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TEMPLE PYRAMID OF TEPOXTLAN 



349 



If the fact is taken into consideration that the temple which I have 

 described above is still called by the people '' casa del Tepozteco ", 

 then the supposition is not far to seek that it is our Tepoxtlan from 

 which the pulque god Tepoxtecatl (figure 87) derived his name, and 

 this supposition is confirmed by two good witnesses. In the Relacion 

 that I already mentioned at the beginning, which was the reply to 

 an inquiry blank, dispatched under King Philip II with the same 

 wording to all towns of the Spanish colonial territory, the question 

 concerning the name of this place and the meaning of the name is 

 answered thus: "' They say that the place is named Tepoxtlan because, 

 when their ancestors settled this land, they found this name already 



Fig. 8" 



Tepoxtecatl, the pulque god, from Mexican painting in 

 Biblioteca Nazionale, Florence. 



in use, for those who settled there before (or first) said that the great 

 devil, or idol, which they had, was called Ome tuchitl, that is, ' 2 

 rabbits ', and that he bore the surname Tepoxtecatl ". The other tes- 

 timony is furnished by the often-mentioned picture manuscript of the 

 Biblioteca Nazionale in Florence, which, besides various other pulque 

 gods, represents Tepoxtecatl in full figure and in hieroglyph and re- 

 marks concerning him : " This is the representation of a great in- 

 iquity which was the custom in a village named Tepoxtlan; namely, 

 when an Indian died in a state of intoxication the others of this vil- 

 lage made a great feast to him, holding in their hands copper axes 

 which were used to fell wood. This village is near Yautepeque. 

 They are vassals of the Lord JMarques del Valle ". 



In figure 87 I give the picture of the pulque god Tepoxtecatl and 



