Malintzin's Choices: An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico 0826334059, 9780826334053

Table of contents :
Contents
illustrations
Introduction
One. Pelican’s Kingdom
Two. The Men from the Boats
Three. One of Us People Here
Four. Tenochtitlan
Five. Water-Pouring Song
Six. Reed Mats
Seven. The Concubine Speaks
Eight. Doña María
Nine. Don Martin
Appendix
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliographic Essay
Index

Citation preview

M a l i n t z i n ’s C h o i c e s

PÜ L 060 S A series of course-adoption books on Latin America Independence in Spanish America: Civil Wars, Revolutions, and Underdevelopment (revised edition)— Jay Kinsbruner, Queens College Heroes on Horseback A Life and Times o f the Last Gaucho Caudillos— John Charles Chasteen, University o f North Carolina at Chapel Hill The Life and Death o f Carolina Maria de Jesus— Robert M. Levine, University o f Miami, and José Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy, University of Säo Paulo The Countryside in Colonial Latin America— Edited by Louisa Schell Hoberman, University of Texas at Austin, and Susan Migden Socolow, Emory University ¡Que vivan los tamales! Food and the Maying o f Mexican Identity— Jeffrey M. Pilcher, The Citadel The Faces o f Honor: Sex, Shame, and Violence in Colonial Latin America— Edited by Lyman L. Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, Carleton University The Century ofU.S. Capitalism in Latin America— Thomas F. O ’Brien, University o f Houston Tangled Destinies: Latin America and the United States— Don Coerver, Texas Christian University, and Linda Hall, University of N ew Mexico Everyday Life and Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico: Men, Women, and War— Mark Wasserman, Rutgers, The State University o f N ew Jersey Lives of the Bigamists: Marriage, Family, and Community in Colonial Mexico— Richard Boyer, Simon Fraser University Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness Under Spanish Rule, 1532—1825— Kenneth J. Andrien, Ohio State University The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1940— Michael J. Gonzales, Northern Illinois University Quito 1599: City and Colony in Transition— Kris Lane, College o f William and Mary Argentina on the Couch: Psychiatry, State, and Society, 1880 to the Present— Edited by Mariano Plotkin, CO N IC ET (National Council o f Scientific Research, Argentina), and Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

A Pest in the Land: N ew World Epidemics in a Global Perspective— Suzanne Austin Alchon, University o f Delaware The Silver King: The Remarkable Life o f the Count o f Regia in Colonial Mexico— Edith Boorstein Couturier, Ph.D., Professor Emérita National Rhythms, African Roots: The Deep History o f Latin American Popular Dance— John Charles Chasteen, University o f North Carolina at Chapel Hill The Great Festivals o f Colonial Mexico City: Performing Power and Identity— Linda A. Curcio-Nagy, University o f Nevada at Reno The Souls o f Purgatory: The Spiritual Diary o f a Seventeenth-Century Afro-Peruvian Mystic, Ursula de Jesús— Nancy E. van Deusen, Western Washington University Dutras World: Wealth and Family in Nineteenth-Century Rio de Janeiro— Zephyr L. Frank, Stanford University Death, Dismemberment, and Memory: Body Politics in Latin America— Edited by Lyman L. Johnson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Plaza o f Sacrifices: Gender, Power, and Terror in ig68 Mexico— Elaine Carey, St. John’s University Women in the Crucible o f Conquest: The Gendered Genesis o f Spanish American Society, 1500—1600— Karen Vieira Powers, Arizona State University Beyond Blac\ and Red: African-Native Relations in Colonial Latin America— Edited by Matthew Restall, Pennsylvania State University, University Park Mexico Otherwise: Modern Mexico in the Eyes o f Foreign Observers— Edited and translated by Jürgen Buchenau, University o f North Carolina at Charlotte Local Religion in Colonial Mexico— Edited by Martin Austin Nesvig, University of Miami

SERIES ADVISORY EDITOR*.

Lyman L. Johnson, University o f N orth Carolina at Charlotte

fr o n t is p ie c e : Map from the Relación de Tabasco, 1579.

Although a Spaniard named Melchor de Alfaro Santa Cruz sent the map to the Crown, its style suggests an indigenous origin. T he original is an impressive fifty-seven by sixty centimeters. Coatzacoalcos appears on the right. Ministerio de Cultura, Archivo General de Indias, Mapas y Planos, México 14.

M alin tzjins Choices ♦

An Indian Woman in the Conquest of Mexico

Camilla Townsend

University of New Mexico Press ♦------------------------------------------ALBUQUERQUE

© 20o6 by the University o f N ew Mexico Press All rights reserved. Published 2006 18

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5 6 7 8 9

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Townsend, Camilla, 1965— Malintzin’s choices : an Indian woman in the conquest o f Mexico / Camilla Townsend, p. cm. — (Diálogos Series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8263-3405-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN- 10:

0-8263-3405-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Marina, ca. 1505-ca. 1530. 2. Mexico— History— Conquest, 1519-1540. 3 . Indians o f Mexico— First contact with Europeans. 4 . Indian women— Mexico— Biography. I. Title. II. Series: Diálogos (Albuquerque, N.M.) F1230.M373T69 2006 972’.02092— dc22 [B] 2006011933

design and c o m p o sit io n :

Melissa Tandysh

TO LOREN AND CIAN

Contents

Illustrations

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x

Acknowledgments Introduction

♦ ♦

xi i

One: Pelican’s Kingdom

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n

Two: Tke Men from tke Boats

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30

Tkree: One of Us People Here

♦

55

Four: Tenocktitlan

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85

Five: ^ater-Pouring Song

♦

Six: Reed Mats

126

♦

Seven: Tke Concukine Speaks

109

♦

Eigkt: Doña María

♦

172

Nine: Don Martin

♦

188

Appendix: Ckal cacikuacuicatl : “Ckal ca Rom an’s Song” ♦ Akkreviations Notes

♦

♦

♦

IX

227

229

Bikliograpkic Essay Index

215

283

♦

278

148

illustrations

Frontispiece: Map of Tabasco, from tbe Relación o f 1579 Malintzin’s Mexico: 1519

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iv

xiv

Figure One: Ritual Journey of tbe Codex Borgia Figure Two: Codex Huamantla (detail)

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64

65

Figure Tb ree: Mapa de San Antonio Tepetlan

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66

Figure Four: Mapa de San Antonio Tepetlan (detail)

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Fi gure Five: “Texas Fragment,” Scene One

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69

Figure Six: “Texas Fragment,” Scene Two

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71

Figure Seven: “Texas Fragment,” Scene Three

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72

Figure Eight: “Texas Fragment,” Scene Four

♦

73

Figure Nine: Lienzo de Tlaxcala, Plate Seven

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75

Photo One: View from a coastal Maya tower

67

♦

31

Photo Two: Chapel of La Concepción in Coyoacan

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137

Chapt er illustrations from the Florentine Codex Introduction: C alpolli (Book Two, 51)

♦

Chapter One: Chacali (Book Eleven, 196)

i ♦

11

Chapter Two: Moctezuma’s Messengers (Book Twelve, 12) Chapter Tb ree: Marina Interprets (Book Twelve, 44)

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Chapter Four: Spaniards on the March (Book Twelve, 34)

30

55

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85

Chapter Five: Spaniards Crumble tbe Vkll (B 00k Twelve, 120)

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Chapter Six: Rulers of Tetzcoco (Book Eight, 36—40)

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126

Chapter Seven: The Nobl ewoman (Book Ten, 80—81)

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148

Chapter Eight: The Carpenter (Book Ten, 38)

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Chapter Nine: The Bathing of the Boy (Book Six, 29) x

