A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
In the Spanish account of Sahagún's book V, chapter XIII, the figure resembles a very small woman with hair down to her waist and a ducklike gait. She appears around places where people go at night to relieve themselves. Attempts to catch her fail: she disappears from the grasp and returns nearby, repeating this until the pursuer gives up. The encounter is feared as an omen of death or misfortune.
Nemian Navarro's 2025 comparison draws attention to the Nahuatl account's childlike description and clothing or covering of hair. It also preserves the names Cintanaton and Centlapachton, the latter associated with Acolhuacan. Torquemada's separately quoted account calls the apparition a maize goddess. These textual differences deserve retention, rather than turning each name into a separate creature or giving every witness identical religious meaning.
Origins & earliest records
The profile rests on sixteenth-century material in Sahagún's book V, chapter XIII. Its Spanish text was checked through Carlos María de Bustamante's 1829 edition, volume II, printed p. 16. The publication is a later textual witness, not a date for the apparition tradition's beginning or a direct modern field interview.
Records & interpretation
The 1829 OCR and Navarro's original 2025 article, especially pp. 202–204, were inspected. Navarro compares Spanish and translated Nahuatl descriptions and cites Torquemada separately. His explanations of the figure's names, maize connections, and divine role are scholarly arguments; proposed identifications are not equivalent to every source explicitly naming the same deity.
In the literature
“los cabellos largos hasta la cinta”
Book V, chapter XIII, printed p.16; p.16, the small apparition’s appearance
A small woman with waist-length hair and a ducklike gait appears near places used at night for bodily necessities. The encounter is interpreted as an omen of misfortune. Whenever someone tries to seize her, she vanishes and reappears nearby until pursuit is abandoned. The print spells the first name cuitlapaton and also gives centlapachton; the stable profile’s modern spelling is retained without silently emending the witness.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, volume II
Book V, chapter XIII, printed p. 16; nineteenth-century edition of sixteenth-century material.
- 02
El miedo a las «apariciones nocturnas» de Tezcatlipoca: cuitlapanton, cintanaton, centlapachton
Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl 70, pp. 196–227; compares names and language versions.
- 03
Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, tomo II
Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, tomo II, edited with notes and supplements by Carlos María de Bustamante; México: Imprenta del ciudadano Alejandro Valdés,1829. Spanish historical text; inspected John Carter Brown Library scan and OCR. Earlier sixteenth-century composition is context, not this edition’s publication date.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Primary source witness
Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua collaborators, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, tomo II, edited with notes and supplements by Carlos María de Bustamante; México: Imprenta del ciudadano Alejandro Valdés,1829. Spanish historical text; inspected John Carter Brown Library scan and OCR. Earlier sixteenth-century composition is context, not this edition’s publication date.
- A small woman with waist-length hair and a ducklike gait appears near places used at night for bodily necessities. The encounter is interpreted as an omen of misfortune. Whenever someone tries to seize her, she vanishes and reappears nearby until pursuit is abandoned. The print spells the first name cuitlapaton and also gives centlapachton; the stable profile’s modern spelling is retained without silently emending the witness.
Book V, chapter XIII, printed p.16; Small woman’s appearance and repeated evasion, p.16
Complete chapterIII and chaptersXI–XIII read in OCR. Quote-bearing printed pages6,15,16 and chapterIII conclusion7 visually checked using actual scan images; OCR errors and editor’s hostile judgments are not adopted. No ritual formulas or prayers reproduced; narrative beliefs are not presented as verified causation.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textJohn Carter Brown Library scan: Sahagún, volume II, 1829, p. 16Research access: 2026-10-05
- ResearchNavarro 2025: Cuitlapanton, Cintanaton, CentlapachtonResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.