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Title: The Gods of Mexico
Author: Spence, Lewis
Language: English
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THE
GODS OF MEXICO
By LEWIS SPENCE
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL
INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
1923
TO
MY WIFE,
WITH DEEPEST GRATITUDE
AND AFFECTION
PREFACE
This book deals exclusively with the religion of the peoples of ancient
Mexico. With the history and archæology of that country I am not
concerned in these pages, unless where they have a bearing upon the
main subject. By “Mexico” I mean that region of North America lying
between the Tropic of Cancer and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Thus only
passing reference to the religion of the Maya of Yucatan or the Quiche
of Guatemala is made in the way of occasional comparison.
I have thought it best at the outset to make these points clear beyond
the possibility of misapprehension. It was formerly usual to regard the
entire tract occupied by Central American civilization from the Tropic
of Cancer to Nicaragua as one and indivisible in its manifestations.
But it is now clear that the type of advancement peculiar to the more
northerly portion inhabited by the Nahua (Aztec and Chichimec) peoples
of Mexico proper presents numerous and striking divergencies from the
more southerly though related Maya civilization of Yucatan and
Guatemala. Regarding the priority of these two cultures no doubt
exists. The Maya was greatly the more ancient. But during the century
preceding the conquest of Mexico by Cortéz it had been subjected to
Nahua immigration and influences, especially as regards its religious
beliefs. It is therefore necessary to exercise caution in the
identification of Nahua or Mexican with Maya myths and divine forms,
and with this in view I have directed my researches more especially to
an examination of the deities and ritual practices of the Mexican area,
in the hope that once the fundamental beliefs of this better-known
region have been ascertained, the results arrived at may be applied
with some measure of confidence to the obscure field of Maya belief. It
seemed to me also essential, if progress were to be made, to apply a
more intensive method of investigation than has hitherto been deemed
possible or desirable to the first origins of the Mexican gods, and it
is especially with the results obtained by this means that I am
concerned rather than with the conclusions of others.
I have chosen The Gods of Mexico as the title of this book, as its
contents refer more particularly to the development and general
description of the deities of ancient Anahuac than to the questions of
ritual, priesthood, or religious architecture. It has seemed to me
that, once the fundamental nature of the gods has been made clear, when
the multitudinous and conflicting details regarding them have been
sifted, collated, and reduced to order, more will have been done to
discover the whole purport of Mexican religion than if investigation
had been directed in particular to ritual practice. But that I have not
neglected the question of ritual is proved by the extended notices of
the festivals I have appended to the description of each of the gods. I
have, however, confined my descriptions and criticisms of ceremonial to
these, and have refrained from the illustration of the sacraments of
life and death, baptism, burial, and the like, as it is my hope to be
able to deal with the whole subject of ritualistic practice among the
Mexicans at a future date.
Many authorities, even should they sympathize with the endeavour set
forth in these pages, will question its timeousness. Our knowledge of
the religion of ancient Mexico, they will say, is still too vague and
too fragmentary to permit of the assemblage and criticism of its
material. Such a charge it is impossible to gainsay. Yet the
bitter-sweet experience of twenty years of meditation among the ruins
of the Mexican pantheon has emboldened me to attempt its partial
restoration by the aid of such reconstructive capacity as I possess. My
reasons for essaying this rather adventurous undertaking are twofold.
The first is, that although the time is scarcely ripe for it, the
venture may inspire more skilful investigators to address themselves to
the task of research in a subject that has been unaccountably neglected
in this country. The second is the hope that those who come after me in
the study of Mexican religion may, as the result of my labours, be
spared the many weary years of groping that have fallen to my lot, and
be enabled to commence their journey from the point where I now stand.
Although political and financial conditions in Mexico frequently arouse
a passing agitation in the minds of British people, the antiquities of
that extraordinary land, various as Greece and mysterious as Egypt,
have failed to appeal to them with the same degree of interest. We have
not yet, perhaps, quite recovered from the amazement with which in our
own day we have seen the secret gates of the East unlocked and the
prodigies of Mesopotamia and the endless dynasties of the Nile emerge
therefrom. Yet an archæology less venerable, but no less notable,
pleads with us for recognition from a continent so closely associated
with the spirit of modernity that we can scarcely believe in its
ability to present us with the credentials of respectable antiquity.
American scientists, however, have in recent years successfully
addressed themselves to the problems of Isthmian research, and the
antiquaries of Germany and France have, in certain respects, even
improved upon their endeavours. Great Britain alone remains insensible
to the lure of old Mexico, and small indeed is the band of workers that
she has given to this department of archæology.
No manifestation of the life and thought of ancient Mexico so well
deserves the attention of British students of antiquity as its
picturesque if bizarre religion. Our position in folklore is
pre-eminent; indeed we may with justice claim the reconstruction of
traditional science as due to the efforts of British scholarship. As
the English word “folklore” is in world-wide use, so is the terminology
of the science it denotes replete with English expressions; yet in
British works which deal with traditional lore the Mexican analogies
employed are almost invariably quoted at second-hand, sources of the
most unsatisfactory description are drawn upon to illustrate Mexican
belief, and it is obvious that the few modern treatises which have
sought to explain this most involved of all mythologies are not
sufficiently taken advantage of by authorities on folklore.
To those who possess even an elementary acquaintance with the study of
Mexican religion this will cause no surprise, for the initial
difficulties which confront even the experienced antiquary who desires
to gain a working knowledge of its principles are sufficiently
discouraging. In all likelihood the quest is sooner or later abandoned
in despair of acquiring that fundamental information from which it is
possible to proceed to a more profound knowledge of the subject. The
native languages, familiarity with which is desirable, are complex and
difficult of mastery. The paintings or codices which depict the gods
present a riot of symbolic intricacy sufficient in itself to damp
enthusiasm. Many years must be spent in the study of a system of
symbolic painting, to which a specially qualified section of the
Mexican priesthood dedicated itself in the full knowledge of a
mythological scheme at the nature of which we can but guess. It is,
above all, necessary to become thoroughly conversant with an
overwhelming body of Spanish Colonial literature, which must be handled
with the greatest discretion, owing to its vague, contradictory, and
essentially untrustworthy character. Lastly, an acquaintance with
manuscript sources, obscure and difficult of access, is quite as
indispensable, and these, indeed, are among the most valuable of the
adjuncts to a knowledge of Mexican belief.
By far the most eminent and successful among modern writers on Mexican
mythology and ritual is Professor Eduard Seler, of Berlin, who, owing
to the generosity of the Duc de Loubat, has been enabled to publish
monographs upon the principal Mexican hieroglyphical paintings or
codices. In these he has done much for the elucidation of the involved
symbolism in which the native MSS. abound, and has greatly added to our
knowledge of the divine forms represented in their grotesque pages.
Elaborate photogravure reproductions of these, the papyri of Mexico,
have also been published, superseding the older and less accurate
copies in the great collection of Lord Kingsborough. In his Gesammelte
Abhandlungen, [1] too, a work quite encyclopædic as regards its scope
and aim, Professor Seler has approached almost every problem presented
by Mexican archæology. But his work might have been of greater value
had he been mindful of the difficulties which the subject presents to
the non-specialist reader. Indeed, the technicality and aridity of his
general method often render his output comprehensible to few but the
“senior wranglers” of the study.
American students of ancient Mexico and Central America have almost
entirely confined themselves to the examination of sites and monuments.
In France, M. Beuchat has provided students with an admirable handbook
in his Archéologie Américaine, which, if too general in its purport and
marred by a lack of linguistic knowledge, is still valuable as an
elementary manual to American antiquity. The essays of Lehmann, De
Jonghe, and Preuss have provided the student with translations of
manuscript material hitherto closed to him, or have smoothed his way to
a clearer comprehension of the difficulties connected with the Mexican
calendar. The best modern English handbook on Mexican archæology is
that by Mr. T. Athol Joyce, of the British Museum, but its lack of
references is a serious drawback and the material it contains suffers
from compression.
The method of my investigation of the divine forms of Mexico is set
forth in the introductory paragraph immediately preceding that part of
the book which deals with the gods more especially. Regarding the
tonalamatl and the Calendar, I have thought it best to relegate this
difficult and obscure subject to an appendix, in order that it should
not interfere with the main current of proof. In dealing with the
Codices throughout I have employed the pagination of Seler rather than
that of Kingsborough, as referring to the more modern and greatly
preferable editions of the Duc de Loubat, except in cases where a
manuscript is to be found in Kingsborough’s work alone. It is my
sincere hope that the bibliography at the end of the book as well as
that to be found at the conclusion of the appendix on the tonalamatl
will lighten the labour of students of Mexican religion, whose
co-operation in the discovery of errors I most cordially invite.
The illustrations in this book are, for the most part, taken from the
native Mexican codices or paintings, and from representations of the
gods in stone or pottery. It has, of course, been impossible to furnish
every picture or representation alluded to in the text, but these, in
their entirety, will be found in the excellent coloured reproductions
in collotype published by the Duc de Loubat, full particulars of which
are given in the bibliography of the codices on pages 378–381. These
reproductions can be consulted in many of the greater libraries,
especially in those connected with the Universities. I have preferred,
in many cases, to furnish the student with those representations of the
gods which he would have found it more or less difficult to procure.
The numbers of the pages or sheets attached to the illustrations refer
to the places where the respective figures can be found in the
reproductions of the Duc de Loubat.
In conclusion, I have to thank my daughter, who took infinite pains in
transcribing from books and treatises difficult of access, in the
British Museum and the Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh, and who
sacrificed much of that time which young people usually devote to
amusement in order that she might help me in a difficult task.
L. S.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
The type and evolution of Mexican religion—The antiquity of Mexican
religion—The literature of Mexican religion: I, The native codices;
II, The native writings; III, Native art-forms; IV, Writings of the
Spanish conquerors of Mexico—The origins of Mexican
religion—Evidence of early religion in Mexico—Deification of the
elements of growth—Evidences of primitive influences—Fetishtic
origin of gods—Animal gods—Growth of the rain-cult—The necessity
for human sacrifice—The later elements of Mexican religion—Cultural
elements of Mexican religion—The Quetzalcoatl cult—The cult of
obsidian—Unity of religious conception throughout Mexico
pp. 1–35
CHAPTER II
COSMOGONY
The “ages” of Mexican cosmogony—The making of the earth—The
peopling of the earth—Creation of the sun and moon—The Historia de
los Mexicanos—Deluge myths—The “Coxcox” fallacy—The fall of the
gods—Mexican conceptions of the universe—The five regions of the
world: The Tree of the East; the Tree of the North; the Tree of the
West; the Tree of the South; Tlaxicco; Tlapcopa; Uitznauac or
Uitzlampa; Ciuatlampa; Mictlampa—The supporters of the heavens—The
Aztec heavens: Tlalocan; Homeyoca—Mictlampa as Hades pp. 36–64
CHAPTER III
THE GREAT GODS
Method of treatment—Uitzilopochtli—Tezcatlipocâ—Quetzalcoatl
pp. 65–145
CHAPTER IV
THE CREATIVE DEITIES
Tonacatecutli—Tonacaciuatl pp. 146–152
CHAPTER V
DEITIES OF THE EARTH AND GROWTH PROPER
Introductory—Tlazolteotl—Chicomecoatl—Cinteotl—Ciuacoatl—Coatlicue—
Xochiquetzal—Macuilxochitl or Xochipilli—Xipe—Xilonen—Itzpapalotl—
Zapotlantenan—Ilamatecutli pp. 153–233
CHAPTER VI
THE GODS OF RAIN AND MOISTURE
Introductory—Tlaloc—Chalchihuitlicue—Uixtociuatl—Atlaua—Napatecutli
—Matlalcuêyê—Opochtli pp. 234–267
CHAPTER VII
THE FIRE-GODS
Xiuhtecutli—Chantico—Quaxolotl pp. 268–284
CHAPTER VIII
THE OCTLI OR PULQUE (DRINK) GODS
General—Tezcatzoncatl—Tepoxtecatl—Patecatl—Mayauel—Totoltecatl—
Macuiltochtli—Totochtin—Tomiauhtecutli pp. 285–299
CHAPTER IX
STELLAR AND PLANETARY DEITIES
Tonatiuh the Sun-God (Piltzintecutli)—Metztli or Tecciztecatl the
Moon-God—Mixcoatl, Iztac Mixcoatl or Camaxtli—Tlauizcalpantecutli—
Coyolxauhqui—The Tzitzimimê pp. 300–326
CHAPTER X
GODS OF DEATH, EARTH, AND THE UNDERWORLD
Mictlantecutli—Mictecaciuatl—Tepeyollotl pp. 327–335
CHAPTER XI
VARIANTS OF THE GREAT GODS
Itztli—Itztlacoliuhqui—Paynal—Yacatecutli pp. 336–343
CHAPTER XII
MINOR DEITIES
Xolotl—Ixtlilton—Omacatl—The Ciuateteô or Ciuapipiltin pp. 344–358
APPENDIX
THE TONALAMATL AND THE SOLAR CALENDAR
Day-signs—Model tonalamatl—The day-gods—Gods of the “weeks”—Lords
of the night—Lords of the day-hours—Tonalamatl festivals—
Recapitulation—The calendar round—The nemontemi—The Venus
period—Short bibliography of works relating to the tonalamatl
pp. 359–371
A CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MEXICAN RELIGION pp. 372–381
GLOSSARY pp. 382–383
INDEX pp. 384–388
ILLUSTRATIONS
Nephrite Figure of a Death-god Frontispiece
FACING PAGES
Colossal Statue of Coatlicue 14, 15
Statue of Coatlicue 16, 17
The Great Calendar Stone of Mexico 38
Symbols of the “Suns” in Mexican Cosmogony 40, 41
The Trees of the World-quarters 58, 59
The Tree of the Middle-quarter 60
Uitzilopochtli 66
Coyolxauhqui 67
The Red and Black Tezcatlipocâs 92
Tezcatlipocâ in Various Forms 93, 98
Altar of Skulls to Tezcatlipocâ 99
Quetzalcoatl and Tlauizcalpantecutli 118
Quetzalcoatl and the Death-god 119
Forms of Quetzalcoatl 120, 121
Tonacatecutli-Tonacaciuatl 121
Forms of Tlazolteotl 156, 157
Forms of Chicomecoatl 170
Cinteotl 171
Ciuacoatl 180
Forms of Ciuacoatl 181
Xochiquetzal and her Symbols 188
Forms of Xochiquetzal 189, 190
Stone Figures of Macuilxochitl 196, 197
Forms of Macuilxochitl 198
Forms of Xochipilli 199
Pottery Figure of Xochipilli 200
Forms of Xochipilli 201
Forms of Xipe 204
Stone Image of Xipe 205
Forms of Xipe 208
Itzpapalotl 222
Itzpapalotl (Stone of Aristides Martel) 223
Xilonen and Zapotlantenan 223
Forms of Tlaloc 236, 237, 240
Chalchihuitlicue 258
Chalchihuitlicue and Tlauizcalpantecutli 259
Chalchihuitlicue and Uixtociuatl 260
Forms of the Tlaloquê 261
Xiuhtecutli and Tlauizcalpantecutli 268, 269, 272
Xiuhtecutli and Chantico 276
Ixcoçanhqui and Chantico 277
Tepoxtecatl 292
Patecatl, with Octli Emblems 293
The Octli-gods 298, 299
Totoltecatl 299
Forms of Tonatiuh 300
Mexican Idea of Sacrifice to the Sun-god 301
Planetary Deities 304
Forms of Mixcoatl 310, 311
Forms of Tlauizcalpantecutli 320
Tlauizcalpantecutli and Victim 321
Forms of the Underworld Deities 328
Statue of an Octli-god 329
Variants of the Great Gods 336
Xolotl and Tlaloc 344
Minor Deities 345
The Lords of the Night-hours 364
NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF MEXICAN
The pronunciation of Mexican names presents at first some little
difficulty. The letter X is invariably pronounced as sh, so that
Mixcoatl and Mexitli are, viva voce, Mishcoatly and Meshitlee, the
final tl being pronounced as tl followed by a short y, although the
natives in many parts of the country articulate it with a definite
clicking sound, unapproachable by a European. The names of the more
important gods are pronounced as follows:
Uitzilopochtli = Wit-zil-o-potchtly
Tezcatlipocâ = Tez-catly-pocā
Quetzalcoatl = Quetzal-co-at-ly
Xipe = Shee-pay
Chalchihuitlicue = Chal-chĕĕ-wĕĕt-lēē-kway.
Most of the others are comparatively simple of pronunciation. The ch
sound is pronounced as in Spanish, i.e. hard, as in “thatch.”
THE GODS OF MEXICO
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
THE TYPE AND EVOLUTION OF MEXICAN RELIGION
If, like the necromancers of old, we possessed the power to summon the
shades of the dead before us, and employed this dread authority to
recall from the place of shadows the spirit of a member of the
priesthood of ancient Mexico, in order that we might obtain from him an
account of the faith which he had professed while in the body, it is
improbable that we would derive much information regarding the precise
significance of the cult of which he was formerly an adherent without
tedious and skilful questioning. He would certainly be able to
enlighten us readily enough on matters of ritual and mythology,
calendric science and the like; but if we were to press him for
information regarding the motives underlying the outer manifestations
of his belief, he would almost certainly disappoint us, unless our
questionary was framed in the most careful manner. In all likelihood he
would be unable to comprehend the term “religion,” of which we should
necessarily have to make use, and which it would seem so natural for us
to employ; and he would scarcely be capable of dissociating the
circumstances of his faith from those of Mexican life in general,
especially as regards its political, military, agricultural, and
artistic connections.
Nor would he regard magic or primitive science as in any way alien to
the activities of his office. But if we became more importunate, and
begged him to make some definite statement regarding the true meaning
and import of his religion ere he returned to his place, he might,
perhaps, reply: “If we had not worshipped the gods and sacrificed to
them, nourished them with blood and pleasured them with gifts, they
would have ceased to watch over our welfare, and would have withheld
the maize and water which kept us in life. The rain would not have
fallen and the crops would not have come to fruition.” [2] If he
employed some such terms as these, our phantom would outline the whole
purport of the system which we call Mexican religion, the rude platform
on which was raised the towering superstructure of rite and ceremony,
morality and tradition, a part of which we are about to examine.
The writer who undertakes the description of any of the great faiths of
the world usually presupposes in his readers a certain acquaintance
with the history and conditions of the people of whose religion he
treats. But the obscurity which surrounded all questions relating to
Mexican antiquity until the beginning of this century formerly made it
essential that any view of its religious phase should be prefaced by an
account of the peoples who professed it, their racial affinities, and
the country they occupied. This necessity no longer exists. The ground
has been traversed so often of late, and I have covered it so
frequently in previous works, [3] that I feel only a brief account of
these conditions is necessary here, such, in a word, as will enable the
reader to realize circumstances of race, locality, and period.
The people whose religious ideas this book attempts to describe were
the Nahua of pre-Colombian Mexico, a race by no means extinct, despite
the oft-repeated assertions of popular novelists, and which is now
usually classed as a branch of the great Uto-Aztecan family of the
North American Indian stock. They spoke, and their descendants still
speak, a language known as the Nahuatl, or Nahuatlatolli (“speech of
those who live by rule” or “by ritual observance”). At the era of the
Spanish invasion of their country in 1519 they had succeeded in
overrunning and reducing to their dominion practically all that part of
modern Mexico which lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec. They were, in all probability, immigrants from the
north, and their art-forms, no less than their physique and beliefs,
have led certain writers to form the opinion that they came originally
from the neighbourhood of British Columbia, or that they had a common
origin with the Indian tribes which inhabit that region at the present
time.
However this may be, the first Nahua immigrants would appear to have
entered the Valley of Mexico at some time during the eighth century of
our era. But the Aztecâ, part of a later swarm of Nahua, do not seem to
have descended upon it until the middle of the thirteenth century, or
to have founded the settlement of Mexico-Tenochtitlan until about the
year 1376. At the period of their arrival in the valley they were a
barbarous tribe of nomadic hunters, wandering from place to place in
search of fresh hunting-grounds, precisely as did many North American
Indian tribes before reservations were provided for them. Gradually, by
virtue of their superior prowess in war, they achieved the hegemony of
the Plateau of Anahuac, which boasted a tradition and civilization at
least five hundred years old. These they proceeded to assimilate with
marvellous rapidity, as is not infrequently the case when a race of
hunters mingles with a settled agricultural population. Indeed, in the
course of the century and a quarter which intervened between the
founding of Mexico and the period of the Spanish Conquest, they had
arrived at such a standard of civilization as surprised their Castilian
conquerors. When the Aztecâ, abandoning their wandering life, finally
settled in the Valley of Anahuac, upon the site of Tenochtitlan, now
the city of Mexico, they embarked upon a series of conflicts with their
neighbours, which ended in the complete subjection of these peoples.
The races over whom they exercised a kind of feudal sway were many and
diverse, and only the more important of these can be mentioned here. To
the north dwelt the hunting Chichimecs, a related people, and the
Otomi, a semi-barbarous folk, probably of aboriginal origin, and
speaking a distinct language. To the west dwelt the Tarascans, whose
racial affinities are unknown, or, at least, dubious. South of the Rio
de las Balsas were situated the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, whose language
somewhat resembled that of the Otomi and who possessed a larger measure
of civilization. On the East Coast were found the Huaxtecs and
Totonacs, races of Maya origin, and south-east of these lay the Olmecs,
Xicalancas, and Nonoualcas, of older precedence in the land. Beyond the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec were found the Maya, a people of relatively high
civilization, whose origin is obscure, and into the question of whose
relationship I do not propose to enter in this place.
THE ANTIQUITY OF MEXICAN RELIGION
Until the beginning of the present century most Americanists held that
Mexican civilization and consequently Mexican religion were the outcome
of but a few generations of native progress. It is true that the Nahua
people had behind them a relatively brief history of national and
tribal life, but modern research has shown that they were undoubtedly
the heirs of a civilization having early foundations and of
considerable achievement and complexity, the religious aspect of which
had arrived at a high state of development. [4] Evidences of the
archaic character of this faith are rapidly accumulating, but many
years must yet be dedicated to the examination and comparison of the
data concerning it before it is possible to speak with any degree of
certainty regarding the causes which contributed to its formation and
evolution.
Although we must necessarily regard Mexican religion as having had a
progressive history spread over many generations, we are at present
almost ignorant of the gradual changes which accompanied its growth. An
effort will be made to outline the probable nature of these mutations,
but the endeavour will not receive any great measure of assistance from
the abundant but chaotic and unclassified material amassed by
Americanists during the last twenty years, which in its present
condition is not of much value as regards this particular branch of the
subject, but which it is the writer’s intention to employ, so far as it
is capable of illustrating the question before us.
THE LITERATURE OF MEXICAN RELIGION
It is necessary at this stage to deal briefly with the sources of
Mexican religious history. A literature, bewildering in its scope and
variety, has grown up around the subject of Mexican antiquity as a
whole, and it is perhaps well for the student if he approaches it with
only a partial realization of the spacious character of the material he
must review. I have thought it best in such a work as this to relegate
most of the bibliographical matter to an appendix, where an endeavour
has been made to supply the student with a trustworthy catalogue of
such manuscripts and works as are essential to the study of Mexican
religion. It is hoped that this may prove of guidance and assistance
and spare much initial toil. But for the present I will confine my
remarks to such general observations upon the sources from which we
partly glean our knowledge of the ancient Mexican faith as will serve
the immediate purpose. These sources are four in number: (I) The native
codices or paintings; (II) the native annals; (III) native art-forms in
architecture, sculpture, pottery, and mural painting, depicting gods
and other divine beings; and (IV) the writings of the Spanish
conquerors of Mexico.
(I) The Native Codices.—These are paintings executed by native Mexican
artists upon agave paper, leather, or cotton. Through the misguided
zeal of the early Spanish religious authorities, who regarded them as
of diabolic character, only some twelve of these remain to us, the
greater number of which possess a mythological or religious
significance. In their pages we find representations of many of the
principal deities of the Mexican pantheon, as well as illustrations of
several passages in Mexican myth, and they frequently depict the
tonalamatl or priestly Book of Fate, with its highly complex symbolism.
[5] Close familiarity with these manuscripts is indispensable, as they
constitute one of the few original sources of our knowledge of the
aspect, costume, and insignia of the Mexican deities. All of them have
been handsomely, if expensively, reproduced, and these are detailed in
the bibliography.
Here it is only necessary to remark upon the several theories which
have regard to their place of origin. Dr. H. J. Spinden, in his
valuable Study of Maya Art, objects that “most of the detailed accounts
of religious beliefs and ceremonies that have come down to us refer
primarily to the Valley of Mexico, while nearly all the really
elaborate codices of a religious nature come from either the
Zapotecan-Mixtecan area or from the Maya.” [6] We are not here
concerned with the Maya manuscripts, and with regard to the Zapotec and
Mixtec examples we have the assurance of Seler, [7] which is founded
upon critical evidence of value, that an entire group of these
manuscripts—and that by far the most important, the Codex Borgia
group—“belongs to a Mexican-speaking people” who inhabited the
districts of Teouacan, Cozcatlan, and Teotitlan del Camino, and who,
though separated from the Nahua of the Valley of Anahuac at an early
period, yet in great measure retained the ancient beliefs common to
both. Nearly all of the deities represented in this group of
manuscripts so closely resemble in their aspect, costume, and general
symbolism the drawings and descriptions of gods known to have been
worshipped in the Mexican area proper, as to make it positively certain
that they represent the same divine beings with merely trifling
differences of detail due to local environment. The separation of the
Nahua of the Plateau of Mexico and those of the more southerly region
was of such duration as to justify the belief that their religious
ideas had diverged considerably. But the subsequent conquest of the
southern area by the Northern Nahua must have resuscitated old common
beliefs among their kindred in the south, and weakened the ideas they
had adopted or developed in that environment. This is proved by the
considerable variation in type between the oldest southern pottery
representing what are presumably divine forms and the pictures of the
gods in the later manuscripts of the Codex Borgia group.
(II) The Native Writings.—These “annals,” as they are sometimes called,
the work of natives who wrote in Spanish, constitute a mine of
aboriginal information of nearly equal value with that contained in the
codices, but considerable discrimination is necessary in using them in
view of the tendency of their authors to corrupt traditional material
when inspired by patriotic or other motives. This, however, manifestly
does not apply with equal force to accounts of a mythical or ritual
nature and to historical events, which offer a much greater temptation
than the former to scribes manifestly ignorant of the virtues of
literary integrity. The Mexican annals are of two classes: those which
represent the historical or traditional relics of native communities,
such as the Annals of Quauhtitlan, also known as the Codex
Chimalpopocâ; and those which are the work of educated Mexicans or
half-breeds, prone to magnify the splendour of the ancient races.
Ranking almost as a third or separate class are the sacred songs or
hymns included in the Mexican MS. of Sahagun’s Historia General, which
that most unwearied of workers received at first hand from approved
native scribes. The several native writings will be found described in
the appendix, and the hymns, or rather a translation of them into
English prose, will be met with in the descriptions of the several
deities to which they apply.
(III) Native Art-forms.—Mexican architectural motifs, mural paintings,
and especially sculpture and pottery, frequently afford reliable
material upon which to form conclusions regarding the aspect and
costume of the gods, and reproductions of the most important of these
illustrate the descriptions of the several Mexican deities.
(IV) Writings of the Spanish Conquerors of Mexico.—If the
representatives of the Church in Mexico must be condemned for their
narrow and illiberal action in destroying all native manuscripts and
paintings bearing upon the ancient religion of the country, certain
more enlightened individuals among them laboured strenuously to remove
this reproach by their zealous, if frequently unskilful, attempts to
reconstruct a knowledge of the popular faith by unremitting researches
into native tradition. This attitude met with but little countenance
from their ecclesiastical superiors, and at times they laboured under
conditions the reverse of favourable for the collection of traditional
material. But it would be ungrateful not to pay a meed of respect to
the self-sacrifice of those enlightened and resourceful men, but for
whose endeavours our knowledge of Mexican antiquities would be all the
poorer.
Undoubtedly the most valuable collection of evidence relative to the
Mexican religion compiled by a Spanish churchman is the Historia
General of Bernardino Sahagun, whose work, composed with scholarly care
and an almost prophetic knowledge of the correct methods to be pursued
in the collection of traditional material, was completed about the
middle of the sixteenth century, but remained unpublished until 1830.
This work has been described so repeatedly as to require no further
mention here, and other notable works are included in the bibliography.
Some allusion should also be made here to the works known as the
Interpretative Codices, compiled by Pedro de Rios and other monks, who
retained the services of native painters to execute drawings of Mexican
deities or, as some believe, drew these figures themselves, the
symbolism and general meaning of which they endeavoured to make plain
and interpret, only too often in the light of their knowledge of the
Scriptures.
THE ORIGINS OF MEXICAN RELIGION
The question of the origin of Mexican religion, like that of the
civilization of which it was perhaps the most salient characteristic,
has afforded matter for ardent controversy from the period of the
discovery and conquest of the country until the present day. But, even
so, it is still unsafe to dogmatize upon Mexican religious origins. At
the time of the Conquest we observe Mexican religion as a highly
complex faith, with a ceremonial of the most elaborate nature, a
priesthood with nicely defined gradations in office, and a pantheon
which had obviously been formed by the collocation of the deities of
provincial and dependent tribes and peoples around a nucleus composed
of the national and departmental gods of the Aztecâ. The great
temple-area of Mexico-Tenochtitlan harboured a bewildering array of
gods, many of which possessed separate shrines and ministrants. An
intensive examination of the alien elements represented, however, tends
to prove the identity of many of them with the gods of the Aztecâ, a
similarity which, in numerous instances, was manifest to that people
themselves and which was the result of tribal affinity or basic
resemblance in religious conception. Nevertheless a residuum of
unrelated deities remained, which might, perhaps, be accounted for by
positing the existence of two markedly different cultures or tendencies
in Mexico, barbarous and civilized. This may imply that the opposing
influences which gave rise to these variations were alien to each other
racially, or it may indicate that, whereas one had remained in an
environment of barbarism, the other had developed and enlarged its
theological and even its mythical conceptions in the light of the
necessities of an advancing material civilization. Whence the seeds of
that civilization came is, as has been said, matter of controversy. The
existence of a system of monachism in Mexico would seem to indicate a
non-American origin. Elements common to both aspects of this
interesting faith were sufficiently numerous in Mexican religion. Thus
the so-called Chichimecs, or rude hunters of the steppes to the north
of the Valley of Mexico, retained in their pristine form the simple
beliefs and the ungraded pantheon, which in the case of the more
advanced tribes of cognate origin rapidly took shape as a great State
religion under the influences of a more complex social system, the
stimulus of alien religious conceptions, and above all, of a priesthood
skilled in the reduction of theological and mythical material to dogma.
This cult, although composed of elements perhaps at first conflicting
in aim and character, had yet arrived at a comparative degree of
homogeneity and had evolved an intricate and exacting ritual and a
symbolism of great richness and artistic complexity, the extensive and
bewildering nature of which can be verified by a cursory inspection of
the native codices.
EVIDENCES OF EARLY RELIGION IN MEXICO
The myths which relate to the earliest religious influences in Mexico
are for the most part connected with the pre-Aztec “Toltec”
civilization and the more ancient and sacred sites of Tollan and
Teotihuacan. They chiefly refer to a god or culture-hero called
Quetzalcoatl, whose myths and attributes will be described elsewhere in
this work, and who was regarded as the prototype of the Mexican
priesthood and one of the inventors of the tonalamatl or Book of Fate.
The type of religion founded by him differs greatly from that practised
by the Mexicans at the period of the Conquest, as it eschewed, or was,
perhaps, originally innocent of, human sacrifice or ceremonial
cannibalism, and practised purification and penance by the drawing of
blood. In certain myths its founder is described as a native of the
country, in others as the offspring of divine beings, while still
others regard him as a foreigner who introduced his cult from the east.
It is noteworthy that this cult is closely connected with monachism [8]
and that in later times it was, perhaps, regarded as more intimately
bound up with pietistic and “civilized” ritual practice than that of
any other Mexican deity. Ultimately, the myths relate, Quetzalcoatl
left the country because of the machinations of “enchanters.” [9] This
may mean that the older and less barbarous cult was forced into a
secondary place by the ruder and more popular beliefs of a tribe of
lower culture, but there are evidences that the religion of
Quetzalcoatl assuredly assisted in the building-up of the rain-cult of
Mexico. In any case little information is to be gleaned from the myth
of Quetzalcoatl for our present purpose of illustrating the primitive
type of Mexican religion, and it must probably be regarded as pointing
to the existence of an early monachism and a developed ritual in
ancient Mexico. [10]
The myths relating to the great tribal gods, if faithfully examined,
assist us in forming a definite idea of the character of early
religious conceptions in Anahuac. The hymns to the gods are, perhaps, a
surer indication of the trend of popular faith and probably date from a
more archaic period than do the myths, which, as we possess them,
nearly all exhibit signs of priestly alteration. In several of these
chants we assuredly arrive at the whole significance of Mexican
religion, which in its essence, and as seen at the Conquest period, was
nothing more than a vastly elaborated rain-cult, similar in its general
tendency to that still prevalent among the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico
and Arizona, yet broader in outlook, of a higher complexity and
productive of a theology and an ethical system of greater
sophistication and scope. The religion of the Pueblo peoples is,
indeed, the poor and degenerate descendant of the bizarre and
picturesque ritual of the Mexicans, or, more probably, had a common
origin with it. Through the researches and personal exertions of many
well-equipped Americanists the entire ritual of this modern pluvial
cult is now well known and deserves the closest study from students of
Mexican religion, as providing them with comparative and analogical
material of the first importance. [11]
We shall keep on the trail of a very definite clue if we attempt to
descry in such evidences as we possess of archaic Mexican faith the
signs of an incipient rain-cult, having its origin in a settled
agricultural existence. If we glance at the general characteristics of
the numerous members of the Mexican pantheon, we find that very readily
and quite naturally they group themselves into three great classes: (a)
creative deities, which may be regarded as the outcome of late
theological speculation, and which may, accordingly, be passed over in
this place; (b) gods of growth; and (c) gods developed from specific
objects and deified heavenly bodies, some of which latter were
developed from gods of the chase. The “original” deities of Mexico
would seem, therefore, to have presided over vegetable growth and
conferred on their votaries good luck in the hunt. But as time passed,
these latter also took on the attributes of gods of the cereal and
vegetable food-supply, and, indeed, often seriously contested the
status of the true growth-gods in the elaborate nature of the symbolic
vegetal ceremonial with which their festivals were celebrated.
It is not surprising that the Valley of Mexico became the centre of a
cult of which the appeal for rain was the salient characteristic. A
copious supply of rainfall for the purposes of irrigation is, indeed, a
necessity to the Mexican agriculturist, and a dry year in ancient
Anahuac brought with it famine and misery unspeakable. Inexpressibly
touching are the fervent prayers to Tlaloc, god of water, that he
should not visit his displeasure upon the people by withdrawing the
pluvial supply. “O our most compassionate lord ... I beseech thee to
look with eyes of pity upon the people of this city and kingdom, for
the whole world, down to the very beasts, is in peril of destruction
and disappearance and irremediable end ... for the ridges of the earth
suffer sore need and anguish from lack of water ... with deep sighing
and anguish of heart I cry upon all those that are gods of water, that
are in the four quarters of the world ... to come and console this poor
people and to water the earth, for the eyes of all that inhabit the
earth, animals as well as men, are turned towards you, and their hope
is set upon you.” [12]
DEIFICATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF GROWTH
The elements of growth, in the mind of primitive man, are four in
number, the earth, grain, rain, and solar heat, and it is not
remarkable that all of these came to be regarded as deified powers, and
were latterly personalized in anthropomorphic form. It does not appear
that the sun was at first looked upon as an agency of growth. There is,
indeed, proof that in early times he was not regarded as of any
importance from a calendric point of view, and that the time and
festival-counts were designed upon a lunar basis. [13] It is not
unlikely that, in a region where his torrid heat, if unaccompanied by
rainfall, resulted in famine, he was at first regarded, if not
unfavourably, at least with no special predilection. If this conclusion
is correct, and we can afford to discount solar influence in the
primitive Mexican cultus—or rather that adopted by the aboriginal
peoples on embracing a settled agricultural existence—there remain to
us the three elements of earth, grain, and rain from which to
reconstruct the prototypes of the Mexican pantheon.
In Mexican myth the earth is represented as a monster known as
cipactli, the pictures of which have given rise to the assumption that
it is either a crocodile, a swordfish, or a dragon. We shall probably
not err if we place it in the last category and see in it that great
earth-monster common to the mythologies of many races, and which is
most conveniently called the “earth-dragon.” [14] This sign cipactli
became the first in the tonalamatl or Book of Fate, where it is
connected with the creative deities and the Earth-mother, who was known
by many names. Circumstances exist which seem to lend colour to the
assumption that, as in other countries, the Mexican Earth-mother had at
one time been regarded as forming the earth, the soil. At the terrible
and picturesque festival of the Xalaquia (“She who is clothed with the
sand”), the sacrificed virgin was supposed to enrich and recruit with
her blood the frame of the worn-out goddess, who had been, says Seler,
“merged in the popular imagination with the all-nourisher, the
all-begetter, the earth.” [15]
Perhaps the best evidence that the idea of the Earth-mother was
associated with the conception of the earth-dragon is afforded by the
colossal stone figure of Coatlicue, one of her manifestations, which
once towered above the entrance to the temple of Uitzilopochtli in
Mexico and is now housed in the Museo Naçional in that city. In this
figure, as in a similar if less massive statue from Tehuacan, the
characteristics of the cipactli earth-animal obtrude themselves in a
wealth of scale, claw, and tusk, which although frequently described as
serpentine, is only partially so, and shows traces that more than one
idea was in the mind of the artist who chiselled its symbolic
intricacies. In the latter of these sculptures the appearance of
ferocity is most marked and is accompanied by the same dragon-like
claws on hands and feet. In the mythologies of many lands the
Earth-mother is represented as ferocious, insatiable, as slaying those
who take part in her amours, as a riotous and outrageous demon,
unnatural and destructive in her lusts and appetites, and it would seem
that her Mexican phase throws light upon the reasons for this savage
wantonness. In the sculpture first alluded to, and in the carving on
its base, we can perceive a close resemblance to the earth-monster of
the Maya peoples, especially as represented in the carvings at Copan
and in the Temple of the Cross at Palenque. These afford almost
irrefragable proof of the correctness of the supposition regarding the
fusion of the concepts of the earth-beast and the earth-mother which
has been outlined. [16]
The deification of the grain is so universal a phenomenon as to require
but little explanation, especially in regard to a country where it
formed the staple alimentary supply. It appears to have received divine
honours in many districts in Mexico and to have been worshipped under a
variety of names, but there was little difference between the
characters of these several cults, and the absence of this is well
exemplified by the readiness with which they amalgamated and the fusion
of their central figures.
The deification of the rain, as apart from the idea of a mere rain-god,
is perhaps a circumstance of more novelty to the student of Comparative
Religion. Tlaloc, the god of rain or moisture, is one of the most
striking examples of this process in any mythology. A god of great
antiquity, his pluvial character is obvious and undoubted. But he is
also the life-giver, the nourisher, who from his home in the green
uplands of Tlalocan sends the vivifying rains to fill the deep fissures
in the hard, cracked soil of the Valley of Anahuac. In the courtyard of
his dwelling stood four jars of water, typifying the four different
“kinds” of rainfall which corresponded to the four quarters of the
heavens, and these were distributed by his progeny, the Tlaloquê. There
is the best evidence that the aspect of Tlaloc was evolved from the
idea of the rain itself. His face is formed from the interlacings of
two serpents, his face-paint is black and blue, or dirty yellow like
the threatening cloud which holds the thunder-shower. The garments he
wears are splashed with ulli rubber-gum, evidently intended to
symbolize rain-spots. Indeed, his robe is called the anachxechilli or
“dripping garment,” and is frequently depicted as set with green gems
to represent the sparkling raindrops. Few rain-gods, even the Vedic
Indra himself, whom Tlaloc somewhat resembles, are so frankly symbolic
of the moisture which falls from above. [17] But his serpentine or
dragon-like form renders it probable that, although he was regarded in
later times as a personification of the rain, in earlier times he was
looked upon as the “Water Provider,” the great serpent or dragon which
dwelt among the hills and which must be defeated by a hero or demi-god
ere it will disgorge the floods which ensure the growth of vegetation.
EVIDENCE OF PRIMITIVE INFLUENCES
We may now examine the elements just described for traces of the early
constituents of religion. The conception that the earth itself was a
monster gifted with life is evidently the outcome of a belief in
“animism” or “personalization,” and merits little further notice
because of its obvious character. Although the grain was also
personalized, there are evidences of its “fetishtic” nature in early
times. The great stone figure of Coatlicue already alluded to, besides
affording evidence of the dragon-like character of the Earth-mother,
exhibits many of the attributes of the primitive fetish manufactured
from bundles of maize, large beans representing the eyes and pumpkin
pips the teeth, while strips of paper form the mouth and labret. True,
these early characteristics have been overlaid by the abounding
symbolism of later and more complex ideas—the skin of the sacrificial
victim, the serpent-heads, representing perhaps the spouting of that
victim’s blood from the severed trunk and the skirt of serpents with
which myth credited the goddess—but in the clumsy amorphousness of this
wondrously carven block we can readily perceive the outline of the
maize-sheaves from which its idea was drawn. Indeed the ears and leaves
of the maize-plant descend from underneath the skirt of serpents and
decorate the knot which secures it behind. [18]
“FETISH” ORIGIN OF GODS
More than one of the great gods exhibit the signs of fetishtic origin.
Uitzilopochtli, the great tribal patron deity of the Aztecâ of
Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was described in tradition as leading them from
the mythical northern country of Aztlan in the form of “a little bird.”
He is usually represented in the pictorial MSS., where his appearance
is infrequent, as wearing a mantle made from humming-birds’ feathers.
Later legend spoke of him as the vindicator of his mother, a goddess of
vegetation, and as slaying her detractors, his own half-brothers, while
in historical times the whole business of war was arranged through the
instrumentality of his oracular image and was carried out chiefly in
view of the necessity for human sacrifice which characterized his
especial cult. But if we examine the roots of the beliefs which cluster
around him, we shall find much to convince us that he was, after the
entrance of his people into the Valley of Anahuac, identified with the
maguey plant, which forms so familiar an object in the Mexican
landscape. Extended proof of this lowly origin will be found in the
section which deals with the god.
Quite as humble are the beginnings of the god Tezcatlipocâ, perhaps the
most universally dreaded among the Mexican deities. Regarding his
precise significance nothing very definite has been arrived at by
modern authorities. As will be shown later, the early significance of
Tezcatlipocâ arises out of his connection with obsidian, which had an
especial sanctity for the Mexicans.
ANIMAL GODS
In our gropings for the roots of the Mexican faith we must not fail to
notice those elements which stand apart from agricultural religion and
are eloquent of the concepts of a still earlier time. Agricultural
theology is as old as agriculture, and no older. The food-supply of the
savage prior to that period depends upon the successful conduct of the
chase. His gods are therefore often precisely of the species of animal
by hunting which he gains a livelihood, and which he frequently regards
as placed at his disposal by a great eponymous beast-god of the same
kind. [19] Again, for some reason which has never been satisfactorily
explained and for which no solution can be found at present, in view of
the rather dubious nature of what is known as “totemism,” primitive man
adores, or in some manner exalts, certain animals on the flesh of which
he does not live. But although gods evolved from animal shapes are
frequently to be met with in the Mexican pantheon, I can recall no
instance of the taboo of the flesh of any animal as an article of diet
in Anahuac, or Mexico proper, although this may be found in the cultus
of several of the tribes of the more outlying regions.
Uitzilopochtli has the characteristics of a humming-bird, and, indeed,
all of the thirteen gods which governed the hours of the day are
figured in the tonalamatl of the Aubin Collection with bird-disguises,
and one of the thirteen heavens of the Mexicans is set apart for
bird-gods, while certain other deities appear in animal forms. For
example, Tepeyollotl is figured as a jaguar, Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl
have serpentine characteristics, Itzpapalotl is a butterfly-dragon,
Tezcatlipocâ a spider, a jaguar, or a turkey, Mixcoatl takes deer
shape, and so on. But some of these forms are probably symbolic rather
than “totemic.” The cult of Nagualism, [20] a degraded post-Colombian
form of the old religion, was insistent upon the connection of its
votaries with an animal spirit or familiar from an early period of
their lives—that is, to each individual a personal “totem” was
assigned, precisely as is the case among many North American tribes at
the present time and as among the Lacandone of Yucatan.
GROWTH OF THE RAIN-CULT
Enough has been said in view of the restricted nature of the evidence,
to prove that Mexican religion passed through much the same primitive
conditions as other faiths. Further evidence on this point will be
adduced as the gods are severally described. We may now proceed to
examine such proof as we possess of the onward and upward progress of
the cult of rain and growth in Mexico. We may, perhaps, imagine the
institution of tribal or village rain or grain fetishes, which in
course of time would attain godhead by reason of popularity or supposed
auspiciousness. The ministers of these would probably bear a strong
resemblance to the medicine-men of North American Indian tribes.
Warfare undoubtedly played a great part in the fortunes of these local
cults. Thus, did the people of a certain tribal god triumph in feud or
battle, his worship would almost certainly be enlarged in a territorial
sense. But such a triumph would be a small incentive to further
conquest when compared with the absolute necessity for war engendered
by the holy law that captives must be obtained for purposes of
sacrifice to the tribal deities.
THE NECESSITY FOR HUMAN SACRIFICE
The origins of the institution of human sacrifice in Mexico are
obscure. Native mythology attributed its invention to a group of
earth-goddesses headed by Teteo innan or Tlazolteotl, who in the
Calendar year “eight-rabbit” came to the city of Tollan or Tula from
the Huaxtec country and, summoning the captives whom they had taken in
that land, said to them: “We want to couple the earth with you, we want
to hold a feast with you, for till now no battle-offerings have been
made with men.” [21]
This myth is, perhaps, ætiological, but it would seem to have some
historical basis. Deeply rooted in the Mexican mind was the idea that
unless the gods were abundantly refreshed with human blood they would
perish of hunger and old age and would be unable to undertake their
hypothetical labours in connection with the growth of the crops. Whence
came this idea? Undoubtedly from that process of barbaric reasoning
through which Mexican man had convinced himself that the amount of
rainfall would be in ratio to the amount of blood shed sacrificially.
Seler [22] has indicated his belief in such a process of reasoning by
stating that “the one was intended to draw down the other, the blood
which was offered was intended to bring down the rain upon the fields.”
This, then, is the precise nature of the compact between Mexican man
and his gods, Do ut des, “Give us rain, and we shall give you blood.”
Once this is understood the basic nature of Mexican religion becomes
clear, and all the later additions of theology and priestly invention
can be viewed as mere excrescences and ornaments upon the simple
architecture of the temple of the rain-cult.
THE LATER ELEMENTS OF MEXICAN RELIGION
The evolution of a higher cultus is frequently identified with a more
intimate acquaintance with the heavenly bodies, but it is not generally
appreciated or understood by students of Comparative Religion that at
least two different kinds of conception underlie the general idea. A
luminary, sun, moon, or star, may be deified and achieve godhead by
reason of striking natural characteristics, or, on the other hand, it
may be identified with some god already known. Thus Mexican myth, as
related to Sahagun by the natives, asserted that the gods met at
Teotihuacan and told how two of their number, Nanahuatl and
Tecciztecatl, sacrificed themselves by leaping into a great fire,
becoming the sun and moon respectively. The remaining gods, sacrificing
themselves also, “conferred life upon the stars,” that is they became
identified with the several stellar constellations, becoming known as
the Centzon Mimixcoa and Centzon Uitznaua, or “Four hundred
Northerners” and “Four hundred Southerners,” as they occupied the sky
on its northern or southern side. [23]
Although this myth and a version of it current at Texcuco and given by
Mendieta in his Historia Ecclesiastica [24] both represent Nanahuatl as
the sun-god, he was not so known in Mexican popular religion and
priestly practice, and was indeed a form of the god Xolotl, a deity of
obscure characteristics. Tecciztecatl certainly was regarded as the
moon-god, but the solar luminary was known as Tonatiuh or
Piltzintecutli. As has already been stated, there are sound reasons for
the belief that the solar cult was a relatively late institution in
Mexico, although in some parts of the country it may have flourished
for generations before it became popular in Tenochtitlan. Slightly
elaborating our former reasons for this statement, we may indicate: (1)
The name Tonatiuh appears in the myths of the origin of the sun as that
of the luminary, but not of a god. (2) The circumstance that Tonatiuh
was regarded by the Mexicans as a “heaven,” a Valhalla, to which the
warriors slain in sacrifice betook themselves after death, and
therefore represented a place of reward, a class of myth which is
nearly always of comparatively late origin, and is the fruit of mature
speculation. (3) The fact that Tonatiuh was closely identified with the
warrior caste and therefore with human sacrifice, which was a late
introduction and the paramount reason for the existence of that caste.
(4) That the original Calendar was a lunar one. But these and other
considerations will be dealt with more fully when we undertake the
elucidation of the sun-god’s characteristics.
The amalgamation of the solar cult and of the Quetzalcoatl cult
(representing the later and earlier “civilized” elements in Mexican
religion) with the rain-cult is not an isolated phenomenon in the
world’s religious history. The analogy of the fusion of the Osirian
cult of Egypt with that of Ra will occur to everyone in this
connection, and as the theology of the priests of the more aristocratic
faith became in the event subsidiary in real importance to that of the
far more popular Osirian worship, in the same manner the Quetzalcoatl
cult, and in some measure the solar, were of much less real
significance in Mexican life generally than the earlier popular belief.
The solar worship seems to have successfully and naturally identified
itself with the rain-cult, as also did the Quetzalcoatl religion. The
myth which described Quetzalcoatl as the founder or inventor of the
tonalamatl or Book of Fate [25] probably records an effort on the part
of his priesthood to identify their cult with the popular agricultural
religion or to systematize or reduce to symbolic form an idea which
until that time had probably existed in an uncertain and chaotic
condition in the popular mind. For even if the tonalamatl were
introduced from the Zapotec or Mixtec country or the Maya region, as is
generally supposed, it required skilful arrangement to make it subserve
the purposes of Aztec religion. The priesthood and cultus of
Quetzalcoatl were widespread throughout Central America and Mexico, and
its ministers appear to have adapted themselves with skill and patience
to the conditions of the various regions to which they penetrated, the
result of their labours never being quite the same in any two regions.
It is remarkable, too, that, probably by reason of the superior
erudition and ability of its priesthood, the caste of Quetzalcoatl held
chief sway in Mexican ecclesiastical government. [26] But a partial,
though by no means complete, hostility to human sacrifice and
ceremonial cannibalism, a grudging acquiescence in what it had, in all
likelihood, denounced in earlier times, gave it in later days a
somewhat aloof and separate character.
CULTURAL ELEMENTS OF MEXICAN RELIGION
We must now glance briefly at such evidences as we possess of the
distinct racial or cultural elements which assisted in the development
of Mexican religion. Three such elements appear to be indicated. It
would seem that from an early period a people of settled and
agricultural habits occupied the Mexican Plateau. These were probably
relatively aboriginal to the Toltecs and may have been of Otomi or
Tarascan blood, and to them I would refer the original foundation of a
rain-cult having Tlaloc as its principal deity. Tlaloc was
unquestionably one of the most venerable gods of Mexico, indeed he is
the only god who can be identified with certainty in the remains of
pre-Nahuan date at Teotihuacan. Tradition spoke of the finding of an
ancient idol representing him by the early Chichimec immigrants. [27]
At least five of the yearly festivals were celebrated in his honour,
and ancient sculptured representations of him have been found in
Tarascan territory, in Michoacan, Teotihuacan, Teotitlan, in the
Zapotec country and in Guatemala, thus affording irrefragable testimony
to his antiquity. Rather later than the culture which probably founded
the rain-cult (a religion necessary and indeed inevitable in Mexico)
was the Toltec civilization, which regarded Quetzalcoatl as its
chiefest divinity, and which probably was brought from the Huaxtec
country. But the Toltec are said to have been of Nahua blood, and may
have been composed of a Nahua populace and a Huaxtec or proto-Maya
aristocracy. The later hordes of Nahua (Chichimecs, Aztecâ, etc.) found
these elements already settled upon the land, but brought with them a
religion which, if it was destined to have a powerful effect upon the
faith of the agricultural folk with whom they came into contact, was
also to be quite as strongly influenced by it.
Reverting to the conditions prevailing in Mexico prior to the entry of
the Chichimec Nahua, we may regard the rain-cult of the Tlaloc religion
as in some measure resembling that of the Pueblo Indians of Northern
Mexico and Arizona at the present time. The serpentine character of its
principal deity, the appeal for rain which composes the basis of most
of the prayers to him, provide strong proofs of such a similarity, and,
as has been said, the antiquity of the rain religion is proved by the
discovery of early sculptured forms and the facts adduced above. The
Tlaloc religion had also been able in some degree to retain its own
sacrificial customs, the drowning of victims being practised in
addition to the Nahua method of slaughter on the stone of sacrifice.
The date of the introduction of the religion of Quetzalcoatl is
generally placed at the middle of the eighth century of our era, so
that we are perhaps justified in assuming that the faith of the greater
portion of Anahuac [28] before that time had as its basis the
rain-cult, as represented by Tlaloc.
The religious customs of those peoples who were relatively aboriginal
to the Nahua support the theory of the predominance of the rain-cult in
Mexico from a very early period, and Torquemada states that during
seasons of drought the Otomi sought to propitiate the rain-gods by
sacrificing a virgin on the top of a hill. [29] Espinosa says that the
Tarascans sacrificed snakes rather than human beings—possibly for the
same reason as the Esquimaux beat their dogs during an eclipse, in
order that the Great Dog which causes the undesirable phenomenon may
desist, the Tarascans probably killing the reptiles in question in
order that the Great Snake might relent and send rain. [30] The towns
about Chapala paid divine honours to the spirit of the adjacent lake.
Late though these survivals may have been at the era of the Conquest,
yet they seem to have enshrined the memory of an early rain-cult among
the peoples with whom they were found, and many others could be
adduced.
THE QUETZALCOATL CULT
The appearance of the Quetzalcoatl cult in Mexico, which would seem to
have entered the country at some time about the middle of the eighth
century, must have caused very considerable alterations in the simple
and probably as yet uninfluenced rain religion which it found in
occupancy. From whatever portion of the Isthmian tract it came, one
thing regarding it is positively certain—that it introduced into Mexico
the rudiments of the calendric computation evolved in Central America.
In its phase as imported by the apostles of the Quetzalcoatl religion,
it seems fairly certain that the tonalamatl was of the nature of a
lunar time-count, and the probabilities are that its protagonists
discovered on their arrival in Anahuac that a count similar in
character was in use among the priesthood of the Tlaloc worshippers,
who as an agricultural people could hardly have been without some such
system of computation. The Quetzalcoatl faith, however, was manifestly
of a considerably higher status than that which it encountered, as is
obvious not only by the numerous and extraordinary traditions regarding
the Toltec civilization, but the actual remains it has left. It is
clear that, whether it found a calendar or time-count already existing,
it placated aboriginal opinion by the amalgamation of the several
festivals of the rain-god with its own. The fact that the day-signs of
the Mexican calendar or tonalamatl are almost identical with those of
the Maya tonalamatl is good proof that the former was developed from
the latter; and if only a small proportion of Toltec deities find a
place in its monthly festivals, that would seem to be due to the
circumstance that later Nahua demands for the inclusion of their tribal
deities were acceded to. We may, perhaps, imagine the early tonalamatl
of the Quetzalcoatl missionaries to have been similar in form to that
of the Maya—that is, it must have been almost wholly concerned with the
festivals of deities of a purely agricultural kind.
But the religion of Quetzalcoatl, as observed in his Yucatec form of
Kukulkan and his Guatemalan variant of Gucumatz, bore a close
resemblance to that of Tlaloc. In Yucatan Quetzalcoatl was regarded by
priests and people as the great rain-making priest, the god of
moisture, whereas in Mexico he is merely the sweeper of the ways to the
Tlaloc deities of rain. This is surely eloquent of the fact that the
Tlaloc religion was not only of greater antiquity in Mexico, but that
its ministers were disinclined to permit the deity of the new religion
to adopt a status similar to that of their own god. With true priestly
diplomacy, then, it would seem that they temporized by affording
Quetzalcoatl a status as the great rain-making priest, a character
which he retained to the last. Myth certainly alludes to Tlaloc as the
supplanter of Quetzalcoatl in the affections of the goddess
Chalchihuitlicue and as robbing the peaceful culture-hero of the
maize-plant which he had discovered. This does not necessarily signify
the defeat of an older religion by a more novel faith, but may relate
to a successful defence by the more ancient cultus and its absorption
of the other.
The theory of the amalgamation of the Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl cults
appears to me to be in some measure assisted by the circumstance that
the devotees of both placed a high value upon minerals of a green
colour. The word chalchihuitl (“green stone”), of such common
occurrence in the works of the Spanish authors who wrote on Mexican
affairs, must be taken as applying with equal force to jadeite,
nephrite, turquoise, emerald, chlormelanite, green quartz, precious
serpentine, or, indeed, any mineral of a green shade. A tradition
existed that Quetzalcoatl brought the use and manipulation of jadeite
into Mexico, but green was a salient hue in the insignia of Tlaloc, and
the name of his consort Chalchihuitlicue (“greenstone skirt”) is
eloquent of his connection with the several kinds of stones which the
Mexicans grouped under the name chalchihuitl. Whatever significance
attached to the colour of these stones, apart from their nature as
precious stones, whether or not they were symbolic of water or verdure,
or metal, or of all of these agencies, which are regarded as so potent
by primitive peoples, it is apparent that both cults employed them
symbolically or pseudo-scientifically, and it therefore seems probable
that each of these religions was originally connected with the worship
of water, and therefore the influence associated with and contained in
water, and that this belief would render their amalgamation a process
of little difficulty.
If, however, such similarities eventually made for the union of the
cults, traditions were not lacking regarding their early differences or
hostilities. As has been said, myths survived into historical times,
which stated that although Quetzalcoatl had succeeded in discovering
maize, Tlaloc had stolen it from him and had also succeeded in
alienating from him the affection of Chalchihuitlicue, who had
originally been regarded as the wife of Quetzalcoatl. [31] But these
myths are undeniably of late origin. Quetzalcoatl’s status as a
celibate god or priest would scarcely allow his name to be connected
with matrimony, and it is plain that Chalchihuitlicue, the water
goddess, is in a sense merely a personification of the chalchihuitl
stone, which was, perhaps, originally one of the symbols of the
Quetzalcoatl cult and which later became personified in female form,
thus giving rise to the myth in question. Nor do these tales
necessarily prove the priority of the Quetzalcoatl cult, which was
indeed regarded as responsible for practically all Mexican civilization
and which would naturally be credited with the introduction of the use
of the sacred stones.
THE CULT OF OBSIDIAN
But if the later Nahua immigrants also came to regard these
chalchihuitl stones with reverence, at the period of their entrance to
the Mexican plateau they paid devotion to a mineral of a very different
kind. And this it is which helps us to regard their faith as differing
entirely from those other faiths which already flourished in the land.
The mineral with which their cult was so closely connected was
obsidian, a vitreous natural glass found in the upper volcanic strata
of Mexico and northern California, which flakes readily from the core
by pressure and gains by mere fracture a razor-like edge of
considerable penetrative power. The principal quarry of this volcanic
glass was the mountain known as the Cerro de las Navajas (“hill of the
knives”) near Timapan, and from this centre the itztli, by which name
obsidian was known to the Mexicans, was widely distributed by barter
over a very considerable area. There would seem to be proof that this
mineral, so suitable for the purposes of the nomadic hunter, was
anciently known far to the north of Mexico. The observations of Dr. G.
M. Dawson [32] in British Columbia satisfied him that trading
intercourse was engaged in by the coast tribes with those of the
interior along the Frazer River Valley and far to the south. From the
remotest times embraced in their native traditions, the Bilqula of Dean
Inlet have possessed a trade route by way of the Bella Coola River to
the Tinné country, along which trail broken implements and chips of
obsidian have been found. Many of the routes in British Columbia have
also yielded chips and flakes of obsidian, which, the Tinné Indians
stated, was obtained from a mountain near the headwaters of the Salmon
River (about long. 125° 40′, lat. 52° 40′), formerly resorted to for
the purpose of procuring the mineral. The Indian name of this mountain
is Bece, which, Dr. Dawson suggested, is the same with the “Mexican”
name for knife, itztli, an etymology which may be of Nahuatlac origin.
Mr. T. C. Weston, of the Geological Survey, also noted in 1883 the
finding of a flake of obsidian in connection with a layer of buffalo
bones occurring in alluvium, and evidently of considerable antiquity,
near Fort McLeod, Alberta. The nearest source of such a material is the
Yellowstone Park region. The coast tribes of British Columbia have been
traders for untold generations, exchanging oolactin oil for such
material as they could make implements from, and there seems to be no
doubt that the Mound-builders of Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky were
also acquainted with obsidian, which they could only have obtained by
the process of barter. It was thus either to be found in the regions
from which the Nahua are thought to have come, or else obtainable
through the channels of trade.
If, then, it be granted that the Chichimec Nahua were acquainted with
obsidian and its properties before their entrance upon the Plateau of
Anahuac (a hypothesis which is strengthened by the material differences
of workmanship between their tools and weapons made of this material
and those of the aboriginal peoples of Mexico), sufficient time had
elapsed for their development of a cult, which, at the era of the
Conquest, exhibited traces of a very considerable antiquity. It was,
naturally, as a hunting people that they employed weapons of obsidian.
The herds of deer on the flesh of which they chiefly lived roamed the
steppes, and proof abounds that the customs of the chase strongly
influenced the religious ideas of the early Nahua. Certain of their
gods, indeed, seem to have been developed from cervine forms, for among
barbarous races the animal worshipped is that which provides the tribe
with its staple food, or, more correctly, a great eponymous figure of
that animal is adored—for example, the Great Deer, who sends the
smaller deer to keep the savage in life. In like manner barbarous
fisherfolk are wont to worship the Great Fish, which sends them its
progeny or its subjects to serve as food. These deer gods or hunting
gods in some way connected with the deer—Itzpapalotl, Itzcuêyê,
Mixcoatl, Camaxtli—had also stellar or solar attributes. The deer was
slain by the obsidian weapon, which, therefore, came to be regarded as
the magical weapon, that by which food was procured. In the course of
time it assumed a sacred significance, the hunting gods themselves came
to wield it, and it was thought of as coming from the stars or the
heavens where the gods dwelt, in precisely the same manner as flint
arrowheads were regarded by the peasantry of Europe as “elf-arrows” or
“thunder-stones”—that is, as something supernatural, falling from
above.
But the obsidian itself became deified as Tezcatlipocâ. I have retained
the full proof of this assertion for the section which treats of that
god, and must here content myself with a summary of it. The whole cult
of obsidian centred in the personality of Tezcatlipocâ. His idol was
made of that stone, and in Codex Borbonicus his sandals are painted
with the zigzag line of the obsidian snake. In his variant of Itztli
(obsidian) he was the god of the sacrificial knife of obsidian, and in
certain codices he is represented as having such a knife in place of a
foot. From this stone, too, divinatory mirrors were made, one of which
was held by the idols of Tezcatlipocâ and served as the mirror or
scrying-stone in which he witnessed the doings of mankind. Obsidian,
the great life-giver, food-getter, blood-provider, became identified in
the form of this god with the cause or breath of life, which, in turn,
was identified with the wind, and therefore it came to be classed among
those magical stones which in some mysterious manner are considered
capable of raising a tempest. In this manner Tezcatlipocâ came to be
regarded as a god of wind, and has been identified with the Hurakan of
the Quiches of Guatemala, from whose name the expression “hurricane”
has been borrowed and who was probably introduced into Central America
by the Nahua.
When the nomadic Chichimec adopted an agricultural condition, obsidian
had doubtless been regarded as sacred for many generations. It was by
virtue of this magical stone that the nourishment of the gods was
maintained by the sacrifice of deer; but when the Chichimec came to
embrace a more settled existence within an agricultural community where
deer must certainly have been more scarce, the nourishment of the gods
had necessarily to be maintained by other means. The manner in which
this was effected is quite clear. Slaves and war-captives were
sacrificed instead of beasts of the chase, and at the festival of
Mixcoatl, the greatest of the Chichimec gods, women were sacrificed in
the place of deer, and after being slain were carried down the steps of
the teocalli, their wrists and ankles tied together precisely in the
manner in which a deer is trussed by the hunter. [33] The transition
from deer-sacrifice to a human holocaust and from the hunting to the
agricultural condition is well illustrated by an ancient hymn relating
to the goddess Itzpapalotl (“Obsidian Butterfly”), who was associated
with Mixcoatl.
“O, she has become a goddess of the melon cactus,
Our Mother Itzpapalotl, the obsidian butterfly.
Her food is on the Nine Plains,
She was nurtured on the hearts of deer,
Our Mother, the earth-goddess.”
The inference in these lines seems to be that whereas Itzpapalotl was
formerly a goddess of the Chichimec nomads of the steppes, who
sacrificed deer to her, she has now become the deity of the
melon-cactus patch and an agricultural community. Her first human
victim is also mentioned by Camargo, [34] who states that the
Chichimec, coming to the province of Tepeueuec, sacrificed a victim to
her by shooting him with arrows. Itzpapalotl has more than one cervine
attribute. [35]
Mexican tradition makes it very plain that obsidian, because of its
blood-procuring properties, came to be regarded as the source of all
life, as the very principle of existence. Tonacaciuatl, the creative
goddess, as we shall see, gave birth to an obsidian knife from which
sprang sixteen hundred demigods who peopled the earth, [36] and the
infant which the goddess Ciuacoatl leaves in the cradle in the
market-place undergoes metamorphosis into an obsidian knife. [37] As
the Codices show, grain is often pictured in the form of the obsidian
knife of sacrifice. Just as in many myths, both in the Old World and
the New, flint was regarded as the great fertilizer because of its
supposed connection with the lightning, so was obsidian. Thus all the
elements which go to make for growth and life were regarded as having a
connection with this mineral, even the sun itself, as we shall see,
being identified with the Mirror of Tezcatlipocâ. The idea that the sun
could not live without human blood was a purely Nahua conception,
arising out of an earlier belief that it must be nourished upon the
blood of beasts. Of the transitional process abundant proof exists. The
hunter’s obsidian weapon which supplied the necessary pabulum became in
turn the weapon of the warrior who procured victims for the holocaust,
and the sacred knife of the priest who sacrificed them to the deity.
Obsidian was thus chiefly the war weapon and the sacrificial weapon,
but the traditions relating to it refer to practically all the offices
of human art, industry, and activity generally.
Lest this hypothesis seem overstrained, analogies may be indicated.
That which is initially sacred in a primitive cult frequently comes to
have interrelations with the whole environment of its deities. Thus the
worship of the oak by the Druids appears to have given an oak-like
virtue to the oracular birds which dwelt in its branches, to the soil
from which it grew, to the sky above it, to the priests who ministered
to it and to the sacred implements they employed. The same may be said
of the oak-cult of Zeus and the vine-cult of Dionysos. The numerous
traditions which cluster round the ceremonial use of jade in China are
eloquent of such a tendency. Thus trees, plants, animals, and natural
objects are all in a manner identified and connected with the beautiful
jade stone in its character as an imparter of vitality. Thus in the
great worship of the gods whose cult was connected with obsidian,
well-nigh everything with which it had interrelations came to partake
of the nature of obsidian—grain, the earth, the atmosphere, the sun,
the stars, the priesthood, blood, and rain.
The process by which this Nahua cult became amalgamated with those of
Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl seems fairly clear. Upon their settlement on
the Plateau of Anahuac it is plain from the terms of certain myths that
the Nahua did not regard the cult of Quetzalcoatl in any friendly
manner. Tezcatlipocâ is spoken of as driving him from the country, and
it is probable that to begin with a certain amount of persecution may
have been inflicted upon his adherents. But the Nahua would undoubtedly
come to recognize the value of the calendar system connected with his
cult, and it is clear that they did so from the fact that we find
included in it certain of their principal gods. The final process of
amalgamation probably took place during the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, for, as seen at the Conquest period, the union of the three
great cults of Mexico must have occupied several centuries. Such a
duration of time was necessary for the development of a homogeneous and
involved symbolism, which was obviously based on a tacit recognition of
the unity of the Mexican faith. Initial disparities seem to be
indicated principally by ancient traditions, of which perhaps the most
notable was that which spoke of the different heavens of the three
original cults, the Tlalocan of the worshippers of Tlaloc, the
Tlapallan or over-sea paradise of the Quetzalcoatl cult, and the
Sun-house or Valhalla of the Nahua. A striking proof of the adjustment
of the chronology of the three cults may perhaps be found in the myths
which speak of the existence of several “suns” or ages prior to the
historical era, the “rulers” or patrons of which were, according to the
most trustworthy sources, Tezcatlipocâ, Quetzalcoatl, Tlaloc, and
Chalchihuitlicue, goddess of the Tlaloc cult. [38]
The attribution of higher and abstract qualities to the gods was
probably of comparatively late origin. Especially is this to be
observed in the case of Tezcatlipocâ, to whom, at the period of the
Conquest, we find attributed such a bewildering array of qualities,
both concrete and abstract, lofty and the reverse, as would seem to
indicate that, had European influences failed to penetrate to Anahuac,
his worship might have reached the monotheistic stage, and in time have
overshadowed that of the other gods of the Mexican pantheon.
Undoubtedly, too, the priesthood, and probably the nobility, fostered a
more esoteric and loftier type of religion than was understood of the
people, and good proof (which is by no means confined to the rather
doubtful circumstance that Nezahualcoyotl of Texcuco built a temple to
the “Unknown God”) is forthcoming that theological questions of greater
or less complexity had begun to exercise the minds of the hierarchy.
UNITY OF RELIGIOUS CONCEPTION THROUGHOUT MEXICO
At the epoch of the Conquest it is abundantly clear that the Aztecâ had
succeeded in establishing their tribal cult, enriched with the beliefs
of the peoples they had conquered, over a wide area. They had adopted
into their pantheon such deities of the surrounding tribes as appealed
to their imagination, or were too powerful to be ignored, and actually
“imprisoned” many others of lesser puissance, whose idols were kept in
confinement in a building within the precincts of the great temple at
Mexico-Tenochtitlan. [39]
Within the historical period but little radical difference existed
between the several Mexican cults, which all appear to have been
affected by a common influence. We observe, therefore, the phenomenon
of certain early religious forms originating under common influences,
separated for centuries and profoundly altered by immigrant forces, at
length brought together again by the amalgamating powers of conquest
under the influence of one central and paramount cult, only, when once
more united, to find a common destruction at the hands of the ministers
of an alien and invading faith.
At the period of the Conquest, then, we find the Mexican religion
relatively homogeneous in character, with a widespread ascendancy, its
provincial activities exhibiting differences of little more than local
kind. Even in its most far-flung manifestations, indeed, it never
showed such variations as permit us to say that the most dissimilar or
distant variety of the cult entirely differed from the metropolitan
exemplar. [40] This being so, we are as fully justified in speaking of
a Mexican religion as we are in alluding to an Italic or a Hellenic
religion, and perhaps more so than in extending the analogy to Egypt,
where anything like homogeneity in either theology or popular worship
appears never to have been attained. We find, then, that the religion
of ancient Mexico, as known at the Conquest period, was the outcome of
later religious and ethical impulses brought to bear upon a simple
rain-cult, which, judging from the atmospheric conditions essential to
it, must have been indigenous to the country. Although the cults of its
several deities still retained some measure of distinctiveness, all had
long before been amalgamated in what was really a national faith. There
are signs, too, that a fully developed pantheon had been evolved, which
mirrored an elaborate social system in caste, rank, and guild, but the
mythical material from which this might have been reconstructed is only
partly available. We find, too, that practically every god in the
Mexican hierarchy, whatever his original status, was in some manner
connected with the rain-cult. Indeed, the rain-cult is the central and
coalescing factor in Mexican religion, its nucleus and foundation. As
might be expected, most of the deities of agricultural growth appear to
be of either Toltec or alien origin. Thus, Chicomecoatl was Toltec,
while Tlazolteotl, Xochiquetzal, Xilonen, Cinteotl, and Xipe were all
alien deities of the older settled peoples, but what their relationship
to the three great cults of Mexico may have been is not apparent. Most
of these deities appear in the tonalamatl, so that their worship must
have been adopted at a comparatively early date.
Students of religious phenomena not infrequently show distaste for the
deeper consideration of the Mexican faith, not only because of the
difficulties which beset the fuller study of this interesting phase of
human belief in the eternal verities, but also, perhaps, because of the
“diabolic” reputation which it has achieved, and the grisly horrors to
which it is thought those who examine it must perforce accustom
themselves. It is certainly not the most obviously prepossessing of the
world’s religions. Yet if a due allowance be made for the earnestness
of its priests and people in the strict observance of a system the
hereditary burden of which no one man or generation could hope to
remove, and the religion of the Aztecâ be viewed in a liberal and
tolerant spirit, those who are sufficiently painstaking in their
scrutiny of it will in time find themselves richly rewarded. Not only
does it abound in valuable evidences for the enrichment of the study of
religious science and tradition, but by degrees its astonishing beauty
of colour and wealth of symbolic variety will appeal to the student
with all the enchantment of discovery. The echoes of the sacred drum of
serpent-skin reverberating from the lofty pyramid of Uitzilopochtli,
and passing above the mysterious city of Tenochtitlan with all the
majesty of Olympic thunder, will seem not less eloquent of the soul of
a vanished faith than do the memories of the choral chants of Hellas.
And if the recollection of the picturesque but terrible rites of this
gifted, imaginative, and not undistinguished people harrows the
feelings, does it not arouse in us that fatal consciousness of man’s
helplessness before the gods, which primitive religion invariably
professes and which reason almost seems to uphold?
CHAPTER II
COSMOGONY
Accounts of the creation of the world and of man, even as handed down
to us by those writers on Mexican mythology who had the best
opportunities for collecting them, are prone to vagueness, and differ
so materially one from another that we will probably not be in error if
we impute their inconsistencies to a variety of local origins. As
regards the agencies by whom the creation or reconstruction of the
earth was accomplished, we are not in doubt, for certain passages in
the Interpretative Codices find almost exact corroboration in the
creation story contained in the Popol Vuh, the mythic book of the
Quiche of Guatemala (which was unknown to the interpreters of the
Mexican Codices), as well as in similar works of Maya origin.
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis states that the god
Tonacatecutli, “when it appeared good to him, breathed and divided the
waters of the heavens and the earth, which at first were all confused
together, and disposed them as they now are.” [41] Further, “he
breathed and begot Quetzalcoatl, not by connection with a woman, but by
his breath alone.” [42] The first of these deities, and his female
counterpart Tonacaciuatl, are almost certainly spoken of in the Popol
Vuh as “the serpents covered with green feathers,” which, farther on in
the Quiche work, are alluded to as Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, gods who are
generally admitted to be the same as the Mexican Oxomoco and
Cipactonal, who, again, are either identical with or closely connected
with Tonacatecutli and his spouse. [43] Quetzalcoatl, too, appears in
the Popol Vuh as Gucumatz, a known Quiche equivalent or translation of
his name, for as “wind” or “breath” he was also thought of as “spirit”
or “life,” and probably his fecundating efficacy as a water-bearing god
was also taken into consideration. In the Sahagun MS. in the Academia
de la Historia, Madrid, is a passage which reads when translated: “They
say that he made, created, and formed us whose creatures we are,
Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, and he made the heaven, the sun, the earth.”
The Anales de Quauhtitlan or Codex Chimalpopca, [44] too, relates how
Quetzalcoatl created the four classes of humanity, the men of the four
“suns” or periods of the world, and how men were made by him on the day
“7 wind,” and, as we shall see, the work of creation in detail is
alluded to in the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, as
effected by him and by Tezcatlipocâ. Lastly, we find in the Creative
Council of the Quiche heaven, Hurakan, who is none other than
Tezcatlipocâ, a deity closely connected with Quetzalcoatl in at least
one Mexican creation myth.
THE “AGES” OF MEXICAN COSMOGONY
Having thus satisfied ourselves regarding the creative personnel of the
Mexican pantheon, and preserving further proof of the constructive
character of certain of these deities until we come to discuss them
individually, we may proceed to examine such myths as tell of the
formation of the world. In the belief of the Mexicans the earth was not
destined to receive its present inhabitants, although occupied by
man-like beings, until it had undergone a series of cataclysms or
partial destructions, regarding the precise incidence and even the
number of which there is a marked difference of opinion on the part of
the older authorities.
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus states that “in the first age”
(or “Sun,” as these periods were called by the Nahua of Mexico) “water
reigned until at last it destroyed the world.... This age, according to
their computation, lasted 4,008 years, and on the occurrence of that
great deluge they say that men were changed into fish, named
Tlacamichin, which signifies men-fish.” [45] The second age, he tells
us, lasted for 4,010 years and the world was ended by the force of
violent winds, the catastrophe concluding by the transformation of men
into apes. The third age endured for 4,801 years and ended in a
universal fire, and in the fourth, which occupied 5,042 years, the
human race, which had never ceased to transmit a few survivors from one
of these epochs to the next, was almost destroyed by famine.
In his Historia Chichimeca [46] Ixtlilxochitl calls the first of these
epochs Atonatiuh (Water Sun), in which all men perished by a great
inundation. The second epoch, Tlachitonatiuh (Earth Sun), ended with
violent earthquakes. In this age lived gigantic beings called Quinames.
The third epoch was Ecatonatiuh, or “Sun of Wind,” in which edifices,
trees, and men were nearly all destroyed by hurricanes, those who
remained being changed into creatures of an intelligence so low as to
be almost indistinguishable from monkeys. [47] The Texcucan chronicler
does not furnish us with the name of the present age in his Historia,
nor in his Relaciones, [48] where, however, we receive fuller
information regarding the first three epochs, which he succeeds in
carelessly transposing, giving the third the second place.
Camargo [49] would almost appear to have been indebted to Ixtlilxochitl
for his version of the creation myth, but he seems to have been under
the impression that only two of the epochs were ended. That three past
cataclysms had taken place and that four ages in all had occurred is,
indeed, the most generally favoured version of the story, but some
authorities seem to have been of the opinion that a myth was current
among the Mexican people which stated that no less than five epochs had
taken place in the history of the world. Gama, Gomara, and Humboldt
share this view, and Mendieta is of opinion that five “suns” existed
before the present era, all of which were of such noxious character
that the inhabitants of the earth languished and perished through their
baneful influence.
But we have more stable authority for the sequence of these “suns” or
epochs. It is probable that this cataclysmic theory was in vogue among
the Nahua for generations before it received a more or less definite
form, and, indeed, Veytia [50] and Ixtlilxochitl [51] state that the
number of suns was agreed upon at a meeting of native astronomers
within traditional memory. We are probably following the official
version of the myth if we accept that to which the so-called
calendar-stone of Mexico gives sculptured form and which may be
interpreted as follows: While the world was still wrapped in primeval
gloom, the god Tezcatlipocâ transformed himself into the sun. This
epoch, which was known as Naui Ocelotl or “Four Jaguar,” ended in the
destruction of humanity and the race of giants who then inhabited the
earth by fierce jaguars. Quetzalcoatl became the second sun, and the
age of Naui Eecatl or “Four Wind” ended in violent hurricanes, during
which men were transformed into monkeys. Tlaloc then took upon himself
the task of providing the world with light, and his epoch of Naui
Quiauitl or “Four Rain” came to an end by means of a deluge of fire.
The goddess Chalchihuitlicue represented the sun of the age Naui Atl,
“Four Water,” at the end of which there descended a deluge in which men
were changed into fishes. Later there appeared the present sun, Naui
Olin, which, it was believed, would end in earthquakes.
THE MAKING OF THE EARTH
The second chapter of the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, a
précis of the opening chapters of which is given farther on, states
that the gods “created a great fish which is called the Cipactli, which
is like the cayman [alligator], and of this fish they made the earth.”
The description of the earth-monster, as it appears in the Codices, as
an alligator or sword-fish is, however, by no means convincing.
Moreover, the sculptured representation of the earth-monster in Maya
art, especially in such examples as that from Copan, is essentially
dragon-like in form, and there would seem to be little difficulty in
classing the Cipactli as an earth-dragon, similar in nature to the
cosmic monster of Chinese art and mythology. The fact, too, that in the
native paintings we frequently observe the sun-god in the act of being
swallowed by the Cipactli strengthens the analogy with the Chinese
example.
THE PEOPLING OF THE EARTH
The precise manner in which the earth was peopled by the gods is also a
subject concerning which great variety of opinion is shown by the older
writers on Mexican beliefs, and, as in the case of the cosmogonic myth
proper, this is probably to be accounted for by local variation.
Mendieta [52] is our authority for a conception which appears to have
gained wide currency in many parts of Mexico. There is good evidence
that he in turn received it from Andres de Olmos, a friar of great
literary integrity and linguistic capability, whose writings we may
regard with credence and confidence. The myth opens in the heavenly
abode of the gods Citlalatonac and Citlalicue, who were also known as
Ometecutli and Omecihuatl or Tonacatecutli and Tonacaciuatl, and whom
the Mexicans regarded as the eventual sources of all human life. The
goddess gave birth to a flint knife, probably such an implement as was
employed for the purpose of human sacrifice. The circumstance appeared
of bad omen to her sons, who, scandalized by it, cast the flint
earthwards. It fell in the vicinity of Chicomoztoc, the Place of Seven
Caves, and immediately there sprang from it an army of sixteen hundred
gods, who, discontented with their condition, dispatched Tlotli, the
Hawk, as an ambassador to the heavenly sphere to ask as a boon that the
power of creating men might be conferred upon them, as it was not
fitting that beings of divine origin should suffer the miseries of
earthly toil. Their mother, who also seems to have been perplexed by
the manner of their birth, replied in no very gracious terms. But in
order to relieve their wretchedness, she directed them to seek the good
offices of Mictlantecutli, Lord of the Realm of the Dead, from whom,
she suggested, they might obtain some of the relics of past
generations, which, if subjected to the magical influence of sacrifice,
might provide the beginnings of a new earth-race. After consultation,
the earth-gods chose Xolotl [53] as their messenger to the place of the
dead, and after an interview with its terrible ruler, he succeeded in
obtaining a bone of superhuman dimensions. Fearful of treachery at the
hands of Mictlantecutli, Xolotl turned to flee, but was pursued and,
falling in his flight, broke in pieces the precious relic he carried.
These he hastily gathered up and succeeded in quitting the subterranean
world without mishap. Returning to his brothers, he placed the bone in
a vessel, and each of the earth-gods, drawing blood from his own body,
dropped it into the receptacle. For three days nothing occurred to
justify their hopes; but on the fourth the gory mass stirred, and from
its depths there emerged a human boy. Satisfied with the experiment,
the gods repeated it, and at the end of another four days a girl arose
from the vessel. Xolotl was appointed guardian to the children so
miraculously created, [54] and nourished them upon the milk-like juice
of the maguey plant. They throve apace, and in course of time became
man and woman, the progenitors of the entire human race, who differ in
bulk and stature as the pieces of the rescued bone varied in size and
shape. Thus were born Iztac Mixcoatl the first man and Ilanceuitl or
Ilamatecutli, his wife.
CREATION OF THE SUN AND MOON
These deeds had, however, passed in a world of darkness, for as yet the
sun had not risen. A council of the gods was assembled at Teotihuacan,
a locality of great sanctity, and seated round a council fire, it
considered the means by which the luminary might be created. It was
resolved that he who first cast himself into the fire should be
transformed into the sun. The offer was accepted by Nanahuatzin, who
was afflicted with a painful disease, had therefore found life
intolerable and did not dread the transformation. Nothing happened for
some time after his self-immolation, and the waiting gods began to make
wagers with one another regarding the place in the heavens where the
sun would be likely to show itself. None of them had considered it
probable that it would rise in the East, and when at last it became
visible in that quarter, it was as a stationary mass which directed
such scorching rays upon them that they dispatched the hawk messenger
to request it to depart. Whether or not Nanahuatzin in his rôle of
Sun-god was wroth with his brothers for personal reasons, he replied
that it was his intention to destroy them utterly. A great fear seized
upon some, whilst others grew angry and caught up their weapons. Among
the latter was Citli, who fitted an arrow to his bow and fired at the
transformed Nanahuatzin. The sun-god avoided the shaft. He could not,
however, evade all those which followed, but seizing one, cast it back
at Citli, whom it transfixed and slew. Fiercer became the heat, until
at length the gods could tolerate it no longer, and felt that it
behoved them to perish by each other’s hands rather than by the ignoble
death of suffocation. They agreed that Xolotl should dispatch them one
by one, cutting open their breasts, and this holocaust he undertook,
finally slaying himself. Before perishing, the gods left their raiment
to their personal servants, of which each retainer made a bundle,
wrapping his master’s clothing round a stick, placing a small green
stone inside to serve as a heart, and naming it after the god to whom
it had belonged. Olmos himself encountered such a relic in Tlalmanalco,
exhibiting evidences of very considerable age. [55] On the death of the
gods the sun began to move in the heavens, and a god, Tecciztecatl, who
had hidden himself in a cavern when Nanahuatzin leaped into the fire,
now emerged from his hiding-place and took the form of the moon. The
retainers carried the bundles from place to place, and one of them, the
servant of Tezcatlipocâ, coming to the sea-shore, had a vision of his
deceased master, who commanded him to betake himself to the house of
the sun and to bring him singers and players of instruments to assist
in the celebration of a festival. To enable the messenger to travel to
the Sun-House, the whale, the siren, and the tortoise were asked to
form themselves into a bridge which might reach the abode of the
luminary. The servant crossed it, singing sweetly as he went, and his
song was heard by the Sun, who straitly commanded his retainers not to
respond to it on being approached by the singer. This some of them
failed to do, and returning with the messenger, took with them the
necessary instruments wherewith to celebrate the festival of
Tezcatlipocâ.
