Saturday, March 28, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Cantares Mexicanos
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Texts
Cantares Mexicanos — Song I — Beginning of SongsA Good Works Translation of Song I (Cuicapeuhcayotl — Beginning of Songs) from the sixteenth-century Cantares Mexicanos manuscript — the largest surviving corpus of Classical Nahuatl poetry, translated directly from the UNAM TEMOA transcription.Cantares Mexicanos — Song IX — Mexican Spring SongA Good Works Translation of Song IX from the Cantares Mexicanos — a xopancuicatl (spring song) in the plain-song register, meditating on self-deception, the brevity of earthly glory, the grief-flower as offering, and the singer's wound, translated directly from the UNAM TEMOA Nahuatl transcription.Cantares Mexicanos — Song L — Altogether We GoA Good Works Translation of Song L from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Tlapapal Cuextecayotl (Colorful Huaxtec Song), manuscript number LIV, folio 36r, sections 680–683 (four sections); the shortest song in the Chalca sequence and the transitional piece between the Chalcayotl trilogy (Songs XLVII–XLIX) and the Quauhacayotl (Eagle Song) that follows; opens with a distinctive drum preamble Tiqui tiqui tiqui tiqui totototo; the doubled refrain Cen tiyahui cen tiyahui — Altogether we go, altogether we go — to his home — no one has a place on earth; let the xiuhquechol-flower and tlauhquechol-flower intertwine — your heart, your word, my noble child — the Chichimec lord Ayoquan — a little while here, borrow on earth; I weep — the good song destroys our death, destroys our sorrow — a little while here; Listen to Tlacahuepantzin, Ixtlilcuechahuac — no longer truly to Ximoayan — only here on earthCantares Mexicanos — Song LI — The War-Fire FlowerA Good Works Translation of Song LI from the Cantares Mexicanos — the first Quauhacayotl (Eagle Song), opening the war-song genre section of the manuscript; six sections (§§684–689, folios 36r–36v); a warrior-singer is called to sing and grieve in the maguey-land; God's flowers turn golden; eagle warriors and macuahuitl bearers come draped in quetzal feathers; a kinsman arrives from Chiapan; the singer speaks from his home at Nine Mountain where the sun sets; and the quetzal-flower and war-fire flower unfurl — now the obligation is the arrow, the shield, at Cholula, at Huexotzinco — the singer offers himself; translated directly from Classical Nahuatl via the UNAM TEMOA transcriptionCantares Mexicanos — Song LII — Upon the MesquiteA Good Works Translation of Song LII from the Cantares Mexicanos — the second Quauhacayotl (Eagle Song), eleven sections (§§690–700, folios 36v–37r); Chichimec warriors gather at the Shield-House and cross the Nine Plains; flower-cacao is offered to Moctezuma; the quetzal-magnolia and cacao-flower are scattered in Huexotzinco; the singer's heart weeps among the mountains and longs to be a flower painted in quetzal; the lord Tlailotlac sings upon the flowers; flower-intoxication fills the house of the Only God; at the turquoise wall in Anahuac the oztomeca warrior goes; Moctezuma and Nezahualcoyotl descend in war upon the mesquite; Mixcoatl becomes eagle-bird and jaguar; the great ancestors Acamapichtli and Huitzilihuitl earned the land; translated directly from Classical Nahuatl via the UNAM TEMOA transcriptionCantares Mexicanos — Song LIII — Where Are the Roots of HeavenA Good Works Translation of Song LIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Mexicayotl (Song of the Mexica), MS LV; twelve sections (§§701–712, folios 37r–37v); the great Mexica migration song: the ancestors Quinatzin, Tlaltecatzin, and Techotlalatzin are summoned from Chicomoztoc (Seven Caves); Nezahualcoyotl weeps for his grandfathers at Ximoayan; pain arrives at Colhuacan — Acolmiztli, Atotoztli, Coxcotzin, the Calcocámetl; the captive is released; the Mexica pass through Cohuatepec (Serpent Mountain) and Chapultepec; shields are turned at Colhuacan; the Mexica weep — their tears stretch like the great water; the song asks where are the roots of heaven and where speaks the Giver of Life; translated directly from Classical Nahuatl via the UNAM TEMOA transcriptionCantares Mexicanos — Song LIV — The Jewel SongA Good Works Translation of Song LIV from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Cozcacuicatl (Jewel Song of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ), MS LVI, composed by Don Francisco Plácido in 1553; eighteen sections (§§713–730, folios 37v–38v); one of the great colonial syncretic songs: opens with historical framing (the Tepanec war, Azcapotzalco), then pivots to the Nativity of Christ rendered in full Nahua ceremonial language — turquoise-jewel prayers, jade rosary necklaces, Santa Maria in the