Behold the story which the old people told. In the distant past, which no one can still reckon, which no one can still remember, those who came here to disperse their descendants-the grandfathers, the grandmothers, those called the ones who arrived first, the ones who came first, those who came sweeping the way, those who came with hair bound, those who came to rule this land, those of the same name, those who seemed to form their own little world-came over the water in boats; they came in many divisions.
And they drew along the coast, the coast to the north. And where they came to beach their boats is named Panotla, which means "where they crossed over the water." Now it is called Pantla. Then they followed along the coast line; they went looking at the mountains, especially the snow-white mountains and the smoking mountains. Going along the coast line, they went to reach Quauhtemallan.
And these did not go of their own volition, for their priests led them...
Then they came-they
arrived-at a place named Tamoanchan, which is to say, "We seek our home."
And there they rested .
And these were
wise men called Amoxoaque. The wise men remained not long; soon they went.
Once again they embarked and carried off the writings, the books, the paintings;
they carried away all the crafts, the casting of metals. And when they departed,
they summoned all those they left behind. They said to them: "Our lord,
the protector of all, the wind, the night, says you shall remain. We go leaving
you here. Our lord goes bequeathing you this land; it is your merit, your
lot. Our lord, the master of all, goes still farther, and we go with him.
Wherever the lord, the night and the wind, our lord, the master of all, goes,
we go accompanying him…
You shall dwell here; you shall stand guard here. That which lies here, that
which spreads germinating, that which rests in the earth, is your merit, your
gift. He makes it your birthright. For this you followed him here. But we
go with him: we go following him wherever he goes."
Thereupon departed the Amoxoaque,
the teomamaque…And as they went, they traveled to the east. They carried the
writings, the books, the paintings. They carried the knowledge; they carried
all-the song books, the flutes.
But four remained of the old men, the wise men, the Amoxoaque. One named Oxomoco, one named Cipactonal, one named Tlaltetecui, one named Xochicauaca. And when the wise men had gone, then these four old men assembled. They took counsel; they said: "The sun will shine, it will dawn. How will the common people live, how will they dwell? He is gone; they carried away the writings. And how will the common people dwell? How will the lands, the mountains be? How will all live? What will govern? What will rule? What will lead? What will show the way? What will be the model, the standard? What will be the example? From what will the start be made? What will become the torch, the light?"
Then they devised the book of days, the book of years, the count of years, the book of dreams. They arranged the reckoning just as it has been kept. And thus was time recorded during all the time the Tolteca, the Tepaneca, the Mexica, and all the Chichimeca reign endured. But no longer can it be remembered, no longer can it be investigated how long they were left in Tamoanchan…
And they departed from there, from Tamoanchan. Offerings were made at a place named Teotihuacan. And there all the people raised pyramids for the sun and for the moon; then they made many small pyramids were offerings were made. And there leaders were elected, wherefore it is called Teotihuacan. And when the rulers died, they buried them there. Then they built a pyramid over them. The pyramids now stand like mountains, though made by hand. There is a hollow where they removed the stone to build the pyramids.
And they built the pyramids
of the sun and the moon very large, just like mountains. It is unbelievable
when it is said they are made by hands…but it is very apparent from the artificial
mountains at Cholollan; they are of sand, of adobe. It is apparent they are
only constructed, only made. And so they named it Teotihuacan, because it
was the burial place of the rulers.
And when the reign had endured a long time in the place named Tamoanchan, then the seat of power passed to a place named Xomiltepec. And there at Xomiltepec the rulers, the old men, the priests conferred. They said: "The master of all hath called us; he hath called each one of those who worship him…we shall not live here, we shall not dwell here, we shall go in search of land. The night and the wind, the master of all, hath traveled beyond."
Then they set themselves in motion; all moved-the boys, the old men, the young women, the old women. They went very slowly, very deliberately; they went to settle together there at Teotihuacan. There law was established, there rulers were installed. The wise, the sorcerers, the nenonotzaleque were installed as rulers. The leading men were installed.
Then they departed; they moved very slowly. Their leaders accompanied them; they went leading each group. The members of each group understood their own language. Each had its leader, its ruler. To them went speaking the one they worshipped. And the Tolteca were the ones who took the very lead.