The people of Texcuco, says Olmos, naturally placed the occurrence of
these events within their own boundaries, but they added (according to
a pictorial manuscript which they showed the friar) that the Sun shot a
dart into the ground and at this spot the first man arose. He was
imperfect, being formed only from the armpits upward. He was followed
by a woman. Mendieta suppresses the remainder of the myth because of
its Rabelaisian details, but we may conclude that from these twain
humanity was descended.
Sahagun’s account of the creation of the sun and moon [56] differs
somewhat from the foregoing and is as follows: The gods met at
Teotihuacan, and asked one another: “Who will undertake the task of
lighting the world?” to which one god called Tecciztecatl (he who was
to become the Moon-god) replied: “That will I.” They cast about for
still another member of the pantheon to undertake the duty. At last
they fixed upon one who was afflicted with a terrible disease who at
once agreed to the accomplishment of their desires. During four days
the gods prepared for the occasion by acts of penitence, then they
kindled a fire on a rock named Teotexcalli (high place of the gods).
Meanwhile Tecciztecatl made offerings of many precious things, rich
feathers and golden ornaments. The spines with which the gods
ceremonially pricked themselves were like the spines of the maguey, but
were made from precious stones, and the copal they used for incense was
of no common sort. The victim, who was called Nanahuatl, offered nine
green reeds, joined three and three, instead of the ordinary branches
and balls of grass and spines of the maguey generally employed for such
ceremonies, and these he saturated with his own blood. In place of
copal he offered up the scabs of his sores. The gods built a tower for
each of the two divinities who had undertaken the illumination of the
world, and performed penance for four days and four nights. They then
strewed the ground with the branches, flowers, and other objects of
which they had made use during that time. On the night following,
shortly before midnight, they brought Tecciztecatl his ornaments. These
consisted of a plumage called aztacomitl, made of herons’ feathers, and
a jacket of light stuff, whilst to Nanahuatl they gave a crown of paper
called amatzontli (paper hair) and a stole and cincture, likewise of
paper. Midnight having arrived, all the gods ranged themselves in the
place called Teotexcalli, where the fire had burned for four days. They
arranged themselves into two files, one on either side of the fire, and
Tecciztecatl was requested to cast himself into the burning mass.
Terrified by the intense heat which he experienced as he advanced
towards the flames, the god recoiled; again and again he essayed to
leap into the fire, but his courage failed him. Then the gods called
upon Nanahuatl, who, on being summoned, immediately cast himself into
the blazing mass, where he at once began to crackle “like meat that
roasts.” Tecciztecatl, ashamed of his former conduct, now followed him
into the conflagration, and it was said that the eagle entered the
flames at the same time, which is the reason assigned for its dark
plumage. The tiger or ocelot followed, and was only partly burnt, as is
witnessed by its spots. It is evident that this myth applied in some
manner to the Aztec military brotherhoods of quauhtli and ocelotl, who
wore the eagle and ocelot insignia respectively. [57]
The gods had already waited some time to witness the resurrection of
Nanahuatl, when they beheld the heavens commence to grow red. Terrified
at the sight, they fell upon their knees and could not comprehend
whence the light had arisen. The glow of sunrise illuminated every
point of the compass, but many fixed their gaze upon the East, feeling
that in that direction the luminary would first be sighted. Those who
gazed thither were Quetzalcoatl (also called Eecatl), Totec, and
Tezcatlipocâ. Others called Mimixcoa were innumerable, and there were
also present four goddesses, Tiacapan, Teicu, Tlacoeua, and Xocoyotl.
When the sun rose at length he appeared very red, and no one might look
upon him without being blinded by his rays. The moon appeared at the
same time, and gave forth light equal to that of the orb of day. But
the gods thought it ill that the moon should be as bright as the sun,
and therefore one of them took a rabbit and cast it at the face of the
moon, so that it remained there to dim its splendour. Although the sun
and moon were raised above the earth, they remained stationary. They
spoke mockingly to their erstwhile companions.
“How now,” they said, “do you wish to remain in mortal shame? Die all
of you and confer life upon the stars.” The wind then offered to
discharge the function of immolating the gods and slew them one by one.
Only Xolotl refused to die, and begged for life, weeping so sorely that
his eyes dropped out. When those who were to make the sacrifice laid
hold of him he fled and concealed himself in a field of maize, where he
changed himself into a stalk of that plant having two feet (roots) such
as the peasants call xolotl. But having been recognized among the
maize, he took flight a second time and hid himself among some maguey
plants, where he changed himself into the double maguey plant which is
called mexolotl (maguey of Xolotl). On being discovered a third time he
took flight once more and threw himself into the water, where he took
the form of a fish called axolotl. [58] But in this last disguise he
was caught and killed.
When the gods had been slain the wind commenced to whistle and blow
with violence, so that at length the burning globe of the sun began to
drift over the heavens. But the moon still remained at rest, and in
this manner they became separated, so that their habit is to rise at
different hours.
The Anales de Quauhtitlan, after the manner of the Book of Genesis,
states that the world and all therein were created in seven days. In
the sign Tochtli the earth was created, the firmament was erected in
Acatl, animals came into being in Tecpatl, and man was made out of dust
or ashes on Ehecatl, the seventh day, but completed and perfected by
Quetzalcoatl, who appears to have played the part of a demiurgos as
regards the human race. There can be little doubt that this myth has
been sophisticated, or is a later invention. The Anales de Quauhtitlan,
however, sustains the accounts of Olmos and Sahagun regarding the
creation of the sun and moon.
Camargo, speaking of the Tlaxcaltec cosmology, [59] says that the
Indians did not believe that the world had been created, but that it
had been produced by chance. Space, according to their philosophy, has
always existed. Veytia [60] states that the Mexicans believed the world
and man to have been created by Tloque Nahuague (Tonacatecutli).
Boturini credits the creation to the same first cause, and passages in
Sahagun lead us to believe that both Tezcatlipocâ and Quetzalcoatl were
regarded as sub-creative spirits, who were either partly or wholly
responsible for the existence of the universe. Clavigero expressly
states that the former was “the soul of the world, the creator of
heaven and earth and lord of all things.” [61] Mendieta, [62] a much
older authority, gives it as his opinion that the making and moulding
of the world was the handiwork of several gods, but especially of
Tezcatlipocâ, Uitzilopochtli, and an obscure deity, Ocelopuchtli, who
equates with the ocelot alluded to in Sahagun’s account.
Sahagun, it will be observed, disappoints us in his account of the
creation, which he confines to the details of the appearance of the sun
and moon and is silent concerning the creation of gods and men. This is
strange when the facilities he had for the collection of myths are
considered, but as a priest, it is evident that he is more interested
in points of ritual than in religious narrative, which, he evidently
agrees with Curtin’s French-Canadian, is to be regarded as “chose
d’absurde.” [63] Even although we possess the sonorous warning of
Prescott and the objections of others to bias us against Ixtlilxochitl,
there is little ground for regarding his version of the Mexican
creation story as being other than he received it from sources which
would have been unspeakably precious had he made better use of them as
regards other subjects.
Regarding Ixtlilxochitl’s version of the creation myth, that the
creator Tloque Nahuague, the maker of the planets, brought into being a
man and a woman from whom all human beings are descended, we have no
parallel in Mexican myth, nor, indeed, in American myth, if we accept
that of the creation of man current in ancient Peru, and it is probable
that, so far as his version of the creation of humanity is concerned,
Ixtlilxochitl had encountered a myth which was either of relatively
late origin, or had arisen out of the ideas engendered by contact with
Christianity. This is, however, by no means to say that Ixtlilxochitl
himself invented the account. [64]
THE HISTORIA DE LOS MEXICANOS
The Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas is a manuscript of such
importance to the study of Nahua Cosmogony that a short précis of its
earlier chapters may, perhaps, be found of value in this place.
“Tonacatecutli and his consort Tonacaciuatl, who had existed from the
beginning, resolved to undertake the work of creation. They had four
sons, the eldest of whom was Tlactlauque-Tezcatlipocâ, or Camaxtli. He
was born of a red colour. The second son, Yayanque-Tezcatlipocâ, was
greater and more powerful than the rest. He was born black. The third
was Quetzalcoatl or Yacatecutli, and the fourth Omitecilt, and for
another name Magueycoatl, and the Mexicans called him Ochilobi
(Uitzilopochtli), for he was left-handed and was chief god to those of
Mexico, and their war-god. Of these four, Tezcatlipocâ was the wisest,
was in all places, and knew the hearts and thoughts of everyone. And
for this he was called Moyocoya, “he who is all-powerful, and who has
all those things without which nothing can be.” Uitzilopochtli was born
without flesh, but with bones, [65] and in this state he remained for
six hundred years, during which time the gods made nothing.
“After six hundred years these four god-like brothers were born, and
all came together to order what was to be and the law that they should
hold. They made a half-sun in the midst, the other luminaries great and
small, and a man and woman named Oxomuco and Cipactonal, commanding him
to till the earth and her to spin and weave. From these were born the
maceguales or labourers. And to Cipactonal the gods gave certain grains
of maize that she might keep them and use them for charms and riddles,
and since that day women have used them for that purpose.
“The gods then gave this pair the days of the calendar and divided them
into months, twenty days to each month, and three hundred and sixty
days in the year. Then they made Mictlantecutli and Mictecaciuatl, man
and wife, to be the gods of the infernal regions. Later they made the
heavens and space and the water, and then a great fish like the cayman,
which is called cipactli, from which they shaped the earth. In order to
create the gods of water, all four gods joined together and made Tlaloc
and his wife Chalchihuitlicue.
“These gods of water have their place in the four quarters, and in the
middle of it was a great court, where there were four tubs of water.
One water is very good, and this rains when they grow grain and wheat.
And these gods of water have many dwarfish servants in the said house,
and these have pitchers, with which they take the water from the tubs,
and sticks in the other hand. When the gods of water wish them to go to
the boundaries, they take the pitchers and sticks and sprinkle the
water as they are told. And when it thunders, they crack the pitchers
with the sticks, and when it lightens they break off a portion of the
pitcher.
“All the aforesaid things had been made and created without taking any
account of the years, and without respect of time. The first man and
woman had a son called Piltzintecutli, who desired a wife with whom to
live. So the gods made of the hairs of Xochiquetzal a woman, and thus
was the first marriage made. This having been done, all the four gods
saw that the half-sun which had been created gave but little light. And
they saw that they must make another half, because the existing light
was not able to illuminate the world.... Then Tezcatlipocâ became the
sun-bearer. And the gods created the giants, who were very great men
and of much strength.... And they called the age in which Tezcatlipocâ
was the sun the age of boasting and of tigers, for the giants gorged
and ate and wanted for nothing. And when thirteen times fifty and two
years were passed, Quetzalcoatl was the sun. Then Tezcatlipocâ took a
great stick and struck upon the water, and turning himself into a
tiger, went out to kill the giants. Afterwards he appeared in the sky,
for they said that the ursa major sank in the water, because it is
Tezcatlipocâ.... During the time Quetzalcoatl was the sun another count
went on, which, having ended, Tezcatlipocâ cast out Quetzalcoatl, who
became the wind, which, when it blew on the maceguales, turned them
into monkeys and apes. And there was for sun Tlaloc, which lasted three
hundred and sixty-four years.... During these years Quetzalcoatl rained
fire on the sun, and then created as the sun his wife Chalchihuitlicue.
She was the sun for three hundred and twelve years.
“In the last year in which Chalchihuitlicue was the sun, it rained so
heavily that all the maceguales were turned into fishes. And when it
had ceased to destroy, the heavens fell upon the earth and the great
rain began, the which year was tochtli. And the gods ordered four roads
to be made to the middle of the earth for them, and raised the heavens,
and to help them in holding them up they created four men, called
Cotemuc, Yzcoadt, Yzmali, and Tenesuchi, who were created by
Tezcatlipocâ and Quetzalcoatl. Then they made great trees, Tezcatlipocâ
one which was called tazcaquavlt, which is to say “tree of the mirror,”
and Quetzalcoatl one which was called queçalhuesuch, and with the help
of the men they had made and the trees the gods held up the heavens and
the stars and made a road in the sky.
“After the heavens had been raised, in the second year after the flood,
which was acatl, Tezcatlipocâ pronounced his name, and there appeared
the dumb Mixcoatl, ‘Serpent of the Clouds.’ And they paint him as a
serpent. And they drew fire from fire-sticks, which they called heart
of the fire. In the seventh year after the flood was born Cinteotl, the
first son of the first man, who was a god, and his wife a goddess, and
he was made of the hairs of the mother goddess, and it was said that he
was not able to die. And in the eighth year after the flood the gods
created the maceguales, like those that were before. When the first
three years of this group of years had passed, in the first of the next
group all the four gods came together, and said that because the earth
had no light, and was dark, and that because there was no fire, they
would make a sun which would give light to the earth, and which would
eat hearts and drink blood. In order to do this they made war, by which
they were able to procure hearts and blood. In this time Tezcatlipocâ
made four hundred men and a hundred women, and on these the sun lived.
In the tenth year, Suchicar, the first wife of Piltzintecutli, the son
of the first man, was killed in the war, and was the first so to die.”
If we search for a common factor among these conflicting ideas, we
will, indeed, find the task one of difficulty. The nature of the
sources from which we obtain them does not permit us to arrange them
chronologically, and all that we can found upon in this respect is
their subject-matter, which cannot enlighten us much. As has been said,
we are probably on safe ground if we accept the version of the several
ages hypothetically contained in the so-called Calendar Stone of
Mexico. The circumstance, too, that the sun and moon myth, as related
by Olmos, agrees for the most part with the version of Sahagun, permits
us to regard it as a well-recognized belief. Nor can the variant myth
regarding the creation of mankind, which is briefly described in an
annotation, shake our confidence in the credibility of Olmos, as it
obviously differs more in the names of the actors in the drama of
creation than in the circumstances, which are almost identical. But if
it is impossible to verify strictly the place of origin of the Olmos
myth, although Texcuco was claimed as its home, it is permissible to
indicate the universal character of that portion of it which deals with
the creation of the heavenly bodies, from its similarity to the
analogous passage in Sahagun’s rendering, which proves that that part
of it at least must have been more or less widely disseminated
throughout Mexico. We know that after the collection of data in any
district it was his custom to submit them to experts in other and
distant parts of the country for comparison and verification. We may
thus be justified in classing the Calendar-stone version of the world’s
ages and the Sahagun portion of the creation myth of the luminaries of
the last age as among the standard beliefs of Mexican theology. It
follows from Sahagun’s general agreement with the Olmos-Mendieta
account that the portion of that version which he does not treat of
must naturally be within reasonable distance of exactitude. The
circumstance that both of these accounts relate the self-immolation of
the gods by the sacrificial method of having their breasts opened,
seems to prove that the myth was no older than the institution of human
sacrifice, which we are perhaps correct in regarding as of no very
great antiquity, although arguments of sufficient cogency might be
brought against this view.
DELUGE MYTHS
As Mexican myths of the creation differ, so do those concerning the
great deluge which at one period was supposed to have overwhelmed the
earth. As we have seen, myths which are concerned with the several ages
of the earth dwell upon such an event, but separate myths exist which
also tell of a great flood which is almost certainly to be identified
with the “Water-sun.” The goddess Chalchihuitlicue (the goddess of
water), says one of the interpreters of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis,
“saved herself in the deluge.” The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus
A. relates that: “Most of the old people of Mexico say that a single
man and a single woman escaped from this deluge, from whom, in course
of time, mankind multiplied. The tree in which they saved themselves
was called Ahuehuete (the fir-tree), and they say that this deluge
happened in the tenth sign, according to their computation, which they
represented by water, which on account of its clearness they place in
their calendar. They say that during the first age men ate no bread,
but only a certain kind of wild maize, which they called atzitziutli.
They name this first age coniztal, which signifies the white head;
others say that not only did these two who were preserved in the tree
escape, but that seven others remained hidden in a certain cave, and
that the deluge having passed away, they came forth and restored the
population of the earth, dispersing themselves over it: and that their
descendants in course of time worshipped them as gods, each in his own
nation.”
A similar myth in the Anales de Quauhtitlan or Codex Chimalpopoca, is
also worthy of quotation.
“And this year was that of Ce-calli, and on the first day all was lost.
The mountain itself was submerged in the water and the water remained
tranquil for fifty-two springs.
“Now toward the close of the year, Titlacahuan (Tezcatlipocâ) had
forewarned the man named Nata and his wife Nena, saying: ‘Make no more
pulque, but straightway hollow out a large cypress, and enter it when
in the month of Tozoztli the water shall approach the sky.’ They
entered it, and when Titlacahuan had closed the door he said: ‘Thou
shalt eat but a single ear of maize and thy wife but one also.’
“As soon as they had finished eating, they went forth and the water was
tranquil; for the log did not move any more; and opening it they saw
many fish.
“Then they built a fire, rubbing together pieces of wood, and they
roasted fish. The gods Citlallinicuc and Citlallatonac, looking below,
exclaimed: ‘Divine Lord, what means that fire below? Why do they thus
smoke the heavens?’
“Straightway descended Titlacahuan Tezcatlipocâ and commenced to scold,
saying: ‘What is this fire doing here?’ And seizing the fishes he
moulded their hinder parts and changed their heads, and they were at
once transformed into dogs.” [66]
THE “COXCOX” FALLACY
It is unnecessary in this place to deal at any length with the quite
artificial myth given by Siguenza and Clavigero, based on a mistaken
interpretation of certain Mexican paintings. Briefly, they state that
Coxcox, “the Mexican Noah,” and his spouse Xochiquetzal escaped from
the deluge in a boat which grounded on the peak of Colhuacan: “the
Ararat of Mexico.” Dumb children were born to them, who received
innumerable languages from a polyglot dove. Garcia y Cubas published in
his Atlas Geografico a letter from Ramirez (April 1858) in which the
then conservator of the National Museum of Mexico showed the fallacy of
Siguenza’s interpretation and proved that the pictures in question
referred to the wanderings of the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico.
A flood myth which has for its hero one of the giants who were supposed
to inhabit the earth in the first age (or rather the first age
according to the version which is supported by the Calendar-stone),
states that Xelhua, the giant in question, escaped the deluge by
ascending the mountain of Tlaloc in the terrestrial paradise, and
afterwards built the pyramid of Cholula. The interpreter of the Codex
Vaticanus A says of this story: “In this first age giants existed in
that country.... They relate of one of the seven whom they mention as
having escaped from the deluge, that, the earth becoming populous, he
went to Chululan and there began to build a tower which is that of
which the brick base is still visible. The name of that chief was
Xelhua; he built it in order that should a deluge come again he might
escape to it. Its base is 1,800 feet in circumference. When it had
already reached a great height lightning from heaven fell and destroyed
it. Those Indians who were under that chief who had escaped from the
deluge, named Xelhua, made bricks out of a mountain in Tlalamanalco
called Cocotle, and from Tlalamanalco to Chulula Indians were placed to
pass the bricks and cement from hand to hand: and thus they built this
tower, that was named Tulan Chulula, which was so high that it appeared
to reach heaven. And being content, since it seemed to them that they
had a place to escape from the deluge if it should again happen, and
from whence they might ascend into heaven—a chalcuitl, which is a
precious stone, fell from thence and struck it to the ground. Others
say that the chalcuitl was in the shape of a toad; and that whilst
destroying the tower it reprimanded them, inquiring of them their
reason for wishing to ascend into heaven, since it was sufficient for
them to see what was on the earth. The base of the tower is at the
present day still remaining and its circumference is 1,800 feet.”
This myth has equivalents in the Hindoo story of the manner in which
Hanuman, king of the monkeys, built a bridge from India to Ceylon, and
in Scottish legend, where Corstorphine Church, near Edinburgh, is the
scene of the building, the stones being passed on from hand to hand by
the “Picts” from Ravelston Quarry, some considerable distance away. But
it bears a more striking resemblance to the story of the tower of
Babel, the work of another being of gigantic origin—Nimrod. Xelhua was
the mythical ancestor of the people of Tehuacan, and Teotitlan del
Camino. It may be that his myth has been sophisticated by the priestly
writers who set it down, and in any case it seems to be ætiological or
explanatory of the Pyramid of Cholula.
THE FALL OF THE GODS
In the literature of ancient Mexican mythology we find persistent
vestigial notices of a fall of the gods, or rather of certain deities
from “heaven.” Thus in the interpretation of the Codex
Telleriano-Remensis we find a divine locality called Tamoanchan
described as the “mansion” from which they fell, and “where they
gathered roses.” The same paragraph [67] relates that Tamoanchan “is
the place where these gods were created whom they feared: it signifies
the Terrestrial Paradise, and accordingly they relate that those gods
being in that place transgressed by plucking roses and branches from
the trees, and that on this account Tonacatecutli and his wife,
Tonacacigua, became highly incensed, and cast them out of that place,
and that some of them came to earth and others went to hell.” One of
these, the divinity most frequently associated by the Codices with this
event, Ixnextli, is spoken of in the same work [68] as “Eve, always
weeping and looking at her husband Adam. She is called Ixnextli, which
signifies ‘Eyes blind with ashes,’ and this refers to the time
subsequent to her sinning by plucking the roses.” In Codex
Telleriano-Remensis (Plate VII, Kingsborough) she is associated with a
god Ueuecoyotl and is represented as kneeling on a chair with head
averted. There is no doubt that the name given her here, and which is
supplemented by the name Xochiquetzal, is that of a variant of the
latter, who is the goddess of flowers.
In his interpretation of this goddess in his work on the Aubin-Goupil
tonalamatl (pp. 118–119) Seler gives it as his opinion that the
insignia of the goddess Tonacaciuatl, consort of the creative deity
Tonacatecutli, is identical with that of Xochiquetzal, and proceeds to
say that this strongly suggests “that the home of the cosmogonic
speculations embodied in the names of Tonacatecutli and Tonacaciuatl
was to be sought in the region where dwelt the goddess Xochiquetzal,
and this was assuredly not Mexico proper, but appears to have been the
group which in one place is comprised by Torquemada under the name
Chalmeca, Olmeca, Xicalanca, Tepaneca, Xochimilca, and Tlalhuica. Here
by Chalmeca are to be understood the dwellers about the volcano, and by
Olmeca, Xicalanca, the aborigines of the Tlaxcallan district....
Originally the goddess Xochiquetzal is perhaps nothing more than the
deity of one of those mountains from which the life-giving waters flow
down from the fields.” It is easy to believe that Xochiquetzal is a
variant of Tonacaciuatl; but it is not necessary to infer therefrom
that the Olmec-Tlaxcaltec version of the myth relating to her with its
cosmogonic speculations was prior in origin to that which found
acceptance at Mexico, even although the Olmecs were regarded as an
older race. Tonacatecutli and his consort were believed to be Toltec
deities, and had thus a greater antiquity behind them than Olmec myth
could invest them with. Codex Vaticanus A tells much the same story
regarding Ixnextli and was probably inspired from the same source.
MEXICAN CONCEPTIONS OF THE UNIVERSE
No definite account of the Mexican conception of the universe has come
down to us, but we are probably founding correctly if we accept the
Maya belief as closely approximating to that in general currency in
Mexico. An examination of the central design in the Maya Book of Chilan
Balam of Mani, given in Cogolludo’s History of Yucatan (1640), shows
the earth as a cubical block, by which term it is practically described
in the Popol Vuh (“the quadrated castle, four-pointed, four-sided,
four-bordered”). This the Maya described as tem (“the altar”), that is,
the altar of the gods, the offering upon which was life. Above this
cube on four legs is the celestial vase (cum) containing the heavenly
waters, rains, and showers, upon which all life depends. Above it hang
the rain-clouds which fill it and from it springs the vax che, or Tree
of Life, with outspread branches.
A similar illustration from the Codex Cortesiano, [69] a Maya MS. which
has been described as the “Tableau of the Bacabs” or heavenly
supporters, shows the Tree of Life, the Celestial Vase, and the cloud
masses. Beneath the tree are seen the two creative deities, and the
whole design is surrounded by the twenty day-signs.
THE FIVE REGIONS OF THE WORLD
The Mexicans divided the universe into five regions. The locus
classicus for the representatives of the gods who preside over these
regions is the first sheet of the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer. The Fire-god
occupies the centre of the picture, for just as fire occupies a space
in the middle of the primitive hut, so does Xiuhtecutli maintain the
central position in the universal disposition of things. From him four
streams of sacrificial blood radiate in the direction of the four
cardinal points, east, north, west, south, [70] which are situated at
each corner of the picture, for he rules over all as well as over the
centre, which is known as Tlalxicco. These bands of blood end in the
four day-signs—acatl, tecpatl, calli, and tochtli, from which alone the
years of the “calendar” or tonalamatl could be named, and which
respectively agree with the cardinal points noted above. The four sides
of the square are also associated with the four quarters of the
universe. Thus the top square in the picture represents Tlapcopa,
Region of the Dawn (the East), the right-hand side Uitznauac, Place of
Thorns (the South), the bottom Ciutlampa, Region of Women (the West),
and the left-hand side Mictlampa, Place of the Dead (the North). Within
these squares are seen four species of trees, belonging to the four
points of the compass. They resemble the trees seen in sheet 49 of
Codex Borgia and sheet 17 of Codex Vaticanus B, from the first of which
codices they can be more clearly described.
The Tree of the East is represented as a highly conventionalized tree
having two boughs, each with four branches which end in the
chalchihuitl (greenstone) symbol. Round branches are twisted two ropes,
green and blue in colour, set with golden bells. A quetzal bird perches
upon the top and the trunk is decorated with the symbol for war, for
the spirits of the sacrificed warriors were believed to dwell in the
eastern heavens, where the sun rose. The tree springs from the body of
the Earth-goddess, and the ornaments borne by it are symbolic of the
rich and fruitful character of the Orient.
The Tree of the North.—This tree is painted half-green, half-blue, but
is set with thorns in every part. Bands of blood and darkness issue
from the body of the Earth-goddess, in which it has its root, and these
wind around its boughs. The eagle stands upon the top, each of its
plumes bristling with a sacrificial stone knife.
The Tree of the West.—This has a yellow star, and bears the magic bloom
at the end of each branch. It is surmounted by the humming-bird, and
its trunk is dotted with the stellar eye, in this case the evening
star.
The Tree of the South.—This, too, is thorny, but painted red, and the
trunk is sprinkled with symbols recalling that of the “spoken word”
which in the Codices is frequently seen issuing from the mouths of gods
and men. It may symbolize smoke or fire, thus alluding to the fiery
nature of the region to which the tree belongs. A cloud of darkness and
a stream of blood wind around the stem. It is surmounted by the arara
bird.
These four trees have parallels in Maya mythology, as, for example, on
the altar-pieces of the cross from Palenque (Temple II) and elsewhere.
The gods governing the five regions of the universe are [71]:
Centre—Xiuhtecutli.
East—Mixcoatl and Tlaloc.
North—Itztli and Xochipilli.
West—Iztac Mixcoatl and Quetzalcoatl.
South—Macuilxochitl and Xipe.
We find from an examination of the codices that the Mexicans believed
that the “world” or universe was divided into:
Tlalxicco, the centre or “navel” of the Earth.
Tlapcopa, “the region of the Dawn” (the East).
Uitznauac, “Place of Thorns” (the South).
Ciuatlampa, “Region of Women” (the West).
Mictlampa, “Place of the Dead” (the North).
These several regions demand a brief description.
Tlalxicco was the dark interior of the earth, which was supposed to be
inhabited by an animal-headed god or demon, resembling a badger, to
whom no name has as yet been applied, but who seems to possess
affinities with sorcery and the darker arts. A good representation of
him is to be found on sheet 9 of Codex Vaticanus B.
Tlapcopa, the East, or “Region of the Dawn,” was regarded as a region
of prosperity, fertility, and abundant food-supplies. It was the house
of the Sun, the region where sacrificed warriors dwelt in bliss, and
will be further described when we come to deal with the subject of
“heaven and hell.”
Uitznauac or Uitzlampa, “Region of Thorns” (the South), was, as its
name implied, a place of rather evil omen, for it was sometimes thought
of as inhabited by Mictlan, Lord of the Dead. The Mexicans, dwelling in
a plateau country where climatic conditions were temperate, probably
regarded the tropics to the south as a region fatal to health, and
generally insalubrious in character.
Ciuatlampa, “Region of Women” (the West), was the place to which those
women who died in their first childbed (Civapipiltin or Ciuateteô) went
after death, and as such falls to be described in the section on
“heaven and hell.” But it was also the home of the maize-plant, and of
the deities producing it, and also of the Gods of Procreation. It was
the Region of the Evening Star, Tlauizcalpantecutli, the planet Venus.
In Codex Borgia (sheets 43–46) we seem to see a subdivision of the
Western region into North, South, and West. This region may also be
collated with Tamoanchan, the paradisaical land of abundant maize,
where the maize goddess Tlazolteotl gave birth to her son Centeotl.
Mictlampa, “Region of the Dead,” also falls to be noticed in the
section on “heaven and hell.” Symbolically it is the region of drought.
THE SUPPORTERS OF THE HEAVENS
Just as we gain light upon the subject of the Mexican idea of the
universe from Maya sources, so do we find a similar correspondence in
the beliefs of the two races as regards the conception that the heavens
were supported by certain deities. Thus the Maya believed that the
heavens were upheld by four gods called Bacabs, and we find pictures in
the Mexican Codices which depict certain deities upholding both the
heavens and the earth. On sheets 49–52 of Codex Borgia (upper half) are
seen the gods of the four quarters and the four supporters of the sky,
which last are Tlauizcalpantecutli, the Sun-god, Quetzalcoatl, and
Mictlantecutli. On sheets 19–23 of Codex Vaticanus B the four upholders
of the heavens are given as Tlauizcalpantecutli, Uitzilopochtli,
Quetzalcoatl, and Mictlantecutli, and the four terrestrial gods as Xipe
Totec, Mictlantecutli, Xochipilli, and Centeotl. The first four are
shown upholding the starry firmament, so that we are left in no doubt
as regards the existence of such a conception as the support of the
heavens by certain gods. The close correspondence between the personnel
of the sky-bearers in the two MSS. proves a fairly universal acceptance
of the belief, especially as Xipe Totec, and Tonatiuh the Sun-god have
much in common. [72]
THE AZTEC HEAVENS
According to ancient Mexican belief various destinations awaited the
dead. Warriors slain in battle repaired to the region of the sun, where
they dwelt in bliss with the deity who presided over that luminary.
Sacrificed captives also fared thence. These followed the sun in his
daily course, crying aloud and beating upon their shields, and fighting
sham battles. “It is also said,” writes Sahagun in his History of the
Affairs of New Spain (Appendix to bk. iii, ch. 3), “that in this heaven
are trees and forests of divers sorts. The offerings which the living
of this world make to the dead duly arrive at their destination, and
are received in this heaven. After four years of sojourn in that place
the souls of the dead are changed into divers species of birds having
rich plumage of the most brilliant colours.” These were known as
tzintzonme [73] (“little bird which flies from place to place”), and
they flitted from blossom to blossom on earth as well as in heaven,
sucking the rich fragrance from the tropical blooms of the deep Valleys
of Anahuac. This region is the Ciutlampa, and perhaps the Tamoanchan
alluded to above.
Tlalocan.—An even more material paradise was presided over by the
water-god or deity of moisture, Tlaloc. Sahagun calls this a
“terrestrial paradise,” “where they feign that there is surfeit of
pleasure and refreshment, void, for a space, of torment.” In that
delectable region there is plenteousness of green maize, of calabashes,
pepper, tomatoes, haricots, and it is fulfilled with variegated
blossoms. There dwell the god Tlaloc and his followers. The persons who
gain admittance to this paradise are those who have been slain by
lightning or thunderbolt, the leprous and the dropsical—those whose
deaths have in any way been caused through the agency of water—for
Tlaloc is god of that element. Existence there is perpetual. The
paradise of Tlaloc was situated in the east in a climate of eternal
summer.
Homeyoca.—The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A states that the
abode of the Creator of the Universe, Tonacatecutli, was Homeyoca or
Homeiocan, “place of the Holy Trinity.” The etymology is vague, but
would appear to apply to duality rather than trinity, a suggestion
which is buttressed by the androgynous character of the creative
deities. In an accompanying picture he points out the various
departments of this heaven as “the Red Heaven,” “the Yellow Heaven,”
“the White Heaven.” Young children, he says, went to a specific
paradise, but it was thought that they would return to re-people the
world after the third destruction. They were nourished by a milk-giving
tree round which they were seated, getting suck from the branches.
But we have glimpses here and there in Aztec literature of a much more
elaborate series of heavens, thirteen in number. The first contained
certain planets, the second was the home of the Tzitzimimê, who
included many of the great gods, the third that of the Centzon
Mimixcoa, or star-warriors, who were many-coloured—yellow, black,
white, red, blue—and provided the sun with food in the shape of blood.
The fourth was inhabited by birds, the fifth by fire-snakes (perhaps
comets), the sixth was the home of the winds, the seventh harboured
dust, and in the eighth dwelt the gods. The remainder were placed at
the disposal of the high primal and creative gods Tonacatecutli and his
spouse Tonacaciuatl, whose abode proper was in the thirteenth and
highest heaven. [74]
MICTLAMPA AS HADES
The Hades of the Aztec race was Mictlampa, presided over by
Mictlantecutli (Lord of Mictlampa) and his spouse (Mictecaciuatl). The
souls of the defunct who fared thither were those who died of disease,
chiefs, great personages, or humbler folk. On the day of death the
priest harangued the deceased, telling him that he was about to go to a
region “where there is neither light nor window,” and where all was
shadow, a veritable land of gloom, the passage to which swarmed with
grisly forms inimical to the soul. It was a vast, trackless, and gloomy
desert, having nine divisions, of which the last, Chiconahuimictlan,
was the abode of the lord of the place. Rank and privilege would appear
to have been maintained even in this dark realm, although all offerings
to the dead must first be inspected by Mictlantecutli himself ere being
passed on to their proper owners. Sahagun states that four years were
occupied in journeying to Mictlampa, evidently an error for four days,
as elsewhere he says that the former period was spent within the
regions of the dead. The journey thence was replete with terrors. Says
the interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A: “In this region of hell they
supposed that there existed four gods, or principal demons, one of whom
was superior, whom they called Zitzimatl, who is the same as
Miquitlamtecotl, the great god of hell. Yzpuzteque, the lame demon, was
he who appeared in the streets with the feet of a cock. Nextepehua was
the scatterer of ashes, Contemoque signifies he who descends
headforemost; an allusion being made to the etymology which learned men
assign to the name of the Devil, which signifies deorsum cadens, which
mode of descent after souls they attribute to him from this name and
Zon. Yzpuzteque is he whose abode is in the streets, the same as Satan,
he who on a sudden appears sideways. It appears that they have been
acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, although clearer arguments in
proof of this fact are adduced in the course of the following pages.
They say that these four gods or demons have goddesses.”
These and other dread beings, according to the same MS., rendered the
hellward journey terrible in the extreme, and an attempt was made to
mitigate the terrors of the passage between the two worlds by means of
passports of much the same character as the spells in the Egyptian
“Book of the Dead,” which franked the soul past the numerous demons and
dangers which awaited it. The first paper served to pass him by two
mountains which threatened to clash together and crush him. The second
saved him from the maw of a huge snake. Others helped him to face the
lurking terrors of eight deserts and eight hills, and to avoid the grim
crocodile Xochitonal. A wind of sharp flint knives then attacked him.
Lastly he came to the river Chiconahuopan (Nine Waters), which he
crossed on the back of a red-coloured dog which accompanied him and
which was killed for that purpose by having an arrow thrust down its
throat. It is not clear whether this dog acted as a guide to Mictlampa,
or whether it preceded the soul, but it would seem that its master
found it awaiting him when he came to the banks of the river, in the
passage of which it assisted him. It kept its vigil on the opposite
bank, however, and had to swim the river ere it could reach him.
The deceased then came before Mictlantecutli, to whom he made suitable
gifts—cotton, perfumes, and a mantle. He was told to which sphere he
must go. It is obvious that Mictlampa was not so much a place of
punishment as a place of the dead, a Hades, where the souls of the good
and evil were alike consigned. Its locality is partially fixed, for it
is “the place where the sun slept,” and, like the Egyptian Amenti, it
was therefore antipodean, or occupied the centre of the earth. After a
four years’ sojourn in this dark monarchy the soul was supposed to come
to a place where, according to the interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus,
it enjoyed a measure of rest.
CHAPTER III
THE GREAT GODS
METHOD OF TREATMENT
In the section descriptive of the gods, each divinity is dealt with
separately. The need for system and orderly arrangement in the study of
Mexican Mythology is clamant. In the hope that future students of the
subject may be spared the Herculean task of separating the mythology of
the Mexican people from their history, I have thought it best to
arrange my material in as systematic a fashion as its complex character
permits.
The plan employed is a simple one. I have prefaced the description of
each god with a table containing the following information concerning
him: Area of Worship, Name, Minor Names, Relationship, Calendar-place,
Compass-direction, Symbol, Festivals. In some cases where, for example,
a god has no festival or no minor names, the item relating to such
information is, of course, absent.
The description proper of each deity begins with an account of his
Aspect and Insignia, as observed in the several codices and paintings,
manuscripts, vases, or statuary. [75] A section is devoted to festivals
celebrated in his honour, another deals with the priesthood specially
attendant on him, and a further paragraph with the temples in which he
was worshipped. There follows a précis of all known myths relating to
him. In certain instances, too, hymns and prayers offered up to him are
quoted. The last section deals with his nature and status, so far as I
have been able to elucidate these.
UITZILOPOCHTLI = “HUMMING-BIRD WIZARD”
Area of Worship: Mexico.
Minor Names:
Tetzateotl—“Terrible God.”
Tetzahuitl—“The Raging.”
Ilhuicatl Xoxouhqui—“The Blue Heaven.”
Mexitli—“Hare of the Maguey.”
Compass Directions: The South; upper region.
Festivals:
Toxcatl, the fifth month; first of tlaxochimaco, the ninth
month.
Panquetzaliztli, the fifteenth month.
Movable feast ce tecpatl.
Relationships:
Son of Coatlicue.
Brother of the Centzonuitznaua.
Brother of Coyolxauhqui.
One of the Tzitzimimê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Face-paint.—Blue and yellow horizontal stripes, the yellow known as
piloechinolli (“face-painting of children”) made of children’s
excrement, in allusion, perhaps, to his character of a young or
new-born god. He occasionally wears the stellar mask, [76] like
Mixcoatl and Camaxtli.
Body-paint.—Blue.
Dress.—Usually the humming-bird mantle, pictographic of his name. His
head is surmounted by a panache of feathers. On his breast is a white
ring made from a mussel-shell, like those of Quetzalcoatl,
Tezcatlipocâ, and Paynal, which is called eteocuitlaanauauh (“his
golden ring”) or eltezcatl (“his breast mirror”). Perhaps the best
representation of him is in Codex Borbonicus (sheet 34).
Weapons.—Shield (teueuelli), made of reeds, with eagle’s down adhering
to it in five places in the form of a quincunx. He carries spears
tipped with tufts of down instead of stone points (tlauacomalli), the
weapons of those doomed to a gladiatorial death, the fire-snake
xiuhcoatl as an atlatl, or spear-thrower, and the bow, which he was
supposed to have invented or introduced into Mexico. The flag held by
him on some occasions represents the panquetzaliztli festival in
Codices Telleriano-Remensis and Vaticanus A.
Variations.—He is frequently to be observed wearing the insignia of the
stellar gods of war and hunting (Mixcoatl, Camaxtli).
According to Seler (Commentary on the Codex Vaticanus B, p. 91),
Uitzilopochtli figures in that MS. as showing “in a general way the
devices and the dress-badges of the fire-god,” differing, however, in
colour and painting. When found along with Tezcatlipocâ as Ruler of the
Southern Heaven, in Codex Fejérváry-Mayer (sheet 25), he is seated on a
jaguar-skin seat, enveloped in a long robe of a light blue colour, with
balls of downy feathers. He wears the aztaxelli or forked heron-feather
ornament on his head and has the yellow face-paint alluded to above. In
the Sahagun MS. (Bib. del Palacio) he is represented as wearing on his
back the “dragon’s head” alluded to in the text. In the Duran MS. (2 o,
plate 2 a), drawn by a European hand, the humming-bird headdress forms
a helmet-mask, and in the Codex Ramirez (Juan de Tobar), in which the
figure is Europeanized almost out of recognition, the same is the case,
but the shield-marking is incorrect, consisting as it does of seven
tufts of down instead of five.
Clavigero (tom. ii, pp. 17–19) says of Uitzilopochtli’s insignia: “Upon
his head he carried a beautiful crest, shaped like the beak of a bird,
upon his neck a collar shaped like ten figures of the human heart. His
statue was of an enormous size, in the posture of a man seated on a
blue-coloured bench, from the four corners of which issued four snakes.
His forehead was blue, but his face was covered with a golden mask,
while another of the same kind covered the back of his head. In his
hand he carried a large blue, twisted club, in his left a shield in
which appeared five balls of feathers disposed in the form of a cross,
and from the upper part of the shield rose a golden flag with four
arrows, which the Mexicans believed to have been sent to them from
heaven. His body was girt with a large golden snake, and adorned with
lesser figures of animals made of gold and precious stones, which
ornaments and insignia had each their peculiar meaning.”
Acosta says of his appearance: “The chiefest idoll of Mexico was, as I
have sayde, Vitziliputzli. It was an image of wood like to a man, set
upon a stoole of the coloure of azure, in a brankard or litter, in
every corner was a piece of wood in forme of a serpent’s head. The
stoole signified that he was set in heaven. This idol had all the
forehead azure, and had a band of azure under the nose from one ear to
another. Upon his head he had a rich plume of feathers like to the beak
of a small bird, the which was covered on the top with gold burnished
very brown. He had in his left hand a small target, with the figures of
five pineapples made of white feathers set in a cross. And from above
issued forth a crest of gold, and at his sides hee hadde foure dartes,
which (the Mexicaines say) had been sent from heaven which shall be
spoken of. In his right hand he had an azured staff cutte in the
fashion of a waving snake. All those ornaments with the rest hee had,
carried his sence as the Mexicaines doe shew.” [77]
Solis writes of his aspect as follows: “Opposite ... sat
Huitzilopochtli, on a throne supported by a blue globe. From this,
supposed to represent the heavens, projected four staves with serpents’
heads, by which the priests carried the god when he was brought before
the public. The image bore upon its head a bird of wrought plumes,
whose beak and crest were of burnished gold. The feathers expressed
horrid cruelty, and were made still more ghastly by two strips of blue,
one on the brow and the other on the nose. Its right hand leaned, as on
a staff, upon a crooked serpent. Upon the left arm was a buckler
bearing five white plums, arranged in the form of a cross, and the hand
grasped four arrows, venerated as heaven-descended.” [78]
Herrera says that his idol was a gigantic image of stone, covered with
a lawn called nacar, beset with pearls, precious stones, and pieces of
gold. It had for a girdle great snakes of gold, and a counterfeit visor
with eyes of glass. [79]
Torquemada writes: “In his right hand a dart or long blue pole, in the
left a shield, his face barred with lines of blue. His forehead was
decorated with a tuft of green feathers, his left leg was lean and
feathered, and both thighs and arms were barred with blue.” [80]
The Sahagun MS. states that “he wears a panache of yellow parrot
feathers stuck together, and having a bunch of quetzal-feathers at the
tip. His espitzalli is over his forehead. The face or mask is striped
in various colours, and the ear-plug is made of the feathers of the
blue cotinga. On his back is the fire-snake dress and on his arm he has
a quetzal-feather. At the back he is girded with a blue net cloth, and
his leg is striped with blue. Bells and shells decorate his feet, and
he is shod with sandals of the type usually worn by persons of high
degree. His shield is the teueuelli with a bundle of arrows without
points stuck in it, and in one hand he holds a serpent-staff.”
Sahagun (c. xxii, bk. iv) describes the insignia employed at the god’s
festival of ce tecpatl. These were the quetzalquemitl, or mantle of
green quetzal-feathers, the tozquemitl, the mantle made of the yellow
feathers of the toztli, a bird of the parrot species, the
Uitzitzilquemitl, or mantle of humming-bird’s feathers, “and others
less rich.”
FESTIVALS
The first festival of Uitzilopochtli was the tlaxochimaco, of which
Sahagun says: “The ninth month was styled tlaxochimaco. A festival was
held on the first day of this month in honour of Huitzilopochtli, god
of war, when he was offered the first flowers of the year. The night
before this festival everybody killed chickens and dogs with which to
make tamalli and other things good to eat. Very soon after the first
glimmerings of dawn on the day of the festival, the attendants of the
idols adorned the statue of Huitzilopochtli with flowers. The images of
the other gods were decked with garlands and wreaths of flowers, and
the same was done to all the other idols of the calpulli [81] and
telpochcalli. [82] The calpixque, [83] the principal people, and the
macehualli [84] covered the statues in their houses with flowers. These
preparations being completed, the viands prepared during the previous
night were partaken of, and shortly after this repast a dance was
engaged in, in which the nobles mingled with the women, taking them by
the hand, and even going the length of embracing them by placing their
arms round their necks. The usual movements of the areyto [85] were not
performed, the dancers moving step by step, to the strains of the
musicians and singers, who stood, some distance away, at the foot of a
round altar called momoztli. They sang thus until night, not only in
the courts of the temples, but also in the houses of people of rank and
of the macehualli, while the aged of both sexes indulged deeply in
pulque; but young people were not permitted to touch it, and anyone
allowing them to drink it was severely punished.”
Toxcatl.—For this festival see under Tezcatlipocâ, to whom it was also
and more especially sacred.
Panquetzalitztli.—The following account of this festival is summarized
from Sahagun’s pages: For twenty-four days prior to the incidence of
the festival the priests did penitence. They hung branches upon the
oratories and shrines of the gods of the mountains, and green reeds and
leaves of the maguey-plant. At the end of the quecholli festival
everyone took to dancing and singing, especially to the song or hymn of
Uitzilopochtli. Nine days before the sacrifice those doomed to die
bathed in the fountain called Uitzilotl (humming-bird water) in the
village of Uitzilopochco. The old men went to seek nine bunches of the
leaves of the tree called aueuetl (“old one of the waters”—the
Cupressus distica). The faces of the doomed ones were painted in the
colours of the god, yellow and blue in transverse bands, and adorned
with his insignia.
After five days of penitential exercises mingled with dancing and
singing, and on the day before the festival, the captives rose with
dawn and betook themselves to the houses of those who had dedicated
them to the slaughter, preceded by a man carrying a vessel full of
black ink or red ochre or blue tincture. On arriving at the houses of
those who had devoted them to death, they dipped their hands in the
vessel and pressed them on the gates and the pillars of the dwelling,
so that the imprint remained. [86] They then entered the kitchen of the
house and walked several times round the furnace. Then they marched in
procession to the temple, accompanied by porters bearing rich attire,
which the captives donned. The hair was then taken from their heads to
be kept “as a relic.” They were then given cylindrical cakes to eat,
which must be held on the point of a maguey thorn and not between the
fingers. With the dawn of day the god Paynal, the herald of
Uitzilopochtli, descended from the temple of Uitzilopochtli. Four
captives were then slain, two in honour of “the god Oappatzan.” Paynal,
borne by four “necromancers,” then took the road to Tlatelolco, whence
he passed to Nonoalco, the priest of the temple there receiving him
with the representative of the god Quauitlicac, “his companion” (see
“Myths”). The images were then carried to Tlaxotlan and Popotlan, where
other captives were slain. Then the procession took its way to
Chapultepec, passing the hill of that name and crossing the little
river Izquitlan, at the temple of which other captives called Izquiteca
(“who eat roasted maize”) were sacrificed. They then crossed to the
right under Coyoacan, passing by way of Tepetocan to Acachinanco.
During the time they made this progress the slaves who were about to
die engaged in a skirmish. They divided themselves into two parties,
the Uitznauatl (“They of the Thorny Wizard”), the other unnamed. The
former seem to have been professional soldiers armed with mock weapons;
the others slaves, armed with maquahuitls, wooden swords set with
obsidian flakes. On Paynal’s return those who watched them from the
summit of the temple, seeing the banner of the god (epaniztli), cried
out, “Mexicans, cease your strife, the lord Paynal has come.” The
warriors in the patrol of Paynal then rushed to the summit of the
temple, where they arrived in a breathless condition. They placed their
idol beside the paste image of Uitzilopochtli. Their ears were pierced
by the priest. They descended again, carrying an image of
Uitzilopochtli made of paste, which they divided, each bearing his own
portion to his own house, where he made festival with his parents and
neighbours. A tour of the temple was then made, the captives walking in
front.
A priest then descended from the summit of the temple bearing a sheaf
of white papers in his hand, which he held up to the four cardinal
points in turn, afterwards throwing them into a mortar called
quauhxicalco [87] (“cup of the eagles”). He was followed by another
holding a very long pine-torch called xiuhcoatl (“fire-snake”), shaped
like fire. (This was the fire-snake weapon with which one of
Uitzilopochtli’s followers had killed his rebellious sister
Coyolxauhqui). This was cast burning into the vessel containing the
papers, which were consumed. Paynal reappeared, and the slaves were
sacrificed according to rank to the sound of conch-shells. All then
returned home, where octli of special strength was drunk, festivities
engaged in, and presents of wearing apparel distributed to friends and
dependants (bk. ii, c. 34).
This festival took place at the period of the winter solstice, when the
sun has removed farthest to the south. The burning of the papers by the
xiuhcoatl, and the fact that the fire-festival of the new period of
fifty-two years, the making of the new fire, was usually postponed to
coincide with it, show it to be a fire-feast; for in his “avatar” of
the sun Uitzilopochtli was a fire-god.
Torquemada states that the priest of Quetzalcoatl hurled a dart into
the breast of the paste image of Uitzilopochtli, which fell. He then
pulled the “heart” out of it, giving it to the king. The body was then
divided among the men, no woman being allowed to eat of it. The
ceremony was called teoqualo, i.e. “god is eaten.” [88]
MYTHS
Regarding Uitzilopochtli, Clavigero says: “Huitzilopochtli, or Mexitli,
was the god of war; the deity the most honoured by the Mexicans, and
their chief protector. Of this god some said he was a pure spirit,
others that he was born of a woman, but without the assistance of a
man, and described his birth in the following manner: There lived, said
they, in Coatepec, a place near to the ancient city of Tula, a woman
called Coatlicue, mother of the Centzonhuiznahuas, who was extremely
devoted to the worship of the gods. One day, as she was employed,
according to her usual custom, in walking in the temple, she beheld
descending in the air a ball made of various feathers. She seized it
and kept it in her bosom, intending afterwards to employ the feathers
in decoration of the altar; but when she wanted it after her walk was
at an end she could not find it, at which she was extremely surprised,
and her wonder was very greatly increased when she began to perceive
from that moment that she was pregnant. Her pregnancy advanced till it
was discovered by her children, who, although they could not themselves
suspect their mother’s virtue, yet fearing the disgrace she would
suffer upon her delivery, determined to prevent it by putting her to
death. They could not take their resolution so secretly as to conceal
it from their mother, who, while she was in deep affliction at the
thought of dying by the hands of her own children, heard an unexpected
voice issue from her womb, saying, ‘Be not afraid, mother, I shall save
you with the greatest honour to yourself and glory to me.’
“Her hard-hearted sons, guided and encouraged by their sister
Cojolxauhqui, who had been the most keenly bent upon the deed, were now
just upon the point of executing their purpose, when Huitzilopochtli
was born, with a shield in his left hand, a spear in his right, and a
crest of green feathers on his head; his left leg adorned with
feathers, and his face, arms, and thighs streaked with blue lines. As
soon as he came into the world he displayed a twisted pine, and
commanded one of his soldiers, called Tochchancalqui, to fell with it
Cojolxauhqui, as the one who had been the most guilty; and he himself
attacked the rest with so much fury that, in spite of their efforts,
their arms, or their entreaties, he killed them all, plundered their
houses, and presented the spoils to his mother. Mankind were so
terrified by this event, that from that time they called him Tetzahuitl
(terror) and Tetzauhteotl (terrible god).
“This was the god who, as they said, becoming the protector of the
Mexicans, conducted them for so many years in their pilgrimage, and at
length settled them where they afterwards founded the great city of
Mexico. They raised to him that superb temple, so much celebrated, even
by the Spaniards, in which were annually holden three solemn festivals
in the fifth, ninth, and fifteenth months; besides those kept every
four years, every thirteen years, and at the beginning of every
century. His statue was of gigantic size, in the posture of a man
seated on a blue-coloured bench, from the four corners of which issued
four huge snakes. His forehead was blue, but his face was covered with
a golden mask, while another of the same kind covered the back of his
head. Upon his head he carried a beautiful crest, shaped like the beak
of a bird; upon his neck a collar consisting of ten figures of the
human heart; in his right hand a large blue, twisted club; in his left
a shield, on which appeared five balls of feathers disposed in the form
of a cross, and from the upper part of the shield rose a golden flag
with four arrows, which the Mexicans pretended to have been sent to
them from heaven to perform those glorious actions which we have seen
in their history. His body was girt with a large golden snake and
adorned with lesser figures of animals made of gold and precious
stones, which ornaments and insignia had each their peculiar meaning.
They never deliberated upon making war without imploring the protection
of this god, with prayers and sacrifices; and offered up a greater
number of human victims to him than to any other of the gods.” [89]
Boturini says of this god: “While the Mexicans were pushing their
conquests and their advance toward the country now occupied by them,
they had a very renowned captain, or leader, called Huitziton. He it
was that in these long and perilous journeys through unknown lands,
sparing himself no fatigue, took care of the Mexicans. The fable says
of him that, being full of years and wisdom, he was one night caught up
in sight of his army and of all his people, and presented to the god
Tezauhteotl, that is to say the Frightful God, who, being in the shape
of a horrible dragon, commanded him to be seated at his right hand,
saying: ‘Welcome, O valiant captain; very grateful am I for thy
fidelity in my service and in governing my people. It is time that thou
shouldest rest, since thou art already old, and since thy great deeds
raise thee up to the fellowship of the immortal gods. Return then to
thy sons and tell them not to be afflicted if in future they cannot see
thee as a mortal man; for from the nine heavens thou shalt look down
propitious upon them. And not only that, but also, when I strip the
vestments of humanity from thee, I will leave to thine afflicted and
orphan people thy bones and thy skull so that they may be comforted in
their sorrow, and may consult thy relics as to the road they have to
follow: and in due time the land shall be shown them that I have
destined for them, a land in which they shall hold wide empire, being
respected of the other nations.’
“Huitziton did according to these instructions, and after a sorrowful
interview with his people, disappeared, carried away by the gods. The
weeping Mexicans remained with the skull and bones of their beloved
captain, which they carried with them till they arrived in New Spain,
and at the place where they built the great city of Tenochtitlan, or
Mexico. All this time the devil spoke to them through this skull of
Huitziton, often asking for the immolation of men and women, from which
thing originated those bloody sacrifices, practised afterwards by this
nation with so much cruelty on prisoners of war. This deity was called,
in early as well as in later times, Huitzilopochtli—for the principal
men believed that he was seated at the left hand of Tezcatlipocâ—a name
derived from the original name Huitziton, and from the word mapoche,
‘left hand.’” [90]
Sahagun says of Uitzilopochtli that, being originally a man, he was a
sort of Hercules, of great strength and warlike, a great destroyer of
towns and slayer of men. In war he had been a living fire, very
terrible to his adversaries; and the device he bore was a dragon’s
head, frightful in the extreme, and casting fire out of its mouth. A
great wizard he had been, and sorcerer, transforming himself into the
shape of divers birds and beasts. While he lived, the Mexicans esteemed
this man very highly for his strength and dexterity in war, and when he
died they honoured him as a god, offering slaves, and sacrificing them
in his presence. And they looked to it that those slaves were well fed
and well decorated with such ornaments as were in use, with earrings
and visors; all for the greater honour of the god. In Tlaxcala also
they had a deity called Camaxtli, who was similar to this
Huitzilopochtli. [91]
The myth of Uitzilopochtli, as given by Sahagun, may be condensed as
follows:
Under the shadow of the mountain of Coatepec, near the Toltec city of
Tollan, there dwelt a pious widow called Coatlicue, the mother of a
tribe of Indians called Centzonuitznaua, who had a daughter called
Coyolxauhqui, and who daily repaired to a small hill with the intention
of offering up prayers to the gods in a penitent spirit of piety.
Whilst occupied in her devotions one day she was surprised by a small
ball of brilliantly coloured feathers falling upon her from on high.
She was pleased by the bright variety of its hues and placed it in her
bosom, intending to offer it up to the Sun-god. Some time afterwards
she learnt that she was to become the mother of another child. Her
sons, hearing of this, rained abuse upon her, being incited to
humiliate her in every possible way by their sister Coyolxauhqui.
Coatlicue went about in fear and anxiety; but the spirit of her unborn
infant came and spoke to her and gave her words of encouragement,
soothing her troubled heart. Her sons, however, were resolved to wipe
out what they considered an insult to their race by the death of their
mother, and took counsel with one another to slay her. They attired
themselves in their war-gear, and arranged their hair after the manner
of warriors going to battle. But one of their number, Quauitlicac,
relented and confessed the perfidy of his brothers to the still unborn
Uitzilopochtli, who replied to him: “O uncle, [92] hearken attentively
to what I have to say to you. I am fully informed of what is going to
happen.” With the intention of slaying their mother, the Indians went
in search of her. At their head marched their sister, Coyolxauhqui.
They were armed to the teeth, and carried bundles of darts, with which
they intended to kill the luckless Coatlicue.
Quauitlicac climbed the mountain to acquaint Uitzilopochtli with the
news that his brothers were approaching to kill their mother.
“Mark well where they are at,” replied the infant god. “To what place
have they advanced?”
“To Tzompantitlan,” responded Quauitlicac.
Later on Uitzilopochtli asked: “Where may they be now?”
“At Coaxalco,” was the reply.
Once more Uitzilopochtli asked to what point his enemies had advanced.
“They are now at Petlac,” Quauitlicac replied.
Quauitlicac later informed them that his brothers and sister had
arrived at the middle of the mountain. At the moment they arrived
Uitzilopochtli was born, attired in full war panoply. He ordered one
named Tochâncalqui (inhabitant of our house) to attack his sister with
the fire-snake xiuhcoatl, and with a blow he shattered Coyolxauhqui in
pieces. Her head rested upon the mountain of Coatepec. The infant god
then pursued his brethren four times round the mountain. Several fell
into the lake and were drowned. Others he slew, only a few escaped, and
these were banished to Uitzlampa in the south. [93]
Torquemada says of Uitzilopochtli: “Huitzilopochtli, the ancient god
and guide of the Mexicans, is a name variously derived. Some say it is
composed of two words: huitzilin, ‘a humming-bird,’ and tlahuipuchtli,
‘a sorcerer that spits fire.’ Others say that the second part of the
name comes not from tlahuipuchtli, but from opuchtli, that is, ‘the
left hand’; so that the whole name, Huitzilopochtli, would mean ‘the
shining-feathered left hand.’ For this idol was decorated with rich and
resplendent feathers on the left arm. And this god it was that led out
the Mexicans from their own land and brought them into Anahuac.
“Some held him to be a purely spiritual being, others affirmed that he
had been born of a woman, and related his history after the following
fashion: Near the city of Tulla there is a mountain called Coatepec,
that is to say the Mountain of the Snake, where a woman lived, named
Coatlicue or Snake-petticoat. She was the mother of many sons called
Centzunhuitznahua, and of a daughter whose name was Coyolxauhqui.
Coatlicue was very devout and careful in the service of the gods, and
she occupied herself ordinarily in sweeping and cleaning the sacred
places of that mountain. It happened that one day, occupied with these
duties, she saw a little ball of feathers floating down to her through
the air, which she taking, as we have already related, found herself in
a short time pregnant.
“Upon this all her children conspired against her to slay her, and came
armed against her, the daughter Coyolxauhqui being the ringleader and
most violent of all. Then, immediately, Huitzilopochtli was born, fully
armed, having a shield called teuehueli in his left hand, in his right
a dart, or long blue pole, and all his face barred over with lines of
the same colour. His forehead was decorated with a great tuft of green
feathers, his left leg was lean and feathered, and both thighs and the
arms barred with blue. He then caused to appear a serpent made of
torches, teas, called xiuhcoatl; and he ordered a soldier called
Tochaucalqui to light this serpent, and taking it with him to embrace
Coyolxauhqui. From this embrace the matricidal daughter immediately
died, and Huitzilopochtli himself slew all her brethren and took their
spoil, enriching his mother therewith. After this he was surnamed
Tetzahuitl, that is to say Fright, or Amazement, and held as a god,
born of a mother without a father—as the great god of battles, for in
these his worshippers found him very favourable to them.” [94]
“Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas.” [95]—Collecting and
summarizing the scattered notices regarding Uitzilopochtli in the
above-named work, we find it stated that he was the fourth and youngest
son of Tonacatecutli and Tonacaciuatl, his elder brothers being the Red
Tezcatlipocâ, the Black Tezcatlipocâ, and Quetzalcoatl. Uitzilopochtli
is here also called Omitecatl, “and for another name Magueycoatl (Snake
of the Maguey). He was called Ochilobos (the Spanish rendering of
Uitzilopochtli) because he was left-handed and was chief god to those
of Mexico and their god of war. He was born without flesh but with
bones, and thus he remained six hundred years, in which nothing was
made, ‘neither the gods nor their father.’ Taking counsel with
Quetzalcoatl, they fashioned the sun, then they made a man, Oxomoco,
and a woman, Cipactonal, commanding him to till the earth and her to
spin and weave, and created other things.”
HYMNS
In the Sahagun MS. the following hymns or songs relate to
Uitzilopochtli:—
THE SONG OF UITZILOPOCHTLI
I
Uitzilopochtli the warrior, no one is my equal;
Not in vain have I put on the vestment of yellow feathers,
For through me the sun has risen (i.e. the time of sacrifice
appears).
II
The man out of the cold land knew (through him) a baneful omen.
He had taken a foot from the man out of the cold land.
III
In the place of Tlaxotlan, the feathers were distributed
With which the war chieftains stuck themselves.
My God is named Tepanquizqui (“He who overcomes the people”).
IV
He makes himself feared, the god of Tlaxotlan,
Dust whirls upon the God of Tlaxotlan,
Dust whirls upon him.
V
Our enemies, the people from Amantlan, assemble; meet me there.
So will in their own house the enemy be. Meet me there.
VI
Our enemies the people of Pipitlan assemble; meet me there.
So will in their own house the enemy be.
This song is probably a chant sung before sacrifice to the god. The
line “He had taken a foot from the man out of the cold land” seems to
allude to the maiming of one of the gods by Uitzilopochtli, or is
symbolic of the punishment of a human enemy by rendering him unfit for
war through the amputation of one of his feet. Tezcatlipocâ, one of
whose names was Yaotzin, “the enemy,” is frequently represented as
having but one foot, and the phrase “the man from the cold land,” i.e.
the North, applies almost certainly to him. The rest of the song
relates to the peoples with whom the Mexicans were frequently at war.
SONG OF THE SHIELD
I
In his shield of the young wife the great warrior chieftain was
born.
In his shield of the young wife (or maid) the great warrior
chieftain was born.
II
He who gained his heroic title on the serpent mountain
In his (warrior) face-painting, (and with the shield) teueuelli.
No one in truth rises.
The earth quakes
As he put on his (warrior) face-painting (and his shield)
teueuelli.
The first couplet is obscure to me, and seems to refer to a lost myth,
which perhaps stated that the god was born of a virgin. The second
strophe, of course, relates to the slaughter by Uitzilopochtli of his
brothers the Centzonuitznaua.
PRIESTHOOD
The high priest of Uitzilopochtli was called Totec tlamacazque, who
also bore the name of Quetzalcoatl (an honorary title, originating out
of the belief that the god of that name was regarded as the prototype
of all religious orders), and who, along with the Tlaloc tlamacazque,
occupied the chief religious office in Mexico. He was selected for his
piety and general fitness. [96]
TEMPLE
Acosta describes Uitzilopochtli’s great temple at Mexico as follows:
“There was in Mexico this Cu, the famous Temple of Vitziliputzli, it
had a very great circuite, and within a faire Court. It was built of
great stones, in fashion of snakes tied one to another, and the
circuite was called Coatepantli, which is, a circuite of snakes: vppon
the toppe of every chamber and oratorie where the Idolls were, was a
fine piller wrought with small stones, blacke as ieate, set in goodly
order, the ground raised vp with white and red, which below gave a
great light. Vpon the top of the pillar were battlements very
artificially made, wrought like snailes (caracoles), supported by two
Indians of stone, sitting, holding candlesticks in their hands, the
which were like Croisants garnished and enriched at the ends, with
yellow and greene feathers and long fringes of the same. Within the
circuite of this court there were many chambers of religious men, and
others that were appointed for the service of the Priests and Popes,
for so they call the soveraigne Priests which serve the Idoll.
“There were foure gates or entries, at the east, west, north, and
south; at every one of these gates beganne a fair cawsey of two or
three leagues long. There was in the midst of the lake where the citie
of Mexico is built, four large cawseies in crosse, which did much to
beautify it; vpon every portall or entry was a God or Idoll having the
visage turned to the causey, right against the Temple gate of
Vitziliputzli. There were thirtie steppes of thirtie fadome long, and
they divided from the circuit of the court by a streete that went
betwixt them; vpon the toppe of these steppes there was a walke thirtie
foote broad, all plaistered with chalke, in the midst of which walke
was a Palisado artificially made of very high trees, planted in order a
fadome one from another. These trees were very bigge, and all pierced
with small holes from the foote to the top, and there were roddes did
runne from one tree to another, to the which were chained or tied many
dead mens heades. Vpon every rod were twentie sculles, and these
ranckes of sculles continue from the foote to the toppe of the tree.
This Palisado was full of dead mens sculls from one end to the other,
the which was a wonderfull mournefull sight and full of horror. These
were the heads of such as had beene sacrificed; for after they were
dead and had eaten the flesh, the head was delivered to the Ministers
of the Temple, which tied them in this sort vntil they fell off by
morcells; and then had they a care to set others in their places. Vpon
the toppe of the temple were two stones or chappells, and in them were
the two Idolls which I have spoken of, Vitziliputzli, and his companion
Tlaloc. These Chappells were carved and graven very artificially, and
so high, that to ascend vp to it, there was a staire of stone of
sixscore steppes. Before these Chambers or Chappells, there was a Court
of fortie foot square, in the midst thereof, was a high stone of five
hand breadth, poynted in fashion of a Pyramide, it was placed there for
the sacrificing of men; for being laid on their backes, it made their
bodies to bend, and so they did open them and pull out their hearts, as
I shall shew heereafter.” [97]
NATURE AND STATUS
Prolonged deliberation upon the nature of Uitzilopochtli has led me to
the conclusion that he was originally a personification of the
maguey-plant (Agave americana). The grounds upon which I base this
hypothesis are as follows: A certain variety of the maguey-plant, or
metl, was known to the Aztecâ of Mexico-Tenochtitlan as
Uitzitzilteutli, or “beak of the humming-bird,” probably because of the
resemblance the long spiky thorns (uitztli) with which it is covered
bear to the sharp beak of that bird (the uitzitzilin), which suspends
its tiny, web-like nest from the leaves of the plant in question. The
connection of Uitzilopochtli with the maguey-plant is also proved by at
least two of his subsidiary titles. Thus in the Historia de los
Mexicanos por sus Pinturas [98] he is alluded to as Magueycoatl,
“Serpent of the Maguey,” and he was also known as Mexitli, or “Hare of
the Maguey,” a title from which one of the quarters of Tenochtitlan,
and later the entire city, took its name of Mexico. At the
panquetzaliztli festival held in his honour, the warriors who
skirmished on his side in mimicry of his combat with the
Centzonuitznaua were said to take the part of Uitznauatl, [99] or
“Thorn that speaks oracularly.” In certain of the place-names which are
hieroglyphically figured in the codices, too, the element of his name
is depicted as a maguey-plant. Sahagun further states that the
proprietors of the maguey plantations and the publicans who sold octli
or pulque cut their plants so that they might yield their juice during
the sign ce tecpatl, the movable feast of Uitzilopochtli, in the belief
that, were they tapped at this time, they would yield abundantly. [100]
Etymologically, there is good evidence that Uitzilopochtli originally
represented the maguey. The word uitztli means “thorn,” and appears in
such compounds as Uitzlampa, “Place of Thorns” (the South), and
Uitznauatl, “The Thorn that speaks,” which, as we have seen, was
another, and probably an older, title of the god. Uitzoctli, too, as
Seler has indicated, [101] means “pricking pulque,” newly fermented
octli. It would seem, then, that the name Uitzilopochtli, until now
generally translated as “Humming-bird-to-the-left,” and rendered by
Seler “Humming-bird of the South,” must possess another significance
for us. Opochtli certainly means both “south” and “left,” but it also
means “wizard,” as in the compound tlahuipuchtli, “wizard who spits
fire,” instanced by Torquemada, [102] who states that some persons
derived the god’s name from that word, combined with uitzilinin, “a
humming-bird.” [103] It is easy to see how the god came to be
associated with the humming-bird, which suspends its nest from the
foliage of the maguey. It would appear to the Mexicans to emerge from
the leaves of that plant, and would come to be regarded as the form
which the maguey-spirit took. Indeed, the humming-bird dress or
disguise is that in which Uitzilopochtli is almost invariably
represented in the codices. It was in the shape of a humming-bird that
the god was said to have led the Aztecâ from their ancient home to the
Valley of Anahuac, and his flights would probably be considered ominous
and suggestive to augurs, like those of the Latin Picus. But it is
possible that a certain degree of confusion arose between the elements
uitzilinin (humming-bird) and uitztli (thorn), that this assisted the
belief that he took the shape of a humming-bird and that the
explanatory myth of the hero-god Uitziton refers to this bird in an
anthropomorphic shape.
These facts lead me to infer that the name implies “Humming-bird
Wizard,” for Uitzilopochtli was, as Sahagun says, [104] “a necromancer
and friend of disguises,” and wizards are universally conceived of as
“sinister,” which English word means both “on the left hand” and
“inauspicious,” and “malign,” as does the Latin word from which it is
derived. The same holds good of the Mexican word. The sub-titles of the
god, Uitznauatl and Magueycoatl, show—the first, that the ideas of
sorcery and oracular speech were connected with him; and the second,
that he was of a serpentine or venomous disposition, like the liquor
distilled from the plant over which he presided, the intoxicating
qualities of which were regarded as inducing prophetic inspiration.
That the maguey-plant entered into Uitzilopochtli’s insignia seems
probable from the circumstance that at his festival in the month
toxcatl his dough image was surmounted by a flint knife half covered
with blood. [105] In the codices the sacrificial stone knife is
frequently depicted as growing in plant-like bundles out of the ground,
this artistic and conventional form bearing a close resemblance to the
maguey plant, with the spines of which the Mexican priests pierced
their tongues and ears to procure a blood-offering.
His primary character notwithstanding, Uitzilopochtli in later times
came to possess a very different significance for the Mexicans of
Tenochtitlan—such a significance, in short, as the development of their
religious conceptions demanded. Thus we find him at the period of the
Spanish Conquest possessing solar characteristics and a place in the
Mexican pantheon which, if not the most important, had essentially the
greatest local significance in the city of Tenochtitlan, of which he
was the tutelary god. His status in the days of the second Motecuhzoma
is, perhaps, most clearly illustrated by the circumstances of his myth
as given by Sahagun, which is obviously ætiological and exhibits the
influences both of priestly contrivance and popular imagination. His
mother, Coatlicue, has been elsewhere in this work identified with the
earth, but in the myth is euhemerized as a pious widow. That she was
originally one of those mountain goddesses, like Xochiquetzal, from
whose sacred heights the rain descended to the parched fields of
Mexico, seems plain from the name of her abode, Coatepetl (“Serpent
Mountain”), the serpents of which her skirt is composed, being
symbolical, perhaps, of the numerous streams flowing from the tarns or
pools situated on its lower acclivities. That such a mountain actually
existed in the vicinity of Tollan is proved by the statement of
Sahagun. Uitzilopochtli is the sun which rises out of the mountain,
[106] or is born from it, fully armed with the xiuhcoatl, or fire-snake
(the red dawn), with which he slays his sister Coyolxauhqui, the moon,
whose lunar attributes are clearly defined in her face-painting, which
comprises half-moons and a shell-motif, a lunar symbol. Her nose-plate
is also the half-moon symbol. The Centzonuitznaua, or “Four Hundred
Southerners,” are the stars of the Southern Hemisphere. These the
new-born god puts to flight with ease. [107] If further verification of
what is obviously a most artificial and operose myth is required, it is
only necessary to indicate that one of the subsidiary names of
Uitzilopochtli, as recorded by Sahagun, was Ilhuicatl Xoxouhqui, “The
Blue Heaven,” the expanse of the sky, showing that, like many another
sun-god, he typified the blue vault of heaven. [108] Acosta, too,
states that the azure colour of his throne signified “that he sat in
the heavens.” [109] But the myth possesses an allegorical as well as an
ætiological character. Thus Coatlicue, the earth, is fructified by the
ball of humming-birds’ feathers, that is, by the humming-bird itself,
which, in Mexico, is the means of fructifying the plants, its movements
causing the transfer of the pollen from the stamens to the germ-cells.
How, then, may we reconcile the primitive fetish of the maguey-plant
with the later solar deity? In my view the course of development of the
concept of Uitzilopochtli is much the same as that of the Hellenic god
Apollo, who, originally a spirit of the apple-tree, [110] came in like
manner to be regarded as the god of the sun. But, to adhere to the
Mexican concept, the sun was regarded by the peoples of Anahuac as the
great eater of hearts and drinker of blood. These must be obtained for
him by war, or he would perish, and all creation along with him.
Uitzilopochtli, as the spirit of the maguey-plant, was the tribal
fetish of the Aztecâ, and therefore their natural leader in battle. The
connection is obvious and does not require to be laboured. Because of
his tribal leadership in war, a governance of which Mexican myth and
history bear eloquent testimony, he became confounded with the luminary
which demanded blood and lived by human strife.
The solar connection of the octli liquor yielded by his plant is also
most clear. Says Duran [111]: “The octli was a favourite offering to
the gods, and especially to the god of fire. Sometimes it was placed
before a fire in vases; sometimes it was scattered upon the flames with
a brush (aspergillum?); at other times it was poured out around the
fire-place.” Fire is, of course, a surrogate of the sun, and Seler has
already identified Uitzilopochtli as a fire-god in virtue of his status
as a sun-deity, [112] showing that the drilling of the solar fire
before the beginning of the new cycle of fifty-two years was deferred
until the panquetzalitztli, the great feast of Uitzilopochtli. Jacinto
de la Serna, too, says that the octli ritual invoked the “shining Rose;
light-giving Rose, to receive and rejoice my heart before the god.” The
“rose,” of course, referring to the fire or sun. It would seem,
however, that before he became confounded or identified with the sun,
Uitzilopochtli may have possessed a lunar significance, and this may
have obtained in the period while yet the calendar was reckoned upon a
lunar basis and its solar connection still remained undefined. The name
Mexitli, which has already been remarked upon, and which means “Hare of
the Maguey” appears to place Uitzilopochtli upon a level with the other
gods of octli, if not to class him as one of these. It bears a
suspicious resemblance, too, to the name of the Moon-god, Metztli. The
hare or rabbit in Mexico was invariably associated both with the moon
and the octli-gods, whose chief characteristic, perhaps, is the lunar
nose-plate. But among many of the native tribes of North America the
hare or rabbit is the representative of the sun or the dawn, under the
names of Michabo, Manibozho, Wabos, and so forth, being described in
myth as a warrior, hero-god and culture-bringer. Perhaps the Nahua,
while still in a more northern region where the agave was unknown to
them, worshipped the rabbit of the sun or moon, and on establishing
themselves in a region where the maguey was one of the salient features
in the landscape, fused his myth with that of a newly-acquired fetish,
discarding later the more ancient belief, or retaining but a confused
memory of it. But this train of reasoning lacks evidence to support it.
Nor need the consideration of Uitzilopochtli’s serpent-form detain us
long. I think I see in the myth which recounts how the Aztecâ, on
settling in Tenochtitlan, beheld an eagle perched on a cactus with a
serpent in its talons, some relation to Uitzilopochtli, but what it
precisely portends is still obscure to me. In any case the symbol of
the eagle enters into his insignia, as does that of the serpent. We
will recall that he was known as Magueycoatl, [113] “Serpent of the
Maguey.” Again the solar character of the serpent in America, as
elsewhere, readily accounts for his later connection with it, and for
the prevalence of serpentine forms in his insignia and temple. But I
confess that these two points of contact with the serpent do not
altogether satisfy me as regards the god’s connection with it, nor does
the fact of the serpentine character of his mother commend itself to me
as altogether explanatory of this, and I think we must look to
Uitzilopochtli’s nature as a wizard or sorcerer to enlighten us upon
this point. Jacinto de la Serna [114] states that in his time some of
the Mexican conjurers used a wand around which was fastened a living
serpent, in much the same way as the priests of the Pueblo Indians do
at the present day; and as the great invisible medicine man of the
tribe, Uitzilopochtli may have been thought of as doing the same. “Who
is a manito?” asks the Meda chant of the Algonquins. “He,” is the
reply, “who walketh with a serpent, he is a manito.” For the connection
of the Indian magicians with the serpent the reader is referred to the
pages of Brinton. [115]
In many lands the serpent is the symbol of reproductive power and has a
phallic significance. In Mexico he casts his winter skin near the time
of Uitzilopochtli’s first festival, about the beginning of the rainy
season. Moreover, this reptile is connected with soothsaying, and in
this respect resembles the god.
His myths, as well as his status in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, of which he
was the tutelary deity, make it plain that Uitzilopochtli was a tribal
god of the Aztecâ, their national god par excellence. The brave
Quauhtemoc, the last native defender of the city, imagined himself
invincible when armed with the bow and arrows of Uitzilopochtli, and we
know that the advice of the oracle of that deity was sought by the
Mexicans when hard pressed by the Conquistadores.
Nor is there any dubiety regarding his character as a god of war. This
may have arisen from the circumstance that he presided over the liquor
which was given to the troops when about to engage in battle, or, as
has been said, may have followed his promotion to the rank of sun-god,
the deity of human sacrifice, the god who demanded human hearts and
blood. A larger number of captives were devoted to him than to any
other divinity, and as the waging of war was the only means by which so
many victims might be procured, the sun would naturally become the
great patron of strife.
As the sun is the great central cause of all agricultural success, so
Uitzilopochtli came to be looked upon as one of the promoters of plant
growth, as is witnessed by his festivals, which synchronize with the
first rainfall of the year, the growth of plant life, and the end of
the fruitful season, when, in the form of a paste image, the god was
slain. He is thus the sun of the season of plenty, as his “brother”
Tezcatlipocâ represents that of sereness and drought. He is the “young
warrior” of the South, who drives away the evil spirits of the dry
season and causes the land to rejoice.
TEZCATLIPOCÂ = “FIERY MIRROR”
Area of Worship: Nahua territory generally, with extension into
Central America (as Hurakan).
Minor Names:
Titlacahuan—“He whose slaves we are.”
Yaotl—“Enemy.”
Yaomauitl—“Dreaded Enemy.”
Chico Yaotl—“Enemy on one side.”
Necoc Yaotl—“Enemy on both sides.”
Moyocoyotzin—“Capricious Lord.”
Uitznahuac Yaotl—“Warrior in the Southern House or Temple.”
Tlacochcalco Yaotl—“Warrior in the (Northern) Spear House.”
Telpochtli—“The Youth.”
Neçaualpilli—“Fasting Lord.”
Itztli—“Obsidian.”
Festivals: Toxcatl, teotleco, and the movable feasts ce miquiztli,
ce malinalli, and ome coatl.
Compass Directions: North and south in different aspects. Guardian
of the fifth quarter, “the below and above.”
Calendar Place: Ruler of the 18th day, tecpatl; ruler of the second
tonalamatl quarter, the region of the north; as Itztli, second of
the nine lords of the night; ruler of the 13th day-count acatl.
Symbol: The smoking or fiery mirror; the obsidian knife.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—By far the best representation of Tezcatlipocâ in any of
the manuscripts is that to be found on page 17 of Codex Borgia, where
he is seen in connection with the insignia of the twenty calendric
days. The picture on the lower right portion of page 21 is without
these symbols, but is almost identical with the former figure. The god
wears the black body-paint of a priest, and his face-painting is
similar to that of Uitzilopochtli, that is, it consists of black
horizontal stripes upon a yellow ground, the latter having the same
origin as in the case of Uitzilopochtli. From his back rises a very
large and elaborate bunch of feather plumes, which arches itself over
his head. His hair, dressed in a manner which resembles the
“night-hair” of Mictlantecutli, is ornamented with feather-balls as
indicating his sacrificial character, and in the picture on page 21
several of these depend from his side-locks. He wears the white ring
(anauatl) on his breast, and a short tunic, seemingly covered with
stellar devices. His right foot ends in the smoking mirror symbolic of
his name and in which he was supposed to observe the actions of
humanity, and on page 21 he carries the jaguar-skin purse in which the
priests placed copal for incense. In his left hand he holds a shield,
the field of which is a tawny yellow in colour, traversed by two white
stripes, and a paper banner. On page 3 the god is shown in a springing
attitude. He wears the face and body-paint characteristic of him, and
the warrior’s headdress, with hair tousled on one side, and the blue
nasal rod, with square plaque, falling over the mouth. At the side of
the head is the fiery mirror which gives him his name. On page 14 he is
seen wearing on his breast, and fastened to two strong red leather
straps, the white ring teocuitlaanauatl, an ornament resembling a
large, round eye. On his back is a feather device known as the “quetzal
feather-pot.” The right foot, as in other pictures of him, is replaced
by a small fiery mirror and his left by an obsidian knife.
Codex Borbonicus.—In this manuscript Tezcatlipocâ is depicted with the
yellow-and-black face-painting, but in his form as a black god. At his
forehead is the smoking mirror, on his back the large quetzal-feather
ornament with a banner, on his breast the anauatl, and round his loins
the hip-cloth, with a bordering of red eyes. On his feet he wears
sandals showing the motif of the obsidian snake, and his headdress is
painted with the stellar symbol, the round white spots on a black
ground, which typifies the night sky. Here also we see two bamboo
staves attached to his neck—undoubtedly the collar worn by captives or
slaves which rendered flight impossible, and which Tezcatlipocâ wears
to symbolize his enslavement of the Mexican people and in allusion to
his name Titlacauan, which means “He whose slaves we are.” The spear
and the net-pouch in this place recall the insignia of Mixcoatl, and
seem to indicate that Tezcatlipocâ was a god of the Chichimec or
hunting folk of the North Steppes, or perhaps it may merely symbolize
the proneness of all stellar, lunar and solar deities in Mexico to the
chase.
Tonalamatl of the Aubin Collection.—In this manuscript Tezcatlipocâ
appears as the representative of the Moon-god and sits opposite the
Sun-god. He is shown with his usual attributes and face-painting, the
smoking mirror in the region of the ear, the white ring on his breast,
and on his back the quetzalcomitl, the large quetzal-feather ornament
in which a banner is stuck. In his right hand he holds several of the
agave-spikes which the priests employed for piercing the tongue. In
this manuscript the Death-god is also depicted as Tezcatlipocâ, and
wears his body-and-face painting and his general insignia, as well as
the rosette at the nape of the neck. In this place, however, the
snail-shaped shield rises above the forehead, which is also decorated
with a row of feather balls and a single arara plume.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—A good illustration of Tezcatlipocâ will be
found on page 89 of this codex. The figure of the god is surrounded by
footprints, symbolic, probably, of the circumstance that as the
youngest and swiftest of the gods he arrived first at the teotleco
festival (coming of the gods) and impressed his footprint on the heap
of maize arranged by the priests for its reception in order that they
might know of his coming. He wears a large panache of green feathers,
consisting of two parts; that immediately above the face being inserted
in a tumbler-shaped ornament painted blue, with a red rim, and having
six white disks upon its field. To the lower part of this is joined a
rainbow-like device in various colours, from which springs the main
part of the feather panache. The upper fore-part of the face is painted
yellow, the rear portion purple or grey, and the region about the mouth
is bright red. He is bearded. The tunic is white, with a white
shoulder-knot, and a bunch of maize springs from the right shoulder. On
the breast is the god’s mirror, and at the waist an ornament or symbol
resembling the Maya Kin (sun) sign, painted blue. The rest of the
body-colour is purple-grey. In the left hand he carries an atlatl, or
spear-thrower, with a serpent’s head having a brown mane, and bearing a
resemblance to some horse-like ornamental motifs found in Guatemala. In
the right hand he bears a shield, the field of which is divided into
two parts, the right painted blue and bearing what would seem to be the
nose-ornament of the pulque-gods, whilst the left resembles the design
found on the skirt of the Earth-goddess. The shield is crossed behind
by four darts and is surmounted by a befeathered banner. In this place
Tezcatlipocâ is undoubtedly represented in his variant of “the young
warrior,” as his equipment shows.
