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Title: The Myths of Mexico & Peru
Author: Spence, Lewis
Language: English
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THE MYTHS OF
MEXICO & PERU
BY
LEWIS SPENCE
AUTHOR OF "THE MYTHOLOGIES OF ANCIENT MEXICO AND PERU"
"THE POPOL VUH" "THE CIVILIZATION OF ANCIENT MEXICO"
"A DICTIONARY OF MYTHOLOGY" ETC. ETC.
WITH SIXTY FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS MAINLY BY
GILBERT JAMES AND WILLIAM SEWELL
AND OTHER DRAWINGS AND MAPS
NEW YORK
THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
Printed by
BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY LTD
Tavistock Street Covent Garden
London England
PREFACE
In recent years a reawakening has taken place in the study of American
archæology and antiquities, owing chiefly to the labours of a band of
scholars in the United States and a few enthusiasts in the continent
of Europe. For the greater part of the nineteenth century it appeared
as if the last word had been written upon Mexican archæology. The lack
of excavations and exploration had cramped the outlook of scholars,
and there was nothing for them to work upon save what had been done in
this respect before their own time. The writers on Central America who
lived in the third quarter of the last century relied on the travels
of Stephens and Norman, and never appeared to consider it essential
that the country or the antiquities in which they specialised should
be examined anew, or that fresh expeditions should be equipped to
discover whether still further monuments existed relating to the
ancient peoples who raised the teocallis of Mexico and the huacas of
Peru. True, the middle of the century was not altogether without its
Americanist explorers, but the researches of these were performed in
a manner so perfunctory that but few additions to the science resulted
from their labours.
Modern Americanist archæology may be said to have been the creation of
a brilliant band of scholars who, working far apart and without any
attempt at co-operation, yet succeeded in accomplishing much. Among
these may be mentioned the Frenchmen Charnay and de Rosny, and the
Americans Brinton, H. H. Bancroft, and Squier. To these succeeded
the German scholars Seler, Schellhas, and Förstemann, the Americans
Winsor, Starr, Savile, and Cyrus Thomas, and the Englishmen Payne and
Sir Clements Markham. These men, splendidly equipped for the work they
had taken in hand, were yet hampered by the lack of reliable data--a
want later supplied partly by their own excavations and partly by the
painstaking labours of Professor Maudslay, now the principal of the
International College of Antiquities at Mexico, who, with his wife,
is responsible for the exact pictorial reproductions of many of the
ancient edifices in Central America and Mexico.
Writers in the sphere of Mexican and Peruvian myth have been few. The
first to attack the subject in the light of the modern science of
comparative religion was Daniel Garrison Brinton, professor of American
languages and archæology in the University of Philadelphia. He has
been followed by Payne, Schellhas, Seler, and Förstemann, all of whom,
however, have confined the publication of their researches to isolated
articles in various geographical and scientific journals. The remarks
of mythologists who are not also Americanists upon the subject of
American myth must be accepted with caution.
The question of the alphabets of ancient America is perhaps the most
acute in present-day pre-Columbian archæology. But progress is being
made in this branch of the subject, and several German scholars are
working in whole-hearted co-operation to secure final results.
What has Great Britain accomplished in this new and fascinating field
of science? If the lifelong and valuable labours of the venerable Sir
Clements Markham be excepted, almost nothing. It is earnestly hoped
that the publication of this volume may prove the means of leading many
English students to the study and consideration of American archæology.
There remains the romance of old America. The real interest of American
mediæval history must ever circle around Mexico and Peru--her golden
empires, her sole exemplars of civilisation; and it is to the books
upon the character of these two nations that we must turn for a
romantic interest as curious and as absorbing as that bound up in
the history of Egypt or Assyria.
If human interest is craved for by any man, let him turn to the
narratives of Garcilasso el Inca de la Vega and Ixtlilxochitl,
representatives and last descendants of the Peruvian and Tezcucan
monarchies, and read there the frightful story of the path to fortune
of red-heeled Pizarro and cruel Cortés, of the horrible cruelties
committed upon the red man, whose colour was "that of the devil," of
the awful pageant of gold-sated pirates laden with the treasures of
palaces, of the stripping of temples whose very bricks were of gold,
whose very drain-pipes were of silver, of rapine and the sacrilege of
high places, of porphyry gods dashed down the pyramidal sides of lofty
teocallis, of princesses torn from the very steps of the throne--ay,
read these for the most wondrous tales ever writ by the hand of man,
tales by the side of which the fables of Araby seem dim--the story
of a clash of worlds, the conquest of a new, of an isolated hemisphere.
It is usual to speak of America as "a continent without a history." The
folly of such a statement is extreme. For centuries prior to European
occupation Central America was the seat of civilisations boasting a
history and a semi-historical mythology second to none in richness and
interest. It is only because the sources of that history are unknown
to the general reader that such assurance upon the lack of it exists.
Let us hope that this book may assist in attracting many to the
head-fountain of a river whose affluents water many a plain of beauty
not the less lovely because bizarre, not the less fascinating because
somewhat remote from modern thought.
In conclusion I have to acknowledge the courtesy of the Bureau of
American Ethnology, which placed in my hands a valuable collection of
illustrations and allowed me to select from these at my discretion. The
pictures chosen include the drawings used as tailpieces to chapters;
others, usually half-tones, are duly acknowledged where they occur.
LEWIS SPENCE
Edinburgh: July 1913
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Civilisation of Mexico 1
II. Mexican Mythology 54
III. Myths and Legends of the Ancient Mexicans 118
IV. The Maya Race and Mythology 143
V. Myths of the Maya 207
VI. The Civilisation of Old Peru 248
VII. The Mythology of Peru 291
Bibliography 335
Glossary and Index 341
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Princess is given a Vision Frontispiece
The Descent of Quetzalcoatl xiv
Toveyo and the Magic Drum 16
The Altar of Skulls 26
The Guardian of the Sacred Fire 30
Pyramid of the Moon: Pyramid of the Sun 32
Ruins of the Pyramid of Xochicalco 34
The Spirit of the dead Aztec is attacked by an Evil
Spirit who scatters Clouds of Ashes 38
The Demon Izpuzteque 40
The Aztec Calendar Stone 44
A Prisoner fighting for his Life 48
Combat between Mexican and Bilimec Warriors 53
Priest making an Incantation over an Aztec Lady 54
The Princess sees a Strange Man before the Palace 62
Tezcatlipoca, Lord of the Night Winds 66
The Infant War-God drives his Brethren into a Lake
and slays them 70
Statue of Tlaloc, the Rain-God 76
The Aged Quetzalcoatl leaves Mexico on a Raft of
Serpents 80
Ritual Masks of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca; and
Sacrificial Knife 84
The so-called Teoyaominqui 88
Statue of a Male Divinity 90
Xolotl 94
The Quauhxicalli, or Solar Altar of Sacrifice 98
Macuilxochitl 102
The Penitent addressing the Fire 106
Cloud Serpent, the Hunter-God 110
Mexican Goddess 114
Tezcatlipoca 117
"Place where the Heavens Stood" 120
A Flood-Myth of the Nahua 122
The Prince who fled for his Life 126
The Princess and the Statues 130
The King's Sister is shown the Valley of Dry Bones 140
Mexican Deity 142
The Prince who went to Found a City 156
"The Tablet of the Cross" 160
Design on a Vase from Chamá representing Maya Deities 166
The House of Bats 172
Part of the Palace and Tower, Palenque 182
The King who loved a Princess 186
Teocalli or Pyramid of Papantla: The Nunnery,
Chichen-Itza 188
Details of the Nunnery at Chichen-Itza 190
The Old Woman who took an Egg home 192
Great Palace of Mitla: Interior of an Apartment in
the Palace of Mitla 198
Hall of the Columns, Palace of Mitla 202
The Twins make an Imitation Crab 214
The Princess and the Gourds 220
The Princess who made Friends of the Owls 222
In the House of Bats 226
How the Sun appeared like the Moon 230
Queen Móo has her Destiny foretold 240
The Rejected Suitor 242
Piece of Pottery representing a Tapir 247
Doorway of Tiahuanaco 248
Fortress at Ollantay-tampu 250
"Mother and child are united" 252
The Inca Fortress of Pissac 254
"Making one of each nation out of the clay of the
earth" 258
Painted and Black Terra-cotta Vases 280
Conducting the White Llama to the Sacrifice 312
"The birdlike beings were in reality women" 318
"A beautiful youth appeared to Thonapa" 320
"He sang the song of Chamayhuarisca" 322
"The younger one flew away" 324
"His wife at first indignantly denied the accusation" 326
"He saw a very beautiful girl crying bitterly" 328
MAPS
The Valley of Mexico 330
Distribution of the Races in Ancient Mexico 331
Distribution of the Races under the Empire of the Incas 333
CHAPTER I: THE CIVILISATION OF MEXICO
The Civilisations of the New World
There is now no question as to the indigenous origin of the
civilisations of Mexico, Central America, and Peru. Upon few subjects,
however, has so much mistaken erudition been lavished. The beginnings
of the races who inhabited these regions, and the cultures which they
severally created, have been referred to nearly every civilised or
semi-civilised nation of antiquity, and wild if fascinating theories
have been advanced with the intention of showing that civilisation was
initiated upon American soil by Asiatic or European influence. These
speculations were for the most part put forward by persons who
possessed but a merely general acquaintance with the circumstances
of American aboriginal civilisation, and who were struck by the
superficial resemblances which undoubtedly exist between American and
Asiatic peoples, customs, and art-forms, but which cease to be apparent
to the Americanist, who perceives in them only such likenesses as
inevitably occur in the work of men situated in similar environments
and surrounded by similar social and religious conditions.
The Maya of Yucatan may be regarded as the most highly civilised
of the peoples who occupied the American continent before the
advent of Europeans, and it is usually their culture which we are
asked to believe had its seat of origin in Asia. It is unnecessary
to refute this theory in detail, as that has already been ably
accomplished. [1] But it may be remarked that the surest proof of
the purely native origin of American civilisation is to be found in
the unique nature of American art, the undoubted result of countless
centuries of isolation. American language, arithmetic, and methods of
time-reckoning, too, bear no resemblance to other systems, European
or Asiatic, and we may be certain that had a civilising race entered
America from Asia it would have left its indelible impress upon
things so intensely associated with the life of a people as well as
upon the art and architecture of the country, for they are as much
the product of culture as is the ability to raise temples.
Evidence of Animal and Plant Life
It is impossible in this connection to ignore the evidence in favour of
native advancement which can be adduced from the artificial production
of food in America. Nearly all the domesticated animals and cultivated
food-plants found on the continent at the period of the discovery were
totally different from those known to the Old World. Maize, cocoa,
tobacco, and the potato, with a host of useful plants, were new to
the European conquerors, and the absence of such familiar animals
as the horse, cow, and sheep, besides a score of lesser animals,
is eloquent proof of the prolonged isolation which the American
continent underwent subsequent to its original settlement by man.
Origin of American Man
An Asiatic origin is, of course, admitted for the aborigines of
America, but it undoubtedly stretched back into that dim Tertiary Era
when man was little more than beast, and language as yet was not, or at
the best was only half formed. Later immigrants there certainly were,
but these probably arrived by way of Behring Strait, and not by the
land-bridge connecting Asia and America by which the first-comers found
entrance. At a later geological period the general level of the North
American continent was higher than at present, and a broad isthmus
connected it with Asia. During this prolonged elevation vast littoral
plains, now submerged, extended continuously from the American to the
Asiatic shore, affording an easy route of migration to a type of man
from whom both the Mongolian branches may have sprung. But this type,
little removed from the animal as it undoubtedly was, carried with it
none of the refinements of art or civilisation; and if any resemblances
occur between the art-forms or polity of its equal descendants in Asia
and America, they are due to the influence of a remote common ancestry,
and not to any later influx of Asiatic civilisation to American shores.
Traditions of Intercourse with Asia
The few traditions of Asiatic intercourse with America are,
alas! easily dissipated. It is a dismal business to be compelled to
refute the dreams of others. How much more fascinating would American
history have been had Asia sowed the seeds of her own peculiar
civilisation in the western continent, which would then have become
a newer and further East, a more glowing and golden Orient! But
America possesses a fascination almost as intense when there
falls to be considered the marvel of the evolution of her wondrous
civilisations--the flowers of progress of a new, of an isolated world.
The idea that the "Fu-Sang" of the Chinese annals alluded to America
was rendered illusory by Klaproth, who showed its identity with
a Japanese island. It is not impossible that Chinese and Japanese
vessels may have drifted on to the American coasts, but that they
sailed thither of set purpose is highly improbable. Gomara, the Mexican
historian, states that those who served with Coronado's expedition
in 1542 saw off the Pacific coast certain ships having their prows
decorated with gold and silver, and laden with merchandise, and these
they supposed to be of Cathay or China, "because they intimated by
signs that they had been thirty days on their voyage." Like most of
these interesting stories, however, the tale has no foundation in
fact, as the incident cannot be discovered in the original account
of the expedition, published in 1838 in the travel-collection of
Ternaux-Compans.
Legends of European Intercourse
We shall find the traditions, one might almost call them legends,
of early European intercourse with America little more satisfactory
than those which recount its ancient connection with Asia. We may
dismiss the sagas of the discovery of America by the Norsemen, which
are by no means mere tradition, and pass on to those in which the
basis of fact is weaker and the legendary interest more strong. We
are told that when the Norsemen drove forth those Irish monks who
had settled in Iceland, the fugitives voyaged to "Great Ireland,"
by which many antiquarians of the older school imagine the author of
the myth to have meant America. The Irish Book of Lismore recounts the
voyage of St. Brandan, Abbot of Cluainfert, in Ireland, to an island
in the ocean which Providence had intended as the abode of saints. It
gives a glowing account of his seven years' cruise in western waters,
and tells of numerous discoveries, among them a hill of fire and an
endless island, which he quitted after an unavailing journey of forty
days, loading his ships with its fruits, and returning home. Many Norse
legends exist regarding this "Greater Ireland," or "Huitramanna Land"
(White Man's Land), among them one concerning a Norseman who was
cast away on its shores, and who found there a race of white men
who went to worship their gods bearing banners, and "shouting with
a loud voice." There is, of course, the bare possibility that the
roving Norsemen may have on occasions drifted or have been cast away
as far south as Mexico, and such an occurrence becomes the more easy
of belief when we remember that they certainly reached the shores of
North America.
The Legend of Madoc
A much more interesting because more probable story is that which
tells of the discovery of distant lands across the western ocean by
Madoc, a princeling of North Wales, in the year 1170. It is recorded
in Hakluyt's English Voyages and Powel's History of Wales. Madoc,
the son of Owen Gwyneth, disgusted by the strife of his brothers
for the principality of their dead father, resolved to quit such an
uncongenial atmosphere, and, fitting out ships with men and munition,
sought adventure by sea, sailing west, and leaving the coast of
Ireland so far north that he came to a land unknown, where he saw
many strange things. "This land," says Hakluyt, "must needs be some
part of that country of which the Spaniards affirme themselves to
be the first finders since Hanno's time," and through this allusion
we are enabled to see how these legends relating to mythical lands
came to be associated with the American continent. Concerning the
land discovered by Madoc many tales were current in Wales in mediæval
times. Madoc on his return declared that it was pleasant and fruitful,
but uninhabited. He succeeded in persuading a large number of people
to accompany him to this delectable region, and, as he never returned,
Hakluyt concludes that the descendants of the folk he took with him
composed the greater part of the population of the America of the
seventeenth century, a conclusion in which he has been supported by
more than one modern antiquarian. Indeed, the wildest fancies have
been based upon this legend, and stories of Welsh-speaking Indians who
were able to converse with Cymric immigrants to the American colonies
have been received with complacency by the older school of American
historians as the strongest confirmation of the saga. It is notable,
however, that Henry VII of England, the son of a Welshman, may have
been influenced in his patronage of the early American explorers by
this legend of Madoc, as it is known that he employed one Guttyn Owen,
a Welsh historiographer, to draw up his paternal pedigree, and that
this same Guttyn included the story in his works. Such legends as
those relating to Atlantis and Antilia scarcely fall within the scope
of American myth, as they undoubtedly relate to early communication
with the Canaries and Azores.
American Myths of the Discovery
But what were the speculations of the Red Men on the other side of
the Atlantic? Were there no rumours there, no legends of an Eastern
world? Immediately prior to the discovery there was in America a widely
disseminated belief that at a relatively remote period strangers
from the east had visited American soil, eventually returning to
their own abodes in the Land of Sunrise. Such, for example, was the
Mexican legend of Quetzalcoatl, to which we shall revert later in
its more essentially mythical connection. He landed with several
companions at Vera Cruz, and speedily brought to bear the power
of a civilising agency upon native opinion. In the ancient Mexican
pinturas, or paintings, he is represented as being habited in a long
black gown, fringed with white crosses. After sojourning with the
Mexicans for a number of years, during which time he initiated them
into the arts of life and civilisation, he departed from their land
on a magic raft, promising, however, to return. His second advent was
anxiously looked for, and when Cortés and his companions arrived at
Vera Cruz, the identical spot at which Quetzalcoatl was supposed to
have set out on his homeward journey, the Mexicans fully believed him
to be the returned hero. Of course Montezuma, their monarch, was not
altogether taken by surprise at the coming of the white man, as he had
been informed of the arrival of mysterious strangers in Yucatan and
elsewhere in Central America; but in the eyes of the commonalty the
Spanish leader was a "hero-god" indeed. In this interesting figure
several of the monkish chroniclers of New Spain saw the Apostle
St. Thomas, who had journeyed to the American continent to effect
its conversion to Christianity.
A Peruvian Prophecy
The Mexicans were by no means singular in their presentiments. When
Hernando de Soto, on landing in Peru, first met the Inca Huascar, the
latter related an ancient prophecy which his father, Huaina Ccapac,
had repeated on his death-bed, that in the reign of the thirteenth
Inca white men of surpassing strength and valour would come from their
father the Sun, and subject the Peruvians to their rule. "I command
you," said the dying king, "to yield them homage and obedience,
for they will be of a nature superior to ours." [2]
But the most interesting of American legends connected with the
discovery is that in which the prophecy of the Maya priest Chilan
Balam is described. Father Lizana, a venerable Spanish author, records
the prophecy, which he states was very well known throughout Yucatan,
as does Villagutierre, who quotes it.
The Prophecy of Chilan Balam
Part of this strange prophecy runs as follows: "At the end of
the thirteenth age, when Itza is at the height of its power, as
also the city called Tancah, the signal of God will appear on the
heights, and the Cross with which the world was enlightened will be
manifested. There will be variance of men's will in future times,
when this signal shall be brought.... Receive your barbarous bearded
guests from the east, who bring the signal of God, who comes to us
in mercy and pity. The time of our life is coming...."
It would seem from the perusal of this prophecy that a genuine
substratum of native tradition has been over-laid and coloured
by the influence of the early Spanish missionaries. The terms of
the announcement are much too exact, and the language employed is
obviously Scriptural. But the native books of Chilan Balam, whence
the prophecy is taken, are much less explicit, and the genuineness of
their character is evinced by the idiomatic use of the Maya tongue,
which, in the form they present it in, could have been written by none
save those who had habitually employed it from infancy. As regards the
prophetic nature of these deliverances it is known that the Chilan,
or priest, was wont to utter publicly at the end of certain prolonged
periods a prophecy forecasting the character of the similar period to
come, and there is reason to believe that some distant rumours of the
coming of the white man had reached the ears of several of the seers.
These vague intimations that the seas separated them from a great
continent where dwelt beings like themselves seem to have been
common to white and red men alike. And who shall say by what strange
magic of telepathy they were inspired in the minds of the daring
explorers and the ascetic priests who gave expression to them in act
and utterance? The discovery of America was much more than a mere
scientific process, and romance rather than the cold speculations
of mediæval geography urged men to tempt the dim seas of the West in
quest of golden islands seen in dreams.
The Type of Mexican Civilisation
The first civilised American people with whom the discoverers came
into contact were those of the Nahua or ancient Mexican race. We
use the term "civilised" advisedly, for although several authorities
of standing have refused to regard the Mexicans as a people who had
achieved such a state of culture as would entitle them to be classed
among civilised communities, there is no doubt that they had advanced
nearly as far as it was possible for them to proceed when their
environment and the nature of the circumstances which handicapped them
are taken into consideration. In architecture they had evolved a type
of building, solid yet wonderfully graceful, which, if not so massive
as the Egyptian and Assyrian, was yet more highly decorative. Their
artistic outlook as expressed in their painting and pottery was more
versatile and less conventional than that of the ancient people of
the Orient, their social system was of a more advanced type, and a
less rigorous attitude was evinced by the ruling caste toward the
subject classes. Yet, on the other hand, the picture is darkened
by the terrible if picturesque rites which attended their religious
ceremonies, and the dread shadow of human sacrifice which eternally
overhung their teeming populations. Nevertheless, the standard of
morality was high, justice was even-handed, the forms of government
were comparatively mild, and but for the fanaticism which demanded
such troops of victims, we might justly compare the civilisation
of ancient Mexico with that of the peoples of old China or India,
if the literary activity of the Oriental states be discounted.
The Mexican Race
The race which was responsible for this varied and highly coloured
civilisation was that known as the Nahua (Those who live by Rule),
a title adopted by them to distinguish them from those tribes who
still roamed in an unsettled condition over the contiguous plains of
New Mexico and the more northerly tracts. This term was employed by
them to designate the race as a whole, but it was composed of many
diverse elements, the characteristics of which were rendered still
more various by the adoption into one or other of the tribes which
composed it of surrounding aboriginal peoples. Much controversy has
raged round the question regarding the original home of the Nahua,
but their migration legends consistently point to a northern origin;
and when the close affinity between the art-forms and mythology of
the present-day natives of British Columbia and those of the Nahua
comes to be considered along with the very persistent legends of a
prolonged pilgrimage from the North, where they dwelt in a place "by
the water," the conclusion that the Nahua emanated from the region
indicated is well-nigh irresistible. [3]
In Nahua tradition the name of the locality whence the race commenced
its wanderings is called Aztlan (The Place of Reeds), but this
place-name is of little or no value as a guide to any given region,
though probably every spot betwixt Behring Strait and Mexico has been
identified with it by zealous antiquarians. Other names discovered in
the migration legends are Tlapallan (The Country of Bright Colours)
and Chicomoztoc (The Seven Caves), and these may perhaps be identified
with New Mexico or Arizona.
Legends of Mexican Migration
All early writers on the history of Mexico agree that the Toltecs were
the first of the several swarms of Nahua who streamed upon the Mexican
plateau in ever-widening waves. Concerning the reality of this people
so little is known that many authorities of standing have regarded them
as wholly mythical, while others profess to see in them a veritable
race, the founders of Mexican civilisation. The author has already
elaborated his theory of this difficult question elsewhere, [4] but
will briefly refer to it when he comes to deal with the subject of the
Toltec civilisation and the legends concerning it. For the present we
must regard the Toltecs merely as a race alluded to in a migration myth
as the first Nahua immigrants to the region of Mexico. Ixtlilxochitl,
a native chronicler who flourished shortly after the Spanish conquest
of Mexico, gives two separate accounts of the early Toltec migrations,
the first of which goes back to the period of their arrival in the
fabled land of Tlapallan, alluded to above. In this account Tlapallan
is described as a region near the sea, which the Toltecs reached by
voyaging southward, skirting the coasts of California. This account
must be received with the greatest caution. But we know that the
natives of British Columbia have been expert in the use of the
canoe from an early period, and that the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl,
who is probably originally derived from a common source with their
deity Yetl, is represented as being skilled in the management of the
craft. It is, therefore, not outside the bounds of possibility that
the early swarms of Nahua immigrants made their way to Mexico by sea,
but it is much more probable that their migrations took place by land,
following the level country at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
The Toltec Upheaval
Like nearly all legendary immigrants, the Toltecs did not set out to
colonise distant countries from any impulse of their own, but were the
victims of internecine dissension in the homeland, and were expelled
from the community to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Thus thrust forth,
they set their faces southward, and reached Tlapallan in the year 1
Tecpatl (A.D. 387). Passing the country of Xalisco, they effected a
landing at Huatulco, and journeyed down the coast until they reached
Tochtepec, whence they pushed inland to Tollantzinco. To enable them to
make this journey they required no less than 104 years. Ixtlilxochitl
furnishes another account of the Toltec migration in his Relaciones,
a work dealing with the early history of the Mexican races. In this
he recounts how the chiefs of Tlapallan, who had revolted against the
royal power, were banished from that region in A.D. 439. Lingering
near their ancient territory for the space of eight years, they then
journeyed to Tlapallantzinco, where they halted for three years before
setting out on a prolonged pilgrimage, which occupied the tribe for
over a century, and in the course of which it halted at no less than
thirteen different resting-places, six of which can be traced to
stations on the Pacific coast, and the remainder to localities in
the north of Mexico.
Artificial Nature of the Migration Myths
It is plain from internal evidence that these two legends of the Toltec
migrations present an artificial aspect. But if we cannot credit them
in detail, that is not to say that they do not describe in part an
actual pilgrimage. They are specimens of numerous migration myths
which are related concerning the various branches of the Mexican
races. Few features of interest are presented in them, and they
are chiefly remarkable for wearisome repetition and divergence in
essential details.
Myths of the Toltecs
But we enter a much more fascinating domain when we come to peruse
the myths regarding the Toltec kingdom and civilisation, for, before
entering upon the origin or veritable history of the Toltec race, it
will be better to consider the native legends concerning them. These
exhibit an almost Oriental exuberance of imagination and colouring,
and forcibly remind the reader of the gorgeous architectural and
scenic descriptions in the Arabian Nights. The principal sources of
these legends are the histories of Zumarraga and Ixtlilxochitl. The
latter is by no means a satisfactory authority, but he has succeeded
in investing the traditions of his native land with no inconsiderable
degree of charm. The Toltecs, he says, founded the magnificent city of
Tollan in the year 566 of the Incarnation. This city, the site of which
is now occupied by the modern town of Tula, was situated north-west of
the mountains which bound the Mexican valley. Thither were the Toltecs
guided by the powerful necromancer Hueymatzin (Great Hand), and under
his direction they decided to build a city upon the site of what had
been their place of bivouac. For six years they toiled at the building
of Tollan, and magnificent edifices, palaces, and temples arose,
the whole forming a capital of a splendour unparalleled in the New
World. The valley wherein it stood was known as the "Place of Fruits,"
in allusion to its great fertility. The surrounding rivers teemed with
fish, and the hills which encircled this delectable site sheltered
large herds of game. But as yet the Toltecs were without a ruler,
and in the seventh year of their occupation of the city the assembled
chieftains took counsel together, and resolved to surrender their
power into the hands of a monarch whom the people might elect. The
choice fell upon Chalchiuh Tlatonac (Shining Precious Stone), who
reigned for fifty-two years.
Legends of Toltec Artistry
Happily settled in their new country, and ruled over by a king whom
they could regard with reverence, the Toltecs made rapid progress in
the various arts, and their city began to be celebrated far and wide
for the excellence of its craftsmen and the beauty of its architecture
and pottery. The name of "Toltec," in fact, came to be regarded by
the surrounding peoples as synonymous with "artist," and as a kind of
hall-mark which guaranteed the superiority of any article of Toltec
workmanship. Everything in and about the city was eloquent of the
taste and artistry of its founders. The very walls were encrusted
with rare stones, and their masonry was so beautifully chiselled
and laid as to resemble the choicest mosaic. One of the edifices
of which the inhabitants of Tollan were most justly proud was the
temple wherein their high-priest officiated. This building was a
very gem of architectural art and mural decoration. It contained four
apartments. The walls of the first were inlaid with gold, the second
with precious stones of every description, the third with beautiful
sea-shells of all conceivable hues and of the most brilliant and
tender shades encrusted in bricks of silver, which sparkled in the
sun in such a manner as to dazzle the eyes of beholders. The fourth
apartment was formed of a brilliant red stone, ornamented with shells.
The House of Feathers
Still more fantastic and weirdly beautiful was another edifice,
"The House of Feathers." This also possessed four apartments, one
decorated with feathers of a brilliant yellow, another with the
radiant and sparkling hues of the Blue Bird. These were woven into a
kind of tapestry, and placed against the walls in graceful hangings
and festoons. An apartment described as of entrancing beauty was that
in which the decorative scheme consisted of plumage of the purest and
most dazzling white. The remaining chamber was hung with feathers of
a brilliant red, plucked from the most beautiful birds.
Huemac the Wicked
A succession of more or less able kings succeeded the founder of
the Toltec monarchy, until in A.D. 994 Huemac II ascended the throne
of Tollan. He ruled first with wisdom, and paid great attention to
the duties of the state and religion. But later he fell from the
high place he had made for himself in the regard of the people by
his faithless deception of them and his intemperate and licentious
habits. The provinces rose in revolt, and many signs and gloomy
omens foretold the downfall of the city. Toveyo, a cunning sorcerer,
collected a great concourse of people near Tollan, and by dint of
beating upon a magic drum until the darkest hours of the night,
forced them to dance to its sound until, exhausted by their efforts,
they fell headlong over a dizzy precipice into a deep ravine, where
they were turned into stone. Toveyo also maliciously destroyed a
stone bridge, so that thousands of people fell into the river beneath
and were drowned. The neighbouring volcanoes burst into eruption,
presenting a frightful aspect, and grisly apparitions could be seen
among the flames threatening the city with terrible gestures of menace.
The rulers of Tollan resolved to lose no time in placating the gods,
whom they decided from the portents must have conceived the most
violent wrath against their capital. They therefore ordained a great
sacrifice of war-captives. But upon the first of the victims being
placed upon the altar a still more terrible catastrophe occurred. In
the method of sacrifice common to the Nahua race the breast of a
youth was opened for the purpose of extracting the heart, but no such
organ could the officiating priest perceive. Moreover the veins of
the victim were bloodless. Such a deadly odour was exhaled from the
corpse that a terrible pestilence arose, which caused the death of
thousands of Toltecs. Huemac, the unrighteous monarch who had brought
all this suffering upon his folk, was confronted in the forest by the
Tlalocs, or gods of moisture, and humbly petitioned these deities to
spare him, and not to take from him his wealth and rank. But the gods
were disgusted at the callous selfishness displayed in his desires,
and departed, threatening the Toltec race with six years of plagues.
The Plagues of the Toltecs
In the next winter such a severe frost visited the land that all crops
and plants were killed. A summer of torrid heat followed, so intense in
its suffocating fierceness that the streams were dried up and the very
rocks were melted. Then heavy rain-storms descended, which flooded the
streets and ways, and terrible tempests swept through the land. Vast
numbers of loathsome toads invaded the valley, consuming the refuse
left by the destructive frost and heat, and entering the very houses
of the people. In the following year a terrible drought caused the
death of thousands from starvation, and the ensuing winter was again
a marvel of severity. Locusts descended in cloud-like swarms, and
hail- and thunder-storms completed the wreck. During these visitations
nine-tenths of the people perished, and all artistic endeavour ceased
because of the awful struggle for food.
King Acxitl
With the cessation of these inflictions the wicked Huemac resolved
upon a more upright course of life, and became most assiduous for the
welfare and proper government of his people. But he had announced
that Acxitl, his illegitimate son, should succeed him, and had
further resolved to abdicate at once in favour of this youth. With
the Toltecs, as with most primitive peoples, the early kings were
regarded as divine, and the attempt to place on the throne one
who was not of the royal blood was looked upon as a serious offence
against the gods. A revolt ensued, but its two principal leaders were
bought over by promises of preferment. Acxitl ascended the throne,
and for a time ruled wisely. But he soon, like his father, gave way
to a life of dissipation, and succeeded in setting a bad example to
the members of his court and to the priesthood, the vicious spirit
communicating itself to all classes of his subjects and permeating
every rank of society. The iniquities of the people of the capital
and the enormities practised by the royal favourites caused such
scandal in the outlying provinces that at length they broke into
open revolt, and Huehuetzin, chief of an eastern viceroyalty, joined
to himself two other malcontent lords and marched upon the city of
Tollan at the head of a strong force. Acxitl could not muster an army
sufficiently powerful to repel the rebels, and was forced to resort
to the expedient of buying them off with rich presents, thus patching
up a truce. But the fate of Tollan was in the balance. Hordes of rude
Chichimec savages, profiting by the civil broils in the Toltec state,
invaded the lake region of Anahuac, or Mexico, and settled upon its
fruitful soil. The end was in sight!
A Terrible Visitation
The wrath of the gods increased instead of diminishing, and in order
to appease them a great convention of the wise men of the realm met
at Teotihuacan, the sacred city of the Toltecs. But during their
deliberations a giant of immense proportions rushed into their midst,
and, seizing upon them by scores with his bony hands, hurled them
to the ground, dashing their brains out. In this manner he slew
great numbers, and when the panic-stricken folk imagined themselves
delivered from him he returned in a different guise and slew many
more. Again the grisly monster appeared, this time taking the form
of a beautiful child. The people, fascinated by its loveliness,
ran to observe it more closely, only to discover that its head was
a mass of corruption, the stench from which was so fatal that many
were killed outright. The fiend who had thus plagued the Toltecs at
length deigned to inform them that the gods would listen no longer to
their prayers, but had fully resolved to destroy them root and branch,
and he further counselled them to seek safety in flight.
Fall of the Toltec State
By this time the principal families of Tollan had deserted the country,
taking refuge in neighbouring states. Once more Huehuetzin menaced
Tollan, and by dint of almost superhuman efforts old King Huemac,
who had left his retirement, raised a force sufficient to face the
enemy. Acxitl's mother enlisted the services of the women of the
city, and formed them into a regiment of Amazons. At the head of
all was Acxitl, who divided his forces, despatching one portion to
the front under his commander-in-chief, and forming the other into a
reserve under his own leadership. During three years the king defended
Tollan against the combined forces of the rebels and the semi-savage
Chichimecs. At length the Toltecs, almost decimated, fled after a final
desperate battle into the marshes of Lake Tezcuco and the fastnesses
of the mountains. Their other cities were given over to destruction,
and the Toltec empire was at an end.
The Chichimec Exodus
Meanwhile the rude Chichimecs of the north, who had for many years
carried on a constant warfare with the Toltecs, were surprised that
their enemies sought their borders no more, a practice which they
had engaged in principally for the purpose of obtaining captives
for sacrifice. In order to discover the reason for this suspicious
quiet they sent out spies into Toltec territory, who returned with
the amazing news that the Toltec domain for a distance of six hundred
miles from the Chichimec frontier was a desert, the towns ruined and
empty and their inhabitants scattered. Xolotl, the Chichimec king,
summoned his chieftains to his capital, and, acquainting them with
what the spies had said, proposed an expedition for the purpose of
annexing the abandoned land. No less than 3,202,000 people composed
this migration, and only 1,600,000 remained in the Chichimec territory.
The Chichimecs occupied most of the ruined cities, many of which
they rebuilt. Those Toltecs who remained became peaceful subjects,
and through their knowledge of commerce and handicrafts amassed
considerable wealth. A tribute was, however, demanded from them,
which was peremptorily refused by Nauhyotl, the Toltec ruler of
Colhuacan; but he was defeated and slain, and the Chichimec rule was
at last supreme.
The Disappearance of the Toltecs
The transmitters of this legendary account give it as their belief,
which is shared by some authorities of standing, that the Toltecs,
fleeing from the civil broils of their city and the inroads of
the Chichimecs, passed into Central America, where they became the
founders of the civilisation of that country, and the architects of
the many wonderful cities the ruins of which now litter its plains
and are encountered in its forests. But it is time that we examined
the claims put forward on behalf of Toltec civilisation and culture
by the aid of more scientific methods.
Did the Toltecs Exist?
Some authorities have questioned the existence of the Toltecs, and
have professed to see in them a race which had merely a mythical
significance. They base this theory upon the circumstance that
the duration of the reigns of the several Toltec monarchs is very
frequently stated to have lasted for exactly fifty-two years, the
duration of the great Mexican cycle of years which had been adopted
so that the ritual calendar might coincide with the solar year. The
circumstance is certainly suspicious, as is the fact that many of the
names of the Toltec monarchs are also those of the principal Nahua
deities, and this renders the whole dynastic list of very doubtful
value. Dr. Brinton recognised in the Toltecs those children of the sun
who, like their brethren in Peruvian mythology, were sent from heaven
to civilise the human race, and his theory is by no means weakened by
the circumstance that Quetzalcoatl, a deity of solar significance, is
alluded to in Nahua myth as King of the Toltecs. Recent considerations
and discoveries, however, have virtually forced students of the subject
to admit the existence of the Toltecs as a race. The author has dealt
with the question at some length elsewhere, [5] and is not of those
who are free to admit the definite existence of the Toltecs from a
historical point of view. The late Mr. Payne of Oxford, an authority
entitled to every respect, gave it as his opinion that "the accounts of
Toltec history current at the conquest contain a nucleus of substantial
truth," and he writes convincingly: "To doubt that there once existed
in Tollan an advancement superior to that which prevailed among the
Nahuatlaca generally at the conquest, and that its people spread
their advancement throughout Anahuac, and into the districts eastward
and southward, would be to reject a belief universally entertained,
and confirmed rather than shaken by the efforts made in later times
to construct for the Pueblo something in the nature of a history." [6]
A Persistent Tradition
The theory of the present author concerning Toltec historical existence
is rather more non-committal. He admits that a most persistent body
of tradition as to their existence gained general credence among the
Nahua, and that the date (1055) of their alleged dispersal admits of
the approximate exactness and probability of this body of tradition
at the time of the conquest. He also admits that the site of Tollan
contains ruins which are undoubtedly of a date earlier than that
of the architecture of the Nahua as known at the conquest, and that
numerous evidences of an older civilisation exist. He also believes
that the early Nahua having within their racial recollection existed
as savages, the time which elapsed between their barbarian condition
and the more advanced state which they achieved was too brief to admit
of evolution from savagery to culture. Hence they must have adopted an
older civilisation, especially as through the veneer of civilisation
possessed by them they exhibited every sign of gross barbarism.
A Nameless People
If this be true it would go to show that a people of comparatively
high culture existed at a not very remote period on the Mexican
tableland. But what their name was or their racial affinity the writer
does not profess to know. Many modern American scholars of note have
conferred upon them the name of "Toltecs," and speak freely of the
"Toltec period" and of "Toltec art." It may appear pedantic to refuse
to recognise that the cultured people who dwelt in Mexico in pre-Nahua
times were "the Toltecs." But in the face of the absence of genuine
and authoritative native written records dealing with the question,
the author finds himself compelled to remain unconvinced as to the
exact designation of the mysterious older race which preceded the
Nahua. There are not wanting authorities who appear to regard the
pictorial chronicles of the Nahua as quite as worthy of credence
as written records, but it must be clear that tradition or even
history set down in pictorial form can never possess that degree of
definiteness contained in a written account.
Toltec Art
As has been stated above, the Toltecs of tradition were chiefly
remarkable for their intense love of art and their productions in its
various branches. Ixtlilxochitl says that they worked in gold, silver,
copper, tin, and lead, and as masons employed flint, porphyry, basalt,
and obsidian. In the manufacture of jewellery and objets d'art they
excelled, and the pottery of Cholula, of which specimens are frequently
recovered, was of a high standard.
Other Aboriginal Peoples
Mexico contained other aboriginal races besides the Toltecs. Of
these many and diverse peoples the most remarkable were the Otomi,
who still occupy Guanajuato and Queretaro, and who, before the coming
of the Nahua, probably spread over the entire valley of Mexico. In
the south we find the Huasteca, a people speaking the same language as
the Maya of Central America, and on the Mexican Gulf the Totonacs and
Chontals. On the Pacific side of the country the Mixteca and Zapoteca
were responsible for a flourishing civilisation which exhibited
many original characteristics, and which in some degree was a link
between the cultures of Mexico and Central America. Traces of a still
older population than any of these are still to be found in the more
remote parts of Mexico, and the Mixe, Zaque, Kuicatec, and Popolcan
are probably the remnants of prehistoric races of vast antiquity.
The Cliff-dwellers
It is probable that a race known as "the Cliff-dwellers," occupying
the plateau country of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah,
and even extending in its ramifications to Mexico itself, was related
ethnologically to the Nahua. The present-day Pueblo Indians dwelling to
the north of Mexico most probably possess a leaven of Nahua blood. Ere
the tribes who communicated this leaven to the whole had intermingled
with others of various origin, it would appear that they occupied with
others those tracts of country now inhabited by the Pueblo Indians,
and in the natural recesses and shallow caverns found in the faces
of the cliffs erected dwellings and fortifications, displaying an
architectural ability of no mean order. These communities extended
as far south as the Gila river, the most southern affluent of the
Colorado, and the remains they have left there appear to be of a later
date architecturally than those situated farther north. These were
found in ruins by the first Spanish explorers, and it is thought that
their builders were eventually driven back to rejoin their kindred in
the north. Farther to the south in the cañons of the Piedras Verdes
river in Chihuahua, Mexico, are cliff-dwellings corresponding in many
respects with those of the Pueblo region, and Dr. Hrdlicka has examined
others so far south as the State of Jalisco, in Central Mexico. These
may be the ruins of dwellings erected either by the early Nahua or by
some of the peoples relatively aboriginal to them, and may display the
architectural features general among the Nahua prior to their adoption
of other alien forms. Or else they may be the remains of dwellings
similar to those of the Tarahumare, a still existing tribe of Mexico,
who, according to Lumholtz, [7] inhabit similar structures at the
present day. It is clear from the architectural development of the
cliff-dwellers that their civilisation developed generally from south
to north, that this race was cognate to the early Nahua, and that it
later withdrew to the north, or became fused with the general body
of the Nahua peoples. It must not be understood, however, that the
race arrived in the Mexican plateau before the Nahua, and the ruins
of Jalisco and other mid-Mexican districts may merely be the remains
of comparatively modern cliff-dwellings, an adaptation by mid-Mexican
communities of the "Cliff-dweller" architecture, or a local development
of it owing to the exigencies of early life in the district.
The Nahua Race
The Nahua peoples included all those tribes speaking the Nahuatlatolli
(Nahua tongue), and occupied a sphere extending from the southern
borders of New Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the south,
or very much within the limits of the modern Republic of Mexico. But
this people must not be regarded as one race of homogeneous origin. A
very brief account of their racial affinities must be sufficient
here. The Chichimecs were probably related to the Otomi, whom we have
alluded to as among the first-comers to the Mexican valley. They were
traditionally supposed to have entered it at a period subsequent to
the Toltec occupation. Their chief towns were Tezcuco and Tenayucan,
but they later allied themselves with the Nahua in a great confederacy,
and adopted the Nahua language. There are circumstances which justify
the assumption that on their entrance to the Mexican valley they
consisted of a number of tribes loosely united, presenting in their
general organisation a close resemblance to some of the composite
tribes of modern American Indians.
The Aculhuaque
Next to them in point of order of tribal arrival were the Aculhuaque,
or Acolhuans. The name means "tall" or "strong" men, literally
"People of the Broad Shoulder," or "Pushers," who made a way for
themselves. Gomara states in his Conquista de Mexico that they
arrived in the valley from Acolhuacan about A.D. 780, and founded
the towns of Tollan, Colhuacan, and Mexico itself. The Acolhuans
were pure Nahua, and may well have been the much-disputed Toltecs,
for the Nahua people always insisted on the fact that the Toltecs
were of the same stock as themselves, and spoke an older and purer
form of the Nahua tongue. From the Acolhuans sprang the Tlascalans,
the inveterate enemies of the Aztecs, who so heartily assisted Cortés
in his invasion of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, or Mexico.
The Tecpanecs
The Tecpanecs were a confederacy of purely Nahua tribes dwelling
in towns situated upon the Lake of Tezcuco, the principal of which
were Tlacopan and Azcapozalco. The name Tecpanec signifies that each
settlement possessed its own chief's house, or tecpan. This tribe were
almost certainly later Nahua immigrants who arrived in Mexico after the
Acolhuans, and were great rivals to the Chichimec branch of the race.
The Aztecs
The Aztecâ, or Aztecs, were a nomad tribe of doubtful origin, but
probably of Nahua blood. Wandering over the Mexican plateau for
generations, they at length settled in the marshlands near the Lake
of Tezcuco, hard by Tlacopan. The name Aztecâ means "Crane People,"
and was bestowed upon the tribe by the Tecpanecs, probably because of
the fact that, like cranes, they dwelt in a marshy neighbourhood. They
founded the town of Tenochtitlan, or Mexico, and for a while paid
tribute to the Tecpanecs. But later they became the most powerful
allies of that people, whom they finally surpassed entirely in power
and splendour.
The Aztec Character
The features of the Aztecs as represented in the various Mexican
paintings are typically Indian, and argue a northern origin. The
race was, and is, of average height, and the skin is of a dark brown
hue. The Mexican is grave, taciturn, and melancholic, with a deeply
rooted love of the mysterious, slow to anger, yet almost inhuman in
the violence of his passions when aroused. He is usually gifted with a
logical mind, quickness of apprehension, and an ability to regard the
subtle side of things with great nicety. Patient and imitative, the
ancient Mexican excelled in those arts which demanded such qualities
in their execution. He had a real affection for the beautiful in
nature and a passion for flowers, but the Aztec music lacked gaiety,
and the national amusements were too often of a gloomy and ferocious
character. The women are more vivacious than the men, but were in
the days before the conquest very subservient to the wills of their
husbands. We have already very briefly outlined the trend of Nahua
civilisation, but it will be advisable to examine it a little more
closely, for if the myths of this people are to be understood some
knowledge of its life and general culture is essential.
Legends of the Foundation of Mexico
At the period of the conquest of Mexico by Cortés the city presented
an imposing appearance. Led to its neighbourhood by Huitzilopochtli,
a traditional chief, afterwards deified as the god of war, there
are several legends which account for the choice of its site by the
Mexicans. The most popular of these relates how the nomadic Nahua
beheld perched upon a cactus plant an eagle of great size and majesty,
grasping in its talons a huge serpent, and spreading its wings to
catch the rays of the rising sun. The soothsayers or medicine-men of
the tribe, reading a good omen in the spectacle, advised the leaders
of the people to settle on the spot, and, hearkening to the voice of
what they considered divine authority, they proceeded to drive piles
into the marshy ground, and thus laid the foundation of the great
city of Mexico.
An elaboration of this legend tells how the Aztecs had about the year
1325 sought refuge upon the western shore of the Lake of Tezcuco,
in an island among the marshes on which they found a stone on which
forty years before one of their priests had sacrificed a prince of
the name of Copal, whom they had made prisoner. A nopal plant had
sprung from an earth-filled crevice in this rude altar, and upon
this the royal eagle alluded to in the former account had alighted,
grasping the serpent in his talons. Beholding in this a good omen,
and urged by a supernatural impulse which he could not explain,
a priest of high rank dived into a pool close at hand, where he
found himself face to face with Tlaloc, the god of waters. After an
interview with the deity the priest obtained permission from him to
found a city on the site, from the humble beginnings of which arose
the metropolis of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
Mexico at the Conquest
At the period of the conquest the city of Mexico had a circumference
of no less than twelve miles, or nearly that of modern Berlin without
its suburbs. It contained 60,000 houses, and its inhabitants were
computed to number 300,000. Many other towns, most of them nearly half
as large, were grouped on the islands or on the margin of Lake Tezcuco,
so that the population of what might almost be called "Greater Mexico"
must have amounted to several millions. The city was intersected by
four great roadways or avenues built at right angles to one another,
and laid four-square with the cardinal points. Situated as it was in
the midst of a lake, it was traversed by numerous canals, which were
used as thoroughfares for traffic. The four principal ways described
above were extended across the lake as dykes or viaducts until they met
its shores. The dwellings of the poorer classes were chiefly composed
of adobes, but those of the nobility were built of a red porous stone
quarried close by. They were usually of one story only, but occupied a
goodly piece of ground and had flat roofs, many of which were covered
with flowers. In general they were coated with a hard, white cement,
which gave them an added resemblance to the Oriental type of building.
Towering high among these, and a little apart from the vast squares and
market-places, were the teocallis, or temples. These were in reality
not temples or covered-in buildings, but "high places," great pyramids
of stone, built platform on platform, around which a staircase led to
the summit, on which was usually erected a small shrine containing
the tutelar deity to whom the teocalli had been raised. The great
temple of Huitzilopochtli, the war-god, built by King Ahuizotl,
was, besides being typical of all, by far the greatest of these
votive piles. The enclosing walls of the building were 4800 feet
in circumference, and strikingly decorated by carvings representing
festoons of intertwined reptiles, from which circumstance they were
called coetpantli (walls of serpents). A kind of gate-house on each
side gave access to the enclosure. The teocalli, or great temple,
inside the court was in the shape of a parallelogram, measuring 375
feet by 300 feet, and was built in six platforms, growing smaller in
area as they descended. The mass of this structure was composed of
a mixture of rubble, clay, and earth, covered with carefully worked
stone slabs, cemented together with infinite care, and coated with
a hard gypsum. A flight of 340 steps circled round the terraces and
led to the upper platform, on which were raised two three-storied
towers 56 feet in height, in which stood the great statues of the
tutelar deities and the jasper stones of sacrifice. These sanctuaries,
say the old Conquistadores who entered them, had the appearance and
odour of shambles, and human blood was bespattered everywhere. In this
weird chapel of horrors burned a fire, the extinction of which it was
supposed would have brought about the end of the Nahua power. It was
tended with a care as scrupulous as that with which the Roman Vestals
guarded their sacred flame. No less than 600 of these sacred braziers
were kept alight in the city of Mexico alone.
A Pyramid of Skulls
The principal fane of Huitzilopochtli was surrounded by upwards of
forty inferior teocallis and shrines. In the Tzompantli (Pyramid of
Skulls) were collected the grisly relics of the countless victims to
the implacable war-god of the Aztecs, and in this horrid structure
the Spanish conquerors counted no less than 136,000 human skulls. In
the court or teopan which surrounded the temple were the dwellings
of thousands of priests, whose duties included the scrupulous care
of the temple precincts, and whose labours were minutely apportioned.
Nahua Architecture and Ruins
As we shall see later, Mexico is by no means so rich in architectural
antiquities as Guatemala or Yucatan, the reason being that the
growth of tropical forests has to a great extent protected ancient
stone edifices in the latter countries from destruction. The ruins
discovered in the northern regions of the republic are of a ruder type
than those which approach more nearly to the sphere of Maya influence,
as, for example, those of Mitla, built by the Zapotecs, which exhibit
such unmistakable signs of Maya influence that we prefer to describe
them when dealing with the antiquities of that people.
Cyclopean Remains
In the mountains of Chihuahua, one of the most northerly provinces,
is a celebrated group called the Casas Grandes (Large Houses), the
walls of which are still about 30 feet in height. These approximate in
general appearance to the buildings of more modern tribes in New Mexico
and Arizona, and may be referred to such peoples rather than to the
Nahua. At Quemada, in Zacatecas, massive ruins of Cyclopean appearance
have been discovered. These consist of extensive terraces and broad
stone causeways, teocallis which have weathered many centuries, and
gigantic pillars, 18 feet in height and 17 feet in circumference. Walls
12 feet in thickness rise above the heaps of rubbish which litter the
ground. These remains exhibit little connection with Nahua architecture
to the north or south of them. They are more massive than either, and
must have been constructed by some race which had made considerable
strides in the art of building.
Teotihuacan
In the district of the Totonacs, to the north of Vera Cruz, we find
many architectural remains of a highly interesting character. Here
the teocalli or pyramidal type of building is occasionally crowned
by a covered-in temple with the massive roof characteristic of Maya
architecture. The most striking examples found in this region are the
remains of Teotihuacan and Xochicalco. The former was the religious
Mecca of the Nahua races, and in its proximity are still to be seen the
teocallis of the sun and moon, surrounded by extensive burying-grounds
where the devout of Anahuac were laid in the sure hope that if interred
they would find entrance into the paradise of the sun. The teocalli of
the moon has a base covering 426 feet and a height of 137 feet. That
of the sun is of greater dimensions, with a base of 735 feet and a
height of 203 feet. These pyramids were divided into four stories,
three of which remain. On the summit of that of the sun stood a
temple containing a great image of that luminary carved from a rough
block of stone. In the breast was inlaid a star of the purest gold,
seized afterwards as loot by the insatiable followers of Cortés. From
the teocalli of the moon a path runs to where a little rivulet flanks
the "Citadel." This path is known as "The Path of the Dead," from the
circumstance that it is surrounded by some nine square miles of tombs
and tumuli, and, indeed, forms a road through the great cemetery. The
Citadel, thinks Charnay, was a vast tennis or tlachtli court, where
thousands flocked to gaze at the national sport of the Nahua with a
zest equal to that of the modern devotees of football. Teotihuacan was
a flourishing centre contemporary with Tollan. It was destroyed, but
was rebuilt by the Chichimec king Xolotl, and preserved thenceforth its
traditional sway as the focus of the Nahua national religion. Charnay
identifies the architectural types discovered there with those
of Tollan. The result of his labours in the vicinity included the
unearthing of richly decorated pottery, vases, masks, and terra-cotta
figures. He also excavated several large houses or palaces, some with
chambers more than 730 feet in circumference, with walls over 7-1/2
feet thick, into which were built rings and slabs to support torches
and candles. The floors were tessellated in various rich designs,
"like an Aubusson carpet." Charnay concluded that the monuments of
Teotihuacan were partly standing at the time of the conquest.
The Hill of Flowers
Near Tezcuco is Xochicalco (The Hill of Flowers), a teocalli the
sculpture of which is both beautiful and luxuriant in design. The
porphyry quarries from which the great blocks, 12 feet in length,
were cut lie many miles away. As late as 1755 the structure towered
to a height of five stories, but the vandal has done his work only
too well, and a few fragmentary carvings of exquisite design are all
that to-day remain of one of Mexico's most magnificent pyramids.
Tollan
We have already indicated that on the site of the "Toltec" city of
Tollan ruins have been discovered which prove that it was the centre of
a civilisation of a type distinctly advanced. Charnay unearthed there
gigantic fragments of caryatides, each some 7 feet high. He also found
columns of two pieces, which were fitted together by means of mortise
and tenon, bas-reliefs of archaic figures of undoubted Nahua type, and
many fragments of great antiquity. On the hill of Palpan, above Tollan,
he found the ground-plans of several houses with numerous apartments,
frescoed, columned, and having benches and cisterns recalling the
impluvium of a Roman villa. Water-pipes were also actually unearthed,
and a wealth of pottery, many pieces of which were like old Japanese
china. The ground-plan or foundations of the houses unearthed at
Palpan showed that they had been designed by practical architects,
and had not been built in any merely haphazard fashion. The cement
which covered the walls and floors was of excellent quality, and
recalled that discovered in ancient Italian excavations. The roofs
had been of wood, supported by pillars.
Picture-Writing
The Aztecs, and indeed the entire Nahua race, employed a system of
writing of the type scientifically described as "pictographic," in
which events, persons, and ideas were recorded by means of drawings
and coloured sketches. These were executed on paper made from the agave
plant, or were painted on the skins of animals. By these means not only
history and the principles of the Nahua mythology were communicated
from generation to generation, but the transactions of daily life, the
accountings of merchants, and the purchase and ownership of land were
placed on record. That a phonetic system was rapidly being approached
is manifest from the method by which the Nahua scribes depicted the
names of individuals or cities. These were represented by means of
several objects, the names of which resembled that of the person for
which they stood. The name of King Ixcoatl, for example, is represented
by the drawing of a serpent (coatl) pierced by flint knives (iztli),
and that of Motequauhzoma (Montezuma) by a mouse-trap (montli), an
eagle (quauhtli), a lancet (zo), and a hand (maitl). The phonetic
values employed by the scribes varied exceedingly, so that at times
an entire syllable would be expressed by the painting of an object
the name of which commenced with it. At other times only a letter
would be represented by the same drawing. But the general intention of
the scribes was undoubtedly more ideographic than phonetic; that is,
they desired to convey their thoughts more by sketch than by sound.
Interpretation of the Hieroglyphs
These pinturas, as the Spanish conquerors designated them, offer no
very great difficulty in their elucidation to modern experts, at least
so far as the general trend of their contents is concerned. In this
they are unlike the manuscripts of the Maya of Central America with
which we shall make acquaintance further on. Their interpretation
was largely traditional, and was learned by rote, being passed on
by one generation of amamatini (readers) to another, and was by no
means capable of elucidation by all and sundry.
Native Manuscripts
The pinturas or native manuscripts which remain to us are but few
in number. Priestly fanaticism, which ordained their wholesale
destruction, and the still more potent passage of time have so
reduced them that each separate example is known to bibliophiles and
Americanists the world over. In such as still exist we can observe
great fullness of detail, representing for the most part festivals,
sacrifices, tributes, and natural phenomena, such as eclipses and
floods, and the death and accession of monarchs. These events, and the
supernatural beings who were supposed to control them, were depicted
in brilliant colours, executed by means of a brush of feathers.
The Interpretative Codices
Luckily for future students of Mexican history, the blind zeal which
destroyed the majority of the Mexican manuscripts was frustrated by the
enlightenment of certain European scholars, who regarded the wholesale
destruction of the native records as little short of a calamity,
and who took steps to seek out the few remaining native artists,
from whom they procured copies of the more important paintings, the
details of which were, of course, quite familiar to them. To those were
added interpretations taken down from the lips of the native scribes
themselves, so that no doubt might remain regarding the contents of
the manuscripts. These are known as the "Interpretative Codices,"
and are of considerable assistance to the student of Mexican history
and customs. Three only are in existence. The Oxford Codex, treasured
in the Bodleian Library, is of a historical nature, and contains a
full list of the lesser cities which were subservient to Mexico in
its palmy days. The Paris or Tellerio-Remensis Codex, so called from
having once been the property of Le Tellier, Archbishop of Rheims,
embodies many facts concerning the early settlement of the various
Nahua city-states. The Vatican MSS. deal chiefly with mythology
and the intricacies of the Mexican calendar system. Such Mexican
paintings as were unassisted by an interpretation are naturally of
less value to present-day students of the lore of the Nahua. They
are principally concerned with calendric matter, ritualistic data,
and astrological computations or horoscopes.
The Mexican "Book of the Dead"
Perhaps the most remarkable and interesting manuscript in the Vatican
collection is one the last pages of which represent the journey of the
soul after death through the gloomy dangers of the Other-world. This
has been called the Mexican "Book of the Dead." The corpse is depicted
dressed for burial, the soul escaping from its earthly tenement by way
of the mouth. The spirit is ushered into the presence of Tezcatlipoca,
the Jupiter of the Aztec pantheon, by an attendant dressed in an ocelot
skin, and stands naked with a wooden yoke round the neck before the
deity, to receive sentence. The dead person is given over to the tests
which precede entrance to the abode of the dead, the realm of Mictlan,
and so that he may not have to meet the perils of the journey in a
defenceless condition a sheaf of javelins is bestowed upon him. He
first passes between two lofty peaks, which may fall and crush him if
he cannot skilfully escape them. A terrible serpent then intercepts
his path, and, if he succeeds in defeating this monster, the fierce
alligator Xochitonal awaits him. Eight deserts and a corresponding
number of mountains have then to be negotiated by the hapless spirit,
and a whirlwind sharp as a sword, which cuts even through solid
rocks, must be withstood. Accompanied by the shade of his favourite
dog, the harassed ghost at length encounters the fierce Izpuzteque,
a demon with the backward-bent legs of a cock, the evil Nextepehua,
the fiend who scatters clouds of ashes, and many another grisly foe,
until at last he wins to the gates of the Lord of Hell, before whom
he does reverence, after which he is free to greet his friends who
have gone before.
The Calendar System
As has been said, the calendar system was the source of all Mexican
science, and regulated the recurrence of all religious rites and
festivals. In fact, the entire mechanism of Nahua life was resident in
its provisions. The type of time-division and computation exemplified
in the Nahua calendar was also found among the Maya peoples of Yucatan
and Guatemala and the Zapotec people of the boundary between the
Nahua and Maya races. By which of these races it was first employed
is unknown. But the Zapotec calendar exhibits signs of both Nahua and
Maya influence, and from this it has been inferred that the calendar
systems of these races have been evolved from it. It might with equal
probability be argued that both Nahua and Maya art were offshoots
of Zapotec art, because the characteristics of both are discovered
in it, whereas the circumstance merely illustrates the very natural
acceptance by a border people, who settled down to civilisation at
a relatively later date, of the artistic tenets of the two greater
peoples who environed them. The Nahua and Maya calendars were in all
likelihood evolved from the calendar system of that civilised race
which undoubtedly existed on the Mexican plateau prior to the coming
of the later Nahua swarms, and which in general is loosely alluded
to as the "Toltec."
The Mexican Year
The Mexican year was a cycle of 365 days, without any intercalary
addition or other correction. In course of time it almost lost its
seasonal significance because of the omission of the extra hours
included in the solar year, and furthermore many of its festivals
and occasions were altered by high-priests and rulers to suit their
convenience. The Mexican nexiuhilpililztli (binding of years)
contained fifty-two years, and ran in two separate cycles--one
of fifty-two years of 365 days each, and another of seventy-three
groups of 260 days each. The first was of course the solar year,
and embraced eighteen periods of twenty days each, called "months"
by the old Spanish chroniclers, with five nemontemi (unlucky days)
over and above. These days were not intercalated, but were included
in the year, and merely overflowed the division of the year into
periods of twenty days. The cycle of seventy-three groups of 260 days,
subdivided into groups of thirteen days, was called the "birth-cycle."
Lunar Reckoning
People in a barbarous condition almost invariably reckon time by the
period between the waxing and waning of the moon as distinct from the
entire passage of a lunar revolution, and this period of twenty days
will be found to be the basis in the time-reckoning of the Mexicans,
who designated it cempohualli. Each day included in it was denoted by
a sign, as "house," "snake," "wind," and so forth. Each cempohualli
was subdivided into four periods of five days each, sometimes alluded
to as "weeks" by the early Spanish writers, and these were known by
the sign of their middle or third day. These day-names ran on without
reference to the length of the year. The year itself was designated
by the name of the middle day of the week in which it began. Out
of twenty day-names in the Mexican "month" it was inevitable that
the four calli (house), tochtli (rabbit), acatl (reed), and tecpatl
(flint) should always recur in sequence because of the incidence
of these days in the Mexican solar year. Four years made up a year
of the sun. During the nemontemi (unlucky days) no work was done,
as they were regarded as ominous and unwholesome.
We have seen that the civil year permitted the day-names to run on
continuously from one year to another. The ecclesiastical authorities,
however, had a reckoning of their own, and made the year begin always
on the first day of their calendar, no matter what sign denominated
that day in the civil system.
Groups of Years
As has been indicated, the years were formed into groups. Thirteen
years constituted a xiumalpilli (bundle), and four of these a
nexiuhilpilitztli (complete binding of the years). Each year had thus
a double aspect, first as an individual period of time, and secondly
as a portion of the "year of the sun," and these were so numbered
and named that each year in the series of fifty-two possessed a
different description.
The Dread of the Last Day
With the conclusion of each period of fifty-two years a terrible dread
came upon the Mexicans that the world would come to an end. A stated
period of time had expired, a period which was regarded as fixed by
divine command, and it had been ordained that on the completion of
one of those series of fifty-two years earthly time would cease and
the universe be demolished. For some time before the ceremony of
toxilmolpilia (the binding up of the years) the Mexicans abandoned
themselves to the utmost prostration, and the wicked went about
in terrible fear. As the first day of the fifty-third year dawned
the people narrowly observed the Pleiades, for if they passed the
zenith time would proceed and the world would be respited. The gods
were placated or refreshed by the slaughter of the human victim,
on whose still living breast a fire of wood was kindled by friction,
the heart and body being consumed by the flames so lighted. As the
planets of hope crossed the zenith loud acclamations resounded from
the people, and the domestic hearths, which had been left cold and
dead, were rekindled from the sacred fire which had consumed the
sacrifice. Mankind was safe for another period.
The Birth-Cycle
The birth-cycle, as we have said, consisted of 260 days. It had
originally been a lunar cycle of thirteen days, and once bore the names
of thirteen moons. It formed part of the civil calendar, with which,
however, it had nothing in common, as it was used for ecclesiastical
purposes only. The lunar names were abandoned later, and the numbers
one to thirteen adopted in their places.
Language of the Nahua
The Nahua language represented a very low state of culture. Speech is
the general measure of the standard of thought of a people, and if we
judged the civilisation of the Nahua by theirs, we should be justified
in concluding that they had not yet emerged from barbarism. But we
must recollect that the Nahua of the conquest period had speedily
adopted the older civilisation which they had found awaiting them
on their entrance to Mexico, and had retained their own primitive
tongue. The older and more cultured people who had preceded them
probably spoke a more polished dialect of the same language, but its
influence had evidently but little effect upon the rude Chichimecs
and Aztecs. The Mexican tongue, like most American languages, belongs
to the "incorporative" type, the genius of which is to unite all
the related words in a sentence into one conglomerate term or word,
merging the separate words of which it is composed one into another by
altering their forms, and so welding them together as to express the
whole in one word. It will be at once apparent that such a system was
clumsy in the extreme, and led to the creation of words and names of
the most barbarous appearance and sound. In a narrative of the Spanish
discovery written by Chimalpahin, the native chronicler of Chalco,
born in 1579, we have, for example, such a passage as the following:
Oc chiucnauhxihuitl inic onen quilantimanca España camo niman ic yuh
ca omacoc ihuelitiliztli inic niman ye chiuhcnauhxiuhtica, in oncan
ohualla. This passage is chosen quite at random, and is an average
specimen of literary Mexican of the sixteenth century. Its purport is,
freely translated: "For nine years he [Columbus] remained in vain
in Spain. Yea, for nine years there he waited for influence." The
clumsy and cumbrous nature of the language could scarcely be better
illustrated than by pointing out that chiucnauhxihuitl signifies "nine
years"; quilantimanca, "he below remained"; and omacoc ihuelitiliztli,
"he has got his powerfulness." It must be recollected that this
specimen of Mexican was composed by a person who had had the benefit
of a Spanish education, and is cast in literary form. What the
spoken Mexican of pre-conquest times was like can be contemplated
with misgiving in the grammars of the old Spanish missionaries,
whose greatest glory is that they mastered such a language in the
interests of their faith.
Aztec Science
The science of the Aztecs was, perhaps, one of the most picturesque
sides of their civilisation. As with all peoples in a semi-barbarous
state, it consisted chiefly in astrology and divination. Of the
former the wonderful calendar system was the basis, and by its aid
the priests, or those of them who were set apart for the study of the
heavenly bodies, pretended to be able to tell the future of new-born
infants and the progress of the dead in the other world. This they
accomplished by weighing the influence of the planets and other
luminaries one against another, and extracting the net result. Their
art of divination consisted in drawing omens from the song and flight
of birds, the appearance of grains of seed, feathers, and the entrails
of animals, by which means they confidently predicted both public
and private events.
Nahua Government
The limits of the Aztec Empire may be defined, if its tributary
states are included, as extending over the territory comprised in
the modern states of Mexico, Southern Vera Cruz, and Guerrero. Among
the civilised peoples of this extensive tract the prevailing form of
government was an absolute monarchy, although several of the smaller
communities were republics. The law of succession, as with the Celts
of Scotland, prescribed that the eldest surviving brother of the
deceased monarch should be elected to his throne, and, failing him,
the eldest nephew. But incompetent persons were almost invariably
ignored by the elective body, although the choice was limited to one
family. The ruler was generally selected both because of his military
prowess and his ecclesiastical and political knowledge. Indeed, a
Mexican monarch was nearly always a man of the highest culture and
artistic refinement, and the ill-fated Montezuma was an example of the
true type of Nahua sovereign. The council of the monarch was composed
of the electors and other personages of importance in the realm. It
undertook the government of the provinces, the financial affairs of
the country, and other matters of national import. The nobility held
all the highest military, judicial, and ecclesiastical offices. To
each city and province judges were delegated who exercised criminal
and civil jurisdiction, and whose opinion superseded even that of
the Crown itself. Petty cases were settled by lesser officials, and
a still inferior grade of officers acted as a species of police in
the supervision of families.
