Cochilla (MH536r)

In the context image, two Indigenous men in a 3/4 view engage in a sword fight. They face off, holding their Spanish swords up. They both may be wearing helmets. One has what seems to be a loincloth on; the other has what appears to be trunk hose on (puffy, short, rounded breeches) that were worn by Spaniards in the sixteenth century (see the Cuenel glyph below).

The word "cuchilla," in Spanish, is what is behind the loanword "cochilla" taken into Nahuatl from Spanish. The power and prestige inherent in owning and using swords was not lost on Nahuas who lived at the time of the Spanish invasion and colonization of Mexico. Elite men regularly petitioned to be able to carry a sword and, after some legal debate, they won the right. [See the article "Silks and Swords," by Haley Schroer (2022), hosted on line by the University of Texas at Austin. Vikingsword.com has some images of sixteenth-century Mexican swords with an array of handles and protections for hands.