{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_53080/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_53080","id":"gutenberg_53080","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53080","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Indian mythology -- Mexico","Indian mythology -- Peru","Indians of Mexico -- Folklore","Indians of South America -- Peru -- Folklore","Maya mythology"],"text":"THE MYTHS OF\n                             MEXICO & PERU\n\n                                   BY\n                              LEWIS SPENCE\n\n         AUTHOR OF \"THE MYTHOLOGIES OF ANCIENT MEXICO AND PERU\"\n          \"THE POPOL VUH\" \"THE CIVILIZATION OF ANCIENT MEXICO\"\n                 \"A DICTIONARY OF MYTHOLOGY\" ETC. ETC.\n\n              WITH SIXTY FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS MAINLY BY\n                    GILBERT JAMES AND WILLIAM SEWELL\n                      AND OTHER DRAWINGS AND MAPS\n\n\n\n                                NEW YORK\n                       THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY\n                               PUBLISHERS\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                               Printed by\n                       BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY LTD\n                     Tavistock Street Covent Garden\n                             London England\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIn recent years a reawakening has taken place in the study of American\narch\u00e6ology and antiquities, owing chiefly to the labours of a band of\nscholars in the United States and a few enthusiasts in the continent\nof Europe. For the greater part of the nineteenth century it appeared\nas if the last word had been written upon Mexican arch\u00e6ology. The lack\nof excavations and exploration had cramped the outlook of scholars,\nand there was nothing for them to work upon save what had been done in\nthis respect before their own time. The writers on Central America who\nlived in the third quarter of the last century relied on the travels\nof Stephens and Norman, and never appeared to consider it essential\nthat the country or the antiquities in which they specialised should\nbe examined anew, or that fresh expeditions should be equipped to\ndiscover whether still further monuments existed relating to the\nancient peoples who raised the teocallis of Mexico and the huacas of\nPeru. True, the middle of the century was not altogether without its\nAmericanist explorers, but the researches of these were performed in\na manner so perfunctory that but few additions to the science resulted\nfrom their labours.\n\nModern Americanist arch\u00e6ology may be said to have been the creation of\na brilliant band of scholars who, working far apart and without any\nattempt at co-operation, yet succeeded in accomplishing much. Among\nthese may be mentioned the Frenchmen Charnay and de Rosny, and the\nAmericans Brinton, H. H. Bancroft, and Squier. To these succeeded\nthe German scholars Seler, Schellhas, and F\u00f6rstemann, the Americans\nWinsor, Starr, Savile, and Cyrus Thomas, and the Englishmen Payne and\nSir Clements Markham. These men, splendidly equipped for the work they\nhad taken in hand, were yet hampered by the lack of reliable data--a\nwant later supplied partly by their own excavations and partly by the\npainstaking labours of Professor Maudslay, now the principal of the\nInternational College of Antiquities at Mexico, who, with his wife,\nis responsible for the exact pictorial reproductions of many of the\nancient edifices in Central America and Mexico.\n\nWriters in the sphere of Mexican and Peruvian myth have been few. The\nfirst to attack the subject in the light of the modern science of\ncomparative religion was Daniel Garrison Brinton, professor of American\nlanguages and arch\u00e6ology in the University of Philadelphia. He has\nbeen followed by Payne, Schellhas, Seler, and F\u00f6rstemann, all of whom,\nhowever, have confined the publication of their researches to isolated\narticles in various geographical and scientific journals. The remarks\nof mythologists who are not also Americanists upon the subject of\nAmerican myth must be accepted with caution.\n\nThe question of the alphabets of ancient America is perhaps the most\nacute in present-day pre-Columbian arch\u00e6ology. But progress is being\nmade in this branch of the subject, and several German scholars are\nworking in whole-hearted co-operation to secure final results.\n\nWhat has Great Britain accomplished in this new and fascinating field\nof science? If the lifelong and valuable labours of the venerable Sir\nClements Markham be excepted, almost nothing. It is earnestly hoped\nthat the publication of this volume may prove the means of leading many\nEnglish students to the study and consideration of American arch\u00e6ology.\n\nThere remains the romance of old America. The real interest of American\nmedi\u00e6val history must ever circle around Mexico and Peru--her golden\nempires, her sole exemplars of civilisation; and it is to the books\nupon the character of these two nations that we must turn for a\nromantic interest as curious and as absorbing as that bound up in\nthe history of Egypt or Assyria.\n\nIf human interest is craved for by any man, let him turn to the\nnarratives of Garcilasso el Inca de la Vega and Ixtlilxochitl,\nrepresentatives and last descendants of the Peruvian and Tezcucan\nmonarchies, and read there the frightful story of the path to fortune\nof red-heeled Pizarro and cruel Cort\u00e9s, of the horrible cruelties\ncommitted upon the red man, whose colour was \"that of the devil,\" of\nthe awful pageant of gold-sated pirates laden with the treasures of\npalaces, of the stripping of temples whose very bricks were of gold,\nwhose very drain-pipes were of silver, of rapine and the sacrilege of\nhigh places, of porphyry gods dashed down the pyramidal sides of lofty\nteocallis, of princesses torn from the very steps of the throne--ay,\nread these for the most wondrous tales ever writ by the hand of man,\ntales by the side of which the fables of Araby seem dim--the story\nof a clash of worlds, the conquest of a new, of an isolated hemisphere.\n\nIt is usual to speak of America as \"a continent without a history.\" The\nfolly of such a statement is extreme. For centuries prior to European\noccupation Central America was the seat of civilisations boasting a\nhistory and a semi-historical mythology second to none in richness and\ninterest. It is only because the sources of that history are unknown\nto the general reader that such assurance upon the lack of it exists.\n\nLet us hope that this book may assist in attracting many to the\nhead-fountain of a river whose affluents water many a plain of beauty\nnot the less lovely because bizarre, not the less fascinating because\nsomewhat remote from modern thought.\n\nIn conclusion I have to acknowledge the courtesy of the Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology, which placed in my hands a valuable collection of\nillustrations and allowed me to select from these at my discretion. The\npictures chosen include the drawings used as tailpieces to chapters;\nothers, usually half-tones, are duly acknowledged where they occur.\n\n\nLEWIS SPENCE\n\nEdinburgh: July 1913\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n    CHAPTER                                                  PAGE\n\n    I.    The Civilisation of Mexico                            1\n    II.   Mexican Mythology                                    54\n    III.  Myths and Legends of the Ancient Mexicans           118\n    IV.   The Maya Race and Mythology                         143\n    V.    Myths of the Maya                                   207\n    VI.   The Civilisation of Old Peru                        248\n    VII.  The Mythology of Peru                               291\n          Bibliography                                        335\n          Glossary and Index                                  341\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n                                                             PAGE\n\n    The Princess is given a Vision                   Frontispiece\n    The Descent of Quetzalcoatl                               xiv\n    Toveyo and the Magic Drum                                  16\n    The Altar of Skulls                                        26\n    The Guardian of the Sacred Fire                            30\n    Pyramid of the Moon: Pyramid of the Sun                    32\n    Ruins of the Pyramid of Xochicalco                         34\n    The Spirit of the dead Aztec is attacked by an Evil\n      Spirit who scatters Clouds of Ashes                      38\n    The Demon Izpuzteque                                       40\n    The Aztec Calendar Stone                                   44\n    A Prisoner fighting for his Life                           48\n    Combat between Mexican and Bilimec Warriors                53\n    Priest making an Incantation over an Aztec Lady            54\n    The Princess sees a Strange Man before the Palace          62\n    Tezcatlipoca, Lord of the Night Winds                      66\n    The Infant War-God drives his Brethren into a Lake\n      and slays them                                           70\n    Statue of Tlaloc, the Rain-God                             76\n    The Aged Quetzalcoatl leaves Mexico on a Raft of\n      Serpents                                                 80\n    Ritual Masks of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca; and\n      Sacrificial Knife                                        84\n    The so-called Teoyaominqui                                 88\n    Statue of a Male Divinity                                  90\n    Xolotl                                                     94\n    The Quauhxicalli, or Solar Altar of Sacrifice              98\n    Macuilxochitl                                             102\n    The Penitent addressing the Fire                          106\n    Cloud Serpent, the Hunter-God                             110\n    Mexican Goddess                                           114\n    Tezcatlipoca                                              117\n    \"Place where the Heavens Stood\"                           120\n    A Flood-Myth of the Nahua                                 122\n    The Prince who fled for his Life                          126\n    The Princess and the Statues                              130\n    The King's Sister is shown the Valley of Dry Bones        140\n    Mexican Deity                                             142\n    The Prince who went to Found a City                       156\n    \"The Tablet of the Cross\"                                 160\n    Design on a Vase from Cham\u00e1 representing Maya Deities     166\n    The House of Bats                                         172\n    Part of the Palace and Tower, Palenque                    182\n    The King who loved a Princess                             186\n    Teocalli or Pyramid of Papantla: The Nunnery,\n      Chichen-Itza                                            188\n    Details of the Nunnery at Chichen-Itza                    190\n    The Old Woman who took an Egg home                        192\n    Great Palace of Mitla: Interior of an Apartment in\n      the Palace of Mitla                                     198\n    Hall of the Columns, Palace of Mitla                      202\n    The Twins make an Imitation Crab                          214\n    The Princess and the Gourds                               220\n    The Princess who made Friends of the Owls                 222\n    In the House of Bats                                      226\n    How the Sun appeared like the Moon                        230\n    Queen M\u00f3o has her Destiny foretold                        240\n    The Rejected Suitor                                       242\n    Piece of Pottery representing a Tapir                     247\n    Doorway of Tiahuanaco                                     248\n    Fortress at Ollantay-tampu                                250\n    \"Mother and child are united\"                             252\n    The Inca Fortress of Pissac                               254\n    \"Making one of each nation out of the clay of the\n      earth\"                                                  258\n    Painted and Black Terra-cotta Vases                       280\n    Conducting the White Llama to the Sacrifice               312\n    \"The birdlike beings were in reality women\"               318\n    \"A beautiful youth appeared to Thonapa\"                   320\n    \"He sang the song of Chamayhuarisca\"                      322\n    \"The younger one flew away\"                               324\n    \"His wife at first indignantly denied the accusation\"     326\n    \"He saw a very beautiful girl crying bitterly\"            328\n\n\n\nMAPS\n\n    The Valley of Mexico                                      330\n    Distribution of the Races in Ancient Mexico               331\n    Distribution of the Races under the Empire of the Incas   333\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I: THE CIVILISATION OF MEXICO\n\n\nThe Civilisations of the New World\n\nThere is now no question as to the indigenous origin of the\ncivilisations of Mexico, Central America, and Peru. Upon few subjects,\nhowever, has so much mistaken erudition been lavished. The beginnings\nof the races who inhabited these regions, and the cultures which they\nseverally created, have been referred to nearly every civilised or\nsemi-civilised nation of antiquity, and wild if fascinating theories\nhave been advanced with the intention of showing that civilisation was\ninitiated upon American soil by Asiatic or European influence. These\nspeculations were for the most part put forward by persons who\npossessed but a merely general acquaintance with the circumstances\nof American aboriginal civilisation, and who were struck by the\nsuperficial resemblances which undoubtedly exist between American and\nAsiatic peoples, customs, and art-forms, but which cease to be apparent\nto the Americanist, who perceives in them only such likenesses as\ninevitably occur in the work of men situated in similar environments\nand surrounded by similar social and religious conditions.\n\nThe Maya of Yucatan may be regarded as the most highly civilised\nof the peoples who occupied the American continent before the\nadvent of Europeans, and it is usually their culture which we are\nasked to believe had its seat of origin in Asia. It is unnecessary\nto refute this theory in detail, as that has already been ably\naccomplished. [1] But it may be remarked that the surest proof of\nthe purely native origin of American civilisation is to be found in\nthe unique nature of American art, the undoubted result of countless\ncenturies of isolation. American language, arithmetic, and methods of\ntime-reckoning, too, bear no resemblance to other systems, European\nor Asiatic, and we may be certain that had a civilising race entered\nAmerica from Asia it would have left its indelible impress upon\nthings so intensely associated with the life of a people as well as\nupon the art and architecture of the country, for they are as much\nthe product of culture as is the ability to raise temples.\n\n\n\nEvidence of Animal and Plant Life\n\nIt is impossible in this connection to ignore the evidence in favour of\nnative advancement which can be adduced from the artificial production\nof food in America. Nearly all the domesticated animals and cultivated\nfood-plants found on the continent at the period of the discovery were\ntotally different from those known to the Old World. Maize, cocoa,\ntobacco, and the potato, with a host of useful plants, were new to\nthe European conquerors, and the absence of such familiar animals\nas the horse, cow, and sheep, besides a score of lesser animals,\nis eloquent proof of the prolonged isolation which the American\ncontinent underwent subsequent to its original settlement by man.\n\n\n\nOrigin of American Man\n\nAn Asiatic origin is, of course, admitted for the aborigines of\nAmerica, but it undoubtedly stretched back into that dim Tertiary Era\nwhen man was little more than beast, and language as yet was not, or at\nthe best was only half formed. Later immigrants there certainly were,\nbut these probably arrived by way of Behring Strait, and not by the\nland-bridge connecting Asia and America by which the first-comers found\nentrance. At a later geological period the general level of the North\nAmerican continent was higher than at present, and a broad isthmus\nconnected it with Asia. During this prolonged elevation vast littoral\nplains, now submerged, extended continuously from the American to the\nAsiatic shore, affording an easy route of migration to a type of man\nfrom whom both the Mongolian branches may have sprung. But this type,\nlittle removed from the animal as it undoubtedly was, carried with it\nnone of the refinements of art or civilisation; and if any resemblances\noccur between the art-forms or polity of its equal descendants in Asia\nand America, they are due to the influence of a remote common ancestry,\nand not to any later influx of Asiatic civilisation to American shores.\n\n\n\nTraditions of Intercourse with Asia\n\nThe few traditions of Asiatic intercourse with America are,\nalas! easily dissipated. It is a dismal business to be compelled to\nrefute the dreams of others. How much more fascinating would American\nhistory have been had Asia sowed the seeds of her own peculiar\ncivilisation in the western continent, which would then have become\na newer and further East, a more glowing and golden Orient! But\nAmerica possesses a fascination almost as intense when there\nfalls to be considered the marvel of the evolution of her wondrous\ncivilisations--the flowers of progress of a new, of an isolated world.\n\nThe idea that the \"Fu-Sang\" of the Chinese annals alluded to America\nwas rendered illusory by Klaproth, who showed its identity with\na Japanese island. It is not impossible that Chinese and Japanese\nvessels may have drifted on to the American coasts, but that they\nsailed thither of set purpose is highly improbable. Gomara, the Mexican\nhistorian, states that those who served with Coronado's expedition\nin 1542 saw off the Pacific coast certain ships having their prows\ndecorated with gold and silver, and laden with merchandise, and these\nthey supposed to be of Cathay or China, \"because they intimated by\nsigns that they had been thirty days on their voyage.\" Like most of\nthese interesting stories, however, the tale has no foundation in\nfact, as the incident cannot be discovered in the original account\nof the expedition, published in 1838 in the travel-collection of\nTernaux-Compans.\n\n\n\nLegends of European Intercourse\n\nWe shall find the traditions, one might almost call them legends,\nof early European intercourse with America little more satisfactory\nthan those which recount its ancient connection with Asia. We may\ndismiss the sagas of the discovery of America by the Norsemen, which\nare by no means mere tradition, and pass on to those in which the\nbasis of fact is weaker and the legendary interest more strong. We\nare told that when the Norsemen drove forth those Irish monks who\nhad settled in Iceland, the fugitives voyaged to \"Great Ireland,\"\nby which many antiquarians of the older school imagine the author of\nthe myth to have meant America. The Irish Book of Lismore recounts the\nvoyage of St. Brandan, Abbot of Cluainfert, in Ireland, to an island\nin the ocean which Providence had intended as the abode of saints. It\ngives a glowing account of his seven years' cruise in western waters,\nand tells of numerous discoveries, among them a hill of fire and an\nendless island, which he quitted after an unavailing journey of forty\ndays, loading his ships with its fruits, and returning home. Many Norse\nlegends exist regarding this \"Greater Ireland,\" or \"Huitramanna Land\"\n(White Man's Land), among them one concerning a Norseman who was\ncast away on its shores, and who found there a race of white men\nwho went to worship their gods bearing banners, and \"shouting with\na loud voice.\" There is, of course, the bare possibility that the\nroving Norsemen may have on occasions drifted or have been cast away\nas far south as Mexico, and such an occurrence becomes the more easy\nof belief when we remember that they certainly reached the shores of\nNorth America.\n\n\n\nThe Legend of Madoc\n\nA much more interesting because more probable story is that which\ntells of the discovery of distant lands across the western ocean by\nMadoc, a princeling of North Wales, in the year 1170. It is recorded\nin Hakluyt's English Voyages and Powel's History of Wales. Madoc,\nthe son of Owen Gwyneth, disgusted by the strife of his brothers\nfor the principality of their dead father, resolved to quit such an\nuncongenial atmosphere, and, fitting out ships with men and munition,\nsought adventure by sea, sailing west, and leaving the coast of\nIreland so far north that he came to a land unknown, where he saw\nmany strange things. \"This land,\" says Hakluyt, \"must needs be some\npart of that country of which the Spaniards affirme themselves to\nbe the first finders since Hanno's time,\" and through this allusion\nwe are enabled to see how these legends relating to mythical lands\ncame to be associated with the American continent. Concerning the\nland discovered by Madoc many tales were current in Wales in medi\u00e6val\ntimes. Madoc on his return declared that it was pleasant and fruitful,\nbut uninhabited. He succeeded in persuading a large number of people\nto accompany him to this delectable region, and, as he never returned,\nHakluyt concludes that the descendants of the folk he took with him\ncomposed the greater part of the population of the America of the\nseventeenth century, a conclusion in which he has been supported by\nmore than one modern antiquarian. Indeed, the wildest fancies have\nbeen based upon this legend, and stories of Welsh-speaking Indians who\nwere able to converse with Cymric immigrants to the American colonies\nhave been received with complacency by the older school of American\nhistorians as the strongest confirmation of the saga. It is notable,\nhowever, that Henry VII of England, the son of a Welshman, may have\nbeen influenced in his patronage of the early American explorers by\nthis legend of Madoc, as it is known that he employed one Guttyn Owen,\na Welsh historiographer, to draw up his paternal pedigree, and that\nthis same Guttyn included the story in his works. Such legends as\nthose relating to Atlantis and Antilia scarcely fall within the scope\nof American myth, as they undoubtedly relate to early communication\nwith the Canaries and Azores.\n\n\n\nAmerican Myths of the Discovery\n\nBut what were the speculations of the Red Men on the other side of\nthe Atlantic? Were there no rumours there, no legends of an Eastern\nworld? Immediately prior to the discovery there was in America a widely\ndisseminated belief that at a relatively remote period strangers\nfrom the east had visited American soil, eventually returning to\ntheir own abodes in the Land of Sunrise. Such, for example, was the\nMexican legend of Quetzalcoatl, to which we shall revert later in\nits more essentially mythical connection. He landed with several\ncompanions at Vera Cruz, and speedily brought to bear the power\nof a civilising agency upon native opinion. In the ancient Mexican\npinturas, or paintings, he is represented as being habited in a long\nblack gown, fringed with white crosses. After sojourning with the\nMexicans for a number of years, during which time he initiated them\ninto the arts of life and civilisation, he departed from their land\non a magic raft, promising, however, to return. His second advent was\nanxiously looked for, and when Cort\u00e9s and his companions arrived at\nVera Cruz, the identical spot at which Quetzalcoatl was supposed to\nhave set out on his homeward journey, the Mexicans fully believed him\nto be the returned hero. Of course Montezuma, their monarch, was not\naltogether taken by surprise at the coming of the white man, as he had\nbeen informed of the arrival of mysterious strangers in Yucatan and\nelsewhere in Central America; but in the eyes of the commonalty the\nSpanish leader was a \"hero-god\" indeed. In this interesting figure\nseveral of the monkish chroniclers of New Spain saw the Apostle\nSt. Thomas, who had journeyed to the American continent to effect\nits conversion to Christianity.\n\n\n\nA Peruvian Prophecy\n\nThe Mexicans were by no means singular in their presentiments. When\nHernando de Soto, on landing in Peru, first met the Inca Huascar, the\nlatter related an ancient prophecy which his father, Huaina Ccapac,\nhad repeated on his death-bed, that in the reign of the thirteenth\nInca white men of surpassing strength and valour would come from their\nfather the Sun, and subject the Peruvians to their rule. \"I command\nyou,\" said the dying king, \"to yield them homage and obedience,\nfor they will be of a nature superior to ours.\" [2]\n\nBut the most interesting of American legends connected with the\ndiscovery is that in which the prophecy of the Maya priest Chilan\nBalam is described. Father Lizana, a venerable Spanish author, records\nthe prophecy, which he states was very well known throughout Yucatan,\nas does Villagutierre, who quotes it.\n\n\n\nThe Prophecy of Chilan Balam\n\nPart of this strange prophecy runs as follows: \"At the end of\nthe thirteenth age, when Itza is at the height of its power, as\nalso the city called Tancah, the signal of God will appear on the\nheights, and the Cross with which the world was enlightened will be\nmanifested. There will be variance of men's will in future times,\nwhen this signal shall be brought.... Receive your barbarous bearded\nguests from the east, who bring the signal of God, who comes to us\nin mercy and pity. The time of our life is coming....\"\n\nIt would seem from the perusal of this prophecy that a genuine\nsubstratum of native tradition has been over-laid and coloured\nby the influence of the early Spanish missionaries. The terms of\nthe announcement are much too exact, and the language employed is\nobviously Scriptural. But the native books of Chilan Balam, whence\nthe prophecy is taken, are much less explicit, and the genuineness of\ntheir character is evinced by the idiomatic use of the Maya tongue,\nwhich, in the form they present it in, could have been written by none\nsave those who had habitually employed it from infancy. As regards the\nprophetic nature of these deliverances it is known that the Chilan,\nor priest, was wont to utter publicly at the end of certain prolonged\nperiods a prophecy forecasting the character of the similar period to\ncome, and there is reason to believe that some distant rumours of the\ncoming of the white man had reached the ears of several of the seers.\n\nThese vague intimations that the seas separated them from a great\ncontinent where dwelt beings like themselves seem to have been\ncommon to white and red men alike. And who shall say by what strange\nmagic of telepathy they were inspired in the minds of the daring\nexplorers and the ascetic priests who gave expression to them in act\nand utterance? The discovery of America was much more than a mere\nscientific process, and romance rather than the cold speculations\nof medi\u00e6val geography urged men to tempt the dim seas of the West in\nquest of golden islands seen in dreams.\n\n\n\nThe Type of Mexican Civilisation\n\nThe first civilised American people with whom the discoverers came\ninto contact were those of the Nahua or ancient Mexican race. We\nuse the term \"civilised\" advisedly, for although several authorities\nof standing have refused to regard the Mexicans as a people who had\nachieved such a state of culture as would entitle them to be classed\namong civilised communities, there is no doubt that they had advanced\nnearly as far as it was possible for them to proceed when their\nenvironment and the nature of the circumstances which handicapped them\nare taken into consideration. In architecture they had evolved a type\nof building, solid yet wonderfully graceful, which, if not so massive\nas the Egyptian and Assyrian, was yet more highly decorative. Their\nartistic outlook as expressed in their painting and pottery was more\nversatile and less conventional than that of the ancient people of\nthe Orient, their social system was of a more advanced type, and a\nless rigorous attitude was evinced by the ruling caste toward the\nsubject classes. Yet, on the other hand, the picture is darkened\nby the terrible if picturesque rites which attended their religious\nceremonies, and the dread shadow of human sacrifice which eternally\noverhung their teeming populations. Nevertheless, the standard of\nmorality was high, justice was even-handed, the forms of government\nwere comparatively mild, and but for the fanaticism which demanded\nsuch troops of victims, we might justly compare the civilisation\nof ancient Mexico with that of the peoples of old China or India,\nif the literary activity of the Oriental states be discounted.\n\n\n\nThe Mexican Race\n\nThe race which was responsible for this varied and highly coloured\ncivilisation was that known as the Nahua (Those who live by Rule),\na title adopted by them to distinguish them from those tribes who\nstill roamed in an unsettled condition over the contiguous plains of\nNew Mexico and the more northerly tracts. This term was employed by\nthem to designate the race as a whole, but it was composed of many\ndiverse elements, the characteristics of which were rendered still\nmore various by the adoption into one or other of the tribes which\ncomposed it of surrounding aboriginal peoples. Much controversy has\nraged round the question regarding the original home of the Nahua,\nbut their migration legends consistently point to a northern origin;\nand when the close affinity between the art-forms and mythology of\nthe present-day natives of British Columbia and those of the Nahua\ncomes to be considered along with the very persistent legends of a\nprolonged pilgrimage from the North, where they dwelt in a place \"by\nthe water,\" the conclusion that the Nahua emanated from the region\nindicated is well-nigh irresistible. [3]\n\nIn Nahua tradition the name of the locality whence the race commenced\nits wanderings is called Aztlan (The Place of Reeds), but this\nplace-name is of little or no value as a guide to any given region,\nthough probably every spot betwixt Behring Strait and Mexico has been\nidentified with it by zealous antiquarians. Other names discovered in\nthe migration legends are Tlapallan (The Country of Bright Colours)\nand Chicomoztoc (The Seven Caves), and these may perhaps be identified\nwith New Mexico or Arizona.\n\n\n\nLegends of Mexican Migration\n\nAll early writers on the history of Mexico agree that the Toltecs were\nthe first of the several swarms of Nahua who streamed upon the Mexican\nplateau in ever-widening waves. Concerning the reality of this people\nso little is known that many authorities of standing have regarded them\nas wholly mythical, while others profess to see in them a veritable\nrace, the founders of Mexican civilisation. The author has already\nelaborated his theory of this difficult question elsewhere, [4] but\nwill briefly refer to it when he comes to deal with the subject of the\nToltec civilisation and the legends concerning it. For the present we\nmust regard the Toltecs merely as a race alluded to in a migration myth\nas the first Nahua immigrants to the region of Mexico. Ixtlilxochitl,\na native chronicler who flourished shortly after the Spanish conquest\nof Mexico, gives two separate accounts of the early Toltec migrations,\nthe first of which goes back to the period of their arrival in the\nfabled land of Tlapallan, alluded to above. In this account Tlapallan\nis described as a region near the sea, which the Toltecs reached by\nvoyaging southward, skirting the coasts of California. This account\nmust be received with the greatest caution. But we know that the\nnatives of British Columbia have been expert in the use of the\ncanoe from an early period, and that the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl,\nwho is probably originally derived from a common source with their\ndeity Yetl, is represented as being skilled in the management of the\ncraft. It is, therefore, not outside the bounds of possibility that\nthe early swarms of Nahua immigrants made their way to Mexico by sea,\nbut it is much more probable that their migrations took place by land,\nfollowing the level country at the base of the Rocky Mountains.\n\n\n\nThe Toltec Upheaval\n\nLike nearly all legendary immigrants, the Toltecs did not set out to\ncolonise distant countries from any impulse of their own, but were the\nvictims of internecine dissension in the homeland, and were expelled\nfrom the community to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Thus thrust forth,\nthey set their faces southward, and reached Tlapallan in the year 1\nTecpatl (A.D. 387). Passing the country of Xalisco, they effected a\nlanding at Huatulco, and journeyed down the coast until they reached\nTochtepec, whence they pushed inland to Tollantzinco. To enable them to\nmake this journey they required no less than 104 years. Ixtlilxochitl\nfurnishes another account of the Toltec migration in his Relaciones,\na work dealing with the early history of the Mexican races. In this\nhe recounts how the chiefs of Tlapallan, who had revolted against the\nroyal power, were banished from that region in A.D. 439. Lingering\nnear their ancient territory for the space of eight years, they then\njourneyed to Tlapallantzinco, where they halted for three years before\nsetting out on a prolonged pilgrimage, which occupied the tribe for\nover a century, and in the course of which it halted at no less than\nthirteen different resting-places, six of which can be traced to\nstations on the Pacific coast, and the remainder to localities in\nthe north of Mexico.\n\n\n\nArtificial Nature of the Migration Myths\n\nIt is plain from internal evidence that these two legends of the Toltec\nmigrations present an artificial aspect. But if we cannot credit them\nin detail, that is not to say that they do not describe in part an\nactual pilgrimage. They are specimens of numerous migration myths\nwhich are related concerning the various branches of the Mexican\nraces. Few features of interest are presented in them, and they\nare chiefly remarkable for wearisome repetition and divergence in\nessential details.\n\n\n\nMyths of the Toltecs\n\nBut we enter a much more fascinating domain when we come to peruse\nthe myths regarding the Toltec kingdom and civilisation, for, before\nentering upon the origin or veritable history of the Toltec race, it\nwill be better to consider the native legends concerning them. These\nexhibit an almost Oriental exuberance of imagination and colouring,\nand forcibly remind the reader of the gorgeous architectural and\nscenic descriptions in the Arabian Nights. The principal sources of\nthese legends are the histories of Zumarraga and Ixtlilxochitl. The\nlatter is by no means a satisfactory authority, but he has succeeded\nin investing the traditions of his native land with no inconsiderable\ndegree of charm. The Toltecs, he says, founded the magnificent city of\nTollan in the year 566 of the Incarnation. This city, the site of which\nis now occupied by the modern town of Tula, was situated north-west of\nthe mountains which bound the Mexican valley. Thither were the Toltecs\nguided by the powerful necromancer Hueymatzin (Great Hand), and under\nhis direction they decided to build a city upon the site of what had\nbeen their place of bivouac. For six years they toiled at the building\nof Tollan, and magnificent edifices, palaces, and temples arose,\nthe whole forming a capital of a splendour unparalleled in the New\nWorld. The valley wherein it stood was known as the \"Place of Fruits,\"\nin allusion to its great fertility. The surrounding rivers teemed with\nfish, and the hills which encircled this delectable site sheltered\nlarge herds of game. But as yet the Toltecs were without a ruler,\nand in the seventh year of their occupation of the city the assembled\nchieftains took counsel together, and resolved to surrender their\npower into the hands of a monarch whom the people might elect. The\nchoice fell upon Chalchiuh Tlatonac (Shining Precious Stone), who\nreigned for fifty-two years.\n\n\n\nLegends of Toltec Artistry\n\nHappily settled in their new country, and ruled over by a king whom\nthey could regard with reverence, the Toltecs made rapid progress in\nthe various arts, and their city began to be celebrated far and wide\nfor the excellence of its craftsmen and the beauty of its architecture\nand pottery. The name of \"Toltec,\" in fact, came to be regarded by\nthe surrounding peoples as synonymous with \"artist,\" and as a kind of\nhall-mark which guaranteed the superiority of any article of Toltec\nworkmanship. Everything in and about the city was eloquent of the\ntaste and artistry of its founders. The very walls were encrusted\nwith rare stones, and their masonry was so beautifully chiselled\nand laid as to resemble the choicest mosaic. One of the edifices\nof which the inhabitants of Tollan were most justly proud was the\ntemple wherein their high-priest officiated. This building was a\nvery gem of architectural art and mural decoration. It contained four\napartments. The walls of the first were inlaid with gold, the second\nwith precious stones of every description, the third with beautiful\nsea-shells of all conceivable hues and of the most brilliant and\ntender shades encrusted in bricks of silver, which sparkled in the\nsun in such a manner as to dazzle the eyes of beholders. The fourth\napartment was formed of a brilliant red stone, ornamented with shells.\n\n\n\nThe House of Feathers\n\nStill more fantastic and weirdly beautiful was another edifice,\n\"The House of Feathers.\" This also possessed four apartments, one\ndecorated with feathers of a brilliant yellow, another with the\nradiant and sparkling hues of the Blue Bird. These were woven into a\nkind of tapestry, and placed against the walls in graceful hangings\nand festoons. An apartment described as of entrancing beauty was that\nin which the decorative scheme consisted of plumage of the purest and\nmost dazzling white. The remaining chamber was hung with feathers of\na brilliant red, plucked from the most beautiful birds.\n\n\n\nHuemac the Wicked\n\nA succession of more or less able kings succeeded the founder of\nthe Toltec monarchy, until in A.D. 994 Huemac II ascended the throne\nof Tollan. He ruled first with wisdom, and paid great attention to\nthe duties of the state and religion. But later he fell from the\nhigh place he had made for himself in the regard of the people by\nhis faithless deception of them and his intemperate and licentious\nhabits. The provinces rose in revolt, and many signs and gloomy\nomens foretold the downfall of the city. Toveyo, a cunning sorcerer,\ncollected a great concourse of people near Tollan, and by dint of\nbeating upon a magic drum until the darkest hours of the night,\nforced them to dance to its sound until, exhausted by their efforts,\nthey fell headlong over a dizzy precipice into a deep ravine, where\nthey were turned into stone. Toveyo also maliciously destroyed a\nstone bridge, so that thousands of people fell into the river beneath\nand were drowned. The neighbouring volcanoes burst into eruption,\npresenting a frightful aspect, and grisly apparitions could be seen\namong the flames threatening the city with terrible gestures of menace.\n\nThe rulers of Tollan resolved to lose no time in placating the gods,\nwhom they decided from the portents must have conceived the most\nviolent wrath against their capital. They therefore ordained a great\nsacrifice of war-captives. But upon the first of the victims being\nplaced upon the altar a still more terrible catastrophe occurred. In\nthe method of sacrifice common to the Nahua race the breast of a\nyouth was opened for the purpose of extracting the heart, but no such\norgan could the officiating priest perceive. Moreover the veins of\nthe victim were bloodless. Such a deadly odour was exhaled from the\ncorpse that a terrible pestilence arose, which caused the death of\nthousands of Toltecs. Huemac, the unrighteous monarch who had brought\nall this suffering upon his folk, was confronted in the forest by the\nTlalocs, or gods of moisture, and humbly petitioned these deities to\nspare him, and not to take from him his wealth and rank. But the gods\nwere disgusted at the callous selfishness displayed in his desires,\nand departed, threatening the Toltec race with six years of plagues.\n\n\n\nThe Plagues of the Toltecs\n\nIn the next winter such a severe frost visited the land that all crops\nand plants were killed. A summer of torrid heat followed, so intense in\nits suffocating fierceness that the streams were dried up and the very\nrocks were melted. Then heavy rain-storms descended, which flooded the\nstreets and ways, and terrible tempests swept through the land. Vast\nnumbers of loathsome toads invaded the valley, consuming the refuse\nleft by the destructive frost and heat, and entering the very houses\nof the people. In the following year a terrible drought caused the\ndeath of thousands from starvation, and the ensuing winter was again\na marvel of severity. Locusts descended in cloud-like swarms, and\nhail- and thunder-storms completed the wreck. During these visitations\nnine-tenths of the people perished, and all artistic endeavour ceased\nbecause of the awful struggle for food.\n\n\n\nKing Acxitl\n\nWith the cessation of these inflictions the wicked Huemac resolved\nupon a more upright course of life, and became most assiduous for the\nwelfare and proper government of his people. But he had announced\nthat Acxitl, his illegitimate son, should succeed him, and had\nfurther resolved to abdicate at once in favour of this youth. With\nthe Toltecs, as with most primitive peoples, the early kings were\nregarded as divine, and the attempt to place on the throne one\nwho was not of the royal blood was looked upon as a serious offence\nagainst the gods. A revolt ensued, but its two principal leaders were\nbought over by promises of preferment. Acxitl ascended the throne,\nand for a time ruled wisely. But he soon, like his father, gave way\nto a life of dissipation, and succeeded in setting a bad example to\nthe members of his court and to the priesthood, the vicious spirit\ncommunicating itself to all classes of his subjects and permeating\nevery rank of society. The iniquities of the people of the capital\nand the enormities practised by the royal favourites caused such\nscandal in the outlying provinces that at length they broke into\nopen revolt, and Huehuetzin, chief of an eastern viceroyalty, joined\nto himself two other malcontent lords and marched upon the city of\nTollan at the head of a strong force. Acxitl could not muster an army\nsufficiently powerful to repel the rebels, and was forced to resort\nto the expedient of buying them off with rich presents, thus patching\nup a truce. But the fate of Tollan was in the balance. Hordes of rude\nChichimec savages, profiting by the civil broils in the Toltec state,\ninvaded the lake region of Anahuac, or Mexico, and settled upon its\nfruitful soil. The end was in sight!\n\n\n\nA Terrible Visitation\n\nThe wrath of the gods increased instead of diminishing, and in order\nto appease them a great convention of the wise men of the realm met\nat Teotihuacan, the sacred city of the Toltecs. But during their\ndeliberations a giant of immense proportions rushed into their midst,\nand, seizing upon them by scores with his bony hands, hurled them\nto the ground, dashing their brains out. In this manner he slew\ngreat numbers, and when the panic-stricken folk imagined themselves\ndelivered from him he returned in a different guise and slew many\nmore. Again the grisly monster appeared, this time taking the form\nof a beautiful child. The people, fascinated by its loveliness,\nran to observe it more closely, only to discover that its head was\na mass of corruption, the stench from which was so fatal that many\nwere killed outright. The fiend who had thus plagued the Toltecs at\nlength deigned to inform them that the gods would listen no longer to\ntheir prayers, but had fully resolved to destroy them root and branch,\nand he further counselled them to seek safety in flight.\n\n\n\nFall of the Toltec State\n\nBy this time the principal families of Tollan had deserted the country,\ntaking refuge in neighbouring states. Once more Huehuetzin menaced\nTollan, and by dint of almost superhuman efforts old King Huemac,\nwho had left his retirement, raised a force sufficient to face the\nenemy. Acxitl's mother enlisted the services of the women of the\ncity, and formed them into a regiment of Amazons. At the head of\nall was Acxitl, who divided his forces, despatching one portion to\nthe front under his commander-in-chief, and forming the other into a\nreserve under his own leadership. During three years the king defended\nTollan against the combined forces of the rebels and the semi-savage\nChichimecs. At length the Toltecs, almost decimated, fled after a final\ndesperate battle into the marshes of Lake Tezcuco and the fastnesses\nof the mountains. Their other cities were given over to destruction,\nand the Toltec empire was at an end.\n\n\n\nThe Chichimec Exodus\n\nMeanwhile the rude Chichimecs of the north, who had for many years\ncarried on a constant warfare with the Toltecs, were surprised that\ntheir enemies sought their borders no more, a practice which they\nhad engaged in principally for the purpose of obtaining captives\nfor sacrifice. In order to discover the reason for this suspicious\nquiet they sent out spies into Toltec territory, who returned with\nthe amazing news that the Toltec domain for a distance of six hundred\nmiles from the Chichimec frontier was a desert, the towns ruined and\nempty and their inhabitants scattered. Xolotl, the Chichimec king,\nsummoned his chieftains to his capital, and, acquainting them with\nwhat the spies had said, proposed an expedition for the purpose of\nannexing the abandoned land. No less than 3,202,000 people composed\nthis migration, and only 1,600,000 remained in the Chichimec territory.\n\nThe Chichimecs occupied most of the ruined cities, many of which\nthey rebuilt. Those Toltecs who remained became peaceful subjects,\nand through their knowledge of commerce and handicrafts amassed\nconsiderable wealth. A tribute was, however, demanded from them,\nwhich was peremptorily refused by Nauhyotl, the Toltec ruler of\nColhuacan; but he was defeated and slain, and the Chichimec rule was\nat last supreme.\n\n\n\nThe Disappearance of the Toltecs\n\nThe transmitters of this legendary account give it as their belief,\nwhich is shared by some authorities of standing, that the Toltecs,\nfleeing from the civil broils of their city and the inroads of\nthe Chichimecs, passed into Central America, where they became the\nfounders of the civilisation of that country, and the architects of\nthe many wonderful cities the ruins of which now litter its plains\nand are encountered in its forests. But it is time that we examined\nthe claims put forward on behalf of Toltec civilisation and culture\nby the aid of more scientific methods.\n\n\n\nDid the Toltecs Exist?\n\nSome authorities have questioned the existence of the Toltecs, and\nhave professed to see in them a race which had merely a mythical\nsignificance. They base this theory upon the circumstance that\nthe duration of the reigns of the several Toltec monarchs is very\nfrequently stated to have lasted for exactly fifty-two years, the\nduration of the great Mexican cycle of years which had been adopted\nso that the ritual calendar might coincide with the solar year. The\ncircumstance is certainly suspicious, as is the fact that many of the\nnames of the Toltec monarchs are also those of the principal Nahua\ndeities, and this renders the whole dynastic list of very doubtful\nvalue. Dr. Brinton recognised in the Toltecs those children of the sun\nwho, like their brethren in Peruvian mythology, were sent from heaven\nto civilise the human race, and his theory is by no means weakened by\nthe circumstance that Quetzalcoatl, a deity of solar significance, is\nalluded to in Nahua myth as King of the Toltecs. Recent considerations\nand discoveries, however, have virtually forced students of the subject\nto admit the existence of the Toltecs as a race. The author has dealt\nwith the question at some length elsewhere, [5] and is not of those\nwho are free to admit the definite existence of the Toltecs from a\nhistorical point of view. The late Mr. Payne of Oxford, an authority\nentitled to every respect, gave it as his opinion that \"the accounts of\nToltec history current at the conquest contain a nucleus of substantial\ntruth,\" and he writes convincingly: \"To doubt that there once existed\nin Tollan an advancement superior to that which prevailed among the\nNahuatlaca generally at the conquest, and that its people spread\ntheir advancement throughout Anahuac, and into the districts eastward\nand southward, would be to reject a belief universally entertained,\nand confirmed rather than shaken by the efforts made in later times\nto construct for the Pueblo something in the nature of a history.\" [6]\n\n\n\nA Persistent Tradition\n\nThe theory of the present author concerning Toltec historical existence\nis rather more non-committal. He admits that a most persistent body\nof tradition as to their existence gained general credence among the\nNahua, and that the date (1055) of their alleged dispersal admits of\nthe approximate exactness and probability of this body of tradition\nat the time of the conquest. He also admits that the site of Tollan\ncontains ruins which are undoubtedly of a date earlier than that\nof the architecture of the Nahua as known at the conquest, and that\nnumerous evidences of an older civilisation exist. He also believes\nthat the early Nahua having within their racial recollection existed\nas savages, the time which elapsed between their barbarian condition\nand the more advanced state which they achieved was too brief to admit\nof evolution from savagery to culture. Hence they must have adopted an\nolder civilisation, especially as through the veneer of civilisation\npossessed by them they exhibited every sign of gross barbarism.\n\n\n\nA Nameless People\n\nIf this be true it would go to show that a people of comparatively\nhigh culture existed at a not very remote period on the Mexican\ntableland. But what their name was or their racial affinity the writer\ndoes not profess to know. Many modern American scholars of note have\nconferred upon them the name of \"Toltecs,\" and speak freely of the\n\"Toltec period\" and of \"Toltec art.\" It may appear pedantic to refuse\nto recognise that the cultured people who dwelt in Mexico in pre-Nahua\ntimes were \"the Toltecs.\" But in the face of the absence of genuine\nand authoritative native written records dealing with the question,\nthe author finds himself compelled to remain unconvinced as to the\nexact designation of the mysterious older race which preceded the\nNahua. There are not wanting authorities who appear to regard the\npictorial chronicles of the Nahua as quite as worthy of credence\nas written records, but it must be clear that tradition or even\nhistory set down in pictorial form can never possess that degree of\ndefiniteness contained in a written account.\n\n\n\nToltec Art\n\nAs has been stated above, the Toltecs of tradition were chiefly\nremarkable for their intense love of art and their productions in its\nvarious branches. Ixtlilxochitl says that they worked in gold, silver,\ncopper, tin, and lead, and as masons employed flint, porphyry, basalt,\nand obsidian. In the manufacture of jewellery and objets d'art they\nexcelled, and the pottery of Cholula, of which specimens are frequently\nrecovered, was of a high standard.\n\n\n\nOther Aboriginal Peoples\n\nMexico contained other aboriginal races besides the Toltecs. Of\nthese many and diverse peoples the most remarkable were the Otomi,\nwho still occupy Guanajuato and Queretaro, and who, before the coming\nof the Nahua, probably spread over the entire valley of Mexico. In\nthe south we find the Huasteca, a people speaking the same language as\nthe Maya of Central America, and on the Mexican Gulf the Totonacs and\nChontals. On the Pacific side of the country the Mixteca and Zapoteca\nwere responsible for a flourishing civilisation which exhibited\nmany original characteristics, and which in some degree was a link\nbetween the cultures of Mexico and Central America. Traces of a still\nolder population than any of these are still to be found in the more\nremote parts of Mexico, and the Mixe, Zaque, Kuicatec, and Popolcan\nare probably the remnants of prehistoric races of vast antiquity.\n\n\n\nThe Cliff-dwellers\n\nIt is probable that a race known as \"the Cliff-dwellers,\" occupying\nthe plateau country of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah,\nand even extending in its ramifications to Mexico itself, was related\nethnologically to the Nahua. The present-day Pueblo Indians dwelling to\nthe north of Mexico most probably possess a leaven of Nahua blood. Ere\nthe tribes who communicated this leaven to the whole had intermingled\nwith others of various origin, it would appear that they occupied with\nothers those tracts of country now inhabited by the Pueblo Indians,\nand in the natural recesses and shallow caverns found in the faces\nof the cliffs erected dwellings and fortifications, displaying an\narchitectural ability of no mean order. These communities extended\nas far south as the Gila river, the most southern affluent of the\nColorado, and the remains they have left there appear to be of a later\ndate architecturally than those situated farther north. These were\nfound in ruins by the first Spanish explorers, and it is thought that\ntheir builders were eventually driven back to rejoin their kindred in\nthe north. Farther to the south in the ca\u00f1ons of the Piedras Verdes\nriver in Chihuahua, Mexico, are cliff-dwellings corresponding in many\nrespects with those of the Pueblo region, and Dr. Hrdlicka has examined\nothers so far south as the State of Jalisco, in Central Mexico. These\nmay be the ruins of dwellings erected either by the early Nahua or by\nsome of the peoples relatively aboriginal to them, and may display the\narchitectural features general among the Nahua prior to their adoption\nof other alien forms. Or else they may be the remains of dwellings\nsimilar to those of the Tarahumare, a still existing tribe of Mexico,\nwho, according to Lumholtz, [7] inhabit similar structures at the\npresent day. It is clear from the architectural development of the\ncliff-dwellers that their civilisation developed generally from south\nto north, that this race was cognate to the early Nahua, and that it\nlater withdrew to the north, or became fused with the general body\nof the Nahua peoples. It must not be understood, however, that the\nrace arrived in the Mexican plateau before the Nahua, and the ruins\nof Jalisco and other mid-Mexican districts may merely be the remains\nof comparatively modern cliff-dwellings, an adaptation by mid-Mexican\ncommunities of the \"Cliff-dweller\" architecture, or a local development\nof it owing to the exigencies of early life in the district.\n\n\n\nThe Nahua Race\n\nThe Nahua peoples included all those tribes speaking the Nahuatlatolli\n(Nahua tongue), and occupied a sphere extending from the southern\nborders of New Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the south,\nor very much within the limits of the modern Republic of Mexico. But\nthis people must not be regarded as one race of homogeneous origin. A\nvery brief account of their racial affinities must be sufficient\nhere. The Chichimecs were probably related to the Otomi, whom we have\nalluded to as among the first-comers to the Mexican valley. They were\ntraditionally supposed to have entered it at a period subsequent to\nthe Toltec occupation. Their chief towns were Tezcuco and Tenayucan,\nbut they later allied themselves with the Nahua in a great confederacy,\nand adopted the Nahua language. There are circumstances which justify\nthe assumption that on their entrance to the Mexican valley they\nconsisted of a number of tribes loosely united, presenting in their\ngeneral organisation a close resemblance to some of the composite\ntribes of modern American Indians.\n\n\n\nThe Aculhuaque\n\nNext to them in point of order of tribal arrival were the Aculhuaque,\nor Acolhuans. The name means \"tall\" or \"strong\" men, literally\n\"People of the Broad Shoulder,\" or \"Pushers,\" who made a way for\nthemselves. Gomara states in his Conquista de Mexico that they\narrived in the valley from Acolhuacan about A.D. 780, and founded\nthe towns of Tollan, Colhuacan, and Mexico itself. The Acolhuans\nwere pure Nahua, and may well have been the much-disputed Toltecs,\nfor the Nahua people always insisted on the fact that the Toltecs\nwere of the same stock as themselves, and spoke an older and purer\nform of the Nahua tongue. From the Acolhuans sprang the Tlascalans,\nthe inveterate enemies of the Aztecs, who so heartily assisted Cort\u00e9s\nin his invasion of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, or Mexico.\n\n\n\nThe Tecpanecs\n\nThe Tecpanecs were a confederacy of purely Nahua tribes dwelling\nin towns situated upon the Lake of Tezcuco, the principal of which\nwere Tlacopan and Azcapozalco. The name Tecpanec signifies that each\nsettlement possessed its own chief's house, or tecpan. This tribe were\nalmost certainly later Nahua immigrants who arrived in Mexico after the\nAcolhuans, and were great rivals to the Chichimec branch of the race.\n\n\n\nThe Aztecs\n\nThe Aztec\u00e2, or Aztecs, were a nomad tribe of doubtful origin, but\nprobably of Nahua blood. Wandering over the Mexican plateau for\ngenerations, they at length settled in the marshlands near the Lake\nof Tezcuco, hard by Tlacopan. The name Aztec\u00e2 means \"Crane People,\"\nand was bestowed upon the tribe by the Tecpanecs, probably because of\nthe fact that, like cranes, they dwelt in a marshy neighbourhood. They\nfounded the town of Tenochtitlan, or Mexico, and for a while paid\ntribute to the Tecpanecs. But later they became the most powerful\nallies of that people, whom they finally surpassed entirely in power\nand splendour.\n\n\n\nThe Aztec Character\n\nThe features of the Aztecs as represented in the various Mexican\npaintings are typically Indian, and argue a northern origin. The\nrace was, and is, of average height, and the skin is of a dark brown\nhue. The Mexican is grave, taciturn, and melancholic, with a deeply\nrooted love of the mysterious, slow to anger, yet almost inhuman in\nthe violence of his passions when aroused. He is usually gifted with a\nlogical mind, quickness of apprehension, and an ability to regard the\nsubtle side of things with great nicety. Patient and imitative, the\nancient Mexican excelled in those arts which demanded such qualities\nin their execution. He had a real affection for the beautiful in\nnature and a passion for flowers, but the Aztec music lacked gaiety,\nand the national amusements were too often of a gloomy and ferocious\ncharacter. The women are more vivacious than the men, but were in\nthe days before the conquest very subservient to the wills of their\nhusbands. We have already very briefly outlined the trend of Nahua\ncivilisation, but it will be advisable to examine it a little more\nclosely, for if the myths of this people are to be understood some\nknowledge of its life and general culture is essential.\n\n\n\nLegends of the Foundation of Mexico\n\nAt the period of the conquest of Mexico by Cort\u00e9s the city presented\nan imposing appearance. Led to its neighbourhood by Huitzilopochtli,\na traditional chief, afterwards deified as the god of war, there\nare several legends which account for the choice of its site by the\nMexicans. The most popular of these relates how the nomadic Nahua\nbeheld perched upon a cactus plant an eagle of great size and majesty,\ngrasping in its talons a huge serpent, and spreading its wings to\ncatch the rays of the rising sun. The soothsayers or medicine-men of\nthe tribe, reading a good omen in the spectacle, advised the leaders\nof the people to settle on the spot, and, hearkening to the voice of\nwhat they considered divine authority, they proceeded to drive piles\ninto the marshy ground, and thus laid the foundation of the great\ncity of Mexico.\n\nAn elaboration of this legend tells how the Aztecs had about the year\n1325 sought refuge upon the western shore of the Lake of Tezcuco,\nin an island among the marshes on which they found a stone on which\nforty years before one of their priests had sacrificed a prince of\nthe name of Copal, whom they had made prisoner. A nopal plant had\nsprung from an earth-filled crevice in this rude altar, and upon\nthis the royal eagle alluded to in the former account had alighted,\ngrasping the serpent in his talons. Beholding in this a good omen,\nand urged by a supernatural impulse which he could not explain,\na priest of high rank dived into a pool close at hand, where he\nfound himself face to face with Tlaloc, the god of waters. After an\ninterview with the deity the priest obtained permission from him to\nfound a city on the site, from the humble beginnings of which arose\nthe metropolis of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.\n\n\n\nMexico at the Conquest\n\nAt the period of the conquest the city of Mexico had a circumference\nof no less than twelve miles, or nearly that of modern Berlin without\nits suburbs. It contained 60,000 houses, and its inhabitants were\ncomputed to number 300,000. Many other towns, most of them nearly half\nas large, were grouped on the islands or on the margin of Lake Tezcuco,\nso that the population of what might almost be called \"Greater Mexico\"\nmust have amounted to several millions. The city was intersected by\nfour great roadways or avenues built at right angles to one another,\nand laid four-square with the cardinal points. Situated as it was in\nthe midst of a lake, it was traversed by numerous canals, which were\nused as thoroughfares for traffic. The four principal ways described\nabove were extended across the lake as dykes or viaducts until they met\nits shores. The dwellings of the poorer classes were chiefly composed\nof adobes, but those of the nobility were built of a red porous stone\nquarried close by. They were usually of one story only, but occupied a\ngoodly piece of ground and had flat roofs, many of which were covered\nwith flowers. In general they were coated with a hard, white cement,\nwhich gave them an added resemblance to the Oriental type of building.\n\nTowering high among these, and a little apart from the vast squares and\nmarket-places, were the teocallis, or temples. These were in reality\nnot temples or covered-in buildings, but \"high places,\" great pyramids\nof stone, built platform on platform, around which a staircase led to\nthe summit, on which was usually erected a small shrine containing\nthe tutelar deity to whom the teocalli had been raised. The great\ntemple of Huitzilopochtli, the war-god, built by King Ahuizotl,\nwas, besides being typical of all, by far the greatest of these\nvotive piles. The enclosing walls of the building were 4800 feet\nin circumference, and strikingly decorated by carvings representing\nfestoons of intertwined reptiles, from which circumstance they were\ncalled coetpantli (walls of serpents). A kind of gate-house on each\nside gave access to the enclosure. The teocalli, or great temple,\ninside the court was in the shape of a parallelogram, measuring 375\nfeet by 300 feet, and was built in six platforms, growing smaller in\narea as they descended. The mass of this structure was composed of\na mixture of rubble, clay, and earth, covered with carefully worked\nstone slabs, cemented together with infinite care, and coated with\na hard gypsum. A flight of 340 steps circled round the terraces and\nled to the upper platform, on which were raised two three-storied\ntowers 56 feet in height, in which stood the great statues of the\ntutelar deities and the jasper stones of sacrifice. These sanctuaries,\nsay the old Conquistadores who entered them, had the appearance and\nodour of shambles, and human blood was bespattered everywhere. In this\nweird chapel of horrors burned a fire, the extinction of which it was\nsupposed would have brought about the end of the Nahua power. It was\ntended with a care as scrupulous as that with which the Roman Vestals\nguarded their sacred flame. No less than 600 of these sacred braziers\nwere kept alight in the city of Mexico alone.\n\n\n\nA Pyramid of Skulls\n\nThe principal fane of Huitzilopochtli was surrounded by upwards of\nforty inferior teocallis and shrines. In the Tzompantli (Pyramid of\nSkulls) were collected the grisly relics of the countless victims to\nthe implacable war-god of the Aztecs, and in this horrid structure\nthe Spanish conquerors counted no less than 136,000 human skulls. In\nthe court or teopan which surrounded the temple were the dwellings\nof thousands of priests, whose duties included the scrupulous care\nof the temple precincts, and whose labours were minutely apportioned.\n\n\n\nNahua Architecture and Ruins\n\nAs we shall see later, Mexico is by no means so rich in architectural\nantiquities as Guatemala or Yucatan, the reason being that the\ngrowth of tropical forests has to a great extent protected ancient\nstone edifices in the latter countries from destruction. The ruins\ndiscovered in the northern regions of the republic are of a ruder type\nthan those which approach more nearly to the sphere of Maya influence,\nas, for example, those of Mitla, built by the Zapotecs, which exhibit\nsuch unmistakable signs of Maya influence that we prefer to describe\nthem when dealing with the antiquities of that people.\n\n\n\nCyclopean Remains\n\nIn the mountains of Chihuahua, one of the most northerly provinces,\nis a celebrated group called the Casas Grandes (Large Houses), the\nwalls of which are still about 30 feet in height. These approximate in\ngeneral appearance to the buildings of more modern tribes in New Mexico\nand Arizona, and may be referred to such peoples rather than to the\nNahua. At Quemada, in Zacatecas, massive ruins of Cyclopean appearance\nhave been discovered. These consist of extensive terraces and broad\nstone causeways, teocallis which have weathered many centuries, and\ngigantic pillars, 18 feet in height and 17 feet in circumference. Walls\n12 feet in thickness rise above the heaps of rubbish which litter the\nground. These remains exhibit little connection with Nahua architecture\nto the north or south of them. They are more massive than either, and\nmust have been constructed by some race which had made considerable\nstrides in the art of building.\n\n\n\nTeotihuacan\n\nIn the district of the Totonacs, to the north of Vera Cruz, we find\nmany architectural remains of a highly interesting character. Here\nthe teocalli or pyramidal type of building is occasionally crowned\nby a covered-in temple with the massive roof characteristic of Maya\narchitecture. The most striking examples found in this region are the\nremains of Teotihuacan and Xochicalco. The former was the religious\nMecca of the Nahua races, and in its proximity are still to be seen the\nteocallis of the sun and moon, surrounded by extensive burying-grounds\nwhere the devout of Anahuac were laid in the sure hope that if interred\nthey would find entrance into the paradise of the sun. The teocalli of\nthe moon has a base covering 426 feet and a height of 137 feet. That\nof the sun is of greater dimensions, with a base of 735 feet and a\nheight of 203 feet. These pyramids were divided into four stories,\nthree of which remain. On the summit of that of the sun stood a\ntemple containing a great image of that luminary carved from a rough\nblock of stone. In the breast was inlaid a star of the purest gold,\nseized afterwards as loot by the insatiable followers of Cort\u00e9s. From\nthe teocalli of the moon a path runs to where a little rivulet flanks\nthe \"Citadel.\" This path is known as \"The Path of the Dead,\" from the\ncircumstance that it is surrounded by some nine square miles of tombs\nand tumuli, and, indeed, forms a road through the great cemetery. The\nCitadel, thinks Charnay, was a vast tennis or tlachtli court, where\nthousands flocked to gaze at the national sport of the Nahua with a\nzest equal to that of the modern devotees of football. Teotihuacan was\na flourishing centre contemporary with Tollan. It was destroyed, but\nwas rebuilt by the Chichimec king Xolotl, and preserved thenceforth its\ntraditional sway as the focus of the Nahua national religion. Charnay\nidentifies the architectural types discovered there with those\nof Tollan. The result of his labours in the vicinity included the\nunearthing of richly decorated pottery, vases, masks, and terra-cotta\nfigures. He also excavated several large houses or palaces, some with\nchambers more than 730 feet in circumference, with walls over 7-1/2\nfeet thick, into which were built rings and slabs to support torches\nand candles. The floors were tessellated in various rich designs,\n\"like an Aubusson carpet.\" Charnay concluded that the monuments of\nTeotihuacan were partly standing at the time of the conquest.\n\n\n\nThe Hill of Flowers\n\nNear Tezcuco is Xochicalco (The Hill of Flowers), a teocalli the\nsculpture of which is both beautiful and luxuriant in design. The\nporphyry quarries from which the great blocks, 12 feet in length,\nwere cut lie many miles away. As late as 1755 the structure towered\nto a height of five stories, but the vandal has done his work only\ntoo well, and a few fragmentary carvings of exquisite design are all\nthat to-day remain of one of Mexico's most magnificent pyramids.\n\n\n\nTollan\n\nWe have already indicated that on the site of the \"Toltec\" city of\nTollan ruins have been discovered which prove that it was the centre of\na civilisation of a type distinctly advanced. Charnay unearthed there\ngigantic fragments of caryatides, each some 7 feet high. He also found\ncolumns of two pieces, which were fitted together by means of mortise\nand tenon, bas-reliefs of archaic figures of undoubted Nahua type, and\nmany fragments of great antiquity. On the hill of Palpan, above Tollan,\nhe found the ground-plans of several houses with numerous apartments,\nfrescoed, columned, and having benches and cisterns recalling the\nimpluvium of a Roman villa. Water-pipes were also actually unearthed,\nand a wealth of pottery, many pieces of which were like old Japanese\nchina. The ground-plan or foundations of the houses unearthed at\nPalpan showed that they had been designed by practical architects,\nand had not been built in any merely haphazard fashion. The cement\nwhich covered the walls and floors was of excellent quality, and\nrecalled that discovered in ancient Italian excavations. The roofs\nhad been of wood, supported by pillars.\n\n\n\nPicture-Writing\n\nThe Aztecs, and indeed the entire Nahua race, employed a system of\nwriting of the type scientifically described as \"pictographic,\" in\nwhich events, persons, and ideas were recorded by means of drawings\nand coloured sketches. These were executed on paper made from the agave\nplant, or were painted on the skins of animals. By these means not only\nhistory and the principles of the Nahua mythology were communicated\nfrom generation to generation, but the transactions of daily life, the\naccountings of merchants, and the purchase and ownership of land were\nplaced on record. That a phonetic system was rapidly being approached\nis manifest from the method by which the Nahua scribes depicted the\nnames of individuals or cities. These were represented by means of\nseveral objects, the names of which resembled that of the person for\nwhich they stood. The name of King Ixcoatl, for example, is represented\nby the drawing of a serpent (coatl) pierced by flint knives (iztli),\nand that of Motequauhzoma (Montezuma) by a mouse-trap (montli), an\neagle (quauhtli), a lancet (zo), and a hand (maitl). The phonetic\nvalues employed by the scribes varied exceedingly, so that at times\nan entire syllable would be expressed by the painting of an object\nthe name of which commenced with it. At other times only a letter\nwould be represented by the same drawing. But the general intention of\nthe scribes was undoubtedly more ideographic than phonetic; that is,\nthey desired to convey their thoughts more by sketch than by sound.\n\n\n\nInterpretation of the Hieroglyphs\n\nThese pinturas, as the Spanish conquerors designated them, offer no\nvery great difficulty in their elucidation to modern experts, at least\nso far as the general trend of their contents is concerned. In this\nthey are unlike the manuscripts of the Maya of Central America with\nwhich we shall make acquaintance further on. Their interpretation\nwas largely traditional, and was learned by rote, being passed on\nby one generation of amamatini (readers) to another, and was by no\nmeans capable of elucidation by all and sundry.\n\n\n\nNative Manuscripts\n\nThe pinturas or native manuscripts which remain to us are but few\nin number. Priestly fanaticism, which ordained their wholesale\ndestruction, and the still more potent passage of time have so\nreduced them that each separate example is known to bibliophiles and\nAmericanists the world over. In such as still exist we can observe\ngreat fullness of detail, representing for the most part festivals,\nsacrifices, tributes, and natural phenomena, such as eclipses and\nfloods, and the death and accession of monarchs. These events, and the\nsupernatural beings who were supposed to control them, were depicted\nin brilliant colours, executed by means of a brush of feathers.\n\n\n\nThe Interpretative Codices\n\nLuckily for future students of Mexican history, the blind zeal which\ndestroyed the majority of the Mexican manuscripts was frustrated by the\nenlightenment of certain European scholars, who regarded the wholesale\ndestruction of the native records as little short of a calamity,\nand who took steps to seek out the few remaining native artists,\nfrom whom they procured copies of the more important paintings, the\ndetails of which were, of course, quite familiar to them. To those were\nadded interpretations taken down from the lips of the native scribes\nthemselves, so that no doubt might remain regarding the contents of\nthe manuscripts. These are known as the \"Interpretative Codices,\"\nand are of considerable assistance to the student of Mexican history\nand customs. Three only are in existence. The Oxford Codex, treasured\nin the Bodleian Library, is of a historical nature, and contains a\nfull list of the lesser cities which were subservient to Mexico in\nits palmy days. The Paris or Tellerio-Remensis Codex, so called from\nhaving once been the property of Le Tellier, Archbishop of Rheims,\nembodies many facts concerning the early settlement of the various\nNahua city-states. The Vatican MSS. deal chiefly with mythology\nand the intricacies of the Mexican calendar system. Such Mexican\npaintings as were unassisted by an interpretation are naturally of\nless value to present-day students of the lore of the Nahua. They\nare principally concerned with calendric matter, ritualistic data,\nand astrological computations or horoscopes.