Clendinnen, Cost of Courage in Aztec Society

The Past and Present Society
The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society

Author(s): Inga Clendinnen
Source: Past & Present, No. 107 (May, 1985), pp. 44-89
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society
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THE COST OF COURAGEIN
AZTEC SOCIETY*
Proudof itself
is the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
Here no one fearsto die in war.
This is our glory . . .
Who could conquerTenochtitlan?

Who could shakethe foundationof heaven?1
Todaywe are temptedto readthis fragmentof an Aztec2song-poem

as a familiarpiece of bombast:the aggressivemilitaryempirewhich
insists on its invincibility,its warriorsstrangersto fear. In what
follows I want to indicatehow the businessof war was understood
in thegreatcityof Tenochtitlan,andthen,in morebutstillinadequate
detail, to enquire into how warrioraction was sustainedand ex-
plained, in the hope of drawingcloser to an Aztec readingof this
small text.
That Tenochtitlanwas the creationof war and the courageand

staminaof its young fightingmen was indisputable.The splendid
city whichCortesand his men saw shimmeringaboveits lakewaters
in the autumnof 1519had been foundedas a miserablecollectionof
mud huts less thantwo hundredyearsbefore.Sometime latein the
twelfthcenturythe finalabandonmentof the once-greatimperialcity
* My thanksaredue to membersof the ShelbyCullomDavisSeminaron Warand
Societyat PrincetonUniversity,who respondedto an initialdraftof this articlewith
lively interest,subtleand acutecriticism,and generousencouragement. The Plates
are reproducedby permissionof the Bibliothequede l'AssembleeNationale,Paris,
andAkademischeDruck-undVerlagsanstalt, Graz(Plate8), theBibliothequeNation-
ale, Paris(Plate2), the BodleianLibrary,Oxford(Plates1, 3, 4), the BritishLibrary,
London(Plates6, 7), the InstitutoNacionalde Antropologia e Historia,Mexico(Plate
9), and the Museumfur Volkerkunde,Basle(Plate5).
1 "Cantaresmexicanos",fos. 19V-20r) trans.MiguelLeon-Portilla in his Pre-Colum-
bianLiteratures of Mexico(Norman,Okla., 1969),p. 87.
2 The peoplewho had come to dominatecentralMexicoat the time of European
conquest,ruling their tributeempire from the island city of Tenochtitlan,called
themselvesthe "Mexica"or the "Tenocha",but commonusagehasestablishedthem
as the "Aztecs".
THE COST OF COURAGEIN AZTEC SOCIETY 45
of Tula to the north had begun a restless movementof peoples

southwards,to the gentlerlandsof the valleyof Mexico.By the close
of the thirteenthcenturymorethanfifty "minisculepolities"jostled
in the valley,boundtogetherby tradeandincreasingly,as population
and ambitiongrew, by the determinationto exacttributefromeach
other.3The Aztecs, latecomersin the migration,lived miserablyand
marginallyon the narrowtoleranceof theirlonger-settledneighbours
until the lord of Azcapotzalcoallowed them to settle the swampy
landsin the south-westof LakeTexcoco. He had been impressedby
theiringeniousexploitationof previouslydespisedlakeresources;by
theirenergeticreclamationof productiveland throughthe dredging
andpilingsystemof chinampaagriculturelong practisedin the valley;
and most of all by the unusualferocityof theiryoung fightingmen.
The Aztecs were to live essentiallyas mercenariesfor the next
difficultyears, as their city and neat patchworkof chinampas slowly
grew. Their tribal deity Huitzilopochtli,who spoke through the
mouthsof his fourgod-bearerpriests,hadled themthroughthe years
of the migration,and with settlementinternalaffairswere ordered
by the leadersof each calpulli or lineagegroup,who distributedland
and labourand gatheredthe young men for war.4With time came
the need for moreformaland unifiedrepresentation for negotiations
with othervalleypeoples, so the calpulli leadersapproacheda prince
of Culhuacanwho could claim descentfrom the Toltecs of Tula to
becometheirtlatoani, or "Speaker".The outsiderwasintegratedinto
the group and createdan instantaristocracyby the neat device of
marryingtwentyAztec wives, one fromeachcalpulli, or so the story
goes.5
Thatfirsttlatoani probablyhadlittleinfluenceon theadministration
of Aztec affairs, but in the late 1420s, a hundredyears after the
establishmentof Tenochtitlan,there was a significantshift in the
3 EdwardA. Calnek,"Patterns of EmpireFormationin the Valleyof Mexico,Late

PostclassicPeriod,1200-1521",in GeorgeA. Collier,RenatoI. RosaldoandJohnD.
Wirth(eds.), TheInca andAztecsStates, 1400-1800:Anthropology andHistory(New
York, 1982), p. 44. Calnekelegantlyreviewsrecentdevelopmentsin this complex
area.
4 GordonBrotherston, enquiringinto Huitzilopochtli's"indeliblysecularstreak",
suggeststhat a one-timeleaderwas transformedinto the god by the creatorsof the
empire,as a vivifyingfigureof unboundedenergyand terror.GordonBrotherston,
"Huitzilopochtliand WhatWas Madeof Him", in NormanHammond(ed.), Meso-
amencanArcheology: New Approaches (London, 1974), pp. 155-65.
Ramirez:relaciondelorigende losIndios
5 Morecorrectly,one of the stories:Codice
quehabitanestaNuevaEspana,segunsushistorias(Mexico,1944),p. 42. The few and
sketchyaccountsconflictfor this earlyperiod.
46 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 107
locus of authority.Itzcoatl,son of the borrowedprince, in alliance
with two other client cities, led his warriorsagainstthose of the
overlordcity and won. The spoils of victory plunder,land and
the labourto workit, even the chanceof securingthe tributedue to
Azcapotzalcofromits subjectcities lay in his hand. He chose not
to distributethat wealth directly to the calpullis, but ratherto his
warriorsand especiallyto his royal kin throughthe creationof an
elaboratesystem of militaryofficesand titles, each carryingwith it
rights to tribute and the produce of tribute fields. It has been
persuasivelyargued that with Itzcoatl and his victory began the
recruitmentof calpulli leadersinto serviceandidentificationwith the
nascentstate, and the developmentof an increasinglysharpdistinc-
tion betweena privilegedhereditaryaristocracyanda tributarycom-
monerclass.6The calpulli was not extinguished:it remainedthe key
localunit for the distributionof calpulli landandfor the organization
of labourforpublicworks,warandcollectiveritualuntilthe sixteenth
century and the Spanishattack. But with Itzcoatland those who
followedhim, both powerand authoritymoved decisivelyfromthe
locallybased lineagegroupsto the palaceof the rulerand the great
temple complexadjacentto it.
Under Itzcoatl'ssuccessorMoctezumathe Elder the armies of
the Triple Allianceof Tenochtitlan,Texcoco and Tlacopanspilled
beyondthe valley to carveout the broadshapeof theirmagnificent
if unstable tribute empire. That expansionwas paralleledby the
increasingmagnificenceof Tenochtitlan.In 1519, the lastyear-ofits
grandeur,it containedperhaps200,000to 250,000people,withmany
more densely settled aroundthe lake margin.(Seville, the port of
departurefor mostof the conquistadores,numberedin the sameyear
not more than 60,000 persons.)7The city lived more by tradethan
tribute,but that tradehad been stimulatedand focusedby war, just
as its war-fedsplendourattractedthe most skilledartisansand most
giftedsingersto embellishits gloryfurther.8The one-classsocietyof
6 J. Rounds,"Lineage,Classand Powerin the Aztec State",Amer.Ethnologist, vi
(1979),pp. 73-86. For a differentemphasis,see ElizabethM. Brumfiel,"AztecState
Making:Ecology,Structureandthe Originsof the State",Amer.Anthropologist, lxxxv
(1983), pp. 261-84.
7 For a reviewof recentdiscussionon population figures,see WilliamT. Sanders,
JeffreyR. Parsonsand RobertS. Santley,TheBasinof Mexico:Ecological Processesin
theEvolutionof a Civilization(New York,1979).For Seville,see J. H. Elliott,Imperial
Spain,1469-1716(New York,1964),p. 117.
8 For tradeand tributeinto Tenochtitlan, and the developmentof hierarchy,see
Calnek,"Patternsof EmpireFormationin the Valleyof Mexico";EdwardCalnek,
"TheInternalStructureof Tenochtitlan",in EricR. Wolf(ed.), TheValleyofMexico
(cont. on p. 47)
the earlydaysof hardshiphad givenway to an elaboratelydifferenti-

ated hierarchy.But that hierarchyhad been createdthroughthe
distributionof the spoils of war, and successin combatremainedits
dynamic. Performanceon the field of battlewas as centralfor the
confirmationof an elevatedpositionas for escapefroma lowly one,
and concernregardingthat performancegrippedyoung malesof all
social ranks.
It also concernedthose who directedthe city. Fromthe age of ten
or eleven all commoneryouths save those few dedicatedto the
priesthoodcame under the control of the "House of Youth", the
warriorhouse in their own calpulli. These were not exclusively
militaryschools:eachladwasexpectedto mastera rangeof masculine
skills, most particularlythe trade of his father. The great mass of
Aztecwarriorswere essentiallypart-time,returningfromcampaigns
to the mundane pursuits of farming, hunting or fishing, pulque
brewingandselling,or the dozenothertradesthe citysupported.Few
commonerswere so successfulin battleas to emancipatethemselves
entirelyfrom such labour.Nonethelessit was war and the prospect
of war which fired imaginationand ambition.9At fifteen the lads
beganintensivetrainingin weapon-handling, gatheringeveryevening
in the warriorhouse with the maturewarriors local heroes to
learnthe chantsand danceswhich celebratedwarriorspast and the
eternalexcitementsof war. Assignedlaboursbecamea chanceto test
strength,as boys wrestledlogs from the distantforest to feed the
never-dyingfiresin theirlocaltempleor to meettheirward'sobliga-
(n. 8 cont.)
(Albuquerque,N.M., 1976),pp. 287-302;JohannaBrodaet al., Estratificacionsocial

