22 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



ninth, and another in the feventeenth month, with many 

 facrifices of human victims, and fuperb repafts. 



Mixcoatl, the goddefs of hunting, and the principal 

 deity of the Otomies, who, living among the mountains, 

 were for the moft part hunters. The Matlatzincas like- 

 wife worfhipped her with peculiar reverence. She had 

 two temples in Mexico, and in one of them called Teot- 

 Jalpan, was held a great feftival with numerous facrifices 

 of the wild animals, in the fourteenth month. 



Opochtli, the god of fulling. He was believed to be 

 the inventor of nets and other inftruments of fifhing, 

 whence he was particularly revered by fifliermen, as their 

 prote&or. In Cuitlahuac, a city upon a little ifland in 

 the lake of Chalco, there was a god of fifhing highly 

 honoured, named Amimitl, who probably differed from 

 Opochtli no otherwife than in name. 



Huixtocihuatl, the goddefs of fait, was worfhipped by 

 the Mexicans upon account of the fait works which they 

 had at a little diftance from the capital. A feaft was 

 celebrated to her in the feventh month. 



Tzapotlatenan, the goddefs of phyfic. She was fup- 

 pofed to have been the inventrefs of the oil called Oxitl^ 

 and other moft ufeful drugs. She was yearly honoured 

 with the facrifice of human victims, and with particular 

 hymns compofed in her praife. 



Texcatzoncatl, the god of wine ; known likewife by 

 other names (j), from the effects produced by wine. He 

 had a temple in Mexico, in which four hundred priefts 

 were confecrated to his worfhip, and where for him, 

 and the other gods his companions, a yearly feaft was 

 iield in the thirteenth month. 



Ixtlilton 



(/) Such as Tequecbtnecaniani the ftrangler, and Teatlabuiani the drowner. 