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The god’s feather crown is set
with obsidian knives. His face is barred with horizontal lines of
black, and on his back he carries a basket filled with
quetzal-feathers. His arm-ring is set with obsidian knives, and
one-half of his leg is painted black. On his legs and feet he wears
shells and sandals, the latter the so-called “obsidian sandals,”
painted with a picture of the obsidian snake. His arms are covered with
paper fans. His shield is inlaid with feather balls, and in one of his
hands he holds the “seeing” or scrying implement tlachialoni.
Acosta, describing Tezcatlipocâ, says [116]: “They called this idol
Tezcallipuca, he was made of black, shining stone like to Jayel, being
attired with some Gentile devises after their manner. It had ear-rings
of gold and silver, and through the nether lip a small canon of
christall, in length half a foote, in the which they sometimes put a
greene feather, and sometimes an azure, which made it resemble
sometimes an emerald and sometimes a turquois. It had the haire broided
and bound up with a haire-lace of gold burnished, at the end whereof
did hang an eare of gold, with two fire-brands of smoke painted therein
which did signify the praires of the afflicted and sinners that he
heard, when they recommended themselves to him. Betwixt the two eares
hanged a number of small herons. He had a jewell hanging at his neck so
great that it covered all his stomake. Upon his armes bracelets of
gold, upon his navill a rich, green stone, and in his left hand a fanne
of precious feathers, of greene, azure and yellow, which came forth of
a looking-glasse of gold, shining and well-burnished, and that
signified, that within this looking-glasse he saw whatever was done in
the world. They called this glasse or chaston of gold irlacheaya, [117]
which signifies his glass for to look in. In his right hand he held
foure darts which signified the chastisement he gave to the wicked for
their sins.... They held this idoll Tescatlipuca for the god of
drought, of famine, barrenness and pestilence. And therefore they
painted him in another form, being set in great majesty upon a stoole,
compassed in with a red curtin, painted and wrought with the heads and
bones of dead men. In the left hand it had a target with five pines,
like unto pine apples of cotton, and in the right a little dart with a
threatening countenance, and the arm stretched out as if he would cast
it and from the target came foure darts. It had the countenance of an
angry man and in choller, the body all painted blacke and the head full
of quailes feathers.”
Bernal Diaz says of him (bk. vi. c. 91): “Then we saw on the other side
on the left hand there stood the other great image the same height as
Huichilobos, and it had a face like a bear [118] and eyes that shone,
made of their mirrors which they call Tezcat, and the body plastered
with precious stones like that of Huichilobos, for they say that the
two are brothers; and this Tezcatepuca was the god of Hell and had
charge of the souls of the Mexicans, and his body was girt with figures
like little devils with snakes’ tails.”
Face-mask.—When Cortéz landed at Vera Cruz, the messengers of
Motecuhzoma tendered him, along with other presents, “the ornaments or
finery with which Tezcatlipocâ was decorated.” The mask belonging to
this costume is still in existence, and is to be seen in the room
devoted to American antiquities in the British Museum. It consists of a
human skull encrusted with mosaic in alternate bands of black and
green, the nasal cavity being set with a red stone and the eyes with
pyrites ringed with white.
Statuette.—A statuette of Tezcatlipocâ from the Valley of Mexico, and
now in the Uhde collection, shows the god as nude, with the exception
of a loin-cloth and a flat headdress, rising in the middle.
Tezcatlipocâ in His Black and Red Forms.—Tezcatlipocâ was regarded by
the Mexican people as possessing two definite forms, the Black and the
Red. In this paragraph we will deal only with the insignia of these and
not with their mythological significance, which we will attempt to
explain in its proper place. Perhaps the best and most classical
examples of these forms we possess are to be observed on sheet 21 of
Codex Borgia, on both halves of which we see the two forms represented
as parallel figures, closely resembling one another in nearly every
detail. It should at once be stated that the Red Tezcatlipocâ is merely
a variant of Xipe, and indeed in one place in Codex Vaticanus B we
observe that his loin-cloth forks in the swallow-tail fashion
noticeable in the loin-cloth of that god, and, generally speaking, the
red colours he wears are those of the roseate spoon-bill, the feathers
of which are typical of Xipe’s dress. These pictures in the Codex
Borgia are supplemented by two on sheets 85 and 86 of Vaticanus B,
where the swallow-tail ends of the loin-cloth and the nasal rod show
distinctly that the Red Tezcatlipocâ is only a form of Xipe. The Black
Tezcatlipocâ opposite him is, however, represented with the striped
body-paint of Tlauizcalpantecutli, the arms being entirely black. In
the Borgia paintings the Black Tezcatlipocâ wears the black body-paint
of the priest, his face-paint is alternately black and yellow, he has
the warrior’s tousled hair, the nasal rod with the square plaque
falling over the mouth, the forked heron-feather adornment in his hair,
and on his temple the smoking mirror. The foot, too, is torn off and
replaced by a smoking mirror—all symbolical of the “standard” character
of the god’s sable form. The Red Tezcatlipocâ represented in the upper
portion of Borgia (sheet 21) has a yellow face-painting striped with
horizontal bands of red and his body-paint is red. On the red bands
crossing the face is seen the stellar eye. A brown fillet encircles a
red headdress, and the torn-off foot is also replaced by the smoking
mirror. On his back is seen the bundle of the merchant, surmounted by
the arara bird, two symbols which indicate his southern character. The
representation of the Red Tezcatlipocâ in the lower portion of sheet 21
is practically similar to this, save that he wears feather balls and
heron plumes in his headdress, is without the merchant’s pack, and
holds in one hand the jaguar-skin copal-bag of the priests and the
smoking rubber ball used as incense.
These forms of the god have been laid down in myth as distinctly
separate deities, especially in the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus
Pinturas. [119]
FESTIVALS
Toxcatl.—This, one of the most important of all the Mexican festivals,
is described by Sahagun substantially as follows: The fifth month
called toxcatl and sometimes tepopochuiliztli, was begun by the most
solemn and famous feast of the year, in honour of the principal Mexican
god, a god known by a multitude of names and epithets, among which were
Tezcatlipocâ, Titlacaoan, Yautl, Telpuchtli, and Tlamatzincatl. A year
before this feast one of the most distinguished of the captives
reserved for sacrifice was chosen for his superior grace and personal
appearance from among all his fellows, and given in charge to the
priestly functionaries called calpixques. These instructed him with
great diligence in all the arts pertaining to good breeding, such as
playing on the flute, deportment, conversation, saluting those he
happened to meet, the use of straight cane tobacco-pipes and of
flowers. He was attended upon by eight pages, who were clad in the
livery of the palace, and had perfect liberty to go where he pleased
night and day; while his food was so rich that, to guard against his
growing too fat, it was at times necessary to vary the diet by a purge
of salt and water. Everywhere honoured and adored as the living image
and accredited representative of Tezcatlipocâ, he went about playing on
a small shrill clay flute or fife, and adorned with rich and curious
raiment furnished by the king, while all he met did him reverence,
kissing the earth. All his body and face was painted black, his long
hair flowed to the waist; his head was covered with white hens’
feathers stuck on with resin, and covered with a garland of the flowers
called izquixochitl, [120] while two strings of the same flowers
crossed his body in the fashion of cross-belts. Earrings of gold, a
necklace of precious stones, with a great dependent gem hanging to the
breast, a lip-ornament (barbote) of sea-shell, bracelets of gold above
the elbow on each arm, and strings of gems called macuextlu winding
from wrist almost to elbow, were part of his ornaments. He was covered
with a rich, beautifully fringed mantle of netting, and bore on his
shoulders something like a purse made of white cloth of a span square,
ornamented with tassels and a fringe. A white maxtle of a span broad
went about his loins, the two ends, curiously wrought, falling in front
almost to the knee. Little bells of gold hung upon his feet, which were
shod with painted sandals called ocelunacace.
All this was the attire he wore from the beginning of his year of
preparation; but twenty days before the coming of the festival they
changed his vestments, washed away the paint or dye from his skin, and
cut down his long hair to the length, and arranged it after the
fashion, of the hair of the captains, tying it up on the crown of the
head with feathers and fringe and two gold-buttoned tassels. At the
same time they married to him four damsels, who had been pampered and
educated for this purpose, and who were surnamed respectively after the
four goddesses, Xochiquetzal, Xilonen, Atlantonan, and Uixtociuatl.
Five days before the great day of the feast, the day of the feast being
counted one, all the people, high and low, the king it would appear
being alone excepted, went out to celebrate with the man-god a solemn
banquet and dance, in the ward called Tecanman; the fourth day before
the feast the same was done in the ward in which was guarded the statue
of Tezcatlipocâ. The little hill or island called Tepetzinco, rising
out of the waters of the Lake of Mexico, was the scene of the next
day’s solemnities; which were renewed for the last time on the next
day, or that immediately preceding the great day, on another like
island called Tepelpulco, or Tepepulco. There, with the four women who
had been given to him for his consolation, the honoured victim was put
into a covered canoe usually reserved for the sole use of the king, and
he was carried across the lake to a place called Tlapitzaoayan, near
the road that goes from Yztapalapan to Chalco, at a place where was a
little hill called Acaccuilpan, or Cabaltepec. Here left him the four
beautiful girls whose society for twenty days he had enjoyed, they
returning to the capital with all the people. There accompanied him
only those eight attendants who had been with him all the year. Almost
alone, done with the joys of beauty, banquet, and dance, bearing a
bundle of his flutes, he walked to a little cu, some distance from the
road mentioned above, and about a league removed from the city. He
marched up the temple steps; and as he ascended he dashed down and
broke on every step one of the flutes that he had been accustomed to
play on in the days of his prosperity. He reached the top, where he was
sacrificed. From the sacrificial stone his body was not hurled down the
steps, but was carried by four men down to the tzompantli, to the place
of the spitting of heads.
In this feast of toxcatl, in the cu called Uitznahuac, where the image
of Uitzilopochtli was always kept, the priests made a bust of this god
out of tzoalli dough, with pieces of mizquitl [121]-wood inserted by
way of bones. They decorated it with his ornaments; putting on a jacket
wrought over with human bones, a mantle of very thin nequen, and
another mantle called the Tlaquaquallo, covered with rich feathers,
fitting the head below and widening out above; in the middle of this
stood up a little rod, also decorated with feathers, and sticking into
the top of the rod was a flint knife half covered with blood. The image
was set on a platform made of pieces of wood resembling snakes, and so
arranged that heads and tails alternated all the way round; the whole
borne by many captains and men of war. Before this image and platform a
number of strong youths carried an enormous sheet of paper resembling
pasteboard, twenty fathoms long, one fathom broad, and a little less
than an inch thick; it was supported by spear-shafts arranged in pairs
of one shaft above and one below the paper, while persons on either
side of the paper held one of these pairs in one hand. When the
procession, with dancing and singing, reached the cu to be ascended,
the platform was carefully and cautiously hoisted up by cords attached
to its four corners, the image was set on a seat, and those who carried
the paper rolled it up and set down the roll before the bust of the
god. It was sunset when the image was so set up; and the following
morning everyone offered food in his own house before the image of
Uitzilopochtli, incensing also such images of the other gods as he had,
and then went to offer quails’ blood before the image set up on the cu.
The king began, wringing off the heads of four quails; the priests
offered next, then all the people; the whole multitude carrying clay
fire-pans and burning copal incense of every kind, after which everyone
threw his live coals on a great hearth in the temple yard. The virgins
painted their faces, put on their heads garlands of parched maize, with
strings of the same across their breasts, decorated their arms and legs
with red feathers, and carried black paper flags stuck into split
canes. The flags of the daughters of the nobles were not of paper, but
of a thin cloth called canauac, painted with vertical black stripes.
These girls, joining hands, danced round the great hearth, upon or over
which, on an elevated place of some kind, there danced, giving the time
and step, two men, having each a kind of pine cage covered with paper
flags on his shoulders, the strap supporting which passed, not across
the forehead—the usual way for men to carry a burden—but across the
chest, as was the fashion with women. They bore shields of paper,
crumpled up like great flowers, their heads were adorned with white
feathers, their lips and part of the face were smeared with sugar-cane
juice, which produced a peculiar effect over the black with which their
faces were always painted. They carried in their hands pieces of paper
called amasmaxtli [122] and sceptres of palm-wood tipped with a black
flower and having in the lower part a ball of black feathers. In
dancing they used this sceptre like a staff, and the part by which they
grasped it was wrapped round with a paper painted with black lines. The
music for the dancers was supplied by a party of unseen musicians, who
occupied one of the temple buildings, where they sat, he that played
the drum in the centre, and the performers on the other instruments
about him. The men and women danced on till night, but the strictest
order and decency were preserved, and any lewd word or look brought
down swift punishment from the appointed overseers.
This feast was closed by the death of a youth who had been during the
past year dedicated to and taken care of for Uitzilopochtli, resembling
in this the victim of Tezcatlipocâ, whose companion he had indeed been,
but without receiving such high honours. This Uitzilopochtli youth was
entitled Ixteocalli, [123] or Tlacauepan, or Teicauhtzin, [124] and was
held to be the image and representative of the god. When the day of his
death came the priests decorated him with papers painted over with
black circles, and put a mitre of eagles’ feathers on his head, in the
midst of whose plumes was stuck a flint knife, stained half-way up with
blood and adorned with red feathers. Tied to his shoulders by strings
passing across the breast was a piece of very thin cloth, about a span
square, and over it hung a little bag. Over one of his arms was thrown
a wild beast’s skin, arranged somewhat like a maniple; bells of gold
jingled at his legs as he walked or danced. There were two peculiar
things connected with the death of this youth: first, he had absolute
liberty of choice regarding the hour in which he was to die; and,
second, he was not extended upon any block or altar, but when he wished
he threw himself into the arms of the priests, and had his heart so cut
out. His head was then hacked off and spitted alongside that of the
Tezcatlipocâ youth, of whom we have spoken already. In this same day
the priests made little marks on children, cutting them, with thin
stone knives, in the breast, stomach, wrists, and fleshy parts of the
arms; marks, as the Spanish priests considered, by which the devil
should know his own sheep.
Teotleco.—The movable feasts sacred to Tezcatlipocâ and alluded to in
the list of his festivals are only briefly mentioned by Sahagun, and do
not appear to have been of any particular importance. As regards the
Teotleco Sahagun says: “The twelfth month was called Teotleco, which
signifies the arrival of the gods. A festival was celebrated in honour
of all the gods who were said to have gone to some country, I know not
where. On the last day of the month a greater one was held, because the
gods had returned.
“On the fifteenth day of this month the young boys and the servitors
decked all the altars or oratories of the gods with boughs, as well
those which were in the houses as the images which were set up by the
wayside and at the cross-roads. This work was paid for in maize. Some
received a basketful, and others only a few ears.
“On the eighteenth day the ever-youthful god Tlamatzincatl, or
Titlacauan, arrived. It was said that he marched better and arrived the
first because he was young and strong. Food was offered him in his
temple on that night. Everyone drank, ate, and made merry; the old
people especially celebrated the arrival of the god by drinking wine,
and it was alleged that his feet were washed by these rejoicings. The
last day of the month was marked by a great festival, on account of the
belief that the whole of the gods arrived at that time. On the
preceding night a quantity of flour was kneaded on a carpet into the
shape of a cheese, it being supposed that the gods would leave a
footprint thereon as a sign of their return. The chief attendant
watched all night, going to and fro to see if the impression appeared.
When he at last saw it he called out, ‘The master has arrived,’ and at
once the priests of the temple began to sound the horns, trumpets, and
other musical instruments used by them. Upon hearing this noise
everyone ran forthwith to offer food in all the temples or oratories,
and gave themselves up to renewed rejoicings, to wash the feet of the
gods, as we have already described.
“The next day the aged gods were said to come last, because they walked
more slowly on account of their age. On that day several captives were
doomed to be burnt alive. A great brazier was prepared; young men
disguised as monsters danced round about it, and while dancing, hurled
the unhappy victims into the fire, in the manner already explained.
Other ceremonies took place which will be described in the account of
this festival.”
MYTHS
Sahagun says of Tezcatlipocâ that he was invisible and was able to
penetrate into all places, heaven, earth, and hell. The Mexicans, he
says, believed that he wandered over the earth stirring up strife and
war, and setting men against one another. He also remarks that he was
the true giver of prosperity, and extremely capricious. [125]
Acosta calls him the god of drought, famine, barrenness, and
pestilence. [126]
Clavigero alludes to him as the chief of the gods worshipped in Mexico,
the god of providence, the soul of the world, the creator of heaven and
earth and master of all things. “They represented him as young, to
denote that no length of years ever diminished his power. They believed
that he rewarded with various benefits the just, and punished the
wicked with diseases and other afflictions.” [127]
The interpreter of Codex Telleriano-Remensis states that “Tezcatlipocâ
is he who appeared to the nation on the mountain of the mirror, as they
say, and is he who tempted Quetzalcoatl the penitent.” Elsewhere he
says: “They do not here paint Tezcatlipocâ with a foot formed of a
serpent, since they say that this festival [panquetzaliztli] relates to
a time previous to his sinning while still in heaven, and that hence
happened the war in heaven, from whence wars sprung below.”
The interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A. says of him: “Tezcatlipocâ, here
represented, was one of their most potent gods. They say that he
appeared in that country on the top of a mountain called Tezcatepu,
which signifies the mountain of mirrors.” Later on he remarks that the
god was sometimes painted with the feet of a man and of a cock, “as
they say his name bears allusion to this circumstance. He is clothed
with a fowl, which seems to cry in laughing accents, and when it crows,
Oa, Oa, Oa, they say that it deceived the “first woman, who committed
sin, and accordingly they place him near the goddess of pollution.”
A report on the Huaxtec territory, dated 1579, states that: “They
relate another fable, that they had two other effigies as gods, one
called Ometochtli, who is the god of wine, the other Tezcatlipocâ,
which is the name of the most exalted idol worshipped by them, and with
these they had painted the figure of a woman named Hueytonantzin, that
is ‘our great mother,’ because they said that she was the mother of all
these gods or demons. And those four above-mentioned male demons, they
related, had killed this great mother, founding with her the
institution of human sacrifice, and taking her heart out of her breast,
and presenting it to the sun. Similarly, they related that the idol
Tezcatlipocâ had killed the god of wine with his consent and
concurrence, giving out that in this way he gave eternal life, and that
if he did not die, all persons drinking wine must die; but that the
death of this Ometochtli was only the sleep of one drunk, that he
afterwards recovered, and again became fresh and well.”
Tezcatlipocâ, it will be remembered, is alluded to in the cosmogonic
myths of Mendieta and Sahagun, already related in the chapter on
Cosmogony. The Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas refers to him
as the creator, says that “he made the sun to shine,” and states that
he was the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, which “sank in the
water.” He also made the Tazcaquavlt, or “tree of the mirror,”
fashioned four hundred men and a hundred women as food for the sun,
and, along with Quetzalcoatl, constructed “the road in the heavens, the
Milky Way.”
Sahagun states [128] that after Tezcatlipocâ had succeeded in driving
Quetzalcoatl from the country, “he proceeded further guilefully to kill
many Toltecs and to ally himself by marriage with Vemac or Uemac, who
was the temporal lord of the Toltecs, even as Quetzalcoatl was the
spiritual ruler of that people. To accomplish these things Tezcatlipocâ
took the appearance of a poor foreigner and presented himself naked, as
was the custom of such people, in the market-place of Tulla, selling
green chilli pepper. Now the palace of Vemac, the great king,
overlooked the market-place, and he had an only daughter, and the girl,
looking by chance among the buyers and sellers, saw the disguised god.
She was smitten through with love of him, and she began to sicken.
Vemac heard of her sickness, and he inquired of the women who guarded
her as to what ailed his daughter. They told him as best they could,
how for the love of a peddler of pepper, named Toveyo, the princess had
lain down to die. The king immediately sent a crier upon the mountain
Tzatzitepec to make this proclamation: ‘O Toltecs, seek me out Toveyo
that goes about selling green pepper, let him be brought before me.’ So
the people sought everywhere for the pepper vendor, but he was nowhere
to be found. Then after they could not find him, he appeared of his own
accord one day, at his old place and trade in the market. He was
brought before the king, who said to him: ‘Where dost thou belong to?’
and Toveyo answered, ‘I am a foreigner, come here to sell my green
pepper.’ ‘Why dost thou delay to cover thyself with breeches and a
blanket?’ said Vemac. Toveyo answered that in his country such things
were not in the fashion. Vemac continued: ‘My daughter longs after
thee, not willing to be comforted by any Toltec. She is sick of love
and thou must heal her.’ But Toveyo replied: ‘This thing can in no wise
be; kill me first; I desire to die, not being worthy to hear these
words, who get my living by selling green pepper.’ ‘I tell thee,’ said
the king, ‘that thou must heal my daughter of this her sickness; fear
not.’ Then they took the cunning god and washed him, and cut his hair,
and dyed all his body and put breeches on him and a blanket; and the
king Vemac said, ‘Get thee in and see my daughter, there, where they
guard her.’ Then the young man went in and he remained with the
princess and she became sound and well; thus Toveyo became the
son-in-law of the king of Tulla.
“Then, behold, all the Toltecs, being filled with jealousy and
offended, spake injurious and insulting words against King Vemac,
saying among themselves, ‘Of all the Toltecs can there not be found a
man, that this Vemac marries his daughter to a peddler?’ Now when the
king heard all the injurious and insulting words that the people spake
against him he was moved, and he spoke to the people saying, ‘Come
hither, behold I have heard all these things that ye say against me in
the matter of my son-in-law Toveyo; dissimulate then; take him
deceitfully with you to the war of Cacatepec and Coatepec, and let the
enemy kill him there.’ Having heard these words, the Toltecs armed
themselves, and collected a multitude and went to the war, bringing
Toveyo along. Arrived where the fighting was to take place, they hid
him with the lame and the dwarfs, charging them, as the custom was in
such cases, to watch for the enemy, while the soldiers went on to the
attack. The battle began. The Toltecs at once gave way, treacherously
and guilefully deserting Toveyo and the cripples. Leaving them to be
slaughtered at their post, they returned to Tulla and told the king how
they had left Toveyo and his companions alone in the hands of the
enemy. When the king heard the treason he was glad, thinking Toveyo
dead, for he was ashamed of having him for a son-in-law. Affairs had
gone otherwise, however, with Toveyo from what the plotters supposed.
On the approach of the hostile army he consoled his deformed
companions, saying: ‘Fear nothing; the enemy come against us, but I
know that I shall kill them all.’ Then he rose up and went forward
against them, against the men of Coatepec and Cacatepec. He put them to
flight and slew of them without number. When this came to the ears of
Vemac it weighed upon and terrified him exceedingly. He said to his
Toltecs, ‘Let us now go and receive my son-in-law.’ So they all went
out with King Vemac to receive Toveyo, bearing the arms and devices
called quetzalapanecayutl, and the shields called xiuhchimali. [129]
They gave these things to Toveyo, and he and his comrades received them
with dancing and the music of flutes, with triumph and rejoicing.
Furthermore, on reaching the palace of the king, plumes were put upon
the heads of the conquerors, and all the body of each of them was
stained yellow, and all the face red. This was the customary reward of
those that came back victorious from war. And King Vemac said to his
son-in-law: ‘I am now satisfied with what thou hast done, and the
Toltecs are satisfied; thou hast dealt very well with our enemies, rest
and take thine ease.’ But Toveyo held his peace.
“And after this, Toveyo adorned all his body with the rich feathers
called tocivitl, and commanded the Toltecs to gather together for a
festival, and sent a crier up to the top of the mountain Tzatzitepec,
to call in the strangers and the people afar off to dance and to feast.
A numberless multitude gathered to Tulla. When they were all gathered,
Toveyo led them out, young men and girls, to a place called Texcalapa,
where he himself began and led the dancing, playing on a drum. He sang
too, singing each verse to the dancers, who sang it after him, though
they knew not the song beforehand. Then was to be seen a marvellous and
terrible thing. A panic seized the Toltecs. There was a gorge or ravine
there, with a river rushing through it called the Texcaltlauhco. A
stone bridge led over the river. Toveyo broke down this bridge as the
people fled. He saw them tread and crush each other down, under-foot,
and over into the abyss. They that fell were turned into rocks and
stones; as for those that escaped, they did not see nor think that it
was Toveyo and his sorceries had wrought this great destruction; they
were blinded by the witchcraft of the god, and out of their senses like
drunken men.
“Tezcatlipocâ then proceeded to hatch further evil against the Toltecs.
He took the appearance of a certain valiant man called Teguioa, and
commanded a crier to summon all the inhabitants of Tulla and its
neighbourhood to come and help at a certain piece of work in a certain
flower-garden (said to have been a garden belonging to Quetzalcoatl).
All the people gathered to the work, whereupon the disguised god fell
upon them, knocking them on the head with a hoe. Those that escaped the
hoe were trodden down and killed by their fellows in attempting to
escape. A countless number was slain. Every man that had come to the
work was left lying dead among the trodden flowers.
“And after this Tezcatlipocâ wrought another witchcraft against the
Toltecs. He called himself Tlacavepan, or Acexcoch, and came and sat
down in the midst of the market-place of Tulla having a little manikin
(said to have been Uitzilopochtli) dancing upon his hand. There was an
instant uproar of all the buyers and sellers and a rush to see the
miracle. The people crushed and trod each other down, so that many were
killed there; and all this happened many times. At last the
god-sorcerer cried out on one such occasion: ‘What is this? Do you not
see that you are befooled by us? Stone and kill us.’ So the people took
up stones and killed the said sorcerer and his little dancing manikin.
But when the body of the sorcerer had lain in the market-place for some
time it began to stink and to taint the air, and the wind of it
poisoned many. Then the dead sorcerer spake again, saying: ‘Cast this
body outside the town, for many Toltecs die because of it.’ So they
prepared to cast out the body, and fastened ropes thereto and pulled.
But the ill-smelling corpse was so heavy that they could not move it.
Then a crier made a proclamation, saying: ‘Come, all ye Toltecs, and
bring ropes with you, that we may drag out and get rid of this
pestilential carcass.’ All came accordingly, bringing ropes, and the
ropes were fastened to the body and all pulled. It was utterly in vain.
Rope after rope broke with a sudden snap, and those that dragged on a
rope fell and were killed when it broke. Then the dead wizard looked up
and said; ‘O Toltecs, a verse of song is needed.’ And he himself gave
them a verse. They repeated the verse after him, and, singing it,
pulled all together, so that with shouts they hauled the body out of
the city, though still not without many ropes breaking and many persons
being killed as before. All this being over, those Toltecs that
remained unhurt returned every man to his place, not remembering
anything of what had happened, for they were all as drunken.
“Other signs and wonders were wrought by Tezcatlipocâ in his rôle of
sorcerer. A white bird called Iztac cuixtli was clearly seen flying
over Tulla, transfixed with a dart. At night also, the sierra called
Zacatepec burned, and the flames were seen from afar. All the people
were stirred up and affrighted, saying one to another, ‘O Toltecs, it
is all over with us now; the time of the end of Tulla is come; alas for
us, whither shall we go?’
“Then Tezcatlipocâ wrought another evil upon the Toltecs; he rained
down stones upon them. There fell also, at the same time, a great stone
from heaven called Techcatl; and when it fell the god-sorcerer took the
appearance of an old woman, and went about selling little banners in a
place called Chapultepec Cuitlapilco, otherwise named Uetzinco. Many
then became mad and bought of these banners and went to the place where
was the stone Techcatl, and there got themselves killed; and no one was
found to say so much as, ‘What is this that happens to us?’ They were
all mad.
“Another woe Tezcatlipocâ brought upon the Toltecs. All their victuals
suddenly became sour, and no one was able to eat of them. The old
woman, above mentioned, took up then her abode in a place called
Xochitla, and began to roast maize: and the odour of the roasted maize
reached all the cities round about. The starving people set out
immediately, and with one accord, to go where the old woman was. They
reached her instantly, for here it may be again said, that the Toltecs
were exceedingly light of foot, and arrived always immediately
whithersoever they wished to go. As for the Toltecs that gathered to
the mock sorceress, not one of them escaped. She killed them every
one.”
These feats of Tezcatlipocâ against the Toltecs seem to have reference
to the various species of charm wielded by the enchanter; the
love-charm, the charm by music, by disease, by destruction of victuals.
The rain of stone signified barrenness, drought, which was implied by
the nature of the god, the deity of obsidian and of tempests.
For other myths regarding Tezcatlipocâ see the chapter on Cosmogony.
NATURE AND STATUS
In my opinion the early significance of Tezcatlipocâ arises out of his
connection with obsidian. This stone had an especial sanctity for the
Mexicans, as it provided the sacrificial knives employed by the
priests, and we possess good evidence that stone in its fetish form was
worshipped even so late as the eighteenth century by the
Nahuatl-speaking Chotas, who comprised it in a trinity with the Dawn
and the Serpent. [130] From a passage in Acosta [131] we are justified
in assuming that Tezcatlipocâ’s idol was of obsidian, and, like the
Quiche god Tohil, mentioned in the Popol Vuh, he wore sandals of
obsidian, as is witnessed by one of his representations in Codex
Borbonicus, where his footgear is painted with the zigzag line of the
obsidian snake.
Tezcatlipocâ was unquestionably the god of the itztli (obsidian) stone,
and Seler [132] has identified him with Iztli, the stone-knife god, the
second of the lords of the night. In certain codices, too, he is
represented as having such a knife in place of a foot, and we know that
it was a fairly common practice of the Mexican artists to indicate the
name or race of an individual by drawing one of his feet in a
hieroglyphical manner. [133] I believe, too, that the net-like garment
worn at times by the god above his other attire is an adaptation of the
mesh-bag in which Mexican hunters carried flints for use as spear- and
arrow-heads.
This, as well as the fact that he was the god of the sharp-cutting
obsidian from which such weapons were made, caused him to be regarded
as patron deity of the wild hunting Chichimecs of the northern steppes,
a connection which is eloquent of his erstwhile primitive character. It
is clear, too, that Chalchiuhtotolin, the jewelled fowl, which is ruler
of the eighteenth day-sign, tecpatl (obsidian knife), is merely a
variant of Tezcatlipocâ. [134]
But another important link connects Tezcatlipocâ with obsidian. Bernal
Diaz states that they called this “Tezcat.” From it mirrors were
manufactured as divinatory media by the wizard. Sahagun says [135] that
it was known as aitztli (water obsidian), probably because of the high
polish of which it was capable. Another such stone he mentions was
called tepochtli, which I would translate “wizard stone,” and from
which I think, by a process of etymological confusion, Tezcatlipocâ
received one of his minor names, Telpochtli, “the youth.” The name of
the god means “Smoking Mirror,” and Acosta [136] says that the Mexicans
called Tezcatlipocâ’s mirror irlacheaya (an obvious error for
tlachialoni) “his glass to look in,” otherwise the mirror or
scrying-stone in which he was able to witness the doings of mankind. It
is possible that the “smoke” which was said to rise from this mirror
symbolized the haziness which is supposed to cloud the surface of a
divinatory glass prior to the phenomenon of vision therein.
Thus from the shape beheld in the seer’s mirror, Tezcatlipocâ came to
be regarded as the seer. That into which the wizard gazed became so
closely identified with sorcery as to be thought of as wizard-like
itself; for Tezcatlipocâ is, of all Mexican deities, the one most
nearly connected with the wizard’s art. He is par excellence the
nocturnal god who haunts the crossways and appears in a myriad phantom
guises to the night-bound wayfarer. “These,” says Sahagun, “were masks
that Tezcatlipocâ assumed to frighten the people.”
He wears the symbol of night upon his forehead; he is the moon, ruler
of the night, the wizard who veils himself behind the clouds; he bears
the severed arm of a woman who has died in childbed, as a magical
instrument, as did the naualli of old Mexico. From him all ominous and
uncanny sounds proceed: the howl of the jaguar (in which we perceive
Tezcatlipocâ as the wizard metamorphosed into the wer-animal), and the
foreboding cry of the uactli bird, the voc, the bird of Hurakan in the
Popol Vuh.
Tezcatlipocâ was undoubtedly connected with the wind, and this leads me
to suspect that in the course of his evolution he came to be thought of
as among that class of magical stones which in some mysterious manner
is considered capable of raising a tempest under the spell of the
sorcerer. [137] Of such a belief world-wide examples exist. In the
Irish island of Fladdahuan such a stone was anointed when the fisher
desired a wind [138] and was kept in wool wrappings. A piece of
pumice-stone drifted to Puka-Puka, says Lang, [139] and was regarded as
a god of winds and waves, to which offerings were made during
hurricanes. Tezcatlipocâ is none other than the original “hurricane,”
for he has been identified with the Hurakan of the Quiches of Guatemala
alluded to in the Popol Vuh, from whose name the meteorological
expression has been borrowed.
Whether or not he came to be looked upon as the wind of night which
ravined through the empty streets and deserted countryside by virtue of
the train of thought suggested above, many aspects of Tezcatlipocâ are
eloquent of his boreal attributes. Thus, he is invisible and
capricious, the object of mistrust among the people, who discerned in
tempestuous weather a manifestation of his freakish bad temper. The
myth in which he was described as pursuing Quetzalcoatl in tiger-form
will, in the section which deals with that god, be indicated as an
allegory of the clashing of the hurricane with the rain-bringing
trade-wind. Lastly, as patron of war, of the warrior’s club and
dance-house, he is, as the boisterous storm, emblematic of strife and
discord. Seats of stone over-arched with green branches were provided
for him throughout the city so that he might rest from his wanderings
if he thought good.
In the Aztec mind stone was symbolic of sin. Thus Tezcatlipocâ in his
variant, Itzlacoliuhqui, is the just avenger, who punishes evil swiftly
and terribly, for obsidian as the sacrificial knife was the instrument
of justice. [140] The coldness of stone, its hardness and dryness, seem
also to have given rise to the conception of him as god of the Toxcatl
festival in the fifth month of the year, the dry season, when the sun
stood at the zenith above Tenochtitlan. Thus, as the prayers to him
eloquently affirm, he was the god of drought, of sereness, and
barrenness.
In common with the majority of the greater Mexican deities,
Tezcatlipocâ had a stellar connection. He was one of the Tzitzimimê who
had fallen from heaven, and the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus
Pinturas remarks of him, “the constellation of the Great Bear descends
to the water because it is Tezcatlipocâ, who has his seat there,” thus
also indicating that he ruled the northern quarter, out of which, it
was considered, no good thing might come. His Tzitzimimê shape appears
to have been the spider. In American-Indian myth the stars are
frequently regarded as having spider form, and especially so in Mexican
myth. In several of the codices, notably in Codex Borbonicus, the
Tzitzimimê or star-demons are represented in insect shape. Thus,
Tezcatlipocâ, when he descended from heaven to harass Quetzalcoatl, did
so by means of a spider’s web, so that we are justified in regarding
the spider as his stellar form.
The origin of his conception as the sun of the north and as the setting
sun seems reasonably clear and is secondary in character. As the sun
sinks in the west its brilliant gold turns to a glassy red, reminiscent
of the dull reflex of light in a surface of polished obsidian. The
mirror held by Tezcatlipocâ, with its fringe of feathers, obviously
represents the sun of evening. But he is also to be thought of as the
torrid and blazing orb of the dry season, scorching and merciless.
I regard his several coloured forms as symbolic of various kinds of
weather. Thus, in his black form he appears to represent the rainy
season; in his red, the torrid and dry period of the year; in his
white, cold and frost; and in his striped painting, the embodiment of
fair weather. Thus Tezcatlipocâ is the atmospheric god par excellence,
ruler of all meteorological conditions. In the prayers offered up to
him it is frequently stated that he may, if he so chooses, send rain
and plenty, and this aspect of him seems to account for his variously
coloured disguises. That these were, indeed, regarded as practically
separate divine forms is clear from the first chapter of the Historia
de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, which alludes to the Black and Red
Tezcatlipocâ as two entirely different gods.
Tezcatlipocâ, at the period of the Conquest, had developed attributes
of a more lofty kind than any of those already described. Like
Quetzalcoatl, and because he was a god of the wind or atmosphere, he
came to be regarded as the personification of the breath of life. In
the mind of savage man the wind is usually the giver of breath, the
great store-house of respiration, the source of immediate life. In many
mythologies the name of the principal deity is synonymous with that for
wind, and in others the words “soul” and “breath” have a common origin.
It has been suggested that the Hebrew Jahveh (the archaic form of
Jehovah) is connected with the Arabic hawah, to blow or breathe, and
that Jahveh was originally a wind or tempest god.
Our word “spiritual” is derived from the Latin spirare, to blow; the
Latin animus, “spirit,” is the same word as the Greek anemos, “wind,”
and psukhe has a similar origin. All are directly evolved from verbal
roots expressing the motion of the wind or the breath. The Hebrew word
ruah is equivalent to both “wind” and “spirit,” as is the Egyptian
kneph. If we turn to the American mythologies, nija in the language of
the Dakota means “breath,” or “life”; in Netela piuts is “life,”
“breath,” and “soul”; the Yakuna language of Oregon has wkrisha,
“wind,” wkrishmit, “life.” The Creeks applied to their supreme deity
the name Esaugetuh Emissee, Master of Breath, [141] and the original
name for God in Choctaw was Hustoli, the Storm Wind. “In the identity
of wind with breath, of breath with life, of life with soul, of soul
with God, lies the far deeper and truer reason,” says Brinton, “of the
prominence given to wind-gods in many mythologies.” [142]
But although Tezcatlipocâ was the Giver of Life, he was also regarded
as a deity with power to take it away. In fact at times he appeared as
an inexorable death-dealer, and in this guise he was named
Nezahualpilli (“The Hungry Chief”) and Yaotzin (“The Enemy”). But he
was also known as Telpochtli (“The Youthful Warrior”), from the fact
that his reserve of strength, his vital force, never grew less and was
boisterously apparent, as in the tempest. As the wind at night rushes
through the roads with more seeming violence than it does by day, so
was Tezcatlipocâ pictured in the Aztec consciousness as rioting along
the highways in search of slaughter. Indeed, seats or benches of stone,
shaped like those used by the chiefs of the Mexican towns, were placed
at intervals on the roads for his use, and here he was supposed to
lurk, concealed by the green boughs which surrounded them, in wait for
his victims. Should anyone grapple with and overcome him, he might
crave whatsoever boon he desired, with the surety of its being granted.
The worship of Tezcatlipocâ previous to the Conquest had so advanced,
and so powerful had his cult become, that it would appear as if the
movement would ultimately have led to a monotheism or worship of one
god equivalent to that of the cult of Jahveh, the God of the Old
Testament among the ancient Hebrews. To his priestly caste is credited
the invention of many of the usages of civilized life, and it succeeded
in making his worship universal. The Nahua people regarded the other
gods as objects of special devotion, but the worship of Tezcatlipocâ
was general.
QUETZALCOATL = “FEATHERED SERPENT”
Area of Worship: The Plateau of Anahuac.
Minor Names:
Chicunaui eecatl—“Nine Wind.”
Ce acatl—“One Reed.”
Relationship: Son of Iztacmixcoatl and Chimalman or Xochiquetzal;
one of the Tzitzimimê.
Calendar Place:
Ruler of the second day-count, eecatl.
Ruler of the second week, ce ocelotl.
Ninth of the thirteen day-lords.
Festivals:
Ce acatl (movable feast).
Atlacahualco.
Compass Direction: East.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
General.—The insignia of Quetzalcoatl is fairly constant in its
appearance. He usually wears the Huaxtec cone-shaped hat painted in the
design of the jaguar-skin, which is occasionally divided vertically
into a black or blue and a red field, having an eye in the middle. The
hair is bound by a leather strap set with jewels, which has a
conventional bird’s head on the front, and in Codex Borgia consistently
shows a black, stepped pattern on a white ground. Elsewhere a bow with
rounded ends takes the place of this strap, but in Borgia (sheet 62)
the hair is bound up with two intertwined snakes. At the back of the
neck a fan-shaped nape-ornament is usually seen, consisting of black
feathers, from which rise the red plumes of the quetzal bird, and it
seems, from the account of the costume sent to Cortéz by Motecuhzoma,
that this nape-appendage was made from grouse-feathers, although the
Spanish account states that they belonged to the crow. The god usually
wears white ear-pendants of hook-like shape, which, Sahagun states,
were made of gold. The necklace is of spirally voluted snail-shells,
and on the breast is worn a large ornament, also sliced from a shell.
The ends of the loin-cloth are rounded off and are generally painted in
two colours—brown, the colour of the jaguar-skin, and white or red. The
god’s atlatl, or spear-thrower, is painted with the stellar design of
white circles on a black ground, and in his headdress is stuck the
agave-leaf spike and the bone dagger, the implements of penance and
mortification. The body-paint is frequently black, like that of the
priests. Most of these insignia are of Huaxtec origin and show that
Quetzalcoatl was usually associated with this coastal people. The
snail-shell ornament on the breast, the hook-shaped ear-pendant, the
fan-shaped nape-ornament, and the cone-shaped cap, were undoubtedly of
Huaxtec origin, and such objects have been taken from Huaxtec graves
and are found represented on vases and jugs from the State of Hidalgo.
In many representations of him the god is seen wearing a long-snouted
mask, usually painted a bright red, through which he was supposed to
expel the wind in his guise of Eecatl, the Wind-god. This mask is
frequently fringed with a beard.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 75: Quetzalcoatl’s body-paint is a dark
colour, and in his hair he wears unspun cotton, as does Tlazoltcotl.
Sheet 76: Here his face is painted black and he wears the fillet with
the step-pattern and the two-coloured cap, and in his hair are stuck
the instruments of mortification. He holds in his hand a snake, which
is to be regarded as the agricultural implement with which he tills the
ground.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 73: In this place he is set back to back with the
Death-god and is surrounded by the twenty day-signs. The body-paint is
light blue, and the anterior part of the face has the stellar painting
of white circles on a black ground. His conical cap has the
parti-coloured painting and the cross, the symbol of the four winds, in
the middle. On his breast he wears the snail-shell and in his hand a
blue staff. His wind-mask is entirely covered with stellar and lunar
emblems. His rattle-staff is light blue, in contradistinction to that
of the Death-god, which is sprinkled with blood. Sheet 56: Here he is
equipped with the hoe and wears the body-paint of a priest, a necklace
of jaguar-skin and teeth, the conical bi-coloured cap, the stepped
fillet with conventional bird’s head in front, and the bearded
face-mask. Stellar symbols and feather-balls dot his dress and
headdress. He stands back to back with the Death-god, and it is clear
that here he is intended to represent the heavenly Quetzalcoatl, the
giver of breath and life. On sheet 72 we see him as a priest surrounded
by day-signs and implements of mortification. Sheet 19: As represented
in this sheet he stands opposite the Death-god. He wears a
dark-coloured garment, and what can be seen of his face is painted
black, with a spiral pattern. His mantle bears the cross-hatchings
indicative of rain or water and is ornamented with feather balls. The
red wind-mask protrudes beneath a parti-coloured cap with stellar eyes,
and a fillet with step-pattern and conventional bird’s head, and he
wears the snail-shell breast ornament and carries the implements of
mortification. Sheet 16: On the lower right-hand corner of this sheet
he is depicted in a precisely similar manner.
Quetzalcoatl’s Dress sent to Cortéz.—When Cortéz landed at Vera Cruz,
Motecuhzoma, believing him to be the god Quetzalcoatl returned, sent
him “the dress that was appropriate to him.” [143] This consisted of
four costumes, that of Quetzalcoatl proper, and those of Tezcatlipocâ,
Tlaloc, and Xiuhtecutli, the Fire-god, who were regarded as the four
deities dominant in the four quarters of the heavens, and had in the
higher theology become fused in the conception of Quetzalcoatl, or were
regarded as variants of him. The Quetzalcoatl dress proper is said by
Sahagun to have consisted of the turquoise snake-mask, now to be seen
in the British Museum, and which can be easily identified by the folds
of the snake’s body forming the eyebrows, the quetzal-feather
adornment, and the turquoise throwing-stick, shaped in the form of a
snake. It seems probable, however, that this dress, although it is
described as that of Quetzalcoatl, was that associated with the
Fire-god.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—Sheet 89: Quetzalcoatl is here represented in a
dancing attitude. He wears the Huaxtec hat made of jaguar-skin, the
shield with the snail-shell ornament, which is also reproduced on his
breast, and the yellow and red face-painting. The bone “reed” for
piercing the tongue is stuck in his headgear, and from it depend balls
of cotton. He carries an atlatl, or spear-thrower, symbolic of rain or
wind, and similar in motif to the nose-ornament of the Maya God B. His
mantle is cross-hatched to symbolize rain or water and is decorated
with red bows. He wears anklets of jaguar-skin, and a panache of green
and yellow feathers.
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—In the illustration which
accompanies his description in this MS. he wears a pointed cap of
jaguar-skin, surmounted by quetzal-plumes. The face and body are
painted black with soot, and a curved band falls from beneath the hat
to the neck. He wears the golden “water-snake” collar, and on his back
the wing of the red guacamayo. Over the hips is slung a cloth with a
red border. He wears white sandals, and pieces of jaguar-skin are
fastened over the foot. On his shield he has the shell which is typical
of him, and in his hand a staff with a motif like that of the nose of
the Maya God B. Sahagun says of him: “His image was always in a
recumbent position and covered with blankets. The face of it was very
ugly, the head large and furnished with a long beard.” [144]
Torquemada states that Quetzalcoatl was a white man, large-bodied,
broad-browed, great-eyed, with long black hair and a beard heavy and
rounded. [145]
Acosta says of Quetzalcoatl’s image at Cholula: “They called it
Quetzallcoalt. This idoll was in a great place in a temple very high.
It had about it gold, silver, jewels, very rich feathers, and habits of
divers colours. It had the forme of a man, but the visage of a little
bird with a red bill, and above a combe full of warts, having ranks of
teeth and the tongue hanging out. It carried upon the head a pointed
myter of painted paper, a sithe in the hand, and many toyes of gold on
the legs, with a thousand other foolish inventions, whereof all had
their significations.” [146]
Elsewhere Acosta says: “The greatest idoll of all their gods was called
Quezcalcovately.... He never ware but one garment of cotton, which was
white, narrow and long, and upon that a mantle beset with certain red
crosses. They have certain green stones which were his, and those they
keep for relickes. One of them is like an ape’s head.”
Anales de Quauhtitlan.—In this work Quetzalcoatl is described as
wearing the turquoise snake-mask and the quetzal-feather ornament—that
is, the decorations of the Fire-god: “Lastly in the year one reed they
say, when he had arrived on the shore of the sea, then he began to weep
and put off the garb with which he was arrayed, his quetzal-feather
ornament, his turquoise mask.”
STATUARY
A statuette of the god from the Valley of Mexico exhibits him in a high
cap, ornamented round the lower portion with a serpentine motif, and
wearing the sliced snail-shell dress-ornament. A caryatid found in the
Calle de las Escalerillas, Mexico City, on the 16th of October 1900,
represents him with a long, pointed beard, which might, however, be
interpreted as the mouth-mask of the Wind-god lowered down to show the
upper part of the face more clearly, and it would seem from this statue
that the beard with which Quetzalcoatl is represented in some places in
Mexican art is nothing more or less than the mouth-mask pushed down
over the chin and neck, although it must be admitted that his mask is
frequently depicted with what is undoubtedly a beard. A relief
excavated at the Castillo de Teayo shows Quetzalcoatl wearing the
feathered-serpent helmet-mask, which in this representation is most
elaborate, and the sliced snail-shell dress-ornament. Two figures of
Quetzalcoatl found near Texcuco exhibit considerable differentiation
from other forms. In both he is seated on the top of a teocalli or
temple, and behind him is seen the solar emblem, represented as a
large, flaming disc. He wears a high cap which reminds one of the crown
of Upper Egypt, as seen in Egyptian representations, except that it is
flanked on either side by two large studs or knobs and is surrounded at
the base by the serpent-motif, as in the specimen from the Valley of
Mexico. He also wears his usual breast-ornament. In a round sculpture
found at Puebla we perhaps see Quetzalcoatl as a butterfly, and can
only identify this figure as the god because of the wind-mask it wears.
WALL-PAINTINGS
In several of the wall-paintings at Mitla, and especially in those on
the north side of Palace I, Quetzalcoatl is depicted as wearing the
insignia usually connected with him in Mexico. In one of these he wears
the Huaxtec cap with jaguar-skin markings, having the sacrificial
implements stuck in it, and the wind-mouth mask, with beard. The
snail-shell ornament adorns his shield. In another the facial insignia
is less easily seen, but the large nape-fan with which he is frequently
adorned is well depicted. Immediately behind this is a figure, which,
though partially destroyed, is still interesting because of its high
degree of conventionality. We have here the cap and panache of
Quetzalcoatl, together with the strip running from brow to eye and from
eye to jaw, which is part of the face-painting of the Moon-god.
Moreover, in the corner we have the symbol of the moon, a pot-shaped
bone, so that here, I think, we have a symbol of Quetzalcoatl as the
Moon-god. In the preceding figure, too, we have also the lunar emblem,
in this place in shape like the nose-plug of the octli-gods, but
containing the stellar eye, and flanked by balls of feather-down. It
would thus seem that the symbol has some reference to Quetzalcoatl in
his variant of the planet Venus. Moreover the eye appears as gouged
out. This eye-gouging is seen in the Maya Books of Chilan Balam, in the
case of the god Itzamná. These two latter paintings, Seler thinks, are
symbolic of the Uiyatao, or the high-priests of Mitla, who were
regarded as incarnations of Quetzalcoatl. [147]
MYTHS
The myths concerning Quetzalcoatl are numerous and conflicting. In the
first place I shall provide a careful précis of the more important,
their prolixity rendering full quotation impossible.
Sahagun’s account of Quetzalcoatl may be summarized as follows: The
arts had their inception with Quetzalcoatl. His houses were made of
chalchiuites, silver, white, and red shells, and rich feathers. His
folk were nimble and swift in passage from one place to another, and
were called tlanquacemilhiyme. [148] He gave his commands to the
people for a hundred leagues round by means of a crier stationed on the
mountain Tzotzitepetl. [149] He had wealth in abundance, provision in
plenty, and in his time maize was so large in the head that a man might
not carry more than one stalk in his clasped arms. Pumpkins were in
circumference as great as a man is high, and the stalks of the wild
amaranth grew like trees. Cotton grew in all colours—red, scarlet,
yellow, violet, white, green, blue, black, grey, orange, and tawny. In
the city of Tollan, where Quetzalcoatl dwelt, were many birds of rich
plumage and sweet song. The servants of Quetzalcoatl were wealthy and
had abundance of all things, and food was plentiful with them. Their
master did penance by pricking his legs and drawing blood with the
spines of the maguey and by washing at midnight in a fountain. But
sorcerers came against Quetzalcoatl and his people, the Toltecs, and
these, we are told, were the gods Tezcatlipocâ, Uitzilopochtli, and
Tlacuepan. Tezcatlipocâ visited the house of Quetzalcoatl in the guise
of an old man, but was told that he was sick, and was at first refused
entrance. Later, however, he was admitted, Quetzalcoatl observing that
he had waited for him for many days. Tezcatlipocâ then produced a
draught of medicine which, he assured the sick king, would intoxicate
him, ease his heart, and carry his thoughts away from the trials and
fatigues of death and departure. [150] This latter phrase roused
Quetzalcoatl to ask where he must go, for that he had a premonition of
departure seems clear. “To Tollantlapallan,” replied Tezcatlipocâ,
“where another old man awaits thee. He and you shall speak together,
and on thy return thou shalt be as a youth, yea as a boy.” With little
goodwill Quetzalcoatl quaffed the medicine, and having once tasted of
it he drank more deeply, so that at last he became intoxicated and
maudlin. That which he had drunk was the wine made from the
maguey-plant, called teoncetl (“drink of the gods”). And so great a
longing to depart came upon him that at length he arose and went from
Tollan. [151] Ere departing, Quetzalcoatl burned his houses of shells
and silver and buried many precious things in the mountains and
ravines. He turned the cocoa-trees into mezquites and dispatched all
the birds of brilliant plumage in Anahuac, three hundred miles away. On
his journey to the coast he came to the hill Quauhtitlan, where he
found a great tree, under which he rested. Gazing into a mirror, as he
reclined under its shade, he said, “I am very old,” named the place
Ueuequauhtitlan after his saying, [152] and stoned the tree. The stones
he cast at it sank into its trunk, and were to be seen remaining there
for long afterwards. Preceded by flute-players, he recommenced his
journey, but once more became weary, and rested on a stone by the
wayside. Looking towards Tollan, he wept, and his tears pitted the
stone on which he sat, and the imprints of his hands and thighs also
remained thereon. That place he called Temacpalco. Reaching a great
river, he halted until a stone bridge was built over it, and having
crossed, he called the place Tepanaoya. Certain sorcerers now met him,
and asked him whither he was bound, why he had left his city of Tollan,
and who would now do penance there. Quetzalcoatl replied that he must
go, that he was called to Tlapallan by the Sun. The sorcerers requested
him to leave behind his knowledge of the mechanical arts, the smelting
of silver, the working of precious stones, and masonry, painting, and
feather-work. These he left with them perforce. But his treasure of
jewels he cast into the fountain of Cozcaapan hard by. Another magician
whom he met insisted upon his drinking a draught which he could give
“to none of the living.” Intoxicated, he slept, and when he awoke, tore
his hair. That place was called Cachtoca. Pursuing his journey, he
passed between a mountain of snow and a volcano, where his hump-backed
and dwarfish servants perished from the excessive cold. Bitterly he
bewailed their death in song. Passing on, leaving signs of his progress
on every hand, and sliding down the mountains, he tarried here and
there, building a tlachtli court at one place, the markings of which
were visible in deep gashes on the hills. Once he transfixed a tree
with a dart or with another tree, so that it resembled a cross. In
other localities he constructed subterranean houses (mictlancalco),
and elsewhere balanced a great rolling-stone, and on all these spots he
conferred names. At length he came to the sea-shore, where he commanded
that a raft of snakes (coatapochtli) should be constructed for him. In
this he seated himself as in a canoe, put out to sea, and set out for
Tlapallan. [153]
Torquemada’s account of the Quetzalcoatl myth somewhat resembles that
of Sahagun, due, no doubt, to the circumstance that he had access to
the unpublished MS. of that author, from which he borrowed in a
wholesale manner. The points of difference are these: Quetzalcoatl was
high-priest of Tollan, whence he migrated to Cholula. The ruler of
Tollan was one Huemac, but Quetzalcoatl was its chief in spiritual and
ecclesiastical matters. In drinking the magic potion of Tezcatlipocâ,
Quetzalcoatl desired to render himself immortal. He left the impress of
his body on a stone situated on a mountain near the city of
Tlalnepantla (or Temacpalco), two leagues from Mexico, as the natives
declared to Torquemada himself. Met by the sorcerers Tezcatlipocâ and
the others who tried to hinder his going, he refused to stay his
progress, and said that he must pass on to the sun-land. Father
Sahagun, remarks Torquemada, when at Xochimilco, was asked by the
natives, who were keenly desirous of knowledge on the point, where
Tlapallan was, and replied that he did not know, as he had then not
been long among them. The fountain in which Quetzalcoatl cast his
jewels was now called Coaapan, “in the snake-water.” He then passed on
to Cholula, where he was adored as a god. When he had resided there for
twenty years, he was expelled by Tezcatlipocâ. Setting out once more
for Tlapallan, accompanied by four virtuous youths, he embarked at
Coatzacoalco. Bidding farewell to his disciples, he assured them that
at a future time there would come by way of the sea, where the sun
rises, certain white men with white beards, like him, and that these
would be his brothers and would rule the land. These disciples became
the rulers of the four provinces of Cholula. Quetzalcoatl was god of
the air, and during his life on earth was devoted to the careful
observance of the older forms of worship, but instituted many new
rites, ceremonies, and festivals and made the calendar. Barren women
prayed to him. He swept the road, so that the Tlaloque might rain. For
a month or so before the rainy season stormy winds blew throughout New
Spain. The Cholulans preserved as relics green stones that had belonged
to him, on one of which was carved a monkey’s head. A great temple to
him was founded at Cholula. [154]
Elsewhere Torquemada descants on the Quetzalcoatl myth as follows: A
body of men came from the north by way of Panuco, dressed in long robes
of black linen, cut low at the neck, with short sleeves. They came to
Tollan, but finding the country there too thickly peopled, passed on to
Cholula, where they were well received. Their chief was Quetzalcoatl, a
man with ruddy complexion and long beard. These people multiplied and
sent colonists to the Mixtec and Zapotec countries, raising the great
buildings at Mitla. They were cunning handicraftsmen, not so good at
masonry as at jewellers’ work, sculpture, and agriculture. Tezcatlipocâ
and Huemac conceived an enmity to Quetzalcoatl, and as he did not wish
to go to war with them, he and his folk removed to Onohualco (Yucatan,
Tabasco, and Campeche). [155]
Motolinia says of Quetzalcoatl that when Iztacmixcoatl, the Mexican
Adam, married his second wife Chimalmat, she bore him Quetzalcoatl, who
grew up chaste and temperate. He instituted fasting and mortification,
and never married. He founded the custom of drawing blood from the ears
and tongue in penitence. A certain Chichemecatl fastened a leather
strap to his arm, near the shoulder, and from that time this
Chichemecatl was known as Acolhuatl, and became the ancestor of the
Colhua. Quetzalcoatl was god of the air and many temples were raised to
him. [156]
Mendieta has much to say of Quetzalcoatl, but in a synopsis of his
account we retain only such circumstances as have not been already
alluded to: Many different traditions regarding Quetzalcoatl existed,
some saying that he was the son of Camacotli (Camaxtli), god of hunting
and fishing, and of his wife Chimialuna; others that Chimialuna, when
sweeping one day, found a chalchihuitl stone, by virtue of which she
became miraculously pregnant and gave birth to Quetzalcoatl, who came
either from Tollan or Yucatan. The people came to love him, not only
because he taught them handicrafts, and desired no offerings but those
of bread, flowers, and perfumes. He forbade all war and disturbance.
Pilgrims came to his shrine at Cholula from all parts of Mexico, even
the enemies of Cholula, and the lords of distant lands built them
chapels and idols there. Among all the gods only Quetzalcoatl was
called Lord, and men swore by him. The gods thought it well that the
people should have some means of writing by which they might direct
themselves, and two of their number, Oxomoco and Cipactonal, who dwelt
in a cave in Cuernavaca, especially considered the matter. Cipactonal
thought that her descendant Quetzalcoatl should be consulted, and she
called him into counsel. He, too, thought the idea of a calendar good,
and the two addressed themselves to the task of making the tonalamatl.
To Cipactonal was given the privilege of choosing and writing the first
sign. She painted the cipactli animal, and called the sign ce cipactli
(“one cipactli”). Oxmoco then wrote ome acatl (“two cane”), and
Quetzalcoatl “three house,” and so on, until the thirteen signs were
completed. [157]
Another form of the Quetzalcoatl myth given by Mendieta is in substance
as follows: Tezcatlipocâ let himself down from the upper regions by
means of a spider’s web, and coming to Tollan engaged in a game of
tlachtli (the native ball game) with Quetzalcoatl, in the midst of
which he transformed himself into a tiger. Those who watched the game
were panic-stricken, and cast themselves pell-mell into a ravine, and
were drowned in a river which flowed therein. Tezcatlipocâ then
harassed Quetzalcoatl from city to city, until he drove him to Cholula,
and latterly to Tlapallan, where he died, and where his followers burnt
his body, thus inaugurating the custom of burning the dead. [158]
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis says regarding
Quetzalcoatl:
“Quetcalcoatl they say was he who created the world; and they bestowed
upon him the appellation of Lord of the Wind, because they said that
Tonacatecotli when it appeared good to him breathed and begat
Quecalcoatle. They erected round temples to him without any corners.
They said that it was he (who was also lord of these thirteen signs
which are here represented) who formed the first man. They celebrated a
festival on the sign of four earthquakes, to the destroyer with
reference to the fate which again waited the world; for they said that
it had undergone four destructions and would again be destroyed. He
alone had a human body like that of men; the other gods were of an
incorporeal nature.
“After the deluge the custom of sacrificing commenced. Topilcin
Quetcalcoatle was born on the day of seven canes; and they celebrated
on this same day of seven canes a great festival in Cholula, to which
they came from all parts of the country and the cities and brought
great presents to the lords and papas of the temple; and they did the
same on the day on which he disappeared or died, which was the day of
One Cane. These festivals happened at the expiration of every period of
fifty-two years.
“They here fasted the last four days to Quecalcoatl of Tula, who is he
who was named after the first Calcoatle; and now they name him One
Cane, which is the star Venus, of which they tell the fable accredited
amongst them.
“Tlavizcalpantecutli is the star Venus the first created light
(Civahteltona) before the deluge. They say that it was a fire or a
star: it was created before the sun. This star (Venus) is Quecalcoatle.
They say this is the star which we call Lucifer from its light; and
they accordingly paint it with the sign of one Cane, which was the day
dedicated to it. He took this name on the occasion of his departure or
disappearance. Tlavizcalpantecutli is the God of Morning when it begins
to dawn: he is also the Lord of Twilight on the approach of Night: he
presided over these thirteen days during the four last of which they
fasted. It properly was the first light which appeared in the world; it
here signifies the light which diffuses itself over things, or the
surface of the earth.”
The interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A says:
“They invented dreams, the result of their own blindness, relating that
a god of the name of Citallatonac, which is the sign seen in heaven
called St. James’s or the Milky Way, sent an ambassador from heaven on
an embassy to a virgin of Tulan called Chimalman (a shield) who had two
sisters, the one named Tzochitlique and the other Couatlique; and that
the three being alone in the house, two of them, observing the
ambassador of heaven, died of fright, Chimalman alone remaining alive,
to whom the ambassador announced that it was the will of this god that
she should conceive a son; and having delivered to her the message, he
rose and left the house, and as soon as he had left it she conceived a
son without connection with man, who they called Quetzalcoatle, who
they say is the god of air, and his temples are round in the manner of
churches, although till that time such was not the fashion of their
temples. He was the inventor of temples of this form as we shall show.
He it was, as they say, who caused hurricanes and in my opinion was the
god who was called Citaladuali and it was he who destroyed the world by
winds. This painting is here wanting, together with another which
represented that as soon as the son of this virgin was born he
possessed the use of reason. The son of the virgin, Topilcin
Quetzalcoatle, knowing that the vices of men were necessarily the cause
of the troubles of the world, determined on asking the goddess
Chalchiutlicue (this was the heavenly designation of the virgin
Chimalman) who is she who remained after the deluge with the man in the
tree, and is the mother of the god Tlaloque, whom they have made
goddess of water, that they might obtain rain when they stood in need
of and accordingly Quetzalcoatle commenced offering sacrifices to
obtain rain, as a period of four years had elapsed since it had rained.
“Quetzalcoatltopilzin does penance and makes offerings of prayers,
sacrifice, gold gems, incense, etc., to appease divine wrath against
the people; draws his own blood with thorns. After the expiration of a
long period during which he continued his penance a lizard appeared
scratching the ground giving him to understand that the scourge of
heaven was past and that the earth would with joy produce its fruits,
which quickly came to pass; and accordingly they relate that on a
sudden such abundance followed that the earth, which had remained so
many years barren, bore many kinds of fruit and from that even they
took four signs.
“Quetzalcoatl’s example teaches men to do penance, make offerings. He
founded four temples—the first for the nobles; second, for the people;
third, House of Fear or Serpent; fourth, Temple of Shame.
“Of Quetzalcoatle they relate that, proceeding on his journey, he
arrived at the Red Sea, which is here painted, and which they named
Tlapallan; and that entering into it, they saw no more of him, nor knew
what became of him, except that they say that he desired them at the
time of his departure to restrain their grief and to expect his return,
which would take place at the appointed time; and accordingly they
expect him even to the present time: and when the Spaniards came to
this country they believed that it was he, and when at a later period
of 1550 when the Çapotecas revolted, they alleged, as the cause of
their insurrection, the report that their god who had to redeem them
had already come. Quetzalcoatle was born on the sign One Cane; and the
year of the Spaniards’ arrival commenced on the sign One Cane,
according to their ancient Computation: whence the occasion arose of
their believing that the Spaniards were their gods; because they say
that he had foretold that a bearded nation would arrive in those
countries who would subject them. They adored him as a god, as will be
seen: for they believed it certain that he had ascended into heaven and
was that star which was visible at the north of the sun before the
break of day, which is the planet Venus; and they represented him
accordingly as has already been shown.
“Quetzalcoatle was the first inventor of sacrifices of human blood,
amongst the various other things which they offered to the gods; and
this was the manner in which they pierced their tongues, that the blood
might flow ... and their ears and penis; till at last, as we shall
presently mention, the custom of human sacrifices was introduced, when
they tore out the hearts of the victims to present them to the face of
the idol which they considered the image of their wretched god.
“They declare that their supreme deity Tonacatecotle, whom we have just
mentioned, who by another name was called Citinatonali, when it
appeared good to him, breathed and begot Quetzalcoatle, not by
connection with woman, but by his breath alone, as we have observed
above, when he sent his ambassador, as they say, to the virgin of Tula.
They believed him to be the god of the air and he was the first to whom
they built temples and churches, which they formed perfectly round
without any angles. They say that it was he who effected the
reformation of the world by penance, since as, according to his
account, his father had created the world and men had given themselves
up to vice, on which account it had been frequently destroyed,
Citinatonali sent his son into the world to reform it.... They assigned
to him the dominion over the other thirteen signs, which are here
represented, in the same manner in which they assigned the preceding
thirteen to his father. They celebrated a great festival on this sign,
as we shall see on the sign of four earthquakes, which is the fourth in
order here, because they feared that the world would be destroyed in
that sign, as he had foretold to them when he disappeared in the Red
Sea, which event occurred on the same sign. As they considered him
their advocate, they celebrated a solemn festival and fasted during
four signs.”
The Anales de Quauhtitlan or Codex Chimalpopocâ states that
Quetzalcoatl was born in no natural manner, but was a nine years’
child. He created the four classes of men: the men of the four “suns”
or periods of the world were made by him on the day chicome ehecatl, or
“seven wind.” The record proceeds to relate the circumstances of his
rule at Tollan, the manner in which he discovered the value of precious
stones, gold and silver, red and white shells, quetzal feathers, the
cotinga and red sparrowbill feathers, the various species of cocoa and
cotton. When he had drunk the octli offered him by Tezcatlipocâ, he
forgot his chastity in the intoxication and indulged in intercourse
with Quetzalpetlatl, for which sin he was forced to quit Mexico. When
he was driven from Tollan in the year one reed, he arrived on the
sea-shore, wept, and divested himself of his garb and turquoise
snake-mask. Then he immolated himself by burning, his ashes became dust
and changed into birds and his heart was converted into the morning
star. Lastly, it is said of him that when he died he was not visible
for four days, during which period he tarried in the Underworld. For a
subsequent four days “he was bones.” “After eight days appeared the
great star which they called Quetzalcoatl. They said that he thus
mounted the throne as a god.”
In its second or historical portion the codex states that Quetzalcoatl
discovered maize which was concealed in the mountain Tonacatepetl. Many
of the gods searched for it, but Quetzalcoatl, taking the form of a
black ant, was guided to the spot by a red ant. As he was unable to
lift the mountain, it was split open by the magical prowess of Xolotl
in his manifestation of Nanahuatl, and the maize became the spoil of
Quetzalcoatl. But it was stolen from him by Tlaloc, the rain-god
proper, perhaps an allegorical manner of alluding to the more direct
influence of that deity upon growth.
Other myths relating to Quetzalcoatl, chiefly as a creative agency,
will be found in the précis of the opening chapters of the Historia de
los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, in the chapter on Cosmogony.
In Codex Borgia we find a passage (sheets 35–46) which appears to refer
to the progress of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipocâ through the infernal
regions, and which might be described as the Mexican “Harrying of
Hell.” On this passage Seler has briefly commented (see his Commentary
on Codex Vaticanus B, p. 119).
CENTRAL AMERICAN MYTHS RELATING TO QUETZALCOATL
Quetzalcoatl is, perhaps, singular among the deities of Mexico in that
a number of well-authenticated Central American myths cluster around
his name in its forms of Kukulcan, Gucumatz, and Votan. Certain of
these must be considered here, for purposes of comparison and analogy.
Nuñez de la Vega: A book in the Quiche tongue, said to have been
written by Votan, a local name for Quetzalcoatl, was at one time in the
possession of Nuñez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapas, who included
portions of it in his Constituciones Diocesianos de Chiapas, but
nevertheless destroyed it in his holocaust of MSS. at Heuheutlan in
1691. Ordoñez de Aguilar had, however, made a copy of it before its
destruction, and incorporated it in his Historia de Cielo MS. In this
work Votan declared himself “a snake,” a descendant of Imos, of the
line of Chan [159] of the race of Chivim. Taking Aguilar’s account
along with that of Nuñez de la Vega, as both rely upon the same
authority, we find that Votan proceeded to America by divine command,
his mission being to lay the foundation of civilization. With this
object in view he departed from Valum Chivim, [160] passing the
dwelling of the thirteen snakes, and arrived in Valum Votan, whence,
with some members of his family, he set out to form a settlement,
ascending the Usumacinta River and ultimately founding Palenque. By
reason of their peculiar dress the Tzendal Indians called them
Tzequitles, or “men with shirts,” but consented to amalgamate with
them. Ordoñez states that when Votan had established himself at
Palenque he made several visits to his original home. On one of these
he came to a tower which had been intended to reach the heavens, a
project which had been brought to naught by the linguistic confusion of
those who conceived it. Finally he was permitted to reach “the rock of
heaven” by a subterranean passage. Returning to Palenque, he found that
others of his race had arrived there, and with them he made a friendly
pact. He built a temple by the Heuheutan River, known, from its
subterranean chambers, as “the House of Darkness,” and here he
deposited the national records under the charge of certain old men
called tlapianes, or guardians, and an order of priestesses. Here also
were kept a number of tapirs. A quotation of the passage dealing with
this temple may be made from Nuñez de la Vega:
“Votan is the third heathen in the calendar (that is the deity who is
ascribed to the third division of the calendar), and in the little
history written in the Indian language all the provinces and cities in
which he tarried were mentioned; and to this day there is always a clan
in the city of Teopisa that they call the Votans. It is also said that
he is the lord of the hollow wooden instrument which they call
tepanaguaste (that is, the Mexican teponaztli); that he saw the great
wall, namely, the tower of Babel, which was built from earth to heaven
at the bidding of his grandfather, Noah; and that he was the first man
whom God sent to divide and apportion this country of India, and that
there, where he saw the great wall, he gave to every nation its special
language. It is related that he tarried in Huehueta (which is a city in
Soconusco), and that there he placed a tapir and a great treasure in a
slippery (damp, dark, subterranean) house, which he built by the breath
of his nostrils, and he appointed a woman as chieftain, with tapianes
(that is, Mexican tlapiani, “keepers”) to guard her. This treasure
consisted of jars, which were closed with covers of the same clay, and
of a room in which the picture of the ancient heathens who are in the
calendar were engraved in stone, together with chalchiuites (which are
small, heavy, green stones) and other superstitious images; and the
chieftainess herself and the tapianes, her guardians, surrendered all
these things, which were publicly burned in the market place of
Huehueta when we inspected the aforesaid province in 1691. All the
Indians greatly revere this Votan, and in a certain province they call
him ‘heart of the cities’ (Corazon de los pueblos).”
In his ninth Pastoral Letter Nuñez says of Quetzalcoatl:
“In most of the Calendars, the seventh sign is the figure of a man and
a snake, which they call Cuchulchan. The masters have explained it as a
snake with feathers which moves in the water. This sign corresponds
with Mexzichaut (Mixcoatl), which means Cloudy Serpent, or, of the
clouds. The people also consult them in order to work injury on their
enemies, taking the lives of many through such devilish artifices, and
committing unspeakable atrocities.”
The Popol Vuh.—The myths relating to Quetzalcoatl under his name of
Gucumatz in the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiche of Guatemala,
are difficult to summarize. In the first chapter he is alluded to as
“the serpent covered with feathers, the heart of the lakes, the heart
of the sea, master of the sky, master of the blue expanse,” and is
connected with the creative gods. Along with Hurakan (Tezcatlipocâ) he
creates the world by uttering the word “earth.” The creation of man
having been considered, the wherewithal for his sustenance is debated.
Gucumatz, who is sometimes alluded to in the plural, like the Hebrew
Elohim, succeeds in discovering maize in Paxil by the aid of the fox,
jackal, parrot, and crow, and obtains the seeds of other alimentary
plants (pt. iii, c. i.) Gucumatz then created man by a “miracle” (c.
ii). In c. v, pt. iii, Quetzalcoatl is alluded to as Tohil, a parallel
for which we have justification in ver. 19 of c. x, where in the song
called Kamucu (“We see”) the first men sing: “Truly Tohil is the name
of the god of the Zaqui nation, which was called Yolcuat-quetzalcuat
when we separated in the place Tolan in Zuiva.” But the myths relating
to this deity are obviously tribal and local, and I am of opinion that
they refer to some tribal deity who possessed some of the
characteristics of Quetzalcoatl and who was identified with him by the
Quiches in rather an arbitrary fashion. [161]
FESTIVALS
Atlacahualco.—The festival of Atlacahualco or Quaitl Eloa was, says
Sahagun, sacred to Quetzalcoatl, as well as to the Tlaloque. For an
account of it see the section which deals with Tlaloc.
Ce Acatl.—Says Sahagun: “On the first day of the sign ce acatl the
great folk made a feast to Quetzalcoatl, the god of winds. This was
celebrated in the calmecac, and here they offered rich gifts to his
idol, perfumes and things to eat. They said it was the sign of
Quetzalcoatl.”
PRIESTHOOD
The order of priests devoted to the service of Quetzalcoatl [162] was
called Tlamacazcayotl, and its members Tlamacazque. Of these Clavigero,
who was well informed regarding the Mexican priesthood, says: “Amongst
the different orders or congregation, both of men and women, who
dedicated themselves to the worship of some particular gods, that of
Quetzalcoatl is worthy to be mentioned. The life led in the colleges or
monasteries of either sex, which were devoted to this imaginary god,
was uncommonly rigid and austere. The dress of the order was extremely
decent; they bathed regularly at midnight, and watched until about two
hours before day, singing hymns to their god, and observing many rules
of an austere life. They were at liberty to go to the mountains at any
hour of the day or night, to spill their blood; this was permitted them
from a respect to the virtue which they were all thought to possess.
The superiors of the monasteries bore also the name of Quetzalcoatl,
and were persons of such high authority, that they visited but the king
when it was necessary. The members of this religious order were
destined to it from their infancy. The parents of the child invited the
superior to an entertainment, who usually deputed one of his subjects.
The deputy brought the child to him, upon which he took the boy in his
arms and offered him with a prayer to Quetzalcoatl, and put a collar
about his neck, which was to be worn until he was seven years old. When
the boy completed his second year, the superior made a small incision
in his breast, which, like the collar, was another mark of his
destination. As soon as the boy attained his seventh year he entered
into the monastery, having first heard a long discourse from his
parents, in which they advertised him of the vow which they had made to
Quetzalcoatl, and exhorted him to fulfil it, to behave well, to submit
himself to his prelate, and to pray to the gods for his parents and the
whole nation.”
The high-priest of Quetzalcoatl was stationed at Cholula and was,
perhaps, the most venerated ecclesiastic in Mexico.
TEMPLES
The principal temple of the cult of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico was the
well-known teocalli at Cholula. He had also a shrine in the great
temple court at Mexico, built in circular form, and thus typical of the
Wind-god.
NATURE AND STATUS
The latest of the myths concerning Quetzalcoatl are obviously those
which regard him as a culture-hero who enters the country as an alien,
and, his beneficent work performed, withdraws to the place whence he
came, under pressure of malignant opposition. Had the basic outline of
his myth been more carefully examined, fewer unsatisfactory hypotheses
concerning Quetzalcoatl’s nature might have been ventured upon. The
Mexicans themselves recognized Quetzalcoatl as a wind-god, but Dr.
Seler has not seen fit to accept their assurance upon this point in
toto, and at various times has advanced the hypotheses that
Quetzalcoatl represents the wind, the planet Venus, or the moon,
latterly confining his personality almost entirely to the lamp of
night. [163]
In my view the physical phenomena which occur in connection with the
courses of the winds typical of the Mexican plateau provide by far the
most simple and natural explanation of the nature of the god
Quetzalcoatl. From April or May to the beginning of October the
trade-wind blows from the east coast over the Plateau of Anahuac,
bringing with it abundance of rain, and accelerating vegetable growth,
thus actually “sweeping the ways for the rain-gods.” Its advance is
comparatively slow, the rains beginning three or four weeks earlier in
Vera Cruz than in Puebla and Mexico. At the beginning of October,
however, it is invariably modified by the local monsoon, which
interrupts it over wide areas, or in certain districts invades it in
violent cyclonic storms, dissipating its energies and altering its
course. Quetzalcoatl represents the gentle trade-wind, which ushers in
the growth-making rains. His reign of peace, plenty, and fertility
over, he comes into opposition with Tezcatlipocâ, who represents the
monsoon and who chases his rival “from city to city,” ravening at him
like a tiger, says Mendieta, and at last hustling him out of the
country. That Tezcatlipocâ is also a god of wind is certain, as is
proved by one of his names, Yoalli Ehecatl, “Wind of Night,” and that
he is the monsoon or hurricane is proved beyond all doubt by the
circumstance that he is said to have rushed along the highways at night
at extraordinary speed, and that Hurakan, his Quiche name, is still
employed for the very wind he represented, and has become a generic
name for a tempestuous wind in practically all European languages,
which have without question adopted it from the American word. [164]
If this simple elucidation of the original myth be accepted, it will be
seen how naturally its later modifications arise out of it or adapt
themselves to it. But before we examine the manner in which they
crystallized around it, it becomes necessary to disentangle from the
whole mass that portion of it which alludes to the advent of a
civilizing agency upon the Mexican plateau.
This speaks of the advance of a body of men from the neighbourhood of
Vera Cruz to the Mexican plateau, and precisely in the direction whence
the trade-wind comes—that is, from the east, the direction of the land
of the Huaxtecs, a people of proto-Maya stock.
Quetzalcoatl is dressed in Huaxtec garb, and wears the truncated
sugar-loaf hat and shell-ornaments of this people. This may signify
nothing more than that he was so attired because he represented a wind
which blew from the direction of the land of the Huaxtecs. Yet, it is
certain that several of the deities adopted by the Mexicans had
undoubtedly a Huaxtec origin, and this is markedly the case with
Tlazoltcotl. There seems to be some ground, then, for the hypothesis
that Quetzalcoatl was a god of Huaxtec origin. But the acceptance of
such a theory will entail the acknowledgment of certain hypotheses
which are among the most controverted questions in Mexican archæology.
In the first place, it makes Quetzalcoatl the deity of a people of Maya
stock, and secondly it would seem to imply a Huaxtec or Maya origin for
the much-debated Toltec culture.
A discussion of these points must begin with the question, “Has the
myth of Quetzalcoatl’s civilizing mission to the Mexican plateau any
historical justification?” Regarding the reality of the civilization
known as Toltec there is now no question, although I fully admit that
it took me a long time to realize this, thanks principally to my
acceptance of Brinton’s well-known theory on the subject, to which I
attached far too much weight. But admitting Toltec reality, what proof
do we possess that such a civilizing agency as that of Quetzalcoatl
gave an impetus to the “prehistoric” culture of Tollan? But little—that
is if we are to regard Quetzalcoatl as a man. But in his guise as the
gentle trade-wind that ushers in the rains, we have every reason to see
in him the founder of the Toltec civilization. Such a culture as the
Toltec must undoubtedly have had its origin in agricultural efficiency.
Only through agricultural efficiency can the corvée system arise and
extensive building become possible. The god whose bountiful patronage
of growth assisted the arts in this manner seems in time to have been
‘humanized.’ [165] Legends of his civilizing prowess clustered around
his supposititious memory, he was thought to have been a culture-hero
who actually moved and had his being among the people. Kings or rulers
were called by his name—a lucky name of happy associations—and the
illusion that he actually existed was thereby heightened. These rulers
seem to have flourished in Mexico ere yet the offices of king and
priest had become separate, so that it is not surprising that
Quetzalcoatl was regarded as having been the priest of his own cult, or
that the Mexican pontiffs of historical times bore his name. From this
point of view, then, Quetzalcoatl was certainly the “founder” of the
Toltec civilization. If this theory be accepted, I do not see how the
myth of Quetzalcoatl can be regarded as having any basis in actual
fact, unless one can find in the rather vague statements of certain
early writers on Mexico a further basis for discussion as to his
reality. To me the meaning of the myth seems very plain. It may be that
Huaxtec influence was brought to bear upon Toltec civilization, but my
hypothesis does not seem to me to require assistance from such an
admission.
CRITICISM OF THE LATER ELEMENTS OF QUETZALCOATL’S MYTH
In short, the myth of Quetzalcoatl as recorded by Sahagun is obviously
developed from a much older one which referred to a season of plenteous
rain—the period of the rule of the gentle and beneficent god
representing the trade-wind. As it was connected with prosperous
conditions in agriculture, it was naturally brought into connection
with the Toltec time, the “good old times of long ago,” when conditions
were greatly better, and no mouth knew want. Such a concept was
obviously of later origin. The revised myth took on a cultural
complexion. In terms of allegory, it tells how the powers of the
rain-making priest-god fail him; he becomes sick, and is beguiled and
defeated by Tezcatlipocâ, the rival wind-god, who tells him that
“another old man” awaits him in Tlapallan. And here we seem to find
interpolated a reference to the guardian genius of the fountain of
perpetual youth, the reservoir of rain and all refreshment, which
Quetzalcoatl must visit if he would be cured of the ills of old age,
and he is counselled to speak with its keeper if he would return to
Mexico “as a boy.” The destruction of his treasure by the banished god
seems to point to a reminiscence of the downfall of the Toltec state,
and the concealment of his gold and gems by burial to analogous Toltec
practice on the defeat or decline of that civilized folk. With his
departure the reign of plenty ceases, the trees wither, the birds
migrate, the season of the trade-wind rains has come to an end. History
and myth are perhaps combined in this story of the latter days of the
Toltec régime and those of the revivifying rains. The priest-god
withdraws eastwards to the “flute-playing” of the retreating
trade-winds. Nahua sorcerers detain him in order to learn the Toltec
arts, perhaps a mythical manner of showing how the Nahua barbarians
forced captive Toltecs to teach them the mysteries of stone- and
metal-craft. He is given the draught of the dead, “that none of the
living can drink,” a mythical episode common in all parts of the world.
His dwarfish followers (the rain-gods, the Tlaloque, with whom Sahagun
associates him elsewhere) are frozen to death in the cold of the
mountains, otherwise the rain is congealed into snow.
Torquemada’s version of Quetzalcoatl’s myth is eloquent of the
pre-eminence of his cult at Cholula. The priest-god’s prophecy of his
return bears an extraordinary resemblance to that given in the Books of
Chilan Balam, a Guatemalan native production, regarding the coming of
white men to Central America. [166]
Motolinia’s story of the fixing of the strap on Quetzalcoatl’s arm is
merely a grotesque explanation of the name Acolhua, which in reality
signifies “the folk of the great shoulder,” “the pushers,” “the
hustling invaders.”
Mendieta, in dwelling upon Quetzalcoatl’s dislike of war, merely
retains for us a characteristic of the effeminate people of Cholula.
The appearance of Tezcatlipocâ as a spider is typical of the god of the
dry season, or of the dry-rot prevalent in that period of the year. As
a tiger he symbolizes the fierceness of the hurricane, and the tlachtli
game which he and Quetzalcoatl engage in is undoubtedly symbolic of the
seasonal strife between the wind-gods.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPTION OF QUETZALCOATL
Summarizing the myths relating to Quetzalcoatl we find:
(1) That all of them have their origin in or refer back to an original
nature-myth, in which Quetzalcoatl, the trade-wind, is, at the end of
the rainy season, regarded as driven from the Mexican Plateau by
Tezcatlipocâ (Hurakan) in his guise of the monsoon, or hurricane.
(2) That this myth in the first place became confounded with traditions
of the Toltec civilization, naturally enough, as that civilization was
the direct outcome of the agricultural wealth stimulated by the god
representing the trade-wind.
(3) That it seems to have been associated with a myth relating to the
fountain of youth, that is, the fountain in which the refreshing and
revivifying rains were stored, to which Quetzalcoatl must return for
rejuvenation and a fresh rain-supply.
(4) That the conception of the god Quetzalcoatl became humanized in the
light of the agricultural and other manifestations of Toltec culture,
thus bringing about the idea of his existence as a priest-king, and
culminating in the establishment of a line of priestly rulers bearing
his name, which endured as long as Mexican civilization.
(5) Out of these conceptions there naturally arose other related ideas,
as those of:
(a) Quetzalcoatl as inventor of the tonalamatl, the instrument by which
the festal days of the rain-cult were originally noted, but which on
the adoption of the solar calendar as time-count degenerated into what
may be regarded as an astrological table.