en la Mesoame'ncaprehispanica(Mexico, 1976);PedroCarrascoand JohannaBroda
(eds.), Economiapolttica e ideologzaen el Me'xicoprehispanico(Mexico,1978);Frances
Berdan,"Trade,TributeandMarketin the AztecEmpire"(Univ. of Texasat Austin
Ph.D. thesis, 1975).
9 Bernardinode Sahagun,Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New
Spain, trans.ArthurJ. O. Andersonand CharlesE. Dibble, 13 pts. (SantaFe, 1950-
82), bk. 8, ch. 20, pp. 71-2. Otherinformationon warriorschoolsandthe conductof
waris to be foundin bk. 3, app., chs. 4-6; bk. 6, chs. 3, 21-31;bk. 8, chs. 12, 14,
17-18,20-21, apps. B, C. See also, for the regaliasand the trainingand disciplinary
procedures,CodexMendoza, ed. JamesCooperClark,3 vols. (London,1983);Thelma
D. Sullivan,"ArmsandInsigniaof the Mexica",Estudiosde culturanakuatl, x (1972),
pp. 155-93(translation of therelevantsectionsof theCodiceMatritensede la Academia
de la Historia);JohannaBroda,"E1tributode trajesde guerrerosy la estructuraci6n
del sistematributario",in Carrascoand Broda(eds.), Economta,politica e ideologzaen
el Me'xicoprehispanico,pp. 113-72.For garrisons,see C. Nigel Davies, "TheMilitary
()rganizationof the Aztec State",Atti del XL congresointernazionaledelli Americanisti,
xl pt. 4 (1972), pp. 213-21. Descriptionsof campaignsare most abundantin Diego
Duran, Histona de las Indias de Nueva-Espana y islas de Tierra Firme, ed. Jose F.
Ramirez,2 vols. (Mexico, 1867-80).
tionsat the centraltempleprecinct.But warprovidedthe crucialand
indeed the sole consequentialtest. Performancein that test was
measuredin a quitestraightforward, arithmeticalkindof way. Move-
ment throughthe ranks of the warriorgradesdependedon taking
aliveon the field of battlea specifiednumberof captivesof specified
quality.(See Plate 1.) Eachpromotionwas markedby the awardof
designatedinsigniaand by a distinctivecuttingand arrangingof the
hair, althoughthe "warriorlock", at the centreand slightlyto the
backof the head, was alwayskept intact.(Someof the mostelevated
warriors,the "shaven-headedOtomi", kept only that lock, bound
with brightcordclose to the scalpso thatit floatedbanner-likeabove
the shavenpate.)It waspossibleforthe commonerwhodistinguished
himself over severalcampaignsto graduateinto the lower ranksof
the royaladministration,or even to enjoythe perquisitesof lordship,
at leastfor his lifetime.Rewardswere not only individual:if success
in battlebroughtincreasinglygorgeousinsigniaandincreasingoppor-
tunities for their public and ceremonialdisplay, it also increased
access to the goods of the tributewarehouse,which could then be
dispersedto kin and friends:a nice exampleof verticalintegration.
The connection between the honours heaped on the triumphant
warriorand the generalbenefitsenjoyedby civiliansassociatedwith
him by blood or friendshipwere well understood.Long after the
conquestmen recalledwhat happenedwhen "the man dexterousin
arms"was successful:
such honourhe won thatno one anywheremightbe adorned[likehim];no one in
his [own]housemightassumeall his finery.For in truth[because]of his dartand
his shieldtherewas eatingand drinking,and one was arrayedin capeand breech-
clout. For verilyin Mexicowerewe, and thus persistedthe reignof Mexico. . .10
The conditionsof warriortrainingfor the sons of the lordsareless
clear.Someappearto havebeenassociatedwithlocalwarriorhouses,
takingtheir specializedtrainingthere, while others,dedicatedearly
to a particularorderof warriors,trainedwithinits exclusivehouse.
10 FlorentineCodex,bk. 8, app. C, p. 89.
11For the warriortrainingof the sons of lords,see Florentine
Codex,bk. 8, ch. 20.
For trainingwithin the house of the knightlyorder,see Duran,Historia,ii, ch. 88.
For the complexbusinessof accessof commonersto high militaryoffice,see Virve
Piho, "Tlacatecutli,Tlacochtecutli,Tlacateccatly Tlacochcalcatl",Estudiosdecultura
nakuatl,x (1972), pp. 315-28. My own suspicionis thata rhetoricof accessand an
actualityof restrictionwas temperedby the occasionalexception-a not unfamiliar
situation but thatthe positionsof tlacateccatlandtlacochcalcatl
of Tenochtitlanwere
reservedto membersof the rulingdynasty.See J. Rounds'sabsorbingdiscussionin
his "DynasticSuccessionandthe Centralization of Powerin Tenochtitlan",in Collier,
Rosaldoand Wirth(eds.), Inca andAztecStates,1400-1800,pp. 63-89.
t
c+L a</ e9 e^e' s caAv
Asx,o avs e <P/,
one and
in variousregaliasawardedfor takingbetween Arch. S
1. Warrior-priests MS.
(c. 1541-2),fo. 65: BodleianLibrary,Oxford,
While the lords certainlywore the hair cuts designatinglevels of
prowesstheir ladderof promotionmay not have coincidedprecisely
with thatclimbedby commoners.It was probablysignificantlymore
rigorous.For a noblein the lateryearsof empirethe costof cowardice
was high. Access to officeand the perquisitesof office its tribute
fields,its dependentlabourers-depended on adequateperformance
in battle,and the higherthe officethe morespectacularthe required
performance.The rulerhimselfwas not exempt. His inner Council
of Four, drawnfromthe royalkin, includedthe two highestmilitary
commanders,andthe rulerhimselfhadusuallyheldone of thosetwo
positions.Afterhis "election"by thatsamecouncil,and the obliga-
tory periodof seclusionand fasting,his firstpublicduty was to lead
his fightingmen to war, the splendourof his laterinstallationbeing
a directmeasureof the successof his campaign.12(See Plate2.)
A dramatictougheningin requiredwarriorperformancefor the
nobilityhad come in the middleyearsof the rule of Moctezumathe
Elder, just beforethe Aztec expansionbeyondthe valley.Tlacaelel,
a young generalunder Itzcoatl,adviserto Moctezumaand to three
rulersafterhim, and chief architectand strategistof empire, made
the new rulesclear. The most covetedjewels,the richestcloaksand
shieldscould no longerbe boughtin the market-place.They could
be purchasedonly with valorousdeeds. Any male who failedto go
to war, even if he were the king'sson, wouldbe deprivedof all signs
of rankandwouldlive as a despisedcommoner,whilegreatwarriors
wouldeat fromthe king'sdish. This was a sufficientlycrucialmatter
to breachthe hardeningdivisionsof class: should a legitimateson
prove cowardly, and the son of a slave or servantexcel him in
battle, the bastardwould replacethe cowardas legitimateheir.13
FurthermoreTlacaelelproclaimedthe initiationof a particularkind
of warfareagainstfive precariouslyindependentprovincesacrossthe
mountains provincesnoted, as werethe Aztecs,for the toughness
of theirfightingmen. In theseso-called"FloweryWars"the soleend
would be the mutual taking of warriorcaptivesfor ritual killing.
At the same time Tlacaelelwas preparingthe great campaignsof
subjugationwhich would bring hundreds,even thousands,of pris-
onersto Tenochtitlan.The buildingof the GreatTemplewas already
in train.In the nextyearsthe Aztecswereto becomenotoriousamong
their neighboursfor their mass ceremonialkillings, and for the
extravaganttheatricalismin which those killingswere framed.
12 FlorentineCodex,bk. 8, ch. 18, passim.
13 Duran,Historia,i, pp. 240-2.
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2. A Warrior-king,Ixtlilxochitlof Texcoco. Codex Ixtlilxochitl(1582?),pt.
106: BibliothequeNationale,Paris,Mexicain65-71.
It is temptingto see this intensificationin militaryand religious
ardouras a responseto the events of the year One Rabbit, 1454 in
our reckoning.Three seasonsof wildly unstableweather,of snows
and frostsand drought,had culminatedthat yearin a greatfamine
so severeas to threatenthe life of the youngcity. Mensoldthemselves
or their childreninto slaveryfor maize, and Moctezumaformally
releasedhis subjectsfrom their duty, to seek their lives elsewhere.
The next year had seen recoverywith good rainsand full harvest.
Still, the sequenceis seductive:the famine,andthenthe doubledrive
to appeaseangry gods and to demonstrate,in face of the famine's
bleaklessonas to the limitsof coercion,the centralroleof the warrior
in securingprosperity.So it hasbeenconventionallyunderstood,and
so, perhaps,it happened.13uttwo key sourcesnote the famineas
occurring- afterthe initiationof the FloweryWarsand the renewed
emphasison warriorvirtues.14 Further,the conventionalexplanation
derivesits plausibilityfromconceptsof causationandof thecontinuity
and uniformityof the temporalprocesswhich arefamiliarto us, but
alien to Aztecs. In their cyclic system each year, indeed each day,
had its own particularand discretecharacteristics. The glimpseswe
haveof theirunderstandingof the famineshow themidentifyingor,
morecorrectly,recognizingthe yearOne Rabbitas characterized by
dearth,andso planningto preparefortherecurrenceof thedangerous
yearby the anxiousstoringof ordinarilydespisedfoods.The famine's
consequenceswereunderstoodas short-termnot so muchbecauseof
opportunerains, but becauseof this "sufficientunto the year-sign
arethe evils thereof"kindof view. The yearof the rainsalsosawthe
end of a fifty-two-yearcycle, the completionof a "Bundleof Years".
We are told that in the cleansing and renewalof the New Fire
Ceremonyof 1455 there was special happinessand rejoicing,"for
thus it is ended; thus sicknessand faminehave left us''.15
It is possiblethat the New Fire Ceremony,markingas it did the
openingof a new epoch, had more to do with Aztec expansionism
14 HernandoAlvaradoTezozomoc,Cronica mexicana,ed. M. Mariscal(Mexico,
1944),pp. 163-4;Duran,Historia,i, ch. 30. Regardingtheeffecton humanpopulation
of the ritualkillings,the most systematicestimateof the populationof the valleyof
Mexicoon the eve of conquestputs the numberat 800,000to 1,200,000:Sanders,
Parsonsand Santley,BasinofMexico.Rapidintensification of agricultural
techniques
indicatesthe populationpressedclose to the valley'slimits.However,the greatmass
of victimsweredrawnfrombeyondthe valley,andeventherethe killingof relatively
few youngmen (consensushoversaround20,000 per yearfor all of centralMexico)
couldhavehadlittleimpacton generalpopulationlevels,althoughit would,presum-
ably, debilitatepotentialmilitaryresistance.
15FlorentineCodex,bk. 7, ch. 12, p. 31.
and a new vehemencein warand ritualactionthanthe faminewhich
precededit. CliffordGeertzhaswarnedof the insensitivityof modern
Europeansto the possible complexitiesin the connectionsbetween
what, followingBagehot,he calls the "efficient"and the "dignified"
partsof government.He presentsan exampleof the complexityby
unravellingfor our instructionthe "politicsof competitivespectacle"
practisedin the theatrestate of nineteenth-centuryBali.16In late
fifteenth-and sixteenth-centuryMexico the politics of competitive
spectaclewereequallyif differentlycrucial.Of coursetherewaswhat
is for us a reassuringlypragmaticedge to the Mexicanactivities.For
thosewithinthe city, someof them "Aztec"only by adoption,others
made restless by the intrusive demands of the state, those great
ceremonialperformanceswith their mass killings were a vivid re-
minderthat therewere clearadvantagesin being inside ratherthan
outsidethe Aztec polity. Rulersof otherterritories,whetheralliesor
enemies, were coercedinto observinghow Aztecs dealt with those
who resisted them. But the significanceof the performanceswent
well beyonda conventionalpoliticsof terror.Theirspectacularvictor-
ies hadpersuadedthe Aztecsthattheirown tribaldeityHuitzilopoch-
tli was in realitythe Sun destinedto rulethroughthis currentepoch.
In the first days of empire Itzcoatl had taken the precautionary
measureof destroyingtribalrecords,to allow the constructionof a
past morecompatiblewith the Aztec presentand whathe had come
to recognizeas the glory of their predestinedfuture. But the other
peoplesof the valley had inconvenientlylong memories:they knew
the Aztecs'miserablebeginnings,andthey too hadtribaldeitieswho
hinted at glory and the destiny to dominate.The problemwas to
persuadenot only Aztecsbut othertribesthatAztecdominationwas
no mere freakof fortune,an incidentin the affairsof men, but part
of the designof the cosmos.Whenactuallyor potentiallyrecalcitrant
tributarieswere "invited"to Tenochtitlan'smassiveritualdisplays,
the gift exchangesin which they were obliged to participatewere
games of dominanceand submissionthat the Aztec ruler, drawing
on the resourcesof empire, routinelywon. But the ceremonialper-
formancestheywerethen requiredto attendwerenot onlystatements
about dominance.They were intended as the most efficaciousof
politicalacts;the most directdemonstrationof the high legitimacyof
Aztec supremacy.
16 CliffordGeertz,Negara:TheTheatre Statein Nineteenth-Century

Bali (Princeton
1980), "Conclusion:Bali and PoliticalTheory",pp. 121-36.
The city itself, so recentlyconstructed,imagedin its massiveness
the massivepresenceof Tula, and beforeTula of Teotihuacan.Its
quadripartitedivisionsand its centraltempleprecinctreplicatedthe
shapeof the cosmos,whilethegreattemplepyramidwhichdominated
the precinctwas a "cosmogramin stone'',17assertingthat here was
the centreand creativecore of the world, restingindeedupon "the
foundationof heaven",andrisingup as the Mountainof Sustenance,
the EarthMotherfrom whose womb the Sun leaped, as he does at
every dawning, to strike down his murderoussister Moon and to
scatterthe UncountedStars.Onlythe recentlycompletedexcavations
of the GreatTemple have revealedthe full complexityof that stone
tableauof the endlessmomentof the birthof the Sun, whose name,
the Aztecs insisted, was Huitzilopochtli.Their best proof of that
identificationthey presentedin theirsumptuouslymounted,magnifi-
cently choreographedritualperformances,playedout within those
centralsacredplaces. The heaped-upwealth,and aboveall the war
captivesmassedfor killing beforeHuitzilopochtli'sshrine,declared
that there was nothing fortuitousor merely human about Aztec
successin war, and that resistance,or even resentment,was futile.
The declarationsmade in that theatreof dominancewere under-
stood by the Aztecs'neighbours,althoughfew foundthem perman-
ently compelling,as Corteswas to discoverto his advantage.But in
the Aztec politicsof spectaclethe greatceremonieswhichconsumed
so greata partof the fruitsof warconstitutedthe final,necessaryand
consummatoryact of war; they transformedhuman victory into
sacreddestiny.
II
All of thatgreatenterpriserestedon the warriors:men who were, if
we are to believe the chant, strangersto fear. It is now some years
since two remarkablebooks, appearingin the confusedand bitter
aftermathof the war in Vietnam,swungthe studyof men in combat
from its traditionallyperipheralposition very much closer to the
17 This is the phrasewhich EduardoMatosMoctezuma,archaeologist in chargeof
the recentlycompletedexcavationsof the TemploMayorin MexicoCity, used in a
paperdeliveredto DumbartonOaks Conferenceon the Aztec TemploMayor,8-9
Oct. 1983. Relevantcommentariescan be found in H. B. Nicholsonwith Eloise
QuihonesKeber,Art of AztecMexico:Treasures of Tenochtitldn(NationalGalleryof
Art, Washington,D.C., 1983);EstherPasztory,AztecArt (New York, 1983).For a
magnificentanalysisof thisandothercomplexmatters,see RichardTownshend,State
and Cosmosin theArt of Tenochtitldn
(Washington,D.C., 1979).
centreof humanstudies.JohnKeegan'sconcernwas to discoverhow

men could be broughtto fight on cue: indeed, how they could be
broughtto stand to fight at all, when confrontedby the terrifying
face of battle. How does a distantsocietycontriveto reachinto that
"wildly unstablephysical and emotionalenvironment"to counter
fearof wounds, death, abandonment?How, and how well, are men
preparedfor the actual experienceof battle?And (a problemfor
historians)how are we, sittingpensiveat our typewriters,to recon-
structany partof thatexperience?For Keeganthe emphasislay with
how soldiersare made. PaulFussellsoughtto tracehow combatants
in our own GreatWarstruggledto makecivilianexperiencerelateto
the experienceof battle, and then how the experienceof battle,and
the men whose burdenit had become, could be reintegratedinto a
societyreturnedto peace.18
Aztecs were not soldiers, at least not in the modern European
sense. While Agincourtwould have been more intelligibleto them
than any battle which followed it, it would have seemed, with its
archersand crossbowmen,its cavalryand infantry,an over-regi-
mentedand over-specializedaffair.They had no organized"army",
nor officerseither. But the Aztecwarrior,like the Europeansoldier,
was a social product:it should be possibleto discoverhow he was
made. He faced, again and again, the threat of injury or death
deliberatelyinflicted:it shouldbe possibleto discoversomethingof
how thatthreatappearedto him. And, a mantrainedto violence,he
movedconstantlyin and out of civiliansociety:it shouldbe possible
to discoverhow he madethatpassage.The benefitsof warrioraction
andwarriorstatusweremanifest,andnot all material.Whatconcerns
me now is to count the costs of Aztec courage.
There was, of course, the obvious and familiarcost of war: the
grief attendingthe death of a loved father,son, husband,brother,
friend.Womenwere allowedto weep for that, even in prospect.In
the great festival which initiated the season of war the warriors
receivedtheir insigniaand dancedin theirglory to the high lament
of the women who dreadedto see them go. A prayerto the warrior
god acknowledgesthe anguishof the warrior'skin, "the old men,
the old women . . . one's aunt, one'suncle . . . the motherwho gave
him strength,by whose side he was laid to sleep",who do not know
how or where their young warriorwill meet his death.19
18 John Keegan, TheFaceof Battle (New York, 1977), p. 487; Paul Fussell, The
GreatWarandModern Memory (Oxford,1975).
19Florentine
Codex,bk. 3, ch. 3, pp. 11-15.
The kin had been well disciplinedfor the relinquishment.Child-
bedwasconventionallydesignateda battlefield,wherea womancould
"takea captive' by capturinga baby. The midwifegreetedthe birth
of a male child with warcriesand a formalexhortation,addressedto
the child, but directed, of course, to the panting,newly delivered
mother,who was emphaticallynot given the baby to hold:
My preciousson, my youngestone . . . heed, hearken:thy home is not here, for
thouartan eagle,a jaguar. . . hereis only the placeof thy nest . . . out therethou
has been consecrated. . . War is thy desert, thy task. Thou shalt give drink,
nourishment,food to the sun, lord of the earth. . . perhapsthouwilt receivethe
gift, perhapsthou wilt meritdeathby the obsidianknife . . . The flowereddeath
by the obsidianknife [thatis, deathon the killingstone].
A sufficientlyexplicit interventionby society in a zone we might
considerprivate.It was the parentswho then formallydedicatedthe
infantto war, presentinghim to the "Rulersof Youth"at the local
warriorhouse, where he would live from pubertyto marriage:
Our lord has given a jewel, a preciousfeather;a child has arrived. . . he is your
property,your child, he is your son. In your laps, in the cradleof your arms,we
placehim. For thereare your sons; you instructthem, you makeEaglewarriors,
you makeJaguarwarriors. . .20
A sufficientlydecisiverelinquishment.Nonethelesssuchdisciplining
neitherdid nor was expectedto obliteratesentiment.
If successhad its negativeaspects,and as will be seen they were
several, failurecould be a lifetime bitterness.One strengthof the
Aztec systemwas that it was not necessaryto succeedto survive:it
waspossibleto live by one'sown labour,savedfromwantby periodic
handoutsfromthe tributewarehouseor froma successfulneighbour
or kinsman.But failurewas public, and publiclymarked,at an age
when such marksburn deep. From aboutten each lad grew a long
lock of hairat the nape of the neck, which remaineduncut until he
had participatedin the takingof a captiveon the fieldof war. If after
two or three campaignshe still had not forcedhimselfto enter the
fray and it was alwayspossibleto hang back he was thrown
out of the warriorhouse, his head shavenin a tonsureto dramatize
the loss of the warriorlock and to preparehim for the carryingpad
of humblelabour:forevera peripheralman.
Long-distancecampaigns,increasinglyfrequentas theempiregrew
and its edges so frequentlyunravelled,had their specialhardships
for all warriorgrades.While the rulertook officialresponsibilityfor
provisioninghis warriors,a sensibleman carriedwhat he could of
51.
20 Ibid., bk. 3, ch. 4, p.
driedmaizecakes, beanflourand crushedseeds, a dourbut surpris-

ingly nutritiousdiet. As long as the route lay through"friendly"
territorieshe could presumablyhope for some supplementarysup-
plies, as any defectin hospitalitycouldbe definedas a lackof proper
friendliness.21In unequivocallyhostile zones there was the chance
of plunderinglocal food supplies. But alwaysthe living was hard.
Aztec armiestook few carriersand cooks with them. Food was the
dried rationsmixed with water and swalloweddown, and sleep a
matterof wrappingclose in a cloakandstretchingout on the ground.
These hardshipsprobablytroubledAztecs little: they were used to
cold, having in their nightly dancing gone nearly naked, at over
7,000 feet elevationa chilly business, while the frequencyof ritual
engagementthroughfastingand vigil had taughtthem to surviveon
poor food and little sleep over long periods.
However informal their provisioning,the warriorsmarchedin
reasonablyorderlysequence, groupedaccordingto their localities,
and in jointenterprises,theircities. While spies scoutedahead,and
therewas hopefultalk of deviousways to penetratethe targettown,
they usuallyfoundthe defendingwarriorsmassedto meetthemclose
by their city. Victorycame when so many individualwarriorshad
been broughtto flee as to makefor a generalrout. Herethe purefury
of the Aztec warriorwas at its most impressive. Such a warrior
"hurledhimself againstthe foe . . . he shook othersoff scornfully,
drove them into corners,broke into enemy ranks, took afterthose
who fled, threwhimselfupon them . . . He arousedcompleteterror
. . .".22 The attackersthen pursuedthe fleeing defendersinto the
city, assaultedthe maintempleand put its shrineto the torch.When
thetempleburstintoflame,resistanceceased.(In thepainted^Mexican
booksthe conventionalsign for conquestis a pyramidtemplewith a
burningbrandthrustinto it.) The victorssettledto pillageat leisure,
until their leaders could be brought to listen to the increasingly
desperatepleas and offersof the defeated.Then tributetermswere
set (see Plate3), Huitzilopochtli'simageinstalledin the refurbished
temple,andan imageof the localtribaldeitycarriedbackat the head
of a long trainof captivesto a jubilantTenochtitlan.Onlyin the case
of chronicallyrestlesstributariesor to securea speciallyusefultrade
routewas a governoror a garrisonimposed.
If we findthe warson the edgesof empirereassuringlyinstrumental
21For example,Duran,Histona, i, p. 172.

22 Florentine
Codex,bk. 4, ch. 10, pp. 38-9.
affairs,yieldingso manybunchesof feathers,so manyloadsof cacao,
there are indicationsthat for Aztec fighting men they were less
satisfactory,with either too much or too little resistance.(Of the
24,000 Aztec and alliedwariorswho went out againstthe Tarascans
only 4,000 limped back to their cities.) "Barbarians"fought by
differentrules or, as it seemed to the men of Tenochtitlan,by no
rulesatall. Anddistancecouldprecludethe bringingbackof captives,
so they hadto be killedon the spot. Morerewardingemotionallyand
morallywere warsfought closerto home, againstopponentsof like
mind.
Just how those more seriouswars were experienced-how the
"face of battle"appearedto the Aztec warrior-has to be pieced
togetherfrom very disparatekinds of sources,and troublingblurs
andblanksremain.Someof the mostpoignanttextsarethoserelating
to thelastgreatbattlesfoughtforTenochtitlanbetweenAztecwarriors
and the Spanishand nativeforcesled by Cortes,for therewe have
accountsfrombothsides.23 But for the reconstruction of Aztecbattle
their use is limited:what they demonstratemost powerfullyis that
warfareis as much a culturalexpressionas worship,and that when
such unlike enemies, sharingno languagefor communication,en-
gage, they can only end, like KonradLorenz'sturkeyand peacock,
with the one peckingthe other to death.
Whatis clearis thatAztec combatwas highlyindividualistic,and
depended utterly on the courage of the individual. For his first
ventureinto war the fledgelingwarriorwent only as an observer,to
"carrythe shield"of an experiencedwarriorwhosetechniquehe was
to study. On his secondtime out he was expectedto participatein a
group capture:up to six novices could combineto drag a warrior
down. The bodyof the victimof the jointassaultwaslaterexquisitely
portionedout: torsoand rightthighto the majorcaptor,left thighto
the second;rightupperarmto the third;left upperarmto the fourth;
23 The majorNahuatlaccounts arein theFlorentineCodex,bk. 12. Fora modernized

and reorganizedtranslation,see Bernadinode Sahagun,TheWarof Conquest: How
It WasWagedHerein Mexico,trans.ArthurJ. O. Andersonand CharlesE. Dibble
(SaltLakeCity, 1978).Seealso"Historiade Tlatelolcodesdelos tremposmasremotos"
(1528),in Unosannaleshistoricos de la nacionmexicana,ed. HeinrichBerlin(Mexico,
1948).For the majorSpanishaccounts,see BernalDiaz del Castillo,TheTrueHistowy
of theConquest of New Spain, ed. and trans.A. P. Maudslay,5 vols. (HakluytSoc.,
2nd ser., ziii-xxv, x, xl, London, 1908-16);HernanCortes,LettersfromMexico,
ed. and trans.A. R. Pagden(New York, 1971).PatriciaFuentes,TheConquistadors
(London,1963),convenientlyoffersEnglishtranslations of otherSpanishparticipants'
accounts.
7{;'t
o-*..*
e
3. An Aztec tributelist. The five towns on the left paid four hundredmantlesin
eachspecifieddesign,driedchillies,cottonand featheredwarriorsuits, head-dresses
and shields. CodexMendoza,fo. 54.
right forearmto the fifth;and left forearmto the sixth.24With that
initial capture,co-operationwas at an end: from that time on the
youthwasin directcompetitionwithhis peers,ashe searchedthrough
the dust-haze and the mind-stunningshriekingand whistling to
identifyand engagewith an enemy warriorof equal, or preferably
justhigher,status.The niceportioningoutof thefirstcaptivesuggests
thateventherein-grouprankingwasmoreimportantthananynotion
Otteam sp1rlt.
- . . .
The ladsof eachwarriorhousehadlivedandtrainedtogether,and

we could expect some camaraderieto have developed. Discipline
withinthe houseswasmaintainedby a kindof extremeprefectsystem,
with peers set to watchpeersand to punishdelinquentswith savage
beatings,or with the searingfromthe head of the treasuredwarrior
lock. Would male bonding have survivedall that or, perhaps,
thrivedon it? Certainlysentimenttowardsone's companionson the
field of battlewas firmlyand officiallydiscouraged.To go to the aid
of a threatenedcomradewouldprobablyprovokea chargeof having
triedto stealhis captive,and not only the falseclaimingof a captive,
but the giving of one's captiveto another,was punishableby death.
The task of the men we would be temptedto call officerswas to
orderthe initial dispositionof the warriors,to developthe element
of surpriseas much as theirimpatiencewouldallow,and to formup
the lines forthe attack,dealingout roughdisciplineas the menjostled
for advantage.Once the conchshelltrumpetshad blastedthey had
no furtherrole save to adjudicateconflictsover captivesamongtheir
own men. It was the great warriorswho leapt forward,lending
courageand incitingemulationby their own superbexample.
Analysis of the Aztec armouryintensifiesthe impressionthat
serious combat was very much a one-to-one,hand-to-handaffair.
Whiletheyhadspearsandbowsandarrows,theseprojectileweapons
wereprobablydischargedearly,and largelyfor irritatingeffect.The
best evidenceof their lack of penetratingpowerwas the Spaniards'
earlyadoptionof the nativequiltedcottonarmour,whichtheyfound
adequate to deflect all but the luckiest shot. The slingshot was
probablymore valued, giving hope of the opportunestunningof a
potential captive. (Spaniardsclung to their metal helmets.) The
preferredweaponforcombatwasthe macana, the heavyflatoakclub,
each edge studded with flint or obsidianblades. The small shield
offeredsturdyandmobileprotectionforall the delicacyof its feather-
24 FlorentineCodex,bk. 8, ch. 21, p. 175.

