The Festival Cycle of the Aztec Codex Borbonicus 9780860543459, 9781407343242

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The Festival Cycle of the Aztec Codex Borbonicus

N. C. Christopher Couch

. BAR International Series 2 70

1985

B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R Walker, M.A.

BAR -S270,1985 'The Festiva l Cycle of the Aztec Codex Borbonicus'.

©

N.C.Christopher Couch, 1985

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860543459 paperback ISBN 9781407343242 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860543459 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

D EDICATION

T o t he m emory o f m y f ather,

N orbert

C hesley C ouch.

P REFACE A ND A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T his s tudy was o riginally s ubmitted a s a M aster 's E ssay i n t he D epartment o f A rt H istory a nd A rchaeology, C olumbia U niversity, N ew Y ork, i n 1 980 . F or t his p ublication i t h as b een r evised t o i ncorporate s ome n ew material a nd t o e xpand o n s everal p oints which I b elieve f urther s upport i ts t hesis. I would l ike t o e xpress my g ratitude t o D r. E sther P asztory f or e ncouraging me t o d evelop t he i deas i n t his s tudy, a nd f or h er s uggestions a nd c riticism d uring i ts writing a nd r evision . I would a lso l ike t o t hank D r. E llen T aylor B aird a nd D r . H .B . N icholson f or p roviding m e w ith c opies o f t heir s tudies w hich h ave b een u sed i n t he r evision o f t his w ork . T heir s tudies h ave a dded g reatly t o o ur k nowledge o f S ahagün 's P rimeros M emoriales a nd t he C odex B orbonicus. A ny e rrors made i n applying t heir work t o t he p resent s tudy a re, o f c ourse, m y o wn.

N .C.

C hristopher C ouch

C olumbia U niversity M ay,

1 985

i i

T ABLE O F C ONTENTS L IST O F F IGURES

i v

L IST O F T ABLES

x

I NTRODUCTION

x ii

C hapter I .

H ISTORY,

D ESCRIPTION,

A ND D ATING O F T HE MANUSCRIPT

1

I I.

P ROVENANCE O F T HE MANUSCRIPT

I II.

A ZTEC S OCIAL O RGANIZATION

1 1

I V .

THE M EXICAN CALENDAR

1 5

V .

T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS

2 0

V I.

O THER EARLY C OLONIAL I LLUSTRATIONS O F T HE

2 4

7

V EINTENA F ESTIVALS V II.

P REVIOUS S TUDIES

O F T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS

3 3

D EPICTED I N T HE C ODEX B ORBOMICUS V III.

T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS O F T HE C ODEX B ORBONICUS:

3 8

I LLUSTRATIONS O F T HE CYCLE I N A S INGLE C OMMUNITY I X .

T LACAXIPEHUALIZTLI

4 1

X .

F ESTIVALS F OR T HE TLALOQUE:

4 9

R AIN A ND T HE A GRICULTURAL C YCLE X I.

B ETWEEN S OWING A ND H ARVEST : F ESTIVALS O F C OMMUNITY A ND R ENEWAL

6 0

X II.

THE H ARVEST F ESTIVAL A ND THE A DVENT O F T HE G ODS

7 0

X III.

T WO MAJOR C ALENDRICAL F ESTIVALS

8 3

X IV .

C ONCLUSIONS

8 9

T ABLES

I -VII

9 1

A PPENDIX

1 01

B IBLIOGRAPHY

1 04

I LLUSTRATIONS

1 15

L IST O F F IGURES F igure 1 .

M apof t he V alley o f M exico f rom P asztory 1 983 :

2 .

i n

1 519

( map b y J anice R obertson ,

1 0).

D etail f rom t he S anta C ruz Map o f t he C i ty and Valley of Mexico, ca. 1 555, showing I tztapalapan and s ign f or H uixachtecatl

( after S éjourné 1 970 :

F igure 3 2).

3 .

P lace g lyph f or H uixachtitlan f rom C odex Mendoza,

4 .

C odex B orbonicus p age 2 3 l eft.

v erso.

( Codex M endoza 1 978 :

f olio 1 7

3 6). ' Izcalli. '

( Codex B orbonicus

1 974). 5 .

C odex

B orbonicus

6 .

C odex B orbonicus

' Xilomaniztli.'

p age

2 3

r ight.

' Cuahuitlehua '

or

( Codex B orbonicus 1 974). p age

2 4 l eft.

' Tlacaxipehualiztli . ' ( Codex

B orbonicus 1 974). 7 .

C odex

B orbonicus

p age

2 4

r ight.

' Tozortontli.'

( Codex

B orbonicus 1 974). 8 .

C odex B orbonicus p age

2 5 .

' Huetozortli. ' ( Codex B orbonicus

1 974). 9 .

1 0.

C odex

t u. '

C odex

B orbonicus

p age

2 6

l eft.

' Toxcati '

o r

' TepopochhuiliZ

( Codex B orbonicus 1 974). B orbonicus

p age

2 6

r ight.

p age

2 7

l eft.

' Etzalcualiztli. '

( Codex

B orbonicus 1 974). 1 1.

C odex

B orbonicus

B orbonicus 1 2 .

C odex B orbonicus p age B orbonicus

1 3.

C odex

' Tecuilhuitontli .'

( Codex

' Huetecuilhuitl.'

( Codex

1 974). 2 7 r ight.

1 974).

B orbonicus

p age

2 8

l eft.

' Tiaxochit nacO . '

( Codex

p age

2 8

r ight.

' XocotlhuetZi. '

( Codex

B orbonicus 1 974). 1 4.

C odex

B orbonicus

B orbonicus 1 5.

1 974).

C odex B orbonicus p age

2 9 . ' Ochpaniztli. '

( Codex B orbonicus

1 974). 1 6.

C odex B orbonicus

p age 3 0 .

' Ochpaniztli . '

( Codex B orbonicus

1 974). 1 7.

C odex

B orbonicus

p age

( Codex B orbonicus 1 974).

i v

3 1.

' Ochpaniztli '

a nd

' Teotleco .'

F igure 1 8 .

1 9.

C odex B orbonicus

p age 32 .

( Codex B orbonicus

1 974).

' ochpaniztli ' a nd ' Tepeilhuitl. '

' Quecholli.'

C odex B orbonicus p age 3 3 .

( Codex B orbonicus

1 974). 2 0.

C odex B orbonicus p age 3 4. N ew F ire ' Panquetzaliztli.' ( Codex B orbonicus 1 974).

2 1.

C odex

B orbonicus

p age

35

l eft.

C eremony

' Atemortil.'

a nd

( Codex

B orbonicus 1 974). 2 2 .

C odex

B orbonicus

C entury" a nd 2 3.

P rimeros M emoriales . P alacio,

2 4.

p age

' Tititi.'

M adrid,

r ight

C uauitleus .

f olio 2 50 r ecto.

P rimeros M emoriales . d el R eal P alacio,

3 5

a nd

3 6 .

" Burial

o f

t he

( Codex B orbonicus 1 974). C 6dice M atritense d el R eal ( Sahagr in 1 905:

T lacaxipehualiztli .

M adrid,

f olio 2 50 r ecto.

1 ).

C 6dice M atritense ( Sahagün 1 905 :

1 ).

2 5.

C 6dice M atritense d el P rimeros M emoriales. T ozortontil. ( Sahagün 1 905: 1 ). R eal P alacio, M adrid, f olio 2 50 r ecto.

2 6.

P rimeros M emoriales. U ey T ozortil. R eal P alacio, M adrid, f olio 2 50 v erso.

2 7.

P rimeros P alacio,

M emoriales. M adrid,

T oxcati.

f olio 2 50 v erso.

C 6dice M atritense d el ( Sahagf in 1 905: 2 ).

C 6dice M atritense d el R eal ( Sahagün 1 905:

2 ).

2 8 .

P rimeros M emoriales . R eal P alacio, M adrid,

ß tzalcualiztli . f olio 2 50 v erso.

C 6dice M atritense d el ( Sahagün 1 905: 2 ).

2 9.

P rimeros M emoriales . R eal P alacio, M adrid,

T ecuilhuitontli . f olio 2 51 r ecto.

C 6dice M atritense d el

P rimeros M emoriales .

U ey T ecuilhuitl .

R eal P alacio,

f olio 2 51 r ecto.

C 6dice M atritense d el ( Sahagün 1 905 : 3 ).

3 0.

3 1.

3 2 .

P rimeros

M emoriales. P alacio,

P rimeros P alacio,

3 5.

M adrid,

M emoriales . M adrid,

f olio 2 51 v erso.

o chpaniztli. f olio 2 51 v erso. T eteo E co .

f olio 2 52 r ecto.

P rimeros M emoriales. R eal P alacio,

U ey M iccailhuitl.

M adrid,

P rimeros M emoriales. R eal P alacio,

3 4.

3 ).

P rimeros M emoriales. M iccailhuitor itli . C 6dice M atritense d el R eal P alacio, Madrid, f olio 2 51 r ecto.(Sahagc in 1 905 : 3 ).

d el R eal 3 3.

M adrid,

( Sahagün 1 905:

M adrid,

( Sahagün 1 905:

C 6dice M atritense

T epeilhuitl.

4 ).

C 6dice Matritense d el

( Sahagün 1 905:

f olio 2 52 r ecto.

V

C 6dice M atritense ( Sahagün 1 905:

4 ). d el

R eal

5 ).

C 6dice M atritense d el ( Sahagü r i 1 905:

5 ).

F igure 3 6.

P rimeros M emoriales . Q uecholli . P alacio, M adrid, f olio 2 52 r ecto.

3 7.

P rimeros M emoriales . R eal P alacio, M adrid,

3 8 .

P rimeros M emoriales . A temortli . P alacio, M adrid, f olio 2 52 v erso.

3 9.

P rimeros M emoriales. P alacio,

4 0.

4 1.

4 2.

P anquetzaliztli . f olio 2 52 v erso.

T ititl.

f olio 2 53 r ecto.

P rimeros M emoriales. P alacio,

C 6dice M atritense d el R eal ( SahagCr n 1 905: 5 ). C 6dice M atritense d el ( Sahagün 1 905: 6 ).

C 6dice M atritense d el R eal ( Sahagin 1 905: 6 ). C 6dice M atritense d el R eal

( Sahagc in 1 905:

I zcalli.

f olio 2 53 r ecto.

7 ).

C 6dice Matritense d el R eal

( Sahagf in 1 905:

7 ).

F lorentine C odex, b ook 2 , F laying. ( Sahagün 1 979, I ,

c hapter 2 1. T lacaxipeualiztli. b ook 2 : f olio 1 9 v erso).

F lorentine C odex,

c hapter 2 1.

b ook 2 ,

Warriors a nd c aptive.

( Sahag n 1 979,

T lacaxipeualiztli. I ,

b ook

2 :

f olio

2 0

r ecto). 4 3.

F lorentine C odex, b ook 2 , c hapter 2 1. T lacaxipeualiztli. J aguar w arrior. ( SahagC in 1 979, I , b ook 2 : f olio 2 0 r ecto).

4 4.

F lorentine C odex, b ook 2 , c hapter 2 1. T lacaxipeualiztli . Eagle and j aguar warriors. ( Sahagün 1 979, I , b ook 2 : f olio 2 0 v erso).

4 5.

F lorentine C odex, b ook 2 , c hapter 2 1. T lacaxipeualiztli. X ipeme and n obles. ( Sahagün 1 979, I , b ook 2 : f olio 2 0 v erso).

4 6.

F lorentine C odex, [ Toçortontli].

b ook 2 ,

C aptor 's

c hapter

d isplay .

2 2 .

T lacaxipeualiztli.

( Sahagün

1 979 ,

I ,

b ook

2 :

f olio 2 6 v erso). 4 7.

F lorentine C odex, b ook 2 , c hapter 2 2 . T lacaxipeualiztli [ Toçortontli]. C aptor 's d isplay a nd f east. ( Sahag6n 1 979, I ,

4 8 .

b ook

2 :

f olio

2 6 v erso).

F lorentine C odex, b ook 9 , c hapter 2 . T lacaxipeualiztli. G ladiatorial s acrifice. ( Sahagün 1 979, I I, b ook 9 : f olio 7 r ecto).

4 9.

F lorentine C odex, b ook 9 , Ocholli o ffered t o T otec.

c hapter 1 5 . T lacaxipeualiztli. ( Sahag n 1 979, I I, b ook 9 : f olio

4 9 v erso). 5 0.

Florentine C hicomecoati.

C odex,

book

2 ,

( Sahagf in 1 979,

vi

I ,

chapter b ook

2 :

2 3.

U ei

t oçortll.

f olio 2 9 v erso).

F igure 5 1.

F lorentine

C odex ,

( Sahagf in 1 979, 5 2 .

F lorentine

b ook

I , b ook

C odex,

H uixtocihuatl.

2 , 2 :

b ook

c hapter

2 4 .

T oxcatl .

T ezcatlipOca .

f olio 3 0 v erso). 2 ,

c hapter

( Sahagf in 1 979,

2 6 .

I , b ook

2 :

T ecuilhuitOf ltll. f olio 4 9 r ecto).

5 3.

F lorentine F easting.

5 4.

F lorentine C odex, book 2 , chapter H uitzilopochtli. ( Sahagf in 1 979, I , b ook

5 5.

F lorentine C odex, b ook 7 , c hapter 1 1. N ew F ire C eremony. B oring f ire o n s acrificial v ictim 's b reast. ( Sahagün 1 979, I I,

5 6.

b ook 7 ,

F lorentine C odex, b ook 7 , c hapter 12 . N ew F ire C eremony . R enewal o f h ousehold g oods a nd i ncensing . ( Sahagf in 1 979, I I, f olio 2 1 r ecto).

F lorentine C odex, b ook 7 , c hapter 12 . D isposal o f h ousehold g oods a nd i dol. b ook 7 ,

5 9.

f olio 1 9 v erso).

2 0 r ecto).

b ook 7 , 5 8.

2 8 . TlaxochimaCO. 2 : f olio 6 0 v erso).

F lorentine C odex, b ook 7 , c hapter 1 1. N ew F ire C eremony . N ew f ire i n t emple a nd h ouse. ( Sahagün 1 979, I I, b ook 7 , f olio

5 7.

C odex, b ook 2 , c hapter 2 7. U ei t ecuilhuitl. ( Sahagf in 1 979, I , b ook 2 : f olio 5 1 r ecto).

C odex

N ew F ire C eremony . ( Sahagün 1 979, I I,

f olio 2 1 r ecto).

M agliabechiaf lo

w ith T laloc v essel.

f olio

2 9 r ecto .

X ilo maniztli .

F igure

( Codex M agliabechiaf lo 1 970).

6 0.

C odex Magliabechiano f olio 3 0 r ecto. T laca x ipeualiZtli. G ladiatorial s acrifice. ( Codex M agliabechiaf lO 1 970).

6 1.

C odex M agliabechiaf lo f olio 3 4 r ecto . a nd e tzalli j ar.

6 2.

T laloc

( Codex M agliabechiaf lo 1 970).

C odex M agliabechiaf lo

f olio

c himaca ( TlaxochimaCo). 6 3.

E çalco a liztli .

3 7

r ecto .

M icha

y lhuitl

o r

M oxu

T itlacahuan_TeZcatljP0ca.

C odex MagliabtChiaf l0 f olio 38 r ecto. X ucutl g ueci . po l e-climbing c ontest.

H uei mical h uiti o r ( Codex M agliabechiaf l0

1 970). 6 4.

C odex M agliabeChiano

f olio 3 9 r ecto.

U chpaniZtli.

T oci -.

( Codex M agliabechian0 1 970). 6 5.

C odex

Magliabechian0

w arrior 6 6.

( Tititl).

f olio

7 2

r ecto.

M ortuary

g arb

o f

( Codex M agliabechiaf lo 1 970).

C odex T elleriaf lO Remen5i5 f olio 2 v erso . H uey m ic c aylhuytl ( XocotlhuetZi). ( Codex T e1leriano Remef lSiS 1 899: 1 0).

v ii

F igure 6 7.

C odex T elleriano-Remensis f olio 3 r ecto. 0 chpanizt11. T utzin o r T lacolteotli. ( Codex T elleriano-Remensis 1 899 : 1 1) .

6 8.

C odex T elleriano-Remensis f olio 4 r ecto . U eypachtll ( Tepeilhu itl). T laloc. ( Codex T elleriano-Remensis 1 899 : 1 2).

6 9.

C odex T elleriano-Remensis f olio 5 r ecto. P anquetzaliztli . U içhilupuchtli. ( Codex T elleriano-Remensis 1 899: 1 5).

7 0.

D urán 's H istoria d e l as I ndias. T ratado 2 , B ook o f t he G ods a nd R ites, c hapter 9 . X ipe T otec a nd g ladiatorial s acrifice . ( Madrid D ur n m anuscript

7 1.

f olio

2 66 v erso).

D urán 's H istoria d e l as I ndias . T ratado 3 , A ncient C alendar, s ixth month . E tzalqualiztli . ( Madrid D urán m anuscript f olio 3 31 v erso).

7 2 .

D ur n 's H istoria de l as I ndias. T ratado 2 , B ook o f t he G ods a nd R ites, c hapter 1 2 . X ocotl H uetzi. ( Madrid D ur n m anuscript, f olio 2 76 r ecto).

7 3.

Durán 's H istoria d e l as I ndias. T ratado 2 , B ook o f t he G ods a nd R ites, c hapter 1 5 . T oci a nd m ock b attle . ( Madrid D urán m anuscript

7 4.

f olio 2 86 r ecto).

D urán 's H istoria d e l as t enth month .

I ndias .

o chpaniztli.

T ratado 3 ,

A ncient

C alendar,

( Madrid D urán manuscript f olio

3 37 r ecto). 7 5.

D ur n 's H istoria d e l as I ndias.

T ratado 2 , B ook o f t he G ods

a nd R ites, c hapter 8 . C amaxtli-Mixcoatl. m anuscript f olio 2 56 r ecto). 7 6.

( Madrid D ur n

D ur n 's H istoria d e l as I ndias . T ratado 3 , A ncient C alendar, e ighteenth m onth . I zcalli . ( Madrid D urán manuscript f olio 3 43 v erso).

7 7.

T ovar C alendar f olio C arter B rown L ibrary

2 r ecto . T lacaxipeualiztli . J ohn T ovar manuscript f olio 1 47 r ecto.

( Kubler a nd G ibson 1 951: 7 8 .

r ecto .

J ohn C arter ( Kubler a nd

T ovar C alendar f olio 8 v erso. T epeilhuitl. B rown L ibrary T ovar m anuscript f olio 1 53 v erso .

J ohn C arter ( Kubler a nd

C alendar

B rown

L ibrary T ovar manuscript

G ibson 1 951: 8 0.

I V).

T ovar

G ibson 1 951: 7 9.

p 1.

A yauhcali

f olio

p 1.

4 r ecto .

Y etzalqualiztli . f olio 1 49

V I).

P l X I).

( mist

h ouse)

( Codex M endoza 1 978 :

t emple .

9 6).

v iii

C odex M endoza

f olio 6 4

r ecto .

F igure 8 1.

T lilancalqui r ecto.

8 2 .

( house o f d arkness) t emple .

( Codex M endoza 1 978 :

M asters o f y ouths ( telpuchtlato). r ecto. ( Codex M endoza 1 978: 9 3).

i x

C odex M endoza

f olio 1 8

3 6). C odex M endoza f olio 6 3

L IST O F T ABLES

T able I . I I. I II. I V.

