Tonatiuh. We know by a fragment of Her- 
nandez^ preserved by the Jesuit Nieremberg 
in the eighth book of his Natural History 
that the great teocalli contained within its wails 
six times thirteen or seventy-eight chapels, se- 
veral of which were dedicated to the Sun, the 
Moon, the planet Venus, called Ilcuicatitlan or 
Tlazolteotly and to the signs of the zodiac^\ 
The Moon, considered by all nations as the 
planet that attracts humidity, had a small temple 
(teccizcalli) built in shell work. The great 
festivals of the Sun (Tonatiuh) were celebrated 
at the winter solstice, and in the sixteenth period 
of thirteen days, over which presided both the 
sign nahui ollin Tonatiuh, and the milky way, 
known under the name of Citlalinycue^ or Citlal- 
cueye. During one of these festivals of the Sun, 
the kings were wont to withdraw into an edifice, 
built in the midst of the enclosure of the teocalli, 
and called Hueyquauhxicalco, They passed 
four days in fasting and penitence ; a bloody 
sacrifice was afterward offered in honor of the 
eclipses {Netonatiuhqualo^ the unfortunate Sun 
devoured). In this sacrifice one of two masked 
victims represented the Sun, Tonatiuh, the 
* Eusebii Nierembergii Hist. Nat., lib. 8, cap. 22, (Ant- 
werpige, 1635, page 142—156). Terftpli partes, 3, 8, 9, 20, 
25. 
VOL. XIII. 
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