work and gilding, being solidly built frombambooor fire-hardened

wood with hide reinforcing,while the close-fittingwarriorsuit with
its bird or animal "head" was almost as light and flexible as the
feathersfrom which it was made. The standardswhich rose up so
imposinglywere constructedon a fine wickerframewhich strapped
neatlyto the back and offeredno impedimentto action. (See Plate
4.)
Given that the preferredform of combat was the duel with a
matchedopponent,locatingan appropriateantagonistin an ordinary
battlecouldbe a vexingaffair,especiallyforthe moreelevatedranks,
which suggeststhe utility of the bannersand head-dressesfloating
above the swirl of the battle. The great warrior'sbest protection
againstbeing molestedby trivialand over-ambitiousopponentswas
the terrorinspiredby the ferocityof his glance, the grandeurof his
reputation,and the fact that every warriorbore his war record
inscribedin his regalia. But it was a limited protection.A novice
warriorcould flinch and edge away if suddenlyconfrontedby the
loomingfigureof an Eagleor Jaguarknight,or eventaketo his heels,
with no more penalty than private shame, but more established
warriorsstroveto proclaimboundlesscouragein everygesture,so it
could be a difficultthing to disengagefrom a mutuallyunwanted
encounter.The elite corps in the Aztec system took specialvows,
some never to turn their backs in battle, and others, even more
superb, not to take a backwardstep. This latter group perhaps
mitigatedthe magnificentarroganceof the vow by habituallyfighting
in pairs,which meantsome protectionon the flank.They werekept
to their vows: should one fall, and his disorientedpartnerturn to
flee, he was deprived of all his honours and expelled from the
companyof warriors.25But unacceptablylowly challengersor the
swarmsof eagerjuvenileseagerto test theircollectivestrengthmust
havemarredthe experiencefor the authenticconnoisseur.For those
warriorswho had gazed longest and most steadilyupon the face of
battletherewas a specialkind of war:the "FloweryWars"initiated
by the first Moctezuma.
Moderncommentatorsrendereduneasyby theirdifficultyin pene-
trating"beneaththe religiouscloakto the underlyingmaterialcauses
andissues",26 as one of themputsit, haveemphasizedtheimportance
of the FloweryWarsfor the trainingof neophyteAztecwarriors,who
25Ibid.,bk.8,app.C,p.88.
26 Frederic Hicks, " 'Flowery War' in Aztec History", Amer. Ethnologist,
vi (1979),
p. 87.
AND PRESENT
PAST 107
NUMBER
62
would presumablythen go and fight more intelligiblymaterialistic
Aztec
wars somewhereelse. But it was only the best of established
scheduled occasions to meet the
warriors who marchedout on those
warriorsof the transmontane provinces: indeed after attaining
leading
acertain eminencestatuscouldonly be enhancedby takinga captive
not
from one of those states which participatedwholly, if perhaps
voluntarily,in the Aztec ethos. Here there was no purpose
wholly
killing.
and no outcomesave the mutualtakingof captivesfor ritual
while in other kinds of wars the odds
Itis also worth noting that
heavily favouredthe Aztecs (the Tarascan disaster being
normally
unique),in these combatsthe odds were alwayseven.
war could
It was on that field of battlethat the Aztec aestheticof
and most profoundly experienced; and
bemost perfectlydisplayed and
be understood to comprehend moral
here"aesthetic"must
and written
emotionalsensibilities.Glimpsesin both the painted
combat was initiated by a formal rhetoricof
sourcessuggest that
droppedand
gesture,with a "presentationstance"of the club arm
in not
thebody in a half-crouch.Since each warriorhad an interest be
honourto
damaginghis opponenttoo severely,there being no
for the
wonby killingin the field, and a maimedman being useless
for
mostengrossingrituals,it is likelytherewas an initialpreference
cutting edges
usingthe flat side of the club to stun, resortingto the
onlywhen faced with a singularly difficultantagonist.
heavy,
The action,whenit came,wasveryfast:the clubs,although
and speed of a
werehandy. Even againstthe quite unfamiliarbulk
blows for
Spanishhorsemannative warriorscould calculatetheir
of speed,
maximumeffectivenessthrougha remarkablecombination
sufficiently
strength,balanceand timing.27The aim was to stun or
to the ground
disableone's opponentso that he could be grappled (see
warrior lock
and subdued. It is possiblethat the seizingof the
pictographic codices,
Plate 1), the formalsign of dominancein the
boundand
was acceptedas decidingthe matter,or so the elaborately
Otomi" would
defiantlygraspablewarriorlockof the "shaven-headed
suggest.
stillness
The dramaticshapeof the combat,its "style",was poised
described the two creatures
explodinginto violent action. Aztecs
27 For example,BernalDiaz's
awedrecollectionsin his TmeHistoryof theConquest
in theFlorentine
ofNew Spain,i, pp. 229-32.Thereareusefulpictorialrepresentations
mostgraphic,beingcartoons
Codex, but perhaps thoseof the Lienzode Tlaxcala are
nativesandSpaniards:El
of actualencounters,althoughtypicallyencountersbetween
Lienzode TlaDccala,ed. Alfredo Chavez (Mexico, 1979).
4. Fourwar leadersin battledress.CodexMendozaofo. 6
mostcloselyassociatedwithwarriorsin the followingterms:"the
eagleis fearless. . . it cangazeinto, it canface,the sun . . . it is
brave,daring,a wingbeater, a screamer. . .11.28Thelordlyjaguar,
"cautious,wise, proud. . . reserved",if troubledby a hunterfirst
seatsitself,casuallydeflecting theflyingarrows,andthen"stretches,
stirs. . . andthenit springs".Andso diesthe hunter.29
A vignettefroma majorwarriorfestivalcalledthe Feastof the
Flayingof Men pointsin the samedirection.Verybriefly,those
warriors whooffereda captiveatthepyramid killingsonthefirstday
of the festivalweredeckedin the flayedskinsof the victimsand
displayedat appointedplaceswithinthe city, wheretheybecame
challenges to theaudacity of relatively
untestedyouths.Theresatthe
greatwarriors,impassivein theirskins.The youthshadto bring
themselvesto advance,in a thrillinggameof criticaldistances,to
"snatchat theirnavels"andso "bringout theirrage,theiranger".
Thatis, theyhadtomakeafull-frontal approach toaterrifyingfigure,
justas was requiredon the fieldof battle a figurewho might
explodeinto actionat any moment(anddid, for warriorswould
suddenlytakeoffaftertheboysandgiveanytheycaughta thorough
drubbing). 30
Explosions of anger,paralysingeruptions of rage,transformations
fromthestillnessof perfectcontrolto furiousviolence greatAztec
warriorswouldseemto be uncomfortable peopleto be with And
lesserwarriorshadless control.Youngmenkeptat a pitchforwar
and trainedto a styleof touchyarrogance werehardto maintain
peaceably in a city.To anoutsidertherewasa startling incidenceof
violencetoleratedwithinAztecsociety,muchof it generated from
the youngmenin the warriorhouses.So-called"ritualcombats",
whichhadlittlepretenceaboutthem,ragedthroughthe streets,as
priestsand warriorsfoughtout theirantagonisms, or as warriors
harassed thesurrogate "captives" whommerchants wereauthorized
to offerat whatwarriorsclaimedas a warriorceremony.On those
occasions,ordinarypeoplehadto do theirbestto keepout of the
way.On otheroccasions playfuloccasions,butAztecshadvery
roughnotionsof play thetownsfolk werethemselves thevictims,
likelyto be despoiledof theircloaks,or intimidated into offering
"tribute" to a squadofyoungmen.Thiscasualtributecouldbecome
institutionalized: therulerfoundit necessary to pronounce thedeath
28 FlorentineCodex,bk. 11, ch. 2, p. 40.
29 Ibid., bk. 11, ch. 1, pp. 2-3.
30 Ibid., bk. 2, ch. 21, p. 50.
penaltyagainstthose men of the warriorhouses who daredto levy

"tributeon the town, of chocolatl,of food, of whatsoevertheywished
. . .".31 The lavishgifts regularlyexactedfromthe merchantsby the
greatwarriorsweretransparently a levy, an insuranceagainstpillage.
SO, it wouldseem, societystroveto containandlimitthe undesired
costs of courage by a determinedeffort to impose order on the
unrulymen of war. Penal codes were savage,with swift and violent
retributionlaid down for all sociallydisruptiveacts, from drinking
and adulteryto theftandextortion,andthe higherthe rankthe more
strenuousthe punishment.32Public rhetoricinsistedon the virtues
of humility,modesty,frugality,self-control.In the formalhomilies
deliveredat all momentsof socialtransition,in whichthe wisdomof
the elderswas distilled,youthwas constantlyurgedto a self-effacing
submissiveness,to go "with thy head bowed, thy armsfolded, thy
head lowered . . . with weeping, with sighing, with meekness".33
These recommendations were made in a societywhich rewardedits
warriorswith the opportunityto baskin publicadulation,andin the
very publicdisplayof magnificentcostumes,plumesand jewels.On
the one handwe havehigh and gaudyrewardsfor aggression:on the
other, formaldenunciationsof aggressivebehaviourand of personal
vanity. Is this simply a "contradiction",the manifestationof the
strainimposedon a societyavid for the materialrewardsof empire
but unpreparedfor its social costs, and so developinga rhetoricof
controlto net a violent realityof its own making?
So to see it is to miss the opportunityto exploreAztecunderstand-
ings of violence,and the deeperbondsbetweenwarriorand society.
The mostextremeformsof violencewere,afterall, officiallyimported
into the city, in the greatkillingritualswhichmarkedmostcollective
occasions.Nor werethesekillingsremotetop-of-the-pyramid affairs.
The victims,livinganddead,wereendlesslymovedaboutthe neigh-
bourhoods;in one festival the lieutenant of Huitzilopochtliran
throughthe streetsslaughteringslavesstakedout like goatsalonghis
way; in the Feast of the Flayingof Men, as we have seen, men in
newlyflayedhumanskinsskirmishedthroughthe streets- andthen
went on to penetrateindividualhouses:
31 Ibid., bk. 8, ch. 14, p. 43
32 In his firstaddressto the peopleafterhis installation,the rulerdweltat length
on the horrors,and the dangers,of jimsonweed, pulque and all other restraint-
reducingsubstances.Drinkingat leastwas probablyverymuchmorewidespread-
and covertlytolerated-than the formalhomiliesadmit.Ibid., bk. 8, ch. 14.
33 Ibid., bk. 6, ch. 20, p. 111.
. . . Theypursuedone. Manyappeared.All wentwearingtheskin,drippinggrease,
drippingblood, thus terrifyingthose they followed. . . and then the youngmen
garbedlike Xipe Totec, wearinghumanskins . . . wenteverywherefromhouseto
house. They were placed upon seats of sapoteleaves;they providedthem with
necklacesformedof maizeears;theyplacedgarlandsof flowersupontheirshoulders;
they placedcrownsof flowersupon theirheads . . .34
A simple notion of the unforeseenand undesiredconsequencesof
militaryexpansionwill not penetratefarinto this. Only throughthe
glassof ritualaction,smokyand obscureas thatglassis, do we have
much chanceof discerninghow violence, on the field of battleand
off it, was understood,andhow warriorandciviliansocietycohered.
III
Analysisof ritualhas come to haverathera badnameamonghistori-
ans, for good and bad reasons.No generalbriefcanbe developedfor
its universalutility: rituals relate variouslyto the societies which
producethem.Theymayalsobe analysedfromdifferentperspectives.
Let it be grantedat the outset that Aztec ritualsdramatizedsocial
hierarchy,and so - probably reinforcedit; that they provided
the occasionfor the redistributionof goods and for reciprocalex-
changes;that the bloodierritualswere consciouslyused to terrify
recalcitranttributaries.I want to set these narrowlyinstrumental
notionsaside, to seek throughthe analysisof one smallsequenceof
ritualactionwhat VictorTurnerhas calledthe "rootparadigms"of
a culture:those"irreduciblelife stances"displayednot in theological
systemsor explicitlystatedmoralitiesbut "in the stressof vitalaction
[where]firm definitionaloutlinesbecomeblurredby the encounter
of emotionallychargedwills".35 That pursuitinvolves two major
claims:thatAztec ritualswere areasof vital action,and thatwe are,
at this distance,able adequatelyto reconstructthem.
RitualconstantlystructuredAztec experience,from the cloud of
customsorderingresponseto the events of the individuallife to the
high dramasof public ceremonial.The Aztecs in effect concocted
muchof thatpublicceremonialcycle aftertheirarrivalin the valley,
buildingon theeighteen-monthseasonalcalendarof its settledagricul-
turalists,andintegratingintothatcalendarritualstheyfoundcompel-
ling from other zones, or dramatizingtheir own mythic past, or
celebratingtheir own alreadymythicvictories.Tenselyinvolvedin
34Ibid., bk. 1, ch. 18, pp. 39-40.
35VictorTurner,"ReligiousParadigmsandPoliticalAction",in hisDramas,Fields
andMetaphors: SymbolicActionsin [IumanSociety(Ithaca,N.Y., andLondon,1974),
p. 64.
change,they struggledthroughritualat once to dramatizecoherence