\n\n\n\nThe Mexican \"Book of the Dead\"\n\nPerhaps the most remarkable and interesting manuscript in the Vatican\ncollection is one the last pages of which represent the journey of the\nsoul after death through the gloomy dangers of the Other-world. This\nhas been called the Mexican \"Book of the Dead.\" The corpse is depicted\ndressed for burial, the soul escaping from its earthly tenement by way\nof the mouth. The spirit is ushered into the presence of Tezcatlipoca,\nthe Jupiter of the Aztec pantheon, by an attendant dressed in an ocelot\nskin, and stands naked with a wooden yoke round the neck before the\ndeity, to receive sentence. The dead person is given over to the tests\nwhich precede entrance to the abode of the dead, the realm of Mictlan,\nand so that he may not have to meet the perils of the journey in a\ndefenceless condition a sheaf of javelins is bestowed upon him. He\nfirst passes between two lofty peaks, which may fall and crush him if\nhe cannot skilfully escape them. A terrible serpent then intercepts\nhis path, and, if he succeeds in defeating this monster, the fierce\nalligator Xochitonal awaits him. Eight deserts and a corresponding\nnumber of mountains have then to be negotiated by the hapless spirit,\nand a whirlwind sharp as a sword, which cuts even through solid\nrocks, must be withstood. Accompanied by the shade of his favourite\ndog, the harassed ghost at length encounters the fierce Izpuzteque,\na demon with the backward-bent legs of a cock, the evil Nextepehua,\nthe fiend who scatters clouds of ashes, and many another grisly foe,\nuntil at last he wins to the gates of the Lord of Hell, before whom\nhe does reverence, after which he is free to greet his friends who\nhave gone before.\n\n\n\nThe Calendar System\n\nAs has been said, the calendar system was the source of all Mexican\nscience, and regulated the recurrence of all religious rites and\nfestivals. In fact, the entire mechanism of Nahua life was resident in\nits provisions. The type of time-division and computation exemplified\nin the Nahua calendar was also found among the Maya peoples of Yucatan\nand Guatemala and the Zapotec people of the boundary between the\nNahua and Maya races. By which of these races it was first employed\nis unknown. But the Zapotec calendar exhibits signs of both Nahua and\nMaya influence, and from this it has been inferred that the calendar\nsystems of these races have been evolved from it. It might with equal\nprobability be argued that both Nahua and Maya art were offshoots\nof Zapotec art, because the characteristics of both are discovered\nin it, whereas the circumstance merely illustrates the very natural\nacceptance by a border people, who settled down to civilisation at\na relatively later date, of the artistic tenets of the two greater\npeoples who environed them. The Nahua and Maya calendars were in all\nlikelihood evolved from the calendar system of that civilised race\nwhich undoubtedly existed on the Mexican plateau prior to the coming\nof the later Nahua swarms, and which in general is loosely alluded\nto as the \"Toltec.\"\n\n\n\nThe Mexican Year\n\nThe Mexican year was a cycle of 365 days, without any intercalary\naddition or other correction. In course of time it almost lost its\nseasonal significance because of the omission of the extra hours\nincluded in the solar year, and furthermore many of its festivals\nand occasions were altered by high-priests and rulers to suit their\nconvenience. The Mexican nexiuhilpililztli (binding of years)\ncontained fifty-two years, and ran in two separate cycles--one\nof fifty-two years of 365 days each, and another of seventy-three\ngroups of 260 days each. The first was of course the solar year,\nand embraced eighteen periods of twenty days each, called \"months\"\nby the old Spanish chroniclers, with five nemontemi (unlucky days)\nover and above. These days were not intercalated, but were included\nin the year, and merely overflowed the division of the year into\nperiods of twenty days. The cycle of seventy-three groups of 260 days,\nsubdivided into groups of thirteen days, was called the \"birth-cycle.\"\n\n\n\nLunar Reckoning\n\nPeople in a barbarous condition almost invariably reckon time by the\nperiod between the waxing and waning of the moon as distinct from the\nentire passage of a lunar revolution, and this period of twenty days\nwill be found to be the basis in the time-reckoning of the Mexicans,\nwho designated it cempohualli. Each day included in it was denoted by\na sign, as \"house,\" \"snake,\" \"wind,\" and so forth. Each cempohualli\nwas subdivided into four periods of five days each, sometimes alluded\nto as \"weeks\" by the early Spanish writers, and these were known by\nthe sign of their middle or third day. These day-names ran on without\nreference to the length of the year. The year itself was designated\nby the name of the middle day of the week in which it began. Out\nof twenty day-names in the Mexican \"month\" it was inevitable that\nthe four calli (house), tochtli (rabbit), acatl (reed), and tecpatl\n(flint) should always recur in sequence because of the incidence\nof these days in the Mexican solar year. Four years made up a year\nof the sun. During the nemontemi (unlucky days) no work was done,\nas they were regarded as ominous and unwholesome.\n\nWe have seen that the civil year permitted the day-names to run on\ncontinuously from one year to another. The ecclesiastical authorities,\nhowever, had a reckoning of their own, and made the year begin always\non the first day of their calendar, no matter what sign denominated\nthat day in the civil system.\n\n\n\nGroups of Years\n\nAs has been indicated, the years were formed into groups. Thirteen\nyears constituted a xiumalpilli (bundle), and four of these a\nnexiuhilpilitztli (complete binding of the years). Each year had thus\na double aspect, first as an individual period of time, and secondly\nas a portion of the \"year of the sun,\" and these were so numbered\nand named that each year in the series of fifty-two possessed a\ndifferent description.\n\n\n\nThe Dread of the Last Day\n\nWith the conclusion of each period of fifty-two years a terrible dread\ncame upon the Mexicans that the world would come to an end. A stated\nperiod of time had expired, a period which was regarded as fixed by\ndivine command, and it had been ordained that on the completion of\none of those series of fifty-two years earthly time would cease and\nthe universe be demolished. For some time before the ceremony of\ntoxilmolpilia (the binding up of the years) the Mexicans abandoned\nthemselves to the utmost prostration, and the wicked went about\nin terrible fear. As the first day of the fifty-third year dawned\nthe people narrowly observed the Pleiades, for if they passed the\nzenith time would proceed and the world would be respited. The gods\nwere placated or refreshed by the slaughter of the human victim,\non whose still living breast a fire of wood was kindled by friction,\nthe heart and body being consumed by the flames so lighted. As the\nplanets of hope crossed the zenith loud acclamations resounded from\nthe people, and the domestic hearths, which had been left cold and\ndead, were rekindled from the sacred fire which had consumed the\nsacrifice. Mankind was safe for another period.\n\n\n\nThe Birth-Cycle\n\nThe birth-cycle, as we have said, consisted of 260 days. It had\noriginally been a lunar cycle of thirteen days, and once bore the names\nof thirteen moons. It formed part of the civil calendar, with which,\nhowever, it had nothing in common, as it was used for ecclesiastical\npurposes only. The lunar names were abandoned later, and the numbers\none to thirteen adopted in their places.\n\n\n\nLanguage of the Nahua\n\nThe Nahua language represented a very low state of culture. Speech is\nthe general measure of the standard of thought of a people, and if we\njudged the civilisation of the Nahua by theirs, we should be justified\nin concluding that they had not yet emerged from barbarism. But we\nmust recollect that the Nahua of the conquest period had speedily\nadopted the older civilisation which they had found awaiting them\non their entrance to Mexico, and had retained their own primitive\ntongue. The older and more cultured people who had preceded them\nprobably spoke a more polished dialect of the same language, but its\ninfluence had evidently but little effect upon the rude Chichimecs\nand Aztecs. The Mexican tongue, like most American languages, belongs\nto the \"incorporative\" type, the genius of which is to unite all\nthe related words in a sentence into one conglomerate term or word,\nmerging the separate words of which it is composed one into another by\naltering their forms, and so welding them together as to express the\nwhole in one word. It will be at once apparent that such a system was\nclumsy in the extreme, and led to the creation of words and names of\nthe most barbarous appearance and sound. In a narrative of the Spanish\ndiscovery written by Chimalpahin, the native chronicler of Chalco,\nborn in 1579, we have, for example, such a passage as the following:\nOc chiucnauhxihuitl inic onen quilantimanca Espa\u00f1a camo niman ic yuh\nca omacoc ihuelitiliztli inic niman ye chiuhcnauhxiuhtica, in oncan\nohualla. This passage is chosen quite at random, and is an average\nspecimen of literary Mexican of the sixteenth century. Its purport is,\nfreely translated: \"For nine years he [Columbus] remained in vain\nin Spain. Yea, for nine years there he waited for influence.\" The\nclumsy and cumbrous nature of the language could scarcely be better\nillustrated than by pointing out that chiucnauhxihuitl signifies \"nine\nyears\"; quilantimanca, \"he below remained\"; and omacoc ihuelitiliztli,\n\"he has got his powerfulness.\" It must be recollected that this\nspecimen of Mexican was composed by a person who had had the benefit\nof a Spanish education, and is cast in literary form. What the\nspoken Mexican of pre-conquest times was like can be contemplated\nwith misgiving in the grammars of the old Spanish missionaries,\nwhose greatest glory is that they mastered such a language in the\ninterests of their faith.\n\n\n\nAztec Science\n\nThe science of the Aztecs was, perhaps, one of the most picturesque\nsides of their civilisation. As with all peoples in a semi-barbarous\nstate, it consisted chiefly in astrology and divination. Of the\nformer the wonderful calendar system was the basis, and by its aid\nthe priests, or those of them who were set apart for the study of the\nheavenly bodies, pretended to be able to tell the future of new-born\ninfants and the progress of the dead in the other world. This they\naccomplished by weighing the influence of the planets and other\nluminaries one against another, and extracting the net result. Their\nart of divination consisted in drawing omens from the song and flight\nof birds, the appearance of grains of seed, feathers, and the entrails\nof animals, by which means they confidently predicted both public\nand private events.\n\n\n\nNahua Government\n\nThe limits of the Aztec Empire may be defined, if its tributary\nstates are included, as extending over the territory comprised in\nthe modern states of Mexico, Southern Vera Cruz, and Guerrero. Among\nthe civilised peoples of this extensive tract the prevailing form of\ngovernment was an absolute monarchy, although several of the smaller\ncommunities were republics. The law of succession, as with the Celts\nof Scotland, prescribed that the eldest surviving brother of the\ndeceased monarch should be elected to his throne, and, failing him,\nthe eldest nephew. But incompetent persons were almost invariably\nignored by the elective body, although the choice was limited to one\nfamily. The ruler was generally selected both because of his military\nprowess and his ecclesiastical and political knowledge. Indeed, a\nMexican monarch was nearly always a man of the highest culture and\nartistic refinement, and the ill-fated Montezuma was an example of the\ntrue type of Nahua sovereign. The council of the monarch was composed\nof the electors and other personages of importance in the realm. It\nundertook the government of the provinces, the financial affairs of\nthe country, and other matters of national import. The nobility held\nall the highest military, judicial, and ecclesiastical offices. To\neach city and province judges were delegated who exercised criminal\nand civil jurisdiction, and whose opinion superseded even that of\nthe Crown itself. Petty cases were settled by lesser officials, and\na still inferior grade of officers acted as a species of police in\nthe supervision of families.\n\n\n\nDomestic Life\n\nThe domestic life of the Nahua was a peculiar admixture of simplicity\nand display. The mass of the people led a life of strenuous labour\nin the fields, and in the cities they wrought hard at many trades,\namong which may be specified building, metal-working, making\nrobes and other articles of bright featherwork and quilted suits\nof armour, jewellery, and small wares. Vendors of flowers, fruit,\nfish, and vegetables swarmed in the markets. The use of tobacco was\ngeneral among the men of all classes. At banquets the women attended,\nalthough they were seated at separate tables. The entertainments of\nthe upper class were marked by much magnificence, and the variety\nof dishes was considerable, including venison, turkey, many smaller\nbirds, fish, a profusion of vegetables, and pastry, accompanied\nby sauces of delicate flavour. These were served in dishes of\ngold and silver. Pulque, a fermented drink brewed from the agave,\nwas the universal beverage. Cannibalism was indulged in usually on\nceremonial occasions, and was surrounded by such refinements of the\ntable as served only to render it the more repulsive in the eyes of\nEuropeans. It has been stated that this revolting practice was engaged\nin owing solely to the tenets of the Nahua religion, which enjoined\nthe slaughter of slaves or captives in the name of a deity, and their\nconsumption with the idea that the consumers attained unity with\nthat deity in the flesh. But there is good reason to suspect that the\nNahua, deprived of the flesh of the larger domestic animals, practised\ndeliberate cannibalism. It would appear that the older race which\npreceded them in the country were innocent of these horrible repasts.\n\n\n\nA Mysterious Toltec Book\n\nA piece of Nahua literature, the disappearance of which is surrounded\nby circumstances of the deepest mystery, is the Teo-Amoxtli (Divine\nBook), which is alleged by certain chroniclers to have been the work\nof the ancient Toltecs. Ixtlilxochitl, a native Mexican author, states\nthat it was written by a Tezcucan wise man, one Huematzin, about the\nend of the seventh century, and that it described the pilgrimage of\nthe Nahua from Asia, their laws, manners, and customs, and their\nreligious tenets, science, and arts. In 1838 the Baron de Waldeck\nstated in his Voyage Pittoresque that he had it in his possession,\nand the Abb\u00e9 Brasseur de Bourbourg identified it with the Maya Dresden\nCodex and other native manuscripts. Bustamante also states that the\namamatini (chroniclers) of Tezcuco had a copy in their possession\nat the time of the taking of their city. But these appear to be mere\nsurmises, and if the Teo-Amoxtli ever existed, which on the whole is\nnot unlikely, it has probably never been seen by a European.\n\n\n\nA Native Historian\n\nOne of the most interesting of the Mexican historians is Don Fernando\nde Alva Ixtlilxochitl, a half-breed of royal Tezcucan descent. He\nwas responsible for two notable works, entitled Historia Chichimeca\n(The History of the Chichimecs) and the Relaciones, a compilation of\nhistorical and semi-historical incidents. He was cursed, or blessed,\nhowever, by a strong leaning toward the marvellous, and has coloured\nhis narratives so highly that he would have us regard the Toltec or\nancient Nahua civilisations as by far the most splendid and magnificent\nthat ever existed. His descriptions of Tezcuco, if picturesque in the\nextreme, are manifestly the outpourings of a romantic and idealistic\nmind, which in its patriotic enthusiasm desired to vindicate the\ncountry of his birth from the stigma of savagery and to prove its\nequality with the great nations of antiquity. For this we have not\nthe heart to quarrel with him. But we must be on our guard against\naccepting any of his statements unless we find strong corroboration\nof it in the pages of a more trustworthy and less biased author.\n\n\n\nNahua Topography\n\nThe geography of Mexico is by no means as familiar to Europeans as\nis that of the various countries of our own continent, and it is\nextremely easy for the reader who is unacquainted with Mexico and\nthe puzzling orthography of its place-names to flounder among them,\nand during the perusal of such a volume as this to find himself in a\nhopeless maze of surmise as to the exact locality of the more famous\ncentres of Mexican history. A few moments' study of this paragraph\nwill enlighten him in this respect, and will save him much confusion\nfurther on. He will see from the map (p. 330) that the city of Mexico,\nor Tenochtitlan, its native name, was situated upon an island in the\nLake of Tezcuco. This lake has now partially dried up, and the modern\ncity of Mexico is situated at a considerable distance from it. Tezcuco,\nthe city second in importance, lies to the north-east of the lake, and\nis somewhat more isolated, the other pueblos (towns) clustering round\nthe southern or western shores. To the north of Tezcuco is Teotihuacan,\nthe sacred city of the gods. To the south-east of Mexico is Tlaxcallan,\nor Tlascala, the city which assisted Cort\u00e9s against the Mexicans, and\nthe inhabitants of which were the deadliest foes of the central Nahua\npower. To the north lie the sacred city of Cholula and Tula, or Tollan.\n\n\n\nDistribution of the Nahua Tribes\n\nHaving become acquainted with the relative position of the Nahua\ncities, we may now consult for a moment the map which exhibits the\ngeographical distribution of the various Nahua tribes, and which is\nself-explanatory (p. 331).\n\n\n\nNahua History\n\nA brief historical sketch or epitome of what is known of Nahua history\nas apart from mere tradition will further assist the reader in the\ncomprehension of Mexican mythology. From the period of the settlement\nof the Nahua on an agricultural basis a system of feudal government had\nevolved, and at various epochs in the history of the country certain\ncities or groups of cities held a paramount sway. Subsequent to the\n\"Toltec\" period, which we have already described and discussed, we\nfind the Acolhuans in supreme power, and ruling from their cities\nof Tollantzinco and Cholula a considerable tract of country. Later\nCholula maintained an alliance with Tlascala and Huexotzinco.\n\n\n\nBloodless Battles\n\nThe maxim \"Other climes, other manners\" is nowhere better exemplified\nthan by the curious annual strife betwixt the warriors of Mexico and\nTlascala. Once a year they met on a prearranged battle-ground and\nengaged in combat, not with the intention of killing one another,\nbut with the object of taking prisoners for sacrifice on the altars\nof their respective war-gods. The warrior seized his opponent and\nattempted to bear him off, the various groups pulling and tugging\ndesperately at each other in the endeavour to seize the limbs of\nthe unfortunate who had been first struck down, with the object of\ndragging him into durance or effecting his rescue. Once secured, the\nTlascaltec warrior was brought to Mexico in a cage, and first placed\nupon a stone slab, to which one of his feet was secured by a chain\nor thong. He was then given light weapons, more like playthings than\nwarrior's gear, and confronted by one of the most celebrated Mexican\nwarriors. Should he succeed in defeating six of these formidable\nantagonists, he was set free. But no sooner was he wounded than he\nwas hurried to the altar of sacrifice, and his heart was torn out\nand offered to Huitzilopochtli, the implacable god of war.\n\nThe Tlascaltecs, having finally secured their position by a defeat of\nthe Tecpanecs of Huexotzinco about A.D. 1384, sank into comparative\nobscurity save for their annual bout with the Mexicans.\n\n\n\nThe Lake Cities\n\nThe communities grouped round the various lakes in the valley of Mexico\nnow command our attention. More than two score of these thriving\ncommunities flourished at the time of the conquest of Mexico,\nthe most notable being those which occupied the borders of the\nLake of Tezcuco. These cities grouped themselves round two nuclei,\nAzcapozalco and Tezcuco, between whom a fierce rivalry sprang up,\nwhich finally ended in the entire discomfiture or Azcapozalco. From\nthis event the real history of Mexico may be said to commence. Those\ncities which had allied themselves to Tezcuco finally overran the\nentire territory of Mexico from the Mexican Gulf to the Pacific.\n\n\n\nTezcuco\n\nIf, as some authorities declare, Tezcuco was originally Otomi in\naffinity, it was in later years the most typically Nahuan of all the\nlacustrine powers. But several other communities, the power of which\nwas very nearly as great as that of Tezcuco, had assisted that city to\nsupremacy. Among these was Xaltocan, a city-state of unquestionable\nOtomi origin, situated at the northern extremity of the lake. As we\nhave seen from the statements of Ixtlilxochitl, a Tezcucan writer, his\nnative city was in the forefront of Nahua civilisation at the time of\nthe coming of the Spaniards, and if it was practically subservient to\nMexico (Tenochtitlan) at that period it was by no means its inferior\nin the arts.\n\n\n\nThe Tecpanecs\n\nThe Tecpanecs, who dwelt in Tlacopan, Coyohuacan, and Huitzilopocho,\nwere also typical Nahua. The name, as we have already explained,\nindicates that each settlement possessed its own tecpan (chief's\nhouse), and has no racial significance. Their state was probably\nfounded about the twelfth century, although a chronology of no less\nthan fifteen hundred years was claimed for it. This people composed\na sort of buffer-state betwixt the Otomi on the north and other Nahua\non the south.\n\n\n\nThe Aztecs\n\nThe menace of these northern Otomi had become acute when the Tecpanecs\nreceived reinforcements in the shape of the Aztec\u00e2, or Aztecs, a\npeople of Nahua blood, who came, according to their own accounts,\nfrom Aztlan (Crane Land). The name Aztec\u00e2 signifies \"Crane People,\"\nand this has led to the assumption that they came from Chihuahua,\nwhere cranes abound. Doubts have been cast upon the Nahua origin of\nthe Aztec\u00e2. But these are by no means well founded, as the names of\nthe early Aztec chieftains and kings are unquestionably Nahuan. This\npeople on their arrival in Mexico were in a very inferior state of\nculture, and were probably little better than savages. We have already\noutlined some of the legends concerning the coming of the Aztecs to\nthe land of Anahuac, or the valley of Mexico, but their true origin\nis uncertain, and it is likely that they wandered down from the north\nas other Nahua immigrants did before them, and as the Apache Indians\nstill do to this day. By their own showing they had sojourned at\nseveral points en route, and were reduced to slavery by the chiefs\nof Colhuacan. They proved so truculent in their bondage, however,\nthat they were released, and journeyed to Chapoultepec, which they\nquitted because of their dissensions with the Xaltocanecs. On their\narrival in the district inhabited by the Tecpanecs a tribute was levied\nupon them, but nevertheless they flourished so exceedingly that the\nswamp villages which the Tecpanecs had permitted them to raise on the\nborders of the lake soon grew into thriving communities, and chiefs\nwere provided for them from among the nobility of the Tecpanecs.\n\n\n\nThe Aztecs as Allies\n\nBy the aid of the Aztecs the Tecpanecs greatly extended their\nterritorial possessions. City after city was added to their empire,\nand the allies finally invaded the Otomi country, which they speedily\nsubdued. Those cities which had been founded by the Acolhuans on the\nfringes of Tezcuco also allied themselves with the Tecpanecs with\nthe intention of freeing themselves from the yoke of the Chichimecs,\nwhose hand was heavy upon them. The Chichimecs or Tezcucans made a\nstern resistance, and for a time the sovereignty of the Tecpanecs\nhung in the balance. But eventually they conquered, and Tezcuco was\noverthrown and given as a spoil to the Aztecs.\n\n\n\nNew Powers\n\nUp to this time the Aztecs had paid a tribute to Azcapozalco, but now,\nstrengthened by the successes of the late conflict, they withheld it,\nand requested permission to build an aqueduct from the shore for the\npurpose of carrying a supply of water into their city. This was refused\nby the Tecpanecs, and a policy of isolation was brought to bear upon\nMexico, an embargo being placed upon its goods and intercourse with\nits people being forbidden. War followed, in which the Tecpanecs\nwere defeated with great slaughter. After this event, which may\nbe placed about the year 1428, the Aztecs gained ground rapidly,\nand their march to the supremacy of the entire Mexican valley was\nalmost undisputed. Allying themselves with Tezcuco and Tlacopan,\nthe Mexicans overran many states far beyond the confines of the\nvalley, and by the time of Montezuma I had extended their boundaries\nalmost to the limits of the present republic. The Mexican merchant\nfollowed in the footsteps of the Mexican warrior, and the commercial\nexpansion of the Aztecs rivalled their military fame. Clever traders,\nthey were merciless in their exactions of tribute from the states\nthey conquered, manufacturing the raw material paid to them by\nthe subject cities into goods which they afterwards sold again to\nthe tribes under their sway. Mexico became the chief market of the\nempire, as well as its political nucleus. Such was the condition\nof affairs when the Spaniards arrived in Anahuac. Their coming has\nbeen deplored by certain historians as hastening the destruction of\na Western Eden. But bad as was their rule, it was probably mild when\ncompared with the cruel and insatiable sway of the Aztecs over their\nunhappy dependents. The Spaniards found a tyrannical despotism in\nthe conquered provinces, and a faith the accessories of which were\nso fiendish that it cast a gloom over the entire national life. These\nthey replaced by a milder vassalage and the earnest ministrations of\na more enlightened priesthood.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II: MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY\n\n\nNahua Religion\n\nThe religion of the ancient Mexicans was a polytheism or worship of a\npantheon of deities, the general aspect of which presented similarities\nto the systems of Greece and Egypt. Original influences, however,\nwere strong, and they are especially discernible in the institutions\nof ritualistic cannibalism and human sacrifice. Strange resemblances to\nChristian practice were observed in the Aztec mythology by the Spanish\nConquistadores, who piously condemned the native customs of baptism,\nconsubstantiation, and confession as frauds founded and perpetuated\nby diabolic agency.\n\nA superficial examination of the Nahua religion might lead to the\ninference that within its scope and system no definite theological\nviews were embraced and no ethical principles propounded, and that\nthe entire mythology presents only the fantastic attitude of the\nbarbarian mind toward the eternal verities. Such a conclusion would\nbe both erroneous and unjust to a human intelligence of a type by no\nmeans debased. As a matter of fact, the Nahua displayed a theological\nadvancement greatly superior to that of the Greeks or Romans, and quite\non a level with that expressed by the Egyptians and Assyrians. Toward\nthe period of the Spanish occupation the Mexican priesthood was\nundoubtedly advancing to the contemplation of the exaltation of\none god, whose worship was fast excluding that of similar deities,\nand if our data are too imperfect to allow us to speak very fully\nin regard to this phase of religious advancement, we know at least\nthat much of the Nahua ritual and many of the prayers preserved by\nthe labours of the Spanish fathers are unquestionably genuine, and\ndisplay the attainment of a high religious level.\n\n\n\nCosmology\n\nAztec theology postulated an eternity which, however, was not without\nits epochs. It was thought to be broken up into a number of \u00e6ons,\neach of which depended upon the period of duration of a separate\n\"sun.\" No agreement is noticeable among authorities on Mexican\nmythology as to the number of these \"suns,\" but it would appear as\nprobable that the favourite tradition stipulated for four \"suns\"\nor epochs, each of which concluded with a national disaster--flood,\nfamine, tempest, or fire. The present \u00e6on, they feared, might conclude\nupon the completion of every \"sheaf\" of fifty-two years, the \"sheaf\"\nbeing a merely arbitrary portion of an \u00e6on. The period of time from the\nfirst creation to the current \u00e6on was variously computed as 15,228,\n2386, or 1404 solar years, the discrepancy and doubt arising because\nof the equivocal nature of the numeral signs expressing the period\nin the pinturas or native paintings. As regards the sequence of\n\"suns\" there is no more agreement than there is regarding their\nnumber. The Codex Vaticanus states it to have been water, wind,\nfire, and famine. Humboldt gives it as hunger, fire, wind, and water;\nBoturini as water, famine, wind, and fire; and Gama as hunger, wind,\nfire, and water.\n\nIn all likelihood the adoption of four ages arose from the sacred\nnature of that number. The myth doubtless shaped itself upon the\ntonalamatl (Mexican native calendar), the great repository of the\nwisdom of the Nahua race, which the priestly class regarded as its\nvade mecum, and which was closely consulted by it on every occasion,\ncivil or religious.\n\n\n\nThe Sources of Mexican Mythology\n\nOur knowledge of the mythology of the Mexicans is chiefly gained\nthrough the works of those Spaniards, lay and cleric, who entered\nthe country along with or immediately subsequent to the Spanish\nConquistadores. From several of these we have what might be called\nfirst-hand accounts of the theogony and ritual of the Nahua people. The\nmost valuable compendium is that of Father Bernardino Sahagun,\nentitled A General History of the Affairs of New Spain, which was\npublished from manuscript only in the middle of last century, though\nwritten in the first half of the sixteenth century. Sahagun arrived in\nMexico eight years after the country had been reduced by the Spaniards\nto a condition of servitude. He obtained a thorough mastery of the\nNahuatl tongue, and conceived a warm admiration for the native mind\nand a deep interest in the antiquities of the conquered people. His\nmethod of collecting facts concerning their mythology and history\nwas as effective as it was ingenious. He held daily conferences\nwith reliable Indians, and placed questions before them, to which\nthey replied by symbolical paintings detailing the answers which he\nrequired. These he submitted to scholars who had been trained under\nhis own supervision, and who, after consultation among themselves,\nrendered him a criticism in Nahuatl of the hieroglyphical paintings\nhe had placed at their disposal. Not content with this process, he\nsubjected these replies to the criticism of a third body, after which\nthe matter was included in his work. But ecclesiastical intolerance\nwas destined to keep the work from publication for a couple of\ncenturies. Afraid that such a volume would be successful in keeping\nalight the fires of paganism in Mexico, Sahagun's brethren refused him\nthe assistance he required for its publication. But on his appealing\nto the Council of the Indies in Spain he was met with encouragement,\nand was ordered to translate his great work into Spanish, a task he\nundertook when over eighty years of age. He transmitted the work to\nSpain, and for three hundred years nothing more was heard of it.\n\n\n\nThe Romance of the Lost \"Sahagun\"\n\nFor generations antiquarians interested in the lore of ancient Mexico\nbemoaned its loss, until at length one Mu\u00f1oz, more indefatigable\nthan the rest, chanced to visit the crumbling library of the ancient\nconvent of Tolosi, in Navarre. There, among time-worn manuscripts\nand tomes relating to the early fathers and the intricacies of canon\nlaw, he discovered the lost Sahagun! It was printed separately by\nBustamante at Mexico and by Lord Kingsborough in his collection in\n1830, and has been translated into French by M. Jourdanet. Thus the\nmanuscript commenced in or after 1530 was given to the public after\na lapse of no less than three hundred years!\n\n\n\nTorquemada\n\nFather Torquemada arrived in the New World about the middle of\nthe sixteenth century, at which period he was still enabled to\ntake from the lips of such of the Conquistadores as remained much\ncurious information regarding the circumstances of their advent. His\nMonarchia Indiana was first published at Seville in 1615, and in it\nhe made much use of the manuscript of Sahagun, not then published. At\nthe same time his observations upon matters pertaining to the native\nreligion are often illuminating and exhaustive.\n\nIn his Storia Antica del Messico the Abb\u00e9 Clavigero, who published\nhis work in 1780, did much to disperse the clouds of tradition which\nhung over Mexican history and mythology. The clarity of his style and\nthe exactness of his information render his work exceedingly useful.\n\nAntonio Gama, in his Descripcion Historica y Cronologica de las\ndos Piedras, poured a flood of light on Mexican antiquities. His\nwork was published in 1832. With him may be said to have ceased the\nline of Mexican arch\u00e6ologists of the older school. Others worthy\nof being mentioned among the older writers on Mexican mythology (we\nare not here concerned with history) are Boturini, who, in his Idea\nde una Nueva Historia General de la America Septentrional, gives a\nvivid picture of native life and tradition, culled from first-hand\ncommunication with the people; Ixtlilxochitl, a half-breed, whose\nmendacious works, the Relaciones and Historia Chichimeca, are yet\nvaluable repositories of tradition; Jos\u00e9 de Acosta, whose Historia\nNatural y Moral de las Yndias was published at Seville in 1580;\nand Gomara, who, in his Historia General de las Indias (Madrid,\n1749), rested upon the authority of the Conquistadores. Tezozomoc's\nChronica Mexicana, reproduced in Lord Kingsborough's great work,\nis valuable as giving unique facts regarding the Aztec mythology,\nas is the Teatro Mexicana of Vetancurt, published at Mexico in 1697-98.\n\n\n\nThe Worship of One God\n\nThe ritual of this dead faith of another hemisphere abounds in\nexpressions concerning the unity of the deity approaching very nearly\nto many of those we ourselves employ regarding God's attributes. The\nvarious classes of the priesthood were in the habit of addressing\nthe several gods to whom they ministered as \"omnipotent,\" \"endless,\"\n\"invisible,\" \"the one god complete in perfection and unity,\" and\n\"the Maker and Moulder of All.\" These appellations they applied not\nto one supreme being, but to the individual deities to whose service\nthey were attached. It may be thought that such a practice would be\nfatal to the evolution of a single and universal god. But there is\nevery reason to believe that Tezcatlipoca, the great god of the air,\nlike the Hebrew Jahveh, also an air-god, was fast gaining precedence\nof all other deities, when the coming of the white man put an end to\nhis chances of sovereignty.\n\n\n\nTezcatlipoca\n\nTezcatlipoca (Fiery Mirror) was undoubtedly the Jupiter of the Nahua\npantheon. He carried a mirror or shield, from which he took his name,\nand in which he was supposed to see reflected the actions and deeds\nof mankind. The evolution of this god from the status of a spirit of\nwind or air to that of the supreme deity of the Aztec people presents\nmany points of deep interest to students of mythology. Originally the\npersonification of the air, the source both of the breath of life and\nof the tempest, Tezcatlipoca possessed all the attributes of a god who\npresided over these phenomena. As the tribal god of the Tezcucans who\nhad led them into the Land of Promise, and had been instrumental in the\ndefeat of both the gods and men of the elder race they dispossessed,\nTezcatlipoca naturally advanced so speedily in popularity and public\nhonour that it was little wonder that within a comparatively short\nspace of time he came to be regarded as a god of fate and fortune,\nand as inseparably connected with the national destinies. Thus,\nfrom being the peculiar deity of a small band of Nahua immigrants,\nthe prestige accruing from the rapid conquest made under his tutelary\ndirection and the speedily disseminated tales of the prowess of those\nwho worshipped him seemed to render him at once the most popular and\nthe best feared god in Anahuac, therefore the one whose cult quickly\novershadowed that of other and similar gods.\n\n\n\nTezcatlipoca, Overthrower of the Toltecs\n\nWe find Tezcatlipoca intimately associated with the legends which\nrecount the overthrow of Tollan, the capital of the Toltecs. His\nchief adversary on the Toltec side is the god-king Quetzalcoatl,\nwhose nature and reign we will consider later, but whom we will now\nmerely regard as the enemy of Tezcatlipoca. The rivalry between these\ngods symbolises that which existed between the civilised Toltecs and\nthe barbarian Nahua, and is well exemplified in the following myths.\n\n\n\nMyths of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca\n\nIn the days of Quetzalcoatl there was abundance of everything necessary\nfor subsistence. The maize was plentiful, the calabashes were as\nthick as one's arm, and cotton grew in all colours without having\nto be dyed. A variety of birds of rich plumage filled the air with\ntheir songs, and gold, silver, and precious stones were abundant. In\nthe reign of Quetzalcoatl there was peace and plenty for all men.\n\nBut this blissful state was too fortunate, too happy to endure. Envious\nof the calm enjoyment of the god and his people the Toltecs,\nthree wicked \"necromancers\" plotted their downfall. The reference\nis of course to the gods of the invading Nahua tribes, the deities\nHuitzilopochtli, Titlacahuan or Tezcatlipoca, and Tlacahuepan. These\nlaid evil enchantments upon the city of Tollan, and Tezcatlipoca in\nparticular took the lead in these envious conspiracies. Disguised as\nan aged man with white hair, he presented himself at the palace of\nQuetzalcoatl, where he said to the pages-in-waiting: \"Pray present\nme to your master the king. I desire to speak with him.\"\n\nThe pages advised him to retire, as Quetzalcoatl was indisposed and\ncould see no one. He requested them, however, to tell the god that\nhe was waiting outside. They did so, and procured his admittance.\n\nOn entering the chamber of Quetzalcoatl the wily Tezcatlipoca simulated\nmuch sympathy with the suffering god-king. \"How are you, my son?\" he\nasked. \"I have brought you a drug which you should drink, and which\nwill put an end to the course of your malady.\"\n\n\"You are welcome, old man,\" replied Quetzalcoatl. \"I have known for\nmany days that you would come. I am exceedingly indisposed. The malady\naffects my entire system, and I can use neither my hands nor feet.\"\n\nTezcatlipoca assured him that if he partook of the medicine which he\nhad brought him he would immediately experience a great improvement\nin health. Quetzalcoatl drank the potion, and at once felt much\nrevived. The cunning Tezcatlipoca pressed another and still another\ncup of the potion upon him, and as it was nothing but pulque, the\nwine of the country, he speedily became intoxicated, and was as wax\nin the hands of his adversary.\n\n\n\nTezcatlipoca and the Toltecs\n\nTezcatlipoca, in pursuance of his policy inimical to the Toltec state,\ntook the form of an Indian of the name of Toueyo (Toveyo), and bent\nhis steps to the palace of Uemac, chief of the Toltecs in temporal\nmatters. This worthy had a daughter so fair that she was desired\nin marriage by many of the Toltecs, but all to no purpose, as her\nfather refused her hand to one and all. The princess, beholding the\nfalse Toueyo passing her father's palace, fell deeply in love with\nhim, and so tumultuous was her passion that she became seriously ill\nbecause of her longing for him. Uemac, hearing of her indisposition,\nbent his steps to her apartments, and inquired of her women the\ncause of her illness. They told him that it was occasioned by the\nsudden passion which had seized her for the Indian who had recently\ncome that way. Uemac at once gave orders for the arrest of Toueyo,\nand he was haled before the temporal chief of Tollan.\n\n\"Whence come you?\" inquired Uemac of his prisoner, who was very\nscantily attired.\n\n\"Lord, I am a stranger, and I have come to these parts to sell green\npaint,\" replied Tezcatlipoca.\n\n\"Why are you dressed in this fashion? Why do you not wear a\ncloak?\" asked the chief.\n\n\"My lord, I follow the custom of my country,\" replied Tezcatlipoca.\n\n\"You have inspired a passion in the breast of my daughter,\" said\nUemac. \"What should be done to you for thus disgracing me?\"\n\n\"Slay me; I care not,\" said the cunning Tezcatlipoca.\n\n\"Nay,\" replied Uemac, \"for if I slay you my daughter will perish. Go\nto her and say that she may wed you and be happy.\"\n\nNow the marriage of Toueyo to the daughter of Uemac aroused much\ndiscontent among the Toltecs; and they murmured among themselves, and\nsaid: \"Wherefore did Uemac give his daughter to this Toueyo?\" Uemac,\nhaving got wind of these murmurings, resolved to distract the\nattention of the Toltecs by making war upon the neighbouring state\nof Coatepec. The Toltecs assembled armed for the fray, and having\narrived at the country of the men of Coatepec they placed Toueyo\nin ambush with his body-servants, hoping that he would be slain\nby their adversaries. But Toueyo and his men killed a large number\nof the enemy and put them to flight. His triumph was celebrated by\nUemac with much pomp. The knightly plumes were placed upon his head,\nand his body was painted with red and yellow--an honour reserved for\nthose who distinguished themselves in battle.\n\nTezcatlipoca's next step was to announce a great feast in Tollan,\nto which all the people for miles around were invited. Great crowds\nassembled, and danced and sang in the city to the sound of the\ndrum. Tezcatlipoca sang to them and forced them to accompany the rhythm\nof his song with their feet. Faster and faster the people danced,\nuntil the pace became so furious that they were driven to madness,\nlost their footing, and tumbled pell-mell down a deep ravine, where\nthey were changed into rocks. Others in attempting to cross a stone\nbridge precipitated themselves into the water below, and were changed\ninto stones.\n\nOn another occasion Tezcatlipoca presented himself as a valiant\nwarrior named Tequiua, and invited all the inhabitants of Tollan\nand its environs to come to the flower-garden called Xochitla. When\nassembled there he attacked them with a hoe, and slew a great number,\nand others in panic crushed their comrades to death.\n\nTezcatlipoca and Tlacahuepan on another occasion repaired to the\nmarket-place of Tollan, the former displaying upon the palm of\nhis hand a small infant whom he caused to dance and to cut the most\namusing capers. This infant was in reality Huitzilopochtli, the Nahua\ngod of war. At this sight the Toltecs crowded upon one another for\nthe purpose of getting a better view, and their eagerness resulted\nin many being crushed to death. So enraged were the Toltecs at this\nthat upon the advice of Tlacahuepan they slew both Tezcatlipoca and\nHuitzilopochtli. When this had been done the bodies of the slain gods\ngave forth such a pernicious effluvia that thousands of the Toltecs\ndied of the pestilence. The god Tlacahuepan then advised them to cast\nout the bodies lest worse befell them, but on their attempting to do so\nthey discovered their weight to be so great that they could not move\nthem. Hundreds wound cords round the corpses, but the strands broke,\nand those who pulled upon them fell and died suddenly, tumbling one\nupon the other, and suffocating those upon whom they collapsed.\n\n\n\nThe Departure of Quetzalcoatl\n\nThe Toltecs were so tormented by the enchantments of Tezcatlipoca\nthat it was soon apparent to them that their fortunes were on the wane\nand that the end of their empire was at hand. Quetzalcoatl, chagrined\nat the turn things had taken, resolved to quit Tollan and go to the\ncountry of Tlapallan, whence he had come on his civilising mission to\nMexico. He burned all the houses which he had built, and buried his\ntreasure of gold and precious stones in the deep valleys between the\nmountains. He changed the cacao-trees into mezquites, and he ordered\nall the birds of rich plumage and song to quit the valley of Anahuac\nand to follow him to a distance of more than a hundred leagues. On\nthe road from Tollan he discovered a great tree at a point called\nQuauhtitlan. There he rested, and requested his pages to hand him a\nmirror. Regarding himself in the polished surface, he exclaimed, \"I am\nold,\" and from that circumstance the spot was named Huehuequauhtitlan\n(Old Quauhtitlan). Proceeding on his way accompanied by musicians\nwho played the flute, he walked until fatigue arrested his steps,\nand he seated himself upon a stone, on which he left the imprint\nof his hands. This place is called Temacpalco (The Impress of the\nHands). At Coaapan he was met by the Nahua gods, who were inimical\nto him and to the Toltecs.\n\n\"Where do you go?\" they asked him. \"Why do you leave your capital?\"\n\n\"I go to Tlapallan,\" replied Quetzalcoatl, \"whence I came.\"\n\n\"For what reason?\" persisted the enchanters.\n\n\"My father the Sun has called me thence,\" replied Quetzalcoatl.\n\n\"Go, then, happily,\" they said, \"but leave us the secret of your art,\nthe secret of founding in silver, of working in precious stones and\nwoods, of painting, and of feather-working, and other matters.\"\n\nBut Quetzalcoatl refused, and cast all his treasures into the\nfountain of Cozcaapa (Water of Precious Stones). At Cochtan he\nwas met by another enchanter, who asked him whither he was bound,\nand on learning his destination proffered him a draught of wine. On\ntasting the vintage Quetzalcoatl was overcome with sleep. Continuing\nhis journey in the morning, the god passed between a volcano and the\nSierra Nevada (Mountain of Snow), where all the pages who accompanied\nhim died of cold. He regretted this misfortune exceedingly, and wept,\nlamenting their fate with most bitter tears and mournful songs. On\nreaching the summit of Mount Poyauhtecatl he slid to the base. Arriving\nat the sea-shore, he embarked upon a raft of serpents, and was wafted\naway toward the land of Tlapallan.\n\nIt is obvious that these legends bear some resemblance to those of\nIxtlilxochitl which recount the fall of the Toltecs. They are taken\nfrom Sahagun's work, Historia General de Nueva Espa\u00f1a, and are included\nas well for the sake of comparison as for their own intrinsic value.\n\n\n\nTezcatlipoca as Doomster\n\nTezcatlipoca was much more than a mere personification of wind,\nand if he was regarded as a life-giver he had also the power of\ndestroying existence. In fact on occasion he appears as an inexorable\ndeath-dealer, and as such was styled Nezahualpilli (The Hungry Chief)\nand Yaotzin (The Enemy). Perhaps one of the names by which he was\nbest known was Telpochtli (The Youthful Warrior), from the fact that\nhis reserve of strength, his vital force, never diminished, and that\nhis youthful and boisterous vigour was apparent in the tempest.\n\nTezcatlipoca was usually depicted as holding in his right hand a dart\nplaced in an atlatl (spear-thrower), and his mirror-shield with four\nspare darts in his left. This shield is the symbol of his power as\njudge of mankind and upholder of human justice.\n\nThe Aztecs pictured Tezcatlipoca as rioting along the highways in\nsearch of persons on whom to wreak his vengeance, as the wind of\nnight rushes along the deserted roads with more seeming violence\nthan it does by day. Indeed one of his names, Yoalli Ehecatl,\nsignifies \"Night Wind.\" Benches of stone, shaped like those made\nfor the dignitaries of the Mexican towns, were distributed along the\nhighways for his especial use, that on these he might rest after his\nboisterous journeyings. These seats were concealed by green boughs,\nbeneath which the god was supposed to lurk in wait for his victims. But\nif one of the persons he seized overcame him in the struggle he might\nask whatever boon he desired, secure in the promise of the deity that\nit should be granted forthwith.\n\nIt was supposed that Tezcatlipoca had guided the Nahua, and especially\nthe people of Tezcuco, from a more northerly clime to the valley of\nMexico. But he was not a mere local deity of Tezcuco, his worship\nbeing widely celebrated throughout the country. His exalted position\nin the Mexican pantheon seems to have won for him especial reverence\nas a god of fate and fortune. The place he took as the head of the\nNahua pantheon brought him many attributes which were quite foreign\nto his original character. Fear and a desire to exalt their tutelar\ndeity will impel the devotees of a powerful god to credit him with\nany or every quality, so that there is nothing remarkable in the\nspectacle of the heaping of every possible attribute, human or divine,\nupon Tezcatlipoca when we recall the supreme position he occupied in\nMexican mythology. His priestly caste far surpassed in power and in\nthe breadth and activity of its propaganda the priesthoods of the\nother Mexican deities. To it is credited the invention of many of\nthe usages of civilisation, and that it all but succeeded in making\nhis worship universal is pretty clear, as has been shown. The other\ngods were worshipped for some special purpose, but the worship of\nTezcatlipoca was regarded as compulsory, and to some extent as a\nsafeguard against the destruction of the universe, a calamity the\nNahua had been led to believe might occur through his agency. He\nwas known as Moneneque (The Claimer of Prayer), and in some of the\nrepresentations of him an ear of gold was shown suspended from his\nhair, toward which small tongues of gold strained upward in appeal\nof prayer. In times of national danger, plague, or famine universal\nprayer was made to Tezcatlipoca. The heads of the community repaired\nto his teocalli (temple) accompanied by the people en masse, and all\nprayed earnestly together for his speedy intervention. The prayers\nto Tezcatlipoca still extant prove that the ancient Mexicans fully\nbelieved that he possessed the power of life and death, and many of\nthem are couched in the most piteous terms.\n\n\n\nThe Teotleco Festival\n\nThe supreme position occupied by Tezcatlipoca in the Mexican religion\nis well exemplified in the festival of the Teotleco (Coming of the\nGods), which is fully described in Sahagun's account of the Mexican\nfestivals. Another peculiarity connected with his worship was that\nhe was one of the few Mexican deities who had any relation to the\nexpiation of sin. Sin was symbolised by the Nahua as excrement, and\nin various manuscripts Tezcatlipoca is represented as a turkey-cock\nto which ordure is being offered up.\n\nOf the festival of the Teotleco Sahagun says: \"In the twelfth month a\nfestival was celebrated in honour of all the gods, who were said to\nhave gone to some country I know not where. On the last day of the\nmonth a greater one was held, because the gods had returned. On the\nfifteenth day of this month the young boys and the servitors decked all\nthe altars or oratories of the gods with boughs, as well as those which\nwere in the houses, and the images which were set up by the wayside\nand at the cross-roads. This work was paid for in maize. Some received\na basketful, and others only a few ears. On the eighteenth day the\never-youthful god Tlamatzincatl or Titlacahuan arrived. It was said\nthat he marched better and arrived the first because he was strong\nand young. Food was offered him in his temple on that night. Every\none drank, ate, and made merry. The old people especially celebrated\nthe arrival of the god by drinking wine, and it was alleged that his\nfeet were washed by these rejoicings. The last day of the month was\nmarked by a great festival, on account of the belief that the whole\nof the gods arrived at that time. On the preceding night a quantity\nof flour was kneaded on a carpet into the shape of a cheese, it being\nsupposed that the gods would leave a footprint thereon as a sign of\ntheir return. The chief attendant watched all night, going to and fro\nto see if the impression appeared. When he at last saw it he called\nout, 'The master has arrived,' and at once the priests of the temple\nbegan to sound the horns, trumpets, and other musical instruments\nused by them. Upon hearing this noise every one set forth to offer\nfood in all the temples.\" The next day the aged gods were supposed\nto arrive, and young men disguised as monsters hurled victims into\na huge sacrificial fire.\n\n\n\nThe Toxcatl Festival\n\nThe most remarkable festival in connection with Tezcatlipoca was\nthe Toxcatl, held in the fifth month. On the day of this festival a\nyouth was slain who for an entire year previously had been carefully\ninstructed in the r\u00f4le of victim. He was selected from among the best\nwar captives of the year, and must be without spot or blemish. He\nassumed the name, garb, and attributes of Tezcatlipoca himself, and\nwas regarded with awe by the entire populace, who imagined him to be\nthe earthly representative of the deity. He rested during the day,\nand ventured forth at night only, armed with the dart and shield of\nthe god, to scour the roads. This practice was, of course, symbolical\nof the wind-god's progress over the night-bound highways. He carried\nalso the whistle symbolical of the deity, and made with it a noise\nsuch as the weird wind of night makes when it hurries through the\nstreets. To his arms and legs small bells were attached. He was\nfollowed by a retinue of pages, and at intervals rested upon the\nstone seats which were placed upon the highways for the convenience\nof Tezcatlipoca. Later in the year he was mated to four beautiful\nmaidens of high birth, with whom he passed the time in amusement of\nevery description. He was entertained at the tables of the nobility as\nthe earthly representative of Tezcatlipoca, and his latter days were\none constant round of feasting and excitement. At last the fatal day\nupon which he must be sacrificed arrived. He took a tearful farewell\nof the maidens whom he had espoused, and was carried to the teocalli\nof sacrifice, upon the sides of which he broke the musical instruments\nwith which he had beguiled the time of his captivity. When he reached\nthe summit he was received by the high-priest, who speedily made him\none with the god whom he represented by tearing his heart out on the\nstone of sacrifice.\n\n\n\nHuitzilopochtli, the War-God\n\nHuitzilopochtli occupied in the Aztec pantheon a place similar\nto that of Mars in the Roman. His origin is obscure, but the myth\nrelating to it is distinctly original in character. It recounts how,\nunder the shadow of the mountain of Coatepec, near the Toltec city\nof Tollan, there dwelt a pious widow called Coatlicue, the mother\nof a tribe of Indians called Centzonuitznaua, who had a daughter\ncalled Coyolxauhqui, and who daily repaired to a small hill with the\nintention of offering up prayers to the gods in a penitent spirit of\npiety. Whilst occupied in her devotions one day she was surprised by a\nsmall ball of brilliantly coloured feathers falling upon her from on\nhigh. She was pleased by the bright variety of its hues, and placed\nit in her bosom, intending to offer it up to the sun-god. Some time\nafterwards she learnt that she was to become the mother of another\nchild. Her sons, hearing of this, rained abuse upon her, being incited\nto humiliate her in every possible way by their sister Coyolxauhqui.\n\nCoatlicue went about in fear and anxiety; but the spirit of her unborn\ninfant came and spoke to her and gave her words of encouragement,\nsoothing her troubled heart. Her sons, however, were resolved to\nwipe out what they considered an insult to their race by the death\nof their mother, and took counsel with one another to slay her. They\nattired themselves in their war-gear, and arranged their hair after\nthe manner of warriors going to battle. But one of their number,\nQuauitlicac, relented, and confessed the perfidy of his brothers to the\nstill unborn Huitzilopochtli, who replied to him: \"O brother, hearken\nattentively to what I have to say to you. I am fully informed of what\nis about to happen.\" With the intention of slaying their mother, the\nIndians went in search of her. At their head marched their sister,\nCoyolxauhqui. They were armed to the teeth, and carried bundles of\ndarts with which they intended to kill the luckless Coatlicue.\n\nQuauitlicac climbed the mountain to acquaint Huitzilopochtli with\nthe news that his brothers were approaching to kill their mother.\n\n\"Mark well where they are at,\" replied the infant god. \"To what place\nhave they advanced?\"\n\n\"To Tzompantitlan,\" responded Quauitlicac.\n\nLater on Huitzilopochtli asked: \"Where may they be now?\"\n\n\"At Coaxalco,\" was the reply.\n\nOnce more Huitzilopochtli asked to what point his enemies had advanced.\n\n\"They are now at Petlac,\" Quauitlicac replied.\n\nAfter a little while Quauitlicac informed Huitzilopochtli that the\nCentzonuitznaua were at hand under the leadership of Coyolxauhqui. At\nthe moment of the enemy's arrival Huitzilopochtli was born, flourishing\na shield and spear of a blue colour. He was painted, his head was\nsurmounted by a panache, and his left leg was covered with feathers. He\nshattered Coyolxauhqui with a flash of serpentine lightning, and then\ngave chase to the Centzonuitznaua, whom he pursued four times round\nthe mountain. They did not attempt to defend themselves, but fled\nincontinently. Many perished in the waters of the adjoining lake,\nto which they had rushed in their despair. All were slain save a few\nwho escaped to a place called Uitzlampa, where they surrendered to\nHuitzilopochtli and gave up their arms.\n\nThe name Huitzilopochtli signifies \"Humming-bird to the left,\" from\nthe circumstance that the god wore the feathers of the humming-bird,\nor colibri, on his left leg. From this it has been inferred that he\nwas a humming-bird totem. The explanation of Huitzilopochtli's origin\nis a little deeper than this, however. Among the American tribes,\nespecially those of the northern continent, the serpent is regarded\nwith the deepest veneration as the symbol of wisdom and magic. From\nthese sources come success in war. The serpent also typifies the\nlightning, the symbol of the divine spear, the apotheosis of warlike\nmight. Fragments of serpents are regarded as powerful war-physic\namong many tribes. Atatarho, a mythical wizard-king of the Iroquois,\nwas clothed with living serpents as with a robe, and his myth throws\nlight on one of the names of Huitzilopochtli's mother, Coatlantona\n(Robe of Serpents). Huitzilopochtli's image was surrounded by serpents,\nand rested on serpent-shaped supporters. His sceptre was a single\nsnake, and his great drum was of serpent-skin.\n\nIn American mythology the serpent is closely associated with the\nbird. Thus the name of the god Quetzalcoatl is translatable as\n\"Feathered Serpent,\" and many similar cases where the conception of\nbird and serpent have been unified could be adduced. Huitzilopochtli\nis undoubtedly one of these. We may regard him as a god the primary\nconception of whom arose from the idea of the serpent, the symbol of\nwarlike wisdom and might, the symbol of the warrior's dart or spear,\nand the humming-bird, the harbinger of summer, type of the season\nwhen the snake or lightning god has power over the crops.\n\nHuitzilopochtli was usually represented as wearing on his head a\nwaving panache or plume of humming-birds' feathers. His face and limbs\nwere striped with bars of blue, and in his right hand he carried four\nspears. His left hand bore his shield, on the surface of which were\ndisplayed five tufts of down, arranged in the form of a quincunx. The\nshield was made with reeds, covered with eagle's down. The spear he\nbrandished was also tipped with tufts of down instead of flint. These\nweapons were placed in the hands of those who as captives engaged in\nthe sacrificial fight, for in the Aztec mind Huitzilopochtli symbolised\nthe warrior's death on the gladiatorial stone of combat. As has been\nsaid, Huitzilopochtli was war-god of the Aztecs, and was supposed to\nhave led them to the site of Mexico from their original home in the\nnorth. The city of Mexico took its name from one of its districts,\nwhich was designated by a title of Huitzilopochtli's, Mexitli (Hare\nof the Aloes).\n\n\n\nThe War-God as Fertiliser\n\nBut Huitzilopochtli was not a war-god alone. As the serpent-god of\nlightning he had a connection with summer, the season of lightning,\nand therefore had dominion to some extent over the crops and fruits\nof the earth. The Algonquian Indians of North America believed\nthat the rattlesnake could raise ruinous storms or grant favourable\nbreezes. They alluded to it also as the symbol of life, for the serpent\nhas a phallic significance because of its similarity to the symbol of\ngeneration and fructification. With some American tribes also, notably\nthe Pueblo Indians of Arizona, the serpent has a solar significance,\nand with tail in mouth symbolises the annual round of the sun. The\nNahua believed that Huitzilopochtli could grant them fair weather for\nthe fructification of their crops, and they placed an image of Tlaloc,\nthe rain-god, near him, so that, if necessary, the war-god could compel\nthe rain-maker to exert his pluvial powers or to abstain from the\ncreation of floods. We must, in considering the nature of this deity,\nbear well in mind the connection in the Nahua consciousness between the\npantheon, war, and the food-supply. If war was not waged annually the\ngods must go without flesh food and perish, and if the gods succumbed\nthe crops would fail, and famine would destroy the race. So it was\nsmall wonder that Huitzilopochtli was one of the chief gods of Mexico.\n\nHuitzilopochtli's principal festival was the Toxcatl, celebrated\nimmediately after the Toxcatl festival of Tezcatlipoca, to which it\nbore a strong resemblance. Festivals of the god were held in May and\nDecember, at the latter of which an image of him, moulded in dough\nkneaded with the blood of sacrificed children, was pierced by the\npresiding priest with an arrow--an act significant of the death of\nHuitzilopochtli until his resurrection in the next year.\n\nStrangely enough, when the absolute supremacy of Tezcatlipoca\nis remembered, the high-priest of Huitzilopochtli, the Mexicatl\nTeohuatzin, was considered to be the religious head of the Mexican\npriesthood. The priests of Huitzilopochtli held office by right\nof descent, and their primate exacted absolute obedience from the\npriesthoods of all the other deities, being regarded as next to the\nmonarch himself in power and dominion.\n\n\n\nTlaloc, the Rain-God\n\nTlaloc was the god of rain and moisture. In a country such as Mexico,\nwhere the success or failure of the crops depends entirely upon the\nplentiful nature or otherwise of the rainfall, he was, it will be\nreadily granted, a deity of high importance. It was believed that he\nmade his home in the mountains which surround the valley of Mexico,\nas these were the source of the local rainfall, and his popularity\nis vouched for by the fact that sculptured representations of him\noccur more often than those of any other of the Mexican deities. He\nis generally represented in a semi-recumbent attitude, with the upper\npart of the body raised upon the elbows, and the knees half drawn up,\nprobably to represent the mountainous character of the country whence\ncomes the rain. He was espoused to Chalchihuitlicue (Emerald Lady),\nwho bore him a numerous progeny, the Tlalocs (Clouds). Many of the\nfigures which represented him were carved from the green stone called\nchalchiuitl (jadeite), to typify the colour of water, and in some of\nthese he was shown holding a serpent of gold to typify the lightning,\nfor water-gods are often closely identified with the thunder, which\nhangs over the hills and accompanies heavy rains. Tlaloc, like his\nprototype, the Kiche god Hurakan, manifested himself in three forms,\nas the lightning-flash, the thunderbolt, and the thunder. Although\nhis image faced the east, where he was supposed to have originated,\nhe was worshipped as inhabiting the four cardinal points and every\nmountain-top. The colours of the four points of the compass, yellow,\ngreen, red, and blue, whence came the rain-bearing winds, entered\ninto the composition of his costume, which was further crossed with\nstreaks of silver, typifying the mountain torrents. A vase containing\nevery description of grain was usually placed before his idol, an\noffering of the growth which it was hoped he would fructify. He dwelt\nin a many-watered paradise called Tlalocan (The Country of Tlaloc),\na place of plenty and fruitfulness, where those who had been drowned or\nstruck by lightning or had died from dropsical diseases enjoyed eternal\nbliss. Those of the common people who did not die such deaths went to\nthe dark abode of Mictlan, the all-devouring and gloomy Lord of Death.\n\nIn the native manuscripts Tlaloc is usually portrayed as having a dark\ncomplexion, a large round eye, a row of tusks, and over the lips an\nangular blue stripe curved downward and rolled up at the ends. The\nlatter character is supposed to have been evolved originally from\nthe coils of two snakes, their mouths with long fangs in the upper\njaw meeting in the middle of the upper lip. The snake, besides\nbeing symbolised by lightning in many American mythologies, is also\nsymbolical of water, which is well typified in its sinuous movements.\n\nMany maidens and children were annually sacrificed to Tlaloc. If the\nchildren wept it was regarded as a happy omen for a rainy season. The\nEtzalqualiztli (When they eat Bean Food) was his chief festival,\nand was held on a day approximating to May 13, about which date the\nrainy season usually commenced. Another festival in his honour,\nthe Quauitleua, commenced the Mexican year on February 2. At the\nformer festival the priests of Tlaloc plunged into a lake, imitating\nthe sounds and movements of frogs, which, as denizens of water, were\nunder the special protection of the god. Chalchihuitlicue, his wife,\nwas often symbolised by the small image of a frog.\n\n\n\nSacrifices to Tlaloc\n\nHuman sacrifices also took place at certain points in the mountains\nwhere artificial ponds were consecrated to Tlaloc. Cemeteries were\nsituated in their vicinity, and offerings to the god interred near the\nburial-place of the bodies of the victims slain in his service. His\nstatue was placed on the highest mountain of Tezcuco, and an old\nwriter mentions that five or six young children were annually offered\nto the god at various points, their hearts torn out, and their remains\ninterred. The mountains Popocatepetl and Teocuinani were regarded as\nhis special high places, and on the heights of the latter was built\nhis temple, in which stood his image carved in green stone.\n\nThe Nahua believed that the constant production of food and rain\ninduced a condition of senility in those deities whose duty it was\nto provide them. This they attempted to stave off, fearing that if\nthey failed in so doing the gods would perish. They afforded them,\naccordingly, a period of rest and recuperation, and once in eight\nyears a festival called the Atamalqualiztli (Fast of Porridge-balls\nand Water) was held, during which every one in the Nahua community\nreturned for the time being to the conditions of savage life. Dressed\nin costumes representing all forms of animal and bird life, and\nmimicking the sounds made by the various creatures they typified, the\npeople danced round the teocalli of Tlaloc for the purpose of diverting\nand entertaining him after his labours in producing the fertilising\nrains of the past eight years. A lake was filled with water-snakes and\nfrogs, and into this the people plunged, catching the reptiles in their\nmouths and devouring them alive. The only grain food which might be\npartaken during this season of rest was thin water-porridge of maize.\n\nShould one of the more prosperous peasants or yeomen deem a rainfall\nnecessary to the growth of his crops, or should he fear a drought,\nhe sought out one of the professional makers of dough or paste idols,\nwhom he desired to mould one of Tlaloc. To this image offerings\nof maize-porridge and pulque were made. Throughout the night the\nfarmer and his neighbours danced, shrieking and howling round the\nfigure for the purpose of rousing Tlaloc from his drought-bringing\nslumbers. Next day was spent in quaffing huge libations of pulque,\nand in much-needed rest from the exertions of the previous night.\n\nIn Tlaloc it is easy to trace resemblances to a mythological conception\nwidely prevalent among the indigenous American peoples. He is similar\nto such deities as the Hurakan of the Kiche of Guatemala, the Pillan\nof the aborigines of Chile, and Con, the thunder-god of the Collao of\nPeru. Only his thunderous powers are not so apparent as his rain-making\nabilities, and in this he differs somewhat from the gods alluded to.\n\n\n\nQuetzalcoatl\n\nIt is highly probable that Quetzalcoatl was a deity of the pre-Nahua\npeople of Mexico. He was regarded by the Aztec race as a god of\nsomewhat alien character, and had but a limited following in Mexico,\nthe city of Huitzilopochtli. In Cholula, however, and others of the\nolder towns his worship flourished exceedingly. He was regarded as\n\"The Father of the Toltecs,\" and, legend says, was the seventh and\nyoungest son of the Toltec Abraham, Iztacmixcohuatl. Quetzalcoatl\n(whose name means \"Feathered Serpent\" or \"Feathered Staff\") became,\nat a relatively early period, ruler of Tollan, and by his enlightened\nsway and his encouragement of the liberal arts did much to further the\nadvancement of his people. His reign had lasted for a period sufficient\nto permit of his placing the cultivated arts upon a satisfactory basis\nwhen the country was visited by the cunning magicians Tezcatlipoca\nand Coyotlinaual, god of the Amantecas. Disentangled from its terms of\nmyth, this statement may be taken to imply that bands of invading Nahua\nfirst began to appear within the Toltec territories. Tezcatlipoca,\ndescending from the sky in the shape of a spider by way of a fine web,\nproffered him a draught of pulque, which so intoxicated him that\nthe curse of lust descended upon him, and he forgot his chastity\nwith Quetzalpetlatl. The doom pronounced upon him was the hard one\nof banishment, and he was compelled to forsake Anahuac. His exile\nwrought peculiar changes upon the face of the country. He secreted\nhis treasures of gold and silver, burned his palaces, transformed\nthe cacao-trees into mezquites, and banished all the birds from\nthe neighbourhood of Tollan. The magicians, nonplussed at these\nunexpected happenings, begged him to return, but he refused on the\nground that the sun required his presence. He proceeded to Tabasco,\nthe fabled land of Tlapallan, and, embarking upon a raft made of\nserpents, floated away to the east. A slightly different version\nof this myth has already been given. Other accounts state that the\nking cast himself upon a funeral pyre and was consumed, and that the\nashes arising from the conflagration flew upward, and were changed\ninto birds of brilliant plumage. His heart also soared into the sky,\nand became the morning star. The Mexicans averred that Quetzalcoatl\ndied when the star became visible, and thus they bestowed upon him\nthe title \"Lord of the Dawn.\" They further said that when he died he\nwas invisible for four days, and that for eight days he wandered in\nthe underworld, after which time the morning star appeared, when he\nachieved resurrection, and ascended his throne as a god.\n\nIt is the contention of some authorities that the myth of Quetzalcoatl\npoints to his status as god of the sun. That luminary, they say, begins\nhis diurnal journey in the east, whence Quetzalcoatl returned as to\nhis native home. It will be recalled that Montezuma and his subjects\nimagined that Cort\u00e9s was no other than Quetzalcoatl, returned to his\ndominions, as an old prophecy declared he would do. But that he stood\nfor the sun itself is highly improbable, as will be shown. First of\nall, however, it will be well to pay some attention to other theories\nconcerning his origin.\n\nPerhaps the most important of these is that which regards Quetzalcoatl\nas a god of the air. He is connected, say some, with the cardinal\npoints, and wears the insignia of the cross, which symbolises\nthem. Dr. Seler says of him: \"He has a protruding, trumpet-like\nmouth, for the wind-god blows.... His figure suggests whirls and\ncircles. Hence his temples were built in circular form.... The\nhead of the wind-god stands for the second of the twenty day signs,\nwhich was called Ehecatl (Wind).\" The same authority, however, in\nhis essay on Mexican chronology, gives to Quetzalcoatl a dual nature,\n\"the dual nature which seems to belong to the wind-god Quetzalcoatl,\nwho now appears simply a wind-god, and again seems to show the true\ncharacters of the old god of fire and light.\" [8]\n\nDr. Brinton perceived in Quetzalcoatl a similar dual nature. \"He is\nboth lord of the eastern light and of the winds,\" he writes (Myths\nof the New World, p. 214). \"Like all the dawn heroes, he too was\nrepresented as of white complexion, clothed in long, white robes, and,\nas many of the Aztec gods, with a full and flowing beard.... He had\nbeen overcome by Tezcatlipoca, the wind or spirit of night, who had\ndescended from heaven by a spider's web, and presented his rival with\na draught supposed to confer immortality, but in fact producing an\nintolerable longing for home. For the wind and the light both depart\nwhen the gloaming draws near, or when the clouds spread their dark\nand shadowy webs along the mountains, and pour the vivifying rain\nupon the fields.\"\n\nThe theory which derives Quetzalcoatl from a \"culture-hero\" who once\nactually existed is scarcely reconcilable with probability. It is\nmore than likely that, as in the case of other mythical paladins,\nthe legend of a mighty hero arose from the somewhat weakened idea\nof a great deity. Some of the early Spanish missionaries professed\nto see in Quetzalcoatl the Apostle St. Thomas, who had journeyed to\nAmerica to effect its conversion!