co, a Nahuatl town, situated
east of the Lake of Tezcuco. This song was sung by the king and
superior nobles at certain festivals, and, in the prescribed order of
the chants, followed a _melahuaccuicatl_.[18]

_Chalcayotl_: a song of Chalco, on the lake of the same name. This
followed the last mentioned in order of time at the festivals.

_Otoncuicatl_: a song of the Otomis. These were the immediate
neighbors of the Nahuas, but spoke a language radically diverse. The
songs so-called were sung fourth on the list.

_Cuextecayotl_: a song of the country of the Cuexteca, or Cuextlan, a
northern province of Mexico.

_Tlauancacuextecayotl_: a song of the country of the
Tlauancacuexteca.

_Anahuacayotl_: a song of Anahuac, that is, of a country near the
water, either the valley of Mexico, or the shores of the ocean.

Some very ancient sacred songs were referred to by Tezozomoc as
peculiar to the worship of Huitzilopochtli, and, indeed, introduced
by this potent divinity. From their names, _cuitlaxoteyotl_, and
_tecuilhuicuicatl_,[19] I judge that they referred to some of those
pederastic rites which still prevail extensively among the natives of
the pueblos of New Mexico, and which have been described by Dr.
William A. Hammond and other observers.[20] One of these songs began,

Cuicoyan nohuan mitotia;

In-the-place-of-song with-me they-dance.

But the old chronicler, who doubtless knew it all by heart, gives us
no more of it.[21]

Sec. 4. _PROSODY OF THE SONGS._

The assertion is advanced by Boturini that the genuine ancient
Nahuatl poetry which has been preserved is in iambic metre, and he
refers to a song of Nezahualcoyotl in his collection to prove his
opinion. What study I have given to the prosody of the Nahuatl tongue
leads me to doubt the correctness of so sweeping a statement. The
vocalic elements of the language have certain peculiarities which
prevent its poetry from entering unencumbered into the domain of
classical prosody.

The quantity of Nahuatl syllables is a very important element in the
pronunciation of the tongue, but their quantity is not confined, as
in Latin, to long, short, and common. The Nahuatl vowels are long,
short, intermediate, and "with stress," or as the Spanish grammarians
say, "with a jump," _con saltillo_. The last mentioned is peculiar to
this tongue. The vowel so designated is pronounced with a momentary
suspension or catching of th