Domestic Life
The domestic life of the Nahua was a peculiar admixture of simplicity
and display. The mass of the people led a life of strenuous labour
in the fields, and in the cities they wrought hard at many trades,
among which may be specified building, metal-working, making
robes and other articles of bright featherwork and quilted suits
of armour, jewellery, and small wares. Vendors of flowers, fruit,
fish, and vegetables swarmed in the markets. The use of tobacco was
general among the men of all classes. At banquets the women attended,
although they were seated at separate tables. The entertainments of
the upper class were marked by much magnificence, and the variety
of dishes was considerable, including venison, turkey, many smaller
birds, fish, a profusion of vegetables, and pastry, accompanied
by sauces of delicate flavour. These were served in dishes of
gold and silver. Pulque, a fermented drink brewed from the agave,
was the universal beverage. Cannibalism was indulged in usually on
ceremonial occasions, and was surrounded by such refinements of the
table as served only to render it the more repulsive in the eyes of
Europeans. It has been stated that this revolting practice was engaged
in owing solely to the tenets of the Nahua religion, which enjoined
the slaughter of slaves or captives in the name of a deity, and their
consumption with the idea that the consumers attained unity with
that deity in the flesh. But there is good reason to suspect that the
Nahua, deprived of the flesh of the larger domestic animals, practised
deliberate cannibalism. It would appear that the older race which
preceded them in the country were innocent of these horrible repasts.
A Mysterious Toltec Book
A piece of Nahua literature, the disappearance of which is surrounded
by circumstances of the deepest mystery, is the Teo-Amoxtli (Divine
Book), which is alleged by certain chroniclers to have been the work
of the ancient Toltecs. Ixtlilxochitl, a native Mexican author, states
that it was written by a Tezcucan wise man, one Huematzin, about the
end of the seventh century, and that it described the pilgrimage of
the Nahua from Asia, their laws, manners, and customs, and their
religious tenets, science, and arts. In 1838 the Baron de Waldeck
stated in his Voyage Pittoresque that he had it in his possession,
and the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg identified it with the Maya Dresden
Codex and other native manuscripts. Bustamante also states that the
amamatini (chroniclers) of Tezcuco had a copy in their possession
at the time of the taking of their city. But these appear to be mere
surmises, and if the Teo-Amoxtli ever existed, which on the whole is
not unlikely, it has probably never been seen by a European.
A Native Historian
One of the most interesting of the Mexican historians is Don Fernando
de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, a half-breed of royal Tezcucan descent. He
was responsible for two notable works, entitled Historia Chichimeca
(The History of the Chichimecs) and the Relaciones, a compilation of
historical and semi-historical incidents. He was cursed, or blessed,
however, by a strong leaning toward the marvellous, and has coloured
his narratives so highly that he would have us regard the Toltec or
ancient Nahua civilisations as by far the most splendid and magnificent
that ever existed. His descriptions of Tezcuco, if picturesque in the
extreme, are manifestly the outpourings of a romantic and idealistic
mind, which in its patriotic enthusiasm desired to vindicate the
country of his birth from the stigma of savagery and to prove its
equality with the great nations of antiquity. For this we have not
the heart to quarrel with him. But we must be on our guard against
accepting any of his statements unless we find strong corroboration
of it in the pages of a more trustworthy and less biased author.
Nahua Topography
The geography of Mexico is by no means as familiar to Europeans as
is that of the various countries of our own continent, and it is
extremely easy for the reader who is unacquainted with Mexico and
the puzzling orthography of its place-names to flounder among them,
and during the perusal of such a volume as this to find himself in a
hopeless maze of surmise as to the exact locality of the more famous
centres of Mexican history. A few moments' study of this paragraph
will enlighten him in this respect, and will save him much confusion
further on. He will see from the map (p. 330) that the city of Mexico,
or Tenochtitlan, its native name, was situated upon an island in the
Lake of Tezcuco. This lake has now partially dried up, and the modern
city of Mexico is situated at a considerable distance from it. Tezcuco,
the city second in importance, lies to the north-east of the lake, and
is somewhat more isolated, the other pueblos (towns) clustering round
the southern or western shores. To the north of Tezcuco is Teotihuacan,
the sacred city of the gods. To the south-east of Mexico is Tlaxcallan,
or Tlascala, the city which assisted Cortés against the Mexicans, and
the inhabitants of which were the deadliest foes of the central Nahua
power. To the north lie the sacred city of Cholula and Tula, or Tollan.
Distribution of the Nahua Tribes
Having become acquainted with the relative position of the Nahua
cities, we may now consult for a moment the map which exhibits the
geographical distribution of the various Nahua tribes, and which is
self-explanatory (p. 331).
Nahua History
A brief historical sketch or epitome of what is known of Nahua history
as apart from mere tradition will further assist the reader in the
comprehension of Mexican mythology. From the period of the settlement
of the Nahua on an agricultural basis a system of feudal government had
evolved, and at various epochs in the history of the country certain
cities or groups of cities held a paramount sway. Subsequent to the
"Toltec" period, which we have already described and discussed, we
find the Acolhuans in supreme power, and ruling from their cities
of Tollantzinco and Cholula a considerable tract of country. Later
Cholula maintained an alliance with Tlascala and Huexotzinco.
Bloodless Battles
The maxim "Other climes, other manners" is nowhere better exemplified
than by the curious annual strife betwixt the warriors of Mexico and
Tlascala. Once a year they met on a prearranged battle-ground and
engaged in combat, not with the intention of killing one another,
but with the object of taking prisoners for sacrifice on the altars
of their respective war-gods. The warrior seized his opponent and
attempted to bear him off, the various groups pulling and tugging
desperately at each other in the endeavour to seize the limbs of
the unfortunate who had been first struck down, with the object of
dragging him into durance or effecting his rescue. Once secured, the
Tlascaltec warrior was brought to Mexico in a cage, and first placed
upon a stone slab, to which one of his feet was secured by a chain
or thong. He was then given light weapons, more like playthings than
warrior's gear, and confronted by one of the most celebrated Mexican
warriors. Should he succeed in defeating six of these formidable
antagonists, he was set free. But no sooner was he wounded than he
was hurried to the altar of sacrifice, and his heart was torn out
and offered to Huitzilopochtli, the implacable god of war.
The Tlascaltecs, having finally secured their position by a defeat of
the Tecpanecs of Huexotzinco about A.D. 1384, sank into comparative
obscurity save for their annual bout with the Mexicans.
The Lake Cities
The communities grouped round the various lakes in the valley of Mexico
now command our attention. More than two score of these thriving
communities flourished at the time of the conquest of Mexico,
the most notable being those which occupied the borders of the
Lake of Tezcuco. These cities grouped themselves round two nuclei,
Azcapozalco and Tezcuco, between whom a fierce rivalry sprang up,
which finally ended in the entire discomfiture or Azcapozalco. From
this event the real history of Mexico may be said to commence. Those
cities which had allied themselves to Tezcuco finally overran the
entire territory of Mexico from the Mexican Gulf to the Pacific.
Tezcuco
If, as some authorities declare, Tezcuco was originally Otomi in
affinity, it was in later years the most typically Nahuan of all the
lacustrine powers. But several other communities, the power of which
was very nearly as great as that of Tezcuco, had assisted that city to
supremacy. Among these was Xaltocan, a city-state of unquestionable
Otomi origin, situated at the northern extremity of the lake. As we
have seen from the statements of Ixtlilxochitl, a Tezcucan writer, his
native city was in the forefront of Nahua civilisation at the time of
the coming of the Spaniards, and if it was practically subservient to
Mexico (Tenochtitlan) at that period it was by no means its inferior
in the arts.
The Tecpanecs
The Tecpanecs, who dwelt in Tlacopan, Coyohuacan, and Huitzilopocho,
were also typical Nahua. The name, as we have already explained,
indicates that each settlement possessed its own tecpan (chief's
house), and has no racial significance. Their state was probably
founded about the twelfth century, although a chronology of no less
than fifteen hundred years was claimed for it. This people composed
a sort of buffer-state betwixt the Otomi on the north and other Nahua
on the south.
The Aztecs
The menace of these northern Otomi had become acute when the Tecpanecs
received reinforcements in the shape of the Aztecâ, or Aztecs, a
people of Nahua blood, who came, according to their own accounts,
from Aztlan (Crane Land). The name Aztecâ signifies "Crane People,"
and this has led to the assumption that they came from Chihuahua,
where cranes abound. Doubts have been cast upon the Nahua origin of
the Aztecâ. But these are by no means well founded, as the names of
the early Aztec chieftains and kings are unquestionably Nahuan. This
people on their arrival in Mexico were in a very inferior state of
culture, and were probably little better than savages. We have already
outlined some of the legends concerning the coming of the Aztecs to
the land of Anahuac, or the valley of Mexico, but their true origin
is uncertain, and it is likely that they wandered down from the north
as other Nahua immigrants did before them, and as the Apache Indians
still do to this day. By their own showing they had sojourned at
several points en route, and were reduced to slavery by the chiefs
of Colhuacan. They proved so truculent in their bondage, however,
that they were released, and journeyed to Chapoultepec, which they
quitted because of their dissensions with the Xaltocanecs. On their
arrival in the district inhabited by the Tecpanecs a tribute was levied
upon them, but nevertheless they flourished so exceedingly that the
swamp villages which the Tecpanecs had permitted them to raise on the
borders of the lake soon grew into thriving communities, and chiefs
were provided for them from among the nobility of the Tecpanecs.
The Aztecs as Allies
By the aid of the Aztecs the Tecpanecs greatly extended their
territorial possessions. City after city was added to their empire,
and the allies finally invaded the Otomi country, which they speedily
subdued. Those cities which had been founded by the Acolhuans on the
fringes of Tezcuco also allied themselves with the Tecpanecs with
the intention of freeing themselves from the yoke of the Chichimecs,
whose hand was heavy upon them. The Chichimecs or Tezcucans made a
stern resistance, and for a time the sovereignty of the Tecpanecs
hung in the balance. But eventually they conquered, and Tezcuco was
overthrown and given as a spoil to the Aztecs.
New Powers
Up to this time the Aztecs had paid a tribute to Azcapozalco, but now,
strengthened by the successes of the late conflict, they withheld it,
and requested permission to build an aqueduct from the shore for the
purpose of carrying a supply of water into their city. This was refused
by the Tecpanecs, and a policy of isolation was brought to bear upon
Mexico, an embargo being placed upon its goods and intercourse with
its people being forbidden. War followed, in which the Tecpanecs
were defeated with great slaughter. After this event, which may
be placed about the year 1428, the Aztecs gained ground rapidly,
and their march to the supremacy of the entire Mexican valley was
almost undisputed. Allying themselves with Tezcuco and Tlacopan,
the Mexicans overran many states far beyond the confines of the
valley, and by the time of Montezuma I had extended their boundaries
almost to the limits of the present republic. The Mexican merchant
followed in the footsteps of the Mexican warrior, and the commercial
expansion of the Aztecs rivalled their military fame. Clever traders,
they were merciless in their exactions of tribute from the states
they conquered, manufacturing the raw material paid to them by
the subject cities into goods which they afterwards sold again to
the tribes under their sway. Mexico became the chief market of the
empire, as well as its political nucleus. Such was the condition
of affairs when the Spaniards arrived in Anahuac. Their coming has
been deplored by certain historians as hastening the destruction of
a Western Eden. But bad as was their rule, it was probably mild when
compared with the cruel and insatiable sway of the Aztecs over their
unhappy dependents. The Spaniards found a tyrannical despotism in
the conquered provinces, and a faith the accessories of which were
so fiendish that it cast a gloom over the entire national life. These
they replaced by a milder vassalage and the earnest ministrations of
a more enlightened priesthood.
CHAPTER II: MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY
Nahua Religion
The religion of the ancient Mexicans was a polytheism or worship of a
pantheon of deities, the general aspect of which presented similarities
to the systems of Greece and Egypt. Original influences, however,
were strong, and they are especially discernible in the institutions
of ritualistic cannibalism and human sacrifice. Strange resemblances to
Christian practice were observed in the Aztec mythology by the Spanish
Conquistadores, who piously condemned the native customs of baptism,
consubstantiation, and confession as frauds founded and perpetuated
by diabolic agency.
A superficial examination of the Nahua religion might lead to the
inference that within its scope and system no definite theological
views were embraced and no ethical principles propounded, and that
the entire mythology presents only the fantastic attitude of the
barbarian mind toward the eternal verities. Such a conclusion would
be both erroneous and unjust to a human intelligence of a type by no
means debased. As a matter of fact, the Nahua displayed a theological
advancement greatly superior to that of the Greeks or Romans, and quite
on a level with that expressed by the Egyptians and Assyrians. Toward
the period of the Spanish occupation the Mexican priesthood was
undoubtedly advancing to the contemplation of the exaltation of
one god, whose worship was fast excluding that of similar deities,
and if our data are too imperfect to allow us to speak very fully
in regard to this phase of religious advancement, we know at least
that much of the Nahua ritual and many of the prayers preserved by
the labours of the Spanish fathers are unquestionably genuine, and
display the attainment of a high religious level.
Cosmology
Aztec theology postulated an eternity which, however, was not without
its epochs. It was thought to be broken up into a number of æons,
each of which depended upon the period of duration of a separate
"sun." No agreement is noticeable among authorities on Mexican
mythology as to the number of these "suns," but it would appear as
probable that the favourite tradition stipulated for four "suns"
or epochs, each of which concluded with a national disaster--flood,
famine, tempest, or fire. The present æon, they feared, might conclude
upon the completion of every "sheaf" of fifty-two years, the "sheaf"
being a merely arbitrary portion of an æon. The period of time from the
first creation to the current æon was variously computed as 15,228,
2386, or 1404 solar years, the discrepancy and doubt arising because
of the equivocal nature of the numeral signs expressing the period
in the pinturas or native paintings. As regards the sequence of
"suns" there is no more agreement than there is regarding their
number. The Codex Vaticanus states it to have been water, wind,
fire, and famine. Humboldt gives it as hunger, fire, wind, and water;
Boturini as water, famine, wind, and fire; and Gama as hunger, wind,
fire, and water.
In all likelihood the adoption of four ages arose from the sacred
nature of that number. The myth doubtless shaped itself upon the
tonalamatl (Mexican native calendar), the great repository of the
wisdom of the Nahua race, which the priestly class regarded as its
vade mecum, and which was closely consulted by it on every occasion,
civil or religious.
The Sources of Mexican Mythology
Our knowledge of the mythology of the Mexicans is chiefly gained
through the works of those Spaniards, lay and cleric, who entered
the country along with or immediately subsequent to the Spanish
Conquistadores. From several of these we have what might be called
first-hand accounts of the theogony and ritual of the Nahua people. The
most valuable compendium is that of Father Bernardino Sahagun,
entitled A General History of the Affairs of New Spain, which was
published from manuscript only in the middle of last century, though
written in the first half of the sixteenth century. Sahagun arrived in
Mexico eight years after the country had been reduced by the Spaniards
to a condition of servitude. He obtained a thorough mastery of the
Nahuatl tongue, and conceived a warm admiration for the native mind
and a deep interest in the antiquities of the conquered people. His
method of collecting facts concerning their mythology and history
was as effective as it was ingenious. He held daily conferences
with reliable Indians, and placed questions before them, to which
they replied by symbolical paintings detailing the answers which he
required. These he submitted to scholars who had been trained under
his own supervision, and who, after consultation among themselves,
rendered him a criticism in Nahuatl of the hieroglyphical paintings
he had placed at their disposal. Not content with this process, he
subjected these replies to the criticism of a third body, after which
the matter was included in his work. But ecclesiastical intolerance
was destined to keep the work from publication for a couple of
centuries. Afraid that such a volume would be successful in keeping
alight the fires of paganism in Mexico, Sahagun's brethren refused him
the assistance he required for its publication. But on his appealing
to the Council of the Indies in Spain he was met with encouragement,
and was ordered to translate his great work into Spanish, a task he
undertook when over eighty years of age. He transmitted the work to
Spain, and for three hundred years nothing more was heard of it.
The Romance of the Lost "Sahagun"
For generations antiquarians interested in the lore of ancient Mexico
bemoaned its loss, until at length one Muñoz, more indefatigable
than the rest, chanced to visit the crumbling library of the ancient
convent of Tolosi, in Navarre. There, among time-worn manuscripts
and tomes relating to the early fathers and the intricacies of canon
law, he discovered the lost Sahagun! It was printed separately by
Bustamante at Mexico and by Lord Kingsborough in his collection in
1830, and has been translated into French by M. Jourdanet. Thus the
manuscript commenced in or after 1530 was given to the public after
a lapse of no less than three hundred years!
Torquemada
Father Torquemada arrived in the New World about the middle of
the sixteenth century, at which period he was still enabled to
take from the lips of such of the Conquistadores as remained much
curious information regarding the circumstances of their advent. His
Monarchia Indiana was first published at Seville in 1615, and in it
he made much use of the manuscript of Sahagun, not then published. At
the same time his observations upon matters pertaining to the native
religion are often illuminating and exhaustive.
In his Storia Antica del Messico the Abbé Clavigero, who published
his work in 1780, did much to disperse the clouds of tradition which
hung over Mexican history and mythology. The clarity of his style and
the exactness of his information render his work exceedingly useful.
Antonio Gama, in his Descripcion Historica y Cronologica de las
dos Piedras, poured a flood of light on Mexican antiquities. His
work was published in 1832. With him may be said to have ceased the
line of Mexican archæologists of the older school. Others worthy
of being mentioned among the older writers on Mexican mythology (we
are not here concerned with history) are Boturini, who, in his Idea
de una Nueva Historia General de la America Septentrional, gives a
vivid picture of native life and tradition, culled from first-hand
communication with the people; Ixtlilxochitl, a half-breed, whose
mendacious works, the Relaciones and Historia Chichimeca, are yet
valuable repositories of tradition; José de Acosta, whose Historia
Natural y Moral de las Yndias was published at Seville in 1580;
and Gomara, who, in his Historia General de las Indias (Madrid,
1749), rested upon the authority of the Conquistadores. Tezozomoc's
Chronica Mexicana, reproduced in Lord Kingsborough's great work,
is valuable as giving unique facts regarding the Aztec mythology,
as is the Teatro Mexicana of Vetancurt, published at Mexico in 1697-98.
The Worship of One God
The ritual of this dead faith of another hemisphere abounds in
expressions concerning the unity of the deity approaching very nearly
to many of those we ourselves employ regarding God's attributes. The
various classes of the priesthood were in the habit of addressing
the several gods to whom they ministered as "omnipotent," "endless,"
"invisible," "the one god complete in perfection and unity," and
"the Maker and Moulder of All." These appellations they applied not
to one supreme being, but to the individual deities to whose service
they were attached. It may be thought that such a practice would be
fatal to the evolution of a single and universal god. But there is
every reason to believe that Tezcatlipoca, the great god of the air,
like the Hebrew Jahveh, also an air-god, was fast gaining precedence
of all other deities, when the coming of the white man put an end to
his chances of sovereignty.
Tezcatlipoca
Tezcatlipoca (Fiery Mirror) was undoubtedly the Jupiter of the Nahua
pantheon. He carried a mirror or shield, from which he took his name,
and in which he was supposed to see reflected the actions and deeds
of mankind. The evolution of this god from the status of a spirit of
wind or air to that of the supreme deity of the Aztec people presents
many points of deep interest to students of mythology. Originally the
personification of the air, the source both of the breath of life and
of the tempest, Tezcatlipoca possessed all the attributes of a god who
presided over these phenomena. As the tribal god of the Tezcucans who
had led them into the Land of Promise, and had been instrumental in the
defeat of both the gods and men of the elder race they dispossessed,
Tezcatlipoca naturally advanced so speedily in popularity and public
honour that it was little wonder that within a comparatively short
space of time he came to be regarded as a god of fate and fortune,
and as inseparably connected with the national destinies. Thus,
from being the peculiar deity of a small band of Nahua immigrants,
the prestige accruing from the rapid conquest made under his tutelary
direction and the speedily disseminated tales of the prowess of those
who worshipped him seemed to render him at once the most popular and
the best feared god in Anahuac, therefore the one whose cult quickly
overshadowed that of other and similar gods.
Tezcatlipoca, Overthrower of the Toltecs
We find Tezcatlipoca intimately associated with the legends which
recount the overthrow of Tollan, the capital of the Toltecs. His
chief adversary on the Toltec side is the god-king Quetzalcoatl,
whose nature and reign we will consider later, but whom we will now
merely regard as the enemy of Tezcatlipoca. The rivalry between these
gods symbolises that which existed between the civilised Toltecs and
the barbarian Nahua, and is well exemplified in the following myths.
Myths of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca
In the days of Quetzalcoatl there was abundance of everything necessary
for subsistence. The maize was plentiful, the calabashes were as
thick as one's arm, and cotton grew in all colours without having
to be dyed. A variety of birds of rich plumage filled the air with
their songs, and gold, silver, and precious stones were abundant. In
the reign of Quetzalcoatl there was peace and plenty for all men.
But this blissful state was too fortunate, too happy to endure. Envious
of the calm enjoyment of the god and his people the Toltecs,
three wicked "necromancers" plotted their downfall. The reference
is of course to the gods of the invading Nahua tribes, the deities
Huitzilopochtli, Titlacahuan or Tezcatlipoca, and Tlacahuepan. These
laid evil enchantments upon the city of Tollan, and Tezcatlipoca in
particular took the lead in these envious conspiracies. Disguised as
an aged man with white hair, he presented himself at the palace of
Quetzalcoatl, where he said to the pages-in-waiting: "Pray present
me to your master the king. I desire to speak with him."
The pages advised him to retire, as Quetzalcoatl was indisposed and
could see no one. He requested them, however, to tell the god that
he was waiting outside. They did so, and procured his admittance.
On entering the chamber of Quetzalcoatl the wily Tezcatlipoca simulated
much sympathy with the suffering god-king. "How are you, my son?" he
asked. "I have brought you a drug which you should drink, and which
will put an end to the course of your malady."
"You are welcome, old man," replied Quetzalcoatl. "I have known for
many days that you would come. I am exceedingly indisposed. The malady
affects my entire system, and I can use neither my hands nor feet."
Tezcatlipoca assured him that if he partook of the medicine which he
had brought him he would immediately experience a great improvement
in health. Quetzalcoatl drank the potion, and at once felt much
revived. The cunning Tezcatlipoca pressed another and still another
cup of the potion upon him, and as it was nothing but pulque, the
wine of the country, he speedily became intoxicated, and was as wax
in the hands of his adversary.
Tezcatlipoca and the Toltecs
Tezcatlipoca, in pursuance of his policy inimical to the Toltec state,
took the form of an Indian of the name of Toueyo (Toveyo), and bent
his steps to the palace of Uemac, chief of the Toltecs in temporal
matters. This worthy had a daughter so fair that she was desired
in marriage by many of the Toltecs, but all to no purpose, as her
father refused her hand to one and all. The princess, beholding the
false Toueyo passing her father's palace, fell deeply in love with
him, and so tumultuous was her passion that she became seriously ill
because of her longing for him. Uemac, hearing of her indisposition,
bent his steps to her apartments, and inquired of her women the
cause of her illness. They told him that it was occasioned by the
sudden passion which had seized her for the Indian who had recently
come that way. Uemac at once gave orders for the arrest of Toueyo,
and he was haled before the temporal chief of Tollan.
"Whence come you?" inquired Uemac of his prisoner, who was very
scantily attired.
"Lord, I am a stranger, and I have come to these parts to sell green
paint," replied Tezcatlipoca.
"Why are you dressed in this fashion? Why do you not wear a
cloak?" asked the chief.
"My lord, I follow the custom of my country," replied Tezcatlipoca.
"You have inspired a passion in the breast of my daughter," said
Uemac. "What should be done to you for thus disgracing me?"
"Slay me; I care not," said the cunning Tezcatlipoca.
"Nay," replied Uemac, "for if I slay you my daughter will perish. Go
to her and say that she may wed you and be happy."
Now the marriage of Toueyo to the daughter of Uemac aroused much
discontent among the Toltecs; and they murmured among themselves, and
said: "Wherefore did Uemac give his daughter to this Toueyo?" Uemac,
having got wind of these murmurings, resolved to distract the
attention of the Toltecs by making war upon the neighbouring state
of Coatepec. The Toltecs assembled armed for the fray, and having
arrived at the country of the men of Coatepec they placed Toueyo
in ambush with his body-servants, hoping that he would be slain
by their adversaries. But Toueyo and his men killed a large number
of the enemy and put them to flight. His triumph was celebrated by
Uemac with much pomp. The knightly plumes were placed upon his head,
and his body was painted with red and yellow--an honour reserved for
those who distinguished themselves in battle.
Tezcatlipoca's next step was to announce a great feast in Tollan,
to which all the people for miles around were invited. Great crowds
assembled, and danced and sang in the city to the sound of the
drum. Tezcatlipoca sang to them and forced them to accompany the rhythm
of his song with their feet. Faster and faster the people danced,
until the pace became so furious that they were driven to madness,
lost their footing, and tumbled pell-mell down a deep ravine, where
they were changed into rocks. Others in attempting to cross a stone
bridge precipitated themselves into the water below, and were changed
into stones.
On another occasion Tezcatlipoca presented himself as a valiant
warrior named Tequiua, and invited all the inhabitants of Tollan
and its environs to come to the flower-garden called Xochitla. When
assembled there he attacked them with a hoe, and slew a great number,
and others in panic crushed their comrades to death.
Tezcatlipoca and Tlacahuepan on another occasion repaired to the
market-place of Tollan, the former displaying upon the palm of
his hand a small infant whom he caused to dance and to cut the most
amusing capers. This infant was in reality Huitzilopochtli, the Nahua
god of war. At this sight the Toltecs crowded upon one another for
the purpose of getting a better view, and their eagerness resulted
in many being crushed to death. So enraged were the Toltecs at this
that upon the advice of Tlacahuepan they slew both Tezcatlipoca and
Huitzilopochtli. When this had been done the bodies of the slain gods
gave forth such a pernicious effluvia that thousands of the Toltecs
died of the pestilence. The god Tlacahuepan then advised them to cast
out the bodies lest worse befell them, but on their attempting to do so
they discovered their weight to be so great that they could not move
them. Hundreds wound cords round the corpses, but the strands broke,
and those who pulled upon them fell and died suddenly, tumbling one
upon the other, and suffocating those upon whom they collapsed.
The Departure of Quetzalcoatl
The Toltecs were so tormented by the enchantments of Tezcatlipoca
that it was soon apparent to them that their fortunes were on the wane
and that the end of their empire was at hand. Quetzalcoatl, chagrined
at the turn things had taken, resolved to quit Tollan and go to the
country of Tlapallan, whence he had come on his civilising mission to
Mexico. He burned all the houses which he had built, and buried his
treasure of gold and precious stones in the deep valleys between the
mountains. He changed the cacao-trees into mezquites, and he ordered
all the birds of rich plumage and song to quit the valley of Anahuac
and to follow him to a distance of more than a hundred leagues. On
the road from Tollan he discovered a great tree at a point called
Quauhtitlan. There he rested, and requested his pages to hand him a
mirror. Regarding himself in the polished surface, he exclaimed, "I am
old," and from that circumstance the spot was named Huehuequauhtitlan
(Old Quauhtitlan). Proceeding on his way accompanied by musicians
who played the flute, he walked until fatigue arrested his steps,
and he seated himself upon a stone, on which he left the imprint
of his hands. This place is called Temacpalco (The Impress of the
Hands). At Coaapan he was met by the Nahua gods, who were inimical
to him and to the Toltecs.
"Where do you go?" they asked him. "Why do you leave your capital?"
"I go to Tlapallan," replied Quetzalcoatl, "whence I came."
"For what reason?" persisted the enchanters.
"My father the Sun has called me thence," replied Quetzalcoatl.
"Go, then, happily," they said, "but leave us the secret of your art,
the secret of founding in silver, of working in precious stones and
woods, of painting, and of feather-working, and other matters."
But Quetzalcoatl refused, and cast all his treasures into the
fountain of Cozcaapa (Water of Precious Stones). At Cochtan he
was met by another enchanter, who asked him whither he was bound,
and on learning his destination proffered him a draught of wine. On
tasting the vintage Quetzalcoatl was overcome with sleep. Continuing
his journey in the morning, the god passed between a volcano and the
Sierra Nevada (Mountain of Snow), where all the pages who accompanied
him died of cold. He regretted this misfortune exceedingly, and wept,
lamenting their fate with most bitter tears and mournful songs. On
reaching the summit of Mount Poyauhtecatl he slid to the base. Arriving
at the sea-shore, he embarked upon a raft of serpents, and was wafted
away toward the land of Tlapallan.
It is obvious that these legends bear some resemblance to those of
Ixtlilxochitl which recount the fall of the Toltecs. They are taken
from Sahagun's work, Historia General de Nueva España, and are included
as well for the sake of comparison as for their own intrinsic value.
Tezcatlipoca as Doomster
Tezcatlipoca was much more than a mere personification of wind,
and if he was regarded as a life-giver he had also the power of
destroying existence. In fact on occasion he appears as an inexorable
death-dealer, and as such was styled Nezahualpilli (The Hungry Chief)
and Yaotzin (The Enemy). Perhaps one of the names by which he was
best known was Telpochtli (The Youthful Warrior), from the fact that
his reserve of strength, his vital force, never diminished, and that
his youthful and boisterous vigour was apparent in the tempest.
Tezcatlipoca was usually depicted as holding in his right hand a dart
placed in an atlatl (spear-thrower), and his mirror-shield with four
spare darts in his left. This shield is the symbol of his power as
judge of mankind and upholder of human justice.
The Aztecs pictured Tezcatlipoca as rioting along the highways in
search of persons on whom to wreak his vengeance, as the wind of
night rushes along the deserted roads with more seeming violence
than it does by day. Indeed one of his names, Yoalli Ehecatl,
signifies "Night Wind." Benches of stone, shaped like those made
for the dignitaries of the Mexican towns, were distributed along the
highways for his especial use, that on these he might rest after his
boisterous journeyings. These seats were concealed by green boughs,
beneath which the god was supposed to lurk in wait for his victims. But
if one of the persons he seized overcame him in the struggle he might
ask whatever boon he desired, secure in the promise of the deity that
it should be granted forthwith.
It was supposed that Tezcatlipoca had guided the Nahua, and especially
the people of Tezcuco, from a more northerly clime to the valley of
Mexico. But he was not a mere local deity of Tezcuco, his worship
being widely celebrated throughout the country. His exalted position
in the Mexican pantheon seems to have won for him especial reverence
as a god of fate and fortune. The place he took as the head of the
Nahua pantheon brought him many attributes which were quite foreign
to his original character. Fear and a desire to exalt their tutelar
deity will impel the devotees of a powerful god to credit him with
any or every quality, so that there is nothing remarkable in the
spectacle of the heaping of every possible attribute, human or divine,
upon Tezcatlipoca when we recall the supreme position he occupied in
Mexican mythology. His priestly caste far surpassed in power and in
the breadth and activity of its propaganda the priesthoods of the
other Mexican deities. To it is credited the invention of many of
the usages of civilisation, and that it all but succeeded in making
his worship universal is pretty clear, as has been shown. The other
gods were worshipped for some special purpose, but the worship of
Tezcatlipoca was regarded as compulsory, and to some extent as a
safeguard against the destruction of the universe, a calamity the
Nahua had been led to believe might occur through his agency. He
was known as Moneneque (The Claimer of Prayer), and in some of the
representations of him an ear of gold was shown suspended from his
hair, toward which small tongues of gold strained upward in appeal
of prayer. In times of national danger, plague, or famine universal
prayer was made to Tezcatlipoca. The heads of the community repaired
to his teocalli (temple) accompanied by the people en masse, and all
prayed earnestly together for his speedy intervention. The prayers
to Tezcatlipoca still extant prove that the ancient Mexicans fully
believed that he possessed the power of life and death, and many of
them are couched in the most piteous terms.
The Teotleco Festival
The supreme position occupied by Tezcatlipoca in the Mexican religion
is well exemplified in the festival of the Teotleco (Coming of the
Gods), which is fully described in Sahagun's account of the Mexican
festivals. Another peculiarity connected with his worship was that
he was one of the few Mexican deities who had any relation to the
expiation of sin. Sin was symbolised by the Nahua as excrement, and
in various manuscripts Tezcatlipoca is represented as a turkey-cock
to which ordure is being offered up.
Of the festival of the Teotleco Sahagun says: "In the twelfth month a
festival was celebrated in honour of all the gods, who were said to
have gone to some country I know not where. On the last day of the
month a greater one was held, because the gods had returned. On the
fifteenth day of this month the young boys and the servitors decked all
the altars or oratories of the gods with boughs, as well as those which
were in the houses, and the images which were set up by the wayside
and at the cross-roads. This work was paid for in maize. Some received
a basketful, and others only a few ears. On the eighteenth day the
ever-youthful god Tlamatzincatl or Titlacahuan arrived. It was said
that he marched better and arrived the first because he was strong
and young. Food was offered him in his temple on that night. Every
one drank, ate, and made merry. The old people especially celebrated
the arrival of the god by drinking wine, and it was alleged that his
feet were washed by these rejoicings. The last day of the month was
marked by a great festival, on account of the belief that the whole
of the gods arrived at that time. On the preceding night a quantity
of flour was kneaded on a carpet into the shape of a cheese, it being
supposed that the gods would leave a footprint thereon as a sign of
their return. The chief attendant watched all night, going to and fro
to see if the impression appeared. When he at last saw it he called
out, 'The master has arrived,' and at once the priests of the temple
began to sound the horns, trumpets, and other musical instruments
used by them. Upon hearing this noise every one set forth to offer
food in all the temples." The next day the aged gods were supposed
to arrive, and young men disguised as monsters hurled victims into
a huge sacrificial fire.
The Toxcatl Festival
The most remarkable festival in connection with Tezcatlipoca was
the Toxcatl, held in the fifth month. On the day of this festival a
youth was slain who for an entire year previously had been carefully
instructed in the rôle of victim. He was selected from among the best
war captives of the year, and must be without spot or blemish. He
assumed the name, garb, and attributes of Tezcatlipoca himself, and
was regarded with awe by the entire populace, who imagined him to be
the earthly representative of the deity. He rested during the day,
and ventured forth at night only, armed with the dart and shield of
the god, to scour the roads. This practice was, of course, symbolical
of the wind-god's progress over the night-bound highways. He carried
also the whistle symbolical of the deity, and made with it a noise
such as the weird wind of night makes when it hurries through the
streets. To his arms and legs small bells were attached. He was
followed by a retinue of pages, and at intervals rested upon the
stone seats which were placed upon the highways for the convenience
of Tezcatlipoca. Later in the year he was mated to four beautiful
maidens of high birth, with whom he passed the time in amusement of
every description. He was entertained at the tables of the nobility as
the earthly representative of Tezcatlipoca, and his latter days were
one constant round of feasting and excitement. At last the fatal day
upon which he must be sacrificed arrived. He took a tearful farewell
of the maidens whom he had espoused, and was carried to the teocalli
of sacrifice, upon the sides of which he broke the musical instruments
with which he had beguiled the time of his captivity. When he reached
the summit he was received by the high-priest, who speedily made him
one with the god whom he represented by tearing his heart out on the
stone of sacrifice.
Huitzilopochtli, the War-God
Huitzilopochtli occupied in the Aztec pantheon a place similar
to that of Mars in the Roman. His origin is obscure, but the myth
relating to it is distinctly original in character. It recounts how,
under the shadow of the mountain of Coatepec, near the Toltec city
of Tollan, there dwelt a pious widow called Coatlicue, the mother
of a tribe of Indians called Centzonuitznaua, who had a daughter
called Coyolxauhqui, and who daily repaired to a small hill with the
intention of offering up prayers to the gods in a penitent spirit of
piety. Whilst occupied in her devotions one day she was surprised by a
small ball of brilliantly coloured feathers falling upon her from on
high. She was pleased by the bright variety of its hues, and placed
it in her bosom, intending to offer it up to the sun-god. Some time
afterwards she learnt that she was to become the mother of another
child. Her sons, hearing of this, rained abuse upon her, being incited
to humiliate her in every possible way by their sister Coyolxauhqui.
Coatlicue went about in fear and anxiety; but the spirit of her unborn
infant came and spoke to her and gave her words of encouragement,
soothing her troubled heart. Her sons, however, were resolved to
wipe out what they considered an insult to their race by the death
of their mother, and took counsel with one another to slay her. They
attired themselves in their war-gear, and arranged their hair after
the manner of warriors going to battle. But one of their number,
Quauitlicac, relented, and confessed the perfidy of his brothers to the
still unborn Huitzilopochtli, who replied to him: "O brother, hearken
attentively to what I have to say to you. I am fully informed of what
is about to happen." With the intention of slaying their mother, the
Indians went in search of her. At their head marched their sister,
Coyolxauhqui. They were armed to the teeth, and carried bundles of
darts with which they intended to kill the luckless Coatlicue.
Quauitlicac climbed the mountain to acquaint Huitzilopochtli with
the news that his brothers were approaching to kill their mother.
"Mark well where they are at," replied the infant god. "To what place
have they advanced?"
"To Tzompantitlan," responded Quauitlicac.
Later on Huitzilopochtli asked: "Where may they be now?"
"At Coaxalco," was the reply.
Once more Huitzilopochtli asked to what point his enemies had advanced.
"They are now at Petlac," Quauitlicac replied.
After a little while Quauitlicac informed Huitzilopochtli that the
Centzonuitznaua were at hand under the leadership of Coyolxauhqui. At
the moment of the enemy's arrival Huitzilopochtli was born, flourishing
a shield and spear of a blue colour. He was painted, his head was
surmounted by a panache, and his left leg was covered with feathers. He
shattered Coyolxauhqui with a flash of serpentine lightning, and then
gave chase to the Centzonuitznaua, whom he pursued four times round
the mountain. They did not attempt to defend themselves, but fled
incontinently. Many perished in the waters of the adjoining lake,
to which they had rushed in their despair. All were slain save a few
who escaped to a place called Uitzlampa, where they surrendered to
Huitzilopochtli and gave up their arms.
The name Huitzilopochtli signifies "Humming-bird to the left," from
the circumstance that the god wore the feathers of the humming-bird,
or colibri, on his left leg. From this it has been inferred that he
was a humming-bird totem. The explanation of Huitzilopochtli's origin
is a little deeper than this, however. Among the American tribes,
especially those of the northern continent, the serpent is regarded
with the deepest veneration as the symbol of wisdom and magic. From
these sources come success in war. The serpent also typifies the
lightning, the symbol of the divine spear, the apotheosis of warlike
might. Fragments of serpents are regarded as powerful war-physic
among many tribes. Atatarho, a mythical wizard-king of the Iroquois,
was clothed with living serpents as with a robe, and his myth throws
light on one of the names of Huitzilopochtli's mother, Coatlantona
(Robe of Serpents). Huitzilopochtli's image was surrounded by serpents,
and rested on serpent-shaped supporters. His sceptre was a single
snake, and his great drum was of serpent-skin.
In American mythology the serpent is closely associated with the
bird. Thus the name of the god Quetzalcoatl is translatable as
"Feathered Serpent," and many similar cases where the conception of
bird and serpent have been unified could be adduced. Huitzilopochtli
is undoubtedly one of these. We may regard him as a god the primary
conception of whom arose from the idea of the serpent, the symbol of
warlike wisdom and might, the symbol of the warrior's dart or spear,
and the humming-bird, the harbinger of summer, type of the season
when the snake or lightning god has power over the crops.
Huitzilopochtli was usually represented as wearing on his head a
waving panache or plume of humming-birds' feathers. His face and limbs
were striped with bars of blue, and in his right hand he carried four
spears. His left hand bore his shield, on the surface of which were
displayed five tufts of down, arranged in the form of a quincunx. The
shield was made with reeds, covered with eagle's down. The spear he
brandished was also tipped with tufts of down instead of flint. These
weapons were placed in the hands of those who as captives engaged in
the sacrificial fight, for in the Aztec mind Huitzilopochtli symbolised
the warrior's death on the gladiatorial stone of combat. As has been
said, Huitzilopochtli was war-god of the Aztecs, and was supposed to
have led them to the site of Mexico from their original home in the
north. The city of Mexico took its name from one of its districts,
which was designated by a title of Huitzilopochtli's, Mexitli (Hare
of the Aloes).
The War-God as Fertiliser
But Huitzilopochtli was not a war-god alone. As the serpent-god of
lightning he had a connection with summer, the season of lightning,
and therefore had dominion to some extent over the crops and fruits
of the earth. The Algonquian Indians of North America believed
that the rattlesnake could raise ruinous storms or grant favourable
breezes. They alluded to it also as the symbol of life, for the serpent
has a phallic significance because of its similarity to the symbol of
generation and fructification. With some American tribes also, notably
the Pueblo Indians of Arizona, the serpent has a solar significance,
and with tail in mouth symbolises the annual round of the sun. The
Nahua believed that Huitzilopochtli could grant them fair weather for
the fructification of their crops, and they placed an image of Tlaloc,
the rain-god, near him, so that, if necessary, the war-god could compel
the rain-maker to exert his pluvial powers or to abstain from the
creation of floods. We must, in considering the nature of this deity,
bear well in mind the connection in the Nahua consciousness between the
pantheon, war, and the food-supply. If war was not waged annually the
gods must go without flesh food and perish, and if the gods succumbed
the crops would fail, and famine would destroy the race. So it was
small wonder that Huitzilopochtli was one of the chief gods of Mexico.
Huitzilopochtli's principal festival was the Toxcatl, celebrated
immediately after the Toxcatl festival of Tezcatlipoca, to which it
bore a strong resemblance. Festivals of the god were held in May and
December, at the latter of which an image of him, moulded in dough
kneaded with the blood of sacrificed children, was pierced by the
presiding priest with an arrow--an act significant of the death of
Huitzilopochtli until his resurrection in the next year.
Strangely enough, when the absolute supremacy of Tezcatlipoca
is remembered, the high-priest of Huitzilopochtli, the Mexicatl
Teohuatzin, was considered to be the religious head of the Mexican
priesthood. The priests of Huitzilopochtli held office by right
of descent, and their primate exacted absolute obedience from the
priesthoods of all the other deities, being regarded as next to the
monarch himself in power and dominion.
Tlaloc, the Rain-God
Tlaloc was the god of rain and moisture. In a country such as Mexico,
where the success or failure of the crops depends entirely upon the
plentiful nature or otherwise of the rainfall, he was, it will be
readily granted, a deity of high importance. It was believed that he
made his home in the mountains which surround the valley of Mexico,
as these were the source of the local rainfall, and his popularity
is vouched for by the fact that sculptured representations of him
occur more often than those of any other of the Mexican deities. He
is generally represented in a semi-recumbent attitude, with the upper
part of the body raised upon the elbows, and the knees half drawn up,
probably to represent the mountainous character of the country whence
comes the rain. He was espoused to Chalchihuitlicue (Emerald Lady),
who bore him a numerous progeny, the Tlalocs (Clouds). Many of the
figures which represented him were carved from the green stone called
chalchiuitl (jadeite), to typify the colour of water, and in some of
these he was shown holding a serpent of gold to typify the lightning,
for water-gods are often closely identified with the thunder, which
hangs over the hills and accompanies heavy rains. Tlaloc, like his
prototype, the Kiche god Hurakan, manifested himself in three forms,
as the lightning-flash, the thunderbolt, and the thunder. Although
his image faced the east, where he was supposed to have originated,
he was worshipped as inhabiting the four cardinal points and every
mountain-top. The colours of the four points of the compass, yellow,
green, red, and blue, whence came the rain-bearing winds, entered
into the composition of his costume, which was further crossed with
streaks of silver, typifying the mountain torrents. A vase containing
every description of grain was usually placed before his idol, an
offering of the growth which it was hoped he would fructify. He dwelt
in a many-watered paradise called Tlalocan (The Country of Tlaloc),
a place of plenty and fruitfulness, where those who had been drowned or
struck by lightning or had died from dropsical diseases enjoyed eternal
bliss. Those of the common people who did not die such deaths went to
the dark abode of Mictlan, the all-devouring and gloomy Lord of Death.
In the native manuscripts Tlaloc is usually portrayed as having a dark
complexion, a large round eye, a row of tusks, and over the lips an
angular blue stripe curved downward and rolled up at the ends. The
latter character is supposed to have been evolved originally from
the coils of two snakes, their mouths with long fangs in the upper
jaw meeting in the middle of the upper lip. The snake, besides
being symbolised by lightning in many American mythologies, is also
symbolical of water, which is well typified in its sinuous movements.
Many maidens and children were annually sacrificed to Tlaloc. If the
children wept it was regarded as a happy omen for a rainy season. The
Etzalqualiztli (When they eat Bean Food) was his chief festival,
and was held on a day approximating to May 13, about which date the
rainy season usually commenced. Another festival in his honour,
the Quauitleua, commenced the Mexican year on February 2. At the
former festival the priests of Tlaloc plunged into a lake, imitating
the sounds and movements of frogs, which, as denizens of water, were
under the special protection of the god. Chalchihuitlicue, his wife,
was often symbolised by the small image of a frog.
Sacrifices to Tlaloc
Human sacrifices also took place at certain points in the mountains
where artificial ponds were consecrated to Tlaloc. Cemeteries were
situated in their vicinity, and offerings to the god interred near the
burial-place of the bodies of the victims slain in his service. His
statue was placed on the highest mountain of Tezcuco, and an old
writer mentions that five or six young children were annually offered
to the god at various points, their hearts torn out, and their remains
interred. The mountains Popocatepetl and Teocuinani were regarded as
his special high places, and on the heights of the latter was built
his temple, in which stood his image carved in green stone.
The Nahua believed that the constant production of food and rain
induced a condition of senility in those deities whose duty it was
to provide them. This they attempted to stave off, fearing that if
they failed in so doing the gods would perish. They afforded them,
accordingly, a period of rest and recuperation, and once in eight
years a festival called the Atamalqualiztli (Fast of Porridge-balls
and Water) was held, during which every one in the Nahua community
returned for the time being to the conditions of savage life. Dressed
in costumes representing all forms of animal and bird life, and
mimicking the sounds made by the various creatures they typified, the
people danced round the teocalli of Tlaloc for the purpose of diverting
and entertaining him after his labours in producing the fertilising
rains of the past eight years. A lake was filled with water-snakes and
frogs, and into this the people plunged, catching the reptiles in their
mouths and devouring them alive. The only grain food which might be
partaken during this season of rest was thin water-porridge of maize.
Should one of the more prosperous peasants or yeomen deem a rainfall
necessary to the growth of his crops, or should he fear a drought,
he sought out one of the professional makers of dough or paste idols,
whom he desired to mould one of Tlaloc. To this image offerings
of maize-porridge and pulque were made. Throughout the night the
farmer and his neighbours danced, shrieking and howling round the
figure for the purpose of rousing Tlaloc from his drought-bringing
slumbers. Next day was spent in quaffing huge libations of pulque,
and in much-needed rest from the exertions of the previous night.
In Tlaloc it is easy to trace resemblances to a mythological conception
widely prevalent among the indigenous American peoples. He is similar
to such deities as the Hurakan of the Kiche of Guatemala, the Pillan
of the aborigines of Chile, and Con, the thunder-god of the Collao of
Peru. Only his thunderous powers are not so apparent as his rain-making
abilities, and in this he differs somewhat from the gods alluded to.
Quetzalcoatl
It is highly probable that Quetzalcoatl was a deity of the pre-Nahua
people of Mexico. He was regarded by the Aztec race as a god of
somewhat alien character, and had but a limited following in Mexico,
the city of Huitzilopochtli. In Cholula, however, and others of the
older towns his worship flourished exceedingly. He was regarded as
"The Father of the Toltecs," and, legend says, was the seventh and
youngest son of the Toltec Abraham, Iztacmixcohuatl. Quetzalcoatl
(whose name means "Feathered Serpent" or "Feathered Staff") became,
at a relatively early period, ruler of Tollan, and by his enlightened
sway and his encouragement of the liberal arts did much to further the
advancement of his people. His reign had lasted for a period sufficient
to permit of his placing the cultivated arts upon a satisfactory basis
when the country was visited by the cunning magicians Tezcatlipoca
and Coyotlinaual, god of the Amantecas. Disentangled from its terms of
myth, this statement may be taken to imply that bands of invading Nahua
first began to appear within the Toltec territories. Tezcatlipoca,
descending from the sky in the shape of a spider by way of a fine web,
proffered him a draught of pulque, which so intoxicated him that
the curse of lust descended upon him, and he forgot his chastity
with Quetzalpetlatl. The doom pronounced upon him was the hard one
of banishment, and he was compelled to forsake Anahuac. His exile
wrought peculiar changes upon the face of the country. He secreted
his treasures of gold and silver, burned his palaces, transformed
the cacao-trees into mezquites, and banished all the birds from
the neighbourhood of Tollan. The magicians, nonplussed at these
unexpected happenings, begged him to return, but he refused on the
ground that the sun required his presence. He proceeded to Tabasco,
the fabled land of Tlapallan, and, embarking upon a raft made of
serpents, floated away to the east. A slightly different version
of this myth has already been given. Other accounts state that the
king cast himself upon a funeral pyre and was consumed, and that the
ashes arising from the conflagration flew upward, and were changed
into birds of brilliant plumage. His heart also soared into the sky,
and became the morning star. The Mexicans averred that Quetzalcoatl
died when the star became visible, and thus they bestowed upon him
the title "Lord of the Dawn." They further said that when he died he
was invisible for four days, and that for eight days he wandered in
the underworld, after which time the morning star appeared, when he
achieved resurrection, and ascended his throne as a god.
It is the contention of some authorities that the myth of Quetzalcoatl
points to his status as god of the sun. That luminary, they say, begins
his diurnal journey in the east, whence Quetzalcoatl returned as to
his native home. It will be recalled that Montezuma and his subjects
imagined that Cortés was no other than Quetzalcoatl, returned to his
dominions, as an old prophecy declared he would do. But that he stood
for the sun itself is highly improbable, as will be shown. First of
all, however, it will be well to pay some attention to other theories
concerning his origin.
Perhaps the most important of these is that which regards Quetzalcoatl
as a god of the air. He is connected, say some, with the cardinal
points, and wears the insignia of the cross, which symbolises
them. Dr. Seler says of him: "He has a protruding, trumpet-like
mouth, for the wind-god blows.... His figure suggests whirls and
circles. Hence his temples were built in circular form.... The
head of the wind-god stands for the second of the twenty day signs,
which was called Ehecatl (Wind)." The same authority, however, in
his essay on Mexican chronology, gives to Quetzalcoatl a dual nature,
"the dual nature which seems to belong to the wind-god Quetzalcoatl,
who now appears simply a wind-god, and again seems to show the true
characters of the old god of fire and light." [8]
Dr. Brinton perceived in Quetzalcoatl a similar dual nature. "He is
both lord of the eastern light and of the winds," he writes (Myths
of the New World, p. 214). "Like all the dawn heroes, he too was
represented as of white complexion, clothed in long, white robes, and,
as many of the Aztec gods, with a full and flowing beard.... He had
been overcome by Tezcatlipoca, the wind or spirit of night, who had
descended from heaven by a spider's web, and presented his rival with
a draught supposed to confer immortality, but in fact producing an
intolerable longing for home. For the wind and the light both depart
when the gloaming draws near, or when the clouds spread their dark
and shadowy webs along the mountains, and pour the vivifying rain
upon the fields."
The theory which derives Quetzalcoatl from a "culture-hero" who once
actually existed is scarcely reconcilable with probability. It is
more than likely that, as in the case of other mythical paladins,
the legend of a mighty hero arose from the somewhat weakened idea
of a great deity. Some of the early Spanish missionaries professed
to see in Quetzalcoatl the Apostle St. Thomas, who had journeyed to
America to effect its conversion!
The Man of the Sun
A more probable explanation of the origin of Quetzalcoatl and a more
likely elucidation of his nature is that which would regard him as the
Man of the Sun, who has quitted his abode for a season for the purpose
of inculcating in mankind those arts which represent the first steps
in civilisation, who fulfils his mission, and who, at a late period,
is displaced by the deities of an invading race. Quetzalcoatl was
represented as a traveller with staff in hand, and this is proof of his
solar character, as is the statement that under his rule the fruits of
the earth flourished more abundantly than at any subsequent period. The
abundance of gold said to have been accumulated in his reign assists
the theory, the precious metal being invariably associated with
the sun by most barbarous peoples. In the native pinturas it is
noticeable that the solar disc and semi-disc are almost invariably
found in connection with the feathered serpent as the symbolical
attributes of Quetzalcoatl. The Hopi Indians of Mexico at the present
day symbolise the sun as a serpent, tail in mouth, and the ancient
Mexicans introduced the solar disc in connection with small images of
Quetzalcoatl, which they attached to the head-dress. In still other
examples Quetzalcoatl is pictured as if emerging or stepping from
the luminary, which is represented as his dwelling-place.
Several tribes tributary to the Aztecs were in the habit of imploring
Quetzalcoatl in prayer to return and free them from the intolerable
bondage of the conqueror. Notable among them were the Totonacs, who
passionately believed that the sun, their father, would send a god who
would free them from the Aztec yoke. On the coming of the Spaniards
the European conquerors were hailed as the servants of Quetzalcoatl,
thus in the eyes of the natives fulfilling the tradition that he
would return.
Various Forms of Quetzalcoatl
Various conceptions of Quetzalcoatl are noticeable in the mythology
of the territories which extended from the north of Mexico to the
marshes of Nicaragua. In Guatemala the Kiches recognised him as
Gucumatz, and in Yucatan proper he was worshipped as Kukulcan, both
of which names are but literal translations of his Mexican title of
"Feathered Serpent" into Kiche and Mayan. That the three deities are
one and the same there can be no shadow of doubt. Several authorities
have seen in Kukulcan a "serpent-and-rain god." He can only be such
in so far as he is a solar god also. The cult of the feathered snake
in Yucatan was unquestionably a branch of sun-worship. In tropical
latitudes the sun draws the clouds round him at noon. The rain falls
from the clouds accompanied by thunder and lightning--the symbols
of the divine serpent. Therefore the manifestations of the heavenly
serpent were directly associated with the sun, and no statement that
Kukulcan is a mere serpent-and-water god satisfactorily elucidates
his characteristics.
Quetzalcoatl's Northern Origin
It is by no means improbable that Quetzalcoatl was of northern
origin, and that on his adoption by southern peoples and tribes
dwelling in tropical countries his characteristics were gradually
and unconsciously altered in order to meet the exigencies of his
environment. The mythology of the Indians of British Columbia,
whence in all likelihood the Nahua originally came, is possessed of a
central figure bearing a strong resemblance to Quetzalcoatl. Thus the
Thlingit tribe worship Yetl; the Quaquiutl Indians, Kanikilak; the
Salish people of the coast, Kumsnöotl, Quäaqua, or Släalekam. It is
noticeable that these divine beings are worshipped as the Man of the
Sun, and totally apart from the luminary himself, as was Quetzalcoatl
in Mexico. The Quaquiutl believe that before his settlement among
them for the purpose of inculcating in the tribe the arts of life,
the sun descended as a bird, and assumed a human shape. Kanikilak
is his son, who, as his emissary, spreads the arts of civilisation
over the world. So the Mexicans believed that Quetzalcoatl descended
first of all in the form of a bird, and was ensnared in the fowler's
net of the Toltec hero Hueymatzin.
The titles bestowed upon Quetzalcoatl by the Nahua show that in his
solar significance he was god of the vault of the heavens, as well as
merely son of the sun. He was alluded to as Ehecatl (The Air), Yolcuat
(The Rattlesnake), Tohil (The Rumbler), Nanihehecatl (Lord of the Four
Winds), Tlauizcalpantecutli (Lord of the Light of the Dawn). The whole
heavenly vault was his, together with all its phenomena. This would
seem to be in direct opposition to the theory that Tezcatlipoca was
the supreme god of the Mexicans. But it must be borne in mind that
Tezcatlipoca was the god of a later age, and of a fresh body of Nahua
immigrants, and as such inimical to Quetzalcoatl, who was probably
in a similar state of opposition to Itzamna, a Maya deity of Yucatan.
The Worship of Quetzalcoatl
The worship of Quetzalcoatl was in some degree antipathetic to
that of the other Mexican deities, and his priests were a separate
caste. Although human sacrifice was by no means so prevalent among
his devotees, it is a mistake to aver, as some authorities have
done, that it did not exist in connection with his worship. A more
acceptable sacrifice to Quetzalcoatl appears to have been the blood
of the celebrant or worshipper, shed by himself. When we come to
consider the mythology of the Zapotecs, a people whose customs and
beliefs appear to have formed a species of link between the Mexican and
Mayan civilisations, we shall find that their high-priests occasionally
enacted the legend of Quetzalcoatl in their own persons, and that their
worship, which appears to have been based upon that of Quetzalcoatl,
had as one of its most pronounced characteristics the shedding of
blood. The celebrant or devotee drew blood from the vessels lying
under the tongue or behind the ear by drawing across those tender
parts a cord made from the thorn-covered fibres of the agave. The
blood was smeared over the mouths of the idols. In this practice we
can perceive an act analogous to the sacrificial substitution of the
part for the whole, as obtaining in early Palestine and many other
countries--a certain sign that tribal or racial opinion has contracted
a disgust for human sacrifice, and has sought to evade the anger of
the gods by yielding to them a portion of the blood of each worshipper,
instead of sacrificing the life of one for the general weal.
The Maize-Gods of Mexico
A special group of deities called Centeotl presided over the
agriculture of Mexico, each of whom personified one or other of the
various aspects of the maize-plant. The chief goddess of maize,
however, was Chicomecohuatl (Seven-serpent), her name being an
allusion to the fertilising power of water, which element the Mexicans
symbolised by the serpent. As Xilonen she typified the xilote, or
green ear of the maize. But it is probable that Chicomecohuatl was the
creation of an older race, and that the Nahua new-comers adopted or
brought with them another growth-spirit, the "Earth-mother," Teteoinnan
(Mother of the Gods), or Tocitzin (Our Grandmother). This goddess had
a son, Centeotl, a male maize-spirit. Sometimes the mother was also
known as Centeotl, the generic name for the entire group, and this fact
has led to some confusion in the minds of Americanists. But this does
not mean that Chicomecohuatl was by any means neglected. Her spring
festival, held on April 5, was known as Hueytozoztli (The Great Watch),
and was accompanied by a general fast, when the dwellings of the
Mexicans were decorated with bulrushes which had been sprinkled with
blood drawn from the extremities of the inmates. The statues of the
little tepitoton (household gods) were also decorated. The worshippers
then proceeded to the maize-fields, where they pulled the tender
stalks of the growing maize, and, having decorated them with flowers,
placed them in the calpulli (the common house of the village). A
mock combat then took place before the altar of Chicomecohuatl. The
girls of the village presented the goddess with bundles of maize
of the previous season's harvesting, later restoring them to the
granaries in order that they might be utilised for seed for the coming
year. Chicomecohuatl was always represented among the household deities
of the Mexicans, and on the occasion of her festival the family placed
before the image a basket of provisions surmounted by a cooked frog,
bearing on its back a piece of cornstalk stuffed with pounded maize
and vegetables. This frog was symbolic of Chalchihuitlicue, wife
of Tlaloc, the rain-god, who assisted Chicomecohuatl in providing
a bountiful harvest. In order that the soil might further benefit,
a frog, the symbol of water, was sacrificed, so that its vitality
should recuperate that of the weary and much-burdened earth.
The Sacrifice of the Dancer
A more important festival of Chicomecohuatl, however, was the
Xalaquia, which lasted from June 28 to July 14, commencing when
the maize plant had attained its full growth. The women of the
pueblo (village) wore their hair unbound, and shook and tossed it
so that by sympathetic magic the maize might take the hint and grow
correspondingly long. Chian pinolli was consumed in immense quantities,
and maize-porridge was eaten. Hilarious dances were nightly performed
in the teopan (temple), the central figure in which was the Xalaquia, a
female captive or slave, with face painted red and yellow to represent
the colours of the maize-plant. She had previously undergone a long
course of training in the dancing-school, and now, all unaware of
the horrible fate awaiting her, she danced and pirouetted gaily
among the rest. Throughout the duration of the festival she danced,
and on its expiring night she was accompanied in the dance by the
women of the community, who circled round her, chanting the deeds of
Chicomecohuatl. When daybreak appeared the company was joined by the
chiefs and headmen, who, along with the exhausted and half-fainting
victim, danced the solemn death-dance. The entire community then
approached the teocalli (pyramid of sacrifice), and, its summit
reached, the victim was stripped to a nude condition, the priest
plunged a knife of flint into her bosom, and, tearing out the still
palpitating heart, offered it up to Chicomecohuatl. In this manner
the venerable goddess, weary with the labours of inducing growth in
the maize-plant, was supposed to be revivified and refreshed. Hence
the name Xalaquia, which signifies "She who is clothed with the
Sand." Until the death of the victim it was not lawful to partake of
the new corn.
The general appearance of Chicomecohuatl was none too pleasing. Her
image rests in the National Museum in Mexico, and is girdled with
snakes. On the underside the symbolic frog is carved. The Americanists
of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were unequal to the
task of elucidating the origin of the figure, which they designated
Teoyaominqui. The first to point out the error was Payne, in his
History of the New World called America, vol. i. p. 424. The passage
in which he announces his discovery is of such real interest that it
is worth transcribing fully.
An Antiquarian Mare's-Nest
"All the great idols of Mexico were thought to have been destroyed
until this was disinterred among other relics in the course of making
new drains in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico in August 1790. The discovery
produced an immense sensation. The idol was dragged to the court of
the University, and there set up; the Indians began to worship it and
deck it with flowers; the antiquaries, with about the same degree of
intelligence, to speculate about it. What most puzzled them was that
the face and some other parts of the goddess are found in duplicate at
the back of the figure; hence they concluded it to represent two gods
in one, the principal of whom they further concluded to be a female,
the other, indicated by the back, a male. The standard author on
Mexican antiquities at that time was the Italian dilettante Boturini,
of whom it may be said that he is better, but not much better, than
nothing at all. From page 27 of his work the antiquaries learned
that Huitzilopochtli was accompanied by the goddess Teoyaominqui,
who was charged with collecting the souls of those slain in war and
sacrifice. This was enough. The figure was at once named Teoyaominqui
or Huitzilopochtli (The One plus the Other), and has been so called
ever since. The antiquaries next elevated this imaginary goddess to
the rank of the war-god's wife. 'A soldier,' says Bardolph, 'is better
accommodated than with a wife': a fortiori, so is a war-god. Besides,
as Torquemada (vol. ii. p. 47) says with perfect truth, the Mexicans
did not think so grossly of the divinity as to have married gods
or goddesses at all. The figure is undoubtedly a female. It has no
vestige of any weapon about it, nor has it any limbs. It differs
in every particular from the war-god Huitzilopochtli, every detail
of which is perfectly well known. There never was any goddess
called Teoyaominqui. This may be plausibly inferred from the fact
that such a goddess is unknown not merely to Sahagun, Torquemada,
Acosta, Tezozomoc, Duran, and Clavigero, but to all other writers
except Boturini. The blunder of the last-named writer is easily
explained. Antonio Leon y Gama, a Mexican astronomer, wrote an
account of the discoveries of 1790, in which, evidently puzzled
by the name of Teoyaominqui, he quotes a manuscript in Mexican,
said to have been written by an Indian of Tezcuco, who was born
in 1528, to the effect that Teoyaotlatohua and Teoyaominqui were
spirits who presided over the fifteenth of the twenty signs of the
fortune-tellers' calendar, and that those born in this sign would
be brave warriors, but would soon die. (As the fifteenth sign was
quauhtli, this is likely enough.) When their hour had come the former
spirit scented them out, the latter killed them. The rubbish printed
about Huitzilopochtli, Teoyaominqui, and Mictlantecutli in connection
with this statue would fill a respectable volume. The reason why
the features were duplicated is obvious. The figure was carried in
the midst of a large crowd. Probably it was considered to be an evil
omen if the idol turned away its face from its worshippers; this the
duplicate obviated. So when the dance was performed round the figure
(cf. Janus). This duplication of the features, a characteristic of
the very oldest gods, appears to be indicated when the numeral ome
(two) is prefixed to the title of the deity. Thus the two ancestors
and preservers of the race were called Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl
(two-chief, two-woman), ancient Toltec gods, who at the conquest
become less prominent in the theology of Mexico, and who are best
represented in that of the Mexican colony of Nicaragua."
The Offering to Centeotl
During her last hours the victim sacrificed at the Xalaquia
wore a ritual dress made from the fibres of the aloe, and with
this garment the maize-god Centeotl was clothed. Robed in this
he temporarily represented the earth-goddess, so that he might
receive her sacrifice. The blood of victims was offered up to him
in a vessel decorated with that brilliant and artistic feather-work
which excited such admiration in the breasts of the connoisseurs and
æsthetes of the Europe of the sixteenth century. Upon partaking of this
blood-offering the deity emitted a groan so intense and terrifying that
it has been left on record that such Spaniards as were present became
panic-stricken. This ceremony was followed by another, the nitiçapoloa
(tasting of the soil), which consisted in raising a little earth on
one finger to the mouth and eating it.
As has been said, Centeotl the son has been confounded with Centeotl
the mother, who is in reality the earth-mother Teteoinnan. Each of
these deities had a teopan (temple) of his or her own, but they were
closely allied as parent and child. But of the two, Centeotl the son
was the more important. On the death of the sacrificed victim her
skin was conveyed to the temple of Centeotl the son, and worn there
in the succeeding ritual by the officiating priests. This gruesome
dress is frequently depicted in the Aztec pinturas, where the skin
of the hands, and in some instances the feet, of the victims can be
seen dangling from the wrists and ankles of the priest.
Importance of the Food-Gods
To the Mexicans the deities of most importance to the community as
a whole were undoubtedly the food-gods. In their emergence from the
hunting to the agricultural state of life, when they began to exist
almost solely upon the fruits of the earth, the Mexicans were quick
to recognise that the old deities of the chase, such as Mixcoatl,
could not now avail them or succour them in the same manner as the
guardians of the crops and fertilisers of the soil. Gradually we see
these gods, then, advance in power and influence until at the time of
the Spanish invasion we find them paramount. Even the terrible war-god
himself had an agricultural significance, as we have pointed out. A
distinct bargain with the food-gods can be clearly traced, and is
none the less obvious because it was never written or codified. The
covenant was as binding to the native mind as any made betwixt god
and man in ancient Palestine, and included mutual assistance as
well as provision for mere alimentary supply. In no mythology is the
understanding between god and man so clearly defined as in the Nahuan,
and in none is its operation better exemplified.
Xipe
Xipe (The Flayed) was widely worshipped throughout Mexico, and
is usually depicted in the pinturas as being attired in a flayed
human skin. At his special festival, the "Man-flaying," the skins
were removed from the victims and worn by the devotees of the god
for the succeeding twenty days. He is usually represented as of a
red colour. In the later days of the Aztec monarchy the kings and
leaders of Mexico assumed the dress or classical garments of Xipe. This
dress consisted of a crown made of feathers of the roseate spoonbill,
the gilt timbrel, the jacket of spoonbill feathers, and an apron of
green feathers lapping over one another in a tile-like pattern. In the
Cozcatzin Codex we see a picture of King Axayacatl dressed as Xipe in
a feather skirt, and having a tiger-skin scabbard to his sword. The
hands of a flayed human skin also dangle over the monarch's wrists,
and the feet fall over his feet like gaiters.
Xipe's shield is a round target covered with the rose-coloured feathers
of the spoonbill, with concentric circles of a darker hue on the
surface. There are examples of it divided into an upper and lower
part, the former showing an emerald on a blue field, and the latter
a tiger-skin design. Xipe was imagined as possessing three forms,
the first that of the roseate spoonbill, the second that of the
blue cotinga, and the last that of a tiger, the three shapes perhaps
corresponding to the regions of heaven, earth, and hell, or to the
three elements, fire, earth, and water. The deities of many North
American Indian tribes show similar variations in form and colour,
which are supposed to follow as the divinity changes his dwelling
to north, south, east, or west. But Xipe is seldom depicted in the
pinturas in any other form but that of the red god, the form in which
the Mexicans adopted him from the Yopi tribe of the Pacific slope. He
is the god of human sacrifice par excellence, and may be regarded as
a Yopi equivalent of Tezcatlipoca.