\n\n\n\nThe Man of the Sun\n\nA more probable explanation of the origin of Quetzalcoatl and a more\nlikely elucidation of his nature is that which would regard him as the\nMan of the Sun, who has quitted his abode for a season for the purpose\nof inculcating in mankind those arts which represent the first steps\nin civilisation, who fulfils his mission, and who, at a late period,\nis displaced by the deities of an invading race. Quetzalcoatl was\nrepresented as a traveller with staff in hand, and this is proof of his\nsolar character, as is the statement that under his rule the fruits of\nthe earth flourished more abundantly than at any subsequent period. The\nabundance of gold said to have been accumulated in his reign assists\nthe theory, the precious metal being invariably associated with\nthe sun by most barbarous peoples. In the native pinturas it is\nnoticeable that the solar disc and semi-disc are almost invariably\nfound in connection with the feathered serpent as the symbolical\nattributes of Quetzalcoatl. The Hopi Indians of Mexico at the present\nday symbolise the sun as a serpent, tail in mouth, and the ancient\nMexicans introduced the solar disc in connection with small images of\nQuetzalcoatl, which they attached to the head-dress. In still other\nexamples Quetzalcoatl is pictured as if emerging or stepping from\nthe luminary, which is represented as his dwelling-place.\n\nSeveral tribes tributary to the Aztecs were in the habit of imploring\nQuetzalcoatl in prayer to return and free them from the intolerable\nbondage of the conqueror. Notable among them were the Totonacs, who\npassionately believed that the sun, their father, would send a god who\nwould free them from the Aztec yoke. On the coming of the Spaniards\nthe European conquerors were hailed as the servants of Quetzalcoatl,\nthus in the eyes of the natives fulfilling the tradition that he\nwould return.\n\n\n\nVarious Forms of Quetzalcoatl\n\nVarious conceptions of Quetzalcoatl are noticeable in the mythology\nof the territories which extended from the north of Mexico to the\nmarshes of Nicaragua. In Guatemala the Kiches recognised him as\nGucumatz, and in Yucatan proper he was worshipped as Kukulcan, both\nof which names are but literal translations of his Mexican title of\n\"Feathered Serpent\" into Kiche and Mayan. That the three deities are\none and the same there can be no shadow of doubt. Several authorities\nhave seen in Kukulcan a \"serpent-and-rain god.\" He can only be such\nin so far as he is a solar god also. The cult of the feathered snake\nin Yucatan was unquestionably a branch of sun-worship. In tropical\nlatitudes the sun draws the clouds round him at noon. The rain falls\nfrom the clouds accompanied by thunder and lightning--the symbols\nof the divine serpent. Therefore the manifestations of the heavenly\nserpent were directly associated with the sun, and no statement that\nKukulcan is a mere serpent-and-water god satisfactorily elucidates\nhis characteristics.\n\n\n\nQuetzalcoatl's Northern Origin\n\nIt is by no means improbable that Quetzalcoatl was of northern\norigin, and that on his adoption by southern peoples and tribes\ndwelling in tropical countries his characteristics were gradually\nand unconsciously altered in order to meet the exigencies of his\nenvironment. The mythology of the Indians of British Columbia,\nwhence in all likelihood the Nahua originally came, is possessed of a\ncentral figure bearing a strong resemblance to Quetzalcoatl. Thus the\nThlingit tribe worship Yetl; the Quaquiutl Indians, Kanikilak; the\nSalish people of the coast, Kumsn\u00f6otl, Qu\u00e4aqua, or Sl\u00e4alekam. It is\nnoticeable that these divine beings are worshipped as the Man of the\nSun, and totally apart from the luminary himself, as was Quetzalcoatl\nin Mexico. The Quaquiutl believe that before his settlement among\nthem for the purpose of inculcating in the tribe the arts of life,\nthe sun descended as a bird, and assumed a human shape. Kanikilak\nis his son, who, as his emissary, spreads the arts of civilisation\nover the world. So the Mexicans believed that Quetzalcoatl descended\nfirst of all in the form of a bird, and was ensnared in the fowler's\nnet of the Toltec hero Hueymatzin.\n\nThe titles bestowed upon Quetzalcoatl by the Nahua show that in his\nsolar significance he was god of the vault of the heavens, as well as\nmerely son of the sun. He was alluded to as Ehecatl (The Air), Yolcuat\n(The Rattlesnake), Tohil (The Rumbler), Nanihehecatl (Lord of the Four\nWinds), Tlauizcalpantecutli (Lord of the Light of the Dawn). The whole\nheavenly vault was his, together with all its phenomena. This would\nseem to be in direct opposition to the theory that Tezcatlipoca was\nthe supreme god of the Mexicans. But it must be borne in mind that\nTezcatlipoca was the god of a later age, and of a fresh body of Nahua\nimmigrants, and as such inimical to Quetzalcoatl, who was probably\nin a similar state of opposition to Itzamna, a Maya deity of Yucatan.\n\n\n\nThe Worship of Quetzalcoatl\n\nThe worship of Quetzalcoatl was in some degree antipathetic to\nthat of the other Mexican deities, and his priests were a separate\ncaste. Although human sacrifice was by no means so prevalent among\nhis devotees, it is a mistake to aver, as some authorities have\ndone, that it did not exist in connection with his worship. A more\nacceptable sacrifice to Quetzalcoatl appears to have been the blood\nof the celebrant or worshipper, shed by himself. When we come to\nconsider the mythology of the Zapotecs, a people whose customs and\nbeliefs appear to have formed a species of link between the Mexican and\nMayan civilisations, we shall find that their high-priests occasionally\nenacted the legend of Quetzalcoatl in their own persons, and that their\nworship, which appears to have been based upon that of Quetzalcoatl,\nhad as one of its most pronounced characteristics the shedding of\nblood. The celebrant or devotee drew blood from the vessels lying\nunder the tongue or behind the ear by drawing across those tender\nparts a cord made from the thorn-covered fibres of the agave. The\nblood was smeared over the mouths of the idols. In this practice we\ncan perceive an act analogous to the sacrificial substitution of the\npart for the whole, as obtaining in early Palestine and many other\ncountries--a certain sign that tribal or racial opinion has contracted\na disgust for human sacrifice, and has sought to evade the anger of\nthe gods by yielding to them a portion of the blood of each worshipper,\ninstead of sacrificing the life of one for the general weal.\n\n\n\nThe Maize-Gods of Mexico\n\nA special group of deities called Centeotl presided over the\nagriculture of Mexico, each of whom personified one or other of the\nvarious aspects of the maize-plant. The chief goddess of maize,\nhowever, was Chicomecohuatl (Seven-serpent), her name being an\nallusion to the fertilising power of water, which element the Mexicans\nsymbolised by the serpent. As Xilonen she typified the xilote, or\ngreen ear of the maize. But it is probable that Chicomecohuatl was the\ncreation of an older race, and that the Nahua new-comers adopted or\nbrought with them another growth-spirit, the \"Earth-mother,\" Teteoinnan\n(Mother of the Gods), or Tocitzin (Our Grandmother). This goddess had\na son, Centeotl, a male maize-spirit. Sometimes the mother was also\nknown as Centeotl, the generic name for the entire group, and this fact\nhas led to some confusion in the minds of Americanists. But this does\nnot mean that Chicomecohuatl was by any means neglected. Her spring\nfestival, held on April 5, was known as Hueytozoztli (The Great Watch),\nand was accompanied by a general fast, when the dwellings of the\nMexicans were decorated with bulrushes which had been sprinkled with\nblood drawn from the extremities of the inmates. The statues of the\nlittle tepitoton (household gods) were also decorated. The worshippers\nthen proceeded to the maize-fields, where they pulled the tender\nstalks of the growing maize, and, having decorated them with flowers,\nplaced them in the calpulli (the common house of the village). A\nmock combat then took place before the altar of Chicomecohuatl. The\ngirls of the village presented the goddess with bundles of maize\nof the previous season's harvesting, later restoring them to the\ngranaries in order that they might be utilised for seed for the coming\nyear. Chicomecohuatl was always represented among the household deities\nof the Mexicans, and on the occasion of her festival the family placed\nbefore the image a basket of provisions surmounted by a cooked frog,\nbearing on its back a piece of cornstalk stuffed with pounded maize\nand vegetables. This frog was symbolic of Chalchihuitlicue, wife\nof Tlaloc, the rain-god, who assisted Chicomecohuatl in providing\na bountiful harvest. In order that the soil might further benefit,\na frog, the symbol of water, was sacrificed, so that its vitality\nshould recuperate that of the weary and much-burdened earth.\n\n\n\nThe Sacrifice of the Dancer\n\nA more important festival of Chicomecohuatl, however, was the\nXalaquia, which lasted from June 28 to July 14, commencing when\nthe maize plant had attained its full growth. The women of the\npueblo (village) wore their hair unbound, and shook and tossed it\nso that by sympathetic magic the maize might take the hint and grow\ncorrespondingly long. Chian pinolli was consumed in immense quantities,\nand maize-porridge was eaten. Hilarious dances were nightly performed\nin the teopan (temple), the central figure in which was the Xalaquia, a\nfemale captive or slave, with face painted red and yellow to represent\nthe colours of the maize-plant. She had previously undergone a long\ncourse of training in the dancing-school, and now, all unaware of\nthe horrible fate awaiting her, she danced and pirouetted gaily\namong the rest. Throughout the duration of the festival she danced,\nand on its expiring night she was accompanied in the dance by the\nwomen of the community, who circled round her, chanting the deeds of\nChicomecohuatl. When daybreak appeared the company was joined by the\nchiefs and headmen, who, along with the exhausted and half-fainting\nvictim, danced the solemn death-dance. The entire community then\napproached the teocalli (pyramid of sacrifice), and, its summit\nreached, the victim was stripped to a nude condition, the priest\nplunged a knife of flint into her bosom, and, tearing out the still\npalpitating heart, offered it up to Chicomecohuatl. In this manner\nthe venerable goddess, weary with the labours of inducing growth in\nthe maize-plant, was supposed to be revivified and refreshed. Hence\nthe name Xalaquia, which signifies \"She who is clothed with the\nSand.\" Until the death of the victim it was not lawful to partake of\nthe new corn.\n\nThe general appearance of Chicomecohuatl was none too pleasing. Her\nimage rests in the National Museum in Mexico, and is girdled with\nsnakes. On the underside the symbolic frog is carved. The Americanists\nof the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were unequal to the\ntask of elucidating the origin of the figure, which they designated\nTeoyaominqui. The first to point out the error was Payne, in his\nHistory of the New World called America, vol. i. p. 424. The passage\nin which he announces his discovery is of such real interest that it\nis worth transcribing fully.\n\n\n\nAn Antiquarian Mare's-Nest\n\n\"All the great idols of Mexico were thought to have been destroyed\nuntil this was disinterred among other relics in the course of making\nnew drains in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico in August 1790. The discovery\nproduced an immense sensation. The idol was dragged to the court of\nthe University, and there set up; the Indians began to worship it and\ndeck it with flowers; the antiquaries, with about the same degree of\nintelligence, to speculate about it. What most puzzled them was that\nthe face and some other parts of the goddess are found in duplicate at\nthe back of the figure; hence they concluded it to represent two gods\nin one, the principal of whom they further concluded to be a female,\nthe other, indicated by the back, a male. The standard author on\nMexican antiquities at that time was the Italian dilettante Boturini,\nof whom it may be said that he is better, but not much better, than\nnothing at all. From page 27 of his work the antiquaries learned\nthat Huitzilopochtli was accompanied by the goddess Teoyaominqui,\nwho was charged with collecting the souls of those slain in war and\nsacrifice. This was enough. The figure was at once named Teoyaominqui\nor Huitzilopochtli (The One plus the Other), and has been so called\never since. The antiquaries next elevated this imaginary goddess to\nthe rank of the war-god's wife. 'A soldier,' says Bardolph, 'is better\naccommodated than with a wife': a fortiori, so is a war-god. Besides,\nas Torquemada (vol. ii. p. 47) says with perfect truth, the Mexicans\ndid not think so grossly of the divinity as to have married gods\nor goddesses at all. The figure is undoubtedly a female. It has no\nvestige of any weapon about it, nor has it any limbs. It differs\nin every particular from the war-god Huitzilopochtli, every detail\nof which is perfectly well known. There never was any goddess\ncalled Teoyaominqui. This may be plausibly inferred from the fact\nthat such a goddess is unknown not merely to Sahagun, Torquemada,\nAcosta, Tezozomoc, Duran, and Clavigero, but to all other writers\nexcept Boturini. The blunder of the last-named writer is easily\nexplained. Antonio Leon y Gama, a Mexican astronomer, wrote an\naccount of the discoveries of 1790, in which, evidently puzzled\nby the name of Teoyaominqui, he quotes a manuscript in Mexican,\nsaid to have been written by an Indian of Tezcuco, who was born\nin 1528, to the effect that Teoyaotlatohua and Teoyaominqui were\nspirits who presided over the fifteenth of the twenty signs of the\nfortune-tellers' calendar, and that those born in this sign would\nbe brave warriors, but would soon die. (As the fifteenth sign was\nquauhtli, this is likely enough.) When their hour had come the former\nspirit scented them out, the latter killed them. The rubbish printed\nabout Huitzilopochtli, Teoyaominqui, and Mictlantecutli in connection\nwith this statue would fill a respectable volume. The reason why\nthe features were duplicated is obvious. The figure was carried in\nthe midst of a large crowd. Probably it was considered to be an evil\nomen if the idol turned away its face from its worshippers; this the\nduplicate obviated. So when the dance was performed round the figure\n(cf. Janus). This duplication of the features, a characteristic of\nthe very oldest gods, appears to be indicated when the numeral ome\n(two) is prefixed to the title of the deity. Thus the two ancestors\nand preservers of the race were called Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl\n(two-chief, two-woman), ancient Toltec gods, who at the conquest\nbecome less prominent in the theology of Mexico, and who are best\nrepresented in that of the Mexican colony of Nicaragua.\"\n\n\n\nThe Offering to Centeotl\n\nDuring her last hours the victim sacrificed at the Xalaquia\nwore a ritual dress made from the fibres of the aloe, and with\nthis garment the maize-god Centeotl was clothed. Robed in this\nhe temporarily represented the earth-goddess, so that he might\nreceive her sacrifice. The blood of victims was offered up to him\nin a vessel decorated with that brilliant and artistic feather-work\nwhich excited such admiration in the breasts of the connoisseurs and\n\u00e6sthetes of the Europe of the sixteenth century. Upon partaking of this\nblood-offering the deity emitted a groan so intense and terrifying that\nit has been left on record that such Spaniards as were present became\npanic-stricken. This ceremony was followed by another, the niti\u00e7apoloa\n(tasting of the soil), which consisted in raising a little earth on\none finger to the mouth and eating it.\n\nAs has been said, Centeotl the son has been confounded with Centeotl\nthe mother, who is in reality the earth-mother Teteoinnan. Each of\nthese deities had a teopan (temple) of his or her own, but they were\nclosely allied as parent and child. But of the two, Centeotl the son\nwas the more important. On the death of the sacrificed victim her\nskin was conveyed to the temple of Centeotl the son, and worn there\nin the succeeding ritual by the officiating priests. This gruesome\ndress is frequently depicted in the Aztec pinturas, where the skin\nof the hands, and in some instances the feet, of the victims can be\nseen dangling from the wrists and ankles of the priest.\n\n\n\nImportance of the Food-Gods\n\nTo the Mexicans the deities of most importance to the community as\na whole were undoubtedly the food-gods. In their emergence from the\nhunting to the agricultural state of life, when they began to exist\nalmost solely upon the fruits of the earth, the Mexicans were quick\nto recognise that the old deities of the chase, such as Mixcoatl,\ncould not now avail them or succour them in the same manner as the\nguardians of the crops and fertilisers of the soil. Gradually we see\nthese gods, then, advance in power and influence until at the time of\nthe Spanish invasion we find them paramount. Even the terrible war-god\nhimself had an agricultural significance, as we have pointed out. A\ndistinct bargain with the food-gods can be clearly traced, and is\nnone the less obvious because it was never written or codified. The\ncovenant was as binding to the native mind as any made betwixt god\nand man in ancient Palestine, and included mutual assistance as\nwell as provision for mere alimentary supply. In no mythology is the\nunderstanding between god and man so clearly defined as in the Nahuan,\nand in none is its operation better exemplified.\n\n\n\nXipe\n\nXipe (The Flayed) was widely worshipped throughout Mexico, and\nis usually depicted in the pinturas as being attired in a flayed\nhuman skin. At his special festival, the \"Man-flaying,\" the skins\nwere removed from the victims and worn by the devotees of the god\nfor the succeeding twenty days. He is usually represented as of a\nred colour. In the later days of the Aztec monarchy the kings and\nleaders of Mexico assumed the dress or classical garments of Xipe. This\ndress consisted of a crown made of feathers of the roseate spoonbill,\nthe gilt timbrel, the jacket of spoonbill feathers, and an apron of\ngreen feathers lapping over one another in a tile-like pattern. In the\nCozcatzin Codex we see a picture of King Axayacatl dressed as Xipe in\na feather skirt, and having a tiger-skin scabbard to his sword. The\nhands of a flayed human skin also dangle over the monarch's wrists,\nand the feet fall over his feet like gaiters.\n\nXipe's shield is a round target covered with the rose-coloured feathers\nof the spoonbill, with concentric circles of a darker hue on the\nsurface. There are examples of it divided into an upper and lower\npart, the former showing an emerald on a blue field, and the latter\na tiger-skin design. Xipe was imagined as possessing three forms,\nthe first that of the roseate spoonbill, the second that of the\nblue cotinga, and the last that of a tiger, the three shapes perhaps\ncorresponding to the regions of heaven, earth, and hell, or to the\nthree elements, fire, earth, and water. The deities of many North\nAmerican Indian tribes show similar variations in form and colour,\nwhich are supposed to follow as the divinity changes his dwelling\nto north, south, east, or west. But Xipe is seldom depicted in the\npinturas in any other form but that of the red god, the form in which\nthe Mexicans adopted him from the Yopi tribe of the Pacific slope. He\nis the god of human sacrifice par excellence, and may be regarded as\na Yopi equivalent of Tezcatlipoca.\n\n\n\nNanahuatl, or Nanauatzin\n\nNanahuatl (Poor Leper) presided over skin diseases, such as leprosy. It\nwas thought that persons afflicted with these complaints were set\napart by the moon for his service. In the Nahua tongue the words for\n\"leprous\" and \"eczematous\" also mean \"divine.\" The myth of Nanahuatl\ntells how before the sun was created humanity dwelt in sable and\nhorrid gloom. Only a human sacrifice could hasten the appearance of\nthe luminary. Metztli (The Moon) led forth Nanahuatl as a sacrifice,\nand he was cast upon a funeral pyre, in the flames of which he was\nconsumed. Metztli also cast herself upon the mass of flame, and with\nher death the sun rose above the horizon. There can be no doubt that\nthe myth refers to the consuming of the starry or spotted night,\nand incidentally to the nightly death of the moon at the flaming hour\nof dawn.\n\n\n\nXolotl\n\nXolotl is of southern, possibly Zapotec, origin. He represents either\nfire rushing down from the heavens or light flaming upward. It is\nnoticeable that in the pinturas the picture of the setting sun being\ndevoured by the earth is nearly always placed opposite his image. He is\nprobably identical with Nanahuatl, and appears as the representative\nof human sacrifice. He has also affinities with Xipe. On the whole\nXolotl may be best described as a sun-god of the more southerly\ntribes. His head (quaxolotl) was one of the most famous devices for\nwarriors' use, as sacrifice among the Nahua was, as we have seen,\nclosely associated with warfare.\n\nXolotl was a mythical figure quite foreign to the peoples of Anahuac\nor Mexico, who regarded him as something strange and monstrous. He\nis alluded to as the \"God of Monstrosities,\" and, thinks Dr. Seler,\nthe word \"monstrosity\" may suitably translate his name. He is depicted\nwith empty eye-sockets, which circumstance is explained by the myth\nthat when the gods determined to sacrifice themselves in order to\ngive life and strength to the newly created sun, Xolotl withdrew,\nand wept so much that his eyes fell out of their sockets. This was the\nMexican explanation of a Zapotec attribute. Xolotl was originally the\n\"Lightning Beast\" of the Maya or some other southern folk, and was\nrepresented by them as a dog, since that animal appeared to them to\nbe the creature which he most resembled. But he was by no means a\n\"natural\" dog, hence their conception of him as unnatural. Dr. Seler\nis inclined to identify him with the tapir, and indeed Sahagun speaks\nof a strange animal-being, tlaca-xolotl, which has \"a large snout,\nlarge teeth, hoofs like an ox, a thick hide, and reddish hair\"--not\na bad description of the tapir of Central America. Of course to the\nMexicans the god Xolotl was no longer an animal, although he had\nevolved from one, and was imagined by them to have the form shown in\nthe accompanying illustration.\n\n\n\nThe Fire-God\n\nThis deity was known in Mexico under various names, notably Tata\n(Our Father), Huehueteotl (Oldest of Gods), and Xiuhtecutli (Lord\nof the Year). He was represented as of the colour of fire, with a\nblack face, a headdress of green feathers, and bearing on his back\na yellow serpent, to typify the serpentine nature of fire. He also\nbore a mirror of gold to show his connection with the sun, from which\nall heat emanates. On rising in the morning all Mexican families made\nXiuhtecutli an offering of a piece of bread and a drink. He was thus\nnot only, like Vulcan, the god of thunderbolts and conflagrations,\nbut also the milder deity of the domestic hearth. Once a year the fire\nin every Mexican house was extinguished, and rekindled by friction\nbefore the idol of Xiuhtecutli. When a Mexican baby was born it passed\nthrough a baptism of fire on the fourth day, up to which time a fire,\nlighted at the time of its birth, was kept burning in order to nourish\nits existence.\n\n\n\nMictlan\n\nMictlantecutli (Lord of Hades) was God of the Dead and of the grim and\nshadowy realm to which the souls of men repair after their mortal\nsojourn. He is represented in the pinturas as a grisly monster\nwith capacious mouth, into which fall the spirits of the dead. His\nterrible abode was sometimes alluded to as Tlalxicco (Navel of the\nEarth), but the Mexicans in general seem to have thought that it was\nsituated in the far north, which they regarded as a place of famine,\ndesolation, and death. Here those who by the circumstances of their\ndemise were unfitted to enter the paradise of Tlaloc--namely, those\nwho had not been drowned or had not died a warrior's death, or,\nin the case of women, had not died in childbed--passed a dreary and\nmeaningless existence. Mictlan was surrounded by a species of demons\ncalled tzitzimimes, and had a spouse, Mictecaciuatl. When we come\nto discuss the analogous deity of the Maya we shall see that in all\nprobability Mictlan was represented by the bat, the animal typical of\nthe underworld. In a preceding paragraph dealing with the funerary\ncustoms we have described the journey of the soul to the abode of\nMictlan, and the ordeals through which the spirit of the defunct had\nto pass ere entering his realm (see p. 37).\n\n\n\nWorship of the Planet Venus\n\nThe Mexicans designated the planet Venus Citlalpol (The Great Star)\nand Tlauizcalpantecutli (Lord of the Dawn). It seems to have been\nthe only star worshipped by them, and was regarded with considerable\nveneration. Upon its rising they stopped up the chimneys of their\nhouses, so that no harm of any kind might enter with its light. A\ncolumn called Ilhuicatlan, meaning \"In the Sky,\" stood in the court\nof the great temple of Mexico, and upon this a symbol of the planet\nwas painted. On its reappearance during its usual circuit, captives\nwere taken before this representation and sacrificed to it. It will be\nremembered that the myth of Quetzalcoatl states that the heart of that\ndeity flew upward from the funeral pyre on which he was consumed and\nbecame the planet Venus. It is not easy to say whether or not this myth\nis anterior to the adoption of the worship of the planet by the Nahua,\nfor it may be a tale of pre- or post-Nahuan growth. In the tonalamatl\nTlauizcalpantecutli is represented as lord of the ninth division of\nthirteen days, beginning with Ce Coatl (the sign of \"One Serpent\"). In\nseveral of the pinturas he is represented as having a white body with\nlong red stripes, while round his eyes is a deep black painting like a\ndomino mask, bordered with small white circles. His lips are a bright\nvermilion. The red stripes are probably introduced to accentuate the\nwhiteness of his body, which is understood to symbolise the peculiar\nhalf-light which emanates from the planet. The black paint on the face,\nsurrounding the eye, typifies the dark sky of night. In Mexican and\nCentral American symbolism the eye often represents light, and here,\nsurrounded by blackness as it is, it is perhaps almost hieroglyphic. As\nthe star of evening, Tlauizcalpantecutli is sometimes shown with the\nface of a skull, to signify his descent into the underworld, whither\nhe follows the sun. That the Mexicans and Maya carefully and accurately\nobserved his periods of revolution is witnessed by the pinturas.\n\n\n\nSun-Worship\n\nThe sun was regarded by the Nahua, and indeed by all the Mexican and\nCentral American peoples, as the supreme deity, or rather the principal\nsource of subsistence and life. He was always alluded to as the teotl,\nthe god, and his worship formed as it were a background to that of\nall the other gods. His Mexican name, Ipalnemohuani (He by whom Men\nLive) shows that the Mexicans regarded him as the primal source of\nbeing, and the heart, the symbol of life, was looked upon as his\nspecial sacrifice. Those who rose at sunrise to prepare food for the\nday held up to him on his appearance the hearts of animals they had\nslain for cooking, and even the hearts of the victims to Tezcatlipoca\nand Huitzilopochtli were first held up to the sun, as if he had a\nprimary right to the sacrifice, before being cast into the bowl of\ncopal which lay at the feet of the idol. It was supposed that the\nluminary rejoiced in offerings of blood, and that it constituted the\nonly food which would render him sufficiently vigorous to undertake\nhis daily journey through the heavens. He is often depicted in the\npinturas as licking up the gore of the sacrificial victims with his\nlong tongue-like rays. The sun must fare well if he was to continue\nto give life, light, and heat to mankind.\n\nThe Mexicans, as we have already seen, believed that the luminary they\nknew had been preceded by others, each of which had been quenched by\nsome awful cataclysm of nature. Eternity had, in fact, been broken\nup into epochs, marked by the destruction of successive suns. In the\nperiod preceding that in which they lived, a mighty deluge had deprived\nthe sun of life, and some such catastrophe was apprehended at the end\nof every \"sheaf\" of fifty-two years. The old suns were dead, and the\ncurrent sun was no more immortal than they. At the end of one of the\n\"sheaves\" he too would succumb.\n\n\n\nSustaining the Sun\n\nIt was therefore necessary to sustain the sun by the daily food\nof human sacrifice, for by a tithe of human life alone would he\nbe satisfied. Naturally a people holding such a belief would look\nelsewhere than within their own borders for the material wherewith\nto placate their deity. This could be most suitably found among the\ninhabitants of a neighbouring state. It thus became the business of\nthe warrior class in the Aztec state to furnish forth the altars of\nthe gods with human victims. The most suitable district of supply was\nthe pueblo of Tlaxcallan, or Tlascala, the people of which were of\ncognate origin to the Aztecs. The communities had, although related,\nbeen separated for so many generations that they had begun to regard\neach other as traditional enemies, and on a given day in the year\ntheir forces met at an appointed spot for the purpose of engaging in a\nstrife which should furnish one side or the other with a sufficiency\nof victims for the purpose of sacrifice. The warrior who captured\nthe largest number of opponents alive was regarded as the champion\nof the day, and was awarded the chief honours of the combat. The sun\nwas therefore the god of warriors, as he would give them victory in\nbattle in order that they might supply him with food. The rites of this\nmilitary worship of the luminary were held in the Quauhquauhtinchan\n(House of the Eagles), an armoury set apart for the regiment of that\nname. On March 17 and December 1 and 2, at the ceremonies known as\nNauhollin (The Four Motions--alluding to the quivering appearance of\nthe sun's rays), the warriors gathered in this hall for the purpose of\ndespatching a messenger to their lord the sun. High up on the wall of\nthe principal court was a great symbolic representation of the orb,\npainted upon a brightly coloured cotton hanging. Before this copal\nand other fragrant gums and spices were burned four times a day. The\nvictim, a war-captive, was placed at the foot of a long staircase\nleading up to the Quauhxicalli (Cup of the Eagles), the name of the\nstone on which he was to be sacrificed. He was clothed in red striped\nwith white and wore white plumes in his hair--colours symbolical of\nthe sun--while he bore a staff decorated with feathers and a shield\ncovered with tufts of cotton. He also carried a bundle of eagle's\nfeathers and some paint on his shoulders, to enable the sun, to whom\nhe was the emissary, to paint his face. He was then addressed by the\nofficiating priest in the following terms: \"Sir, we pray you go to our\ngod the sun, and greet him on our behalf; tell him that his sons and\nwarriors and chiefs and those who remain here beg of him to remember\nthem and to favour them from that place where he is, and to receive\nthis small offering which we send him. Give him this staff to help\nhim on his journey, and this shield for his defence, and all the rest\nthat you have in this bundle.\" The victim, having undertaken to carry\nthe message to the sun-god, was then despatched upon his long journey.\n\nA Quauhxicalli is preserved in the National Museum of Mexico. It\nconsists of a basaltic mass, circular in form, on which are shown in\nsculpture a series of groups representing Mexican warriors receiving\nthe submission of war-captives. The prisoner tenders a flower to his\ncaptor, symbolical of the life he is about to offer up, for lives\nwere the \"flowers\" offered to the gods, and the campaign in which\nthese \"blossoms\" were captured was called Xochiyayotl (The War of\nFlowers). The warriors who receive the submission of the captives are\nrepresented in the act of tearing the plumes from their heads. These\nbas-reliefs occupy the sides of the stone. The face of it is covered\nby a great solar disc having eight rays, and the surface is hollowed\nout in the middle to form a receptacle for blood--the \"cup\" alluded\nto in the name of the stone. The Quauhxicalli must not be confounded\nwith the temalacatl (spindle stone), to which the alien warrior who\nreceived a chance of life was secured. The gladiatorial combat gave\nthe war-captive an opportunity to escape through superior address in\narms. The temalacatl was somewhat higher than a man, and was provided\nwith a platform at the top, in the middle of which was placed a great\nstone with a hole in it through which a rope was passed. To this the\nwar-captive was secured, and if he could vanquish seven of his captors\nhe was released. If he failed to do so he was at once sacrificed.\n\n\n\nA Mexican Valhalla\n\nThe Mexican warriors believed that they continued in the service of the\nsun after death, and, like the Scandinavian heroes in Valhalla, that\nthey were admitted to the dwelling of the god, where they shared all\nthe delights of his diurnal round. The Mexican warrior dreaded to die\nin his bed, and craved an end on the field of battle. This explains the\ndesperate nature of their resistance to the Spaniards under Cort\u00e9s,\nwhose officers stated that the Mexicans seemed to desire to die\nfighting. After death they believed that they would partake of the\ncannibal feasts offered up to the sun and imbibe the juice of flowers.\n\n\n\nThe Feast of Totec\n\nThe chief of the festivals to the sun was that held in spring at the\nvernal equinox, before the representation of a deity known as Totec\n(Our Great Chief). Although Totec was a solar deity he had been\nadopted from the people of an alien state, the Zapotecs of Zalisco,\nand is therefore scarcely to be regarded as the principal sun-god. His\nfestival was celebrated by the symbolical slaughter of all the other\ngods for the purpose of providing sustenance to the sun, each of\nthe gods being figuratively slain in the person of a victim. Totec\nwas attired in the same manner as the warrior despatched twice a\nyear to assure the sun of the loyalty of the Mexicans. The festival\nappears to have been primarily a seasonal one, as bunches of dried\nmaize were offered to Totec. But its larger meaning is obvious. It\nwas, indeed, a commemoration of the creation of the sun. This is\nproved by the description of the image of Totec, which was robed and\nequipped as the solar traveller, by the solar disc and tables of the\nsun's progress carved on the altar employed in the ceremony, and by\nthe robes of the victims, who were dressed to represent dwellers in\nthe sun-god's halls. Perhaps Totec, although of alien origin, was\nthe only deity possessed by the Mexicans who directly represented\nthe sun. As a borrowed god he would have but a minor position in the\nMexican pantheon, but again as the only sun-god whom it was necessary\nto bring into prominence during a strictly solar festival he would\nbe for the time, of course, a very important deity indeed.\n\n\n\nTepeyollotl\n\nTepeyollotl means Heart of the Mountain, and evidently alludes\nto a deity whom the Nahua connected with seismic disturbances and\nearthquakes. By the interpreter of the Codex Telleriano-Remensis he\nis called Tepeolotlec, an obvious distortion of his real name. The\ninterpreter of the codex states that his name \"refers to the\ncondition of the earth after the flood. The sacrifices of these\nthirteen days were not good, and the literal translation of their\nname is 'dirt sacrifices.' They caused palsy and bad humours.... This\nTepeolotlec was lord of these thirteen days. In them were celebrated\nthe feast to the jaguar, and the last four preceding days were days\nof fasting.... Tepeolotlec means the 'Lord of Beasts.' The four feast\ndays were in honour of the Suchiquezal, who was the man that remained\nbehind on the earth upon which we now live. This Tepeolotlec was the\nsame as the echo of the voice when it re-echoes in a valley from one\nmountain to another. This name 'jaguar' is given to the earth because\nthe jaguar is the boldest animal, and the echo which the voice awakens\nin the mountains is a survival of the flood, it is said.\"\n\nFrom this we can see that Tepeyollotl is a deity of the earth pure\nand simple, a god of desert places. It is certain that he was not a\nMexican god, or at least was not of Nahua origin, as he is mentioned\nby none of those writers who deal with Nahua traditions, and we must\nlook for him among the Mixtecs and Zapotecs.\n\n\n\nMacuilxochitl, or Xochipilli\n\nThis deity, whose names mean Five-Flower and Source of Flowers, was\nregarded as the patron of luck in gaming. He may have been adopted by\nthe Nahua from the Zapotecs, but the converse may be equally true. The\nZapotecs represented him with a design resembling a butterfly about\nthe mouth, and a many-coloured face which looks out of the open\njaws of a bird with a tall and erect crest. The worship of this god\nappears to have been very widespread. Sahagun says of him that a f\u00eate\nwas held in his honour, which was preceded by a rigorous fast. The\npeople covered themselves with ornaments and jewels symbolic of the\ndeity, as if they desired to represent him, and dancing and singing\nproceeded gaily to the sound of the drum. Offerings of the blood of\nvarious animals followed, and specially prepared cakes were submitted\nto the god. This simple fare, however, was later followed by human\nsacrifices, rendered by the notables, who brought certain of their\nslaves for immolation. This completed the festival.\n\n\n\nFather and Mother Gods\n\nThe Nahua believed that Ometecutli and Omeciuatl were the father\nand mother of the human species. The names signify Lords of Duality\nor Lords of the Two Sexes. They were also called Tonacatecutli and\nTonacaciuatl (Lord and Lady of Our Flesh, or of Subsistence). They\nwere in fact regarded as the sexual essence of the creative deity,\nor perhaps more correctly of deity in general. They occupied the first\nplace in the Nahua calendar, to signify that they had existed from the\nbeginning, and they are usually represented as being clothed in rich\nattire. Ometecutli (a literal translation of his name is Two-Lord)\nis sometimes identified with the sky and the fire-god, the female\ndeity representing the earth or water--conceptions similar to those\nrespecting Kronos and G\u00e6a. We refer again to these supreme divinities\nin the following chapter (see p. 118).\n\n\n\nThe Pulque-Gods\n\nWhen a man was intoxicated with the native Mexican drink of pulque,\na liquor made from the juice of the Agave Americana, he was believed\nto be under the influence of a god or spirit. The commonest form\nunder which the drink-god was worshipped was the rabbit, that animal\nbeing considered to be utterly devoid of sense. This particular\ndivinity was known as Ometochtli. The scale of debauchery which\nit was desired to reach was indicated by the number of rabbits\nworshipped, the highest number, four hundred, representing the most\nextreme degree of intoxication. The chief pulque-gods apart from\nthese were Patecatl and Tequechmecauiani. If the drunkard desired\nto escape the perils of accidental hanging during intoxication, it\nwas necessary to sacrifice to the latter, but if death by drowning\nwas apprehended Teatlahuiani, the deity who harried drunkards to a\nwatery grave, was placated. If the debauchee wished his punishment\nnot to exceed a headache, Quatlapanqui (The Head-splitter) was\nsacrificed to, or else Papaztac (The Nerveless). Each trade or\nprofession had its own Ometochtli, but for the aristocracy there\nwas only one of these gods, Cohuatzincatl, a name signifying \"He\nwho has Grandparents.\" Several of these drink-gods had names which\nconnected them with various localities; for example, Tepoxtecatl was\nthe pulque-god of Tepoztlan. The calendar day Ometochtli, which means\n\"Two-Rabbit,\" because of the symbol which accompanied it, was under\nthe special protection of these gods, and the Mexicans believed that\nany one born on that day was almost inevitably doomed to become a\ndrunkard. All the pulque-gods were closely associated with the soil,\nand with the earth-goddess. They wore the golden Huaxtec nose-ornament,\nthe yaca-metztli, of crescent shape, which characterised the latter,\nand indeed this ornament was inscribed upon all articles sacred to\nthe pulque-gods. Their faces were painted red and black, as were\nobjects consecrated to them, their blankets and shields. After\nthe Indians had harvested their maize they drank to intoxication,\nand invoked one or other of these gods. On the whole it is safe\nto infer that they were originally deities of local husbandry who\nimparted virtue to the soil as pulque imparted strength and courage\nto the warrior. The accompanying sketch of the god Tepoxtecatl (see\np. 117) well illustrates the distinguishing characteristics of the\npulque-god class. Here we can observe the face painted in two colours,\nthe crescent-shaped nose-ornament, the bicoloured shield, the long\nnecklace made from the malinalli herb, and the ear-pendants.\n\nIt is of course clear that the drink-gods were of the same class as\nthe food-gods--patrons of the fruitful soil--but it is strange that\nthey should be male whilst the food-gods are mostly female.\n\n\n\nThe Goddesses of Mexico: Metztli\n\nMetztli, or Yohualticitl (The Lady of Night), was the Mexican goddess\nof the moon. She had in reality two phases, one that of a beneficent\nprotectress of harvests and promoter of growth in general, and the\nother that of a bringer of dampness, cold, and miasmic airs, ghosts,\nmysterious shapes of the dim half-light of night and its oppressive\nsilence.\n\nTo a people in the agricultural stage of civilisation the moon appears\nas the great recorder of harvests. But she has also supremacy over\nwater, which is always connected by primitive peoples with the\nmoon. Citatli (Moon) and Atl (Water) are constantly confounded in\nNahua myth, and in many ways their characteristics were blended. It\nwas Metztli who led forth Nanahuatl the Leprous to the pyre whereon\nhe perished--a reference to the dawn, in which the starry sky of\nnight is consumed in the fires of the rising sun.\n\n\n\nTlazolteotl\n\nTlazolteotl (God of Ordure), or Tlaelquani (Filth-eater), was called\nby the Mexicans the earth-goddess because she was the eradicator of\nsins, to whose priests the people went to make confession so that\nthey might be absolved from their misdeeds. Sin was symbolised\nby the Mexicans as excrement. Confession covered only the sins\nof immorality. But if Tlazolteotl was the goddess of confession,\nshe was also the patroness of desire and luxury. It was, however,\nas a deity whose chief office was the eradication of human sin that\nshe was pre-eminent. The process by which this was supposed to be\neffected is quaintly described by Sahagun in the twelfth chapter of\nhis first book. The penitent addressed the confessor as follows: \"Sir,\nI desire to approach that most powerful god, the protector of all, that\nis to say, Tezcatlipoca. I desire to tell him my sins in secret.\" The\nconfessor replied: \"Be happy, my son: that which thou wishest to do\nwill be to thy good and advantage.\" The confessor then opened the\ndivinatory book known as the Tonalamatl (that is, the Book of the\nCalendar) and acquainted the applicant with the day which appeared\nthe most suitable for his confession. The day having arrived, the\npenitent provided himself with a mat, copal gum to burn as incense,\nand wood whereon to burn it. If he was a person high in office the\npriest repaired to his house, but in the case of lesser people the\nconfession took place in the dwelling of the priest. Having lighted\nthe fire and burned the incense, the penitent addressed the fire in\nthe following terms: \"Thou, lord, who art the father and mother of\nthe gods, and the most ancient of them all, thy servant, thy slave\nbows before thee. Weeping, he approaches thee in great distress. He\ncomes plunged in grief, because he has been buried in sin, having\nbackslidden, and partaken of those vices and evil delights which merit\ndeath. O master most compassionate, who art the upholder and defence\nof all, receive the penitence and anguish of thy slave and vassal.\"\n\nThis prayer having concluded, the confessor then turned to the penitent\nand thus addressed him: \"My son, thou art come into the presence of\nthat god who is the protector and upholder of all; thou art come to\nhim to confess thy evil vices and thy hidden uncleannesses; thou art\ncome to him to unbosom the secrets of thy heart. Take care that thou\nomit nothing from the catalogue of thy sins in the presence of our\nlord who is called Tezcatlipoca. It is certain that thou art before\nhim who is invisible and impalpable, thou who art not worthy to be\nseen before him, or to speak with him....\"\n\nThe allusions to Tezcatlipoca are, of course, to him in the shape\nof Tlazolteotl. Having listened to a sermon by the confessor, the\npenitent then confessed his misdeeds, after which the confessor said:\n\"My son, thou hast before our lord god confessed in his presence thy\nevil actions. I wish to say in his name that thou hast an obligation\nto make. At the time when the goddesses called Ciuapipiltin descend to\nearth during the celebration of the feast of the goddesses of carnal\nthings, whom they name Ixcuiname, thou shalt fast during four days,\npunishing thy stomach and thy mouth. When the day of the feast of\nthe Ixcuiname arrives thou shalt scarify thy tongue with the small\nthorns of the osier [called teocalcacatl or tlazotl], and if that is\nnot sufficient thou shalt do likewise to thine ears, the whole for\npenitence, for the remission of thy sin, and as a meritorious act. Thou\nwilt apply to thy tongue the middle of a spine of maguey, and thou\nwilt scarify thy shoulders.... That done, thy sins will be pardoned.\"\n\nIf the sins of the penitent were not very grave the priest would\nenjoin upon him a fast of a more or less prolonged nature. Only old\nmen confessed crimes in veneribus, as the punishment for such was\ndeath, and younger men had no desire to risk the penalty involved,\nalthough the priests were enjoined to strict secrecy.\n\nFather Burgoa describes very fully a ceremony of this kind which came\nunder his notice in 1652 in the Zapotec village of San Francisco de\nCajonos. He encountered on a tour of inspection an old native cacique,\nor chief, of great refinement of manners and of a stately presence,\nwho dressed in costly garments after the Spanish fashion, and who\nwas regarded by the Indians with much veneration. This man came to\nthe priest for the purpose of reporting upon the progress in things\nspiritual and temporal in his village. Burgoa recognised his urbanity\nand wonderful command of the Spanish language, but perceived by certain\nsigns that he had been taught to look for by long experience that\nthe man was a pagan. He communicated his suspicions to the vicar of\nthe village, but met with such assurances of the cacique's soundness\nof faith that he believed himself to be in error for once. Shortly\nafterwards, however, a wandering Spaniard perceived the chief in\na retired place in the mountains performing idolatrous ceremonies,\nand aroused the monks, two of whom accompanied him to the spot where\nthe cacique had been seen indulging in his heathenish practices. They\nfound on the altar \"feathers of many colours, sprinkled with blood\nwhich the Indians had drawn from the veins under their tongues and\nbehind their ears, incense spoons and remains of copal, and in the\nmiddle a horrible stone figure, which was the god to whom they had\noffered this sacrifice in expiation of their sins, while they made\ntheir confessions to the blasphemous priests, and cast off their\nsins in the following manner: they had woven a kind of dish out of\na strong herb, specially gathered for this purpose, and casting this\nbefore the priest, said to him that they came to beg mercy of their\ngod, and pardon for their sins that they had committed during that\nyear, and that they brought them all carefully enumerated. They then\ndrew out of a cloth pairs of thin threads made of dry maize husks,\nthat they had tied two by two in the middle with a knot, by which\nthey represented their sins. They laid these threads on the dishes of\ngrass, and over them pierced their veins, and let the blood trickle\nupon them, and the priest took these offerings to the idol, and in a\nlong speech he begged the god to forgive these, his sons, their sins\nwhich were brought to him, and to permit them to be joyful and hold\nfeasts to him as their god and lord. Then the priest came back to\nthose who had confessed, delivered a long discourse on the ceremonies\nthey had still to perform, and told them that the god had pardoned\nthem and that they might be glad again and sin anew.\"\n\n\n\nChalchihuitlicue\n\nThis goddess was the wife of Tlaloc, the god of rain and moisture. The\nname means Lady of the Emerald Robe, in allusion to the colour of\nthe element over which the deity partly presided. She was specially\nworshipped by the water-carriers of Mexico, and all those whose\navocation brought them into contact with water. Her costume was\npeculiar and interesting. Round her neck she wore a wonderful collar\nof precious stones, from which hung a gold pendant. She was crowned\nwith a coronet of blue paper, decorated with green feathers. Her\neyebrows were of turquoise, set in as mosaic, and her garment was a\nnebulous blue-green in hue, recalling the tint of sea-water in the\ntropics. The resemblance was heightened by a border of sea-flowers\nor water-plants, one of which she also carried in her left hand,\nwhilst in her right she bore a vase surmounted by a cross, emblematic\nof the four points of the compass whence comes the rain.\n\n\n\nMixcoatl\n\nMixcoatl was the Aztec god of the chase, and was probably a deity\nof the Otomi aborigines of Mexico. The name means Cloud Serpent,\nand this originated the idea that Mixcoatl was a representation of\nthe tropical whirlwind. This is scarcely correct, however, as the\nhunter-god is identified with the tempest and thunder-cloud, and the\nlightning is supposed to represent his arrows. Like many other gods\nof the chase, he is figured as having the characteristics of a deer or\nrabbit. He is usually depicted as carrying a sheaf of arrows, to typify\nthunderbolts. It may be that Mixcoatl was an air and thunder deity of\nthe Otomi, older in origin than either Quetzalcoatl or Tezcatlipoca,\nand that his inclusion in the Nahua pantheon becoming necessary in\norder to quieten Nahua susceptibilities, he received the status of\ngod of the chase. But, on the other hand, the Mexicans, unlike the\nPeruvians, who adopted many foreign gods for political purposes,\nhad little regard for the feelings of other races, and only accepted\nan alien deity into the native circle for some good reason, most\nprobably because they noted the omission of the figure in their own\ndivine system. Or, again, dread of a certain foreign god might force\nthem to adopt him as their own in the hope of placating him. Their\nworship of Quetzalcoatl is perhaps an instance of this.\n\n\n\nCamaxtli\n\nThis deity was the war-god of the Tlascalans, who were constantly\nin opposition to the Aztecs of Mexico. He was to the warriors of\nTlascala practically what Huitzilopochtli was to those of Mexico. He\nwas closely identified with Mixcoatl, and with the god of the morning\nstar, whose colours are depicted on his face and body. But in all\nprobability Camaxtli was a god of the chase, who in later times was\nadopted as a god of war because of his possession of the lightning\ndart, the symbol of divine warlike prowess. In the mythologies of\nNorth America we find similar hunter-gods, who sometimes evolve into\ngods of war for a like reason, and again gods of the chase who have\nall the appearance and attributes of the creatures hunted.\n\n\n\nIztlilton\n\nIxtlilton (The Little Black One) was the Mexican god of medicine\nand healing, and therefore was often alluded to as the brother of\nMacuilxochitl, the god of well-being or good luck. From the account of\nthe general appearance of his temple--an edifice of painted boards--it\nwould seem to have evolved from the primitive tent or lodge of the\nmedicine-man, or shaman. It contained several water-jars called tlilatl\n(black water), the contents of which were administered to children in\nbad health. The parents of children who benefited from the treatment\nbestowed a feast on the deity, whose idol was carried to the residence\nof the grateful father, where ceremonial dances and oblations were\nmade before it. It was then thought that Ixtlilton descended to\nthe courtyard to open fresh jars of pulque liquor provided for the\nfeasters, and the entertainment concluded by an examination by the\nAztec \u00c6sculapius of such of the pulque jars dedicated to his service\nas stood in the courtyard for everyday use. Should these be found in\nan unclean condition, it was understood that the master of the house\nwas a man of evil life, and he was presented by the priest with a\nmask to hide his face from his scoffing friends.\n\n\n\nOmacatl\n\nOmacatl was the Mexican god of festivity and joy. The name signifies\nTwo Reeds. He was worshipped chiefly by bon-vivants and the rich,\nwho celebrated him in splendid feasts and orgies. The idol of the\ndeity was invariably placed in the chamber where these functions were\nto take place, and the Aztecs were known to regard it as a heinous\noffence if anything derogatory to the god were performed during the\nconvivial ceremony, or if any omission were made from the prescribed\nform which these gatherings usually took. It was thought that if the\nhost had been in any way remiss Omacatl would appear to the startled\nguests, and in tones of great severity upbraid him who had given the\nfeast, intimating that he would regard him no longer as a worshipper\nand would henceforth abandon him. A terrible malady, the symptoms of\nwhich were akin to those of falling-sickness, would shortly afterwards\nseize the guests; but as such symptoms are not unlike those connected\nwith acute indigestion and other gastric troubles, it is probable\nthat the gourmets who paid homage to the god of good cheer may have\nbeen suffering from a too strenuous instead of a lukewarm worship of\nhim. But the idea of communion which underlay so many of the Mexican\nrites undoubtedly entered into the worship of Omacatl, for prior\nto a banquet in his honour those who took part in it formed a great\nbone out of maize paste, pretending that it was one of the bones of\nthe deity whose merry rites they were about to engage in. This they\ndevoured, washing it down with great draughts of pulque. The idol of\nOmacatl was provided with a recess in the region of the stomach, and\ninto this provisions were stuffed. He was represented as a squatting\nfigure, painted black and white, crowned with a paper coronet, and\nhung with coloured paper. A flower-fringed cloak and sceptre were\nthe other symbols of royalty worn by this Mexican Dionysus.\n\n\n\nOpochtli\n\nOpochtli (The Left-handed) was the god sacred to fishers and\nbird-catchers. At one period of Aztec history he must have been a deity\nof considerable consequence, since for generations the Aztecs were\nmarsh-dwellers and depended for their daily food on the fish netted\nin the lakes and the birds snared in the reeds. They credited the god\nwith the invention of the harpoon or trident for spearing fish and the\nfishing-rod and bird-net. The fishermen and bird-catchers of Mexico\nheld on occasion a special feast in honour of Opochtli, at which a\ncertain liquor called octli was consumed. A procession was afterwards\nformed, in which marched old people who had dedicated themselves to\nthe worship of the god, probably because they could obtain no other\nmeans of subsistence than that afforded by the vocation of which he\nwas tutelar and patron. He was represented as a man painted black,\nhis head decorated with the plumes of native wild birds, and crowned\nby a paper coronet in the shape of a rose. He was clad in green paper\nwhich fell to the knee, and was shod with white sandals. In his left\nhand he held a shield painted red, having in the centre a white flower\nwith four petals placed crosswise, and in his right hand he held a\nsceptre in the form of a cup.\n\n\n\nYacatecutli\n\nYacatecutli was the patron of travellers of the merchant class, who\nworshipped him by piling their staves together and sprinkling on the\nheap blood from their noses and ears. The staff of the traveller was\nhis symbol, to which prayer was made and offerings of flowers and\nincense tendered.\n\n\n\nThe Aztec Priesthood\n\nThe Aztec priesthood was a hierarchy in whose hands resided a goodly\nportion of the power of the upper classes, especially that connected\nwith education and endowment. The mere fact that its members possessed\nthe power of selecting victims for sacrifice must have been sufficient\nto place them in an almost unassailable position, and their prophetic\nutterances, founded upon the art of divination--so great a feature in\nthe life of the Aztec people, who depended upon it from the cradle\nto the grave--probably assisted them in maintaining their hold upon\nthe popular imagination. But withal the evidence of unbiased Spanish\necclesiastics, such as Sahagun, tends to show that they utilised their\ninfluence for good, and soundly instructed the people under their\ncharge in the cardinal virtues; \"in short,\" says the venerable friar,\n\"to perform the duties plainly pointed out by natural religion.\"\n\n\n\nPriestly Revenues\n\nThe establishment of the national religion was, as in the case of the\nmedi\u00e6val Church in Europe, based upon a land tenure from which the\npriestly class derived a substantial though, considering their numbers,\nby no means inordinate revenue. The principal temples possessed\nlands which sufficed for the maintenance of the priests attached to\nthem. There was, besides, a system of first-fruits fixed by law for the\npriesthood, the surplusage therefrom being distributed among the poor.\n\n\n\nEducation\n\nEducation was entirely conducted by the priesthood, which undertook the\ntask in a manner highly creditable to it, when consideration is given\nto surrounding conditions. Education was, indeed, highly organised. It\nwas divided into primary and secondary grades. Boys were instructed\nby priests, girls by holy women or \"nuns.\" The secondary schools\nwere called calmecac, and were devoted to the higher branches of\neducation, the curriculum including the deciphering of the pinturas,\nor manuscripts, astrology and divination, with a wealth of religious\ninstruction.\n\n\n\nOrders of the Priesthood\n\nAt the head of the Aztec priesthood stood the Mexicatl Teohuatzin\n(Mexican Lord of Divine Matters). He had a seat on the emperor's\ncouncil, and possessed power which was second only to the royal\nauthority. Next in rank to him was the high-priest of Quetzalcoatl, who\ndwelt in almost entire seclusion, and who had authority over his own\ncaste only. This office was in all probability a relic from \"Toltec\"\ntimes. The priests of Quetzalcoatl were called by name after their\ntutelar deity. The lesser grades included the Tlenamacac (Ordinary\nPriests), who were habited in black, and wore their hair long, covering\nit with a kind of mantilla. The lowest order was that of the Lamacazton\n(Little Priests), youths who were graduating in the priestly office.\n\n\n\nAn Exacting Ritual\n\nThe priesthood enjoyed no easy existence, but led an austere life\nof fasting, penance, and prayer, with constant observance of an\narduous and exacting ritual, which embraced sacrifice, the upkeep\nof perpetual fires, the chanting of holy songs to the gods, dances,\nand the superintendence of the ever-recurring festivals. They were\nrequired to rise during the night to render praise, and to maintain\nthemselves in a condition of absolute cleanliness by means of constant\nablutions. We have seen that blood-offering--the substitution of\nthe part for the whole--was a common method of sacrifice, and in\nthis the priests engaged personally on frequent occasions. If the\ncaste did not spare the people it certainly did not spare itself,\nand its outlook was perhaps only a shade more gloomy and fanatical\nthan that of the Spanish hierarchy which succeeded it in the land.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III: MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE ANCIENT MEXICANS\n\n\nThe Mexican Idea of the Creation\n\n\"In the year and in the day of the clouds,\" writes Garcia in his Origin\nde los Indias, professing to furnish the reader with a translation\nof an original Mixtec picture-manuscript, \"before ever were years\nor days, the world lay in darkness. All things were orderless, and\na water covered the slime and ooze that the earth then was.\" This\npicture is common to almost all American creation-stories. [9]\nThe red man in general believed the habitable globe to have been\ncreated from the slime which arose above the primeval waters, and\nthere can be no doubt that the Nahua shared this belief. We encounter\nin Nahua myth two beings of a bisexual nature, known to the Aztecs\nas Ometecutli-Omeciuatl (Lords of Duality), who were represented as\nthe deities dominating the genesis of things, the beginning of the\nworld. We have already become acquainted with them in Chapter II (see\np. 104), but we may recapitulate. These beings, whose individual names\nwere Tonacatecutli and Tonacaciuatl (Lord and Lady of our Flesh),\noccupy the first place in the calendar, a circumstance which makes\nit plain that they were regarded as responsible for the origin of all\ncreated things. They were invariably represented as being clothed in\nrich, variegated garments, symbolical of light. Tonacatecutli, the male\nprinciple of creation or world-generation, is often identified with the\nsun- or fire-god, but there is no reason to consider him as symbolical\nof anything but the sky. The firmament is almost universally regarded\nby American aboriginal peoples as the male principle of the cosmos,\nin contradistinction to the earth, which they think of as possessing\nfeminine attributes, and which is undoubtedly personified in this\ninstance by Tonacaciuatl.\n\nIn North American Indian myths we find the Father Sky brooding upon\nthe Mother Earth, just as in early Greek creation-story we see the\nelements uniting, the firmament impregnating the soil and rendering\nit fruitful. To the savage mind the growth of crops and vegetation\nproceeds as much from the sky as from the earth. Untutored man beholds\nthe fecundation of the soil by rain, and, seeing in everything the\nexpression of an individual and personal impulse, regards the genesis\nof vegetable growth as analogous to human origin. To him, then, the\nsky is the life-giving male principle, the fertilising seed of which\ndescends in rain. The earth is the receptive element which hatches\nthat with which the sky has impregnated her.\n\n\n\nIxtlilxochitl's Legend of the Creation\n\nOne of the most complete creation-stories in Mexican mythology is\nthat given by the half-blood Indian author Ixtlilxochitl, who, we\ncannot doubt, received it directly from native sources. He states\nthat the Toltecs credited a certain Tloque Nahuaque (Lord of All\nExistence) with the creation of the universe, the stars, mountains,\nand animals. At the same time he made the first man and woman, from\nwhom all the inhabitants of the earth are descended. This \"first\nearth\" was destroyed by the \"water-sun.\" At the commencement of the\nnext epoch the Toltecs appeared, and after many wanderings settled\nin Huehue Tlapallan (Very Old Tlapallan). Then followed the second\ncatastrophe, that of the \"wind-sun.\" The remainder of the legend\nrecounts how mighty earthquakes shook the world and destroyed the\nearth-giants. These earth-giants (Quinames) were analogous to the Greek\nTitans, and were a source of great uneasiness to the Toltecs. In the\nopinion of the old historians they were descended from the races who\ninhabited the more northerly portion of Mexico.\n\n\n\nCreation-Story of the Mixtecs\n\nIt will be well to return for a moment to the creation-story of the\nMixtecs, which, if emanating from a somewhat isolated people in the\nextreme south of the Mexican Empire, at least affords us a vivid\npicture of what a folk closely related to the Nahua race regarded\nas a veritable account of the creative process. When the earth had\narisen from the primeval waters, one day the deer-god, who bore the\nsurname Puma-Snake, and the beautiful deer-goddess, or Jaguar-Snake,\nappeared. They had human form, and with their great knowledge (that\nis, with their magic) they raised a high cliff over the water, and\nbuilt on it fine palaces for their dwelling. On the summit of this\ncliff they laid a copper axe with the edge upward, and on this edge\nthe heavens rested. The palaces stood in Upper Mixteca, close to\nApoala, and the cliff was called Place where the Heavens Stood. The\ngods lived happily together for many centuries, when it chanced that\ntwo little boys were born to them, beautiful of form and skilled\nand experienced in the arts. From the days of their birth they were\nnamed Wind-Nine-Snake (Viento de Neuve Culebras) and Wind-Nine-Cave\n(Viento de Neuve Cavernas). Much care was given to their education,\nand they possessed the knowledge of how to change themselves into\nan eagle or a snake, to make themselves invisible, and even to pass\nthrough solid bodies.\n\nAfter a time these youthful gods decided to make an offering and a\nsacrifice to their ancestors. Taking incense vessels made of clay,\nthey filled them with tobacco, to which they set fire, allowing it to\nsmoulder. The smoke rose heavenward, and that was the first offering\n(to the gods). Then they made a garden with shrubs and flowers,\ntrees and fruit-bearing plants, and sweet-scented herbs. Adjoining\nthis they made a grass-grown level place (un prado), and equipped\nit with everything necessary for sacrifice. The pious brothers lived\ncontentedly on this piece of ground, tilled it, burned tobacco, and\nwith prayers, vows, and promises they supplicated their ancestors to\nlet the light appear, to let the water collect in certain places and\nthe earth be freed from its covering (water), for they had no more\nthan that little garden for their subsistence. In order to strengthen\ntheir prayer they pierced their ears and their tongues with pointed\nknives of flint, and sprinkled the blood on the trees and plants with\na brush of willow twigs.\n\nThe deer-gods had more sons and daughters, but there came a flood in\nwhich many of these perished. After the catastrophe was over the god\nwho is called the Creator of All Things formed the heavens and the\nearth, and restored the human race.\n\n\n\nZapotec Creation-Myth\n\nAmong the Zapotecs, a people related to the Mixtecs, we find a similar\nconception of the creative process. Cozaana is mentioned as the creator\nand maker of all beasts in the valuable Zapotec dictionary of Father\nJuan de Cordova, and Huichaana as the creator of men and fishes. Thus\nwe have two separate creations for men and animals. Cozaana would\nappear to apply to the sun as the creator of all beasts, but, strangely\nenough, is alluded to in Cordova's dictionary as \"procreatrix,\" whilst\nhe is undoubtedly a male deity. Huichaana, the creator of men and\nfishes, is, on the other hand, alluded to as \"water,\" or \"the element\nof water,\" and \"goddess of generation.\" She is certainly the Zapotec\nfemale part of the creative agency. In the Mixtec creation-myth we can\nsee the actual creator and the first pair of tribal gods, who were also\nconsidered the progenitors of animals--to the savage equal inhabitants\nof the world with himself. The names of the brothers Nine-Snake and\nNine-Cave undoubtedly allude to light and darkness, day and night. It\nmay be that these deities are the same as Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl\n(the latter a Zapotec deity), who were regarded as twins. In some\nways Quetzalcoatl was looked upon as a creator, and in the Mexican\ncalendar followed the Father and Mother, or original sexual deities,\nbeing placed in the second section as the creator of the world and man.\n\n\n\nThe Mexican Noah\n\nFlood-myths, curiously enough, are of more common occurrence among\nthe Nahua and kindred peoples than creation-myths. The Abb\u00e9 Brasseur\nde Bourbourg has translated one from the Codex Chimalpopoca, a work\nin Nahuatl dating from the latter part of the sixteenth century. It\nrecounts the doings of the Mexican Noah and his wife as follows:\n\n\"And this year was that of Ce-calli, and on the first day all was\nlost. The mountain itself was submerged in the water, and the water\nremained tranquil for fifty-two springs.\n\n\"Now toward the close of the year Titlacahuan had forewarned the\nman named Nata and his wife Nena, saying,  'Make no more pulque,\nbut straightway hollow out a large cypress, and enter it when in the\nmonth Tozoztli the water shall approach the sky.' They entered it,\nand when Titlacahuan had closed the door he said,  'Thou shalt eat\nbut a single ear of maize, and thy wife but one also.'\n\n\"As soon as they had finished eating, they went forth, and the water\nwas tranquil; for the log did not move any more; and opening it they\nsaw many fish.\n\n\"Then they built a fire, rubbing together pieces of wood, and they\nroasted fish. The gods Citallinicue and Citallatonac, looking below,\nexclaimed, 'Divine Lord, what means that fire below? Why do they thus\nsmoke the heavens?'\n\n\"Straightway descended Titlacahuan-Tezcatlipoca, and commenced to\nscold, saying, 'What is this fire doing here?' And seizing the fishes\nhe moulded their hinder parts and changed their heads, and they were\nat once transformed into dogs.\"\n\n\n\nThe Myth of the Seven Caverns\n\nBut other legends apart from the creation-stories of the world pure\nand simple deal with the origin of mankind. The Aztecs believed that\nthe first men emerged from a place known as Chicomoztoc (The Seven\nCaverns), located north of Mexico. Various writers have seen in these\nmythic recesses the fabulous \"seven cities of Cibola\" and the Casas\nGrandes, ruins of extensive character in the valley of the river Gila,\nand so forth. But the allusion to the magical number seven in the myth\ndemonstrates that the entire story is purely imaginary and possesses\nno basis of fact. A similar story occurs among the myths of the Kiche\nof Guatemala and the Peruvians.\n\n\n\nThe Sacrificed Princess\n\nComing to semi-historical times, we find a variety of legends connected\nwith the early story of the city of Mexico. These for the most part\nare of a weird and gloomy character, and throw much light on the dark\nfanaticism of a people which could immolate its children on the altars\nof implacable gods. It is told how after the Aztecs had built the city\nof Mexico they raised an altar to their war-god Huitzilopochtli. In\ngeneral the lives rendered to this most sanguinary of deities\nwere those of prisoners of war, but in times of public calamity he\ndemanded the sacrifice of the noblest in the land. On one occasion\nhis oracle required that a royal princess should be offered on the\nhigh altar. The Aztec king, either possessing no daughters of his\nown or hesitating to sacrifice them, sent an embassy to the monarch\nof Colhuacan to ask for one of his daughters to become the symbolical\nmother of Huitzilopochtli. The King of Colhuacan, suspecting nothing\namiss, and highly flattered at the distinction, delivered up the girl,\nwho was escorted to Mexico, where she was sacrificed with much pomp,\nher skin being flayed off to clothe the priest who represented the\ndeity in the festival. The unhappy father was invited to this hideous\norgy, ostensibly to witness his daughter's deification. In the gloomy\nchambers of the war-god's temple he was at first unable to mark the\ntrend of the horrid ritual. But, given a torch of copal-gum, he saw\nthe officiating priest clothed in his daughter's skin, receiving the\nhomage of the worshippers. Recognising her features, and demented\nwith grief and horror, he fled from the temple, a broken man, to\nspend the remainder of his days in mourning for his murdered child.\n\n\n\nThe Fugitive Prince\n\nOne turns with relief from such a sanguinary tale to the consideration\nof the pleasing semi-legendary accounts of Ixtlilxochitl regarding\nthe civilisation of Tezcuco, Mexico's neighbour and ally. We have seen\nin the sketch of Nahua history which has been given how the Tecpanecs\novercame the Acolhuans of Tezcuco and slew their king about the year\n1418. Nezahualcoyotl (Fasting Coyote), the heir to the Tezcucan throne,\nbeheld the butchery of his royal father from the shelter of a tree\nclose by, and succeeded in making his escape from the invaders. His\nsubsequent thrilling adventures have been compared with those of the\nYoung Pretender after the collapse of the \"Forty-five\" resistance. He\nhad not enjoyed many days of freedom when he was captured by those\nwho had set out in pursuit of him, and, being haled back to his native\ncity, was cast into prison. He found a friend in the governor of the\nplace, who owed his position to the prince's late father, and by means\nof his assistance he succeeded in once more escaping from the hostile\nTecpanecs. For aiding Nezahualcoyotl, however, the governor promptly\npaid the penalty of death. The royal family of Mexico interceded for\nthe hunted youth, and he was permitted to find an asylum at the Aztec\ncourt, whence he later proceeded to his own city of Tezcuco, occupying\napartments in the palace where his father had once dwelt. For eight\nyears he remained there, existing unnoticed on the bounty of the\nTecpanec chief who had usurped the throne of his ancestors.\n\n\n\nMaxtla the Fierce\n\nIn course of time the original Tecpanec conqueror was gathered to\nhis fathers, and was succeeded by his son Maxtla, a ruler who could\nill brook the studious prince, who had journeyed to the capital\nof the Tecpanecs to do him homage. He refused Nezahualcoyotl's\nadvances of friendship, and the latter was warned by a favourably\ndisposed courtier to take refuge in flight. This advice he adopted,\nand returned to Tezcuco, where, however, Maxtla set a snare for his\nlife. A function which took place in the evening afforded the tyrant\nhis chance. But the prince's preceptor frustrated the conspiracy, by\nmeans of substituting for his charge a youth who strikingly resembled\nhim. This second failure exasperated Maxtla so much that he sent a\nmilitary force to Tezcuco, with orders to despatch Nezahualcoyotl\nwithout delay. But the same vigilant person who had guarded the\nprince so well before became apprised of his danger and advised him\nto fly. To this advice, however, Nezahualcoyotl refused to listen,\nand resolved to await the approach of his enemies.