{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_11029/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_11029","id":"gutenberg_11029","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11029","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Folklore","Indian mythology","Indians -- Religion","Mythology","Native America"],"text":"AMERICAN HERO-MYTHS.\n\nA STUDY IN THE NATIVE RELIGIONS\nOF THE WESTERN CONTINENT.\n\nBY\n\nDANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D.,\n\nMEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN\nSOCIETY; THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILA., ETC.; AUTHOR OF\n\"THE MYTHS OF THE NEW WORLD;\" \"THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT.\" ETC.\n\n\n1882.\n\n\nTO\n\nELI K. PRICE, ESQ.,\n\nPRESIDENT OF THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA, WHOSE\nENLIGHTENED INTEREST HAS FOR MANY YEARS, AND IN MANY WAYS, FURTHERED THE\nPROGRESS OF KNOWLEDGE, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE\nAUTHOR.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThis little volume is a contribution to the comparative study of\nreligions. It is an endeavor to present in a critically correct light some\nof the fundamental conceptions which are found in the native beliefs of\nthe tribes of America.\n\nSo little has heretofore been done in this field that it has yielded a\nvery scanty harvest for purposes of general study. It has not yet even\npassed the stage where the distinction between myth and tradition has been\nrecognized. Nearly all historians continue to write about some of the\nAmerican hero-gods as if they had been chiefs of tribes at some\nundetermined epoch, and the effort to trace the migrations and\naffiliations of nations by similarities in such stories is of almost daily\noccurrence. How baseless and misleading all such arguments must be, it is\none of my objects to set forth.\n\nAt the same time I have endeavored to be temperate in applying the\ninterpretations of mythologists. I am aware of the risk one runs in\nlooking at every legend as a light or storm myth. My guiding principle has\nbeen that when the same, and that a very extraordinary, story is told by\nseveral tribes wholly apart in language and location, then the\nprobabilities are enormous that it is not a legend but a myth, and must be\nexplained as such. It is a spontaneous production of the mind, not a\nreminiscence of an historic event.\n\nThe importance of the study of myths has been abundantly shown of recent\nyears, and the methods of analyzing them have been established with\nsatisfactory clearness.\n\nThe time has long since passed, at least among thinking men, when the\nreligious legends of the lower races were looked upon as trivial fables,\nor as the inventions of the Father of Lies. They are neither the one nor\nthe other. They express, in image and incident, the opinions of these\nraces on the mightiest topics of human thought, on the origin and destiny\nof man, his motives for duty and his grounds of hope, and the source,\nhistory and fate of all external nature. Certainly the sincere expressions\non these subjects of even humble members of the human race deserve our\nmost respectful heed, and it may be that we shall discover in their crude\nor coarse narrations gleams of a mental light which their proud Aryan\nbrothers have been long in coming to, or have not yet reached.\n\nThe prejudice against all the lower faiths inspired by the claim of\nChristianity to a monopoly of religious truth--a claim nowise set up by\nits founder--has led to extreme injustice toward the so-called heathen\nreligions. Little effort has been made to distinguish between their good\nand evil tendencies, or even to understand them. I do not know of a single\ninstance on this continent of a thorough and intelligent study of a native\nreligion made by a Protestant missionary.\n\nSo little real work has been done in American mythology that very diverse\nopinions as to its interpretation prevail among writers. Too many of them\napply to it facile generalizations, such as \"heliolatry,\" \"animism,\"\n\"ancestral worship,\" \"primitive philosophizing,\" and think that such a\nsesame will unloose all its mysteries. The result has been that while each\nsatisfies himself, he convinces no one else.\n\nI have tried to avoid any such bias, and have sought to discover the\nsource of the myths I have selected, by close attention to two points:\nfirst, that I should obtain the precise original form of the myth by a\nrigid scrutiny of authorities; and, secondly, that I should bring to bear\nupon it modern methods of mythological and linguistic analysis.\n\nThe first of these requirements has given me no small trouble. The sources\nof American history not only differ vastly in merit, but many of them are\nalmost inaccessible. I still have by me a list of books of the first order\nof importance for these studies, which I have not been able to find in any\npublic or private library in the United States.\n\nI have been free in giving references for the statements in the text. The\ngrowing custom among historians of omitting to do this must be deplored in\nthe interests of sound learning. It is better to risk the charge of\npedantry than to leave at fault those who wish to test an author's\naccuracy or follow up the line of investigation he indicates.\n\nOn the other hand, I have exercised moderation in drawing comparisons with\nAryan, Semitic, Egyptian and other Old World mythologies. It would have\nbeen easy to have noted apparent similarities to a much greater extent.\nBut I have preferred to leave this for those who write upon general\ncomparative mythology. Such parallelisms, to reach satisfactory results,\nshould be attempted only by those who have studied the Oriental religions\nin their original sources, and thus are not to be deceived by superficial\nresemblances.\n\nThe term \"comparative mythology\" reaches hardly far enough to cover all\nthat I have aimed at. The professional mythologist thinks he has completed\nhis task when he has traced a myth through its transformations in story\nand language back to the natural phenomena of which it was the expression.\nThis external history is essential. But deeper than that lies the study of\nthe influence of the myth on the individual and national mind, on the\nprogress and destiny of those who believed it, in other words, its true\n_religious_ import. I have endeavored, also, to take some account of this.\n\nThe usual statement is that tribes in the intellectual condition of those\nI am dealing with rest their religion on a worship of external phenomena.\nIn contradiction to this, I advance various arguments to show that their\nchief god was not identified with any objective natural process, but was\nhuman in nature, benignant in character, loved rather than feared, and\nthat his worship carried with it the germs of the development of\nbenevolent emotions and sound ethical principles.\n\n_Media, Pa., Oct., 1882._\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY.\n\nSome Kind of Religion Found among all Men--Classifications of\nReligions--The Purpose of Religions--Religions of Rite and of Creed--The\nMyth Grows in the First of these--Intent and Meaning of the Myth.\n\nProcesses of Myth Building in America--Personification, Paronyms and\nHomonyms--Otosis--Polyonomy--Henotheism--Borrowing--Rhetorical\nFigures--Abstract Expressions--Esoteric Teachings.\n\nOutlines of the Fundamental American Myth--The White Culture-hero and the\nFour Brothers--Interpretation of the Myth--Comparison with the Aryan\nHermes Myth--With the Aryo-Semitic Cadmus Myth--With Osirian Myths--The\nMyth of the Virgin Mother--The Interpretation thus Supported.\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nTHE HERO-GODS OF THE ALGONKINS AND IROQUOIS.\n\n\u00a71. _The Algonkin Myth of Michabo._\n\nThe Myth of the Giant Rabbit--The Rabbit Creates the World--He Marries the\nMuskrat--Becomes the All-Father--Derivation of Michabo--of Wajashk, the\nMusk-rat--The Myth Explained--The Light-God as God of the East--The Four\nDivine Brothers--Myth of the Huarochiris--The Day-Makers--Michabo's\nContests with His Father and Brother--Explanation of These--The Symbolic\nFlint Stone--Michabo Destroys the Serpent King--Meaning of this\nMyth--Relations of the Light-God and Wind-God--Michabo as God of Waters\nand Fertility--Represented as a Bearded Man.\n\n\u00a72. _The Iroquois Myth of Ioskeha._\n\nThe Creation of the Earth--The Miraculous Birth of Ioskeha--He Overcomes\nhis Brother Tawiscara--Creates and Teaches Mankind--Visits his People--His\nGrandmother Ataensic--Ioskeha as Father of his Mother--Similar Conceptions\nin Egyptian Myths--Derivation of Ioskeha and Ataensic--Ioskeha as\nTharonhiawakon, the Sky Supporter--His Brother Tawiscara or Tehotennhiaron\nIdentified--Similarity to Algonkin Myths.\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nTHE HERO-GOD OP THE AZTEC TRIBES.\n\n\u00a71. _The Two Antagonists._\n\nThe Contest of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca--Quetzalcoatl the\nLight-God--Derivation of His Name--Titles of Tezcatlipoca--Identified with\nDarkness, Night and Gloom.\n\n\u00a72. _Quetzalcoatl the God._\n\nMyth of the Four Brothers--The Four Suns and the Elemental Conflict--Names\nof the Four Brothers.\n\n\u00a73. _Quetzalcoatl the Hero of Tula._\n\nTula, the City of the Sun--Who were the Toltecs?--Tlapallan and Xalac--The\nBirth of the Hero God--His Virgin Mother Chimalmatl--His Miraculous\nConception--Aztlan, the Land of Seven Caves, and Colhuacan, the Bended\nMount--The Maid Xochitl and the Rose Garden of the Gods--Quetzalcoatl as\nthe White and Bearded Stranger.\n\nThe Glory of the Lord of Tula--The Subtlety of the Sorcerer\nTezcatlipoca--The Magic Mirror and the Mystic Draught--The Myth\nExplained--The Promise of Rejuvenation--The Toveyo and the Maiden--The\nJuggleries of Tezcatlipoca--Departure of Quetzalcoatl from\nTula--Quetzalcoatl at Cholula--His Death or Departure--The Celestial Game\nof Ball and Tiger Skin--Quetzalcoatl as the Planet Venus.\n\n\u00a74. _Quetzalcoatl as Lord of the Winds._\n\nThe Lord of the Four Winds--His Symbols, the Wheel of the Winds, the\nPentagon and the Cross--Close Relation to the Gods of Rain and\nWaters--Inventor of the Calendar--God of Fertility and\nConception--Recommends Sexual Austerity--Phallic Symbols--God of\nMerchants--The Patron of Thieves--His Pictographic Representations.\n\n\u00a75. _The Return of Quetzalcoatl._\n\nHis Expected Re-appearance--The Anxiety of Montezuma--His Address to\nCortes--The General Expectation--Explanation of his Predicted Return.\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\nTHE HERO-GODS OF THE MAYAS.\n\nCivilization of the Mayas--Whence it Originated--Duplicate Traditions\n\n\u00a71. _The Culture Hero Itzamna._\n\nItzamna as Ruler, Priest and Teacher--As Chief God and Creator of the\nWorld--Las Casas' Supposed Christ Myth--The Four Bacabs--Itzamna as Lord\nof the Winds and Rains--The Symbol of the Cross--As Lord of the Light and\nDay--Derivation of his Various Names.\n\n\u00a72. _The Culture Hero Kukulcan._\n\nKukulcan as Connected with the Calendar--Meaning of the Name--The Myth of\nthe Four Brothers--Kukulcan's Happy Rule and Miraculous\nDisappearance--Relation to Quetzalcoatl--Aztec and Maya\nMythology--Kukulcan a Maya Divinity--The Expected Return of the\nHero-god--The Maya Prophecies--Their Explanation.\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nTHE QQICHUA HERO-GOD VIRACOCHA.\n\nViracocha as the First Cause--His name Illa Ticci--Qquichua Prayers--Other\nNames and Titles of Viracocha--His Worship a True Monotheism--The Myth of\nthe Four Brothers--Myth of the Twin Brothers.\n\nViracocha as Tunapa, He who Perfects--Various Incidents in His\nLife--Relation to Manco Capac--He Disappears in the West.\n\nViracocha Rises from Lake Titicaca and Journeys to the West--Derivation of\nHis Name--He was Represented as White and Bearded--The Myth of Con and\nPachacamac--Contice Viracocha--Prophecies of the Peruvian Seers The White\nMen Called Viracochas--Similarities to Aztec Myths.\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nTHE EXTENSION AND INFLUENCE OP THE TYPICAL HERO-MYTH.\n\nThe Typical Myth found in many parts of the Continent--Difficulties in\nTracing it--Religious Evolution in America Similar to that in the Old\nWorld--Failure of Christianity in the Red Race.\n\nThe Culture Myth of the Tarascos of Mechoacan--That of the Kiches of\nGuatemala.--The Votan Myth of the Tzendals of Chiapas--A Fragment of a\nMixe Myth--The Hero-God of the Muyscas of New Granada--Of the\nTupi-Guaranay Stem of Paraguay and Brazil--Myths of the D\u00e8n\u00e8 of British\nAmerica.\n\nSun Worship in America--Germs of Progress in American Religions--Relation\nof Religion and Morality--The Light-God A Moral and Beneficent\nCreation--His Worship was Elevating--Moral Condition of Native Societies\nbefore the Conquest--Progress in the Definition of the Idea of God in\nPeru, Mexico and Yucatan--Erroneous Statements about the Morals of the\nNatives--Evolution of their Ethical Principles.\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n\n\n\nAMERICAN HERO-MYTHS.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nINTRODUCTORY.\n\nSOME KIND OF RELIGION FOUND AMONG ALL MEN--CLASSIFICATIONS OF\nRELIGIONS--THE PURPOSE OF RELIGIONS--RELIGIONS OF RITE AND OF CREED--THE\nMYTH GROWS IN THE FIRST OF THESE--INTENT AND MEANING OF THE MYTH.\n\nPROCESSES OF MYTH-BUILDING IN AMERICA--PERSONIFICATION. PARONYMS AND\nHOMONYMS--OTOSIS--POLYONOMY--HENOTHEISM--BORROWING--RHETORICAL\nFIGURES--ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONS. ESOTERIC TEACHINGS.\n\nOUTLINES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL AMERICAN MYTH--THE WHITE CULTURE-HERO AND THE\nFOUR BROTHERS--INTERPRETATION OF THE MYTH--COMPARISON WITH THE ARYAN\nHERMES MYTH--WITH THE ARYO-SEMITIC CADMUS MYTH--WITH OSIRIAN MYTHS--THE\nMYTH OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER--THE INTERPRETATION THUS SUPPORTED.\n\n\nThe time was, and that not so very long ago, when it was contended by some\nthat there are tribes of men without any sort of religion; nowadays the\neffort is to show that the feeling which prompts to it is common, even\namong brutes.\n\nThis change of opinion has come about partly through an extension of the\ndefinition of religion. It is now held to mean any kind of belief in\nspiritual or extra-natural agencies. Some learned men say that we had\nbetter drop the word \"religion,\" lest we be misunderstood. They would\nrather use \"daimonism,\" or \"supernaturalism,\" or other such new term; but\nnone of these seems to me so wide and so exactly significant of what I\nmean as \"religion.\"\n\nAll now agree that in this very broad sense some kind of religion exists\nin every human community.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: I suppose I am not going too far in saying \"all agree;\" for I\nthink that the latest study of this subject, by Gustav Roskoff, disposes\nof Sir John Lubbock's doubts, as well as the crude statements of the\nauthor of _Kraft und Stoff_, and such like compilations. Gustav Roskoff,\n_Das Religionswesen der Rohesten Naturv\u00f6lker_, Leipzig, 1880.]\n\nThe attempt has often been made to classify these various faiths under\nsome few general headings. The scheme of Auguste Comte still has\nsupporters. He taught that man begins with fetichism, advances to\npolytheism, and at last rises to monotheism. More in vogue at present is\nthe theory that the simplest and lowest form of religion is individual;\nabove it are the national religions; and at the summit the universal or\nworld religions.\n\nComte's scheme has not borne examination. It is artificial and sterile.\nLook at Christianity. It is the highest of all religions, but it is not\nmonotheism. Look at Buddhism. In its pure form it is not even theism. The\nsecond classification is more fruitful for historical purposes.\n\nThe psychologist, however, inquires as to the essence, the real purpose of\nreligions. This has been differently defined by the two great schools of\nthought.\n\nAll religions, says the idealist, are the efforts, poor or noble,\nconscious or blind, to develop the Idea of God in the soul of man.\n\nNo, replies the rationalist, it is simply the effort of the human mind to\nframe a Theory of Things; at first, religion is an early system of natural\nphilosophy; later it becomes moral philosophy. Explain the Universe by\nphysical laws, point out that the origin and aim of ethics are the\nrelations of men, and we shall have no more religions, nor need any.\n\nThe first answer is too intangible, the second too narrow. The rude savage\ndoes not philosophize on phenomena; the enlightened student sees in them\nbut interacting forces: yet both may be profoundly religious. Nor can\nmorality be accepted as a criterion of religions. The bloody scenes in the\nMexican teocalli were merciful compared with those in the torture rooms of\nthe Inquisition. Yet the religion of Jesus was far above that of\nHuitzilopochtli.\n\nWhat I think is the essence, the principle of vitality, in religion, and\nin all religions, is _their supposed control over the destiny of the\nindividual_, his weal or woe, his good or bad hap, here or hereafter, as\nit may be. Rooted infinitely deep in the sense of personality, religion\nwas recognized at the beginning, it will be recognized at the end, as the\none indestructible ally in the struggle for individual existence. At\nheart, all prayers are for preservation, the burden of all litanies is a\nbegging for Life.\n\nThis end, these benefits, have been sought by the cults of the world\nthrough one of two theories.\n\nThe one, that which characterizes the earliest and the crudest religions,\nteaches that man escapes dangers and secures safety by the performance or\navoidance of certain actions. He may credit this or that myth, he may hold\nto one or many gods; this is unimportant; but he must not fail in the\npenance or the sacred dance, he must not touch that which is _taboo_, or\nhe is in peril. The life of these cults is the Deed, their expression is\nthe Rite.\n\nHigher religions discern the inefficacy of the mere Act. They rest their\nclaim on Belief. They establish dogmas, the mental acceptance of which is\nthe one thing needful. In them mythology passes into theology; the act is\nmeasured by its motive, the formula by the faith back of it. Their life is\nthe Creed.\n\nThe Myth finds vigorous and congenial growth only in the first of these\nforms. There alone the imagination of the votary is free, there alone it\nis not fettered by a symbol already defined.\n\nTo the student of religions the interest of the Myth is not that of an\ninfantile attempt to philosophize, but as it illustrates the intimate and\nimmediate relations which the religion in which it grew bore to the\nindividual life. Thus examined, it reveals the inevitable destinies of men\nand of nations as bound up with their forms of worship.\n\nThese general considerations appear to me to be needed for the proper\nunderstanding of the study I am about to make. It concerns itself with\nsome of the religions which were developed on the American continent\nbefore its discovery. My object is to present from them a series of myths\ncuriously similar in features, and to see if one simple and general\nexplanation of them can be found.\n\nThe processes of myth-building among American tribes were much the same as\nelsewhere. These are now too generally familiar to need specification\nhere, beyond a few which I have found particularly noticeable.\n\nAt the foundation of all myths lies the mental process of\n_personification_, which finds expression in the rhetorical figure of\n_prosopopeia_. The definition of this, however, must be extended from the\nmere representation of inanimate things as animate, to include also the\nrepresentation of irrational beings as rational, as in the \"animal myths,\"\na most common form of religious story among primitive people.\n\nSome languages favor these forms of personification much more than others,\nand most of the American languages do so in a marked manner, by the broad\ngrammatical distinctions they draw between animate and inanimate objects,\nwhich distinctions must invariably be observed. They cannot say \"the boat\nmoves\" without specifying whether the boat is an animate object or not, or\nwhether it is to be considered animate, for rhetorical purposes, at the\ntime of speaking.\n\nThe sounds of words have aided greatly in myth building. Names and words\nwhich are somewhat alike in sound, _paronyms_, as they are called by\ngrammarians, may be taken or mistaken one for the other. Again, many myths\nspring from _homonymy_, that is, the sameness in sound of words with\ndifference in signification. Thus _coatl_, in the Aztec tongue, is a word\nfrequently appearing in the names of divinities. It has three entirely\ndifferent meanings, to wit, a serpent, a guest and twins. Now, whichever\none of these was originally meant, it would be quite certain to be\nmisunderstood, more or less, by later generations, and myths would arise\nto explain the several possible interpretations of the word--as, in fact,\nwe find was the case.\n\nClosely allied to this is what has been called _otosis_. This is the\nsubstitution of a familiar word for an archaic or foreign one of similar\nsound but wholly diverse meaning. This is a very common occurrence and\neasily leads to myth making. For example, there is a cave, near\nChattanooga, which has the Cherokee name Nik-a-jak. This the white\nsettlers have transformed into Nigger Jack, and are prepared with a\nnarrative of some runaway slave to explain the cognomen. It may also occur\nin the same language. In an Algonkin dialect _missi wabu_ means \"the great\nlight of the dawn;\" and a common large rabbit was called _missabo_; at\nsome period the precise meaning of the former words was lost, and a\nvariety of interesting myths of the daybreak were transferred to a\nsupposed huge rabbit! Rarely does there occur a more striking example of\nhow the deteriorations of language affect mythology.\n\n_Aztlan_, the mythical land whence the Aztec speaking tribes were said to\nhave come, and from which they derived their name, means \"the place of\nwhiteness;\" but the word was similar to _Aztatlan_, which would mean \"the\nplace of herons,\" some spot where these birds would love to congregate,\nfrom _aztatl_, the heron, and in after ages, this latter, as the plainer\nand more concrete signification, came to prevail, and was adopted by the\nmyth-makers.\n\n_Polyonomy_ is another procedure often seen in these myths. A divinity has\nseveral or many titles; one or another of these becomes prominent, and at\nlast obscures in a particular myth or locality the original personality of\nthe hero of the tale. In America this is most obvious in Peru.\n\nAkin to this is what Prof. Max M\u00fcller has termed _henotheism_. In this\nmental process one god or one form of a god is exalted beyond all others,\nand even addressed as the one, only, absolute and supreme deity. Such\nexpressions are not to be construed literally as evidences of a\nmonotheism, but simply that at that particular time the worshiper's mind\nwas so filled with the power and majesty of the divinity to whom he\nappealed, that he applied to him these superlatives, very much as he would\nto a great ruler. The next day he might apply them to another deity,\nwithout any hypocrisy or sense of logical contradiction. Instances of this\nare common in the Aztec prayers which have been preserved.\n\nOne difficulty encountered in Aryan mythology is extremely rare in\nAmerica, and that is, the adoption of foreign names. A proper name without\na definite concrete significance in the tongue of the people who used it\nis almost unexampled in the red race. A word without a meaning was\nsomething quite foreign to their mode of thought. One of our most eminent\nstudents[1] has justly said: \"Every Indian synthesis--names of persons and\nplaces not excepted--must preserve the consciousness of its roots, and\nmust not only have a meaning, but be so framed as to convey that meaning\nwith precision, to all who speak the language to which it belongs.\" Hence,\nthe names of their divinities can nearly always be interpreted, though for\nthe reasons above given the most obvious and current interpretation is not\nin every case the correct one.\n\n[Footnote 1: J. Hammond Trumbull, _On the Composition of Indian\nGeographical Names_, p. 3 (Hartford, 1870).]\n\nAs foreign names were not adopted, so the mythology of one tribe very\nrarely influenced that of another. As a rule, all the religions were\ntribal or national, and their votaries had no desire to extend them. There\nwas little of the proselytizing spirit among the red race. Some exceptions\ncan be pointed out to this statement, in the Aztec and Peruvian\nmonarchies. Some borrowing seems to have been done either by or from the\nMayas; and the hero-myth of the Iroquois has so many of the lineaments of\nthat of the Algonkins that it is difficult to believe that it was wholly\nindependent of it. But, on the whole, the identities often found in\nAmerican myths are more justly attributable to a similarity of\nsurroundings and impressions than to any other cause.\n\nThe diversity and intricacy of American mythology have been greatly\nfostered by the delight the more developed nations took in rhetorical\nfigures, in metaphor and simile, and in expressions of amplification and\nhyperbole. Those who imagine that there was a poverty of resources in\nthese languages, or that their concrete form hemmed in the mind from the\nstudy of the abstract, speak without knowledge. One has but to look at the\ninexhaustible synonymy of the Aztec, as it is set forth by Olmos or\nSahagun, or at its power to render correctly the refinements of scholastic\ntheology, to see how wide of the fact is any such opinion. And what is\ntrue of the Aztec, is not less so of the Qquichua and other tongues.\n\nI will give an example, where the English language itself falls short of\nthe nicety of the Qquichua in handling a metaphysical tenet. _Cay_ in\nQquichua expresses the real being of things, the _essentia_; as, _runap\ncaynin_, the being of the human race, humanity in the abstract; but to\nconvey the idea of actual being, the _existentia_ as united to the\n_essentia_, we must add the prefix _cascan_, and thus have\n_runap-cascan-caynin_, which strictly means \"the essence of being in\ngeneral, as existent in humanity.\"[1] I doubt if the dialect of German\nmetaphysics itself, after all its elaboration, could produce in equal\ncompass a term for this conception. In Qquichua, moreover, there is\nnothing strained and nothing foreign in this example; it is perfectly\npure, and in thorough accord with the genius of the tongue.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"El ser existente de hombre, que es el modo de estar el\nprimer ser que es la essentia que en Dios y los Angeles y el hombre es\nmodo personal.\" Diego Gonzalez Holguin, _Vocabvlario de la Lengva Qqichua,\no del Inca; sub voce, Cay_. (Ciudad de los Reyes, 1608.)]\n\nI take some pains to impress this fact, for it is an important one in\nestimating the religious ideas of the race. We must not think we have\ngrounds for skepticism if we occasionally come across some that astonish\nus by their subtlety. Such are quite in keeping with the psychology and\nlanguages of the race we are studying.\n\nYet, throughout America, as in most other parts of the world, the teaching\nof religious tenets was twofold, the one popular, the other for the\ninitiated, an esoteric and an exoteric doctrine. A difference in dialect\nwas assiduously cultivated, a sort of \"sacred language\" being employed to\nconceal while it conveyed the mysteries of faith. Some linguists think\nthat these dialects are archaic forms of the language, the memory of which\nwas retained in ceremonial observances; others maintain that they were\nsimply affectations of expression, and form a sort of slang, based on the\nevery day language, and current among the initiated. I am inclined to the\nlatter as the correct opinion, in many cases.\n\nWhichever it was, such a sacred dialect is found in almost all tribes.\nThere are fragments of it from the cultivated races of Mexico, Yucatan and\nPeru; and at the other end of the scale we may instance the Guaymis, of\nDarien, naked savages, but whose \"chiefs of the law,\" we are told, taught\n\"the doctrines of their religion in a peculiar idiom, invented for the\npurpose, and very different from the common language.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Franco, _Noticia de los Indios Guaymies y de sus Costumbres_,\np. 20, in Pinart, _Coleccion de Linguistica y Etnografia Americana_. Tom.\niv.]\n\nThis becomes an added difficulty in the analysis of myths, as not only\nwere the names of the divinities and of localities expressed in terms in\nthe highest degree metaphorical, but they were at times obscured by an\naffected pronunciation, devised to conceal their exact derivation.\n\nThe native tribes of this Continent had many myths, and among them there\nwas one which was so prominent, and recurred with such strangely similar\nfeatures in localities widely asunder, that it has for years attracted my\nattention, and I have been led to present it as it occurs among several\nnations far apart, both geographically and in point of culture. This myth\nis that of the national hero, their mythical civilizer and teacher of the\ntribe, who, at the same time, was often identified with the supreme deity\nand the creator of the world. It is the fundamental myth of a very large\nnumber of American tribes, and on its recognition and interpretation\ndepends the correct understanding of most of their mythology and religious\nlife.\n\nThe outlines of this legend are to the effect that in some exceedingly\nremote time this divinity took an active part in creating the world and in\nfitting it to be the abode of man, and may himself have formed or called\nforth the race. At any rate, his interest in its advancement was such that\nhe personally appeared among the ancestors of the nation, and taught them\nthe useful arts, gave them the maize or other food plants, initiated them\ninto the mysteries of their religious rites, framed the laws which\ngoverned their social relations, and having thus started them on the road\nto self development, he left them, not suffering death, but disappearing\nin some way from their view. Hence it was nigh universally expected that\nat some time he would return.\n\nThe circumstances attending the birth of these hero-gods have great\nsimilarity. As a rule, each is a twin or one of four brothers born at one\nbirth; very generally at the cost of their mother's life, who is a virgin,\nor at least had never been impregnated by mortal man. The hero is apt to\ncome into conflict with his brother, or one of his brothers, and the long\nand desperate struggle resulting, which often involved the universe in\nrepeated destructions, constitutes one of the leading topics of the\nmyth-makers. The duel is not generally--not at all, I believe, when we can\nget at the genuine native form of the myth--between a morally good and an\nevil spirit, though, undoubtedly, the one is more friendly and favorable\nto the welfare of man than the other.\n\nThe better of the two, the true hero-god, is in the end triumphant, though\nthe national temperament represented this variously. At any rate, his\npeople are not deserted by him, and though absent, and perhaps for a while\ndriven away by his potent adversary, he is sure to come back some time or\nother.\n\nThe place of his birth is nearly always located in the East; from that\nquarter he first came when he appeared as a man among men; toward that\npoint he returned when he disappeared; and there he still lives, awaiting\nthe appointed time for his reappearance.\n\nWhenever the personal appearance of this hero-god is described, it is,\nstrangely enough, represented to be that of one of the white race, a man\nof fair complexion, with long, flowing beard, with abundant hair, and\nclothed in ample and loose robes. This extraordinary fact naturally\nsuggests the gravest suspicion that these stories were made up after the\nwhites had reached the American shores, and nearly all historians have\nsummarily rejected their authenticity, on this account. But a most careful\nscrutiny of their sources positively refutes this opinion. There is\nirrefragable evidence that these myths and this ideal of the hero-god,\nwere intimately known and widely current in America long before any one of\nits millions of inhabitants had ever seen a white man. Nor is there any\ndifficulty in explaining this, when we divest these figures of the\nfanciful garbs in which they have been clothed by the religious\nimagination, and recognize what are the phenomena on which they are based,\nand the physical processes whose histories they embody. To show this I\nwill offer, in the most concise terms, my interpretation of their main\ndetails.\n\nThe most important of all things to life is _Light_. This the primitive\nsavage felt, and, personifying it, he made Light his chief god. The\nbeginning of the day served, by analogy, for the beginning of the world.\nLight comes before the sun, brings it forth, creates it, as it were. Hence\nthe Light-God is not the Sun-God, but his Antecedent and Creator.\n\nThe light appears in the East, and thus defines that cardinal point, and\nby it the others are located. These points, as indispensable guides to the\nwandering hordes, became, from earliest times, personified as important\ndeities, and were identified with the winds that blew from them, as wind\nand rain gods. This explains the four brothers, who were nothing else than\nthe four cardinal points, and their mother, who dies in producing them, is\nthe eastern light, which is soon lost in the growing day. The East, as\ntheir leader, was also the supposed ruler of the winds, and thus god of\nthe air and rain. As more immediately connected with the advent and\ndeparture of light, the East and West are twins, the one of which sends\nforth the glorious day-orb, which the other lies in wait to conquer. Yet\nthe light-god is not slain. The sun shall rise again in undiminished\nglory, and he lives, though absent.\n\nBy sight and light we see and learn. Nothing, therefore, is more natural\nthan to attribute to the light-god the early progress in the arts of\ndomestic and social life. Thus light came to be personified as the\nembodiment of culture and knowledge, of wisdom, and of the peace and\nprosperity which are necessary for the growth of learning.\n\nThe fair complexion of these heroes is nothing but a reference to the\nwhite light of the dawn. Their ample hair and beard are the rays of the\nsun that flow from his radiant visage. Their loose and large robes typify\nthe enfolding of the firmament by the light and the winds.\n\nThis interpretation is nowise strained, but is simply that which, in Aryan\nmythology, is now universally accepted for similar mythological creations.\nThus, in the Greek Phoebus and Perseus, in the Teutonic Lif, and in the\nNorse Baldur, we have also beneficent hero-gods, distinguished by their\nfair complexion and ample golden locks. \"Amongst the dark as well as\namongst the fair races, amongst those who are marked by black hair and\ndark eyes, they exhibit the same unfailing type of blue-eyed heroes whose\ngolden locks flow over their shoulders, and whose faces gleam as with the\nlight of the new risen sun.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sir George W. Cox, _An Introduction to the Science of\nComparative Mythology and Folk-Lore_, p. 17.]\n\nEverywhere, too, the history of these heroes is that of a struggle against\nsome potent enemy, some dark demon or dragon, but as often against some\nmember of their own household, a brother or a father.\n\nThe identification of the Light-God with the deity of the winds is also\nseen in Aryan mythology. Hermes, to the Greek, was the inventor of the\nalphabet, music, the cultivation of the olive, weights and measures, and\nsuch humane arts. He was also the messenger of the gods, in other words,\nthe breezes, the winds, the air in motion. His name Hermes, Hermeias, is\nbut a transliteration of the Sanscrit Sarameyas, under which he appears in\nthe Vedic songs, as the son of Sarama, the Dawn. Even his character as the\nmaster thief and patron saint of the light-fingered gentry, drawn from the\nway the winds and breezes penetrate every crack and cranny of the house,\nis absolutely repeated in the Mexican hero-god Quetzalcoatl, who was also\nthe patron of thieves. I might carry the comparison yet further, for as\nSarameyas is derived from the root _sar_, to creep, whence _serpo_,\nserpent, the creeper, so the name Quetzalcoatl can be accurately\ntranslated, \"the wonderful serpent.\" In name, history and functions the\nparallelism is maintained throughout.\n\nOr we can find another familiar myth, partly Aryan, partly Semitic, where\nmany of the same outlines present themselves. The Argive Thebans\nattributed the founding of their city and state to Cadmus. He collected\ntheir ancestors into a community, gave them laws, invented the alphabet of\nsixteen letters, taught them the art of smelting metals, established\noracles, and introduced the Dyonisiac worship, or that of the reproductive\nprinciple. He subsequently left them and lived for a time with other\nnations, and at last did not die, but was changed into a dragon and\ncarried by Zeus to Elysion.\n\nThe birthplace of this culture hero was somewhere far to the eastward of\nGreece, somewhere in \"the purple land\" (Phoenicia); his mother was \"the\nfar gleaming one\" (Telephassa); he was one of four children, and his\nsister was Europe, the Dawn, who was seized and carried westward by Zeus,\nin the shape of a white bull. Cadmus seeks to recover her, and sets out,\nfollowing the westward course of the sun. \"There can be no rest until the\nlost one is found again. The sun must journey westward until he sees again\nthe beautiful tints which greeted his eyes in the morning.\"[1] Therefore\nCadmus leaves the purple land to pursue his quest. It is one of toil and\nstruggle. He has to fight the dragon offspring of Ares and the bands of\narmed men who spring from the dragon's teeth which were sown, that is, the\nclouds and gloom of the overcast sky. He conquers, and is rewarded, but\ndoes not recover his sister.\n\n[Footnote 1: Sir George W. Cox, _Ibid._, p. 76.]\n\nWhen we find that the name Cadmus is simply the Semitic word _kedem_, the\neast, and notice all this mythical entourage, we see that this legend is\nbut a lightly veiled account of the local source and progress of the light\nof day, and of the advantages men derive from it. Cadmus brings the\nletters of the alphabet from the east to Greece, for the same reason that\nin ancient Maya myth Itzamna, \"son of the mother of the morning,\" brought\nthe hieroglyphs of the Maya script also from the east to Yucatan--because\nboth represent the light by which we see and learn.\n\nEgyptian mythology offers quite as many analogies to support this\ninterpretation of American myths as do the Aryan god-stories.\n\nThe heavenly light impregnates the virgin from whom is born the sun-god,\nwhose life is a long contest with his twin brother. The latter wins, but\nhis victory is transient, for the light, though conquered and banished by\nthe darkness, cannot be slain, and is sure to return with the dawn, to the\ngreat joy of the sons of men. This story the Egyptians delighted to repeat\nunder numberless disguises. The groundwork and meaning are the same,\nwhether the actors are Osiris, Isis and Set, Ptah, Hapi and the Virgin\nCow, or the many other actors of this drama. There, too, among a brown\nrace of men, the light-god was deemed to be not of their own hue, but\n\"light colored, white or yellow,\" of comely countenance, bright eyes and\ngolden hair. Again, he is the one who invented the calendar, taught the\narts, established the rituals, revealed the medical virtues of plants,\nrecommended peace, and again was identified as one of the brothers of the\ncardinal points.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: See Dr. C.P. Tiele, _History of the Egyptian Religion_, pp.\n93, 95, 99, et al.]\n\nThe story of the virgin-mother points, in America as it did in the old\nworld, to the notion of the dawn bringing forth the sun. It was one of the\ncommonest myths in both continents, and in a period of human thought when\nmiracles were supposed to be part of the order of things had in it nothing\ndifficult of credence. The Peruvians, for instance, had large\nestablishments where were kept in rigid seclusion the \"virgins of the\nsun.\" Did one of these violate her vow of chastity, she and her fellow\ncriminal were at once put to death; but did she claim that the child she\nbore was of divine parentage, and the contrary could not be shown, then\nshe was feted as a queen, and the product of her womb was classed among\nprinces, as a son of the sun. So, in the inscription at Thebes, in the\ntemple of the virgin goddess Mat, we read where she says of herself: \"My\ngarment no man has lifted up; the fruit that I have borne was begotten of\nthe sun.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"[Greek: Ton emon chitona oudeis apechaluphen on ego charpon\netechan, aelios egeneto.]\" Proclus, quoted by Tiele, ubi supr\u00e1, p. 204,\nnote.]\n\nI do not venture too much in saying that it were easy to parallel every\nevent in these American hero-myths, every phase of character of the\npersonages they represent, with others drawn from Aryan and Egyptian\nlegends long familiar to students, and which now are fully recognized as\nhaving in them nothing of the substance of history, but as pure creations\nof the religious imagination working on the processes of nature brought\ninto relation to the hopes and fears of men.\n\nIf this is so, is it not time that we dismiss, once for all, these\nAmerican myths from the domain of historical traditions? Why should we try\nto make a king of Itzamna, an enlightened ruler of Quetzalcoatl, a\ncultured nation of the Toltecs, when the proof is of the strongest, that\nevery one of these is an absolutely baseless fiction of mythology? Let it\nbe understood, hereafter, that whoever uses these names in an historical\nsense betrays an ignorance of the subject he handles, which, were it in\nthe better known field of Aryan or Egyptian lore, would at once convict\nhim of not meriting the name of scholar.\n\nIn European history the day has passed when it was allowable to construct\nprimitive chronicles out of fairy tales and nature myths. The science of\ncomparative mythology has assigned to these venerable stories a different,\nthough not less noble, interpretation. How much longer must we wait to see\nthe same canons of criticism applied to the products of the religious\nfancy of the red race?\n\nFurthermore, if the myths of the American nations are shown to be capable\nof a consistent interpretation by the principles of comparative mythology,\nlet it be recognized that they are neither to be discarded because they\nresemble some familiar to their European conquerors, nor does that\nsimilarity mean that they are historically derived, the one from the\nother. Each is an independent growth, but as each is the reflex in a\ncommon psychical nature of the same phenomena, the same forms of\nexpression were adopted to convey them.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nTHE HERO-GODS OF THE ALGONKINS AND IROQUOIS.\n\n\u00a71. _The Algonkin Myth of Michabo._\n\nTHE MYTH OF THE GIANT RABBIT--THE RABBIT CREATES THE WORLD--HE MARRIES THE\nMUSKRAT--BECOMES THE ALL-FATHER--DERIVATION OF MICHABO--OF WAJASHK, THE\nMUSKRAT--THE MYTH EXPLAINED--THE LIGHT-GOD AS GOD OF THE EAST--THE FOUR\nDIVINE BROTHERS--MYTH OF THE HUAROCHIRIS--THE DAY-MAKERS--MICHABO'S\nCONTESTS WITH HIS FATHER AND BROTHER--EXPLANATION OF THESE--THE SYMBOLIC\nFLINT STONE--MICHABO DESTROYS THE SERPENT KING--MEANING OF THIS\nMYTH--RELATIONS OF THE LIGHT-GOD AND WIND-GOD--MICHABO AS GOD OF WATERS\nAND FERTILITY--REPRESENTED AS A BEARDED MAN.\n\n\u00a72. _The Iroquois Myth of Ioskeha._\n\nTHE CREATION OF THE EARTH--THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF IOSKEHA--HE OVERCOMES\nHIS BROTHER, TAWISCARA--CREATES AND TEACHES MANKIND--VISITS HIS\nPEOPLE--HIS GRANDMOTHER, ATAENSIC--IOSKEHA AS FATHER OF HIS\nMOTHER--SIMILAR CONCEPTIONS IN EGYPTIAN MYTHS--DERIVATION OF IOSKEHA AND\nATAENSIC--IOSKEHA AS THARONHIAWAKON, THE SKY SUPPORTER--HIS BROTHER\nTAWISCARA OR TEHOTENNHIARON IDENTIFIED--SIMILARITY TO ALGONKIN MYTHS.\n\n\nNearly all that vast area which lies between Hudson Bay and the Savannah\nriver, and the Mississippi river and the Atlantic coast, was peopled at\nthe epoch of the discovery by the members of two linguistic families--the\nAlgonkins and the Iroquois. They were on about the same plane of culture,\nbut differed much in temperament and radically in language. Yet their\nreligious notions were not dissimilar.\n\n\n\u00a71. _The Algonkin Myth of Michabo._\n\nAmong all the Algonkin tribes whose myths have been preserved we find much\nis said about a certain Giant Rabbit, to whom all sorts of powers were\nattributed. He was the master of all animals; he was the teacher who first\ninstructed men in the arts of fishing and hunting; he imparted to the\nAlgonkins the mysteries of their religious rites; he taught them picture\nwriting and the interpretation of dreams; nay, far more than that, he was\nthe original ancestor, not only of their nation, but of the whole race of\nman, and, in fact, was none other than the primal Creator himself, who\nfashioned the earth and gave life to all that thereon is.\n\nHearing all this said about such an ignoble and weak animal as the rabbit,\nno wonder that the early missionaries and travelers spoke of such fables\nwith undisguised contempt, and never mentioned them without excuses for\nputting on record trivialities so utter.\n\nYet it appears to me that under these seemingly weak stories lay a\nprofound truth, the appreciation of which was lost in great measure to the\nnatives themselves, but which can be shown to have been in its origin a\nnoble myth, setting forth in not unworthy images the ceaseless and mighty\nrhythm of nature in the alternations of day and night, summer and winter,\nstorm and sunshine.\n\nI shall quote a few of these stories as told by early authorities, not\nadding anything to relieve their crude simplicity, and then I will see\nwhether, when submitted to the test of linguistic analysis, this\nunpromising ore does not yield the pure gold of genuine mythology.\n\nThe beginning of things, according to the Ottawas and other northern\nAlgonkins, was at a period when boundless waters covered the face of the\nearth. On this infinite ocean floated a raft, upon which were many species\nof animals, the captain and chief of whom was Michabo, the Giant Rabbit.\nThey ardently desired land on which to live, so this mighty rabbit ordered\nthe beaver to dive and bring him up ever so little a piece of mud. The\nbeaver obeyed, and remained down long, even so that he came up utterly\nexhausted, but reported that he had not reached bottom. Then the Rabbit\nsent down the otter, but he also returned nearly dead and without success.\nGreat was the disappointment of the company on the raft, for what better\ndivers had they than the beaver and the otter?\n\nIn the midst of their distress the (female) muskrat came forward and\nannounced her willingness to make the attempt. Her proposal was received\nwith derision, but as poor help is better than none in an emergency, the\nRabbit gave her permission, and down she dived. She too remained long,\nvery long, a whole day and night, and they gave her up for lost. But at\nlength she floated to the surface, unconscious, her belly up, as if dead.\nThey hastily hauled her on the raft and examined her paws one by one. In\nthe last one of the four they found a small speck of mud. Victory! That\nwas all that was needed. The muskrat was soon restored, and the Giant\nRabbit, exerting his creative power, moulded the little fragment of soil,\nand as he moulded it, it grew and grew, into an island, into a mountain,\ninto a country, into this great earth that we all dwell upon. As it grew\nthe Rabbit walked round and round it, to see how big it was; and the story\nadded that he is not yet satisfied; still he continues his journey and his\nlabor, walking forever around and around the earth and ever increasing it\nmore and more.\n\nThe animals on the raft soon found homes on the new earth. But it had yet\nto be covered with forests, and men were not born. The Giant Rabbit formed\nthe trees by shooting his arrows into the soil, which became tree trunks,\nand, transfixing them with other arrows, these became branches; and as for\nmen, some said he formed them from the dead bodies of certain animals,\nwhich in time became the \"totems\" of the Algonkin tribes; but another and\nprobably an older and truer story was that he married the muskrat which\nhad been of such service to him, and from this union were born the\nancestors of the various races of mankind which people the earth.\n\nNor did he neglect the children he had thus brought into the world of his\ncreation. Having closely studied how the spider spreads her web to catch\nflies, he invented the art of knitting nets for fish, and taught it to his\ndescendants; the pieces of native copper found along the shores of Lake\nSuperior he took from his treasure house inside the earth, where he\nsometimes lives. It is he who is the Master of Life, and if he appears in\na dream to a person in danger, it is a certain sign of a lucky escape. He\nconfers fortune in the chase, and therefore the hunters invoke him, and\noffer him tobacco and other dainties, placing them in the clefts of rocks\nor on isolated boulders. Though called the Giant Rabbit, he is always\nreferred to as a man, a giant or demigod perhaps, but distinctly as of\nhuman nature, the mighty father or elder brother of the race.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The writers from whom I have taken this myth are Nicolas\nPerrot, _M\u00e9moire sur les Meurs, Coustumes et Relligion des Sauvages de\nl'Am\u00e9rique Septentrionale_, written by an intelligent layman who lived\namong the natives from 1665 to 1699; and the various _Relations des\nJesuites_, especially for the years 1667 and 1670.]