The man who first officially greets Cortes on behalf of the Aztec Empire was a man of importance and his story exists across snippets of history. His name is variously recorded as Tentlil (Florentine Codex), Tendile (Bernal Diaz), Teudilli (Gomara), Teuhtilli (Cronica Mexicayotl) and others. Diego Duran mentions a person with the title of Teuctclamazqui, possibly named Tlilancalqui but the person seems to fit the function more of another representative who came from Tenochtitlan, named Cuitlalpitoc. Mostly, Tentlil is described as the regional administrator in Cotaxtla. Comparing sources suggests Tentlil replaced Pinotl, who held the post the year prior and met with Grijalva in 1518.
There are many questions we could ask about Tentlil, but we must accept him largely as a mystery. We will never know his life history, his passions or much else about him. Where is he from? Does he have a family? How well does he know Moctezuma? Where was he born and is he Mexica or Cotaxtlan?
Presentes de los indios de Moctezuma a Hernán Cortés en San Juan de Ulúa, (Presents of the Indians of Moctezuma to Hernan Cortes in San Juan de Ulua), housed at the National Museum of History at Chapultepec Castle.
The Spanish accounts of Diaz and Gomara stick to his negotiation with them. Gomara simply calls him “governor of that province.” What we do seem to know from the Florentine Codex is he was there as part of Pinotl’s journey to the coast to see Grijalva in 1518. He was there again in 1519 when Cortes arrived and Tentlil led negotiations, although the Floretnine Codex oddly does not mention him in the Cortes visit. He was a stern negotiator who didn’t seem intimidated by the Spanish, delivering two firm “no” replies to Cortes’ request to meet Moctezuma. He was also the one who delivered the first great treasure to Cortes, which contained the great golden sun-disc and silver moon-disc.
Who Tendile was as a person we’ll never know. We get glimpses of a pesky negotiator not easily swayed, nor impressed. He is loyal to Moctezuma and to the Empire. He seems to have acted quickly and with determination to handle the situation locally while notifying his Tlatoani Moctezuma.