148 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 



of our manuscript, in squares 16, 62, and 72, and the nnnnniy bundle 

 in square 60 are meant to represent the figures of priests. But it 

 should be noted that the priests in our manuscript do not carry an 

 ie-quachtli but an ie-tecomatl on their back, one of peculiar shape, 

 with lateral projections which were probably made of gold. 



But while the prince drawn in section 53, column a, has no little 

 tongue — the symbol of speech and of a ruler (tlahtoiiani) — before 

 his mouth, the tongue is plainly to be seen Ix'fore the mouth of the 

 figures of priests in squares 16 and 22, which in the figure in square 

 62 has possibly only been blotted out by time or carelessly omitted, 

 for the mumni}^ bundle in square 60 has the same name inscribed upon 

 it as the living person in square 16. The priest in square 62 is, there- 

 fore, the direct successor in office to the priest in square 16, designated 

 by the little tongue as tlahtouani. For this reason, and also because 

 priests are chiefly represented in column a, I believe I may safely con- 

 clude that it was a temple which received the valuable tribute recorded 

 in columns c, d, and e. This also explains Avh3^ as I stated al)ove, 

 the pictures of princes and cities are given wherever the list records 

 an increase in the amount of the tribute due every quarter. If trib- 

 ute wrung from conquered cities by a king were recorded here, then, 

 doubtless, the conquest of the city or the death of the king would be 

 noted in the same place. That the temple of an idol was the recip- 

 ient of the tribute very simply explains the fact that the entries must 

 have ceased soon after the fall of the city of Mexico. 



But now where was the temple whose cashbook our manuscript 

 represents? The answer ought to be found in the hieroglyphs which 

 accompany the various figures represented in the manuscript; but un- 

 fortunatel}' these are not numerous enough, nor are all of them s\iffi- 

 cientl}^ clear. I will proceed to discuss these hieroglyphs column by 

 colun)n; i)ut I must observe at the outset that it is precisely in the 

 hieroglyphs that Kingsborough's draftsman has made many mistakes, 

 both in drawing and color. 



In column a, square 16, the name hieroglyph introduced behind the 

 head of the figure shows a cloth, which is apparently held up by two 

 hands. The cloth is painted white, the hands yellowish brown. The 

 hieroglyph seems to refer to an act which we see represented several 

 times in the Zapotec Vienna codex and also in the Mayan Troano codex 

 (see h and c, figure 3J:), which is the tying on of the shoulder cloth; 

 possibly, also, its exhibition, presentation, or offering for sale. In the 

 Manuscrit Mexicain number 3 of the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris 

 there is a hieroglyph (a, figure 34), which shows a shoulder cloth and 

 a hand. It represents the name of a citizen of Uexotzinco who is set 

 down as among those Avho, escaping, withdrew from the control of the 

 enconienderos and the curas, and bears the legend "Andres Tilmat- 

 laneuh ", that is, "Andrew, the cloth-lender ". 



