The Gods of Mexico

Glossary

For the convenience of readers a glossary of the Mexican words most frequently employed in this work is appended:

anauatl	Ring of white mussel-shell.
areyto	Sacred dance; a word of Antillean origin, introduced by the Spanish conquerors of Mexico.
atlatl	Spear-thrower.
aztaxelli	Forked heron-feather plume.
calpulli	Augmentative of calli, house, signifying “quarter,” “district.”
chalchihuitl	Green stone—jadeite, turquoise, emerald—and precious or semi-precious stones of a green colour.
chicauaztli	The rattle-staff, associated with the water and fertility deities.
cueitl	Skirt, petticoat.
maxtli	Loin-cloth.
naualli	Disguise, magical form or shape.
nequen	Robe.
octli	The fermented juice of the Agave americana. The modern term is pulque, a word of Argentine origin.
piloechmilli	“Face-painting of children.”
quauhxicalli	“Cup of eagles”; stone vase in which the hearts of sacrificed victims were placed.
quetzalli	Feather-plumes of the quetzaltototl or Trogon pavoninus, a bird indigenous to Mexico, the plumes of which were greatly prized by the natives.
tamalli	Maize-cake (same as Spanish corrupted form tamale).
tecutli	Noble, lord, person of quality.
teocalli	Pyramid-temple.
teopan	Temple precinct.
teotl	God.
telpochcalli	House of the youths, the place of instruction for boys in training for the priesthood.
teueuelli	Shield with eagle’s-down feathers.
tilmatli	Mantle or cloak.
tlachtli	A ball-game, a kind of hockey.
tlachinolli	Fire-and-water symbol.
tonalamatl	Book of Days: an arrangement of signs indicating lucky and unlucky days, adapted to the calendar.
toualli	Four balls or beads as a shield device.
ulli	Indiarubber.
xiuhcoatl	Fire-snake.