And then these different people
went on: the Tolteca, the Mexica, the Nahua. All the people, as they sought
land, encountered the plains, the deserts. The one they worshiped accompanied
them; he went speaking to them. No more could they recall how long they had
wandered; for a long time they traveled over the desert. They went to settle
at a place in the desert, in a valley among the crags, a very dangerous place.
And the people wept; they were saddened, they suffered affliction; there was
no more to eat, no more to drink.
And at this place [Chicomoztoc]
there were, or as one said, there are, seven caves. These different people
made them serve as their temples; they went to make their offerings there
for a long time. No longer is it remembered how long they resided there.
Then the one whom the Tolteca
worshipped spoke to them; he said to them: "Turn back. You shall go from
whence you came."
Then they went to make offerings
at the cave there at Chicomoztoc. Then they departed. […] And then the Chichimeca,
those called the Teochichimeca followed them. And then the Michoaque followed
them. They departed; their ruler, named Amimitl, led them. They traveled there
to the west, where they dwell today, toward the setting sun. they also first
went to make offerings at the cave, Chicomoztoc.
Then the Nahua, the Tepeneca
departed; then those called Acolhuaque, then the Chalca, then the Uexotzinca,
the Tlaxcalteca. Each one set forth; they returned here to this place, the
valley of mexico, the land of the Mexica.
It is for this reason that all
the different people glorify themselves; they say that they were created at
Chicomoztoc, that from Chicomoztoc they came forth. But there was no emerging
from Chicomoztoc; it was merely that offerings were made at Chicomoztoc when
they lived in the desert. And thereupon there was departing, there was returning.
Here and there the people were granted land; boundaries were established.
This segment of the story is dedicated specifically to the migration of the Mexica. The majority of the text is reproduced from Thelma D. Sullivan's translation found in "The Flayed God." To help prevent confussion and excessive repetition, some minor editing has occurred. In addition, some commentary has been added to help clarify aspects of the myth when warrented. all editorial comments will appear in red.
[Summary of Mexica migration found in book 10 of the "Florentine Codex"]
According to tradition, the
name of the priest who led the Mexica was Mezitli. It is said that when he
was born they named him Citli. And they placed him in a maguey leaf, where
he grew strong; wherefore was he named Mecitli. And this one, when he matured,
became a priest. It is said that he spoke personally with the sacred, wherefore
they revered him greatly; and all obeyed the one by whom they were led. And
since he led his subjects, therefore they were given the name Mexica. One
alone is called Mexicatl; many are called Mexica.
These Mexica, according to the
account, came the very last from the land of the Chichimeca, from the desert
lands.
And when the Mexica came, for
it is true they wandered a long time, they were the last. As they came, as
they followed their course, nowhere were they welcomed; they were cursed everywhere;
they were no longer recognized. Everywhere they were told: "Who are the
uncouth people? From where do you come?
Thus they could settle nowhere;
in no other place was repose accorded them; they were pursued everywhere.
They went passing Tollan, Ichpuchco, Ecatepec, then Chiquiuhtepetitlan, the
Chapultepec, where they went altogether to settle. And then there was rule
at Azcapotzalco, at Coatlichan, at Colhuacan. There was no Mexico; where Mexico
now is, was still patches of reeds, of rushes.
Then they came to the place
which is now called Tenochtitlan. Where they went to settle was within the
limits of the cultivated fields of the Tepaneca, where they border the Acolhuaque.
They went to settle among the reeds and rushes, because they came to settle
in the land of another. Entry was impossible; there was no vacant land. They
became the vassals and subjects of those of Azcapotzalco.
From Colhuacan, from Chicomoztoc, from Quineuhyan, from there they all departed. From there our ancestors departed at the time the people originated. This was when they came forth from their home, from the cave called Chicomoztoc.
They departed in the year 1 Reed, departed on a day 1 Alligator. When they had departed, they wandered thirteen years in the wilderness.
Of hides were their loin cloths. Of maguey were their sandals, their headgear, their bows, their prayer mats. What they ate were snakes, rabbits, deer, prickly pears, prickly-pear fruits, prickly-pear leaf-pads.
And in the year 1 Flint, fourteen years after leaving Chicomoztoc, when they had gotten to Quetzaltepec, then they all went separate ways.
[Detailed Account of the Mexica migration originally translated from Nahuatl by Thelma D. Sullivan]
Here it is told, it is recounted,
how the ancients who were called, who were named,
Teochichijmeca, Mexica, Mexitin, Chicomoztoca, came, arrived,
when they came to seek,
when they came to gain possession of their land here,
in the great city of Mexico Tenochtitlan...