A ZTEC Y EAR B EARERS AND N UMERICAL C OEFFICIENTS

9 1

WRITTEN S OURCES O N T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS

9 2

P ICTORIAL S OURCES O N T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS

9 3

PLACEMENT O F THE V EINTENA S CENES I N SAHAGUN'S

9 4

PRIMEROS Matritense

MEMORIALES del

R eal

MANUSCRIPT Palaclo,

( C6dice

Madrid,

f f.

2 50-303) V .

IMAGES O F THE V EINTENA S ECTION O F THE CODEX BORBONICUS AS ANALYZED B Y P ASO Y TRONCOSO

9 5

( 18 98) V I.

V II.

MONTHS D EPICTED IN THE CODEX BORBONICUS A CCORDING T O V ARIOUS C OMMENTATORS R ELATIONSHIP O F AZTEC FEASTS T O AGRICULTURAL C YCLE

x

9 7

1 00

I NTRODUCTION

T he C odex B orbonicus i s a s ixteenth c entury p ictorial r eligious s creenfold f rom C entral Mexico, p ainted i n an ative A ztec s tyle a nd c ontaining a n umber o f S panish g losses . A lthough t he manuscript w as f irst d escribed i n 1 778 ( Paso y T roncoso 1 898 : 3 0-36), s tudy o f i t b egan o nly i n t he l ate n ineteenth c entury . S ince t hat t ime a n umber o f c ontroversies h ave d eveloped a round t he manuscript. T he s ize a nd b eauty o f t he B orbonicus, a s well a s t he n ative p aper a nd t he s creenfold f ormat, o riginally l ed most s tudents t o a ssign i t t o t he p reconquest p eriod . S ince t he 1 959 s tudy b y D . R obertson, t here h as b een i ncreasing a cceptance , b ased o n s tylistic a nd i nternal e vidence, o f a p ostconquest d ate . N othing i s k nown o f t he h istory o f t he manuscript p rior t o 1 778 , a nd t he e xact p rovenance r emains u ncertain ; a rguments

h ave

b een

p resented

f or

Mexico-Tenochtitlan

and

the

C ulhuacan-Iz t apalapan a reas. l t i s g enerally r ecognized t hat t he t hirty-six e xtant p ages o f t he s creenfold c ontain f our d istinct s ections : a t onalamati, o r d ivinatory a lmanac; a c orrelation o f t he f ifty-two y ear c ycle o r ' century" w ith t he n ine L ords o f t he N ight; a s equence o f f estivals g enerally s een a s b eing r elated t o t he s olar c alendar; and a s econd l ist o f t he y ear d ates f or t he f ifty-two y ear p eriod . W ith r egard t o c ontent, t he m ost c ontroversial s ection o f t he manuscript h as b een t he t hird ; t he s econd a nd f ourth s ections a re c learly-organized d epictions o f t he f ifty-two y ear c ycle , a nd t he t onalamatl s ection , w hile v ery c omplex , i s h ighly s tructured, e xtraordinarily s imilar t o t he T onalamati A ubin ( Seler 1 900-01),

a nd i ts

a nd p ictorial M ost t he

f unction i s r elatively w ell-known f rom o ther l iterary

s ources.

s cholars a gree

t hat

t he

t hird

s ection p resents d epictions o f

f estival c ycle a ssociated w ith t he s olar y ear .

T his s ection i s n ot

h ighly s tructured; i t a ppears t o c ombine a n umber o f d ifferent o rganizing p rinciples s pecifically d eveloped f or t his u nique d epiction o f t he t he f estival c ycle . T here h as b een much c ontroversy c oncerning t he n ature a nd e xact n umber o f f estivals d epicted . P ast w riters h ave a ssumed t hat t he f estival d epictions i n t he B orbonicus e xpress t hrough s ymbols a nd c omplex d rawings t he c eremonies a s t hey would h ave b een c arried

Out

in

t he m ain t emple

p recinct o f a l arge c ommunity ,

s uch a s

M exico-Tenochtitlan. E arly c olonial p ictorial a nd l iterary s ources, s uch a s t he S ahaguntine c orpus o r t he D ur n m anuscript a nd r elated w orks, h ave b een u sed t o i nterpret t he f estival i mages o f t he B orbonicus. T hese o ther s ources f requently i ncorporate i nformation g athered o ver a p eriod o f y ears i n a v ariety o f l ocalities , a nd t hus p rovide a s ynthetic v iew o f t he c eremonies.

S uch s ources, p articularly t he v ery f ull a ccount i n

S ahag( in 's F lorentine C odex , e ach f estival,

d escribe l engthy a nd c omplex c eremonies f or

u sually w ith m ost o f t he r itual a ctivity t aking p lace

i n

t he main t emple p recinct. T he f ocus i s o n t he a ctivities o f t he h ighest l evels o f t he r eligious, p olitical a nd m ilitary c lasses . T he s ources u sually s tate t hat t he c eremonies d escribed t ook p lace i n M exico-Tenochtitlan . T he p ictures t hat a ccompany s ome o f t he a ccounts u sually s erve merely a s i llustrations, a dding n o i nformation b eyond

x i

t hat g iven i n t he t exts. With the exception o f the S ahagi l in manuscripts, e ach s ource p resents I ts i llustrations i n a s tandardized f ormat w ith a l imited n umber o f f igures i llustrating e ach f estival, o ften a p atron d eity a nd o ne o r t wo a ttendant f igures. T he i mages o f t he C odex B orbonicus d iffer i n s ignificant w ays f rom o ther e arly c olonial a ccounts o f t he f estival c ycle . I t i s t he e arliest s ource t hat w e h ave o n t hese f estivals . T he s tyle o f p ainting i s r emarkably f ree f rom E uropean i nfluence, a nd t he I nformation a bout the f estivals i s g iven entirely t hrough t he p ictures. T hese c haracteristics s uggest t hat i t i s a lso t he a ccount t hat i s c losest t o p reconquest t raditions o f r ecording i nformation . I t m ay a lso b e f ree o f t he s ynthesizing t endencies t hat c haracterize t he o ther a ccounts w hich w ere c ompiled b y f riars e ducated i n aE uropean t radition . T he B orbonicus f estival i llustrations vary greatly I n f ormat and c omplexity. T hey r ange f rom c omplex i mages i nvolving many f igures p erforming d ifferent a ctivities, t o s imple i mages w ith f ew f igures t hat a ppear t o r epresent o ne a ctivity o r t o f unction a s s igns. M any d ifferent t ypes o f p articipants a re d epicted, r anging f rom e laborately d ressed d eity i mpersonators a nd p riests t o b arefoot c ommoners i n p lain w hite m aguey c loaks. R ather

t han

f ocussing

o n

t he

u nique

c haracteristics

o f

t he

B orbonicus i llustrations, p revious s tudies h ave t ended t o t reat t hem a s t hough t hey w ere i llustrations o f t he l ater t extual a ccounts . S ome o f t he d rawings d o m atch t he l ater d escriptions o f t he c eremonies q uite c losely, a nd h ave b een p ublished t ime a nd a gain a s i llustrations o f t hem . O thers v ary g reatly f rom t he d escriptions, b ut t hese d ifferences h ave u sually b een i gnored. I n t his s tudy, a d ifferent method o f a nalysis w ill b e f ollowed. T he

B orbonicus

l acks

a n

a ccompanying

d escriptive

t ext,

s o

l ater

a ccounts must b e u sed I n a nalyzing i ts i mages. B ut b ecause t he manuscript i s s o c lose t o n ative t raditions o f r ecording i nformation s olely b y p ictorial means, a g reat d eal o f i nformation c an a lso b e o btained b y " reading" t he m anuscript o n i ts o wn t erms . E ach i mage w ill b e a nalyzed o r " read" s eparately, a nd I nterpreted i n t erms o f t he f eatures i t c ontains . T hese s eparate i mages a lso f unction a s p art o f a l arger, c oherent w hole a s p art o f a s eries o f d rawings t hat d escribe -

-

a c omplete f estival c ycle . S imilar i mages c an b e g rouped a nd a nalyzed t ogether . T he d ifferences b etween i mages a re e qually i mportant . T hus t he i mages a nd g roups o f i mages w ill a lso b e a nalyzed i n t erms o f t heir c ontrasts . T his s hould y ield i nformation a bout t he r elative i mportance o f d ifferent c eremonies . B ecause o f t he w ide v ariety o f p articipants d epicted i n t he B orbonicus, t hese d ifferences c an y ield i nformation n ot o nly a bout t he i mportance o f c eremonies f or t he c ommunity a s a w hole, b ut a lso a bout t heir r elationship t o s pecific s ocial g roups . T his s ame p rocedure o f e xamining a nd a nalyzing s imilarities a nd d ifferences w ill b e

e xtended

t o c omparisons

o f

t he

B orbonicus w ith o ther e arly c olonial

a ccounts. T he u nique f eatures o f t he C odex B orbonicus c an a lso b e u sed t o e xamine t he manuscript f or c lues t o i ts o rigins. N icholson ( n .d. a nd 1 974)

h as

d one

t his

t o

s ome

T his a nalysis c an b e d one

e xtent

i n s ocial

x ii

i n

t erms

t erms a s

o f

g eographic

w ell .

p rovenance .

I ts e arly d ate

a nd

n ative s tyle s uggest i t i s l argely f ree f rom E uropean—influenced s ynthesis . I t m ay r epresent r eligious p ractice i n a s ingle c ommunity, p erhaps a s v iewed b y a s ingle , k nowledgeable n ative s ource . A lthough many t ypes o f p articipants i n t he c eremonies a re d epicted, i t i s d ifficult t o i dentify members o f t he h ighest military a nd p olitical c lasses among

t hem .

A s ignificant

p roportion o f

t he

f igures

c an,

h owever, b e i dentified a s c ommoners. T he c eremonies w hich a re most e mphasized a ppear t o d eal w ith s uch o rdinary c oncerns a s r ainfall, t he h arvest, a nd h unting . A nalysis o f t he B orbonicus f estival s ection c an g ive u s au nique p erspective o n A ztec r eligion, e nabling u s t o s ee l t f rom t he v iewpoint o f t he c ommoners, i n w hose l ives a nd a gricultural a ctivities r eligion p layed a c entral r ole, a nd f rom t he v iewpoint o f t hose p riests w hose r eligious a ctivities most c losely r eflected t he c oncerns o f t he c ommoners. T he C odex B orbonicus may, a s N owotny h as s uggested, a llow a l ook a t " the c omplex s ituation o f t he t emple o f t he c ity w ards T he

( calpolli) a nd t he s treets ( tiaxilacalli)"

f estivals

o f

t he

a nnual

c ycle

( 1976:

w ere t he main p ublic

1 9). r eligious

a ctivities o f t he A ztecs, a nd s erved a s well a s o ccasions f or o ther k inds o f s ocial a ctivities . I n o rder t o u nderstand t he d epictions o f c eremonies I n t he B orbonicus, o ne must h ave a c lear p icture o f A ztec s ociety a nd r eligion . T herefore, f ollowing t he i ntroduction o f t he manuscript I n t erms o f i ts h istory, p hysical d escription and s uggestions a s t o i ts p rovenance, I p resent a b rief s ummary o f A ztec s ocial o rganization a nd r eligion i n c hapter 3 . T he t iming o f f estivals a nd o ther a ctivities w as g overned b y a c omplex c alendar, d iscussed i n c hapter 4 . T he g eneral n ature o f t he f estivals, a s w e u nderstand t hem f rom s ixteenth c entury s ources, i s o utlined i n c hapter 5 , a nd t he o ther p ictorial s ources o n t he f estivals a re d escribed i n c hapter 6 . T he r est o f t he s tudy i s d evoted e xclusively t o t he B orbonicus . P revious s tudies o f t he f estival s ection a re s ummarized i n c hapter 7 , and t he r emaining c hapters a re d evoted t o t he a nalysis o f t he f estival d epictions o f t he C odex B orbonicus a nd t he u nique i nformation t hey c ontain a bout A ztec r eligious l ife.

C HAPTER I H ISTORY,

D ESCRIPTION A ND D ATING O F T HE M ANUSCRIPT

H ISTORY O F T HE MANUSCRIPT T he f irst r ecord o f t he C odex B orbonicus i s a d escription b y Waddilove, published b y W . R obertson i n t he s econd e dition o f h is H istory o f America i n 1 778, o f a manuscript I n t he l ibrary o f t he E scorial, n ear M adrid; P aso y T roncoso ( 1898 : 3 0-36 h as d emonstrated t hat t he B orbonicus was t he manuscript d escribed. I t was p robably r emoved f rom S pain a fter t he F rench i ntervention o f 1 823 ( Nicholson n .d .) a nd was p urchased i n 1 826 b y M . L aurent, l ibrarian o f t he C hamber o f D eputies. T his l ibrary, h oused i n t he B ourbon P alace i n P aris, i s t he p resent l ocation o f t he manuscript. T he p resence o f t he C odex B orbonicus i n P aris w as r eported b y K ingsborough, b ut a pparently h e w as n ot a llowed t o p ublish i t ( Glass a nd R obertson 1 975: 9 7). T here h ave b een f our modern e ditions o f t he manuscript . T he f irst, p ublished i n P aris i n 1 899 with a c ommentary b y H amy, c onsists o f c olor l ithgraphs o f d rawings a fter t he c odex, a nd i s t he s ame s ize a s t he o riginal manuscript . T he s econd e dition , p ublished i n M exico i n 1 938 a s p art o f t he L ibrerla A nticuaria G uillermo E chániz, i s a s maller, h andcolored r eproduction . T he d efinitive e dition f or s cholarship i s t he 1 974 c olor p hotographic f acsimile p ublished b y t he Akademische D ruck- u nd V erlagsanstalt, G raz, A ustria, w ith a c ommentary b y N owotny. T he f ourth a nd most r ecent e dition, p ublished i n Mexico i n 1 979 b y S iglo X XI, i s a r eprint o f t he f irst e dition . T he p rimary v alue o f t his e dition i s t he i nclusion o f a s mall v olume c ontaining r eprints o f t he H amy a nd P aso

y T roncoso

m anuscript i n t he o riginal

s tudies.

A ll

s creenfold

f ormat.

f our e ditions r eproduce t he

D ESCRIPTION O F T HE M ANUSCRIPT T he c odex i s p ainted o n a l ong s trip o f n ative p aper, b oth s ides o f w hich h ave b een p repared f or p ainting b y c overing t he s urface w ith a t hin w hite l ayer o f m ineral p aste t o r eceive t he p aint, c alled s ize .2 I t i s i n t he n ative s creenfold f ormat, a nd t he p aper s trip was o riginally f olded i nto f orty p ages o f w hich t hirty-six r emain . E ach p age i s b etween 3 9 a nd 4 0 c entimeters s quare, a nd t he e ntire m anuscript w ould h ave b een 1 5 .8 meters l ong b efore t he l oss o f p ages . T he B orbonicus i s b y f ar t he l argest C entral Mexican manuscript e xtant, e specially i n c omparison w ith o ther n ative p aper s creenfold e xamples . T he c losely r elated T onalamatl A ubin , f or e xample, h as p ages s lightly more t han h alf t he s ize o f t hose o f t he B orbonicus. T he f irst t wo a nd l ast two p ages o f t he B orbonicus w ere a pparently l ost s ometime a fter W . R obertson 's n otice, w hich d escribes " a v olume i n-folio, c onsisting o f f orty s heets," p robably a t t he s ame t ime t he c overs w ere l ost ( W. R obertson : d istinct

3 56 ;

D .

R obertson :

8 8) .

T he m anuscript

i s d ivided

i nto

f our

s ections.

T he f irst p art i s t he t onalamati o r d ivinatory a lmanac c ontaining 1 8 p ages ( originally 2 0), e ach p age r epresenting a t recena o r t hirteend ay p eriod. l arge s quare t he

p age

T he p residing d eities o f t he t recena a re d epicted i n a p anel a t t he u pper l eft c orner o f e ach p age . T he r est o f

i s d ivided

i nto

t wo s ets o f t hirteen b oxes o r c ompartments a t

1

t he b ottom a nd r ight s ides o f t he p anel. O ne s eries c ontains t he s ymbols f or t he names and numbers o f t he d ays o f t he t recena a nd t he a ssociated L ords o f t he N ight. T he s econd p resents t he L ords o f t he D ay a nd t he volatiles ( birds and b utterflies) f or e ach d ay . T his s ection i s v ery s imilar t o t he T onalamati A ubin; h ighly s tructured t onalamatis o ccur i n M ixtec manuscripts o f t he B orgia G roup ( these a re p reconquest), a nd l ess c omplex o nes a re f ound i n o ther C entral M exican m anuscripts,

i ncluding t he C odices

T elleriano-RemenSiS

a nd R ios,

a nd

M adrid 's C odex T udela , w hich a re p ostconquest . T here a re i llustrated t extual d escriptions, f or e xample i n S ahagC tn 's F lorentine C odex . W hile t he C odex B orbonicus c ontains t he most e laborate a nd d etailed e xample o f a t onalamatl,

i ts s ubject a nd o rganization a re n ot u nique.

T he two p ages o f t he s econd s ection ( pp . 2 1 a nd 2 2) s how t he n ine L ords o f t he N ight a ssociated w ith t he n umbers a nd s ymbols f or t he Y ear B earers

o f

a 52-year

c ycle

a round

t he

f our b orders,

a nd

t wo

l arge

m ythical o r d eity f igures i n t he c enters. T he t hird s ection ( pp . 2 3 t o 3 7) c onsists o f 1 4 p ages, d ivided i nto 1 9 s ections e ither b y t he f olds o f t he p ages o r b y t hick b lack v ertical l ines .

M ost

s cenes o ccupy a f ull p age .

S ix p ages a re d ivided

b y l ines ( pp. 2 3, 2 4, 2 6, 2 7, 2 8 a nd 3 5); t hree a re d ivided i n h alf ( pp . 2 3, 2 4 a nd 3 5), t hree i nto l arger a nd s maller s ections . T his s ection r epresents a n a nnual f estival c ycle a nd i s a nalyzed e xtensively b elow. T he f inal o riginal

f our,

s ection ,

n ow c ontaining

t wo p ages ( pp .

b egins w ith a m irror i mage o f t he

3 7 a nd 3 8 ) o f t he

f irst

i llustration o f

s ection t hree . O riginally i t c ontained a l ist o f t he y ear d ates o f a 5 2-year c ycle i n a s eries o f b oxes a long t he t op a nd b ottom b orders o f e ach p age .

A f ire d rill,

s ymbol o f t he N ew F ire C eremony,

a ppears

a bove t he f irst d ate. D ATING O F T HE M ANUSCRIPT T he

d ating

c ontroversy .

o f

t he

C odex

T he n ative p aper,

B orbonicuS

h as

b een

a matter o f s ome

s creenfold f ormat a nd t he e xtraordinary

b eauty a nd a pparent p urity o f s tyle o f i ts f igures make i t t he only manuscript f rom t he Na hu a ti-Speaking a rea f or w hich a c ase f or a p rec onquest d ate can b e made . I ndeed, most e arly w riters on t he c odex s eem t o h ave b ased t heir p reconqueSt a ttributions a t l east i n p art o n t he b eauty o f t he manuscript . A ubin c alled i t " very b eautiful a nd v ery a uthentic," a nd r ecognized i ts r itual a nd d ivinatory c haracter ( quoted i n C aso 1 967 : 1 03) . H amy d ates t he c odex t o t he l ast f ew y ears b efore t he C onquest, i n p art b ecause o f t he d epiction o f t he c hange o f t he c entury f rom 1 R abbit t o 2R eed, p laced i n 1 507 b y t he c ommentator o f t he C odex T el l eriano Re l f lef lsis, o n which H amy h ad a lso w ritten a s tudy ( 1P99b);

b ut h e

f urther s tates:

t he l ate d ate a ppears j ustified b y t he e xcellent s tate o f t he m anuscript, t he r ichness o f t he c olors, a nd f inally a nd a bove a ll, t he p recision o f d rawing, much s uperior . .t O t hose [ manuscripts]

w hich h ave p reviously

o f M exico ( 1899a:

2 3-24).

2

s hown u s

t he

i conography

P aso

y T roncoso

( 1898) w as

i nclined

p reconquest, i n p art b ecause " without a ny mixture o f t he

t o b elieve

t he m anuscript

w as

o f i ts b eauty a nd p urity o f s tyle, i ndigenous method w ith t he s ervile

i mitation o f S panish d rawings" ( 1898 : 1 5), a nd a lso b ased o n h is m inute s tudy o f i ts p hysical s tate a nd g losses . T he manuscript w as s tored u nder humid c onditions f or l ong e nough t o d amage s ome o f t he d rawings a nd t o c ause s ome o f t he p ages t o a dhere t o o ne a nother . S ome o f t his d amage was r epaired, m ost n otably o n p g . 1 3 w here s everal L ords o f t he D ay w ere r epainted o ver n ew s ize . C orrections a lso a ppear i n t he f irst a nd s econd s ections; 3 t hese c orrections w ould h ave made t he manuscript more f unctional f or c alendrical u se . T he t onalamati s ection s hows m uch m ore w ear t han t he l ast h alf o f t he c odex , t he f olds b etween

p p.

3 a nd 4 ,

a nd

p p.

A ccording t o P aso y T roncoso,

i ncluding

s eparations

a long

1 6 a nd 1 7.

t he g losses were written b y f our

d ifferent h ands, a ll o f whom u sed s ixteenth c entury s cripts. T hree a ppear o nly i n t he t onalamati s ection, while t he f ourth a nd m ost r ecent i s t he o nly o ne t o a ppear i n t he v eintena s ection ( see A ppendix). O n p g . 8 , ag loss i n t he h and o f t he e arliest c ommentator w as w ritten o ver a d amaged f igure , w hile t he h andwriting i s p erfectly p reserved . O nly t he g losses b y t he t hird c ommentator, who i ndicated t he d estinies o f t hose b orn i n v arious t recenas ( "signos"), s eem k nowledgeable , a s most c oncur w ith t hose i n o ther e arly s ources . T he e rrors o f t he e arliest c ommentator i ndicate c learly t hat h e d id n ot u nderstand t he A ztec c alendar o r I ts s ymbols .4 T he s econd c ommentator s imply c ompletes t he work o f t he f irst b y c opying h is g losses i nto c orresponding s paces, a dding n o n ew i nformation a nd r etaining mistakes. P aso y T roncoso c oncludes t hat t he c odex was p robably p ainted s hortly b efore t he C onquest, which may e xplain why t he r everse was n ever p ainted. T he w ear a nd d amage f rom h andling a nd h umidity i ndicate i ts e xistence w ell b efore t he g losses were a dded i n t he s ixteenth c entury . H e a lso c onsiders t he r epairs a nd c orrections t o b e p ostconquest, p robably d one p rior t o p resenting t he manuscript t o a n i ndividual who h ad r equested i t,

p resumably a S paniard

( 1898 :

2 -22) .

D . R obertson ( 1959) s imply a ssumes t he p ostconquest d ating o f t he veintena s ection , a nd o ffers a rguments p ertaining t o t he d ate o f t he t onalamati . H e p oints o ut a number o f s tylistic c haracteristics o f f igures i n t his s ection t hat s uggest a p ostconquest d ating, b ut h is m ost c onvincing p oint I s made o n t echnical g rounds . T he t wo s eries ' o f b oxes o r c ompartments o n e ach p age o f t he t onalamati a re d ivided b y l ines s cratched i nto t he s ize, t hus s eparating t he p ainted f igures t hey c ontain f rom a b lank a rea l eft o n t he s ide n earest t he l arge p anel. T he w ritten g losses a ppear i n t hese s paces, l eading h im t o c onclude t hat " the l ines s cratched o n t he s izing w ere m eant t o d ivide t he b oxes a nd t hat t he g losses n ot o nly were p lanned f rom t he b eginning b ut h elped t o d etermine t he l ayout o f t he p age" ( 1959: 8 6-93). H aving e stablished t he p ostconquest d ate o f t he B orbonicus t onalamati, R obertson a ssociates i t w ith t he t hree o ther m anuscripts o f t he f irst p hase o f t he E arly C olonial manuscript s tyle o f T enochtitlan t he Matricula d e T ributos, t he P iano e n P apel d e M aguey, a nd t he B oturini -

-

T ira b ased o n t he d egree o f a dmixture o f E uropean a nd i ndigenous s tyles a nd b y a q uality i t s hares w ith t he Matricula a nd T ira, t he -

-

" editing

o f

P re-Conquest

e stablished t ext" ( 1959:

f orms 9 3).

i n

t he

n ature

o f

a dditions

t o

a n

H e s uggests t his g roup o f manuscripts

3

must p ostdate t he C onquest Audiencia, a nd p redate t he

a nd t he d isturbed y ears o f t he F irst s econd p eriod o f C olonial manuscript

p ainting, which begins w ith t he c ommissioning o f t he C odex M endoza, t hus d ating t hem t o t he p eriod b etween 1 530 a nd 1 541 ( 1959: 7 0-93). C aso

( 1967),

l ike

t he e arliest

w riters,

f eels

t hat t he

m anuscript

must b e p reconquest b ecause o f i ts " beauty, t he s ureness o f i ts drawing, t he g enuineness o f i ts s tyle a nd t he great k nowledge o f t he r eligion a nd c alendar" which i t s hows ( 1967 : 1 12 ) . H e i s a ble t o m ake t elling p oints a gainst R obertson 's s tylistic a rguments, p resenting i ncontrovertably p reconquest e xamples o f s ome o f t he t raits R obertson i solates. H e n otes t hat t he s paces l eft f or g losses a re u sed o nly b y t he f irst c ommentator ( and b y h is c opyist, t he s econd c ommentator ), a nd a rgues t hat t he manuscript c ould n ot h ave b een c ommissioned b ecause " it i s n ot b elievable t hat s omeone who h ad t he o pportunity t o o rder t his o r any o ther manuscript t o b e p ainted would n ot k now w hat i t c ontained" ( 1967 : 1 06) . H e d oes n ot a ttempt t o e xplain p er s e w hy t he b lank a reas w ere marked o ff i n t he t onalamati, b ut h e d oes c ite t he s uggestion b y P aso y T roncoso ( 1898 : 9 ) t hat " when t he f igures h ad t o b e e xecuted carefully a nd f inely f inished, p reparatory l ines were t raced i n t he s ize," a nd n otes t hat s uch l ines a re u sed o n t en p ages o f t he v eintena s ection f or l aying

o ut

t he i mages,

n ot marking o ff s paces f or g losses,

most n otably i n t he c omplex d epictions o n p g. 2 9 where t hey d ivide s cenes a nd mark t he t op o f a p latform . H owever, P aso y T roncoso n otes t hat while s imilar l ines a ppear i n C odex V aticanus B a nd o ther p reconquest manuscripts, t hey a re a lways p ainted o ver ( 1898 : 9 ) . C aso h imself n otes t hat w hile t he i ncised l ines s erve t o l ay o ut s ome o f t he p ainted o n p g.

l ines i n 1 5

( 1967:

t he

t onalamatl,

t his

t echnique o nly b egins t o b e u sed

1 03-112).

B rown ( 1977) f ollows R obertson i n d ating b oth h alves o f t he m anuscript t o t he p ostconquest p eriod, c oncurring w ith h is s tatement t hat t he t onalamati r elates s tylistically t o o ther E arly C olonial manuscripts, a nd g iving a d etailed a nalysis o f E uropean i nfluences i n t he v eintena s ection; examples a re c ited i n t he a nalysis o f t hat s ection b elow. I n a r ecent u npublished p aper ( n.d.), s he f urther s uggests t hat t he d eity d epictions o f t he v eintena s ection r epresent a rtistic c onventions d eveloped l ater t han t hose o f t he t onalamati s ection. I t

s eems

manuscript,

c lear

t hat

p ainted a t

t he

C odex

B orbonicus

i s

t he r equest o f a p atron who

a p ostconquest i ntended

t o a dd

g losses . T he t onalamati a ppears t o b e a lmost e ntirely d erived f rom a p reconquest model, while t he v eintena s ection m ay h ave b een c reated f or t his manuscript, u sing n ative a nd E arly C olonial c onventions. T he manuscript h owever g ives e vidence o f ac omplex h istory . I ts p ages w ere g lossed b y f our d ifferent h ands, p resumably a t f our d ifferent t imes . T hree o f t hese w riters a dded o riginal i nformation, a nd a ll a ppear t o h ave h ad s ome k nowledge o f a ncient M exican c ulture, h owever c onfused o r i naccurate t heir g losses may b e. A ll wrote i n a s ixteenth c entury s cript, a nd w hile D . R obertson n otes t hat t his " means only t hat t he m anuscript ( 1959 :

8 8),

w ere a dded

w as i t

k nown

t o

d oes n ot

p eople s eem

who

w rote

u nreasonable

a s ixteenth t o c onclude

t o t he c odex i n M exico i n t hat c entury.

4

c entury t hat

s cript"

t he g losses

T he e xact n ature o f t he p atronage t hat c aused t he manuscript t o b e p ainted r emains u nclear, whether n ative o r European, s ecular o r r eligious . C aso 's d iscussion s eems c learly t o s uggest t hat t here w as n o c ontact b etween t he a rtist o r i nformant w ho p roduced t he c odex a nd t he w riters o f t he g losses, I ndicating n ot t hat t he m anuscript w as n ot c ommissioned, b ut t hat i t w as n ot d elivered t o t he o riginal p atron . O f c ourse many p ossible e xplanations c an b e a dvanced f or s uch a n o ccurrence i n t he t roubled c ontext o f E arly C olonial M exico . T he h eavy w ear o n t he t onalamatl s ection , i n c ontrast t o t he f estival s ection , i s a lso o pen t o a n umber o f e xplanations . I t d oes n ot s eem u nreasonable t o s uggest t hat i t was u sed t o c reate c opies, a s C aso a rgues w as d one i n t he c ase o f t he Aubin T onalamati ( 1967: 1 07) . I n l ight o f t he s uggestions b y R obertson a nd B rown c oncerning t he d ifferent d ates f or t he c reation o f t he a rtistic c onventions o f t he d eity r epresentations o f t he t wo h alves o f t he c odex , a nd c onsidering t he f act t hat t he g losses b y t he f irst t hree h ands a ppear o nly i n t he f irst h alf, while t he g losses i n t he f ourth h and a ppear i n b oth t he t onalamatl a nd f estival s ections,

i t a lso s eems r easonable t o s uggest t hat t here m ight

h ave b een a p eriod o f s ome l ength b etween t he h alves o f t he m anuscript.

p ainting o f

t he

t wo

F inally, i t m ight b e p ossible t o s peculate t hat i f t he m anuscript was c ommissioned b y a E uropean, b ut n ot d elivered t o i ts o riginal p atron, i t might h ave r emained i n n ative h ands f or a t ime . I n a s ociety i n which t he c alendar

was

n o l onger o verseen b y a c entral

r eligious a uthority, t he B orbonicus w ould r epresent a n e xcellent t ool f or k eeping t rack o f b oth t he t onalpohualli a nd a nnual c ycles, a s C aso 's u se o f i t i n h is s tudies o f c alendar c orrelations d emonstrates ( 1967 :

4 3ff) .

B ecause o f s uppresion o f n ative r eligion ,

which i ncluded

t he b urning o f manuscripts, t he c odex would h ave h ad t o b e k ept a nd u sed i n s ecret. H owever, t he r ecords o f t he I nquisition s how t hat t onalamatis w ere made a nd u sed i n N ew S pain ( D . R obertson 1 959 : 3 4-36) . T he t onalamatl w as u sed f or n aming t he n ewborn a nd a s a g uide f or d ayt o-day a ctivities; t he h eavy w ear o n t he B orbonicus t onalamatl s ection may b e a n i ndication o f s uch u se . T he c orrection o f e rrors i n t he f irst h alf o f t he c odex a lso s uggests d ivinatory u se. P erhaps t he s trongest i ndication o f n ative r itual u se i s t he f act t hat a f eather w as p asted t o o ne o f t he p ages o f t he t onalamatl ( Nowotny 1 976: 1 1). I t I s p ossible t hat t he s ize a nd b eauty o f t he B orbonicus i ndicate t hat

i t

w as made

f or p resentation o r o ther s pecial u se. 5

P asztory

( personal c ommunication) h as s uggested t hat t he manuscript m ight h ave b een c reated u nder n ative p atronage . E ven t he s paces l eft f or g losses d o n ot n ecessarily p rove E uropean s ponsorship . N ahuatl was r apidly r educed t o a written l anguage a fter t he C onquest. T he f irst missionaries a rrived i n 1 523, and s oon turned their h ands t o t ranslating

E uropean

r eligious

materials

i nto

N ahuatl

f or

u se

i n

e vangelization . T he w ritten v ersion o f t he l anguage f ound many c ivil a nd l egal u ses, a nd a w hole c lass o f n ahuatlatos, n atives f luent i n S panish, s prang u p . I t i s p ossible t hat i n t he c onfused t imes f ollowing t he C onquest, t he B orbonicus r epresented a n a ttempt t o p reserve t he d isappearing n ative c ulture . I nterest i n p reserving p reconquest c ulture w as d emonstrated b y t he m any n ative i nformants w ho c ooperated w ith r eligious c hroniclers l ike S ahag n . w riting,

t he

E uropeans

b rought

B ibles

5

a nd

o ther

I n a ddition t o

r eligious

a nd

s ecular

materials w hich i ntroduced t he i dea o f w ritten c odification o f r eligion a nd t he c alendar . B rown ( 1977) h as d iscussed European e fforts t o c odify

t he

n ative c alendar,

a nd

t he

i nfluence o f E uropean p rinted

c alendars o n a ttempts t o r ecord t he n ative f estival c ycle . I t i s p ossible t hat, i f t here were n o p reconquest models f or t he f estival s ection,

i t r epresents a n ative a ttempt t o c odify a nd

p reserve t he

c alendar. I f c reated t han

j ust

t onalamati

f or n ative u se,

a means

o f

g overned

t he

p reserving

p ractical

B orbonicuS c ould h ave b een more

i nformation .

a ctivities,

T he

i ncluding

r eading

o f

a griculture .

t he T he

r ecording o f t he f estival c ycle, i n t he s ame manuscript w ith a t onalamatl, would h ave a llowed t he p atron o r o ther u sers t o c ontinue t he o rdering o f t heir l ives a nd t he s easons a ccording t o t he g uides t hey h ad a lways u sed

-

-

t he r epeating c ycles o f t he s acred a nd s olar o r

f estival c alendars.

N OTES 1 .

P aso y T roncoso r eproduces t he e ntire n ote; D . R obertson ( 1959: 8 7) a ccepts T roncoso 's i dentification; f or t his p aper, t he n ote w as v erified i n W . R obertson ( 1821 : I II , 2 9 a nd 3 53-57 n . V II) .

2 .

P eterson ( 1959: 2 31) n otes t hat native p aper " is r ough a nd u nsuitable f or p aint, a nd s o i t i s c oated w ith s tarch o r c alcium carbonate t o make a s mooth, white, g lossy s urface ."

L enz ( 1973:

1 60-161) r eports c hemical t ests t hat s eem t o s how t he s izing c onsisted o f c alcium c arbonate, a nd c ites s uggestions t hat i t w as d erived b y b urning f rom a t ype o f Y ucatecan b ush c alled z ac-tah . 3 .

C orrections i nclude t he c orrecting o f n umbers o n p p . 3 , 6 , 2 1 a nd 2 2 ; a nd o n p g. 2 1, f our f igures a t t he u pper l eft were c overed w ith s ize

4 .

a nd

r epainted

I nverted

( Paso y T roncoso 1 898 :

T he e rrors o f t he f irst c ommentator

i nclude:

" months," n umbering p p . 2 1 a nd 2 2 a s t he a nd

m isidentifying d ay s igns:

" broom," 5 .

c ozcaquauhtli

a s

c alling t he

a nd

t recenas

2 1st a nd 2 2nd " months,"

c ipactli a s " old

" air ,"

2 -22) .

o h m

A lthough we d o n ot k now t he u sual s ize o f

a s

a ge,"

m alinalli

a s

" sun ."

C entral

M exican P re-

C olumbian manuscripts, t he s ize o f t he B orbonicuS s eems u nwieldy f or a t ype o f b ook t hat was i n d aily u se. O ther E arly C olonial manuscripts on n ative p aper h ave c onsiderably s maller p ages: T onalamati A ubin, 2 4 x 2 7 cm .; B oturini T ira, c a . 2 0 x 2 5 cm.; Mapa Q uinatzin, c a . 3 8 x4 4 cm.; Matricula d e T ributOs, 4 2 x 2 9 c m .

( Glass

a nd

R obertson

1 975) .

6

C HAPTER I I P ROVENANCE O F T HE M ANUSCRIPT T he q uestion o f t he e xact p rovenance o f t he B orbonicus h as o nly a risen s ince Nicholson 's ( 1974) suggestion of a Cuihuacan or I tztapalapan o rigin . M ost e arlier w riters w ere c ontent t o r efer t o i t a s a Mexican o r A z ec manuscript, with t he implied p rovenance o f M exico-Tenochtitlan . a W . R obertson c alled i t a " curious monument o f M exican a rt" ( 1821 :

3 57),

while A ubin s imply r efers

t o

i t a s a M exican

c odex ( 1859) . H amy n ever d iscusses t he p rovenance p er Se, b ut h is u se o f S ahagt In 's work makes i t c lear t hat h e c onsiders i t t o p ertain t o T enochtitlan ; f or e xample, h e s uggests t hat o ne o f t he S panish g losses ( "papa major") makes r eference t o " one o f t he two h igh p riests o f M exico" ( 1899: 1 6). L ater c ommentators h ave a ttempted t o t ie i t t o T enochtitlan i n m ore s pecific w ays . P aso y T roncoso a lso i nterprets t he v eintena s ection a s i f t he a ctivities d epicted o ccur i n t he T emplo Mayor p recinct o f T enochtitlan a s d escribed b y S ahag6n, b ut h e a ddresses t he p roblem f ormally a s w ell, s tating t hat t he p rincipal r ole p layed b y H uitzilopochtli i n t he f estivals p roves t he c odex i s A ztec, a s d oes t he f act t hat i t i s o n p aper, w hich t he A ztecs u sed m ore o ften t han t he o ther n ations o f A nahuac

( 1898 :

1 4).

D . R obertson i dentifies t he B orbonicus T onalamatl a s a p roduct o f t he E arly C olonial M anuscript S chool o f T enochtitlan, g rouping i t w ith t hree o ther uanuscripts t he Matricula d e T ributos, t he P lano e n P apel d e Maguey a nd t he h oturini T ira f or e ach o f which, a s h e -

-

-

-

n otes, t here a re d ifferent n on-stylistic r easons f or a ssigning a p rovenance o f T enochtitlan . H e s uggests t hat t he manuscripts a re l inked b y t he u se i n e ach o f an ative p reconquest s ubject matter, a nd t hat t he B orbonicus T onalamati s hares w ith t he M atrIcula a nd t he T ira t he e diting o f p reconquest manuscript t ypes t hrough a dditions t o e stablished t exts ( 1959 : 7 0-71) . T he a mount o f i nformation p resented i n p ictorial f ashion, g reater t han i n a ny o ther M ixtec o r N ahua t onalamatl, a s w ell a s t he a ddition o f S panish g losses, a re p resented a s e vidence o f t his k ind o f e diting ( 1959 : 9 3) . R obertson s tates t hat t he s tyle o f t he M atricula a nd o f t he B orbonicus t onalamatl s ection a re c lose e nough t o i ndicate t hat t he a rtists o f e ach h ad s imilar t raining . A s t he f ormer i s a s ecular a nd t he l atter a r eligious manuscript, h e c oncludes i t t o b e p robable t hat a ll m anuscripts w ere d one b y o ne g roup o f s cribes, e ither p riests o r workers d irected b y p riests ( 1959: 2 7). A lthough h e s ays " the s tyle o f t he [ Borbonicus] T onalamati f its i nto t he g roup f ormed b y t he o ther t hree m anuscripts" o f t he f irst p hase o f t he T enochtitlan S chool, h e d oes n ot d emonstrate t his. I n h is s tylistic a nalysis o f t he B orbonicus T onalamati, h e u ses d epartures f rom c ertain n ative s tylistic t raits t o d emonstrate a p ostconquest d ate . e ven

T hese

s tylistic

t raits

i nclude :

s ifting o f f orms o n t he p age;" t he

s cattered

a ttribute

f rame l ine,

s pace,

" the

d efined a s a h eavy,

u nvarying o utline; t he u se o f f lat c olors w ith n o s hading o r modeling ; a nd t he u se o f s tandardized c onventions f or c ertain f orms. H owever, a ccording t o h is o wn a nalysis, d epartures f rom t hese c onventions a re c haracteristic o f E arly C olonial m anuscripts, n o matter w hat t he s chool ( 1959 :

5 9-67) .

t hese

manuscripts

N owhere d oes h e o ffer a r igorous d emonstration t hat a ll s hare a d efinable

7

s tyle p ertaining s pecifically t o

T enochtitlan . T he m ost s pecific a rgument h e o ffers f or t his p rovenance i s n on-stylistic . H e n otes t hat t he a ppearance o f ad epiction o f t he N ew F ire C eremony, c elebrated " under t he a uspices o f t he s tate r eligion o f t he Mexicans," h as l ed p ast w riters t o a ssume t hat t he manuscript c ame f rom T enochtitlan ( 1959:

8 7).

C aso ( 1967) i n g eneral r epeats t he a rguments o f P aso y T roncoso w ith r egard t o p rovenance, b ut h e r ealizes t hat t he d epiction o f t he N ew F ire C eremony p roves o nly t hat t he c odex i s A ztec i n ag eneral s ense, a s d oes t he p resence o f t he t ribal p atron d eity H uitzilopochtli, t hough t he l atter l inks i t more c losely w ith M exico-Tenochtitlan . H is f inal p roof o f aT enochtitlan p rovenance i s t he c lose c oncordance o f t he v eintena d epictions w ith a ccounts o f t he f estivals a s p erformed i n t he T emplo M ayor p recinct; t his p robably i ndicates h is a cceptance o f P aso y T roncoso 's i nterpretations o f t his s ection o f t he B orbonicus ( 1967:

4 4).

N icholson 's p aper ( n .d.

a nd 1 974) i s t he most d etailed s tudy t o

d ate o f t he p rovenance q uestion . I n h is a nalysis, h e w eighs a d etailed s tudy o f t he i conography o f t he f estival d epictions a gainst e xtant w ritten a ccounts a nd c urrent k nowledge o f t he r elative i mportance o f t he d eities d epicted f or d ifferent c ommunities w ithin t he V alley o f M exico . N oting t hat t he s ame s tylistic-iconographic t radition was w idely s hared i n t his r egion , a s w as t he b asic p attern o f t he v eintena f estivals, h e s uggests t hat a c areful e xamination o f i nternal i ndications, e specially i n t he f estival d epictions, s uggests a p rovenance o ther t han M exico-Tenochtitlan . A p rovenance o f C ulhuacan o r o ne o f t he o ther t hree c hinampanecan c ommunities e ncompassed b y t he t erm " Nauhtecuhtli" ( Itztapalapan, Mexicatzinco a nd H uitzilopochco), l ocated i n t he a griculturally p roductive r egion t o t he s outh o f t he c apital, might e xplain t he f requent appearances of t he d eity C ihuacoati, a t otal o f s ix t imes i n t he v eintena s ection ( see T able V ). C ulhuacan e njoyed t he p restige o f b eing v iewed a s t he d ynastic a nd c ultural l ink t o t he p ast i mperial g lory o f T ula . N icholson n otes t hat i ts r ole i n t he C onquest a s t he r efuge f or t he i dols f rom t he main t emple o f T enochtitlan s uggests c ontinued i mportance a s ar eligious c enter . T he p atron d eity o f C ulhuacan a nd t he c ommunities s urrounding i t w as C ihuacoati ; i n t hree o f t he v eintena d epictions s he a ppears w ith A tlahua, a d eity a lso important i n t his a rea ( Figures 9 , 1 3 a nd 2 2). P articularly n oteworthy i s t he f act t he g oddess a ppears i n f estivals i n w hich o ther a ccounts d o n ot i ndicate t hat s he p layed a s ignificant r ole ( Izcalli, T he

T oxcatl,

T ecuilhuitontli a nd T laxochimaco).

f estival d epicted o n B orbonicus p ages

2 9

t o 3 2 ( Figures

1 5-18)

r eceives b y f ar t he most e xtensive d epiction o f a ny v eintena f estival i n t he manuscript . I t m ay b e a ssumed t o b e t he m ost i mportant f estival f or t he c ommunity w hose a nnual c ycle i s h ere r ecorded . T his s equence o f c eremonies c an h e i dentified a s O chpaniztli, t he h arvest f estival . T he f estival a s d epicted h ere f eatures m ost p rominently i mpersonators o f T oci-Teteoinnan a nd C enteotl-Chicomecoatl, " closely r elated f ertility d eities w ho s eem t o h ave s hared w ith C ihuacoatl a nd h er v arious a spects t he s tatus a s s pecial p atronesses o f C ulhuacan a nd i ts n eighborhood" ( Nicholson n .d.) . T he e mphasis o n t his f estival d oes n ot s eem e ntirely c onsistent w ith a T enochtitlan p rovenance, w here w ritten

8

a ccounts i ndicate o ther f estivals w ere o f g reater i mportance , P anquetzaliztli

a nd

T oxcatl,

dedicated

t o

i ncluding

Huitzilopochtll

a nd

Te z ca ti ip oc a. F urther,

t he d epiction o f

t he N ew F ire C eremony,

a ppearing i n t he

c alendar a t t he p oint a t which written a ccounts would s uggest t he appearance o f Panquetzaliztli, does not s eem a ppropriate t o T enochtitlan . T his c eremony was p erformed o n H ulxachtecatl, a h ill l ocated b etween C ulhuacan a nd I tztapalapan; c olonial s ources o ften emphasize t he p roximity o f t hese c ommunities t o H uixachtecatl. T he b ill a nd i ts p lace g lyph a ppear o n B orbonicus p age 3 4 . T he f ocus o f t he c eremony a s d epicted h ere i s a n e difice which c an b e i dentified a s a T lillan o r T lillancalco, a n ame c haracteristically g iven t o r eligious b uildings d edicated t o C ihuacoatl . N icholson s uggests t hat t he s tructure d epicted o n p age 3 4 may b e t he t emple o r c almecac ( priestly s chool) o f C ihuacoatl l ocated i n C ulhuacan o r I tztapalapan . T he em -phasis o n t he N ew F ire C eremony i s s trengthened b y t he u nique d epiction o n page 3 5 o f t he a ssociated r ite o f t he " burial o f t he c entury" a s i dentified b y C aso ( 1967: 1 29-140). T hus t he f ailure t o e mphasize t he f estival o f t he p atron d eity o f t he M exica a rgues a gainst a T enochtitlan p rovenance , while t he multiple a ppearances o f t he p atron g oddess o f C ulhuacan t ogether with t he emphasis o n a c eremony c elebrated n earby s uggest a C ulhuacan o r I tztapalapan p rovenance. I n a ddition t o C ulhuacan a nd t he o ther t hree N auhtecuhtli c ommunities, N icholson n otes t wo o ther i mportant t owns I n t he s outhern V alley o f Mexico which d eserve c onsideration a s p ossible p laces o f o rigin f or t he B orbonicus . X ochimilco , f ounded b y t he C ulhua, was a lso a c enter o f t he c ult o f C ihuacoatl. While Mixcoatl-Camaxtli a nd r elated d eities a ppear t o h ave b een t he most i mportant g ods i n C uitlahuac, A tlahua was a lso p articularly a ssociated w ith t his c ommunity. T he emphasis o n t he N ew F ire C eremony, h owever, a rgues a gainst t hese c ommunities b ecause o f t heir d istance f rom H uixachtepetl. N icholson 's c areful t reatment o f t he p rovenance q uestion i ncludes c ounterarguments t o h is t hesis . T hese i nclude t he g reat i mportance o f C ihuacoatl

i n

T enochtitlan,

H uetecuilhuitl

h er

( Borbonicus

f ailure

p age

2 7

t o

r .),

a ppear

i n

a f estival

t he i n

d epiction o f which

s ome

s ources n ame h er a s a p rincipal d eity, a nd t he f act t hat t he c ult o f A tlahua e xtended w ell b eyond t he C ulhuacan r egion. N icholson 's h ypothesis,

l ike t he p resent s tudy,

works f rom t he

a ssumption t hat t he B orbonicus r epresents t he f estival c ycle a s p racticed i n a s ingle c ommunity . T he c ity o f Mexico-Tenochtitlan i ncluded a variety o f r eligious c enters i n a ddition t o t he e xtensive c omplex a round t he main t emple ( the T emplo Mayor p recinct). T hese c enters, s erving v arious l ocalized c ommunities, i ncluded s maller t emples f or t he c alpultin o r w ards, a l arge t emple o r t emple c omplex f or each o f t he g reat quarters o f t he c ity ( Calnek 1 972 :

3 21),

a nd

o ther s hrines a nd r eligious e difices o f v arying s ize a nd i mportance. A lthough t he s ources o n t he v eintena f estivals f ocus p rimarily o n t he r ites o f t he c entral p recinct, t he e xistence o f t hese o ther r eligious c enters, a s w ell a s s cattered d escriptions o f r ites i n o ther l ocalities a nd i nformation o n t he p ractices o f o ccupationally s pecialized g roups, s uggests a v ariety o f r eligious p ractice w ithin T enochtitlan i tself.

9

If the Borbonicus did originate within the city of Tenochtitlan, it w ould seem most likely that it came from an area within the two southern quarters of the city, Moyotlan and Teopan. These sectors were divided by the important causeway that joined the city to Culhuacan and thus to the southern regions of the empire. This was the route along which most of the agricultural produce of the south was brought to the capital. This southern causeway was also the route followed by the procession to the hill of Huixachtepetl in the New Fire Ceremony, and by which it returned carrying the new fire to the Templo Mayor. An important shrine called Tocititlan was located on this causeway, near the southern gate of the city. This shrine, dedicated to the fertility goddess Toci, was the scene of many of the observances of the harvest festival Ochpaniztli, the feast which receives the most extensive depiction in the Bo rbonicus. The t w o south ern q ua rters w ere poten tially the most agriculturally productive in the city, because their canals w ere filled with the fresh waters of the southern lakes (Lom bardo de Ruiz: 119 ). Placin g the origin of the manusc ript in the southern part of the city could account for some of the discrepancies between the festival depictions and the accounts of the ceremonies in the Templo Mayor precinct. More of the unique features of the festival sec tion can how ever be explained by Nicholson's suggestion of a Culhuacan provenance for the Codex Borbonicus.

NOTES Sa.

Nichol son (n.d .) notes t wo exceptions: "Seler ( 1900-0 1: 62) speculated that Borbonicus (along with the Tonalamatl Aubin) might derive f rom Tetzcoco, but he did not really develop any very cogent a rgum ents in support of this view. Robelo (1951: 128), not i ng the a bsence of any representation of C enteotl or Ch icomecoatl on Borbonicus p. 25 (Hueytozoztli), opined that 'el calendario del C6dice Borbonico no es mexicano, sino de otra nacion nahoa. '"

10

C HAPTER I II A ZTEC S OCIAL O RGANIZATION A t t he t ime o f t he S panish i nvasion, most o f c entral Mexico w as u nified i n ap olitical e ntity c ommonly c alled t he A ztec Empire . T he empire was g overned b y a n a lliance o f t hree c ities, T enochtitlan, T excoco a nd T iacopan ( modern T acuba); t he M exica c ity o f T enochtitlan was t he l argest a nd most i mportant o f t he t hree ( Figure 1 ) . T he e mpire w as c reated p rimarily t hrough m ilitary c onquest, b eginning i n 1 428 w ith t he d efeat b y t he t hree a llied c ities o f t he T epanecs o f A zcapotzalco , p reviously t he f oremost p ower i n t he V alley o f M exico . A reas c onquered b y t he empire were r equired t o p ay t ributes b ut t hey r etained s ome d egree o f autonomy a nd t he f ormer r uler o r a n h eir o ften r emained a t t he h ead o f t he l ocal g overnment ( Gibson 1 971: 3 90). S ome r eligious a utonomy w as r etained a s w ell . A n i mage o f t he c aptured c ity 's p atron d eity was s ent b ack t o T enochtitlan, a nd t he empire r equired t hat h omage b e p aid t o H uitzilopochtli, t he warlike p atron d eity o f t he Mexica ( MotolinIa 1 971: 3 45; S ahagt n 1 950-82 , b ook 2 : 1 82). T he p eoples o f t he B asin o f Mexico, p rimarily N ahuatl s peakers, s hared a c ommon r eligious a nd c ultural h eritage, a nd l ocal v ariations i n r eligious p ractice c ontinued t o e xist a fter c onquest b y t he empire. F or e xample, while t he y ear c ounts o f t hese c ommunities w ere p robably s ynchronized, t he f estivals c elebrated d uring t he c ourse o f t he y ear varied, u sually w ith p articular emphasis p laced o n t hat o f t he l ocal p atron d eity. T he r ulers o f t he t hree a llied c ities n ominally c ontrolled t he empire, b ut t he t latoani o f T enochtitlan was f oremost among t hem, f unctioning a s t he h ead o f s tate. B elow h im w as a complex c ivil a nd r eligious h ierarchy . S ome o f t he e lements o f t he s ocial s tructure s eem t o h ave h ad l ong h istories, while o thers a ppear t o h ave d eveloped t o m eet t he n eeds o f t he e mpire. S uccession t o t he p osition o f t latoani, u sually r emained i n o ne l ineage automatic. T he most a ble o f t he l ords . b y t he

a nd t o o ther h igh o ffices,

g roup, b ut i nheritance was n ot h eirs was c hosen b y a c ouncil o f

I n s ubject t erritories, t he c hoice o f r uler h ad t o b e c onfirmed r uler o f t he empire . T he r uler 's p alace was t he l ocus o f a

v ariety o f s ecular a dministrative f unctions, i ncluding j udiciary a ctivities, m ilitary c ouncils a nd r ecord k eeping o f t ributes a nd s tores ( Sahag1n 1 950-82, b ook 8 : 4 1-45) . T he r uler a nd o ther h igh o fficials w ould f unction a s p riests i n c ertain c ontexts, a nd p resided o ver c eremonies i n t he t emple p recinct, s uch a s t he s acrifice o f c aptives o r t he d istribution o f military r egalia t o h onor w arriors ( Calnek 1 973 : 3 19-20) . Ac lass o f l ords, t he t eteuctin ( singular t ecuhtli) e xisted b elow t he t latoani . T heir t itles w ere o f d ifferent s tatuses, a nd t hey f ulfilled a v ariety o f a dministrative a nd j udicial functions. L ands a nd c ommoners ( macehualtin) were a ttached t o t hese t itles, a nd s uccession w as d etermined b y t he t latoani . T he c hildren o f r ulers a nd l ords f ormed a c lass o f n obles b y b irth c alled p ipiltin . T hese n obles a lso h eld l ands a nd c ould h old o ffices s uch a s a mbassador o r t ribute c ollector ( Carrasco 1 971:

3 51-54).

1 1

The

p rimary means o f r ising i n s ocial s tatus,

a nd a n ecessary

p rerequisite f or h olding o ffice, w as t hrough m ilitary a chievement . T he S ons o f t he n obility r eceived t heir e ducation, i ncluding t he a rts o f war , i n t he c almecac, p riestly s chools . M ilitary t raining w as o pen t o most y oung men t hrough t he t elpochcalli o r y oung men 's s chools. T he c ommoner y ouths t rained i n t hese s chools d id m enial a nd p ublic w orks t asks, b ut a lso l earned warfare f rom e xperienced w arriors a nd, l ike n oble o r p riestly warriors, c ould r ise t hrough t he r anks t hrough t he t aking o f c aptives. A pparently, s ome o ffices i ncluding t hat o f e xecutioner a nd a c ertain m ilitary r ank w ere s pecifically f or t hose o f c ommoner o rigin . C ommoners c ould e ven r ise t o as tatus l ike t hat o f n obles, a r ank c alled q uauhpiplltin, t hrough a chievement i n warfare. Most y oung men, h owever, would l eave t he r anks o f w arriors i n t heir twenties

t o m arry a nd b ecome o rdinary c itizens ( Carrasco 1 971 :

S oustelle 1 961: A t

3 56-59;

1 67-173).

t he c enter o f M exico-Tenochtitlan a nd o ther c ities w as a c ivil-

r eligious c omplex w hich i ncluded t he t ecpan ( administrative p alace), a walled p recinct c ontaining t he main a nd s ubsidiary t emples a nd a m arket s quare . T he c ity o f T enochtitlan was d ivided i nto f our quarters b y f our a venues e xtending i n t he c ardinal d irections f rom t he c entral c eremonial p recinct . T hese g reat q uarters o f T enochtitlan w ere n amed T eopan , M oyotlan , C uepopan a nd A tzacualco . E ach h ad a l arge t emple, o r p ossibly a n e ntire c omplex t hat r eproduced t hat o f t he c ity c enter o n a s maller s cale ( Lombardo d e R uiz 1 973 : 1 59) . I t i s B asin o f M exico c ities w ere a lso d ivided i nto f our, d istricts ( Bray 1 972 :

1 64-65).

p ossible t hat o ther o r e ven f ive o r s ix

C ities w ere f urther s ubdivided i nto

w ards o r b arrios c alled c alpulli o r t iaxillacalli . T he t laxillacalli h as b een i dentified a s a s ubdivision o f t he c alpulli, c omposed o f a f ew h ouseholds o f r elated f amilies ( Lombardo d e R uiz 1 973 : 1 33) . C alnek h as i dentified t laxillacalll a s t he t erm f or b arrio, a l ocational r eference, while c alpulli r eferred t o a t ype o f " corporate, l ocalized s ocial g roup" t o which i ndividuals b elonged ( 1974: 3 21-22). T he c alpulli m ay h ave o riginated a nd h ave c ontinued t o b e c onceived o f a s a g roup

o f

r elated

p ersons,

t hough

i ts

membership

e ncompassed

s ome

d iversity. Each

c alpulli

h ad

i ts

own

t emple,

which

p rovided

a l ocus

o f

a ctivities f or t he c ommunity . T he t emple h oused t he l ocal p atron d eity ( calpulteotl) a nd a djacent b uildings i ncluded t he r esidence o f t he c alpulli l eader a nd t he t elpochcalll o r y oung men 's s chool. A s mall p laza p rovided a n a rea f or a market a nd f or g roup r itual a ctivities. F or m ost m embers o f t he c ommunity, a ctivities w hich t ook t hem o utside o f t heir o wn h ouseholds t ook p lace I n t he c alpulli t emple a rea ( Calnek 1 973 : 3 22-23; L ombardo d e R uiz 1 973 : 1 32 , 1 65). T he l ands o f t he c alpulli

were

h eld

i n

common

by

i ts

members,

and

i t

was

t he

r esponsibility o f t he c alpulli l eader ( calpullec) t o o versee t he d istribution a nd p roper u se o f t he l ands a nd t o m aintain t he p ictorial r ecords

k ept o f

t he

p arcels .

