Nahuatl testament, f. 96v.
Translations and Transcriptions
English Translation
V The sixth thing I say about my wishes: If I die sometime early in the morning, my body is to be buried in the afternoon, whereupon an evening Mass is to be said for me. If I die in the afternoon or in the early morning in any manner [when] my deity, God will remember me [i.e. when I am dead], my body is to be buried in the morning [and] a Mass is to be said for me. Nothing I have stated in my will is to be destroyed; what is necessary for my soul is to be fashioned by my deity God, for he gave me my life. The seventh thing I say, I, Don Toribio Cortés: My late daughter doña Ana Cortés Xiloyactzin was my only child. But she died. Now only my granddaughter named doña Lucia Cortés is left, and she was married in Tetecala to don Tomás Trisuel. I say in my statement that it is my wish, I, Don Toribio Cortés, that if somehow doña Lucia had just been married here, my entire house would be with her. But she was married a long way off. Thus I say that it is my wish that I am leaving my entire house, the palace, in the hands of my witnesses. They are to sell the stone. Whoever buys it is to pay 100 pesos in cash. Whoever will buy it is not to be a Spaniard. Then [the buyer] is to take [the stone] away, but the land is not to be sold, just the stone. When the 100 pesos are paid, my granddaughter Doña Lucia Cortés is to be given 40 pesos. Forty pesos will be required so that three masses will be said on my behalf. My witnesses are to leave the 40 pesos to the church. And I am giving 20 pesos to my witnesses. They are to divide up everything mentioned above. V The eighth thing I say about my desries: I am giving the calmili [field associated with the house] on the west to my granddaughter doña Lucia Cortés: When it comes to a canal at a cut tree [i.e. stump] it descends to Ochpantenco [or “to the edge of a wide road’], [and] at a tree stump it arrives at its end. No one is to take it from her, as I am setting it down here in my statement. V The ninth thing I say about my wishes: I am giving my granddaughter doña Lucia Cortés the non-irrigated land at Ahuehuetitlan and the non-irrigated land at Ocotepec, which is low-lying land following the edge of the road, and the narrow field next to the church, and the field at Copalhuacan and the large field laid out next to the entryway to the church. There were mayeque [dependents] assigned to work on it, but they have already left the pillalli [land of a noble]. They know that if the return again to the pillalli they are to serve my granddaughter doña Lucia Cortés.
Analytic Transcription
V ynic ChiquaÇentlamantli niquitohua y notlanequiliS yntla Cuenmanian ninomiquiliS yntla yohuatzinCo auh yn iquac toCos y nonaCayo yn teotlac niman pisperas nopã mitos auh yntla otlac [sic] ninomiquilis anoÇo yohuatzinCo yn ÇaÇo quenmanian nechmolnamiquilis y noteouh dius auh yn iquac yn toCos y nonaCayo y yohuatzinCo nimã Çentetl miSSa nopã mitos amo polihuiS yn isquitlamãtli y notlanequilis yn oniquito yn itech monequiS y nanima ynic quimotlayoColilis y noteouh dius ynic quimac noyliliS [sic: noyoliliz(tli)] == V ynic ChiContlamantli niquitohua y nehuatl don toribio Cortez çetl oCatCa nochpotzin ytoCa doña ana Cortez Xiloyectzin çan niçel nopiltzin oCatca auh omomiquili auh çetl yc moCauhtiuh noxhuiuhtzin ytoCa doña loÇia Cortez Ca noÇihuatzintli omonamicti teteCala don thomas triSuel auh niquitohua y notlatol y notlanequiliS y nehuatl don toribio Cortez ytla Cana Çan niCan omonamictiani y noxhuiuh doña loSia ma yca moyeztaCan yn ixquich y noCal auh ynin Ca hueCa yn omonamicti auh niqutohua y notlanequiliS yn ixquich noCatl [sic] yn tecpanCali yc Catqui ymac niCahua y noteztigoshuan quinamaCasque yn tetl auh yn aquin quiCohuas maCuilpohuali pss = 1oo ps = quitemaCas yn tomin auh yn aquin quiCohuas yn tetl yn