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Show Jl z. BOOK V£. '--v---' H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. made fame [:1crifices of human victims in the temple. F.'· foL~r d"ys preceding the fdl:ival, a fl.riet fnfl: was obf~rveJ, accoJ?1pan1~d wtth. the dfufion of blood. This mouth was called 1tflmo.z tlt, _wh_t(.:h fig~ tlies the defccnt of the wat r, for a rcafon wluch we wdl mlmcdtately mention (g). ln the !cventcenth month, whi h began upon the 12th of January, they eh.:bratcd the fcO:ival of the. goddcfs Ihunateutt_Ji. A fct~ale prifoner was fdctl:cd to reprefent her, and was clothed m the halllt of her idol. They made her dance alone to a tunc whi h_ fo_me old priefis fung to her, and {he was permitted to exprefs her affllcbon at her approaching death, which, however, wa~ efl:ee t~ed a bad _omen fron1. other vittims. At fun-fet, on the day of the fefitval, the pnefl:s adorned with the enfigns of various gods, .h1.cri.ficed her in the ufual manner, and afterwards cut off her head, when one of the priefls, taking it in his hand, began a dance, in which he was joined by the reft. The priefts, during this feftival, made a race do~n the ftairs of tb_e tctnplc; and ~he following day the populace entertamed tbemf~lvcs with a game fimtlar to the Lupercalia of the Romans; for nmmng through the ftrccts, they beat all the women they met with little b<lgs of hay. In this f.tme month they kept the feftivnl of Mictlanteutl:li, god of hell, on whit:h they made a nocturnal facri.ficc of a prifoner, and alfo the fecond feftiv .11 of J acateuCl:li, god of the merchants. The name Tit it/, which they gave to this month, fiBnifies the conftringent power of the feafon which the cold occafions (h). In the eighteenth and laft month, which began on the firft of February, the fccond fe[ti val of the god of fire was held. 0 n the I oth d, y of this month, the whole of the Mexican youth went out to the chace, not only of wild beafts in the wo~ds, but alfo to C<1tch the birds of the lake. On the 1ixtcenth, the fire of the temple and private hou[e;; was extingui{hed, and they kindled it anew before the idol of that (g) M:1rti110 di Leone, a Dominican, makes .Atrmo'l! l!i lignify, the alta.· of the gods; but the name of the altar is <.reomomozlfi, nor Atrmoztli. Boturini pretends that the name is n con t rnc t ion of ./ltrllmomozili, hm fu ch contra ions obtain ed n t nmong the Mexicans ; Lefid cs tho figu re of this month which rcprefents w:~tca· falling obliquely lipOn tho ftcps of an cJifice, ex. prdlcs e::tn ly the defccnt of water lignified by the word Atrmozlli. (h) The above author faye, that 'Titit/ fignifics our l1clly; but nil thofc who under!hwl the Mcxic. n i:lngut1gc know tl1at fuch a name would ben folccifm. 5 g-od, • II I S T 0 R Y 0 P M E X I C 0. god, which they adorned on the occafion, with gems and beautiful BOO'It VI 1 felthcrs. The huntet·s prcfcnteu all their fpoils to the priefl:s, one • ..- ' part of which was confumcd in bnrnt-oftc rings to their gods, and the other was f.tcri..ficcd, and afterwards dreffed for the tables of the nobi-lity and prie!l:s. The women made oblations of Tamalli, which they afterwards difiributed among the hunter . One of the ceremonies ob-fervcd upon this occafion was that of boring the ears of ·all the chi! .. (lren of each fcx, and putting ear-rings in them. But the greatefl: fin - gularity attending this fe!l:ival was that not a fingle human victim wn · I .Clcri.ficed at it. They celebrated Iikewift: in this month the fccond fefl:ival of the mo..: , ther of the gods, refpetl:ing whi h, however, we know nothing cx(; Cpt the ri.diculous cuil:om of lifting up the children by the ears into the air, from a belief that they would thereby become higher in ftature. With regard to the name Izcalli, which they gave to this month, we .arc unable to give any explanation (i) . After the eigbteen months of the Mexican year were comple"ted on the 2oth of 1~ cbntary, upon the 2 I ft the five days ca11edNemontemi commenced, during which days no fcfl:ival was celebrated, nor any entcrprife undertaken, becaufe they were reckoned dies infalffii, or unlucky days. The child th'at happened to be born on any of thefe days, if it was a boy, got the name of Ni!moqu£chtli, ufelefs man, if ille was a girl, rec'cived the name of Nmcihuatl, ufelefs woman. Among the feftivals annually celebrated, the mofl: folemn were thofc of Teoxihuitl) or divine years, of which kind were all thofe years which had the rabbit for their denominative charader, The facrifices were on fuch occafions more numerous, the oblations more abundant, and the dances more folemn, efpecially in Tlafcala, in Huexotzinco, and Cholula. ln like manner, the fdl:ivals at the beginning of every period of thirteen years, were attended with more pomp and gravity; that is, in the years I Tochtlt", r A catl, I Tt:cpatl, and I Calli. S!!:cn XXXVI. But the fefl:ival which was celebrated every .fifty-two years, was by far the moil: fplcndid and moil: folemn, not on1y among the Mexicans, but Sc.:ul:lr fd· ti val, (i) l:::.rn/li lignifies, Behold the houfe. The intcrprct:uious given by Torquemndil and leone nrc too v iolcut, ' VoL. I. s s like~ .. |