Notes for Song XVIII
At this portion of the MS. several poems are preceded by a line of syllables indicating their accompaniment on the teponaztli (see Introduction, p. 32).
The present number is one of the most noteworthy songs of the collection. It belongs to the ancient cyclus of Quetzalcoatl myths, and gives a brief relation of the destruction of Tollan and the departure and disappearance of the Light God, Quetzalcoatl Ce Acatl. As I have elsewhere collated this typical myth at length, and interpreted it according to the tenets of modern mythologic science, I shall not dwell upon it here (see D.G. Brinton, American Hero Myths, Phila., 1882).
The text of the poem is quite archaic, and presents many difficulties. But my translation, I think, gives the general sense correctly.
1. huapalcalli; literally, “the house constructed of beams.” This name was applied to the chief temple of the Toltecs; the ruins of an ancient structure at Tollantzinco were pointed out at the time of the Conquest as those of this building (see Sahagun, Hist. de la Nueva España, Lib. X, cap. 29).
coatlaquetzalli; this edifice, said to have been left incomplete by Quetzalcoatl, when he forsook Tollan, had pillars in the form of a serpent, the head at the base, the tail at the top of the pillar. (See Orozco y Berra, Hist. Antigua de Mexico, Tom. III, pp. 30 and 46.) The structure is mentioned as follows in the Anales de Cuauhtitlan:—
Auh iniquac nemia Quetzalcoatl quitzintica, quipeuahtica iteocal quimaman coatlaquetzali ihuan amo quitzonquixti, amo quipantlaz.”
“And when Quetzalcoatl was living, he began and commenced the temple of his which is the Coatlaquetzali (Serpent Plumes), and he did not finish it, he did not fully erect it.”
Nacxitl Topiltzin, “Our Lord the four-footed.” Nacxitl appears to have been the name of Quetzalcoatl, in his position as lord of the merchants. Compare Sahagun, ubi supra, Lib. I, cap. 19.
2. Poyauhtecatl, a volcano near Orizaba, mentioned by Sahagun. Acallan, a province bordering on the Laguna de los Terminos. The myth reported that Quetzalcoatl journeyed to the shores of the Gulf about the isthmus of Tehuantepec and there disappeared.
3. Nonohualco; the reference is to the cerro de Nonoalco, which plays a part in the Quetzalcoatl myth. The words of the song are almost those of Tezcatlipoca when he is introduced to Quetzalcoatl. Asked whence he came, he replied, “Nihuitz in Nonohualcatepetl itzintla, etc.” (Anales de Cuauhtitlan).
4. The occurrences alluded to are the marvels performed by Quetzalcoatl on his journey from Tulan. See my American Hero Myths, p. 115.
5. The departure of Quetzalcoatl was because he was ordered to repair to Tlapallan, supposed to be beyond Xicalanco.
8. quinti, for iquintia; the reference is to the magic draught given Quetzalcoatl by Tezcatlipoca.
9. In tetl, in quahuitl; literally, “stone and stick;” a very common phrase in Nahautl, to signify misfortunes.