Ahuitzotl. Herb Allenger

eagerly anticipating the council’s results when he entered. He sank to his knees before Ahuitzotl.

      “Great Lord, chosen as Revered Speaker!” he began, “Cihuacoatl, Chief of Ministers, requests that you appear at the palace among the gathered lords for the initiation. I am honored to be the first to tell you this.”

      Ahuitzotl, strained and relieved in spite of having expected such a message, felt ecstatic on hearing it and a broad grin lit up his face. “I’ll not detain them,” he beamed. “Inform the Lord Minister I am coming.”

      Taking time only to receive congratulations from his subordinates and fasten his tilmantli over his shoulder, Ahuitzotl then headed to his place of destiny. All eyes were fixed on him when he entered the hall and confidently approached the raised platform at its far end where the throne was situated with Cihuacoatl and the kings of the alliance standing around it. On reaching it, Cihuacoatl quieted the assembly with his staff and everyone’s attention focused on them. Nezahualpilli opened the ceremony by addressing the new monarch in his characteristic style.

      “Oh Mighty Lord! Inheritor of the royal throne. To you we offer this seat, left to our care by the gods, most especially high and glorious Huitzilopochtli, so that you might carry on his divine charge, the mandate he imparted upon us. You must faithfully and courageously fulfill this duty, for now is the time in which the foundation is embedded for our realm to flourish. We are living under a darkened sky, a time of peril, and we look for a new ascendancy, a fresh rising, out of the troubled depths into which we have sunk. We seek the glory that marked the passage of our honored forebearers, an eminence that has been lost. Our eagles must soar! Never before have our jaguars been so in want and warriors, born to battle, must have their day. We look to you, Great Lord, to provide for us and to achieve for us that which we have forsaken, that which we have lost, and that which we have been denied.”

      Following Nezahualpilli’s stirring oration, Cihuacoatl stepped towards Ahuitzotl and placed his left hand under the monarch’s chin to bend his head back. With his right hand he pierced Ahuitzotl’s nostrils with a sharp thorn, carving out a hole large enough to allow for the emplacement of the emerald plug which denoted a Revered Speaker’s divine linkage to the gods. The flowing blood was absorbed in white linens applied to the wound by Nezahualpilli.

      Next two nobles came forward carrying the royal finery of the office and handed these to Cihuacoatl and Nezahualpilli who together unfolded them. A mantle of netted material, turquoise blue—the color of Huitzilopochtli, Lord of the Southern Sky—and studded with jewels delicately interwoven into the fabric, was draped over Ahuitzotl. An emerald diaden, embossed with precious stones, was hung around his neck to cover the front of his chest. Throughout the donning of the robe and official insignia, priests chanted out hymns lending a solemn dignity to the event.

      After this formal dressing, the monarch was led to his blue feather and jaguar skin throne and when he was seated, the princes, lords, ministers, and ambassadors stepped forward in sequence and presented themselves before him rendering him words and gestures of respect and avowing their allegiance. Cihuacoatl stood adjacent to the throne and introduced each of these dignitaries to Ahuitzotl who became annoyed when one of the lords coming forward broke into a faint, but noticeable smile as he bowed.

      “Who is he?” Ahuitzotl asked, “And why does he smirk like that?”

      “He is Huactli, Lord of the Pochteca,” Cihuacoatl replied. “He smiles, I believe, because he is grateful there is a new ruler. The pochteca have not fared well under Tizoc.”

      “I find it disrespectful—appearing as if I owe him something. See to it he is informed of my displeasure.”

      Cihuacoatl was tempted to reveal Huactli’s complicity in the plot against Tizoc but held back, thinking it best that Ahuitzotl be kept ignorant of who the conspirators were lest he should one day, out of anger, seek revenge on them. He was incensed over Huactli’s audaciousness and would later admonish him for it, but at present he needed to placate his master.

      “We must excuse his insolence, Lord. The pochteca are crude and earthly in their habits. It is understandable that they should behave awkwardly here and hold themselves in undue regard.”

      “ I suppose you’re right—I am indebted to their services. They provide useful intelligence on our enemies. Disregard my last statement, but advise Huactli of our courtly etiquette so that he does not err again.”

      The honors heaped upon the new monarch lasted throughout the afternoon and became quite tedious for Ahuitzotl, and while he maintained his lordly bearing and demonstrated an attentiveness, he greatly appreciated seeing the last of the dignitaries finish. He then motioned for Cihuacoatl to close this affair therewith ending the initiation rites. The actual coronation was still months away, as all monarchs had to be crowned on the day, One Dog. Custom dictated that new rulers use this interim period for conquests in order to exert their influence and obtain captives for sacrifice at this formal event. Ahuitzotl already had his victims selected.