quetzal house, the golden reed-house at Bethlehem, angels singing Gloria in excelsis Deo among precious birds, the Three Kings from the east with gold, copal, and myrrh — then closes with memorial for the Nonoalca lord don Diego who departed to Ximoayan; translated directly from Classical Nahuatl via the UNAM TEMOA transcriptionCantares Mexicanos — Song LV — The Lady's AppearingA Good Works Translation of Song LV from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Cihuaixnexcuicatl (Song of the Lady's Appearing), MS LVII; seven sections (§§731–737, folio 38v); a colonial syncretic song composed by Cristóbal del Rosario Xiuhtlamin in August 1550 for the Feast of the Holy Spirit; the singer is a painted-jewel quetzal-bird fluttering in the song's cool shade, sipping from jade flowers; the precious quechol-colored mist spreads at the house of Santa Maria; San Gabriel descends; Ave Maria — in every direction we lovingly praise you; translated directly from Classical Nahuatl via the UNAM TEMOA transcriptionCantares Mexicanos — Song LVI — The Book of the YearsA Good Works Translation of Song LVI from the Cantares Mexicanos — a Pentecost-to-Nonoalco memorial song, ten sections (§§738–747, folios 39r–39v); opens with the Holy Spirit (the butterfly-jewel bird) descending upon the apostles; the dawn-aurora of sustenance rises; angels sound flutes toward the Only God; San Felipe and Santiago arrive; then pivots to memorial for the Nonoalco lords of San Felipe Azcapotzalco — don Diego sits at the painted book of the years on the jewel-mat; his fame endures in turquoise flowers; the green mesquite stands as the tree of sustenance whose roots nourished the lords; the question: who are the princes now? — the song asks of all who painted the water, the mountain, the city; closes with the quechol and quetzal bird spreading wings at Quenonamican as don Felipe departs; translated directly from Classical Nahuatl via the UNAM TEMOA transcriptionCantares Mexicanos — Song LXXV — Let Me Be a Quetzal BirdA Good Works Translation of MS LXXV from the Cantares Mexicanos — Yaoxochicuicatl (War-Flower Song), twelve sections on folios 64r–64v; a bird sings in the white willows of Mexico, God adorns his warrior-princes as quetzal birds, the singer cries 'Let me be a quetzal bird! Let me go flying into the sky!' — and everything on earth withers.Cantares Mexicanos — Song LXXVI — A Rain of ObsidianA Good Works Translation of MS LXXVI from the Cantares Mexicanos — Xochicuicatl (Flower Song), five sections on folio 64v; a flower-song that turns inside out — the yellow flower-field is a battlefield, war-flowers twist in the dusty plain, the conflagration-flower swirls, obsidian and darts rain down — and twice the song asks: 'Is there yet pleasure? There is only death.'Cantares Mexicanos — Song VI — Chalco Song of TetlepanquetzanitzinA Good Works Translation of Song VI from the Cantares Mexicanos — an elegiac Chalco song attributed to Tetlepanquetzanitzin, mourning the passing of Nezahualcoyotl and Tezozomoctli and meditating on friendship, grief, and the brevity of earthly glory.Cantares Mexicanos — Song VII — Another SongA Good Works Translation of Song VII from the Cantares Mexicanos — a war-flower song on earning the precious flower of lordship and nobility through battle, addressed to Chiapaneca-Otomí warriors, translated directly from the UNAM TEMOA Nahuatl transcription.Cantares Mexicanos — Song VIII — Grief SongA Good Works Translation of Song VIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — a tlaocolcuicatl (grief song) in which a singer mourns dead lords who have descended to Ximohuayan and addresses the Giver of Life in naked grief, translated directly from the UNAM TEMOA Nahuatl transcription.Cantares Mexicanos — Song X — Another SongA Good Works Translation of Song X from the Cantares Mexicanos — a grief song bearing two colonial syncretic insertions (Dios, Santa María), a direct address to named lords Tezcacoacatl and Atecpanecatl, and a close meditation on the impossibility of knowing anything true on earth, translated directly from the UNAM TEMOA Nahuatl transcription.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XI — Spring Song, Exhortation SongA Good Works Translation of Song XI from the Cantares Mexicanos — a spring song and exhortation to warriors who hold back from battle, translated from an Otomi original into Nahuatl in the manuscript, now rendered into English directly from the Nahuatl; the drummer wakes his sleeping friends to the flower-dawn songs, and the song climbs from the drum-circle to Eagle Mountain where nobles are shattered like jade.