In the middle of the water where the cactus stands,
where the eagle raises itself up,
where the eagle screeches,
where the eagle spreads his wings,
where the eagle feeds,
where the serpent is torn apart,
where the fish fly,
where the blue waters and yellow waters join,
where the water blazes up,
where feathers came to be known,
among the rushes, among the reeds where the battle is joined,
where the peoples from the four directions are awaited,
there
they arrived, there they settled...
They called themselves Teochichimeca, Mexica, Mexitin.
They brought along the image of Huitzilopochtli...
[The following paragraphs tell how the original group split in two on the migration. According to historian Nigel Davies, the split reflects a "kind of religious schism" that occurred between the followers of Huitzilopochtli and those of his sister, Malinalxochitl. Malinalxochitl was seen as a sorceress who relied too heavily on "charms and incantations." According to Huitzilopoctli, it was "only by virtue of their courage that he would lead them to greatness, and not through the mere use of magic" (Davies, pg 13). According to Davies, it was because of this that the "dissenters were banished from the tribe."]
And after the Mexica, Mexitin sailed here from Aztlan,
they arrived in Culhuacan...
They went everywhere in Culhuacan,
in far-off Culhuacan, in Tona ichuacan or Tonallan.
All of them journeyed far-
the people of Michoacan, kin of the Mexicans,
and the people of Malinalco-for all of them came.
And when the Mexica abandoned the people of Michoacan,
the men and women were amusing themselves in the water at
a place called Patzcuaro.
They made off with the men's capes and breechcloths
and they took the women's skirts and huipiles.
The men no longer had breechcloths;
they went about with their bottoms bare,
rather, they go about with their bottoms bare, uncovered.
The women gave up their blouses and the men became wearers
of huipiles.
In this manner they abandoned the people of Michoacan.
And the reason Huitzilopochtli went off and abandoned his
sister, named malinalxochitl, along the way,
that all his fathers abandoned her while she was sleeping,
was because she was cruel,
she was very evil.
She was an eater of people's hearts,
an eater of people's limbs-it was her work-
a bewitcher of people,
an enchanter of people.
She put people to sleep.
She made people eat snakes,
she made people eat scorpions,
she spoke to all the centipedes and spiders
and transformed herself into a sorceress.
She was a very evil woman;
this was why Huitzilopochtli did not like her,
this was why he did not bring his sister, Malinalxochitl, with
him,
that they abandoned her and all her fathers while they were
sleeping.
Then...Huitzilopochtli spoke,
he addressed his fathers, called the "idol-bearers,"...he said
to them,
"O my fathers, the work that Malinalxochitl does is not my work.
When I came forth, when I was sent here,
I was given arrows and a shield,
for battle is my work.
And with my belly, with my head,
I shall confront the cities everywhere.
I shall await the peoples from the four directions,
I shall join battle with them,
I shall provide people with drink,
I shall provide people with food!
Here I shall bring together the diverse peoples,
and not in vain, for I shall conquer them,
that I may see the house of jade, the house of gold, the house
of quetzal feathers;
the house of emeralds, the house of coral, the house of
amethysts;
the sundry feathers-the lovely cotinga feathers, the roseate
spoonbill feathers, the trogon feathers-
all the precious feathers;
and the cacao of variegated colors,
and the cotton of variegated colors!
I shall see all this,
for in truth, it is my work,
it was for this that I was sent here.
And now, O my fathers, ready the provisions. Let us go!
Off there we are going to find it!..."
And when the sister of Huitzilopochtli, called malinalxochitl,
whom they had abandoned while sleeping,
whom they had gone off and abandoned,
when malinalxochitl awakened, she wept.
She said to her fathers, "O my fathers, where shall we go?
My brother, Huitzilopochtli, has abandoned us by trickery.
Where has the evil one gone?
Let us seek the land where we are to dwell...."
Then they saw the mountain called Texcaltepetl;
they established themselves upon it....
Along the way malinalxochitl became big with child,
and the child of malinalxochitl, a son named Copil, was born.
His father's name was Chimalquautli;
he was king of Malinalco....
The others settled at Coatepec....
The Mexicans erected their temple, the house of
Huitzilopochtli...
and they laid down Huitzilopochtli's ball court
and constructed his skull-rack.
Then they blocked the ravine, the gorge.
