Al octavo mes llamaban huei tecuhílhuitl. En el primero día deste mes hacían fiesta a la diosa llamada Xilonen, diosa de los xilotes. En esta fiesta daban de comer a todos los pobres, hombres y mujeres, viejos y viejas, niños y niñas. A honra desta diosa mataban a una mujer, a diez días deste mes, compuesta con los ornamentos con que pintaban a la misma diosa.
\nDaban de comer a hombres y mujeres, chicos y grandes, ocho días continos antes de la fiesta.\nLuego, muy de mañana, dábanles a beber una manera de mazamorra que llaman chienpinolli. Cada uno bebía cuanto quería, y al medio día poníanlos todos por orden en sus rencleras, sentados, y dábanlos tamales. El que los daba, daba a cada uno cuantos podía abarcar con una mano, y si alguno se desmandaba a tomar dos veces, maltratábanle y tomábanle los que tenía, y íbase sin nada. Esto hacían los señores por consolar a los pobres, porque en este tiempo ordinariamente hay falta de mantenimientos. Todos estos ocho días bailaban y danzaban, haciendo areito hombres y mujeres, todos juntos, todos muy ataviados con ricas vestiduras y joyas. Las mujeres traían los cabellos sueltos. Andaban en cabello, bailando y cantando con los hombres. Comenzaba este areito en poniéndose el Sol, y perseveraban en él hasta hora de las nueve. Traían muchas lumbreras, como grandes hachas, de tea, y habían muchos braseros o hogueras, que ardían en el mismo patio donde bailaban. En este baile o areito andaban trabados de las manos, o abrazados, el brazo del uno asido del cuerpo, como abrazado, y el otro asimismo del otro, hombres y mujeres. Un día antes que matasen a la mujer que había de morir a honra de la diosa Xilonen, las mujeres que servían en el cu, que se llamaban cihuatlamacazque, hacían areito en el patio del mismo cu, y cantaban los loores y cantares desta diosa. Iban todas rodeadas de la que había de morir, que iba compuesta con los ornamentos desta diosa. Desta manera, cantando y bailando, velaban toda la noche precedente el día en que había de morir. Y en amaneciendo, todos los nobles y hombres de guerra hacían areito en el mismo patio, y con ellos bailaba también la mujer que había de morir, con otras muchas mujeres aderezadas como ella. Los hombres iban por sí, bailando delante, y las mujeres iban tras ellos.
\nDesque todos así bailando llegaban al cu donde había de morir aquella mujer, subíanla por las\ngradas arriba. Llegada arriba, tomábala uno a cuestas, espaldas con espaldas, y estando así la cortaban la cabeza, y luego la sacaban el corazón y le ofrecían al Sol. Otras muchas cerimonias se hacían en esta fiesta, etcétera.
\n|Cuenta deste calendario | Cuenta del calendario romano
\n|----|----|\n|1 e |e 22 Sancti Paulini epi. et conf.
\n|2 f |f 23\n|3 g |g 24
\n|4 A |A 25\n|5 b |b 26
\n|6 c |c 27\n|7 d |d 28
\n|8 e |e 29\n|9 f |f 30
\n|10 g |g 1 Julius habet dies XXXI.\n|11 A |A 2
\n|12 b |b 3
\n|13 c |c 4
\n|14 d |d 5
\n|15 e |e 6
\n|16 f |f 7
\n|17 g |g 8
\n|18 A |A 9\n|19 b |b 10\n|20 c |c 11 Pii papœ at Mart.
They called the eighth month Huei Tecuilhuitl. On the first day of this month, they would celebrate a festival for the goddess called Xilonen, goddess of the jilotes.1 During this festival, they would feed all of the poor people: men and women, older men and women, boys and girls. In honor of this goddess, they would kill a woman on the tenth day of this month, who was dressed with the ornaments with which they depicted the goddess herself.
