FLORENTINE CODEX: BOOK 4
FRAY BERNARDINO DE SAHAGUN
Arranged by Terry Stocker
This web site is under long-range construction. It is designed to make Book 4 of the Florentine Codex comprehensible. The text is arranged accordingly:
INTRODUCTION is a background of the Florentine Codex.
IMAGES are plates taken from Paso y Trancoso.
TEXT is edited from the Florentine Codex.
APPENDIX is an analysis of mistakes made by the Aztec scribes.
COMPARATIVE is comparative analyses with other codices.
FLORENTINE CODEX: BOOK 4
INTRODUCTION
The Aztecs, like many groups around the world, had a cosmology in which a person’s birth dictated his or her future. Fray Bernardino de Sahagun recorded the Aztec belief system in incredible detail, in The Florentine Codex, 12 volumes. Beliefs relating to birth prognostications were set down in Book 4: De La Arte Adivinatoria.
The book has nothing to do with soothsayers, per se. Because of the complexities of the ideas set forth in the book and the seeming contradictions, the book has never taken its proper place in Mesoamerican studies. This may explain why the book was erroneously titled The Soothsayers when translated into English by Charles Dibble and Arthur Anderson.
This web site, as of 2003, is a beginning to make the book more understandable. In its original format, illustrations were place near the relevant text, and this is redone here. The illustrations as they were reproduced in Paso y Troncoso are found in Images 1 through 17.
Beginning with Image 18, illustrations appear with the relevant text, which has been edited out of Old Spanish (and English) for the most part, but left with the flavor of the time, for example a repetition of verbs or adjectives and an occasional telleth and verily.
The last images, as yet not numbered, show some of the mistakes.
First Chapter, which telleth of the first sign, One Crocodile, and of the good fortune any man or woman merited who was then born. However, these same individuals destroyed and ruined it because of their negligence.
Here begins the count of each day. Each of the thirteen-day periods went taking its place until one year had passed.
The first day count was named One Crocodile. It was the very beginning and precise starting point of all the day counts, which began, continued, and came to end the count of 260 days.
One Crocodile was the leader of this group of thirteen days: Two Wind, Three house, Four Lizard, Five Serpent, Six Death, Seven Deer, Eight Rabbit, Nine Water, Ten Dog, Eleven Monkey, Twelve Grass, and Thirteen Reed.
The 13 days of the cycle One Crocodile were all good. He who was then born, if a nobleman, would become a lord, a ruler; he would prosper; he would be rich and wealthy. If a commoner, he would be a brave warrior–a valiant chief, esteemed honored, and great. He would always eat.
If a woman were born, she would prosper and be rich. She would have drink and food available. She would have food for others; she would invite others to feast. She would be respectful. She would be visited by others; she would await them with drink and food, with which to revive and refresh the spirits and bodies of those who lived in misery on earth, who, as they slept so they awoke–the destitute old men and women, and orphans, the forsaken. Everything undertaken would be realized and come to pass; nothing would fail of her fatigue and effort; nothing would be in vain. Her dealings around the marketplace would be successful. In the place of business, it was as if it would sprinkle, shower, and rain wares upon her.
However, they said that even though the day sign was favorable on which one was born, if one did not strictly perform his penances, if he took not good thought, if he did not accept the reprimands and punishment meted out to him, the punishment with which he was punished and the correction with which he was corrected, the exhortations of the old men and the old women; if he became bad and perverse and followed not the way of righteousness, he succeeded in nothing, and entirely by his own acts brought himself to ruin, despised himself, brought harm to himself, failed, lost through his own neglect, gave up, and endangered that which might be his good fortune,—his reward, and his lot: then he tarnished, polluted, and ruined with debauchery his birthright. Thus he found and merited affliction. As was the sleep, so was the awakening. Nowhere was he content, nowhere happy. He was destitute; on earth misery engulfed him. For verily he brought it on himself, because of his wickedness, disregard, shamelessness, and neglect. No one bequeathed it to him, for by his own will and of his own fault he brought unto himself injury, torment, and pain. Hence he was despised and disregarded. No one any longer obeyed him; no one became his friend; he stood by himself. No one took account of his personality. Everywhere he was hated; nowhere was he liked; nowhere did he give pleasure. But he was regarded as a thing, and looked at, for now he was a vagabond, proscribed, completely outlawed; he was on the outside, lingering on the outskirts; impudent and shameless. He went about haughty and drunk; for truly, he was abandoned to evil. Everyone feared him. His side was sore and his head ached so that he was incorrigible, suffering, and dejected. For he was full of evil–so perverse was he.
Of anyone who had gained merit and reward being then born, his father and mother said: “Upon a good day sign has he been born and created and come forth on earth; he has arrived upon the earth on One Crocodile. Let him be bathed.?/p> Upon bathing they gave him a name. They called him Cipac. Or else, they gave him the name of another one of his grandparents.
