[WIP] Marriage Alliance

Tlaxcalteca tecuhtli (lord) and his Totonaca wife, Tizatlan, Tlaxcallan, 1500

The study that inspired this illustration is “Caminos de arena y sangre. Los conflictos armados mexica-tlaxcalteca por las rutas de intercambio hacia el centro-sur de la Costa del Golfo” (2022) by Luis Armando Alarcon.

Tlaxcallan served as a hub of trade routes that stretched all over Mesoamerica, and just next door to Tlaxcallan was the Totonacapan, the Totonaca people’s relam facing the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, the Gulf of Mexico and the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley have been inextricably linked since the 7th~12th centuries, even before the Tlaxcallan republic was established.

Their relationship, however, was far from equal. Tlaxcallan was a regional power boasting with numerous vassal states. But the coastal Totonaca kingdoms, despite their abundance and wealth, were militarily feeble. So they had no choice but to become militarily and economically dependent on Tlaxcallan. Tlaxcallan imported marine products (conch shell, turquoise shell, sea salt, seafood) as well as luxury items (tropical feathers, gold, cotton, precious stones) from the Gulf Coast region. Tlaxcalteca nobles forged marriage alliances with Totonaca, and they were expected to protect Totonaca from foreign incursions: particularly the formidable Mexica Empire. However, Tlaxcallan did not come to their rescue during Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina’s invasion of Totonacapan in 1455, despite promising to send reinforcements and even inciting them to kill the Mexica diplomats in the first place. So Totonaca and Tlaxcalteca’s relationship was complicated: full of intrigue, alliance, and betrayal.

Tlaxcalteca tecuhtli (lord) is based on an illustration from a manuscript (the so-called 'Glasgow manuscript') of “Historia de Tlaxcala”, written by Diego Muñoz Camargo in 1585. He is wearing a ‘national headdress’ of Tlaxcallan: red-white twisted headbands with double heron-feathers (aztaxelli). What is unusual is the pattern on his cloak (tilmatli). The pattern is that of a winged insect; however, due to the crude depiction, it is not clear whether this is a bee (xicotli) or a butterfly (papalotl). So I drew both versions. The golden eagle labret (teocuitlaquauhtentetl) is based on extant pieces in various museum collections.

He is holding the macuahuitl, an obsidian sword. I referenced the aforementioned Glasgow manuscript. Unlike a typical macuahuitl, the tip of this sword is shaped like a spear.

Next to him is a Totonaca wife. She is based on Codex Florentine and Codex Fejérváry-Mayer. The clothing of the Totonaca women is described in Codex Florentine from the perspective of the Mexica:

“The women wore skirts, huipils, embroidered skirts, and embroidered huipils. They were quite elegant. (…) they were wearers of varicolored skirts, varicolored quechquemitl. Their quechquemitl were weaved like gauze. And all the commoners wore blue skirts. Their hair strands were braided with varicolored stripes of cloth wrapped with feathers. In the market place they were well bedight with flowers.”

So she wrapped her hair with a colorful cloth and braided it, and added the flowers on top of the head. She wore a transparent gauze-weave quechquemitl and a colorful skirt. The skirt is based on Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, which some scholars believe is from the Totonacapan region. Also, I added the flowers to the head.

The other Tlaxcalteca nobles in the background are based on Lienzo de Tlaxcala. The lady standing in the corridor is based on the Texas Fragment, the oldest existing Tlaxcalteca codex that depicts the Spanish Conquest. She is wearing a transparent, gauze-weave huipil.

The palace’s overall structure is based on the palace of Tizatlan as depicted in the Glasgow manuscript. Tizatlan was the political center of Tlaxcallan. The archaeological studies revealed that Tizatlan had a governmental complex with a massive plaza. It was located on a hill and separated from the main residential zone, like an acropolis in ancient Greek cities. I’m planning to color the palace with excavated murals from Tizatlan and Ocotelolco (one of the subdivisions of Tlaxcallan).

The panitl banners are based on Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Glasgow manuscript.