhuitl in quizque in Espafioles in moioalpoloque ". There were altogether, he says, 235 days, that is, 195 days during which the Spaniards and Mexicans were friends and 40 days during which they fought each other. Computed accurately this can not mean the feast Tecuilhui- tontli itself, but the eve of the feast. For counting ^35 days from the ninth day of the month QuechoUi we come to the 19th and not to SELEE] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 141 the 20th, the last day of the month Tecuilhuitontli. The Spaniards probably left the hostile city on the night before the feast, and the narrator counts the whole days which lay between the ninth day of QuechoUi and the feast Tecuilhuitontli. It can be computed with tolerable accuracy that this day, the "noche triste " of unhallowed memory to the Spanish, was the 30th of June, 1520." But from Nov- ember 8, 1519, to June 30, 1520, there are actually 235 days, since 1520 was a leap year. The authenticated European chronology and that of our Indian informant thus agree perfectly. If we now compare these newly acquired dates with the one first quoted, the day of Quauhtemoc's capture, we have the following com- putation: Between November 8, 1519, and August 13, 1521, there elapsed 644 days. If we count 644 days from the 9th day of Que- choUi in the Indian calendar of feasts, in doing which we should take into account that the Mexicans had no leap years, we come to the third day of the month Xocotluetzi. We must conclude that in the Indian calendar of feasts this was the day of Quauhtemoc's capture. But now, before I draw further conclusions from this result, I must mention that it contradicts certain other records. According to an account quoted by Leon y Gama " Quauhtemoc's capture did not take place in the month Xocotluetzi, but in Nexochimaco, or Tlaxo- chimaco, the preceding month. Chimalpahin seems to make a simi- lar statement, for he says, in the passage from which I quoted above: Auh yye ohuacic nauhpohuallonmatlaqu-ilhuitl yn otech icalque tlaxochimaco yye . . . yc tixitinque (" after they had striven against us 90 days, we at last surrendered in Tlaxochi- maco (?)"). It is obvious that this can not be reconciled with the statements mentioned above. As, however, those other statements are to a certain extent controlled by European computation, it is very pos- sible that there is an error here, the more so because, by our calcu- lation, the day of Quauhtemoc's capture was comparatively close to the feast Tlaxochimaco, being on the third day following it. The beginning of the battle and the appearance of the Spanish caravels at Nonoucalco, which, according to Chimalpahin's repeated assertion, occurred 90 days before, are placed by Chimalpahin in the month Toxcatl. This coincides with our reckoning. But when he says in the passage in question " that it was on the day ce Cozcaquauhtli, " 1 king vulture ", it is incorrect. It is undoubtedly a slip of the pen or, perhaps, an error in reading. It should rather be ei Cozcaquauhtli, « The letter of Cortes states that the army reached Tlaxcala on the Sth of July, and from the general's accurate account of their progress each day It appears that they left the capital on the last night of June, or rather the morning of July 1 (Prescott, Hist. Conquest Mexico) <> Dos riedras, 2d ed., p. 79, note, and p. 80. « Page 193 of the R«mi Simfion edition. 142 BUREAU or AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 " 3 king vulture ". This latter day occurs 90 days before the day ce Coatl, the day of Quauhtemoc's capture. Now, if the day of Quauhtemoc's capture was August 13, 1521, the third day of the month Xocotluetzi, it follows, as this was said to have been likewise a day ce Coatl, " 1 snake ", that the first day of the month must have been the day 12 Calli and the first day of the year 1 Calli. Hence it follows, as I stated above, and as can safely be concluded from the dates in our manuscript, that the years of the Mexicans began with the signs Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli, and not, as was hitherto generally supposed, with the signs Cipactli, Miquiztli,,Ozomatli, and Cozcaquauhtli ; and it follows, since the year 1521 is said to have been a year 3 Calli, that the years of the Mexicans were not named for the first day of the first month, Atlcaualco, as has been commonly believed, but, as the computation shows, for the first day of the fifth month, on whose last day the feast Toxcatl was celebrated ; lastly, it follows that the beginning of the month Atlcau- alco in the year of the conquest did not fall on the 2d of February, as was decided after much discussion at the Indian conference held at Tlatelalco in Sahagun's time," but that it must have fallen on the 12th of February. The latter result is of special importance because il proves that in the forty odd years which elapsed between the year of the conquest and the time when the Sahagun manuscript was com- posed ^ the beginning of the Mexican year was set forward 10 days. This is exactly the sum of the intercalary days, which occur in this period of time, and proves that the Mexicans did not know how to regulate their chronology by intercalations at short intervals. If this is firmly established, then we may further conclude that the day of the arrival of the Spaniards, said to have been the ninth day of the month QuechoUi, can have been neither 8 Ehecatl (asChimalpa- hin states) nor 1 Ehecatl (as the writer of the account in the Sahagun manuscript asserts), but must have been the day before 7 Cipactli or 13 Cipactli. Otherwise, the month must hcve begun with a day Ocelotl, which, as we have seen, is incorrect. But if from 1 Coatl, the day of Quauhtemoc's capture, we count 644 days backward in the Indian calendar we do not arrive at 1 Cipactli, but at 7 Cipactli. Chimalpahin's statement was, therefore, relatively correct (within 1 day), and the writer of the account in the Sahagun manuscript made an error of 20 days. The only explanation I can give for the fact that both sources agree in mentioning a da}' Ehecatl instead of a day Cipactli is that tradition confused the day and its eve or that the name of the day was not held fast by tradition, but was only recov- » See Sahagun, v. 7, chap. 12. » In tLe Sahagun manuscript of the Academia de la Hiatoria the year ome Acatl ( = A. D. 1559) is given as the year of writing down at least certain parts (the historical ones) of the manuscript. SBLER] MEXICAN PIOTTTEE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 143 ered by computation, and that perhaps in doing this they reckoned bacli not 644, but 643, days, possibly because leap year was not taken into account. If this be denied, and if the assertions of Chimalpahin and the account in the Sahagiui manuscript that the ninth day of the month Quecholli was a day Ehecatl — the only statements to my knowledge where there is a distinct agreement between the day of the month and the name of the day — be considered correct, we should arrive at the days Ocelotl, Quiauitl, CuetzpaJin, and Atl as the first days of the years named for the characters Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, and Tochtli. This result is at first sight rather attractive. We should thus arrive at precisely the characters which answer to the signs Ix, Cauac, Kan, and Muluc, with which the Mayas began their years in later times. It would then follow that the correction which was made by the Mayas also found acceptance among the Mexicans. I believe, however, since there are no other proofs, and since our computation is upheld by the statements of historians, that if the ninth day of Quecholli had been a day Ehecatl only 643 days would have elapsed before the capture of Quauhtemoc, and then one of the two above dates, that given by Bernal Diaz or that given by Cortes, would have to be cor- rected ; and since reasons of a general nature, as I have said before, favor the view I have advanced we must not lay too much stress on this one assertion, especially as an error seems very probable. As I have already said, it is our manuscript, with its festival dii.tes run- ning through nearly nineteen years, which furnishes decisive evi- dence. Chimalpahin wrote at the beginning of the seventeenth century and the Sahagun manuscript was composed about the j^ear 1559. At those periods the ancient mode of reckoning the festival dates had long since fallen into disuse. The manuscript of the Hum- boldt collection is of ancient date, as is shown by the style cf the drawing and by the dress of the figures. Its testimony is of decisive value. After settling these points, which are generally necessary and also useful for the proper understanding of our manuscript, I now return to the dates given in columns a and b of our manuscript. In the beginning of this chapter I mentioned that the lower part of the manuscript is incomplete, that the upper part seems to be the actual end of the strip, and that the strip was not fiuther written upon because, for some reason, entries were no longer made. It would be interesting if we could determine to which one of our years the jear corresponds in which the last entries were made. The entries of material objects, of whose nature I shall speak directly, fill columns a find E. The last entries were made, as a glance at the manuscript shows, in the month Ochpaniztli of that year in Vi'hich the feast Etzalqualiztli was celebrated on the day 3 Ehecatl. In this year, as .no 144 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 I have already stated above, the first day of the first month (accord- ing to the usual method of calculation) fell on the day 1 Calli. And this is precisely the year designated by the numeral 3 and the sign Calli, in xiuhtonalli ei calli, which corresponds to the year 1521 of our chronology, in which Quauhtemoc surrendered himself and the ruins of the city of Mexico to the victorious Cortes. The last entries of material objects in our manuscript were made on the feast Och- paniztli of that year, about 37 days after the fall of the city of Mexico. ' I shall now proceed to discuss the nature of these entries of material objects. They begin at the bottom of column c and for the first 28 squares are confined to this column alone. From the twenty-ninth square on other entries occur, which fill column d, and from the forty-fifth square on the last column, e, is also filled with entries. These entries doubtless record entrance duties or other revenues, which were payable quarterly in equal amounts. They embrace five classes of objects: (1) small square plates, which are always entered by tens; (2) oblong rectangular strips, which occur singly or in pairs; (3) V J narrow triangular strips, which oc- cur singly, in pairs, or in fours ; (4) I ~ shallow bowls filled with some pow- C dered substance, which are set down « ''■'■'.'.■'.'■!."■'.' . ^ o;;'i'!!;,';:- o!"Vi".':'^^ singly or in pairs, and (5) bundles \ / V ) \_^J of textiles or articles of clothing, ^ which also occur singly or in pairs. Pig. 33. Symbols of gold bars, plates, and All are painted ill the Same brown- bowls of gold dust from Mexican codices. igh-yellow color, BXCept that in claSS 4 the bowls are frequently distinguished by a darker greenish coloring from the yellow contents. The small number of articles of each class which were to be deliv- ered during the quarter leads to the supposition that they were articles of value. Indeed, I am of opinion that class 1 means bars of gold ; classes 2 and 3, gold plates of special forms ; class 4, bowls of gold dust ; and class 5, woven coverlets and articles of clothing, which were also used as a medium of exchange, as money. Bars of gold (a and i, figure 32) , gold plates (c, figure 32) , and bowls of gold dust {d, figure 32) are enumerated in the tribute list and in the Mendoza codex among the tributes of the cities of Mixteca alta and baja: a is described as " tiles of fine gold, of the size of a plate and as thick as a man's thumb " ; & is called " golden tiles, of the size of a consecrated wafer and the thickness of a man's finger " ; at c is shown " a small gold plate four fingers wide and three-fourths of an ell long, of the thickness of a sheet of parchment " ; the symbols marked d represent ^' bowls ( jicaras) of gold dust ". SELBR] MEXICAN PICTUEE WRITINGS FBAGMENl' I 145 As to the sum of the articles delivered during every quarter of a year, in the first twenty-eight quarters, during which entries were made only in column c, 10 gold bars, 2 square and 2 triangular gold plates, and 2 bowls of gold dust were delivered in every quarter. Beginning with the twenty-ninth quarter, that is, if our computa- tions given above be correct, beginning with the year 1511, there was a new payer of tribute, as it seems, the chieftain of a city, who is repre- sented in column e (m, plate iv) at full length, with his name hiero- glyph and the hieroglyph of the city itself. In the principal column, c (n, plate iv), the sum of the payments delivered every quarter is lessened by one long triangular plate; but, on the other hand, we find in column d {p, plate iv) , beginning with this square, entries for every quarter of a year consisting of a bundle of textiles, a square and a long triangular gold plate, and a bowl of gold dust. Beginning with the thirty-third square, in the year 1512, a second new tributary seems to have been added, the chieftain of the city of Zacatlan, who is also portrayed in column v. (q, plate iv) at full length, with his name hieroglyph and the hieroglyph of his city. From this square onward, the amounts paid during every quarter are doubled in col- umn D. There are 2 bundles of textiles, 2 oblong rectangular and 2 long triangular gold plates, and 2 bowls of gold dust. Beginning with the forty-fifth square, three years later (1515), we have a third new tributary, the chieftain of Tenanco, who is depicted in the corre- sponding section of column e (r, plate v) at full length, with his name hieroglyph and the hieroglyph of the city of Tenanco. After this section the amount of tribute paid in each quarter is increased by a bale of articles of clothing, 2 long triangular gold plates, and a bowl of gold dust, which are regularly entered in the fifth column, e. And finally, beginning with the sixtieth section, the month Tlacaxipeua- liztli of the year 1519, the last payments, those set down in column E (plate vi), are also doubled. This is the first section in column d in which a figure occurs. Thus the entries go on uniformly up to the seventieth section, the last in which entries were made. The question now arises. To whom were these regular quarterly payments made which ore entered in columns c to e. At the outset, it should not be supposed that the name of the receiver of the tribute, whether a city, a king, or a temple, or whatever else, is given on the tribute list, for the entries were undoubtedly made on a list which was in the hands of the receiver of the tribute. Thus, in the well- known list of tribute paid to the kings of Mexico neither the kings nor the city of Mexico are mentioned. On the first page of the trib- ute list (Mendoza codex, page 19) the last Tlatelolcan kings are only mentioned incidentally, together with the contemporaneous Mexican monarchs. However, our manuscript is not a tribute list like those just 7238— No. 28—05 10 146 BUBEAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 mentioned, which enumerated the tribute to be paid by the various cities. Our manuscript is a cashboolf, in which an account is kept of the receipts of the year. It is a kind of financial record, and as such naturally afforded opportunity for other historical entries. Be- sides the additions of new tributaries already mentioned these consist of the notices of deaths and of the successors of the deceased. Deaths are expressed in the manner usual in Mexican picture annals, by a mummy bundle, with a name hieroglyph, usually seated in a chair like a living person. Accession to office is expressed by the figure of the living person, with his name hieroglyph, seated according to his rank, either on a simple straw seat, or on the royal chair provided with a back ; for omotlali, " he has taken his seat ", or motlatocatlali, " he has seated himself as a ruler ", are the expressions by which the Mexicans described accession to power. Where it is a question of actual rulers, authoritj^ is usually expressed by the little tongue in front of the mouth, which in Mexican paintings was a symbol of speech; for tlahtouani, " he who speaks ", was the Mexican name for a ruler or king. The most important of these figures are undoubtedly those which appear in column a, the first, counting from the right. For here, in a conspicuous place, we may expect to find the names and the dates of accession to power of those men who lived where these lists Avere pre- pared, and who were therefore the actual recipients of the tribute. It is important to note here that of the four figures of living persons who are portrayed in this column only the one in square 53 wears the xiuhuitzoUi, the turquoise mosaic headband of secular rulers and nobles, and is characterized as of higher rank, as a king, by the straw seat with a back. The other three have the hair merely bound with a strap, their seat is without a back, and they bear on their backs, by a cord slung round the neck and knotted in front, a small yellow object flanked by two large gay taSsels. This object is the so-called ie-quachtli, the " tobacco cloth ", a small pouch (taleguilla) , in which the priests carried the incense pellets. The cord with the tassels, to which the pouch is attached, is called mecacozcatl, " necklace of agave-fiber rope ". The little pouch is called ie-quachtli, " tobacco cloth ", because the incense pellets, which are called yaqualli and described as pills or pellets shaped like mouse droppings, were made of " tinta "; that is, probably of yauhtli, or iauhtli, " incense plant "," mixed with pulverized tobacco leaves con polvos de una verba que ellos Uaman yietl, que es como beleiios de castilla (" with dust of an herb which they call yietl, which is like henbane ") .* Tobacco " One meaning of the syllable iauh is " incense plant " Compare Sahagun, v. 2, pp. 25, 35, and the hieroglyph of Yauhtepec in the Mendoza codex, v. 26, p. 14, But it also means "black": yauh-tlaulli, " mayz moreno 6 negro" (Molina), » Sahagun, v. 2, p. 25. BKLER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 147 played precisely the same part among the priests and medicine men of ancient Mexico as it has from the remotest times down to the present day among the various savage tribes of North and South America. The tobacco pouch (ie-quachtli) or tobacco calabash (ie-tecomatl) was, therefore, the special badge of priests. I have brought together, in a to k^ figure 33, a number of figures of priests from the Mendoza codex and the still unpublished Aztec Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca del Palacio at Madrid, with incense basin and copal Fig. 33. Figures of priests from Mendoza codex and Saliagun manuscript. pouch, with sacrificial kiiife and copal pouch, and with the great rattle stick Chicauaztli in their hands, and upon the back of each is plainly to be seen the tobacco pouch or tobacco box (painted yellow or brown in the original) , between two large tassels. Only the priest's assistants, called " quacuilli ", who in / hold the victim by the arms and legs and in I bring down the burning billets of wood from the temple, are dressed differently, simply like messengers of death. Therefore, there can be no doubt that the figures drawn in column a 148 BTJEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bcll. 28 of our manuscript, in squares 16, 62, and 72, and the mummy bundle in square 60 are meant to represent the figures of priests. But it should be noted that the priests in our manuscript do not carry an ie-quachtli but an ie-tecomatl on their back, one of peculiar shape, with lateral projections which were probably made of gold. But while the prince drawn in section 53, column a, has no little tongue — ihe symbol of speech and of a ruler (tlahtouani)— before his mouth, the tongue is plainly to be seen before the mouth of the figures of priests in squares 16 and 22, which in the figure in square 62 has possibly only been blotted out by time or carelessly omitted, for the mummy bundle in square 60 has the same name inscribed upon it as the living person in square 16. The priest in square 62 is, there- fore, the direct successor in office to the priest in square 16, designated by the little tongue as tlahtouani. For this reason, and also because priests are chiefly represented in column a, I believe I may safely con- clude that it was a temple which received the valuable tribute recorded in columns c, d, and e. This also explains why, as I stated above, the pictures of princes and cities are given wherever the list records an increase in the amount of the tribute due every quarter. If trib- ute wrung from conquered cities by a king were recorded here, then, doubtless, the conquest of the city or the death of the king would be noted in the same place. That the temple of an idol was the recip- ient of the tribute very simply explains the fact that the entries must have ceased soon after the fall of the city of Mexico. But now where was the temple whose cashbook our manuscript represents ? The answer ought to be found in the hieroglyphs which accompany the various figures represented in the manuscript ; but un- fortunately these are not numerous enough, nor are all of them suffi- ciently clear. I will proceed to discuss these hieroglyphs column by column; but I must observe at the outset that it is precisely in the hieroglyphs that Kingsborough's draftsman has made many mistakes, both in drawing and color. In column a, square 16, the name hieroglyph introduced behind the head of the figure shows a cloth, which is apparently held up by two hands. The cloth is painted white, the hands yellowish brown. The hieroglyph seems to refer to an act which we see represented several times in the Zapotec Vienna codex and also in the Mayan Troano codex (see b and c, figure 34), which is the tying on of the shoulder cloth; possibly, also, its exhibition, presentation, or offering for sale. In the Manuscrit Mexicain number 3 of the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris there is a hieroglyph (a, figure 34), which shows a shoulder cloth and a hand. It represents the name of a citizen of Uexotzinco who is set down as among those who, escaping, withdrew from the control of the encomenderos and the curas, and bears the legend "Andres Tilmat- laneuh ", that is, "Andrew, the cloth-lender ". BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY MEXICAN PAINTING-I- BULLETIN 28 PLATE V G-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT I, PART 4 SELES] MEXICAN PICTUKE WRITINGS — FRAGMENT I 149 In square 52, column a, is seen a hieroglyph behind the mummy bundle, consisting of a stalk painted bluish-green, holding a red object, from the left side of which hangs another object painted yel- low. This is probably meant for an ear of corn with its bunch of silk hanging at one side. The name of the person whose death is announced here should therefore be read Xilotl, or Cacamatl, " young