ANIMAL HEAD-DRESSES. Animal figures appear perhaps most frequently as head-dresses of the various gods in the codices. Here, as elsewhere, from all that can be made out, the religious character is uppermost as in addition to being a decoration, they undoubtedly have some religious signification. Birds occur by far most commonly in this connection. Both male and female figures seems to have these head-dresses. The same bird is often found as the head-dress of several different gods as, for example, the turkey which appears with gods A, B, C, E, and N. The vulture, on the other hand, when used as a head-dress for male figures, appears exclusively with god F. The whole bird is seldom represented on the head-dress of the male figures. It is usually only the head and a part of the body of the bird which forms but a portion of the whole head-covering. Landa (1864, p. 148)[292-*] notes the dress of the leader in the rites. He wears a jacket of red feathers worked with other feathers and from it hang long plumes. He also wears a feather head-dress. Entire birds appear as the sole head-covering only in connection with female figures and then only in one section of the Dresden (16-18) and a parallel passage in the Tro-Cortesianus (94-95). In both these places the conception and the bearing of children are shown together with their baptism. The bird above the head of each female figure seems to be a badge of office, possibly the totems which are held by the women and given to the children. The parrot, quetzal, vulture, screech owl and the horned owl appear in this connection. It is to be noted that the birds associated with these women are not really represented as head-dresses at all. They are quite different from the head decoration composed of a bird's head and feathers seen in other parts of the manuscripts. In the Dresden especially, these birds above the women's heads are shown in almost every case standing with the claws clasping the necklace at the back of the neck. Landa (1864, pp. 144-154) gives an interesting account of the method of baptising children. He also states (p. 304)[292-†] that in the month _Yaxkin_ an old woman brought the little girls to the general feast. This old woman was dressed in a garment of feathers. It was understood that this devoted old woman was not permitted to become intoxicated[293-*] lest she should lose in the road the plume of her office. The serpent appears as a head-dress exclusively with female figures and then usually when the woman is in the act of offering something or is associated with water or rain. The centipede occurs only with god D. Quadrupeds are employed as head-dresses only very seldom. The head of a deer is, in three places, used as a part of the head decoration of god M and the head of a jaguar appears in two places only.