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If he was not in battle himself, the king received news of the outcome by messenger. Runners were dispatched before the battle ended but after its outcome was clear. On arrival, the messenger was taken directly before the king to report and was thereafter confined until his report could be confirmed, even if the army was victorious. If the Aztecs had been defeated, the priests of all the temples wept over the deaths,
59 and the warriors entered the city in tears. They did not paint themselves, braid their hair, carry their shields, or use any drums or trumpets. They proceeded straight to the temple of Huitzilopochtli, then spoke to the king, and then burned their weapons and insignia.60 |
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If, on the other hand, the army had been victorious, a second messenger was sent to alert the king of the army's coming. It was received with happiness on the road, with drums and trumpets and the burning of copal incense. From Tenochtitlan, emissaries called teuctitlantin were sent to inform all the towns. Residents of the towns came with food and gifts to Tenochtitlan, where the army was received by everyone around the lakes.61 |
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Those who had taken prisoners in the war were honored.62 The families of the commoner dead were given clothing on behalf of the king, and those of the nobles were also given jewels, featherwork, and other finery. The leaders of each ward in the city visited the homes of the warriors in their wards, beginning with the unit leader of that calpolli. There they congratulated the soldiers and gave them ample supplies of food and clothing.63 |
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In battles close to Tenochtitlan the dead were returned to the city. After four days of rituals and amid the lamentation of their families, their bodies (at least those of the nobles and valiant warriors), were burned at the temple of Huitzilopochtli.64 Others were burned in the cuauhxicalco in the main plaza, and still others, in the various telpochcalli.65 |
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The bodies of warriors could be either cremated or buried with their insignia, but the nobles were cremated.66 Statues were made of nobles who had been lost in battle, and these were burned in place of their bodies along with their clothes and weapons.67 Similarly, although merchants were not nobles, if a merchant died in battle, a statue of him was made from bound pine torches and placed in the merchants' temple and after one day it was burned.68 |
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According to Aztec belief, all those who died in battle went to ilhuicac, the place of the sun, as did those who were captured in |
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