\nThey would feed the men and the women, young and older ones, for eight days straight before the festival. Then, very early in the morning, they would give them a type of maize porridge to drink, which they call chiampinolli. Each one would drink as much as he or she wanted; and at noon, they would place them all in order, sitting down in rows, according to their rank, and would give them tamales. The one who was distributing these would give everyone as many as they could hold in one hand; and if anyone dared to take a second portion, they would mistreat them and take away the portion they already had, and they would leave with nothing. The lords would do this in order to give consolation to the poor people, because usually there is no food during this season. They would dance and twirl for all eight days, men and women dancing the areito all together, all of them very finely dressed in rich clothes and jewels. The women3 would wear their hair unbound, moving with their hair loose,4 dancing and singing with the men. This areito would begin at sunset, and they would continue with it until the ninth hour. They would bring many lights, like big torches made of resin; and there would be many braziers or bonfires burning in the same patio where they were dancing. In this dance, or areito, they would go about holding each other’s hands or embracing, with the arm of one dancer around the body of the other, as if in an embrace, while the other dancer—both men and women—would do the same with his or her partner. One day before they killed the woman who was to die in honor of the goddess Xilonen, the women who served in the cu, who were called cihuatlamacazqueh, would perform an areito in the patio of that very cu and sing the praises and the songs of this goddess. All of them would keep surrounding the one who was about to die, who went about dressed with the ornaments of this goddess. In this way, singing and dancing, they would keep vigil all night the day before she was to die. And at daybreak, all the nobles and warriors would perform an areito in the same patio. And the woman who was to die would also dance with them and with many other women who were dressed like her. The men would go by themselves, dancing ahead, and the women would go behind them. When they all arrived dancing like this5 at the cu where that woman was to die, they would make her climb up the steps. Once she reached the top, one of them would carry her on his back, back to back, and while they were in that position, they would cut off her head; then they would tear out her heart and offer it to the sun. Many other ceremonies would be performed during this festival, et cetera.
\n|Cuenta deste calendario | Cuenta del calendario romano
\n|----|----|\n|1 e |e 22 Sancti Paulini epi. et conf.
\n|2 f |f 23\n|3 g |g 24
\n|4 A |A 25\n|5 b |b 26
\n|6 c |c 27\n|7 d |d 28
\n|8 e |e 29\n|9 f |f 30
\n|10 g |g 1 Julius habet dies XXXI.\n|11 A |A 2
\n|12 b |b 3
\n|13 c |c 4
\n|14 d |d 5
\n|15 e |e 6
\n|16 f |f 7
\n|17 g |g 8
\n|18 A |A 9\n|19 b |b 10\n|20 c |c 11 Pii papœ at Mart.
jilotes: plural Hispanicized form of the Nahuatl word xilotl (tender maize).↩
Marginal note: Sancti Paulini epi. et conf. ([Feast] of Saint Paulinus the Bishop and his companions).↩
Marginal note: Julius habet dies XXXI (July has thirty-one days).↩
“Moving with their hair loose”: andaban en cabello. The sentence is unclear but seems to mean that the women danced with their hair disheveled, forgoing proper daily etiquette.↩
Marginal note: Pii papoe mart. ([Feast] of Pius, Pope and Martyr).↩
The eighth month they called Uei tecuilhuitl. On the first day of this month they observed a feast to the goddess named Xilonen (goddess of the tender maize). On this feast they gave food to all the poor men and women—old men, old women, boys, girls—in honor of the goddess. They slew a woman, on the tenth day of this month, arrayed in the ornaments with which they represented the same goddess.
\nFor eight uninterrupted days before the feast, they fed men and women, young and old. Then, very early in the morning they gave them to drink a kind of gruel which they call chienpinolli. Each one drank as much as he wished. And at noon they placed all in order, seated in their rows, and they gave them tamales. He who gave them [out], gave each one as many as he could hold in one hand. And if one of them exceeded the bounds of custom so much as to take [tamales] twice, they mishandled him and took from him those which he had, and he went with nothing. This [feasting] the lords brought about in order to give comfort to the poor; for at this time, ordinarily, there is a want of the necessities of life.
\nAll these eight days they danced and moved in rhythm, men and women together performing the ceremonious movement, all heavily adorned with rich vestments and jewels. The women wore their hair unbound; they went with hair down, dancing and singing with the men. This dance began at sundown, and they continued in it until nine o'clock. They carried many lights (like great torches) of resinous wood, and there were many braziers or bonfires which burned in the same courtyard in which they danced. In this dance or solemn movement they went with hands joined [to those of other dancers], or embraced—the arm of one grasping the body of another as in an embrace, and the other likewise [holding still] another, men and women [alike].
\nOne day before they slew the woman who was to die in honor of the goddess Xilonen, the women who served on the pyramid (who were called ciuatlamacazque) performed a dance in the courtyard of this same pyramid, and sang the [hymns of] praise and the canticles of this goddess. They all went surrounding her who was to die [and] who went bedight in the ornaments of this goddess. In this way, singing and dancing, they kept watch all night before the day when she was to die.
\nAnd at dawn all the nobles and warriors performed a dance in this same courtyard, and with them also danced the woman who was to die, with many other women arrayed like her. The men went dancing in front, by themselves, and the women went behind them.
\nAs soon as all, thus dancing, arrived at the pyramid where that woman was to die, they made her go above, up the steps. When she reached the top, one [of the priests] took her upon his back, shoulder against shoulder; and in this position, they struck off her head and then tore out her heart and offered it to the sun. Many other ceremonies were enacted in this feast. Etc.
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