It's most likely a 'mix of folklore and history,' as David Carrasco puts it. The occurrence in question is not represented in the Codex Boturini (photo 1) or the Codex Azcatitlan, but it is very much part of the Aztec mythological foundation tale of Tenochtitlan, and the backdrop for it is depicted in significant migration story manuscripts such as the Codex Boturini. It is 'the point [at which] the migration myth enters the domain of actual history,' according to Richard Townsend (The Aztecs). It's worth quoting Townsend's detailed account of the story...
Returning to Chapultepec [c. 1325 CE], the Mexica soon faced another threat, this time from a coalition led by the Tepanecs of Atzcapotzalco and supported by neighboring Culhuacan, who had earlier reached the Basin of Mexico after traveling through Coatepetl and Tula and received a hostile reception from the tribes already settled in the Basin.The Mexica were viewed as dangerous squatters and were destroyed decisively in the woods near what is now Chapultepec Park in Mexico City... The main group of Mexica refugees eventually made their way to Culhuacan, where they begged the monarchs for safety. The supplicants were granted land in Tizaapan, an inhospitable lava flow near today's University City, by the council of Culhuacan. The Mexica proceeded to adapt to this unusual environment with fortitude and perseverance, building on their lengthy knowledge of hunting and gathering...
Courtship and intermarriages became more common as acceptance grew. Soon, amazingly the Mexica began to refer to themselves as "Culhua-Mexica," and they began to see themselves as part of "Toltec" civilisation in some ways, because Culhuacan was a town where Toltecs had settled following the fall of Tula.
When the Mexica were enlisted as allies in a small-scale war against Xochimilco, their standing inside Culhuacan was enhanced. The Mexica warriors salvaged the day in the ensuing combat along the lakefront... The Mexica boasted of their exploits in the marketplace, as they aspired to a greater status. The old Culhua nobles were not impressed by this bravado...
As anger grew, the Mexica retaliated by fleeing in a violent manner. They had contacted Achitometl, one of the Culhua magnates, and asked for his lovely daughter as their "sovereign" and "wife of Huitzilopochtli"*, following the advice of Huitzilopochtli's priests. Achitometl, oblivious to the ramifications of this request, accepted the honor; his daughter traveled to Tizaapan, where she was lavishly dressed and sacrificed. The body was flayed and a priest dressed her skin in an ancient agricultural rite symbolizing the regeneration of life, as per tradition. The unwitting chieftain Achitometl, who had been asked to join in the celebrations, suddenly recognized his daughter's skin on the priest's body. The enraged Culhua took up weapons and were joined by others, and the Mexica were once again forced into the reeds and saline swamps of Lake Tezcoco in a violent melee of javelins and arrows. The next day, they paddled across the water in canoes and improvised rafts to the uninhabited islands.
Despite the fact that this episode appears to be a single occurrence in the migration, it is also a stylized means of conveying the tribe's wish to become a settled agricultural people through ceremonial marriage with a female who was the symbolic personification of a "earth mother" deity...
In this blog post I will go over this amazing Aztec Inspired so you can select this for you!
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