178 Antiquities and Languages of the Mexican Indians. 



acquainted with the art of preparing mumijiies : those of the Pe- 

 ruvians are well known in the United States. 



The god Quetzalcoatl, was worshipped a-s the god of the air, 

 throughout the Mexican empire, and his laws declared on the 

 mountain Tzatzipec, the mountain of clamours; the voice of his 

 high priest was supposed to be heard at a distance of three hun- 

 dred miles. The Mexican iEolus was likewise their Saturn. They 

 had their golden age, which they called Teojihuitl, or " the 

 divine year." The same Quetzaicoatl was the Vulcan of the 

 Indians of Cholula, to whom he taught the art of smelting. 



Centeotl, the goddess of maiz, whom the Mexicans also called 

 Tonacayohua, " she who feeds us," and protects the fields like 

 Ceres. To her they consecrated the first fruits. 



Iluitzilopochtli, or Mejitli, [the j pronounced as k,] from 

 whence Mexico took its name, was the god of war, the Mars of 

 the Mexicans. 



Tacateucili, the god who conducts, was the tutelary deity 

 of commerce, the Aztecan Mercury. 



Tezcatzoncatl, the god of wine, was not less a favourite with the 

 Mexicans, than Bacchus was with the Egyptians. In the city of 

 Mexico alone, were four hundred priests dedicated to his service. 



Mijcoatl, the goddess of the chase, had, like Diana, her tem- 

 ples, as well as her Endymion, named Amimitl. 



Coatlictie, or Coatlanlona, protected the gardens ; the dealers 

 in flowers celebrated the feast of this Flora of the Aztecans, in 

 the spring of the year, in a temple called Topico. 



Tzapotlatenan, the goddess of medicine, was the Mexican Apollo, 

 though of a different sex. Besides their Venus the mother of the 

 gods, they had their Venus impudica, and their Venus pronuba ; 

 the name of the first was Macuiljochiquetzalli. Teopitoton, smaller 

 gods, were the penates, of which they had both noble and ple- 

 ])ian. The Mexicans acknowledged as deities, the inventors of 

 all the arts, and of useful acquirements. Polytheism was so fer- 

 tile amongst the Mexicans, that it produced a goddess for the 

 protection of ancient females, named Slamateuchtli. Not the 

 deities alone, but the temples, the feasts, the priesthood, and 

 every thing connected with the worship, has a remarkable 

 affinity with Egypt. 



The history of the aborigines of America, is yet involved in 

 obscurity ; perhaps this may be pierced in an age, when histori- 



