Rig Veda Americanus | Page 5

tlalocan, q.n., ayauh chicauaztica in auicallo in umpa tlallocan.
The Hymn of Tlaloc.
0. In Mexico the god appears; thy banner is unfolded in all directions,
and no one weeps.
0. I, the god, have returned again, I have turned again to the place of
abundance of blood-sacrifices; there when the day grows old, I
am beheld as a god.
0. Thy work is that of a noble magician; truly thou hast made thyself to
be of our flesh; thou hast made thyself, and who dare affront
thee?
0. Truly he who affronts me does not find himself well with me; my
fathers took by the head the tigers and the serpents.
0. In Tlalocan, in the verdant house, they play at ball, they cast the
reeds.
0. Go forth, go forth to where the clouds are spread abundantly, where
the thick mist makes the cloudy house of Tlaloc.
0. There with strong voice I rise up and cry aloud.
0. Go ye forth to seek me, seek for the words which I have said, as I rise,
a terrible one, and cry aloud.
0. After four years they shall go forth, not to be known, not to be
numbered, they shall descend to the beautiful house, to unite
together and know the doctrine.
0. Go forth, go forth to where the clouds are spread abundantly, where
the thick mist makes the cloudy house of Tlaloc.
Notes.
The god Tlaloc shared with Huitzilopochtli the highest place in the
Mexican Pantheon. He was the deity who presided over the waters, the

rains, the thunder and the lightning. The annual festival in his honor
took place about the time of corn-planting, and was intended to secure
his favor for this all-important crop. Its details are described at great
length by Diego Duran, _Historia de Nueva España_, cap. 86, and
Sahagun, Historia, Lib. II., cap. 25, and elsewhere. His name is derived
from tlalli_, earth. _Tlalocan, referred to in v. 5, "the place of Tlaloc,"
was the name of a mountain east of Tenochtitlan, where the festival of
the god was celebrated; but it had also a mythical meaning, equivalent
to "the earthly Paradise," the abode of happy souls.
It will be observed that v. 10 is a repetition of v. 6. The word
ayauicalo_ refers to the _ayauhcalli, "house of mist," the home of the
rain god, which Sahagun informs us was represented at the annual
festival by four small buildings near the water's edge, carefully
disposed to face the four cardinal points of the compass (Sahagun, _ubi
supra_).
In v. 8 the expression tetzauhpilli (tetzauhqui, to frighten) may be
explained by the figure of Tlaloc, whose statue, says Duran, was that of
un espantable monstruo, la cara muy fea (ibid.).
The compound in v. 10, nauhxiuhtica, "after four years," appears to
refer to the souls of the departed brave ones, who, according to Aztec
mythology, passed to the heaven for four years and after that returned
to the terrestrial Paradise,--the palace of Tlaloc. (See my paper, _The
Journey of the Soul_, in _Proceedings of the Numismatic and
Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, 1883_.)
IV. Teteuynan ycuic.
0. Ahuiya coçauic xochitla oya cueponca yeua tonana teumechaue
moquiçican tamoanchan, auayye, auayya, yyao, yya, yyeo, aye
ayo, ayy ayyaa.
0. Coçauic xochitla oya moxocha yeua tonana, teumechaue, moquiçica
tamoanchan, ouayye, auayya, yyao, yya, yyeo, ayo aye, ayya,
ayyaa.
0. Ahuia iztac xochitla, oya cueponca yeua tonana teumechaue
moquiçica tamoanchan, ouayye, auayya, yyao yya, yyeo, ayeaye,

ayya ayyaa.
0. Ahuiya iztac xochitla oya moxocha yeua tonana teumechaue
moquiçica tamoanchan, ouayye, auayya, yyao, yya, yyeo, aye aye,
ayya ayyaa.
0. Ahuia ohoya teutl ca teucontli paca tona aya, itzpapalotli, auayye,
yyao, yya, yyeo, ayyaa.
0. Ao, auatic ya itaca chicunauixtlauatla maçatl yyollo, ica mozcaltizqui
tonan tlaltecutli, ayao, ayyao, ayyaa.
0. Aho, ye yancuic tiçatla ye yancuic yuitla oya potoniloc yn auicacopa
acatl xamontoca.
0. Aho maçatl mochiuhca teutlalipan mitziya noittaco, yeua xiuhnello,
yeua mimichan.
Var. 7. Xamantoca. 8. Yehoa.
Gloss.
0. Q.n., in tonan ocueponya umpa oalquiz yn tamoanchan.
0. Q.n., in amona ca izcui yn xochiuh ca umpa oquiz yn tmoanchan.
0. Q.n. In tonan ocuepo in umpa oquiz tamoanchan.
0. Q.n., in amona iztac in oxochiuh yn umpa oniquiz tamoanchan.
0. Q.n., in tonan ca teucumitl icpac in quiz yn itzpapalotl.
0. Q.n., in tonan ixtlauan in mozcaltito auh inic mozcalti macatl y yollo
y yeua tonan tlaltecutli.
0. Q.n., auh inic potoniloc, tonan, yancuic tiçatl ioan yancuic yn iuitl,
auh nauhcampa quite ynacatl.
0. Q.n., in macatl yeuan can iliaya yn ixtlauacan yuhqui inic quic
noitayan y yeuatl inimich ioan in xiuhnel.
Hymn to the Mother of the Gods.
0. Hail to our mother, who caused the yellow flowers to blossom, who
scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from
Paradise.
0. Hail