\n\nSuch is the national myth of creation of the Algonkin tribes, as it has\nbeen handed down to us in fragments by those who first heard it. Has it\nany meaning? Is it more than the puerile fable of savages?\n\nLet us see whether some of those unconscious tricks of speech to which I\nreferred in the introductory chapter have not disfigured a true nature\nmyth. Perhaps those common processes of language, personification and\notosis, duly taken into account, will enable us to restore this narrative\nto its original sense.\n\nIn the Algonkin tongue the word for Giant Rabbit is _Missabos_, compounded\nfrom _mitchi_ or _missi_, great, large, and _wabos_, a rabbit. But there\nis a whole class of related words, referring to widely different\nperceptions, which sound very much like _wabos_. They are from a general\nroot _wab_, which goes to form such words of related signification as\n_wabi_, he sees, _waban_, the east, the Orient, _wabish_, white, _bidaban_\n(_bid-waban_), the dawn, _w\u00e1ban_, daylight, _wasseia_, the light, and many\nothers. Here is where we are to look for the real meaning of the name\n_Missabos_. It originally meant the Great Light, the Mighty Seer, the\nOrient, the Dawn--which you please, as all distinctly refer to the one\noriginal idea, the Bringer of Light and Sight, of knowledge and life. In\ntime this meaning became obscured, and the idea of the rabbit, whose name\nwas drawn probably from the same root, as in the northern winters its fur\nbecomes white, was substituted, and so the myth of light degenerated into\nan animal fable.\n\nI believe that a similar analysis will explain the part which the muskrat\nplays in the story. She it is who brings up the speck of mud from the\nbottom of the primal ocean, and from this speck the world is formed by him\nwhom we now see was the Lord of the Light and the Day, and subsequently\nshe becomes the mother of his sons. The word for muskrat in Algonkin is\n_wajashk_, the first letter of which often suffers elision, as in _nin\nnod-ajashkwe_, I hunt muskrats. But this is almost the word for mud, wet\nearth, soil, _ajishki_. There is no reasonable doubt but that here again\notosis and personification came in and gave the form and name of an animal\nto the original simple statement.\n\nThat statement was that from wet mud dried by the sunlight, the solid\nearth was formed; and again, that this damp soil was warmed and fertilized\nby the sunlight, so that from it sprang organic life, even man himself,\nwho in so many mythologies is \"the earth born,\" _homo ab humo, homo\nchamaigenes_.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Mr. J. Hammond Trumbull has pointed out that in Algonkin the\nwords for father, _osh_, mother, _okas_, and earth, _ohke_ (Narraganset\ndialect), can all be derived, according to the regular rules of Algonkin\ngrammar, from the same verbal root, signifying \"to come out of, or from.\"\n(Note to Roger Williams' _Key into the Language of America_, p. 56). Thus\nthe earth was, in their language, the parent of the race, and what more\nnatural than that it should become so in the myth also?]\n\nThis, then, is the interpretation I have to offer of the cosmogonical myth\nof the Algonkins. Does some one object that it is too refined for those\nrude savages, or that it smacks too much of reminiscences of old-world\nteachings? My answer is that neither the early travelers who wrote it\ndown, nor probably the natives who told them, understood its meaning, and\nthat not until it is here approached by modern methods of analysis, has it\never been explained. Therefore it is impossible to assign to it other than\nan indigenous and spontaneous origin in some remote period of Algonkin\ntribal history.\n\nAfter the darkness of the night, man first learns his whereabouts by the\nlight kindling in the Orient; wandering, as did the primitive man, through\npathless forests, without a guide, the East became to him the first and\nmost important of the fixed points in space; by it were located the West,\nthe North, the South; from it spread the welcome dawn; in it was born the\nglorious sun; it was full of promise and of instruction; hence it became\nto him the home of the gods of life and light and wisdom.\n\nAs the four cardinal points are determined by fixed physical relations,\ncommon to man everywhere, and are closely associated with his daily\nmotions and well being, they became prominent figures in almost all early\nmyths, and were personified as divinities. The winds were classified as\ncoming from them, and in many tongues the names of the cardinal points are\nthe same as those of the winds that blow from them. The East, however,\nhas, in regard to the others, a pre-eminence, for it is not merely the\nhome of the east wind, but of the light and the dawn as well. Hence it\nattained a marked preponderance in the myths; it was either the greatest,\nwisest and oldest of the four brothers, who, by personification,\nrepresented the cardinal points and the four winds, or else the Light-God\nwas separated from the quadruplet and appears as a fifth personage\ngoverning the other four, and being, in fact, the supreme ruler of both\nthe spiritual and human worlds.\n\nSuch was the mental processes which took place in the Algonkin mind, and\ngave rise to two cycles of myths, the one representing Wabun or Michabo as\none of four brothers, whose names are those of the cardinal points, the\nsecond placing him above them all.\n\nThe four brothers are prominent characters in Algonkin legend, and we\nshall find that they recur with extraordinary frequency in the mythology\nof all American nations. Indeed, I could easily point them out also in the\nearly religious conceptions of Egypt and India, Greece and China, and many\nother old-world lands, but I leave these comparisons to those who wish to\ntreat of the principles of general mythology.\n\nAccording to the most generally received legend these four brothers were\nquadruplets--born at one birth--and their mother died in bringing them\ninto life. Their names are given differently by the various tribes, but\nare usually identical with the four points of the compass, or something\nrelating to them. Wabun the East, Kabun the West, Kabibonokka the North,\nand Shawano the South, are, in the ordinary language of the interpreters,\nthe names applied to them. Wabun was the chief and leader, and assigned to\nhis brothers their various duties, especially to blow the winds.\n\nThese were the primitive and chief divinities of the Algonkin race in all\nparts of the territory they inhabited. When, as early as 1610, Captain\nArgoll visited the tribes who then possessed the banks of the river\nPotomac, and inquired concerning their religion, they replied, \"We have\nfive gods in all; our chief god often appears to us in the form of a\nmighty great hare; the other four have no visible shape, but are indeed\nthe four winds, which keep the four corners of the earth.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: William Strachey, _Historie of Travaile into Virginia_, p.\n98.]\n\nHere we see that Wabun, the East, was distinguished from Michabo\n(_missi-wabun_), and by a natural and transparent process, the eastern\nlight being separated from the eastern wind, the original number four was\nincreased to five. Precisely the same differentiation occurred, as I shall\nshow, in Mexico, in the case of Quetzalcoatl, as shown in his _Yoel_, or\nWheel of the Winds, which was his sacred pentagram.\n\nOr I will further illustrate this development by a myth of the Huarochiri\nIndians, of the coast of Peru. They related that in the beginning of\nthings there were five eggs on the mountain Condorcoto. In due course of\ntime these eggs opened and from them came forth five falcons, who were\nnone other than the Creator of all things, Pariacaca, and his brothers,\nthe four winds. By their magic power they transformed themselves into men\nand went about the world performing miracles, and in time became the gods\nof that people.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Doctor Francisco de Avila, _Narrative of the Errors and False\nGods of the Indians of Huarochiri_ (1608). This interesting document has\nbeen partly translated by Mr. C.B. Markham, and published in one of the\nvolumes of the Hackluyt Society's series.]\n\nThese striking similarities show with what singular uniformity the\nreligious sense developes itself in localities the furthest asunder.\n\nReturning to Michabo, the duplicate nature thus assigned him as the\nLight-God, and also the God of the Winds and the storms and rains they\nbring, led to the production of two cycles of myths which present him in\nthese two different aspects. In the one he is, as the god of light, the\npower that conquers the darkness, who brings warmth and sunlight to the\nearth and knowledge to men. He was the patron of hunters, as these require\nthe light to guide them on their way, and must always direct their course\nby the cardinal points.\n\nThe morning star, which at certain seasons heralds the dawn, was sacred to\nhim, and its name in Ojibway is _Wabanang_, from _Waban_, the east. The\nrays of light are his servants and messengers. Seated at the extreme east,\n\"at the place where the earth is cut off,\" watching in his medicine lodge,\nor passing his time fishing in the endless ocean which on every side\nsurrounds the land, Michabo sends forth these messengers, who, in the\nmyth, are called _Gijigouai_, which means \"those who make the day,\" and\nthey light the world. He is never identified with the sun, nor was he\nsupposed to dwell in it, but he is distinctly the impersonation of\nlight.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: See H.R. Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes_, Vol. v, pp. 418, 419.\n_Relations des Jesuites_, 1634, p. 14, 1637, p. 46.]\n\nIn one form of the myth he is the grandson of the Moon, his father is the\nWest Wind, and his mother, a maiden who has been fecundated miraculously\nby the passing breeze, dies at the moment of giving him birth. But he did\nnot need the fostering care of a parent, for he was born mighty of limb\nand with all knowledge that it is possible to attain.[1] Immediately he\nattacked his father, and a long and desperate struggle took place. \"It\nbegan on the mountains. The West was forced to give ground. His son drove\nhim across rivers and over mountains and lakes, and at last, he came to\nthe brink of the world. 'Hold!' cried he, 'my son, you know my power, and\nthat it is impossible to kill me.'\" The combat ceased, the West\nacknowledging the Supremacy of his mighty son.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: In the Ojibway dialect of the Algonkins, the word for day,\nsky or heaven, is _gijig_. This same word as a verb means to be an adult,\nto be ripe (of fruits), to be finished, complete. Rev. Frederick Baraga,\n_A Dictionary of the Olchipwe Language_, Cincinnati, 1853. This seems to\ncorrespond with the statement in the myth.]\n\n[Footnote 2: H.E. Schoolcraft, _Algic Researches_, vol. i, pp. 135, et\nseq.]\n\nIt is scarcely possible to err in recognizing under this thin veil of\nimagery a description of the daily struggle between light and darkness,\nday and night. The maiden is the dawn from whose virgin womb rises the sun\nin the fullness of his glory and might, but with his advent the dawn\nitself disappears and dies. The battle lasts all day, beginning when the\nearliest rays gild the mountain tops, and continues until the West is\ndriven to the edge of the world. As the evening precedes the morning, so\nthe West, by a figure of speech, may be said to fertilize the Dawn.\n\nIn another form of the story the West was typified as a flint stone, and\nthe twin brother of Michabo. The feud between them was bitter, and the\ncontest long and dreadful. The face of the land was seamed and torn by the\nwrestling of the mighty combatants, and the Indians pointed out the huge\nboulders on the prairies as the weapons hurled at each other by the\nenraged brothers. At length Michabo mastered his fellow twin and broke him\ninto pieces. He scattered the fragments over the earth, and from them grew\nfruitful vines.\n\nA myth which, like this, introduces the flint stone as in some way\nconnected with the early creative forces of nature, recurs at other\nlocalities on the American continent very remote from the home of the\nAlgonkins. In the calendar of the Aztecs the day and god Tecpatl, the\nFlint-Stone, held a prominent position. According to their myths such a\nstone fell from heaven at the beginning of things and broke into sixteen\nhundred pieces, each of which became a god. The Hun-pic-tok, Eight\nThousand Flints, of the Mayas, and the Toh of the Kiches, point to the\nsame association.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Dissertation sur les Mythes de\nl'Antiquite Americaine_, \u00a7vii.]\n\nProbably the association of ideas was not with the flint as a fire-stone,\nthough the fact that a piece of flint struck with a nodule of pyrites will\nemit a spark was not unknown. But the flint was everywhere employed for\narrow and lance heads. The flashes of light, the lightning, anything that\ndarted swiftly and struck violently, was compared to the hurtling arrow or\nthe whizzing lance. Especially did this apply to the phenomenon of the\nlightning. The belief that a stone is shot from the sky with each\nthunderclap is shown in our word \"thunderbolt,\" and even yet the vulgar in\nmany countries point out certain forms of stones as derived from this\nsource. As the refreshing rain which accompanies the thunder gust instills\nnew life into vegetation, and covers the ground parched by summer droughts\nwith leaves and grass, so the statement in the myth that the fragments of\nthe flint-stone grew into fruitful vines is an obvious figure of speech\nwhich at first expressed the fertilizing effects of the summer showers.\n\nIn this myth Michabo, the Light-God, was represented to the native mind as\nstill fighting with the powers of Darkness, not now the darkness of night,\nbut that of the heavy and gloomy clouds which roll up the sky and blind\nthe eye of day. His weapons are the lightning and the thunderbolt, and the\nvictory he achieves is turned to the good of the world he has created.\n\nThis is still more clearly set forth in an Ojibway myth. It relates that\nin early days there was a mighty serpent, king of all serpents, whose home\nwas in the Great Lakes. Increasing the waters by his magic powers, he\nbegan to flood the land, and threatened its total submergence. Then\nMichabo rose from his couch at the sun-rising, attacked the huge reptile\nand slew it by a cast of his dart. He stripped it of its skin, and\nclothing himself in this trophy of conquest, drove all the other serpents\nto the south.[1] As it is in the south that, in the country of the\nOjibways, the lightning is last seen in the autumn, and as the Algonkins,\nboth in their language and pictography, were accustomed to assimilate the\nlightning in its zigzag course to the sinuous motion of the serpent,[2]\nthe meteorological character of this myth is very manifest.\n\n[Footnote 1: H.R. Schoolcraft, _Algic Researches_, Vol. i, p. 179, Vol.\nii, p. 117. The word _animikig_ in Ojibway means \"it thunders and\nlightnings;\" in their myths this tribe says that the West Wind is created\nby Animiki, the Thunder. (Ibid. _Indian Tribes_, Vol. v, p. 420.)]\n\n[Footnote 2: When Father Buteux was among the Algonkins, in 1637, they\nexplained to him the lightning as \"a great serpent which the Manito vomits\nup.\" (_Relation de la Nouvelle France_, An. 1637, p. 53.) According to\nJohn Tanner, the symbol for the lightning in Ojibway pictography was a\nrattlesnake. (_Narrative_, p. 351.)]\n\nThus we see that Michabo, the hero-god of the Algonkins, was both the god\nof light and day, of the winds and rains, and the creator, instructor and\nteacher of mankind. The derivation of his name shows unmistakably that the\nearliest form under which he was a mythological existence was as the\nlight-god. Later he became more familiar as god of the winds and storms,\nthe hero of the celestial warfare of the air-currents.\n\nThis is precisely the same change which we are enabled to trace in the\nearly transformations of Aryan religion. There, also, the older god of the\nsky and light, Dy\u00e2us, once common to all members of the Indo-European\nfamily, gave way to the more active deities, Indra, Zeus and Odin,\ndivinities of the storm and the wind, but which, after all, are merely\nother aspects of the ancient deity, and occupied his place to the\nreligious sense.[1] It is essential, for the comprehension of early\nmythology, to understand this twofold character, and to appreciate how\nnaturally the one merges into and springs out of the other.\n\n[Footnote 1: This transformation is well set forth in Mr. Charles Francis\nKeary's _Outlines of Primitive Belief Among the Indo-European Races_\n(London, 1882), chaps, iv, vii. He observes: \"The wind is a far more\nphysical and less abstract conception than the sky or heaven; it is also a\nmore variable phenomenon; and by reason of both these recommendations the\nwind-god superseded the older Dy\u00e2us. * * * Just as the chief god of\nGreece, having descended to be a divinity of storm, was not content to\nremain only that, but grew again to some likeness of the older Dy\u00e2us, so\nOdhinn came to absorb almost all the qualities which belong of right to a\nhigher god. Yet he did this without putting off his proper nature. He was\nthe heaven as well as the wind; he was the All-father, embracing all the\nearth and looking down upon mankind.\"]\n\nIn almost every known religion the _bird_ is taken as a symbol of the sky,\nthe clouds and the winds. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that by\nthe Algonkins birds were considered, especially singing birds, as\npeculiarly sacred to Michabo. He was their father and protector. He\nhimself sent forth the east wind from his home at the sun-rising; but he\nappointed an owl to create the north wind, which blows from the realms of\ndarkness and cold; while that which is wafted from the sunny south is sent\nby the butterfly.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: H.R. Schoolcraft, _Algic Researches_, Vol. i, p. 216. _Indian\nTribes_, Vol. v, p. 420.]\n\nMichabo was thus at times the god of light, at others of the winds, and as\nthese are the rain-bringers, he was also at times spoken of as the god of\nwaters. He was said to have scooped out the basins of the lakes and to\nhave built the cataracts in the rivers, so that there should be fish\npreserves and beaver dams.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Michabou, le Dieu des Eaux,\" etc. Charlevoix, _Journal\nHistorique_, p. 281 (Paris, 1721).]\n\nIn his capacity as teacher and instructor, it was he who had pointed out\nto the ancestors of the Indians the roots and plants which are fit for\nfood, and which are of value as medicine; he gave them fire, and\nrecommended them never to allow it to become wholly extinguished in their\nvillages; the sacred rites of what is called the _meday_ or ordinary\nreligious ceremonial were defined and taught by him; the maize was his\ngift, and the pleasant art of smoking was his invention.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: John Tanner, _Narrative of Captivity and Adventure_, p. 351.\nSchoolcraft, _Indian Tribes_, Vol. v, p. 420, etc.]\n\nA curious addition to the story was told the early Swedish settlers on the\nriver Delaware by the Algonkin tribe which inhabited its shores. These\nrelated that their various arts of domestic life and the chase were taught\nthem long ago by a venerable and eloquent man who came to them from a\ndistance, and having instructed them in what was desirable for them to\nknow, he departed, not to another region or by the natural course of\ndeath, but by ascending into the sky. They added that this ancient and\nbeneficent teacher _wore a long beard_.[1] We might suspect that this last\ntrait was thought of after the bearded Europeans had been seen, did it not\noccur so often in myths elsewhere on the continent, and in relics of art\nfinished long before the discovery, that another explanation must be found\nfor it. What this is I shall discuss when I come to speak of the more\nSouthern myths, whose heroes were often \"white and bearded men from the\nEast.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: Thomas Campanius (Holm), _Description of the Province of New\nSweden_, book iii, ch. xi. Campanius does not give the name of the\nhero-god, but there can be no doubt that it was the \"Great Hare.\"]\n\n\n\u00a72. _The Iroquois Myth of Ioskeha._[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The sources from which I draw the elements of the Iroquois\nhero-myth of Ioskeha are mainly the following: _Relations de la Nouvelle\nFrance_, 1636, 1640, 1671, etc. Sagard, _Histoire du Canada_, pp. 451, 452\n(Paris, 1636); David Cusick, _Ancient History of the Six Nations_, and\nmanuscript material kindly furnished me by Horatio Hale, Esq., who has\nmade a thorough study of the Iroquois history and dialects.]\n\nThe most ancient myth of the Iroquois represents this earth as covered\nwith water, in which dwelt aquatic animals and monsters of the deep. Far\nabove it were the heavens, peopled by supernatural beings. At a certain\ntime one of these, a woman, by name Ataensic, threw herself through a rift\nin the sky and fell toward the earth. What led her to this act was\nvariously recorded. Some said that it was to recover her dog which had\nfallen through while chasing a bear. Others related that those who dwelt\nin the world above lived off the fruit of a certain tree; that the husband\nof Ataensic, being sick, dreamed that to restore him this tree must be cut\ndown; and that when Ataensic dealt it a blow with her stone axe, the tree\nsuddenly sank through the floor of the sky, and she precipitated herself\nafter it.\n\nHowever the event occurred, she fell from heaven down to the primeval\nwaters. There a turtle offered her his broad back as a resting-place\nuntil, from a little mud which was brought her, either by a frog, a beaver\nor some other animal, she, by magic power, formed dry land on which to\nreside.\n\nAt the time she fell from the sky she was pregnant, and in due time was\ndelivered of a daughter, whose name, unfortunately, the legend does not\nrecord. This daughter grew to womanhood and conceived without having seen\na man, for none was as yet created. The product of her womb was twins, and\neven before birth one of them betrayed his restless and evil nature, by\nrefusing to be born in the usual manner, but insisting on breaking through\nhis parent's side (or armpit). He did so, but it cost his mother her life.\nHer body was buried, and from it sprang the various vegetable productions\nwhich the new earth required to fit it for the habitation of man. From her\nhead grew the pumpkin vine; from her breast, the maize; from her limbs,\nthe bean and other useful esculents.\n\nMeanwhile the two brothers grew up. The one was named Ioskeha. He went\nabout the earth, which at that time was arid and waterless, and called\nforth the springs and lakes, and formed the sparkling brooks and broad\nrivers. But his brother, the troublesome Tawiscara, he whose obstinacy had\ncaused their mother's death, created an immense frog which swallowed all\nthe water and left the earth as dry as before. Ioskeha was informed of\nthis by the partridge, and immediately set out for his brother's country,\nfor they had divided the earth between them.\n\nSoon he came to the gigantic frog, and piercing it in the side (or\narmpit), the waters flowed out once more in their accustomed ways. Then it\nwas revealed to Ioskeha by his mother's spirit that Tawiscara intended to\nslay him by treachery. Therefore, when the brothers met, as they soon did,\nit was evident that a mortal combat was to begin.\n\nNow, they were not men, but gods, whom it was impossible really to kill,\nnor even could either be seemingly slain, except by one particular\nsubstance, a secret which each had in his own keeping. As therefore a\ncontest with ordinary weapons would have been vain and unavailing, they\nagreed to tell each other what to each was the fatal implement of war.\nIoskeha acknowledged that to him a branch of the wild rose (or, according\nto another version, a bag filled with maize) was more dangerous than\nanything else; and Tawiscara disclosed that the horn of a deer could alone\nreach his vital part.\n\nThey laid off the lists, and Tawiscara, having the first chance, attacked\nhis brother violently with a branch of the wild rose, and beat him till he\nlay as one dead; but quickly reviving, Ioskeha assaulted Tawiscara with\nthe antler of a deer, and dealing him a blow in the side, the blood flowed\nfrom the wound in streams. The unlucky combatant fled from the field,\nhastening toward the west, and as he ran the drops of his blood which fell\nupon the earth turned into flint stones. Ioskeha did not spare him, but\nhastening after, finally slew him. He did not, however, actually kill him,\nfor, as I have said, these were beings who could not die; and, in fact,\nTawiscara was merely driven from the earth and forced to reside in the far\nwest, where he became ruler of the spirits of the dead. These go there to\ndwell when they leave the bodies behind them here.\n\nIoskeha, returning, peaceably devoted himself to peopling the land. He\nopened a cave which existed in the earth and allowed to come forth from it\nall the varieties of animals with which the woods and prairies are\npeopled. In order that they might be more easily caught by men, he wounded\nevery one in the foot except the wolf, which dodged his blow; for that\nreason this beast is one of the most difficult to catch. He then formed\nmen and gave them life, and instructed them in the art of making fire,\nwhich he himself had learned from the great tortoise. Furthermore he\ntaught them how to raise maize, and it is, in fact, Ioskeha himself who\nimparts fertility to the soil, and through his bounty and kindness the\ngrain returns a hundred fold.\n\nNor did they suppose that he was a distant, invisible, unapproachable god.\nNo, he was ever at hand with instruction and assistance. Was there to be a\nfailure in the harvest, he would be seen early in the season, thin with\nanxiety about his people, holding in his hand a blighted ear of corn. Did\na hunter go out after game, he asked the aid of Ioskeha, who would put fat\nanimals in the way, were he so minded. At their village festivals he was\npresent and partook of the cheer.\n\nOnce, in 1640, when the smallpox was desolating the villages of the\nHurons, we are told by Father Lalemant that an Indian said there had\nappeared to him a beautiful youth, of imposing stature, and addressed him\nwith these words: \"Have no fear; I am the master of the earth, whom you\nHurons adore under the name _Ioskeha_. The French wrongly call me Jesus,\nbecause they do not know me. It grieves me to see the pestilence that is\ndestroying my people, and I come to teach you its cause and its remedy.\nIts cause is the presence of these strangers; and its remedy is to drive\nout these black robes (the missionaries), to drink of a certain water\nwhich I shall tell you of, and to hold a festival in my honor, which must\nbe kept up all night, until the dawn of day.\"\n\nThe home of Ioskeha is in the far East, at that part of the horizon where\nthe sun rises. There he has his cabin, and there he dwells with his\ngrandmother, the wise Ataensic. She is a woman of marvelous magical power,\nand is capable of assuming any shape she pleases. In her hands is the fate\nof all men's lives, and while Ioskeha looks after the things of life, it\nis she who appoints the time of death, and concerns herself with all that\nrelates to the close of existence. Hence she was feared, not exactly as a\nmaleficent deity, but as one whose business is with what is most dreaded\nand gloomy.\n\nIt was said that on a certain occasion four bold young men determined to\njourney to the sun-rising and visit the great Ioskeha. They reached his\ncabin and found him there alone. He received them affably and they\nconversed pleasantly, but at a certain moment he bade them hide themselves\nfor their life, as his grandmother was coming. They hastily concealed\nthemselves, and immediately Ataensic entered. Her magic insight had warned\nher of the presence of guests, and she had assumed the form of a beautiful\ngirl, dressed in gay raiment, her neck and arms resplendent with collars\nand bracelets of wampum. She inquired for the guests, but Ioskeha, anxious\nto save them, dissembled, and replied that he knew not what she meant. She\nwent forth to search for them, when he called them forth from their hiding\nplace and bade them flee, and thus they escaped.\n\nIt was said of Ioskeha that he acted the part of husband to his\ngrandmother. In other words, the myth presents the germ of that conception\nwhich the priests of ancient Egypt endeavored to express when they taught\nthat Osiris was \"his own father and his own son,\" that he was the\n\"self-generating one,\" even that he was \"the father of his own mother.\"\nThese are grossly materialistic expressions, but they are perfectly clear\nto the student of mythology. They are meant to convey to the mind the\nself-renewing power of life in nature, which is exemplified in the sowing\nand the seeding, the winter and the summer, the dry and the rainy seasons,\nand especially the sunset and sunrise. They are echoes in the soul of man\nof the ceaseless rhythm in the operations of nature, and they become the\nonly guarantors of his hopes for immortal life.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Such epithets were common, in the Egyptian religion, to most\nof the gods of fertility. Amun, called in some of the inscriptions \"the\nsoul of Osiris,\" derives his name from the root _men_, to impregnate, to\nbeget. In the Karnak inscriptions he is also termed \"the husband of his\nmother.\" This, too, was the favorite appellation of Chem, who was a form\nof Horos. See Dr. C.P. Tiele, _History of the Egyptian Religion_, pp. 124,\n146. 149, 150, etc.]\n\nLet us look at the names in the myth before us, for confirmation of this.\n_Ioskeha_ is in the Oneida dialect of the Iroquois an impersonal verbal\nform of the third person singular, and means literally, \"it is about to\ngrow white,\" that is, to become light, to dawn. _Ataensic_ is from the\nroot _aouen_, water, and means literally, \"she who is in the water.\"[1]\nPlainly expressed, the sense of the story is that the orb of light rises\ndaily out of the boundless waters which are supposed to surround the land,\npreceded by the dawn, which fades away as soon as the sun has risen. Each\nday the sun disappears in these waters, to rise again from them the\nsucceeding morning. As the approach of the sun causes the dawn, it was\nmerely a gross way of stating this to say that the solar god was the\nfather of his own mother, the husband of his grandmother.\n\n[Footnote 1: I have analyzed these words in a note to another work, and\nneed not repeat the matter here, the less so, as I am not aware that the\netymology has been questioned. See _Myths of the New World_, 2d Ed., p.\n183, note.]\n\nThe position of Ioskeha in mythology is also shown by the other name under\nwhich he was, perhaps, even more familiar to most of the Iroquois. This is\n_Tharonhiawakon_, which is also a verbal form of the third person, with\nthe dual sign, and literally means, \"He holds (or holds up) the sky with\nhis two arms.\"[1] In other words, he is nearly allied to the ancient Aryan\nDy\u00e2us, the Sky, the Heavens, especially the Sky in the daytime.\n\n[Footnote 1: A careful analysis of this name is given by Father J.A. Cuoq,\nprobably the best living authority on the Iroquois, in his _Lexique de la\nLangue Iroquoise_, p. 180 (Montreal, 1882). Here also the Iroquois\nfollowed precisely the line of thought of the ancient Egyptians. Shu, in\nthe religion of Heliopolis, represented the cosmic light and warmth, the\nquickening, creative principle. It is he who, as it is stated in the\ninscriptions, \"holds up the heavens,\" and he is depicted on the monuments\nas a man with uplifted arms who supports the vault of heaven, because it\nis the intermediate light that separates the earth from the sky. Shu was\nalso god of the winds; in a passage of the Book of the Dead, he is made to\nsay: \"I am Shu, who drives the winds onward to the confines of heaven, to\nthe confines of the earth, even to the confines of space.\" Again, like\nIoskeha, Shu is said to have begotten himself in the womb of his mother,\nNu or Nun, who was, like Ataensic, the goddess of water, the heavenly\nocean, the primal sea. Tiele, _History of the Egyptian Religion_, pp.\n84-86.]\n\nThe signification of the conflict with his twin brother is also clearly\nseen in the two names which the latter likewise bears in the legends. One\nof these is that which I have given, _Tawiscara_, which, there is little\ndoubt, is allied to the root, _tiokaras_, it grows dark. The other is\n_Tehotennhiaron_, the root word of which is _kannhia_, the flint stone.\nThis name he received because, in his battle with his brother, the drops\nof blood which fell from his wounds were changed into flints.[1] Here the\nflint had the same meaning which I have already pointed out in Algonkin\nmyth, and we find, therefore, an absolute identity of mythological\nconception and symbolism between the two nations.\n\n[Footnote 1: Cuoq, _Lexique de la Langue Iroquoise_, p. 180, who gives a\nfull analysis of the name.]\n\nCould these myths have been historically identical? It is hard to\ndisbelieve it. Yet the nations were bitter enemies. Their languages are\ntotally unlike. These same similarities present themselves over such wide\nareas and between nations so remote and of such different culture, that\nthe theory of a parallelism of development is after all the more credible\nexplanation.\n\nThe impressions which natural occurrences make on minds of equal stages of\nculture are very much alike. The same thoughts are evoked, and the same\nexpressions suggest themselves as appropriate to convey these thoughts in\nspoken language. This is often exhibited in the identity of expression\nbetween master-poets of the same generation, and between cotemporaneous\nthinkers in all branches of knowledge. Still more likely is it to occur in\nprimitive and uncultivated conditions, where the most obvious forms of\nexpression are at once adopted, and the resources of the mind are\nnecessarily limited. This is a simple and reasonable explanation for the\nremarkable sameness which prevails in the mental products of the lower\nstages of civilization, and does away with the necessity of supposing a\nhistoric derivation one from the other or both from a common stock.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE HERO-GOD OF THE AZTEC TRIBES.\n\n\u00a71. _The Two Antagonists._\n\nTHE CONTEST OF QUETZALCOATL AND TEZCATLIPOCA--QUETZALCOATL THE\nLIGHT-GOD--DERIVATION OF HIS NAME--TITLES OF TEZCATLIPOCA--IDENTIFIED WITH\nDARKNESS, NIGHT AND GLOOM.\n\n\u00a72. _Quetzalcoatl the God._\n\nMYTH OF THE FOUR BROTHERS--THE FOUR SUNS AND THE ELEMENTAL CONFLICT--NAMES\nOF THE FOUR BROTHERS.\n\n\u00a73. _Quetzalcoatl the Hero of Tula._\n\nTULA THE CITY OF THE SUN--WHO WERE THE TOLTECS?--TLAPALLAN AND XALAC--THE\nBIRTH OF THE HERO-GOD--HIS VIRGIN MOTHER, CHIMALMATL--HIS MIRACULOUS\nCONCEPTION--AZTLAN, THE LAND OF SEVEN CAVES, AND COLHUACAN, THE BENDED\nMOUNT--THE MAID XOCHITL AND THE ROSE GARDEN OF THE GODS--QUETZALCOATL AS\nTHE WHITE AND BEARDED STRANGER.\n\nTHE GLORY OF THE LORD OF TULA--THE SUBTLETY OF THE SORCERER,\nTEZCATLIPOCA--THE MAGIC MIRROR AND THE MYSTIC DRAUGHT--THE MYTH\nEXPLAINED--THE PROMISE OF REJUVENATION--THE TOVEYO AND THE MAIDEN--THE\nJUGGLERIES OF TEZCATLIPOCA--DEPARTURE OF QUETZALCOATL FROM\nTULA--QUETZALCOATL AT CHOLULA--HIS DEATH OR DEPARTURE--THE CELESTIAL GAME\nOF BALL AND TIGER SKIN--QUETZALCOATL AS THE PLANET VENUS.\n\n\u00a74. _Quetzalcoatl as Lord of the Winds._\n\nTHE LORD OF THE FOUR WINDS--HIS SYMBOLS THE WHEEL OF THE WINDS, THE\nPENTAGON AND THE CROSS--CLOSE RELATION TO THE GODS OF RAIN AND\nWATERS--INVENTOR OF THE CALENDAR--GOD OF FERTILITY AND\nCONCEPTION--RECOMMENDS SEXUAL AUSTERITY--PHALLIC SYMBOLS--GOD OF\nMERCHANTS--THE PATRON OF THIEVES--HIS PICTOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATIONS.\n\n\u00a75. _The Return of Quetzalcoatl._\n\nHIS EXPECTED RE-APPEARANCE--THE ANXIETY OF MONTEZUMA--HIS ADDRESS TO\nCORTES--THE GENERAL EXPECTATION--EXPLANATION OF HIS PREDICTED RETURN.\n\n\nI now turn from the wild hunting tribes who peopled the shores of the\nGreat Lakes and the fastnesses of the northern forests to that cultivated\nrace whose capital city was in the Valley of Mexico, and whose scattered\ncolonies were found on the shores of both oceans from the mouths of the\nRio Grande and the Gila, south, almost to the Isthmus of Panama. They are\nfamiliarly known as Aztecs or Mexicans, and the language common to them\nall was the _Nahuatl_, a word of their own, meaning \"the pleasant\nsounding.\"\n\nTheir mythology has been preserved in greater fullness than that of any\nother American people, and for this reason I am enabled to set forth in\nampler detail the elements of their hero-myth, which, indeed, may be taken\nas the most perfect type of those I have collected in this volume.\n\n\n\n\u00a71. _The Two Antagonists._\n\nThe culture hero of the Aztecs was Quetzalcoatl, and the leading drama,\nthe central myth, in all the extensive and intricate theology of the\nNahuatl speaking tribes was his long contest with Tezcatlipoca, \"a\ncontest,\" observes an eminent Mexican antiquary, \"which came to be the\nmain element in the Nahuatl religion and the cause of its modifications,\nand which materially influenced the destinies of that race from its\nearliest epochs to the time of its destruction.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Alfredo Chavero, _La Piedra del Sol_, in the _Anales del\nMuseo Nacional de Mexico_, Tom. II, p. 247.]\n\nThe explanations which have been offered of this struggle have varied with\nthe theories of the writers propounding them. It has been regarded as a\nsimple historical fact; as a figure of speech to represent the struggle\nfor supremacy between two races; as an astronomical statement referring to\nthe relative positions of the planet Venus and the Moon; as a conflict\nbetween Christianity, introduced by Saint Thomas, and the native\nheathenism; and as having other meanings not less unsatisfactory or\nabsurd.\n\nPlacing it side by side with other American hero-myths, we shall see that\nit presents essentially the same traits, and undoubtedly must be explained\nin the same manner. All of them are the transparent stories of a simple\npeople, to express in intelligible terms the daily struggle that is ever\ngoing on between Day and Night, between Light and Darkness, between Storm\nand Sunshine.\n\nLike all the heroes of light, Quetzalcoatl is identified with the East. He\nis born there, and arrives from there, and hence Las Casas and others\nspeak of him as from Yucatan, or as landing on the shores of the Mexican\nGulf from some unknown land. His day of birth was that called Ce Acatl,\nOne Reed, and by this name he is often known. But this sign is that of the\nEast in Aztec symbolism.[1] In a myth of the formation of the sun and\nmoon, presented by Sahagun,[2] a voluntary victim springs into the\nsacrificial fire that the gods have built. They know that he will rise as\nthe sun, but they do not know in what part of the horizon that will be.\nSome look one way, some another, but Quetzalcoatl watches steadily the\nEast, and is the first to see and welcome the Orb of Light. He is fair in\ncomplexion, with abundant hair and a full beard, bordering on the red,[3]\nas are all the dawn heroes, and like them he was an instructor in the\narts, and favored peace and mild laws.\n\n[Footnote 1: Chavero, _Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico_, Tom. II, p.\n14, 243.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Historia de las Cosas de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, Lib. VII, cap. II.]\n\n[Footnote 3: \"La barba longa entre cana y roja; el cabello largo, muy\nllano.\" Diego Duran, _Historia_, in Kingsborough, Vol. viii, p. 260.]\n\nHis name is symbolic, and is capable of several equally fair renderings.\nThe first part of it, _quetzalli_, means literally a large, handsome green\nfeather, such as were very highly prized by the natives. Hence it came to\nmean, in an adjective sense, precious, beautiful, beloved, admirable. The\nbird from which these feathers were obtained was the _quetzal-tototl_\n(_tototl_, bird) and is called by ornithologists _Trogon splendens_.\n\nThe latter part of the name, _coatl_, has in Aztec three entirely\ndifferent meanings. It means a guest, also twins, and lastly, as a\nsyncopated form of _cohuatl_, a serpent. Metaphorically, _cohuatl_ meant\nsomething mysterious, and hence a supernatural being, a god. Thus\nMontezuma, when he built a temple in the city of Mexico dedicated to the\nwhole body of divinities, a regular Pantheon, named it _Coatecalli_, the\nHouse of the Serpent.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Coatecalli, que quiere decir el _templo de la culebra_, que\nsin met\u00e1fora quiere decir _templo de diversos dioses_.\" Duran, _Historia\nde las Indias de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, cap. LVIII.]\n\nThrough these various meanings a good defence can be made of several\ndifferent translations of the name, and probably it bore even to the\nnatives different meanings at different times. I am inclined to believe\nthat the original sense was that advocated by Becerra in the seventeenth\ncentury, and adopted by Veitia in the eighteenth, both competent Aztec\nscholars.[1] They translate Quetzalcoatl as \"the admirable twin,\" and\nthough their notion that this refers to Thomas Didymus, the Apostle, does\nnot meet my views, I believe they were right in their etymology. The\nreference is to the duplicate nature of the Light-God as seen in the\nsetting and rising sun, the sun of to-day and yesterday, the same yet\ndifferent. This has its parallels in many other mythologies.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Becerra, _Felicidad de M\u00e9jico_, 1685, quoted in Veitia,\n_Historia del Origen de las Gentes que poblaron la Am\u00e9rica Septentrional_,\ncap. XIX.]\n\n[Footnote 2: In the Egyptian \"Book of the Dead,\" Ra, the Sun-God, says, \"I\nam a soul and its twins,\" or, \"My soul is becoming two twins.\" \"This means\nthat the soul of the sun-god is one, but, now that it is born again, it\ndivides into two principal forms. Ra was worshipped at An, under his two\nprominent manifestations, as Tum the primal god, or more definitely, god\nof the sun at evening, and as Harmachis, god of the new sun, the sun at\ndawn.\" Tiele, _History of the Egyptian Religion_, p. 80.]\n\nThe correctness of this supposition seems to be shown by a prevailing\nsuperstition among the Aztecs about twins, and which strikingly\nillustrates the uniformity of mythological conceptions throughout the\nworld. All readers are familiar with the twins Romulus and Remus in Roman\nstory, one of whom was fated to destroy their grandfather Amulius; with\nEdipus and Telephos, whose father Laios, was warned that his death would\nbe by one of his children; with Theseus and Peirithoos, the former\ndestined to cause the suicide of his father Aigeus; and with many more\nsuch myths. They can be traced, without room for doubt, back to simple\nexpressions of the fact that the morning and the evening of the one day\ncan only come when the previous day is past and gone; expressed\nfiguratively by the statement that any one day must destroy its\npredecessor. This led to the stories of \"the fatal children,\" which we\nfind so frequent in Aryan mythology.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sir George W. Cox, _The Science of Comparative Mythology and\nFolk Lore_, pp. 14, 83, 130, etc.]\n\nThe Aztecs were a coarse and bloody race, and carried out their\nsuperstitions without remorse. Based, no doubt, on this mythical\nexpression of a natural occurrence, they had the belief that if twins were\nallowed to live, one or the other of them would kill and eat his father or\nmother; therefore, it was their custom when such were brought into the\nworld to destroy one of them.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ger\u00f3nimo de Mendieta, _Historia Eclesiastica Indiana_. Lib.\nII, cap. XIX.]\n\nWe shall see that, as in Algonkin story Michabo strove to slay his father,\nthe West Wind, so Quetzalcoatl was in constant warfare with his father,\nTezcatlipoca-Camaxtli, the Spirit of Darkness. The effect of this\noft-repeated myth on the minds of the superstitious natives was to lead\nthem to the brutal child murder I have mentioned.\n\nIt was, however, natural that the more ordinary meaning, \"the feathered or\nbird-serpent,\" should become popular, and in the picture writing some\ncombination of the serpent with feathers or other part of a bird was often\nemployed as the rebus of the name Quetzalcoatl.\n\nHe was also known by other names, as, like all the prominent gods in early\nmythologies, he had various titles according to the special attribute or\nfunction which was uppermost in the mind of the worshipper. One of these\nwas _Papachtic_, He of the Flowing Locks, a word which the Spaniards\nshortened to Papa, and thought was akin to their title of the Pope. It is,\nhowever, a pure Nahuatl word,[1] and refers to the abundant hair with\nwhich he was always credited, and which, like his ample beard, was, in\nfact, the symbol of the sun's rays, the aureole or glory of light which\nsurrounded his face.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"_Papachtic_, guedejudo; _Papachtli_, guedeja o vedija de\ncapellos, o de otra cosa assi.\" Molina, _Vocabulario de la Lengua\nMexicana_. sub voce. Juan de Tobar, in Kingsborough, Vol. viii, p. 259,\nnote.]\n\nHis fair complexion was, as usual, significant of light. This association\nof ideas was so familiar among the Mexicans that at the time of an eclipse\nof the sun they sought out the whitest men and women they could find, and\nsacrificed them, in order to pacify the sun.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Mendieta, _Historia Eclesiastica Indiana_, Lib. ii, cap.\nxvi.]\n\nHis opponent, Tezcatlipoca, was the most sublime figure in the Aztec\nPantheon. He towered above all other gods, as did Jove in Olympus. He was\nappealed to as the creator of heaven and earth, as present in every place,\nas the sole ruler of the world, as invisible and omniscient.\n\nThe numerous titles by which he was addressed illustrate the veneration in\nwhich he was held. His most common name in prayers was _Titlacauan_, We\nare his Slaves. As believed to be eternally young, he was Telpochtli, the\nYouth; as potent and unpersuadable, he was _Moyocoyatzin_, the Determined\nDoer;[1] as exacting in worship, _Monenegui_, He who Demands Prayers; as\nthe master of the race, _Teyocoyani_, Creator of Men, and _Teimatini_,\nDisposer of Men. As he was jealous and terrible, the god who visited on\nmen plagues, and famines, and loathsome diseases, the dreadful deity who\nincited wars and fomented discord, he was named _Yaotzin_, the Arch Enemy,\n_Yaotl necoc_, the Enemy of both Sides, _Moquequeloa_, the Mocker,\n_Nezaualpilli_, the Lord who Fasts, _Tlamatzincatl_, He who Enforces\nPenitence; and as dark, invisible and inscrutable, he was _Yoalli\nehecatl_, the Night Wind.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Moyocoyatzin_, is the third person singular of _yocoya_, to\ndo, to make, with the reverential termination _tzin_. Sahagun says this\ntitle was given him because he could do what he pleased, on earth or in\nheaven, and no one could prevent him. (Historia de Nueva Espa\u00f1a, Lib. III.\ncap. II.) It seems to me that it would rather refer to his demiurgic,\ncreative power.]\n\n[Footnote 2: All these titles are to be found in Sahagun, _Historia de\nNueva Espa\u00f1a_.]\n\nHe was said to be formed of thin air and darkness; and when he was seen of\nmen it was as a shadow without substance. He alone of all the gods defied\nthe assaults of time, was ever young and strong, and grew not old with\nyears.[1] Against such an enemy who could hope for victory?\n\n[Footnote 1: The description of Clavigero is worth quoting: \"TEZCATLIPOCA:\nQuesto era il maggior Dio, che in que paesi si adorava, dopo il Dio\ninvisible, o Supremo Essere. Era il Dio della Providenza, l' anima del\nMondo, il Creator del Cielo e della Terra, ed il Signor di tutle le cose.\nRappresentavanlo tuttora giovane per significare, che non s' invecchiava\nmai, n\u00e8 s' indeboliva cogli anni.\" _Storia Antica di Messico_, Lib. vi, p.\n7.]\n\nThe name \"Tezcatlipoca\" is one of odd significance. It means The Smoking\nMirror. This strange metaphor has received various explanations. The\nmirrors in use among the Aztecs were polished plates of obsidian, trimmed\nto a circular form. There was a variety of this black stone called\n_tezcapoctli_, smoky mirror stone, and from this his images were at times\nmade.[1] This, however, seems too trivial an explanation.\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. ii, cap. xxxvii.]\n\nOthers have contended that Tezcatlipoca, as undoubtedly the spirit of\ndarkness and the night, refers, in its meaning, to the moon, which hangs\nlike a bright round mirror in the sky, though partly dulled by what the\nnatives thought a smoke.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Anales del Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, p. 257.]\n\nI am inclined to believe, however, that the mirror referred to is that\nfirst and most familiar of all, the surface of water: and that the smoke\nis the mist which at night rises from lake and river, as actual smoke does\nin the still air.\n\nAs presiding over the darkness and the night, dreams and the phantoms of\nthe gloom were supposed to be sent by Tezcatlipoca, and to him were sacred\nthose animals which prowl about at night, as the skunk and the coyote.