Song XVI — XVII (The Flower-Song Debate)
The manuscript heading on folio 9v is simply XVII*, followed by the genre designation* Xochicuicatl — Flower Song. No further title is given. What follows is one of the most celebrated philosophical poems in the Nahuatl corpus: forty-eight sections, a dialogue of voices, stretching from folio 9v to folio 11v before a new heading marks the close.
The song is structured around named singers who step forward and speak. Tecayehuatzin — a historical ruler of Huexotzinco, recorded in the post-Conquest annals — introduces himself at §130 and anchors the poem. Other voices join: Ayoquan (§139), Aquiauhtzin of Ayapan (§140), Quauhtencoz (§149), Monencauhtzin (§§154–156), Tlapalteuccitzin (§162), Xayacamach (§161). The Tlaxcalan lords Xicohtencatl, Tiçatlacatzin, and Camaxochitzin appear as an ensemble at §143. Coyolchiuhqui — the name of a deity, perhaps here a singer's ceremonial name — appears at §152 weeping as she sings. The song is a performance that records itself being performed.
Its philosophical content is the question the whole poem circles: where do flower songs come from? The poem returns again and again to Ypalnemohuani, the Giver of Life, as the source — the songs descend from within the sky (§131), the Giver of Life answers the bell-bird (§§125–126). But the answer is not settled, only held in circulation. Sections 135–136 turn the question existential: has it been in vain that we arrived on earth? Even with flowers, even with songs — what will the heart do? The final section (§169) concludes not with resolution but with the bare fact: we came only once.
Colonial syncretism is present throughout — Dios, angelotin — but it sits lightly, alongside the traditional theology of Ypalnemohuani, Ycelteotl (the Only God), and Quenonamican (the Place of No Return). The flower-song tradition absorbed the colonial horizon without abandoning its own.
Song XVI spans folios 9v–11v, sections 122–169. Nahuatl source text accessed from the UNAM TEMOA digital platform (temoa.iib.unam.mx), CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Translated directly from Classical Nahuatl by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
Let us still rejoice together, our friends —
still take pleasure, you nobles,
in the heart of the plain.
We come to live here.
We only borrow from one another
the shield-flower,
the burning plain.
ohuaya
How do we go along,
we singers?
Let the flower-drum rise —
raised with quetzal feathers,
braided through with gold-flower —
not yet, not yet.
ohuaya
You will bring joy
to the nobles, the lords,
to the eagle-jaguar warriors —
not yet, not yet.
ohuaya
He it is who has descended amid the drums —
the singer dwells near.
He scatters quetzal feathers,
distributes the song of the Giver of Life.
The bell-bird answers, singing as it goes.
Flowers spread out — our flowers spread.
ohuaya
Here where I hear his word —
perhaps it is the Giver of Life himself
who answers,
who answers the bell-bird singing as it goes.
Flowers spread out — our flowers.
ohuaya
The jade — quetzal-feathers scattered everywhere —
your word goes out.
So too says it: Ayoquan,
and Cuetzpaltzin —
truly they know the Giver of Life.
ohuaya
So too does the lord make himself glorious —
with quetzal-bracelet artistry alone
he delights the Only God.
But where, perhaps, somewhere —
the Giver of Life —
what is truly real on the earth?
ohuaya
Just a little while —
while time still remains —
I borrow jade things, bracelets from the nobles.
I only weave flowers through the nobility.
Here alone is my song —
it resounds amid the drums.
ohuaya
Still I stand here in Huexotzinco —
I am the speaker, I am Tecayehuatzin.
With jade and quetzal-obsidian alone
I assemble the nobles.
I only weave flowers through the nobility.
ohuaya
From within the sky — there it comes:
the perfect flower, the perfect song.
It scatters our trouble,
scatters our sorrow —
perhaps it is he,
the Chichimeca lord, Tecayehuatzin.
Rejoice in it!
ohuaya
The izquixochitl-flower scatters — friendship blooms,
split through with white heron feathers,
the quetzal-corn-flower twisted and woven.
Upon their hands the lords and nobles go,
drinking from it as they pass.
ohuaya
Only the gold-bell-bird —
your song is very beautiful,
what you raise up is very good.
You who are there where flowers encircle,
you who stand in the flowers, speaking —
ohuaya
Are you perhaps the quechol-bird of the Giver of Life?