Nanahuatl, or Nanauatzin
Nanahuatl (Poor Leper) presided over skin diseases, such as leprosy. It
was thought that persons afflicted with these complaints were set
apart by the moon for his service. In the Nahua tongue the words for
"leprous" and "eczematous" also mean "divine." The myth of Nanahuatl
tells how before the sun was created humanity dwelt in sable and
horrid gloom. Only a human sacrifice could hasten the appearance of
the luminary. Metztli (The Moon) led forth Nanahuatl as a sacrifice,
and he was cast upon a funeral pyre, in the flames of which he was
consumed. Metztli also cast herself upon the mass of flame, and with
her death the sun rose above the horizon. There can be no doubt that
the myth refers to the consuming of the starry or spotted night,
and incidentally to the nightly death of the moon at the flaming hour
of dawn.
Xolotl
Xolotl is of southern, possibly Zapotec, origin. He represents either
fire rushing down from the heavens or light flaming upward. It is
noticeable that in the pinturas the picture of the setting sun being
devoured by the earth is nearly always placed opposite his image. He is
probably identical with Nanahuatl, and appears as the representative
of human sacrifice. He has also affinities with Xipe. On the whole
Xolotl may be best described as a sun-god of the more southerly
tribes. His head (quaxolotl) was one of the most famous devices for
warriors' use, as sacrifice among the Nahua was, as we have seen,
closely associated with warfare.
Xolotl was a mythical figure quite foreign to the peoples of Anahuac
or Mexico, who regarded him as something strange and monstrous. He
is alluded to as the "God of Monstrosities," and, thinks Dr. Seler,
the word "monstrosity" may suitably translate his name. He is depicted
with empty eye-sockets, which circumstance is explained by the myth
that when the gods determined to sacrifice themselves in order to
give life and strength to the newly created sun, Xolotl withdrew,
and wept so much that his eyes fell out of their sockets. This was the
Mexican explanation of a Zapotec attribute. Xolotl was originally the
"Lightning Beast" of the Maya or some other southern folk, and was
represented by them as a dog, since that animal appeared to them to
be the creature which he most resembled. But he was by no means a
"natural" dog, hence their conception of him as unnatural. Dr. Seler
is inclined to identify him with the tapir, and indeed Sahagun speaks
of a strange animal-being, tlaca-xolotl, which has "a large snout,
large teeth, hoofs like an ox, a thick hide, and reddish hair"--not
a bad description of the tapir of Central America. Of course to the
Mexicans the god Xolotl was no longer an animal, although he had
evolved from one, and was imagined by them to have the form shown in
the accompanying illustration.
The Fire-God
This deity was known in Mexico under various names, notably Tata
(Our Father), Huehueteotl (Oldest of Gods), and Xiuhtecutli (Lord
of the Year). He was represented as of the colour of fire, with a
black face, a headdress of green feathers, and bearing on his back
a yellow serpent, to typify the serpentine nature of fire. He also
bore a mirror of gold to show his connection with the sun, from which
all heat emanates. On rising in the morning all Mexican families made
Xiuhtecutli an offering of a piece of bread and a drink. He was thus
not only, like Vulcan, the god of thunderbolts and conflagrations,
but also the milder deity of the domestic hearth. Once a year the fire
in every Mexican house was extinguished, and rekindled by friction
before the idol of Xiuhtecutli. When a Mexican baby was born it passed
through a baptism of fire on the fourth day, up to which time a fire,
lighted at the time of its birth, was kept burning in order to nourish
its existence.
Mictlan
Mictlantecutli (Lord of Hades) was God of the Dead and of the grim and
shadowy realm to which the souls of men repair after their mortal
sojourn. He is represented in the pinturas as a grisly monster
with capacious mouth, into which fall the spirits of the dead. His
terrible abode was sometimes alluded to as Tlalxicco (Navel of the
Earth), but the Mexicans in general seem to have thought that it was
situated in the far north, which they regarded as a place of famine,
desolation, and death. Here those who by the circumstances of their
demise were unfitted to enter the paradise of Tlaloc--namely, those
who had not been drowned or had not died a warrior's death, or,
in the case of women, had not died in childbed--passed a dreary and
meaningless existence. Mictlan was surrounded by a species of demons
called tzitzimimes, and had a spouse, Mictecaciuatl. When we come
to discuss the analogous deity of the Maya we shall see that in all
probability Mictlan was represented by the bat, the animal typical of
the underworld. In a preceding paragraph dealing with the funerary
customs we have described the journey of the soul to the abode of
Mictlan, and the ordeals through which the spirit of the defunct had
to pass ere entering his realm (see p. 37).
Worship of the Planet Venus
The Mexicans designated the planet Venus Citlalpol (The Great Star)
and Tlauizcalpantecutli (Lord of the Dawn). It seems to have been
the only star worshipped by them, and was regarded with considerable
veneration. Upon its rising they stopped up the chimneys of their
houses, so that no harm of any kind might enter with its light. A
column called Ilhuicatlan, meaning "In the Sky," stood in the court
of the great temple of Mexico, and upon this a symbol of the planet
was painted. On its reappearance during its usual circuit, captives
were taken before this representation and sacrificed to it. It will be
remembered that the myth of Quetzalcoatl states that the heart of that
deity flew upward from the funeral pyre on which he was consumed and
became the planet Venus. It is not easy to say whether or not this myth
is anterior to the adoption of the worship of the planet by the Nahua,
for it may be a tale of pre- or post-Nahuan growth. In the tonalamatl
Tlauizcalpantecutli is represented as lord of the ninth division of
thirteen days, beginning with Ce Coatl (the sign of "One Serpent"). In
several of the pinturas he is represented as having a white body with
long red stripes, while round his eyes is a deep black painting like a
domino mask, bordered with small white circles. His lips are a bright
vermilion. The red stripes are probably introduced to accentuate the
whiteness of his body, which is understood to symbolise the peculiar
half-light which emanates from the planet. The black paint on the face,
surrounding the eye, typifies the dark sky of night. In Mexican and
Central American symbolism the eye often represents light, and here,
surrounded by blackness as it is, it is perhaps almost hieroglyphic. As
the star of evening, Tlauizcalpantecutli is sometimes shown with the
face of a skull, to signify his descent into the underworld, whither
he follows the sun. That the Mexicans and Maya carefully and accurately
observed his periods of revolution is witnessed by the pinturas.
Sun-Worship
The sun was regarded by the Nahua, and indeed by all the Mexican and
Central American peoples, as the supreme deity, or rather the principal
source of subsistence and life. He was always alluded to as the teotl,
the god, and his worship formed as it were a background to that of
all the other gods. His Mexican name, Ipalnemohuani (He by whom Men
Live) shows that the Mexicans regarded him as the primal source of
being, and the heart, the symbol of life, was looked upon as his
special sacrifice. Those who rose at sunrise to prepare food for the
day held up to him on his appearance the hearts of animals they had
slain for cooking, and even the hearts of the victims to Tezcatlipoca
and Huitzilopochtli were first held up to the sun, as if he had a
primary right to the sacrifice, before being cast into the bowl of
copal which lay at the feet of the idol. It was supposed that the
luminary rejoiced in offerings of blood, and that it constituted the
only food which would render him sufficiently vigorous to undertake
his daily journey through the heavens. He is often depicted in the
pinturas as licking up the gore of the sacrificial victims with his
long tongue-like rays. The sun must fare well if he was to continue
to give life, light, and heat to mankind.
The Mexicans, as we have already seen, believed that the luminary they
knew had been preceded by others, each of which had been quenched by
some awful cataclysm of nature. Eternity had, in fact, been broken
up into epochs, marked by the destruction of successive suns. In the
period preceding that in which they lived, a mighty deluge had deprived
the sun of life, and some such catastrophe was apprehended at the end
of every "sheaf" of fifty-two years. The old suns were dead, and the
current sun was no more immortal than they. At the end of one of the
"sheaves" he too would succumb.
Sustaining the Sun
It was therefore necessary to sustain the sun by the daily food
of human sacrifice, for by a tithe of human life alone would he
be satisfied. Naturally a people holding such a belief would look
elsewhere than within their own borders for the material wherewith
to placate their deity. This could be most suitably found among the
inhabitants of a neighbouring state. It thus became the business of
the warrior class in the Aztec state to furnish forth the altars of
the gods with human victims. The most suitable district of supply was
the pueblo of Tlaxcallan, or Tlascala, the people of which were of
cognate origin to the Aztecs. The communities had, although related,
been separated for so many generations that they had begun to regard
each other as traditional enemies, and on a given day in the year
their forces met at an appointed spot for the purpose of engaging in a
strife which should furnish one side or the other with a sufficiency
of victims for the purpose of sacrifice. The warrior who captured
the largest number of opponents alive was regarded as the champion
of the day, and was awarded the chief honours of the combat. The sun
was therefore the god of warriors, as he would give them victory in
battle in order that they might supply him with food. The rites of this
military worship of the luminary were held in the Quauhquauhtinchan
(House of the Eagles), an armoury set apart for the regiment of that
name. On March 17 and December 1 and 2, at the ceremonies known as
Nauhollin (The Four Motions--alluding to the quivering appearance of
the sun's rays), the warriors gathered in this hall for the purpose of
despatching a messenger to their lord the sun. High up on the wall of
the principal court was a great symbolic representation of the orb,
painted upon a brightly coloured cotton hanging. Before this copal
and other fragrant gums and spices were burned four times a day. The
victim, a war-captive, was placed at the foot of a long staircase
leading up to the Quauhxicalli (Cup of the Eagles), the name of the
stone on which he was to be sacrificed. He was clothed in red striped
with white and wore white plumes in his hair--colours symbolical of
the sun--while he bore a staff decorated with feathers and a shield
covered with tufts of cotton. He also carried a bundle of eagle's
feathers and some paint on his shoulders, to enable the sun, to whom
he was the emissary, to paint his face. He was then addressed by the
officiating priest in the following terms: "Sir, we pray you go to our
god the sun, and greet him on our behalf; tell him that his sons and
warriors and chiefs and those who remain here beg of him to remember
them and to favour them from that place where he is, and to receive
this small offering which we send him. Give him this staff to help
him on his journey, and this shield for his defence, and all the rest
that you have in this bundle." The victim, having undertaken to carry
the message to the sun-god, was then despatched upon his long journey.
A Quauhxicalli is preserved in the National Museum of Mexico. It
consists of a basaltic mass, circular in form, on which are shown in
sculpture a series of groups representing Mexican warriors receiving
the submission of war-captives. The prisoner tenders a flower to his
captor, symbolical of the life he is about to offer up, for lives
were the "flowers" offered to the gods, and the campaign in which
these "blossoms" were captured was called Xochiyayotl (The War of
Flowers). The warriors who receive the submission of the captives are
represented in the act of tearing the plumes from their heads. These
bas-reliefs occupy the sides of the stone. The face of it is covered
by a great solar disc having eight rays, and the surface is hollowed
out in the middle to form a receptacle for blood--the "cup" alluded
to in the name of the stone. The Quauhxicalli must not be confounded
with the temalacatl (spindle stone), to which the alien warrior who
received a chance of life was secured. The gladiatorial combat gave
the war-captive an opportunity to escape through superior address in
arms. The temalacatl was somewhat higher than a man, and was provided
with a platform at the top, in the middle of which was placed a great
stone with a hole in it through which a rope was passed. To this the
war-captive was secured, and if he could vanquish seven of his captors
he was released. If he failed to do so he was at once sacrificed.
A Mexican Valhalla
The Mexican warriors believed that they continued in the service of the
sun after death, and, like the Scandinavian heroes in Valhalla, that
they were admitted to the dwelling of the god, where they shared all
the delights of his diurnal round. The Mexican warrior dreaded to die
in his bed, and craved an end on the field of battle. This explains the
desperate nature of their resistance to the Spaniards under Cortés,
whose officers stated that the Mexicans seemed to desire to die
fighting. After death they believed that they would partake of the
cannibal feasts offered up to the sun and imbibe the juice of flowers.
The Feast of Totec
The chief of the festivals to the sun was that held in spring at the
vernal equinox, before the representation of a deity known as Totec
(Our Great Chief). Although Totec was a solar deity he had been
adopted from the people of an alien state, the Zapotecs of Zalisco,
and is therefore scarcely to be regarded as the principal sun-god. His
festival was celebrated by the symbolical slaughter of all the other
gods for the purpose of providing sustenance to the sun, each of
the gods being figuratively slain in the person of a victim. Totec
was attired in the same manner as the warrior despatched twice a
year to assure the sun of the loyalty of the Mexicans. The festival
appears to have been primarily a seasonal one, as bunches of dried
maize were offered to Totec. But its larger meaning is obvious. It
was, indeed, a commemoration of the creation of the sun. This is
proved by the description of the image of Totec, which was robed and
equipped as the solar traveller, by the solar disc and tables of the
sun's progress carved on the altar employed in the ceremony, and by
the robes of the victims, who were dressed to represent dwellers in
the sun-god's halls. Perhaps Totec, although of alien origin, was
the only deity possessed by the Mexicans who directly represented
the sun. As a borrowed god he would have but a minor position in the
Mexican pantheon, but again as the only sun-god whom it was necessary
to bring into prominence during a strictly solar festival he would
be for the time, of course, a very important deity indeed.
Tepeyollotl
Tepeyollotl means Heart of the Mountain, and evidently alludes
to a deity whom the Nahua connected with seismic disturbances and
earthquakes. By the interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis he
is called Tepeolotlec, an obvious distortion of his real name. The
interpreter of the codex states that his name "refers to the
condition of the earth after the flood. The sacrifices of these
thirteen days were not good, and the literal translation of their
name is 'dirt sacrifices.' They caused palsy and bad humours.... This
Tepeolotlec was lord of these thirteen days. In them were celebrated
the feast to the jaguar, and the last four preceding days were days
of fasting.... Tepeolotlec means the 'Lord of Beasts.' The four feast
days were in honour of the Suchiquezal, who was the man that remained
behind on the earth upon which we now live. This Tepeolotlec was the
same as the echo of the voice when it re-echoes in a valley from one
mountain to another. This name 'jaguar' is given to the earth because
the jaguar is the boldest animal, and the echo which the voice awakens
in the mountains is a survival of the flood, it is said."
From this we can see that Tepeyollotl is a deity of the earth pure
and simple, a god of desert places. It is certain that he was not a
Mexican god, or at least was not of Nahua origin, as he is mentioned
by none of those writers who deal with Nahua traditions, and we must
look for him among the Mixtecs and Zapotecs.
Macuilxochitl, or Xochipilli
This deity, whose names mean Five-Flower and Source of Flowers, was
regarded as the patron of luck in gaming. He may have been adopted by
the Nahua from the Zapotecs, but the converse may be equally true. The
Zapotecs represented him with a design resembling a butterfly about
the mouth, and a many-coloured face which looks out of the open
jaws of a bird with a tall and erect crest. The worship of this god
appears to have been very widespread. Sahagun says of him that a fête
was held in his honour, which was preceded by a rigorous fast. The
people covered themselves with ornaments and jewels symbolic of the
deity, as if they desired to represent him, and dancing and singing
proceeded gaily to the sound of the drum. Offerings of the blood of
various animals followed, and specially prepared cakes were submitted
to the god. This simple fare, however, was later followed by human
sacrifices, rendered by the notables, who brought certain of their
slaves for immolation. This completed the festival.
Father and Mother Gods
The Nahua believed that Ometecutli and Omeciuatl were the father
and mother of the human species. The names signify Lords of Duality
or Lords of the Two Sexes. They were also called Tonacatecutli and
Tonacaciuatl (Lord and Lady of Our Flesh, or of Subsistence). They
were in fact regarded as the sexual essence of the creative deity,
or perhaps more correctly of deity in general. They occupied the first
place in the Nahua calendar, to signify that they had existed from the
beginning, and they are usually represented as being clothed in rich
attire. Ometecutli (a literal translation of his name is Two-Lord)
is sometimes identified with the sky and the fire-god, the female
deity representing the earth or water--conceptions similar to those
respecting Kronos and Gæa. We refer again to these supreme divinities
in the following chapter (see p. 118).
The Pulque-Gods
When a man was intoxicated with the native Mexican drink of pulque,
a liquor made from the juice of the Agave Americana, he was believed
to be under the influence of a god or spirit. The commonest form
under which the drink-god was worshipped was the rabbit, that animal
being considered to be utterly devoid of sense. This particular
divinity was known as Ometochtli. The scale of debauchery which
it was desired to reach was indicated by the number of rabbits
worshipped, the highest number, four hundred, representing the most
extreme degree of intoxication. The chief pulque-gods apart from
these were Patecatl and Tequechmecauiani. If the drunkard desired
to escape the perils of accidental hanging during intoxication, it
was necessary to sacrifice to the latter, but if death by drowning
was apprehended Teatlahuiani, the deity who harried drunkards to a
watery grave, was placated. If the debauchee wished his punishment
not to exceed a headache, Quatlapanqui (The Head-splitter) was
sacrificed to, or else Papaztac (The Nerveless). Each trade or
profession had its own Ometochtli, but for the aristocracy there
was only one of these gods, Cohuatzincatl, a name signifying "He
who has Grandparents." Several of these drink-gods had names which
connected them with various localities; for example, Tepoxtecatl was
the pulque-god of Tepoztlan. The calendar day Ometochtli, which means
"Two-Rabbit," because of the symbol which accompanied it, was under
the special protection of these gods, and the Mexicans believed that
any one born on that day was almost inevitably doomed to become a
drunkard. All the pulque-gods were closely associated with the soil,
and with the earth-goddess. They wore the golden Huaxtec nose-ornament,
the yaca-metztli, of crescent shape, which characterised the latter,
and indeed this ornament was inscribed upon all articles sacred to
the pulque-gods. Their faces were painted red and black, as were
objects consecrated to them, their blankets and shields. After
the Indians had harvested their maize they drank to intoxication,
and invoked one or other of these gods. On the whole it is safe
to infer that they were originally deities of local husbandry who
imparted virtue to the soil as pulque imparted strength and courage
to the warrior. The accompanying sketch of the god Tepoxtecatl (see
p. 117) well illustrates the distinguishing characteristics of the
pulque-god class. Here we can observe the face painted in two colours,
the crescent-shaped nose-ornament, the bicoloured shield, the long
necklace made from the malinalli herb, and the ear-pendants.
It is of course clear that the drink-gods were of the same class as
the food-gods--patrons of the fruitful soil--but it is strange that
they should be male whilst the food-gods are mostly female.
The Goddesses of Mexico: Metztli
Metztli, or Yohualticitl (The Lady of Night), was the Mexican goddess
of the moon. She had in reality two phases, one that of a beneficent
protectress of harvests and promoter of growth in general, and the
other that of a bringer of dampness, cold, and miasmic airs, ghosts,
mysterious shapes of the dim half-light of night and its oppressive
silence.
To a people in the agricultural stage of civilisation the moon appears
as the great recorder of harvests. But she has also supremacy over
water, which is always connected by primitive peoples with the
moon. Citatli (Moon) and Atl (Water) are constantly confounded in
Nahua myth, and in many ways their characteristics were blended. It
was Metztli who led forth Nanahuatl the Leprous to the pyre whereon
he perished--a reference to the dawn, in which the starry sky of
night is consumed in the fires of the rising sun.
Tlazolteotl
Tlazolteotl (God of Ordure), or Tlaelquani (Filth-eater), was called
by the Mexicans the earth-goddess because she was the eradicator of
sins, to whose priests the people went to make confession so that
they might be absolved from their misdeeds. Sin was symbolised
by the Mexicans as excrement. Confession covered only the sins
of immorality. But if Tlazolteotl was the goddess of confession,
she was also the patroness of desire and luxury. It was, however,
as a deity whose chief office was the eradication of human sin that
she was pre-eminent. The process by which this was supposed to be
effected is quaintly described by Sahagun in the twelfth chapter of
his first book. The penitent addressed the confessor as follows: "Sir,
I desire to approach that most powerful god, the protector of all, that
is to say, Tezcatlipoca. I desire to tell him my sins in secret." The
confessor replied: "Be happy, my son: that which thou wishest to do
will be to thy good and advantage." The confessor then opened the
divinatory book known as the Tonalamatl (that is, the Book of the
Calendar) and acquainted the applicant with the day which appeared
the most suitable for his confession. The day having arrived, the
penitent provided himself with a mat, copal gum to burn as incense,
and wood whereon to burn it. If he was a person high in office the
priest repaired to his house, but in the case of lesser people the
confession took place in the dwelling of the priest. Having lighted
the fire and burned the incense, the penitent addressed the fire in
the following terms: "Thou, lord, who art the father and mother of
the gods, and the most ancient of them all, thy servant, thy slave
bows before thee. Weeping, he approaches thee in great distress. He
comes plunged in grief, because he has been buried in sin, having
backslidden, and partaken of those vices and evil delights which merit
death. O master most compassionate, who art the upholder and defence
of all, receive the penitence and anguish of thy slave and vassal."
This prayer having concluded, the confessor then turned to the penitent
and thus addressed him: "My son, thou art come into the presence of
that god who is the protector and upholder of all; thou art come to
him to confess thy evil vices and thy hidden uncleannesses; thou art
come to him to unbosom the secrets of thy heart. Take care that thou
omit nothing from the catalogue of thy sins in the presence of our
lord who is called Tezcatlipoca. It is certain that thou art before
him who is invisible and impalpable, thou who art not worthy to be
seen before him, or to speak with him...."
The allusions to Tezcatlipoca are, of course, to him in the shape
of Tlazolteotl. Having listened to a sermon by the confessor, the
penitent then confessed his misdeeds, after which the confessor said:
"My son, thou hast before our lord god confessed in his presence thy
evil actions. I wish to say in his name that thou hast an obligation
to make. At the time when the goddesses called Ciuapipiltin descend to
earth during the celebration of the feast of the goddesses of carnal
things, whom they name Ixcuiname, thou shalt fast during four days,
punishing thy stomach and thy mouth. When the day of the feast of
the Ixcuiname arrives thou shalt scarify thy tongue with the small
thorns of the osier [called teocalcacatl or tlazotl], and if that is
not sufficient thou shalt do likewise to thine ears, the whole for
penitence, for the remission of thy sin, and as a meritorious act. Thou
wilt apply to thy tongue the middle of a spine of maguey, and thou
wilt scarify thy shoulders.... That done, thy sins will be pardoned."
If the sins of the penitent were not very grave the priest would
enjoin upon him a fast of a more or less prolonged nature. Only old
men confessed crimes in veneribus, as the punishment for such was
death, and younger men had no desire to risk the penalty involved,
although the priests were enjoined to strict secrecy.
Father Burgoa describes very fully a ceremony of this kind which came
under his notice in 1652 in the Zapotec village of San Francisco de
Cajonos. He encountered on a tour of inspection an old native cacique,
or chief, of great refinement of manners and of a stately presence,
who dressed in costly garments after the Spanish fashion, and who
was regarded by the Indians with much veneration. This man came to
the priest for the purpose of reporting upon the progress in things
spiritual and temporal in his village. Burgoa recognised his urbanity
and wonderful command of the Spanish language, but perceived by certain
signs that he had been taught to look for by long experience that
the man was a pagan. He communicated his suspicions to the vicar of
the village, but met with such assurances of the cacique's soundness
of faith that he believed himself to be in error for once. Shortly
afterwards, however, a wandering Spaniard perceived the chief in
a retired place in the mountains performing idolatrous ceremonies,
and aroused the monks, two of whom accompanied him to the spot where
the cacique had been seen indulging in his heathenish practices. They
found on the altar "feathers of many colours, sprinkled with blood
which the Indians had drawn from the veins under their tongues and
behind their ears, incense spoons and remains of copal, and in the
middle a horrible stone figure, which was the god to whom they had
offered this sacrifice in expiation of their sins, while they made
their confessions to the blasphemous priests, and cast off their
sins in the following manner: they had woven a kind of dish out of
a strong herb, specially gathered for this purpose, and casting this
before the priest, said to him that they came to beg mercy of their
god, and pardon for their sins that they had committed during that
year, and that they brought them all carefully enumerated. They then
drew out of a cloth pairs of thin threads made of dry maize husks,
that they had tied two by two in the middle with a knot, by which
they represented their sins. They laid these threads on the dishes of
grass, and over them pierced their veins, and let the blood trickle
upon them, and the priest took these offerings to the idol, and in a
long speech he begged the god to forgive these, his sons, their sins
which were brought to him, and to permit them to be joyful and hold
feasts to him as their god and lord. Then the priest came back to
those who had confessed, delivered a long discourse on the ceremonies
they had still to perform, and told them that the god had pardoned
them and that they might be glad again and sin anew."
Chalchihuitlicue
This goddess was the wife of Tlaloc, the god of rain and moisture. The
name means Lady of the Emerald Robe, in allusion to the colour of
the element over which the deity partly presided. She was specially
worshipped by the water-carriers of Mexico, and all those whose
avocation brought them into contact with water. Her costume was
peculiar and interesting. Round her neck she wore a wonderful collar
of precious stones, from which hung a gold pendant. She was crowned
with a coronet of blue paper, decorated with green feathers. Her
eyebrows were of turquoise, set in as mosaic, and her garment was a
nebulous blue-green in hue, recalling the tint of sea-water in the
tropics. The resemblance was heightened by a border of sea-flowers
or water-plants, one of which she also carried in her left hand,
whilst in her right she bore a vase surmounted by a cross, emblematic
of the four points of the compass whence comes the rain.
Mixcoatl
Mixcoatl was the Aztec god of the chase, and was probably a deity
of the Otomi aborigines of Mexico. The name means Cloud Serpent,
and this originated the idea that Mixcoatl was a representation of
the tropical whirlwind. This is scarcely correct, however, as the
hunter-god is identified with the tempest and thunder-cloud, and the
lightning is supposed to represent his arrows. Like many other gods
of the chase, he is figured as having the characteristics of a deer or
rabbit. He is usually depicted as carrying a sheaf of arrows, to typify
thunderbolts. It may be that Mixcoatl was an air and thunder deity of
the Otomi, older in origin than either Quetzalcoatl or Tezcatlipoca,
and that his inclusion in the Nahua pantheon becoming necessary in
order to quieten Nahua susceptibilities, he received the status of
god of the chase. But, on the other hand, the Mexicans, unlike the
Peruvians, who adopted many foreign gods for political purposes,
had little regard for the feelings of other races, and only accepted
an alien deity into the native circle for some good reason, most
probably because they noted the omission of the figure in their own
divine system. Or, again, dread of a certain foreign god might force
them to adopt him as their own in the hope of placating him. Their
worship of Quetzalcoatl is perhaps an instance of this.
Camaxtli
This deity was the war-god of the Tlascalans, who were constantly
in opposition to the Aztecs of Mexico. He was to the warriors of
Tlascala practically what Huitzilopochtli was to those of Mexico. He
was closely identified with Mixcoatl, and with the god of the morning
star, whose colours are depicted on his face and body. But in all
probability Camaxtli was a god of the chase, who in later times was
adopted as a god of war because of his possession of the lightning
dart, the symbol of divine warlike prowess. In the mythologies of
North America we find similar hunter-gods, who sometimes evolve into
gods of war for a like reason, and again gods of the chase who have
all the appearance and attributes of the creatures hunted.
Iztlilton
Ixtlilton (The Little Black One) was the Mexican god of medicine
and healing, and therefore was often alluded to as the brother of
Macuilxochitl, the god of well-being or good luck. From the account of
the general appearance of his temple--an edifice of painted boards--it
would seem to have evolved from the primitive tent or lodge of the
medicine-man, or shaman. It contained several water-jars called tlilatl
(black water), the contents of which were administered to children in
bad health. The parents of children who benefited from the treatment
bestowed a feast on the deity, whose idol was carried to the residence
of the grateful father, where ceremonial dances and oblations were
made before it. It was then thought that Ixtlilton descended to
the courtyard to open fresh jars of pulque liquor provided for the
feasters, and the entertainment concluded by an examination by the
Aztec Æsculapius of such of the pulque jars dedicated to his service
as stood in the courtyard for everyday use. Should these be found in
an unclean condition, it was understood that the master of the house
was a man of evil life, and he was presented by the priest with a
mask to hide his face from his scoffing friends.
Omacatl
Omacatl was the Mexican god of festivity and joy. The name signifies
Two Reeds. He was worshipped chiefly by bon-vivants and the rich,
who celebrated him in splendid feasts and orgies. The idol of the
deity was invariably placed in the chamber where these functions were
to take place, and the Aztecs were known to regard it as a heinous
offence if anything derogatory to the god were performed during the
convivial ceremony, or if any omission were made from the prescribed
form which these gatherings usually took. It was thought that if the
host had been in any way remiss Omacatl would appear to the startled
guests, and in tones of great severity upbraid him who had given the
feast, intimating that he would regard him no longer as a worshipper
and would henceforth abandon him. A terrible malady, the symptoms of
which were akin to those of falling-sickness, would shortly afterwards
seize the guests; but as such symptoms are not unlike those connected
with acute indigestion and other gastric troubles, it is probable
that the gourmets who paid homage to the god of good cheer may have
been suffering from a too strenuous instead of a lukewarm worship of
him. But the idea of communion which underlay so many of the Mexican
rites undoubtedly entered into the worship of Omacatl, for prior
to a banquet in his honour those who took part in it formed a great
bone out of maize paste, pretending that it was one of the bones of
the deity whose merry rites they were about to engage in. This they
devoured, washing it down with great draughts of pulque. The idol of
Omacatl was provided with a recess in the region of the stomach, and
into this provisions were stuffed. He was represented as a squatting
figure, painted black and white, crowned with a paper coronet, and
hung with coloured paper. A flower-fringed cloak and sceptre were
the other symbols of royalty worn by this Mexican Dionysus.
Opochtli
Opochtli (The Left-handed) was the god sacred to fishers and
bird-catchers. At one period of Aztec history he must have been a deity
of considerable consequence, since for generations the Aztecs were
marsh-dwellers and depended for their daily food on the fish netted
in the lakes and the birds snared in the reeds. They credited the god
with the invention of the harpoon or trident for spearing fish and the
fishing-rod and bird-net. The fishermen and bird-catchers of Mexico
held on occasion a special feast in honour of Opochtli, at which a
certain liquor called octli was consumed. A procession was afterwards
formed, in which marched old people who had dedicated themselves to
the worship of the god, probably because they could obtain no other
means of subsistence than that afforded by the vocation of which he
was tutelar and patron. He was represented as a man painted black,
his head decorated with the plumes of native wild birds, and crowned
by a paper coronet in the shape of a rose. He was clad in green paper
which fell to the knee, and was shod with white sandals. In his left
hand he held a shield painted red, having in the centre a white flower
with four petals placed crosswise, and in his right hand he held a
sceptre in the form of a cup.
Yacatecutli
Yacatecutli was the patron of travellers of the merchant class, who
worshipped him by piling their staves together and sprinkling on the
heap blood from their noses and ears. The staff of the traveller was
his symbol, to which prayer was made and offerings of flowers and
incense tendered.
The Aztec Priesthood
The Aztec priesthood was a hierarchy in whose hands resided a goodly
portion of the power of the upper classes, especially that connected
with education and endowment. The mere fact that its members possessed
the power of selecting victims for sacrifice must have been sufficient
to place them in an almost unassailable position, and their prophetic
utterances, founded upon the art of divination--so great a feature in
the life of the Aztec people, who depended upon it from the cradle
to the grave--probably assisted them in maintaining their hold upon
the popular imagination. But withal the evidence of unbiased Spanish
ecclesiastics, such as Sahagun, tends to show that they utilised their
influence for good, and soundly instructed the people under their
charge in the cardinal virtues; "in short," says the venerable friar,
"to perform the duties plainly pointed out by natural religion."
Priestly Revenues
The establishment of the national religion was, as in the case of the
mediæval Church in Europe, based upon a land tenure from which the
priestly class derived a substantial though, considering their numbers,
by no means inordinate revenue. The principal temples possessed
lands which sufficed for the maintenance of the priests attached to
them. There was, besides, a system of first-fruits fixed by law for the
priesthood, the surplusage therefrom being distributed among the poor.
Education
Education was entirely conducted by the priesthood, which undertook the
task in a manner highly creditable to it, when consideration is given
to surrounding conditions. Education was, indeed, highly organised. It
was divided into primary and secondary grades. Boys were instructed
by priests, girls by holy women or "nuns." The secondary schools
were called calmecac, and were devoted to the higher branches of
education, the curriculum including the deciphering of the pinturas,
or manuscripts, astrology and divination, with a wealth of religious
instruction.
Orders of the Priesthood
At the head of the Aztec priesthood stood the Mexicatl Teohuatzin
(Mexican Lord of Divine Matters). He had a seat on the emperor's
council, and possessed power which was second only to the royal
authority. Next in rank to him was the high-priest of Quetzalcoatl, who
dwelt in almost entire seclusion, and who had authority over his own
caste only. This office was in all probability a relic from "Toltec"
times. The priests of Quetzalcoatl were called by name after their
tutelar deity. The lesser grades included the Tlenamacac (Ordinary
Priests), who were habited in black, and wore their hair long, covering
it with a kind of mantilla. The lowest order was that of the Lamacazton
(Little Priests), youths who were graduating in the priestly office.
An Exacting Ritual
The priesthood enjoyed no easy existence, but led an austere life
of fasting, penance, and prayer, with constant observance of an
arduous and exacting ritual, which embraced sacrifice, the upkeep
of perpetual fires, the chanting of holy songs to the gods, dances,
and the superintendence of the ever-recurring festivals. They were
required to rise during the night to render praise, and to maintain
themselves in a condition of absolute cleanliness by means of constant
ablutions. We have seen that blood-offering--the substitution of
the part for the whole--was a common method of sacrifice, and in
this the priests engaged personally on frequent occasions. If the
caste did not spare the people it certainly did not spare itself,
and its outlook was perhaps only a shade more gloomy and fanatical
than that of the Spanish hierarchy which succeeded it in the land.
CHAPTER III: MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE ANCIENT MEXICANS
The Mexican Idea of the Creation
"In the year and in the day of the clouds," writes Garcia in his Origin
de los Indias, professing to furnish the reader with a translation
of an original Mixtec picture-manuscript, "before ever were years
or days, the world lay in darkness. All things were orderless, and
a water covered the slime and ooze that the earth then was." This
picture is common to almost all American creation-stories. [9]
The red man in general believed the habitable globe to have been
created from the slime which arose above the primeval waters, and
there can be no doubt that the Nahua shared this belief. We encounter
in Nahua myth two beings of a bisexual nature, known to the Aztecs
as Ometecutli-Omeciuatl (Lords of Duality), who were represented as
the deities dominating the genesis of things, the beginning of the
world. We have already become acquainted with them in Chapter II (see
p. 104), but we may recapitulate. These beings, whose individual names
were Tonacatecutli and Tonacaciuatl (Lord and Lady of our Flesh),
occupy the first place in the calendar, a circumstance which makes
it plain that they were regarded as responsible for the origin of all
created things. They were invariably represented as being clothed in
rich, variegated garments, symbolical of light. Tonacatecutli, the male
principle of creation or world-generation, is often identified with the
sun- or fire-god, but there is no reason to consider him as symbolical
of anything but the sky. The firmament is almost universally regarded
by American aboriginal peoples as the male principle of the cosmos,
in contradistinction to the earth, which they think of as possessing
feminine attributes, and which is undoubtedly personified in this
instance by Tonacaciuatl.
In North American Indian myths we find the Father Sky brooding upon
the Mother Earth, just as in early Greek creation-story we see the
elements uniting, the firmament impregnating the soil and rendering
it fruitful. To the savage mind the growth of crops and vegetation
proceeds as much from the sky as from the earth. Untutored man beholds
the fecundation of the soil by rain, and, seeing in everything the
expression of an individual and personal impulse, regards the genesis
of vegetable growth as analogous to human origin. To him, then, the
sky is the life-giving male principle, the fertilising seed of which
descends in rain. The earth is the receptive element which hatches
that with which the sky has impregnated her.
Ixtlilxochitl's Legend of the Creation
One of the most complete creation-stories in Mexican mythology is
that given by the half-blood Indian author Ixtlilxochitl, who, we
cannot doubt, received it directly from native sources. He states
that the Toltecs credited a certain Tloque Nahuaque (Lord of All
Existence) with the creation of the universe, the stars, mountains,
and animals. At the same time he made the first man and woman, from
whom all the inhabitants of the earth are descended. This "first
earth" was destroyed by the "water-sun." At the commencement of the
next epoch the Toltecs appeared, and after many wanderings settled
in Huehue Tlapallan (Very Old Tlapallan). Then followed the second
catastrophe, that of the "wind-sun." The remainder of the legend
recounts how mighty earthquakes shook the world and destroyed the
earth-giants. These earth-giants (Quinames) were analogous to the Greek
Titans, and were a source of great uneasiness to the Toltecs. In the
opinion of the old historians they were descended from the races who
inhabited the more northerly portion of Mexico.
Creation-Story of the Mixtecs
It will be well to return for a moment to the creation-story of the
Mixtecs, which, if emanating from a somewhat isolated people in the
extreme south of the Mexican Empire, at least affords us a vivid
picture of what a folk closely related to the Nahua race regarded
as a veritable account of the creative process. When the earth had
arisen from the primeval waters, one day the deer-god, who bore the
surname Puma-Snake, and the beautiful deer-goddess, or Jaguar-Snake,
appeared. They had human form, and with their great knowledge (that
is, with their magic) they raised a high cliff over the water, and
built on it fine palaces for their dwelling. On the summit of this
cliff they laid a copper axe with the edge upward, and on this edge
the heavens rested. The palaces stood in Upper Mixteca, close to
Apoala, and the cliff was called Place where the Heavens Stood. The
gods lived happily together for many centuries, when it chanced that
two little boys were born to them, beautiful of form and skilled
and experienced in the arts. From the days of their birth they were
named Wind-Nine-Snake (Viento de Neuve Culebras) and Wind-Nine-Cave
(Viento de Neuve Cavernas). Much care was given to their education,
and they possessed the knowledge of how to change themselves into
an eagle or a snake, to make themselves invisible, and even to pass
through solid bodies.
After a time these youthful gods decided to make an offering and a
sacrifice to their ancestors. Taking incense vessels made of clay,
they filled them with tobacco, to which they set fire, allowing it to
smoulder. The smoke rose heavenward, and that was the first offering
(to the gods). Then they made a garden with shrubs and flowers,
trees and fruit-bearing plants, and sweet-scented herbs. Adjoining
this they made a grass-grown level place (un prado), and equipped
it with everything necessary for sacrifice. The pious brothers lived
contentedly on this piece of ground, tilled it, burned tobacco, and
with prayers, vows, and promises they supplicated their ancestors to
let the light appear, to let the water collect in certain places and
the earth be freed from its covering (water), for they had no more
than that little garden for their subsistence. In order to strengthen
their prayer they pierced their ears and their tongues with pointed
knives of flint, and sprinkled the blood on the trees and plants with
a brush of willow twigs.
The deer-gods had more sons and daughters, but there came a flood in
which many of these perished. After the catastrophe was over the god
who is called the Creator of All Things formed the heavens and the
earth, and restored the human race.
Zapotec Creation-Myth
Among the Zapotecs, a people related to the Mixtecs, we find a similar
conception of the creative process. Cozaana is mentioned as the creator
and maker of all beasts in the valuable Zapotec dictionary of Father
Juan de Cordova, and Huichaana as the creator of men and fishes. Thus
we have two separate creations for men and animals. Cozaana would
appear to apply to the sun as the creator of all beasts, but, strangely
enough, is alluded to in Cordova's dictionary as "procreatrix," whilst
he is undoubtedly a male deity. Huichaana, the creator of men and
fishes, is, on the other hand, alluded to as "water," or "the element
of water," and "goddess of generation." She is certainly the Zapotec
female part of the creative agency. In the Mixtec creation-myth we can
see the actual creator and the first pair of tribal gods, who were also
considered the progenitors of animals--to the savage equal inhabitants
of the world with himself. The names of the brothers Nine-Snake and
Nine-Cave undoubtedly allude to light and darkness, day and night. It
may be that these deities are the same as Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl
(the latter a Zapotec deity), who were regarded as twins. In some
ways Quetzalcoatl was looked upon as a creator, and in the Mexican
calendar followed the Father and Mother, or original sexual deities,
being placed in the second section as the creator of the world and man.
The Mexican Noah
Flood-myths, curiously enough, are of more common occurrence among
the Nahua and kindred peoples than creation-myths. The Abbé Brasseur
de Bourbourg has translated one from the Codex Chimalpopoca, a work
in Nahuatl dating from the latter part of the sixteenth century. It
recounts the doings of the Mexican Noah and his wife as follows:
"And this year was that of Ce-calli, and on the first day all was
lost. The mountain itself was submerged in the water, and the water
remained tranquil for fifty-two springs.
"Now toward the close of the year Titlacahuan had forewarned the
man named Nata and his wife Nena, saying, 'Make no more pulque,
but straightway hollow out a large cypress, and enter it when in the
month Tozoztli the water shall approach the sky.' They entered it,
and when Titlacahuan had closed the door he said, 'Thou shalt eat
but a single ear of maize, and thy wife but one also.'
"As soon as they had finished eating, they went forth, and the water
was tranquil; for the log did not move any more; and opening it they
saw many fish.
"Then they built a fire, rubbing together pieces of wood, and they
roasted fish. The gods Citallinicue and Citallatonac, looking below,
exclaimed, 'Divine Lord, what means that fire below? Why do they thus
smoke the heavens?'
"Straightway descended Titlacahuan-Tezcatlipoca, and commenced to
scold, saying, 'What is this fire doing here?' And seizing the fishes
he moulded their hinder parts and changed their heads, and they were
at once transformed into dogs."
The Myth of the Seven Caverns
But other legends apart from the creation-stories of the world pure
and simple deal with the origin of mankind. The Aztecs believed that
the first men emerged from a place known as Chicomoztoc (The Seven
Caverns), located north of Mexico. Various writers have seen in these
mythic recesses the fabulous "seven cities of Cibola" and the Casas
Grandes, ruins of extensive character in the valley of the river Gila,
and so forth. But the allusion to the magical number seven in the myth
demonstrates that the entire story is purely imaginary and possesses
no basis of fact. A similar story occurs among the myths of the Kiche
of Guatemala and the Peruvians.
The Sacrificed Princess
Coming to semi-historical times, we find a variety of legends connected
with the early story of the city of Mexico. These for the most part
are of a weird and gloomy character, and throw much light on the dark
fanaticism of a people which could immolate its children on the altars
of implacable gods. It is told how after the Aztecs had built the city
of Mexico they raised an altar to their war-god Huitzilopochtli. In
general the lives rendered to this most sanguinary of deities
were those of prisoners of war, but in times of public calamity he
demanded the sacrifice of the noblest in the land. On one occasion
his oracle required that a royal princess should be offered on the
high altar. The Aztec king, either possessing no daughters of his
own or hesitating to sacrifice them, sent an embassy to the monarch
of Colhuacan to ask for one of his daughters to become the symbolical
mother of Huitzilopochtli. The King of Colhuacan, suspecting nothing
amiss, and highly flattered at the distinction, delivered up the girl,
who was escorted to Mexico, where she was sacrificed with much pomp,
her skin being flayed off to clothe the priest who represented the
deity in the festival. The unhappy father was invited to this hideous
orgy, ostensibly to witness his daughter's deification. In the gloomy
chambers of the war-god's temple he was at first unable to mark the
trend of the horrid ritual. But, given a torch of copal-gum, he saw
the officiating priest clothed in his daughter's skin, receiving the
homage of the worshippers. Recognising her features, and demented
with grief and horror, he fled from the temple, a broken man, to
spend the remainder of his days in mourning for his murdered child.
The Fugitive Prince
One turns with relief from such a sanguinary tale to the consideration
of the pleasing semi-legendary accounts of Ixtlilxochitl regarding
the civilisation of Tezcuco, Mexico's neighbour and ally. We have seen
in the sketch of Nahua history which has been given how the Tecpanecs
overcame the Acolhuans of Tezcuco and slew their king about the year
1418. Nezahualcoyotl (Fasting Coyote), the heir to the Tezcucan throne,
beheld the butchery of his royal father from the shelter of a tree
close by, and succeeded in making his escape from the invaders. His
subsequent thrilling adventures have been compared with those of the
Young Pretender after the collapse of the "Forty-five" resistance. He
had not enjoyed many days of freedom when he was captured by those
who had set out in pursuit of him, and, being haled back to his native
city, was cast into prison. He found a friend in the governor of the
place, who owed his position to the prince's late father, and by means
of his assistance he succeeded in once more escaping from the hostile
Tecpanecs. For aiding Nezahualcoyotl, however, the governor promptly
paid the penalty of death. The royal family of Mexico interceded for
the hunted youth, and he was permitted to find an asylum at the Aztec
court, whence he later proceeded to his own city of Tezcuco, occupying
apartments in the palace where his father had once dwelt. For eight
years he remained there, existing unnoticed on the bounty of the
Tecpanec chief who had usurped the throne of his ancestors.
Maxtla the Fierce
In course of time the original Tecpanec conqueror was gathered to
his fathers, and was succeeded by his son Maxtla, a ruler who could
ill brook the studious prince, who had journeyed to the capital
of the Tecpanecs to do him homage. He refused Nezahualcoyotl's
advances of friendship, and the latter was warned by a favourably
disposed courtier to take refuge in flight. This advice he adopted,
and returned to Tezcuco, where, however, Maxtla set a snare for his
life. A function which took place in the evening afforded the tyrant
his chance. But the prince's preceptor frustrated the conspiracy, by
means of substituting for his charge a youth who strikingly resembled
him. This second failure exasperated Maxtla so much that he sent a
military force to Tezcuco, with orders to despatch Nezahualcoyotl
without delay. But the same vigilant person who had guarded the
prince so well before became apprised of his danger and advised him
to fly. To this advice, however, Nezahualcoyotl refused to listen,
and resolved to await the approach of his enemies.
A Romantic Escape
When they arrived he was engaged in the Mexican ball-game of
tlachtli. With great politeness he requested them to enter and to
partake of food. Whilst they refreshed themselves he betook himself
to another room, but his action excited no surprise, as he could be
seen through the open doorway by which the apartments communicated
with each other. A huge censer, however, stood in the vestibule,
and the clouds of incense which arose from it hid his movements from
those who had been sent to slay him. Thus obscured, he succeeded
in entering a subterranean passage which led to a large disused
water-pipe, through which he crawled and made his escape.
A Thrilling Pursuit
For a season Nezahualcoyotl evaded capture by hiding in the hut of a
zealous adherent. The hut was searched, but the pursuers neglected to
look below a heap of maguey fibre used for making cloth, under which
he lay concealed. Furious at his enemy's escape, Maxtla now ordered a
rigorous search, and a regular battue of the country round Tezcuco was
arranged. A large reward was offered for the capture of Nezahualcoyotl
dead or alive, along with a fair estate and the hand of a noble lady,
and the unhappy prince was forced to seek safety in the mountainous
country between Tezcuco and Tlascala. He became a wretched outcast,
a pariah lurking in caves and woods, prowling about after nightfall in
order to satisfy his hunger, and seldom having a whole night's rest,
because of the vigilance of his enemies. Hotly pursued by them, he
was compelled to seek some curious places of concealment in order to
save himself. On one occasion he was hidden by some friendly soldiers
inside a large drum, and on another he was concealed beneath some
chia stalks by a girl who was engaged in reaping them. The loyalty
of the Tezcucan peasantry to their hunted prince was extraordinary,
and rather than betray his whereabouts to the creatures of Maxtla
they on many occasions suffered torture, and even death itself. At a
time when his affairs appeared most gloomy, however, Nezahualcoyotl
experienced a change of fortune. The tyrannous Maxtla had rendered
himself highly unpopular by his many oppressions, and the people in the
territories he had annexed were by no means contented under his rule.
The Defeat of Maxtla
These malcontents decided to band themselves together to defy
the tyrant, and offered the command of the force thus raised to
Nezahualcoyotl. This he accepted, and the Tecpanec usurper was
totally defeated in a general engagement. Restored to the throne of
his fathers, Nezahualcoyotl allied himself with Mexico, and with the
assistance of its monarch completely routed the remaining force of
Maxtla, who was seized in the baths of Azcapozalco, haled forth and
sacrificed, and his city destroyed.
The Solon of Anahuac
Nezahualcoyotl profited by the hard experiences he had undergone,
and proved a wise and just ruler. The code of laws framed by him was
an exceedingly drastic one, but so wise and enlightened was his rule
that on the whole he deserves the title which has been conferred upon
him of "the Solon of Anahuac." He generously encouraged the arts,
and established a Council of Music, the purpose of which was to
supervise artistic endeavour of every description. In Nezahualcoyotl
Mexico found, in all probability, her greatest native poet. An ode
of his on the mutability of life displays much nobility of thought,
and strikingly recalls the sentiments expressed in the verses of
Omar Khayyám.
Nezahualcoyotl's Theology
Nezahualcoyotl is said to have erected a temple to the Unknown God,
and to have shown a marked preference for the worship of one deity. In
one of his poems he is credited with expressing the following exalted
sentiments: "Let us aspire to that heaven where all is eternal, and
corruption cannot come. The horrors of the tomb are the cradle of
the sun, and the dark shadows of death are brilliant lights for the
stars." Unfortunately these ideas cannot be verified as the undoubted
sentiments of the royal bard of Tezcuco, and we are regretfully
forced to regard the attribution as spurious. We must come to such a
conclusion with very real disappointment, as to discover an untutored
and spontaneous belief in one god in the midst of surroundings so
little congenial to its growth would have been exceedingly valuable
from several points of view.
The Poet Prince
We find Nezahualcoyotl's later days stained by an act which was
unworthy of such a great monarch and wise man. His eldest son, the heir
to the crown, entered into an intrigue with one of his father's wives,
and dedicated many passionate poems to her, to which she replied with
equal ardour. The poetical correspondence was brought before the king,
who prized the lady highly because of her beauty. Outraged in his most
sacred feelings, Nezahualcoyotl had the youth arraigned before the
High Court, which passed sentence of death upon him--a sentence which
his father permitted to be carried out. After his son's execution he
shut himself up in his palace for some months, and gave orders that
the doors and windows of the unhappy young man's residence should be
built up so that never again might its walls echo to the sound of a
human voice.
The Queen with a Hundred Lovers
In his History of the Chichimeca Ixtlilxochitl tells the following
gruesome tale regarding the dreadful fate of a favourite wife of
Nezahualpilli, the son of Nezahualcoyotl: When Axaiacatzin, King of
Mexico, and other lords sent their daughters to King Nezahualpilli,
for him to choose one to be his queen and lawful wife, whose son
might succeed to the inheritance, she who had the highest claims among
them, for nobility of birth and rank, was Chachiuhnenetzin, the young
daughter of the Mexican king. She had been brought up by the monarch
in a separate palace, with great pomp, and with numerous attendants,
as became the daughter of so great a monarch. The number of servants
attached to her household exceeded two thousand. Young as she was,
she was exceedingly artful and vicious; so that, finding herself
alone, and seeing that her people feared her on account of her rank
and importance, she began to give way to an unlimited indulgence of
her power. Whenever she saw a young man who pleased her fancy she gave
secret orders that he should be brought to her, and shortly afterwards
he would be put to death. She would then order a statue or effigy of
his person to be made, and, adorning it with rich clothing, gold, and
jewellery, place it in the apartment in which she lived. The number
of statues of those whom she thus sacrificed was so great as to almost
fill the room. When the king came to visit her, and inquired respecting
these statues, she answered that they were her gods; and he, knowing
how strict the Mexicans were in the worship of their false deities,
believed her. But, as no iniquity can be long committed with entire
secrecy, she was finally found out in this manner: Three of the young
men, for some reason or other, she had left alive. Their names were
Chicuhcoatl, Huitzilimitzin, and Maxtla, one of whom was lord of
Tesoyucan and one of the grandees of the kingdom, and the other two
nobles of high rank. It happened that one day the king recognised on
the apparel of one of these a very precious jewel which he had given
to the queen; and although he had no fear of treason on her part it
gave him some uneasiness. Proceeding to visit her that night, her
attendants told him she was asleep, supposing that the king would
then return, as he had done at other times. But the affair of the
jewel made him insist on entering the chamber in which she slept;
and, going to wake her, he found only a statue in the bed, adorned
with her hair, and closely resembling her. Seeing this, and noticing
that the attendants around were in much trepidation and alarm, the
king called his guards, and, assembling all the people of the house,
made a general search for the queen, who was shortly found at an
entertainment with the three young lords, who were arrested with
her. The king referred the case to the judges of his court, in order
that they might make an inquiry into the matter and examine the parties
implicated. These discovered many individuals, servants of the queen,
who had in some way or other been accessory to her crimes--workmen who
had been engaged in making and adorning the statues, others who had
aided in introducing the young men into the palace, and others, again,
who had put them to death and concealed their bodies. The case having
been sufficiently investigated, the king despatched ambassadors to the
rulers of Mexico and Tlacopan, giving them information of the event,
and signifying the day on which the punishment of the queen and her
accomplices was to take place; and he likewise sent through the empire
to summon all the lords to bring their wives and their daughters,
however young they might be, to be witnesses of a punishment which
he designed for a great example. He also made a truce with all the
enemies of the empire, in order that they might come freely to see
it. The time having arrived, the number of people gathered together
was so great that, large as was the city of Tezcuco, they could
scarcely all find room in it. The execution took place publicly, in
sight of the whole city. The queen was put to the garrotte (a method
of strangling by means of a rope twisted round a stick), as well as
her three gallants; and, from their being persons of high birth, their
bodies were burned, together with the effigies before mentioned. The
other parties who had been accessory to the crimes, who numbered more
than two thousand persons, were also put to the garrotte, and burned
in a pit made for the purpose in a ravine near a temple of the Idol
of Adulterers. All applauded so severe and exemplary a punishment,
except the Mexican lords, the relatives of the queen, who were much
incensed at so public an example, and, although for the time they
concealed their resentment, meditated future revenge. It was not
without reason, says the chronicler, that the king experienced this
disgrace in his household, since he was thus punished for an unworthy
subterfuge made use of by his father to obtain his mother as a wife!
This Nezahualpilli, the successor of Nezahualcoyotl, was a monarch
of scientific tastes, and, as Torquemada states, had a primitive
observatory erected in his palace.
The Golden Age of Tezcuco
The period embraced by the life of this monarch and his predecessor may
be regarded as the Golden Age of Tezcuco, and as semi-mythical. The
palace of Nezahualcoyotl, according to the account of Ixtlilxochitl,
extended east and west for 1234 yards, and for 978 yards from north
to south. Enclosed by a high wall, it contained two large courts, one
used as the municipal market-place, whilst the other was surrounded
by administrative offices. A great hall was set apart for the special
use of poets and men of talent, who held symposiums under its classic
roof, or engaged in controversy in the surrounding corridors. The
chronicles of the kingdom were also kept in this portion of the
palace. The private apartments of the monarch adjoined this College
of Bards. They were gorgeous in the extreme, and their description
rivals that of the fabled Toltec city of Tollan. Rare stones and
beautifully coloured plaster mouldings alternated with wonderful
tapestries of splendid feather-work to make an enchanting display of
florid decoration, and the gardens which surrounded this marvellous
edifice were delightful retreats, where the lofty cedar and cypress
overhung sparkling fountains and luxurious baths. Fish darted hither
and thither in the ponds, and the aviaries echoed to the songs of
birds of wonderful plumage.
A Fairy Villa
According to Ixtlilxochitl, the king's villa of Tezcotzinco was a
residence which for sheer beauty had no equal in Persian romance,
or in those dream-tales of Araby which in childhood we feel to be
true, and in later life regretfully admit can only be known again by
sailing the sea of Poesy or penetrating the mist-locked continent of
Dream. The account of it which we have from the garrulous half-blood
reminds us of the stately pleasure-dome decreed by Kubla Khan on the
turbulent banks of the sacred Alph. A conical eminence was laid out in
hanging gardens reached by an airy flight of five hundred and twenty
marble steps. Gigantic walls contained an immense reservoir of water,
in the midst of which was islanded a great rock carved with hieroglyphs
describing the principal events in the reign of Nezahualcoyotl. In
each of three other reservoirs stood a marble statue of a woman,
symbolical of one of the three provinces of Tezcuco. These great
basins supplied the gardens beneath with a perennial flow of water,
so directed as to leap in cascades over artificial rockeries or
meander among mossy retreats with refreshing whisper, watering the
roots of odoriferous shrubs and flowers and winding in and out of the
shadow of the cypress woods. Here and there pavilions of marble arose
over porphyry baths, the highly polished stone of which reflected the
bodies of the bathers. The villa itself stood amidst a wilderness of
stately cedars, which shielded it from the torrid heat of the Mexican
sun. The architectural design of this delightful edifice was light and
airy in the extreme, and the perfume of the surrounding gardens filled
the spacious apartments with the delicious incense of nature. In this
paradise the Tezcucan monarch sought in the company of his wives repose
from the oppression of rule, and passed the lazy hours in gamesome
sport and dance. The surrounding woods afforded him the pleasures of
the chase, and art and nature combined to render his rural retreat
a centre of pleasant recreation as well as of repose and refreshment.
Disillusionment
That some such palace existed on the spot in question it would be
absurd to deny, as its stupendous pillars and remains still litter
the terraces of Tezcotzinco. But, alas! we must not listen to the
vapourings of the untrustworthy Ixtlilxochitl, who claims to have
seen the place. It will be better to turn to a more modern authority,
who visited the site about seventy-five years ago, and who has given
perhaps the best account of it. He says:
"Fragments of pottery, broken pieces of obsidian knives and arrows,
pieces of stucco, shattered terraces, and old walls were thickly
dispersed over its whole surface. We soon found further advance
on horseback impracticable, and, attaching our patient steeds to
the nopal bushes, we followed our Indian guide on foot, scrambling
upwards over rock and through tangled brushwood. On gaining the
narrow ridge which connects the conical hill with one at the rear,
we found the remains of a wall and causeway; and, a little higher,
reached a recess, where, at the foot of a small precipice, overhung
with Indian fig and grass, the rock had been wrought by hand into
a flat surface of large dimensions. In this perpendicular wall of
rock a carved Toltec calendar existed formerly; but the Indians,
finding the place visited occasionally by foreigners from the capital,
took it into their heads that there must be a silver vein there, and
straightway set to work to find it, obliterating the sculpture, and
driving a level beyond it into the hard rock for several yards. From
this recess a few minutes' climb brought us to the summit of the
hill. The sun was on the point of setting over the mountains on the
other side of the valley, and the view spread beneath our feet was
most glorious. The whole of the lake of Tezcuco, and the country and
mountains on both sides, lay stretched before us.
"But, however disposed, we dare not stop long to gaze and admire,
but, descending a little obliquely, soon came to the so-called bath,
two singular basins, of perhaps two feet and a half diameter, cut
into a bastion-like solid rock, projecting from the general outline
of the hill, and surrounded by smooth carved seats and grooves,
as we supposed--for I own the whole appearance of the locality
was perfectly inexplicable to me. I have a suspicion that many of
these horizontal planes and grooves were contrivances to aid their
astronomical observations, one like that I have mentioned having been
discovered by de Gama at Chapultepec.
"As to Montezuma's Bath, it might be his foot-bath if you will, but
it would be a moral impossibility for any monarch of larger dimensions
than Oberon to take a duck in it.
"The mountain bears the marks of human industry to its very apex,
many of the blocks of porphyry of which it is composed being quarried
into smooth horizontal planes. It is impossible to say at present
what portion of the surface is artificial or not, such is the state
of confusion observable in every part.
"By what means nations unacquainted with the use of iron constructed
works of such a smooth polish, in rocks of such hardness, it is
extremely difficult to say. Many think tools of mixed tin and copper
were employed; others, that patient friction was one of the main means
resorted to. Whatever may have been the real appropriation of these
inexplicable ruins, or the epoch of their construction, there can be
no doubt but the whole of this hill, which I should suppose rises
five or six hundred feet above the level of the plain, was covered
with artificial works of one kind or another. They are doubtless
rather of Toltec than of Aztec origin, and perhaps with still more
probability attributable to a people of an age yet more remote."
The Noble Tlascalan
As may be imagined regarding a community where human sacrifice was
rife, tales concerning those who were consigned to this dreadful fate
were abundant. Perhaps the most striking of these is that relating to
the noble Tlascalan warrior Tlalhuicole, who was captured in combat
by the troops of Montezuma. Less than a year before the Spaniards
arrived in Mexico war broke out between the Huexotzincans and the
Tlascalans, to the former of whom the Aztecs acted as allies. On
the battlefield there was captured by guile a very valiant Tlascalan
leader called Tlalhuicole, so renowned for his prowess that the mere
mention of his name was generally sufficient to deter any Mexican
hero from attempting his capture. He was brought to Mexico in a cage,
and presented to the Emperor Montezuma, who, on learning of his name
and renown, gave him his liberty and overwhelmed him with honours. He
further granted him permission to return to his own country, a boon
he had never before extended to any captive. But Tlalhuicole refused
his freedom, and replied that he would prefer to be sacrificed to the
gods, according to the usual custom. Montezuma, who had the highest
regard for him, and prized his life more than any sacrifice, would
not consent to his immolation. At this juncture war broke out between
Mexico and the Tarascans, and Montezuma announced the appointment
of Tlalhuicole as chief of the expeditionary force. He accepted the
command, marched against the Tarascans, and, having totally defeated
them, returned to Mexico laden with an enormous booty and crowds of
slaves. The city rang with his triumph. The emperor begged him to
become a Mexican citizen, but he replied that on no account would he
prove a traitor to his country. Montezuma then once more offered him
his liberty, but he strenuously refused to return to Tlascala, having
undergone the disgrace of defeat and capture. He begged Montezuma
to terminate his unhappy existence by sacrificing him to the gods,
thus ending the dishonour he felt in living on after having undergone
defeat, and at the same time fulfilling the highest aspiration of his
life--to die the death of a warrior on the stone of combat. Montezuma,
himself the noblest pattern of Aztec chivalry, touched at his request,
could not but agree with him that he had chosen the most fitting fate
for a hero, and ordered him to be chained to the stone of combat,
the blood-stained temalacatl. The most renowned of the Aztec warriors
were pitted against him, and the emperor himself graced the sanguinary
tournament with his presence. Tlalhuicole bore himself in the combat
like a lion, slew eight warriors of renown, and wounded more than
twenty. But at last he fell, covered with wounds, and was haled by the
exulting priests to the altar of the terrible war-god Huitzilopochtli,
to whom his heart was offered up.
The Haunting Mothers
It is only occasionally that we encounter either the gods or
supernatural beings of any description in Mexican myth. But
occasionally we catch sight of such beings as the Ciuapipiltin
(Honoured Women), the spirits of those women who had died in childbed,
a death highly venerated by the Mexicans, who regarded the woman
who perished thus as the equal of a warrior who met his fate in
battle. Strangely enough, these spirits were actively malevolent,
probably because the moon-goddess (who was also the deity of evil
exhalations) was evil in her tendencies, and they were regarded as
possessing an affinity to her. It was supposed that they afflicted
infants with various diseases, and Mexican parents took every
precaution not to permit their offspring out of doors on the days when
their influence was believed to be strong. They were said to haunt
the cross-roads, and even to enter the bodies of weakly people, the
better to work their evil will. The insane were supposed to be under
their especial visitation. Temples were raised at the cross-roads in
order to placate them, and loaves of bread, shaped like butterflies,
were dedicated to them. They were represented as having faces of
a dead white, and as blanching their arms and hands with a white
powder known as tisatl. Their eyebrows were of a golden hue, and
their raiment was that of Mexican ladies of the ruling class.
The Return of Papantzin [10]
One of the weirdest legends in Mexican tradition recounts how
Papantzin, the sister of Montezuma II, returned from her tomb to
prophesy to her royal brother concerning his doom and the fall of
his empire at the hands of the Spaniards. On taking up the reins
of government Montezuma had married this lady to one of his most
illustrious servants, the governor of Tlatelulco, and after his death
it would appear that she continued to exercise his almost viceregal
functions and to reside in his palace. In course of time she died,
and her obsequies were attended by the emperor in person, accompanied
by the greatest personages of his court and kingdom. The body was
interred in a subterranean vault of his own palace, in close proximity
to the royal baths, which stood in a sequestered part of the extensive
grounds surrounding the royal residence. The entrance to the vault
was secured by a stone slab of moderate weight, and when the numerous
ceremonies prescribed for the interment of a royal personage had been
completed the emperor and his suite retired. At daylight next morning
one of the royal children, a little girl of some six years of age,
having gone into the garden to seek her governess, espied the Princess
Papan standing near the baths. The princess, who was her aunt, called
to her, and requested her to bring her governess to her. The child
did as she was bid, but her governess, thinking that imagination had
played her a trick, paid little attention to what she said. As the
child persisted in her statement, the governess at last followed her
into the garden, where she saw Papan sitting on one of the steps of
the baths. The sight of the supposed dead princess filled the woman
with such terror that she fell down in a swoon. The child then went to
her mother's apartment, and detailed to her what had happened. She at
once proceeded to the baths with two of her attendants, and at sight
of Papan was also seized with affright. But the princess reassured
her, and asked to be allowed to accompany her to her apartments,
and that the entire affair should for the present be kept absolutely
secret. Later in the day she sent for Tiçotzicatzin, her major-domo,
and requested him to inform the emperor that she desired to speak
with him immediately on matters of the greatest importance. The man,
terrified, begged to be excused from the mission, and Papan then
gave orders that her uncle Nezahualpilli, King of Tezcuco, should
be communicated with. That monarch, on receiving her request that
he should come to her, hastened to the palace. The princess begged
him to see the emperor without loss of time and to entreat him to
come to her at once. Montezuma heard his story with surprise mingled
with doubt. Hastening to his sister, he cried as he approached her:
"Is it indeed you, my sister, or some evil demon who has taken your
likeness?" "It is I indeed, your Majesty," she replied. Montezuma and
the exalted personages who accompanied him then seated themselves,
and a hush of expectation fell upon all as they were addressed by
the princess in the following words:
"Listen attentively to what I am about to relate to you. You have seen
me dead, buried, and now behold me alive again. By the authority of
our ancestors, my brother, I am returned from the dwellings of the
dead to prophesy to you certain things of prime importance.
Papantzin's Story
"At the moment after death I found myself in a spacious valley, which
appeared to have neither commencement nor end, and was surrounded
by lofty mountains. Near the middle I came upon a road with many
branching paths. By the side of the valley there flowed a river of
considerable size, the waters of which ran with a loud noise. By the
borders of this I saw a young man clothed in a long robe, fastened with
a diamond, and shining like the sun, his visage bright as a star. On
his forehead was a sign in the figure of a cross. He had wings, the
feathers of which gave forth the most wonderful and glowing reflections
and colours. His eyes were as emeralds, and his glance was modest. He
was fair, of beautiful aspect and imposing presence. He took me by the
hand and said: 'Come hither. It is not yet time for you to cross the
river. You possess the love of God, which is greater than you know
or can comprehend.' He then conducted me through the valley, where
I espied many heads and bones of dead men. I then beheld a number
of black folk, horned, and with the feet of deer. They were engaged
in building a house, which was nearly completed. Turning toward the
east for a space, I beheld on the waters of the river a vast number
of ships manned by a great host of men dressed differently from
ourselves. Their eyes were of a clear grey, their complexions ruddy,
they carried banners and ensigns in their hands and wore helmets on
their heads. They called themselves 'Sons of the Sun.' The youth who
conducted me and caused me to see all these things said that it was
not yet the will of the gods that I should cross the river, but that I
was to be reserved to behold the future with my own eyes, and to enjoy
the benefits of the faith which these strangers brought with them;
that the bones I beheld on the plain were those of my countrymen who
had died in ignorance of that faith, and had consequently suffered
great torments; that the house being builded by the black folk was an
edifice prepared for those who would fall in battle with the seafaring
strangers whom I had seen; and that I was destined to return to my
compatriots to tell them of the true faith, and to announce to them
what I had seen that they might profit thereby."
Montezuma hearkened to these matters in silence, and felt greatly
troubled. He left his sister's presence without a word, and, regaining
his own apartments, plunged into melancholy thoughts.
Papantzin's resurrection is one of the best authenticated incidents
in Mexican history, and it is a curious fact that on the arrival
of the Spanish Conquistadores one of the first persons to embrace
Christianity and receive baptism at their hands was the Princess Papan.