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_. Lib. vi, caps. ix, xi, xii.]\n\nThus his names, his various attributes, his sacred animals and his myths\nunite in identifying this deity as a primitive personification of the\nDarkness, whether that of the storm or of the night.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Se\u00f1or Alfredo Chavero believes Tezcatlipoca to have been\noriginally the moon, and there is little doubt at times this was one of\nhis symbols, as the ruler of the darkness. M. Girard de Rialle, on the\nother hand, claims him as a solar deity. \"Il est la personnification du\nsoleil sous son aspect corrupteur et destructeur, ennemi des hommes et de\nla nature.\" _La Mythologie Compar\u00e9e_, p. 334 (Paris, 1878). A closer study\nof the original authorities would, I am sure, have led M. de Rialle to\nchange this opinion. He is singularly far from the conclusion reached by\nM. Ternaux-Compans, who says: \"Tezcatlipoca f\u00fbt la personnification du bon\nprincipe.\" _Essai sur la Th\u00e9ogonie Mexicaine_, p. 23 (Paris, 1840). Both\nopinions are equally incomplete. Dr. Schultz-Sellack considers him the\n\"Wassergott,\" and assigns him to the North, in his essay, _Die\nAmerikanischen G\u00f6tter der Vier Weltgegenden, Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Ethnologie_,\nBd. xi, 1879. This approaches more closely to his true character.]\n\nThis is further shown by the beliefs current as to his occasional\nappearance on earth. This was always at night and in the gloom of the\nforest. The hunter would hear a sound like the crash of falling trees,\nwhich would be nothing else than the mighty breathings of the giant form\nof the god on his nocturnal rambles. Were the hunter timorous he would die\noutright on seeing the terrific presence of the god; but were he of\nundaunted heart, and should rush upon him and seize him around the waist,\nthe god was helpless and would grant him anything he wished. \"Ask what you\nplease,\" the captive deity would say, \"and it is yours. Only fail not to\nrelease me before the sun rises. For I must leave before it appears.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Torquemada, _Monarqu\u00eda Indiana_, Lib. XIV, cap. XXII.]\n\n\n\u00a72. _Quetzalcoatl the God._\n\nIn the ancient and purely mythical narrative, Quetzalcoatl is one of four\ndivine brothers, gods like himself, born in the uttermost or thirteenth\nheaven to the infinite and uncreated deity, which, in its male\nmanifestations, was known as _Tonaca tecutli_, Lord of our Existence, and\n_Tzin teotl_, God of the Beginning, and in its female expressions as\n_Tonaca cihuatl_, Queen of our Existence, _Xochiquetzal_, Beautiful Rose,\n_Citlallicue_, the Star-skirted or the Milky Way, _Citlalatonac_, the Star\nthat warms, or The Morning, and _Chicome coatl_, the Seven Serpents.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The chief authorities on the birth of the god Quetzalcoatl,\nare Ramirez de Fuen-leal _Historia de los Mexicanos por sus Pinturas_,\nCap. i, printed in the _Anales del Museo Nacional_; the _Codex\nTelleriano-Remensis_, and the _Codex Vaticanus_, both of which are in\nKingsborough's _Mexican Antiquities_.\n\nThe usual translation of _Tonaca tecutli_ is \"God of our Subsistence,\"\n_to_, our, _naca_, flesh, _tecutli_, chief or lord. It really has a more\nsubtle meaning. _Naca_ is not applied to edible flesh--that is expressed\nby the word _nonoac_--but is the flesh of our own bodies, our life,\nexistence. See _Anales de Cuauhtitlan_, p. 18, note.]\n\nOf these four brothers, two were the black and the red Tezcatlipoca, and\nthe fourth was Huitzilopochtli, the Left handed, the deity adored beyond\nall others in the city of Mexico. Tezcatlipoca--for the two of the name\nblend rapidly into one as the myth progresses--was wise beyond compute; he\nknew all thoughts and hearts, could see to all places, and was\ndistinguished for power and forethought.\n\nAt a certain time the four brothers gathered together and consulted\nconcerning the creation of things. The work was left to Quetzalcoatl and\nHuitzilopochtli. First they made fire, then half a sun, the heavens, the\nwaters and a certain great fish therein, called Cipactli, and from its\nflesh the solid earth. The first mortals were the man, Cipactonal, and the\nwoman, Oxomuco,[1] and that the son born to them might have a wife, the\nfour gods made one for him out of a hair taken from the head of their\ndivine mother, Xochiquetzal.\n\n[Footnote 1: The names Cipactli and Cipactonal have not been\nsatisfactorily analyzed. The derivation offered by Se\u00f1or Chavero (_Anales\ndel Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, p.116), is merely fanciful; _tonal_ is no\ndoubt from _tona_, to shine, to warn; and I think _cipactli_ is a softened\nform with the personal ending from _chipauac_, something beautiful or\nclear. Hence the meaning of the compound is The Beautiful Shining One.\nOxomuco, which Chavero derives from _xomitl_, foot, is perhaps the same as\n_Xmukane_, the mother of the human race, according to the _Popol Vuh_, a\nname which, I have elsewhere shown, appears to be from a Maya root,\nmeaning to conceal or bury in the ground. The hint is of the fertilizing\naction of the warm light on the seed hidden in the soil. See _The Names of\nthe Gods in the Kiche Myths, Trans. of the Amer. Phil. Soc._ 1881.]\n\nNow began the struggle between the two brothers, Tezcatlipoca and\nQuetzalcoatl, which was destined to destroy time after time the world,\nwith all its inhabitants, and to plunge even the heavenly luminaries into\na common ruin.\n\nThe half sun created by Quetzalcoatl lighted the world but poorly, and the\nfour gods came together to consult about adding another half to it. Not\nwaiting for their decision, Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into a sun,\nwhereupon the other gods filled the world with great giants, who could\ntear up trees with their hands. When an epoch of thirteen times fifty-two\nyears had passed, Quetzalcoatl seized a great stick, and with a blow of it\nknocked Tezcatlipoca from the sky into the waters, and himself became sun.\nThe fallen god transformed himself into a tiger, and emerged from the\nwaves to attack and devour the giants with which his brothers had\nenviously filled the world which he had been lighting from the sky. After\nthis, he passed to the nocturnal heavens, and became the constellation of\nthe Great Bear.\n\nFor an epoch the earth flourished under Quetzalcoatl as sun, but\nTezcatlipoca was merely biding his time, and the epoch ended, he appeared\nas a tiger and gave Quetzalcoatl such a blow with his paw that it hurled\nhim from the skies. The overthrown god revenged himself by sweeping the\nearth with so violent a tornado that it destroyed all the inhabitants but\na few, and these were changed into monkeys. His victorious brother then\nplaced in the heavens, as sun, Tlaloc, the god of darkness, water and\nrains, but after half an epoch, Quetzalcoatl poured a flood of fire upon\nthe earth, drove Tlaloc from the sky, and placed in his stead, as sun, the\ngoddess Chalchiutlicue, the Emerald Skirted, wife of Tlaloc. In her time\nthe rains poured so upon the earth that all human beings were drowned or\nchanged into fishes, and at last the heavens themselves fell, and sun and\nstars were alike quenched.\n\nThen the two brothers whose strife had brought this ruin, united their\nefforts and raised again the sky, resting it on two mighty trees, the Tree\nof the Mirror (_tezcaquahuitl_) and the Beautiful Great Rose Tree\n(_quetzalveixochitl_), on which the concave heavens have ever since\nsecurely rested; though we know them better, perhaps, if we drop the\nmetaphor and call them the \"mirroring sea\" and the \"flowery earth,\" on one\nof which reposes the horizon, in whichever direction we may look.\n\nAgain the four brothers met together to provide a sun for the now darkened\nearth. They decided to make one, indeed, but such a one as would eat the\nhearts and drink the blood of victims, and there must be wars upon the\nearth, that these victims could be obtained for the sacrifice. Then\nQuetzalcoatl builded a great fire and took his son--his son born of his\nown flesh, without the aid of woman--and cast him into the flames, whence\nhe rose into the sky as the sun which lights the world. When the Light-God\nkindles the flames of the dawn in the orient sky, shortly the sun emerges\nfrom below the horizon and ascends the heavens. Tlaloc, god of waters,\nfollowed, and into the glowing ashes of the pyre threw his son, who rose\nas the moon.\n\nTezcatlipoca had it now in mind to people the earth, and he, therefore,\nsmote a certain rock with a stick, and from it issued four hundred\nbarbarians (_chichimeca_).[1] Certain five goddesses, however, whom he had\nalready created in the eighth heaven, descended and slew these four\nhundred, all but three. These goddesses likewise died before the sun\nappeared, but came into being again from the garments they had left\nbehind. So also did the four hundred Chichimecs, and these set about to\nburn one of the five goddesses, by name Coatlicue, the Serpent Skirted,\nbecause it was discovered that she was with child, though yet unmarried.\nBut, in fact, she was a spotless virgin, and had known no man. She had\nplaced some white plumes in her bosom, and through these the god\nHuitzilopochtli entered her body to be born again. When, therefore, the\nfour hundred had gathered together to burn her, the god came forth fully\narmed and slew them every one.\n\n[Footnote 1: The name Chichimeca has been a puzzle. The derivation appears\nto be from _chichi_, a dog, _mecatl_, a rope. According to general\ntradition the Chichimecs were a barbarous people who inhabited Mexico\nbefore the Aztecs came. Yet Sahagun says the Toltecs were the real\nChichimecs (Lib. x, cap. xxix). In the myth we are now considering, they\nwere plainly the stars.]\n\nIt is not hard to guess who are these four hundred youths slain before the\nsun rises, destined to be restored to life and yet again destroyed. The\nveil of metaphor is thin which thus conceals to our mind the picture of\nthe myriad stars quenched every morning by the growing light, but\nreturning every evening to their appointed places. And did any doubt\nremain, it is removed by the direct statement in the echo of this\ntradition preserved by the Kiches of Guatemala, wherein it is plainly said\nthat the four hundred youths who were put to death by Zipacna, and\nrestored to life by Hunhun Ahpu, \"rose into the sky and became the stars\nof heaven.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Popol Vuh, Le Livre Sacr\u00e9 des Quich\u00e9s_, p. 193.]\n\nIndeed, these same ancient men whose explanations I have been following\nadded that the four hundred men whom Tezcatlipoca created continued yet to\nlive in the third heaven, and were its guards and watchmen. They were of\nfive colors, yellow, black, white, blue and red, which in the symbolism of\ntheir tongue meant that they were distributed around the zenith and to\neach of the four cardinal points.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: See H. de Charencey, _Des Couleurs Consid\u00e9r\u00e9es comme Symboles\ndes Points de l'Horizon chez les Peuples du Nouveau Monde_, in the _Actes\nde la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Philologiques_, Tome vi. No. 3.]\n\nNor did these sages suppose that the struggle of the dark Tezcatlipoca to\nmaster the Light-God had ceased; no, they knew he was biding his time,\nwith set purpose and a fixed certainty of success. They knew that in the\nsecond heaven there were certain frightful women, without flesh or bones,\nwhose names were the Terrible, or the Thin Dart-Throwers, who were waiting\nthere until this world should end, when they would descend and eat up all\nmankind.[1] Asked concerning the time of this destruction, they replied\nthat as to the day or season they knew it not, but it would be \"when\nTezcatlipoca should steal the sun from heaven for himself\"; in other\nwords, when eternal night should close in upon the Universe.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: These frightful beings were called the _Tzitzimime_, a word\nwhich Molina in his Vocabulary renders \"cosa espantosa \u00f3 cosa de aguero.\"\nFor a thorough discussion of their place in Mexican mythology, see _Anales\ndel Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, pp. 358-372.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The whole of this version of the myth is from the work of\nRamirez de Fuen-leal, which I consider in some respects the most valuable\nauthority we possess. It was taken directly from the sacred books of the\nAztecs, as explained by the most competent survivors of the Conquest.]\n\nThe myth which I have here given in brief is a prominent one in Aztec\ncosmogony, and is known as that of the Ages of the World or the Suns. The\nopinion was widely accepted that the present is the fifth age or period of\nthe world's history; that it has already undergone four destructions by\nvarious causes, and that the present period is also to terminate in\nanother such catastrophe. The agents of such universal ruin have been a\ngreat flood, a world-wide conflagration, frightful tornadoes and famine,\nearthquakes and wild beasts, and hence the Ages, Suns or Periods were\ncalled respectively, from their terminations, those of Water, Fire, Air\nand Earth. As we do not know the destiny of the fifth, the present one, it\nhas as yet no name.\n\nI shall not attempt to go into the details of this myth, the less so as it\nhas recently been analyzed with much minuteness by the Mexican antiquary\nChavero.[1] I will merely point out that it is too closely identified with\na great many similar myths for us to be allowed to seek an origin for it\npeculiar to Mexican or even American soil. We can turn to the Tualati who\nlive in Oregon, and they will tell us of the four creations and\ndestructions of mankind; how at the end of the first Age all human beings\nwere changed into stars; at the end of the second they became stones; at\nthe end of the third into fishes; and at the close of the fourth they\ndisappeared, to give place to the tribes that now inhabit the world.[2] Or\nwe can read from the cuneiform inscriptions of ancient Babylon, and find\nthe four destructions of the race there specified, as by a flood, by wild\nbeasts, by famine and by pestilence.[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: Alfredo Chavero, _La Piedra del Sol_, in the _Anales del\nMuseo Nacional_, Tom. i, p. 353, et seq.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A.S. Gatschet, _The Four Creations of Mankind_, a Tualati\nmyth, in _Transactions of the Anthropological Society of Washington_, Vol.\ni, p. 60 (1881).]\n\n[Footnote 3: Paul Haupt, _Der Keilinschriftliche Sintfluthbericht_, p. 17\n(Leipzig, 1881).]\n\nThe explanation which I have to give of these coincidences--which could\neasily be increased--is that the number four was chosen as that of the\nfour cardinal points, and that the fifth or present age, that in which we\nlive, is that which is ruled by the ruler of the four points, by the\nSpirit of Light, who was believed to govern them, as, in fact, the early\ndawn does, by defining the relations of space, act as guide and governor\nof the motions of men.\n\nAll through Aztec mythology, traditions and customs, we can discover this\nancient myth of the four brothers, the four ancestors of their race, or\nthe four chieftains who led their progenitors to their respective\nhabitations. The rude mountaineers of Meztitlan, who worshiped with\nparticular zeal Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, and had inscribed, in\ngigantic figures, the sacred five points, symbol of the latter, on the\nside of a vast precipice in their land, gave the symbolic titles to the\nprimeval quadruplet;--\n\n_Ixcuin_, He who has four faces.\n\n_Hueytecpatl_, the ancient Flint-stone.\n\n_Tentetemic_, the Lip-stone that slays.\n\n_Nanacatltzatzi_, He who speaks when intoxicated with the poisonous\nmushroom, called _nanacatl_.\n\nThese four brothers, according to the myth, were born of the goddess,\nHueytonantzin, which means \"our great, ancient mother,\" and, with unfilial\nhands, turned against her and slew her, sacrificing her to the Sun and\noffering her heart to that divinity.[1] In other words, it is the old\nstory of the cardinal points, defined at daybreak by the Dawn, the eastern\nAurora, which is lost in or sacrificed to the Sun on its appearance.\n\n[Footnote 1: Gabriel de Chaves, _Relacion de la Provincia de Meztitlan_,\n1556, in the _Colecion de Documentos Ineditos del Archivo de Indias_, Tom.\niv, pp. 535 and 536. The translations of the names are not given by\nChaves, but I think they are correct, except, possibly, the third, which\nmay be a compound of _tentetl_, lipstone, _temictli_, dream, instead of\nwith _temicti_, slayer.]\n\nOf these four brothers I suspect the first, Ixcuin, \"he who looks four\nways,\" or \"has four faces,\" is none other than Quetzalcoatl,[1] while the\nAncient Flint is probably Tezcatlipoca, thus bringing the myth into\nsingularly close relationship with that of the Iroquois, given on a\nprevious page.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Ixcuina_ was also the name of the goddess of pleasure. The\nderivation is from _ixtli_, face, _cui_, to take, and _na_, four. See the\nnote of MM. Jourdanet and Simeon to their translation of Sahagun,\n_Historia_ p. 22.]\n\nAnother myth of the Aztecs gave these four brothers or primitive heroes,\nas:--\n\nHuitzilopochtli.\nHuitznahua.\nItztlacoliuhqui.\nPantecatl.\n\nOf these Dr. Schultz-Sellack advances plausible reasons for believing that\nItztlacoliuhqui, which was the name of a certain form of head-dress, was\nanother title of Quetzalcoatl; and that Pantecatl was one of the names of\nTezcatlipoca.[1] If this is the case we have here another version of the\nsame myth.\n\n[Footnote 1: Dr. Schultz Sellack, _Die Amerikanischen G\u00f6tter der Vier\nWeltgegenden und ihre Tempel in Palenque_, in the _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr\nEthnologie_, Bd. xi, (1879).]\n\n\n\u00a73. _Quetzalcoatl, the Hero of Tula._\n\nBut it was not Quetzalcoatl the god, the mysterious creator of the visible\nworld, on whom the thoughts of the Aztec race delighted to dwell, but on\nQuetzalcoatl, high priest in the glorious city of Tollan (Tula), the\nteacher of the arts, the wise lawgiver, the virtuous prince, the master\nbuilder and the merciful judge.\n\nHere, again, though the scene is transferred from heaven to earth and from\nthe cycles of other worlds to a date not extremely remote, the story\ncontinues to be of his contest with Tezcatlipoca, and of the wiles of this\nenemy, now diminished to a potent magician and jealous rival, to\ndispossess and drive him from famous Tollan.\n\nNo one versed in the metaphors of mythology can be deceived by the thin\nveil of local color which surrounds the myth in this its terrestrial and\nhistoric form. Apart from its being but a repetition or continuation of\nthe genuine ancient account of the conflict of day and night, light and\ndarkness, which I have already given, the name Tollan is enough to point\nout the place and the powers with which the story deals. For this Tollan,\nwhere Quetzalcoatl reigned, is not by any means, as some have supposed,\nthe little town of Tula, still alive, a dozen leagues or so northwest from\nthe city of Mexico; nor was it, as the legend usually stated, in some\nundefined locality from six hundred to a thousand leagues northwest of\nthat city; nor yet in Asia, as some antiquaries have maintained; nor,\nindeed, anywhere upon this weary world; but it was, as the name denotes,\nand as the native historian Tezozomoc long since translated it, where the\nbright sun lives, and where the god of light forever rules so long as that\norb is in the sky. Tollan is but a syncopated form of _Tonatlan_, the\nPlace of the Sun.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Tonalan, \u00f4 lugar del sol,\" says Tezozomoc (_Cronica\nMexicana_, chap. i). The full form is _Tonatlan_, from _tona_, \"hacer\nsol,\" and the place ending _tlan_. The derivation from _tollin_, a rush,\nis of no value, and it is nothing to the point that in the picture writing\nTollan was represented by a bundle of rushes (Kingsborough, vol. vi, p.\n177, note), as that was merely in accordance with the rules of the picture\nwriting, which represented names by rebuses. Still more worthless is the\nderivation given by Herrera (_Historia de las Indias Occidentals_, Dec.\niii, Lib. i, cap. xi), that it means \"Lugar de Tuna\" or the place where\nthe tuna (the fruit of the Opuntia) is found; inasmuch as the word _tuna_\nis not from the Aztec at all, but belongs to that dialect of the Arawack\nspoken by the natives of Cuba and Haiti.]\n\nIt is worth while to examine the whereabouts and character of this\nmarvelous city of Tollan somewhat closely, for it is a place that we hear\nof in the oldest myths and legends of many and different races. Not only\nthe Aztecs, but the Mayas of Yucatan and the Kiches and Cakchiquels of\nGuatemala bewailed, in woful songs, the loss to them of that beautiful\nland, and counted its destruction as a common starting point in their\nannals.[1] Well might they regret it, for not again would they find its\nlike. In that land the crop of maize never failed, and the ears grew as\nlong as a man's arm; the cotton burst its pods, not white only, but\nnaturally of all beautiful colors, scarlet, green, blue, orange, what you\nwould; the gourds could not be clasped in the arms; birds of beauteous\nplumage filled the air with melodious song. There was never any want nor\npoverty. All the riches of the world were there, houses built of silver\nand precious jade, of rosy mother of pearl and of azure turquoises. The\nservants of the great king Quetzalcoatl were skilled in all manner of\narts; when he sent them forth they flew to any part of the world with\ninfinite speed; and his edicts were proclaimed from the summit of the\nmountain Tzatzitepec, the Hill of Shouting, by criers of such mighty voice\nthat they could be heard a hundred leagues away.[2] His servants and\ndisciples were called \"Sons of the Sun\" and \"Sons of the Clouds.\"[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: The _Books of Chilan Balam_, of the Mayas, the _Record from\nTecpan Atitlan_, of the Cakchiquels, and the _Popol vuh_, National Book,\nof the Kiches, have much to say about Tulan. These works were all written\nat a very early date, by natives, and they have all been preserved in the\noriginal tongues, though unfortunately only the last mentioned has been\npublished.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. iii, cap. iii.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Duran, _Historia de los Indios_, in Kingsborough, vol. viii,\np. 267.]\n\nWhere, then, was this marvelous land and wondrous city? Where could it be\nbut where the Light-God is on his throne, where the life-giving sun is\never present, where are the mansions of the day, and where all nature\nrejoices in the splendor of its rays?\n\nBut this is more than in one spot. It may be in the uppermost heavens,\nwhere light is born and the fleecy clouds swim easily; or in the west,\nwhere the sun descends to his couch in sanguine glory; or in the east,\nbeyond the purple rim of the sea, whence he rises refreshed as a giant to\nrun his course; or in the underworld, where he passes the night.\n\nTherefore, in ancient Cakchiquel legend it is said: \"Where the sun rises,\nthere is one Tulan; another is in the underworld; yet another where the\nsun sets; and there is still another, and there dwells the God. Thus, O my\nchildren, there are four Tulans, as the ancient men have told us.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Francisco Ernantez Arana Xahila, _Memorial de Tecpan\nAtitlan_. MS. in Cakchiquel, in my possession.]\n\nThe most venerable traditions of the Maya race claimed for them a\nmigration from \"Tollan in Zuyva.\" \"Thence came we forth together,\" says\nthe Kiche myth, \"there was the common parent of our race, thence came we,\nfrom among the Yaqui men, whose god is Yolcuat Quetzalcoat.\"[1] This\nTollan is certainly none other than the abode of Quetzalcoatl, named in an\nAztec manuscript as _Zivena vitzcatl_, a word of uncertain derivation, but\napplied to the highest heaven.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Le Popol Vuh_, p. 247. The name _Yaqui_ means in Kiche\ncivilized or polished, and was applied to the Aztecs, but it is, in its\norigin, from an Aztec root _yauh_, whence _yaque_, travelers, and\nespecially merchants. The Kiches recognizing in the Aztec merchants a\nsuperior and cultivated class of men, adopted into their tongue the name\nwhich the merchants gave themselves, and used the word in the above sense.\nCompare Sahagun, _Historia de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, Lib. ix, cap. xii.]\n\nWhere Quetzalcoatl finally retired, and whence he was expected back, was\nstill a Tollan--Tollan Tlapallan--and Montezuma, when he heard of the\narrival of the Spaniards, exclaimed, \"It is Quetzalcoatl, returned from\nTula.\"\n\nThe cities which selected him as their tutelary deity were named for that\nwhich he was supposed to have ruled over. Thus we have Tollan and\nTollantzinco (\"behind Tollan\") in the Valley of Mexico, and the pyramid\nCholula was called \"Tollan-Cholollan,\" as well as many other Tollans and\nTulas among the Nahuatl colonies.\n\nThe natives of the city of Tula were called, from its name, the _Tolteca_,\nwhich simply means \"those who dwell in Tollan.\" And who, let us ask, were\nthese Toltecs?\n\nThey have hovered about the dawn of American history long enough. To them\nhave been attributed not only the primitive culture of Central America and\nMexico, but of lands far to the north, and even the earthworks of the Ohio\nValley. It is time they were assigned their proper place, and that is\namong the purely fabulous creations of the imagination, among the giants\nand fairies, the gnomes and sylphs, and other such fancied beings which in\nall ages and nations the popular mind has loved to create.\n\nToltec, Toltecatl,[1] which in later days came to mean a skilled craftsman\nor artificer, signifies, as I have said, an inhabitant of Tollan--of the\nCity of the Sun--in other words, a Child of Light. Without a metaphor, it\nmeant at first one of the far darting, bright shining rays of the sun. Not\nonly does the tenor of the whole myth show this, but specifically and\nclearly the powers attributed to the ancient Toltecs. As the immediate\nsubjects of the God of Light they were called \"Those who fly the whole day\nwithout resting,\"[2] and it was said of them that they had the power of\nreaching instantly even a very distant place. When the Light-God himself\ndeparts, they too disappear, and their city is left uninhabited and\ndesolate.\n\n[Footnote 1: Toltecatl, according to Molina, is \"oficial de arte mecanica\n\u00f2 maestro,\" (_Vocabulario de la Lengua Mexicana_, s.v.). This is a\nsecondary meaning. Veitia justly says, \"Toltecatl quiere decir artifice,\nporque en Thollan comenzaron a ense\u00f1ar, aunque a Thollan llamaron Tula, y\npor decir Toltecatl dicen Tuloteca\" (_Historia_, cap. xv).]\n\n[Footnote 2: Their title was _Tlanqua cemilhuique_, compounded of\n_tlanqua_, to set the teeth, as with strong determination, and\n_cemilhuitia_, to run during a whole day. Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. iii,\ncap. iii, and Lib. x, cap. xxix; compare also the myth of Tezcatlipoca\ndisguised as an old woman parching corn, the odor of which instantly\nattracted the Toltecs, no matter how far off they were. When they came she\nkilled them. Id. Lib. iii, cap. xi.]\n\nIn some, and these I consider the original versions of the myth, they do\nnot constitute a nation at all, but are merely the disciples or servants\nof Quetzalcoatl.[1] They have all the traits of beings of supernatural\npowers. They were astrologers and necromancers, marvelous poets and\nphilosophers, painters as were not to be found elsewhere in the world, and\nsuch builders that for a thousand leagues the remains of their cities,\ntemples and fortresses strewed the land. \"When it has happened to me,\"\nsays Father Duran, \"to ask an Indian who cut this pass through the\nmountains, or who opened that spring of water, or who built that old ruin,\nthe answer was, 'The Toltecs, the disciples of Papa.'\"[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Discipulos,\" Duran, _Historia_, in Kingsborough, vol. vii,\np. 260.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Ibid.]\n\nThey were tall in stature, beyond the common race of men, and it was\nnothing uncommon for them to live hundreds of years. Such was their energy\nthat they allowed no lazy person to live among them, and like their master\nthey were skilled in every art of life and virtuous beyond the power of\nmortals. In complexion they are described as light in hue, as was their\nleader, and as are usually the personifications of light, and not the less\nso among the dark races of men.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: For the character of the Toltecs as here portrayed, see\nIxtlilxochitl, _Relaciones Historicas_, and Veitia, _Historia, passion_.]\n\nWhen Quetzalcoatl left Tollan most of the Toltecs had already perished by\nthe stratagems of Tezcatlipoca, and those that survived were said to have\ndisappeared on his departure. The city was left desolate, and what became\nof its remaining inhabitants no one knew. But this very uncertainty\noffered a favorable opportunity for various nations, some speaking Nahuatl\nand some other tongues, to claim descent from this mysterious, ancient and\nwondrous race.\n\nThe question seems, indeed, a difficult one. When the Light-God disappears\nfrom the sky, shorn of his beams and bereft of his glory, where are the\nbright rays, the darting gleams of light which erewhile bathed the earth\nin refulgence? Gone, gone, we know not whither.\n\nThe original home of the Toltecs was said to have been in Tlapallan--the\nvery same Red Land to which Quetzalcoatl was fabled to have returned; only\nthe former was distinguished as Old Tlapallan--Hue Tlapallan--as being\nthat from which he and they had emerged. Other myths called it the Place\nof Sand, Xalac, an evident reference to the sandy sea strand, the same\nspot where it was said that Quetzalcoatl was last seen, beyond which the\nsun rises and below which he sinks. Thither he returned when driven from\nTollan, and reigned over his vassals many years in peace.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Se meti\u00f3 (Quetzalcoatl) la tierra adentro hasta Tlapallan \u00f3\nsegun otros Huey Xalac, antigua patria de sus antepasados, en donde vivi\u00f3\nmuchos a\u00f1os.\" Ixtlilxochitl, _Relaciones Historicas_, p. 394, in\nKingsborough, vol. ix. Xalac, is from _xalli_, sand, with the locative\ntermination. In Nahuatl _xalli aquia_, to enter the sand, means to die.]\n\nWe cannot mistake this Tlapallan, new or old. Whether it is bathed in the\npurple and gold of the rising sun or in the crimson and carnation of his\nsetting, it always was, as Sahagun tells us, with all needed distinctness,\n\"the city of the Sun,\" the home of light and color, whence their leader,\nQuetzalcoatl had come, and whither he was summoned to return.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Dicen que camin\u00f3 acia el Oriente, y que se fu\u00e9 \u00e1 la ciudad\ndel Sol, llamada Tlapallan, y fu\u00e9 llamado del sol.\" Libro. viii, Prologo.]\n\nThe origin of the earthly Quetzalcoatl is variously given; one cycle of\nlegends narrates his birth in Tollan in some extraordinary manner; a\nsecond cycle claims that he was not born in any country known to the\nAztecs, but came to them as a stranger.\n\nOf the former cycle probably one of the oldest versions is that he was a\nson or descendant of Tezcatlipoca himself, under his name Camaxtli. This\nwas the account given to the chancellor Ramirez,[1] and it is said by\nTorquemada to have been the canonical doctrine taught in the holy city of\nCholollan, the centre of the worship of Quetzalcoatl.[2] It is a\ntransparent metaphor, and could be paralleled by a hundred similar\nexpressions in the myths of other nations. The Night brings forth the Day,\nthe darkness leads on to the light, and though thus standing in the\nrelation of father and son, the struggle between them is forever\ncontinued.\n\n[Footnote 1: Ramirez de Fuen-leal, _Hist. de los Mexicanos_, cap. viii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. vi, cap. xxiv. _Camaxtli_ is also\nfound in the form _Yoamaxtli_; this shows that it is a compound of\n_maxtli_, covering, clothing, and _ca_, the substantive verb, or in the\nlatter instance, _yoalli_, night; hence it is, \"the Mantle,\" or, \"the garb\nof night\" (\"la faja nocturna,\" _Anales del Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, p.\n363).]\n\nAnother myth represents him as the immediate son of the All-Father Tonaca\ntecutli, under his title Citlallatonac, the Morning, by an earth-born\nmaiden in Tollan. In that city dwelt three sisters, one of whom, an\nunspotted virgin, was named Chimalman. One day, as they were together, the\ngod appeared to them. Chimalman's two sisters were struck to death by\nfright at his awful presence, but upon her he breathed the breath of life,\nand straightway she conceived. The son she bore cost her life, but it was\nthe divine Quetzalcoatl, surnamed _Topiltcin_, Our Son, and, from the year\nof his birth, _Ce Acatl_, One Reed. As soon as he was born he was\npossessed of speech and reason and wisdom. As for his mother, having\nperished on earth, she was transferred to the heavens, where she was given\nthe honored name Chalchihuitzli, the Precious Stone of Sacrifice.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Codex Vaticanus_, Tab. x; _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, Pt.\nii, Lam. ii. The name is from _chalchihuitl_, jade, and _vitztli_, the\nthorn used to pierce the tongue, ears and penis, in sacrifice.\n_Chimalman_, more correctly, _Chimalmatl_, is from _chimalli_, shield, and\nprobably, _matlalin_, green.]\n\nThis, also, is evidently an ancient and simple figure of speech to express\nthat the breath of Morning announces the dawn which brings forth the sun\nand disappears in the act.\n\nThe virgin mother Chimalman, in another legend, is said to have been\nbrought with child by swallowing a jade or precious green stone\n(_chalchihuitl_);[1] while another averred that she was not a virgin, but\nthe wife of Camaxtli (Tezcatlipoca);[2] or again, that she was the second\nwife of that venerable old man who was the father of the seven sons from\nwhom all tribes speaking the Nahuatl language, and several who did not\nspeak it (Otomies, Tarascos), were descended.[3] This latter will repay\nanalysis.\n\n[Footnote 1: Mendieta, _Historia Eclesiastica Indiana_, Lib. ii, cap. vi.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Ibid.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Motolinia, _Historia de los Indios de Nueva Espa\u00f1a, Epistola\nProemial_, p. 10. The first wife was Ilancueitl, from _ilantli_, old\nwoman, and _cueitl_, skirt. Gomara, _Conquista de M\u00e9jico_, p. 432.]\n\nAll through Mexico and Central America this legend of the Seven Sons,\nSeven Tribes, the Seven Caves whence they issued, or the Seven Cities\nwhere they dwelt, constantly crops out. To that land the Aztecs referred\nas their former dwelling place. It was located at some indefinite distance\nto the north or northwest--in the same direction as Tollan. The name of\nthat land was significant. It was called the White or Bright Land,\n_Aztlan_.[1] In its midst was situated the mountain or hill Colhuacan the\nDivine, _Teoculhuacan_.[2] In the base of this hill were the Seven\nCaverns, _Chicomoztoc_, whence the seven tribes with their respective gods\nhad issued, those gods including Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and the\nTezcatlipocas. There continued to live their mother, awaiting their\nreturn.\n\n[Footnote 1: The derivation of Aztlan from _aztatl_, a heron, has been\nrejected by Buschmann and the best Aztec scholars. It is from the same\nroot as _izlac_, white, with the local ending _tlan_, and means the White\nor Bright Land. See the subject discussed in Buschmann, _Ueber die\nAtzekischen Ortsnamen_. p. 612, and recently by Se\u00f1or Orozco y Berra, in\n_Anales del Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, p. 56.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Colhuacan, is a locative form. It is usually derived from\n_coloa_, to curve, to round. Father Duran says it is another name for\nAztlan: \"Estas cuevas son en Teoculacan, _que por otro nombre_ se llama\nAztlan.\" _Historia de los Indios de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, Lib. i, cap. i.]\n\n_Teo_ is from _teotl_, god, deity. The description in the text of the\nrelations of land and water in this mythical land, is also from Duran's\nwork.\n\nThe lord of this land and the father of the seven sons is variously and\nindistinctly named. One legend calls him the White Serpent of the Clouds,\nor the White Cloud Twin, _Iztac Mixcoatl_.[1] Whoever he was we can hardly\nmistake the mountain in which or upon which he dwelt. _Colhuacan_ means\nthe bent or curved mountain. It is none other than the Hill of Heaven,\ncurving down on all sides to the horizon; upon it in all times have dwelt\nthe gods, and from it they have come to aid the men they favor. Absolutely\nthe same name was applied by the Choctaws to the mythical hill from which\nthey say their ancestors first emerged into the light of day. They call it\n_Nane Waiyah_, the Bent or Curved Hill[2]. Such identity of metaphorical\nexpression leaves little room for discussion.\n\n[Footnote 1: Mendieta, _Historia Eclesiastica Indiana_, Lib. ii, cap.\nxxxiii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: See my work, _The Myths of the New World_, p. 242.]\n\nIf it did, the other myths which surround the mystic mountain would seem\nto clear up doubt. Colhuacan, we are informed, continued to be the\nresidence of the great Mother of the Gods. On it she dwelt, awaiting their\nreturn from earth. No one can entirely climb the mountain, for from its\nmiddle distance to the summit it is of fine and slippery sand; but it has\nthis magical virtue, that whoever ascends it, however old he is, grows\nyoung again, in proportion as he mounts, and is thus restored to pristine\nvigor. The happy dwellers around it have, however, no need of its youth\nrestoring power; for in that land no one grows old, nor knows the outrage\nof years.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"En esta tierra nunca envejecen los hombres. * * * Este cerro\ntiene esta virtud, que el que ya viejo se quiere remozar, sube hasta donde\nle parece, y vuelve de la edad que quiere.\" Duran, in Kingsborough, Vol.\nviii, p. 201.]\n\nWhen Quetzalcoatl, therefore, was alleged to be the son of the Lord of the\nSeven Caves, it was nothing more than a variation of the legend that gave\nhim out as the son of the Lord of the High Heavens. They both mean the\nsame thing. Chimalman, who appears in both myths as his mother, binds the\ntwo together, and stamps them as identical, while Mixcoatl is only another\nname for Tezcatlipoca.\n\nSuch an interpretation, if correct, would lead to the dismissal from\nhistory of the whole story of the Seven Cities or Caves, and the pretended\nmigration from them. In fact, the repeated endeavors of the chroniclers to\nassign a location to these fabulous residences, have led to no result\nother than most admired disorder and confusion. It is as vain to seek\ntheir whereabouts, as it is that of the garden of Eden or the Isle of\nAvalon. They have not, and never had a place on this sublunary sphere, but\nbelong in that ethereal world which the fancy creates and the imagination\npaints.\n\nA more prosaic account than any of the above, is given by the historian,\nAlva Ixtlilxochitl, so prosaic that it is possible that it has some grains\nof actual fact in it.[1] He tells us that a King of Tollan, Tecpancaltzin,\nfell in love with the daughter of one of his subjects, a maiden by name\nXochitl, the Rose. Her father was the first to collect honey from the\nmaguey plant, and on pretence of buying this delicacy the king often sent\nfor Xochitl. He accomplished her seduction, and hid her in a rose garden\non a mountain, where she gave birth to an infant son, to the great anger\nof the father. Casting the horoscope of the infant, the court astrologer\nfound all the signs that he should be the last King of Tollan, and should\nwitness the destruction of the Toltec monarchy. He was named _Meconetzin_,\nthe Son of the Maguey, and in due time became king, and the prediction was\naccomplished.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ixtlilxochitl, _Relaciones Historicas_, p. 330, in\nKingsborough, Vol. ix.]\n\n[Footnote 2: In the work of Ramirez de Fuen-leal (cap. viii), Tezcatlipoca\nis said to have been the discoverer of pulque, the intoxicating wine of\nthe Maguey. In Meztitlan he was associated with the gods of this beverage\nand of drunkenness. Hence it is probable that the name _Meconetzin_\napplied to Quetzalcoatl in this myth meant to convey that he was the son\nof Tezcatlipoca.]\n\nIn several points, however, this seemingly historic narrative has a\nsuspicious resemblance to a genuine myth preserved to us in a certain\nAztec manuscript known as the _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_. This document\ntells how Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and their brethren were at first\ngods, and dwelt as stars in the heavens. They passed their time in\nParadise, in a Rose Garden, _Xochitlycacan_ (\"where the roses are lifted\nup\"); but on a time they began plucking the roses from the great Rose tree\nin the centre of the garden, and Tonaca-tecutli, in his anger at their\naction, hurled them to the earth, where they lived as mortals.\n\nThe significance of this myth, as applied to the daily descent of sun and\nstars from the zenith to the horizon, is too obvious to need special\ncomment; and the coincidences of the rose garden on the mountain (in the\none instance the Hill of Heaven, in the other a supposed terrestrial\nelevation) from which Quetzalcoatl issues, and the anger of the parent,\nseem to indicate that the supposed historical relation of Ixtlilxochitl is\nbut a myth dressed in historic garb.\n\nThe second cycle of legends disclaimed any miraculous parentage for the\nhero of Tollan. Las Casas narrates his arrival from the East, from some\npart of Yucatan, he thinks, with a few followers,[1] a tradition which is\nalso repeated with definitiveness by the native historian, Alva\nIxtlilxochitl, but leaving the locality uncertain.[2] The historian,\nVeytia, on the other hand, describes him as arriving from the North, a\nfull grown man, tall of stature, white of skin, and full-bearded,\nbarefooted and bareheaded, clothed in a long white robe strewn with red\ncrosses, and carrying a staff in his hand.[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. vi, cap. xxiv. This was\napparently the canonical doctrine in Cholula. Mendieta says: \"El dios \u00f3\nidolo de Cholula, llamado Quetzalcoatl, fu\u00e9 el mas celebrado y tenido por\nmejor y mas digno sobre los otro dioses, segun la reputacion de todos.\nEste, segun sus historias (aunque algunos digan que de Tula) vino de las\npartes de Yucatan \u00e1 la ciudad de Cholula.\" _Historia Eclesiastica\nIndiana_, Lib. ii, cap. x.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Historia Chichimeca_, cap. i.]\n\n[Footnote 3: _Historia_, cap. xv.]\n\nWhatever the origin of Quetzalcoatl, whether the child of a miraculous\nconception, or whether as an adult stranger he came from some far-off\nland, all accounts agree as to the greatness and purity of his character,\nand the magnificence of Tollan under his reign. His temple was divided\ninto four apartments, one toward the East, yellow with gold; one toward\nthe West, blue with turquoise and jade; one toward the South, white with\npearls and shells, and one toward the North, red with bloodstones; thus\nsymbolizing the four cardinal points and four quarters of the world over\nwhich the light holds sway.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, Lib. ix, cap. xxix.]\n\nThrough the midst of Tollan flowed a great river, and upon or over this\nriver was the house of Quetzalcoatl. Every night at midnight he descended\ninto this river to bathe, and the place of his bath was called, In the\nPainted Vase, or, In the Precious Waters.[1] For the Orb of Light dips\nnightly into the waters of the World Stream, and the painted clouds of the\nsun-setting surround the spot of his ablutions.\n\n[Footnote 1: The name of the bath of Quetzalcoatl is variously given as\n_Xic\u00e0poyan_, from _xicalli_, vases made from gourds, and _poyan_, to paint\n(Sahagun, Lib. iii, cap. iii); _Chalchiuhapan_, from _atl_, water _pan_,\nin, and _chalchiuitl_, precious, brilliant, the jade stone (_id._, Lib. x,\ncap. xxix); and _Atecpanamochco_, from _atl_, water, _tecpan_, royal,\n_amochtli_, any shining white metal, as tin, and the locative _co_, hence,\nIn the Shining Royal Water (_Anales de Cuauhtitlan_, p. 21). These names\nare interesting as illustrating the halo of symbolism which surrounded the\nhistory of the Light-God.]\n\nI have said that the history of Quetzalcoatl in Tollan is but a\ncontinuation of the conflict of the two primal brother gods. It is still\nthe implacable Tezcatlipoca who pursues and finally conquers him. But\nthere is this significant difference, that whereas in the elemental\nwarfare portrayed in the older myth mutual violence and alternate\ndestruction prevail, in all these later myths Quetzalcoatl makes no effort\nat defence, scarcely remonstrates, but accepts his defeat as a decree of\nFate which it is vain to resist. He sees his people fall about him, and\nthe beautiful city sink into destruction, but he knows it is the hand of\nDestiny, and prepares himself to meet the inevitable with what stoicism\nand dignity he may.\n\nThe one is the quenching of the light by the darkness of the tempest and\nthe night, represented as a struggle; in the other it is the gradual and\ncalm but certain and unavoidable extinction of the sun as it noiselessly\nsinks to the western horizon.\n\nThe story of the subtlety of Tezcatlipoca is variously told. In what may\nwell be its oldest and simplest version it is said that in his form as\nCamaxtli he caught a deer with two heads, which, so long as he kept it,\nsecured him luck in war; but falling in with one of five goddesses he had\ncreated, he begat a son, and through this act he lost his good fortune.\nThe son was Quetzalcoatl, surnamed Ce Acatl, and he became Lord of Tollan,\nand a famous warrior. For many years he ruled the city, and at last began\nto build a very great temple. While engaged in its construction\nTezcatlipoca came to him one day and told him that toward Honduras, in a\nplace called Tlapallan, a house was ready for him, and he must quit Tollan\nand go there to live and die. Quetzalcoatl replied that the heavens and\nstars had already warned him that after four years he must go hence, and\nthat he would obey. The time past, he took with him all the inhabitants of\nTula, and some he left in Cholula, from whom its inhabitants are\ndescended, and some he placed in the province of Cuzcatan, and others in\nCempoal, and at last he reached Tlapallan, and on the very day he arrived\nthere, he fell sick and died. As for Tula, it remained without an\ninhabitant for nine years.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ramirez de Fuen-leal, _Historia de los Mexicanos por sus\nPinturas_, cap. viii.]\n\nA more minute account is given by the author of the _Annals of\nCuauhtitlan_, a work written at an early date, in the Aztec tongue. He\nassures his readers that his narrative of these particular events is\nminutely and accurately recorded from the oldest and most authentic\ntraditions. It is this:--\n\nWhen those opposed to Quetzalcoatl did not succeed in their designs, they\nsummoned to their aid a demon or sorcerer, by name Tezcatlipoca, and his\nassistants. He said: \"We will give him a drink to dull his reason, and\nwill show him his own face in a mirror, and surely he will be lost.\" Then\nTezcatlipoca brewed an intoxicating beverage, the _pulque_, from the\nmaguey, and taking a mirror he wrapped it in a rabbit skin, and went to\nthe house of Quetzalcoatl.\n\n\"Go tell your master,\" he said to the servants, \"that I have come to show\nhim his own flesh.\"\n\n\"What is this?\" said Quetzalcoatl, when the message was delivered. \"What\ndoes he call my own flesh? Go and ask him.\"\n\nBut Tezcatlipoca refused. \"I have not come to see you, but your master,\"\nhe said to the servants. Then he was admitted, and Quetzalcoatl said:--\n\n\"Welcome, youth, you have troubled yourself much. Whence come you? What is\nthis, my flesh, that you would show me?\"\n\n\"My Lord and Priest,\" replied the youth, \"I come from the mountain-side of\nNonoalco. Look, now, at your flesh; know yourself; see yourself as you are\nseen of others;\" and with that he handed him the mirror.\n\nAs soon as Quetzalcoatl saw his face in the mirror he exclaimed:--\n\n\"How is it possible my subjects can look on me without affright? Well\nmight they flee from me. How can a man remain among them filled as I am\nwith foul sores, his face wrinkled and his aspect loathsome? I shall be\nseen no more; I shall no longer frighten my people.\"\n\nThen Tezcatlipoca went away to take counsel, and returning, said:--\n\n\"My lord and master, use the skill of your servant. I have come to console\nyou. Go forth to your people. I will conceal your defects by art.\"\n\n\"Do what you please,\" replied Quetzalcoatl. \"I will see what my fate is to\nbe.\"\n\nTezcatlipoca painted his cheeks green and dyed his lips red. The forehead\nhe colored yellow, and taking feathers of the _quechol_ bird, he arranged\nthem as a beard. Quetzalcoatl surveyed himself in the mirror, and rejoiced\nat his appearance, and forthwith sallied forth to see his people.