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XII — HuexotzincayotlA Good Works Translation of Song XII from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Huexotzincayotl, a song in the style of Huexotzinco, translated directly from Classical Nahuatl; sections 66-73 on folios 6v-7r open with the flower-warrior ideal and the feathered nobles walking in beauty, then pivot without warning into a lament over the fall of Mexico-Tlatilolco — grief-flowers spread, tears rain, the people go into the water, smoke rises, and the Giver of Life is accused.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XIV — Melahuac HuexotzincayotlA Good Works Translation of Song XIV from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Melahuac Huexotzincayotl (True Song in the Style of Huexotzinco), sections 74–112 on folios 7r–8v; attributed to Don Francisco Plácido, performed at Easter 1551 in Azcapotzalco; moves from conquest lament through colonial-syncretic meditation on God and Christ, to mythic Mexica origins, then into a sustained war-lament over Huexotzinca conflicts with Totomihuacan, Tlaxcala, Mexica, and Acolhua, closing on the scattering of God's mat and seat.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XIX — The True SongA Good Works Translation of Song XIX from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XX (Melahuac cuicatl, True Song), sections 254–262 on folio 16v; nine sections from the courts of Mexico, Acolhuacan, and Tlalhuacpan, opening with a mock portrait of Axoquen and Tezozomoc, moving through flower-tree theology and the gathered voice of Nezahualcoyotl to a closing image of the jade-wisdom bracelet's smoke rising from the hearts of the listeners.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XL — He Goes to That Far TlapallanA Good Works Translation of Song XL from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading Teponazcuicatl (drum song), spanning folios 26v through 27v (§§483–511); a multi-movement drum song in four parts: Cuacuauhtzin's flower-grief opening and refrain for the good flower and good song (§§483–486), the great departure of Nacxitl Topiltzin from Tollan to Tlapallan with its weeping people and undying name (§§487–496), a colonial-syncretic middle movement (§§497–502, not accessible from TEMOA this session), and a devotional flower-close in which the singer carves song into stone and wood, the cacao flower scatters, the laughing quetzal-butterfly delights Moteucçoma, and the singer and God meet on the war-mountain in flower-radiance (§§503–511).Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLI — From the Great Green WatersA Good Works Translation of Song XLI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XLV (no rubric), folio 28r, sections 512–522 (eleven sections); a two-movement bird-and-grief song: the singer identifies as tlauhquechol, çaquan, and quetzal-spinning butterfly, flies from the great green waters, arrives at Huexotzinco among the reeds, stands on high adorning songs with flowers and then closes with the drum-end formula (§§512–516); the second movement turns inward — flower in hand, the song intoxicates but grief remains, no one lives forever on earth, and the song closes with the haunting question of Quenonamican (§§517–522).Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLII — The Song of NezahualcoyotlA Good Works Translation of Song XLII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XLVI, 'Ycuic Neçahualcoyotzin' (Song of Nezahualcoyotl), folio 28v, sections 523–531 (nine sections); a memorial elegy in two voices: an unnamed singer weeps because songs and flowers cannot descend to Mictlan — they only spin here in the world of the living (§§523–525); then Nezahualcoyotl speaks in the first person, addressing the Giver of Life and asking how he shall go to the place of death (§§526–531); the song reaches its philosophical center — 'no one's home is the earth' — and closes as the flower arrives: it is God, the Giver of Life.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLIII — The Flower-Water FoamsA Good Works Translation of Song XLIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — no rubric in the manuscript, folio 29r, sections 532–545 (thirteen sections); a two-movement xochicuicatl opening with the singer adorning as tozi, quechol, and quetzal-bird before the drum while the flower-water foams and intoxicates the heart (§§532–539), followed by a grief register in which no one's home is on the earth and the singer as Mexican goes toward Tequantepec as the Chiltepehua perish and the Tequantepehua weep (§§540–545); closing as the drum is raised and the lords invited to dance, sharing jade and quetzal, for the flower of the Giver of Life rests in the singer's hand.