a stick, a staff, a rod, a stalk, a switch (see Karttunen and Molina); osier twigs or maguey spines (see Sahagún attestations); relates to blood-letting self-sacrifice
tlacotl = osier twig (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
tlacotl. Auh aço monacazco in titlaqujxitz, anoço monenpilco. = maguey spines. And thou shalt pass these straws either through thy ears or through thy tongue. (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
motzintlan in ticqujxtiz, in tictlaçaz: aço çan cecen in ticqujxtiz, anoço çan ticcenqujxtiz, tictlatlaçalhuiz, yn aço centzontli, aço vntzontli, in ticqujxtiz tlacotl: = “When thou drawest it through, thou shalt cast it down behind thee, either each one {alone} as thou takest it out, or else thou shalt gather them, binding them together, even four hundred {of them}, even eight hundred of the straws, which thou shalt have passed through thy tongue. (central Mexico, sixteenth century)