attestations of itta, tlachiya vs. pohua

[Heather Allen]

Piyali nahuatlatos,


This question arose while translating a section from the *Anales de
Tlatelolco* recounting the fall of Tenochtitlan/Tlatelolco. Cortés has
defeated Tenochtitlan but Tlatelolco still holds out. So he sends a message
to the tlahtoqueh suggesting that, for the good of the women and children,
they should surrender. In order to decide how to respond, the tlahtoqueh
consult a priest. In the Nahuatl, one of the tlahtoqueh asks the priest,
“quen antlachia quen anquita yn amotlapiello,” which Rafael Tena has
translated as “¿qué veis, qué aparece en vuestras pinturas?”


The verbs used here are *tlachi[y]a* and *itta*, which Karttunen has as to
see something and to see, respectively,while *tlapiello* (*tlapiyalo*) are
(loosely) things that are cared for or under someone’s stewardship. Tena has
translated tlapiello as “pinturas,” which certainly makes sense in this
context. But my question is, are *tlachia* and *itta* the verbs commonly
used to describe the action of interpreting a *pintura* in 16th and
17thcentury Nahuatl documents? Or is
*pohua* more commonly attested to in reference to *pinturas*?


I ask because it seems to me that this passage may be describing a ritual
involving *amatl*, rather than a “reading” of a *pintura*. In other words,
the priest could be observing or examining amatl in a material sense, rather
than examining what is inscribed upon the *amatl*. If *pohua* is more often
used in reference to interpreting a pintura, that would support my hunch,
especially since *tlapiello* could refer to *pinturas* but also other sacred
things the priest has in is care.


Tlazcamati miac for your suggestions!



Below is the original passage in Nahuatl followed by Tena's translation:


Nima ye quiualitoa Coyoueuezi tlacuchcalcatl: “Tla quiualnozaca teua”.
Conilhuia:
“Tla xiuallauh, quen antlachia quen anquita yn amotlapiello?”. Conitoa teua
amatlamatqui amatequi: “Nopilçinçiné, ma xicmocaquitica: ‘Tley nel
tiquitozque? Ca ça nauilhuitl yn titlanapoualtizque. Auh y mach yehuatl yn
inauatil y Uitzilopochtli cayatle uetzi. Cuix ychtaca aanquimotilizque. Ma
uc tonacica, ca ça nauilhuitl yn titlanapoualtilizque.’” Auh y ye yuhqui amo
mouelcaqui, ye no yc peuh y yaoyotl. (116)


Coyohuehuetzin dijo: “Que se consulte al sacerdote”. Le preguntaron, pues, a
éste: “¿Qué veis, qué aparece en vuestras pinturas?” Respondió el sacerdote
encargado de estudiar y recortar los papeles: “Señores, escuchadme: ¿Qué
podemos decir? Faltan solo cuatro días para que se cumplan 80. Quizá es
designio de Huitzilopochtli que nada suceda. O quizá en secreto vosotros
mismos lo veréis. Esperemos, pues sólo faltan cuatro días para los 80”. No
quedaron contentos [con la respuesta], así que reanudaron la guerra. (117)


*Anales de Tlatelolco. *Ed. and trans. Rafael Tena. México: Cien de México,
2004.* *116-117.

-- 
Heather Allen, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Spanish & Portuguese
University of Texas at Austin
hallen at austin.utexas.edu
_______________________________________________
Nahuatl mailing list
Nahuatl at lists.famsi.org
http://www.famsi.org/mailman/listinfo/nahuatl