(a loanword from Spanish)
a Spanish colonial "yard," or 0.82 meters; also, the staff or scepter of office of a municipal council member; both of these are concepts introduced by Spaniards
We see "valaz" and "varas" of "manteles" and "panizuelos" (different kinds of cloth) attested in the list of items needed at the time of a visit from the bishop to Texupa in 1562.
In a document from Xochimilco from the year 1568, Lockhart found the use of nehuitçā three times. In the surrounding documentation it was called a braza (explained as being "de las que se miden del pie a la mano") and a vara ("varas de las antiguas").
quipopoztequic nobara oncan teopan sachristan = he broke my staff into pieces there in the church, in the sacristy (Jalostotitlan, Jalisco, 1611)
One document describes a plot as "mahtlactli omey baras yhuan media" (13 varas and a half) (Tlatelolco, 1620)
chiquacen bara sayal ipatiuh cecen bara cecen peso = six varas of serge worth one peso per vara (Saltillo, 1627)
One document reports a "caltzallan" as measuring 9 matl long and 1 vara wide. (Mexico City, 1630)
auh yn chinamitl [29v] yc omotamachiuh nauhtetl Cenpohuali yhuan chiCuey baras yhua Centetl Caltontli antle quipien Puerta tonati ycalaquianpa ynic on[mo]tamachiuh nahui bara yhuan tlacon ynic huiyac yey baras yhuan tl[a]Con ynic patlahuac = and the four chinampas [f. 29v] were measured at 28 varas, and a little house that has no door, toward the west, was measured at 4 1/2 varas in length and 3 1/2 varas in width. (1655, Mexico City)
yn quahuitl quipia yey varas = one quahuitl measures three varas; a piece of land in this context measures (quipia) 21 and 15.5 quahuitl (Amecameca, 1661)
ahu in tlalcuahuitl inic omotamachihu ca llehualtl in quipie ome bara yhuan tlaco motenehua tzennequetzalpan (here the tlalquahuitl is explained to be the equivalent of two and a half varas in length) (Azcapotzalco, 1738)
ini Solar quipie Senpuhuali yhua Mactlactli baras yc patlahuac ihua Ca omenti nopilhua Conanasque Ca huel quiMonepantlaxelhuisque = this lot that measures 30 varas in width; two of my children are to take it, they are to divide it right in half. (Calimaya, Toluca Valley, 1762)
tlali alahuerta moconponeroa de quinse baras y uno qta yc patlahuac = orchard land composed of fifteen and a quarter varas wide (Saltillo, 1776)
A Spanish measurement, a Spanish yard, a little less than an English yard.
nimitznavatia yuan nimitzmaca yn vara de justizia ze hiotica talguazil motuitlauiz yni montlamauiztin cuicani yvan tlapitzque yn domingotin ca yvan ylhuitl = te ordeno y te doy la vara de justicia, un año alguacil seras aqui en la iglesia, te ocuparas de tus maravillosos cantores y musicos el dia domingo y en dia de fiesta (Tlaxcala, 1565)
co[n]cahualtico yvara Juan Garcia 26 julio = vinieron a quitarle la vara a Juan García (ca. 1582, Mexico City)
Auh yn iquac ohualmacoque vara al[ca]ldeme yn onmopatlato auh yn yeuantin = Y en ese entonces les fue dada la vara a los alcaldes cuando fueron a cambiarse. Y ellos (ca. 1582, México)
quincuilique invara oydorme dotor Villanueva dotor Poga ome[n]tin = les quitaron sus varas a los oidores doctor Villanueva y doctor Puga, a ambos (ca. 1582, México)
la Virgen de Guadalupe ome varatzin = un lienzo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de dos varas (Santiago Tlatelolco, 1600)
ynic patlahuac cenpohualmatl onmatlactli auh ynic hue[yac--ilegible] epohualmatl omome yhuan se vara = de ancho tiene treinta brazas y de largo [ilegible] tiene sesenta y dos brazas y una vara (Tlaxcala, 1603)
quipia matlacpoali yhuan castolomome baras castillana = la tierra mide 217 varas castellanas. (San Diego, 1707)
quipa Sen pohuanli Yhuan caxtoli Yhuan… Nahui bara quipia = Un lado mide 39 varas, los otros tres miden 11 [varas] más. (San Agustín Acolman, 1731)