4. I sought, I sought, in all directions I sought with my traveling
net.

5. I took them in hand, I took them in hand; yes, I took them in hand;
yes, I took them in hand.

6. In the ball ground I sang well and strong, like to the quetzal
bird; I answered back to the god.


_Notes._

"The Chichimecs," says Sahagun (_Hist._, Lib. VI., cap. 7), "worshipped
only one god, called _Mixcoatl_." The _Anales de Cuauhtitlan_ speaks of
Mixcoatl as one of the leaders of the ancient Nahuas from their
primitive home Chicomoztoc, the land of the Seven Caves. This is what is
referred to in the above hymn. In later times Mixcoatl became god of
hunting and of the tornado, and his worship extended to the Otomis.

_Tzihuactitlan_, "the land of the tzihuac bushes," I have not found
mentioned by any of the Spanish authorities, but it is named in
connection with Chicomoztoc in an ancient war-song given in my _Ancient
Nahuatl Poetry_, pp. 88 and 140.

The hymn appears to be in memory of the leadership of Mixcoatl in
conducting the ancestors of the Nahua on their long wanderings after
leaving their pristine seats. It should be read in connection with the
earlier pages of the _Annals of Cuauhtitlan_.