\n\nTezcatlipoca withdrew to concoct another scheme of disgrace. With his\nattendants he took of the strong _pulque_ which he had brewed, and came\nagain to the palace of the Lord of Tollan. They were refused admittance\nand asked their country. They replied that they were from the Mountain of\nthe Holy Priest, from the Hill of Tollan. When Quetzalcoatl heard this, he\nordered them to be admitted, and asked their business. They offered him\nthe _pulque_, but he refused, saying that he was sick, and, moreover, that\nit would weaken his judgment and might cause his death. They urged him to\ndip but the tip of his finger in it to taste it; he complied, but even so\nlittle of the magic liquor overthrew his self control, and taking the bowl\nhe quaffed a full draught and was drunk. Then these perverse men ridiculed\nhim, and cried out:--\n\n\"You feel finely now, my son; sing us a song; sing, worthy priest.\"\n\nThereupon Quetzalcoatl began to sing, as follows:--\n\n\"My pretty house, my coral house,\n  I call it Zacuan by name;\nAnd must I leave it, do you say?\n  Oh my, oh me, and ah for shame.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The original is--\n\nQuetzal, quetzal, no calli,\n  Zacuan, no callin tapach\nNo callin nic yacahuaz\n  An ya, an ya, an quilmach.\n\nLiterally--\n\nBeautiful, beautiful (is) my house\n  Zacuan, my house of coral;\nMy house, I must leave it.\n  Alas, alas, they say.\n\nZacuan, instead of being a proper name, may mean a rich yellow leather\nfrom the bird called _zacuantototl_.]\n\nAs the fumes of the liquor still further disordered his reason, he called\nhis attendants and bade them hasten to his sister Quetzalpetlatl, who\ndwelt on the Mountain Nonoalco, and bring her, that she too might taste\nthe divine liquor. The attendants hurried off and said to his sister:--\n\n\"Noble lady, we have come for you. The high priest Quetzalcoatl awaits\nyou. It is his wish that you come and live with him.\"\n\nShe instantly obeyed and went with them. On her arrival Quetzalcoatl\nseated her beside him and gave her to drink of the magical pulque.\nImmediately she felt its influence, and Quetzalcoatl began to sing, in\ndrunken fashion--\n\n\"Sister mine, beloved mine,\n  Quetzal--petlatl--tzin,\nCome with me, drink with me,\n  'Tis no sin, sin, sin.\"\n\nSoon they were so drunken that all reason was forgotten; they said no\nprayers, they went not to the bath, and they sank asleep on the floor.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: It is not clear, at least in the translations, whether the\nmyth intimates an incestuous relation between Quetzalcoatl and his sister.\nIn the song he calls her \"Nohueltiuh,\" which means, strictly, \"My elder\nsister;\" but Mendoza translates it \"Querida esposa mia.\" _Quetzalpetlatl_\nmeans \"the Beautiful Carpet,\" _petlatl_ being the rug or mat used on\nfloors, etc. This would be a most appropriate figure of speech to describe\na rich tropical landscape, \"carpeted with flowers,\" as we say; and as the\nearth is, in primitive cosmogony, older than the sun, I suspect that this\nstory of Quetzalcoatl and his sister refers to the sun sinking from\nheaven, seemingly, into the earth. \"Los Nahoas,\" remarks Chavero,\n\"figuraban la tierra en forma de un cuadril\u00e1tero dividido en peque\u00f1os\nquatros, lo que semijaba una estera, _petlatl_\" (_Anales del Museo\nNacional_, Tom. ii, p. 248).]\n\nSad, indeed, was Quetzalcoatl the next morning.\n\n\"I have sinned,\" he said; \"the stain on my name can never be erased. I am\nnot fit to rule this people. Let them build for me a habitation deep under\nground; let them bury my bright treasures in the earth; let them throw the\ngleaming gold and shining stones into the holy fountain where I take my\ndaily bath.\"\n\nAll this was done, and Quetzalcoatl spent four days in his underground\ntomb. When he came forth he wept and told his followers that the time had\ncome for him to depart for Tlapallan, the Red Land, Tlillan, the Dark\nLand, and Tlatlallan, the Fire Land, all names of one locality.\n\nHe journeyed eastward until he came to a place where the sky, and land,\nand water meet together.[1] There his attendants built a funeral pile, and\nhe threw himself into the flames. As his body burned his heart rose to\nheaven, and after four days became the planet Venus.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Designated in the Aztec original by the name _Teoapan\nIlhuicaatenco_, from _teotl_, divine, _atl_, water, _pan_, in or near,\n_ilhuicac_, heaven, _atenco_, the waterside: \"Near the divine water, where\nthe sky meets the strand.\"]\n\n[Footnote 2: The whole of this account is from the _Anales de\nCuauhtitlan_, pp. 16-22.]\n\nThat there is a profound moral significance in this fiction all will see;\nbut I am of opinion that it is accidental and adventitious. The means that\nTezcatlipoca employs to remove Quetzalcoatl refer to the two events that\nmark the decline of day. The sun is reflected by a long lane of beams in\nthe surface waters of lake or sea; it loses the strength of its rays and\nfails in vigor; while the evening mists, the dampness of approaching\ndewfall, and the gathering clouds obscure its power and foretell the\nextinction which will soon engulf the bright luminary. As Quetzalcoatl\ncast his shining gold and precious stones into the water where he took his\nnightly bath, or buried them in underground hiding places, so the sun\nconceals his glories under the waters, or in the distant hills, into which\nhe seems to sink. As he disappears at certain seasons, the Star of Evening\nshines brightly forth amid the lingering and fading rays, rising, as it\nwere, from the dying fires of the sunset.\n\nTo this it may be objected that the legend makes Quetzalcoatl journey\ntoward the East, and not toward the sunset. The explanation of this\napparent contradiction is easy. The Aztec sages had at some time\npropounded to themselves the question of how the sun, which seems to set\nin the West, can rise the next morning in the East? Mungo Parke tells us\nthat when he asked the desert Arabs this conundrum, they replied that the\ninquiry was frivolous and childish, as being wholly beyond the capacities\nof the human mind. The Aztecs did not think so, and had framed a definite\ntheory which overcame the difficulty. It was that, in fact, the sun only\nadvances to the zenith, and then returns to the East, from whence it\nstarted. What we seem to see as the sun between the zenith and the western\nhorizon is, in reality, not the orb itself, but only its _brightness_, one\nof its accidents, not its substance, to use the terms of metaphysics.\nHence to the Aztec astronomer and sage, the house of the sun is always\ntoward the East.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ramirez de Fuen-leal, _Historia_, cap. xx, p. 102.]\n\nWe need not have recourse even to this explanation. The sun, indeed,\ndisappears in the West; but his journey must necessarily be to the East,\nfor it is from that point that he always comes forth each morning. The\nLight-God must necessarily daily return to the place whence he started.\n\nThe symbols of the mirror and the mystic drink are perfectly familiar in\nAryan sun-myths. The best known of the stories referring to the former is\nthe transparent tale of Narcissus forced by Nemesis to fall in love with\nhis own image reflected in the waters, and to pine away through\nunsatisfied longing; or, as Pausanias tells the story, having lost his\ntwin sister (the morning twilight), he wasted his life in noting the\nlikeness of his own features to those of his beloved who had passed away.\n\"The sun, as he looks down upon his own face reflected in a lake or sea,\nsinks or dies at last, still gazing on it.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sir George A. Cox, _The Science of Mythology and Folk Lore_,\np. 96.]\n\nSome later writers say that the drink which Quetzalcoatl quaffed was to\nconfer immortality. This is not stated in the earliest versions of the\nmyth. The beverage is health-giving and intoxicating, and excites the\ndesire to seek Tlapallan, but not more. It does not, as the Soma of the\nVedas, endow with unending life.\n\nNevertheless, there is another myth which countenances this view and\nexplains it. It was told in the province of Meztitlan, a mountainous\ncountry to the northwest of the province of Vera Cruz. Its inhabitants\nspoke the Nahuatl tongue, but were never subject to the Montezumas. Their\nchief god was Tezcatlipoca, and it was said of him that on one occasion he\nslew Ometochtli (Two Rabbits), the god of wine, at the latter's own\nrequest, he believing that he thus would be rendered immortal, and that\nall others who drank of the beverage he presided over would die. His\ndeath, they added, was indeed like the stupor of a drunkard, who, after\nhis lethargy has passed, rises healthy and well. In this sense of renewing\nlife after death, he presided over the native calendar, the count of years\nbeginning with Tochtli, the Rabbit.[1] Thus we see that this is a myth of\nthe returning seasons, and of nature waking to life again after the cold\nmonths ushered in by the chill rains of the late autumn. The principle of\nfertility is alone perennial, while each individual must perish and die.\nThe God of Wine in Mexico, as in Greece, is one with the mysterious force\nof reproduction.\n\n[Footnote 1: Gabriel de Chaves, _Relacion de la Provincia de Meztitlan_,\n1556, in the _Colecion de Documentos Ineditos del Archivo de Indias_, Tom.\niv, p. 536.]\n\nNo writer has preserved such numerous traditions about the tricks of\nTezcatlipoca in Tollan, as Father Sahagun. They are, no doubt, almost\nverbally reported as he was told them, and as he wrote his history first\nin the Aztec tongue, they preserve all the quaintness of the original\ntales. Some of them appear to be idle amplifications of story tellers,\nwhile others are transparent myths. I shall translate a few of them quite\nliterally, beginning with that of the mystic beverage.\n\nThe time came for the luck of Quetzalcoatl and the Toltecs to end; for\nthere appeared against them three sorcerers, named Vitzilopochtli,\nTitlacauan and Tlacauepan,[1] who practiced many villanies in the city of\nTullan. Titlacauan began them, assuming the disguise of an old man of\nsmall stature and white hairs. With this figure he approached the palace\nof Quetzalcoatl and said to the servants:--\n\n[Footnote 1: Titlacauan was the common name of Tezcatlipoca. The three\nsorcerers were really Quetzalcoatl's three brothers, representing the\nthree other cardinal points.]\n\n\"I wish to see the King and speak to him.\"\n\n\"Away with you, old man;\" said the servants. \"You cannot see him. He is\nsick. You would only annoy him.\"\n\n\"I must see him,\" answered the old man.\n\nThe servants said, \"Wait,\" and going in, they told Quetzalcoatl that an\nold man wished to see him, adding, \"Sire, we put him out in vain; he\nrefuses to leave, and says that he absolutely must see you.\" Quetzalcoatl\nanswered:--\n\n\"Let him in. I have been waiting his coming for a long time.\"\n\nThey admitted the old man and he entered the apartment of Quetzalcoatl,\nand said to him:--\n\n\"My lord and son, how are you? I have with me a medicine for you to\ndrink.\"\n\n\"You are welcome, old man,\" replied Quetzalcoatl. \"I have been looking for\nyour arrival for many days.\"\n\n\"Tell me how you are,\" asked the old man. \"How is your body and your\nhealth?\"\n\n\"I am very ill,\" answered Quetzalcoatl. \"My whole body pains me, and I\ncannot move my hands or feet.\"\n\nThen the old man said:--\n\n\"Sire, look at this medicine which I bring you. It is good and healthful,\nand intoxicates him who drinks it. If you will drink it, it will\nintoxicate you, it will heal you, it will soothe your heart, it will\nprepare you for the labors and fatigues of death, or of your departure.\"\n\n\"Whither, oh ancient man,\" asked Quetzalcoatl, \"Whither must I go?\"\n\nThe old man answered:--\n\n\"You must without fail go to Tullan Tlapallan, where there is another old\nman awaiting you; you and he will talk together, and at your return you\nwill be transformed into a youth, and you will regain the vigor of your\nboyhood.\"\n\nWhen Quetzalcoatl heard these words, his heart was shaken with strong\nemotion, and the old man added:--\n\n\"My lord, drink this medicine.\"\n\n\"Oh ancient man,\" answered the king, \"I do not want to drink it.\"\n\n\"Drink it, my lord,\" insisted the old man, \"for if you do not drink it\nnow, later you will long for it; at least, lift it to your mouth and taste\na single drop.\"\n\nQuetzalcoatl took the drop and tasted it, and then quaffed the liquor,\nexclaiming:--\n\n\"What is this? It seems something very healthful and well-flavored. I am\nno longer sick. It has cured me. I am well.\"\n\n\"Drink again,\" said the old man. \"It is a good medicine, and you will be\nhealthier than ever.\"\n\nAgain did Quetzalcoatl drink, and soon he was intoxicated. He began to\nweep; his heart was stirred, and his mind turned toward the suggestion of\nhis departure, nor did the deceit of the old sorcerer permit him to\nabandon the thought of it. The medicine which Quetzalcoatl drank was the\nwhite wine of the country, made of those magueys call _teometl_.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: From _teotl_, deity, divine, and _metl_, the maguey. Of the\ntwenty-nine varieties of the maguey, now described in Mexico, none bears\nthis name; but Hernandez speaks of it, and says it was so called because\nthere was a superstition that a person soon to die could not hold a branch\nof it; but if he was to recover, or escape an impending danger, he could\nhold it with ease and feel the better for it. See Nieremberg, _Historia\nNaturae_, Lib. xiv, cap. xxxii. \"Teomatl, vitae et mortis Index.\"]\n\nThis was but the beginning of the guiles and juggleries of Tezcatlipoca.\nTransforming himself into the likeness of one of those Indians of the Maya\nrace, called _Toveyome_,[1] he appeared, completely nude, in the market\nplace of Tollan, having green peppers to sell. Now Huemac, who was\nassociated with Quetzalcoatl in the sovereignty of Tollan (although other\nmyths apply this name directly to Quetzalcoatl, and this seems the correct\nversion),[2] had an only daughter of surpassing beauty, whom many of the\nToltecs had vainly sought in marriage. This damsel looked forth on the\nmarket where Tezcatlipoca stood in his nakedness, and her virginal eyes\nfell upon the sign of his manhood. Straightway an unconquerable longing\nseized her, a love so violent that she fell ill and seemed like to die.\nHer women told her father the reason, and he sent forth and had the false\nToveyo brought before him. Huemac addressed him:--\n\n[Footnote 1: _Toveyome_ is the plural of _toveyo_, which Molina, in his\ndictionary, translates \"foreigner, stranger.\" Sahagun says that it was\napplied particularly to the Huastecs, a Maya tribe living in the province\nof Panuco. _Historia_, etc., Lib. x, cap. xxix, \u00a78.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Huemac_ is a compound of _uey_, great, and _maitl_, hand.\nTezozomoc, Duran, and various other writers assign this name to\nQuetzalcoatl.]\n\n\"Whence come you?\"\n\n\"My lord,\" replied the Toveyo, \"I am a stranger, and I have come to sell\ngreen peppers.\"\n\n\"Why,\" asked the king \"do you not wear a _maxtli_ (breech-cloth), and\ncover your nakedness with a garment?\"\n\n\"My lord,\" answered the stranger, \"I follow the custom of my country.\"\n\nThen the king added:--\n\n\"You have inspired in my daughter a longing; she is sick with desire; you\nmust cure her.\"\n\n\"Nay, my lord,\" said the stranger, \"this may not be. Rather slay me here;\nI wish to die; for I am not worthy to hear such words, poor as I am, and\nseeking only to gain my bread by selling green peppers.\"\n\nBut the king insisted, and said:--\n\n\"Have no fear; you alone can restore my daughter; you must do so.\"\n\nThereupon the attendants cut the sham Toveyo's hair; they led him to the\nbath, and colored his body black; they placed a _maxtli_ and a robe upon\nhim, and the king said:--\n\n\"Go in unto my daughter.\"\n\nTezcatlipoca went in unto her, and she was healed from that hour.\n\nThus did the naked stranger become the son-in-law of the great king of\nTula. But the Toltecs were deeply angered that the maiden had given his\nblack body the preference over their bright forms, and they plotted to\nhave him slain. He was placed in the front of battle, and then they left\nhim alone to fight the enemy. But he destroyed the opposing hosts and\nreturned to Tula with a victory all the more brilliant for their desertion\nof him.\n\nThen he requited their treachery with another, and pursued his intended\ndestruction of their race. He sent a herald to the top of the Hill of\nShouting, and through him announced a magnificent festival to celebrate\nhis victory and his marriage. The Toltecs swarmed in crowds, men, women\nand children, to share in the joyous scene. Tezcatlipoca received them\nwith simulated friendship. Taking his drum, he began to beat upon it,\naccompanying the music with a song. As his listeners heard the magic\nmusic, they became intoxicated with the strains, and yielding themselves\nto its seductive influence, they lost all thought for the future or care\nfor the present. The locality to which the crafty Tezcatlipoca had invited\nthem was called, The Rock upon the Water.[1] It was the summit of a lofty\nrock at the base of which flowed the river called, By the Rock of\nLight.[2] When the day had departed and midnight approached, the magician,\nstill singing and dancing, led the intoxicated crowd to the brink of the\nriver, over which was a stone bridge. This he had secretly destroyed, and\nas they came to the spot where it should have been and sought to cross,\nthe innumerable crowd pressing one upon the other, they all fell into the\nwater far below, where they sank out of sight and were changed into\nstones.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Texcalapan_, from _texcalli_, rock, and _apan_, upon or over\nthe water.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Texcaltlauhco_, from _texcalli_, rock, _tlaulli_, light, and\nthe locative ending _co_, by, in or at.]\n\nIs it pushing symbolism too far to attempt an interpretation of this\nfable, recounted with all the simplicity of the antique world, with\ngreater directness, indeed, than I have thought wise to follow?\n\nI am strongly inclined to regard it as a true myth, which, in\nmaterialistic language, sets forth the close of the day and the extinction\nof the light. May we not construe the maiden as the Evening Twilight, the\nchild of the Day at the close of its life? The black lover with whom she\nis fatally enamored, is he not the Darkness, in which the twilight fades\naway? The countless crowds of Toltecs that come to the wedding\nfestivities, and are drowned before midnight in the waters of the\nstrangely named river, are they not the infinitely numerous light-rays\nwhich are quenched in the world-stream, when the sun has sunk, and the\ngloaming is lost in the night?\n\nMay we not go farther, and in this Rock of Light which stands hard by the\nriver, recognize the Heavenly Hill which rises beside the World Stream?\nThe bright light of one day cannot extend to the next. The bridge is\nbroken by the intervening night, and the rays are lost in the dark waters.\n\nBut whether this interpretation is too venturesome or not, we cannot deny\nthe deep human interest in the story, and its poetic capacities. The\novermastering passion of love was evidently as present to the Indian mind\nas to that of the mediaeval Italian. In New as well as in Old Spain it\ncould break the barriers of rank and overcome the hesitations of maidenly\nmodesty. Love clouding the soul, as night obscures the day, is a figure of\nspeech, used, I remember, by the most pathetic of Ireland's modern\nbards:--\n\n\"Love, the tyrant, evinces,\n  Alas! an omnipotent might;\nHe treads on the necks of princes,\n  He darkens the mind, like night.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Clarence Mangan, _Poems_, \"The Mariner's Bride.\"]\n\nI shall not detail the many other wiles with which Tezcatlipoca led the\nToltecs to their destruction. A mere reference to them must suffice. He\nsummoned thousands to come to labor in the rose-garden of Quetzalcoatl,\nand when they had gathered together, he fell upon them and slew them with\na hoe. Disguised with Huitzilopochtli, he irritated the people until they\nstoned the brother gods to death, and from the corrupting bodies spread a\npestilential odor, to which crowds of the Toltecs fell victims. He turned\nthe thought of thousands into madness, so that they voluntarily offered\nthemselves to be sacrificed. By his spells all articles of food soured,\nand many perished of famine.\n\nAt length Quetzalcoatl, wearied with misfortune, gave orders to burn the\nbeautiful houses of Tollan, to bury his treasures, and to begin the\njourney to Tlapallan. He transformed the cacao trees into plants of no\nvalue, and ordered the birds of rich plumage to leave the land before him.\n\nThe first station he arrived at was Quauhtitlan, where there was a lofty\nand spreading tree. Here he asked of his servants a mirror, and looking in\nit said: \"I am already old.\" Gathering some stones, he cast them at the\ntree. They entered the wood and remained there.\n\nAs he journeyed, he was preceded by boys playing the flute. Thus he\nreached a certain spot, where he sat upon a stone by the wayside, and wept\nfor the loss of Tollan. The marks of his hands remained upon the stone,\nand the tears he dropped pierced it through. To the day of the Conquest\nthese impressions on the solid rock were pointed out.\n\nAt the fountain of Cozcapan, sorcerers met him, minded to prevent his\ndeparture:--\n\n\"Where are you going?\" they asked. \"Why have you left your capital? In\nwhose care is it? Who will perform the sacred rites?\"\n\nBut Quetzalcoatl answered:--\n\n\"You can in no manner hinder my departure. I have no choice but to go.\"\n\nThe sorcerers asked again: \"Whither are you going?\"\n\n\"I am going,\" replied Quetzalcoatl, \"to Tlapallan. I have been sent for.\nThe Sun calls me.\"\n\n\"Go, then, with good luck,\" said they. \"But leave with us the art of\nsmelting silver, of working stone and wood, of painting, of weaving\nfeathers and other such arts.\"\n\nThus they robbed him, and taking the rich jewels he carried with him he\ncast them into the fountain, whence it received its name _Cozcapan_,\nJewels in the Water.\n\nAgain, as he journeyed, a sorcerer met him, who asked him his\ndestination:--\n\n\"I go,\" said Quetzalcoatl, \"to Tlallapan.\"\n\n\"And luck go with you,\" replied the sorcerer, \"but first take a drink of\nthis wine.\"\n\n\"No,\" replied Quetzalcoatl, \"not so much as a sip.\"\n\n\"You must taste a little of it,\" said the sorcerer, \"even if it is by\nforce. To no living person would I give to drink freely of it. I\nintoxicate them all. Come and drink of it.\"\n\nQuetzalcoatl took the wine and drank of it through a reed, and as he drank\nhe grew drunken and fell in the road, where he slept and snored.\n\nThus he passed from place to place, with various adventures. His servants\nwere all dwarfs or hunchbacks, and in crossing the Sierra Nevada they\nmostly froze to death. By drawing a line across the Sierra he split it in\ntwo and thus made a passage. He plucked up a mighty tree and hurling it\nthrough another, thus formed a cross. At another spot he caused\nunderground houses to be built, which were called Mictlancalco, At the\nHouse of Darkness.\n\nAt length he arrived at the sea coast where he constructed a raft of\nserpents, and seating himself on it as in a canoe, he moved out to sea. No\none knows how or in what manner he reached Tlapallan.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: These myths are from the third book of Sahagun's _Historia de\nlas Cosas de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_. They were taken down in the original Nahuatl,\nby him, from the mouth of the natives, and he gives them word for word, as\nthey were recounted.]\n\nThe legend which appears to have been prevalent in Cholula was somewhat\ndifferent. According to that, Quetzalcoatl was for many years Lord of\nTollan, ruling over a happy people. At length, Tezcatlipoca let himself\ndown from heaven by a cord made of spider's web, and, coming to Tollan,\nchallenged its ruler to play a game of ball. The challenge was accepted,\nand the people of the city gathered in thousands to witness the sport.\nSuddenly Tezcatlipoca changed himself into a tiger, which so frightened\nthe populace that they fled in such confusion and panic that they rushed\nover the precipice and into the river, where nearly all were killed by the\nfall or drowned in the waters.\n\nQuetzalcoatl then forsook Tollan, and journeyed from city to city till he\nreached Cholula, where he lived twenty years. He was at that time of light\ncomplexion, noble stature, his eyes large, his hair abundant, his beard\nample and cut rounding. In life he was most chaste and honest. They\nworshiped his memory, especially for three things: first, because he\ntaught them the art of working in metals, which previous to his coming was\nunknown in that land; secondly, because he forbade the sacrifice either of\nhuman beings or the lower animals, teaching that bread, and roses, and\nflowers, incense and perfumes, were all that the gods demanded; and\nlastly, because he forbade, and did his best to put a stop to, wars,\nfighting, robbery, and all deeds of violence. For these reasons he was\nheld in high esteem and affectionate veneration, not only by those of\nCholula, but by the neighboring tribes as well, for many leagues around.\nDistant nations maintained temples in his honor in that city, and made\npilgrimages to it, on which journeys they passed in safety through their\nenemy's countries.\n\nThe twenty years past, Quetzalcoatl resumed his journey, taking with him\nfour of the principal youths of the city. When he had reached a point in\nthe province of Guazacoalco, which is situated to the southeast of\nCholula, he called the four youths to him, and told them they should\nreturn to their city; that he had to go further; but that they should go\nback and say that at some future day white and bearded men like himself\nwould come from the east, who would possess the land.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: For this version of the myth, see Mendieta, _Historia\nEclesiastica Indiana_, Lib. ii, caps, v and x.]\n\nThus he disappeared, no one knew whither. But another legend said that he\ndied there, by the seashore, and they burned his body. Of this event some\nparticulars are given by Ixtlilxochitl, as follows:[1]--\n\n[Footnote 1: Ixtlilxochitl, _Relaciones Historicas_, p. 388, in\nKingsborough, vol. ix.]\n\nQuetzalcoatl, surnamed Topiltzin, was lord of Tula. At a certain time he\nwarned his subjects that he was obliged to go \"to the place whence comes\nthe Sun,\" but that after a term he would return to them, in that year of\ntheir calendar of the name _Ce Acatl_, One Reed, which returns every\nfifty-two years. He went forth with many followers, some of whom he left\nin each city he visited. At length he reached the town of Ma Tlapallan.\nHere he announced that he should soon die, and directed his followers to\nburn his body and all his treasures with him. They obeyed his orders, and\nfor four days burned his corpse, after which they gathered its ashes and\nplaced them in a sack made of the skin of a tiger.\n\nThe introduction of the game of ball and the tiger into the story is not\nso childish as it seems. The game of ball was as important an amusement\namong the natives of Mexico and Central America as were the jousts and\ntournaments in Europe in the Middle Ages.[1] Towns, nations and kings were\noften pitted against each other. In the great temple of Mexico two courts\nwere assigned to this game, over which a special deity was supposed to\npreside.[2] In or near the market place of each town there were walls\nerected for the sport. In the centre of these walls was an orifice a\nlittle larger than the ball. The players were divided into two parties,\nand the ball having been thrown, each party tried to drive it through or\nover the wall. The hand was not used, but only the hip or shoulders.\n\n[Footnote 1: Torquemada gives a long but obscure description of it.\n_Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. xiv, cap. xii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Nieremberg, \"De septuaginta et octo partibus maximi templi\nMexicani,\" in his _Historia Naturae_, Lib. viii, cap. xxii (Antwerpt,\n1635). One of these was called \"The Ball Court of the Mirror,\" perhaps\nwith special reference to this legend. \"Trigesima secunda Tezcatlacho,\nlocus erat ubi ludebatur pil\u00e2 ex gumi olli, inter templa.\" The name is\nfrom _tezcatl_, mirror, _tlachtli_, the game of ball, and locative ending\n_co_.]\n\nFrom the earth the game was transferred to the heavens. As a ball, hit by\na player, strikes the wall and then bounds back again, describing a curve,\nso the stars in the northern sky circle around the pole star and return to\nthe place they left. Hence their movement was called The Ball-play of the\nStars.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"_Citlaltlachtli_,\" from _citlalin_, star, and _tlachtli_,\nthe game of ball. Alvarado Tezozomoc, _Cronica Mexicana_, cap. lxxxii. The\nobscure passage in which Tezozomoc refers to this is ingeniously analyzed\nin the _Anales del Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, p. 388.]\n\nA recent writer asserts that the popular belief of the Aztecs extended the\nfigure to a greater game than this.[1] The Sun and Moon were huge balls\nwith which the gods played an unceasing game, now one, now the other,\nhaving the better of it. If this is so, then the game between Tezcatlipoca\nand Quetzalcoatl is again a transparent figure of speech for the contest\nbetween night and day.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Anales del Museo Nacional_, Tom. ii, p. 367.]\n\nThe Mexican tiger, the _ocelotl_, was a well recognized figure of speech,\nin the Aztec tongue, for the nocturnal heavens, dotted with stars, as is\nthe tiger skin with spots.[1] The tiger, therefore, which destroyed the\nsubjects of Quetzalcoatl--the swift-footed, happy inhabitants of Tula--was\nnone other than the night extinguishing the rays of the orb of light. In\nthe picture writings Tezcatlipoca appears dressed in a tiger's skin, the\nspots on which represent the stars, and thus symbolize him in his\ncharacter as the god of the sky at night.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Segun los Anales de Cuauhtitlan el _ocelotl_ es el cielo\nmanchado de estrellas, como piel de tigre.\" _Anales del Mus. Nac._, ii, p.\n254.]\n\nThe apotheosis of Quetzalcoatl from the embers of his funeral pyre to the\nplanet Venus has led several distinguished students of Mexican mythology\nto identify his whole history with the astronomical relations of this\nbright star. Such an interpretation is, however, not only contrary to\nresults obtained by the general science of mythology, but it is\nspecifically in contradiction to the uniform statements of the old\nwriters. All these agree that it was not till _after_ he had finished his\ncareer, _after_ he had run his course and disappeared from the sight and\nknowledge of men, that he was translated and became the evening or morning\nstar.[1] This clearly signifies that he was represented by the planet in\nonly one, and that a subordinate, phase of his activity. We can readily\nsee that the relation of Venus to the sun, and the evening and morning\ntwilights, suggested the pleasing tale that as the light dies in the west,\nit is, in a certain way, preserved by the star which hangs so bright above\nthe horizon.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, plate xiv.]\n\n\n\u00a74. _Quetzalcoatl as Lord of the Winds._\n\nAs I have shown in the introductory chapter, the Light-God, the Lord of\nthe East, is also master of the cardinal points and of the winds which\nblow from them, and therefore of the Air.\n\nThis was conspicuously so with Quetzalcoatl. As a divinity he is most\ngenerally mentioned as the God of the Air and Winds. He was said to sweep\nthe roads before Tlaloc; god of the rains, because in that climate heavy\ndown-pours are preceded by violent gusts. Torquemada names him as \"God of\nthe Air,\" and states that in Cholula this function was looked upon as his\nchief attribute,[1] and the term was distinctly applied to him\n_Nanihe-hecatli_, Lord of the four Winds.\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. i, cap. v. Torquemada, _Monarquia\nIndiana_, Lib. vi, cap. xxiv.]\n\nIn one of the earliest myths he is called _Yahualli ehecatl_, meaning \"the\nWheel of the Winds,\"[1] the winds being portrayed in the picture writing\nas a circle or wheel, with a figure with five angles inscribed upon it,\nthe sacred pentagram. His image carried in the left hand this wheel, and\nin the right a sceptre with the end recurved.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Que\u00e7alcoatl y por otro nombre yagualiecatl.\" Ramirez de\nFuen-leal, _Historia_, cap. i. _Yahualli_ is from the root _yaual_ or\n_youal_, circular, rounding, and was applied to various objects of a\ncircular form. The sign of Quetzalcoatl is called by Sahagun, using the\nnative word, \"el _Yoel_ de los Vientos\" (_Historia_, ubi supra).]\n\nAnother reference to this wheel, or mariner's box, was in the shape of the\ntemples which were built in his honor as god of the winds. These, we are\ninformed, were completely circular, without an angle anywhere.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Se llaman (\u00e1 Quetzalcoatl) Se\u00f1or de el Viento * * * A este\nle hacian las yglesias redondas, sin esquina ninguna.\" _Codex\nTelleriano-Remensis_. Parte ii, Lam. ii. Describing the sacred edifices of\nMexico, Motolinia says: \"Habio en todos los mas de estos grandes patios un\notro templo que despues de levantada aquella capa quadrada, hecho su\naltar, cubrianlo con una pared redonda, alta y cubierta con su chapital.\nEste era del dios del aire, cual dijimos tener su principal sella en\nCholollan, y en toda esta provincia habia mucho de estos. A este dios del\naire llamaban en su lengua Quetzalcoatl,\" _Historia de los Indios_,\nEpistola Proemial. Compare also Herrera, _Historia de las Indias\nOccidentals_, Dec. ii, Lib. vii, cap. xvii, who describes the temple of\nQuetzalcoatl, in the city of Mexico, and adds that it was circular,\n\"porque asi como el Aire anda al rededor del Cielo, asi le hacian el\nTemplo redondo.\"]\n\nStill another symbol which was sacred to him as lord of the four winds was\nthe Cross. It was not the Latin but the Greek cross, with four short arms\nof equal length. Several of these were painted on the mantle which he wore\nin the picture writings, and they are occasionally found on the sacred\njades, which bear other of his symbols.\n\nThis has often been made use of by one set of writers to prove that\nQuetzalcoatl was some Christian teacher; and by others as evidence that\nthese native tales were of a date subsequent to the Conquest. But a\nmoment's consideration of the meaning of this cruciform symbol as revealed\nin its native names shows where it belongs and what it refers to. These\nnames are three, and their significations are, \"The Rain-God,\" \"The Tree\nof our Life,\" \"The God of Strength.\"[1] As the rains fertilize the fields\nand ripen the food crops, so he who sends them is indeed the prop or tree\nof our subsistence, and thus becomes the giver of health and strength. No\nother explanation is needed, or is, in fact, allowable.\n\n[Footnote 1: The Aztec words are _Quiahuitl teotl, quiahuitl_, rain,\n_teotl_, god; _Tonacaquahuitl_, from _to_, our, _naca_, flesh or life,\n_quahuitl_, tree; _Chicahualizteotl_, from _chicahualiztli_, strength or\ncourage, and _teotl_, god. These names are given by Ixtlilxochitl,\n_Historia chichimeca_, cap. i.]\n\nThe winds and rains come from the four cardinal points. This fact was\nfiguratively represented by a cruciform figure, the ends directed toward\neach of these. The God of the Four Winds bore these crosses as one of his\nemblems. The sign came to be connected with fertility, reproduction and\nlife, through its associations as a symbol of the rains which restore the\nparched fields and aid in the germination of seeds. Their influence in\nthis respect is most striking in those southern countries where a long dry\nseason is followed by heavy tropical showers, which in a few days change\nthe whole face of nature, from one of parched sterility to one of a wealth\nof vegetable growth.\n\nAs there is a close connection, in meteorology, between the winds and the\nrains, so in Aztec mythology, there was an equally near one between\nQuetzalcoatl, as the god of the winds, and the gods of rain, Tlaloc and\nhis sister, or wife, or mother, Chalchihuitlicue. According to one myth,\nthese were created by the four primeval brother-gods, and placed in the\nheavens, where they occupy a large mansion divided into four apartments,\nwith a court in the middle. In this court stand four enormous vases of\nwater, and an infinite number of very small slaves (the rain drops) stand\nready to dip out the water from one or the other vase and pour it on the\nearth in showers.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ramirez de Fuen-leal, _Historia de los Mexicanos_, cap. ii.]\n\n_Tlaloc_ means, literally, \"The wine of the Earth,\"[1] the figure being\nthat as man's heart is made glad, and his strength revived by the joyous\nspirit of wine, so is the soil refreshed and restored by the rains.\n_Tlaloc tecutli_, the Lord of the Wine of the Earth, was the proper title\nof the male divinity, who sent the fertilizing showers, and thus caused\nthe seed to grow in barren places. It was he who gave abundant crops and\nsaved the parched and dying grain after times of drought. Therefore, he\nwas appealed to as the giver of good things, of corn and wine; and the\nname of his home, Tlalocan, became synonymous with that of the terrestrial\nparadise.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Tlalli_, earth, _oc_ from _octli_, the native wine made from\nthe maguey, enormous quantities of which are consumed by the lower classes\nin Mexico at this day, and which was well known to the ancients. Another\nderivation of the name is from _tlalli_, and _onoc_, being, to be, hence,\n\"resident on the earth.\" This does not seem appropriate.]\n\nHis wife or sister, Chalchihuitlicue, She of the Emerald Skirts, was\ngoddess of flowing streams, brooks, lakes and rivers. Her name, probably,\nhas reference to their limpid waters.[1] It is derived from\n_chalchihuitl_, a species of jade or precious green stone, very highly\nesteemed by the natives of Mexico and Central America, and worked by them\ninto ornaments and talismans, often elaborately engraved and inscribed\nwith symbols, by an art now altogether lost.[2] According to one myth,\nQuetzalcoatl's mother took the name of _chalchiuitl_ \"when she ascended to\nheaven;\"[3] by another he was engendered by such a sacred stone;[4] and by\nall he was designated as the discoverer of the art of cutting and\npolishing them, and the patron deity of workers in this branch.[5]\n\n[Footnote 1: From _chalchihuitl_, jade, and _cueitl_, skirt or petticoat,\nwith the possessive prefix, _i_, her.]\n\n[Footnote 2: See E.G. Squier, _Observations on a Collection of\nChalchihuitls from Central America_, New York, 1869, and Heinrich Fischer,\n_Nephrit und Jadeit nach ihrer Urgeschichtlichen und Ethnographischen\nBedeutung_, Stuttgart, 1880, for a full discussion of the subject.]\n\n[Footnote 3: _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, Pt. ii, Lam. ii.]\n\n[Footnote 4: See above, chapter iii, \u00a73]\n\n[Footnote 5: Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. vi, cap. xxiv.]\n\nThe association of this stone and its color, a bluish green of various\nshades, with the God of Light and the Air, may have reference to the blue\nsky where he has his home, or to the blue and green waters where he makes\nhis bed. Whatever the connection was, it was so close that the festivals\nof all three, Tlaloc, Chalchihuitlicue and Quetzalcoatl, were celebrated\ntogether on the same day, which was the first of the first month of the\nAztec calendar, in February.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Hisioria_, Lib. ii, cap. i. A worthy but visionary\nMexican antiquary, Don J.M. Melgar, has recognized in Aztec mythology the\nfrequency of the symbolism which expresses the fertilizing action of the\nsky (the sun and rains) upon the earth. He thinks that in some of the\nmanuscripts, as the _Codex Borgia_, it is represented by the rabbit\nfecundating the frog. See his _Examen Comparativo entre los Signos\nSimbolicos de las Teogonias y Cosmogonias antiguas y los que existen en\nlos Manuscritos Mexicanos_, p. 21 (Vera Cruz, 1872).]\n\nIn his character as god of days, the deity who brings back the diurnal\nsuns, and thus the seasons and years, Quetzalcoatl was the reputed\ninventor of the Mexican Calendar. He himself was said to have been born on\nCe Acatl, One Cane, which was the first day of the first month, the\nbeginning of the reckoning, and the name of the day was often added to his\nown.[1] As the count of the days really began with the beginning, it was\nadded that Heaven itself was created on this same day, Ce Acatl.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Codex Vaticanus_, Pl. xv.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Codex Telleriano Remensis_, Pl. xxxiii.]\n\nIn some myths Quetzalcoatl was the sole framer of the Calendar; in others\nhe was assisted by the first created pair, Cipactli and Oxomuco, who, as I\nhave said, appear to represent the Sky and the Earth. A certain cave in\nthe province of Cuernava (Quauhnauac) was pointed out as the scene of\ntheir deliberations. Cipactonal chose the first name, Oxomuco the second,\nand Quetzalcoatl the third, and so on in turn.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Mendieta, _Hist. Eclesiastia Indiana_, Lib. ii, cap. xiv.\n\"Una tonta ficcion,\" comments the worthy chronicler upon the narrative,\n\"como son las demas que creian cerca de sus dioses.\" This has been the\nuniversal opinion. My ambition in writing this book is, that it will be\nuniversal no longer.]\n\nIn many mythologies the gods of light and warmth are, by a natural\nanalogy, held to be also the deities which preside over plenty, fertility\nand reproduction. This was quite markedly the case with Quetzalcoatl. His\nland and city were the homes of abundance; his people, the Toltecs, \"were\nskilled in all arts, all of which they had been taught by Quetzalcoatl\nhimself. They were, moreover, very rich; they lacked nothing; food was\nnever scarce and crops never failed. They had no need to save the small\nears of corn, so all the use they made of them was to burn them in heating\ntheir baths.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. iii, cap. iii.]\n\nAs thus the promoter of fertility in the vegetable world, he was also the\ngenius of reproduction in the human race. The ceremonies of marriage which\nwere in use among the Aztecs were attributed to him,[1] and when the wife\nfound she was with child it was to him that she was told to address her\nthanks. One of her relatives recited to her a formal exhortation, which\nbegan as follows:--\n\n[Footnote 1: Veitia, cap. xvii, in Kingsborough.]\n\n\"My beloved little daughter, precious as sapphire and jade, tender and\ngenerous! Our Lord, who dwells everywhere and rains his bounties on whom\nhe pleases, has remembered you. The God now wishes to give you the fruit\nof marriage, and has placed within you a jewel, a rich feather. Perhaps\nyou have watched, and swept, and offered incense; for such good works the\nkindness of the Lord has been made manifest, and it was decreed in Heaven\nand Hell, before the beginning of the World, that this grace should be\naccorded you. For these reasons our Lord, Quetzalcoatl, who is the author\nand creator of things, has shown you this favor; thus has resolved He in\nheaven, who is at once both man and woman, and is known under the names\nTwice Master and Twice Mistress.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. vi, cap. xxv. The bisexual nature\nof the Mexican gods, referred to in this passage, is well marked in many\nfeatures of their mythology. Quetzalcoatl is often addressed in the\nprayers as \"father and mother,\" just as, in the Egyptian ritual, Chnum was\nappealed to as \"father of fathers and mother of mothers\" (Tiele, _Hist. of\nthe Egyptian Religion_, p. 134). I have endeavored to explain this\nwidespread belief in hermaphroditic deities in my work entitled, _The\nReligious Sentiment, Its Source and Aim_, pp. 65-68, (New York, 1876).]\n\nIt is recorded in the old histories that the priests dedicated to his\nservice wore a peculiar head-dress, imitating a snail shell, and for that\nreason were called _Quateczizque_.[1] No one has explained this curiously\nshaped bonnet. But it was undoubtedly because Quetzalcoatl was the god of\nreproduction, for among the Aztecs the snail was a well known symbol of\nthe process of parturition.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Duran, in Kingsborough, vol. viii, p. 267. The word is from\n_quaitl_, head or top, and _tecziztli_, a snail shell.]\n\n[Footnote 2: \"Mettevanli in testa una lumaca marina per dimostrare que\nsiccome il piscato esce dalle pieghe di quell'osso, o conca. cosi v\u00e1 ed\nesce l'uomo _ab utero matris suae_.\" _Codice Vaticana, Tavola XXVI._]\n\nQuetzalcoatl was that marvelous artist who fashions in the womb of the\nmother the delicate limbs and tender organs of the unborn infant.\nTherefore, when a couple of high rank were blessed with a child, an\nofficial orator visited them, and the baby being placed naked before him,\nhe addressed it beginning with these words:--\n\n\"My child and lord, precious gem, emerald, sapphire, beauteous feather,\nproduct of a noble union, you have been formed far above us, in the ninth\nheaven, where dwell the two highest divinities. His Divine Majesty has\nfashioned you in a mould, as one fashions a ball of gold; you have been\nchiseled as a precious stone, artistically dressed by your Father and\nMother, the great God and the great Goddess, assisted by their son,\nQuetzalcoatl.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. vi, cap. xxxiv.]\n\nAs he was thus the god on whom depended the fertilization of the womb,\nsterile women made their vows to him, and invoked his aid to be relieved\nfrom the shame of barrenness.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. xi, cap. xxiv.]\n\nIn still another direction is this function of his godship shown. The\nworship of the genesiac principle is as often characterized by an\nexcessive austerity as by indulgence in sexual acts. Here we have an\nexample. Nearly all the accounts tell us that Quetzalcoatl was never\nmarried, and that he held himself aloof from all women, in absolute\nchastity. We are told that on one occasion his subjects urged upon him the\npropriety of marriage, and to their importunities he returned the dark\nanswer that, Yes, he had determined to take a wife; but that it would be\nwhen the oak tree shall cast chestnuts, when the sun shall rise in the\nwest, when one can cross the sea dry-shod, and when nightingales grow\nbeards.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Duran, in Kingsborough, vol. viii, p. 267. I believe Alva\nIxtlilxochitl is the only author who specifically assigns a family to\nQuetzalcoatl. This author does not mention a wife, but names two sons,\none, Xilotzin, who was killed in war, the other, Pochotl, who was educated\nby his nurse, Toxcueye, and who, after the destruction of Tollan,\ncollected the scattered Toltecs and settled with them around the Lake of\nTezcuco (_Relaciones Historicas_, p. 394, in Kingsborough, vol. ix). All\nthis is in contradiction to the reports of earlier and better authorities.\nFor instance, Motolinia says pointedly, \"no fu\u00e9 casado, ni se le conoci\u00f3\nmujer\" (_Historia de los Indios, Epistola Proemial_).]\n\nFollowing the example of their Master, many of the priests of his cult\nrefrained from sexual relations, and as a mortification of the flesh they\npracticed a painful rite by transfixing the tongue and male member with\nthe sharp thorns of the maguey plant, an austerity which, according to\ntheir traditions, he was the first to institute.[1] There were also in the\ncities where his special worship was in vogue, houses of nuns, the inmates\nof which had vowed perpetual virginity, and it was said that Quetzalcoatl\nhimself had founded these institutions.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Codex Vaticanus_, Tab. xxii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Veitia, _Historia_, cap. XVII.]\n\nHis connection with the worship of the reproductive principle seems to be\nfurther indicated by his surname, _Ce acatl_. This means One Reed, and is\nthe name of a day in the calendar. But in the Nahuatl language, the word\n_acatl_, reed, cornstalk, is also applied to the virile member; and it has\nbeen suggested that this is the real signification of the word when\napplied to the hero-god. The suggestion is plausible, but the word does\nnot seem to have been so construed by the early writers. If such an\nunderstanding had been current, it could scarcely have escaped the\ninquiries of such a close student and thorough master of the Nahuatl\ntongue as Father Sahagun.\n\nOn the other hand, it must be said, in corroboration of this\nidentification, that the same idea appears to be conveyed by the symbol of\nthe serpent. One correct translation of the name Quetzalcoatl is \"the\nbeautiful serpent;\" his temple in the city of Mexico, according to\nTorquemada, had a door in the form of a serpent's mouth; and in the _Codex\nVaticanus_, No. 3738, published by Lord Kingsborough, of which we have an\nexplanation by competent native authority, he is represented as a serpent;\nwhile in the same Codex, in the astrological signs which were supposed to\ncontrol the different parts of the human body, the serpent is pictured as\nthe sign of the male member.