Biscay (Vizcaya)

Los comunes de estos barrios ó calpullec siempre tienen una cabeza, é nunca quieren estar sin ella, é ha de ser de ellos mesmos é no de otro calpulli, ni forastero, porque no lo sufren, é ha de ser principal y hábil para los amparar y defender; y lo elegían y eligen entre sí, y á este tenían y tienen como por Señor, y es como en Vizcaya ó en las montañas el pariente mayor; y no por sucesión, sino muerto uno eligen á otro, el más honrado, sabio y hábil á su modo, y viejo, el que mejor les parece para ello. Si queda algún hijo del difunto suficiente, lo eligen, y siempre eligen pariente del difunto, como lo haya y sea para ello.

The people of each of these neighborhoods or calpullec always have a head, and never want to be without one. He must be one of them, not from another calpulli or an outsider, for they will not stand for that. He must be a leading man, able to protect and defend them. They chose him, and still choose him, from among themselves, and they held him, and hold him, as a kind of lord. He is like the pariente mayor, the head of the lineage, in Biscay or in the mountains of northern Spain. The office does not pass from father to son. When one dies they choose another, the most honorable, wise, and able in their way, and an old man, whoever seems best to them. If a son of the dead man is fit for it, they choose him. They always choose a relative of the dead man, if there is one who is suitable.