And the water collected, it filled up.
This was done at the word of Huitzilopochtli.
Then he said to his fathers, the Mexicans,
"O my fathers, the water has collected.
Plant, sow, willows, bald cypresses, reeds, rushes, and water-
lilies!
And the fish, frogs, ajolotes, crayfish, dragonfly larvae,
ahuihuitlame, ephydrids, and the salamanders multiplied,
and also the izcahuitli,
and the birds, ducks, coots, and the "red-shouldered"
and "yellow-throated" grackles.
And Huitzilopochtli said,
"The izcahuitli are my flesh, my blood, my substance."
Then he sang his song,
they all sang and danced;
the song was called Tlaxotecayotl and also Tecuilhuicuicatl;
he composed it there.
[The following segment is an alternative telling of the Birth of Huitzilopochtli myth. A more complete and detailed version can be found in book 3 of Sahagun's "Florentine Codex." That myth is also reproduced on this website. click here to link to The Birth of Huitzilopochtli.]
Then his fathers, the Centzonhuitznahua, spoke, they said to
Huitzilopochtli,
"O priest, the work for which you came shall be done here.
You shall await the people,
you shall meet in battle the people from the four directions,
you shall arouse the cities.
With your belly, with your head,
and your heart, your blood, your substance,
you shall capture them,
that you may see what you promised us-
the many jades, the precious stones, the gold,
the quetzal feathers and sundry precious feathers,
the cacao of variegated colors,
the cotton of variegated colors,
the diverse flowers, the diverse fruits, the diverse riches.
For, in truth, you have founded,
you have become the ruler of your city, here in Coatepec.
Let
your fathers, your vassals, the Mexica, gather here!"
the Centzonhuitzahua beseeched him.
Huitzilopochtli became enraged, "What are you saying?" he said.
"Do
you know? Is
it your work? Are
you greater than I?
I know what I must do!"
Then, atop the temple, his house, Huitzilopochtli began to array
himself.
When he had arrayed himself,
when he had arrayed himself for battle,
he painted his face the color of a child's excrement,
he made circles around his eyes,
and he took up his shield....
Then he went off;
he went to destroy, he went to slay his uncles, the
Centzonhuitznahua.
On the sacred ball court he devoured his uncles;
and his mother, she whom he took as his mother, called
Coyolxauhqui...
he cut off her head there and devoured her heart,
Huitzilopochtli devoured it...
The Mexicans were frightened.
The Centzonhuitznahaua had thought that the city was to be
there in Coatepec,
that Mexico was to be there,
but Huitzilopochtli did not want it so.
He made a hole in the dam where the water had been,
and the water broke the dam.
All the bald cypresses, willows, reeds, rushes and water lilies
withered.
All the fish, frogs, ajolotes, ephydrids and insects,
and the crayfish and dragonfly larvae that lived in the water
died...
and all the birds perished.
Then Huitzilopochtli set out,
he went off with his fathers, his vassals, the Mexicans....
They came, they settled behind Chapultepec in a place called
Techatitlan....
Then Huitzilopochtli gave orders to the Mexicans...
he said to the idol-bearers,
"O my fathers, wait, for you shall see,
Wait, for I know what is to happen.
Gird yourselves, be courageous.
Gird yourselves, prepare yourselves.
We shall not dwell here,
we shall find the place off there,
there is where we shall possess it.
Let us await those who shall come to destroy us!..."
....
[Next is related the account of Malinalxochitl's son, Copil, as he attempts to seek revenge upon the followers of Huitzilopochtli. Davies writes that these "battles" between Huitzilopochtli, his "sisters," and Copil are more than likely power struggles between various factions within the migrating group. These battles led to the inevitable splintering of the original group, and "what ultimately emerged from such conflicts was a more homogenous group, among whom Huitzilopochtli's own clan/calpulli came to dominate the remainder" (Davies, pg 17). Davies also theorizes that Malinalxochitl came from the Chalmeca calpulli, while Huitzilopochtli and Coyolxauhqui both belonged to the Huitznahuac calpulli (Davies, pg 314).]
The son of malinalxochitl, sister of Huitzilopochtli, whose name
was Copil, spoke, he said to her,
"O my mother, well I know that your brother is off there."
"Yes, your uncle, named Huitzilopochtli, is yonder," she said.
"He abandoned me,
he abandoned me while I was sleeping,
he abandoned me by trickery along the way.
