Aztec army

[Dr Mathias]

Very cool thread. I've kicked around doing something Central/South America for a while.

[cdm]

You're right, it's an Ytz Patzactli [white patzactli from heron feathers], refer the Primeros for the illustration being worn by an eagle warrior, who would also have to be from Tlatelolco, as patzactlis were a gift exclusively to the Tlatelolcan lords by the Pochteca. I've photographed the Florentine images for you to be clearer, the figure with striped face painting in all of them is the warrior Tzilacatzin. I have no idea of the significance of the net pattern face painting style aside from some educated guesses.

Refer to chapter 32 of Book 12 of the Florentine. This is excerpts of the D&A translation of the nahua covering the mentions of Tzilacatzin. The action takes place after the Tenoch common people had given up the war, and the nobility moved across into Tlatelolco. According to the Anales de Tlatelolco there is a whole story of the handing over of power from the Tenoch lords to Tlatelolca, commoners voting to end the war and leaving, plus internal Tenoch assassinations and other things we don't often hear about.

Anyway, chapter 32 is about 2 events, one being Alvarado entering Tlatelolco for the first time at Nonoalco and no one coming out to stop them, except Tzilacatzin. The plates for this are 131, 135, 136 and 137.

The second part is about the next day when the Spanish moved to a part of Nonoalco called Ayauhcaltitlan [the temple complex area near where the causeway enters Nonoalco, and which may be what we see burning in the back of plate 132. Without looking hard, I'd guess this site is now the Parroquia San Miguel Arcangel?], where they were faced by the two warriors Tzoyectzin and Temoctzin and the Spanish were driven back to their boats. The accompanying images are plates 132,133,134, 138 and 139.

in summary the outfits Tzilacatzin wore are described thus in Nahua to English: The text referring to plate 131 only mentions his name, that he has a shield and 3 large stones as weapons, nothing about his attire specifically. "But Tzilacatzin only disguised himself so that he would not be known [and specifically targeted by the Spanish]. At times he wore a back banner, he hung his lip pendants and each of his golden ear plugs, and he put on his necklace of white shells. Only his head went uncovered, where it was obvious he was an otomi rank warrior. [So if his hair says he is an otomi, and it's uncovered, he's not in disguise at all? Refer plate 135 for the corresponding image]. And sometimes he only wore his padded cotton armour with a white band around his head.[Refer plate 136] And sometimes he put on a feather headdress with a wig [the eagle pendants with temilotl, the pendants being a sign/marker of great bravery, so not much of a disguise really?] And with it he wore golden arm bands, and golden leather leg bands" [I read that as gold + leather leg bands] [Refer plate 137. Also note the weapon he is armed with in every image.]

Interestingly in the Anales de Tlatelolco, they mention this snippet during this general time period of the war:

Paragraph 325 - "Y los tenochca, quienes fueron jefes, se cortaron allá el cabello; y todos los jefes se cortaron el cabello y sólo el quáchic, el otómitl anduvieron con las cabezas cubiertas. No de dejaron ver durante todo el tiempo  que se hizo la guerra contra nosotros."

The second part of the chapter says this: "There were only two great warriors who didn't turn their faces away from the Spanish, who altogether despised them, and who did not value their own bodies. The name of the first warrior was Tzoyectzin. The name of the second one was Temocztin. And the third was the previously discussed Tzilacatzin."

Tzilacatzin appears in plate 132 on day 2 of the chapter, but then isn't drawn again. He is mentioned once more in a later chapter. Plate 155 has a figure which has the same face painting style, but he is not mentioned specifically in the context of this image.

The figure you are referring to in plate 139 is a tlacatecatl, armed with an iron sword. We also know from a later chapter that the Tlatelolcan tlacatecatl named Temilotzin was armed with an iron sword.

The Quaxalotl banner is a banner of the highest command. The Spanish know this. For a warrior to try and hide from being targeted, picking the banner of the top ranking leader is only going to increase you being targeted. Additionally, Sahagun makes it clear that otomi, cuauchiqueh and tlaotonxintli [I lean to the otomi and cuachiqueh are both ranks of tlaotonxintli, rather than it being a third type, but I have never resolved this word very well, D&A translate it directly as otomi which I am not in agreement with] do not have command roles, and that being excluded from command is part of the choice of progressing to an otomi, rather than the higher ranks of the eagles who do/may have command roles. Refer for example Sahagun book 6, and I have a vague recollection Duran says something also in the Book of the Gods. I believe there would also be deep cultural taboos for an otomi to wear this specific banner, but at this late stage of the war all sorts of social norms are collapsing, so why not this too I guess?

We know from elsewhere in the siege that warriors wore specific outfits for the connotation that outfit represented, and that these outfits were specifically god related. For example the owl outfit, I don't remember its name off the top of my head.

[Huron34]

Yes, I agree with you.

But, Itz Patzactli, I wouldn't have thought of it right away

Is a rather difficult banner to understand:

A shape as headgear
A shape as a banner, it's the banner that interests us here:

A dome like umbrella with a feather line, and, a large feather arch like the headdress of the north american indian sachem, at least that's I think.

I made a version with a cuachique. I hope you to present him soon

Thannk's for the image

[cdm]

I agree, the patzactli is rather poorly described, the same word being used for the headdress version, and the back banner version.

The Tlecocomoctli I was thinking of is shown in the Lienzo in several plates, but the one that first sprang to my mind is the Ometoch Tlaviztli.