172

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188

109

Acknowledgments

I have had this project in mind for many years and have worked on it betwixt and between, accruing many debts along the way. I would like to thank the Colgate University Research Council for funding numer­ ous related research trips as well as two courses in Nahuatl at the Yale Summer Language Institute. Recently, I received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society for my research into Nahuatl annals, and as I pursued that project, I gained new insights into this one; the welcome funds indirectly yielded a double harvest. Toward the end, the dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, also helped defray some of the costs of this study. It is perhaps my language teachers who have been most instrumental in making this work possible. Between them, Jonathan Amith (anthropolo­ gist), Michel Launey (linguist), and James Lockhart (historian) taught me what I needed to know to embark on a lifelong study of Nahuatl, passing on their penetrating insights into a fascinating language and putting me eternally in their debt. I have gradually realized that I also owe a great deal to the language teachers of my childhood and adolescence, in that they taught me young to open the linguistic channels of my mind. The most important were probably Jonathan Stapleton, who first inspired me to pursue the Romance languages with all my energy, and Dan Davidson and his staff at Bryn Mawr College, who stretched my abilities in new ways in their efforts to impart Russian to me. I am profoundly grateful to the patient staffs of archives and librar­ ies in three countries— the Archivo General de Indias (AGI, Spain), the Archivo General de la Nación (Mexico), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Emory University’s Special Collections, the Huntington Museum and Library, the Library of Congress Manuscripts Division, the New York Public Library Rare Book Room, Princeton University

Firestone Library, Yale University Library Manuscripts Division, and, finally, Colgate University’s Special Collections. At these institutions, staff people who have gone above and beyond include Carl Peterson at Colgate, Barry Landua at the AMNH, and Jesús Camargo, Teresa Jiménez, Estrella Solis, and Maria del Espíritu Santo Navarro Sánchez at the AGI. In 1998, when I first became fascinated by Malintzin, the staffs of the Museo de la Venta and the Hotel Cencali, both in Villahermosa, bore with me while I used them as a home base in my explorations of Tabasco. Friends have been of crucial importance in many ways. Karen Sullivan listened to me one summer day a number of years ago. She encouraged me to believe that I could in fact turn myself from an Ecuadorianist into a Mexicanist and that I had the skills to move back in time as well. If a brilliant medievalist believed I could successfully venture into earlier centuries, then, I concluded, I probably could. I hope I have not disap­ pointed her. Certainly, she has been the greatest of help to me, answer­ ing my innumerable questions. At Colgate, my colleagues in History and Native American Studies were positively inspiring. Two undergraduate students, Alejandro Delgado and Andrea Suárez-Falken, pushed me in my thinking with their searching questions: I will never forget them. Ray Nardelli in Information Technology kindly digitized the neces­ sary images for me. In the library, Anne Ackerson, Ellie Bolland, Emily Hutton, and Ricki Mueller saved me from myself on more than one occa­ sion. Frederick Luciani and Constance Harsh shared their insights as lit­ erary scholars and offered me the warmth of their friendship. At my new home at Rutgers, my delightful colleagues have already begun to share their thoughts with me. I look forward to the years together. In the wider professional world, other colleagues have been of immense help. I consulted with Piedad Gutiérrez on two documents in 1999 when I was still finding early colonial paleography to be too much for me. David Holtby and Maya Allen-Gallegos of UNM Press were involved and responsive at every step. Lyman Johnson as Diálogos editor outdid himself, offering keen insights all along the way. Participants in the “Lost Colonies” conference (March 2004) at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies in Philadelphia and in the Lockmiller Seminar at Emory University in November of 2005 gave me extremely valu­ able feedback. Others who read parts of the manuscript, answered par­ ticular questions, offered me key advice, or challenged my thinking in XÜ

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

important ways include Jeremy Baskes, John Kicza, Franklin Knight, Mieko Nishida, Susan Schroeder, Gary Urton, and, most especially, James Lockhart. A number of Lockhart’s former students, now well-known scholars in their own right, have welcomed me warmly to the Nahuatlreading world, among them Sarah Cline, Rebecca Horn, Doris Namala, Caterina Pizzigoni, Matthew Restall, John Sullivan, and Stephanie Wood. History teaches us that it can be quite shocking to find an interloper in one’s midst, but they have been the very personification of generosity. I am eternally grateful. I thank my family with open hands. My parents have learned to accept my chosen work, and even to love me for it. John, the partner of my life, makes me prouder to know him with every year that passes. Our foster daughter, Carmen, long since grown up, has become a woman of remark­ able fortitude; she teaches me how to recognize what we cannot change on this earth and to make the best of it. In the last few years, my sons Loren and Cian have demanded my heart and soul, and given theirs in exchange— at least for the time being. Malintzin died when her son and daughter were likewise two and seven. My children, I am grateful for the life and love between us.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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, " >-“l. ‘^ : i;,;" iir ;".*■ Or „ *.. , ; l-V-Vr;.. * while in Spain for a few months, he initiated a lawsuit against his brother the marqués, saying that he no longer wanted to be in personal communi­ cation with him and asking that he be given ownership outright of some mines that his father had transferred to his three sons before he died, in an arrangement quite distinct from that of the will. In exchange for this he would gladly give up his right to the thousand ducats annually— which he rarely received in any case. He gave don Luis power of attorney to act for him in Mexico City.21 All three of the Cortés brothers seem to have quarreled passionately at this juncture. Luis sued both his older brothers regarding the property in DON M A R T Í N

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2O3

Mexico and then turned around and pestered King Philip— who was, after all, their old playmate— to intervene. In May of 1558, Philip responded by ordering an investigation, and in 1561 he stipulated a compromise between the three brothers that favored the marqués, commanding that Luis accept it and cease to place “petitions or demands.” He signed the document as he always did, “I, the King.”22 Something brought the two Martins together again in this period. Perhaps they were shamed by the kings having become involved in their private quarrels, or perhaps they experienced a genuine rapproche­ ment. The marqués was approaching his thirtieth birthday and may have begun to behave with more sensitivity. And there were other potentially catalyzing events— the two brothers’ marriages and the birth of their first legitimate children, whom they would have seen on a daily basis, rather than only occasionally, as in the case of any previous children, born out of wedlock. The marqués married doña Ana Ramírez de Arellano, a cousin on his mother’s side, and she bore a son almost immediately, named Fernando Cortés, like don Martin’s illegitimate son. Don Martin married doña Bernardina de Porras. She was the daughter of a man who did not have the right to style himself a “don,” but he was probably well-to-do, as his wife was a “doña.” Bernardina was from Logroño, far to the north, not a place don Martin had many reasons to visit— except that, as one his­ torian has pointed out, it was directly on the path to the shrine at Santiago de Compostela, to which all initiates of the Order of Santiago made a pil­ grimage at least once in their lives. Bernardina soon gave birth to a daugh­ ter named Ana, and Martin’s older illegitimate son, Fernando, came to live with them, in an arrangement that was quite typical in Spain.23 In 1562 the three Cortés brothers decided to travel together to Mexico, bearing with them the remains of their father, who had asked to be bur­ ied there. The wife of the marqués traveled with them, though she left her young son and heir in Spain for safekeeping; she bore another son en route. Doña Bernardina, on the other hand, was to come later with the children when don Martin sent for her. It was a fortunate decision, for the crossing was a terrible one. The ship was virtually wrecked and barely managed to limp into port at Campeche, on the Yucatan Peninsula. From there the brothers made their way to Mexico City, the home they had not seen since they were six and eight. The marqués was welcomed on a grand scale. 204