andcontinuity,andto explorethosestrains,likethedeepambivalence
veining the merchants'position, or the irritablecompetitiveness
between trainee priests and warriors,contingenton that change.
Aztec ritualswere living maps of currentand dynamicmeanings,
morestreettheatrethanmuseumpiece. The great,intricatelywoven
skein of ceremonialactionwhich bound time and seasonsand men
togetheris best understoodas an intensifieddiscourse:a discourse
framed in declaratorystatementsbut also permitting,through a
developedvocabularyof feathersand fire and humanbodies living
anddead, a tense, continuousinvestigationinto the natureof things.
Few materialtracesof Aztec ritualssurvivedthe conquest.There
arethe magnificentremainsof the templeprecinctrecentlyexcavated
in MexicoCity, and the rest of the archaeological materialexhumed
overthe years.Thereis the scatterof objectsretrievedfromthe store-
roomsof Europe.None of the survivingpre-conquestpictographic
codicesis certainlyfromthe valleyof Mexico.The CodexBorbonicus
(see Plate 8) is Aztec, and if not pre-conquesta very earlycopy, and
containsa sectionon the ritualsof the solarcalendar,but it (like the
other codices)resistsconfidentinterpretation.36 To compensatefor
this sparsitythere is a mass of Spanishwritingon Aztec ritualand
religion,mostparticularlyfrommen professionallyinterestedin such
matters, the missionaryfriars, and they provide engrossingand
indispensablesources.Butif "professional interest"focusesattention,
it can also blinkerit. The writingsof the DominicanDiego Duran
exemplifysome of the weaknessesof the genre. They containvivid
andapparentlyrichlydetaileddescriptionsof ritualaction.But those
descriptionsare very much constructs,welding togetherfragments
of informationfrom differentregions it is "Indianreligion"he is
after and readily incorporatingdubious detail, and even more
dubiouspsychology.37For Duranthereis nothing,finally,problem-
36 For the objectsand the excavations, see Nicholsonand QuinonesKeber,Art of
AztecMexico;Pasztory,AztecArt.Recentattemptsto discoverthesyntaxof thecodices
are discussedin EdwardB. Sisson, "RecentWorkon the BorgiaGroupCodices",
CurrentAnthropology, xxiv (1983), pp. 653-6.
37 For example,Durangave a vivid and movingaccountof the deathof a warrior
goingas a messengerto the Sun on the Cuauhxicalli,or Stoneof Tizoc;he described
the warrior'sthroatas beingslit, andthe bloodconductedalonga groovein the stone:
Duran, Historza,ii, ch. 88. The groovewas cut into the stone some time afterthe
conquest. Tlacaelelis presentedas the "devilishinventorof cruel and terrifying
sacrifices",andas concoctingthe Feastof the Flayingof Men, forexample,out of his
own evil imaginationto celebratethe victoryof the Aztecsoverthe Huasteca:Duran,
Historia,i, ch. 20.
aticalaboutwhatthe Indianswere up to: he knewhe was
lookingat
the work of the Devil.
Onlyone sourceto my knowledgegivesus accountsfromthe
native
point of view. The FranciscanBernardinode Sahagun
collected
accountsof pre-conquestlife fromnativeinformantsat three
separate
locations,havingthem questionedby mission-trained nativescribes,
who then wrotedown theirNahuatlspeechin European
script.The
Nahuatlcompilationproducedby this processhas been
namedby
scholarsthe FlorentineCodex. It bears the marks of its
colonial
contextin the initial structuringof the questions,as in
Sahagun's
editingsand selections.There are obscuritieswithinit, as
thereare
conflictswith Sahagun'sown Spanishgloss. But the codex
derives
narrowlyfromTenochtitlanand its sistercity Tlatelolco,38and
pre-
servesthe accountsof participantsin those sacred
performancesof
longago. It is thereforethe incomparablesourcefor my
purposes,as
thosenarratives,obscureand difficultas they are, are the
ofthe minds I seek to penetrate. products
To return,then, to the Feastof the Flayingof Men. With
the first
gatheringof the agriculturalharvestand the onset of the frosts
the
Aztecseasonof war began. Eighty days afterthat harvest,
the first
cropof warriorcaptiveswas killed, and eightydaysafter
that, as the
firstsigns of springindicatedthe beginningof the
plantingseason,
camethe Feastof the Flayingof Men. It was an important
festivalin
thatits firsttwo daysandall the eveningsof the twentydays
to follow
requiredthe attendanceof those in authorityin
Tenochtitlan.It
starred the warriors,especiallythe greatwarriors,and it
XipeTotec, the Flayeror the FlayedOne,39who was honoured
associatedwith
38 The conditionsof Sahagun's
enterprisearemostconvenientlylaidout in Charles
Dibble, "Sahagun'sHistoria",in FlorentineCodex,pt. 1, pp. 9-23. See
Lopez Austin,"TheResearchMethodof FrayBernardino alsoAlfredo
de Sahagun:The Question-
naires",in MunroS. Edmonson(ed.), Sucteenth-Centuty Mexico:TheWorkofSahagun
(Albuquerque, N.M., 1974),pp. 111-49.
in Thetranslationofparticularpassagesremains
dispute,usuallybecauseof obscuritiesin the initialtranscription.
Tenochtitlan andTlatelolco,see H. B. Nicholson,"Tepepolco, Forthe focuson
Stageof Fr. Bernardinode Sahagun'sGreatEthnographic the Localeof theFirst
Cultural ProXect: Historicaland
Notes", in Hammond(ed.), MesoamericanArcheology, pp. 145-54.
39 For a differenttranslation of "XipeTotec",see AlfredoL6pezAustin,[Iombre-
dios:
religiony poltticaenel mundonakuatl(Mexico,1973).Fora different
of
someof the actionof Tlacaxipeualiztli, reconstruction
see JohannaBroda
A Reconstructionof an Aztec CalendarFestivalfromde Casas,"Tlacaxipeua-
liztli:
Revista 16thCenturySources",
espatzoladeantropologzaamerzcana, v (1970),pp.
piece togethera compositeaccount from diverse197-274.
to Brodahasattempted
sources. It is a gallantand
impressivelyscholarlyattempt,but in my view restson the mistaken
assumption thatournotionsof plausibilityareanadequateguidefortheepistemological
of
the actionsand meaningsof alien peoples.On that issue, reconstruction
see Paul Rock, "Some
(COtlt.Otlp. 69)
the east, a zone of plenty, and with the early spring, and who was
representedby a priestwearinga flayedhumanskin, and a maskof
a flayedhumanface. (See Plate S).
The first day of the festivalsaw the killing of the less important
warcaptives.The victims,deckedin elaborateregalia,werebrought
from the local warriorhouses in which they had been kept, tended
and displayedsince their capture,and deliveredby theircaptorsto
the priestswaitingat the foot of Xipe's pyramidin the maintemple
precinct.Ideallythey were meantto go leapingup the steps of the
pyramid,shoutingthe chantsof their city as they went, and some
did: othershad to be draggedup by the priests.At the top, before
the shrine, they were flipped on their backs over a small upright
stone, a priestsecuringeachlimb, whilea fifthprieststruckopenthe
chestwith a flint knife, took out the heart,and raisedit towardsthe
sun. (See Plate 6.) The body was sent hurtlingand tumblingdown
thestairsto be collectedatthebottomby oldmenfromtheappropriate
ward temple, where they carriedit to be flayedand dismembered,
probablyby the captor.One thigh was reservedto Moctezuma,the
other and most of the rest of the body going to the captor, who
summonedhis kin to a feastat his house. There, amidweepingand
lamentations,the kinsmenof the captoreachatea smallpieceof flesh
servedwitha dishof "dried"(unsoftened?)maizekernels.The captor
himself, whose splendid captor'sregaliahad been replacedby the
white chalk and featherswhich markedthe victim destinedfor the
killing stone, did not participatein the feast.
The killings at the pyramidwent on for much of the day. It is
difficultto establishthe numbersusuallykilled presumablythat
variedaccordingto the fortunesof war but perhapssixty or so
died. It was those captorswho on the followingday were displayed
in the city in theirvictims'skins, andwho wereteasedinto skirmish-
ingsby thefoolhardyladsof thetownin theepisodealreadydescribed.
But it is whathappenedlateron thatseconddaywhichseemsto have
been the most compellingsequencein the whole complexaffair.It
also involveda mode of killing speciallyidentifiedwith the Aztecs,
revivedin Tenochtitlanto markthe victoryof Moctezumathe Elder
over the Huastecs.
Forthis ritualonly the greatestcaptiveswereselected,theircaptors
being accordinglythe more honoured.The victimswere chosen to
(n. 39 cont.)
Problemsin Interpretative Bnt. 3r1.Sociology,xxvii(1976),pp.353-

Historiography",
86.
die on whatthe Spaniardslaterdubbedthe gladiatorialstone, at the
base of Xipe's pyramid.They had been rehearsedfor the occasion.
Their captorshad presentedthem to the people in a sequenceof
differentregaliasover the precedingfour days, at the place where
theywereto die. Theretheywereforcedto engagein mockcombats,
andthento submitto a mockheartexcision,the "hearts"beingmade
of unsoftenedmaizekernels.The nightbeforetheirdeathstheyspent
in vigil with their captors,theirwarriorlock being cut and takenat
midnight.Then earlyin the afternoonof that secondday of Xipe's
festivalthey were marshalledclose to the stone, their captorsstill
besidethem, beforeassembleddignitariesand as manyotherpeople
as could fit into the temple precinct,as four of the greatestAztec
warriors,two fromthe orderof Jaguarwarriors,two fromthe order
of Eagles, presentedtheir weaponsin dedicationto the sun. Then
down from Xipe's pyramidcame in processionthe high priest of
Xipe Totec in the regaliaof his lord, followed by the other high
priestsas representativesof their deities, to take their seatsaround
the gladiatorialstone. This was a performanceworthyof the contem-
plationof the gods.
The stone was about waist high, and a metreand half wide, but
set on an elevatedplatformabout the height of a man.40The first
victim, now strippedof his regaliaand clad only in a loincloth,was
given a draughtof "obsidianwine" pulque, the Aztec alcoholic
drink, probablyspiked with a drug from their ample pharmaco-
poeia and tetheredby the waistto a ropefastenedat the centreof
the stone. He was presentedwith weapons;four pine cudgels for
throwing,and a war club. The club was studdednot with flint or
obsidianblades, but with feathers.Then the first Jaguarwarrior,
equippedwith a real club, advancedand engagedhim in combat.
(See Plate 7.)
Theremust have been a systemof timingof roundsor of counting
passesorexchanges,althoughit is notrecorded,becauseexceptionally
fine fighterswere sometimesable to survivethe assaultsof all four
warriors.In those cases a fifth warrior,a left-hander,was brought
into play to bring him down. When he was down, the lord Xipe
advanced,struckopen the breastand cut out the heart,which was
raised"as a gift" to the sun, and then placedin the eaglevessel in
whichit would be laterburned.The priestthen submergeda hollow
canein the bloodwellingin the chestcavity,and raisedthe cane, so,
40Duran,HiStOria, i, ch. 20, p. 175.

