Tochtli (Verg34r)

Tochtli is a common name that comes from the 260-day religious divinatory calendar, the tonalpohualli. Originally, a name such as this would have a companion number (1-13) from the calendar. The tlacuilo here may have dropped the number as a disguise, recognizing that the colonial clergy were trying to discourage the use of the ancient calendar for naming children. Serious events in Tetzcoco in 1539 may have made Nahua 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 (or Chichimecateuctli) 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.” A couple of examples of the name with the companion number appear below.