[Huron34]

For fun, 2 lords:

[Huron34]

I meet people who thought the codex Mendoza, showed only warrior party uniforms. Thus I looked and found contrary:

Cuextecatl (codex Mendoza, the same in codex Moctezuma)! Only differences:
No rosette on the hat
No fringe on the shield

[Huron34]

Other codex show:

Cuextecatl in green (with rosette on the hat and fringe on the shield

Cuextecatl in yellow (idem)

Cuextecatl in orange (codex Durand), no rosette on the hat, but two bars

Cuextecatl, in green, Cuextecatl in dark red,  (codex Durand)with two banners on the back, no rosette on the hat, but two bars.

Cuextecatl into two colours (Codex Moctrzuma), rigth in blue and left in red (normaly no rosette, and no fringe on the shield.

That's all for the moment

[cdm]

Refer also the Lienzo de Tlaxcalla images. I had to go back to some old notes from way too long ago to find what I was looking for.

Duran, Book 8:
The yellow Huaxtec pointed conical cap had a golden disk in the front of it and was girt with quetzal feathers. And the shirt was of yellow parrot feathers decorated with hawk scratches. Gold was his crescent shaped nose plate, gold were his ear pendants, with quetzal feather spindles.

The white Huaxtec pointed, conical cap had quetzal feathers bound at the base and a disk of gold at the front. Its spindles were of quetzal feathers and gold. Gold was his crescent shaped nose plate, and gold were his ear pendants.

The bi-coloured Huaxtec, the shirt was half blue and half yellow [I suspect as in left right not front back]. His conical pointed cap was also bi coloured - half blue and half yellow, and it had quetzal feathers girt at the base and a golden disk at the front. Gold was his crescent shaped nose plate, and gold were his ear pendants, and his spindles were of quetzal feathers.

The golden conical cap had quetzal feather tufts held in cups (or a cup)

The silver conical cap had quetzal feather tufts held in cups (or a cup)

While we are talking of hawk scratches - theoretically they are the well known symbol of the cuextecatl outfit based on the Mendoza warrior list, this may not be the case.

Both Mendoza and the Matricula show many suits in tribute not having hawk scratches.

The Tlatelolcan tribute suit with it's spindle whorl headdress instead of the conical helm is interesting in that it has definite religious implications, and the number in tribute exactly matches the number of suits worn in the religious ceremony relating to Tlazalteotl. It's one of the clues that sometimes tilts me toward the tribute suits aren't for warriors per se, but the warrior impersonators within religious ceremonies. I've not been able to put enough correlation together to take it beyond a hunch. On the other hand, that this particular tribute was imposed on the Tlatelolcan nobility must have burned as a direct provocation of their integrity and an in your face reminder of Moquihuix.

To the hawk scratches themselves, they appear in reference to two other suits which are not explicitly illustrated, but are described by Duran also in book 8:

The quetzal feather butterfly back banner was worn with the yellow parrot feather shirt decorated with hawk scratches made of gold.

The quaxalotl banner in yellow was decorated with balls of queztal feathers and gold. With it was worn a yellow shirt of yellow parrot feathers with hawk scratches made of gold

[Huron34]

Thank's for your informations.

My version of bi-coloured Huaxtec suit. Maybe "the red ball" is too much?

Haw scratyches? In gold?

What do you think?

[von Lucky]

Lovely. I wonder what these looked like after battle? I can imagine damaged and covered in blood!

[**GS**]

Wonderful detail work all over this thread. Your research work shows it is not an easy task to be historically correct.
Keep it coming!

[Huron34]

Yes, what should remain after a fight

Here is my warrior with the modifications made (only quetzal feather on the hat, spindle quetzal feather)!

Thank you for your encouragements.

[pws]

This maybe a little off topic, but I can see you all are very keen on aztecs.
Aztecs and Tlaxcans are two of my best loved DBA armies I painted.
I read a lot (same sources you used in this thread) before painting them.

I would like to paint some Tlaxcans in 28mm for a large skirmish game projects, like: SAGA, OGAM, etc.
Could you address me to some book specifically about Tlaxcan culture: gods, war suits, heraldry, tactics, etc...?

I.E: I could imagine war suits assignation system could be simila to aztecs? Or not?
Any contents in english, french, spanish, italian... will be appreciated
Ciao

PS: my 15mm DBA armies:
http://www.dba-italia.org/modellismo/simoncini/4-19-tlaxcans.php
http://www.dba-italia.org/modellismo/simoncini/4-63-aztecs.php

[Huron34]

Hello PWS,
I have only the work of Osprey and various images of the lienzo de tlaxcala.
But as soon as possible, I will make Tlaxcalan warriors.
I think, that for the formation of an army, for the no noblemen it must be quite similar.
For the nobles, I did not possess any information on the style of outfit during the warrior's progrssion.
The Lienzo, shows high- ranking warriors where nobles.
Since Tlaxcala being an indepedent kingdom, the banners are different from those of Tenochtitlan!

[pws]

Hello PWS,
I have only the work of Osprey and various images of the lienzo de tlaxcala.
But as soon as possible, I will make Tlaxcalan warriors.
I think, that for the formation of an army, for the no noblemen it must be quite similar.
For the nobles, I did not possess any information on the style of outfit during the warrior's progrssion.
The Lienzo, shows high- ranking warriors where nobles.
Since Tlaxcala being an indepedent kingdom, the banners are different from those of Tenochtitlan!

Ciao,
Yes sure, thery are two different kingdoms so they must be different.
I was wondering now about difference in deities they worshipped... specially for the OGAM (do you know this rules?) project, I need to find some suitable gods/semi-gods/heros to put in the army.
I need to understand what was in common with aztecs and what is not.