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He quickly wore out his welcome, however. Within months he was taking sides in local arguments with deep roots and in less than a year was writing opinionated letters to Philip about how to handle the affairs of the colony. He and his companions frequently participated in drunken carousing, and he sowed dissension when he had a rather public affair with doña Marina Vázquez de Coronado, the daughter of the man who had led the conquest of New Mexico, and the wife of one of his own good friends. The name was too much for people: they began to circulate lampoons and riddles. “A good man won this land by Marina, as I am a witness, and now the one I speak of will lose it by another woman of the same name.” The marqués’s brothers lived in his household and were financially dependent on him. Don Luis was closely associated with the marqués in all his activities. Don Martin, however, was known for being withdrawn and silent.24 Martin had been reunited with his sister, Maria, but the meeting was not entirely joyous. The tiny girl he remembered was gone, and in her place was not a young and vibrant woman, but an aging lady, weakened, apparently, by the many pregnancies that had come to nothing. She died within months of Martin’s arrival in Mexico City. Alone now— his sister dead, his wife and children still in Spain, and his brother the marqués behaving as badly as ever— don Martin considered returning to Europe. It would mean going back to the military life, however, and he was in his forties now. He eventually grew ill and began to go to confession fre­ quently, thinking that he might be near death.25 Don Martin had instructed his wife to come to him, but the prepara­ tions for her departure were complicated. She was living in her home­ town of Logroño, and there were many there who wanted her to use her connections to make it possible for them to travel to New Spain. It was apparently useful to be married to an old playmate of the king’s: Philip issued orders that don Martin’s wife be allowed to travel not only with the two children, but also with six dependents, more than were strictly nec­ essary, or even at all usual for someone of her station. Doña Bernardina eventually brought three young men and three young women. The girls were not from particularly good families— one was the daughter of a bar­ ber, and another used her mother’s last name. But they had every chance of increasing their status in Mexico, where Spanish wives were much in demand. It was not until the summer of 1565 that doña Bernardina DON M A R T Í N

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had completed all her preparations and was able to cross the ocean to New Spain.26 She arrived to find that the political situation in Mexico City had grown extremely tense. For some time, discontent had been growing among the encomenderos. More than twenty years before, in 1542, Charles V had promulgated the New Laws of the Indies, with the twin intentions of pro­ tecting the Indians and limiting the power of the conquistadors’ families. He forbade indigenous slavery, for example, and announced that enco­ mienda rights would not be indefinitely hereditary. The colonists’ wrath was such that the viceroy had wisely refrained from implementing the new legal strictures, and over time the laws had been modified to better fit reality. The issue had hardly gone away, however: the indigenous popula­ tion was dwindling as disease cut down young and old, while the Spanish population was rapidly rising. And King Philip was as determined as his father to prevent the families of the lucky first arrivals from becoming a distant class of all-powerful lords. Thus recent legal decisions had left encomienda-holding families angry. Rights to Indian labor would appar­ ently not be extended beyond the current holders. It was not yet certain if this policy would really be rigidly upheld or only applied if a man died without direct biological heirs or committed some delinquency. In either case, the encomenderos were on edge. The most belligerent of the conquistadors’ agitated sons looked to the Marqués del Valle to lead them in their political battle, ignoring the fact that his own holdings had been awarded to his father’s family in perpetu­ ity and that he had grown up with Philip as a personal friend. Then in 1564, the viceroy don Luis de Velasco, doña Beatriz’s brother-in-law, died suddenly, probably of a heart attack. His younger brother, don Francisco, led the funeral procession in his honor. The Audiencia was left to govern in the viceroy’s stead until a replacement arrived from Spain. In the con­ fusion— one might almost say power vacuum— the marqués seemed to enjoy the heady feeling that the angry political talk gave him, and to some extent he encouraged the ringleaders in their posturing. At one point he asked his older brother, don Martin, if he thought the rebellious com­ ments had gone a bit far, and Malintzin’s diplomatic son suggested that the marqués had better begin to say he was sure that Philip would address their grievances soon. One evening the marqués became convinced that one of the many enemies he had made in other contexts was going to bring 206

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men to attack him in exchange for some of the political comments that he had allowed to pass; he asked his brother to stay with him in his apart­ ments that night for protection.27 In July of 1566, in the midst of some celebrations in honor of the twins just born to the marqués’s wife, Malintzin’s son was suddenly arrested by order of the royal officials of the Audiencia. Later that day, he learned that the marqués himself as well as their brother, don Luis, had also been taken into custody. There had purportedly been a plot afoot on the part of the city’s young gentlemen to take over the Audiencia chambers by force, publicly renounce allegiance to the king and his representatives, and set the marqués up to rule in Mexico. Naturally, the Audiencia members assumed that all three of Cortés’s sons were implicated. Over the ensu­ ing weeks, they were each interrogated. Don Martin was closely ques­ tioned about his own and his younger brother’s activities. He said he had known about the angry talk but did not believe it amounted to anything more than the swaggering of boys, and as a loyal servant of the Crown, he thought it best to ignore such nonsense. When don Martin demanded that he be accused of something specific, or else released, he was accused of having known about the conspiracy for many months and having done nothing. Within weeks, Gil González and Alonso de Avila, two brothers, were executed as the central figures of the conspiracy. They insisted that all their talk had meant nothing, but whether that was true or not, it was too late now to make such pleas. The young men seemed stunned when it became clear that they really were to die, that their rank and privilege could afford them no help in this situation. In the wake of the executions of the Avila brothers, the authorities turned to questioning the marqués and his brothers again. The Audiencia judges equivocated in the case of the two Martins, but they condemned Luis to die. He had earned as much enmity as the marqués with his arrogant and wild behavior, but he did not have his brother’s wealth and influence back in Spain to shield him now. Then suddenly there came a reprieve. A new viceroy, don Gastón de Peralta, the Marqués de Falces, had finally arrived, and he decreed that all executions should halt until he had thoroughly familiarized himself with all that had occurred. Peralta met with the informers and accusers and concluded that they and the mem­ bers of the Audiencia had exaggerated the situation. He sent the Marqués DON M A R T Í N

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del Valle home to Spain so that Philip himself could be his judge, and he sent don Luis with him, commuting his death sentence to ten years in the galleys. There was the possibility that Philip would waive even that for his old childhood companion. Don Martin’s case was to be investigated fur­ ther; eventually he was released to house arrest. The viceroy undoubtedly hoped that in his case, the whole matter would soon be forgotten.28 That was not to be. Don Martin’s wife had to stand by as he was arrested again on November 15, 1567. The original informers had begun to fear for their futures and even their lives after the new viceroy concluded they were troublemakers, and the Audiencia judges for their part resented the viceroy’s interference in their affairs. So they caused the word to be spread in Spain that the Marqués de Falces was covering up a serious plot for his own reasons. In 1567 a rebellion against royal authority really did occur in Cuzco, Peru. Philip thus had reason to be suspicious of events in Mexico and sent a tribunal of two special prosecutors to investigate the viceroy himself as well as the purported conspiracy. They were Alonso Muñoz and Luis Carillo. The newly arrived pair’s first act was to arrest one of the original accusers, a nephew of doña Beatriz, who had retracted the year before under the influence of the calm and reasonable viceroy. They tortured him, demanding to know which of his stories was true. Eventually he gave them what they wanted: he declared that he had been speaking the truth in his original accusations, not in his retraction. He gave them many names, including that of Malintzin’s son, don Martín Cortés, knight of the Order of Santiago. The tribunal immediately announced that don Martin would be tor­ tured. He was to receive “the rigorous torment of water and rope.” For over a month his lawyer tried to stave off the inevitable by making various requests and legal motions. Several supporters testified that torture might kill don Martin, among them his dead sister’s stepfather— don Francisco de Velasco. Eventually, however, the attorney was unable to delay matters any further. On January 7, 1568, guards came to don Martin’s cell and announced that the day had come. According to law, he was required to speak aloud, saying that he had heard the pronouncement and accepted it. Late that night, don Martin was escorted to the basement of the royal government’s chambers and shown the rack. He was asked to reveal the names of other conspirators. Judges all over Europe had found that 208