CHAPTER IV: THE MAYA RACE AND MYTHOLOGY
The Maya
It was to the Maya--the people who occupied the territory between
the isthmus of Tehuantepec and Nicaragua--that the civilisation of
Central America owed most. The language they spoke was quite distinct
from the Nahuatl spoken by the Nahua of Mexico, and in many respects
their customs and habits were widely different from those of the
people of Anahuac. It will be remembered that the latter were the
heirs of an older civilisation, that, indeed, they had entered the
valley of Mexico as savages, and that practically all they knew of
the arts of culture was taught them by the remnants of the people
whom they dispossessed. It was not thus with the Maya. Their arts
and industries were of their own invention, and bore the stamp of
an origin of considerable antiquity. They were, indeed, the supreme
intellectual race of America, and on their coming into contact with
the Nahua that people assimilated sufficient of their culture to
raise them several grades in the scale of civilisation.
Were the Maya Toltecs?
It has already been stated that many antiquarians see in the Maya
those Toltecs who because of the inroads of barbarous tribes quitted
their native land of Anahuac and journeyed southward to seek a new
home in Chiapas and Yucatan. It would be idle to attempt to uphold
or refute such a theory in the absolute dearth of positive evidence
for or against it. The architectural remains of the older race of
Anahuac do not bear any striking likeness to Maya forms, and if the
mythologies of the two peoples are in some particulars alike, that may
well be accounted for by their mutual adoption of deities and religious
customs. On the other hand, it is distinctly noteworthy that the cult
of the god Quetzalcoatl, which was regarded in Mexico as of alien
origin, had a considerable vogue among the Maya and their allied races.
The Maya Kingdom
On the arrival of the Spaniards (after the celebrated march of Cortés
from Mexico to Central America) the Maya were divided into a number
of subsidiary states which remind us somewhat of the numerous little
kingdoms of Palestine. That these had hived off from an original
and considerably greater state there is good evidence to show, but
internal dissension had played havoc with the polity of the central
government of this empire, the disintegration of which had occurred
at a remote period. In the semi-historical legends of this people
we catch glimpses of a great kingdom, occasionally alluded to as
the "Kingdom of the Great Snake," or the empire of Xibalba, realms
which have been identified with the ruined city-centres of Palenque
and Mitla. These identifications must be regarded with caution,
but the work of excavation will doubtless sooner or later assist
theorists in coming to conclusions which will admit of no doubt. The
sphere of Maya civilisation and influence is pretty well marked,
and embraces the peninsula of Yucatan, Chiapas, to the isthmus of
Tehuantepec on the north, and the whole of Guatemala to the boundaries
of the present republic of San Salvador. The true nucleus of Maya
civilisation, however, must be looked for in that part of Chiapas
which skirts the banks of the Usumacinta river and in the valleys of
its tributaries. Here Maya art and architecture reached a height of
splendour unknown elsewhere, and in this district, too, the strange
Maya system of writing had its most skilful exponents. Although the
arts and industries of the several districts inhabited by people of
Maya race exhibited many superficial differences, these are so small
as to make us certain of the fact that the various areas inhabited
by Maya stock had all drawn their inspiration toward civilisation
from one common nucleus, and had equally passed through a uniform
civilisation and drawn sap from an original culture-centre.
The Maya Dialects
Perhaps the most effectual method of distinguishing the various
branches of the Maya people from one another consists in dividing
them into linguistic groups. The various dialects spoken by the folk
of Maya origin, although they exhibit some considerable difference,
yet display strongly that affinity of construction and resemblance
in root which go to prove that they all emanate from one common
mother-tongue. In Chiapas the Maya tongue itself is the current
dialect, whilst in Guatemala no less than twenty-four dialects are in
use, the principal of which are the Quiche, or Kiche, the Kakchiquel,
the Zutugil, Coxoh Chol, and Pipil. These dialects and the folk who
speak them are sufficient to engage our attention, as in them are
enshrined the most remarkable myths and legends of the race, and by
the men who used them were the greatest acts in Maya history achieved.
Whence Came the Maya?
Whence came these folk, then, who raised a civilisation by no means
inferior to that of ancient Egypt, which, if it had had scope,
would have rivalled in its achievements the glory of old Assyria? We
cannot tell. The mystery of its entrance into the land is as deep
as the mystery of the ancient forests which now bury the remnants
of its mighty monuments and enclose its temples in impenetrable
gloom. Generations of antiquarians have attempted to trace the origin
of this race to Egypt, Phoenicia, China, Burma. But the manifest
traces of indigenous American origin are present in all its works,
and the writers who have beheld in these likenesses to the art of
Asiatic or African peoples have been grievously misled by superficial
resemblances which could not have betrayed any one who had studied
Maya affinities deeply.
Civilisation of the Maya
At the risk of repetition it is essential to point out that
civilisation, which was a newly acquired thing with the Nahua peoples,
was not so with the Maya. They were indisputably an older race,
possessing institutions which bore the marks of generations of use,
whereas the Nahua had only too obviously just entered into their
heritage of law and order. When we first catch sight of the Maya
kingdoms they are in the process of disintegration. Such strong young
blood as the virile folk of Anahuac possessed did not flow in the veins
of the people of Yucatan and Guatemala. They were to the Nahua much
as the ancient Assyrians were to the hosts of Israel at the entrance
of the latter into national existence. That there was a substratum of
ethnical and cultural relationship, however, it would be impossible to
deny. The institutions, architecture, habits, even the racial cast of
thought of the two peoples, bore such a general resemblance as to show
that many affinities of blood and cultural relationship existed between
them. But it will not do to insist too strongly upon these. It may be
argued with great probability that these relationships and likenesses
exist because of the influence of Maya civilisation upon Mexican alone,
or from the inheritance by both Mexican and Maya people of a still
older culture of which we are ignorant, and the proofs of which lie
buried below the forests of Guatemala or the sands of Yucatan.
The Zapotecs
The influence of the Maya upon the Nahua was a process of exceeding
slowness. The peoples who divided them one from another were themselves
benefited by carrying Maya culture into Anahuac, or rather it might be
said that they constituted a sort of filter through which the southern
civilisation reached the northern. These peoples were the Zapotecs,
the Mixtecs, and the Kuikatecs, by far the most important of whom were
the first-mentioned. They partook of the nature and civilisation of
both races, and were in effect a border people who took from and gave
to both Maya and Nahua, much as the Jews absorbed and disseminated the
cultures of Egypt and Assyria. They were, however, of Nahua race, but
their speech bears the strongest marks of having borrowed extensively
from the Maya vocabulary. For many generations these people wandered
in a nomadic condition from Maya to Nahua territory, thus absorbing
the customs, speech, and mythology of each.
The Huasteca
But we should be wrong if we thought that the Maya had never
attempted to expand, and had never sought new homes for their surplus
population. That they had is proved by an outlying tribe of Maya,
the Huasteca, having settled at the mouth of the Panuco river, on
the north coast of Mexico. The presence of this curious ethnological
island has of course given rise to all sorts of queer theories
concerning Toltec relationship, whereas it simply intimates that
before the era of Nahua expansion the Maya had attempted to colonise
the country to the north of their territories, but that their efforts
in this direction had been cut short by the influx of savage Nahua,
against whom they found themselves unable to contend.
The Type of Maya Civilisation
Did the civilisation of the Maya differ, then, in type from that of
the Nahua, or was it merely a larger expression of that in vogue in
Anahuac? We may take it that the Nahua civilisation characterised
the culture of Central America in its youth, whilst that of the Maya
displayed it in its bloom, and perhaps in its senility. The difference
was neither essential nor radical, but may be said to have arisen for
the most part from climatic and kindred causes. The climate of Anahuac
is dry and temperate, that of Yucatan and Guatemala is tropical,
and we shall find even such religious conceptions of the two peoples
as were drawn from a common source varying from this very cause,
and coloured by differences in temperature and rainfall.
Maya History
Before entering upon a consideration of the art, architecture, or
mythology of this strange and highly interesting people it will
be necessary to provide the reader with a brief sketch of their
history. Such notices of this as exist in English are few, and their
value doubtful. For the earlier history of the people of Maya stock we
depend almost wholly upon tradition and architectural remains. The net
result of the evidence wrung from these is that the Maya civilisation
was one and homogeneous, and that all the separate states must have
at one period passed through a uniform condition of culture, to which
they were all equally debtors, and that this is sufficient ground for
the belief that all were at one time beneath the sway of one central
power. For the later history we possess the writings of the Spanish
fathers, but not in such profusion as in the case of Mexico. In fact
the trustworthy original authors who deal with Maya history can almost
be counted on the fingers of one hand. We are further confused in
perusing these, and, indeed, throughout the study of Maya history,
by discovering that many of the sites of Maya cities are designated
by Nahua names. This is due to the fact that the Spanish conquerors
were guided in their conquest of the Maya territories by Nahua, who
naturally applied Nahuatlac designations to those sites of which the
Spaniards asked the names. These appellations clung to the places
in question; hence the confusion, and the blundering theories which
would read in these place-names relics of Aztec conquest.
The Nucleus of Maya Power
As has been said, the nucleus of Maya power and culture is probably
to be found in that part of Chiapas which slopes down from the steep
Cordilleras. Here the ruined sites of Palenque, Piedras Negras, and
Ocosingo are eloquent of that opulence of imagination and loftiness
of conception which go hand in hand with an advanced culture. The
temples and palaces of this region bear the stamp of a dignity
and consciousness of metropolitan power which are scarcely to be
mistaken, so broad, so free is their architectural conception, so
full to overflowing the display of the desire to surpass. But upon
the necessities of religion and central organisation alone was this
architectural artistry lavished. Its dignities were not profaned by
its application to mere domestic uses, for, unless what were obviously
palaces are excepted, not a single example of Maya domestic building
has survived. This is of course accounted for by the circumstance
that the people were sharply divided into the aristocratic and
labouring classes, the first of which was closely identified with
religion or kingship, and was housed in the ecclesiastical or royal
buildings, whilst those of less exalted rank were perforce content
with the shelter afforded by a hut built of perishable materials,
the traces of which have long since passed away. The temples were,
in fact, the nuclei of the towns, the centres round which the Maya
communities were grouped, much in the same manner as the cities of
Europe in the Middle Ages clustered and grew around the shadow of
some vast cathedral or sheltering stronghold.
Early Race Movements
We shall leave the consideration of Maya tradition until we come to
speak of Maya myth proper, and attempt to glean from the chaos of
legend some veritable facts connected with Maya history. According to
a manuscript of Kuikatec origin recently discovered, it is probable
that a Nahua invasion of the Maya states of Chiapas and Tabasco took
place about the ninth century of our era, and we must for the present
regard that as the starting-point of Maya history. The south-western
portions of the Maya territory were agitated about the same time by
race movements, which turned northward toward Tehuantepec, and, flowing
through Guatemala, came to rest in Acalan, on the borders of Yucatan,
retarded, probably, by the inhospitable and waterless condition of
that country. This Nahua invasion probably had the effect of driving
the more peaceful Maya from their northerly settlements and forcing
them farther south. Indeed, evidence is not wanting to show that
the warlike Nahua pursued the pacific Maya into their new retreats,
and for a space left them but little peace. This struggle it was
which finally resulted in the breaking up of the Maya civilisation,
which even at that relatively remote period had reached its apogee,
its several races separating into numerous city-states, which bore
a close political resemblance to those of Italy on the downfall of
Rome. At this period, probably, began the cleavage between the Maya
of Yucatan and those of Guatemala, which finally resolved itself
into such differences of speech, faith, and architecture as almost
to constitute them different peoples.
The Settlement of Yucatan
As the Celts of Wales and Scotland were driven into the less hospitable
regions of their respective countries by the inroads of the Saxons,
so was one branch of the Maya forced to seek shelter in the almost
desert wastes of Yucatan. There can be no doubt that the Maya did not
take to this barren and waterless land of their own accord. Thrifty
and possessed of high agricultural attainments, this people would
view with concern a removal to a sphere so forbidding after the rich
and easily developed country they had inhabited for generations. But
the inexorable Nahua were behind, and they were a peaceful folk,
unused to the horrors of savage warfare. So, taking their courage
in both hands, they wandered into the desert. Everything points to
a late occupation of Yucatan by the Maya, and architectural effort
exhibits deterioration, evidenced in a high conventionality of design
and excess of ornamentation. Evidences of Nahua influence also are
not wanting, a fact which is eloquent of the later period of contact
which is known to have occurred between the peoples, and which alone
is almost sufficient to fix the date of the settlement of the Maya in
Yucatan. It must not be thought that the Maya in Yucatan formed one
homogeneous state recognising a central authority. On the contrary, as
is often the case with colonists, the several Maya bands of immigrants
formed themselves into different states or kingdoms, each having its
own separate traditions. It is thus a matter of the highest difficulty
to so collate and criticise these traditions as to construct a history
of the Maya race in Yucatan. As may be supposed, we find the various
city-sites founded by divine beings who play a more or less important
part in the Maya pantheon. Kukulcan, for example, is the first king
of Mayapan, whilst Itzamna figures as the founder of the state of
Itzamal. The gods were the spiritual leaders of these bands of Maya,
just as Jehovah was the spiritual leader and guide of the Israelites
in the desert. One is therefore not surprised to find in the Popol
Vuh, the saga of the Kiche-Maya of Guatemala, that the god Tohil
(The Rumbler) guided them to the site of the first Kiche city. Some
writers on the subject appear to think that the incidents in such
migration myths, especially the tutelage and guidance of the tribes
by gods and the descriptions of desert scenery which they contain,
suffice to stamp them as mere native versions of the Book of Exodus,
or at the best myths sophisticated by missionary influence. The truth
is that the conditions of migration undergone by the Maya were similar
to those described in the Scriptures, and by no means merely reflect
the Bible story, as short-sighted collators of both aver.
The Septs of Yucatan
The priest-kings of Mayapan, who claimed descent from Kukulcan or
Quetzalcoatl, soon raised their state into a position of prominence
among the surrounding cities. Those who had founded Chichen-Itza,
and who were known as Itzaes, were, on the other hand, a caste of
warriors who do not appear to have cherished the priestly function
with such assiduity. The rulers of the Itzaes, who were known as the
Tutul Xius, seem to have come, according to their traditions, from the
western Maya states, perhaps from Nonohualco in Tabasco. Arriving from
thence at the southern extremity of Yucatan, they founded the city
of Ziyan Caan, on Lake Bacalar, which had a period of prosperity for
at least a couple of generations. At the expiry of that period for
some unaccountable reason they migrated northward, perhaps because
at that particular time the incidence of power was shifting toward
Northern Yucatan, and took up their abode in Chichen-Itza, eventually
the sacred city of the Maya, which they founded.
The Cocomes
But they were not destined to remain undisturbed in their new
sphere. The Cocomes of Mayapan, when at the height of their power,
viewed with disfavour the settlement of the Tutul Xius. After it had
flourished for a period of about 120 years it was overthrown by the
Cocomes, who resolved it into a dependency, permitting the governors
and a certain number of the people to depart elsewhere.
Flight of the Tutul Xius
Thus expelled, the Tutul Xius fled southward, whence they had
originally come, and settled in Potonchan or Champoton, where they
reigned for nearly 300 years. From this new centre, with the aid of
Nahua mercenaries, they commenced an extension of territory northward,
and entered into diplomatic relations with the heads of the other
Maya states. It was at this time that they built Uxmal, and their
power became so extensive that they reconquered the territory they had
lost to the Cocomes. This on the whole appears to have been a period
when the arts flourished under an enlightened policy, which knew how
to make and keep friendly relations with surrounding states, and the
splendid network of roads with which the country was covered and the
many evidences of architectural excellence go to prove that the race
had had leisure to achieve much in art and works of utility. Thus
the city of Chichen-Itza was linked up with the island of Cozumel
by a highway whereon thousands of pilgrims plodded to the temples of
the gods of wind and moisture. From Itzamal, too, roads branched in
every direction, in order that the people should have every facility
for reaching the chief shrine of the country situated there. But the
hand of the Cocomes was heavy upon the other Maya states which were
tributary to them. As in the Yucatan of to-day, where the wretched
henequen-picker leads the life of a veritable slave, a crushing system
of helotage obtained. The Cocomes made heavy demands upon the Tutul
Xius, who in their turn sweated the hapless folk under their sway past
the bounds of human endurance. As in all tottering civilisations, the
feeling of responsibility among the upper classes became dormant, and
they abandoned themselves to the pleasures of life without thought of
the morrow. Morality ceased to be regarded as a virtue, and rottenness
was at the core of Maya life. Discontent quickly spread on every hand.
The Revolution in Mayapan
The sequel was, naturally, revolution. Ground down by the tyranny of
a dissolute oligarchy, the subject states rose in revolt. The Cocomes
surrounded themselves by Nahua mercenaries, who succeeded in beating
off the first wave of revolt, led by the king or regulus of Uxmal,
who was defeated, and whose people in their turn rose against him, a
circumstance which ended in the abandonment of the city of Uxmal. Once
more were the Tutul Xius forced to go on pilgrimage, and this time
they founded the city of Mani, a mere shadow of the splendour of
Uxmal and Chichen.
Hunac Eel
If the aristocracy of the Cocomes was composed of weaklings, its
ruler was made of sterner stuff. Hunac Eel, who exercised royal sway
over this people, and held in subjection the lesser principalities of
Yucatan, was not only a tyrant of harsh and vindictive temperament,
but a statesman of judgment and experience, who courted the assistance
of the neighbouring Nahua, whom he employed in his campaign against the
new assailant of his absolutism, the ruler of Chichen-Itza. Mustering
a mighty host of his vassals, Hunac Eel marched against the devoted
city whose prince had dared to challenge his supremacy, and succeeded
in inflicting a crushing defeat upon its inhabitants. But apparently
the state was permitted to remain under the sovereignty of its
native princes. The revolt, however, merely smouldered, and in the
kingdom of Mayapan itself, the territory of the Cocomes, the fires of
revolution began to blaze. This state of things continued for nearly
a century. Then the crash came. The enemies of the Cocomes effected a
junction. The people of Chichen-Itza joined hands with the Tutul Xius,
who had sought refuge in the central highlands of Yucatan and those
city-states which clustered around the mother-city of Mayapan. A fierce
concerted attack was made, beneath which the power of the Cocomes
crumpled up completely. Not one stone was left standing upon another
by the exasperated allies, who thus avenged the helotage of nearly
300 years. To this event the date 1436 is assigned, but, like most
dates in Maya history, considerable uncertainty must be attached to it.
The Last of the Cocomes
Only a remnant of the Cocomes survived. They had been absent in
Nahua territory, attempting to raise fresh troops for the defence of
Mayapan. These the victors spared, and they finally settled in Zotuta,
in the centre of Yucatan, a region of almost impenetrable forest.
It would not appear that the city of Chichen-Itza, the prince
of which was ever the head and front of the rebellion against the
Cocomes, profited in any way from the fall of the suzerain power. On
the contrary, tradition has it that the town was abandoned by its
inhabitants, and left to crumble into the ruinous state in which the
Spaniards found it on their entrance into the country. The probability
is that its people quitted it because of the repeated attacks made
upon it by the Cocomes, who saw in it the chief obstacle to their
universal sway; and this is supported by tradition, which tells that a
prince of Chichen-Itza, worn out with conflict and internecine strife,
left it to seek the cradle of the Maya race in the land of the setting
sun. Indeed, it is further stated that this prince founded the city
of Peten-Itza, on the lake of Peten, in Guatemala.
The Maya Peoples of Guatemala
When the Maya peoples of Guatemala, the Kiches and the Kakchiquels,
first made their way into that territory, they probably found there
a race of Maya origin of a type more advanced and possessed of more
ancient traditions than themselves. By their connection with this
folk they greatly benefited in the direction of artistic achievement
as well as in the industrial arts. Concerning these people we have
a large body of tradition in the Popol Vuh, a native chronicle, the
contents of which will be fully dealt with in the chapter relating
to the Maya myths and legendary matter. We cannot deal with it as a
veritable historical document, but there is little doubt that a basis
of fact exists behind the tradition it contains. The difference between
the language of these people and that of their brethren in Yucatan was,
as has been said, one of dialect only, and a like slight distinction
is found in their mythology, caused, doubtless, by the incidence of
local conditions, and resulting in part from the difference between a
level and comparatively waterless land and one of a semi-mountainous
character covered with thick forests. We shall note further differences
when we come to examine the art and architecture of the Maya race,
and to compare those of its two most distinctive branches.
The Maya Tulan
It was to the city of Tulan, probably in Tabasco, that the Maya
of Guatemala referred as being the starting-point of all their
migrations. We must not confound this place with the Tollan of the
Mexican traditions. It is possible that the name may in both cases
be derived from a root meaning a place from which a tribe set forth,
a starting-place, but geographical connection there is none. From here
Nima-Kiche, the great Kiche, started on his migration to the mountains,
accompanied by his three brothers. Tulan, says the Popol Vuh, had been
a place of misfortune to man, for he had suffered much from cold and
hunger, and, as at the building of Babel, his speech was so confounded
that the first four Kiches and their wives were unable to comprehend
one another. Of course this is a native myth created to account for the
difference in dialect between the various branches of the Maya folk,
and can scarcely have any foundation in fact, as the change in dialect
would be a very gradual process. The brothers, we are told, divided
the land so that one received the districts of Mames and Pocomams,
another Verapaz, and the third Chiapas, while Nima-Kiche obtained
the country of the Kiches, Kakchiquels, and Tzutuhils. It would be
extremely difficult to say whether or not this tradition rests on any
veritable historical basis. If so, it refers to a period anterior to
the Nahua irruption, for the districts alluded to as occupied by these
tribes were not so divided among them at the coming of the Spaniards.
Doubtful Dynasties
As with the earlier dynasties of Egypt, considerable doubt surrounds
the history of the early Kiche monarchs. Indeed, a period of such
uncertainty occurs that even the number of kings who reigned is
lost in the hopeless confusion of varying estimates. From this chaos
emerge the facts that the Kiche monarchs held the supreme power among
the peoples of Guatemala, that they were the contemporaries of the
rulers of Mexico city, and that they were often elected from among the
princes of the subject states. Acxopil, the successor of Nima-Kiche,
invested his second son with the government of the Kakchiquels, and
placed his youngest son over the Tzutuhils, whilst to his eldest
son he left the throne of the Kiches. Icutemal, his eldest son,
on succeeding his father, gifted the kingdom of Kakchiquel to his
eldest son, displacing his own brother and thus mortally affronting
him. The struggle which ensued lasted for generations, embittered
the relations between these two branches of the Maya in Guatemala,
and undermined their joint strength. Nahua mercenaries were employed
in the struggle on both sides, and these introduced many of the
uglinesses of Nahua life into Maya existence.
The Coming of the Spaniards
This condition of things lasted up to the time of the coming of the
Spaniards. The Kakchiquels dated the commencement of a new chronology
from the episode of the defeat of Cay Hun-Apu by them in 1492. They
may have saved themselves the trouble; for the time was at hand when
the calendars of their race were to be closed, and its records written
in another script by another people. One by one, and chiefly by reason
of their insane policy of allying themselves with the invader against
their own kin, the old kingdoms of Guatemala fell as spoil to the
daring Conquistadores, and their people passed beneath the yoke of
Spain--bondsmen who were to beget countless generations of slaves.
The Riddle of Ancient Maya Writing
What may possibly be the most valuable sources of Maya history
are, alas! sealed to us at present. We allude to the native Maya
manuscripts and inscriptions, the writing of which cannot be deciphered
by present-day scholars. Some of the old Spanish friars who lived in
the times which directly succeeded the settlement of the country by
the white man were able to read and even to write this script, but
unfortunately they regarded it either as an invention of the Father
of Evil or, as it was a native system, as a thing of no value. In
a few generations all knowledge of how to decipher it was totally
lost, and it remains to the modern world almost as a sealed book,
although science has lavished all its wonderful machinery of logic
and deduction upon it, and men of unquestioned ability have dedicated
their lives to the problem of unravelling what must be regarded as
one of the greatest and most mysterious riddles of which mankind ever
attempted the solution.
The romance of the discovery of the key to the Egyptian hieroglyphic
system of writing is well known. For centuries the symbols displayed
upon the temples and monuments of the Nile country were so many
meaningless pictures and signs to the learned folk of Europe, until
the discovery of the Rosetta stone a hundred years ago made their
elucidation possible. This stone bore the same inscription in Greek,
demotic, and hieroglyphics, and so the discovery of the "alphabet" of
the hidden script became a comparatively easy task. But Central America
has no Rosetta stone, nor is it possible that such an aid to research
can ever be found. Indeed, such "keys" as have been discovered or
brought forward by scientists have proved for the most part unavailing.
The Maya Manuscripts
The principal Maya manuscripts which have escaped the ravages of time
are the codices in the libraries of Dresden, Paris, and Madrid. These
are known as the Codex Perezianus, preserved in the Bibliothèque
Nationale at Paris, the Dresden Codex, long regarded as an Aztec
manuscript, and the Troano Codex, so called from one of its owners,
Señor Tro y Ortolano, found at Madrid in 1865. These manuscripts deal
principally with Maya mythology, but as they cannot be deciphered
with any degree of accuracy they do not greatly assist our knowledge
of the subject.
The System of the Writing
The "Tablet of the Cross" gives a good idea of the general appearance
of the writing system of the ancient peoples of Central America. The
style varies somewhat in most of the manuscripts and inscriptions,
but it is generally admitted that all of the systems employed sprang
originally from one common source. The square figures which appear
as a tangle of faces and objects are said to be "calculiform," or
pebble-shaped, a not inappropriate description, and it is known from
ancient Spanish manuscripts that they were read from top to bottom,
and two columns at a time. The Maya tongue, like all native American
languages, was one which, in order to express an idea, gathered a
whole phrase into a single word, and it has been thought that the
several symbols or parts in each square or sketch go to make up such
a compound expression.
The first key (so called) to the hieroglyphs of Central America
was that of Bishop Landa, who about 1575 attempted to set down the
Maya alphabet from native sources. He was highly unpopular with the
natives, whose literary treasures he had almost completely destroyed,
and who in revenge deliberately misled him as to the true significance
of the various symbols.
The first real step toward reading the Maya writing was made in
1876 by Léon de Rosny, a French student of American antiquities, who
succeeded in interpreting the signs which denote the four cardinal
points. As has been the case in so many discoveries of importance,
the significance of these signs was simultaneously discovered by
Professor Cyrus Thomas in America. In two of these four signs was
found the symbol which meant "sun," almost, as de Rosny acknowledged,
as a matter of course. However, the Maya word for "sun" (kin) also
denotes "day," and it was later proved that this sign was also used
with the latter meaning. The discovery of the sign stimulated further
research to a great degree, and from the material now at their disposal
Drs. Förstemann and Schellhas of Berlin were successful in discovering
the sign for the moon and that for the Maya month of twenty days.
Clever Elucidations
In 1887 Dr. Seler discovered the sign for night (akbal), and in 1894
Förstemann unriddled the symbols for "beginning" and "end." These
are two heads, the first of which has the sign akbal, just mentioned,
for an eye. Now akbal means, as well as "night," "the beginning of the
month," and below the face which contains it can be seen footsteps, or
spots which resemble their outline, signifying a forward movement. The
sign in the second head means "seventh," which in Maya also signifies
"the end." From the frequent contrast of these terms there can be
little doubt that their meaning is as stated.
"Union" is denoted by the sting of a rattlesnake, the coils of that
reptile signifying to the Maya the idea of tying together. In contrast
to this sign is the figure next to it, which represents a knife,
and means "division" or "cutting." An important "letter" is the
hand, which often occurs in both manuscripts and inscriptions. It is
drawn sometimes in the act of grasping, with the thumb bent forward,
and sometimes as pointing in a certain direction. The first seems
to denote a tying together or joining, like the rattlesnake symbol,
and the second Förstemann believes to represent a lapse of time. That
it may represent futurity occurs as a more likely conjecture to the
present writer.
The figure denoting the spring equinox was traced because of
its obvious representation of a cloud from which three streams of
water are falling upon the earth. The square at the top represents
heaven. The obsidian knife underneath denotes a division or period
of time cut off, as it were, from other periods of the year. That
the sign means "spring" is verified by its position among the other
signs of the seasons.
The sign for "week" was discovered by reason of its almost constant
accompaniment of the sign for the number thirteen, the number of days
in the Maya sacred week. The symbol of the bird's feather indicates the
plural, and when affixed to certain signs signifies that the object
indicated is multiplied. A bird's feather, when one thinks of it,
is one of the most fitting symbols provided by nature to designate
the plural, if the number of shoots on both sides of the stem are
taken as meaning "many" or "two."
Water is depicted by the figure of a serpent, which reptile typifies
the undulating nature of the element. The sign entitled "the
sacrificial victim" is of deep human interest. The first portion of
the symbol is the death-bird, and the second shows a crouching and
beaten captive, ready to be immolated to one of the terrible Maya
deities whose sanguinary religion demanded human sacrifice. The
drawing which means "the day of the new year," in the month Ceh,
was unriddled by the following means: The sign in the upper left-hand
corner denotes the word "sun" or "day," that in the upper right-hand
corner is the sign for "year." In the lower right-hand corner is the
sign for "division," and in the lower left-hand the sign for the Maya
month Ceh, already known from the native calendars.
From its accompaniment of a figure known to be a deity of the four
cardinal points, whence all American tribes believed the wind to come,
the symbol entitled "wind" has been determined.
Methods of Study
The method employed by those engaged in the elucidation of these
hieroglyphs is typical of modern science. The various signs and symbols
are literally "worn out" by a process of indefatigable examination. For
hours the student sits staring at a symbol, drinking in every detail,
however infinitesimal, until the drawing and all its parts are wholly
and separately photographed upon the tablets of his memory. He then
compares the several portions of the symbol with similar portions in
other signs the value of which is known. From these he may obtain a
clue to the meaning of the whole. Thus proceeding from the known to
the unknown, he advances logically toward a complete elucidation of all
the hieroglyphs depicted in the various manuscripts and inscriptions.
The method by which Dr. Seler discovered the hieroglyphs or
symbols relating to the various gods of the Maya was both simple
and ingenious. He says: "The way in which this was accomplished is
strikingly simple. It amounts essentially to that which in ordinary
life we call 'memory of persons,' and follows almost naturally
from a careful study of the manuscripts. For, by frequently looking
tentatively at the representations, one learns by degrees to recognise
promptly similar and familiar figures of gods by the characteristic
impression they make as a whole or by certain details, and the same
is true of the accompanying hieroglyphs."
The Maya Numeral System
If Bishop Landa was badly hoaxed regarding the alphabet of the Maya,
he was successful in discovering and handing down their numeral system,
which was on a very much higher basis than that of many civilised
peoples, being, for example, more practical and more fully evolved
than that of ancient Rome. This system employed four signs altogether,
the point for unity, a horizontal stroke for the number 5, and two
signs for 20 and 0. Yet from these simple elements the Maya produced a
method of computation which is perhaps as ingenious as anything which
has ever been accomplished in the history of mathematics. In the Maya
arithmetical system, as in ours, it is the position of the sign that
gives it its value. The figures were placed in a vertical line, and
one of them was employed as a decimal multiplier. The lowest figure
of the column had the arithmetical value which it represented. The
figures which appeared in the second, fourth, and each following
place had twenty times the value of the preceding figures, while
figures in the third place had eighteen times the value of those in
the second place. This system admits of computation up to millions,
and is one of the surest signs of Maya culture.
Much controversy has raged round the exact nature of the Maya
hieroglyphs. Were they understood by the Indians themselves as
representing ideas or merely pictures, or did they convey a given sound
to the reader, as does our alphabet? To some extent controversy upon
the point is futile, as those of the Spanish clergy who were able to
learn the writing from the native Maya have confirmed its phonetic
character, so that in reality each symbol must have conveyed a sound
or sounds to the reader, not merely an idea or a picture. Recent
research has amply proved this, so that the full elucidation of the
long and painful puzzle on which so much learning and patience have
been lavished may perhaps be at hand.
Mythology of the Maya
The Maya pantheon, although it bears a strong resemblance to that of
the Nahua, differs from it in so many respects that it is easy to
observe that at one period it must have been absolutely free from
all Nahua influence. We may, then, provisionally accept the theory
that at some relatively distant period the mythologies of the Nahua
and Maya were influenced from one common centre, if they were not
originally identical, but that later the inclusion in the cognate
but divided systems of local deities and the superimposition of the
deities and rites of immigrant peoples had caused such differentiation
as to render somewhat vague the original likeness between them. In
the Mexican mythology we have as a key-note the custom of human
sacrifice. It has often been stated as exhibiting the superior status
in civilisation of the Maya that their religion was free from the
revolting practices which characterised the Nahua faith. This,
however, is totally erroneous. Although the Maya were not nearly
so prone to the practice of human sacrifice as were the Nahua, they
frequently engaged in it, and the pictures which have been drawn of
their bloodless offerings must not lead us to believe that they never
indulged in this rite. It is known, for example, that they sacrificed
maidens to the water-god at the period of the spring florescence,
by casting them into a deep pool, where they were drowned.
Quetzalcoatl among the Maya
One of the most obvious of the mythological relationships between
the Maya and Nahua is exhibited in the Maya cult of the god
Quetzalcoatl. It seems to have been a general belief in Mexico
that Quetzalcoatl was a god foreign to the soil; or at least
relatively aboriginal to his rival Tezcatlipoca, if not to the
Nahua themselves. It is amusing to see it stated by authorities of
the highest standing that his worship was free from bloodshed. But
it does not appear whether the sanguinary rites connected with the
name of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico were undertaken by his priests of
their own accord or at the instigation and pressure of the pontiff of
Huitzilopochtli, under whose jurisdiction they were. The designation by
which Quetzalcoatl was known to the Maya was Kukulcan, which signifies
"Feathered Serpent," and is exactly translated by his Mexican name. In
Guatemala he was called Gucumatz, which word is also identical in
Kiche with his other native appellations. But the Kukulcan of the
Maya appears to be dissimilar from Quetzalcoatl in several of his
attributes. The difference in climate would probably account for most
of these. In Mexico Quetzalcoatl, as we have seen, was not only the
Man of the Sun, but the original wind-god of the country. The Kukulcan
of the Maya has more the attributes of a thunder-god. In the tropical
climate of Yucatan and Guatemala the sun at midday appears to draw the
clouds around it in serpentine shapes. From these emanate thunder and
lightning and the fertilising rain, so that Kukulcan would appear to
have appealed to the Maya more as a god of the sky who wielded the
thunderbolts than a god of the atmosphere proper like Quetzalcoatl,
though several of the stelæ in Yucatan represent Kukulcan as he is
portrayed in Mexico, with wind issuing from his mouth.
An Alphabet of Gods
The principal sources of our knowledge of the Maya deities are the
Dresden, Madrid, and Paris codices alluded to previously, all of
which contain many pictorial representations of the various members
of the Maya pantheon. Of the very names of some of these gods we are
so ignorant, and so difficult is the process of affixing to them the
traditional names which are left to us as those of the Maya gods,
that Dr. Paul Schellhas, a German student of Maya antiquities, has
proposed that the figures of deities appearing in the Maya codices
or manuscripts should be provisionally indicated by the letters of
the alphabet. The figures of gods which thus occur are fifteen in
number, and therefore take the letters of the alphabet from A to P,
the letter J being omitted.
Difficulties of Comparison
Unluckily the accounts of Spanish authors concerning Maya mythology
do not agree with the representations of the gods delineated in
the codices. That the three codices have a mythology in common is
certain. Again, great difficulty is found in comparing the deities of
the codices with those represented by the carved and stucco bas-reliefs
of the Maya region. It will thus be seen that very considerable
difficulties beset the student in this mythological sphere. So few data
have yet been collected regarding the Maya mythology that to dogmatise
upon any subject connected with it would indeed be rash. But much
has been accomplished in the past few decades, and evidence is slowly
but surely accumulating from which sound conclusions can be drawn.
The Conflict between Light and Darkness
We witness in the Maya mythology a dualism almost as complete as that
of ancient Persia--the conflict between light and darkness. Opposing
each other we behold on the one hand the deities of the sun, the
gods of warmth and light, of civilisation and the joy of life,
and on the other the deities of darksome death, of night, gloom,
and fear. From these primal conceptions of light and darkness all
the mythologic forms of the Maya are evolved. When we catch the first
recorded glimpses of Maya belief we recognise that at the period when
it came under the purview of Europeans the gods of darkness were in
the ascendant and a deep pessimism had spread over Maya thought and
theology. Its joyful side was subordinated to the worship of gloomy
beings, the deities of death and hell, and if the cult of light
was attended with such touching fidelity it was because the benign
agencies who were worshipped in connection with it had promised not
to desert mankind altogether, but to return at some future indefinite
period and resume their sway of radiance and peace.
The Calendar
Like that of the Nahua, the Maya mythology was based almost entirely
upon the calendar, which in its astronomic significance and duration
was identical with that of the Mexicans. The ritual year of twenty
"weeks" of thirteen days each was divided into four quarters, each
of these being under the auspices of a different quarter of the
heavens. Each "week" was under the supervision of a particular deity,
as will be seen when we come to deal separately with the various gods.
Traditional Knowledge of the Gods
The heavenly bodies had important representation in the Maya
pantheon. In Yucatan the sun-god was known as Kinich-ahau (Lord of
the Face of the Sun). He was identified with the Fire-bird, or Arara,
and was thus called Kinich-Kakmo (Fire-bird; lit. Sun-bird). He was
also the presiding genius of the north.
Itzamna, one of the most important of the Maya deities, was a
moon-god, the father of gods and men. In him was typified the
decay and recurrence of life in nature. His name was derived from
the words he was supposed to have given to men regarding himself:
"Itz en caan, itz en muyal" ("I am the dew of the heaven, I am the
dew of the clouds"). He was tutelar deity of the west.
Chac, the rain-god, is the possessor of an elongated nose, not unlike
the proboscis of a tapir, which of course is the spout whence comes the
rain which he blows over the earth. He is one of the best represented
gods on both manuscripts and monuments, and presides over the east. The
black god Ekchuah was the god of merchants and cacao-planters. He is
represented in the manuscripts several times.
Ix ch'el was the goddess of medicine, and Ix chebel yax was identified
by the priest Hernandez with the Virgin Mary. There were also several
deities, or rather genii, called Bacabs, who were the upholders
of the heavens in the four quarters of the sky. The names of these
were Kan, Muluc, Ix, and Cauac, representing the east, north, west,
and south. Their symbolic colours were yellow, white, black, and red
respectively. They corresponded in some degree to the four variants of
the Mexican rain-god Tlaloc, for many of the American races believed
that rain, the fertiliser of the soil, emanated from the four points of
the compass. We shall find still other deities when we come to discuss
the Popol Vuh, the saga-book of the Kiche, but it is difficult to say
how far these were connected with the deities of the Maya of Yucatan,
concerning whom we have little traditional knowledge, and it is better
to deal with them separately, pointing out resemblances where these
appear to exist.
Maya Polytheism
On the whole the Maya do not seem to have been burdened with an
extensive pantheon, as were the Nahua, and their polytheism appears
to have been of a limited character. Although they possessed a number
of divinities, these were in a great measure only different forms of
one and the same divine power--probably localised forms of it. The
various Maya tribes worshipped similar gods under different names. They
recognised divine unity in the god Hunabku, who was invisible and
supreme, but he does not bulk largely in their mythology, any more than
does the universal All-Father in other early faiths. The sun is the
great deity in Maya religion, and the myths which tell of the origin
of the Maya people are purely solar. As the sun comes from the east,
so the hero-gods who bring with them culture and enlightenment have
an oriental origin. As Votan, as Kabil, the "Red Hand" who initiates
the people into the arts of writing and architecture, these gods are
civilising men of the sun as surely as is Quetzalcoatl.
The Bat-God
A sinister figure, the prince of the Maya legions of darkness, is
the bat-god, Zotzilaha Chimalman, who dwelt in the "House of Bats,"
a gruesome cavern on the way to the abodes of darkness and death. He
is undoubtedly a relic of cave-worship pure and simple. "The Maya,"
says an old chronicler, "have an immoderate fear of death, and they
seem to have given it a figure peculiarly repulsive." We shall find
this deity alluded to in the Popol Vuh, under the name Camazotz,
in close proximity to the Lords of Death and Hell, attempting to
bar the journey of the hero-gods across these dreary realms. He
is frequently met with on the Copan reliefs, and a Maya clan, the
Ah-zotzils, were called by his name. They were of Kakchiquel origin,
and he was probably their totem.
Modern Research
We must now turn to the question of what modern research has done to
elucidate the character of the various Maya deities. We have already
seen that they have been provisionally named by the letters of the
alphabet until such proof is forthcoming as will identify them with
the traditional gods of the Maya, and we will now briefly examine
what is known concerning them under their temporary designations.
God A
In the Dresden and other codices god A is represented as a figure
with exposed vertebræ and skull-like countenance, with the marks of
corruption on his body, and displaying every sign of mortality. On
his head he wears a snail-symbol, the Aztec sign of birth, perhaps to
typify the connection between birth and death. He also wears a pair of
cross-bones. The hieroglyph which accompanies his figure represents a
corpse's head with closed eyes, a skull, and a sacrificial knife. His
symbol is that for the calendar day Cimi, which means death. He
presides over the west, the home of the dead, the region toward
which they invariably depart with the setting sun. That he is a
death-god there can be no doubt, but of his name we are ignorant. He
is probably identical with the Aztec god of death and hell, Mictlan,
and is perhaps one of those Lords of Death and Hell who invite the
heroes to the celebrated game of ball in the Kiche Popol Vuh, and
hold them prisoners in their gloomy realm.
God B is the deity who appears most frequently in the manuscripts. He
has a long, truncated nose, like that of a tapir, and we find in
him every sign of a god of the elements. He walks the waters, wields
fiery torches, and seats himself on the cruciform tree of the four
winds which appears so frequently in American myth. He is evidently a
culture-god or hero, as he is seen planting maize, carrying tools, and
going on a journey, a fact which establishes his solar connection. He
is, in fact, Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, and on examining him we feel
that at least there can be no doubt concerning his identity.
Concerning god C matter is lacking, but he is evidently a god of the
pole-star, as in one of the codices he is surrounded by planetary
signs and wears a nimbus of rays.
God D is almost certainly a moon-god. He is represented as an aged
man, with sunken cheeks and wrinkled forehead on which hangs the
sign for night. His hieroglyph is surrounded by dots, to represent a
starry sky, and is followed by the number 20, to show the duration
of the moon. Like most moon deities he is connected with birth,
for occasionally he wears the snail, symbol of parturition, on his
head. It is probable that he is Itzamna, one of the greatest of Maya
gods, who was regarded as the universal life-giver, and was probably
of very ancient origin.
The Maize-God
God E is another deity whom we have no difficulty in identifying. He
wears the leafed ear of maize as his head-dress. In fact, his head has
been evolved out of the conventional drawings of the ear of maize, so
we may say at once without any difficulty that he is a maize-god pure
and simple, and a parallel with the Aztec maize-god Centeotl. Brinton
calls this god Ghanan, and Schellhas thinks he may be identical with
a deity Yum Kaax, whose name means "Lord of the Harvest Fields."
A close resemblance can be noticed between gods F and A, and it is
thought that the latter resembles the Aztec Xipe, the god of human
sacrifice. He is adorned with the same black lines running over the
face and body, typifying gaping death-wounds.
The Sun-God
In G we may be sure that we have found a sun-god par excellence. His
hieroglyph is the sun-sign, kin. But we must be careful not to
confound him with deities like Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. He is, like
the Mexican Totec, the sun itself, and not the Man of the Sun, the
civilising agent, who leaves his bright abode to dwell with man and
introduce him to the arts of cultured existence. He is the luminary
himself, whose only acceptable food is human blood, and who must be
fed full with this terrible fare or perish, dragging the world of men
with him into a fathomless abyss of gloom. We need not be surprised,
therefore, to see god G occasionally wearing the symbols of death.
God H would seem to have some relationship to the serpent, but what
it may be is obscure, and no certain identification can be made.
I is a water-goddess, an old woman with wrinkled brown body and
claw-like feet, wearing on her head a grisly snake twisted into
a knot, to typify the serpent-like nature of water. She holds in
her hands an earthenware pot from which water flows. We cannot say
that she resembles the Mexican water-goddess, Chalchihuitlicue,
wife of Tlaloc, who was in most respects a deity of a beneficent
character. I seems a personification of water in its more dreadful
aspect of floods and water-spouts, as it must inevitably have appeared
to the people of the more torrid regions of Central America, and that
she was regarded as an agent of death is shown from her occasionally
wearing the cross-bones of the death-god.
"The God with the Ornamented Nose"
God K is scientifically known as "the god with the ornamented nose,"
and is probably closely related to god B. Concerning him no two
authorities are at one, some regarding him as a storm-god, whose
proboscis, like that of Kukulcan, is intended to represent the blast of
the tempest. But we observe certain stellar signs in connection with
K which would go to prove that he is, indeed, one of the Quetzalcoatl
group. His features are constantly to be met with on the gateways and
corners of the ruined shrines of Central America, and have led many
"antiquarians" to believe in the existence of an elephant-headed god,
whereas his trunk-like snout is merely a funnel through which he
emitted the gales over which he had dominion, as a careful study of
the pinturas shows, the wind being depicted issuing from the snout
in question. At the same time, the snout may have been modelled on
that of the tapir. "If the rain-god Chac is distinguished in the Maya
manuscript by a peculiarly long nose curving over the mouth, and if
in the other forms of the rain-god, to which, as it seems, the name
of Balon Zacab belongs, the nose widens out and sends out shoots,
I believe that the tapir which was employed identically with Chac,
the Maya rain-god, furnished the model," says Dr. Seler. Is K, then,
the same as Chac? Chac bears every sign of affinity with the Mexican
rain-god Tlaloc, whose face was evolved from the coils of two snakes,
and also some resemblance to the snouted features of B and K. But,
again, the Mexican pictures of Quetzalcoatl are not at all like
those of Tlaloc, so that there can be no affinity between Tlaloc and
K. Therefore if the Mexican Tlaloc and the Maya Chac be identical,
and Tlaloc differs from Quetzalcoatl, who in turn is identical with
B and K, it is clear that Chac has nothing to do with K.
The Old Black God
God L Dr. Schellhas has designated "the Old Black God," from the
circumstance that he is depicted as an old man with sunken face
and toothless gums, the upper, or sometimes the lower, part of his
features being covered with black paint. He is represented in the
Dresden MS. only. Professor Cyrus Thomas, of New York, thinks that
he is the god Ekchuah, who is traditionally described as black, but
Schellhas fits this designation to god M. The more probable theory
is that of Förstemann, who sees in L the god Votan, who is identical
with the Aztec earth-god, Tepeyollotl. Both deities have similar face
markings, and their dark hue is perhaps symbolical of the subterranean
places where they were supposed to dwell.
The Travellers' God
God M is a veritable black god, with reddish lips. On his head he
bears a roped package resembling the loads carried by the Maya porter
class, and he is found in violent opposition with F, the enemy of
all who wander into the unknown wastes. A god of this description
has been handed down by tradition under the name of Ekchuah, and his
blackness is probably symbolical of the black or deeply bronzed skin
of the porter class among the natives of Central America, who are
constantly exposed to the sun. He would appear to be a parallel to
the Aztec Yacatecutli, god of travelling merchants or chapmen.
The God of Unlucky Days
God N is identified by Schellhas with the demon Uayayab, who presided
over the five unlucky days which it will be recollected came at
the end of the Mexican and Maya year. He was known to the Maya as
"He by whom the year is poisoned." After modelling his image in clay
they carried it out of their villages, so that his baneful influence
might not dwell therein.
Goddess O is represented as an old woman engaged in the avocation
of spinning, and is probably a goddess of the domestic virtues,
the tutelar of married females.
The Frog-God
God P is shown with the body and fins of a frog on a blue background,
evidently intended to represent water. Like all other frog-gods
he is, of course, a deity of water, probably in its agricultural
significance. We find him sowing seed and making furrows, and
when we remember the important part played by frog deities in the
agriculture of Anahuac we should have no difficulty in classing him
with these. Seler asserts his identity with Kukulcan, but no reason
except the circumstance of his being a rain-god can be advanced to
establish the identity. He wears the year-sign on his head, probably
with a seasonal reference.
Maya Architecture
It was in the wonderful architectural system which it developed
without outside aid that the Maya people most individually expressed
itself. As has been said, those buildings which still remain, and
which have excited the admiration of generations of archæologists, are
principally confined to examples of ecclesiastical and governmental
architecture, the dwellings of the common people consisting merely
of the flimsiest of wattle-and-daub structures, which would fall to
pieces shortly after they were abandoned.
Buried in dense forests or mouldering on the sun-exposed plains
of Yucatan, Honduras, and Guatemala, the cities which boasted these
edifices are for the most part situated away from modern trade routes,
and are not a little difficult to come at. It is in Yucatan, the old
home of the Cocomes and Tutul Xius, that the most perfect specimens
of Maya architecture are to be found, especially as regards its later
development, and here, too, it may be witnessed in its decadent phase.
Methods of Building
The Maya buildings were almost always erected upon a mound or ku,
either natural or artificial, generally the latter. In this we discover
affinities with the Mexican teocalli type. Often these kus stood alone,
without any superincumbent building save a small altar to prove their
relation to the temple type of Anahuac. The typical Maya temple was
built on a series of earth terraces arranged in exact parallel order,
the buildings themselves forming the sides of a square. The mounds
are generally concealed by plaster or faced with stone, the variety
employed being usually a hard sandstone, of which the Maya had a good
supply in the quarries of Chiapas and Honduras. Moderate in weight,
the difficulty of transport was easily overcome, whilst large blocks
could be readily quarried. It will thus be seen that the Maya had
no substantial difficulties to surmount in connection with building
the large edifices and temples they raised, except, perhaps, the
lack of metal tools to shape and carve and quarry the stone which
they used. And although they exhibit considerable ingenuity in such
architectural methods as they employed, they were still surprisingly
ignorant of some of the first essentials and principles of the art.
No Knowledge of the Arch
For example, they were totally ignorant of the principles upon which
the arch is constructed. This difficulty they overcame by making
each course of masonry overhang the one beneath it, after the method
employed by a boy with a box of bricks, who finds that he can only
make "doorways" by this means, or by the simple expedient--also
employed by the Maya--of placing a slab horizontally upon two
upright pillars. In consequence it will readily be seen that the
superimposition of a second story upon such an insecure foundation
was scarcely to be thought of, and that such support for the roof as
towered above the doorway would necessarily require to be of the most
substantial description. Indeed, this portion of the building often
appears to be more than half the size of the rest of the edifice. This
space gave the Maya builders a splendid chance for mural decoration,
and it must be said they readily seized it and made the most of it,
ornamental façades being perhaps the most typical features in the
relics of Maya architecture.
Pyramidal Structures
But the Maya possessed another type of building which permitted of
their raising more than one story. This was the pyramidal type, of
which many examples remain. The first story was built in the usual
manner, and the second was raised by increasing the height of the
mound at the back of the building until it was upon a level with the
roof--another device well known to the boy with the box of bricks. In
the centre of the space thus made another story could be erected,
which was entered by a staircase outside the building. Hampered by
their inability to build to any appreciable height, the Maya architects
made up for the deficiency by constructing edifices of considerable
length and breadth, the squat appearance of which is counterbalanced
by the beautiful mural decoration of the sides and façade.
Definiteness of Design
He would be a merely superficial observer who would form the conclusion
that these specimens of an architecture spontaneously evolved were
put together without survey, design, or previous calculation. That
as much thought entered into their construction as is lavished upon
his work by a modern architect is proved by the manner in which the
carved stones fit into one another. It would be absurd to suppose
that these tremendous façades bristling with scores of intricate
designs could have been first placed in position and subsequently
laden with the bas-reliefs they exhibit. It is plain that they were
previously worked apart and separately from one entire design. Thus
we see that the highest capabilities of the architect were essential
in a measure to the erection of these imposing structures.
Architectural Districts
Although the mason-craft of the Maya peoples was essentially similar
in all the regions populated by its various tribes and offshoots,
there existed in the several localities occupied by them certain
differences in construction and ornamentation which would almost
justify us in dividing them into separate architectural spheres. In
Chiapas, for example, we find the bas-relief predominant, whether
in stone or stucco. In Honduras we find a stiffness of design which
implies an older type of architecture, along with caryatides and
memorial pillars of human shape. In Guatemala, again, we find traces
of the employment of wood. As the civilisation of the Maya cannot
be well comprehended without some knowledge of their architecture,
and as that art was unquestionably their national forte and the thing
which most sharply distinguished them from the semi-savage peoples
that surrounded them, it will be well to consider it for a space as
regards its better-known individual examples.
Fascination of the Subject
He would indeed be dull of imagination and of spirit who could enter
into the consideration of such a subject as this without experiencing
some thrill from the mystery which surrounds it. Although familiarised
with the study of the Maya antiquities by reason of many years of
close acquaintance with it, the author cannot approach the theme
without a feeling of the most intense awe. We are considering the
memorials of a race isolated for countless thousands of years from
the rest of humanity--a race which by itself evolved a civilisation
in every respect capable of comparison with those of ancient Egypt or
Assyria. In these impenetrable forests and sun-baked plains mighty
works were raised which tell of a culture of a lofty type. We are
aware that the people who reared them entered into religious and
perhaps philosophical considerations their interpretations of which
place them upon a level with the most enlightened races of antiquity;
but we have only stepped upon the margin of Maya history. What dread
secrets, what scenes of orgic splendour have those carven walls
witnessed? What solemn priestly conclave, what magnificence of rite,
what marvels of initiation, have these forest temples known? These
things we shall never learn. They are hidden from us in a gloom as
palpable as that of the tree-encircled depths in which we find these
shattered works of a once powerful hierarchy.
Mysterious Palenque
One of the most famous of these ancient centres of priestly domination
is Palenque, situated in the modern state of Chiapas. This city
was first brought into notice by Don José Calderon in 1774, when he
discovered no less than eighteen palaces, twenty great buildings, and
a hundred and sixty houses, which proves that in his day the primeval
forest had not made such inroads upon the remaining buildings as it
has during the past few generations. There is good evidence besides
this that Palenque was standing at the time of Cortés' conquest of
Yucatan. And here it will be well at once to dispel any conception the
reader may have formed concerning the vast antiquity of these cities
and the structures they contain. The very oldest of them cannot be of
a date anterior to the thirteenth century, and few Americanists of
repute would admit such an antiquity for them. There may be remains
of a fragmentary nature here and there in Central America which
are relatively more ancient. But no temple or edifice which remains
standing can claim a greater antiquity.
Palenque is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and nestles on the
lowest slopes of the Cordilleras. Standing on the central pyramid,
the eye is met by a ring of ruined palaces and temples raised upon
artificial terraces. Of these the principal and most imposing is the
Palace, a pile reared upon a single platform, forming an irregular
quadrilateral, with a double gallery on the east, north, and west
sides, surrounding an inner structure with a similar gallery and
two courtyards. It is evident that there was little system or plan
observed in the construction of this edifice, an unusual circumstance
in Maya architecture. The dwelling apartments were situated on the
southern side of the structure, and here there is absolute confusion,
for buildings of all sorts and sizes jostle each other, and are reared
on different levels.
Our interest is perhaps at first excited by three subterraneous
apartments down a flight of gloomy steps. Here are to be found three
great stone tables, the edges of which are fretted with sculptured
symbols. That these were altars admits of little doubt, although
some visitors have not hesitated to call them dining-tables! These
constitute only one of the many puzzles in this building of 228 feet
frontage, with a depth of 180 feet, which at the same time is only
about 25 feet high!
On the north side of the Palace pyramid the façade of the Palace has
crumbled into complete ruin, but some evidences of an entrance are
still noticeable. There were probably fourteen doorways in all in the
frontage, with a width of about 9 feet each, the piers of which were
covered with figures in bas-relief. The inside of the galleries is
also covered at intervals with similar designs, or medallions, many
of which are probably representations of priests or priestesses who
once dwelt within the classic shades and practised strange rites in
the worship of gods long since forgotten. One of these is of a woman
with delicate features and high-bred countenance, and the frame or rim
surrounding it is decorated in a manner recalling the Louis XV style.
The east gallery is 114 feet long, the north 185 feet, and the west 102
feet, so that, as remarked above, a lack of symmetry is apparent. The
great court is reached by a Mayan arch which leads on to a staircase,
on each side of which grotesque human figures of the Maya type are
sculptured. Whom they are intended to portray or what rite they are
engaged in it would indeed be difficult to say. That they are priests
may be hazarded, for they appear to be dressed in the ecclesiastical
maxtli (girdle), and one seems to be decorated with the beads seen
in the pictures of the death-god. Moreover, they are mitred.
The courtyard is exceedingly irregular in shape. To the south side
is a small building which has assisted our knowledge of Maya mural
decoration; especially valuable is the handsome frieze with which
it is adorned, on which we observe the rather familiar feathered
serpent (Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl). Everywhere we notice the flat
Maya head--a racial type, perhaps brought about by deformation of the
cranium in youth. One of the most important parts of the Palace from
an architectural point of view is the east front of the inner wing,
which is perhaps the best preserved, and exhibits the most luxurious
ornamentation. Two roofed galleries supported by six pillars covered
with bas-reliefs are reached by a staircase on which hieroglyphic
signs still remain. The reliefs in cement are still faintly to be
discerned on the pillars, and must have been of great beauty. They
represent mythological characters in various attitudes. Above, seven
enormous heads frown on the explorer in grim menace. The effect of the
entire façade is rich in the extreme, even in ruin, and from it we can
obtain a faint idea of the splendours of this wonderful civilisation.
An Architectural Curiosity
One of the few towers to be seen among the ruins of Maya architecture
stands at Palenque. It is square in shape and three stories in height,
with sloping roof, and is not unlike the belfry of some little English
village church.
The building we have been describing, although traditionally known
as a "palace," was undoubtedly a great monastery or ecclesiastical
habitation. Indeed, the entire city of Palenque was solely a
priestly centre, a place of pilgrimage. The bas-reliefs with their
representations of priests and acolytes prove this, as does the
absence of warlike or monarchical subjects.
The Temple of Inscriptions
The Temple of Inscriptions, perched on an eminence some 40 feet
high, is the largest edifice in Palenque. It has a façade 74 feet
long by 25 feet deep, composed of a great gallery which runs along
the entire front of the fane. The building has been named from the
inscriptions with which certain flagstones in the central apartment
are covered. Three other temples occupy a piece of rising ground
close by. These are the Temple of the Sun, closely akin in type to
many Japanese temple buildings; the Temple of the Cross, in which
a wonderful altar-piece was discovered; and the Temple of the Cross
No. II. In the Temple of the Cross the inscribed altar gave its name
to the building. In the central slab is a cross of the American
pattern, its roots springing from the hideous head of the goddess
Chicomecohuatl, the Earth-mother, or her Maya equivalent. Its branches
stretch to where on the right and left stand two figures, evidently
those of a priest and acolyte, performing some mysterious rite. On
the apex of the tree is placed the sacred turkey, or "Emerald Fowl,"
to which offerings of maize paste are made. The whole is surrounded
by inscriptions. (See illustration facing p. 160.)
Aké and Itzamal
Thirty miles east of Merida lies Aké, the colossal and primeval
ruins of which speak of early Maya occupation. Here are pyramids,
tennis-courts, and gigantic pillars which once supported immense
galleries, all in a state of advanced ruin. Chief among these is the
great pyramid and gallery, a mighty staircase rising toward lofty
pillars, and somewhat reminiscent of Stonehenge. For what purpose it
was constructed is quite unknown.
The House of Darkness
One ruin, tradition calls "The House of Darkness." Here no light
enters save that which filters in by the open doorway. The vaulted roof
is lost in a lofty gloom. So truly have the huge blocks of which the
building is composed been laid that not even a needle could be inserted
between them. The whole is coated with a hard plaster or cement.
The Palace of Owls
The Knuc (Palace of Owls), where a beautiful frieze of diamond-shaped
stones intermingling with spheres may be observed, is noteworthy. All
here is undoubtedly of the first Yucatec era, the time when the Maya
first overran the country.
At Itzamal the chief object of interest is the great pyramid of
Kinich-Kakmo (The Sun's Face with Fiery Rays), the base of which
covers an area of nearly 650 square feet. To this shrine thousands
were wont to come in times of panic or famine, and from the summit,
where was housed the glittering idol, the smoke of sacrifice ascended
to the cloudless sky, whilst a multitude of white-robed priests and
augurs chanted and prophesied. To the south of this mighty pile stand
the ruins of the Ppapp-Hol-Chac (The House of Heads and Lightnings),
the abode of the chief priest.
Itzamna's Fane
At Itzamal, too, stood one of the chief temples of the great god
Itzamna, the legendary founder of the Maya Empire. Standing on a
lofty pyramid, four roads radiated from it, leading to Tabasco,
Guatemala, and Chiapas; and here they brought the halt, the maimed,
and the blind, aye, even the dead, for succour and resurrection,
such faith had they in the mighty power of Kab-ul (The Miraculous
Hand), as they designated the deity. The fourth road ran to the
sacred isle of Cozumel, where first the men of Spain found the Maya
cross, and supposed it to prove that St. Thomas had discovered the
American continent in early times, and had converted the natives to
a Christianity which had become debased.
Bearded Gods
To the west arose another pyramid, on the summit of which was built the
palace of Hunpictok (The Commander-in-chief of Eight Thousand Flints),
in allusion, probably, to the god of lightning, Hurakan, whose gigantic
face, once dominating the basement wall, has now disappeared. This face
possessed huge mustachios, appendages unknown to the Maya race; and,
indeed, we are struck with the frequency with which Mexican and Mayan
gods and heroes are adorned with beards and other hirsute ornaments
both on the monuments and in the manuscripts. Was the original
governing class a bearded race? It is scarcely probable. Whence,
then, the ever-recurring beard and moustache? These may have been
developed in the priestly class by constant ceremonial shaving,
which often produces a thin beard in the Mongolians--as witness the
modern Japanese, who in imitating a custom of the West often succeed
in producing quite respectable beards.
A Colossal Head
Not far away is to be found a gigantic head, probably that of the
god Itzamna. It is 13 feet in height, and the features were formed
by first roughly tracing them in rubble, and afterwards coating the
whole with plaster. The figure is surrounded by spirals, symbols of
wind or speech. On the opposite side of the pyramid alluded to above
is found a wonderful bas-relief representing a tiger couchant, with
a human head of the Maya type, probably depicting one of the early
ancestors of the Maya, Balam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile),
of whom we read in the Popol Vuh.
Chichen-Itza
At Chichen-Itza, in Yucatan, the chief wonder is the gigantic
pyramid-temple known as El Castillo. It is reached by a steep flight
of steps, and from it the vast ruins of Chichen radiate in a circular
manner. To the east is the market-place, to the north a mighty
temple, and a tennis-court, perhaps the best example of its kind in
Yucatan, whilst to the west stand the Nunnery and the Chichan-Chob,
or prison. Concerning Chichen-Itza Cogolludo tells the following story:
"A king of Chichen called Canek fell desperately in love with a young
princess, who, whether she did not return his affection or whether she
was compelled to obey a parental mandate, married a more powerful
Yucatec cacique. The discarded lover, unable to bear his loss,
and moved by love and despair, armed his dependents and suddenly
fell upon his successful rival. Then the gaiety of the feast was
exchanged for the din of war, and amidst the confusion the Chichen
prince disappeared, carrying off the beautiful bride. But conscious
that his power was less than his rival's, and fearing his vengeance,
he fled the country with most of his vassals." It is a historical
fact that the inhabitants of Chichen abandoned their city, but whether
for the reason given in this story or not cannot be discovered.
The Nunnery
The Nunnery at Chichen is a building of great beauty of outline and
decoration, the frieze above the doorway and the fretted ornamentation
of the upper story exciting the admiration of most writers on the
subject. Here dwelt the sacred women, the chief of whom, like their
male prototypes, were dedicated to Kukulcan and regarded with much
reverence. The base of the building is occupied by eight large figures,
and over the door is the representation of a priest with a panache,
whilst a row of gigantic heads crowns the north façade. Here, too, are
figures of the wind-god, with projecting lips, which many generations
of antiquarians took for heads of elephants with waving trunks! The
entire building is one of the gems of Central American architecture,
and delights the eye of archæologist and artist alike. In El Castillo
are found wonderful bas-reliefs depicting bearded men, evidently the
priests of Quetzalcoatl, himself bearded, and to the practised eye
one of these would appear to be wearing a false hirsute appendage, as
kings were wont to do in ancient Egypt. Were these beards artificial
and symbolical?
The "Writing in the Dark"
The Akab-sib (Writing in the Dark) is a bas-relief found on the lintel
of an inner door at the extremity of the building. It represents a
figure seated before a vase, with outstretched forefinger, and whence
it got its traditional appellation it would be hard to say, unless
the person represented is supposed to be in the act of writing. The
figure is surrounded by inscriptions. At Chichen were found a statue of
Tlaloc, the god of rain or moisture, and immense torsos representing
Kukulcan. There also was a terrible well into which men were cast in
time of drought as a propitiation to the rain-god.
Kabah
At Kabah there is a marvellous frontage which strikingly recalls
that of a North American Indian totem-house in its fantastic wealth
of detail. The ruins are scattered over a large area, and must all
have been at one time painted in brilliant colours. Here two horses'
heads in stone were unearthed, showing that the natives had copied
faithfully the steeds of the conquering Spaniards. Nothing is known of
the history of Kabah, but its neighbour, Uxmal, fifteen miles distant,
is much more famous.
Uxmal
The imposing pile of the Casa del Gobernador (Governor's Palace, so
called) at Uxmal is perhaps the best known and described of all the
aboriginal buildings of Central America. It occupies three successive
colossal terraces, and its frieze runs in a line of 325 feet, and
is divided into panels, each of which frames a gigantic head of
priest or deity. The striking thing concerning this edifice is that
although it has been abandoned for over three hundred years it is
still almost as fresh architecturally as when it left the builder's
hands. Here and there a lintel has fallen, or stones have been removed
in a spirit of vandalism to assist in the erection of a neighbouring
hacienda, but on the whole we possess in it the most unspoiled piece
of Yucatec building in existence. On the side of the palace where
stands the main entrance, directly over the gateway, is the most
wonderful fretwork and ornamentation, carried out in high relief,
above which soar three eagles in hewn stone, surmounted by a plumed
human head. In the plinth are three heads, which in type recall the
Roman, surrounded by inscriptions. A clear proof of the comparative
lateness of the period in which Uxmal was built is found in the
circumstance that all the lintels over the doorways are of wood,
of which much still exists in a good state of preservation. Many of
the joists of the roofs were also of timber, and were fitted into
the stonework by means of specially carved ends.
The Dwarf's House
There is also a nunnery which forcibly recalls that at Chichen, and is
quite as elaborate and flamboyant in its architectural design. But the
real mystery at Uxmal is the Casa del Adivino (The Prophet's House),
also locally known as "The Dwarf's House." It consists of two portions,
one of which is on the summit of an artificial pyramid, whilst the
other, a small but beautifully finished chapel, is situated lower down
facing the town. The loftier building is reached by an exceedingly
steep staircase, and bears every evidence of having been used as a
sanctuary, for here were discovered cacao and copal, recently burnt,
by Cogolludo as late as 1656, which is good evidence that the Yucatecs
did not all at once abandon their ancient faith at the promptings of
the Spanish fathers.