F urther d uties

i ncluded

r epresenting

t he

members o f t he c alpulli b efore t he s tate b eaurocracy a nd j udiciary ( Zorita 1 963: 1 10). I t a ppears t hat, a t l east t o s ome e xtent, b arrios i n major u rban c enters

l ike

T enochtitlan

were

a ssociated

s pecialized g roups ( Nonz6n 1 949:

1 2

4 7-51).

with

o ccupationally

X ipe T otec,

a d eity

t hat

a ppears

f requently

i n

t he

f estival

s ection o f

t he

B orbonicus,

was

p atron o f g oldsmiths a nd was v enerated b y r esidents o f t he b arrio o f Y opico a t a t emple b earing t hat n ame ( Sahagf in 1 950-82 , b ook 2 : 5 7-58 ; S oustelle 1 961: 6 7-68). X ipe Totec was a d eity o f u niversal i mportance; d eities more s pecifically a ssociated w ith o ccupational g roups l ike H uixtocihuati, t he p atroness o f s alt m akers h onored i n t he f estival o f T ecuilhuitontli, o r Y acatecuhtli, p atron o f m erchants, d o n ot a ppear i n t he f estival s ection . S ahagf in 's a ccount o f t he f estivals i ndicates t hat t he c alpulli t emple, c alpulco, was t he l ocation f or r ituals o f a t l east s ome c raft g roups . A pparently when a c raft was p racticed i n more t han o ne b arrio, d ivisions ( Carrasco 1 971: A ccording

t o

r itual o rganizations c ut a cross w ard

3 65-66).

S ahagün ,

t wo

p aramount

p riests

( huehue

t lamacazque)

were c hosen b y t he r uler a nd o ther h igh o fficials, e ach r eceiving t he t itle q uetzalcoatl . O ne, t he T otec T lamacazqui ( priest o f o ur l ord), was dedicated t o the s ervice o f t he Mexica p atron d eity, H uitzilopochtli; t he o ther, T ialoc T lamacazque, was t he p riest o f T ialoc, t he g od o f r ain . Among t he s taff o f p riests o f e ach t emple, o ne was p articularly d edicated t o a nd n amed f or t he p atron d eity o f t hat t emple . T hese two h igh p riests a pparently s erved i n t he T emplo M ayor , t he g reat t win t emples d edicated t o H uitzilopochtli a nd T laloc t hat were a t t he h eart o f t he c eremonial p recinct i n T enochtitlan ( Sahag iT h 1 950-82 , b ook 3 : 6 9) . T hat s ecular o fficials w ere o f a h igher r ank t han p riests i s s uggested b y t he f act t hat t he r uler a nd c ouncillors a ppointed

t hese h igh p riests ( Calnek 1 973:

T he T emplo M ayor p recinct, t emples o f o ther c ities,

a nd t he p recincts

w ere t he

3 20).

s urrounding

l oci o f n umerous a ctivities ,

t he m ain r anging

f rom t he c omplex r eligious a nd c ivil c eremonies o f t he a nnual f estival c ycle t o t he marking o f t he d ivisions o f t he day b y t he p riests. S ahagc in e numerates a v ariety o f p riestly o fficials who o versaw t hese a ctivities, i ncluding o ne c alled t he e pcoaquacuiltzin , who " had c harge o f a ll t he f easts o f t he c alendar a nd o f a ll t he c eremonies which h ad t o b e c arried o ut i n t hem" ( 1938, I : 2 38). Among t he d uties o f t his o ffice w as o verseeing t he N ew F ire C eremony, t he " binding o f t he y ears" ( Sahag( in 1 950-82 , b ook 2 : 2 07), s uggesting t hat t he e pcoacuiltzin w as t he c entral calendrical a uthority o f t he s tate ( Soustelle 1 961: 5 4). T orquemada g ives t he t itle a s e pqualiztli, l ikewise emphasizing h is r ole i n t he c elebration o f t he " new y ear" ( 1975-77, I II : 2 11) . A nother i mportant p riestly o fficial was t he t laquimiloltecuhtli o r t reasurer w ho h ad c harge o f t he r eligious i mplements, c ostumes a nd s tores o f t he t emples, a s well a s o f t he l ands a nd t ributes t hat s upported t he t emples . T he r eligious c enters o f T enochtitlan a nd o ther c ities w ere s upported b y t ribute ( Soustelle 1 961:

f rom c ommunities a llocated t hem b y t he r ulers

5 3-54).

T he p riests a nd t he o ffspring o f t he n obility w ere e ducated i n t he c almecac, p riestly s chools a ttached t o c ertain t emples . O nly s ix o f t hese s chools e xisted i n T enochtitlan ( Monz6n 1 949: 7 7). S ahagün i ndicates t hat t he c hildren o f t he p oor ( motolinia) c ould a lso b e t rained

i n t hem ; h e f urther s tates t hat t he o ffspring

i n f act h ope t o h old t he o ffice o f h igh p riest 6 9). The s pecialists i n r eading t onalamatl, were c alled t onalpouhque .

1 3

o f t he p oor c ould

( 1950-82,

b ook 3 :

6 3,

t he divinatory a lmanac, t he T he t onalpouhque m ay a lso h ave

b een

t rained

i n

t he

p riestly

s chools,

which must

h ave b een c enters o f

c alendrical l earning . S ahagc in s tates t hat t hese d iviners w ere h eld i n h igh r egard: " they e steemed a nd h onored t hem g reatly . T hey c onsidered t hem t o b e p rophets a nd k nowers o f f uture t hings..." ( 1950-82 , b ook 4 : 1 42). T he t onalamati was u sed t o d etermine when t o c arry o ut a gricultural a ctivities, b usiness t ransactions, marriages a nd o ther a ctivities ( Durán 1 967, I : 2 27). T he t onalpouhqui was c alled f or b y t he p arents a fter t he b irth o f a c hild t o r ead i ts f uture i n t he t onalamati a nd t o s et t he d ay f or t he b athing r itual f or t he n ewborn . F or t his s ervice t he d iviner r eceived a s ubstantial o ffering o f f ood. T hat t his s ervice was p erformed f or e very c hild b orn s uggests t hat t here were a l arge number o f t hese d iviners. I t i s n ot c lear i f t hey s erved I n l ocal t emples o r w ere i ndependent ( Sahagin 1 950-82 , b ook 6 : 1 97-99). S creenfold

b ooks

a nd

o ther d ocuments

w ere c learly i mportant

i n a

n umber o f w ays t o t he f unctioning o f p reconquest s ociety . T ribute a nd l egal r ecords w ere maintained i n t he t ecpan ( administrative p alace), a nd t he r ulers u sed maps a nd h istorical d ocuments a s well . N oble f amilies l ikewise a ppear t o h ave m aintained t heir o wn h istorical w orks . While m ost manuscripts w ould h ave b een l egible o nly t o t hose e ducated i n t he c almecac, i ncluding n obles, p riests a nd d iviners, s ome p ictorial d ocuments h ad a w ider u se . L and r ecords, f or e xample, w ere m aintained b y w ard h eadmen, a nd k nowledge o f h ow t o r ead t hem w as l ikely s hared b y o ther members o f t he c alpuill. Merchants must h ave u sed maps a nd d ocuments f or r ecord k eeping ( D . R obertson 1 959 : 2 9-33) . A lthough t he a rt o f r eading t he t onalamati must h ave b een p racticed

o nly b y p riests

a nd d iviners, t hese d ivinatory c alendrical s creenfolds m ust h ave b een v ery numerous a nd a vailable I n a wide variety o f l ocations. T he p riestly s chools, l ike t he s ix c almecac i n T enochtitlan , w ere c enters f or t heir s tudy a nd p ossibly f or t heir p roduction, a nd i mportant p riests l ike t he e pcoaquacuiltzif l must h ave u sed t hem t o t ime f estivals . T hey must h ave b een f ound i n e very c ommunity, l arge o r small, a nd must h ave b een i n t he p ossession o f e very d iviner . T heir u se f or t he o ccurrences o f d aily l ife s uch a s n aming a fter b irth must h ave meant t hat e very c itizen w as f amiliar w ith t heir a ppearance a nd w ith t heir f unction,

a t l east

i n a g eneral w ay.

1 4

C HAPTER I V T HE M EXICAN C ALENDAR T he

b asic

f unctioning

o f

t he

M exican

c alendar,

a s

c urrently

u nderstood, i nvolved t he s imultaneous c ounting o f t he d ays i n two s ystems. T he t onalpohualli, " counting o f t he d ays," was a 2 60-day d ivinatory c ycle, which s eems t o h ave h ad a n early p an-Mesoamerican d istribution, a nd a great t ime d epth, p erhaps b ack t o t he P reclassic ( Olmec) p eriod . T he d ays were a lso c ounted i n a 3 65-day c ycle, t he x ihuitl o r x iuhpohualli, " counting o f t he y ears," a pparently a s olar y ear . T hese t wo c ycles c ombined t o f orm a l arger u nit, c omposed o f 7 3 t onalpohualli c ycles ( 52 y ears), a fter w hich t he c ycles w ould r epeat. T he t onalpohualli c ycle s eems t o h ave b een t he f undamental a nd most i mportant way o f c ounting t ime . T he c ycle was f ormed b y t he c ombination o f twenty d ay n ames w ith t he n umbers f rom o ne t o t hirteen, s o t hat e ach d ay w as d esignated b y a n ame a nd a n umeral ; a s pecific d ay would r ecur o nly a fter 2 60 d ays ( 20 x 1 3 = 2 60). T he c ount o f t hese days was k ept u sing b ooks c alled t onalamatls; p p. 3 -20 o f t he B orbonicus c ontain , a s n oted a bove, a p ostconquest c opy o f s uch a b ook . E ach p age r epresents a t hirteen-day u nit o f t ime , f requently c alled a t recena

i n

t he

S panish

s ources,

p resenting

t he d ay

s igns

a nd

n umbers.

I n a ddition , s everal s eries ' o f g ods w ere a ssociated w ith t he d ays i n r epeating c ycles: t hirteen L ords o f t he D ays, t he T onalteuctin, e ach a ssociated with a v olatile ( bird o r b utterfly); n ine L ords o f t he N ight,

t he Y ohualteuctin;

a nd e ach o f t he twenty g roups o f t hirteen

d ays w as a ssociated w ith a g od o r r egent . E ach o f t he e lements o f t his s ystem, f rom t he d ay s ign t o t he r egents o f t he t recenas, e xercised a n i nfluence o ver e ach d ay, a s t he p osition o f c elestial b odies i nfluence e ach d ay i n o ccidental a strology . T he i nterpretation o f t hese i nfluences c onstituted a c omplex f orm o f d ivination , c arried o ut b y t he t onalpouhque o r d iviners. T hese s pecialists a ssigned d ay n ames t o c hildren, g ave p rognostications c oncerning t he b est d ays f or c ertain u ndertakings, a nd s erved a s t he c onfessors f or t he p eople, i n t he s ervice o f t he g oddess T lazolteotl ( Dur n 1 967 : 3 95-99; N icholson 1 971: 4 39-40;

t he

S ahagf i r i 1 950-82 :

b ook 1 ,

2 3-25).

T hus t he t onalpohualli p layed a g reater r ole I n t he d aily l ives o f A ztecs t han d id t he s olar y ear . I ts i mportance i s a lso r eflected

i n t he f act t hat i t w as a pparently u sed i n d etermining t he e xact d ays o f p lanting a nd h arvesting ( Durán 1 967 : 3 95-99), a nd t he f act t hat a ll k nown p reconquest c alendrical n otations a re g iven a s d ay d ates f rom t he t onalpohualli c ycle ( Kubler a nd G ibson : 4 0 ; B roda 1 969 : 2 8 ; B rown 1 977: 5 2). T he t he

f act

manner

t hat

i n

t he

which

t onalpohualli f unctioned i t

i s

d escribed

i n

t he

b efore

t he C onquest

C olonial

s ources

i n i s

d emonstrated b y t he c oncordance o f t he p reconquest M ixtec t onalamatls a nd t he C olonial c opies o f A ztec t onala t natis ( see C aso 1 967, a nd S eler 's

c ommentary

o n

t he

C odex

B orgia

f or

e xamples) .

H owever,

t here

i s n o p reconquest i nformation o n t he f unctioning o f t he s olar y ear. T he c learest p reconquest e vidence f or i ts f unctioning a nd l ength i s t he f act t hat y ears w ere c ounted i n t erms o f t onalpohualli d ays w hich m ust h ave b een

s eparated

f rom

o ne a nother b y

1 5

i ntervals o f

3 65 d ays .

I f t he

d ay s igns u sed t o n ame t he y ears w ere s eparated f rom o ne a nother b y 3 65 d ays, t hen o nly f our o f t hese d ay s igns, s eparated f rom e ach o ther b y f ive n umbers, c ould h ave b een u sed t o d esignate t he y ears, b ecause 3 65 c annot b e e venly d ivided b y t wenty a r emainder o f f ive i s l eft o ver . -

-

T his i s i n f act t he c ase, t he y ear n ames b eing C alli ( house), T ochtli ( rabbit), A cati ( reed), a nd T ecpatl ( Flintknife); t hese a re u sually r eferred t o a s Y ear B earers. F urther, 3 65 i s n ot e venly d ivisible b y t hirteen ( i .e ., t he n umbers w hich w ere c ombined w ith t he d ay s igns) a r emainder o f o ne i s l eft o ver . T hus, t he n umber a ssociated w ith e ach Y ear B earer i ncreased b y o ne e very t ime i t o ccurred i n t he c ycle ( see Table I ). T he c ycle o f 5 2 y ears was d ivided i nto f our g roups o f t hirteen y ears e ach; t hese a re n ot s equences o f y ears, b ut r ather a ll -

-

t he y ears o f a p articular s ign o ccurring i n ax iuhmolpilli, o r 5 2-year " century." E ach o f t hese s o-called t lapilli was a ssociated w ith a d irection, a nd with g eneralized p ortents a bout t he n ature o f t hese y ears ( Sahag in 1 950-82 , b ook 4 ; 1 37-38 ; D urán 1 971: 3 88-93). A t t he end o f e ach 5 2 y ear c ycle, a major f estival c alled T oxluhmolpilli o r " binding o f t he y ears" was c elebrated I n t he Valley o f Mexico . T he C odex B orbonicus c ontains t he most i mportant e xtant d epiction o f t his c eremony . T he o nly o ther d epiction a ppears i n t he i llustrations o f t he F lorentine C odex, b ook 7 ( Figures 5 5-58) ( see pp. 1 05-109 b elow). U nlike t he t onalpohualli, which w as d ivided i nto t wenty g roups o f named a nd n umbered d ays, t he x iuhpohualli was d ivided i nto o nly e ighteen g roups o f twenty d ays e ach, w ith f ive d ays o f s pecial s ignificance l eft o ver . l iterature a s " months,"

T hese d ivisions a re u sually r eferred t o i n t he b y a nalogy w ith t he d ivisions o f t he E uropean

s olar y ear . A ithogh S ahag( in a nd o ther w riters a pply t he t erm m etztli ( moon) t o t hese d ivisions, s uggesting a f urther a nalogy w ith t he E nglish w ord, u ncertainty a bout t heir e xact n ature m akes t he u se o f t he r elatively n eutral S panish w ord v eintena ( twenty) t he m ost a ppropriate a vailable i n t he l iterature . ( Brown n otes t hat i n S ahagün 's P rimeros Memoriales, t he word metztli i s u sed o nly t o r efer t o months o f t he E uropean c alendar ( 1977:

1 12)).

T he f ive r emaining d ays o f t he y ear, c onsidered t o b e u nlucky a nd p rognosticative. " useless"

o r

" profitless."

D uring

t his

t he n emontemi, were T hey a re d escribed a s

t i m e,

t he

A ztecs

f asted,

p erformed a utosacrifices, a nd a voided a ll b ut t he m ost n ecessary a ctivities b ecause i t was c onsidered a d angerous t ime . T hose b orn d uring t hese d ays w ere o stracized, a ny w ho b ecame i ll were a ssumed t o b e t erminally s o, a nd i t w as b elieved t hat f or t hose who q uarrelled, t he y ear would b e f ull o f s uch c onflicts ( Durán 1 971: 4 69; S ahagün 1 950-82 :

b ook

2 ,

3 5 a nd 1 57-58).

T he E arly C olonial s ources o n t he A ztec c alendar i ndicate t hat t here was a n a nnual c ycle o f e ighteen f estivals a ssociated w ith t he e ighteen v eintena d ivisions o f t he 3 65-day y ear . T he a ccounts o f t he f estival c ycle a nd t he n ames a ssociated w ith t he p eriods a nd c eremonies v ary i n s o many w ays t hat n o e stablished . H owever , t he f act

u nitary s ystem c an b e d efinitively t hat t here w as a w idespread f estival

c alendar w ith a s imilar s tructure i n most a reas i s i ndicated b y t he f act t hat more t han h alf o f t he p eriods h ave o nly o ne name, n o major v ariants b eing r ecorded. N ot a ll o f t he q uestions c ontradictions i n t he s ources a re g ermane t o t he t opic

1 6

r aised b y t he o f t his s tudy,

w hich

i ntends

o nly

t o d emonstrate

t hat

c oherent, l ocalized f estival c ycle, r elated t o t he a gricultural y ear. 6

t he

C odex B orbonicus d epicts a

emphasizing

t hose o bservances

A n I ssue w hich h as b een d iscussed i n r elation t o t he B orbonicus i s t he b eginning o f t he s olar y ear . T he i ssue i s c omplicated b y t he f act t hat Y ear B earer s igns a ppear w ithin t he d epictions o f s ome o f t he f estivals: t he s ign C e T ochtli ( 1 R abbit) a ppears o n p g.

2 3 1 ., i n t he

f irst depiction; t he s ign Ome A cati ( 2 R eed) a ppears o n p g. 3 4, t he s ixteenth c eremony d epicted t his p age c ontains t he N ew F ire C eremony d epiction , w hich w as c arried o ut i n t he y ear n oted ; a nd t he s ymbol Y ei -

-

T ecpatl ( 3 F lintknife) a ppears o n p g. 3 7 a nd t hus a t t he b eginning o f t he c ycle o f 5 2 y ears d epicted o n p p . 3 7 a nd 38 a nd t he missing p p. 3 9 a nd 4 0 . T he s ymbol 3 F lintknife i s s lightly s eparated f rom t he r est o f t he y ear s igns, a nd i s r elated t o t he mirror-image r epeat o f t he f estival d epiction f rom p g . 2 3 1 . T he f irst y ear s ign i n t he c onnected s eries on pp. 3 7 t o 4 0 i s N ahui C alli ( 4 H ouse); t hus t he t hree y ear s igns t hat a ppear

w ithin t he

f estival d epictions , h ave

t o b e c onsidered

p art o f t his y ear c ount i f i t i s t o b e c omplete.'

w ays.

