9. Ahuia nauhxiuhticaya nitopanecauiloc, _q.n._, nauhxiuhtica in topanecauiloz, _id est_, in tepan mochiuaz. Ayoc inomatia ay motlapoalli, _q.n._, aocmo nomatia iniquin motlapoalpan. Ca oximoac ye quetzalcalla nepanauia, _q.n._, ye qualcan ye netlamachtiloyan ynemca. Ay yaxcana teizcaltiquetl, _q.n._, iniaxca inic oteizcalli. 10. Ahuia xiyanouia, _q.n._, xiuia. Auia xiya motecaya ay poyauhtla, _q.n._, ximotecati in umpa poyauhtla. Ayauh chicauaztica auicallo tlalocan, _q.n._, ayauh chicauaztica in auicallo in umpa tlallocan. _The Hymn of Tlaloc._ 1. In Mexico the god appears; thy banner is unfolded in all directions, and no one weeps. 2. I, the god, have returned again, I have turned again to the place of abundance of blood-sacrifices; there when the day grows old, I am beheld as a god. 3. Thy work is that of a noble magician; truly thou hast made thyself to be of our flesh; thou hast made thyself, and who dare affront thee? 4. Truly he who affronts me does not find himself well with me; my fathers took by the head the tigers and the serpents. 5. In Tlalocan, in the verdant house, they play at ball, they cast the reeds. 6. Go forth, go forth to where the clouds are spread abundantly, where the thick mist makes the cloudy house of Tlaloc. 7. There with strong voice I rise up and cry aloud. 8. Go ye forth to seek me, seek for the words which I have said, as I rise, a terrible one, and cry aloud. 9. After four years they shall go forth, not to be known, not to be numbered, they shall descend to the beautiful house, to unite together and know the doctrine. 10. Go forth, go forth to where the clouds are spread abundantly, where the thick mist makes the cloudy house of Tlaloc. _Notes._ The god Tlaloc shared with Huitzilopochtli the highest place in the Mexican Pantheon. He was the deity who presided over the waters, the rains, the thunder and the lightning. The annual festival in his honor took place about the time of corn-planting, and was intended to secure his favor for this all-important crop. Its details are described at great length by Diego Duran, _Historia de Nueva Espana_, cap. 86, and Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. II., cap. 25, and elsewhere. His name is derived from _tlalli_, earth. _Tlalocan_, referred to in v. 5, "the place of Tlaloc," was the name of a mountain east of Tenochtitlan, where the festival of the god was celebrated; but it had also a mythical meaning, equivalent to "the earthly Paradise," the abode of happy souls. It will be observed that v. 10 is a repetition of v. 6. The word _ayauicalo_ refers to the _ayauhcalli_, "house of mist," the home of the rain god, which Sahagun informs us was represented at the annual festival by four small buildings near the water's edge, carefully disposed to face the four cardinal points of the compass (Sahagun, _ubi supra_).