(b) The lunar basis upon which the tonalamatl was founded connected
Quetzalcoatl with the moon. [167]
(c) Regarded as inventor of the tonalamatl, he gained a reputation as
the possessor of profound hieratic wisdom, and came to be looked upon
as the magician or sage par excellence, the patron of education, the
rain-maker who knew precisely when the blood shed in penance should be
spent in order that it might return to the soil of Anahuac in an
abundant rainfall.
(d) Quetzalcoatl as the god of wind was also regarded as the breath of
life, a phenomenon encountered in many mythologies, and therefore came
to be conceived as the agency by which souls were originally placed in
human bodies. From this, too, we may argue his appearance as a creator,
or cosmic deity, although it may have been in his character as
fertilizer that he came to be regarded in this light.
(e) Quetzalcoatl is the great penitent, the supreme protagonist of the
penitential system, because without the blood spent in penitential
exercise no rain might fall. The secondary character of this conception
is probable.
(f) Quetzalcoatl seems at a later date to have been regarded as the god
of the four quarters of the compass, a conception of him indubitably
evolved from his status as a wind-god. I think I also perceive signs
that from this latter idea was further evolved a conception of him as
god of the four elements—fire, air, earth, and water. He is the fire
and the flint, because of the lightning which in Mexico accompanies the
fall of the trade-wind rain. He is the air in his rôle of Wind-god, and
as such is symbolized by the bird, the natural inhabitant of the air,
the beak of which he uses as a funnel from which to expel the wind. He
is earth, and, his myth says, a builder of subterranean houses, and
sometimes bears the earth-staff of agriculture. [168] He is water, or
rain, in which guise he is typified by the feathered snake.
This conception of him, evidently strongly sophisticated by priestly
theological science, is illustrated in the Codex Magliabecchiano, where
he is represented on one sheet along with Tezcatlipocâ, Tlaloc, and
Uitzilopochtli. This group, in my opinion, represents the four
elements: Fire (Uitzilopochtli), as possessor of the tlachinalli
symbol, a hieroglyph for water and fire, and as sun-god; Air
(Quetzalcoatl); Earth (Tezcatlipocâ), who as Tepeyollotl was an
earth-deity; and Water (Tlaloc). The picture may also be descriptive of
the four points of the compass over which he rules. But above and
beyond this, as Seler has shown, it implies that these deities were
later embodied in the idea of Quetzalcoatl. When Cortéz, coming from
the East, landed at Vera Cruz, the Mexicans naturally believed that
Quetzalcoatl had returned, and Motecuhzoma sent him as an offering “the
dress appropriate to him,” four kinds of attire, the ceremonial
costumes of Uitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipocâ, Tlaloc, and Quetzalcoatl.
ETYMOLOGY
There but remains the etymology of Quetzalcoatl’s name. It is
compounded of the element quetzalli and coatl. The first denotes the
bright green tail-feathers of the quetzal bird, and coatl = “snake,” so
that the whole implies “feathered snake.” The generally accepted belief
is that this name applies to the rain-bearing clouds which accompany
the trade-wind, although others have seen in it a description of the
rain itself, and still others the ripples made by wind on water. But
quetzal in a secondary sense means “precious,” and coatl is capable of
being translated “twin.” The Mexicans themselves, however, frequently
drew and sculptured the god as a feathered serpent, although this may
easily have possessed a merely pictographic significance. In any case,
after prolonged consideration on the etymology of the name, I do not,
so far, see any reason to quarrel with the currently accepted rendering
of it.
CHAPTER IV
THE CREATIVE DEITIES
TONACATECUTLI—TONACACIUATL (TONACATECUTLI = “LORD OF OUR SUBSISTENCE”)
Area of Worship: Mexico; originally Atlantic coastlands, the Olmeca
lands and Tlaxcallan. Anciently Toltec.
Minor Names:
Ometecutli = “Twofold lord.”
Tlachinale = “Lord of Creation.”
Tlatecque = “Lord of the Earthly World.”
Teotlale = “Lord of the Steppe.”
Matlaua = “Lord of the Net.”
Topeua = “Lord of the Mountains.”
Tloque Nahuaque = “Lord of the Close Vicinity.”
Relationship: Father of Quetzalcoatl.
Calendar Places: Ruler of the first day, ce cipactli, of the first
week and of the fourth day-hour.
Compass Direction: West.
Symbol: The human pair beneath the coverlet.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus A.—In the Codex Vaticanus A Tonacatecutli’s body-paint
is red and pink. His headdress is bound by a fillet richly encrusted
with turquoises, having in front the conventional bird’s head which is
so frequently encountered in representations of the Mexican gods in the
codices. He wears the nasal ornament of serpentine shape peculiar to
the octli- or drink-gods, as to some of the deities of fertility, and
his fruitful or life-giving nature is symbolized by a foot-stool
composed of maize ears.
Codex Borgia.—In the Codex Borgia (sheet 61, lower half) the lower
portion of his face is painted red, but its upper part, as well as the
rest of his body which is visible, is coloured yellow. On the cheek is
seen a rectangular surface divided into compartments, each of which is
tinted a different colour, the distinctive painting of the maize-gods,
which, it is believed, symbolizes the maize-field with its many hues. A
“gobber” tooth hangs from his mouth as a sign of great age, for as
creator he was regarded as one of the most venerable among the gods.
Around his forehead is a head-band enriched with precious stones, which
recalls that frequently worn by the Sun-god. His necklet consists of a
casket of jewels, with lid and feet, on which is represented the symbol
of the chalchihuitl jewel. [169] On sheet 60 Tonacaciuatl, the female
form of this deity, is depicted in the act of handing Tonacatecutli a
flower, symbolic of life or blood. Above this figure is the picture of
a red snake, also symbolizing blood. The god wears a jaguar-skin and
the goddess an eagle’s, thus illustrating their patronage of the
military orders who wore those dresses. (For similar readings, see
Codex Laud, 34–5 K). In sheet 57 (lower right-hand corner) he is
represented as wearing a beard of black eagle-feathers.
Codex Vaticanus B.—In Codex Vaticanus B (sheet 87) Tonacatecutli is
represented with Quetzalcoatl’s head and neck ornaments, combined with
the jewelled fillet and bird’s head on forehead. He wears a long beard
reaching to the feet.
TONACACIUATL = “LADY OF OUR SUBSISTENCE”
Minor Names:
Omeciuatl = “Twofold Lady.”
Citlalinicue = “Starry Skirt.”
Calendar Place: Same as that of Tonacatecutli.
Compass Direction: Same as that of Tonacatecutli.
Symbol: Same as that of Tonacatecutli.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
General.—In Codex Fejérváry-Mayer (sheet 10) the drawn-in angle of the
mouth and the female figure point to the inference that here is
depicted Tonacaciuatl, who is identified by the interpreters with
Xochiquetzal. In Codex Telleriano-Remensis and Codex Vaticanus A we
find her standing in front of the male creative god Tonacatecutli. In
the latter MS. the first interpreter calls her Tonagacigua, and the
third Xochiquetzal, Oxomoco, and Chicomecohuatl. The picture shown
under the nineteenth week of Codex Telleriano-Remensis pictures her
with precisely the same dress and emblems as Xochiquetzal (q.v.).
MYTHS
These deities were identified by the Mexicans with the Creator, the
Tloque Nahuaque, of whom almost every one of the post-Conquest Spanish
writers speaks. Indeed the Codex Telleriano-Remensis expressly
identifies them with the creative force. The passage runs: “All those
epithets (God, Lord, Creator) they bestowed on their god Tonacatecutli,
who, according to their account, was the god who created the world; and
they painted him alone with a crown as lord of all. They never offered
sacrifices to this god, for they said that he did not regard them.” Of
the female deity the Codex Vaticanus says: “Tonacacigua was the wife of
Tonacatecutle; for, as we have observed, although their gods were not,
as they affirm, united together for matrimonial purposes, still they
assigned to each a goddess as a companion. They called her by another
name, Suchiquetzal and Chicomecoual, which means Seven Serpents, for
they say that she was the cause of sterility, famine, and all the
miseries of life.” [170]
In further descriptive passages concerning Tonacatecutli the same Codex
says: “This is the representation of Tonacatecotle, which name
signifies the Lord of our Bodies; others say that it means the First
Man, or perhaps it means that the first man was so called.” “These are
the figures which have been mentioned; and the first is that of their
greatest god Tonacatecotle. It represented the first god under whom
they affirm was the dominion of the world; who, when it appeared good
to him, breathed and divided the waters of the heavens and the earth,
which at first were all confused together, and disposed of them as they
now are; and accordingly they called him Lord of our Bodies; and also
of abundance, who bestowed everything upon them; and on this account
they paint him alone with a crown. They called him besides Seven
Flowers, for they say that he disposes of the principalities of the
earth. He had no temple, nor did they offer sacrifices to him, for they
say that he did not require them, as if on account of his superior
majesty.... They say that Tonacatecotle presided over the thirteen
signs which are here marked (the day-signs of the tonalamatl, q.v.).
Those above denote the thirteen causes or influences of the sky which
are under subjection to him, and the others below are the thirteen
signs of their superstition and sorcery. This man and woman represent
the first pair who existed in the world; their names are Huehue (very
old ones). Between them is placed a knife or razor and an arrow above
each of their heads, typifying death, as in them death originated.”
“They called this god Tonacatecotli and by another name Citallatonalli
[171]; and they said that he was the constellation which appears by
night in the sky, St. James’s or the Milky Way. They paint these
figures and all the others which follow, each of them in its own
manner; because as they considered them their deities, each had its
peculiar festival. It was necessary to wear in these festivals the
habit of the god.”
The Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas regards these deities as
appearing at the commencement of creation, but says nothing of their
relations to the precise creative act.
The Anales de Quauhtitlan says of them:
And they say
that in the inner heaven
he [Quetzalcoatl] dedicated a cult
and called on them:
her with the star-studded robe, together with the astral Sun-god.
the mistress of our flesh, the lord of our flesh,
who is clothed in charcoal, clothed in blood,
who giveth food to the earth;
and he cried aloft
—as they (the old people) were informed—
to the Omeyocan,
to the heaven lying above the nine that are bound together.
And—as they learnt—
those having their abode there,
those he called upon, those he worshipped.
(See also chapter on Cosmogony for further mythical material relating
to these deities.)
NATURE AND STATUS
In examining the characteristics of these deities we find:
(1) That they were among the oldest of the Mexican divinities.
Tonacatecutli is called, among other names, “Lord of the Steppe,” [172]
which does not necessarily indicate that he was a deity of the
Chichimec or hunting tribes, who from generation to generation raided
the Mexican valley, but may apply to his stellar or heavenly
significance. Reference is also made in the Anales de Quauhtitlan to
the circumstance that he and his female counterpart were gods of the
ancient Toltecs, and that their cult was founded by Quetzalcoatl, the
typical Toltec priest-king.
(2) That these gods were regarded by the Mexican priesthood in more
modern times at least, as abstractions, ideal beings who arose out of
philosophic speculation. That they had become rather neglected in the
popular Mexican faith is clear from the circumstance that they had no
temples and that no offerings were made them. Tonacatecutli
represented, indeed, that great invisible and intangible figure which
at all times and in all religions has loomed behind most pantheons—the
great god behind the gods—the principle of causality, that first cause
beyond which the speculations of theology cannot proceed.
(3) They presided over the food supply. Although other deities occupied
the positions of maize and vegetable gods, the creative deities were in
the ultimate the great givers of all food. Thus they were designated
“Lords of Food Supplies” and “Lords of Superabundance.”
(4) They must be regarded as the direct creators of the spirit of man.
To the Mexican man flesh was merely maize in another form. But apart
from this conception the pair typified the first human couple, and as
such they are represented in all the MSS. lying side by side and
cross-legged under a blanket, in the attitude of procreation. They are,
indeed, the great initiators of life, and must be comprehended as
sending the human soul to occupy the body made by human procreation,
giving warmth and breath to the infant before birth. [173]
(5) They commence the series of twenty day-signs, and this alone
symbolizes their creative and original nature.
(6) They represent the sign cipactli, the animal from which the earth
was made.
(7) They are gods of the Omeyocan, the highest or thirteenth heaven,
which fact further illustrates their supreme character.
CONCLUSIONS
From these facts we may be justified in concluding:
(1) That in the most early times Tonacatecutli and his consort typified
the father-sky and mother-earth respectively, but that this aspect of
them had been forgotten and they came to have a purely abstract
creative significance for both priests and people. That Tonacaciuatl
originally represented the earth there is no doubt, and her
identification with Xochiquetzal and Chicomecoatl alone would show this
to be so. Again, the association with the sign cipactli proves the
connection of one of the divine pair with the earth, and from what has
been said regarding this sign in the introduction, and by the constant
association of goddesses in the Mexican mind with the terrestrial
sphere, it is plain that Tonacatecutli, her male counterpart, is not
likely to have represented it in early times. The suggestion that he
symbolizes the sky is perhaps assisted by the nature of his abode, the
uppermost heaven, and from his close identification with Citlallatonac,
the god of the night heaven, who was supposed to represent the Milky
Way.
(2) That in later times the early concepts of these divinities became
fused almost into one, and that in some measure they had come to be
regarded as androgynous. This view may be traversed by the circumstance
that they are frequently represented separately, but on the other hand
their names appear as one in the form Tonacatecutli-Tonacaciuatl in
many passages. The same may be posited of their counterparts in the
Quiche Popol Vuh, Xpiyacoc and Xmucane. [174]
Tonacatecutli and his spouse are to be regarded as the parents of
Quetzalcoatl, but this is probably a theogonic myth of late origin,
brought about by the constant association of Quetzalcoatl with the
creative gods as deities of the ancient Toltecs, and the frequent
references to him as the founder of their cult.
Ixtlilxochitl states in his fourth Relacion that Tonacatecutli and his
wife were the chief gods of the Toltecs, who represented them as the
sun and the moon, and he goes on to say that at certain seasons of the
year criminals were sacrificed to them by a method called
Telimonamiquian, “which is to say grinding between the stones.” Two
great stones, he says, were balanced opposite each other, and the
victim was crushed between them as they fell—the slain man thus
representing the corn-spirit, or, indeed, the corn itself in the
process of being ground.
CHAPTER V
DEITIES OF THE EARTH AND GROWTH PROPER
INTRODUCTORY
So numerous were the manifestations and variants of the Earth-goddess
conceived by the Nahua or adopted into their pantheon, that this has
been the cause of considerable misconception on the part of students of
Mexican religion, who have confounded them in a manner which in the
circumstances is scarcely surprising. An attempt will be made here to
provide the reader with a list of the most important of these deities,
briefly and barely outlining their various origins and attributes, in
order that he may be the better able to comprehend what follows when we
come to discuss them more fully.
Chicomecoatl (Seven Serpents)—the Mexican name of the Earth-goddess and
that of the seventh day of the seventh week of the tonalamatl. She was
probably of Toltec origin. The third interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus
A identifies her with Xochiquetzal, and, perhaps more correctly, with
Xumoco and Tonacacigua or Tonacaciuatl. She had two temples dedicated
to her, the chicome iteopan and the cinteopan, and seems to have become
a variant of Tonacaciuatl on the adoption of an agricultural basis of
existence.
Tlazolteotl, Tlaelquani, Teteo innan or Toci—an earth-goddess whose
worship had its origin among the tribes of the Atlantic seaboard, where
maize grew abundantly. She possessed warlike propensities, as became a
goddess to whom human sacrifice was much in vogue, and the myth of her
impregnation by Uitzilopochtli was enacted at the ochpaniztli festival
in August, typifying, perhaps, the impregnation of the “earth-mother”
by the “sky-father.” As Ixcuine she represented a plurality of
goddesses. Seler [175] believes that Chicomecoatl represents the young
maize ear, and Tlazolteotl, the ripe ear of the plant.
Cihuacoatl (Serpent Woman)—an earth-goddess of Xochimilco and
Colhuacan.
Coatlicue or Coatlantonan (Serpent Skirt)—a Mexican earth-goddess,
mother of Uitzilopochtli.
Xochiquetzal—originally a mountain goddess of the Tlalhuica. An
earth-and-maize goddess as well as a deity of flowers and vegetation.
Xilonen—originally a maize-goddess of the Huichol tribes. She
represented the young maize-plant.
Cinteotl (Maize-god)—son of Tlazolteotl, originally a god of the
peoples of the Atlantic seaboard. He is occasionally alluded to as a
female deity, but is always male in the MSS. of the Borgia group,
executed by a people of Nahua speech dwelling in the south. He is the
equivalent of Xochipilli and had a separate temple, the cinteopan.
Xipe—an earth-god of the Teotitlan district, a god of spring
vegetation. His temples were called yopico. His great festival was the
Tlacaxipeuliztli, or “flaying of men.”
Only three of these deities, Tlazolteotl, Xipe, and Xochiquetzal,
appear as rulers of one or other of the twenty day-signs of the
tonalamatl. But Cinteotl figures in the ochpaniztli feast and appears
as one of the “Lords of the Night.”
These criteria are perhaps sufficient to identify these figures as
separate divinities. We find in Sahagun that Chicomecoatl, Cinteotl,
and Xipe had separate temples of their own. In several of the rituals
of the great festivals, however, the cults of Tlazolteotl,
Chicomecoatl, and Cinteotl appear to have been very closely interwoven,
and this leads me to suspect that the worship of the old Toltec goddess
Chicomecoatl was in process of fusion with that of the “immigrant”
Tlazolteotl at the period of the Conquest. Xilonen, too, according to
Sahagun, had a separate festival in her honour, the uei tecuilhuitl.
From all this and from considerations still to be advanced we may,
perhaps, be justified in assuming:
(1) That at the period of the Conquest the cults of Tlazolteotl,
Chicomecoatl, and Cinteotl were very naturally in process of becoming
amalgamated, the worship of the two goddesses, Mexican and alien,
presenting many features in common.
(2) That Xochiquetzal, originally the goddess of the Tlalhuica, was
regarded more properly as the goddess of flowers and of the spring
florescence, a hypothesis which is upheld by her myths. Her equation
with Tonacaciuatl appears to have been a later concept, due to the
connection of both with the earth.
(3) That the Huichol goddess Xilonen came to symbolize for the Nahua
the maize plant in its early stages of growth, and in that respect
resembles Cinteotl.
(4) That the cult of the southern god Xipe, the grain-deity of a
related people, had made great headway among the Nahua of
Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
(5) It follows from these conclusions that only one of these deities of
growth—Coatlicue—was of Nahua origin, all the others being gods of the
aboriginal or settled peoples. The Chichimec Nahua, a hunting people,
possessing no official grain-goddess of their own, would naturally come
to worship these on their adoption of an agricultural mode of life. As
most of these forms hailed from districts of considerable cultural
antiquity, I believe their worship to have been of long duration in the
land, not much less ancient, indeed, than the cult of Tlaloc.
It is not claimed for these conclusions that they are more than
approximate. The data relative to these deities is much too complex to
permit of any more precise or dogmatic treatment, in fact at one time
or another there was identification between them all; but with the
above attempt at simplification in view we shall now endeavour to
present the reader with a detailed account of each of these and other
less important divinities who were regarded as in any way connected
with the personification of the earth or the growth of the crops, their
festivals and ritual.
The earth-deities seem to have been prophetic and divinatory and to
have been connected with medicine, like similar European and Asiatic
goddesses. Some of them, like Itzpapalotl, share the butterfly symbol
with the gods of fire, with whom they are frequently connected. They
are also closely associated with the deer, a fertility animal, and the
eagle, the sun-bird, and their victims were, like those of the sun and
war deities, decked with eagle-down.
TLAZOLTEOTL = “GODDESS OF DIRT”
Territory: Huaxtec, Mixtec, Olmec.
Minor Names:
Tlaelquani = “Filth-eater.”
Chicunaui acatl = “Nine Reed.”
Teteo Innan = “Mother of the Gods.”
Chiquacen acatl = “Six Reed.”
Toci = “Our Grandmother.”
Naui tecpatl = “Four Flint Knife.”
Cocauic Xochitla = “Yellow Bloom.”
Tlalli iyallo = “Heart of the Earth.”
Iztac Xochitla = “White Bloom.”
Ixcuine = “Four Faces.”
Tonana Teumechaue = “Our mother, the goddess of the thigh-skin
face-painting.”
Calendar Places: Ruler of the fourteenth day, ocelotl, of the
thirteenth week, ce olin. Seventh of the nine lords of the night.
Compass Direction: West.
Festivals: Ochpaniztli (“Feast of Brooms”) in the eleventh month.
Symbols: A man eating excrement (“Dirt-eater”); a broom.
Relationships: Mother of Centeotl; one of the Tzitzimimê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 74: Here Tlazolteotl is depicted as naked, and
accompanied by a snake. A patch of rubber appears near the mouth, and
her head is bound by a fillet of unspun cotton. Behind the neck a
feather ornament is seen, made of the blue plumage of the quail, and
she also wears the golden nasal Huaxtec ornament usually seen in
connection with the octli-gods. In the Codex Vaticanus B her naked body
is painted white, with yellow longitudinal stripes, and she has the
bifurcated nose-ornament of Xipe. Significantly, perhaps, the shape of
her eye recalls that of the god of flaying, whose eye is usually a mere
slit in the flayed human skin which he wears, and through the mask of
which he is supposed to be looking. She wears the cotton fillet and
ear-plug typical of her.
Sahagun MS.—In this place she has a disk of liquid rubber on the face,
with which substance her mouth is also painted, an elaborate cotton
headdress, crowned with feathers, a tunic of sac shape with a fringe
divided into compartments, a skirt with bands joined by diagonal lines,
and she holds in her right hand the broom symbolic of her feast, and in
her left a shield decorated with four concentric circles.
General.—In the tonalamatl of the Aubin-Goupil collection, wherever she
is depicted as seventh of the nine lords of the night, her face is
white, its upper portion being surrounded by a yellow band. In the
Codex Borbonicus she is occasionally painted all yellow or all white,
and this yellow colour symbolizes that of the ripe maize ear. In the
song about her given by Sahagun, we observe that she is alluded to as
“the yellow blossom” and the “white blossom,” otherwise the yellow or
white maize—the maize at different stages of its growth.
Another of her distinguishing characteristics, as has been remarked, is
the black colouring in the region of the mouth, which frequently
extends to and includes the tip of the nose and chin and, as Sahagun
states, this was effected with liquid rubber, as in the case of the
Fire-god. The small patch or circle on her cheek is also commented upon
by Sahagun, who says, “a hole has she placed on her cheek”—the “hole”
being probably a disk of rubber with a perforated centre. As an
alternative to this we find in Codex Borgia two broad horizontal lines
and in Codex Borbonicus several short, vertical black lines below the
eye, and it would seem that the concentric circle on the shield of the
goddess in the Sahagun MS. has the same meaning—that is, it is probably
a symbol of sex. [176] In some representations her skirt is covered
with crescent-shaped objects perhaps typical of her symbol—excrement.
When Tlazolteotl appears as ruler of the thirteenth week she often
lacks the ripe-maize colour with which she is represented elsewhere.
Thus in Telleriano-Remensis she is painted about the mouth with liquid
rubber, and in Borbonicus her face-paint is in two colours. A black
stroke is seen descending from brow to nose, but she has the yellow
skin-colour. In both cases she is, like Xipe, clothed in the skin of a
victim. In Telleriano-Remensis and the Aubin tonalamatl her arms and
legs are powdered with white chalk and small feathers are affixed to
them, probably with ulli gum. In Telleriano-Remensis these cover part
of her costume as well. In this codex, too, her Huaxtec nose-ornament
is replaced by one having a stepped motif, or a butterfly formed of the
spotted feathers of the quail.
The cotton fillet of the goddess is worthy of further remark. It is
made from the unspun produce of the plant, covers the top of the head
and reaches the shoulders on either side of the face. Spindles are
stuck into the mass, which is marked upon its surface with acute-angled
figures or groups of parallel lines on a white ground, which may be
regarded as hieroglyphic of raw cotton.
In certain of the MSS., for example in the Aubin tonalamatl and in
Telleriano-Remensis, Tlazolteotl wears a feather coronal, which in
other codices takes the shape of a fan or nape-ring like that
frequently worn by Quetzalcoatl. Occasionally, too, it rises from a
rubber ball which rests upon the head. In Codex Borgia (sheet 68) the
feathers are dark in colour, but are brightened by the red plumes which
spring from them in turn. Elsewhere we find white, brown, or yellow
feathers, the latter prepared artificially from palm-leaves, which,
like the fan-shaped ornament itself, are Huaxtec in character. In the
picture in Borbonicus of Tlazolteotl as ruler of the week ce olin (one
reed) we see the conical Huaxtec hat, as worn by Quetzalcoatl, peeping
above her cotton headdress, and the palm-leaf plume rising from a
feather fan, which springs from a ball of rubber. In
Telleriano-Remensis Tlazolteotl is seen wearing a string of
snail-shells depending from the waist. This is known as citallicue, or
“star-skirt,” another Huaxtec article of dress.
In none of the representations alluded to was Tlazolteotl pictured with
the broom characteristic of her and of her feast-day, ochpanitztli
(“when they sweep the ways”). This was made from hard, stiff, pointed
grass, which was cut with sickles in the mountain-forests of
Popocatepetl. [177] It was bound with a coloured leather strap, and the
paper which held it together was flecked with the V-shaped cotton
symbol.
MYTHS
Tlazolteotl is described in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis as “the woman
who sinned before the deluge, who was the cause of all evil, of all
deceit”; but this would appear to be an error for Ixnextli or
Xochiquetzal (q.v.). The Anales de Quauhtitlan says of her: “In the
same year (8 Rabbit) came the so-called Ixcuiname female demons [to
Tollan] and, as they say from the reports of the old people, they came
from Huaxteca. And in the place Cuextecatl ichocayan (“Where the
Huaxtecs weep”) they summoned these captives whom they had taken in
Huaxteca and explained to them what was about to be done, saying—‘We go
now to Tollan. We wish to couple the earth with you, we desire to hold
a feast with you, for till now no battle offerings have been made with
men. We wish to make a beginning of it and shoot you to death with
arrows.’”
SACRIFICE BY SHOOTING WITH ARROWS
This indicates that the goddess, one of the Ixcuiname, was regarded as
the inventress of that especial mode of sacrifice by which the victim
was tied to a framework and shot to death with arrows. We have no
classical statement that such a proceeding took place at her festival,
however, but it is known that it formed part of the ritual at the
festival of Xipe (q.v.). The expression, “We wish to couple the earth
with you,” when taken along with the straddling attitude of the victim
on his frame, has given rise to the assumption [178] that such a
sacrifice was intended to symbolize a sexual connection between the
victim and the earth or earth-mother. It appears to me as more probable
that its intention was to draw down rain by sympathetic magic, the
dropping blood from the arrow wounds symbolizing the rain, and the tear
which the victim sheds in the representation of this sacrifice in the
Codex Nuttall and Codex Telleriano-Remensis, combined with the fact
that such sacrifices are supposed to have been made in years of
drought, strengthens my belief in the soundness of this theory.
Ixcuine means “four-faced,” and may apply to the circumstance that
ancient idols of Tlazolteotl were, like those of Janus, provided with
more than one face, so that they might look upon every direction whence
the rain might come. Later, however, the Ixcuiname were regarded as a
fourfold manifestation of Tlazolteotl and as personifying four sisters
of different age, Tiacapan, Teicu, Tlaco and Xocoyotzin, who
“represented the carnal passions.” [179]
HYMN
A song in the Sahagun MS. relating to Tlazolteotl is as follows:
“The yellow blossom has flowered. She, our mother, with the
thigh-skin of the goddess painted upon her face, came out
of Tamoanchan. The white blossom has burst open, she our
mother,” etc. [180]
This of course symbolizes the yellow and white maize. The thigh-skin of
the goddess “is the mask cut from the thigh of the sacrificed girl and
worn by the priest” (see “Festivals,” infra). The statement that
Tlazolteotl came out of Tamoanchan is important, for another song in
the same series tells us that in that paradise was born her son
Cinteotl, the Maize-god (q.v.).
FESTIVALS
Ochpaniztli.—This, the great festival of Tlazolteotl, was held in the
opening of the eleventh Aztec month, commencing, says Sahagun, [181]
about September 14th. Fifteen days before the festival began, those who
were to celebrate it danced the sacred dances, which they continued for
eight days. In complete silence they ranged themselves in four lines,
and danced with their hands full of flowers, keeping time most
precisely. At the end of eight days those women who practised medicine,
the mid wives, leech-women, and steam-bath keepers probably, divided
themselves into two companies and presented themselves before a female
victim who represented the goddess and who was destined for sacrifice.
Their object was, says Sahagun, to amuse her and to keep her from
pondering upon her fate. The victim herself, accompanied by three old
women called her “mothers,” headed one of these parties, who pelted
each other with the red leaves of the cactus flower. In the whole
performance we can see some such concept as survives in a manner in the
modern “battle of flowers,” which in certain towns in Southern France
ushers in the season of Lent. The victim was then led back to the place
of detention, and the ceremony was repeated for several days in
succession. Then the “mothers” who guarded her led her through the
public market-place for the last time, on which occasion she sowed
maize on every side, and on that day she was taken to a place near the
teocalli [182] where she was to be sacrificed. As it was of importance
that she should not mourn, she was informed that she was to become the
bride of the king, and for this imaginary honour she was adorned with
the full insignia of the goddess Tlazolteotl.
When midnight had arrived, in a dead and unbroken silence, she was led
to the summit of the lofty teocalli, where she was placed on the
shoulders of a man, as was the custom with brides about to be borne to
the houses of their lords, and ere she could be well aware what was
about to happen, she was decapitated and immediately flayed. First of
all pieces of skin were removed from the broad portion of the thigh and
carried to the temple of Cinteotl, the son of Tlazolteotl. The skin of
the upper part of the body formed a jacket, which a priest of
Tlazolteotl, chosen for his strength and vigour, drew over his own
body. Accompanied by two men vowed to his assistance, as well as by
other priests, dressed to represent the goddess’s Huaxtec servants, all
of whom carried blood-sprinkled brooms which they brandished in a
combative manner, he pursued a number of nobles and warriors, who
struck their shields and made a threatening display. The priest who
personified the goddess rushed upon these with simulated fury, but they
fled before him, refusing him battle. This part of the proceedings
symbolized the warlike nature of the goddess, and the military
significance of her cult. As has been explained, the people of Mexico
believed that only by the continued offering up of human sacrifice and
blood could an adequate rainfall, and therefore abundant harvests, be
procured, and this naturally presumed the upkeep of a considerable
standing army and many military guilds or brotherhoods dedicated to the
task of securing a large supply of sacrificial victims. The warlike
character of the Earth-goddess was assumed as a matter of course.
This chase continued until the priest who personated Tlazolteotl came
to the teocalli of Uitzilopochtli, the War-god. Here he lay down and
stretched himself out in the female posture for sexual intercourse.
Says the Aztec text of Sahagun: “Then she broadens herself [that is the
priest personating the goddess], expands, stretches arms and legs out
at the feet of Uitzilopochtli, her face turned towards him.” This
ceremony undoubtedly had reference to a supposed impregnation of the
goddess by the god Uitzilopochtli, and that the myth relating to it was
enacted is shown by the symbolic presence of her son, Cinteotl, or a
priest dressed to represent that god, who had placed over his face a
mask made from the skin of the thighs of the flayed woman which had
been sent to his temple, and who was now regarded as the son conceived.
[183]
In addition to the skin-mask, the Cinteotl priest wore a hat or cap,
also made of the skin of the sacrificed victim, which had a vandyked
edging of the crown, or a crest like the comb of a cock, symbolic of
the stone knife of sacrifice.
Together, the priests of Tlazolteotl and Cinteotl now proceeded to the
temple of the former, where they awaited the morning. At dawn the chief
men of the community, who had been waiting near the teocalli, ran up
the steps of the temple bearing offerings. The priest of the goddess
was then decorated with her insignia in addition to the dreadful trophy
he wore. His head and feet were covered with the white down from the
eagle’s breast, the particular ornament of the warrior who had captured
a victim in battle. His face was painted red, the colour of the ripe
maize, he was clothed in a short tunic which had woven upon it the
semblance of an eagle, and he was equipped with other garments for the
lower part of the body. Still richer and more elaborate vestments were
then placed on him by the priests, after which he went to select the
captives who must die. He chose four of these, and placing them upon
the stone of sacrifice, dispatched them by taking out their hearts,
handing over the others to the priests to deal with similarly. This
done, he accompanied the Cinteotl priest to his temple, the Huaxtec
servants marching before them, wearing what would seem to be huge
artificial phalluses and tassels of untwisted cotton, to symbolize the
virile strength and richness of the earth. [184] They were also
accompanied by the medical women.
Coming to the temple of Cinteotl, the priest of Tlazolteotl placed one
foot upon the drum there, and awaited the priest of Cinteotl, who later
set out alone in a hasty manner, and accompanied by a large body of
warriors, to a point on the frontiers of Mexico where a small hut
stood, and at this place he left the mask and cap which he had worn,
made from the thighs of the sacrificed woman. Not infrequently the
party were attacked or ambushed and fighting ensued. I can form no
opinion regarding the significance of this procedure. Was the skin left
on the frontier as a gage of war, as would appear to be its most
obvious interpretation, or did it possess a deeper and more symbolical
meaning? If it did, I am at a loss to supply the elucidation. I feel
that this is one of those acts so often encountered in primitive
religion, when the temptation is to look for a profound meaning where,
perhaps, none exists.
The priest of Tlazolteotl, on the departure of his colleague, proceeded
to the temple called Atempan, or “Place of Death,” a favourite
muster-place for children and leprous persons about to be sacrificed,
which was situated in the precincts of the great temple of Mexico. Here
the king took his seat on a throne, his footstool being a nest made of
eagles’ skin and feathers, whilst an ocelot-skin was cast over the back
of the seat, these articles symbolizing the “knighthoods” of the eagle
and ocelot respectively. A military review followed, and the monarch
distributed raiment, arms, and insignia to the deserving, who, thus
distinguished, were expected to so comport themselves in war that they
might eventually die the warrior’s death, the only fitting end for a
Mexican brave. The recipients then repaired to the temple of
Tlazolteotl, where dancing was engaged in. The scene was picturesque
and even magnificent, for all the dancers held flowers in each hand and
wore the dazzling insignia of their various ranks and orders.
This spectacle continued for two days, and on the evening of the second
day the priests of the goddess Chicomecoatl (q.v.), clothed in the
skins of captives slain at the festival of that goddess, ascended a
little teocalli known as the “Table of Uitzilopochtli,” and threw
broadcast maize and calabash seeds upon the heads of the multitude
below, who scrambled for the grain. The young women in the service of
Chicomecoatl now advanced, each bearing upon her shoulder seven ears of
maize, rolled in a rich mantle, and wrapped in white paper, after being
sprinkled with ulli gum. The high-priest of the goddess led the chant,
after which he descended from the teocalli and placed in a little
cavity between the temple stairs and the temple itself a large basket
filled with powdered chalk and feather-down. The warriors at once
rushed upon it and scrambled for the contents, which were, of course,
symbolical of the goddess’s “make-up.” They were chased by the priests,
whom they pelted with the chalk and feathers, even the king taking part
in the sport. The priest then betook himself to the temple of the
goddess, called Toctitlan (“The Place of our Grandmother”), where he
saw the skin of the sacrificed woman properly disposed.
Thus ended the ceremonies of the ochpaniztli, one of the most
picturesque and involved, yet gruesome, of the festivals of ancient
Mexico.
RITUAL
Tlazolteotl, as we shall find when we attempt our elucidation of her
characteristics, was regarded as the goddess of sexual indulgence, a
not inappropriate rôle for the wild, wanton, and riotous goddess of
earth, so prodigal in her bringing forth and (naturally in the eyes of
a primitive people) so bountiful in her favours, for to the barbarian
mind productiveness is the outcome of lustfulness. By an easy
transition, then, she became the goddess of sexual immorality, the
patron of prostitutes, and the archetype of female wantonness. But,
rather strangely, although she presided over salacious vice, she alone
could pardon it, and once in a lifetime the Mexican adulterer or
libertine might approach her to obtain by a full confession remission
of his sins. This he generally did late in life, for absolution could
not be obtained on a subsequent occasion. The ritual associated with
his cleansing was a prolonged and involved one, and is described by
Sahagun in the twelfth chapter of his first book.
There is no reason to believe that the account of the ritual as
furnished by Sahagun is otherwise than genuine, and he remarks upon the
facility with which the native Mexicans embraced the Catholic
confession as a proof that the rite was not unknown to them.
TEMPLE
We know from the descriptions of the ochpaniztli festivals in the
Sahagun Aztec MS., and the illustrations accompanying them, that the
temple of Tlazolteotl, the Toctitlan, was a scaffolding of poles on
which was set a representation of the goddess.
PRIESTHOOD
That Tlazolteotl possessed a priesthood of her own is obvious from the
repeated mention of the adolescent youths known as Cuecuesteca (“Her
Huaxtecs”), who figured in the festival of ochpaniztli. But that these
were only priests ad hoc, or employed temporarily for that celebration,
is likely, as Sahagun states (Appendix to bk. ii) that the Atempan
teohuatzin, or the Chief of Rites connected with the Atempan, had the
task of assembling them, as well as charge of the insignia used at the
festival. Tlazolteotl’s priests, according to Sahagun (bk. i, c. xii),
were “the augurs who possessed the books with the prognostications and
the destinies of the new-born and the spells and the omens and the
traditions of the ancients, as they were handed down and came unto
them.”
NATURE AND STATUS
Tlazolteotl has been completely identified with the Teteo innan or Toci
of Sahagun and other writers, but though she ranked as the Earth-mother
of Mexico par excellence, there is no room for doubt that her worship
was originally alien, and assuredly of Huaxtec origin. The Huaxtecs
were a people of Maya origin or affinities, isolated from the main body
of that race, dwelling on the east coast of Mexico, and retaining many
of their peculiar customs; and it is noteworthy that a Huaxtecan
goddess should be alluded to in Mexican tradition as coming to Tollan,
the city of the Toltecs, the people whom so many writers have tried to
identify with the Maya. As has been observed, she was accompanied at
the ochpaniztli festival by a band of youths dressed to represent
Huaxtecs, who in the Codex Borbonicus picture of the festival are shown
as wearing the cone-shaped Huaxtec cap. She herself wears the Huaxtec
nose-ornament in common with the octli-gods. She is repeatedly stated
to have had her “home” in Cuextlan, the Huaxtec country, and there are
good grounds for supposing that its inhabitants, of whose religion we
know little, had brought the cult of the Earth-mother to such a pitch
of complex perfection as rendered its absorption of the allied Mexican
cults merely a matter of time and occasion.
That she was originally a personification of the maize is also clear.
In her songs she is alluded to as “the yellow bloom” and “the white
bloom,” and the references to her dwelling in Tamoanchan, the western
paradise where the maize was supposed to have had its mythical origin,
and where she gave birth to Cinteotl, the young maize-god, proves her
association with this food-plant. But she was also the Earth, the
insatiable, lustful mother, who gives birth to Cinteotl the young
maize-god, who is also the obsidian knife of sacrifice, for the Earth
is the mother of stone. As Sin, she was also the mother of death, for
Cinteotl in this guise was undoubtedly a god of fatality or doom.
Like many other deities of the earth she may have had an almost
plutonic significance, for she is called Tlalli Iyallo, “Heart of the
Earth.” But I think that Seler (Fejérváry-Mayer, p. 145) has mistaken
the true significance of this expression in applying to it the meaning
“interior of the earth.” The word “heart” in the Nahua tongue does not
necessarily mean “interior.” True, Tepeyollotl, the Earthquake-god,
possessed a similar designation, but on the other hand the Quiche Popol
Vuh alludes to the god Hurakan as “The Heart of Heaven,” and I take the
expression to mean in general “soul, spirit,” rather than “interior.”
But, again, deities of grain have very frequently a subterranean
association, and, according to Duran’s description of the feast of the
goddess, we find that she was supposed to make her coming known by an
earthquake shock, and she is ruler of the thirteenth week, ce olin,
which some authorities translate as “earthquake” or “earth-motion.”
All this notwithstanding, in later times it was as the goddess of
sensuality and lustfulness that Tlazolteotl made her strongest appeal
to the Mexican imagination. We have already seen how this transition
took place and how this attribute had its inception. In many climes the
figure of the fruitful and abundant Earth-goddess has its bestial,
revolting, and highly salacious side, and the Mexican earth-deity was
no exception to the almost general rule. In several pictures her symbol
is shown as a man devouring excrement (sin). She was the patroness of
prostitutes, and by a transition, the ethical character of which seems
to me obscure, she finally became the great pardoner of sexual
misdeeds.
Probably because they forfeited their lives in the act of bringing
forth, she came to be regarded as the chieftainess of those women who,
dying in childbed, went to inhabit the Ciutlampa, the house of the
women in the west. These female spirits were regarded by the Mexicans
as the equal of warriors who had died heroically in battle, and issued
daily from their paradise to accompany the sun in his afternoon course.
It is typical of these Ciuateteô, or deified women, that in their
jealousy of living people and their offspring, they exerted a noxious
influence upon mortals, especially upon children, at certain seasons,
and as the interpreter of Codex Telleriano-Remensis states, they are
identified with European witches, flying through the air and meeting at
cross-roads. Now the broom is the symbol of the European witch, as it
is of Tlazolteotl, and in Codex Fejérváry-Mayer (sheet 17) we have a
picture of Tlazolteotl as representative of the Ciuateteô, naked and
riding upon a broomstick. In Codex Borgia (sheet 12) and Codex
Vaticanus B (sheet 30) beside her is figured a house with an owl
standing at the door, while in front hangs a string of dried medicinal
herbs, the whole representing the dwelling of a sorceress or
medicine-witch, for Tlazolteotl was also patroness of the medical
women, who danced at her festival, and Sahagun (bk. i, c. viii)
expressly states that she was venerated by the “physicians,” that is,
the medicine-men and wizards.
Probably by reason of her fecundity Tlazolteotl was also regarded as a
divinity who presided over human birth. She is frequently portrayed as
the great parturient and represents the womb [185] (Vaticanus B, sheet
51). But she does not breathe the spirit into the newly-born child or
transport it from the upper regions as does Quetzalcoatl, her office
being the lower one of presiding over the child-bed, a task which she
shares with other Mexican deities of vegetation and production.
Like other goddesses who preside over birth she may also have a lunar
connection. It is probable that the Huaxtec nose-ornament which she
wears in common with the octli-gods is a lunar symbol. [186] In Codex
Borgia (sheet 55) she is represented as standing opposite the moon, but
this may only indicate her connection with night and witchcraft. I am
of opinion, however, that Seler’s assumption that she is a moon-goddess
is not altogether capable of proof. On the other hand, goddesses of
vegetation and childbirth are frequently associated with the moon, and
his theory may be perfectly sound. We must remember, however, that in
his more recent works, just as the solar school of mythologists was
accused of “seeing sun-gods everywhere,” Seler has undoubtedly applied
a lunar significance to several deities whose characteristics he
formerly elucidated in totally different fashion.
The warlike nature of Tlazolteotl has already been dwelt upon and its
reason demonstrated in the section dealing with the ochpaniztli
festival.
CHICOMECOATL = “SEVEN SNAKE”
Area of Worship: Mexico.
Minor Name: Chicomolotl = “Seven Maize-ears.”
Relationship: Sister of Tlaloc.
Symbol: The double maize-ear (commaitl).
Festivals: Uei tozoztli, the fourth month; ochpaniztli, the
eleventh month.
Calendar Place: Seventh day of the seventh week; the day
chicomecoatl. (Sahagun states that all days containing a seven in
their name were regarded as auspicious on her account.)
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Aubin-Goupil Tonalamatl.—Sheet 7: The goddess is depicted as having a
red body and facial painting, and wears variegated raiment in which red
is the preponderating colour. On her head is a large square headdress,
also red in colour and decorated with rosettes at the four corners—such
a headdress, indeed, as Tlazolteotl wears at the ochpaniztli festival.
She holds in her hand the double maize-ear, which may be regarded as
her peculiar and distinctive emblem.
Codex Borbonicus.—In this codex she is seen wearing red paint and the
red garment, holding the double maize-ear, and carrying other
maize-ears in a receptacle on her back. Seler thinks that her red
colour is that of the granular bunch of the young maize-ear which she
represents, and that Tlazolteotl or Teteoinnan, who is painted yellow
and white, represents the ripe maize-ear.
Sahagun MS.—The Sahagun MS. states that Chicomecoatl’s face is coloured
red and that she wears a paper crown on her head and a collar of green
precious stones round her neck. She has an overdress and skirt of
spring flowers and wears bells and shells on her feet. Her shield has
the emblem of the summer flower painted upon its surface, and she
carries the double maize-ear in her hand.
MYTHS
The hymn to Chicomecoatl as given in the Sahagun MS. is as follows:
Goddess of the seven ears, arise, awake!
For, our mother, thou leavest us.
Thou returnest to Tlalocan.
Arise, awake!
Mother, thou leavest us now,
Thou goest to thy home in Tlalocan.
Which may, perhaps, be interpreted thus: The expression “seven ears” is
an allusion to the seven ears of maize, sprinkled with rubber oil and
wrapped in paper and cloth, which each maiden in a procession of
virgins carried to the temple of the goddess, the cinteopan, at the
festival of uei tozoztli (April 27th). The maize is now full grown and
the goddess’s labours are over for the time being, so that she is
enabled to return to Tlalocan, the paradise of her brother Tlaloc.
FESTIVALS
The Uei Tozoztli.—The first festival attributed to Chicomecoatl in the
calendar was the uei tozoztli, or the “great watch,” so called because
of the watch or wake kept in the houses of the people, accompanied by a
general fast. The best accounts of it are those of Sahagun [187] and
Torquemada. [188] In this rite the goddess was associated with
Cinteotl. After a four days’ fast, certain rushes were stained with
sacrificial blood and placed upon the images of the gods in both house
and temple. Branches of laurel and beds or mattresses of hay were
placed before the altars, and maize porridge was distributed to the
young men. The people walked in the fields cutting stalks of the young
maize, which they bedecked with flowers, placing them before the altars
of the gods in the calpulli, or common house of the village, along with
food-offerings of every kind, baskets of tortillas, or pancakes of
chian flour and toasted maize mixed with beans, each surmounted by a
cooked frog. On the back of the frog offered up with the tortillas they
placed a joint cut from a maize-stalk filled with small pieces of every
kind of the food offered up. Thus laden, the frog symbolized the earth,
bearing her fruits on her back. All this victual was carried in the
afternoon to the temple of Chicomecoatl, and eaten in a general
scramble. The ears of maize preserved for seed were carried in
procession by virgins to the temple of the goddess, each maiden bearing
seven ears of maize, sprinkled with ulli gum and wrapped in paper and
cloth. The legs and arms of these girls were ornamented with red
feathers and their faces were smeared with pitch and sprinkled with
marcassite. To these the crowd were forbidden to speak, but much
persiflage was, nevertheless, engaged in. The people then returned to
their houses, and the sanctified maize was placed in every granary and
corn-crib, was known as the “heart” thereof, and remained there until
taken out to be used as seed. It does not appear that human sacrifice
accompanied this festival, which seems to have represented ancient
rustic rites, the ritual of the family and the village, handed down
from very early times.
Ochpaniztli (“Sweeping of Temples”).—In this festival, held about the
beginning of September, the goddess played an important although by no
means the principal part, and as it is fully described in the pages
dealing with Tlazolteotl, it will suffice here to mention that the
rites accorded to Chicomecoatl on this occasion appear to have been
almost the same as those rendered at her first festival. The nature of
her connection with the other deities of maize is indicated in the
introduction to the section dealing with the earth and grain gods, and
her participation in the rites of the ochpaniztli perhaps exhibits the
zealous activity of an ancient cult in rivalry with a later and more
popular one. It would certainly seem as if Chicomecoatl had been
recognized in the ochpaniztli rites as an afterthought and for the
purpose of placating her priesthood, as much as for the honour of the
goddess herself, or that it was a protest on the part of the ministers
of her cult, who did not desire to see their divinity ignored at a
season at which she had probably been worshipped from time immemorial.
PRIESTHOOD
That Chicomecoatl had a priesthood specially consecrated to her is
manifest from the accounts of her festivals, and this must have been in
most respects similar in organization and character to those of
Cinteotl (the Cinteotzin), Tlazolteotl, and Xipe. That she had also a
corps of priestesses or holy women attached to her worship is equally
clear from the same source. But we learn nothing of their precise
status or polity from any of the old authorities.
TEMPLES
Chicomecoatl appears to have had two temples, both situated within the
precincts of the great temple at Mexico. The first was the Chicomecoatl
iteopan (“Temple of Chicomecoatl”) and the other the Cinteopan (“Maize
Temple”), which, however, must not be confounded with that sacred to
Cinteotl.
NATURE AND STATUS
Chicomecoatl is obviously the ancient and indigenous maize-goddess of
the Mexican Valley, whose worship had existed from early times. The
statement by the interpreter in Codex Telleriano-Remensis that she
caused famines is most certainly an error and much more applicable to
Ciuacoatl. The identification of her in the same place with
Tonacaciuatl, the female companion of the creative deity, is probably
correct, as she seems to have been an agricultural variant of the old
earth-mother. Chicomecoatl was the patroness of the food supply, who,
says Sahagun, “was the goddess of subsistence,” and “the original maker
of bread and victuals and cookery in general,” and whose sign radiated
good fortune and happy influences. In this goddess, as viewed through
the medium of the observances practised at her festival, we see,
perhaps, the old and indigenous earth-goddess as the helper and
foster-parent of the younger earth-mother, Tlazolteotl, for the grain
of the year before was hers and was placed in the granaries to “help”
or form a nucleus to the new grain. Again, it was perhaps natural that
the elder earth-goddess should preside over the old grain used for
seed, and the younger goddess over the grain which had not yet come to
fruition. In many countries two grain-spirits, mother and daughter,
appear in the agricultural pantheon. In Breton custom the
mother-sheaf—a figure made out of the last sheaf—bears within it a
lesser bundle, which is regarded as the unborn daughter; and in
Prussia, Malaysia, Scotland, and Greece, this double personification of
the corn was or is in vogue.
CINTEOTL = “MAIZE-GOD”
Territory: Totonac; Aztec; Xochimilco.
Minor Names:
Ce Xochitl = “One Flower” (date).
Chicomoltotzin = “Seven Ears.”
Relationship: Son of Tlazolteotl; husband of Xochiquetzal.
Symbol: The god’s head with maize headdress (as in Bologna
tonalamatl).
Festivals: Uei tozoztli; ochpaniztli.
Compass Directions: North; West.
Calendar Place:
Fourth of the Nine Lords of the Night.
Seventh of the Thirteen Lords of the Day.
(Codex Borbonicus, sheet 20.)
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 52: In this place Cinteotl is figured as a male
deity of yellow colour and with a peculiar black, angular, longitudinal
band on the face and bearing a load of maize-ears on his back. In one
hand he carries the rain-staff and in the other the throwing-stick.
Sheet 14: In this illustration he is clearly recognized as the
Maize-god by the maize-ears and the maize-blooms which he wears in his
fillet or on his head. In other respects his insignia resembles that of
the Sun-god in its flame-coloured hair, the jewelled head-strap with
the conventional bird’s head on the frontal side, the large gold disk
on his breast, and on the nape of the neck the rosette painted in the
colours of the green jewel chalchihuitl.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 20: He wears on his head a notched crown like
that of the earth, mountain, and rain gods, except that it is painted
green and yellow, the colours of the maize. It is fastened with a tie
at the occiput, which adornment is painted in like colours and
resembles the knot worn by these deities. As with the Rain-god, it
shows the long, dark hair hanging down below it. On his breast he
wears, attached to a chain of jewelled beads, an ornament which is
painted in the colours of the chalchihuitl and from which hang jewelled
thongs. The loin-cloth is in the colours of the maize, showing
alternate yellow and green cross-bands.
Aubin Tonalamatl.—Sheet 8: Here he is represented opposite Mayauel. On
his back he wears a plumed staff with a heart. In his hand he holds the
quetzal feather-flag.
MYTHS
Cinteotl was regarded by the Mexicans as having been born of the
goddess Tlazolteotl in the sacred western region of Tamoanchan (the
House of Birth), which they looked upon as the original home of the
maize-plant. A song sung at the atamalqualiztli festival is as follows:
Born is the Maize-god
In the House of Descent,
In the place where the flowers are,
The god One-flower.
The Maize-god is born
In the place of water and of mist,
Where the children of men are made.
In the jewel Michoacan.
He is also associated with the flower-gods in certain strophes of the
song to these divinities:
On the ball-ground the quetzalcoxcoxtli sings;
The Maize-god answers him.
Beautifully sings our friend the quetzal,
In the twilight of the red maize god.
My song shall be heard by the lord of the twilight,
The god with the thigh-skin face-painting.
I came to the place where the roads meet,
I, the Maize-god.
Where shall I now go?
Which way shall I take?
This song I would interpret as follows: The game of tlachtli, a
description of hockey, is in some measure associated with the
maize-gods. The quetzalcoxcoxtli bird is Xochipilli, the Flower-god,
with whom Cinteotl is closely associated, and who is connected with
games of all kinds, stone effigies of him being set up in the tlachtli
courts. Cinteotl is a god who emanates from the west, and is associated
with the twilight. At his festival a piece of skin was stripped from
the thigh of the female victim and made into a mask for his priest. The
place where the roads meet is evidently the haunting-place of the
Ciuapipiltin or Ciuateteô, women who died in childbed, of whom
Tlazolteotl, Cinteotl’s mother, was the patroness. The god complains
that he has a difficulty in finding his way at the cross-roads. This
was the precise reason for which they were made, that the Ciupipiltin
or haunting mothers should be puzzled by them, or “wandered,” as the
Scottish expression is. Witches all the world over are baffled by
cross-roads, and formerly the bodies of suicides were buried beneath
them, so that, did their spirits arise, they would be puzzled by the
multiplicity of directions and be baffled in their intent to haunt the
living.
FESTIVALS
The first festival with which Cinteotl was associated was the uei
tozoztli, held in April. After a four days’ fast, the houses were
decked with irises and sprinkled with blood drawn from the ears and the
front of the legs, and the nobles and wealthier folk decorated their
houses with the boughs of a plant called axcoyatl. [189] Search was
made in the fields for the young stalks of maize, which were decked
with flowers and placed before the gods, along with food. The goddess
Chicomecoatl was also revered at this festival. At the ochpaniztli
festival, too, in honour of his mother Tlazolteotl, Cinteotl was
peculiarly venerated, and a full account of the proceedings will be
found in the pages referring to Tlazolteotl. It is necessary, however,
to refer in passing to one custom, that in connection with which the
thigh-skin of the female victim was stripped off and carried to the
temple of Cinteotl, where it was made into a mask which the priest of
the god placed over his face. [190] He also wore a jacket and hood of
feathers, resembling the naualli or bird-disguise of the god—the
coxcoxtli, which seems to have represented both Cinteotl and
Xochipilli, and to have formed a kind of bond between them. The crest
of the hood resembled the comb of a cock, and whilst possibly having
the significance of a bird’s comb, was also held to symbolize the
sharp-cutting flint knife of sacrifice (see Tlazolteotl). Lastly, the
horrible relics of the festival were conveyed by the Cinteotl priest
and a picked body-guard to a hut on the frontier, where they were left,
for what purpose I am able to form no definite opinion. [191]
TEMPLES
Several temples appear to have been dedicated to the worship of
Cinteotl at Mexico, but as the names of these sometimes imply a
collective dedication to the maize-gods, it is somewhat difficult to
ascertain precisely which of the edifices was peculiar to Cinteotl.
However, the Iztac cinteotl iteopan, or temple of the deity of white
maize, at Mexico, more probably refers to Cinteotl’s place of worship,
as Sahagun states, than to that of any other deity. Here, says the
friar, were sacrificed leprous captives, who were slain during the days
of fasting in honour of the sun, when that luminary was at its greatest
height. [192] In the Cinteopan was to be seen a statue of Cinteotl,
before which captives were sacrificed on the occasion of his festival.
The temple of Tlatauhqui Cinteotl (red maize) appears to have been the
preserve of the maize-gods collectively.
PRIESTHOOD
That Cinteotl had a separate and distinct priesthood is manifest from
allusions to it in accounts of his festivals. Among the Totonacs two
high-priests were especially dedicated to him. These were widowers over
sixty years of age, who wore jackets made from the skins of jackals,
were not permitted to eat fish, and whose duty consisted in the
preparation of manuscripts and the deliverance of oracular messages.
The Totonacs thought human sacrifices unnecessary to him, and offered
up birds and small animals at his shrine, regarding him as their
protector from the more sanguinary deities, says Clavigero. [193]
NATURE AND STATUS
It would appear from the data at our disposal that Cinteotl was
originally a maize-god of the Totonacs, a people allied in race to the
Maya-speaking Huaxtecs of the east coast. It will be recalled that his
mother, Tlazolteotl, was of Huaxtec origin. Cinteotl may originally
have been regarded by the Maya-speaking coast people as her son, or
again the relationship between them may have been symbolic and
relatively late in its development. But the myth appears as ancient and
well founded, and the corn-mother who has a son or daughter is
noticeable in many mythologies.
Although Cinteotl is alluded to as a goddess by Clavigero and other
writers, it is abundantly clear that his godhead is of the male order,
as the pictures which represent him prove. Seler lays stress upon his
absolute identification with Xochipilli and Macuilxochitl, but although
resemblances certainly exist, it seems to me that there are as many
points of difference between these gods and that the likeness was the
outcome of later development. Thus it can be shown by Seler’s own
conclusions that, whereas Xochipilli was the patron of gaming and sport
and light-hearted amusement, Cinteotl, on the other hand, was symbolic
of that death which is the offspring of sin. [194]
Cinteotl’s mother, Tlazolteotl, the goddess of lust, undoubtedly
typifies sin, and her son symbolizes the death which follows it and is
its wages, the sharp knife of sacrifice. The indented cap he wears is
typical of this implement, and was known as itzlacoliuhqui (“frost”),
an expression which is also translated as “death” and which is
occasionally employed of Tezcatlipocâ in his phase of god of justice.
But Cinteotl had another connection with the plutonic, such as is
possessed by many grain-gods, and must, like Hades and Ishtar, be
regarded as a deity of the Underworld, the place of the dead, the realm
in which the seed germinates ere it sprouts above ground. He was the
tutelary deity of the goldsmiths of Xochimilco, oddly enough, it seems
to us, until we recall the resemblance between the ripe maize-cob and
the work of the native jewellers. [195]
It is, however, as the young maize-god—the maize in its tender and
half-ripened condition—that he must be chiefly regarded, and that he
was looked upon by the ancient Mexicans. He strongly resembles the Maya
god E.
CIUACOATL = “SERPENT WOMAN”
Area of Worship: Colhuacan and Xochimilco.
Minor Names:
Quilaztli = “Obsidian Plant” (?).
Quauhciuatl = “Woman-eagle.”
Yaociuatl = “Woman-warrior.”
Tonantzin = “Our Mother.”
Relationship: Mother of Mixcoatl; sister of the Centzon Mimixcoa.
Symbol: Obsidian knife.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
General.—In Codex Borgia (sheet 60) she appears as one of the two
heads, or faces, of Quaxolotl, a female face framed by long, streaming
hair, with the fleshless under-jaw and the exposed teeth of a dead
person’s skull.
The Sahagun MS. describes her as having a face painted half-red,
half-black, with a thick smear of indiarubber round the lips. She wears
a crown of eagle-feathers and a golden ear-plug. Her overdress is “the
colour of spring flowers” (red), and she also has an undergarment with
a fringe, and a white enagua, or skirt. Her costume is adorned with
shells and she wears sandals. Her shield is inset with eagle’s
feathers.
An ancient song to her states that she carries a rattle-stick. She has
a shield-device similar to that of Chantico, with whom she seems to be
a parallel.
MYTHS
In the “Song of the Earth-goddesses,” Ciuacoatl is alluded to as
follows:
The eagle Quilaztli is painted with serpent’s blood;
Her crown is made of eagle-feathers.
The high cypresses of the Chalmecâ land shelter her.
The maize has come;
On the fields of the gods
She leans on the rattle-staff.
In my hand rests the agave thorn;
On the fields of the gods
She leans on her rattle-staff.
The broom is in my hand;
On the fields of the gods
She leans on the rattle-staff.
Thirteen eagles is our mother, goddess of the Chalmecâ;
The spear of the prickly plant lays me low;
It is my son Mixcoatl.
Our mother the warrior.
The deer from Colhuacan,
She is stuck with feathers.
Morning has dawned
The order to the warriors has gone forth.
Drag the captives hence,
The whole land shall be destroyed.
The deer from Colhuacan,
She is stuck with feathers.
Those who fight bravely in war
Are painted with eagle-feathers. [196]
This wild song may be interpreted as follows:
The aspect of the goddess is described. She rests (as do Uitzilopochtli
and other gods) under the shade of the cypress trees. The maize is
about to be planted, and she bears in her hand the rattle-staff or
rain-rattle, carried by all the earth- and rain-gods and their priests,
with which she brings down the rain by dint of sympathetic magic and
which implement was also symbolic of fruitfulness or sexual union.
[197] The worshipper takes the agave thorn in his hand wherewith to
pierce his tongue and other members, so that the blood thus obtained
may produce rain for the growth of the maize. The broom alluded to is a
symbol of the earth-goddesses, and was made of hard, stiff, pointed
grass, cut with sickles in the mountainous forests of Popocatepetl and
Ajusco (see Tlazolteotl). “Thirteen eagles” is a date in the
tonalamatl, the last day of the division ce calli. It was connected
with the Ciuateteô, the vengeful women who died in childbed, of whom
Tlazolteotl is the prototype. The “spear of the prickly plant” (cactus)
is the weapon of Mixcoatl, son of the goddess, and is here probably
alluded to as the lightning which accompanies the rainfall in Mexico,
for Mixcoatl is the “Cloud-Serpent,” “the lightning-god.” Or the
worshipper may complain of weakness from loss of blood shed as an
offering by his use of the agave thorn. The warlike nature of Ciuacoatl
is next alluded to. She was evidently identified at Cuitlauac, and
Xochimilco, with the two-headed deer, an animal frequently connected
with the worship of the nomadic Chichimecs, as was Mixcoatl, her son.
She is stuck with eagle feathers or down, like the successful warrior
who had captured an enemy. The warriors must now depart to seek for
further victims. The whole song is eloquent of the connection of the
earth-cult with war and human sacrifice.
Ciuacoatl is spoken of by Duran and Sahagun as a warrior goddess who
gave the Mexicans victory over their enemies, and by Torquemada [198]
as the elder sister of the Mimixcoa, the stellar gods of the steppe.
She it was, too, who, according to another myth, pounded the human
bones brought by Quetzalcoatl from the Underworld into a paste, from
which men were formed—an allusion to the belief current in Mexico that
man was made, or at least “built up,” from maize. [199] Sahagun says of
her [200] that she dispensed adverse fortune, poverty, abjectness, and
misery. She was wont to appear to men in the guise of a richly dressed
lady, such as frequented the court. Through the night she wandered,
howling and bellowing. Occasionally she was seen carrying a cradle, and
when she vanished, examination showed that the resting-place of what
was believed to be an infant contained nothing but an obsidian knife,
such as was used in human sacrifice. [201] There are also indications
that she presided over childbirth.
TEMPLES
Ciuacoatl had a temple called the Tlillan Calmecac, or “Black College,”
where dwelt those priests devoted to her service. [202]
NATURE AND STATUS
The circumstance that Ciuacoatl appears with the skull of a dead person
leads to the conclusion that, besides being an earth-deity, she had
phantom or underworld characteristics—a common connection for a
grain-goddess. From her hymn we gather that she has a magical influence
over the plantation and growth of the maize. She is, perhaps, a
prototype of the Ciuateteô, the disappointed and vengeful women who had
died in their first childbed, and the myth of her cradle containing the
sacrificial knife is eloquent of the connection of the Earth-goddess
with human sacrifice. Her martial character, also, is apparent and is a
concomitant of her agricultural and sacrificial significance. From her
association with Mixcoatl, the Mimixcoa, the Chichimec gods, as from
her name, Quilaztli, and her symbol it is evident that she is connected
with the Chichimec or native Indian cult. Her connection with childbed
is clear from one of the addresses given by Sahagun, who states that
the midwife exhorted the woman in childbed to be strong and valiant as
was Ciuacoatl. “Who first bore children,” in allusion to a myth
mentioned by Gama (pt. i, p. 39), who says that she gave birth to two
children, male and female, whence sprung the human race—a story I have
failed to trace elsewhere, except in Clavigero.
COATLICUE = “SERPENT-SKIRT”
Area of Worship: Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
Minor Name: Coatlantonan = “Our Serpent Mother.”
Relationship: Mother of Uitzilopochtli by Mixcoatl; mother of
Coyolxauhqui and the Centzonuitznaua; wife of Tezcatzoncatl or
Izquitecatl.
Festival: Feast of the flower-sellers in the second month,
tlacaxipeuliztli.
Symbol: The eagle’s foot.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS.—The face of the goddess is painted with white infusorial
earth of the kind known as tiçitl. She wears a crown of eagle-feathers
and a white overdress. Her skirt is formed of serpents, as her name
implies. On her feet she wears white sandals and shells. Her shield is
inset with eagle-feathers, and she bears a serpent-staff in her hand.
STATUES
Much argument has circled around the colossal statue of Coatlicue (see
Introduction) which formerly adorned one of the entrances to the great
temple of Mexico, and which was evidently supported by upright stones,
so that it formed the key-stone of a gateway where it could be seen by
all who passed in and out of the temple. It has been assigned to more
than one goddess, and when it was disinterred amongst other relics in
the course of making new drains in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico in August
1790, it was placed in the court of the university and there worshipped
by the Indians, who decked it with flowers. The Mexican antiquaries,
relying on a statement by Boturini [203] in which he states that
Uitzilopochtli was accompanied by the goddess “Teoyaomiqui,” regarded
the two-faced idol as being bi-sexual and as a composite figure of both
gods, and this notion was perpetuated by Gama in his Dos Piedras.
Payne, in his History of the New World, appends a long and very “sane”
note to his description of it, sneers at the conclusions of the Mexican
antiquaries, and states, somewhat dogmatically, that it must be
regarded as a representation of Chicomecoatl. But it is undoubtedly
Coatlicue. In the first place that goddess had a right to a position in
the temple of Uitzilopochtli as his mother, secondly the idol wears the
skirt of serpents which is implied in her name. But this
notwithstanding, the stone figure has obviously a symbolical meaning as
illustrating the whole circumstances of human sacrifice. The head is
formed by the junction of the heads of two serpents, which symbolize
the two streams of blood welling out from a decapitated body. The
flayed skin of the victim is hung in front and is shown knotted behind
as in the statue of Xipe found at the Castillo de Teayo. The cups from
which octli was drunk are stuck in front of the flayed human skin, and
a skull adorns the serpent-skirt before and behind. Through all these
attributes, however, the personality of the serpent-woman goddess can
be sensed as much as observed. [204]
Other statues and paintings of Coatlicue uphold the theory that she is
represented by this idol. One found in the Calle de las Escalerillas,
and others recovered from the Calle de Coliseo in Mexico City, show her
as having the face of a skull. In the latter she wears a peculiar flat
headdress with maize-like motifs depending from the back, and her hair
recalls the ruffled “night-hair” of Mictlantecutli. Around her body are
strange step-motifs which constitute the ends of parallel lines; and
from her ears depend large cotton plugs. She wears a girdle of skulls
with serpentine noses. Another relief of her found in the Calle de las
Escalerillas is, however, much more enlightening than the foregoing. In
this spirited work she wears what is evidently a panache of stone
knives or malinalli grass, the face is that of a skull, she has the
claws of a jaguar, and the skirt of entwined serpents is noticeable. Be
all this as it may, however, the insignia of the goddess is by no means
a fixed quantity, and considerable research is necessary before
anything like certainty can be arrived at.
MYTH
Sahagun (bk. iii, c. i) related of this goddess that near the ancient
city of Tulla or Tulan rose the mountain of Coatepec (“Serpent
Mountain”), where lived a woman named Coatlicue, mother of certain
“Indians” called Cenzonuitznaua. She had a daughter called
Coyolxauhqui. Coatlicue, who was a widow and very devout, climbed each
day to the mountain of Coatepec to do penance, and on one occasion, as
she reached its summit, a little ball of feathers resembling a roll of
thread or twine fell upon her. Picking it up, she placed it in her
bosom, and later was unable to find it. Shortly afterwards she became
enceinte. Her children, observing her condition, were indignant, and
Coyolxauhqui advised her brothers to slay their mother for the shame
she had put upon them. Her unborn infant whispered to her to be of good
cheer. But one day her sons armed themselves and prepared to slay her.
One of them, however, called Quauitlicac, whispered to the supernatural
child that treason was toward, and at the moment when, headed by
Coyolxauhqui, Coatlicue’s children came to dispatch her, Uitzilopochtli
was born, fully armed. Falling upon his brothers and sister with his
terrible weapon, the xiuhcoatl, or fiery serpent, he speedily
dispatched them all. [205]
FESTIVAL
Tlacaxipeuliztli.—Sahagun (bk. ii, c. 22) relates that on the second
day of this month the people of the temple quarter of Coatlan offered
flowers in the temple and made music during the entire day in honour of
Coatlicue. These flowers were the first-fruits of the year, were
offered up by the master florists, who had a great devotion to the
goddess, and none of the blossoms in their gardens might be smelt until
these bouquets had been offered up in the temple of Coatlicue. They
made for this feast tamallis called tzatzapaltamalli (“sharp-tasting
herb cakes”).
NATURE AND STATUS
Coatlicue is, in one of her aspects, undoubtedly the flower-covered
earth of spring, from whom, as it were, the sun (Uitzilopochtli) is
reborn. Her serpent-skirt is probably symbolic of the circumstance
that, at the season which she represents, the earth is clothed with the
rain as with a garment. The myth which makes her a pious widow is
obviously of late, and probably of hierophantic, origin. In my view
Uitzilopochtli is chiefly her son in his naualli or disguise of a
humming-bird. The humming-bird sucks from the breasts of earth as a
child from its mother’s. But the myth is highly conglomerate, and, as
we possess it, is obviously the result of the fusion of several varying
conceptions of the two principal figures. Coatlicue’s appearance as a
serpent in her great statue which has been described above, and her
name of Coatlantonan, “Our Serpent Mother,” in my view tend to identify
her with the earth in its form of dragon, serpent, or cipactli,
regarding which hypothesis the reader is referred to my remarks in the
Introduction.
It is not improbable that, like Xochiquetzal, Coatlicue is one of those
mountain goddesses from whose sacred heights the rain descended upon
the parched fields. This seems likely from the name of her abode,
Coatepetl (“Serpent Mountain”), the serpents of which her skirt is
composed being symbolical, perhaps, of the stream flowing from the
tarns or pools situated on its lower acclivities. That such a mountain
actually existed in the vicinity of Tollan is proved by the statement
of Sahagun. Uitzilopochtli (q.v.) is thus the sun which rises out of
the mountain, or is “born” from it, armed with the xiuhcoatl, or
fire-snake, the red dawn, with which he slays his sister Coyolxauhqui,
whose insignia show her to represent the moon, and puts the stars to
flight.
XOCHIQUETZAL = “FLOWER FEATHER”
Area of Worship: Plateau of Anahuac; Tlaxcallan; Tlalhuica.
Minor Names:
Ce atl = “One Water.”
Ce Mazatl (Calendar date) = “One Deer.”
Mazateotl = “Deer Goddess.”
Calendar Place: Ruler of the twentieth day (xochitl) and of the
nineteenth “week” (ce quauhtli).
Compass Direction: West.
Festivals:
Tepeilhuitl (Tlalhuica).
Quecholli (Tlaxcallan).
Chicome xochitl (Mexico).
Relationship: The first woman, and thus companion of Piltzintecutli
(the Sun-god); otherwise, wife of Tlaloc, abducted by Tezcatlipocâ.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 9: Here the goddess is represented as wearing an
upper garment of diversified pattern, finished with a variegated
edging. Her shawl is painted in the chalchihuitl colours, and from it
depend two strings or ribbons of a dark shade, completed with a flower.
Her nose-plate is blue and is formed rather after the fashion of the
butterfly design, while her helmet-mask represents a quetzal-bird. In
sheet 58 she is vis-à-vis with the Death-god and is garbed like an
earth-deity with a many-coloured robe. Her hair is dressed like that of
the Zapotec women, that is, two tresses are twisted up like horns and
secured with parti-coloured bands. On the same sheet (next picture) she
confronts one of her servitors or priests (tlamacazque), and her
garments in this place are very similar to those already described. In
the next illustration the only addition to her costume is a wreath of
flowers, but under her arm she holds a quetzal-bird and sits opposite a
red Tezcatlipocâ. On sheet 59 she is represented in the first place
opposite the tlamacazque, and in the following picture confronts a
naked prostitute. Between these figures is her servitor, surprised in
the act of pressing the courtesan’s breasts. This female is
characterized by her wearing of Xochiquetzal’s shawl, hair-dressing,
and the hieroglyph of the warrior caste (shield and spears) shown above
her head. In the lowest row of the same sheet the goddess is seen
opposite the Vulture-god, Tlacacozcaquauhtli. In the following sheets
of the codex her aspect and garb are practically similar to those
described above, with the exception of sheet 60, where she appears in
the act of parturition, with the double head and certain of the
insignia of Quaxolotl, being delivered by Quetzalcoatl in the character
of Xolotl. In the region of her mouth is an angular line of red.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 42: Here Xochiquetzal is adorned by a wreath
of flowers and faces her servant. On sheet 41 we observe that her cheek
is painted with a round red spot, like that of the Sun-god, whilst her
head is adorned with quetzal-feathers, and the quetzal-bird is held
under her arm. She is ensconced on a jaguar skin, and on her head is
the wreath of flowers with two feather tufts, which is especially
characteristic of her. On her face is depicted a red, angular line.
Opposite is the figure of her priest, and between them is a headless
woman, whose head is replaced by a flowering tree. On sheet 39 she is
shown as wearing a quetzal-bird mask and a blue, step-shaped
nose-plate, while her face-paint is elaborately executed. In this
picture is seen issuing from her body a quetzal-feather ornament,
symbolic of a newly-born child. In one hand she holds a jewelled
ornament, and in the other an ear of maize, and she wears the opossum
wristlets applied to women in travail. Her new-born twins are seated
beside her. In another part of this codex she is represented as facing
various male deities in characteristic positions, which are evidently
more typical of her personality than any insignia.
Codex Laud.—Sheet 38: She is here represented facing the tlamacazque in
a kneeling attitude, with her hair dressed in a peculiar manner. Sheet
35 shows her similarly represented to her picture in Codex Vaticanus B,
sheet 39. Her twins are seated one on the instep curve of each foot.
Pottery Figures.—Various pottery figures of the goddess found in the
Valley of Mexico are to be seen in the Uhde Collection, Berlin. In one
of these she is represented holding an infant, and her general attire
agrees with the manuscript representations of her. Her hair is dressed
in the Zapotec style, rising up in two horns and secured with plaited
bands. The shawl or tippet with a V-shape in front is a constant
factor, and in one example is scalloped, in another plain, while in the
third it ends in the chalchihuitl ornament and a bead or ball-fringing.
In the Seler collection is a curious little statuette from Cholula, in
which the goddess is again represented as carrying a child. She wears a
flat cap, almost like that of a cook or chef, the precise significance
of which escapes me, unless it be a local headdress, as some other
examples in the same collection would seem to prove. In a relief found
at Zanja de la Piedra Labrada, near Castillo de Teayo, she is
represented opposite Tlaloc, as if to show her connection with rain.
Her headdress in this place would seem to be a compromise between the
Zapotec hairdressing and a motif representative of florescence. She
wears the same V-shaped tippet, which is here adorned with three
tassels, and she has the stepped nose-ornament. In her right hand she
carries a sceptre of water-rushes, the same as that held by Tlaloc, and
in her left the staff commonly seen in the representation of gods in
the Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio), and which seems to me to be a
development of the chicaunaztli, or rain-rattle.
MYTHS
Perhaps the most important of these is that found in the Sahagun
collection of songs or hymns (the ninth item):
Out of the land of the rain and the mist
I, Xochiquetzal, come.
Out of Tamoanchan.
The pious Piltzintecutli weeps;
He seeks Xochiquetzal.
To the land of corruption I must go.
The goddess here declares that, like other fertility goddesses, she
comes from the fruitful supernatural country of Tamaonchan, the home of
the maize. Piltzintecutli, the Sun-god, seeks her, but, like Ishtar in
Babylonian myth, she must betake herself to the Underworld, until it is
once more time to resume her growth-assisting labours. We have here
good grounds for positing the existence of a popular myth which would
seem to have recounted how the divine lovers dwelt happily in
Tamoanchan until Xochiquetzal was forced to quit the blest abode or was
carried off, and was sought for by the Sun-god, a myth like that of
Proserpine or Orpheus. It may refer to the sun seeking the flower, or
may have a bearing upon the myth of Ixnextli, a variant of
Xochiquetzal, who was expelled from Paradise, and of whom the
interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A says: “Ixnextli, who is the same as
Eve, is always weeping, her eyes dim with ashes, a rose in her hand,
emblematical of her grief, being in consequence of her having gathered
it. And accordingly they celebrate a fast every eight years on account
of this calamitous event; the fast was on bread and water. They fasted
on the eight signs preceding the entrance of the rose, and when that
sign arrived, they prepared themselves for the celebration of the
festival. They affirm that every series of five days comprised in this
calendar was dedicated to this fall, because on such a day Eve sinned.
They were accordingly enjoined to bathe themselves on this night in
order to escape disease.” Regarding this myth the interpreter of the
Codex Telleriano-Remensis says: “They represented her as Eve always
weeping and looking at her husband, Adam. She is called Ysnextli, which
signifies ‘eyes blind with ashes’; and this refers to the time
subsequent to her sinning by plucking the roses. They accordingly
declare that they are still unable to look up to heaven, and in
recollection of the happy state which she lost, they fasted every eight
years on account of this fall.” It is significant that the goddess
pictured beside this statement is called “Suchiquezal.”
Diego Muñoz Camargo, in his Historia de Tlaxcala, equates Xochiquetzal
with Venus and states that: “She dwells above the nine heavens in a
very pleasant and delectable place, accompanied and guarded by many
people and waited on by other women of the rank of goddesses, where are
many delights of fountains, brooks, flower-gardens, and without her
wanting for anything, and that where she sojourned she was guarded and
sheltered from the gaze of the people, and that in her retinue she had
a great many dwarfs and hunchbacks, jesters, and buffoons, who
entertained her with music and dancing and whom she sent as her
confidants and messengers to the other gods, and that their chief
occupation was the spinning and weaving of sumptuous artistic fabrics,
and that they were painted so beautifully and elegantly that nothing
finer could be found amongst mortals. But the place where she dwelt was
called Tamohuanichan Xochitl ihcacan, Chicuhnauh-nepaniuhcan,
Itzehecaya, that is, ‘the house of the descent or of birth, the place
where are the flowers, the ninefold enchained, the place of the fresh,
cool winds.’ And every year she was honoured with a great feast, to
which many people from all parts were gathered in her temple.” He
continues: “They say that she had formerly been the spouse of the
Rain-god, Tlaloc, but that Tezcatlipocâ had abducted her, and brought
her to the nine heavens, and made her the goddess of love. And then
there was another goddess, Matlalcuêyê, the goddess to whom were
attributed witchcraft and soothsaying. Her Tlaloc had made his consort
after Tezcatlipocâ had carried off his wife Xochiquetzal.” [206]
Another myth, given by Boturini, recounts her temptation of the holy
ascetic Yappan, who dwelt in a desert place in order to lead a
continent and solitary life, so that he might win the favour of the
gods. He took up his abode on a rock called Tehuehuetl, but the gods
conceived a doubt of his piety, and sent an enemy of his, Yaotl
(enemy), to watch his movements. Even this bitter foe found nothing to
cavil at in his conduct, and women sent by the gods to lead him from
the paths of rectitude were sternly repulsed. The divine beings were
about to consider his apotheosis, when Xochiquetzal, feeling that her
reputation as a tempter of men was at stake, angrily assured them that
she was able to effect his seduction. Descending to earth, she sought
out the hermit, whom she assured of her admiration and esteem, and
asked by what path she might ascend to his rocky seat. All unsuspicious
of her intent, Yappan descended from his place on the rock and assisted
her to climb the rugged eminence. Yappan forgot his vow of chastity,
and when the goddess had departed, found himself deserted by the angry
gods to the mercies of his enemy, Yaotl, who slew him out of hand. The
gods transformed the slain man into a scorpion, and Yaotl having also
slain Yappan’s wife, Tlahuitzin, whom he had abandoned for the life
ascetic, she was transformed into an animal of the same species, and
crawling under a stone, found her husband there. But the gods, wrathful
at Yaotl’s excessive cruelty, changed him into a locust. [207]
FESTIVALS
Chicomexochitl (“Seven Flower”).—In the sign ce ocelotl, on the day
chicomexochitl, the artists united to hold festival to the goddess, and
the laundresses, says Sahagun, [208] fasted forty days. “They joined
together, twenty or more, to obtain a better quality of pictures and
weaves and to this end offered up quails and incense.” This was one of
the movable feasts.
In an illuminating passage in his disquisition upon the Aubin
tonalamatl (p. 123) Seler says: “As I have remarked at the opening of
the section, the goddess Xochiquetzal is properly the expression of the
day-sign xochitl. But owing to the transference of the series of rulers
of the day-signs to the weeks in the peculiar way affected by the
calendar-makers, that is, by a general shifting of one member, [209]
Xochiquetzal has been brought into association with the sign ce
quauhtli (one eagle). But in Telleriano-Remensis at this week the
hand-mark [210] which indicates the feast-day proper of the ruler of
the week stands at the first day itself—the sign ce quauhtli, that
induced the calendar-makers to effect the above-described dislocation
in the second half of the list of rulers. For more than one reason the
day ce quauhtli must really have seemed to the priestly savants
specially appropriate to the goddess Xochiquetzal, and above all,
because this day was one of the five which fell at the beginning or
western quarter of the tonalamatl disposed in columns of five members.
Hence these five days were collectively regarded as dedicated to the
earth-goddesses, and as the days in which the ghostly women dwelling in
the west, the Ciuateteô, swooped down upon earth, striking the children
with epilepsy and beguiling the men to lust and sin.” These Ciuateteô
were stregæ, witches, succubi, and their characteristics, which are
touched upon in the section dealing with Tlazolteotl, will be more
fully outlined elsewhere.
Quecholli.—The people of Tlaxcallan held a festival to Xochiquetzal in
the month quecholli, when the Mexicans celebrated the feast of
Mixcoatl. At the Tlaxcaltec feast numbers of young women were
sacrificed to the goddess, “to the honour of love,” and the prostitutes
were also in the habit of offering themselves for immolation, we are
informed by Torquemada, [211] first haling the “honest” women through
the mire and subjecting them to the foulest abuse. The Tlalhuica, who
lived in the hot lands south of Mexico, themselves, like the
Tlaxcaltecs, a people of Nahua race, held a festival in honour of
Xochiquetzal in the month tepeilhuitl, which the Mexicans dedicated to
the Tlaloque, gods of rain, as is related by the interpreter of the
Codex Magliabecchiano. Torquemada, too, [212] states that the
Tlaxcaltecs sacrificed many children to Xochiquetzal and to the
mountain-gods (Tlaloque) evidently at this season. Xochiquetzal was
also connected with the festival of the atamalqualiztli, celebrated
every eight years. In the picture of that feast in the Sahagun MS. we
observe her seated at a loom. From these considerations it is manifest
that the verdurous and “watery” attributes of the goddess connected her
with the Tlaloque, but that she was not actually of their company.
TEMPLES
In Tlalhuica, not far from Cuernavaca or Quauhnauac, stands the pyramid
of Xochicalco, one of the most perfect specimens extant of Nahua
architectural skill. There is reason to believe that Xochiquetzal was
originally the local deity of one of these mountains the waters from
which irrigate the fields below, [213] and it seems probable that the
teocalli of Xochicalco typified this eminence. We know that the
teotlalpan, or “Place of Divine Earth,” in the sacred precinct at
Mexico, was sacred to Mixcoatl, a deity who was perhaps of Otomi
origin, and that it was probably symbolic of a mountain in the Otomi
country of which he was the presiding deity, so that the probability is
borne out by analogy. In the country of the Tlaxcaltecs stood the
heights of Xochtecatl, “Goddess of the Flowery Land,” a mountain,
according to Torquemada, about six miles in circumference, which was
the nucleus of a settlement, and was surrounded by graves hewn out of
the solid rock. This, perhaps, provides a fuller illustration of the
theory advanced above.
NATURE AND STATUS
The original home of Xochiquetzal seems to have been among the
Tlalhuica and Tlaxcaltecs. But as the latter were closely connected
with the Mexicans racially, there is good reason to believe that she
was also an original member of their pantheon. In any case she had a
place in the metropolitan calendar, and the contention of the compilers
of both interpretative codices, as well as of the native author of the
picture writings in the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas,
that she is to be equated with Tonacaciuatl, the female member of the
creative pair, seems to have been a later development.