ear of corn ". Fig. 34. Symbols of cloth and precions atones. His successor, in square 53, decorated with the princely headband, is designated by a hieroglyph painted yellow, which I can not interpret with any certainty. The mummy bundle, in square 60 of cohunn a, has the same name hieroglyph as the figure in square 16. Apparently the death of the same person is here announced whose entrance into office is proclaimed in square 16, 150 BUEEAXT OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 His successor, in square 62, has for his name hieroglyph a single bead drawn on a strap. This is probably to be read Chalchiuh. The principal precious stones among the Mexicans were the chal- ehiuitl, Avhich comprised jadeite and other stones of a similar green color, and xiuiti, the " turquoise ". Both were represented hieroglyph- ically as lustrous bodies, like the brilliantly polished mirror tezcatl (marcasite or obsidian), with eyes at the four corners, that is, send- ing out rays in four directions. The forms cl to /, figure 34, represent chalchiuitl ; I, xiuiti ; and w, tezcatl. The chalchiuitl was preferred for necklaces (cozcatl), beads, and bracelets (macuextli) because tur- quoise (xiuiti) was too valuable, and was not found in such large pieces. Turquoise was used especially for incrustations and mosiacs. The precious ear pegs (xiuhnacochtli), the diadems of the Mexican kings (xiuhuitzolli), were made of turquoise mosaic. When, instead of the hieroglyphs for chalchiuitl and xiuiti, the object itself was drawn, the word xiuiti was represented by an incrusted disk, to, and the word chalchiuitl by one or two strung beads, as we see it in h and i, wjiich are taken from a Historia Mexicana of the Aubin-Goupil col- lection (Goupil-Boban Atlas, plates 60, 59). The form h stands for the chalca tribe, which is designated by the hieroglyph chalchiuitl, d, in a corresjDonding representation in the Boturini codex, published in the Kingsborough collection. The form i expresses the name of one of the four barrios of Aztlan, which is also to be read Chalco. On the lienzo of Tlaxcala the town of Chalco is also designated by- a large l^ead. Comparison with these figures places it, I think, beyond a doubt, that the hieroglyph in square 62 of column a is likewise to be read Chalchiuh. Of the persons in column a there still remains the one in square 72. The name hieroglyph is plainly a shield, but there was something- else above it Avhich can no longer be deciphered, as only a few rem- nants of blue paint are left of it. Possibly there was a blue royal headband above it, in which case it would have to be read Chimalte- cuhtli. A man by this name, chieftain of Calixtlahuacan, is men- tioned in the Anales de Chimalpahin in the year liS-i. Finally, there is still the hieroglyph of a place, section 68 in column a. Arrows are drawn flying toward it or sticking into it. This is probably meant to signify the conquest of that place. The hieroglyph consists of the well-known drawing of a mountain (tepetl), of a string of beads laid around its summit (cozcatl, " neck- lace "), and a number of objects on the top of the mountain which I can not explain with any degree of certainty. The object which forms the actual pinnacle of the mountain is painted brown, and oblique stripes are plainly visible, betAveen which the color seems to be darker. This may therefore possibly represent the hieroglyph of stone (tetl). The square body above it is painted black. This sslbbI MEXICAN PIOTtTRE WRITINGS FRAGMENT I 151 may, perhaps, be intended for a piece of obsidian (iztli). Accord- ing to this, we have itz-te-cozca-tepe as elements of the hieroglyph; but I can not construct any place name known to me out of these elements. I will now pass on to columns d and e. In d we have in square 60 the munrniy bundle and a hieroglyph which in the Kingsborough drawing is absolutely incompre- hensible, but which in the orig- inal, and also in our reproduc- tion, can be recognized, with some difficulty, to be sure, as the head of a beast of prey with outstretched tongue. We should read this Ocelotl, " jaguar " A seated figure then follows, in square 61, whose head is not adorned -with the royal head- band, the xiuhuitzolli,and whose long hair hangs down behind, wound round with a strap, after the manner of priests. A cac- tus branch is behind it, by way of name hieroglyph. Cactus branches, with the blossoms, often occur in the register of names of persons of Uexotzinco and Xaltepetlapan (Manuscrit Mexicain number 3, Bibliothe- que Rationale, Paris) , shown in figure 35 (a, 1 to 5) . There they denote the name Xochuetl, which is also frequently mentioned in the Anales of Chimalpahin. A cactus branch in conjunction with an arrow is likewise used there to represent the name Tziuac mitl, h. It seems, there- fore, that a variety of cactus was meant by Tziuactli, or tzinuactli. This name, too, which likewise occurs in the Anales of Chimalpa- hin, might be expressed by the hieroglyph in square 61, column d (plate vi). In the hieroglyph which accompanies the mummy bundle, in square 64, column d (plate \'i), I think I recognize the head of a deer and an upright tuft of feathers. The deer is mazatl, and the upright tuft of feathers should probably be read quetzalli. According to this we Fig. 35. Symbols of personal and place names in Mexican codices. 152 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 should have mazaquetzal, and this is a royal name well known from the Anales of Chimalpahin, that is, in the territories of Chalco, Tlalmanalco, and Amaquemecan. The next figure in column d, square 65, is described by a hieroglyph which is obviously the picture of a snake. The head is above on the left, and is white. The forked tongue protruding from the mouth is plainly visible. The body is painted yellow. A rattle seems to be drawn at the end of the tail, which is left white like the head. The name might therefore be read Coatl, " snake ". Finally, in column e, as already stated, in sections 29, 33, and 44 (plates IV and v), three chieftains are drawn, with their name hiero- glyphs and the hieroglyphs of the cities ruled by them. The hieroglyph of the city in square 29 shows us a mountain (tepetl) Avhich seems to be formed of streams of water moving in a circle. A mountain of water might be read Atepec. A city is recorded by this Hame in the Mendoza codex, page 16, among the con- quests of the younger Motecuhzoma, and is expressed there by the drawing of a mountain with a stream of water on it (^', figure 35). In Mexican hieroglyphs of towns, however, a mountain often serves merely to show that reference is made to a place or a place name, that is, to express the syllable co or can ; compare, for instance, the hiero- glyphs of the cities of Aztaquemecan, Quauacan, Quauhyocan, Chicon- quiauhco, and Nepopoalco, from the Mendoza codex (c to g), and those of Tzompanco (A), Tlacopan, Toltitlan, etc., from the Osuna codex. If we take this into consideration, then, since the water in our hieroglyph in square 29 is apparently drawn moA'ing in a circle, we should perhaps read it Almoyauacan, " where the water moves in a circle ". This is the name of an ancient village which is mentioned, after Uexotzinco and Xaltepetlapan, with their barrios (calpuUi) and the persons belonging to them in the Manuscrit Mexicain number 3 of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. There {k) the water flowing in a circle is much more plainlj^ drawn than in our hieroglyph. But since, as we shall see, both the succeeding hieroglyphs also refer to territories adjacent or friendly to Uexotzinco, I think it quite prob- able that the place hieroglyph in square 29, column e, should be read Almoyauacan. The chieftain of the place is designated hieroglyphically by the head of a faguar. His name must therefore have been Ocelotl, or Tequan, " beast of prey ". The place which is meant to be designated in square 33 (plate iv) is represented by a bush painted bluish green. Unfortunately, this hieroglyph is also open to various readings. The Mexicans expressed the word zacatl, "grass", by a similar bush (see in the Mendoza codex the place names Zacatlan, Zacatepec, and Zacatollan, shown in a, i, and c, figure 36) ; but they also painted the same thing when they BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRf BULLETIN 28 PLATE VI G-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT I, PART 5 SELERl MEXICAN PICTURE WRITITSrOS — FRAGMENT I 153 wished to say popotl, " broom ", for the broom was made of a variety of stiff grass (see the hieroglyph Popotlan, d and e) ; and, finally, they also painted it to express the green bushes known as acxoyatl, on which they offered the blood which flowed in tortures, self-inflicted in honor of the gods (see /, taken from the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca del Palacio, expres- sive of the religious ceremony acxoya-temaliztli, "the layini;' down of green bushes before the idols ") . For the interpretation of our hieroglyph in square 33 we thus have a choice of Zacat- lan, Popotlan, and Acxotlan, all well-known place names, any one of which might be correct. Of these I think we may ex- clude Popotlan, for in its hiero- glyph the band Avhich fastens the bush to the broom is usually given. But we might choose between Zacatlan and Acxotlan. A place named Zacatlan is quite regularly mentioned, together with Uexotzinco, Tlaxcallan, Tliliuhquitepec, and CholoUan, in the chronicle of Tezozomoc. The Anales of Chimalpahin also mention together Chichi- meca, Tenanca, Cuixcoca, Temi- milolca, Zacanca, and Yhuipa- neca. Acxotlan Avas one of the most important barrios of Chalco. The fact that the grass (zacatl) in the place name is usually painted yellow, while green seems to be the color most naturally applied to the bush (acxoyatl), militates perhaps in favor of the latter meaning. The hieroglyph of the chieftain of this city is likewise quite unin- telligible in the Kingsborough drawing. In the original we can make out, with some difficulty, to be sure, but still plainly, the head of a deer (mazatl), with the eyelids painted yellow and with blue antlers resting on a yellow base, quite in the manner in which the day sign Mazatl, is drawn and colored in column a. Above it are twelve Fig. 36. Symbols of place and personal names, Mexican codices. 154 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY f bull. 28 little circles of various colors, arranged in divisions of 5, 5, and 2. This is undoubtedly meant for the number 12 (matlactli omome). The person drawn here is therefore called by the name of a day, ma- tlactli omome mazatl, " 12 deer ", which was possibly the day of his birth or had some other connection with him. Finally, the wall crowned with battlements under the figure of the chieftain, in sections 44 and 45, undoubtedly stands for the place name Tenanco, " at the place of inclosures ". The name hieroglyph of the chieftain is again quite unintelligible in Kingsborough, and it is incorrectly painted green. In the original there is not a trace of color to be seen. With some difficulty the hairy head of an animal can be recognized, which is probably intended for a rabbit (tochtli), and the name should probably be read accordingly. If, in conclusion, we now turn to the question of the origin of the manuscript, we see that the analysis of the hieroglyphs leads to no definite result. The most important hieroglyph, the place name, in section 68, column a (plate vi), can not be interpreted with certainty. The other place names can, indeed, be explained with some degree of certainty, but they leave room for doubt, insomuch as places called Tenanco and Zacatlan occur in different localities. Nevertheless, I believe that the combination of the names Tenanco, Zacatlan (or Acxotlan) , and, possibly, if my interpretation is correct, Almoyauacan points to a particular region, the land of the Uexotzincas and Chalcas, the valleys and slopes at the southern and western foot of the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. In this region also, as we know from Chimalpahin, various tribal heads bore the title Teohua teuhctli, " priest-prince ". Nezaualcoj'otl and the great Mote- cuhzoma, the elder, went thither to obtain from the tribal chief a victory-insuring fetish, the otlanamitl teueuelli, the four bamboo arrows, and the shield of the war god. I do not believe that the "Monte Sacro", the famous shrine of Amaquemecan, was the one to which our manuscript refers, for in that case we should be able to verify the names of persons from Chimalpahin. But, besides the great sanctuary, there must have been others in the immediate neigh- borhood and more remote. Let us hope that among the many records which were made in the first century after the conquest something may yet be discovered which shall establish the identity of the persons and places of our manuscript beyond all possibility of doubt, FKAGMENT II This fragment (plate vii) is a strip of agave paper 68 cm. long and 40 cm. wide, covered with drawings and writing on one side. It is the page which Alexander von Humboldt describes in Vues des Cor- BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGy BULLETIN 28 PLATE VII '■ft.' ^* .»' I'y'h- ' ••^ ■ • fci > *!' MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT SELER] MEXICAN PICTUEE WRITINGS — PEAaMENT II 155 dilleres et Monuments des Peuples indigenes de I'Amerique, under the title " Genealogie des Princes d'Azcapotzalco ". . The drawings on this page (plate vii) occupy a space bounded by straight lines, to the right of which a path showing footprints and to the left a body of water, stream or sea margin, indicated by drawings of waves and whirlpools and by a light blue color, run the whole length of the page. Near the lower edge a second path, beginning at right angles to the first, leads straight across the page to the water, and about the center of the page a small body of water, also beginning at right angles to the principal path, crosses the page in like manner. The whole space above the lower path is divided by horizontal lines into 27 divisions, which, however, decrease in length from the seventeenth down in consequence of a boundary line which begins at the left and runs diagonally upward to the right. In one of these divisions, the fourth counting from the lower path, a row of dark figures filled in with dots and angular lines runs straight across the page. In Mexican picture writing this is the way in which the idea of tlalli, or milli, " acre ", or " field ", is expressed. The other divisions, except two which are empty and a third in which a kind of explanatory note is written, are each provided with the head and the hieroglyph of a particular person. This general arrangement of the page shows that we can hardly have to do here with a genealogy, as von Humboldt supposed. Th.e whole arrangement far more closely resembles a doomsday book, a map of public lands, or a register of landed property; and this in fact it is proved to be by the writing, which occurs in the lowest division below the lower path. In this division we see to the right the picture of King Motecuh- zoma, the ninth king of the Mexicans, known as Xocoyotzin, " the young ", in contradistinction to Ueue-Motecuhzoma, the elder Mote- cuhzoma, the fifth king of the Mexicans, whose other name was Ilhuicamina, " he who shoots at the heavens ". To the left is the picture of a hut built of straw or reeds, painted yellow above a white circle. And between the picture of the king and the figure of the hut are the words: y xacallo camaca y tlatovani motecuh- zomatzin mochi y tonal catca ("the country house of Camaca: all parcels of land which belonged to King Motecuhzoma "). The word tonalli, which is here the most important ^^'ord, deciding the mean- ing of the whole, means " glow ", " warmth of the sun ", " summer " in its more literal application : but it also means the " character " or " signs " of a day or a year; that is, one of the 20 pictures by which the Mexica,ns designated their days or one of the 4 of these which designated the years. Hence follows the secondary meaning, " fate decided by the day of birth ", and lastly, in general terms, " that which is assigned to anyone ", that is, what is allotted to him, his 156 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 portion, his fate. Thus Molina in his dictionary gives: " racion de alguna, 6 cosa diputada para otro " (" allowance of something, or a thing assigned to another ") , and for tlalli te-tonal, " suerte de tierra agena " (" a piece of land belonging to another person "). I will now proceed to describe the separate pictures and hiero- glyphs. King Motecuhzoma, in the lowest divisions of the fragment, below the loM^er cross path, is represented at full length, seated on a chair woven of reeds (tepotzo-icpalli), which is like the others, but is provided with a back. He is dressed in the royal blue garment (xiuhtilmatli), which is woven in openwork and trimmed with a red border of eyes (tenchilnauayo), probably of feather work. On his head he wears the band of turquoise mosaic (xiuh-tzontli, or xiuh- uitzoUi). There is a small blue tongue before his mouth, the symbol of speech and power (tlahtouani means both " the one who speaks " and " the king "). Mexican kings are drawn in almost precisely the same way in the Sahagun manuscript belonging to the Academia de la Historia (see g, figure 36), except that here is given the turquoise bar (xiuh-yacamitl) which Mexican kings wore in the pierced sep- tum of the nose, as a distinguishing ornament, when they put on gala dress. I have also taken from the Sahagun manuscript the terms just used for the various articles of roj^al Mexican dress. Motecuhzoma means " the angry lord ". The idea of angry could not well be exjjressed by the Mexicans in hieroglyphs; but it was otherwise with the idea tecuhtli, " lord ", " prince ". To express this idea they merely drew and painted the turquoise headband (xiuht- zontli, xiuhuitzolli), the emblem of kings. Thus we find both the older and the younger Motecuhzoma hieroglyphically designated simply by the xiuhtzontli (compare h and «, figure 36, from Codex Telleriano-Remensis, volume 4, pages 6 and 13). The former is intended for the elder Motecuhzoma and the latter for the younger. Usually, however, to prevent confusion, the elder Motecuhzoma is hieroglyphically designated by an arrow sticking in the picture of the heavens, i, a hieroglyph, which represents his other name, Ilhuicamina, " he who shoots at the heavens ". The younger Mote- cuhzoma, on the other hand, is more particularly designated by a peculiar element added to the royal headband, which is visible in the hieroglyph of our picture as well as in h, figure 36 of the Mendoza codex, and Sahagun manuscript, Academia de la Historia, page 68. Why this element should express the idea xocoyotl, " the younger ", I can not state, and would merely mention that a similar element is to be seen in the Sahagun manuscript of the Academia de la Historia on the leg painted white and dotted with black, m, figure 36, which rep- resents the name of the seventh Mexican king, Tizoc or Tizocic (Tiz- ocicatzin). I still think it very doubtful whether o, which occurs SELER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT II 157 on the great so-called calendar stone in the upper left-hand triangular space, is meant for a hieroglyph of Motecuhzoma, as is often assumed. Here the xiuhtzontii is combined with the breastplate of the fire god. In a corresponding place on the other three triangular spaces are the dates, 1 Tecpatl, 1 Quiauitl, 7 Ozomatli, which appear also to denote certain deities. I think that King Motecuhzoma took his name from one of the cognomens of the fire god; for el seiior enojado, " the angry god ", which is the meaning of the name Mote- cuhzoma, is a fit title for the god of devouring fire. I think I dis- tinctly I'ecognize the hieroglyph of the younger Motecuhzoma in p, which occurs on the inner side of the cover of a cinerary casket, which bears on the outer side (the top) the date 11 Tecpatl. Peiiafiel repro- duced this casket in his " Monumentos del arte mexicano ", and regarded the hieroglyph as that of King Nezaualpilli, of Tetzcoco, said to have died in the year 11 Tecpatl, or A. D. 1516. But, in the first place, the year of Nezahualpilli's death has never been precisely- determined. According to Chimalpahin, he died a, year earlier, in the year 10 Acatl, or A. D. 1515. Furthermore, the hieroglyph has absolutely no connection with the elements of the name Nezaualpilli. On the contrary, all the elements contained in the name Motecuh- zoma seem to be expressed in this figure. The royal headband gives us the element tecuh, " prince ". The little tongue (symbol of speech) with clouds of smoke rising from it seems to express the element mo- zoma, " angry ", fiery speech, as it were. And finally, the element with which we became familiar in the hieroglyphs h and I, and which we also see in the hieroglyph of our manuscript, is plainly contained here, and represents the idea of xocoyotla. Opposite the figure of Motecuhzoma in our manuscript is the pic- ture of a hut built of reeds, called xacalli in Mexican, or jacal, as they still sary in Mexico. The circle below probably refers to the place which is here meant, but I can not explain it more fully. As for the location itself, there is no place by the name of Camaca given on more recent maps, and I have sought for it in vain on the older ones. On the map which accompanies the text of the Conquistador anonimo published by Ramusio," there seems to be the only hint of it. This is probably based on the first map that was made from the one officially sent in by Cortes. It differs from the latter, however, inas- much as the fresh-water lake, which on Cortes's map is shown in very much contracted dimensions on the Ipft of the sheet, is repeated independently on a larger scale on the upper part of the sheet.* Upon this map, exactly as on that of Cortes, two forked causeways are given on the north side of the town, which is, however, incorrectly " Ramusio, DeUe navigationi et viaggi, v. 3, Venice, 1556 ; Garcfa Icazbalceta, Docu- mentos inMitos para la historia de Mexico, v. 1, p. 390. 'Dahlgren, " Nagot om det forna och nuvarande Mexico" (Ymer, No. 1, 1889). 