OCR Text |
Show A p p E N D I X. Acamapitzin, the name of the firtl: king of Mexico, lignifies, he who has reeds in his fift, which alfo appears in the figure. Hut'tzt'lihtJit!, the name of the fecond king fignifies, feather of the little flower-fucki11g bird; and therefore the head of that little bird is reprefcnted, though imperfctl:ly, with a feather in its mouth. Cbimalpopoca, name of the third king, means, fmoaking lhield, which is reprefented in his figure. · ltzcoatl, name of the fourth king, means, ferpent of itzli, or armed with lancets, or razors of the ftone itzli, which is repreiented by the fourth figure. · 1/huicmnina, the furname of Montezuma I. the fifth king of Mexi-· co, means, he who f110ots into the Jl·y, and therefore an arrow is reprefented !hot at that figure, by which the Mexicans ufed to lignify the iky. Axajacatl, the name of the .fixth king, means alfo a marlh--.fly, and fignifies the face or afpetl:· of water, and therefore a face is reprefented, above which is the figure of water. '[';zoe, the name of the feventh king, fignifies, pierced, and therefore he is reprefented by a perforated leg. .Ahuitzotl, the name of the eighth king, is alfo that of an an1phihious quadrup~, mentioned in our firtl: book, and is therefore reprefented by the hgure of that quadruped; and to lhew that this animal lives in the water, the figure of that element appears on its back and tail. Moteuczoma, the name of the ninth king, means, angry lord; but we do not undcr1hnd the .figure of it. The ~g~res of the two lafi kings Cuitlahuatzzn and f<.!jrzubtemot zi'n, a~e wantmg; ~ut we do not doubt but that that of ff(_uaubtcmotzin, figmfies, a droppmg eagle, as the name has that meaning. VI. Of the figure of the delugr, and tbe confi!fion of tvngues. The wat~r fignifies the deluge; the human head, and the bird in the water: ~gmfy the drowning of men and animals. The fhip, with a man m 1t, denotes the veifel in which, according to their tntdition, one A p ~ I> I ){. one man, and one woman, were iilved to prefervc the human race. The figure in one corner is that of the mountain Colhnacan, near to which, according to their account, the man and the woman who were faved difembarked from the deluge. In all the Mexican paintings, in which mention is made of that mountain, it is reprefented by the fame figure. The bird upon the tree reprefents the pigeon, which, as they fay, com .. municated fpeech to men, as they were all born dumb after the deluge. Thofe rods which iifue from the mouth of the pigeon towards men, are the fymbols of languages. Wherever the Mexican paintings allude either to languages or words, they employ thefe rods. The multitude of them. in one figure, fignifies the multitude of thofe which were thus communicated. , Thofe fifteen men, who receive the languages from the pigeon, reprefent fo many families feparated from the reft of mankind, from whom, as they account, defcended the nations of Anahuac. ... LETTER from Abbe Don LoRENzo HE~vAs, to -the Au1'Ho~, upon the MEXICAN CALENDAR, Ab. Hervas; author of the work entitled, Idea of the Univerfe, having read this work in monujcript, and, made flme curious and• learned obflroatiom on the Mext'can Calendar, communicated them in the following letter, which we trZffl will prove· acceptable to our readers. FROM the work: of your Reverence I learn with infinite pain, how much the lofs of thofe documents which affiil:ed the · celebrated Dr. Siguenza to form his Ciclography ; and the Cav. Boturini to publi! h his Idea of the General Hijtory qf Ne1.v Spat'n, is to be regretted; and at the fame time I am farthtr confirmed in my opinio.n, that the ufe of the folar year was contemporary, or, perhaps, anterior to t?e Deluge, as I atte1upt to prove in the eleventh volume of my work, 111 which is infer~ed The Extatic Journey to the Planetary Wor~d, wherein I propofe fome reflexions on the Mexican Calendar, wh1ch I ihall here anticipate and ii.lbmit to your cenfure. VoL. I. 0 o o T he |