Are you perhaps his sovereign —
you who go ahead,
you who watch for the dawn and sing as you go?
ohuaya
Even so — what my heart desires
is only the shield-flower,
the flower of the Giver of Life.
But how will my heart manage it?
Has it been in vain that we have arrived,
that we emerged onto the earth?
ohuaya
Thus I will go — where flowers have perished.
Will there be no fame for me someday?
Will I be of no account on the earth?
Even with flowers, even with songs —
what will my heart do?
Has it been in vain that we arrived,
that we emerged onto the earth?
ohuaya
Let us enjoy one another, our friends —
let us embrace here.
On the flower-earth here is where we live.
No one will destroy the flower, the song —
it abides before the house of the Giver of Life.
ohuaya
Only a little while on earth —
and in the same way also:
the Place of No Return.
Will there still be joy?
Is there friendship among us?
But is it only here
that we have come to know each other on earth?
ohuaya
I heard the song,
heard the flute-playing,
the flower-vine song —
Lord Ayoquan.
ohuaya
He answered you,
responded to you within the flower-house —
Aquiauhtzin, lord of men from Ayapan.
ohuaya
Where do you dwell, my God, Giver of Life?
I seek you —
someday I grieve for you,
I the singer.
I only was delighting in you.
ohuaya
Only the izquixochitl,
the quetzal-izquixochitl —
it falls, scatters here
within the spring-house, within the painted house.
I only was delighting in you.
ohuaya
You who are there in Tlaxcala —
jade-bell singers amid the drums —
flowers bubble up!
Lord Xicohtencatl, Tiçatlacatzin, Camaxochitzin —
from their hearts the song comes out.
With flowers the word of the Only God is awaited.
ohuaya
You who go everywhere —
the Giver of Life, this is truly your home.
A flower-mat woven with yellow flowers —
there the nobles pray to you.
ohuaya
Many kinds of flower-trees stand there amid the drums.
With song, with quetzal feathers
it winds all around —
the perfect flower scatters.
ohuaya
Upon a quetzal-feather carpet
the bell-bird lives, singing as it goes.
The lord answers it;
the eagle-jaguar warrior takes delight.
ohuaya
Flowers fall scattered —
let there be dancing, our friends.
Near the drums it is awaited.
Our hearts go in sorrow.
ohuaya
It is only God himself — let us hear!
He descends, comes singing from within the sky.
The angels answer,
coming and playing their flutes.
ohuaya
I only go in sorrow —
I, Quauhtencoz —
with grief alone.
There stands our flower-drum.
Is it still real, if it goes along thus —
is our song still true?
ohuaya
From where does it emerge?
Who is it there where you dwell,
where are you, you who suffers —
my friend?
Let me lead you — go there.
ohuaya
Why am I singing here?
What do you say, our friends?
It is spoken here.
ohuaya
A flower-courtyard spreads out — from there the nobles come.
Coyolchiuhqui, with weeping,
comes singing within the spring-house.
Joyfully flowers, joyfully songs —
and yet everywhere grief arises.
ohuaya
Now truly it is real — now it is bitter.
With sorrow, with orphan-song you go along.
I weave quetzal-feathers through the nobility —
I the renowned one, lord-ship and rulership —
Lord Telpolohuatl,
we all dwell within the spring-house.
Joyfully flowers, joyfully songs —
and yet everywhere grief arises.
ohuaya
I heard the song — I declare it:
upon the spring water-flowers the dawn goes,
calling to the turquoise-quechol,
the corn-bird, the tlauhquechol —
Lord Monencauhtzin.
ohuaya
Our friends — who are those standing there
within the turquoise-quechol cacao-flower house?
God — let him come and take the quetzal-mantle.
Jade-bell-flute drums stand,
flower-teponaztli calls,
and he beats the turquoise-painted drum
within the flower house.
ohuaya
Let us hear — clearly the flower-tree speaks.
Gold-flower-bells scatter on its branches;
hummingbird and quechol bird —
Lord Monencauhtzin —
going on wings of wind-cooling feathers,
hovering, flying near the flower-drums.
ohuaya
Falling, falling —
flowers stand open
before the face of the Giver of Life.
He answers you, oh my heart.
ohuaya
The little bird of God —
where do we seek it?
How much is your song, your treasure?