158 BtTEBAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 designated by the author as the west side. One of these causeways leads to the left toward Azcapotzalco. The other runs back of the fork due north. Where this causeway reaches the mainland the name Calmacam is written down. Of course, it is doubtful whether we are justified in connecting this name with the Camaca on our fragment II, for on the map of Alonzo de Santa Cruz, of the year 1555," the name Caltlitlan appears in about the same place. Never- theless, I am inclined to think that there was a boundary line in this region, that is, northward from Azcapotzalco toward Guadalupe. Azcapotzalco was the first of the cities subdued by Mexico, and it is expressly stated that the lands of Azcapotzalco were divided among themselves by the nobles of Mexico, the king taking the lead. There are, in fact, fertile farm lands at the base of the mountain, traversed by streams of water which come down from Tliliuhyacan, Tlalne- pantla, and Atizapam. The water drawn on the left side of the frag- ment may be the seashore, and the road running along the right side may be the one which ran along the southern base of the mountains of Tenayocan and Guadalupe. Lastly, on the right side of our fragment, outside the path, there is drawn a figure which seems to represent a kind of box provided with a mecapalli, the broad band of woven straw which was placed across the forehead, by means of which the burden resting on the back was carried. Perhaps this was meant to symbolize agricultural imple- ments. Above the figure of Motecuhzoma, as I have said, runs the drawing of a path. The figures seen on this and on the path at the right are very realistic reproductions of the imprint of a bare foot, the sole and the five toes, in sand or other light soil. These footprints are gen- erally used in Mexican hieroglyphic writing to denote a path, travel- ing over a path, or journeying or moving in a certain direction'. I will designate the separate divisions or sections above this cross path, proceeding from below upward, by the figures 1 to 27. Divi- sions 7 and 8 are the most important. In division 7 there is above a hieroglyph, which T will describe later with the others. Beside it is the hieroglyph and the head, adorned with the royal headband, of the brave Quauhtemoc, upon whom the Mexicans conferred the office of king, that is, chief military commander, after the death of Cui- tlauac. Motecuhzoma and Cuitlauac were sons of Axayacatl, the sixth king of the Mexicans. Quauhtemoc was a son of Ahuitzotl, eighth king of Mexico, and the power was conferred upon him although there were nearer heirs. In Mexico birth only partially influenced succession to the throne, as also to the other high offices of state. It is well known how heroically Quauhtemoc defended the " Nordenskiold, Facsimile Atlas, p. 109, and Dahlgren, work cited, p. 10. SELEn] MEXICAN PICTURE WEITINGS FRAGMENT II 159 city of Mexico for 90 days against Cortes, in spite of European mili- tary science. His capture, which toolf place on the date ce Coatl yei Calli, or August 13, 1521 (discussed in the previous chapter), put an end to the war. Cortes at first treated him kindly, but later (accord- ing to a marginal note in Chimalpahin it must have happened on the da}' 1 Ocelotl, that is, as we reckon it, 169 days later, about the end oi the year 1521) sent him and four other influential Mexicans prisoners to Coyouacan and strove to extort from them by torture information as to where were hidden the treasures which the Spaniards had to r s t Fig. 37. Mexican symbols of persons and places. U leave behind in Mexico the year previous at the time of their flight. Quauhtemoc was afterward baptized and named for his godfather Don Hernando de Alvarado Quauhtemoctzin. Cortes appointed him gobernador of Mexico, but afterward had him hanged on sus- picion of conspiracy, together with Tetlepanquetzatzin and Couana- cochtzin, the kings of Tlacopan and Tetzcoco. This happened in the year 1524 at UeimoUan during the expedition to Honduras. " He died in some sort like a Christian " (ye yuhqui ye christianoyotica momiquilli), says Chimalpahin. "A cross was put into his hand, his 160 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [boll. 28 feet were bound together with iron chains, and by these they hung him to a ceiba tree ". The execution is represented on page 138 of Codex Vaticanus A; but there he is represented as hanged by the neck in the usual way. From Chimalpahin-s words, however, it would seem as though he had been cruelly hung up by the feet. The hieroglyph of Quauhtemoc, " swooping eagle ", is represented in section 7 of our manuscript by the head of an eagle and a foot- print directed downward. In the Sahagun manuscript of the Academia de la Historia it is represented by an entire eagle flying downward {d 1, figure 37). In Codex Vaticanus A, plates 137 and 138, we also have a swooping eagle and footprints directed down- ward {d 2 and d 3, same figure) . The remark added in the following division, the eighth of our manuscript, apparently by the same hand which entered the other names and remarks, also refers to Quauhtempc's death. In order to read the words the fragment must be turned upside down. In this division we have two large circles and one small one, filled with an irregular network of lines and painted blue. These are hiero- glyphs of the xiuitl, " turquoise ", a word which, as I stated above, is frequently expressed by a small disk of turquoise mosaic (see m, figure 35). But the word xiuitl means not only "turquoise", but also " grass ", " comet ", and " year ". It is used here in the last sense, for the little flag over the two large circles means " 20 ". The two large circles and one small circle together, therefore, give us 41 years. Accordingh', there is written below them hon poval xivitl oce axca, '"(it is) now 41 years". Besides the number at the left is 7 Calli, " 7 house " ; that is, the year 1524, the year of Quauhtemoc's death. To the right, beside the number, is 8 Calli, " 8 house " ; that is, the year 1565, which is more fully explained by the accompanying words: (the numeral is not distinctly legible) del mes de abril 1565 anos ("on the — of April of the year 1565 "). From the year 1524 to the year 1565 there are actually 41 years. The year 1565, in which this note was added, had a certain sig- nificance for the descendants of the ancient royal family of Mexico, as in that year Don Luis de Santa Maria Nanacacipactzin died." He was the son of Acamapichtli and grandson of Ahuitzotl, who was the eighth king of Mexico. He was the last descendant of the ancient royal family, and was still nominally recognized as regent (gober- nador) of Mexico under Spanish rule : " Yehuatl oytech tlamico ynic Mexica Tenucha tlagopipiltin ", says Chimalpahin. This year, therefoi'e, marks the actual end of the ancient roj'al family, and for this reason Chimalpahin here adds a sketch of the entire ancient history of the city of Mexico and of the Mexican race. We read " that » Chimalpahin, Seventh RelaUon, pp. 194, 19.5. SELBR] MEXICAN PICTURE WHITINGS — FRAGMENT II 161 when the city of Mexico surrendered to the victorious Cortes after the capture of Quauhtemoc, the chiefs of the Mexicans were assem- bled at Acachinanco. They were the following: (1) Quauhtemoc- tzin, King of Mexico (tlahtohuani Tenuchtitlan) ; (2) Tlacotzin, cihuacohuatl, that is, the King's deputy; (3) Oquiztzin, Prince of Azcapotzalco (tlahtohuani Azcapotziilco-Mexicapan) ; (4) Panitzin (or llanitzin), Prince of Ehcatepec (tlahtohuani Ehcatepec) ; (5) Motelchiuhtzin, the keeper of the royal stores (calpixqui), not a man of royal blood, but a great war chief (amo pilli, yn yece huey yaotiacauh catca). Cortes had them put in chains and taken as prisoners to Coyouacan. The same four men who are mentioned here with Quauhtemoc are mentioned again in the same order in the account of Quauhtemoc's execution and that of the other two at UeymoUan: Cenca yc tlao- coxque, motequi-pachoque, quichoquillique, yn quinhuicac Mexica tlahtoque (" The princes of Mexico, who had been brought hither, were deeply moved and wept for him"). Their names are given as Don Juan Velazquez Tlacotzin, cihuacohuatl, Don Carlos Oquiztzin, Don Andres Motelchiuhtzin, and Don Diego de Alvarado Huanitzin. There is still another native account of events that happened during the siege and after the taking of the city of Mexico. This is the account preserved in the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca Ijorenziana, which forms the twelfth book of the worlj. It is stated there that on the day after Quauhtemoc's capture he and all the dignitaries were taken to Cortes at Atactzinco, to the house of the tlacochcalcatl Coyoucuetzin. Here, directly after Quauhtemoc, are named Coana- cochtli and Tetlepanquetzatzin, the kings of Tetzcoco and Tlacopan, and then the following men of high rank: (1) cioacoatl Tlacutzin; (2) tlillancalqui Petlauhtzin; (3) vitznavatl Motelchiuhtzin, mexi- catl achcauhtli; (4) tecutlamacazqui ("high priest") Coatzin; (5) tlatlati ("steward") Tlagolyautl. When the princes came before Cortes, the three kings of the allied cities of Mexico, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan took their seats beside Cortes. Then follow mixcoatlailotlac Auelitoctzin and tlatzacutica yopicatl Pupucatzin pilli, who, as a comjjarison with previous pas- sages shows, are to be regarded as leaders of the Tlatelolcas. And then we read : " On the other side sat the Tenochcas ". Their names are given as Tlacutzin, Petlauhtzin, Motelchiuhtzin mexicatl achcauhtli, tecutlamacazqui Coatzin, and tlatati Tlagolyautl. These names are mentioned repeatedly on previous pages of the narrative. If we compare the tAvo accounts, that of Chimalpahin and the one in the Sahagun manuscript, we must at the outset discard the last two persons named in the Sahagun narrative, for they are priests. Of the other three, two are identical with two of those mentioned by 7238— No. 28—05 11 162 BUREAU OF AMEETCAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 28 Chimalpahin. The diflference between the two narratives apparently can be explained by the fact that in the Anales of Chimalpahin we have in the beginning an account of the interview held with the Mexi- can princes immediately after the surrender of the city, while the list which then follows does not mention the princes present at this inter- view, but those whom Cortes afterward sent as prisoners to Coyouacan and put to the torture in order to wring confessions from them in regard to the treasures left behind by the Spaniards in their flight from the city. If we now return to oixr manuscript we see that in divisions 5, 3, 2, and 1, below Quauhtemoc, the same four men are named whom Chi- malpahin mentions as Quauhtemoc's companions; but the order of succession is somewhat changed, for, whilst we must always think of Tlacotzin as occupying the first place, Oquiztzin must be in the fourth place here instead of the second, as in Chimalpahin. The four persons, like those named in the other divisions, are ex- pressed in our manuscript by a head with the name hieroglyph behind it. Besides which a scribe, who, as we have seen, made his entries in the year 1565, has added the names of the persons in writing; Here, as elsewhere, the heads serve to show the rank of the person designated. In our manuscript, Uanitzin and Oquiztzin, who are named above as kings of Ehcatepec and Azcapotzalco, have the royal headband of turquoise mosaic, like Motecuhzoma and Quauhtemoc. These two alone of the four have the little tongue before their mouth, the symbol of speech and also of power. Von Humboldt was of the opinion that the Mexicans intended to designate persons as living by the addition of this little tongue. That this is not the case here is obvious, for Oquiztzin died earlier than the three others, and Mote- cuhzoma, who also has the little tongue, earlier than any of the four and before Quauhtemoc, who is represented without the little tongue. Apparently the tongue is meant here as the direct hieroglyph for tlahtouani, " the one who speaks ", or " the lord ", " the king ", a pen- dant, as it were, to the royal headband. The third of the four, Motelchiuh, who was described above as a war chief, is represented by the peculiar manner of wearing the hair which was a distinguishing mark of warriors. Sahagun tells us (App., chapter 5) that when warriors adorned themselves for the dance they bathed, covered their whole bodies, except the face, with black color, and painted their faces with black stripes, and that in- stead of combing their hair " they made it stand on end to give them- selves a terrible aspect ". There were two different ways, as the pic- tures show, in which it was customary to arrange the hair on these occasions. One was to draw the hair together on the crown and wind round it a leather strap, to which, on gala occasions, large tassels of ornamental feathers were fastened, while the rest of the hair, as it SBLisR] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT II 163 seems, stood out short and stiff all around the face. It is worn thus by the figures of warriors in the Mendoza codex (see L figure 37) and on the head of Yacatecuhtli, the god of traveling merchants and caravan leaders, in the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca del Palacio, m. This manner of wearing the hair was called temillotl, " stone-pillar hair dress ", and the great tassels were called quet- zallalpiloni, " ornamental feather band "." The name temillo, " wear- ing the stone-pillar hair dress (warrior's hair dress)", occurs fre- quently in the list of names from Uexotzinco (Manuscrit Mexicain number 3, Bibliotheque Nationale), already mentioned several times, and is represented there sometimes by the figure of a pillar, some- times by a stone or a stone in a setting, or, finally, by a stone in con- nection with a head of dressed hair (see n, figure 37). In the other manner of wearing the hair it was made to stand up high over the forehead and allowed to hang down from the crown of the head over the neck, where it was wound by a strap, into which a feather orna- ment was stuck on gala occasions. This fashion is shown in the pic- ture of a chieftain arrayed for the dance, o, which in Codices Telleri- ano-Reniensis and Vaticanus A designates the feast Tecuilhuitl, and in the drawing of the head of Tlacochcalco yaotl in the Saha- gun manuscript in the Biblioteca del Palacio, p. The chieftains of the Tlaxcaltecs are also drawn with this hair dress on the lienzo of Tlaxcala, in the representation of the festivities which the republic of Tlaxcala prepared for the reception of the conqueror Cortes, whom they hailed as their ally. This manner of wearing the hair was called tzotzocoUi, and the feather ornament stuck into the strap, consisting of a furcated plume of heron feathers, was called aztaxelli.'' In g' I give a picture from the Sahagun manuscript in the Biblioteca del Palacio, in which warriors are represented executing a dance at the feast of Ochpaniztli, where these two modes of wear- ing the hair are to be seen side by side, distinctly drawn. The former, the temillotl, is the distinguishing mark of the actual chief- tains, the tequiua. Motelchiuh, the great war chief, is therefore represented with it in division 3 of our manuscript (plate vii). Finally, Tlacotzin, in division 5 (counting from the lower path), lias neither the royal headband nor the chieftain's hair dress, but is represented simply with hair hanging straight down, without any insignia whatever. He was drawn without the royal headband, because at that time he was probably not yet in possession of the royal power which was afterwards conferred upon him. Nor was the warrior's hair dress appropriate to him, because the title ciua- couatl, which he bore, was apparently not a military one. I will mention, however, that above Tlacotzin, in division 6, there was « Verollentlichungen aus dem Koniglichen Museum fur VSIkerkunde, v. 1, p. 140. " Verotfentlichungen aus dem Koniglichen Museum I'iir Volljerltunde, v. 1, p. 166. 164 BUKEAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bum,. 28 painted a head with the royal headband lilte Quauhtemoc, but that this has been pasted over ; that is, expunged. As for the hieroglyphs, there are two in division 5 with Tlacotzin, which, however, do not both refer to the name. The first one seems rather to express the title and the second the name of the man. The latter represents an implement, a sort of wooden shovel which was used to work the ground, but also served to shovel earth, lime, etc. (see ^ and m). The former is taken from the Mendoza codex. Above is the tool, below the basket (chiquiuitl) , in which the earth, lime, etc., was transported, with the broad carrying strap (mecapalli) to be placed over the forehead. In u, taken from the Osuna codex, is shown the Mexican laborer using this tool, the name of which is uictli, or coauacatl. In our manuscript it serves to express the name Tlacotzin because it was the symbol of servitude or bondage, of slave labor. The serf, the slave, was called tlacohtli. A tlacotl, somewhat differently pronounced, with the vowel short in the first syllable, meant the blossoming bough, an example of which is depicted in the hieroglyph Tlacopan (Tacuba). As in the present case the name Tlacotzin is expressed by a tool, we may conclude that the first pronunciation (with the long a) and also the first meaning belonged to it. The first hieroglyph' shows the picture of a snake with open jaws holding a human face. The snake is painted yellow, excepting the rattles and belly, the human face brown, and on the cheek there seem to be traces of the U\o stripes which are almost invariably drawn in the hieroglyphs of the Mendoza codex when a female face is to be expressed (see r, figure 37, the hieroglyph Ciuatlan, from the Men- doza codex, volume 40, page 1). The first hieroglyph in division 5 is therefore the exact reproduction of the word ciuacouatl, " female snake ", the title, which it is stated by Chimalpahin and in the Saha- gun manuscript was borne by the Tlacotzin mentioned here. The title ciuacouatl belonged to the highest dignitary in the realm, who was in a certain sense the colleague or deputy of the king ( tlahtouani) . This fact is so often and emphaticalh^ repeated in Tezozomoc's Cronica mexicana that it is natural to suspect intention and to conclude that the power claimed by the ciuacouatl was not always recognized by the king. In general, the colleagueship was plainly and clearly enough established. When in the narrative of the deeds of the elder Motecuhzoma,Tlacaelel, ciuacouatl of that period, makes a suggestion, Motecuhzoma answers that he agrees to everything, " for indeed I am the master; but I can not order everj'thing, and you, ciuacoatl, are as much master as I am ; we must both govern the Mexican state ". The name ciuacouatl has several meanings. It means " female snake ", but it may also signify " female twin " or " female companion". The name probably refers to the ancient earth goddess, who, in different SBLEH] MEXICAN PlOTtJEE WRITINGS — FRAGMENT 11 165 places, was called variously Ciuacoatl, " the snake woman ", Ton- antzin, " our dear mother ", or Teteo innan, " mother of the gods ", and who was to the father, the ancient god of heaven, exactly what the ciuacouatl was to the king in the earthly realm of the Mexican commonwealth. I give in s a painting of this goddess corresponding exactly to the one in our hieroglyph. It occurs on plate G3 of the Goupil-Boban atlas, and there denotes Ciuacoatl, the goddess of Colhuacan, to whom Mexican prisoners are being sacrificed. Motelchiuh means " the despised ". The hieroglyph which here ex- presses this name is the well-known hieroglyph te-tl, " stone ", which is painted in brown and black, to express the various colors or the veining of stone. Of course, this hieroglyph is only an approxima- tion of the sound which it is actually intended to represent. It is not impossible that there is some etymologic connection, though only an indirect one, between the words te-tl, " stone ", and tel-chiua, " to despise '\ Besides, Motelchiuh is designated also in the Sahagun manuscript of the Academica de la Historia in precisely the same way; that is, by the hieroglyph te-tl '• stone " (e, figure 37). Uanitzin, division 2, is hieroglyphically denoted by the flag (pamitl). p, b, and w are all kindred sounds, and our (German) w, or, more correctly, the English w, is the sound which the old gram- marians intended to express by u or v, and the Jesuits by hu. It seems to be only an error when Chimalpahin occasionally writes Panitzin instead of Huanitzin ; that is, Uanitzin. Uanitl is also de- noted by a small flag in the Sahagun manuscript of the Academia de la Historia (g, figure 37). Lastlj', Oquiztli, in the first division above the lower path, is simply described by the hieroglyph of the city Azcapotzalco, whose ruler he was. Azcapotzalco means " in the place of the ant-hills ". The city is therefore hieroglyphically expressed by the picture of an ant-hill (see a and &, the former taken from the Mendoza codex, the latter from a record preserved in the library of the Duke of Osuna). Here we see in the midst of small pebbles and grains of sand a crea- ture, usually painted red and of a somewhat exaggerated shape, which is intended to represent an ant (azcatl). I will now state briefly what is known concerning the subsequent fate of the four persons whom Chimalpahin mentions as companions of Quauhtemoc, the last free king of Mexico, and who in our manu- script are set down in due order underneath Quauhtemoc. Tlacotzin seems to have been a grandson of Ahuitzotl, the eighth king of the Mexicans." He was therefore a near relative of Quauhte- ° See Anales de Chimalpahin, Seventh Reiation, ed. E^mi Simgon, p. 266, where the yxhuiuhlzin inyn, " the grandson cf the previous one ", can hardiy refer to anyone but the previously mentioned Ahuitzotl. 166 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 moc, who was a son of Ahuitzotl. This probably explains the high position as ciuacouatl, which he held with and under Quauhtemoc. He took a very energetic part in the defense of the city of Mexico, according to the Aztec account preserved in the Sahagun manu- script of the Biblioteca Lorenziana, which was probably written by an eyewitness who was shut up in the beleaguered city with him. Tlacotzin is mentioned there with tlillancalqui Petlauhtzin and uitz- nauatl Motelchiuhtzin, and these three, as leaders of the Tenochcas, are placed opposite tlacateccatl Temilotzin and tlacochcalcatl Coyo- ueuetzin, the leaders of the Tlatelolcas, the inhabitants of the sister city of Tenochtitlan. After the conquest he, too, was baptized, and was then called Don Juan Velasquez Tlacotzin. After the execution of Quauhtemoc and his companions at Ueymollan, Cortes made him King of Mexico (tlahtohuani mochiuh yn Tenochtitlan) and equipped him like a Spaniard, presenting him with a sword, a dagger, and a white horse." Tlacotzin, however, was not destined to enter his native city as King. After having been absent for nearly three years with Cortes on the expedition to Honduras, which Avas one of hard- ships and privations, he died on the homeward journey, in 1526, at Nochiztlan. Of Motel chiuh it has already been stated that he was not a prince of the blood, but had won his rank by distinguishing himself in war. In the passage from Chimalpahin quoted above he is mentioned with the title calpixqui, " keeper of the royal stores ". This was the name given to the governors of subjugated pro-\'inces, whose chief duty it was to collect the tribute and convey it to the royal storehouses. In the Aztec account in the Sahagun manuscript he is called uitznauatl and mexicatl achcauhtli. The latter means simply " Mexican war chief". The former is one of the many military titles which were in use among the Mexicans, the actual meaning of which has not yet been determined. They probably referred to a particular gens (cal- pulli) and to its temple. After the conquest of the city Motelchiuh was also baptized, like the other noble Mexicans, and was named for his godfather, Don Andres de Tapia Motelchiuh. We also see Thapia Motelchiuh written in Our manuscript. After Tlacotzin's death at Nochiztlan, Motelchiuh was appointed his successor, but, as he was not a prince of the blood, actual royal dignity, the title tlahtouani, could not be conferred on him. _ I feel convinced that Cortes took this opportunity to somewhat degrade the dignity. He is therefore merely mentioned as a war chief of Mexico (Zan quauhtlahtohuani omochiuh Tenuchtitlan), but we learn nothing of his activity in this capacity. He, too, ruled but a few years and died in the year 1530, during an expedition to the provinces of the northwest (Teo-culhua- can, the province of Jalisco), where he was serving in the Spanish " See Anales de Chimalpahin, Seventh Relation, ed. RSmi Simfion, p. 207. SELER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS — FRAGMENT II 167 army under Nufio de Guzman. While bathing in the neighborhood of Aztatlan he was struck by the arrow of a Chichimec, a hostile Indian, and died of the wound."