Huitzilecatl (Verg34r)

Another Huitzilecatl compound hieroglyph appears in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco (see below). That one includes the wind-blowing device of the divine force of Ehecatl, whereas this one has its focus on the swirling wind and a bean. This one is more subtle visually when it comes to expressing Nahua ancient beliefs about the wind. A Quick Search for Ehecatl will reveal a variety of these blowing devices, from large beaks to something more elaborate. Was this tlacuilo trying to disguise that this name was about a sacred force? Serious events in Tetzcoco in 1539 may have made tlacuilos more cautious when writing and painting about aspects of their faith. See Patricia Lopes Don for information about the Inquisition case against don Carlos Ometochtli, a Chichimecatecuhtli executed in late 1539, in Bonfires of Culture, 2010. Bradley Benton (The Lords of Tetzcoco, 2017, 46) also writes that the case “demonstrates that blatant disregard for Christianity had serious consequences.”