He plays with us — flowers stir.
ohuaya
Everywhere I wander, everywhere I speak —
I the singer.
The quetzal-izquixochitl already scatters
in the flower-courtyard, within the butterfly-house.
ohuaya
All of it comes from there — flowers stand.
The reversal-flower — that makes hearts spin —
he comes scattering it far, shaking it out.
Flower-vines twisted, flowers foaming.
ohuaya
The flower-mat arrives —
truly this is your home, within the book-house.
She sings, she speaks — Xayacamach —
the cacao-flower intoxicates the heart.
ohuaya
The very beautiful song resounds —
he raises it up, the song of Tlapalteuccitzin.
Very delightful — flowers scatter, cacao-flowers.
ohuaya
Our friends — I seek you, I follow each one.
But here you are!
Let yourselves be glad, stand adorned.
I alone have come to you — I your friend.
ohuaya
Is there a flower? Where do I bring it from —
the tzitzicuil-flower, the young-plant flower?
Is it like that?
I am troubled, our friends.
ohuaya
Who am I — going flying, resting here?
I sing flower-songs, a song-butterfly.
Let my heart truly come out —
let my heart know.
ohuaya
I come here, I have descended —
I the spring-quechol bird.
I arrive on the earth, I hover
near the flower-drums.
My song rises, it comes out onto the earth.
ohuaya
You who are also over there —
I wash the flowers clean within the song,
I come out from among them.
I too spread out my quetzal-curl,
bind it with golden cord —
I your humble friend.
ohuaya
I only watch over the flowers, your friend —
I spread it out with a wing of many-colored flowers,
my flower-treasure-house in which I dwell
amid varicolored things.
God — let yourselves rejoice.
ohuaya
Go and be very glad,
you of the flower-necklace —
but it is he, the lord.
Will we live again?
As your heart knows it:
we came only once.
ohuaya
Colophon
Song XVI of the Cantares Mexicanos carries the manuscript heading XVII (Xochicuicatl — Flower Song) on folio 9v, following directly from the end of Song XV at §121. It is the longest song in the early folios of the manuscript: forty-eight sections (§§122–169) spanning three folios (9v, 10r, 10v, 11r, 11v). The next heading, XVIII (Ycnocuicatl — Song of Privation), appears at folio 12r.
The dialogue structure: The song is notable among the Cantares for its multi-voice structure. Named lords step forward and speak in sequence. Tecayehuatzin identifies himself at §130 as ruler of Huexotzinco — a historical figure attested in post-Conquest annals as a tlatoani of that altepetl. At §139, Ayoquan speaks; at §140, Aquiauhtzin, lord of Ayapan, answers. Quauhtencoz, possibly identifiable with Quauhtlencoz (a Huexotzinca warrior), speaks at §149. Monencauhtzin appears at §§154–156 with vivid bird-imagery. Tlapalteuccitzin raises his song at §162; the female (or female-named) singer Xayacamach sings at §161. At §143, Tlaxcalan lords are named: Xicohtencatl (Xicohtencatl the Elder, a prominent Tlaxcalan general), Tiçatlacatzin, and Camaxochitzin (the latter name bearing Camaxtle, the Tlaxcalan deity). The presence of both Huexotzinca and Tlaxcalan lords in the same song reflects the close political and cultural ties between these two allied altepetl — and the oral tradition's preservation of inter-city poetic exchange.
On the philosophical center (§§128, 135–138): The philosophical questions that animate the poem are explicit. Section 128 asks: ach canon aço tle nel in tlalticpac — "but where perhaps, what is truly real on the earth?" Sections 135–136 push further: onen tacico tonquiçaco in tlalticpac — "has it been in vain that we arrived, that we emerged onto the earth?" Even with flowers, even with songs, the heart cannot resolve this. Section 138 names the alternatives directly: çan cuel achitzincan tlalticpac — "only a little while on earth" — and Quenonamican — the Place of No Return. The song's final answer (§169) is: çan cen tinemico — "we came only once." This is not resignation but statement of fact — the ground under the flower-beauty.
On the origin of flower-songs: The poem's recurring question is where xochicuicatl comes from. Section 125 and 126 suggest the Giver of Life (Ypalnemohuani) sends songs down — the bell-bird (coyoltototl) answers from within the divine, and the song descends. Section 131 says the perfect flower and perfect song come ilhuicac itic — "from within the sky." But the poem holds this answer lightly. The songs are both divine gift and human act — woven, braided, set out, watched over by named individuals. The named singers are not passive vessels; they are active weavers of flowers.