^ Uanitzin was a nephew of the king Motecuhzoma. His father, whose name was Tezozomoctli Acolnauacatl, was an elder brother of Motecuhzoma. Motecuhzoma was eventually called to the throne as the successor of his father, Axaj^acatl, by the choice of those who had the appointing power. But, according to a passage of unusual ethno- logic interest in the annals of Chimalpahin, Tezozomoctli inherited the dance yaociuacuicatl from Axayacatl, who bought it of the Tlailotlaque, a tribe of the Chalca, whose property it seems to have been. Uanitzin's mother belonged to the house of the princes of Ehcatepec, a place lying north of Mexico, at the northern base of the mountains of Guadalupe, near the lake of Xaltocan. In the year 1519, shortly before the arrival of the Spaniards, when Motecuhzoma had somewhat recovered from the extreme consternation into which he had been thrown by the first news of the appearance of the Spaniards, Uanitzin was installed by his uncle as ruler of Ecatepec, which belonged to him as his mother's heir. According to Chimalpahin, Uanitzin was at that time 20 years old. He seems to have taken no special part in the fighting during the siege. The Aztec account in the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca Lorenziana does not men- tion him; but Chimalpahin states, as I have quoted above, that he was one of the Mexicans of high rank who were taken with Quauhte- moc as prisoners to Coyouacan. Cortes had so much regard for his descent (or for his youth ? ) that he did not have him put in chains like the others. After the princes were released from prison his mother immediately took him with her to Ehcatepec; as Chimalpahin says, she concealed him there (ca ompa quitlatito yn inantzin Ehcatepec), and the people of Ehcatepec recognized him as their king (ynic ompa quintlahtocatlallique no yehuantin Ehcatepeca). As a Christian he bore the name of Don Diego de Alvarado Uanitzin. After Motelchiuh's death in the year 1530 the throne of Mexico was for a time unoccupied. After the return from Teocolhuacan, which occurred in 1532, the office of chieftain was conferred on a certain Xochiquentzin, who also was not a prince of the blood (ynin ga no Mexica amo pilli), but had only been a large landowner (yece huel chane catca Mexico) and had held the office of a calpixqui, " a Ifeeper of the royal stores " under the old kings. His house was in Calpul Teopan, the southeastern quarter of the city of Mexico, called already at that time the barrio of San Pablo. Xochiquentzin died, however, in the year 1536. The viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, who had arrived in Mexico the year before, at first hesitated to fill the » Chimalpahin, pp. 209, 222, 266. 168 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 post again ; but, in pursuance of his efforts to regulate the relations between the natives and the Spaniards, he found it advisable again to give a chief to the Indian population of the capital. In the year 1538 he appointed to the office Uanitzin, who, however, was not proclaimed king (tlahtohuani), nor could he be quauhtlahtouani, "war chief", on account of his rank ; therefore he was installed in office under the Spanish title of " gobernador ". He died as early as 1541. One of his sons, Don Cristoval de Guzman Cecetzin, or Cecepaticatzin, was afterward, in 1559, the third gobernador of Mexico. Finally, regarding Oquiztli, the fourth person, set down in our manuscript underneath Quauhtemoc, we know from Tezozomoc's Cronica that he was installed as king at Azcapotzalco at the same time as Uanitzin at Ecatepec. Tezozomoc also designates him as a nephew of Motecuhzoma; but I have no positive information as to .who his parents were. Azcapotzalco had become subject to the Mexicans since 1429, when the old rulers were driven out and the land was divided." Oquiztli also seems to have taken no conspicuous part in the fighting during the siege. He was forced, with the other noble Mexicans, to accompany Cortes on his expedition into the forest regions of Chiapas and Honduras, and died there soon after the execution of Quauhtemoc, in the year 1542.* So much concerning these four. Of the other persons set down in our manuscript from the ninth division upward, only the one entered in division 16 (counting from the lower path) is better known. This, as the explanatory note tells us, is Don Diego de San Francisco Teuetzquititzin, the son of Tezcatlpopocatzin, who again was a son of Tizocicatzin, seventh king of Mexico, and lived sub- ject to Spanish rule in Calpul Teopan, the barrio of San Pablo of Tenochtitlan. He was appointed gobernador of Mexico after Uahi- tzin's death, in 1541, and died there in the year 1554." The name Teuetzquiti means " the jester ", " he who makes others laugh ". The hieroglyph in our manuscript seems intended to represent a kind of comic mask. Elsewhere in the Sahagun manuscript of the Acade- mia de la Historia, he is represented by an open mouth, h, and a namesake of his, Tetlaueuetzquititzin, who belonged to the royal family of Tetzcoco, and was gobernador of Tetzcoco at about the same time, is represented by an open mouth with the little tongue (k, figure 37), indicative of speech, before it. The head, behind which the hieroglyph in our manuscript is placed, is drawn with the royal headband of turquoise mosiac, as in the cases of Motecuhzoma, Quauhtemoc, Uanitzin, and Oquiztzin. Like them, Teuetzquitizin belonged to the royal family of Mexico. » Chimalpahin, p. 99. ' Cliimalpahiu, p. 207. ' Chimalpahin, pp. 241, 250 ; Sahagun manuscript, Academia de la Historia. SBLKK] MEXICAK PICTURE WRITINGS-^PEAGMENT II 169 Of the other persons, I will first mention the one in division 7 (plate vii), counting from the lower path, besides Quauhtemoc, whom the explanatory note calls Don Martin Cortes Nezahual tecolotzin. The name is not known to me from other sources. The head is drawn with the hair hanging straight down, without the chieftain's hair dress and the royal headband; but above the head is the royal lieadband of turquoise mosiac. This is the well-known symbol used in the Mendoza codex for the office of tlacateccatl (see a, figure 38, page 17, of the IStendoza codex). The hieroglyph behind the head corresponds exactly to the name Nezahual tecolotl, which means / g h i Fio. 38. Symbols of names. " fasting owl ", for the back part of the hieroglyph shows plainly the face of an owl, and the front part a ribbon, woven of many- colored strips, with ends standing out, which is a familiar and universally understood symbol for nezahualli " fasting " (see the hieroglyphs of Nezahualcoyotl, " the fasting coyote ", h and c, same figure, and iSTezahualpilli, " the fasting prince " or " the fasting child ", d and e) . Those marked 5 and d are taken from the Codex Telleri- ano-Remensis and c and e from the Sahagun manuscript of the Academia de la Historia. The symbol was derived from the custom 170 BUREAU OF AMERICAN' ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 of shutting oneself up for the purpose of fasting. When seclusion was not actually accomplished, it seems to have been indicated by a ring plaited of the stalks of the aztapilin, or aztopillin, a variety of rush of a whitish color below and green above (see /, taken from the Borgian codex, which represents the fasting person blowing the conch and carrying a water jug on his shoulder within an inclosure plaited of green and white strips). In parallel pas- sages of the Borgian codex and Codex Vaticanus B a man is drawn, inclosed in a chest, waving the thorn of castigation in one hand and the green acxoyatl bush in the other. In corresponding passages of the Codices Telleriano-Remensis and Vaticanus A Quetzalcoatl, the god who was considered the inventor of castigation, appears armed in similar fashion in a boxlike inclosure, consisting of two parts. A head follows in division 9 (plate vii), which, like that of Motel- chiuh in division 3, wears the chieftain's hair dress (temillotl). The explanatory note calls this Anauacatzin, that is, " from the land by the water ", " from the seacoast "." This name is hieroglyphically I'epresented here by a circle (island?) surrounded by water. In the list of names of persons (Manuscrit Mexicain number 3, Bibliotheque Nationale) , already frequently quoted, Anauacatl occurs as the name of a citizen of Almoyauacan and is expressed by g, that is, by a stream of water which is depicted before the mouth of a person, after the fashion of the little tongue which signifies speech. For atl is water and nahuatl clear, or intelligible, speech. I am unable to say where the Anauacatl of our manuscript belongs. In division 10 follows a head with hair hanging straight down, which is designated in the accompanying note as Xaxaqualtzin. Xaqualoua means " to rub ", and this action is represented in the hieroglyph by two hands using a sort of scouring brush. In the next division, 11, is another head with the chieftain's hair dress (temillotl). The explanatory note calls it Cuetlachivitzin, " wolf's feather ". and this is expressed in the hieroglyph by the head of a wolf with tufts of down. In Chimalpahin's annals a Cuetla- chiuitzin is mentioned who was installed as ruler of Tequanipan in 1561, and who died in 1572, but I am unable to say whether this is the one referred to in our manuscript. I do not think it at all prob- able, as there is nowhere in our manuscript an allusion to the region of the Chalcas. In division 12 we have another head with hair hanging straight down. The note calls it uitznauatl, which is expressed in the hiero- glyph by the thorny point of an agave leaf (uitztli, " thorn ") and the small tongue of speech in front of it (nauatl, " clear speech ") . " I have shown In the comptes rendus of the eighth session of the Congrfts International des Amfiricanlstes, Paris, 1890, pp. 586, 5S7, that the word Anauac means the seacoast, an.iJ that it is ahsurd to spealc of the plateau of Anahuac. SELEH] MEXICAN PICTURE WEITINGS^FRAGMENT II 171 The thorn, the sharp point of the agave leaf, is divided by an oblique line, and one half is painted red, to indicate that it is covered with blood. These thorny points of the agave leaf were used in religious self-castigations, and, as we frequently see on the last pages of the Mendoza codex, also largely for purposes of punishment and edu- cational discipline. The word uitznauatl was a title, which in Mexico and elsewhere was connected with a certain military or polit- ical office. We saw above that Motelchiuh bore this title. The plu- ral, uitznaua, denoted a class of evil spirits, which were conquered and destroyed by Uitzilopochtli, and uitznauac, or aitznauatlampa, is the region of the south. In division 13 we have again a head with hair hanging straight down. The note says uaxtepecatl petlacalcatl. The first name means "one from Uaxtepec " (from the place of the uaxin, Acacia esculenta). Uaxtepec was a place in the district of Cuernavaca, therefore in a temperate region (" tierra templada "). Here was the Jardin d' Acclimation of the kings of Mexico; that is, they trans- planted hither such trees and plants from the tierra caliente as seemed to them interesting, and came themselves for rest and recreation. The place is hieroglyphically represented by A, figure 38, that is, by a mountain and a tree from whose branches hang the long knobby acacia pods (usually painted red). Petlacalcatl means " the steward of the mat house ". This was a kind of public storehouse, where Avere kept mats and other articles of furniture which were vised when foreign royal guests came. The petlacalcatl directed the public works, as shown in ?' taken from the Mendoza codex, page 71. Here the petlacalatl is represented on the left, with many little tongues before his mouth, to express the admonitions which he bestows upon those commanded to do the work. In the middle are the basket and the tool (uictli, or coauacatl), with which we are already acquainted, and to the right crouches the weeping youth commanded to do the work. The hieroglyph behind the man's head in division 13 of our manuscript (plate vii) refers to this function of the petla- calcatl, and represents the above-mentioned implement, which we have already met with as the hieroglyphic expression of tlacohtli. The first word in the accompanying note, " uaxtepecatl ", is not ex- pressed in the hieroglyph. I know of no person by this name. It is probable that " uaxtepecatl " does not stand here for the name of a person, but denotes the district to which the official belonged. We often find the governors of provinces mentioned, by the adjective form of their district instead of by their proper name — ^Cuetlaxtecatl, " the governor of Cuetlaxtlan ", etc. So here, too, uaxtepecatl petla- calcatl may mean merely " the keeper of the stores, the steward of the district of Uaxtepec ". 172 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 28 Between divisions 13 and 14 in our manuscript there is a lesser stream of M-ater, which, as I have said, leads straight across the page, from the path on the right to the water on the left. Then fol- lows above, in division 14, a head with hair hanging straight down, in the explanatory note of which some of the letters are destroyed and made unintelligible by a dark stain; but the hieroglyph behind the hep,d informs us that the note must be read Itzpotoncatzin ; that is, ''He who is stuck over with obsidian knives instead of with feathers". The hieroglyph shows us a stone knife (iztli, " knife ", " obsidian ") with tufts of down sticking to it (potonqui, " stuck over with feath- ers"). Feathers fastened to the hair and naked skin were part of the holiday dress. Young girls adorned themselves for a festival by Fig. 39. Symbols from Mexican codices. sticking red feathers to their arms and legs, and because this stick- ing on of feathers was part of the holiday dress the victim of sacrifice was similarly adorned, except that white feathers were used, to show that he was doomed to death. Those intended for the sacrificio gla- diatorio, in particular, were smeared with white infusorial earth (tizatl) and stuck over with white down (iuitl) a, figure 39. To send tizatl and iuitl was therefore a declaration of war. The oppo- nent was thus symbolically doomed to a sacrificial death. Hence in Codex Telleriano-Remensis the conquest of a city is invariably rep- resented by the picture of a man painted white, with dots, and cov- ered with tufts of down (&, figure 39) , and in the Mendoza codex, page 47, we see the declaration of war against an insubordinate cacique SELEK] MKXIOAN I-TOTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT II 173 also represented in this way, c. The envoy of the king while he deliv- prs his message is sticking feather tufts upon the head of the cacique, who sits in his chair clothed in a rich mantle. Another brings him the shield, which was also part of the equipment of those destined for the sacrificio gladiatorio. In^the next division, 15 (plate vii), we have a head with hair hangmg straight down, which is called Ixeuatzin in the accom^ panying note. Ix-tli means '' face ", " front ", " presence ", " eye " ; euatl means " the skin ", and was also used especially to denote the ^ala doublets, made of feather work which were worn by Mexican warriors of rank over the wadded armor, ichca-uipilli, which served for the actual protection of their bodies. In d, figure 39, I have re- produced one of these military doublets of feather work which is used in the Mendoza codex, pages 40 to 49, as a hieroglyph for the city of Cozouipilecan " where the people wear military doublets of yellow feathers ". A true euatl, that is, the skin flayed from a man (tla- caeuatl) , is worn by the god Xipe, " the flayed one ", the red god of the Yopi and Tlapaneca. The hieroglyph in division 15 of our manu- script (plate vii), corresponding to the meaning given here for the name, is an eye (ixtli) ; above and below it is a shirt, as shown in d^ figure 39, but having hands lianging from it and with a gash straight across the breast and a few stains below. It is evident that this drawing is not meant to represent a feather shirt, but a genuine human skin, such as Xipe wore. The opening straight across the breast indicates the incision which was made to tear out the victim's heart, and the stains are for blood stains. This is still more clear in the kindred hieroglyph in division 24 (plate vii), where the red stains — blood stains on -a yellow ground, which indicates the death hue of a human sliin — are plainly to be recognized. After division, 15 comes division 16, with the head and hieroglyph of Don Diego de San Francisco Teuetzquititzin, of which I have already spoken. In division 17 is another head having the chieftain's hair dress, temillotl. The note says coua-yvitzin, " snake-feather ", and this is represented in the hieroglyph by a snake covered with tufts of doAvn. The name Coua-iuitl is mentioned in the annals of Chimalpahin. Chimalpahin tells us there that after the surrender of the city the above-mentioned five princes of Mexico were taken captive to Coy- ouacan, and then adds: yhuan teohua Quauhcohuatl yhuan Cohu ayhuitl Tecohuatzin Tetlanmecatl quintemolli (" and they sought for the priest Quauhcoatl and for Couaiuitl Tecouatzin, Tetlanmecatl"). It is not impossible that the Couaiuitl mentioned here, concerning whom I know no further particulars, is also the one referred to in our manuscript. 174 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 In division 18 is a head with hair hanging straight down, which, according to the marginal note, bears the name Imexayacatzin. The hieroglyph is a human leg, upon the thigh of which is painted a face. This exactly reproduces the meaning of the name. Xayacatl means " the face ", and imexayacatl is literally imex-xayacatl, which is derived, with syncopation of the final consonant of the first word, from imetzxayacatl, that is, " the face made of her thigh (metz-tli)". The name refers to a ceremony which was performed at the broom feast, Ochpaniztli, the feast of the goddess Teteo-innan, or Toci. A woman was sacrificed at this feast, who, as was customary at the feasts of the Mexicans, was considered an image of the divinity in whose honor the feast was held, and who represented this deity in dress and action. This woman was sacrificed by decapitation, a priest hold- ing her on his back, and was then immediately flayed. A priest dressed himself in the skin, and represented the goddess during the remainder of the feast. From the skin of the thigh a mask was made, which was called mexayacatl, or more correctly i-mex-xayacatl, " the face made of her thigh ". It was worn, together with a peculiar headdress, which was called itztlacoliuhqui, " the sharply curved ", particularly described in the respective chapter of Sahagun (volume 2, chapter 30). It was considered the symbol of coldness and hard- ness, of infatuation, of evil, and of sin. I reproduce this mask and headdress, /, from the Sahagun manuscript of the Academia de la Historia, where the two combined are depicted as the insignia of a warrior, under the name mexayacatl. The mask (mexayacatl) and the headdress (itztlacoliuhqui) were put on by Cinteotl, the god of the maize plant, or more exactly of the ripe, hard, dry ear of corn, which was called cintli, who was the son of the old earth mother, Teteoinnan, and a battle then ensued between him and his followers on the one hand, and the priest clad in the human skin, representing the goddess, on the other, which was undoubtedly meant to symbolize the driving away of frost and other harmful things which threaten the Indian corn. These harmful things were supposed to be conjured into the mexayacatl. Therefore at the close of the feast a chosen band of warriors carried it at a running pace somewhere across the borders into hostile country." In the next division, 19, the note gives the name xipanoctzin. This should really read xip-panoc-tzin, derived by assimilation from xiuh- panoc-tzin, just as xip-palli, "color turquesado", is derived from xiuh- palli. Accordingly, the name contains the elements xiuh (or, with the article, xiuitl), "turquoise", and panoc, "he who crosses a river" (from pano, " to cross a river ") . Both elements are clearly expressed in the hieroglyph. Xiuh is expressed by the hieroglyph for tur- ** Sahagun, v. 2, chap. 30. SELiaii] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT II 175 quoise (see I, figure 34) and "crossing the river " by the boat which is drawn below it. In division 20 (plate vii) the note is again rendered quite illegible by the crease in the page, but I think that I can distinctly make out Tepotzitotzin. The name contains the elements tepotz-tli, " hump- back ", and itoa, " to speak ". Hence the hieroglyph shows a human body with a curved back and beside it the little tongue, the symbol of speech. In the next division, 21, the note is somewhat illegible, owing to an attempted correction. I think I can make out yaotequacuiltzin, which might be translated " the old priest of Yaotl, i. e., Tezcatli- poca ". There is no hieroglyph. In division 22 the explanatory note reads aca-zayol-tzin, that is, " reed gnat ". The hieroglyph is the picture of the reed (acatl) and,' above it, of a gnat (zayolin), painted brown. In division 23 we read Amaquemetzin, " he who wears a garment of barb paper ". By quemitl, '' garment ", the Mexicans meant a kind of covering usually made of more or less costly feathers, which was tied around the neck of idols and hung down in front, and was therefore commonly called by the Spaniards " delantal ". Amatl is the inner bark of a variety of fig, which was much used in ancient Mexico, especially as a cheap adornment for idols. Amaqueme, " dressed in a garment of bark paper ", was the name of the idol on the mountain near Amaquemecan, in the territory of the Chalca, which. Christianized and called Monte Sacro, is still held in great veneration bj' the inhabitants of all the neighboring valleys, pil- grimages being made to it from great distances. The hieroglyph in division 23 shows the form of the quemitl usual in the manuscripts (see e, figure 39, the hieroglyph of Tequemecan, and also o, figure 35, the hieroglyph of Aztaquemecan) , but it is blank and unpainted save for a few black designs, which