On the other hand, if the parents wished, perchance they passed over the day; perchance they settled upon still another day for him to be bathed. For One Crocodile bore with it all favorable day signs.
If it a boy was born, when they bathed him they adorned for him a small shield, upon which they put four small arrows. To the shield and arrows, they bound his umbilical cord. They entrusted it to brave chieftains, who left it at the battlefield. Right there where they fought, where there was fierce battle, at the crossing of the waters, they buried it.
If it a girl was born, when they bathed her, they put into her bathing vessel: her spindle, her cotton, her spinning bowl, her sweeper, and her broom. Thus they showed that the girl was one who went nowhere; only the house was her abode. Hence, near the grinding stone, at the edge of the hearth, they buried her umbilical cord.
It was claimed that this count of days was an invention of the two called and named Oxomoco and Cipactonal, who gave it to the people. Oxomoco they painted as a women, and Cipactonal as a man. They who were readers of day signs embellished their book of days with their representations, which they placed in the middle when they painted them. For it was so said that there they became lords of all the day count.
Second Chapter, which telleth of the second day sign, One Ocelot, which was not a good day sign to obtain reward for those then born. Nevertheless, he who showed prudence might change the fortune of this sign through forethought. Although, most born on this day sign became slaves.
The second day sign, One Ocelot, set in, it was said to be an evil day sign, one of fierce beasts.
One Ocelot bore with it and presided over all its series of thirteen, which belonged to it: Two Eagle, Three Vulture, Four Motion, Five Flint Knife, Six Rain, Seven Flower, Eight Crocodile, Nine Wind, Ten House, Eleven Lizard, Twelve Serpent, and Thirteen Death.
Those who were then born, whether noble man or commoner would die in war, be taken away, abandoned, imprisoned, seized. All bad was his lot; misery befell him. He only wallowed in evil; he was covered with filth. Nowhere had he good repute. He committed adultery, was an adulterer, adulterous, one who seized skirts and blouses, one who remained on female navels.
And even though one such became a valiant chieftain, brave, a taker of captives, indeed he sold and yielded himself to slavery; he became someone’s digging stick and tump line; he yielded to the digging stick and tump line. So it was said: “Thus was his day sign; thus was his life. On such a day was he born; thus was his birthright.?p> But if he emerged great, some brave chieftain, he was not sold but lived on earth in tranquility and was a receiver of ritual benefits, it is because he was a doer of penances, one who fasted and bled himself; who swept, shook out clothing, gathered up rubbish, laid fires, and at night held vigil, rose in vigor, and was circumspect. He was chaste and conscientious; he was audacious, trying to save all, who sought his sustenance. He planned, sought, and watched for that which might alleviate, for that which he might lay hand on in the near future, and for what he might offer his children; for what might be obtained, and what he could quickly seize if sickness and misfortune came.
Thus, everywhere he watched for, considered, and sought whatsoever he might use as merchandise, whatsoever his manner of wares might be; whatsoever he might live by, by which he might increase and augment his goods and his gains. Thus one emerged and rose to honor, if he deliberated well, and was attentive, not resentful of criticism, nor lazy. The counsel with which he was counseled and the rearing with which he was reared took effect; he seized and held fast to it. And if he was made fun of, he took no revenge; he made no reprisals. He returned nothing in kind.
If a woman was then born, it likewise befell her as hath been said and told above. If a noblewoman was an adulteress, her head was crushed between two stones. And only in misery and affliction was she given to dwell. She encountered misery and want. Nowhere on earth was her face radiant; nowhere on earth was she of any account; nowhere was she regarded; nowhere did she hold a husband. Thus was it stated: “Just so is her nature; so is her life; so her birthright; and so her day sign. Thus on such a day, was she bathed; at such a time was she born. Monstrous was her day sign; a wild beast was she; hers was the day of the wild best, etc.?p> However, they venerated Four Motion as a day sign. Thus did they say, that it was the sun’s day sign. Moctezuma paid it great honor. When the day Four Motion set in, they slew quail and offered incense before the image of the sun; they placed on it what was known as the spreading red arara feather device. At noon on Four Motion, captives were sacrificed.
And for him who was born on Four Motion, no definite sign appeared. {ff: Technically, this should about those named, not born, on Four Motion. Details on this will appear in a later chapter.} In two ways might it fall. They said that if it were a man, he might either take captives of die in war. As they said, “With this the sun is nourished.?Hence everyone did penances when it was this sign. At this time all came together from all parts; none remained or did otherwise. Verily, everyone, men, women, children, cut their ears and drew blood. It was said: “Thus was the sun nourished.?p> Also, Seven Flower was said to be good and bad. As a good sign, in certain places the scribes paid it honor and were devoted to it. They set up its image and made offerings to it. Also those women who were embroiders and cotton thread workers first fasted for eighty days; some fasted for forty or twenty day for penance. Thus they requested that their work might be well done; that their embroidery or design might be a work of art, well fabricated and well painted. All therefore offered incense and sacrificed quail. When fasting was completed, all bathed and sprinkled themselves with water. Then the feast of the day sign, Seven Flower, was celebrated.