But Xochiquetzal is more especially the goddess of flowers, the female
counterpart of Xochipilli-Macuilxochitl. As has been mentioned, she was
probably at first the goddess who presided over some lofty mountain
whose streams watered the sun-dried plains beneath and clothed them in
abundant florescence, perhaps that very mountain of Xochtecatl to which
allusion has been made, and which stood in Tlaxcaltec territory. As the
“feminine” of Xochipilli, however, she certainly partook of his festive
and frivolous character, and thus presided over the song, the dance,
and all sportive amusements. By a further slight effort of imagination
she came to be regarded as the goddess of illicit love, or of the
sensuous side of intercourse between the sexes, not so much a goddess
of degraded animal passion, like Tlazolteotl, as a figure bearing a
close resemblance to the Apsarasas of Hindu myth, lovely and
voluptuous, and, like them, addicted to the game of throwing the dice
(patolli). A further step established her as the patron goddess of the
prostitutes who existed for the pleasure of the unmarried warriors and
who resided with them in the great common house of the bachelors. From
this circumstance arose the obscene character of the feast of Quecholli
among the Tlaxcaltecs and the Tepeilhuitl festival among the Tlalhuica.
Xochiquetzal was also in some measure the patroness of pregnant women,
according to the interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A, and these worshipped
and sacrificed to her in order that they should not give birth to
girls. She is herself figured in Codex Borgia as the great parturient,
and in Codex Vaticanus B (sheet 39) as has been indicated above.
She had also, like Xochipilli, an artistic significance, as the
patroness of weavers and artists. She was revered by the women who
practised the former art, the invention of spinning and weaving was
attributed to her, and many kinds of craftsmen paid her honours. She
had, moreover, a magical side to her character; in the Aubin tonalamatl
she is seated opposite the dancing wizard, and she is furthermore one
of the Tzitzimimê, or deities of the darksome night, among whom she is
symbolized by the spider.
MACUILXOCHITL = “FIVE FLOWER,” OR XOCHIPILLI = “FLOWER PRINCE”
Area of Worship: Tehuacan, Cozcatlan, Teotitlan del Camino, Oaxaca,
Mexico.
Minor Names:
Auia teotl = “God of Pleasure.”
Mazatl = “Deer.”
Auiatl = “The Jovial.”
Symbol: The sign five-flower.
Calendar Place:
Ruler of the eleventh day-sign, ozomatli.
Seventh of the thirteen day-lords.
Ruler of the twentieth day-count, xochitl.
Festival: The Xochilhuitl (“Feast of Flowers”), one of the movable
feasts.
Compass Directions: South; West.
Relationship: Brother of Ixlilton; son of Piltzintecutli.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA (as Macuilxochitl)
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 15: In this place the god wears as breast-ornament
a human lower jaw, which, combined with the green band to which it is
tied up, may possibly express the day-count malinalli. He has a large
feather nape-ornament. The upper part of his face is white, with a dark
band over the nose and cheek, and white painting over the mouth, in the
semblance of an outspread hand. He wears a cap with vertically
projecting bands painted in the colours of the green jewel
chalchihuitl.
Sahagun MS.—Here he is represented with a white hand painted on his
mouth and a feather crown surmounted by a crest.
General.—Like the other gods of dance and sport, Macuilxochitl wears
the four balls of the toualli emblem on his shield and sometimes
carries the staff with the heart. Like Ixtlilton, he had probably once
a bird’s-head mask, which in the course of his evolution degenerated
into a feather crest and a wing on his back. The deterioration of this
feature can be observed in the stone effigies of his counterpart
Xochipilli.
STATUES
A stone figure of Macuilxochitl found in Cuernavaca represents the god
seated in a squatting attitude, and it is evidently intended to show
him as an onlooker at the ball-game. He wears a pointed headdress or
mitre, on the top of what would seem to be a cotton head-covering. A
head of the god in stone is included in the collection of the Natural
History Museum at Vienna. In this the nose-plug is prominent and he
wears round earrings. The wing-ornament stands well out behind the head
and the face seems to look out of a bird helmet-mask, on both sides of
which are large, circular holes, through which feathers or cotton
ear-plugs fall. The difficulty of working in stone has evidently
restrained the sculptor from representing the upper and lower portions
of the bird’s beak, and the helmet-mask bears a strong resemblance to
that of Xochipilli in the Codex Magliabecchiano, if the beak in that
representation were removed. A statue of the god found in the Calle de
las Escalerillas in Mexico City on December 13, 1900, is almost
identical with the first of those two statues, and agrees with the
second in that here we have the circular holes at the side of the
headdress with the dependent feathers or cotton plug. The best known of
the representations of this god, however, is the clay model found by
Seler at Teotitlan del Camino. It represents Macuilxochitl in a sitting
position and is brilliantly coloured. The face of the god looks out of
a bird helmet-mask, highly conventionalized, and which has practically
lost all its birdlike characteristics. The two circular holes below the
ear are, however, still represented. The upper part of the face is
painted yellow, but under each eye is an oblong patch painted in
variegated colours, such as appears on the faces of the gods of grain.
Around the mouth is a large white patch, in which we may see the white
hand motif conventionalized. The body-paint is red and the garment
white, except that portion at the neck, which is blue. Small golden
bells adorn the necklace and wristlets. In this statuette we have
evidently a very late and highly developed figure of the deity, showing
a considerable departure from the earlier drawings and statues of him.
In the Anthropological Museum at Berlin is a stone statue of
Macuilxochitl, also in a squatting attitude, in which the circular
motif above the ear, with its accompanying plug, is strongly in
evidence. A number of stone statuettes of the god were found at Tepeaca
in the state of Puebla and are now housed in the Natural History Museum
at Vienna. These do not differ from the examples already described,
save that in one of them the Greek fret-pattern takes the place of the
circular ear-plug motif. A stone figure of the god was found amid the
ruins of the Castillo de Teayo, a teocalli, or pyramid, in Vera Cruz.
In this, which is also a squatting figure, the god is covered by a
mantle which is surmounted by the bird’s comb, as seen in
Magliabecchiano and elsewhere. Around the head are three of the
circular holes above mentioned, one above each ear and one at the back
of the head, from which depend a double strip of cotton or other
textile.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA (as Xochipilli)
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 26: In this MS. the god is painted a light
yellow colour. His light hair is bound with a jewelled strap ornamented
on the frontal side with a conventional bird’s head. Round his head he
also wears the fillet of the Sun-god, ornamented with a feather tuft.
As a breast ornament he has a large gold disk suspended from a broad
gold chain, hung with bells. His right hand clasps a bundle of grass,
and in his left he bears a staff embellished with turquoise mosaic and
flowers, probably intended for a rattle-stick. Above the twilight
symbol of the west in the water are instruments of mortification. On
sheet 32 he is represented as of a blue colour with a jewelled chain in
front of his mouth.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—The description of the god in this MS. is
similar to that just given. In his hand he supports a dish with
ornaments, a bangle for the upper arm, a feather tuft and a neck-chain.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 13: In this codex he is seen seated on a royal
throne. His body and the lower part of his face are coloured red, the
upper facial region is painted yellow, but contains a small,
rectangular field, half-red and half-white, while round the mouth is
executed a butterfly design, after the manner of Tonacatecutli and the
maize-gods. His blue ear-plug has a jewelled thong dependent from it,
and his nose-plug is reproduced in the colours of the chalchihuitl
jewel. On his head he wears the strap decorated by two large jewelled
disks. On the frontal side is the stereotyped bird-ornament, while from
the whole, four ends branch off. Surmounting this representation is the
symbol of the night-sky, the dusk-enveloped eye. His nape-ornament
consists of red and white feathers blended together. On his breast is a
large disk of gold, secured by strings of greenstone beads. His
loin-cloth is adorned with jewelled disks, and to the back-bow is
fastened a coxcoxtli bird’s head, which serves as a “mirror-tail,” or
back-mirror. A portion of the ends of his loin-cloth is coloured like
the chalchihuitl jewel. In front of his mouth is a flower from which
two jewelled thongs project.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—The mantles worn by Xochipilli are alluded to in
the MS. which accompanies the paintings in this codex as “mantas de un
selo señor o de Cinco Rosas y manta de Cinco Rosas” (see sheets 5 and
6). There is also a picture of him on sheet 47. The figure on the red
quemitl which he wears is similar to that worn on sheet 20 of Codex
Borbonicus by the god Cinteotl, and is, perhaps, a butterfly motif.
STATUES
Stone effigies of Xochipilli were set up in the tlachtli courts. In the
Museo Naçional at Mexico there is a stone statue of the god which
represents him as sitting cross-legged, as if watching the ball-game.
He wears the mask of a player or dancer. By the aid of such statues of
Xochipilli, which are found in considerable numbers all over the
eastern Mexican slope, the transition from the bird-helmet to the
rudimentary crest may be studied. [214]
MYTH
The only mythical matter of importance concerning Macuilxochitl or
Xochipilli is the nineteenth song in the Sahagun collection, which is
as follows [215]:
SONG OF THE GOD OF MUSIC AND GAMES
Out of the place of flowers I come,
Priest of the Sunset, Lord of the Twilight.
I come even now, my granddam,
Thou of the thigh-skin face-painting,
Lady of the Sunset,
I, priest of the Sunset, Lord of the Twilight.
The god of evil omens,
The lord Tezcatlipocâ,
Shall answer to me, the Maize-god.
In the temple of the octli-god
The rabbit has come to life again.
It runs about.
By my god was it created.
I will bring down the fire-drill, fire will I twirl
On the mountain of Mixcoatl in Culhuacan.
Raising my voice, I strike the little mirror;
The little mirror has grown weak
In the temple of the octli-god.
The white hair grows moist,
Ripe has the octli become.
I will endeavour to elucidate the above strophes, the obscurity of
which is apparent. The god declares that he comes from Tamoanchan, the
mythical paradise of flowers and vegetation in the west, and that he is
the priest of the sunset and lord of the twilight, both of which are
characteristic of that region. He invokes his mother, or grandmother,
Tlazolteotl, by names with which her worshippers were familiar. He
warns Tezcatlipocâ that he has the power to avert his evil omens,
probably by means of merriment and carousing. The rabbit was the
Mexican symbol of intoxication by octli. This strophe regarding it
comes, as it were, from the worshipper, who states that his god
Macuilxochitl or Xochipilli has created or re-created the rabbit, or
spirit of the octli beverage. Sahagun calls Xochipilli a god of fire,
and we know that he was associated with the sacrificial fire-drill,
which was also the symbol of sexual union and licence. Seler thinks
that this song shows “the relation which exists between the pulque
(octli) gatherings, the deity of feasts and the fire-drill.” [216]
FESTIVALS
Xochilhuitl.—Of the feast of flowers over which this god presided
Sahagun says: “The great folk made a feast, dancing and singing in
honour of this sign, decorating themselves with their feathers and all
their grandeur for the areyto. At this feast the king bestowed honours
upon warriors, musicians, and courtiers.” He states (Lib. II, Appendix
c, xix): “They made each year in his honour a feast called
xochilhuitl.... During the four days which preceded this feast all
those who were to take part in it, men as well as women, observed a
rigorous fast; and if during that period a man had commerce with a
woman or a woman with a man, they held that the fast was soiled; that
the god held it for a high offence, and that he would visit the
offenders with maladies in their privy parts.... Before the feast
everyone deprived himself of the use of chilli pepper. They fed upon a
kind of broth called tlalcuilolatolli, which is to say, ‘broth
decorated with a flower in the middle.’... Those who fasted without the
use of chilli or other savoury things, ate only once a day at midday.”
Those who did not fast ate fermented bread. The people ornamented
themselves with the symbols of the gods “as if they aspired to
represent their images,” and danced and sang to the sound of the drum.
At midday they beheaded a great number of quails and made offerings of
their blood before the image of the god. They also pierced their ears
in his presence. Others pierced the tongue with the spines of the
maguey, and passed through it a great number of osier reeds. Another
ceremony consisted of making five tamalli (cakes) of maize, which they
called “fasting bread.” These were placed beneath an arrow called
xochimitl (“flower-dart”) and were offered to the idol as from the
whole community. Those who wished to make a separate offering gave the
god five tamalli upon a wooden platter, and chilmolli soup in a vase.
Maize in all shapes and forms was also offered up. On the same day all
the great folk in Mexico who lived near the frontiers of an enemy
brought the slaves whom they had captured to the capital for sacrifice.
NATURE AND STATUS
This god appears to have had a highly developed cult among the peoples
of Tehuacan, Cozcatlan, and Teotitlan del Camino. He is primarily a god
of flowers and food, that is of abundance, and as such he equates with
the god Cinteotl, with whom some of the sacred hymns even seem to
confound him. But there are strong reasons why he should not be wholly
identified with Cinteotl, as Seler attempts to do, and as the Mexicans
certainly did not do, unless in later times. (See Cinteotl.) It may be,
however, that he was originally a god of vegetation, who later became
more especially a god of flowers, the cult of which was one
particularly favoured by the people of Mexico. However this may be,
there is no doubt that the joyous and sportive side of the god
developed at the expense of all others, and we find Sahagun speaking of
him under his two names as “the god of those who served for the
amusement or pastime of the great.” [217] He is, indeed, the god of
merriment, of dance and sport, of the ball-game, the jester or buffoon,
and moreover presides over the gambling game of patolli, which he is
seen patronizing in the Magliabecchiano MS. According to Jacinto de la
Serna, he is the god of the great gamblers who frittered away their
substance. As the god of sport he is frequently represented by the ape,
the beast of mimicry and diversion.
But he had also a more worthy side, for to artists of all kinds,
painters, weavers, and musicians in especial, he stood as the patron of
all artistic effort, and those engaged in it celebrated their worship
of him at the xochilhuitl festival. Several of the mantle designs in
the Codex Magliabecchiano indicate that as a flower-god he was not
forgotten by the weavers’ caste.
He has associations with several other gods besides Cinteotl,
especially with Ixtlilton (q.v.), who is spoken of as his brother, and
with the Ciuateteô, or deceased warrior women, probably because as a
food-god he was supposed to come from the west, the place of plenty,
where they resided, or, more likely, because of the hunger for earthly
excitement displayed by these pleasure-starved dead women, debarred
from the sensuous delights of earth. His connection with the octli-gods
as the god of merriment and abundance of victuals and festive good
things is plain; and he is very naturally the male counterpart of the
goddess Xochiquetzal (q.v.). As hailing from a locality where planetary
mythology was in an advanced condition, and where the worship of the
morning star was practised, he may have had an astronomic significance,
but what this was precisely is by no means clear. We probably assess
his nature correctly if we allude to him as a god of pleasure, feast,
and frivolity.
XIPE TOTEC = “OUR LORD THE FLAYED”
Area of Worship: Plateau of Anahuac, Zapotecs, Yopis.
Minor Names:
Tlaltecutli = “Lord of the Earth.”
Anauatl yteuc = “Lord of the Seaboard.”
Tlatauhqui Tezcatlipocâ = “The Red Tezcatlipocâ.”
Itztapaltotec = “Our Lord of the Flat Stone.”
Youallauan = “Night Drinker.”
Symbol: In Codex Borgia a quail with its head torn off seems
symbolical of this god.
Calendar Place: Lord of the fifteenth day, quauhtli, and of the
fourteenth week, ce itzcuintli; with the Fire-god, lord of the
twentieth tonalamatl division, ce tochtli.
Festival: Tlacaxipeuliztli.
Compass Direction: West.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 92: Xipe is depicted in this codex as clothed
in the flayed skin of the sacrificed human victim, which, after the
dreadful rite, was drawn over the priest’s body and worn for a number
of days. The slit eyes of the mask he wears shows that this also is
composed of human skin. He wears a nasal rod and plate having the
general appearance of the peculiar peaked cap with which he is
sometimes represented. The ends of his loin-cloth are slit and coloured
white and red. Sheet 62. As ruler of the fourteenth tonalamatl division
and god of the fifteenth day-count, Xipe is represented on this sheet
as a red Tezcatlipocâ. The limbless body is red, the costume of the
same colour, but with a face-mask of yellow, tinted to represent dead
human flesh, with the chapfallen jaw of the dead, narrow slit eyes, as
on sheet 92, and a red streak running over the eye, the full length of
the face, indicative, perhaps, of the place where the operation of
flaying was commenced. Here the nose-cap is also reminiscent of Xipe’s
peculiar peaked cap, its ends especially resembling those of that
headdress. Two red and white bands, the colours of the roseate
spoonbill, depend from the ear. The hair is bound by a fillet on which
are twin ornaments of dull gold, and above this rise two rows of
quetzal feathers.
Codex Vaticanus A.—Plate xiv, Duc de Loubat’s reproduction: As a
back-device he wears the three banners which are also shown of him in
the picture in Duran’s collection. As god of the fourteenth tonalamatl
division, he holds a shield, banner, and a bundle of spears, while half
of his shield is painted in dark and light red rings.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 49: In the Codex Borgia, Xipe is shown in his
character of the patron god of the warrior’s death by combat, or the
stone of sacrifice. He wears a wig made from the downy feathers of the
eagle, which, however, does not altogether conceal his flame-coloured
hair, two forelocks of which recall the hairdressing of
Tlauizcalpantecutli, the god of the planet Venus. Underneath is shown
his small petticoat or apron of green zapote leaves. From his mouth
protrudes a double-jewelled string, which, perhaps, signifies the
fertilizing rain, for as god of human sacrifice he has a connection
with the gods of fertility. He is similarly represented on sheet 25,
where he is also shown as ruler of the fourteenth tonalamatl division,
and the picture indeed bears a close resemblance to that in Codex
Vaticanus B, except that his breast-ornament, carved from a
snail-shell, is attached to his variegated feather necklace. In this
place he also wears a feather wig with a red crest made of the plumes
of the roseate spoonbill, alternating with chalchihuitls on leather and
the heads of rattle-sticks.
Image of Xipe found at Castillo de Teayo, showing him dressed in the
skin of the sacrificed victim.
Codex Borgia Group Generally.—In this group generally Xipe stands as
the representative of the sign of the day quauhtli. His insignia are
the same as those of the red Tezcatlipocâ, with striped face-painting,
but executed in red and yellow without the human skin, or other special
characteristics, and decorated only with the warrior’s headdress and
Tezcatlipocâ’s ring-shaped breast-ornament. The head and neck are
covered with cloth, on which are stuck downy feather-balls. He holds in
some places a severed arm, which he appears to be smelling or about to
devour.
Codex Borbonicus.—In this codex Xipe is represented as Tezcatlipocâ,
and has the face-painting of the red phase of that god, with the
smoking mirror at his temple, the characteristic white ring, and the
peculiar form of feather back-ornament, which is to be seen in some
other Tezcatlipocâ pictures of this codex. But he wears on his
head-fillet, instead of jewelled disks, an ornament of beaten gold, the
crown of roseate spoonbill feathers, the ends of the bands shaped in
swallow-tailed fashion, and other insignia pertaining to his own
regular dress. The quetzalcomitl on his back carries a banner painted
in light and dark red, his especial colours, and he also bears a shield
painted in light and dark red concentric circles. In this codex he
holds a fire-pan, painted with large patches of rubber gum, in which is
inserted the rattle-stick with Xipe’s bands and loops coloured red and
white, or light red and dark red with bifurcated ends.
Vienna Codex.—Xipe is represented here in the flayed human skin and
designated by the date “Seven Rain.”
Codex Nuttall (Zouche).—Sheet 83: In this codex there is a good
representation of the god, especially as regards his headdress. He is
depicted as the warrior secured to the stone of combat, whose eye sheds
tears at the thought of approaching death, and he bears in his hands
the bâtons with which the military victims defended themselves against
their adversaries (see Festival).
Sahagun MS.—This describes him as having a brown face covered with the
feathers of the quail, and with open lips (chapfallen jaw?). His crown
has parted ends, and he wears a wig of curled feathers. He has golden
ear-plugs. Round the hips he has a woman’s short skirt of zapote
leaves, and shells decorate his feet. His shield is red, with
concentric circles, and he carries a rattle-staff.
MASKS, VASES, ETC.
The well-known mask of Xipe in the British Museum represents the mask
of the sacrificed victim. On the back or inside, the carving of the god
shows him wearing his full insignia, with the peculiar headdress and
rattle-staff. Another mask of Xipe in the Bauer collection is of a most
individual character. It was found near Tezcuco, and bears both wind
and serpent symbols. On a stone at Cuernavaca is incised a good
representation of the shield, darts, and flag of Xipe, with date ce
ocelotl (“one ocelot”). On a cup in the Aldana collection Xipe is seen
wearing the flayed skin, with a necklace, evidently of intestines. His
hair is dressed in a manner resembling that affected by the warrior
caste, and he carries the rattle-staff.
STATUES
Representations of Xipe in statuary are considerably numerous. Several
found in the Valley of Mexico are housed in the Uhde collection,
Berlin. Two of these represent the god as wearing the victim’s flayed
skin and one of them is pitted with marks, evidently indicative of
blood-spots. The crown with feathers of the roseate spoonbill is well
exemplified in one of these, but in the other a mitre-like headdress
superimposed upon a circular crown, from which depend large ribbons or
paper ornaments, is noticeable. In another of these figures the
headdress is a sort of barret-cap with knobs or studs. Still another
figure of the same class shows the god with a very large stepped
nose-ornament. All carry a rattle-staff and three bear a shield. A most
striking statue of Xipe was discovered at the Castillo de Teayo site,
at Vera Cruz. The head, which is round and bullet-shaped, bears an
extraordinary resemblance to that of the well-known Egyptian figure of
the Sheik-el-Beled in the Boulaq Museum. In this statue the god wears
the skin of the victim, and the manner in which it was tied on to the
priest is well illustrated by the knotting at the back. The faces, of
course, are masks of the sacrificed victim.
ELEMENTS OF XIPE’S INSIGNIA
Although Xipe is so frequently portrayed as possessing the outward
characteristics of a red Tezcatlipocâ, few of the Mexican deities
possess insignia so individual, or so rich in manifold elements. The
Xipe dress was a favourite one with Mexican kings and military
chieftains, and, in the Codex Vaticanus A, King Motecuhzoma II is
represented as wearing the costume on the occasion of his victory over
Toluca. Tezozomoc also states that Axayacatl wore this dress, [218] and
on the eve of a fierce engagement Tlacauepan, brother of Motecuhzoma,
donned it at the latter’s special request. The elements of Xipe’s
costume are as follows [219]:
(1) The painted crown of feathers of the roseate spoonbill, with
bifurcated ends.
(2) The gilded timbrel.
(3) The jacket of spoonbill feathers.
(4) The petticoat or apron of zapote leaves, overlapping each other
like tiles.
(5) The jaguar or ocelot-skin scabbard.
(6) The round shield covered with red spoonbill feathers, showing
concentric circles of darker tints, sometimes noticeably bisected,
one-half of which is again subdivided obliquely into a smaller upper
portion containing a chalchihuitl on a blue field, and a larger lower
portion, covered with jaguar or ocelot-skin.
Xipe’s dress has three forms:
(1) That of the red god, of the colour of the roseate spoonbill.
(2) That of the blue god, of the colour of the blue cotinga.
(3) As a jaguar or ocelot.
MYTHS
The interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A says of Xipe: “Amongst those who
began to follow the example of Quetzalcoatl and his austerities by
their own acts of penance, Totec is very famous, who, on account of his
having been a great sinner, first stood in the house of sorrow called
Tlaxipuchicalco, where, having completed his penance, he ascended the
mountain Catcitepulz (‘the mountain which speaks’), which mountain was
covered with thorns. There continuing his penance, he cried from thence
very strongly, reproving his people of Tulan, calling to them to come
and do penance with him for the enormous guilt which they had incurred
in forgetting the services and sacrifices of their gods and having
abandoned themselves so much to pleasure. They say that Totec was
accustomed to go about clothed in a human skin and so it has been the
custom till those times. In the festivals, likewise, which they
celebrated to Totec, men clothed themselves in the skins of those whom
they had slain in war and in this manner danced and celebrated the
festival of the sign dedicated to him (for from him, they say, wars
originated), and accordingly they paint him with these insignia, viz. a
lance, banner, and shield. They hold him in the utmost veneration, for
they say that he was the first who opened to them the way to heaven;
for they were under this error amongst others; they supposed that only
those who died in war went to heaven, as we have already said. Whilst
Totec still continued doing penance, preaching and crying from the top
of the mountain which has been named, they pretend that he dreamed this
night that he beheld a horrible figure with its bowels protruding,
which was the cause of the great abomination of his people. On this,
praying to his god to reveal to him what the figure signified, he
answered that it was the sin of his people, and that he should issue an
order to the people, and cause them all to be assembled, charging them
to bring thick ropes, and to bind that miserable spectre, as it was the
cause of all their sins, and that, dragging it away, they should remove
it from the people, who, giving faith to the words of Totec, were by
him conducted to a certain wild place, where they found the figure of
death, which, having bound, they dragged it to a distance, and drawing
it backwards, they fell all into a cavity between the two mountains,
which closed together, and there they have remained buried ever since;
none of them having effected their escape, with the exception of the
innocent children who remained in Tulan.”
A few lines farther on the interpreter says: “The two masters of
penance were Quetzalcoatle and Totec, who was called by another name,
Chipe; who, having taken the children and the innocent people who
remained in Tulan, proceeded with them, peopling the world, and
collecting along with them other people whom they chanced to find. They
further add that, journeying in this manner with these people, they
arrived at a certain mountain, which not being able to pass, they feign
that they bored a subterranean way through it and so passed. Others say
that they remained shut up and that they were transformed into stones,
and other such fables.”
The first part of this myth is, of course, merely ætiological of the
practice of making vows to Xipe to capture and immolate an enemy in his
honour, as, we shall see in the paragraph dealing with his festivals,
was done on that occasion. But I would point out that it possesses some
importance as providing further evidence regarding the existence of the
ascetic life in Mexico, most of the myths dealing with which, like that
under discussion, are connected with the Toltecs, the people of
Quetzalcoatl. Xipe, who plays the part of the Toltec Jeremiah, is here
the subject of a tale which is also recounted of Tezcatlipocâ, with
whom he is frequently confounded or identified, perhaps because both
were great gods of the sacrificial stone, or for the reason that
practically all Mexican cults tended to gravitate towards Tezcatlipocâ
in late times.
That portion of the story which details the burial en masse of the
Toltecs is, of course, the widespread tale of the disappearance of the
old hero-race underground—the fate which overtook Charlemagne and his
peers, King Arthur and “the auld Picts” at Arthur’s Seat, near
Edinburgh, Barbarossa and his men, and many another group of paladins.
The whole may allude, in the ultimate, to mound-burial. It is strange
too—or quite natural, as we believe in, or doubt, the penetration of
America by alien influences—to find in Mexico an incomplete variant of
the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. I should not be surprised to
find that Xipe piped the Toltec children into the Underworld, for
Tezcatlipocâ, with whom he was identified, or at least the captive who
represented that god at the Toxcatl festival, and who had a year of
merriment in which to prepare himself for his fate, went through the
city at intervals, playing upon a flute. This almost universal myth may
allude to the ancient belief that the souls of the dead travelled with
the wind, and were the cause of its sighing and whistling. [220] We
know, too, that the whistling of the night wind through the mountains
was regarded by the Mexicans as of evil omen, and that Yoalli Eecatl
(The Wind of Night) was one of the names of Tezcatlipocâ. [221]
The following song from the Sahagun MS. is in celebration of Xipe:
Wherefore dost thou disguise thyself, O Night-drinker?
Put on thy golden garment.
O my god, thy rich sacrificial water descended;
The lofty cypress tree has become a quetzal;
That which was a serpent has become a quetzal.
The fire-serpent, the famine, has left me.
It may be that I shall go thence to perish,
I, the young maize-plant.
My heart is like a chalchihuitl;
But I shall yet see gold in that place.
I shall be satisfied when I can say
The warrior chief is born.
Let the maize be ready in abundance, O my god.
I look towards thy mountain, I, who worship thee.
I will be satisfied
When the maize ripens,
When the warrior chief is born.
I believe the god to have been called “Night-drinker” from the
circumstance that, in the belief of certain barbarous peoples,
vegetation is more greatly assisted in its growth by night than by day,
that it “drinks,” or is saturated by, the mists and vapours of the
night season, which are believed to emanate from the moon. [222]
Indeed, dew is believed to be caused by the moon, [223] which is
regarded as the great source of all moisture, as the sun is the great
source of all heat. [224]
Xipe is here entreated by the young maize-plant to don his golden
garment, the rain, as, indeed, one translation of this song states it
to be, taking a reasonable liberty with the original. When the rain
comes the cypress glitters like a quetzal-feather, a Mexican euphuism
for a glittering gem, or anything very precious. The xiuhcoatl, or
fire-serpent, is the terrible weapon of Uitzilopochtli, with which he
slew his rebellious brothers and sister, the enemies of his mother
Coatlicue, as Indra slew those of his mother, both of these events
occurring immediately after the birth of the gods thus compared. (In
the case of Indra the weapon was a thunderbolt.) The fire-serpent in
this place evidently symbolizes the scorching, torrid heat which brings
about famine. If the rain continues not, the maize-plant, the young
heart of which is green as jadeite, and from which the golden maize
will emerge later, may perish. Finally the worshipper (?) states that
he will remain unsatisfied until the plumed and full-grown plant,
symbolic of the warrior and all that he fights for, has come to
fruition.
My reading of this song differs considerably from those of other
authorities, but I may, perhaps, be pardoned if I say that I prefer my
own elucidation as at least more circumstantial and more in line with
the facts of Mexican belief.
FESTIVAL
Tlacaxipeuliztli.—The best description of this festival is that of
Sahagun (bk. ii, c. xxi) who tells us that on the last day of the month
of that name the Mexicans celebrated a solemn festival to Xipe and
Uitzilopochtli. On the afternoon of the day prior to that on which the
feast was to take place they held a solemn areyto, or dance, and they
watched all the night in the temple called calpulco [225] with those
who were to be sacrificed on the morrow. They shaved the hair from the
tops of their heads, at the same time drawing blood from their own ears
to offer to the gods. When daybreak had come, they conducted the
captives to the temple of Uitzilopochtli, where they were sacrificed
and flayed, from which circumstance the feast took its name. Many of
the victims were called Xipeme or Tototectin (plurals of the god’s
name). The masters of the captives, or those who had captured them in
war, formally handed them over to the priests at the foot of the
teocalli, and these took them by the hair of the head to make them
mount the steps more quickly. If they refused to walk to the stone of
sacrifice they were dragged thence. When their hearts had been
withdrawn they were offered up to the gods, and the body cast down the
steps of the teocalli, where other priests received it for flaying. The
hearts of the unfortunates thus slaughtered were thrown into a tub of
wood and took the name of quanochtli, or “nopal wood,” of which the
tubs were made.
The flaying process was undertaken by a caste of elderly and probably
inferior priests, the quaquacuilton. [226] Before the bodies of the
sacrificed were so treated they were carried to the temple, where the
“master” of the captive had made his vow to capture and consecrate a
victim to the god. The body was broken up at this place, and a leg was
dispatched to court for the table of the king, the remainder being
divided among the great, or the master’s parents. The dreadful repast
was usually partaken of in the house of him who had taken the captive
prisoner in war. They cooked the flesh with maize and gave a little to
each in a small porringer. The dish was called tlacatlaolli, or “man
and maize.” After having eaten, the feasters became intoxicated on
octli. On the following day, having watched all the night, they went to
amuse themselves by examining the other captives, and in watching them
being baited on the stone of combat. These latter were known as
uauantin, “the pierced,” with reference to the wounds they received.
[227]
Before the sacrificial rites took place the captors of the victims
gathered together, and when the victims had been dispatched the
captors, or certain priests (it is not clear which), drew on the skins
of the flayed victims, and took up positions on hillocks of hay or
heaps of chalk or rubbish. Others approached them, and defied them to
combat by words and pinches. A skirmish ensued, and those who were
captured did not escape scot-free, being rather roughly handled. This
mock combat over, the real business of the day began in terrible
earnest. The wretched captive was secured by one ankle to the
temalacatl, or stone of combat, and wooden bâtons on which eagle-down
had been stuck, in imitation of a maquahuitl, or obsidian-edged sword,
were placed in his hands. Four warriors now came against the victim,
two of the ocelotl corps of knights and two of the quauhtli or Eagle
Corps, and having raised their shields and weapons to the sun, one of
them attacked the captive tied to the stone. If he defended himself
with address, two or even three of his opponents attacked him, and if
he still made good his resistance, all four fell upon him,
“intermingling their blows with dances and numerous poses.”
Prior to the combat a solemn procession was formed to the temalacatl. A
body of priests, dressed in the insignia of one or other of the gods in
whose honour the festival was held, issued from the yopico (“in Yopi
land”), the temple of Xipe, followed by the tecutlis, or knights,
already alluded to, who flourished their weapons and made a martial
show. Arrived at the temalacatl, they marched round it, and seated
themselves on carven stools called quecholicpalli (“perch of the strong
bird”). The priest who took charge of the proceedings was called
Youallauan (Night-drinker), one of the names of the god, and when all
were seated, an orchestra of trumpets, flutes, and conch-shells struck
up, mingled with whistling and singing. The performers wore on their
shoulders streamers of white feathers mounted on long staves, which, as
we have seen, was part of the Xipe dress, and sat between the priests
and the stone of combat.
When the frightful overture had concluded, a captive was placed on the
stone by the person who devoted him to sacrifice, and a beaker of octli
was given him to hearten him to fight well. This he presented to the
four points of the compass, and then sucked its contents through a
reed. A priest then took up his stand in front of the doomed man, and
holding a living quail before him as before a god, tore off its head.
Another priest clad in a bear-skin secured the captive to the stone and
handed him his weapons, and then his captor danced before him, as
before a divinity. The combat then took place, and in the unusual event
of a victim overcoming the four well-appointed warriors who opposed
him, a fifth, who must be a left-handed man, rushed in, raised the
exhausted victor in his arms and threw him to the ground, where he was
dispatched by the Youallauan.
The victim’s heart was then thrown into the wooden tub before alluded
to, after it had been held up to the sun. Another priest now took a
hollow reed and introduced it into the opening from which the heart had
been removed. Having drawn off a sufficient quantity of blood, he went
to offer it up to the sun. The master of the captive who had been slain
then filled a bowl with the blood of his victim, which vessel was gaily
decorated with feathers and which contained a tube, similarly
ornamented. With this he went the round of the temples, smearing the
blood upon the lips of the idols with the feathered tube. He next
divested himself of the gay feather cloak he wore for the occasion and
carried the flayed corpse of his captive, or what remained of it, to
his house, after royal and other requirements had been met. As has been
said, he feasted his family and friends on the body, but did not
himself partake of it, as he was regarded as the ritual father of the
deceased. “The skin of a victim also belonged to his captor, and this
he gave to those who dressed themselves in skins (in consequence of a
vow), and so attired, paraded the streets of the town. Others wore the
heads of wolves.” [228]
“When the captive had been slain, all who were present, priests,
warriors and others, began to dance the areyto round the temalacatl,
the captors of the victims carrying the heads of the slain. This
areyto, or dance, was called motzontecomaitotia (dance with decapitated
heads). The cuitlachueue (old jackal [229]), godfather of the captives,
took in his hands the cords which had held them to the temalacatl and
raised them to the four cardinal points in sign of adoration. After
that ‘he groaned, he wept for the dead.’
“The foreigners with whom Motecuhzoma was at war came to assist
secretly at the spectacle. These were the men of Uexotzinco, Tlaxcallan
and Nonoualco, Cempoallan, and many other places. The Mexicans
pretended not to see them, and they were thus able to behold the fate
reserved for captives in Mexico. When all was over, everyone ate a
tortilla called uilocpalli, or pigeon-seat, a kind of little paté made
with uncooked maize. Next day everyone assisted at an areyto of great
solemnity, which was commenced in the royal palace. All were dressed in
their best and carried tamallis and tortillas of roasted maize, called
momochtli, which they wore instead of collars and garlands. They
carried also red feathers and stalks of maize. The areyto ceased at
midday, and the nobles ranged themselves three and three in the royal
palaces. The king appeared, having upon his right the King of Tezcuco
and on his left the Lord of Tacuba. A solemn dance then took place,
which lasted until the sun went down, after which they commenced
another dance, in which everyone took hands and danced in a serpentine
figure. The old soldiers and recruits came to this dance, bringing with
them female partners and even public women. This lasted also on the
place where the captives had been slain till nearly midnight, and they
continued to celebrate these feasts for nearly twenty days, until they
had arrived at the kalends of the month which they called tozoztontli.”
Twenty days after the festival those who wore the skins of the slain
removed them, but it would seem, from what Sahagun says, that certain
devotees wore these from the festival of tlacaxipeuliztli at the end of
that month to the beginning of the following tlacaxipeuliztli. Persons
afflicted with skin diseases or weak sight frequently made a vow to be
present at this ceremony. The devotees then performed ceremonial
ablutions in a bath in the temple, in which water was mixed with maize
flour, or, more strictly speaking, they were bathed by others. They
then shampooed their heads and did penance for the death of the
captive. After this the captor erected a tripod in the court of his
house, on the top of which was a petlatl, or mat rolled into a ball, on
which he placed all the paper ornaments which the captive had worn at
his sacrifice. “He then chose a courageous young man who wore those
papers, and who took a shield in one hand and a cudgel in the other,
and went through the streets as if looking for an evil-doer. Everyone
was afraid, and cried, ‘Behold the telzompac (noble one) comes!’ If he
caught anyone he took his mantle, and all the spoil he took he brought
back to the captor. The captor then placed in the middle of the court
of his house a joist in the form of a column, which indicated that he
had made captives in war, and which was the blazon of his honour. Then
he took the thigh-bone of the captive, ornamented it with the papers,
and attached it to the top of the column in his courtyard. He then
invited his parents, friends, and the men of his quarter, in presence
of whom he hung the bone up, and then he gave them to eat and drink.
Family songs were sung. All these things were done in the twenty days
before they arrived at the uei tozoztli.
The goldsmiths, of whose caste Xipe was the patron, probably because
the yellow human skin in which he was represented as being clad
typified an overlay of gold-foil, held a festival during
tlacaxipeuliztli in the yopico temple sacred to the god, sacrificing
and burning victims to him, and covering a human representative of him
with ornaments and precious stones, a crown of feathers, golden
necklaces and earrings, and scarlet sandals. They then placed him upon
a throne and offered him the first fruits and flowers of the season,
together with bunches of maize-seed.
The mode of sacrifice by shooting to death with darts or arrows was
employed in connection with Xipe as well as in the case of Tlazolteotl
(q.v.). A captive was secured to a scaffold and shot with darts, so
that his blood might fall upon the ground. This usage may be regarded
as of the nature of sympathetic magic to secure rainfall.
TEMPLES
At least three buildings were erected to the honour of Xipe at Mexico.
[230] The first of these, known as yopico (“in Yopi land”), has already
been alluded to, and was probably the principal place connected with
his worship. It was at this temple that the ceremonies of the
tlacaxipeuliztli festival took place. The second, called yopico
calmecac, appears to have been situated in the quarter of Tlatelolco,
and, as its name implies, was evidently a monastery or place of
instruction. At another edifice, the yopoci tzompantli, the heads of
the victims slain at the festival of the god were exhibited. In front
of the first of these stood the temalacatl, the stone to which the
captives were secured when they fought with the Mexican warriors before
they were finally sacrificed.
PRIESTHOOD
The Xipe yopico teohua, or priesthood dedicated to the service of Xipe,
is enumerated among the various classes of priests charged with the
service of the gods, [231] and held in their keeping Xipe’s insignia
and the accessories for his festival. They resided in the yopico
calmecac or monastery.
NATURE AND STATUS
Xipe is pre-eminently a god of seed-time and planting. [232] He is the
Tlaltecutli, or “Lord of the Earth,” and in a secondary sense, the god
of the warrior’s death on the stone of combat, because of the
association between the food-supply and military service for the
purpose of gaining captives. There can be no question that Xipe was of
Zapotec origin; indeed, that is manifest from the name of his temple,
Yopico, which means the “land of the Yopi” or Tlappeneca, a people of
Zapotec affinities, and his cap was known as yopitzontli, “the Yopi
head.” One of his names was Anauatl itecu, or “Lord of the Coastland,”
and we know from Herrera [233] that he was especially worshipped in the
district of Teotitlan, which commands the road to Tabasco. Both Sahagun
and the interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A uphold his alien origin.
Just as the Egyptian priests of Ammon at Thebes once a year killed a
ram, flayed it, and clothed the image of their god in the skin, just as
the Celtic priest wore the skin of a bull at certain festivals, so the
Mexicans slew and flayed a man, in whose skin they clothed their
priests and those who desired to be closely associated with the god.
The idea underlying this practice would appear to be the renewal of the
life of the deity. It seems to have some bearing on the phenomena of
the system known as “totemism,” regarding the real significance of
which we know so little, despite the seeming erudition which has of
late years been lavished upon its consideration, for, as we have seen,
the captor of the slain victim was not permitted to eat of his flesh,
although that may only have been taboo to him because he stood to the
doomed man in the relation of a sponsor. Xipe represents the earth
“flayed,” that is bare, and ready for sowing. The flaying of the
captive and the dressing of the god’s representative in the skin may
have been of the nature of sympathetic magic, as a suggestion to the
earth to rehabilitate itself in its covering of yellow maize.
It is precisely the agricultural god whom in Mexico we must expect to
find clothed in all the attributes of the warrior, and truly Xipe does
not disappoint us in this respect. He is armed cap-à-pie, and his dress
was the favourite harness of Mexican royalty when it went forth to
battle, as witness the Spartan suggestion of Motecuhzoma to his brother
on the eve of a great combat. [234] The Codex Vaticanus A calls him “il
guerreggiatore attristato.” Thus at his feast the sacrifice takes the
form of a combat. Indeed, he represents the warrior caste, by the
efforts of whom the altars of Mexico were supplied with human victims,
and the maize-crop was consequently secured.
Xipe is in some measure associated with that sacred bird the quail,
which has been connected with sacrifice in many lands. This bird
frequently takes refuge in the last sheaves of grain in a
harvest-field, and thus, perhaps, came to symbolize the corn-spirit
driven from its last stronghold. In Normandy in the harvest-field the
reapers pretend to catch a quail and dispatch it. [235] The quail was
sacrificed to the Tyrian Baal, [236] and is associated by Robertson
Smith with the god Eshmun-Iolaos. [237] The bird-like character of
Xipe’s dress may assist us in the belief that he was partially evolved
from some bird of the quail species commonly found in the maize-field.
He bears a strong resemblance to the Maya god F.
Xipe was probably a maize-god of the Yopi who came to partake of the
character of an Aztec grain-and-sacrifice deity, his own type of
immolation, the shooting by arrows, being partially superseded by the
warrior’s death upon the temalacatl. It would seem that, as the god of
a people of Nahua race, but older in their occupation of the land than
the Aztecâ and Chichimecs, he probably took much the same line of
development after his worshippers settled in the Yopi country as
Tezcatlipocâ and Uitzilopochtli took in a more northern environment,
that the resemblance was recognized by the Aztecâ (as is shown by his
affinity with Tezcatlipocâ, with whom, indeed, he is identified as
Tlatlauhqui Tezcatlipocâ, or “the Red Tezcatlipocâ”), and that under
their guidance his festival took a similar form to that of the gods in
question. His festival is certainly a mytho-dramatic performance
explanatory of the preparation of the earth for the sowing of grain,
the soil being rehabilitated by the death of the captive warrior.
XILONEN = “YOUNG MAIZE MOTHER”
Area of Worship: Originally Huichol tribes; later, Valley of
Anahuac.
Festival: Uei tecuilhuitl, in the eighth month.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The face is painted half red,
half yellow, and the goddess wears a crown of paper decorated with
quetzal-feathers. Her collar is of green precious stones and her
overdress is “the colour of spring flowers” (red). Her skirt is of the
same hue. She wears sandals, and carries a shield with horizontal
lines. In her hand she holds a red rattle-board.
FESTIVAL
The Uei tecuilhuitl.—The festival to Xilonen was the uei tecuilhuitl,
or “great festival of the chiefs,” which lasted eight days and was
celebrated when the maize-plant had almost reached maturity. Our chief
authorities for its events are Sahagun [238] and Torquemada. [239] The
former states that at this period of the year (June–July) the women
wore their hair unbound, in order that the maize might be prompted to
grow in equal luxuriance. During the days of the festival such persons
as visited the temple were permitted to drink abundantly of chian
pinolli (a beverage manufactured from the seed of the chian tree,
mingled with maize-flour and aloe honey) and as much maize-porridge as
could be grasped in the hand, to symbolize the plenty which would
follow the ripening of the grain. The food thus supplied was the gift
of the chiefs, from which circumstance the festival took its name.
Dancing commenced each night at sunset, and was accompanied by singing,
the scene being illuminated by the glare from burning pine-torches.
The dancer around whom interest chiefly centred was the xalaquia (“she
who is clothed with the soil”), a slave girl who represented the
goddess, wearing her red face-paint, large square headdress and
variegated raiment. She was constantly guarded by three old women
called her “mothers,” and was sedulously instructed in the
dancing-school for the part she had to play. In all likelihood she was
kept in complete ignorance of her impending fate. Day after day she
danced, surrounded by the women of the community, who shook their long
hair, and it was believed that the maize-crop would be vigorous or the
reverse as her terpsichorean exertions were spirited or listless. On
the last day of the rites, the priestesses of the Maize-goddess,
attired in her insignia, gathered together in the teopan, or
temple-precinct, and accompanied the victim in a performance which
lasted throughout the night. When day broke, the chief nobles and
warriors of Mexico joined the women and danced a solemn areyto, the men
dancing in front and the women behind them. In this manner they danced
to the foot of the teocalli of the goddess, which they ascended, the
victim being carried on the back of one of the priests, after the
manner of a bride being borne to her husband’s house. Arrived at the
summit, she was decapitated and her heart offered to the goddess. Until
she was sacrificed no one might eat of the new maize, lest it should
fail to ripen.
PRIESTHOOD
The Cinteotzin (Lord of Maize), says Sahagun, had charge of affairs at
the festival of Xilonen (see Cinteotl).
NATURE AND STATUS
Xilonen appears to be nothing more than a deification of the young,
tender ear of the maize-plant. Her name, the season at which her rites
took place and the youth of the xalaquia who represented her would seem
to bear this out. She was originally a goddess of the Huichol tribes,
and, by some circumstance of evolution or imagery, came to symbolize
for the Nahua the maize in the earlier stages of its ripeness, thus to
some extent resembling Cinteotl. Payne and also Seler in some places
seem to confound her festival with that of Chicomecoatl, and offer no
reasons for thus traversing the statements of the older authorities,
which are definite enough and which in this instance I prefer to
follow.
ITZPAPALOTL = “OBSIDIAN KNIFE BUTTERFLY”
Area of Worship: Originally Chichimec tribes; Mexican Plateau.
Relationship: Associated with Mixcoatl and the Centzon Mimixcoa;
one of the Tzitzimimê.
Symbols: The butterfly; Mixcoatl’s stone knife.
Compass Direction: Earth (?).
Calendar Place: Ruler of the sixteenth day, cozcaquauhtli; of the
fifteenth “week,” ce calli.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 92: In this representation and on the sheet
devoted to the fifteenth tonalamatl division and its ruler, Itzpapalotl
is depicted as furnished with human teeth, but is predominantly animal
in form, retaining, however, certain peculiarities which indicate the
intention that she should be regarded as an insect. She displays a kind
of butterfly wing, edged round with stone knives. Above her is figured
the flowering tree broken in the middle from which blood flows. This
symbol denotes the Tamoanchan, or House of Descent, the region of the
mythical west, home of the maize-plant and seat of the primeval gods,
where the wandering tribes were said to have made a long sojourn. In
sheet 63 she is represented as standing upon a platform, which seems to
be covered with a symbolic leaf—perhaps that on which butterflies are
most usually found. She has a dark body edged with white, and the claws
and face are flecked with ulli rubber gum. The head is an adaptation of
that of Tlaloc, and a short, wheel-shaped wing occupies the back from
nape to tail-root.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 11: In this place the goddess is depicted as a
woman with jaguar claws on hands and feet. The facial painting is like
that of Tlauizcalpantecutli, but the features are those of the
Death-god—a skull with a stone-knife nose. She wears a collar with the
form and colouring of a butterfly’s wing, and her dress is set with
stone knives at prominent points. She is accompanied by an animal of
rapacious aspect, perhaps a jaguar or ocelot.
Codex Telleriano-Remensis.—A butterfly with antennæ and wings acts as a
naualli, or disguise (a kind of helmet-mask), to a female figure which
has death’s-head teeth, animal claws on the hands and feet, and a
blue-coloured disk on the cheek. As in Codex Borgia, this face has a
stone knife on the nose, a collar studded with stone knives, and on the
head the warrior’s forked heron-feather ornament. The crown is of dark
feathers, the sombreness of which is lightened by quetzal plumes and a
loin-cloth like that of the Ciuateteô or Ciuapipiltin, the dead women
who had perished in childbed, and who were regarded as partaking of the
nature of warriors. The end of the loin-cloth and skirt is trimmed with
a hem of teeth. As a back-mirror she wears a death’s-head, below which
hangs a “star-skirt,” to the plaited thongs of which rattling
snail-shells are attached.
Aubin-Goupil Tonalamatl (15th Division).—Here the goddess looks out of
a butterfly helmet-mask. Her face is painted a red colour and she is
decorated with dark plumage on arms and legs. She has a snail-shell
before her face, and wears a gold disk on the breast. Opposite her are
a broken tree and a beheaded captive, whose body spouts two streams of
blood in the shape of snakes’ heads. She is seated on a throne
ornamented with small disks.
Codex Borbonicus.—Here the goddess is pictured as a demon of darkness,
tzitzimitl, who descends from heaven in the form of an eagle.
Bas-relief.—A bas-relief, known as the stone of Aristides Martel,
represents the goddess as in the act of flight, and agrees with the
representations of her in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis and the Codex
Borbonicus. The face is intended to represent that of an insect with
round eyes and almost reptilian mouth, and the headdress is flat and
covered with feather balls. The hands and feet are furnished with long
claws. In this place the feather-marking of the goddess presents a
distinctly serpentine appearance and she is surrounded by serpent
motifs, between the folds of which is seen the cross-hatching
symbolical of these reptiles.
MYTHS
The interpreter of Codex Telleriano-Remensis regards Itzpapalotl as a
male deity, probably because, like the Ciuateteô or women who died in
childbed, who were regarded as the equals of the warriors, she wore a
male loin-cloth. He says: “He was called Xounco and after he sinned
Yzpapalotle. The sign of this name is a Knife of Butterflies, and
accordingly he is surrounded with knives and wings of butterflies; for
they say that he sometimes appears to them, and that they only see feet
resembling those of an eagle. Yzpapalotle was one of those who fell
from heaven with the rest, whose names are the following: Queçalcoatle,
Ochululuchesi, Tezcatlipoca, Caleteotle, and Hatzcanpantecoatl.”
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A also labours under a
misapprehension regarding Itzpapalotl’s sex. He states: “Yxpapalotl
signifies a knife of butterflies. He was one of those gods who, as they
affirm, was expelled from heaven; and on this account they paint him
surrounded with knives and wings of butterflies. They represent him
with the feet of an eagle, because they say that he occasionally
appears to them, and they only see the feet of an eagle. They further
add that, being in a garden of great delight, he pulled some roses, but
that suddenly the tree broke and blood streamed from it; and that in
consequence of this they were deprived of that place of enjoyment and
were cast into this world because Tonacatecutli and his wife became
incensed, and accordingly they came some of them to the earth, and
others went to hell. He presided over these thirteen signs; the first
of which the house (calli) they considered unfortunate, because they
said that demons came through the air on that sign in the figure of
women such as we call witches, who usually went to the highways, where
they met in the form of a cross.”
In the song to Tlazolteotl, the fourth of the Sahagun series, we find
the following strophes relating to Itzpapalotl:
The stone-knife butterfly
Who hovers over the cactus.
Her food is on the Nine Plains,
She was nurtured on the hearts of deer,
Our mother, the Earth-goddess.
The reference to the Nine Plains alludes to the circumstance that
Itzpapalotl is a goddess of the Chichimec, or hunting people. The two
first lines of this song are translated by Seler as follows:
“O, she has become a goddess of the melon cactus,
Our mother Itzpapalotl, the Obsidian Butterfly.”
The inference in these lines seems to be that whereas Itzpapalotl was
formerly the goddess of a hunting tribe who sacrificed deer to her, she
has now become the deity of the cultivated field and a settled
agricultural community. This hypothesis would appear to gain strength
from the text of the Anales de Quauhtitlan, where Itzpapalotl is spoken
of as the foundress of the oldest Chichimec kingdom in Nequameyocan,
“Place of the Wild Agave.” Camargo states [240] that the tribes issuing
from Chicomoztoc, “The Seven Caves,” first came to Mazatepec, “The Deer
Mountain,” then to the province of Tepeueuec, where a victim was
sacrificed to Itzpapalotl by shooting him with arrows, a circumstance
which in itself proves the goddess to have been associated with the
earth.
NATURE AND STATUS
Like Mixcoatl, with whom she is closely associated, Itzpapalotl appears
to have been originally one of the ancient stellar and lightning
deities of the Chichimec or nomadic tribes of the northern plains.
Later, on the abandonment of the hunting mode of subsistence and the
acceptance of a more settled and agricultural mode of life by the
tribes who worshipped her, Itzpapalotl would appear (as the allusion to
her in the song to Tlazolteotl seems to show) to have become a goddess
of the food-supply, the melon-patch, and the maize-crop. She was one of
the Tzitzimimê, or demons of darkness, and as such symbolically took
insect shape (cf. Xochiquetzal as a spider), but beneath her butterfly
form there lurks the symbol of the old, fierce earth-mother with claws
and merciless, protruding teeth, which were originally evolved from
those of the cipactli, or earth-monster. It seems to me also that she
bears about her the marks of the deer, and at this I am not surprised,
as I am convinced that in many lands the deer is regarded as a
surrogate of the dragon, and is thus frequently associated with fire
and water. Indeed, in places, Itzpapalotl is tacitly identified with
the mythical deer Itzcuêyê, [241] the captive and wife of Mixcoatl.
That Itzpapalotl is associated with fire is probable, and we know from
the song that she was nurtured on the hearts of deer. From her
association with the obsidian cult and the fact that she is closely
connected with Mixcoatl, whose obsidian knife is her symbol, I should
not be surprised to find further evidence that she is in some manner
identified with the lightning, the heavenly fire, or the stars. Again,
we know that the butterfly was in some measure associated with the
Ciuateteô, the women who died in childbed. We know, too, from Sahagun’s
account that at the festival of the Ciuateteô the people offered cakes
stamped with a butterfly and S-shaped cakes to these spirits, to
represent the lightning. In Codex Telleriano-Remensis, Itzpapalotl
wears the male loin-cloth, like the Ciuateteô, and in Codex Vaticanus B
(sheet 92) there is represented near her a flowering tree broken in the
middle and spouting blood, the glyph or symbol of Tamoanchan, the
paradise of the west, where dwelt the Ciuateteô. In the Mexican mind
the gaudy hues of the butterfly may have become associated with the
brilliance of the western sky at sunset, and this may account for the
connection which undoubtedly exists between Itzpapalotl and the western
home of the Ciuateteô. Again, the insect may typify the frivolous
nature of these dead women. [242] However, the precise significance of
this goddess is by no means easy to arrive at, and in any case is
composed of elements of considerable obscurity and diversity. [243]
Tezcatlipocâ, it may be recalled, is “the obsidian snake.” His obsidian
sandals in some MSS. bear the zigzag lines of the snake and, as has
already been said, the footgear is frequently eloquent of the name or
character of a person or divinity in Mexican painting. In Itzpapalotl
we seem to see another deity of the obsidian cult. Certain of her
pictures as a butterfly are, as has been indicated, of dragon-like
aspect, and we know that the butterfly is in some countries a surrogate
of the dragon. Is obsidian to be regarded as the “bones” of the
cipactli, the earth-beast or dragon?
ZAPOTLANTENAN = “MOTHER OF ZAPOTLAN”
Area of Worship: Mexico; Zapotlan.
Symbol: The eagle-feather.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—Behind the region of the chin and
on the front part of the neck the goddess has a black, almost
beard-like painting. She wears a crown of paper flecked with ulli gum,
and decorated at the top with quetzal-feathers. Her collar is of
chalchihuitl stones and she wears a plain overdress and skirt edged
with horizontal bands, connected by slanting strips. Her feet are
sandalled, and her shield has the insignia of the eagle-feather. In her
hand she carries the rattle-staff of the Rain-god.
PRIESTHOOD
Sahagun states (Appendix to bk. ii) that Zapotlantenan had a special
high-priest, the Zapotlan teohuatzin, who was charged with making all
the necessary arrangements for the festival of that goddess, such as
procuring a supply of paper, copal, ulli, and odoriferous plants for
incense. Clavigero says that she was annually honoured with the
sacrifice of human victims and with particular hymns composed in her
praise. [244]
NATURE AND STATUS
Sahagun states [245] that she was said to have been the inventor or
discoverer of turpentine, which was used in Mexico for medicinal
purposes, and it seems probable that she may have been revered as a
goddess of medicine. Clearly she is also an earth-goddess of the people
of the populous valley of Zapotlan, on the other side of the Otomi
country, adopted into the Mexican pantheon, but having no place in the
calendar.
ILAMATECUTLI = “THE OLD PRINCESS”
Area of Worship: Tehuacan (?); Cozcatlan (?); Chichimec.
Minor Names:
Citlallinicue = “She of the Starry Skirt.”
Cozcamiauh = “Necklace of Maize.”
Calendar Place: Thirteenth of the lords of the day-hours.
Compass Direction: The Middle.
Festival: Tititl (“stretching of limbs”) in the seventeenth month.
Relationship: Spouse of Iztac Mixcoatl; variant of Tonacaciuatl or
Ciuacoatl.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheets 9, 11: In this representation the goddess is shown
with hair composed of heron-feathers and wearing a white garment. In
the pictures of this codex the contracted corners of her mouth, due to
old age, are indicated by a ring-shaped ornament worn below the upper
lip.
Codex Borbonicus.—She has a skeleton’s head, which differs from that of
the Death-god in that it is coloured yellow, with red lines instead of
black, but shows a similarity to it in the ruffled “night-hair” with
which it is covered. In most of the pictures of her in this codex her
blue dress is dotted with circular white spots which are perhaps
intended for stars. This garment is completed with thongs, from which
depend snail-shells, a decoration also seen in the rattling girdle
ornaments (citlalicue) characteristic of the Earth and Underworld
goddesses.
MYTHS
According to the myth related by Motolinia, [246] Ilamatecutli or
Ilancuêyê, as he designates her, was the wife of Iztac Mixcoatl (q.v.),
with whom she dwelt in Chicomoztoc, “the land of the seven canes,” the
mythical officina gentium of the Mexican tribes, whence the aboriginal
ancestors of the several races of Mexico were supposed to have had
their being. By a second wife, Chinamatl, or Chimalmat, Iztac Mixcoatl
became the father of Quetzalcoatl.
FESTIVAL
Tititl (“Stretching of Limbs”).—This festival was held in the Kalends
of the seventeenth month, probably about December 19. [247] A female
slave was bought by the authorities and dressed as follows: She wore an
upper garment or peplum of white stuff and a skirt of the same colour,
beneath which showed the citlalicue, or star-skirt, of the goddess, a
dress sprinkled with stars, cut at the ankles in the shape of many
thongs, from each of which hung a small shell, so that when she walked
these came together and made a rattling sound. Her sandals were white
and she bore a shield whitened with chalk, having a design of eagle’s
feathers in the centre. Fringes of heron’s feathers terminating in
eagle’s plumes hung from the lower edge of the shield. In the other
hand she carried the tzotozopaztli, a wooden knife, used for pressing
cloth. Her face was painted black and yellow. Her hair was dressed in
the form known as tzompilinalli, or “hair tied at the temples,” and
eagle’s plumes fell from it behind.
Before the victim was dispatched they made her dance to the sound of
instruments played by old men, which mingled with the chanting of the
priests. The wretched woman wept and sobbed as she danced, and as
evening approached she was taken to the temple of Uitzilopochtli,
accompanied by all the priests wearing their insignia and the masks of
their gods, one of which was that of Ilamatecutli. On arriving at the
summit of the teocalli, or pyramid-temple, she was immediately slain,
her heart was torn out and she was decapitated. The head was given to
the priest attired in the insignia of the goddess, who held it in his
right hand by the hair, and engaged in a dance, raising and lowering
the horrid trophy, and in this solemn measure he was accompanied by the
priests who represented the other divinities. They then descended the
steps of the teocalli in procession, and sought their quarters.
The priest of Ilamatecutli carried a great cane, the stock of which had
three roots. The mask of the goddess which he bore had two faces with
“great mouths, bulging eyes, and surmounted by a crown of paper cut
into sharp points.” The priests, disguised as gods, having entered the
calpulli, or priests’ quarters, a priest descended from the teocalli
dressed as a young exquisite, wearing a splendid cloak, his head
decorated with white plumes and wearing in place of sandals the hoofs
of a deer. He carried in his hand a leaf of the maguey, surmounted by a
little paper banner. He proceeded to the quauhxicalco, a place of
sacrifice principally associated with human offerings to Tezcatlipocâ,
where there was a small cage made of pine-wood and covered with paper,
and known as “the granary of Ilamatecutli.” The priest laid the
maguey-leaf in this receptacle and then set the whole on fire. Seeing
this, the other priests rushed to the summit of the teocalli. This
ceremony was known as the xochipayna, or “flower-running.” Placing on
high a flower called teoxochitl, or “blossom of the god,” the first who
gained the eminence seized upon it and cast it upon the quauhxicalco
where the “cage” burned. Upon the following day the men and boys made
little sacks, which they filled with flowers or paper, and with these
they skirmished with one another and beat the young girls who chanced
to pass by.
The purpose underlying this celebration is obscure. The costume worn by
the victim is, of course, that of the goddess herself, and we may,
perhaps, infer that the wooden knife she carried, the purpose of which
was to press cloth, was symbolical of one of the domestic duties of the
older women, whom she appears in a measure to have represented. The
exercise of dancing to which the victim was subjected seems to bear
reference to the name of the festival, tititl, the “stretching of
limbs,” and its purpose was probably to ensure vigour and “liveliness”
in the earth or soil, for it was about this period that the winter
solstice occurred and the labours of the field were renewed. The
Earth-mother must, therefore, stretch her limbs ere she once more took
up the great task of growth. [248]
The decapitation of the slave girl was probably a dramatic-mythical
representation of the reaping of the maize. The “great cane” borne by
the priest of Ilamatecutli was, of course, the magic rain-rattle, so
prominent an adjunct to many Mexican religious ceremonies. The “young
exquisite” we must surely explain as a representative of vegetation,
his deer’s-hoofs sandals having, perhaps, a pluvial significance, or
else indicating the swift growth of the maize-plant, which takes but
four months to ripen. The burning of the maguey-leaf in the granary
would seem to indicate the end of the season of vegetative luxuriance
and the commencement of that of domestic fires, and the casting of the
sacred blossom into the flames probably possessed a similar
significance.
NATURE AND STATUS
Ilamatecutli was unquestionably a goddess of the primeval time, as her
aged appearance in the manuscripts, her association with Iztac
Mixcoatl, the old Chichimec god, and her connection with fire would
lead us to suppose. She is primarily a goddess of the earth and of
maize. Her stellar connection and her name Citlallinicue (Star Skirt)
are eloquent of her Chichimec derivation, and she may represent the
starry night sky, or possibly the Milky Way, just as does her mythical
husband, and in this she connects with Tonacaciuatl. As an
earth-goddess she has also a plutonic significance and can be equated
with Mictecaciuatl, mistress of Hades, in this resembling many other
earth-goddesses. Again, she is the “old goddess” par excellence,
patroness of old women, and worker at the metate, or stone on which the
maize cakes were, and still are, made by Mexican women. Her connection
with fire proves her relative antiquity. The circumstance that her mask
is described as being two-faced leads me to believe that her idol or
image had been evolved from the “Kirn-baby,” or doll made at harvests
out of the last sheaf of grain and furnished with a face and hands,
frequently with two faces, in order that it should not prove of bad
omen to those following the image in procession. In this respect
Ilamatecutli is similar to Chicomecoatl (q.v.).
CHAPTER VI
THE GODS OF RAIN AND MOISTURE
INTRODUCTORY
The gods of rain proper are clearly to be distinguished from the gods
of grain and growth, although they were regarded by the ancient
Mexicans as stimulating vegetable plenteousness. That they were
paramount in the practical theology of the rain-cult [249] is evident,
for, whereas Quetzalcoatl was regarded in one of his phases as the
deification of the rain-making priest, Tlaloc and the Tlaloquê
possessed the entire disposition of the rainfall. Sahagun’s remarks
upon Quetzalcoatl make it clear that in this connection he was regarded
as a wind-god who swept the way clear for the rain-gods, or ushered in
the rains. Myth related how Quetzalcoatl, the first discoverer of the
maize, was robbed of his find by Tlaloc, who afterwards had the
governance over its growth and distribution. Although the high-priest
of the Mexican hierarchy was called by the name of Quetzalcoatl, the
prelate next in importance to him bore the name of Tlaloc.
Although Quetzalcoatl was above all regarded by the Aztecâ as a god of
wind, evidence is not lacking that to some extent he was looked upon as
a rain-god, or at least a rain-bringing god. But the overwhelming
superiority of the Tlaloquê in this cult is witnessed to by the fact
that out of eighteen great seasonal festivals, no less than five were
dedicated to them. [250]
Those of the Tlaloquê, or gods of rain, whose names are known were:
Tlaloc, the father of all, Chalchihuitlicue, his wife and sister,
Nappatecutli, god of the mat-makers, who used aquatic reeds in their
work, Atlaua, “Lord of the Beaches” or lake shores, Uixtociuatl,
goddess of salt, and Opochtli, god of fishers and fowlers, and inventor
of the net.
Concerning the Tlaloquê Sahagun remarks: “The Mexicans take for gods
all those high mountains from which the rain comes in the rainy season,
and for each of these they imagine an idol.... They also believe that
certain maladies proceeding from cold have their origin in the
mountains and that these gods have the power to visit them upon them.
Those who were attacked by such complaints made a vow to this or that
mountain, whichever chanced to be in the neighbourhood, or that for
which they entertained the most devotion. A similar vow was made by
persons on the point of being drowned in the rivers or in the sea. The
maladies for which they made these vows were gout in the hands, feet,
or any other part of the body, impotence in any member, or in the
entire body, rheumatism, the contraction of the members or cramp. Those
who were visited with these maladies made a vow to raise a statue to
the following gods: to the idols of the volcano called Popocatepetl in
the Sierra Nevada, to a mountain named Poyauhtecatl, or any other to
which the feeling of devotion inclined them. When they proposed to
offer up to the mountain or gods, they made an image in human form, a
mass called tzoalli.” [251] These the people did not make themselves,
but called in the offices of those priests skilled in the making of
idols, who moulded them out of the paste and gave them teeth of
calabash pips and eyes of haricot beans. The rest of the process of
manufacture is as described in the account of the festival of the
atemoztli (see Tlaloc). These small figures were known as tepictoton,
and, like the sacrificial victims to the rain-gods, their hair was
dressed in two horns or whorls.
TLALOC = “HE WHO MAKES THINGS SPROUT”
Area of Worship: Plateau of Anahuac.
Minor Names: Chicunaui Ocelotl = “Nine Jaguar” (or ocelot).
Calendar Place: Ruler of the seventh day-count, mazatl (deer), and
of the seventh tonalamatl division, ce quiautl (one rain).
Compass Direction: The four quarters in his several aspects.
Festivals: Atlacahualco, tozoztontli, etzalqualiztli, tepeilhuitl,
atemoztli.
Symbols: His head, with serpentine motif and tusks; the day-sign
nine ocelot.
Relationship: Husband (1) of Xochiquetzal; (2) of Matlalcuêyê or
Chalchiuhtlicue. Father or brother of the Tlaloquê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
The evolution of the familiar and characteristic face of Tlaloc is
perhaps best exemplified in a stone statuette included in the Uhde
collection in the Royal Ethnological Museum, Berlin. In this striking
example of the Mexican sculptor’s art a representation of the face of
the god is skilfully contrived by the arrangement of two snakes or
serpents, the tails of which form eye-orbits and a species of nose, the
reptiles’ heads meeting in the region of the mouth, their fangs thus
serving the god for teeth. It is rarely in aboriginal art that a
conception so individual and striking is encountered, and great
imaginative ability must be conceded the sculptor who conceived it. It
is not known whether the later pictures and carvings of Tlaloc were
evolved from this effigy, but it is not unreasonable to suppose that
either from it or similar representations the later conception of him
came into being. We observe in the examples shown in the illustrations
that the custom of representing divine beings in profile resulted in
his case in the survival of a mere ring about the eye and a spirally
convoluted band forming the upper lip and depending from it for some
distance. These are painted blue in the MSS. More faithfully preserved
are the long tusk-like teeth, which in certain stone effigies, however,
degenerate into several straight, downward strokes. This head of the
Rain-god is almost invariably reproduced as the symbol for the day-sign
atl (water).
Representations of Tlaloc in the codices of the Borgia group
occasionally show a development of the lip-band, which rises upwards
and includes the nose, thus, perhaps, indicating a transition form. In
the Vatican B, Fejérváry-Mayer, and Laud Codices the prolongation of
the lip-band and its serpentine character are apparent, the snake’s
teeth and eye being clearly visible.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 14: In this place the body-paint of Tlaloc is
green, although, as a rule, it is black elsewhere. The face is
half-black, half-yellow. The eye and lip-bands are blue. The head is
crowned with white heron-feathers, such as are worn by the octli gods.
A fillet surrounds the forehead, and from this spring four rosettes,
which may symbolize the four quarters from which the rain falls. The
headdress and its accompanying ornaments are painted in alternate
stripes, green and white, sprinkled with liquid rubber. A paper tie
adorns the shoulder, such as was used for the decoration of offerings,
or in the ceremonial arrangement of the dead. The ear-plug is square,
to indicate, perhaps, the four quarters. It is in this codex (sheet 12)
that we obtain the best evidence of the reflection of the various
points of the compass upon the character of the great god of rain.
But the most important pictures in Codex Borgia relating to Tlaloc are
those on sheet 27, which illustrate the cycle of fifty-two years, and
show in the four corner compartments the four days which form the
initial days of the four quarters of the cycle. They do not, however,
commence with ce acatl, “one reed,” ce tecpatl, “one flint,” ce calli,
“one house,” ce tochtli, “one rabbit,” as might be expected, [252] but
with ce cipactli, “one earth-beast,” ce miquiztli, “one death,” ce
ozomatli, “one monkey,” and ce cozcaquauhtli, “one vulture,” for the
reason that the tonalamatl signs here shown are hieroglyphic of the
four quarters of the heavens, rather than allusive to the dates of the
grand cycle of fifty-two years. The middle or fifth region, which is
without a hieroglyph, is ascribed to the central figure. The lower to
the right represents the east. To it belongs the first division of the
calendar, as well as the first day of the great cycle. Tlaloc in this
picture is painted a dark colour, and wears the cipactli head of the
first calendar division as a helmet-mask. The sky above him is
figuratively drawn to represent a cloudy firmament holding rain about
to fall, and he stands upon the cipactli, or earth-beast, which
symbolizes the fruitful earth, from whose body springs the maize-plant,
represented as a tiny head or mask, on each side of which sprout
leaves. The god empties his jar upon the soil, and its contents are
seen to be a renewed supply of maize-ears, indicating the bounteous
nature of the eastern Tlaloc.
The figure on the upper right shows the deity in his northern aspect.
The second division of the tonalamatl and of the cycle are indicated in
its dating and on its helmet-mask. The yellow colour of the god in this
picture is supplemented by the symbolism of a bright atmosphere sending
down sharp rays of light, shown in conventional form by V-shaped
emblems stabbing downwards from aloft. Beneath the god are shown three
vessels filled with the brown-coloured water which falls when the
Rain-god is unpropitious. Indeed, it bears within it the symbols of
death, the death’s-head eye and bony nasal spine. The artistic effort
is to portray water which has been sucked up by the parched and cracked
soil of a Mexican June—water which has been insufficient in quantity,
or has fallen too late. There are present, too, in the picture, the
vampire shapes of such insects as devour the maize, each decorated with
the death’s-head. But, more fatal sign than all, from the pitcher of
the god descends the lightning-axe, wrapped in symbolic fire. The
northern Tlaloc, then, is no deity of plenty, but obviously represents
the Rain-god in his most deadly and terrible aspect. The god in his
western complexion is painted blue, and wears as a helmet-mask the sign
of the third calendar division. A cloudy sky flecked with rain shows
the partial descent of the serpent-like showers, and the maize-plants
beneath him stand in heavy puddles of water. The southern aspect of
Tlaloc (that on the lower left) is painted red, and the helmet-mask is
in vulture form, as in consonance with the sign of the fourth calendar
division. From a cloudless sky dart the conventional sun-rays as
described in the second picture, but beneath the foot of the divinity
are representations of the maize-plant run to seed. Small animals, the
faces of which bear some resemblance to a death’s-head, devour them.
Once again the lightning-axe falls from the jar held by the god,
accompanied by its bright, symbolic flame. The central figure
represents the influence of the Rain-god from the zenith. The Tlaloc
who presides over this situation is striped red and white (the colours
of night and twilight) and he is represented in the normal insignia of
the Rain-god. He is accompanied by the signs for day and night, and the
earth-goddesses cluster around his feet. From the jar he holds are
poured all manner of warlike implements—the atlatl, javelin, shield,
and banner.
The similar fivefold representation of Tlaloc on sheet 28 is believed
by Seler to illustrate his connection with the Venus period.
Codex Vaticanus A.—Sheet 20: Here Tlaloc is represented with the body
painted black, the fore-part of the face black and the hinder portion
yellow. His chin is bearded and the lip-band is prolonged, as described
above. In front of his mantle is a stone knife, from which fire issues.
His attire is painted in alternate stripes of black and green, flecked
with melted rubber. He wears the fillet of Tonatiuh, the Sun-god, and
the strips of hide which fall from the panache of feathers on his head
are also part of the Sun-god’s insignia. He holds a burnt offering of
firewood and rubber in his hand, enveloped in a covering painted black
and green, flecked alternately. The type of the tarns or pools into
which such offerings were cast is depicted in front of him, in the
depths of which are seen fishes and snails.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—Sheet 92: Here he is represented in female
costume and, as in the Sahagun MSS., a white circular spot or patch
with black dots is visible on the god’s cheek, which, the text implies,
was made of the crushed seed of the Mexican prickly poppy (Argemone
Mexicana).
General.—Other details in the costume of the Rain-god are eloquent of
his nature and characteristics. In the Borgia group of codices his
garment and headdress are dark green, flecked with melted rubber,
whilst in those codices from the Mexican country proper we find them
painted blue, bespotted with the same unpleasant incense. His robe, the
anachxecilli (“dripping-garment,” “cloud-garment”), is said to be “set
with green gems,” and in his ear is a broad plate with a dependent band
on which are worked smaller figures made of chalchihuitl stones. On his
breast he wears a wide collar of plaited stuff (reeds?) also enriched
with the precious green stone typical of water, and a large gold disk.
In Codex Vaticanus A, the Codex Magliabecchiano, and the Sahagun MSS.
we find him wearing at the nape of his neck a large crescent-shaped
loop which projects on each side of the head and is secured in the
middle by a rosette, as well as his crown of heron-feathers. In the
Codex Vaticanus B a large fan-shaped object painted dark green and
white projects behind the head of the god. In Codex Borgia (sheet 14),
too, he wears the headdress of Mayauel, the goddess of the agave plant,
but the colours in which it is painted (dark green and white with
rubber flecking) are his own and not the blue and white of the female
divinity.
In the Codex Magliabecchiano (sheet 77) and on a stone relief in the
Trocadero Museum, Tlaloc is represented as holding a jug in one hand
and a staff in the other, the latter of a blue colour and having
serpentine bands in its length. In Codices Vaticanus B and A he also
holds this serpentine wand and in the other the incense-pouch marked
with a cross, to symbolize the four quarters of the heavens.
Occasionally he is seen holding the agave thorn or spike and the omitl
bone, the implements of mortification, as in Codex Borbonicus and Codex
Borgia (sheet 67).
Gama (Dos Piedras, pt. i, p. 101; pt. ii, pp. 76–79) states that in
Tlaloc’s left hand was a shield ornamented with feathers. In his right
were thin, wavy sheets of gold, representing his thunderbolts, or
sometimes a golden serpent, representing either the thunderbolt or
moisture. On his feet were a kind of half-boots, with little bells of
gold hanging therefrom. Round his neck was a band or collar set with
gold and gems, while from his wrists depended strings of costly stones.
His dress was an azure smock, reaching to the middle of the thigh,
cross-hatched all over with ribbons of silver forming squares, and in
the middle of each square was a circle of silver, while in the angle
thereof were flowers, pearl-coloured, with yellow leaves hanging down.
His shield was similarly decorated, with feathers of yellow and green,
flesh-colour and blue, each colour forming a distinct band. The body
was naked from mid-thigh down, and of a grey tint, as was also the
face. This face had only one eye, of a somewhat extraordinary
character: there was an exterior circle of blue, the interior was white
with a black line across it, and a little semicircle below the line.
Either round the whole eye or round the mouth was a doubled band or
ribbon of blue. In the open mouth were three grinders. The front teeth
were painted red, as was also the pendant with its button of gold that
hung from his ear. He wore an open crown of white and green feathers,
from which depended red and white plumes.
Ixtlilxochitl represents him in the month etzalli pictured with a cane
of maize in the one hand, and in the other an instrument with which he
is digging the ground, in which he places maize-leaves and a kind of
food, like fritters, called etzalli.
Sahagun MS.—This states that the god’s face was entirely black with a
few spots of salvia chia. The body was also of a dark colour. He wears
a “mist” or “cloud” shirt without sleeves, in the Toltec fashion,
falling to the knee, and a cloth is rolled round the hips. The crown is
of heron-feathers, and the sandals symbolize the foam of water. The
shield is inset with water-flowers or rushes, and the god carries a
white rush staff.
STATUARY AND VASES
As has been said, the vases in the Uhde collection and in the
Anthropological Museum at Berlin show the Tlaloc face, probably in its
earlier state of development. In both of these a serpentine motif
arches over the eyes and meets in a knot or twist which forms the nose,
while a separate serpent pattern forms the mouth in a moustache-like
manner, the long teeth jutting out from underneath it. Another found in
the Calle de las Escalerillas, Mexico City, is identical with these
last. A stone slab found at Cerro de Zapotitlan, near Castillo de
Teayo, and resembling a tombstone, shows the face of Tlaloc very
clearly, the characteristic feather crown and the long tusk-like teeth
being especially noticeable. Another stone figure found at Teayo is
fully illustrative of the god’s facial characteristics, but the two
serpents twining together to form the nose spring upwards and, after
traversing the position of the eyebrow, end with their tails above this
in a flourish. The back-fan is well represented in this figure, which
has also a mantle and a waist-belt. In a relief found at Teayo in which
Tlaloc is represented along with Xochiquetzal, we see once more the
manner in which the serpentine motifs around the mouth and eyes have
become unified through the exigencies of representation in profile. The
usual insignia are represented here, such as the necklace, the
back-fan, and the short tunic; but certain knots or bows on the dress
lead me to think that what have been commonly taken for sprinklings of
indiarubber gum (ulli) may be small ornamental knots of some textile
material. Vases found at Tlaxcallan and in the Mixtec country show
precisely the same characteristics.
MYTHS
The myth explanatory of the Tlaloquê is found in the Historia de los
Mexicanos por sus Pinturas (c. ii), [253] which tells how the rain-gods
lived in four chambers surrounding a great court in which stood four
immense water-casks. In one of these good water was stored, which
descended upon the grain when it was in process of growth. Bad water
stood in the next, which produced fungus growth, causing the maize to
turn black. When rain and frost came together it was thought that the
third cask had been drawn upon, and the fourth was filled with such
rain as was followed by no growth, or by such growth as grew sere and
withered. Tlaloc, we learn from this account, had created for the
purposes of rain-making a number of dwarfs who made their homes in the
four chambers of his house, and who carried sticks in their hands, and
jars into which they drew water from the great casks. When Tlaloc
commanded them to water a certain tract of country they poured water
from the jars they held, and the lightning-flash was supposed to
proceed from the cracking or breaking of their vessels. This myth is
represented in the Codex Borgia, p. 27, as already described.
Another piece of mythic information is found in the Song of the
Rain-god, the fourth canticle in Sahagun’s collection, which has been
translated as follows:
I
Oh, Mexico has done service with the gods,
The paper flags fly over the four corners of the heavens,
It is no more a time of mourning.
II
Oh, Tlaloc (the Rain-god) has been created
(I.e. my statue has been set on the temple),
My God has become a dark red colour from the blood of the
sacrifices.
The whole day they took, with the making of rain in the temple
court.
III
O my Chieftain, the maize-prince,
In truth it is your produce;
You created it first;
And yet they only do insult to you.
They can have nothing against you;
Distribute thou no offering.
IV
But they abuse me (abstain from sacrifice),
I am therefore not satisfied,
My father, my old priest,
The Jaguar-serpent.
V
Out of the Tlalocan the turquoise house (the blue house)
Came thy father, Acatonal.
VI
O go, go down on the mountain Poyauhtlan
With the mist rattle-board;
Water will be sent from Tlalocan,
The country of the rain-gods.
VII
O my elder brother Toxcuecuex!
I will go; it is enough to make him weep.
VIII
O send me to the place that no one knows.
Down came his word;
I spoke to him, Tetzauhpilli,
I will go; that is enough to make him weep.
IX
After four years he will be placed over us.
Of thee it was said,
The place of the fallen,
The quetzal feather-house, the place of plenty,
And yet he becomes distributer for the Kingdom.
It would be rash to attempt any precise elucidation of this obscure
song. Briefly and doubtfully, I may say, it seems to me that its
tendency is as follows: The song evidently refers to one of the
festivals of the Rain-god, probably the atemoztli, when much time was
occupied in “rain-making” ceremonies, as the canticle indicates. The
pious maker of the song had evidently in mind the myth which told how
Tlaloc stole the maize from Quetzalcoatl, an assertion to which he
objects (verse iii), and advises the god to withhold his produce. This
myth, which is given in the Anales de Quauhtitlan (Codex Chimalpopocâ),
the second or historical portion, states that Quetzalcoatl discovered
maize in the mountain Tonacatepetl. To do so, he took the form of a
black ant and was led to the spot by a red ant. As he was unable to
lift the mountain, it was split open by the magical prowess of Xolotl
in his phase of Nanahuatl and the maize was secured by Quetzalcoatl,
but was stolen from him by Tlaloc. In verse iv of the song under
discussion Tlaloc replies in agreement with his servant, whom it is,
perhaps, that he addresses as Jaguar-serpent, Jaguar (Balam), being a
common designation of priests among the Maya-Quiche. [254] Or it may
have reference to the god himself, one of whose names is “Nine Jaguar.”
The god would seem to refer to some unknown myth relating to his own
parentage in verse v. The name Acatonal (“Reed of the Sun”) given to
his father seems to have a calendric significance. The ceremony of the
mist rattle-board, the rattling of which was supposed to bring rain by
sympathetic magic, was one of the ceremonies connected with rain-making
at more than one of the festivals of the Tlaloquê. Poyauhtlan (“Place
of Mugwort”) is a district of Tlalocan, as well as the name of his
temple, and Toxcuecuex is Uitzilopochtli. The last verse seems to
allude to the myth mentioned in the interpretation of Codex Vaticanus
A, where it is stated that, as no rain had fallen for a period of four
years, Quetzalcoatl began to make sacrifices to obtain it, and, the
worshipper or priest hints, will receive the consequent honour.
According to Boturini, quoting Gemelli Carreri (tom. 6, p. 83), Tlaloc
was the deity who at the behest of Tezcatlipocâ raised the earth out of
the waters of the universal flood, and who counsels men by his divine
messages written in the lightning and the thunderbolt to live wisely
and morally. Like most of the theories of this writer, this is pure
allegory. Following the analogy of the calendar stone, we seem to see
Tlaloc as the sun during the period of Naui Quiauitl, or “Four Rain,”
which ended in a universal conflagration. The interpreter of the Codex
Vaticanus A alludes to Tlaloc as feminine, speaks of him as “goddess of
water,” and explains Tlaloquê as signifying “fine weather.” Farther on
he states that “on the 21st of December they celebrated the festival of
this god through whose instrumentality they say the earth became again
visible after it had been covered with the waters of the deluge; they
therefore kept his festival during the twenty following signs, in which
they performed sacrifices to him.”
The abode of Tlaloc was in Tlalocan, the heights on the road from
Texcuco to Huetzotzinca and Tlaxcallan, a high and shady place. [255]
This locality remained verdant and moist because of its proximity to
the snowy peaks above it even when the plains beneath languished in
drought under merciless sunshine, and it seems natural that it should
have appealed to the ancient Mexicans as a fitting abode for the god of
rain. Of Tlalocan in its more mythical sense, Sahagun (c. ii, Appendix
to bk. iii) says that there was abundance of all refreshments, green
maize, calabashes, and other vegetables and fruits. Here dwelt the
Tlaloquê, who resembled the priests who ministered to their idols in
that they wore their hair long. The folk who went to that paradise were
those who had been killed by lightning, the leprous, gouty, and
dropsical—any such, in fact, who had died from a “watery” complaint. In
Tlalocan they enjoyed a perpetual summer.
