Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/193

Rh These two principal gods—of Providence and Battle—were esteemed brothers; and nothing was presumed to transpire without their mutual knowledge and approbation. The prayers and offerings of the priests were, as nearly as possible, equally divided between these two deities; not forgetting, also, a multitude of minor gods inhabiting separate temples, of peculiar, though somewhat conflicting, powers and attributes.

The goddess Teoyamiqui was a horrible colossal figure, hewn out of a solid block of basalt, nine feet high. It was a monstrous combination of the human form, the tiger, and the rattlesnake: large wreathed serpents supplied the place of arms to the figure; its feet were those of a tiger, with claws extended, in the act of seizing its prey; and between them lay the head of a rattlesnake, which appeared to descend from the body of the idol. Its adornments accorded with its frightful exterior: a large necklace composed of human hearts, hands, and skulls, was worn around it, fastened together with entrails, leaving the deformed breasts of the goddess only uncovered; and its drapery was composed of wreathed snakes with open mouths, interwoven in a horrible