to strip a stalk of cane or the like (see Molina); or, to watch or stand as a sentinel(?)
Alonso de Molina:
mixtia. (pret. omixti) enñudecer la caña, o cosa semejante. Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 57r. col. 2. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.