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XIMENES, Francisco (hee-may'-nes), Spanish clergyman, b. in Ecija, Andalusia, about 1600; d. in Guatemala about 1680. He became vicar of the parish of Santo Toinas Chuila, or Chichicastenango, where he discovered a valuable manuscript in the Quiche dialect about the early history of Guatemala, which is best known under the name of Popol-Vuh. He translated it into Spanish, and it has since been used by many historians. Ximenes was afterward provincial of the Dominican order for the province of San Vicente de Chiapa and Guatemala, which post he retained till his death. He was very proficient in Quiche, Zutuhil, and Cakchiquel, and wrote sermons and several religious works in these languages, his manuscripts being preserved in the library of the Dominican convent in the city of Guatemala, and a manuscript copy, made and signed by Father Antonio Garcia, of Ximenes's "Vocabulario de la Lengua Cakchiquel" was recently sold in Paris for 200 francs. His works include also the manuscripts "Historia de la provincia de San Vicente de Chiapa" (4 vols.) and "De las cosas rnaravillosas de esta America." His translation of the Popol-Vuh, under the title of " Empiezan las Historias del Origen de los Indios de esta Provincia de Guatemala, traducidas de la lengua Quiche " was also kept in the convent, and a copy was published under the title of "Historia del Origen de los Indios en la provincia de Guatemala" (Vienna, 1857). It was until recently considered the only original document on the early history of Guatemala, and was mentioned as such by Ferdinand Denis, Henry Ternaux-Compans, and Brasseur de Bourbourg, but the latter discovered in 1860 a Quiche copy of the Popol-Vuh, and pub- lished the text with a French translation (Paris, 1861).
XIMENEZ, Francisco (hee-may'-nayth), Spanish missionary, b. in Estremadura in the latter half of the 15th century; d. in Mexico, 31 July, 1537. He studied in the University of Salamanca, where he was graduated in theology, and entered the Franciscan order in the convent of San Gabriel in Estremadura. He was one of the twelve missionaries that accompanied Fray Martin de Valencia in 1523 to Mexico, and became thoroughly acquainted with the Mexican language, in which he was the first to write a grammar and a catechism. He was a successful missionary among the natives and founder of the convent of Quaunahac (now Cuernavaca), of which he became superior. He wrote a life of Fray Martin de Valencia and "Arte y Vocabulario en lengua Mexicana," which is still in manuscript.
XIUHTEMOC I. (see-oo'-ta-mock), first king of
Culhuacan, lived in the 12th century. After the
destruction of the empire of Tollan some of the
scattered tribes settled at Culhuacan, and about
1104 elected their leader, Xiuhtemoc, king. He
was succeeded in 1129 by his son, Nauhyotl. —
Xiuhtemoc II. was eighth king of Culhuacan
and second of Mexico. He succeeded his father,
Acamapictli I., who had dethroned the former king,
Cocox, two years before, in 1303, and in 1318, after
the death of Huitzilihuitl I., he was elected by the
Mexicans king, but gradually drew them to Culhuacan,
while those that did not wish to follow him
settled in Tlaltelolco and formed there a separate
monarchy. He was succeeded in 1352 by his grandson,
Acamapictli II.
XIUTLALTZIN (see-oot-lahl-tzeen'), queen of
Tollan, daughter of the 6th king, Mitl, whom she
succeeded in 1038. She was the only woman that
reigned over the Toltecs, Acolhuas, or Aztecs, but
it seems that her husband, whose name is not even
recorded, was either not entitled by his family to
sovereign dignity, or that he died before Mitl's
decease. After a short reign, which is eulogized
as beneficial to the country, she was succeeded by
her son, Tepancaltzin (q. v.), in 1042.
XOCHITL (soh-cheetl'), queen of Tollan, lived
in the 11th century. She was the daughter of
Papantzin, one of the principal nobles of King
Tepancaltzin's court. Reports differ as to whether
the latter or his beautiful daughter, whose name
signifies “the flower,” was the inventor of pulque,
the Mexican fermented drink made from the juice
of the aloe-plant. All authors agree that in 1049
her father sent her with a jar of the newly invented
liquor to the palace, and the king was so pleased
with the drink that he ordered her to bring it
daily. Charmed by her beauty, he took her to his
palace at Palpan, where she gave birth to a son,
Topiltzin. When her father learned her situation,
he upbraided the king, but was quieted by the promise
that Xochitl should be acknowledged queen after
the death of Tepancaltzin's legitimate consort, and
that Topiltzin should be successor to the throne.
This was done, but after the resignation of
Tepancaltzin, in 1094, in his son's favor, the other Toltec
princes rebelled, and in one of the battles both
Xochitl and her husband were killed, and the Toltec
monarchy was destroyed, as Topiltzin, with many
of his followers, emigrated to the south, where,
according to some historians, he settled in Yucatan;
according to others, in Chiapas or Guatemala.
XOLOTL (soh-lotl'), “the vigilant,” also
surnamed “the great,” founder of the Mexican
dynasty of Tenayucan, or Texcoco, lived in the 12th
century. He was chief of the Chichimec tribes that
invaded Anahuac after the destruction of the Toltec
monarchy, and, settling on the lake of Texcoco,
he proclaimed himself king, about 1160. He
recognized that the subjugated Toltecs, as well as
the tribes of Aculhuas and Tecpanecs that arrived
afterward in the valley were far superior to his
own wild and warlike nation, and he therefore
treated them kindly, so that they soon
transformed the Chichimecs into a civilized race. To
equalize the different tribes and dialects, he
ordered the Nahuatl, or instructed, dialect, a form
of the Toltec, to be adopted as the official
language, which in time superseded all others, and
is the equivalent of what is now generally called
Aztec. King Xolotl constructed in Texcoco a
temple to the sun, a palace, and gardens, and made that
city the centre of the civilization of Anahuac. He
married his daughters to the two principal chiefs
of the Aculhuas, who became founders of the
empire of Atzcapotzalco, and was succeeded about
1220 by his son, Nopaltzin.
XUÁREZ, Pedro, Indian cacique, b. in Mexico
about the beginning of the 17th century. He was
liberally educated, and was sexton of the church
of San Pablo. He is chiefly known as the author
of a manuscript work in the Aztec language,
under the Spanish title of “Memorial en Lengua
Mexicana sobre cosas memorables.” It gives very
valuable notes of historical events, and is frequently
cited by Carlos de Sigüenza in his works.