Then we settled here in Texcaltepeticpac."
"Very well, O mother," said Copil.
"I know that I must look for him in the place he has found
contentment,
in the place he has settled.
I shall destroy him,
I shall devour him,
and I shall destroy, I shall vanquish his fathers
and the vassals that he took with him.
Well I know all the gifts that are marked for him who is to see,
who is to behold the manifold riches.
And it shall be I.
Mine shall be the knowledge of all the sundry jades and gold,
of the quetzal feathers and the other feathers,
of the cacao of variegated colors,
of the cotton of variegated colors,
of the diverse flowers and diverse fruits.
O my mother, be not said.
I go now to seek out the evil one, my uncle...."
Then he came.
He arrayed himself, he adorned himself, he who was called
Copil.
He was very evil,
he was a greater sorcerer than his mother, Malinalxochitl;
Copil was a very evil man.
He came in the year 1-House, 1285
and in the place called Zoquitzinco he transformed himself.
Once more he came, and in the place called Atlapalco he
transformed himself.
He came once again and in the place called Itztapalemoc he
transformed himself.
and because Copil transformed himself, because he turned
himself into a flagstone,
it is now called, all of us call it, Itztapaltetitlan.
And after the transformation of Copil,
after Copil had transformed himself into a flagstone,
once again he returned to his home called Texcaltepeticpac;
(they now call it Malinalco because Malinalxochitl dwelt
there...)
Once more Copil came...
and in the place called Tecpantzinco he transformed himself.
But Huitzilopochtli knew him at once,
he recognized his nephew, now grown, called Copil.
Then he said to his fathers,
"O my fathers, array yourselves, adorn yourselves,
my nephew, the evil one, is coming.
I am off.
I shall destroy him, I shall slay him!"
He encountered him at the place called Tepetzinco,
and when he saw him he said,
"Who are you? Where are you from?"
"It is I," he replied.
Again he spoke to him,
"Where is your home?"
"In Texcaltepeticpac," he answered.
Then Huitzilopochtli said, "Good. Are you not he whom my
sister, Malinalxochitl, brought into the world?"
"Yes, I am he," Copil said,
"and I shall capture you, I shall destroy you!
Why did you abandon my mother while she was sleeping?
Why did you abandon her by trickery?
I shall slay you!"
"Very well," Huitzilopochtli said, "Come ahead."
They pursued each other with cunning,
and they captured Copil in Tepetzinco.
When he was dead Huitzilopochtli cut off his head and slashed
open his chest,
and when he had slashed open his chest, he tore out his
heart.
Then he placed his head on top of Tepetzintli, which is now
called Acopilco,
and there the head of Copil died.
And after Huitzilopochtli slew him,
he ran off with Copil's heart.
And the idol-bearer, called Quauhtlequetzqui came upon
Huitzilopochtli.
When he encountered him, he said,
"You have wearied yourself, O priest."
"Come, O Quauhtlequetzqui," he said.
"Here is the heart of the evil one, Copil.
I have slain him.
Run with it into the rushes, into the reeds.
There you shall see the mat of stone
on which Quetzalcoatl rested when he went away,
and his seats, one red and one black.
There you shall halt
and you shall cast away the heart of Copil."
Then Quauhtlequetzqui went off to cast away the heart.
When he came to the place he had described to him,
he saw a mat of stone,
and he halted there and cast away the heart;
it fell in among the rushes, in among the reeds....
The place where Quauhcoatl stopped and cast away the
heart,
we now call Tlalcocomoco....
Then the Mexicans went to Acuezcomac,
they passed through Huehuetlan, Atlixocan,
Teoculhuacan, Tepetocan, Huitzilac, Culhuacan,
Huixachtla, Cahualtepec, Tetlacuixomac.
They settled in Tlapizahuayan in the year 2-Rabbit, 1286....
In the year 11-Reed, 1295...the Mexicans passed through
Zacatla....
The people of Chalco drove them out,
they stoned them.
Once again they went to Chapultepec....
Behind Chapultepec all the Tepanecas, Azcapotzalcas and
Culhuacans,
the Xochimilcas, Cuitlahuacas besieged the
Mexicans....
The Mexicans were besieged in Chapultepec in 2-Reed, 1299.
Then the Mexicans moved to Acuezcomac....
Then they came, they settled in Maxatlan,
and all the Mexicans gathered in Tepetocan.
