Quetzalcoatl (2)

Quetzalcoatl an idol or god of the Mexicans, particularly worshipped by all persons concerned in traffic. Forty days, before the feast of this god, the merchants purchased a well-shaved slave, who during that time represented the deity, spending his time in dancing and rejoicing, andlon the day of the festival was sacrificed to the deity at midnight, his heart being first offered to the moon, and then laid before the idol. This deity was, worshipped under another name at Cholula, where he was looked upon as the god of the air, the founder of the city, the institutor of penance, and the author of sacrifices. He was represented sitting on a kind of pedestal, habited in a cloak ornamented with red crosses. His devotees drew blood from their tongues and ears to procure his favor and before going to war sacrificed to him five boys and as many girls of three years of age.