[1] This indicates the probability that in his\nfunction as god of reproduction Quetzalcoatl may have stood in some\nrelation to phallic rites.\n\n[Footnote 1: Compare the _Codex Vaticanus_, No. 3738, plates 44 and 75,\nKingsborough, _Mexican Antiquities_, vol. ii.]\n\nThis same sign, _Ce Coatl_, One Serpent, used in their astrology, was that\nof one of the gods of the merchants, and apparently for this reason, some\nwriters have identified the chief god of traffic, Yacatecutli (God of\nJourneying), with Quetzalcoatl. This seems the more likely as another name\nof this divinity was _Yacacoliuhqui_, With the End Curved, a name which\nappears to refer to the curved rod or stick which was both his sign and\none of those of Quetzalcoatl.[1] The merchants also constantly associated\nin their prayers this deity with Huitzilopochtli, which is another reason\nfor supposing their patron was one of the four primeval brothers, and but\nanother manifestation of Quetzalcoatl. His character, as patron of arts,\nthe model of orators, and the cultivator of peaceful intercourse among\nmen, would naturally lend itself to this position.\n\n[Footnote 1: Compare Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. vi, cap. xxviii\nand Sahagun, _Historia de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, Lib. ix, _passim_.\n\n_Yacatecutli_, is from _tecutli_, lord, and either _yaqui_, traveler, or\nelse _yacana_, to conduct.\n\n_Yacacoliuhqui_, is translated by Torquemada, \"el que tiene la nariz\naquile\u00f1a.\" It is from _yaque_, a point or end, and hence, also, the nose,\nand _coliuhqui_, bent or curved. The translation in the text is quite as\nallowable as that of Torquemada, and more appropriate. I have already\nmentioned that this divinity was suspected, by Dr. Schultz-Sellack, to be\nmerely another form of Quetzalcoatl. See above, chapter iii, \u00a72]\n\nBut Quetzalcoatl, as god of the violent wind-storms, which destroy the\nhouses and crops, and as one, who, in his own history, was driven from his\nkingdom and lost his all, was not considered a deity of invariably good\naugury. His day and sign, _ce acatl_, One Reed, was of bad omen. A person\nborn on it would not succeed in life.[1] His plans and possessions would\nbe lost, blown away, as it were, by the wind, and dissipated into thin\nair.\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun. _Historia_, Lib. iv, cap. viii.]\n\nThrough the association of his person with the prying winds he came,\ncuriously enough, to be the patron saint of a certain class of thieves,\nwho stupefied their victims before robbing them. They applied to him to\nexercise his maleficent power on those whom they planned to deprive of\ntheir goods. His image was borne at the head of the gang when they made\ntheir raids, and the preferred season was when his sign was in the\nascendant.[1] This is a singular parallelism to the Aryan Hermes myth, as\nI have previously observed (Chap. I).\n\n[Footnote 1: Ibid. Lib. IV, cap. XXXI.]\n\nThe representation of Quetzalcoatl in the Aztec manuscripts, his images\nand the forms of his temples and altars, referred to his double functions\nas Lord of the Light and the Winds.\n\nHe was not represented with pleasing features. On the contrary, Sahagun\ntells us that his face, that is, that of his image, was \"very ugly, with a\nlarge head and a full beard.\"[1] The beard, in this and similar instances,\nwas to represent the rays of the sun. His hair at times was also shown\nrising straight from his forehead, for the same reason.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"La cara que tenia era muy fea y la cabeza larga y barbuda.\"\n_Historia_, Lib. III, cap. III. On the other hand Ixtlilxochitl speaks of\nhim as \"de bella figura.\" _Historia Chichimeca_, cap. viii. He was\noccasionally represented with his face painted black, probably expressing\nthe sun in its absence.]\n\n[Footnote 2: He is so portrayed in the Codex Vaticanus. and Ixtlilxochitl\nsays, \"tubiese el cabello levantado desde la frente hasta la nuca como \u00e1\nmanera de penacho.\" _Historia Chichimeca_, cap. viii.]\n\nAt times he was painted with a large hat and flowing robe, and was then\ncalled \"Father of the Sons of the Clouds,\" that is, of the rain drops.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Diego Duran, _Historia_, in Kingsborough, viii, p. 267.]\n\nThese various representations doubtless referred to him at different parts\nof his chequered career, and as a god under different manifestations of\nhis divine nature. The religious art of the Aztecs did not demand any\nuniformity in this respect.\n\n\n\u00a75. _The Return of Quetzalcoatl._\n\nQuetzalcoatl was gone.\n\nWhether he had removed to the palace prepared for him in Tlapallan,\nwhether he had floated out to sea on his wizard raft of serpent skins, or\nwhether his body had been burned on the sandy sea strand and his soul had\nmounted to the morning star, the wise men were not agreed. But on one\npoint there was unanimity. Quetzalcoatl was gone; but _he would return_.\n\nIn his own good time, in the sign of his year, when the ages were ripe,\nonce more he would come from the east, surrounded by his fair-faced\nretinue, and resume the sway of his people and their descendants.\nTezcatlipoca had conquered, but not for aye. The immutable laws which had\nfixed the destruction of Tollan assigned likewise its restoration. Such\nwas the universal belief among the Aztec race.\n\nFor this reason Quetzalcoatl's statue, or one of them, was in a reclining\nposition and covered with wrappings, signifying that he was absent, \"as of\none who lays him down to sleep, and that when he should awake from that\ndream of absence, he should rise to rule again the land.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Torquemada, _Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. vi, cap. xxiv. So in\nEgyptian mythology Tum was called \"the concealed or imprisoned god, in a\nphysical sense the Sun-god in the darkness of night, not revealing\nhimself, but alive, nevertheless.\" Tiele, _History of the Egyptian\nReligion_, p. 77.]\n\nHe was not dead. He had indeed built mansions underground, to the Lord of\nMictlan, the abode of the dead, the place of darkness, but he himself did\nnot occupy them.[1] Where he passed his time was where the sun stays at\nnight. As this, too, is somewhere beneath the level of the earth, it was\noccasionally spoken of as _Tlillapa_, The Murky Land,[2] and allied\ntherefore to Mictlan. Caverns led down to it, especially one south of\nChapultepec, called _Cincalco_, \"To the Abode of Abundance,\" through whose\ngloomy corridors one could reach the habitation of the sun and the happy\nland still governed by Quetzalcoatl and his lieutenant Totec.[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. iii. cap. ult.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Mendieta, _Hist. Eclesiast. Indiana_, Lib. ii, cap. v. The\nname is from _tlilli_, something dark, obscure.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. xii, cap. ix; Duran, _Historia_,\ncap. lxviii; Tezozomoc, _Cron. Mexicana_, cap. ciii. Sahagun and Tezozomoc\ngive the name _Cincalco_, To the House of Maize, _i.e._, Fertility,\nAbundance, the Paradise. Duran gives _Cicalco_, and translates it \"casa de\nla liebre,\" _citli_, hare, _calli_, house, _co_ locative. But this is, no\ndoubt, an error, mistaking _citli_ for _cintli_, maize.]\n\nBut the real and proper names of that land were Tlapallan, the Red Land,\nand Tizapan, the White Land, for either of these colors is that of the\nsun-light.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Tizapan_ from _tizatl_, white earth or other substance, and\n_pan_, in. Mendicta, Lib. ii, cap. iv.]\n\nIt was generally understood to be the same land whence he and the Toltecs\nhad come forth in ancient times; or if not actually the same,\nnevertheless, very similar to it. While the myth refers to the latter as\nTlapallan, it speaks of the former as Huey Tlapallan, Old Tlapallan, or\nthe first Tlapallan. But Old Tlapallan was usually located to the West,\nwhere the sun disappears at night;[1] while New Tlapallan, the goal of\nQuetzalcoatl's journey, was in the East, where the day-orb rises in the\nmorning. The relationship is obvious, and is based on the similarity of\nthe morning and the evening skies, the heavens at sunset and at sunrise.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Huitlapalan, que es la que al presente llaman de Cortes,\nque por parecer vermeja le pusieron el nombre referido.\" Alva\nIxtlilxochitl, _Historia Chichimeca_, Cap. ii.]\n\nIn his capacity as master of arts, and, at the same time, ruler of the\nunderground realm, in other words, as representing in his absence the Sun\nat night, he was supposed to preside over the schools where the youth were\nshut up and severely trained in ascetic lives, previous to coming forth\ninto the world. In this function he was addressed as _Quetzalcoatl\nTlilpotonqui_, the Dark or Black Plumed, and the child, on admittance, was\npainted this color, and blood drawn from his ears and offered to the\ngod.[1] Probably for the same reason, in many picture writings, both his\nface and body were blackened.\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, Lib. iii, Append, cap. vii. and cf. Lib. i, cap v.\nThe surname is from _tlilli_, black, and _potonia_, \"emplumar \u00e1 otro.\"]\n\nIt is at first sight singular to find his character and symbols thus in a\nsense reversed, but it would not be difficult to quote similar instances\nfrom Aryan and Egyptian mythology. The sun at night was often considered\nto be the ruler of the realm of the dead, and became associated with its\ngloomy symbolism.\n\nWherever he was, Quetzalcoatl was expected to return and resume the\nsceptre of sovereignty, which he had laid down at the instigation of\nTezcatlipoca. In what cycle he would appear the sages knew not, but the\nyear of the cycle was predicted by himself of old.\n\nHere appears an extraordinary coincidence. The sign of the year of\nQuetzalcoatl was, as I have said, One Reed, Ce Acatl. In the Mexican\ncalendar this recurs only once in their cycle of fifty-two years. The myth\nran that on some recurrence of this year his arrival was to take place.\nThe year 1519 of the Christian era was the year One Reed, and in that year\nHernan Cortes landed his army on Mexican soil!\n\nThe approach of the year had, as usual, revived the old superstition, and\npossibly some vague rumors from Yucatan or the Islands had intensified the\ndread with which the Mexican emperor contemplated the possible loss of his\nsovereignty. Omens were reported in the sky, on earth and in the waters.\nThe sages and diviners were consulted, but their answers were darker than\nthe ignorance they were asked to dispel. Yes, they agreed, a change is to\ncome, the present order of things will be swept away, perhaps by\nQuetzalcoatl, perhaps by hideous beings with faces of serpents, who walk\nwith one foot, whose heads are in their breasts, whose huge hands serve as\nsun shades, and who can fold themselves in their immense ears.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The names of these mysterious beings are given by Tezozomoc\nas _Tezocuilyoxique, Zenteicxique_ and _Coayxaques. Cronica Mexicana_,\ncaps, cviii and civ.]\n\nLittle satisfied with these grotesque prophecies the monarch summoned his\ndwarfs and hunchbacks--a class of dependents he maintained in imitation of\nQuetzalcoatl--and ordered them to proceed to the sacred Cave of Cincalco.\n\n\"Enter its darknes,\" he said, \"without fear. There you will find him who\nages ago lived in Tula, who calls himself Huemac, the Great Hand.[1] If\none enters, he dies indeed, but only to be born to an eternal life in a\nland where food and wine are in perennial plenty. It is shady with trees,\nfilled with fruit, gay with flowers, and those who dwell there know nought\nbut joy. Huemac is king of that land, and he who lives with him is ever\nhappy.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: Huemac, as I have already said, is stated by Sahagun to have\nbeen the war chief of Tula, as Quetzalcoatl was the sacerdotal head (Lib.\niii, cap. v). But Duran and most writers state that it was simply another\nname of Quetzalcoatl.]\n\nThe dwarfs and hunchbacks departed on their mission, under the guidance of\nthe priests. After a time they returned and reported that they had entered\nthe cave and reached a place where four roads met. They chose that which\ndescended most rapidly, and soon were accosted by an old man with a staff\nin his hand. This was Totec, who led them to his lord Huemac, to whom they\nstated the wish of Montezuma for definite information. The reply was vague\nand threatening, and though twice afterwards the emperor sent other\nembassies, only ominous and obscure announcements were returned by the\npriests.[1]\n\nClearly they preferred to be prophets of evil, and quite possibly they\nthemselves were the slaves of gloomy forebodings.\n\n[Footnote 1: Tezozomoc, _Cronica Mexicana_, caps. cviii, cix; Sahagun,\n_Historia_, Lib. xii, cap. ix. The four roads which met one on the journey\nto the Under World are also described in the _Popol Vuh_, p. 83. Each is\nof a different color, and only one is safe to follow.]\n\nDissatisfied with their reports, Montezuma determined to visit the\nunderground realm himself, and by penetrating through the cave of Cincalco\nto reach the mysterious land where his attendants and priests professed to\nhave been. For obvious reasons such a suggestion was not palatable to\nthem, and they succeeded in persuading him to renounce the plan, and their\ndeceptions remained undiscovered.\n\nTheir idle tales brought no relief to the anxious monarch, and at length,\nwhen his artists showed him pictures of the bearded Spaniards and strings\nof glittering beads from Cortes, the emperor could doubt no longer, and\nexclaimed: \"Truly this is the Quetzalcoatl we expected, he who lived with\nus of old in Tula. Undoubtedly it is he, _Ce Acatl Inacuil_, the god of\nOne Reed, who is journeying.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Tezozomoc, _Cronica Mexicana_, cap. cviii.]\n\nOn his very first interview with Cortes, he addressed him through the\ninterpreter Marina in remarkable words which have been preserved to us by\nthe Spanish conqueror himself. Cortes writes:--\n\n\"Having delivered me the presents, he seated himself next to me and spoke\nas follows:--\n\n\"'We have known for a long time, by the writings handed down by our\nforefathers, that neither I nor any who inhabit this land are natives of\nit, but foreigners who came here from remote parts. We also know that we\nwere led here by a ruler, whose subjects we all were, who returned to his\ncountry, and after a long time came here again and wished to take his\npeople away. But they had married wives and built houses, and they would\nneither go with him nor recognize him as their king; therefore he went\nback. We have ever believed that those who were of his lineage would some\ntime come and claim this land as his, and us as his vassals. From the\ndirection whence you come, which is where the sun rises, and from what you\ntell me of this great lord who sent you, we believe and think it certain\nthat he is our natural ruler, especially since you say that for a long\ntime he has known about us. Therefore you may feel certain that we shall\nobey you, and shall respect you as holding the place of that great lord;\nand in all the land I rule you may give what orders you wish, and they\nshall be obeyed, and everything we have shall be put at your service. And\nsince you are thus in your own heritage and your own house, take your ease\nand rest from the fatigue of the journey and the wars you have had on the\nway.'\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Cortes, _Carta Segunda_, October 30th, 1520. According to\nBernal Diaz Montezuma referred to the prediction several times. _Historia\nVerdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, cap. lxxxix, xc. The words\nof Montezuma are also given by Father Sahagun, _Historia de Nueva Espa\u00f1a_,\nLib. xii, cap. xvi. The statement of Montezuma that Quetzalcoatl _had\nalready returned_, but had not been well received by the people, and had,\ntherefore, left them again, is very interesting. It is a part of the\nQuetzalcoatl myth which I have not found in any other Aztec source. But it\ndistinctly appears in the Kiche which I shall quote on a later page, and\nis also in close parallelism with the hero-myths of Yucatan, Peru and\nelsewhere. It is, to my mind, a strong evidence of the accuracy of\nMarina's translation of Montezuma's words, and the fidelity of Cortes'\nmemory.]\n\nSuch was the extraordinary address with which the Spaniard, with his\nhandful of men, was received by the most powerful war chief of the\nAmerican continent. It confessed complete submission, without a struggle.\nBut it was the expression of a general sentiment. When the Spanish ships\nfor the first time reached the Mexican shores the natives kissed their\nsides and hailed the white and bearded strangers from the east as gods,\nsons and brothers of Quetzalcoatl, come back from their celestial home to\nclaim their own on earth and bring again the days of Paradise; [1] a hope,\ndryly observes Father Mendieta, which the poor Indians soon gave up when\nthey came to feel the acts of their visitors.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Sahagun, _Historia_, Lib. xii, cap. ii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: \"Los Indios siempre esperaron que se habia de cumplir aquella\nprofecia y cuando vieron venir \u00e1 los cristianos luego los llamaron dioses,\nhijos, y hermanos de Quetzalcoatl, aunque despues que conocieron y\nexperimentaron sus obras, no los tuvieron por celestiales.\" _Historia\nEclesiastica Indiana_, Lib. ii, cap. x.]\n\nSuch presentiments were found scattered through America. They have excited\nthe suspicion of historians and puzzled antiquaries to explain. But their\ninterpretation is simple enough. The primitive myth of the sun which had\nsunk but should rise again, had in the lapse of time lost its peculiarly\nreligious sense, and had been in part taken to refer to past historical\nevents. The Light-God had become merged in the divine culture hero. He it\nwas who was believed to have gone away, not to die, for he was immortal,\nbut to dwell in the distant east, whence in the fullness of time he would\nreturn.\n\nThis was why Montezuma and his subjects received the whites as expected\nguests, and quoted to them prophecies of their coming. The Mayas of\nYucatan, the Muyscas of Bogota, the Qquichuas of Peru, all did the same,\nand all on the same grounds--the confident hope of the return of the\nLight-God from the under world.\n\nThis hope is an integral part of this great Myth of Light, in whatever\npart of the world we find it. Osiris, though murdered, and his body cast\ninto \"the unclean sea,\" will come again from the eastern shores. Balder,\nslain by the wiles of Loki, is not dead forever, but at the appointed time\nwill appear again in nobler majesty. So in her divine fury sings the\nprophetess of the V\u00f6luspa:--\n\n\"Shall arise a second time,\nEarth from ocean, green and fair,\nThe waters ebb, the eagles fly,\nSnatch the fish from out the flood.\n\n\"Once again the wondrous runes,\nGolden tablets, shall be found;\nMystic runes by Aesir carved,\nGods who ruled Fiolnir's line.\n\n\"Then shall fields unseeded bear,\nIll shall flee, and Balder come,\nDwell in Odin's highest hall,\nHe and all the happy gods.\n\n\"Outshines the sun that mighty hall,\nGlitters gold on heaven's hill;\nThere shall god-like princes dwell,\nAnd rule for aye a happy world.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE HERO-GODS OF THE MAYAS.\n\nCIVILIZATION OF THE MAYAS--WHENCE IT ORIGINATED--DUPLICATE TRADITIONS.\n\n\u00a71. _The Culture Hero Itzamna._\n\nITZAMNA AS RULER, PRIEST AND TEACHER--AS CHIEF GOD AND CREATOR OF THE\nWORLD--LAS CASAS' SUPPOSED CHRIST MYTH--THE FOUR BACABS--ITZAMNA AS LORD\nOF THE WINDS AND RAINS--THE SYMBOL OF THE CROSS--AS LORD OF THE LIGHT AND\nDAY--DERIVATION OF HIS VARIOUS NAMES.\n\n\u00a72. _The Culture Hero Kukulcan_.\n\nKUKULCAN AS CONNECTED WITH THE CALENDAR--MEANING OF THE NAME--THE MYTH OF\nTHE FOUR BROTHERS--KUKULCAN'S HAPPY RULE AND MIRACULOUS\nDISAPPEARANCE--RELATION TO QUETZALCOATL--AZTEC AND MAYA\nMYTHOLOGY--KUKULCAN A MAYA DIVINITY--THE EXPECTED RETURN OF THE\nHERO-GODS--THE MAYA PROPHECIES--THEIR EXPLANATION.\n\n\nThe high-water mark of ancient American civilization was touched by the\nMayas, the race who inhabited the peninsula of Yucatan and vicinity. Its\nmembers extended to the Pacific coast and included the tribes of Vera Paz,\nGuatemala, and parts of Chiapas and Honduras, and had an outlying branch\nin the hot lowlands watered by the River Panuco, north of Vera Cruz. In\nall, it has been estimated that they numbered at the time of the Conquest\nperhaps two million souls. To them are due the vast structures of Copan,\nPalenque and Uxmal, and they alone possessed a mode of writing which\nrested distinctly on a phonetic basis.\n\nThe zenith of their prosperity had, however, been passed a century before\nthe Spanish conquerors invaded their soil. A large part of the peninsula\nof Yucatan had been for generations ruled in peace by a confederation of\nseveral tribes, whose capital city was Mayapan, ten leagues south of where\nM\u00e9rida now stands, and whose ruins still cover many hundred acres of the\nplain. Somewhere about the year 1440 there was a general revolt of the\neastern provinces; Mayapan itself was assaulted and destroyed, and the\nPeninsula was divided among a number of petty chieftains.\n\nSuch was its political condition at the time of the discovery. There were\nnumerous populous cities, well built of stone and mortar, but their\ninhabitants were at war with each other and devoid of unity of purpose.[1]\nHence they fell a comparatively easy prey to the conquistadors.\n\n[Footnote 1: Francisco de Montejo, who was the first to explore Yucatan\n(1528), has left strong testimony to the majesty of its cities and the\nagricultural industry of its inhabitants. He writes to the King, in the\nreport of his expedition: \"La tierra es muy poblada y de muy grandes\nciudades y villas muy frescas. Todos los pueblos son una huerta de\nfrutales.\" _Carta \u00e1 su Magestad, 13 Abril, 1529_, in the _Coleccion de\nDocumentos Ineditos del Archivo de Indias_, Tom. xiii.]\n\nWhence came this civilization? Was it an offshoot of that of the Aztecs?\nOr did it produce the latter?\n\nThese interesting questions I cannot discuss in full at this time. All\nthat concerns my present purpose is to treat of them so far as they are\nconnected with the mythology of the race. Incidentally, however, this will\nthrow some light on these obscure points, and at any rate enable us to\ndismiss certain prevalent assumptions as erroneous.\n\nOne of these is the notion that the Toltecs were the originators of\nYucatan culture. I hope I have said enough in the previous chapter to\nexorcise permanently from ancient American history these purely imaginary\nbeings. They have served long enough as the last refuge of ignorance.\n\nLet us rather ask what accounts the Mayas themselves gave of the origin of\ntheir arts and their ancestors.\n\nMost unfortunately very meagre sources of information are open to us. We\nhave no Sahagun to report to us the traditions and prayers of this strange\npeople. Only fragments of their legends and hints of their history have\nbeen saved, almost by accident, from the general wreck of their\ncivilization. From these, however, it is possible to piece together enough\nto give us a glimpse of their original form, and we shall find it not\nunlike those we have already reviewed.\n\nThere appear to have been two distinct cycles of myths in Yucatan, the\nmost ancient and general that relating to Itzamn\u00e1, the second, of later\ndate and different origin, referring to Kukulcan. It is barely possible\nthat these may be different versions of the same; but certainly they were\nregarded as distinct by the natives at and long before the time of the\nConquest.\n\nThis is seen in the account they gave of their origin. They did not\npretend to be autochthonous, but claimed that their ancestors came from\ndistant regions, in two bands. The largest and most ancient immigration\nwas from the East, across, or rather through, the ocean--for the gods had\nopened twelve paths through it--and this was conducted by the mythical\ncivilizer Itzamn\u00e1. The second band, less in number and later in time, came\nin from the West, and with them was Kukulcan. The former was called the\nGreat Arrival; the latter, the Less Arrival[1].\n\n[Footnote 1: Cogolludo contradicts himself in describing these events;\nsaying first that the greater band came from the West, but later in the\nsame chapter corrects himself, and criticizes Father Lizana for having\ncommitted the same error. Cogolludo's authority was the original MSS. of\nGaspar Antonio, an educated native, of royal lineage, who wrote in 1582.\n_Historia de Yucatan_, Lib. iv, caps, iii, iv. Lizana gives the names of\nthese arrivals as _Nohnial_ and _Cenial_. These words are badly mutilated.\nThey should read _noh emel_ (_noh_, great, _emel_, descent, arrival) and\n_cec, emel_ (_cec_, small). Landa supports the position of Cogolludo.\n_Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan_, p. 28. It is he who speaks of the\n\"doce caminos por el mar.\"]\n\n\n\u00a71. _The Culture Hero, Itzamn\u00e1._\n\nTo this ancient leader, Itzamn\u00e1, the nation alluded as their guide,\ninstructor and civilizer. It was he who gave names to all the rivers and\ndivisions of land; he was their first priest, and taught them the proper\nrites wherewith to please the gods and appease their ill-will; he was the\npatron of the healers and diviners, and had disclosed to them the\nmysterious virtues of plants; in the month _Uo_ they assembled and made\nnew fire and burned to him incense, and having cleansed their books with\nwater drawn from a fountain from which no woman had ever drunk, the most\nlearned of the sages opened the volumes to forecast the character of the\ncoming year.\n\nIt was Itzamn\u00e1 who first invented the characters or letters in which the\nMayas wrote their numerous books, and which they carved in such profusion\non the stone and wood of their edifices. He also devised their calendar,\none more perfect even than that of the Mexicans, though in a general way\nsimilar to it[1].\n\n[Footnote 1: The authorities on this phase of Itzamn\u00e1's character are\nCogolludo, _Historia de Yucatan_, Lib. iv, cap. iii; Landa, _Cosas de\nYucatan_, pp. 285, 289, and Beltran de Santa Rosa Maria, _Arte del Idioma\nMaya_, p. 16. The latter has a particularly valuable extract from the now\nlost Maya Dictionary of F. Gabriel de San Buenaventura. \"El primero que\nhall\u00f3 las letras de la lengua Maya \u00e9 hizo el computo de los a\u00f1os, meses y\nedades, y lo ense\u00f1o todo \u00e1 los Indios de esta Provincia, fu\u00e9 un Indio\nllamado Kinchahau, y por otro nombre Tzamn\u00e1. Noticia que debemos \u00e1 dicho\nR.F. Gabriel, y trae en su Calepino, lit. K. verb. Kinchahau, fol. 390,\nvuelt.\"]\n\nAs city-builder and king, his history is intimately associated with the\nnoble edifices of Itzamal, which he laid out and constructed, and over\nwhich he ruled, enacting wise laws and extending the power and happiness\nof his people for an indefinite period.\n\nThus Itzamna, regarded as ruler, priest and teacher, was, no doubt, spoken\nof as an historical personage, and is so put down by various historians,\neven to the most recent[1]. But another form in which he appears proves\nhim to have been an incarnation of deity, and carries his history from\nearth to heaven. This is shown in the very earliest account we have of the\nMaya mythology.\n\n[Footnote 1: Crescencio Carrillo, _Historia Antigua de Yucatan_, p. 144,\nM\u00e9rida, 1881. Though obliged to differ on many points with this\nindefatigable archaeologist, I must not omit to state my appreciation and\nrespect for his earnest interest in the language and antiquities of his\ncountry. I know of no other Yucatecan who has equal enthusiasm or so just\nan estimate of the antiquarian riches of his native land.]\n\nFor this account we are indebted to the celebrated Las Casas, the \"Apostle\nof the Indians.\" In 1545 he sent a certain priest, Francisco Hernandez by\nname, into the peninsula as a missionary. Hernandez had already traversed\nit as chaplain to Montejo's expedition, in 1528, and was to some degree\nfamiliar with the Maya tongue. After nearly a year spent among the natives\nhe forwarded a report to Las Casas, in which, among other matters, he\nnoted a resemblance which seemed to exist between the myths recounted by\nthe Maya priests and the Christian dogmas. They told him that the highest\ndeity they worshiped was Izona, who had made men and all things. To him\nwas born a son, named Bacab or Bacabab, by a virgin, Chibilias, whose\nmother was Ixchel. Bacab was slain by a certain Eopuco, on the day called\n_hemix_, but after three days rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.\nThe Holy Ghost was represented by Echuac, who furnished the world with all\nthings necessary to man's life and comfort. Asked what Bacab meant, they\nreplied, \"the Son of the Great Father,\" and Echuac they translated by \"the\nmerchant.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Las Casas, _Historia Apologetica de las Indias Occidentales_,\ncap. cxxiii.]\n\nThis is the story that a modern writer says, \"ought to be repudiated\nwithout question.\"[1] But I think not. It is not difficult to restore\nthese names to their correct forms, and then the fancied resemblance to\nChristian theology disappears, while the character of the original myth\nbecomes apparent.\n\n[Footnote 1: John T. Short, _The North Americans of Antiquity_, p. 231.]\n\nCogolludo long since justly construed _Izona_ as a misreading for\n_Izamna_. _Bacabab_ is the plural form of _Bacab_, and shows that the sons\nwere several. We are well acquainted with the Bacabab. Bishop Landa tells\nus all about them. They were four in number, four gigantic brothers, who\nsupported the four corners of the heavens, who blew the four winds from\nthe four cardinal points, and who presided over the four Dominical signs\nof the Calendar. As each year in the Calendar was supposed to be under the\ninfluence of one or the other of these brothers, one Bacab was said to die\nat the close of the year; and after the \"nameless\" or intercalary days had\npassed the next Bacab would live; and as each computation of the year\nbegan on the day _Imix_, which was the third before the close of the Maya\nweek, this was said figuratively to be the day of death of the Bacab of\nthat year. And whereas three (or four) days later a new year began, with\nanother Bacab, the one was said to have died and risen again.\n\nThe myth further relates that the Bacabs were sons of Ix-chel. She was the\nGoddess of the Rainbow, which her name signifies. She was likewise\nbelieved to be the guardian of women in childbirth, and one of the patrons\nof the art of medicine. The early historians, Roman and Landa, also\nassociate her with Itzamna[1], thus verifying the legend recorded by\nHernandez.\n\n[Footnote 1: Fray Hieronimo Roman, _De la Republica de las Indias\nOccidentales_, Lib. ii, cap. xv; Diego de Landa, _Relacion de las Cosas de\nYucatan_, p. 288. Cogolludo also mentions _Ix chel_, _Historia de\nYucatan_, Lib. iv, cap. vi. The word in Maya for rainbow is _chel_ or\n_cheel_; _ix_ is the feminine prefix, which also changes the noun from the\ninanimate to the animate sense.]\n\nThat the Rainbow should be personified as wife of the Light-God and mother\nof the rain-gods, is an idea strictly in accordance with the course of\nmythological thought in the red race, and is founded on natural relations\ntoo evident to be misconstrued. The rainbow is never seen but during a\nshower, and while the sun is shining; hence it is always associated with\nthese two meteorological phenomena.\n\nI may quote in comparison the rainbow myth of the Moxos of South America.\nThey held it to be the wife of Arama, their god of light, and her duty was\nto pour the refreshing rains on the soil parched by the glaring eye of her\nmighty spouse. Hence they looked upon her as goddess of waters, of trees\nand plants, and of fertility in general.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Fabula, ridicula adspersam superstitione, habebant de iride.\nAjebant illam esse Aramam feminam, solis conjugem, cujus officium sit\nterras a viro exustas imbrium beneficio recreare. Cum enim viderent arcum\nillum non nisi pluvio tempore in conspectu venire, et tunc arborum\ncacuminibus velut insidere, persuadebant sibi aquarum illum esse\nPraesidem, arboresque proceras omnes sua in tutela habere.\" Franc. Xav.,\nEder, _Descriptio Provinciae Moxitarum in Regno Peruano_ p. 249 (Budae,\n1791).]\n\nOr we may take the Muyscas, a cultivated and interesting nation who dwelt\non the lofty plateau where Bogota is situated. They worshiped the Rainbow\nunder the name _Cuchaviva_ and personified it as a goddess, who took\nparticular care of those sick with fevers and of women in childbirth. She\nwas also closely associated in their myth with their culture-hero Bochica,\nthe story being that on one occasion, when an ill-natured divinity had\ninundated the plain of Bogota, Bochica appeared to the distressed\ninhabitants in company with Cuchaviva, and cleaving the mountains with a\nblow of his golden sceptre, opened a passage for the waters into the\nvalley below.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: E. Uricoechea, _Gramatica de la Lengua Chibcha_, Introd., p.\nxx. The similarity of these to the Biblical account is not to be\nattributed to borrowing from the latter, but simply that it, as they, are\nboth the mythological expressions of the same natural phenomenon. In Norse\nmythology, Freya is the rainbow goddess. She wears the bow as a necklace\nor girdle. It was hammered out for her by four dwarfs, the four winds from\nthe cardinal points, and Odin seeks to get it from her. Schwartz,\n_Ursprung der Mythologie_, S. 117.]\n\nAs goddess of the fertilizing showers, of growth and life, it is easily\nseen how Ixchel came to be the deity both of women in childbirth and of\nthe medical art, a Juno Sospita as well as a Juno Lucina.\n\nThe statement is also significant, that the Bacabs were supposed to be the\nvictims of Ah-puchah, the Despoiler or Destroyer,[1] though the precise\nimport of that character in the mythical drama is left uncertain.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Eopuco_ I take to be from the verb _puch_ or _puk_, to melt,\nto dissolve, to shell corn from the cob, to spoil; hence _puk_, spoiled,\nrotten, _podrida_, and possibly _ppuch_, to flog, to beat. The prefix\n_ah_, signifies one who practices or is skilled in the action which the\nverb denotes.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The mother of the Bacabs is given in the myth as _Chibilias_\n(or _Chibirias_, but there is no _r_ in the Maya alphabet). Cogolludo\nmentions a goddess _Ix chebel yax_, one of whose functions was to preside\nover drawing and painting. The name is from _chebel_, the brush used in\nthese arts. But the connection is obscure.]\n\nThe supposed Holy Ghost, Echuac, properly Ah-Kiuic, Master of the Market,\nwas the god of the merchants and the cacao plantations. He formed a triad\nwith two other gods, Chac, one of the rain gods, and Hobnel, also a god of\nthe food supply. To this triad travelers, on stopping for the night, set\non end three stones and placed in front of them three flat stones, on\nwhich incense was burned. At their festival in the month _Muan_ precisely\nthree cups of native wine (mead) were drained by each person present.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Landa, _Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan_, pp. 156, 260.]\n\nThe description of some such rites as these is, no doubt, what led the\nworthy Hernandez to suppose that the Mayas had Trinitarian doctrines.\nWhen they said that the god of the merchants and planters supplied the\nwants of men and furnished the world with desirable things, it was but a\nslightly figurative way of stating a simple truth.\n\nThe four Bacabs are called by Cogolludo \"the gods of the winds.\" Each was\nidentified with a particular color and a certain cardinal point. The first\nwas that of the South. He was called Hobnil, the Belly; his color was\nyellow, which, as that of the ripe ears, was regarded as a favorable and\npromising hue; the augury of his year was propitious, and it was said of\nhim, referring to some myth now lost, that he had never sinned as had his\nbrothers. He answered to the day _Kan_. which was the first of the Maya\nweek of thirteen days.[1] The remaining Bacabs were the Red, assigned to\nthe East, the White, to the North, and the Black, to the West, and the\nwinds and rains from those directions were believed to be under the charge\nof these giant caryatides.\n\n[Footnote 1: Landa, _Relacion_, pp. 208,-211, etc. _Hobnil_ is the\nordinary word for belly, stomach, from _hobol_, hollow. Figuratively, in\nthese dialects it meant subsistence, life, as we use in both these senses\nthe word \"vitals.\" Among the Kiches of Guatemala, a tribe of Maya stock,\nwe find, as terms applied to their highest divinity, _u pam uleu, u pam\ncah_, literally Belly of the Earth, Belly of the Sky, meaning that by\nwhich earth and sky exist. _Popol Vuh_, p. 332.]\n\nTheir close relation with Itzamn\u00e1 is evidenced, not only in the\nfragmentary myth preserved by Hernandez, but quite amply in the\ndescriptions of the rites at the close of each year and in the various\nfestivals during the year, as narrated by Bishop Landa. Thus at the\ntermination of the year, along with the sacrifices to the Bacab of the\nyear were others to Itzamn\u00e1, either under his surname _Canil_, which has\nvarious meanings,[1] or as _Kinich-ahau_, Lord of the Eye of the Day,[2]\nor _Yax-coc-ahmut_, the first to know and hear of events,[3] or finally as\n_Uac-m\u00e8tun-ahau_, Lord of the Wheel of the Months.[4]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Can_, of which the \"determinative\" form is _canil_, may\nmean a serpent, or the yellow one, or the strong one, or he who gives\ngifts, or the converser.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Kin_, the day; _ich_, eye; _ahau_, lord.]\n\n[Footnote 3: _Yax_, first; _coc_, which means literally deaf, and hence\nto listen attentively (whence the name Cocomes, for the ancient royal\nfamily of Chichen Itza, an appellation correctly translated\n\"escuchadores\") and _ah-mut_, master of the news, _mut_ meaning news, good\nor bad.]\n\n[Footnote 4: _Uac_, the months, is a rare and now obsolete form of the\nplural of _u_, month, \"_Uac_, i.e. _u_, por meses y habla de tiempo\npasado.\" _Diccionario Maya-Espa\u00f1ol del Convento de Motul_, MS. _Metun_\n(Landa, _mitun_) is from _met_, a wheel. The calendars, both in Yucatan\nand Mexico, were represented as a wheel.]\n\nThe word _bacab_ means \"erected,\" \"set up.\"[1] It was applied to the\nBacabs because they were imagined to be enormous giants, standing like\npillars at the four corners of the earth, supporting the heavens. In this\nsense they were also called _chac_, the giants, as the rain senders. They\nwere also the gods of fertility and abundance, who watered the crops, and\non whose favor depended the return of the harvests. They presided over the\nstreams and wells, and were the divinities whose might is manifested in\nthe thunder and lightning, gods of the storms, as well as of the gentle\nshowers.[2] The festival to these gods of the harvest was in the month\n_Mac_, which occurred in the early spring. In this ceremony, Itzamn\u00e1 was\nalso worshiped as the leader of the Bacabs, and an important rite called\n\"the extinction of the fire\" was performed. \"The object of these\nsacrifices and this festival,\" writes Bishop Landa, \"was to secure an\nabundance of water for their crops.\"[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: The _Diccionario Maya del Convento de Motul_, MS., the only\ndictionary in which I find the exact word, translates _bacab_ by\n\"representante, juglar, bufon.\" This is no doubt a late meaning taken from\nthe scenic representations of the supposed doings of the gods in the\nritual ceremonies. The proper form of the word is _uacab_ or _vacab_,\nwhich the dictionary mentioned renders \"cosa que esta en pi\u00e9 \u00f3 enhiesta\ndelante de otra.\" The change from the initial _v_ to _b_ is quite common,\nas may be seen by comparing the two letters in Pio Perez's _Diccionario de\nla Lengua Maya_, e.g. _balak_, the revolution of a wheel, from _ualak_, to\nturn, to revolve.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The entries in the _Diccionario Maya-Espa\u00f1ol del Convento de\nMotul_, MS., are as follows:--\n\n\"_Chaac_: gigante, hombre de grande estatura.\n\n\"_Chaac_: fu\u00e9 un hombre asi grande que ense\u00f1o la agricultura, al cual\ntuvieron despues por Dios de los panes, del agua, de los truenos y\nrel\u00e1mpagos. Y asi se dice, _hac chaac_, el rayo: _u lemba chaac_ el\nrel\u00e1mpago; _u pec chaac_, el trueno,\" etc.]\n\n[Footnote 3: _Relacion, etc._, p. 255.]\n\nThese four Chac or Bacabab were worshiped under the symbol of the cross,\nthe four arms of which represented the four cardinal points. Both in\nlanguage and religious art, this was regarded as a tree. In the Maya\ntongue it was called \"the tree of bread,\" or \"the tree of life.\"[1] The\ncelebrated cross of Palenque is one of its representations, as I believe I\nwas the first to point out, and has now been generally acknowledged to be\ncorrect.[2] There was another such cross, about eight feet high, in a\ntemple on the island of Cozumel. This was worshiped as \"the god of rain,\"\nor more correctly, as the symbol of the four rain gods, the Bacabs. In\nperiods of drought offerings were made to it of birds (symbols of the\nwinds) and it was sprinkled with water. \"When this had been done,\" adds\nthe historian, \"they felt certain that the rains would promptly fall.\"[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: The Maya word is _uahomche_, from _uah_, originally the\ntortilla or maize cake, now used for bread generally. It is also current\nin the sense of _life_ (\"la vida en cierta manera,\" _Diccionario Maya\nEspa\u00f1ol del Convento de Motul_, MS.). _Che_ is the generic word for tree.\nI cannot find any particular tree called _Homche_. _Hom_ was the name\napplied to a wind instrument, a sort of trumpet. In the _Codex Troano_,\nPlates xxv, xxvii, xxxiv, it is represented in use. The four Bacabs were\nprobably imagined to blow the winds from the four corners of the earth\nthrough such instruments. A similar representation is given in the _Codex\nBorgianus_, Plate xiii, in Kingsborough. As the Chac was the god of bread,\n_Dios de los panes_, so the cross was the tree of bread.]\n\n[Footnote 2: See the _Myths of the New World_, p. 95 (1st ed., New York,\n1868). This explanation has since been adopted by Dr. Carl\nSchultz-Sellack, although he omits to state whence he derived it. His\narticle is entitled _Die Amerikanischen G\u00f6tter der Vier Weltgegenden und\nihre Tempel in Palenque_ in the _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Ethnologie_, 1879.\nCompare also Charles Rau, _The Palenque Tablet_, p. 44 (Washington,\n1879).]\n\n[Footnote 3: \"Al pi\u00e9 de aquella misma torre estaba un cercado de piedra y\ncal, muy bien lucido y almenado, en medio del cual habia una cruz de cal\ntan alta como diez palmos, \u00e1 la cual tenian y adoraban por dios de la\nlluvia, porque quando no llovia y habia falta de agua, iban \u00e1 ella en\nprocesion y muy devotos; ofrescianle codornices sacrificadas por aplacarle\nla ira y enojo con que ellos tenia \u00f4 mostraba tener, con la sangre de\naquella simple avezica.\" Francisco Lopez de Gomara, _Conquista de Mejico_,\np. 305 (Ed. Paris, 1852).]\n\nEach of the four Bacabs was also called _Acantun_, which means \"a stone\nset up,\" such a stone being erected and painted of the color sacred to the\ncardinal point that the Bacab represented[1]. Some of these stones are\nstill found among the ruins of Yucatecan cities, and are to this day\nconnected by the natives with reproductive signs[2]. It is probable,\nhowever, that actual phallic worship was not customary in Yucatan. The\nBacabs and Itzamn\u00e1 were closely related to ideas of fertility and\nreproduction, indeed, but it appears to have been especially as gods of\nthe rains, the harvests, and the food supply generally. The Spanish\nwriters were eager to discover all the depravity possible in the religion\nof the natives, and they certainly would not have missed such an\nopportunity for their tirades, had it existed. As it is, the references to\nit are not many, and not clear.\n\n[Footnote 1: The feasts of the Bacabs Acantun are described in Landa's\nwork. The name he does not explain. I take it to be _acaan_, past\nparticiple of _actal_, to erect, and _tun_, stone. But it may have another\nmeaning. The word _acan_ meant wine, or rather, mead, the intoxicating\nhydromel the natives manufactured. The god of this drink also bore the\nname Acan (\"ACAN; el Dios del vino que es Baco,\" _Diccionario del Convento\nde Motul_, MS.). It would be quite appropriate for the Bacabs to be gods\nof wine.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Stephens, _Travels in Yucatan_, Vol. i, p. 434.]\n\nFrom what I have now presented we see that Itzamn\u00e1 came from the distant\neast, beyond the ocean marge; that he was the teacher of arts and\nagriculture; that he, moreover, as a divinity, ruled the winds and rains,\nand sent at his will harvests and prosperity. Can we identify him further\nwith that personification of Light which, as we have already seen, was the\ndominant figure in other American mythologies?\n\nThis seems indicated by his names and titles. They were many, some of\nwhich I have already analyzed. That by which he was best known was\n_Itzamn\u00e1_, a word of contested meaning but which contains the same\nradicals as the words for the morning and the dawn[1], and points to his\nidentification with the grand central fact at the basis of all these\nmythologies, the welcome advent of the light in the eastern horizon after\nthe gloom of the night.\n\n[Footnote 1: Some have derived Itzamua from _i_, grandson by a son, used\nonly by a female; _zamal_, morning, morrow, from _zam_, before, early,\nrelated to _yam_, first, whence also _zamalzam_, the dawn, the aurora; and\n_n\u00e1_, mother. Without the accent _na_, means house. Crescencio Carrillo\nprefers the derivation from _itz_, anything that trickles in drops, as gum\nfrom a tree, rain or dew from the sky, milk from teats, and semen (\"leche\nde amor,\" _Dicc. de Motul_, MS.). He says: \"_Itzamna_, esto es, rocio\ndiario, \u00f3 sustancia cuotidiana del cielo, es el mismo nombre del fundador\n(de Itzamal).\" _Historia Antigua de Yucatan_, p. 145. (M\u00e9rida, 1881.) This\ndoes not explain the last syllable, _n\u00e1_, which is always strongly\naccented. It is said that Itzamn\u00e1 spoke of himself only in the words _Itz\nen caan_, \"I am that which trickles from the sky;\" _Itz en muyal_, \"I am\nthat which trickles from the clouds.\" This plainly refers to his character\nas a rain god. Lizana, _Historia de Yucatan_, Lib. i, cap. 4. If a\ncompound of _itz, amal, n\u00e1_, the name, could be translated, \"the milk of\nthe mother of the morning,\" or of the dawn, i. e., the dew; while _i,\nzamal, n\u00e1_ would be \"son of the mother of the morning.\"]\n\nHis next most frequent title was _Kin-ich-ahau_, which may be translated\neither, \"Lord of the Sun's Face,\" or, \"The Lord, the Eye of the Day.\"[1]\nAs such he was the deity who presided in the Sun's disk and shot forth his\nscorching rays. There was a temple at Itzamal consecrated to him as\n_Kin-ich-kak-mo_, \"the Eye of the Day, the Bird of Fire.\"[2] In a time of\npestilence the people resorted to this temple, and at high noon a\nsacrifice was spread upon the altar. The moment the sun reached the\nzenith, a bird of brilliant plumage, but which, in fact, was nothing else\nthan a fiery flame shot from the sun, descended and consumed the offering\nin the sight of all. At Campeche he had a temple, as _Kin-ich-ahau-haban_,\n\"the Lord of the Sun's face, the _Hunter_,\" where the rites were\nsanguinary.[3]\n\n[Footnote 1: Cogolludo, who makes a distinction between Kinich-ahau and\nItzamn\u00e1 (_Hist. de Yucatan_, Lib. iv, cap. viii), may be corrected by\nLanda and Buenaventura, whom I have already quoted.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Kin_, the sun, the day; _ich_, the face, but generally the\neye or eyes; _kak_, fire; _mo_, the brilliant plumaged, sacred bird, the\nara or guacamaya, the red macaw. This was adopted as the title of the\nruler of Itzamal, as we learn from the Chronicle of Chichen Itza--\"Ho ahau\npaxci u cah yahau ah Itzmal Kinich Kakmo\"--\"In the fifth Age the town (of\nChichen Itza) was destroyed by King Kinich Kakmo, of Itzamal.\" _El Libro\nde Chilan Balam de Chumayel_, MS.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Cogolludo, _Historia de Yucatan_, Lib. iv, cap. viii.]\n\nAnother temple at Itzamal was consecrated to him, under one of his names,\n_Kabil_, He of the Lucky Hand,[1] and the sick were brought there, as it\nwas said that he had cured many by merely touching them. This fane was\nextremely popular, and to it pilgrimages were made from even such remote\nregions as Tabasco, Guatemala and Chiapas. To accommodate the pilgrims\nfour paved roads had been constructed, to the North, South, East and West,\nstraight toward the quarters of the four winds.\n\n[Footnote 1: Lizana says: \"Se llama y nombra _Kab-ul_ que quiere decir\nmano obradora,\" and all writers have followed him, although no such\nmeaning can be made out of the name thus written. The proper word is\n_kabil_, which is defined in the _Diccionario del Convento de Motul_, MS.,\n\"el que tiene buena mano para sembrar, \u00f3 para poner colmenas, etc.