A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Sahagún's Spanish book V, chapter XIII, describes a skull that suddenly appears and jumps against a person's calf, or follows behind with the sound of hopping bone. A frightened witness runs; if the person stops, the pursuing skull stops as well. Someone who turns and tries to seize it finds that it jumps away to another place. Repeated attempts exhaust the pursuer, who finally retreats home.
The surrounding chapter also describes an evasive small woman and a shrouded, groaning figure, showing several different forms rather than a single body changing through a fixed sequence. Its concluding passage associates these illusions with Tezcatlipoca. The name Tzontecomatl is documented in modern scholarship on that Nahua apparition corpus, but the Spanish skull episode itself supplies no biography of a named dead owner or explanation of how the skull originated.
Origins & earliest records
The story is attested in Sahagún's sixteenth-century material, book V, chapter XIII. The Spanish passage was inspected in the 1829 edition, volume II, printed p. 16. Navarro's 2025 discussion identifies Tzontecomatl among the book's apparitions. These textual witnesses establish documentation, rather than a recoverable first oral origin.
Records & interpretation
The complete pursuit passage was read from the historical scan's OCR, alongside the chapter's attribution of its illusions. Navarro's introduction independently identifies the name in this corpus; his broader interpretive debate is not used to invent an individual skull owner's identity. The physical skull motif remains separate from other traditions' flying heads or revenants.
In the literature
“también se paraba la calavera”
Book V, chapter XIII, printed p.16; chapter attribution continues p.17; p.16, the skull mirrors the witness’s halted movement
A skull suddenly appears, jumps at a witness’s calf or follows with a hopping noise, and stops when the witness stops. Attempts to grasp it prompt further leaps until the exhausted witness retreats home. This Spanish episode describes a skull without supplying the name Tzontecomatl, its owner’s identity or an origin story; applying that canonical label relies on separately cited lexical/scholarly identification.
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; complete Spanish pursuing-skull episode.
- 02
El miedo a las «apariciones nocturnas» de Tezcatlipoca: cuitlapanton, cintanaton, centlapachton
Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl 70, pp. 196–227; introduction identifies Tzontecomatl in the apparition corpus.
- 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 skull suddenly appears, jumps at a witness’s calf or follows with a hopping noise, and stops when the witness stops. Attempts to grasp it prompt further leaps until the exhausted witness retreats home. This Spanish episode describes a skull without supplying the name Tzontecomatl, its owner’s identity or an origin story; applying that canonical label relies on separately cited lexical/scholarly identification.
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, introduction: named night apparitionsResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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