On plate XVIII (we refer to the Peñafiel edition), in the second
section of the plate, among other objects of tribute is a small bowl
containing pieces of cut turquois (see fig. 1). In the explanation
given by Purchas, this item is described as “a little panne full of
Turkes stones,” and in the Kingsborough text it has been translated
“a little vessel of small turquois stones.” On the plate published
by Lorenzana is the caption, “Matlauac Rosilla con q. se tiñe
azul.” The word _matlauac_ is probably a corruption of the Nahuatl
word _matlaltic_, meaning ‘blue,’ but the rest of the sentence in
Spanish is confused, for _rosilla_ means ‘reddish,’ and _con q. se
tiñe azul_, ‘with which they dyed blue,’ seems to indicate that the
phrase is incomplete. Accompanying the objects depicted as tributes
are the hieroglyphs of the towns which paid them. These glyphs have
been interpreted in the same manner in all of the reproductions
of the codex, but we use the spelling adopted by Peñafiel, in
preference to that given by Purchas or by Kingsborough. They are:
(1) _Quiyauhtecpan_, “temple of rain or of its deities” _Tlaloc_
or _Chalchiuhtlicue_; (2) _Olinalan_, “place of earthquakes;” (3)
_Cuauhtecomatlan_, “place of tecomates;” (4) _Cualac_, “place of good
drinkable water;” (5) _Ichcatlan_, “cotton-plantation;” (6) _Xala_,
“sandy ground.” These places are given in the explanation as being
“cities of warm provinces.”
In the third section of the same plate (XVIII) are the objects shown in
figs. 2 and 3. Peñafiel writes of fig. 2 as “ten little figures worked
in turquois.” Only one object painted blue is depicted, the number
ten being indicated by the ten dots. That masks form this tribute is
clearly evident; in Purchas the description is “tenne halfe faces of
rich blew Turkey stones,” and in Kingsborough, “likewise 10 middling
sized masks of rich blue stones like turquois.”
[Illustration: FIG. 2]
[Illustration: PL. IV
HELMET OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION
BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON]
[Illustration: FIG. 3]
The second item in this section (fig. 3) is described by Peñafiel as “a
small bag of the same stones.” Kingsborough’s statement is, “a large
bag of the said blue stones,” while in Purchas the translation reads,
“a great trusse full of the said Turkey stones.” On the bag which is
painted blue, with two red vertical bands, is the Aztecan hieroglyph
for stone, _tetl_. The towns whence this tribute was exacted are:
(1) _Yoaltepec_, “place consecrated to the deity of the night;” (2)
_Ehaucalco_, “in the place of tanning;” (3) _Tzilacapan_, “river of
chilacayotes;” (4) _Patlanalan_, “place where parrots abound;” (5)
_Ixicayan_, “where the water comes down;” (6) _Ichcaatoyac_, “river of
cotton.” These cities are of the warm provinces.
[Illustration: FIG. 4]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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