[Aztlan] whirlpool question

[D. M. Urquidi]

Folks to be more precise about the source of sacrifices at Pantitlan,

Sahagún, B. d. (1956). Historia General de Las Cosas de Nueva España. 
México, DF, México: Editorial Porrua, SA

Libro II, Capitulo XX;  De la fiesta y sacrificios q ue hacan en las calendas del primeromex, ue se llamaba atlcahualo, o  quauitleoa

In the Porrus edition, it is on page 139-142.

D. M. Urquidi
P. O. Box 49485
Austin, Texas 78765
http://www.mayalords.org
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientamericas/


--- On Fri, 4/3/09, Dodds Pennock, Dr C.E. <ced22 at leicester.ac.uk> wrote:

> From: Dodds Pennock, Dr C.E. <ced22 at leicester.ac.uk>
> Subject: Re: [Aztlan] whirlpool question
> To: "Aztlan" <aztlan at lists.famsi.org>
> Date: Friday, April 3, 2009, 9:36 AM
> Dear colleagues,
> 
> In response to Ronald's query about the origin of the
> whirlpool sacrifice information, I believe that D.M. Urquidi
> may have been correct in tracing this to Diego Durán,
> although his account does not suggest that this was a
> metaphor or hazing, but fatal bloodletting. Certainly, there
> are references to the practice in his Book of the Gods and
> Rites as part of the reverences to Tlaloc. The relevant
> passage (from Heyden and Horcasitas's 1971 translation)
> reads:
> 
> "When that great pole or tree had been set in place,
> together with the smaller ones and the penitential ropes,
> the high priests and dignitaries, dressed up in their
> pontifical robes (as these are called) carried forth a
> little girl seven or eight years old in a covered litter...
> She was dressed in blue, representing the great lake and
> other springs and creeks... [the people] took the child in
> her litter and sent her off in a canoe. At the same time the
> great tree was removed, its branches were bound again, [and]
> it was placed on a raft in the water. The music and singing
> did not cease, and innumerable canoes [filled with] women,
> men, and children [who desired to] see the feast went along
> with her to the middle of the lake, swiftly. Then they
> arrived at the place called Pantitlan, where the lake had
> its drain. (Occasionally a tremendous whirlpool appears when
> the water is sucked down.) In this way many canoes are in
> peril because of carelessness and lack of knowledge as they
> !
>  pass on the surface.
> When the great lords on one hand and those of the city on
> the other had arrived at that place, the great tree called
> Tota was taken and was thrust into the mud next to the
> spring or drain. Its branches were untied, and it filled out
> again. Then [the people] took the child within the litter
> and slit her throat with a small spear (used for killing
> ducks), and her blood was allowed to flow into the water.
> Once [the blood] had flowed, she was cast into the waters,
> right into the whirlpool. It is said that the latter
> swallowed her so that she was never seen again...
> The tree of which I spoke was left fixed there until it
> rotted and fell. And since each year they set up a new tree,
> it is said that there were so many dried ones next to the
> spring that finally they had to place them farther away
> owing to lack of space... This is true because I remember
> that, on crossing the lake by canoe many times, I saw the
> great hoary tree trunks rising out of the water... I believe
> that today there are still remains of them; the natives say
> that if the spring could be dredged and cleaned one would
> find many precious things, such as gold, silver, jewels,
> stones, and notable signs and vestiges of ancient sacrifice.
> I do not wish to create a confusion because of the many
> versions I was told of this account. Some say that it was a
> drain. Others disagree, [saying] that it was a spring and
> that during the rainy season a great quantity of water burst
> forth, filling the entire City of Mexico and its canals with
> water..." (pp.163-6.)
> 
> There is then a lot of discussion about whether it was a
> spring or a suction drain, and Durán argues that it need
> not necessarily have been a drain just because it swallowed
> up the girl's body, as she could have been weighted down
> with stones by the priests.
> 
> I hope this is helpful to those colleagues who do not have
> the text in front of them.
> Yours,
> Caroline
> -------
> Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock
> Lecturer in Early Modern History
> School of Historical Studies
> University of Leicester
> University Road
> Leicester
> LE1 7RH
> 
> email: ced22 at le.ac.uk
> http://www.le.ac.uk/history/people/ced22.html
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