For mature audiences (was: some doubts)

[R. Joe Campbell]

On Sun, 14 Nov 1999, Leonel Hermida wrote:

> is 'mazacoatl' some kind of venomous snake?

(Sorry about my funny double cross character for c cedilla)

    The only references to "mazacoatl" that I found in the Florentine Codex=
=20
were the following:
=20
mazacoatl**
=20
1. no ihuan quiximati, in mitoa: *mazacoatl*,.
      and also they knew of the so-called ma=87acoatl. (b.10 f.10
     p.171).=20
=20
momazacoahuiani**
=20
2. in *momazacoahuiani*, intla elti, iciuhca mimiqui:.
      he who partaketh of the ma=87acoatl, if aggressive, quickly
     dieth. (b.6 f.10 p.126).=20

*******

    Molina reports only one entry for "mazacoatl" in each of his three
dictionaries:  'serpent, snake', but I thought that I recalled another use
-- an herb or something else that could ingested.  So I checked Martin de
la Cruz, _Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis_ (given extra notoriety
by the apparent rip-off of Emily Walcott Emmartt's edition of it by a
person whose identity my discretion prevents me from mentioning).  --No
result.=20
    So I checked Maximino Martinez' _Catalogo de nombres vulgares y=20
cientificos de plantas mexicanas_ with negative results too.  Negative also=
 on=20
Louise Schoenhals' _A Spanish-English Glossary of Mexican Flora and Fauna i=
n=20
the plants section, but in the reptiles section, she gives it as 'boa=20
constrictor'.
    But I *still* thought I remembered an allusion to it as something like =
an=20
herb which could be ingested, so I went back to the Florentine Codex, where=
,=20
in Book 6, I found the following:
   =20
          Florentine Codex, Book 6, pp. 125-126  (end of this quote marked
                                                  with ************)

     1.  inin quil nepapacyo, cequi temeyalti in quitecualtia in quitetolol=
tia,
          in ahzo quiteitia cihuatlahueliloque in ahuianime, inic
          tlaelpaquiznequi:
       this, it is said, is pleasurable; one [kind] causeth one to
          discharge one's fluid when the whores, the harlots cause
          one to eat it, swallow it, or drink it to provoke lewdness.
     =20
     2.  inin ca teohuitili, auh nel micoani: ipampa ca tepatzcac,
       this endangereth one; and it is very deadly because one is
          dried up.
     =20
     3.  ca tlami in tezzo, in totlapallo, in tochiahuaca ca tayo
          tlami, tlami in oxiotl, in ocotzoyotl:
       for it useth up our blood, our color, our oils; it useth up
          our moisture; it useth up the turpentine, the resin.
     =20
     4.  iuh mitoa in ***momazacohuahuia*** quixyeyecoa, zan ixquich qui,
       so, it is said, he who partaketh of the ma=87acoatl is moderate,
          drinketh it moderately.
     =20
     5.  in ahzo nahui, macuilli cihuatl quinamiquiz, manozo matlactli:
       [if immoderate,] he will have carnal access to perhaps four,
          five, perhaps ten women.
     =20
     6.  auh inin cihua, amo zan ceceppa in intech aci: ahzo quen
          nanappa, mamacuilpa:
       and to these women he hath access not only once with each one,
          but four or five times with each one, more or less.
     =20
     7.  auh ayac huecahua
       and no one endureth.
     =20
     8.  in momazacoahuiani, intla elti, iciuhca mimiqui:
       he who partaketh of the ma=87acoatl, if aggressive, quickly dieth.
     =20
     9.  inic miqui huel huaaqui, huel malichahui, huel pilini, huel
          quequetotztzitzin mochihua, ixmalichpipil:
       as he dieth he becometh well dried up, veritably a little lock
          of hair, having long tufts of hair, locks of hair on the
          face.
     =20
     10.  ahzo quin piltontli, ac ace quexquichcahuitia, ahzo quin
          achi quihualmana in tonatiuh ac ace tle quitoquilia in toteucyo,
       perhaps he had been a mere child; perhaps he endureth for some
          time; perhaps he continueth in the service of our lord.
     =20
     11.  ye cuele za ixhuehuenton, za mamalichpil, quequetzopil,
          iztalecpil, yacacuitlapilopil, quechhuihuichpil: za pipilcac
          in inacayo, iciuhca onmiqui.
       eventually he is only little old eyes, only little locks of
          hair, tufts of hair, very white, nasal mucus hanging, trembling
          of neck; his flesh only hangeth in wrinkles; he quickly
          dieth.