C aso suggests t hat t his o rganization c an b e i nterpreted i n two T he f irst r eading i s t he m ore c omplex; T he y ear 1 R abbit, e nds with t he month I zcalli [ pg.

2 3 1 .];

t he f ollowing y ear, c alled 2 R eed, b egins w ith t he month A ticahualo ( pg . 2 3 [ r .]), a nd i n t his y ear, i n t he month P anquetzaliztli, t akes p lace t he N ew F ire C eremony ( pg . 3 4) ; t his y ear, 2 R eed, e nds w ith t he month I zcalli ( pg. 3 7) a nd t hen f ollows t he y ear 3 F lint, a nd t he o thers w hich f orm t he c entury ( pp.

3 7

a nd 3 8)

( 1967:

F ollowing P aso y T roncoso ( 1898 :

4 5).

1 03),

C aso

i ndicates t hat h e p refers a

s impler r eading o f t he s ection : t hat t he manuscript i ndicates t hat t he f estivals r un i n t he o rder d epicted t hroughout t he 5 2-year c ycle , a nd t hat t he N ew F ire C eremony i s c elebrated i n t he y ear 2 R eed . T hus p g . 2 3

r .

( Izcalli)

i ndicates

t he

f irst

month o f t he y ear .

K ubler a nd

G ibson suggest t hat t he p resence o f t he N ew F ire C eremony makes i t u ncertain t hat t he n ormal s equence o f v eintenas a ppears ( 1951: 4 7); h owever t hey d o n ot e xplain why i ts a ppearance might d isturb t he p resentation o f t he v eintena c ycle , a nd I s ee n o r eason n ot t o a sssume t hat t he n ormal s equence i s p resent. Kubler a nd G ibson make t his s uggestion a s p art o f a n a nalysis w hich s uggests t hat t he o nly w elld ocumented y ear b eginnings l ay w ith A ticahualo ( associated w ith p g . 2 3 r . i n t he B orbonicus) o r T lacaxipehualiztli ( pg. 2 4 1 ). T heir c lose s tudy o f t he s ources s uggests t hat t he A ticahualo s ystem i s f ound m ost f requently i n a uthors r elated t o t he t radition o f S ahagin, while t he T lacaxipehualiztli s ystem i s f ound i n writings f rom c entering o n t he writings o f T orihio d e M otolinfa .

t he t radition F urther, t hey

d emonstrate t hat t he A ticahualo s ystem i s d ocumented p rimarily f rom t he Valley o f M exico, while t he T lacaxipehualiztli s ystem s hows a w ider d istribution,

m ainly f rom o utside

s uggests

t he

t hat

C uihuacan ,

y ear

p erhaps a s ystem

i n T enochtitlan, s ystem u sed

I zcalli

t he v alley

b eginning

t hat

( 1951 :

4 9-51) .

may r eflect

a ntedated

t he

N icholson

a s ystem

A ticahualo

u sed

s ystem

i n

u sed

a nd f rom w hich w as d erived t he Y ear B earer d esignating

i n t he V alley o f M exico

1 7

( 1974:

1 6-18).

I n

l ight

o f t he E uropean

i nfluence

f ound

i n t he v eintena s ection ,

i t m ight b e s uggested t hat a E uropean model a ffected t he o rder o f t he months i n t he B orbonicus. B rown n otes t hat t he F los S anctorum, a calendar that l isted C hristian f easts, began w ith N ovember, a nd i ts w oodcuts w ere " important s ources o f p rinted i mages i n t he N ew W orld" ( 1977 : 2 8-33) . F inally, s everal s ources ( S enz: 1 5 ; C odex T ellerlanoR emensis, f olio 4 2 r ecto) s tate t hat M otecuhzoma I I c hanged t he d ate o f t he o bservance o f t he N ew F ire C eremony f rom 1 R abbit t o

2R eed b ecause

1 R abbit w as a lways a t ime o f d rought a nd f amine . T his m ight b e u sed t o e xplain t he d istribution o f Y ear B earers i n t he v eintena s ection. T hat i s, 1 R abbit a ppears a t t he b eginning b ecause i t was t he a ctual b eginning o f t he c ycle, while 2 R eed a ppears o ver t he N ew F ire C eremony b ecause

t hat

w as

w hen

t he

c hange o f c ycles w as c eremonially o bserved .

T his s uggestion l ends f urther w eight

t o t he I zcalli

y ear b eginning .

A more i mportant q uestion f or t he t opic o f t his s tudy i s t he p resence o r a bsence o f i ntercalations i n t he c alendar . Motolinla s tates c learly t hat t here was n o i ntercalary day ( 1971: 4 4), b ut most l ater C olonial w riters a dvance v arious i ntercalary s chemes . T hese a re generally

r ejected b y c ontemporary s cholars ( e.g.

C aso 1 967,

B roda

1 969), i n p art b ased o n t extual c riticism, b ut p rimarily b ecause i ntercalary d ays s imply w ould n ot f it t he s ystem, which was b ased o n t he r elationship o f t he f undamental t onalpohualli c ount t o t he 3 65-day y ear. T his i s i mportant b ecause i t i s s uggested h ere t hat t he B orbonicus r epresents a c oherent l ocal c ycle

t ied

t o

e vents

i n t he

a gricultural y ear . H owever, i f t he r elationship o f t he f estival m onths t o t he s olar y ear c hanged o ver t he c ourse o f t ime, i t w ould b e d ifficult f or t hem t o c orrespond e xactly t o a grarian e vents . B roda a ddresses t his p roblem b y s uggesting t hat " the c orrespondence o f t he monthly f estivals t o t he n atural c ycle w as more i ndirect t han d irect" ( 1969 : 5 3) . S he n otes t hat t he f estivals w ere n ot u sually marked o nly b y t he c limactic o ccurrence, b ut t hat s maller p reparatory a nd c ommemorative f estivals were c elebrated, s eparated f rom t he main o bservance b y 2 0 ( or multiples o f 2 0) d ays.

A lso, i n as ociety whose

e conomy w as b ased o n a griculture, most r ites w ould b e c oncerned t o s ome e xtent o r a nother w ith f ertility, r ainfall a nd t he s uccess o f c rops: " these a ims

w ere e xpressed

i ndirectly

i n

t he

s ymbolism o f

t he g ods

a s

well a s I n t he g eneral c haracter o f t he c ult, a nd h ad l argely b een d isengaged f rom a c oncrete r elation t o t he s easonal c ycle" ( Broda 1 969: 5 3). I t i s p ossible t hat t he s olution t o t his p roblem l ies i n t he r ole o f t he t onalpouhqui ( diviners), s till v ery p oorly u nderstood . D ur n makes

c lear

t he

d ecisive

r ole

t he

t onalamati

p layed

I n

n ative

a gricultural p ractice: T hese c haracters [ i.e., t he t onalamati] a lso t aught t he I ndian n ations t he d ays o n which t hey w ere t o s ow, r eap, t ill t he l and, c ultivate c orn, weed, h arvest, s tore, s hell t he e ars o f c orn , s ow b eans a nd f laxseed . T hey a lways t ook i nto a ccount t hat i t h ad t o b e i n s uch a nd s uch a month, a fter s uch a nd s uch a f east, o n s uch a nd s uch a d ay, u nder s uch a nd s uch a s ign . A ll t his w as d one w ith s uperstitious o rder a nd c are .

I f c hili

a nother,

maize

was

n ot

s own o n

o n a nother,

a nd

1 8

s o

a c ertain d ay, f orth,

s quash on

i n d isregard

o f t he

o rderly c ount o f t he d ays, t he p eople f elt t here w ould b e g reat damage a nd l oss o f a ny c rop s own o utside o f t he e stablished o rder o f t he d ays. T he r eason f or a ll t his w as t hat s ome s igns w ere h eld t o b e g ood, o thers e vil, a nd o thers i ndifferent, j ust a s o ur a lmanacs r ecord t he s igns o f t he z odiac...

( 1971:

3 96;

1 967,

I :

2 26).

A lthough D ur n g oes o n t o s uggest t hat t he t imes o f s owing a nd h arvesting were d etermined b y t he d iviners w ith n o r egard f or t he w eather c onditions o r t he s tate o f t he c rops, b ut o nly a ccording t o t he s igns o f t he t onalamatl, i t must b e r emembered t hat h e w as d escribing a p ostconquest s ituation a s a n a dversary o f t he r eligious s ystem. T he d iviners ' i nterpretation o f t heir b ooks m ust h ave b een b ased o n s ocial, e conomic a nd e nvironmental f actors a s w ell a s o n r eligious b elief. T he r ole t hat d iviners m ay h ave p layed i n r eligious o bservances, a nd h ow i t may h ave d iffered f rom t hat o f t he p riests, h as n ot b een s tudied . t imed b y p remises .

H owever, i t s eems c lear t hat t he f estivals must h ave b een t he t onalamatl. T his c onclusion p roceeds f rom s everal T he t onalpohualli w as t he b asic c ount o f t ime,

g iving n ames

t o b oth days a nd y ears t he l ength o f t he s olar y ear, a nd t he " century," c an b e s aid t o h ave b een t imed i n t erms o f i ts c ount. T he t onalamatl w as i n f act t he o nly f ormal t ime-keeping m ethod k nown f or A ztec s ociety . I t i s k nown t hat i t w as u sed t o c hoose f avorable d ates f or i mportant p ersonal a ctivities . I t s eems o nly r easonable t hat i t would h ave b een u sed t o s elect f avorable d ates f or i mportant p ublic -

-

a ctivities l ike f estivals a s w ell, p articularly s ince i t w as u sed t o g uide a gricultural a ctivities which w ere a major c oncern a ddressed b y t he f estivals. F inally, i t s eems p ossible t hat i n s etting a d ate f or a n a gricultural f estival 's o bservance, a d iviner w ould h ave b een g uided b y n atural c onditions, f ates i ndicated

t he weather a nd t he c rops,

a s well a s b y t he

f or t he d ays i n t he t onalamatl.

N OTES 6 .

A n umber o f s pecifically c alendrical p roblems r egarding t he s olar y ear e xi t i n t he l iterature which d o n ot d irectly c oncern t he B orbonicus d epictions . T he p osition o f t he c limactic f estival d ay within t he v eintena i s g iven d ifferently i n v arious K ubler a nd G ibson ( 1951 s uggest t hat t here a re d oubts a s

s ources. t o w hich

d ay i t w as, while b oth C aso ( 1967) a nd B roda ( 1969) c onclude i t was t he f inal d ay o f t he month . T he d epictions o f t he f estivals i n t he B orbonicus a re n ot c orrelated w ith d ays, a nd i n m ost c ases o nly a s ingle r ite a ppears . T he p osition o f t he n emontemi w ithin t he y ear h as y et t o b e d etermined. N o d epiction o f t he n emontemi a ppears i n t he C odex B orbonicus . D epictions o f t his p eriod a ppear i n t he C odex T elleriano-Remensis ( Fol. 7 ), t he T ovar C alendar ( Kubler

a nd

G ibson

M agliabechiano ( Fol. 7 .

1 951:

P l.

I n t his p aper, p ages i n t he i dentified b y n umber ,

a nd

t hey d epict,

a nd

p erhaps

i n

f estival

s ection o f

t he

t he

C odex

m anuscript a re

i n t he c ase o f p ages d ivided

1 . ( left) o r r . ( right) a s well. a nd w hat

X IV),

9 2).

t wo,

b y

S ee T able V f or a l ist o f p ages

a nd F igures 4 -22 .

1 . 9

i n

C HAPTER V T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS T he major a ctivities o f p ublic r eligious l ife i n A ztec s ociety w ere t he f estivals t hat t ook p lace i n t he c ycle g overned b y t he 3 65-day s olar y ear, o r t he x iuhpohualli . T hese f estivals m ay b e d ivided i nto t hree t ypes: t hose p articularly d irected t o d eities o f w ater a nd mountains i n o rder t o a ssure r ain ; t hose d irected t o f ertility d eities, p articularly g ods o f m aize a nd t he e arth, t o a ssure t he g rowth o f c rops a nd a s uccessful h arvest; a nd t hose d edicated t o i ndividual d eities, u sually p atrons o f c ommunities o r o ccupational g roups ( Broda 1 969 : 2 4) . C ertain r ecurring f undamental r itual p atterns c an b e o bserved i n m ost o f t he f estivals, h owever . T he b asic e lements o f t he f estivals i ncluded p ublic d ances b y v arious g roups, t he s inging o f s acred s ongs, p rocessions, mock b attles a nd o ther " entertainments," o fferings o f f ood o r v aluable i tems, t he e ating o f s pecial f oods, s acrifices o f a nimal o r human v ictims, t he i mpersonation o f d eities b y p riests, n obles o r s acrificial v ictims, t he m aking o r r Lnovation o f i dols, a nd f asting a nd a utosacrifice . A lthough t he a ccounts u sually f ocus o n t he a ctivities c arried o ut i n t he s quares b efore t he main t emples, r elated e vents o ccurred I n s hrines o n m ountaintops a nd l akeshores, o r e ven o n t he l ake ( as a t t he whirlpool a t P antitlan), i n s maller c ommunity t emples, i n t he s treets o f t he c ommunities a nd i n p rivate h omes, a nd i n t he f ields. P ublic d ancing o n t he f easts was p erfor.ed n ot o nly b y t he p riests, b ut a lso b y n obles w earing t heir f inest c ostumes, w arriors i n a rray s uited t o t heir r ank, t he y ouths a nd maidens i n t he s chools a ttached t o t he t emples ( usually c hildren o f n obles), a nd b y c ommoners . T he m usic

f or t he f estivals w as p rovided b y s pecial p riests,

c uicanime,

u sing d rums, t urtle s hell a nd g ourd r attles, f lutes, whistles, a nd s hell a nd w ooden t rumpets . P rocessions w ere o ften c omposed o f p riestly d eity-impersonators, e specially i n f easts o r c eremonie" c onsidered t o b e d edicated t o " all t he g ods" ( like t he " binding o f t he y ears"). S ingle impersonators o f d eities t o whom s pecific f estivals w ere d edicated might a lso f requent t he s treets o r marketplace w ith t heir e ntourage i n t he m onths b efore t heir s acrifice . M ock b attles m ight b e f ought b y p articipants i n t he c eremonies, f or e xample t he s kin-wearers i n T lacaxipehualiztli, o r b y o ccupational g roups s uch a s m idwives o r w arriors ( Broda 1 970 : 1 99) . A lmost a ll c eremonies f eatured o fferings, u sually b rought t o t he l ocal t emples. T hese might i nclude maize, a maranth s eed, v arious b reads, c ertain w ild a nimals, r ubber-spattered p apers ( amateteuitl), b undles o f t orches, f lowers a nd c lothing . N obles s or ietimes o ffered c lothing a nd v aluables l ike j ewelry , t o a s pecific d eity 's t emple. A ll s acrifice .

i mportant

r ituals

w ere a ccompanied

b y

s ome

t ype o f d eath

T he m ost c ' ommon a nimal s acrifice w as t he b eheading o f q uail

( tlaquechcotonaliztli). H uman s acrifice w as p racticed o n a l arge s cale . War c aptives were s acrificed i n g reat numbers, a nd c hildren w ere p urchased

f or s acrifice

t o r ain d eities,

b ut t he r eal

f ocus o f

human s acrifice was o n s pecially c hosen c aptives o r s laves w ho w ere d ressed a nd r evered a s t he major d eities o f v arious f easts which c limaxed w ith t heir s acrifice . T he m ost f requent m ethod o f s acrifice was t he c utting o pen o f t he c hest w ith a s tone k nife a nd r ipping o ut

2 0

t he h eart, a fter which i t was o ffered t o t he s un a nd p laced i n a c eremonial v essel ( cuauhxicalli) . I n s ome c ases, d eity i mpersonators o r c aptives w ere f layed a nd t heir s kins t hen w orn b y p riests o r f estival p articipants . T he b odies o f w ar c aptives p articularly m ight b e r eturned t o r itual f east.

t heir c aptors v ia t he c alpulli t emples t o b e e aten i n a T he h eads were s truck o ff a nd p laced o n t he s kull r ack

( tzompantli) o f t he main w ere i nterred, h owever.

t emple .

V ictims

o ffered

t o

t he

r ain d eities

D uring a f east d edicated t o ap articular d eity, t he i dol i n t hat d eity 's t emple m ight b e d ressed i n n ew g arments; o ften t he b lood o f t he v ictims o ffered t o d eities would b e a pplied t o t heir i dols. I n s ome f easts, i dols o r d eity i mpersonators w ere e mbowered, a nd t emples a nd s hrines were s ometimes d ecorated w ith maize s talks, f ir b ranches o r f lowers . R itual d ecoration w ith p lants a lso o ccurred i n p rivate h omes a nd s treets . A number o f f estivals e ntailed t he making o f t emporary i dols o f d ough. F asts

p receded

m ost

o f

t he

f easts .

