The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

Duran gives the description of Aztlan given by Cueuhcoatl to Montezuma the elder: 'Nuestros Padres moraron en equel felice y dichoso Lugar que llamáron Aztlán, que quiere decir "Blancura." En este Lugar hay un gran Cerro en medio del agua, que llamaban Culhuacan, por que tiene la punta algo retuerta hácia abajo, y à esta causa se llama Culhuacan, que quiere decir "Cerro tuerto." En este Cerro habia unas bocas ó cuebas ó concavidados donde habitáron nuestros Padres y Abuelos por muchos años: alli tubiéron mucho descanso debajo de este Nombre Mexitin y Azteca: alli gozaban de mucho cantidad de Patos, de todo género de gazzas; de cuerbos marinos, y Gallinas de agua, y de Gallaretas; gozaban del canto y melodia de los Pájaros de las cabezas coloradas y amarillas; gozáron de muchas diferencias de grandes y hermosos Pescados; gozáron de gran frescura de arboledas, que habia por aquellas riberas, y de Fuentes cercadas de sauces y de Sabinas y de Alisos grandes y hermosos; andaban en canoas, y hacian camellones en que sembraban maiz, chile, tomates, huauhtli, frisoles, y de todo genero de semillas de las que comemos,' &c. Hist. Indias, MS., tom. i., cap. 27.

491

Ramirez, in García y Cubas, Atlas; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom., i., p. 78; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 157-8; Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt ii., p. 17; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. i., p. 3; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., pp. 399-300. The date of the departure is shown by the maps to be Ce Tecpatl, which is calculated by Chimalpain, Gallatin, Gama, and Veytia to be 1064, based on the hypothesis that the adjustment of the calendar in the year Ce Tochtli, which took place during the journey, corresponds to 1090. Brasseur would probably assign a later date, since he writes: 'Les annales mexicaines nous montrent généralement les premières tribus de cette nation à Aztlan en l'an 1 Tecpatl, 1064.' Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 292.

492

Chicomoztoc is placed by Clavigero about twenty miles south of Zacatecas, but is regarded by Duran, Acosta, and others, as identical with, or within the region of Aztlan. According to Brasseur, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 293, they arrived here 1116. Hellwald, in Smithsonian Rept., 1866, p. 339, agrees with this date, by making them arrive at Chicomoztoc 26 years after their departure from Aztlan, which, he says, took place in 1090. Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 92, states that they arrived 104 years after their departure. On the Gemelli map Oztotlan, 'place of grottoes,' is given as a place where they halted for a long time, from 160 to 200 years after leaving Aztlan, and may be the same as Chicomoztoc. Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 145, says that the Tlascaltecs, who according to most authors were one of the Nahuatlaca tribes, arrived at Chicomoztoc in the year 5 Tochtli.

493

See Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 455-6; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. x.; Duran, Hist. Indias, MS., tom. i., cap. 2; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., pp. 228, 247; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 151; Hellwald, in Smithsonian Rept., 1866, p. 339; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 78; Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt ii., p. 17; Motolinia, Hist. Indios, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., pp. 7-9; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 154; Purchas his Pilgrimes, vol. v., p. 864; Gemelli Careri, in Churchill's Col. Voyages, vol. iv., p. 482; Humboldt, Vues, tom. ii., pp. 168-71; Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., p. 145. Brasseur de Bourbourg gives as the tribes that left Aztlan: the Huexotzincas, Chalcas, Xochimilcas, Quitlahuacas, Malinalcas, Chichimecas, Tépanecas, and Matlaltzincas. Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 292.

494

Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 78-9; Hist. de las Ynd., p. 454; Hist. Indias, MS., tom. i., cap. 2. On Boturini's map the hieroglyphs of the eight tribes are seen at Chicomoztoc for the last time; the priests or leaders of the Aztecs alone pursue the remainder of the course. As the Aztec hieroglyph does not appear to be included among these eight, it might be assumed that the Aztecs were composed of certain families belonging to one or more of the eight tribes, but this does not appear to be the view taken by the authorities. Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., pp. 25-6, remarks that the map indicates a consultation of six of the families with their god, and the departure of two. The non-recurrence of the tribal hieroglyphs he explains by saying that the families are henceforth designated only by the chiefs who lead them. This map cannot, however, be expected to be more accurate than the sources from which Torquemada, Acosta, and others, derived their information.

