The Greatness of Tonallan

REATNESSOF

TalebyJoséGuadalupeGutiérrezRazo TranslatedbyIdaLeeVizcarra

Along time ago, near TOLOLOTLAN, -place of bottles gourds-, and where a fat god was worshipped,therelivedahealernamedYEYETETZI,whichmeans “who shines with her light”,she was a NAHUALA, that is to say, a human that could become an animal, she possessed enviable wisdom but she couldn’t have children and her greatest desire was to be a mother. The years passedandshe imploredtoTEOPITZINTLI, -the child god-, intheTEOCALLI, -the main temple-itwas located on top of XICTÉPETL, -hill of the navel-, to grant her longing to be a mom.

In time, by means of YEYETZI's magical rituals, TEOPITZINTLI manifested himself to her in the form of an iridescent lightning bolt ray and told her...

"Go at dawn to ATOTONILQUILLO, -place of hot water- to the seventh waterfall that falls intotheCHICNAHUARIVERoftheninewatersandwhentherainbowofthedawnandthe earlymorningandtherainbowofthefirstraysofthesunjoinwiththemorningbreezeof theriver,thereyou’llseeyourson".

YEYETETZI neither late nor lazy undertook the trip from TOLOLOTLAN to the place indicated by TEOPITZINTLI and there she waited until... at the exact moment of the union of the breeze, the rainbows and the sun, in a small cave behind the waterfall by the west cliff of the ravine, she saw an intense glow and said to herself... That’sthesign".

When she reached the hollow, she saw a human figure carved out of IZTLI stone, that is obsidian stone, which was and is a sacred stone, useful and very beautiful, and that in the reflection of the rays of the sun, it shows brilliant divine sparkles, very colorful of enigmatic fleeting life.

The NAHUALA, embracing him close to her lap and with her heart throbbing with joy, said to him...

"NOCONETZINTLI"that is to say"Mylittleson".

At that instant the figure came to life and she named him TONATIUH, which means THE SUN, surroundedbyalltheanimalsofthedayandnight,whoeventuallybecamehisfriendsandminions.

As time went by, the NAHUALA and her son were very happy and she taught him everything she knew, including how to transform himself into a nahual, like all curious and mischievous children, TONATIUH noticed that his mother didn’t allow him to go near the stove in their home where they cooked theirfoodand thatatthe same time atnightfall, itprovided themwithlightand warmth, so the child grew up with this doubt.

The years continued to pass and as TONATIUH was already a young man, he still kept that doubt that had caused him curiosity since he was a child and he thought of a way to discover the secret that his mother jealously guarded and kept him forbidden to go near the fire.

Every morning YEYETETZI went with a pitcher of the kind they still make in TATEPOSCO, -the place behind the hill- to the nearest spring for waterand TONATIUH thought...

"mmmmmm,Iwillmakeaholeinthebottomofthepitcher,sothatwhenmymotherfills itupandcomesbackhome,itwillbeemptiedsothatbeforeshearrives,shecangoback for more water, once the hole in the pitcher is plugged, so I’ll have time to investigate whichisthereasonofhersecret” .

Sohedid,andtakingadvantageofthattimehediscoveredinthecenterofthefireunderthewood, and ashes a whistle like the ones they still make in ZALATITAN, -a place of leafy trees, he took it, looked at it, put it close to his mouth, placed it between his lips, and... he played it, instantly a beautiful melody that simulated the sound of nature, that is to say, the sound of silence, came out from that instrument that was heard all over TONALLAN, -the place of the Sun- and beyond. Upon hearing that music, all the people and TONATIUH ´S friends were perplexed, his mother running at great speed and with great fear when she reached her home, exclaimed.

"Whathaveyoudoneyoufool?". "Nothingmom!" TONATIUH replied... And she said to him again...

"Foryourcuriosityanddisobedience,you’recondemnedtobanishment,toapunishment ortodeath,but...mmm...don'tworryI'mgonnahelpyouandyourfriendstoo,you'llsee".

At that precise moment the guardians of the governor of TONALLAN, TLEYOTL, -heart of fire- arrived to take him before him, because the prophecy said that...

"...whowilldaretoplaythemagicwhistlewouldbe thenewrulerofTonallan", replacing thelineagethatforgenerationsheldthelordshipoftheHueytlatonazgoofTonallan". And so, it was.

When TLEYOTL and TONATIUH stood face to face in the beautiful stone palace from tecuexe architecture in the ancient indigenous city, TLEYOTL said to him...

"if you’ll succeed me in the government of our town, you must be smarter than me, for that reason, I will give you three tests, if you pass them, you will be the new MAUIZTICAYOTL, that is to say, the ruler, and today you are going to begin with the first taskatduskday".

Thus, the tasks began. All the people of TONALLAN were gathered in the main square and near a mezquite tree TLEYOTL told TONATIUH...

“Thisisyourfirstassignmentso,tellme…Howmanymezquitebainasarethereinthistree?”.

TONATIUH thoughtfully, but without hesitation answered...

"There're 7 times a thousand, 7 times a hundred, and 7 times seven, if you don't believe me,thencountthem,byyourself".

At that instant, an owl, which is the bird that represents wisdom and was TONATIUH’S friend, was hooting at the top of the tree and flew close to TLEYOTL's ear and said to him...

"TONATIUHhastoldthetruth,thereare7,749mezquitesbainas".

