This extremely difficult composition seems to be a war song, in which
the bard refers to the traditional history of the Nahuas, names some
of their most prominent warriors, and incites his hearers to deeds of
prowess on the battle field. I do not claim for my version more than
a general correspondence to the thought of the original. In several
parts, especially verse 18, the text is obviously defective.
1. _tzihuactitlan_; "the land of the tzihuac bushes." The tzihuactli
is a small kind of maguey which grows in rocky localities. The tenth
edifice of the great temple at Tenochtitlan was a wall surrounding an
artificial rockery planted with these bushes. Sahagun, who mentions
this fact, adds that the name of this edifice was _Teotlalpan_, which
literally means "on holy ground." (_Hist. de la Nueva España_, Lib.
II, App.) The _mizquitl_ is the common _Mimosa circinalis_.
_Chicomoztoc_; "at the Seven Caves," a famous locality in Mexican
legend, and the supposed birthplace of their race.
2. _Colhuacan_ is probably for Acolhuacan; the early rulers of the
latter were of the blood of the Chichimec chiefs of the Tepanecas.
4. _Hueytlalpan_, "at the ancient land," perhaps for Huetlapallan, a
1ocality often referred to in the migration myths of the Nahuas.