Then from there they went to Culhuacan.
Coxcoxtli was the king of Culhuacan....
Then Huitzilopochtli said to the Mexicans,
"My fathers, say to Coxcoxtli, 'Where shall we live?'"
They addressed Coxcoxtli, they said to him,
"O lord, O king, we are beseeching you.
Where shall we go?
We have known this to be your city.
Have mercy on us with a small piece of your land on which
we may live!"
Coxcoxtli replied, he said, "Very well."
He summoned his Culhuacan chiefs, he said to them,
"Where shall they live?"
"O lord, O king, let them go there," his chiefs said.
"Let the Mexicans live beside the mountain, here in
Tizaapan."
Then they took them, they established them in Tizaapan.
They advised Coxcoxtli, the king, they said,
"O lord, O king, we have taken the Mexicans to Tizaapan."
"Good," Coxcoxtli said, "They are monstrous, they are evil.
Perhaps they will meet their end there,
perhaps they will be devoured by the snakes,
for it is the dwelling place of many snakes."
But the Mexicans were overjoyed when they saw the snakes.
They cooked them,
they roasted them over the fire, and they ate them....
In the year 13-Reed, 1323,
the Mexicans had passed, had spent twenty-five years in
Tizaapan Culhuacan.
Then Huitzilopochtli spoke to his fathers, he said to them,
"O my fathers, another person shall appear whose name is
Yaocihuatl.
She is my grandmother and we shall have her.
And hear this, O my chiefs, we are not to remain here.
We shall find the place off there.
There is where we shall posses it....
And now gird yourselves, make yourselves ready,
for you have heard that Yaociuatl, my grandmother, will
manifest herself there.
I command that you go,
that you ask Achitometl for his child, his daughter.
You are to ask him for his precious child,
for I know he shall give her to you."
And then the Mexicans went off,
they went to ask Achitometl for his daughter.
The Mexicans spoke to him, they said,
"O my prince, O lord, O king, we your grandfathers, we your
vassals, and all the Mexicans,
pray that you grant, that you give us, your jewel,
your quetzal feather,
your daughter, our granddaughter, the princess.
There, beside the mountain in Tizaapan she will keep guard."
Achitometl said, "Very well, O Mexicans, you may take her with
you."
He gave her to the Mexicans.
They went off with the daughter of Achitometl,
they brought her,
they settled her in Tizaapan.
Then Huitzilopochtli spoke...he said to them,
"O my fathers, I order you to slay the daughter of Achitometl
and to flay her.
When you have flayed her, you are to dress a priest in her skin."
Then they slew the princess and they flayed her,
and after they flayed her, they dressed a priest in her skin.
Huitzilopochtli then said,
"O my chiefs, go and summon Achitometl."
The Mexicans went off, they went to summon him.
They said, "O our lord, O my grandson, O lord, O king...
your grandfathers, the Mexicans beseech you, they say,
'May he come to see, may he come to greet the goddess.
We invite him.'"
Achitometl said, "Very well. Let us go."
He said to his lords, "Let us go to Tizaapan,
the Mexicans have invited us...."
They took along rubber, copal, papers, flowers, and tobacco,
and also what is called the "lord's food" to set down in offering
before the goddess....
And when Achitometl arrived in Tizaapan, the Mexicans said,
as they received him,
"You have wearied yourself, O my grandson, O lord, O king.
We your grandfathers, we, your vassals, shall cause you to
become ill.
May you see, may you greet your goddess."
"Very good, O my grandfathers," he said.
He took the rubber, the copal, the flowers, the tobacco, and the
food offering,
and he offered them to her,
he set them down before the false entity whom they had
flayed.
Then Achitometl tore off the heads of quail before his entity;
he still did not see the person whom he was decapitating
the quail.
Then he made an offering of incense and the incense-burner
blazed up,
and Achitometl saw a man in his daughter's skin.
He was horror-struck.
He cried out, he shouted to his lords and to his vassals.
He said, "Who are they, eh, O Culhuacans?
Have you not seen?
They have flayed my daughter!
They shall not remain here, the fiends!
We shall slay them, we shall massacre them!
The evil ones shall be annihilated here!"
They began to fight....
The Culhuacans pursued them, they pursued the Mexicans,
they drove them into the water....
