Tollan or Tula was a famous Mesoamerican city because it was considered to be the place of origin of many groups of people. Seemingly every altepetl or city-state proudly traced its genealogy to the city. One of the primary goals of the Mexica people once they settled in Mexico-Tenochtitlan was to marry into the prestigious blood line to establish their legitimacy and connection to the new lands they found themselves in after their long journey from Aztlan. The famous leader Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl also once ruled the city which bolstered its prestige. In the codex Historia Tolteca Chichimeca, there appears an extraordinarily detailed account in which the last ruler of Tollan whose name was Huemac caused the fall of the legendary city because he wanted a woman with a big butt but could not find one. Here is the account in Nahuatl and English:
Auh niman y quimitlanilia zoua quimilhuia y nonoualca annechmomaquilizque ciua namechnonauatillia yeuatl y nauiztetl ynic tzintamalpatlauac
And then Huemac asked for a woman. He told the Nonoualca (a group of people outside of Tollan): Bring me a woman with very large buttocks that measure four stones wide .
Oquilhuique yn Nonoualca mayui ma oc tictemocan campa ticanatiui y nauiztetl ynic tzintamalpatlauac
And then the Nonoualca said: ok we will look for a woman with very large buttocks that measure four stones wide.
auh niman quimonanaco yn ciua nauime yn aoc auilli ynic ueueyn amo yxquich yn itlatomachiual oquimilhui yn Nonoualca amo yxquich y nicnequi amo aci y nauiztetl yn intzintamall cenca uey y nicnequi
And then the Nonoualca came and offered four women, none of which had large buttocks with the correct size. Huemac told the Nonoualca: You have not brought what I want, their buttocks do not measure to four stones, I want really big buttocks.
niman cenca oquallanteuaque yn Nonoualca
Then the Nonoualca became very angry and they left.
Auh nimal qualanteuaque yn Nonoualca quitoua aquinon yn ya toca mocacayaua macha zan quitltlalhuia yn tolteca macuelle matitoyaochiuacan can ticanatihui yn techitlanillia
And then the Nonoualca were angered, they said: Who is making fun of us? Perhaps Huemac is guided by the Toltecs? Lets Go! Let’s go to war! Where do we go to find what they ask of us?
The story continues with many details but eventually the Nonoualca killed Huemac and then occupied the city thus marking the end of the legendary city of Tollan. While amusing we are left with many questions. The historical accuracy of this account is very difficult to confirm because the author of the Historia Tolteca Chichimeca is unknown. Also, there exists references to the fall of city of Tollan in other sources and they are all very different from each other. Also the exact location of Tollan is difficult to pinpoint. Here are the other accounts of the Fall of Tollan:
Anales de Cuauhtitlan: Two Nahualtin named Yaotl and Tezcatlipoca entered Tollan, tormented Huemac, started a war, and forced the Tolteca out of Tollan. The Toltecs wandered for 7 years under Huemac’s leadership but once Huemac reached Chapoltepec he realized none of the Toltecs were following him anymore. He wept, grieved and then he hung himself in a cave at Chapoltepec.
The Legend of the Suns: Huemac took over as ruler after the departure of Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl. He played a ballgame with the Tlaloque and he won. The Tlaloque were angered and tried to trick Huemac but failed. The Tlaloque then decide to destroy Tollan in retaliation and the Tolteca abandoned Tollan.
Get a copy of Anales de Cuauhtitlan and The Legend of the Suns here:
