y de las lluvias.
\nEsta gente, cuando veía encima de las sierras nubes muy blancas, decían que eran señal de granizos, los cuales venían a destruir las sementeras, y ansí tenían muy grande miedo. Y para los cazadores era muy gran provecho el granizo, porque mataba infinito número de cualesquier aves y páxaros. Y para que no viniese el dicho daño en los maizales, andaban unos hechiceros que llamaban teciuhtlazques, ques casi "estorbadores de granizos", los cuales decían que sabían cierta arte o encantamiento para quitar los granizos o que no empeciesen los maizales, y para enviarlos a las partes desiertas y no sembradas ni cultivadas, o a las lagunas, donde no hay sementeras ningunas.
\nand of the rains.
\nWhenever these people saw very white clouds above the mountains, they would say that they were a sign of hail that was coming to destroy the cultivated fields, so they would be very frightened. However, hail was very advantageous for hunters, because it would kill a countless number of all types of birds.1 And in order to prevent this damage upon the maize fields, there were some sorcerers called teciuhtlazques—which means something like “hail preventers”; and they said that [these sorcerers] knew a special art or magic spell to make the hail go away, to keep it from damaging the maize fields, and to send it to deserted areas that had not been sown or cultivated or to the lagoons where there are no cultivated fields at all.
\n“Birds”: aves y páxaros. Once again, Sahagún uses two Spanish synonyms for which there is one English equivalent.↩
[pixauiz]que in aoaque.
\nIc muchioa, ic neci: in icoac tepeticpac motlatlalia mistli, cēca iztac: mitoa, ca ie teciuiz, ie teciuiloz in tonacaiotl.
\nAuh inic uetzi teciuitl, iuhquin tlacacalaca, tequacacalanja, temomotla: vel ic miqui, ic ispoliui, ic tonacamiqui, cematl quīmana, atlisco quinmana in totome. Auh vel oncan mopisquia, quin mopisquia, tonacatlama, in atlaca.
\nAuh inic amo teciuiz, inic amo teciuiloz, inic amo tecinmiquiz toctli: niman quitopeoa, quipeuia, in teciuhtlazque, in quiiauhtlazque: atlanpa quiquanja, quitlachieltia, quiuica: anoço vmpa quitlaça in çacatla, çacaistlaoacan, in atle imuchioaian, atle iionoia, atle onoc, atle iieoaia, atle eoatoc, atle iquiçaiã, atle quiztoc, atle onuetztoc: çan iuhcatla, tetl oaoacca.
\nthe masters of the rain will sprinkle water.”
\nIt was formed and took shape when very white clouds settled on mountain tops. It was said: “Now it will hail; now our food will be hailed out.”
\nAnd thus did hail fall, making a din as of rattling, beating one about the head, pelting one [as if] with stones. Thus, truly, died and were despoiled our crops. For some distance, it flattened on the ground and spread birds over the surface of the water. At that time the water dwellers went gathering for themselves; they brought in their catch.
\nAnd that it might not hail, that they might not be hailed upon, and the young maize plants might not be damaged by hail, then the [sorcerers who] cast away hail and rain drove and headed it off. They removed it from the waters [of the lake]; they showed it the way and took it [hence]. Or else they cast it forth into the deserted places, the uncultivated lands where there were no crops, no one lived, and nothing existed; poverty-ridden lands—barren lands where nothing grew, nothing issued: the land was void. It was only an abandoned place; the [very] stones were dry.
\n