Sahagún`s Tonalpohualli

Charles E. Dibble
Sahagún's Tonalpohualli
Se p r o c e d i ó a examinar el T o n a l p o h u a l l i c o n el p r o p ó s i t o
de esclarecer la relación de las investigaciones tempranas de
Sahagún en T e p e p u l c o y su p o s t e r i o r m e n t e iniciada elaborac i ó n de la " H i s t o r i a " en T l a t e l o l c o . La estructura básica de
veinte g r u p o s de 13 días es idéntica en a m b o s , p e r o el p u n t o
d e partida es diferente. Las características buenas/malas relativas a l o s g r u p o s , respectivamente l o s días principales de cada
g r u p o , c o n unas p o c a s e x c e p c i o n e s , c o n c u e r d a n a s i m i s m o . La
importancia
de
la p o s i c i ó n
del
día s ó l o se destaca en
los
m a n u s c r i t o s de T l a t e l o l c o . En T e p e p u l c o se recalca m u y en
especial la d i f e r e n c i a c i ó n entre c o m u n e s y n o b l e s , mientras
q u e los materiales de T l a t e l o l c o se refieren s o b r e t o d o a l o s
comerciantes.
De
estos
resultados
se d e d u c e
que
Sahagún
o c u p ó su material de T e p e p u l c o c o m o base para la p o s t e r i o r
e l a b o r a c i ó n , p e r o s ó l o en el s e n t i d o de q u e se d e j ó guiar p o r
éste para sus nuevas investigaciones, y q u e de ningún m o d o se
trata de una f o r m a de a d o p c i ó n directa.
In the Prologue to Book 2, Fray Bernardino de Sahagún recorded the
procedures he followed to secure early versions and the final version o f
his "Historia". The work commenced in Tepepulco, where, during a
two year period, he secured pictorial information from knowledgeable
natives. The meaning o f the pictorial material was explained orally in
Nahuatl, and his scribes recorded the Nahuatl explanation at the f o o t o f
115
each painting. This material from the Tepepulco years is known as the
"Primeros memoriales" ( 1 5 5 9 - 1561).
Sahagún subsequently moved to the Convent o f Santiago Tlatelolco
with his Tepepulco manuscripts. There for more than a year, with the
help o f native informants and scribes, he corrected, explained, expanded
and rewrote the Tepepulco material. One o f the manuscripts resulting
from this period is the "Memoriales en tres columnas". Some o f the material from this manuscript will be utilized for comparison in this study.
It would be o f interest to query the relationships o f the Tepepulco
manuscripts to the Tlatelolco manuscripts in the light o f Sahagún's assertion that the former provided the working basis f o r the Tlatelolco material. Nicholson ( 1 9 7 3 : 217 f.) has considered this problem and concludes
that there is little carry-over o f the ethnographic information collected
by Sahagún in Tepepulco, and that " t h e Primeros memoriales can generally stand on its o w n as a separate document and should be handled as such
rather than merely as a brief, preparatory stage in the compilation o f the
'Historia general'". A partial answer to this problem would result f r o m
comparing and contrasting a single topic, the Tonalpohualli, as it is
presented in the Tepepulco and Tlatelolco manuscripts.
Sahagún's recording o f the Tonalpohualli during his Tepepulco residence is found in the Real Palacio Ms. fols. 286r - 303r (Sahagún
1905 - 1908, VI: 73 - 107).' The Tlatelolco discussion o f the Tonalpohualli in "Memoriales en tres columnas" is f o u n d in the Real Palacio
Ms. fols. ! 8 9 v - 242v (Sahagún 1905 - 1908, VII: 2 8 0 - 3 8 6 ) . Since the
Nahuatl text in "Memoriales en tres columnas" and the Florentine C o d e x
are virtually identical, B o o k 4 o f the Florentine C o d e x has also been
consulted and cited (Sahagún 1957).