were probably made with drops of hot liquid caoutchouc. Similar paper quemitl with caoutchouc-drop markings played an important part in the worship of the mountain gods at least. With them were decked the little idols of the moun- tain gods, the Eecatotontin, which were made during the Tepeilhuitl, the feast of the mountain gods (see g and A, figure 39, the figures of the mountains Popocatepetl and Matlalcueye, from the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca del Palacio). I will mention, by the way, that Kingsborough's artist has erroneously colored this hiero- glyph red and yellow, though it must be and is colorless. In division 24 (plate vii) the explanatory note gives the name eua- tlatitzin, that is, " he who hides the skin ". An euatl, a doublet made of a human skin, forms the hieroglyph, like the one in division 15. The name eua-tlati-tzin probably refers to the ceremony which was performed at the close of Tlacaxipeualiztli, the feast of the god Xipe, 176 BUREAU OF AMEKECAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 when those who for 20 days had worn the skins of the sacrificed vic- tims, out of special devotion to Xipe, carried them in solemn proces- sion to a certain place in Xipe's temple. This was called eua-tlati-lo, '' the hiding or putting away of the skins ". The twenty-fifth square is blank. In the twenty-sixth square a head is drawn which the writing above it calls Teilpitzin, that is, " he who binds people ". The hieroglyph shows a rope tied in a knot, a sufficiently intelligible symbol. This ends the list. Few familiar names are mentioned, as we see, and these belong to about the same period. They are all the direct successors of Motecuhzoma, excepting the first one, Cuitlauatzin (c, figure 37), who, it is well known, died of smallpox after reigning a few weeks, and who, excepting the last two gobernadores, Cece- patitzin, who succeeded Teuetzquititzin, and his successor, Nanacaci- pactzin, were the last of the ancient royal family to exercise any kind of royal authority. It therefore seems as though our fragment treated of territory which was a royal demesne, but which after Mote- cuhzoma's death probably did not pass as a whole to hi^s successors, but was in part divided with others. It is ray opinion that this manuscript formed a part of the col- lection brought together by Botnrini, and that it is described as num- ber 8, section 8, in his Museo Indiano. Boturini there gives the following description: Otro mapa en papel indiano, donde se pin- tan, al parecer y por lo que se puede decir ahora, unas tierras sola- riegas de senores, empezando de dicho Emperador Moteuchziima, y siguiendo a otros hasta los tiempos de la cristiandad ("Another map on Indian paper, where are painted, apparently and so far as can be said now, lands belonging to different lords, beginning with the said Emperor Moteuchziima, and afterward to others down to the times of Christianity"). FRAGMENTS III AND IV These (plates viii and ix) are two fragments of a larger manu- script, which belonged to the collection of the Cavaliere Boturini. In the inventory of the collection made after Boturini's imprisonment it is described in the fourth list, under number 26, in the following words: Un mapa grande, papel de maguey gordo con pinturas toscas, muy maltratado; trata de las cosas de la conquista de Cuanmana y otros lugares, de los Espanoles, con unos rios de sangre, que indican las batallas crueles que hubo de los Indios ("A large map on coarse aloe paper, with rude paintings, in very bad condition, treats of events during the conquest of Cuanmana and other places by the Spanish, with rivers of blood, which indicates the cruel battles which they waged with the Indians")." Boturini himself describes it as " Penafiel, Monumentos flel arte mexicano. Text, p. 61. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 28 PLATE VIII -^ I -^ •'1 h ; T»2£:. ^- ^^: --_- k-^--'- - " .- ■'-' MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT III SBLER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENTS III, IV 177 number 2, section 20, in the Catalogo del Museo Indiano del Cavallero Boturini, somewhat more in detail. He says there : Otro mapa muy grande de una pieza, y maltratado a los dos lados, de papel grueso indiano. Tiene de largo algo mas de ocho varas, y de ancho dos varas y quarta, y trata con toscas pinturas de las crueles guerras de la gentilidad entre diferentes pueblos, cuyos nombres son Hecatepec, Huyatepec, Amoltepec, Nientlah, Tzatzaqualan, Hueymetlan, Colte- pec, Antlacaltepec, Tepechalla, Xiquipilco, Achalalan, Zayutepec, Teconhiiac, Totolhuitzecan, Yahueyocan, Zacatzolah, Mazapila, y despues de haver demonstrado con unos rios de sangre, assi lo cruento de la guerra, como de los prisioneros sacrificados, apunta la llegada del gran Cortes, y de los Padres de San Francisco en Quauhmanco, etc. ("Another map, very large, in one piece, in bad condition at both sides, on thick Indian paper. It is some 8 ells long and 2| ells wide, and treats in rude paintings of the cruel wars of the gentry with various tribes, whose names are Hecatepec, Huyatepec, Amol- tepec, Nientlah, Tzatzaqualan, Hueymetlan, Coltepec, Antlacaltepec, Tepechalla, Xiquipilco, Achalalan, Zayutepec, Teconhiiac, Totol- huitzecan, Yahueyocan, Zacatzotlah, Mazapila, and after having shown by rivers of blood both the cruel nature of the war and the prisoners who were sacrificed, it relates to the coming of the great Cortes and of the Franciscan fathers to Quauhmanco, etc.")" That these descriptions refer to the manuscript of which fragments III (plate viii) and IV (plate ix) of the present collection are parts follows from the general characterization of the manuscript and from the reference to the rivers of blood (rios de sangre) , which are indeed very conspicuous on our page ; unfortunately, they are not as obvious in the uncolored photographic reproduction. This is clearly proved by the fact that three of the names of places mentioned by Boturini are actually mentioned in the explanatory notes of our fragment III. The last three places mentioned by Boturini, Yahuayohca, Zacateotlah, and Mazapillah (I read the names thus), are the ones that occur on the fragment. Our fragment must belong to one of the original lateral margins of the manuscript. The missing pieces, which must be very considerable, since in Boturini 's time the whole measured 8 ells in length and 2^ ells in width, are extant elsewhere, whether intact or not I can not say. The Museo Nacional de Mexico possesses large portions of them. I saw copies of them last year in the Mexican de- partment of the American historical exhibition at Madrid, and other parts — as it seems, very important ones, taken from what was origi- nally the middle — I saw years ago in the Biblioteca Nacional in Mexicd. Boturini states that there had been in his possession a second, similar " Idea de una nueva historia general de la Amgrlca septentrional. App., pp. 38, 3!). 7238— No. 28—05 12 178 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 manuscript, on which, among others, Avere the place names Tonal xo- chitlan, Quauhtepan, Ynenechcoyan, Tepeyahualco, Ohocotlan, Tlilal- pan, and Ameyalato on the one side ; and on the other, Huixocotepec, Huecoyotzi, Coyocan, Quetzalcohuapan, Tlacotlan, Atlan, Quimichocan, Chipetzinco, Quanapa, Tepeyahualco, Yxtlahuaca, Ocotzoquauhtla. This and the first manuscript were found together — enterrados en una caxa baxo las ruinas de la antigua ermita de la jurisdiccion de Huamantla, Provincia de Tlaxcallan, y de alii los hice sacar (" buried in a box beneath the ruins of the ancient monastery in the district of Huamantla, province of Tlaxcallan, and from there I had them taken") — and he adds: " Y solo se p".eden interpretar en un todo, en occasion que se consulten los manuscritos de la Historia general (" and they can only be interpreted as a whole, whenever the manuscripts of the general history are con- sulted"). This information is very important, because the region from which fraginents III and IV of our collection came is thus definitely fixed. The place called " Quauhmanco " in Boturini's description of the leaf and " Cuanmana " in the inventory is undoubtedly Huamantla, situ- ated in the province of Tlaxcallan, at the northeast base of the Cerro de la Malinche (the mountain called in ancient times after the goddess Matlalcueye) , in the neighborhood of which Boturini found the two remarkable manuscripts. Huamantla doubtless stands for Qua- mantla, which, in turn, is derived by contraction from Quauh-man- tlan. In fact, there are still extant in that region many of the names which Boturini mentions as occurring on these two charts. I can not, it is true, accurately define the position of the three several places whose names occur on fragment III (plate viii), but it is beyond a dpubt that they were in the same region. As for the representations on these pages, the portions belonging originally to the middle must be distinguished from those belonging to the borders. The principal part of the left side of fragment III (plate vm) belongs to the i^art which was originally the middle. Here we see, first, surrounded by flying spears and fighting warriors, a curious design in which a stream of water, painted blue, with draw- ings of currents and whirlpools and with the usual snail shells on the branches, is intertwined with a band winding in a similar manner and frayed at the ends, composed of alternate sections of gray with dark figures and yellow with red figures. The alternate dark sections and light yellow sections with red figures denote fire, and the entire symbol is nothing more than the pictorial hieroglyphic expression for the well-known phrase atl tlachinolli, or teoatl tlachinolli, which may be understood as meaning literally " water and fire ", although its original meaning was probably something else, and which is generally used in the sense of " Avar ". The same symbol, somewhat differently SBLEK] MEXICAN PICTURE WHITINGS — FRAGMENTS III, IV 179 draMu (see «, figure 40), may be seen in the headdress of the god Camaxtli, tlie war god of the Tlaxcaltecs, wlio is opposite the fire god, tlie ruler of tlie ninth weelc, which begins with ce Coatl, on page 9 of the Tonalamatl in the Aubin-Goupil collection. I have shown that the tonalamatl occurs in the most diverse Mexican picture writings with the same regents and essentially the same symbols or symbols derived from the same idea." If we take the Borgian codex, for instance, we find here, too, the fire god depicted as the ruler of the ninth week, ce Coatl. But opposite him we have not the effigy of Camaxtli, the war god of Tlaxcala, but a design (5, figure 40) in which we clearly recognize, besides a scorpion and flying arrows, the / 222S C 6' Fig. 40, Symbols and figures from the Mexican codices. stream of water and the ascending smoke of fire. In another parallel passage in the same manuscript there is again drawn opposite the fire god, instead of tlie war god, merely a scorpion, a stream of water, and a burning house, c, teoatl tlachinoUi, the symbol of war. The bodies of the warriors on our fragment (plate viii) , to the right of the teoatl tlachinolli, the symbol of war, are painted brown and the faces yellow, like the other figures on this fragment. Moreover, all the warriors have a characteristic red face painting, which con- sists of one vertical stripe and two horizontal stripes. This painting undoubtedly has some special ethnic significance. At least it differs <• Uber den Codex Borgia iind die vevwandten azteljiscben Bildei'scbriften. 180 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 from the painting customary among the Mexican warriors, who, as we learn from Sahagun, app. 3, chapter 5, and as we see represented throughout the Slendoza codex, colored the whole body black except the face, and this they painted with a few black stripes, on which they sprinkled powdered iron pyrites — niman michio, mitoaya motliltzo- tia, hapetztli ic conpotonia ininechival, " Y en la cara se ponian cier- tas rayas con tinta y margagita "." On the other hand, I find face painting like that of the warriors of pur fragment III (plate viii) on the head set upon a mountain, which is given in the Mendoza codex as the hieroglyph of the city of Otompan, " in the district of the Oto- mis ", d (figure 40), as well as in a drawing, f, which, in the list of names of persons of Uexotzinco (Manuscrit Mexicain number 3, Bib- liotheque Nationale), denotes a man named Chichimeca. We know that the name Chichimeca was borne as an honorary title by the rulers of Tetzcoco and, especially, by the Tlaxcaltecs. Red and yellow painting is mentioned as occurring among the Mexicans, but it was not a mark of distinction regularly conferred by official consent, as I would emphasize in controversion of some recent statements, but a symbolic ceremony, performed but once, by which it was publicly made known that a warrior had taken a prisoner alone, without help from others. This painting, which consisted in coloring the body and temples yellow and the face red, was applied to the fortunate warrior in the presence of the king by the calpixque, the governors of the provinces, and the commanders of divisions of troops stationed at a distance, the recipient being afterward rewarded by the king. It is exactly the same decoration as the one worn by. those who sacri- ficed a prisoner by fire at the feast Xocotl-uetzi in honor of the fire god. I have spoken elsewhere of the meaning of this manner of painting the face, which is really that of the goddess Ciuacouatl, or Quilaztli (see Ausland, 1891, page 865). Beside atl tlachinolli, the symbol of war, we have six warrior fig- ures and the lower half of a seventh in our fragment III (plate vin). Five of them wear the warrior's hair dress (temillotl) (see I and m, figure 37, and the heads in divisions 3, 9, 11, and 17, counting from the lower path, on fragment II (plate vii) of this collection). All these are armed with the shield (chimalli) and the club (maquauitl), which has an edge of obsidian splinters on both sides.* So, too, the three warriors drawn on the right side of the fragment have the temillotl and' are armed with shield and maquauitl. Only one warrior in the left-hand row, the fifth from below, has the other style of hair dress, which I described above as tzotzocolli, and which is illustrated by o, " Zeitsclirift fiir Ethnologie, 1887, v. 21, p. 175 and following, "das Tonalamatl der Aubinscben Sammlung ". Compte rendu, seventh session, Congr6s International des Am&icanigtes, Berlin, 1888, pp. 521-523. " See also the pictures of Mexican warriors' ornaments, m, p, and q, flg. 37. BELER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS — FRAGMENTS III, IV 181 'Pi 1-! figure 37. This warrior is not armed with shield and club, but with arrow (mitl), bow (tlauitoUi), and quiver (mi-comitl). The different mode of wearing the hair may be due merely to difference of rank, for the hair dress (temillotl), was the distinguishing mark of the tequiua, the great war chieftains. Still I think that there is also an ethnic difference apparent here. The maquauitl was the national weapon of the Mexican tribes, that is, of the inhabitants of the valley of Mexico and those who spoke their language. Besides this the spear (tlacochtli, tlatzontectli), thrown with the spear thrower (atlatl), was also used as an effective weapon. On the other hand, bow, arrow, and quiver were the weapons of the mountain tribes, the Chichimecs. The name Chichimecatl is reproduced in the Botiirini codex and elsewhere simply by the picture of a bow and arrow (/ and g. figure 40). The word Chichimecatl includes a multitude of very different tribes, speaking different languages. In the vicinity of the highlands of Mexico, and also in the district referred to on our fragment, that is, the region lying east and north of Tlaxcala, the only mountain tribe of importance is the Otomi. It is a remarkable fact that this very tribe wore the hair in a mode most closely resembling that which I have described above as tzotzocolli, which may be seen worn by the fifth figure from below in the left-hand row on our fragment. The Otomi, says Sahagun (volume 10, chapter 29), shaved the hair on the forehead and let it grow very long at the back of the head. This hair hanging down long behind was called piochtli. At the gates of Tlaxcallan, as we know from Gomara, Otomi was actually spoken. The god of the Tlaxcaltecs was not Tezcatlipoca bearing the spear thrower, but the arrow-shooting Camaxtli, who is never seen without the pouch in which he carries his arrowheads of flint. And the ruder, more rustic, but also warlike, nature which was attributed to the Tlaxcaltecs was undoubtedly due to the stronger admixture of the indigenous Chichimec, that is, Otomi, element. The shields which the chieftains hold in their hands are of three sorts. The fourth figure from below in the left row holds a shield whose surface is decorated with five tufts of down arranged in a quin- cunx. Such shields are mentioned in the Sahagun manuscript under the name of iui-teteyo, " decorated with single balls of feathers ". Another shield, on whose surface are five small gold plates arranged in a quincunx, is called, correspondingly, teocuitla-teteyo. The shield with the tufts of down arranged in a quincunx is carried by the idol of Uitzilopochtli (see the picture of it in Codices Telleriano-Remen- sis I, page 9, and Vaticanus A, page 71, which represents the fifteenth annual festival, Panquetzaliztli , the feast of Uitzilopochtli) . Uitzilo- pochtli's shield is called teueuelii. It is described as follows in the Sahagun manuscript of the Biblioteca Lorenziana: Otlatl in tlachi- 182 BUREAU OF AMEBIC AN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 valli, otlachimalli, nauhcan tlapotonilli quauhtlachcayotica, iuicha- chapanqui, moteneua teueuelli ; that is, " made of reeds, with eagle's down stuct on it in four places in conglomerate masses; it is called teueuelli ". Together with the shield, Uitzilopochtli bears four spears that are tipped with tufts of down instead of stone points, which were called tlauagomalli." The shield with the tufts of down also appears constantly in the Mendoza codex, where the symbol of war — shield, spear thrower, and bundle of spears — is represented before the pic- ture of the king. From this latter fact it has been concluded that this shield was used by the Mexican kings: but I doubt whether this was the case. Uitzilopochtli bears this shield, as he bears the tlauagomalli .(the four spears tipped with tufts of down instead of stone) ; that is, he has the weapons which were placed in the hand of those destined to a sacrificial death — to the sacrificio gladiatorio (see a and &, figure 39), because to a certain extent he represents the conception of a warrior's death — a death by sacrifice on the round stone (temalacatl). There is an interesting statement in regard to these weapons of Uitzilopochtli in the annals of Chimalpahin. AVe read there that the elder INIotecuhzoma in the year 1440, before he was installed as a ruler, went to the Chalca to beg the princes of Amaquemecan to set in motion the otlanamitl and the teueuelli (ynic conolinique in otlanamitl in teueuelli), in order that the Tepanecs might be subdued (inic opoi^oliuh in Tepanecatl).'' Here teueuelli is the name of Uitzilopochtli's shield and otlanamitl should read otlanammitl. The latter word is derived by contraction from otla- nauh-mitl and means " the four bamboo arrows ". The whole is undoubtedly only a figure of sjoeech.'" Motecuhzoma simply asks the Chalca to support him in war against the Tepanecs. But that a figurative expression of this kind could be used proves that teueuelli universally denoted the shield of the war god, for the god of the Chalca was not Uitzilopochtli, but Tezcatlipoca. The shields of the other warriors on our fragment III (plate vni) are of two types, the two which occur inost frequently among the armor depicted in the tribute list and in the Mendoza codex. The first. third, and sixth warriors, from below, in the left row and the lower of the two on the right side, have shields whose surface exhibits a stepped meander laattern, undoubtedly executed in feather work, as on the ajicient Mexican shields in the Museum of National Antiqui- ties at Stuttgart. A shield of this kind was called xicalcoliuhqui " Vei'oilentlichungen aus dem Koniglichen Museum fiir Viilkerkunde, v. 1, p. 122. 6 Chimalpahin, Seventh Relation, pp. 105, 106. <= Remi Simeon ti-anslates the passage : qu'ils transportassent les engins de gueri'e pour renverser les TepanSques ("that they would transport the engines of war to overthrow the Tepanecs"). It d.oes not refer to engines of war, nor would the Chalcas, if they had owned such a fetish, have actually given it out of their Ijeeping, nor, finally, does ou-oli-ni mean to transport to any other place. feELEHl MEXICAN PICTURE WHITINGS FRAGMENTS III, IV 183 chimalli." The pattern on the Stuttgart shield is executed in green and yellow, and the shields of this kind on the tribute list have the same colors, without a single exception. On our fragment the colors chosen are blue and red. The second warrior, from below, in the left row and the adjacent upper right-hand warrior have a shield with concave cross bands curving upward, with one golden crescent above and three below. Such shields were called cuexyo chimalli.'' The background of these shields is usually red, and so it is on our frag- ment. The Avarrior who follows in the upper row on the left, of whom only the lower half is visible, has a shield with a plain red surface. Concerning the other weapons and articles of dress there is not much to be said. I The maquauitl, strangely enough, is painted blue in every instance. 'The Mexicans frequently denoted metal (silver), and usually tur- quoise mosaic, by blue in their paintings. But there can be no ques- tion of metal here, for a metal club would not be armed with splin- ters of obsidian, and turquoise mosaic was employed only in the ornamentation of costly gala weapons, if at all. The clubs might have been painted blue in imitation of turquoise mosaic, just as war- riors wore wooden ear pegs painted blue instead of those incrusted with turquoise, as worn by the king.'- Arrows and spears are represented, as in all Mexican paintings, tipped with stone. The feathers at the nock end are applied some- what below the end of the shaft, so that the end of the arrow can be placed on either the bow string or the peg of the spear thrower. The feathers are drawn en face, that is, with the broad side next the shaft. This, however, is probably due to defective drawing. In reality they must have lain perpendicular to the shaft. Thus, eyes are never drawn in profile, as they actually are in a face drawn in profile, but are always drawn en face. A ball of down is invariably attached to the base of the feather. The quiver worn by one warrior on our frag- ment is painted yellow, with black spots, and is therefore supposed to be made of jaguar skin. All the figures are naked, save for the maxtlatl, " breechcloth," which is here painted red in all cases. The warriors in the row on the left are represented as engaged in combat. Each of the three on the right side is dragging a prisoner, and broad streams of blood mark the paths they have traversed with their captives. Opposite the middle one of the three warriors is a man who seems to be in the act of receiving the victim with animated gestures. He wears only a red cap on his head, and is perhaps meant for a priest. » VeroCEentlichungen aus dem KOniglichen Museum fur Volkerkunde, v. 1, pp. 140, 141. 