286 



Tartary, but who have long had intimate com- 

 munications with Hindostan * and Thibet. 



We have seen above, that the Mexican year 

 presented, like that of the Egyptians and the 

 new French calendar, the advantage of a division 

 into months of equal duration. The five com- 

 plementary days, the epagomenes ^ocyo^evai 

 of the Egyptians, were denoted among the 

 Mexicans by the name of nemontemi or voids. 

 We shall see presently the origin of this denomi- 

 nation ; it is sufficient here to observe, that the 

 children born during the five complementary 

 days were regarded as unfortunate, and were 

 called nemoqulchtli or nencihuatl, unhappy men 

 or women; in order that, as is stated by the 

 Mexican writers, these very names should call 

 to their remembrance, in every event of life, how 

 little they ought to trust to their stars. 



Thirteen Mexican years formed a cycle, 

 called tlalpUM) analogous to the indiction of the 

 Romans. Four tlalpilli formed a period of 52 

 years, or xiuhmolpilli, ligature of the years ; finally, 

 two of these periods of 52 years formed an old 

 age, cehuehuetiliztli. To express myself more 

 clearly, I shall call, with several Spanish writers, 

 the ligature half a century, and old age a century. 



* Sir William Jones, in the Asiatic Researches, vol. 1> 

 p. 420, 



