Ahuitzotl. Herb AllengerЧитать онлайн книгу.

      To Barb Ohlsen

      Acknowledgments

      I am indebted to the following sources: Fr. Bernardino de Sahagun (Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble trans.); Fr. Diego Duran (Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden trans.); Bernal Diaz; William Brandon; Gordon Brotherston; Burr Cartwright Brundage; Nigel Davies; R.C. Padden; Frederick Peterson; Jacques Soustelle; Seattle Public Library; University of Washington Library. Also, I would like to express my gratitude to Judith Zier for her years of continuous support and companionship to Mexico.

      Pronunciation and Identification

      Ahuitzotl (Ah-wheet-sohtl); Water Dog, eighth Revered Speaker of Mexico, 1486-1502.

      Anahuac (Ah-nah-wahk); Near by the water; Valley of Mexico.

      Axayacatl (Ah-shah-yah-kahtl); Water Face, sixth Revered Speaker of Mexico, 1469-1481; brother of Ahuitzotl and Tizoc.

      Chalchihuitlicue (Chal-chee-wheet-lee-kwah); She of the Jade Skirt; Water Goddess; consort of Tlaloc, the Rain God.

      Chalchiunenetzin (Chal-chwee-nay-nay-tsin); Jadestone Doll, wife of Nezahaulpilli, daughter of Axayacatl, shortened to Nenetzin.

      Chimalpopoca (Chee-mahl-poh-poh-kah); Smoking Shield, Ruler of Tlacopan, a city of the Triple Alliance.

      Cihuacoatl (See-wah-koh-ahtl); Woman Snake, Chief Minister and Vice-Ruler of Tenochtitlan; also the Earth Goddess.

      Cocijoeza (Koh-see-hoh-ay-sah); Ruler of the Zapotecs, a major adversary of Ahuitzotl.

      Cuauhtemoc (Kwow-tay-mock); Descending Eagle, son of Ahuitzotl and the last Revered Speaker of Mexico, 1520-1524.

      Huactli (Whock-tlee); Hawk, Lord of the Pochteca (merchants).

      Huaxtecs (Whash-tecks); people of the Panuco River basin who spoke in a Mayan type tongue and often battled the Aztecs.

      Huitzilopochtli (Wheet-see-loh-poach-tlee); Hummingbird of the South, martial patron god of the Aztecs, and specifically of Tenochtitlan.

      Maquauhuitl (Mah-kwow-wheetl); war club with embedded obsidian or stone blades, standard weapon for Aztec warriors.

      Mictlantecuhtli (Meek-tlahn-tay-ku-tlee); Lord of the place of the dead; God of Death

      Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina (Moh-tay-ku-soh-mah Eel-whee-kah-me-nah); Angry Lord Who Shoots At The Sky, fifth Revered Speaker of Mexico, 1440-1469; grandfather of Ahuitzotl, Axayacatl, and Tizoc.

      Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (Shoh-koh-yoh-tsin); Angry Lord, the Younger, son of Axayacatl and ninth Revered Speaker of Mexico, 1502-1520.

      Nezahualcoyotl (Ness-ah-wahl-koh-yohtl); Fasting Coyote, Ruler of Texcoco, 1402-1472; famed philosopher-king, poet, and patron of arts.

      Nezahualpilli (Ness-ah-wahl-peel-lee); Fasting Prince, Ruler of Texcoco, 1472-1515, son of Nezahaulcoyotl, also famed for erudition, poetry, and building.

      Pelaxilla (Pay-lah-sheel-lah); Cotton Ball, lover and mistress of Ahuitzotl.

      Quetzalcoatl (Kett-sahl-koh-ahtl); Plumed Serpent, God of Knowledge; Wind God; Creator God of Mankind, often depicted as an adversary of the God Tezcatlipoca.

      Tenochtitlan (Tay-noach-tee-tlahn); Place by the Hard Prickly-Pear Cactus, the island capital of the Aztecs.

      Texcoco (Tesh-koh-koh); capital of Acolhuacan (Ah-kohl-wah-kahn); a city of the Triple Alliance and acknowledged cultural center of the Aztecs.

      Tezcatlipoca (Tess-kah-tlee-poh-kah); Smoking Mirror, supreme god of the Aztec pantheon; eternally young god of the night sky; patron god of sorcerers and magicians.

      Tizoc (Tee-sock); Bloodstained Leg, the seventh Revered Speaker of Mexico, 1481-1486, brother of Ahuitzotl and Axayacatl.

      Tlalalcapatl (Tlah-lahl-kah-pahtl): Worldly Healer? Shortened to Tlalalca, empress, mother of Cuauhtemoc.

      Tlaloc (Tlah-lock); He Who Makes Things Sprout, Rain God.

      Tonatiuh (Toh-nah-tee-uh); He Who Lights; Sun God.

      Xiuhcoac (Shee-uh-koh-ahk); capital city of the Huaxtecs.

      Xiuhtecuhtli (Shee-uh-tay-kuh-tlee); Turquoise Lord, God of Fire, Lord of Time.

      Xochiquetzal (Shoh-chee-kett-sahl); Flower Feather or Precious Flower, Goddess of Beauty and Love, also of Flowers and Fertility.

      Xoyo (Sho-yoh); aged servant woman to Tlalalca.

      Prologue

      “We fear our Gods!” Our ninth Revered Speaker, Motecuhzoma—to you Lord Moctezuma—is said to have told his captor, the conqueror Cortez. And indeed he was sincere in his convictions. Even as a young man Motecuhzoma took his religious studies very seriously and early in life formulated strong views in this regard. He was particularly seduced with a notion of the God Quetzalcoatl returning, as promised, to Anahuac in the year One Reed—within his own lifetime—of whose eventuality he needed no pursuasion. But mainly his proclivity was a result of experiences and observations met during the reign of his noteworthy predecessor, the great warrior-king, Ahuitzotl—Water Dog—which infused in him the dreadful trepidations leading to his inevitable ruin when confronted by the foreign invader.

      The punishment that our Gods inflicted upon Lord Ahuitzotl is spoken of to this day. That fierce warlord’s rise to predominance and then the horrid wretchedness of his last days—the ignominy of it—pitiless and cruel—this to the mightiest monarch ever to rule in Tenochtitlan! He was the very embodiment of power and resolution, courageous and resourceful, supreme master on the battlefield, but oh, the humiliation. Truly he was humbled. And Motecuhzoma was there to see it all; he was justified in declaring his conviction, for he had borne witness to its veracity.

      But