6 Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, 1891, v. 2.3, p. 137. ' Yuan conaquia xiubnacochtli, uel Jtiuitl, auh yu cequintin gan quaultl yn tiachiualll tiaxiuhycuilolli (" and they wear turquoise ear pegs, which are made of turquoise, and others wear them of wood only, which are painted after the manner of turquoise"). Sahagun, t. 2, chap. 37. Manuscript Biljlioteca del Palacio. 184 BXJREAXJ or AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 These representations of war and capture are bordered on the right side of the fragment by another series of pictures at right angles to the former. Here, somewhat crudely and awkwardly executed, is a series of place hieroglyphs, before each of which is drawn a person- age seated on a chair, who must be meant for the ancestor of the tribe settled in that place. Most of these personages seem to hold flowers in their hands, probably to express peaceful enjoyment, therefore secure dominion. The king in Codex Vaticanus A, page 86, is sim- ilarly depicted, richly dressed, with a tobacco pipe in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other. At the beginning of the series below, on the left, there is still to be seen the head of one of these figures and the bunch of flowers which he holds in his hand. All the rest is missing. Then follows a mountain with a thatched house on its top, and in front of it sits a man whose name is represented by the eagle's head above. The explanatory note reads : nica yahuayohca yn toca cuitli yn toconcol, that is, " here is the place ^ called yauayohcan. Cuitli, ' hawk ', is the ancestor ". Yauayocan might mean "' where they walk in a circle ". Cuitli /;;0-,^ ijB^ is undoubtedly a dialect expression for L^\ Wfj^ cuixtli (cuixin, cuiztli), the name of ^ a smaller bird of prey (cuixin, " mi- FiG. 41. Mexican glyphs from list of i ,,v t r» i • ^t names. lano ) . 1 find cuixtli as a proper name, for instance, inthe list of names of Almoyauacan in the Manuscrit Mexicain number 3, Bibliotheqne Nationale (see a, figure 41). Then follows a house with a stone roof and a person in front of it, above whom we see the head of the wind god by way of name hieroglyph. The place- hieroglyph which doubtless was originally over the house is missing, and as there is no explanatory note there is naturally nothing to be said regarding the place. According to the hieroglyph, the person must have been named Ehecatl, a word which often occurs as the name of a person. On account of their unusual form, I give three designs, c, d, e, which in the list of names of Almoyauacan (Manuscrit Mexicain number 3) designate persons by the name of Ehecatl. Next follows a mountain with a bush on the top, painted rose- color ; in front of it, a house with a stone roof ; and before this, sitting on the tepotzo-icpalli, the woven-straw seat with a back, a personage whose name is indicated by a jaguar's head above. The note says: Auh nicah zacateotlah yn toconcol yn tocah ocenllotli (" and here follows Zacateotlan. His ancestor's name was Ocelotl ") . Boturini read this Zacatzotlah. As I read the name, it contains the words BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 28 PLATE IX MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT IV SKLEE] MEXICAN PIOTUKE WRITINGS FRAGMENTS III, IV 185 zaca-tl, " grass ", teo-tl, " god ", and the final syllable tla or tlan, which has the significance of a locative. Oceotl, " jaguar ", is a very common proper name. The last picture in the series is again a house with a stone roof; but the place hieroglyph, which must have been there originally, is missing. A personage is drawn in front of the house, whose name is given above by the representation of a stone knife (tecpatl). Here, too, there is a note, but it is almost illegible. The place name, in particular, can not be deciphered. I read : Nica mazap — — Ic yn toca . The notes, few words as they contain, are remarkable on account of their dialect form. In classic Aztec, nican means " here " ; tococol, "our ancestor"; ocelotl, "the jaguar". The writer who added the notes on our fragment III (plate viii) drops the final nasal after the short a in nican, and writes nica and nicah. And thus yahuayohca and zacateotlah probablj' stand for yauayocan and zacateotlan. After the long vowels o and e, oh the other hand, he inserts a nasal. He distinctly writes, both times, toconcol, " our ancestor ", and ocenllotl, " the jaguar ". I will mention here that, also in Tezozomoc's Cronica Mexicana, compilli is written for copilli, and occasionally also ocen- lotl. So, too, we occasionally find in Sahagun Tontec for Totec (one of Xipe's names). Fragment IV is, as I have said, and as inspection shows, a piece of the same manuscript to which fragment III (plate viii) belonged; but it is difiicult to determine whether it should be added to any part of it. On fragment IV (plate ix) we have, to the right, the figure of a warrior and the shield and maquauitl of another. The face painting and ornaments are the same as those of the warrior figures on the previous fragment, but the shield has a plain red surface. Beside the foremost warrior is a word which I read p]hcaquiyauh. The quiyauh seems quite plain, but the other part is perhaps doubtful. Ehcaqui- yauh would mean " wind and rain ". Below the figures of warriors there is executed on a large scale a stream of water, with drawings of whirlpools on its surface and snail shells on its branches. On the upper edge there is a series of representations, proceeding from the left, which correspond to those on the right side of fragment III (plate VIII ). But there are no explanatory notes. The houses are thatched with straw. The small benches on which the personages sit are all painted blue, like the wood of the maquauitl. The first person from the left seems to carry the picture of a six-rayed or seven-rayed star, painted yellow, above his head^ by way of a name hieroglyph. Hence the man's name was probably Citlal. Over the head of the sec- ond I think I see the drawing of a bone, and over the third that of a 186 BUEEAtr OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [HULL. 2S thorn. These people were therefore probablj'^ called Omitl and Uitz. The angular figure over the head of the fourth person, which seems likewise to be a name hieroglyph, I can not explain. Footprints are drawn on both fragments, running between the various representations, denoting a road or a journey in each respec- tive direction. On fragment III (plate viii) the lower' row of foot- prints leads from above on the left to below on the right; the upper row from below on the right to above on the left. On fragment IV (plate ix) there is a similar indication of paths leading in two direc- tions. If we hold the fragment as the figures stand, the footprints on the left lead downward from above — in this row there is but one Fig. 42. Figures from Mexican manuscript, frasmeut IV. footprint — but on the right they lead upward from beloAV. The tracks themselv^es, rudely sketched, are very different from the usual delicate drawing which we saw, for instance, in the paths on frag- ment II (plate vii). But this very fact showed me at a glance that a fragment preserved years ago in the Biblioteca Nacional at Mexico, from which I made a little drawing at the time, must have belonged to the same large manuscript. Here, in a bow-shaped green inclosure, are to be seen the four persons whom I reproduce in figure 42 from the drawing just mentioned. Above, on the right, is a man invested in the insignia of a priest, meca-cozcatl and ie-tecomatl (see pages 146 to 148), wearing the face painting of the fire god, the god who SBLER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS — FRAGMENT V 187 was considered the old and original god, and holding in his hand a nosegay and a spear. Opposite him is a goddess with an erect, horn- like tuft of feathers on her head, therefore probably Xochiquetzal. Below, on the right, is an attendant god or priest with a banner in his hand. Below, on the left, is another, who is procuring fire by friction. Beside the latter the date chicuey ytzcuintli is written, which must be meant to represent the name of this person. Beside the banner-bearer is the word Xochitonal ( ? ) . Beside the chief figure above, on the right, is another explanatory note, which I, prob- ably copied incorrectly, for I can not interpret it; but it begins with ? f -=> \-* » G ( p Fig. 4o. Mexican namt glyphs. 2 the word nicah, the same word in the same dialect form with which the notes begin on fragment III (plate viii) of our collection. It is greatly to be desired that the present very able and energetic director of the Museo Nacional of Mexico may speedily publish also the fragments of this great manuscript, now in the possession of the museum, for in spite of its coarse and clumsy drawings the manuscript is very interesting. FKAGMENT V Next we have a jDiece of agave paper 42 cm. long and 15^ cm. wide, divided into ten divisions by cross lines (plate x). The writer seems to have begun in the old way (see fragment I, plates ii to vr of this 188 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 collection), at the bottom, and to have proceeded upward, for there appears to have been nothing above the topmost line. It is to be noted that the drawings are made in a different ink, blacker and more permanent, than that in which the names were entered. About the middle of the fragment, in the sixth division from below, we have the hieroglyph of a place. I think the explanatory note should be read tezontepec. The hieroglyph is in the familiar form of a mountain (tepe-tl) bearing a tree. But the mountain is here divided, as it were, into a series of cliffs and prominences, which are painted a light bluish green in the middle and reddish at the edges, and its surface is diagonally crossed by a band contrasting sharply with the rest of the coloring. The light diagonal band is prob- ably intended to recall the familiar hieroglyiDh of the stone (tetl) (see n, figure 37, and a. figure 43, the hieroglyph of Tepoxauac, "where the stones are loose"). The alternately lighter and darker portions in this hieroglyph reproduce the various veinings of stone. In our hieroglyph irregular black stripes occur, both on the diagonal band and on the various clitTs and prominences of the mountain. This, I believe, is meant to indicate the porous quality of the stone, for tezontli means " stone froth ". This was the Mexican name for a porous stone which occurs in the valley of Mexico, and which, like the Eoman travertine, has been much used for building purposes from the earliest times. In the Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Ilegi- dores de Mexico, which is preserved in the archives of the Duke of Osuna, a village called Tezontepec (5, same figure) is mentioned in a list with Hueypochtlan, Tequisquiac, Nestlalapan, Tlemaco, etc., as subject to a "' comandero ". It is very likely the place in the dis- trict of Tula, state of Hidalgo, which is still known by that name. The report published by Doctor Penafiel, concerning the municipal divisions of the Eepublic of Mexico in 1884, mentions still another Tezontepec in tlie district of Pachuca. Of course it is impossible to state with certainty which Tezontepec may be meant here. In the other divisions (plate x) there is a man on the left and a woman on the right, except the two uppermost divisions, in which there is only a woman. The woman is always recognized by the manner of wearing the hair, which is marked by a bunch on the neck and two braids standing erect above the forehead, like horns. The names of the persons are written over them, and behind some of the heads a name hieroglyph is given. Several red dots are painted between the man and the woman in each division, varying from 4 to 8 in number. They are usually arranged in two rows, and where the number is uneven the row containing the smaller number of dots is placed uppermost. Here again the writer seems to have proceeded from below upward. The whole was probably a sort of parish register of the village of Tezontepec, in which the 3ULLETIN 28 PLATE X tjV ;>^ -: % p.-: 6CJ MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT V BELEK] MEXICAN PICTURE WHITINGS — FRAGMENT V 189 man and wife in every household were given, with their names and the number of their children. This is confirmed by the fact that in the two topmost divisions, where only a woman and a number of red dots are entered, after the woman's name is the remark " yc ", which is the abbreviation for ycnociuatl, " widow ". In the lowest division, over the man's head is written the name lolenzo te s. f o, that is, Lorenzo de San Francisco — for in the Mexican language there is no r nor d — and behind it is a hieroglyph which is partially destroyed and somewhat hidden by a fold in the paper, but is still clearly to be Tecognized as the drawing of a gridiron (see c, figure 43), the hieroglyph for the name Laurentius. The woman opposite him is named Ana, and the number of red dots is eight. In the second division (plate x) from below the name Antonio is written above the man's head. Behind it was a hieroglyph, but unfortunately it is now whollj' obliterated. The woman opposite him is called Catliarina, and the number of red dots is eight. In the third division from below the head, the name, and the hieroglyph of the man have been entirely destroyed by the fraying and tearing of the paper. The woman's name is Ana, and the num- ber of red dots is eight. In the fourth division the name over the man's head has also been destroyed, and the hieroglyph was hidden by a fold in the paper. I reproduce in d, figure 43, as much of it as I could see. The number of red dots is eight. In the fifth division (plate x) from below I think I can read, above the man's head, matheo te s. sepastian. The hieroglyph is an arm painted yellowish brown, and in the hand is a round object painted light blueish green. I thinli that this is meant for the hieroglyph designating matheo, for ma-itl is the Mexican for " the arm ", " the hand ". The name of the woman opposite is not clear to me. The number of reddish dots is six. In the sixth division, as I have already stated, are the name and hieroglyph of the village Tezontepec. In the seventh division, above the man's head, only clemente can still be read. I can not interpret the hieroglyph. The woman's name is missing. Six (or eight) red dots are given. In the eighth division, from below, in the note over the man's head, I can recognize distinctly only the second word. It is osola. The hieroglyph behind it seems to be intended for a bird's head with a tall crest of feathers. This may refer to the name ; for gol-in means the quail. Over the woman's head is a very much faded explanatory note, of which I can make out nothing but ana d Rey tz. The number of red dots is four. Before each of the windows in the two uppermost divisions there 190 BUREAU OF AMEETOAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 'JS are five red dots. The lower one is named Juana, the upper one Maria. Behind the upper one is a design which looks like the mono- gram M A when cut in wood, and probably stands for the name Maria. Elsewhere — for instance, in the Duke of Osuna's Pintura — the name Maria is represented by a crown; for Maria is the queen of heaven. Behind Juana's head is a hieroglyjDh which represents an eye in an angle pointing upward, and below it three drops of water. This may be the hieroglyph for icno, " orphaned ", " wid- owed ". In the lists of names of persons in the Manuscrit Mexicain number 3 of the Bibliotheque Nationale this idea is always expressed by tears (see e, Icnotlacatl; /, icno-ix). This document, too, in my opinion, belonged to the Boturini col- lection. In the catalogue of Boturini's Museo Indiano, under num- ber ip, section 21, are mentioned siete pedazos de mapas en papel Indiano, de los jjueblos Tezarco, Tlacoapan, Coyotepec y Tezontepec (" seven pieces of maps on Indian paper, of the villages of Tezarco, Tlacoapan, Coyotepec, and Tezontepec ") . One of these seven frag- ments, therefore, was designated by the name of a village, whose name and hieroglyph were found on our fragment V (plate x). Since the majority of the fragments of our collection belonged, as we shall see, to the Boturini collection, it is probable that this is not an accidental coincidence. FEAGMENT VI This is a piece of agave paper of the size of a quarto sheet (dimen- sions of fragment, 20 by 21 cm.), and is covered on one side with fig- ures and drawings (plate xi). This is the document reproduced and described by A. von Humboldt in his Vues des Cordilleres et Monuments des Peuples indigenes de I'Amerique, under the title " Piece de proces en ecriture hieroglyphique (legal document in hiero- glyphic writing)." In the middle of the fragment is a ground plan of buildings. To the left of it are written the words ciudad de Tezcuco (" city of Tezcuco "). It is therefore clear that this is the ground plan of the capital of that name situated opposite Mexico on the other shore of the lake. In the middle of the right side a path leads into, or, perhaps more correctly, from the heart of the city, as the position of the footprints shows. At right angles to the first path and parallel to the right side, near the edge, there is a path which, as it seems, separates t\yo smaller quarters from the main body of the town. In the center of the main part there is a large group of buildings, which is doubtless meant to represent the palace. Most conspicuous is a square room, which is entered by a door on the right. Door posts and rafters, which were usually of wood, are designated by their red color. Rows of /^^^/?J7tf'^.j tw |t» ^^-» f ir* F K Fl i- J 3 [eg j\ fii m II! I ^ ■ • Vj,' I- z UJ < cc I- Q _l o DQ s I I CD Z I- z < a. z < o LlJ SELER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT VI 191 pillars similarly painted, therefore probably of the same material, traverse the room. This corresponds exactly to what Juan Bautista de Pomar tell us of Nezahualcoyotl's palace at Tezcuco. He says that the buildings stood on raised terraces. The principal room was a hall over 20 ells in length and breadth. In the interior were many wooden pillars standing at intervals on stone bases, the pil- lars in their turn supjjorting the beams and joists: Son sobre terraplenos de un estado, lo que menos de cinco, u seis el que mas. Los principales aposentos que tenian eran unas salas de veinte brazas y mas de largo, y otras tantas en ancho, porque eran cuadrados, y en medio dellos muchos pilares de madera de trecho a trecho, sobre grandes brazas de piedra sobre las quales ponian las madres en que cargaba la demas madera (" Thej' stand on terraces of one height, five or six. The principal apartments were halls more than 20 ells in length and of width as great, because they were square, and in the middle were many wooden columns at intervals upon great stones, upon which pillars rested the beams of the ceilings ") . Pomar's other statements in regard to the palace seem also to correspond with what we find drawn on our fragment. He says the entrance to these halls led from a courtyard, the ground of which was covered with a smooth layer of cement, and which was reached by a flight of steps. Besides these state apartments there were also a great number of special buildings for distinguished guests, for the women, and for the other numerous and various attendants of the palace, kitchens, closed courtyards, etc. Abia en estas casas aposentos dedicados para los reyes de Tacuba donde eran aposentados, quando a esta ciudad venian. Tenian aposentos para los demas seiiores inferiores del rey, sin otras muchas salas en que hacian sus audiencias y juzgados, y otras de consejos de guerra, y otras de la musica y cantos ordinarios, y otras en que vivian las mugeres, con otros muchos palacios y grandes cocinas y corrales (" There were in these houses apartments set apart for the kings of Tacuba, where they were lodged when they came to this city. There were apartments for all the other lords, in- ferior to the king, besides many other halls in which they gave audi- ences and delivered judgment, and others for councils of war, and others for music and ordinary singing, and others in which the women lived, wuth many other palaces and great kitchens and courtyards ") . ^Ye see in fact on our fragment a staircase leading up to these edifices. ^^Yb see, besides the principal building, five smaller, straw-thatched houses, and also a small square room, in which posts, but no doors, are indicated, and it might therefore be a closed courtyard (corral). A few similar courtyards, adjacent to each other, are indicated on our fragment, in addition to the main congeries of buildings, the actual palace, in the upper left-hand corner of the plan.' Around the sides of the main body of the town, as well as of the two 192 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [buli,. 