Last modified: 2013-06-22 by juan manuel gabino villascán
Keywords: mexico | olmec | aztec | maya | labaro | cortés |
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The flag of Atzacoalco was a kind of big umbrella made
of feathers, in gold, carried by the army general.
Cuepopan’s standard was composed by three white flags,
atzapamitl, bond together and with Quetzal feathers
that belonged to the Tlacohcalcatl. The others are
the standards of Moyotla and Zoquiapan.
Jorge Candeias, 27 Oct 1997, translating from
La
Bandera Mexicana website
Each squadron of the Mexica army had a leader, called
tepuchtlato. The warriers in each calpulli
elected their leader, and to be differentiated in battle,
the leader carried on his back the flag of its
calpulli; to be further dirrerentiated, the
ichcahuipilli covered themselves in feathers of
different colour, besides the flag or pantli, so
that if the ones in one squadron carried white and red
feathers, the ones in other squadrons had them in blue
and yellow or in other combinations. The leaders of the
mexica army had their special standard or flag with more
or less charges according to their rank.
Jorge Candeias, 27 Oct 1997, translating from
La
Bandera Mexicana website
The people of Hernan Cortés, after the Sad Night,
already retrieving towards Tlaxcala, arrived at July 7,
1520 to the plain between Otumba and Ajapuxco. When
they arrived, faced about 200 000 Aztec Warriors.
The battle was hard, and at about noon both the Spaniards
and their Tlaxcaltec allies, began to leave Cortés.
But he knew through Malinche many Aztec ways and charged on
the leader of the Aztec army, pushing him with the horse,
making him fall to the ground. When he did so, Juan de
Salamanca, one of the captains of Cortés stepped
down from his horse and took the lábaro.
The warriors, seeing their leader in the ground and their
flag taken, considered the battle lost and started to
retreat.
Jorge Candeias, 27 Oct 1997, translating from
La
Bandera Mexicana website