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5. Aztecstonecarvingof Xipe Totec seatedand wearingthe flayedskin of a warriorvi

separate"face'}mask):Museumfur Volkerkunde,Ba
as it was said, "givingthe sun to drink".The captorwas given the
cane and a bowl of the blood which he carriedthroughoutthe city,
daubingthe bloodon the mouthsof the stoneidolsin all the temples.
The circuitcompleted,he went to Moctezuma'spalaceto returnthe
magnificentregaliaof he who offersa victimat the gladiatorialstone,
and fromtherewent backto his local templeto flayand dismember
his captive's body. And then, later in the day, he watched his
lamentingkin eat the maize stew and the flesh of his captive,while
theyweptfortheirownyoungwarrior.He did not participate,saying
"Shall I perchanceeat my very self?''.4lMeanwhileat the foot of
Xipe'spyramidothervictimshadbeentetheredto the stone,andhad
foughtand died. At the end of the day, when the last of the victims
hadbeendispatched,the priestsperformeda dancewiththeirsevered
heads,whichwere then skeweredon the skullrackbesidethe stone.
It is obvious even from this sketchyaccountthat a great many
things were going on, but I want to focus on what was understood
to be happeningon the actualstone. There are a thousandways of
killinga man,butwhytetherhimto a stone,restrictinghis movements
but giving him the advantageof height?Why armhim with a club,
a formidableweaponin its weightandreach,butwithits effectiveness
reducedby the replacementof its cuttingbladeswith feathers?And
why, giventhisfinelycalculatedinequality,didthevictimco-operate?
It was clearlyimperativethat he fight, and fight as well as he was
able:forthisritualonlywarriorsfromtribesfullyparticipantin Aztec
understandingsof war were chosen. He could not fight for his life,
for that was forfeit. Why then?
He, like his Azteccounterparts,hadbeenlong prepared.Fromhis
earliestdaysthosewho spokefor societyhadmadehis missionplain:
to give the sun the heartsof enemies,and to feed the insatiableearth
with theirbodies. Everylad trainingin the warriorhousesknewthat
accessto the warriorparadisein the House of the Sunwas restricted
to those who died in eitherof two ways:on the fieldof battle,where
death was rare, given that the end of combat was the taking of
captives,or on the killingstone.Thatdeathhe hadto striveto desire,
or at leastto embrace.Justas only ritualactionmade"victory"from
the outcomeof battles, so for the individualwarrioractionon the
field of battlewas consummatedonly later,and ritually.Behindthe
desperateexcitementsof battlelay the shadowof the killing stone,
and a lonely death among strangers.This is why the captor,in the
41Flrentine Codex,bk. 2, ch. 21, p. 54.

J
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l
6. Paintedskin screenfoldportrayingdeath on the killing stone. Codex Zouche-

Nuttall (West Oaxaca,pre-conquest),fo. 3: British Library,London, Add. MS.
39671.
midstof the adulationaccordedhim for havingtakena victimfor the
sun, wore at the cannibalfeastof his kin the chalkand down of the
victim; why the kin lamented;why he could not eat of what was
indeed his "own flesh", for he too, ideally,would die on the stone,
andhis fleshbe eatenin anothercity. In the rhetoricof Aztecideology
the battlefieldwas as much a sacredspaceas the templeprecinct
or as much as humanconfusionand the terriblecontingencyof war
permitted.But it was only on the stonethatthe meaningof the death
could be made manifest.
To be overcomein battlewas not fortuitous:it was the sign that
the warriorwas a warriorno longer,and had begunthe transitionto
victim. From the moment of the seizing of the warriorlock his
separationfrom the ordinaryworld began. The "rehearsals",as we
might cynicallycall them-the garmentschangedagainand again,
themockcombatsat the stone,themockheartexcisions allmarked
his passageto increasedsacredness.Then, with the taking of his
warriorlock of hair, "the eagleman was takenupwards" thatis,
the warriormade his flightto the sun: beforehis physicaldeaththe
individualwas extinguished,the transitioncompleted. It was as
victimthat he watchedothermen fromhis city, men he had known
when they werealive, fightand die on the stone, untilit was his turn
for a last display of maximumvalour, the exemplarypassionate
acceptanceof his fate. And if he died well his praiseswould be sung
in the warriorhouses of his home place.
The attackingEagle and Jaguarwarriorsdid not aim to disable
quickly:a single blow behindknee or anklewould have done that.
The aimwasratherto exhaust,andto weakenslowly,untilthe victim
"faltered,he fainted. . . he threwhimselfdown as if dead, as if he
wishedthatbreathmightend, thathe mightendureit, thathe might
perish . . .X1.42The performanceof the four warriorswas a display
of high art, of Aztecmasteryin weaponhandling:an exhibitionbout
for the gods, for their own warriors,and for the onlookers,who
includedat Moctezuma'sinvitationsecretwatchersfromrecalcitrant
tribes. They sought to demonstratethe superbcontrolof the great
warrior,who in the heat of combat, under threat of wounds or
capture,or in this case of most painfuland publichumiliation,and
opposedby a warriorat last freed from inhibition,can still inhibit
his own stroketo avoid the killingor the cripplingblow. And there
was the deeperfascinationthatcombatwas the most comprehensive
42 Ibid., bk. 2, ch. 21, p. 53.

metaphorfor Aztec understandingof how humansociety,the world
and the cosmos worked. The endless repetitiousstrugglesbetween
the naturalelementswereendlesslyreplicatedin the ritualballgame,
in the mockcombatswhichstuddedthe ritualcycle, andin this most
solemnconteston the gladiatorialstone.
The victimswere called"the stripedones", and the actionon the
stone"the striping".Whatthe assailantsstroveto do was not to club
or to stun, but to wound delicately;to slit the skin with an obsidian
blade so that blood would springforth. Xipe, who himselfwore a
humanskin, representedthe earlyspring,when the huskof the seed
must be piercedif the sproutinglife withinis to breakthrough,and
when the winter-hardenedskin of the earthis piercedby the new
growth.Certainlythe offeringsbestowedon the skin-wearers the
garlandsof flowers and the necklacesof maize ears make the
agriculturalconnectionplain. But the mostimportantaspectandthe
dominantmeaningof "the striping"for those who performedand
for those who watchedwas the effusionof warriorblood.
This leadsinto whatareas yet only sketchilycharteredwaters,but
there is a need for speculationif the connectionsbetween Aztec
warriorsandAztecsocietyareto be searchedout. Analysts,especially
those workingfrom a class model of society, have proceededon the
assumptionthat warriorcults were and must have been divorced
from those practisedby the commoners.43(As is clear, I see the
warrioras very firmlyintegratedinto the generalsociety, however
headilyexclusivethe highestordersmighthavebeen.)Othersassume
the divisionon historicalgrounds:thatthe warriorcultwas imported
from the nomadic north, and so came to be practisedin parallel
with the indigenousrites of the valleyfarmers.44Spaniardsand the
Europeanswho came afterthem have presentedan urban-imperial
image of Tenochtitlan,with its splendidhierarchiesof priestsand
warriorsand its whole sectionsof artisansand mechants.But it was
a city green with growingthings, bankedwith the chinampas,the
ingenioussystemof shallow-water agriculturewhichhadbroughtthe
Aztecs their first prosperity.The bulk of the populationwere not
agriculturalists,but those specialistartisansand priestsandwarriors
lived in a vegetable-growers'world, and the centralityof agriculture
to their lives could not have been in doubt.
43 Forexample,BrodaandCarrasco andtheirassociatesin thecitedworks;Johanna
Brodade Casas,"Estratificacion
socialy ritualen Mexico",in ReligioninMesoamenca:
XII RoundTable(Mexico, 1972),pp. 179-92.
44 For example,WarwickBray,"Civilizing the Aztecs",in J. FriedmanandM. J.
Rowlands(eds.), TheEvolutionof SocialSystems(Pittsburgh,1978),pp. 373-98.
THE COST OF COURAGEIN AZTEC SOClETY 77
The chinampasrequiredmen's exquisitemanipulationsof earth,
seeds, sun and waterin an alchemyof vegetableabundance.It was
highly precisecultivation,its small stageslaid out fromwhen each
seedin its individualblockof earth,coveredagainstfrost,wateredby
hand,wasraiseduntilit wasbroughtto sprout,andthentransferred to
the only slightly less intensive cultivationof the chinampa.The
chinampaitselfwas formedby the pilingof thickmatsof waterweed,
which provideda fibrous, permeable,and slowly compostingbase
for the rich silt dredgedup fromthe lakebottom.Morewatercould
be scoopedup at need. Todaythe few survivingchinamperos protect
theirplantsfromfrostor excessiverainandsun by blanketsof straw,
or light structuresof sticks and mats, and in the sixteenthcentury
the materials,needs and skills were there to do the same.45
The Aztecseasonalritualcalendarwasgearedto the mostprecisely
observed and minutely differentiatedstages o-fvegetablegrowth.
Those stagesmusthavebeenderivedfromobservationof the "green-
house"chinampas,as they werewell in advanceof the naturalseason
of the lakesidefields. I would furtherarguethat the chinampasnot
only made Tenochtitlanexperientiallyan agriculturalcity, and that
the plantsso raisedprovidedessentialritualequipment modelsof
whatwas to come for ceremoniesdesignedto influencegrowthin
the open fields, but thatthose highlyvisiblechinampamanipulations
providedthe modelfor men'spartin the naturalorder,and for their
rolein aidingthe growthof essentialfoods.In the Feastof the Flaying
of Men, when the chinampacity turnedfrom the businessof war to
the growing of things, those manipulationsof earth, water, sun
and seed throughwhich men found their sustenancewere explored
throughthe symbolicmediumof the humanbody, and the interde-
pendencebetweenagriculturalistand warriorset out.
Aztecscalledhumanblood,mostparticularly humanblooddeliber-
atelyshed, "mostpreciouswater".46They understoodit to be a non-
renewableresource, so its value was enhanced.It was thought to
45 For chinampa agriculture,see MichaelD. Coe, "TheChinampasof Mexico",in

New WorldArcheologry: Readingsf;romtheScientificAmerican(San Francisco,1974),
pp. 231-9;JeffreyParsons,"The Role of ChinampaAgriculturein the Food Supply
of AztecTenochtitlan",in CharlesE. Cleland(ed.), CulturalChangeand Contin2ity
(New York, 1976),pp. 233-57.
46 It is moot whetherone should say "deliberately" or "voluntarily"here. Even
tributeslaveswho wentto theirdeathsas representations of aspectsof the deitieswere
in a sensethoughtof as "volunteers",in thattheyhadsubmittedto ritualpreparation.
The warrior'sdeathon the stoneor in battle,howeverlittlethe resultof a particular
act of choice, was implicitin the vocationof warrior.
have extraordinaryfertilizingpower. The creationmyths, confused

andcontradictory as theymightbe on the roleof particular"deities",
pivoton thecreativeefficacyof shedblood,aswhenthegreatdarkness
which preceded this Fifth Sun was dispersedonly when a little
pustulargod threwhimselfinto the fire, to be transformedinto the
Sun. But the Sun only came to move that is to be alive when
the other gods had spilled their blood, some voluntarily,others
unwillingly.A singularlyterrifyingcreationstory,and the one most
often assumedin Nahuatltexts, tells of the gods Quetzalcoatland
Tezcatlipocagazing down on the greatearthmonsterswimmingin
the primevalwaters. They went down and seized her by her giant
limbs, and wrenchedher body in half, one partformingthe sky, the
other the earth. Then the other gods descended,and fromher hair
they created trees, flowers and herbs; from her skin, grass and
flowers;from her eyes, wells, springsand small caverns;from her
mouth,riversand largecaves;fromher nose mountainvalleys;from
hershoulders,mountains.This terriblecreaturecriedoutin thenight
andrefusedto bringforthfruituntil she was soakedin humanblood
and fed with human hearts.When satisfied,she broughtforth the
plantswhich provideman's sustenance.It is she who is obsessively
representedon the undersideof the ritualvesselsdesignedto receive
humanblood and hearts.Whatevericons they bear on their upper
surfaces,whatevergreatforcesthey invoke,underneathshe is there,
her insatiablemaw wide open, greatclaws at elbows and knees, in
the squattingpositionAztec women adoptedto give birth.47
So much, for the moment,for blood. Considernow the experience
whichparticipationin the gladiatorialritualbroughtthe captor.The
conventionalrewards for the warriorwere public adulation,the
presentationof insigniaby the ruler,gifts of capes, flowers,tobacco
pipes, which could then be proudlydisplayed.For many evenings
afterXipe's festivalyoungwarriorsgatheredto adornthemselvesand
to dancebeforeMoctezuma'spalace.SometimesMoctezumahimself,
flankedby the othertwo rulersof the TripleAlliance,camedancing
slowly out throughthe gates to join them: the might of the Aztec
empire on display. Later came more exuberantdancingwith the
women of the city.
Fromall thatfestivitythe captorwas excluded.For all thosedays
47"Histoiredu Mechique",ed. Eduardde Jonghe, ournal de la Societedes
americanistes,
new ser., ii (1905),pp. 1-42,esp. pp. 28-9;CodexChimalpopoca:
anales
de Cuauhtitlanyleyendadelossoles,trans.PrimoFelicianoVelazquez(Mexico,1945);
FlorentineCodex,bk. 3, ch. 1; bk. 7, app.
he andhis kin werein a stateof penance,eatingmeagrely,prohibited

fromwashing,livingsecludedfromthe ordinarypleasures.For those
days he was engaged in a differentzone. The young man he had
capturedhad been close to him in age, aspirations,prowess.He had
tended him through the days before the ceremony, through his
unmakingas the warrior,his making as the victim. And he had
watchedhis captive'sperformancein an agony of identification:it
was his own prowessbeing tested thereon the stone. Then came a
differentintimacy,as he flayedthe youngbody he had knownin life
and saw youths who sought to participatein his glory clamberinto
the dankskin. In a societywhichpassionatelyvaluedcleanlinessand
treasuredsweet scents, he and his kin had to live in a stench of
corruptionfor the full twentydays. Then, at the end of the periodof
penance,he struggledfor the last time into the crumbling,stinking
shroud,to experienceits transformation, its slowturningintomatter,
until, like the piercedcasing of the maize seed, it was cast off and
sealedawayin a cave at the baseof Xipe's pyramid,and so returned
to the earth.
The explosionof reliefwhichfollowedthe castingoff of the skins
the greatcleansingandwashing,initiallywith cornmealto get off the
grease,and then a sequenceof progressivelymoreplayfulandrowdy
re-enactmentsof the festival suggeststhe strainfor thosewarriors
"privileged"to be takenthroughthe ritualglassto confrontwhatlies
on the otherside of the adulation,the tobaccopipes, the plumes,the
granddisplay. Just as the captivewas rehearsedat the stone, so his
captorrehearsedthroughthose days his own death and decay;for
thetransformation of his ownfleshintovegetablematter.TheNahuatl
word tonacayotl means "things of the sun's warmth",that is, the
fruits of the earth. It is also used metaphoricallyto mean "our
flesh".48When the kin took into their mouthsthe morselof human
fleshandthe stewof driedmaizekernels maizein its leastmodified
form the lessontheywerebeingtaughtwasthatthetwosubstances,
perceptuallyso different,wereof the samestuff,althoughat different
points in the cycle. While we transmutebreadand wine into flesh
and blood, reflectingthe centralityof man in our cosmology,they
saw humanflesh and humanblood as transmutedinto sacredmaize
and sacredwater. Our "manis dust and will be dust again"focuses
on the pathosof the briefreignof the flesh:for themman'sfleshhas
48 The most convenientNahuatldictionaryremainsRemi Simeon,Dictionnairede
la languenakuatlou mexicaine(Graz,1963). See also Alonsode Molina,Vocabulano
en lenguacastellana
y mexicana,1571 (Madrid,1944edn.).
been, is andwill be againpartof the vegetablecycle. (Maizewas the
only deity always representedin the terms of a naturalhuman
biography.)The FlayedLordXipe Totec sang of the identityof the
tendermaize and the warriorflesh it would become:
I am the tendercorn
Of jademy heartis made
The gold of rainI'll see
My heartwill be refreshed
The fledglingman growfirm
The man of war be born.49
The "manof war"was Cinteotl,YoungLordMaizeCob,who would

at his harvestingat the end of the agricultural
seasonleadhis warriors
out to war. (See Plate 8.)
The body of the warriorcaptivewas disassembledwith extraordi-
nary care, and allocatedvery deliberately:the warriorlock to the
captor;the heart, the "preciousEagle Cactusfruit", offeredto the
Sun;the blood to give drinkto the Sun and all the stoneimages,the
skin to be worn throughall the days of the festival,and then laid
away; the flesh to the captor'skin and to Moctezuma;the head
skeweredon the skullrack.Further,the thighbone,scrapedor boiled
clean of flesh, was draped with the captive'swarriorjacket and
victim'sheron plume and set up as a sacredobjectin the courtyard
of the captor.Only small partsof that so carefuldisassemblinghad
to do with the human and social world: the takingof the warrior
lock, which spoke of valourand the rightto tributegoods, and the
settingup of the thighboneas the sacredpossessionof the captor.It
is possible that the bone, along with that other piece of bone the
skull, was furtherassociatedwith the dead warrior'slineage, and
more widely with seed in general. Distinguishingbone from flesh
matteredto the Aztecs:it was a preoccupationin manyceremonies,
and afternaturaldeath the bones were separatedfrom the flesh by
burning, and then carefully"interred".It is only our predilection
whichidentifiesskullsswiftlyandexclusivelywith death:in Mexican
painted and carved representationsthey are insistentlyassociated
withfertilitybeings.The greattempleskullrackswhichso oppressed
the Spaniardsprobablyspokeof morethanthe desireto countcoup,
while the interredbones of the Aztec dead were offeredcollective
49 FlorentineCodex,bk. 2, app., p. 240.

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8. Screenfold,Agave paper, portrayingTlazolteotl,aspect of Tlaltecuhtli,

wearinga flayedskin and bringingforth the Maize God. Codex Borbonicus
(early16thcent.), fo. 13: Bibliothequede l'AssembleeNationale,Paris,Y120;
ed.K. A. NowotnyandJ. de Durand-Forest (vollstandigeFaks.-Ausg.Komm.,
Cod. selecti, xliv, Graz, 1974).
commemorationas the forefathersin the domesticritualof Izcalli,
and as paradigmhuntersin the festivalof Quecholli.50
The earliestNahuatlaccountwe have of the partsof the body is
fromthe FlorentineCodex,andis one of the sectionsof thatcompila-
tion most heavily marked by Europeaninfluenceand categories.
Nonetheless,the descriptionsare suggestive.Blood is describedas
"Ourblood, our redness,our liquid, our freshness,ourgrowth,our
life blood . . . it wets the flesh, it moistensit like clay, it refreshesit,
it reaches the surface . . . it strengthensone . . . one is greatly
strengthened. . .". Bloodvesselsarelikenedto reeds.The analogies
betweenthe movementof blood throughthe fleshand thatof water
throughthe earth are vivid. The descriptionof the heartrelatesit
closelyto the sun: it is "round,hot, thatby whichthereis existence.
It makesone live . . .".51Unhappilyfor my case thereis no general
accountgiven of bone, and in the specificreferencesto particular
bonesno associationwithseed. However,mythlendssomesupportto
the identification.AfterthisFifthWorldhadbeenmade,Quetzalcoatl
went down into the underworldto beg the bones of the men of an
earliercreationfrom the lord of Mictlan.Initiallythe ruleragreed,
but as Quetzalcoatlgatheredthem up the Death Lord changedhis
mind and sent ordersthat Quetzalcoatlbe stopped.In his hurryto
get away Quetzalcoatldroppedthe bones, but he snatchedup the
broken fragmentsand made his escape. Cihuacoatl)an aspect of
EarthMother,groundthe bones like maizekernelson her grinding
stone. The gods then moistenedthem with blood drawnfromtheir
penises,andfromthe softdoughso formedmanandwomanemerged.
What we have in that careful analysisof the human body, an
analysisat once physicaland conceptual,is the settingout in terms
of its componentsof thoseelementsthe Aztecssawas beingmanipu-
50 Jill Furst, in her penetrating commentary on a Mixtec codex, notes the skull/
fertility connection, and explores the possibility that bone was understood as seed. Jill
Leslie Furst, CodexVindobonensis Mexicanus,i: A Commentaty (The Vienna Codex)
(Albany, N.Y., 1978). For the maize-flesh transformation, see Willard Gingerich,
"Tlaloc, His Song", LatinAmerican IndianLiteratures, i no. 2 (1977), pp. 79-88. To
pursue these connections fully would involve the reconstruction of Aztec understand-
ings of the processes of human and vegetable reproduction. Alfredo Lopez Austin,
Cuerpohumanoe ideologza: las concepciones de los antiguosnakuas,2 vols. (Mexico,
1980), provides relevant information and superb scholarly exposition, focusing on
Aztec understandings of the mind-body problem. For the Izcalli offerings, see Floren-
tineCodex,bk. 2, p. 167; for Quecholli, see ibid., pp. 135-6.
51 Florentine Codex,bk. 10, ch. 27, pp. 128, 130-2. For an analysis of the material
relating to the body and disease collected by Sahagun, see Alfredo L6pez Austin,
"Sahagun's Work and the Medicine of the Ancient Nahuas: Possibilities for Study",
in Edmonson (ed.), Sixteenth-Centuty Mexico,pp. 205-24.
lated in chinampa agriculture,and which they identifiedas those

which made up the world: humanflesh being equatedwith maize,
vegetable foods and the earth itself; human blood with rain and
flowingwater;the human heartwith the sun's heat; and (this less
confidently)human bone with seed. Note that this analysiswas
performeduponthe bodyof a greatwarrior.Whilethe sameessential
understandingmust have informedall accountsof the relationship
between the human and the naturalorder, the Aztecs, specialists
in warfare,chose to renderit most explicit when dramatizingthe
unobviousbut crucialconnectionbetweenthe featsof warriorsand
the food of men.
Notions of an afterlifehave their place here. Aztecs understood
that men who died by water-relatedaccidentor diseasereturnedto
a springtimeworldwith Tlaloc, He who MakesThings Sprout,and
who manifestshimself in rain and the mountains.(Tlaloc'schosen
ones were, atypically,buriedwithoutpreliminaryburning.)Babies
who died so young that they had not been committedto this world
were buried by the grain bins, and thoughtto have returned,still
unblemished,from whence they came. Those who died in battle
(includingwomen dead in childbirth)and those who died on the
killingstonewent to a warriorparadise.And all others,regardlessof
rank,travelledforfourbitterandbleakyearsthroughtheincreasingly
chill nine layersof the underworlduntil they arrivedat the lowest
level, presentedtheir gifts to the Death Lord, and dissolvedinto
Nothingness or, rather,into Everything,for "thereis ourcommon
home, there is our common place of perishing;there, there is an
enlargingof the earthwhereforeverit [theindividuallife]hathended
. . .X.52 After that four-yearjourney,the "person"had quite gone.
Forallof the fouryearskin madeofferingsof garmentsandequipment
to ease the painsof the journey:the journeycompletedand the four
years passed, the ceremoniesceased.53
It is often said that those who died a warrior'sdeath, in battleor
on the stone, escapedthis generalannihilationof self. It is true that
in the course of a moving prayeraddressedto the dangerousgod
Tezcatlipoca,warriorsare said to "attainthe Sun . . . the turquoise
prince",and thereto live "forever":therealways,"forever,perpetu-
ally, time withoutend, they rejoice,they live in abundance,where
they suckthe differentflowers. . .".54 Thatemphasison the perma-
52 FlorentineCodex,bk. 3, app., ch. 1, p. 41.
53 Ibid., p. 44.
54 Ibid., bk. 6, ch. 3, p. 13.
nence of theirtenurein the warriorparadiseis unusual:much more
frequentlywe are told thatthe warriorrewardwas to spendthe four
years of transitionin attendanceon the Sun, shouting, singing,
displaying-the joys of the warriorhouse as they escortedhim
from his dawningto the zenith, and baskedin his warmth.(From
thezenithto thewesthis escortwasprovidedby theWomenWarriors,
a very much more sinister group.) Then, after four years, "they
changedinto preciousbirds; hummingbirds,orioles, yellow birds
. chalkybutterflies,featherdownbutterflies;theysuckedthehoney
fromthe flowerstherewherethey dwelt. And here upon earththey
came to suck honey from the variousflowers . . .".55There is no
suggestionin either case that their awarenesswas continuouswith
that of this world; rather,"they lived drunk . . . not knowing,no
longerremembering,the affairsof the day, the affairsof the night".
Generalizedwarriorshad becomegeneralizedbirds and butterflies,
dancingendlessly,anonymously,withoutmemoryin the sun. They
enjoyedno dispensationfrom that finaldissolutionof self.
There was nothing "personal"in the relationshipbetweenmen
and those powers which, for want of a better term, we call by
the altogethermisleadingword "gods". The first Spanish friars
unsurprisinglythoughtin terms of pantheonswhen facedwith the
astonishingarrayof namesandimageswhichwerepaidreverenceby
the natives. Generationsof iconographersand historiansof religion
spentyearsin the constructionof ingenioustheologiesto bringorder
to what seemeda shimmeringmist of the sacred.But now thereis a
growingconsensusthat what Aztecs meant by all these namesand
imageswas the invocationof differentaspectsof relativelyfew great
naturalforcesor principles,and a commentaryon the relationships
betweenthem as when Earthwas addressedas OurGrandmother,
Motherof the SacredOnes, She who Eats our Filth, Heartof the
Earth,Motherof our Sustenance,and so on. Aztec sculpture(like
the Azteclanguageandlike the constructionof ritualobjects)exhibits
the same compiling mode whereby icons, most of them sturdily
naturalisticrepresentationsof hearts, flowers,skulls, serpents,are
compiledinto remarkablyabstractcommentarieson the natureof
things:a kind of metaphysicalpoetryin stone.
The greatforcesthus invokedand reflectedupon had no engage-
mentwith man,withone exception.The exceptionwasTezcatlipoca,
invokedas the Night Wind, the Enemyon Both Sides, the Youth,
55Ibid., bk. 3, app., ch. 1, p. 49.