28 separate quarters, numerals have been set down : single marks, which must mean ones; groups of five marks, of which, however, there are never more than three sets ; and black circles, which must necessarily mean twenties, and therefore stand here in the place of the little flag which is generally the sign employed for the numeral 20. Where more than five black circles occur five of them are connected by a line, the number 100 being thus emphasized. Besides these numerals, wherever space allows there is the drawing of the heart, yollotl, that is literally, yol-yo-tl, " having life ", so familiar in Mexican paintings. Hence, it is clear that living beings, the human souls actually present in the city, are being counted here. If we sum up, beginning on the right side at the bottom, we have the following numbers for the main body of the town : 96, 86, 148, 79, 158, 155, or a total of 722 per- sons. In the upper of the two separate quarters of the town the number is incomplete on the right side, the twenties being destroyed. On the other two sides, beginning below on the left, we have the figures 86 and 48; total, 134 persons. For the lower of the two separate quarters, on the right, left, and lower sides we have 84, 95, and 50; total, 229 persons. If we increase the second sum to the amount of the third bj^ way of supplementing it with the missing numbers, the total would amount to slightly less than 1,200. Are we to suppose that this was the amount of the entire population of Tez- cuco? I think not. The population had indeed greatly dimin- ished after the conquest. While formerl}'', says Ixtlilxochitl, the smallest village in the district of Tezcuco had 1,100 heads of house- holds or more, as is proved by the ancient doomsday books and lists of inhabitants, they now numbered scarcely 200, and some families had died out entirely. I do not think, however, that at the time to which we must attribute this page the number of inhabitants in the capital could have dwindled to 1,200. This very passage quoted from Ixtlilxochitl proves beyond a doubt that our fragment (plate xi) does not contain an enumeration of individuals, but only of heads of house- holds (vecinos). Therefore, for the period in which our fragment was written, we ought to have a population of about 7,000, which is probably in accordance with the true condition of things. I would further remark that the special arrangement of the num- bers in this plan of the city probably owes its origin to the distribu- tion of the inhabitants into quarters, or gentes (barrio, calpuUi). Each separate tally probably corresponds to a separate calpulli, of which we must suppose that there were six in the main body of the town and three in each of the two detached quarters. Around the plan of the town are seven sitting figures, six Span- iards and one Mexican. A. von Humboldt already correctly under- stood and has admirably characterized the general meaning of the proceeding which is thus represented. He errs only in regarding the SHLBK] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS ^FRAGMENT VI 193 plan of the city in the middle of the picture, which, as we have seen, is that of the city of Tezcuco, as the ground plan of an ordinary estate and as the object in dispute. He says in Vue des Cordilleres et Momi- ments des peuples indigenes d'Amerique, page 56: Le tableau qui presente la douzieme Planche parait indiquer un proces entre des naturels et des Espagnols. L'objet e.i litige est une metaine, dont on voit le dessin en projection orthographique. On y reconnoit le grand chemin marque par les traces des pieds ; des maisons dessinees en profil; un Indien dont le nom indique un arc; et des juges espa- gnoles assis sur des chaises, et ayant les lois devant leurs yeux. L'Es- pagnol place immediatement au-dessus de I'Indien, s'appelle pro- bablement Aquaverde, car I'hieroglyphe de I'eau, peint en verd, se trouve figure derriere sa tete. Les langues sont tres inegalement reparties dans ce tableau. Tout y annonce I'etat d'un pays conquis; I'indigene ose a peine defendre sa cause, tandis que les etrangers a longues barbes y parlent beaucoup et a haut voix, comme descendans d'un peuple conquerant (" The picture seen in the twelfth plate soems to indicate a law suit between the natives and the Spanish. The object of the dispute is a farm, a plan of which we see. We see the high road marked out by footprints, houses drawn in profile, an Indian whose name means a bow, and the Spanish judges seated on chairs, with the laws before them. The Spaniard immediately above the Indian is probably named Aquaverde, for the hieroglyph for water, painted green, figures behind his head. The tongues are very unequally distributed in this picture. Everything declares it to be a conquered country. The native hardly ventures to plead his cause, while the long-bearded strangers talk m,uch and in loud voices, like descendants of a conquering race "). The three figures on the left side of the page are undoubtedly three judges, in fact the president of the audiencia and the two oydores. We must thus explain the relation in which the three stand to one another, for the judge in the middle is distinguished from the other two by a richer cap. The illustration as a whole corresponds per- fectly with the manner in which the oydores are represented in the Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de Mexico (Osuna codex). The chair and the staff are their badges of office (see g^ A, /, figure 43, the picture of Doctor Horozco, oydor, from page 3 [465] of the above-mentioned manuscript) . The papers lying before them are probably not meant for the statute books, but for the written rec- ords of the suit. It is worthy of note that there are absolutely unin- telligible characters on these papers. They represent the confused impression of writing made on^one who can not read. The two men sitting beside the Mexican are his vouchers, the witnesses summoned 7238— No. 28—05 13 194 BURBAX; OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [boll. 28 by him. The Spaniard on the opposite (the upper) side of the fragment, who turns his head away and answers at great length, is evidently the defendant, who denies the accusation brought against him. There were hieroglyphs behind all these persons, except the second witness. Unfortunately those behind two of the judges are destroyed. , One of the persons can be identified beyond a doubt by these hiero- glyphs. This is the Mexican. Behind him is the figure of a bow (tlauitoUi) as his name hieroglyph. It is apparent that he occupied a high position among the natives, that he must have been of royal rank, for he is represented sitting on the tepotzoicpalli, the straw chair with a high back. Now, we actually know, that in the middle of the sixteenth century, men by the name of Tlauitol, descendants of the old Tezcucan royal family, ruled in Tezcuco. Chimalpahin mentions one, San Antonio> Pimentel Tlauitoltzin, whom he calls the son of King Nezahualpilli, who died in 1515 — Torquemada describes him as the grandson of Nezahualpilli — who was installed as king ftlahtouani) of Tezcuco- Aculhuacan in the year 1540 by the Span- iards, and died in 1564 after reigning twenty-five years. This state- ment is unquestionably based on an error. In the Sahagun manu- script, which was written in the year 2 Acatl, that is, 1559, Don An- tonio Tlauitoltzin is mentioned as the twelfth king of Tezcuco, the seventh after Nezahualpilli, and it is stated that he reigned six years. And after that Don Hernando Pimentel is mentioned as the thirteenth king of Tezcuco, his Mexican name being luian, that is, " the mild ", " the modest ", a word which is reproduced in the name hieroglyph accompanying the picture of this king by two bare feet, perhaps ex- pressing " chi va piano, va sano ". The latter at the time that this was written (in the year 2 Acatl, or A. D. 1559) must already have reigned fifteen years, and therefore have come to the throne in 1545. The six years during which Don Antonio Pimentel Tlauitoltzin was said to have reigned must have been the years 1540-1545. Chimal- pahin has evidently merged the periods of rule of these two men into one. Of Don Antonio Pimentel Tlauitoltzin we know from Torquemada, who mentions him in various places, that he was a quiet, sensible man, who devoted himself with special interest to collecting and writing down the ancient traditions of his family and his race. Torquemada possessed a " Memorial " written by him, in which he gives an account " of ancient things, en estilo de historia, al modo que usamos nosotros ("in historic style, in the manner which we use"). Juan Bautista de Pomar says of him, that he cultivated mulberry trees and bred silkworms, that in his ( Pomar 's) time, that is, in the year 1582, there were still mulberry trees in the vicinity of Tezcuco, y en » Monarquia Indiana, v. 16, chap. 19. SBLHE] MEXICAN PICTURE WEITINGS PRA.GMBNT VI 195 tiempo antiguo la cogia (la seda) Don Antonio Tlauitoltzin cacique y gobernador que fue de esta ciudad, hijo de Nezahualpiltzintli (" and in ancient times Don Antonio Tlauitoltzin, who was cacique and governor of that city, son of Nezahualpiltzintli, gathered it (the silk)").' It is not so easy to determine the other persons on our fragment. Since Tlauitoltzin only reigned until the year 1545, the event to which our fragment refers must have occurred before that date. At that time the viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, was still reigning — from the year 1534. The bishop of Santo Domingo, JDon Sebastian Ramirez de Fuenleal, was president of the audiencia until 1535. His oydores were the licenciados Juan de Salmeron, Alonzo Maldo- nado, Zeynos (or Zaynos, as it is also writtep), afterwards president of the audiencia, and Quiroga." The names of Spaniards were fre- quently reproduced by the Mexicans in hieroglyphs, which are often perfectly intelligible, but often too very hard to understand and, without doubt, frequently do not represent the name itself, but a nickname by which the person in question was known among the Indians. It is well known that Pedro de Alvarado went by the name Tonatiuh, " sun ", among the Indians. He is therefore hieroglyph- ically designated by a picture of the sun. The viceroy Antonio de Mendoza is designated in Codex Telleriano-ilemensis by a spear, Ic, figure 43; the third viceroy, Luis de Velasco, in the Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de Mexico (Osuna codex), by I, which is composed of the tongue of eloquence, an eye, and, above it, another object, difficult to explain. The name Gallego is expressed in the same manuscript by m, and that of Doctor Vasco de Poga by n. Both are easily understood. In m we have the figures of a house (cal-li) and of beans (e-tl), or Cal-e; and n is explained by the fact that poc-tli in Mexican means " smoke ". The hieroglyph for Doctor Zorita, r, the head of a quail, is also perfectly obvious, because gol-in is the Mexican word for quail. But o for Doctor Villanueva, and -p for Doctor Villalobos still puzzle me; so does q for Doctor Bravo. The hieroglyph, s, for Doctor Zeynos seems to represent the prickly point of a leaf, and t, the hieroglyph for the fiscal Maldonado, is the picture of a pair of wooden tongs and a red (red-hot?) object which is held in their grasp. Lastly, the hieroglyph for Doctor Horozco, h, is most strikingly like that of San Francisco, i. Most of the hieroglyphs which I have mentioned here belong to persons of a later time than that to which our fragment VI (plate xi) belongs. Unfortunatelj'^, but few hieroglyphs of Spanish names of this earlier period are positively loiown to us, and they are not to be interpreted at haphazard, as can readily be seen from the examples just given. ' Motolinia, v. 3, chap. 3. 196 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Tbull. 28 It still remains to discuss the pictures on our page (plate xi) , which are on the left of the plan of the city, directly in front of the presid- ing magistrate. Two of them, the two circles, painted bluish green in the original and filled in with irregular squares, are perfectly clear. They represent turquoise mosaic and have the phonetic value of Xiutl, that is, " year " (see page 160) . We must conclude that the occurrence which is treated of here took place two years before, or else that the trial lasted two years. The other object is not so easily interpreted. It looks like a bag or a bottle-shaped vessel. A stick or pipe is apparently joined to it above, and a fine thread seems also to be fastened to it. The inside is entirely filled with wavy red lines. Although various suggestions occur to me, I do not venture to express a definite opinion in regard to the meaning of this object. Fragment VI (plate xi) seems to have belonged to Boturini's col- lection and to be described by him in his Miiseo Indiano, number 7, section 3. He says there:" Otro mapa en una quartilla de papel Indiano, donde se ve pintada la ciudad de Tetzcoco,. con unas cifras. que especifican su extension en lo antiguo ("Another map of a quarter sheet of Indian paper, where we see the city of Tezcuco, painted with figures, which specify its size in old times ") . Our page, too, is a map in quarto (un mapa en una quartilla de papel Indiano), and has a picture of the city of Tetzcoco, and numerals are inscribed upon it, as we have seen, only they do not indicate the size of the city, as Boturini here supposes, but the number of its inhabitants. FRAGMENT VII This (plate xii) is a strip of agave paper, 25 cm. long and about 18 cm. wide, with four rows of writing beginning below at the right, a fifth row being only indicated". On the right side of the divisions are circles. One of them, that in the fourth row from the bottom is painted red and contains a ver- ticillate design, a kind of two-armed swastika. This undoubtedly means a Sunday. In accordance with this the circles at the right end of the lower divisions must likewise mean days, and since the progression is upward we should have Thursday in the loM'est divi- sion, Friday in the second, and Saturday in the third from the bot- tom. In accordance with this, Friday would be characterized by the circle, the upper half of which is painted black. This would be comprehensible. It was the day of Christ's crucifixion and a fast day commanded by the church. Thursday and Saturday would be alike designated, to wit, by a circle with a kind of arrow on it. I think that this was only a hieroglyph for a working or week day. " Place cited, p. 5. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 28 PLATE XII hiS H^ Alf -» ^SijZ ^ i MEXICAN PAINTING-HUMBOLDT FRAGMENT VII SELI3R] MEXICAN PICTURE "WRITINGS — FRAGMENT VII 197 Inside in the lowest row, between fishes, were baskets woven of straw (painted yellow), apparently of pliable material, each of which in this lowest row rests on a fiat disk having three feet. These are apparently the little baskets in which hot tortillas were brought. Last, on the left, follow bundles, apparently meant to represent / n I w \3 q r s Fig. 44. Mexican symbols of various objects. zacatl,' " green cornstalks ", which have been used in preference for horse fodder from the time of the conquest to the present day (see a, 1 and 2, figure 44, the, former taken from the Goupil-Boban atlas, plate 27, the latter from the Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de Mexico, and both described in the text as Zacatl). 198 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 In the topmost row (on Sunday) there is a turkey, the Sunday roast, instead of the fishes. For the better understanding of the somewhat crude drawing I have reproduced in &, figure 44, the, rather more carefully drawn head from the Goupil-Boban atlas, plate 27, which is there expressly mentioned in the text as " gallina de la tierra ". Above these objects, which represent food for man and beast, are various figures: Small flags which designate the numeral 20 and groups of small circles, each of which means 1, and also larger circles, which are either empty or contain one or two small circles (plate xii). These large circles, which in the more carefully drawn manuscripts are always painted blue, signify money, silver coin, and in respect to this there is indeed an unvarying style of designation observable. The old Spanish coin was the peso, which was divisible into 8 reals, known in Mexican as tomin. Half a real was a medio, and half of that a quartillo. The Indians divided the latter once more. For this smallest fractional coin there is no Spanish name, only the Mexican tlaco, " half ". The peso was sometimes represented in Mexican paint- ings by the scale pan of a balance, answering to its name, " weight ", (c, figure 44), but usually by a blue circle with a cross on it, d, apparently from the stamp which at that time was impressed upon silver money. It is very rarely that any other stamp occurs (see, for instance, e. from the Osuna codex, pages 30 [492] and 31 [493]). Reals, or tomines, were designated by a blue circle, containing as many small circles as there were reals to. be represented. Usually not more than four small circles were inscribed within one circle, that is, 4 reals, equal to half a peso. Only, when the pesos were not specially mentioned, but, as often happened, and in spite of the new dollar and centavo sj'stem still often happens, the sum was reckoned in reals, then we find within the blue circle as many as eight small cir- cles (see /). The medio, on the contrary, was designated by a real cut in halves (see d). Thus c (Osuna codex) is explained in the text as 1 peso ypan 6 tomines, 1 peso and 6 reals; and d, taken from the same manuscript, as ompohualli pesos ypan 7 tomines ypan medio, that is, twice 20 pesos, 7 reals, and 1 medio. In our fragment VII (plate xn) the price of the turkey (quaxolotl, guajolote) in the top row has the highest number of figures: for it is marked 2 reals. All the rest are marked 1 real. For this reason the large circles seem to be used here very often alone, without the small inner circles. According to the prices noted here, 2 bundles or loads of zacate, 20 tortillas, and -8 fishes were sold, respectively, for.l real. The fishes can not, therefore, have been of any great size. Since, therefore, we find days set down on our fragment VII, and within the days provisions and fodder with their prices, it is clear that this fragment must be a bill. This is proved by the writing which I SELEB] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENT VII 199 had the pleasure of discovering on the reverse of the paper after having separated the leaf from its backing. These words are written there : Kesebi yo micuel mayordomo de la comunidad deste pueblo de misquiaguala del seiior manuel de olvera dos pesos q. monto en comida desta pintura en quatro de fevrero de mill y q^ y setenta y un anos. Miguel de Sanc Ju°. ante mi Juan de p . (" I, Miguel, major-domo of the community of this village of Miz- quiyauallan, received from Senor Manuel de Olvera 2 pesos, the price of the provisions, which are here depicted, on February 4, 1571. Miguel de S. Juan. Before me, Juan de p .") (I can not wholly decipher this signature.) The village of Mizquiyauallan lies in the district of Actopan of the state of Hidalgo. The name means " where the mesquite trees (algaroba, Prosopis juliflora) stand in a circle ". It is therefore rep- resented hieroglyphically by a mesquite tree bent in the shape of the bow (see g, figure 44), but occasionally merely by a mesquite tree, or a mountain with a mesquite tree upon it, h. The place was in the Otomi territory and was early subject to the Mexican kings. On the tribute list it is in the group Axocopan between the towns of Tezcatepec and Itzmiquilpan. In the Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de Mexico (Osuna codex), it is mentioned with these and other places in the same region, but Mizquiyauallan was subject to double authority, for it was a domain of the crown and had an encomendro besides (see h, taken from the manuscript just named, where this double relation is expressed hj the crown over the hieroglyph and the head of a Spaniard beside it). The major- domo who signed the receipt quoted above was no doubt responsible to the crown. As for the persons themselves, I can not decipher the name of the official in whose presence the act was executed. In a and 6, figure 47, I have reproduced the signatures of the witness and the receipting major-domo from tracings which I made. We shall later meet again with the Manuel de Olvera mentioned in the text. The major-domo was undoubtedly an Indian. Family names like this, borrowed from a saint (or a diocese?), are often encountered in the lists of names of persons. I would draw attention to the fact that the sum of 2 pesos, mentioned in the receipt, is the actual amount obtained if we add the 200 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Btjrx. 28 reals marked on fragment VII (plate xii). In the lowest row there are 5, in the second 3, in the third 5, and in the fourth again 3 ; in all, 16 reals or 2 pesos. I shall show later that another page of our collection, fragment VIII (plate XIII ) can be proved to have come from the same village. This latter fragment, as I shall show later on, is most closely related to one of the manuscripts which passed from the collection of the Hon Joel R. Poinsett, former minister to Mexico from the United States, into the possession of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, and was published in the Transactions of that society (new series, volume 12, 1892, article 4). It is interesting to note that our fragment VII (plate xu) should also find its exact parallel in a piece in that collection. The latter is designated by the editors as Tribute Roll (Calendar 2). Here, too, the page is divided by hori- zontal lines into a series of consecutive divisions. On the right is a day, invariably designated by a disk, Sunday by a red disk with a three-armed verticillate design (i, figure 44). Then follow various articles of food, with their prices; but the bill of fare is somewhat enlarged. Besides turkey, painted red (k, same figure), fish (I), a, little basket of tortillas (n), and bundles of zacate (s), we have in p still another cheap article of food, of which eighty are marked at 1 real, but to which I can not at present give a name; in q we apparently have baskets of tamales (a kind of dumpling with a filling, which was steamed in a wrapper of corn husks) , eight of which were sold for 3 reals; in m, some articles of food painted red, possibly chile con carne, four of which cost 1 real; in r, a fanega of Indian corn for 3 reals (see p and q, figure 46) ; and in o, an article of diet with which I am unacquainted, which was sold for 2 reals. Finally, in two squares there are figures of Spaniards {t, figure 44). It seems highly probable that this page belongs to the same date and same region as our fragment VII (plate xii) . It is very probable that our fragment VII (plate xii) likewise once belonged to the Boturini collection. The catalogue of Boturini's Museo Indiano mentions under number 1, section 21 : Tres mapas en papel Indiano como faxas. Tratan de los tributes que pagaba el pueblo de Mizquiahuallan, y en el se ven las cifras numericas de cada cosa que entregaban los vecinos (" Three maps on Indian paper like strips of ribbon. They treat of the tribute paid by the village of Mizquiahuallan, and in them are the numerical figures of everything which householders furnished ") . FRAGMENT VIII This is a strip of agave paper, 33 cm. long, 22 cm. wide, much injured at the edges and in the middle by folding, and imperfect at the upper left corner (plate xiii). On the upper side of the fragment BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY m: ¥ -Wi ' ^'' »l 1 i^M w MEXICAN PAINTINC BULLETIN 28 PLATE XX ^ ' o ■ ^ r ^ ® o HOMBOLDT FRAGMENT XV SI3LHK] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENTS XV, XVI 221 FKAGMENT XV This (plate xx) is a strip of agave papen 34 cm. long and 52 cm. wide, which resembles the fragments X to XII (plates xv, xvi, and XVII ). The drawing of the figures also exhibits an unmistakable resemblance to those fragments. This fragment also belongs among those of our collection which can with tolerable certainty be identified with some of those described by Boturini. It is mentioned in the Catalogo del Museo Indiano in section 21, under number 10: Otro [mapa] del mismo [papel Indiano], y pinta gran Numero de pavos, que se pagavan de Tributo. No se sabe de que pueblo (" another [map] on the same paper [Indian paper] , which depicts a great number of turkeys, which were paid as tribute, it is not known from what town "). Besides the personages on the right, there are only turkey cocks (designated by the heads) represented in the six divisions, which are formed on the fragment by transverse lines. The first fifteen vertical rows are painted red, the last two blue. In every transverse division we have in the first vertical row (on the right) 5 turkey heads, and in all the following vertical rows only 4. The whole number of red tur- key heads occurring in one division is, therefore, 61. The rows of blue turkeys are probably