495

Quetzalin according to Brasseur, who adds: 'Dans le texte, il y a Huetzalin, ce qui est probablement une faute du copiste.' Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 263. This chief may possibly be the same as Huitziton.

496

Veytia names this chief Xochimilco, which Brasseur says 'ne peut être qu'une erreur.' Id., p. 264.

497

Id. Ixtlilxochitl and Veytia place the arrival of the Xochimilcas in Tlotzin's reign. Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 458; Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 88. Duran says they were the first to leave Chicomoztoc, and the third to arrive in Anáhuac. This writer gives a number of places founded by them besides Xochimilco. Hist. Indias, MS., tom. i., cap. 2., 13. Acosta says they were the first to arrive. Hist. de las Ynd., p. 488.

498

Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., pp. 88-9; Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 458; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 263-4.

499

Now Cuernavaca.

500

Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 92-3, 141-3.

501

Many writers who do not directly connect the Acolhuas with the Nahuatlacas, assert that they came from the same region, and were of the same race. Clavigero places the ancient home in Teoacolhuacan, near Amaquemecan. Veytia considers them to be the descendants of Toltec colonists who were settled along the Pacific coast. Ixtlilxochitl affirms that they were neighbors of the Huehue Tlapallan Toltecs and of Chichimec stock.

502

'Citin, pluriel de Citli, lièvre, nom apparemment d'une tribu du Nord, comme les Pied-Noir, les Serpents, etc.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 232. Rios, Compend. Hist. Mex., p. 7, says they derived their origin from the family of Citin or Ulcua. Motolinia says of the Acolhuas: 'Este nombre los quedó de un valiente capitan que tuvieron … Acoli, que así se llama aquel hueso que vá desde el codo hasta el hombro, y del mismo hueso llaman al hombro Acoli.' He was very brave, and taller than other men. Hist. Indios, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 11. Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 301, says that they claimed descent from a valiant chief named Chichimecatlh, who once tied a strap round the arm of Quetzalcoatl, near the shoulder. This was regarded as a great feat, for it was said that he that could bind a god could bind all men.

503

Brasseur de Bourbourg says nothing about the Otomís coming in with the Acolhuas and Tepanecs at this time.

504

This, according to Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 51-4, who is followed by Brasseur, was Coatetl, daughter of Chalchiuhtlatonac, or Chalchiuhtlanetzin, lord of Chalco, who, says Brasseur, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 231, 'paraît avoir été l'un des frères ou des fils de Nauhyotl II.' According to other authors, Tzontecoma's bride was named Cihuatetzin, and her father was a Toltec, lord of Tlalmanalco. Each of these names is spelled in a great variety of ways. See Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 341, 395, 452; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., pp. 39-43; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 136-7; Granados y Galvez, Tardes Amer., pp. 19, 142-3; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., p. 45; Müller, Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 526; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. i., p. 3; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 92.

505

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 233-4.

506

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 236-7.

507

See note 27 (#cn_475).

508

Named also Huetzin, says Brasseur.

509

Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 47, writes the names Tlotzin Pocothl, Toxtequihuatzin, and Atencatzin. Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 210, Tlotzinpochotl, Huixaquentochintecuhtli, Coxanatzin Atencatl; on p. 342 he differs in the following: Toltzin, Toxtequihuatzin, Atencatzin Apotzoetzin; on p. 395, Tloxtequihuatzin; on p. 461, Tlotzinpochotl, Atzotgocoltzin, Totzin. Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 62, Tlotzin, Quauhtequihua, or Tochintecuhtli, Popozoc. Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 141, Apopozoc. Nopaltzin had also another son, named Tenancacaltzin, who in later years gave much trouble to the emperor Quinantzin, and who, according to the Spanish authorities, was a bastard. Brasseur, however, finds reason to believe that this prince was Nopaltzin's legitimate son by a former marriage. Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 254.

510

Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 342, 395, 452; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., pp. 47-9; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 63; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 141.

511

Commenting upon the statement of Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 211, that Xolotl abandoned to Tlotzin not only the revenues of the province of Chalco, but also of several other provinces as far as Mizteca, Brasseur writes: 'Il y a évidemment exagération; jamais les armes de Xolotl n'allèrent aussi loin, et il est douteux même que les provinces renfermées dans la vallée lui fussent toutes tributaires.' Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 258.

512

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 262.

513

See Id., tom. ii., pp. 266-71.

514

Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 59-60; Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 343; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 138-9.

515