FESTIVALS
Quaitl eloa.—The first annual festival to the Tlaloquê was the quaitl
eloa, of which Sahagun says: “In the first days of the first month of
the year, which month was called in some parts of Mexico quavitleloa,
but generally atlacahualco, and begins on the second of our February, a
great feast was made in honour of the Tlalocs, gods of rain and water.
For this occasion many children at the breast were purchased from their
mothers; those being chosen that had two whorls in their hair, and that
had been born under a good sign; it being said that such were the most
agreeable sacrifices to the storm-gods, and most likely to induce them
to send rain in due season. Some of these infants were butchered for
this divine holiday on certain mountains, and some were drowned in the
Lake of Mexico. With the beginning of the festival, in every house,
from the hut to the palace, certain poles were set up, and to these
were attached strips of the paper of the country, daubed over with
indiarubber gum, these strips being called amateteuitl; this was
considered an honour to the water-gods. And the first place where
children were killed was Quauhtepetl, [256] a high mountain in the
neighbourhood of Tlatelulco; all infants, boys or girls, sacrificed
there were called by the name of the place, Quauhtepetl, and were
decorated with strips of paper, dyed red. The second place where
children were killed was Yoaltecatl, [257] a high mountain near
Guadalupe. The victims were decorated with pieces of black paper with
red lines on it, and were named after the place, Yoaltecatl. The third
death-halt was made at Tepetzingo, a well-known hillock that rose up
from the waters of the lake opposite Tlatelulco; there they killed a
little girl, decking her with blue paper, and calling her Quezalxoch,
[258] for so was this hillock called by another name. Poiauhtla, [259]
on the boundary of Tlascala, was the fourth hill of sacrifice. Here
they killed children, named as usual after the locality, and decorated
with paper, on which were lines of indiarubber oil. The fifth place of
sacrifice was the whirlpool or sink of the Lake of Mexico, Pantitlan.
[260] Those drowned here were called Epcoatl, [261] and their adornment
epuepaniuhqui. [262] The sixth hill of death was Cocotl, [263] near
Chalcoatenco; the infant victims were named after it and decorated with
strips of paper, of which half the number were red and half a tawny
colour. The mount Yiauhqueme, [264] near Atlacuioaia, was the seventh
station; the victims being named after the place and adorned with a
paper of tawny colour.
“When the procession reached the temple near Tepetzinco, on the east,
called Tozoacab, the priests rested there all night, watching and
singing songs, so that the children could not sleep. In the morning the
march was again resumed; if the children wept copiously those around
them were very glad, saying it was a sign that much rain would fall;
while if they met any dropsical person on the road, it was taken for a
bad omen and something that would hinder the rain. If any of the temple
ministers, or of the others called quaquavitli, or of the old men,
broke off from the procession or turned back to their houses before
they came to the place where the sacrifice was done, they were held
infamous and unworthy of any public office; thenceforward they were
called mocauhque, that is to say, ‘deserters.’” [265]
Tozozontli.—The second festival to Tlaloc was tozozontli, of which
Sahagun says:
“The third month was designated toçozontli, the first day of it being
consecrated to the festival of the god Tlaloc, who is the divinity of
rain. Many children were slain on the mountains and offered in
sacrifice to this god and his colleagues, in order to obtain water. The
first fruits of the flowers of the year were offered in the temple
called Yopico, no one daring to smell a flower until this offering had
been made. The gardeners, who were designated xochimanque, held a
festival in honour of their goddess called Coatlicue, also known as
Coatlan tonan.
“It was likewise during this month that those who had been wearing the
skins of the dead since the month previous, now stripped them off and
threw them into the basin of the temple styled Yopico. This was done in
procession and with great ceremony. They smelt like rotten dogs; and
after disrobing they performed devotional ablutions.
“Sick people made vows to take part in this procession in the hope of
being cured of their infirmities, and we are assured that many of them
were thus restored.
“The masters of the captives and the people of their houses performed
penance for twenty days, neither bathing nor washing until the skins of
their victims had been carried to the basin of the temple above
mentioned, and alleging their penance was in honour of their captives.
“The period of penance being over, they bathed and washed, and invited
their neighbours and friends to banquets, performing elaborate
ceremonies with the bones of their dead slaves. These twenty days until
the following month were entirely spent in singing in the buildings
called cuicacalli, everyone being always seated, without dancing, and
incessantly chanting the praises of their deities. Other rites were
performed, an account of which will be given in the chapter dealing
with them.” [266]
Etzalqualiztli.—The third festival to the Tlaloquê generally was the
etzalqualiztli. Concerning this feast Sahagun relates:
“On the first day of this month a festival was held in honour of the
gods of rain. The priests of these divinities fasted for four days
prior to the festival, these days consequently being the last four of
the previous month. On the occasion of these celebrations the attendant
satellites of the idols repaired to Citlaltepec to pull the rushes
which grow very high and very beautifully in a pond called Temilco.
From thence they carried them to Mexico, to decorate the temples. No
one was to be seen on the road which they traversed; everyone took care
to hide in case they should meet them. But if, unfortunately, the
priests encountered anyone on the road, they stripped him of
everything, leaving him naked as a worm, and should he dare to defend
himself, he was maltreated and left for dead upon the highway. Even had
he carried the treasure of Moteuhçoma and been robbed of it, it is
quite certain that no punishment would have fallen upon them, for, in
their capacity as priests of the idols, they were at liberty to do such
things and worse without fear of consequences.
“On the day of the festival of etzalqualiztli, everyone prepared cakes
or a broth called etzalli, which was considered as a delicacy among
them, everybody partaking of them at home, and sharing the repast with
visitors. A thousand follies were perpetrated on that day.
“On the occasion of this festival those priests of the idols who had
committed faults in the exercise of their functions were terribly
punished on the waters of the lake. They were maltreated to the point
of being left for dead on the banks of the lake, whither their parents
or relatives repaired to take them home almost lifeless.
“Death was also inflicted on a great number of captives and slaves
dressed in the trappings of the god Tlaloc, in whose temples they were
slain in their honour; the hearts of those unfortunates were then
thrown into the gaping hole in the middle of the lake, which was at
that time quite visible. [267] Many other rites were performed as
well.” [268]
Tepeilhuitl.—The fourth festival to the gods of the water-giving
mountains was the tepeilhuitl. Sahagun says of this:
“During this month festivals were held in honour of the high mountains
which were the point of departure of the clouds, and which are very
numerous in this land of New Spain. To each of these a statue in human
form was erected out of a paste called tzoalli, and offerings were made
to these idols in honour of these mountains.
“Serpents were also made in their honour out of wood or the roots of
trees, which were so carved as to terminate in an adder’s head. Long
pieces of wood of the size of a fist were also made, which were called
ecatotontin (“little winds”). They were smoothed on the surface with a
lump of tzoalli, and were baptized as mountains, being placed upon
men’s heads.
“Images were also made in memory of people who had been drowned, or of
those who had died such a death as entitled their bodies to be buried
instead of being burnt.
“Having placed the statues just described upon the altars with great
ceremony, tamalli and many other foods were offered to them; hymns were
chanted, and wine drunk in their honour.
“The day of the mountain festival having come round, four women and a
man were slain. One of the women was called Tepexoch, the second
Matlalque, the third Xochitecatl, the fourth Mayauel; the man bore the
name of Milnauatl. [269] These women, as well as the man, were decked
with paper anointed with ulli gum, and certain females, richly dressed,
carried them in litters upon their shoulders to the place where they
were to be killed.
“After they were slain and their hearts torn out, they were taken
slowly away, being dragged down the temple stairs to the bottom, where
their heads were cut off and placed upon wooden pikes, while their
bodies were taken to the calpulli [270] and there divided for eating.
The papers with which the statues were decorated were hung up in the
temples, after the statues had been broken up for food.” [271]
Atemoztli.—On the sixteenth month, atemoztli, the people celebrated the
Rain-god’s festival in right good earnest. Says Sahagun [272]:
“The sixteenth month was called atemoztli, that is to say the rain
month, when the thunder and heavy rains began to display themselves.
The people said, ‘Now the Tlaloquê come.’
“At this time the priests began to pray earnestly for rain, doing
penance the while. Taking their censers of serpent-headed brass, they
threw the incense called yiauhtli, they rang little bells attached to
the censer, and censed all the statues of the gods and all the quarters
of the town. As on another occasion, they made images of the mountains
during the time they fasted, and prepared the paper usually used in
these ceremonies. During five days when they bathed themselves they
permitted no water to fall upon the head or to go above the neck. They
also abstained from women. The night which preceded the atemoztli,
which they celebrated on the twentieth day of the month, they occupied
in cutting the paper, which they gummed with ulli, and which was then
called teteuitl. These they attached to long poles, which they planted
in the courts of the houses, where they remained during the day of the
feast. The paste images they made represented the mountains surrounding
the valley of Anahuac. These were placed in the oratory of the house,
where they were offered food, and people sat in front of them, serving
them in tiny vessels full of food, little pots and vessels of cocoa and
food, which were offered four times a night. Nor was an offering of
pulque forgotten. They sang all night before these images, and played
on the flute. At daybreak the priests asked the people of the house for
a tzotzo paztli, or weaver’s bodkin, with which they opened the
stomachs of the images. They also beheaded them and drew out their
hearts, which they handed to the master of the house in a green
porringer. They then stripped them of the paper with which they were
decked, which they burned in the court of the house along with the
viands offered to the images.” [273]
Camargo, who had witnessed the festivals to Tlaloc thirty years before
writing his book, states that [274] when the rain failed and the land
was parched with drought, great processions were made in which a number
of the hairless edible dogs of the country were carried on decorated
litters to a place of sacrifice and there killed and their hearts cut
out, after which the bodies were eaten with much festivity. This, of
course, related to a period subsequent to the Conquest, when human
sacrifice was forbidden. He further states that old Aztec priests had
informed him that the hearts of the human beings sacrificed to Tlaloc
were first held up to the sun, then to the remaining three cardinal
points, after which they were burned. Tlaloc was held in high respect,
and priests alone had the right to enter his temple. Whoever dared to
blaspheme against him was supposed to die suddenly by a thunderbolt, no
matter how clear the sky may have been. The priests, he adds, took good
care to retard his festivals until they saw indication of coming rain.
TEMPLES AND PLACES OF WORSHIP
The earliest recorded place of worship of this deity is that spoken of
by Clavigero [275] in one of the few enlightening passages which he
permits himself, as follows:
“The native historians relate, that the Acolhuas having arrived in that
country in the time of Xolotl, the first Chichimecan king, found at the
top of the mountain of Tlaloc, an image of that god, made of a white
and very light stone, in the shape of a man sitting upon a square
stone, with a vessel before him, in which was some elastic gum, and a
variety of seeds. This was their yearly offering by way of rendering up
their thanks, after having had a favourable harvest. That image was
reckoned the oldest in the country; for it had been placed upon that
hill by the ancient Toltecas and remained till the end of the XVth or
beginning of the XVIth century, when Nezahualpilli, King of
Acollhuacan, in order to gain the favour of his subjects, carried it
away and placed another in its stead, of a very hard, black stone. The
new image, however, being defaced by lightning, and the priests
declaring it to be a punishment from heaven, the ancient statue was
restored, and there continued to be preserved and worshipped, until the
promulgation of the gospel, when it was thrown down and broken by order
of the first Bishop of Mexico.”
The principal seat of the worship of Tlaloc was the great temple of
Uitzilopochtli at Mexico, which is fully described in the section which
deals with that god.
Sahagun speaks (Appendix to bk. ii) of a temple within the sacred
precinct of Mexico which was especially dedicated to the Tlaloquê. This
was the epcoatl (“pearl serpent”), so called, perhaps, from the
circumstance that the victims immolated therein were known by the same
name. It was in this place that the priests fasted and did penance for
forty days before the feast in honour of their gods. The Mexico
Calmecac was a school or junior monastery, where those who were
destined to become priests of the god received their training. At the
acatla yiacapan uei calpulli (“chief flowery hall”) the slaves intended
for sacrifice to the god were assembled, and here their bodies were
prepared for the horrid banquet which concluded his festival.
PRIESTHOOD
The Tlaloc Tlamacasque, the second in rank in the Mexican priesthood,
stood at the head of the ministers of the god. The acolnauacatl
acolmiztli (“he of the puma shoulder” or “dress”) made all arrangements
for the festivals of the god, and kept the vestments worn by the king
on these occasions. It is also clear from many passages that the
priesthood of Tlaloc composed a large and considerable body.
PRAYERS
Sahagun [276] gives at great length a most striking prayer to Tlaloc
made in time of drought by the priests in hope of rain. It asks for
compassion from the Tlaloquê, who, along with their sister,
Chalchiuhtlicue, have withdrawn their faces from mankind. It describes
the wretchedness of the people, tells how they perish of thirst, and
draws a harrowing picture of the sufferings of the children. It
requests Tlaloc to assist the god of earth with rain, so that the
vegetables and plants may grow and not perish. It also asks that the
rain may be of the kind which assists growth, and that it be not
accompanied by hail or lightning, the usual manifestation of the wrath
of the Tlaloquê. “You who are gods of the water, who dwell at the east,
west, north, and south of the world, who inhabit the subterranean
places, the air, the mountains and the profound caverns, hasten to the
consolation of man.”
NATURE AND STATUS
There is less doubt concerning the character of Tlaloc than that of any
other Mexican deity. The representations of him in the manuscripts, the
prayers offered up to him, the myths which seek to explain him, all
make it clear that he is the god of the rain-cult par excellence, to
whom even Quetzalcoatl, the deified rain-maker, in time becomes merely
“a sweeper of the ways.” The etymological derivation of the name has
been frequently essayed. Tlaloc, says Seler, is a noun derived from the
verb tlaloa, “to hasten,” which in its reflexive sense means “to shoot
up,” “to sprout,” so that the name really conveys the sense of “He who
makes things sprout,” “He who hastens growth.” He is, indeed, the god
of rain, of moisture, who dwells on the mountain peaks, and manifests
himself in the lightning and the thunder, both of which are symbolized
in the serpentine folds of his countenance and in its darksome hues.
His progeny are the Tlaloquê, who dwell on every mountain top, dwarfish
servants who pour forth the rain out of the great jars which stand in
his courtyard. “When they beat these with the sticks they carry, it
thunders, and when it lightens a piece of the jug falls.” [277]
The name Tlaloc was specially given by the Mexicans to a mountain to
the east of Tezcuco, near the pass which led to Huetzotzinco, and here
it was that his most ancient idol was found by the immigrant tribes.
The mountains Popocatepetl and Teocuinaui were also especially sacred
to him. He possessed, as will have been observed, both beneficent and
terrible aspects, and was the striker, the slayer, as well as the giver
of bounteous food-supplies. That his cult was an ancient one in Mexico
is proved by the numerous finds of his images among remains of
pre-Aztec date at Teotihuacan, at Teotitlan in the Huaxtec country, at
Quiengola in the Zapotec district, and at Quen Santo in Guatemala.
Tlaloc denotes the four quarters from which the rain comes, as his
symbolism abundantly shows, and the learned priests of Mexico
undoubtedly regarded him as the personification of the tlequiauitl, or
fire-rain, the disaster which closed one of the epochs of the
prehistoric world. He is further analogous to the Maya Chac and God B.
His chief significance for the ancient Mexicans was as the great god of
the rain-cult, the rain itself, and the thunderstorm which brings the
rain. In his serpentine form we may, perhaps, see a reminiscence of the
mythical beast of dragon or serpentine form known to many mythologies
as the “water-provider,” which must be slain by the sun-hero ere the
rain-flood is released to assist the growth of the crops. None of the
myths relating to him serve to assist such a hypothesis; but certain
paintings in the codices appear to relate to some such myth, and page
74 of the Maya Dresden Codex, which relates to the deluge caused by the
water-sun, shows a great serpent vomiting water upon the earth, showing
that in Central America the rain was supposed to emanate from a monster
of this description. [278]
It is significant that Tlaloc wears Toltec dress, and from this and
from his name “Nine Jaguar” we may be justified in concluding that he
is in a sense to be regarded, like Quetzalcoatl, as the Toltec priest.
Balam, the Maya-Quiche word for jaguar, signifies also “priest,” and
that the title was superadded to the serpentine conception of him is
shown by the expression “Jaguar-serpent,” by which he is alluded to in
the hymn quoted above. The Poyauhtlan was not only his temple, but a
district of Tlalocan, where he was supposed to hold sway. This I would
translate “Place of the Mugwort,” or “Absinthe,” and it is clear that
he, as well as Chalchihuitlicue, his spouse, has some mysterious
connection with this plant, which has been shown by Dr. Rendel Harris
to have been the especial medicine-plant of the Greek Artemis. It is
strange, too, to find both the god and his victims, like the
dragon-gods of China, connected with the pearl.
Tlaloc is also god of the four quarters or four “weathers.” The seventh
day-sign, mazatl (“deer”), which he takes, is appropriate, as the deer
symbolizes the quest for water and vegetation. His association with the
dog, the lightning-beast, is also significant. Indeed in Codex Bologna
Tlaloc is frequently symbolized by the lightning-flash alone.
CHALCHIHUITLICUE = “SHE OF THE JEWELLED ROBE”
Area of Worship: Mexico (worshipped at Tlaxcallan as Matlalcuêyê,
“She of the Blue Robe”).
Minor Names:
Acuecueyotl = “Water which makes Waves.”
Apoçonallotl = “Foam of the Water.”
Ahuic = “Motion of Water.”
Aiauh = “Fog.”
Atlacamani = “Storm.”
Xixiquipilihui = “Rising and Falling of the Waves” (Clavigero).
Macuilxochiquetzalli = “Five times Flower-feather” (Boturini).
Calendar Places:
Ruler of the fifth day (coatl).
Ruler of the fifth week (ce acatl).
Lord of the sixth night.
Compass Direction: West.
Festivals: Atlcahualco; ce atl (movable feast).
Relationship: Wife of Tlaloc, sister of the Tlaloquê; mother of the
Centzon Mimixcoa.
Symbol: The chalchihuitl stone.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
General.—In Codex Borgia (sheet 14) she is depicted wearing a blue,
stepped nose-ornament and a serpent helmet-mask. In the Codex
Fejérváry-Mayer is seen a jaguar’s ear behind the serpent’s eye in more
than one representation of her helmet-mask. In Codex Borgia she wears a
large golden disk (teocuitla-comalli) suspended by a jewelled band. Her
robe has a broad hem, in which the colours of the hieroglyph
chalchihuitl, green and red, with a white fringe, are reproduced, thus
forming a kind of pictograph of her name. The same purpose is served by
a large blue disk in the middle of the skirt. [279] In Codex Vaticanus
B she holds the bone-dagger and agave spike for ceremonial
blood-letting. She stands on foaming water, on which floats a
burnt-offering of firewood and rubber.
In the Aubin tonalamatl she is pictured as standing in a stream, down
which swirl away a jewel-box, an armed man, and a woman.
Variations.—The representations of Chalchihuitlicue in the Codex Borgia
group, where she is dressed in the snake-helmet, are substantially
different from her appearance in the Aubin tonalamatl, the Codex
Borbonicus, and elsewhere.
In the Codex Borbonicus (sheet 5) the insignia of the goddess is
heavily spotted, the significance being by no means plain. [280] The
representation in the Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio) also
differs, and in this the goddess is seen holding a rattle and wearing
what seems to be an interesting variant of the jewel hieroglyph.
In Codex Borgia (sheet 57) she is represented along with her spouse
Tlaloc, the chalchihuitl jewel in the form of a two-handed pitcher
separating them. The gods hold chains of jewels representing the four
kinds of maize—yellow, blue, red, and green—and a naked human being
issues from the pitcher, symbolizing the growth of the maize. [281]
Other interesting variations in connection with this goddess are those
found in Codex Vaticanus B and Codex Borgia (sheet 17), in both of
which she is seen suckling a human being. In the former she wears on
the head two bunches of quetzal-feathers, usually part of the insignia
of Xochiquetzal, and she is only to be recognized by the symbol beside
her, a variant of the element chalchihuitl.
Sahagun describes her as follows in the Biblioteca del Palacio MS.:
“The face is yellow, with a red pattern superimposed. She wears a
collar of green precious stones, and a crown of paper adorned with a
quetzal-feather. The tunic and skirt are painted with water lines, and
she wears shells. Her sandals represent the foam of water. On her
shield is painted the emblem of a water flower, and she carries the
“mist rattle-staff.” Statuettes of Chalchihuitlicue are fairly common.
One found in the Valley of Mexico agrees to some extent with her
appearance in the Aubin tonalamatl, but not with that in Codex Borgia.
She wears the tasselled shawl and the chalchihuitl emblem adorns her
dress. Two other stone figures of her in the Uhde collection at Berlin
and one in the Christy collection at London are eloquent of her
insignia. In all of these she wears the tasselled shawl, and in the
Christy example and one of the Uhde figures the large back-bow is well
exemplified, as are the two plaits of hair descending at the back. In
the other Uhde specimen the plates are shown as part of a knot of the
cotton headdress, which is in all cases fringed with balls. In all
three figures large, full bands of some material descend over the ear.
A stone figure of her, found at the Castillo de Teayo in Vera Cruz and
now in the National Museum at Mexico, depicts her with a square
headdress, from which radiate what are evidently the feathers of
aquatic birds. She wears the V-shaped shawl or tippet and a skirt, on
each side of which the chalchihuitl emblem is shown and which is
fringed with shells. Teobert Maler reproduces another stone figure of
her wearing a high headdress of feathers and a necklace and wristlets
of chalchihuitls.
MYTHS
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis states that
“Chalchiuhtli, who presided over these thirteen days, saved herself in
the deluge. She is a woman who remained after the deluge. Her name
signifies the ‘Woman who wears a dress adorned with precious stones.’
They here fasted four days till death. They paint her holding in one
hand a spinning-wheel, and in the other a wooden instrument, with which
they weave; and in order to show that of the sons which women bring
forth some are slaves and others die in war, and others in poverty,
they paint her with a stream as if carrying them away, so that whether
rich or poor all were finally doomed.” The interpreter of Codex
Vaticanus A says that she is the same as the virgin Chimalman, who was
the mother of Quetzalcoatl. The myth to which this passage alludes is
dealt with in the section relating to Quetzalcoatl. Sahagun (bk. i, c.
ii) calls the goddess the sister of the Tlaloquê.
FESTIVALS
Chalchihuitlicue was adored at the etzalqualiztli festival to the
Tlaloquê (see Tlaloc) and at the feast ce atl (“one week”), when, says
Sahagun, “her festival was celebrated by all who in any way dealt in
water, or had any connection with it, water-sellers, fishers and the
like. These dressed and ornamented her image and made adorations in the
house named calpulli. The great lords and rich merchants at the birth
of one of their children paid the greatest attention to this sign, and
the day and hour at which the child was born. They at once inquired of
the astrologers what fortune the child might expect to encounter, and
if the sign was propitious, they had the infant baptized without delay,
whereas if it were the opposite they waited until the nearest day which
had a propitious sign. Food and drink were distributed freely to all.”
PRIESTHOOD
Veytia [282] states that King Nauhyotl instituted a college of priests
expressly for the service of this goddess. These were celibate and wore
long and ample robes of a sombre colour. They went bare-footed in the
sanctuary, fasted frequently, and were given to penitence and
contemplation. Their high-priest was called Achcauhtli, [283] and the
entire cult was modelled on that of Quetzalcoatl. This did not prohibit
them, however, from the sacrifice of human beings.
NATURE AND STATUS
Chalchihuitlicue was the female counterpart of Tlaloc, and the goddess
of water and moisture. Sahagun (bk. i, c. ii) says of her: “She was
supposed to have her existence in the sea, the rivers and lakes, and
had power to take the lives of those who ventured upon them, and to
raise tempests.”
The name means “She whose raiment consists of green gems,” or “She of
the jewelled robe,” and is allegorical of the brilliant surface of
flowing rather than stagnant water. She is, says Seler, “an appropriate
representative of the sign ‘Snake.’ For the moving, flowing water has
everywhere and at all times been likened to the serpent. In cultural
centres which are dedicated to the Water-goddess—the Pilon de Azucar,
for instance, which has been explored by Hermann Strebel—the ground
swarms as well with images of snakes as of frogs.” [284]
In Codex Borgia she is seen with a bunch of dried herbs above her,
evidently indicating that she had a medicinal side to her character.
Certain pictures of her—that, for instance, in the Aubin tonalamatl
already described—seem to point to her as the goddess of change in
human affairs, of speedy ruin, and this conception was, no doubt,
brought about by the ever-changing character of the element she
symbolized. She is, indeed, the goddess of water in its mutable and
kaleidoscopic form.
There is, however, every reason to believe that she had a still more
profound significance in Mexican theology, and this is made clear if we
examine the prayer to her preserved by Sahagun in which she seems to
represent the purifying and cleansing influence of water as an agency
to wipe away the original sin with which it was thought man came into
the world.
That the goddess had also a lunar significance is plain from the
allusion to her as the mother of the Centzon Mimixcoa, or stars of the
Northern Hemisphere, and the great importance attached to the prayers
offered up to her in connection with child-bearing. As has been hinted,
she had also a medicinal aspect. The child sacrificed to her at the
etzalqualiztli festival was slain at the hill known as Yauhqueme
(“covered with mugwort”), and, as instanced in the case of Tlaloc, this
plant is the especial medicine-herb of the Greek Artemis. In Codex
Borgia, indeed, she is associated with a herb which may possibly be the
mugwort or wormwood, and Seler thinks she is to be regarded as the
giver of “healing draughts of physic.”
UIXTOCIUATL = “SALT WOMAN”
Area of Worship: Originally the eastern sea-coast.
Relationship: Elder sister of the Tlaloquê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The goddess is painted yellow and
wears a crown of paper or cotton, adorned with quetzal-feathers and a
golden ear-plug. Her overdress and skirt are painted with wavy lines of
water and she wears sandals. Her shield is entirely white and she bears
a rush staff in her hand, from which depend strips of cotton or paper.
FESTIVALS
Tecuilhuitontli.—“The seventh month” (says Sahagun, bk. ii, c. vii)
“was designated tecuilhuitontli, the first day of which was dedicated
to the goddess of salt, who was styled Uixtociuatl. She was termed the
elder sister of the god Tlaloc. A woman was slain in her honour, robed
with the same ornaments as were worn by the images of this divinity.
“The night preceding this festival, the women, old, young, and
children, gave themselves up to singing and dancing, marching in a
ring, linked by cords which they each held by an end, which they called
xochimecatl, and which were garlanded with the absinthe flowers of the
country, called iztauhyatl. Old men led the songs and dances, while in
the midst of the ring stood the poor woman doomed to death, richly
dressed in the manner of the image of the goddess. All the women, in
company with her who was to die, watched, sang and danced the whole of
the night preceding the festival. Day having dawned, all the priests
assumed their ornaments, and partook in a solemn dance, all those who
assisted carrying in their hands flowers called cempoalxochitl. Dancing
all the way, they brought several captives to the temple of Tlaloc, in
the midst of whom walked the woman who was to die, dressed as the image
of Uixtociuatl. Before she was sacrificed, the captives were first put
to death. [285]
“Several other ceremonies were conducted during this festival and there
were frequent scenes of debauchery.”
NATURE AND STATUS
The interpreter of Codex Telleriano-Remensis states that Yxcuina, as he
names the goddess, was the protector of adulterers and “the goddess of
salt and of dissolute persons.” He further relates that they put
adulterers to death before her image. The interpreter of Codex
Vaticanus A adds that she was the wife of Mictlantecutli, lord of the
realm of the dead. One of the women given as consorts to the victim
sacrificed at the principal feast of Tezcatlipocâ was called after the
goddess.
The salt-supply was regarded as an indispensable alimentary feature in
Mexico, and the relative importance of the worship of Uixtociuatl can
readily be gathered from this circumstance. Her connection with
lustfulness had probably a physiological basis, and perhaps owed its
existence to the saline odour which emanates from the excretions of the
privy parts. There is a distinct resemblance between her name and that
of the absinthe plant.
ATLAUA = “LORD OF THE LAKE BEACHES”
Area of Worship: Chinampanecs of Cuitlauac.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
The lower parts of his extremities are striped blue, like those of
Uitzilopochtli. In the Sahagun MS. (Palacio) he wears the domino mask
edged round with small white circles (the “stellar face-painting”) and
the mouth and chin are blackened or reddened. The headdress resembles
the flag used as Uitzilopochtli’s symbol for the panquetzaliztli
festival. He carries the shield of Uitzilopochtli, with the five balls
of eagle’s down, one half of the weapon being coloured red, like blood,
and in his right hand he holds an instrument which, from comparison
with another Sahagun MS. (Bib. Laurenz.) we know to be a rattle. In
this picture symbols expressive of singing flow from his mouth.
NATURE AND STATUS
He was a god of the inhabitants of the floating gardens of Lake
Xochimilco, the tribe known as the Chinampanecs, and from the “stellar
face-painting” he wore he must at some time have been identified by one
of the early hunting tribes with one or other of the stars. His
possession of Uitzilopochtli’s shield is perhaps further proof of his
stellar association. He may have been one of the Centzonuitznaua (see
Uitzilopochtli—“Myths”).
NAPATECUTLI = “FOUR TIMES LORD”
Area of Worship: Shores of Lake Texcuco.
Relationship: One of the Tlaloquê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The body-paint is black, but a
plaster of salvia chia is worn on the face underneath the eyes. The god
wears a paper crown sprinkled with rubber gum, and a tuft of paper at
the back of the head, from which quetzal-feathers depend. Two long
strips of paper hang from under the crown down the back of the neck,
and these are also sprinkled with rubber gum. Across the right shoulder
is slung a band of paper, and an underdress of the same material
surrounds the hips, and these are also sprinkled with gum. Sandals are
worn, and the shield is decorated with the water-rose motif. A rush
staff is carried in the hand, from which strips of paper hang, daubed
with melted indiarubber.
NATURE AND STATUS
Sahagun says that Napatecutli “was the god of men who make mats out of
aquatic reeds, and was one of the Tlaloquê. He was the inventor of
mat-making, and was adored by those who made the low chairs called
icpalli, and the hurdles of reeds which are called tolcuextli. He made
the reeds to grow and caused the showers that made them spring, and
they prayed him for rain and reeds. When they sacrificed a slave to him
they dressed him in the god’s garments, placing in his hands a green
vase filled with water, with which he besprinkled all with the aid of a
branch of willow, as if he were blessing them. Then, in the course of
the year, whenever one of this trade wished to feast this divinity, he
acquainted the priests with his intention, who chose a priest, dressed
him in the attributes of the god, like his image, and conducted him,
asperging him on the way, with a branch of willow dipped in water.
Arrived at the house, they prayed him to extend his favours to the
dwelling, and the feast was celebrated, the ‘god’ eating and drinking
with the rest. This was done with the desire to recompense the god, and
when they had spent all they had, they said: ‘I care not if I am
without means, so long as my god is satisfied with this feast. He may
grant me more, he may leave me in misery, so long as his will is
accomplished.’ So saying, they covered the representative of the god
with a white mantle, who returned with his companions. The householder
then feasted privately with his parents. The mat-makers plenished and
ornamented the temple of their god with reeds and plants, and anything
they placed in the temple was of the best workmanship.”
MATLALCUÊYÊ = “SHE OF THE BLUE ROBE”
(Variant of Chalchihuitlicue)
Area of Worship: Tlaxcallan.
Relationship: Second consort of Tlaloc.
APPEARANCE
She is recognized by her tasselled head-band and cape, and often by a
stepped nose-ornament.
NATURE AND STATUS
A variant of Chalchihuitlicue. She was believed to preside over a
mountain near Tlaxcallan. One of the women sacrificed to Tlaloc at the
great festival to the mountain-gods was called after this goddess.
OPOCHTLI = “THE SOUTHERN,” “LEFT-HANDED,” OR “THE WIZARD”
Area of Worship: The shores of Lake Texcuco.
Relationship: One of the Tlaloquê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
The Sahagun MS. describes the insignia of this god as follows: He is
painted black and has a patch or spot made from crushed seeds on his
face. His crown is cut out of paper, and from it rise plumes of
heron-feathers, mingled with those of the quetzal bird. He has a band
made of paper round his shoulders, a loin-cloth and white sandals. His
shield bears the solar emblem and he carries a rattle-staff in his
hand.
NATURE AND STATUS
Sahagun (bk. i, ch. 17) says of Opochtli, that he is one of the
Tlaloquê. To him was attributed the invention of fishing-nets and of
the minacachalli, or three-pronged harpoon, an instrument recalling the
classical trident, which was also used for spearing birds. He it was
who originally contrived the nets used by the fowler to ensnare the
aquatic birds which frequented the banks of Lake Texcuco, and the
paddle was likewise his invention. Of all the Tlaloquê he appears to
have been the most practical, as well as the most closely identified
with human pursuits, and naturally he figured as the patron of the
fisher, the fowler, and those generally who plied their occupation on
the water of the lake or on its shores. Upon the occasion of his
festival they offered him food and octli, the ears of maize, flowers,
and burned tobacco before him as an incense, as well as copal and the
absinthe herb. They also placed before him toasted maize. The older
priests chanted his praises and filed before his idol in procession. As
we have seen in the case of Uitzilopochtli, the word opochtli may
signify “wizard,” and I believe that the net, which would appear to a
primitive people an apparatus of the most ingenious kind, would be
regarded by them as the invention of a magician. Opochtli would almost
inevitably come to be connected with the Tlaloquê because of the
employment of his invention to catch fish and snare the aquatic birds
which rested on the shores of Lake Texcuco.
CHAPTER VII
THE FIRE-GODS
XIUHTECUTLI = “LORD OF THE YEAR”
Area of Worship:
Mexico.
Toltec.
Minor Names:
Tzoncaztli = “The Yellow-haired.”
In Xiuhtetzaqualco maquitoc = “He who enters the Blue Stone
Pyramid.”
Yei itzcuintli = “Three Dog.”
Cuezaltzin = “The Flame.”
Chicunaui tecutli = “Nine Lord.”
Ueueteotl = “The Old God.”
Tlatic paque = “Lord of the Earth’s Surface.”
Tota = “Our Father.”
Tloque Nahuaque = “Lord of the Close Vicinity.”
Tlalxictentica = “Dweller in the Navel of the Earth.”
Ixcoçauhque = “The Yellow-faced.”
Calendar Place:
Ruler of the ninth day-count, atl (water).
Ruler of the ninth tonalamatl division, ce coatl.
Ruler of the twentieth tonalamatl division, ce tochtli.
First of the nine lords of the night.
First of the thirteen lords of the day.
Festivals:
Xocohuetzi, in the tenth month.
Izcalli, in the eighteenth month.
The day ce itzcuintli (“one dog”) (movable feast).
Compass Direction: Lord of the Middle and of the four quarters.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 19: In this place he is represented standing
before a temple with a bundle of firewood and a rubber ball in his
hand. The temple contains implements of war. He is painted red, with
the lower part of the face blackened by melted rubber and a black
cross, the foot of which rests on a level with his eye. The fillet
round his head is a strap set with jewelled disks. On the necklace is
seen a blue bird (cotinga, or humming-bird). That part of his face
which is not black, and which in the Codex Borgia is painted a red
colour like the rest of the body, is on sheet 89 painted yellow, with
slender thread-shaped longitudinal stripes of red. On sheet 57 he is
seen as in the ninth day-count—red, and with red and black
face-painting and flame-coloured hair, with the cotinga bird flying
down on the frontal side of the fillet, and with arrow-shaft feathers
in the crown. At the nape of the neck can be seen a short crest of red
points enclosing three tufts of red feathers, which, perhaps, originate
in the xiuhcoatl, or fire-snake worn in the Mexican MSS. proper by the
Fire-god on his back as a disguise (cf. Codex Borbonicus). He has here
the scorpion and atltlachinolli “spear-throwing and fire” sign, and is
seated on a royal throne, with an abundance of food before him, which
probably symbolizes wealth. He also wears a breast-ornament of blue
turquoise mosaic with golden bells. He sometimes wears the priest’s
tobacco-calabash as a sign of wealth or abundance.
Aubin-Goupil Tonalamatl.—Sheet 20: He holds the copal bag in one hand
and in the other two agave-leaf spikes with flowers (blood) at the
upper end. Before the face of the Fire-god we see a sea-snail’s shell,
which is, perhaps, symbolic of fire shut up or enclosed in the house.
Before him, too, is a vessel with offerings or sacrificial balls. Below
is an agave spike with the flower-emblem of blood. Beside it are the
symbol of midnight, the eye enveloped in darkness, and a tuft of
quetzal-feathers—all symbolic of the midnight penance.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 14: In this codex the representation of the
Fire-god is in many respects similar to that in Vaticanus B. The face
and body-paint are red. The jewelled fillet is ornamented with the
conventional representation of a cotinga bird in the attitude of flying
down such as may be observed in the figures allied with the Fire-god,
and which is also seen in reliefs at Chichen-Itzà, Yucatan. In the
fillet are placed two arrow-shafts, which represent the two wooden
fire-disks—an ornament that is called “arrow-wig” or “spear-wig.” Above
this is seen a tiara, which broadens as it rises upwards. Xiuhtecutli
wears attached to a long pendant necklace a square plate of blue
colour, made of turquoise mosaic. In some places he wields the
“shooting implement,” the throwing-stick, or the blue throwing-stick,
xiuhatlatl, fashioned in the form of a snake. The scorpion is
frequently placed beside the god, symbolizing, perhaps, the stinging
character of fire.
Codex Telleriano-Remensis.—He holds in one hand the xiuhatlatl, the
throwing-stick painted blue, decked with turquoise mosaic and having a
figure on the top, probably intended for a snake. In the other hand he
has a staff, which at the upper crutch-like end shows an animal’s head,
and the lower a snake’s tail-rattles.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—The Fire-god is here seen in a dancing or
fighting attitude. The dragon-mask lies behind the neck, and he wears a
yellow and red hat resembling an inverted cone, with a serpent motif in
front. The face-paint is yellow for the upper part of the face, the
mouth-region red and the lower posterior part black. His tunic is
white, with a blue sash or centre-piece, and he wears the yellow
breast-ornament. In one hand he carries the atlatl, or spear-thrower,
and in the other a white, unpainted shield.
Sahagun MS.—Sahagun, describing Xiuhtecutli under his minor name of
Ixcoçauhque (“The Yellow-faced”), says that he is painted red and
black, and is smeared with indiarubber on lips and chin. He wears a
headband set with precious stones and a paper crown with a plume of
quetzal-feathers. He carries on his back his fire-snake dress and round
his shoulders is slung a band of bark paper. On his feet he wears bells
and shells. His shield is ornamented with precious stones, and in one
hand he carries an instrument the use of which is apparently
divinatory.
MYTHS
A song given by Sahagun has reference to the Fire-god.
SONG OF THE YELLOW-FACED
(The Fire-gods)
O, in Tzommolco my father shall I dishonour Thee? (i.e. withhold
the sacrifice);
In Tetemocan shall I dishonour Thee?
2
O my master, in the Temple of Mecatlan the yucca Tree shakes (the
kettle-drum made out of wood from the Yucca tree);
In Chicueyocan in the house of the masked, the masked dancers have
come.
3
In Tzommolco they have begun to sing,
In Tzommolco they have begun to sing;
Why do they not come here?
Why do they not come here?
4
In Tzommolco men shall be given (sacrificed);
The sun has risen,
Men shall be given.
5
In Tzommolco song now comes to an end.
Without trouble he has become rich;
He has become lord.
His mercy is wonderful.
6
O, little woman, hold speech (give warning),
Mistress of the mist house, from the door hold speech.
Sahagun says of him [286]:
“He had other names—Ixcozauhqui, ‘Yellow-face,’ and Cuezaltzin, or
‘Flame.’ They called him also Ueueteotl, or ‘Very Old God,’ and they
said that the fire was his father. They celebrated his feast at the end
of the month called izcalli, and dressed the idol in his robes and
ornaments. He wore the robes of a king.”
In the Sahagun Mexican MS. he is described as “the mother of the gods,
the father of the gods, who dwells in the navel of the earth, who
enters the Turquoise Pyramid ... the Old God, the Fire-god.” [287]
Sahagun [288] also alludes to the god in the prayer of the merchants,
which says: “Sit still on thy throne, noble Lord, thou that in the
navel of the earth hast thy seat, Lord of the Four Quarters.”
In this prayer he is also frequently addressed as “Lord of the With and
the By” (the contiguous neighbourhood), “the Lord of Heaven, the Lord
of the Surface of the Earth.”
Sahagun in a prayer to Tezcatlipocâ alludes to Xiuhtecutli as “the
ancient god, who is father and mother to thyself, and is god of fire,
who stands in the midst of flowers, in the midst of the place bounded
by four walls, who is covered with shining feathers that are as wings”
[289]; and in another prayer to Tezcatlipocâ, speaks of Xiuhtecutli as
“the ancient god, the father of all the gods, the god of fire, who is
in the pond of water among turrets surrounded with stones like roses,
who is called Xiuhtecutli, who determines, examines, and settles the
business and law-suits of the nation and of the common people, as it
were washing them with water.” [290]
Clavigero says of Xiuhtecutli:
“Xiuhtecutli (master of the year and of the grass) was among these
nations the god of fire, to whom they likewise gave the name of
Ixcozauhqui, which expresses the colour of fire. This god was greatly
revered in the Mexican empire. At their dinner they made an offering to
him of the first morsel of their food, and the first draught of their
beverage, by throwing both into the fire; and burned incense to him at
certain times of the day. In honour of him they held two fixed
festivals of the most solemn kind, one in the tenth, and another in the
eighteenth month; and one movable feast, at which they created the
usual magistrates and renewed the ceremony of the investiture of the
fiefs of the kingdom. He had a temple in Mexico, and some other
palaces.”
FESTIVALS
Xocohuetzi.—Sahagun’s account of this festival is substantially as
follows [291]:
A great tree of five and twenty fathoms long was cut down and the
branches lopped off except a few at the top. The tree was then dragged
by ropes into the city, great precautions being taken against damaging
it. The women met the procession, giving those who had helped cocoa to
drink. The tree, which was called zocotl, was received into the court
of a teocalli with acclamation, and there set up in a hole in the
ground and allowed to remain for twenty days. On the eve of the
festival they lowered the tree gently to the ground by means of ropes
and trestles made of beams lashed together. It was dressed until quite
smooth, and where the branches had been left, near the top, a
cross-beam of five fathoms long was secured by ropes. On the summit of
the pole a statue of the god Xiuhtecutli was set, made out of the dough
of wild amaranth seeds, and decorated with white papers. To the head of
the image were affixed pieces of paper instead of hair, bands of paper
crossed the body from each shoulder, on the arms were pieces of paper
like wings painted over with figures of sparrow-hawks, a maxtli of
paper covered the loins, and a kind of paper garment covered all. Great
strips of paper, half a fathom broad and ten fathoms long, floated from
the feet of the image, and into his head were stuck three rods with a
tamalli, or small cake, on the top of each. Ten ropes were then
attached to the middle of the tree, and the structure was reared into
an upright position and there secured with great uproar.
Those who had captives to sacrifice came decorated for dancing, the
body painted yellow (the colour of the god), and the face vermilion.
They wore the red plumes of the parrot arranged to resemble a
butterfly, and carried shields covered with white feathers. Each danced
side by side with his captive. These had the body painted white, and
the face vermilion, save the cheeks, which were black. They were
adorned with papers, and they had white feathers on the head and
lip-ornaments of feathers. At set of sun the dancing ceased, the
captives were shut up in the calpulli and watched by their owners, not
being permitted to sleep. About midnight every owner shaved away part
of the hair from the scalp of the head of his captive, which, being
fastened with red thread to a little tuft of feathers, he put in a
small case of cane and attached to the rafters of the house, that
everyone might see that he was a valiant man and had taken a captive.
The knife with which this shaving was accomplished was known as the
claw of the sparrow-hawk. At daybreak the captives were arranged in
order in front of the tzompantli, where the skulls of the sacrificed
were spitted in rows. A priest walked along the row of captives, taking
from them certain little banners that they carried and all their
raiment or adornment, which he burnt in a fire. While they stood naked
and waiting for death, another priest, carrying in his arms the image
of the god Paynal and his ornaments, ran up with this idol to the top
of the teocalli known as Tlacacouhcan, where the victims were to die.
He descended, then returned to the summit, and as he went up for the
second time, the owners took their slaves by the hair and led them to
the place called Apetlac, where they left them. The priests who were to
perform the sacrifice then descended from the teocalli bearing bags of
a narcotic incense called yauhtli (absinthe, wormwood, or mugwort),
which they threw by handfuls into the faces of the victims to mitigate
their death-agonies. Each captive was then bound hand and foot and
carried up to the top of the teocalli. On the summit a great fire
burned. Upon this the priests cast the captives, who, when
half-roasted, were dragged out with the aid of grappling-hooks and
sacrificed by having their hearts torn out. The statue of Paynal was
then carried away to its own temple and all returned home. The young
men and boys with the women began at midday to dance and to sing in the
courtyard of Xiuhtecutli. Suddenly they made in a body for the place
where the tree already described had been raised. At a given signal all
might attempt to scale the pole to reach the dough image at the top.
The first youth at the top seized the idol of dough, took the shield
and the arrows, the darts and the tamalis from the head of the statue,
then threw the crumbs with the plumes of the image down into the crowd,
who fought and scrambled for them. When the successful youth descended
from the pole with the weapons of the god, he was received with
acclamations and carried up to the teocalli Tlacacouhcan, to receive
jewels and a rich mantle which no one else might wear, and the honour
of being carried to his house by the priests, amid the music of horns
and shells. Then the people seized the ropes fastened to the tree and
dragged it down.
Izcalli.—The following is a digest of Sahagun’s description of this
festival [292]:
Another feast of the god of fire was held in the month yzcalli, the
eighteenth month; it was called motlaxquiantota, that is to say, “our
father the fire roasts his food.” An image of the god of fire was made,
by tying a frame of hoops and sticks together and covering them with
his ornaments. On the head of the image was placed a mask of turquoise
mosaic, banded across with rows of green chalchihuitls. Upon the mask
was put a crown fitting to the head below, wide above, and covered with
rich plumage. A wig of reddish hair was attached to this crown so that
the locks flowed from below it, behind and around the mask. A robe of
feathers covered the front of the image and fell over the ground before
the feet. The back of the image was probably left unadorned and was
concealed by a throne covered with a jaguar-skin. Before this statue
new fire was made at midnight with the fire-stick. The spark obtained
was put on the hearth and a fire lit. At break of day boys and youths
came with game and fish that they had captured on the previous day.
Walking round the fire, they gave it to certain old men that stood
there, who, taking it, threw it into the flames before the god, giving
the youths in return certain tamalis made for this purpose by the
women. To eat these tamalis it was necessary to strip off the
maize-leaves in which they had been wrapped and cooked; these leaves
were not thrown into the fire, but were all put together and thrown
into water. After this all the old men of the quarter in which the fire
was drank octli and sang before the image of Xiuhtecutli till night.
This was the tenth day of the month, and completed that part of the
feast which was called vauquitamalqualiztli.
On the twentieth and last day of the month was made another statue of
the Fire-god, on a frame of sticks and hoops. They placed on the head a
mask with a ground of mosaic with small pieces of the shell called
tapaztli, composed below the mouth of black stones, banded across the
nostrils with black stones of another sort, and the cheeks made of a
still different stone called tezcapuchtli. As in the previous case,
there was a crown on this mask, and over all and over the body of the
image costly and beautiful decorations of feather-work. Before the
throne on which this statue sat there was a fire, and the youths
offered game to and received cakes from the old men with various
ceremonies, the day closing with the drinking of octli by the old
people, though not to the point of intoxication.
The festivals of this month were usually without human sacrifices, but
every fourth year was an exception to this. In such a year, on the
twentieth and last day of the month, men and women were slain as images
of the god of fire. The women who had to die carried all their apparel
and ornaments on their shoulders, and the men did the same. They were
decorated to resemble the god of fire; they ascended the teocalli,
walked round the sacrificial stone, and then descended and returned to
the place where they were to be kept for the night. Each man had a rope
tied round the middle of his body, which was held by his guards. At
midnight the hair of the crown of the head of each was shaven off
before the fire and kept for a relic, and the head itself was covered
with a mixture of resin and hen’s feathers. After this the victims
burned their clothing, or gave it away to their keepers, and as the
morning broke they were decorated with papers and led to the place of
sacrifice with singing and dancing. These festivities went on till
midday, when a priest of the temple, arrayed in the ornaments of the
god Paynal, came down, passed before the victims, and then went up
again. They were led up after him in the order in which they had to
die. There was then a grand dance of the nobles, led by the king
himself, each dancer wearing a high-crowned paper coronet, a kind of
false nose of blue paper, earrings of turquoise mosaic, or of wood
wrought with flowers, a blue, flowered jacket, and a mantle. Suspended
from the neck of each was the figure of a dog made of paper and painted
with flowers. In the right hand was carried a stick shaped like a
chopping-knife, the lower half of which was painted red and the upper
half white. In the left hand was carried a little paper bag of copal.
The dance was begun on the top of the teocalli, and finished by the
dancers descending and going four times round the courtyard of the
temple, after which all entered the palace with the king. This dance
took place only once in four years, and none but the king and his lords
could take part in it. On this day the ears of all children born during
the three preceding years were pierced with a bone awl, and the
children themselves passed near or through the flames of a fire. There
was a further ceremony of taking the children by the head and lifting
them up, “to make them grow,” and from this the month took its name,
yzcalli, meaning “growth.”
Ce itzcuintli.—Of this movable feast Sahagun says [293]:
“They said that the sign ce itzcuintli was the sign of fire, and on it
they made a great feast to Xiuhtecutli, god of fire, to whom they
offered copal incense and numbers of quails. They decked his image with
paper of different kinds and many rich ornaments. Then the great made
high celebration of the event in their houses. It was under this sign
that they made election of the king and the consuls, which was
celebrated in the fourteenth temple by banquets, dances, and great
liberality. It was at those feasts that war upon enemies was
proclaimed.”
TEMPLE
Sahagun states [294] that the tzommolco was the temple of Xiuhtecutli.
At the foot of the steps of this temple was a terrace to which several
steps gave access, and upon this certain female slaves were
occasionally sacrificed.
PRIESTHOOD
The Ixcocauhqui Tzommolco teohua appear to have been the especial
priests of Xiuhtecutli. [295]
NATURE AND STATUS
Although Xiuhtecutli undoubtedly appeared to the Mexicans as the
personification of fire, it was more as that element in its primeval
and original form, its chaotic and elemental shape. He is, indeed, the
pre-solar fire which existed before the creation of the sun or moon,
and just as the gods of water ruled over moisture wherever it was to be
found, so was Xiuhtecutli imagined as holding sway over fire, whether
it came from the heavens above or the earth beneath. Thus we find him
spoken of by Sahagun as dwelling in the navel of the earth, where the
volcanic fires have their origin, and as having his place above in what
appears to be a species of cloud-castle, for the Mexican word for
“embattlement” is derived from that for “cloud.” [296] He is also
called “He who entereth the blue stone pyramid,” which is, of course,
the sky.
He corresponds to the hour before sunrise, which makes it clear that
his prehistoric precedence to the sun was insisted upon in the list of
the day-hours. The texts dwell upon his antiquity, for he is, indeed,
the Old God, the god who existed before the foundations of the world,
father and mother of the gods, and in this I think I see a reference to
the shaping nature of fire, its moulding or creating influence, as
observed in many mythologies. But in most pantheons fire-gods undertake
the work of the smith, and this seems to have given rise to the idea of
their creative capacity. That particular craft, however, was unknown in
Mexico, and I am therefore at a loss to understand this particular
phase of Xiuhtecutli, unless it be that as fire was regarded by the
Mexicans as a symbol of renewal or rebirth (from the fact that fresh
fuel was capable of adding renewed life to a dying fire), and that the
idea of creation had no place in their minds except as a renewal of the
universe, it may have been that they regarded that element as a vehicle
or a symbol of recreation. Out of this conception, too, arose the
belief that Xiuhtecutli renewed the year, from which circumstance he
takes his title “Lord of the Year.” Izcalli, too, the name of one of
his festivals, means “growth,” or perhaps “continuance,” and seems to
be connected in some manner with this belief.
His rulership of the ninth day and the ninth week, of which the symbol
is atl, water, seems directly opposed to all our ideas of his
character, but, as Seler points out, the Mexicans thought of water
“primarily as a derivative concrete element, which originally means
something like ‘the shooting thing,’ derived from the verb a, which was
in fact used in the sense of ‘to shoot, to throw the spear.’” It is
also connected with the symbol tlachinolli, which Seler [297] states
means “spear-throwing and firebrand,” that is, “war.” In the Codex
Borgia group, too, where the Fire-god is pictured as ruler of the ninth
day, we find equivalents to this symbol, which undoubtedly connect him
with the destruction which follows upon war, and there are also
pictorial indications, such as the throne with the jaguar-skin
covering, which associate him with the idea of justice, of law-giving,
and, again, with that of sustenance.
As Lord of the Middle, of the Centre, too, he is undoubtedly ruler of
the domestic hearth, which in the houses of the Mexicans was situated
in the middle of the dwelling. He was also thought of as the “Lord of
Wealth,” especially that hoarded in the house by careful housekeeping
and foresight, and diligent workmanship in the fields. [298]
CHANTICO = “IN THE HOUSE”
Area of Worship: Xochimilco.
Minor Names:
Quaxolotl = “Two-headed.”
Chicunaui itzcuintli = “Nine Dog.”
Papaloxaual = “Butterfly Painting.”
Tlappapalo = “She of the Red Butterfly.”
Yei Cuetzpalin = “Three Lizard.”
Calendar Place: Ruler of the eighteenth tonalamatl division, ce
eecatl.
Compass Direction: The west.
Festival: Chichunaui itzcuintli, the day “nine dog.”
Symbol: The eagle’s foot.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS.—The lower half of her face is black, daubed with rubber,
and the upper half is red. She has a golden ear-plug. She wears a red
garment and her hair is bound up in a fillet of cotton rags. On her
back she wears the arrow-like device meiotli. Her overdress is “the
colour of spring flowers.” In one hand she holds a feather staff, the
paper covering of which is painted with the acute-angled figure which
denotes cotton, and in the other she bears the shield with the device
of the eagle’s foot. Sahagun says her priest had to keep in readiness
for her festival red and black pigments, a robe, white sandals, and
small shells.
Codex Borgia.—In this MS. she is represented with a yellow face and a
yellow body. She wears a red tippet, white skirt, and a step-shaped
nose-ornament, while her head is wrapped round with a red cloth edged
with white shell disks, a feather decoration surmounting the cloth.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Here she has a yellow face with two red cross-lines
like the narrow black stroke on the face of the Fire-god.
Codex Telleriano-Remensis.—Her face is painted yellow, disposed in a
number of fields, each containing a ring in the centre. She has the
long tusk of a carnivorous beast. She wears golden pendants in nose and
ears, possibly a symbol of the solar pictograph, and on her head she
wears the water-and-fire symbol tlachinolli. She wears the maxtlatl of
the men, to symbolize her warlike nature, with a death’s-head behind
her girdle.
Codex Borbonicus.—The lower half of her face is painted black, and the
upper red, like that of Xiuhtecutli. She wears a blue nose-plug, the
decoration of the dead warriors. On her head she has the water-and-fire
symbol.
MYTHS
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis regards Chantico as a
male god, and states that:
“Chantico or Cuaxolotle presided over these thirteen signs and was lord
of Chile, or of the yellow woman. He was the first who offered
sacrifice after having eaten a fried fish; the smoke of which ascended
to heaven, at which Tonacatecotle became incensed and pronounced a
curse against him that he should be turned into a dog, which
accordingly happened, and they named him on this account Chantico,
which is another name for Miquitlantecotle. From this transgression the
destruction of the world ensued. He was called Nine Dogs from the sign
on which he was born.”
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A deals with Chantico in almost
the same words:
“Chantico, they say, was the first who offered sacrifice after having
eaten a fried fish, and that in consequence of the presumption of
offering sacrifices without having fasted, Tonacatecutli became
incensed and pronounced a curse against him that he should be changed
into a dog, which is an animal of a very voracious nature; and
accordingly they named him Nine Dogs.”
This myth should be compared with that of Nata and Nena in the chapter
on Cosmogony.
FESTIVAL
Chicunaui itzcuintli (“Nine Dog”).—Sahagun [299] states that the
lapidaries of Xochimilco who cut precious stones adored, among others,
this goddess and made a feast to her on the above sign. They attributed
to her the articles of feminine toilet, and ornamented her with golden
earrings and a butterfly nose-plug of the same metal. At her festival
four captives represented Chantico, Naualpilli, [300] Macuilcalli,
[301] and Cinteotl, and were dressed in their insignia. Duran (who
confounds Chantico with Tlazolteotl) states that at this feast these
captives were cast into a fire exactly as at the xocohuetzi festival to
Xiuhtecutli (q.v.), and that after the offering the priests mortified
themselves by letting the resin from burning copal torches drop on
their limbs.
TEMPLE AND PRIESTHOOD
The idol of Chantico was kept in close confinement in the dark Tlillan,
and was not visible to the vulgar gaze. Sahagun states that she had a
temple in Mexico called Tetlanman, and priests who lived in the
Tetlanman Calmecac, [302] and that the office of these priests, the
tecamma teoua, was the furnishing of paint, feathers, and other
necessaries for the feast of the goddess.
NATURE AND STATUS
Like Xiuhtecutli, the character of Chantico is expressed by a watery
sign, that of quiauitl (rain). This, however, is really connected with
the old mythic fire-rain at the end of the water-sun age, when fire
fell from heaven and “the foam-stones foamed up and the rocks became
red.”
The goddess must be regarded as the consuming fire, as is proved by an
account of her image by Duran, representing her with open jaws and
hungry fangs. It is because of this, too, that she came to be connected
with the dog, [303] the biting animal, and that her festival is held on
the date chicunai itzcuintli, “nine dog.”
She is further the volcanic fire which is hidden in the centre of the
earth, and which was symbolically represented by the fire shut up in
the tlillan temple or sacred edifice, and this plutonic significance is
perhaps the reason why the interpreters speak of her as having the
characteristics of Mictlantecutli, the god of Hades; but they speak of
her as well as the “Yellow Woman.” Her butterfly names also have
reference to the flitting shapes seen in flame.
She is the patroness of chilli pepper, which was naturally associated
with the fiery element and was therefore connected with the end of a
period of fasting, the Mexicans regarding abstinence from this
condiment as equivalent to a fast. The myth which speaks of her as
having been punished for eating fish before a sacrifice is also
eloquent of this relationship, and also by its reference to her
transformation into canine form connects her further with the dog and
makes her a patroness of the nanualtin, or wizards, who on the day
itzcuintli (“dog”) had especial power to transform themselves into
animals.
Her name “In the House” alludes, of course, to her character as a
goddess of the domestic hearth. She was also the patroness of the
goldsmiths and jewellers of Xochimilco, who of all crafts required the
assistance of her element.
QUAXOLOTL = “SPLIT AT THE TOP” (FLAME)
Relationship: A variant of Chantico.
Festival: Ce xochitl, “one flower.”
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
She is so called because she wears Xolotl’s decoration on her head. The
double face of Xochiquetzal in Codex Borgia (sheet 60) is regarded by
Seler as that of Quaxolotl—the goddess parting into two heads. She is
also the goddess who has borne twins.
NATURE AND STATUS
Quaxolotl is a variant of Chantico. The name, which signifies “split at
the top,” seems to signify the kind of flame which bifurcates or splits
into two tongues. She is thus connected with things double, and is the
goddess who has borne twins. Sahagun, who calls her Quaxolotl-Chantico,
[304] thereby identifies her with that goddess, and states that she was
housed in the twenty-ninth temple in the great court at Mexico, the
Tetlanman, which he distinguishes from that of Chantico proper, the
Tetlanman Calmecac, the twenty-seventh. He states that slaves were
sacrificed here on the sign ce xochitl, “one flower,” and perhaps this
fixes the date of the festival of the goddess.
CHAPTER VIII
THE OCTLI OR PULQUE (DRINK) GODS
GENERAL
Name: Centzon Totochtin = “Four Hundred Rabbits.”
Area of Worship: Mexico generally.
Festival: The day ome tochtli (“two rabbit”) in the sign ce mazatl
(“one deer”), a movable feast.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
The constituent elements of the insignia of the octli-gods may be
generally described as follows:
(1) A two-coloured face-painting, the front half of the facial profile
(i.e. the middle part of the face) being painted red in its entire
length, both sides at the temples black (or dark green), or else black
with longish yellow spots.
(2) A nasal plate, handle-shaped, the ends involuted outwardly, or
crescent-shaped, the golden Huaxtec nose-ornament, yaca-metztli. It is
usually marked on all articles dedicated to the octli-gods.
(3) A four-cornered ear-pendant, which agrees substantially with that
of the Rain-god.
(4) A neck-ornament falling far down, loose in texture, made of
malinalli grass fibre.
(5) A crown of heron-feathers, such as is worn by the Rain-god, but
here combined with the cuecaluitoncatl, Quetzal’s neck-ornament made of
dark feathers, with some projecting arara plumes.
(6) A stone axe as a weapon.
The most striking of these objects are the first two. So characteristic
are they of the octli-gods, that a juxtaposition of red and black lines
on a tilmatli is explained in the Codex Magliabecchiano as “manta de
dos conejos,” or shoulder-covering of the Two-rabbit octli-god. [305]
ALLUSIONS TO THE OCTLI-GODS IN GENERAL
Sahagun, speaking of the octli-gods, [306] says that Tezcatzoncatl
[307] was the parent or brother of the rest, who were called
Yiauhtecatl, Izquitecatl, Acolua, Tlilhua, Patecatli, Toltecatl,
Papaztac, Tlaltecayoua, Ome tochtli, Tepuztecatl, Chimapaleuecatl, and
Cohuatzincatl.
One of the hymns in Sahagun’s collection alludes as follows to the
octli-gods:
In Colhuacan in fear
Fear has his home.
The God in the Palace, Tezcatzonco,
He was dealt with, therefore he wept (the fire wept?).
Not so, not so (shall it be) (saith he)
The God was dealt with, therefore he wept.
The God in the Palace Axalaco,
He was dealt with, therefore he wept.
Not so, not so (shall it be) (saith he)
The God was dealt with, therefore he wept.
I have followed Seler’s translation of this hymn, but, like him, can
glean little from it. It seems to me to allude vaguely to the cutting
of the agave-plant, and the consequent withdrawal of the sap from which
octli is made.
A report on the Huaxtec territory dated 1579 evidently relates to the
octli-gods. It states that:
“They related another fable, that they had two other effigies as gods,
one called Ometochtli, who is the god of wine; the other Tezcatlipocâ,
which is the name of the most exalted idol worshipped by them, and with
these they had painted the figure of a woman named Hueytonantzin, that
is, ‘our great mother,’ because they said she was the mother of all
those gods or demons. And those four above-mentioned male demons, they
related, had killed this great mother, founding with her the
institution of human sacrifice, and taking her heart out of her breast
and presenting it to the sun. Similarly, they related that the idol
Tezcatlipocâ had killed the god of wine with his consent and
concurrence, giving out that in this way he gave him eternal life, and
that if he did not die, all persons drinking wine must die; but that
the death of this Ometochtli was only like the sleep of one drunk, that
he afterwards recovered and again became fresh and well.”
FESTIVAL
The principal festival of the octli-gods was ome tochtli (“two
rabbit”), and this calendrical name became in a measure deified as a
separate god, who was the same as Tepoxtecatl. [308] Sahagun says of
this festival:
“In the sign ce maçatl, on the second day called ome tochtli, they made
a great feast to the god Izquitecatl, who is the second god of wine,
and not only to him, but to all the gods of wine, who were very
numerous. They ornamented his image in the temple, offered him food,
and made songs and played on instruments in his presence. They placed a
great jar of octli in the court of the temple, and whoever wished drank
from it. The duty of replenishing the jar was given to the men who cut
the maguey. They carried to the house of the god the first-fruits of
the first sap, which they drew from it.”
NATURE AND STATUS IN GENERAL
When a man was intoxicated with the native Mexican drink of octli, a
liquor made from the juice of the Agave Americana, he was believed to
be under the influence of a god or spirit. The commonest form under
which the Drink-god was worshipped was the rabbit, that animal being
considered as utterly devoid of sense. This particular divinity was
known as Ometochtli. The scale of debauchery which it was desired to
reach was indicated by the number of rabbits worshipped, the highest
number, four hundred, representing the most extreme degree of
intoxication. The chief octli-gods apart from these were Patecatl and
Tequechmecauiani. If the drunkard desired to escape the perils of
accidental hanging during intoxication, it was necessary to sacrifice
to the latter, but if death by drowning was apprehended, Teatlahuiani,
the deity who hurried drunkards to a watery grave, was placated. If the
debauchee wished his punishment not to exceed a headache, Quatlapanqui
(The Head-splitter) was sacrificed to, or else Papaztac (The
Nerveless). Each trade or profession had its own Ometochtli, but for
the aristocracy there was one only of these gods, Cohuatzincatl, a name
signifying “He who has Grandparents.” Several of these drink-gods had
names which connected them with various localities; for example,
Tepoxtecatl was the octli-god of Tepoztlan. The calendar day
Ometochtli, which means “two rabbit,” because of the symbol which
accompanied it, was under the special protection of these gods, and the
Mexicans believed that anyone born on that day was almost inevitably
doomed to become a drunkard. All the octli-gods were closely associated
with the soil and with the Earth-goddess. After the Indians had
harvested their maize they drank to intoxication, and invoked one or
other of these gods. On the whole it is safe to infer that they were
originally deities of local husbandry who imparted virtue to the soil
as octli imparted strength and courage to the warrior.
Many of the titles of these deities are derived from place-names, as
Acolua, Calhuatzincatl, Chimalpanecatl, etc., and this widespread
denomination would seem to show that their worship must have been
established at an early period, and that each seems to represent a
section of the population of Mexico. Their relation with the moon is
plain—a rabbit dwelt therein, and they were rabbit-gods.
They seem to have been connected in a measure with the cult of fire.
Vetancurt states that the natives in his day, when they had brewed the
new octli, and it was ready to be drunk, first built a fire, walked
round it in procession, and threw some of the new liquor into the
flames, chanting the while an invocation to Tezcatzoncatl to descend
and be present with them. [309] Duran says that “the octli was a
favourite offering to the gods, and especially to the god of fire.”
Sometimes it was placed before a fire in vases, sometimes it was
scattered upon the flames with a brush, at other times it was poured
out around the fireplace. [310] Sahagun also states that the liquor was
poured on the hearth at four separate points. [311] Jacinto de la Serna
describes the same ceremony as current in his day. [312] The invocation
ran: “Shining Rose, light-giving Rose, receive and rejoice my heart.”
May not this connection with fire have arisen out of some such train of
thought as connected the lightning with the sacred oak of Zeus? In his
Ascent of Olympus, Dr. Rendel Harris has shown that the oak was
regarded as the “animistic repository of the thunder,” and therefore of
the heavenly fire. May not the ubiquitous and overshadowing
maguey-plant, from which the octli sap was taken, have had a like
significance for the Mexicans?
The principal octli-gods may now be examined more particularly.
TEZCATZONCATL = “MIRROR COVERED WITH STRAW”
Area of Worship: Chichimec territory.
Relationship: Husband of Coatlicue.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
A stone figure of this god from Tacubaya shows him in the recumbent
position often observed in the statues of the octli-gods, and holding a
large octli jar on his stomach. A headdress resembling that of an Arab
covers the head, and from underneath it descend the strands of what
seems to be a wig. What appears to be a serpent motif, the ends of
which are square in form, encircles the eyes almost like a pair of
spectacles, and he wears the usual lunar nose-plug of the octli
deities. An elaborate necklace, wristlets, and leg-pieces of precious
stones are worn, and the underside of the statue is incised to
represent the ripples of water and is covered with representations of
marine animals and shells.
MYTH
A passage in a report on the Huaxtec territory, dated 1579, states that
Tezcatzoncatl was killed and revived by Tezcatlipocâ, by which act the
drunkard’s sleep became harmless in the future for men. The passage
runs:
“They related that the idol Tezcatlipocâ had killed the god of wine
with his consent and concurrence, giving out that in this way he gave
him eternal life, and that if he did not die, all persons drinking wine
must die; but that the death of this Ometochtli was only like the sleep
of one drunk, that he afterwards recovered and again became fresh and
well.”
FESTIVALS
Allusion is made to Vetancurt’s mention of a special ceremony to
Tezcatzoncatl on the preceding page.
PRIESTHOOD
Sahagun says [313] that a priest called by the same name as the god was
charged with the preparations for the festival of tepeilhuitl, in which
four victims, one of whom bore the name of Mayauel, an octli-goddess,
were slain. (See Tlaloc—Festivals.)
NATURE AND STATUS
Tezcatzoncatl appears to have been the god of intoxication par
excellence, father of the other octli-gods, to whom special invocation
was made when the new liquor was brewed.
TEPOXTECATL = “HE OF THE AXE”
Area of Worship:
Chichimec quarter of Amantlan, Mexico.
Tepoxtlan in Cuernavaca.
Symbol: The copper axe.
APPEARANCE AND INSIGNIA
In the Codex Magliabecchiano, Tepoxtecatl is pictured as wearing the
peculiar nose-plug of the octli-gods, the motif of which reappears on
his shield. He is crowned with a panache from which leaves sprout, and
lunar and stellar symbols appear here and there in his insignia. He
carries the copper axe symbolical of the octli-gods, and wears the
malinalli herb necklace.
TEMPLE
The best-known temple of Tepoxtecatl is that at Tepoxtlan so fully
described by Seler (see Bulletin 28 of U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, pp.
341 ff.), and Professor Marshall H. Saville (Proc. of Amer. Assoc. for
the Advancement of Sciences, vol. viii of the Bulletins of the American
Museum of Natural History).
NATURE AND STATUS
Tepoxtecatl was the octli-god of the Chichimec people of the quarter,
or barrio, of Amantlan, in the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. His idol
was placed beside that of others in the holy place of that quarter,
which boasted another octli-god, Macuil tochtli. One of the captives
slain in the month tepeilhuitli, at the temple called Centzon totochtin
inteopan, was named after him. The interpreter of the Codex
Magliabecchiano, speaking of Tepoxtecatl, says: “This is the
representative of a great iniquity which was the custom in a village
named Tepoxtlan; namely when an Indian died in a state of intoxication
the others of this village made a great feast to him, holding in their
hands copper axes, which were used to fell wood.”
The question arises: in what manner was the axe connected with the
octli-god? The axe is, of course, the implement of the Tlaloquê, or
rain-gods, and of the Chac, or rain-gods of Yucatan. Therefore, I take
it, the axe of Tepoxtecatl gives him a certain pluvial significance,
which the octli-gods as strengtheners of the soil, the deities who gave
“courage” to the earth, undoubtedly possessed.
PATECATL = “HE FROM THE LAND OF THE MEDICINES”
Area of Worship: Originally the Huaxtec country.
Relationship: Husband of Mayauel.
Calendar Place:
Lord of the twelfth day, malinalli.
Lord of the eleventh “week,” ce ozomatli.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 57: He sits opposite Tlazolteotl and wears a
crescent-shaped Huaxtec nasal ornament, and on his breast a remarkable
comma-shaped curved ornament which is, perhaps, a piece of a large
spiral snail’s shell, and which is peculiar to Patecatl and
Tlazolteotl. He has the half-black, half-light face of the octli-gods.
He wears Quetzalcoatl’s fan-like nape adornment, the fillet of unspun
cotton distinctive of Tlazolteotl, and an ear-plug of the same
material. He holds a stone hatchet, which is the symbol and weapon of
the octli-gods, painted blue to indicate nephrite or some such stone.
Sheet 13: He wears a fillet which affects the form of the Mexican royal
crown, consisting of white fur with an ape’s head set on the frontal
side, evidently a barbaric ornament peculiar to the district whence he
came.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 35: Here he wears a wedge-shaped Huaxtec
cap, painted blue and red, and a disk-shaped shell on his breast. His
earring is formed of a trapeze-and-ray motif, like those on the stone
head of Coyolxauhqui. The ends of his loin-cloth are rounded like
Quetzalcoatl’s. Sheet 90: He wears a breast-ornament consisting of a
black, leaf-shaped, obsidian knife.
Aubin Tonalamatl.—He holds in his left hand some spikes of the
agave-leaf, and in his right hand Quetzalcoatl’s throwing-stick, which
is involuted snail-fashion at the end and painted with a stellar
design. An eagle and jaguar stand before him holding paper flags, these
symbols of the warrior signifying the courage-giving nature of octli
drink. They are in sacrificial array, with the sacrificial cord round
their necks and the sacrificial flag in their claws. The half-night and
half-day symbol is above them, signifying the time of the octli orgies.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—Instead of the stone axe he holds in his hand
Quetzalcoatl’s throwing-stick, and also wears his shell breastplate.
MYTHS
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A says: “Patecatl was the
husband of Mayaguil (Mayauel), the woman with four hundred breasts, who
was metamorphosed into the maguei plant or vine, and was properly the
root which they put into the water or wine which distils from the
maguei in order to make it ferment. And the unhappy man to whose
industry the art of making wine by causing fermentation by means of
this root was due, was afterwards worshipped as a god.”
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis states that:
“Patecatle was the god of these thirteen days, and of a kind of root
which they put into wine (the opactli or peyote); since without this
root no quantity of wine, no matter how much they drank, would produce
intoxication. Patecatle taught them the art of making wine, for wine
was made according to his instructions; and as men when under the
influence of wine are valiant, so they supposed that those who were
born during this period would be courageous. They considered these
thirteen days all as fortunate, for Patecatle, the god of wine, the
husband of Mayaquel, who was otherwise called Cipaquetona, he who was
saved from the deluge, ruled over them. They placed the eagle and the
lion near him as a sign that their sons would be valiant men.”
NATURE AND STATUS
Patecatl was originally a Huaxtec god. Tradition said that the tribal
ancestor of this people was the first drunkard. In the Sahagun MS.
Patecatl is called “the finder of the stalks and roots of which octli
is made,” that is those roots which were added to the octli to enhance
its intoxicating or narcotic strength. Motolinia states that those
roots were called oc-patli or octli-medicine, and the interpreter of
the Codex Magliabecchiano confirms the passage, as do the interpreters
of the Codex Vaticanus A and the Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
I fail to find corroboration elsewhere of the interpreter’s statement
that Patecatl was “saved from the deluge.” He seems to me to bear a
general resemblance to Apollo, as recently explained by Dr. Rendel
Harris, [314] that is, he seems to have been named in accordance with
some conception of him in which he was thought of as coming from a
“Land of Medicines” (in his case the Huaxtec country, which was also
the Tlillan Tlapallan, the “Land of Writing” or of Civilization). The
herbal conception of many Greek and other deities—that is, their actual
development from plants, the evolution of the god from the medicinal
herb—is now well authenticated, as can be seen from a perusal of Dr.
Harris’s remarkable work. Nor is the proven development of many deities
from mineral substances any less remarkable.
MAYAUEL = “SHE OF THE MAGUEY-PLANT”
Minor Names:
Ce Quauhtli = “One Eagle.”
Cipactonal = “Cipactli Sun.”
Calendar Place: Ruler of the eighth day, tochtli; of the eighth
week, ce malinalli.
Symbols: The agave-plant; the octli jug or vase.
Compass Direction: The lower region, or south.
Relationship: One of the octli-gods and the Tzitzimimê; wife of
Patecatl.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 12: She is painted yellow, the women’s colour, and
is seen issuing from an agave-plant. In sheet 16 she has the general
aspect of Tlazolteotl, and her hair is bound up with a band of unspun
cotton, a plug of which also hangs from her ear. About the mouth she is
painted with black rubber, and as a nasal ornament wears the golden
crescent. Her face is white, and her tippet and skirt are painted in
the semblance of water and both garments have a fringe of snail-shells.
She suckles a fish. Sheet 68: In this place she is represented as ruler
of the eighth week. She has a two-coloured face-painting, the upper
half yellow, and the lower green or blue. The octli colour is
represented in her garments, which are white. In the pictures of the
Borgia group generally she is shown wearing the blue indented
nose-plate which is assigned to Xochiquetzal. In Codex Borgia generally
she wears as a back-device a quemitl after the style of Tlaloc, but
coloured white and blue or green. On her flame-coloured locks she
sometimes wears a jewelled chain with a conventional bird’s head
decorating the front of it, while the feather-tuft on her head
resembles that worn by the Sun-god in Codex Borgia (sheet 15), and is
intended to symbolize the fiery nature of the octli liquor.
Aubin Tonalamatl.—Sheet 8: She is painted the colour of the
Maize-goddess and her maidens—red. As a headdress she wears a bandage
with a neck-loop formed and coloured like that of the goddess
Chalchihuitlicue, and connected with a high crown. She bears a copal
incense bag.
Codex Vaticanus A.—She is shown with the upper half of her face yellow
and the lower blue, thus depicting the typical two-coloured
face-painting of the octli-gods. On her head she wears the
characteristic octli-god’s headdress, also worn by Tlaloc, and holds a
drinking-vessel brimming with octli.
Codex Borbonicus.—Her face is blue with a few oblique lines after the
style of the warrior’s face-paint. She wears as a headdress a bandage
of unspun cotton (usually the characteristic of Tlazolteotl), spindles
in her hair, a quail’s wing and long plumes of a yellow colour. In her
hand she bears a bunch of octli-wort, a root which, if added to the
agave liquor, makes its powers of intoxication more potent.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheets 31 and 89: She is represented wearing the
headdress typical of Tlaloc and of the octli-gods—a bandage coloured
white and blue, with knots to the right and left, which leaves these
tips or tippets sticking out. Two large white and blue rosettes with
similarly coloured tassels depend by strings from the right and left of
this bandage.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 28: Clothed in a yellow-striped tippet
like that of Chalchihuitlicue, with a border painted in the colours of
the jewel, she lies in her agave-plant. She is crowned with a wreath of
flowers and wears a blue skirt.
Codex Laud.—Sheet 9: The agave-plant rises from a turtle resting upon a
dragon. Adjacent to this lie a copper hatchet and a throwing-weapon,
while in her hand she holds an octli bowl ornamented with gems and
flowers.
Secondary Aspects.—She is very often suggested by the octli jug, which
in the Borgia group is represented as a big two-handed vessel standing
on serpentine coils, while to it are attached votive papers of the type
frequently offered to the Tlaloquê, and bannerets are placed on the
sides, on which the V-shaped point is depicted. The night-and-day
symbol surmounts the whole. Though she is spoken of as having many
breasts, the goddess is very rarely depicted in this manner.
MYTHS
The interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A says of her:
“They feign that Mayaguil was a woman with four hundred breasts, and
that the gods on account of her fruitfulness changed her into the
maguei, from which they make wine.”
He also speaks of her as the mother of Cinteotl, remarking that all the
gods had their origin from the vine which bears the grape (the
maguey-plant).
The third interpreter of Codex Telleriano-Remensis calls her “Mayaquel,
who was otherwise called Cipaquetona” (Cipactonal), and wife of
Patecatl.
NATURE AND STATUS
Mayauel, as her name implies, is primarily a deity of the maguey-plant.
But evidence is not wanting that she also partakes of the nature of the
Earth-goddess, as her occasional appearance in the insignia of
Tlazolteotl and her wearing of the colours of the Maize-goddess would
seem to show. As the wife of Patecatl, the god “from the land of
medicines,” she bears the ropes which symbolize the octli-wort, the
plant which gave a narcotic quality to the octli drink, and which was
thought of as strangling or choking the drunkard. Her bounteousness of
fertility was symbolized by the possession of four hundred breasts, and
in this she resembles the old mother-goddess of Asia Minor. She has
also affinities with Xochiquetzal and Cipactonal.
TOTOLTECATL = “HE OF TOLLAN”
Relationship: One of the octli-gods.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The deity wears a paper crown
surmounted by a panache of heron-feathers and a nose-plug like that
worn by the other octli-gods. His wig or hair falls over his shoulders.
The upper part of his body is nude, but he wears a red-bordered cloth
round the head. His shield is a peculiar one, and Sahagun calls it a
“shield of the boat.” In shape it is almost like a modern door, and
from it depends what seem to be paper strips. He wears bands of some
textile material, which are tied behind with knots round the leg, and
he is shod with sandals. In his hand he carries the obsidian axe
typical of the octli-gods. He seems to have been a drink-god of the
Toltecs.
MACUILTOCHTLI = “FIVE RABBIT”
Area: Mexico.
Compass Direction: West.
Symbol: Five tochtli sign.
Relationship: One of the Uitznaua.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
General.—In both Codex Vaticanus B and Codex Borgia he is painted a
yellow colour, but in Borgia very deep yellow, almost brown, to
distinguish the rectangularly bordered yellow field which is seen in
the neighbourhood of the eye, and is characteristic of all the gods of
the “Macuil” series. In Codex Vaticanus B this process is reversed, the
yellow field being painted a darker, greyer shade. In this MS., too,
the god resembles Macuil Cozcaquauhtli, but has a bundle of stone
knives before his mouth, and he wears at the frontal side of the
head-fillet a flower, from which stone knives project. On his breast is
seen the eye, the original form of Tezcatlipocâ’s white ring, and on
his upper arm he has a large armlet, painted a blue colour.
Sahagun MS.—The Sahagun MS. describes him as having the hand motif in
the region of the mouth. On the head is a feather helmet surmounted by
a comb of feathers, and he wears a necklet of animal claws. A
red-bordered cloth is twisted round the hips. The sandals are white.
The shield, which is described as a “sun-shield,” is red, and has claw
ornaments. The god carries an obsidian axe, and a staff with a heart
inset and painted with quetzal-feathers.
NATURE AND STATUS
From his possession of the hand-symbol in the region of the mouth,
Macuiltochtli, the “Five Rabbit,” seems to me to be in some measure
equated with the gods Macuilxochitl and Xolotl, and thus partakes with
them of the quality of a deity of pleasure and conviviality.
TOTOCHTIN
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS.—The face is painted in two different colours, and the head
is surmounted by a crown of feathers. The god wears the half-moon
nose-plug of the octli-gods, and an ear-plug made of paper. On his back
he wears the wing of the red guacamayo, and he has a feather collar. A
net cloth decorated with the figures of scorpions is hung round his
hips. On his feet he wears bells and shells, and the sandals peculiar
to the octli-gods. The shield common to the octli-gods hangs on his
arm, and he carries in his hand the obsidian or copper axe with which
they are usually represented.
NATURE AND STATUS
Sahagun (bk. i, c. xii) alludes to Totochtin as “the god of wine.” He
seems to me to be a personification of the Centzon Totochtin (four
hundred or “innumerable” octli-gods), a figure in which the entire body
of drink-gods seem to have become merged in the Aztec mind.
TOMIAUHTECUTLI = “LORD OF THE MAIZE-FLOWER”
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS.—The god is painted black and on his face is a plaster of
salvia chia. He wears a crown of paper and another of heron-feathers,
variegated with plumes of the quetzal. Around his shoulders is cast a
band of paper, and his loin-cloth is of the same material. On his feet
he wears shells and white sandals. His shield is decorated with a
water-rose, and in his hand he bears a rush-staff.
NATURE AND STATUS
This god was connected with the flowering of the maize, on which
occasion, during the month tepeilhuitl, octli was drunk and his
festival celebrated. (See Sahagun, Appendix to bk. ii.)
CHAPTER IX
STELLAR AND PLANETARY DEITIES
TONATIUH = “THE SUN”
Area of Worship: Plateau of Anahuac.
Minor Names:
Piltzintecutli = “Young Prince.”
Totec = “Our Chief.”
Xipilli = “The Turquoise Prince.”
Calendar Place:
Third of the nine lords of the night.
Ruler of the nineteenth day-count, quiauitl.
Ruler of the day-sign ce xochitl.
Compass Direction: Upper region; the heavens; lord of the east.
Symbol: The sun-disk, which he usually wears as a back-ornament.
Festivals: The fourth day, nauollin, in the sign ce ocelotl
(movable feast).
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 9: His nose-plug has the colours of the
chalchihuitl. The ornament attached to the nape and back is a large
rosette or disk painted in the chalchihuitl colours, as is the wrap
which falls over the back. The ends of the loin-cloth also show the
elements of this hieroglyph, and such a loin-cloth painting was usually
indicative of the rank of the wearer in ancient Mexico. On his breast
is a large gold disk. From his hollow ear-plug depends a jewelled band,
and his collar consists of a solar disk (?). Sheet 70: in this picture
he is seated on a platform covered with a jaguar-skin. His face-paint
and body-paint are yellow, with a rectangular stripe from the end of
the nose-plug and above the eye across the forehead. His hair or wig is
yellow, and is held by a jewelled band ornamented with a bird’s head.
His headdress is further equipped with eagle’s feathers, and three
tasselled cords edged with cotton hang from it. On his breast lies the
solar disk. The head of a grey parrot protrudes from his back, and on
the face is a small red disk. Sheet 14: Here he is depicted as a red
Tezcatlipocâ with the face-paint of the Sun-god, but is without the
small red disk on the face, having instead the small, four-cornered
white-and-red patch characteristic of the Maize-god, of Xochipilli and
Tonacatecutli.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 20: Here he is painted with flame-coloured
hair, bound by a fillet, on the front of which is the usual bird’s-head
ornament. His panache consists chiefly of two eagle’s feathers, from
which hang two long bands, one side of which is hairy as if formed of
skin, and this may be taken as a characteristic sign of him in the MSS.
of the Codex Borgia group. His nose-plug has a plate depending from it,
which falls over the mouth, as in some representations of Tezcatlipocâ,
and on his breast he wears an ornament which recalls that worn by the
Fire-god in this codex. In this MS., as in Codex Borgia, he is
represented as standing before a temple, with a burnt-offering of wood
and rubber in his hand, and here the temple is painted in the
chalchihuitl colour-elements, and its roof covered by jewelled disks.
