195 



The group, No. 2, represents the celebrated 

 serpent woman Cihuacohuatl, called also Qui- 

 laztli, or Tonacacihua, woman of our flesh : she 

 is the companion of Tonacajteuctli. The Mexi- 

 cans considered her as the mother of the human 

 race ; and, after the god of the celestial Para- 

 dise, Ometeuctli, she held the first rank among 

 the divinities of Anahuac ; we see her always re- 

 presented with a great serpent. Other paintings 

 exhibit to us a feather-headed snake, cut in 

 pieces by the great spirit, Tezcatlipoca, or by the 

 Sun personified, the god Tonatiuh. These alle- 

 gories remind us of the ancient traditions of 

 Asia. In the woman' and serpent of the Aztecks 

 we think we perceive the Eve of the Semetic 

 nations : in the snake cut in pieces, the famous 

 serpent Kaliya, or Kalinaga, conquered by Vish- 

 nu, when he took the form of Krishna. The 

 Tonatiuh of the Mexicans appears also to be 

 identical with the Krishna of the Hindoos, re- 

 corded in the Bhagavata Purana, and with the 

 Mithras of the Persians. The most ancient tra- 

 ditions of nations go back to a state of things, 

 when the earth, covered with bogs, was inhabited 

 by snakes and other animals of gigantic bulk : 

 the beneficent luminary, by drying up the soil, 

 delivered the earth from these aquatic monsters. 



Behind the serpent, who appears to be speak- 

 ing to the goddess Cihuacohuatl, are two naked 

 figures ; they are of a different colour, and seem 



o2 