     12.  huel ximopia nopiltze:
       guard thyself well, o my son.
     =20
     13.  at aca itla mitzmaca in cualoni, in ihuani:
       perhaps someone giveth thee something to be eaten, to be drunk.
     =20
     14.  intla itech tichicoyolloa, ma oc ye achto coni, ma oc ye
          achto concua, in tlein mitzmaca:
       if thou art suspicious of him, let him eat first, let him drink
          first that which he giveth thee.
     =20
     15.  tle ticmati
       pay attention.
     =20
     16.  xonmimattinemi in tlalticpac, ca oticcac in zan tlanepantlacayotl
          monequi.
       continue with caution on earth, for thou hast heard that moderation
          is necessary."
     =20
************

Footnote #6 on page 125 contains the following:
    Ma=87acoatl: cf. Dibble and Anderson, _Florentine Codex_, Book XI,
      "Earthly Things," p. 80.


And on page 80 is the following text:


***  1.  mazacohuatl:
       ma=87acoatl
     =20
     2.  tepiton cuacuahue, catzactontli: amo tecuani, amo cueche:
       it is small, horned, blackish; not poisonous; without rattles.
     =20
     3.  yehuatl inic momeyaltia in aquique cenca cihuanequini, zan
          conichiqui in coni, zan imixtlama in ome ei cihuatl quinamiquiz
       they who are much given to women, in order to produce semen,
          just scrape and drink it [in water]; they just capture the
          eye of two [or] three women they are about to meet.
     =20
     4.  in aquin ommotototza in coni, zan cen tlacuauhtilia, ihuan
          zan cenquizticac in ixinach, ihuan yoyommiqui.
       he who drinks too much continually erects his virile member
          and constantly ejects his semen, and dies of lasciviousness.


     =20
***  5.  tlalmazacohuatl:
       tlalma=87acoatl
     =20
     6.  in tonayan nemi,
       it lives in the hot lands.
     =20
     7.  itoca: tzompilacahuaztli,
       it is called tzompilacauaztli.
     =20
     8.  tliltontli, tzotlactontli, alactontli
       it is small and black, small and glistening, slippery.
     =20
     9.  cacallo atecocollo.
       it has a shell, a sea-shell.
     =20
     10.  inic mitoa tlalmazacohuatl: ca zan nohuian, in milpan nemi:
          auh inic mazatl itech onca, ca cuacuauhtone.
       it is called tlalma=87acoatl because it dwells everywhere in
          the maize fields; and from deer, because it has small horns.
     =20
     11.  inin ihcuac neci in quiahui.
       this one appears when it rains.
     =20
     12.  inic nenemi, in oncan quiza iuhquin tizaayotl, iuhquinma
          tzauctli quinoquitiuh.
       as it goes about, when it emerges, there it goes exuding as
          it were a varnish liquid, like glue.
     =20
     13.  in aquin quiz i: intla miec qui, no yoyommiqui, ihuan ayotlami:
       he who drinks this [in an infusion], if he drinks much of it,
          also dies of lasciviousness, and his moisture ends.
     =20
     14.  ic miquiz, iccen ic cocolizquiz.
       so he will die; he will finally sicken because of it.
     =20

So it wasn't an herb.  Thanks anyway, Emily and Maximino.

Best regards,

Joe