Note 29 — Chapter VI · THE GODS OF RAIN AND MOISTURE

There is less doubt concerning the character of Tlaloc than that of any other Mexican deity. The representations of him in the manuscripts, the prayers offered up to him, the myths which seek to explain him, all make it clear that he is the god of the rain-cult par excellence, to whom even Quetzalcoatl, the deified rain-maker, in time becomes merely “a sweeper of the ways.” The etymological derivation of the name has been frequently essayed. Tlaloc, says Seler, is a noun derived from the verb tlaloa, “to hasten,” which in its reflexive sense means “to shoot up,” “to sprout,” so that the name really conveys the sense of “He who makes things sprout,” “He who hastens growth.” He is, indeed, the god of rain, of moisture, who dwells on the mountain peaks, and manifests himself in the lightning and the thunder, both of which are symbolized in the serpentine folds of his countenance and in its darksome hues. His progeny are the Tlaloquê, who dwell on every mountain top, dwarfish servants who pour forth the rain out of the great jars which stand in his courtyard. “When they beat these with the sticks they carry, it thunders, and when it lightens a piece of the jug falls.”29