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLIV — The Cascabels Shake in AnahuacA Good Works Translation of Song XLIV from the Cantares Mexicanos — attributed in the manuscript rubric to Axayacatl Itzcoatl, tlatoani of Mexico, folio 29v, sections 546–556 (eleven sections plus drum preamble); opens with the cascabels shaking and the Only God walking through Anahuac while the singer's heart goes forth (§546); moves through a place-song acknowledging the Giver of Life at Nonoalco, Ahuilizapan, and Atlixco with lord Nezahualpilli (§547), warrior-adornment that gladdens the Only God (§548), and the singer's self-identification as a poor Nonoalca, a quail-bird singing from his own mouth-place — the Mexican one (§§549–550); transitions into colonial-syncretic praise of God and the birth of Jesus Christ (§551), the shimmering dawn-home where jade blooms and bracelets scatter (§552); returns to the pure Nahua register with flowers scattering across Anahuac, only the Giver of Life's word settling upon the people, the whole world resting in his hand (§§553–554); closes on the flower-death descending at Tlapallan, those who made it dwelling beside us, and the tears that rise and are woven inside the sky — the song-weeping that carries the soul to Quenonamican (§§555–556).Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLIX — Where Shall I GoA Good Works Translation of Song XLIX from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Chalcayotl Ycnocuicatl (Chalca Orphan Song), manuscript number LIII, folios 35r–35v, sections 657–679 (twenty-two sections; section 676 absent from TEMOA transcription); the third and final genre in the Chalca Song sequence, following the Yaocuicatl (War Song) of Song XLVII and the Xochicuicatl (Flower Song) of Song XLVIII; opens with the question Who among you desires your flower, O God — it rests in the hand of the Death-House-Dweller; the downy quetzal comes from God's home raising song and giving flowers; the singer asks Will the prince come again — the Eagle, Cacamatl? Will Ayoquan come again? Ilhuicamina? Not twice — altogether we go; I come weeping for Ayoquan lord the war-commander; fame risen and swept away; my mother no longer knows me, my father — the darkness comes toward Ximoayan; I weep, I grieve — let us rejoice, let us sing — altogether we perish; no more will one be born, no more will one grow noble upon the earth; a little while yet — never will I rejoice, never will I be content; where my heart once dwelled — I suffer upon the earth; You suffer, my heart — do not brood in vain — perhaps this is my destiny — nowhere can one live — only my heart speaks; what does God say — truly you live? truly you came to stay long upon the earth?; I will not abandon the good flower — only briefly we borrow; I begin my song — your flower has arrived, Giver of Life — our shroud upon the earth; carrying flower and song to Quenonamican — no one will remain; one more day, friends; the flower-butterfly delights at the drum; the great closing question — Where shall I go? Two roads stand — God — is he awaited at Ximoayan? Inside the sky? — Only here — yet here is Ximoayan, upon the earthCantares Mexicanos — Song XLV — Only Somewhere You DiedA Good Works Translation of Song XLV from the Cantares Mexicanos — attributed in the manuscript rubric to Tlaltecatzin of Cuauhchinanco, folios 30r–30v, sections 557–575 (nineteen sections plus drum preamble); opens with grief at a lord's death — the divine word he made, and 'only somewhere you died' (§557); moves through memorial reflection on weariness and the impossibility of re-creation (§558), the singer's remembrance of Itzcoatl with grief (§559), questioning whether God the Giver of Life grows weary (§560), the elegiac drum sounding as lords depart (§561), and invocation for their return (§562); reaches its center in a voice-shift — the singer speaks as Axayacatl, seeking the departed one (§563); the lords' merit is identified with Tenochtitlan itself (§564); the singer bows his head as flowers paint the mountain (§565); closes with devotional song alongside God (§566), the cacao-flower foaming (§567), the tlauhquechol blooming (§568); on folio 30v: arrival before the lords (§569), the grief-declaration and plea not to depart (§570), lament of abandonment as the Giver of Life has gone (§571), going forward with flowers in hand (§572), beating the drum in adornment (§573), jade as the heart (§574), and a living close — 'still your heart lives — sing!' (§575).Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLVI — The Bird-Song of TotoquihuatzinA Good Works Translation of Song XLVI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XLIX, rubric 'Ytotocuic Totoquihuatzin Tlacopan tlatoani' (Bird-Song of Totoquihuatzin, Ruler of Tlacopan), folios 30v–31v, sections 576–588 (thirteen sections); a bird-song attributed to or voiced in honor of Totoquihuatzin, the tlatoani of Tlacopan, the western pillar of the Triple Alliance; opens with earth trembling and the Mexica beginning the dance of eagle and jaguar (§576); the Huexotzinca called to witness the eagle-mat (§577); chalk-flowers scattered at Chiquiuhtépetl and Eagle Mountain as shield-mist settles (§578); the Mexica-Chichimec destroys in the place of the bells (§579); bells rise, quetzal banners spread over the fighting Mexica (§580); the singer declares himself — I the Mexica, I stand in the shield-house, no neighbor will be my friend, what is your word against the divine water and the conflagration? (§581); Acolhuacan, Nezahualcóyotl — your divine water foams, your burning rolls and smokes (§582); the singer as quetzal-water-flower bird offers the festival in the sky and in Anahuac, scattering flowers to intoxicate the children of nobles (§583); grief at the edge of Nine Waters in Xochitlalpan — friends carried away, wrapped, already there (§584); jade necklace, jades smoking, song intoxicates the heart on the flower-earth (§585); only singing in sadness — sorrow rising from within, the song intoxicates, they are wrapped and gone (§586); the Toltec art will be painted and my song will live on earth — but I am going, I will be lost, on a precious feather-mat I will lie down, mothers will weep, flowers of my Otomí-heart scattered by yellow water (§587); final leave-taking — I grieve like a chest to be carried, to Tlapallan where smoke rises, I will be lost, on a precious feather-mat I will lie down (§588).Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLVII — The Reeds Are Shattered in ChalcoA Good Works Translation of Song XLVII from the Cantares Mexicanos — the first Chalcayotl (Chalca Song), genre-marked Yaocuicatl (War Song), folios 31v–33v, sections 589–624 (thirty-six sections); the longest single song in the Chalca sequence and among the most politically charged in the entire manuscript; a sustained lament and accusation from the conquered Chalca people of Chalco-Amaquemecan against the Triple Alliance (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan) for the destruction and absorption of their city-state; opens with the singer arising at Cocotitlan where the lords dance in the eagle-courtyard; Ayoquantzin and Iztac Coyotl named and scattered by the Giver of Life; jade and gold war-flowers in the shield-flower-place; the flower-water and conflagration roll as the Giver of Life calmly plays with golden shields; the Giver of Life torments Chalco; destitution at Itztompatepec and the refrain You mock us, Giver of Life; imperative to weep; the singer accuses the Only God — May the Only God himself grow destitute; dust rises and houses smoke in Chalco; Moteuczomatzin and Nezahualcoyotl directly accused of destroying Chalco from Tollan; memorial for Nequametl, Totomihuatzin, Ce Acatzin who went to Mictlan; retribution against Ayoquan and Iztac Coyotl; ancestors at Quenonamican; named nobles enriched then lost; Chalca lords called to weep; jade and quetzal divided; Chalca mingled with Huexotzinca and Tlailotlaque; final section — the Chalca divided at Almoloya, some become eagle and jaguar, some become Mexica, Acolhua, Tepaneca — the Chalca are transformed.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XLVIII — From Inside the SkyA Good Works Translation of Song XLVIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — the Chalcayotl Xochicuicatl (Flower Song), manuscript number LII, folios 33v–34v, sections 625–656 (thirty-two sections); the second genre in the Chalca Song sequence, following the Yaocuicatl (War Song) of Song XLVII; a luminous meditation on song, flower, transience, and the divine source of beauty; opens with the imperative Çannen tequitl — Work is nothing — come, rejoice with our song; the singer lifts the quetzal-drum, scatters yellow flowers, raises a new song and declares Let displeasure and our grief perish; transience appears at section 628 — Only here, friends, we came to borrow upon the earth; the song-flower sprouts, greens, swells, and blooms; dancing in the flower-house; the jade drum and golden drum of God beaten by the singer; named Chalca lords Quauhatlapaltzin, Acxoquauhtzin, Tepanquizcatzin, Cohuatzin; within the turquoise circle the nobles stand — Ayoquatzin and Acxoquauhtzin — a little while yet here; eagle-intertwined and jaguar-painted noble children; the great refrain Never will the drum and song of the Giver of Life perish — but not forever on earth; every person wanders trusting here on earth, only briefly the fragrant flower appears; the Giver of Life asked Where is your flower — let there be borrowing — can we carry it to your home — We will leave it at Ximoayan; lineage trees — quetzal-willow, ceiba, cypress — upon which lord Cacamatl grew; Amaquemecan and Totolimpan; the yellow-bird in the quetzal-painted house seeks the word