incomplete. Of the persons on the right side of the fragment the lowest one has no hieroglyph. The next one is designated by a bird's head with a long curved beak. The next two are destroyed. The one before the last has for a hieroglyph the picture of a fish close beside his head; his name, therefore, was probably Michin. The topmost one has a circle below his head, which may have reference to his name. FEAGMENT XVI We have next a strip of thick, firm paper 35 cm. long, 45 cm. wide, which looks like European paper made of rags. Microscopic investigation, however, reveals a fiber which in appearance, thickness of cell wall, size of lumen, etc., is apparently precisely like the fibers of the coarse agave paper used for fragments III (plate viii) and IV (plate ix). But, together with these, single fibers occur which are very delicate and spirally coiled, and which seem to stretch and unroll slightly in the water of the object glass. This fragment, as the creases prove, was folded in four parts, and is much damaged, especially on the right side. The drawings are done in black ink, without other coloring. The pictures begin above at the left, and continue in this row from left to right, but in the second row from right to left, and so on, the direction alternating. The representations are of a religious nature. In order to under- stand them it is necessary to consult the Roman Catechism, especially 222 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 those versions of it which were used in earlier times, as well as down to the present day, by the priests who were sent to the Indian villages to instruct the natives and take charge of their spiritual welfare. I found an exact agreement between the representations on our frag- ment and the text of a Oatecismo en Idioma Mixteco, printed in 1839 at Puebla. The numerals given on the fragment at once made it plain to me that the fourteen articles of faith of the Roman cate- chism, and, lower down, the ten commandments are here represented. I will take the catechism printed in 1839 as my starting point, and will give in each successive section, first, the paragraph from the catechism and then the description of the picture which explains it. The first row begins at the left: Section 1. Los articulos de la Fe son catorce ("There are fourteen articles of faith"). The picture shows us first a page covered with writing and a hand which points to it. This means article. Then comes a cross on a base formed by a series of steps; this means faith. Then comes the numeral 14, ar- ranged in the usual way in groups of five. Section 2. Los siete per- tenecen a la divinidad (" Seven appertain to the deity "). The pic- ture gives us first the numeral 7 and then a bearded (Spanish) face, and over it a drawing, apparently meant to represent a halo, consist- ing of a metal disk, in the center of which and at regular distances in the perijjhery there are perforations. This is the hieroglyph regu- larly used throughout to denote God. Section 3. Y los otros siete [pertenecenj a la santa humanidad de nuestro Senor Jesucristo (" And the other seven [appertain] to the holy humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ"). The picture gives first the numeral 7. Then, on a base, cross, spear, and the sponge soaked in vinegar and fastened to a reed, which means the crucified, the God-man. Section 4. Los [siete articulos] que pertenecen a la divinidad son estos. (" Those [seven articles] which appertain to the deity are these "). The picture gives first the numeral 7, then the hieroglyph for " article " (see section 1), then the picture of God (see section 2), only there is a flowing gar- ment indicated here below the head. Section 5. El primei'o [arti- culo] creer en im solo Dios Todospoderoso ("The first [article], to believe in one Omnipotent God "). The picture gives the numeral 1, the hieroglyph " article ", and the picture of God. With the hiero- glyj)h " article " is combined a figure which is difficult to interpret. Possibly it is meant to represent the One over all things, the Almighty. Section 6. El segundo [articulo] , creer que es Dios Padre ("The second [article], to believe that He is God, the Father"). The picture is parth' destroyed. The numeral 2 must have stood at the top. Then follows the hieroglyph " article ", and the picture of God as He was represented in section 4, but here He has two arms. The left hand holds the imperial globe. In the right He probably SELER] MEXICAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENTS XV, XVI 223 held a scepter. Section 7. El tercero [articulo], creer que es Dios Hijo ("The third [article], to believe that He is God, the Son"), Part of the numeral 3 is still visible with the hieroglyph " article ", below, and, close by, a figure with a garment like the one in section 4 and an outstretched arm. The head and essential parts, however, are destroyed. The second row begins at the right: Section 1. El cuarto [arti- culo], creer que es Dios Espiritu Santo ("The fourth [article], to believe that He is God, the Holy Ghost "). On the right a part of the numeral 4 is still discernible. Then follows the hieroglyph " article ", and then the dove descending from heaven, which is the Holy Ghost. Section 2. Elquinto [articulo], creer que es Criador ("The fifth [article], to believe that He is the Creator"). At the right of the division is the numeral 5, and in front of it the hiero- glyph " article ". On the left is God with the imperial globe in His hand. Above, are depicted the starry heavens; below, a house built of bones, that is, the lower regions. Section 3. El sesto [articulo], creer que es Salvador (" The sixth [article], to believe that Ho is the Saviour "). On the right is the numeral 6; then God with the cross in one hand and in the other the spear (which made the wound in His side). Section 4. El septimo [articulo], creer que es Glorificador ("The seventh [article], to believe that He is the Glorifier"). On the right is, first, the hieroglyph " article " ; then the numeral. On the left is the head of a priest — not of God, for the bearded face is represented with plain hair, without the massive halo. In the middle of the division are two thick, black figures, like iron bolts, symbols employed below to express the idea of commandment. This is clearly intended to represent the priest filled with the Holy Ghost, who regulates the life of the parish. Section 5. Los [articulos] que per- tenecen a la Santa Humanidad de nuestro Seiior Jesucristo son los [siete] siguientes ("Those [articles] which appertain to the holy humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, are the [seven] following"). The picture shows us first at the right a figure which reminds us of the tufts of eagle's down in the old manuscripts. I can not ^v•holly explain it. It apparently serves here as a mark of separation. Then follows the numeral 7 ; then the cross and instruments of the passion, just as in section 3 of the first row. Section 6. El primero [articulo], creer que nuestro Senor Jesucristo en cuanto hombre fue concebido por obra del Espiritu Santo (" The first [article], to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ in so far as He was man, was conceived of the Holy Ghost"). The picture shows us to the right 1 (a circle); below it the hieroglyph " article " ; then the Holy Ghost as a dove and, in a manner proceeding from it, the face of God, as heretofore. Erom this section on there is some confusion in the numeration. • A new section ought to follow now with the numeral 2, and with what 224 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 is pictorially represented in the rest of section 6, for there now fol- lows in the catechism: El segundo [articulo], creer que nacio de Santa Maria Virgen siendo ella virgen antes del parto, y despues del parto ("The second [article], to believe that He was born of the Holy Virgin Mary, she being a virgin before and after His birth "). The picture shows us the Virgin Mary with a halo, and issuing from her body is God, as previously represented, but with the spear, the instrument of the passion, in his hand. But the numeral 2, which should be here, is in section 1 of the third row following. The third row begins at the left: Section 1. El tercero [articulo], creer que recebio muerte y pasion por salvar a nosotros pecadores (" The third [article], to believe that He suffered and died to save us sinners ") . The picture shows us first, on the left, the numeral 2, which really belongs in the second half of the preceding section ; then God crucified, and then in the graAi^e, marked by a cross, the corpse, recognizable by the closed eyes. Section 2. El cuarto [articulo], creer que descendio a los infiernos y saco las animas de los Santos Padres, que estaban esperando su santo advenimiento (" The fourth [article], to believe that He descended into hell and brought out the souls of the holy fathers, who were abiding there in hope of His blessed coming "). First, on the left, is the numeral 3, which really belongs to the preceding section, and under it the hieroglyph " arti- cle ". Then follows God with the cross in His right hand and before I-Iim a short path, the two footprints of which lead into the wide- open jaws of a fiery monster, which represent the interior of the earth, or hell, quite after the manner of ancient Mexican symbolism. Within are to be seen the souls, represented by a heart, otherwise the dead, represented by heads with closed eyes. Section 3. El quinto [articulo], creer que resuscito al tercer dia de entre los muertos (" The fifth [article], to believe that He rose again from the dead on the third day"). On the left is, first, the numeral 4, which really belongs in the previous section. Then comes the hieroglyph " arti- cle ". On the right are the dead with fleshless ribs and closed eyes, and before them is God with the spear, the instrument of the passion, in His hand. In the center, a figure bent at right angles and twice doubled, which is probably meant to express the act of arising. Sec- tion 4. El sesto [articulo], creer que subio a los cielos, y esta sentado a la diestra de Dios Padre Todopoderoso ("The sixth [article], to believe that He ascended into heaven, where He sitteth at the right hand of God, the Omnipotent Father"). The picture presents first, on the left, the numeral 5, which really belongs in the previous section. Then follows the face of God, and joined to this is a ladder leading up to the starry heavens. A hand from heaven points to a circle filled with network, which is apparently meant, like the similar figure in the fifth section (from the left) in the first row, to express the SBLEB] MEJflOAN PICTURE WRITINGS FRAGMENTS XV, XVI 225 Omnipotent God. Section 5. El septimo [articulo] , creer que vendra a juzgar a los vivos y a los muertos, etc. (" The seventh [article], to l^elieve that He shall come to judge the quick and the dead"). On the left is, first, the numeral 6, which really belongs in the previ- ous section. Then follows God with the sword, the symbol of justice, in His hand. Then followed, evidentlj^, the dead in one square, and the living in another ; but the edge is destroyed and very little more, of the picture is now to be seen. The last words of explanation follow in the next row. The fourth row begins at the right. Section 1. Conviene a saber, a los buenos, para darles gloria, porque guardaron sus Santos Manda- mientos (" The good should know, to give them glory, because they kept His holy commandments ") . First, on the right, is the numeral 7 and the hieroglyph " article ", which really belong in the previous section. Then comes a house containing a man, behind whom is a sign like an ear of maize, which is used as below in the third com- mandment (row 5, section 6), as an expression for " receiving honor". The whole probably signifies a good man. Then follows a picture which I can not exactly explain, and this is followed by the bearded face of a priest who seems to proffer the same sign for " honoring ". Sections 2 to 4. Y a los malos pena eterna, porque no los guardaron. Amen ("And to the wicked eternal punishment, because they kept them not. Amen ") . Here I am not quite sure whether the first of these sections does not belong to the foregoing. On the right we see first a hand with a circle, which in section 5 seemed to indicate the beginning of a new chapter. Indeed, the whole fragment begins above, with a hand. Then follows the hieroglyph " article ". Then comes a circle with a cross and a semicircular figure over it, which I can not explain. In the next section flames seem to be indicated, and farther on are the heads of the damned. In the next section we have a man prostrate on the ground, probably one of the damned, or the devil looking on. Then follow the black iron bolt and the inverted heart, which signifies souls in hell, as we have already seen in the representation of the jaws of the earth in the second section of the third row. With section 5 begins the new chapter, the ten command- ments. The catechism begins with the words : Los mandamientos de la ley de Dios son diez (" The commandments of God's law are ten "). The picture shows us, first, on the rigljt, a hand and a circle, which denotes the beginning of a chapter. Then follows the iron bolt, which possibly expresses the idea " commandment ". Then the numeral 10. The fifth row begins at the left: Section 1. Los tres primeros pertenecen al honor de Dios (" The first three appertain to the honor of God ") . The picture shows the numeral 3 and the head of God 7238— No. 28—05 15 226 BUREAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 (with the massive, perforated halo). Section 2 (not separated from the preceding one by a line). Y los otros siete al provecho del progimo ("And the other seven to the advantage of the neighbor ")■ The picture shows the numeral 7 and a human head, combined with three black balls or circles. I can not explain the latter. Can they mean coins to express provecho? Section 3. El primero, amaras d Dios sobre todas las cosas (" The first, thou shalt love God above all things"). The picture shows the numeral 1; then follows God, holding a heart in His hand. Section 4. El segundo, no juraras el nombre de Dios en vano (" The second, thou shalt not take the name of God in vain ") . The picture shows the numeral 2, with the picture of God, and on the right of the neck a hand pointing to two black marks. The symbolism is not clear to me. Section 5. El tercero, santificaras las fiestas (" The third, thou shalt keep holy the feasts "). The picture shows the numeral 3 ; then what seems to be an arrow well wrapped, which is probably meant to express " to keep, or hallow " ; then a house with the priest inside the church. Section 6. El cuarto, honraras a tu padre y madre (" The fourth, thou shalt honor thy father and mother "). The picture shows the numeral 4, followed by a man, the father, holding in his hand the symbol resembling an ear of maize, which we met with above as a symbol for " honor shown ". In the middle stands the child, and on the right the mother, recogniza- ble by the manner of wearing the hair with the knot low on the neck, the two hornlike braids standing up over the forehead, and the fem- inine garment (uipilli) something like a shirt, with the piece of insertion ornamented with tassels below the opening for the neck. Section 7. El quinto, no mataras (" The fifth, thou shalt not mur- der ") . The picture shows on the left the numeral 5, then a man with a sword in his hand, and facing him a bearded man who stretches out his hand as if to ward off injury. The sixth row begins at the right : Section 1. El sesto, no fornicaras (" The sixth, thou shalt not commit adultery "). To the right is the numeral 6, of which only a few faint traces remain ; then follows the picture of a woman like the mother in the fourth, commandment ( row 5, section 6) . Section 2. El septimo, no hurtaras '(" The seventh, thou shalt not steal "). The picture represents the numeral 7 and a man fingering the lock of a door or a chest. Section 3. El octavo, no leventaras falso testimonio, ni mentiras (" The eighth, thou shalt not bear false witness or lie "). Here we have the numeral 8 and a man delivering a letter covered with black marks. Section 4. El noveno, no desearas la muger de tu progimo (" The ninth^ thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife"). The picture shows the numeral 9 and a man stretching out his hand toward a woman opposite to him. Section 5. El decimo, no codiciaras bienes agenos (" The tenth, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods"). This picture shows the BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY MEXICAN PAINTIN BULLETIN 28 PLATE XXI h^'\'fj^O^ MBOLDT FRAGMENT XVI SELER] MEXICAN PIOTUKE WHIirNGS I'RAGMENTS XV, XVI 227 numeral 10 and a man stretching out his hand to the objects opposite to him, the lock of a door or chest and a woman. Section 6. Estos diez mandamientos se encierran en dos (" These ten commandments may be comprised in two "). The picture shows the numeral 10, and joined to it by a line the numeral 2; then follows the hieroglyph " article ". The seventh and last row begins at the left : Section 1. En servir y amar a Dios sobre todas las cosas (" To serve and love God above all other things ") . On the left may have been the picture of God. The picture of the heart is still visible here, as in the first commandment (row 5, section 3), expressing the idea of love. Section 2. Y a tu progimo como a ti mismo ("And thy neighbor as thyself"). The picture shows the numeral 2 and then two men, to express neighborly love. We have been able to prove, or to make it seem probable, that most of the manuscripts in our collection once belonged to the great collec- tion of the Cavaliere Boturini, which he was forced to leave behind him in Mexico when he was released from prison. Does this also hold good in regard to this manuscript of religious import, the last in our collection ? Boturini enumerates in section 25 of the catalogue of his Museo Indiano the following manuscripts of religious character : 1. A manuscript of 11 pages on European paper, whose authorship he ascribes to Padre Sahagun. This now belongs to the Aubin-Goupil collection. Two pages of it are published on plate 78 of the Goupil- Boban atlas. 2. A manuscript on agave paper, which he describes as follows: Otro pedazo de mapa con figuras y cifras en papel Indiano. Demues- tra parte de dichos misterios; i. e.. de nuestra Santa Fe ("Another fragment of a map, with illustrations and numbers, on Indian paper, shows part of the said mysteries, that is, of our holy faith "). 3. A manuscript of 4 pages on European paper with interlinear explanations in Otomi, ademas de las figuras y cifras, unos pocos yenglones en lengua Otomi (" besides figures and pictures, a few lines in the Otomi language "). This manuscript now exists in the Aubin- Goupil collection. Two pages are reproduced in plate 76 of the Goupil-Boban atlas. 4. Un librito en papel Europeo de 48 fojas chiquitas. Explica con toscas figuras, y cifras la dicha Doctrina ("a small book on Euro- pean paper, of 48 tiny pages. Explains the said doctrine in rude pictures and figures ") . This manuscript is also in the Aubin- Goupil collection. Two pages are reproduced in plate 77 of the Goupil-Boban atlas. The figures are there provided with explana- tions in Nahuatl. Of the four manuscripts of a religious character owned by Botu- rini, the fourth, which Boturini mentions under number 2, has not 228 BUKBAU OF AMEEICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULI,. 28 thus far been found, but the description of this manuscript agrees perfectly with our manuscript, fragment XVI (plate xxi) . For our manuscript is also written on agave paper, and in the representations the numerals alongside the pictures are very conspicuous. I therefore , deem it not only possible, but highly probable, that our fragment XVI y is the manuscript described by Boturini, number 2, section 25. Our manuscript, inferior as it is to the paintings of the old pagan time, is nevertheless superior to the manuscripts of a religious char- acter in the Aubin-Goupil collection by reason of a certain vigorous style. I am under the impression that the Aubin-Goupil picture catechisms were executed by European ■ priests, but that the old aboriginal Indian training is evident in the drawing of our fragment XVI (plate xxi). CONCLUSION The 16 (properly 14) picture manuscripts in the Alexander von Humboldt collection, however limited the contents of the separate fragments (excepting the first one) present a good synopsis of the various styles and of the various purposes for which it became necessary to employ hieroglyphs in old pagan and early Christian times. They are not only of archeologic interest and of interest in the history of civilization, but some of them, as we have seen, are also of positive historic value; for, as I have shown, it seems possible to establish a firm chronologic basis only by acting on the indications offered by fragment I of our collection. Some fragments, namely, I, III, and IV (plate ii to vi, viii, and ix), belong to the old pagan period. Others certainly originated in early Christian times: VI (plate xi) is to be attributed to a period prior to A. D. 1545; II (plate VII ), before A. D. 1665; XIII (plate xviii) bears the date 1569; VII (plate xii), the date 1571, and the other fragments also can not be much later than these. As for the place where they origi- nated, I can unfortunately say nothing positive in regard to I (plates II to vi) ; III (plate viii) and IV (plate ix) came from Huamantla, in the state of Tlaxcallan; II (plate vii) came from the immediate neighborhood of the Mexican capital ; while VI (plate xi) and VIII (plate XIV ) are from the kingdom of Tezcuco; VII, XII, XIII, and XVIII, from Mizquiyauallan, in the land of the Otomi; and XIV (plate XIX ) possibly from the kingdom of the Chalcas. Several of the manuscripts seem to express plainly the differences which existed among the Mexican-speaking races in spite of all their similarity in civilization, mode of living, and ways of thinking, and they are otherwise very instructive, as we have seen. Our great countryman, whose field of labor lay in quite another domain, rescued these fragments from among a number of documents, which at the time were the prey of chance in Mexico. Since then SELEU] MEXICAN PICTURE WKITINGS 229 they have lain among other manuscript treasures in the Eoyal Library, little noticed, or, more correctly speaking, seldom used. It is partly owing to facts that have only very recently become known that I have been able to make these fragments divulge some portion of their contents. Last year we celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of the day on which Columbus, the discoverer of America, first set foot in the New World, and within a few years we can celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the day on which the scientific discoverer of the New World, Alexander von Humboldt, began his travels on that continent. May this volume, which is the first attempt at treat- ing of the only one of his collections hitherto untreated, be not wholly unworthy of the great name which it bears on the title page. iiiiiii