o-tlacat_, "the sign
under which I was born," _i. e._, the astrological day-sign. From this
came the verb _tonalpoa_, to count or estimate the signs, that is, to
cast the horoscope of a person; and _tonalpouhque_, the diviners whose
business it was to practice this art.[11-[+]]

These _tonalpouhque_ are referred to at length by Father
Sahagun.[11-[++]] He distinguishes them from the _naualli_, though it is
clear that they corresponded in functions to the nagualistic priests of
the southern tribes. From the number and name of the day of birth they
forecast the destiny of the child, and stated the power or spiritual
influence which should govern its career.

The _tonal_ was by no means an indefeasible possession. It was a sort of
independent _mascotte_. So long as it remained with a person he enjoyed
health and prosperity; but it could depart, go astray, become lost; and
then sickness and misfortune arrived. This is signified in the Nahuatl
language by the verbs _tonalcaualtia_, to check, stop or suspend the
_tonal_, hence, to shock or frighten one; and _tonalitlacoa_, to hurt or
injure the _tonal_, hence, to cast a spell on one, to bewitch him.

This explains the real purpose of the conjuring and incantations which
were carried on by the native doctor when visiting the sick. It was to
recall the _tonal_, to force or persuade it to return; and, therefore,
the ceremony bore the name "the restitution of the _tonal_," and was
more than any other deeply imbued with the superstitions of Nagualism.
The chief officiant was called the _tetonaltiani_, "he who concerns
himself with the tonal." On a later page I shall give the formula
recited on such an occasion.

=8.= There is some vague mention in the Aztec records of a semi-priestly
order, who bore the name _naualteteuctin_, which may be translated
"master magicians." They were also known as _teotlauice_, "sacred
companions in arms." As was the case with most classes of the
_teteuctin_, or nobles, entrance to the order was by a severe and
prolonged ceremony of initiation, the object of which was not merely to
test the endurance of pain and the powers of self-denial, but especially
to throw the mind into that subjective state in which it is brought into
contact with the divine, in which it can "see visions and dream dreams."
The order claimed as its patron and founder Quetzalcoatl, the "feathered
serpent," who, it will be seen on another page, was also the patron of
the late