And they said when it was not a good day sign, that if some embroiderer broke her fasting, she merited for herself infamy and an ill name. Thus she could only live in vice and become a harlot. For it was said the embroiderers of the sign lived in great vice and became terrible whores. It was said the one who was their goddess, named Xochiquetzal, made sport of and mocked her. And she gave and thus scourged her with piles and infections.
But she who accomplished her penances, who took heed, she attained success, was esteemed, and gained honor for herself. In all places she was looked to; by the grace of the people, she lived well on earth.
Also it was said of this day sign that he who was born on it would perform all crafts well: he would be a good craftsman; he would plan well great works; he would constantly be prudent, if he took good heed. But if he did not take good heed, nothing resulted; he deserved nothing. He only merited the infamy with which he was defamed and the mockery with which he was mocked.
Nine Wind was said to be wholly and entirely evil. As to him who was then born, nothing could be made of his life; so nothing would be retained; he could hold nothing; nothing would be kept; nothing would appear; he could do nothing; he was incapable on earth. He was as one driven by the winds, wandering here and there. He might wish to be something, to be someone, but he became only nothing. For truly so was his day sign. He might wish for public esteem, to become a merchant, or even a page, or a bearer of burdens, or a jester. He was capable of nothing; he only quarreled. To no purpose did he struggle; in vain did he travail. Even though he became a brave warrior, nowhere was he considered, nowhere admitted. It was said; “No one needed the sweat of his brow; no one paid attention to him or sought him out.?And although it appeared that he gained a livelihood and he put aside something for himself, he was a failure; like the wind, like the water were his results. Nothing could he retain, nothing could he keep. Unfortunate were his efforts.
Third Chapter, which telleth of the third sign, named One Deer; and the good fortune those then born merited. And if it were not realized, these lost it through laziness.
One Deer bore with it thirteen days: Two Rabbit, and Three Water, Four Dog, Five Monkey, Six Grass, Seven Reed, Eight Ocelot, Nine Eagle, Ten Vulture, Eleven Motion, Twelve Flint Knife, and Thirteen Rain.
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Many of these day signs, it was said, were good and of a propitious time. Nevertheless, some mixed and mingled with them, so that they corrupted, as will be told. Here are told their qualities as they went in order.
He who was then born a nobleman, who was of noble lineage, became a ruler and gained fame. Because of him there was drink and food; he rewarded others and bestowed upon and laid before them capes, breechclouts, head bands, lip pendants, and ear plugs.
And if a commoner was then born, the same likewise befell him. He attained his ends; he succeeded. He lived. He became a brave warrior, a valiant chieftain. He surpassed others; he left them overcome. He did not wish to lose stature. Nowhere did he hang on at the end. Nowhere was he inferior, the younger brother, the child, the blighted one. Proceeding everywhere mature, like something well-developed; going first and foremost, at the head, he brought his life to successful fruition. Nowhere did he deal in shameful things; he was ashamed of nothing and ashamed of no one. Nothing deterred him; he did not live in humiliation; nowhere did he turn tail in battle. In nothing did they consider him a woman.
If a noblewoman, or only a common woman was then born, so likewise it was her lot. She was considered as a man, esteemed as if a man; esteemed as if a man; a comforter. Hence she caused others no apprehension, was not negligent, and did not dishearten others.
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Also it was said that one who was born upon this One Deer was told that he was exceedingly timorous; he lived thinking only of his fears; he walked with his terrors, and only lived afraid, indeed frightened to death. When he witnessed a thunderclap, or a bolt of lightning, or lightning flash, he could not endure it. Indeed lightning and thundering frightened him and caused him to be in terror and dread.
And so they said that sometimes, on some occasions, it happened to him; for his fear followed him and persisted with him; his fears came upon him as a judgment. For his dread came upon him. Verily, he was struck by lightning; that befell him which he feared and of which he lived in anxiety. In the summer, he was smitten by a summer flash. Or when he bathed in the water, there he died, drowned. His eyes were torn out; his fingernails were removed and torn out.
Hence was it said: “Verily, so was his lot; so was he born. Even as the deer is a great coward, just so was he, whose day sign this is, a great coward; fearful.?So seldom did his kin, his parents, trouble themselves; they did nothing for him.
And also it was told that then, too, was one of the times when those known as The Goddesses descended. The people made offerings to the Goddesses. They clothed their images in their paper vestments and their paper adornments.
