“Chantico, they say, was the first who offered sacrifice after having eaten a fried fish, and that in consequence of the presumption of offering sacrifices without having fasted, Tonacatecutli became incensed and pronounced a curse against him that he should be changed into a dog, which is an animal of a very voracious nature; and accordingly they named him Nine Dogs.” This myth should be compared with that of Nata and Nena in the chapter on Cosmogony. FESTIVAL Chicunaui itzcuintli (“Nine Dog”).—Sahagun [299] states that the lapidaries of Xochimilco who cut precious stones adored, among others, this goddess and made a feast to her on the above sign. They attributed to her the articles of feminine toilet, and ornamented her with golden earrings and a butterfly nose-plug of the same metal. At her festival four captives represented Chantico, Naualpilli, [300] Macuilcalli, [301] and Cinteotl, and were dressed in their insignia. Duran (who confounds Chantico with Tlazolteotl) states that at this feast these captives were cast into a fire exactly as at the xocohuetzi festival to Xiuhtecutli (q.v.), and that after the offering the priests mortified themselves by letting the resin from burning copal torches drop on their limbs. TEMPLE AND PRIESTHOOD The idol of Chantico was kept in close confinement in the dark Tlillan, and was not visible to the vulgar gaze. Sahagun states that she had a temple in Mexico called Tetlanman, and priests who lived in the Tetlanman Calmecac, [302] and that the office of these priests, the tecamma teoua, was the furnishing of paint, feathers, and other necessaries for the feast of the goddess. NATURE AND STATUS Like Xiuhtecutli, the character of Chantico is expressed by a watery sign, that of quiauitl (rain). This, however, is really connected with the old mythic fire-rain at the end of the water-sun age, when fire fell from heaven and “the foam-stones foamed up and the rocks became red.” The goddess must be regarded as the consuming fire, as is proved by an account of her image by Duran, representing her with open jaws and hungry fangs. It is because of this, too, that she came to be connected with the dog, [303] the biting animal, and that her festival is held on the date chicunai itzcuintli, “nine dog.” She is further the volcanic fire which is hidden in the centre of the earth, and which was symbolically represented by the fire shut up in the tlillan temple or sacred edifice, and this plutonic significance is perhaps the reason why the interpreters speak of her as having the characteristics of Mictlantecutli, the god of Hades; but they speak of her as well as the “Yellow Woman.” Her butterfly names also have reference to the flitting shapes seen in flame.