IN THEIR OWN WORDS

The Flower Tree

Some of the poems said to be written by Nezahualcoyotl, the great king of Texcoco, were actually written by other people. in their works, the poets pretended to be the king or to be speaking for him. Here is an excerpt from a flower song called The Flower Tree that was once attributed to Nezahualcoyotl. the poet seems to be telling his listeners that since life is short, they must find beauty and pleasure when they can.

Eternal, my songs are forever: I raise them: I, a singer. I scatter them, I spill them, the flowers become gold....

Flowers of raven, flowers you scatter, you let them fall in the house of flowers. Ohuaya ohuyaya.

Begin the song in pleasure, singer, enjoy, give pleasure to all, even to Life Giver. Yyeo ayahui ohuaya.

Ah, yes: I am happy, I prince Nezahualcoyotl, gathering jewels, wide plumes of quetzal, I contemplate the faces of jades: they are the princes! I gaze into the faces of Eagles and Jaguars, and behold the faces of jades and jewels! Ohuaya ohuyaya. . . .

Delight, for Life Giver adorns us. All the flower bracelets, your flowers, are dancing. Our songs are strewn in this jewel house, this golden house. The Flower Tree grows and shakes, already it scatters____

We will pass away. I, Nezahualcoyotl, say, Enjoy! Do we really live on earth? . . .

Not forever on earth, only a brief time here! . . .

Live here on earth, blossom! As you move and shake, flowers fall. My flowers are

(source: curl, John, translator. Ancient American Poets. tempe, arlz.: Bilingual review press, 2005.)

This large Aztec drum is made of wood and decorated with carvings of birds and other creatures.

CONNECTIONS

Temples were not open to the public. Other than priests and nobles, visitors tended to be sacrifice victims.

Aztec pyramids always had two staircases, and each set of stairs led to a different shrine. This way, each Aztec temple provided shrines for two different gods. The Great Temple in Tenochtitlan, for example, served both the god of the sun (Huitzilopochtli) and the god of rain (Tlaloc). The shrine to Huitzilopochtli was painted red and white, which symbolized war and sacrifice. The shrine to Tlaloc was decorated in white and blue, to symbolize rain and water.

The pyramid of the Great