XXVI Congreso Internacional de Americanistas

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every 4 years in honor of the Fire GDd, in which the children's ears \Iere
pierced, and this feast was called "Pillahuanaliztli", ana. it is believed
that they celebmted their Ieaip-'j!ear at this time counting 6 'nemontemi'
days." ("Otra fiesta hacían de cuatro en cuatro años a honra del fuego,
en la que agujereaban las orejas a todos los niños, y la llamaban Pillahuanaliztli,
y en esta fiesta es verosímil y hay conjeturas que hacían su
bisiesto contando seis días de nemontemi.")
From this we see that Sahagún knew about an important feast cele·
brated every 4 years; and his descriptions are very similar to that additional
feast of 20 days (which is really the 19th feast); that the natives
described and declared was celebrated at the end of each 4th year. As
has already been mentioned, the natives of Oaxaca affirmed before His
Majesty's Magistrate that: "The feast cel ebrated at the end of every
four years, and which was the feast of the S days leh over each year,
was very solemn; and that they made a new fire on this day, and burne;)
great quantities of copal before their idols." Describing this same feast,
the natives of San Juan Teotihuacan said: "There were S days left
over in ayear, and each fourth year was a leap-year, because at the end
of every fourth year, the left over days amounted to 20; and on this
occasion there was celebrated a great feast in a large opeI\ square among
the pyramids; and in the center of this square there was a small pyramid
of two platforms, where the malefactors and transgressors were put to
. death." I I I I
Those tvvo natives whose letter to Sahagún in folio S3 of the '''C6d;ce
matritense del Real Palacio", say: "When the S days left over each year
amounted to 20, there was celebrated the feast of 'Quauitl eua'; aml
immediateli a fter this began another period of feasts, the first of which
was Tlacaxipeualiztli which began on March I9th". In the Calenda,
on maguey paper of the Boban Collection, we see at the top, the different
day-symbols of the 20 days left ayer at the end each 4 years; to th ~
right of which is the TREE, the s,ymbol of the feast "Quauitl eua" ;
and immediately after this follows the symbol of the fe ast of Tlacaxipehualiztli.
The Mexican word "xihuitl" mean "herb, leaf, or yea r", and new
leafage signified for the M é'xicans, "new year". The symboL of the
year was a lea!, and we find this symbol used in MSS, such as the Codex
Sierra, etc. to indicate each new year. T3ut, as has previously been
explained, the symbol, or hieroglyph, ltsed for the additional feast of
the 4-year period, or the I9th feast, "Quauitl eua" (sometimes written
"Quahuitlyehua", or, "Cuahuitl eua"), was a TREE.We see this symbol
in the calendar on maguey paper of the Boban Collection; and the
tree oc