in the celebration of a festival. To enable the messenger to travel to the Sun-House, the whale, the siren, and the tortoise were asked to form themselves into a bridge which might reach the abode of the luminary. The servant crossed it, singing sweetly as he went, and his song was heard by the Sun, who straitly commanded his retainers not to respond to it on being approached by the singer. This some of them failed to do, and returning with the messenger, took with them the necessary instruments wherewith to celebrate the festival of Tezcatlipocâ. The people of Texcuco, says Olmos, naturally placed the occurrence of these events within their own boundaries, but they added (according to a pictorial manuscript which they showed the friar) that the Sun shot a dart into the ground and at this spot the first man arose. He was imperfect, being formed only from the armpits upward. He was followed by a woman. Mendieta suppresses the remainder of the myth because of its Rabelaisian details, but we may conclude that from these twain humanity was descended. Sahagun’s account of the creation of the sun and moon [56] differs somewhat from the foregoing and is as follows: The gods met at Teotihuacan, and asked one another: “Who will undertake the task of lighting the world?” to which one god called Tecciztecatl (he who was to become the Moon-god) replied: “That will I.” They cast about for still another member of the pantheon to undertake the duty. At last they fixed upon one who was afflicted with a terrible disease who at once agreed to the accomplishment of their desires. During four days the gods prepared for the occasion by acts of penitence, then they kindled a fire on a rock named Teotexcalli (high place of the gods). Meanwhile Tecciztecatl made offerings of many precious things, rich feathers and golden ornaments. The spines with which the gods ceremonially pricked themselves were like the spines of the maguey, but were made from precious stones, and the copal they used for incense was of no common sort. The victim, who was called Nanahuatl, offered nine green reeds, joined three and three, instead of the ordinary branches and balls of grass and spines of the maguey generally employed for such ceremonies, and these he saturated with his own blood. In place of copal he offered up the scabs of his sores. The gods built a tower for each of the two divinities who had undertaken the illumination of the world, and performed penance for four days and four nights. They then strewed the ground with the branches, flowers, and other objects of which they had made use during that time. On the night following, shortly before midnight, they brought Tecciztecatl his ornaments. These consisted of a plumage called aztacomitl, made of herons’ feathers, and a jacket of light stuff, whilst to Nanahuatl they gave a crown of paper called amatzontli (paper hair) and a stole and cincture, likewise of paper. Midnight having arrived, all the gods ranged themselves in the