Ancient Nahuatl Poetry

HERE BEGIN SONGS FOR THE TEPONAZTLI
Translated by Daniel G. Brinton; language: english and nahuatl
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XVIII. NICAN OMPEHUA TEPONAZCUICATL.

XVIII. HERE BEGIN SONGS FOR THE TEPONAZTLI.
Tico, tico, toco, toto, auh ic ontlantiuh cuicatl, tiqui, ti ti, tito, titi. Tico, tico, toco, toto, and as the song approaches the end, tiqui, titi, tito, titi.
1. Tollan aya huapalcalli manca, nozan in mamani coatlaquetzalli yaqui yacauhtehuac Nacxitl Topiltzin, onquiquiztica ye choquililo in topilhuan ahuay yeyauh in polihuitiuh nechcan Tlapallan ho ay. 1. At Tollan there stood the house of beams, there yet stands the house of plumed serpents left by Nacxitl Topiltzin; going forth weeping, our nobles went to where he was to perish, down there at Tlapallan.
2. Nechcayan Cholollan oncan tonquizaya Poyauhtecatitlan, in quiyapanhuiya y Acallan anquiquiztica ye choquililon ye. 2. We went forth from Cholula by way of Poyauhtecatl, and ye went forth weeping down by the water toward Acallan.
3. Nonohualco ye nihuitz ye nihui quecholi nimamaliteuctla, nicnotlamatia oyah quin noteuc ye ihuitimali, nechya icnocauhya nimatlac xochitl, ayao ayao o ayya y yao ay. 3. I come from Nonohualco as if I carried quechol birds to the place of the nobles; I grieve that my lord has gone, garlanded with feathers; I am wretched like the last flower.
4. In tepetl huitomica niyaychocaya, axaliqueuhca nicnotlamatiya o yaquin noteuc (etc. as v. 3). 4. With the falling down of mountains I wept, with the lifting up of sands I was wretched, that my lord had gone.
5. In Tlapallan aya mochieloca monahuatiloca ye cochiztla o anca ca zanio ayao, ayao, ayao. 5. At Tlapallan he was waited for, it was commanded that there he should sleep, thus being alone.
6. Zan tiyaolinca ye noteuc ic ihuitimali, tinahuatiloya ye Xicalanco o anca zacanco. 6. In our battles my lord was garlanded with feathers; we were commanded to go alone to Xicalanco.
7. Ay yanco ay yanco ayamo aya ayhuiya ayanco ayyanco ayamo aye ahuiya que ye mamaniz mocha moquiapana, oquen ye mamaniz moteuccallatic ya icnocauhqui nican Tollan Nonohualco ya y ya y ya o ay. 7. Alas! and alas! who will be in thy house to attire thee? Who will be the ruler in thy house, left desolate here in Tollan, in Nonohualco?
8. In ye quinti chocaya teuctlon, timalon que ye mamaniz mochan (etc. as v. 7). 8. After he was drunk, the ruler wept; we glorified ourselves to be in thy dwelling.
9. In tetl, in quahuitl o on timicuilotehuac nachcan Tollan y inon can in otontlatoco Naxitl Topiltzin y aye polihuiz ye motoca ye ic ye chocaz in momacehual ay yo. 9. Misfortune and misery were written against us there in Tollan, that our leader Nacxitl Topiltzin was to be destroyed and thy subjects made to weep.
10. Zan can xiuhcalliya cohuacallaya in oticmatehuac nachcan Tollan y inon can yn otontlatoco Naxitl Topiltzin (etc. as in v. 9). 10. We have left the turquoise houses, the serpent houses there in Tollan, where ruled our leader Nacxitl Topiltzin.


NOTES FOR SONG XVIII.

At this portion of the MS. several poems are preceded by a line of syllables indicating their accompaniment on the teponaztli (see Introduction, p. 32).

The present number is one of the most noteworthy songs of the collection. It belongs to the ancient cyclus of Quetzalcoatl myths, and gives a brief relation of the destruction of Tollan and the departure and disappearance of the Light God, Quetzalcoatl Ce Acatl. As I have elsewhere collated this typical myth at length, and interpreted it according to the tenets of modern mythologic science, I shall not dwell upon it here (see D.G. Brinton, American Hero Myths, Phila., 1882).

The text of the poem is quite archaic, and presents many difficulties. But my translation, I think, gives the general sense correctly.

1. huapalcalli; literally, "the house constructed of beams." This name was applied to the chief temple of the Toltecs; the ruins of an ancient structure at Tollantzinco were pointed out at the time of the Conquest as those of this building (see Sahagun, Hist. de la Nueva Espaсa, Lib. X, cap. 29).

coatlaquetzalli; this edifice, said to have been left incomplete by Quetzalcoatl, when he forsook Tollan, had pillars in the form of a serpent, the head at the base, the tail at the top of the pillar. (See Orozco y Berra, Hist. Antigua de Mexico, Tom. III, pp. 30 and 46.) The structure is mentioned as follows in the Anales de Cuauhtitlan:—

Auh iniquac nemia Quetzalcoatl quitzintica, quipeuahtica iteocal quimaman coatlaquetzali ihuan amo quitzonquixti, amo quipantlaz."

"And when Quetzalcoatl was living, he began and commenced the temple of his which is the Coatlaquetzali (Serpent Plumes), and he did not finish it, he did not fully erect it."

Nacxitl Topiltzin, "Our Lord the four-footed." Nacxitl appears to have been the name of Quetzalcoatl, in his position as lord of the merchants. Compare Sahagun, ubi supra, Lib. I, cap. 19.

2. Poyauhtecatl, a volcano near Orizaba, mentioned by Sahagun. Acallan, a province bordering on the Laguna de los Terminos. The myth reported that Quetzalcoatl journeyed to the shores of the Gulf about the isthmus of Tehuantepec and there disappeared.

3. Nonohualco; the reference is to the cerro de Nonoalco, which plays a part in the Quetzalcoatl myth. The words of the song are almost those of Tezcatlipoca when he is introduced to Quetzalcoatl. Asked whence he came, he replied, "Nihuitz in Nonohualcatepetl itzintla, etc." (Anales de Cuauhtitlan).

4. The occurrences alluded to are the marvels performed by Quetzalcoatl on his journey from Tulan. See my American Hero Myths, p. 115.

5. The departure of Quetzalcoatl was because he was ordered to repair to Tlapallan, supposed to be beyond Xicalanco.

8. quinti, for iquintia; the reference is to the magic draught given Quetzalcoatl by Tezcatlipoca.

9. In tetl, in quahuitl; literally, "stone and stick;" a very common phrase in Nahautl, to signify misfortunes.

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