quechcotona (Azca31)

We are labeling this unglossed iconographic example of the verb to decapitate as “quechcotona,” which was a term used in Nahuatl manuscripts, especially by Chimalpahin writing in the second decade of the seventeenth century. Perhaps he was referring to the scene captured in this example. If so, the person who was decapitated was a Spaniard plotting a rebellion. The man in question wears a Spanish-style hat, a dark-gray bolero with two feathers coming out of the back–one red feather and one tan. He has dark curly hair. His eyes are closed, which was the tlacuilo’s way of saying he is dead. A saw appears at his neck, and uncountable drops of blood spew out of his neck. The rest of his body is at rest, lying on top of a large, plain box. His arms are down, and there may be a chain that prevented him from raising his arms. He wears a long white tunic that comes in at the waist, and he wears dark pink or red stockings from his knees to his ankles. His shoes are dark gray.