Kissing the earth

E así seguí la dicha calzada, y á media legua antes de llegar al cuerpo de la ciudad de Tenuxtitan, á la entrada de otra calzada que viene á dar de la Tierra-Firme á esta otra, está un muy fuerte baluarte con dos torres, cercado de muro de dos estados, con su pretil almenado por toda la cerca que toma con ambas calzadas, y no tiene mas de dos puertas, una por do entran y otra por do salen. Aquí me salieron á ver y á hablar fasta mil hombres principales, ciudadanos de la dicha ciudad, todos vestidos de una manera y hábito, y sugun su costumbre bien rico; y llegados á me fablar, cada uno por sí facia, en llegando á mí, una ceremonia que entre ellos se usa mucho, que ponia cada uno la mano en la tierra y la pesaba; y así estuve esperando cási una hora fasta que cada uno ficiese su ceremonia.

So I went on along the causeway. Half a league before the main body of the city of Tenuxtitan, another causeway comes in from the mainland to join this one. At that point there is a very strong fort with two towers. It is enclosed by a wall twice a man's height, with a battlemented parapet all along the wall that takes in both causeways. It has only two gates, one to go in and one to go out. Here as many as a thousand leading men, citizens of the city, came out to see me and speak with me. They were all dressed alike, very richly by their custom. As each one came up to speak to me, he made a ceremony that they use a great deal: he put his hand on the ground and kissed it. So I stood waiting almost an hour, until each of them had made his ceremony.

y como nos juntamos, yo me apeé, y le fuí á abrazar solo: é aquellos dos señores que con él iban me detuvieron con las manos para que no le tocase; y ellos y él ficieron asimismo ceremonia de besar la tierra; y hecha, mandó á aquel su hermano que venia con él que se quedase conmigo y me llevase por el brazo, y él con el otro se iba adelante de mi poquito trecho; y después de me haber él fablado, vinieron asimismo á me fablar todos los otros señores que iban en las dos procesiones, en órden uno en pos de otro, é luego se tornaban á su procesion.

When we met, I got down from my horse and went forward alone to embrace him. But the two lords with him stopped me with their hands, so that I would not touch him. Then they and he also made the ceremony of kissing the earth. When it was done, he told his brother, who was with him, to stay with me and lead me by the arm. He himself went a little way ahead of me with the other lord. When he had finished speaking with me, the other lords of the two processions came up one after another, in order, to speak to me too. Then they went back to their places.