The goddess to whom this hymn is devoted was called Teteoinan, the [Mother of the Gods], [Toçi], our Mother (maternal ancestor), and also by another name which signified [“the Heart of the Earth,”] the latter being bestowed upon her, says [Duran], because she was believed to be the cause of earthquakes. Her general functions were those of a [genius of fertility], extending both to the vegetable and the animal world. [Thus, she was the patroness of the native midwives and of women in childbirth (Sahagun).] Her chief [temple at Tepeyacac] was one of the most renowned in ancient Mexico, and it was a felicitous idea of the early missionaries to have [“Our Lady of Guadalupe”] make her appearance on the immediate site of this ancient fane already celebrated as the place of worship of the older female deity. The [Codex Ramirez] makes her a daughter of the [first King of Culhuacan].

1. [Tamoanchan]. This word Sahagun translates “we seek our homes,” while the [Codex Telleriano-Remensis] gives the more intelligible rendering “there is their home whither they descend,” and adds that it is synonymous with [Xochitlycacan], “the place where the flowers are lifted.” It was the mystical [Paradise of the Aztecs], the [Home of the Gods], and the happy realm of departed souls. The Codex just quoted adds that the gods were born there, which explains the introduction of the word into this hymn.

5. For teucontli (see Glossary) I should suggest teocomitl, a species of ornament, [(cf. Sahagun, Historia, Lib. II., cap. 37.)]

[V. Chimalpanecatl icuic ioan tlaltecaua (nanotl).]

  1. [Ichimalipan chipuchica ueya, mixiuiloc yautlatoaya, ichimalipan chipuchica ueya, mixiuiloc yautlatoa.]
  2. [Coatepec tequiua, tepetitla moxayaual teueuel aya quinelli moquichtiuiui tlalli cuecuechiuia aqui moxayaual teueuella.]

Var. Title. Tlaltecaoannanotl. 2. Cohoatepechquiua.

[Gloss.]

  1. Q.n., yautlatolli ipa omixiuh ynanotl chimalipan in omixiuh, id est, ipa oquitlacatilli ynanotl in uitzilopochtli y yauyutl.
  2. Q.n., coatepec otepeuh tepetitla yc moxaual ioan y teueuel, id est, ichimal ic otepeuh aocac omoquichquetz iniquac peualoque coatepec a iniquac otlalli cuecuechiuh, id est, iquac opopoliuhque.

[Hymn to Chimalipan in Parturition.]