\" Landa\nalso gives this orthography, _Relacion_, p. 216.]\n\n\n\u00a72. _The Culture Hero, Kukulcan._\n\nThe second important hero-myth of the Mayas was that about Kukulcan. This\nis in no way connected with that of Itzamna, and is probably later in\ndate, and less national in character. The first reference to it we also\nowe to Father Francisco Hernandez, whom I have already quoted, and who\nreported it to Bishop Las Casas in 1545. His words clearly indicate that\nwe have here to do with a myth relating to the formation of the calendar,\nan opinion which can likewise be supported from other sources.\n\nThe natives affirmed, says Las Casas, that in ancient times there came to\nthat land twenty men, the chief of whom was called \"Cocolcan,\" and him\nthey spoke of as the god of fevers or agues, two of the others as gods of\nfishing, another two as the gods of farms and fields, another was the\nthunder god, etc. They wore flowing robes and sandals on their feet, they\nhad long beards, and their heads were bare. They ordered that the people\nshould confess and fast, and some of the natives fasted on Fridays,\nbecause on that day the god Bacab died; and the name of that day in their\nlanguage is _himix_, which they especially honor and hold in reverence as\nthe day of the death of Bacab.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Las Casas, _Historia Apologetica de las Indias\nOccidentales_, cap. cxxii.]\n\nIn the manuscript of Hernandez, which Las Casas had before him when he was\nwriting his _Apologetical History_, the names of all the twenty were\ngiven; but unfortunately for antiquarian research, the good bishop excuses\nhimself from quoting them, on account of their barbarous appearance. I\nhave little doubt, however, that had he done so, we should find them to be\nthe names of the twenty days of the native calendar month. These are the\nvisitors who come, one every morning, with flowing robes, full beard and\nhair, and bring with them our good or bad luck--whatever the day brings\nforth. Hernandez made the same mistake as did Father Francisco de\nBobadilla, when he inquired of the Nicaraguans the names of their gods,\nand they gave him those of the twenty days of the month.[1] Each day was,\nindeed, personified by these nations, and supposed to be at once a deity\nand a date, favorable or unfavorable to fishing or hunting, planting or\nfighting, as the case might be.\n\n[Footnote 1: Oviedo, _Historia General de las Indias_, Lib. xlii, cap.\niii.]\n\nKukulcan seems, therefore, to have stood in the same relation in Yucatan\nto the other divinities of the days as did Votan in Chiapa and\nQuetzalcoatl Ce Acatl in Cholula.\n\nHis name has usually been supposed to be a compound, meaning \"a serpent\nadorned with feathers,\" but there are no words in the Maya language to\njustify such a rendering. There is some variation in its orthography, and\nits original pronunciation may possibly be lost; but if we adopt as\ncorrect the spelling which I have given above, of which, however, I have\nsome doubts, then it means, \"The God of the Mighty Speech.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Eligio Ancona, after giving the rendering, \"serpiente\nadornada de plumas,\" adds, \"ha sido repetido por tal n\u00famero de\netimologistas que tendremos necesidad de aceptarla, aunque nos parece un\npoco violento,\" _Historia de Yucatan_, Vol. i, p. 44. The Abb\u00e9 Brasseur,\nin his _Vocabulaire Maya_, boldly states that _kukul_ means \"emplumado \u00f3\nadornado con plumas.\" This rendering is absolutely without authority,\neither modern or ancient. The word for feathers in Maya is _kukum_; _kul_,\nin composition, means \"very\" or \"much,\" as \"_kulvinic_, muy hombre, hombre\nde respeto \u00f3 hecho,\" _Diccionario de Motul_, MS. _Ku_ is god, divinity.\nFor _can_ see chapter iv, \u00a71. _Can_ was and still is a common surname in\nYucatan. (Berendt, _Nombres Proprios en Lengua Maya_, MS.)\n\nI should prefer to spell the name _Kukulkan_, and have it refer to the\nfirst day of the Maya week, _Kan_.]\n\nThe reference probably was to the fame of this divinity as an oracle, as\nconnected with the calendar. But it is true that the name could with equal\ncorrectness be translated \"The God, the Mighty Serpent,\" for can is a\nhomonym with these and other meanings, and we are without positive proof\nwhich was intended.\n\nTo bring Kukulcan into closer relations with other American hero-gods we\nmust turn to the locality where he was especially worshiped, to the\ntraditions of the ancient and opulent city of Chichen Itza, whose ruins\nstill rank among the most imposing on the peninsula. The fragments of its\nchronicles, as preserved to us in the Books of Chilan Balam and by Bishop\nLanda, tell us that its site was first settled by four bands who came from\nthe four cardinal points and were ruled over by four brothers. These\nbrothers chose no wives, but lived chastely and ruled righteously, until\nat a certain time one died or departed, and two began to act unjustly and\nwere put to death. The one remaining was Kukulcan. He appeased the strife\nwhich his brothers' acts had aroused, directed the minds of the people to\nthe arts of peace, and caused to be built various important structures.\nAfter he had completed his work in Chichen Itza, he founded and named the\ngreat city of Mayapan, destined to be the capital of the confederacy of\nthe Mayas. In it was built a temple in his honor, and named for him, as\nthere was one in Chichen Itza. These were unlike others in Yucatan, having\ncircular walls and four doors, directed, presumably, toward the four\ncardinal points[1].\n\n[Footnote 1: _El Libro de Chilan Balam de Chumayel_, MS.; Landa,\n_Relacion_, pp. 34-38. and 299; Herrera, _Historia de las Indias_, Dec.\niv, Lib. x, cap ii.]\n\nIn gratifying confirmation of the legend, travelers do actually find in\nMayapan and Chichen Itza, and nowhere else in Yucatan, the ruins of two\ncircular temples with doors opening toward the cardinal points[1].\n\n[Footnote 1: Stephens, _Incidents of Travel in Yucatan_, Vol. ii, p. 298.]\n\nUnder the beneficent rule of Kukulcan, the nation enjoyed its halcyon days\nof peace and prosperity. The harvests were abundant and the people turned\ncheerfully to their daily duties, to their families and their lords. They\nforgot the use of arms, even for the chase, and contented themselves with\nsnares and traps.\n\nAt length the time drew near for Kukulcan to depart. He gathered the\nchiefs together and expounded to them his laws. From among them he chose\nas his successor a member of the ancient and wealthy family of the Cocoms.\nHis arrangements completed, he is said, by some, to have journeyed\nwestward, to Mexico, or to some other spot toward the sun-setting. But by\nthe people at large he was confidently believed to have ascended into the\nheavens, and there, from his lofty house, he was supposed to watch over\nthe interests of his faithful adherents.\n\nSuch was the tradition of their mythical hero told by the Itzas. No wonder\nthat the early missionaries, many of whom, like Landa, had lived in Mexico\nand had become familiar with the story of Quetzalcoatl and his alleged\ndeparture toward the east, identified him with Kukulcan, and that,\nfollowing the notion of this assumed identity, numerous later writers have\nframed theories to account for the civilization of ancient Yucatan through\ncolonies of \"Toltec\" immigrants.\n\nIt can, indeed, be shown beyond doubt that there were various points of\ncontact between the Aztec and Maya civilizations. The complex and\nartificial method of reckoning time was one of these; certain\narchitectural devices were others; a small number of words, probably a\nhundred all told, have been borrowed by the one tongue from the other.\nMexican merchants traded with Yucatan, and bands of Aztec warriors with\ntheir families, from Tabasco, dwelt in Mayapan by invitation of its\nrulers, and after its destruction, settled in the province of Canul, on\nthe western coast, where they lived strictly separate from the\nMaya-speaking population at the time the Spaniards conquered the\ncountry.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _El Libro de Chilan Balam de Chumayel_, MS.; Landa,\n_Relacion_, p. 54.]\n\nBut all this is very far from showing that at any time a race speaking the\nAztec tongue ruled the Peninsula. There are very strong grounds to deny\nthis. The traditions which point to a migration from the west or southwest\nmay well have referred to the depopulation of Palenque, a city which\nundoubtedly was a product of Maya architects. The language of Yucatan is\ntoo absolutely dissimilar from the Nahuatl for it ever to have been\nmoulded by leaders of that race. The details of Maya civilization are\nmarkedly its own, and show an evolution peculiar to the people and their\nsurroundings.\n\nHow far they borrowed from the fertile mythology of their Nahuatl visitors\nis not easily answered. That the circular temple in Mayapan, with four\ndoors, specified by Landa as different from any other in Yucatan, was\nerected to Quetzalcoatl, by or because of the Aztec colony there, may\nplausibly be supposed when we recall how peculiarly this form was devoted\nto his worship. Again, one of the Maya chronicles--that translated by Pio\nPerez and published by Stephens in his _Travels in Yucatan_--opens with a\ndistinct reference to Tula and Nonoal, names inseparable from the\nQuetzalcoatl myth. A statue of a sleeping god holding a vase was\ndisinterred by Dr. Le Plongeon at Chichen Itza, and it is too entirely\nsimilar to others found at Tlaxcala and near the city of Mexico, for us to\ndoubt but that they represented the same divinity, and that the god of\nrains, fertility and the harvests.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: I refer to the statue which Dr. LePlongeon was pleased to\nname \"Chac Mool.\" See the _Estudio acerca de la Estatua llamada Chac-Mool\n\u00f3 rey tigre_, by Sr. Jesus Sanchez, in the _Anales del Museo Nacional de\nMexico_, Tom. i. p. 270. There was a divinity worshiped in Yucatan, called\nCum-ahau, lord of the vase, whom the _Diccionario de Motul_, MS. terms,\n\"Lucifer, principal de los dem\u00f3nios.\" The name is also given by Pio Perez\nin his manuscript dictionary in my possession, but is omitted in the\nprinted copy. As Lucifer, the morning star, was identified with\nQuetzalcoatl in Mexican mythology, and as the word _cum_, vase, Aztec\n_comitl_, is the same in both tongues, there is good ground to suppose that\nthis lord of the vase, the \"prince of devils,\" was the god of fertility,\ncommon to both cults.]\n\nThe version of the tradition which made Kukulcan arrive from the West, and\nat his disappearance return to the West--a version quoted by Landa, and\nwhich evidently originally referred to the westward course of the sun,\neasily led to an identification of him with the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, by\nthose acquainted with both myths.\n\nThe probability seems to be that Kukulcan was an original Maya divinity,\none of their hero-gods, whose myth had in it so many similarities to that\nof Quetzalcoatl that the priests of the two nations came to regard the one\nas the same as the other. After the destruction of Mayapan, about the\nmiddle of the fifteenth century, when the Aztec mercenaries were banished\nto Canul, and the reigning family (the Xiu) who supported them became\nreduced in power, the worship of Kukulcan fell, to some extent, into\ndisfavor. Of this we are informed by Landa, in an interesting passage.\n\nHe tells us that many of the natives believed that Kukulcan, after his\nearthly labors, had ascended into Heaven and become one of their gods.\nPrevious to the destruction of Mayapan temples were built to him, and he\nwas worshiped throughout the land, but after that event he was paid such\nhonor only in the province of Mani (governed by the Xiu). Nevertheless, in\ngratitude for what all recognized they owed to him, the kings of the\nneighboring provinces sent yearly to Mani, on the occasion of his annual\nfestival, which took place on the 16th of the month Xul (November 8th),\neither four or five magnificent feather banners. These were placed in his\ntemple, with appropriate ceremonies, such as fasting, the burning of\nincense, dancing, and with simple offerings of food cooked without salt or\npepper, and drink from beans and gourd seeds. This lasted five nights and\nfive days; and, adds Bishop Landa, they said, and held it for certain,\nthat on the last day of the festival Kukulcan himself descended from\nHeaven and personally received the sacrifices and offerings which were\nmade in his honor. The celebration itself was called the Festival of the\nFounder[1], with reference, I suppose, to the alleged founding of the\ncities of Mayapan and Chichen Itza by this hero-god. The five days and\nfive sacred banners again bring to mind the close relation of this with\nthe Quetzalcoatl symbolism.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Llamaban a esta fiesta _Chic Kaban_;\" Landa, _Relacion_, p.\n302. I take it this should read _Chiic u Kaba_ (_Chiic_; fundar \u00f3 poblar\nalguna cosa, casa, pueblo, etc. _Diccionario de Motul_, MS.)]\n\nAs Itzamn\u00e1 had disappeared without undergoing the pains of death, as\nKukulcan had risen into the heavens and thence returned annually, though\nbut for a moment, on the last day of the festival in his honor, so it was\ndevoutly believed by the Mayas that the time would come when the worship\nof other gods should be done away with, and these mighty deities alone\ndemand the adoration of their race. None of the American nations seems to\nhave been more given than they to prognostics and prophecies, and of none\nother have we so large an amount of this kind of literature remaining.\nSome of it has been preserved by the Spanish missionaries, who used it\nwith good effect for their own purposes of proselyting; but that it was\nnot manufactured by them for this purpose, as some late writers have\nthought, is proved by the existence of copies of these prophecies, made by\nnative writers themselves, at the time of the Conquest and at dates\nshortly subsequent.\n\nThese prophecies were as obscure and ambiguous as all successful prophets\nare accustomed to make their predictions; but the one point that is clear\nin them is, that they distinctly referred to the arrival of white and\nbearded strangers from the East, who should control the land and alter the\nprevailing religion.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Nakuk Pech, _Concixta yetel mapa_, 1562. MS.; _El Libro de\nChilan Balam de Mani_, 1595, MS. The former is a history of the Conquest\nwritten in Maya, by a native noble, who was an adult at the time that\nM\u00e9rida was founded (1542).]\n\nEven that portion of the Itzas who had separated from the rest of their\nnation at the time of the destruction of Mayapan (about 1440-50) and\nwandered off to the far south, to establish a powerful nation around Lake\nPeten, carried with them a forewarning that at the \"eighth age\" they\nshould be subjected to a white race and have to embrace their religion;\nand, sure enough, when that time came, and not till then, that is, at the\nclose of the seventeenth century of our reckoning, they were driven from\ntheir island homes by Governor Ursua, and their numerous temples, filled\nwith idols, leveled to the soil.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Juan de Villagutierre Sotomayor, _Historia de la Provincia\nde el Itza_, passim (Madrid, 1701).]\n\nThe ground of all such prophecies was, I have no doubt, the expected\nreturn of the hero-gods, whose myths I have been recording. Both of them\nrepresented in their original forms the light of day, which disappears at\nnightfall but returns at dawn with unfailing certainty. When the natural\nphenomenon had become lost in its personification, this expectation of a\nreturn remained and led the priests, who more than others retained the\nrecollection of the ancient forms of the myth, to embrace this expectation\nin the prognostics which it was their custom and duty to pronounce with\nreference to the future.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE QQUICHUA HERO-GOD VIRACOCHA.\n\nVIRACOCHA AS THE FIRST CAUSE--HIS NAME, ILLA TICCI--QQUICHUA\nPRAYERS--OTHER NAMES AND TITLES OF VIRACOCHA--HIS WORSHIP A TRUE\nMONOTHEISM--THE MYTH OF THE FOUR BROTHERS--MYTH OF THE TWIN BROTHERS.\n\nVIRACOCHA AS TUNAPA, HE WHO PERFECTS--VARIOUS INCIDENTS IN HIS\nLIFE--RELATION TO MANCO CAPAC--HE DISAPPEARS IN THE WEST.\n\nVIRACOCHA RISES FROM LAKE TITICACA AND JOURNEYS TO THE WEST--DERIVATION OF\nHIS NAME--HE WAS REPRESENTED AS WHITE AND BEARDED--THE MYTH OF CON AND\nPACHACAMAC--CONTICE VIRACOCHA--PROPHECIES OF THE PERUVIAN SEERS--THE WHITE\nMEN CALLED VIRACOCHAS--SIMILARITIES TO AZTEC MYTHS.\n\n\nThe most majestic empire on this continent at the time of its discovery\nwas that of the Incas. It extended along the Pacific, from the parallel of\n2\u00b0 north latitude to 20\u00b0 south, and may be roughly said to have been 1500\nmiles in length, with an average width of 400 miles. The official and\nprincipal tongue was the Qquichua, the two other languages of importance\nbeing the Yunca, spoken by the coast tribes, and the Aymara, around Lake\nTiticaca and south of it. The latter, in phonetics and in many root-words,\nbetrays a relationship to the Qquichua, but a remote one.\n\nThe Qquichuas were a race of considerable cultivation. They had a\ndeveloped metrical system, and were especially fond of the drama. Several\nspecimens of their poetical and dramatic compositions have been preserved,\nand indicate a correct taste. Although they did not possess a method of\nwriting, they had various mnemonic aids, by which they were enabled to\nrecall their verses and their historical traditions.\n\nIn the mythology of the Qquichuas, and apparently also of the Aymaras, the\nleading figure is _Viracocha_. His august presence is in one cycle of\nlegends that of Infinite Creator, the Primal Cause; in another he is the\nbeneficent teacher and wise ruler; in other words, he too, like\nQuetzalcoatl and the others whom I have told about, is at one time God, at\nothers the incarnation of God.\n\nAs the first cause and ground of all things, Viracocha's distinctive\nepithet was _Ticci_, the Cause, the Beginning, or _Illa ticci_, the\nAncient Cause[1], the First Beginning, an endeavor in words to express the\nabsolute priority of his essence and existence. He it was who had made and\nmoulded the Sun and endowed it with a portion of his own divinity, to wit,\nthe glory of its far-shining rays; he had formed the Moon and given her\nlight, and set her in the heavens to rule over the waters and the winds,\nover the queens of the earth and the parturition of women; and it was\nstill he, the great Viracocha, who had created the beautiful Chasca, the\nAurora, the Dawn, goddess of all unspotted maidens like herself, her who\nin turn decked the fields and woods with flowers, whose time was the\ngloaming and the twilight, whose messengers were the fleecy clouds which\nsail through the sky, and who, when she shakes her clustering hair, drops\nnoiselessly pearls of dew on the green grass fields.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"_Ticci_, origen, principio, fundamento, cimiento, causa.\n_Ylla_; todo lo que es antiguo.\" Holguin, _Vocabulario de la Lengua\nQquichua \u00f3 del Inga_ (Ciudad de los Reyes, 1608). _Ticci_ is not to be\nconfounded with _aticsi_, he conquers, from _atini_, I conquer, a term\nalso occasionally applied to Viracocha.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Relacion An\u00f3nyma, de los Costumbres Antiguos de los\nNaturales del Piru_, p. 138. 1615. (Published, Madrid, 1879).]\n\nInvisible and incorporeal himself, so, also, were his messengers (the\nlight-rays), called _huaminca_, the faithful soldiers, and _hayhuaypanti_,\nthe shining ones, who conveyed his decrees to every part.[1] He himself\nwas omnipresent, imparting motion and life, form and existence, to all\nthat is. Therefore it was, says an old writer, with more than usual\ninsight into man's moral nature, with more than usual charity for a\npersecuted race, that when these natives worshiped some swift river or\npellucid spring, some mountain or grove, \"it was not that they believed\nthat some particular divinity was there, or that it was a living thing,\nbut because they believed that the great God, Illa Ticci, had created and\nplaced it there and impressed upon it some mark of distinction, beyond\nother objects of its class, that it might thus be designated as an\nappropriate spot whereat to worship the maker of all things; and this is\nmanifest from the prayers they uttered when engaged in adoration, because\nthey are not addressed to that mountain, or river, or cave, but to the\ngreat Illa Ticci Viracocha, who, they believed, lived in the heavens, and\nyet was invisibly present in that sacred object.\"[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ibid., p. 140.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Ibid., p. 147.]\n\nIn the prayers for the dead, Illa Ticci was appealed to, to protect the\nbody, that it should not see corruption nor become lost in the earth, and\nthat he should not allow the soul to wander aimlessly in the infinite\nspaces, but that it should be conducted to some secure haven of\ncontentment, where it might receive the sacrifices and offerings which\nloving hands laid upon the tomb.[1] Were other gods also called upon, it\nwas that they might intercede with the Supreme Divinity in favor of these\npetitions of mortals.\n\n[Footnote 1: Ibid., p. 154.]\n\nTo him, likewise, the chief priest at certain times offered a child of six\nyears, with a prayer for the prosperity of the Inca, in such terms as\nthese:--\n\n\"Oh, Lord, we offer thee this child, in order that thou wilt maintain us\nin comfort, and give us victory in war, and keep to our Lord, the Inca,\nhis greatness and his state, and grant him wisdom that he may govern us\nrighteously.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Herrera, _Historia de las Indias_, Dec. v, Lib. iv, cap. i.]\n\nOr such a prayer as this was offered up by the assembled multitude:--\n\n\"Oh, Viracocha ever present, Viracocha Cause of All, Viracocha the Helper,\nthe Ceaseless Worker, Viracocha who gives the beginnings, Viracocha who\nencourages, Viracocha the always fortunate, Viracocha ever near, listen to\nthis our prayer, send health, send prosperity to us thy people.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Christoval de Molina, _The Fables and Rites of the Incas_, p.\n29. Molina gives the original Qquichua, the translation of which is\nobviously incomplete, and I have extended it.]\n\nThus Viracocha was placed above and beyond all other gods, the essential\nFirst Cause, infinite, incorporeal, invisible, above the sun, older than\nthe beginning, but omnipresent, accessible, beneficent.\n\nDoes this seem too abstract, too elevated a notion of God for a race whom\nwe are accustomed to deem gross and barbaric? I cannot help it. The\ntestimony of the earliest observers, and the living proof of language, are\ntoo strong to allow of doubt. The adjectives which were applied to this\ndivinity by the native priests are still on record, and that they were not\na loan from Christian theology is conclusively shown by the fact that the\nvery writers who preserved them often did not know their meaning, and\ntranslated them incorrectly.\n\nThus even Garcilasso de la Vega, himself of the blood of the Incas, tells\nus that neither he nor the natives of that day could translate _Ticci_.[1]\nThus, also, Garcia and Acosta inform us that Viracocha was surnamed\n_Usapu_, which they translate \"admirable,\"[2] but really it means \"he who\naccomplishes all that he undertakes, he who is successful in all things;\"\nMolina has preserved the term _Ymamana_, which means \"he who controls or\nowns all things;\"[3] the title _Pachayachachi_, which the Spanish writers\nrender \"Creator,\" really means the \"Teacher of the World;\" that of\n_Caylla_ signifies \"the Ever-present one;\" _Taripaca_, which has been\nguessed to be the same as _tarapaca_, an eagle, is really a derivative of\n_taripani_, to sit in judgment, and was applied to Viracocha as the final\narbiter of the actions and destinies of man. Another of his frequent\nappellations for which no explanation has been offered, was _Tokay_ or\n_Tocapo_, properly _Tukupay_.[4] It means \"he who finishes,\" who completes\nand perfects, and is antithetical to _Ticci_, he who begins. These two\nterms express the eternity of divinity; they convey the same idea of\nmastery over time and the things of time, as do those words heard by the\nEvangelist in his vision in the isle called Patmos, \"I am Alpha and Omega;\nI am the Beginning and the End.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Dan (los Indios), otro nombre \u00e1 Dios, que es Tici Viracocha,\nque yo no se que signifique, ni ellos tampoco.\" Garcilasso de la Vega,\n_Comentarios Reales_, Lib. ii, cap. ii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Garcia, _Origen de los Indios_, Lib. iii, cap. vi; Acosta,\n_Historia, Natural y Moral de las Indias_, fol. 199 (Barcelona 1591).]\n\n[Footnote 3: Christoval de Molina, _The Fables and Rites of the Incas_,\nEng. Trans., p. 6.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Melchior Hernandez, one of the earliest writers, whose works\nare now lost, but who is quoted in the _Relacion An\u00f3nima_, gives this name\n_Tocapu_; Christoval de Molina (ubi sup.) spells it _Tocapo_; La Vega\n_Tocay_; Molina gives its signification, \"the maker.\" It is from the word\n_tukupay_ or _tucuychani_, to finish, complete, perfect.]\n\nYet another epithet of Viracocha was _Zapala_.[1] It conveys strongly and\npositively the monotheistic idea. It means \"The One,\" or, more strongly,\n\"The Only One.\"\n\n[Footnote 1: Gomara, _Historia de las Indias_, p. 232 (ed. Paris, 1852).]\n\nNor must it be supposed that this monotheism was unconscious; that it was,\nfor example, a form of \"henotheism,\" where the devotion of the adorer\nfilled his soul, merely to the forgetfulness of other deities; or that it\nwas simply the logical law of unity asserting itself, as was the case with\nmany of the apparently monotheistic utterances of the Greek and Roman\nwriters.\n\nNo; the evidence is such that we are obliged to acknowledge that the\nreligion of Peru was a consciously monotheistic cult, every whit as much\nso as the Greek or Roman Catholic Churches of Christendom.\n\nThose writers who have called the Inca religion a \"sun worship\" have been\nled astray by superficial resemblances. One of the best early authorities,\nChristoval de Molina, repeats with emphasis the statement, \"They did not\nrecognize the Sun as their Creator, but as created by the Creator,\" and\nthis creator was \"not born of woman, but was unchangeable and eternal.\"[1]\nFor conclusive testimony on this point, however, we may turn to an\n_Informacion_ or Inquiry as to the ancient belief, instituted in 1571, by\norder of the viceroy Don Francisco de Toledo. The oldest Indians,\nespecially those of noble birth, including many descendants of the Incas,\nwere assembled at different times and in different parts of the country,\nand carefully questioned, through the official interpreter, as to just\nwhat the old religion was. The questions were not leading ones, and the\nreplies have great uniformity. They all agreed that Viracocha was\nworshiped as creator, and as the ever-present active divinity; he alone\nanswered prayers, and aided in time of need; he was the sole efficient\ngod. All prayers to the Sun or to the deceased Incas, or to idols, were\ndirected to them as intercessors only. On this point the statements were\nmost positive[2]. The Sun was but one of Viracocha's creations, not itself\nthe Creator.\n\n[Footnote 1: Christoval de Molina, _The Fables and Rites of the Incas_,\npp. 8, 17. Eng. Trans. ]\n\n[Footnote 2: \"Ellos solo Viracocha tenian por hacedor de todas las cosas,\ny que el solo los podia socorrer, y que de todos los demas los tenian por\nsus intercesores, y que ansi los decian ellos en sus oraciones antiguas,\nantes que fuesen cristianos, y que ansi lo dicen y declaran por cosa muy\ncierta y verdadera.\" _Information de las Idolatras de los Incas \u00e9 Indios_,\nin the _Coleccion de Documentos Ineditos del Archivo de Indias_, vol. xxi,\np. 198. Other witnesses said: \"Los dichos Ingas y sus antepasados tenian\npor criador al solo Viracocha, y que solo los podia socorrer,\" id. p. 184.\n\"Adoraban \u00e1 Viracocha por hacedor de todas las cosas, como \u00e1 el sol y a\nHachaccuna los adoraban porque los tenia por hijos de Viracocha y por cosa\nmuy allegada suya,\" p. 133.]\n\nIt is singular that historians have continued to repeat that the Qquichuas\nadored the Sun as their principal divinity, in the face of such evidence\nto the contrary. If this Inquiry and its important statements had not been\naccessible to them, at any rate they could readily have learned the same\nlesson from the well known History of Father Joseph de Acosta. That author\nsays, and repeats with great positiveness, that the Sun was in Peru a\nsecondary divinity, and that the supreme deity, the Creator and ruler of\nthe world, was Viracocha.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Sientan y confiessan un supremo se\u00f1or, y hazedor de todo, al\nqual los del Piru llamavan Viracocha. * * Despues del Viracocha, o supremo\nDios, fui, y es en los infieles, el que mas comunmente veneran y adoran el\nsol.\" Acosta, _De la Historia Moral de las Indias_, Lib, v. cap. iii, iv,\n(Barcelona, 1591).]\n\nAnother misapprehension is that these natives worshiped directly their\nancestors. Thus, Mr. Markham writes: \"The Incas worshiped their ancestors,\nthe _Pacarina_, or forefather of the _Ayllu_, or lineage, being idolized\nas the soul or essence of his descendants.\"[1] But in the _Inquiry_ above\nquoted it is explained that the belief, in fact, was that the soul of the\nInca went at death to the presence of the deity Viracocha, and its emblem,\nthe actual body, carefully preserved, was paid divine honors in order that\nthe soul might intercede with Viracocha for the fulfillment of the\nprayers.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Clements R. Markham, _Journal of the Royal Geographical\nSociety_, 1871, p. 291. _Pacarina_ is the present participle of\n_pacarini_, to dawn, to begin, to be born.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Informacion_, etc., p. 209.]\n\nWe are compelled, therefore, by the best evidence now attainable, to adopt\nthe conclusion that the Inca religion, in its purity, deserved the name of\nmonotheism. The statements of the natives and the terms of their religious\nlanguage unite in confirming this opinion.\n\nIt is not right to depreciate the force of these facts simply because we\nhave made up our minds that a people in the intellectual stage of the\nPeruvians could not have mounted to such a pure air of religion. A\nprejudgment of this kind is unworthy of a scientific mind. The evidence is\ncomplete that the terms I have quoted did belong to the religious language\nof ancient Peru. They express the conception of divinity which the\nthinkers of that people had formed. And whether it is thought to be in\nkeeping or not with the rest of their development, it is our bounden duty\nto accept it, and explain it as best we can. Other instances might be\nquoted, from the religious history of the old world, where a nation's\ninsight into the attributes of deity was singularly in advance of their\ngeneral state of cultivation. The best thinkers of the Semitic race, for\nexample, from Moses to Spinoza, have been in this respect far ahead of\ntheir often more generally enlightened Aryan contemporaries.\n\nThe more interesting, in view of this lofty ideal of divinity they had\nattained, become the Peruvian myths of the incarnation of Viracocha, his\nlife and doings as a man among men.\n\nThese myths present themselves in different, but to the reader who has\naccompanied me thus far, now familiar forms. Once more we meet the story\nof the four brothers, the first of men. They appeared on the earth after\nit had been rescued from the primeval waters, and the face of the land was\ndivided between them. Manco Capac took the North, Colla the South, Pinahua\nthe West, and the East, the region whence come the sun and the light, was\ngiven to Tokay or Tocapa, to Viracocha, under his name of the Finisher, he\nwho completes and perfects.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Garcilasso de la Vega, _Comentarios Reales_, Lib. i, cap.\nxviii.]\n\nThe outlines of this legend are identical with another, where Viracocha\nappears under the name of Ayar Cachi. This was, in its broad outlines, the\nmost general myth, that which has been handed down by the most numerous\nauthorities, and which they tell us was taken directly from the ancient\nsongs of the Indians, as repeated by those who could recall the days of\nthe Incas Huascar and Atahualpa.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Parece por los cantares de los Indios; * * * afirmaron los\nOrejones que quedaron de los tiempos de Guascar i de Atahualpa; * * *\ncuentan los Indios del Cuzco mas viejos, etc.,\" repeats the historian\nHerrera, _Historia de las Indias Occidentals_, Dec. v, Lib. iii, cap. vii,\nviii.]\n\nIt ran in this wise: In the beginning of things there appeared on the\nearth four brothers, whose names were, of the oldest, Ayar Cachi, which\nmeans he who gives Being, or who Causes;[1] of the youngest, Ayar Manco,\nand of the others, Ayar Aucca (the enemy), and Ayar Uchu. Their father was\nthe Sun, and the place of their birth, or rather of their appearance on\nearth, was Paccari-tampu, which means _The House of the Morning_ or the\n_Mansion of the Dawn_.[2] In after days a certain cave near Cuzco was so\ncalled, and pointed out as the scene of this momentous event, but we may\nwell believe that a nobler site than any the earth affords could be\ncorrectly designated.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"_Cachini_; dar el ser y hazer que sea; _cachi chiuachic_, el\nautor y causa de algo.\" Holguin, _Vocabvlario de la Lengva Qquichua, sub\nvoce, cachipuni_. The names differ little in Herrera (who, however, omits\nUchu), Montesinos, Balboa, Oliva, La Vega and Pachacuti; I have followed\nthe orthography of the two latter, as both were native Qquichuas.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Holguin (_ubi supr\u00e1_,) gives _paccarin_, the morning,\n_paccarini_, to dawn; _tampu_, _venta \u00f3 meson_.]\n\nThese brothers were clothed in long and flowing robes, with short upper\ngarments without sleeves or collar, and this raiment was worked with\nmarvelous skill, and glittered and shone like light. They were powerful\nand proud, and determined to rule the whole earth, and for this purpose\ndivided it into four parts, the North, the South, the East, and the West.\nHence they were called by the people, _Tahuantin Suyu Kapac_, Lords of all\nfour Quarters of the Earth.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Tahuantin_, all four, from _tahua_, four; _suyu_, division,\nsection; _kapac_, king.]\n\nThe most powerful of these was Ayar Cachi. He possessed a sling of gold,\nand in it a stone with which he could demolish lofty mountains and hurl\naloft to the clouds themselves. He gathered together the natives of the\ncountry at Pacari tampu, and accumulated at the House of the Dawn a great\ntreasure of yellow gold. Like the glittering hoard which we read of in the\nlay of the Nibelung, the treasure brought with it the destruction of its\nowner, for his brothers, envious of the wondrous pile, persuaded Ayar\nCachi to enter the cave where he kept his hoard, in order to bring out a\ncertain vase, and also to pray to their father, the Sun, to aid them to\nrule their domains. As soon as he had entered, they stopped the mouth of\nthe cave with huge stones; and thus rid of him, they set about collecting\nthe people and making a settlement at a certain place called _Tampu quiru_\n(the Teeth of the House).\n\nBut they did not know the magical power of their brother. While they were\nbusy with their plans, what was their dismay to see Ayar Cachi, freed from\nthe cave, and with great wings of brilliantly colored feathers, hovering\nlike a bird in the air over their heads. They expected swift retribution\nfor their intended fratricide, but instead of this they heard reassuring\nwords from his lips.\n\n\"Have no fear,\" he said, \"I left you in order that the great empire of the\nIncas might be known to men. Leave, therefore, this settlement of Tampu\nquiru, and descend into the Valley of Cuzco, where you shall found a\nfamous city, and in it build a sumptuous temple to the Sun. As for me, I\nshall remain in the form in which you see me, and shall dwell in the\nmountain peak Guanacaure, ready to help you, and on that mountain you must\nbuild me an altar and make to me sacrifices. And the sign that you shall\nwear, whereby you shall be feared and respected of your subjects, is that\nyou shall have your ears pierced, as are mine,\" saying which he showed\nthem his ears pierced and carrying large, round plates of gold.\n\nThey promised him obedience in all things, and forthwith built an altar on\nthe mountain Guanacaure, which ever after was esteemed a most holy place.\nHere again Ayar Cachi appeared to them, and bestowed on Ayar Manco the\nscarlet fillet which became the perpetual insignia of the reigning Inca.\nThe remaining brothers were turned into stone, and Manco, assuming the\ntitle of _Kapac_, King, and the metaphorical surname of _Pirhua_, the\nGranary or Treasure house, founded the City of Cuzco, married his four\nsisters, and became the first of the dynasty of the Incas. He lived to a\ngreat age, and during the whole of his life never omitted to pay divine\nhonors to his brothers, and especially to Ayar Cachi.\n\nIn another myth of the incarnation the infinite Creator Ticci Viracocha\nduplicates himself in the twin incarnation of _Ymamana Viracocha_ and\n_Tocapu Viracocha_, names which we have already seen mean \"he who has all\nthings,\" and \"he who perfects all things.\" The legend was that these\nbrothers started in the distant East and journeyed toward the West. The\none went by way of the mountains, the other by the paths of the lowlands,\nand each on his journey, like Itzamna in Yucatecan story, gave names to\nthe places he passed, and also to all trees and herbs of the field, and to\nall fruits, and taught the people which were good for food, which of\nvirtue as medicines, and which were poisonous and to be shunned. Thus they\njourneyed westward, imparting knowledge and doing good works, until they\nreached the western ocean, the great Pacific, whose waves seem to stretch\nwestward into infinity. There, \"having accomplished all they had to do in\nthis world, they ascended into Heaven,\" once more to form part of the\nInfinite Being; for the venerable authority whom I am following is careful\nto add, most explicitly, that \"these Indians believed for a certainty that\nneither the Creator nor his sons were born of woman, but that they all\nwere unchangeable and eternal.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Christoval de Molina, _Fables and Rites of the Incas_, p. 6.]\n\nStill more human does Viracocha become in the myth where he appears under\nthe surnames _Tunapa_ and _Taripaca_. The latter I have already explained\nto mean He who Judges, and the former is a synonym of Tocapu, as it is\nfrom the verb _ttaniy_ or _ttanini_, and means He who Finishes completes\nor perfects, although, like several other of his names, the significance\nof this one has up to the present remained unexplained and lost. The myth\nhas been preserved to us by a native Indian writer, Joan de Santa Cruz\nPachacuti, who wrote it out somewhere about the year 1600.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Relacion de Antiguedades deste Reyno del Piru_, por Don Joan\nde Santacruz Pachacuti Yamqui, passim. Pachacuti relates the story of\nTunapa as being distinctly the hero-myth of the Qquichuas. He was also the\nhero-god of the Aymaras, and about him, says Father Ludovico Bertonio,\n\"they to this day relate many fables and follies.\" _Vocabulario de la\nLengua Aymara_, s.v. Another name he bore in Aymara was _Ecaco_, which in\nthat language means, as a common noun, an ingenious, shifty man of many\nplans (_Bertonio, Vocabulario_, s.v.). \"Thunnupa,\" as Bertonio spells it,\ndoes not lend itself to any obvious etymology in Aymara, which is further\nevidence that the name was introduced from the Qquichua. This is by no\nmeans a singular example of the identity of religious thought and terms\nbetween these nations. In comparing the two tongues, M. Alcide D'Orbigny\nlong since observed: \"On retrouve m\u00eame \u00e0 peu pr\u00e9s un vingti\u00e8me des mots\nqui ont evidemment la m\u00eame origine, surtout ceux qui expriment les id\u00e9es\nreligieuses.\" _L'Homme Am\u00e9ricain, consid\u00e9r\u00e9 sous ses Rapports\nPhysiologiques et Moraux_, Tome i, p. 322 (Paris, 1839). This author\nendeavors to prove that the Qquichua religion was mainly borrowed from the\nAymaras, and of the two he regards the latter as the senior in\ncivilization. But so far as I have been able to study the mythology of the\nAymaras, which is but very superficially, on account of the lack of\nsources, it does not seem to be entitled to this credit.]\n\nHe tells us that at a very remote period, shortly after the country of\nPeru had been populated, there came from Lake Titicaca to the tribes an\nelderly man with flowing beard and abundant white hair, supporting himself\non a staff and dressed in wide-spreading robes. He went among the people,\ncalling them his sons and daughters, relieving their infirmities and\nteaching them the precepts of wisdom.\n\nOften, however, he met the fate of so many other wise teachers, and was\nrejected and scornfully entreated by those whom he was striving to\ninstruct. Swift retribution sometimes fell upon such stiff-necked\nlisteners. Thus he once entered the town of Yamquesupa, the principal\nplace in the province of the South, and began teaching the inhabitants;\nbut they heeded him not, and seized him, and with insult and blows drove\nhim from the town, so that he had to sleep in the open fields. Thereupon\nhe cursed their town, and straightway it sank into the earth with all its\ninhabitants, and the depression was filled with water, and all were\ndrowned. To this day it is known as the lake of Yamquesupa, and all the\npeople about there well know that what is now a sheet of water was once\nthe site of a flourishing city.\n\nAt another time he visited Tiahuanaco, where may yet be seen the colossal\nruins of some ancient city, and massive figures in stone of men and women.\nIn his time this was a populous mart, its people rich and proud, given to\nrevelry, to drunkenness and dances. Little they cared for the words of the\npreacher, and they treated him with disdain. Then he turned upon them his\nanger, and in an instant the dancers were changed into stone, just as they\nstood, and there they remain to this day, as any one can see, perpetual\nwarnings not to scorn the words of the wise.\n\nOn another occasion he was seized by the people who dwelt by the great\nlake of Carapaco, and tied hands and feet with stout cords, it being their\nintention to put him to a cruel death the next day. But very early in the\nmorning, just at the time of the dawn, a beautiful youth entered and said,\n\"Fear not, I have come to call you in the name of the lady who is awaiting\nyou, that you may go with her to the place of joys.\" With that he touched\nthe fetters on Tunapa's limbs, and the ropes snapped asunder, and they\nwent forth untouched by the guards, who stood around. They descended to\nthe lake shore, and just as the dawn appeared, Tunapa spread his mantle on\nthe waves, and he and his companion stepping upon it, as upon a raft, were\nwafted rapidly away into the rays of the morning light.\n\nThe cautious Pachacuti does not let us into the secret of this mysterious\nassignation, either because he did not know or because he would not\ndisclose the mysteries of his ancestral faith. But I am not so discreet,\nand I vehemently suspect that the lady who was awaiting the virtuous\nTunapa, was Chasca, the Dawn Maiden, she of the beautiful hair which\ndistills the dew, and that the place of joys whither she invited him was\nthe Mansion of the Sky, into which, daily, the Light-God, at the hour of\nthe morning twilight, is ushered by the chaste maiden Aurora.\n\nAs the anger of Tunapa was dreadful, so his favors were more than regal.\nAt the close of a day he once reached the town of the chief Apotampo,\notherwise Pacari tampu, which means the House or Lodgings of the Dawn,\nwhere the festivities of a wedding were in progress. The guests, intent\nupon the pleasures of the hour, listened with small patience to the words\nof the old man, but the chief himself heard them with profound attention\nand delight. Therefore, as Tunapa was leaving he presented to the chief,\nas a reward for his hospitality and respect, the staff which had assisted\nhis feeble limbs in many a journey. It was of no great seemliness, but\nupon it were inscribed characters of magic power, and the chief wisely\ncherished it among his treasures. It was well he did, for on the day of\nthe birth of his next child the staff turned into fine gold, and that\nchild was none other than the far-famed Manco Capac, destined to become\nthe ancestor of the illustrious line of the Incas, Sons of the Sun, and\nfamous in all countries that it shines upon; and as for the golden staff,\nit became, through all after time until the Spanish conquest, the sceptre\nof the Incas and the sign of their sovereignty, the famous and sacred\n_tupa yauri_, the royal wand.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"_Tupa yauri_; El cetro real, vara insignia real del Inca.\"\nHolguin, _Vocabvlario de la Lengva Qquichua o del Inca_, s.v.]\n\nIt became, indeed, to Manco Capac a mentor and guide. His father and\nmother having died, he started out with his brothers and sisters, seven\nbrothers and seven sisters of them, to seek new lands, taking this staff\nin his hand. Like the seven brothers who, in Mexican legend, left Aztlan,\nthe White Land, to found nations and cities, so the brothers of Manco\nCapac, leaving Pacari tampu, the Lodgings of the Dawn, became the\n_sinchi_, or heads of various noble houses and chiefs of tribes in the\nempire of the Incas. As for Manco, it is well known that with his golden\nwand he journeyed on, overcoming demons and destroying his enemies, until\nhe reached the mountain over against the spot where the city of Cuzco now\nstands. Here the sacred wand sunk of its own motion into the earth, and\nManco Capac, recognizing the divine monition, named the mountain\n_Huanacauri_, the Place of Repose. In the valley at the base he founded\nthe great city which he called _Cuzco_, the Navel. Its inhabitants ever\nafterwards classed Huanacauri as one of their principal deities.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Don Gavino Pacheco Zegarra derives Huanacauri from _huanaya_,\nto rest oneself, and _cayri_, here; \"c'est ici qu'il faut se reposer.\"\n_Ollantai_, Introd., p. xxv. It was distinctly the _huzca_, or sacred\nfetish of the Incas, and they were figuratively said to have descended\nfrom it. Its worship was very prominent in ancient Peru. See the\n_Information de las Idolatras de los Incas y Indios_, 1671, previously\nquoted.]\n\nWhen Manco Capac's work was done, he did not die, like other mortals, but\nrose to heaven, and became the planet Jupiter, under the name _Pirua_.\nFrom this, according to some writers, the country of Peru derived its\nname.[2]\n\n[Footnote 2: The identification of Manco Capac with the planet Jupiter is\nmentioned in the _Relacion Anonima_, on the authority of Melchior\nHernandez.]\n\nIt may fairly be supposed that this founder of the Inca dynasty was an\nactual historical personage. But it is evident that much that is told\nabout him is imagery drawn from the legend of the Light-God.\n\nAnd what became of Tunapa? We left him sailing on his outspread mantle,\ninto the light of the morning, over Lake Carapace. But the legend does not\nstop there. Whereever he went that day, he returned to his toil, and\npursued his way down the river Chacamarca till he reached the sea. There\nhis fate becomes obscure; but, adds Pachacuti, \"I understand that he\npassed by the strait (of Panama) into the other sea (back toward the\nEast). This is what is averred by the most ancient sages of the Inca line,\n(_por aquellos ingas antiquissimos_).\" We may well believe he did; for\nthe light of day, which is quenched in the western ocean, passes back\nagain, by the straits or in some other way, and appears again the next\nmorning, not in the West, where we watched its dying rays, but in the\nEast, where again it is born to pursue its daily and ever recurring\njourney.\n\nAccording to another, and also very early account, Viracocha was preceded\nby a host of attendants, who were his messengers and soldiers. When he\nreached the sea, he and these his followers marched out upon the waves as\nif it had been dry land, and disappeared in the West.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Garcia, _Origen de los Indios_, Lib. v, Cap. vii.]\n\nThese followers were, like himself, white and bearded. Just as, in Mexico,\nthe natives attributed the erection of buildings, the history of which had\nbeen lost, to the white Toltecs, the subjects of Quetzalcoatl (see above,\nchapter iii, \u00a72), so in Peru various ancient ruins, whose builders had been\nlost to memory, were pointed out to the Spaniards as the work of a white and\nbearded race who held the country in possession long before the Incas had\nfounded their dynasty.[1] The explanation in both cases is the same. In\nboth the early works of art of unknown origin were supposed to be the\nproductions of the personified light rays, which are the source of skill,\nbecause they supply the means indispensable to the acquisition of\nknowledge.