ano Caxtiltecatl niman quiquixtlis auh amo yhuan yn tlali y monamaCas Çan yxquich y tetl auh yn iquac yn omoten yn maCuilpohuali peso maCos yn noxhuiuh yn doña loçia Cortez honpohuali psus auh yn onpohuali peSuS notech monequiS yey miSSa nopan mituz auh yehuan quiCahualihui y teopã y noteztigohua yn onpohuali peSuS auh yn Çenpohuali peSuS niquinmaCatiuh y noteztigohua quimoxexelhuisque yn izquintin tlacpac teneuhtiCate === V auh ynic chiCuetlamãtili niquitohua y notlanequilis yn Calmili yn tonatiuh yCalaquian manic nicmaCatiuh y noxhuiuh y doña LoSia Cortez yc hualaliz yn apantli yn quahuitl tequi yn temotiCac yn ochpãteco yn quahuitl tenqui [sic] honasi yn tlanihuis ayac quiCuilis Ca niCan nictlalitiuh y notlatol ==== V auh ynic chiuhnahutlamãtli niquitohua y notlanequilis yehuatl y noxhuiuh dona LoÇia Cortez nicmaCatiuh yn ahuehuetitlan manic yn tlalquactli [sic] yhuan yn oCotepec manic yn tlalhuactli yn tlallapãco yn otentli quitoCatoc yhuan y milpitzactli yn teopãCaltitlan yhuã CopalhuaCan mili yhuã teopan quiahuac y hueymili ynahuaCayotoc auh y mayeque oCatCa Ca mochitin tequitCapan omopuhque Ca ye oquiCauhque yn pilali auh yehuãtin quimati yntla ocçepa quihualmatiSque yn pillali Ca quitequipanosque y noxhuiuh doña LoÇia Cortez ===
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English Translation
V The sixth thing I say about my wishes: If I die sometime early in the morning, my body is to be buried in the afternoon, whereupon an evening Mass is to be said for me. If I die in the afternoon or in the early morning in any manner [when] my deity, God will remember me [i.e. when I am dead], my body is to be buried in the morning [and] a Mass is to be said for me. Nothing I have stated in my will is to be destroyed; what is necessary for my soul is to be fashioned by my deity God, for he gave me my life. The seventh thing I say, I, Don Toribio Cortés: My late daughter doña Ana Cortés Xiloyactzin was my only child. But she died. Now only my granddaughter named doña Lucia Cortés is left, and she was married in Tetecala to don Tomás Trisuel. I say in my statement that it is my wish, I, Don Toribio Cortés, that if somehow doña Lucia had just been married here, my entire house would be with her. But she was married a long way off. Thus I say that it is my wish that I am leaving my entire house, the palace, in the hands of my witnesses. They are to sell the stone. Whoever buys it is to pay 100 pesos in cash. Whoever will buy it is not to be a Spaniard. Then [the buyer] is to take [the stone] away, but the land is not to be sold, just the stone. When the 100 pesos are paid, my granddaughter Doña Lucia Cortés is to be given 40 pesos. Forty pesos will be required so that three masses will be said on my behalf. My witnesses are to leave the 40 pesos to the church. And I am giving 20 pesos to my witnesses. They are to divide up everything mentioned above. V The eighth thing I say about my desries: I am giving the calmili [field associated with the house] on the west to my granddaughter doña Lucia Cortés: When it comes to a canal at a cut tree [i.e. stump] it descends to Ochpantenco [or “to the edge of a wide road’], [and] at a tree stump it arrives at its end. No one is to take it from her, as I am setting it down here in my statement. V The ninth thing I say about my wishes: I am giving my granddaughter doña Lucia Cortés the non-irrigated land at Ahuehuetitlan and the non-irrigated land at Ocotepec, which is low-lying land following the edge of the road, and the narrow field next to the church, and the field at Copalhuacan and the large field laid out next to the entryway to the church. There were mayeque [dependents] assigned to work on it, but they have already left the pillalli [land of a noble]. They know that if the return again to the pillalli they are to serve my granddaughter doña Lucia Cortés.