\n\n\n\nA Romantic Escape\n\nWhen they arrived he was engaged in the Mexican ball-game of\ntlachtli. With great politeness he requested them to enter and to\npartake of food. Whilst they refreshed themselves he betook himself\nto another room, but his action excited no surprise, as he could be\nseen through the open doorway by which the apartments communicated\nwith each other. A huge censer, however, stood in the vestibule,\nand the clouds of incense which arose from it hid his movements from\nthose who had been sent to slay him. Thus obscured, he succeeded\nin entering a subterranean passage which led to a large disused\nwater-pipe, through which he crawled and made his escape.\n\n\n\nA Thrilling Pursuit\n\nFor a season Nezahualcoyotl evaded capture by hiding in the hut of a\nzealous adherent. The hut was searched, but the pursuers neglected to\nlook below a heap of maguey fibre used for making cloth, under which\nhe lay concealed. Furious at his enemy's escape, Maxtla now ordered a\nrigorous search, and a regular battue of the country round Tezcuco was\narranged. A large reward was offered for the capture of Nezahualcoyotl\ndead or alive, along with a fair estate and the hand of a noble lady,\nand the unhappy prince was forced to seek safety in the mountainous\ncountry between Tezcuco and Tlascala. He became a wretched outcast,\na pariah lurking in caves and woods, prowling about after nightfall in\norder to satisfy his hunger, and seldom having a whole night's rest,\nbecause of the vigilance of his enemies. Hotly pursued by them, he\nwas compelled to seek some curious places of concealment in order to\nsave himself. On one occasion he was hidden by some friendly soldiers\ninside a large drum, and on another he was concealed beneath some\nchia stalks by a girl who was engaged in reaping them. The loyalty\nof the Tezcucan peasantry to their hunted prince was extraordinary,\nand rather than betray his whereabouts to the creatures of Maxtla\nthey on many occasions suffered torture, and even death itself. At a\ntime when his affairs appeared most gloomy, however, Nezahualcoyotl\nexperienced a change of fortune. The tyrannous Maxtla had rendered\nhimself highly unpopular by his many oppressions, and the people in the\nterritories he had annexed were by no means contented under his rule.\n\n\n\nThe Defeat of Maxtla\n\nThese malcontents decided to band themselves together to defy\nthe tyrant, and offered the command of the force thus raised to\nNezahualcoyotl. This he accepted, and the Tecpanec usurper was\ntotally defeated in a general engagement. Restored to the throne of\nhis fathers, Nezahualcoyotl allied himself with Mexico, and with the\nassistance of its monarch completely routed the remaining force of\nMaxtla, who was seized in the baths of Azcapozalco, haled forth and\nsacrificed, and his city destroyed.\n\n\n\nThe Solon of Anahuac\n\nNezahualcoyotl profited by the hard experiences he had undergone,\nand proved a wise and just ruler. The code of laws framed by him was\nan exceedingly drastic one, but so wise and enlightened was his rule\nthat on the whole he deserves the title which has been conferred upon\nhim of \"the Solon of Anahuac.\" He generously encouraged the arts,\nand established a Council of Music, the purpose of which was to\nsupervise artistic endeavour of every description. In Nezahualcoyotl\nMexico found, in all probability, her greatest native poet. An ode\nof his on the mutability of life displays much nobility of thought,\nand strikingly recalls the sentiments expressed in the verses of\nOmar Khayy\u00e1m.\n\n\n\nNezahualcoyotl's Theology\n\nNezahualcoyotl is said to have erected a temple to the Unknown God,\nand to have shown a marked preference for the worship of one deity. In\none of his poems he is credited with expressing the following exalted\nsentiments: \"Let us aspire to that heaven where all is eternal, and\ncorruption cannot come. The horrors of the tomb are the cradle of\nthe sun, and the dark shadows of death are brilliant lights for the\nstars.\" Unfortunately these ideas cannot be verified as the undoubted\nsentiments of the royal bard of Tezcuco, and we are regretfully\nforced to regard the attribution as spurious. We must come to such a\nconclusion with very real disappointment, as to discover an untutored\nand spontaneous belief in one god in the midst of surroundings so\nlittle congenial to its growth would have been exceedingly valuable\nfrom several points of view.\n\n\n\nThe Poet Prince\n\nWe find Nezahualcoyotl's later days stained by an act which was\nunworthy of such a great monarch and wise man. His eldest son, the heir\nto the crown, entered into an intrigue with one of his father's wives,\nand dedicated many passionate poems to her, to which she replied with\nequal ardour. The poetical correspondence was brought before the king,\nwho prized the lady highly because of her beauty. Outraged in his most\nsacred feelings, Nezahualcoyotl had the youth arraigned before the\nHigh Court, which passed sentence of death upon him--a sentence which\nhis father permitted to be carried out. After his son's execution he\nshut himself up in his palace for some months, and gave orders that\nthe doors and windows of the unhappy young man's residence should be\nbuilt up so that never again might its walls echo to the sound of a\nhuman voice.\n\n\n\nThe Queen with a Hundred Lovers\n\nIn his History of the Chichimeca Ixtlilxochitl tells the following\ngruesome tale regarding the dreadful fate of a favourite wife of\nNezahualpilli, the son of Nezahualcoyotl: When Axaiacatzin, King of\nMexico, and other lords sent their daughters to King Nezahualpilli,\nfor him to choose one to be his queen and lawful wife, whose son\nmight succeed to the inheritance, she who had the highest claims among\nthem, for nobility of birth and rank, was Chachiuhnenetzin, the young\ndaughter of the Mexican king. She had been brought up by the monarch\nin a separate palace, with great pomp, and with numerous attendants,\nas became the daughter of so great a monarch. The number of servants\nattached to her household exceeded two thousand. Young as she was,\nshe was exceedingly artful and vicious; so that, finding herself\nalone, and seeing that her people feared her on account of her rank\nand importance, she began to give way to an unlimited indulgence of\nher power. Whenever she saw a young man who pleased her fancy she gave\nsecret orders that he should be brought to her, and shortly afterwards\nhe would be put to death. She would then order a statue or effigy of\nhis person to be made, and, adorning it with rich clothing, gold, and\njewellery, place it in the apartment in which she lived. The number\nof statues of those whom she thus sacrificed was so great as to almost\nfill the room. When the king came to visit her, and inquired respecting\nthese statues, she answered that they were her gods; and he, knowing\nhow strict the Mexicans were in the worship of their false deities,\nbelieved her. But, as no iniquity can be long committed with entire\nsecrecy, she was finally found out in this manner: Three of the young\nmen, for some reason or other, she had left alive. Their names were\nChicuhcoatl, Huitzilimitzin, and Maxtla, one of whom was lord of\nTesoyucan and one of the grandees of the kingdom, and the other two\nnobles of high rank. It happened that one day the king recognised on\nthe apparel of one of these a very precious jewel which he had given\nto the queen; and although he had no fear of treason on her part it\ngave him some uneasiness. Proceeding to visit her that night, her\nattendants told him she was asleep, supposing that the king would\nthen return, as he had done at other times. But the affair of the\njewel made him insist on entering the chamber in which she slept;\nand, going to wake her, he found only a statue in the bed, adorned\nwith her hair, and closely resembling her. Seeing this, and noticing\nthat the attendants around were in much trepidation and alarm, the\nking called his guards, and, assembling all the people of the house,\nmade a general search for the queen, who was shortly found at an\nentertainment with the three young lords, who were arrested with\nher. The king referred the case to the judges of his court, in order\nthat they might make an inquiry into the matter and examine the parties\nimplicated. These discovered many individuals, servants of the queen,\nwho had in some way or other been accessory to her crimes--workmen who\nhad been engaged in making and adorning the statues, others who had\naided in introducing the young men into the palace, and others, again,\nwho had put them to death and concealed their bodies. The case having\nbeen sufficiently investigated, the king despatched ambassadors to the\nrulers of Mexico and Tlacopan, giving them information of the event,\nand signifying the day on which the punishment of the queen and her\naccomplices was to take place; and he likewise sent through the empire\nto summon all the lords to bring their wives and their daughters,\nhowever young they might be, to be witnesses of a punishment which\nhe designed for a great example. He also made a truce with all the\nenemies of the empire, in order that they might come freely to see\nit. The time having arrived, the number of people gathered together\nwas so great that, large as was the city of Tezcuco, they could\nscarcely all find room in it. The execution took place publicly, in\nsight of the whole city. The queen was put to the garrotte (a method\nof strangling by means of a rope twisted round a stick), as well as\nher three gallants; and, from their being persons of high birth, their\nbodies were burned, together with the effigies before mentioned. The\nother parties who had been accessory to the crimes, who numbered more\nthan two thousand persons, were also put to the garrotte, and burned\nin a pit made for the purpose in a ravine near a temple of the Idol\nof Adulterers. All applauded so severe and exemplary a punishment,\nexcept the Mexican lords, the relatives of the queen, who were much\nincensed at so public an example, and, although for the time they\nconcealed their resentment, meditated future revenge. It was not\nwithout reason, says the chronicler, that the king experienced this\ndisgrace in his household, since he was thus punished for an unworthy\nsubterfuge made use of by his father to obtain his mother as a wife!\n\nThis Nezahualpilli, the successor of Nezahualcoyotl, was a monarch\nof scientific tastes, and, as Torquemada states, had a primitive\nobservatory erected in his palace.\n\n\n\nThe Golden Age of Tezcuco\n\nThe period embraced by the life of this monarch and his predecessor may\nbe regarded as the Golden Age of Tezcuco, and as semi-mythical. The\npalace of Nezahualcoyotl, according to the account of Ixtlilxochitl,\nextended east and west for 1234 yards, and for 978 yards from north\nto south. Enclosed by a high wall, it contained two large courts, one\nused as the municipal market-place, whilst the other was surrounded\nby administrative offices. A great hall was set apart for the special\nuse of poets and men of talent, who held symposiums under its classic\nroof, or engaged in controversy in the surrounding corridors. The\nchronicles of the kingdom were also kept in this portion of the\npalace. The private apartments of the monarch adjoined this College\nof Bards. They were gorgeous in the extreme, and their description\nrivals that of the fabled Toltec city of Tollan. Rare stones and\nbeautifully coloured plaster mouldings alternated with wonderful\ntapestries of splendid feather-work to make an enchanting display of\nflorid decoration, and the gardens which surrounded this marvellous\nedifice were delightful retreats, where the lofty cedar and cypress\noverhung sparkling fountains and luxurious baths. Fish darted hither\nand thither in the ponds, and the aviaries echoed to the songs of\nbirds of wonderful plumage.\n\n\n\nA Fairy Villa\n\nAccording to Ixtlilxochitl, the king's villa of Tezcotzinco was a\nresidence which for sheer beauty had no equal in Persian romance,\nor in those dream-tales of Araby which in childhood we feel to be\ntrue, and in later life regretfully admit can only be known again by\nsailing the sea of Poesy or penetrating the mist-locked continent of\nDream. The account of it which we have from the garrulous half-blood\nreminds us of the stately pleasure-dome decreed by Kubla Khan on the\nturbulent banks of the sacred Alph. A conical eminence was laid out in\nhanging gardens reached by an airy flight of five hundred and twenty\nmarble steps. Gigantic walls contained an immense reservoir of water,\nin the midst of which was islanded a great rock carved with hieroglyphs\ndescribing the principal events in the reign of Nezahualcoyotl. In\neach of three other reservoirs stood a marble statue of a woman,\nsymbolical of one of the three provinces of Tezcuco. These great\nbasins supplied the gardens beneath with a perennial flow of water,\nso directed as to leap in cascades over artificial rockeries or\nmeander among mossy retreats with refreshing whisper, watering the\nroots of odoriferous shrubs and flowers and winding in and out of the\nshadow of the cypress woods. Here and there pavilions of marble arose\nover porphyry baths, the highly polished stone of which reflected the\nbodies of the bathers. The villa itself stood amidst a wilderness of\nstately cedars, which shielded it from the torrid heat of the Mexican\nsun. The architectural design of this delightful edifice was light and\nairy in the extreme, and the perfume of the surrounding gardens filled\nthe spacious apartments with the delicious incense of nature. In this\nparadise the Tezcucan monarch sought in the company of his wives repose\nfrom the oppression of rule, and passed the lazy hours in gamesome\nsport and dance. The surrounding woods afforded him the pleasures of\nthe chase, and art and nature combined to render his rural retreat\na centre of pleasant recreation as well as of repose and refreshment.\n\n\n\nDisillusionment\n\nThat some such palace existed on the spot in question it would be\nabsurd to deny, as its stupendous pillars and remains still litter\nthe terraces of Tezcotzinco. But, alas! we must not listen to the\nvapourings of the untrustworthy Ixtlilxochitl, who claims to have\nseen the place. It will be better to turn to a more modern authority,\nwho visited the site about seventy-five years ago, and who has given\nperhaps the best account of it. He says:\n\n\"Fragments of pottery, broken pieces of obsidian knives and arrows,\npieces of stucco, shattered terraces, and old walls were thickly\ndispersed over its whole surface. We soon found further advance\non horseback impracticable, and, attaching our patient steeds to\nthe nopal bushes, we followed our Indian guide on foot, scrambling\nupwards over rock and through tangled brushwood. On gaining the\nnarrow ridge which connects the conical hill with one at the rear,\nwe found the remains of a wall and causeway; and, a little higher,\nreached a recess, where, at the foot of a small precipice, overhung\nwith Indian fig and grass, the rock had been wrought by hand into\na flat surface of large dimensions. In this perpendicular wall of\nrock a carved Toltec calendar existed formerly; but the Indians,\nfinding the place visited occasionally by foreigners from the capital,\ntook it into their heads that there must be a silver vein there, and\nstraightway set to work to find it, obliterating the sculpture, and\ndriving a level beyond it into the hard rock for several yards. From\nthis recess a few minutes' climb brought us to the summit of the\nhill. The sun was on the point of setting over the mountains on the\nother side of the valley, and the view spread beneath our feet was\nmost glorious. The whole of the lake of Tezcuco, and the country and\nmountains on both sides, lay stretched before us.\n\n\"But, however disposed, we dare not stop long to gaze and admire,\nbut, descending a little obliquely, soon came to the so-called bath,\ntwo singular basins, of perhaps two feet and a half diameter, cut\ninto a bastion-like solid rock, projecting from the general outline\nof the hill, and surrounded by smooth carved seats and grooves,\nas we supposed--for I own the whole appearance of the locality\nwas perfectly inexplicable to me. I have a suspicion that many of\nthese horizontal planes and grooves were contrivances to aid their\nastronomical observations, one like that I have mentioned having been\ndiscovered by de Gama at Chapultepec.\n\n\"As to Montezuma's Bath, it might be his foot-bath if you will, but\nit would be a moral impossibility for any monarch of larger dimensions\nthan Oberon to take a duck in it.\n\n\"The mountain bears the marks of human industry to its very apex,\nmany of the blocks of porphyry of which it is composed being quarried\ninto smooth horizontal planes. It is impossible to say at present\nwhat portion of the surface is artificial or not, such is the state\nof confusion observable in every part.\n\n\"By what means nations unacquainted with the use of iron constructed\nworks of such a smooth polish, in rocks of such hardness, it is\nextremely difficult to say. Many think tools of mixed tin and copper\nwere employed; others, that patient friction was one of the main means\nresorted to. Whatever may have been the real appropriation of these\ninexplicable ruins, or the epoch of their construction, there can be\nno doubt but the whole of this hill, which I should suppose rises\nfive or six hundred feet above the level of the plain, was covered\nwith artificial works of one kind or another. They are doubtless\nrather of Toltec than of Aztec origin, and perhaps with still more\nprobability attributable to a people of an age yet more remote.\"\n\n\n\nThe Noble Tlascalan\n\nAs may be imagined regarding a community where human sacrifice was\nrife, tales concerning those who were consigned to this dreadful fate\nwere abundant. Perhaps the most striking of these is that relating to\nthe noble Tlascalan warrior Tlalhuicole, who was captured in combat\nby the troops of Montezuma. Less than a year before the Spaniards\narrived in Mexico war broke out between the Huexotzincans and the\nTlascalans, to the former of whom the Aztecs acted as allies. On\nthe battlefield there was captured by guile a very valiant Tlascalan\nleader called Tlalhuicole, so renowned for his prowess that the mere\nmention of his name was generally sufficient to deter any Mexican\nhero from attempting his capture. He was brought to Mexico in a cage,\nand presented to the Emperor Montezuma, who, on learning of his name\nand renown, gave him his liberty and overwhelmed him with honours. He\nfurther granted him permission to return to his own country, a boon\nhe had never before extended to any captive. But Tlalhuicole refused\nhis freedom, and replied that he would prefer to be sacrificed to the\ngods, according to the usual custom. Montezuma, who had the highest\nregard for him, and prized his life more than any sacrifice, would\nnot consent to his immolation. At this juncture war broke out between\nMexico and the Tarascans, and Montezuma announced the appointment\nof Tlalhuicole as chief of the expeditionary force. He accepted the\ncommand, marched against the Tarascans, and, having totally defeated\nthem, returned to Mexico laden with an enormous booty and crowds of\nslaves. The city rang with his triumph. The emperor begged him to\nbecome a Mexican citizen, but he replied that on no account would he\nprove a traitor to his country. Montezuma then once more offered him\nhis liberty, but he strenuously refused to return to Tlascala, having\nundergone the disgrace of defeat and capture. He begged Montezuma\nto terminate his unhappy existence by sacrificing him to the gods,\nthus ending the dishonour he felt in living on after having undergone\ndefeat, and at the same time fulfilling the highest aspiration of his\nlife--to die the death of a warrior on the stone of combat. Montezuma,\nhimself the noblest pattern of Aztec chivalry, touched at his request,\ncould not but agree with him that he had chosen the most fitting fate\nfor a hero, and ordered him to be chained to the stone of combat,\nthe blood-stained temalacatl. The most renowned of the Aztec warriors\nwere pitted against him, and the emperor himself graced the sanguinary\ntournament with his presence. Tlalhuicole bore himself in the combat\nlike a lion, slew eight warriors of renown, and wounded more than\ntwenty. But at last he fell, covered with wounds, and was haled by the\nexulting priests to the altar of the terrible war-god Huitzilopochtli,\nto whom his heart was offered up.\n\n\n\nThe Haunting Mothers\n\nIt is only occasionally that we encounter either the gods or\nsupernatural beings of any description in Mexican myth. But\noccasionally we catch sight of such beings as the Ciuapipiltin\n(Honoured Women), the spirits of those women who had died in childbed,\na death highly venerated by the Mexicans, who regarded the woman\nwho perished thus as the equal of a warrior who met his fate in\nbattle. Strangely enough, these spirits were actively malevolent,\nprobably because the moon-goddess (who was also the deity of evil\nexhalations) was evil in her tendencies, and they were regarded as\npossessing an affinity to her. It was supposed that they afflicted\ninfants with various diseases, and Mexican parents took every\nprecaution not to permit their offspring out of doors on the days when\ntheir influence was believed to be strong. They were said to haunt\nthe cross-roads, and even to enter the bodies of weakly people, the\nbetter to work their evil will. The insane were supposed to be under\ntheir especial visitation. Temples were raised at the cross-roads in\norder to placate them, and loaves of bread, shaped like butterflies,\nwere dedicated to them. They were represented as having faces of\na dead white, and as blanching their arms and hands with a white\npowder known as tisatl. Their eyebrows were of a golden hue, and\ntheir raiment was that of Mexican ladies of the ruling class.\n\n\n\nThe Return of Papantzin [10]\n\nOne of the weirdest legends in Mexican tradition recounts how\nPapantzin, the sister of Montezuma II, returned from her tomb to\nprophesy to her royal brother concerning his doom and the fall of\nhis empire at the hands of the Spaniards. On taking up the reins\nof government Montezuma had married this lady to one of his most\nillustrious servants, the governor of Tlatelulco, and after his death\nit would appear that she continued to exercise his almost viceregal\nfunctions and to reside in his palace. In course of time she died,\nand her obsequies were attended by the emperor in person, accompanied\nby the greatest personages of his court and kingdom. The body was\ninterred in a subterranean vault of his own palace, in close proximity\nto the royal baths, which stood in a sequestered part of the extensive\ngrounds surrounding the royal residence. The entrance to the vault\nwas secured by a stone slab of moderate weight, and when the numerous\nceremonies prescribed for the interment of a royal personage had been\ncompleted the emperor and his suite retired. At daylight next morning\none of the royal children, a little girl of some six years of age,\nhaving gone into the garden to seek her governess, espied the Princess\nPapan standing near the baths. The princess, who was her aunt, called\nto her, and requested her to bring her governess to her. The child\ndid as she was bid, but her governess, thinking that imagination had\nplayed her a trick, paid little attention to what she said. As the\nchild persisted in her statement, the governess at last followed her\ninto the garden, where she saw Papan sitting on one of the steps of\nthe baths. The sight of the supposed dead princess filled the woman\nwith such terror that she fell down in a swoon. The child then went to\nher mother's apartment, and detailed to her what had happened. She at\nonce proceeded to the baths with two of her attendants, and at sight\nof Papan was also seized with affright. But the princess reassured\nher, and asked to be allowed to accompany her to her apartments,\nand that the entire affair should for the present be kept absolutely\nsecret. Later in the day she sent for Ti\u00e7otzicatzin, her major-domo,\nand requested him to inform the emperor that she desired to speak\nwith him immediately on matters of the greatest importance. The man,\nterrified, begged to be excused from the mission, and Papan then\ngave orders that her uncle Nezahualpilli, King of Tezcuco, should\nbe communicated with. That monarch, on receiving her request that\nhe should come to her, hastened to the palace. The princess begged\nhim to see the emperor without loss of time and to entreat him to\ncome to her at once. Montezuma heard his story with surprise mingled\nwith doubt. Hastening to his sister, he cried as he approached her:\n\"Is it indeed you, my sister, or some evil demon who has taken your\nlikeness?\" \"It is I indeed, your Majesty,\" she replied. Montezuma and\nthe exalted personages who accompanied him then seated themselves,\nand a hush of expectation fell upon all as they were addressed by\nthe princess in the following words:\n\n\"Listen attentively to what I am about to relate to you. You have seen\nme dead, buried, and now behold me alive again. By the authority of\nour ancestors, my brother, I am returned from the dwellings of the\ndead to prophesy to you certain things of prime importance.\n\n\n\nPapantzin's Story\n\n\"At the moment after death I found myself in a spacious valley, which\nappeared to have neither commencement nor end, and was surrounded\nby lofty mountains. Near the middle I came upon a road with many\nbranching paths. By the side of the valley there flowed a river of\nconsiderable size, the waters of which ran with a loud noise. By the\nborders of this I saw a young man clothed in a long robe, fastened with\na diamond, and shining like the sun, his visage bright as a star. On\nhis forehead was a sign in the figure of a cross. He had wings, the\nfeathers of which gave forth the most wonderful and glowing reflections\nand colours. His eyes were as emeralds, and his glance was modest. He\nwas fair, of beautiful aspect and imposing presence. He took me by the\nhand and said: 'Come hither. It is not yet time for you to cross the\nriver. You possess the love of God, which is greater than you know\nor can comprehend.' He then conducted me through the valley, where\nI espied many heads and bones of dead men. I then beheld a number\nof black folk, horned, and with the feet of deer. They were engaged\nin building a house, which was nearly completed. Turning toward the\neast for a space, I beheld on the waters of the river a vast number\nof ships manned by a great host of men dressed differently from\nourselves. Their eyes were of a clear grey, their complexions ruddy,\nthey carried banners and ensigns in their hands and wore helmets on\ntheir heads. They called themselves 'Sons of the Sun.' The youth who\nconducted me and caused me to see all these things said that it was\nnot yet the will of the gods that I should cross the river, but that I\nwas to be reserved to behold the future with my own eyes, and to enjoy\nthe benefits of the faith which these strangers brought with them;\nthat the bones I beheld on the plain were those of my countrymen who\nhad died in ignorance of that faith, and had consequently suffered\ngreat torments; that the house being builded by the black folk was an\nedifice prepared for those who would fall in battle with the seafaring\nstrangers whom I had seen; and that I was destined to return to my\ncompatriots to tell them of the true faith, and to announce to them\nwhat I had seen that they might profit thereby.\"\n\nMontezuma hearkened to these matters in silence, and felt greatly\ntroubled. He left his sister's presence without a word, and, regaining\nhis own apartments, plunged into melancholy thoughts.\n\nPapantzin's resurrection is one of the best authenticated incidents\nin Mexican history, and it is a curious fact that on the arrival\nof the Spanish Conquistadores one of the first persons to embrace\nChristianity and receive baptism at their hands was the Princess Papan.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV: THE MAYA RACE AND MYTHOLOGY\n\n\nThe Maya\n\nIt was to the Maya--the people who occupied the territory between\nthe isthmus of Tehuantepec and Nicaragua--that the civilisation of\nCentral America owed most. The language they spoke was quite distinct\nfrom the Nahuatl spoken by the Nahua of Mexico, and in many respects\ntheir customs and habits were widely different from those of the\npeople of Anahuac. It will be remembered that the latter were the\nheirs of an older civilisation, that, indeed, they had entered the\nvalley of Mexico as savages, and that practically all they knew of\nthe arts of culture was taught them by the remnants of the people\nwhom they dispossessed. It was not thus with the Maya. Their arts\nand industries were of their own invention, and bore the stamp of\nan origin of considerable antiquity. They were, indeed, the supreme\nintellectual race of America, and on their coming into contact with\nthe Nahua that people assimilated sufficient of their culture to\nraise them several grades in the scale of civilisation.\n\n\n\nWere the Maya Toltecs?\n\nIt has already been stated that many antiquarians see in the Maya\nthose Toltecs who because of the inroads of barbarous tribes quitted\ntheir native land of Anahuac and journeyed southward to seek a new\nhome in Chiapas and Yucatan. It would be idle to attempt to uphold\nor refute such a theory in the absolute dearth of positive evidence\nfor or against it. The architectural remains of the older race of\nAnahuac do not bear any striking likeness to Maya forms, and if the\nmythologies of the two peoples are in some particulars alike, that may\nwell be accounted for by their mutual adoption of deities and religious\ncustoms. On the other hand, it is distinctly noteworthy that the cult\nof the god Quetzalcoatl, which was regarded in Mexico as of alien\norigin, had a considerable vogue among the Maya and their allied races.\n\n\n\nThe Maya Kingdom\n\nOn the arrival of the Spaniards (after the celebrated march of Cort\u00e9s\nfrom Mexico to Central America) the Maya were divided into a number\nof subsidiary states which remind us somewhat of the numerous little\nkingdoms of Palestine. That these had hived off from an original\nand considerably greater state there is good evidence to show, but\ninternal dissension had played havoc with the polity of the central\ngovernment of this empire, the disintegration of which had occurred\nat a remote period. In the semi-historical legends of this people\nwe catch glimpses of a great kingdom, occasionally alluded to as\nthe \"Kingdom of the Great Snake,\" or the empire of Xibalba, realms\nwhich have been identified with the ruined city-centres of Palenque\nand Mitla. These identifications must be regarded with caution,\nbut the work of excavation will doubtless sooner or later assist\ntheorists in coming to conclusions which will admit of no doubt. The\nsphere of Maya civilisation and influence is pretty well marked,\nand embraces the peninsula of Yucatan, Chiapas, to the isthmus of\nTehuantepec on the north, and the whole of Guatemala to the boundaries\nof the present republic of San Salvador. The true nucleus of Maya\ncivilisation, however, must be looked for in that part of Chiapas\nwhich skirts the banks of the Usumacinta river and in the valleys of\nits tributaries. Here Maya art and architecture reached a height of\nsplendour unknown elsewhere, and in this district, too, the strange\nMaya system of writing had its most skilful exponents. Although the\narts and industries of the several districts inhabited by people of\nMaya race exhibited many superficial differences, these are so small\nas to make us certain of the fact that the various areas inhabited\nby Maya stock had all drawn their inspiration toward civilisation\nfrom one common nucleus, and had equally passed through a uniform\ncivilisation and drawn sap from an original culture-centre.\n\n\n\nThe Maya Dialects\n\nPerhaps the most effectual method of distinguishing the various\nbranches of the Maya people from one another consists in dividing\nthem into linguistic groups. The various dialects spoken by the folk\nof Maya origin, although they exhibit some considerable difference,\nyet display strongly that affinity of construction and resemblance\nin root which go to prove that they all emanate from one common\nmother-tongue. In Chiapas the Maya tongue itself is the current\ndialect, whilst in Guatemala no less than twenty-four dialects are in\nuse, the principal of which are the Quiche, or Kiche, the Kakchiquel,\nthe Zutugil, Coxoh Chol, and Pipil. These dialects and the folk who\nspeak them are sufficient to engage our attention, as in them are\nenshrined the most remarkable myths and legends of the race, and by\nthe men who used them were the greatest acts in Maya history achieved.\n\n\n\nWhence Came the Maya?\n\nWhence came these folk, then, who raised a civilisation by no means\ninferior to that of ancient Egypt, which, if it had had scope,\nwould have rivalled in its achievements the glory of old Assyria? We\ncannot tell. The mystery of its entrance into the land is as deep\nas the mystery of the ancient forests which now bury the remnants\nof its mighty monuments and enclose its temples in impenetrable\ngloom. Generations of antiquarians have attempted to trace the origin\nof this race to Egypt, Phoenicia, China, Burma. But the manifest\ntraces of indigenous American origin are present in all its works,\nand the writers who have beheld in these likenesses to the art of\nAsiatic or African peoples have been grievously misled by superficial\nresemblances which could not have betrayed any one who had studied\nMaya affinities deeply.\n\n\n\nCivilisation of the Maya\n\nAt the risk of repetition it is essential to point out that\ncivilisation, which was a newly acquired thing with the Nahua peoples,\nwas not so with the Maya. They were indisputably an older race,\npossessing institutions which bore the marks of generations of use,\nwhereas the Nahua had only too obviously just entered into their\nheritage of law and order. When we first catch sight of the Maya\nkingdoms they are in the process of disintegration. Such strong young\nblood as the virile folk of Anahuac possessed did not flow in the veins\nof the people of Yucatan and Guatemala. They were to the Nahua much\nas the ancient Assyrians were to the hosts of Israel at the entrance\nof the latter into national existence. That there was a substratum of\nethnical and cultural relationship, however, it would be impossible to\ndeny. The institutions, architecture, habits, even the racial cast of\nthought of the two peoples, bore such a general resemblance as to show\nthat many affinities of blood and cultural relationship existed between\nthem. But it will not do to insist too strongly upon these. It may be\nargued with great probability that these relationships and likenesses\nexist because of the influence of Maya civilisation upon Mexican alone,\nor from the inheritance by both Mexican and Maya people of a still\nolder culture of which we are ignorant, and the proofs of which lie\nburied below the forests of Guatemala or the sands of Yucatan.\n\n\n\nThe Zapotecs\n\nThe influence of the Maya upon the Nahua was a process of exceeding\nslowness. The peoples who divided them one from another were themselves\nbenefited by carrying Maya culture into Anahuac, or rather it might be\nsaid that they constituted a sort of filter through which the southern\ncivilisation reached the northern. These peoples were the Zapotecs,\nthe Mixtecs, and the Kuikatecs, by far the most important of whom were\nthe first-mentioned. They partook of the nature and civilisation of\nboth races, and were in effect a border people who took from and gave\nto both Maya and Nahua, much as the Jews absorbed and disseminated the\ncultures of Egypt and Assyria. They were, however, of Nahua race, but\ntheir speech bears the strongest marks of having borrowed extensively\nfrom the Maya vocabulary. For many generations these people wandered\nin a nomadic condition from Maya to Nahua territory, thus absorbing\nthe customs, speech, and mythology of each.\n\n\n\nThe Huasteca\n\nBut we should be wrong if we thought that the Maya had never\nattempted to expand, and had never sought new homes for their surplus\npopulation. That they had is proved by an outlying tribe of Maya,\nthe Huasteca, having settled at the mouth of the Panuco river, on\nthe north coast of Mexico. The presence of this curious ethnological\nisland has of course given rise to all sorts of queer theories\nconcerning Toltec relationship, whereas it simply intimates that\nbefore the era of Nahua expansion the Maya had attempted to colonise\nthe country to the north of their territories, but that their efforts\nin this direction had been cut short by the influx of savage Nahua,\nagainst whom they found themselves unable to contend.\n\n\n\nThe Type of Maya Civilisation\n\nDid the civilisation of the Maya differ, then, in type from that of\nthe Nahua, or was it merely a larger expression of that in vogue in\nAnahuac? We may take it that the Nahua civilisation characterised\nthe culture of Central America in its youth, whilst that of the Maya\ndisplayed it in its bloom, and perhaps in its senility. The difference\nwas neither essential nor radical, but may be said to have arisen for\nthe most part from climatic and kindred causes. The climate of Anahuac\nis dry and temperate, that of Yucatan and Guatemala is tropical,\nand we shall find even such religious conceptions of the two peoples\nas were drawn from a common source varying from this very cause,\nand coloured by differences in temperature and rainfall.\n\n\n\nMaya History\n\nBefore entering upon a consideration of the art, architecture, or\nmythology of this strange and highly interesting people it will\nbe necessary to provide the reader with a brief sketch of their\nhistory. Such notices of this as exist in English are few, and their\nvalue doubtful. For the earlier history of the people of Maya stock we\ndepend almost wholly upon tradition and architectural remains. The net\nresult of the evidence wrung from these is that the Maya civilisation\nwas one and homogeneous, and that all the separate states must have\nat one period passed through a uniform condition of culture, to which\nthey were all equally debtors, and that this is sufficient ground for\nthe belief that all were at one time beneath the sway of one central\npower. For the later history we possess the writings of the Spanish\nfathers, but not in such profusion as in the case of Mexico. In fact\nthe trustworthy original authors who deal with Maya history can almost\nbe counted on the fingers of one hand. We are further confused in\nperusing these, and, indeed, throughout the study of Maya history,\nby discovering that many of the sites of Maya cities are designated\nby Nahua names. This is due to the fact that the Spanish conquerors\nwere guided in their conquest of the Maya territories by Nahua, who\nnaturally applied Nahuatlac designations to those sites of which the\nSpaniards asked the names. These appellations clung to the places\nin question; hence the confusion, and the blundering theories which\nwould read in these place-names relics of Aztec conquest.\n\n\n\nThe Nucleus of Maya Power\n\nAs has been said, the nucleus of Maya power and culture is probably\nto be found in that part of Chiapas which slopes down from the steep\nCordilleras. Here the ruined sites of Palenque, Piedras Negras, and\nOcosingo are eloquent of that opulence of imagination and loftiness\nof conception which go hand in hand with an advanced culture. The\ntemples and palaces of this region bear the stamp of a dignity\nand consciousness of metropolitan power which are scarcely to be\nmistaken, so broad, so free is their architectural conception, so\nfull to overflowing the display of the desire to surpass. But upon\nthe necessities of religion and central organisation alone was this\narchitectural artistry lavished. Its dignities were not profaned by\nits application to mere domestic uses, for, unless what were obviously\npalaces are excepted, not a single example of Maya domestic building\nhas survived. This is of course accounted for by the circumstance\nthat the people were sharply divided into the aristocratic and\nlabouring classes, the first of which was closely identified with\nreligion or kingship, and was housed in the ecclesiastical or royal\nbuildings, whilst those of less exalted rank were perforce content\nwith the shelter afforded by a hut built of perishable materials,\nthe traces of which have long since passed away. The temples were,\nin fact, the nuclei of the towns, the centres round which the Maya\ncommunities were grouped, much in the same manner as the cities of\nEurope in the Middle Ages clustered and grew around the shadow of\nsome vast cathedral or sheltering stronghold.\n\n\n\nEarly Race Movements\n\nWe shall leave the consideration of Maya tradition until we come to\nspeak of Maya myth proper, and attempt to glean from the chaos of\nlegend some veritable facts connected with Maya history. According to\na manuscript of Kuikatec origin recently discovered, it is probable\nthat a Nahua invasion of the Maya states of Chiapas and Tabasco took\nplace about the ninth century of our era, and we must for the present\nregard that as the starting-point of Maya history. The south-western\nportions of the Maya territory were agitated about the same time by\nrace movements, which turned northward toward Tehuantepec, and, flowing\nthrough Guatemala, came to rest in Acalan, on the borders of Yucatan,\nretarded, probably, by the inhospitable and waterless condition of\nthat country. This Nahua invasion probably had the effect of driving\nthe more peaceful Maya from their northerly settlements and forcing\nthem farther south. Indeed, evidence is not wanting to show that\nthe warlike Nahua pursued the pacific Maya into their new retreats,\nand for a space left them but little peace. This struggle it was\nwhich finally resulted in the breaking up of the Maya civilisation,\nwhich even at that relatively remote period had reached its apogee,\nits several races separating into numerous city-states, which bore\na close political resemblance to those of Italy on the downfall of\nRome. At this period, probably, began the cleavage between the Maya\nof Yucatan and those of Guatemala, which finally resolved itself\ninto such differences of speech, faith, and architecture as almost\nto constitute them different peoples.\n\n\n\nThe Settlement of Yucatan\n\nAs the Celts of Wales and Scotland were driven into the less hospitable\nregions of their respective countries by the inroads of the Saxons,\nso was one branch of the Maya forced to seek shelter in the almost\ndesert wastes of Yucatan. There can be no doubt that the Maya did not\ntake to this barren and waterless land of their own accord. Thrifty\nand possessed of high agricultural attainments, this people would\nview with concern a removal to a sphere so forbidding after the rich\nand easily developed country they had inhabited for generations. But\nthe inexorable Nahua were behind, and they were a peaceful folk,\nunused to the horrors of savage warfare. So, taking their courage\nin both hands, they wandered into the desert. Everything points to\na late occupation of Yucatan by the Maya, and architectural effort\nexhibits deterioration, evidenced in a high conventionality of design\nand excess of ornamentation. Evidences of Nahua influence also are\nnot wanting, a fact which is eloquent of the later period of contact\nwhich is known to have occurred between the peoples, and which alone\nis almost sufficient to fix the date of the settlement of the Maya in\nYucatan. It must not be thought that the Maya in Yucatan formed one\nhomogeneous state recognising a central authority. On the contrary, as\nis often the case with colonists, the several Maya bands of immigrants\nformed themselves into different states or kingdoms, each having its\nown separate traditions. It is thus a matter of the highest difficulty\nto so collate and criticise these traditions as to construct a history\nof the Maya race in Yucatan. As may be supposed, we find the various\ncity-sites founded by divine beings who play a more or less important\npart in the Maya pantheon. Kukulcan, for example, is the first king\nof Mayapan, whilst Itzamna figures as the founder of the state of\nItzamal. The gods were the spiritual leaders of these bands of Maya,\njust as Jehovah was the spiritual leader and guide of the Israelites\nin the desert. One is therefore not surprised to find in the Popol\nVuh, the saga of the Kiche-Maya of Guatemala, that the god Tohil\n(The Rumbler) guided them to the site of the first Kiche city. Some\nwriters on the subject appear to think that the incidents in such\nmigration myths, especially the tutelage and guidance of the tribes\nby gods and the descriptions of desert scenery which they contain,\nsuffice to stamp them as mere native versions of the Book of Exodus,\nor at the best myths sophisticated by missionary influence. The truth\nis that the conditions of migration undergone by the Maya were similar\nto those described in the Scriptures, and by no means merely reflect\nthe Bible story, as short-sighted collators of both aver.\n\n\n\nThe Septs of Yucatan\n\nThe priest-kings of Mayapan, who claimed descent from Kukulcan or\nQuetzalcoatl, soon raised their state into a position of prominence\namong the surrounding cities. Those who had founded Chichen-Itza,\nand who were known as Itzaes, were, on the other hand, a caste of\nwarriors who do not appear to have cherished the priestly function\nwith such assiduity. The rulers of the Itzaes, who were known as the\nTutul Xius, seem to have come, according to their traditions, from the\nwestern Maya states, perhaps from Nonohualco in Tabasco. Arriving from\nthence at the southern extremity of Yucatan, they founded the city\nof Ziyan Caan, on Lake Bacalar, which had a period of prosperity for\nat least a couple of generations. At the expiry of that period for\nsome unaccountable reason they migrated northward, perhaps because\nat that particular time the incidence of power was shifting toward\nNorthern Yucatan, and took up their abode in Chichen-Itza, eventually\nthe sacred city of the Maya, which they founded.\n\n\n\nThe Cocomes\n\nBut they were not destined to remain undisturbed in their new\nsphere. The Cocomes of Mayapan, when at the height of their power,\nviewed with disfavour the settlement of the Tutul Xius. After it had\nflourished for a period of about 120 years it was overthrown by the\nCocomes, who resolved it into a dependency, permitting the governors\nand a certain number of the people to depart elsewhere.\n\n\n\nFlight of the Tutul Xius\n\nThus expelled, the Tutul Xius fled southward, whence they had\noriginally come, and settled in Potonchan or Champoton, where they\nreigned for nearly 300 years. From this new centre, with the aid of\nNahua mercenaries, they commenced an extension of territory northward,\nand entered into diplomatic relations with the heads of the other\nMaya states. It was at this time that they built Uxmal, and their\npower became so extensive that they reconquered the territory they had\nlost to the Cocomes. This on the whole appears to have been a period\nwhen the arts flourished under an enlightened policy, which knew how\nto make and keep friendly relations with surrounding states, and the\nsplendid network of roads with which the country was covered and the\nmany evidences of architectural excellence go to prove that the race\nhad had leisure to achieve much in art and works of utility. Thus\nthe city of Chichen-Itza was linked up with the island of Cozumel\nby a highway whereon thousands of pilgrims plodded to the temples of\nthe gods of wind and moisture. From Itzamal, too, roads branched in\nevery direction, in order that the people should have every facility\nfor reaching the chief shrine of the country situated there. But the\nhand of the Cocomes was heavy upon the other Maya states which were\ntributary to them. As in the Yucatan of to-day, where the wretched\nhenequen-picker leads the life of a veritable slave, a crushing system\nof helotage obtained. The Cocomes made heavy demands upon the Tutul\nXius, who in their turn sweated the hapless folk under their sway past\nthe bounds of human endurance. As in all tottering civilisations, the\nfeeling of responsibility among the upper classes became dormant, and\nthey abandoned themselves to the pleasures of life without thought of\nthe morrow. Morality ceased to be regarded as a virtue, and rottenness\nwas at the core of Maya life. Discontent quickly spread on every hand.\n\n\n\nThe Revolution in Mayapan\n\nThe sequel was, naturally, revolution. Ground down by the tyranny of\na dissolute oligarchy, the subject states rose in revolt. The Cocomes\nsurrounded themselves by Nahua mercenaries, who succeeded in beating\noff the first wave of revolt, led by the king or regulus of Uxmal,\nwho was defeated, and whose people in their turn rose against him, a\ncircumstance which ended in the abandonment of the city of Uxmal. Once\nmore were the Tutul Xius forced to go on pilgrimage, and this time\nthey founded the city of Mani, a mere shadow of the splendour of\nUxmal and Chichen.\n\n\n\nHunac Eel\n\nIf the aristocracy of the Cocomes was composed of weaklings, its\nruler was made of sterner stuff. Hunac Eel, who exercised royal sway\nover this people, and held in subjection the lesser principalities of\nYucatan, was not only a tyrant of harsh and vindictive temperament,\nbut a statesman of judgment and experience, who courted the assistance\nof the neighbouring Nahua, whom he employed in his campaign against the\nnew assailant of his absolutism, the ruler of Chichen-Itza. Mustering\na mighty host of his vassals, Hunac Eel marched against the devoted\ncity whose prince had dared to challenge his supremacy, and succeeded\nin inflicting a crushing defeat upon its inhabitants. But apparently\nthe state was permitted to remain under the sovereignty of its\nnative princes. The revolt, however, merely smouldered, and in the\nkingdom of Mayapan itself, the territory of the Cocomes, the fires of\nrevolution began to blaze. This state of things continued for nearly\na century. Then the crash came. The enemies of the Cocomes effected a\njunction. The people of Chichen-Itza joined hands with the Tutul Xius,\nwho had sought refuge in the central highlands of Yucatan and those\ncity-states which clustered around the mother-city of Mayapan. A fierce\nconcerted attack was made, beneath which the power of the Cocomes\ncrumpled up completely. Not one stone was left standing upon another\nby the exasperated allies, who thus avenged the helotage of nearly\n300 years. To this event the date 1436 is assigned, but, like most\ndates in Maya history, considerable uncertainty must be attached to it.\n\n\n\nThe Last of the Cocomes\n\nOnly a remnant of the Cocomes survived. They had been absent in\nNahua territory, attempting to raise fresh troops for the defence of\nMayapan. These the victors spared, and they finally settled in Zotuta,\nin the centre of Yucatan, a region of almost impenetrable forest.\n\nIt would not appear that the city of Chichen-Itza, the prince\nof which was ever the head and front of the rebellion against the\nCocomes, profited in any way from the fall of the suzerain power. On\nthe contrary, tradition has it that the town was abandoned by its\ninhabitants, and left to crumble into the ruinous state in which the\nSpaniards found it on their entrance into the country. The probability\nis that its people quitted it because of the repeated attacks made\nupon it by the Cocomes, who saw in it the chief obstacle to their\nuniversal sway; and this is supported by tradition, which tells that a\nprince of Chichen-Itza, worn out with conflict and internecine strife,\nleft it to seek the cradle of the Maya race in the land of the setting\nsun. Indeed, it is further stated that this prince founded the city\nof Peten-Itza, on the lake of Peten, in Guatemala.\n\n\n\nThe Maya Peoples of Guatemala\n\nWhen the Maya peoples of Guatemala, the Kiches and the Kakchiquels,\nfirst made their way into that territory, they probably found there\na race of Maya origin of a type more advanced and possessed of more\nancient traditions than themselves. By their connection with this\nfolk they greatly benefited in the direction of artistic achievement\nas well as in the industrial arts. Concerning these people we have\na large body of tradition in the Popol Vuh, a native chronicle, the\ncontents of which will be fully dealt with in the chapter relating\nto the Maya myths and legendary matter. We cannot deal with it as a\nveritable historical document, but there is little doubt that a basis\nof fact exists behind the tradition it contains. The difference between\nthe language of these people and that of their brethren in Yucatan was,\nas has been said, one of dialect only, and a like slight distinction\nis found in their mythology, caused, doubtless, by the incidence of\nlocal conditions, and resulting in part from the difference between a\nlevel and comparatively waterless land and one of a semi-mountainous\ncharacter covered with thick forests. We shall note further differences\nwhen we come to examine the art and architecture of the Maya race,\nand to compare those of its two most distinctive branches.\n\n\n\nThe Maya Tulan\n\nIt was to the city of Tulan, probably in Tabasco, that the Maya\nof Guatemala referred as being the starting-point of all their\nmigrations. We must not confound this place with the Tollan of the\nMexican traditions. It is possible that the name may in both cases\nbe derived from a root meaning a place from which a tribe set forth,\na starting-place, but geographical connection there is none. From here\nNima-Kiche, the great Kiche, started on his migration to the mountains,\naccompanied by his three brothers. Tulan, says the Popol Vuh, had been\na place of misfortune to man, for he had suffered much from cold and\nhunger, and, as at the building of Babel, his speech was so confounded\nthat the first four Kiches and their wives were unable to comprehend\none another. Of course this is a native myth created to account for the\ndifference in dialect between the various branches of the Maya folk,\nand can scarcely have any foundation in fact, as the change in dialect\nwould be a very gradual process. The brothers, we are told, divided\nthe land so that one received the districts of Mames and Pocomams,\nanother Verapaz, and the third Chiapas, while Nima-Kiche obtained\nthe country of the Kiches, Kakchiquels, and Tzutuhils. It would be\nextremely difficult to say whether or not this tradition rests on any\nveritable historical basis. If so, it refers to a period anterior to\nthe Nahua irruption, for the districts alluded to as occupied by these\ntribes were not so divided among them at the coming of the Spaniards.\n\n\n\nDoubtful Dynasties\n\nAs with the earlier dynasties of Egypt, considerable doubt surrounds\nthe history of the early Kiche monarchs. Indeed, a period of such\nuncertainty occurs that even the number of kings who reigned is\nlost in the hopeless confusion of varying estimates. From this chaos\nemerge the facts that the Kiche monarchs held the supreme power among\nthe peoples of Guatemala, that they were the contemporaries of the\nrulers of Mexico city, and that they were often elected from among the\nprinces of the subject states. Acxopil, the successor of Nima-Kiche,\ninvested his second son with the government of the Kakchiquels, and\nplaced his youngest son over the Tzutuhils, whilst to his eldest\nson he left the throne of the Kiches. Icutemal, his eldest son,\non succeeding his father, gifted the kingdom of Kakchiquel to his\neldest son, displacing his own brother and thus mortally affronting\nhim. The struggle which ensued lasted for generations, embittered\nthe relations between these two branches of the Maya in Guatemala,\nand undermined their joint strength. Nahua mercenaries were employed\nin the struggle on both sides, and these introduced many of the\nuglinesses of Nahua life into Maya existence.\n\n\n\nThe Coming of the Spaniards\n\nThis condition of things lasted up to the time of the coming of the\nSpaniards. The Kakchiquels dated the commencement of a new chronology\nfrom the episode of the defeat of Cay Hun-Apu by them in 1492. They\nmay have saved themselves the trouble; for the time was at hand when\nthe calendars of their race were to be closed, and its records written\nin another script by another people. One by one, and chiefly by reason\nof their insane policy of allying themselves with the invader against\ntheir own kin, the old kingdoms of Guatemala fell as spoil to the\ndaring Conquistadores, and their people passed beneath the yoke of\nSpain--bondsmen who were to beget countless generations of slaves.\n\n\n\nThe Riddle of Ancient Maya Writing\n\nWhat may possibly be the most valuable sources of Maya history\nare, alas! sealed to us at present. We allude to the native Maya\nmanuscripts and inscriptions, the writing of which cannot be deciphered\nby present-day scholars. Some of the old Spanish friars who lived in\nthe times which directly succeeded the settlement of the country by\nthe white man were able to read and even to write this script, but\nunfortunately they regarded it either as an invention of the Father\nof Evil or, as it was a native system, as a thing of no value. In\na few generations all knowledge of how to decipher it was totally\nlost, and it remains to the modern world almost as a sealed book,\nalthough science has lavished all its wonderful machinery of logic\nand deduction upon it, and men of unquestioned ability have dedicated\ntheir lives to the problem of unravelling what must be regarded as\none of the greatest and most mysterious riddles of which mankind ever\nattempted the solution.\n\nThe romance of the discovery of the key to the Egyptian hieroglyphic\nsystem of writing is well known. For centuries the symbols displayed\nupon the temples and monuments of the Nile country were so many\nmeaningless pictures and signs to the learned folk of Europe, until\nthe discovery of the Rosetta stone a hundred years ago made their\nelucidation possible. This stone bore the same inscription in Greek,\ndemotic, and hieroglyphics, and so the discovery of the \"alphabet\" of\nthe hidden script became a comparatively easy task. But Central America\nhas no Rosetta stone, nor is it possible that such an aid to research\ncan ever be found. Indeed, such \"keys\" as have been discovered or\nbrought forward by scientists have proved for the most part unavailing.\n\n\n\nThe Maya Manuscripts\n\nThe principal Maya manuscripts which have escaped the ravages of time\nare the codices in the libraries of Dresden, Paris, and Madrid. These\nare known as the Codex Perezianus, preserved in the Biblioth\u00e8que\nNationale at Paris, the Dresden Codex, long regarded as an Aztec\nmanuscript, and the Troano Codex, so called from one of its owners,\nSe\u00f1or Tro y Ortolano, found at Madrid in 1865. These manuscripts deal\nprincipally with Maya mythology, but as they cannot be deciphered\nwith any degree of accuracy they do not greatly assist our knowledge\nof the subject.\n\n\n\nThe System of the Writing\n\nThe \"Tablet of the Cross\" gives a good idea of the general appearance\nof the writing system of the ancient peoples of Central America. The\nstyle varies somewhat in most of the manuscripts and inscriptions,\nbut it is generally admitted that all of the systems employed sprang\noriginally from one common source. The square figures which appear\nas a tangle of faces and objects are said to be \"calculiform,\" or\npebble-shaped, a not inappropriate description, and it is known from\nancient Spanish manuscripts that they were read from top to bottom,\nand two columns at a time. The Maya tongue, like all native American\nlanguages, was one which, in order to express an idea, gathered a\nwhole phrase into a single word, and it has been thought that the\nseveral symbols or parts in each square or sketch go to make up such\na compound expression.\n\nThe first key (so called) to the hieroglyphs of Central America\nwas that of Bishop Landa, who about 1575 attempted to set down the\nMaya alphabet from native sources. He was highly unpopular with the\nnatives, whose literary treasures he had almost completely destroyed,\nand who in revenge deliberately misled him as to the true significance\nof the various symbols.\n\nThe first real step toward reading the Maya writing was made in\n1876 by L\u00e9on de Rosny, a French student of American antiquities, who\nsucceeded in interpreting the signs which denote the four cardinal\npoints. As has been the case in so many discoveries of importance,\nthe significance of these signs was simultaneously discovered by\nProfessor Cyrus Thomas in America. In two of these four signs was\nfound the symbol which meant \"sun,\" almost, as de Rosny acknowledged,\nas a matter of course. However, the Maya word for \"sun\" (kin) also\ndenotes \"day,\" and it was later proved that this sign was also used\nwith the latter meaning. The discovery of the sign stimulated further\nresearch to a great degree, and from the material now at their disposal\nDrs. F\u00f6rstemann and Schellhas of Berlin were successful in discovering\nthe sign for the moon and that for the Maya month of twenty days.\n\n\n\nClever Elucidations\n\nIn 1887 Dr. Seler discovered the sign for night (akbal), and in 1894\nF\u00f6rstemann unriddled the symbols for \"beginning\" and \"end.\" These\nare two heads, the first of which has the sign akbal, just mentioned,\nfor an eye. Now akbal means, as well as \"night,\" \"the beginning of the\nmonth,\" and below the face which contains it can be seen footsteps, or\nspots which resemble their outline, signifying a forward movement. The\nsign in the second head means \"seventh,\" which in Maya also signifies\n\"the end.\" From the frequent contrast of these terms there can be\nlittle doubt that their meaning is as stated.\n\n\"Union\" is denoted by the sting of a rattlesnake, the coils of that\nreptile signifying to the Maya the idea of tying together. In contrast\nto this sign is the figure next to it, which represents a knife,\nand means \"division\" or \"cutting.\" An important \"letter\" is the\nhand, which often occurs in both manuscripts and inscriptions. It is\ndrawn sometimes in the act of grasping, with the thumb bent forward,\nand sometimes as pointing in a certain direction. The first seems\nto denote a tying together or joining, like the rattlesnake symbol,\nand the second F\u00f6rstemann believes to represent a lapse of time. That\nit may represent futurity occurs as a more likely conjecture to the\npresent writer.\n\nThe figure denoting the spring equinox was traced because of\nits obvious representation of a cloud from which three streams of\nwater are falling upon the earth. The square at the top represents\nheaven. The obsidian knife underneath denotes a division or period\nof time cut off, as it were, from other periods of the year. That\nthe sign means \"spring\" is verified by its position among the other\nsigns of the seasons.\n\nThe sign for \"week\" was discovered by reason of its almost constant\naccompaniment of the sign for the number thirteen, the number of days\nin the Maya sacred week. The symbol of the bird's feather indicates the\nplural, and when affixed to certain signs signifies that the object\nindicated is multiplied. A bird's feather, when one thinks of it,\nis one of the most fitting symbols provided by nature to designate\nthe plural, if the number of shoots on both sides of the stem are\ntaken as meaning \"many\" or \"two.\"\n\nWater is depicted by the figure of a serpent, which reptile typifies\nthe undulating nature of the element. The sign entitled \"the\nsacrificial victim\" is of deep human interest. The first portion of\nthe symbol is the death-bird, and the second shows a crouching and\nbeaten captive, ready to be immolated to one of the terrible Maya\ndeities whose sanguinary religion demanded human sacrifice. The\ndrawing which means \"the day of the new year,\" in the month Ceh,\nwas unriddled by the following means: The sign in the upper left-hand\ncorner denotes the word \"sun\" or \"day,\" that in the upper right-hand\ncorner is the sign for \"year.\" In the lower right-hand corner is the\nsign for \"division,\" and in the lower left-hand the sign for the Maya\nmonth Ceh, already known from the native calendars.\n\nFrom its accompaniment of a figure known to be a deity of the four\ncardinal points, whence all American tribes believed the wind to come,\nthe symbol entitled \"wind\" has been determined.\n\n\n\nMethods of Study\n\nThe method employed by those engaged in the elucidation of these\nhieroglyphs is typical of modern science. The various signs and symbols\nare literally \"worn out\" by a process of indefatigable examination. For\nhours the student sits staring at a symbol, drinking in every detail,\nhowever infinitesimal, until the drawing and all its parts are wholly\nand separately photographed upon the tablets of his memory. He then\ncompares the several portions of the symbol with similar portions in\nother signs the value of which is known. From these he may obtain a\nclue to the meaning of the whole. Thus proceeding from the known to\nthe unknown, he advances logically toward a complete elucidation of all\nthe hieroglyphs depicted in the various manuscripts and inscriptions.\n\nThe method by which Dr. Seler discovered the hieroglyphs or\nsymbols relating to the various gods of the Maya was both simple\nand ingenious. He says: \"The way in which this was accomplished is\nstrikingly simple. It amounts essentially to that which in ordinary\nlife we call 'memory of persons,' and follows almost naturally\nfrom a careful study of the manuscripts. For, by frequently looking\ntentatively at the representations, one learns by degrees to recognise\npromptly similar and familiar figures of gods by the characteristic\nimpression they make as a whole or by certain details, and the same\nis true of the accompanying hieroglyphs.\"\n\n\n\nThe Maya Numeral System\n\nIf Bishop Landa was badly hoaxed regarding the alphabet of the Maya,\nhe was successful in discovering and handing down their numeral system,\nwhich was on a very much higher basis than that of many civilised\npeoples, being, for example, more practical and more fully evolved\nthan that of ancient Rome. This system employed four signs altogether,\nthe point for unity, a horizontal stroke for the number 5, and two\nsigns for 20 and 0. Yet from these simple elements the Maya produced a\nmethod of computation which is perhaps as ingenious as anything which\nhas ever been accomplished in the history of mathematics. In the Maya\narithmetical system, as in ours, it is the position of the sign that\ngives it its value. The figures were placed in a vertical line, and\none of them was employed as a decimal multiplier. The lowest figure\nof the column had the arithmetical value which it represented. The\nfigures which appeared in the second, fourth, and each following\nplace had twenty times the value of the preceding figures, while\nfigures in the third place had eighteen times the value of those in\nthe second place. This system admits of computation up to millions,\nand is one of the surest signs of Maya culture.\n\nMuch controversy has raged round the exact nature of the Maya\nhieroglyphs. Were they understood by the Indians themselves as\nrepresenting ideas or merely pictures, or did they convey a given sound\nto the reader, as does our alphabet? To some extent controversy upon\nthe point is futile, as those of the Spanish clergy who were able to\nlearn the writing from the native Maya have confirmed its phonetic\ncharacter, so that in reality each symbol must have conveyed a sound\nor sounds to the reader, not merely an idea or a picture. Recent\nresearch has amply proved this, so that the full elucidation of the\nlong and painful puzzle on which so much learning and patience have\nbeen lavished may perhaps be at hand.\n\n\n\nMythology of the Maya\n\nThe Maya pantheon, although it bears a strong resemblance to that of\nthe Nahua, differs from it in so many respects that it is easy to\nobserve that at one period it must have been absolutely free from\nall Nahua influence. We may, then, provisionally accept the theory\nthat at some relatively distant period the mythologies of the Nahua\nand Maya were influenced from one common centre, if they were not\noriginally identical, but that later the inclusion in the cognate\nbut divided systems of local deities and the superimposition of the\ndeities and rites of immigrant peoples had caused such differentiation\nas to render somewhat vague the original likeness between them. In\nthe Mexican mythology we have as a key-note the custom of human\nsacrifice. It has often been stated as exhibiting the superior status\nin civilisation of the Maya that their religion was free from the\nrevolting practices which characterised the Nahua faith. This,\nhowever, is totally erroneous. Although the Maya were not nearly\nso prone to the practice of human sacrifice as were the Nahua, they\nfrequently engaged in it, and the pictures which have been drawn of\ntheir bloodless offerings must not lead us to believe that they never\nindulged in this rite. It is known, for example, that they sacrificed\nmaidens to the water-god at the period of the spring florescence,\nby casting them into a deep pool, where they were drowned.\n\n\n\nQuetzalcoatl among the Maya\n\nOne of the most obvious of the mythological relationships between\nthe Maya and Nahua is exhibited in the Maya cult of the god\nQuetzalcoatl. It seems to have been a general belief in Mexico\nthat Quetzalcoatl was a god foreign to the soil; or at least\nrelatively aboriginal to his rival Tezcatlipoca, if not to the\nNahua themselves. It is amusing to see it stated by authorities of\nthe highest standing that his worship was free from bloodshed. But\nit does not appear whether the sanguinary rites connected with the\nname of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico were undertaken by his priests of\ntheir own accord or at the instigation and pressure of the pontiff of\nHuitzilopochtli, under whose jurisdiction they were. The designation by\nwhich Quetzalcoatl was known to the Maya was Kukulcan, which signifies\n\"Feathered Serpent,\" and is exactly translated by his Mexican name. In\nGuatemala he was called Gucumatz, which word is also identical in\nKiche with his other native appellations. But the Kukulcan of the\nMaya appears to be dissimilar from Quetzalcoatl in several of his\nattributes. The difference in climate would probably account for most\nof these. In Mexico Quetzalcoatl, as we have seen, was not only the\nMan of the Sun, but the original wind-god of the country. The Kukulcan\nof the Maya has more the attributes of a thunder-god. In the tropical\nclimate of Yucatan and Guatemala the sun at midday appears to draw the\nclouds around it in serpentine shapes. From these emanate thunder and\nlightning and the fertilising rain, so that Kukulcan would appear to\nhave appealed to the Maya more as a god of the sky who wielded the\nthunderbolts than a god of the atmosphere proper like Quetzalcoatl,\nthough several of the stel\u00e6 in Yucatan represent Kukulcan as he is\nportrayed in Mexico, with wind issuing from his mouth.\n\n\n\nAn Alphabet of Gods\n\nThe principal sources of our knowledge of the Maya deities are the\nDresden, Madrid, and Paris codices alluded to previously, all of\nwhich contain many pictorial representations of the various members\nof the Maya pantheon. Of the very names of some of these gods we are\nso ignorant, and so difficult is the process of affixing to them the\ntraditional names which are left to us as those of the Maya gods,\nthat Dr. Paul Schellhas, a German student of Maya antiquities, has\nproposed that the figures of deities appearing in the Maya codices\nor manuscripts should be provisionally indicated by the letters of\nthe alphabet. The figures of gods which thus occur are fifteen in\nnumber, and therefore take the letters of the alphabet from A to P,\nthe letter J being omitted.\n\n\n\nDifficulties of Comparison\n\nUnluckily the accounts of Spanish authors concerning Maya mythology\ndo not agree with the representations of the gods delineated in\nthe codices. That the three codices have a mythology in common is\ncertain. Again, great difficulty is found in comparing the deities of\nthe codices with those represented by the carved and stucco bas-reliefs\nof the Maya region. It will thus be seen that very considerable\ndifficulties beset the student in this mythological sphere. So few data\nhave yet been collected regarding the Maya mythology that to dogmatise\nupon any subject connected with it would indeed be rash. But much\nhas been accomplished in the past few decades, and evidence is slowly\nbut surely accumulating from which sound conclusions can be drawn.\n\n\n\nThe Conflict between Light and Darkness\n\nWe witness in the Maya mythology a dualism almost as complete as that\nof ancient Persia--the conflict between light and darkness. Opposing\neach other we behold on the one hand the deities of the sun, the\ngods of warmth and light, of civilisation and the joy of life,\nand on the other the deities of darksome death, of night, gloom,\nand fear. From these primal conceptions of light and darkness all\nthe mythologic forms of the Maya are evolved. When we catch the first\nrecorded glimpses of Maya belief we recognise that at the period when\nit came under the purview of Europeans the gods of darkness were in\nthe ascendant and a deep pessimism had spread over Maya thought and\ntheology. Its joyful side was subordinated to the worship of gloomy\nbeings, the deities of death and hell, and if the cult of light\nwas attended with such touching fidelity it was because the benign\nagencies who were worshipped in connection with it had promised not\nto desert mankind altogether, but to return at some future indefinite\nperiod and resume their sway of radiance and peace.\n\n\n\nThe Calendar\n\nLike that of the Nahua, the Maya mythology was based almost entirely\nupon the calendar, which in its astronomic significance and duration\nwas identical with that of the Mexicans. The ritual year of twenty\n\"weeks\" of thirteen days each was divided into four quarters, each\nof these being under the auspices of a different quarter of the\nheavens. Each \"week\" was under the supervision of a particular deity,\nas will be seen when we come to deal separately with the various gods.\n\n\n\nTraditional Knowledge of the Gods\n\nThe heavenly bodies had important representation in the Maya\npantheon. In Yucatan the sun-god was known as Kinich-ahau (Lord of\nthe Face of the Sun). He was identified with the Fire-bird, or Arara,\nand was thus called Kinich-Kakmo (Fire-bird; lit. Sun-bird). He was\nalso the presiding genius of the north.