The music of the Third Book of the Florentine Codex

Abstract

The Third Book of the Florentine Codex is titled Del principio de los dioses and it explores key aspects of Nahua mythology and culture, including the birth of Huitzilopochtli, the cult of Tezcatlipoca, the escape of Quetzalcóatl, as well as an appendix detailing the fate of the dead and the education of the Nahuas. As the translator of this work from Nahuatl to Spanish (2023), I have observed a brief yet significant presence of music, represented through singing and musical instruments such as the huehuetl, teponaztli, tecciztli, quiquiztli, and tlapitzalli. This study examines the relationship between music and the historical events recounted in this New Spanish booklet. Specifically, I analyze the role of the tlapitzalli and quiquiztli in the Tohuenyo dance for capturing enemies (Chapter 6); the huehuetl and spell in the Toltec (Chapter 7); the song with the dragging of the dead Tlacahuepan (Chapter 9); the song with the shock of Quetzalcóatl mourning his servants (Chapter 14); the tlalhuaque song with the burial of the dead people journeying to Mictlan (Appendix, Chapter 1); the penitential song of individuals in the Telpochcalli (Appendix, Chapter 5), and the divine song accompanying the teachings of the Pipils in the calmecac (Appendix, Chapter 8). Through this analysis, I will demonstrate how music is intricately woven into these events, highlighting the sonic transcendence of the pre-Hispanic world as recovered by Bernardino de Sahagún and his collaborators.