Having passed the first feat TLEYOTL mentioned to TONATIUH...

"Gotothathutwepreparedforyou,overthereyoucanrestandperformyour2nd task".

TLEYOTLgavehimanincenseburnerwithcopal,whichisafragrance,andatrunkof fatwood,which isa reddish-yellow and orangecolorthatburn itself easily, thenhe told himwhatwillbe hissecond test.

"Thecopalisforrelaxingandthefatwoodisforyoutoreceivewarmthandlight,youmust lightthem,butthenextmorning,youmustreturnthemtomeasifyouhadnotusedthem”.

TLEYOTL,believingthatTONATIUHwouldn’tbeabletoaccomplishthistask,retiredtorestpeacefully, ordering aTLAPIANI-watchman-toremainatareasonable distance fromthe hutsothatthe given order could be fulfilled, all under the light of the full moon, stars and fireflies and framed with the sounds of the nocturnal animals.

TONATIUH was not nervous, he was confident of the help that NAHUALA and his friends would give him.Heimmediatelystruckupaconversationwithhisnocturnalalliesabouthowhecouldpassthe test and this is what they agreed on.

"We will place the red feathers of hummingbirds that are very brightand in the incense burner and inside the fatwood many fireflies and they’ll stay the night there, helped to getinsidebymeansofaYEYETETZI’sincantationanditwilltaketheappearancethatthe log is burned and with that same reflection, the plumage will simulate that the copal is onfire” .

The people, seeing the hutfrom afar and not knowing what was going on there, they murmured…

"Tonatiuhisrestingandhaslitthefireandthe copal,hewon’tbeabletopassthis work, itisimpossible”.

At dawn of the following day, as if THE SUN foretold a memorable day, it came out splendorous, illuminating THE SUN'S STONE with its luminous and warm rays, and THE BELL'S STONE was played with zeal by a TEOPIXQUI -priest- who accompanied the sound of the monolith with bells brought from COYULA, -place of coyules - and which he had previously tied to his wrists and ankles, this mixture of sounds emitted a melody similar to a war march that resounded throughout CHIMALHUACAN, -place of shields- TONATIUH appeared in the main plaza and returned the censer withtheincenseburnerwiththecopalandthefirewoodtrunkintact,hehadpassedthetestwithout having without commenting on how he had done it to TLEYOTL.

Until that moment TLEYOTL was already hesitant and full of fear, and his people doubted to him like ruler of TONALLAN, because TONATIUH had done the two tasks previously entrusted to him, but the last test was still missing and TLEYOTL told TONATIUH...

"For this last task you will have to make a human figure of the material of your choice, anditmustbethemostbeautiful,andresistthefireofthisbonfire".

Then TONATIUH with proud voice said to TLEYOTL

I will it! but...I couldn’t pass this test...why don't you try to do first and you will redeem yourselfwiththepeople?

TLEYOTL thought to himself… "It'snotabadidea.

And with a powerful voice he told the people of TONALLAN... "Iacceptthechallenge!”

Then he molded in IRON WOOD the most beautiful human figure ever made with that material, but when he placed it in the fire it soon turned to ash.

"CanItryagain?”TLEYOTL asked TONATIUH… "Ofcourse." TONATIUH answered.

Then TLEYOTL took a QUARRY ROCK that had been brought from XOCHITLAN, -the place of flowers-, and remolded it again, but again when he placed it on fire, human figure "got exploded" and immediately it was pulverized. He begged TONATIUH again for another chance and TONATIUH grantedittohim,inthislastopportunityTLEYOTLmoldedthefigure ofvariousmetalsanditbecame resplendent like the sun itself, but for the third times, upon contact with the fire, the image melted.

At once was TONATIUH's turn to complete his third chore and escorted by his mother, his friends, without saying a word, he stared to work. He took a piece of clay, he ground it, mixed it, prepared it and when it became a ball as if it were corn dough, and with his magic hands, he placed himself on the ground in the position of lotus flower and molded a humaneffigy of mud, of soil, of the best mud that only exists in Tonalá and when he finished molding the figure, he continued with his decoration using hair brushes that the squirrels provided him and colored brushes made fromthe earth that his mother got for him, because she knew the secrets of it.

Immediately the whispering of the people was not long in coming...

"Whatanuglierfigure! it'shideous!awful! itwasnotthedeal!".

Hearing it all, with a loud, thunderous voice TONATIUH said to the people...

"Ihaven'tfinishedyet,thetrialbyfireisstilltocome!

And placing it in the bonfire, it became the most brilliant, the most resplendent, the most beautiful, impeccable but above all, solid and resistant, because it did not fall apart. Ever since these are the characteristics of the works of the potters of Tonalá

At the culmination of the third challenge, the popular uproar was not long in coming and the celebration continued with the new MAUIZTICAYOTL of the HUEYTLATONAZGO of TONALLAN, together with his friends who became in TLATOANIS of the tributary towns.

TONATIUHwasthegreatestandjustrulerthatthislandeverhadbecauseduringhismandatein the epoch of TOLTECAYOTL new way of live came with sciences, art, trade and all the greatness with which the Ancient TONALLAN is known, because…

…TONATIUHwasthesonofTHESUNandYEYETETZItheNahuala.

Anexo

Lasnotasenlos12primerostrastesdelaguitarra.

Acordes

Acordesbásicosdeguitarra.