of the Giver of Life; the central question at section 648 — You priests, let me ask you — where does the intoxicating flower come from, the intoxicating song — It only comes from inside the sky; the Only God seeks the corn-silk-flower; Tollan and Chalco named as God's home where the quetzal-bird speaks in song atop the jade pyramid; the flower-water rests in the jade-flower-house; the singer begins — corn-silk-flowers intertwine with the song; cacao-flower buds dance at the drum; flowers rain inside the painted house; closing — the spring-flower has arrived, it glows — manifold flowers — your heart, your flesh, O GodCantares Mexicanos — Song XV — Flower-Death in the PlainA Good Works Translation of Song XV from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XVI, sections 113–121 on folios 9r–9v; nine sections moving from earthly grief through a philosophical meditation on prayer to the Only God and the Place of No Return, closing on the warrior's longing for flower-death in the burning plain.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XVI — The Flower-Song DebateA Good Works Translation of Song XVI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XVII (Xochicuicatl), sections 122–169 on folios 9v–11v; forty-eight sections in which named lords from Huexotzinco, Tlaxcala, and other altepetl speak in a philosophical dialogue about the origin of flower songs, the nature of earthly life, and the question of whether meaning survives death.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XVII — YcnocuicatlA Good Works Translation of Song XVII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XVIII (Ycnocuicatl), sections 170–227 on folios 12r–14v; a complete song of privation and grief moving from the flower-tree opening through communal lament, philosophical challenge to the Giver of Life, the road to Mictlan, the consolation of the marigold, and a closing paradox — that it is through bitterness, through spiritual poverty, that we live — with named lords of Huexotzinco and Tlaxcala throughout.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XVIII — Huehue cuicatlA Good Works Translation of Song XVIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XIX (Huehue cuicatl yn nepapaquilizcuic tlatoque), sections 228–253 on folios 15r–16r; twenty-six sections moving from the creation-myth opening in Tamoanchan through colonial-syncretic middle ground to a closing sequence of comic mock-portraits of famous lords including Nezahualpilli, Axayacatl, Totoquihuaztli, and Tezozomoc.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XX — Not Forever on EarthA Good Works Translation of Song XX from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXI, eleven stanzas on folio 17r; a meditation in the voice of Nezahualcoyotl on impermanence, opening with an address to the lords of the Triple Alliance and containing the famous 'not forever on earth' passage (jade shatters, gold breaks, quetzal feathers go), before closing with the image of Moteucçoma and Totoquihuatzin seated on the turquoise-painted eagle-mat in the spring-house.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXI — The Flower-Tree of GodA Good Works Translation of Song XXI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXII, ten stanzas on folio 17v; a memorial lament for lords gone to Quenonamican opening in the voice of Nezahualpilli, pivoting to a vision of precious birds gathering at God's flower-tree paradise, and closing with an address to Moteucçoma and Totoquihuatzin at their painted-writing house, with the quechol bird as messenger between the two worlds.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXII — The ButterflyA Good Works Translation of Song XXII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXIII, a single section on folio 18r; the briefest song in the sequence — a butterfly comes flying and quivering above the flowers, draws from them, and the heart opens in the flower-place; the warrior-soul at rest in paradise.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXIII — The Jade-House StandsA Good Works Translation of Song XXIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXIV, ten sections on folio 18r; opening with direct address to Moctezuma in his jade-house and quetzal-house, moving through colonial-syncretic devotion to Santa Maria, to the sacred writing-houses of Tenochtitlan and Colhuacan where divine flowers bloom, ascending to heaven where God the Father grants all flowers, and closing with warrior imagery — eagles, jaguars, shield and serpent — as divine guidance-flowers rain upon all.