At Tepepulco, Sahagún's artists and scribes, under his direction, painted
and named the 260 days o f the Tonalpohualli, dividing the days into
twenty thirteen-day groups. Sahagún made no c o m m e n t s or corrections.
A scribe did add a notation o n the day Nine Wind (fol. 289r) observing
that this day corresponded to September 25, 1560. For reasons not clear
to this writer, the series begins with the day One Dog, rather than the
customary beginning day o f One Crocodile. An artist's error appears o n
fol. 288r where the day T w o House is substituted f o r the day T w o M o tion (Fig.). The error appears to have gone undetected.
At the beginning o f each thirteen-day group, a Nahuatl text gives the
fate for those born during the corresponding thirteen days (Fig.). The
texts are brief, but they can be collectively characterized. Part o f the Na1
T h e f o l . n u m b e r s in the original Ms. are irregular. Paso y T r o n c o s o arranged t h e m t o
give the d a y s their p r o p e r s e q u e n c e : f o l s . 2 8 6 r - 2 8 8 v , 2 9 7 r - 3 0 0 v , 2 8 9 r - 2 9 6 v ,
3 0 1 r - 303r.
116
huatl text f r o m the first thirteen-day group reads as follows (Real Palacio
Ms., fol. 286r; Sahagún 1905 - 1908, VI: 7 3 ) : Izcatqui in cecemilhuitlapovalli Compevaltiaya yn itoca 'ce itzcuintW. Ynin matlaquilhuitl omey
yzquilhuitl qualli tonalli (Here are each one o f the day counts. The one
named One Dog started it. All o f these thirteeen days are g o o d days).
It is thus clear that the assigned fate applies to the thirteen-day group
and to each o f the days therein. With minor exceptions each Nahuatl
text distinguishes between the fate o f men and w o m e n and between the
fate o f nobles and commoners. N o deities are mentioned in any o f the
Nahuatl texts.
There is no evidence that any o f the Tepepulco texts were utilized in
the Tlatelolco Ms. In "Memoriales en tres columnas", the discussion o f
the Tonalpohualli was written anew and with a single pictorial representation. The opening text reads: Achto tonalpoalli y toca ce cipactli. vel
ipeuhca, vel ytzin y cemilhuitlapoalli ynic ompeuhtiuh otlatocatiuh yoan
ynic ontlatiuh ce xiuitl (The name o f the first day count is One Crocodile.
It is the very beginning, the very starting point o f all the day counts. In
this manner the year [Tonalpohualli] goes beginning, goes continuing
and goes ending).^ The proper day, One Crocodile, thus b e c o m e s the
beginning day o f the Tonalpohualli. In the longer and more detailed
Nahuatl texts, the fate o f men vs. w o m e n and nobles vs. c o m m o n e r s is
o f t e n indicated but not with the consistency o f the Tepepulco Ms.
The entire text dealing with the Tonalpohualli ( B o o k 5 o f the " M e m o riales en tres columnas" and B o o k 4 o f the Florentine Ms.) has been examined to pin-point its salient characteristics. In the early sections the first
day o f the thirteen-day group b e c o m e s the leader and determiner. The
remaining twelve days are said to share the qualities o f the first day, they
b e c o m e its companions. Had this practice been carried out throughout
the entire Tonalpohualli, it would have shared a characteristic with the
T e p e p u l c o Ms., that is, assigning a uniform fate to each thirteen-day
group.
A second characteristic is that an uneven attempt has been made to
indicate the unique fate o f each o f the 2 6 0 days o f the Tonalpohualli.
In the first nine thirteen-day groups, a consistent effort was made to
mention the singular quality o f each day. Furthermore, gods and goddesses are related to specific days: One Reed, QuetzalcoatI; One Death,
Tezcathpoca; T w o Reed, Omacatl; One D o g , Xiuhtecuth; Seven M o n k e y ,
C h i c ó m e Coatí; One Flint, Huitzilopochtli. Reflecting the likelihood
that some o f the Tlatelolco informants were merchants, extended discus2
Real Palacio Ms., f o l . 1 8 9 v ; Sahagún 1 9 0 5 - 1 9 0 8 , V I I : 2 8 0 . F o r ontlatiuh
read
ontlantiuh.
