Tepotzoa

[Caroline Dodds]

Thank so much for all your help and suggestions! I had wondered about the 
translation which Fran kindly suggested of tepotzoa as 'he/she/it as 
'possessor of a hunched back', something which would certainly suggest an 
interesting perspective on the idea of a priest bending forwards so that the 
female victim could be laid upon his back for decapitation if, as Sahagun 
suggests, it is a term for the type of sacrifice. He would certainly be 
hunched in that position, but if it is a term for the form of sacrifice, it 
suggests perhaps something more about the importance of the pose.

Joe's suggestion that it might be 'he makes use of his back' also seems very 
logical. But it doesn't quite answer the question of why Sahagun would say 
that this form of sacrifice is 'called' tepotzoa (which seems to imply a 
formal term). Perhaps it really is as simple as a description, however.

Either way, it is clear that the idea of the tepotzoa sacrifice (which is 
uniquely associated with female decapitation) is also closely associated 
with the sacrifice on the priest's back. I wonder why the decapitation takes 
place in this unusual way as opposed to simply on the stone......

Thanks again.
Caroline
-----
Dr. Caroline Dodds
Junior Research Fellow
Sidney Sussex College
Cambridge
CB2 3HU

Tel: 01223 (3)30867
ced44 at cam.ac.uk