Forth Chapter, which telleth of the second house, when it was the time of this sign, named Two Rabbit; and those then born in it did nothing but drink wine.
And of Two Rabbit, which followed, it was said that he who was then born was a great drunkard. Indeed, he required, lusted for, and used wine like a pig; he gorged himself and was a glutton with wine. Only to it did he dedicate himself; he depended upon to it, consumed it to excess, and overindulged himself in it. He took it to himself in humanly and needed it immoderately. Only his drinking did he consider. With it he awoke, with it he arose; never did he arouse himself, take notice, or sober up.
In truth, sometimes he no longer took food. At such a time he only became a slave to it. No longer did he take to his bed. Night after night, when he arose, he visited various wine makers?houses begging wine. Never did he come to his right mind. He was not well even when he drank nothing. And he did not bother about it, nor abhor it, nor become distressed nor nauseated by it even though it were only the dregs, which indeed were like spoiled clots, with dirt, or full of gnats, filth and rubbish. So he swallowed it, sucked it in, and gulped it. Like a dog he licked his lips.
If he did not find wherewith he could become drunk, in order to but wine he hurriedly seized his cape, or his breech clout, thereby finding for himself poverty. He could not abstain or steel himself.
Nevermore thereafter did he live in bliss and contentment. Still, when indeed he passed a calm day, once again he was quite drunk, very drunk, lying stupefied, filthily drunk. No longer did he take heed. He pitched forward upon his face; he fell headfirst. He went wallowing in ordure, with blanched or reddened face, debauched, with hair tangled, uncombed, twisted, and matted; no more did he tend it with his hands, or comb and arrange it. If somewhere he threw himself down, and fell on his face, or his nose, or his knees and skinned his knees or broke a hand or a foot, he no longer heeded or noted the pain. Nowhere was there peace or virtue in his face.
His hands only quaked, quivered, and shook. And his speech was no longer prudent; it only quavered. He only spoke as a drunkard; intemperate words emerged from his lips, which he should not have said. Continually he shouted at others, harangued them affronted them, and quarreled with them. All that he said was not fit to repeat. He went howling and shouting, boasting that he was a brave man. He danced in a circle, opening wide his mouth as he sang. He was disrespectful and impudent. He seized everything to brandish and raised as a threat: the beast, the stone, the club. He went carrying a stone or a piece of wood, constantly troubling and threatening people, and blocking the way. He brought poverty to his children and caused them fear, constantly terrifying them, scattering them.
Never did he sleep or rest easily. In time he fell exhausted, consumed by pain and affliction. No more did he say: “Wherewith will my home appear attractive??He thought of nothing but his wine. Only rubbish prevailed and ashes were strewn throughout. In his home, no one swept; no fire burned. It remained in darkness. Misery reigned.
It mattered not where with others he slept and lay down to sleep. His heart was only there in the taverns, the wine shops. When he found no wine, he seemed anguished of heart, as if he hung high, or tumbled into a pitfall, like a vagabond.
And if somewhere he found a drinking place, there he satisfied his longing, quieted his anguish, as if gladdened and clamed. There he sat firmly and fast, dedicated to sitting, seated happily. No more did he think to depart. And if he were bidden to drink somewhere, as never before did he spring up to run and take pains to enter. As if spontaneously, he suddenly ran, dashed, and went hurling himself along. He had no shame; no one now abashed or embarrassed him.
And yet they reviled him. No one gave him the name of a man of consequence; nowhere had he the name of a man. Everywhere he was simply detested and hated. Nowhere could he approach people; everywhere he made confusion. If somewhere there was a reunion, he dispersed, scattered and disbanded them. They let him alone; he was avoided. There was silence when he came; a bristling antagonism and withdrawing of friends.
Hence was it said: “Verily, thus was his day sign. What is to be done??And seldom was there courage or hope in his behalf. It was said that he would to fall down somewhere, to meet destruction, to die, to collapse somewhere. Perhaps he would fall from some cliff; or down into a chasm, or into the water; he would cast himself into the river and drown. Or somewhere he would fall into the hands of evil men and die at their hands. They would rob, plunder, and despoil him, leaving him quite bare.
Not only could all this happen, but he embraced vice and evil. Sometimes he committed adultery; he stole; he scaled walls to tempt and seduce women. His drunkenness cased him to do it. Wine showed and was apparent on his face. And when it dawned, his eyes were inflamed, his eyelids drooped, ached, and watered: a decrepit drunkard’s face. Nowhere was he regarded as a man. Continually his lips moved from side to side.
And if one was not a great drinker, when it dawned it made him very sick, sickened and affected by the wine. Also, his eyelids burned and his eyes ached; it made him sick in the head and made him sore. He wished not to arise from bed; rather, he lay wrapped in blankets, and slept all day. Neither could he eat; he was nauseated and wished to vomit. With difficulty could he dispel and overcome it.