A l t h o u g h the Nahuatl t e x t has the term xiuitl,
" y e a r " , the 2 6 0 day
p e r i o d is m e a n t .
117
sions o f merchant ceremonies are given f o r the days Four Wind, One Serpent, T w o Death, and Three Motion.
A third practice was to assign a quality to each o f the positions o f the
thirteen-day group. Since the number and the position correspond, it
might be reasoned that the fate relates to the number rather than the p o sition. The reasons favoring position over number are found in the Nahuatl text. The suffix can " p l a c e " occurs. Also the word calti " h o u s e " is
used and refers to position or place rather than number. Sahagún translates
the term calli as " c a s a " , and it is to be recalled that in the game o f chess
" c a s a " refers to the squares o n the chess-board. Based o n the information
supplied in the NahuatI text and Sahagún's corresponding Spanish text,
the first position is variable, the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and
ninth are bad; the third, seventh, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth
are g o o d . The tenth position is said to lead and influence the three following positions for g o o d .
While a pattern designating the initial day o f the thirteen-day group
a leader and determiner o f its companions, a second pattern attributing
a unique quality to each o f the 260 days and a third pattern stressing the
position as the determining factor may appear to be mutually exclusive
or contradictory, it might be preferable to view them as variables, which
could be weighed and manipulated by the soothsayer. In an effort to
ascertain which o f the patterns prevailed, a tabulation has been made o f
each o f the twenty thirteen-day groups with a listing o f the g o o d or bad
quality f o r each o f the thirteen positions.^ A heading Hsts the g o o d or
bad quality f o r each position as extracted from the texts (table).
The results o f the tabulation reveal that the leader One Crocodile
influences its twelve companions for g o o d . The leader One Reed influences several but not all o f its companions for bad. Other than these two,
no leader has a discernible influence over its companions.
The evidence in the tabulation favors the assigning o f the fate according
to position. Many o f the exceptions to the pattern can be explained b y
citing alternate influences. In the second position, a bad position. T w o
Wind is g o o d because o f its leader One Crocodile, and T w o Reed is g o o d
because the day is influenced by the god Tezcatlipoca. In the third position, a g o o d position, Three Eagle is bad because o f its leader One Reed.
In the fourth position, a bad position. Four Lizard is g o o d because o f its
leader One Crocodile, and Four Dog is g o o d because the influence o f the
dog takes precedence. In the fifth position, a bad position, Five Serpent
is g o o d because o f its leader, and Five Monkey is g o o d because the influ3
T h e data is taken f r o m " M e m o r i a l e s en tres c o l u m n a s " , B o o k 5, and F l o r e n t i n e
C o d e x , B o o k 4.
1 1 8
ence o f the monkey
g o o d . With the one
bad. The thirteenth
eleventh and twelfth
takes precedence. The seventh position is uniformly
obvious exception, the sixth and ninth positions are
position is g o o d , and with one exception the tenth,
positions are g o o d .
After the thirteen-day group One Serpent, the informants tired o f their
labors and questioned the value o f additional useless repetition (Sahagún
1957: 82 f., 85, 9 2 , 96 f., 100, 106, 124). This thirteen-day group e n c o m passed the major ceremonies o f the merchants, and b e y o n d this point they
appear to have lost interest. For the next thirteen-day group, One Lizard,
they conclude by stating:
" H o w e v e r , all were as their a c c o u n t t o l d elsewhere. But t h e y were so regarded as
they went arranged in their o r d e r as [is t o l d ] in their separate a c c o u n t s . T h e r e
the third place was m e n t i o n e d as g o o d , and [ o t h e r s ] e v i l . " (Sahagún 1 9 5 7 : 8 2 )
The constant reference to the previously established pattern is clearly a
reference to the position as the determining factor. This is attested by the
fact that the scattered references to specific days after the One Serpent
group all c o n f o r m to the established position pattern (table).
