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Show 3°4. BOOK VI, ~ Sl!c1'. xx xm. The fc!livals of the fixth, (evcnth, eighth, and ninth JJlontha. H J S T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. nacas u1r.e d th't s n' te , 1't was. never praCtiCed by the Mexicans, or any other nation of the empire. . in the fixth month, which begnn upon the lixth of June, the tlmd feO:ival of the god Tlaloc .was ~.:elebrated. They f.l:re.wed the temple m· a cun·e us mann er w1'th ru·( hcs from the lake. of C1tla. l.te.p ec. The pn•e l11l.s w h o wen t to 1c1e tch them committed vanous ho!hhttes upon all • • pau1'1e'. nget·s w hom they met in their way ' plundcnn. g · themh of eve·r y thing they had about them, and fometimes ev_cn f.l:nppm~ t em q~tte naked, and beating them if they made any relJ.fl:ance. WJth fuch un- pum.t y we·t ·e thefe prieO:s ' turned affailins, fa.v oure. d, that . the.y· not only robbed the common people, but even carl'lcd off the. royal tubutes from the collttl:ors of them, if they chanced to meet With them, no private pcrfons being allowed to mal e complaint aga'tnft them, nor. the king to punifh them for [uch enormities.: On the day o~' t~1e ~c{h?l, they all eat a certain kind of gruel whtch thcf c~llcd Et ... alb,. ftom which the month took the name of Etzalqua!tz tlr. They cari'Jed to the temple a vaO: quantity of painted paper and el~fiic gum, with.wl~ic.h they befmeared the paper and the cheeks o~ the tdol. After th1s lld~culous ceremony, they facrificed feveral pnfoners w!1o were c~othed Ill habitS the fame with that of the god Tlaloc, and Ius companwas, and in order to complete the fcene of their crue 1 ty, th~ pr iefis, attended by a great croud of people, went in veffels to a certam place o~ the lake, where in former tit1"lCS there was a whirlpool, and there ftcnfi eel two children of both [exes, by drowning them, along with the hearts ~f the prifoners who had been facrifi.ced at this feftival, in order t? obtam from their gods the neceffi1ry rains for their fields. Upon thts occafion, thofe minifl:ers of the temple, who, in the courfe of thnt ~~ar, had either been negligent in ofJice, or conviCted of fome high n,lid.emeanor which was not, however, deferving of capital puni(hment, were fl:ripped of their prieftbood, and received a chafl:ifcment fimihu~ to the trick which is praC'tifed on feamen the fi.dl: time they pa.fs the cans at all iu the woriJ ? That no future miflnkcs may be committed by tlwfc wl~o r.c~tcl .the ancient Spanilh hifl:orians of America, it is ncccffiuy to he obfcrvcd, that when thcfe Ill onans fay that the Mexicans, or other nations (acrificcd the tongue, the curs, or any othcf membe~ o£ the body, nil they menn by it i~,"th:lt. they made fomc fligh.t iuciJion io tbcfc members, an drew fomc blooJ fr,om them, • line, ' H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. line, but more f~.:vere, as by being repeatedly d~cked in the w~ter they were at laO: fo exhaufi:ed, it became ncccft~try to carry them home to their houfcs to be recovered. In the feventh month, whi h began upon the 26th of June, the fcfl:ival of Hui~toc ihuatl, the goddc!s of ialt, was ·elcbrated. A day before the fefl:ival there was a great dance of women, who duncecl in a circle, joined to each other by firings or cords f different flowers, and wearing garlands of wot·mwood on their head . A female priloncr, clothed in the habit of the idol of that godclcfs, was placed in the centre of the circle. The dancing was ac omp~mied with finging, in both of which two' old rcfpcCl:able priell:s took the lead. This dance continued the whole night, and in the morning after, the dance of the priefi:s began, and laO:cd the whole day, without any other interruption than the facrifi. ce of prifoncrs. The pric.fl: wore decent garments, and held in tl~eir hands thofc beautiful yellow flowers which the Mexicans called Cempoalxochitl, and many Europeans Indian Carnations; at fun-fet they made the L'lcrifi.ce of the female prifoner, and concluded the fefrival with fumptuous banquets. During the whole of this month the Mexicans made great reJOICings. They wore their beO: drefies ; dances and amufements in their gardens were frequent; the poems which they fang were all on love, or fome other equally pleafing fubjeCl:. The populace went a hunting ir1 the mountains, and the nobles ufed warlike exercifes in the field, and fometimes in veficls upon the lake. Thefe rejoicings of the nobility procured to this month the name of 'Fecuzlbuitl, the fefl:ival of the lords, or of 'FecuilhuitontN, the fmall feO:ival of the lords, as it was truly fo, in comparifon of the fcO:ival of the following month. In the eighth month, which began upon the 16th day of July, they made a folemn ft.:O:ival to the goddefs Cmteotl, under the name of Xilonm; for as we have already mentioned, they changed the . name according to the ft:ne of the maize. On this fefi:ival they called her XiJonrm ; becaufc the ear of maize, while the grain was .fl:ill tender, was called Xilot!. The feflival continued eight days, during which there was copftant qancing in the temple of that goddefs. On fuch days, the king and the nobles gave away meat and drink to the populace, both of which were placed in rows in the under area of the temple, and there Vot. I. R r the 3°5 BOOK VI. ~ |