On the izquixochitl (§§125, 132, 142, 159): The izquixochitl (Bourreria huanita, or possibly Quararibea funebris) is a fragrant flower used in ceremonial contexts. Its Nahuatl name — from ixqui (popcorn) — refers to its small, burst-open blossoms. It appears here as the most valued flower in the dialogue, associated with the presence of the divine. Teocuitlaxochinenepaniuhticac (§132) — "gold-flower interwoven" — applies the standard Nahuatl technique of combining precious metals with flowers to compound sacrality.
On Ayocuan Cuetzpaltzin (§127): Ayocuan Cuetzpaltzin — "the Lizard-lord" — is among the most celebrated Nahua poet-philosophers, associated with the doctrine that flowers and songs descend from heaven as divine gifts rather than as human invention. His name appears across the Cantares Mexicanos and the Romances de los Señores de la Nueva España as an authority on the nature of divine poetry. Section 127 invokes him as a predecessor whose wisdom confirms the song's central claim — that beauty rains down like jade and quetzal feathers from the Giver of Life. The phrase nelin ye quimatin Ypalnemoa — "they truly know the Giver of Life" — is among the highest forms of praise in the Cantares tradition.
On the coyoltototl and the quechol (§§125–126, 133–134): The coyoltototl (golden bell-bird, named for the coyollin — the golden bell worn by dancers) appears in §§125–126 as the bird that answers the Giver of Life's word, scattering songs like quetzal feathers. In §§133–134, a bird is addressed: "O golden bell-bird — your song is very beautiful" (§133), then "Are you perhaps the quechol-bird of the Giver of Life?" (§134). The quechol (roseate spoonbill, or in some interpretations a trogon or flamingo-like bird) was associated with divine presence and sacred speech. The shift from naming the coyoltototl to asking whether the addressed singer is a quechol of the Giver of Life (ach anca tiquechol in Ipalnemoa) transforms the bird-image into a direct question about poetic authority: is your song divine speech, or merely human performance?
On §131 (conpoloan tellel conpoloan totlayocol): This phrase — rendered here as "scatters our trouble, / scatters our sorrow" — carries genuine ambiguity. Poloa ranges from "to scatter/disperse" to "to destroy/ruin," and tlayocol can mean both "sorrow" and "creation/invention." An alternative reading (adopted in an earlier draft of this translation) renders the lines as "our longing corrupts them; our own making ruins them" — the divine songs are damaged by human desire as they pass through the singer's hands. Under that reading, §131 names the central paradox of Nahua flower-song philosophy: beauty is divine gift but human desire defaces it. Both readings are defensible; the surrounding context — Tecayehuatzin gathering nobles with his song, the consolation of §137 — supports either.
On colonial elements: Dios appears at §§134, 148, 168 and angelotin (angels) at §148. These are not intrusions but evidence of the post-Conquest performance context in which the manuscript was compiled (~1550s–1580s). The traditional theology of Ypalnemohuani (Giver of Life), Ycelteotl (Only God), and Quenonamican (Place of No Return) coexists throughout.
On Coyolchiuhqui (§152): The name Coyolchiuhqui belongs to the goddess of the moon, sister of Huitzilopochtli, defeated and dismembered in the founding myth of Tenochtitlan. Her appearance here as a weeping singer within the spring-house may be a ceremonial or poetic use of the name (a singer adopting the persona) rather than a direct invocation of the deity. The image of a deity-named figure weeping and singing within the flower-house is consistent with the Cantares' practice of inhabiting divine names in performance.
The translation was made from Classical Nahuatl, consulting Alonso de Molina's Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana (1571) and Frances Karttunen's Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl for lexical verification. No existing English translation of the Cantares Mexicanos was used as source or guide; the English is independently derived.
Translated from Classical Nahuatl and compiled for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: Song XVI — Sections 122–169 (Folios 9v–11v)
Classical Nahuatl source text from the Cantares Mexicanos manuscript, Biblioteca Nacional de México. Transcription accessed via the UNAM TEMOA digital platform (temoa.iib.unam.mx), CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Embedded scholarly footnote markers from the critical edition have been removed.