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m erely sh o w in g an accused m an th e rack gen erally had a desirable effect. D o n M artin sim p ly said that he had already sp o k en the truth an d had n o m ore to say.29 T h e gu ard s rem o v ed the p riso n er’s clo th in g and tied his n a k ed b od y to the tw o en d s o f th e rack. T h e y tu rn ed the levers, stretch in g h im b ey o n d en d u ran ce, and d islocated th e b ones o f his arm s and legs. T h e ju d g es, w h o w ere presen t d u r in g the p roced u re, again ask ed d on M artin for the n a m es o f oth er conspirators. T h e scribe th ere in th e room reported th at h e said he had already sp o k en the truth and had n o m o re to say. T h e gu ard s tu rn ed the ropes o f the rack again , w ith th e sam e results. N o w by ord er o f th e ju d g es, th e g u a rd s lo w e r e d d o n M a rtin ’s h ead b elo w his body, h eld his n ose, in serted a h orn d o w n his throat, an d p ou red w ater in slow ly , in order to p ro d u ce a d r o w n in g sen sation that w e n t on , and on , an d on . T h e n they q u estio n ed h im again. T h e y had to w a it b efore h e co u ld speak. S till h e had n o th in g m o re to say. T w o m ore tim es th ey p ou red th e w ater. E ach tim e, he said h e had told th e truth and had n o th ­ in g m ore to add. D o n M artin probably k n e w that the first m an this pair had arrested had been all but dead by the tim e his aunt, d oña B eatriz, M aria’s stepm other, had been able to use her in flu en ce as a form er viceroy’s sister-in -law and secure his release.30 B u t there w as n o on e to secure d on M artin ’s release. T h e se tw o w o u ld stop at n oth in g; they m ig h t w ell k ill h im in their fervor. H e p rob­ ably also k n e w that all the others w h o had been tortured in this w h o le affair had talk ed , every o n e o f th em . I f they had n o th in g to say, they still talk ed . It w as the nature o f torture; it m ad e p eo p le say an yth in g, a n y th in g they th o u g h t the a ll-p o w erfu l m en in the cell m ig h t possibly w a n t to hear. T h e gu ard s p ou red th e w a ter d o w n his throat a fo u rth tim e. A n d n o w d o n M artin faced his crisis, the b attle w ith his o w n sou l. H e co u ld talk . H e cou ld . B u t he w as n o t just an oth er sp oiled son o f a con q uistad or. H e w a s th e son o f H e r n a n d o C ortés, co n q u eror o f M ex ico , and o f d oña M arina, a p rison er o f tw o p eop les w h o had su rvived her w h o le life w ith her d ig n ity intact. H e had reason to be p rou d o f w h o he w as. H is m ettle had already b een tested. H e had k n o w n vio len ce, had fo u g h t on m ed iev a l E u ro p e’s b attlefields, had felt the w o u n d s in flicted by steel, had h elp ed to gather prisoners and see the piles o f rottin g dead b odies buried. A n d h e had alw ays b een alon e. A s M a lin tz in ’s son , he had a lw a y s b een DON M A R T Í N

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20Ç

an ou tsid er, e v e n b efo re h is y o u n g e r b roth er w a s born. H e had n ev er ex p ected th e w o rld to be k in d to h im . H e w a s n o t stu n n ed w h e n h u m a n ­ ity tu rn ed its face a w a y and h e w as le ft in d ark n ess. I f an y had ev e r lo o k e d past h im , b e little d h im , m a d e h im feel in sig n ifica n t, they w o u ld learn n o w w h o h e w as. H o n o r ca m e to a m an by birth, b u t it also ca m e fro m cou rage. H is h o n o r w as all he had left at th is m o m e n t, an d h e w o u ld k eep it, in th e eyes o f all. A ll o f N e w Spain w a s w a tc h in g h im , d o n M artín C ortés, th e son o f H e rn a n d o C ortés and d o ñ a M arina. H e w h isp e re d , “I h ave to ld th e tru th , a n d in th e h oly n a m e o f g o d w h o su ffered for m e I w ill say n o th in g m o re fro m this m o m e n t u n til I d ie .” D e sp ite h im se lf, h e d id sp ea k after th at, after the fifth p o u rin g — b ut it w as o n ly to say h e d id n o t k n o w a n y th in g else. A n d th e sixth tim e, he fo u n d th e stren g th to say ag a in that h e h ad told th e truth and had n o th in g m o re to add. T h e ju d g es g a v e th e sig n a l to stop. It w as th ree o ’clo ck in th e m o r n in g w h e n th ey ceased. D a y lig h t cam e, a n d soon th e w h o le city k n e w w h a t h ad h a p p en ed . W o rd spread q u ick ly w h e n e v e r arm ed p ik e m e n sto o d g u ard at th e royal offices to p reven t p eo ­ p le from c o m in g near w h ile a n o th er caballero w as tortured. P eo p le sp ok e in h u sh ed ton es o f th e son o f C ortés. T o so m e, h e w as u n d o u b ted ly the im a g e o f th e silen t, stoic In d ia n , w h o su ffered n o w at th e h an d s o f o th ­ ers just as C u a u h te m o c had o n ce su ffered at the h an d s o f C ortés. T o o th ­ ers, he w a s sim p ly a brave m a n , a m a n o f h onor. N o r w ere th e S p an ish th e on ly on es w h o sp o k e o f w h a t h ad h a p p en ed . In w h isp ered N a h u a tl, In d ian s to ld each o th er that th e tecp a n , th e “royal o ffic e,” had b een closed d o w n ag a in by a rm ed m en , an d they k n e w w h y it w as so.31 T h a t m o r n in g , January 8, tw o m o re aristocratic b roth ers w ere e x e ­ cu ted . T h e s e tw o co n fessed to h a v in g in tru th p la n n ed a reb ellion , th o u g h th ey n ev er g a th ered e n o u g h su p p o rt to carry it ou t. B u t on the g a llo w s, b efore h u n d r e d s o f ob servers, w ith th e fates o f their ev erla stin g sou ls at stake, th ey said th at the o th ers cu rren tly im p riso n ed w ere in n o cen t. W ith in a fe w d ays, d o n M a rtin ’s la w y er b ro u g h t this e v e n t to the a tten ­ tio n o f th e ju d ges. T h e p rison er w a s su d d en ly sen ten ced to perpetual ex ile from th e co lo n ies an d to p a y in g o n e th o u sa n d d ucats and h a lf the cost o f h is co n fin em en t. H e ap p ealed . H is la w y er an d frien d s p led on his b eh alf, an d for th e first tim e in this affair, th ey m e n tio n e d his m oth er, a sk in g for m ercy for her sak e. S o m e o n e b ro u g h t in tw o o ld m en w h o had fo u g h t