\n\nItzamna, one of the most important of the Maya deities, was a\nmoon-god, the father of gods and men. In him was typified the\ndecay and recurrence of life in nature. His name was derived from\nthe words he was supposed to have given to men regarding himself:\n\"Itz en caan, itz en muyal\" (\"I am the dew of the heaven, I am the\ndew of the clouds\"). He was tutelar deity of the west.\n\nChac, the rain-god, is the possessor of an elongated nose, not unlike\nthe proboscis of a tapir, which of course is the spout whence comes the\nrain which he blows over the earth. He is one of the best represented\ngods on both manuscripts and monuments, and presides over the east. The\nblack god Ekchuah was the god of merchants and cacao-planters. He is\nrepresented in the manuscripts several times.\n\nIx ch'el was the goddess of medicine, and Ix chebel yax was identified\nby the priest Hernandez with the Virgin Mary. There were also several\ndeities, or rather genii, called Bacabs, who were the upholders\nof the heavens in the four quarters of the sky. The names of these\nwere Kan, Muluc, Ix, and Cauac, representing the east, north, west,\nand south. Their symbolic colours were yellow, white, black, and red\nrespectively. They corresponded in some degree to the four variants of\nthe Mexican rain-god Tlaloc, for many of the American races believed\nthat rain, the fertiliser of the soil, emanated from the four points of\nthe compass. We shall find still other deities when we come to discuss\nthe Popol Vuh, the saga-book of the Kiche, but it is difficult to say\nhow far these were connected with the deities of the Maya of Yucatan,\nconcerning whom we have little traditional knowledge, and it is better\nto deal with them separately, pointing out resemblances where these\nappear to exist.\n\n\n\nMaya Polytheism\n\nOn the whole the Maya do not seem to have been burdened with an\nextensive pantheon, as were the Nahua, and their polytheism appears\nto have been of a limited character. Although they possessed a number\nof divinities, these were in a great measure only different forms of\none and the same divine power--probably localised forms of it. The\nvarious Maya tribes worshipped similar gods under different names. They\nrecognised divine unity in the god Hunabku, who was invisible and\nsupreme, but he does not bulk largely in their mythology, any more than\ndoes the universal All-Father in other early faiths. The sun is the\ngreat deity in Maya religion, and the myths which tell of the origin\nof the Maya people are purely solar. As the sun comes from the east,\nso the hero-gods who bring with them culture and enlightenment have\nan oriental origin. As Votan, as Kabil, the \"Red Hand\" who initiates\nthe people into the arts of writing and architecture, these gods are\ncivilising men of the sun as surely as is Quetzalcoatl.\n\n\n\nThe Bat-God\n\nA sinister figure, the prince of the Maya legions of darkness, is\nthe bat-god, Zotzilaha Chimalman, who dwelt in the \"House of Bats,\"\na gruesome cavern on the way to the abodes of darkness and death. He\nis undoubtedly a relic of cave-worship pure and simple. \"The Maya,\"\nsays an old chronicler, \"have an immoderate fear of death, and they\nseem to have given it a figure peculiarly repulsive.\" We shall find\nthis deity alluded to in the Popol Vuh, under the name Camazotz,\nin close proximity to the Lords of Death and Hell, attempting to\nbar the journey of the hero-gods across these dreary realms. He\nis frequently met with on the Copan reliefs, and a Maya clan, the\nAh-zotzils, were called by his name. They were of Kakchiquel origin,\nand he was probably their totem.\n\n\n\nModern Research\n\nWe must now turn to the question of what modern research has done to\nelucidate the character of the various Maya deities. We have already\nseen that they have been provisionally named by the letters of the\nalphabet until such proof is forthcoming as will identify them with\nthe traditional gods of the Maya, and we will now briefly examine\nwhat is known concerning them under their temporary designations.\n\n\n\nGod A\n\nIn the Dresden and other codices god A is represented as a figure\nwith exposed vertebr\u00e6 and skull-like countenance, with the marks of\ncorruption on his body, and displaying every sign of mortality. On\nhis head he wears a snail-symbol, the Aztec sign of birth, perhaps to\ntypify the connection between birth and death. He also wears a pair of\ncross-bones. The hieroglyph which accompanies his figure represents a\ncorpse's head with closed eyes, a skull, and a sacrificial knife. His\nsymbol is that for the calendar day Cimi, which means death. He\npresides over the west, the home of the dead, the region toward\nwhich they invariably depart with the setting sun. That he is a\ndeath-god there can be no doubt, but of his name we are ignorant. He\nis probably identical with the Aztec god of death and hell, Mictlan,\nand is perhaps one of those Lords of Death and Hell who invite the\nheroes to the celebrated game of ball in the Kiche Popol Vuh, and\nhold them prisoners in their gloomy realm.\n\nGod B is the deity who appears most frequently in the manuscripts. He\nhas a long, truncated nose, like that of a tapir, and we find in\nhim every sign of a god of the elements. He walks the waters, wields\nfiery torches, and seats himself on the cruciform tree of the four\nwinds which appears so frequently in American myth. He is evidently a\nculture-god or hero, as he is seen planting maize, carrying tools, and\ngoing on a journey, a fact which establishes his solar connection. He\nis, in fact, Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, and on examining him we feel\nthat at least there can be no doubt concerning his identity.\n\nConcerning god C matter is lacking, but he is evidently a god of the\npole-star, as in one of the codices he is surrounded by planetary\nsigns and wears a nimbus of rays.\n\nGod D is almost certainly a moon-god. He is represented as an aged\nman, with sunken cheeks and wrinkled forehead on which hangs the\nsign for night. His hieroglyph is surrounded by dots, to represent a\nstarry sky, and is followed by the number 20, to show the duration\nof the moon. Like most moon deities he is connected with birth,\nfor occasionally he wears the snail, symbol of parturition, on his\nhead. It is probable that he is Itzamna, one of the greatest of Maya\ngods, who was regarded as the universal life-giver, and was probably\nof very ancient origin.\n\n\n\nThe Maize-God\n\nGod E is another deity whom we have no difficulty in identifying. He\nwears the leafed ear of maize as his head-dress. In fact, his head has\nbeen evolved out of the conventional drawings of the ear of maize, so\nwe may say at once without any difficulty that he is a maize-god pure\nand simple, and a parallel with the Aztec maize-god Centeotl. Brinton\ncalls this god Ghanan, and Schellhas thinks he may be identical with\na deity Yum Kaax, whose name means \"Lord of the Harvest Fields.\"\n\nA close resemblance can be noticed between gods F and A, and it is\nthought that the latter resembles the Aztec Xipe, the god of human\nsacrifice. He is adorned with the same black lines running over the\nface and body, typifying gaping death-wounds.\n\n\n\nThe Sun-God\n\nIn G we may be sure that we have found a sun-god par excellence. His\nhieroglyph is the sun-sign, kin. But we must be careful not to\nconfound him with deities like Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. He is, like\nthe Mexican Totec, the sun itself, and not the Man of the Sun, the\ncivilising agent, who leaves his bright abode to dwell with man and\nintroduce him to the arts of cultured existence. He is the luminary\nhimself, whose only acceptable food is human blood, and who must be\nfed full with this terrible fare or perish, dragging the world of men\nwith him into a fathomless abyss of gloom. We need not be surprised,\ntherefore, to see god G occasionally wearing the symbols of death.\n\nGod H would seem to have some relationship to the serpent, but what\nit may be is obscure, and no certain identification can be made.\n\nI is a water-goddess, an old woman with wrinkled brown body and\nclaw-like feet, wearing on her head a grisly snake twisted into\na knot, to typify the serpent-like nature of water. She holds in\nher hands an earthenware pot from which water flows. We cannot say\nthat she resembles the Mexican water-goddess, Chalchihuitlicue,\nwife of Tlaloc, who was in most respects a deity of a beneficent\ncharacter. I seems a personification of water in its more dreadful\naspect of floods and water-spouts, as it must inevitably have appeared\nto the people of the more torrid regions of Central America, and that\nshe was regarded as an agent of death is shown from her occasionally\nwearing the cross-bones of the death-god.\n\n\n\n\"The God with the Ornamented Nose\"\n\nGod K is scientifically known as \"the god with the ornamented nose,\"\nand is probably closely related to god B. Concerning him no two\nauthorities are at one, some regarding him as a storm-god, whose\nproboscis, like that of Kukulcan, is intended to represent the blast of\nthe tempest. But we observe certain stellar signs in connection with\nK which would go to prove that he is, indeed, one of the Quetzalcoatl\ngroup. His features are constantly to be met with on the gateways and\ncorners of the ruined shrines of Central America, and have led many\n\"antiquarians\" to believe in the existence of an elephant-headed god,\nwhereas his trunk-like snout is merely a funnel through which he\nemitted the gales over which he had dominion, as a careful study of\nthe pinturas shows, the wind being depicted issuing from the snout\nin question. At the same time, the snout may have been modelled on\nthat of the tapir. \"If the rain-god Chac is distinguished in the Maya\nmanuscript by a peculiarly long nose curving over the mouth, and if\nin the other forms of the rain-god, to which, as it seems, the name\nof Balon Zacab belongs, the nose widens out and sends out shoots,\nI believe that the tapir which was employed identically with Chac,\nthe Maya rain-god, furnished the model,\" says Dr. Seler. Is K, then,\nthe same as Chac? Chac bears every sign of affinity with the Mexican\nrain-god Tlaloc, whose face was evolved from the coils of two snakes,\nand also some resemblance to the snouted features of B and K. But,\nagain, the Mexican pictures of Quetzalcoatl are not at all like\nthose of Tlaloc, so that there can be no affinity between Tlaloc and\nK. Therefore if the Mexican Tlaloc and the Maya Chac be identical,\nand Tlaloc differs from Quetzalcoatl, who in turn is identical with\nB and K, it is clear that Chac has nothing to do with K.\n\n\n\nThe Old Black God\n\nGod L Dr. Schellhas has designated \"the Old Black God,\" from the\ncircumstance that he is depicted as an old man with sunken face\nand toothless gums, the upper, or sometimes the lower, part of his\nfeatures being covered with black paint. He is represented in the\nDresden MS. only. Professor Cyrus Thomas, of New York, thinks that\nhe is the god Ekchuah, who is traditionally described as black, but\nSchellhas fits this designation to god M. The more probable theory\nis that of F\u00f6rstemann, who sees in L the god Votan, who is identical\nwith the Aztec earth-god, Tepeyollotl. Both deities have similar face\nmarkings, and their dark hue is perhaps symbolical of the subterranean\nplaces where they were supposed to dwell.\n\n\n\nThe Travellers' God\n\nGod M is a veritable black god, with reddish lips. On his head he\nbears a roped package resembling the loads carried by the Maya porter\nclass, and he is found in violent opposition with F, the enemy of\nall who wander into the unknown wastes. A god of this description\nhas been handed down by tradition under the name of Ekchuah, and his\nblackness is probably symbolical of the black or deeply bronzed skin\nof the porter class among the natives of Central America, who are\nconstantly exposed to the sun. He would appear to be a parallel to\nthe Aztec Yacatecutli, god of travelling merchants or chapmen.\n\n\n\nThe God of Unlucky Days\n\nGod N is identified by Schellhas with the demon Uayayab, who presided\nover the five unlucky days which it will be recollected came at\nthe end of the Mexican and Maya year. He was known to the Maya as\n\"He by whom the year is poisoned.\" After modelling his image in clay\nthey carried it out of their villages, so that his baneful influence\nmight not dwell therein.\n\nGoddess O is represented as an old woman engaged in the avocation\nof spinning, and is probably a goddess of the domestic virtues,\nthe tutelar of married females.\n\n\n\nThe Frog-God\n\nGod P is shown with the body and fins of a frog on a blue background,\nevidently intended to represent water. Like all other frog-gods\nhe is, of course, a deity of water, probably in its agricultural\nsignificance. We find him sowing seed and making furrows, and\nwhen we remember the important part played by frog deities in the\nagriculture of Anahuac we should have no difficulty in classing him\nwith these. Seler asserts his identity with Kukulcan, but no reason\nexcept the circumstance of his being a rain-god can be advanced to\nestablish the identity. He wears the year-sign on his head, probably\nwith a seasonal reference.\n\n\n\nMaya Architecture\n\nIt was in the wonderful architectural system which it developed\nwithout outside aid that the Maya people most individually expressed\nitself. As has been said, those buildings which still remain, and\nwhich have excited the admiration of generations of arch\u00e6ologists, are\nprincipally confined to examples of ecclesiastical and governmental\narchitecture, the dwellings of the common people consisting merely\nof the flimsiest of wattle-and-daub structures, which would fall to\npieces shortly after they were abandoned.\n\nBuried in dense forests or mouldering on the sun-exposed plains\nof Yucatan, Honduras, and Guatemala, the cities which boasted these\nedifices are for the most part situated away from modern trade routes,\nand are not a little difficult to come at. It is in Yucatan, the old\nhome of the Cocomes and Tutul Xius, that the most perfect specimens\nof Maya architecture are to be found, especially as regards its later\ndevelopment, and here, too, it may be witnessed in its decadent phase.\n\n\n\nMethods of Building\n\nThe Maya buildings were almost always erected upon a mound or ku,\neither natural or artificial, generally the latter. In this we discover\naffinities with the Mexican teocalli type. Often these kus stood alone,\nwithout any superincumbent building save a small altar to prove their\nrelation to the temple type of Anahuac. The typical Maya temple was\nbuilt on a series of earth terraces arranged in exact parallel order,\nthe buildings themselves forming the sides of a square. The mounds\nare generally concealed by plaster or faced with stone, the variety\nemployed being usually a hard sandstone, of which the Maya had a good\nsupply in the quarries of Chiapas and Honduras. Moderate in weight,\nthe difficulty of transport was easily overcome, whilst large blocks\ncould be readily quarried. It will thus be seen that the Maya had\nno substantial difficulties to surmount in connection with building\nthe large edifices and temples they raised, except, perhaps, the\nlack of metal tools to shape and carve and quarry the stone which\nthey used. And although they exhibit considerable ingenuity in such\narchitectural methods as they employed, they were still surprisingly\nignorant of some of the first essentials and principles of the art.\n\n\n\nNo Knowledge of the Arch\n\nFor example, they were totally ignorant of the principles upon which\nthe arch is constructed. This difficulty they overcame by making\neach course of masonry overhang the one beneath it, after the method\nemployed by a boy with a box of bricks, who finds that he can only\nmake \"doorways\" by this means, or by the simple expedient--also\nemployed by the Maya--of placing a slab horizontally upon two\nupright pillars. In consequence it will readily be seen that the\nsuperimposition of a second story upon such an insecure foundation\nwas scarcely to be thought of, and that such support for the roof as\ntowered above the doorway would necessarily require to be of the most\nsubstantial description. Indeed, this portion of the building often\nappears to be more than half the size of the rest of the edifice. This\nspace gave the Maya builders a splendid chance for mural decoration,\nand it must be said they readily seized it and made the most of it,\nornamental fa\u00e7ades being perhaps the most typical features in the\nrelics of Maya architecture.\n\n\n\nPyramidal Structures\n\nBut the Maya possessed another type of building which permitted of\ntheir raising more than one story. This was the pyramidal type, of\nwhich many examples remain. The first story was built in the usual\nmanner, and the second was raised by increasing the height of the\nmound at the back of the building until it was upon a level with the\nroof--another device well known to the boy with the box of bricks. In\nthe centre of the space thus made another story could be erected,\nwhich was entered by a staircase outside the building. Hampered by\ntheir inability to build to any appreciable height, the Maya architects\nmade up for the deficiency by constructing edifices of considerable\nlength and breadth, the squat appearance of which is counterbalanced\nby the beautiful mural decoration of the sides and fa\u00e7ade.\n\n\n\nDefiniteness of Design\n\nHe would be a merely superficial observer who would form the conclusion\nthat these specimens of an architecture spontaneously evolved were\nput together without survey, design, or previous calculation. That\nas much thought entered into their construction as is lavished upon\nhis work by a modern architect is proved by the manner in which the\ncarved stones fit into one another. It would be absurd to suppose\nthat these tremendous fa\u00e7ades bristling with scores of intricate\ndesigns could have been first placed in position and subsequently\nladen with the bas-reliefs they exhibit. It is plain that they were\npreviously worked apart and separately from one entire design. Thus\nwe see that the highest capabilities of the architect were essential\nin a measure to the erection of these imposing structures.\n\n\n\nArchitectural Districts\n\nAlthough the mason-craft of the Maya peoples was essentially similar\nin all the regions populated by its various tribes and offshoots,\nthere existed in the several localities occupied by them certain\ndifferences in construction and ornamentation which would almost\njustify us in dividing them into separate architectural spheres. In\nChiapas, for example, we find the bas-relief predominant, whether\nin stone or stucco. In Honduras we find a stiffness of design which\nimplies an older type of architecture, along with caryatides and\nmemorial pillars of human shape. In Guatemala, again, we find traces\nof the employment of wood. As the civilisation of the Maya cannot\nbe well comprehended without some knowledge of their architecture,\nand as that art was unquestionably their national forte and the thing\nwhich most sharply distinguished them from the semi-savage peoples\nthat surrounded them, it will be well to consider it for a space as\nregards its better-known individual examples.\n\n\n\nFascination of the Subject\n\nHe would indeed be dull of imagination and of spirit who could enter\ninto the consideration of such a subject as this without experiencing\nsome thrill from the mystery which surrounds it. Although familiarised\nwith the study of the Maya antiquities by reason of many years of\nclose acquaintance with it, the author cannot approach the theme\nwithout a feeling of the most intense awe. We are considering the\nmemorials of a race isolated for countless thousands of years from\nthe rest of humanity--a race which by itself evolved a civilisation\nin every respect capable of comparison with those of ancient Egypt or\nAssyria. In these impenetrable forests and sun-baked plains mighty\nworks were raised which tell of a culture of a lofty type. We are\naware that the people who reared them entered into religious and\nperhaps philosophical considerations their interpretations of which\nplace them upon a level with the most enlightened races of antiquity;\nbut we have only stepped upon the margin of Maya history. What dread\nsecrets, what scenes of orgic splendour have those carven walls\nwitnessed? What solemn priestly conclave, what magnificence of rite,\nwhat marvels of initiation, have these forest temples known? These\nthings we shall never learn. They are hidden from us in a gloom as\npalpable as that of the tree-encircled depths in which we find these\nshattered works of a once powerful hierarchy.\n\n\n\nMysterious Palenque\n\nOne of the most famous of these ancient centres of priestly domination\nis Palenque, situated in the modern state of Chiapas. This city\nwas first brought into notice by Don Jos\u00e9 Calderon in 1774, when he\ndiscovered no less than eighteen palaces, twenty great buildings, and\na hundred and sixty houses, which proves that in his day the primeval\nforest had not made such inroads upon the remaining buildings as it\nhas during the past few generations. There is good evidence besides\nthis that Palenque was standing at the time of Cort\u00e9s' conquest of\nYucatan. And here it will be well at once to dispel any conception the\nreader may have formed concerning the vast antiquity of these cities\nand the structures they contain. The very oldest of them cannot be of\na date anterior to the thirteenth century, and few Americanists of\nrepute would admit such an antiquity for them. There may be remains\nof a fragmentary nature here and there in Central America which\nare relatively more ancient. But no temple or edifice which remains\nstanding can claim a greater antiquity.\n\nPalenque is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and nestles on the\nlowest slopes of the Cordilleras. Standing on the central pyramid,\nthe eye is met by a ring of ruined palaces and temples raised upon\nartificial terraces. Of these the principal and most imposing is the\nPalace, a pile reared upon a single platform, forming an irregular\nquadrilateral, with a double gallery on the east, north, and west\nsides, surrounding an inner structure with a similar gallery and\ntwo courtyards. It is evident that there was little system or plan\nobserved in the construction of this edifice, an unusual circumstance\nin Maya architecture. The dwelling apartments were situated on the\nsouthern side of the structure, and here there is absolute confusion,\nfor buildings of all sorts and sizes jostle each other, and are reared\non different levels.\n\nOur interest is perhaps at first excited by three subterraneous\napartments down a flight of gloomy steps. Here are to be found three\ngreat stone tables, the edges of which are fretted with sculptured\nsymbols. That these were altars admits of little doubt, although\nsome visitors have not hesitated to call them dining-tables! These\nconstitute only one of the many puzzles in this building of 228 feet\nfrontage, with a depth of 180 feet, which at the same time is only\nabout 25 feet high!\n\nOn the north side of the Palace pyramid the fa\u00e7ade of the Palace has\ncrumbled into complete ruin, but some evidences of an entrance are\nstill noticeable. There were probably fourteen doorways in all in the\nfrontage, with a width of about 9 feet each, the piers of which were\ncovered with figures in bas-relief. The inside of the galleries is\nalso covered at intervals with similar designs, or medallions, many\nof which are probably representations of priests or priestesses who\nonce dwelt within the classic shades and practised strange rites in\nthe worship of gods long since forgotten. One of these is of a woman\nwith delicate features and high-bred countenance, and the frame or rim\nsurrounding it is decorated in a manner recalling the Louis XV style.\n\nThe east gallery is 114 feet long, the north 185 feet, and the west 102\nfeet, so that, as remarked above, a lack of symmetry is apparent. The\ngreat court is reached by a Mayan arch which leads on to a staircase,\non each side of which grotesque human figures of the Maya type are\nsculptured. Whom they are intended to portray or what rite they are\nengaged in it would indeed be difficult to say. That they are priests\nmay be hazarded, for they appear to be dressed in the ecclesiastical\nmaxtli (girdle), and one seems to be decorated with the beads seen\nin the pictures of the death-god. Moreover, they are mitred.\n\nThe courtyard is exceedingly irregular in shape. To the south side\nis a small building which has assisted our knowledge of Maya mural\ndecoration; especially valuable is the handsome frieze with which\nit is adorned, on which we observe the rather familiar feathered\nserpent (Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl). Everywhere we notice the flat\nMaya head--a racial type, perhaps brought about by deformation of the\ncranium in youth. One of the most important parts of the Palace from\nan architectural point of view is the east front of the inner wing,\nwhich is perhaps the best preserved, and exhibits the most luxurious\nornamentation. Two roofed galleries supported by six pillars covered\nwith bas-reliefs are reached by a staircase on which hieroglyphic\nsigns still remain. The reliefs in cement are still faintly to be\ndiscerned on the pillars, and must have been of great beauty. They\nrepresent mythological characters in various attitudes. Above, seven\nenormous heads frown on the explorer in grim menace. The effect of the\nentire fa\u00e7ade is rich in the extreme, even in ruin, and from it we can\nobtain a faint idea of the splendours of this wonderful civilisation.\n\n\n\nAn Architectural Curiosity\n\nOne of the few towers to be seen among the ruins of Maya architecture\nstands at Palenque. It is square in shape and three stories in height,\nwith sloping roof, and is not unlike the belfry of some little English\nvillage church.\n\nThe building we have been describing, although traditionally known\nas a \"palace,\" was undoubtedly a great monastery or ecclesiastical\nhabitation. Indeed, the entire city of Palenque was solely a\npriestly centre, a place of pilgrimage. The bas-reliefs with their\nrepresentations of priests and acolytes prove this, as does the\nabsence of warlike or monarchical subjects.\n\n\n\nThe Temple of Inscriptions\n\nThe Temple of Inscriptions, perched on an eminence some 40 feet\nhigh, is the largest edifice in Palenque. It has a fa\u00e7ade 74 feet\nlong by 25 feet deep, composed of a great gallery which runs along\nthe entire front of the fane. The building has been named from the\ninscriptions with which certain flagstones in the central apartment\nare covered. Three other temples occupy a piece of rising ground\nclose by. These are the Temple of the Sun, closely akin in type to\nmany Japanese temple buildings; the Temple of the Cross, in which\na wonderful altar-piece was discovered; and the Temple of the Cross\nNo. II. In the Temple of the Cross the inscribed altar gave its name\nto the building. In the central slab is a cross of the American\npattern, its roots springing from the hideous head of the goddess\nChicomecohuatl, the Earth-mother, or her Maya equivalent. Its branches\nstretch to where on the right and left stand two figures, evidently\nthose of a priest and acolyte, performing some mysterious rite. On\nthe apex of the tree is placed the sacred turkey, or \"Emerald Fowl,\"\nto which offerings of maize paste are made. The whole is surrounded\nby inscriptions. (See illustration facing p. 160.)\n\n\n\nAk\u00e9 and Itzamal\n\nThirty miles east of Merida lies Ak\u00e9, the colossal and primeval\nruins of which speak of early Maya occupation. Here are pyramids,\ntennis-courts, and gigantic pillars which once supported immense\ngalleries, all in a state of advanced ruin. Chief among these is the\ngreat pyramid and gallery, a mighty staircase rising toward lofty\npillars, and somewhat reminiscent of Stonehenge. For what purpose it\nwas constructed is quite unknown.\n\n\n\nThe House of Darkness\n\nOne ruin, tradition calls \"The House of Darkness.\" Here no light\nenters save that which filters in by the open doorway. The vaulted roof\nis lost in a lofty gloom. So truly have the huge blocks of which the\nbuilding is composed been laid that not even a needle could be inserted\nbetween them. The whole is coated with a hard plaster or cement.\n\n\n\nThe Palace of Owls\n\nThe Knuc (Palace of Owls), where a beautiful frieze of diamond-shaped\nstones intermingling with spheres may be observed, is noteworthy. All\nhere is undoubtedly of the first Yucatec era, the time when the Maya\nfirst overran the country.\n\nAt Itzamal the chief object of interest is the great pyramid of\nKinich-Kakmo (The Sun's Face with Fiery Rays), the base of which\ncovers an area of nearly 650 square feet. To this shrine thousands\nwere wont to come in times of panic or famine, and from the summit,\nwhere was housed the glittering idol, the smoke of sacrifice ascended\nto the cloudless sky, whilst a multitude of white-robed priests and\naugurs chanted and prophesied. To the south of this mighty pile stand\nthe ruins of the Ppapp-Hol-Chac (The House of Heads and Lightnings),\nthe abode of the chief priest.\n\n\n\nItzamna's Fane\n\nAt Itzamal, too, stood one of the chief temples of the great god\nItzamna, the legendary founder of the Maya Empire. Standing on a\nlofty pyramid, four roads radiated from it, leading to Tabasco,\nGuatemala, and Chiapas; and here they brought the halt, the maimed,\nand the blind, aye, even the dead, for succour and resurrection,\nsuch faith had they in the mighty power of Kab-ul (The Miraculous\nHand), as they designated the deity. The fourth road ran to the\nsacred isle of Cozumel, where first the men of Spain found the Maya\ncross, and supposed it to prove that St. Thomas had discovered the\nAmerican continent in early times, and had converted the natives to\na Christianity which had become debased.\n\n\n\nBearded Gods\n\nTo the west arose another pyramid, on the summit of which was built the\npalace of Hunpictok (The Commander-in-chief of Eight Thousand Flints),\nin allusion, probably, to the god of lightning, Hurakan, whose gigantic\nface, once dominating the basement wall, has now disappeared. This face\npossessed huge mustachios, appendages unknown to the Maya race; and,\nindeed, we are struck with the frequency with which Mexican and Mayan\ngods and heroes are adorned with beards and other hirsute ornaments\nboth on the monuments and in the manuscripts. Was the original\ngoverning class a bearded race? It is scarcely probable. Whence,\nthen, the ever-recurring beard and moustache? These may have been\ndeveloped in the priestly class by constant ceremonial shaving,\nwhich often produces a thin beard in the Mongolians--as witness the\nmodern Japanese, who in imitating a custom of the West often succeed\nin producing quite respectable beards.\n\n\n\nA Colossal Head\n\nNot far away is to be found a gigantic head, probably that of the\ngod Itzamna. It is 13 feet in height, and the features were formed\nby first roughly tracing them in rubble, and afterwards coating the\nwhole with plaster. The figure is surrounded by spirals, symbols of\nwind or speech. On the opposite side of the pyramid alluded to above\nis found a wonderful bas-relief representing a tiger couchant, with\na human head of the Maya type, probably depicting one of the early\nancestors of the Maya, Balam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile),\nof whom we read in the Popol Vuh.\n\n\n\nChichen-Itza\n\nAt Chichen-Itza, in Yucatan, the chief wonder is the gigantic\npyramid-temple known as El Castillo. It is reached by a steep flight\nof steps, and from it the vast ruins of Chichen radiate in a circular\nmanner. To the east is the market-place, to the north a mighty\ntemple, and a tennis-court, perhaps the best example of its kind in\nYucatan, whilst to the west stand the Nunnery and the Chichan-Chob,\nor prison. Concerning Chichen-Itza Cogolludo tells the following story:\n\"A king of Chichen called Canek fell desperately in love with a young\nprincess, who, whether she did not return his affection or whether she\nwas compelled to obey a parental mandate, married a more powerful\nYucatec cacique. The discarded lover, unable to bear his loss,\nand moved by love and despair, armed his dependents and suddenly\nfell upon his successful rival. Then the gaiety of the feast was\nexchanged for the din of war, and amidst the confusion the Chichen\nprince disappeared, carrying off the beautiful bride. But conscious\nthat his power was less than his rival's, and fearing his vengeance,\nhe fled the country with most of his vassals.\" It is a historical\nfact that the inhabitants of Chichen abandoned their city, but whether\nfor the reason given in this story or not cannot be discovered.\n\n\n\nThe Nunnery\n\nThe Nunnery at Chichen is a building of great beauty of outline and\ndecoration, the frieze above the doorway and the fretted ornamentation\nof the upper story exciting the admiration of most writers on the\nsubject. Here dwelt the sacred women, the chief of whom, like their\nmale prototypes, were dedicated to Kukulcan and regarded with much\nreverence. The base of the building is occupied by eight large figures,\nand over the door is the representation of a priest with a panache,\nwhilst a row of gigantic heads crowns the north fa\u00e7ade. Here, too, are\nfigures of the wind-god, with projecting lips, which many generations\nof antiquarians took for heads of elephants with waving trunks! The\nentire building is one of the gems of Central American architecture,\nand delights the eye of arch\u00e6ologist and artist alike. In El Castillo\nare found wonderful bas-reliefs depicting bearded men, evidently the\npriests of Quetzalcoatl, himself bearded, and to the practised eye\none of these would appear to be wearing a false hirsute appendage, as\nkings were wont to do in ancient Egypt. Were these beards artificial\nand symbolical?\n\n\n\nThe \"Writing in the Dark\"\n\nThe Akab-sib (Writing in the Dark) is a bas-relief found on the lintel\nof an inner door at the extremity of the building. It represents a\nfigure seated before a vase, with outstretched forefinger, and whence\nit got its traditional appellation it would be hard to say, unless\nthe person represented is supposed to be in the act of writing. The\nfigure is surrounded by inscriptions. At Chichen were found a statue of\nTlaloc, the god of rain or moisture, and immense torsos representing\nKukulcan. There also was a terrible well into which men were cast in\ntime of drought as a propitiation to the rain-god.\n\n\n\nKabah\n\nAt Kabah there is a marvellous frontage which strikingly recalls\nthat of a North American Indian totem-house in its fantastic wealth\nof detail. The ruins are scattered over a large area, and must all\nhave been at one time painted in brilliant colours. Here two horses'\nheads in stone were unearthed, showing that the natives had copied\nfaithfully the steeds of the conquering Spaniards. Nothing is known of\nthe history of Kabah, but its neighbour, Uxmal, fifteen miles distant,\nis much more famous.\n\n\n\nUxmal\n\nThe imposing pile of the Casa del Gobernador (Governor's Palace, so\ncalled) at Uxmal is perhaps the best known and described of all the\naboriginal buildings of Central America. It occupies three successive\ncolossal terraces, and its frieze runs in a line of 325 feet, and\nis divided into panels, each of which frames a gigantic head of\npriest or deity. The striking thing concerning this edifice is that\nalthough it has been abandoned for over three hundred years it is\nstill almost as fresh architecturally as when it left the builder's\nhands. Here and there a lintel has fallen, or stones have been removed\nin a spirit of vandalism to assist in the erection of a neighbouring\nhacienda, but on the whole we possess in it the most unspoiled piece\nof Yucatec building in existence. On the side of the palace where\nstands the main entrance, directly over the gateway, is the most\nwonderful fretwork and ornamentation, carried out in high relief,\nabove which soar three eagles in hewn stone, surmounted by a plumed\nhuman head. In the plinth are three heads, which in type recall the\nRoman, surrounded by inscriptions. A clear proof of the comparative\nlateness of the period in which Uxmal was built is found in the\ncircumstance that all the lintels over the doorways are of wood,\nof which much still exists in a good state of preservation. Many of\nthe joists of the roofs were also of timber, and were fitted into\nthe stonework by means of specially carved ends.\n\n\n\nThe Dwarf's House\n\nThere is also a nunnery which forcibly recalls that at Chichen, and is\nquite as elaborate and flamboyant in its architectural design. But the\nreal mystery at Uxmal is the Casa del Adivino (The Prophet's House),\nalso locally known as \"The Dwarf's House.\" It consists of two portions,\none of which is on the summit of an artificial pyramid, whilst the\nother, a small but beautifully finished chapel, is situated lower down\nfacing the town. The loftier building is reached by an exceedingly\nsteep staircase, and bears every evidence of having been used as a\nsanctuary, for here were discovered cacao and copal, recently burnt,\nby Cogolludo as late as 1656, which is good evidence that the Yucatecs\ndid not all at once abandon their ancient faith at the promptings of\nthe Spanish fathers.\n\n\n\nThe Legend of the Dwarf\n\nIn his Travels in Yucatan Stephens has a legend relating to this house\nwhich may well be given in his own words: \"An old woman,\" he says,\n\"lived alone in her hut, rarely leaving her chimney-corner. She was\nmuch distressed at having no children, and in her grief one day took an\negg, wrapped it up carefully in cotton cloth, and put it in a corner of\nher hut. She looked every day in great anxiety, but no change in the\negg was observable. One morning, however, she found the shell broken,\nand a lovely tiny creature was stretching out its arms to her. The\nold woman was in raptures. She took it to her heart, gave it a nurse,\nand was so careful of it that at the end of a year the baby walked\nand talked as well as a grown-up man. But he stopped growing. The good\nold woman in her joy and delight exclaimed that the baby should be a\ngreat chief. One day she told him to go to the king's palace and engage\nhim in a trial of strength. The dwarf begged hard not to be sent on\nsuch an enterprise. But the old woman insisted on his going, and he\nwas obliged to obey. When ushered into the presence of the sovereign\nhe threw down his gauntlet. The latter smiled, and asked him to lift\na stone of three arobes (75 lb.). The child returned crying to his\nmother, who sent him back, saying, 'If the king can lift the stone, you\ncan lift it too.' The king did take it up, but so did the dwarf. His\nstrength was tried in many other ways, but all the king did was as\neasily done by the dwarf. Wroth at being outdone by so puny a creature,\nthe prince told the dwarf that unless he built a palace loftier than\nany in the city he should die. The affrighted dwarf returned to the\nold woman, who bade him not to despair, and the next morning they\nboth awoke in the palace which is still standing. The king saw the\npalace with amazement. He instantly sent for the dwarf, and desired\nhim to collect two bundles of cogoiol (a kind of hard wood), with\none of which he would strike the dwarf on the head, and consent to be\nstruck in return by his tiny adversary. The latter again returned to\nhis mother moaning and lamenting. But the old woman cheered him up,\nand, placing a tortilla on his head, sent him back to the king. The\ntrial took place in the presence of all the state grandees. The king\nbroke the whole of his bundle on the dwarf's head without hurting him\nin the least, seeing which he wished to save his own head from the\nimpending ordeal; but his word had been passed before his assembled\ncourt, and he could not well refuse. The dwarf struck, and at the\nsecond blow the king's skull was broken to pieces. The spectators\nimmediately proclaimed the victorious dwarf their sovereign. After\nthis the old woman disappeared. But in the village of Mani, fifty\nmiles distant, is a deep well leading to a subterraneous passage which\nextends as far as Merida. In this passage is an old woman sitting\non the bank of a river shaded by a great tree, having a serpent by\nher side. She sells water in small quantities, accepting no money,\nfor she must have human beings, innocent babies, which are devoured\nby the serpent. This old woman is the dwarf's mother.\"\n\nThe interpretation of this myth is by no means difficult. The old\nwoman is undoubtedly the rain-goddess, the dwarf the Man of the Sun\nwho emerges from the cosmic egg. In Yucatan dwarfs were sacred to the\nsun-god, and were occasionally sacrificed to him, for reasons which\nappear obscure.\n\n\n\nThe Mound of Sacrifice\n\nAnother building at Uxmal the associations of which render it of more\nthan passing interest is the Pyramid of Sacrifice, an edifice built\non the plan of the Mexican teocalli. Indeed, it is probably of Aztec\norigin, and may even have been erected by the mercenaries who during\nthe fifteenth century swarmed from Mexico into Yucatan and Guatemala\nto take service with the rival chieftains who carried on civil war\nin those states. Beside this is another mound which was crowned\nby a very beautiful temple, now in an advanced state of ruin. The\n\"Pigeon House\" is an ornate pile with pinnacles pierced by large\nopenings which probably served as dovecotes. The entire architecture\nof Uxmal displays a type more primitive than that met elsewhere in\nYucatan. There is documentary evidence to prove that so late as 1673\nthe Indians still worshipped in the ruins of Uxmal, where they burnt\ncopal, and performed \"other detestable sacrifices.\" So that even a\nhundred and fifty years of Spanish rule had not sufficed to wean the\nnatives from the worship of the older gods to whom their fathers had\nfor generations bowed down. This would also seem conclusive evidence\nthat the ruins of Uxmal at least were the work of the existing race.\n\n\n\nThe Phantom City\n\nIn his Travels in Central America Stephens recounts a fascinating\nstory told him by a priest of Santa Cruz del Quiche, to the effect\nthat four days' journey from that place a great Indian city was to be\nseen, densely populated, and preserving the ancient civilisation of\nthe natives. He had, indeed, beheld it from the summit of a cliff,\nshining in glorious whiteness many leagues away. This was perhaps\nLorillard City, discovered by Suarez, and afterwards by Charnay. In\ngeneral type Lorillard closely resembles Palenque. Here was found a\nwonderfully executed stone idol, which Charnay thought represented a\ndifferent racial type from that seen in the other Central American\ncities. The chief finds of interest in this ancient city were the\nintricate bas-reliefs, one over the central door of a temple, probably\na symbolic representation of Quetzalcoatl, who holds the rain-cross,\nin both hands, and is seen vis-\u00e0-vis with an acolyte, also holding the\nsymbol, though it is possible that the individual represented may have\nbeen the high-priest of Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. Another bas-relief\nrepresents a priest sacrificing to Kukulcan by passing a rope of\nmaguey fibre over his tongue for the purpose of drawing blood--an\ninstance of the substitution in sacrifice of the part for the whole.\n\n\n\nThe Horse-God\n\nAt Peten-Itza, Cort\u00e9s left his horse, which had fallen sick, to the\ncare of the Indians. The animal died under their mismanagement and\nbecause of the food offered it, and the terrified natives, fancying\nit a divine being, raised an image of it, and called it Izimin Chac\n(Thunder and Lightning), because they had seen its rider discharge a\nfirearm, and they imagined that the flash and the report had proceeded\nfrom the creature. The sight of the idol aroused such wrath in the\nzealous bosom of a certain Spanish monk that he broke it with a\nhuge stone--and, but for the interference of the cacique, would have\nsuffered death for his temerity. Peten was a city \"filled with idols,\"\nas was Tayasal, close at hand, where in the seventeenth century no\nless than nine new temples were built, which goes to prove that the\nnative religion was by no means extinct. One of these new temples,\naccording to Villagutierre, had a Spanish balcony of hewn stone! In\nthe Temple of the Sun at Tikal, an adjoining city, is a wonderful\naltar panel, representing an unknown deity, and here also are many of\nthose marvellously carved idols of which Stephens gives such capital\nillustrations in his fascinating book.\n\n\n\nCopan\n\nCopan, one of the most interesting of these wondrous city-centres,\nthe name of which has, indeed, become almost a household word, is in\nthe same district as the towns just described, and abounds chiefly in\nmonolithic images. It yielded after a desperate struggle to Hernandez\nde Chaves, one of Alvarado's lieutenants, in 1530. The monolithic\nimages so abundantly represented here are evolved from the stel\u00e6 and\nthe bas-relief, and are not statues in the proper sense of the term,\nas they are not completely cut away from the stone background out\nof which they were carved. An altar found at Copan exhibits real\nskill in sculpture, the head-dresses, ornaments, and expressions of\nthe eight figures carved on its sides being elaborate in the extreme\nand exceedingly lifelike. Here again we notice a fresh racial type,\nwhich goes to prove that one race alone cannot have been responsible\nfor these marvellous ruined cities and all that they contain and\nsignify. We have to imagine a shifting of races and a fluctuation\nof peoples in Central America such as we know took place in Europe\nand Asia before we can rightly understand the ethnological problems\nof the civilised sphere of the New World, and any theory which does\nnot take due account of such conditions is doomed to failure.\n\n\n\nMitla\n\nWe now come to the last of these stupendous remnants of a vanished\ncivilisation--Mitla, by no means the least of the works of civilised\nman in Central America. At the period of the conquest the city\noccupied a wide area, but at the present time only six palaces and\nthree ruined pyramids are left standing. The great palace is a vast\nedifice in the shape of the letter T, and measures 130 feet in its\ngreater dimension, with an apartment of a like size. Six monolithic\ncolumns which supported the roof still stand in gigantic isolation,\nbut the roof itself has long fallen in. A dark passage leads to the\ninner court, and the walls of this are covered with mosaic work\nin panels which recalls somewhat the pattern known as the \"Greek\nfret.\" The lintels over the doorways are of huge blocks of stone\nnearly eighteen feet long. Of this building Viollet-le-Duc says:\n\"The monuments of Greece and Rome in their best time can alone compare\nwith the splendour of this great edifice.\"\n\n\n\nA Place of Sepulture\n\nThe ruins at Mitla bear no resemblance to those of Mexico or Yucatan,\neither as regards architecture or ornamentation, for whereas the\nYucatec buildings possess overlapping walls, the palaces of Mitla\nconsist of perpendicular walls intended to support flat roofs. Of\nthese structures the second and fourth palaces alone are in such a\nstate of preservation as to permit of general description. The second\npalace shows by its sculptured lintel and two inner columns that the\nsame arrangement was observed in its construction as in the great\npalace just described. The fourth palace has on its southern fa\u00e7ade\noblong panels and interesting caryatides or pillars in the shape of\nhuman figures. These palaces consisted of four upper apartments,\nfinely sculptured, and a like number of rooms on the lower story,\nwhich was occupied by the high-priest, and to which the king came\nto mourn on the demise of a relative. Here, too, the priests were\nentombed, and in an adjoining room the idols were kept. Into a huge\nunderground chamber the bodies of eminent warriors and sacrificial\nvictims were cast. Attempts have been made to identify Mitla with\nMictlan, the Mexican Hades, and there is every reason to suppose\nthat the identification is correct. It must be borne in mind that\nMictlan was as much a place of the dead as a place of punishment,\nas was the Greek Hades, and therefore might reasonably signify a\nplace of sepulture, such as Mitla undoubtedly was. The following\npassages from the old historians of Mitla, Torquemada and Burgoa,\nthrow much light on this aspect of the city, and besides are full of\nthe most intense interest and curious information, so that they may\nbe given in extenso. But before passing on to them we should for a\nmoment glance at Seler's suggestion that the American race imagined\nthat their ancestors had originally issued from the underworld through\ncertain caverns into the light of day, and that this was the reason\nwhy Mitla was not only a burial-place but a sanctuary.\n\n\n\nAn Old Description of Mitla\n\nOf Mitla Father Torquemada writes:\n\n\"When some monks of my order, the Franciscan, passed, preaching\nand shriving, through the province of Zapoteca, whose capital city\nis Tehuantepec, they came to a village which was called Mictlan,\nthat is, Underworld [Hell]. Besides mentioning the large number\nof people in the village they told of buildings which were prouder\nand more magnificent than any which they had hitherto seen in New\nSpain. Among them was a temple of the evil spirit and living-rooms\nfor his demoniacal servants, and among other fine things there was\na hall with ornamented panels, which were constructed of stone in a\nvariety of arabesques and other very remarkable designs. There were\ndoorways there, each one of which was built of but three stones,\ntwo upright at the sides and one across them, in such a manner that,\nalthough these doorways were very high and broad, the stones sufficed\nfor their entire construction. They were so thick and broad that we\nwere assured there were few like them. There was another hall in these\nbuildings, or rectangular temples, which was erected entirely on round\nstone pillars, very high and very thick, so thick that two grown men\ncould scarcely encircle them with their arms, nor could one of them\nreach the finger-tips of the other. These pillars were all in one\npiece, and, it was said, the whole shaft of a pillar measured 5 ells\nfrom top to bottom, and they were very much like those of the Church\nof Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, very skilfully made and polished.\"\n\nFather Burgoa gives a more exact description. He says:\n\n\"The Palace of the Living and of the Dead was built for the use\nof this person [the high-priest of the Zapotecs].... They built\nthis magnificent house or pantheon in the shape of a rectangle, with\nportions rising above the earth and portions built down into the earth,\nthe latter in the hole or cavity which was found below the surface\nof the earth, and ingeniously made the chambers of equal size by the\nmanner of joining them, leaving a spacious court in the middle; and in\norder to secure four equal chambers they accomplished what barbarian\nheathen (as they were) could only achieve by the powers and skill\nof an architect. It is not known in what stone-pit they quarried the\npillars, which are so thick that two men can scarcely encircle them\nwith their arms. These are, to be sure, mere shafts without capital\nor pedestal, but they are wonderfully regular and smooth, and they\nare about 5 ells high and in one piece. These served to support the\nroof, which consists of stone slabs instead of beams. The slabs are\nabout 2 ells long, 1 ell broad, and half an ell thick, extending from\npillar to pillar. The pillars stand in a row, one behind the other,\nin order to receive the weight. The stone slabs are so regular and so\nexactly fitted that, without any mortar or cement, at the joints they\nresemble mortised beams. The four rooms, which are very spacious,\nare arranged in exactly the same way and covered with the same\nkind of roofing. But in the construction of the walls the greatest\narchitects of the earth have been surpassed, as I have not found this\nkind of architecture described either among the Egyptians or among\nthe Greeks, for they begin at the base with a narrow outline and,\nas the structure rises in height, spread out in wide copings at the\ntop, so that the upper part exceeds the base in breadth and looks\nas if it would fall over. The inner side of the walls consists of a\nmortar or stucco of such hardness that no one knows with what kind of\nliquid it could have been mixed. The outside is of such extraordinary\nworkmanship that on a masonry wall about an ell in height there are\nplaced stone slabs with a projecting edge, which form the support\nfor an endless number of small white stones, the smallest of which\nare a sixth of an ell long, half as broad, and a quarter as thick,\nand which are as smooth and regular as if they had all come from one\nmould. They had so many of these stones that, setting them in, one\nbeside the other, they formed with them a large number of different\nbeautiful geometric designs, each an ell broad and running the whole\nlength of the wall, each varying in pattern up to the crowning piece,\nwhich was the finest of all. And what has always seemed inexplicable\nto the greatest architects is the adjustment of these little stones\nwithout a single handful of mortar, and the fact that without tools,\nwith nothing but hard stones and sand, they could achieve such solid\nwork that, though the whole structure is very old and no one knows\nwho made it, it has been preserved until the present day.\n\n\n\nHuman Sacrifice at Mitla\n\n\"I carefully examined these monuments some thirty years ago in the\nchambers above ground, which are constructed of the same size and in\nthe same way as those below ground, and, though single pieces were in\nruins because some stones had become loosened, there was still much\nto admire. The doorways were very large, the sides of each being of\nsingle stones of the same thickness as the wall, and the lintel was\nmade out of another stone which held the two lower ones together at\nthe top. There were four chambers above ground and four below. The\nlatter were arranged according to their purpose in such a way that\none front chamber served as chapel and sanctuary for the idols,\nwhich were placed on a great stone which served as an altar. And\nfor the more important feasts which they celebrated with sacrifices,\nor at the burial of a king or great lord, the high-priest instructed\nthe lesser priests or the subordinate temple officials who served\nhim to prepare the chapel and his vestments and a large quantity of\nthe incense used by them. And then he descended with a great retinue,\nwhile none of the common people saw him or dared to look in his face,\nconvinced that if they did so they would fall dead to the earth as a\npunishment for their boldness. And when he entered the chapel they put\non him a long white cotton garment made like an alb, and over that a\ngarment shaped like a dalmatic, which was embroidered with pictures\nof wild beasts and birds; and they put a cap on his head, and on his\nfeet a kind of shoe woven of many coloured feathers. And when he had\nput on these garments he walked with solemn mien and measured step to\nthe altar, bowed low before the idols, renewed the incense, and then in\nquite unintelligible murmurs he began to converse with these images,\nthese depositories of infernal spirits, and continued in this sort\nof prayer with hideous grimaces and writhings, uttering inarticulate\nsounds, which filled all present with fear and terror, till he came\nout of that diabolical trance and told those standing around the lies\nand fabrications which the spirit had imparted to him or which he had\ninvented himself. When human beings were sacrificed the ceremonies were\nmultiplied, and the assistants of the high-priest stretched the victim\nout upon a large stone, baring his breast, which they tore open with\na great stone knife, while the body writhed in fearful convulsions,\nand they laid the heart bare, ripping it out, and with it the soul,\nwhich the devil took, while they carried the heart to the high-priest\nthat he might offer it to the idols by holding it to their mouths,\namong other ceremonies; and the body was thrown into the burial-place\nof their 'blessed,' as they called them. And if after the sacrifice\nhe felt inclined to detain those who begged any favour he sent them\nword by the subordinate priests not to leave their houses till their\ngods were appeased, and he commanded them to do penance meanwhile,\nto fast and to speak with no woman, so that, until this father of sin\nhad interceded for the absolution of the penitents and had declared\nthe gods appeased, they did not dare to cross their thresholds.\n\n\"The second (underground) chamber was the burial-place of these\nhigh-priests, the third that of the kings of Theozapotlan, whom they\nbrought hither richly dressed in their best attire, feathers, jewels,\ngolden necklaces, and precious stones, placing a shield in the left\nhand and a javelin in the right, just as they used them in war. And\nat their burial rites great mourning prevailed; the instruments which\nwere played made mournful sounds; and with loud wailing and continuous\nsobbing they chanted the life and exploits of their lord until they\nlaid him on the structure which they had prepared for this purpose.\n\n\n\nLiving Sacrifices\n\n\"The last (underground) chamber had a second door at the rear, which\nled to a dark and gruesome room. This was closed with a stone slab,\nwhich occupied the whole entrance. Through this door they threw the\nbodies of the victims and of the great lords and chieftains who had\nfallen in battle, and they brought them from the spot where they fell,\neven when it was very far off, to this burial-place; and so great was\nthe barbarous infatuation of those Indians that, in the belief of the\nhappy life which awaited them, many who were oppressed by diseases\nor hardships begged this infamous priest to accept them as living\nsacrifices and allow them to enter through that portal and roam about\nin the dark interior of the mountain, to seek the feasting-places of\ntheir forefathers. And when any one obtained this favour the servants\nof the high-priest led him thither with special ceremonies, and after\nthey allowed him to enter through the small door they rolled the\nstone before it again and took leave of him, and the unhappy man,\nwandering in that abyss of darkness, died of hunger and thirst,\nbeginning already in life the pain of his damnation, and on account\nof this horrible abyss they called this village Liyobaa.\n\n\n\nThe Cavern of Death\n\n\"When later there fell upon these people the light of the Gospel,\nits servants took much trouble to instruct them, and to find out\nwhether this error, common to all these nations, still prevailed;\nand they learned from the stories which had been handed down that\nall were convinced that this damp cavern extended more than thirty\nleagues underground, and that its roof was supported by pillars. And\nthere were people, zealous prelates anxious for knowledge, who, in\norder to convince these ignorant people of their error, went into this\ncave accompanied by a large number of people bearing lighted torches\nand firebrands, and descended several large steps. And they soon came\nupon many great buttresses which formed a kind of street. They had\nprudently brought a quantity of rope with them to use as guiding-lines,\nthat they might not lose themselves in this confusing labyrinth. And\nthe putrefaction and the bad odour and the dampness of the earth\nwere very great, and there was also a cold wind which blew out\ntheir torches. And after they had gone a short distance, fearing\nto be overpowered by the stench, or to step on poisonous reptiles,\nof which some had been seen, they resolved to go out again, and to\ncompletely wall up this back door of hell. The four buildings above\nground were the only ones which still remained open, and they had\na court and chambers like those underground; and the ruins of these\nhave lasted even to the present day.\n\n\n\nPalace of the High-Priest\n\n\"One of the rooms above ground was the palace of the high-priest,\nwhere he sat and slept, for the apartment offered room and opportunity\nfor everything. The throne was like a high cushion, with a high back\nto lean against, all of tiger-skin, stuffed entirely with delicate\nfeathers, or with fine grass which was used for this purpose. The other\nseats were smaller, even when the king came to visit him. The authority\nof this devilish priest was so great that there was no one who dared\nto cross the court, and to avoid this the other three chambers had\ndoors in the rear, through which even the kings entered. For this\npurpose they had alleys and passage-ways on the outside above and\nbelow, by which people could enter and go out when they came to see\nthe high-priest....\n\n\"The second chamber above ground was that of the priests and the\nassistants of the high-priest. The third was that of the king when\nhe came. The fourth was that of the other chieftains and captains,\nand though the space was small for so great a number, and for so\nmany different families, yet they accommodated themselves to each\nother out of respect for the place, and avoided dissensions and\nfactions. Furthermore, there was no other administration of justice\nin this place than that of the high-priest, to whose unlimited power\nall bowed.\n\n\n\nFurniture of the Temples\n\n\"All the rooms were clean, and well furnished with mats. It was not\nthe custom to sleep on bedsteads, however great a lord might be. They\nused very tastefully braided mats, which were spread on the floor,\nand soft skins of animals and delicate fabrics for coverings. Their\nfood consisted usually of animals killed in the hunt--deer, rabbits,\narmadillos, &c., and also birds, which they killed with snares\nor arrows. The bread, made of their maize, was white and well\nkneaded. Their drinks were always cold, made of ground chocolate,\nwhich was mixed with water and pounded maize. Other drinks were\nmade of pulpy and of crushed fruits, which were then mixed with the\nintoxicating drink prepared from the agave; for since the common people\nwere forbidden the use of intoxicating drinks, there was always an\nabundance of these on hand.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V: MYTHS OF THE MAYA\n\n\nMythology of the Maya\n\nOur knowledge of the mythology of the Maya is by no means so full and\ncomprehensive as in the case of Mexican mythology. Traditions are\nfew and obscure, and the hieroglyphic matter is closed to us. But\none great mine of Maya-Kiche mythology exists which furnishes us\nwith much information regarding Kiche cosmogony and pseudo-history,\nwith here and there an interesting allusion to the various deities\nof the Kiche pantheon. This is the Popol Vuh, a volume in which a\nlittle real history is mingled with much mythology. It was composed\nin the form in which we now possess it by a Christianised native\nof Guatemala in the seventeenth century, and copied in Kiche, in\nwhich it was originally written, by one Francisco Ximenes, a monk,\nwho also added to it a Spanish translation.\n\n\n\nThe Lost \"Popol Vuh\"\n\nFor generations antiquarians interested in this wonderful compilation\nwere aware that it existed somewhere in Guatemala, and many were the\nregrets expressed regarding their inability to unearth it. A certain\nDon Felix Cabrera had made use of it early in the nineteenth century,\nbut the whereabouts of the copy he had seen could not be discovered. A\nDr. C. Scherzer, of Austria, resolved, if possible, to discover it, and\npaid a visit to Guatemala in 1854 for that purpose. After a diligent\nsearch he succeeded in finding the lost manuscript in the University\nof San Carlos in the city of Guatemala. Ximenes, the copyist, had\nplaced it in the library of the convent of Chichicastenango, whence\nit passed to the San Carlos library in 1830.\n\n\n\nGenuine Character of the Work\n\nMuch doubt has been cast upon the genuine character of the Popol Vuh,\nprincipally by persons who were almost if not entirely ignorant of the\nproblems of pre-Columbian history in America. Its genuine character,\nhowever, is by no means difficult to prove. It has been stated that\nit is a mere r\u00e9chauff\u00e9 of the known facts of Maya history coloured by\nBiblical knowledge, a native version of the Christian Bible. But such\na theory will not stand when it is shown that the matter it contains\nsquares with the accepted facts of Mexican mythology, upon which the\nPopol Vuh throws considerable light. Moreover, the entire work bears\nthe stamp of being a purely native compilation, and has a flavour of\ngreat antiquity. Our knowledge of the general principles of mythology,\ntoo, prepares us for the unqualified acceptance of the material of the\nPopol Vuh, for we find there the stories and tales, the conceptions\nand ideas connected with early religion which are the property of no\none people, but of all peoples and races in an early social state.\n\n\n\nLikeness to other Pseudo-Histories\n\nWe find in this interesting book a likeness to many other works of\nearly times. The Popol Vuh is, indeed, of the same genre and class\nas the Heimskringla of Snorre, the history of Saxo Grammaticus,\nthe Chinese history in the Five Books, the Japanese Nihongi, and\nmany other similar compilations. But it surpasses all these in pure\ninterest because it is the only native American work that has come\ndown to us from pre-Columbian times.\n\nThe name \"Popol Vuh\" means \"The Collection of Written Leaves,\" which\nproves that the book must have contained traditional matter reduced\nto writing at a very early period. It is, indeed, a compilation of\nmythological character, interspersed with pseudo-history, which, as\nthe account reaches modern times, shades off into pure history and\ntells the deeds of authentic personages. The language in which it was\nwritten, the Kiche, was a dialect of the Maya-Kiche tongue spoken at\nthe time of the conquest in Guatemala, Honduras, and San Salvador,\nand still the tongue of the native populations in these districts.\n\n\n\nThe Creation-Story\n\nThe beginning of this interesting book is taken up with the Kiche\nstory of the creation, and what occurred directly subsequent to that\nevent. We are told that the god Hurakan, the mighty wind, a deity in\nwhom we can discern a Kiche equivalent to Tezcatlipoca, passed over the\nuniverse, still wrapped in gloom. He called out \"Earth,\" and the solid\nland appeared. Then the chief gods took counsel among themselves as to\nwhat should next be made. These were Hurakan, Gucumatz or Quetzalcoatl,\nand Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the mother and father gods. They agreed\nthat animals should be created. This was accomplished, and they next\nturned their attention to the framing of man. They made a number\nof mannikins carved out of wood. But these were irreverent and\nangered the gods, who resolved to bring about their downfall. Then\nHurakan (The Heart of Heaven) caused the waters to be swollen, and\na mighty flood came upon the mannikins. Also a thick resinous rain\ndescended upon them. The bird Xecotcovach tore out their eyes, the\nbird Camulatz cut off their heads, the bird Cotzbalam devoured their\nflesh, the bird Tecumbalam broke their bones and sinews and ground\nthem into powder. Then all sorts of beings, great and small, abused\nthe mannikins. The household utensils and domestic animals jeered at\nthem, and made game of them in their plight. The dogs and hens said:\n\"Very badly have you treated us and you have bitten us. Now we bite\nyou in turn.\" The millstones said: \"Very much were we tormented by you,\nand daily, daily, night and day, it was squeak, screech, screech, holi,\nholi, huqi, huqi, [11] for your sake. Now you shall feel our strength,\nand we shall grind your flesh and make meal of your bodies.\" And\nthe dogs growled at the unhappy images because they had not been\nfed, and tore them with their teeth. The cups and platters said:\n\"Pain and misery you gave us, smoking our tops and sides, cooking us\nover the fire, burning and hurting us as if we had no feeling. Now\nit is your turn, and you shall burn.\" The unfortunate mannikins ran\nhither and thither in their despair. They mounted upon the roofs of\nthe houses, but the houses crumbled beneath their feet; they tried\nto climb to the tops of the trees, but the trees hurled them down;\nthey were even repulsed by the caves, which closed before them. Thus\nthis ill-starred race was finally destroyed and overthrown, and the\nonly vestiges of them which remain are certain of their progeny,\nthe little monkeys which dwell in the woods.\n\n\n\nVukub-Cakix, the Great Macaw\n\nEre the earth was quite recovered from the wrathful flood which had\ndescended upon it there lived a being orgulous and full of pride,\ncalled Vukub-Cakix (Seven-times-the-colour-of-fire--the Kiche name\nfor the great macaw bird). His teeth were of emerald, and other\nparts of him shone with the brilliance of gold and silver. In short,\nit is evident that he was a sun-and-moon god of prehistoric times. He\nboasted dreadfully, and his conduct so irritated the other gods that\nthey resolved upon his destruction. His two sons, Zipacna and Cabrakan\n(Cockspur or Earth-heaper, and Earthquake), were earthquake-gods of\nthe type of the J\u00f6tuns of Scandinavian myth or the Titans of Greek\nlegend. These also were prideful and arrogant, and to cause their\ndownfall the gods despatched the heavenly twins Hun-Apu and Xbalanque\nto earth, with instructions to chastise the trio.\n\nVukub-Cakix prided himself upon his possession of the wonderful\nnanze-tree, the tapal, bearing a fruit round, yellow, and aromatic,\nupon which he breakfasted every morning. One morning he mounted to its\nsummit, whence he could best espy the choicest fruits, when he was\nsurprised and infuriated to observe that two strangers had arrived\nthere before him, and had almost denuded the tree of its produce. On\nseeing Vukub, Hun-Apu raised a blow-pipe to his mouth and blew a dart\nat the giant. It struck him on the mouth, and he fell from the top of\nthe tree to the ground. Hun-Apu leapt down upon Vukub and grappled\nwith him, but the giant in terrible anger seized the god by the arm\nand wrenched it from the body. He then returned to his house, where\nhe was met by his wife, Chimalmat, who inquired for what reason he\nroared with pain. In reply he pointed to his mouth, and so full of\nanger was he against Hun-Apu that he took the arm he had wrenched\nfrom him and hung it over a blazing fire. He then threw himself down\nto bemoan his injuries, consoling himself, however, with the idea\nthat he had avenged himself upon the disturbers of his peace.\n\nWhilst Vukub-Cakix moaned and howled with the dreadful pain which he\nfelt in his jaw and teeth (for the dart which had pierced him was\nprobably poisoned) the arm of Hun-Apu hung over the fire, and was\nturned round and round and basted by Vukub's spouse, Chimalmat. The\nsun-god rained bitter imprecations upon the interlopers who had\npenetrated to his paradise and had caused him such woe, and he gave\nvent to dire threats of what would happen if he succeeded in getting\nthem into his power.\n\nBut Hun-Apu and Xbalanque were not minded that Vukub-Cakix should\nescape so easily, and the recovery of Hun-Apu's arm must be made at\nall hazards. So they went to consult two great and wise magicians,\nXpiyacoc and Xmucane, in whom we see two of the original Kiche creative\ndeities, who advised them to proceed with them in disguise to the\ndwelling of Vukub, if they wished to recover the lost arm. The old\nmagicians resolved to disguise themselves as doctors, and dressed\nHun-Apu and Xbalanque in other garments to represent their sons.\n\nShortly they arrived at the mansion of Vukub, and while still some way\noff they could hear his groans and cries. Presenting themselves at\nthe door, they accosted him. They told him that they had heard some\none crying out in pain, and that as famous doctors they considered\nit their duty to ask who was suffering.\n\nVukub appeared quite satisfied, but closely questioned the old wizards\nconcerning the two young men who accompanied them.\n\n\"They are our sons,\" they replied.\n\n\"Good,\" said Vukub. \"Do you think you will be able to cure me?\"\n\n\"We have no doubt whatever upon that head,\" answered Xpiyacoc. \"You\nhave sustained very bad injuries to your mouth and eyes.\"\n\n\"The demons who shot me with an arrow from their blow-pipe are the\ncause of my sufferings,\" said Vukub. \"If you are able to cure me I\nshall reward you richly.\"\n\n\"Your Highness has many bad teeth, which must be removed,\" said\nthe wily old magician. \"Also the balls of your eyes appear to me to\nbe diseased.\"\n\nVukub appeared highly alarmed, but the magicians speedily reassured\nhim.\n\n\"It is necessary,\" said Xpiyacoc, \"that we remove your teeth, but we\nwill take care to replace them with grains of maize, which you will\nfind much more agreeable in every way.\"\n\nThe unsuspicious giant agreed to the operation, and very quickly\nXpiyacoc, with the help of Xmucane, removed his teeth of emerald, and\nreplaced them by grains of white maize. A change quickly came over\nthe Titan. His brilliancy speedily vanished, and when they removed\nthe balls of his eyes he sank into insensibility and died.\n\nAll this time the wife of Vukub was turning Hun-Apu's arm over the\nfire, but Hun-Apu snatched the limb from above the brazier, and\nwith the help of the magicians replaced it upon his shoulder. The\ndiscomfiture of Vukub was then complete. The party left his dwelling\nfeeling that their mission had been accomplished.\n\n\n\nThe Earth-Giants\n\nBut in reality it was only partially accomplished, because Vukub's two\nsons, Zipacna and Cabrakan, still remained to be dealt with. Zipacna\nwas daily employed in heaping up mountains, while Cabrakan, his\nbrother, shook them in earthquake. The vengeance of Hun-Apu and\nXbalanque was first directed against Zipacna, and they conspired with\na band of young men to bring about his death.\n\nThe young men, four hundred in number, pretended to be engaged in\nbuilding a house. They cut down a large tree, which they made believe\nwas to be the roof-tree of their dwelling, and waited in a part of\nthe forest through which they knew Zipacna must pass. After a while\nthey could hear the giant crashing through the trees. He came into\nsight, and when he saw them standing round the giant tree-trunk,\nwhich they could not lift, he seemed very much amused.\n\n\"What have you there, O little ones?\" he said laughing.\n\n\"Only a tree, your Highness, which we have felled for the roof-tree\nof a new house we are building.\"\n\n\"Cannot you carry it?\" asked the giant disdainfully.\n\n\"No, your Highness,\" they made answer; \"it is much too heavy to be\nlifted even by our united efforts.