T hese

most

o ften

l asted

f our

d ays b ut c ould i nvolve f orty o r e ven e ighty d ays . L engthy f asts w ere u sually o bserved b y g roups o f p riests . O ther c eremonial p articipants f asted, a s well a s s ome s pecial g roups o f p enitents. V igils were u sually k ept t he n ight b efore major c eremonies, o ften i nvolving t he d eity i mpersonator who w as t o d ie . T he i mpersonator h ad t o d ie w illingly t o a void a b ad o men, a nd t hose w ho k ept w atch w ith h im o r h er e nsured t his, i f n ecessary, b y a dministering a n i ntoxicating b everage. A utosacrifice w as

a c ommon p art o f e veryday A ztec

r eligious

l ife,

a s well a s o f f estival o bservances. Maguey t horns were u sed t o d raw b lood f rom v arious p arts o f t he b ody, e specially t he e ar l obes . T he t horns were t hen s tuck i n a b all o f p laited g rass, o r t he b lood s pattered o n o fferatory p apers . A m ore e xtreme f orm o f a utosacrifice i nvolved c utting a h ole t hrough a p art o f t he b ody w ith a s tone k nife, a nd t hen p assing a s traw o r c ord t hrough t he o pening . A lthough p riests m ost o ften p erformed a utosacrifice, t his f orm o f p enitence w as p ractised b y o r o n a lmost e very m ember o f A ztec s ociety, f ro l l i i nfants t o t he r uler h imself. A nother u biquitous r eligious e lement w as t he b urning o f c opal i ncense . I n a ddition t o f iguring i n c eremonies i nvolving t he i ncensing o f i dols, d eity i mpersonators, a nd o ther r itual p erformers, i t w as u sed i n a d aily r egime o f i ncensing o f i dols a nd o f o ffering i ncense t o t he f our d irections i n v arious t emples. B alls o f c opal i ncense a re f requently m entioned a mong t he o fferings m ade a t t e m ples, a nd h ave b een f ound i n b uried o fferings . T he b est p ractice i s N icholson ( 1971). T he s tudy o f o ffers a n umber

s ummary a ccount o f

t he v eintena f estivals i n p reconquest o f p roblems. T he w ritteo s ources

A ztec

r eligious

C entral M exico t hat n e h ave

c oncerning t hem a re t he p roducts o f E uropean a ttempts t o u nderstand n ative c ulture . T he s ources t hat c an b e a ssigned t o s pecific a uthors w ere w ritten b y o r u nder t he d irection o f m issionaries . I n r ecording n ative c ulture, t hey n aturally a ttempted t o s ynthesize a nd a dapt i t t o E uropean p reconceptions. T he works o f S ahag6n, o ur most e xtensive s ource, s how t he i nfluence o f E uropean t raditions o f o rganizing a nd

2 1

r ecording i nformation i n a n e ncyclopedic f ormat ( D . 1 69-72). T he motives o f t he f riars i n c onsidered . C ertainly t hey , a s w ell a s

R obertson 1 959:

t heir w ritings must a lso b e s ome o f t he C onquistadors a nd

c olonists, a dmired n ative s ociety . T o s ome e xtent t hey w ished t o r ecord v anishing n ative c ulture b ecause t hey p erceived i ts v alue a nd u niqueness; s ome e ven r egarded i t a s h aving a n obility l acking I n t heir o wn c ulture . H owever, t heir p rimary m ission w as t o c onvert t he I ndians t o C hristianity. T hey f elt, a nd o ften s tated i n t heir w orks, t hat a t horough k nowledge o f n ative c ulture w as n ecessary t o p revent d isguised i dolatry f rom a ppearing i n t he p ractice o f t he n ew r eligion b y t he n atives . T hese p rejudices a nd motives must b e t aken i nto a ccount w hen u sing t he E arly C olonial s ources o n t he v eintenas. T he s ituation i n p ostcon4uest M exico a lso a ffected t he s ources. T he p opulation w as d ecimated b y n ew d iseases i ntroduced f rom E urope . T he C onquest t ook a p articularly h eavy t oll o f t he e ducated u pper c lasses . A lthough n obility w as t o s ome e xtent h ereditary, t he h ighest h onors w ere r eserved f or s uccessful w arriors . E ven t he r ulers h ad t o e ngage i n m ilitary c ampaigns b efore t aking o ffice . T he p riests w ere w arriors a s w ell, a nd h ad t heir own s ystem o f m ilitary r anking . T hus many o f t he b est p otential i nformants d ied i n t he c onflict w ith t he S panish. O bviously, t he C onquest a nd t he missionary a ctivity t hat f ollowed i t d isrupted t he f unctioning o f n ative r eligious s ystems. P ublic p ractice o f n ative r eligion e nded, e xcept i n d isguised f orms. T he n atives w ould h ave b een r eluctant t o c ommunicate t heir b eliefs t o t he c onquerors,

i n s ome c ases o ut o f l oyalty t o t heir o ld

f aith, i n

o thers f rom f ear o f c ondemnation . T hus t he f riars would h ave b een c ollecting i nformation a bout a r eligious s ystem t hat w as n o l onger f unctioning. Many o f t hose b est i nformed a bout i t were d ead, a nd p articularly i n t he c ase o f l ater w riters, t heir i nformation w ould h ave b een c ollected a t s econd h and . T he m issionaries t hemselves w ere v ery mobile ;

t hey c ollected a nd s ynthesized i nformation f rom d ifferent a reas

i n t heir a ccounts. F inally, t he p ractice o f r eligion i n p reconquest C entral M exico a ffects t he s ources .

A s n oted

a bove,

t he c alendar a ppears

t o h ave

f unctioned i n t he s ame g eneral w ay i n a ll a reas . W e h ave m any l ists o f f estivals, r ecorded i n av ariety o f p laces, a nd m ore t han h alf o f t he n ames a ppear w ithout m ajor v ariants ( Caso 1 967, T able 1 0) . A s C aso h as n oted, t he o rder o f t he f estivals i n m ost s ources d oes n ot v ary ( 1967.:50). T here w as, h owever, great v ariation i n l ocal r eligious p ractice . C limate a nd geography r equire v ariations i n a gricultural p ractices i n d ifferent s ections o f t he V alley o f M exico; t his w ould a ffect a f estival c ycle c oncerned w ith a griculture ( Kubler a nd G ibson 1 951:

5 3).

a nother

F estivals

s ource o f

d edicated

t o

l ocal

p atron

d eities

w ould

b e

v ariation .

P olitical f actors a lso a ffected t he f estivals .

A t t he t ime t he

M exica A ztecs migrated i nto t he V alley o f M exico, m ost c ommunities w ere a utonomous c ity-states. A lthough w arfare b etween t hem w as c onstant, a nd s everal w ere r uled b y g roups o f C hichimecs w ho h ad m igrated t o t he v alley p rior t o t he M exica , t he b asis o f l ife a nd r eligion m ust s till h ave b een a griculture . T he r eligion o f t he a griculturalists r esident i n

t he v alley was p robably a dopted a nd

2 2

m odified

b y e ach s ucceeding

g roup o f s tyle.

n omads,

A n umber

o f

i ncluding

r ecent

t he

s tudies

M exica ,

h ave

a s t hey a dopted

f ocussed

o n

t he

a s ettled

l ife

p ossible c hanges

t hat o ccurred i n r eligious p ractice a s i t w as a dapted t o t he n eeds o f t he t ribute e mpire b uilt b y t he M exica . B roda ( 1970) h as a nalyzed t he a spects o f t he T lacaxipehualtztli c eremonies t hat r eflect t he c oncerns o f a griculturalists v ersus t hose t hat s erved military a nd i mperial f unctions . T he T epanec k ingdom w as t he m ost i mportant i n t he v alley t he

r eal

b eginning o f t heir t ribute empire . B rown ( n d.) h as s uggested t his v ictory i s r eflected i n t he X ocotlhuetzi f estival.

w hen

t he

M exica

a rrived ;

t heir

c onquest

o f

A zcapotzalco

w as

t hat

T he c omplex e xchange o f c ultural t raits t hat o ccurred i n t he V alley o f M exico d uring t he A ztec p eriod i s a nother r eason f or t he variation i n l ocal r eligious p ractice . E ven a fter t he e ntire valley c ame u nder t he c ontrol o f t he T riple A lliance e mpire, r eligious v ariation c ontinued . T he A ztec e mpire w as a t ribute e mpire . I n most c ases, t he l ocal a ristocracy c ontinued t o r ule, t hough t hey w ere f orced t o p ay t ribute t o t he empire . A fter c onquering a c ity, t he A ztecs w ould b ring a n i dol o f t he l ocal p atron d eity b ack t o a s pecial t emple i n T enochtitlan, a nd f orced t he c ommunity t o h onor H uitzilopochtli, t he s pecial p atron o f t he M exica . B ut t hey d id n ot e nforce r eligious c onformity i n t he e mpire .

2 3

C HAPTER V I O THER E ARLY C OLONIAL I LLUSTRATIONS O F T HE V EINTENA F ESTIVALS T he C odex B orbonicus i mages a re u nique among E arly C olonial d epictions o f t he v eintena f estivals i n t hat o nly p ictorial m eans a re u sed t o p resent i nformation, a s was d one i n t he n ative t radition, without d ependence o n a ccompanying t exts . A ll t he o ther d epictions, w ith t he e xception o f t he S ahaguntine m aterials ( which p resent s pecial p roblems), a re e xtremely a bbreviated a nd s erve o nly a s i llustrations f or explanatory t exts i n S panish which carry the bulk o f t he i nformation . A side f rom t he B orbonicus, t here a re f ive o ther major s ixteenth c entury manuscripts o r g roups o f m anuscripts which i nclude i llustrations o f t he v eintena f estivals: t he M agliabechiano G roup o f manuscripts; t he i ncomplete C odex T ell e riano—Remensis a nd I ts c opy, t he C odex R ios o r V aticanus A ; t he i llustrations f rom F ray D iego D urán 's h istorical a nd r eligious w ritings; t he T ovar C alendar a nd i ts c ognate b ound w ith t he K alendario Mexicano, L atino y C astellano; a nd t he S ahaguntine m anuscripts, t he P rimeros Memoriales a nd t he F lorentine Codex ( see T able I II) . A ll o f t hese manuscripts a re i n E uropean b ook f orm, o n E uropean p aper. K ubler a nd G ibson ( 1951: 3 9-41) h ave c lassified t he s ixteenth c entury m ethods o f d epicting t he v eintena f estivals i nto f ive t ypes: s imultaneous i llustration , w here s everal d istinct r ites a ppear a s o ne p ictorial u nit; a nalytical I llustration , w here e ach s tage o f t he r itual f orms a s eparate p ictorial u nit; emblematic i llustration, where a s ingle c ostumed f igure e ngaged i n a c eremonial a ction r epresents t he p eriod t his f igure i s r arely t o b e i dentified a s t he p atron d eity ; t heomorphic i llustration , where e laborately c ostumed f igures o f t he p atron d eities s ymbolize t he f estival; a nd i deographic I llustration , where t he p eriod i s i ndicated b y a n a bbreviated p ictorial s ymbol. -

-

S ubsequent d etailed s tudies o f i ndividual manuscripts h ave d emonstrated c ases i n w hich K ubler a nd G ibson c lassified i mages i ncorrectly w ithin t his s chema ( e.g. B aird 1 979 : 1 03-105; t he p resent s tudy). H owever t his s ystem r emains a u seful t ool f or s everal k inds o f a nalysis . I t p ermits t he d efining o f d ifferences b etween m anuscripts c loser t o t he n ative t radition o f r ecording i nformation a nd t hose f urther r emoved f rom i t o n ab roader c ompositional l evel, r ather t han s olely t hrough c omparing t he s tyles i n which t he i ndividual f igures a re d rawn . M anuscripts c loser t o t he n ative t radition , s uch a s t he B orbonicus a nd S ahagün 's P rimeros M emoriales i llustrations, c ontain a l arge p ercentage o f i llustrations t hat c an b e c lassified u nder t he c ategory o f s imultaneous i llustration .

T hose s omewhat f urther r emoved,

s uch a s t he

C odex T eller i ano—Remensis a nd t he m anuscripts o f t he M agliabechiano G roup, may h ave f igures b eautifully r endered i n s tyles c lose t o t he n ative t radition , b ut t he v eintena i llustrations a re o f t he t heo tnorphic t ype . T hese s how t he e ffects o f European s implification a nd c odification o f n ative r eligion i n t he f ocus o n a s ingle p atron d eity f or e ach " month ." T he c lassification o f t he i llustrations o f t he D ur r i manuscript

a s e mblematic

f ocuses

o n t he a bsence o f d epictions o f d eity

impersonators o r i dols i n t hem, a q uality t hey s hare w ith t he i llustrations o f t he F lorentine C odex . T hese w orks a re a pproxi t hately

2 4

contemporary and European influence is predominant in the styles of their illustrations. The ideographic category applies to the crude illustrations of late works like the Codex Mexicanus (Mengin, 1952) and Serna's Manual, which are not useful for comparisons with the Codex Borbonicus. The Kubler and Gibson classification is also useful for defining differences between cognate illustrations in related manuscripts, as in the case of the Codex Magliabechiano and the Codex Tudela. The major surviving pictorial manuscripts of the Magliabechiano Group are the Codex Magliabechiano itself, the Codex Tudela, also known a s the C6d i c e del M�s e o de Amer i c a (Madr i d), and the Codex Ixtlilxochitl, Part I. The reprsentations of the veintenas in the Codex Magliabechiano are primarily of the theomorphic type, with several noteworthy ehceptions. The illustration for Tlacaxipehualiztli (fol. 30 recto; Figure 60) depicts a jaguar warrior about to dispatch a victim in the gladiatorial sacrifice, while that for Huetozoztli (fol. 32 recto) shows offerings of several kinds of food and a maize deity's garment. When copying these illustrations from the prototype manuscript of the Magliab echiano Group, the Tudela artist added a figure of a deity to each one, Xipe Totec to Tlacaxipehualiztli and Xochiquetzal to Huetozoztli. The Codex Magliabechiano text for the f estival Xocotlhuetzi (fol. 37 verso) describes the figure atop the pole in the illustration opposite (fol. 38 recto; Figure 63) as "an Indian;" however, the figure wears the garb of the deity Otontecuhtli (Kubler and Gibson 1951: 28). Sacrifices to the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli were also carried out during this festival, and an image of this deity was added to the Codex Tudela illustration (fol. 20 recto). In these cases, the Codex Tudela artist may be said to have made his images conform more closely to the theomorphic type. The thirteenth veintena shown in the Magliabechiano, Pachtli or Teotleco, is illustrated with a depiction of two temple buildings, a sacrificial victim and a figure that may be identified as a priest (fol. 40 recto). The Tudela depiction adds only a ritual performer climb ing a pyramid (fol. 22 recto) (Boone 1983: 77-78). Fourteen of the Codex Magliabechiano veintena illustrations are thus of the theomorphic type. Of these fourteen, eleven show only the deity to whom the period was dedicated. Only three depict accompanying celebrants or attendants: Tecuilhuitl (fol. 35 recto); O chpaniztli (fol . 39 recto; Figure 64); and Huepachtli (fol. 41 recto). Although the veintena section of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis (1899) is not complete, the missing illustrations are know n through their copies in the Codex Rfos.9 The illustrations are all of the theornorphic type, with three exceptions: Huetecuilhuitl (Telleriano­ Remensis fol. 1 recto) is represented by a noble holding the jade disc s ign for "feast ;" Mi cc ailhui tont 1 i and Huem iccail hui t 1 (Tell er iano­ Remensis folios 2 recto and 3 recto; Figure 66) are each represented by a mummy bundle, though the decorations differ. None of the deiti.es depicted are sho wn accompanied by s ubsidiary f igures nor associated with separRte ceremonial instruments.

25

F ray D iego D urán ( ca . 1 537-1588), a D ominican m issionary w ho t ravelled w idely i n C entral M exico, c omposed h is h istorical, r eligious and c alendrical works c a . 1 576 t o 1 581 ( Dur n 1 964, 1 967 a nd 1 971).10 T he i llustrations o f t he f estival " months," f ound i n T ratado 3 o f h is work, " The A ncient C alendar," w ere o riginally p ainted i n r ectangular f rames a t t he t op o f e ach p age, w ith a b rief i ntroductory t ext b elow, t he w hole f lanked b y c olumns o f day s igns. A n umber o f t he l arger I llustrations I n h is T ratado 2 , " The B ook o f t he G ods a nd R ites," d epict c eremonial a ctivities f rom v eintena f estivals a ssociated w ith t he d eities d iscussed t herein ( e.g . F igures 7 0 , 7 2 , 7 3 a nd 7 5) . K ubler a nd G ibson s tate t hat t he method t hey d efine a s e mblematic i llustration c ommonly a ppears I n D ur n 's c alendrical i llustrations ( 1951 : 3 9) . T he majority o f t hese s how one o r s everal f igures ordinary native c ostumes, a re engaged i n

w ho, t hough wearing a s ingle a ctivity

c haracteristic o f t he f estival . O nly f ive o f t he i llustrations I nclude f igures t hat may b e I dentified a s d eities, o r i mpersonators o r i mages o f d eities . T hese a re T lacaxlpehualiztii ( 1967, l am. 3 7; c f. F igure 7 0); T oxcati ( 1967, l am. 4 0); Q uecholli ( 1967, l a i n. 4 8 ; c f . F igure 7 5; t he i llustration f or O chpanIztli ( Figure 7 4) s hows t he i dol o f T oci a top a p latform a t t he T ocititlan s hrine; a nd t he s econd o f two i llustrations

f or

t he

f inal

v eintena d epicts

a T laloc

i mage o r v essel

a top a h ill ( Figure 7 6). K ubler a nd G ibson n ote t hat many o f t he i llustrations T ratado 3 a lso i nclude a s ymbol o r i deograph f or t he p eriod . a re

s hown i n a l andscape s etting b elow,

w hile t he

i n D urân 's T he r ites

s ymbols a ppear a bove

a s c elestial a pparitions, s et o ff b y s emicircles o f c louds . Dur n i dentifies t hem a s c onstellations ( 1967, I : 2 47) . T he f ormat o f t hese a strological i mages was c opied f rom t hose i n g raduals o r o ther r eligious b ooks, p rinted i n F rance o r t he N etherlands a nd i mported I nto N ew S pain ( Brown 1 977: 2 76; L eonard 1 949). Kubler a nd G ibson s uggest t his " may h ave b een i ntended t o g ive s imultaneous r epresentation t o t wo d ifferent s ystems o f p eriod n ames ... T hese a lternate names o ften e xclude o ne a nother i n o ther a nd e arlier c alendar l ists" ( 1951: 4 0). T he works a ssociated

w ith t he

i nfluential J esuit

F ray J uan d e

T ovar ( 1541-1626) a re c losely r elated t o t hose o f h is k insman D ur n . T he two e xtant manuscript v ersions o f h is h istorical a nd r eligious w ritings, t he C odex R amirez ( Alvarado T ezozomoc a nd A nonymous 1 975) a nd t he J ohn C arter B rown L ibrary T ovar M anuscript ( Tovar 1 972) r eproduce much o f t he material i n D urán, while t he i llustrations i n t hese t wo manuscripts a ppear t o h ave b een i ndependently c opied f rom t hose i n D urán 's w ork .1 1 p resently b ound

T he T ovar C alendar ( Kubler a nd G ibson 1 951), a lthough w ith t he J ohn C arter B rown L ibrary T ovar M anuscript,

r epresents a g enerally i ndependent p roduction, c omposed a bout 1 585, w ith d rawings a nd c alendrical n otations d one p robably b y a n ative draftsman a nd with a c ommentary s ubsequently a dded i n a nother h and. A lthough s ome o f t he i llustrations s how a r elationship t o t hose o f D ur n 's c alendar, t hey a re f or t he most p art i ndependent ( Kubler a nd G ibson 1 951: 4 1). T he d rawings l ack t he r ectangular b orders a nd l andscape s ettings f ound i n t he D urán i llustrations o f t he " months," b eing i n t hese r espects l ess d ependent o n E uropean p rinted models. A lmost a ll o f t he T ovar d rawings a re o f t he emblematic t ype ( Figures 7 7-79) . T he s ingle f igures o n t he p ages a re c eremonial i nstruments o r c alendrical s igns

2 6

f requently a ccompanied b y i n a m anner r ecalling t he

s cattered a ttribute c omposition o f t he n ative t radition , a nd G ibson l ikewise r elate t his t o E uropean c alendrical ( 1951: 3 7_38 ) 11A

t hough K ubler i llustrations

T he i llustrations o f t he c alendar b ound w ith t he S ahaguntine manuscript k nown a s t he K alendario Mexicano, L atino Y C astellano ( Igufniz 1 918) s eem t o h ave b een c opied d irectly f rom t he T ovar C alendar, t hough t he i mages w ere s omewhat s implified i n c opying a nd n ot a ll a ppear. T he i llustrations were d rawn I n t he c enter o f t he p age, f lanked b y c olumns o f d ay s igns r esembling t hose I n Durán 's c alendar ( Kubler a nd G ibson 1 951:

6 6-67 a nd

t heir F igure

1 8 ;

I guIniz

1 918).