The Legend of the Dwarf
In his Travels in Yucatan Stephens has a legend relating to this house
which may well be given in his own words: "An old woman," he says,
"lived alone in her hut, rarely leaving her chimney-corner. She was
much distressed at having no children, and in her grief one day took an
egg, wrapped it up carefully in cotton cloth, and put it in a corner of
her hut. She looked every day in great anxiety, but no change in the
egg was observable. One morning, however, she found the shell broken,
and a lovely tiny creature was stretching out its arms to her. The
old woman was in raptures. She took it to her heart, gave it a nurse,
and was so careful of it that at the end of a year the baby walked
and talked as well as a grown-up man. But he stopped growing. The good
old woman in her joy and delight exclaimed that the baby should be a
great chief. One day she told him to go to the king's palace and engage
him in a trial of strength. The dwarf begged hard not to be sent on
such an enterprise. But the old woman insisted on his going, and he
was obliged to obey. When ushered into the presence of the sovereign
he threw down his gauntlet. The latter smiled, and asked him to lift
a stone of three arobes (75 lb.). The child returned crying to his
mother, who sent him back, saying, 'If the king can lift the stone, you
can lift it too.' The king did take it up, but so did the dwarf. His
strength was tried in many other ways, but all the king did was as
easily done by the dwarf. Wroth at being outdone by so puny a creature,
the prince told the dwarf that unless he built a palace loftier than
any in the city he should die. The affrighted dwarf returned to the
old woman, who bade him not to despair, and the next morning they
both awoke in the palace which is still standing. The king saw the
palace with amazement. He instantly sent for the dwarf, and desired
him to collect two bundles of cogoiol (a kind of hard wood), with
one of which he would strike the dwarf on the head, and consent to be
struck in return by his tiny adversary. The latter again returned to
his mother moaning and lamenting. But the old woman cheered him up,
and, placing a tortilla on his head, sent him back to the king. The
trial took place in the presence of all the state grandees. The king
broke the whole of his bundle on the dwarf's head without hurting him
in the least, seeing which he wished to save his own head from the
impending ordeal; but his word had been passed before his assembled
court, and he could not well refuse. The dwarf struck, and at the
second blow the king's skull was broken to pieces. The spectators
immediately proclaimed the victorious dwarf their sovereign. After
this the old woman disappeared. But in the village of Mani, fifty
miles distant, is a deep well leading to a subterraneous passage which
extends as far as Merida. In this passage is an old woman sitting
on the bank of a river shaded by a great tree, having a serpent by
her side. She sells water in small quantities, accepting no money,
for she must have human beings, innocent babies, which are devoured
by the serpent. This old woman is the dwarf's mother."
The interpretation of this myth is by no means difficult. The old
woman is undoubtedly the rain-goddess, the dwarf the Man of the Sun
who emerges from the cosmic egg. In Yucatan dwarfs were sacred to the
sun-god, and were occasionally sacrificed to him, for reasons which
appear obscure.
The Mound of Sacrifice
Another building at Uxmal the associations of which render it of more
than passing interest is the Pyramid of Sacrifice, an edifice built
on the plan of the Mexican teocalli. Indeed, it is probably of Aztec
origin, and may even have been erected by the mercenaries who during
the fifteenth century swarmed from Mexico into Yucatan and Guatemala
to take service with the rival chieftains who carried on civil war
in those states. Beside this is another mound which was crowned
by a very beautiful temple, now in an advanced state of ruin. The
"Pigeon House" is an ornate pile with pinnacles pierced by large
openings which probably served as dovecotes. The entire architecture
of Uxmal displays a type more primitive than that met elsewhere in
Yucatan. There is documentary evidence to prove that so late as 1673
the Indians still worshipped in the ruins of Uxmal, where they burnt
copal, and performed "other detestable sacrifices." So that even a
hundred and fifty years of Spanish rule had not sufficed to wean the
natives from the worship of the older gods to whom their fathers had
for generations bowed down. This would also seem conclusive evidence
that the ruins of Uxmal at least were the work of the existing race.
The Phantom City
In his Travels in Central America Stephens recounts a fascinating
story told him by a priest of Santa Cruz del Quiche, to the effect
that four days' journey from that place a great Indian city was to be
seen, densely populated, and preserving the ancient civilisation of
the natives. He had, indeed, beheld it from the summit of a cliff,
shining in glorious whiteness many leagues away. This was perhaps
Lorillard City, discovered by Suarez, and afterwards by Charnay. In
general type Lorillard closely resembles Palenque. Here was found a
wonderfully executed stone idol, which Charnay thought represented a
different racial type from that seen in the other Central American
cities. The chief finds of interest in this ancient city were the
intricate bas-reliefs, one over the central door of a temple, probably
a symbolic representation of Quetzalcoatl, who holds the rain-cross,
in both hands, and is seen vis-à-vis with an acolyte, also holding the
symbol, though it is possible that the individual represented may have
been the high-priest of Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. Another bas-relief
represents a priest sacrificing to Kukulcan by passing a rope of
maguey fibre over his tongue for the purpose of drawing blood--an
instance of the substitution in sacrifice of the part for the whole.
The Horse-God
At Peten-Itza, Cortés left his horse, which had fallen sick, to the
care of the Indians. The animal died under their mismanagement and
because of the food offered it, and the terrified natives, fancying
it a divine being, raised an image of it, and called it Izimin Chac
(Thunder and Lightning), because they had seen its rider discharge a
firearm, and they imagined that the flash and the report had proceeded
from the creature. The sight of the idol aroused such wrath in the
zealous bosom of a certain Spanish monk that he broke it with a
huge stone--and, but for the interference of the cacique, would have
suffered death for his temerity. Peten was a city "filled with idols,"
as was Tayasal, close at hand, where in the seventeenth century no
less than nine new temples were built, which goes to prove that the
native religion was by no means extinct. One of these new temples,
according to Villagutierre, had a Spanish balcony of hewn stone! In
the Temple of the Sun at Tikal, an adjoining city, is a wonderful
altar panel, representing an unknown deity, and here also are many of
those marvellously carved idols of which Stephens gives such capital
illustrations in his fascinating book.
Copan
Copan, one of the most interesting of these wondrous city-centres,
the name of which has, indeed, become almost a household word, is in
the same district as the towns just described, and abounds chiefly in
monolithic images. It yielded after a desperate struggle to Hernandez
de Chaves, one of Alvarado's lieutenants, in 1530. The monolithic
images so abundantly represented here are evolved from the stelæ and
the bas-relief, and are not statues in the proper sense of the term,
as they are not completely cut away from the stone background out
of which they were carved. An altar found at Copan exhibits real
skill in sculpture, the head-dresses, ornaments, and expressions of
the eight figures carved on its sides being elaborate in the extreme
and exceedingly lifelike. Here again we notice a fresh racial type,
which goes to prove that one race alone cannot have been responsible
for these marvellous ruined cities and all that they contain and
signify. We have to imagine a shifting of races and a fluctuation
of peoples in Central America such as we know took place in Europe
and Asia before we can rightly understand the ethnological problems
of the civilised sphere of the New World, and any theory which does
not take due account of such conditions is doomed to failure.
Mitla
We now come to the last of these stupendous remnants of a vanished
civilisation--Mitla, by no means the least of the works of civilised
man in Central America. At the period of the conquest the city
occupied a wide area, but at the present time only six palaces and
three ruined pyramids are left standing. The great palace is a vast
edifice in the shape of the letter T, and measures 130 feet in its
greater dimension, with an apartment of a like size. Six monolithic
columns which supported the roof still stand in gigantic isolation,
but the roof itself has long fallen in. A dark passage leads to the
inner court, and the walls of this are covered with mosaic work
in panels which recalls somewhat the pattern known as the "Greek
fret." The lintels over the doorways are of huge blocks of stone
nearly eighteen feet long. Of this building Viollet-le-Duc says:
"The monuments of Greece and Rome in their best time can alone compare
with the splendour of this great edifice."
A Place of Sepulture
The ruins at Mitla bear no resemblance to those of Mexico or Yucatan,
either as regards architecture or ornamentation, for whereas the
Yucatec buildings possess overlapping walls, the palaces of Mitla
consist of perpendicular walls intended to support flat roofs. Of
these structures the second and fourth palaces alone are in such a
state of preservation as to permit of general description. The second
palace shows by its sculptured lintel and two inner columns that the
same arrangement was observed in its construction as in the great
palace just described. The fourth palace has on its southern façade
oblong panels and interesting caryatides or pillars in the shape of
human figures. These palaces consisted of four upper apartments,
finely sculptured, and a like number of rooms on the lower story,
which was occupied by the high-priest, and to which the king came
to mourn on the demise of a relative. Here, too, the priests were
entombed, and in an adjoining room the idols were kept. Into a huge
underground chamber the bodies of eminent warriors and sacrificial
victims were cast. Attempts have been made to identify Mitla with
Mictlan, the Mexican Hades, and there is every reason to suppose
that the identification is correct. It must be borne in mind that
Mictlan was as much a place of the dead as a place of punishment,
as was the Greek Hades, and therefore might reasonably signify a
place of sepulture, such as Mitla undoubtedly was. The following
passages from the old historians of Mitla, Torquemada and Burgoa,
throw much light on this aspect of the city, and besides are full of
the most intense interest and curious information, so that they may
be given in extenso. But before passing on to them we should for a
moment glance at Seler's suggestion that the American race imagined
that their ancestors had originally issued from the underworld through
certain caverns into the light of day, and that this was the reason
why Mitla was not only a burial-place but a sanctuary.
An Old Description of Mitla
Of Mitla Father Torquemada writes:
"When some monks of my order, the Franciscan, passed, preaching
and shriving, through the province of Zapoteca, whose capital city
is Tehuantepec, they came to a village which was called Mictlan,
that is, Underworld [Hell]. Besides mentioning the large number
of people in the village they told of buildings which were prouder
and more magnificent than any which they had hitherto seen in New
Spain. Among them was a temple of the evil spirit and living-rooms
for his demoniacal servants, and among other fine things there was
a hall with ornamented panels, which were constructed of stone in a
variety of arabesques and other very remarkable designs. There were
doorways there, each one of which was built of but three stones,
two upright at the sides and one across them, in such a manner that,
although these doorways were very high and broad, the stones sufficed
for their entire construction. They were so thick and broad that we
were assured there were few like them. There was another hall in these
buildings, or rectangular temples, which was erected entirely on round
stone pillars, very high and very thick, so thick that two grown men
could scarcely encircle them with their arms, nor could one of them
reach the finger-tips of the other. These pillars were all in one
piece, and, it was said, the whole shaft of a pillar measured 5 ells
from top to bottom, and they were very much like those of the Church
of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, very skilfully made and polished."
Father Burgoa gives a more exact description. He says:
"The Palace of the Living and of the Dead was built for the use
of this person [the high-priest of the Zapotecs].... They built
this magnificent house or pantheon in the shape of a rectangle, with
portions rising above the earth and portions built down into the earth,
the latter in the hole or cavity which was found below the surface
of the earth, and ingeniously made the chambers of equal size by the
manner of joining them, leaving a spacious court in the middle; and in
order to secure four equal chambers they accomplished what barbarian
heathen (as they were) could only achieve by the powers and skill
of an architect. It is not known in what stone-pit they quarried the
pillars, which are so thick that two men can scarcely encircle them
with their arms. These are, to be sure, mere shafts without capital
or pedestal, but they are wonderfully regular and smooth, and they
are about 5 ells high and in one piece. These served to support the
roof, which consists of stone slabs instead of beams. The slabs are
about 2 ells long, 1 ell broad, and half an ell thick, extending from
pillar to pillar. The pillars stand in a row, one behind the other,
in order to receive the weight. The stone slabs are so regular and so
exactly fitted that, without any mortar or cement, at the joints they
resemble mortised beams. The four rooms, which are very spacious,
are arranged in exactly the same way and covered with the same
kind of roofing. But in the construction of the walls the greatest
architects of the earth have been surpassed, as I have not found this
kind of architecture described either among the Egyptians or among
the Greeks, for they begin at the base with a narrow outline and,
as the structure rises in height, spread out in wide copings at the
top, so that the upper part exceeds the base in breadth and looks
as if it would fall over. The inner side of the walls consists of a
mortar or stucco of such hardness that no one knows with what kind of
liquid it could have been mixed. The outside is of such extraordinary
workmanship that on a masonry wall about an ell in height there are
placed stone slabs with a projecting edge, which form the support
for an endless number of small white stones, the smallest of which
are a sixth of an ell long, half as broad, and a quarter as thick,
and which are as smooth and regular as if they had all come from one
mould. They had so many of these stones that, setting them in, one
beside the other, they formed with them a large number of different
beautiful geometric designs, each an ell broad and running the whole
length of the wall, each varying in pattern up to the crowning piece,
which was the finest of all. And what has always seemed inexplicable
to the greatest architects is the adjustment of these little stones
without a single handful of mortar, and the fact that without tools,
with nothing but hard stones and sand, they could achieve such solid
work that, though the whole structure is very old and no one knows
who made it, it has been preserved until the present day.
Human Sacrifice at Mitla
"I carefully examined these monuments some thirty years ago in the
chambers above ground, which are constructed of the same size and in
the same way as those below ground, and, though single pieces were in
ruins because some stones had become loosened, there was still much
to admire. The doorways were very large, the sides of each being of
single stones of the same thickness as the wall, and the lintel was
made out of another stone which held the two lower ones together at
the top. There were four chambers above ground and four below. The
latter were arranged according to their purpose in such a way that
one front chamber served as chapel and sanctuary for the idols,
which were placed on a great stone which served as an altar. And
for the more important feasts which they celebrated with sacrifices,
or at the burial of a king or great lord, the high-priest instructed
the lesser priests or the subordinate temple officials who served
him to prepare the chapel and his vestments and a large quantity of
the incense used by them. And then he descended with a great retinue,
while none of the common people saw him or dared to look in his face,
convinced that if they did so they would fall dead to the earth as a
punishment for their boldness. And when he entered the chapel they put
on him a long white cotton garment made like an alb, and over that a
garment shaped like a dalmatic, which was embroidered with pictures
of wild beasts and birds; and they put a cap on his head, and on his
feet a kind of shoe woven of many coloured feathers. And when he had
put on these garments he walked with solemn mien and measured step to
the altar, bowed low before the idols, renewed the incense, and then in
quite unintelligible murmurs he began to converse with these images,
these depositories of infernal spirits, and continued in this sort
of prayer with hideous grimaces and writhings, uttering inarticulate
sounds, which filled all present with fear and terror, till he came
out of that diabolical trance and told those standing around the lies
and fabrications which the spirit had imparted to him or which he had
invented himself. When human beings were sacrificed the ceremonies were
multiplied, and the assistants of the high-priest stretched the victim
out upon a large stone, baring his breast, which they tore open with
a great stone knife, while the body writhed in fearful convulsions,
and they laid the heart bare, ripping it out, and with it the soul,
which the devil took, while they carried the heart to the high-priest
that he might offer it to the idols by holding it to their mouths,
among other ceremonies; and the body was thrown into the burial-place
of their 'blessed,' as they called them. And if after the sacrifice
he felt inclined to detain those who begged any favour he sent them
word by the subordinate priests not to leave their houses till their
gods were appeased, and he commanded them to do penance meanwhile,
to fast and to speak with no woman, so that, until this father of sin
had interceded for the absolution of the penitents and had declared
the gods appeased, they did not dare to cross their thresholds.
"The second (underground) chamber was the burial-place of these
high-priests, the third that of the kings of Theozapotlan, whom they
brought hither richly dressed in their best attire, feathers, jewels,
golden necklaces, and precious stones, placing a shield in the left
hand and a javelin in the right, just as they used them in war. And
at their burial rites great mourning prevailed; the instruments which
were played made mournful sounds; and with loud wailing and continuous
sobbing they chanted the life and exploits of their lord until they
laid him on the structure which they had prepared for this purpose.
Living Sacrifices
"The last (underground) chamber had a second door at the rear, which
led to a dark and gruesome room. This was closed with a stone slab,
which occupied the whole entrance. Through this door they threw the
bodies of the victims and of the great lords and chieftains who had
fallen in battle, and they brought them from the spot where they fell,
even when it was very far off, to this burial-place; and so great was
the barbarous infatuation of those Indians that, in the belief of the
happy life which awaited them, many who were oppressed by diseases
or hardships begged this infamous priest to accept them as living
sacrifices and allow them to enter through that portal and roam about
in the dark interior of the mountain, to seek the feasting-places of
their forefathers. And when any one obtained this favour the servants
of the high-priest led him thither with special ceremonies, and after
they allowed him to enter through the small door they rolled the
stone before it again and took leave of him, and the unhappy man,
wandering in that abyss of darkness, died of hunger and thirst,
beginning already in life the pain of his damnation, and on account
of this horrible abyss they called this village Liyobaa.
The Cavern of Death
"When later there fell upon these people the light of the Gospel,
its servants took much trouble to instruct them, and to find out
whether this error, common to all these nations, still prevailed;
and they learned from the stories which had been handed down that
all were convinced that this damp cavern extended more than thirty
leagues underground, and that its roof was supported by pillars. And
there were people, zealous prelates anxious for knowledge, who, in
order to convince these ignorant people of their error, went into this
cave accompanied by a large number of people bearing lighted torches
and firebrands, and descended several large steps. And they soon came
upon many great buttresses which formed a kind of street. They had
prudently brought a quantity of rope with them to use as guiding-lines,
that they might not lose themselves in this confusing labyrinth. And
the putrefaction and the bad odour and the dampness of the earth
were very great, and there was also a cold wind which blew out
their torches. And after they had gone a short distance, fearing
to be overpowered by the stench, or to step on poisonous reptiles,
of which some had been seen, they resolved to go out again, and to
completely wall up this back door of hell. The four buildings above
ground were the only ones which still remained open, and they had
a court and chambers like those underground; and the ruins of these
have lasted even to the present day.
Palace of the High-Priest
"One of the rooms above ground was the palace of the high-priest,
where he sat and slept, for the apartment offered room and opportunity
for everything. The throne was like a high cushion, with a high back
to lean against, all of tiger-skin, stuffed entirely with delicate
feathers, or with fine grass which was used for this purpose. The other
seats were smaller, even when the king came to visit him. The authority
of this devilish priest was so great that there was no one who dared
to cross the court, and to avoid this the other three chambers had
doors in the rear, through which even the kings entered. For this
purpose they had alleys and passage-ways on the outside above and
below, by which people could enter and go out when they came to see
the high-priest....
"The second chamber above ground was that of the priests and the
assistants of the high-priest. The third was that of the king when
he came. The fourth was that of the other chieftains and captains,
and though the space was small for so great a number, and for so
many different families, yet they accommodated themselves to each
other out of respect for the place, and avoided dissensions and
factions. Furthermore, there was no other administration of justice
in this place than that of the high-priest, to whose unlimited power
all bowed.
Furniture of the Temples
"All the rooms were clean, and well furnished with mats. It was not
the custom to sleep on bedsteads, however great a lord might be. They
used very tastefully braided mats, which were spread on the floor,
and soft skins of animals and delicate fabrics for coverings. Their
food consisted usually of animals killed in the hunt--deer, rabbits,
armadillos, &c., and also birds, which they killed with snares
or arrows. The bread, made of their maize, was white and well
kneaded. Their drinks were always cold, made of ground chocolate,
which was mixed with water and pounded maize. Other drinks were
made of pulpy and of crushed fruits, which were then mixed with the
intoxicating drink prepared from the agave; for since the common people
were forbidden the use of intoxicating drinks, there was always an
abundance of these on hand."
CHAPTER V: MYTHS OF THE MAYA
Mythology of the Maya
Our knowledge of the mythology of the Maya is by no means so full and
comprehensive as in the case of Mexican mythology. Traditions are
few and obscure, and the hieroglyphic matter is closed to us. But
one great mine of Maya-Kiche mythology exists which furnishes us
with much information regarding Kiche cosmogony and pseudo-history,
with here and there an interesting allusion to the various deities
of the Kiche pantheon. This is the Popol Vuh, a volume in which a
little real history is mingled with much mythology. It was composed
in the form in which we now possess it by a Christianised native
of Guatemala in the seventeenth century, and copied in Kiche, in
which it was originally written, by one Francisco Ximenes, a monk,
who also added to it a Spanish translation.
The Lost "Popol Vuh"
For generations antiquarians interested in this wonderful compilation
were aware that it existed somewhere in Guatemala, and many were the
regrets expressed regarding their inability to unearth it. A certain
Don Felix Cabrera had made use of it early in the nineteenth century,
but the whereabouts of the copy he had seen could not be discovered. A
Dr. C. Scherzer, of Austria, resolved, if possible, to discover it, and
paid a visit to Guatemala in 1854 for that purpose. After a diligent
search he succeeded in finding the lost manuscript in the University
of San Carlos in the city of Guatemala. Ximenes, the copyist, had
placed it in the library of the convent of Chichicastenango, whence
it passed to the San Carlos library in 1830.
Genuine Character of the Work
Much doubt has been cast upon the genuine character of the Popol Vuh,
principally by persons who were almost if not entirely ignorant of the
problems of pre-Columbian history in America. Its genuine character,
however, is by no means difficult to prove. It has been stated that
it is a mere réchauffé of the known facts of Maya history coloured by
Biblical knowledge, a native version of the Christian Bible. But such
a theory will not stand when it is shown that the matter it contains
squares with the accepted facts of Mexican mythology, upon which the
Popol Vuh throws considerable light. Moreover, the entire work bears
the stamp of being a purely native compilation, and has a flavour of
great antiquity. Our knowledge of the general principles of mythology,
too, prepares us for the unqualified acceptance of the material of the
Popol Vuh, for we find there the stories and tales, the conceptions
and ideas connected with early religion which are the property of no
one people, but of all peoples and races in an early social state.
Likeness to other Pseudo-Histories
We find in this interesting book a likeness to many other works of
early times. The Popol Vuh is, indeed, of the same genre and class
as the Heimskringla of Snorre, the history of Saxo Grammaticus,
the Chinese history in the Five Books, the Japanese Nihongi, and
many other similar compilations. But it surpasses all these in pure
interest because it is the only native American work that has come
down to us from pre-Columbian times.
The name "Popol Vuh" means "The Collection of Written Leaves," which
proves that the book must have contained traditional matter reduced
to writing at a very early period. It is, indeed, a compilation of
mythological character, interspersed with pseudo-history, which, as
the account reaches modern times, shades off into pure history and
tells the deeds of authentic personages. The language in which it was
written, the Kiche, was a dialect of the Maya-Kiche tongue spoken at
the time of the conquest in Guatemala, Honduras, and San Salvador,
and still the tongue of the native populations in these districts.
The Creation-Story
The beginning of this interesting book is taken up with the Kiche
story of the creation, and what occurred directly subsequent to that
event. We are told that the god Hurakan, the mighty wind, a deity in
whom we can discern a Kiche equivalent to Tezcatlipoca, passed over the
universe, still wrapped in gloom. He called out "Earth," and the solid
land appeared. Then the chief gods took counsel among themselves as to
what should next be made. These were Hurakan, Gucumatz or Quetzalcoatl,
and Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the mother and father gods. They agreed
that animals should be created. This was accomplished, and they next
turned their attention to the framing of man. They made a number
of mannikins carved out of wood. But these were irreverent and
angered the gods, who resolved to bring about their downfall. Then
Hurakan (The Heart of Heaven) caused the waters to be swollen, and
a mighty flood came upon the mannikins. Also a thick resinous rain
descended upon them. The bird Xecotcovach tore out their eyes, the
bird Camulatz cut off their heads, the bird Cotzbalam devoured their
flesh, the bird Tecumbalam broke their bones and sinews and ground
them into powder. Then all sorts of beings, great and small, abused
the mannikins. The household utensils and domestic animals jeered at
them, and made game of them in their plight. The dogs and hens said:
"Very badly have you treated us and you have bitten us. Now we bite
you in turn." The millstones said: "Very much were we tormented by you,
and daily, daily, night and day, it was squeak, screech, screech, holi,
holi, huqi, huqi, [11] for your sake. Now you shall feel our strength,
and we shall grind your flesh and make meal of your bodies." And
the dogs growled at the unhappy images because they had not been
fed, and tore them with their teeth. The cups and platters said:
"Pain and misery you gave us, smoking our tops and sides, cooking us
over the fire, burning and hurting us as if we had no feeling. Now
it is your turn, and you shall burn." The unfortunate mannikins ran
hither and thither in their despair. They mounted upon the roofs of
the houses, but the houses crumbled beneath their feet; they tried
to climb to the tops of the trees, but the trees hurled them down;
they were even repulsed by the caves, which closed before them. Thus
this ill-starred race was finally destroyed and overthrown, and the
only vestiges of them which remain are certain of their progeny,
the little monkeys which dwell in the woods.
Vukub-Cakix, the Great Macaw
Ere the earth was quite recovered from the wrathful flood which had
descended upon it there lived a being orgulous and full of pride,
called Vukub-Cakix (Seven-times-the-colour-of-fire--the Kiche name
for the great macaw bird). His teeth were of emerald, and other
parts of him shone with the brilliance of gold and silver. In short,
it is evident that he was a sun-and-moon god of prehistoric times. He
boasted dreadfully, and his conduct so irritated the other gods that
they resolved upon his destruction. His two sons, Zipacna and Cabrakan
(Cockspur or Earth-heaper, and Earthquake), were earthquake-gods of
the type of the Jötuns of Scandinavian myth or the Titans of Greek
legend. These also were prideful and arrogant, and to cause their
downfall the gods despatched the heavenly twins Hun-Apu and Xbalanque
to earth, with instructions to chastise the trio.
Vukub-Cakix prided himself upon his possession of the wonderful
nanze-tree, the tapal, bearing a fruit round, yellow, and aromatic,
upon which he breakfasted every morning. One morning he mounted to its
summit, whence he could best espy the choicest fruits, when he was
surprised and infuriated to observe that two strangers had arrived
there before him, and had almost denuded the tree of its produce. On
seeing Vukub, Hun-Apu raised a blow-pipe to his mouth and blew a dart
at the giant. It struck him on the mouth, and he fell from the top of
the tree to the ground. Hun-Apu leapt down upon Vukub and grappled
with him, but the giant in terrible anger seized the god by the arm
and wrenched it from the body. He then returned to his house, where
he was met by his wife, Chimalmat, who inquired for what reason he
roared with pain. In reply he pointed to his mouth, and so full of
anger was he against Hun-Apu that he took the arm he had wrenched
from him and hung it over a blazing fire. He then threw himself down
to bemoan his injuries, consoling himself, however, with the idea
that he had avenged himself upon the disturbers of his peace.
Whilst Vukub-Cakix moaned and howled with the dreadful pain which he
felt in his jaw and teeth (for the dart which had pierced him was
probably poisoned) the arm of Hun-Apu hung over the fire, and was
turned round and round and basted by Vukub's spouse, Chimalmat. The
sun-god rained bitter imprecations upon the interlopers who had
penetrated to his paradise and had caused him such woe, and he gave
vent to dire threats of what would happen if he succeeded in getting
them into his power.
But Hun-Apu and Xbalanque were not minded that Vukub-Cakix should
escape so easily, and the recovery of Hun-Apu's arm must be made at
all hazards. So they went to consult two great and wise magicians,
Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, in whom we see two of the original Kiche creative
deities, who advised them to proceed with them in disguise to the
dwelling of Vukub, if they wished to recover the lost arm. The old
magicians resolved to disguise themselves as doctors, and dressed
Hun-Apu and Xbalanque in other garments to represent their sons.
Shortly they arrived at the mansion of Vukub, and while still some way
off they could hear his groans and cries. Presenting themselves at
the door, they accosted him. They told him that they had heard some
one crying out in pain, and that as famous doctors they considered
it their duty to ask who was suffering.
Vukub appeared quite satisfied, but closely questioned the old wizards
concerning the two young men who accompanied them.
"They are our sons," they replied.
"Good," said Vukub. "Do you think you will be able to cure me?"
"We have no doubt whatever upon that head," answered Xpiyacoc. "You
have sustained very bad injuries to your mouth and eyes."
"The demons who shot me with an arrow from their blow-pipe are the
cause of my sufferings," said Vukub. "If you are able to cure me I
shall reward you richly."
"Your Highness has many bad teeth, which must be removed," said
the wily old magician. "Also the balls of your eyes appear to me to
be diseased."
Vukub appeared highly alarmed, but the magicians speedily reassured
him.
"It is necessary," said Xpiyacoc, "that we remove your teeth, but we
will take care to replace them with grains of maize, which you will
find much more agreeable in every way."
The unsuspicious giant agreed to the operation, and very quickly
Xpiyacoc, with the help of Xmucane, removed his teeth of emerald, and
replaced them by grains of white maize. A change quickly came over
the Titan. His brilliancy speedily vanished, and when they removed
the balls of his eyes he sank into insensibility and died.
All this time the wife of Vukub was turning Hun-Apu's arm over the
fire, but Hun-Apu snatched the limb from above the brazier, and
with the help of the magicians replaced it upon his shoulder. The
discomfiture of Vukub was then complete. The party left his dwelling
feeling that their mission had been accomplished.
The Earth-Giants
But in reality it was only partially accomplished, because Vukub's two
sons, Zipacna and Cabrakan, still remained to be dealt with. Zipacna
was daily employed in heaping up mountains, while Cabrakan, his
brother, shook them in earthquake. The vengeance of Hun-Apu and
Xbalanque was first directed against Zipacna, and they conspired with
a band of young men to bring about his death.
The young men, four hundred in number, pretended to be engaged in
building a house. They cut down a large tree, which they made believe
was to be the roof-tree of their dwelling, and waited in a part of
the forest through which they knew Zipacna must pass. After a while
they could hear the giant crashing through the trees. He came into
sight, and when he saw them standing round the giant tree-trunk,
which they could not lift, he seemed very much amused.
"What have you there, O little ones?" he said laughing.
"Only a tree, your Highness, which we have felled for the roof-tree
of a new house we are building."
"Cannot you carry it?" asked the giant disdainfully.
"No, your Highness," they made answer; "it is much too heavy to be
lifted even by our united efforts."
With a good-natured laugh the Titan stooped and lifted the great
trunk upon his shoulder. Then, bidding them lead the way, he trudged
through the forest, evidently not disconcerted in the least by his
great burden. Now the young men, incited by Hun-Apu and Xbalanque,
had dug a great ditch, which they pretended was to serve for the
foundation of their new house. Into this they requested Zipacna to
descend, and, scenting no mischief, the giant readily complied. On his
reaching the bottom his treacherous acquaintances cast huge trunks
of trees upon him, but on hearing them coming down he quickly took
refuge in a small side tunnel which the youths had constructed to
serve as a cellar beneath their house.
Imagining the giant to be killed, they began at once to express their
delight by singing and dancing, and to lend colour to his stratagem
Zipacna despatched several friendly ants to the surface with strands
of hair, which the young men concluded had been taken from his dead
body. Assured by the seeming proof of his death, the youths proceeded
to build their house upon the tree-trunks which they imagined covered
Zipacna's body, and, producing a quantity of pulque, they began to
make merry over the end of their enemy. For some hours their new
dwelling rang with revelry.
All this time Zipacna, quietly hidden below, was listening to the
hubbub and waiting his chance to revenge himself upon those who had
entrapped him.
Suddenly arising in his giant might, he cast the house and all its
inmates high in the air. The dwelling was utterly demolished, and the
band of youths were hurled with such force into the sky that they
remained there, and in the stars we call the Pleiades we can still
discern them wearily waiting an opportunity to return to earth.
The Undoing of Zipacna
But Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, grieved that their comrades had so perished,
resolved that Zipacna must not be permitted to escape so easily. He,
carrying the mountains by night, sought his food by day on the shore
of the river, where he wandered catching fish and crabs. The brothers
made a large artificial crab, which they placed in a cavern at the
bottom of a ravine. They then cunningly undermined a huge mountain,
and awaited events. Very soon they saw Zipacna wandering along the
side of the river, and asked him where he was going.
"Oh, I am only seeking my daily food," replied the giant.
"And what may that consist of?" asked the brothers.
"Only of fish and crabs," replied Zipacna.
"Oh, there is a crab down yonder," said the crafty brothers, pointing
to the bottom of the ravine. "We espied it as we came along. Truly,
it is a great crab, and will furnish you with a capital breakfast."
"Splendid!" cried Zipacna, with glistening eyes. "I must have it
at once," and with one bound he leapt down to where the cunningly
contrived crab lay in the cavern.
No sooner had he reached it than Hun-Apu and Xbalanque cast the
mountain upon him; but so desperate were his efforts to get free that
the brothers feared he might rid himself of the immense weight of
earth under which he was buried, and to make sure of his fate they
turned him into stone. Thus at the foot of Mount Meahuan, near Vera
Paz, perished the proud Mountain-Maker.
The Discomfiture of Cabrakan
Now only the third of this family of boasters remained, and he was
the most proud of any.
"I am the Overturner of Mountains!" said he.
But Hun-Apu and Xbalanque had made up their minds that not one of
the race of Vukub should be left alive.
At the moment when they were plotting the overthrow of Cabrakan he
was occupied in moving mountains. He seized the mountains by their
bases and, exerting his mighty strength, cast them into the air; and
of the smaller mountains he took no account at all. While he was so
employed he met the brothers, who greeted him cordially.
"Good day, Cabrakan," said they. "What may you be doing?"
"Bah! nothing at all," replied the giant. "Cannot you see that I am
throwing the mountains about, which is my usual occupation? And who
may you be that ask such stupid questions? What are your names?"
"We have no names," replied they. "We are only hunters, and here we
have our blow-pipes, with which we shoot the birds that live in these
mountains. So you see that we do not require names, as we meet no one."
Cabrakan looked at the brothers disdainfully, and was about to
depart when they said to him: "Stay; we should like to behold these
mountain-throwing feats of yours."
This aroused the pride of Cabrakan.
"Well, since you wish it," said he, "I will show you how I can move
a really great mountain. Now, choose the one you would like to see
me destroy, and before you are aware of it I shall have reduced it
to dust."
Hun-Apu looked around him, and espying a great peak pointed toward
it. "Do you think you could overthrow that mountain?" he asked.
"Without the least difficulty," replied Cabrakan, with a great
laugh. "Let us go toward it."
"But first you must eat," said Hun-Apu. "You have had no food since
morning, and so great a feat can hardly be accomplished fasting."
The giant smacked his lips. "You are right," he said, with a hungry
look. Cabrakan was one of those people who are always hungry. "But
what have you to give me?"
"We have nothing with us," said Hun-Apu.
"Umph!" growled Cabrakan, "you are a pretty fellow. You ask me what
I will have to eat, and then tell me you have nothing," and in his
anger he seized one of the smaller mountains and threw it into the sea,
so that the waves splashed up to the sky.
"Come," said Hun-Apu, "don't get angry. We have our blow-pipes with
us, and will shoot a bird for your dinner."
On hearing this Cabrakan grew somewhat quieter.
"Why did you not say so at first?" he growled. "But be quick, because
I am hungry."
Just at that moment a large bird passed overhead, and Hun-Apu and
Xbalanque raised their blow-pipes to their mouths. The darts sped
swiftly upward, and both of them struck the bird, which came tumbling
down through the air, falling at the feet of Cabrakan.
"Wonderful, wonderful!" cried the giant. "You are clever fellows
indeed," and, seizing the dead bird, he was going to eat it raw when
Hun-Apu stopped him.
"Wait a moment," said he. "It will be much nicer when cooked," and,
rubbing two sticks together, he ordered Xbalanque to gather some dry
wood, so that a fire was soon blazing.
The bird was then suspended over the fire, and in a short time a
savoury odour mounted to the nostrils of the giant, who stood watching
the cooking with hungry eyes and watering lips.
Before placing the bird over the fire to cook, however, Hun-Apu had
smeared its feathers with a thick coating of mud. The Indians in
some parts of Central America still do this, so that when the mud
dries with the heat of the fire the feathers will come off with it,
leaving the flesh of the bird quite ready to eat. But Hun-Apu had
done this with a purpose. The mud that he spread on the feathers was
that of a poisoned earth, called tizate, the elements of which sank
deeply into the flesh of the bird.
When the savoury mess was cooked, he handed it to Cabrakan, who
speedily devoured it.
"Now," said Hun-Apu, "let us go toward that great mountain and see
if you can lift it as you boast."
But already Cabrakan began to feel strange pangs.
"What is this?" said he, passing his hand across his brow. "I do not
seem to see the mountain you mean."
"Nonsense," said Hun-Apu. "Yonder it is, see, to the east there."
"My eyes seem dim this morning," replied the giant.
"No, it is not that," said Hun-Apu. "You have boasted that you could
lift this mountain, and now you are afraid to try."
"I tell you," said Cabrakan, "that I have difficulty in seeing. Will
you lead me to the mountain?"
"Certainly," said Hun-Apu, giving him his hand, and with several
strides they were at the foot of the eminence.
"Now," said Hun-Apu, "see what you can do, boaster."
Cabrakan gazed stupidly at the great mass in front of him. His knees
shook together so that the sound was like the beating of a war-drum,
and the sweat poured from his forehead and ran in a little stream
down the side of the mountain.
"Come," cried Hun-Apu derisively, "are you going to lift the mountain
or not?"
"He cannot," sneered Xbalanque. "I knew he could not."
Cabrakan shook himself into a final effort to regain his senses,
but all to no purpose. The poison rushed through his blood, and with
a groan he fell dead before the brothers.
Thus perished the last of the earth-giants of Guatemala, whom Hun-Apu
and Xbalanque had been sent to destroy.
The Second Book
The second book of the Popol Vuh outlines the history of the hero-gods
Hun-Apu and Xbalanque. We are told that Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the
father and mother gods, had two sons, Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu,
the first of whom had by his wife Xbakiyalo two sons, Hunbatz and
Hunchouen. The weakness of the whole family was the native game
of ball, possibly the Mexican-Mayan game of tlachtli, a sort of
hockey. To this pastime the natives of Central America were greatly
addicted, and numerous remains of tlachtli courts are to be found in
the ruined cities of Yucatan and Guatemala. The object of the game was
to "putt" the ball through a small hole in a circular stone or goal,
and the player who succeeded in doing this might demand from the
audience all their clothes and jewels. The game, as we have said,
was exceedingly popular in ancient Central America, and there is
good reason to believe that inter-city matches took place between
the various city-states, and were accompanied by a partisanship and
rivalry as keen as that which finds expression among the crowd at
our principal football matches to-day.
A Challenge from Hades
On one occasion Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu played a game of ball which
in its progress took them into the vicinity of the realm of Xibalba
(the Kiche Hades). The rulers of that drear abode, imagining that they
had a chance of capturing the brothers, extended a challenge to them
to play them at ball, and this challenge Hun-Came and Vukub-Came,
the sovereigns of the Kiche Hell, despatched by four messengers
in the shape of owls. The brothers accepted the challenge, and,
bidding farewell to their mother Xmucane and their respective sons
and nephews, followed the feathered messengers down the long hill
which led to the Underworld.
The Fooling of the Brethren
The American Indian is grave and taciturn. If there is one thing
he fears and dislikes more than another it is ridicule. To his
austere and haughty spirit it appears as something derogatory to his
dignity, a slur upon his manhood. The hero-brothers had not been
long in Xibalba when they discovered that it was the intention of
the Lords of Hades to fool them and subject them to every species
of indignity. After crossing a river of blood, they came to the
palace of the Lords of Xibalba, where they espied two seated figures
in front of them. Thinking that they recognised in them Hun-Came
and Vukub-Came, they saluted them in a becoming manner, only to
discover to their mortification that they were addressing figures of
wood. This incident excited the ribald jeers of the Xibalbans, who
scoffed at the brothers. Next they were invited to sit on the seat
of honour, which they found to their dismay to be a red-hot stone,
a circumstance which caused unbounded amusement to the inhabitants
of the Underworld. Then they were imprisoned in the House of Gloom,
where they were sacrificed and buried. The head of Hunhun-Apu was,
however, suspended from a tree, upon the branches of which grew a crop
of gourds so like the dreadful trophy as to be indistinguishable from
it. The fiat went forth that no one in Xibalba must eat of the fruit
of that tree. But the Lords of Xibalba had reckoned without feminine
curiosity and its unconquerable love of the forbidden.
The Princess Xquiq
One day--if day ever penetrated to that gloomy and unwholesome place--a
princess of Xibalba called Xquiq (Blood), daughter of Cuchumaquiq,
a notability of Xibalba, passed under the tree, and, observing the
desirable fruit with which it was covered, stretched out her hand
to pluck one of the gourds. Into the outstretched palm the head of
Hunhun-Apu spat, and told Xquiq that she would become a mother. Before
she returned home, however, the hero-god assured her that no harm would
come to her, and that she must not be afraid. In a few months' time
the princess's father heard of her adventure, and she was doomed to be
slain, the royal messengers of Xibalba, the owls, receiving commands
to despatch her and to bring back her heart in a vase. But on the way
she overcame the scruples of the owls by splendid promises, and they
substituted for her heart the coagulated sap of the bloodwort plant.
The Birth of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque
Xmucane, left at home, looked after the welfare of the young
Hunbatz and Hunchouen, and thither, at the instigation of the head
of Hunhun-Apu, went Xquiq for protection. At first Xmucane would not
credit her story, but upon Xquiq appealing to the gods a miracle was
performed on her behalf, and she was permitted to gather a basket of
maize where no maize grew to prove the authenticity of her claim. As
a princess of the Underworld, it is not surprising that she should be
connected with such a phenomenon, as it is from deities of that region
that we usually expect the phenomena of growth to proceed. Shortly
afterwards, when she had won the good graces of the aged Xmucane,
her twin sons were born, the Hun-Apu and Xbalanque whom we have
already met as the central figures of the first book.
The Divine Children
But the divine children were both noisy and mischievous. They
tormented their venerable grandmother with their shrill uproar
and tricky behaviour. At last Xmucane, unable to put up with their
habits, turned them out of doors. They took to an outdoor life with
surprising ease, and soon became expert hunters and skilful in the use
of the serbatana (blow-pipe), with which they shot birds and small
animals. They were badly treated by their half-brothers Hunbatz and
Hunchouen, who, jealous of their fame as hunters, annoyed them in every
possible manner. But the divine children retaliated by turning their
tormentors into hideous apes. The sudden change in the appearance of
her grandsons caused Xmucane the most profound grief and dismay, and
she begged that they who had brightened her home with their singing
and flute-playing might not be condemned to such a dreadful fate. She
was informed by the divine brothers that if she could behold their
antics unmoved by mirth her wish would be granted. But the capers
they cut and their grimaces caused her such merriment that on three
separate occasions she was unable to restrain her laughter, and the
men-monkeys took their leave.
The Magic Tools
The childhood of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque was full of such episodes as
might be expected from these beings. We find, for example, that on
attempting to clear a milpa (maize plantation) they employed magic
tools which could be trusted to undertake a good day's work whilst they
were absent at the chase. Returning at night, they smeared soil over
their hands and faces, for the purpose of deluding Xmucane into the
belief that they had been toiling all day in the fields. But the wild
beasts met in conclave during the night, and replaced all the roots
and shrubs which the magic tools had cleared away. The twins recognised
the work of the various animals, and placed a large net on the ground,
so that if the creatures came to the spot on the following night they
might be caught in its folds. They did come, but all made good their
escape save the rat. The rabbit and deer lost their tails, however,
and that is why these animals possess no caudal appendages! The rat,
in gratitude for their sparing its life, told the brothers the history
of their father and uncle, of their heroic efforts against the powers
of Xibalba, and of the existence of a set of clubs and balls with
which they might play tlachtli on the ball-ground at Ninxor-Carchah,
where Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu had played before them.
The Second Challenge
But the watchful Hun-Came and Vukub-Came soon heard that the sons and
nephews of their first victims had adopted the game which had led these
last into the clutches of the cunning Xibalbans, and they resolved to
send a similar challenge to Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, thinking that the
twins were unaware of the fate of Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu. They
therefore despatched messengers to the home of Xmucane with a challenge
to play them at the ball-game, and Xmucane, alarmed by the nature of
the message, sent a louse to warn her grandsons. The louse, unable to
proceed as quickly as he wished, permitted himself to be swallowed by
a toad, the toad by a serpent, and the serpent by the bird Voc, the
messenger of Hurakan. At the end of the journey the other animals duly
liberated each other, but the toad could not rid himself of the louse,
who had in reality hidden himself in the toad's gums, and had not been
swallowed at all. At last the message was delivered, and the twins
returned to the abode of Xmucane, to bid farewell to their grandmother
and mother. Before leaving they each planted a cane in the midst of
the hut, saying that it would wither if any fatal accident befell them.
The Tricksters Tricked
They then proceeded to Xibalba, on the road trodden by Hunhun-Apu
and Vukub-Hunapu, and passed the river of blood as the others
had done. But they adopted the precaution of despatching ahead an
animal called Xan as a sort of spy or scout. They commanded this
animal to prick all the Xibalbans with a hair from Hun-Apu's leg,
in order that they might discover which of them were made of wood,
and incidentally learn the names of the others as they addressed one
another when pricked by the hair. They were thus enabled to ignore the
wooden images on their arrival at Xibalba, and they carefully avoided
the red-hot stone. Nor did the ordeal of the House of Gloom affright
them, and they passed through it scatheless. The inhabitants of the
Underworld were both amazed and furious with disappointment. To add
to their annoyance, they were badly beaten in the game of ball which
followed. The Lords of Hell then requested the twins to bring them four
bouquets of flowers from the royal garden of Xibalba, at the same time
commanding the gardeners to keep good watch over the flowers so that
none of them might be removed. But the brothers called to their aid a
swarm of ants, who succeeded in returning with the flowers. The anger
of the Xibalbans increased to a white fury, and they incarcerated
Hun-Apu and Xbalanque in the House of Lances, a dread abode where
demons armed with sharp spears thrust at them fiercely. But they
bribed the lancers and escaped. The Xibalbans slit the beaks of the
owls who guarded the royal gardens, and howled in fury.
The Houses of the Ordeals
They were next thrust into the House of Cold. Here they escaped
a dreadful death from freezing by warming themselves with burning
pine-cones. Into the House of Tigers and the House of Fire they were
thrown for a night each, but escaped from both. But they were not so
lucky in the House of Bats. As they threaded this place of terror,
Camazotz, Ruler of the Bats, descended upon them with a whirring
of leathern wings, and with one sweep of his sword-like claws cut
off Hun-Apu's head. (See Mictlan, pp. 95, 96.) But a tortoise which
chanced to pass the severed neck of the hero's prostrate body and
came into contact with it was immediately turned into a head, and
Hun-Apu arose from his terrible experience not a whit the worse.
These various houses in which the brothers were forced to pass a
certain time forcibly recall to our minds the several circles of
Dante's Hell. Xibalba was to the Kiche not a place of punishment,
but a dark place of horror and myriad dangers. No wonder the Maya had
what Landa calls "an immoderate fear of death" if they believed that
after it they would be transported to such a dread abode!
With the object of proving their immortal nature to their adversaries,
Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, first arranging for their resurrection with
two sorcerers, Xulu and Pacaw, stretched themselves upon a bier and
died. Their bones were ground to powder and thrown into the river. They
then went through a kind of evolutionary process, appearing on the
fifth day after their deaths as men-fishes and on the sixth as old
men, ragged and tatterdemalion in appearance, killing and restoring
each other to life. At the request of the princes of Xibalba, they
burned the royal palace and restored it to its pristine splendour,
killed and resuscitated the king's dog, and cut a man in pieces,
bringing him to life again. The Lords of Hell were curious about
the sensation of death, and asked to be killed and resuscitated. The
first portion of their request the hero-brothers speedily granted,
but did not deem it necessary to pay any regard to the second.
Throwing off all disguise, the brothers assembled the now thoroughly
cowed princes of Xibalba, and announced their intention of punishing
them for their animosity against themselves, their father and
uncle. They were forbidden to partake in the noble and classic
game of ball--a great indignity in the eyes of Maya of the higher
caste--they were condemned to menial tasks, and they were to have sway
over the beasts of the forest alone. After this their power rapidly
waned. These princes of the Underworld are described as being owl-like,
with faces painted black and white, as symbolical of their duplicity
and faithless disposition.
As some reward for the dreadful indignities they had undergone, the
souls of Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu, the first adventurers into the
darksome region of Xibalba, were translated to the skies, and became
the sun and moon, and with this apotheosis the second book ends.
We can have no difficulty, in the light of comparative mythology,
in seeing in the matter of this book a version of "the harrying of
hell" common to many mythologies. In many primitive faiths a hero or
heroes dares the countless dangers of Hades in order to prove to the
savage mind that the terrors of death can be overcome. In Algonquian
mythology Blue-Jay makes game of the Dead Folk whom his sister Ioi
has married, and Balder passes through the Scandinavian Helheim. The
god must first descend into the abyss and must emerge triumphant if
humble folk are to possess assurance of immortality.
The Reality of Myth
It is from such matter as that found in the second book of the Popol
Vuh that we are enabled to discern how real myth can be on occasion. It
is obvious, as has been pointed out, that the dread of death in the
savage mind may give rise to such a conception of its vanquishment as
appears in the Popol Vuh. But there is reason to suspect that other
elements have also entered into the composition of the myth. It is
well known that an invading race, driving before them the remnants
of a conquered people, are prone to regard these in the course of a
few generations as almost supernatural and as denizens of a sphere
more or less infernal. Their reasons for this are not difficult
of comprehension. To begin with, a difference in ceremonial ritual
gives rise to the belief that the inimical race practises magic. The
enemy is seldom seen, and, if perceived, quickly takes cover or
"vanishes." The majority of aboriginal races were often earth- or
cave-dwellers, like the Picts of Scotland, and such the originals of
the Xibalbans probably were.
The invading Maya-Kiche, encountering such a folk in the cavernous
recesses of the hill-slopes of Guatemala, would naturally refer them
to the Underworld. The cliff-dwellings of Mexico and Colorado exhibit
manifest signs of the existence of such a cave-dwelling race. In
the latter state is the Cliff Palace Cañon, a huge natural recess,
within which a small city was actually built, which still remains in
excellent preservation. In some such semi-subterranean recess, then,
may the city of "Xibalba" have stood.
The Xibalbans
We can see, too, that the Xibalbans were not merely a plutonic
race. Xibalba is not a Hell, a place of punishment for sin, but a
place of the dead, and its inhabitants were scarcely "devils," nor evil
gods. The transcriber of the Popol Vuh says of them: "In the old times
they did not have much power. They were but annoyers and opposers of
men, and, in truth, they were not regarded as gods." The word Xibalba
is derived from a root meaning "to fear," from which comes the name
for a ghost or phantom. Xibalba was thus the "Place of Phantoms."
The Third Book
The opening of the third book finds the gods once more deliberating as
to the creation of man. Four men are evolved as the result of these
deliberations. These beings were moulded from a paste of yellow and
white maize, and were named Balam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile),
Balam-Agab (Tiger of the Night), Mahacutah (The Distinguished Name),
and Iqi-Balam (Tiger of the Moon).
But the god Hurakan who had formed them was not overpleased with his
handiwork, for these beings were too much like the gods themselves. The
gods once more took counsel, and agreed that man must be less perfect
and possess less knowledge than this new race. He must not become
as a god. So Hurakan breathed a cloud over their eyes in order that
they might only see a portion of the earth, whereas before they had
been able to see the whole round sphere of the world. After this the
four men were plunged into a deep sleep, and four women were created,
who were given them as wives. These were Caha-Paluma (Falling Water),
Choima (Beautiful Water), Tzununiha (House of the Water), and Cakixa
(Water of Parrots, or Brilliant Water), who were espoused to the men
in the respective order given above.
These eight persons were the ancestors of the Kiche only, after
which were created the forerunners of the other peoples. At this
time there was no sun, and comparative darkness lay over the face
of the earth. Men knew not the art of worship, but blindly lifted
their eyes to heaven and prayed the Creator to send them quiet lives
and the light of day. But no sun came, and dispeace entered their
hearts. So they journeyed to a place called Tulan-Zuiva (The Seven
Caves)--practically the same as Chicomoztoc in the Aztec myth--and
there gods were vouchsafed to them. The names of these were Tohil,
whom Balam-Quitze received; Avilix, whom Balam-Agab received; and
Hacavitz, granted to Mahacutah. Iqi-Balam received a god, but as he
had no family his worship and knowledge died out.
The Granting of Fire
Grievously did the Kiche feel the want of fire in the sunless world
they inhabited, but this the god Tohil (The Rumbler, the Fire-god)
quickly provided them with. However, a mighty rain descended and
extinguished all the fires in the land. These, however, were always
supplied again by Tohil, who had only to strike his feet together
to produce fire. In this figure there is no difficulty in seeing a
fully developed thunder-god.
The Kiche Babel
Tulan-Zuiva was a place of great misfortune to the Kiche, for here
the race suffered alienation in its different branches by reason of a
confounding of their speech, which recalls the story of Babel. Owing
to this the first four men were no longer able to comprehend each
other, and determined to leave the place of their mischance and to
seek the leadership of the god Tohil into another and more fortunate
sphere. In this journey they met with innumerable hardships. They
had to cross many lofty mountains, and on one occasion had to make
a long détour across the bed of the ocean, the waters of which were
miraculously divided to permit of their passage. At last they arrived
at a mountain which they called Hacavitz, after one of their deities,
and here they remained, for it had been foretold that here they
should see the sun. At last the luminary appeared. Men and beasts
went wild with delight, although his beams were by no means strong,
and he appeared more like a reflection in a mirror than the strong
sun of later days whose fiery beams speedily sucked up the blood of
victims on the altar. As he showed his face the three tribal gods
of the Kiche were turned into stone, as were the gods or totems
connected with the wild animals. Then arose the first Kiche town,
or permanent dwelling-place.
The Last Days of the First Men
Time passed, and the first men of the Kiche race grew old. Visions
came to them, in which they were exhorted by the gods to render human
sacrifices, and in order to obey the divine injunctions they raided the
neighbouring lands, the folk of which made a spirited resistance. But
in a great battle the Kiche were miraculously assisted by a horde of
wasps and hornets, which flew in the faces of their foes, stinging
and blinding them, so that they could not wield weapon nor see to
make any effective resistance. After this battle the surrounding
races became tributary to them.
Death of the First Men
Now the first men felt that their death-day was nigh, and they called
their kin and dependents around them to hear their dying words. In the
grief of their souls they chanted the song "Kamucu," the song "We see,"
that they had sung so joyfully when they had first seen the light
of day. Then they parted from their wives and sons one by one. And
of a sudden they were not, and in their place was a great bundle,
which was never opened. It was called the "Majesty Enveloped." So
died the first men of the Kiche.
In this book it is clear that we have to deal with the problem which
the origin and creation of man presented to the Maya-Kiche mind. The
several myths connected with it bear a close resemblance to those
of other American peoples. In the mythology of the American Indian
it is rare to find an Adam, a single figure set solitary in a world
without companionship of some sort. Man is almost invariably the
child of Mother Earth, and emerges from some cavern or subterranean
country fully grown and fully equipped for the upper earth-life. We
find this type of myth in the mythologies of the Aztecs, Peruvians,
Choctaws, Blackfeet Indians, and those of many other American tribes.
American Migrations
We also find in the story of the Kiche migration a striking similarity
to the migration myths of other American races. But in the Kiche myth
we can trace a definite racial movement from the cold north to the
warm south. The sun is not at first born. There is darkness. When he
does appear he is weak and his beams are dull and watery like those
of the luminary in a northern clime. Again, there are allusions to
the crossing of rivers by means of "shining sand" which covered them,
which might reasonably be held to imply the presence upon them of
ice. In this connection we may quote from an Aztec migration myth
which appears almost a parallel to the Kiche story.
"This is the beginning of the record of the coming of the Mexicans
from the place called Aztlan. It is by means of the water that
they came this way, being four tribes, and in coming they rowed in
boats. They built their huts on piles at the place called the grotto
of Quineveyan. It is there from which the eight tribes issued. The
first tribe is that of the Huexotzincos, the second the Chalcas,
the third the Xochimilcos, the fourth the Cuitlavacas, the fifth the
Mallinalcas, the sixth the Chichimecas, the seventh the Tepanecas,
the eighth the Matlatzincas. It is there where they were founded in
Colhuacan. They were the colonists of it since they landed there,
coming from Aztlan.... It is there that they soon afterwards went
away from, carrying with them their god Vitzillopochtli.... There
the eight tribes opened up our road by water."
The "Wallum Olum," or painted calendar records, of the Leni-Lenape
Indians contain a similar myth. "After the flood," says the story,
"the Lenape with the manly turtle beings dwelt close together at the
cave house and dwelling of Talli.... They saw that the snake-land was
bright and wealthy. Having all agreed, they went over the water of
the frozen sea to possess the land. It was wonderful when they all
went over the smooth deep water of the frozen sea at the gap of the
snake sea in the great ocean."
Do these myths contain any essence of the truth? Do they refer to
an actual migration when the ancestors of certain American tribes
crossed the frozen ocean of the Kamchatka Strait and descended from
the sunless north and the boreal night of these sub-Arctic regions to a
more genial clime? Can such a tradition have been preserved throughout
the countless ages which must have passed between the arrival of
proto-Mongolian man in America and the writing or composition of the
several legends cited? Surely not. But may there not have been later
migrations from the north? May not hordes of folk distantly akin to
the first Americans have swept across the frozen strait, and within
a few generations have made their way into the warmer regions, as we
know the Nahua did? The Scandinavian vikings who reached north-eastern
America in the tenth century found there a race totally distinct from
the Red Man, and more approaching the Esquimaux, whom they designated
Skrellingr, or "Chips," so small and misshapen were they. Such a
description could hardly have been applied to the North American
Indian as we know him. From the legends of the Red race of North
America we may infer that they remained for a number of generations
in the Far West of the North American continent before they migrated
eastward. And a guess might be hazarded to the effect that, arriving
in America somewhere about the dawn of the Christian era, they spread
slowly in a south-easterly direction, arriving in the eastern parts
of North America about the end of the eleventh century, or even a
little later. This would mean that such a legend as that which we have
just perused would only require to have survived a thousand years,
provided the Popol Vuh was first composed about the eleventh century,
as appears probable. But such speculations are somewhat dangerous in
the face of an almost complete lack of evidence, and must be met with
the utmost caution and treated as surmises only.
Cosmogony of the "Popol Vuh"
We have now completed our brief survey of the mythological portion
of the Popol Vuh, and it will be well at this point to make some
inquiries into the origin and nature of the various gods, heroes,
and similar personages who fill its pages. Before doing so, however,
let us glance at the creation-myth which we find detailed in the first
book. We can see by internal evidence that this must be the result of
the fusion of more than one creation-story. We find in the myth that
mention is made of a number of beings each of whom appears to exercise
in some manner the functions of a creator or "moulder." These beings
also appear to have similar attributes. There is evidently here the
reconciliation of early rival faiths. We know that this occurred in
Peruvian cosmogony, which is notoriously composite, and many another
mythology, European and Asiatic, exhibits a like phenomenon. Even in
the creation-story as given in Genesis we can discover the fusion of
two separate accounts from the allusion to the creative power as both
"Jahveh" and "Elohim," the plural ending of the second name proving
the presence of polytheistic as well as monotheistic conceptions.
Antiquity of the "Popol Vuh"
These considerations lead to the assumption that the Popol Vuh is
a mythological collection of very considerable antiquity, as the
fusion of religious beliefs is a comparatively slow process. It is,
of course, in the absence of other data, impossible to fix the date
of its origin, even approximately. We possess only the one version of
this interesting work, so that we are compelled to confine ourselves
to the consideration of that alone, and are without the assistance
which philology would lend us by a comparison of two versions of
different dates.
The Father-Mother Gods
We discover a pair of dual beings concerned in the Kiche
creation. These are Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the Father-Mother
deities, and are obviously Kiche equivalents to the Mexican
Ometecutli-Omeciuatl, whom we have already noticed (pp. 103-4). The
former is the male fructifier, whilst the name of the latter
signifies "Female Vigour." These deities were probably regarded as
hermaphroditic, as numerous North American Indian gods appear to be,
and may be analogous to the "Father Sky" and "Mother Earth" of so
many mythologies.
Gucumatz
We also find Gucumatz concerned in the Kiche scheme of creation. He
was a Maya-Kiche form of the Mexican Quetzalcoatl, or perhaps the
converse was the case. The name signifies, like its Nahua equivalent,
"Serpent with Green Feathers."
Hurakan
Hurakan, the wind-god, "He who hurls below," whose name perhaps
signifies "The One-legged," is probably the same as the Nahua
Tezcatlipoca. It has been suggested that the word "hurricane" has been
evolved from the name of this god, but the derivation seems rather too
fortuitous to be real. Hurakan had the assistance of three sub-gods,
Cakulha-Hurakan (Lightning), Chipi-Cakulha (Lightning-flash), and
Raxa-Cakulha (Track of the Lightning).
Hun-Apu and Xbalanque
Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, the hero-gods, appear to have the attributes of
demi-gods in general. The name Hun-Apu means "Master" or "Magician,"
and Xbalanque "Little Tiger." We find many such figures in American
myth, which is rich in hero-gods.
Vukub-Cakix and his Sons
Vukub-Cakix and his progeny are, of course, earth-giants like the
Titans of Greek mythology or the Jötuns of Scandinavian story. The
removal of the emerald teeth of Vukub-Cakix and their replacement by
grains of maize would seem to be a mythical interpretation or allegory
of the removal of the virgin turf of the earth and its replacement by
maize-seed. Therefore it is possible that Vukub-Cakix is an earth-god,
and not a prehistoric sun-and-moon god, as stated by Dr. Seler. [12]
Metrical Origin of the "Popol Vuh"
There is reason to believe that the Popol Vuh was originally a metrical
composition. This would assist the hypothesis of its antiquity, on
the ground that it was for generations recited before being reduced to
writing. Passages here and there exhibit a decided metrical tendency,
and one undoubtedly applies to a descriptive dance symbolical of
sunrise. It is as follows:
"'Ama x-u ch'ux ri Vuch?'
'Ve,' x-cha ri mama.
Ta chi xaquinic.
Quate ta chi gecumarchic.
Cahmul xaquin ri mama.
'Ca xaquin-Vuch,' ca cha vinak vacamic."
This may be rendered freely:
"'Is the dawn about to be?'
'Yes,' answered the old man.
Then he spread apart his legs.
Again the darkness appeared.
Four times the old man spread his legs.
'Now the opossum spreads his legs,'
Say the people."
It is obvious that many of these lines possess the well-known quality
of savage dance-poetry, which displays itself in a rhythm of one
long foot followed by two short ones. We know that the Kiche were
very fond of ceremonial dances, and of repeating long chants which
they called nugum tzih, or "garlands of words," and the Popol Vuh,
along with other matter, probably contained many of these.
Pseudo-History of the Kiche
The fourth book of the Popol Vuh contains the pseudo-history of
the Kiche kings. It is obviously greatly confused, and it would be
difficult to say how much of it originally belonged to the Popol Vuh
and how much had been added or invented by its latest compiler. One
cannot discriminate between saga and history, or between monarchs
and gods, the real and the fabulous. Interminable conflicts are the
theme of most of the book, and many migrations are recounted.
Queen Móo
Whilst dealing with Maya pseudo-history it will be well to glance
for a moment at the theories of the late Augustus Le Plongeon, who
lived and carried on excavations in Yucatan for many years. Dr. Le
Plongeon was obsessed with the idea that the ancient Maya spread their
civilisation all over the habitable globe, and that they were the
originators of the Egyptian, Palestinian, and Hindu civilisations,
besides many others. He furthermore believed himself to be the true
elucidator of the Maya system of hieroglyphs, which in his estimation
were practically identical with the Egyptian. We will not attempt to
refute his theories, as they are based on ignorance of the laws which
govern philology, anthropology, and mythology. But he possessed a
thorough knowledge of the Maya tongue, and his acquaintance with Maya
customs was extensive and peculiar. One of his ideas was that a certain
hall among the ruins of Chichen-Itza had been built by a Queen Móo,
a Maya princess who after the tragic fate of her brother-husband
and the catastrophe which ended in the sinking of the continent
of Atlantis fled to Egypt, where she founded the ancient Egyptian
civilisation. It would be easy to refute this theory. But the tale as
told by Dr. Le Plongeon possesses a sufficiency of romantic interest
to warrant its being rescued from the little-known volume in which
he published it. [13]
We do not learn from Dr. Le Plongeon's book by what course of
reasoning he came to discover that the name of his heroine was the
rather uneuphonious one of Móo. Probably he arrived at it by the same
process as that by which he discovered that certain Mayan architectural
ornaments were in reality Egyptian letters. But it will be better to
let him tell his story in his own words. It is as follows:
The Funeral Chamber
"As we are about to enter the funeral chamber hallowed by the love of
the sister-wife, Queen Móo, the beauty of the carvings on the zapote
beam that forms the lintel of the doorway calls our attention. Here
is represented the antagonism of the brothers Aac and Coh, that
led to the murder of the latter by the former. Carved on the lintel
are the names of these personages, represented by their totems--a
leopard head for Coh, and a boar head as well as a turtle for Aac,
this word meaning both boar and turtle in Maya. Aac is pictured
within the disk of the sun, his protective deity which he worshipped,
according to mural inscriptions at Uxmal. Full of anger he faces his
brother. In his right hand there is a badge ornamented with feathers
and flowers. The threatening way in which this is held suggests a
concealed weapon.... The face of Coh also expresses anger. With him is
the feathered serpent, emblematic of royalty, thence of the country,
more often represented as a winged serpent protecting Coh. In his left
hand he holds his weapon down, whilst his right hand clasps his badge
of authority, with which he covers his breasts as for protection,
and demanding the respect due to his rank....
"Passing between the figures of armed chieftains sculptured on the
jambs of the doorway, and seeming like sentinels guarding the entrance
of the funeral chamber, we notice one wearing a headdress similar
to the crown of Lower Egypt, which formed part of the pshent of the
Egyptian monarchs.
The Frescoes
"The frescoes in the funeral chamber of Prince Coh's Memorial
Hall, painted in water-colours taken from the vegetable kingdom,
are divided into a series of tableaux separated by blue lines. The
plinths, the angles of the room, and the edges of the ceiling,
being likewise painted blue, indicate that this was intended for a
funeral chamber.... The first scene represents Queen Móo while yet a
child. She is seated on the back of a peccary, or American wild boar,
under the royal umbrella of feathers, emblem of royalty in Mayach, as
it was in India, Chaldea, and other places. She is consulting a h-men,
or wise man; listening with profound attention to the decrees of fate
as revealed by the cracking of the shell of an armadillo exposed
to a slow fire on a brazier, the condensing on it of the vapour,
and the various tints it assumes. This mode of divination is one of
the customs of the Mayas....
The Soothsayers
"In front of the young Queen Móo, and facing her, is seated the
soothsayer, evidently a priest of high rank, judging from the colours,
blue and yellow, of the feathers of his ceremonial mantle. He reads
the decrees of fate on the shell of the armadillo, and the scroll
issuing from his throat says what they are. By him stands the winged
serpent, emblem and protective genius of the Maya Empire. His head
is turned towards the royal banner, which he seems to caress. His
satisfaction is reflected in the mild and pleased expression of
his face. Behind the priest, the position of whose hand is the
same as that of Catholic priests in blessing their congregation,
and the significance of which is well known to occultists, are the
ladies-in-waiting of the young Queen.
The Royal Bride
"In another tableau we again see Queen Móo, no longer a child, but
a comely young woman. She is not seated under the royal umbrella or
banner, but she is once more in the presence of the h-men, whose face
is concealed by a mask representing an owl's head. She, pretty and
coquettish, has many admirers, who vie with each other for the honour
of her hand. In company with one of her wooers she comes to consult
the priest, accompanied by an old lady, her grandmother probably,
and her female attendants. According to custom the old lady is the
spokeswoman. She states to the priest that the young man, he who sits
on a low stool between two female attendants, desires to marry the
Queen. The priest's attendant, seated also on a stool, back of all,
acts as crier, and repeats in a loud voice the speech of the old lady.
Móo's Refusal
"The young Queen refuses the offer. The refusal is indicated by
the direction of the scroll issuing from her mouth. It is turned
backward, instead of forward towards the priest, as would be the
case if she assented to the marriage. The h-men explains that Móo,
being a daughter of the royal family, by law and custom must marry one
of her brothers. The youth listens to the decision with due respect
to the priest, as shown by his arm being placed across his breast,
the left hand resting on the right shoulder. He does not accept
the refusal in a meek spirit, however. His clenched fist, his foot
raised as in the act of stamping, betoken anger and disappointment,
while the attendant behind him expostulates, counselling patience and
resignation, judging by the position and expression of her left-hand
palm upward.
The Rejected Suitor
"In another tableau we see the same individual whose offer of marriage
was rejected by the young Queen in consultation with a nubchi, or
prophet, a priest whose exalted rank is indicated by his headdress,
and the triple breastplate he wears over his mantle of feathers. The
consulter, evidently a person of importance, has come attended by
his hachetail, or confidential friend, who sits behind him on a
cushion. The expression on the face of the said consulter shows that
he does not accept patiently the decrees of fate, although conveyed by
the interpreter in as conciliatory a manner as possible. The adverse
decision of the gods is manifested by the sharp projecting centre
part of the scroll, but it is wrapped in words as persuasive and
consoling, preceded by as smooth a preamble as the rich and beautiful
Maya language permits and makes easy. His friend is addressing the
prophet's assistant. Reflecting the thoughts of his lord, he declares
that the nubchi's fine discourse and his pretended reading of the will
of the gods are all nonsense, and exclaims 'Pshaw!' which contemptuous
exclamation is pictured by the yellow scroll, pointed at both ends,
escaping from his nose like a sneeze. The answer of the priest's
assistant, evidenced by the gravity of his features, the assertive
position of his hand, and the bluntness of his speech, is evidently
'It is so!'