Analytic Transcription
V ynic ChiquaÇentlamantli niquitohua y notlanequiliS yntla Cuenmanian ninomiquiliS yntla yohuatzinCo auh yn iquac toCos y nonaCayo yn teotlac niman pisperas nopã mitos auh yntla otlac [sic] ninomiquilis anoÇo yohuatzinCo yn ÇaÇo quenmanian nechmolnamiquilis y noteouh dius auh yn iquac yn toCos y nonaCayo y yohuatzinCo nimã Çentetl miSSa nopã mitos amo polihuiS yn isquitlamãtli y notlanequilis yn oniquito yn itech monequiS y nanima ynic quimotlayoColilis y noteouh dius ynic quimac noyliliS [sic: noyoliliz(tli)] == V ynic ChiContlamantli niquitohua y nehuatl don toribio Cortez çetl oCatCa nochpotzin ytoCa doña ana Cortez Xiloyectzin çan niçel nopiltzin oCatca auh omomiquili auh çetl yc moCauhtiuh noxhuiuhtzin ytoCa doña loÇia Cortez Ca noÇihuatzintli omonamicti teteCala don thomas triSuel auh niquitohua y notlatol y notlanequiliS y nehuatl don toribio Cortez ytla Cana Çan niCan omonamictiani y noxhuiuh doña loSia ma yca moyeztaCan yn ixquich y noCal auh ynin Ca hueCa yn omonamicti auh niqutohua y notlanequiliS yn ixquich noCatl [sic] yn tecpanCali yc Catqui ymac niCahua y noteztigoshuan quinamaCasque yn tetl auh yn aquin quiCohuas maCuilpohuali pss = 1oo ps = quitemaCas yn tomin auh yn aquin quiCohuas yn tetl yn ano Caxtiltecatl niman quiquixtlis auh amo yhuan yn tlali y monamaCas Çan yxquich y tetl auh yn iquac yn omoten yn maCuilpohuali peso maCos yn noxhuiuh yn doña loçia Cortez honpohuali psus auh yn onpohuali peSuS notech monequiS yey miSSa nopan mituz auh yehuan quiCahualihui y teopã y noteztigohua yn onpohuali peSuS auh yn Çenpohuali peSuS niquinmaCatiuh y noteztigohua quimoxexelhuisque yn izquintin tlacpac teneuhtiCate === V auh ynic chiCuetlamãtili niquitohua y notlanequilis yn Calmili yn tonatiuh yCalaquian manic nicmaCatiuh y noxhuiuh y doña LoSia Cortez yc hualaliz yn apantli yn quahuitl tequi yn temotiCac yn ochpãteco yn quahuitl tenqui [sic] honasi yn tlanihuis ayac quiCuilis Ca niCan nictlalitiuh y notlatol ==== V auh ynic chiuhnahutlamãtli niquitohua y notlanequilis yehuatl y noxhuiuh dona LoÇia Cortez nicmaCatiuh yn ahuehuetitlan manic yn tlalquactli [sic] yhuan yn oCotepec manic yn tlalhuactli yn tlallapãco yn otentli quitoCatoc yhuan y milpitzactli yn teopãCaltitlan yhuã CopalhuaCan mili yhuã teopan quiahuac y hueymili ynahuaCayotoc auh y mayeque oCatCa Ca mochitin tequitCapan omopuhque Ca ye oquiCauhque yn pilali auh yehuãtin quimati yntla ocçepa quihualmatiSque yn pillali Ca quitequipanosque y noxhuiuh doña LoÇia Cortez ===
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