Sentinels were also
posted at the corners of the square to keep out all persons deemed
impure and all animals. A strict fast was then observed for two
nights and a day, the devotees drinking a bitter decoction of
button-snake root "in order to vomit and purge their sinful bodies."
That the people outside the square might also be purified, one of
the old men laid down a quantity of green tobacco at a corner of the
square; this was carried off by an old woman and distributed to the
people without, who chewed and swallowed it "in order to afflict
their souls." During this general fast, the women, children, and men
of weak constitution were allowed to eat after mid-day, but not
before. On the morning when the fast ended, the women brought a
quantity of the old year's food to the outside of the sacred square.
These provisions were then fetched in and set before the famished
multitude, but all traces of them had to be removed before noon.
When the sun was declining from the meridian, all the people were
commanded by the voice of a crier to stay within doors, to do no bad
act, and to be sure to extinguish and throw away every spark of the
old fire.
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