210

♦

NINE

w ith C ortés, n o w in their sev en ties, to speak for h im . H e w a s released to h ou se arrest in order to recu perate and prepare for his v o y a g e, and th e fine w as redu ced to five h u n d red ducats in total. In the m e a n tim e , K in g P h ilip had received w o rd th a t M e x ico C ity had b eco m e th e scen e o f a b lo o d b a th . H e sent tw o m o re sp ecial ju d g es to N e w S p ain w ith all p o ssib le haste an d secrecy an d h ad th e m arrest the tw o -m e m b e r trib u n al. O n e o f th e m , the licen cia d o V asco de P u g a , later g a v e h is d a u g h te r h is b lessin g w h e n sh e m a rried d o n M a r tin ’s n ep h ew , d o n P ed ro de Q u esa d a , w h o h ad arrived from S p a in in th e m id st o f this disaster. D o n M artin and his fa m ily probably reached S pain just ab ou t th e tim e that V asco de P u g a and his d a u g h ter arrived in M exico. M artin rejo in ed the m ilitary an d , early in 1569, rod e across A n d a lu sia to w a rd G ran ad a. T h e M u slim s re m a in in g there, lo n g d isco n ten ted , had recently b een told that they m u st cease to sp eak or w rite A rab ic an d th at th e w o m e n n o lon g er had th e righ t to veil their faces fro m m e n ’s g a zes. In resp on se they had risen in reb ellion o n C h ristm as o f 1568. T h e battles in that w ar w ere h orren d ou s, both sid es cruel in th e extrem e. W h e n it w as over, th o u sa n d s o f M u slim su rvivors w ere p u t to th e sw o rd , and at least fifty th o u sa n d others w ere ex p elled from the reg io n an d forcibly transferred to parts o f C astile w h e re they w o u ld form sm all m in o rities. In the v io le n t u p r o o tin g , m ore than o n e-fo u rth o f th e m w o u ld en d up d y in g o f h u n g er, d isea se, and exp osu re. D o n Juan o f A u stria , u n d er w h o se im m e d ia te c o m m a n d d on M artin fo u g h t, lo n g rem em b ered his last sig h t o f th e p eo p le h e b a n ­ ished: “A t th e tim e they set o u t there w a s so m u ch rain, w in d an d sn o w that m oth ers w ere forced to ab an d on [som e of] their ch ild ren by the w a y side. . . . It can n o t be d en ied that the sad d est sig h t o n e can im a g in e is the d ep o p u la tio n o f a k in g d o m .” B u t M a lin tz in ’s son w as n o t there th at day to see it and be h a u n ted by its m em ory: he had b een k ille d in th e fig h tin g n ot lo n g b efore.32

♦♦♦ T h e r e is n o sim p le m oral to this tale. R eal lives alw ays en co m p a ss m o re than on e tru th . “T h e tru th ” a b o u t M a lin tzin an d her tw o ch ild ren is as m u ltifa ceted as th e truth ab out all the oth er p eop le w ith in d ig e n o u s b lo od w h o , w ith o u t ever h a v in g ask ed for it or w a n ted it, w er e b orn in to th e age o f con q u est. D id M a lin tzin , d o ñ a M aría, and d o n M artin a tte m p t to DON M A R T Í N

♦

211

p rotect th e m se lv es by en terin g th e S p a n ish w o rld and lose as a result o f th eir ch oices, b e c o m in g v ictim s o f O ld W o rld d isease an d o f th e personal an d p olitical m a ch in a tio n s o f E u rop ean s w h o d id n o t v alu e th em as they d eserved to be v alu ed ? P erhaps. B ut oth er a rg u m en ts can be m a d e eq u a lly w e ll, p erhaps better. M a lin tzin cam e fro m a lo n g lin e o f su rvivors, p eo p le w h o w rested their lives fro m th e land in g o o d years and bad, and w h o d id n o t sh o w their feelin g s w h e n ta k en p rison er in th e p eren n ia l w ars o v er resou rces a m o n g in d ig en o u s states. In th e m o st d ifficu lt o f circu m stan ces M a lin tzin h e r se lf sh o w ed the sam e sp irit o f life o v er d eath , th e sa m e k in d o f p rid e, an d she su cceed ed in p la cin g h er ch ild ren an d her c h ild r e n ’s ch ild ren in stron ger p osition s than th ey seem ed to h a v e b een fated. M aria’s son, P ed ro , w as n o t M a lin tz in ’s o n ly su rv iv in g g ra n d ch ild , nor w a s he th e o n ly o n e w h o g r e w to lo v e th e lig h t o f M ex ica n days. F or M a rtin ’s son , F e r n a n d o , after years o f m ilita ry service u n d er his fa th er’s co m m a n d er, d o n Juan o f A u stria , ch o se to return to th e N e w W orld . H e w e n t first to th e k in g d o m o f Q u ito and m a rried a w o m a n fro m there. In 1588, w h e n P h ilip w as se n d in g his arm ad a a g a in st Q u ee n E liza b eth ’s p eo p le, th e E n g lish g a v e th e S p a n ish co lo n ists a reason to rem em b er w h y th eir k in g risked so m u ch in a tte m p tin g to red u ce th e A n g lo s to su b m is­ sion: E n g lish p rivateers attack ed th e port city o f G u a y a q u il, terro rizin g th e p op u lace just as they h ad d o n e in so m a n y places in th e C aribbean. F e r n a n d o C ortés to o k a p r o m in e n t role in th e c ity ’s d e fe n se and w as th a n k e d by th e v icero y in L im a . H is c o n fid e n c e in h is w e lc o m e th u s restored , h e tra v eled to M e x ico w ith his fa m ily an d receiv ed a g o v e r n ­ m e n t p o sitio n in V era cru z, an oth er city su bject to the d ep red ation s o f the E n g lish . H is fa th er h ad told h im a b o u t h is g ra n d m o th er, an d he w ro te o f her p rou dly. In d e ed , he d em a n d ed sp ecial favors based on his d escen t from h er— and g o t th e m , too. In h is narrative ab ou t d o ñ a M arin a’s life, th e e x p e d itio n to H o n d u r a s lo o m e d larger th a n it probably d eserved to, b u t th en , w e m u st rem em b er that F er n a n d o g o t h is in fo rm a tio n from his father, M artin, a n d it w as th at trip that h ad ta k en M artin ’s m o th er aw ay fro m h im for o v er a year and a h a lf w h e n h e w a s a little boy. F ern a n d o suc­ cin ctly ex p la in ed w h y his g ra n d m o th e r h ad had to go: “It is w e ll k n o w n th at w ith o u t her n o su ch e x p ed itio n w o u ld h ave b een su ccessfu l.”33 T oday, on e fa m ily ’s oral tra d itio n has it th a t F e r n a n d o ’s son w en t o n to b eco m e an official in C o yoacan , fo u n d in g a lin ea g e th ere that survives to 212

♦

NINE

the present. T h u s they p rou d ly cla im d escen t from M a lin tzin .34 F er n a n d o C ortés certain ly d id h ave ch ild ren , as d id M aria’s son , P ed ro. W h e th e r in C oyoacan or elsew h ere , it seem s certain that M a lin tz in ’s in d o m ita b le b lood has n ot d ied o u t in M exico. L e g e n d has it that la L lo ro n a , th e W a ilin g W o m a n , w h o se cries are so m etim es heard in th e w in d , is actu ally d oñ a M arin a w e e p in g for her lost ch ild ren . B u t d oña M arina d id n o t lose her ch ild ren: th a n k s largely to her efforts, th ey su rvived their y o u th , w o n places for th em selv es in the w o rld o f the con q u erors, and liv ed to h ave ch ild ren o f their o w n . T h o se ch ild ren h o n o red their g ra n d m o th er and ta u g h t their ch ild ren to d o the sam e. I f th e sh ade o f M a lin tzin still w a lk s o n earth and w eep s, perh ap s it is because p osterity has b eg ru d g ed a cap tive In d ian w o m a n w h o su rvived her days as best sh e cou ld ev en that sm all co n so la tio n .

