Tovar Codex, Tecuilhuitontli, 7th Month Aztec Calendar

Aztec goddess Huixtocihuatl wearing a cloak, a plume of quetzal feathers, and a headdress. The text describes this month as the time when the lower classes and workers served the lesser lords and chiefs. This month, identified as including the saintE??s day of John the Baptist, is called Tecuilhuitontli (Small Feast of the Lords). The patron gods of this month, which equated to June-July, were Huixtocihuatl or Uixtocihuatl (a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water and whose younger brother was Tlaloc) and Xochipilli (the flower prince and god of maize, love, beauty, song, and dance). The Tovar Codex (16th century) contains detailed information about the rites and ceremonies of the Aztecs. The codex is illustrated with 51 full-page paintings in watercolor. Illustration taken from a 19th century transcript of Juan de Tovar's Historia de la benida de los yndios apoblar a Mexico (the Codex Tovar)

Picture No

12696113

Media ID

47670488

Size

3199px x 4350px (2.0MB)

Credit

LOC/Jay I. Kislak Collection/Science Source/Mary Evans