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXIV — In the Night the Dust SettlesA Good Works Translation of Song XXIV from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXV, eleven sections spanning folio 18v (§§294–304); a two-movement song opening with warrior-flower imagery (the burning place, the jaguar-flower on the riverbank, Chalca and Amaquemecan in flight) and closing with the court flower-song of Yohyontzin, who comes scattering cacao-flowers and friendship-flowers before Nezahualcoyotl.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXIX — Where Did the Beautiful Song Come FromA Good Works Translation of Song XXIX from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXI, twelve sections on folio 21v (§§366–377); a seeking song in which the singer asks where the beautiful song came from and where God's flowers can be seen, Totoquihuatzin speaks intimately to God questioning his preciousness, war-flowers intoxicate on earth while God rejoices in the sky, and the song closes with the arrival of many-colored birds in God's house.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXV — Come, Ring Your Flower-DrumA Good Works Translation of Song XXV from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXVI, eleven sections spanning folios 19r–19v (§§305–315); a singer's devotional arrival song: the call to beat the flower-drum, birds singing over Nezahualcoyotl's flower-tree, the singer journeying from the sky-writing at dawn, offering flower and song before God, wearing a necklace of cacao-flower, dancing — and closing by censing the eagle-courtyard.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXVI — Now the Flowers Burst OpenA Good Works Translation of Song XXVI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXVII, twenty-two sections spanning folios 19v–20r (§§316–337); a court-praise song interweaving lament for Acolhuacan lords with the descent of God's shield to Mexico, the singer's arrival at the flower-court, and Moteucçoma walking in flower-rain — closing on the three allied lords braiding lordship together.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXVII — Eagles Spread OutA Good Works Translation of Song XXVII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXIX, six sections spanning folios 20r–20v (§§338–343); a compact war-song for the eagle and jaguar warriors of Tenochtitlan, with the water-mountain (atl-tepetl) as structural refrain and Moteucçoma, Cáhualtzin, Totoquihuatzin, and Yohyontzin named as lords of the alliance.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXVIII — Let the Drum RiseA Good Works Translation of Song XXVIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXX, twenty-two sections spanning folios 20v–21v (§§344–365); a grief song at the drum for Chichimec and Mexica lords, with Moteucçoma wrapping warriors in glory, Chimalpopocatzin called to weep, shield-flowers withering and scattered, and the song closing on the flower-death — nothing is like it, the Giver of Life loved it.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXX — Like a Burnished BangleA Good Works Translation of Song XXX from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXII, ten sections on folios 21v-22r (§§378-387); a devotional song in three movements: an opening appreciation-frame in which the singer compares God's beautiful song and flower to a burnished bangle, quetzal-jade, gold, and a beautiful flute (§§378-379); a colonial-syncretic middle in which Santa María the ever-virgin comes loosening the song-feast remnants and flower-paintings, sings in the butterfly-house and book-house of God, is gladdened at the shining altar where God's flowers stand, and the flower-flute sounds with shell-trumpets in God's home (§§380-383); and a closing apostrophe to a red ixquixochitl blooming in Mexico, where the quetzal-butterfly and eagle-bird draw from it, and praise is given to Jesus Christ whose gold-gleaming, jade-circled house stands in Anahuac where he speaks his word (§§384-387).Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXI — In the Flower-CourtyardA Good Works Translation of Song XXXI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXIII, eight sections spanning folios 22r–22v (§§388–395); a two-movement song opening with the red izquixóchitl blooming in Mexico and an elegy for Tlacahuepantzin in Quenonamican, then turning to the singer in the flower-courtyard lifting song before God, adorned with cacao flowers and a cord of quetzal-blossoms.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXII — Will We Use It UpA Good Works Translation of Song XXXII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXV (MS XXXIV absent from the manuscript), eight sections on folio 22v (§§396–403); a devotional flower-song in which the singer addresses Moquihuitzin on his golden throne, then identifies himself as Moquihuitzin wandering in grief on earth — composing, calling to mind joy, with the recurring question 'will we use it up?'; closes with the jade-wheel image of Tenochtitlan and God's song settling upon the people through all of Anahuac.