Sheet 94: In this picture he is shown as wearing a long, flame-like
beard, which strongly resembles that worn by Quetzalcoatl and
Tonacatecutli in some MSS., save that it is the colour of fire.
Aubin-Goupil Tonalamatl.—Sheet 10: In this manuscript the upper portion
of the face is light red, and the lower a darker red. The outer corner
of the eye is encircled by three red lines, which are rounded. He wears
a jewelled fillet, feathered crown, collar, breast-ornament,
butterfly’s wing neck-ornament, the net-pouch of the hunting tribes,
and the sword-fish pattern sword.
Codex Telleriano-Remensis.—The face is yellow with no lines. He wears
the fillet with turquoise jewels, and a wheel-shaped ornament at the
nape of the neck, probably symbolic of the solar disk. Elsewhere in
this MS. he is red, wears the solar disk on his back, and holds the
cotinga bird in one hand and a shield and a bundle of spears in the
other.
Codex Borbonicus.—The face is half yellow, half red, and is surmounted
by a flame-coloured wig bound by the jewelled fillet with its usual
ornament. Elsewhere in this codex he represents the sun by night, with
the body and upper part of the face dark, no nasal rod, but a crescent
like that of the Earth-goddess and the octli-gods. The sea-snail’s
shell is above him, and the symbol of the eye in a dark patch.
General.—As second member of the third row in Codex Borgia, Vaticanus
B, and Fejérváry-Mayer, he is recognized by his red body and
face-painting, and flame-coloured hair bound up by a jewelled chain or
strap, with the conventional bird figure on the frontal side.
WALL-PAINTINGS
Several lively paintings decorate the friezes executed on the walls of
the palaces at Mitla, where the insignia of the god are given in the
manner familiar throughout Mexico. The fillet with the bird’s-head
frontal ornament, the peculiar disposition of the panache, and the
necklace typical of the deity are all reproduced, and here serve to
prove the widespread character of his worship.
MYTHS
The myths dealing with the origin of the sun and the several epochs in
which he reappeared under different forms have already been given in
the chapter on Cosmogony, and in the précis of the opening chapters of
the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas. The myths relating to
his paradise have also been dealt with in that chapter.
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A says:
“It was Tonatiuh they affirm who conducted to heaven the souls of those
alone who died in war; and on this account they paint him with these
arms in his hands. He sits as a conqueror, exactly opposite to the
other who is near him, who is god of hell. They allege that the cause
of winter being so disagreeable is the absence of the sun, and that
summer is delightful on account of its presence; and that the return of
the sun from our zenith is nothing more than the approach of their god
to confer his favours on them.”
FESTIVALS
Nauollin.—One of the feasts of the Sun-god was held at the ceremony
known as nauollin (the “four motions,” alluding to the quivering
appearance of the sun’s rays) in the Quauhquauhtinchan (House of the
Eagles), an armoury set apart for the military order of that name. The
warriors gathered in this hall for the purpose of dispatching a
messenger to their lord the sun. High up on the wall of the principal
court was a great symbolic representation of the orb, painted upon a
brightly coloured cotton hanging. Before this copal and other fragrant
gums and spices were burned four times a day. The victim, a
war-captive, was placed at the foot of a long staircase leading up to
the stone on which he was to be sacrificed. He was clothed in red
striped with white and wore white plumes in his hair—colours symbolical
of the sun—while he bore a staff decorated with feathers and a shield
covered with tufts of cotton. He also carried a bundle of eagle’s
feathers and some paint on his shoulders, to enable the sun, to whom he
was the emissary, to paint his face. He was then addressed by the
officiating priest in the following terms: “Sir, we pray you go to our
god the sun, and greet him on our behalf; tell him that his sons and
warriors and chiefs and those who remain here beg of him to remember
them and to favour them from that place where he is, and to receive
this small offering which we send him. Give him the staff to help him
on his journey, and this shield for his defence, and all the rest that
you have in this bundle.” The victim, having undertaken to carry the
message to the Sun-god, was then dispatched upon his long journey.
Ome acatl or Toxiuhilpilia.—This great solar festival was celebrated
once in fifty-two years only, and signified the “binding of the years,”
the end of the solar cycle, when, it was believed, the “old” sun died
and a new luminary would take its place, or the world would be plunged
into darkness. Says Clavigero:
“The festival, which was celebrated every fifty-two years, was by far
the most splendid and most solemn, not only among the Mexicans, but
likewise among all the nations of that empire, or who were neighbouring
to it. On the last night of their century, they extinguished the fire
of all the temples and houses, and broke their vessels, earthen pots,
and other kitchen utensils, preparing themselves in this manner for the
end of the world which at the termination of each century [sic] they
expected with terror. The priests, clothed in various dresses and
ensigns of their gods and accompanied by a vast crowd of people, issued
from the temples out of the city, directing their way towards the
mountain Huixachtla, near to the city of Itztapalapan, upwards of six
miles distant from the capital. They regulated their journey in some
measure by observation of the stars, in order that they might arrive at
the mountain a little before midnight, on the top of which the new fire
was to be kindled. In the meantime the people remained in the utmost
suspense and solicitude, hoping on the one hand to find from the new
fire a new century granted to mankind, and fearing on the other hand
the total destruction of mankind if the fire by divine interference
should not be permitted to kindle. Husbands covered the faces of their
pregnant wives with the leaves of the aloe, and shut them up in
granaries; because they were afraid that they would be converted into
wild beasts and would devour them. They also covered the faces of
children in that way, and did not allow them to sleep, to prevent their
being transformed into mice. All those who did not go out with the
priests mounted upon terraces, to observe from thence the event of the
ceremony. The office of kindling the fire on this occasion belonged
exclusively to a priest of Copolco, one of the districts of the city.
The instruments for this purpose were, as we have already mentioned,
two pieces of wood, and the place on which the fire was produced from
them was the breast of some brave prisoner whom they sacrificed. As
soon as the fire was kindled they all at once exclaimed with joy; and a
great fire was made on the mountain that it might be seen from afar, in
which they afterwards burned the victim whom they had sacrificed.
Immediately they took up portions of the sacred fire and strove with
each other who should carry it most speedily to their houses. The
priests carried it to the greater temple of Mexico, from whence all the
inhabitants of that capital were supplied with it. During the thirteen
days which followed the renewal of the fire, which were the intercalary
days, interposed between the past and ensuing century to adjust the
year with the course of the sun, they employed themselves in repairing
and whitening the public and private buildings, and in furnishing
themselves with new dresses and domestic utensils, in order that
everything might be new, or at least appear to be so, upon the
commencement of the new century. On the first day of that year and of
that century, which, as we have already mentioned, corresponded to the
26th of February, for no person was it lawful to taste water before
midday. At that hour the sacrifices began, the number of which was
suited to the grandeur of the festival. Every place resounded with the
voice of gladness and mutual congratulations on account of the new
century which heaven had granted to them. The illuminations made during
the first nights were extremely magnificent; their ornaments of dress,
entertainments, dances, and public games were superiorly solemn.” [315]
NATURE AND STATUS
In my view the sun-god Piltzintecutli is merely a personification of
Tonatiuh, the sun. As has already been said, solar worship in Mexico
seems to have been developed at a comparatively late period. In the
myths regarding the origin of the sun given by Olmos and Sahagun, it is
clear that he is regarded more as a luminary than as a god. The name
Tonatiuh, indeed, means nothing more than “sun,” and although one of
the sacrificed gods was believed to have given him life, and he
afterwards acts as a living being, he does not seem to possess the same
qualities of personality as his later form, Piltzintecutli. The
expression “Tonatiuh” seems to have been regarded as a divine
place-name, a paradise to which those warriors fared who died in
battle.
Tonatiuh was known as the Teotl, that is as the god par excellence, but
this does not by any means imply that the Mexicans regarded him as the
highest form of deity known to them. I think it rather means that the
priests, having arrived at the conclusion that the tonalamatl and the
calendar hinged, so to speak, upon the solar periods, came very
naturally to regard the sun as the centre or hub of the intricate
system which they had built up through generations. The very name
Teotl, too, shows that, in later times at least, the sun was regarded
as a deity, perhaps because he occupied the vault of the sky “where the
gods live.”
But above and beyond this we have to regard Mexican sun-worship from an
entirely different point of view. There is abundant evidence that the
hunting tribes of the northern steppes, the Chichimec immigrants,
possessed a primitive sun-worship of their own. It may be, indeed, that
it was from this that the worship of Tonatiuh sprang, and not from the
consideration of calendric science; but the criteria we possess
regarding this part of the question is at present much too scanty to
permit of more precise statement. But if we know that sun-worship
obtained among the nomadic tribes of northern Mexico, we are somewhat
ignorant of the precise form it took. One thing, however, seems
certain, and that is that it was founded on the belief that the sun
existed on the blood of animals, preferably deer, and that when these
were scarce, on the blood of human beings. If blood-offerings to the
sun were to cease, it was thought that the luminary would grow weak,
fail, and become extinguished, or else would visit his wrath upon
humanity in some such manner as we read of in those myths which recount
the recurrent catastrophes of fire, wind, deluge, and earthquakes which
the wrathful luminary brought upon mankind. I would, therefore, date
the introduction of the solar worship proper into Mexico, and
consequently that of human sacrifice, from the period of entry of those
northern Chichimec peoples, who, entering the Valley of Mexico at an
epoch shortly after the disintegration of the Toltec civilization,
adopted an agricultural existence, and finding the supply of wild
animals insufficient to meet the requirements of sacrifice, instituted
the occasional immolation of human beings. This custom seems, indeed,
to have already obtained in the case of the ritual of some of the
native gods, for example, Tlaloc and the Earth-mother, and it may be,
indeed, that the northern nomads drew the inspiration which prompted
them to this evil practice from their more civilized neighbours. But it
is even more probable that, as the various Mexican peoples were for the
most part of cognate origin and contiguous civilization, the practice
of human sacrifice had been common to all of them in a more or less
modified form for some generations, and only received an impetus after
the Chichimec immigration. Against this view may be quoted the myth
which refers the introduction of human sacrifice to a group of Huaxtec
earth-goddesses, Tlazolteotl and her sisters. But it seems to me that
this Maya people were by no means so prone to the custom, and that in
this instance Tlazolteotl has been confounded with some of her Mexican
forms. The process by which blood was thought of as being transformed
into rain has already been fully described, and it but remains here to
indicate that Tonatiuh is, in places, closely identified with the sign
atl, water, and is indeed one of the four rulers of the week beginning
with the day “one rain,” probably because of the early belief that on
one occasion the sun “drank up” all the water on earth and later
disgorged it in floods.
For the reason that he was regarded as existing on blood, the sun was
thought of as the great patron of warriors, and has an intimate
connection with both Uitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipocâ. But if we seek
for evidence which would seem to exalt him above the greater gods in
Mexico, and place him in a central and pre-eminent position in the
pantheon, we will be disappointed. [316] At the same time we must
recollect that the two deities just mentioned, and even Quetzalcoatl in
a measure, possessed a solar connection, and in the offering of the
hearts of all victims to his glowing face we may probably see a
survival or a reminiscence from a period when he was perhaps the
central figure in the pantheon of the Chichimec nomads.
There is also plenty of evidence that the sun must be classed with
Xiuhtecutli and the other gods of fire, as is shown by the great fire
festival which took place every fifty-two years. But the lack of data
regarding the sun as a personalized deity rather than a divine luminary
places us at a disadvantage in attempting to assess his precise nature
and status in the Mexican pantheon, and considerable research is
required before this can be essayed with any degree of confidence.
METZTLI = “THE MOON,” OR TECCIZTECATL = “HE FROM THE SEA-SNAIL”
Symbol: Bone-surrounded disk set in the night-sky, containing a
rabbit.
Calendar Place:
Ruler of the sixth day-count, miquiztli.
Ruler of the sixth tonalamatl division, ce miquiztli.
Ruler of the fifth night-hour.
Compass Direction: South.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—In this codex he is shown as a female, old, with the
gobber tooth or lip contraction indicative of extreme age. He is
painted yellow, the colour of women. The white of the clothing
expresses the relatively dull hue of the luminary when compared with
the sun.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Here he is old and white-haired, and is pictured as
a priest with the marine snail’s shell on his brow. The body-colour is
blue, as is the face, on sheet 30, but on sheet 88, half-blue,
half-red, as in the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer picture of Mixcoatl. On sheet
30 he is figured with a long beard and wears Xochipilli’s ornaments.
Aubin Tonalamatl.—In this place he is represented by Tezcatlipocâ.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 24: Here he is pictured as an old god with
a long beard. The body-colour is blue, and the face half-blue,
half-red, like that of Xolotl in the same MS. He wears the sea-snail
shell on his fillet.
MYTHS
The principal myths relating to the origin of the Moon-god have already
been given in the chapter on Cosmogony.
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A states that:
“They believed that the moon presided over human generation, and
accordingly they always put it by the side of the sun. They placed on
its head a sea-snail, to denote that in the same way as this marine
animal creeps from its integument or shell, so man comes from his
mother’s womb.”
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis says:
“Meztli was otherwise named Tectziztecatl; because in the same way that
a snail creeps from its shell, so man proceeds from his mother’s womb.
They placed the moon opposite to the sun, because its course
continually crosses his; and they believed it to be the cause of human
generation.”
NATURE AND STATUS
Tecciztecatl is “the Man in the Moon,” the spirit who dwells in or
animates the luminary of night. He is frequently depicted as an old man
or priest, with staff in hand, and is the wizard, or naualli, who lurks
within the moon-cave, or house, for so the moon seems to have appeared
to the Mexicans. It seems also to have been regarded or symbolized as a
snail-shell, and it is probable that the curved shape of it in its
earliest phase, no less than its gradual growth, brought about this
conception. This in turn created the train of thought which resulted in
its being regarded as the symbol of conception and birth—its growth and
gradual rotundity, as well as its symbolic connection with the snail
assisting the idea. As the wizard of night concealed within his cavern,
Tecciztecatl was identified with Tezcatlipocâ, the sorcerer par
excellence, the magician who held sway over the dreaded hours of
darkness. The moon had also a connection with Chalchihuitlicue and the
octli-gods, which is dealt with in the sections relating to those
deities.
MIXCOATL, IZTAC MIXCOATL, OR CAMAXTLI AS MIXCOATL = “CLOUD SERPENT”
Area of Worship: Chichimec country; Mexico-Tenochtitlan;
Tlaxcallan.
Minor Names:
Iztac Mixcoatl.
Camaxtli.
Relationship: One of the Tzitzimimê; father of Uitzilopochtli;
husband of Itzcuêyê.
Festival: Quecholli, the fourteenth month.
Compass Direction: North.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 25: In this manuscript Mixcoatl’s almost nude
body is striped with white, as in the case of some of the stellar
deities, and he has the half-mask stellar face-painting about the eye.
His hair curls up above the brow, is covered with downy white feathers,
and he wears a forked heron-feather tuft on the head. On sheet 37 his
effigy is accompanied by the symbolical weapons of war.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 50; right-hand corner, lower portion: The
representation in this place is almost identical with that in Codex
Vaticanus B, sheet 25. On sheet 15 the god has the implements of war
and a small hand-flag, and wears a blue metal breast-plate set in gold,
from which depends a chalchihuitl jewel.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 41: Mixcoatl is here depicted with
body-colour half-blue, half-red, the black domino-stellar painting
about the eye, his hair puffed up above the brow and surmounted by the
warrior’s adornment. The body-painting in this place is merely a
variant of the striped colour, perhaps indicating the twilight. As god
of the hunting tribes, he is naked like the hunter, and has an ear-plug
made from a deer’s foot. He is armed with a throwing-stick (atlatl).
WALL-PAINTINGS
On the west side of the court of Palace I at Mitla are certain
fragments, some of which undoubtedly represent Mixcoatl in his
different phases. In the first of these he is represented as wearing a
white wig surmounted by tufts of down in which arrows are stuck. On his
face he has the familiar “domino-painting,” he is bearded, and his
nose-plug is of a peculiar character, somewhat unfamiliar and
expressing a serpentine motif. He wears a collar with sharp stellar
edges. The fifth figure to the right from this once more represents him
in the same guise, only that in his left hand he holds the atlatl, or
spear-thrower. His peculiarly stellar character has not been lost upon
the artist who executed these paintings, as the stellar eye-motif
decorates the top of the frieze on which they appear. Not far away is
seen the deer usually associated with him.
STATUARY AND PAINTINGS
An interesting stone figure of Mixcoatl was discovered in the ruins of
the Castillo de Teayo, to the west of the pyramid. It is made of
sandstone, and the frontal aspect shows the god wearing a high panache
of feathers, a headdress flanked by tufts or puffings of some textile
material from which feathers depend, and an elaborate necklace. The
skirt, the upper part of which is V-shaped, hangs down to the ankles,
and is tied up behind in a double knot. In his left hand he carries the
bag which holds obsidian arrow-heads, his invariable symbol, and in the
right the S-formed lightning symbol, with which he is often
represented, as in the Codex Magliabecchiano. Another relief from the
same site shows him carrying the same symbols. His hair is decorated
with feather-balls, as in the Codex Magliabecchiano and Duran’s
illustration. In a painting from Teopancaxo he wears a peculiar
headdress from which falls behind a large panache of feathers, and
which seems to be decorated with down; a horizontal band crosses the
face beneath the eye and covers the whole of the nose. In one hand he
carries the lightning symbol, from which spring serpentine streaks of
lightning, and in the other a small shield like a sunflower and three
arrows with blunt ends.
AS IZTAC MIXCOATL = “WHITE CLOUD SERPENT”
Minor Names: Ce eecatl = “One Wind.”
Relationship:
Husband of Ilancuêyê and progenitor of the Xelhua national
ancestors, Tenoch, Ulmecatl, Xicalancatl, Mixtecatl, Otomitl.
Husband of a second wife, Chimamatl, by whom he had a son,
Quetzalcoatl.
Compass Direction: Upper region.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 32: He has the head of a deer. He carries
for a staff the neck of a long-billed, white bird, a heron. Before him
stands a dish containing an eye and a feather ornament, reproducing in
form and colour the warrior’s forked heron-feather adornment. Sheet 6:
He is painted a yellow colour, thin and with wrinkled skin, his face
looking out of the open throat of a bird, which has a feather crest
curling up and a variegated rosette on its beak. In one hand he holds a
bone dagger, in the other a staff tied round with a white-fringed
cloth. As hieroglyph is shown beside him the day ce eecatl, “one wind.”
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 60: Here he is represented as having heron-feather
hair and beard, and a ring-shaped appendage below the upper lip
indicative of age. He is dressed as a priest, with tobacco-calabash on
back and red patch on temple. He holds in one hand a staff bent like a
heron’s neck, and in the other a bunch of malinalli grass. Sheet 24:
The representation here is almost identical, except that the staff has
a heron’s head and that a bone piercer is worn behind the ear. In both
pictures he wears a curious back device, recalling that on the
rattle-staff of Quetzalcoatl. In some places he wears a helmet-mask
like the head of a deer.
AS CAMAXTLI
Area of Worship: Tlaxcallan and Huexotzinco.
Festival: Ce tecpatl (movable feast).
Relationship: Brother of Uitzilopochtli, and probably a local
variant of him.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Face-paint.—He wears the domino face-paint, like Uitzilopochtli and
Mixcoatl, and a nose-plug.
The body is striped with red and white, in which circumstance he agrees
with Mixcoatl and Tlauizcalpantecutli, the morning star. He wears a
headdress seemingly of feathers, and in Duran his hair is long and he
wears a knitted loin-cloth. A dead rabbit, or its skin, is slung across
his breast. In the Humboldt MS. (Roy. Lib. of Berlin) his headdress
perhaps represents the symbol of hieroglyphic expression for the phrase
atl tlachinolli (water and fire) used in the sense of “war.”
Weapons, etc.—He carries the atlatl, or spear-thrower, and net-bag of
the wild hunting tribes, bow and arrows, sometimes tipped with down,
also a bag or pouch, in which he carries his arrowheads of obsidian.
Like Mixcoatl he is sometimes clothed in the device of the two-headed
deer, in which he went to war.
MYTHS
Mixcoatl has already been alluded to in the précis of the early
chapters of the Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas given in the
chapter on Cosmogony, where the circumstances of his birth are touched
upon. In chapter x of the same work he is identified with Amimitl,
another Chichimec deity, seemingly without reason. The Anales de
Quauhtitlan speaks of him as one of the three who “sought the
hearth-stone,” and as one of the priests of the Fire-god. As Iztac
Mixcoatl, according to Motolinia, [317] he dwelt with his wife,
Ilancuêyê, in Chicomoztoc, the “Land of the Seven Caves,” the primeval
land of the tribes, and from them sprang the forefathers of the
natives. By a second wife, Chimamatl, he begot the god Quetzalcoatl. In
the Tlaxcaltec legend reproduced in the Historia de los Mexicanos por
sus Pinturas, [318] mention is made of a two-headed deer which fell
from heaven and was honoured as a god by the people of Cuitlauac, and
it is told how, clothed in its form or disguise, Camaxtli or Mixcoatl
subdued the surrounding tribes.
Iztac Mixcoatl was, indeed, the Chichimec Adam, the father of the
tribe. A hymn to the gods of the hunt, of whom Mixcoatl was the chief,
is as follows:
SONG OF THE CLOUD-SERPENTS
I
Out of the seven Caverns he sprung (was born).
II
Out of the land of the prickly plant he sprung.
III
I came down (was born)
I came down
With my spear made of the prickly plant
I came down
I came down
With my spear of the prickly plant.
IV
I came down
I came down
With my net bag.
I seize him
I seize him
And I seize him, and he is seized.
FESTIVAL
The great festival of Mixcoatl was the hunt-drive in the month
quecholli. Sahagun says of this observance [319]:
“Quecholli was the name of the fourteenth month, Mixcoatl being
honoured with festivals. Arrows and darts for use in war were made, and
many slaves were slaughtered in honour of this god. During the five
days spent in making the arrows, everyone slit their ears and rubbed
their temples with the blood thus drawn. Penance was supposed to be
thus performed before the deer-hunting commenced. Those who did not
slit themselves were deprived of their cloaks as tribute. During these
days no man cohabited with his wife, and the aged abstained from the
use of pulque, as penance was being performed. The four days employed
in the making of arrows and darts being ended, smaller arrows were made
and tied in bundles of four to which were added four pine torches.
These were placed as offerings upon the graves of the dead, besides two
tamalli to each bundle. These remained for a day upon the tombs and
were then burned during the night, other ceremonies being held as well
in honour of the dead.
“On the tenth day of this month the Mexicans and the Tlatelulca
resorted together to the mountain of Cacatepec, which they called their
mother. On reaching it they constructed thatched huts, lighted large
fires, and spent the day in absolute idleness.
Next morning they breakfasted and went out together into the country.
There they spread themselves out in a circular line, in which were
enclosed a large number of animals—deer, rabbits, and others; they
gradually approached them so as to enmesh them in a small space, and
the hunt then began, each one taking what he could.
“After the hunt, captives and slaves were slaughtered in the temple
called Tlamatzinco. They were bound hand and foot and were carried up
the temple stairs in the same fashion as a deer is carried by its four
legs when taken to the butcher. They were put to death with great
ceremony. The man and the woman who represented the image of Mixcoatl
and his companion were slain in another temple, which was called
Mixcoateopan. Several other rites were performed.”
Of this festival Acosta gives a slightly different version:
“The feast they made was pleasant and in this sort: They sounded a
trumpet at break of day, at the sound whereof they all assembled with
their bows, arrows, nets, and other instruments for hunting; then they
went in procession with their idol, being followed by a great number of
people to a high mountain, upon the top whereof they had made a bower
of leaves, and in the middest thereof an altar richly decked, whereupon
they placed the idol. They marched with a great bruit of trumpets,
cornets, flutes and drums, and being come unto the place they environed
this mountain on all sides, putting fire to it on all parts: by means
of which many beasts flew forth, as stags, conies, Hares, foxes and
Woolves, which went to the top flying from the fire. These hunters
followed after with great cries and noise of divers instruments,
hunting them to the top before the idol, whither flew such a great
number of beasts, in so great a press, that they leaped one upon
another, upon the people, and upon the altar, wherein they took great
delight. Then took they a great number of these beasts, and sacrificed
them before the idol, as stags and other great beasts, pulling out
their hearts as they use in the sacrifice of men, and with the like
ceremony: which done they took all their prey upon their shoulders, and
retired with their idol in the same manner as they came, and entered
the city laden with all these things, very joyfully with great store of
music, trumpets, and drums until they came to the temple where they
placed their idol with great reverence and solemnity. They presently
went to prepare their venison wherewith they made a banquet to all the
people; and after dinner they made their plays, representations and
dances before the idol.”
TEMPLES
Mixcoatl’s temples in Mexico were the Mixcoapan tzompantli and the
Mixcoateopan. In the first were preserved the heads of the victims
sacrificed to the god. The ceremony of quecholli was commenced in the
latter.
NATURE AND STATUS
Mixcoatl was primarily the great god of the Chichimecs and the Otomies,
a god of the wild hunting tribes of the plains to the north. Numbers of
these had settled in Mexico City and elsewhere within Anahuac, to which
they had carried his worship with them. The tribal legends connected
with him seem to imply that he was regarded in one of his phases, that
of Iztac Mixcoatl, as the Chichimec Adam or Abraham, and he is even
alluded to as the “father” of Quetzalcoatl and “brother” of
Uitzilopochtli. The probabilities are that he was the god of a section
of the Nahua who entered Mexico proper before the advent of the
worshippers of Uitzilopochtli, and as he had similar characteristics to
the latter deity, he became connected with him in the popular
imagination.
Mixcoatl seems to me one of that large class of conceptions which recur
so frequently in all mythologies—the rain- and lightning-bearing cloud,
which in the mind of the savage takes the form of a great monster, a
dragon or serpent, vomiting fire and discharging water. The name
Mixcoatl means “Cloud-serpent” and serves to substantiate this
conception of him. But in the eyes of a hunting people he came, like
other deities of the kind, to be regarded as the great hunter who casts
the thunderbolt, the lightning-arrow, and therefore as the god-like
prototype of the savage sportsman. Mixcoatl’s possession of the
obsidian arrow-head, which became personified in Itzpapalotl, gives
further weight to this idea.
Because he partook of the attributes of a sky-god, Mixcoatl almost
inevitably became identified with the stellar deities dwelling in the
heavens above. He is, indeed, Chief of the Centzon Mimixcoa, which has
been translated “The Four Hundred Northerners,” the host of stars to
the north of the Equator, in contradistinction to the Centzon Uitznaua,
or “Four Hundred Southerners,” who were scattered by Uitzilopochtli
immediately after his birth. But here a question of some difficulty
arises. Uitznaua may correctly be translated “southerners,” whereas
Mimixcoa can scarcely be rendered otherwise than as the plural of
“cloud-serpent.” The insignia of these latter deities, however, are
certainly stellar. They wear the stellar face-mask and are in every way
to be connected with the stars. It is clear, too, that Mixcoatl in one
of his manifestations must be connected with the morning star. But I
take this connection, as in the case of Quetzalcoatl, to have arisen at
a period comparatively late. Again, we frequently find in Mexican myth
that the stars are regarded as serpentine in character, and indeed, as
in the case of the Tzitzimimê, partake of insect characteristics.
“Mixcoatl” is the expression in use at the present time among the
natives of Mexico for the tropical whirlwind [320]—obviously a much
later conception of his nature, and one more intimately connected with
that of Tezcatlipocâ, as I have attempted to show in the passages
relating to that god, and to Quetzalcoatl. There is, indeed, a strong
resemblance between Mixcoatl and Tezcatlipocâ, both of whom are
connected with obsidian, and carry the hunter’s bag of obsidian darts.
Mixcoatl’s festival is obviously one of considerable antiquity. As
practised in Mexico-Tenochtitlan it was obviously a reminiscence of the
great communal hunt. Its sacrifice of women in the place of deer, the
victims being “carried up the temple stairs in the same fashion as a
deer is carried by its four legs when taken to the butcher,” is
obviously a substitution in more civilized times of human for deer
sacrifice, either because the animals of the hunt were not so easily
obtained or for the reason that the idea of human sacrifice had so
thoroughly interpenetrated Mexican religious usage as to render the
older form unacceptable, merely retaining its broader characteristics.
It has also a strong resemblance to those medicine-hunts until recently
practised by the Indians of North America, and in the Zuñi mysteries of
to-day, a procuring of magical virtue for the arrows which were made
during the first five days of the festival, and smaller models of which
were offered up on the graves of the dead. Mixcoatl’s wife Itzcuêyê is
a deer and, as we have seen, the deer was the disguise of his
surrogate, Camaxtli. The deer is the animal connected in the barbarian
mind with the quest for water or food. Where the deer migrated in
search for these the savage must follow. The animals which compose the
staple food-supply of savages are frequently regarded as their gods. In
America, on the introduction of later anthropomorphic deities, the
animal forms are frequently conceived of as the mates of these—perhaps
one explanation of the belief in descent from animal forms.
Because of his connection with the lightning Mixcoatl was also god of
the fire-twirler, the apparatus with which fire was made, and he
appears in this character during the fire festival.
TLAUIZCALPANTECUTLI = “LORD OF THE HOUSE OF THE DAWN”
Area of Worship: Mexico; Toltec (?).
Calendar Place: With the Fire-god, lord of the ninth week, ce
coatl. Twelfth of the thirteen lords of the day-hours.
Compass Direction: West.
Relationship: Variant of Quetzalcoatl.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
General.—In the Codex Borgia (sheet 25) he is painted as having a
white-and-red-striped body, and the black face with white-spotted
quincunx peculiar to him in his special form as evening star. The hair
is yellow, the locks rising in curls above the brow, and bound by a red
fillet. We can probably recognize him in the figure seen in sheet 19 of
Codex Vaticanus B, which bears a strong resemblance to that found on
sheet 57 of the same MS., confronting the Fire-god; but in the first
instance he is not shown with the black “half-mask” painting about the
eye. He has, however, the same warlike implements—shield, spears, and
atlatl—as in Codex Borgia, as well as a pouch for obsidian arrow-heads
and a small sacrificial flag. He is, however, almost universally
represented with a white or white-and-red-striped body and
face-painting, and the deep black “half-mask” edged with small white
circles which is usually shown in the pictures of Mixcoatl, Paynal, and
Atlaua, and which is described as “the stellar face-painting called
darkness.” He frequently wears long, tapering oval ornaments attached
to red leather thongs in place of the chalchihuitl jewels which so
often depend from the dress of the other gods, and the band which
supports these has four diverging ends terminating in a bunch of
feathers, as with Tonatiuh, Ueuecoyotl, and Xochipilli. The crown is
generally composed of black feathers having white spots, alternating
with longer yellow or red plumes. On the breast is seen an ornament
like that of Tezcatlipocâ. In Codex Borbonicus and Borgia he is
accompanied by the insignia of those warriors who died by sacrifice,
the blue crown with the three-cornered frontal plate, the axe-shaped
blue ear-plug, the blue nose-plug, the white paper shoulder-tie, and
the small blue dog which accompanied the dead man on his way to the
region of Mictlan.
On the five sheets of Codex Vaticanus B which indicate the periods of
the planet Venus we observe Tlauizcalpantecutli depicted five times,
and have thus a most favourable opportunity for studying his various
attributes. All of these pictures represent him in the form of the
evening star, with the quincunx of white spots on the dark background
of his face. He is depicted as half-black, half-white, the body, upper
arms, and knees being black, but the forearms, thighs, and lower part
of the legs white and striped with yellow longitudinal lines, like the
striping on Uitzilopochtli’s body. Under the eye is a motif which
recalls the blue snake-band round the mouth of Tlaloc, but it is yellow
in colour, and forms a kind of coil in the middle of the face over the
nose. A tassel or other ornament falls from it, the whole recalling
certain Maya types. The hair is flame-coloured, curls upward, and is
bound with the usual fillet studded with white slicings from
mussel-shells, and the black, white-tipped feathers, previously alluded
to, and intermingled with eagle-plumes, crown the head. The breast is
covered with the white eye-ring, also described above, and which is
characteristic of Tezcatlipocâ. Accompanying the picture is the emblem
of the stellar eye, which in this place is almost certainly intended to
depict the planet Venus. The god holds in one hand the atlatl, or
spear-thrower, and in the other a bundle of darts, to symbolize his
nature as a shooting god.
In those pictures in Codex Borgia where the god is represented as
casting his spear at various mythological figures, his insignia is in
agreement with that portrayed in Codex Vaticanus B. But of the five
figures in which he is shown as the spear-thrower, in one only is he
depicted with white, red-striped limbs, the remaining figures being
coloured green, yellow, brown, and blue. Nor has the face the
characteristic painting known as “stellar” and frequently described on
those pages, but is skull-shaped, and represented as swallowing blood
and a human heart. He holds, however, the usual spear-thrower, shield,
hand-flag, and the hunter’s net-bag. The Codex Borgia pictures show,
too, the incidence of the god’s other attributes, the oval, egg-shaped
ornaments and the white-tipped black feathers, which, however, are here
considerably shorter, and spread over the crown of the head only. Here
also the first of the five figures is red-striped, the others being
blue, red, and yellow, and red-striped. Like the figures in Codex
Bologna, the first has the head of a skull painted with the face-paint
of Tlauizcalpantecutli, with the quincunx of five disks on a dark
ground. The other four figures wear masks, that part of their faces
which is visible being coloured like the body and having the quincunx
of five white disks. The second figure wears an owl naual, or mask, the
third that of a dog, the fourth a rabbit-mask, and the fifth, like the
first, a dead man’s skull, which, however, is portrayed in its natural
colour and has no face-paint. The owl-mask of the second figure and the
skull-mask of the fifth show that they represent the sequence of five
periods of the planet Venus, five time-counts based on its period of
visibility, and that, moreover, these figures are to be referred
respectively to the compass directions, east, north, west, south,
below. The Codex Fejérváry figure differs from the other
representations, the face being painted white with yellow stripes, like
the rest of the body and limbs. But that this figure is in reality
identical with those of the other manuscripts is proved by the quincunx
of white spots disposed in the same manner as in the Codex Vaticanus B
figure, by the three curly locks on the brow, and by the star-like eye
worn by the god on his breast. In Codex Borgia are shown a sacrificial
cord and two small paper flags. In Codex Fejérváry we see a shield with
feather appendage, and one paper flag, which is evidently intended to
appear in the ritual of the death by sacrifice. Tlauizcalpantecutli was
for the Mexicans an indication of the warrior’s death, that is,
sacrificial death.
In Codex Telleriano-Remensis the hair is plastered with white downy
feathers, and round the neck is slung the aztemacatl, the heron-feather
cord, the whole indicating the insignia of the victim about to be
sacrificed after ceremonial combat. He wears a skull as helmet-mask in
this MS. In the Aubin-Goupil tonalamatl Tlauizcalpantecutli wears a
rod-shaped nose-plug and the blue breast-plate of the Fire-god.
NATURE AND STATUS
This god, as Seler indicates, [321] is a variant of the planet Venus,
the morning star, who was regarded as the shooting god and who was
perhaps identical with Mixcoatl. The Anales de Quauhtitlan says that:
“When he appears he strikes various classes of people with his rays,
shoots them, sheds his light on them,” and these several types of
people thus shot are clearly to be seen in Codex Borgia, and in the
corresponding places of the other manuscripts, where their sequence is,
however, varied. That they stand in relation to the quarters of the
heavens there can be no doubt, but these quarters vary with the several
codices. Thus in Codex Borgia we find the jaguar occupying the north,
while in Vaticanus B and Bologna we find it occupying the fifth or
downward direction, and in this varying arrangement we probably see
differences of local conception. The deities or figures at which the
god hurled his spear are the jaguar, or Tezcatlipocâ, Chalchihuitlicue,
the black Tezcatlipocâ (probably as Tepeyollotl), Cinteotl, the
Tlatouani, or King, and the Yayotl, or the symbol of war; but these do
not agree with the “classes of people” shot by the god as given by the
Anales de Quauhtitlan, which states “that in the sign cipactli he
shoots old men and women, in the sign coatl he shoots the rain, for it
will not rain, in the sign atl, the universal drought, in the sign
acatl, kings and rulers, and in the sign olin, youths and maidens.”
This seems to me to indicate not so much that the god was identical
with Mixcoatl, as Seler states, although he may have had connections
with this deity, but that he typifies in some manner the evil
influences of the rays of the planet Venus at certain times of the
year. We know that the Mexicans, like many other peoples, believed that
the stars emanated influences good and bad, and as Seler himself states
in his essay on “The Venus Period in Picture-Writing,” [322] “it is
possible that we have on these pages simply an astrological speculation
arising from superstitious fear of the influence of the light of this
powerful planet. By natural association of ideas the rays of light
emitted by the sun or other luminous bodies are imagined to be darts or
arrows which are shot in all directions by the luminous body. The more
the rays are perceived to be productive of discomfort or injury, so
much the more fittingly does this apply. In this way the abstract noun
miotl or meyotli with the meaning ‘ray of light’ is derived from the
Mexican word mitl, ‘arrow’ ... thus miotli is the arrow which belongs
by nature to a body sending forth arrows, a luminous body.... When the
planet appeared anew in the heavens, smoke-vents and chimneys were
stopped up lest the light should penetrate into the house.... It is
hardly possible to see anything else in these figures struck by the
spear than augural speculations regarding the influence of the light
from the planet suggested by the initial signs of the period.” Seler
also points out that we possess the analogy of the periods in which the
Ciuateteô, or “spectre women,” send down similar baleful influences
from above.
COYOLXAUHQUI = “PAINTED WITH BELLS”
Relationship: Daughter of Coatlicue, sister of Uitzilopochtli and
the Centzonuitznaua.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Stone-head from Great Temple of Mexico.—This represents her as having
on both cheeks the sign for “gold” and “bells,” hence the face of this
head is really painted (xauhqui) with bells (coyolli). As a
nose-ornament she has a peculiar pendant, consisting of a trapezoidal
figure and a ray, the motif of which is partially repeated in her
earrings. Her headdress is a small, close-fitting cap, the front of
which is embroidered in a downy feather-ball pattern.
MYTHS
The myth which describes her enmity to her mother, Coatlicue, and her
slaughter by her brother Uitzilopochtli, has already been recounted in
the section dealing with the latter god.
NATURE AND STATUS
Coyolxauhqui’s insignia, as seen in the stone head of her from the
great Temple of Mexico, is unquestionably that of a lunar goddess.
Moreover, the terms of the myth referred to above make it plain that
she represented the moon, who is “slain” by the first blow of the
xiuhcoatl, or fire-snake (the dawn). The fact that she was the only
sister of the four hundred stars, Centzonuitznaua, probably implies her
lunar significance.
TZITZIMIMÊ = “MONSTERS DESCENDING FROM ABOVE”
Minor Name: Petlacotzitzquique = “Upholders of the Cane Carpet.”
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Certain wall-paintings at Mitla afford a good representation of the
Tzitzimimê, who are represented as pulling the sun out of his cave by a
rope. In this case their character as stellar deities or demons is well
exemplified. The face often resembles that of a death’s-head and the
hair is puffed up in wig fashion. In Codex Borgia the Tzitzimimê are
represented as female figures with death’s-heads and jaguar-claws.
The insects pictured in the Codex Borbonicus are unquestionably
representations of the Tzitzimimê gods in their demon forms.
MYTHS
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A equates them with the gods of
Mictlampa, or Hades, but his contemporary who edited the Codex
Telleriano-Remensis says of them:
“The proper signification of this name is the fall of the demons, who,
they say, were stars; and even still there are stars in heaven called
after their names, which are the following: Yzcatecaztli, Tlahvezcal
pantecuvtli, Ceyacatl, Achitumetl, Xacupancalqui, Mixauhmatl,
Tezcatlipocâ, and Contemoctli. These were their appellations as gods
before they fell from heaven, but they are now named Tzitzimitli, which
means something monstrous or dangerous.”
Tezozomoc mentions them in his Cronica Mexicana in connection with the
building of the great temple at Mexico. He states that their images
were at one period still necessary for the completion of the building,
and alludes to them as “angels of the air, holding up the sky,” and
“the gods of the air who draw down the rains, waters, clouds, thunders
and lightnings, and who are placed round Uitzilopochtli.” He further
says that these “gods of the signs and planets” were brought to the
sacred edifice and placed round the idol of Uitzilopochtli.
NATURE AND STATUS
The Tzitzimimê are obviously stellar deities. A myth seems to have
existed that they had been cast out of heaven, and may perhaps be
equated with that relating to Xochiquetzal. I think, too, that it had a
connection with the myth which told how Uitzilopochtli routed the
Centzonuitznaua, his brothers, who were also stellar deities or demons
of darkness. That the Tzitzimimê were so regarded was probably because
they were seen during the night, or perhaps during eclipses. The list
of them includes many of the great gods, especially those who had an
uncanny significance, as Tepeyollotl, Mictlantecutli, Tlazolteotl,
Tezcatlipocâ, and Itzpapalotl. The Tzitzimimê are equated by Seler with
the Sky Supporters. [323]
CHAPTER X
GODS OF DEATH, EARTH, AND THE UNDERWORLD
MICTLANTECUTLI = “LORD OF MICTLAMPA” (REGION OF THE DEAD)
Area of Worship: Mexican Plateau.
Calendar Places:
Lord of the tenth day-count, ce tecpatl, and of the tenth week.
Eleventh of the thirteen lords of the day and fifth of the nine
lords of the night.
Symbol: Skull, or bunch of malinalli grass.
Compass Direction: North.
Relationship: Husband of Mictecaciuatl; one of the Tzitzimimê.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 14: This is one of the most striking
representations of the Death-god which has come down to us. Here he is
depicted as a skeleton with a skeleton’s thorax and a skull for head,
the arms and legs painted white with yellow spots picked with red, to
symbolize the bones of a newly flayed person. He has a large rosette at
the occiput and a flag, both painted in alternate white and red
cross-bands, and this motif is carried out in the ends of the
loin-cloth, and in the extremities of other bands and stripes. He
presents a burnt-offering. The symbolic crossways and the owl are
figured before him, the death-bird being surrounded with paper flags,
the decoration of corpses prepared for cremation. Sheet 15: On this
sheet he wears the death-symbols. At the nape of the neck he has a
paper rosette, decorated with red and white cross-bands, the paper flag
painted in the same way, broken in the middle and bent, and an ear-plug
consisting of a human hand. His symbol in this place is a bunch of
malinalli grass. Sheet 79: In this representation of the Death-god we
find the invariable skeleton head, but the body is painted, like that
of the priests, in black. The nape-ornament is of paper, and the
ear-plug is a human hand. The screech owl’s wing also appears. Opposite
him is a corpse wrapped up in a cloth and corded with strings, a paper
flag, used in the decoration of corpses prepared for cremation, and a
cross, apparently made of knotted sheets of cloth or paper. His hair or
wig is black and curly, some of the curls ending in eye-like circles
with red centres. In this picture he sits opposite Tonatiuh, the
Sun-god, and thus, perhaps, represents night in its black aspect, the
eyes in his wig, as elsewhere, symbolizing the stars. Sheet 57: Here he
is placed opposite the Death-goddess and wears the usual insignia. The
ground on which their seats are placed is not simply yellow, as in the
other sections, but consists of alternate fields of malinalli grass and
fragments of skulls in the style of the hieroglyph of arable land. Both
present each other with a naked human figure, symbolic of human
sacrifice. Between them stands a receptacle painted black and studded
with eyes, with red bands in the middle and yellow border. On the left
of this stands a dish filled with blood and smoking hearts, on which
the goddess is pouring fire from a vessel. On the right projects the
body and tail of a dragon, which is seized by the god. In the centre is
seen a skull swallowing a man who is falling headforemost into its
throat, and above all is pictured the moon, without, however, the usual
rabbit appearing in its circumference.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 37: Here Mictlantecutli is placed opposite
the Death-goddess. He has the usual insignia, but wears black garments,
decorated with eyes and crossbones. His seat is made of ribs and a
piece of skull, and he holds a dragon in both hands. Between him and
his mate a man sinks into the yawning jaws of the earth, and above it
is a dish with a stone sacrificial knife.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 21: He has the usual skeleton head, but in the
arms and legs the bony structure is merely indicated by a yellow colour
and a black design. He is clothed with a jacket of green malinalli
blades and wears in his ear a strip of unspun cotton. He has as
back-device a pot, in which three flags are stuck. Sheet 34: In this
sheet he is represented much as in Codex Borgia, sheet 15. Sheet 58:
Here he is pictured as a black god, with a skull for head and seated on
a chair made of blood, bones, and malinalli grass. He has the
nape-shield and the flag inclining forward, and a nose like a
sacrificial stone knife.
Codex Magliabecchiano.—Mictlantecutli is represented more than once in
this codex, importantly on pages 73 and 79. In the first instance he is
depicted with blue-grey body and enormous claws on hands and feet, the
head plastered with the yellow patches and bloodstains he frequently
shows. The head is that of a skull, with protruding yellow nasal-bone,
but the ground-colour is blue, not bone-colour. He wears the
“night-hair” occasionally associated with him, and his coiffure is
decorated with small, black, festal bannerets, interspersed with what
appear to be stellar eye-motifs. His maxtli appears to consist of a
rope or twisted piece of cotton, and he wears wristlets and anklets of
bright red cotton. The necklace is reminiscent of that worn by several
of the Maya deities. He sits in the portal of a temple, and before him
squat a number of men and women, regaling themselves on human flesh
from several earthen vessels containing a head, a leg, and an arm. The
second picture exhibits the penance done before him. In this place he
is painted brown, with the same enormous talons, the death’s-head face,
“night-hair” and bannerets (yellow), without, however, the
accompaniment of the stellar eye-ornaments. These, however, appear to
be reproduced upon the wrists, knees, and one ankle, and, perhaps, make
this phase of the god a parallel to the Greek Argus, the “eye-spotted”
night. On the breast depends an ornament which is not sufficiently
clear to justify its description. On page 82 the god is depicted as
wearing a garment covered with crosses, and on page 88 as standing on
the skull-altar (see Tezcatlipocâ). His wavy hair is surrounded by a
red and yellow cotton fillet, and he is being anointed by a priest from
a vessel of blood, whilst other priests stand before him with pots full
of blood and human hearts. He wears a curious blue necklace almost of
the “masonry” type seen in Egyptian, Greek, and Asiatic deific
ornaments, and a cotton garment with red bows. A cotton web depends
from his blue ear-plug.
MYTHS
The interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A says of Mictlantecutli: “He
descends for souls as a spider lowers itself with its head downwards
from the web.” Later on he states that “he is the great lord of the
dead below in hell, who alone after Tonacatecutli was painted with a
crown.... They painted this demon near the sun, for in the same way as
they believed that the one conducted souls to heaven, so they supposed
that the other carried them to hell. He is here represented [that is in
the codex] with his hands open and stretched towards the sun to seize
on any soul that might escape from him.” Later he states that Ixcuina,
“the goddess of salt, dirt, and immodesty,” was the wife of
Mictlantecutli. The commentator of Codex Telleriano-Remensis seems to
regard Mictlantecutli as rescuing souls from the realm of the dead. He
says: “They place him opposite to the sun to see if he can rescue any
of those seized upon by the lord of the dead.” The two interpretative
codices were almost certainly edited, if not copied one from the other,
by the same hand, and it is such passages as this which show the great
dubiety existing in the minds of the priestly commentators regarding
the precise nature of the Mexican deities.
Sahagun in the Appendix to his third book, the first chapter of which
treats of burial, gives a prayer or address to the dead which mentions
Mictlantecutli, and which states that he and his wife Mictecaciuatl
await the deceased, who goes to dwell among the shadows, “where there
is no light or window.” It is further explained that when he arrived in
the realm of the god of the dead (which has already been described in
the chapter on Cosmogony), he makes him an offering of the papers which
he carries, of faggots or torches of pinewood, and of perfumed reeds,
cotton, mantles, and costly apparel.
Boturini and Brasseur give a great deal of matter regarding this god
which is absolutely worthless, as does Leon y Gama, and the deity has
been in some manner confounded with a god Teoyaomiqui, who seems to be
quite supposititious in character and never to have had no other
existence in the minds of Gama and his copyists.
NATURE AND STATUS
Mictlantecutli, it would seem, is neither more nor less than a god of
the dead, that is, his original conception was probably that of a
prince of Hades, a ruler of the realm of the departed, who in time came
to possess the terrific aspect and the punitive attributes of a deity
whose office it was to torment the souls of the erring. The fact that
he presides over the eleventh hour—the hour of sunset—shows that he was
in a measure identified with the night, as certain aspects of his
insignia would appear to show. In a manner he must be regarded as the
earth, which in its form of the grave, yawns or gapes insatiably for
the bodies of the dead. (See Mictecaciuatl.) He appears to have
analogies with the Lords of Xibalba, or the Place of the Dead, alluded
to in the Popol Vuh, of the Quiches of Guatemala. [324]
MICTECACIUATL = “LADY OF THE PLACE OF THE DEAD”
Area of Worship: Mexican Plateau.
Minor Name: Chicunaui cipactli = “Nine Earth-monster.”
Relationship: Wife of Mictlantecutli.
Calendar Place:
Ruler of the tenth day-count, itzcuintli.
Fourth of the four guardians of the Third Venus Period,
denoting the north.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 90: She has a skull for head, with round eye
and marked supraciliary arch, tousled, dark hair studded with eyes
symbolizing night and stars. The skull and body are painted yellow, and
one breast is showing. Her wig has eyes for ornaments, and she wears
the nape-ornament of paper usually placed on corpses. Her earring is
also fashioned after the eye-motif. The feather balls at her wrists are
set with eye-like jewels. She is engaged in thrusting a mummy-pack into
the yawning jaws of the earth.
Codex Bologna (Cospi).—Sheet 27: The date “nine earth-monster”
(chicunaui cipactli) stands here beside Mictecaciuatl as her
hieroglyphic name.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 57: Here she is represented opposite
Mictlantecutli. She has a wig decorated with stars. The face is human,
but the fleshless lower jaw resembles the sign malinalli. Her nape
ornament of paper is painted red and white, and her costume is red with
white cotton borders and an upper border of variegated white and
yellow.
NATURE AND STATUS
See Mictlantecutli.
TEPEYOLLOTL = “HEART OF THE MOUNTAINS”
Area of Worship: Tierras Calientes.
Relationship: One of the Tzitzimimê.
Symbols:
A cave (see Codex Borgia, sheet 2).
A marine shell (Codex Borbonicus). See also Seler, Gesammelte
Abhandlungen, vol. i, p. 606, for glyph in Codex Bologna
(Cospi).
Calendar Place: Eighth of the lords of the night; ruler of the
third day, and of the third week, ce mazatl.
Compass Direction: South.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
In Codices Fejérváry-Mayer and Vaticanus B the face-paint of this god
is red, and in the latter MS. has the alternate red and yellow
cross-bars of the red Tezcatlipocâ. In Codex Borgia the body is painted
black, but in this MS., as well as in the Aubin tonalamatl, the upper
part of the face resembles that of Quetzalcoatl in its decoration, the
profile being of a light colour, while the temporal region is painted
differently, these colours in the Aubin tonalamatl being separated by a
black line. But whereas the temporal colouring in the Vienna MS. is
green, in Codex Borgia it shows the alternate black and yellow of
Tezcatlipocâ’s face-paint. In Codex Borgia, sheet 14, a beard is worn
and a plug is in the nostrils. The region of the mouth has the painting
of a jaguar’s skin. The hair is puffed up in two pads, symbolic,
perhaps, of the mountainous region with which the god is connected. In
Codex Telleriano-Remensis he wears the broad necktie of the rain-gods,
only painted in green and not in blue, and in Codex Borgia shows
Tlaloc’s colours in the loin-cloth, fillet, and neck-ornament. In this
MS., too, he is represented as blowing the conch-shell, and here, as
well as in Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, he stands before a building which has
the cone-shaped, high-pitched straw roof of the houses in the tierras
calientes, crowned with a jagged motif. As ruler of the third day-sign
and third week he is represented as a jaguar pure and simple in the
Aubin tonalamatl, Telleriano-Remensis and Borbonicus codices, which is
merely a disguise for the personality of Tezcatlipocâ, as is shown by
the face of that god looking out from the jaguar’s head in
Telleriano-Remensis.
In Codex Borbonicus he is more unmistakably represented as
Tezcatlipocâ, for the hands and feet projecting from underneath the
jaguar skin are striped like those of that god, and one of the feet
wears Tezcatlipocâ’s sandal, the itzcoatl (or obsidian snake), whilst
the other is torn off and replaced by his smoking mirror. The jaguar of
Codex Borbonicus has other portions of the insignia of Tezcatlipocâ
about him, such as the aztaxelli, or feather head-ornament, and the
anauatl, or white mussel-shell ring. In the Codex Borbonicus a large
marine shell or conch-shell appears to be symbolical of Tepeyollotl.
The god is alluded to by Sahagun as among the unlucky symbols. He
figures as one of the faces of the double-headed Quaxolotl.
MYTHS
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A says:
“They considered Tepeyolotli the lord of these thirteen signs in which
they celebrated his festival, during the four last of which they
fasted, out of reverence, on account of the earth’s having remained
after the deluge. But as its conditions were disordered or filthy, they
did not consider the sacrifices of these signs as good or clean, but,
on the contrary, as unclean, and they applied to them an appellation
which in common phraseology we might explain by the term ‘sacrifices of
filth.’ These last four signs in which they fasted were likewise out of
reverence and in honour of Suguequezal (Xochiquetzal), the wife of
Tonacatecotle, whose name signifies the lifting up or raising up of the
Roses, for they say that goddess caused the earth to flourish. This
proper name might be written Tiscuelutli, which is the Heart of the
Mountain, which means the echo.”
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis says:
“The name refers to the manner in which the earth was preserved after
the deluge. The sacrifices of these thirteen days were not deemed good;
they might be interpreted in Spanish ‘sacrifices of dung.’
“The sign under which number one is written caused paralysis and evil
humours. Two was appropriated to drunkards; and three was applied to
the earth. Tepeolotlec presided over those thirteen days in which they
celebrated a festival; and during the last four days of which (where
the hands are marked) they fasted. Tepeolotlec means Lord of Animals.
“The four days of the fast were in honour of Suciquecal, who was the
man who remained in the earth which we now inhabit. Tepeolotlec is the
same as the echo of the voice when it reverberates in a valley from one
mountain to another. They bestowed the appellation of the tiger on the
earth because the tiger is a very courageous animal, and they say that
the deluge ceased at the reverberation caused by the echo in the
mountains.”
NATURE AND STATUS
The commentators of the Interpretative Codices briefly explain
Tepeyollotl as “echo” and “earth.” As Seler states, [325] it is most
probable that he is a cave-god, an alien barbaric deity, perhaps
identical with the god whom the Maya tribes of Chiapas called Votan or
“heart.” Seler also believes him to be Tezcatlipocâ in his form as an
apparition. [326] It is strange that it is only in the works of the
interpreters that he is mentioned at all, and we can discover no
precise locality where his worship was celebrated. The interpreters
also designate him “Lord of the Animals,” and add that the name of
jaguar is given to the earth, because the jaguar is the wildest of
beasts. It may be as Seler declares, that “in order to understand and
explain this figure we have to start from the jaguar (ocelotl).” The
Indians of the Vera Paz district in Guatemala, when they met this
beast, instead of attacking him or running away, knelt down and began
to confess their sins, [327] and it is probable that some such species
of worship was paid Tepeyollotl, who by his mouth-painting, and as
ruler of the third day-sign and third week, in the Codex Borgia, is
certainly depicted as a jaguar. But it seems possible, too, that this
beast, perhaps because it dwelt in caves, and because of its terrible
nightly roaring, may have symbolized for the Mexicans the earth itself
in its dangerous aspect of earthquake. [328] The Nagualists, a
politico-religious secret society of post-Conquest origin, paid
especial reverence to the jaguar, whom they regarded as a beast-patron
or totemic guardian. It is clear that their conception of him arose out
of that of Tepeyollotl.
CHAPTER XI
VARIANTS OF THE GREAT GODS
ITZTLI = “STONE KNIFE” (OBSIDIAN)
Area of Worship: Mexico.
Calendar Place: Second of the nine lords of the night.
Compass Direction: East.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheet 19: He looks out from the open jaws of a stone
knife, which is designed with teeth and the socket of an eye above
them. Otherwise he is pictured as a black Tezcatlipocâ with the yellow
cross-bands on his face. The smoking mirror, the badge of Tezcatlipocâ,
is clearly to be discerned. The clouds of incense reach a great height,
and are set with feather-work. He wears the blue nose-rod from which a
little plate falls over the mouth, and he has a white breast-ring.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 14: In this place he is represented with his hair
brushed up on one side, over the brow, the warrior’s hairdressing, and
the forked heron-feather ornament in his hair, part of the warrior’s
dancing attire. The smoking mirror at the temple is given with great
clearness.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 2: The one foot exhibited as missing or
torn off is stuck in the throat of a stone knife. The body-paint has
perhaps been forgotten here, and the facial painting differs from
Tezcatlipocâ’s usual adornment, being perhaps reminiscent of that of
Tezcatlipocâ-Itzlacoliuhqui. The head and neck are wrapped in a cloth
with a fringed hem, and which must be regarded as decked with feather
balls on the surface as in the picture of the red Tezcatlipocâ in
Borgia (sheet 11). He is associated with the crossway in all MSS.
NATURE AND STATUS
This deity is a surrogate of Tezcatlipocâ in his guise of the obsidian
knife of sacrifice, and as such is, of course, representative of the
paramount connection of that god with the obsidian cult alluded to in
the Introduction. He is, indeed, nothing more or less than a
personalization of the obsidian knife; his name implies this and the
picture of him in Codex Vaticanus B (sheet 19), where he is seen
looking out of the jaws of an obsidian knife disguise, affords absolute
proof, if more were required, of the identification.
ITZTLACOLIUHQUI-IXQUIMILLI = “THE CURVED OBSIDIAN KNIFE,” “THE BLIND
ONE”
Area of Worship: Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
Minor Names: Cipactonal.
Calendar Place: Ruler of the thirteenth day, acatl; and of the
twelfth week, ce cuetzpalin.
Compass Direction: South.
Relationship: Variant of Cinteotl: son of Tlazolteotl.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—The god is indicated by a bundle having a peculiar object
with two black, longitudinal stripes for a head. At the eye-level a
bandage is worn, and the whole is crowned with a hair wig and bound
with a double-jewelled fillet. The crown of the “head” is also
indicated by two longitudinal stripes which terminate in an involuted
peak, curving backwards. Two malinalli (grass) stripes are worn as a
breast-ornament, and the lower extremities are draped with a flowing
cloth.
General.—The head is more elaborately shown in the Mexican MSS. proper.
Through the peak is thrust a carefully inserted arrow and its anterior
edge is evenly notched. In Codex Telleriano-Remensis and Codex
Borbonicus the face of this personage, who is called by the
interpreters “the curved sharp stone,” Itztlacoliuhqui, is decorated
with the gold crescent nasal ornament of Tlazolteotl and the
octli-gods. That this figure is the god of avenging justice is
indicated by its bandaged eyes, which recall the appearance of
Tezcatlipocâ-Ixquimilli, or Tezcatlipocâ as god of the thirteenth
day-count. The stone and club were used for punitive purposes, so the
figure symbolic of “justice” was thus represented as a hard stone.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Itztlacoliuhqui is shown here as of a blue
colour, and his face is painted with blue and white cross-bands instead
of yellow and black, like Tezcatlipocâ. He wears Tezcatlipocâ’s
breast-ornament, while in his hair is the forked adornment of
heron-feathers.
MYTHS
The interpreter of the Codex Vaticanus A says:
“Ytzlacoliuhqui signifies the lord of sin or of blindness, and for this
reason they paint him with his eyes bandaged. They say that he
committed sin in a place of the highest enjoyment and delight, and that
he remained naked; on which account his first sign is a lizard, which
is an animal of the ground naked and miserable. He presided over these
thirteen signs, which were all unlucky. They said likewise that if
false evidence should be adduced on any one of these signs it would be
impossible to make the truth manifest. They put to death those who were
taken in adultery before his image if the parties were married; as this
not being the case, it was lawful for them to keep as many women or
concubines as they pleased. Ytzalcoliuhqui is a star in heaven which as
they pretend proceeds in a reverse course; they considered it a most
portentous sign, both as concerned with nativities and war. This star
is situated at the south.”
The interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis says:
“Ytzlacoliuhqui, the lord of sin. Ytzlacoliuhqui was the lord of these
thirteen days. They say he was the god of frost. They put to death
before his image those who were convicted of adultery during these
thirteen days; this was the punishment of married persons both men and
women, for, provided the parties were unmarried, the men were at
liberty to keep as many concubines as they pleased.
“Ytzlacoliuhqui was the lord of sin or of blindness, who committed sin
in paradise; they therefore represented him with his eyes bandaged, and
his day was accordingly the lizard and, like the lizard, he is naked.
He is a star in heaven which ... proceeds in a backward course with its
eyes bandaged. They considered it a great prognostic.
“All these thirteen days were bad, for they affirmed that if evidence
should be adduced in these days it would be impossible to arrive at
justice, but they imagined that justice would be perverted in such a
manner that unjust condemnations would ensue, which was not the case in
the days immediately following, when if evidence was adduced they
supposed that justice would be made apparent. They believed that those
who were born on the sign dedicated to him would be sinners and
adulterers.”
NATURE AND STATUS
This deity is a variant of Tezcatlipocâ in his character of the
obsidian knife, the god of the stone and therefore of blood, avenging
justice, of blinding, of sin, of cold. The obsidian stone was regarded
as the instrument of justice, as has already been stated in the section
on Tezcatlipocâ. The figure became a general symbol of all things hard,
and is therefore explained by the authors of the Interpretative Codices
as “the god of cold.” Frost, ice, or low temperature is in the Sahagun
MS. symbolized by a man wearing the headdress of this deity, which was
also worn by Uitzilopochtli at the ochpanitztli festival, when the
knife of sacrifice had such free play. The manner in which the god is
represented in Codex Borbonicus as blindfolded is probably a late
conception of him as the god of justice. But he seems also to have had
a stellar connection which is a little vague.
PAYNAL = “THE HASTY”
Area of Worship: Mexico, Tlaxcallan.
Relationship: Precursor or forerunner of Uitzilopochtli.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS.—He has the stellar face-painting, and wears a many-pointed
crown of yellow feathers, the lower part of which is white. The front
of this white portion ends in three small globes or bells. At the back
is a bow, and he is furnished with an ear-plug and nose-plug of
turquoise. On the head he wears a shell ring like Uitzilopochtli and
Quetzalcoatl, and he holds a narrow striped banner ending in a sort of
fleur-de-lis motif. The shield is blue, inlaid with turquoise mosaic.
He has a peculiar skirt with a train marked with cross-hatchings. The
banner he carries is a golden one, and he also bears the fire-drill. On
his face is painted a chaffinch, which composes his face-mask.
FESTIVAL
See Uitzilopochtli.
NATURE AND STATUS
Seler identifies the god with the morning star. Sahagun calls him “the
messenger” or “page” of Uitzilopochtli. He acted as “forerunner” of
that god at the panquetzalitztli festival, thus perhaps signifying the
manner in which the morning star precedes the sun. But I think the
chaffinch painted upon his face and his general birdlike appearance may
justify us in concluding that he was developed from some such form. The
myth which alludes to Uitzilopochtli as a “little bird” which led the
Aztecâ into Mexico may be a confused form of an older story in which a
hero of the name of Uitzilopochtli may have been spoken of as accepting
the augury and following the flight of a little bird.
YACATECUTLI = “LORD WHO GUIDES,” OR “GUIDANCE”
Area of Worship: Plateau of Anahuac (worshipped by Mexican
merchants while at home and when travelling).
Festival: Panquetzalitztli.
Symbol: The merchant’s staff.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The ground of the face-painting
is white, but portions of the face, especially the forehead, nose, and
chin, and the region in front of the ears, are brilliantly coloured.
The hair is puffed up and is bound with bands of quetzal-feathers. The
ear-plugs are of gold. The large mantle which almost covers the body is
decorated with the cross-hatching symbolic of water and has the red rim
of the eye-motif. The shield bears the Greek key motif, such as is seen
in the tribute-lists of the Codex Mendoza. In his hand the god bears
the bamboo staff of the merchant or traveller, which typifies his
nature and which was worshipped, as being symbolic of him, by all
traders.
FESTIVAL
Panquetzalitztli.—Yacatecutli, says Sahagun, [329] was the first
merchant and prototype of traffickers, so was chosen by the merchants
as their god. They dressed his statue with paper and greatly venerated
the staff he carried, which was of massive wood, or else of dark cane,
very light, but strong, such as the merchants carried on their
journeys. He had four brothers and a sister, also reverenced by
traders. He was usually depicted as a man on a journey, equipped with
such a staff as has been mentioned.
Arrived at the place where they were to pass the night, the merchants
laid their staves in a heap and drew blood from their ears and limbs,
which they offered to it, burning incense before it, and praying for
protection from the dangers of the road. At the festival of
panquetzalitztli, thousands of members of the powerful Pochteca, or
merchant guild, proceeded to the vicinity of Tochtepec, where they
invited the Tlatelolcans of that place to a festival in honour of
Yacatecutli. They decorated his temple and spread mats before his
image. Then they opened the bundles in which they had brought presents
and ornaments for the god, and placed them, along with their staves,
before his idol. If a merchant laid two staves at the feet of the god,
that signified that it was his intention to sacrifice two slaves, a man
and a woman, in his honour; if four, he would devote two wretched
creatures of either sex. These slaves were covered with rich mantles
and paper. If the staff represented a male slave, it was also equipped
with the maxtli, or loin-cloth, but if a female, the uipilli, or
chemise, and the cueitl, or skirt.
The Mexican merchants then accompanied their Tlatelolcan confrères to
the villages, where they feasted, drank cocoa, and smoked. Quails were
then decapitated, their heads thrown into the fire, and incense was
offered to the four cardinal points. An address was delivered by one of
their number practised in oratory. The magnificence of this festival,
with its richly jewelled accessories, was probably unsurpassed in
Mexican ritual, as on this occasion the Pochteca employed their entire
stock of trinkets and ornaments for the temporary decoration of the
victims. Yacatecutli was also associated in worship with Coyotlinauatl,
god of the guild of feather-workers of the quarter of Amantlan.
NATURE AND STATUS
Bancroft [330] connects Yacatecutli with the Fire-god, with whom,
indeed, Clavigero would seem to equate him, and in describing the
return of the gods in the twelfth month, Sahagun makes both deities
arrive together. Xiuhtecutli was certainly the god who was believed to
settle disputes at law, but I am unable to connect Yacatecutli with him
in any satisfactory manner. Yacatecutli, “the lord who guides,” seems
to me a mere deification of the merchant’s staff, an artificial deity
invented as the patron of a caste in an environment where it was not
difficult to invent gods. By this I do not mean to convey the
impression that the staff was necessarily his earliest form, but that,
whatever his primitive shape, the merchant’s stick came to symbolize
him.
The names of Yacatecutli’s brothers and sister seem to me to allegorize
the circumstances of the travelling merchant’s career in the same
manner as the names of the companions of a folk-tale hero may have a
bearing upon his story.
Thus Chiconquiauitl (“Seven-rains” or “All-weathers”) may portend the
varied climatic conditions which the chapman has to face; Xomocuitl
(“Caught-drake”) the kind of fare he may expect in an unfrequented
country; Naxtit (“Four-feet”) may typify endurance in walking;
Cochimetl, (Sleeping-maguey) may apply to the leaves of the
maguey-plant which shaded the traveller from the heat during his
noonday siesta, or from the wind if he used them to construct a
temporary shelter, as was often done; Yacapitzanac (“Sharp-nose”) needs
little explanation in connection with the peddler’s calling, and the
name of the one goddess of the series, Chalmecaciuatl, is evidently
that of a tribal deity of the Chalmeca, with whom the Mexicans traded.
CHAPTER XII
MINOR DEITIES
XOLOTL = “DOUBLE”
Area of Worship: Plateau of Anahuac.
Minor Names:
Chicuei Mazatl = “Eight Deer.”
Chicunaui Coatl = “Nine Serpent.”
Calendar Place: Ruler of the seventeenth day-count, olin; of the
sixteenth tonalamatl division, ce cozcaquauhtli.
Compass Direction: East.
Relationship: Twin brother or variant of Quetzalcoatl.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—In the picture of Xolotl on the left side of the middle
lower part of sheet 55 a resemblance to Quetzalcoatl is noticeable. On
his head is the peculiar wedge-shaped Huaxtec hat, painted half-red and
half-blue, which is one of Quetzalcoatl’s characteristics. The bone
dagger symbolic of self-torture and penance, and the snail-shell
armlets he wears, are also reminiscent of Quetzalcoatl’s insignia. His
face-painting, however, differs from that usually worn by Quetzalcoatl
in Codex Borgia, as the front portion of his face is blue and the part
near the ears red. His body-paint is blue. Nor does he have a large
beard or fan-shaped nape-ornament, but is shown wearing the Wind-god’s
breast-ornament made from a sliced snail-shell. He also shows a
likeness to Quetzalcoatl in the manner in which his loin-cloth and
fillet are rounded off. As a travelling god, Xolotl is depicted in
Codex Borgia as holding a fan similar in its three-flapped wedge-shape
to that of the other peripatetic deities, except that it has a handle
shaped like a bird’s head and is seemingly composed of blue
cotinga-feathers. His travelling pack is symbolized by a flowering
tree, which he bears on his back, while his travelling staff is painted
turquoise colour, is decorated with the chalchihuitl ornament, and is
completed with a flower. In the picture to the right of sheet 36 Xolotl
presents almost a new aspect, although certain of his attributes bear
some resemblance to those which we have already observed as being
peculiar to him. He still carries a travelling-staff with a jewelled
head, but in this representation its general character is more that of
the rattle-stick. His body-paint remains the same and he retains his
blue feather fan. His pack is distinguished by a flower to serve as a
connection with the florescent tree carried by him, as described
elsewhere. In this sheet he is represented as wearing a long beard and
his face-paint in the region of the mouth is white. His face is altered
by a peculiar type of nose, which gives him a disfigured appearance.
The god of monstrosities on sheet 10 of Codex Borgia has a similar
patch of white about his mouth, resembling in shape a human hand, a
symbol which also characterizes the face-painting of Macuil Xochitl.
Elsewhere in this MS. he is represented as crooked-limbed and
blear-eyed.
Codex Vaticanus B.—In this MS. Xolotl is represented as having a dog’s
head and again appears in the garb and ornaments of Quetzalcoatl. In
Codex Borgia his ears have a rim of yellow, evidently intended to
represent dead flesh, while in Codex Vaticanus the canine character is
indicated by the cropped ears. In the nostrils is a blue plug, the
ornament of the deceased warrior, denoting that this is the dog which
accompanies his master to Mictlampa, Place of the Dead, and assists him
to swim the river which encircles it. This distinguishing plug is seen
in Codex Vaticanus, but not in Codex Borgia. The rest of the god’s
attire is exclusively that worn by Quetzalcoatl, as described in the
space devoted to that god.
Aubin Tonalamatl.—In this MS. he again takes on a canine appearance and
is clothed in many respects like Quetzalcoatl. This frequent similarity
in dress between the gods may have its origin in the diverse meaning of
the word coatl, which, besides meaning “snake,” also denotes “comrade”
or “twin.” This dog-like creature is usually portrayed as of a dark
colour, black, with the distinctive cropped ear, while in Codex Borgia
he is depicted with jaguar-claws. Xolotl has the face-painting of
Quetzalcoatl in the Mexican MSS. proper, that is in the middle front it
is yellow and black at the sides. He wears the two-coloured white and
brown (jaguar-skin) head-loop with rounded-off ends, which latter form
is also continued in the loin-cloth. Both these articles of dress he
has in common with Quetzalcoatl.
Codex Telleriano-Remensis.—Here he is depicted with Tlazolteotl’s
spindles in his hair and an ichcaxochitl of unspun cotton, as well as
the head-loop previously described. Only in this MS. is he so adorned.
The instrument of self-mortification, the bone dagger, juts out from
above his forehead, whence issues a trickle of blood, sometimes
delineated symbolically as a feather-ball string completed with a
flower, and at others represented as real blood. He grasps an obsidian
knife, which implement also projects from his mouth along with a
flower, while a copal bag is portrayed in front of him. In some MSS.,
as in Codex Telleriano-Remensis and Vaticanus A, he is represented as
wearing a mask on his girdle.
WALL-PAINTINGS
Xolotl seems to be represented on one of the wall-paintings at Mitla,
where he is characterized by the physiognomy of an animal with
projecting upper teeth. He wears Quetzalcoatl’s conical cap of
jaguar-skin and his necklace of snail-shells. The dog’s ears seem in
this place to be merged into tufts of feathers.
POTTERY FIGURES
Two small pottery figures of Xolotl found in the Valley of Mexico
insist strongly upon his animal character, but in neither of these is
the precise bestial type ascertainable. The first shows a face ending
in a blunt snout and surmounted by a kind of wig, with ear-pieces
rising on either side. What seems to be a collar of feathers surrounds
the neck. In the other he is represented as a little bear, or dog,
without clothing, but having Quetzalcoatl’s sliced snail-shell
breast-ornament. A stone head of him found in the Calle de las
Escalerillas in Mexico City on 29th October 1900 shows a blunt, almost
ape-like animal face with large powerful molar teeth, dog-like canines,
and large, sharp fangs, not unlike those with which Tlaloc was usually
represented. Incised lines represent powerful muscular development in
the region of the nose and jaws. The type is only generally and not
particularly bestial, and it would seem that it was the aim of the
sculptor to represent a ferocious animal countenance without laying
stress upon the peculiarities of any one species.
MYTHS
The most important of the myths relating to Xolotl are those given by
Sahagun and Olmos, which have already been described at length in the
chapter on Cosmogony. The Codex Vaticanus A says of him: “They believe
Xolotle to be the god of monstrous productions and of twins, which are
such things as grow double. He was one of the seven who remained after
the deluge, and he presided over these thirteen signs which they
usually considered unlucky.” The Codex Telleriano-Remensis describes
him in verbiage almost identical.
Juan de Cordova in his Zapotec Grammar writes: “When a solar eclipse
occurred then they said that the world is coming to an end, and that
the Sun-god wanted war, and that they would kill one another, whoever
was first able to do this. Likewise they said that the dwarfs were
created by the sun, and that at the time (that is during the eclipse)
the Sun-god wanted the dwarfs as his property. And therefore wherever
dwarfs or undersized persons were found in a house the people fell upon
and killed them, and they hid themselves in order not to be killed, so
that during that time few escaped from their fate.”
One of the hymns or songs given in the Sahagun MS. says of Xolotl:
Old Xolotl plays ball, plays ball
On the magic playing-ground.
NATURE AND STATUS
The Mexican game of tlachtli symbolized the movements of the moon (but
more probably of both sun and moon). This, perhaps the favourite
Mexican amusement, was a ball-game, played with a rubber ball by two
persons one at each end of a T-shaped court, which in the manuscripts
is sometimes represented as painted in dark and light colours, or in
four variegated hues. In several of the MSS. Xolotl is depicted
striving at this game against other gods. For example, in the Codex
Mendoza we see him playing with the Moon-god, and can recognize him by
the sign ollin which accompanies him, and by the gouged-out eye in
which that symbol ends. Seler thinks “that the root of the name olin
suggested to the Mexicans the motion of the rubber ball olli and, as a
consequence, of ball-playing.” It seems to me to have represented both
light and darkness, as is witnessed by its colours. Xolotl is, indeed,
the darkness that accompanies light. Hence he is “the twin” or shadow,
hence he travels with the sun and the moon, with one or other of which
he “plays ball,” overcoming them or losing to them. He is the god of
eclipse, and naturally a dog, the animal of eclipse. Peruvians, Tupis,
Creeks, Iroquois, Algonquins, and Eskimos believed him to be so,
thrashing dogs during the phenomenon, a practice explained by saying
that the big dog was swallowing the sun, and that by whipping the
little ones they would make him desist. The dog is the animal of the
dead, and therefore of the Place of Shadows. [331] Thus also Xolotl is
a monster, the sun-swallowing monster, like the Hindu Rahu, who chases
the sun and moon. As a shadow he is “the double” of everything. The
axolotl, a marine animal found in Mexico, was confounded with his name
because of its monstrous appearance, and he was classed along with
Quetzalcoatl merely because that god’s name bore the element coatl,
which may be translated either “twin” or “snake.” Lastly, as he was
“variable as the shade,” so were the fortunes of the game over which he
presided.
At the same time he seems to me to have affinities with the Zapotec and
Maya lightning-dog peche-xolo [332] and may represent the lightning
which descends from the thunder-cloud, the flash, the reflection of
which arouses in many primitive people the belief that the lightning is
“double,” and leads them to suppose a connection between the lightning
and twins, or other phenomena of a twofold kind. As the dog, too, he
has a connection with Hades, and, said myth, was dispatched thence for
the bones from which man was created.
He is also a travelling god, for the shadows cast by the clouds seem to
travel quickly over plain and mountain. As the monstrous dwarf, too, he
symbolized the palace-slave, the deformed jester who catered for the
amusement of the great, and this probably accounts for the symbol of
the white hand outspread on his face, which he has in common with
Xochipilli and the other gods of pleasure. He bears a suspicious
resemblance to the mandrake spirits of Europe and Asia, both as regards
his duality, his loud lamentation when as a double-rooted plant he was
discovered and pulled up by the roots, and his symbol, which may be a
reminiscence of the mandrake.
IXTLILTON = “THE LITTLE BLACK FACE”
Minor Name: Tlaltetecuin = “He who strikes the Earth.”
Area of Worship: Mexican Valley.
Relationship: Brother of Macuilxochitl.
Symbol: The toualli, the four balls or beads, seen in the Sahagun
MS. and in the Codex Magliabecchiano (sheet 63) as a shield-device.
Calendar Place: Day ome tochtli.
Compass Direction: South.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.—Sheet 24: Here the god is represented opposite
Macuilxochitl. He wears on his head a white-fringed cloth, such as is
worn by Tezcatlipocâ, having on the top a bunch of downy feathers with
a crest of four plumes ending in white tips. He has a collar made of
vertebræ or animals’ claws, and on the upper arm a ring, furnished on
one of its sides with a projection tapering to a point. The body is
white and the face is painted black and white round the mouth. Seler in
his Commentary on this MS. (p. 127) thinks that the white ball or disk
covered with a radial design, and held by the god in his right hand, is
perhaps a symbol for ilhuitl (“day,” “feast”), and should be compared
with the parti-coloured, whorl-like disk which the dancer in Codex
Telleriano-Remensis (sheet L, verso 1) holds in his hand, and which
represents the sign of the eighth annual feast, the ueitecuilhuitl. The
crest worn by him, which is composed of black feathers, is the crest
embellished with quetzal-feathers and stone knives, as in the Sahagun
MS. and the Codex Magliabecchiano.
Codex Borgia.—Sheet 62: In this representation he faces the goddess
Xochiquetzal. He wears the face- and body-paint of a priest, with a
white angular patch about the mouth, sprinkled with ulli gum. His crest
is similar to that described above. The breast-ring seems to be
imbedded in a motif bearing a resemblance to the tlachinalli
fire-and-water symbol, and its significance in this place is hard to
define. From the wrists droop elaborate feather ornaments, depending
from a bracelet of stone knives. We seem to see the Dance-god in this
place in his ceremonial condition, as the ruler of the dance which
preceded human sacrifice. Sheet 64 shows him similarly attired, but
without the priest’s body-paint. He seems about to enter the
dance-house of the warriors, and a courtesan bears him company.
Codex Borbonicus.—Sheet 4: Here he is shown opposite Ueuecoytl, the
coyote god, engaged in the motions of the dance. Perhaps this position
is more eloquent of motion than any other in the Mexican MSS. In this
place he appears to be almost identified with Macuilxochitl (q.v.), to
whose statuettes in the Museo Nacional de Mexico, the figure bears a
strong resemblance.
Sahagun MS.—The face-paint is black and the god wears a feather comb
set with flint knives. He has a collar of animal claws, most of which
are those of the jaguar, and on his back he wears a wing-fan with the
sun-banner fixed on it. Round his shoulders is a paper with the
sun-signs painted on it. His feet are ornamented with bells and shells,
and he wears “sun-sandals.” On his arm he carries a solar shield and in
his hand he bears a staff with a heart.
NATURE AND STATUS
Practically all that is known regarding this god is recounted by
Sahagun, who says of him: “They made to this god an oratory of painted
planks, a sort of tabernacle, in which his image was placed. He had in
this oratory many jars full of water, and covered with plates, and this
water was called tilatl, or black water. When an infant fell ill they
took it to the temple of Ixtlilton and opened one of these jars, made
him drink it, and the malady left him. If one wished to give a feast to
the god he took his image home. This was neither painted nor
sculptured, but was a priest who wore the ornaments of the god. During
the passage he was censed with copal. Arrived at the house, he was met
with singers and dancers, which dancing is different in a manner from
ours.
“I speak of that which we call areyto, and which they call
maceualiztli. They assembled in great numbers, two and two or three and
three, and formed a circle. They carried flowers in the hand, and were
decorated with plumage. They made at the same time a uniform movement
with their bodies, also with their feet and hands, in perfect
combination and very worthy to be seen. All their movements accorded
with the music of the drums. They accompanied the instruments with
their sonorous voices, singing in accord the praises of the god to whom
they made the festival. They adapted their movements to the nature of
their songs, for their dances and their intonation varied considerably.
“The dance continued, and the ‘god’ himself, having danced for a long
time, descended to the cave where the octli was stored in jars. He
opened one of these, an operation which was known as tlayacaxapotla
(‘the new opening,’ or ‘the opening of the new’). Then he and those who
accompanied him drank of the octli. They then went to the court of the
house, where they found three jars filled with the black water, which
had been covered for four days. He who played the rôle of god opened
these, and if he found them full of hairs, dust, charcoal, or any other
uncleanness, it was said that the man of the house was a person of
vicious life and bad character. Then the god went to the house, where
he was given the stuff called ixquen, for covering the face, in
allusion to the shame which covered the master of the house.” [333]
From the foregoing it is clear that Ixtlilton was a god of medicinal
virtue, the deity who kept men in good health or who assisted their
recovery from sickness, therefore the brother of
Xochipilli-Macuilxochitl, god of good luck and merriment. His temple,
composed of painted boards, would seem to have borne a resemblance to
the hut of the tribal medicine-man or shaman. A sacrifice was made to
him when the Mexican child first spoke.
OMACATL = “TWO REEDS”
Sahagun MS. (Biblioteca del Palacio).—The regions of the forehead,
nose, and mouth are “festively” painted. He wears a feather helmet and
a crown of spear-shafts. His overdress has the cross-hatching which
usually indicates water, and is edged with red, decorated with the
eye-motif. Before him is a small shield with a plain, white surface,
its lower rim edged with white feathers or paper, and in his hand he
carries the “seeing” or “scrying” implement, that some of the other
gods, noticeably Tezcatlipocâ, possess. [334]
NATURE AND STATUS
This god appears to have been partly of a convivial nature and presided
over banquets and festivities generally. On the occasion of a public or
private rejoicing he was borne thither by certain priests. If the
banquet was suitable he praised the host, but otherwise rebuked him,
and it is said that, if irritated in any way, he would turn the viands
into hair (as did certain of the fairies of Brittany, when annoyed or
insulted). The night before a festival a cake like a large bone was
made, and this, it was feigned, was a bone of the deity himself. This
cake was eaten and octli was drunk, after which spines of the maguey
were thrust into the stomach of the idol. There can be little doubt
that, as Sahagun states, [335] Omacatl was solely and simply a god of
festivities.
CIUATETEÔ = GODDESSES
CIUAPIPILTIN = PRINCESSES
Area of Worship: Mexico.
Calendar Place: Supposed to descend to earth on initial days of
third tonalamatl quarter.
Festival: First day of ce mazatl (movable feast); ce quiauitl
(movable feast); ce ozomatli (movable feast).
Compass Direction: West.
Relationship: Frequently associated with the Uitznaua.
ASPECT AND INSIGNIA
Codex Borgia.—Sheets 47–48: Five figures here represent the Ciuateteô
and are dressed in the style of Tlazolteotl, with the fillet and
ear-plug of unspun cotton, and the golden nasal crescent worn by that
goddess and the octli-gods. In each case the eye has been gouged out
and hangs out of the socket, as with Xolotl. They wear on their heads a
feather ornament like the heron-feather plume of the warrior caste, but
consisting of five white feathers or strips of paper above a bunch of
downy feathers. At the nape of the neck the figures wear a black vessel
as their device, in which lies a bunch of malinalli grass. The upper
part of the body is naked, and round the hips is wrapped a skirt
showing cross-bones on its surface and a border painted in the manner
of the variegated coral snake. The resemblance between all five figures
is close. Only the face-, arm-, and leg-painting is different. In the
case of the first the colour is white striped with red, in the second
blue, in the third yellow, in the fourth red, and in the fifth black.