\n\n[Footnote 2: Speaking of certain \"grandes y muy antiquissimos edificios\"\non the river Vinaque, Cieza de Leon says: \"Preguntando a los Indios\ncomarcanos quien hizo aquella antigualla, responden que otras gentes\nbarbadas y blancas como nosotros: los cuales, muchos tiempos antes que los\nIngas reinasen, dicen que vinieron a estas partes y hicieron alli su\nmorada.\" _La Cr\u00f3nica del Peru_, cap. lxxxvi.]\n\nThe versions of these myths which have been preserved to us by Juan de\nBetanzos, and the documents on which the historian Herrera founded his\nnarrative, are in the main identical with that which I have quoted from\nthe narrative of Pachacuti. I shall, however, give that of Herrera, as it\nhas some interesting features.\n\nHe tells us that the traditions and songs which the Indians had received\nfrom their remote ancestors related that in very early times there was a\nperiod when there was no sun, and men lived in darkness. At length, in\nanswer to their urgent prayers, the sun emerged from Lake Titicaca, and\nsoon afterwards there came a man from the south, of fair complexion, large\nin stature, and of venerable presence, whose power was boundless. He\nremoved mountains, filled up valleys, caused fountains to burst from the\nsolid rocks, and gave life to men and animals. Hence the people called him\nthe \"Beginning of all Created Things,\" and \"Father of the Sun.\" Many good\nworks he performed, bringing order among the people, giving them wise\ncounsel, working miracles and teaching. He went on his journey toward the\nnorth, but until the latest times they bore his deeds and person in\nmemory, under the names of Tici Viracocha and Tuapaca, and elsewhere as\nArnava. They erected many temples to him, in which they placed his figure\nand image as described.\n\nThey also said that after a certain length of time there re-appeared\nanother like this first one, or else he was the same, who also gave wise\ncounsel and cured the sick. He met disfavor, and at one spot the people\nset about to slay him, but he called down upon them fire from heaven,\nwhich burned their village and scorched the mountains into cinders. Then\nthey threw away their weapons and begged of him to deliver them from the\ndanger, which he did[1]. He passed on toward the West until he reached the\nshore of the sea. There he spread out his mantle, and seating himself upon\nit, sailed away and was never seen again. For this reason, adds the\nchronicler, \"the name was given to him, _Viracocha_, which means Foam of\nthe Sea, though afterwards it changed in signification.\"[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: This incident is also related by Pachacuti and Betanzos. All\nthree locate the scene of the event at Carcha, eighteen leagues from\nCuzco, where the Canas tribe lived at the Conquest. Pachacuti states that\nthe cause of the anger of Viracocha was that upon the Sierra there was the\nstatue of a woman to whom human victims were sacrificed. If this was the\ntradition, it would offer another point of identity with that of\nQuetzalcoatl, who was also said to have forbidden human sacrifices.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Herrera, _Historia de las Indias Occidentales_, Dec. v, Lib.\niii, cap. vi.]\n\nThis leads me to the etymology of the name. It is confessedly obscure. The\ntranslation which Herrera gives, is that generally offered by the Spanish\nwriters, but it is not literal. The word _uira_ means fat, and _cocha_,\nlake, sea, or other large body of water; therefore, as the genitive must\nbe prefixed in the Qquichua tongue, the translation must be \"Lake or Sea\nof Fat.\" This was shown by Garcilasso de la Vega, in his _Royal\nCommentaries_, and as he could see no sense or propriety in applying such\na term as \"Lake of Grease\" to the Supreme Divinity, he rejected this\nderivation, and contented himself by saying that the meaning of the name\nwas totally unknown.[1] In this Mr. Clements R. Markham, who is an\nauthority on Peruvian matters, coincides, though acknowledging that no\nother meaning suggests itself.[2] I shall not say anything about the\nderivations of this name from the Sanskrit,[3] or the ancient Egyptian;[4]\nthese are etymological amusements with which serious studies have nothing\nto do.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Donde consta claro no ser nombre compuesto, sino proprio de\naquella fantasma que dij\u00f3 llamarse Viracocha y que era hijo del Sol.\"\n_Com, Reales_, Lib. v, cap. xxi.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Introduction to _Narratives of the Rites and Laws of the\nIncas_, p. xi.]\n\n[Footnote 3: \"Le nom de Viracocha dont la physionomie sanskrite est si\nfrappante,\" etc. Desjardins, _Le Perou avant la Conqu\u00eate Espagnole_, p.\n180 (Paris 1858).]\n\n[Footnote 4: Viracocha \"is the Il or Ra of the Babylonian monuments, and\nthus the Ra of Egypt,\" etc. Professor John Campbell, _Compte-Rendu du\nCongr\u00e9s International des Am\u00e9ricanistes_, Vol. i, p. 362 (1875).]\n\nThe first and accepted derivation has been ably and to my mind\nsuccessfully defended by probably the most accomplished Qquichua scholar\nof our age, Se\u00f1or Gavino Pacheco Zegarra, who, in the introduction to his\nmost excellent edition of the Drama of _Ollanta\u00ef_, maintains that\nViracocha, literally \"Lake of Fat,\" was a simile applied to the frothing,\nfoaming sea, and adds that as a personal name in this signification it is\nin entire conformity with the genius of the Qquichua tongue[1].\n\n[Footnote 1: _Ollantai, Drame en vers Quechuas_, Introd., p. xxxvi (Paris,\n1878). There was a class of diviners in Peru who foretold the future by\ninspecting the fat of animals; they were called Vira-piricuc. Molina,\n_Fables and Rites_, p. 13.]\n\nTo quote his words:--\"The tradition was that Viracocha's face was\nextremely white and bearded. From this his name was derived, which means,\ntaken literally, 'Lake of Fat;' by extension, however, the word means\n'Sea-Foam,' as in the Qquichua language the foam is called _fat_, no doubt\non account of its whiteness.\"\n\nIt had a double appropriateness in its application to the hero-god. Not\nonly was he supposed in the one myth to have risen from the waves of Lake\nTiticaca, and in another to have appeared when the primeval ocean left the\nland dry, but he was universally described as of fair complexion, _a white\nman_. Strange, indeed, it is that these people who had never seen a member\nof the white race, should so persistently have represented their highest\ngods as of this hue, and what is more, with the flowing beard and abundant\nlight hair which is their characteristic.\n\nThere is no denying, however, that such is the fact. Did it depend on\nlegend alone we might, however strong the consensus of testimony, harbor\nsome doubt about it. But it does not. The monuments themselves attest it.\nThere is, indeed, a singular uniformity of statement in the myths.\nViracocha, under any and all his surnames, is always described as white\nand bearded, dressed in flowing robes and of imposing mien. His robes were\nalso white, and thus he was figured at the entrance of one of his most\ncelebrated temples, that of Urcos. His image at that place was of a man\nwith a white robe falling to his waist, and thence to his feet; by him,\ncut in stone, were his birds, the eagle and the falcon.[1] So, also, on a\ncertain occasion when he was said to have appeared in a dream to one of\nthe Incas who afterwards adopted his name, he was said to have come with\nbeard more than a span in length, and clothed in a large and loose mantle,\nwhich fell to his feet, while with his hand he held, by a cord to its\nneck, some unknown animal. And thus in after times he was represented in\npainting and statue, by order of that Inca.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: Christoval de Molina, _ubi supra_, p. 29.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Garcilasso de la Vega, _Comentarios Reales_, Lib. iv, cap.\nxxi.]\n\nAn early writer tells us that the great temple of Cuzco, which was\nafterwards chosen for the Cathedral, was originally that of Illa Ticci\nViracocha. It contained only one altar, and upon it a marble statue of the\ngod. This is described as being, \"both as to the hair, complexion,\nfeatures, raiment and sandals, just as painters represent the Apostle,\nSaint Bartholomew.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Relacion anonima_, p. 148.]\n\nMisled by the statements of the historian Garcilasso de la Vega, some\nlater writers, among whom I may note the eminent German traveler Von\nTschudi, have supposed that Viracocha belonged to the historical deities\nof Peru, and that his worship was of comparatively recent origin.[1] La\nVega, who could not understand the name of the divinity, and, moreover,\neither knew little about the ancient religion, or else concealed his\nknowledge (as is shown by his reiterated statement that human sacrifices\nwere unknown), pretended that Viracocha first came to be honored through a\ndream of the Inca who assumed his name. But the narrative of the\noccurrence that he himself gives shows that even at that time the myth was\nwell known and of great antiquity.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"La principal de estas Deidades historicas era _Viracocha_.\n* * * Dos siglos contaba el culto de Viracocha \u00e1 la llegada de los\nEspa\u00f1oles.\" J. Diego de Tschudi, _Antiguedades Peruanas_, pp. 159, 160\n(Vienna, 1851).]\n\n[Footnote 2: Compare the account in Garcilasso de la Vega, _Comentarios\nReales_, Lib. ii, cap. iv; Lib. iv, cap. xxi, xxiii, with that in Acosta,\n_Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias_, Lib. vi, cap. xxi.]\n\nThe statements which he makes on the authority of Father Blas Valera, that\nthe Inca Tupac Yupanqui sought to purify the religion of his day by\nleading it toward the contemplation of an incorporeal God,[3] is probably,\nin the main, correct. It is supported by a similar account given by\nAcosta, of the famous Huayna Capac. Indeed, they read so much alike that\nthey are probably repetitions of teachings familiar to the nobles and\nhigher priests. Both Incas maintained that the Sun could not be the chief\ngod, because he ran daily his accustomed course, like a slave, or an\nanimal that is led. He must therefore be the subject of a mightier power\nthan himself.\n\n[Footnote 3: _Comentarios Reales_, Pt. i, Lib. viii, cap. viii.]\n\nWe may reasonably suppose that these expressions are proof of a growing\nsense of the attributes of divinity. They are indications of the evolution\nof religious thought, and go to show that the monotheistic ideas which I\nhave pointed out in the titles and names of the highest God, were clearly\nrecognized and publicly announced.\n\nViracocha was also worshiped under the title _Con-ticci-Viracocha_.\nVarious explanations of the name _Con_ have been offered. It is not\npositively certain that it belongs to the Qquichua tongue. A myth\npreserved by Gomara treats Con as a distinct deity. He is said to have\ncome from the north, to have been without bones, muscles or members, to\nhave the power of running with infinite swiftness, and to have leveled\nmountains, filled up valleys, and deprived the coast plains of rain. At\nthe same time he is called a son of the Sun and the Moon, and it was owing\nto his good will and creative power that men and women were formed, and\nmaize and fruits given them upon which to subsist.\n\nAnother more powerful god, however, by name Pachacamac, also a son of the\nSun and Moon, and hence brother to Con, rose up against him and drove him\nfrom the land. The men and women whom Con had formed were changed by\nPachacamac into brutes, and others created who were the ancestors of the\npresent race. These he supplied with what was necessary for their support,\nand taught them the arts of war and peace. For these reasons they\nvenerated him as a god, and constructed for his worship a sumptuous\ntemple, a league and a half from the present city of Lima.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Francisco Lopez de Gomara, _Historia de las Indias_, p. 233\n(Ed. Paris, 1852).]\n\nThis myth of the conflict of the two brothers is too similar to others I\nhave quoted for its significance to be mistaken. Unfortunately it has been\nhanded down in so fragmentary a condition that it does not seem possible\nto assign it its proper relations to the cycle of Viracocha legends.\n\nAs I have hinted, we are not sure of the meaning of the name Con, nor\nwhether it is of Qquichua origin. If it is, as is indeed likely, then we\nmay suppose that it is a transcription of the word _ccun_, which in\nQquichua is the third person singular, present indicative, of _ccuni_, I\ngive. \"He Gives;\" the Giver, would seem an appropriate name for the first\ncreator of things. But the myth itself, and the description of the deity,\nincorporeal and swift, bringer at one time of the fertilizing rains, at\nanother of the drought, seems to point unmistakably to a god of the winds.\nLinguistic analogy bears this out, for the name given to a whirlwind or\nviolent wind storm was _Conchuy_, with an additional word to signify\nwhether it was one of rain or merely a dust storm.[1] For this reason I\nthink M. Wiener's attempt to make of Con (or _Qquonn_, as he prefers to\nspell it) merely a deity of the rains, is too narrow.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: A whirlwind with rain was _paria conchuy_ (_paria_, rain),\none with clouds of dust, _allpa conchuy_ (_allpa_, earth, dust); Holguin,\n_Vocabulario Qquichua_, s.v. _Antay conchuy_.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Le Perou et Bolivie_, p. 694. (Paris, 1880.)]\n\nThe legend would seem to indicate that he was supposed to have been\ndefeated and quite driven away. But the study of the monuments indicates\nthat this was not the case. One of the most remarkable antiquities in Peru\nis at a place called _Concacha_, three leagues south of Abancay, on the\nroad from Cuzco to Lima. M. Leonce Angrand has observed that this \"was\nevidently one of the great religious centres of the primitive peoples of\nPeru.\" Here is found an enormous block of granite, very curiously carved\nto facilitate the dispersion of a liquid poured on its summit into varied\nstreams and to quaint receptacles. Whether the liquid was the blood of\nvictims, the intoxicating beverage of the country, or pure water, all of\nwhich have been suggested, we do not positively know, but I am inclined to\nbelieve, with M. Wiener, that it was the last mentioned, and that it was\nas the beneficent deity of the rains that Con was worshiped at this sacred\nspot. Its name _con cacha_, \"the Messenger of Con,\" points to this.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: These remains are carefully described by Charles Wiener,\n_Perou et Bolivie_, p. 282, seq; from the notes of M. Angrand, by\nDesjardins, _Le Perou avant la Conqu\u00eate Espagnole_, p. 132; and in a\nsuperficial manner by Squier, _Peru_, p. 555.]\n\nThe words _Pacha camac_ mean \"animating\" or \"giving life to the world.\" It\nis said by Father Acosta to have been one of the names of Viracocha,[1]\nand in a sacred song preserved by Garcilasso de la Vega he is appealed to\nby this title.[2] The identity of these two divinities seems, therefore,\nsufficiently established.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias_, Lib. v, cap. iii.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Comentarios Reales_, Lib. ii, cap. xxviii.]\n\nThe worship of Pachacamac is asserted by competent antiquarian students to\nhave been more extended in ancient Peru than the older historians\nsupposed. This is indicated by the many remains of temples which local\ntradition attribute to his worship, and by the customs of the natives.[1]\nFor instance, at the birth of a child it was formally offered to him and\nhis protection solicited. On reaching some arduous height the toiling\nIndian would address a few words of thanks to Pachacamac; and the piles of\nstones, which were the simple signs of their gratitude, are still visible\nin all parts of the country.\n\n[Footnote 1: Von Tschudi, who in one part of his work maintains that\nsun-worship was the prevalent religion of Peru, modifies the assertion\nconsiderably in the following passage: \"El culto de Pachacamac se hallaba\nmucho mas extendido de lo que suponen los historiadores; y se puede sin\nerror aventurar la opinion de que era la Deidad popular y acatada por las\nmasas peruanas; mientras que la religion del Sol era la de la corte, culto\nque, por mas adoptado que fuese entre los Indios, nunca lleg\u00f3 \u00e1\ndesarraigar la fe y la devocion al Numen primitivo. En effecto, en todas\nlas relaciones de la vida de los Indios, resalta la profunda veneracion\nque tributavan \u00e1 Pachacamac.\" _Antiguedades Peruanas_, p. 149. Inasmuch as\nelsewhere this author takes pains to show that the Incas discarded the\nworship of the Sun, and instituted in place of it that of Viracocha, the\nabove would seem to diminish the sphere of Sun-worship very much.]\n\nThis variation of the story of Viracocha aids to an understanding of his\nmythical purport. The oft-recurring epithet \"Contice Viracocha\" shows a\nclose relationship between his character and that of the divinity Con, in\nfact, an identity which deserves close attention. It is explained, I\nbelieve, by the supposition that Viracocha was the Lord of the Wind as\nwell as of the Light. Like all the other light gods, and deities of the\ncardinal points, he was at the same time the wind from them. What has been\nsaved from the ancient mythology is enough to show this, but not enough to\nallow us to reconcile the seeming contradictions which it suggests.\nMoreover, it must be ever remembered that all religions repose on\ncontradictions, contradictions of fact, of logic, and of statement, so\nthat we must not seek to force any one of them into consistent unity of\nform, even with itself.\n\nI have yet to add another point of similarity between the myth of\nViracocha and those of Quetzalcoatl, Itzamna and the others, which I have\nalready narrated. As in Mexico, Yucatan and elsewhere, so in the realms of\nthe Incas, the Spaniards found themselves not unexpected guests. Here,\ntoo, texts of ancient prophecies were called to mind, words of warning\nfrom solemn and antique songs, foretelling that other Viracochas, men of\nfair complexion and flowing beards, would some day come from the Sun, the\nfather of existent nature, and subject the empire to their rule. When the\ngreat Inca, Huayna Capac, was on his death-bed, he recalled these\nprophecies, and impressed them upon the mind of his successor, so that\nwhen De Soto, the lieutenant of Pizarro, had his first interview with the\nenvoy of Atahuallpa, the latter humbly addressed him as Viracocha, the\ngreat God, son of the Sun, and told him that it was Huayna Capac's last\ncommand to pay homage to the white men when they should arrive.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Garcilasso de La Vega, _Comentarios Reales_, Lib. ix, caps.\nxiv, xv; Cieza de Leon, _Relacion_, MS. in Prescott, _Conquest of Peru_,\nVol. i, p. 329. The latter is the second part of Cieza de Leon.]\n\nWe need no longer entertain about such statements that suspicion or\nincredulity which so many historians have thought it necessary to indulge\nin. They are too generally paralleled in other American hero-myths to\nleave the slightest doubt as to their reality, or as to their\nsignificance. They are again the expression of the expected return of the\nLight-God, after his departure and disappearance in the western horizon.\nModifications of what was originally a statement of a simple occurrence of\ndaily routine, they became transmitted in the limbeck of mythology to the\nstory of the beneficent god of the past, and the promise of golden days\nwhen again he should return to the people whom erstwhile he ruled and\ntaught.\n\nThe Qquichuas expected the return of Viracocha, not merely as an earthly\nruler to govern their nation, but as a god who, by his divine power, would\ncall the dead to life. Precisely as in ancient Egypt the literal belief in\nthe resurrection of the body led to the custom of preserving the corpses\nwith the most sedulous care, so in Peru the cadaver was mummied and\ndeposited in the most secret and inaccessible spots, so that it should\nremain undisturbed to the great day of resurrection.\n\nAnd when was that to be?\n\nWe are not left in doubt on this point. It was to be when Viracocha should\nreturn to earth in his bodily form. Then he would restore the dead to\nlife, and they should enjoy the good things of a land far more glorious\nthan this work-a-day world of ours.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Dijeron quellos oyeron decir a sus padres y pasados que un\nViracocha habia de revolver la tierra, y habia de resucitar esos muertos,\ny que estos habian de bibir en esta tierra.\". _Information de las\nIdolatras de los Incas \u00e9 Indios_, in the _Coll. de Docs. ineditos del\nArchivo de Indias_, vol. xxi, p. 152.]\n\nAs at the first meeting between the races the name of the hero-god was\napplied to the conquering strangers, so to this day the custom has\ncontinued. A recent traveler tells us, \"Among _Los Indios del Campo_, or\nIndians of the fields, the llama herdsmen of the _punas_, and the\nfishermen of the lakes, the common salutation to strangers of a fair skin\nand blue eyes is '_Tai-tai Viracocha_.'\"[1] Even if this is used now, as\nM. Wiener seems to think,[2] merely as a servile flattery, there is no\ndoubt but that at the beginning it was applied because the white strangers\nwere identified with the white and bearded hero and his followers of their\nculture myth, whose return had been foretold by their priests.\n\n[Footnote 1: E.G. Squier, _Travels in Peru_, p. 414.]\n\n[Footnote 2: C. Wiener, _Perou et Bolivie_, p. 717.]\n\nAre we obliged to explain these similarities to the Mexican tradition by\nsupposing some ancient intercourse between these peoples, the arrival, for\ninstance, and settlement on the highlands around Lake Titicaca, of some\n\"Toltec\" colony, as has been maintained by such able writers on Peruvian\nantiquities as Leonce Angrand and J.J. von Tschudi?[1] I think not. The\ngreat events of nature, day and night, storm and sunshine, are everywhere\nthe same, and the impressions they produced on the minds of this race were\nthe same, whether the scene was in the forests of the north temperate\nzone, amid the palms of the tropics, or on the lofty and barren plateaux\nof the Andes. These impressions found utterance in similar myths, and were\nrepresented in art under similar forms. It is, therefore, to the oneness\nof cause and of racial psychology, not to ancient migrations, that we must\nlook to explain the identities of myth and representation that we find\nbetween such widely sundered nations.\n\n[Footnote 1: L. Angrand, _Lettre sur les Antiquit\u00e9s de Tiaguanaco et\nl'Origine pr\u00e9sumable de la plus ancienne civilisation du Haut-Perou_.\nExtrait du 24eme vol. de la _Revue Generale d'Architecture_, 1866. Von\nTschudi, _Das Ollantadrama_, p. 177-9. The latter says: \"Der von dem\nPlateau von Anahuac ausgewanderte Stamm verpflanzte seine Gesittung und\ndie Hauptz\u00fcge seiner Religion durch das westliche S\u00fcdamerica, etc.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE EXTENSION AND INFLUENCE OF THE TYPICAL HERO-MYTH.\n\nTHE TYPICAL MYTH FOUND IN MANY PARTS OF THE CONTINENT--DIFFICULTIES IN\nTRACING IT--RELIGIOUS EVOLUTION IN AMERICA SIMILAR TO THAT IN THE OLD\nWORLD--FAILURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE RED RACE.\n\nTHE CULTURE MYTH OF THE TARASCOS OF MECHOACAN--THAT OF THE RICHES OF\nGUATEMALA--THE VOTAN MYTH OF THE TZENDALS OF CHIAPAS--A FRAGMENT OF A MIXE\nMYTH--THE HERO-GOD OF THE MUYSCAS OF NEW GRANADA--OF THE TUPI-GUARANAY\nSTEM OF PARAGUAY AND BRAZIL--MYTHS OF THE D\u00c8N\u00c8 OF BRITISH AMERICA.\n\nSUN WORSHIP IN AMERICA--GERMS OF PROGRESS IN AMERICAN RELIGIONS--RELATION\nOF RELIGION AND MORALITY--THE LIGHT-GOD A MORAL AND BENEFICENT\nCREATION--HIS WORSHIP WAS ELEVATING--MORAL CONDITION OF NATIVE SOCIETIES\nBEFORE THE CONQUEST--PROGRESS IN THE DEFINITION OF THE IDEA OF GOD IN\nPERU, MEXICO, AND YUCATAN--ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS ABOUT THE MORALS OF THE\nNATIVES--EVOLUTION OF THEIR ETHICAL PRINCIPLES.\n\n\nIn the foregoing chapters I have passed in review the hero-myths of five\nnations widely asunder in location, in culture and in language. I have\nshown the strange similarity in their accounts of their mysterious early\nbenefactor and teacher, and their still more strange, because true,\npresentiments of the arrival of pale-faced conquerors from the East.\n\nI have selected these nations because their myths have been most fully\nrecorded, not that they alone possessed this striking legend. It is, I\nrepeat, the fundamental myth in the religious lore of American nations.\nNot, indeed, that it can be discovered in all tribes, especially in the\namplitude of incident which it possesses among some. But there are\ncomparatively few of the native mythologies that do not betray some of its\nelements, some fragments of it, and, often enough to justify us in the\nsupposition that had we the complete body of their sacred stories, we\nshould find this one in quite as defined a form as I have given it.\n\nThe student of American mythology, unfortunately, labors under peculiar\ndisadvantages. When he seeks for his material, he finds an extraordinary\ndearth of it. The missionaries usually refused to preserve the native\nmyths, because they believed them harmful, or at least foolish; while men\nof science, who have had such opportunities, rejected all those that\nseemed the least like a Biblical story, as they suspected them to be\nmodern and valueless compositions, and thus lost the very life of the\ngenuine ancient faiths.\n\nA further disadvantage is the slight attention which has been paid to the\naboriginal American tongues, and the sad deficiency of material for their\nstudy. It is now recognized on all hands that the key of a mythology is to\nbe found in the language of its believers. As a German writer remarks,\n\"the formation of the language and the evolution of the myth go hand in\nhand.\"[1] We must know the language of a tribe, at least we must\nunderstand the grammatical construction and have facilities to trace out\nthe meaning and derivation of names, before we can obtain any accurate\nnotion of the foundation in nature of its religious beliefs. No convenient\ngenerality will help us.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"In der Sprache herrscht immer und erneut sich stets die\nsinnliche Anschauung, die vor Jahrtausenden mit dem gl\u00e4ubigen Sinn\nverm\u00e4hlt die Mythologien schuf, und gerade durch sie wird es am klarsten,\nwie Sprachensch\u00f6pfung und mythologische Entwicklung, der Ausdruck des\nDenkens und Glaubens, einst Hand in Hand gegangen.\" Dr. F.L.W. Schwartz,\n_Der Ursprung der Mythologie dargelegt an Griechischer und Deutscher\nSage_, p. 23 (Berlin, 1860).]\n\nI make these remarks as a sort of apology for the shortcomings of the\npresent study, and especially for the imperfections of the fragments I\nhave still to present. They are, however, sufficiently defined to make it\ncertain that they belonged to cycles of myths closely akin to those\nalready given. They will serve to support my thesis that the seemingly\nconfused and puerile fables of the native Americans are fully as worthy\nthe attention of the student of human nature as the more poetic narratives\nof the Veda or the Edda. The red man felt out after God with like childish\ngropings as his white brother in Central Asia. When his course was\ninterrupted, he was pursuing the same path toward the discovery of truth.\nIn the words of a thoughtful writer: \"In a world wholly separated from\nthat which it is customary to call the Old World, the religious evolution\nof man took place precisely in the same manner as in those surroundings\nwhich produced the civilization of western Europe.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Girard de Rialle, _La Mythologie Compar\u00e9e_, vol. I, p. 363\n(Paris, 1878).]\n\nBut this religious development of the red man was violently broken by the\nforcible imposition of a creed which he could not understand, and which\nwas not suited to his wants, and by the heavy yoke of a priesthood totally\nout of sympathy with his line of progress. What has been the result? \"Has\nChristianity,\" asks the writer I have just quoted, \"exerted a progressive\naction on these peoples? Has it brought them forward, has it aided their\nnatural evolution? We are obliged to answer, No.\"[1] This sad reply is\nrepeated by careful observers who have studied dispassionately the natives\nin their homes.[2] The only difference in the results of the two great\ndivisions of the Christian world seems to be that on Catholic missions has\nfollowed the debasement, on Protestant missions the destruction of the\nrace.\n\n[Footnote 1: Girard de Rialle, _ibid_, p. 862.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Those who would convince themselves of this may read the work\nof Don Francisco Pimentel, _Memoria sobre las Causas que han originado la\nSituation Actual de la Raza Indigena de Mexico_ (Mexico, 1864), and that\nof the Licentiate Apolinar Garcia y Garcia, _Historia de la Guerra de\nCastas de Yucatan_, Prologo (M\u00e9rida, 1865). That the Indians of the United\nStates have directly and positively degenerated in moral sense as a race,\nsince the introduction of Christianity, was also very decidedly the\nopinion of the late Prof. Theodor Waitz, a most competent ethnologist. See\n_Die Indianer Nordamerica's. Eine Studie_, von Theodor Waitz, p. 39, etc.\n(Leipzig, 1865). This opinion was also that of the visiting committee of\nthe Society of Friends who reported on the Indian Tribes in 1842; see the\n_Report of a Visit to Some of the Tribes of Indians West of the\nMississippi River_, by John D. Lang and Samuel Taylor, Jr. (New York,\n1843). The language of this Report is calm, but positive as to the\nincreased moral degradation of the tribes, as the, direct result of\ncontact with the whites.]\n\nIt may be objected to this that it was not Christianity, but its\naccompaniments, the greedy horde of adventurers, the profligate traders,\nthe selfish priests, and the unscrupulous officials, that wrought the\ndegradation of the native race. Be it so. Then I merely modify my\nassertion, by saying that Christianity has shown itself incapable of\ncontrolling its inevitable adjuncts, and that it would have been better,\nmorally and socially, for the American race never to have known\nChristianity at all, than to have received it on the only terms on which\nit has been possible to offer it.\n\nWith the more earnestness, therefore, in view of this acknowledged failure\nof Christian effort, do I turn to the native beliefs, and desire to\nvindicate for them a dignified position among the faiths which have helped\nto raise man above the level of the brute, and inspired him with hope and\nambition for betterment.\n\nFor this purpose I shall offer some additional evidence of the extension\nof the myth I have set forth, and then proceed to discuss its influence on\nthe minds of its believers.\n\nThe Tarascos were an interesting nation who lived in the province of\nMichoacan, due west of the valley of Mexico. They were a polished race,\nspeaking a sonorous, vocalic language, so bold in war that their boast was\nthat they had never been defeated, and yet their religious rites were\nalmost bloodless, and their preference was for peace. The hardy Aztecs had\nbeen driven back at every attempt they made to conquer Michoacan, but its\nruler submitted himself without a murmur to Cortes, recognizing in him an\nopponent of the common enemy, and a warrior of more than human powers.\n\nAmong these Tarascos we find the same legend of a hero-god who brought\nthem out of barbarism, gave them laws, arranged their calendar, which, in\nprinciples, was the same as that of the Aztecs and Mayas, and decided on\nthe form of their government. His name was _Surites_ or _Curicaberis_,\nwords which, from my limited resources in that tongue, I am not able to\nanalyze. He dwelt in the town Cromuscuaro, which name means the\nWatch-tower or Look-out, and the hour in which he gave his instructions\nwas always at sunrise, just as the orb of light appeared on the eastern\nhorizon. One of the feasts which he appointed to be celebrated in his\nhonor was called _Zitacuarencuaro_, which melodious word is said by the\nSpanish missionaries to mean \"the resurrection from death.\" When to this\nit is added that he distinctly predicted that a white race of men should\narrive in the country, and that he himself should return,[1] his identity\nwith the light-gods of similar American myths is too manifest to require\nargument.\n\n[Footnote 1: P. Francisco Xavier Alegre, _Historia de la Compa\u00f1ia de Jesus\nen la Nueva Espa\u00f1a_, Tomo i, pp. 91, 92 (Mexico, 1841). The authorities\nwhom Alegre quotes are P.P. Alonso de la Rea, _Cronica de Mechoacan_\n(Mexico, 1648), and D. Basalenque, _Cronica de San Augustin de Mechoacan_\n(Mexico, 1673). I regret that I have been unable to find either of these\nbooks in any library in the United States. It is a great pity that the\nstudent of American history is so often limited in his investigations in\nthis country, by the lack of material. It is sad to think that such an\nopulent and intelligent land does not possess a single complete library of\nits own history.]\n\nThe king of the Tarascos was considered merely the vicegerent of the\nabsent hero-god, and ready to lay down the sceptre when Curicaberis should\nreturn to earth.\n\nWe do not know whether the myth of the Four Brothers prevailed among the\nTarascos; but there is hardly a nation on the continent among whom the\nnumber Four was more distinctly sacred. The kingdom was divided into four\nparts (as also among the Itzas, Qquichuas and numerous other tribes), the\nfour rulers of which constituted, with the king, the sacred council of\nfive, in imitation, I can hardly doubt, of the hero-god, and the four\ndeities of the winds.\n\nThe goddess of water and the rains, the female counterpart of Curicaberis,\nwas the goddess _Cueravaperi_. \"She is named,\" says the authority I quote,\n\"in all their fables and speeches. They say that she is the mother of all\nthe gods of the earth, and that it is she who bestows the harvests and the\ngermination of seeds.\" With her ever went four attendant goddesses, the\npersonifications of the rains from the four cardinal points. At the sacred\ndances, which were also dramatizations of her supposed action, these\nattendants were represented by four priests clad respectively in white,\nyellow, red and black, to represent the four colors of the clouds.[1] In\nother words, she doubtless bore the same relation to Curicaberis that\nIxchel did to Itzamna in the mythology of the Mayas, or the rainbow\ngoddess to Arama in the religious legends of the Moxos.[2] She was the\ndivinity that presided over the rains, and hence over fertility and the\nharvests, standing in intimate relation to the god of the sun's rays and\nthe four winds.\n\n[Footnote 1: _Relacion de las Ceremonias y Ritos, etc., de Mechoacan_, in\nthe _Coleccion de Documentos para la Historia de Espa\u00f1a_, vol. liii, pp.\n13, 19, 20. This account is anonymous, but was written in the sixteenth\ncentury, by some one familiar with the subject. A handsome MS. of it, with\ncolored illustrations (these of no great value, however), is in the\nLibrary of Congress, obtained from the collection of the late Col. Peter\nForce.]\n\n[Footnote 2: See above, chapter iv, \u00a71]\n\nThe Kiches of Guatemala were not distant relatives of the Mayas of\nYucatan, and their mythology has been preserved to us in a rescript of\ntheir national book, the _Popol Vuh_. Evidently they had borrowed\nsomething from Aztec sources, and a flavor of Christian teaching is\noccasionally noticeable in this record; but for all that it is one of the\nmost valuable we possess on the subject.\n\nIt begins by connecting the creation of men and things with the appearance\nof light. In other words, as in so many mythologies, the history of the\nworld is that of the day; each begins with a dawn. Thus the _Popol Vuh_\nreads:--\n\n\"This is how the heaven exists, how the Heart of Heaven exists, he, the\ngod, whose name is Qabauil.\"\n\n\"His word came in the darkness to the Lord, to Gucumatz, and it spoke with\nthe Lord, with Gucumatz.\"\n\n\"They spoke together; they consulted and planned; they understood; they\nunited in words and plans.\"\n\n\"As they consulted, the day appeared, the white light came forth, mankind\nwas produced, while thus they held counsel about the growth of trees and\nvines, about life and mankind, in the darkness, in the night (the creation\nwas brought about), by the Heart of Heaven, whose name is Hurakan.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Popol Vuh, le Livre Sacr\u00e9 des Quich\u00e9s_, p. 9 (Paris, 1861).]\n\nBut the national culture-hero of the Kiches seems to have been\n_Xbalanque_, a name which has the literal meaning, \"Little Tiger Deer,\"\nand is a symbolical appellation referring to days in their calendar.\nAlthough many of his deeds are recounted in the _Popol Vuh_, that work\ndoes not furnish us his complete mythical history. From it and other\nsources we learn that he was one of the twins supposed to have been born\nof a virgin mother in Utatlan, the central province of the Kiches, to have\nbeen the guide and protector of their nation, and in its interest to have\nmade a journey to the Underworld, in order to revenge himself on his\npowerful enemies, its rulers. He was successful, and having overcome them,\nhe set free the Sun, which they had seized, and restored to life four\nhundred youths whom they had slain, and who, in fact, were the stars of\nheaven. On his return, he emerged from the bowels of the earth and the\nplace of darkness, at a point far to the east of Utatlan, at some place\nlocated by the Kiches near Coban, in Vera Paz, and came again to his\npeople, looking to be received with fitting honors. But like Viracocha,\nQuetzalcoatl, and others of these worthies, the story goes that they\ntreated him with scant courtesy, and in anger at their ingratitude, he\nleft them forever, in order to seek a nobler people.\n\nI need not enter into a detailed discussion of this myth, many points in\nwhich are obscure, the less so as I have treated them at length in a\nmonograph readily accessible to the reader who would push his inquiries\nfurther. Enough if I quote the conclusion to which I there arrive. It is\nas follows:--\n\n\"Suffice it to say that the hero-god, whose name is thus compounded of two\nsigns in the calendar, who is one of twins born of a virgin, who performs\nmany surprising feats of prowess on the earth, who descends into the world\nof darkness and sets free the sun, moon and stars to perform their daily\nand nightly journeys through the heavens, presents in these and other\ntraits such numerous resemblances to the Divinity of Light, the Day-maker\nof the northern hunting tribes, reappearing in so many American legends,\nthat I do not hesitate to identify the narrative of Xbalanque and his\ndeeds as but another version of this wide-spread, this well-nigh universal\nmyth.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _The Names of the Gods in the Kiche Myths, Central America_,\nby Daniel G. Brinton, M.D., in the _Proceedings of the American\nPhilosophical Society_ for 1881.]\n\nFew of our hero-myths have given occasion for wilder speculation than that\nof Votan. He was the culture hero of the Tzendals, a branch of the Maya\nrace, whose home was in Chiapas and Tabasco. Even the usually cautious\nHumboldt suggested that his name might be a form of Odin or Buddha! As for\nmore imaginative writers, they have made not the least difficulty in\ndiscovering that it is identical with the Odon of the Tarascos, the Oton\nof the Othomis, the Poudan of the East Indian Tamuls, the Vaudoux of the\nLouisiana negroes, etc. All this has been done without any attempt having\nbeen made to ascertain the precise meaning and derivation of the name\nVotan. Superficial phonetic similarities have been the only guide.\n\nWe are not well acquainted with the Votan myth. It appears to have been\nwritten down some time in the seventeenth century, by a Christianized\nnative. His manuscript of five or six folios, in the Tzendal tongue, came\ninto the possession of Nu\u00f1ez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapas, about 1690,\nand later into the hands of Don Ramon Ondonez y Aguiar, where it was seen\nby Dr. Paul Felix Cabrera, about 1790. What has become of it is not known.\n\nNo complete translation of it was made; and the extracts or abstracts\ngiven by the authors just named are most unsatisfactory, and disfigured by\nignorance and prejudice. None of them, probably, was familiar with the\nTzendal tongue, especially in its ancient form. What they tell us runs as\nfollows:--\n\nAt some indefinitely remote epoch, Votan came from the far East. He was\nsent by God to divide out and assign to the different races of men the\nearth on which they dwell, and to give to each its own language. The land\nwhence he came was vaguely called _ualum uotan_, the land of Votan.\n\nHis message was especially to the Tzendals. Previous to his arrival they\nwere ignorant, barbarous, and without fixed habitations. He collected them\ninto villages, taught them how to cultivate the maize and cotton, and\ninvented the hieroglyphic signs, which they learned to carve on the walls\nof their temples. It is even said that he wrote his own history in them.\n\nHe instituted civil laws for their government, and imparted to them the\nproper ceremonials of religious worship. For this reason he was also\ncalled \"Master of the Sacred Drum,\" the instrument with which they\nsummoned the votaries to the ritual dances.\n\nThey especially remembered him as the inventor of their calendar. His name\nstood third in the week of twenty days, and was the first Dominical sign,\naccording to which they counted their year, corresponding to the _Kan_ of\nthe Mayas.\n\nAs a city-builder, he was spoken of as the founder of Palenque, Nachan,\nHuehuetlan--in fact, of any ancient place the origin of which had been\nforgotten. Near the last mentioned locality, Huehuetlan in Soconusco, he\nwas reported to have constructed an underground temple by merely blowing\nwith his breath. In this gloomy mansion he deposited his treasures, and\nappointed a priestess to guard it, for whose assistance he created the\ntapirs.\n\nVotan brought with him, according to one statement, or, according to\nanother, was followed from his native land by, certain attendants or\nsubordinates, called in the myth _tzequil_, petticoated, from the long and\nflowing robes they wore. These aided him in the work of civilization. On\nfour occasions he returned to his former home, dividing the country, when\nhe was about to leave, into four districts, over which he placed these\nattendants.\n\nWhen at last the time came for his final departure, he did not pass\nthrough the valley of death, as must all mortals, but he penetrated\nthrough a cave into the under-earth, and found his way to \"the root of\nheaven.\" With this mysterious expression, the native myth closes its\naccount of him.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The references to the Votan myth are Nu\u00f1ez de la Vega,\n_Constituciones Diocesanas, Prologo_ (Romae, 1702); Boturini, _Idea de una\nNueva Historia de la America septentrional_, pp. 114, et seq., who\ndiscusses the former; Dr. Paul Felix Cabrera, _Teatro Critico Americano_,\ntranslated, London, 1822; Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. des Nations\nCivilis\u00e9es de Mexique_, vol. i, chap, ii, who gives some additional points\nfrom Ordo\u00f1ez; and H. de Charencey, _Le Mythe de Votan; Etude sur les\nOrigines Asiatiques de la Civilization Am\u00e9ricaine_. (Alencon, 1871).]\n\nHe was worshiped by the Tzendals as their principal deity and their\nbeneficent patron. But he had a rival in their religious observances, the\nfeared _Yalahau_ Lord of Blackness, or Lord of the Waters. He was\nrepresented as a terrible warrior, cruel to the people, and one of the\nfirst of men.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Yalahau_ is referred to by Bishop Nu\u00f1ez de la Vega as\nvenerated in Occhuc and other Tzendal towns of Chiapas. He translates it\n\"Se\u00f1or de los Negros.\" The terminal _ahau_ is pure Maya, meaning king,\nruler, lord; _Yal_ is also Maya, and means water. The god of the waters,\nof darkness, night and blackness, is often one and the same in mythology,\nand probably had we the myth complete, he would prove to be Votan's\nbrother and antagonist.]\n\nAccording to an unpublished work by Fuentes, Votan was one of four\nbrothers, the common ancestors of the southwestern branches of the Maya\nfamily.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Quoted in Emeterio Pineda, _Descripcion Geografica de Chiapas\ny Soconusco_, p. 9 (Mexico, 1845).]\n\nAll these traits of this popular hero are too exactly similar to those of\nthe other representatives of this myth, for them to leave any doubt as to\nwhat we are to make of Votan. Like the rest of them, he and his long-robed\nattendants are personifications of the eastern light and its rays. Though\nbut uncritical epitomes of a fragmentary myth about him remain, they are\nenough to stamp it as that which meets us so constantly, no matter where\nwe turn in the New World.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The title of the Tzendal MSS., is said by Cabrera to be\n\"Proof that I am a Chan.\" The author writes in the person of Votan\nhimself, and proves his claim that he is a Chan, \"because he is a Chivim.\"\nChan has been translated _serpent_; on _chivim_ the commentators have\nalmost given up. Supposing that the serpent was a totem of one of the\nTzendal clans, then the effort would be to show that their hero-god was of\nthat totem; but how this is shown by his being proved a _chivim_ is not\nobvious. The term _ualum chivim_, the land of the _chivim_. appears to be\nthat applied, in the MS., to the country of the Tzendals, or a part of it.\nThe words _chi uinic_ would mean, \"men of the shore,\" and might be a local\nname applied to a clan on the coast. But in default of the original text\nwe can but surmise as to the precise meaning of the writer.]\n\nIt scarcely seems necessary for me to point out that his name Votan is in\nno way akin to Othomi or Tarasco roots, still less to the Norse Wodan or\nthe Indian Buddha, but is derived from a radical in pure Maya. Yet I will\ndo so, in order, if possible, to put a stop to such visionary etymologies.\n\nAs we are informed by Bishop Nu\u00f1ez de la Vega, _uotan_ in Tzendal means\n_heart_. Votan was spoken of as \"the heart or soul of his people.\" This\nderivation has been questioned, because the word for the heart in the\nother Maya dialects is different, and it has been suggested that this was\nbut an example of \"otosis,\" where a foreign proper name was turned into a\nfamiliar common noun. But these objections do not hold good.\n\nIn regard to derivation, _uotan_ is from the pure Maya root-word _tan_,\nwhich means primarily \"the breast,\" or that which is in front or in the\nmiddle of the body; with the possessive prefix it becomes _utan_. In\nTzendal this word means both _breast_ and _heart_. This is well\nillustrated by an ancient manuscript, dating from 1707, in my possession.\nIt is a guide to priests for administering the sacraments in Spanish and\nTzendal. I quote the passage in point[1]:--\n\n[Footnote 1: _Modo de Administrar los Sacramentos en Castellano y\nTzendal_, 1707. 4to MS., p. 13.]\n\n\"Con todo tu coraz\u00f3n, hiriendote\nen los pechos, di, conmigo.\"\n\n_Ta zpizil auotan, xatigh zny\nauotan, zghoyoc, alagh ghoyoc_.--\n\nHere, _a_ is the possessive of the second person, and _uotan_ is used both\nfor heart and breast. Thus the derivation of the word from the Maya\nradical is clear.\n\nThe figure of speech by which the chief divinity is called \"the heart of\nthe earth,\" \"the heart of the sky,\" is common in these dialects, and\noccurs repeatedly in the _Popol Vuh_, the sacred legend of the Kiches of\nGuatemala.[2]\n\n[Footnote 2: Thus we have (_Popol Vuh_, Part i, p. 2) _u qux cho_, Heart\nof the Lakes, and _u qux palo_, Heart of the Ocean, as names of the\nhighest divinity; later, we find _u qux cah_, Heart of the Sky (p. 8), _u\nqux uleu_, Heart of the Earth, p. 12, 14, etc.\n\nI may here repeat what I have elsewhere written on this figurative\nexpression in the Maya languages: \"The literal or physical sense of the\nword heart is not that which is here intended. In these dialects this word\nhas a richer metaphorical meaning than in our tongue. It stands for all\nthe psychical powers, the memory, will and reasoning faculties, the life,\nthe spirit, the soul. It would be more correct to render these names the\n'Spirit' or 'Soul' of the lake, etc., than the 'Heart.' They indicate a\ndimly understood sense of the unity of spirit or energy in all the various\nmanifestations of organic and inorganic existence.\" _The Names of the Gods\nin the Kiche Myths, Central America_, by Daniel G. Brinton, in\n_Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society_, vol. xix, 1881, p.\n623.]\n\nThe immediate neighbors of the Tzendals were the Mixes and Zoques, the\nformer resident in the central mountains of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,\nthe latter rather in the lowlands and toward the eastern coast. The Mixes\nnowadays number but a few villages, whose inhabitants are reported as\ndrunken and worthless, but the time was when they were a powerful and\nwarlike nation. They are in nowise akin to the Maya stock, although they\nare so classed in Mr. H.H. Bancroft's excellent work.[1] They have,\nhowever, a distinct relationship with the Zoques, about thirty per cent of\nthe words in the two languages being similar.