Appendix

Ckalcacihuacuicatl: “Chalca Woman’s Song” There seems to have existed in the N ahua world a subgenre o f song that centered on the persona o f the concubine. There is evidence that this version o f such a song— or a version close to it— was used as a political protest by the Chalca peo­ ple after they had been conquered by the Mexica and wanted their chiefly lines to be reinstated. T he life o f the concubine taken in war is likened to the life o f a conquered altepetl. T he sexual imagery and the evocation o f the w om en’s sphere through references to spinning, weaving, and marriage are typical enough in the N ahua world for us to assume that such metaphors appeared in other com m on versions o f concubine songs as well. I believe it is safe to assume that M alintzin would have been familiar with this kind o f imagery, though almost certainly not with this exact iteration o f the song. Here, the character w ho sings veers between trying to make the best o f her life with her new lord and expressing agonizing pain and regret. In the end, she is an old woman, lamenting her life, yet asking for peace. Such mixed reactions were undoubtedly typical o f wom en in her situation. Readers should remember that in N ahuatl, the words are very beautiful. Because translation o f Nahuatl songs is very difficult (as each stanza can be inter­ preted on several levels, and as many o f the phrases and metaphors are unfamiliar even to the most advanced scholars), I have only felt safe in rendering the English quite literally. Norm ally, a good translator takes care to adjust the phrasing so that readers can catch a glim pse o f the humor or beauty or elegance o f a text. It should not be assumed that the N ahuatl language is in any way primitive simply because I do not make such alterations in the English in this case. For a full discussion o f all these issues and others, please see my article from 2006 in The Americas 62, no. 3 (January): 349—89.1

2I5

Intlatlalil chalca ic quimopapaquiltilico in tlatohuani in Axayacatzin ca noço yehuatzin oquimmopehuili in ma çan cihuatzitzintin. (This is a com­ position of the Chalca, with which they came to entertain King Axayacatl because he had conquered them as if they were just women.)2

[A ] [Drum beat] Toco tico tocoti, toco tico tocoti, toco tico tocoti X[an]moquetzacan [00]

Stand up [or, Stop!], you w ho are

annicutzitzinhuan [aye] tonhuian

my little sisters! Let’s go, let’s go,

tonhuian tixochitem ozque

we w ill look for flowers. Let’s go,

[he] tonhuian tonhuian

let’s go, we will pick some flowers.

tixochitehtequizque nican mania

T hey were here, they were here,

nican mania tlachinolxochitly [00]

scorched flowers, shield-flowers.3

chimalli xochitly teihicolti huel

It is enticing, it is enjoyable, in the

tetlamachti yaoxochitla [oohuiya]

flower garden o f war.

Yectli [aya] [i]n xochitly [yehuaya]

Good are the flowers. Let them be

ma nocpacxochiuh ma ic ninapana

my wreath. In these my various

nepapan i(n) noxochiuh [aya]

flowers let me wrap myself. I am a

nichalcatl nicihuatl [ahuayao

Chalca woman.

ohuaya] N icnehnequi xochitl nicnehneco

I long for the flowers, I long for

[i]n cuicatl [aytzin] in totzahuayan

the songs. In our spinning place,

in toyeyeyan [0 ohuaye]

our customary place [our womanly

noconeheuhtica ycuic in tlatohuani

sphere], I am intoning the songs o f

Axayacaton nicxochimalina

the king, little Axayacatl. I twirl

nicxochilacatzohua [0 oahuayao

them together [into a strand] like

ohuiya]

flowers; I twist them forth as a flower.

216

♦

APPENDIX

[ A ] (continued)

[A(y)] iuhquin tlacuilolli yectli

Their songs are like paintings, they

[ya(y)] incuic iuquin huelic xochitl

are good, like fragrant [pleasant]

ahuiaca noyol quimati in tlpc

flowers. My heart imbibes the

[ahuayyao ohuiya]

sweet smell o f the earth.

Tle(n)mach ypan nicmati

W hat in the world am I to think

motlatoltzin noyecoltzin

o f what you say, my lover [sexual

taxayacaton da noconahuilti [aylili

partner],4 you, little Axayacatl?

aylililili hii olotzin ololo oyyaye

W hat if I were to pleasure him . . . 5

ayyo Eta] Çan nictocuilehuilia çan

I just sing Tocuilan style, I whistle

niquiquixhuia [hooo yeee] da

to him .6 W hat if I were to pleasure

noconahuild Eta

him . . .

[ B ] C o titi to to to to to c o titi tototototo

X olo xolotzin titlahtohuani

Boy, little servant boy, you w ho are

taxayacaton [ohuiya] nel toquichtli

king, little Axayacatl, are you truly

iz maçonel titlayhtolli; cuix nel

a man? Though it may be you are

ahoc tiquahquahuitiuh [ayye]

som eone spoken o f [well known,

xoconquetzan nonexcon cenca

chosen], is it true you no longer go

niman xocontoquio

to cut firewood?7 Ay, go stoke the pot and light a big fire!8

Xiqualcui 0 xiqualcui yn

Com e and bring it, come bring

ompa ca 0 xinechualmaca 0 in

what is there! Com e give it to me!

conetzintli te’ xontlatehteca

0 child! You! Lay out the things

tihuan tonhuehuetztozque [tzono]

[the mats]. You and I will lie

tom paquiz tom paquiz paquiz

together.9 You w ill be happy, you

[tzono] nictlatlàmachihuaz [00]

will be happy, will be happy.10 And 1 w ill do it peacefully, gently.

Macamo maca 0 macamo tla

Let it not be, please don’t stick

ximayahui xolotzin titlatohuani

your hand in my skirts,11 little boy,

axayacaton [yya] aço ninicuilo y(n)

you w ho are king, little Axayacatl.

cuecuetzoca ye nomaton [0 ayee] ye

Maybe I am painted, my little hand

nocuel ye nocuel tictzitzquiznequi

is itching. Again and again you

in nochichihualtzin ach in

want to seize my breast, even12 my

noyollotzin [huiya]

heart.

In ye ahcaço m onehuian

N o w perhaps you yourself will

ticm itlacalhuiz13 nonehcuilol

ruin m y body-painting.14 You

[huiya tzono] tiquitztoz

will lie watching what comes to

xiuhquecholxochitico

be a green quechol bird flower.

[ohuaye] nihtic nim itzonaquiz

I w ill put you inside me. Your

onca m otenchalohtzin

tenchalohtli lies there.15 I will rock

nim itzm acochihuiz

you in my arms.16

218

♦

APPENDIX

[ B ] (continued)

In quetzalizquixochitl in ye

It is a quetzal popcorn flower, a

tlauhquecholcacaloxochitl in çan

flamingo raven flower.17 You lie on

moxochitquachpetlapan ti[ya] onoc

your flower-mantled mat. It lies

ye oncan ytic [y yyoyyo] aocmo

there inside . . . N o longer.

[huiyao aylili] Teocuitlapetlatl ipan ti[ya] onoc

You lie on your golden reed mat.

quetzaloztocalco tlacuilocalitic

It lies in the [precious] feathered

[yyoyyo] aocmo [huiyao aylili]

cavern house, inside the painted house . . . N o longer.

Anquiço ye ichan ye nontlayocoya

. . . this is his hom e.18 I am

tinonantzin ahço huel nitzahua

distraught. O mother, maybe I

ahço huel nihquitia ça nenca

can spin. Maybe I even used to be

niconetl [tzo] nicihuapilli ynic

able to w eave19— but it was all for

nihtolo yn noquichhuacan [yao]

naught. As a noble girl-child, I was spoken o f in connection with my [future] marriage.20

Tetlatlahuelcauh teyollocococan

It is infuriating. It is heartrending,

in tlpc in quenm anon

here on earth. Som etim es I worry

nontlahtlayocoya ninotlahuelnequi

and fret. I consume m yself in rage.

onnexiuhtlatilco nichualihtoa eue

In my desperation, I suddenly say,

conetl manoce nim iqui [yiao]

hey, child, I would as soon die.

