(From the Sahagun MS.)
CHANTICO.
(From Codex Telleriano-Remensis, fol. 21, Verso.) (See p. 280.)
TEMPLE
Sahagun states[9] that the tzommolco was the temple of Xiuhtecutli. At the foot of the steps of this temple was a terrace to which several steps gave access, and upon this certain female slaves were occasionally sacrificed.
PRIESTHOOD
The Ixcocauhqui Tzommolco teohua appear to have been the especial priests of Xiuhtecutli.[10]
NATURE AND STATUS
Although Xiuhtecutli undoubtedly appeared to the Mexicans as the personification of fire, it was more as that element in its primeval and original form, its chaotic and elemental shape. He is, indeed, the pre-solar fire which existed before the creation of the sun or moon, and just as the gods of water ruled over moisture wherever it was to be found, so was Xiuhtecutli imagined as holding sway over fire, whether it came from the heavens above or the earth beneath. Thus we find him spoken of by Sahagun as dwelling in the navel of the earth, where the volcanic fires have their origin, and as having his place above in what appears to be a species of cloud-castle, for the Mexican word for “embattlement” is derived from that for “cloud.”[11] He is also called “He who entereth the blue stone pyramid,” which is, of course, the sky.