[2] The Zoques, whose\nmythology we unfortunately know little or nothing about, adjoined the\nTzendals, and were in constant intercourse with them.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Mijes, Maya nation,\" _The Native Races of the Pacific\nStates_, Vol. v, p. 712.]\n\n[Footnote 2: _Apuntes sobre la Lengua Mije_, por C.H. Berendt, M.D., MS.,\nin my hands. The comparison is made of 158 words in the two languages, of\nwhich 44 have marked affinity, besides the numerals, eight out of ten of\nwhich are the same. Many of the remaining words are related to the\nZapotec, and there are very few and faint resemblances to Maya dialects.\nOne of them may possibly be in this name, Votan (_uotan_), heart, however.\nIn Mixe the word for heart is _hot_. I note this merely to complete my\nobservations on the Votan myth.]\n\nWe have but faint traces of the early mythology of these tribes; but they\npreserved some legends which show that they also partook of the belief, so\ngeneral among their neighbors, of a beneficent culture-god.\n\nThis myth relates that their first father, who was also their Supreme God,\ncame forth from a cave in a lofty mountain in their country, to govern and\ndirect them. He covered the soil with forests, located the springs and\nstreams, peopled them with fish and the woods with game and birds, and\ntaught the tribe how to catch them. They did not believe that he had died,\nbut that after a certain length of time, he, with his servants and\ncaptives, all laden with bright gleaming gold, retired into the cave and\nclosed its mouth, not to remain there, but to reappear at some other part\nof the world and confer similar favors on other nations.\n\nThe name, or one of the names, of this benefactor was Condoy, the meaning\nof which my facilities do not enable me to ascertain.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Juan B. Carriedo, _Estudios Historicos y Estadisticos del\nEstado Libre de Oaxaca_, p. 3 (Oaxaca, 1847).]\n\nThere is scarcely enough of this to reveal the exact lineaments of their\nhero; but if we may judge from these fragments as given by Carriedo, it\nappears to be of precisely the same class as the other hero-myths I have\ncollected in this volume. Historians of authority assure us that the\nMixes, Zoques and Zapotecs united in the expectation, founded on their\nancient myths and prophecies, of the arrival, some time, of men from the\nEast, fair of hue and mighty in power, masters of the lightning, who would\noccupy the land.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Ibid., p. 94, _note_, quoting from the works of Las Casas and\nFrancisco Burgoa.]\n\nOn the lofty plateau of the Andes, in New Granada, where, though nearly\nunder the equator, the temperature is that of a perpetual spring, was the\nfortunate home of the Muyscas. It is the true El Dorado of America; every\nmountain stream a Pactolus, and every hill a mine of gold. The natives\nwere peaceful in disposition, skilled in smelting and beating the precious\nmetal that was everywhere at hand, lovers of agriculture, and versed in\nthe arts of spinning, weaving and dying cotton. Their remaining sculptures\nprove them to have been of no mean ability in designing, and it is\nasserted that they had a form of writing, of which their signs for the\nnumerals have alone been preserved.\n\nThe knowledge of these various arts they attributed to the instructions of\na wise stranger who dwelt among them many cycles before the arrival of the\nSpaniards. He came from the East, from the llanos of Venezuela or beyond\nthem, and it was said that the path he made was broad and long, a hundred\nleagues in length, and led directly to the holy temple at his shrine at\nSogamoso. In the province of Ubaque his footprints on the solid rock were\nreverently pointed out long after the Conquest. His hair was abundant, his\nbeard fell to his waist, and he dressed in long and flowing robes. He went\namong the nations of the plateaux, addressing each in its own dialect,\ntaught them to live in villages and to observe just laws. Near the village\nof Coto was a high hill held in special veneration, for from its prominent\nsummit he was wont to address the people who gathered round its base.\nTherefore it was esteemed a sanctuary, holy to the living and the dead.\nPrincely families from a distance carried their dead there to be interred,\nbecause this teacher had said that man does not perish when he dies, but\nshall rise again. It was held that this would be more certain to occur in\nthe very spot where he announced this doctrine. Every sunset, when he had\nfinished his discourse, he retired into a cave in the mountain, not to\nreappear again until the next morning.\n\nFor many years, some said for two thousand years, did he rule the people\nwith equity, and then he departed, going back to the East whence he came,\nsaid some authorities, but others averred that he rose up to heaven. At\nany rate, before he left, he appointed a successor in the sovereignty, and\nrecommended him to pursue the paths of justice.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Afirman que fue trasladado al cielo, y que al tiempo de su\npartida dex\u00f3 al Cacique de aquella Provincia por heredero de su santidad i\npoderio.\" Lucas Fernaudez Piedrahita, _Historia General de las Conquistas\ndel Nueoo Reyno de Granada_, Lib. i, cap. iii (Amberes, 1688).]\n\nWhat led the Spanish missionaries to suspect that this was one of the\ntwelve apostles, was not only these doctrines, but the undoubted fact that\nthey found the symbol of the cross already a religious emblem among this\npeople. It appeared in their sacred paintings, and especially, they\nerected one over the grave of a person who had died from the bite of a\nserpent.\n\nA little careful investigation will permit us to accept these statements\nas quite true, and yet give them a very different interpretation.\n\nThat this culture-hero arrives from the East and returns to the East are\npoints that at once excite the suspicion that he was the personification\nof the Light. But when we come to his names, no doubt can remain. These\nwere various, but one of the most usual was _Chimizapagua_, which, we are\ntold, means \"a messenger from _Chiminigagua_.\" In the cosmogonical myths\nof the Muyscas this was the home or source of Light, and was a name\napplied to the demiurgic force. In that mysterious dwelling, so their\naccount ran, light was shut up, and the world lay in primeval gloom. At a\ncertain time the light manifested itself, and the dawn of the first\nmorning appeared, the light being carried to the four quarters of the\nearth by great black birds, who blew the air and winds from their beaks.\nModern grammarians profess themselves unable to explain the exact meaning\nof the name _Chiminigagua_, but it is a compound, in which, evidently,\nappear the words _chie_, light, and _gagua_, Sun.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: Uricoechea says, \"al principio del mundo la luz estaba\nencerrada en una cosa que no podian describir i que llamaban\n_Chiminigague_, \u00f3 El Criador.\" _Gramatica de la Lengua Chibcha_, Introd.,\np. xix. _Chie_ in this tongue means light, moon, month, honor, and is also\nthe first person plural of the personal pronoun. _Ibid_., p. 94. Father\nSimon says _gagua_ is \"el nombre del mismo sol,\" though ordinarily Sun is\n_Sua_.]\n\nOther names applied to this hero-god were Nemterequeteba, B\u00f3chica, and\nZuhe, or Sua, the last mentioned being also the ordinary word for the Sun.\nHe was reported to have been of light complexion, and when the Spaniards\nfirst arrived they were supposed to be his envoys, and were called _sua_\nor _gagua_, just as from the memory of a similar myth in Peru they were\naddressed as Viracochas.\n\nIn his form as B\u00f3chica, he is represented as the supreme male divinity,\nwhose female associate is the Rainbow, Cuchaviva, goddess of rains and\nwaters, of the fertility of the fields, of medicine, and of child-bearing\nin women, a relationship which I have already explained.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: The principal authority for the mythology of the Mayscas, or\nChibchas, is Padre Pedro Simon, _Noticias Historiales de las Conquistas de\nTierra Firme en el Nuevo Reyno de Granada_, Pt. iv, caps. ii, iii, iv,\nprinted in Kingsborough, _Mexican Antiquities_, vol. viii, and Piedrahita\nas above quoted.]\n\nWherever the widespread Tupi-Guaranay race extended--from the mouth of the\nRio de la Plata and the boundless plains of the Pampas, north to the\nnorthernmost islands of the West Indian Archipelago--the early explorers\nfound the natives piously attributing their knowledge of the arts of life\nto a venerable and benevolent old man whom they called \"Our Ancestor,\"\n_Tamu_, or _Tume_, or _Zume_.\n\nThe early Jesuit missionaries to the Guaranis and affiliated tribes of\nParaguay and southern Brazil, have much to say of this personage, and some\nof them were convinced that he could have been no other than the Apostle\nSt. Thomas on his proselytizing journey around the world.\n\nThe legend was that Pay Zume, as he was called in Paraguay (_Pay_ =\nmagician, diviner, priest), came from the East, from the Sun-rising, in\nyears long gone by. He instructed the people in the arts of hunting and\nagriculture, especially in the culture and preparation of the manioca\nplant, their chief source of vegetable food. Near the city of Assumption\nis situated a lofty rock, around which, says the myth, he was accustomed\nto gather the people, while he stood above them on its summit, and\ndelivered his instructions and his laws, just as did Quetzalcoatl from the\ntop of the mountain Tzatzitepec, the Hill of Shouting. The spot where he\nstood is still marked by the impress of his feet, which the pious natives\nof a later day took pride in pointing out as a convincing proof that their\nancestors received and remembered the preachings of St. Thomas.[1] This\nwas not a suggestion of their later learning, but merely a christianized\nterm given to their authentic ancient legend. As early as 1552, when\nFather Emanuel Nobrega was visiting the missions of Brazil, he heard the\nlegend, and learned of a locality where not only the marks of the feet,\nbut also of the hands of the hero-god had been indelibly impressed upon\nthe hard rock. Not satisfied with the mere report, he visited the spot and\nsaw them with his own eyes, but indulged in some skepticism as to their\norigin.[2]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Juxta Paraquariae metropolim rupes utcumque cuspidata, sed\nin modicam planitiem desinens cernitur, in cujus summitate vestigia pedum\nhumanorum saxo impressa adhuc manent, affirmantibus constanter indigenis,\nex eo loco Apostolum Thomam multitudini undequaque ad eum audiendum\nconfluenti solitum fuisse legem divinam tradere: et addunt mandiocae, ex\nqua farinam suam ligneam conficiunt, plantandae rationem ab eodem\naccepisse.\" P. Nicolao del Techo, _Historia Provincial Paraquariae\nSocietatis Jesu_, Lib. vi, cap. iv (folio, Leodii, 1673).]\n\n[Footnote 2: \"Ipse abii,\" he writes in his well known Letter, \"et propriis\noculis inspexi, quatuor pedum et digitorum satis alt\u00e9 impressa vestigia,\nquae nonnunquam aqua excrescens cooperit.\" The reader will remember the\nsimilar event in the history of Quetzalcoatl (see above, chapter iii, \u00a73)]\n\nThe story was that wherever this hero-god walked, he left behind him a\nwell-marked path, which was permanent, and as the Muyscas of New Granada\npointed out the path of Bochica, so did the Guaranays that of Zume, which\nthe missionaries regarded \"not without astonishment.\"[1] He lived a\ncertain length of time with his people and then left them, going back over\nthe ocean toward the East, according to some accounts. But according to\nothers, he was driven away by his stiff-necked and unwilling auditors, who\nhad become tired of his advice. They pursued him to the bank of a river,\nand there, thinking that the quickest riddance of him was to kill him,\nthey discharged their arrows at him. But he caught the arrows in his hand\nand hurled them back, and dividing the waters of the river by his divine\npower he walked between them to the other bank, dry-shod, and disappeared\nfrom their view in the distance.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"E Brasili\u00e2 in Guairaniam euntibus spectabilis adhuc semita\nviditur, quam ab Sancto Thoma ideo incolae vocant, quod per eam Apostolus\niter fecisse credatur; quae semita quovis anni tempore eumdem statum\nconservat, modic\u00e9 in ea crescendibus herbis, ab adjacenti campo multum\nherbescenti prorsus dissimilibus, praebetque speciem viae artificios\u00e9\nductae; quam Socii nostri Guairaniam excolentes persaepe non sine stupore\nperspexisse se testantur.\" Nicolao del Techo, _ubi supr\u00e1_, Lib. vi, cap.\niv.\n\nThe connection of this myth with the course of the sun in the sky, \"the\npath of the bright God,\" as it is called in the Veda, appears obvious. So\nalso in later legend we read of the wonderful slot or trail of the dragon\nFafnir across the Glittering Heath, and many cognate instances, which\nmythologists now explain by the same reference.]\n\nLike all the hero-gods, he left behind him the well-remembered promise\nthat at some future day he should return to them, and that a race of men\nshould come in time, to gather them into towns and rule them in peace.[1]\nThese predictions were carefully noted by the missionaries, and regarded\nas the \"unconscious prophecies of heathendom\" of the advent of\nChristianity; but to me they bear too unmistakably the stamp of the\nlight-myth I have been following up in so many localities of the New World\nfor me to entertain a doubt about their origin and meaning.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Ilium quoque pollicitum fuisse, se aliquando has regiones\nrevisurum.\" Father Nobrega, _ubi supr\u00e1_. For the other particulars I have\ngiven see Nicolao del Techo, _Historia Provinciae Paraquariae_, Lib. vi,\ncap. iv, \"De D. Thomae Apostoli itineribus;\" and P. Antonio Ruiz,\n_Conquista Espiritual hecha por los Religiosos de la Compa\u00f1ia de Jesus en\nlas Provincias del Paraguay, Parana, Uruguay y Tape_, fol. 29, 30 (4to.,\nMadrid, 1639). The remarkable identity of the words relating to their\nreligious beliefs and observances throughout this widespread group of\ntribes has been demonstrated and forcibly commented on by Alcide\nD'Orbigny, _L'Homme Americain_, vol. ii, p. 277. The Vicomte de Porto\nSeguro identifies Zume with the _Cemi_ of the Antilles, and this etymology\nis at any rate not so fanciful as most of those he gives in his\nimaginative work, _L'Origine Touranienne des Americaines Tupis-Caribes_,\np. 62 (Vienna, 1876).]\n\nI have not yet exhausted the sources from which I could bring evidence of\nthe widespread presence of the elements of this mythical creation in\nAmerica. But probably I have said enough to satisfy the reader on this\npoint. At any rate it will be sufficient if I close the list with some\nmanifest fragments of the myth, picked out from the confused and generally\nmodern reports we have of the religions of the Athabascan race. This stem\nis one of the most widely distributed in North America, extending across\nthe whole continent south of the Eskimos, and scattered toward the warmer\nlatitudes quite into Mexico. It is low down in the intellectual scale, its\ncomponent tribes are usually migratory savages, and its dialects are\nextremely synthetic and of difficult phonetics, requiring as many as\nsixty-five letters for their proper orthography. No wonder, therefore,\nthat we have but limited knowledge of their mental life.\n\nConspicuous in their myths is the tale of the Two Brothers. These\nmysterious beings are upon the earth before man appears. Though alone,\nthey do not agree, and the one attacks and slays the other. Another\nbrother appears on the scene, who seems to be the one slain, who has come\nto life, and the two are given wives by the Being who was the Creator of\nthings. These two women were perfectly beautiful, but invisible to the\neyes of mortals. The one was named, The Woman of the Light or The Woman of\nthe Morning; the other was the Woman of Darkness or the Woman of Evening.\nThe brothers lived together in one tent with these women, who each in turn\nwent out to work. When the Woman of Light was at work, it was daytime;\nwhen the Woman of Darkness was at her labors, it was night.\n\nIn the course of time one of the brothers disappeared and the other\ndetermined to select a wife from one of the two women, as it seems he had\nnot yet chosen. He watched what the Woman of Darkness did in her absence,\nand discovered that she descended into the waters and enjoyed the embraces\nof a monster, while the Woman of Light passed her time in feeding white\nbirds. In course of time the former brought forth black man-serpents,\nwhile the Woman of Light was delivered of beautiful boys with white skins.\nThe master of the house killed the former with his arrows, but preserved\nthe latter, and marrying the Woman of Light, became the father of the\nhuman race, and especially of the D\u00e8n\u00e8 Dindji\u00e9, who have preserved the\nmemory of him.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: _Monographie des D\u00e8n\u00e8 Dindji\u00e9, par_ C.R.P.E. Petitot, pp.\n84-87 (Paris, 1876). Elsewhere the writer says: \"Tout d'abord je dois\nrappeler mon observation que presque toujours, dans les traditions D\u00e8n\u00e8,\nle couple primitif se compose de _deux fr\u00e8res_.\" Ibid., p. 62.]\n\nIn another myth of this stock, clearly a version of the former, this\nfather of the race is represented as a mighty bird, called _Y\u00eal_, or\n_Yale_, or _Orelbale_, from the root _ell_, a term they apply to\neverything supernatural. He took to wife the daughter of the Sun (the\nWoman of Light), and by her begat the race of man. He formed the dry land\nfor a place for them to live upon, and stocked the rivers with salmon,\nthat they might have food. When he enters his nest it is day, but when he\nleaves it it is night; or, according to another myth, he has the two women\nfor wives, the one of whom makes the day, the other the night.\n\nIn the beginning Y\u00eal was white in plumage, but he had an enemy, by name\n_Cannook_, with whom he had various contests, and by whose machinations he\nwas turned black. Y\u00eal is further represented as the god of the winds and\nstorms, and of the thunder and lightning.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: For the extent and particulars of this myth, many of the\ndetails of which I omit, see Petitot, _ubi supr\u00e1_, pp. 68, 87, note;\nMatthew Macfie. _Travels in Vancouver Island and British Columbia_, pp.\n452-455 (London, 1865); and J.K. Lord, _The Naturalist in Vancouver Island\nand British Columbia_ (London, 1866). It is referred to by Mackenzie and\nother early writers.]\n\nThus we find, even in this extremely low specimen of the native race, the\nsame basis for their mythology as in the most cultivated nations of\nCentral America. Not only this; it is the same basis upon which is built\nthe major part of the sacred stories of all early religions, in both\ncontinents; and the excellent Father Petitot, who is so much impressed by\nthese resemblances that he founds upon them a learned argument to prove\nthat the D\u00e8n\u00e8 are of oriental extraction,[1] would have written more to\nthe purpose had his acquaintance with American religions been as extensive\nas it was with those of Asiatic origin.\n\n[Footnote 1: See his \"Essai sur l'Origine des D\u00e8n\u00e8-Dindji\u00e9,\" in his\n_Monographie_, above quoted.]\n\nThere is one point in all these myths which I wish to bring out forcibly.\nThat is, the distinction which is everywhere drawn between the God of\nLight and the Sun. Unless this distinction is fully comprehended, American\nmythology loses most of its meaning.\n\nThe assertion has been so often repeated, even down to the latest writers,\nthat the American Indians were nearly all sun-worshipers, that I take\npains formally to contradict it. Neither the Sun nor the Spirit of the Sun\nwas their chief divinity.\n\nOf course, the daily history of the appearance and disappearance of light\nis intimately connected with the apparent motion of the sun. Hence, in the\nmyths there is often a seeming identification of the two, which I have\nbeen at no pains to avoid. But the identity is superficial only; it\nentirely disappears in other parts of the myth, and the conceptions, as\nfundamentally distinct, must be studied separately, to reach accurate\nresults. It is an easy, but by no means a profound method of treating\nthese religions, to dismiss them all by the facile explanations of\n\"animism,\" and \"sun and moon worship.\"\n\nI have said, and quoted strong authority to confirm the opinion, that the\nnative tribes of America have lost ground in morals and have retrograded\nin their religious life since the introduction of Christianity. Their own\nfaiths, though lower in form, had in them the germs of a religious and\nmoral evolution, more likely, with proper regulation, to lead these people\nto a higher plane of thought than the Aryan doctrines which were forced\nupon them.\n\nThis may seem a daring, even a heterodox assertion, but I think that most\nmodern ethnologists will agree that it is no more possible for races in\nall stages of culture and of widely different faculties to receive with\nbenefit any one religion, than it is for them to thrive under one form of\ngovernment, or to adopt with advantage one uniform plan of building\nhouses. The moral and religious life is a growth, and the brash wood of\nancient date cannot be grafted on the green stem. It is well to remember\nthat the heathendoms of America were very far from wanting living seeds of\nsound morality and healthy mental education. I shall endeavor to point\nthis out in a few brief paragraphs.\n\nIn their origin in the human mind, religion and morality have nothing in\ncommon. They are even antagonistic. At the root of all religions is the\npassionate desire for the widest possible life, for the most unlimited\nexercise of all the powers. The basis of all morality is self-sacrifice,\nthe willingness to give up our wishes to the will of another. The\ncriterion of the power of a religion is its ability to command this\nsacrifice; the criterion of the excellence of a religion is the extent to\nwhich its commands coincide with the good of the race, with the lofty\nstandard of the \"categorical imperative.\"\n\nWith these axioms well in mind, we can advance with confidence to examine\nthe claims of a religion. It will rise in the scale just in proportion as\nits behests, were they universally adopted, would permanently increase the\nhappiness of the human race.\n\nIn their origin, as I have said, morality and religion are opposites; but\nthey are opposites which inevitably attract and unite. The first lesson of\nall religions is that we gain by giving, that to secure any end we must\nsacrifice something. This, too, is taught by all social intercourse, and,\ntherefore, an acute German psychologist has set up the formula,\" All\nmanners are moral,\"[1] because they all imply a subjection of the personal\nwill of the individual to the general will of those who surround him, as\nexpressed in usage and custom.\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Alle Sitten sind sittlich.\" Lazarus, _Ursprung der Sitte_,\nS. 5, quoted by Roskoff. I hardly need mention that our word _morality_,\nfrom _mos_, means by etymology, simply what is customary and of current\nusage. The moral man is he who conforms himself to the opinions of the\nmajority. This is also at the basis of Robert Browning's definition of a\npeople: \"A people is but the attempt of many to rise to the completer life\nof one\" (_A Soul's Tragedy_).]\n\nEven the religion which demands bloody sacrifices, which forces its\nvotaries to futile and abhorrent rites, is at least training its adherents\nin the virtues of obedience and renunciation, in endurance and confidence.\n\nBut concerning American religions I need not have recourse to such a\nquestionable vindication. They held in them far nobler elements, as is\nproved beyond cavil by the words of many of the earliest missionaries\nthemselves. Bigoted and bitter haters of the native faiths, as they were,\nthey discovered in them so much that was good, so much that approximated\nto the purer doctrines that they themselves came to teach, that they have\nleft on record many an attempt to prove that there must, in some remote\nand unknown epoch, have come Christian teachers to the New World, St.\nThomas, St. Bartholomew, monks from Ireland, or Asiatic disciples, to\nacquaint the natives with such salutary doctrines. It is precisely in\nconnection with the myths which I have been relating in this volume that\nthese theories were put forth, and I have referred to them in various\npassages.\n\nThe facts are as stated, but the credit of developing these elevated moral\nconceptions must not be refused to the red race. They are its own\nproperty, the legitimate growth of its own religious sense.\n\nThe hero-god, the embodiment of the Light of Day, is essentially a moral\nand beneficent creation. Whether his name be Michabo, Ioskeha, or\nQuetzalcoatl, Itzamna, Viracocha or Tamu, he is always the giver of laws,\nthe instructor in the arts of social life, the founder of commonwealths,\nthe patron of agriculture. He casts his influence in favor of peace, and\nagainst wars and deeds of violence. He punishes those who pursue iniquity,\nand he favors those who work for the good of the community.\n\nIn many instances he sets an example of chaste living, of strict\ntemperance, of complete subjection of the lusts and appetites. I have but\nto refer to what I have already said of the Maya Kukulcan and the Aztec\nQuetzalcoatl, to show this. Both are particularly noted as characters free\nfrom the taint of indulgence.\n\nThus it occurred that the early monks often express surprise that these,\nwhom they chose to call savages and heathens, had developed a moral law of\nundeniable purity. \"The matters that Bochica taught,\" says the chronicler\nPiedrahita, \"were certainly excellent, inasmuch as these natives hold as\nright to do just the same that we do.\" \"The priests of these Muyscas,\" he\ngoes on to say, \"lived most chastely and with great purity of life,\ninsomuch that even in eating, their food was simple and of small quantity,\nand they refrained altogether from women and marriage. Did one transgress\nin this respect, he was dismissed from the priesthood.\"[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: \"Las cosas que el Bochica les ense\u00f1aba eran buenas, siendo\nassi, que tenian por malo lo mismo que nosotros tenemos por tal.\"\nPiedrahita, _Historia General de las Conquistas del Nuevo Reyno de\nGranada_, Lib. i, Cap. iii.]\n\nThe prayers addressed to these deities breathe as pure a spirit of\ndevotion as many now heard in Christian lands. Change the names, and some\nof the formulas preserved by Christobal de Molina and Sahagun would not\njar on the ears of a congregation in one of our own churches.\n\nAlthough sanguinary rites were common, they were not usual in the worship\nof these highest divinities, but rather as propitiations to the demons of\nthe darkness, or the spirits of the terrible phenomena of nature. The mild\ngod of light did not demand them.\n\nTo appreciate the effect of all this on the mind of the race, let it be\nremembered that these culture-heroes were also the creators, the primal\nand most potent of divinities, and that usually many temples and a large\ncorps of priests were devoted to their worship, at least in the nations of\nhigher civilization. These votaries were engaged in keeping alive the\nmyth, in impressing the supposed commands of the deity on the people, and\nin imitating him in example and precept. Thus they had formed a lofty\nideal of man, and were publishing this ideal to their fellows. Certainly\nthis could not fail of working to the good of the nation, and of elevating\nand purifying its moral conceptions.\n\nThat it did so we have ample evidence in the authentic accounts of the\nancient society as it existed before the Europeans destroyed and corrupted\nit, and in the collections of laws, all distinctly stamped with the seal\nof religion, which have been preserved, as they were in vogue in Anahuac,\nUtatlan, Peru and other localities.[1] Any one who peruses these will see\nthat the great moral principles, the radical doctrines of individual\nvirtue, were clearly recognized and deliberately enforced as divine and\ncivil precepts in these communities. Moreover, they were generally and\ncheerfully obeyed, and the people of many of these lands were industrious,\npeaceable, moral, and happy, far more so than they have ever been since.\n\n[Footnote 1: The reader willing to pursue the argument further can find\nthese collections of ancient American laws in Sahagun, _Historia de Nueva\nEspa\u00f1a_, for Mexico; in Geronimo Roman, _Republica de las Indias\nOccidentales_, for Utatlan and other nations; for Peru in the _Relacion\ndel Origen, Descendencia, Politica, y Gobierno de los Incas, por el\nlicenciado Fernando de Santillan_ (published at Madrid. 1879); and for the\nMuyscas, in Piedrahita, _Hist. Gen. del Nuevo Reyno de Granada_, Lib. ii,\ncap. v.]\n\nThere was also a manifest progress in the definition of the idea of God,\nthat is, of a single infinite intelligence as the source and controlling\npower of phenomena. We have it on record that in Peru this was the direct\nfruit of the myth of Viracocha. It is related that the Inca Yupangui\npublished to his people that to him had appeared Viracocha, with\nadmonition that he alone was lord of the world, and creator of all things;\nthat he had made the heavens, the sun, and man; and that it was not right\nthat these, his works, should receive equal homage with himself.\nTherefore, the Inca decreed that the image of Viracocha should thereafter\nbe assigned supremacy to those of all other divinities, and that no\ntribute nor sacrifice should be paid to him, for He was master of all the\nearth, and could take from it as he chose.[1] This was evidently a direct\nattempt on the part of an enlightened ruler to lift his people from a\nlower to a higher form of religion, from idolatry to theism. The Inca even\nwent so far as to banish all images of Viracocha from his temples, so that\nthis, the greatest of gods, should be worshiped as an immaterial spirit\nonly.\n\n[Footnote 1: P. Joseph de Acosta, _Historia Natural y Moral de las\nIndias_, Lib. vi, cap. 31 (Barcelona, 1591).]\n\nA parallel instance is presented in Aztec annals. Nezahualcoyotzin, an\nenlightened ruler of Tezcuco, about 1450, was both a philosopher and a\npoet, and the songs which he left, seventy in number, some of which are\nstill preserved, breathe a spirit of emancipation from the idolatrous\nsuperstition of his day. He announced that there was one only god, who\nsustained and created all things, and who dwelt above the ninth heaven,\nout of sight of man. No image was fitting for this divinity, nor did he\never appear bodily to the eyes of men. But he listened to their prayers\nand received their souls.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: See Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, _Historica Chichimeca_,\ncap. xlix; and Joseph Joaquin Granados y Galvez, _Tardes Americanas_, p.\n90 (Mexico, 1778).]\n\nThese traditions have been doubted, for no other reason than because it\nwas assumed that such thoughts were above the level of the red race. But\nthe proper names and titles, unquestionably ancient and genuine, which I\nhave analyzed in the preceding pages refute this supposition.\n\nWe may safely affirm that other and stronger instances of the kind could\nbe quoted, had the early missionaries preserved more extensively the\nsacred chants and prayers of the natives. In the Maya tongue of Yucatan a\ncertain number of them have escaped destruction, and although they are\nopen to some suspicion of having been colored for proselytizing purposes,\nthere is direct evidence from natives who were adults at the time of the\nConquest that some of their priests had predicted the time should come\nwhen the worship of one only God should prevail. This was nothing more\nthan another instance of the monotheistic idea finding its expression, and\nits apparition is not more extraordinary in Yucatan or Peru than in\nancient Egypt or Greece.\n\nThe actual religious and moral progress of the natives was designedly\nignored and belittled by the early missionaries and conquerors. Bishop Las\nCasas directly charges those of his day with magnifying the vices of the\nIndians and the cruelties of their worship; and even such a liberal\nthinker as Roger Williams tells us that he would not be present at their\nceremonies, \"Lest I should have been partaker of Satan's Inventions and\nWorships.\"[1] This same prejudice completely blinded the first visitors to\nthe New World, and it was only the extravagant notion that Christianity\nhad at some former time been preached here that saved us most of the\nlittle that we have on record.\n\n[Footnote 1: Roger Williams, _A Key Into the Language of America_, p.\n152.]\n\nYet now and then the truth breaks through even this dense veil of\nprejudice. For instance, I have quoted in this chapter the evidence of the\nSpanish chroniclers to the purity of the teaching attributed to Bochica.\nThe effect of such doctrines could not be lost on a people who looked upon\nhim at once as an exemplar and a deity. Nor was it. The Spaniards have\nleft strong testimony to the pacific and virtuous character of that\nnation, and its freedom from the vices so prevalent in lower races.[1]\n\n[Footnote 1: See especially the _Noticias sobre el Nuevo Reino de\nGranada_, in the _Colleccion de Documentos ineditos del Archivo de\nIndias_, vol. v, p. 529.]\n\nNow, as I dismiss from the domain of actual fact all these legendary\ninstructors, the question remains, whence did these secluded tribes obtain\nthe sentiments of justice and morality which they loved to attribute to\ntheir divine founders, and, in a measure, to practice themselves?\n\nThe question is pertinent, and with its answer I may fitly close this\nstudy in American native religions.\n\nIf the theory that I have advocated is correct, these myths had to do at\nfirst with merely natural occurrences, the advent and departure of the\ndaylight, the winds, the storm and the rains. The beneficent and injurious\nresults of these phenomena were attributed to their personifications.\nEspecially was the dispersal of darkness by the light regarded as the\ntransaction of all most favorable to man. The facilities that it gave him\nwere imputed to the goodness of the personified Spirit of Light, and by a\nnatural association of ideas, the benevolent emotions and affections\ndeveloped by improving social intercourse were also brought into relation\nto this kindly Being. They came to be regarded as his behests, and, in the\nnational mind, he grew into a teacher of the friendly relations of man to\nman, and an ideal of those powers which \"make for righteousness.\" Priests\nand chieftains favored the acceptance of these views, because they felt\ntheir intrinsic wisdom, and hence the moral evolution of the nation\nproceeded steadily from its mythology. That the results achieved were\nsimilar to those taught by the best religions of the eastern world should\nnot excite any surprise, for the basic principles of ethics are the same\neverywhere and in all time.\n\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n\n\n\nINDEXES.\n\n\nI. INDEX OF AUTHORS.\n\nAcosta, J. de\nAlegre, F.X.\nAnales del Museo Nacional de Mejico\nAncona, Eligio\nAngrand, L.\nAnnals of Cuauhtitlan\nAntonio, G.\nArgoll, Capt\nAvila, Francisco de\n\nBancroft, H.H.\nBaraga, Frederick\nBasalenque, D.\nBecerra\nBeltran, de Santa Rosa\nBerendt, C.H.\nBernal Diaz\nBertonio, L.\nBetanzos, Juan de\nBobadilla, F. de\nBoturini, L.\nBourbourg, Brasseur de, see Brasseur.\nBrasseur (de Bourbourg), C.\nBuschmann, J.C.E.\nButeux, Father\n\nCabrera, P.F.\nCampanius, Thomas\nCampbell, John\nCarriedo, J.B.\nCarrillo, Crescencio\nCharency, H. de\nCharlevoix, P\u00e9re\nChavero, Alfredo\nChaves, Gabriel de\nChilan Balam, Books of\nClavigero, Francesco S.\nCodex Borgianus\nCodex Telleriano-Remensis\nCodex Troano\nCodex Vaticanus\nCogolludo, D.L. de\nComte, Auguste\nCortes, Hernan\nCox, Sir George W.\nCuoq, J.A.\nCusic, David\n\nDesjardins, E.\nD'Orbigny, A.\nDuran, Diego\n\nElder, F.X.\n\nFischer, Heinrich\nFranco, P.\nFuen-Leal, Ramirez de\n\nGabriel de San Buenaventura\nGarcia, G.\nGarcia y Garcia, A.\nGatschet, A.S.\nGomara, F.L.\nGranados y Galvez, J.J.\n\nHale, Horatio\nHaupt, Paul\nHernandez, Francisco\nHernandez, M.\nHerrera, Antonio de\nHolguin, D.G.\nHumbolt, A.V.\n\nIxtlilxochitl, F.A. de\n\nJourdanet, M.\n\nKeary, Charles F.\nKingsborough, Lord\n\nLalemant, Father\nLanda, D. de\nLang, J.D.\nLas Casas, B. de\nLazarus, Prof.\nLeon, Cieza de\nLe Plongeon, Dr.\nLizana, B.\nLord, J.K.\nLubbock, Sir John\n\nMacfie, M.\nMangan, Clarence\nMarkham, C.R.\nMelgar, J.M.\nMendieta, Geronimo de\nMendoza, G.\nMolina, Alonso de\nMolina, C. de\nMontejo, Francisco de\nMotolinia, Padre\nMotul, Diccionario de\nM\u00fcller, Max\n\nNieremberg, E. de\nNobrega, E.\n\nOllanta, drama of\nOlmos, Andre de\nOrozco y Berra, Se\u00f1or\nOviedo, G.F. de\n\nPachacuti, J. de\nPech, Nakuk\nPerrot, Nicholas\nPetitot, P.E.\nPiedrahita, L.T.\nPimentel, F.\nPinart, A.L.\nPineda, E.\nPio Perez, J.\nPopol Vuh, the\nPorto Seguro, V. de\nPrescott, W.H.\n\nRau, Charles\nRea, A. de la\nRialle, G. de\nRoman, H.\nRoskoff, Gustav\nRuiz, A.\n\nSagard P\u00e9re\nSahagun, B. de\nSanchez, Jesus\nSantillan, F. de\nSchoolcraft, H. R.\nSchultz-Sellack, Dr. C.\nSchwartz, F.L.W.\nShort, J.T.\nSimeon, Remi\nSimon, P.\nSotomayor, J. de V.\nSquier, B. G.\nStephens, J.L.\nStrachey, William\n\nTanner, John\nTaylor, S.\nTecho, N. de\nTernaux-Compans, M\nTezozomoc, A.\nTiele, C.P.\nTobar, Juan de\nToledo, F. de\nTorquemada, Juan de\nTrumbull, J.H.\nTschudi, J.J. von\n\nUricoechea, E.\n\nValera, Blas\nVega, Garcillaso, de la\nVega, Nu\u00f1ez de la\nVeitia\n\nWaitz, Th.\nWiener, C.\nWilliams, Roger\n\nXahila, F.E.A.\n\nZegarra, G.P.\n\n\nII. INDEX OF SUBJECTS.\n\n\nAbancay, in Peru\nAbstract expressions\nAcan, Maya god of wine\nAcantun, Maya deities\nAges of the world\nAh-kiuic, deity of the Mayas\nAh-puchah, deity of the Mayas\nAir, gods of; see Wind\nAlgonkins, their location\n    \"      their hero-myth\nAmun, Egyptian deity\nAnahuac\nAnimiki, the thunder god\nArawack language\nAres, the Greek\nArnava, name of Viracocha\nApotampo\nArama, deity of the Moxos\nArrival, the Great and Less\nAtaensic, an Iroquois deity\nAtahualpa Inca\nAtecpanamochco, the bath of Quetzalcoatl\nAthabascan myths and languages\nAticsi, epithet of Viracocha\nAurora, myths of; see Dawn\nAyar, Ancca\nAyar Cachi, a name of Viracocha\nAyar Manco\nAyar Uchu\nAymaras, myths of\n   \"     language of\nAztecs, location of\nAztecs in Yucatan\nAztlan, meaning of\n\nBacabs, the four\nBaldur, the Norse\nBall, the game of\nBearded hero-god\nBelly, the, in symbolism\nBird, symbol of\nBisexual deities\nBochica, hero-god of the Muyscas\nBorrowing in myths\nButterfly, the, as a symbol of the wind\n\nCadmus, the myth of\nCakchiquels, myths of\nCamaxtli, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nCanas tribe\nCanil, a name of Itzamna\nCannook, deity of D\u00e8n\u00e8\nCarapaco, lake of\nCarcha, town of\nCardinal points, worship of\nCaylla, epithet of Viracocha\nCe Acatl, One Reed, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nCe Acatl Inacuil\nCemi, deity of Arawacks\nChac, deity of the Mayas\nChacamarca, river of\nChac Mool, supposed idol\nChalchihuitl\nChalchiuitlicue, Aztec goddess\nChalchihuitzli, Aztec deity\nChalchiuhapan, the bath of Quetzalcoatl\nChasca, Qquichua deity\nChem, Egyptian deity\nChibchas, see Muyscas\nChibilias, a Maya goddess\nChichen Itza\nChichimees, the\nChickaban, a festival\nChicomecoatl, an Aztec deity\nChicomoztoc\nChimalman\nChimalmatl\nChimizapagua, name of Bochica\nChivim, land of\nChnum, Egyptian deity\nChoctaws, myth of\nCholula\nChristianity, effects of\nCincalco, Cave of\nCipactli, in Aztec myth\nCipactonal, in Aztec myth\nCitlatonac, an Aztec deity\nCitlallicue, an Aztec deity\nCitlaltlachtli\nCoatl, in Nahuatl\nCoatecalli, the Aztec Pantheon\nCoatlicue, Aztec goddess\nCocoms, the\nColhuacan\nColla, a Peruvian deity\nColors, symbolism of\nCon, Peruvian deity\nConcacha\nConchuy\nCondorcoto, the mountain\nCondoy, hero-god of Mixes\nCoto, village\nCoyote, sacred to Tezcatlipoca\nCozcapan, fountain of\nCozumel, cross of\nCross, the, symbol of\nCuchaviva, goddess of Muyscas\nCueravaperi, goddess of Tarascos\nCuernava, cave of\nCum-ahau, a Maya deity\nCuricaberis, deity of Tarascos\nCuzco, founding of\n  \"    temple of\n\nDarkness, powers of\nDawn, the mansion of the\n  \"   myths of\nD\u00e8n\u00e8, myths of\nDrum, the sacred\nDyaus, the Aryan god\nDyonisiac worship, the\n\nEast, sacredness of\nEchuac, a Maya deity\nEgyptian mythology\nEurope, carried off by Zeus\n\nFafnir, the dragon\nFatal children, the myth of\nFire, origin of\nFive eggs, the\nFlint stone, myths of\nFlood myth, the\nFour brothers, the myths of\n  \"  sacred numbers\n  \"  roads to the underworld\nFreya, Norse goddess\nFrog, as symbol of water\n\nGenesiac principle, worship of\nGijigonai, the day makers\nGlittering heath, the\nGolden locks of the hero-god\nGreat Bear, constellation of\nGuanacaure, mountain of\nGuaranis tribe\nGuaymis, tribe of Darien\nGuazacoalco\nGucumatz, god of Kiches\n\nHachaccuna\nHanmachis, the sun-god\nHeart, symbol of\nHenotheism in religions\nHermaphrodite deities\nHermes, Greek myth of\nHill of Heaven, the\nHobnel, deity of the Mayas\nHomonomy\nHuanacauri\nHuastecs, the\nHuarachiri Indians, myth of\nHuayna Capac, Inca\nHuehuetlan, town of\nHuemac, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nHueytecpatl, an Aztec deity\nHue Tlapallan\nHueytonantzin, an Aztec deity\nHuitzilopochtli, Aztec deity\n  birth of\nHuitznahna, Aztec deity\nHunchbacks, attendant on Quetzalcoatl\nHunhunahpu, a Kiche deity\nHunpictok, a Maya deity\nHurons, myth of\nHurukan, god of Kiches\n\nIdea of God, evolution of\nIlla, name of Viracocha\nIncas, empire of\nIndra\nIoskeha, the myth of\n   \"     derivation of\nIroquois, their location\n   \"      hero myth of\nItzamal, city of\nItzamna, the Maya hero god\n   \"     his names\nItzas, a Maya tribe\nItztlacoliuhqui, Aztec deity\nIx-chebel-yax, Maya goddess\nIxchel, the rainbow goddess\nIxcuin, an Aztec deity\nIzona, error for Itzamna\nIztac Mixcoatl\n\nJupiter, the planet\n\nKabironokka, the North\nKabil, a name of Itzamna\nKabun, the West\nKiches, myths of\nKinich ahau, a name of Itzamna\nKinich ahau haban\nKinich kakmo, a name of Itzamna\nKukulcan, myth of\n     \"    meaning of name\n\nLanguages, sacred, of priests\n     \"     American\nLaws, native American\nLif, the Teutonic\nLight, its place in mythology\nLight-god, the\n     \"     color of\nLight, woman of\nLucifer, worshiped by Mayas\n\nMaize, origin of\nManco Capac\nMani, province of\nMarriage ceremonies\nMaster of life, the\nMat, the virgin goddess\nMa Tlapallan\nMayapan, destruction of\n   \"     foundation of\nMayas, myths of\n  \"    language\n  \"    ancestors of\n  \"    prophecies of\nMeconetzin, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nMeztitlan, province of\nMichabo, myth of\n   \"     derivation of\nMichoacan\nMictlancalco\nMirror, the magic\nMirrors, of Aztecs\nMixcoatl, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nMixes, tribe\nMonenequi, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nMonotheism in Peru\nMoon, in Algonkin myths\n  \"   in Aztec myths\nMoquequeloa, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nMorals and religion\nMorning, house of the\nMoxos, myths of\nMoyocoyatzin, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nMuskrat, in Algonkin mythology\nMuyscas, myths of\n   \"     laws of\n\nNahuatl, the language\nNanacatltzatzi, an Aztec deity\nNanih Wayeh\nNanihehecatle, name of Quetzalcoatl\nNarcissus, the myth of\nNemterequeteba, name of Bochica\nNezahualcoyotzin, Aztec ruler\nNezaualpilli, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nNicaraguans, myths of\nNonoalco\nNuns, houses of\n\n\nOaxaca, province of\nOcchuc, town\nOcelotl, the\nOdin, the Norse\nOjibway dialect, the\n   \"    myth\n\nOmetochtli, an Aztec deity\nOrelbale, Athabascan, deity\nOsiris, the myth of\nOtomies\nOtosis, in myth building\nOttawas, an Algonkin tribe\nOwl, as a symbol of the wind\nOxomuco, in Aztec myth\n\nPacarina, the, in Peru\nPacari tampu\nPachacamac\nPachayachachi, epithet of Viracocha\nPalenque, the cross of\n   \"      building of\nPantecatl, Aztec deity\nPanuco, province of\nPapachtic, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nPariacaca, a Peruvian deity\nParonyms\nParturition, symbol of\nPaths of the gods\nPay zume, a hero-god\nPerseus\nPersonification\nPeten, lake\nPhallic emblems\nPhoebus\nPinahua, a Peruvian deity\nPirhua\nPirua\nPochotl son of Quetzalcoatl\nPolyonomy in myth building\nPrayers, purpose of\n  \"      to Quetzalcoatl\n  \"      to Viraoocha\nProper names in American languages\nProphecies of Mayas\nProsopopeia\nPulque, myths concerning\n\nQABAUIL, god of Kiches\nQquichua language\nQquonn, Peruvian deity\nQuateczizque, priests so-called\nQuauhtitlan\nQuetzalcoatl\n  identified with the East\n  meaning of the name\n  as god\n  contest with Tezcatlipoca\n  the hero of Tula\n  worshiped in Cholula\n  born of a virgin\n  his bath\n  as the planet Venus\n  as lord of the winds\n  god of thieves\n  representations\nQuetzalpetlatl\n\nRa, the Sun-god\nRabbit, the giant\n  \"     in Algonkin myths\n  \"     in Aztec myths\nRainbow, as a deity\nRains, gods of\nRed Land, the, see Tlapallan\nReligions, classifications of\n  \"        the essence of\n  \"        and morals\nRepose, the place of\nReproduction, myths concerning\nResurrection, belief in\nRomulus and Remus\n\nSand, place of\nSarama and Sarameyas, a Sanscrit myth\nSerpent symbol, the\nSerpents, the king of\nSeven brothers, the\n  \"   caves or tribes, the\nShawano, the south\nShu, Egyptian deity\nSkunk, sacred to Tezcatlipoca\nSnailshell symbol\nSogamoso, town\nSoma, the intoxicating\nSons of the clouds\nSterility, relief from\nSua, name of Bochica\nSun worship in Peru\n    \"       in America\nSun, the city of\nSuns, the Aztec\nSurites, deity of Tarascos\n\nTahuantin Suyu kapac\nTampuquiru\nTamu, a hero-god\nTapirs\nTarascos\nTaripaca, epithet of Viracocha\nTawiscara, in Iroquois myth\nTecpancaltzin, a Toltec king\nTecpatl, an Aztec deity\nTehotennhiaron, Iroquois deity\nTehunatepec tribes\nTeimatini, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nTelephassa, mother of Cadmus\nTelpochtli, a name of Tezctlipoca\nTentetemic, an Aztec deity\nTeocolhuacan\nTeometl, the\nTexcalapan\nTexcaltlauhco\nTeyocoyani, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nTezcatlachco\nTezcatlipoca, Aztec deity\n  his names\n  derivation of name\n  as twins\n  contests with Quetzalcoatl\n  slays Ometochli\n  dressed in the tiger skin\nTezcatlipoca-Camaxtli\nTezcuco\nTharonhiawakon, in Iroquois\nThomas, Saint, in America\nThunder, myth of\nTiahuanaco, myth concerning\nTicci, name of Viracocha\nTiger, as a symbol\nTiticaca lake\nTitlacauan, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nTizapan, the White Land\nTlacauepan\nTlaloc, Aztec deity\nTlalocan\nTlamatzincatl, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nTlanqua-cemilhuique, a name of the Toltecs\nTlapallan\nTlatlallan, the fire land\nTlillan, the dark land\nThllapa, the murky land\nThlpotonqui, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nTocapo, epithet of Viracocha\nToh, a Kiche deity\nTokay, epithet of Viracocha\nTollan, see Tula\nTollan-Cholollan\nTollan Tlapallan\nTollantzinco\nToltecs, the\nTonalan\nTonatlan\nTonaca cihuatl, an Aztec deity\nTonaca tecutli, Aztec deity\nTopiltzin, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nToltec, an Aztec deity\nTotems, origin of\nToveyo, the\nTree of life, the\nTree of the Mirror\nTualati, myth of\nTukupay, epithet of Viracocha\nTula, the mythical city of\nTum, Egyptian deity\nTume, a hero-god\nTunapa, name of Viracocha\nTupac Yupanqui, Inca\nTupi-Guaranay tribes\nTwins, in mythology\nTwo brothers, myths of\nTzatzitepec, the hill of shouting\nTzendals, hero-myth of\nTzinteotl, Aztec deity\nTtzitzimime, Aztec deities\n\nUac metun ahau, a name of Itzamna\nUalum chivim\nUalum uotan\nUrcos, temple of\nUsapu, epithet of Viracocha\nUtatlan, province of\n\nVase, lord of the\nVenus, the planet, in myths\nViracocha, myth of\n    \"      meaning of\n    \"      statues of\n    \"      worship of\nVirgin cow, the, in Egypt\nVirgin-mother, myth of\nVirgins of the sun, in Peru\nVotan, hero-god of Tzendals\n\nWabawang, the morning star\nWabun, or the East\nWater, in mythology\n  \"    gods of\nWest, in mythology\nWest wind, the\nWheel of the months\n  \"   of the winds\nWhite hero-god, the\n  \"   land\n  \"   serpent\nWinds, gods of\nWorld-stream, the\n\nXalac\nXbalanque, hero-god of Kiches\nXicapoyan, the bath of Quetzalcoatl\nXilotzin, son of Quetzalcoatl\nXiu, Maya family of\nXmukane, in Kiche myth\nXochitl, the maiden\nXochitlycacan, the rose garden\nXochiquetzal, an Aztec deity\n\nYacacoliuhqui, Aztec deity\nYacatecutli, Aztec deity\nYahualli ehecatl, a name of Quetzalcoatl\nYalahau, deity of Tzendals\nYale, deity of the D\u00e8n\u00e8\nYamquesupa, lake of\nYaotlnecoc, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nYaotzin, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nYaqui, derivation of\nYax-coc-ahmut, a name of Itzamna\nY\u00eal, deity of D\u00e8n\u00e8\nYmamana Viracocha\nYoalli ehecatl, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nYoamaxtli, a name of Tezcatlipoca\nYoel of the winds\nYolcuat Quetzalcoat\nYucatan\nYunca language\nYupanqui, Inca\n\nZacuan\nZapala, epithet of Viracocha\nZapotecs, tribe\nZeus, the Greek\nZipacna, a Kiche diety\nZitacuarencuaro, a festival\nZivena vitzcatl\nZoques, tribe\nZuhe, name of Bochica\nZume, a hero-god\nZuyva, Tollan in","title":"American Hero-Myths: A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":66034}