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days, during- which the Sun passes the zenith at 

 Mexico. 



No. 10. An allegory, which reminds us of 

 the purifications of India. A divinity, whose 

 enormous nose is decorated with the figure of 

 the two headed snake, or mysterious amphisbsena, 

 carries in his hand a xiquipilli, or a purse of 

 incense : we see on his back a broken vase, 

 from which issues a serpent ; another serpent, 

 bleeding, and cut in pieces, is before him; a 

 third serpent, equally mangled, is contained in 

 a chest full of water, from which rises a plant. 

 We discover on the right a man placed in a 

 vase ; on the left a woman adorned with flowers, 

 probably the voluptuous Tlamezquimilli, who 

 is represented also with a bandage on her eyes. 

 In the same page we find an agave, which, 

 when cut, yields blood. Does this allegory 

 allude to the serpent that poisons the water, 

 the source of all organic life *, to the victory 

 of Crishna over the dragon Kaliya, to the seduc- 

 tion and purification by fire ? It is evident, that 

 the figure of the serpent in the Mexican paint- 

 ings represents two different ideas. In the re- 

 liefs which indicate the divisions of the year 

 and of the cycles, this figure expresses only 

 time, cevum. The serpent represented in com- 

 pany with the mother of men (Cihuacohnatl), 



* Paullinus de S. Bartholoruaio, Codices Avenges, p. 235. 

 Q2 



