Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 1 of 2: A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time.Mayer, Brantz
History
Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol. 1 of 2: A Historical, Geographical, Political, Statistical and Social Account of That Country From the Period of the Invasion by the Spaniards to the Present Time.
"This would appear to be purely mythological, but the fact that all
these imaginary antediluvian periods consist of a certain number of
cycles, shows that this fable was invented subsequent to the time when
the Mexicans had attained a knowledge of cycles, years and of the
approximate _length_ of the solar year. It seems, therefore, probable
that the mythological representation is in some way connected with
celestial phenomena, and it is accordingly, found that the days
designated in the parallelograms A and C, as 4 Ocelotl, and 4
Quiahuitl, correspond respectively, (on the assumption that the first
year of the cycle corresponds with the 31st of December,) with the
13th of May and 17th of July, old style, or 22d of May and 26th of
July, new style. And these two days 22d of May and 26th of July, are
those, according to Gama, of the transit of the sun by the zenith of
the city of Mexico, which, by the observations of Humboldt, lies in
19° 25' and 57" north latitude and in 101° 25' 20" west longitude from
Paris. The two other days 4 Ehecatl, and 4 Atl, do not correspond
either in the first year of the cycle or in the year 13 Acatl, with
any station of the sun or any other celestial phenomena.
"There are three other hieroglyphics contained within the interior
circumference or representation of the sun, which indicate the dates
of some celebrated feasts of the Aztecs. The three following
indications or hieroglyphics are found immediately below the figure of
the sun. The first of these, designated by the letter H, is placed
between the parallelograms C and D, and consists of two squares of
five oblongs each, indicating the Aztec numeral 10. The symbol of the
day is not annexed, but the whole of the central figure is itself the
sign Olin Tonatiah, and the hieroglyphic of the day Olin, as
delineated on the stone among the other emblems of the days, is on a
small scale and abbreviated form of that central and principal figure
of the stone. The day designated here, is consequently, 10 Olin. Below
this, and on each side respectively of the great vertical ray of the
sun, are found the hieroglyphics of the days 1 Quiahuitl, and 2
Ozomatli. Of the last mentioned days,--10 Olin corresponds in the
first year of the cycle, with the 22d day of September, new style;--1
Quiahuitl with the 28th of March, and 2 Ozomatli with the 28th of
June, as will be seen by the table at the end of this description of
the calendar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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