\"\n\nWith a good-natured laugh the Titan stooped and lifted the great\ntrunk upon his shoulder. Then, bidding them lead the way, he trudged\nthrough the forest, evidently not disconcerted in the least by his\ngreat burden. Now the young men, incited by Hun-Apu and Xbalanque,\nhad dug a great ditch, which they pretended was to serve for the\nfoundation of their new house. Into this they requested Zipacna to\ndescend, and, scenting no mischief, the giant readily complied. On his\nreaching the bottom his treacherous acquaintances cast huge trunks\nof trees upon him, but on hearing them coming down he quickly took\nrefuge in a small side tunnel which the youths had constructed to\nserve as a cellar beneath their house.\n\nImagining the giant to be killed, they began at once to express their\ndelight by singing and dancing, and to lend colour to his stratagem\nZipacna despatched several friendly ants to the surface with strands\nof hair, which the young men concluded had been taken from his dead\nbody. Assured by the seeming proof of his death, the youths proceeded\nto build their house upon the tree-trunks which they imagined covered\nZipacna's body, and, producing a quantity of pulque, they began to\nmake merry over the end of their enemy. For some hours their new\ndwelling rang with revelry.\n\nAll this time Zipacna, quietly hidden below, was listening to the\nhubbub and waiting his chance to revenge himself upon those who had\nentrapped him.\n\nSuddenly arising in his giant might, he cast the house and all its\ninmates high in the air. The dwelling was utterly demolished, and the\nband of youths were hurled with such force into the sky that they\nremained there, and in the stars we call the Pleiades we can still\ndiscern them wearily waiting an opportunity to return to earth.\n\n\n\nThe Undoing of Zipacna\n\nBut Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, grieved that their comrades had so perished,\nresolved that Zipacna must not be permitted to escape so easily. He,\ncarrying the mountains by night, sought his food by day on the shore\nof the river, where he wandered catching fish and crabs. The brothers\nmade a large artificial crab, which they placed in a cavern at the\nbottom of a ravine. They then cunningly undermined a huge mountain,\nand awaited events. Very soon they saw Zipacna wandering along the\nside of the river, and asked him where he was going.\n\n\"Oh, I am only seeking my daily food,\" replied the giant.\n\n\"And what may that consist of?\" asked the brothers.\n\n\"Only of fish and crabs,\" replied Zipacna.\n\n\"Oh, there is a crab down yonder,\" said the crafty brothers, pointing\nto the bottom of the ravine. \"We espied it as we came along. Truly,\nit is a great crab, and will furnish you with a capital breakfast.\"\n\n\"Splendid!\" cried Zipacna, with glistening eyes. \"I must have it\nat once,\" and with one bound he leapt down to where the cunningly\ncontrived crab lay in the cavern.\n\nNo sooner had he reached it than Hun-Apu and Xbalanque cast the\nmountain upon him; but so desperate were his efforts to get free that\nthe brothers feared he might rid himself of the immense weight of\nearth under which he was buried, and to make sure of his fate they\nturned him into stone. Thus at the foot of Mount Meahuan, near Vera\nPaz, perished the proud Mountain-Maker.\n\n\n\nThe Discomfiture of Cabrakan\n\nNow only the third of this family of boasters remained, and he was\nthe most proud of any.\n\n\"I am the Overturner of Mountains!\" said he.\n\nBut Hun-Apu and Xbalanque had made up their minds that not one of\nthe race of Vukub should be left alive.\n\nAt the moment when they were plotting the overthrow of Cabrakan he\nwas occupied in moving mountains. He seized the mountains by their\nbases and, exerting his mighty strength, cast them into the air; and\nof the smaller mountains he took no account at all. While he was so\nemployed he met the brothers, who greeted him cordially.\n\n\"Good day, Cabrakan,\" said they. \"What may you be doing?\"\n\n\"Bah! nothing at all,\" replied the giant. \"Cannot you see that I am\nthrowing the mountains about, which is my usual occupation? And who\nmay you be that ask such stupid questions? What are your names?\"\n\n\"We have no names,\" replied they. \"We are only hunters, and here we\nhave our blow-pipes, with which we shoot the birds that live in these\nmountains. So you see that we do not require names, as we meet no one.\"\n\nCabrakan looked at the brothers disdainfully, and was about to\ndepart when they said to him: \"Stay; we should like to behold these\nmountain-throwing feats of yours.\"\n\nThis aroused the pride of Cabrakan.\n\n\"Well, since you wish it,\" said he, \"I will show you how I can move\na really great mountain. Now, choose the one you would like to see\nme destroy, and before you are aware of it I shall have reduced it\nto dust.\"\n\nHun-Apu looked around him, and espying a great peak pointed toward\nit. \"Do you think you could overthrow that mountain?\" he asked.\n\n\"Without the least difficulty,\" replied Cabrakan, with a great\nlaugh. \"Let us go toward it.\"\n\n\"But first you must eat,\" said Hun-Apu. \"You have had no food since\nmorning, and so great a feat can hardly be accomplished fasting.\"\n\nThe giant smacked his lips. \"You are right,\" he said, with a hungry\nlook. Cabrakan was one of those people who are always hungry. \"But\nwhat have you to give me?\"\n\n\"We have nothing with us,\" said Hun-Apu.\n\n\"Umph!\" growled Cabrakan, \"you are a pretty fellow. You ask me what\nI will have to eat, and then tell me you have nothing,\" and in his\nanger he seized one of the smaller mountains and threw it into the sea,\nso that the waves splashed up to the sky.\n\n\"Come,\" said Hun-Apu, \"don't get angry. We have our blow-pipes with\nus, and will shoot a bird for your dinner.\"\n\nOn hearing this Cabrakan grew somewhat quieter.\n\n\"Why did you not say so at first?\" he growled. \"But be quick, because\nI am hungry.\"\n\nJust at that moment a large bird passed overhead, and Hun-Apu and\nXbalanque raised their blow-pipes to their mouths. The darts sped\nswiftly upward, and both of them struck the bird, which came tumbling\ndown through the air, falling at the feet of Cabrakan.\n\n\"Wonderful, wonderful!\" cried the giant. \"You are clever fellows\nindeed,\" and, seizing the dead bird, he was going to eat it raw when\nHun-Apu stopped him.\n\n\"Wait a moment,\" said he. \"It will be much nicer when cooked,\" and,\nrubbing two sticks together, he ordered Xbalanque to gather some dry\nwood, so that a fire was soon blazing.\n\nThe bird was then suspended over the fire, and in a short time a\nsavoury odour mounted to the nostrils of the giant, who stood watching\nthe cooking with hungry eyes and watering lips.\n\nBefore placing the bird over the fire to cook, however, Hun-Apu had\nsmeared its feathers with a thick coating of mud. The Indians in\nsome parts of Central America still do this, so that when the mud\ndries with the heat of the fire the feathers will come off with it,\nleaving the flesh of the bird quite ready to eat. But Hun-Apu had\ndone this with a purpose. The mud that he spread on the feathers was\nthat of a poisoned earth, called tizate, the elements of which sank\ndeeply into the flesh of the bird.\n\nWhen the savoury mess was cooked, he handed it to Cabrakan, who\nspeedily devoured it.\n\n\"Now,\" said Hun-Apu, \"let us go toward that great mountain and see\nif you can lift it as you boast.\"\n\nBut already Cabrakan began to feel strange pangs.\n\n\"What is this?\" said he, passing his hand across his brow. \"I do not\nseem to see the mountain you mean.\"\n\n\"Nonsense,\" said Hun-Apu. \"Yonder it is, see, to the east there.\"\n\n\"My eyes seem dim this morning,\" replied the giant.\n\n\"No, it is not that,\" said Hun-Apu. \"You have boasted that you could\nlift this mountain, and now you are afraid to try.\"\n\n\"I tell you,\" said Cabrakan, \"that I have difficulty in seeing. Will\nyou lead me to the mountain?\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" said Hun-Apu, giving him his hand, and with several\nstrides they were at the foot of the eminence.\n\n\"Now,\" said Hun-Apu, \"see what you can do, boaster.\"\n\nCabrakan gazed stupidly at the great mass in front of him. His knees\nshook together so that the sound was like the beating of a war-drum,\nand the sweat poured from his forehead and ran in a little stream\ndown the side of the mountain.\n\n\"Come,\" cried Hun-Apu derisively, \"are you going to lift the mountain\nor not?\"\n\n\"He cannot,\" sneered Xbalanque. \"I knew he could not.\"\n\nCabrakan shook himself into a final effort to regain his senses,\nbut all to no purpose. The poison rushed through his blood, and with\na groan he fell dead before the brothers.\n\nThus perished the last of the earth-giants of Guatemala, whom Hun-Apu\nand Xbalanque had been sent to destroy.\n\n\n\nThe Second Book\n\nThe second book of the Popol Vuh outlines the history of the hero-gods\nHun-Apu and Xbalanque. We are told that Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the\nfather and mother gods, had two sons, Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu,\nthe first of whom had by his wife Xbakiyalo two sons, Hunbatz and\nHunchouen. The weakness of the whole family was the native game\nof ball, possibly the Mexican-Mayan game of tlachtli, a sort of\nhockey. To this pastime the natives of Central America were greatly\naddicted, and numerous remains of tlachtli courts are to be found in\nthe ruined cities of Yucatan and Guatemala. The object of the game was\nto \"putt\" the ball through a small hole in a circular stone or goal,\nand the player who succeeded in doing this might demand from the\naudience all their clothes and jewels. The game, as we have said,\nwas exceedingly popular in ancient Central America, and there is\ngood reason to believe that inter-city matches took place between\nthe various city-states, and were accompanied by a partisanship and\nrivalry as keen as that which finds expression among the crowd at\nour principal football matches to-day.\n\n\n\nA Challenge from Hades\n\nOn one occasion Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu played a game of ball which\nin its progress took them into the vicinity of the realm of Xibalba\n(the Kiche Hades). The rulers of that drear abode, imagining that they\nhad a chance of capturing the brothers, extended a challenge to them\nto play them at ball, and this challenge Hun-Came and Vukub-Came,\nthe sovereigns of the Kiche Hell, despatched by four messengers\nin the shape of owls. The brothers accepted the challenge, and,\nbidding farewell to their mother Xmucane and their respective sons\nand nephews, followed the feathered messengers down the long hill\nwhich led to the Underworld.\n\n\n\nThe Fooling of the Brethren\n\nThe American Indian is grave and taciturn. If there is one thing\nhe fears and dislikes more than another it is ridicule. To his\naustere and haughty spirit it appears as something derogatory to his\ndignity, a slur upon his manhood. The hero-brothers had not been\nlong in Xibalba when they discovered that it was the intention of\nthe Lords of Hades to fool them and subject them to every species\nof indignity. After crossing a river of blood, they came to the\npalace of the Lords of Xibalba, where they espied two seated figures\nin front of them. Thinking that they recognised in them Hun-Came\nand Vukub-Came, they saluted them in a becoming manner, only to\ndiscover to their mortification that they were addressing figures of\nwood. This incident excited the ribald jeers of the Xibalbans, who\nscoffed at the brothers. Next they were invited to sit on the seat\nof honour, which they found to their dismay to be a red-hot stone,\na circumstance which caused unbounded amusement to the inhabitants\nof the Underworld. Then they were imprisoned in the House of Gloom,\nwhere they were sacrificed and buried. The head of Hunhun-Apu was,\nhowever, suspended from a tree, upon the branches of which grew a crop\nof gourds so like the dreadful trophy as to be indistinguishable from\nit. The fiat went forth that no one in Xibalba must eat of the fruit\nof that tree. But the Lords of Xibalba had reckoned without feminine\ncuriosity and its unconquerable love of the forbidden.\n\n\n\nThe Princess Xquiq\n\nOne day--if day ever penetrated to that gloomy and unwholesome place--a\nprincess of Xibalba called Xquiq (Blood), daughter of Cuchumaquiq,\na notability of Xibalba, passed under the tree, and, observing the\ndesirable fruit with which it was covered, stretched out her hand\nto pluck one of the gourds. Into the outstretched palm the head of\nHunhun-Apu spat, and told Xquiq that she would become a mother. Before\nshe returned home, however, the hero-god assured her that no harm would\ncome to her, and that she must not be afraid. In a few months' time\nthe princess's father heard of her adventure, and she was doomed to be\nslain, the royal messengers of Xibalba, the owls, receiving commands\nto despatch her and to bring back her heart in a vase. But on the way\nshe overcame the scruples of the owls by splendid promises, and they\nsubstituted for her heart the coagulated sap of the bloodwort plant.\n\n\n\nThe Birth of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque\n\nXmucane, left at home, looked after the welfare of the young\nHunbatz and Hunchouen, and thither, at the instigation of the head\nof Hunhun-Apu, went Xquiq for protection. At first Xmucane would not\ncredit her story, but upon Xquiq appealing to the gods a miracle was\nperformed on her behalf, and she was permitted to gather a basket of\nmaize where no maize grew to prove the authenticity of her claim. As\na princess of the Underworld, it is not surprising that she should be\nconnected with such a phenomenon, as it is from deities of that region\nthat we usually expect the phenomena of growth to proceed. Shortly\nafterwards, when she had won the good graces of the aged Xmucane,\nher twin sons were born, the Hun-Apu and Xbalanque whom we have\nalready met as the central figures of the first book.\n\n\n\nThe Divine Children\n\nBut the divine children were both noisy and mischievous. They\ntormented their venerable grandmother with their shrill uproar\nand tricky behaviour. At last Xmucane, unable to put up with their\nhabits, turned them out of doors. They took to an outdoor life with\nsurprising ease, and soon became expert hunters and skilful in the use\nof the serbatana (blow-pipe), with which they shot birds and small\nanimals. They were badly treated by their half-brothers Hunbatz and\nHunchouen, who, jealous of their fame as hunters, annoyed them in every\npossible manner. But the divine children retaliated by turning their\ntormentors into hideous apes. The sudden change in the appearance of\nher grandsons caused Xmucane the most profound grief and dismay, and\nshe begged that they who had brightened her home with their singing\nand flute-playing might not be condemned to such a dreadful fate. She\nwas informed by the divine brothers that if she could behold their\nantics unmoved by mirth her wish would be granted. But the capers\nthey cut and their grimaces caused her such merriment that on three\nseparate occasions she was unable to restrain her laughter, and the\nmen-monkeys took their leave.\n\n\n\nThe Magic Tools\n\nThe childhood of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque was full of such episodes as\nmight be expected from these beings. We find, for example, that on\nattempting to clear a milpa (maize plantation) they employed magic\ntools which could be trusted to undertake a good day's work whilst they\nwere absent at the chase. Returning at night, they smeared soil over\ntheir hands and faces, for the purpose of deluding Xmucane into the\nbelief that they had been toiling all day in the fields. But the wild\nbeasts met in conclave during the night, and replaced all the roots\nand shrubs which the magic tools had cleared away. The twins recognised\nthe work of the various animals, and placed a large net on the ground,\nso that if the creatures came to the spot on the following night they\nmight be caught in its folds. They did come, but all made good their\nescape save the rat. The rabbit and deer lost their tails, however,\nand that is why these animals possess no caudal appendages! The rat,\nin gratitude for their sparing its life, told the brothers the history\nof their father and uncle, of their heroic efforts against the powers\nof Xibalba, and of the existence of a set of clubs and balls with\nwhich they might play tlachtli on the ball-ground at Ninxor-Carchah,\nwhere Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu had played before them.\n\n\n\nThe Second Challenge\n\nBut the watchful Hun-Came and Vukub-Came soon heard that the sons and\nnephews of their first victims had adopted the game which had led these\nlast into the clutches of the cunning Xibalbans, and they resolved to\nsend a similar challenge to Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, thinking that the\ntwins were unaware of the fate of Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu. They\ntherefore despatched messengers to the home of Xmucane with a challenge\nto play them at the ball-game, and Xmucane, alarmed by the nature of\nthe message, sent a louse to warn her grandsons. The louse, unable to\nproceed as quickly as he wished, permitted himself to be swallowed by\na toad, the toad by a serpent, and the serpent by the bird Voc, the\nmessenger of Hurakan. At the end of the journey the other animals duly\nliberated each other, but the toad could not rid himself of the louse,\nwho had in reality hidden himself in the toad's gums, and had not been\nswallowed at all. At last the message was delivered, and the twins\nreturned to the abode of Xmucane, to bid farewell to their grandmother\nand mother. Before leaving they each planted a cane in the midst of\nthe hut, saying that it would wither if any fatal accident befell them.\n\n\n\nThe Tricksters Tricked\n\nThey then proceeded to Xibalba, on the road trodden by Hunhun-Apu\nand Vukub-Hunapu, and passed the river of blood as the others\nhad done. But they adopted the precaution of despatching ahead an\nanimal called Xan as a sort of spy or scout. They commanded this\nanimal to prick all the Xibalbans with a hair from Hun-Apu's leg,\nin order that they might discover which of them were made of wood,\nand incidentally learn the names of the others as they addressed one\nanother when pricked by the hair. They were thus enabled to ignore the\nwooden images on their arrival at Xibalba, and they carefully avoided\nthe red-hot stone. Nor did the ordeal of the House of Gloom affright\nthem, and they passed through it scatheless. The inhabitants of the\nUnderworld were both amazed and furious with disappointment. To add\nto their annoyance, they were badly beaten in the game of ball which\nfollowed. The Lords of Hell then requested the twins to bring them four\nbouquets of flowers from the royal garden of Xibalba, at the same time\ncommanding the gardeners to keep good watch over the flowers so that\nnone of them might be removed. But the brothers called to their aid a\nswarm of ants, who succeeded in returning with the flowers. The anger\nof the Xibalbans increased to a white fury, and they incarcerated\nHun-Apu and Xbalanque in the House of Lances, a dread abode where\ndemons armed with sharp spears thrust at them fiercely. But they\nbribed the lancers and escaped. The Xibalbans slit the beaks of the\nowls who guarded the royal gardens, and howled in fury.\n\n\n\nThe Houses of the Ordeals\n\nThey were next thrust into the House of Cold. Here they escaped\na dreadful death from freezing by warming themselves with burning\npine-cones. Into the House of Tigers and the House of Fire they were\nthrown for a night each, but escaped from both. But they were not so\nlucky in the House of Bats. As they threaded this place of terror,\nCamazotz, Ruler of the Bats, descended upon them with a whirring\nof leathern wings, and with one sweep of his sword-like claws cut\noff Hun-Apu's head. (See Mictlan, pp. 95, 96.) But a tortoise which\nchanced to pass the severed neck of the hero's prostrate body and\ncame into contact with it was immediately turned into a head, and\nHun-Apu arose from his terrible experience not a whit the worse.\n\nThese various houses in which the brothers were forced to pass a\ncertain time forcibly recall to our minds the several circles of\nDante's Hell. Xibalba was to the Kiche not a place of punishment,\nbut a dark place of horror and myriad dangers. No wonder the Maya had\nwhat Landa calls \"an immoderate fear of death\" if they believed that\nafter it they would be transported to such a dread abode!\n\nWith the object of proving their immortal nature to their adversaries,\nHun-Apu and Xbalanque, first arranging for their resurrection with\ntwo sorcerers, Xulu and Pacaw, stretched themselves upon a bier and\ndied. Their bones were ground to powder and thrown into the river. They\nthen went through a kind of evolutionary process, appearing on the\nfifth day after their deaths as men-fishes and on the sixth as old\nmen, ragged and tatterdemalion in appearance, killing and restoring\neach other to life. At the request of the princes of Xibalba, they\nburned the royal palace and restored it to its pristine splendour,\nkilled and resuscitated the king's dog, and cut a man in pieces,\nbringing him to life again. The Lords of Hell were curious about\nthe sensation of death, and asked to be killed and resuscitated. The\nfirst portion of their request the hero-brothers speedily granted,\nbut did not deem it necessary to pay any regard to the second.\n\nThrowing off all disguise, the brothers assembled the now thoroughly\ncowed princes of Xibalba, and announced their intention of punishing\nthem for their animosity against themselves, their father and\nuncle. They were forbidden to partake in the noble and classic\ngame of ball--a great indignity in the eyes of Maya of the higher\ncaste--they were condemned to menial tasks, and they were to have sway\nover the beasts of the forest alone. After this their power rapidly\nwaned. These princes of the Underworld are described as being owl-like,\nwith faces painted black and white, as symbolical of their duplicity\nand faithless disposition.\n\nAs some reward for the dreadful indignities they had undergone, the\nsouls of Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu, the first adventurers into the\ndarksome region of Xibalba, were translated to the skies, and became\nthe sun and moon, and with this apotheosis the second book ends.\n\nWe can have no difficulty, in the light of comparative mythology,\nin seeing in the matter of this book a version of \"the harrying of\nhell\" common to many mythologies. In many primitive faiths a hero or\nheroes dares the countless dangers of Hades in order to prove to the\nsavage mind that the terrors of death can be overcome. In Algonquian\nmythology Blue-Jay makes game of the Dead Folk whom his sister Ioi\nhas married, and Balder passes through the Scandinavian Helheim. The\ngod must first descend into the abyss and must emerge triumphant if\nhumble folk are to possess assurance of immortality.\n\n\n\nThe Reality of Myth\n\nIt is from such matter as that found in the second book of the Popol\nVuh that we are enabled to discern how real myth can be on occasion. It\nis obvious, as has been pointed out, that the dread of death in the\nsavage mind may give rise to such a conception of its vanquishment as\nappears in the Popol Vuh. But there is reason to suspect that other\nelements have also entered into the composition of the myth. It is\nwell known that an invading race, driving before them the remnants\nof a conquered people, are prone to regard these in the course of a\nfew generations as almost supernatural and as denizens of a sphere\nmore or less infernal. Their reasons for this are not difficult\nof comprehension. To begin with, a difference in ceremonial ritual\ngives rise to the belief that the inimical race practises magic. The\nenemy is seldom seen, and, if perceived, quickly takes cover or\n\"vanishes.\" The majority of aboriginal races were often earth- or\ncave-dwellers, like the Picts of Scotland, and such the originals of\nthe Xibalbans probably were.\n\nThe invading Maya-Kiche, encountering such a folk in the cavernous\nrecesses of the hill-slopes of Guatemala, would naturally refer them\nto the Underworld. The cliff-dwellings of Mexico and Colorado exhibit\nmanifest signs of the existence of such a cave-dwelling race. In\nthe latter state is the Cliff Palace Ca\u00f1on, a huge natural recess,\nwithin which a small city was actually built, which still remains in\nexcellent preservation. In some such semi-subterranean recess, then,\nmay the city of \"Xibalba\" have stood.\n\n\n\nThe Xibalbans\n\nWe can see, too, that the Xibalbans were not merely a plutonic\nrace. Xibalba is not a Hell, a place of punishment for sin, but a\nplace of the dead, and its inhabitants were scarcely \"devils,\" nor evil\ngods. The transcriber of the Popol Vuh says of them: \"In the old times\nthey did not have much power. They were but annoyers and opposers of\nmen, and, in truth, they were not regarded as gods.\" The word Xibalba\nis derived from a root meaning \"to fear,\" from which comes the name\nfor a ghost or phantom. Xibalba was thus the \"Place of Phantoms.\"\n\n\n\nThe Third Book\n\nThe opening of the third book finds the gods once more deliberating as\nto the creation of man. Four men are evolved as the result of these\ndeliberations. These beings were moulded from a paste of yellow and\nwhite maize, and were named Balam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile),\nBalam-Agab (Tiger of the Night), Mahacutah (The Distinguished Name),\nand Iqi-Balam (Tiger of the Moon).\n\nBut the god Hurakan who had formed them was not overpleased with his\nhandiwork, for these beings were too much like the gods themselves. The\ngods once more took counsel, and agreed that man must be less perfect\nand possess less knowledge than this new race. He must not become\nas a god. So Hurakan breathed a cloud over their eyes in order that\nthey might only see a portion of the earth, whereas before they had\nbeen able to see the whole round sphere of the world. After this the\nfour men were plunged into a deep sleep, and four women were created,\nwho were given them as wives. These were Caha-Paluma (Falling Water),\nChoima (Beautiful Water), Tzununiha (House of the Water), and Cakixa\n(Water of Parrots, or Brilliant Water), who were espoused to the men\nin the respective order given above.\n\nThese eight persons were the ancestors of the Kiche only, after\nwhich were created the forerunners of the other peoples. At this\ntime there was no sun, and comparative darkness lay over the face\nof the earth. Men knew not the art of worship, but blindly lifted\ntheir eyes to heaven and prayed the Creator to send them quiet lives\nand the light of day. But no sun came, and dispeace entered their\nhearts. So they journeyed to a place called Tulan-Zuiva (The Seven\nCaves)--practically the same as Chicomoztoc in the Aztec myth--and\nthere gods were vouchsafed to them. The names of these were Tohil,\nwhom Balam-Quitze received; Avilix, whom Balam-Agab received; and\nHacavitz, granted to Mahacutah. Iqi-Balam received a god, but as he\nhad no family his worship and knowledge died out.\n\n\n\nThe Granting of Fire\n\nGrievously did the Kiche feel the want of fire in the sunless world\nthey inhabited, but this the god Tohil (The Rumbler, the Fire-god)\nquickly provided them with. However, a mighty rain descended and\nextinguished all the fires in the land. These, however, were always\nsupplied again by Tohil, who had only to strike his feet together\nto produce fire. In this figure there is no difficulty in seeing a\nfully developed thunder-god.\n\n\n\nThe Kiche Babel\n\nTulan-Zuiva was a place of great misfortune to the Kiche, for here\nthe race suffered alienation in its different branches by reason of a\nconfounding of their speech, which recalls the story of Babel. Owing\nto this the first four men were no longer able to comprehend each\nother, and determined to leave the place of their mischance and to\nseek the leadership of the god Tohil into another and more fortunate\nsphere. In this journey they met with innumerable hardships. They\nhad to cross many lofty mountains, and on one occasion had to make\na long d\u00e9tour across the bed of the ocean, the waters of which were\nmiraculously divided to permit of their passage. At last they arrived\nat a mountain which they called Hacavitz, after one of their deities,\nand here they remained, for it had been foretold that here they\nshould see the sun. At last the luminary appeared. Men and beasts\nwent wild with delight, although his beams were by no means strong,\nand he appeared more like a reflection in a mirror than the strong\nsun of later days whose fiery beams speedily sucked up the blood of\nvictims on the altar. As he showed his face the three tribal gods\nof the Kiche were turned into stone, as were the gods or totems\nconnected with the wild animals. Then arose the first Kiche town,\nor permanent dwelling-place.\n\n\n\nThe Last Days of the First Men\n\nTime passed, and the first men of the Kiche race grew old. Visions\ncame to them, in which they were exhorted by the gods to render human\nsacrifices, and in order to obey the divine injunctions they raided the\nneighbouring lands, the folk of which made a spirited resistance. But\nin a great battle the Kiche were miraculously assisted by a horde of\nwasps and hornets, which flew in the faces of their foes, stinging\nand blinding them, so that they could not wield weapon nor see to\nmake any effective resistance. After this battle the surrounding\nraces became tributary to them.\n\n\n\nDeath of the First Men\n\nNow the first men felt that their death-day was nigh, and they called\ntheir kin and dependents around them to hear their dying words. In the\ngrief of their souls they chanted the song \"Kamucu,\" the song \"We see,\"\nthat they had sung so joyfully when they had first seen the light\nof day. Then they parted from their wives and sons one by one. And\nof a sudden they were not, and in their place was a great bundle,\nwhich was never opened. It was called the \"Majesty Enveloped.\" So\ndied the first men of the Kiche.\n\nIn this book it is clear that we have to deal with the problem which\nthe origin and creation of man presented to the Maya-Kiche mind. The\nseveral myths connected with it bear a close resemblance to those\nof other American peoples. In the mythology of the American Indian\nit is rare to find an Adam, a single figure set solitary in a world\nwithout companionship of some sort. Man is almost invariably the\nchild of Mother Earth, and emerges from some cavern or subterranean\ncountry fully grown and fully equipped for the upper earth-life. We\nfind this type of myth in the mythologies of the Aztecs, Peruvians,\nChoctaws, Blackfeet Indians, and those of many other American tribes.\n\n\n\nAmerican Migrations\n\nWe also find in the story of the Kiche migration a striking similarity\nto the migration myths of other American races. But in the Kiche myth\nwe can trace a definite racial movement from the cold north to the\nwarm south. The sun is not at first born. There is darkness. When he\ndoes appear he is weak and his beams are dull and watery like those\nof the luminary in a northern clime. Again, there are allusions to\nthe crossing of rivers by means of \"shining sand\" which covered them,\nwhich might reasonably be held to imply the presence upon them of\nice. In this connection we may quote from an Aztec migration myth\nwhich appears almost a parallel to the Kiche story.\n\n\"This is the beginning of the record of the coming of the Mexicans\nfrom the place called Aztlan. It is by means of the water that\nthey came this way, being four tribes, and in coming they rowed in\nboats. They built their huts on piles at the place called the grotto\nof Quineveyan. It is there from which the eight tribes issued. The\nfirst tribe is that of the Huexotzincos, the second the Chalcas,\nthe third the Xochimilcos, the fourth the Cuitlavacas, the fifth the\nMallinalcas, the sixth the Chichimecas, the seventh the Tepanecas,\nthe eighth the Matlatzincas. It is there where they were founded in\nColhuacan. They were the colonists of it since they landed there,\ncoming from Aztlan.... It is there that they soon afterwards went\naway from, carrying with them their god Vitzillopochtli.... There\nthe eight tribes opened up our road by water.\"\n\nThe \"Wallum Olum,\" or painted calendar records, of the Leni-Lenape\nIndians contain a similar myth. \"After the flood,\" says the story,\n\"the Lenape with the manly turtle beings dwelt close together at the\ncave house and dwelling of Talli.... They saw that the snake-land was\nbright and wealthy. Having all agreed, they went over the water of\nthe frozen sea to possess the land. It was wonderful when they all\nwent over the smooth deep water of the frozen sea at the gap of the\nsnake sea in the great ocean.\"\n\nDo these myths contain any essence of the truth? Do they refer to\nan actual migration when the ancestors of certain American tribes\ncrossed the frozen ocean of the Kamchatka Strait and descended from\nthe sunless north and the boreal night of these sub-Arctic regions to a\nmore genial clime? Can such a tradition have been preserved throughout\nthe countless ages which must have passed between the arrival of\nproto-Mongolian man in America and the writing or composition of the\nseveral legends cited? Surely not. But may there not have been later\nmigrations from the north? May not hordes of folk distantly akin to\nthe first Americans have swept across the frozen strait, and within\na few generations have made their way into the warmer regions, as we\nknow the Nahua did? The Scandinavian vikings who reached north-eastern\nAmerica in the tenth century found there a race totally distinct from\nthe Red Man, and more approaching the Esquimaux, whom they designated\nSkrellingr, or \"Chips,\" so small and misshapen were they. Such a\ndescription could hardly have been applied to the North American\nIndian as we know him. From the legends of the Red race of North\nAmerica we may infer that they remained for a number of generations\nin the Far West of the North American continent before they migrated\neastward. And a guess might be hazarded to the effect that, arriving\nin America somewhere about the dawn of the Christian era, they spread\nslowly in a south-easterly direction, arriving in the eastern parts\nof North America about the end of the eleventh century, or even a\nlittle later. This would mean that such a legend as that which we have\njust perused would only require to have survived a thousand years,\nprovided the Popol Vuh was first composed about the eleventh century,\nas appears probable. But such speculations are somewhat dangerous in\nthe face of an almost complete lack of evidence, and must be met with\nthe utmost caution and treated as surmises only.\n\n\n\nCosmogony of the \"Popol Vuh\"\n\nWe have now completed our brief survey of the mythological portion\nof the Popol Vuh, and it will be well at this point to make some\ninquiries into the origin and nature of the various gods, heroes,\nand similar personages who fill its pages. Before doing so, however,\nlet us glance at the creation-myth which we find detailed in the first\nbook. We can see by internal evidence that this must be the result of\nthe fusion of more than one creation-story. We find in the myth that\nmention is made of a number of beings each of whom appears to exercise\nin some manner the functions of a creator or \"moulder.\" These beings\nalso appear to have similar attributes. There is evidently here the\nreconciliation of early rival faiths. We know that this occurred in\nPeruvian cosmogony, which is notoriously composite, and many another\nmythology, European and Asiatic, exhibits a like phenomenon. Even in\nthe creation-story as given in Genesis we can discover the fusion of\ntwo separate accounts from the allusion to the creative power as both\n\"Jahveh\" and \"Elohim,\" the plural ending of the second name proving\nthe presence of polytheistic as well as monotheistic conceptions.\n\n\n\nAntiquity of the \"Popol Vuh\"\n\nThese considerations lead to the assumption that the Popol Vuh is\na mythological collection of very considerable antiquity, as the\nfusion of religious beliefs is a comparatively slow process. It is,\nof course, in the absence of other data, impossible to fix the date\nof its origin, even approximately. We possess only the one version of\nthis interesting work, so that we are compelled to confine ourselves\nto the consideration of that alone, and are without the assistance\nwhich philology would lend us by a comparison of two versions of\ndifferent dates.\n\n\n\nThe Father-Mother Gods\n\nWe discover a pair of dual beings concerned in the Kiche\ncreation. These are Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the Father-Mother\ndeities, and are obviously Kiche equivalents to the Mexican\nOmetecutli-Omeciuatl, whom we have already noticed (pp. 103-4). The\nformer is the male fructifier, whilst the name of the latter\nsignifies \"Female Vigour.\" These deities were probably regarded as\nhermaphroditic, as numerous North American Indian gods appear to be,\nand may be analogous to the \"Father Sky\" and \"Mother Earth\" of so\nmany mythologies.\n\n\n\nGucumatz\n\nWe also find Gucumatz concerned in the Kiche scheme of creation. He\nwas a Maya-Kiche form of the Mexican Quetzalcoatl, or perhaps the\nconverse was the case. The name signifies, like its Nahua equivalent,\n\"Serpent with Green Feathers.\"\n\n\n\nHurakan\n\nHurakan, the wind-god, \"He who hurls below,\" whose name perhaps\nsignifies \"The One-legged,\" is probably the same as the Nahua\nTezcatlipoca. It has been suggested that the word \"hurricane\" has been\nevolved from the name of this god, but the derivation seems rather too\nfortuitous to be real. Hurakan had the assistance of three sub-gods,\nCakulha-Hurakan (Lightning), Chipi-Cakulha (Lightning-flash), and\nRaxa-Cakulha (Track of the Lightning).\n\n\n\nHun-Apu and Xbalanque\n\nHun-Apu and Xbalanque, the hero-gods, appear to have the attributes of\ndemi-gods in general. The name Hun-Apu means \"Master\" or \"Magician,\"\nand Xbalanque \"Little Tiger.\" We find many such figures in American\nmyth, which is rich in hero-gods.\n\n\n\nVukub-Cakix and his Sons\n\nVukub-Cakix and his progeny are, of course, earth-giants like the\nTitans of Greek mythology or the J\u00f6tuns of Scandinavian story. The\nremoval of the emerald teeth of Vukub-Cakix and their replacement by\ngrains of maize would seem to be a mythical interpretation or allegory\nof the removal of the virgin turf of the earth and its replacement by\nmaize-seed. Therefore it is possible that Vukub-Cakix is an earth-god,\nand not a prehistoric sun-and-moon god, as stated by Dr. Seler. [12]\n\n\n\nMetrical Origin of the \"Popol Vuh\"\n\nThere is reason to believe that the Popol Vuh was originally a metrical\ncomposition. This would assist the hypothesis of its antiquity, on\nthe ground that it was for generations recited before being reduced to\nwriting. Passages here and there exhibit a decided metrical tendency,\nand one undoubtedly applies to a descriptive dance symbolical of\nsunrise. It is as follows:\n\n\n    \"'Ama x-u ch'ux ri Vuch?'\n    'Ve,' x-cha ri mama.\n    Ta chi xaquinic.\n    Quate ta chi gecumarchic.\n    Cahmul xaquin ri mama.\n    'Ca xaquin-Vuch,' ca cha vinak vacamic.\"\n\n\nThis may be rendered freely:\n\n\n    \"'Is the dawn about to be?'\n    'Yes,' answered the old man.\n    Then he spread apart his legs.\n    Again the darkness appeared.\n    Four times the old man spread his legs.\n    'Now the opossum spreads his legs,'\n    Say the people.\"\n\n\nIt is obvious that many of these lines possess the well-known quality\nof savage dance-poetry, which displays itself in a rhythm of one\nlong foot followed by two short ones. We know that the Kiche were\nvery fond of ceremonial dances, and of repeating long chants which\nthey called nugum tzih, or \"garlands of words,\" and the Popol Vuh,\nalong with other matter, probably contained many of these.\n\n\n\nPseudo-History of the Kiche\n\nThe fourth book of the Popol Vuh contains the pseudo-history of\nthe Kiche kings. It is obviously greatly confused, and it would be\ndifficult to say how much of it originally belonged to the Popol Vuh\nand how much had been added or invented by its latest compiler. One\ncannot discriminate between saga and history, or between monarchs\nand gods, the real and the fabulous. Interminable conflicts are the\ntheme of most of the book, and many migrations are recounted.\n\n\n\nQueen M\u00f3o\n\nWhilst dealing with Maya pseudo-history it will be well to glance\nfor a moment at the theories of the late Augustus Le Plongeon, who\nlived and carried on excavations in Yucatan for many years. Dr. Le\nPlongeon was obsessed with the idea that the ancient Maya spread their\ncivilisation all over the habitable globe, and that they were the\noriginators of the Egyptian, Palestinian, and Hindu civilisations,\nbesides many others. He furthermore believed himself to be the true\nelucidator of the Maya system of hieroglyphs, which in his estimation\nwere practically identical with the Egyptian. We will not attempt to\nrefute his theories, as they are based on ignorance of the laws which\ngovern philology, anthropology, and mythology. But he possessed a\nthorough knowledge of the Maya tongue, and his acquaintance with Maya\ncustoms was extensive and peculiar. One of his ideas was that a certain\nhall among the ruins of Chichen-Itza had been built by a Queen M\u00f3o,\na Maya princess who after the tragic fate of her brother-husband\nand the catastrophe which ended in the sinking of the continent\nof Atlantis fled to Egypt, where she founded the ancient Egyptian\ncivilisation. It would be easy to refute this theory. But the tale as\ntold by Dr. Le Plongeon possesses a sufficiency of romantic interest\nto warrant its being rescued from the little-known volume in which\nhe published it. [13]\n\nWe do not learn from Dr. Le Plongeon's book by what course of\nreasoning he came to discover that the name of his heroine was the\nrather uneuphonious one of M\u00f3o. Probably he arrived at it by the same\nprocess as that by which he discovered that certain Mayan architectural\nornaments were in reality Egyptian letters. But it will be better to\nlet him tell his story in his own words. It is as follows:\n\n\n\nThe Funeral Chamber\n\n\"As we are about to enter the funeral chamber hallowed by the love of\nthe sister-wife, Queen M\u00f3o, the beauty of the carvings on the zapote\nbeam that forms the lintel of the doorway calls our attention. Here\nis represented the antagonism of the brothers Aac and Coh, that\nled to the murder of the latter by the former. Carved on the lintel\nare the names of these personages, represented by their totems--a\nleopard head for Coh, and a boar head as well as a turtle for Aac,\nthis word meaning both boar and turtle in Maya. Aac is pictured\nwithin the disk of the sun, his protective deity which he worshipped,\naccording to mural inscriptions at Uxmal. Full of anger he faces his\nbrother. In his right hand there is a badge ornamented with feathers\nand flowers. The threatening way in which this is held suggests a\nconcealed weapon.... The face of Coh also expresses anger. With him is\nthe feathered serpent, emblematic of royalty, thence of the country,\nmore often represented as a winged serpent protecting Coh. In his left\nhand he holds his weapon down, whilst his right hand clasps his badge\nof authority, with which he covers his breasts as for protection,\nand demanding the respect due to his rank....\n\n\"Passing between the figures of armed chieftains sculptured on the\njambs of the doorway, and seeming like sentinels guarding the entrance\nof the funeral chamber, we notice one wearing a headdress similar\nto the crown of Lower Egypt, which formed part of the pshent of the\nEgyptian monarchs.\n\n\n\nThe Frescoes\n\n\"The frescoes in the funeral chamber of Prince Coh's Memorial\nHall, painted in water-colours taken from the vegetable kingdom,\nare divided into a series of tableaux separated by blue lines. The\nplinths, the angles of the room, and the edges of the ceiling,\nbeing likewise painted blue, indicate that this was intended for a\nfuneral chamber.... The first scene represents Queen M\u00f3o while yet a\nchild. She is seated on the back of a peccary, or American wild boar,\nunder the royal umbrella of feathers, emblem of royalty in Mayach, as\nit was in India, Chaldea, and other places. She is consulting a h-men,\nor wise man; listening with profound attention to the decrees of fate\nas revealed by the cracking of the shell of an armadillo exposed\nto a slow fire on a brazier, the condensing on it of the vapour,\nand the various tints it assumes. This mode of divination is one of\nthe customs of the Mayas....\n\n\n\nThe Soothsayers\n\n\"In front of the young Queen M\u00f3o, and facing her, is seated the\nsoothsayer, evidently a priest of high rank, judging from the colours,\nblue and yellow, of the feathers of his ceremonial mantle. He reads\nthe decrees of fate on the shell of the armadillo, and the scroll\nissuing from his throat says what they are. By him stands the winged\nserpent, emblem and protective genius of the Maya Empire. His head\nis turned towards the royal banner, which he seems to caress. His\nsatisfaction is reflected in the mild and pleased expression of\nhis face. Behind the priest, the position of whose hand is the\nsame as that of Catholic priests in blessing their congregation,\nand the significance of which is well known to occultists, are the\nladies-in-waiting of the young Queen.\n\n\n\nThe Royal Bride\n\n\"In another tableau we again see Queen M\u00f3o, no longer a child, but\na comely young woman. She is not seated under the royal umbrella or\nbanner, but she is once more in the presence of the h-men, whose face\nis concealed by a mask representing an owl's head. She, pretty and\ncoquettish, has many admirers, who vie with each other for the honour\nof her hand. In company with one of her wooers she comes to consult\nthe priest, accompanied by an old lady, her grandmother probably,\nand her female attendants. According to custom the old lady is the\nspokeswoman. She states to the priest that the young man, he who sits\non a low stool between two female attendants, desires to marry the\nQueen. The priest's attendant, seated also on a stool, back of all,\nacts as crier, and repeats in a loud voice the speech of the old lady.\n\n\n\nM\u00f3o's Refusal\n\n\"The young Queen refuses the offer. The refusal is indicated by\nthe direction of the scroll issuing from her mouth. It is turned\nbackward, instead of forward towards the priest, as would be the\ncase if she assented to the marriage. The h-men explains that M\u00f3o,\nbeing a daughter of the royal family, by law and custom must marry one\nof her brothers. The youth listens to the decision with due respect\nto the priest, as shown by his arm being placed across his breast,\nthe left hand resting on the right shoulder. He does not accept\nthe refusal in a meek spirit, however. His clenched fist, his foot\nraised as in the act of stamping, betoken anger and disappointment,\nwhile the attendant behind him expostulates, counselling patience and\nresignation, judging by the position and expression of her left-hand\npalm upward.\n\n\n\nThe Rejected Suitor\n\n\"In another tableau we see the same individual whose offer of marriage\nwas rejected by the young Queen in consultation with a nubchi, or\nprophet, a priest whose exalted rank is indicated by his headdress,\nand the triple breastplate he wears over his mantle of feathers. The\nconsulter, evidently a person of importance, has come attended by\nhis hachetail, or confidential friend, who sits behind him on a\ncushion. The expression on the face of the said consulter shows that\nhe does not accept patiently the decrees of fate, although conveyed by\nthe interpreter in as conciliatory a manner as possible. The adverse\ndecision of the gods is manifested by the sharp projecting centre\npart of the scroll, but it is wrapped in words as persuasive and\nconsoling, preceded by as smooth a preamble as the rich and beautiful\nMaya language permits and makes easy. His friend is addressing the\nprophet's assistant. Reflecting the thoughts of his lord, he declares\nthat the nubchi's fine discourse and his pretended reading of the will\nof the gods are all nonsense, and exclaims 'Pshaw!' which contemptuous\nexclamation is pictured by the yellow scroll, pointed at both ends,\nescaping from his nose like a sneeze. The answer of the priest's\nassistant, evidenced by the gravity of his features, the assertive\nposition of his hand, and the bluntness of his speech, is evidently\n'It is so!'\n\n\n\nAac's Fierce Wooing\n\n\"Her brother Aac is madly in love with M\u00f3o. He is portrayed approaching\nthe interpreter of the will of the gods, divested of his garments\nin token of humility in presence of their majesty and of submission\nto their decrees. He comes full of arrogance, arrayed in gorgeous\nattire, and with regal pomp. He comes not as a suppliant to ask and\naccept counsel, but haughty, he makes bold to dictate. He is angered\nat the refusal of the priest to accede to his demand for his sister\nM\u00f3o's hand, to whose totem, an armadillo on this occasion, he points\nimperiously. It was on an armadillo's shell that the fates wrote her\ndestiny when consulted by the performance of the Pou ceremony. The\nyellow flames of wrath darting from all over his person, the sharp\nyellow scroll issuing from his mouth, symbolise Aac's feelings. The\npontiff, however, is unmoved by them. In the name of the gods with\nserene mien he denies the request of the proud nobleman, as his speech\nindicates. The winged serpent, genius of the country, that stands erect\nand ireful by Aac, is also wroth at his pretensions, and shows in its\nfeatures and by sending its dart through Aac's royal banner a decided\nopposition to them, expressed by the ends of his speech being turned\nbackwards, some of them terminating abruptly, others in sharp points.\n\n\n\nPrince Coh\n\n\"Prince Coh sits behind the priest as one of his attendants. He\nwitnesses the scene, hears the calm negative answer, sees the anger\nof his brother and rival, smiles at his impotence, is happy at his\ndiscomfiture. Behind him, however, sits a spy who will repeat his\nwords, report his actions to his enemy. He listens, he watches. The\nhigh-priest himself, Cay, their elder brother, sees the storm that\nis brewing behind the dissensions of Coh and Aac. He trembles at the\nthought of the misfortunes that will surely befall the dynasty of\nthe Cans, of the ruin and misery of the country that will certainly\nfollow. Divested of his priestly raiment, he comes nude and humble\nas it is proper for men in the presence of the gods, to ask their\nadvice how best to avoid the impending calamities. The chief of the\nauspices is in the act of reading their decrees on the palpitating\nentrails of a fish. The sad expression on his face, that of humble\nresignation on that of the pontiff, of deferential astonishment on\nthat of the assistant, speak of the inevitable misfortunes which are\nto come in the near future.\n\n\"We pass over interesting battle scenes ... in which the defenders have\nbeen defeated by the Mayas. Coh will return to his queen loaded with\nspoils that he will lay at her feet with his glory, which is also hers.\n\n\n\nThe Murder of Coh\n\n\"We next see him in a terrible altercation with his brother Aac. The\nfigures in that scene are nearly life-size, but so much disfigured\nand broken as to make it impossible to obtain good tracings. Coh is\nportrayed without weapons, his fists clenched, looking menacingly\nat his foe, who holds three spears, typical of the three wounds he\ninflicted in his brother's back when he killed him treacherously. Coh\nis now laid out, being prepared for cremation. His body has been\nopened at the ribs to extract the viscera and heart, which, after\nbeing charred, are to be preserved in a stone urn with cinnabar,\nwhere the writer found them in 1875. His sister-wife, Queen M\u00f3o,\nin sad contemplation of the remains of the beloved, ... kneels at\nhis feet.... The winged serpent, protective genius of the country, is\npictured without a head. The ruler of the country has been slain. He\nis dead. The people are without a chief.\"\n\n\n\nThe Widowhood of M\u00f3o\n\nThe widowhood of M\u00f3o is then said to be portrayed in subsequent\npictures. Other suitors, among them Aac, make their proposals to\nher, but she refuses them all. \"Aac's pride being humiliated, his\nlove turned to hatred. His only wish henceforth was to usurp the\nsupreme power, to wage war against the friend of his childhood. He\nmade religious disagreement the pretext. He proclaimed that the\nworship of the sun was to be superior to that of the winged serpent,\nthe genius of the country; also to that of the worship of ancestors,\ntypified by the feathered serpent, with horns and a flame or halo on\nthe head.... Prompted by such evil passions, he put himself at the\nhead of his own vassals, and attacked those who had remained faithful\nto Queen M\u00f3o and to Prince Coh's memory. At first M\u00f3o's adherents\nsuccessfully opposed her foes. The contending parties, forgetting in\nthe strife that they were children of the same soil, blinded by their\nprejudices, let their passions have the better of their reason. At\nlast Queen M\u00f3o fell a prisoner in the hands of her enemy.\"\n\n\n\nThe Manuscript Troano\n\nDr. Le Plongeon here assumes that the story is taken up by the\nManuscript Troano. As no one is able to decipher this manuscript\ncompletely, he is pretty safe in his assertion. Here is what the\npintura alluded to says regarding Queen M\u00f3o, according to our author:\n\n\"The people of Mayach having been whipped into submission and cowed,\nno longer opposing much resistance, the lord seized her by the hair,\nand, in common with others, caused her to suffer from blows. This\nhappened on the ninth day of the tenth month of the year Kan. Being\ncompletely routed, she passed to the opposite sea-coast in the southern\nparts of the country, which had already suffered much injury.\"\n\nHere we shall leave the Queen, and those who have been sufficiently\ncredulous to create and believe in her and her companions. We do not\naver that the illustrations on the walls of the temple at Chichen do\nnot allude to some such incident, or series of incidents, as Dr. Le\nPlongeon describes, but to bestow names upon the dramatis person\u00e6 in\nthe face of almost complete inability to read the Maya script and a\ntotal dearth of accompanying historical manuscripts is merely futile,\nand we must regard Dr. Le Plongeon's narrative as a quite fanciful\nrendering of probability. At the same time, the light which he\nthrows--if some obviously unscientific remarks be deducted--on the\ncustoms of the Maya renders his account of considerable interest,\nand that must be our excuse for presenting it here at some length.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI: THE CIVILISATION OF OLD PERU\n\n\nOld Peru\n\nIf the civilisation of ancient Peru did not achieve the standard of\ngeneral culture reached by the Mexicans and Maya, it did not fall far\nshort of the attainment of these peoples. But the degrading despotism\nunder which the peasantry groaned in Inca times, and the brutal\nand sanguinary tyranny of the Apu-Ccapac Incas, make the rulers of\nMexico at their worst appear as enlightened when compared with the\nPeruvian governing classes. The Quichua-Aymara race which inhabited\nPeru was inferior to the Mexican in general mental culture, if not in\nmental capacity, as is proved by its inability to invent any method\nof written communication or any adequate time-reckoning. In imitative\nart, too, the Peruvians were weak, save in pottery and rude modelling,\nand their religion savoured much more of the materialistic, and was\naltogether of a lower cultus.\n\n\n\nThe Country\n\nThe country in which the interesting civilisation of the Inca race\nwas evolved presents physical features which profoundly affected the\nhistory of the race. In fact, it is probable that in no country in\nthe world has the configuration of the land so modified the events in\nthe life of the people dwelling within its borders. The chain of the\nAndes divides into two branches near the boundary between Bolivia and\nChili, and, with the Cordillera de la Costa, encloses at a height of\nover 3000 feet the Desaguadero, a vast tableland with an area equal\nto France. To the north of this is Cuzco, the ancient capital of the\nIncas, to the south Potosi, the most elevated town in the world,\nwhilst between them lies Lake Titicaca, the largest body of fresh\nwater in South America. The whole country is dreary and desolate in\nthe extreme. Cereals cannot ripen, and animals are rare. Yet it was in\nthese desolate regions that the powerful and highly organised empire\nof Peru arose--an empire extending over an area 3000 miles long by\n400 broad.\n\n\n\nThe Andeans\n\nThe prehistoric natives of the Andean region had evolved a civilisation\nlong before the days of the Inca dynasties, and the cyclopean ruins\nof their edifices are to be found at intervals scattered over a wide\nfield on the slopes of the range under the shadow of which they\ndwelt. Their most extraordinary achievement was probably the city\nof Tiahuanaco, on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca, built at a\nlevel 13,000 feet above the sea, occupying nearly half an acre in\nextent, and constructed of enormous megalithic blocks of trachytic\nrock. The great doorway, carved out of a single block of rock, is 7\nfeet in height by 13-1/2 feet wide, and 1-1/2 feet thick. The upper\nportion of this massive portal is carved with symbolic figures. In the\ncentre is a figure in high relief, the head surrounded by solar rays,\nand in each hand a sceptre, the end of which terminates in the head\nof a condor. This figure is flanked on either side by three tiers of\nkneeling suppliants, each of whom is winged and bears a sceptre similar\nin design to the central ones. Elsewhere are mighty blocks of stone,\nsome 36 feet long, remains of enormous walls, standing monoliths,\nand in earlier times colossal statues were seen on the site. When\nthe Spanish conquerors arrived no tradition remained regarding\nthe founders of these structures, and their origin still remains a\nmystery; but that they represent the remains of the capital of some\nmighty prehistoric kingdom is practically admitted.\n\n\n\nA Strange Site\n\nThe greatest mystery of all regarding the ruins at Tiahuanaco is the\nselection of the site. For what reason did the prehistoric rulers\nof Peru build here? The surroundings are totally unsuitable for\nthe raising of such edifices, and the tableland upon which they are\nplaced is at once desolate and difficult of access. The snow-line is\ncontiguous, and breathing at such a height is no easy matter. There\nis no reason to suppose that climatic conditions in the day of these\ncolossal builders were different from those which obtain at the present\ntime. In face of these facts the position of Tiahuanaco remains an\ninsoluble riddle.\n\n\n\nSacsahuaman and Ollantay\n\nOther remains of these prehistoric people are found in various parts\nof Peru. At Sacsahuaman, perched on a hill above the city of Cuzco, is\nan immense fortified work six hundred yards long, built in three lines\nof wall consisting of enormous stones, some of which are twenty-seven\nfeet in length. Pissac is also the site of wonderful ruined masonry\nand an ancient observatory. At Ollantay-tampu, forty-five miles to\nthe north of Cuzco, is another of these gigantic fortresses, built to\ndefend the valley of the Yucay. This stronghold is constructed for the\nmost part of red porphyry, and its walls average twenty-five feet in\nheight. The great cliff on which Ollantay is perched is covered from\nend to end with stupendous walls which zigzag from point to point\nof it like the salient angles of some modern fortalice. At intervals\nare placed round towers of stone provided with loopholes, from which\ndoubtless arrows were discharged at the enemy. This outwork embraces a\nseries of terraces, world-famous because of their gigantic outline and\nthe problem of the use to which they were put. It is now practically\nagreed that these terraces were employed for the production of maize,\nin order that during a prolonged investment the beleaguered troops and\ncountry-folk might not want for a sufficiency of provender. The stone\nof which this fortress was built was quarried at a distance of seven\nmiles, in a spot upwards of three thousand feet above the valley,\nand was dragged up the steep declivity of Ollantay by sheer human\nstrength. The nicety with which the stones were fitted is marvellous.\n\n\n\nThe Drama-Legend of Ollantay\n\nAmong the dramatic works with which the ancient Incas were credited\nis that of Apu-Ollanta, which may recount the veritable story of a\nchieftain after whom the great stronghold was named. It was probably\ndivided into scenes and supplied with stage directions at a later\nperiod, but the dialogue and songs are truly aboriginal. The period\nis that of the reign of the Inca Yupanqui Pachacutic, one of the\nmost celebrated of the Peruvian monarchs. The central figure of the\ndrama is a chieftain named Ollanta, who conceived a violent passion\nfor a daughter of the Inca named Curi-Coyllur (Joyful Star). This\npassion was deemed unlawful, as no mere subject who was not of the\nblood-royal might aspire to the hand of a daughter of the Inca. As\nthe play opens we overhear a dialogue between Ollanta and his\nman-servant Piqui-Chaqui (Flea-footed), who supplies what modern\nstage-managers would designate the \"comic relief.\" They are talking\nof Ollanta's love for the princess, when they are confronted by the\nhigh-priest of the Sun, who tries to dissuade the rash chieftain\nfrom the dangerous course he is taking by means of a miracle. In the\nnext scene Curi-Coyllur is seen in company with her mother, sorrowing\nover the absence of her lover. A harvest song is here followed by a\nlove ditty of undoubtedly ancient origin. The third scene represents\nOllanta's interview with the Inca in which he pleads his suit and\nis slighted by the scornful monarch. Ollanta defies the king in a\nresounding speech, with which the first act concludes. In the first\nscene of the second act we are informed that the disappointed chieftain\nhas raised the standard of rebellion, and the second scene is taken\nup with the military preparations consequent upon the announcement\nof a general rising. In the third scene Rumi-\u00f1aui as general of the\nroyal forces admits defeat by the rebels.\n\n\n\nThe Love-Story of Curi-Coyllur\n\nCuri-Coyllur gives birth to a daughter, and is imprisoned in the\ndarksome Convent of Virgins. Her child, Yma Sumac (How Beautiful),\nis brought up in the same building, but is ignorant of the near\npresence of her mother. The little girl tells her guardian of groans\nand lamentations which she has heard in the convent garden, and of the\ntumultuous emotions with which these sad sounds fill her heart. The\nInca Pachacutic's death is announced, and the accession of his son,\nYupanqui. Rebellion breaks out once more, and the suppression of the\nmalcontents is again entrusted to Rumi-\u00f1aui. That leader, having\ntasted defeat already, resorts to cunning. He conceals his men in\na valley close by, and presents himself covered with blood before\nOllanta, who is at the head of the rebels. He states that he has been\nbarbarously used by the royal troops, and that he desires to join the\nrebels. He takes part with Ollanta and his men in a drunken frolic,\nin which he incites them to drink heavily, and when they are overcome\nwith liquor he brings up his troops and makes them prisoners.\n\n\n\nMother and Child\n\nYma Sumac, the beautiful little daughter of Curi-Coyllur, requests\nher guardian, Pitu Salla, so pitifully to be allowed to visit her\nmother in her dungeon that the woman consents, and mother and child\nare united. Ollanta is brought as a prisoner before the new Inca,\nwho pardons him. At that juncture Yma Sumac enters hurriedly, and begs\nthe monarch to free her mother, Curi-Coyllur. The Inca proceeds to the\nprison, restores the princess to her lover, and the drama concludes\nwith the Inca bestowing his blessing upon the pair.\n\nThe play was first put into written form in the seventeenth century,\nhas often been printed, and is now recognised as a genuine aboriginal\nproduction.\n\n\n\nThe Races of Peru\n\nMany races went to make up the Peruvian people as they existed when\nfirst discovered by the conquering Spaniards. From the south came a\ncivilising race which probably found a number of allied tribes, each\nexisting separately in its own little valley, speaking a different\ndialect, or even language, from its neighbours, and in many instances\nemploying different customs. Although tradition alleged that these\ninvaders came from the north by sea within historical times, the more\nprobable theory of their origin is one which states that they had\nfollowed the course of the affluents of the Amazon to the valleys\nwhere they dwelt when the more enlightened folk from the south came\nupon them. The remains of this aboriginal people--for, though they\nspoke diverse languages, the probability is that they were of one or\nnot more than two stocks--are still found scattered over the coastal\nvalleys in pyramidal mounds and adobe-built dwellings.\n\n\n\nThe Coming of the Incas\n\nThe arrival of the dominant race rudely broke in upon the peaceful\nexistence of the aboriginal folk. This race, the Quichua-Aymara,\nprobably had its place of origin in the Altaplanicie highlands of\nBolivia, the eastern cordillera of the Andes. This they designated\nTucuman (World's End), just as the Kiche of Guatemala were wont\nto describe the land of their origin as Ki Pixab (Corner of the\nEarth). The present republic of Argentina was at a remote period\ncovered by a vast, partially land-locked sea, and beside the shores\nof this the ancestors of the Quichua-Aymara race may have settled as\nfishers and fowlers. They found a more permanent settlement on the\nshores of Lake Titicaca, where their traditions state that they made\nconsiderable advances in the arts of civilisation. It was, indeed,\nfrom Titicaca that the sun emerged from the sacred rock where he\nhad erstwhile hidden himself. Here, too, the llama and paco were\ndomesticated and agricultural life initiated, or perfected. The arts\nof irrigation and terrace-building--so marked as features of Peruvian\ncivilisation--were also invented in this region, and the basis of a\ncomposite advancement laid.\n\n\n\nThe Quichua-Aymara\n\nThis people consisted of two groups, the Quichua and Aymara, so called\nfrom the two kindred tongues spoken by each respectively. These possess\na common grammatical structure, and a great number of words are common\nto both. They are in reality varying forms of one speech. From the\nvalley of Titicaca the Aymara spread from the source of the Amazon\nriver to the higher parts of the Andes range, so that in course of\ntime they exhibited those qualities which stamp the mountaineer in\nevery age and clime. The Quichua, on the other hand, occupied the\nwarm valleys beyond the river Apurimac, to the north-west of the\nAymara-speaking people--a tract equal to the central portion of the\nmodern republic of Peru. The name \"Quichua\" implies a warm valley or\nsphere, in contradistinction to the \"Yunca,\" or tropical districts\nof the coast and lowlands.\n\n\n\nThe Four Peoples\n\nThe metropolitan folk of Cuzco considered Peru to be divided into\nfour sections--that of the Colla-suyu, with the valley of Titicaca\nas its centre, and stretching from the Bolivian highlands to Cuzco;\nthe Conti-suyu, between the Colla-suyu and the ocean; the Quichua\nChinchay-suyu, of the north-west; and the Anti-suyu, of the monta\u00f1a\nregion. The Inca people, coming suddenly into these lands, annexed them\nwith surprising rapidity, and, making the aboriginal tribes dependent\nupon their rule, spread themselves over the face of the country. Thus\nthe ancient chroniclers. But it is obvious that such rapid conquest was\na practical impossibility, and it is now understood that the Inca power\nwas consolidated only some hundred years before the coming of Pizarro.\n\n\n\nThe Coming of Manco Ccapac\n\nPeruvian myth has its Quetzalcoatl in Manco Ccapac, a veritable son of\nthe sun. The Life-giver, observing the deplorable condition of mankind,\nwho seemed to exist for war and feasting alone, despatched his son,\nManco Ccapac, and his sister-wife, Mama Oullo Huaca, to earth for the\npurpose of instructing the degraded peoples in the arts of civilised\nlife. The heavenly pair came to earth in the neighbourhood of Lake\nTiticaca, and were provided with a golden wedge which they were\nassured would sink into the earth at the precise spot on which they\nshould commence their missionary labours. This phenomenon occurred at\nCuzco, where the wedge disappeared. The derivation of the name Cuzco,\nwhich means \"Navel,\" or, in more modern terms, \"Hub of the Universe,\"\nproves that it was regarded as a great culture-centre. On this spot\nthe civilising agents pitched their camp, gathering the uncultured\nfolk of the country around them. Whilst Manco taught the men the\narts of agriculture, Mama Oullo instructed the women in those of\nweaving and spinning. Great numbers gathered in the vicinity of Cuzco,\nand the foundations of a city were laid. Under the mild rule of the\nheavenly pair the land of Peru abounded in every desirable thing,\nlike the Eden of Genesis. The legend of Manco Ccapac as we have\nit from an old Spanish source is worth giving. It is as follows:\n\"There [in Tiahuanaco] the creator began to raise up the people and\nnations that are in that region, making one of each nation in clay,\nand painting the dresses that each one was to wear; those that were\nto wear their hair, with hair, and those that were to be shorn,\nwith hair cut. And to each nation was given the language that was\nto be spoken, and the songs to be sung, and the seeds and food that\nthey were to sow. When the creator had finished painting and making\nthe said nations and figures of clay, he gave life and soul to each\none, as well man as woman, and ordered that they should pass under\nthe earth. Thence each nation came up in the places to which he\nordered them to go. Thus they say that some came out of caves, others\nissued from hills, others from fountains, others from the trunks of\ntrees. From this cause and others, and owing to having come forth and\nmultiplied from those places, and to having had the beginning of their\nlineage in them, they made huacas [14] and places of worship of them,\nin memory of the origin of their lineage. Thus each nation uses the\ndress with which they invest their huaca; and they say that the first\nthat was born in that place was there turned into stone. Others say\nthat they were turned into falcons, condors, and other animals and\nbirds. Hence the huacas they use are in different shapes.\"\n\n\n\nThe Peruvian Creation-Story\n\nThe Incan Peruvians believed that all things emanated from Pachacamac,\nthe all-pervading spirit, who provided the plants and animals (which\nthey believed to be produced from the earth) with \"souls.\" The earth\nitself they designated Pachacamama (Earth-Mother). Here we observe\nthat Pachacamac was more the maker and moulder than the originator of\nmatter, a view common to many American mythologies. Pachacamac it was\nwho breathed the breath of life into man, but the Peruvian conception\nof him was only evolved in later Inca times, and by no means existed\nin the early days of Inca rule, although he was probably worshipped\nbefore this under another and less exalted shape. The mere exercise\nof will or thought was sufficient, according to the Peruvians, to\naccomplish the creative act. In the prayers to the creator, and in\nother portions of Inca rite, we read such expressions as \"Let a man\nbe,\" \"Let a woman be,\" and \"The creative word,\" which go to prove that\nthe Peruvian consciousness had fully grasped the idea of a creator\ncapable of evolving matter out of nothingness. Occasionally we find the\nsun acting as a kind of demiurge or sub-creator. He it is who in later\nlegend founds the city of Cuzco, and sends thither three eggs composed\nof gold, silver, and copper, from which spring the three classes of\nPeruvians, kings, priests, and slaves. The inevitable deluge occurs,\nafter which we find the prehistoric town of Tiahuanaco regarded as\nthe theatre of a new creation of man. Here the creator made man,\nand separated him into nations, making one of each nation out of the\nclay of the earth, painting the dresses that each was to wear, and\nendowing them with national songs, languages, seeds to sow suitable to\nthe environment of each, and food such as they would require. Then he\ngave the peoples life and soul, and commanded them to enter the bowels\nof the earth, whence they came upward in the places where he ordered\nthem to go. Perhaps this is one of the most complete (\"wholesale\"\nwould be a better word) creation-myths in existence, and we can glean\nfrom its very completeness that it is by no means of simple origin, but\nof great complexity. It is obviously an attempt to harmonise several\nconflicting creation-stories, notably those in which the people are\nspoken of as emanating from caves, and the later one of the creation\nof men at Tiahuanaco, probably suggested to the Incas by the immense\nruins at that place, for which they could not otherwise account.\n\n\n\nLocal Creation-Myths\n\nIn some of the more isolated valleys of Peru we discover local\ncreation-myths. For example, in the coastal valley of Irma Pachacamac\nwas not considered to be the creator of the sun, but to be himself a\ndescendant of it. The first human beings created by him were speedily\nseparated, as the man died of hunger, but the woman supported herself\nby living on roots. The sun took compassion upon her and gave her a\nson, whom Pachacamac slew and buried. But from his teeth there grew\nmaize, from his ribs the long white roots of the manioc plant, and\nfrom his flesh various esculent plants.\n\n\n\nThe Character of Inca Civilisation\n\nApart from the treatment which they meted out to the subject races\nunder their sway, the rule of the Inca monarchs was enlightened and\ncontained the elements of high civilisation. It is scarcely clear\nwhether the Inca race arrived in the country at such a date as would\nhave permitted them to profit by adopting the arts and sciences of the\nAndean people who preceded them. But it may be affirmed that their\narrival considerably post-dated the fall of the megalithic empire\nof the Andeans, so that in reality their civilisation was of their\nown manufacture. As architects they were by no means the inferiors\nof the prehistoric race, if the examples of their art did not bulk\nso massively, and the engineering skill with which they pushed\nlong, straight tunnels through vast mountains and bridged seemingly\nimpassable gorges still excites the wonder of modern experts. They\nalso made long, straight roads after the most improved macadamised\nmodel. Their temples and palaces were adorned with gold and silver\nimages and ornaments; sumptuous baths supplied with hot and cold water\nby means of pipes laid in the earth were to be found in the mansions\nof the nobility, and much luxury and real comfort prevailed.