| The Mountain Goats – Itzcuintli-Totzli Days Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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In Aztec mythology, rabbits symbolize drunkenness, and one of the Ahuiateteo (gods of excess) is Macuiltochtli, the rabbit god of pulque (a type of booze) and insobriety. There was also the Centzon Totochtin, the four-hundred rabbit deities who frequently met up for parties and to get drunk. Dogs, on the other hand, were connected to the Aztec underworld. Xolotl was the dog-headed god of lightning and death and acted as a guide for souls traveling to Mictlan (also called Itzcuintlan), the ninth and furthest level of the underworld. Some legends also have a yellow dog guarding the river Apanoayan, which is the first of the nine levels of Mictlan. Considering JD's use of alcoholism in other songs, it could be said that the rabbit represents someone who is alcoholic and bent on destroying a relationship. The inclusion of Itzcuintli doesn't seem to mean too much from a mythological standpoint, but dogs are often used to hunt small game like rabbits. The title could be a reference to both the 'rabbit' (alcoholic) and to the 'dog' (the 'you' in the lyrics), saying that the relationship will outlast the interference. |
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