Aac's Fierce Wooing
"Her brother Aac is madly in love with Móo. He is portrayed approaching
the interpreter of the will of the gods, divested of his garments
in token of humility in presence of their majesty and of submission
to their decrees. He comes full of arrogance, arrayed in gorgeous
attire, and with regal pomp. He comes not as a suppliant to ask and
accept counsel, but haughty, he makes bold to dictate. He is angered
at the refusal of the priest to accede to his demand for his sister
Móo's hand, to whose totem, an armadillo on this occasion, he points
imperiously. It was on an armadillo's shell that the fates wrote her
destiny when consulted by the performance of the Pou ceremony. The
yellow flames of wrath darting from all over his person, the sharp
yellow scroll issuing from his mouth, symbolise Aac's feelings. The
pontiff, however, is unmoved by them. In the name of the gods with
serene mien he denies the request of the proud nobleman, as his speech
indicates. The winged serpent, genius of the country, that stands erect
and ireful by Aac, is also wroth at his pretensions, and shows in its
features and by sending its dart through Aac's royal banner a decided
opposition to them, expressed by the ends of his speech being turned
backwards, some of them terminating abruptly, others in sharp points.
Prince Coh
"Prince Coh sits behind the priest as one of his attendants. He
witnesses the scene, hears the calm negative answer, sees the anger
of his brother and rival, smiles at his impotence, is happy at his
discomfiture. Behind him, however, sits a spy who will repeat his
words, report his actions to his enemy. He listens, he watches. The
high-priest himself, Cay, their elder brother, sees the storm that
is brewing behind the dissensions of Coh and Aac. He trembles at the
thought of the misfortunes that will surely befall the dynasty of
the Cans, of the ruin and misery of the country that will certainly
follow. Divested of his priestly raiment, he comes nude and humble
as it is proper for men in the presence of the gods, to ask their
advice how best to avoid the impending calamities. The chief of the
auspices is in the act of reading their decrees on the palpitating
entrails of a fish. The sad expression on his face, that of humble
resignation on that of the pontiff, of deferential astonishment on
that of the assistant, speak of the inevitable misfortunes which are
to come in the near future.
"We pass over interesting battle scenes ... in which the defenders have
been defeated by the Mayas. Coh will return to his queen loaded with
spoils that he will lay at her feet with his glory, which is also hers.
The Murder of Coh
"We next see him in a terrible altercation with his brother Aac. The
figures in that scene are nearly life-size, but so much disfigured
and broken as to make it impossible to obtain good tracings. Coh is
portrayed without weapons, his fists clenched, looking menacingly
at his foe, who holds three spears, typical of the three wounds he
inflicted in his brother's back when he killed him treacherously. Coh
is now laid out, being prepared for cremation. His body has been
opened at the ribs to extract the viscera and heart, which, after
being charred, are to be preserved in a stone urn with cinnabar,
where the writer found them in 1875. His sister-wife, Queen Móo,
in sad contemplation of the remains of the beloved, ... kneels at
his feet.... The winged serpent, protective genius of the country, is
pictured without a head. The ruler of the country has been slain. He
is dead. The people are without a chief."
The Widowhood of Móo
The widowhood of Móo is then said to be portrayed in subsequent
pictures. Other suitors, among them Aac, make their proposals to
her, but she refuses them all. "Aac's pride being humiliated, his
love turned to hatred. His only wish henceforth was to usurp the
supreme power, to wage war against the friend of his childhood. He
made religious disagreement the pretext. He proclaimed that the
worship of the sun was to be superior to that of the winged serpent,
the genius of the country; also to that of the worship of ancestors,
typified by the feathered serpent, with horns and a flame or halo on
the head.... Prompted by such evil passions, he put himself at the
head of his own vassals, and attacked those who had remained faithful
to Queen Móo and to Prince Coh's memory. At first Móo's adherents
successfully opposed her foes. The contending parties, forgetting in
the strife that they were children of the same soil, blinded by their
prejudices, let their passions have the better of their reason. At
last Queen Móo fell a prisoner in the hands of her enemy."
The Manuscript Troano
Dr. Le Plongeon here assumes that the story is taken up by the
Manuscript Troano. As no one is able to decipher this manuscript
completely, he is pretty safe in his assertion. Here is what the
pintura alluded to says regarding Queen Móo, according to our author:
"The people of Mayach having been whipped into submission and cowed,
no longer opposing much resistance, the lord seized her by the hair,
and, in common with others, caused her to suffer from blows. This
happened on the ninth day of the tenth month of the year Kan. Being
completely routed, she passed to the opposite sea-coast in the southern
parts of the country, which had already suffered much injury."
Here we shall leave the Queen, and those who have been sufficiently
credulous to create and believe in her and her companions. We do not
aver that the illustrations on the walls of the temple at Chichen do
not allude to some such incident, or series of incidents, as Dr. Le
Plongeon describes, but to bestow names upon the dramatis personæ in
the face of almost complete inability to read the Maya script and a
total dearth of accompanying historical manuscripts is merely futile,
and we must regard Dr. Le Plongeon's narrative as a quite fanciful
rendering of probability. At the same time, the light which he
throws--if some obviously unscientific remarks be deducted--on the
customs of the Maya renders his account of considerable interest,
and that must be our excuse for presenting it here at some length.
CHAPTER VI: THE CIVILISATION OF OLD PERU
Old Peru
If the civilisation of ancient Peru did not achieve the standard of
general culture reached by the Mexicans and Maya, it did not fall far
short of the attainment of these peoples. But the degrading despotism
under which the peasantry groaned in Inca times, and the brutal
and sanguinary tyranny of the Apu-Ccapac Incas, make the rulers of
Mexico at their worst appear as enlightened when compared with the
Peruvian governing classes. The Quichua-Aymara race which inhabited
Peru was inferior to the Mexican in general mental culture, if not in
mental capacity, as is proved by its inability to invent any method
of written communication or any adequate time-reckoning. In imitative
art, too, the Peruvians were weak, save in pottery and rude modelling,
and their religion savoured much more of the materialistic, and was
altogether of a lower cultus.
The Country
The country in which the interesting civilisation of the Inca race
was evolved presents physical features which profoundly affected the
history of the race. In fact, it is probable that in no country in
the world has the configuration of the land so modified the events in
the life of the people dwelling within its borders. The chain of the
Andes divides into two branches near the boundary between Bolivia and
Chili, and, with the Cordillera de la Costa, encloses at a height of
over 3000 feet the Desaguadero, a vast tableland with an area equal
to France. To the north of this is Cuzco, the ancient capital of the
Incas, to the south Potosi, the most elevated town in the world,
whilst between them lies Lake Titicaca, the largest body of fresh
water in South America. The whole country is dreary and desolate in
the extreme. Cereals cannot ripen, and animals are rare. Yet it was in
these desolate regions that the powerful and highly organised empire
of Peru arose--an empire extending over an area 3000 miles long by
400 broad.
The Andeans
The prehistoric natives of the Andean region had evolved a civilisation
long before the days of the Inca dynasties, and the cyclopean ruins
of their edifices are to be found at intervals scattered over a wide
field on the slopes of the range under the shadow of which they
dwelt. Their most extraordinary achievement was probably the city
of Tiahuanaco, on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, built at a
level 13,000 feet above the sea, occupying nearly half an acre in
extent, and constructed of enormous megalithic blocks of trachytic
rock. The great doorway, carved out of a single block of rock, is 7
feet in height by 13-1/2 feet wide, and 1-1/2 feet thick. The upper
portion of this massive portal is carved with symbolic figures. In the
centre is a figure in high relief, the head surrounded by solar rays,
and in each hand a sceptre, the end of which terminates in the head
of a condor. This figure is flanked on either side by three tiers of
kneeling suppliants, each of whom is winged and bears a sceptre similar
in design to the central ones. Elsewhere are mighty blocks of stone,
some 36 feet long, remains of enormous walls, standing monoliths,
and in earlier times colossal statues were seen on the site. When
the Spanish conquerors arrived no tradition remained regarding
the founders of these structures, and their origin still remains a
mystery; but that they represent the remains of the capital of some
mighty prehistoric kingdom is practically admitted.
A Strange Site
The greatest mystery of all regarding the ruins at Tiahuanaco is the
selection of the site. For what reason did the prehistoric rulers
of Peru build here? The surroundings are totally unsuitable for
the raising of such edifices, and the tableland upon which they are
placed is at once desolate and difficult of access. The snow-line is
contiguous, and breathing at such a height is no easy matter. There
is no reason to suppose that climatic conditions in the day of these
colossal builders were different from those which obtain at the present
time. In face of these facts the position of Tiahuanaco remains an
insoluble riddle.
Sacsahuaman and Ollantay
Other remains of these prehistoric people are found in various parts
of Peru. At Sacsahuaman, perched on a hill above the city of Cuzco, is
an immense fortified work six hundred yards long, built in three lines
of wall consisting of enormous stones, some of which are twenty-seven
feet in length. Pissac is also the site of wonderful ruined masonry
and an ancient observatory. At Ollantay-tampu, forty-five miles to
the north of Cuzco, is another of these gigantic fortresses, built to
defend the valley of the Yucay. This stronghold is constructed for the
most part of red porphyry, and its walls average twenty-five feet in
height. The great cliff on which Ollantay is perched is covered from
end to end with stupendous walls which zigzag from point to point
of it like the salient angles of some modern fortalice. At intervals
are placed round towers of stone provided with loopholes, from which
doubtless arrows were discharged at the enemy. This outwork embraces a
series of terraces, world-famous because of their gigantic outline and
the problem of the use to which they were put. It is now practically
agreed that these terraces were employed for the production of maize,
in order that during a prolonged investment the beleaguered troops and
country-folk might not want for a sufficiency of provender. The stone
of which this fortress was built was quarried at a distance of seven
miles, in a spot upwards of three thousand feet above the valley,
and was dragged up the steep declivity of Ollantay by sheer human
strength. The nicety with which the stones were fitted is marvellous.
The Drama-Legend of Ollantay
Among the dramatic works with which the ancient Incas were credited
is that of Apu-Ollanta, which may recount the veritable story of a
chieftain after whom the great stronghold was named. It was probably
divided into scenes and supplied with stage directions at a later
period, but the dialogue and songs are truly aboriginal. The period
is that of the reign of the Inca Yupanqui Pachacutic, one of the
most celebrated of the Peruvian monarchs. The central figure of the
drama is a chieftain named Ollanta, who conceived a violent passion
for a daughter of the Inca named Curi-Coyllur (Joyful Star). This
passion was deemed unlawful, as no mere subject who was not of the
blood-royal might aspire to the hand of a daughter of the Inca. As
the play opens we overhear a dialogue between Ollanta and his
man-servant Piqui-Chaqui (Flea-footed), who supplies what modern
stage-managers would designate the "comic relief." They are talking
of Ollanta's love for the princess, when they are confronted by the
high-priest of the Sun, who tries to dissuade the rash chieftain
from the dangerous course he is taking by means of a miracle. In the
next scene Curi-Coyllur is seen in company with her mother, sorrowing
over the absence of her lover. A harvest song is here followed by a
love ditty of undoubtedly ancient origin. The third scene represents
Ollanta's interview with the Inca in which he pleads his suit and
is slighted by the scornful monarch. Ollanta defies the king in a
resounding speech, with which the first act concludes. In the first
scene of the second act we are informed that the disappointed chieftain
has raised the standard of rebellion, and the second scene is taken
up with the military preparations consequent upon the announcement
of a general rising. In the third scene Rumi-ñaui as general of the
royal forces admits defeat by the rebels.
The Love-Story of Curi-Coyllur
Curi-Coyllur gives birth to a daughter, and is imprisoned in the
darksome Convent of Virgins. Her child, Yma Sumac (How Beautiful),
is brought up in the same building, but is ignorant of the near
presence of her mother. The little girl tells her guardian of groans
and lamentations which she has heard in the convent garden, and of the
tumultuous emotions with which these sad sounds fill her heart. The
Inca Pachacutic's death is announced, and the accession of his son,
Yupanqui. Rebellion breaks out once more, and the suppression of the
malcontents is again entrusted to Rumi-ñaui. That leader, having
tasted defeat already, resorts to cunning. He conceals his men in
a valley close by, and presents himself covered with blood before
Ollanta, who is at the head of the rebels. He states that he has been
barbarously used by the royal troops, and that he desires to join the
rebels. He takes part with Ollanta and his men in a drunken frolic,
in which he incites them to drink heavily, and when they are overcome
with liquor he brings up his troops and makes them prisoners.
Mother and Child
Yma Sumac, the beautiful little daughter of Curi-Coyllur, requests
her guardian, Pitu Salla, so pitifully to be allowed to visit her
mother in her dungeon that the woman consents, and mother and child
are united. Ollanta is brought as a prisoner before the new Inca,
who pardons him. At that juncture Yma Sumac enters hurriedly, and begs
the monarch to free her mother, Curi-Coyllur. The Inca proceeds to the
prison, restores the princess to her lover, and the drama concludes
with the Inca bestowing his blessing upon the pair.
The play was first put into written form in the seventeenth century,
has often been printed, and is now recognised as a genuine aboriginal
production.
The Races of Peru
Many races went to make up the Peruvian people as they existed when
first discovered by the conquering Spaniards. From the south came a
civilising race which probably found a number of allied tribes, each
existing separately in its own little valley, speaking a different
dialect, or even language, from its neighbours, and in many instances
employing different customs. Although tradition alleged that these
invaders came from the north by sea within historical times, the more
probable theory of their origin is one which states that they had
followed the course of the affluents of the Amazon to the valleys
where they dwelt when the more enlightened folk from the south came
upon them. The remains of this aboriginal people--for, though they
spoke diverse languages, the probability is that they were of one or
not more than two stocks--are still found scattered over the coastal
valleys in pyramidal mounds and adobe-built dwellings.
The Coming of the Incas
The arrival of the dominant race rudely broke in upon the peaceful
existence of the aboriginal folk. This race, the Quichua-Aymara,
probably had its place of origin in the Altaplanicie highlands of
Bolivia, the eastern cordillera of the Andes. This they designated
Tucuman (World's End), just as the Kiche of Guatemala were wont
to describe the land of their origin as Ki Pixab (Corner of the
Earth). The present republic of Argentina was at a remote period
covered by a vast, partially land-locked sea, and beside the shores
of this the ancestors of the Quichua-Aymara race may have settled as
fishers and fowlers. They found a more permanent settlement on the
shores of Lake Titicaca, where their traditions state that they made
considerable advances in the arts of civilisation. It was, indeed,
from Titicaca that the sun emerged from the sacred rock where he
had erstwhile hidden himself. Here, too, the llama and paco were
domesticated and agricultural life initiated, or perfected. The arts
of irrigation and terrace-building--so marked as features of Peruvian
civilisation--were also invented in this region, and the basis of a
composite advancement laid.
The Quichua-Aymara
This people consisted of two groups, the Quichua and Aymara, so called
from the two kindred tongues spoken by each respectively. These possess
a common grammatical structure, and a great number of words are common
to both. They are in reality varying forms of one speech. From the
valley of Titicaca the Aymara spread from the source of the Amazon
river to the higher parts of the Andes range, so that in course of
time they exhibited those qualities which stamp the mountaineer in
every age and clime. The Quichua, on the other hand, occupied the
warm valleys beyond the river Apurimac, to the north-west of the
Aymara-speaking people--a tract equal to the central portion of the
modern republic of Peru. The name "Quichua" implies a warm valley or
sphere, in contradistinction to the "Yunca," or tropical districts
of the coast and lowlands.
The Four Peoples
The metropolitan folk of Cuzco considered Peru to be divided into
four sections--that of the Colla-suyu, with the valley of Titicaca
as its centre, and stretching from the Bolivian highlands to Cuzco;
the Conti-suyu, between the Colla-suyu and the ocean; the Quichua
Chinchay-suyu, of the north-west; and the Anti-suyu, of the montaña
region. The Inca people, coming suddenly into these lands, annexed them
with surprising rapidity, and, making the aboriginal tribes dependent
upon their rule, spread themselves over the face of the country. Thus
the ancient chroniclers. But it is obvious that such rapid conquest was
a practical impossibility, and it is now understood that the Inca power
was consolidated only some hundred years before the coming of Pizarro.
The Coming of Manco Ccapac
Peruvian myth has its Quetzalcoatl in Manco Ccapac, a veritable son of
the sun. The Life-giver, observing the deplorable condition of mankind,
who seemed to exist for war and feasting alone, despatched his son,
Manco Ccapac, and his sister-wife, Mama Oullo Huaca, to earth for the
purpose of instructing the degraded peoples in the arts of civilised
life. The heavenly pair came to earth in the neighbourhood of Lake
Titicaca, and were provided with a golden wedge which they were
assured would sink into the earth at the precise spot on which they
should commence their missionary labours. This phenomenon occurred at
Cuzco, where the wedge disappeared. The derivation of the name Cuzco,
which means "Navel," or, in more modern terms, "Hub of the Universe,"
proves that it was regarded as a great culture-centre. On this spot
the civilising agents pitched their camp, gathering the uncultured
folk of the country around them. Whilst Manco taught the men the
arts of agriculture, Mama Oullo instructed the women in those of
weaving and spinning. Great numbers gathered in the vicinity of Cuzco,
and the foundations of a city were laid. Under the mild rule of the
heavenly pair the land of Peru abounded in every desirable thing,
like the Eden of Genesis. The legend of Manco Ccapac as we have
it from an old Spanish source is worth giving. It is as follows:
"There [in Tiahuanaco] the creator began to raise up the people and
nations that are in that region, making one of each nation in clay,
and painting the dresses that each one was to wear; those that were
to wear their hair, with hair, and those that were to be shorn,
with hair cut. And to each nation was given the language that was
to be spoken, and the songs to be sung, and the seeds and food that
they were to sow. When the creator had finished painting and making
the said nations and figures of clay, he gave life and soul to each
one, as well man as woman, and ordered that they should pass under
the earth. Thence each nation came up in the places to which he
ordered them to go. Thus they say that some came out of caves, others
issued from hills, others from fountains, others from the trunks of
trees. From this cause and others, and owing to having come forth and
multiplied from those places, and to having had the beginning of their
lineage in them, they made huacas [14] and places of worship of them,
in memory of the origin of their lineage. Thus each nation uses the
dress with which they invest their huaca; and they say that the first
that was born in that place was there turned into stone. Others say
that they were turned into falcons, condors, and other animals and
birds. Hence the huacas they use are in different shapes."
The Peruvian Creation-Story
The Incan Peruvians believed that all things emanated from Pachacamac,
the all-pervading spirit, who provided the plants and animals (which
they believed to be produced from the earth) with "souls." The earth
itself they designated Pachacamama (Earth-Mother). Here we observe
that Pachacamac was more the maker and moulder than the originator of
matter, a view common to many American mythologies. Pachacamac it was
who breathed the breath of life into man, but the Peruvian conception
of him was only evolved in later Inca times, and by no means existed
in the early days of Inca rule, although he was probably worshipped
before this under another and less exalted shape. The mere exercise
of will or thought was sufficient, according to the Peruvians, to
accomplish the creative act. In the prayers to the creator, and in
other portions of Inca rite, we read such expressions as "Let a man
be," "Let a woman be," and "The creative word," which go to prove that
the Peruvian consciousness had fully grasped the idea of a creator
capable of evolving matter out of nothingness. Occasionally we find the
sun acting as a kind of demiurge or sub-creator. He it is who in later
legend founds the city of Cuzco, and sends thither three eggs composed
of gold, silver, and copper, from which spring the three classes of
Peruvians, kings, priests, and slaves. The inevitable deluge occurs,
after which we find the prehistoric town of Tiahuanaco regarded as
the theatre of a new creation of man. Here the creator made man,
and separated him into nations, making one of each nation out of the
clay of the earth, painting the dresses that each was to wear, and
endowing them with national songs, languages, seeds to sow suitable to
the environment of each, and food such as they would require. Then he
gave the peoples life and soul, and commanded them to enter the bowels
of the earth, whence they came upward in the places where he ordered
them to go. Perhaps this is one of the most complete ("wholesale"
would be a better word) creation-myths in existence, and we can glean
from its very completeness that it is by no means of simple origin, but
of great complexity. It is obviously an attempt to harmonise several
conflicting creation-stories, notably those in which the people are
spoken of as emanating from caves, and the later one of the creation
of men at Tiahuanaco, probably suggested to the Incas by the immense
ruins at that place, for which they could not otherwise account.
Local Creation-Myths
In some of the more isolated valleys of Peru we discover local
creation-myths. For example, in the coastal valley of Irma Pachacamac
was not considered to be the creator of the sun, but to be himself a
descendant of it. The first human beings created by him were speedily
separated, as the man died of hunger, but the woman supported herself
by living on roots. The sun took compassion upon her and gave her a
son, whom Pachacamac slew and buried. But from his teeth there grew
maize, from his ribs the long white roots of the manioc plant, and
from his flesh various esculent plants.
The Character of Inca Civilisation
Apart from the treatment which they meted out to the subject races
under their sway, the rule of the Inca monarchs was enlightened and
contained the elements of high civilisation. It is scarcely clear
whether the Inca race arrived in the country at such a date as would
have permitted them to profit by adopting the arts and sciences of the
Andean people who preceded them. But it may be affirmed that their
arrival considerably post-dated the fall of the megalithic empire
of the Andeans, so that in reality their civilisation was of their
own manufacture. As architects they were by no means the inferiors
of the prehistoric race, if the examples of their art did not bulk
so massively, and the engineering skill with which they pushed
long, straight tunnels through vast mountains and bridged seemingly
impassable gorges still excites the wonder of modern experts. They
also made long, straight roads after the most improved macadamised
model. Their temples and palaces were adorned with gold and silver
images and ornaments; sumptuous baths supplied with hot and cold water
by means of pipes laid in the earth were to be found in the mansions
of the nobility, and much luxury and real comfort prevailed.
An Absolute Theocracy
The empire of Peru was the most absolute theocracy the world has
ever seen. The Inca was the direct representative of the sun upon
earth, the head of a socio-religious edifice intricate and highly
organised. This colossal bureaucracy had ramifications into the
very homes of the people. The Inca was represented in the provinces
by governors of the blood-royal. Officials were placed above ten
thousand families, a thousand families, and even ten families, upon
the principle that the rays of the sun enter everywhere, and that
therefore the light of the Inca must penetrate to every corner of
the empire. There was no such thing as personal freedom. Every man,
woman, and child was numbered, branded, and under surveillance as
much as were the llamas in the royal herds. Individual effort or
enterprise was unheard of. Some writers have stated that a system
of state socialism obtained in Peru. If so, then state surveillance
in Central Russia might also be branded as socialism. A man's life
was planned for him by the authorities from the age of five years,
and even the woman whom he was to marry was selected for him by the
Government officials. The age at which the people should marry was
fixed at not earlier than twenty-four years for a man and eighteen
for a woman. Coloured ribbons worn round the head indicated the place
of a person's birth or the province to which he belonged.
A Golden Temple
One of the most remarkable monuments of the Peruvian civilisation
was the Coricancha (Town of Gold) at Cuzco, the principal fane of the
sun-god. Its inner and outer walls were covered with plates of pure
gold. Situated upon an eminence eighty feet high, the temple looked
down upon gardens filled, according to the conquering Spaniards,
with treasures of gold and silver. The animals, insects, the very
trees, say the chroniclers, were of the precious metals, as were the
spades, hoes, and other implements employed for keeping the ground in
cultivation. Through the pleasances rippled the river Huatenay. Such
was the glittering Intipampa (Field of the Sun). That the story is
true, at least in part, is proved by the traveller Squier, who speaks
of having seen in several houses in Cuzco sheets of gold preserved
as relics which came from the Temple of the Sun. These, he says,
were scarcely as thick as paper, and were stripped off the walls of
the Coricancha by the exultant Spanish soldiery.
The Great Altar
But this house of gold had but a roof of thatch! The Peruvians were
ignorant of the principle of the arch, or else considered the feature
unsuitable, for some reason best known to their architects. The
doorways were formed of huge monoliths, and the entire aspect of the
building was cyclopean. The interior displayed an ornate richness
which impressed even the Spaniards, who had seen the wealth of many
lands and Oriental kingdoms, and the gold-lust must have swelled
within their hearts at sight of the great altar, behind which was
a huge plate of the shining metal engraved with the features of the
sun-god. The surface of this plate was enriched by a thousand gems,
the scintillation of which was, according to eye-witnesses, almost
insupportable. Around this dazzling sphere were seated the mummified
corpses of the Inca kings, each on his throne, with sceptre in hand.
Planetary Temples
Surrounding the Coricancha several lesser temples clustered, all
of them dedicated to one or other of the planetary bodies--to the
moon, to Cuycha, the rainbow, to Chasca, the planet Venus. In the
temple of the moon, the mythic mother of the Inca dynasty, a great
plate of silver, like the golden one which represented the face of
the sun-god, depicted the features of the moon-goddess, and around
this the mummies of the Inca queens sat in a semicircle, like their
spouses in the greater neighbouring fane. In the rainbow temple of
Cuycha the seven-hued arch of heaven was depicted by a great arc
of gold skilfully tempered or painted in suitable colours. All the
utensils in these temples were of gold or silver. In the principal
building twelve large jars of silver held the sacred grain, and even
the pipes which conducted the water-supply through the earth to the
sanctuary were of silver. Pedro Pizarro himself, besides other credible
eye-witnesses, vouched for these facts. The colossal representation of
the sun became the property of a certain Mancio Serra de Leguicano,
a reckless cavalier and noted gambler, who lost it on a single throw
of the dice! Such was the spirit of the adventurers who conquered this
golden realm for the crown of Spain. The walls of the Coricancha are
still standing, and this marvellous shrine of the chief luminary of
heaven, the great god of the Peruvians, is now a Christian church.
The Mummies of Peru
The fact that the ancient Peruvians had a method of mummification
has tempted many "antiquarians" to infer therefrom that they had some
connection with ancient Egypt. These theories are so numerous as to
give the unsophisticated reader the idea that a regular system of
immigration was carried on between Egypt and America. As a matter
of fact the method of mummification in vogue in Peru was entirely
different from that employed by the ancient Egyptians. Peruvian
mummies are met with at apparently all stages of the history of
the native races. Megalithic tombs and monuments contain them in
the doubled-up posture so common among early peoples all over the
world. These megalithic tombs, or chulpas, as they are termed, are
composed of a mass of rough stones and clay, faced with huge blocks
of trachyte or basalt, so put together as to form a cist, in which
the mummy was placed. The door invariably faces the east, so that it
may catch the gleams of the rising sun--a proof of the prevalence of
sun-worship. Squier alludes to one more than 24 feet high. An opening
18 inches square gave access to the sepulchral chamber, which was 11
feet square by 13 feet high. But the tomb had been entered before,
and after getting in with much difficulty the explorer was forced to
retreat empty-handed.
Many of these chulpas are circular, and painted in gay primary
colours. They are very numerous in Bolivia, an old Peruvian province,
and in the basin of Lake Titicaca they abound. The dead were wrapped
in llama-skins, on which the outlines of the eyes and mouth were
carefully marked. The corpse was then arrayed in other garments,
and the door of the tomb walled up. In some parts of Peru the dead
were mummified and placed in the dwelling-houses beside the living. In
the rarefied air of the plateaus the bodies rapidly became innocuous,
and the custom was not the insanitary one we might imagine it to be.
On the Pacific coast the method of mummification was somewhat
different. The body was reduced to a complete state of desiccation,
and was deposited in a tomb constructed of stone or adobe. Vases
intended to hold maize or chicha liquor were placed beside the
corpse, and copper hatchets, mirrors of polished stone, earrings,
and bracelets have been discovered in these burial-places. Some of
the remains are wrapped in rich cloth, and vases of gold and silver
were placed beside them. Golden plaques are often discovered in the
mouths, probably symbolic of the sun. The bodies exhibit no traces
of embalming, and are usually in a sitting posture. Some of them have
evidently been dried before inhumation, whilst others are covered with
a resinous substance. They are generally accompanied by the various
articles used during life; the men have their weapons and ornaments,
women their household implements, and children their toys. The dryness
of the climate, as in Egypt, keeps these relics in a wonderful state
of preservation. In the grave of a woman were found not only vases
of every shape, but also some cloth she had commenced to weave,
which her death had perhaps prevented her from completing. Her light
brown hair was carefully combed and plaited, and the legs from the
ankle to the knee were painted red, after the fashion in vogue among
Peruvian beauties, while little bladders of toilet-powder and gums
were thoughtfully placed beside her for her use in the life to come.
Laws and Customs
The legal code of the Incas was severe in the extreme. Murderers and
adulterers were punished by death, and the unpardonable sin appears to
have been blasphemy against the sun, or his earthly representative,
the Inca. The Virgin of the Sun (or nun) who broke her vow was
buried alive, and the village from whence she came was razed to the
ground. Flogging was administered for minor offences. A peculiar and
very trying punishment must have been that of carrying a heavy stone
for a certain time.
On marriage a home was apportioned to each couple, and land assigned
to them sufficient for their support. When a child was born a separate
allowance was given it--one fanega for a boy, and half that amount for
a girl, the fanega being equal to the area which could be sown with a
hundred pounds of maize. There is something repulsive in the Inca code,
with its grandmotherly legislation; and if this tyranny was beneficent,
it was devised merely to serve its own ends and hound on the unhappy
people under its control like dumb, driven cattle. The outlook of
the average native was limited in the extreme. The Inca class of
priests and warriors retained every vestige of authority; and that
they employed their power unmercifully to grind down the millions
beneath them was a sufficient excuse for the Spanish Conquistadores
in dispossessing them of the empire they had so harshly administered.
The public ground was divided afresh every year according to the
number of the members of each family, and agrarian laws were strictly
fixed. Private property did not exist among the people of the lower
classes, who merely farmed the lot which each year was placed at
their disposal. Besides this, the people had perforce to cultivate
the lands sacred to the Inca, and only the aged and the sick could
evade this duty.
The Peruvian Calendar
The standard chronology known to the Peru of the Incas was a simple
lunar reckoning. But the four principal points in the sun's course
were denoted by means of the intihuatana, a device consisting
of a large rock surmounted by a small cone, the shadow of which,
falling on certain notches on the stone below, marked the date of
the great sun-festivals. The Peruvians, however, had no definite
calendar. At Cuzco, the capital, the solstices were gauged by pillars
called pachacta unanchac, or indicators of time, which were placed
in four groups (two pillars to a group) on promontories, two in the
direction of sunrise and two in that of sunset, to mark the extreme
points of the sun's rising and setting. By this means they were
enabled to distinguish the arrival and departure of the solstices,
during which the sun never went beyond the middle pair of pillars. The
Inca astronomer's approximation to the year was 360 days, which were
divided into twelve moons of thirty days each. These moons were not
calendar months in the correct sense, but simply a succession of
lunations, which commenced with the winter solstice. This method,
which must ultimately have proved confusing, does not seem to have
been altered to co-ordinate with the reckoning of the succession of
years. The names of the twelve moons, which had some reference to
the daily life of the Peruvian, were as follows:
Huchuy Pucuy Quilla (Small Growing Moon), approximately January.
Hatun Pucuy Quilla (Great Growing Moon), approximately February.
Pancar Pucuy Quilla (Flower-growing Moon), approximately March.
Ayrihua Quilla (Twin Ears Moon), approximately April.
Aymuray Quilla (Harvest Moon), approximately May.
Auray Cusqui Quilla (Breaking Soil), approximately June.
Chahua Huarqui Quilla (Irrigation Moon), approximately July.
Tarpuy Quilla (Sowing Moon), approximately August.
Ccoya Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Moon Feast), approximately
September.
Uma Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Feast of the Province of Uma),
approximately October.
Ayamarca Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Feast of the Province of
Ayamarca), approximately November.
Ccapac Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Great Feast of the Sun),
approximately December.
The Festivals
That the Peruvian standard of time, as with all American people,
was taken from the natural course of the moon is known chiefly from
the fact that the principal religious festivals began on the new moon
following a solstice or equinox. The ceremonies connected with the
greatest festival, the Ccapac Raymi, were made to date near the lunar
phases, the two stages commencing with the ninth day of the December
moon and twenty-first day, or last quarter. But while these lunar
phases indicated certain festivals, it very often happened that the
civil authorities followed a reckoning of their own, in preference
to accepting ecclesiastical rule. Considerable significance was
attached to each month by the Peruvians regarding the nature of
their festivals. The solstices and equinoxes were the occasions of
established ceremonies. The arrival of the winter solstice, which in
Peru occurs in June, was celebrated by the Intip Raymi (Great Feast of
the Sun). The principal Peruvian feast, which took place at the summer
solstice, when the new year was supposed to begin, was the national
feast of the great god Pachacamac, and was called Ccapac Raymi. Molina,
Fernandez, and Garcilasso, however, date the new year from the winter
solstice. The third festival of the Inca year, the Ccapac Situa,
or Ccoya Raymi (Moon Feast), which is signalled by the beginning of
the rainy season, occurred in September. In general character these
festivals appear to have been simple, and even childlike. The sacrifice
of animals taken from sacred herds of llamas was doubtless a principal
feature of the ceremony, accompanied by the offering up of maguey,
or maize spirit, and followed by the performance of symbolic dances.
The Llama
The llama was the chief domestic animal of Peru. All llamas were
the property of the Inca. Like the camel, its distant relative, this
creature can subsist for long periods upon little nourishment, and it
is suitable for the carriage of moderate loads. Each year a certain
amount of llama wool was given to the Peruvian family, according to
the number of women it contained, and these wove it into garments,
whatever was over being stored away in the public cloth-magazines
for the general use. The large flocks of llamas and alpacas also
afforded a supply of meat for the people such as the Mexicans never
possessed. Naturally much attention was given to the breeding of these
animals, and the alpaca was as carefully regarded by the Peruvian
as the sheep by the farmer of to-day. The guanacos and vicuñas, wild
animals of the llama or auchenia family, were also sources of food-
and wool-supply.
Architecture of the Incas
The art in which the Incan Peruvians displayed the greatest advance
was that of architecture. The earlier style of Inca building shows
that it was closely modelled, as has already been pointed out, on that
of the megalithic masons of the Tiahuanaco district, but the later
style shows stones laid in regular courses, varying in length. No
cement or mortar of any kind was employed, the structure depending
for stability upon the accuracy with which the stones were fitted to
each other. An enormous amount of labour must have been expended upon
this part of the work, for in the monuments of Peruvian architecture
which still exist it is impossible to insert even a needle between
the stones of which they are composed. The palaces and temples were
built around a courtyard, and most of the principal buildings had
a hall of considerable dimensions attached to them, which, like the
baronial halls of the England of the Middle Ages, served for feasting
or ceremony. In this style is built the front of the palace on the
Colcampata, overlooking the city of Cuzco, under the fortress which
is supposed to have been the dwelling of Manco Ccapac, the first
Inca. Palaces at Yucay and Chinchero are also of this type.
Unsurpassed Workmanship
In an illuminating passage upon Inca architecture Sir Clements Markham,
the greatest living authority upon matters Peruvian, says:
"In Cuzco the stone used is a dark trachyte, and the coarse grain
secured greater adhesion between the blocks. The workmanship
is unsurpassed, and the world has nothing to show in the way of
stone-cutting and fitting to equal the skill and accuracy displayed
in the Ynca structures of Cuzco. No cement is used, and the larger
stones are in the lowest row, each ascending course being narrower,
which presents a most pleasing effect. The edifices were built round
a court, upon which the rooms opened, and some of the great halls
were 200 paces long by 60 wide, the height being 35 to 40 feet,
besides the spring of the roof. The roofs were thatch; and we are
able to form an idea of their construction from one which is still
preserved, after a lapse of three centuries. This is on a circular
building called the Sondor-huasi, at Azangaro, and it shows that even
thatch in the hands of tasteful builders will make a sightly roof for
imposing edifices, and that the interior ornament of such a roof may
be exceedingly beautiful."
The Temple of Viracocha
The temple of Viracocha, at Cacha, in the valley of the Vilcamayu,
is built on a plan different from that of any other sacred building
in Peru. Its ruins consist of a wall of adobe or clay 40 feet high
and 330 long, built on stone foundations 8 feet in height. The roof
was supported on twenty-five columns, and the width of the structure
was 87 feet. It was a place of pilgrimage, and the caravanserais where
the Faithful were wont to be housed still stand around the ruined fane.
Titicaca
The most sacred of the Peruvian shrines, however, was Titicaca,
an island on the lake of that name. The island of Coati, hard
by, enjoyed an equal reverence. Terraced platforms on the former,
reached by flights of steps, support two buildings provided for the
use of pilgrims about to proceed to Coati. On Titicaca there are the
ruins of an extensive palace which commands a splendid view of the
surrounding barren country. A great bath or tank is situated half-way
down a long range of terraces supported by cut stone masonry, and
the pool, 40 feet long by 10, and 5 feet deep, has similar walls on
three sides. Below this tank the water is made to irrigate terrace
after terrace until it falls into the lake.
Coati
The island of Coati is about six miles distant. The principal building
is on one of the loftiest of seven terraces, once radiant with flowers
and shrubs, and filled with rich loam transported from a more fertile
region. It is placed on three sides of a square, 183 feet long by
80, and is of stone laid in clay and coated with plaster. "It has,"
says Markham, "thirty-five chambers, only one of which is faced with
hewn stones. The ornament on the façade consists of elaborate niches,
which agreeably break the monotony of the wall, and above them runs a
projecting cornice. The walls were painted yellow, and the niches red;
and there was a high-pitched roof, broken here and there by gables. The
two largest chambers are 20 long by 12, and loftier than the rest,
each with a great niche in the wall facing the entrance. These were
probably the holy places or shrines of the temple. The beautiful
series of terraces falls off from the esplanade of the temple to the
shores of the lake."
Mysterious Chimu
The coast folk, of a different race from the Incas, had their centre of
civilisation near the city of Truxillo, on the plain of Chimu. Here the
ruins of a great city litter the plain for many acres. Arising from the
mass of ruin, at intervals stand huacas, or artificial hills. The city
was supplied with water by means of small canals, which also served to
irrigate the gardens. The mounds alluded to were used for sepulture,
and the largest, at Moche, is 800 feet long by 470 feet in breadth,
and 200 feet in height. It is constructed of adobes. Besides serving
the purpose of a cemetery, this mound probably supported a large
temple on its summit.
The Palace
A vast palace occupied a commanding position. Its great hall was 100
feet long by 52 broad, and its walls were covered with a highly ornate
series of arabesques in relief done in stucco, like the fretwork on
the walls of Palenque. Another hall close at hand is ornamented in
coloured stucco, and from it branch off many small rooms, which were
evidently dormitories. From the first hall a long corridor leads to
secret storehouses, where many vessels of gold and silver have been
discovered hidden away, as if to secure them either from marauding
bands or the gaze of the vulgar. All of these structures are hollowed
out of a vast mound covering several acres, so that the entire building
may be said to be partially subterranean in character. "About a hundred
yards to the westward of this palace there was a sepulchral mound
where many relics were discovered. The bodies were wrapped in cloths,
woven in ornamental figures and patterns of different colours. On some
of the cloths were sewn plates of silver, and they were edged with
borders of feathers, the silver being occasionally cut in the shape
of fishes. Among the ruins of the city there are great rectangular
areas enclosed by massive walls, and containing courts, streets,
dwellings, and reservoirs for water. The largest is about a mile
south of the mound-palace, and is 550 yards long by 400. The outer
wall is about 30 feet high, 10 feet thick at the base, with sides
inclining toward each other. Some of the interior walls are highly
ornamented in stuccoed patterns; and in one part there is an edifice
containing forty-five chambers or cells, in five rows of nine each,
which is supposed to have been a prison. The enclosure also contained
a reservoir 450 feet long by 195 broad, and 60 feet deep."
The Civilisation of Chimu
The ruins of Chimu are undoubtedly the outcome of a superior standard
of civilisation. The buildings are elaborate, as are their internal
arrangements. The extent of the city is great, and the art displayed
in the manufacture of the utensils discovered within it and the taste
evinced in the numerous wall-patterns show that a people of advanced
culture inhabited it. The jeweller's work is in high relief, and the
pottery and plaques found exhibit much artistic excellence.
Pachacamac
The famous ruins of the temple and city of Pachacamac, near the
valley of Lurin, to the south of Lima, overlook the Pacific Ocean
from a height of 500 feet. Four vast terraces still bear mighty
perpendicular walls, at one time painted red. Here was found the only
perfect Peruvian arch, built of large adobe bricks--a proof that the
Peruvian mind did not stand still in matters architectural at least.
Irrigation Works
It was in works of irrigation, however, that the race exhibited its
greatest engineering genius. In the valley of Nasca the Incas cut
deep trenches to reinforce the irrigating power of a small river,
and carried the system high up into the mountains, in order that
the rainfall coming therefrom might be conducted into the needful
channel. Lower down the valley the main watercourse is deflected into
many branches, which irrigate each estate by feeding the small surface
streams. This system adequately serves the fifteen estates of Nasca
to-day! Another high-level canal for the irrigation of pasture-lands
was led for more than a hundred and fifty miles along the eastern
slope of the central cordillera.
A Singular Discovery
In Peru, as in Mexico, it is probable that the cross was employed as
a symbol of the four winds. An account of the expedition of Fuentes
to the valley of Chichas recounts the discovery of a wooden cross as
follows: [15]
"When the settlers who accompanied Fuentes in his glorious expedition
approached the valley they found a wooden cross, hidden, as if
purposely, in the most intricate part of the mountains. As there is
not anything more flattering to the vanity of a credulous man than
to be enabled to bring forward his testimony in the relation of a
prodigy, the devotion of these good conquerors was kindled to such a
degree by the discovery of this sacred memorial that they instantly
hailed it as miraculous and divine. They accordingly carried it in
procession to the town, and placed it in the church belonging to the
convent of San Francisco, where it is still worshipped. It appears
next to impossible that there should not, at that time, have been
any individual among them sufficiently enlightened to combat such a
persuasion, since, in reality, there was nothing miraculous in the
finding of this cross, there having been other Christian settlers,
before the arrival of Fuentes, in the same valley. The opinion,
notwithstanding, that the discovery was altogether miraculous, instead
of having been abandoned at the commencement, was confirmed still more
and more with the progress of time. The Jesuits Antonio Ruiz and Pedro
Lozano, in their respective histories of the missions of Paraguay,
&c., undertook to demonstrate that the Apostle St. Thomas had been in
America. This thesis, which was so novel, and so well calculated to
draw the public attention, required, more than any other, the aid of
the most powerful reasons, and of the most irrefragable documents,
to be able to maintain itself, even in an hypothetical sense; but
nothing of all this was brought forward. Certain miserable conjectures,
prepossession, and personal interest, supplied the place of truth
and criticism. The form of a human foot, which they fancied they saw
imprinted on the rock, and the different fables of this description
invented by ignorance at every step, were the sole foundations on
which all the relations on this subject were made to repose. The one
touching the peregrinations of St. Thomas from Brazil to Quito must
be deemed apocryphal, when it is considered that the above reverend
fathers describe the Apostle with the staff in the hand, the black
cassock girt about the waist, and all the other trappings which
distinguish the missionaries of the society. The credit which these
histories obtained at the commencement was equal to that bestowed on
the cross of Tarija, which remained in the predicament of being the
one St. Thomas had planted in person, in the continent of America."
The Chibchas
A people called the Chibchas dwelt at a very high point of the Andes
range. They were brave and industrious, and possessed a culture of
their own. They defended themselves against much stronger native
races, but after the Spanish conquest their country was included in
New Granada, and is now part of the United States of Colombia. Less
experienced than the Peruvians or Aztecs, they could, however, weave
and dye, carve and engrave, make roads, build temples, and work in
stone, wood, and metals. They also worked in pottery and jewellery,
making silver pendants and collars of shells and collars of precious
stones. They were a wealthy folk, and their Spanish conquerors obtained
much spoil. Little is known concerning them or their language, and
there is not much of interest in the traditions relating to them. Their
mythology was simple. They believed the moon was the wife of Bochica,
who represented the sun, and as she tried to destroy men Bochica only
allowed her to give light during the night. When the aborigines were
in a condition of barbarism Bochica taught them and civilised them. The
legends about Bochica resemble in many points those about Quetzalcoatl
or Manco Ccapac, as well as those relating to the founder of Buddhism
and the first Inca of Peru. The Chibchas offered human sacrifices to
their gods at certain intervals, and kept the wretched victim for
some years in preparation for his doom. They venerated greatly the
Lake of Quatavita, and are supposed to have flung their treasures
into it when they were conquered. Although many attempts have been
made to recover these, little of value has been found.
The Chibchas appear to have given allegiance to two leaders, one the
Zippa, who lived at Bogota, the other the Zoque, who lived at Hunsa,
now Tunja. These chiefs ruled supreme. Like the Incas, they could
only have one lawful wife, and their sons did not succeed them--their
power passed, as in some Central African tribes, to the eldest son
of the sister.
When the Zippa died, sweet-smelling resin took the place of his
internal parts, and the body was put in a wooden coffin, with sheets
of gold for ornamentation. The coffin was hidden in an unknown
sepulchre, and these tombs have never been discovered--at least,
so say the Spaniards. Their weapons, garments, objects of daily use,
even jars of chicha, were buried with these chiefs. It is very likely
that a cave where rows of mummies richly dressed were found, and many
jewels, was the secret burying-place of the Zippas and the Zoques. To
these folk death meant only a continuation of the life on earth.
A Severe Legal Code
The laws of the Chibchas were severe--death was meted out to the
murderer, and bodily punishment for stealing. A coward was made to
look like a woman and do her work, while to an unfaithful wife was
administered a dose of red pepper, which, if swallowed, released
the culprit from the penalty of death and entitled her to an apology
from her husband. The Chibchas made no use of cattle, and lived on
honey. Their houses were built of clay, and were set in the midst of an
enclosure guarded by watch-towers. The roofs were of a conical shape,
covered with reed mats, and skilfully interlaced rushes were used to
close the openings.
The Chibchas were skilful in working bronze, lead, copper, tin, gold,
and silver, but not iron. The Saint-Germain Museum has many specimens
of gold and silver articles made by these people. M. Uricaechea has
still more uncommon specimens in his collection, such as two golden
masks of the human face larger than life, and a great number of
statuettes of men, and images of monkeys and frogs.
The Chibchas traded with what they made, exporting the rock salt
they found in their own country and receiving in exchange cereals
with which to cultivate their own poor soil. They also made
curious little ornaments which might have passed for money, but
they are not supposed to have understood coinage. They had few stone
columns--only large granite rocks covered with huge figures of tigers
and crocodiles. Humboldt mentions these, and two very high columns,
covered with sculpture, at the junction of the Carare and Magdalena,
greatly revered by the natives, were raised probably by the Chibchas.
A Strange Mnemonic System
On the arrival of the Spaniards the Peruvians were unacquainted with
any system of writing or numeration. The only means of recording
events they possessed was that provided by quipos, knotted pieces of
string or hide of varying length and colour. According to the length
or colour of these cords the significance of the record varied; it
was sometimes historical and sometimes mathematical. Quipos relating
to the history of the Incas were carefully preserved by an officer
called Quipo Camayol--literally, "The Guardian of the Quipos." The
greater number were destroyed as monuments of idolatry by the fanatical
Spanish monks who came over with the Conquistadores, but their loss is
by no means important, as no study, however profound, could possibly
unriddle the system upon which they were based. The Peruvians, however,
long continued to use them in secret.
Practical Use of the Quipos
The Marquis de Nadaillac has placed on record a use to which the quipos
were put in more modern times. He says: "A great revolt against the
Spaniards was organised in 1792. As was found out later, the revolt
had been organised by means of messengers carrying a piece of wood
in which were enclosed threads the ends of which were formed of red,
black, blue, or white fringes. The black thread had four knots, which
signified that the messenger had started from Vladura, the residence
of the chief of the conspiracy, four days after full moon. The white
thread had ten knots, which signified that the revolt would break out
ten days after the arrival of the messenger. The person to whom the
keeper was sent had in his turn to make a knot in the red thread if
he agreed to join the confederates; in the red and blue threads, on
the contrary, if he refused." It was by means of these quipos that the
Incas transmitted their instructions. On all the roads starting from
the capital, at distances rarely exceeding five miles, rose tambos,
or stations for the chasquis or couriers, who went from one post to
another. The orders of the Inca thus became disseminated with great
rapidity. Orders which emanated directly from the sovereign were
marked with a red thread of the royal llantu (mantle), and nothing,
as historians assure us, could equal the respect with which these
messages were received.
The Incas as Craftsmen
The Incan Peruvians had made some progress in the metallurgic, ceramic,
and textile arts. By washing the sands of the rivers of Caravaya they
obtained large quantities of gold, and they extracted silver from
the ore by means of blast-furnaces. Copper also was abundant, and was
employed to manufacture bronze, of which most of their implements were
made. Although it is difficult to know at what period their mining
operations were carried on, it is evident that they could only have
learned the art through long experience. Many proofs are to be found
of their skill in jewellery, and amongst these are wonderful statuettes
which they made from an amalgam of gold and mercury, afterwards exposed
to great heat. A number of curious little ornaments made of various
substances, with a little hole bored through them, were frequently
found under the huacas--probably talismans. The finest handiwork of
the Incas was undoubtedly in jewellery; but unfortunately most of the
examples of their work in this craft were melted down to assuage the
insatiable avarice of the Spanish conquerors, and are therefore for
ever lost to us. The spade and chisel employed in olden times by the
Peruvians are much the same as the people use now, but some of their
tools were clumsy. Their javelins, tomahawks, and other military
arms were very futile weapons. Some found near the mines of Pasco
were made of stone.
The spinning, weaving, and dyeing of the Peruvians were unequalled in
aboriginal America, their cloths and tapestries being both graceful
in design and strong in texture.
Stamps of bark or earthenware were employed to fix designs upon
their woollen stuffs, and feathers were added to the garments made
from these, the combination producing a gay effect much admired by
the Spaniards. The British Museum possesses some good specimens of
these manufactures.
Pottery
The Peruvians excelled in the potter's art. The pottery was baked
in a kiln, and was varied in colour, red, black, and grey being the
favourite shades. It was varnished outside, and the vases were moulded
in two pieces and joined before heating. Much of the work is of great
grace and elegance, and the shapes of animals were very skilfully
imitated. Many drinking-cups of elegant design have been discovered,
and some vases are of considerable size, measuring over three feet in
height. A simple geometric pattern is usually employed for decoration,
but sometimes rows of birds and insects figure in the ceramics. The
pottery of the coast people is more rich and varied than that of the
Inca race proper, and among its types we find vases moulded in the
form of human faces, many of them exhibiting so much character that
we are forced to conclude that they are veritable portraits. Fine
stone dishes are often found, as well as platters of wood, and
these frequently bear as ornament tasteful carvings representing
serpents. On several cups and vases are painted representations of
battles between the Inca forces and the savages of the eastern forests
using bows and arrows; below wander the animals of the forest region,
a brightly painted group.
The Archæological Museum of Madrid gives a representation of very
varied kinds of Peruvian pottery, including some specimens modelled
upon a series of plants, interesting to botanists. The Louvre
collections have one or two interesting examples of earthenware,
as well as the Ethnographical Museum of St. Petersburg, and in all
these collections there are types which are believed to be peculiar
to the Old World.
The Trocadero Museum has a very curious specimen with two necks
called the "Salvador." A drawing on the vase represents a man with
a tomahawk. The Peruvians, like the Mexicans, also made musical
instruments out of earthenware, and heavy ornaments, principally for
the ear.
Historical Sketch of the Incan Peruvians
The Inca dominion, as the Spaniards found it, was instituted only
about a century before the coming of the white man. Before that
time Inca sway held good over scattered portions of the country,
but had not extended over the entire territory which in later
times was connected with the Inca name. That it was founded on the
wreck of a more ancient power which once existed in the district
of Chinchay-suyu there can be little doubt. This power was wielded
over a space bounded by the lake of Chinchay-cocha on the north
and Abancay on the south, and extended to the Pacific at the valley
of Chincha. It was constituted by an alliance of tribes under the
leadership of the chief of Pucara, in the Huanca country. A branch of
this confederacy, the Chanca, pushing southward in a general movement,
encountered the Inca people of Colla-suyu, who, under their leader,
Pachacutic, a young but determined chieftain, defeated the invaders
in a decisive battle near Cuzco. In consequence of this defeat the
Chanca deserted their former allies and made common cause with their
victors. Together the armies made a determined attack on the Huanca
alliance, which they broke up, and conquered the northern districts
of the Chinchay-suyu. Thus Central Peru fell to the Inca arms.
The Inca Monarchs
Inca history, or rather tradition, as we must call it in the light
of an unparalleled lack of original documentary evidence, spoke
of a series of eleven monarchs from Manco Ccapac to Huaina Ccapac,
who died shortly before the Spanish conquest. These had reigned for a
collective period of nearly 350 years. The evidence that these chiefs
had reigned was of the best, for their mummified bodies were preserved
in the great Temple of the Sun at Cuzco, already described. There they
received the same daily service as when in the flesh. Their private
herds of llamas and slaves were still understood to belong to them,
and food and drink were placed before them at stated intervals. Clothes
were made for them, and they were carried about in palanquins as if for
daily exercise. The descendants of each at periodical intervals feasted
on the produce of their ancestor's private estate, and his mummy was
set in the centre of the diners and treated as the principal guest.
The First Incas
After Manco Ccapac and his immediate successor, Sinchi Roca (Wise
Chief), Lloque Yupanqui comes third in the series. He died while
his son was still a child. Concerning Mayta Ccapac, who commenced
his reign while yet a minor, but little is known. He was followed by
Ccapac Yupanqui, who defeated the Conti-suyu, who had grown alarmed at
the great power recently attained by Cuzco. The Inca and his men were
attacked whilst about to offer sacrifice. A second attempt to sack
Cuzco and divide its spoil and the women attached to the great Temple
of the Sun likewise ended in the total discomfiture of the jealous
invaders. With Inca Roca, the next Inca, a new dynasty commences,
but it is well-nigh impossible to trace the connection between it and
the preceding one. Of the origin of Inca Roca nothing is related save
that he claimed descent from Manco Ccapac. Roca, instead of waiting
to be attacked in his own dominions, boldly confronted the Conti-suyu
in their own territory, defeated them decisively at Pumatampu, and
compelled them to yield him tribute. His successor, Yahuarhuaccac,
initiated a similar campaign against the Colla-suyu people, against
whom he had the assistance of the conquered Conti-suyu. But at a
feast which he held in Cuzco before setting out he was attacked by
his allies, and fled to the Coricancha, or Golden Temple of the Sun,
for refuge, along with his wives. Resistance was unavailing, and the
Inca and many of his favourites were slaughtered. The allied tribes
which had overrun Central Peru now threatened Cuzco, and had they
advanced with promptitude the Inca dynasty would have been wiped out
and the city reduced to ruins. A strong man was at hand, however,
who was capable of dealing with the extremely dangerous situation
which had arisen. This was Viracocha, a chieftain chosen by the vote
of the assembled warriors of Cuzco. By a prudent conciliation of
the Conti-suyu and Colla-suyu he established a confederation which
not only put an end to all threats of invasion, but so menaced the
invaders that they were glad to return to their own territory and
place it in a suitable state of defence.
Viracocha the Great
With Viracocha the Great, or "Godlike," the period of true Inca
ascendancy commences. He was the real founder of the enlarged Inca
dominion. He was elected Inca on his personal merits, and during a
vigorous reign succeeded in making the influence of Cuzco felt in
the contiguous southern regions. In his old age he retired to his
country seats at Yucay and Xaquixahuana, and left the conduct of the
realm to his son and successor, Urco-Inca, a weak-minded voluptuary,
who neglected his royal duties, and was superseded by his younger
brother, Pachacutic, a famous character in Inca history.
The Plain of Blood
The commencement of Pachacutic's reign witnessed one of the
most sanguinary battles in the history of Peru. Hastu-huaraca,
chief of the Antahuayllas, in the Chanca country, invaded the Inca
territory, and encamped on the hills of Carmenca, which overlooks
Cuzco. Pachacutic held a parley with him, but all to no purpose,
for the powerful invader was determined to humble the Inca dynasty
to the dust. Battle was speedily joined. The first day's fight was
indecisive, but on the succeeding day Pachacutic won a great victory,
the larger part of the invading force being left dead on the field
of battle, and Hastu-huaraca retreating with five hundred followers
only. The battle of Yahuar-pampa (Plain of Blood) was the turning-point
in Peruvian history. The young Inca, formerly known as Yupanqui, was
now called Pachacutic (He who changes the World). The warriors of the
south made full submission to him, and came in crowds to offer him
their services and seek his alliance and friendship, and he shortly
found himself supreme in the territories over which his predecessors
had exercised merely a nominal control.
The Conquest of Middle Peru
Hastu-huaraca, who had been commissioned by the allied tribesmen of
Chinchay-suyu to reduce the Incas, now threw in his lot with them,
and together conqueror and conquered proceeded to the liberation of the
district of Chinchay-suyu from the tyranny of the Huanca alliance. The
reduction of the southern portion of that territory was speedily
accomplished. In the valley of Xauxa the invaders came upon the army
of the Huanca, on which they inflicted a final defeat. The Inca spared
and liberated the prisoners of war, who were numerous. Once more,
at Tarma, were the Huanca beaten, after which all resistance appears
to have been overcome. The city-state of Cuzco was now the dominant
power throughout the whole of Central Peru, a territory 300 miles in
length, whilst it exercised a kind of suzerainty over a district of
equal extent toward the south-east, which it shortly converted into
actual dominion.
Fusion of Races
This conquest of Central Peru led to the fusing of the Quichua-speaking
tribes on the left bank of the Apurimac with the Aymara-speaking
folk on the right bank, with the result that the more numerous
Quichua speedily gained linguistic ascendancy over their brethren the
Aymara. Subsequently to this the peoples of Southern and Central Peru,
led by Inca headmen, swept in a great wave of migration over Cerro de
Pasco, where they met with little or no resistance, and Pachacutic
lived to be lord over a dominion extending for a thousand miles to
the northward, and founder of a great Inca colony south of the equator
almost identical in outline with the republic of Ecuador.
Two Branches of the Incas
These conquests, or rather race-movements, split up the Inca
people into two separate portions, the respective centres of
which were well-nigh a thousand miles apart. The centre of the
northern district was at Tumipampa, Riopampa, and Quito at different
periods. The political separation of these areas was only a question of
time. Geographical conditions almost totally divided the two portions
of the empire, a sparsely populated stretch of country 400 miles in
extent lying between them (see map, p. 333.)
The Laws of Pachacutic
Pachacutic united to his fame as a warrior the reputation of a wise
and liberal ruler. He built the great Temple of the Sun at Cuzco,
probably on the site of a still older building, and established in
its walls the convent in which five hundred maidens were set apart
for the service of the god. He also, it is said, instituted the great
rite of the Ccapac-cocha, at which maize, cloth, llamas, and children
were sacrificed in honour of the sun-god. He devised a kind of census,
by which governors were compelled periodically to render an account
of the population under their rule. This statement was made by means
of quipos. Agriculture was his peculiar care, and he was stringent
in the enforcement of laws regarding the tilling of the soil, the
foundation and upkeep of stores and granaries, and the regulation
of labour in general. As an architect he took upon himself the task
of personally designing the principal buildings of the city of Cuzco,
which were rebuilt under his instructions and in accordance with models
moulded from clay by his own hands. He appears to have had a passion
for order, and to him we may be justified in tracing the rigorous and
almost grandmotherly system under which the Peruvians were living at
the time of the arrival of their Spanish conquerors. To Pachacutic,
too, is assigned the raising of the immense fortress of Sacsahuaman,
already described. He further instituted the order of knighthood known
as Auqui, or "Warrior," entrance to which was granted to suitable
applicants at the great feast of Ccapac Raymi, or Festival of the
Sun. He also named the succession of moons, and erected the pillars
on the hill of Carmenca by which the season of solstice was found. In
short, all law and order which had a place in the Peruvian social
economy were attributed to him, and we may designate him the Alfred
of his race.
Tupac-Yupanqui
Pachacutic's son, Tupac-Yupanqui, for some time before his father's
death acted as his lieutenant. His name signifies "Bright" or
"Shining." His activity extended to every portion of the Inca dominion,
the borders of which he enlarged, suppressing revolts, subjugating
tribes not wholly brought within the pale of Inca influence, and
generally completing the work so ably begun by his father.
"The Gibbet"
A spirit of cruelty and excess such as was unknown to Pachacutic
marked the military exploits of Tupac. In the valley of Huarco, near
the Pacific coast, for example, he was repulsed by the natives, who
were well supplied with food and stores of all sorts, and whose town
was well fortified and very strongly situated. Tupac constructed an
immense camp, or rather town, the outlines of which recalled those of
his capital of Cuzco, on a hill opposite the city, and here he calmly
sat down to watch the gradual starvation of the enemy. This siege
continued for three years, until the wretched defenders, driven to
despair through want of food, capitulated, relying on the assurance
of their conqueror that they should become a part of the Inca nation
and that their daughters should become the wives of Inca youths. The
submission of their chiefs having been made, Tupac ordered a general
massacre of the warriors and principal civilians. At the conquest the
Spaniards could still see the immense heaps of bones which littered
the spot where this heartless holocaust took place, and the name Huarco
(The Gibbet) became indissolubly associated with the district.
Huaina Ccapac
Tupac died in 1493, and was succeeded by his son Huaina Ccapac
(The Young Chief). Huaina was about twenty-two years of age at the
time of his father's death, and although the late Inca had named
Ccapac-Huari, his son by another wife, as his successor, the claims of
Huaina were recognised. His reign was peaceful, and was marked by wise
administrative improvements and engineering effort. At the same time
he was busily employed in holding the savage peoples who surrounded
his empire in check. He favoured the northern colony, and rebuilt
Tumipampa, but resided at Quito. Here he dwelt for some years with a
favourite son by a wife of the lower class, named Tupac-atau-huallpa
(The Sun makes Good Fortune). Huaina was the victim of an epidemic
raging in Peru at the time. He was greatly feared by his subjects,
and was the last Inca who held undisputed sway over the entire
dominion. Like Nezahualcoyotl in Mexico, he attempted to set up the
worship of one god in Peru, to the detriment of all other huacas,
or sacred beings.
The Inca Civil War
On the death of Huaina his two sons, Huascar and Atauhuallpa, [16]
strove for the crown. Before his demise Huaina had divided his dominion
between his two sons, but it was said that he had wrested Quito from
a certain chieftain whose daughter he had married, and by whom he had
Atauhuallpa, who was therefore rightful heir to that province. The
other son, Huascar, or Tupac-cusi-huallpa (The Sun makes Joy), was
born to his principal sister-wife--for, according to Inca custom,
the monarchs of Peru, like those of certain Egyptian dynasties,
filled with pride of race, and unwilling to mingle their blood with
that of plebeians, took spouses from among their sisters. This is the
story as given by many Spanish chroniclers, but it has no foundation
in fact. Atauhuallpa was in reality the son of a woman of the people,
and Huascar was not the son of Huaina's sister-wife, but of a wife of
less intimate relationship. Therefore both sons were on an equality as
regards descent. Huascar, however, was nearer the throne by virtue of
his mother's status, which was that of a royal princess, whereas the
mother of Atauhuallpa was not officially recognised. Huascar by his
excesses and his outrages on religion and public decency aroused the
people to revolt against his power, and Atauhuallpa, discerning his
opportunity in this émeute, made a determined attack on the royal
forces, and succeeded in driving them slowly back, until at last
Tumipampa was razed to the ground, and shortly afterwards the important
southerly fortress of Caxamarca fell into the hands of the rebels.
A Dramatic Situation
Atauhuallpa remained at Caxamarca, and despatched the bulk of his
forces into the enemy's country. These drove the warriors of Huascar
back until the upper courses of the Apurimac were reached. Huascar fled
from Cuzco, but was captured, and carried a prisoner with his mother,
wife, and children to Atauhuallpa. Not many days afterwards news
of the landing of the Spaniards was received by the rebel Inca. The
downfall of the Peruvian Empire was at hand.
A Worthless Despotism
If the blessings of a well-regulated government were dispensed
by the Incas, these benefits were assuredly counterbalanced by the
degrading despotism which accompanied them. The political organisation
of the Peruvian Empire was in every sense more complete than that
of Mexico. But in a state where individual effort and liberty are
entirely crushed even such an effective organisation as the Peruvian
can avail the people little, and is merely a device for the support
of a calculated tyranny.
CHAPTER VII: THE MYTHOLOGY OF PERU
The Religion of Ancient Peru
The religion of the ancient Peruvians had obviously developed in a much
shorter time than that of the Mexicans. The more ancient character
inherent in it was displayed in the presence of deities many of
which were little better than mere totems, and although a definite
monotheism or worship of one god appears to have been reached, it
was not by the efforts of the priestly caste that this was achieved,
but rather by the will of the Inca Pachacutic, who seems to have been
a monarch gifted with rare insight and ability--a man much after the
type of the Mexican Nezahualcoyotl.
In Inca times the religion of the people was solely directed by the
state, and regulated in such a manner that independent theological
thought was permitted no outlet. But it must not be inferred from this
that no change had ever come over the spirit of Peruvian religion. As
a matter of fact sweeping changes had been effected, but these had been
solely the work of the Inca race, the leaders of which had amalgamated
the various faiths of the peoples whom they had conquered into one
official belief.
Totemism
Garcilasso el Inca de la Vega, an early Spanish writer on matters
Peruvian, states that tradition ran that in ante-Inca times every
district, family, and village possessed its own god, each different
from the others. These gods were usually such objects as trees,
mountains, flowers, herbs, caves, large stones, pieces of jasper,
and animals. The jaguar, puma, and bear were worshipped for their
strength and fierceness, the monkey and fox for their cunning, the
condor for its size and because several tribes believed themselves to
be descended from it. The screech-owl was worshipped for its beauty,
and the common owl for its power of seeing in the dark. Serpents,
particularly the larger and more dangerous varieties, were especially
regarded with reverence.
Although Payne classes all these gods together as totems, it is plain
that those of the first class--the flowers, herbs, caves, and pieces
of jasper--are merely fetishes. A fetish is an object in which the
savage believes to be resident a spirit which, by its magic, will
assist him in his undertakings. A totem is an object or an animal,
usually the latter, with which the people of a tribe believe themselves
to be connected by ties of blood and from which they are descended. It
later becomes the type or symbol of the tribe.
Paccariscas
Lakes, springs, rocks, mountains, precipices, and caves were all
regarded by the various Peruvian tribes as paccariscas--places
whence their ancestors had originally issued to the upper world. The
paccarisca was usually saluted with the cry, "Thou art my birthplace,
thou art my life-spring. Guard me from evil, O Paccarisca!" In the
holy spot a spirit was supposed to dwell which served the tribe as a
kind of oracle. Naturally the paccarisca was looked upon with extreme
reverence. It became, indeed, a sort of life-centre for the tribe,
from which they were very unwilling to be separated.
Worship of Stones
The worship of stones appears to have been almost as universal in
ancient Peru as it was in ancient Palestine. Man in his primitive
state believes stones to be the framework of the earth, its
bony structure. He considers himself to have emerged from some
cave--in fact, from the entrails of the earth. Nearly all American
creation-myths regard man as thus emanating from the bowels of the
great terrestrial mother. Rocks which were thus chosen as paccariscas
are found, among many other places, at Callca, in the valley of the
Yucay, and at Titicaca there is a great mass of red sandstone on
the top of a high ridge with almost inaccessible slopes and dark,
gloomy recesses where the sun was thought to have hidden himself at
the time of the great deluge which covered all the earth. The rock
of Titicaca was, in fact, the great paccarisca of the sun itself.
We are thus not surprised to find that many standing stones were
worshipped in Peru in aboriginal times. Thus Arriaga states that rocks
of great size which bore some resemblance to the human figure were
imagined to have been at one time gigantic men or spirits who, because
they disobeyed the creative power, were turned into stone. According
to another account they were said to have suffered this punishment for
refusing to listen to the words of Thonapa, the son of the creator,
who, like Quetzalcoatl or Manco Ccapac, had taken upon himself the
guise of a wandering Indian, so that he might have an opportunity of
bringing the arts of civilisation to the aborigines. At Tiahuanaco
a certain group of stones was said to represent all that remained of
the villagers of that place, who, instead of paying fitting attention
to the wise counsel which Thonapa the Civiliser bestowed upon them,
continued to dance and drink in scorn of the teachings he had brought
to them.
