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Show s P. c .,., XXX IV. Fc11ivals of the tcnth,clc· ve nt II, lwt·llt h, and ch illt'CIIth tnUIIth s. .H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. the Chiampinolli, which was one of their moll: co_mmon dri_nks, was given, and alfo the Tama!li, which wa~ pail:e of matze, made mto fi·nall rolls, and alfo other provifions, of whtch we £hall treat hereafter. Prcfcnts were made to the priefts, and the nobles invited each other rccil roc:llly to cntcrt<linments, and prefented each other with go!~, iilver; beautiful feathers, and curious animals. They fung the glonous action of their ance!l:ors, and boafted of the noblenef~ and antiquity of their families. At fun-fet, when the fea!l:ing of the populace was ended, the pri<.:!l:s had their dance which ontinuecl four hours, and on that account there was a fplendid illumination in the tem pic. The Jail: day was celebrated with the dance of the nobility and the military, among whom danced alfo a female prifoner, who repreicntcd that godclefs, and was .Gu:rificed after the dance along with the other prifoners. Thus the f<::ftival, as well as the month, had the name of Hueitt ·cuilhuitl, that is, the great feftival of the lords. In the ninth month, which began on the sth of Augu!l:, the fecond feftival of Huitzilopochtli was kept; on which, befidcs the ufual ceremonies, they :1dorned all the idols with flowers; not only thofe which were wol'ihipped in the temples, but likewife t!wfe which they had for private devotion in their houfes; from whence the rnon th was nlled Tlax·ochimnco. The night preceding the feil:ival was employed in preparing the meats which they eat next day w}th the grear.cfi: jubilee. The noQ.les of both [exes danced together, the arms of the one rdl:ing on the fhoulders of the other. This dance, which lail:ed until the ev'cning, fini01ed with the facrifice of fame prifoners. In this month alfo the fc!lival of JacateuCl:li, the god of commerce, was hdd, a<:com1 nnied with f<1crifices. In the tenth month, the beginning of which was on the 2 sth of Auguft, they kept the fdbval of Xiuhtc:uffli, god of fire. 1 n the · pre eding months, the prieil:s brought out of the woods a large tree, which they fi xed in the under area of the temple. The day before the fci1:ival they ftript off its bmnches and bark, and adorn d it with p:1intcd paper, and from that time it was reverenced as the image of Xiuhteuctli. The owners of the prifoners which were to be fc1crificed on this occafion, dyed their bodies with red ochre, to refemble in {ome mc.:afure the colour of fire, and were dreffcd in their beft gannents. They ' H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X 1 C 0. They went to the temple, accompanied by their prifoncrs, anJ parted the whole night in iinging and dancing with them. The d:1y of the feitival being arrived, and alfo tile hour of the facrificc, they tied the hands and feet of the vi Ctims, and fprinkl ed th powder of Jauhtli U) in their £1ces, in order to deaden their ienfes, that their torments might be lefs painful. Then they began the dance, each with his victim upon his back, and one after the other threw them into a brgc fire kindled in the area, from which ·they foon after drew them with hooks of wood, to complete the facrificc upon the altar in the ordipary way. The Mexicans gave to rhi month the name of Xocobul!tzi. which ·fign.ifics the maturity of the fruits. The Tlafc;tbns called th(j ninth month Mi(;cm'!IJeuitl, or the fcftival of the dead; bccaufe in it they made oblations for the foul of the deccail:d; and the tenth month Hueimiccailhuit!, or the grand feftival of the dead; becaufc in that they wore mourning, and nude lament:1tion fur the death of their ::mccftors. Five days before the commencement of the eleventh month, which began on the J 4th of September, all fcftivJls ceaft.!d. During the .firft eight days of the month, was a dance, bnt without mufic or iinging .1 every one direCting his movements accot·ding to his own plcnfure. After this period was elapfed, they clothed :1 female prifoner in the hAbit of Teteoinan, or the mother of the gods, whofe feftival w:1s cele. brating; the prifoner was attended by many women, and particularly by the midwives, who for four whole days employed themfelves to a~ mufe and comfort her. When the prin ipal day of the fcftival was arrived, they led this woman to the upper area of the temple of that goddefs, where they fa"ri.ficed her; but this was not performed in the ufual mode, nor upon the common altar where other viCtims were fa~ c,ri.hced, for they beheaded her upon the {]~o ulders of another woman, and [tripped her ikin of, which a youth, with a numerous attendance, carried to prt:fent to the idol of Bllitzilopochtli, in memory of the inhuman facrifice which their anceftors had made of the princefs (f) The Jauhtli js n plant whofc jlen) is about a cubi.t long, its le1yes nrc fimilnr to thof<1 •>f che willow but indented its fl ower~ are )'Cilow and the roots thin. The flowers, as }Veil 1 • •r J • ~u the other pnrt~ of the pi:Lnt, have the fame fmcll and taO;c as thofe of th.: anuc. tIS very ufeful in medicine, nnd the Mexican phyftch1ns up plied it in difli:rcnt di!lcm pcrs l it' was aW~ made 11f~ of fol' mnny fltpedlitiol.n ~nds. R r ·z of J nooK vr. 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