the Lordof the CloseVicinity.He was arbitrary,the personification

of capriciouspower, comingamongmen fromtime to time to wreak
casualhavoc and dispense casualrewards.He was associatedwith
sorcerers,who injure men wantonlyand by stealth, and with the
jaguar,with its superb annihilatingpower. He was also the deity
associatedwith human rulership.Neither with him, nor with the
more abstractnaturalelements, was there any hint of a contract.
There was instead a key word in Nahuatl, tequitl, which can be
roughlytranslatedas "debt","levy"or "tribute",but carryingwith
it a strongimplicationof whatwe mightcall"vocation",beingapplied
to the whole-heartedperformanceof one's obligatoryoccupationin
the world. It was used most insistently,however, to describethe
offeringsmadeof one's own blood, in the routinedailyofferings,or
on the battlefieldor the killing stone. Only in those two placesdid
the individualwholly and completelypay his or her "debt".But all
formsof the paymentwere penitential,and some grievouslyso. In a
greatwarriorfestivalmidwaythroughthe seasonof war,a representa-
tion of Huitzilopochtliwas mouldedout of a richdoughof maizeand
seeds (its "bones",by the way, beingseparatelyconstructed).It was
killedby a blowto its vegetableheartin the presenceof allthe military
chiefs, and the heartpresentedto the ruler. Eachyearthe body was
dividedin rotationbetweenthe pairedwarriorhousesin Tenochtitlan
and the sisterbut subordinatecity of Tlatelolco.All the membersof
the two warriorhouses ate a fragmentof the dough. The ingestion
initiateda year of such strenuouspenanceand obligationthat men
were driven to pawn their land or their labour, or even to seek a
once-for-allsettlement.oftheir "debt"throughdeathin battlerather
than endureit to the end.56
To eat the flesh of Huitzilopochtliwas a heavy thing. Thus the
youngwarriorsbeganto learnthe lesson a lessononly to be learnt
in the ritualzone, not on the field of battle-of whatit was to be a
warrior.The lesson took time to learn, and had been learntbest by
those who had risen to eminenceand so, for example,had had the
dark experienceof offeringa captiveat the gladiatorialstone. The
roughexuberanceof the warrioryouthgavewayto sedatemelancholy
for those who knew how fleetingwere the pleasuresof this life, its
riches, its public acclaim,and how heavythe burdenof humanity.
The tempoanddramaticstructuringof the ritualat the gladiatorial
stone, as of manyotherAztecrituals,reiteratedthe sameunderstand-
56 Ibid., pp. 6-9.

ing. We are used to thinkingof ritualas fully scripted,so releasing
men from distractingnervousness.VictorTurnerhas borrowedthe
notion of "flow"from the psychologistMihali Cjikszentimhalyi to
bringthis qualityinto focus. Cjikszentimhalyi identifiesflowas "the
holisticsensationpresentwhen we act with totalinvolvement";"the
state in which action follows action accordingto an internallogic
whichseemsto needno consciousinterventionon ourpart",as when
a game'srulesexcludefromthe skilledplayers'awarenessasirrelevant
most of the "noises" which make up our daily reality. The rules
simplifyand focus, and aboveall facilitatethe experienceof intense
but harmoniousand fluentaction.Turnersees an equivalent"flow"
experienceas beingachievedin ritualwhere,with self-consciousness
reducedthroughdrugs,vigil, chantsor fasting,actionandawareness
fuse as attentioncentreson a limitedstimulusfield, so thatonly the
"now"matters.57This is interestingin thatit is an accuratedescrip-
tion of the situationof a numberof the protagonistsin this ritual,
aboveall of the victimwho is scriptedto the end. But for others
the attackingwarriors,the anxiouscaptor insecurityis scripted
in; the risk that the flow will be interrupted,and the airy structures
of the "reallyreal"collapse.The Aztecscharacterized theiruniverse
as composed of heavens above and underworldsbelow this seen
world, those heavensand underworldsbeing stableand enduring.
This layer,Tlalticpactli,"on earth",the layermanifestto the senses,
they characterizedas chronicallyunstable,and calledit "thatwhich
changes".Thatunderstandingof the fragilityof the perceivedworld,
andof humanarrangements withinit, couldbe dramatizedby making
humanstatusesuncertain:the triumphantwarriordoes not display
his statusas his captivefightsthereon the stone;he strivesto achieve
it afresh. That constant challenge and testing structuredall the
hierarchies.
The deliberateinsertioninto ritualof the problematicaland the
unpredictable,like the capriciousnessattributedto the sole interven-
tionistgod Tezcatlipoca,spokeof the uncertaintyof the thingsof this
world. Ephemeralitymade those things the more treasured.Aztec
"lyricpoetry"strikesan easy and mistakenresponsefromthe Euro-
peanreader,withits prettyimageryof fallingflowersandmistypatios
(in Aztec reality, images of death on the stone). But the elegiac
"wherehaveall the flowersgone?"noteis correctlyrecognized.Only
57 VictorTurner,"Variations on a Themeof Liminality",in SallyF. Mooreand

BarbaraG. Myerhoff(eds.), SecularRitual(Amsterdam,1977),pp. 36-52.
9. Aztec stone relief of Tlaltecuhtli,the EarthLord, found in the TemploMayor
precinctof Mexico-Tenochtitlan (note the fangedjawsat kneesand elbows,and the
sacrificialknife "tongue"):InstitutoNacionalde Antropologlae Historia,Mexico.
brieflyweremen warmedby the sun in this world,betweenthe dark
and the dark.The particularbeautieswhichmostprofoundlymoved
them the shimmerof feathers,the shaped sounds of a chanted
poem, the scent of a flower,the translucenceof fragilejade were
moving precisely because they were as ephemeralas the lives of
men.S8
"Courage",in such a context, becomesa complexnotion. There
seem to have been two kinds of braveryrecognizedin the Aztec
fightingman which, althoughtouchedby the connotationsof class,
were far from exhaustedby them. One was the attributeof those
warriorslike the "shornones" or the "shaven-headedOtomi"who
hurled themselvesheedlesslyinto the fray. Such men were richly
rewardedand highlyvalued.59But they werenot accordedpositions
of authority,nor unqualifiedsocial approval.In one of the great
homiliesin which a fatherinstructshis son in correctand controlled
socialdemeanour,the "so-calledfuriousin war"whogoes"foolishly"
encounteringhis deathis classifiedalongwith the clownandbuffoon
as one who understandsnothingand lives for vanitiesandacclaim.60
He knows no fear because he has no knowledge. Admirationis
reservedfor the warriorwho is morallyinformed;who understands
his obligation.He will go humblyandquietlyin thisworld,watchful,
prudent;but when the EarthLord Tlaltecuhtlistirs, "openethhis
mouth, partethhis lips", when the flameof war is kindled,he will
be ready.(See Plate9.) The samegreatprayerto Tezcatlipocawhich
acknowledgesthe anguishof the bereavedkinsfolkalsoacknowledges
the anguishof the truewarriors,"thosewho sufferpain, who suffer
tormentin theirhearts"andaskthattheybe giventheironly release,
their only ease the finalencounterwith Tezcatlipoca:
Showhim the marvel.Mayhis heartnot falterin fear.Mayhe desire,mayhe long
for the flowerydeath by the obsidianknife. May he savorthe scent, savorthe
freshness,savorthe sweetnessof the darkness. . .
Take his part. Be his friend.61
And this to the "Enemyon Both Sides".
Whenwe hearan officialrhetoricof acuteself-control,and watch
58 For the songs, see Poesianakuatl,ed. Angel MariaGaribayK[intana],3 vols.
(Mexico,1964-8).Excellenttranslations of someof the songsareto be foundin Miguel
Leon-Portilla (ed.), NativeMesoamencan Spirituality
(New YorkandToronto,1980).
The sacredsongsare in FlorentineCodex,bk. 2, app.; the "Prayersto Tezcatlipoca'3
and the greatsong to Tlalocare in bk. 6, chs. 1-9.
59 Florentine Codex,bk. 10, ch. 6, pp. 23-4.
60 Ibid., bk. 6, ch. 22, p. 123.
61 Ibid., bk. 6, ch. 3, pp. 11-14.
scenesof extraordinary publicviolence,we arenot confrontingsome
unresolvedsocial dilemma of how to enjoy the profitsof military
expansionwithout havingto bearwith sociallydisruptivewarriors.
Aztec rhetoricand Aztec ritual were unified in the endeavourto
sustaina socialordersufficientlyin harmonywith the naturalorder
to survivewithinit. To describeas "violence"thedeliberatesequence
of bloodyactswhichwe see broughtinto the frameandfocusof ritual
actionis to assumethat their point lay in theirdestructiveness.But
the crucialunderstandingswhich groundedthose killingsand slow
dismemberingswere that human flesh and maize "maize"as
metonymfor all vegetablesustenance were the same matterin
differenttransformations-,that the transformationswere cyclic, and
the cycles constantlyin jeopardy;and that men's actionsplayed a
part recognizedas small but, given the delicacy of the balance,
always potentiallydecisive in maintainingthe sequence of those
transformations,and so men's slight purchaseon existence.
They were bleak understandings,reducingman to object, and
declaringhumansocietyto be peripheral,importantonly to itself. It
took courageenough, and long yearsof training,to acceptthem.
La TrobeUniversity,Melbourne Inga Clendinnen

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The Past and Present Society

The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society

Who could conquerTenochtitlan?

Todaywe are temptedto readthis fragmentof an Aztec2song-poem

That Tenochtitlanwas the creationof war and the courageand

of Tula to the north had begun a restless movementof peoples

3 EdwardA. Calnek,"Patterns of EmpireFormationin the Valleyof Mexico,Late

the earlydaysof hardshiphad givenway to an elaboratelydifferenti-

(Albuquerque,N.M., 1976),pp. 287-302;JohannaBrodaet al., Estratificacionsocial

AS:zf iMedy tR:t57 ' 0i :: v

'';':'i5'}1-\00tt5 S \; f liV;: 00s tE

16 CliffordGeertz,Negara:TheTheatre Statein Nineteenth-Century

centreof humanstudies.JohnKeegan'sconcernwas to discoverhow

driedmaizecakes, beanflourand crushedseeds, a dourbut surpris-

21For example,Duran,Histona, i, p. 172.

23 The majorNahuatlaccounts arein theFlorentineCodex,bk. 12. Fora modernized

The ladsof eachwarriorhousehadlivedandtrainedtogether,and

24 FlorentineCodex,bk. 8, ch. 21, p. 175.

work and gilding, being solidly built frombambooor fire-hardened

penaltyagainstthose men of the warriorhouses who daredto levy

change,they struggledthroughritualat once to dramatizecoherence

Problemsin Interpretative Bnt. 3r1.Sociology,xxvii(1976),pp.353-

40Duran,HiStOria, i, ch. 20, p. 175.

5. Aztecstonecarvingof Xipe Totec seatedand wearingthe flayedskin of a warriorvi

41Flrentine Codex,bk. 2, ch. 21, p. 54.

6. Paintedskin screenfoldportrayingdeath on the killing stone. Codex Zouche-

42 Ibid., bk. 2, ch. 21, p. 53.

45 For chinampa agriculture,see MichaelD. Coe, "TheChinampasof Mexico",in

have extraordinaryfertilizingpower. The creationmyths, confused

he andhis kin werein a stateof penance,eatingmeagrely,prohibited

The "manof war"was Cinteotl,YoungLordMaizeCob,who would

49 FlorentineCodex,bk. 2, app., p. 240.

't0' $ 00ff ' * 3gX 0 '{

CC0 rN;ff 0 0 w x t 004+

8. Screenfold,Agave paper, portrayingTlazolteotl,aspect of Tlaltecuhtli,

lated in chinampa agriculture,and which they identifiedas those

55Ibid., bk. 3, app., ch. 1, p. 49.

the Lordof the CloseVicinity.He was arbitrary,the personification

56 Ibid., pp. 6-9.

57 VictorTurner,"Variations on a Themeof Liminality",in SallyF. Mooreand

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