The Culhuacans thought that they had perished in the water,
but they crossed the water on their shields,
they crossed on their arrows and shields,
they bound together the arrows, called tlacochtli,
and those called tlatzontectli,
and, sitting upon them, they crossed the water....
and sitting upon the shields they crossed the water
when the Culhuacans pursued them.
And they came into the rushes, into the reeds at
Mexicatzinco....
There they dried their battle gear which had become wet,
their insignias, their shields-all their gear.
And
their women and children began to weep.
They
said, "Where shall we go? Let us remain here in the reeds...."
And then the old Mexicans, Quauhtlequetzqui, or Quauhcoatl,
and also the one called Axolohua went off,
they went into the rushes, into the reeds
at the place that is now called Toltzalan, Acatzalan;
the two of them went to look for the place they were to settle.
And when they came upon it,
they saw the many wondrous things in the reeds.
This was the reason Huitzilopochtli had given his orders to the
idol-bearers, his fathers,
Quauhtlequetzqui, or Quauhcoatl, and Axolohua, the priest.
For he had sent them off,
he had told them all that there was in the rushes, in the reeds,
and that there he, Huitzilopochtli, was to stand,
that there he was to keep guard.
He told them with his own lips,
thus he sent off the Mexicans.
And then they saw the white bald cypresses, the white willows,
and the white reeds and the white rushes;
and also the white frogs, the white fish, and the white snakes
that lived there in the water.
And they saw the springs that joined;
the first spring faced east and was called Tleatl and Atlatlayan,
the second spring faced north and was called Matalatl and
also Tozpalatl.
And when they saw this the old men wept.
They said, "Perhaps it is to be here.
We have seen what the priest, Huitzilopochtli, described to us
when he sent us off.
He said, 'In the rushes, in the reeds, you shall see many things.'
And now we have seen them, we have beheld them!
It has come true, his words when he sent us off have come
true!"
Then they said,
"O Mexicans, let us go, for we have beheld them.
Let us await the word of the priest;
he knows how it shall be done."
Then they came, they sojourned in Temazcaltitlan.
And during the night he saw him,
Huitzilopochtli appeared to the idol-bearer, called
Quauhtlequetzui, or Quauhcoatl.
He said to him, "O Quauhcoatl, you have seen all there is in
among the reeds, in among the rushes,
you have beheld it.
But hear this:
There is something you still have not seen.
Go, go and look at the cactus,
and on it, standing on it, you shall see and eagle.
It is eating, it is warming itself in the sun,
and your hearts will rejoice,
for it is the heart of Copil that you cast away,
where you halted in Tlalcocomoco.
There it fell, where you looked, at the edge of the spring,
among the rushes, among the reeds.
And from Copil's heart sprouted what is now called tenochtli.
There we shall be, we shall keep guard,
we shall await, we shall meet the diverse peoples in battle.
With our bellies, with our heads,
with our arrows, with our shields,
we shall confront all who surround us
and we shall vanquish them all,
we shall make them captives,
and thus our city shall be established.
Mexico Tenochtitlan:
where the eagle screeches,
where the eagle spreads his wings,
where the eagle feeds,
where the fish fly,
and where the serpent is torn apart.
Mexico Tenochtitlan!
And many things shall come to pass."
Then Quauhcoatl said to him, "Very well, oh priest. Your heart
has granted it.
Let all the old men, your fathers, hear."
Then Quauhcoatl gathered the Mexicans together,
he had them hear the words of Huitzilopochtli;
the Mexicans listened.
And then, once more, they went in among the rushes, in among
the reeds, to the edge of the spring.
And when they came out into the reeds,
there at the edge of the spring, was the tenochtli,
and they saw an eagle on the tenochtli, perched on it, standing
on it.
It was eating something, it was feeding,
it was pecking at what it was eating.
And when the eagle saw the Mexicans, he bowed his head low.
(They had only seen the eagle from afar.)
Its nest, its pallet, was of every kind of precious feather-
of lovely cotinga feathers, roseate spoonbill feathers,
quetzal feathers.
And they also saw strewn about the heads of sundry birds,
the heads of precious birds strung together,
and some birds' feet and bones.
And the god called out to them, he said to them,
"O Mexicans, it shall be there!"
(But the Mexicans did not see who spoke.)
It is for this reason they call it Tenochtitlan.
And then the Mexicans wept, they said,
"O happy, O blessed are we!
We have beheld the city that shall be ours!
Let us go, now, let us rest...."
This was in the year 2-House, 1325.