Two s trikingly d ifferent r epresentations o f t he v eintena f estivals a ppear i n t he S ahaguntine c orpus. T he P rimeros M emoriales m anuscript ( Sahagin 1 905) was c ompiled b y t he F ranciscan F ray B ernardino d e S ahagi in i n T epepulco ( Tepeapulco), H idalgo, a t own n ear t he A colhua c apital T excoco, t he f oremost c ultural c enter o f t he A ztec e mpire . T he manuscript w as p roduced u nder S ahagc in 's d irection b y a g roup o f y oung n ative m en w ho h ad b een e ducated a t t he F ranciscan C ollege o f t he H oly C ross

i n

T iatelolco,

u sing

i nformation

g athered

f rom

t he

n ative

n oblemen o f t he t own a nd f rom p ictorial m anuscripts ( Baird 1 979 : 1 62 0). T he v eintena i llustrations o f t he manuscript p resent a s ingle c omplex i llustration f or e ach f estival a ccompanied b y a s ingle p aragraph i n N ahuatl n aming a nd d escribing t he f east . T he F lorentine C odex ( Sahag n 1 938 , 1 950-82 , 1 956 a nd 1 979), t he f inal v ersion o f S ahag in 's e ncyclopedic w ork r ecording n ative c ulture, was p roduced i n T iatelolco c a . 1 575-80 . T he manuscript, d ivided i nto twelve b ooks, i s r ichly i llustrated a nd c ontains e xtensive t exts i n N ahuatl a nd w ritten i n t wo c olumns . T he v eintena i llustrations, f ound i n

S panish B ook 2 ,

p resent d ifferent c omponents o f t he r ites i n s eparate p anels within d ouble r ectangular b orders, e ach c ontaining only a f ew f igures. T he p anels a re d istributed t hroughout t he e xtensive t exts s ingly o r i n g roups o f two o r t hree . t he o nly E arly C olonial

T he i llustrations o f t he F lorentine C odex a re d epictions o f t he v eintena f estivals t hat f it

w ithin Kubler and G ibson 's c ategory o f a nalytical i llustration; t he P rimeros M emoriales i llustrations, l ike many o f t hose i n t he C odex B orbonlcus, a re c lassified b y t hem a s s imultaneous i llustration ( 1951: 3 9). T hough t he i llustrations i n t he F lorentine C odex a re much more e xtensive t han t hose o f t he P rimeros Memoriales f orty-nine -

-

i llustrations r epresent t he f estivals t hey a re a t t he s ame t ime l ess c omplete . T here a re n o i llustrations f or s everal o f t he c eremonies -

-

d iscussed i n t he t ext. M ost o f t he r est a re d epicted w ith o ne o r t wo s cenes, w hile o nly t hree a re d epicted a t l ength: T lacaxipehualiztli ( Figs. 4 1-44); Toxcatl ( Fig. 5 1); a nd I zcalli-Uauhquiltamalqualiztli . E qually n oteworthy i s t he r emarkable a bsence o f d eity i mpersonators a nd i dols . O nly t wo I llustrations I nclude w hat c an b e i dentified f ron t he t ext a s I dols: Huetozortli ( Figure 5 0) a nd T iaxochimaco ( Figure 5 4). O nly t hree o f t he i llustrations o r s equences o f i llustrations d epicting i ndividual v eintenas i nclude d eity ( Figure 4 5);

T oxcati ( Figure 5 1);

i mpersonators:

T lacaxipehualiztli

a nd T ecuilhuitontli

( Figure 5 2).

S ahagün 's P rimeros Memoriales a nd F lorentine C odex a ccounts o f t he v eintena f estivals a re s et a part f rom t he a ccounts i n t he g roups o f

2 7

manuscripts d iscussed a bove b y t heir e xplanatory t exts i n N ahuatl, r ather t han o r i n a ddition t o S panish, a nd b y t heir more e xtensive d epictions o f t he f estival a ctivities . A lthough t he i llustrations o f t he F lorentine C odex p resent a wider r ange o f d epictions o f t he p articipants i n c eremonies t han a ny o f t he m anuscripts i n t hese g roups, t heir d epartures f rom n ative s tyle a nd t heir mode o f p resentation m akes c omparison o f t hem w ith t he B orbonicus i llustrations p roblematic. 1 2 T he

i llustrations o f

t he v eintena

f estivals

i n

S ahag( in 's

P rimeros

M emoriales a re t he most c omparable t o t hose o f t he C odex B orbonicus i n t he e ntire c orpus o f E arly C olonial v eintena d epictions . T he f act t hat each f estival

i s i llustrated b y a c omplex s cene i ncluding n umerous

d eities o r i mpersonators, c elebrants a nd a rchitectural f eatures, a ll done i n a s tyle c lose t o t he n ative t radition, makes i t c learly c omparable t o t he B orbonicus . T he d etailed s tudy b y B aird ( 1979) h as d efined t he r elationship o f t he P rimeros M emoriales i llustrations t o n ative a nd E uropean t raditions, a nd p rovided a c lear b asis f or c omparison w ith t he B orbonicus.' T he P rimeros M emoriales m anuscript w as p repared o n E uropean p aper t o b e b ound i n b ook f orm,

b ut t he E uropean e lements i n t he d rawings a re

s ubtle a nd d o n ot v isually d isrupt t he o verall n ative s tyle o f t he d rawings ( Baird 1 979 : 1 52 ) . T he most o bviously E uropean e lement o f t he veintena s ection, a nd o f t he manuscript a s a whole, i s t he u se o f a n a lphabetic t ext. I n t he v eintena s ection, e ach p age i s v ertically d ivided

i n h alf,

t he N ahuatl

t ext a ppearing i n t he l eft c olumn , a ligned

w ith t he d rawing i n t he r ight c olumn .

T he d rawings,

t wo o r t hree

t o a

p age , a re e nclosed a nd h orizontally d ivided b y r ed r ectangular f rames ( Table I V) . O n two p ages, t he t ext i s l ikewise h orizontally d ivided ( Real P alacio M s.

f olios

2 50 r ecto a nd

B aird 's a nalysis i ndicates

t hat

2 52 r ecto).

t he v eintena

i llustrations

were

c opied f rom o ne o r more p ictorial manuscripts i n t he n ative s tyle. E ach p age was f irst l aid o ut with s ketch l ines marking o ff t he d ifferent s ized p anels f or t he d rawings . I n o ne c ase, P anquetzaliztli ( Figure 3 3), a n e rror was made, a nd t he s ketch l ine m ay s till b e s een . T hat t he a rtists k new what s ize t o make t he p anels s uggests t hat t hey were working f rom a p rototype . I n s everal v eintena i llustrations, f igures a ppear h orizontally a ligned, l inked b y j oined a rms o r b y a c ommon i mplied l ine . I n s ome c ases l inked g roups i n t he s ame d epiction f ace i n a lternating d irections ( e .g . T oxcatl, F igure 2 7) . B aird n otes t he s trong r esemblance o f t his o rganization t o t he m eander p attern o f p reconquest M ixtec m anuscripts, where g uidelines g overn t he p attern o f r eadings . F inally, t he f ormat o f t he i llustrations, v ertically a ligned i n a narrow, d ivided s trip, s uggests t he s hape o f p reconquest s creenfold manuscripts o r o f t he u nfolded s ingle-sheet manuscripts c alled t iras K ubler

( Baird 1 979: a nd

G ibson

8 4-88). c lassify

t he

P rimeros

d rawings a s s imultaneous i llustrations, o rganized i n

i nto

i deographic

t ime

and

a r ough c omposition , f ashion,

p lace"

r ather

( 1951:

3 9).

t han

a ll

t he

Memoriales v eintena r ites b eing " loosely

o ver w hich t he i n

B aird

t he

f orms a re s cattered

r epresentation

n otes

that

i n

o f

a s ingle

p reconquest

manuscripts t he s equence o f o ccurrence o f a ctions i s c lear f rom t he o rder

o f

r eading .

A p attern

o f

o rganization

2 8

s imilar

t o

t his i s

f ound

i n t he f irst e leven o f t he P rimeros M emoriales veintena d epictions . T he a rrangement o f t he f igures w ithin t he f rames i ndicates t he t emporal s equence o f t heir a ctivities . B aird s uggests " sequential n arration" a s a m ore a ccurate d esignation f or t his p attern. I n 3 4-40)

c ontrast d epict

t o

t his,

e ither

s ix o f

a s ingle

t he

l ast

a ction

s even

o r

i llustrations ( Figures

a g roup

o f

f igures

t hat

s umbolize t he c eremony . W ith t he s ingle e xception o f P anquetzaliztli ( Figure 3 7), t hese d epictions a re a ll quite s imilar, e ach h aving a t emple a t t he t op ( or, i n o ne c ase, a mountain s ymbol), with r itual a ctors f lanking o r b eneath t he s tructure . T he f igures a re l arger, f ewer I n n umber, m ore n eatly a ligned a nd m ore e qual i n s ize t han i n t he f irst e leven c eremonies . E ach i llustration s hows a s ingle e vent i n a s ingle l ocation . T he d epictions o f A temortli ( Figure 3 8) a nd I xcalli ( Figure 4 0) a re n early i dentical . N ot a ll s how t he p atron d eity o f t he p eriod. I t w ould b e d ifficult t o c lassify t hem a s e ither t heomorphic i llustration o r e mblematic i llustration . B aird s uggests t he t erm " static

i magery"

B aird

h as

b e a pplied

f urther

t o

t hese

a nalyzed

t he

l atter

s ix i mages ( 1979 :

r elationship

o f

t he

1 03-108) .

i llustrations

t o t he t exts f ound a ligned w ith t hem . I n n ine c ases , t he i llustration i mparts i nformation t hat i s i dentical t o o r l ess d etailed t han t he t ext . I n t he o ther n ine , t he i llustrations c ontain more o r d ifferent i nformation t han t he t ext. T hus, i n h alf t he c ases, t he d rawings f unction l ike t hose i n p reconquest manuscripts, a s p rimary c arriers o f i nformation . O f t he l ast s even v eitenas, t hree h ave t exts w hich c onvey more i nformation t han t he d rawings, w hile a ll f our c ases i n w hich t he i nformation i n t ext a nd d rawing d iffer markedly a re f ound i n t his group. P reconquest manuscripts f unctioned p rimarily a s mnemonic d evices, with t he p aintings k eyed t o memorized r ecitations. I t h as b een d emonstrated t hat S ahag n e licited t he i nformation f or h is w orks b y m eans o f a q uestionaire . B aird s uggests t hat t he g roup o f t he l ast s even i llustrations w as d rawn f rom a nother t radition t han t hat c urrent i n T epepulco , while S ahagc in 's q uestioning e licited r esponses f rom t he l ocal ( 1979:

t radit o n ,

r esulting

i n

t he d isjunction b etween i mages a nd

t exts

1 08-114).

B aird's s tudy c learly d emonstrates t hat t he P rimeros M emoriales v eintena i llustrations were c opied f rom a manuscript i n t he n ative p reconquest s tyle . T he g roups f ormed b y t he f irst s even a nd l ast e leven i llustrations i ndicate t hat e ither two s uch manuscripts were u sed, o r a s ingle p rototype w ith s ections d rawn f rom t wo p arallel b ut s tylistically a nd p ictorially d ifferent t raditions . I t s eems p ossible t hat t he f irst g roup r eflects l ocal A colhua t raditions, while t he s econd, which i ncludes P anquetzaliztli, t he f east o f t he p atron d eity o f T enochtitlan, H uitzilopochtif, r eflects M exica t raditions ( Baird 1 979:

1 13-114).

T he P rimeros M emoria les, u nlike t he o ther E arly C olonial a ccounts o f t he v eintena f estivals, c an b e a ttributed t o a s pecific l ocation, a nd l ike t he C odex B orbonicus, i ts i llustrations i nclude c omplex r epresentations o f t he a ctivities o f t he v eintenas. B aird's d emonstration o f t he d ependence o f t he P rimeros M emoriales v eintena i llustrations o n a s creenfold p rototype o r p rototypes d emonstrates t he r easons f or t he p arallels i n t he manner o f p resentation b etween t he

2 9

B orbonicus a nd t he P rimeros M emoriales . T he P rimeros M emoriales w ill t herefore b e u sed a s t he p rimary b asis f or c omparison i n t he d iscussion o f t he v eintena i mages p resented b elow.

N OTES 8 .

B oone h as d emonstrated t hat s ix p rimary a nd two s econdary documents a re t o b e i ncluded i n t he Magliabechiano G roup, a ll d erived u ltimately f rom a s ingle l ost o riginal, r eferred t o a s t he Magliabechiano P rototype . T he C odex T udela a nd t he C odex I xtlilxochitl, P art I , w ere c opied d irectly f rom t he P rototype, while t he M agliabechiano i s a n i ndirect c opy, d erived f rom a l ost " Libro d e F iguras," o ne o f t he s ources u sed b y A ntonio d e H errera f or h is Historia ... ( Herrera y T ordesillas 1 934-1957) . T he P rototype manuscript w as p ainted a nd a nnotated b etween 1 528 a nd 1 553; t he C odex T udela c opy w as made c a. 1 553, while t he C odex I xt1ilxochitl, P art I , c opy w as d one c a . 1 600 . T hough a n i ndirect c opy, t he C odex Magliabechiano i tself, m ade i n t he m id-sixteenth c entury, i s t he most a ccurate extant c opy o f t he P rototype. T he t exts o f t he C odex T udela which d escribe t he v eintena f estivals d iffer f rom t hose f ound i n o ther manuscripts o f t he M agliabechiano G roup a nd were a pparently c ompiled f rom a n umber o f d ifferent s ources, s ometimes i n a r ather c onfused manner . P ortions o f t he T udela t ext w ere l ost i n a r ebinding, b ut c an i n p art b e r eplaced f rom t he C ostumbres . .d e N ueva E spana m anuscript ( G6mez d e O rozco 1 945), a s ixteenth c entury c opy o f t he t ext o nly . T he T udela v eintena i llustrations vary i n s ome c ases f rom t hose i n t he Magliabechiano a nd r econstructed f or t he P rototype . I n f ive c ases, t he T udela a rtist a dded f igures; i n t wo c ases h e r eplaced d eities with o thers d rawn f rom e lsewhere i n t he manuscript: T ozortli ( folio 1 3 r ecto) a nd E tzalqualiztli Magliabechiano f olio 3 4 r ecto; F igure 6 1).

( folio 1 6 r ecto; A f acsimile o f

c f . t he

T udela , w ith a c ommentary a nd t ranscription b y J ose T udela d e l a Orden, was published i n 1 980 . B oone 's d efinitive s tudy o f t he Magliabechiano g roup ( 1977) h as b een p ublished t ogether w ith a r eproduction o f t he 1 903 f acsimile o f t he M agliabechiano ( 1983). 9 .

T he T elleriano-Remensis, p roduced c a . 1 562-63, i ncludes t he s ection o n t he v eintena f estivals, a t onalamatl a nd a h istorical s ection . T he i llustrations a re d one i n s everal s tyles d erived f rom t he n ative t radition, a nd t he g losses a nd t exts a re i n a n umber o f h ands . T he T elleriano-Remensis i s i ncomplete, b ut t he c ontents o f t he m issing p ages, i ncluding t he f irst s ix v eintena i mages, c an b e r econstructed f rom t he C odex R Ios. K eber ( n .d.) h as d emonstrated t hat C odex R ios w as c opied d irectly f rom T elleriano-Remensis, r ather t han b oth b eing d erived f rom a c ommon l ost p rototype . T he R fos c opy was a pparently p repared i n I taly c a . 1 570, t he d rawings a pparently d one b y a E uropean a rtist, w ith t exts i n I talian b y a t l east two d ifferent h ands . T he t exts a re derived f rom T elleriano-Remensis, b ut were " commented o n a nd p araphrased" b y t he c opyist ( Paso y T roncoso 1 898 : 3 32-59; G lass a nd

R obertson

1 975 :

1 36-39) .

30

1 0.

D urán 's work c onsists o f t hree p arts i ncluding, i n t he o rder I n which t hey a ppear i n t he M adrid m anuscript, a H istory, a B ook o f t he G ods a nd R ites a nd a T reatise o n T he A ncient C alendar; t hese a re m ost c onveniently r eferred t o a s T ratados 1 -3 . T he H istory, a t ranslation o f a N ahuatl s ource a lso t ranslated b y A lvarado T ezozomoc ( 1975), w as i ntended t o s erve a s a n i ntroduction t o t he r eligious p repared .

a nd c alendrical works, a lthough i t w as t he l ast D ur n u sed a v ariety o f s ources I n w riting T ratados 2

a nd 3 , i ncluding n ative p ictorial manuscripts, w orks i n E uropean s cript, a nd n ative a nd S panish i nformants, a nd h is t exts a re m ore e xtensive a nd s ystematic t han t hose c onsidered a bove . A ll o f t he i llustrations i n T ratados 2 a nd 3 w ere c ut f rom a n e arlier q uartos ize version o f Dur n 's work which l acked t he h istorical t ranslation . T hese were p asted i nto manuscript; t he v eintena i llustrations

t he h ad

f i al f olio-size c overed a n e ntire

q uarto-size p age, a nd s even o f t hem a re p asted i n s ideways ( Couch n .d .). B rown h as b est d escribed t he E uropean a spects o f t he s tyle o f t he i llustrations: " . ..the f igures a re s et i n n aturalistic l andscapes w ith p ainterly d epictions o f e arth a nd s ky . T he f orms a re o ften d escribed

b y c ursive c ontour l ines

color t hat o ften depict s hadows i llustionistic v olumes" ( 1977 : 2 82 ) . 1 1.

T ovar,

r enowned

and

f or h is mastery o f N ahuatl

a nd b y

s hading

t o

w ashes o f p roduce

a nd o ne o f t he f irst t o

j oin t he J esuits a fter t heir a rrival i n N ew S pain i n 1 572 , was a p ersistent a dvocate f or t he mission t o t he I ndians w ithin t he o rder . T he J CBL M anuscript a nd T ovar C alendar w ere p repared f or t his p urpose . L afaye ( 1970) h as s hown t hat t he J CBL M anuscript i s a T ovar h olograph, c opied f rom t he C odex R amIrez which i s i n a nother h and . T he C odex R amirez i llustrations, u ncolored p en a nd i nk d rawings, w ere c opied w ith f ew a lterations f rom t he Madrid D ur n m anuscript. T he much t he J CBL Manuscript were

m ore a lso

a ccomplished c olor d rawings i n c opied f rom t he D ur n, b ut

i ncorporate s ome o f t he C odex R amirez a lterations, i ndicating t hat t he a rtist h ad a ccess t o b oth manuscripts. T he C odex R amirez i ncludes e ight d rawings c opied f rom D ur n 's T ratado 2 , p lus c alendar wheels a nd d ay s igns f rom T ratado 3 . T he J CBL T ovar M anuscript i ncludes n ine d rawings c opied f rom T ratado 2 , p lus a c alendar w heel a nd t wo v eintena i llustrations ( Tecuilhuitontli a nd E tzalqualiztli) f rom T ratado 3 ( cf . F igure 7 1) . D ur n 's t exts o n t he v eintena f estivals d o n ot a ppear hA.

i n e ither m anuscript .

E ach p age o f t he T ovar C alendar i s d ivided d own t he c enter b y a c olumn o f d ominical l etters ( a s ystem o f r epresenting t he d ays o f t he w eek b y t he l etters a t o g ) r epresenting t he d ays o f t ie month . I llustrations a nd month n ames a ppear t o t he l eft o f t he c olumn , c ommentary t o

t he r ight.

I n t he

m ajor f igures,

t he a rtist

a ttempts t o r ender t he f igures a ccording t o European a natomical a nd s patial c onventions; t hey s how s o i ie m isunderstandings r elated t o n ative i s 1 2 .

p ictorial

d ominant

B rown

h as

(





< H

: 1

q H 4 . J H O : 1 4 ) 0) _ J

a )

4 I H

a ) A i 0 H a )

W H

0 >