(XVII — Xochicuicatl)
[Folio 9v]
[Section 122]
Yn maoc tonahuiacan antocnihuan ayiahue maoc xonnahuiacan antepilhuan in ixtlahuatl ytec y nemoaquihuic çan tictotlanehuia o a in chimalli xochitl in tlachinollehuaya ohuaya ohua ya
[Section 123]
Can tiyanemia ticuicanitl maya hualmoquetza xochihuehuetl quetzaltica huiconticac teocuitlaxochinenepaniuhticac y ayamo aye yliamo aye hui y ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 124]
Tiquimonahuiltiz in tepilhuan teteucti o in quauhtloocelotl ayamo aye yliamo aye hui y ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 125]
Yn tlaca'ce otemoc aya huehuetitlan ye nemi in cuicanitl huia çan quiquetzalintomaya quexexeloa aya ycuic Ypalnemoaquiyananquilia in coyolyantototl oncuicatinemi xochimana man aya toxoch a ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 126]
In canon in noconcaqui ytlatol aya tlaca'ço yehuatl Ypalnemoa quiyananquilia quiyananquilia in coyolyantototl oncuicatinemi xochimana man aya toxoch a ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 127]
In chalchihuitl ohuayee onquetzalpi'pixauhtimani a yn a motlatol huia no iuh ye quittoa y Ayoquan yehuayan Cuetzpal ohuaye anqui nelin ye quimatin Ypalnemoa ohuaya etcetera
[Section 128]
No iuh quichihuacon teuctlon timaloa ye çan quetzalmaquiztlamatilolticaya conahuiltia Ycelteotl huia ach canon aço ceyan Ypalnemoa ach canon aço tle nel in tlalticpac ohuaya etcetera
[Section 129, folio 9v–10r]
Ma cuel achic aya maoc ixquich cahuitl niquinnotlanehui in chalchiuhtin i in maquiztin i in tepilhuan aya çan nicxochimalina in tecpillotl huia çan ca nica nocuic yca yla catzoa a in huehuetitlan a ohuaya ohuaya
[Folio 10r]
[Section 130]
Oc noncohuati nican Huexotzinco y nitla'tohuani niTecaehuatzin huiya chalchiuhti çan quetzalitztiny niquincenquixtia in tepilhuan aya çan nicxochimalina in tecpillotl huia ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 131]
A yn ilhuicac itic ompa ye ya huitz in yectli yan xochitl yectli yan cuicatl y conpoloan tellel conpoloan totlayocol y in tlaca'ço yehuatl in chichimecatl teuctli in Tecayehuatzin yca xonahuiacan a ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 132]
Moquetzalizquixochintzetzeloa in icniuhyotl aztacaxtlatlapantica ye onmalinticac in quetzalxiloxochitl Ymapan onne'nemia conchi'chichintinemih in teteuctin in tepilhuan a etcetera
[Section 133]
Çan teocuitlacoyoltototl o huel yectlin amocuic huel yectli in anquehua anquin ye oncan y xochitl yiahualiuhcan y xochitl ymapan amoncate yn amontlátla'toa yeehuaya ohui ohui ilili y yao ay yahue ho amaha ilili ahua y yaohuia
[Section 134]
O ach anca tiquechol in Ipalnemoa o ach anca titlatocauh yehuan Dios huiyaachto tiamehuan anquitztoque tlahuizcalli amoncuicatinemi ohui ohui ilili y yao ay yahue ho amaha ilili ahua y yaohuia
[Section 135]
Maciuhtia oo in quinequi noyollo çan chimalli xochitl in ixochiuh Ipalnemoani quen conchiuaz noyollo yehua onen tacico tonquiçaco in tlalticpac a ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 136]
Çan ca iuhqui noyaz in oompopoliuh xochitla antle notleyo yez in quenmanian antle nitauca yez in tlalticpac manel xochitl manel cuicatl quen conchiuaz noyollo yehua onen tacico tonquiçaco in tlalticpac ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 137]
Man tonahuiacan antocnihuan aya ma onnequechnahualo nican huiya Xochintlalticpac on tiyanemi ye nican ayac quitlamitehuaz in xochitl in cuicatl in mania ychan Ipalnemohuani y iao a ilili y iao ayahue aye ohuaya etcetera
[Section 138, folio 10r–10v]
Yn çan cuel achitzincan tlalticpac aya aya oc no iuhcan Quennonamican i cuix oc pacohua icniuhtihua y auh yn amo çanio nican tontiximatico in tlalticpac y yiao hailili yiao aya hue aye ohuaya
[Folio 10v]
[Section 139]
Noconcac on cuicatl noconcaquin tlapitzaya xochimecatl Ayoquan teuctli yaahuayie ohuayiao ayio yo ohuia
[Section 140]
Çan mitzyananquili omitzyananquili xochincalaitec y in Aquiauhtzin in tlacateuhtli ayapancatl yahuayie etcetera
[Section 141]
Can tinemi noteouh Ypalnemohua nimitztemohua in quenmanian y moca nitlaocoyan nicuicanitl huia çan nimitzahuiltiaya ohuiyan tilili yancohuia ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 142]
Yn çan ca izquixochitl in quetzalizquixochitl pixahui ye nican xopancalaitec y tlacuilolcalitec çan nimitzahahuiltiaya ohui yantilili yancohuia ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 143]
O anqui ye oncan Tlaxcalla ayahue chalchiuhtetzilacacuicatoque in huehuetitlan ohuaye xochinpoyon poyon ay iahue Xicontencatl teuctli in Tiçatlacatzin in Camaxochitzin cuicatica ymelelquiça xochitica ya onchielo ytla'tol ohuay Icelteotl ohuaya
[Section 144]
O anqui nohuia y yemochan Ipalnemohua xochipetlatl ye nocaxochitica ontzauhticac oncan mitztlatlauhtia in tepilhua ohuaya
[Section 145]
Yn nepapan xochiquahuitl on ycac aya huehuetitlan aay iahue can cantica ya quetzaltica malintimani ya yecxochitl motzetzeloa ya ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 146]
Can quetzatzalpetlacootl ycpac o ye nemi coyoltototl cuicatinemi ya can quinanquili teuctli ya conahuiltian quauhtlo ocelotl ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 147]
Xochitl tzetzeliuhtoc y ma onnetotilo antocnihuan huehuetitlanac onchielo can nentlamati toyollo yehua ohuaya ohua ya
[Section 148]
Yn çan ca yehuan Dios tla xicyacaquican yehualtemo yao ilhuicatlitic y cuicatihuitz y quinanquilia o angelotin ontlapitztihuitze aya oyiahue yaia oo ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 149]
Çan ninentlamatia can niQuauhtencoz ayahue can tlayocoltica io çan yeonma'panticac toxochihuehueuh huiya cuix oc nellin tlaca yieiuh ca y oc nellin tocuic ohuaya ohuaya
[Folio 11r]
[Section 150]
tlenoço ycaya tlehualquiça ac yn oncan tinemi yn oncan ticate timotolinian tinocniuh oo tla nimitzonhuica tla oncan xonica ohuaya ohuaya yio a huayiaoo a ohuaya yhui
[Section 151]
Can ic noncuicatoc yio ahuaya etcetera tlein anquitoa yn antocnihuan tlatoac ye nican ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 152]
Xochithualli mani ompa ye ya huitz tepillóhuan a in Coyolchiuhqui choquiztica in oncuicatihuitz xopan calitec ay huian xochitl ai huian cuicatl nochian cocolli mochihua yn nican ohuaya etcetera
[Section 153]
Yn ye nelli ay axcan incococ yoa tlayocoltica ya tiyatinemi y ihua ya icnocuicatica noconquetzalmalina yn tecpillotl nimotenehuatzin teucyotl tlatocayotl Telpolohuatl Telpolohuatl teuctli tinochi ye tonemi xopancalitec y aihui ya xochitl ayhuian cuicatl nochic cocolli mochihua ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 154]
Noconcac on cuicatl noconithua xopan axoxochiatl ytech onne'nemia tlahuizcallin quinonotztinemi xiuhquechol elotototl ye tlauhquechol aya Monencauhtzin teuhtli ayie a oo ohuaya etcetera
[Section 155]
O huayiao aye antocnihuane aquique ya onoque yxiuhquechol cacahuaxochicalitec y yehuan Dios huia yn ma oc xiquala'cocui quetzalcuemitl y ma ya maniquimonithua chalchiuhhuilacapitzhuehuetzcaticate xochiteponaztica monotztoque auh aço yehuan tepilhuan in teteuctin yn cotzotzona yn con oolinia xiutlacuilohuehuetl xochincaletec a ohuaya etcetera