\n\n\n\nAn Absolute Theocracy\n\nThe empire of Peru was the most absolute theocracy the world has\never seen. The Inca was the direct representative of the sun upon\nearth, the head of a socio-religious edifice intricate and highly\norganised. This colossal bureaucracy had ramifications into the\nvery homes of the people. The Inca was represented in the provinces\nby governors of the blood-royal. Officials were placed above ten\nthousand families, a thousand families, and even ten families, upon\nthe principle that the rays of the sun enter everywhere, and that\ntherefore the light of the Inca must penetrate to every corner of\nthe empire. There was no such thing as personal freedom. Every man,\nwoman, and child was numbered, branded, and under surveillance as\nmuch as were the llamas in the royal herds. Individual effort or\nenterprise was unheard of. Some writers have stated that a system\nof state socialism obtained in Peru. If so, then state surveillance\nin Central Russia might also be branded as socialism. A man's life\nwas planned for him by the authorities from the age of five years,\nand even the woman whom he was to marry was selected for him by the\nGovernment officials. The age at which the people should marry was\nfixed at not earlier than twenty-four years for a man and eighteen\nfor a woman. Coloured ribbons worn round the head indicated the place\nof a person's birth or the province to which he belonged.\n\n\n\nA Golden Temple\n\nOne of the most remarkable monuments of the Peruvian civilisation\nwas the Coricancha (Town of Gold) at Cuzco, the principal fane of the\nsun-god. Its inner and outer walls were covered with plates of pure\ngold. Situated upon an eminence eighty feet high, the temple looked\ndown upon gardens filled, according to the conquering Spaniards,\nwith treasures of gold and silver. The animals, insects, the very\ntrees, say the chroniclers, were of the precious metals, as were the\nspades, hoes, and other implements employed for keeping the ground in\ncultivation. Through the pleasances rippled the river Huatenay. Such\nwas the glittering Intipampa (Field of the Sun). That the story is\ntrue, at least in part, is proved by the traveller Squier, who speaks\nof having seen in several houses in Cuzco sheets of gold preserved\nas relics which came from the Temple of the Sun. These, he says,\nwere scarcely as thick as paper, and were stripped off the walls of\nthe Coricancha by the exultant Spanish soldiery.\n\n\n\nThe Great Altar\n\nBut this house of gold had but a roof of thatch! The Peruvians were\nignorant of the principle of the arch, or else considered the feature\nunsuitable, for some reason best known to their architects. The\ndoorways were formed of huge monoliths, and the entire aspect of the\nbuilding was cyclopean. The interior displayed an ornate richness\nwhich impressed even the Spaniards, who had seen the wealth of many\nlands and Oriental kingdoms, and the gold-lust must have swelled\nwithin their hearts at sight of the great altar, behind which was\na huge plate of the shining metal engraved with the features of the\nsun-god. The surface of this plate was enriched by a thousand gems,\nthe scintillation of which was, according to eye-witnesses, almost\ninsupportable. Around this dazzling sphere were seated the mummified\ncorpses of the Inca kings, each on his throne, with sceptre in hand.\n\n\n\nPlanetary Temples\n\nSurrounding the Coricancha several lesser temples clustered, all\nof them dedicated to one or other of the planetary bodies--to the\nmoon, to Cuycha, the rainbow, to Chasca, the planet Venus. In the\ntemple of the moon, the mythic mother of the Inca dynasty, a great\nplate of silver, like the golden one which represented the face of\nthe sun-god, depicted the features of the moon-goddess, and around\nthis the mummies of the Inca queens sat in a semicircle, like their\nspouses in the greater neighbouring fane. In the rainbow temple of\nCuycha the seven-hued arch of heaven was depicted by a great arc\nof gold skilfully tempered or painted in suitable colours. All the\nutensils in these temples were of gold or silver. In the principal\nbuilding twelve large jars of silver held the sacred grain, and even\nthe pipes which conducted the water-supply through the earth to the\nsanctuary were of silver. Pedro Pizarro himself, besides other credible\neye-witnesses, vouched for these facts. The colossal representation of\nthe sun became the property of a certain Mancio Serra de Leguicano,\na reckless cavalier and noted gambler, who lost it on a single throw\nof the dice! Such was the spirit of the adventurers who conquered this\ngolden realm for the crown of Spain. The walls of the Coricancha are\nstill standing, and this marvellous shrine of the chief luminary of\nheaven, the great god of the Peruvians, is now a Christian church.\n\n\n\nThe Mummies of Peru\n\nThe fact that the ancient Peruvians had a method of mummification\nhas tempted many \"antiquarians\" to infer therefrom that they had some\nconnection with ancient Egypt. These theories are so numerous as to\ngive the unsophisticated reader the idea that a regular system of\nimmigration was carried on between Egypt and America. As a matter\nof fact the method of mummification in vogue in Peru was entirely\ndifferent from that employed by the ancient Egyptians. Peruvian\nmummies are met with at apparently all stages of the history of\nthe native races. Megalithic tombs and monuments contain them in\nthe doubled-up posture so common among early peoples all over the\nworld. These megalithic tombs, or chulpas, as they are termed, are\ncomposed of a mass of rough stones and clay, faced with huge blocks\nof trachyte or basalt, so put together as to form a cist, in which\nthe mummy was placed. The door invariably faces the east, so that it\nmay catch the gleams of the rising sun--a proof of the prevalence of\nsun-worship. Squier alludes to one more than 24 feet high. An opening\n18 inches square gave access to the sepulchral chamber, which was 11\nfeet square by 13 feet high. But the tomb had been entered before,\nand after getting in with much difficulty the explorer was forced to\nretreat empty-handed.\n\nMany of these chulpas are circular, and painted in gay primary\ncolours. They are very numerous in Bolivia, an old Peruvian province,\nand in the basin of Lake Titicaca they abound. The dead were wrapped\nin llama-skins, on which the outlines of the eyes and mouth were\ncarefully marked. The corpse was then arrayed in other garments,\nand the door of the tomb walled up. In some parts of Peru the dead\nwere mummified and placed in the dwelling-houses beside the living. In\nthe rarefied air of the plateaus the bodies rapidly became innocuous,\nand the custom was not the insanitary one we might imagine it to be.\n\nOn the Pacific coast the method of mummification was somewhat\ndifferent. The body was reduced to a complete state of desiccation,\nand was deposited in a tomb constructed of stone or adobe. Vases\nintended to hold maize or chicha liquor were placed beside the\ncorpse, and copper hatchets, mirrors of polished stone, earrings,\nand bracelets have been discovered in these burial-places. Some of\nthe remains are wrapped in rich cloth, and vases of gold and silver\nwere placed beside them. Golden plaques are often discovered in the\nmouths, probably symbolic of the sun. The bodies exhibit no traces\nof embalming, and are usually in a sitting posture. Some of them have\nevidently been dried before inhumation, whilst others are covered with\na resinous substance. They are generally accompanied by the various\narticles used during life; the men have their weapons and ornaments,\nwomen their household implements, and children their toys. The dryness\nof the climate, as in Egypt, keeps these relics in a wonderful state\nof preservation. In the grave of a woman were found not only vases\nof every shape, but also some cloth she had commenced to weave,\nwhich her death had perhaps prevented her from completing. Her light\nbrown hair was carefully combed and plaited, and the legs from the\nankle to the knee were painted red, after the fashion in vogue among\nPeruvian beauties, while little bladders of toilet-powder and gums\nwere thoughtfully placed beside her for her use in the life to come.\n\n\n\nLaws and Customs\n\nThe legal code of the Incas was severe in the extreme. Murderers and\nadulterers were punished by death, and the unpardonable sin appears to\nhave been blasphemy against the sun, or his earthly representative,\nthe Inca. The Virgin of the Sun (or nun) who broke her vow was\nburied alive, and the village from whence she came was razed to the\nground. Flogging was administered for minor offences. A peculiar and\nvery trying punishment must have been that of carrying a heavy stone\nfor a certain time.\n\nOn marriage a home was apportioned to each couple, and land assigned\nto them sufficient for their support. When a child was born a separate\nallowance was given it--one fanega for a boy, and half that amount for\na girl, the fanega being equal to the area which could be sown with a\nhundred pounds of maize. There is something repulsive in the Inca code,\nwith its grandmotherly legislation; and if this tyranny was beneficent,\nit was devised merely to serve its own ends and hound on the unhappy\npeople under its control like dumb, driven cattle. The outlook of\nthe average native was limited in the extreme. The Inca class of\npriests and warriors retained every vestige of authority; and that\nthey employed their power unmercifully to grind down the millions\nbeneath them was a sufficient excuse for the Spanish Conquistadores\nin dispossessing them of the empire they had so harshly administered.\n\nThe public ground was divided afresh every year according to the\nnumber of the members of each family, and agrarian laws were strictly\nfixed. Private property did not exist among the people of the lower\nclasses, who merely farmed the lot which each year was placed at\ntheir disposal. Besides this, the people had perforce to cultivate\nthe lands sacred to the Inca, and only the aged and the sick could\nevade this duty.\n\n\n\nThe Peruvian Calendar\n\nThe standard chronology known to the Peru of the Incas was a simple\nlunar reckoning. But the four principal points in the sun's course\nwere denoted by means of the intihuatana, a device consisting\nof a large rock surmounted by a small cone, the shadow of which,\nfalling on certain notches on the stone below, marked the date of\nthe great sun-festivals. The Peruvians, however, had no definite\ncalendar. At Cuzco, the capital, the solstices were gauged by pillars\ncalled pachacta unanchac, or indicators of time, which were placed\nin four groups (two pillars to a group) on promontories, two in the\ndirection of sunrise and two in that of sunset, to mark the extreme\npoints of the sun's rising and setting. By this means they were\nenabled to distinguish the arrival and departure of the solstices,\nduring which the sun never went beyond the middle pair of pillars. The\nInca astronomer's approximation to the year was 360 days, which were\ndivided into twelve moons of thirty days each. These moons were not\ncalendar months in the correct sense, but simply a succession of\nlunations, which commenced with the winter solstice. This method,\nwhich must ultimately have proved confusing, does not seem to have\nbeen altered to co-ordinate with the reckoning of the succession of\nyears. The names of the twelve moons, which had some reference to\nthe daily life of the Peruvian, were as follows:\n\n\n    Huchuy Pucuy Quilla (Small Growing Moon), approximately January.\n    Hatun Pucuy Quilla (Great Growing Moon), approximately February.\n    Pancar Pucuy Quilla (Flower-growing Moon), approximately March.\n    Ayrihua Quilla (Twin Ears Moon), approximately April.\n    Aymuray Quilla (Harvest Moon), approximately May.\n    Auray Cusqui Quilla (Breaking Soil), approximately June.\n    Chahua Huarqui Quilla (Irrigation Moon), approximately July.\n    Tarpuy Quilla (Sowing Moon), approximately August.\n    Ccoya Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Moon Feast), approximately\n    September.\n    Uma Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Feast of the Province of Uma),\n    approximately October.\n    Ayamarca Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Feast of the Province of\n    Ayamarca), approximately November.\n    Ccapac Raymi Quilla (Moon of the Great Feast of the Sun),\n    approximately December.\n\n\n\nThe Festivals\n\nThat the Peruvian standard of time, as with all American people,\nwas taken from the natural course of the moon is known chiefly from\nthe fact that the principal religious festivals began on the new moon\nfollowing a solstice or equinox. The ceremonies connected with the\ngreatest festival, the Ccapac Raymi, were made to date near the lunar\nphases, the two stages commencing with the ninth day of the December\nmoon and twenty-first day, or last quarter. But while these lunar\nphases indicated certain festivals, it very often happened that the\ncivil authorities followed a reckoning of their own, in preference\nto accepting ecclesiastical rule. Considerable significance was\nattached to each month by the Peruvians regarding the nature of\ntheir festivals. The solstices and equinoxes were the occasions of\nestablished ceremonies. The arrival of the winter solstice, which in\nPeru occurs in June, was celebrated by the Intip Raymi (Great Feast of\nthe Sun). The principal Peruvian feast, which took place at the summer\nsolstice, when the new year was supposed to begin, was the national\nfeast of the great god Pachacamac, and was called Ccapac Raymi. Molina,\nFernandez, and Garcilasso, however, date the new year from the winter\nsolstice. The third festival of the Inca year, the Ccapac Situa,\nor Ccoya Raymi (Moon Feast), which is signalled by the beginning of\nthe rainy season, occurred in September. In general character these\nfestivals appear to have been simple, and even childlike. The sacrifice\nof animals taken from sacred herds of llamas was doubtless a principal\nfeature of the ceremony, accompanied by the offering up of maguey,\nor maize spirit, and followed by the performance of symbolic dances.\n\n\n\nThe Llama\n\nThe llama was the chief domestic animal of Peru. All llamas were\nthe property of the Inca. Like the camel, its distant relative, this\ncreature can subsist for long periods upon little nourishment, and it\nis suitable for the carriage of moderate loads. Each year a certain\namount of llama wool was given to the Peruvian family, according to\nthe number of women it contained, and these wove it into garments,\nwhatever was over being stored away in the public cloth-magazines\nfor the general use. The large flocks of llamas and alpacas also\nafforded a supply of meat for the people such as the Mexicans never\npossessed. Naturally much attention was given to the breeding of these\nanimals, and the alpaca was as carefully regarded by the Peruvian\nas the sheep by the farmer of to-day. The guanacos and vicu\u00f1as, wild\nanimals of the llama or auchenia family, were also sources of food-\nand wool-supply.\n\n\n\nArchitecture of the Incas\n\nThe art in which the Incan Peruvians displayed the greatest advance\nwas that of architecture. The earlier style of Inca building shows\nthat it was closely modelled, as has already been pointed out, on that\nof the megalithic masons of the Tiahuanaco district, but the later\nstyle shows stones laid in regular courses, varying in length. No\ncement or mortar of any kind was employed, the structure depending\nfor stability upon the accuracy with which the stones were fitted to\neach other. An enormous amount of labour must have been expended upon\nthis part of the work, for in the monuments of Peruvian architecture\nwhich still exist it is impossible to insert even a needle between\nthe stones of which they are composed. The palaces and temples were\nbuilt around a courtyard, and most of the principal buildings had\na hall of considerable dimensions attached to them, which, like the\nbaronial halls of the England of the Middle Ages, served for feasting\nor ceremony. In this style is built the front of the palace on the\nColcampata, overlooking the city of Cuzco, under the fortress which\nis supposed to have been the dwelling of Manco Ccapac, the first\nInca. Palaces at Yucay and Chinchero are also of this type.\n\n\n\nUnsurpassed Workmanship\n\nIn an illuminating passage upon Inca architecture Sir Clements Markham,\nthe greatest living authority upon matters Peruvian, says:\n\n\"In Cuzco the stone used is a dark trachyte, and the coarse grain\nsecured greater adhesion between the blocks. The workmanship\nis unsurpassed, and the world has nothing to show in the way of\nstone-cutting and fitting to equal the skill and accuracy displayed\nin the Ynca structures of Cuzco. No cement is used, and the larger\nstones are in the lowest row, each ascending course being narrower,\nwhich presents a most pleasing effect. The edifices were built round\na court, upon which the rooms opened, and some of the great halls\nwere 200 paces long by 60 wide, the height being 35 to 40 feet,\nbesides the spring of the roof. The roofs were thatch; and we are\nable to form an idea of their construction from one which is still\npreserved, after a lapse of three centuries. This is on a circular\nbuilding called the Sondor-huasi, at Azangaro, and it shows that even\nthatch in the hands of tasteful builders will make a sightly roof for\nimposing edifices, and that the interior ornament of such a roof may\nbe exceedingly beautiful.\"\n\n\n\nThe Temple of Viracocha\n\nThe temple of Viracocha, at Cacha, in the valley of the Vilcamayu,\nis built on a plan different from that of any other sacred building\nin Peru. Its ruins consist of a wall of adobe or clay 40 feet high\nand 330 long, built on stone foundations 8 feet in height. The roof\nwas supported on twenty-five columns, and the width of the structure\nwas 87 feet. It was a place of pilgrimage, and the caravanserais where\nthe Faithful were wont to be housed still stand around the ruined fane.\n\n\n\nTiticaca\n\nThe most sacred of the Peruvian shrines, however, was Titicaca,\nan island on the lake of that name. The island of Coati, hard\nby, enjoyed an equal reverence. Terraced platforms on the former,\nreached by flights of steps, support two buildings provided for the\nuse of pilgrims about to proceed to Coati. On Titicaca there are the\nruins of an extensive palace which commands a splendid view of the\nsurrounding barren country. A great bath or tank is situated half-way\ndown a long range of terraces supported by cut stone masonry, and\nthe pool, 40 feet long by 10, and 5 feet deep, has similar walls on\nthree sides. Below this tank the water is made to irrigate terrace\nafter terrace until it falls into the lake.\n\n\n\nCoati\n\nThe island of Coati is about six miles distant. The principal building\nis on one of the loftiest of seven terraces, once radiant with flowers\nand shrubs, and filled with rich loam transported from a more fertile\nregion. It is placed on three sides of a square, 183 feet long by\n80, and is of stone laid in clay and coated with plaster. \"It has,\"\nsays Markham, \"thirty-five chambers, only one of which is faced with\nhewn stones. The ornament on the fa\u00e7ade consists of elaborate niches,\nwhich agreeably break the monotony of the wall, and above them runs a\nprojecting cornice. The walls were painted yellow, and the niches red;\nand there was a high-pitched roof, broken here and there by gables. The\ntwo largest chambers are 20 long by 12, and loftier than the rest,\neach with a great niche in the wall facing the entrance. These were\nprobably the holy places or shrines of the temple. The beautiful\nseries of terraces falls off from the esplanade of the temple to the\nshores of the lake.\"\n\n\n\nMysterious Chimu\n\nThe coast folk, of a different race from the Incas, had their centre of\ncivilisation near the city of Truxillo, on the plain of Chimu. Here the\nruins of a great city litter the plain for many acres. Arising from the\nmass of ruin, at intervals stand huacas, or artificial hills. The city\nwas supplied with water by means of small canals, which also served to\nirrigate the gardens. The mounds alluded to were used for sepulture,\nand the largest, at Moche, is 800 feet long by 470 feet in breadth,\nand 200 feet in height. It is constructed of adobes. Besides serving\nthe purpose of a cemetery, this mound probably supported a large\ntemple on its summit.\n\n\n\nThe Palace\n\nA vast palace occupied a commanding position. Its great hall was 100\nfeet long by 52 broad, and its walls were covered with a highly ornate\nseries of arabesques in relief done in stucco, like the fretwork on\nthe walls of Palenque. Another hall close at hand is ornamented in\ncoloured stucco, and from it branch off many small rooms, which were\nevidently dormitories. From the first hall a long corridor leads to\nsecret storehouses, where many vessels of gold and silver have been\ndiscovered hidden away, as if to secure them either from marauding\nbands or the gaze of the vulgar. All of these structures are hollowed\nout of a vast mound covering several acres, so that the entire building\nmay be said to be partially subterranean in character. \"About a hundred\nyards to the westward of this palace there was a sepulchral mound\nwhere many relics were discovered. The bodies were wrapped in cloths,\nwoven in ornamental figures and patterns of different colours. On some\nof the cloths were sewn plates of silver, and they were edged with\nborders of feathers, the silver being occasionally cut in the shape\nof fishes. Among the ruins of the city there are great rectangular\nareas enclosed by massive walls, and containing courts, streets,\ndwellings, and reservoirs for water. The largest is about a mile\nsouth of the mound-palace, and is 550 yards long by 400. The outer\nwall is about 30 feet high, 10 feet thick at the base, with sides\ninclining toward each other. Some of the interior walls are highly\nornamented in stuccoed patterns; and in one part there is an edifice\ncontaining forty-five chambers or cells, in five rows of nine each,\nwhich is supposed to have been a prison. The enclosure also contained\na reservoir 450 feet long by 195 broad, and 60 feet deep.\"\n\n\n\nThe Civilisation of Chimu\n\nThe ruins of Chimu are undoubtedly the outcome of a superior standard\nof civilisation. The buildings are elaborate, as are their internal\narrangements. The extent of the city is great, and the art displayed\nin the manufacture of the utensils discovered within it and the taste\nevinced in the numerous wall-patterns show that a people of advanced\nculture inhabited it. The jeweller's work is in high relief, and the\npottery and plaques found exhibit much artistic excellence.\n\n\n\nPachacamac\n\nThe famous ruins of the temple and city of Pachacamac, near the\nvalley of Lurin, to the south of Lima, overlook the Pacific Ocean\nfrom a height of 500 feet. Four vast terraces still bear mighty\nperpendicular walls, at one time painted red. Here was found the only\nperfect Peruvian arch, built of large adobe bricks--a proof that the\nPeruvian mind did not stand still in matters architectural at least.\n\n\n\nIrrigation Works\n\nIt was in works of irrigation, however, that the race exhibited its\ngreatest engineering genius. In the valley of Nasca the Incas cut\ndeep trenches to reinforce the irrigating power of a small river,\nand carried the system high up into the mountains, in order that\nthe rainfall coming therefrom might be conducted into the needful\nchannel. Lower down the valley the main watercourse is deflected into\nmany branches, which irrigate each estate by feeding the small surface\nstreams. This system adequately serves the fifteen estates of Nasca\nto-day! Another high-level canal for the irrigation of pasture-lands\nwas led for more than a hundred and fifty miles along the eastern\nslope of the central cordillera.\n\n\n\nA Singular Discovery\n\nIn Peru, as in Mexico, it is probable that the cross was employed as\na symbol of the four winds. An account of the expedition of Fuentes\nto the valley of Chichas recounts the discovery of a wooden cross as\nfollows: [15]\n\n\"When the settlers who accompanied Fuentes in his glorious expedition\napproached the valley they found a wooden cross, hidden, as if\npurposely, in the most intricate part of the mountains. As there is\nnot anything more flattering to the vanity of a credulous man than\nto be enabled to bring forward his testimony in the relation of a\nprodigy, the devotion of these good conquerors was kindled to such a\ndegree by the discovery of this sacred memorial that they instantly\nhailed it as miraculous and divine. They accordingly carried it in\nprocession to the town, and placed it in the church belonging to the\nconvent of San Francisco, where it is still worshipped. It appears\nnext to impossible that there should not, at that time, have been\nany individual among them sufficiently enlightened to combat such a\npersuasion, since, in reality, there was nothing miraculous in the\nfinding of this cross, there having been other Christian settlers,\nbefore the arrival of Fuentes, in the same valley. The opinion,\nnotwithstanding, that the discovery was altogether miraculous, instead\nof having been abandoned at the commencement, was confirmed still more\nand more with the progress of time. The Jesuits Antonio Ruiz and Pedro\nLozano, in their respective histories of the missions of Paraguay,\n&c., undertook to demonstrate that the Apostle St. Thomas had been in\nAmerica. This thesis, which was so novel, and so well calculated to\ndraw the public attention, required, more than any other, the aid of\nthe most powerful reasons, and of the most irrefragable documents,\nto be able to maintain itself, even in an hypothetical sense; but\nnothing of all this was brought forward. Certain miserable conjectures,\nprepossession, and personal interest, supplied the place of truth\nand criticism. The form of a human foot, which they fancied they saw\nimprinted on the rock, and the different fables of this description\ninvented by ignorance at every step, were the sole foundations on\nwhich all the relations on this subject were made to repose. The one\ntouching the peregrinations of St. Thomas from Brazil to Quito must\nbe deemed apocryphal, when it is considered that the above reverend\nfathers describe the Apostle with the staff in the hand, the black\ncassock girt about the waist, and all the other trappings which\ndistinguish the missionaries of the society. The credit which these\nhistories obtained at the commencement was equal to that bestowed on\nthe cross of Tarija, which remained in the predicament of being the\none St. Thomas had planted in person, in the continent of America.\"\n\n\n\nThe Chibchas\n\nA people called the Chibchas dwelt at a very high point of the Andes\nrange. They were brave and industrious, and possessed a culture of\ntheir own. They defended themselves against much stronger native\nraces, but after the Spanish conquest their country was included in\nNew Granada, and is now part of the United States of Colombia. Less\nexperienced than the Peruvians or Aztecs, they could, however, weave\nand dye, carve and engrave, make roads, build temples, and work in\nstone, wood, and metals. They also worked in pottery and jewellery,\nmaking silver pendants and collars of shells and collars of precious\nstones. They were a wealthy folk, and their Spanish conquerors obtained\nmuch spoil. Little is known concerning them or their language, and\nthere is not much of interest in the traditions relating to them. Their\nmythology was simple. They believed the moon was the wife of Bochica,\nwho represented the sun, and as she tried to destroy men Bochica only\nallowed her to give light during the night. When the aborigines were\nin a condition of barbarism Bochica taught them and civilised them. The\nlegends about Bochica resemble in many points those about Quetzalcoatl\nor Manco Ccapac, as well as those relating to the founder of Buddhism\nand the first Inca of Peru. The Chibchas offered human sacrifices to\ntheir gods at certain intervals, and kept the wretched victim for\nsome years in preparation for his doom. They venerated greatly the\nLake of Quatavita, and are supposed to have flung their treasures\ninto it when they were conquered. Although many attempts have been\nmade to recover these, little of value has been found.\n\nThe Chibchas appear to have given allegiance to two leaders, one the\nZippa, who lived at Bogota, the other the Zoque, who lived at Hunsa,\nnow Tunja. These chiefs ruled supreme. Like the Incas, they could\nonly have one lawful wife, and their sons did not succeed them--their\npower passed, as in some Central African tribes, to the eldest son\nof the sister.\n\nWhen the Zippa died, sweet-smelling resin took the place of his\ninternal parts, and the body was put in a wooden coffin, with sheets\nof gold for ornamentation. The coffin was hidden in an unknown\nsepulchre, and these tombs have never been discovered--at least,\nso say the Spaniards. Their weapons, garments, objects of daily use,\neven jars of chicha, were buried with these chiefs. It is very likely\nthat a cave where rows of mummies richly dressed were found, and many\njewels, was the secret burying-place of the Zippas and the Zoques. To\nthese folk death meant only a continuation of the life on earth.\n\n\n\nA Severe Legal Code\n\nThe laws of the Chibchas were severe--death was meted out to the\nmurderer, and bodily punishment for stealing. A coward was made to\nlook like a woman and do her work, while to an unfaithful wife was\nadministered a dose of red pepper, which, if swallowed, released\nthe culprit from the penalty of death and entitled her to an apology\nfrom her husband. The Chibchas made no use of cattle, and lived on\nhoney. Their houses were built of clay, and were set in the midst of an\nenclosure guarded by watch-towers. The roofs were of a conical shape,\ncovered with reed mats, and skilfully interlaced rushes were used to\nclose the openings.\n\nThe Chibchas were skilful in working bronze, lead, copper, tin, gold,\nand silver, but not iron. The Saint-Germain Museum has many specimens\nof gold and silver articles made by these people. M. Uricaechea has\nstill more uncommon specimens in his collection, such as two golden\nmasks of the human face larger than life, and a great number of\nstatuettes of men, and images of monkeys and frogs.\n\nThe Chibchas traded with what they made, exporting the rock salt\nthey found in their own country and receiving in exchange cereals\nwith which to cultivate their own poor soil. They also made\ncurious little ornaments which might have passed for money, but\nthey are not supposed to have understood coinage. They had few stone\ncolumns--only large granite rocks covered with huge figures of tigers\nand crocodiles. Humboldt mentions these, and two very high columns,\ncovered with sculpture, at the junction of the Carare and Magdalena,\ngreatly revered by the natives, were raised probably by the Chibchas.\n\n\n\nA Strange Mnemonic System\n\nOn the arrival of the Spaniards the Peruvians were unacquainted with\nany system of writing or numeration. The only means of recording\nevents they possessed was that provided by quipos, knotted pieces of\nstring or hide of varying length and colour. According to the length\nor colour of these cords the significance of the record varied; it\nwas sometimes historical and sometimes mathematical. Quipos relating\nto the history of the Incas were carefully preserved by an officer\ncalled Quipo Camayol--literally, \"The Guardian of the Quipos.\" The\ngreater number were destroyed as monuments of idolatry by the fanatical\nSpanish monks who came over with the Conquistadores, but their loss is\nby no means important, as no study, however profound, could possibly\nunriddle the system upon which they were based. The Peruvians, however,\nlong continued to use them in secret.\n\n\n\nPractical Use of the Quipos\n\nThe Marquis de Nadaillac has placed on record a use to which the quipos\nwere put in more modern times. He says: \"A great revolt against the\nSpaniards was organised in 1792. As was found out later, the revolt\nhad been organised by means of messengers carrying a piece of wood\nin which were enclosed threads the ends of which were formed of red,\nblack, blue, or white fringes. The black thread had four knots, which\nsignified that the messenger had started from Vladura, the residence\nof the chief of the conspiracy, four days after full moon. The white\nthread had ten knots, which signified that the revolt would break out\nten days after the arrival of the messenger. The person to whom the\nkeeper was sent had in his turn to make a knot in the red thread if\nhe agreed to join the confederates; in the red and blue threads, on\nthe contrary, if he refused.\" It was by means of these quipos that the\nIncas transmitted their instructions. On all the roads starting from\nthe capital, at distances rarely exceeding five miles, rose tambos,\nor stations for the chasquis or couriers, who went from one post to\nanother. The orders of the Inca thus became disseminated with great\nrapidity. Orders which emanated directly from the sovereign were\nmarked with a red thread of the royal llantu (mantle), and nothing,\nas historians assure us, could equal the respect with which these\nmessages were received.\n\n\n\nThe Incas as Craftsmen\n\nThe Incan Peruvians had made some progress in the metallurgic, ceramic,\nand textile arts. By washing the sands of the rivers of Caravaya they\nobtained large quantities of gold, and they extracted silver from\nthe ore by means of blast-furnaces. Copper also was abundant, and was\nemployed to manufacture bronze, of which most of their implements were\nmade. Although it is difficult to know at what period their mining\noperations were carried on, it is evident that they could only have\nlearned the art through long experience. Many proofs are to be found\nof their skill in jewellery, and amongst these are wonderful statuettes\nwhich they made from an amalgam of gold and mercury, afterwards exposed\nto great heat. A number of curious little ornaments made of various\nsubstances, with a little hole bored through them, were frequently\nfound under the huacas--probably talismans. The finest handiwork of\nthe Incas was undoubtedly in jewellery; but unfortunately most of the\nexamples of their work in this craft were melted down to assuage the\ninsatiable avarice of the Spanish conquerors, and are therefore for\never lost to us. The spade and chisel employed in olden times by the\nPeruvians are much the same as the people use now, but some of their\ntools were clumsy. Their javelins, tomahawks, and other military\narms were very futile weapons. Some found near the mines of Pasco\nwere made of stone.\n\nThe spinning, weaving, and dyeing of the Peruvians were unequalled in\naboriginal America, their cloths and tapestries being both graceful\nin design and strong in texture.\n\nStamps of bark or earthenware were employed to fix designs upon\ntheir woollen stuffs, and feathers were added to the garments made\nfrom these, the combination producing a gay effect much admired by\nthe Spaniards. The British Museum possesses some good specimens of\nthese manufactures.\n\n\n\nPottery\n\nThe Peruvians excelled in the potter's art. The pottery was baked\nin a kiln, and was varied in colour, red, black, and grey being the\nfavourite shades. It was varnished outside, and the vases were moulded\nin two pieces and joined before heating. Much of the work is of great\ngrace and elegance, and the shapes of animals were very skilfully\nimitated. Many drinking-cups of elegant design have been discovered,\nand some vases are of considerable size, measuring over three feet in\nheight. A simple geometric pattern is usually employed for decoration,\nbut sometimes rows of birds and insects figure in the ceramics. The\npottery of the coast people is more rich and varied than that of the\nInca race proper, and among its types we find vases moulded in the\nform of human faces, many of them exhibiting so much character that\nwe are forced to conclude that they are veritable portraits. Fine\nstone dishes are often found, as well as platters of wood, and\nthese frequently bear as ornament tasteful carvings representing\nserpents. On several cups and vases are painted representations of\nbattles between the Inca forces and the savages of the eastern forests\nusing bows and arrows; below wander the animals of the forest region,\na brightly painted group.\n\nThe Arch\u00e6ological Museum of Madrid gives a representation of very\nvaried kinds of Peruvian pottery, including some specimens modelled\nupon a series of plants, interesting to botanists. The Louvre\ncollections have one or two interesting examples of earthenware,\nas well as the Ethnographical Museum of St. Petersburg, and in all\nthese collections there are types which are believed to be peculiar\nto the Old World.\n\nThe Trocadero Museum has a very curious specimen with two necks\ncalled the \"Salvador.\" A drawing on the vase represents a man with\na tomahawk. The Peruvians, like the Mexicans, also made musical\ninstruments out of earthenware, and heavy ornaments, principally for\nthe ear.\n\n\n\nHistorical Sketch of the Incan Peruvians\n\nThe Inca dominion, as the Spaniards found it, was instituted only\nabout a century before the coming of the white man. Before that\ntime Inca sway held good over scattered portions of the country,\nbut had not extended over the entire territory which in later\ntimes was connected with the Inca name. That it was founded on the\nwreck of a more ancient power which once existed in the district\nof Chinchay-suyu there can be little doubt. This power was wielded\nover a space bounded by the lake of Chinchay-cocha on the north\nand Abancay on the south, and extended to the Pacific at the valley\nof Chincha. It was constituted by an alliance of tribes under the\nleadership of the chief of Pucara, in the Huanca country. A branch of\nthis confederacy, the Chanca, pushing southward in a general movement,\nencountered the Inca people of Colla-suyu, who, under their leader,\nPachacutic, a young but determined chieftain, defeated the invaders\nin a decisive battle near Cuzco. In consequence of this defeat the\nChanca deserted their former allies and made common cause with their\nvictors. Together the armies made a determined attack on the Huanca\nalliance, which they broke up, and conquered the northern districts\nof the Chinchay-suyu. Thus Central Peru fell to the Inca arms.\n\n\n\nThe Inca Monarchs\n\nInca history, or rather tradition, as we must call it in the light\nof an unparalleled lack of original documentary evidence, spoke\nof a series of eleven monarchs from Manco Ccapac to Huaina Ccapac,\nwho died shortly before the Spanish conquest. These had reigned for a\ncollective period of nearly 350 years. The evidence that these chiefs\nhad reigned was of the best, for their mummified bodies were preserved\nin the great Temple of the Sun at Cuzco, already described. There they\nreceived the same daily service as when in the flesh. Their private\nherds of llamas and slaves were still understood to belong to them,\nand food and drink were placed before them at stated intervals. Clothes\nwere made for them, and they were carried about in palanquins as if for\ndaily exercise. The descendants of each at periodical intervals feasted\non the produce of their ancestor's private estate, and his mummy was\nset in the centre of the diners and treated as the principal guest.\n\n\n\nThe First Incas\n\nAfter Manco Ccapac and his immediate successor, Sinchi Roca (Wise\nChief), Lloque Yupanqui comes third in the series. He died while\nhis son was still a child. Concerning Mayta Ccapac, who commenced\nhis reign while yet a minor, but little is known. He was followed by\nCcapac Yupanqui, who defeated the Conti-suyu, who had grown alarmed at\nthe great power recently attained by Cuzco. The Inca and his men were\nattacked whilst about to offer sacrifice. A second attempt to sack\nCuzco and divide its spoil and the women attached to the great Temple\nof the Sun likewise ended in the total discomfiture of the jealous\ninvaders. With Inca Roca, the next Inca, a new dynasty commences,\nbut it is well-nigh impossible to trace the connection between it and\nthe preceding one. Of the origin of Inca Roca nothing is related save\nthat he claimed descent from Manco Ccapac. Roca, instead of waiting\nto be attacked in his own dominions, boldly confronted the Conti-suyu\nin their own territory, defeated them decisively at Pumatampu, and\ncompelled them to yield him tribute. His successor, Yahuarhuaccac,\ninitiated a similar campaign against the Colla-suyu people, against\nwhom he had the assistance of the conquered Conti-suyu. But at a\nfeast which he held in Cuzco before setting out he was attacked by\nhis allies, and fled to the Coricancha, or Golden Temple of the Sun,\nfor refuge, along with his wives. Resistance was unavailing, and the\nInca and many of his favourites were slaughtered. The allied tribes\nwhich had overrun Central Peru now threatened Cuzco, and had they\nadvanced with promptitude the Inca dynasty would have been wiped out\nand the city reduced to ruins. A strong man was at hand, however,\nwho was capable of dealing with the extremely dangerous situation\nwhich had arisen. This was Viracocha, a chieftain chosen by the vote\nof the assembled warriors of Cuzco. By a prudent conciliation of\nthe Conti-suyu and Colla-suyu he established a confederation which\nnot only put an end to all threats of invasion, but so menaced the\ninvaders that they were glad to return to their own territory and\nplace it in a suitable state of defence.\n\n\n\nViracocha the Great\n\nWith Viracocha the Great, or \"Godlike,\" the period of true Inca\nascendancy commences. He was the real founder of the enlarged Inca\ndominion. He was elected Inca on his personal merits, and during a\nvigorous reign succeeded in making the influence of Cuzco felt in\nthe contiguous southern regions. In his old age he retired to his\ncountry seats at Yucay and Xaquixahuana, and left the conduct of the\nrealm to his son and successor, Urco-Inca, a weak-minded voluptuary,\nwho neglected his royal duties, and was superseded by his younger\nbrother, Pachacutic, a famous character in Inca history.\n\n\n\nThe Plain of Blood\n\nThe commencement of Pachacutic's reign witnessed one of the\nmost sanguinary battles in the history of Peru. Hastu-huaraca,\nchief of the Antahuayllas, in the Chanca country, invaded the Inca\nterritory, and encamped on the hills of Carmenca, which overlooks\nCuzco. Pachacutic held a parley with him, but all to no purpose,\nfor the powerful invader was determined to humble the Inca dynasty\nto the dust. Battle was speedily joined. The first day's fight was\nindecisive, but on the succeeding day Pachacutic won a great victory,\nthe larger part of the invading force being left dead on the field\nof battle, and Hastu-huaraca retreating with five hundred followers\nonly. The battle of Yahuar-pampa (Plain of Blood) was the turning-point\nin Peruvian history. The young Inca, formerly known as Yupanqui, was\nnow called Pachacutic (He who changes the World). The warriors of the\nsouth made full submission to him, and came in crowds to offer him\ntheir services and seek his alliance and friendship, and he shortly\nfound himself supreme in the territories over which his predecessors\nhad exercised merely a nominal control.\n\n\n\nThe Conquest of Middle Peru\n\nHastu-huaraca, who had been commissioned by the allied tribesmen of\nChinchay-suyu to reduce the Incas, now threw in his lot with them,\nand together conqueror and conquered proceeded to the liberation of the\ndistrict of Chinchay-suyu from the tyranny of the Huanca alliance. The\nreduction of the southern portion of that territory was speedily\naccomplished. In the valley of Xauxa the invaders came upon the army\nof the Huanca, on which they inflicted a final defeat. The Inca spared\nand liberated the prisoners of war, who were numerous. Once more,\nat Tarma, were the Huanca beaten, after which all resistance appears\nto have been overcome. The city-state of Cuzco was now the dominant\npower throughout the whole of Central Peru, a territory 300 miles in\nlength, whilst it exercised a kind of suzerainty over a district of\nequal extent toward the south-east, which it shortly converted into\nactual dominion.\n\n\n\nFusion of Races\n\nThis conquest of Central Peru led to the fusing of the Quichua-speaking\ntribes on the left bank of the Apurimac with the Aymara-speaking\nfolk on the right bank, with the result that the more numerous\nQuichua speedily gained linguistic ascendancy over their brethren the\nAymara. Subsequently to this the peoples of Southern and Central Peru,\nled by Inca headmen, swept in a great wave of migration over Cerro de\nPasco, where they met with little or no resistance, and Pachacutic\nlived to be lord over a dominion extending for a thousand miles to\nthe northward, and founder of a great Inca colony south of the equator\nalmost identical in outline with the republic of Ecuador.\n\n\n\nTwo Branches of the Incas\n\nThese conquests, or rather race-movements, split up the Inca\npeople into two separate portions, the respective centres of\nwhich were well-nigh a thousand miles apart. The centre of the\nnorthern district was at Tumipampa, Riopampa, and Quito at different\nperiods. The political separation of these areas was only a question of\ntime. Geographical conditions almost totally divided the two portions\nof the empire, a sparsely populated stretch of country 400 miles in\nextent lying between them (see map, p. 333.)\n\n\n\nThe Laws of Pachacutic\n\nPachacutic united to his fame as a warrior the reputation of a wise\nand liberal ruler. He built the great Temple of the Sun at Cuzco,\nprobably on the site of a still older building, and established in\nits walls the convent in which five hundred maidens were set apart\nfor the service of the god. He also, it is said, instituted the great\nrite of the Ccapac-cocha, at which maize, cloth, llamas, and children\nwere sacrificed in honour of the sun-god. He devised a kind of census,\nby which governors were compelled periodically to render an account\nof the population under their rule. This statement was made by means\nof quipos. Agriculture was his peculiar care, and he was stringent\nin the enforcement of laws regarding the tilling of the soil, the\nfoundation and upkeep of stores and granaries, and the regulation\nof labour in general. As an architect he took upon himself the task\nof personally designing the principal buildings of the city of Cuzco,\nwhich were rebuilt under his instructions and in accordance with models\nmoulded from clay by his own hands. He appears to have had a passion\nfor order, and to him we may be justified in tracing the rigorous and\nalmost grandmotherly system under which the Peruvians were living at\nthe time of the arrival of their Spanish conquerors. To Pachacutic,\ntoo, is assigned the raising of the immense fortress of Sacsahuaman,\nalready described. He further instituted the order of knighthood known\nas Auqui, or \"Warrior,\" entrance to which was granted to suitable\napplicants at the great feast of Ccapac Raymi, or Festival of the\nSun. He also named the succession of moons, and erected the pillars\non the hill of Carmenca by which the season of solstice was found. In\nshort, all law and order which had a place in the Peruvian social\neconomy were attributed to him, and we may designate him the Alfred\nof his race.\n\n\n\nTupac-Yupanqui\n\nPachacutic's son, Tupac-Yupanqui, for some time before his father's\ndeath acted as his lieutenant. His name signifies \"Bright\" or\n\"Shining.\" His activity extended to every portion of the Inca dominion,\nthe borders of which he enlarged, suppressing revolts, subjugating\ntribes not wholly brought within the pale of Inca influence, and\ngenerally completing the work so ably begun by his father.\n\n\n\n\"The Gibbet\"\n\nA spirit of cruelty and excess such as was unknown to Pachacutic\nmarked the military exploits of Tupac. In the valley of Huarco, near\nthe Pacific coast, for example, he was repulsed by the natives, who\nwere well supplied with food and stores of all sorts, and whose town\nwas well fortified and very strongly situated. Tupac constructed an\nimmense camp, or rather town, the outlines of which recalled those of\nhis capital of Cuzco, on a hill opposite the city, and here he calmly\nsat down to watch the gradual starvation of the enemy. This siege\ncontinued for three years, until the wretched defenders, driven to\ndespair through want of food, capitulated, relying on the assurance\nof their conqueror that they should become a part of the Inca nation\nand that their daughters should become the wives of Inca youths. The\nsubmission of their chiefs having been made, Tupac ordered a general\nmassacre of the warriors and principal civilians. At the conquest the\nSpaniards could still see the immense heaps of bones which littered\nthe spot where this heartless holocaust took place, and the name Huarco\n(The Gibbet) became indissolubly associated with the district.\n\n\n\nHuaina Ccapac\n\nTupac died in 1493, and was succeeded by his son Huaina Ccapac\n(The Young Chief). Huaina was about twenty-two years of age at the\ntime of his father's death, and although the late Inca had named\nCcapac-Huari, his son by another wife, as his successor, the claims of\nHuaina were recognised. His reign was peaceful, and was marked by wise\nadministrative improvements and engineering effort. At the same time\nhe was busily employed in holding the savage peoples who surrounded\nhis empire in check. He favoured the northern colony, and rebuilt\nTumipampa, but resided at Quito. Here he dwelt for some years with a\nfavourite son by a wife of the lower class, named Tupac-atau-huallpa\n(The Sun makes Good Fortune). Huaina was the victim of an epidemic\nraging in Peru at the time. He was greatly feared by his subjects,\nand was the last Inca who held undisputed sway over the entire\ndominion. Like Nezahualcoyotl in Mexico, he attempted to set up the\nworship of one god in Peru, to the detriment of all other huacas,\nor sacred beings.\n\n\n\nThe Inca Civil War\n\nOn the death of Huaina his two sons, Huascar and Atauhuallpa, [16]\nstrove for the crown. Before his demise Huaina had divided his dominion\nbetween his two sons, but it was said that he had wrested Quito from\na certain chieftain whose daughter he had married, and by whom he had\nAtauhuallpa, who was therefore rightful heir to that province. The\nother son, Huascar, or Tupac-cusi-huallpa (The Sun makes Joy), was\nborn to his principal sister-wife--for, according to Inca custom,\nthe monarchs of Peru, like those of certain Egyptian dynasties,\nfilled with pride of race, and unwilling to mingle their blood with\nthat of plebeians, took spouses from among their sisters. This is the\nstory as given by many Spanish chroniclers, but it has no foundation\nin fact. Atauhuallpa was in reality the son of a woman of the people,\nand Huascar was not the son of Huaina's sister-wife, but of a wife of\nless intimate relationship. Therefore both sons were on an equality as\nregards descent. Huascar, however, was nearer the throne by virtue of\nhis mother's status, which was that of a royal princess, whereas the\nmother of Atauhuallpa was not officially recognised. Huascar by his\nexcesses and his outrages on religion and public decency aroused the\npeople to revolt against his power, and Atauhuallpa, discerning his\nopportunity in this \u00e9meute, made a determined attack on the royal\nforces, and succeeded in driving them slowly back, until at last\nTumipampa was razed to the ground, and shortly afterwards the important\nsoutherly fortress of Caxamarca fell into the hands of the rebels.\n\n\n\nA Dramatic Situation\n\nAtauhuallpa remained at Caxamarca, and despatched the bulk of his\nforces into the enemy's country. These drove the warriors of Huascar\nback until the upper courses of the Apurimac were reached. Huascar fled\nfrom Cuzco, but was captured, and carried a prisoner with his mother,\nwife, and children to Atauhuallpa. Not many days afterwards news\nof the landing of the Spaniards was received by the rebel Inca. The\ndownfall of the Peruvian Empire was at hand.\n\n\n\nA Worthless Despotism\n\nIf the blessings of a well-regulated government were dispensed\nby the Incas, these benefits were assuredly counterbalanced by the\ndegrading despotism which accompanied them. The political organisation\nof the Peruvian Empire was in every sense more complete than that\nof Mexico. But in a state where individual effort and liberty are\nentirely crushed even such an effective organisation as the Peruvian\ncan avail the people little, and is merely a device for the support\nof a calculated tyranny.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII: THE MYTHOLOGY OF PERU\n\n\nThe Religion of Ancient Peru\n\nThe religion of the ancient Peruvians had obviously developed in a much\nshorter time than that of the Mexicans. The more ancient character\ninherent in it was displayed in the presence of deities many of\nwhich were little better than mere totems, and although a definite\nmonotheism or worship of one god appears to have been reached, it\nwas not by the efforts of the priestly caste that this was achieved,\nbut rather by the will of the Inca Pachacutic, who seems to have been\na monarch gifted with rare insight and ability--a man much after the\ntype of the Mexican Nezahualcoyotl.\n\nIn Inca times the religion of the people was solely directed by the\nstate, and regulated in such a manner that independent theological\nthought was permitted no outlet. But it must not be inferred from this\nthat no change had ever come over the spirit of Peruvian religion. As\na matter of fact sweeping changes had been effected, but these had been\nsolely the work of the Inca race, the leaders of which had amalgamated\nthe various faiths of the peoples whom they had conquered into one\nofficial belief.\n\n\n\nTotemism\n\nGarcilasso el Inca de la Vega, an early Spanish writer on matters\nPeruvian, states that tradition ran that in ante-Inca times every\ndistrict, family, and village possessed its own god, each different\nfrom the others. These gods were usually such objects as trees,\nmountains, flowers, herbs, caves, large stones, pieces of jasper,\nand animals. The jaguar, puma, and bear were worshipped for their\nstrength and fierceness, the monkey and fox for their cunning, the\ncondor for its size and because several tribes believed themselves to\nbe descended from it. The screech-owl was worshipped for its beauty,\nand the common owl for its power of seeing in the dark. Serpents,\nparticularly the larger and more dangerous varieties, were especially\nregarded with reverence.\n\nAlthough Payne classes all these gods together as totems, it is plain\nthat those of the first class--the flowers, herbs, caves, and pieces\nof jasper--are merely fetishes. A fetish is an object in which the\nsavage believes to be resident a spirit which, by its magic, will\nassist him in his undertakings. A totem is an object or an animal,\nusually the latter, with which the people of a tribe believe themselves\nto be connected by ties of blood and from which they are descended. It\nlater becomes the type or symbol of the tribe.\n\n\n\nPaccariscas\n\nLakes, springs, rocks, mountains, precipices, and caves were all\nregarded by the various Peruvian tribes as paccariscas--places\nwhence their ancestors had originally issued to the upper world. The\npaccarisca was usually saluted with the cry, \"Thou art my birthplace,\nthou art my life-spring. Guard me from evil, O Paccarisca!\" In the\nholy spot a spirit was supposed to dwell which served the tribe as a\nkind of oracle. Naturally the paccarisca was looked upon with extreme\nreverence. It became, indeed, a sort of life-centre for the tribe,\nfrom which they were very unwilling to be separated.\n\n\n\nWorship of Stones\n\nThe worship of stones appears to have been almost as universal in\nancient Peru as it was in ancient Palestine. Man in his primitive\nstate believes stones to be the framework of the earth, its\nbony structure. He considers himself to have emerged from some\ncave--in fact, from the entrails of the earth. Nearly all American\ncreation-myths regard man as thus emanating from the bowels of the\ngreat terrestrial mother. Rocks which were thus chosen as paccariscas\nare found, among many other places, at Callca, in the valley of the\nYucay, and at Titicaca there is a great mass of red sandstone on\nthe top of a high ridge with almost inaccessible slopes and dark,\ngloomy recesses where the sun was thought to have hidden himself at\nthe time of the great deluge which covered all the earth. The rock\nof Titicaca was, in fact, the great paccarisca of the sun itself.\n\nWe are thus not surprised to find that many standing stones were\nworshipped in Peru in aboriginal times. Thus Arriaga states that rocks\nof great size which bore some resemblance to the human figure were\nimagined to have been at one time gigantic men or spirits who, because\nthey disobeyed the creative power, were turned into stone. According\nto another account they were said to have suffered this punishment for\nrefusing to listen to the words of Thonapa, the son of the creator,\nwho, like Quetzalcoatl or Manco Ccapac, had taken upon himself the\nguise of a wandering Indian, so that he might have an opportunity of\nbringing the arts of civilisation to the aborigines. At Tiahuanaco\na certain group of stones was said to represent all that remained of\nthe villagers of that place, who, instead of paying fitting attention\nto the wise counsel which Thonapa the Civiliser bestowed upon them,\ncontinued to dance and drink in scorn of the teachings he had brought\nto them.\n\nAgain, some stones were said to have become men, as in the old Greek\ncreation-legend of Deucalion and Pyrrha. In the legend of Ccapac Inca\nPachacutic, when Cuzco was attacked in force by the Chancas an Indian\nerected stones to which he attached shields and weapons so that they\nshould appear to represent so many warriors in hiding. Pachacutic,\nin great need of assistance, cried to them with such vehemence to come\nto his help that they became men, and rendered him splendid service.\n\n\n\nHuacas\n\nWhatever was sacred, of sacred origin, or of the nature of a relic\nthe Peruvians designated a huaca, from the root huacan, to howl,\nnative worship invariably taking the form of a kind of howl, or\nweird, dirge-like wailing. All objects of reverence were known as\nhuacas, although those of a higher class were also alluded to as\nviracochas. The Peruvians had, naturally, many forms of huaca, the\nmost popular of which were those of the fetish class which could be\ncarried about by the individual. These were usually stones or pebbles,\nmany of which were carved and painted, and some made to represent\nhuman beings. The llama and the ear of maize were perhaps the most\nusual forms of these sacred objects. Some of them had an agricultural\nsignificance. In order that irrigation might proceed favourably a huaca\nwas placed at intervals in proximity to the acequias, or irrigation\ncanals, which was supposed to prevent them leaking or otherwise failing\nto supply a sufficiency of moisture to the parched maize-fields. Huacas\nof this sort were known as ccompas, and were regarded as deities of\ngreat importance, as the food-supply of the community was thought to\nbe wholly dependent upon their assistance. Other huacas of a similar\nkind were called chichics and huancas, and these presided over the\nfortunes of the maize, and ensured that a sufficient supply of rain\nshould be forthcoming. Great numbers of these agricultural fetishes\nwere destroyed by the zealous commissary Hernandez de Avenda\u00f1o.\n\n\n\nThe Mamas\n\nSpirits which were supposed to be instrumental in forcing the growth of\nthe maize or other plants were the mamas. We find a similar conception\namong many Brazilian tribes to-day, so that the idea appears to have\nbeen a widely accepted one in South American countries. The Peruvians\ncalled such agencies \"mothers,\" adding to the generic name that of\nthe plant or herb with which they were specially associated. Thus\nacsumama was the potato-mother, quinuamama the quinua-mother, saramama\nthe maize-mother, and cocamama the mother of the coca-shrub. Of these\nthe saramama was naturally the most important, governing as it did\nthe principal source of the food-supply of the community. Sometimes\nan image of the saramama was carved in stone, in the shape of an ear\nof maize. The saramama was also worshipped in the form of a doll,\nor huantaysara, made out of stalks of maize, renewed at each harvest,\nmuch as the idols of the great corn-mother of Mexico were manufactured\nat each harvest-season. After having been made, the image was watched\nover for three nights, and then sacrifice was done to it. The priest\nor medicine-man of the tribe would then inquire of it whether or not\nit was capable of existing until that time in the next year. If its\nspirit replied in the affirmative it was permitted to remain where\nit was until the following harvest. If not it was removed, burnt,\nand another figure took its place, to which similar questions were put.\n\n\n\nThe Huamantantac\n\nConnected with agriculture in some degree was the Huamantantac (He\nwho causes the Cormorants to gather themselves together). This was\nthe agency responsible for the gathering of sea-birds, resulting in\nthe deposits of guano to be found along the Peruvian coast which are\nso valuable in the cultivation of the maize-plant. He was regarded as\na most beneficent spirit, and was sacrificed to with exceeding fervour.\n\n\n\nHuaris\n\nThe huaris, or \"great ones,\" were the ancestors of the aristocrats of\na tribe, and were regarded as specially favourable toward agricultural\neffort, possibly because the land had at one time belonged to them\npersonally. They were sometimes alluded to as the \"gods of strength,\"\nand were sacrificed to by libations of chicha. Ancestors in general\nwere deeply revered, and had an agricultural significance, in that\nconsiderable tracts of land were tilled in order that they might be\nsupplied with suitable food and drink offerings. As the number of\nancestors increased more and more land was brought into cultivation,\nand the hapless people had their toil added to immeasurably by these\nconstant demands upon them.\n\n\n\nHuillcas\n\nThe huillcas were huacas which partook of the nature of oracles. Many\nof these were serpents, trees, and rivers, the noises made by\nwhich appeared to the primitive Peruvians--as, indeed, they do to\nprimitive folk all over the world--to be of the quality of articulate\nspeech. Both the Huillcamayu and the Apurimac rivers at Cuzco were\nhuillca oracles of this kind, as their names, \"Huillca-river\" and\n\"Great Speaker,\" denote. These oracles often set the mandate of the\nInca himself at defiance, occasionally supporting popular opinion\nagainst his policy.\n\n\n\nThe Oracles of the Andes\n\nThe Peruvian Indians of the Andes range within recent generations\ncontinued to adhere to the superstitions they had inherited from their\nfathers. A rare and interesting account of these says that they \"admit\nan evil being, the inhabitant of the centre of the earth, whom they\nconsider as the author of their misfortunes, and at the mention of\nwhose name they tremble. The most shrewd among them take advantage\nof this belief to obtain respect, and represent themselves as his\ndelegates. Under the denomination of mohanes, or agoreros, they are\nconsulted even on the most trivial occasions. They preside over the\nintrigues of love, the health of the community, and the taking of\nthe field. Whatever repeatedly occurs to defeat their prognostics,\nfalls on themselves; and they are wont to pay for their deceptions\nvery dearly. They chew a species of vegetable called piripiri, and\nthrow it into the air, accompanying this act by certain recitals\nand incantations, to injure some, to benefit others, to procure rain\nand the inundation of the rivers, or, on the other hand, to occasion\nsettled weather, and a plentiful store of agricultural productions. Any\nsuch result, having been casually verified on a single occasion,\nsuffices to confirm the Indians in their faith, although they may\nhave been cheated a thousand times. Fully persuaded that they cannot\nresist the influence of the piripiri, as soon as they know that\nthey have been solicited in love by its means, they fix their eyes\non the impassioned object, and discover a thousand amiable traits,\neither real or fanciful, which indifference had before concealed from\ntheir view. But the principal power, efficacy, and it may be said\nmisfortune of the mohanes consist in the cure of the sick. Every\nmalady is ascribed to their enchantments, and means are instantly\ntaken to ascertain by whom the mischief may have been wrought. For\nthis purpose, the nearest relative takes a quantity of the juice of\nfloripondium, and suddenly falls intoxicated by the violence of the\nplant. He is placed in a fit posture to prevent suffocation, and\non his coming to himself, at the end of three days, the mohane who\nhas the greatest resemblance to the sorcerer he saw in his visions\nis to undertake the cure, or if, in the interim, the sick man has\nperished, it is customary to subject him to the same fate. When not\nany sorcerer occurs in the visions, the first mohane they encounter\nhas the misfortune to represent his image.\" [17]\n\n\n\nLake-Worship in Peru\n\nAt Lake Titicaca the Peruvians believed the inhabitants of the earth,\nanimals as well as men, to have been fashioned by the creator,\nand the district was thus sacrosanct in their eyes. The people of\nthe Collao called it Mamacota (Mother-water), because it furnished\nthem with supplies of food. Two great idols were connected with this\nworship. One called Copacahuana was made of a bluish-green stone\nshaped like a fish with a human head, and was placed in a commanding\nposition on the shores of the lake. On the arrival of the Spaniards\nso deeply rooted was the worship of this goddess that they could only\nsuppress it by raising an image of the Virgin in place of the idol. The\nChristian emblem remains to this day. Mamacota was venerated as the\ngiver of fish, with which the lake abounded. The other image, Copacati\n(Serpent-stone), represented the element of water as embodied in the\nlake itself in the form of an image wreathed in serpents, which in\nAmerica are nearly always symbolical of water.\n\n\n\nThe Lost Island\n\nA strange legend is recounted of this lake-goddess. She was chiefly\nworshipped as the giver of rain, but Huaina Ccapac, who had modern\nideas and journeyed through the country casting down huacas, had\ndetermined to raise on an island of Lake Titicaca a temple to Yatiri\n(The Ruler), the Aymara name of the god Pachacamac in his form of\nPachayachachic. He commenced by raising the new shrine on the island of\nTiticaca itself. But the deity when called upon refused to vouchsafe\nany reply to his worshippers or priests. Huaina then commanded that\nthe shrine should be transferred to the island of Apinguela. But the\nsame thing happened there. He then inaugurated a temple on the island\nof Paapiti, and lavished upon it many sacrifices of llamas, children,\nand precious metals. But the offended tutelary goddess of the lake,\nirritated beyond endurance by this invasion of her ancient domain,\nlashed the watery waste into such a frenzy of storm that the island\nand the shrine which covered it disappeared beneath the waves and\nwere never thereafter beheld by mortal eye.\n\n\n\nThe Thunder-God of Peru\n\nThe rain-and-thunder god of Peru was worshipped in various parts\nof the country under various names. Among the Collao he was known\nas Con, and in that part of the Inca dominions now known as Bolivia\nhe was called Churoquella. Near the cordilleras of the coast he was\nprobably known as Pariacaca, who expelled the huaca of the district\nby dreadful tempests, hurling rain and hail at him for three days and\nnights in such quantities as to form the great lake of Pariacaca. Burnt\nllamas were offered to him. But the Incas, discontented with this local\nworship, which by no means suited their system of central government,\ndetermined to create one thunder-deity to whom all the tribes in the\nempire must bow as the only god of his class. We are not aware what\nhis name was, but we know from mythological evidence that he was\na mixture of all the other gods of thunder in the Peruvian Empire,\nfirst because he invariably occupied the third place in the triad\nof greater deities, the creator, sun, and thunder, all of whom were\nmore or less amalgamations of provincial and metropolitan gods, and\nsecondly because a great image of him was erected in the Coricancha at\nCuzco, in which he was represented in human form, wearing a headdress\nwhich concealed his face, symbolic of the clouds, which ever veil the\nthunder-god's head. He had a special temple of his own, moreover, and\nwas assigned a share in the sacred lands by the Inca Pachacutic. He was\naccompanied by a figure of his sister, who carried jars of water. An\nunknown Quichuan poet composed on the myth the following graceful\nlittle poem, which was translated by the late Daniel Garrison Brinton,\nan enthusiastic Americanist and professor of American arch\u00e6ology in\nthe University of Pennsylvania:\n\n\n                    Bounteous Princess,\n                    Lo, thy brother\n                    Breaks thy vessel\n                    Now in fragments.\n                    From the blow come\n                    Thunder, lightning,\n                    Strokes of lightning;\n                    And thou, Princess,\n                    Tak'st the water,\n                    With it rainest,\n                    And the hail or\n                    Snow dispensest,\n                    Viracocha,\n                    World-constructor.\n\n\nIt will be observed that the translator here employs the name Viracocha\nas if it were that of the deity. But it was merely a general expression\nin use for a more than usually sacred being. Brinton, commenting upon\nthe legend, says: \"In this pretty waif that has floated down to us\nfrom the wreck of a literature now for ever lost there is more than\none point to attract the notice of the antiquary. He may find in it\na hint to decipher those names of divinities so common in Peruvian\nlegends, Contici and Illatici. Both mean 'the Thunder Vase,' and both\ndoubtless refer to the conception here displayed of the phenomena\nof the thunderstorm.\" Alluding to Peruvian thunder-myth elsewhere,\nhe says in an illuminating passage: \"Throughout the realms of the\nIncas the Peruvians venerated as maker of all things and ruler of the\nfirmament the god Ataguju. The legend was that from him proceeded\nthe first of mortals, the man Guamansuri, who descended to the\nearth and there wedded the sister of certain Guachimines, rayless\nones or Darklings, who then possessed it. They destroyed him, but\ntheir sister gave birth to twin sons, Apocatequil and Piguerao. The\nformer was the more powerful. By touching the corpse of his mother\nhe brought her to life, he drove off and slew the Guachimines, and,\ndirected by Ataguju, released the race of Indians from the soil by\nturning it up with a spade of gold. For this reason they adored him\nas their maker. He it was, they thought, who produced the thunder and\nthe lightning by hurling stones with his sling. And the thunderbolts\nthat fall, said they, are his children. Few villages were willing\nto be without one or more of these. They were in appearance small,\nround stones, but had the admirable properties of securing fertility\nto the fields, protecting from lightning, and, by a transition easy\nto understand, were also adored as gods of fire as well material as\nof the passions, and were capable of kindling the dangerous flames\nof desire in the most frigid bosoms. Therefore they were in great\nesteem as love-charms. Apocatequil's statue was erected on the\nmountains, with that of his mother on one hand and his brother on\nthe other. 'He was Prince of Evil, and the most respected god of the\nPeruvians. From Quito to Cuzco not an Indian but would give all he\npossessed to conciliate him. Five priests, two stewards, and a crowd\nof slaves served his image. And his chief temple was surrounded by a\nvery considerable village, whose inhabitants had no other occupation\nbut to wait on him.'\" In memory of these brothers twins in Peru were\nalways deemed sacred to the lightning.\n\nThere is an instance on record of how the huillca could refuse on\noccasion to recognise even royalty itself. Manco, the Inca who had\nbeen given the kingly power by Pizarro, offered a sacrifice to one of\nthese oracular shrines. The oracle refused to recognise him, through\nthe medium of its guardian priest, stating that Manco was not the\nrightful Inca. Manco therefore caused the oracle, which was in the\nshape of a rock, to be thrown down, whereupon its guardian spirit\nemerged in the form of a parrot and flew away. It is probable that\nthe bird thus liberated had been taught by the priests to answer\nto the questions of those who came to consult the shrine. But we\nlearn that on Manco commanding that the parrot should be pursued it\nsought another rock, which opened to receive it, and the spirit of\nthe huillca was transferred to this new abode.\n\n\n\nThe Great God Pachacamac\n\nLater Peruvian mythology recognised only three gods of the first\nrank, the earth, the thunder, and the creative agency. Pachacamac,\nthe great spirit of earth, derived his name from a word pacha, which\nmay be best translated as \"things.\" In its sense of visible things it\nis equivalent to \"world,\" applied to things which happen in succession\nit denotes \"time,\" and to things connected with persons \"property,\"\nespecially clothes. The world of visible things is thus Mamapacha\n(Earth-Mother), under which name the ancient Peruvians worshipped\nthe earth. Pachacamac, on the other hand, is not the earth itself,\nthe soil, but the spirit which animates all things that emerge\ntherefrom. From him proceed the spirits of the plants and animals\nwhich come from the earth. Pachamama is the mother-spirit of the\nmountains, rocks, and plains, Pachacamac the father-spirit of the\ngrain-bearing plants, animals, birds, and man. In some localities\nPachacamac and Pachamama were worshipped as divine mates. Possibly\nthis practice was universal in early times, gradually lapsing into\ndesuetude in later days. Pachamama was in another phase intended to\ndenote the land immediately contiguous to a settlement, on which the\ninhabitants depended for their food-supply.