APPENDIX

♦

219

[ C ] Toco tico tocoti, toco tico tocoti, toco tico tocoti

Ya cue nonantzin nontlaocolmiqui

Hey mother, I am dying o f sadness

o ye nican ye noquichuacan ahuel

here in my life with a man. I can’t

niquitotia in malacatl ahuel

m ake the spindle dance. I can’t

nocontlaça in notzotzopaz noca

throw my weaver’s stick. You cheat

tim oqueloa noconetzin [yao

me, my child.

ohuiya] Auh quen nel noconchihuaz

W hat in the world can I do? Am

cuix yhui chimalli yca nemanalo

I to go along sacrificing myself,

ixtlahuatl itic ninom a’mantaz

just as people are offered on their

[a ayia ooo] noca timoqueloa

shields in the fields [of war]?21 You

noconetzin [ohuiya]

cheat me, my child.

X olotzin noconetzin titlahtohuani

Little boy, my child, you w ho are

Taxayacaton çan timonencahua

king, little Axayacatl, you just

nohuic timom ahmanaya

ignore m e [are negligent toward

tonm oquichyttohua [o

me]. You used to sacrifice yourself.

ohuaye] cuix nonm ati yaopan

You say you are manly [you

niquim ixim ati ye moyaohuan

consider yourself a man]. D o I [a

noconetzin çan timonencahua

woman] know my way in war? I

nohuic [ohuiya]

know your enemies, my child. And you just ignore me.

Ma teh ticihuatini ahço nel

I wish you yourself had been a

ahticyecoz in iuhqui chahuayotl yn

wom an. Perhaps then you would

ixochitzin yn icuicatzin noconetzin

not sample [use sexually] she w ho

[yiao]

is like the blossom and song o f concubinage, my child.

A oquichpilli, not° titla’tohuani

Ah manly nobleman, my lord,

Taxayacaton onoço tonpeuh ye no

you w ho are king, little Axayacatl.

tiqualani xolotzin ye no niauh in

Instead you’ve taken off. You’re

nochan noconetzin

angry, little boy. My child, I’m about to go home, too.

22.0

♦

APPENDIX

[ C ] (continued)

Anca ço ca nican tinechnahualan

Perhaps thus you took me with

yectli ticchiuh ye motlatoltzin

sorcery. You spoke the right words.

iz in axcan tlahuanquetl, maço

Behold now the drunkard, maybe

teh titlahuanquetl ahço no

you yourself are drunk. Are there

netlacamachon tochan [yyao

social rules in our hom e?22

ohuiya] Cuix noço tinechcouh

D id you buy me anywhere? D id

tinechmocohui noconetzin cuix

you buy me for yourself, my child ?

tlapa’patlaco nahuihuan ye

D id my aunts and uncles come

notlahua(n) çaço tictlacanequi ye

to trade? Yet you do it heedlessly

no tiqualani xolotzin ye noniauh in

[impetuously, without restraint]

nochan noconetzin [yao ohuiya]

and you get angry, little boy. I’m going home, my child.

[ D ] Tocotico tititi tocotico tititi tocotico tititi

T iniuctzin ticihuatlamacazqui

You w ho are my little sister,

ma xontlachia yn omach m om an

wom an priest, please look! Many

cuicatl in Cohuatepec in quauh

songs were offered in Cohuatepec,

tenampan y(n) Topan moteca

at the w ooden [or eagle] circling

Panohuayan [ohuaya yiaho]

wall, where they came down upon us at Panohuayan.

Ço nocihuayo ninaytia noyollotzin

I m ake [live] my womanhood. My

m ococohua ach quen nel

heart suffers. I don’t know what in

noconchihuaz yhuan noquichtiz

the world I am to do. I will become

o maçoc cenca ye incue ye [ye]

a man like [together with] him —

inhuipil in toquichhuan in

howsoever it was that the skirts

toyecolhuan [yyaho ohuiya]

and blouses o f our men, our lovers, were many and full [literally “m ore,” “plentiful”].

Xiqualquixti nonextamal in

H and m e my softened m aize, you

titlatohuani Axayacaton tía ce

w ho are king, little Axayacatl. Let

nim itzm anili neoc in noconeuh

m e just pat one [tortilla] out for

neoc noconeuh xoconahuilti

you. N eoc*3, my child, neoc, my

xictocuilehuili [ololotzin ololo ayye

child. Pleasure him. Sing to him

ayyo]

Tocuilan style.

Aço tiquauhtli tocelotl in

D o you call yourself an eagle, an

timittohua noconetzin [ohuiya] aço

ocelot, my child? D o you boast

moyaohuan inhuic ticuecuenoti

before your enemies? Neoc, my

meoc in noconeuh xoconahuilti Eta

child. Pleasure him . . .

222

♦

APPENDIX

[ D ] (continued)

Ayatle nocue, ayatle nohuipil

I, a woman, don’t yet have a skirt,

nicihuatzintli yehua ya nican

a blouse [I have not yet attained

quimanaco yectli ye incuic

true wom anhood].24 H e’s the

nican quimanaco chimalli

one who came here to offer their

xochitl quenmach tontlaca ye

beautiful songs; he came here to

nichalcacihuatl nayoquan [ohuiya]

offer shield-flowers [war]. W hat is to become o f us?25 I’m a Chalca woman and I’m Ayocuan.

N iquim elehuia nocihuapohuan

I crave my fellow w om en, the

in acolhuaque niquim elehuia

Acolhuaque. I crave my fellow

yn nocihuapohuan tepaneca

wom en, the Tepaneca. W hat is

quenmach tontlaca ye

to become o f us? I’m a Chalca

nichalcacihuatl nayoquan Eta

wom an and I’m Ayocuan.

Ca pinauhticate in chahuahuilo

T hey are ashamed to be made

noconetzin [yhuia] cuix

concubines, my child. Are you

no iuh tinech(ch)ihuaz

going to do to m e what you did

i(n) no iuh toconchiuh in

to the poor little Cuauhtlatoa?

quauhtlatohuaton maçaço

Peacefully take o ff your skirts,

yhuian [a] ximocuetomaca(n)

spread your legs, you the

ximomaxahuican Antlatilolca in

Tlatelolca, you w ho stink. Com e

amiyaque [ayayya] xihuallachiacan

take a look here in Chaleo!

nican chalco [ahauyya ohuiya] Ma ninopotoni tinonantzin ma

Let m e have my plumes, mother!

xine[ch]xahua [oo] quen nechittaz

Paint me up! W hat will my lover

in noyecol ymixpan(in)on

think o f me? You pass before

tonquiçatiuh ahcaço m ihicoltiz

them [her lover and his men] as

ye huexotzinco xayacamachan

you leave. W on’t he be greedy,

[ohiuya]

rapacious in H uexotzinco, in Xayacamachan ?

[ D ] (continued)

Quen ami in cuicatl ehualo in

H ow is the song sung, how did

cuicoya 0 in quauhquecholli

people used to sing? H e is an eagle

ancaço m ihicoltiz ye huexotzinco

quecholli.2ÓW on’t he be greedy,

xayacamahchan [ohuiya]

rapacious in H uexotzinco, in Xayacamachan ?

In tetzm olocan nicihuatl

In Tetzm olocan I, a w om an, anoint

ninom aoxihuia ninocxioxihuia

my hands and feet w ith oil. I came

noconcuico ye nochcue ye

to get my maguey skirt and blouse,

nochhuipil niccecentlamitaz

and I’m going to go use them up.

