File:The myths of Mexico and Peru (1913) (14781748154).jpg

Identifier: mythsofmexicoper01spen (find matches)
Title: The myths of Mexico and Peru
Year: 1913 (1910s)
Authors: Spence, Lewis, 1874-1955
Subjects: Indians of Mexico Indian mythology Indians of Mexico Indians of South America Indian mythology Indians of South America
Publisher: New York, T. Y. Crowell company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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and earthquakes. Bythe interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis heis called Tepeolotlec, an obvious distortion of his realname. The interpreter of the codex states that hisname refers to the condition of the earth after theflood. The sacrifices of these thirteen days were notgood, and the literal translation of their name is dirtsacrifices. They caused palsy and bad humours. . . .This Tepeolotlec was lord of these thirteen days. Inthem were celebrated the feast to the jaguar, and thelast four preceding days were days of fasting, . . .Tepeolotlec means the * Lord of Beasts. The fourfeast days were in honour of the Suchiquezal, who wasthe man that remained behind on the earth upon whichwe now live. This Tepeolotlec was the same as theecho of the voice when it re-echoes in a valley from onemountain to another. This name ^jaguar is given tothe earth because the jaguar is the boldest animal, andthe echo which the voice awakens in the mountains is asurvival of the flood, it is said. 102
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FATHER AND MOTHER GODS From this we can see that Tepeyollotl is a deity ofthe earth pure and simple, a god of desert places. Itis certain that he was not a Mexican god, or at leastwas not of Nahua origin, as he is mentioned by noneof those writers who deal with Nahua traditions,and we must look for him among the Mixtecs andZapotecs. Macuilxochitl, or Xochipilli This deity, whose names mean Five-Flower andSource of Flowers, was regarded as the patron of luckin gaming. He may have been adopted by the Nahuafrom the Zapotecs, but the converse may be equallytrue. The Zapotecs represented him with a design re-sembling a butterfly about the mouth, and a many-coloured face which looks out of the open jaws of abird with a tall and erect crest. The worship of thisgod appears to have been very widespread. Sahagunsays of him that a fete was held in his honour, whichwas preceded by a rigorous fast. The people coveredthemselves with ornaments and jewels symbolic of thedeity, as if they desired to r

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