All hold in one hand a broom of malinalli grass, and in the other a
black obsidian sacrificial knife, a bone dagger, and an agave-leaf
spike, both furnished with a flower symbolic of blood. They inhale the
smoke which ascends from a black incense or fire-vessel standing on the
ground before them. A rubber ball lies in the vessel of the first
figure; with the second the vessel is replaced by a cross-way, and the
ascending smoke by a centipede issuing from the mouth of the goddess.
With the third a skeleton is seated in the dish, holding a heart in one
hand and a sacrificial knife in the other. The ascending smoke is
replaced by two streams of blood passing into the mouth of a skeleton,
one of which comes from the mouth of the figure, the other from her
right breast. With the fourth figure are represented a bunch of
malinalli grass and a variegated snake. Nothing here enters the mouth
of the Ciuateteô, but from it issues a similar snake, and another hangs
on each of her arms. Before the last figure, in the dish is perched a
screech-owl, and a stream of blood passes from the mouth of the figure
to that of the owl.
Codex Vaticanus B.—Sheets 77–79: Five figures are here also depicted
which bear a resemblance to Tlazolteotl, but are without the golden
nasal crescent. With the last four the same curling locks of hair are
seen as in the case of the Codex Borgia figures, but the first figure
is pictured with the hair bristling up on one side, as worn by the
warrior caste. The eye too is hanging out, and the headdresses and
nape-vessels resemble those in Codex Borgia. In the majority of cases
the skirt is white with two diagonal red stripes crossing each other.
Only with the first figure is it painted red with white cross-bones.
The last figure has a skirt made of strips of malinalli grass fastened
by a girdle made of a skeletal spinal column, on which is set a dead
man’s skull as back-mirror. All five wear the men’s loin-cloth besides
the skirt. They carry the symbols of sacrifice and mortification as in
the Codex Borgia, and similar incense-vessels stand before them.
MYTHS
Sahagun says of the Ciuateteô:
“The Ciuapipiltin, the noble women, were those who had died in
childbed. They were supposed to wander through the air, descending when
they wished to the earth to afflict children with paralysis and other
maladies. They haunted cross-roads to practise their maleficent deeds,
and they had temples built at these places, where bread offerings in
the shape of butterflies were made to them, also the thunder-stones
which fall from the sky. Their faces were white, and their arms, hands,
and legs were coloured with a white powder, ticitl (chalk). Their ears
were gilded and their hair done in the manner of the great ladies.
Their clothes were striped with black, their skirts barred in different
colours, and their sandals were white.” He further relates (bk. vi, c.
xxix) that, when a woman who had died in her first childbed was buried
in the temple-court of the Ciuateteô, her husband and his friends
watched the body all night in case young braves or magicians should
seek to obtain the hair or fingers as protective talismans.
NATURE AND STATUS
That the witches’ sabbath was quite as famous or infamous an
institution in ancient Mexico as in mediæval Europe is testified to by
the numerous accounts of the missionary chroniclers, which are further
corroborated by the native manuscripts. But in the days prior to the
coming of the Spaniards, it was thought of as being celebrated by the
dead rather than the living. The Ciuateteô, or haunting mothers, were
those women who had died in their first child-bed, and who, out of envy
for their more fortunate sisters and their offspring, continued to
haunt the world at certain fixed periods, wreaking their spite upon all
who were so unlucky as to cross their path. They are represented in the
ancient paintings as dressed in the garments and insignia of the
goddess Tlazolteotl, the witch par excellence, with a fillet and
ear-plug of unspun cotton, a golden crescent-shaped nasal ornament,
empty eye-sockets, and the heron-feather headdress of the warrior
caste, for the woman who died in child-bed was regarded as equally
heroic with the man who perished in battle. The upper parts of their
bodies were nude, and round the hips they wore a skirt on which
cross-bones were painted. They carried the witch’s broom of malinalli
grass, a symbol of death, and they are sometimes associated with the
snake, screech-owl, and other animals of ill-omen. The face was thickly
powdered with white chalk, and the region of the mouth, in some cases,
decorated with the figure of a butterfly. These furies were supposed to
dwell in the region of the west, and as some compensation for their
early detachment from the earth-life, were permitted to accompany the
sun in his course from noon to sunset, just as the dead warriors did
from sunrise to noon. At night they left their occidental abode, the
Ciutlampa, or “Place of Women,” and revisited the glimpses of the moon
in search of the feminine gear they had left behind them—the spindles,
work-baskets, and other articles used by Mexican women. The Ciuateteô
were especially potent for evil in the third quarter of the
astrological year, and those who were so luckless as to meet them
during that season became crippled or epileptic. The fingers and hands
of women who had died in bringing forth were believed by magicians,
soldiers, and thieves to have the property of crippling and paralysing
their enemies or those who sought to hinder their nefarious calling,
precisely as Irish burglars formerly believed that the hand of a corpse
grasping a candle, which they called “the hand of glory,” could ensure
sound sleep in the inmates of any house they might enter.
Says Sahagun: “It was said that they vented their wrath on people and
bewitched them. When anyone is possessed by the demons, with a wry
mouth and disturbed eyes, with clenched hands and inturned feet,
wringing his hands and foaming at the mouth, they say that he has
linked himself to a demon; the Ciuateteô, housed by the crossways, have
taken his form.”
From this and other passages we may be justified in thinking that these
dead women were also regarded as succubi, haunters of men, compelling
them to dreadful amours, and that they were credited with the evil eye
is evident from the statement that their glances caused helpless terror
and brought convulsions upon children, and that their jealousy of the
handsome was proverbial.
The divine patroness of these witches (for “witches” they are called by
the old friar who interprets the Codex Telleriano-Remensis), who flew
through the air upon their broomsticks and met at cross-roads, was
Tlazolteotl, a divinity who, like all deities of growth, possessed a
plutonic significance. The broom is her especial symbol, and in Codex
Fejérváry-Mayer (sheet 17) we have a picture of her which represents
her as the traditional witch, naked, wearing a peaked hat, and mounted
upon a broomstick. In other places she is seen standing beside a house
accompanied by an owl, the whole representing the witch’s dwelling,
with medicinal herbs drying beneath the eaves. Thus the evidence that
the haunting mothers and their patroness present an exact parallel with
the witches of Europe seems complete, and should provide those who
regard witchcraft as a thing essentially European with considerable
food for thought. The sorcery cult of the Mexican Nagualists of
post-Columbian times was also permeated with practices similar to those
of European witchcraft, and we read of its adherents smearing
themselves with ointment to bring about levitation, flying through the
air, and engaging in wild and lascivious dances, precisely as did the
adherents of Vaulderie, or the worshippers of the Italian Aradia.
There are not wanting signs that living women of evil reputation
desired to associate themselves with the Ciuateteô. Says the
interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A: “The first of the fourteen day-signs,
the house, they considered unfortunate, because they said that demons
came through the air on that sign in the figures of women, such as we
designate witches, who usually went to the highways, where they met in
the form of a cross, and to solitary places, and that when any bad
woman wished to absolve herself of her sins, she went alone by night to
these places, and took off her garments and sacrificed there with her
tongue (that is, drew blood from her tongue), and left the clothes
which she had carried and returned naked as the sign of the confession
of her sins.”
The temples or shrines of the Ciuateteô were situated at cross-roads,
the centres of ill-omen throughout the world. That they had a
connection with the lightning is shown by the fact that cakes in the
shape of butterflies and “thunder-stones” were offered them. But they
were also connected with baneful astral or astrological influences, and
are several times alluded to in the Interpretative Codices in this
connection. The seasons at which they were most potent for evil were
those connected with the western department of the tonalamatl, the five
days which compose the first column of the third quarter disposed in
columns of five members, ce mazatl, ce quiauitl, ce ozomatli, ce calli,
ce quauhtli.
APPENDIX
THE TONALAMATL AND THE SOLAR CALENDAR
THE TONALAMATL
A Thorough knowledge of the tonalamatl is essential in order to grasp
the fundamentals of Mexican religion, but its significance has perhaps
been heightened by the difficulties which certainly attend its
consideration. I have endeavoured to present the subject here as simply
as possible, and to keep all distracting side-issues for later
consideration and away from the main proof. Most of these, indeed, have
been created by writers who have too closely identified the tonalamatl
with the solar calendar, and have added to the obscurity of the subject
by the introduction of abstruse astronomical hypotheses which have only
a problematical connection with it. [336]
The word tonalamatl means “Book of the Good and Bad Days,” and it is
primarily a “Book of Fate,” from which the destiny of children born on
such and such a day, or the result of any course to be taken or any
venture made on any given day, was forecasted by divinatory methods,
similar to those which have been employed by astrologers in many parts
of the world in all epochs. The tonalamatl was, therefore, in no sense
a time-count or calendar proper, to which purpose it was not well
suited; but it was capable of being adapted to the solar calendar. It
is equally incorrect to speak of the tonalamatl as a “ritual calendar.”
It has nothing to do directly with ritual or religious ceremonial, and
although certain representations on some tonalamatls depict ritual
acts, no details or directions for their operation are supplied.
The original tonalamatl was probably a day-count based on a lunar
reckoning. The symbols appear to have been those of the gods or other
mythological figures. Thus cipactli was merely the earth-monster,
quauhtli the eagle, a surrogate for the Sun-god, and so on. Later the
tonalamatl lost its significance as a time-count when it was superseded
as such by the solar calendar. It then took on the complexion of a book
of augury, so that the temporal connection it had with the gods was
altered to a purely augural one. The various days thus became
significant for good or evil according to the nature of the gods who
presided over them, or over the precise hour in which a subject was
born or any act done. As in astrology, a kind of balance was held
between good and evil, so that if the god presiding over the day was
inauspicious, his influence might, in some measure, be counteracted by
that of the deity who presided over the hour in which a child first saw
the light or an event occurred.
DAY-SIGNS
The tonalamatl was composed of 20 day-signs or hieroglyphs repeated 13
times, or 260 day-signs in all. The origin of these has already been
treated of by Seler in Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
pp. 38 ff. These 260 days were usually divided into 20 groups of 13
days each, sometimes called “weeks.” To effect this division the
numbers 1 to 13 were added to the 20 day-signs in continuous series as
follow:
no. name. sign.
1 cipactli crocodile
2 eecatl wind
3 calli house
4 cuetzpallin lizard
5 coatl serpent
6 miquiztli death’s-head
7 mazatl deer
8 tochtli rabbit
9 atl water
10 itzcuintli dog
11 ozomatli monkey
12 malinalli grass
13 acatl reed
1 ocelotl ocelot
2 quauhtli eagle
3 cozcaquauhtli vulture
4 ollin motion
5 tecpatl flint knife
6 quiauitl rain
7 xochitl flower
and so on. It will be seen from this list that the fourteenth day-sign
takes the number 1 again. Each of the day-signs under this arrangement
has a number that does not recur in connection with that sign for a
space of 260 days, as is proved by the circumstance that the numbers
[337] of the day-signs and figures (20 to 13), if multiplied together,
give as a product 260, the exact number of days in the tonalamatl.
The combination of signs and figures thus provided each day in the
tonalamatl with an entirely distinct description. For example: the
first day, cipactli, was in its first occurrence 1 cipactli; in its
second 8 cipactli; in its third 2 cipactli; in its fourth 9 cipactli,
and so on.
No day in the tonalamatl was simply described as cipactli, coatl, or
calli, and before its name was complete it was necessary to prefix to
it one of the numbers from 1 to 13 as its incidence chanced to fall.
Thus it was designated as ce cipactli (one crocodile) or ome coatl (two
snake) as the case might be. Each of the 20 groups of 13 days (which
are sometimes called “weeks”) was known as a division by the name of
the first day of the group, as ce cipactli (one crocodile), ce ocelotl
(one ocelot), ce mazatl (one deer), and so on. A model tonalamatl would
thus have appeared as follows:
Ce Cipactli
(1) cipactli
(2) eecatl
(3) calli
(4) cuetzpallin
(5) coatl
(6) miquiztli
(7) mazatl
(8) tochtli
(9) atl
(10) itzcuintli
(11) ocomatli
(12) malinalli
(13) acatl.
Ce Ocelotl
(1) ocelotl
(2) quauhtli
(3) cozcaquauhtli
(4) ollin
(5) tecpatl
(6) quiauitl
(7) xochitl
(8) cipactli
(9) eecatl
(10) calli
(11) cuetzpallin
(12) coatl
(13) miquiztli
Ce Mazatl
(1) mazatl
(2) tochtli
(3) atl
(4) itzcuintli
(5) ocomatli
(6) malinalli
(7) acatl
(8) ocelotl
(9) quauhtli
(10) cozcaquauhtli
(11) ollin
(12) tecpatl
(13) quiauitl
Ce Xochitl
(1) xochitl
(2) cipactli
(3) eecatl
(4) calli
(5) cuetzpallin
(6) coatl
(7) miquiztli
(8) mazatl
(9) tochtli
(10) atl
(11) itzcuintli
(12) ocomatli
(13) malinalli
Ce Acatl
(1) acatl
(2) ocelotl
(3) quauhtli
(4) cozcaquauhtli
(5) ollin
(6) tecpatl
(7) quiauitl
(8) xochitl
(9) cipactli
(10) eecatl
(11) calli
(12) cuetzpallin
(13) coatl
Ce Miquiztli
(1) miquiztli
(2) mazatl
(3) tochtli
(4) atl
(5) itzcuintli
(6) ocomatli
(7) malinalli
(8) acatl
(9) ocelotl
(10) quauhtli
(11) cozcaquauhtli
(12) ollin
(13) tecpatl
Ce Quiauitl
(1) quiauitl
(2) xochitl
(3) cipactli
(4) eecatl
(5) calli
(6) cuetzpallin
(7) coatl
(8) miquiztli
(9) mazatl
(10) tochtli
(11) atl
(12) itzcuintli
(13) ocomatli
Ce Malinalli
(1) malinalli
(2) acatl
(3) ocelotl
(4) quauhtli
(5) cozcaquauhtli
(6) ollin
(7) tecpatl
(8) quiauitl
(9) xochitl
(10) cipactli
(11) eecatl
(12) calli
(13) cuetzpallin
Ce Coatl
(1) coatl
(2) miquiztli
(3) mazatl
(4) tochtli
(5) atl
(6) itzcuintli
(7) ocomatli
(8) malinalli
(9) acatl
(10) ocelotl
(11) quauhtli
(12) cozcaquauhtli
(13) ollin
Ce Tecpatl
(1) tecpatl
(2) quiauitl
(3) xochitl
(4) cipactli
(5) eecatl
(6) calli
(7) cuetzpallin
(8) coatl
(9) miquiztli
(10) mazatl
(11) tochtli
(12) atl
(13) itzcuintli
Ce Ozomatli
(1) ozomatli
(2) malinalli
(3) acatl
(4) ocelotl
(5) quauhtli
(6) cozcaquauhtli
(7) ollin
(8) tecpatl
(9) quiauitl
(10) xochitl
(11) cipactli
(12) eecatl
(13) calli
Ce Cuetzpallin
(1) cuetzpallin
(2) coatl
(3) miquiztli
(4) mazatl
(6) tochtli
(6) atl
(7) itzcuintli
(8) ocomatli
(9) malinalli
(10) acatl
(11) ocelotl
(12) quauhtli
(13) cozcaquauhtli
Ce Ollin
(1) ollin
(2) tecpatl
(3) quiauitl
(4) xochitl
(5) cipactli
(6) eecatl
(7) calli
(8) cuetzpallin
(9) coatl
(10) miquiztli
(11) mazatl
(12) tochtli
(13) atl
Ce Itzcuintli
(1) itzcuintli
(2) ocomatli
(3) malinalli
(4) acatl
(5) ocelotl
(6) quauhtli
(7) cozcaquauhtli
(8) ollin
(9) tecpatl
(10) quiauitl
(11) xochitl
(12) cipactli
(13) eecatl
Ce Calli
(1) calli
(2) cuetzpallin
(3) coatl
(4) miquiztli
(5) mazatl
(6) tochtli
(7) atl
(8) itzcuintli
(9) ocomatli
(10) malinalli
(11) acatl
(12) ocelotl
(13) quauhtli
Ce Cozcaquauhtli
(1) cozcaquauhtli
(2) ollin
(3) tecpatl
(4) quiauitl
(5) xochitl
(6) cipactli
(7) eecatl
(8) calli
(9) cuetzpallin
(10) coatl
(11) miquiztli
(12) mazatl
(13) tochtli
Ce Atl
(1) atl
(2) itzcuintli
(3) ocomatli
(4) malinalli
(5) acatl
(6) ocelotl
(7) quauhtli
(8) cozcaquauhtli
(9) ollin
(10) tecpatl
(11) quiauitl
(12) xochitl
(13) cipactli
Ce Eecatl
(1) eecatl
(2) calli
(3) cuetzpallin
(4) coatl
(5) miquiztli
(6) mazatl
(7) tochtli
(8) atl
(9) itzcuintli
(10) ocomatli
(11) malinalli
(12) acatl
(13) ocelotl
Ce Quauhtli
(1) quauhtli
(2) cozcaquauhtli
(3) ollin
(4) tecpatl
(5) quiauitl
(6) xochitl
(7) cipactli
(8) eecatl
(9) calli
(10) cuetzpallin
(11) coatl
(12) miquiztli
(13) mazatl
Ce Tochtli
(1) tochtli
(2) atl
(3) itzcuintli
(4) ocomatl
(5) malinalli
(6) acatl
(7) ocelotl
(8) quauhtli
(9) cozcaquauhtli
(10) ollin
(11) tecpatl
(12) quiauitl
(13) xochitl
THE DAY-GODS
Each of the day-signs of the tonalamatl was presided over by a god who
was supposed to exercise a special influence over it. These patron gods
were as follow:
Day-sign Patron God
Cipactli Tonacatecutli
Eecatl Quetzalcoatl
Calli Tepeyollotl
Cuetzpallin Ueuecoyotl
Coatl Chalchihuitlicue
Miquiztli Tecciztecatl
Mazatl Tlaloc
Tochtli Mayauel
Atl Xiuhtecutli
Itzcuintli Mictlantecutli
Ozomatli Xochipilli
Malinalli Patecatl
Acatl Tezcatlipocâ (or variant)
Ocelotl Tlazolteotl
Quauhtli Xipe
Cozcaquauhtli Itzpapalotl
Olin Xolotl
Tecpatl Tezcatlipocâ (or variant)
Quiauitl Chantico
Xochitl Xochiquetzal
There are slight divergencies from the standard list in some of the
codices, but such are usually accounted for by the interpolation of
variant phases of the deities given. Illustrations of these signs will
be found in the several codices.
GODS OF THE “WEEKS”
Each of the 20 tonalamatl divisions, or “weeks” of 13 days each, as
they are sometimes erroneously but usefully designated, had also a
patron god of its own which ruled over its fortunes. The initial days
of these “weeks” gave the name to the entire “week,” therefore the
designation of the 20 weeks was the same as that of the 20 day-signs;
but the “weeks,” or rather the week-names, did not follow each other in
the same incidence as the days, as will be seen from the foregoing
table. The patron gods of the 20 weeks were, however, the same as those
of the 20 days, with this exception, that whereas the gods of the first
10 day-signs were taken also as the rulers of the first ten weeks,
[338] the god of the eleventh day, Xochipilli, was allowed to drop out,
the god of the twelfth day, Patecatl, taking his place, the god of the
thirteenth day taking the twelfth place, and so on, the deficiency in
the twentieth place being made up by adopting Itztli and Xiuhtecutli as
joint gods of the twentieth “week.” The list of gods of the “weeks”
would thus be as follows:
1 Ce cipactli Tonacatecutli
2 Ce ocelotl Quetzalcoatl
3 Ce mazatl Tepeyollotl
4 Ce xochitl Ueuecoyotl
5 Ce acatl Chalchihuitlicue
6 Ce miquiztli Tecciztecatl
7 Ce quiauitl Tlaloc
8 Ce malinalli Mayauel
9 Ce coatl Xiuhtecutli
10 Ce tecpatl Mictlantecutli
11 Ce ozomatli Patecatl
12 Ce quetzpallin Itzlacoliuhqui
13 Ce ollin Tlazolteotl
14 Ce itzcuintli Xipe Totec
15 Ce calli Itzpapalotl
16 Ce cozcaquauhtli Xolotl
17 Ce atl Chalchiuhtotolin
18 Ce eecatl Chantico
19 Ce quauhtli Xochiquetzal
20 Ce tochtli Xiuhtecutli and Itztli
“LORDS OF THE NIGHT”
Besides the patron gods of the days and the weeks there were nine
“Lords of the Night,” which, I am inclined to think with Seler, were
not “lords” or governors of nine consecutive nights, but of nine hours
of each night. Perhaps the best example of these is in the tonalamatl
of the Aubin collection, where they are displayed in continuous and
unbroken squares in the same small, square compartments as the
day-signs and ciphers, and occupy the third and second last vertical
row of the upper and the third cross-row of the lower half. In Codex
Telleriano-Remensis and Codex Vaticanus A they form a special series
above or else facing the day-signs. We also find them displayed on
sheet 14 of Codex Borgia, on sheets 19–23 of Codex Vaticanus B, and on
sheets 2–4 of Codex Fejérváry-Mayer. We know the names of these gods
from the first interpreter of Codex Vaticanus A, who gives them as
follows, with their influences:
1 Xiuhtecutli Good
2 Itztli Bad
3 Piltzintecutli Good
4 Centeotl Indifferent
5 Mictlantecutli Bad
6 Chalchihuitlicue Indifferent
7 Tlazolteotl Bad
8 Tepeyollotl Good
9 Tlaloc Indifferent
Gama describes these nine gods as Acompañados (Companions) and as
Señores de la Noche (Lords of the Night), and from his obscure
rendering of Cristoval de Castillo, as well as from the Manuel de
Ministros de Indios of Jacinto de la Serna, we gather that they held
sway over the night from sunset to sunrise. The Mexicans divided the
night into nine hours, and it is obvious from the astrological point of
view that the Mexican soothsayers who used the tonalamatl must have
found it necessary to estimate not only the “fate” of the several days,
but also that of the several hours and times of the day and night.
[339]
THE LORDS OF THE DAY-HOURS
This of course applies with equal force to the thirteen so-called
“Lords of the Day,” who almost certainly acted as gods of the thirteen
hours of the day. They were [340]:
1 Xiuhtecutli
2 Tlaltecutli
3 Chalchihuitlicue
4 Tonatiuh
5 Tlazolteotl
6 Teoyaomiqui
7 Xochipilli
8 Tlaloc
9 Quetzalcoatl
10 Tezcatlipocâ
11 Mictlantecutli
12 Tlauizcalpantecutli
13 Ilamatecutli
Seler, in his Commentary on the Aubin Tonalamatl, gives the following
table of the gods of the night and day hours:
(Noon)
7. Xochipilli-Cinteotl
6. Teoyaomiqui 8. Tlaloc
5. Tlacolteotl 9. Quetzalcoatl
4. Tonatiuh 10. Tezcatlipocâ
3. Chalchiuhtlicue (Day) 11. Mictlantecutli
2. Tlaltecutli 12. Tlauizcalpantecutli
1. Xiuhtecutli 13. Ilamatecutli
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
IX. Tlaloc I. Xiuhtecutli
VIII. Tepeyollotl (Night) II. Itztli
VII. Tlacolteotl III. Piltzintecutli-Tonatiuh
VI. Chalchihuitlicue IV. Cinteotl
V. Mictlantecutli
(Midnight)
This casts light on the method of augury of the priests. Thus the hour
of noon was auspicious because it was connected with the mystic number
7, and 9 was a number of good augury with sorcerers because it gave the
number of the underworlds and of the night-hours. [341]
TONALAMATL FESTIVALS
Although the tonalamatl has been called the “ritual calendar,” most of
the feast-days theoretically vested in the “months” of the solar
calendar and were called after them; but certain of the festivals
appear to have been connected with the tonalamatl, to have vested in
it, so to speak. We know these by their names, as they are called after
the several tonalamatl dates on which they fall. Thus a festival taking
the name of a day-sign theoretically belongs to the tonalamatl, and one
called after a month-name to the solar calendar proper. Moreover, the
former were known as “movable,” the latter as “fixed,” feasts.
Occasionally these clashed, as Sahagun states, with the result that the
tonalamatl feasts usurped the place of the calendar celebrations. [342]
RECAPITULATION
Recapitulating, we find:
1. That the tonalamatl was a “Book of Fate,” and not in itself a
calendar or time-count.
2. That it was composed of 20 day-signs, repeated 13 times, or 260
day-signs in all.
3. That these were usually divided into 20 groups of 13 days each,
erroneously but usefully called “weeks.” The initial days of these
“weeks” gave the name to the entire “week.”
4. To effect this division the numbers 1 to 13 were added to the 20
day-signs in continuous series.
5. That by this arrangement each day-sign had a number that did not
recur in connection with that sign for a space of 260 days.
6. That the name of a day-sign in the tonalamatl was not complete
without its accompanying number.
7. Each of the day-signs of the tonalamatl was presided over by a god
who was supposed to exercise a special influence over it. (See list.)
Each of the 20 tonalamatl divisions or “weeks” had also a patron god of
its own. (See list.)
8. Besides the patron gods of the days and “weeks” there were:
(a) Nine “lords” or patron gods of the night-hours.
(b) Thirteen “lords” of the day-hours.
THE TONALAMATL AND THE SOLAR CALENDAR
It will be asked: “In what manner did the soothsayers reconcile the
days of the tonalamatl with those of the calendar?” By what method did
they find such and such a day in the tonalamatl in the tonalpohualli,
or solar calendar? How was the one adjusted to the other? In order to
reply clearly to this question, it will first be necessary to describe
briefly the nature of the Mexican solar calendar or time-count proper.
The Mexican solar year consisted of 365 days, divided into 18 periods
of 20 days each, called cempohualli, or “months,” and one period of 5
days, known as nemontemi, or “useless” or “unlucky” days.
The Cempohualli.—The names of the 18 cempohualli, or “months,” were
[343]:
Month Seasonal Character Presiding God
Atlacahualco Ceasing of rain Tlaloquê
Tlacaxipeuliztli Seed time Xipe
Tozoztontli Rain desired Tlaloquê
Ueitozoztli Worship of new maize Chicomecoatl
Toxcatl Commencement of rainy Uitzilopochtli and
season Tezcatlipocâ
Etzalqualiztli Rain desired Tlaloc
Tecuilhuitontli Rain desired Uixtociuatl
Ueitecuilhuitl Adoration of the ripening Xilonen
maize
Tlaxochimaco First-flowering Uitzilopochtli
Xocohuetzi Heat for ripening Xiuhtecutli
Ochpaniztli Refreshment of the Tlazolteotl
Earth-mother
Teotleco Return of the gods from Tezcatlipocâ
rest
Tepeilhuitl Rain Tlaloc
Quecholli Rain Mixcoatl
Panquetzaliztli Winter solstice Uitzilopochtli
Atemoztli Rain Tlaloquê
Tititl The season of sereness Ilamatecutli
Izcalli Toasting of the corn supply Xiuhtecutli
Eight out of eighteen of these festivals are thus connected with the
appeal for rain, or the celebration of its appearance. The remainder
celebrate the growth of the maize in its various stages, rejoice at the
appearance of these blossoms which were so dear to the Mexican heart,
are held in honour of the Earth-mother, or mark the solstices.
To the combination of the tonalamatl and the solar calendar the
tonalamatl contributed the names of the days, and the solar calendar
the divisions of the year in which the days found positions. The
tonalamatl and the solar year thus went side by side, each recommencing
whenever it reached its own limits. The days in the solar year were
known by the names of the days in the tonalamatl which were affixed to
them. Thus it is plain that 105 of the 260 tonalamatl day-names had to
be repeated in the solar year of 365 days.
NAMES OF THE YEARS
The year was known by the tonalamatl sign of the day with which it
began. As there were 20 day-signs, and 5, the least common multiple of
365 and 20, goes into 20 exactly 4 times, the year could begin with one
of the four signs only. These were Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli, Tochtli.
Each month of a given year began with the same tonalamatl day-sign. The
20 day-signs always occupied the same position in all the months of a
given year, as there were 20 days in a Mexican month. But since the
last month was followed by the 5 nemontemi, or “unlucky” days, it
follows that each year began with a day-sign five days later than the
last. Also, since 365, the number of days in a year, is divisible by 13
with 1 as remainder, it follows that each year began with a day-number
one in advance of the last.
The commencement of the year coincided with the commencement of the
tonalamatl once in four years.
THE CALENDAR ROUND
Fifty-two years made up what has been called by modern students the
Calendar Round, and by the Mexicans was known as xiuhmolpilli or
toxiuhmolpio, “year bundle” or “our years will be bound.” The Mexicans,
differing in this from the Maya, never progressed beyond the Calendar
Round in the development of their chronological system, as is proved by
the fact that dates of precisely the same designation occurred at
intervals of every 52 years.
The four signs which alone might commence the year—acatl (reed),
tecpatl (flint), calli (house), tochtli (rabbit), took the numbers 1 to
13 continuously. The numbering of the years thus provided that every
one of the 52 years of the xiuhmolpilli (or Calendar Round) was
distinguished from every other. The whole cycle of 52 years was thus
divided into four quarters of 13 years each. These year-names were each
referred to a particular quarter of the heavens, the acatl years to the
east, tecpatl to the north, calli to the west, and tochtli to the
south. The computation began in the east with the acatl years,
strangely enough with 2 acatl, the cycle thus closing with 1 tochtli.
The Aztecs believed that the current epoch had begun with the year 1
tochtli, for it was in this period that the world had undergone
reconstruction. Not until this was completed could the first cycle of
52 years be begun. Therefore 2 acatl is the opening year of the first
and of all following cycles, and is usually represented by the picture
of a fire-drill. The years had also colours and patron gods of their
own as follows: acatl—yellow (gods Tonatiuh and Itztli); tecpatl—red
(god Mictlantecutli); calli—blue (earth-goddesses); tochtli—white
(Tlaloc).
Arranged in tabular form, this would appear as follows:
Year-name Direction Colour Patron God
Acatl East Yellow Tonatiuh and Itztli
Tecpatl North Red Mictlantecutli
Calli West Blue Earth-goddesses
Tochtli South White Tlaloc
THE NEMONTEMI
The five nemontemi, or “useless” days, were evidently a later
interpolation, introduced at a period when it was discovered that an
original time-count of 360 days did not fulfil the solar round. They
were counted and distinguished, however, in precisely the same manner
as the other days, that is the numerals and hieroglyphs of the
tonalamatl were adjusted to them as well as to the rest, except that
they had no “lords” or rulers of day or night. They were regarded as
most unlucky and no business of any kind was transacted upon them, only
the most necessary offices of life being undertaken whilst they lasted.
They are in no sense to be regarded as intercalary days, for, despite
classical statements to the contrary, the Mexicans were ignorant of the
methods of chronological intercalation, and a study of the tonalamatl
will show that the introduction of any intercalary period would render
it nugatory and destroy that ability to return into itself which is one
of its chief characteristics. These nemontemi did not always fall in
the same period of the solar year, but were sometimes placed before
Quaitleloa, now before Tititl, now before Atemoztli, or elsewhere, as
the priestly authorities decided. For the Mexican year of 365 days was
short of the true solar year by six hours and some minutes, therefore
in the course of years the festivals became displaced and their
chronological revision and balance became necessary and could be
effected by the shifting of the nemontemi.
THE VENUS PERIOD
To Förstemann and Seler is due the discovery that the Mexicans
possessed a system of computing time based upon the synodic revolution
of the planet Venus. The Venus period or “year” comprised 584 days. It
would seem as if the Maya and Mexicans had striven to discover a common
measure for the numbers 584, 365, and 260. Five synodical revolutions
of Venus are equivalent to eight solar years (5 × 584) = 2,920 = (8 ×
365), but the number 2,920 is not divisible by 260, the number of days
in the tonalamatl. Any accord between the two periods is not possible
until the sum of 104 years is reached, that is to say, 65 Venus periods
are equal to 146 tonalamatl periods both of which contain 37,960 days.
Like the tonalamatl, the Venus period was productive of sacerdotal
speculation, commencing with the day cipactli. At the end of six
periods the Venus “year” recommenced with the same sign affected by a
different figure. At the end of thirteen periods the sign differed, but
the figure was the same. The question has been learnedly discussed in
its entirety by Seler, to whose work the reader is referred. [344]
SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS RELATING TO THE TONALAMATL
Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology has several papers by
Seler and Förstemann on the tonalamatl.
Morley, “An Introduction to the Study of Maya Hieroglyphs” (Bulletin 57
of the Bureau of American Ethnology). (Washington, 1915.)
Bowditch, Maya Numeration, Calendar and Astronomy. (Cambridge, Mass.,
1910.)
Payne, History of the New World, vol. ii, pp. 310–332.
The beginner is strongly advised to peruse these works before
approaching the subject in the pages of the older Spanish writers, most
of whom possessed very hazy notions regarding it. By far the best
textbook is that of Morley, who, although dealing with the Maya
calendar at much greater length, writes with great clarity upon the
Mexican system, which is indeed identical with the Maya tonalamatl in
its simpler manifestations. Bowditch’s book is more for advanced
students of the Maya hieroglyphical system, the senior wranglers of the
subject, so to speak. But in places he dwells upon the Mexican
tonalamatl in an illuminating and suggestive manner. The papers of
Seler and other German writers on the tonalamatl, although most
valuable, by no means possess the admirable clarity and simplicity of
Morley’s invaluable essay. A good short article on the calendar is that
of Dr. Preuss in Dr. Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics,
vol. iii, pp. 124 ff.
A useful essay on the tonalamatl is that of de Jonghe, “Der
alt-mexikanische Kalendar,” in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1906; and in
the Journal des Américanistes de Paris, New Series, vol. iii (Paris,
1906), pp. 197–228.
A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MEXICAN RELIGION
The works contained in this bibliography are included because they
refer to the religion of ancient Mexico. It must be distinctly
understood that it does not aim at providing a comprehensive list of
works on Mexican history or archæology or on the religion of the Maya.
It is believed that no work of importance, old or new, which deals with
Mexican religion has been omitted. The books contained in the first
part are arranged in accordance with an estimate of their degree of
importance to the student. Those in the second part are alphabetically
arranged. The bibliography at the end of the appendix on the Tonalamatl
should also be consulted.
PART I
(Works written by the earlier Spanish authors)
Bernardino de Sahagun, Historia Universal de Nueva-España. (Mexico,
1829; London, 1830—in vol. vi of Lord Kingsborough’s Antiquities of
Mexico.) French translation by Jourdanet and Siméon (Paris, 1880).
J. Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana. (Madrid, 1723.)
Torribio de Benavente (Motolinia), Historia de los Indios de
Nueva-España. In Kingsborough’s Antiquities of Mexico, vol. ix, pp. 469
ff.; see also L. G. Pimentel, Memoriales de Fray Torribio de Motolinia
(Paris, 1903), which contains materials not in the Historia. See also
Icazbalceta.
Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, Relaciones, in vol. ix of
Kingsborough’s Antiquities of Mexico (London, 1830–1848). Edited by
Alfredo Chavero (Mexico, 1891); Historia Chichimeca, in vol. ix of
Kingsborough’s Antiquities of Mexico. Edited by Chavero (Mexico, 1892).
Diego Muñoz Camargo, Historia de Tlascala. Edited by A. Chavero.
(Mexico, 1892.)
Francesco Saverio Clavigero, Storia Antico del Mexico. (Cesena, 1780.)
English translation by Charles Cullen, 2 vols. (London, 1787.)
Lorenzo Boturini Benaduci, Idea de una Nueva Historia General de la
America Septentrional. (Madrid, 1746.)
Antonio de Herrera, Historia General de los Indios Occidentales
(1601–1615, 5 vols. folio; Madrid, 1728–1730). English translation by
Stevens (London, 1725–1726—considerably abridged).
José de Acosta, Historia Natural y Moral de Las Yndias. (Seville,
1580.) English translation in Purchas his Pilgrimes.
Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Cronica de la Nueva-España. (Medina, 1553;
Antwerp, 1554; Mexico, 1836.) English translation, The Pleasant History
of the Conquest of the West Indies. (London, 1578.)
Antonio Leon y Gama, Descripcion de las Dos Piedros. (Mexico, 1792.)
Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, Historia General y Natural de las
Indias Occidentales. (1535, vol. i only.) (Madrid, 1851–1855, 4 vols.)
Jacinto de la Serna, Manuel de Ministros de Indios para el Conocimiento
de sus Idolatrias, y Extirpacion de Ellas. (Madrid, 1892.)
Augustin Vetancurt, Teatro Mexicana. (Mexico, 1697; 1870–1871.)
M. F. de E., Veytia, Historia Antigua de Mejico. (Mexico, 1836.)
(Partly in Kingsborough, vol. viii.)
There may also be consulted:
B. de Las Casas, Historia de las Indias.
The best edition is that of Madrid (5 vols., 1875–1876).
Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de
Nueva-España. Translated by A. P. Maudslay as The True History of the
Conquest of Mexico. (Hakluyt Society, London, 1908.)
It gives but little information regarding Mexican religion.
Hernan Cortéz, Cartas de Relacion. English translation by F. A. MacNutt
under the title of The Five Letters of Cortéz to the Emperor Charles V.
(New York, 1908.)
A. Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana, in Kingsborough’s Antiquities of
Mexico, vol. vii, contains much valuable mythical material; also edited
by Orozco y Berra. (Mexico, 1878.)
Duran, Historia de las Indias (ed. Ramirez, 2 vols., Mexico,
1867–1880).
It is full, valuable, and sometimes indispensable.
Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, in Annals of the Mexican
Museum, vol. ii. Translated by T. Phillips, Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., vol.
xxi.
Annales de San Anton, Muñon Chimalpahin. (Paris, 1889, translated by R.
Siméon.)
Of considerable use as regards myth.
Anales de Quauhtitlan (or Codex Chimalpopocâ) in Anales del Museo
Nacional de Mexico, end of tom. iii.
Thevet, “Histoire de Mechyque” (in Journ. Soc. Amer. de Paris, 1905,
pp. 1–41).
G. de Mendieta, Historia Ecclesiastica Indiana. (Icazbalceta, Mexico,
1870.)
G. Icazbalceta, Nueva Coleccion de documentos para la historia de
Mexico (Mexico, series i, vol. i, 1858; vol. ii, 1866; series ii,
Mexico, 1886–1892).
The first volume of series i contains Motolinia’s Hist. de los Indios,
and the third volume of the second series the work of Pomar y Zurita.
Ternaux-Compans, Voyages, Relations et Mémoires originaux pour servir à
l’histoire de la découverte de l’Amérique. (Paris, 1837–1841, 20 vols.)
This contains Mendieta, Tezozomoc, Ixtlilxochitl, Camargo, etc.
Navarrete, Coleccion de los Viages y descubrimientos. (Madrid,
1825–1837, 5 vols.)
Many texts and rare works are also to be found in Lord Kingsborough’s
Antiquities of Mexico (London, 1830–1848), especially Dupaix, Monuments
of New Spain (in vols. iv and vi); translation of the text of the
interpretative codices (see Appendix of this work), Sahagun (in vol.
viii), Veytia, Historia del origen de las Gentes que Poblaron La
America Septentrional (in vol. viii). Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana (in
vol. ix), Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chichimeca (in vol. ix), Pimentel,
Ritos, Antiguos, Sacrificios, etc. (in vol. x).
PART II
(Works written from 1800–1920)
Alexander, Hartley Burr, Latin-American Mythology. (Boston, 1920.)
Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico. Tom. i, Mexico, 1877. (In
progress.)
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, The Native Races of the Pacific States, 5 vols.
(New York and London, 1875–1876.)
This great compilation is admirable as a painstaking précis of the
extensive sources relating to Mexican and Mayan history and religion,
but its author and his assistants confined themselves to collection and
compilation alone, and ventured upon no critical treatment of the
subject, for which task, they admit, they were not equipped.
Batres, L., Archæological Explorations in Escalerillas Street, City of
Mexico, Year 1900. (Mexico, 1902.)
Beuchat, H., Manuel d’Archéologie Américaine (Amérique
Préhistorique—Civilisations disparues). (Paris, 1912.)
A useful if somewhat condensed review of American archæology. Chapitre
iv, livre ii, gives a short and not very thorough account of the gods,
rites, priesthood, and magic of the ancient Mexicans. Chapitre v deals
with the Calendar, and chapitre vi is useful for reference regarding
the manuscripts and writing. There is a good bibliography.
Brasseur de Bourbourg, E. C., Histoire des nations civilisées du
Mexique et de l’Amérique Centrale durant les siècles antérieurs à
Christophe Colomb. 4 vols. (Paris, 1857–1859.)
The Abbé Brasseur’s idea was to explain American mythology as the
apotheosis of history. But he unearthed many priceless materials, some
of which are included in this work.
Brinton, Daniel Garrison, American Hero Myths (Philadelphia, 1882);
“Were the Toltecs an Historic Nationality?” (Proc. Am. Phil. Soc.,
xxiv, pp. 229–241, 1887); Essays of an Americanist (Philadelphia,
1890); The Myths of the New World (3rd edition, revised) (Philadelphia,
1905).
Brinton’s books are all well written, but his ideas regarding mythology
generally are now a little out-of-date. His works, however, will repay
perusal. The student must be on his guard against Brinton’s
etymologies, as his knowledge of the native languages, though
extensive, was not exact.
Charency, H. de, Le Mythe de Votan, étude sur les origines Asiatiques
de la Civilisation Américaine. (Alençon, 1871.)
Charnay, Désiré, Les anciennes Villes du nouveau monde. (Paris, 1885.)
English translation as Ancient Cities of the New World. (London, 1887.)
Charnay’s acquaintance with Mexican archæology and mythology was
elementary.
Chavero, Alfredo, Mexico a traves de los siglos, tom. i; Historia
antigua y de la Conquista. (Barcelona, 1884.)
This enthusiastic and painstaking antiquary did much for the
elucidation of all subjects relating to ancient Mexico, especially as
regards the discovery and criticism of ancient works and manuscripts.
But his zeal frequently betrayed him into somewhat fanciful
explanations.
Chevalier, M., Le Mexique Ancien et Moderne. (Paris, 1886.)
Congrès international des Américanistes—comptes rendus. (Biennially,
1878 ff.)
Dieseldorff, E. P., “Cuculcan” (Zeit. für Ethnol., xxvii, Verhand., pp.
780–873).
Gamio, Manuel, “Investigaciones Arqueologicas en Mexico, 1914–1915”
(Proc. Nineteenth Int. Cong. of Amer., Washington, 1915). (Washington,
D.C., 1917.)
Haebler, K., Die Religion der Mittleren Amerika. (Münster, 1899.)
Hamy, Galerie Américaine du Musée d’ethnographie au Trocadéro. (Paris,
1897.)
Humboldt, Alexander von, Vues des Cordillères. (Paris, 1816.) English
translation by Helen Williams, 1815.
Joyce, Thomas Athol, Mexican Archæology: an Introduction to the
Archæology of the Mexican and Mayan Civilizations of pre-Spanish
America. (London, 1914.)
Chapters ii, iii, and iv give a useful summary of Mexican Mythology,
the Calendar and Calendrical Feasts, and Writing, Priesthood, Medicine,
and Burial.
Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris (passim), tom. i.
(Paris, 1896.) (In progress.)
Müller, J. G., Geschichte der Amerikanischen Urreligion. (Berlin,
1867.)
An industrious compilation, which must be used with caution. Its
quotations are nearly all at second-hand and its hypotheses are not a
little strained.
Nadaillac, Marquis de, Prehistoric America (trans.). (London, 1885.)
Very much in the nature of a popular presentation of the subject.
Nuttall, Zelia, The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World
Civilizations. (Papers, Peabody Mus., ii, 1901.)
Orozco y Berra, Historia antigua y de la Conquista de Mexico. 4 vols.
(Mexico, 1880.)
Payne, Edward James, History of the New World called America. (London,
1892–1899.)
This exhaustive work, which deals with the evolution of culture on the
American continent, is admirably conceived, and is obviously the result
of much thought and research. As regards mythology, however, the
author, although well versed in the early writings relating to Mexico,
seems to have been unacquainted with those of modern specialists on the
subject, and this, of course, limits his outlook. Nor does he display
any acquaintance with the Mexican native codices.
Peñafiel, A., Monumentos del arte Mexicano antiguo, 3 vols. (Berlin,
1890.) Destruccion del templo mayor de Mexico y los monumentos
encontrados en la ciudad en la excavaciones de 1897 y 1902. (Mexico,
1910.)
Prescott, W. H., History of the Conquest of Mexico. (New York, 1843.)
The few pages in which Prescott describes the religion of ancient
Mexico are now quite useless for the purposes of the serious student.
Réville, A., Les Religions du Mexique, de l’Amérique Centrale et du
Pérou. (Paris, 1885.) English translation as Origin and Growth of
Religion as Illustrated by the Native Religions of Mexico and Peru
(Hibbert Lectures), 1884.
A sketchy and inaccurate account, showing only a second-hand
acquaintance with the subject.
Robelo, C. A., Diccionario de mitologia Nahoa in Annals of the Mexican
Museum, vols. ii–v, Second Series. (Mexico, 1905.)
Saville, M. H., “The Plumed Serpent in Northern Mexico.” (The
Archæologist, vol. ii, pp. 291–293.)
Seler, Eduard, Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Amerikanischen Sprach- und
Altertumskunde, 5 vols. (Berlin, 1902–1915.)
This monumental work, comprising almost the entire output of its
learned author, is indispensable for the study of Mexican archæology
and religion.
Spence, Lewis, The Civilization of Ancient Mexico (Cambridge Manuals of
Science and Letters). (London, 1911.) The Myths of Mexico and Peru.
(London, 1913.)
The former work is a digest of the strictly verifiable material of
Mexican history and religion; the latter a sketch of the subject on
popular lines.
Spinden, Herbert J., A Study of Maya Art (Memoirs of the Peabody
Museum, Harvard, vol. vi). (Cambridge, Mass., 1913.)
This admirable work, which is chiefly concerned with the subject-matter
and development of Maya art, touches in places upon the forms and
insignia of the Mexican deities.
Strebel, H., Alt-Mexico, Archäologische Beiträge, 2 vols. (Hamburg and
Leipzig.)
Tylor, E. B., Anahuac or Mexico and the Mexicans. (London, 1861.)
Veytia, M., Historia antigua de Mexico. (Mexico, 1836.)
Wesselhoeft, Selma, and Parker, A. M., Mexican and Central American
Antiquities, Calendar Systems and History. Twenty-four papers by Eduard
Seler, E. Förstemann, Paul Schellhas, Carl Sapper, and E. P.
Dieseldorff, translated from the German, under the supervision of
Charles P. Bowditch. Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
Washington, 1904.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE CODICES RELATING TO MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY
I. INTERPRETATIVE CODICES
Codex Vaticanus A (3738) or Codex Rios.
(A) Reproduced in vol. ii of Kingsborough’s Antiquities of Mexico,
1830. Translation of the Interpretation in vol. vi, pp. 155–420.
(B) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat. (Rome, 1900.)
Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
(A) Reproduced in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. i. Translation of
the Interpretation in vol. vi, pp. 95–153.
(B) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat (Paris, 1899), with commentary by
E. T. Hamy.
Codex Magliabecchiano.
(A) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat. (Rome, 1904.)
(B) Reproduced by Zelia Nuttall as The Book of the Life of the Ancient
Mexicans. (Berkeley, California, 1903.)
(This codex is accompanied by a contemporary gloss in Spanish.)
II. THE CODEX BORGIA GROUP
Codex Borgia.
(A) Reproduced in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. iii.
(B) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat. (Rome, 1908.)
(C) Commentary in German by Dr. E. Seler, Eine altmexikanische
Bilderschrift, with plan. (Berlin, 1904.)
(D) Reproduced in the Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico, vol. v, pp.
1–260, with Spanish translation of Seler’s essay by T. Lares.
Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.
(A) Reproduced in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. iii.
(B) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat. (Rome, 1901.)
(C) Commentary (Der Codex Fejérváry-Mayer) by Dr. E. Seler, with plan.
(Berlin, 1901.)
(D) English translation of above by A. H. Keane. (Berlin and London,
1901–1902.)
Codex Bologna or Cospi.
(A) Reproduction in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. ii.
(B) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat. (Rome, 1899.)
(C) Commentary by Seler (Die Mexikanischen Bildenhandschrift von
Bologna) in his Gesammelte Abhandlungen, vol. i, pp. 341–351.
Codex Vaticanus B.
(A) Reproduced in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. iii.
(B) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat (Rome, 1896), with commentary by
Señor F. Paso y Troncoso.
(C) Commentary in German (Der Codex Vaticanus B) by Dr. E. Seler, with
plan. (Berlin, 1902.)
(D) English translation of above by A. H. Keane. (Berlin and London,
1902–1903.)
Codex Laud.
Reproduction in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. ii.
III. UNCLASSIFIED CODICES
The Aubin-Goupil Tonalamatl.
(A) Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat, with commentary by E. Seler.
(Paris, 1900.)
(B) English translation of above by A. H. Keane, with reproduction.
(Berlin and London, 1901.)
Codex Vienna, Vindobonensis, or Indiæ Meridionalis.
(A) First reproduced in part by Olaus Wormius, Museum Wormianum.
(Leyden, 1655, p. 383.)
(B) Reproduced in Kingsborough’s Antiquities, vol. ii.
(C) Commentary in E. Seler’s Gesammelte Abhandlungen.
Codex Zouche or Nuttall.
Reproduced with commentary by Zelia Nuttall. (Peabody Museum
publication.) (Cambridge, Mass., 1902.)
Codex Borbonicus.
Reproduced by the Duc de Loubat, with commentary by E. T. Hamy. (Paris,
1899.)
See also on the subject of the codices generally:
Aubin, Mémoire sur la peinture didactique des anciens Mexicains (Revue
Orientale et Américaine). (Paris, 1860, pp. 224–255.)
Boban, Catalogue raisonné de la Collection Aubin-Goupil. (Paris, 1889.)
(With an atlas in which many MSS. are reproduced in phototype.)
Lehmann, W., “Les peintures Mixteco-zapotèques” (Journ. Soc. Amer. de
Paris, N.S., tom. ii). (Paris, 1905, pp. 241–280.)
Antigüedades mexicanas, publicadas por la junta Colombina de Mexico.
(Mexico, 1892.) Atlas with plates.
Paso y Troncoso, Catalogo de Mexico en la Exposicion de Madrid.
(Mexico, 1892.)
Peñafiel, Monumentos del arte mexicana antigua. (Berlin, 1890.)
Chavero, Pinturas jeroglificas, 2 parts. (Mexico, 1900–1901.)
GLOSSARY
For the convenience of readers a glossary of the Mexican words most
frequently employed in this work is appended:
anauatl Ring of white mussel-shell.
areyto Sacred dance; a word of Antillean origin, introduced by
the Spanish conquerors of Mexico.
atlatl Spear-thrower.
aztaxelli Forked heron-feather plume.
calpulli Augmentative of calli, house, signifying “quarter,”
“district.”
chalchihuitl Green stone—jadeite, turquoise, emerald—and precious or
semi-precious stones of a green colour.
chicauaztli The rattle-staff, associated with the water and
fertility deities.
cueitl Skirt, petticoat.
maxtli Loin-cloth.
naualli Disguise, magical form or shape.
nequen Robe.
octli The fermented juice of the Agave americana. The modern
term is pulque, a word of Argentine origin.
piloechmilli “Face-painting of children.”
quauhxicalli “Cup of eagles”; stone vase in which the hearts of
sacrificed victims were placed.
quetzalli Feather-plumes of the quetzaltototl or Trogon pavoninus,
a bird indigenous to Mexico, the plumes of which were
greatly prized by the natives.
tamalli Maize-cake (same as Spanish corrupted form tamale).
tecutli Noble, lord, person of quality.
teocalli Pyramid-temple.
teopan Temple precinct.
teotl God.
telpochcalli House of the youths, the place of instruction for boys
in training for the priesthood.
teueuelli Shield with eagle’s-down feathers.
tilmatli Mantle or cloak.
tlachtli A ball-game, a kind of hockey.
tlachinolli Fire-and-water symbol.
tonalamatl Book of Days: an arrangement of signs indicating lucky
and unlucky days, adapted to the calendar.
toualli Four balls or beads as a shield device.
ulli Indiarubber.
xiuhcoatl Fire-snake.
NOTES
[1] See Bibliography for description of this and all other works
alluded to throughout the work.
[2] Motecuhzoma described his faith to Cortéz in almost precisely
similar terms. See Bernal Diaz, True History of the Conquest of Mexico,
Maudslay’s translation. London, 1908.
[3] Especially in The Civilization of Ancient Mexico, 1911.
[4] See Seler, Gesammelte Abhandlungen, passim.
[5] See Appendix, The Tonalamatl and the Solar Calendar.
[6] A Study of Maya Art, 1913, p. 225.
[7] See his commentaries on the several codices, passim.
[8] See Torquemada, bk. vi, c. 24.
[9] Sahagun, III, c. 4; Anales de Quauhtitlan.
[10] On Quetzalcoatl generally see Sahagun, passim; Torquemada, vol. i,
p. 254; Motolinia, tom. i, pp. 10–11; and Mendieta, passim.
[11] Consult bibliography to chapter ix of H. B. Alexander’s North
American Mythology. Boston, 1916.
[12] Sahagun, bk. vi, c. viii.
[13] See appendix on Tonalamatl.
[14] See chapter on Cosmogony.
[15] Seler, Codex Vaticanus B, 1902–3, p. 174.
[16] In many cosmogonies—Hindu, Babylonian, Chinese, Scandinavian, for
example—the earth is formed from the remains of a slain monster or
living being.
[17] See section on Tlaloc.
[18] Payne in his History of the New World called America, vol. i,
1892, pp. 424 ff., was the first to indicate the “fetishtic” nature of
this statue, which he identifies as that of Chicomecoatl. He pours the
vials of scorn upon “the Italian dilettante Boturini” for his
identification of the block as Uitzilopochtli-Teoyaomiqui. He further
states that it “has no limbs,” but its large, scaly dragon-legs are at
least as obvious as his lack of success in giving the sculpture its
proper name.
[19] See my article “Cherokees” in Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion
and Ethics, vol. iii, p. 504.
[20] See Brinton, Nagualism.
[21] Anales de Quauhtitlan (Brasseur, Hist. Nat. Civ. de Mex., vol. i,
pp. 400 ff.).
[22] Codex Vaticanus, 1902–3, p. 75.
[23] For much Mexican star-lore of value see Seler’s Venus Period in
the Picture-Writings of the Borgia Codex Group, translated into English
in Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 355 ff. For the
myth see section on Cosmogony.
[24] Bk. ii, c. 4.
[25] See Appendix on Tonalamatl.
[26] Sahagun, bk. ii, Appendix.
[27] Clavigero, Storia del Messico, vol. i, bk. vi, p. 257 (English
translation).
[28] The native name for Mexico, signifying “Place upon the water.”
[29] Monarq. Ind., tom. ii, p. 525.
[30] Hist. Mex., tom. i, pp. 291–2.
[31] See the section on Tlaloc.
[32] Notes on the Shushwap People of British Columbia, “Proceedings and
Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada,” 1891, vol. ix, sect. ii.
Montreal, 1892.
[33] Sahagun, Hist. Gen., bk. ii, c. xiv.
[34] Hist. de Tlaxcallan, c. v.
[35] See Section on Itzpapalotl.
[36] See chapter on Cosmogony.
[37] See Sahagun, bk. i, c. 6.
[38] See chapter on Cosmogony.
[39] Torquemada, bk. viii, c. 13.
[40] Although some of the old authors, Bernal Diaz for instance, say
explicitly that the gods of one city were not recognized in another, in
effect they were, only under other names.
[41] Translation in Kingsborough, vol. vi, p. 198.
[42] Op. cit., p. 207.
[43] L. Spence, The Popol Vuh (1908), description of bk. i; Brasseur de
Bourbourg, Le Vuh Popol, Paris, 1861.
[44] An important work republished with a Latin translation by Dr. W.
Lehmann under the title of Traditions des anciens Mexicains (Jour. Soc.
Amer. Paris, n.s., vol. iii. Paris, 1906. pp. 239–298).
[45] Kingsborough’s translation, vol. vi, p. 171.
[46] Chavero’s edition, Mexico, 1892, p. 21.
[47] See the Popol Vuh, bk. i., for a Quiche analogy to this tale of
human degradation.
[48] Chavero’s edition, Mexico, 1891, pp. ii ff.
[49] Hist. de Tlaxcala, in Ternaux-Compan’s Voyages, tom. lxxxvi, p. 5;
also edition by A. Chavero, Mexico, 1892.
[50] Hist. Antigua de Mexico, bk. i, c. 4.
[51] First Relacion.
[52] Historia Eccles.
[53] A variant myth makes Quetzalcoatl the god who seeks bones in the
underworld from which to make the human race. As he returns, the bones
drop to earth and quails gnaw them. Ciuacoatl pounds them into a paste
from which men are formed. The Anales de Quauhtitlan makes the gods
create man from the cinders of the worlds destroyed in the four epochs.
[54] Probably because of his status as god of twins and of duplicates
of all kinds.
[55] Obviously this sacred bundle is in the same category with the
“medicine-bundle” of the North American Indian tribes, and it would
seem that from such a form certain of the Mexican gods were evolved.
[56] Bk. vii, c. 2.
[57] For further information regarding this incident see Boturini,
Idea, section iii, 14, “Tlatocaocelotl.”
[58] These metamorphoses, or at least the first two, are obviously
founded upon Xolotl’s dual characteristic as a twin. The resemblance
between his name and that of the little amphibious animal axolotl is
due to the monstrous character of both.
[59] Hist. du Tlaxcallan in Ternaux-Compan’s Nouvelles Annales des
Voyages (tom. xcix, p. 129).
[60] Hist. Antig. de Mexico, tom. i, p. 7.
[61] Storia Antica del Messico, tom. ii, p. 7.
[62] Hist. Eccles, p. 81.
[63] Curtin, Creation Myths of Primitive America, Intro., p. 35.
[64] Relaciones (Chavero’s edition; Mexico, 1891), p. 11. Hist.
Chichimeca (Chavero’s edition; Mexico, 1892), p. 21.
[65] Among the American races the soul was thought of as residing in
the bones. See Brinton, Myths of the New World, pp. 295 ff., 299, 321.
[66] Anales de Quauhtitlan.
[67] Translation of interpretation in Kingsborough, vol. vi, p. 127.
[68] P. 120.
[69] See Rady y Delgado’s reproduction of this Codex, Madrid, 1892.
[70] The colours associated with the points of the compass were: East,
yellow; north, red; west, blue; south, white.
[71] For the further relation of the gods to time and space see the
appendix on the tonalamatl.
[72] See myth of the creation of the four supporters, supra.
[73] Humming-birds. The warriors seem to have been metamorphosed into
the naualli or bird-disguise of Uitzilopochtli, the humming-bird god of
war.
[74] Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas. I believe these
different heavens to have resulted from the clashing and mingling of
rival cults.
[75] As it has been found impossible to include every illustration from
the codices which is mentioned in the text, those pictures not supplied
may be consulted in the reproductions of the codices themselves. A full
bibliography of the codices will be found at the end. When the letter K
appears with reference to a codex, its reproduction in Kingsborough’s
“Mexican” antiquities is implied.
[76] This stellar mask is so called from being worn by the stellar
deities. It is usually connected with the red-and-white striped
painting of the body. The Sahagun Aztec MS. calls it “face-cage
marking” and “face-star marking which is called darkness,” the former
referring to stripes over the face, the latter to the mask design,
which seems to me to symbolize night surrounded by the “eyes” of the
stars.
[77] Hist. Nat. Ind., pp. 352 ff., English translation in Purchas his
Pilgrimes, bk. v, c. 9. Maclehoses’ edition.
[78] Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. i, pp. 396–398.
[79] Gage’s trans. of Herrera, in New Survey, pp. 116–117; for Spanish
text, see Hist. Gen., tom. i, dec. ii, bk. vii, c. xvii.
[80] Monarq. Ind., tom. i, p. 293.
[81] Quarter, district.
[82] House of the youths, where the acolytes or junior priests resided.
[83] Governors.
[84] Vassals, burghers.
[85] Dance.
[86] This custom was in vogue among certain prehistoric races, and is
still practised on the death of a relative by African bushmen, who
first remove a finger-joint.
[87] More correctly quauhxicalli, a stone vase for the reception of the
hearts of victims, from quauh (tli) “eagle,” and xicalli, “cup.”
[88] Monarq. Ind., tom. ii, p. 73.
[89] Hist. Mex., English translation by C. Cullen (London, 1787), vol.
i, bk. vi.
[90] Idea de una Hist., pp. 60–61.
[91] Bk. i, c. i.
[92] So Uitzilopochtli addresses his half-brother. “Uncle” among the
ancient Mexicans was an honorific title.
[93] Bk. iii, c, i, par. i.
[94] Monarq. Ind., tom. i, p. 294.
[95] See chapter on Cosmogony.
[96] Sahagun, Appendix to bk. iii, c. ix.
[97] Hist. Nat. Ind. in Purchas his Pilgrimes, bk. v, c. xiii. See also
Manuel Gamio, Proc. 19th Cong. Amer., Washington, 1915, for account of
discoveries when the foundations of this temple were partly laid bare
in 1913.
[98] C. i.
[99] Sahagun, bk. ii, c. xxxiv; Uitzilopochtli himself, as we shall
see, was oracular. In this case I take it that the octli distilled from
the plant conferred the boon of oracular speech.
[100] The first pulque or octli, which was called uitztli, was offered
at this festival as first-fruits to Uitzilopochtli. The spirit
distilled from the pulque is still known as mexcal or mescal, and is
probably identical with the fiery fluid given to the braves in the
service of the god before going into battle.
[101] Bull. of U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, No. 28, p. 210.
[102] Monarq. Ind., tom. ii, p. 41.
[103] The Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas calls
Uitzilopochtli omitecilt. I think this should be read ome tecitl,
“twice-wizard,” but it may read ome tecutli, “twice-lord.” But the
latter is certainly a title of Tonacatecutli, the creative deity.
[104] Bk. i, c. i.
[105] Sahagun, bk. ii, c. xxiv.
[106] As does an Egyptian sun-god.
[107] The Centzonuitznaua appear to be the same as the Tzitzimimê, whom
Tezozomoc calls the “gods of the air who bring the rains, floods,
thunderclaps, and thunders and lightnings and had to be placed round
Uitzilopochtli” in order to complete the construction of the great
teocalli of Mexico. These “gods of the signs and planets,” in other
words the stars, were regarded as demons of darkness, thinks Seler,
“only because during a solar eclipse the stars became visible in the
day sky.” I think it much more probable that they were looked upon as
demons of darkness because they peopled the darkness every night.
“These,” says the interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, “are
the sons of Citlalicue.” Now, Citlalicue means “Starry-skirt,” and I
think that here we are not very far from Coatlicue, “Serpent-skirt.” We
know, too, that Citlalicue, like Coatlicue, was connected with the
cipactli, the earth-beast, and with Chicomecoatl (“Seven Serpents”).
The later fusion of Citlalicue with her husband Citlaltonac or
Tonacatecutli, lord of the heavenly vault, as has been shown in the
remarks on these gods, would give her stellar attributes; hence the
seeming discrepancy between her and Coatlicue.
[108] Appendix to bk. ii.
[109] Hist. de los Indios de la Nueva España, tom. ii, p. 240.
[110] See Rendel Harris, The Ascent of Olympus, passim. In his Ascent
of Olympus Dr. Rendel Harris has shown that the sacred oak of Zeus was
regarded as “the animistic repository of the thunder, and in that sense
the dwelling-place of Zeus ... that the woodpecker who nested in it ...
was none other than Zeus himself, and it may turn out that Athena, who
sprang from the head of the thunder-oak, was the owl that lived in one
of its hollows” (p. 57).
In the same way, it may be that the maguey plant may have been regarded
by the Mexicans as a repository of thunder and the heavenly fire.
Octli, its sap, was connected with fire (see octli gods, “Nature and
Status”), and Uitzilopochtli was the humming-bird who dwelt among its
leaves. He springs from his mother’s body fully armed, as does Athena
from the head of Zeus. A similar train of thought appears to be present
in both ideas.
[111] Manuel de Ministros, p. 35.
[112] Commentary on Codex Vaticanus B, p. 91.
[113] Maguey is an Antillean word imported into Mexico by the
Spaniards, but the use of a post-Columbian word does not exclude the
possibility of a synonymous pre-Columbian form.
[114] Manuel de Ministros, p. 37.
[115] Myths of the New World, pp. 129 ff.
[116] Hist. Nat. Ind., c. ix, bk. v (English translation from Purchas
his Pilgrimes).
[117] Obviously an error for tlachialoni.
[118] More probably like a jaguar, one of the forms of the god.
[119] See précis in chapter on Cosmogony.
[120] The Morelosia huañita of the family Styraciñes.
[121] Inga circinalis.
[122] Paper hand.
[123] Face of the temple.
[124] Young brother.
[125] Hist. Gen., bk. i. c. iii.
[126] Hist. Nat. y Moral, c. ix.
[127] Hist. Mex., English translation, vol. i, bk. vi, p. 243.
[128] Hist. Gen., bk. iii, c. vi–ix.
[129] These both mean the same thing, “shield of precious stones.”
[130] Diccionario Universal, Appendix, s.v.
[131] See ante, Aspect and Insignia.
[132] Commentary C. Fejérváry-Mayer, p. 34.
[133] See the Stone of Tizoc for examples of this practice.
[134] This figure conventionally represents the turkey and strikingly
exhibits the large red wattles and lobe of that bird. In most of the
MSS. it wears Tezcatlipocâ’s smoking mirror at the temple, the
warrior’s headdress of heron-feathers, and in Codex Borbonicus it
appears as a naualli or disguise of the god, having his crown painted
with stars and his anauatl or ring of mussel-shell. On sheet 6 of Codex
Fejérváry-Mayer the bird appears as an image of Tezcatlipocâ and is
represented along with the signs of mortification and blood-letting, as
it is on sheet 17 of the Aubin tonalamatl, where it wears the
bone-piercer in its ears and a red robe edged with blue and brown.
Indeed, it represents the blood-offering connected with the worship of
Tezcatlipocâ. The turkey-cock’s foot, too, is sometimes symbolic of the
god, and the interpretative codices tell us that “of the demons we
often see nothing more than a cock’s or eagle’s foot.” The turkey-cock
is to be conceived as representative of rain, which was believed by the
Nahua to be nothing else than the magically altered blood he shed in
penitence or sacrifice. It may be that the red wattles and lobe of the
turkey suggested the idea of blood, and that the shades in his plumage
were equally suggestive of water. Thus it would come to be regarded as
the blood shed by the stone knife of sacrifice. It is also obvious that
Tezcatlipocâ’s patronage of slaves, who were strictly regarded as his
property, arose out of the idea that those unfortunates, whenever used
for the purposes of sacrificial ritual, constituted the “food” of the
obsidian knife.
[135] Bk. xi, c. 8, § 5.
[136] Bernal Diaz also states that the eyes of Tezcatlipocâ’s idol were
“mirrors.” See ante, “Aspect and Insignia.”
[137] In the myth which recounts his discomfiture of the Toltecs it
will be recalled that he rained stones upon them. See also Introduction
for identification of obsidian with wind and breath.
[138] Gomme, Ethnology in Folklore.
[139] Myth, Ritual, and Religion, vol. i, p. 266.
[140] See Itzlacoliuhqui, pp. 341 ff.
[141] See my article on “Cherokee Religion” in vol. iii, Encyclopædia
of Religion and Ethics.
[142] Brinton, Myths of the New World.
[143] Sahagun, bk. xii, c. iv.
[144] Bk. iii, c. ii.
[145] Bk. xi, c. xlvii.
[146] Bk. v, c. ix.
[147] Seler, The Wall-paintings of Mitla, Bull. 28, Bureau of American
Ethnology.
[148] “The swift ones who serrate the teeth.”
[149] “Mount of the crier.”
[150] Sahagun’s statement that the draught would make Quetzalcoatl
remember those evils is obviously a slip which even his copyist
Torquemada is capable of avoiding.
[151] Bk. iii, c. 3 and 4.
[152] The names throughout the myth merely describe the incident which
took place at the locality alluded to.
[153] Sahagun, bk. iii, c. xii, xiii, xiv.
[154] Monarq. Ind., tom. ii, pp. 48–52.
[155] Monarq. Ind., tom. i, pp. 254–256.
[156] Hist. de los Indios.
[157] Hist. Ecles., pp. 82, 86, 92–93, 97–98.
[158] Hist. Ecles., p. 82.
[159] A Lacandone Indian tribe near Palenque.
[160] Land of Chivim.
[161] The myths relating to him under the name of Tohil appear to me to
identify Tohil more with Tezcatlipocâ. See Brassuer, Le Vuh Popol,
passim.
[162] The circumstance that the two high-priests of Mexico, the
pontiffs of the cults of Uitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, had the name
Quetzalcoatl prefixed to their official descriptions merely indicates
that it had passed into a sacerdotal title. They were in no special
sense attached to the worship of the god.
[163] He was, of course, all of these, but as regards the two latter,
in a subsidiary sense only.
[164] Spanish, hurican; French, ouragan; English, hurricane.
[165] Sahagun reverses the process by calling Quetzalcoatl “a man who
became a god,” bk. i, c. v.
[166] See my article on these books in vol. iii of Hastings’
Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics.
[167] This, too, accounts for his identification with the planet Venus,
which also had a calendric connection, and therefore as the herald of
the dawn, and the child of the virgin goddess Chimalman or
Chalchihuitlicue in her guise as Moon-goddess.
[168] Votan was likewise a builder of subterranean houses and was
worshipped in caves. The god of the rain-cult is, indeed, regarded as
master of the streams which flow under the earth. See Brinton,
Nagualism, p. 41.
[169] A generic name for green precious or semi-precious
stones—turquoise, jadeite, nephrite, emerald, etc.
[170] In Kingsborough, Antiquities of Mexico, vol. vi.
[171] On this identification see also Torquemada, bk. vi, c. xix.
[172] Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
[173] Seler, Codex Vaticanus B, p. 132.
[174] Spence, Popol Vuh. London, 1908.
[175] Tonalamatl of the Aubin-Goupil Collection, 1900–1901.
[176] This circular patch with the centre punched out is worn by the
women of more than one Asiatic country.
[177] Sahagun, Bks. viii and x.
[178] By Seler, in Commentary on Aubin Tonalamatl, p. 93.
[179] Sahagun, bk. i, c. xii.
[180] As regards these translations of hymns throughout the work, some
have been translated by me from the Mexican originals, others have been
translated from the German of Seler. Like that authority I have not
received any enlightenment from Brinton’s “translations” in his Sacred
Chants of the Ancient Mexicans.
[181] Bk. ii, c. xxx; see also Torquemada, bk. x, c. xxxv.
[182] Pyramid temple.
[183] Seler, Commentary on Vaticanus B, p. 262, believes the ceremony
to refer to the parturition of the goddess, who gives birth to
Cinteotl, although he at first elucidated the ceremony as here
indicated. Seler confounds the postures of sexual intercourse and
parturition.
[184] See picture in Codex Borbonicus.
[185] As do Aphrodite, and other goddesses of love.
[186] It is equally the symbol of the fertility-pot.
[187] Bk. ii, c. xxiii.
[188] Lib. x, c. xiii.
[189] A species of wild laurel.
[190] The custom of wearing a mask of the deity worshipped (in this
case the slain woman represented the goddess) is widespread.
[191] Sahagun, bk. ii.
[192] Appendix to bk. ii.
[193] Who, like several of the older Spanish authorities, regarded
Cinteotl as a goddess, a belief now exploded. See vol. i, bk. vi
(English translation).
[194] It might be quoted against this view that the lewd life of
pleasure of which Xochipilli and Macuilxochitl are the representatives
results in that death which is the child of sin, and that these gods
are therefore “brothers” to Cinteotl in this especial connection.
Seler, Comm. Codex Fej.-Mayer, p. 66; Comm. Codex Vat. B, pp. 207–208.
[195] Sahagun, bk. ix, c. xvii.
[196] Sahagun MS.
[197] At the festival of Demeter, with whose worship the serpent was
connected, the earth was struck with rods by the priest who called upon
the goddess. This is also done during the act of divination among the
Zulus, when they call upon spirits. See Callaway, Izinyanga Zokubula,
p. 362.
[198] Lib. ii, c. ii.
[199] Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ. du Mex. (quoting a
Cakchiquel MS.), vol. i, p. 248.
[200] Bk. i, c. vi.
[201] Sahagun, bk. i, c. vi.
[202] Idem, bk. 2, Appendix.
[203] Idea, p. 27; vol. i, pp. 419 ff.
[204] See Introduction, pp. 14, 16.
[205] See Uitzilopochtli, pp. 73 ff.
[206] Bk. i, c. xix.
[207] Idea, pp. 63–66. This myth seems to me to show vestiges of a
belief in the theory of the transmigration of souls, and to indicate
that the ascetic, almost on the borders of what is known in Buddhistic
belief as “arahatship,” or promotion to a higher life, was condemned
for his lapse to recommence existence once more under a low form of
life.
[208] Bk. i, c. xix, appendix.
[209] See Appendix in the Tonalamatl, “Day-signs.”
[210] A diacritical point.
[211] Bk. x, c. xxxv.
[212] Bk. x, c. xxxi.
[213] Seler, Commentary on Aubin Tonalamatl, p. 119.
[214] Seler, Commentary on Codex Vaticanus B, p. 161.
[215] But see the song to Cinteotl in the portion dealing with that
god, which in a manner refers to Xochipilli.
[216] Commentary on Aubin Tonalamatl, p. 87.
[217] Bk. i, c. xiv.
[218] Cronica Mexicana. See picture of Axayacatl in Boban’s catalogue
of the Goupil collection, Paris, 1891, pp. 14, 15.
[219] The best authority on Xipe’s costume is Sahagun (Mexican MS.).
[220] Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, pp. 417 ff.
[221] Sahagun, bk. v, c. xiii.
[222] Werenfels, Dissertation upon Superstition, p. 6 (London, 1748).
Bancroft, Native Races of the Pacific States, vol. ii, pp. 719 ff.
[223] Roscher, Über Selene und verwandtes (Leipzig, 1890), pp. 49 ff.
[224] Pliny, Nat. Hist., vol. ii, p. 223; Payne, Hist. New World, vol.
i, p. 495.
[225] Or calpulli, a muster-place at several festivals.
[226] “They who seize the head,” alluding to the custom of taking the
victims by the hair.
[227] Sahagun states that the “hair” of the uauantin was kept as a
trophy. This seems to me analogous to the North American Indian custom
of scalping, which is sometimes spoken of as “losing one’s hair,” a
phrase which, through its use among American border fighters, has
passed into slang.
[228] Tezcatlipocâ took the form of a coyote and lay in wait for
travellers. Sahagun, bk. v, c. xiii.
[229] Or coyote.
[230] Sahagun, bk. ii, Appendix.
[231] Sahagun, bk. ii, Appendix.
[232] Seler, Commentary on Codex Vaticanus B, p. 175.
[233] Decade iii, lib. iii, c. xv.
[234] Tezozomac, Cronica Mexicana, c. xci.
[235] J. Lecœur, Esquisses du Bocage Normand, vol. ii, p. 240.
[236] Athenæus, vol. ix, 47, p. 392 d.
[237] Religion of the Semites, new edition, 1914, p. 469.
[238] Bk. ii. c. viii.
[239] Bk. x, c. xix.
[240] Hist. de Tlaxcallan, c. v.
[241] This deer is two-headed; so is Quaxolotl a variant of Chantico,
the Fire-goddess, with whom Itzpapalotl seems to have many points of
resemblance.
[242] See Xochipilli.
[243] In some myths of the Old World the butterfly is the soul or
ghost. This would explain her connection with the Ciuateteô, or dead
women.
[244] Vol. i, bk. vi (English translation).
[245] Bk. i, c. ix.
[246] Hist. de los Indios de la Nueva España (Epistola Proemial).
[247] Sahagun, bk. ii., c. xxxvi; Torquemada, bk. x, c. xxix.
[248] It occurred to the writer that the expression tititl may have had
reference to the act of sexual impregnation, as in the case of
Tlazolteotl (q.v.), who “widens herself, stretches herself out” at the
foot of the teocalli of Uitzilopochtli, when she is impregnated by that
deity. This consideration scarcely seems to apply to the present
instance, however, and that indicated above appears preferable.
[249] See remarks upon the Tlaloc cult in the Introduction.
[250] See my remarks upon Quetzalcoatl in the section which deals with
him, and where he is identified with the trade-wind which brings the
rain.
[251] Bk. i, c. xxi.
[252] See Appendix, the Tonalamatl and the Solar Calendar.
[253] See digest of the passage in chapter on Cosmogony, p. 49.
[254] See Spence, The Popol Vuh. London, 1908.
[255] Sahagun (bk. x, c. xxviii, § 10) states that Tlalocan was in the
Olmec or Mixtec country; but Camargo (Hist. de Tlaxcallan, Nouvelles
annales des Voyages, 1843, tom. 99, pp. 135–137) is a better authority
on this particular subject.
[256] Wood-mountain.
[257] Place of Might.
[258] Flower-feather.
[259] Place of Darkness.
[260] Beside the stalle (or banner).
[261] Pearl-serpent.
[262] Rows of pearls.
[263] Servant.
[264] Covered with mugwort.
[265] Bk. ii, c. xx.
[266] Bk. ii, c. iii.
[267] The Pantitlan = “Near the Stake.”
[268] Bk. ii, c. vi.
[269] All of the deities known by these names were octli-gods.
[270] Temple precinct.
[271] Bk. i, c. xiii.
[272] Bk. ii, c. xxxv.
[273] Ixtlilxochitl, Relaciones, p. 41, states that girls were
sacrificed by the Toltecs to Tlaloc and buried.
[274] Hist. de Tlaxcallan, in Ternaux-Compan’s Nouvelles annales de
Voyages, 1843, tom. 99, pp. 133, 135–7.
[275] Vol. i, bk. vi, p. 251 (English translation). See also
Torquemada, bk. vi, c. xxiii; Veytia, vol. i, p. 27; Velasquez de Leon,
Nevadade Toluca, Bd. Inst. Nac. Geog. Estad. Mex., 1850.
[276] Bk. vi, c. vii.
[277] Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas, c. ii.
[278] Förstemann, Die Maya-Handschrift-zu Dresden, Leipzig, 1880.
Second edition, 1892.
[279] Codex Borgia, sheet 14, and Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, sheets 1 and
3.
[280] Unless the costume be spotted like that of her spouse Tlaloc,
with ulli rubber-gum, to represent rain.
[281] This picture of Tlaloc and Chalchihuitlicue is reminiscent of the
Japanese myth of Susa-no-o and his sister Ama-terasu, the Sun-goddess,
who, desirous of progeny, stood one on either side of a “river” (the
Milky Way), dipped jewels into the “river,” crushed them into dust and
“blew them away”; gods were born from the dust so breathed upon. See
Kojiki, translated by Basil Hill Chamberlain, in supplement to vol. x
of Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 1882, pp. 47–49. The
Mexican picture has probably a similar generative significance.
[282] Hist. Antig. de Mej., tom. i, c. xxviii.
[283] “Chief Eagle.”
[284] Commentary on the Aubin Tonalamatl, p. 56.
[285] The resemblance of this festival to the uei teciulhuitl, the
feast of Xilonen, is obvious. (For a fuller description, see Sahagun,
bk. ii, c. xxvii.)
[286] Bk. i, c. xiii.
[287] Bk. vi, c. xvii.
[288] Bk. ix, c. iii.
[289] Bk. vi, c. iv.
[290] Bk. vi, c. ix.
[291] Bk. ii, c. xxix.
[292] Bk. ii, c. xxxvii.
[293] Bk. ii, c. xix.
[294] Bk. ii, Appendix.
[295] See Sahagun, bk. ii, Appendix.
[296] Seler, Commentary on Tonalamatl of the Aubin Goupil Collection,
p. 73.
[297] Commentary on the Tonalamatl of the Aubin Collection, p. 71.
[298] See also T. L. Preuss, Die Feuergötter als Ausgangspunkt zum
Verständnis der Mexikanischen Religion (“Mittheilungen der
Anthropologische Gesellschaft in Wien,” vol. xxxiii, Vienna, 1903, pp.
129–233).
[299] Bk. ix, c. xvii.
[300] “Wizard-prince,” evidently a patron of sorcerers and cunning
workmanship.
[301] “Five House.”
[302] Bk. ii, Appendix.
[303] Sahagun states that the dog is the symbol of fire (bk. iv, c.
xxii).
[304] Bk. ii, Appendix.
[305] The locus classicus for representations of the octli-gods is the
Codex Magliabecchiano, which presents a most valuable series of them,
pp. 49–59.
[306] Bk. i, c. xxii.
[307] “Mirror covered with Straw.”
[308] See Seler, “Temple-pyramid of Tepoxtlan,” Bulletin 28, U.S.
Bureau of Ethnology, p. 349.
[309] Teatro Mexicana, tom. i.
[310] Hist. de los Indios, tom. ii, p. 240.
[311] Bk. i, c. xiii.
[312] Manuel de los Ministros, p. 35.
[313] Bk. i, Appendix.
[314] In The Ascent of Olympus.
[315] See Sahagun, bk. vii, cs. x–xiii, for a much more detailed
description.
[316] See Sahagun, bk. iii, Appendix, c. iv.
[317] Historia de los Indios de la Nueva España, Preface, in
Izcazbalceta, vol. i, 1858, pp. 7, 10.
[318] Izcazbalceta, vol. iii, 1891, p. 237.
[319] Appendix to bk. i, c. xiv.
[320] Brinton, Myths of the New World, p. 190.
[321] Commentary on Codex Vaticanus B, p. 287.
[322] Bulletin 28 of U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 355 ff.
[323] See Commentary on the Codex Vaticanus B, p. 90. It seems to me
that, as Tezozomoc says, these were gods of the “signs and planets,”
i.e. of the tonalamatl in its augural or astrological sense. If so, the
definitely astrological nature of the tonalamatl might be argued
therefrom.
[324] See L. Spence, The Popol Vuh. London, 1908.
[325] Commentary on Codex Fejérváry-Mayer, p. 43.
[326] See Section on Tezcatlipocâ.
[327] Las Casas, Apologetica, c. cxcix; Herrera, 4, 10, c. xiii.
[328] Seler (Commentary on Codex Vaticanus B, p. 102) sees in a passage
in Sahagun (bk. v, c. 1) an association between the omen of a jaguar
roaring in the mountains by night and the echo thereof and Tepeyollotl.
[329] Bk. i, c. xix; bk. ix, passim.
[330] Nat. Rac. Pac. States, vol. iii, p. 417, note.
[331] Bradford, American Antiquities, p. 333; Schoolcraft, Indian
Tribes, vol. i, p. 271; Von Tschudi, Beiträge, p. 29.
[332] See Seler, Bull. 28, American Bureau of Ethnology, p. 94.
[333] Bk. i, c. xvi.
[334] See also Sahagun, bk. i, c. xv.
[335] Bk. i, c. xv.
[336] The most convincing modern writers on the tonalamatl are Morley,
Bowditch, De Jonghe, and Seler. A bibliography of works on the subject
will be found at the end of this appendix.
[337] We speak of “numbers.” More accurately, the numbers employed by
the Mexicans were merely simple dots. Thus a single dot represented our
numeral 1, and thirteen dots our numeral 13.
[338] It will be seen that, although the first ten day-gods take the
first ten week-signs, these signs are, naturally, not in the same order
as the day-signs, as has been pointed out, therefore these gods could
not take precisely the same sign as in the day-signs, but only the same
place.
[339] For Seler’s point of view on this question see his Commentary on
the Aubin Tonalamatl, London and Berlin, 1900–1, pp. 197–228.
De Jonghe, Le Calendrier Mexicain (Journal of the Americanist Society
of Paris, New Series, vol. iii, 1906, pp. 197–228), believes that the
“Lords of the Night” are connected with the days of the tonalamatl. He
states that the combination of these “Lords of the Night” with the
day-names sufficed to distinguish the days of the year which by the
tonalamatl reckoning would take the same numeral and sign. Thus if the
year began with 1 acatl, the 261st day would also be 1 acatl, but would
have a different “Lord of the Night.” This is denied by Seler.
[340] These are depicted in the Aubin tonalamatl along with their
thirteen bird-disguises in the second and first vertical rows of the
upper and the second, and first cross-rows of the lower half of the
sheets, and are displayed in a similar manner in Codex Borbonicus.
There are discrepancies between the two MSS., but these are by no means
irreconcilable. Thus in the seventh place Codex Borbonicus has the
Maize-god Cinteotl and the Aubin tonalamatl Macuilxochitl or
Xochipilli, who, however, in one of the songs to the gods, is addressed
as “Cinteotl,” and so forth.
[341] This, however, clashes with Seler’s enumeration of the day and
night hours elsewhere.
[342] Sahagun, bk. ii, c. xix.
[343] These month-names bear a striking resemblance to those of certain
North American Indian tribes, and are certainly seasonal in their
origin.
[344] The Venus Period in the Borgian Codex Groups, English translation
in Bull. 28 of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology.
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