There is no evidence that Sahagún expanded or corrected the Tepepulc o Tonalpohualli at Tlatelolco. The basic structure consisting o f twenty
thirteen-day groups remains the same, but the Starting day o f the Tonalpohualli differs. There is agreement between the g o o d o r bad qualities o f
the thirteen-day groups in the "Primeros memoriales" and the leaders in
the "Memoriales en tres columnas". With three exceptions. One Reed,
One Monkey and One Lizard, the t w o sources agree. It b e c o m e s apparent
that Sahagún studied and reworked the Tonalpohualli with t w o distinct
groups o f informants. The Tepepulco informants were much concerned
with the distinctions between nobles and c o m m o n e r s , whereas the Tlatelolco informants, located in the commercial center, were knowledgeable
and interested in merchant activities. The importance o f the position is
stressed only b y the Tlatelolco informants. The Tepepulco Tonalpohualli
can be said to be the working basis f o r the Tlatelolco Tonalpohualli in the
sense that Sahagún t o o k with him his minuta, the overall plan for his
project, his method o f gathering data, and a wealth o f basic information,
which enabled him to utilize his new informants more effectively and
more extensively.
119
REFERENCES
N i c h o l s o n , H. B.
1973
" S a h a g ú n ' s Primeros Memoriales, T e p e p u l c o , 1 5 5 9 - 1 5 6 1 . " In R o bert W a u c h o p e (gen. e d . ) : Handbook
of Middle
American
Indians,
13: 2 0 7 - 2 1 8 , Austin.
Sahagún, Bernardino de
1905-08
Historia
general
de las cosas de Nueva
Paso y T r o n c o s o , vols. 5 — 8 , Madrid.
1957
1 2 0
España.
Ed. b y F r a n c i s c o del
" T h e S o o t h s a y e r s . " Arthur J. O. A n d e r s o n and Charles E. D i b b l e ( e d .
and transí.): General
History
of the Things of New Spain,
Book 4,
Santa F e , N e w M e x i c o (Monographs
of The School
of American
Research, n. 14, part V ) .
Table: G o o d or bad quality of the thirteen positions.
Position:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Sth
6th
7th
8th
9th
Fate o f
Position:
Var.
Bad
Good
Bad
Bad
Bad
Good
Bad
Bad
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
10th
11th
12th
13th
Good Good Good
Good
Thirteenday Groups:
Crocodile
G
Ocelot
B
Deer
G
Flower
V
V
B
V
G
G
G
B
G
G
G
G
B
B
B
G
B
G
B
B
Reed
B
B
B
B
B
B
G
G
B
G
G
G
G
Death
V
B
G
B
B
B
G
B
B
G
G
G
G
Rain
B
G
V
B
B
G
B
B
G
G
G
G
Grass
B
G
G
B
B
B
G
B
B
G
G
G
G
Serpent
G
B
G
B
B
B
G
V
B
G
V
V
G
Flint
G
Monkey
G
Lizard
G
Motion
V
Dog
G
House
B
G
Vulture
G
G
Water
B
Wind
B
Eagle
B
Rabbit
G
121
dsSttiifo
^cmn
pH- ai^« ft^ ÄnoiMft<jHi
Í7,¿c^enr amito -yiérSiJfñ^^'f>p't< yoS mma^
Ce^a^ea^uauf^'
"pmú^caSt •
»abi c^maUiff.
u
mAOitlfi yí>aíf>itf
jfiniixt^ cifyaeflf
i
(ft\come^ iícaff
<f}icu¡ty cali)
.á
(fyiainaSíi cua^jsaffi'-
Fig.:
122
Sahagún's r e c o r d i n g o f the Tonalpohualli
( R e a l Palacio Ms., f o 2 2 8 r ) .