[Section 156]
Ma xicaquican a yçahuaca ye tlatoa xochiquahuitl ymapan motzetzelotica qui in teocuitlaxochicoyol ayacac ihuitzil in quechol Monencahuatzin teuctli caquaehcacehuaztlapaltica onmoçoçouhtinemi patlantinemi xochihuehuetitla ohuaya etcetera
[Section 157]
Pahuetz pahuetz xochitl cueponticac xochitl ixpan Ypalnemoani mitznanquili o yollo aye oy oa o ioo aya ohuia ohuaya etcetera
[Section 158]
Ytototzin yehuan Dios can ca tictemohuia quexquich ye mocuic in ye monecuiltonol tonteahuiltia yoo ye olini xochitl a ohuaya
[Section 159, folio 11r–11v]
Nohuian nonne'nemi nohuian nontla'tohua nicuicanitl huia in quetzalizquixochitl ca ye ontzetzeliuhtoc xochiithualco yehua papalocalitec y yaoo ayahue ohuaya etcetera
[Folio 11v]
[Section 160]
Çan moch ompa ye huitz xochitl ycaca ayahue tecuecuepal xochitl in teyollomamalacacho a y tzo yehuan ohuaye conmoyauhtihuitze contzetzelotihuitze in xochitla malin xochipoyon ay iahue
[Section 161]
Xochinpetlatl onac ayiahue cenca ye mochan ye amoxcalitec cuica yehua ontlatoa yehua Xayacamach quihuintia ye iol cacahuaxochitl a yio ahuaya
[Section 162]
Yn huel yectli oncuicatl ycahuaca yehua conehua ye icuic Tlapalteuccitzin aya huel ahuia yxochiuh tzetzelihui xochitl cacahuaxochitl yio ohuia
[Section 163]
Antocnihuane namechtetemohua cecencuemitl nictoca auh tzo nican ancate xonpa'pactiacan xontlatlaquetztiacan çan ye onihualacic yn namocniuh namocnihuan ohuaya etcetera
[Section 164]
Yn cuix itla xochitl can niqualcalaquia yn tzitziquilxochitl moçoquilxochitl cuix iuhquin cuix nayohui nitonolini yn antocnihuan ohuaya ohua
[Section 165]
Aquin nehua nipatlantinemi yehuaya notlatlalia nixochincuican cuicapapalotl aya ma nellel quiça ma noyol quimati a ohuaya
[Section 166]
A y topa nihuitz oya nitemoc in nixopanquecholy tlalpan nacicotti ninoçoçohua xochihuehuetitla nocuic ehuallo tlalpan onquiça yohuaya
[Section 167]
O anqui can no ne nicxochiopahuia cuicatl yntlan nonquiquiça y no çan tlatlalhuiac noquetzalhuicolol teocuitlamecatica nic ylpia namocnoicniuh ohuaya ohuaya
[Section 168]
Çan nixotlatlapia namocniuhtzin huia xochintlapalyzhuatica nocotzoma noxochintlapixacaltzin ynic nonpactica ye cuecuentla yehuan Dios ma xonahuiacan ohuaya
[Section 169]
Tlaoc cenca xompacta xochincocozcapatzine tel ca yehuatl teuctli cuix occepa ye tonnemiquiuh yn iuh quimati moyol hui çan cen tinemico ohuaya ohuaya
Source Colophon
Source text from the Cantares Mexicanos manuscript, Biblioteca Nacional de México, sixteenth century. Transcription accessed via the UNAM TEMOA digital platform (temoa.iib.unam.mx). The manuscript transcription is made available by the Instituto de Investigaciones Bibliográficas, UNAM, under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. Reproduced for non-commercial archival use under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Critical edition: Miguel León-Portilla et al., Cantares Mexicanos, 3 vols. (México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México / Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, 2011). Song XVI carries manuscript heading XVII (Xochicuicatl) beginning at folio 9v, sections 122–169. Section 129 spans folios 9v–10r; section 138 spans folios 10r–10v; section 159 spans folios 11r–11v. Section 169 completes on folio 11v; the heading XVIII (Ycnocuicatl) appears at folio 12r. Source text is complete for the full song.
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