Before proceeding further, let us pause and inquire into the reason why the name Tlaloc, which is formed of tlalli=earth and is defined by Duran, for instance, as meaning “an underground passage or a great cave” (_op. cit._, chap. 84), should be the well-known title of the “god of rain.” The explanation is to be found in the text of the Vatican Codex, A. Kingsborough, V, p. 190. This teaches us that the last syllable of the name Tlaloc does not represent oc=inside of, but stands for octli, the name of the native wine now known as pulque, which is obtained from the agave plant. Tlaloc thus meant “earth-wine” and “by this metaphor they wanted to express that just as the fumes of wine make mankind gay and happy, so the earth when saturated with water, is gay and fresh and produces its fruits and cereals.” By the light of this explanation we see that the titles conferred upon Montezuma’s coadjutor were literally “the priest or lord, or dealer-of-fire in the place of the earth-wine.” “The clouds, rain, thunder and lightning were attributed to the lord Tlaloc who had many tlalocs and priests under him, who cultivated all foods necessary for the body, such as maize, beans, etc., and sent the rains so that the earth should give birth to all of its products. During their festival in springtime the priests went through the streets dancing and singing and carrying a shoot of green maize in one hand and a pot with a handle in the other. In this way they went asking for the [ceremonial] boiled maize and all fanners gave them some” ... (Sahagun, book VI, chap. 5).