feature of the ceremonies was the production of new fire by means of the ceremonial firesticks (Fig. 9), and it was upon the successful performance of this operation that the rising of the sun was supposed to depend. On the eve of the new year all fires were extinguished, and the priests started in procession to the top of the mountain Uixachtlan, outside Mexico, timing their arrival just before midnight. At midnight, which was calculated by observation of the
(Zouche MS., British Museum)
Pleiads, the high-priest of the Calpulco quarter of Mexico, kindled the new fire on the breast of a prisoner, who was sacrificed immediately after in the usual manner. Representatives of the surrounding cities were present, and torches lit at the new fire were rapidly carried to the chief temples in each city, where the populace awaited their arrival in the greatest anxiety. From the temples the fire was distributed all over the city, and universal rejoicings hailed the commencement of a new era and the deliverance of the world from universal destruction. Old garments were discarded, and all household utensils were broken or freshly painted in
