Rig Veda Americanus | Page 6

to our mother, who poured forth flowers in abundance, who
scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from
Paradise.
0. Hail to our mother, who caused the yellow flowers to blossom, she
who scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from

Paradise.
0. Hail to our mother, who poured forth white flowers in abundance,
who scattered the seeds of the maguey, as she came forth from
Paradise.
0. Hail to the goddess who shines in the thorn bush like a bright
butterfly.
0. Ho! she is our mother, goddess of the earth, she supplies food in the
desert to the wild beasts, and causes them to live.
0. Thus, thus, you see her to be an ever-fresh model of liberality toward
all flesh.
0. And as you see the goddess of the earth do to the wild beasts, so also
does she toward the green herbs and the fishes.
Notes.
The goddess to whom this hymn is devoted was called Teteoinan, the
Mother of the Gods, _Toçi_, our Mother (maternal ancestor), and also
by another name which signified "the Heart of the Earth," the latter
being bestowed upon her, says Duran, because she was believed to be
the cause of earthquakes. Her general functions were those of a genius
of fertility, extending both to the vegetable and the animal world. Thus,
she was the patroness of the native midwives and of women in
childbirth (Sahagun). Her chief temple at Tepeyacac was one of the
most renowned in ancient Mexico, and it was a felicitous idea of the
early missionaries to have "Our Lady of Guadalupe" make her
appearance on the immediate site of this ancient fane already celebrated
as the place of worship of the older female deity. The Codex Ramirez
makes her a daughter of the first King of Culhuacan.
0. Tamoanchan. This word Sahagun translates "we seek our homes,"
while the Codex Telleriano-Remensis gives the more intelligible
rendering "there is their home whither they descend," and adds
that it is synonymous with Xochitlycacan, "the place where the
flowers are lifted." It was the mystical Paradise of the Aztecs, the
Home of the Gods, and the happy realm of departed souls. The
Codex just quoted adds that the gods were born there, which
explains the introduction of the word into this hymn.
0. For teucontli (see Glossary) I should suggest teocomitl, a species of

ornament, (cf. Sahagun, Historia, Lib. II., cap. 37.)
0. _Chimalpanecatl icuic ioan tlaltecaua (nanotl)._
0. Ichimalipan chipuchica ueya, mixiuiloc yautlatoaya, ichimalipan
chipuchica ueya, mixiuiloc yautlatoa.
0. Coatepec tequiua, tepetitla moxayaual teueuel aya quinelli
moquichtiuiui tlalli cuecuechiuia aqui moxayaual teueuella.
Var. Title. Tlaltecaoannanotl. 2. Cohoatepechquiua.
Gloss.
0. Q.n._, yautlatolli ipa omixiuh ynanotl chimalipan in omixiuh, id est_,
ipa oquitlacatilli ynanotl in uitzilopochtli y yauyutl.
0. Q.n._, coatepec otepeuh tepetitla yc moxaual ioan y teueuel, id est_,
ichimal ic otepeuh aocac omoquichquetz iniquac peualoque
coatepec a iniquac otlalli cuecuechiuh, id est, iquac
opopoliuhque.
Hymn to Chimalipan in Parturition.
0. Chimalipan was a virgin when she brought forth the adviser of battles;
Chimalipan was a virgin when she brought forth the adviser of
battles.
0. On the Coatepec was her labor; on the mountain he ripened into age;
as he became a man truly the earth was shaken, even as he
became a man.
Notes.
The goddess Chimalipan is not mentioned by the authorities at my
command; but from the tenor of the hymn it is evident that the name is
a synonym for the virgin mother of Huitzilopochtli, who is distinctly
referred to by his title Yautlatoani (see ante, p. 18). In the myth, she
dwelt upon the Coatepetl, the Serpent Mountain, on the site of Tulan.
For a full discussion of this myth I refer to my inquiry, "_Were the
Toltecs an Historic Nationality?" in Proceedings of the Amer. Phil.
Soc._ for Sept. 1887, and American Hero-Myths, chap. 11. (Phila.,
1881).
The Gloss distinctly states that the mother of Huitzilopochtli is referred
to in the hymn. We must regard Chimalipan therefore as identical with

Chimalman, who, according to another myth dwelt in Tula as a virgin,
and was divinely impregnated by the descending spirit of the All-father
in the shape of a bunch of feathers.
In other myths she is mentioned as also the mother of the Huitznahua,
the enemies and the brothers of Huitzilopochtli, referred to in the
second of this collection of chants.
VI. _Ixcoçauhqui icuic._
0. Huiya tzonimolco notauane ye namech maya pinauhtiz, tetemoca ye
namech maya pinauhtiz.
0. Xonca mecatla notecua icçotl mimilcatoc chicueyocan naualcalli
nauali temoquetlaya.
0. Huiya tzonimolco cuicotipeuhque, aya tzonimolco cuicotipeuhque,
aya iztleica naual moquizcauia, iztlauan naual moquizca.
0. Huia tzonimolco maceualli maya temacouia, oya tonaqui, oya tonaqui
maceualli, maya temacouiya.
0. Huiya tzonimolco xoxolcuicatl cacauantoc ya ayouica mocuiltonoaci
tontecuitl moteicnelil mauiztli.
0. Huiya ciuatontla xatenonotza,