Again, some stones were said to have become men, as in the old Greek
creation-legend of Deucalion and Pyrrha. In the legend of Ccapac Inca
Pachacutic, when Cuzco was attacked in force by the Chancas an Indian
erected stones to which he attached shields and weapons so that they
should appear to represent so many warriors in hiding. Pachacutic,
in great need of assistance, cried to them with such vehemence to come
to his help that they became men, and rendered him splendid service.
Huacas
Whatever was sacred, of sacred origin, or of the nature of a relic
the Peruvians designated a huaca, from the root huacan, to howl,
native worship invariably taking the form of a kind of howl, or
weird, dirge-like wailing. All objects of reverence were known as
huacas, although those of a higher class were also alluded to as
viracochas. The Peruvians had, naturally, many forms of huaca, the
most popular of which were those of the fetish class which could be
carried about by the individual. These were usually stones or pebbles,
many of which were carved and painted, and some made to represent
human beings. The llama and the ear of maize were perhaps the most
usual forms of these sacred objects. Some of them had an agricultural
significance. In order that irrigation might proceed favourably a huaca
was placed at intervals in proximity to the acequias, or irrigation
canals, which was supposed to prevent them leaking or otherwise failing
to supply a sufficiency of moisture to the parched maize-fields. Huacas
of this sort were known as ccompas, and were regarded as deities of
great importance, as the food-supply of the community was thought to
be wholly dependent upon their assistance. Other huacas of a similar
kind were called chichics and huancas, and these presided over the
fortunes of the maize, and ensured that a sufficient supply of rain
should be forthcoming. Great numbers of these agricultural fetishes
were destroyed by the zealous commissary Hernandez de Avendaño.
The Mamas
Spirits which were supposed to be instrumental in forcing the growth of
the maize or other plants were the mamas. We find a similar conception
among many Brazilian tribes to-day, so that the idea appears to have
been a widely accepted one in South American countries. The Peruvians
called such agencies "mothers," adding to the generic name that of
the plant or herb with which they were specially associated. Thus
acsumama was the potato-mother, quinuamama the quinua-mother, saramama
the maize-mother, and cocamama the mother of the coca-shrub. Of these
the saramama was naturally the most important, governing as it did
the principal source of the food-supply of the community. Sometimes
an image of the saramama was carved in stone, in the shape of an ear
of maize. The saramama was also worshipped in the form of a doll,
or huantaysara, made out of stalks of maize, renewed at each harvest,
much as the idols of the great corn-mother of Mexico were manufactured
at each harvest-season. After having been made, the image was watched
over for three nights, and then sacrifice was done to it. The priest
or medicine-man of the tribe would then inquire of it whether or not
it was capable of existing until that time in the next year. If its
spirit replied in the affirmative it was permitted to remain where
it was until the following harvest. If not it was removed, burnt,
and another figure took its place, to which similar questions were put.
The Huamantantac
Connected with agriculture in some degree was the Huamantantac (He
who causes the Cormorants to gather themselves together). This was
the agency responsible for the gathering of sea-birds, resulting in
the deposits of guano to be found along the Peruvian coast which are
so valuable in the cultivation of the maize-plant. He was regarded as
a most beneficent spirit, and was sacrificed to with exceeding fervour.
Huaris
The huaris, or "great ones," were the ancestors of the aristocrats of
a tribe, and were regarded as specially favourable toward agricultural
effort, possibly because the land had at one time belonged to them
personally. They were sometimes alluded to as the "gods of strength,"
and were sacrificed to by libations of chicha. Ancestors in general
were deeply revered, and had an agricultural significance, in that
considerable tracts of land were tilled in order that they might be
supplied with suitable food and drink offerings. As the number of
ancestors increased more and more land was brought into cultivation,
and the hapless people had their toil added to immeasurably by these
constant demands upon them.
Huillcas
The huillcas were huacas which partook of the nature of oracles. Many
of these were serpents, trees, and rivers, the noises made by
which appeared to the primitive Peruvians--as, indeed, they do to
primitive folk all over the world--to be of the quality of articulate
speech. Both the Huillcamayu and the Apurimac rivers at Cuzco were
huillca oracles of this kind, as their names, "Huillca-river" and
"Great Speaker," denote. These oracles often set the mandate of the
Inca himself at defiance, occasionally supporting popular opinion
against his policy.
The Oracles of the Andes
The Peruvian Indians of the Andes range within recent generations
continued to adhere to the superstitions they had inherited from their
fathers. A rare and interesting account of these says that they "admit
an evil being, the inhabitant of the centre of the earth, whom they
consider as the author of their misfortunes, and at the mention of
whose name they tremble. The most shrewd among them take advantage
of this belief to obtain respect, and represent themselves as his
delegates. Under the denomination of mohanes, or agoreros, they are
consulted even on the most trivial occasions. They preside over the
intrigues of love, the health of the community, and the taking of
the field. Whatever repeatedly occurs to defeat their prognostics,
falls on themselves; and they are wont to pay for their deceptions
very dearly. They chew a species of vegetable called piripiri, and
throw it into the air, accompanying this act by certain recitals
and incantations, to injure some, to benefit others, to procure rain
and the inundation of the rivers, or, on the other hand, to occasion
settled weather, and a plentiful store of agricultural productions. Any
such result, having been casually verified on a single occasion,
suffices to confirm the Indians in their faith, although they may
have been cheated a thousand times. Fully persuaded that they cannot
resist the influence of the piripiri, as soon as they know that
they have been solicited in love by its means, they fix their eyes
on the impassioned object, and discover a thousand amiable traits,
either real or fanciful, which indifference had before concealed from
their view. But the principal power, efficacy, and it may be said
misfortune of the mohanes consist in the cure of the sick. Every
malady is ascribed to their enchantments, and means are instantly
taken to ascertain by whom the mischief may have been wrought. For
this purpose, the nearest relative takes a quantity of the juice of
floripondium, and suddenly falls intoxicated by the violence of the
plant. He is placed in a fit posture to prevent suffocation, and
on his coming to himself, at the end of three days, the mohane who
has the greatest resemblance to the sorcerer he saw in his visions
is to undertake the cure, or if, in the interim, the sick man has
perished, it is customary to subject him to the same fate. When not
any sorcerer occurs in the visions, the first mohane they encounter
has the misfortune to represent his image." [17]
Lake-Worship in Peru
At Lake Titicaca the Peruvians believed the inhabitants of the earth,
animals as well as men, to have been fashioned by the creator,
and the district was thus sacrosanct in their eyes. The people of
the Collao called it Mamacota (Mother-water), because it furnished
them with supplies of food. Two great idols were connected with this
worship. One called Copacahuana was made of a bluish-green stone
shaped like a fish with a human head, and was placed in a commanding
position on the shores of the lake. On the arrival of the Spaniards
so deeply rooted was the worship of this goddess that they could only
suppress it by raising an image of the Virgin in place of the idol. The
Christian emblem remains to this day. Mamacota was venerated as the
giver of fish, with which the lake abounded. The other image, Copacati
(Serpent-stone), represented the element of water as embodied in the
lake itself in the form of an image wreathed in serpents, which in
America are nearly always symbolical of water.
The Lost Island
A strange legend is recounted of this lake-goddess. She was chiefly
worshipped as the giver of rain, but Huaina Ccapac, who had modern
ideas and journeyed through the country casting down huacas, had
determined to raise on an island of Lake Titicaca a temple to Yatiri
(The Ruler), the Aymara name of the god Pachacamac in his form of
Pachayachachic. He commenced by raising the new shrine on the island of
Titicaca itself. But the deity when called upon refused to vouchsafe
any reply to his worshippers or priests. Huaina then commanded that
the shrine should be transferred to the island of Apinguela. But the
same thing happened there. He then inaugurated a temple on the island
of Paapiti, and lavished upon it many sacrifices of llamas, children,
and precious metals. But the offended tutelary goddess of the lake,
irritated beyond endurance by this invasion of her ancient domain,
lashed the watery waste into such a frenzy of storm that the island
and the shrine which covered it disappeared beneath the waves and
were never thereafter beheld by mortal eye.
The Thunder-God of Peru
The rain-and-thunder god of Peru was worshipped in various parts
of the country under various names. Among the Collao he was known
as Con, and in that part of the Inca dominions now known as Bolivia
he was called Churoquella. Near the cordilleras of the coast he was
probably known as Pariacaca, who expelled the huaca of the district
by dreadful tempests, hurling rain and hail at him for three days and
nights in such quantities as to form the great lake of Pariacaca. Burnt
llamas were offered to him. But the Incas, discontented with this local
worship, which by no means suited their system of central government,
determined to create one thunder-deity to whom all the tribes in the
empire must bow as the only god of his class. We are not aware what
his name was, but we know from mythological evidence that he was
a mixture of all the other gods of thunder in the Peruvian Empire,
first because he invariably occupied the third place in the triad
of greater deities, the creator, sun, and thunder, all of whom were
more or less amalgamations of provincial and metropolitan gods, and
secondly because a great image of him was erected in the Coricancha at
Cuzco, in which he was represented in human form, wearing a headdress
which concealed his face, symbolic of the clouds, which ever veil the
thunder-god's head. He had a special temple of his own, moreover, and
was assigned a share in the sacred lands by the Inca Pachacutic. He was
accompanied by a figure of his sister, who carried jars of water. An
unknown Quichuan poet composed on the myth the following graceful
little poem, which was translated by the late Daniel Garrison Brinton,
an enthusiastic Americanist and professor of American archæology in
the University of Pennsylvania:
Bounteous Princess,
Lo, thy brother
Breaks thy vessel
Now in fragments.
From the blow come
Thunder, lightning,
Strokes of lightning;
And thou, Princess,
Tak'st the water,
With it rainest,
And the hail or
Snow dispensest,
Viracocha,
World-constructor.
It will be observed that the translator here employs the name Viracocha
as if it were that of the deity. But it was merely a general expression
in use for a more than usually sacred being. Brinton, commenting upon
the legend, says: "In this pretty waif that has floated down to us
from the wreck of a literature now for ever lost there is more than
one point to attract the notice of the antiquary. He may find in it
a hint to decipher those names of divinities so common in Peruvian
legends, Contici and Illatici. Both mean 'the Thunder Vase,' and both
doubtless refer to the conception here displayed of the phenomena
of the thunderstorm." Alluding to Peruvian thunder-myth elsewhere,
he says in an illuminating passage: "Throughout the realms of the
Incas the Peruvians venerated as maker of all things and ruler of the
firmament the god Ataguju. The legend was that from him proceeded
the first of mortals, the man Guamansuri, who descended to the
earth and there wedded the sister of certain Guachimines, rayless
ones or Darklings, who then possessed it. They destroyed him, but
their sister gave birth to twin sons, Apocatequil and Piguerao. The
former was the more powerful. By touching the corpse of his mother
he brought her to life, he drove off and slew the Guachimines, and,
directed by Ataguju, released the race of Indians from the soil by
turning it up with a spade of gold. For this reason they adored him
as their maker. He it was, they thought, who produced the thunder and
the lightning by hurling stones with his sling. And the thunderbolts
that fall, said they, are his children. Few villages were willing
to be without one or more of these. They were in appearance small,
round stones, but had the admirable properties of securing fertility
to the fields, protecting from lightning, and, by a transition easy
to understand, were also adored as gods of fire as well material as
of the passions, and were capable of kindling the dangerous flames
of desire in the most frigid bosoms. Therefore they were in great
esteem as love-charms. Apocatequil's statue was erected on the
mountains, with that of his mother on one hand and his brother on
the other. 'He was Prince of Evil, and the most respected god of the
Peruvians. From Quito to Cuzco not an Indian but would give all he
possessed to conciliate him. Five priests, two stewards, and a crowd
of slaves served his image. And his chief temple was surrounded by a
very considerable village, whose inhabitants had no other occupation
but to wait on him.'" In memory of these brothers twins in Peru were
always deemed sacred to the lightning.
There is an instance on record of how the huillca could refuse on
occasion to recognise even royalty itself. Manco, the Inca who had
been given the kingly power by Pizarro, offered a sacrifice to one of
these oracular shrines. The oracle refused to recognise him, through
the medium of its guardian priest, stating that Manco was not the
rightful Inca. Manco therefore caused the oracle, which was in the
shape of a rock, to be thrown down, whereupon its guardian spirit
emerged in the form of a parrot and flew away. It is probable that
the bird thus liberated had been taught by the priests to answer
to the questions of those who came to consult the shrine. But we
learn that on Manco commanding that the parrot should be pursued it
sought another rock, which opened to receive it, and the spirit of
the huillca was transferred to this new abode.
The Great God Pachacamac
Later Peruvian mythology recognised only three gods of the first
rank, the earth, the thunder, and the creative agency. Pachacamac,
the great spirit of earth, derived his name from a word pacha, which
may be best translated as "things." In its sense of visible things it
is equivalent to "world," applied to things which happen in succession
it denotes "time," and to things connected with persons "property,"
especially clothes. The world of visible things is thus Mamapacha
(Earth-Mother), under which name the ancient Peruvians worshipped
the earth. Pachacamac, on the other hand, is not the earth itself,
the soil, but the spirit which animates all things that emerge
therefrom. From him proceed the spirits of the plants and animals
which come from the earth. Pachamama is the mother-spirit of the
mountains, rocks, and plains, Pachacamac the father-spirit of the
grain-bearing plants, animals, birds, and man. In some localities
Pachacamac and Pachamama were worshipped as divine mates. Possibly
this practice was universal in early times, gradually lapsing into
desuetude in later days. Pachamama was in another phase intended to
denote the land immediately contiguous to a settlement, on which the
inhabitants depended for their food-supply.
Peruvian Creation-Stories
It is easy to see how such a conception as Pachacamac, the spirit
of animated nature, would become one with the idea of a universal or
even a partial creator. That there was a pre-existing conception of a
creative agency can be proved from the existence of the Peruvian name
Conticsi-viracocha (He who gives Origin, or Beginning). This conception
and that of Pachacamac must at some comparatively early period have
clashed, and been amalgamated probably with ease when it was seen how
nearly akin were the two ideas. Indeed, Pachacamac was alternatively
known as Pacharurac, the "maker" of all things--sure proof of his
amalgamation with the conception of the creative agency. As such he
had his symbol in the great Coricancha at Cuzco, an oval plate of gold,
suspended between those of the sun and the moon, and placed vertically,
it may be hazarded with some probability, to represent in symbol that
universal matrix from which emanated all things. Elsewhere in Cuzco
the creator was represented by a stone statue in human form.
Pachayachachic
In later Inca days this idea of a creator assumed that of a direct
ruler of the universe, known as Pachayachachic. This change was
probably due to the influence of the Inca Pachacutic, who is known to
have made several other doctrinal innovations in Peruvian theology. He
commanded a great new temple to the creator-god to be built at the
north angle of the city of Cuzco, in which he placed a statue of
pure gold, of the size of a boy of ten years of age. The small size
was to facilitate its removal, as Peruvian worship was nearly always
carried out in the open air. In form it represented a man with his
right arm elevated, the hand partially closed and the forefinger
and thumb raised, as if in the act of uttering the creative word. To
this god large possessions and revenues were assigned, for previously
service rendered to him had been voluntary only.
Ideas of Creation
It is from aboriginal sources as preserved by the first Spanish
colonists that we glean our knowledge of what the Incas believed the
creative process to consist. By means of his word (ñisca) the creator,
a spirit, powerful and opulent, made all things. We are provided with
the formulæ of his very words by the Peruvian prayers still extant:
"Let earth and heaven be," "Let a man be; let a woman be," "Let there
be day," "Let there be night," "Let the light shine." The sun is here
regarded as the creative agency, and the ruling caste as the objects
of a special act of creation.
Pacari Tampu
Pacari Tampu (House of the Dawn) was the place of origin, according to
the later Inca theology, of four brothers and sisters who initiated the
four Peruvian systems of worship. The eldest climbed a neighbouring
mountain, and cast stones to the four points of the compass, thus
indicating that he claimed all the land within sight. But his youngest
brother succeeded in enticing him into a cave, which he sealed up with
a great stone, thus imprisoning him for ever. He next persuaded his
second brother to ascend a lofty mountain, from which he cast him,
changing him into a stone in his descent. On beholding the fate of
his brethren the third member of the quartette fled. It is obvious
that we have here a legend concocted by the later Inca priesthood
to account for the evolution of Peruvian religion in its different
stages. The first brother would appear to represent the oldest religion
in Peru, that of the paccariscas, the second that of a fetishistic
stone-worship, the third perhaps that of Viracocha, and the last
sun-worship pure and simple. There was, however, an "official" legend,
which stated that the sun had three sons, Viracocha, Pachacamac, and
Manco Ccapac. To the last the dominion of mankind was given, whilst
the others were concerned with the workings of the universe. This
politic arrangement placed all the power, temporal and spiritual,
in the hands of the reputed descendants of Manco Ccapac--the Incas.
Worship of the Sea
The ancient Peruvians worshipped the sea as well as the earth, the
folk inland regarding it as a menacing deity, whilst the people of the
coast reverenced it as a god of benevolence, calling it Mama-cocha,
or Mother-sea, as it yielded them subsistence in the form of fish,
on which they chiefly lived. They worshipped the whale, fairly common
on that coast, because of its enormous size, and various districts
regarded with adoration the species of fish most abundant there. This
worship can have partaken in no sense of the nature of totemism,
as the system forbade that the totem animal should be eaten. It was
imagined that the prototype of each variety of fish dwelt in the upper
world, just as many tribes of North American Indians believe that the
eponymous ancestors of certain animals dwell at the four points of the
compass or in the sky above them. This great fish-god engendered the
others of his species, and sent them into the waters of the deep that
they might exist there until taken for the use of man. Birds, too, had
their eponymous counterparts among the stars, as had animals. Indeed,
among many of the South American races, ancient and modern, the
constellations were called after certain beasts and birds.
Viracocha
The Aymara-Quichua race worshipped Viracocha as a great culture
hero. They did not offer him sacrifices or tribute, as they thought
that he, being creator and possessor of all things, needed nothing
from men, so they only gave him worship. After him they idolised the
sun. They believed, indeed, that Viracocha had made both sun and moon,
after emerging from Lake Titicaca, and that then he made the earth and
peopled it. On his travels westward from the lake he was sometimes
assailed by men, but he revenged himself by sending terrible storms
upon them and destroying their property, so they humbled themselves
and acknowledged him as their lord. He forgave them and taught them
everything, obtaining from them the name of Pachayachachic. In the
end he disappeared in the western ocean. He either created or there
were born with him four beings who, according to mythical beliefs,
civilised Peru. To them he assigned the four quarters of the earth,
and they are thus known as the four winds, north, south, east, and
west. One legend avers they came from the cave Pacari, the Lodging
of the Dawn.
Sun-Worship in Peru
The name "Inca" means "People of the Sun," which luminary the
Incas regarded as their creator. But they did not worship him
totemically--that is, they did not claim him as a progenitor, although
they regarded him as possessing the attributes of a man. And here we
may observe a difference between Mexican and Peruvian sun-worship. For
whereas the Nahua primarily regarded the orb as the abode of the
Man of the Sun, who came to earth in the shape of Quetzalcoatl,
the Peruvians looked upon the sun itself as the deity. The Inca
race did not identify their ancestors as children of the sun until
a comparatively late date. Sun-worship was introduced by the Inca
Pachacutic, who averred that the sun appeared to him in a dream
and addressed him as his child. Until that time the worship of the
sun had always been strictly subordinated to that of the creator,
and the deity appeared only as second in the trinity of creator,
sun, and thunder. But permanent provision was made for sacrifices
to the sun before the other deities were so recognised, and as the
conquests of the Incas grew wider and that provision extended to
the new territories they came to be known as "the Lands of the Sun,"
the natives observing the dedication of a part of the country to the
luminary, and concluding therefrom that it applied to the whole. The
material reality of the sun would enormously assist his cult among a
people who were too barbarous to appreciate an unseen god, and this
colonial conception reacting upon the mother-land would undoubtedly
inspire the military class with a resolve to strengthen a worship so
popular in the conquered provinces, and of which they were in great
measure the protagonists and missionaries.
The Sun's Possessions
In every Peruvian village the sun had considerable possessions. His
estates resembled those of a territorial chieftain, and consisted of
a dwelling-house, a chacra, or portion of land, flocks of llamas and
pacos, and a number of women dedicated to his service. The cultivation
of the soil within the solar enclosure devolved upon the inhabitants
of the neighbouring village, the produce of their toil being stored
in the inti-huasi, or sun's house. The Women of the Sun prepared the
daily food and drink of the luminary, which consisted of maize and
chicha. They also spun wool and wove it into fine stuff, which was
burned in order that it might ascend to the celestial regions, where
the deity could make use of it. Each village reserved a portion of
its solar produce for the great festival at Cuzco, and it was carried
thither on the backs of llamas which were destined for sacrifice.
Inca Occupation of Titicaca
The Rock of Titicaca, the renowned place of the sun's origin, naturally
became an important centre of his worship. The date at which the
worship of the sun originated at this famous rock is extremely remote,
but we may safely assume that it was long before the conquest of
the Collao by the Apu-Ccapac-Inca Pachacutic, and that reverence for
the luminary as a war-god by the Colla chiefs was noticed by Tupac,
who in suppressing the revolt concluded that the local observance at
the rock had some relationship to the disturbance. It is, however,
certain that Tupac proceeded after the reconquest to establish at
this natural centre of sun-worship solar rites on a new basis, with
the evident intention of securing on behalf of the Incas of Cuzco such
exclusive benefit as might accrue from the complete possession of the
sun's paccarisca. According to a native account, a venerable colla
(or hermit), consecrated to the service of the sun, had proceeded
on foot from Titicaca to Cuzco for the purpose of commending this
ancient seat of sun-worship to the notice of Tupac. The consequence
was that Apu-Ccapac-Inca, after visiting the island and inquiring
into the ancient local customs, re-established them in a more regular
form. His accounts can hardly be accepted in face of the facts which
have been gathered. Rather did it naturally follow that Titicaca
became subservient to Tupac after the revolt of the Collao had been
quelled. Henceforth the worship of the sun at the place of his origin
was entrusted to Incas resident in the place, and was celebrated
with Inca rites. The island was converted into a solar estate and
the aboriginal inhabitants removed. The land was cultivated and the
slopes of the hills levelled, maize was sown and the soil consecrated,
the grain being regarded as the gift of the sun. This work produced
considerable change in the island. Where once was waste and idleness
there was now fertility and industry. The harvests were skilfully
apportioned, so much being reserved for sacrificial purposes, the
remainder being sent to Cuzco, partly to be sown in the chacras,
or estates of the sun, throughout Peru, partly to be preserved in
the granary of the Inca and the huacas as a symbol that there would
be abundant crops in the future and that the grain already stored
would be preserved. A building of the Women of the Sun was erected
about a mile from the rock, so that the produce might be available
for sacrifices. For their maintenance, tribute of potatoes, ocas, and
quinua was levied upon the inhabitants of the villages on the shores
of the lake, and of maize upon the people of the neighbouring valleys.
Pilgrimages to Titicaca
Titicaca at the time of the conquest was probably more frequented
than Pachacamac itself. These two places were held to be the
cardinal shrines of the two great huacas, the creator and the sun
respectively. A special reason for pilgrimage to Titicaca was to
sacrifice to the sun, as the source of physical energy and the giver
of long life; and he was especially worshipped by the aged, who
believed he had preserved their lives, Then followed the migration
of pilgrims to Titicaca, for whose shelter houses were built at
Capacahuana, and large stores of maize were provided for their use. The
ceremonial connected with the sacred rites of the rock was rigorously
observed. The pilgrim ere embarking on the raft which conveyed him
to the island must first confess his sins to a huillac (a speaker
to an object of worship); then further confessions were required
at each of the three sculptured doors which had successively to be
passed before reaching the sacred rock. The first door (Puma-puncu)
was surmounted by the figure of a puma; the others (Quenti-puncu and
Pillco-puncu) were ornamented with feathers of the different species of
birds commonly sacrificed to the sun. Having passed the last portal,
the traveller beheld at a distance of two hundred paces the sacred
rock itself, the summit glittering with gold-leaf. He was permitted
to proceed no further, for only the officials were allowed entry into
it. The pilgrim on departing received a few grains of the sacred maize
grown on the island. These he kept with care and placed with his own
store, believing they would preserve his stock, The confidence the
Indian placed in the virtue of the Titicaca maize may be judged from
the prevalent belief that the possessor of a single grain would not
suffer from starvation during the whole of his life.
Sacrifices to the New Sun
The Intip-Raymi, or Great Festival of the Sun, was celebrated by
the Incas at Cuzco at the winter solstice. In connection with it
the Tarpuntaita-cuma, or sacrificing Incas, were charged with a
remarkable duty, the worshippers journeying eastward to meet one of
these functionaries on his way. On the principal hill-tops between
Cuzco and Huillcanuta, on the road to the rock of Titicaca, burnt
offerings of llamas, coca, and maize were made at the feast to greet
the arrival of the young sun from his ancient birthplace. Molina
has enumerated more than twenty of these places of sacrifice. The
striking picture of the celebration of the solar sacrifice on these
bleak mountains in the depth of the Peruvian winter has, it seems,
no parallel in the religious rites of the ancient Americans. Quitting
their thatched houses at early dawn, the worshippers left the valley
below, carrying the sacrificial knife and brazier, and conducting
the white llama, heavily laden with fuel, maize, and coca leaves,
wrapped in fine cloth, to the spot where the sacrifice was to be
made. When sunrise appeared the pile was lighted. The victim was slain
and thrown upon it. The scene then presented a striking contrast to
the bleak surrounding wilderness. As the flames grew in strength and
the smoke rose higher and thicker the clear atmosphere was gradually
illuminated from the east. When the sun advanced above the horizon the
sacrifice was at its height. But for the crackling of the flames and
the murmur of a babbling stream on its way down the hill to join the
river below, the silence had hitherto been unbroken. As the sun rose
the Incas marched slowly round the burning mass, plucking the wool
from the scorched carcase, and chanting monotonously: "O Creator,
Sun and Thunder, be for ever young! Multiply the people; let them
ever be in peace!"
The Citoc Raymi
The most picturesque if not the most important solar festival was
that of the Citoc Raymi (Gradually Increasing Sun), held in June,
when nine days were given up to the ceremonial. A rigorous fast was
observed for three days previous to the event, during which no fire
must be kindled. On the fourth day the Inca, accompanied by the people
en masse, proceeded to the great square of Cuzco to hail the rising
sun, which they awaited in silence. On its appearance they greeted
it with a joyous tumult, and, joining in procession, marched to the
Golden Temple of the Sun, where llamas were sacrificed, and a new
fire was kindled by means of an arched mirror, followed by sacrificial
offerings of grain, flowers, animals, and aromatic gums. This festival
may be taken as typical of all the seasonal celebrations. The Inca
calendar was purely agricultural in its basis, and marked in its great
festivals the renewal or abandonment of the labours of the field. Its
astronomical observations were not more advanced than those of the
calendars of many American races otherwise inferior in civilisation.
Human Sacrifice in Peru
Writers ignorant of their subject have often dwelt upon the absence
of human sacrifice in ancient Peru, and have not hesitated to
draw comparisons between Mexico and the empire of the Incas in this
respect, usually not complimentary to the former. Such statements are
contradicted by the clearest evidence. Human sacrifice was certainly
not nearly so prevalent in Peru, but that it was regular and by no
means rare is well authenticated. Female victims to the sun were
taken from the great class of Acllacuna (Selected Ones), a general
tribute of female children regularly levied throughout the Inca
Empire. Beautiful girls were taken from their parents at the age of
eight by the Inca officials, and were handed over to certain female
trainers called mamacuna (mothers). These matrons systematically
trained their protégées in housewifery and ritual. Residences or
convents called aclla-huasi (houses of the Selected) were provided
for them in the principal cities.
Methods of Medicine-Men
A quaint account of the methods of the medicine-men of the Indians
of the Peruvian Andes probably illustrates the manner in which the
superstitions of a barbarian people evolve into a more stately ritual.
"It cannot be denied," it states, "that the mohanes [priests] have,
by practice and tradition, acquired a knowledge of many plants and
poisons, with which they effect surprising cures on the one hand,
and do much mischief on the other, but the mania of ascribing the
whole to a preternatural virtue occasions them to blend with their
practice a thousand charms and superstitions. The most customary
method of cure is to place two hammocks close to each other, either
in the dwelling, or in the open air: in one of them the patient
lies extended, and in the other the mohane, or agorero. The latter,
in contact with the sick man, begins by rocking himself, and then
proceeds, by a strain in falsetto, to call on the birds, quadrupeds,
and fishes to give health to the patient. From time to time he rises
on his seat, and makes a thousand extravagant gestures over the sick
man, to whom he applies his powders and herbs, or sucks the wounded
or diseased parts. If the malady augments, the agorero, having been
joined by many of the people, chants a short hymn, addressed to the
soul of the patient, with this burden: 'Thou must not go, thou must
not go.' In repeating this he is joined by the people, until at length
a terrible clamour is raised, and augmented in proportion as the sick
man becomes still fainter and fainter, to the end that it may reach
his ears. When all the charms are unavailing, and death approaches,
the mohane leaps from his hammock, and betakes himself to flight, amid
the multitude of sticks, stones, and clods of earth which are showered
on him. Successively all those who belong to the nation assemble,
and, dividing themselves into bands, each of them (if he who is in
his last agonies is a warrior) approaches him, saying: 'Whither goest
thou? Why dost thou leave us? With whom shall we proceed to the aucas
[the enemies]?' They then relate to him the heroical deeds he has
performed, the number of those he has slain, and the pleasures he
leaves behind him. This is practised in different tones: while some
raise the voice, it is lowered by others; and the poor sick man is
obliged to support these importunities without a murmur, until the
first symptoms of approaching dissolution manifest themselves. Then
it is that he is surrounded by a multitude of females, some of whom
forcibly close the mouth and eyes, others envelop him in the hammock,
oppressing him with the whole of their weight, and causing him to
expire before his time, and others, lastly, run to extinguish the
candle, and dissipate the smoke, that the soul, not being able to
perceive the hole through which it may escape, may remain entangled
in the structure of the roof. That this may be speedily effected, and
to prevent its return to the interior of the dwelling, they surround
the entrances with filth, by the stench of which it may be expelled.
Death by Suffocation
"As soon as the dying man is suffocated by the closing of the mouth,
nostrils, &c., and wrapt up in the covering of his bed, the most
circumspect Indian, whether male or female, takes him in the arms in
the best manner possible, and gives a gentle shriek, which echoes to
the bitter lamentations of the immediate relatives, and to the cries of
a thousand old women collected for the occasion. As long as this dismal
howl subsists, the latter are subjected to a constant fatigue, raising
the palm of the hand to wipe away the tears, and lowering it to dry it
on the ground. The result of this alternate action is, that a circle
of earth, which gives them a most hideous appearance, is collected
about the eyelids and brows, and they do not wash themselves until
the mourning is over. These first clamours conclude by several good
pots of masato, to assuage the thirst of sorrow, and the company next
proceed to make a great clatter among the utensils of the deceased:
some break the kettles, and others the earthen pots, while others,
again, burn the apparel, to the end that his memory may be the sooner
forgotten. If the defunct has been a cacique, or powerful warrior, his
exequies are performed after the manner of the Romans: they last for
many days, all the people weeping in concert for a considerable space
of time, at daybreak, at noon, in the evening, and at midnight. When
the appointed hour arrives, the mournful music begins in front of the
house of the wife and relatives, the heroical deeds of the deceased
being chanted to the sound of instruments. All the inhabitants of
the vicinity unite in chorus from within their houses, some chirping
like birds, others howling like tigers, and the greater part of them
chattering like monkeys, or croaking like frogs. They constantly
leave off by having recourse to the masato, and by the destruction
of whatever the deceased may have left behind him, the burning of his
dwelling being that which concludes the ceremonies. Among some of the
Indians, the nearest relatives cut off their hair as a token of their
grief, agreeably to the practice of the Moabites, and other nations....
The Obsequies of a Chief
"On the day of decease, they put the body, with its insignia, into a
large earthen vessel, or painted jar, which they bury in one of the
angles of the quarter, laying over it a covering of potter's clay, and
throwing in earth until the grave is on a level with the surface of the
ground. When the obsequies are over, they forbear to pay a visit to it,
and lose every recollection of the name of the warrior. The Roamaynas
disenterre their dead, as soon as they think that the fleshy parts
have been consumed, and having washed the bones from the skeleton,
which they place in a coffin of potter's clay, adorned with various
symbols of death, like the hieroglyphics on the wrappers of the
Egyptian mummies. In this state the skeleton is carried home, to the
end that the survivors may bear the deceased in respectful memory,
and not in imitation of those extraordinary voluptuaries of antiquity,
who introduced into their most splendid festivals a spectacle of
this nature, which, by reminding them of their dissolution, might
stimulate them to taste, before it should overtake them, all the
impure pleasures the human passions could afford them. A space of
time of about a year being elapsed, the bones are once more inhumed,
and the individual to whom they belonged forgotten for ever." [18]
Peruvian Myths
Peru is not so rich in myths as Mexico, but the following legends
well illustrate the mythological ideas of the Inca race:
The Vision of Yupanqui
The Inca Yupanqui before he succeeded to the sovereignty is said to
have gone to visit his father, Viracocha Inca. On his way he arrived
at a fountain called Susur-pugaio. There he saw a piece of crystal
fall into the fountain, and in this crystal he saw the figure of an
Indian, with three bright rays as of the sun coming from the back of
his head. He wore a hautu, or royal fringe, across the forehead like
the Inca. Serpents wound round his arms and over his shoulders. He
had ear-pieces in his ears like the Incas, and was also dressed like
them. There was the head of a lion between his legs, and another lion
was about his shoulders. Inca Yupanqui took fright at this strange
figure, and was running away when a voice called to him by name telling
him not to be afraid, because it was his father, the sun, whom he
beheld, and that he would conquer many nations, but he must remember
his father in his sacrifices and raise revenues for him, and pay him
great reverence. Then the figure vanished, but the crystal remained,
and the Inca afterwards saw all he wished in it. When he became king
he had a statue of the sun made, resembling the figure as closely
as possible, and ordered all the tribes he had conquered to build
splendid temples and worship the new deity instead of the creator.
The Bird Bride
The Canaris Indians are named from the province of Canaribamba, in
Quito, and they have several myths regarding their origin. One recounts
that at the deluge two brothers fled to a very high mountain called
Huacaquan, and as the waters rose the hill ascended simultaneously,
so that they escaped drowning. When the flood was over they had to
find food in the valleys, and they built a tiny house and lived on
herbs and roots. They were surprised one day when they went home
to find food already prepared for them and chicha to drink. This
continued for ten days. Then the elder brother decided to hide himself
and discover who brought the food. Very soon two birds, one Aqua,
the other Torito (otherwise quacamayo birds), appeared dressed as
Canaris, and wearing their hair fastened in the same way. The larger
bird removed the llicella, or mantle the Indians wear, and the man
saw that they had beautiful faces and discovered that the bird-like
beings were in reality women. When he came out the bird-women were
very angry and flew away. When the younger brother came home and found
no food he was annoyed, and determined to hide until the bird-women
returned. After ten days the quacamayos appeared again on their old
mission, and while they were busy the watcher contrived to close the
door, and so prevented the younger bird from escaping. She lived with
the brothers for a long time, and became the mother of six sons and
daughters, from whom all the Canaris proceed. Hence the tribe look
upon the quacamayo birds with reverence, and use their feathers at
their festivals.
Thonapa
Some myths tell of a divine personage called Thonapa, who appears
to have been a hero-god or civilising agent like Quetzalcoatl. He
seems to have devoted his life to preaching to the people in the
various villages, beginning in the provinces of Colla-suya. When
he came to Yamquisupa he was treated so badly that he would not
remain there. He slept in the open air, clad only in a long shirt
and a mantle, and carried a book. He cursed the village. It was soon
immersed in water, and is now a lake. There was an idol in the form
of a woman to which the people offered sacrifice at the top of a high
hill, Cachapucara. This idol Thonapa detested, so he burnt it, and
also destroyed the hill. On another occasion Thonapa cursed a large
assembly of people who were holding a great banquet to celebrate a
wedding, because they refused to listen to his preaching. They were
all changed into stones, which are visible to this day. Wandering
through Peru, Thonapa came to the mountain of Caravaya, and after
raising a very large cross he put it on his shoulders and took it to
the hill Carapucu, where he preached so fervently that he shed tears. A
chief's daughter got some of the water on her head, and the Indians,
imagining that he was washing his head (a ritual offence), took him
prisoner near the Lake of Carapucu. Very early the next morning a
beautiful youth appeared to Thonapa, and told him not to fear, for he
was sent from the divine guardian who watched over him. He released
Thonapa, who escaped, though he was well guarded. He went down into
the lake, his mantle keeping him above the water as a boat would have
done. After Thonapa had escaped from the barbarians he remained on
the rock of Titicaca, afterwards going to the town of Tiya-manacu,
where again he cursed the people and turned them into stones. They
were too bent upon amusement to listen to his preaching. He then
followed the river Chacamarca till it reached the sea, and, like
Quetzalcoatl, disappeared. This is good evidence that he was a solar
deity, or "man of the sun," who, his civilising labours completed,
betook himself to the house of his father.
A Myth of Manco Ccapac Inca
When Manco Ccapac Inca was born a staff which had been given to his
father turned into gold. He had seven brothers and sisters, and at
his father's death he assembled all his people in order to see how
much he could venture in making fresh conquests. He and his brothers
supplied themselves with rich clothing, new arms, and the golden
staff called tapac-yauri (royal sceptre). He had also two cups of
gold from which Thonapa had drunk, called tapacusi. They proceeded
to the highest point in the country, a mountain where the sun rose,
and Manco Ccapac saw several rainbows, which he interpreted as a
sign of good fortune. Delighted with the favouring symbols, he sang
the song of Chamayhuarisca (The Song of Joy). Manco Ccapac wondered
why a brother who had accompanied him did not return, and sent one
of his sisters in search of him, but she also did not come back,
so he went himself, and found both nearly dead beside a huaca. They
said they could not move, as the huaca, a stone, retarded them. In
a great rage Manco struck this stone with his tapac-yauri. It spoke,
and said that had it not been for his wonderful golden staff he would
have had no power over it. It added that his brother and sister had
sinned, and therefore must remain with it (the huaca) in the lower
regions, but that Manco was to be "greatly honoured." The sad fate of
his brother and sister troubled Manco exceedingly, but on going back
to the place where he first saw the rainbows he got comfort from them
and strength to bear his grief.
Coniraya Viracocha
Coniraya Viracocha was a tricky nature spirit who declared he was
the creator, but who frequently appeared attired as a poor ragged
Indian. He was an adept at deceiving people. A beautiful woman,
Cavillaca, who was greatly admired, was one day weaving a mantle at
the foot of a lucma tree. Coniraya, changing himself into a beautiful
bird, climbed the tree, took some of his generative seed, made it into
a ripe lucma, and dropped it near the beautiful virgin, who saw and
ate the fruit. Some time afterwards a son was born to Cavillaca. When
the child was older she wished that the huacas and gods should meet
and declare who was the father of the boy. All dressed as finely as
possible, hoping to be chosen as her husband. Coniraya was there,
dressed like a beggar, and Cavillaca never even looked at him. The
maiden addressed the assembly, but as no one immediately answered
her speech she let the child go, saying he would be sure to crawl
to his father. The infant went straight up to Coniraya, sitting in
his rags, and laughed up to him. Cavillaca, extremely angry at the
idea of being associated with such a poor, dirty creature, fled to
the sea-shore. Coniraya then put on magnificent attire and followed
her to show her how handsome he was, but still thinking of him in
his ragged condition she would not look back. She went into the sea
at Pachacamac and was changed into a rock. Coniraya, still following
her, met a condor, and asked if it had seen a woman. On the condor
replying that it had seen her quite near, Coniraya blessed it, and said
whoever killed it would be killed himself. He then met a fox, who said
he would never meet Cavillaca, so Coniraya told him he would always
retain his disagreeable odour, and on account of it he would never be
able to go abroad except at night, and that he would be hated by every
one. Next came a lion, who told Coniraya he was very near Cavillaca,
so the lover said he should have the power of punishing wrongdoers,
and that whoever killed him would wear the skin without cutting off
the head, and by preserving the teeth and eyes would make him appear
still alive; his skin would be worn at festivals, and thus he would be
honoured after death. Then another fox who gave bad news was cursed,
and a falcon who said Cavillaca was near was told he would be highly
esteemed, and that whoever killed him would also wear his skin at
festivals. The parrots, giving bad news, were to cry so loud that
they would be heard far away, and their cries would betray them to
enemies. Thus Coniraya blessed the animals which gave him news he
liked, and cursed those which gave the opposite. When at last he
came to the sea he found Cavillaca and the child turned into stone,
and there he encountered two beautiful young daughters of Pachacamac,
who guarded a great serpent. He made love to the elder sister, but
the younger one flew away in the form of a wild pigeon. At that time
there were no fishes in the sea, but a certain goddess had reared a
few in a small pond, and Coniraya emptied these into the ocean and
thus peopled it. The angry deity tried to outwit Coniraya and kill
him, but he was too wise and escaped. He returned to Huarochiri,
and played tricks as before on the villagers.
Coniraya slightly approximates to the Jurupari of the Uapès Indians
of Brazil, especially as regards his impish qualities. [19]
The Llama's Warning
An old Peruvian myth relates how the world was nearly left without
an inhabitant. A man took his llama to a fine place for feeding, but
the beast moaned and would not eat, and on its master questioning it,
it said there was little wonder it was sad, because in five days the
sea would rise and engulf the earth. The man, alarmed, asked if there
was no way of escape, and the llama advised him to go to the top of
a high mountain, Villa-coto, taking food for five days. When they
reached the summit of the hill all kinds of birds and animals were
already there. When the sea rose the water came so near that it washed
the tail of a fox, and that is why foxes' tails are black! After five
days the water fell, leaving only this one man alive, and from him
the Peruvians believed the present human race to be descended.
The Myth of Huathiacuri
After the deluge the Indians chose the bravest and richest man
as leader. This period they called Purunpacha (the time without a
king). On a high mountain-top appeared five large eggs, from one of
which Paricaca, father of Huathiacuri, later emerged. Huathiacuri,
who was so poor that he had not means to cook his food properly,
learned much wisdom from his father, and the following story shows
how this assisted him. A certain man had built a most curious house,
the roof being made of yellow and red birds' feathers. He was very
rich, possessing many llamas, and was greatly esteemed on account
of his wealth. So proud did he become that he aspired to be the
creator himself; but when he became very ill and could not cure
himself his divinity seemed doubtful. Just at this time Huathiacuri
was travelling about, and one day he saw two foxes meet and listened
to their conversation. From this he heard about the rich man and
learned the cause of his illness, and forthwith he determined to
go on to find him. On arriving at the curious house he met a lovely
young girl, one of the rich man's daughters. She told him about her
father's illness, and Huathiacuri, charmed with her, said he would
cure her father if she would only give him her love. He looked so
ragged and dirty that she refused, but she took him to her father
and informed him that Huathiacuri said he could cure him. Her father
consented to give him an opportunity to do so. Huathiacuri began his
cure by telling the sick man that his wife had been unfaithful, and
that there were two serpents hovering above his house to devour it,
and a toad with two heads under his grinding-stone. His wife at first
indignantly denied the accusation, but on Huathiacuri reminding her
of some details, and the serpents and toad being discovered, she
confessed her guilt. The reptiles were killed, the man recovered,
and the daughter was married to Huathiacuri.
Huathiacuri's poverty and raggedness displeased the girl's
brother-in-law, who suggested to the bridegroom a contest in dancing
and drinking. Huathiacuri went to seek his father's advice, and the old
man told him to accept the challenge and return to him. Paricaca then
sent him to a mountain, where he was changed into a dead llama. Next
morning a fox and its vixen carrying a jar of chicha came, the fox
having a flute of many pipes. When they saw the dead llama they laid
down their things and went toward it to have a feast, but Huathiacuri
then resumed his human form and gave a loud cry that frightened away
the foxes, whereupon he took possession of the jar and flute. By the
aid of these, which were magically endowed, he beat his brother-in-law
in dancing and drinking.
Then the brother-in-law proposed a contest to prove who was the
handsomer when dressed in festal attire. By the aid of Paricaca
Huathiacuri found a red lion-skin, which gave him the appearance of
having a rainbow round his head, and he again won.
The next trial was to see who could build a house the quickest and
best. The brother-in-law got all his men to help, and had his house
nearly finished before the other had his foundation laid. But here
again Paricaca's wisdom proved of service, for Huathiacuri got animals
and birds of all kinds to help him during the night, and by morning
the building was finished except the roof. His brother-in-law got
many llamas to come with straw for his roof, but Huathiacuri ordered
an animal to stand where its loud screams frightened the llamas away,
and the straw was lost. Once more Huathiacuri won the day. At last
Paricaca advised Huathiacuri to end this conflict, and he asked
his brother-in-law to see who could dance best in a blue shirt with
white cotton round the loins. The rich man as usual appeared first,
but when Huathiacuri came in he made a very loud noise and frightened
him, and he began to run away. As he ran Huathiacuri turned him into
a deer. His wife, who had followed him, was turned into a stone,
with her head on the ground and her feet in the air, because she had
given her husband such bad advice.
The four remaining eggs on the mountain-top then opened, and four
falcons issued, which turned into four great warriors. These warriors
performed many miracles, one of which consisted in raising a storm
which swept away the rich Indian's house in a flood to the sea.
Paricaca
Having assisted in the performance of several miracles, Paricaca set
out determined to do great deeds. He went to find Caruyuchu Huayallo,
to whom children were sacrificed. He came one day to a village where
a festival was being celebrated, and as he was in very poor clothes no
one took any notice of him or offered him anything, till a young girl,
taking pity on him, brought him chicha to drink. In gratitude Paricaca
told her to seek a place of safety for herself, as the village would be
destroyed after five days, but she was to tell no one of this. Annoyed
at the inhospitality of the people, Paricaca then went to a hill-top
and sent down a fearful storm and flood, and the whole village was
destroyed. Then he came to another village, now San Lorenzo. He saw a
very beautiful girl, Choque Suso, crying bitterly. Asking her why she
wept, she said the maize crop was dying for want of water. Paricaca
at once fell in love with this girl, and after first damming up the
little water there was, and thus leaving none for the crop, he told
her he would give her plenty of water if she would only return his
love. She said he must get water not only for her own crop but for all
the other farms before she could consent. He noticed a small rill,
from which, by opening a dam, he thought he might get a sufficient
supply of water for the farms. He then got the assistance of the
birds in the hills, and animals such as snakes, lizards, and so on,
in removing any obstacles in the way, and they widened the channel so
that the water irrigated all the land. The fox with his usual cunning
managed to obtain the post of engineer, and carried the canal to near
the site of the church of San Lorenzo. Paricaca, having accomplished
what he had promised, begged Choque Suso to keep her word, which she
willingly did, but she proposed living at the summit of some rocks
called Yanacaca. There the lovers stayed very happily, at the head of
the channel called Cocochallo, the making of which had united them;
and as Choque Suso wished to remain there always, Paricaca eventually
turned her into a stone.
In all likelihood this myth was intended to account for the invention
of irrigation among the early Peruvians, and from being a local legend
probably spread over the length and breadth of the country.
Conclusion
The advance in civilisation attained by the peoples of America must
be regarded as among the most striking phenomena in the history
of mankind, especially if it be viewed as an example of what can
be achieved by isolated races occupying a peculiar environment. It
cannot be too strongly emphasised that the cultures and mythologies
of old Mexico and Peru were evolved without foreign assistance or
intervention, that, in fact, they were distinctively and solely the
fruit of American aboriginal thought evolved upon American soil. An
absorbing chapter in the story of human advancement is provided
by these peoples, whose architecture, arts, graphic and plastic,
laws and religions prove them to have been the equals of most of the
Asiatic nations of antiquity, and the superiors of the primitive races
of Europe, who entered into the heritage of civilisation through the
gateway of the East. The aborigines of ancient America had evolved for
themselves a system of writing which at the period of their discovery
was approaching the alphabetic type, a mathematical system unique
and by no means despicable, and an architectural science in some
respects superior to any of which the Old World could boast. Their
legal codes were reasonable and founded upon justice; and if their
religions were tainted with cruelty, it was a cruelty which they
regarded as inevitable, and as the doom placed upon them by sanguinary
and insatiable deities and not by any human agency.
In comparing the myths of the American races with the deathless
stories of Olympus or the scarcely less classic tales of India,
frequent resemblances and analogies cannot fail to present themselves,
and these are of value as illustrating the circumstance that in
every quarter of the globe the mind of man has shaped for itself a
system of faith based upon similar principles. But in the perusal of
the myths and beliefs of Mexico and Peru we are also struck with the
strangeness and remoteness alike of their subject-matter and the type
of thought which they present. The result of centuries of isolation
is evident in a profound contrast of "atmosphere." It seems almost
as if we stood for a space upon the dim shores of another planet,
spectators of the doings of a race of whose modes of thought and
feeling we were entirely ignorant.
For generations these stories have been hidden, along with the memory
of the gods and folk of whom they tell, beneath a thick dust of
neglect, displaced here and there only by the efforts of antiquarians
working singly and unaided. Nowadays many well-equipped students
are striving to add to our knowledge of the civilisations of Mexico
and Peru. To the mythical stories of these peoples, alas! we cannot
add. The greater part of them perished in the flames of the Spanish
autos-de-fé. But for those which have survived we must be grateful,
as affording so many casements through which we may catch the glitter
and gleam of civilisations more remote and bizarre than those of the
Orient, shapes dim yet gigantic, misty yet many-coloured, the ghosts
of peoples and beliefs not the least splendid and solemn in the roll
of dead nations and vanished faiths.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following bibliography is not intended to be exhaustive, but merely
to indicate to those who desire to follow up the matter provided in
the preceding pages such works as will best repay their attention.
Mexico
Acosta, José de: Historia Natural y Moral de las Yndias. Seville, 1580.
Alzate y Ramirez: Descripcion de las Antiguedades de Xochicalco. 1791.
Bancroft, H. H.: Native Races of the Pacific States of America. 1875. A
compilation of historical matter relating to aboriginal America,
given almost without comment. Useful to beginners.
Boturini Benaduci, L.: Idea de una Nueva Historia General de la
America Septentrional. Madrid, 1746. Contains a number of valuable
original manuscripts.
Bourbourg, Abbé Brasseur de: Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique
et de l'Amérique Centrale. Paris, 1857-59. The Abbé possessed much
knowledge of the peoples of Central America and their ancient history,
but had a leaning toward the marvellous which renders his works of
doubtful value.
Charnay, Désiré: Ancient Cities of the New World. London, 1887. This
translation from the French is readable and interesting, and is of
assistance to beginners. It is, however, of little avail as a serious
work of reference, and has been superseded.
Chevalier, M.: Le Mexique Ancien et Moderne. Paris, 1886.
Clavigero, Abbé: Storia Antica del Messico. Cesena, 1780. English
translation, London, 1787. Described in text.
Diaz, Bernal: Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de Nueva
España. 1837. An eye-witness's account of the conquest of Mexico.
Enock, C. Reginald: Mexico, its Ancient and Modern Civilisation,
&c. London, 1909.
Gomara, F. L. de: Historia General de las Yndias. Madrid, 1749.
Herrera, Antonio de: Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos
en las Islas y Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano. 4 vols. Madrid, 1601.
Humboldt, Alex. von: Vues des Cordillères. Paris, 1816. English
translation by Mrs. Williams.
Ixtlilxochitl, F. de Alva: Historia Chichimeca; Relaciones. Edited
by A. Chavero. Mexico, 1891-92.
Kingsborough, Lord: Antiquities of Mexico. London, 1830.
Lumholtz, C.: Unknown Mexico. 1903.
MacNutt, F. C.: Letters of Cortés to Charles V. London, 1908.
Nadaillac, Marquis de: Prehistoric America. Translation. London, 1885.
Noll, A. H.: A Short History of Mexico. Chicago, 1903.
Nuttall, Zelia: The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World
Civilisations. 1901.
Payne, E. J.: History of the New World called America. London,
1892-99. By far the best and most exhaustive work in English upon
the subject. It is, however, unfinished.
Peñafiel, F.: Monumentos del Arte Mexicano Antiguo. Berlin, 1890.
Prescott, W. H.: History of the Conquest of Mexico. Of romantic
interest only. Prescott did not study Mexican history for more than
two years, and his work is now quite superseded from a historical
point of view. Its narrative charm, however, is unassailable.
Sahagun, Bernardino de: Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva
España. Mexico, 1829.
Seler, E.: Mexico and Guatemala. Berlin, 1896.
Serra, Justo (Editor): Mexico, its Social Evolution, &c. 2
vols. Mexico, 1904.
Spence, Lewis: The Civilization of Ancient Mexico. A digest of the
strictly verifiable matter of Mexican history and antiquities. All
tradition is eliminated, the author's aim being to present the beginner
and the serious student with a series of unembellished facts.
Starr, F.: The Indians of Southern Mexico. 1899.
Thomas, Cyrus, and Magee, W. J.: The History of North America. 1908.
Torquemada, Juan de: Monarquia Indiana. Madrid, 1723.
Bulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology contains translations
of valuable essays by the German scholars Seler, Schellhas, Förstemann,
&c.
Many of the above works deal with Central America as well as with
Mexico proper.
Central America
Cogolludo, D. Lopez: Historia de Yucathan. 1688. Very scarce.
Diego de Landa: Relacion de Cosas de Yucatan. Paris, 1836. Translation
by Brasseur.
Dupaix, Colonel: Antiquités Mexicaines. Paris, 1834-36.
Maudslay, A. P.: Biologia Centrali-Americana. Publication
proceeding. Contains many excellent sketches of ruins, &c.
Spence, Lewis: The Popol Vuh. London, 1908.
Peru
Enock, C. R.: Peru: its Former and Present Civilisation, &c. London,
1908.
Markham, Sir Clements R.: History of Peru. Chicago, 1892.
Prescott, W. H.: History of the Conquest of Peru. 3 vols. Philadelphia,
1868.
Squier, E. G.: Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land
of the Incas. London, 1877.
Tschudi, J. J. von: Reisen durch Südamerika. 5 vols. Leipsic,
1866-68. Travels in Peru. London, 1847.
Vega, Garcilasso el Inca de la: Royal Commentaries of the Incas,
1609. Hakluyt Society's Publications.
In seeking the original sources of Peruvian history we must refer to
the early Spanish historians who visited the country, either at the
period of the conquest or immediately subsequent to it. From those
Spaniards who wrote at a time not far distant from that event we have
gained much valuable knowledge concerning the contemporary condition
of Peru, and a description of the principal works of these pioneers
will materially assist the reader who is bent on pursuing the study
of Peruvian antiquities.
Pedro de Cieza de Leon composed a geographical account of Peru in
1554, devoting the latter part of his chronicle to the subject of the
Inca civilisation. This work has been translated into English by Sir
Clements R. Markham, and published by the Hakluyt Society.
Juan José de Betanzos, who was well acquainted with the Quichua
language, and who married an Inca princess, wrote an account of the
Incas in 1551, which was edited and printed by Señor Jimenes de la
Espada in 1880.
Polo de Ondegardo, a lawyer and politician, wrote his two Relaciones
in 1561 and 1571, making valuable reports on the laws and system of
administration of the Incas. One of these works has been translated
by Sir Clements R. Markham, and printed by the Hakluyt Society.
Augustin de Zarate, accountant, who arrived in Peru with Blasco Nuñez
Vela, the first Viceroy, is the author of the Provincia del Peru,
which was published at Antwerp in 1555.
Fernando de Santillan, judge of the Linia Audience, contributed an
interesting Relacion in 1550, edited and printed in 1879 by Señor
Jimenes de la Espada.
Juan de Matienzo, a lawyer contemporary with Ondegardo, was the author
of the valuable work Gobierno de el Peru, not yet translated.
Christoval de Molina, priest of Cuzco, wrote an interesting story of
Inca ceremonial and religion between 1570 and 1584, which has been
published by the Hakluyt Society. The translator is Sir C. R. Markham.
Miguel Cavello Balboa, of Quito, gives us the only particulars we
possess of Indian coast history, and the most valuable information on
the war between Huascar and Atauhuallpa, in his splendid Miscellanea
Austral, 1576, translated into French in 1840 by Ternaux-Compans.
A Jesuit priest, José de Acosta, compiled a Natural History of the
Indies, which was published for the first time in 1588. An English
translation of the work is provided by the Hakluyt Society.
Fernando Montesinos in his Memorias Antiguas Historiales del Peru and
Anales Memorias Nuevas del Peru quotes a long line of sovereigns who
preceded the Incas. These works were translated into French in 1840.
Relacion de los Costombras Antiguas de los Naturales del Peru, written
by an anonymous Jesuit, records an account of Inca civilisation. The
work was published in Spain in 1879. Another Jesuit, Francisco de
Avila, wrote on the superstitions of the Indians of Huarochiri and
their gods. His work was translated into English and published by
the Hakluyt Society.
Pablo José de Arriaga, a priest who policed the country, destroying
the false gods, compiled in 1621 Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Peru,
describing the downfall of the ancient Inca religion.
Antonio de la Calancha compiled an interesting history of the Incas
in his work on the Order of St. Augustine in Peru (1638-1653).
In his Historia de Copacabana y de su Milagrosa Imagen (1620) Alonzo
Ramos Gavilan disclosed much information concerning the colonists
during the time of the Inca rule.
A valuable history of the Incas is provided by Garcilasso el Inca de
la Vega in his Commentarios Reales. The works of previous authors
are reviewed, and extracts are given from the compilations of the
Jesuit Blas Valera, whose writings are lost. The English translation
is published by the Hakluyt Society.
Relacion de Antiguedades deste Reyno del Peru, by Pachacuti Yamqui
Salcamayhua, an Indian of the Collao, was translated into English by
Sir C. R. Markham, and published by the Hakluyt Society.
The Historia del Reino del Quinto, compiled by Juan de Velasco,
was translated into French by Ternaux-Compans in 1840.
Antonio de Herrera gives a brief account of the history and
civilisation of the Inca people in his General History of the Indies.
In his History of America Robertson was the first to compile a thorough
account of the Incas. Prescott, however, in 1848 eclipsed his work
by his own fascinating account. Sir Arthur Helps has also given a
résumé of Inca progress in his Spanish Conquest (1855).
The Peruvian Sebastian Lorente published in 1860 a history of ancient
Peru, which presents the subject more broadly than the narratives
of the American and English authors, and as the result of many years
of further research he contributed a series of essays to the Revista
Peruana.
One of the best works dealing with the antiquities of the Inca period
is Antiguedades Peruanas, by Don Mariano Rivero (English translation
by Dr. Hawkes, 1853). The compilation on Peru by E. G. Squier (1877),
and a similar narrative by C. Weiner (Paris, 1880), both of which
stand in accuracy above the others, are also worthy of mention.
The work of Reiss and Stubel, narrating their excavations at Ancon,
is richly presented in three volumes, with 119 plates.
The works of Sir Clements Markham are the best guide to English
scholars on the subject.
INDEX AND GLOSSARY
NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE MEXICAN, MAYAN, AND PERUVIAN LANGUAGES
Mexican
As the Spanish alphabet was that first employed to represent Mexican
or Nahuatl phonology, so Mexican words and names must be pronounced,
for the most part, according to the Castilian system. An exception
is the letter x, which in Spanish is sometimes written as j and
pronounced as h aspirate; and in Nahuatl sometimes as in English,
at other times as sh or s. Thus the word "Mexico" is pronounced
by the aboriginal Mexican with the hard x, but by the Spaniard
as "May-hee-co." The name of the native author Ixtlilxochitl is
pronounced "Ishtlilshotshitl," the ch being articulated as tsh,
for euphony. Xochicalco is "So-chi-cal-co." The vowel sounds are
pronounced as in French or Italian. The tl sound is pronounced with
almost a click of the tongue.
Mayan
The Maya alphabet consists of twenty-two letters, of which c, ch,
k, pp, th, tz are peculiar to the language, and cannot be properly
pronounced by Europeans. It is deficient in the letters d, f, g, j, q,
r, s. The remaining letters are sounded as in Spanish. The letter x
occurring at the beginning of a word is pronounced ex. For example,
Xbalanque is pronounced "Exbalanke." The frequent occurrence of
elisions in spoken Maya renders its pronunciation a matter of great
difficulty, and the few grammars on the language agree as to the
hopelessness of conveying any true idea of the exact articulation
of the language by means of written directions. Norman in his work
entitled Rambles in Yucatan remarks: "This perhaps accounts for the
disappearance of all grammars and vocabularies of the Maya tongue from
the peninsula of Yucatan, the priests finding it much easier to learn
the language directly from the Indian than to acquire it from books."
Peruvian
The two languages spoken in Peru in ancient times were the Quichua,
or Inca, and the Aymara. These still survive. The former was the
language of the Inca rulers of the country, but both sprang from one
common linguistic stock. As these languages were first reduced to
writing by means of a European alphabet, their pronunciation presents
but little difficulty, the words practically begin pronounced as they
are written, having regard to the "Continental" pronunciation of the
vowels. In Quichua the same sound is give to the intermediate c before
a consonant and to the final c, as in "chacra" and "Pachacamac." The
general accent is most frequently on the penultimate syllable.
INDEX AND GLOSSARY
A
Aac, Prince. In the story of Queen Móo, 240, 244-245, 246
Acalan. District in Guatemala;
race-movements and, 150
Acllacuna (Selected Ones). Body of maidens from whom victims for
sacrifice were taken in Peru, 313
Aclla-huasi. Houses in which the Acllacuna lived, 313
Acolhuacan. District in Mexico, 26
Acolhuans (or Acolhuaque) (People of the Broad Shoulder). Mexican
race, 26;
said to have founded Mexico, 26;
a pure Nahua race, perhaps the Toltecs, 26;
their supremacy, 48
Acolhuaque. See Acolhuans
Acosta, José de. Work on Mexican lore, 58
Acsumama. Guardian spirit of the potato plant in Peru, 295
Acxitl. Toltec king, son of Huemac II, 17, 19
Acxopil. Ruler of the Kiche, 158-159
Agoreros (or Mohanes). Members of Peruvian tribes who claimed power
as oracles, 297-298, 314
Ahuizotl. Mexican king, 30
Ah-zotzils. A Maya tribe, 172
Akab-sib (Writing in the Dark). A bas-relief at El Castillo,
Chichen-Itza, 190
Aké. Maya ruins at, 186-187
America. Superficial resemblance between peoples, customs, and
art-forms of Asia and, 1;
civilisation, native origin of, 1-2, 3, 328;
animal and plant life peculiar to, 2;
man, origin of, in, 2;
geographical connection between Asia and, 3;
traditions of intercourse between Asia and, 3;
Chinese Fu-Sang and, 3;
possible Chinese and Japanese visits to, 3-4;
Coronado's expedition to, 4;
legends of intercourse between Europe and, 4;
"Great Ireland" probably the same as, 4;
St. Brandan's voyage and, 4;
reached by early Norsemen, 5;
the legend of Madoc and, 5-6;
early belief in, respecting incursions from the east, 6;
prophecy of Chilan Balam re coming of white men to, 8
America, Central. Indigenous origin of civilisation of, 1;
legend of Toltec migration to, 20
Anahuac (By the Water). Native name of the Mexican plateau, 18.
See Mexico
Ancestor-worship in Peru, 296
Andeans. The prehistoric civilisation of, 249-250;
architectural remains of, 250
Antahuayllas. Peruvian tribe, 284
Antilia. Legends of, have no connection with American myth, 6
Anti-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255
Apinguela. Island on Lake Titicaca; Huaina Ccapac and the lake-goddess
and, 299
Apocatequil. Peruvian thunder-god, the "Prince of Evil";
in a creation-myth, 301-302
Apu-Ccapac (Sovereign Chief). Title of the Inca rulers, 248
"Apu-Ollanta." A drama-legend of the Incas, 251-253
Apurimac (Great Speaker). River in Peru;
regarded as an oracle, 296
Aqua. A bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 319
Arara (Fire-bird). Same as Kinich-ahau, which see
Architecture. I. Of the Nahua, 31-34.
II. Of the Maya, 149-150, 178-198;
the most individual expression of the people, 178;
Yucatan exhibits the most perfect specimens, and the decadent
phase, 178;
methods of building, 178-179;
ignorance of some first principles, 179;
mural decoration, 179;
pyramidal buildings, 180;
definiteness of design, 180;
architectural districts, 181;
not of great antiquity, 182;
Father Burgoa on the palace at Mitla, 199-201.
III. Of the Incas, 268-269;
the art in which the race showed greatest advance, 268;
Sir Clements Markham on, 269
Arriaga, P. J. de. On stone-worship in Peru, 293
Art. Early American, superficial resemblance to that of Asia, 1;
native origin and unique character of American, 1-2;
Toltec, 23;
Peruvians weak in, 248
Asia. Origin of early American culture erroneously attributed to, 1;
man originally came to America from, 2;
former land-connection between America and, 3;
traditions of intercourse between America and, 3
Ataguju. Supreme divinity of the Peruvians; in a creation-myth, 301
Atamalqualiztli (Fast of Porridge-balls and Water). Nahua festival, 77
Atatarho. Mythical wizard-king of the Iroquois, 72
Atauhuallpa. Son of the Inca Huaina Ccapac; strives for the crown
with Huascar, 289-290
Atl (Water). Mexican deity; often confounded with the moon-goddess, 106
Atlantis. Legends of, have no connection with American myth, 6
Auqui (Warrior). Peruvian order of knighthood; instituted by
Pachacutic, 287
Avendaño, Hernandez de. And Peruvian fetishes, 295
Avilix. The god assigned to Balam-Agab in the Kiche story of the
creation, 230;
turned into stone, 231
Axaiacatzin, King. Father of Chachiuhnenetzin, the vicious wife of
Nezahualpilli, 129
Axayacatl. Mexican king, 92
Aymara. Peruvian race, 254-255;
fusion with Quichua, 285-286
Azangaro. The Sondor-huasi at, 269
Azcapozalco. Mexican town, 26;
rivalry with Tezcuco, 49;
Aztecs and, 52
Aztecs (or Aztecâ) (Crane People). A nomad Mexican tribe, 27, 50-51;
racial affinities, 27;
character, 27-28;
Tlascalans and, 26;
founders of Tenochtitlan (Mexico), 27;
their science, 43;
in bondage to Colhuacan, 51;
allied with Tecpanecs, 51;
war with Tecpanecs, 52;
development of the empire, 52;
commercial expansion, 52;
their tyranny, 52-53;
their conception of eternity, 55;
the priesthood, 114-117;
idea of the origin of mankind, 123;
a migration myth of, 233
Aztlan (Crane Land). Traditional place of origin of Nahua, 11;
Aztecs and, 50, 233
B
Bacabs. Genii in Maya mythology, 170
Balam-Agab (Tiger of the Night). One of the first men of the Popol
Vuh myth, 229, 230
Balam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile).
An ancestor of the Maya, 188;
one of the first men of the Popol Vuh myth, 229, 230
Balon Zacab. Form of the Maya rain-god, 176
Bat. Typical of the underworld, 96
Bat-god. Maya deity, known also as Camazotz, 171-172
Birth-cycle. In Mexican calendar, 39, 41
Bochica. Sun-god of the Chibchas, 276
Bogota. City at which the Zippa of the Chibchas lived, 276
Boturini Benaduci, L. His work on Mexican lore, 58
Bourbourg, The Abbé Brasseur de. Version of Nahua flood-myth, 122-123
Brandan, St. Probable voyage to America, 4
Brinton, D. G. Theory as to the Toltecs, 21;
on Quetzalcoatl, 81;
translation of a poem on the Peruvian thunder-god myth, and comments
on the myth, 300-301
Burgoa, Father. Account of a confession ceremony, 108-110;
description of Mitla, 199-206
C
Cabrakan (Earthquake). Son of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche myth in the
Popol Vuh, 211, 213, 216-219
Cabrera, Don Felix. And the Popol Vuh, 207
Cachapucara. Hill; Thonapa and, 319-320
Caha-Paluma (Falling Water). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh
myth, 230
Cakixa (Water of Parrots). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh
myth, 230
Cakulha-Hurakan (Lightning). A sub-god of Hurakan, 237
Calderon, Don José. And Palenque, 182
Calendar. I. The Mexican, 38-41;
an essential feature in the national life, 38;
resemblance to Maya and Zapotec calendric systems, 38, 169;
possible Toltec origin, 39;
the year, 39;
the "binding of years," 39, 40;
the solar year, 39;
the nemontemi, 39;
the "birth-cycle," 39, 41;
the cempohualli, or "months," 39-40;
the ecclesiastical system, 40;
the xiumalpilli, 40;
the ceremony of toxilmolpilia, 41.