[aytzin ay aytzin] Eta N iquim elehui xaltepetlapan ye

I desire the Xaltepetlapan

huexotzinca tzo incuetlaxtlamalin

H uexotzinca, their leather ropes,

tzo incuetlaxtetecuecuex

their leather thongs. I’m going to

niccecentlam ittaz [aytzin ay aytzin

go use them up.

yyao] Eta

224

♦

APPENDIX

[E ] Tocotico, tocotico, tocotico, tocotico, tocotico

Yn quen oc çan in tlamati

H e jests [or deceives, or knows]

nechmitlania in conetl in

a bit more. H e demands me, the

tlatohuani in Axayacaton

child, the king, little Axayacatl.

cue e tleon in ma ic i(n) tepal

Hey! W hat comes o f it that

nech[ch]ahuatlalia [oohuaye] noca

it seems he makes m e live as

titlaomepiaz noconetzin a’ço iuh

a concubine in the hom e o f

quinequi moyollo maçohui huian

[dependent upon] others? Because

mociahuan [yyao ohuia]

o f me, you will have twice the kingdom [or family] to keep, my child. Maybe that’s the way your heart wants it. T hough it should be s o . . . 27

Cuix a’moyollocopa noconetzin

Is it not wholeheartedly, my child,

in toconcalaquia in chahuayotl

that you bring in concubinage,

inic mochan [ahayayoho] ahço iuh

since it is your home? Maybe that’s

quinequi m oyollo Eta

the way your heart wants it.

Quenmach in tine(ch)chiuh

W hat in the world have you done

no yecoltzin [ayye] maca oc ic

to me, my lover? D o n ’t adorn

ximochichihuan huel ahtitlacatl

yourself thus any longer— you

tlein ticnenelo ye noyollotzin

are really a bad man. W hat have

ticxochimalina ye motlatol

you confused [disordered]? It is

[yyao ohuia]

my heart. You flower-twist your words.

Notzahuayan nim itzittoa in

In my spinning place, I speak

nihquitian nim itzilnam iqui

o f you. In my w eaving place, I

xolotzin tlein ticnenelo ye no

remember you. Little boy, what

yollotzin

have you confused? It is my heart.

APPENDIX

♦

225

[F ] Tocotico tocota

Nahuilylam a namonan

I am an old courtesan. I am

nicahualylama nichpochylama

your [plural] mother. I become a

ypan nochihuao nichalcotlacatl

rejected old w om an, an old maiden

[aha aili] nim itzahuiltico

lady. I am a Chalcan person. I have

noxochinenetzin no

com e to pleasure you, my flower

xochicam opalnenetzin [yyaho

doll, m y purple flower doll.

ohuia] Ye no quelehuia in tlatoani

Little king Axayacatl also wants

in Axayacaton xiqualitta

it. C om e see my flowery painted

noxochitlacuilolm aton xiqualitta

hands, come see my flowery

noxochitlacuilolchichihualtzin

painted breasts.

[oohuia] Maca ço can onnenhuetztiuh

D o n ’t go let your heart take a

ye m oyollotzin taxayacaton iz

needless tumble som ewhere, little

ca ye m om atzin ma nomatitech

Axayacatl. Here is your hand. Go

xinechonantiuh [aayyahayiaho]

along holding m e by my hand. Be

xonahuiacan Eta

content.

Moxochipetlapan moyeyeyan

On your flowery reed mat, in your

xolotzin yhuian xoncocochi

sitting place, little boy, peacefully

xonyayamani noconetzin

go to sleep. Relax, my child, you

titlatohuani taxayaca [yao ohuaya]

w ho are K ing Axayacatl.

226

♦

APPENDIX

Abbreviations

Archives AGI

Archivo General de Indias (Seville)

AGN

Archivo General de la N ación (Mexico City)

LC

Library o f Congress, Manuscripts Division (W ashington DC)

Published Collections of Spanish Documents AM

J. F. Ramírez, ed. Archivo mexicano: Documentos para la historia de México. 2 vols. Mexico City: V. García Torres, 1852—53.

DHC

Mariano Cuevas, ed. Cartas y otros documentos de Hernán Cortés novísi­ mamente descubiertos en el Archivo General de Indias. Seville: F. D íaz, 1915.

DHM

Joaquín García Icazbalceta, ed. Colección de documentos para la historia de México. 2 vols. Mexico City: Francisco D íaz de León, 1858 and 1866.

D IE

M. de Navarrete, ed. Colección de documentos inéditos para la his­ toria de España. 113 vols. Madrid: Real A cadem ia de la H istoria, 1842—95.

D II

Joaquín Pacheco, Francisco de Cárdenas, and Luis Torres de M endoza, eds. Colección de documentos inéditos relativos a l descubrimiento, conquista y colonización de las posesiones españoles en América y Oceania. 42 vols. Madrid: Manuel Bernaldo de Quirós, 1864—84.

D ID

Real Academia de la Historia. Colección de documentos inéditos relativos al descubrimiento, conquista y organización de las antiguas posesiones espa­ ñoles de Ultramar. 25 vols. Madrid: Tip. “Sucesores de Rivadeneyra,” 1884—1932.

ENE

Francisco Paso y Troncoso, ed. Epistolario de Nueva España, 1505—1818. 16 vols. Mexico City: Biblioteca Histórica Mexicana, 1939—42.

227

Published Collections of Nahuatl Documents FC

Charles Dibble and Arthur

J. O. Anderson, eds. The Florentine Codex:

General History o f the Things o f N ew Spain, by Bernardino de Sahagún. 13 vols. Santa Fe, N M and Salt Lake City: School o f American Research and University o f Utah Press, 1950—82. W PH

James Lockhart, ed. We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts o f the Conquest o f Mexico. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993. Editions of Spanish Chronicles

BD

Bernal D iaz. The Conquest o f N ew Spain. Edited and translated by J. M. Cohen. N ew York: Penguin Books, 1963. (This book is printed by a N orth Am erican publisher primarily for an English-speaking audi­ ence, and I selected the leading English editions o f all chronicles for consistency’s sake. H owever, because Cohen om itted large segments o f the text, there are numerous places in the book where I cite a Mexican edition instead.)

DD

Fray D iego Durán. The History o f the Indies o f N ew Spain. Edited and translated by Doris H eyden. Norm an: University o f Oklahoma Press, Í994.

FLG

Francisco L ópez de Gómara. Cortés: The Life o f the Conqueror by H is Secretary (from Historia de la conquista de México). Edited and translated by Lesley Byrd Simpson. Los Angeles: University o f California Press, ï

HC

965.

H ernán Cortés. Letters from Mexico. Edited and translated by Anthony Pagden. Introduction by J. H . Elliott. N e w H aven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986.

Frequently Cited Anthologies CAE

Eloise Quiñones Keber, ed. Chipping Aw ay on Earth: Studies in Prehispanic and Colonial Mexico in Honor o f Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles Dibble.

Lancaster, CA: Labyrinthos, 1994. IW E M Susan Schroeder, Stephanie Wood, and Robert Haskett, eds. Indian Women o f Early Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.

228

♦

ABBREVIATIONS

Notes

Introduction 1. “Chalca Woman’s Song” (see appendix). This version seems to have been a sin­ gle example o f a common subgenre o f song, which would not have been limited to the Chalca. 2. Haniel Long, Malinche, Doña Marina (Santa Fe, NM: Writers’ Editions, 1939),

39-

3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10.

, Her image has been studied extensively. The best and most complete work is Sandra Messinger Cypess,L