Translation of Tzompantli

[Archaeology Institute]

Nahua language and culture discussion <NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU> writes:
>At 12:20 AM +0100 1/13/05, Raul macuil martinez wrote:
>
>>Saludos...
>
>>
>
>>  Yo soy de Tlaxcala y efectivamente mucha gente que lleva por último
>
>>apellido el de Tzompantzi, principalmente el municipio que se llama Santa
>
>>Ana Chiauhtempan y en el poblado llamado Contla de Juan Cuamatzi. Pero mi
>
>>pregunta es la siguiente:
>
>>
>
>>A que se refieren exactamente al decir : Wonder what these guys did
>
>>for a living...  One man in Tlaxcala was running for a local
>
>>municipal election. Would you vote for a Tzompantzin?.
>
>>
>
>>Podrían ser un poco más especifícos?.
>
>>
>
>>  Miec tlaçocamati.
>
>>
>
>
>
>Raul, and anyone else,
>
>
>I am sorry if this was misunderstood. This was
>
>simply my sense of humor kicking in. There have
>
>been local politicians named Tzompantzi running
>
>for office there in Tlaxcala, and having someone
>
>like the "Keeper of the Skullrack" as your local
>
>Alcalde or whatever might be a bit daunting.
>
>Monsieur le Guillotine?  Heads will roll...
>
>But in some sense, I do have a serious question
>
>here. In pre-Hispanic times, if someone had the
>
>TITLE of Tzompantzin, what would have been his
>
>function? Would he have been the official or
>
>priest who was in charge of the tzompantli? There
>
>would be a lot to know about who constructed
>
>these things... maintained them... put the heads
>
>on them... etc. I was both wondering about some
>
>of those details AND asking about the origin of
>
>the name Tzompantzi. And yes, I agree, I have
>
>seen the family name around west and northwest
>
>side of the Malintzi in Tlaxcala.
>
>
>Any ideas about the etymology of this apellido?
>
>
>John
>
>--
>

Dear Colleagues,

        In the aforementioned study of the tzompantli and its cosmological and iconographic associations (Mendoza 2004) which led to my original question on the etymology of the term "tzompantli", I found that the Mexica in fact maintained ritual
specialists whose function it was to decapitate, flay, and skewer human heads on the Huey-tzompantli of Mexico Tenochtitlan.  In addition, the association of the tonal or tonalli with scalps, and hair, and solar radiation or light, underlies the
Mexica practice of retaining scalps or hair (atop the skewered "scalp pots") of those human skulls impaled on the Huey-tzompantli.  The Huey-tzompantli was in effect an instrument for capturing, and thereby, offering, the tonalli of countless
Ixiptla deity impersonators identified with such festivals as the Panquetzaliztli.  In fact, during the course of my research, I found a very direct association between the Huey-tzompantli of Tenochtitlan and the "First Fruits" harvest festivals of
the Panquetzaliztli, and the ritual reenactment of the sacrifice of some 400 or innumerable "Star-Men" (ala Nicholson, 1971) Ixiptla deity impersonators known as the Centzon Huitznahua.  My argument is that the Huey-tzompantli was in effect
identified with the First Fruits harvest, Mixcoatl and or Coyolxauqui in his or her guise as the Milky Way, and the efforts of the Mexica to capture the primordial essence, and those centripetal forces centered on the cosmological and supernatural
Serpent Mountain today identified with the Huey teocalli or Templo Mayor.  The Huey-tzompantli was in effect the Divine Gourd Tree whose associations with the underworld portal or "Chasm of Creation" (identified with ballcourts ) in turn links it to
the Dark Road that bifurcates the Milky Way, and serves as the repository for the tzontecomatl scalp pots or Star Men or Warriors dispatched in the primordial battle between Huitzilopochtli, Coyolxauqui, and the Centzon Huitznahua star warriors of
the First Creation.  My argument is that the Gulf Lowland identification of the ballcourt and tzompantli with such groups as the Quiche and Huasteca serves as the archetype for the mythological construct in question.  PS: Because my paper on this
topic is currently under review by Arthur Demarest and others on the editorial panel for Rick Chacon and David Dye's forthcoming book (i.e., "The Divine Gourd Tree: Tzompantli Skull Racks, Decapitation Rituals, and Human Trophies in Ancient
Mesoamerica. In The Taking and Displaying of Human Trophies by Amerindians, Edited by Richard Chacon and David Dye. New York: Plenum Press [Under Review]), I am not presently at liberty to circulate the paper in this venue.

Best Regards,
>

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

Email: archaeology_institute at csumb..edu
Voice: 831-582-3760
Fax: 831-582-3566
http://archaeology.csumb.edu
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