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXIII — Only an Orphan-FlowerA Good Works Translation of Song XXXIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXVI, twelve sections on folio 23r (§§404–415); a devotional flower-song opening with the Holy Spirit identified as a blue water-bird standing among white willows and white reeds in Mexico; reassurance to Moctezuma, Totoquihuatzi, and Nezahualpilli that the Giver of Life holds sky and earth; then the singer's humble self-presentation — 'I am only a singer' — offering an orphan-flower and orphan-song before God with inner sighs and humility; closes with the singer declaring 'I am Totoquihuatzi' and calling from everywhere all who can truly gladden the Giver of Life.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXIV — Draw from the Painted FlowerA Good Works Translation of Song XXXIV from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXVII, nine sections on folio 23v (§§416–424); continues the Totoquihuatzi invitation from Song XXXIII; the three sacred birds (tzinitzcan, quechol, xiuhtototl) drawing from the painted flower in contemplation of the Giver of Life; the singer's devotional address seeking flower-gladness and song-joy; noble grief heard through the beautiful place inside the sky; Tlacahuepan's warrior passage to Quenonamican; the jaguar-painted singer's drum; and the eagle-flower and cacao-drink that wrap the Mexica dead.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXIX — We Only Came to BorrowA Good Works Translation of Song XXXIX from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XLIII, seven sections on folio 26r (§§477–483); a personal lyric attributed to Cuacuauhtzin of Tepechpan, one of the few named voices in the Cantares, moving from an opening invitation to one day and one night of companionship at Ximoa and the recognition that we only came to borrow this life on earth, through an address to persecutors, a double self-introduction with jade drum and coyapitzatl flute, into a tender leave-taking in which the speaker announces his departure and a closing of pure lyric sorrow: 'only my heart says — I will no longer come again.'Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXV — Will Your Heart No Longer BloomA Good Works Translation of Song XXXV from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXVIII, seventeen sections across folios 23v–24r (§§425–441); a grief-and-longing song that opens with the unusual refrain 'ohuaya aye huiya'; questions whether God's heart will still ripen and bloom; moves through lament, seeking, and the famous existential question 'is it truly that we came here to live?'; centers on the quechol's journey to Tamoanchan, the night-book and soul-book as images of divine calling, the marigold blooming as promise of the afterlife, and a closing address to Tloque Nahuaque.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXVI — Your Glory Will Never PerishA Good Works Translation of Song XXXVI from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XXXIX, twenty-two sections across folios 24v–25r (§§442–463); a multi-movement memorial song in which Neçahualcoyotl moves through the transience of lordship, a war-flower sequence on the plain, the obsidian-death flower, and finally a lament for Teçoçomoctzin and Quaquautzin in Quenonamican; notable for the 'Only the flower is our shroud' meditation and the closing 'Your glory will never perish.'Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXVII — Your Heart Desires the Obsidian-DeathA Good Works Translation of Song XXXVII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XLI, six sections on folio 25v (§§464–469); a warrior memorial in two movements: personal lament questioning the reality of Quenonamican, then the elegiac death of Tlacahuepantzin on the plain's heart, where banners flutter, obsidian-flowers lie woven, and the repeated refrain 'your heart desires the obsidian-death' marks his passage; closes with the collective death-declaration of the Zacateca warriors before Shield Mountain.Cantares Mexicanos — Song XXXVIII — Do Not Let Your Hearts AcheA Good Works Translation of Song XXXVIII from the Cantares Mexicanos — manuscript heading XLII, seven sections across folios 25v–26r (§§470–476); a lament song opening on earth turning and spears raining at Shield Mountain, moving through personal grief after the ritual mushroom drink, two refrains ('I am only destitute' and 'it is not yet real — you are troubled'), a meditation on quetzal-jewels and jade necklaces that lie spread before us, remembrance of a friend through his words alone, and the tender closing injunction 'do not let your hearts ache.'