There is no sign of Christian influence in the poem, and it is probably one handed down from a generation anterior to the Conquest.

1.  The word peuhcayotl from peua, to begin, intimates that this was a song chanted at the beginning of a musical entertainment.  The verses are longer, and the phraseology plainer than in many of those following.  There is also an absence of interjections and lengthened vowels, all of which indicate that the time was slow, and the actions of the singer temperate, as was the custom at the beginning of a baile. (See Introd., p. 20.)

1. Ninoyolnonotza, a reflexive, frequentative form from notza, to think, to reflect, itself from the primitive radicle no, mind, common to both the Nahuatl and Maya languages.  The syllable yol is for yollotl, heart, in its figurative sense of soul or mind.  The combination of yolnonotza is not found in any of the dictionaries.  The full sense is, “I am thinking by myself, in my heart.”

ahuiaca, an adverbial form, usually means “pleasant-smelling,” though in derivation it is from the verb ahuia, to be satisfied with.

quetzal, for quetzalli, a long, handsome blue feather from the quetzal bird, often used figuratively for anything beautiful or precious.

chalchiuh for chalchiuitl, the famous green-stone, jade or emerald, so highly prized by the Mexicans; often used figuratively for anything noble, beautiful and esteemed.

huitzitzicatin, a word not found in the dictionaries, appears to be from tzitzilca, to tremble, usually from cold, but here applied to the tremulous motion of the humming bird as it hovers over a flower.

zacuan, the yellow plumage of the zacuan bird, and from similarity of color here applied to the butterfly.  The zacuan is known to ornithologists as the Oriolus dominicensis.  These birds are remarkably gregarious, sometimes as many as a hundred nests being found in one tree (see Eduard Muehlenpfort, Versuch einer getreuen Schilderung der Republik Mexiko, Bd.  I, p. 183).

acxoyatzinitzcanquauhtla; composed of acxoyatl, the wild laurel; tzinitzcan, the native name of the Trogon mexicanus, renowned for its beautiful plumage; quauhtli, a tree; and the place-ending tla, meaning abundance.

tlauquecholxochiquauhtla; composed of tlauquechol, the native name of the red, spoon-billed heron, Platalea ajaja; xochitl, flower; quauhtli, tree; and the place-ending tla.

tonameyotoc, the root is the verb tona, to shine, to be warm; tonatiuh, the sun; tonameyotl, a ray of the sun, etc.  As warmth and sunlight are the conditions of growth and fertility, many derivatives from this root signify abundance, riches, etc.