Tlaloc

   The Aztec god of rain and moisture. One of the most important members of the Mexican pantheon. He was the husband of Chalchihuitlicue and the father of the Tlalocs, the minor rain gods. His elder sister was Huixtocihuatl. He was the lord of the eighth hour of the day and the ninth hour of the night. God ‘P’ may have been one of his children. In view of the importance of the rainy season to Aztec economy the place occupied by Tlaloc may be appreciated, but it is difficult to understand the necessity for the large numbers of children who were sacrificed to him every year, as the climate was not subjected to any great variations, unless these were in order to prevent a repetition of the Deluge or some kindred disaster associated with the early myths of this god.