II. The Maya; similarities to calendar of the Nahua, 38, 169.
III. The Peruvian, 265-266, 313
Callca. Place in Peru; sacred rocks found at, 293
Camaxtli. War-god of the Tlascalans, 111
Camazotz. The bat-god, called also Zotzilaha Chimalman, 171-172, 226;
a totem of the Ahzotzils, a Maya tribe, 172
Camulatz. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209
Canaris. Indian tribe; the myth of their origin, 318-319
Canek. King of Chichen-Itza; the story of, 189
Cannibalism. Among the Mexicans, 45
Capacahuana. Houses for pilgrims to Titicaca at, 311
Carapucu. I. Hill; in myth of Thonapa, 320.
II. Lake; in myth of Thonapa, 320
Caravaya. Mountain; in myth of Thonapa, 320
Carmenca. The hill of, at Cuzco; pillars on, for determining the
solstices, 265-266, 287
Caruyuchu Huayallo. Peruvian deity to whom children were sacrificed;
in a myth of Paricaca, 326
Casa del Adivino (The Prophet's House). Ruin at Uxmal, called also
"The Dwarf's House," 192;
the legend relating to, 192-194
Casa del Gobernador (Governor's Palace). Ruin at Uxmal, 191
Casas Grandes (Large Houses). Mexican ruin, 32
Castillo, El. Ruined pyramid-temple at Chichen-Itza, 188, 190
Cauac. A minor Maya deity, 170
Cavillaca. A maiden; the myth of Coniraya Viracocha and, 321-323
Caxamarca. Inca fortress, 290
Cay Hun-Apu (Royal Hunter). The Kakchiquels and the defeat of, 159
Ccapac-cocha. Sacrificial rite, instituted by Pachacutic, 286
Ccapac-Huari. Eleventh Inca, 288, 289
Ccapac Raymi. The chief Peruvian festival, 267;
Auqui, order of knighthood, conferred at, 287
Ccapac Situa (or Ccoya Raymi) (Moon Feast). Peruvian festival, 267
Ccapac Yupanqui. Fifth Inca, 283
Ccompas. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294
Cempohualli. The Mexican month, 40
Centeotl. I. Group of maize-gods, 85.
II. A male maize-spirit, 85, 90;
God E similar to, 174.
III. Mother of II, known also as Teteoinnan and Tocitzin, 85, 90
Centzonuitznaua. Mythical Indian tribe; in myth of Huitzilopochtli's
origin, 70-72
Chac. Maya rain-god, tutelar of the cast, 170;
has affinities with Tlaloc, 176;
God K not identical with, 176
Chacamarca. River in Peru; Thonapa and, 320
Chachiuhnenetzin. Wife of Nezahualpilli, 129-132
Chacras. Estates dedicated to the sun by the Peruvians, 310
Chalcas. Aztec tribe, 233
Chalchihuitlicue (Lady of the Emerald Robe). Wife of Tlaloc, 75,
77, 110;
assists the maize-goddess, 86
Chalchiuh Tlatonac (Shining Precious Stone). First king of the
Toltecs, 14
"Chamayhuarisca" (The Song of Joy). Manco Ccapac sings, 321
Chanca. A Peruvian people; and the Incas, 282
Charnay, D. Excavations on the site of Teotihuacan, 33;
excavations at Tollan, 34;
and Lorillard, 195
Chasca. The Peruvian name for the planet Venus; the temple of, at
Cuzco, 262
Chiapas. Mexican province; the nucleus of Maya civilisation lay in,
144, 149
Chibchas. A Peruvian race, 275-277
Chichan-Chob. Ruin at Chichen-Itza, 189
Chichen-Itza. Sacred city of the Maya; founded by Itzaes, 153;
overthrown by Cocomes, 153, 155;
assists in conquering Cocomes, 156;
abandoned, 156;
ruins at, 188-190;
and the story of Canek, 189
Chichicastenango. The Convent of; and the Popol Vuh, 207
Chichics. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294
Chichimecs. Aztec tribe; invade Toltec territory, 18;
the great migration, 20;
supreme in Toltec country, 20;
probably related to Otomi, 25;
allied with Nahua and adopt Nahua language, 26;
conquered by Tecpanecs, 51
Chicomecohuatl (Seven-serpent). Chief maize-goddess of Mexico, 85-88;
image of, erroneously called Teoyaominqui by early Americanists,
88-90
Chicomoztoc (The Seven Caverns). Nahua said to have originated at, 11;
and Aztec idea of origin of mankind, 123;
identified with "seven cities of Cibola" and the Casas Grandes, 123;
parallel with the Kiche Tulan-Zuiva, 230
Chicuhcoatl. In the story of the vicious princess, 130
Chihuahua. Mexican province, 31
Chilan Balam. Maya priest; the prophecy of, 8
Chimalmat. Wife of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche myth, 211-213
Chimalpahin. Mexican chronicler, 42
Chimu. The plain of; ruined city on, 271;
the palace, 271-272;
the ruins display an advanced civilisation, 272-273
Chinchero. Inca ruins at, 269
Chipi-Cakulha (Lightning-flash). A sub-god of Hurakan, 237
Choima (Beautiful Water). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh
myth, 230
Cholula. Sacred city inhabited by Acolhuans, 47, 48;
the pottery of, 23
Chontals. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23
Choque Suso. Maiden; the myth of Paricaca and, 327
Chulpas. Megalithic mummy tombs of Peru, 263
Churoquella. A name of the Peruvian thunder-god, 299
"Citadel," The, at Teotihuacan, 33
Citallatonac. Mexican deity; in a flood-myth, 123
Citallinicue. Mexican deity; in a flood-myth, 123
Citatli (Moon). A form of the Mexican moon-goddess, 106
Citlalpol (The Great Star). Mexican name of the planet Venus, 96
Citoc Raymi (Gradually Increasing Sun). Peruvian festival, 312-313
Ciuapipiltin (Honoured Women). Spirits of women who had died in
childbed, 108, 138
Civilisation.
I. Of Mexico, 1-53;
indigenous origin of, 1;
type of, 9.
II. Of Peru, 248-290;
indigenous origin of, 1, 259;
inferior to the Mexican and Mayan, 248.
III. Of the Andeans, 249
Clavigero, The Abbé. His work on Mexican lore, 57-58
"Cliff-dwellers." Mexican race related to the Nahua, 24, 25
Cliff Palace Cañon, Colorado, 229
Coaapan. Place in Mexico, 65
Coatepec.
I. Mexican province, 62, 63.
II. Mountain, 70
Coati. An island on Lake Titicaca; ruined temple on, 270-271
Coatlantona (Robe of Serpents). A name of Coatlicue, Huitzilopochtli's
mother, 73
Coatlicue. Mother of Huitzilopochtli, 70-71;
as Coatlantona, 73
Cocamama. Guardian spirit of the coca-shrub in Peru, 295
Cochtan. Place in Mexico, 65
Cocochallo. An irrigation channel; in a myth of Paricaca, 327
Cocomes. A tribe inhabiting Mayapan; overthrow Chichen-Itza, 153;
their tyranny and sway, 154-155;
conquered by allies, 156;
remnant found Zotuta, 156
Codex Perezianus. Maya manuscript, 160
Cogolludo, D. Lopez. And the story of Canek, 189
Coh, Prince. In the story of Queen Móo, 240, 244, 246
Cohuatzincatl (He who has Grandparents). A pulque-god, 105
Colcampata, The, at Cuzco. The palace on, 269
Colhuacan.
I. Mexican city, 20, 26, 233.
II. King of; father of the sacrificed princess, 124
Colla-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255
Con. Thunder-god of Collao of Peru, 78, 299
Confession among the Mexicans, 106, 108;
Tlazolteotl the goddess of, 106;
accounts of the ceremony, 106-110
Coniraya Viracocha. A Peruvian nature-spirit; the myth of Cavillaca
and, 321-323
Contici (The Thunder Vase). Peruvian deity representing the
thunderstorm, 301
Conticsi-viracocha (He who gives Origin). Peruvian conception of the
creative agency, 304
Conti-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255
Copacahuana. Idol associated with the worship of Lake Titicaca, 298
Copacati. Idol associated with the worship of Lake Titicaca, 298
Copal. Prince; in legend of foundation of Mexico, 28
Copan. Maya city; sculptural remains at, 196;
evidence at, of a new racial type, 196-197
Coricancha (Town of Gold). Temple of the sun at Cuzco, 260-262;
built by Pachacutic, 286;
image of the thunder-god in, 300
Cortés. Lands at Vera Cruz, 7;
mistaken for Quetzalcoatl, 7, 80;
the incident of the death of his horse at Peten-Itza, 195
Cotzbalam. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209
Coxoh Chol dialect, 145
Coyohuacan. Mexican city, 50
Coyolxauhqui. Daughter of Coatlicue, 70-72
Coyotl inaual. A god of the Amantecas; and Quetzalcoatl, 79
Cozaana. A Zapotec deity; in creation-myth, 121
Cozcaapa (Water of Precious Stones). A fountain; in a Quetzalcoatl
myth, 65
Cozcatzin Codex, 92
Cozumel. The island of, 154
Creation. Mexican conceptions of, 118-120;
the legend given by Ixtlilxochitl, 119-120;
the Mixtec legend of, 120-121;
the Zapotec legend of, 121-122;
the Kiche story of, in the Popol Vuh, 209;
of man, the Popol Vuh myth of, 229-230;
of man, a Peruvian myth of, 256;
the Inca conception of, 257-258, 305;
local Peruvian myths, 258-259
Cross, The. A symbol of the four winds in Mexico and Peru, 273;
account of the discovery of a wooden, 274-275
Cuchumaquiq. Father of Xquiq; in Popol Vuh myth, 222
Cuitlavacas. Aztec tribe, 233
Curi-Coyllur (Joyful Star). Daughter of Yupanqui Pachacutic; in the
drama Apu-Ollanta, 251-253
Cuycha. Peruvian name for the rainbow; temple of, at Cuzco, 262
Cuzco (Navel of the Universe). The ancient capital of the Incas, 248;
and the racial division of Peru, 255;
in the legend of Manco Ccapac, 256;
a great culture-centre, 256;
founded by the sun-god, 258;
the Coricancha at, 260-262;
power under Pachacutic, 285
D
Discovery. American myths relating to the, 6
Dresden Codex. Maya manuscript, 160
Drink-gods, Mexican, 104-105
"Dwarf's House, The." Ruin at Uxmal, 192;
legend relating to, 192-194
E
Earth-Mother. See Teteoinnan
Education. In Mexico, 115-116
Ehecatl (The Air). Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84
Ekchuah. Maya god of merchants and cacao-planters, 170, 177;
God L thought to be, 176;
probably parallel to Yacatecutli, 177
"Emerald Fowl," The, 186
Etzalqualiztli (When they eat Bean Food). Festival of Tlaloc, 77
F
Father and Mother Gods, Mexican, 103-104
Fire-god, Mexican, 95
Fish-gods, Peruvian, 306
Flood-myths, 122-123, 323-324
Food-gods, Mexican, 91
Förstemann, Dr. And the Maya writing, 162, 163;
on God L, 176
Fu Sang and America, 3
G
Gama, Antonio. His work on Mexican lore and antiquities, 58
Ghanan. Name given to God E by Brinton, 174
God A of Dr. Schellhas' system; a death-god, 172-173;
thought to resemble the Aztec Xipe, 174
God B. Doubtless Quetzalcoatl, 173
God C. A god of the pole-star, 173
God D. A moon-god, probably Itzamna, 173
God E. A maize-god, similar to Centeotl, 174
God F. Resembles God A, 174
God G. A sun-god, 174
God H. 174
God K. Probably a god of the Quetzalcoatl group, 175-176
God L. Probably an earth-god, 176
God M. Probably a god of travelling merchants, 176-177
God N. Probably god of the "unlucky days," 177
God P. A frog-god, 177
Goddess I. A water-goddess, 175
Goddess O. Probably tutelar of married women, 177
Gods. Connection of, with war and the food-supply, 74;
Nahua conception of the limited productivity of food and rain
deities, 77;
American myth rich in hero-gods, 237
Gomara, F. L. de. Work on Mexican lore, 58
Guachimines (Darklings). Inhabitants of the primeval earth in Peruvian
myth, 301
Guamansuri. The first of mortals in Peruvian myth, 301
Guatemala.
I. The state; the Maya of, 157-159.
II. The city; the lost Popol Vuh found in, 207
Gucumatz (Serpent with Green Feathers). Kiche form of Quetzalcoatl,
worshipped in Guatemala, 83, 167, 236;
in the Kiche story of the creation, 209
Gwyneth, Owen, father of Madoc, 5
H
Hacavitz.
I. The god assigned to Mahacutah in the Kiche story of the creation,
230;
turned into stone, 231.
II. Mountain at which the Kiche first saw the sun, 231
Hakluyt. His English Voyages, cited, 5
Hastu-huaraca. Chieftain of the Antahuayllas; defeated by Pachacutic,
284-285;
joins with Pachacutic, 285
Henry VII. His patronage of early American explorers, 6
Hernandez, Father. And the goddess Ix chebel yax, 170
House of Bats. Abode of the bat-god, 171;
mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 226
House of Cold. In the Kiche Hades, 226
House of Darkness. Ruin at Aké, 186
House of Feathers. Toltec edifice, 15
House of Fire. In the Kiche Hades, 226
House of Gloom. In the Kiche Hades, 221, 225
House of Lances. In the Kiche Hades, 226
House of Tigers. In the Kiche Hades, 226
Hrdlicka, Dr. And Mexican cliff-dwellings, 24
Huacaquan. Mountain; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 318
Huacas. Sacred objects of the Peruvians, 294
Huaina Ccapac (The Young Chief). Eleventh Inca, 7, 288-289;
and the lake-goddess of Titicaca, 299
Huamantantac. Peruvian deity responsible for the gathering of
sea-birds, 296
Huanca. Peruvian race; allied against the Incas, 282, 285
Huancas. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294
Huantay-sara. Idol representing the tutelary spirit of the maize
plant, 295
Huarcans. The Inca Tupac and, 288
Huarco (The Gibbet). The valley of; the Inca Tupac and the natives
of, 288
Huaris (Great Ones). Ancestors of the aristocrats of a tribe in Peru;
reverence paid to, 296
Huarochiri. Village; in Coniraya myth, 323
Huascar, or Tupac-cusi-huallpa (The Sun makes Joy). Son of the Inca
Huaina Ccapac, 7;
strives for the crown with Atauhuallpa, 289-290
Huasteca. Aboriginal Mexican race of Maya stock, 23, 147-148;
probably represent early Maya efforts at colonisation, 147
Huatenay. River in Peru; runs through the Intipampa at Cuzco, 261
Huathiacuri. A hero, son of Paricaca; a myth of, 324-326
Huatulco. Place in Mexico; Toltecs at, 12
Huehuequauhtitlan. Place in Mexico; Quetzalcoatl at, 64
Huehueteotl (Oldest of Gods). A name of the Mexican fire-god, 95
Huehue Tlapallan (Very Old Tlapallan). In Toltec creation-myth, 119
Huehuetzin. Toltec chieftain; rebels against Acxitl, 18, 19
Huemac II. Toltec king, 15, 16;
abdicates, 17;
opposes Huehuetzin, 19
Huexotzinco. Mexican city, 48, 49
Huexotzincos. Aztec tribe, 233
Hueymatzin (Great Hand). Toltec necromancer and sage, 14;
reputed author of the Teo-Amoxtli, 46;
and Quetzalcoatl, 84
Hueytozoztli (The Great Watch). Festival of Chicomecohuatl, 86
Huichaana. Zapotec deity; in creation-myth, 121, 122
Huillcamayu (Huillca-river). River in Peru; regarded as an oracle, 296
Huillcanuta. Place in Peru, 311
Huillcas. Sacred objects of the nature of oracles, in Peru, 296
Huitzilimitzin. In the story of the vicious princess, 130
Huitzilopocho. Mexican city, 50
Huitzilopochtli (Humming-bird to the Left). Aztec god of war,
originally a chieftain, 28, 70;
and the foundation of Mexico, 28;
the great temple of, at Mexico, 30, 31;
plots against the Toltecs and Quetzalcoatl, 60;
and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, 63-64;
myth of the origin of, 70-72;
associated with the serpent and the humming-bird, 72-73;
as usually represented, 73;
associated with the gladiatorial stone, 73;
as Mexitli, 74;
as serpent-god of lightning, associated with the summer, 74;
in connection with Tlaloc, 74;
the Toxcatl festival of, 74;
the priesthood of, 75;
in connection with the legend of the sacrificed princess, 124
Hun-Apu (Master, or Magician). A hero-god, twin with Xbalanque;
in a Kiche myth, 211-219;
in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220, 223-227;
mentioned, 237
Hun-Came. One of the rulers of Xibalba, the Kiche Hades, 220, 221, 224
Hunabku. God of the Maya, representing divine unity, 171
Hunac Eel. Ruler of the Cocomes, 155
Hunbatz. Son of Hunhun-Apu, 220, 222, 223
Hunchouen. Son of Hunhun-Apu, 220, 222, 223
Hunhun-Apu. Son of Xpiyacoc and Xmucane; in the myth in the second
book of the Popol Vuh, 220-222, 224, 225, 227
Hunpictok (Commander-in-Chief of Eight Thousand Flints). The palace
of, at Itzamal, 187-188
Hunsa. City at which the Zoque of the Chibchas lived, 276
Hurakan (The One-legged). Maya god of lightning;
prototype of Tlaloc, 76, 78;
the mustachioed image of, at Itzamal, 188;
= the mighty wind, in the Kiche story of the creation, 209;
and the creation of man in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 229-230;
probably same as Nahua Tezcatlipoca, 237;
his sub-gods, 237
I
Icutemal. Ruler of the Kiche, 159
Ilhuicatlan (In the Sky). Column in temple at Mexico, connected with
the worship of the planet Venus, 96
Illatici (The Thunder Vase). Peruvian deity representing the
thunderstorm, 301
Inca Roca. Sixth Inca, 283
Incas (People of the Sun). The Peruvian ruling race; a composite
people, 254;
place of origin, 254;
inferior to the Mexicans in general culture, 248;
mythology of, 255-258, 317-327;
character of their civilisation, 259;
no personal freedom, 260;
age of marriage, 260;
their system of mummification, 262-264;
severity of their legal code, 264;
social system, 264-265;
calendar, 265-266;
religious festivals, 267;
architecture, 268-269;
architectural remains, 270-273;
irrigation works, 273;
possessed no system of writing, 278;
the quipos, 278-279;
as craftsmen, 279-281;
the pottery of, 280-281;
period and extent of their dominion, 281-282;
fusion of the constituent peoples, 285-286;
splitting of the race, 286;
their despotism, 290;
religion of, 291;
sun-worship of, 307-313
Incas. The rulers of Peru, 282-290;
the Inca the representative of the sun, 260;
unlimited power of, 260;
the moon the mythic mother of the dynasty, 262
Inti-huasi. Building sacred to the sun in Peruvian villages, 308
Intihuatana. Inca device for marking the date of the sun-festivals, 265
Intip Raymi (Great Feast of the Sun). Peruvian festival, 267, 311-312
Intipampa (Field of the Sun). Garden in which the Coricancha of Cuzco
stood, 260-261
Ipalnemohuani (He by whom Men Live). Mexican name of the sun-god, 97
Iqi-Balam (Tiger of the Moon). One of the first men of the Popol Vuh
myth, 229, 230
Irma. District in Peru; local creation-myth of, 258-259
Itzaes. A warlike race, founders of Chichen-Itza, 153
Itzamal. Maya city-state in Yucatan, 8, 152, 154;
ruins at, 187-188
Itzamna. Maya moon-god, father of gods and men, tutelar of the west,
170;
founder of the state of Itzamal, 152;
God D probably is, 173;
the temple of, at Itzamal, 187;
called also Kab-ul (The Miraculous Hand), 187;
the gigantic image of, at Itzamal, 188
Ix. A minor Maya deity, 170
Ix chebel yax. Maya goddess; identified with Virgin Mary by Hernandez,
170
Ix ch'el. Maya goddess of medicine, 170
Ixcoatl. Mexican king, 35
Ixcuiname. Mexican goddesses of carnal things, 108
Ixtlilton (The Little Black One). Mexican god of medicine and healing,
112;
called brother of Macuilxochitl, 112
Ixtlilxochitl, Don Fernando de Alva. Mexican chronicler, 11, 46;
account of the early Toltec migrations, 11, 12;
and myths of the Toltecs, 13;
reference to the Teo-Amoxtli, 45;
his Historia Chichimeca and Relaciones, 46, 58;
his value as historian, 46;
legend of the creation related by, 119-120
Izimin Chac. The image of Cortés' horse, 195
Izpuzteque. Demon in the Mexican Other-world, 38
Iztacmixcohuatl. Father of Quetzalcoatl, 79
J
Jaguar-Snake. Mixtec deer-goddess; in creation-myth, 120
Jalisco. Mexican province; cliff-dwellings in, 24, 25
K
Kabah. Maya city; ruins at, 190-191
Kab-ul (The Miraculous Hand). Name given to Itzamna, 187
Kakchiquel dialect, 145
Kakchiquels. A Maya people of Guatemala, 157-159;
and the episode of the defeat of Cay Hun-Apu, 159
"Kamucu" (We see). The song of the Kiche at the first appearance of
the sun, and at death of the first men, 232
Kan. A minor Maya deity, 170
Kanikilak. Indian deity, 83, 84
Ki Pixab (Corner of the Earth). Name given by the Kiche to their land
of origin, 254
Kiche. A Maya people of Guatemala, 157-159;
their rulers supreme in Guatemala, 158;
their story of the creation as related in the Popol Vuh, 209;
origin of, as related in the Popol Vuh, 229-230;
fond of ceremonial dances and chants, 238
Kiche (or Quiche) dialect, 145, 209;
the Popol Vuh originally written in, 207, 209
"Kingdom of the Great Snake." Semi-historical Maya empire, 144
Kinich-ahau (Lord of the Face of the Sun). Same as Arara and
Kinich-Kakmo. Sun-god of the Maya of Yucatan, tutelar of the north, 170
Kinich-Kakmo (Sun-bird).
I. Same as Kinich-ahau, which see.
II. The pyramid of, ruin at Itzamal, 187
Klaproth, H. J. von. And the Fu Sang fallacy, 3
Knuc (Palace of Owls). Ruin at Aké, 186
Kuicatecs. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24;
a medium through which Maya civilisation filtered to the north, 147
Kukulcan. Maya form of Quetzalcoatl, 83, 167;
regarded as King of Mayapan, 152
Kumsnöotl. God of the Salish Indians, 83
L
Lamacazton (Little Priests). Lowest order of the Aztec priesthood, 116
Landa, Bishop. And the Maya alphabet, 161;
discovers the Maya numeral system, 165
"Lands of the Sun." Name given to Inca territories, 308
Language. Mexican or Nahuan, 42-43, 342;
Mayan, 161, 342;
Peruvian, 342
Le Plongeon, Dr. Augustus. His theories as to the Maya, 239;
and the Maya hieroglyphs, 239;
his story of Queen Móo, 239-247
Leguicano, Mancio Serra de. And the golden plate from the Coricancha,
262
Liyobaa. Village near Mitla; mentioned by Father Burgoa, 204
Lizana, Father. And the prophecy of Chilan Balam, 8
Llama. Importance of, among the Incas, 268
Lloque Yupanqui. The third Inca, 283
Lorillard. Maya city; architectural remains found at, 195
M
Macuilxochitl (or Xochipilli) (Five-Flower, Source of Flowers). God
of luck in gaming, 103;
Ixtlilton called brother of, 112
Madoc. The legend of, 5, 6
Mahacutah (The Distinguished Name). One of the first men of the Popol
Vuh myth, 229, 230
Maize-gods. Mexican, 85-91;
Peruvian, 295
Mallinalcas. Aztec tribe, 233
Mama Oullo Huaca. Wife of Manco Ccapac, 256
Mama-cocha (Mother-sea). Conception under which the Peruvians
worshipped the sea, 306
Mamacota. Name given to Lake Titicaca by people of the Collao, 298
Mamacuna. Matrons who had charge of the Acllacuna, in Peru, 313
Mamapacha (or Pachamama). The Peruvian earth-goddess, 303
Mamas (Mothers). Tutelary spirits of the maize and other plants in
Peru, 295
Mames. District in Guatemala, 158
Man of the Sun. Quetzalcoatl as, 81;
other conceptions of, 83
Manco. The Inca appointed by Pizarro; and an oracle, 302-303
Manco Ccapac.
I. Divine being, son of the Life-giver; sent to instruct the
primitive Peruvians, 255-256;
a legend in connection with, 256.
II. The first Inca, identical with the foregoing, 282, 283;
regarded as son of the sun, 306;
a myth of, 320-321
Mani. Mexican city, founded by the Tutul Xius, 155
Mannikins. In the Kiche story of the creation related in the Popol
Vuh, 209-210
Markham, Sir Clements. On Inca architecture, 269
Matlatzincas. Aztec tribe, 233
Maxtla.
I. King of the Tecpanecs; and Nezahualcoyotl, 125-128.
II. A noble; in the story of the vicious princess, 130
Maya. The most highly civilised of ancient American peoples, 1, 143;
their culture erroneously stated to be of Asiatic origin, 1;
theory as to Toltec relationship, 143;
sphere of the civilisation, 144;
the nucleus of the civilisation, 144-145, 149;
the dialects, 145;
origin of the race, 145;
their civilisation self-developed, 143, 146;
blood and cultural relationships with Nahua, 146-147;
efforts at expansion, 147-148;
climatic influence on the civilisation and religion, 148;
sources of their history, 148-149;
division of the aristocratic and labouring classes, 150;
influence of the Nahua invasions, 151;
cleavage between Yucatan and Guatemala peoples, 151;
the Yucatec race, 151-152;
incidents in migration myths represent genuine experience, 152;
the race in Guatemala, 157;
the writing system, 159-166;
the manuscripts, 160-161;
the numeral system, 165;
the mythology, 166-169, 207-247;
the calendar, 38, 39, 169;
the pantheon, 168, 170-177;
architecture, 178-198;
relationship of the mythology to that of the Nahua, 166;
Dr. Le Plongeon's theories as to, 239
Mayapan. City-state in Yucatan, 152;
rises into prominence, 153, 155;
overthrown by allies, 156
Mayta Ccapac. The fourth Inca, 283
Meahuan, Mount. In the Kiche myth of Vukub-Cakix, 216
Medicine-men. Account of the methods of, among Peruvians, 314-315
Metztli (or Yohualticitl) (The Lady of Night). Mexican goddess of
the moon, 106;
in myth of Nanahuatl, 93, 106
Mexicatl Teohuatzin (Mexican Lord of Divine Matters). Head of the
Aztec priesthood, 116
Mexico.
I. The city; capital of the Aztecs, native name Tenochtitlan, 26, 47;
origin of the name, 73;
said to have been founded by Acolhuans, 26;
Huitzilopochtli and, 28, 73;
legends of the foundation of, 28-29;
at the period of the conquest, 29-30;
the annual "bloodless battle" with Tlascala, 48.
II. The state; the civilisation of, 1, 9;
possibly reached by early Norsemen, 5
Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Native name of city of Mexico, 29
Mexitli (Hare of the Aloes). A name of Huitzilopochtli, 74
Mictecaciuatl. Wife of Mictlan, 96
Mictlan (or Mictlantecutli) (Lord of Hades).
I. Mexican god of the dead and the underworld, 37, 76, 95-96;
God A probably identical with, 173.
II. The abode of the god Mictlan; Mitla identified with, 198.
III. Village mentioned by Torquemada, 199
Migration Myths. Probably reflect actual migrations, 234-235
Mitla. Maya city, 31, 144;
ruins at, 197-198;
identified with Mictlan, the Mexican Hades, 198;
description of, by Father Torquemada, 199;
description of, by Father Burgoa, 199-206
Mixcoatl (Cloud Serpent). Aztec god of the chase, 110-111;
Camaxtli identified with, 111
Mixe. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24
Mixteca. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23;
creation-myth of, 120-121;
a medium through which Maya civilisation passed north, 147
Moche. Place in Peru; sepulchral mound at, 271
Mohanes (or Agoreros). Members of Peruvian tribes who claimed power
as oracles, 297-298, 314
Moneneque (The Claimer of Prayer). A name of Tezcatlipoca, 67
Montezuma II. Mexican emperor, native name Motequauhzoma; mentioned,
35, 44;
and the coming of Cortés, 7;
in the story of Tlalhuicole, 136-137;
in the story of Princess Papan, 139-142
Móo, Queen. The story of, 239-247
Moon, The. Mythic mother of the Inca dynasty, 262;
temple of, at Cuzco, 261-262;
wife of the sun, in the mythology of the Chibchas, 276
Muluc. A minor Maya deity, 170
Mummification. Among the Peruvians, 262-264
N
Nadaillac, Marquis de. Account of the use of quipos, 278-279
Nahua (Those who live by Rule). Ancient Mexican race, 9;
civilisation, features in, and character of, 9, 146, 148;
compared with Oriental peoples, 10;
meaning of the name, 10;
place of origin, 10-11;
route of migrations to Mexico, 12;
theory of Toltec influence upon, 22;
and cliff-dwellers, 24-25;
territories occupied by, 25;
writing system of, 34-35;
calendric system of, 38-41;
language of, 42-43;
science of, 43;
form of government, 43-44;
domestic life of, 44-45;
distribution of the component tribes, 47;
authentic history of the nation, 48-53;
religion, 54;
Tezcatlipoca and, 67;
influence of the Maya civilisation upon, 147;
culture and religion influenced by climatic conditions, 148;
invade Maya territory, 150-151;
influence Maya cleavage, 151;
in the Maya conflict in Guatemala, 159;
the relationship of the mythology of, to that of the Maya, 166;
difference in sun-worship of, from Peruvian, 307-308
Nahuatlatolli. The Nahua tongue, 25
Nanahuatl (Poor Leper) (or Nanauatzin). Mexican god of skin diseases,
93;
the myth of, 93;
Xolotl probably identical with, 93
Nanauatzin. Same as Nanahuatl, which see
Nanihehecatl. Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84
Nata. The Mexican Noah, 122-123
Nauhollin (The Four Motions). Mexican sacrificial ceremonies, 99
Nauhyotl. Toltec ruler of Colhuacan, 20
Nemontemi (unlucky days). In Mexican calendar, 39, 40
Nena. Wife of Nata, the Mexican Noah, 122-123
Nexiuhilpilitztli (binding of years). In Mexican calendar, 39, 40
Nextepehua. Fiend in the Mexican Other-world, 38
Nezahualcoyotl (Fasting Coyote). King of Tezcuco; the story of,
125-128;
his enlightened rule, 128;
as a poet, 128;
his theology, 128;
and his son's offence, 129;
his palace, 132;
his villa of Tezcotzinco, 133-136
Nezahualpilli (The Hungry Chief).
I. A manifestation of Tezcatlipoca, 66.
II. Son of Nezahualcoyotl; story of his wife's crime, 129-132;
in the story of Princess Papan, 140
Nima-Kiche. The ancestor of the Kiche race; the legend of, 158
Ninxor-Carchah. Place in Guatemala; mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 224
Nitiçapoloa. Ceremony connected with worship of Centeotl the son, 90
Nonohualco. Place in Mexico; Tutul Xius may have come from, 153
Norsemen. Voyages of the, to America, 5
Nunnery. The ruin at Chichen-Itza, 189-190
O
Obsequies. In Peru; a description of, 316-317
Ocosingo. Ruined Maya city, 149
Ollanta. Inca chieftain; in the drama Apu-Ollanta, 251-253
Ollantay-tampu. Prehistoric ruins at, 250-251;
Apu-Ollanta, the drama legend of, 251-253
Omacatl (Two Reeds). Mexican god of festivity, 112-113
Omeciuatl. Mexican mother god of the human species, associated with
Ometecutli, 103-104, 118;
Xmucane the Kiche equivalent of, 236
Ometecutli (Two-Lord). Father god of the human species, associated
with Omeciuatl, 103-104, 118;
Xpiyacoc the Kiche equivalent of, 236
Ometochtli.
I. A pulque-god, 104.
II. A day in the Mexican calendar, 105
Opochtli (The Left-handed). Mexican god of fishers and bird-catchers,
113-114
Oracles in Peru, 296-297;
a legend connected with an oracle, 302-303
Otomi. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23, 25, 50
Owen, Guttyn. Mentioned, 6
Oxford Codex, 37
P
Paapiti. Island on Lake Titicaca; Huaina Ccapac and the lake-goddess
and, 299
Pacari Tampu (House of the Dawn). Place of origin of four brothers
and sisters who initiated the systems of worship and civilised Peru,
305, 307
Pacaw. A sorcerer mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 227
Paccariscas. Holy places of origin of the Peruvian tribes, 292,
293, 305
Pachacamac.
I. The supreme divinity of the Incas, known also as Pacharurac,
257, 303-304;
not a primitive conception, 257;
in the local creation-myth of Irma, 258-259;
the Ccapac Raymi the national festival of, 267;
Yatiri the Aymara name for, 299;
symbol of, in the Coricancha, 304;
regarded as son of the sun, 306;
daughters of, in the Coniraya myth, 323.
II. Sacred city of the Incas, 310;
ruins of, 273;
in the Coniraya myth, 322
Pachacamama (Earth-Mother). Name given by the Incas to their conception
of the earth, 257
Pachacta unanchac. Inca device for determining the solstices, 265-266
Pachacutic (or Yupanqui Pachacutic) (He who changes the World). Ninth
Inca; in the drama Apu-Ollanta, 251-252;
defeats Hastu-huaraca, 282, 284-285;
formerly known as Yupanqui, 285;
his extensive dominion, 286;
his achievements as ruler, 286-287;
a man like the Mexican Nezahualcoyotl, 291;
and the legend of the stones that turned into warriors, 294;
and the thunder-god, 300;
and the conception of the creator, 304;
introduces sun-worship, 308;
the vision of, 317-318
Pachamama (or Mamapacha) (Earth-Mother). The Peruvian earth-goddess,
303
Pacharurac. A name of Pachacamac, which see
Pachayachachic. A form of Pachacamac, regarded as direct ruler of
the universe, 299, 304;
Viracocha called, 307
"Palace of Owls." Ruin at Aké, 186
Palace, The, at Palenque, 183-185
Palenque. Maya city, 144, 149, 182-186;
the Palace at, 183-185;
Temple of Inscriptions at, 185;
Temple of the Sun, 185;
Temple of the Cross, 185;
Temple of the Cross No. II, 186;
"Tablet of the Cross" at, 161, 185-186
Palpan. Hill near Tollan; excavations at, 34
Papantzin. Sister of Montezuma II; the story of her return from the
tomb, 139-142
Papaztac (The Nerveless). A pulque-god, 104
Pariacaca.
I. A name of the Peruvian thunder-god, 299-300;
and the lake of Pariacaca, 300.
II. The lake of, 300
Paricaca. A hero, father of Huathiacuri; in the Huathiacuri myth,
324-326;
in a flood-myth, 326-327;
and the Choque Suso myth, 327
Paris (or Tellerio-Remensis) Codex, 37
Patecatl. A pulque-god, 104
"Path of the Dead, The," at Teotihuacan, 33
Payne, E. J. On the origin of the Maya culture, 1;
on the origin of the Nahua, 10;
on the Toltecs, 21;
on the Teoyaominqui fallacy, 88-90
Peru. The civilisation of, 1, 248-290;
the country, 248-249;
the people, 253-255;
the mythology, 255-259, 291-327;
government, 259-260, 290;
laws and customs, 264-265;
the calendar, 265-266;
the festivals, 267;
architecture and architectural remains, 259, 268-273;
irrigation works, 273;
no writing or numeral system, 278;
craftsmanship, 259, 279-281;
history, 281-290;
religion, 291-313;
human sacrifice, 313
Peten-Itza. Maya city, founded by a prince of Chichen-Itza, 156;
the incident of Cortés and his horse at, 195-196;
a city "filled with idols," 196
Petlac. Place mentioned in myth of Huitzilopochtli's origin, 72
Piedras Negras. Ruined Maya city, 149
"Pigeon House." Ruin at Uxmal, 194
Piguerao. Peruvian deity, brother of Apocatequil; in a creation-myth,
301
Pillan. Thunder-god of aborigines of Chile, analogous to Tlaloc, 78
Pillco-puncu. Door to be passed before reaching Rock of Titicaca, 311
Pinturas. Mexican hieroglyphs, or picture-writing, 7, 34-37
Pipil dialect, 145
Piqui-Chaqui (Flea-footed). Servant of Ollanta, 251
Pissac. Ruined Inca fortress at, 250
Pitu Salla. Guardian of Yma Sumac, 253
Pizarro, Francisco. Conqueror of Peru, 255
Pizarro, Pedro. Cousin of Francisco Pizarro, 262
"Place of Fruits." Valley in which Tollan stood, 14
Pleiades. Kiche myth of the origin of, 215
Pocomams. District in Guatemala, 158
Popocatepetl. The mountain; sacred to Tlaloc, 77
Popolcan. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24
"Popol Vuh" (The Collection of Written Leaves). A volume of Maya-Kiche
mythology and history, 152, 157, 158;
description, 207-209;
genuine character, 208;
probable date of composition, 235;
antiquity, 236, 238;
the gods and others mentioned in, 236-237;
probably a metrical composition originally, 237-238.
The first book:
The creation, 209;
the downfall of man, 209-210;
story of Vukub-Cakix, 210-213;
the undoing of Zipacna, 213-216;
the overthrow of Cabrakan, 216-219;
the creation-story probably the result of the fusion of several
myths, 235.
The second book:
Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu descend to the Underworld, 220-221;
Hunhun-Apu and Xquiq, 222;
birth and exploits of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, 223-224;
the hero-brothers in Xibalba, and the discomfiture of the Lords
of Hell, 225-227;
the conception in this book common to other mythologies, 228;
the savage dread of death probably responsible for the conception
of its vanquishment, 228;
other sources of the myth, 228.
The third book:
Man is created, 229;
woman is created, 230;
gods are vouchsafed to man, 230;
Tohil provides fire, 230-231;
the race is confounded in speech and migrates, 231;
the sun appears, 231;
death of the first men, 232;
resemblance of the myth to those of other American peoples, 232;
similarity of the migration-story to others, 233-234;
probable origin of the migration-myth, 234-235.
The fourth book, 238-239
Potosi. Peruvian city, 248
Powel. History of Wales, cited, 5
Poyauhtecatl, Mount. In Quetzalcoatl myth, 65
Ppapp-Hol-Chac (The House of Heads and Lightnings). Ruin at Itzamal,
187
Priesthood, Mexican, 114-117;
power of, 114;
beneficent ministrations of, 115;
revenues of, 115;
education conducted by, 115-116;
orders of, 116;
rigorous existence of, 116-117
Pucara. Peruvian fortress-city; leader in the Huanca alliance, 282
Pueblo Indians. Probably related to Nahua, 24
Pulque. The universal Mexican beverage, 45
Pulque-gods, 104-105
Puma-puncu. Door to be passed before reaching Rock of Titicaca, 311
Puma-Snake. Mixtec deer-god; in creation-myth, 120
Pumatampu. Place in Peru; Inca Roca defeats the Conti-suyu at, 283
Purunpacha. The period after the deluge when there was no king,
in Peru, 324
Pyramid of Sacrifice. Ruin at Uxmal, 194
Q
Quäaqua. Sun-god of the Salish Indians, 83
Quacamayo Birds. In a myth of the Canaris Indians, 319
Quaquiutl. Indian tribe, 83
Quatlapanqui (The Head-splitter). A pulque-god, 104
Quatavita, The Lake of. The Chibchas and, 276
Quauhquauhtinchan (House of the Eagles). Sacrifice to the sun in, 99
Quauhtitlan. Place mentioned in legend of Quetzalcoatl's journey from
Tollan, 64
Quauhxicalli (Cup of the Eagles). Mexican sacrificial stone, 99, 100
Quauitleua. Festival of Tlaloc, 77
Quauitlicac. In myth of Huitzilopochtli's origin, 71, 72
Quemada. Place in Mexico; cyclopean ruins at, 32
Quenti-puncu. Door to be passed before reaching Rock of Titicaca, 311
Quetzalcoatl ("Feathered Serpent" or "Feathered Staff"). The Kukulcan
of the Maya, god of the sun, the wind, and thunder, common to Mexican
and Maya mythologies; Mexican legend of, 6-7;
probably cognate with Yetl, 12;
king of the Toltecs in Nahua myth, 21;
Tezcatlipoca and, 60, 79;
Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, and Tlacahuepan plot against, 60;
quits Tollan and proceeds to Tlapallan, 64-65, 79;
probably a god of pre-Nahua people, 78;
"Father of the Toltecs," 79;
enlightened sway as ruler of Tollan, 79;
consequences of his exile, 79;
legend of, in connection with the morning star, 80, 96;
whether rightly considered god of the sun, 80;
conception of, as god of the air, 80;
as wind-god and god of fire and light, 80-81;
whether originating from a "culture-hero," 81;
the "St. Thomas" idea, 81;
as Man of the Sun, 81-82;
as usually represented, 82;
regarded as a liberator, 82;
various conceptions of, 82-84, 167;
probable northern origin, 83;
Hueymatzin and, 84;
the worship of, 84-85;
the priesthood of, 116;
place in the Mexican calendar, 122;
vogue among Maya, 144, 167;
regarded as foreign to the soil in Mexico, 167;
differences in the Maya and Nahua conceptions of, 167;
called Kukulcan by the Maya, 167;
called Gucumatz in Guatemala, 167, 236;
God B probably is, 173
Quetzalpetlatl. Female counterpart of Quetzalcoatl, 79
Quiche. Same as Kiche, which see
Quichua. Peruvian race, 254-255;
fusion of, with Aymara, 285-286
Quichua-Aymara. The Inca race. See Incas
Quichua Chinchay-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient
Peru, 255
Quinames. Earth-giants; in Toltec creation-myth, 120
Quineveyan. Grotto, mentioned in Aztec migration-myth, 233
Quinuamama. Guardian spirit of the quinua plant, in Peru, 295
Quipos. Cords used by the Incas for records and communications,
278-279;
account of the use of, by the Marquis de Nadaillac, 278-279
Quito. Sometime centre of the northern district of Peru, 286, 289
R
Raxa-Cakulha. A sub-god of Hurakan, 237
Religion.
I. Of the Nahua, 54-55;
the worship of one god, 58-59.
II. Of the Peruvians, 291;
inferior to the Mexican, 248;
the legend relating to the evolution of, 305-306
Riopampa. Sometime centre of the northern district of Peru, 286
Rosny, Léon de. Research on the Maya writing by, 161-162
Rumi-ñaui. Inca general; in the drama Apu-Ollanta, 252-253
S
Sacrifice, Human. In connection with Teotleco festival, 69;
with Toxcatl festival, 69-70;
with Tlaloc, 76-77;
displaced by "substitution of part for whole," 85, 116;
in the Xalaquia festival, 87;
in connection with Xipe, 92;
Xolotl the representative of, 93;
in worship of the planet Venus, 96;
in sun-worship, 98-100, 101;
the keynote of Nahua mythology, 166;
among the Maya, 166;
at Mitla, described by Father Burgoa, 202-203;
among the Chibchas, 276;
in Peru, 313
Sacrificed Princess, the legend of the, 123-124
Sacsahuaman. Inca fortress; the ruins of, 250;
built by Pachacutic, 287
Sahagun, Father Bernardino. His work on Mexican lore, 56-57;
account of the Teotleco festival, 68-69;
account of a confession ceremony, 106-108
Salish Indians, 83
"Salvador," The. A curious Inca vase, 281
San Carlos. The University of, in Guatemala; the lost Popol Vuh found
in, 207
San Lorenzo. Village; in a myth of Paricaca, 327
Saramama. Guardian spirit of the maize plant, in Peru, 295
Schellhas, Dr. And the Maya writing, 162;
and names of the Maya deities, 168
Scherzer, Dr. C. Finds the lost Popol Vuh, 207
Sea. Worshipped by the Peruvians as Mama-cocha, 306
Seler, Dr. On Quetzalcoatl, 80-81;
on Xolotl, 93-94;
and the Maya writing, 162, 164;
on God K, 175-176;
on God P, 177;
on Mitla and the origin of the American race, 198
Serpent. Varied significance of the, 72, 74, 76;
association of Huitzilopochtli with, 72-73;
associated with the bird, 73
Seven Caverns. Myth of the, 123
Sierra Nevada (Mountain of Snow). In legend of Quetzalcoatl's
migration, 65
Sinchi Roca (Wise Chief). The second Inca, 283
Skinner, J. Account of the discovery of a wooden cross, 274-275;
on mohanes, 297-298;
account of the methods of medicine men in Peru, 314-315;
account of obsequies among a Peruvian tribe, 315-317
Släalekam. Sun-god of the Salish Indians, 83
Sondor-huasi. An Inca building bearing a thatched roof, 269
Soto, Hernando de. Mentioned, 7
Squier, E. G. On the Coricancha, 261
Stephens, J. L. Legend of the dwarf related by, 192-194;
story of the unknown city, 195
Stones, worship of, in Peru, 292-293
Suarez. Lorillard City discovered by, 195
Sun. Prophecy as to coming of white men from, 7;
symbolised as a serpent by Hopi Indians, 82;
pictured as abode of Quetzalcoatl, 82;
"father" of Totonacs, 82;
Quaquiutl myth respecting, 83-84;
worship of the, in Mexico, 97-102;
the supreme Mexican deity, 97;
the heart his special sacrifice, 97;
blood his especial food, 98;
destruction of successive suns, 98;
human sacrifice to, in Mexico, 98-100;
as god of warriors, 99;
conception of the warrior's after-life with, 101;
the feast of Totec, the chief Mexican festival of, 101-102;
the supreme Maya deity, 171;
in Inca creation-myth, 258, 305;
in the mythology of the Chibchas, 276;
worship of, in Peru, 306, 307-313;
the possessions of, and service rendered to, 308-309;
and the Rock of Titicaca, 309-311;
especially worshipped by the aged, 310;
the Intip-Raymi festival of, 311-312;
the Citoc-Raymi festival, 312-313;
human sacrifice to, in Peru, 313
Sunrise, Land of. In early American belief, 6
"Suns," the Four. In Aztec theology, 55
Susur-pugaio. A fountain; and the vision of Yupanqui, 318
T
Tabasco. Same as Tlapallan, which see
"Tablet of the Cross," 161, 185-186
Tancah. Maya city, 8
Tapac-yauri. The royal sceptre of the Incas, 321
Tarahumare. Mexican tribe; and cliff-dwellings, 25
Tarma. Place in Peru; Huanca defeated at, 285
Tarpuntaita-cuma. Incas who conducted sacrifice, 311
Tata (Our Father). A name of the Mexican fire-god, 95
Tayasal. Maya city, 196
Teatlahuiani. A pulque-god, 104
Tecpanecs. Confederacy of Nahua tribes, 26, 50;
significance of the name, 26, 50;
rivals of the Chichimecs, 27;
of Huexotzinco, defeated by Tlascaltecs, 49;
Aztecs allies of, 51;
growth of their empire, 51;
conquer Tezcuco and Chichimecs, 51
Tecumbalam. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209
Telpochtli (The Youthful Warrior). A name of Tezcatlipoca, 66
Temacpalco. Place mentioned in the myth of Quetzalcoatl's journey to
Tlapallan, 65
Temalacatl. The Mexican gladiatorial stone of combat, 100
Temple of the Cross No. I, The, at Palenque, 185, 186;
No. II, 186
Temple of Inscriptions, The, at Palenque, 185
Temple of the Sun, The.
I. At Palenque, 185.
II. At Tikal, 196
Tenayucan. Chichimec city, 26
Tenochtitlan. Same as Mexico, which see
Teo-Amoxtli (Divine Book). A Nahua native chronicle, 45-46
Teocalli. The Mexican temple, 30
Teocuinani. Mountain; sacred to Tlaloc, 77
Teohuatzin. High-priest of Huitzilopochtli, 75
Teotihuacan. Sacred city of the Toltecs, 18, 47;
the fiend at the convention at, 18;
the Mecca of the Nahua races, 32;
architectural remains at, 32, 33;
rebuilt by Xolotl, Chichimec king, 33;
Charnay's excavations at, 33
Teotleco (Coming of the Gods). Mexican festival, 68-69
Teoyaominqui. Name given to the image of Chicomecohuatl by early
investigators, 88;
Payne on the error, 88-90
Tepeolotlec. A distortion of the name of Tepeyollotl, 102
Tepeyollotl (Heart of the Mountain). A god of desert places, 102-103;
called Tepeolotlec, 102
Tepoxtecatl. The pulque-god of Tepoztlan, 105, 117
Tepoztlan. Mexican city, 105
Tequechmecauiani. A pulque-god, 104
Tequiua. Disguise of Tezcatlipoca, 63
Ternaux-Compans, H. Cited, 4
Teteoinnan (Mother of the Gods). Mexican maize-goddess, known also
as Tocitzin, and identical with Centeotl the mother, 85, 90
Tezcatlipoca (Fiery Mirror). Same as Titlacahuan and Tlamatzincatl. The
Mexican god of the air, the Jupiter of the Nahua pantheon, 37, 59, 67;
tribal god of the Tezcucans, 59;
development of the conception, 59-60;
in legends of the overthrow of Tollan, 60;
adversary of Quetzalcoatl, 60, 79;
plots against Quetzalcoatl, and overcomes him, 60-61;
as Toueyo, and the daughter of Uemac, 61-62;
and the dance at the feast in Tollan, 63;
as Tequiua, and the garden of Xochitla, 63;
and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, 63-64;
as Nezahualpilli, 66;
as Yaotzin, 66;
as Telpochtli, 66;
as usually depicted, 66;
Aztec conception of, as wind-god, 66;
as Yoalli Ehecatl, 66;
extent and development of the cult of, 67-68;
as Moneneque, 67;
and the Teotleco festival, 68-69;
the Toxcatl festival of, 69-70, 74;
in the character of Tlazolteotl, 107, 108
Tezcotzinco. The villa of Nezahualcoyotl, 133-136
Tezcuco.
I. Chichimec city, 26, 47;
rivalry with Azcapozalco, 49;
its hegemony, 49;
conquered by Tecpanecs, 51;
allied with Aztecs, 52;
Tezcatlipoca the tribal god, 59;
the story of Nezahualcoyotl, the prince of, 125-128.
II. Lake, 26;
in legend of the foundation of Mexico, 28;
the cities upon, 47, 49-50
Tezozomoc, F. de A. On Mexican mythology, 58
Theozapotlan. Mexican city, 203
Thlingit. Indian tribe, 83
Thomas, Professor C. Research on Maya writing, 162;
on God L, 176
Thomas, St. The Apostle; Cortés believed to be, 7;
associated with the Maya cross, 187, 275;
and the wooden cross found in the valley of the Chichas, 274
Thonapa. Son of the creator in Peruvian myth; in connection with
stone-worship, 293;
myths of, 319-320
Thunder-god, Peruvian, 299-302
Tiahuanaco. Prehistoric city of the Andeans, 249-250;
the great doorway at, 249;
in a legend of Manco Ccapac, 256;
in Inca creation-myth, 258;
and legend of Thonapa the Civiliser, 293
Tiçotzicatzin. In the story of Princess Papan, 140
Tikal. Maya city; architectural remains at, 196
Titicaca.
I. Lake, 249;
settlements of the Quichua-Aymara on the shores of, 254;
Manco Ccapac and Mama Oullo Huaca descend to earth near, 256;
regarded by Peruvians as place where men and animals were created,
298;
called Mamacota by people of the Collao, 298;
idols connected with, 298-299.
II. Island on Lake Titicaca;
the most sacred of the Peruvian shrines, 270;
ruined palace on, 270;
sacred rock on, the paccarisca of the sun, 293, 309;
sun-worship and the Rock of Titicaca, 309-311;
the Inca Tupac and the Rock, 309-310;
effect on the island of the Inca worship of the Rock, 310;
pilgrimage to, 310-311;
Thonapa on, 320
Titlacahuan. Same as Tezcatlipoca, which see
Titlacahuan-Tezcatlipoca, 123
Tiya-manacu. Town in Peru; Thonapa at, 320
Tlacahuepan. Mexican deity; plots against Quetzalcoatl, 60;
and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, 63-64
Tlachtli. National ball-game of the Nahua and Maya, 33, 220, 224, 227
Tlacopan. Mexican city, 26, 50;
Aztecs allied with, 52
Tlaelquani (Filth-eater). A name of Tlazolteotl, which see
Tlalhuicole. Tlascalan warrior; the story of, 136-138
Tlaloc. The Mexican rain-god,or god of waters, 29, 75;
and the foundation of Mexico, 29;
in association with Huitzilopochtli, 74;
as usually represented, 75-76;
espoused to Chalchihuitlicue, 75;
Tlalocs his offspring, 75;
Kiche god Hurakan his prototype, 76;
manifestations of, 76;
festivals of, 77;
human sacrifice in connection with, 76-77;
and Atamalqualiztli festival, 77-78;
similarities to, in other mythologies, 78
Tlalocan (The Country of Tlaloc). Abode of Tlaloc, 76
Tlalocs. Gods of moisture; and Huemac II, 16;
offspring of Tlaloc, 75
Tlalxicco (Navel of the Earth). Name of the abode of Mictlan, 95
Tlamatzincatl. Same as Tezcatlipoca, which see
Tlapallan (The Country of Bright Colours). Legendary region, 11;
Nahua said to have originated at, 11;
the Toltecs and, 11;
Quetzalcoatl proceeds to, from Tollan, 64-65, 79
Tlapallan, Huehue (Very Old Tlapallan). In Toltec creation-myth, 119
Tlapallantzinco. Place in Mexico; Toltecs at, 12
Tlascala (or Tlaxcallan). Mexican city, 47, 48;
and the "bloodless battle" with Mexico, 48, 98, 99;
decline, 49
Tlascalans. Mexican race, offshoot of the Acolhuans, 26;
helped Cortés against Aztecs, 26, 47
Tlauizcalpantecutli (Lord of the Dawn). Name of the planet Venus;
myth of Quetzalcoatl and, 80, 96;
Quetzalcoatl called, 84;
worship of, 96;
in the Mexican calendar, 96
Tlaxcallan. Same as Tlascala, which see
Tlazolteotl (God of Ordure) (or Tlaelquani). Mexican goddess of
confession, 106-108
Tlenamacac (Ordinary Priests). Lesser order of the Mexican priesthood,
116
Tloque Nahuaque (Lord of All Existence). Toltec deity, 119
Tobacco. Use of, among the Nahua, 45
Tochtepec. Place in Mexico; Toltecs at, 12
Tocitzin (Our Grandmother). See Teteoinnan
Tohil (The Rumbler). Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84;
guides the Kiche-Maya to their first city, 152;
the god assigned to Balam-Quitze in the Kiche myth of the creation,
230;
gives fire to the Kiche, 230-231;
turned into stone, 231
Tollan. Toltec city, modern Tula; founded, 13, 26;
its magnificence, 14;
afflicted by the gods, 16-17;
Huehuetzin's rebellions, 18, 19;
overthrown, 19;
Charnay's excavations at, 34;
Tezcatlipoca and the overthrow of, 60;
Quetzalcoatl leaves, 64, 79
Tollantzinco. City of the Acolhuans, 48;
Toltecs at, 12
Toltecs. First Nahua immigrants to Mexico, 11;
whether a real or a mythical race, 11, 20-22;
at Tlapallan, 11, 12;
migration route, 12;
their migration a forced one, 12;
imaginative quality of their myths, 13;
elect a king, 14;
progress in arts and crafts, 14, 23;
under plagues, 17;
their empire destroyed, 19, 20;
and the civilisation of Central America, 20;
Dr. Brinton's theory, 21;
Quetzalcoatl king of, 21;
possible influence upon Nahua civilisation, 22;
Acolhuans may have been, 26;
Tezcatlipoca opposes, and plots against, 60-65;
and creation-myth recounted by Ixtlilxochitl, 119;
theory that the Maya were, 143
Tonacaciuatl (Lady of our Flesh). A name of Omeciuatl, which see
Tonacatecutli (Lord of our Flesh). A name of Ometecutli, which see
Tonalamatl (Book of the Calendar), 107
Torito. A bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 319
Torquemada, Father. His work on Mexican lore, 57;
on Mitla, 199
Totec (Our Great Chief). A sun-god, 101-102;
his feast, the chief solar festival, 101-102
Totemism. Among the primitive Peruvians, 291-292
Totonacs. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23;
and the sun, 82
Toueyo. Tezcatlipoca's disguise, 61-63
Toveyo. Toltec sorcerer; and the magic drum, 16
Toxcatl. Festival; of Tezcatlipoca, 69-70;
of Huitzilopochtli, 74
Toxilmolpilia. Mexican calendar ceremony; and the native dread of
the last day, 41
Troano Codex. Maya manuscript, 160;
Dr. Le Plongeon and the reference to Queen Móo in, 246
Tucuman (World's End). Name given by the Quichua-Aymara to their land
of origin, 254
Tulan (or Tulan-Zuiva). City; the starting-point of the Kiche
migrations, 157-158, 231;
the Kiche arrive at, and receive their gods, 230;
parallel with the Mexican Chicomoztoc, 230;
the Kiche confounded in their speech at, 231
Tumipampa. Sometime centre of the northern district of Peru, 286,
289, 290
Tupac-atau-huallpa (The Sun makes Good Fortune). Son of Huaina
Ccapac, 289
Tupac-Yupanqui (Bright). Tenth Inca, son of Pachacutic, 252-253,
287-288;
achievements as ruler, 287;
and the Huarcans, 288;
and the Rock of Titicaca, 309-310
Tutul Xius. Ruling caste among the Itzaes; found Ziyan Caan and
Chichen-Itza, 153;
expelled from Chichen-Itza by Cocomes, 153;
settle in Potonchan, build Uxmal, and regain power, 154;
again overthrown, and found Mani, 155;
finally assist in conquering the Cocomes, 156
Tzitzimimes. Demons attendant on Mictlan, 96
Tzompantitlan. Place mentioned in the myth of Huitzilopochtli's
origin, 71
Tzompantli (Pyramid of Skulls). Minor temple of Huitzilopochtli, 31
Tzununiha (House of the Water). One of the first women of the Popol
Vuh myth, 230
Tzutuhils. A Maya people of Guatemala, 158, 159
U
Uayayab. Demon who presided over the nemontemi (unlucky days), 177;
God N identified with, 177
Uemac. Tezcatlipoca and the daughter of, 61-63
Uitzlampa. Place in Mexico; in myth of Huitzilopochtli's origin, 72
Urco-Inca. Inca superseded by Pachacutic, 284
Uricaechea, M. His collection of Chibcha antiquities, 277
Uxmal. Mexican city, founded by Tutul Xius, 154;
abandoned, 155;
ruins at, 191-194;
primitive type of its architecture, 194
V
Vatican MSS., 37;
description of the journey of the soul in, 37-38
Vega, Garcilasso el Inca de la. Hist. des Incas, cited, 7;
on the gods of the early Peruvians, 291
Venus. The planet; worship of, 96-97;
the only star worshipped by Mexicans, 96;
Camaxtli identified with, 111;
temple of, at Cuzco, 262
Vera Cruz. Quetzalcoatl lands at, 6
Verapaz. District in Guatemala, 158
Vetancurt, A. de. On Mexican mythology, 58
Villa-coto. Mountain; in a Peruvian flood-myth, 323-324
Villagutierre, J. de Soto-Mayor. And the prophecy of Chilan Balam, 8
Viollet-le-Duc, E. On the ruined palace at Mitla, 197
Viracocha.
I. Eighth Inca, 284, 318.
II. Peruvian deity;
temple of, at Cacha, 270;
regarded as son of the sun, 306;
worshipped by Quichua-Aymara as a culture hero, and called
Pachayachachic, 307.
III. A higher class of sacred objects of the Peruvians, 294.
IV. Name given to any more than usually sacred being, 301
Vitzillopochtli. Same as Huitzilopochtli; in an Aztec migration-myth,
233
Voc. A bird, the messenger of Hurakan; in Popol Vuh myth, 225
Votan. Maya god, identical with Tepeyollotl; God L probably is, 176
Vukub-Cakix (Seven-times-the-colour-of-fire). A sun-and-moon god
(Dr. Seler); in a Kiche myth recounted in the Popol Vuh, 210-213;
possibly an earth-god, 237
Vukub-Came. One of the rulers of Xibalba, the Kiche Hades, 220,
221, 224
Vukub-Hunapu. Son of Xpiyacoc and Xmucane; in the myth in the second
book of the Popol Vuh, 220-221, 224, 225, 227
W
"Wallum Olum." Records of the Leni-Lenape Indians; a migration-myth
in, resembles Kiche and Aztec myths, 233-234
Wind-Nine-Cave. Mixtec deity; in creation-myth, 120-121, 122
Wind-Nine-Snake. Mixtec deity; in creation-myth, 120-121, 122
Women of the Sun. Women dedicated to the service of the sun in
Peru, 308
Writing. Of the Nahua, 34-35;
of the Maya, 159-166;
Dr. Le Plongeon and the Maya hieroglyphs, 239
X
Xalaquia.
I. Festival of Chicomecohuatl, 86-87.
II. The victim sacrificed at the Xalaquia festival, 87, 90
Xalisco. District in Mexico Toltecs in, 12
Xaltocan. Mexican city, 50
Xan. An animal mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 225
Xaquixahuana. Place in Peru, 284
Xauxa. Place in Peru, 285
Xbakiyalo. Wife of Hunhun-Apu, 220
Xbalanque (Little Tiger). A hero-god, twin with Hun-Apu; in a Kiche
myth, 211-219;
in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220, 223-227;
mentioned, 237
Xecotcovach. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209
Xibalba.
I. A semi-legendary empire of the Maya, 144.
II. The Kiche Hades, "Place of Phantoms"; in the myth in the second
book of the Popol Vuh, 220-222, 225-227;
possible origin of the conception, 229;
properly a "place of the dead," 229;
origin of the name, 229
Xibalbans. In the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 221,
225-227;
the originals of, 228-229;
nature of, 229
Xilonen. Form of Chicomecohuatl, 85
Ximenes, Francisco. Copied and translated the Popol Vuh, 207
Xipe (The Flayed). Mexican god, 91-92;
his dress assumed by Aztec monarchs and leaders, 91-92;
Xolotl has affinities with, 95;
God A thought to resemble, 174
Xiuhtecutli (Lord of the Year). A name of the Mexican fire-god, 95
Xiumalpilli. In Mexican calendar, 40
Xiyan Caan. City in Yucatan, 153
Xmucane (Female Vigour). The mother-god in the Kiche story of the
creation in the Popol Vuh, 209;
in the Vukub-Cakix myth, 212-213;
in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220-225;
equivalent to the Mexican Omeciuatl, 236
Xochicalco (The Hill of Flowers). A teocalli near Tezcuco, 33-34
Xochimilcos. Aztec tribe, 233
Xochipilli. A name of Macuilxochitl, which see
Xochitla. A flower-garden near Tollan; the legend of Tezcatlipoca
and, 63
Xochitonal. Monster in the Mexican Other-world, 38
Xochiyayotl (The War of Flowers). Campaign for the capture of victims
for sacrifice, 98-99, 100
Xolotl.
I. King of the Chichimecs, 20;
Teotihuacan rebuilt by, 33.
II. A sun-god, 93-94;
of southern origin and foreign to Mexico, 93;
probably identical with Nanahuatl, 93;
representative of human sacrifice, 93;
has affinities with Xipe, 93;
representations of, 94
Xpiyacoc. The father god in the Popol Vuh story of the creation, 209;
in the Vukub-Cakix myth, 212-213;
in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220;
equivalent to the Mexican Ometecutli, 236
Xquiq (Blood). A princess of Xibalba, daughter of Cuchumaquiq; in
Popol Vuh myth, 222
Xulu. A sorcerer mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 227
Y
Yacatecutli. Tutelar god of travellers of the merchant class in
Mexico, 114;
the Maya Ekchuah probably parallel with, 177
Yahuarhuaccac. Seventh Inca, 283
Yahuar-pampa (Plain of Blood). Battle of, 285
Yamquisupa. Village; Thonapa and, 319
Yanacaca. Rocks; in a myth of Paricaca, 327
Yaotzin (The Enemy). A manifestation of Tezcatlipoca, 66
Yatiri (The Ruler). Aymara name of Pachacamac in his form of
Pachayachachic; Huaina Ccapac and, 299
Year. The Mexican, 39, 40
Yetl. God of natives of British Columbia, 12;
probably cognate with Quetzalcoatl, 12, 83
Yma Sumac (How Beautiful). Daughter of Curi-Coyllur; in the drama
Apu-Ollanta, 252-253
Yoalli Ehecatl (The Night Wind). A manifestation of Tezcatlipoca, 66
Yohualticitl. A name of Metztli, which see
Yolcuat. Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84
Yopi. Indian tribe; Xipe adopted from, 92
Yucatan. Settlement of the Maya in, 151-152;
architectural remains in, 178
Yucay. Inca ruins at, 269
Yum Kaax (Lord of the Harvest Fields). Maya deity; God E probably
identical with, 174
Yunca. Name given to the tropical and lowland districts of Peru, 255
Yupanqui Pachacutic. Ninth Inca, known also as Pachacutic. See
Pachacutic
Z
Zacatecas. Mexican province, 32
Zapoteca. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23;
builders of Mitla, 31;
their calendric system, 38;
and Quetzalcoatl, 84-85;
creation-myth of, 121-122;
Maya influences transmitted to the Nahua through, 147;
in effect a border people, influenced by and influencing Maya and
Nahua, 147;
of Nahua stock, 147
Zaque. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24
Zipacna (Cockspur or Earth-heaper). Son of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche
myth in the Popol Vuh, 211-213, 216
Zippa. A chieftain of the Chibchas, 276
Zoque. A chieftain of the Chibchas, 276
Zotuta. Region in Yucatan inhabited by remnant of Cocomes, 156
Zotzilaha Chimalman. The Maya bat-god, called also Camazotz, 171-172
Zumarraga. Mexican chronicler, 13
Zutugil dialect, 145
NOTES
[1] By Payne in The New World called America, London, 1892-99.
[2] Garcilasso el Inca de la Vega, Hist. des Incas, lib. ix. cap. 15.
[3] See Payne, History of the New World called America,
vol. ii. pp. 373 et seq.
[4] See Spence, Civilisation of Ancient Mexico, chap. ii.
[5] See Civilisation of Ancient Mexico, chap. ii.
[6] Payne, Hist. New World, vol. ii. p. 430.
[7] Unknown Mexico, vol. i., 1902; also see Bulletin 30, Bureau of
American Ethnology, p. 309.
[8] Bulletin 28 of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology.
[9] See the author's article on "American Creation-Myths" in the
Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, vol. iv.
[10] The suffix tzin after a Mexican name denotes either "lord" or
"lady," according to the sex of the person alluded to.
[11] These words are obviously onomatopoetic, and are evidently
intended to imitate the sound made by a millstone.
[12] See my remarks on this subject in The Popol Vuh, pp. 41, 52
(London, 1908).
[13] Queen Móo and the Egyptian Sphinx (London, 1896).
[14] Sacred things.
[15] Skinner's State of Peru, p. 313 (1805).
[16] This is the name by which he is generally alluded to in Peruvian
history.
[17] Skinner, State of Peru, p. 275.
[18] Skinner, State of Peru, pp. 271 et seq.
[19] See Spence, article "Brazil" in Encyclopædia of Religion and
Ethics, vol. ii.
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