Temilo (MH762r)

The name Temilo deserves further research. A folklore character named Temilo was associated with Mount Tlaloc and was said--in a twenty-first-century ethnographic retelling--to represent the "devil" and have a role in the construction of the cathedral in Puebla. [See: Jay Sokolovsky, Indigenous Mexico Engages the 21st Century, 2016, p. 151.] The appearance of what maybe a segment from a nahualli (see below) might be taken into consideration in probing the deeper meaning of this name. Sometimes, the name “Temilo” seems to refer to a warrior hairstyle (temilotli).

A don Pedro Temilo (also called Temilotzin, in the reverential) was the first governor of Tlatelolco after the Spanish seized power. [See Justyna Olko, Insignia of Rank in the Nahua World, 1992, p. 210.] Miguel León-Portilla (Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World, 2000, ch. 9) relates that Temilotzin is especially known for trying to defend the Mexica capital against the Spanish invasion. He held the military rank of tlatecatl, and he fought alongside Cuauhtemoc.