Copil (son of Malinalxochitl)

In Aztec mythology, Copil was the son of the goddess Malinalxochitl and Malinalco king, Chimalcuauhtli. ^[1]

When grown he sought revenge for his mother's abandonment by her brother, Huītzilōpōchtli. When the Mexica were encamped at Chapultepec, he confronted his uncle. Hostility brewed, and Copil was killed ^[1] on the hill Peñón de los Baños  [ es ] by Mexicas under orders of Huītzilōpōchtli, ^[2] while Copil was awaiting to watch the battle between the Mexicas and tribes he incited to fight them. ^[3] He was slain by priest Cuauhtlequetzqui, who later married Copil's daughter, Xicomoyahual. ^[4] He was decapitated and his head was placed atop the hill and then an outcrop in Lake Texcoco. ^[5] His heart was extracted and thrown into the swamp where it grew into nopal. It was here the Mexicas were given the signal to build Tenochtitlan. ^{[3] [5]}

References

1. Roskamp (2010) , p. 88
2. Aveni, Calnek & Hartung (1988) , pp. 291–292
3. Bahr (2004) , p. 742
4. Diel (2005) , p. 96
5. Aveni, Calnek & Hartung (1988) , pp. 292

Bibliography

• Aveni, A. F.; Calnek, E. E.; Hartung, H. (1988). "Myth, Environment, and the Orientation of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan" . American Antiquity. 53 (2): 287–309. doi:10.2307/281020. ISSN   0002-7316.
• Bahr, Donald M. (2004). "Temptation and Glory in One Pima and Two Aztec Mythologies". Journal of the Southwest. 46 (4): 705–761. ISSN   0894-8410.
• Diel, Lori Boornazian (2005). "Women and Political Power: The Inclusion and Exclusion of Noblewomen in Aztec Pictorial Histories". RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics (47): 96. ISSN   0277-1322.
• Roskamp, Hans (2010). "LOS NAHUAS DE TZINTZUNTZAN-HUITZITZILAN, MICHOACÁN. HISTORIA, MITO Y LEGITIMACIÓN DE UN SEÑORÍO PREHISPÁNICO". Journal de la Société des américanistes. 96 (1): 75–106. ISSN   0037-9174.