\n\n\n\nPeruvian Creation-Stories\n\nIt is easy to see how such a conception as Pachacamac, the spirit\nof animated nature, would become one with the idea of a universal or\neven a partial creator. That there was a pre-existing conception of a\ncreative agency can be proved from the existence of the Peruvian name\nConticsi-viracocha (He who gives Origin, or Beginning). This conception\nand that of Pachacamac must at some comparatively early period have\nclashed, and been amalgamated probably with ease when it was seen how\nnearly akin were the two ideas. Indeed, Pachacamac was alternatively\nknown as Pacharurac, the \"maker\" of all things--sure proof of his\namalgamation with the conception of the creative agency. As such he\nhad his symbol in the great Coricancha at Cuzco, an oval plate of gold,\nsuspended between those of the sun and the moon, and placed vertically,\nit may be hazarded with some probability, to represent in symbol that\nuniversal matrix from which emanated all things. Elsewhere in Cuzco\nthe creator was represented by a stone statue in human form.\n\n\n\nPachayachachic\n\nIn later Inca days this idea of a creator assumed that of a direct\nruler of the universe, known as Pachayachachic. This change was\nprobably due to the influence of the Inca Pachacutic, who is known to\nhave made several other doctrinal innovations in Peruvian theology. He\ncommanded a great new temple to the creator-god to be built at the\nnorth angle of the city of Cuzco, in which he placed a statue of\npure gold, of the size of a boy of ten years of age. The small size\nwas to facilitate its removal, as Peruvian worship was nearly always\ncarried out in the open air. In form it represented a man with his\nright arm elevated, the hand partially closed and the forefinger\nand thumb raised, as if in the act of uttering the creative word. To\nthis god large possessions and revenues were assigned, for previously\nservice rendered to him had been voluntary only.\n\n\n\nIdeas of Creation\n\nIt is from aboriginal sources as preserved by the first Spanish\ncolonists that we glean our knowledge of what the Incas believed the\ncreative process to consist. By means of his word (\u00f1isca) the creator,\na spirit, powerful and opulent, made all things. We are provided with\nthe formul\u00e6 of his very words by the Peruvian prayers still extant:\n\"Let earth and heaven be,\" \"Let a man be; let a woman be,\" \"Let there\nbe day,\" \"Let there be night,\" \"Let the light shine.\" The sun is here\nregarded as the creative agency, and the ruling caste as the objects\nof a special act of creation.\n\n\n\nPacari Tampu\n\nPacari Tampu (House of the Dawn) was the place of origin, according to\nthe later Inca theology, of four brothers and sisters who initiated the\nfour Peruvian systems of worship. The eldest climbed a neighbouring\nmountain, and cast stones to the four points of the compass, thus\nindicating that he claimed all the land within sight. But his youngest\nbrother succeeded in enticing him into a cave, which he sealed up with\na great stone, thus imprisoning him for ever. He next persuaded his\nsecond brother to ascend a lofty mountain, from which he cast him,\nchanging him into a stone in his descent. On beholding the fate of\nhis brethren the third member of the quartette fled. It is obvious\nthat we have here a legend concocted by the later Inca priesthood\nto account for the evolution of Peruvian religion in its different\nstages. The first brother would appear to represent the oldest religion\nin Peru, that of the paccariscas, the second that of a fetishistic\nstone-worship, the third perhaps that of Viracocha, and the last\nsun-worship pure and simple. There was, however, an \"official\" legend,\nwhich stated that the sun had three sons, Viracocha, Pachacamac, and\nManco Ccapac. To the last the dominion of mankind was given, whilst\nthe others were concerned with the workings of the universe. This\npolitic arrangement placed all the power, temporal and spiritual,\nin the hands of the reputed descendants of Manco Ccapac--the Incas.\n\n\n\nWorship of the Sea\n\nThe ancient Peruvians worshipped the sea as well as the earth, the\nfolk inland regarding it as a menacing deity, whilst the people of the\ncoast reverenced it as a god of benevolence, calling it Mama-cocha,\nor Mother-sea, as it yielded them subsistence in the form of fish,\non which they chiefly lived. They worshipped the whale, fairly common\non that coast, because of its enormous size, and various districts\nregarded with adoration the species of fish most abundant there. This\nworship can have partaken in no sense of the nature of totemism,\nas the system forbade that the totem animal should be eaten. It was\nimagined that the prototype of each variety of fish dwelt in the upper\nworld, just as many tribes of North American Indians believe that the\neponymous ancestors of certain animals dwell at the four points of the\ncompass or in the sky above them. This great fish-god engendered the\nothers of his species, and sent them into the waters of the deep that\nthey might exist there until taken for the use of man. Birds, too, had\ntheir eponymous counterparts among the stars, as had animals. Indeed,\namong many of the South American races, ancient and modern, the\nconstellations were called after certain beasts and birds.\n\n\n\nViracocha\n\nThe Aymara-Quichua race worshipped Viracocha as a great culture\nhero. They did not offer him sacrifices or tribute, as they thought\nthat he, being creator and possessor of all things, needed nothing\nfrom men, so they only gave him worship. After him they idolised the\nsun. They believed, indeed, that Viracocha had made both sun and moon,\nafter emerging from Lake Titicaca, and that then he made the earth and\npeopled it. On his travels westward from the lake he was sometimes\nassailed by men, but he revenged himself by sending terrible storms\nupon them and destroying their property, so they humbled themselves\nand acknowledged him as their lord. He forgave them and taught them\neverything, obtaining from them the name of Pachayachachic. In the\nend he disappeared in the western ocean. He either created or there\nwere born with him four beings who, according to mythical beliefs,\ncivilised Peru. To them he assigned the four quarters of the earth,\nand they are thus known as the four winds, north, south, east, and\nwest. One legend avers they came from the cave Pacari, the Lodging\nof the Dawn.\n\n\n\nSun-Worship in Peru\n\nThe name \"Inca\" means \"People of the Sun,\" which luminary the\nIncas regarded as their creator. But they did not worship him\ntotemically--that is, they did not claim him as a progenitor, although\nthey regarded him as possessing the attributes of a man. And here we\nmay observe a difference between Mexican and Peruvian sun-worship. For\nwhereas the Nahua primarily regarded the orb as the abode of the\nMan of the Sun, who came to earth in the shape of Quetzalcoatl,\nthe Peruvians looked upon the sun itself as the deity. The Inca\nrace did not identify their ancestors as children of the sun until\na comparatively late date. Sun-worship was introduced by the Inca\nPachacutic, who averred that the sun appeared to him in a dream\nand addressed him as his child. Until that time the worship of the\nsun had always been strictly subordinated to that of the creator,\nand the deity appeared only as second in the trinity of creator,\nsun, and thunder. But permanent provision was made for sacrifices\nto the sun before the other deities were so recognised, and as the\nconquests of the Incas grew wider and that provision extended to\nthe new territories they came to be known as \"the Lands of the Sun,\"\nthe natives observing the dedication of a part of the country to the\nluminary, and concluding therefrom that it applied to the whole. The\nmaterial reality of the sun would enormously assist his cult among a\npeople who were too barbarous to appreciate an unseen god, and this\ncolonial conception reacting upon the mother-land would undoubtedly\ninspire the military class with a resolve to strengthen a worship so\npopular in the conquered provinces, and of which they were in great\nmeasure the protagonists and missionaries.\n\n\n\nThe Sun's Possessions\n\nIn every Peruvian village the sun had considerable possessions. His\nestates resembled those of a territorial chieftain, and consisted of\na dwelling-house, a chacra, or portion of land, flocks of llamas and\npacos, and a number of women dedicated to his service. The cultivation\nof the soil within the solar enclosure devolved upon the inhabitants\nof the neighbouring village, the produce of their toil being stored\nin the inti-huasi, or sun's house. The Women of the Sun prepared the\ndaily food and drink of the luminary, which consisted of maize and\nchicha. They also spun wool and wove it into fine stuff, which was\nburned in order that it might ascend to the celestial regions, where\nthe deity could make use of it. Each village reserved a portion of\nits solar produce for the great festival at Cuzco, and it was carried\nthither on the backs of llamas which were destined for sacrifice.\n\n\n\nInca Occupation of Titicaca\n\nThe Rock of Titicaca, the renowned place of the sun's origin, naturally\nbecame an important centre of his worship. The date at which the\nworship of the sun originated at this famous rock is extremely remote,\nbut we may safely assume that it was long before the conquest of\nthe Collao by the Apu-Ccapac-Inca Pachacutic, and that reverence for\nthe luminary as a war-god by the Colla chiefs was noticed by Tupac,\nwho in suppressing the revolt concluded that the local observance at\nthe rock had some relationship to the disturbance. It is, however,\ncertain that Tupac proceeded after the reconquest to establish at\nthis natural centre of sun-worship solar rites on a new basis, with\nthe evident intention of securing on behalf of the Incas of Cuzco such\nexclusive benefit as might accrue from the complete possession of the\nsun's paccarisca. According to a native account, a venerable colla\n(or hermit), consecrated to the service of the sun, had proceeded\non foot from Titicaca to Cuzco for the purpose of commending this\nancient seat of sun-worship to the notice of Tupac. The consequence\nwas that Apu-Ccapac-Inca, after visiting the island and inquiring\ninto the ancient local customs, re-established them in a more regular\nform. His accounts can hardly be accepted in face of the facts which\nhave been gathered. Rather did it naturally follow that Titicaca\nbecame subservient to Tupac after the revolt of the Collao had been\nquelled. Henceforth the worship of the sun at the place of his origin\nwas entrusted to Incas resident in the place, and was celebrated\nwith Inca rites. The island was converted into a solar estate and\nthe aboriginal inhabitants removed. The land was cultivated and the\nslopes of the hills levelled, maize was sown and the soil consecrated,\nthe grain being regarded as the gift of the sun. This work produced\nconsiderable change in the island. Where once was waste and idleness\nthere was now fertility and industry. The harvests were skilfully\napportioned, so much being reserved for sacrificial purposes, the\nremainder being sent to Cuzco, partly to be sown in the chacras,\nor estates of the sun, throughout Peru, partly to be preserved in\nthe granary of the Inca and the huacas as a symbol that there would\nbe abundant crops in the future and that the grain already stored\nwould be preserved. A building of the Women of the Sun was erected\nabout a mile from the rock, so that the produce might be available\nfor sacrifices. For their maintenance, tribute of potatoes, ocas, and\nquinua was levied upon the inhabitants of the villages on the shores\nof the lake, and of maize upon the people of the neighbouring valleys.\n\n\n\nPilgrimages to Titicaca\n\nTiticaca at the time of the conquest was probably more frequented\nthan Pachacamac itself. These two places were held to be the\ncardinal shrines of the two great huacas, the creator and the sun\nrespectively. A special reason for pilgrimage to Titicaca was to\nsacrifice to the sun, as the source of physical energy and the giver\nof long life; and he was especially worshipped by the aged, who\nbelieved he had preserved their lives, Then followed the migration\nof pilgrims to Titicaca, for whose shelter houses were built at\nCapacahuana, and large stores of maize were provided for their use. The\nceremonial connected with the sacred rites of the rock was rigorously\nobserved. The pilgrim ere embarking on the raft which conveyed him\nto the island must first confess his sins to a huillac (a speaker\nto an object of worship); then further confessions were required\nat each of the three sculptured doors which had successively to be\npassed before reaching the sacred rock. The first door (Puma-puncu)\nwas surmounted by the figure of a puma; the others (Quenti-puncu and\nPillco-puncu) were ornamented with feathers of the different species of\nbirds commonly sacrificed to the sun. Having passed the last portal,\nthe traveller beheld at a distance of two hundred paces the sacred\nrock itself, the summit glittering with gold-leaf. He was permitted\nto proceed no further, for only the officials were allowed entry into\nit. The pilgrim on departing received a few grains of the sacred maize\ngrown on the island. These he kept with care and placed with his own\nstore, believing they would preserve his stock, The confidence the\nIndian placed in the virtue of the Titicaca maize may be judged from\nthe prevalent belief that the possessor of a single grain would not\nsuffer from starvation during the whole of his life.\n\n\n\nSacrifices to the New Sun\n\nThe Intip-Raymi, or Great Festival of the Sun, was celebrated by\nthe Incas at Cuzco at the winter solstice. In connection with it\nthe Tarpuntaita-cuma, or sacrificing Incas, were charged with a\nremarkable duty, the worshippers journeying eastward to meet one of\nthese functionaries on his way. On the principal hill-tops between\nCuzco and Huillcanuta, on the road to the rock of Titicaca, burnt\nofferings of llamas, coca, and maize were made at the feast to greet\nthe arrival of the young sun from his ancient birthplace. Molina\nhas enumerated more than twenty of these places of sacrifice. The\nstriking picture of the celebration of the solar sacrifice on these\nbleak mountains in the depth of the Peruvian winter has, it seems,\nno parallel in the religious rites of the ancient Americans. Quitting\ntheir thatched houses at early dawn, the worshippers left the valley\nbelow, carrying the sacrificial knife and brazier, and conducting\nthe white llama, heavily laden with fuel, maize, and coca leaves,\nwrapped in fine cloth, to the spot where the sacrifice was to be\nmade. When sunrise appeared the pile was lighted. The victim was slain\nand thrown upon it. The scene then presented a striking contrast to\nthe bleak surrounding wilderness. As the flames grew in strength and\nthe smoke rose higher and thicker the clear atmosphere was gradually\nilluminated from the east. When the sun advanced above the horizon the\nsacrifice was at its height. But for the crackling of the flames and\nthe murmur of a babbling stream on its way down the hill to join the\nriver below, the silence had hitherto been unbroken. As the sun rose\nthe Incas marched slowly round the burning mass, plucking the wool\nfrom the scorched carcase, and chanting monotonously: \"O Creator,\nSun and Thunder, be for ever young! Multiply the people; let them\never be in peace!\"\n\n\n\nThe Citoc Raymi\n\nThe most picturesque if not the most important solar festival was\nthat of the Citoc Raymi (Gradually Increasing Sun), held in June,\nwhen nine days were given up to the ceremonial. A rigorous fast was\nobserved for three days previous to the event, during which no fire\nmust be kindled. On the fourth day the Inca, accompanied by the people\nen masse, proceeded to the great square of Cuzco to hail the rising\nsun, which they awaited in silence. On its appearance they greeted\nit with a joyous tumult, and, joining in procession, marched to the\nGolden Temple of the Sun, where llamas were sacrificed, and a new\nfire was kindled by means of an arched mirror, followed by sacrificial\nofferings of grain, flowers, animals, and aromatic gums. This festival\nmay be taken as typical of all the seasonal celebrations. The Inca\ncalendar was purely agricultural in its basis, and marked in its great\nfestivals the renewal or abandonment of the labours of the field. Its\nastronomical observations were not more advanced than those of the\ncalendars of many American races otherwise inferior in civilisation.\n\n\n\nHuman Sacrifice in Peru\n\nWriters ignorant of their subject have often dwelt upon the absence\nof human sacrifice in ancient Peru, and have not hesitated to\ndraw comparisons between Mexico and the empire of the Incas in this\nrespect, usually not complimentary to the former. Such statements are\ncontradicted by the clearest evidence. Human sacrifice was certainly\nnot nearly so prevalent in Peru, but that it was regular and by no\nmeans rare is well authenticated. Female victims to the sun were\ntaken from the great class of Acllacuna (Selected Ones), a general\ntribute of female children regularly levied throughout the Inca\nEmpire. Beautiful girls were taken from their parents at the age of\neight by the Inca officials, and were handed over to certain female\ntrainers called mamacuna (mothers). These matrons systematically\ntrained their prot\u00e9g\u00e9es in housewifery and ritual. Residences or\nconvents called aclla-huasi (houses of the Selected) were provided\nfor them in the principal cities.\n\n\n\nMethods of Medicine-Men\n\nA quaint account of the methods of the medicine-men of the Indians\nof the Peruvian Andes probably illustrates the manner in which the\nsuperstitions of a barbarian people evolve into a more stately ritual.\n\n\"It cannot be denied,\" it states, \"that the mohanes [priests] have,\nby practice and tradition, acquired a knowledge of many plants and\npoisons, with which they effect surprising cures on the one hand,\nand do much mischief on the other, but the mania of ascribing the\nwhole to a preternatural virtue occasions them to blend with their\npractice a thousand charms and superstitions. The most customary\nmethod of cure is to place two hammocks close to each other, either\nin the dwelling, or in the open air: in one of them the patient\nlies extended, and in the other the mohane, or agorero. The latter,\nin contact with the sick man, begins by rocking himself, and then\nproceeds, by a strain in falsetto, to call on the birds, quadrupeds,\nand fishes to give health to the patient. From time to time he rises\non his seat, and makes a thousand extravagant gestures over the sick\nman, to whom he applies his powders and herbs, or sucks the wounded\nor diseased parts. If the malady augments, the agorero, having been\njoined by many of the people, chants a short hymn, addressed to the\nsoul of the patient, with this burden: 'Thou must not go, thou must\nnot go.' In repeating this he is joined by the people, until at length\na terrible clamour is raised, and augmented in proportion as the sick\nman becomes still fainter and fainter, to the end that it may reach\nhis ears. When all the charms are unavailing, and death approaches,\nthe mohane leaps from his hammock, and betakes himself to flight, amid\nthe multitude of sticks, stones, and clods of earth which are showered\non him. Successively all those who belong to the nation assemble,\nand, dividing themselves into bands, each of them (if he who is in\nhis last agonies is a warrior) approaches him, saying: 'Whither goest\nthou? Why dost thou leave us? With whom shall we proceed to the aucas\n[the enemies]?' They then relate to him the heroical deeds he has\nperformed, the number of those he has slain, and the pleasures he\nleaves behind him. This is practised in different tones: while some\nraise the voice, it is lowered by others; and the poor sick man is\nobliged to support these importunities without a murmur, until the\nfirst symptoms of approaching dissolution manifest themselves. Then\nit is that he is surrounded by a multitude of females, some of whom\nforcibly close the mouth and eyes, others envelop him in the hammock,\noppressing him with the whole of their weight, and causing him to\nexpire before his time, and others, lastly, run to extinguish the\ncandle, and dissipate the smoke, that the soul, not being able to\nperceive the hole through which it may escape, may remain entangled\nin the structure of the roof. That this may be speedily effected, and\nto prevent its return to the interior of the dwelling, they surround\nthe entrances with filth, by the stench of which it may be expelled.\n\n\n\nDeath by Suffocation\n\n\"As soon as the dying man is suffocated by the closing of the mouth,\nnostrils, &c., and wrapt up in the covering of his bed, the most\ncircumspect Indian, whether male or female, takes him in the arms in\nthe best manner possible, and gives a gentle shriek, which echoes to\nthe bitter lamentations of the immediate relatives, and to the cries of\na thousand old women collected for the occasion. As long as this dismal\nhowl subsists, the latter are subjected to a constant fatigue, raising\nthe palm of the hand to wipe away the tears, and lowering it to dry it\non the ground. The result of this alternate action is, that a circle\nof earth, which gives them a most hideous appearance, is collected\nabout the eyelids and brows, and they do not wash themselves until\nthe mourning is over. These first clamours conclude by several good\npots of masato, to assuage the thirst of sorrow, and the company next\nproceed to make a great clatter among the utensils of the deceased:\nsome break the kettles, and others the earthen pots, while others,\nagain, burn the apparel, to the end that his memory may be the sooner\nforgotten. If the defunct has been a cacique, or powerful warrior, his\nexequies are performed after the manner of the Romans: they last for\nmany days, all the people weeping in concert for a considerable space\nof time, at daybreak, at noon, in the evening, and at midnight. When\nthe appointed hour arrives, the mournful music begins in front of the\nhouse of the wife and relatives, the heroical deeds of the deceased\nbeing chanted to the sound of instruments. All the inhabitants of\nthe vicinity unite in chorus from within their houses, some chirping\nlike birds, others howling like tigers, and the greater part of them\nchattering like monkeys, or croaking like frogs. They constantly\nleave off by having recourse to the masato, and by the destruction\nof whatever the deceased may have left behind him, the burning of his\ndwelling being that which concludes the ceremonies. Among some of the\nIndians, the nearest relatives cut off their hair as a token of their\ngrief, agreeably to the practice of the Moabites, and other nations....\n\n\n\nThe Obsequies of a Chief\n\n\"On the day of decease, they put the body, with its insignia, into a\nlarge earthen vessel, or painted jar, which they bury in one of the\nangles of the quarter, laying over it a covering of potter's clay, and\nthrowing in earth until the grave is on a level with the surface of the\nground. When the obsequies are over, they forbear to pay a visit to it,\nand lose every recollection of the name of the warrior. The Roamaynas\ndisenterre their dead, as soon as they think that the fleshy parts\nhave been consumed, and having washed the bones from the skeleton,\nwhich they place in a coffin of potter's clay, adorned with various\nsymbols of death, like the hieroglyphics on the wrappers of the\nEgyptian mummies. In this state the skeleton is carried home, to the\nend that the survivors may bear the deceased in respectful memory,\nand not in imitation of those extraordinary voluptuaries of antiquity,\nwho introduced into their most splendid festivals a spectacle of\nthis nature, which, by reminding them of their dissolution, might\nstimulate them to taste, before it should overtake them, all the\nimpure pleasures the human passions could afford them. A space of\ntime of about a year being elapsed, the bones are once more inhumed,\nand the individual to whom they belonged forgotten for ever.\" [18]\n\n\n\nPeruvian Myths\n\nPeru is not so rich in myths as Mexico, but the following legends\nwell illustrate the mythological ideas of the Inca race:\n\n\n\nThe Vision of Yupanqui\n\nThe Inca Yupanqui before he succeeded to the sovereignty is said to\nhave gone to visit his father, Viracocha Inca. On his way he arrived\nat a fountain called Susur-pugaio. There he saw a piece of crystal\nfall into the fountain, and in this crystal he saw the figure of an\nIndian, with three bright rays as of the sun coming from the back of\nhis head. He wore a hautu, or royal fringe, across the forehead like\nthe Inca. Serpents wound round his arms and over his shoulders. He\nhad ear-pieces in his ears like the Incas, and was also dressed like\nthem. There was the head of a lion between his legs, and another lion\nwas about his shoulders. Inca Yupanqui took fright at this strange\nfigure, and was running away when a voice called to him by name telling\nhim not to be afraid, because it was his father, the sun, whom he\nbeheld, and that he would conquer many nations, but he must remember\nhis father in his sacrifices and raise revenues for him, and pay him\ngreat reverence. Then the figure vanished, but the crystal remained,\nand the Inca afterwards saw all he wished in it. When he became king\nhe had a statue of the sun made, resembling the figure as closely\nas possible, and ordered all the tribes he had conquered to build\nsplendid temples and worship the new deity instead of the creator.\n\n\n\nThe Bird Bride\n\nThe Canaris Indians are named from the province of Canaribamba, in\nQuito, and they have several myths regarding their origin. One recounts\nthat at the deluge two brothers fled to a very high mountain called\nHuacaquan, and as the waters rose the hill ascended simultaneously,\nso that they escaped drowning. When the flood was over they had to\nfind food in the valleys, and they built a tiny house and lived on\nherbs and roots. They were surprised one day when they went home\nto find food already prepared for them and chicha to drink. This\ncontinued for ten days. Then the elder brother decided to hide himself\nand discover who brought the food. Very soon two birds, one Aqua,\nthe other Torito (otherwise quacamayo birds), appeared dressed as\nCanaris, and wearing their hair fastened in the same way. The larger\nbird removed the llicella, or mantle the Indians wear, and the man\nsaw that they had beautiful faces and discovered that the bird-like\nbeings were in reality women. When he came out the bird-women were\nvery angry and flew away. When the younger brother came home and found\nno food he was annoyed, and determined to hide until the bird-women\nreturned. After ten days the quacamayos appeared again on their old\nmission, and while they were busy the watcher contrived to close the\ndoor, and so prevented the younger bird from escaping. She lived with\nthe brothers for a long time, and became the mother of six sons and\ndaughters, from whom all the Canaris proceed. Hence the tribe look\nupon the quacamayo birds with reverence, and use their feathers at\ntheir festivals.\n\n\n\nThonapa\n\nSome myths tell of a divine personage called Thonapa, who appears\nto have been a hero-god or civilising agent like Quetzalcoatl. He\nseems to have devoted his life to preaching to the people in the\nvarious villages, beginning in the provinces of Colla-suya. When\nhe came to Yamquisupa he was treated so badly that he would not\nremain there. He slept in the open air, clad only in a long shirt\nand a mantle, and carried a book. He cursed the village. It was soon\nimmersed in water, and is now a lake. There was an idol in the form\nof a woman to which the people offered sacrifice at the top of a high\nhill, Cachapucara. This idol Thonapa detested, so he burnt it, and\nalso destroyed the hill. On another occasion Thonapa cursed a large\nassembly of people who were holding a great banquet to celebrate a\nwedding, because they refused to listen to his preaching. They were\nall changed into stones, which are visible to this day. Wandering\nthrough Peru, Thonapa came to the mountain of Caravaya, and after\nraising a very large cross he put it on his shoulders and took it to\nthe hill Carapucu, where he preached so fervently that he shed tears. A\nchief's daughter got some of the water on her head, and the Indians,\nimagining that he was washing his head (a ritual offence), took him\nprisoner near the Lake of Carapucu. Very early the next morning a\nbeautiful youth appeared to Thonapa, and told him not to fear, for he\nwas sent from the divine guardian who watched over him. He released\nThonapa, who escaped, though he was well guarded. He went down into\nthe lake, his mantle keeping him above the water as a boat would have\ndone. After Thonapa had escaped from the barbarians he remained on\nthe rock of Titicaca, afterwards going to the town of Tiya-manacu,\nwhere again he cursed the people and turned them into stones. They\nwere too bent upon amusement to listen to his preaching. He then\nfollowed the river Chacamarca till it reached the sea, and, like\nQuetzalcoatl, disappeared. This is good evidence that he was a solar\ndeity, or \"man of the sun,\" who, his civilising labours completed,\nbetook himself to the house of his father.\n\n\n\nA Myth of Manco Ccapac Inca\n\nWhen Manco Ccapac Inca was born a staff which had been given to his\nfather turned into gold. He had seven brothers and sisters, and at\nhis father's death he assembled all his people in order to see how\nmuch he could venture in making fresh conquests. He and his brothers\nsupplied themselves with rich clothing, new arms, and the golden\nstaff called tapac-yauri (royal sceptre). He had also two cups of\ngold from which Thonapa had drunk, called tapacusi. They proceeded\nto the highest point in the country, a mountain where the sun rose,\nand Manco Ccapac saw several rainbows, which he interpreted as a\nsign of good fortune. Delighted with the favouring symbols, he sang\nthe song of Chamayhuarisca (The Song of Joy). Manco Ccapac wondered\nwhy a brother who had accompanied him did not return, and sent one\nof his sisters in search of him, but she also did not come back,\nso he went himself, and found both nearly dead beside a huaca. They\nsaid they could not move, as the huaca, a stone, retarded them. In\na great rage Manco struck this stone with his tapac-yauri. It spoke,\nand said that had it not been for his wonderful golden staff he would\nhave had no power over it. It added that his brother and sister had\nsinned, and therefore must remain with it (the huaca) in the lower\nregions, but that Manco was to be \"greatly honoured.\" The sad fate of\nhis brother and sister troubled Manco exceedingly, but on going back\nto the place where he first saw the rainbows he got comfort from them\nand strength to bear his grief.\n\n\n\nConiraya Viracocha\n\nConiraya Viracocha was a tricky nature spirit who declared he was\nthe creator, but who frequently appeared attired as a poor ragged\nIndian. He was an adept at deceiving people. A beautiful woman,\nCavillaca, who was greatly admired, was one day weaving a mantle at\nthe foot of a lucma tree. Coniraya, changing himself into a beautiful\nbird, climbed the tree, took some of his generative seed, made it into\na ripe lucma, and dropped it near the beautiful virgin, who saw and\nate the fruit. Some time afterwards a son was born to Cavillaca. When\nthe child was older she wished that the huacas and gods should meet\nand declare who was the father of the boy. All dressed as finely as\npossible, hoping to be chosen as her husband. Coniraya was there,\ndressed like a beggar, and Cavillaca never even looked at him. The\nmaiden addressed the assembly, but as no one immediately answered\nher speech she let the child go, saying he would be sure to crawl\nto his father. The infant went straight up to Coniraya, sitting in\nhis rags, and laughed up to him. Cavillaca, extremely angry at the\nidea of being associated with such a poor, dirty creature, fled to\nthe sea-shore. Coniraya then put on magnificent attire and followed\nher to show her how handsome he was, but still thinking of him in\nhis ragged condition she would not look back. She went into the sea\nat Pachacamac and was changed into a rock. Coniraya, still following\nher, met a condor, and asked if it had seen a woman. On the condor\nreplying that it had seen her quite near, Coniraya blessed it, and said\nwhoever killed it would be killed himself. He then met a fox, who said\nhe would never meet Cavillaca, so Coniraya told him he would always\nretain his disagreeable odour, and on account of it he would never be\nable to go abroad except at night, and that he would be hated by every\none. Next came a lion, who told Coniraya he was very near Cavillaca,\nso the lover said he should have the power of punishing wrongdoers,\nand that whoever killed him would wear the skin without cutting off\nthe head, and by preserving the teeth and eyes would make him appear\nstill alive; his skin would be worn at festivals, and thus he would be\nhonoured after death. Then another fox who gave bad news was cursed,\nand a falcon who said Cavillaca was near was told he would be highly\nesteemed, and that whoever killed him would also wear his skin at\nfestivals. The parrots, giving bad news, were to cry so loud that\nthey would be heard far away, and their cries would betray them to\nenemies. Thus Coniraya blessed the animals which gave him news he\nliked, and cursed those which gave the opposite. When at last he\ncame to the sea he found Cavillaca and the child turned into stone,\nand there he encountered two beautiful young daughters of Pachacamac,\nwho guarded a great serpent. He made love to the elder sister, but\nthe younger one flew away in the form of a wild pigeon. At that time\nthere were no fishes in the sea, but a certain goddess had reared a\nfew in a small pond, and Coniraya emptied these into the ocean and\nthus peopled it. The angry deity tried to outwit Coniraya and kill\nhim, but he was too wise and escaped. He returned to Huarochiri,\nand played tricks as before on the villagers.\n\nConiraya slightly approximates to the Jurupari of the Uap\u00e8s Indians\nof Brazil, especially as regards his impish qualities. [19]\n\n\n\nThe Llama's Warning\n\nAn old Peruvian myth relates how the world was nearly left without\nan inhabitant. A man took his llama to a fine place for feeding, but\nthe beast moaned and would not eat, and on its master questioning it,\nit said there was little wonder it was sad, because in five days the\nsea would rise and engulf the earth. The man, alarmed, asked if there\nwas no way of escape, and the llama advised him to go to the top of\na high mountain, Villa-coto, taking food for five days. When they\nreached the summit of the hill all kinds of birds and animals were\nalready there. When the sea rose the water came so near that it washed\nthe tail of a fox, and that is why foxes' tails are black! After five\ndays the water fell, leaving only this one man alive, and from him\nthe Peruvians believed the present human race to be descended.\n\n\n\nThe Myth of Huathiacuri\n\nAfter the deluge the Indians chose the bravest and richest man\nas leader. This period they called Purunpacha (the time without a\nking). On a high mountain-top appeared five large eggs, from one of\nwhich Paricaca, father of Huathiacuri, later emerged. Huathiacuri,\nwho was so poor that he had not means to cook his food properly,\nlearned much wisdom from his father, and the following story shows\nhow this assisted him. A certain man had built a most curious house,\nthe roof being made of yellow and red birds' feathers. He was very\nrich, possessing many llamas, and was greatly esteemed on account\nof his wealth. So proud did he become that he aspired to be the\ncreator himself; but when he became very ill and could not cure\nhimself his divinity seemed doubtful. Just at this time Huathiacuri\nwas travelling about, and one day he saw two foxes meet and listened\nto their conversation. From this he heard about the rich man and\nlearned the cause of his illness, and forthwith he determined to\ngo on to find him. On arriving at the curious house he met a lovely\nyoung girl, one of the rich man's daughters. She told him about her\nfather's illness, and Huathiacuri, charmed with her, said he would\ncure her father if she would only give him her love. He looked so\nragged and dirty that she refused, but she took him to her father\nand informed him that Huathiacuri said he could cure him. Her father\nconsented to give him an opportunity to do so. Huathiacuri began his\ncure by telling the sick man that his wife had been unfaithful, and\nthat there were two serpents hovering above his house to devour it,\nand a toad with two heads under his grinding-stone. His wife at first\nindignantly denied the accusation, but on Huathiacuri reminding her\nof some details, and the serpents and toad being discovered, she\nconfessed her guilt. The reptiles were killed, the man recovered,\nand the daughter was married to Huathiacuri.\n\nHuathiacuri's poverty and raggedness displeased the girl's\nbrother-in-law, who suggested to the bridegroom a contest in dancing\nand drinking. Huathiacuri went to seek his father's advice, and the old\nman told him to accept the challenge and return to him. Paricaca then\nsent him to a mountain, where he was changed into a dead llama. Next\nmorning a fox and its vixen carrying a jar of chicha came, the fox\nhaving a flute of many pipes. When they saw the dead llama they laid\ndown their things and went toward it to have a feast, but Huathiacuri\nthen resumed his human form and gave a loud cry that frightened away\nthe foxes, whereupon he took possession of the jar and flute. By the\naid of these, which were magically endowed, he beat his brother-in-law\nin dancing and drinking.\n\nThen the brother-in-law proposed a contest to prove who was the\nhandsomer when dressed in festal attire. By the aid of Paricaca\nHuathiacuri found a red lion-skin, which gave him the appearance of\nhaving a rainbow round his head, and he again won.\n\nThe next trial was to see who could build a house the quickest and\nbest. The brother-in-law got all his men to help, and had his house\nnearly finished before the other had his foundation laid. But here\nagain Paricaca's wisdom proved of service, for Huathiacuri got animals\nand birds of all kinds to help him during the night, and by morning\nthe building was finished except the roof. His brother-in-law got\nmany llamas to come with straw for his roof, but Huathiacuri ordered\nan animal to stand where its loud screams frightened the llamas away,\nand the straw was lost. Once more Huathiacuri won the day. At last\nParicaca advised Huathiacuri to end this conflict, and he asked\nhis brother-in-law to see who could dance best in a blue shirt with\nwhite cotton round the loins. The rich man as usual appeared first,\nbut when Huathiacuri came in he made a very loud noise and frightened\nhim, and he began to run away. As he ran Huathiacuri turned him into\na deer. His wife, who had followed him, was turned into a stone,\nwith her head on the ground and her feet in the air, because she had\ngiven her husband such bad advice.\n\nThe four remaining eggs on the mountain-top then opened, and four\nfalcons issued, which turned into four great warriors. These warriors\nperformed many miracles, one of which consisted in raising a storm\nwhich swept away the rich Indian's house in a flood to the sea.\n\n\n\nParicaca\n\nHaving assisted in the performance of several miracles, Paricaca set\nout determined to do great deeds. He went to find Caruyuchu Huayallo,\nto whom children were sacrificed. He came one day to a village where\na festival was being celebrated, and as he was in very poor clothes no\none took any notice of him or offered him anything, till a young girl,\ntaking pity on him, brought him chicha to drink. In gratitude Paricaca\ntold her to seek a place of safety for herself, as the village would be\ndestroyed after five days, but she was to tell no one of this. Annoyed\nat the inhospitality of the people, Paricaca then went to a hill-top\nand sent down a fearful storm and flood, and the whole village was\ndestroyed. Then he came to another village, now San Lorenzo. He saw a\nvery beautiful girl, Choque Suso, crying bitterly. Asking her why she\nwept, she said the maize crop was dying for want of water. Paricaca\nat once fell in love with this girl, and after first damming up the\nlittle water there was, and thus leaving none for the crop, he told\nher he would give her plenty of water if she would only return his\nlove. She said he must get water not only for her own crop but for all\nthe other farms before she could consent. He noticed a small rill,\nfrom which, by opening a dam, he thought he might get a sufficient\nsupply of water for the farms. He then got the assistance of the\nbirds in the hills, and animals such as snakes, lizards, and so on,\nin removing any obstacles in the way, and they widened the channel so\nthat the water irrigated all the land. The fox with his usual cunning\nmanaged to obtain the post of engineer, and carried the canal to near\nthe site of the church of San Lorenzo. Paricaca, having accomplished\nwhat he had promised, begged Choque Suso to keep her word, which she\nwillingly did, but she proposed living at the summit of some rocks\ncalled Yanacaca. There the lovers stayed very happily, at the head of\nthe channel called Cocochallo, the making of which had united them;\nand as Choque Suso wished to remain there always, Paricaca eventually\nturned her into a stone.\n\nIn all likelihood this myth was intended to account for the invention\nof irrigation among the early Peruvians, and from being a local legend\nprobably spread over the length and breadth of the country.\n\n\n\nConclusion\n\nThe advance in civilisation attained by the peoples of America must\nbe regarded as among the most striking phenomena in the history\nof mankind, especially if it be viewed as an example of what can\nbe achieved by isolated races occupying a peculiar environment. It\ncannot be too strongly emphasised that the cultures and mythologies\nof old Mexico and Peru were evolved without foreign assistance or\nintervention, that, in fact, they were distinctively and solely the\nfruit of American aboriginal thought evolved upon American soil. An\nabsorbing chapter in the story of human advancement is provided\nby these peoples, whose architecture, arts, graphic and plastic,\nlaws and religions prove them to have been the equals of most of the\nAsiatic nations of antiquity, and the superiors of the primitive races\nof Europe, who entered into the heritage of civilisation through the\ngateway of the East. The aborigines of ancient America had evolved for\nthemselves a system of writing which at the period of their discovery\nwas approaching the alphabetic type, a mathematical system unique\nand by no means despicable, and an architectural science in some\nrespects superior to any of which the Old World could boast. Their\nlegal codes were reasonable and founded upon justice; and if their\nreligions were tainted with cruelty, it was a cruelty which they\nregarded as inevitable, and as the doom placed upon them by sanguinary\nand insatiable deities and not by any human agency.\n\nIn comparing the myths of the American races with the deathless\nstories of Olympus or the scarcely less classic tales of India,\nfrequent resemblances and analogies cannot fail to present themselves,\nand these are of value as illustrating the circumstance that in\nevery quarter of the globe the mind of man has shaped for itself a\nsystem of faith based upon similar principles. But in the perusal of\nthe myths and beliefs of Mexico and Peru we are also struck with the\nstrangeness and remoteness alike of their subject-matter and the type\nof thought which they present. The result of centuries of isolation\nis evident in a profound contrast of \"atmosphere.\" It seems almost\nas if we stood for a space upon the dim shores of another planet,\nspectators of the doings of a race of whose modes of thought and\nfeeling we were entirely ignorant.\n\nFor generations these stories have been hidden, along with the memory\nof the gods and folk of whom they tell, beneath a thick dust of\nneglect, displaced here and there only by the efforts of antiquarians\nworking singly and unaided. Nowadays many well-equipped students\nare striving to add to our knowledge of the civilisations of Mexico\nand Peru. To the mythical stories of these peoples, alas! we cannot\nadd. The greater part of them perished in the flames of the Spanish\nautos-de-f\u00e9. But for those which have survived we must be grateful,\nas affording so many casements through which we may catch the glitter\nand gleam of civilisations more remote and bizarre than those of the\nOrient, shapes dim yet gigantic, misty yet many-coloured, the ghosts\nof peoples and beliefs not the least splendid and solemn in the roll\nof dead nations and vanished faiths.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nThe following bibliography is not intended to be exhaustive, but merely\nto indicate to those who desire to follow up the matter provided in\nthe preceding pages such works as will best repay their attention.\n\n\n\nMexico\n\nAcosta, Jos\u00e9 de: Historia Natural y Moral de las Yndias. Seville, 1580.\n\nAlzate y Ramirez: Descripcion de las Antiguedades de Xochicalco. 1791.\n\nBancroft, H. H.: Native Races of the Pacific States of America. 1875. A\ncompilation of historical matter relating to aboriginal America,\ngiven almost without comment. Useful to beginners.\n\nBoturini Benaduci, L.: Idea de una Nueva Historia General de la\nAmerica Septentrional. Madrid, 1746. Contains a number of valuable\noriginal manuscripts.\n\nBourbourg, Abb\u00e9 Brasseur de: Histoire des Nations Civilis\u00e9es du Mexique\net de l'Am\u00e9rique Centrale. Paris, 1857-59. The Abb\u00e9 possessed much\nknowledge of the peoples of Central America and their ancient history,\nbut had a leaning toward the marvellous which renders his works of\ndoubtful value.\n\nCharnay, D\u00e9sir\u00e9: Ancient Cities of the New World. London, 1887. This\ntranslation from the French is readable and interesting, and is of\nassistance to beginners. It is, however, of little avail as a serious\nwork of reference, and has been superseded.\n\nChevalier, M.: Le Mexique Ancien et Moderne. Paris, 1886.\n\nClavigero, Abb\u00e9: Storia Antica del Messico. Cesena, 1780. English\ntranslation, London, 1787. Described in text.\n\nDiaz, Bernal: Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de Nueva\nEspa\u00f1a. 1837. An eye-witness's account of the conquest of Mexico.\n\nEnock, C. Reginald: Mexico, its Ancient and Modern Civilisation,\n&c. London, 1909.\n\nGomara, F. L. de: Historia General de las Yndias. Madrid, 1749.\n\nHerrera, Antonio de: Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos\nen las Islas y Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano. 4 vols. Madrid, 1601.\n\nHumboldt, Alex. von: Vues des Cordill\u00e8res. Paris, 1816. English\ntranslation by Mrs. Williams.\n\nIxtlilxochitl, F. de Alva: Historia Chichimeca; Relaciones. Edited\nby A. Chavero. Mexico, 1891-92.\n\nKingsborough, Lord: Antiquities of Mexico. London, 1830.\n\nLumholtz, C.: Unknown Mexico. 1903.\n\nMacNutt, F. C.: Letters of Cort\u00e9s to Charles V. London, 1908.\n\nNadaillac, Marquis de: Prehistoric America. Translation. London, 1885.\n\nNoll, A. H.: A Short History of Mexico. Chicago, 1903.\n\nNuttall, Zelia: The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World\nCivilisations. 1901.\n\nPayne, E. J.: History of the New World called America. London,\n1892-99. By far the best and most exhaustive work in English upon\nthe subject. It is, however, unfinished.\n\nPe\u00f1afiel, F.: Monumentos del Arte Mexicano Antiguo. Berlin, 1890.\n\nPrescott, W. H.: History of the Conquest of Mexico. Of romantic\ninterest only. Prescott did not study Mexican history for more than\ntwo years, and his work is now quite superseded from a historical\npoint of view. Its narrative charm, however, is unassailable.\n\nSahagun, Bernardino de: Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva\nEspa\u00f1a. Mexico, 1829.\n\nSeler, E.: Mexico and Guatemala. Berlin, 1896.\n\nSerra, Justo (Editor): Mexico, its Social Evolution, &c. 2\nvols. Mexico, 1904.\n\nSpence, Lewis: The Civilization of Ancient Mexico. A digest of the\nstrictly verifiable matter of Mexican history and antiquities. All\ntradition is eliminated, the author's aim being to present the beginner\nand the serious student with a series of unembellished facts.\n\nStarr, F.: The Indians of Southern Mexico. 1899.\n\nThomas, Cyrus, and Magee, W. J.: The History of North America. 1908.\n\nTorquemada, Juan de: Monarquia Indiana. Madrid, 1723.\n\nBulletin 28 of the Bureau of American Ethnology contains translations\nof valuable essays by the German scholars Seler, Schellhas, F\u00f6rstemann,\n&c.\n\nMany of the above works deal with Central America as well as with\nMexico proper.\n\n\n\nCentral America\n\nCogolludo, D. Lopez: Historia de Yucathan. 1688. Very scarce.\n\nDiego de Landa: Relacion de Cosas de Yucatan. Paris, 1836. Translation\nby Brasseur.\n\nDupaix, Colonel: Antiquit\u00e9s Mexicaines. Paris, 1834-36.\n\nMaudslay, A. P.: Biologia Centrali-Americana. Publication\nproceeding. Contains many excellent sketches of ruins, &c.\n\nSpence, Lewis: The Popol Vuh. London, 1908.\n\n\n\nPeru\n\nEnock, C. R.: Peru: its Former and Present Civilisation, &c. London,\n1908.\n\nMarkham, Sir Clements R.: History of Peru. Chicago, 1892.\n\nPrescott, W. H.: History of the Conquest of Peru. 3 vols. Philadelphia,\n1868.\n\nSquier, E. G.: Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land\nof the Incas. London, 1877.\n\nTschudi, J. J. von: Reisen durch S\u00fcdamerika. 5 vols. Leipsic,\n1866-68. Travels in Peru. London, 1847.\n\nVega, Garcilasso el Inca de la: Royal Commentaries of the Incas,\n1609. Hakluyt Society's Publications.\n\nIn seeking the original sources of Peruvian history we must refer to\nthe early Spanish historians who visited the country, either at the\nperiod of the conquest or immediately subsequent to it. From those\nSpaniards who wrote at a time not far distant from that event we have\ngained much valuable knowledge concerning the contemporary condition\nof Peru, and a description of the principal works of these pioneers\nwill materially assist the reader who is bent on pursuing the study\nof Peruvian antiquities.\n\nPedro de Cieza de Leon composed a geographical account of Peru in\n1554, devoting the latter part of his chronicle to the subject of the\nInca civilisation. This work has been translated into English by Sir\nClements R. Markham, and published by the Hakluyt Society.\n\nJuan Jos\u00e9 de Betanzos, who was well acquainted with the Quichua\nlanguage, and who married an Inca princess, wrote an account of the\nIncas in 1551, which was edited and printed by Se\u00f1or Jimenes de la\nEspada in 1880.\n\nPolo de Ondegardo, a lawyer and politician, wrote his two Relaciones\nin 1561 and 1571, making valuable reports on the laws and system of\nadministration of the Incas. One of these works has been translated\nby Sir Clements R. Markham, and printed by the Hakluyt Society.\n\nAugustin de Zarate, accountant, who arrived in Peru with Blasco Nu\u00f1ez\nVela, the first Viceroy, is the author of the Provincia del Peru,\nwhich was published at Antwerp in 1555.\n\nFernando de Santillan, judge of the Linia Audience, contributed an\ninteresting Relacion in 1550, edited and printed in 1879 by Se\u00f1or\nJimenes de la Espada.\n\nJuan de Matienzo, a lawyer contemporary with Ondegardo, was the author\nof the valuable work Gobierno de el Peru, not yet translated.\n\nChristoval de Molina, priest of Cuzco, wrote an interesting story of\nInca ceremonial and religion between 1570 and 1584, which has been\npublished by the Hakluyt Society. The translator is Sir C. R. Markham.\n\nMiguel Cavello Balboa, of Quito, gives us the only particulars we\npossess of Indian coast history, and the most valuable information on\nthe war between Huascar and Atauhuallpa, in his splendid Miscellanea\nAustral, 1576, translated into French in 1840 by Ternaux-Compans.\n\nA Jesuit priest, Jos\u00e9 de Acosta, compiled a Natural History of the\nIndies, which was published for the first time in 1588. An English\ntranslation of the work is provided by the Hakluyt Society.\n\nFernando Montesinos in his Memorias Antiguas Historiales del Peru and\nAnales Memorias Nuevas del Peru quotes a long line of sovereigns who\npreceded the Incas. These works were translated into French in 1840.\n\nRelacion de los Costombras Antiguas de los Naturales del Peru, written\nby an anonymous Jesuit, records an account of Inca civilisation. The\nwork was published in Spain in 1879. Another Jesuit, Francisco de\nAvila, wrote on the superstitions of the Indians of Huarochiri and\ntheir gods. His work was translated into English and published by\nthe Hakluyt Society.\n\nPablo Jos\u00e9 de Arriaga, a priest who policed the country, destroying\nthe false gods, compiled in 1621 Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Peru,\ndescribing the downfall of the ancient Inca religion.\n\nAntonio de la Calancha compiled an interesting history of the Incas\nin his work on the Order of St. Augustine in Peru (1638-1653).\n\nIn his Historia de Copacabana y de su Milagrosa Imagen (1620) Alonzo\nRamos Gavilan disclosed much information concerning the colonists\nduring the time of the Inca rule.\n\nA valuable history of the Incas is provided by Garcilasso el Inca de\nla Vega in his Commentarios Reales. The works of previous authors\nare reviewed, and extracts are given from the compilations of the\nJesuit Blas Valera, whose writings are lost. The English translation\nis published by the Hakluyt Society.\n\nRelacion de Antiguedades deste Reyno del Peru, by Pachacuti Yamqui\nSalcamayhua, an Indian of the Collao, was translated into English by\nSir C. R. Markham, and published by the Hakluyt Society.\n\nThe Historia del Reino del Quinto, compiled by Juan de Velasco,\nwas translated into French by Ternaux-Compans in 1840.\n\nAntonio de Herrera gives a brief account of the history and\ncivilisation of the Inca people in his General History of the Indies.\n\nIn his History of America Robertson was the first to compile a thorough\naccount of the Incas. Prescott, however, in 1848 eclipsed his work\nby his own fascinating account. Sir Arthur Helps has also given a\nr\u00e9sum\u00e9 of Inca progress in his Spanish Conquest (1855).\n\nThe Peruvian Sebastian Lorente published in 1860 a history of ancient\nPeru, which presents the subject more broadly than the narratives\nof the American and English authors, and as the result of many years\nof further research he contributed a series of essays to the Revista\nPeruana.\n\nOne of the best works dealing with the antiquities of the Inca period\nis Antiguedades Peruanas, by Don Mariano Rivero (English translation\nby Dr. Hawkes, 1853). The compilation on Peru by E. G. Squier (1877),\nand a similar narrative by C. Weiner (Paris, 1880), both of which\nstand in accuracy above the others, are also worthy of mention.\n\nThe work of Reiss and Stubel, narrating their excavations at Ancon,\nis richly presented in three volumes, with 119 plates.\n\nThe works of Sir Clements Markham are the best guide to English\nscholars on the subject.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINDEX AND GLOSSARY\n\nNOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE MEXICAN, MAYAN, AND PERUVIAN LANGUAGES\n\n\nMexican\n\nAs the Spanish alphabet was that first employed to represent Mexican\nor Nahuatl phonology, so Mexican words and names must be pronounced,\nfor the most part, according to the Castilian system. An exception\nis the letter x, which in Spanish is sometimes written as j and\npronounced as h aspirate; and in Nahuatl sometimes as in English,\nat other times as sh or s. Thus the word \"Mexico\" is pronounced\nby the aboriginal Mexican with the hard x, but by the Spaniard\nas \"May-hee-co.\" The name of the native author Ixtlilxochitl is\npronounced \"Ishtlilshotshitl,\" the ch being articulated as tsh,\nfor euphony. Xochicalco is \"So-chi-cal-co.\" The vowel sounds are\npronounced as in French or Italian. The tl sound is pronounced with\nalmost a click of the tongue.\n\n\n\nMayan\n\nThe Maya alphabet consists of twenty-two letters, of which c, ch,\nk, pp, th, tz are peculiar to the language, and cannot be properly\npronounced by Europeans. It is deficient in the letters d, f, g, j, q,\nr, s. The remaining letters are sounded as in Spanish. The letter x\noccurring at the beginning of a word is pronounced ex. For example,\nXbalanque is pronounced \"Exbalanke.\" The frequent occurrence of\nelisions in spoken Maya renders its pronunciation a matter of great\ndifficulty, and the few grammars on the language agree as to the\nhopelessness of conveying any true idea of the exact articulation\nof the language by means of written directions. Norman in his work\nentitled Rambles in Yucatan remarks: \"This perhaps accounts for the\ndisappearance of all grammars and vocabularies of the Maya tongue from\nthe peninsula of Yucatan, the priests finding it much easier to learn\nthe language directly from the Indian than to acquire it from books.\"\n\n\n\nPeruvian\n\nThe two languages spoken in Peru in ancient times were the Quichua,\nor Inca, and the Aymara. These still survive. The former was the\nlanguage of the Inca rulers of the country, but both sprang from one\ncommon linguistic stock. As these languages were first reduced to\nwriting by means of a European alphabet, their pronunciation presents\nbut little difficulty, the words practically begin pronounced as they\nare written, having regard to the \"Continental\" pronunciation of the\nvowels. In Quichua the same sound is give to the intermediate c before\na consonant and to the final c, as in \"chacra\" and \"Pachacamac.\" The\ngeneral accent is most frequently on the penultimate syllable.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINDEX AND GLOSSARY\n\n\nA\n\nAac, Prince. In the story of Queen M\u00f3o, 240, 244-245, 246\n\nAcalan. District in Guatemala;\n  race-movements and, 150\n\nAcllacuna (Selected Ones). Body of maidens from whom victims for\nsacrifice were taken in Peru, 313\n\nAclla-huasi. Houses in which the Acllacuna lived, 313\n\nAcolhuacan. District in Mexico, 26\n\nAcolhuans (or Acolhuaque) (People of the Broad Shoulder). Mexican\nrace, 26;\n  said to have founded Mexico, 26;\n  a pure Nahua race, perhaps the Toltecs, 26;\n  their supremacy, 48\n\nAcolhuaque. See Acolhuans\n\nAcosta, Jos\u00e9 de. Work on Mexican lore, 58\n\nAcsumama. Guardian spirit of the potato plant in Peru, 295\n\nAcxitl. Toltec king, son of Huemac II, 17, 19\n\nAcxopil. Ruler of the Kiche, 158-159\n\nAgoreros (or Mohanes). Members of Peruvian tribes who claimed power\nas oracles, 297-298, 314\n\nAhuizotl. Mexican king, 30\n\nAh-zotzils. A Maya tribe, 172\n\nAkab-sib (Writing in the Dark). A bas-relief at El Castillo,\nChichen-Itza, 190\n\nAk\u00e9. Maya ruins at, 186-187\n\nAmerica. Superficial resemblance between peoples, customs, and\nart-forms of Asia and, 1;\n  civilisation, native origin of, 1-2, 3, 328;\n  animal and plant life peculiar to, 2;\n  man, origin of, in, 2;\n  geographical connection between Asia and, 3;\n  traditions of intercourse between Asia and, 3;\n  Chinese Fu-Sang and, 3;\n  possible Chinese and Japanese visits to, 3-4;\n  Coronado's expedition to, 4;\n  legends of intercourse between Europe and, 4;\n  \"Great Ireland\" probably the same as, 4;\n  St. Brandan's voyage and, 4;\n  reached by early Norsemen, 5;\n  the legend of Madoc and, 5-6;\n  early belief in, respecting incursions from the east, 6;\n  prophecy of Chilan Balam re coming of white men to, 8\n\nAmerica, Central. Indigenous origin of civilisation of, 1;\n  legend of Toltec migration to, 20\n\nAnahuac (By the Water). Native name of the Mexican plateau, 18.\n  See Mexico\n\nAncestor-worship in Peru, 296\n\nAndeans. The prehistoric civilisation of, 249-250;\n  architectural remains of, 250\n\nAntahuayllas. Peruvian tribe, 284\n\nAntilia. Legends of, have no connection with American myth, 6\n\nAnti-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255\n\nApinguela. Island on Lake Titicaca; Huaina Ccapac and the lake-goddess\nand, 299\n\nApocatequil. Peruvian thunder-god, the \"Prince of Evil\";\n  in a creation-myth, 301-302\n\nApu-Ccapac (Sovereign Chief). Title of the Inca rulers, 248\n\n\"Apu-Ollanta.\" A drama-legend of the Incas, 251-253\n\nApurimac (Great Speaker). River in Peru;\n  regarded as an oracle, 296\n\nAqua. A bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 319\n\nArara (Fire-bird). Same as Kinich-ahau, which see\n\nArchitecture. I. Of the Nahua, 31-34.\n  II. Of the Maya, 149-150, 178-198;\n    the most individual expression of the people, 178;\n    Yucatan exhibits the most perfect specimens, and the decadent\n    phase, 178;\n    methods of building, 178-179;\n    ignorance of some first principles, 179;\n    mural decoration, 179;\n    pyramidal buildings, 180;\n    definiteness of design, 180;\n    architectural districts, 181;\n    not of great antiquity, 182;\n    Father Burgoa on the palace at Mitla, 199-201.\n  III. Of the Incas, 268-269;\n    the art in which the race showed greatest advance, 268;\n    Sir Clements Markham on, 269\n\nArriaga, P. J. de. On stone-worship in Peru, 293\n\nArt. Early American, superficial resemblance to that of Asia, 1;\n  native origin and unique character of American, 1-2;\n  Toltec, 23;\n  Peruvians weak in, 248\n\nAsia. Origin of early American culture erroneously attributed to, 1;\n  man originally came to America from, 2;\n  former land-connection between America and, 3;\n  traditions of intercourse between America and, 3\n\nAtaguju. Supreme divinity of the Peruvians; in a creation-myth, 301\n\nAtamalqualiztli (Fast of Porridge-balls and Water). Nahua festival, 77\n\nAtatarho. Mythical wizard-king of the Iroquois, 72\n\nAtauhuallpa. Son of the Inca Huaina Ccapac; strives for the crown\nwith Huascar, 289-290\n\nAtl (Water). Mexican deity; often confounded with the moon-goddess, 106\n\nAtlantis. Legends of, have no connection with American myth, 6\n\nAuqui (Warrior). Peruvian order of knighthood; instituted by\nPachacutic, 287\n\nAvenda\u00f1o, Hernandez de. And Peruvian fetishes, 295\n\nAvilix. The god assigned to Balam-Agab in the Kiche story of the\ncreation, 230;\n  turned into stone, 231\n\nAxaiacatzin, King. Father of Chachiuhnenetzin, the vicious wife of\nNezahualpilli, 129\n\nAxayacatl. Mexican king, 92\n\nAymara. Peruvian race, 254-255;\n  fusion with Quichua, 285-286\n\nAzangaro. The Sondor-huasi at, 269\n\nAzcapozalco. Mexican town, 26;\n  rivalry with Tezcuco, 49;\n  Aztecs and, 52\n\nAztecs (or Aztec\u00e2) (Crane People). A nomad Mexican tribe, 27, 50-51;\n  racial affinities, 27;\n  character, 27-28;\n  Tlascalans and, 26;\n  founders of Tenochtitlan (Mexico), 27;\n  their science, 43;\n  in bondage to Colhuacan, 51;\n  allied with Tecpanecs, 51;\n  war with Tecpanecs, 52;\n  development of the empire, 52;\n  commercial expansion, 52;\n  their tyranny, 52-53;\n  their conception of eternity, 55;\n  the priesthood, 114-117;\n  idea of the origin of mankind, 123;\n  a migration myth of, 233\n\nAztlan (Crane Land). Traditional place of origin of Nahua, 11;\n  Aztecs and, 50, 233\n\n\n\nB\n\nBacabs. Genii in Maya mythology, 170\n\nBalam-Agab (Tiger of the Night). One of the first men of the Popol\nVuh myth, 229, 230\n\nBalam-Quitze (Tiger with the Sweet Smile).\n  An ancestor of the Maya, 188;\n  one of the first men of the Popol Vuh myth, 229, 230\n\nBalon Zacab. Form of the Maya rain-god, 176\n\nBat. Typical of the underworld, 96\n\nBat-god. Maya deity, known also as Camazotz, 171-172\n\nBirth-cycle. In Mexican calendar, 39, 41\n\nBochica. Sun-god of the Chibchas, 276\n\nBogota. City at which the Zippa of the Chibchas lived, 276\n\nBoturini Benaduci, L. His work on Mexican lore, 58\n\nBourbourg, The Abb\u00e9 Brasseur de. Version of Nahua flood-myth, 122-123\n\nBrandan, St. Probable voyage to America, 4\n\nBrinton, D. G. Theory as to the Toltecs, 21;\n  on Quetzalcoatl, 81;\n  translation of a poem on the Peruvian thunder-god myth, and comments\n  on the myth, 300-301\n\nBurgoa, Father. Account of a confession ceremony, 108-110;\n  description of Mitla, 199-206\n\n\n\nC\n\nCabrakan (Earthquake). Son of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche myth in the\nPopol Vuh, 211, 213, 216-219\n\nCabrera, Don Felix. And the Popol Vuh, 207\n\nCachapucara. Hill; Thonapa and, 319-320\n\nCaha-Paluma (Falling Water). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh\nmyth, 230\n\nCakixa (Water of Parrots). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh\nmyth, 230\n\nCakulha-Hurakan (Lightning). A sub-god of Hurakan, 237\n\nCalderon, Don Jos\u00e9. And Palenque, 182\n\nCalendar. I. The Mexican, 38-41;\n    an essential feature in the national life, 38;\n    resemblance to Maya and Zapotec calendric systems, 38, 169;\n    possible Toltec origin, 39;\n    the year, 39;\n    the \"binding of years,\" 39, 40;\n    the solar year, 39;\n    the nemontemi, 39;\n    the \"birth-cycle,\" 39, 41;\n    the cempohualli, or \"months,\" 39-40;\n    the ecclesiastical system, 40;\n    the xiumalpilli, 40;\n    the ceremony of toxilmolpilia, 41.\n  II. The Maya; similarities to calendar of the Nahua, 38, 169.\n  III. The Peruvian, 265-266, 313\n\nCallca. Place in Peru; sacred rocks found at, 293\n\nCamaxtli. War-god of the Tlascalans, 111\n\nCamazotz. The bat-god, called also Zotzilaha Chimalman, 171-172, 226;\n  a totem of the Ahzotzils, a Maya tribe, 172\n\nCamulatz. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209\n\nCanaris. Indian tribe; the myth of their origin, 318-319\n\nCanek. King of Chichen-Itza; the story of, 189\n\nCannibalism. Among the Mexicans, 45\n\nCapacahuana. Houses for pilgrims to Titicaca at, 311\n\nCarapucu. I. Hill; in myth of Thonapa, 320.\n  II. Lake; in myth of Thonapa, 320\n\nCaravaya. Mountain; in myth of Thonapa, 320\n\nCarmenca. The hill of, at Cuzco; pillars on, for determining the\nsolstices, 265-266, 287\n\nCaruyuchu Huayallo. Peruvian deity to whom children were sacrificed;\nin a myth of Paricaca, 326\n\nCasa del Adivino (The Prophet's House). Ruin at Uxmal, called also\n\"The Dwarf's House,\" 192;\n  the legend relating to, 192-194\n\nCasa del Gobernador (Governor's Palace). Ruin at Uxmal, 191\n\nCasas Grandes (Large Houses). Mexican ruin, 32\n\nCastillo, El. Ruined pyramid-temple at Chichen-Itza, 188, 190\n\nCauac. A minor Maya deity, 170\n\nCavillaca. A maiden; the myth of Coniraya Viracocha and, 321-323\n\nCaxamarca. Inca fortress, 290\n\nCay Hun-Apu (Royal Hunter). The Kakchiquels and the defeat of, 159\n\nCcapac-cocha. Sacrificial rite, instituted by Pachacutic, 286\n\nCcapac-Huari. Eleventh Inca, 288, 289\n\nCcapac Raymi. The chief Peruvian festival, 267;\n  Auqui, order of knighthood, conferred at, 287\n\nCcapac Situa (or Ccoya Raymi) (Moon Feast). Peruvian festival, 267\n\nCcapac Yupanqui. Fifth Inca, 283\n\nCcompas. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294\n\nCempohualli. The Mexican month, 40\n\nCenteotl. I. Group of maize-gods, 85.\n  II. A male maize-spirit, 85, 90;\n    God E similar to, 174.\n  III. Mother of II, known also as Teteoinnan and Tocitzin, 85, 90\n\nCentzonuitznaua. Mythical Indian tribe; in myth of Huitzilopochtli's\norigin, 70-72\n\nChac. Maya rain-god, tutelar of the cast, 170;\n  has affinities with Tlaloc, 176;\n  God K not identical with, 176\n\nChacamarca. River in Peru; Thonapa and, 320\n\nChachiuhnenetzin. Wife of Nezahualpilli, 129-132\n\nChacras. Estates dedicated to the sun by the Peruvians, 310\n\nChalcas. Aztec tribe, 233\n\nChalchihuitlicue (Lady of the Emerald Robe). Wife of Tlaloc, 75,\n77, 110;\n  assists the maize-goddess, 86\n\nChalchiuh Tlatonac (Shining Precious Stone). First king of the\nToltecs, 14\n\n\"Chamayhuarisca\" (The Song of Joy). Manco Ccapac sings, 321\n\nChanca. A Peruvian people; and the Incas, 282\n\nCharnay, D. Excavations on the site of Teotihuacan, 33;\n  excavations at Tollan, 34;\n    and Lorillard, 195\n\nChasca. The Peruvian name for the planet Venus; the temple of, at\nCuzco, 262\n\nChiapas. Mexican province; the nucleus of Maya civilisation lay in,\n144, 149\n\nChibchas. A Peruvian race, 275-277\n\nChichan-Chob. Ruin at Chichen-Itza, 189\n\nChichen-Itza. Sacred city of the Maya; founded by Itzaes, 153;\n  overthrown by Cocomes, 153, 155;\n  assists in conquering Cocomes, 156;\n  abandoned, 156;\n  ruins at, 188-190;\n  and the story of Canek, 189\n\nChichicastenango. The Convent of; and the Popol Vuh, 207\n\nChichics. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294\n\nChichimecs. Aztec tribe; invade Toltec territory, 18;\n  the great migration, 20;\n  supreme in Toltec country, 20;\n  probably related to Otomi, 25;\n  allied with Nahua and adopt Nahua language, 26;\n  conquered by Tecpanecs, 51\n\nChicomecohuatl (Seven-serpent). Chief maize-goddess of Mexico, 85-88;\n  image of, erroneously called Teoyaominqui by early Americanists,\n  88-90\n\nChicomoztoc (The Seven Caverns). Nahua said to have originated at, 11;\n  and Aztec idea of origin of mankind, 123;\n  identified with \"seven cities of Cibola\" and the Casas Grandes, 123;\n  parallel with the Kiche Tulan-Zuiva, 230\n\nChicuhcoatl. In the story of the vicious princess, 130\n\nChihuahua. Mexican province, 31\n\nChilan Balam. Maya priest; the prophecy of, 8\n\nChimalmat. Wife of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche myth, 211-213\n\nChimalpahin. Mexican chronicler, 42\n\nChimu. The plain of; ruined city on, 271;\n  the palace, 271-272;\n  the ruins display an advanced civilisation, 272-273\n\nChinchero. Inca ruins at, 269\n\nChipi-Cakulha (Lightning-flash). A sub-god of Hurakan, 237\n\nChoima (Beautiful Water). One of the first women of the Popol Vuh\nmyth, 230\n\nCholula. Sacred city inhabited by Acolhuans, 47, 48;\n  the pottery of, 23\n\nChontals. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23\n\nChoque Suso. Maiden; the myth of Paricaca and, 327\n\nChulpas. Megalithic mummy tombs of Peru, 263\n\nChuroquella. A name of the Peruvian thunder-god, 299\n\n\"Citadel,\" The, at Teotihuacan, 33\n\nCitallatonac. Mexican deity; in a flood-myth, 123\n\nCitallinicue. Mexican deity; in a flood-myth, 123\n\nCitatli (Moon). A form of the Mexican moon-goddess, 106\n\nCitlalpol (The Great Star). Mexican name of the planet Venus, 96\n\nCitoc Raymi (Gradually Increasing Sun). Peruvian festival, 312-313\n\nCiuapipiltin (Honoured Women). Spirits of women who had died in\nchildbed, 108, 138\n\nCivilisation.\n  I. Of Mexico, 1-53;\n    indigenous origin of, 1;\n    type of, 9.\n  II. Of Peru, 248-290;\n    indigenous origin of, 1, 259;\n    inferior to the Mexican and Mayan, 248.\n  III. Of the Andeans, 249\n\nClavigero, The Abb\u00e9. His work on Mexican lore, 57-58\n\n\"Cliff-dwellers.\" Mexican race related to the Nahua, 24, 25\n\nCliff Palace Ca\u00f1on, Colorado, 229\n\nCoaapan. Place in Mexico, 65\n\nCoatepec.\n  I. Mexican province, 62, 63.\n  II. Mountain, 70\n\nCoati. An island on Lake Titicaca; ruined temple on, 270-271\n\nCoatlantona (Robe of Serpents). A name of Coatlicue, Huitzilopochtli's\nmother, 73\n\nCoatlicue. Mother of Huitzilopochtli, 70-71;\n  as Coatlantona, 73\n\nCocamama. Guardian spirit of the coca-shrub in Peru, 295\n\nCochtan. Place in Mexico, 65\n\nCocochallo. An irrigation channel; in a myth of Paricaca, 327\n\nCocomes. A tribe inhabiting Mayapan; overthrow Chichen-Itza, 153;\n  their tyranny and sway, 154-155;\n  conquered by allies, 156;\n  remnant found Zotuta, 156\n\nCodex Perezianus. Maya manuscript, 160\n\nCogolludo, D. Lopez. And the story of Canek, 189\n\nCoh, Prince. In the story of Queen M\u00f3o, 240, 244, 246\n\nCohuatzincatl (He who has Grandparents). A pulque-god, 105\n\nColcampata, The, at Cuzco. The palace on, 269\n\nColhuacan.\n  I. Mexican city, 20, 26, 233.\n  II. King of; father of the sacrificed princess, 124\n\nColla-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255\n\nCon. Thunder-god of Collao of Peru, 78, 299\n\nConfession among the Mexicans, 106, 108;\n  Tlazolteotl the goddess of, 106;\n  accounts of the ceremony, 106-110\n\nConiraya Viracocha. A Peruvian nature-spirit; the myth of Cavillaca\nand, 321-323\n\nContici (The Thunder Vase). Peruvian deity representing the\nthunderstorm, 301\n\nConticsi-viracocha (He who gives Origin). Peruvian conception of the\ncreative agency, 304\n\nConti-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient Peru, 255\n\nCopacahuana. Idol associated with the worship of Lake Titicaca, 298\n\nCopacati. Idol associated with the worship of Lake Titicaca, 298\n\nCopal. Prince; in legend of foundation of Mexico, 28\n\nCopan. Maya city; sculptural remains at, 196;\n  evidence at, of a new racial type, 196-197\n\nCoricancha (Town of Gold). Temple of the sun at Cuzco, 260-262;\n  built by Pachacutic, 286;\n  image of the thunder-god in, 300\n\nCort\u00e9s. Lands at Vera Cruz, 7;\n  mistaken for Quetzalcoatl, 7, 80;\n  the incident of the death of his horse at Peten-Itza, 195\n\nCotzbalam. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209\n\nCoxoh Chol dialect, 145\n\nCoyohuacan. Mexican city, 50\n\nCoyolxauhqui. Daughter of Coatlicue, 70-72\n\nCoyotl inaual. A god of the Amantecas; and Quetzalcoatl, 79\n\nCozaana. A Zapotec deity; in creation-myth, 121\n\nCozcaapa (Water of Precious Stones). A fountain; in a Quetzalcoatl\nmyth, 65\n\nCozcatzin Codex, 92\n\nCozumel. The island of, 154\n\nCreation. Mexican conceptions of, 118-120;\n  the legend given by Ixtlilxochitl, 119-120;\n  the Mixtec legend of, 120-121;\n  the Zapotec legend of, 121-122;\n  the Kiche story of, in the Popol Vuh, 209;\n  of man, the Popol Vuh myth of, 229-230;\n  of man, a Peruvian myth of, 256;\n  the Inca conception of, 257-258, 305;\n  local Peruvian myths, 258-259\n\nCross, The. A symbol of the four winds in Mexico and Peru, 273;\n  account of the discovery of a wooden, 274-275\n\nCuchumaquiq. Father of Xquiq; in Popol Vuh myth, 222\n\nCuitlavacas. Aztec tribe, 233\n\nCuri-Coyllur (Joyful Star). Daughter of Yupanqui Pachacutic; in the\ndrama Apu-Ollanta, 251-253\n\nCuycha. Peruvian name for the rainbow; temple of, at Cuzco, 262\n\nCuzco (Navel of the Universe). The ancient capital of the Incas, 248;\n  and the racial division of Peru, 255;\n  in the legend of Manco Ccapac, 256;\n  a great culture-centre, 256;\n  founded by the sun-god, 258;\n  the Coricancha at, 260-262;\n  power under Pachacutic, 285\n\n\n\nD\n\nDiscovery. American myths relating to the, 6\n\nDresden Codex. Maya manuscript, 160\n\nDrink-gods, Mexican, 104-105\n\n\"Dwarf's House, The.\" Ruin at Uxmal, 192;\n  legend relating to, 192-194\n\n\n\nE\n\nEarth-Mother. See Teteoinnan\n\nEducation. In Mexico, 115-116\n\nEhecatl (The Air). Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84\n\nEkchuah. Maya god of merchants and cacao-planters, 170, 177;\n  God L thought to be, 176;\n  probably parallel to Yacatecutli, 177\n\n\"Emerald Fowl,\" The, 186\n\nEtzalqualiztli (When they eat Bean Food). Festival of Tlaloc, 77\n\n\n\nF\n\nFather and Mother Gods, Mexican, 103-104\n\nFire-god, Mexican, 95\n\nFish-gods, Peruvian, 306\n\nFlood-myths, 122-123, 323-324\n\nFood-gods, Mexican, 91\n\nF\u00f6rstemann, Dr. And the Maya writing, 162, 163;\n  on God L, 176\n\nFu Sang and America, 3\n\n\n\nG\n\nGama, Antonio. His work on Mexican lore and antiquities, 58\n\nGhanan. Name given to God E by Brinton, 174\n\nGod A of Dr. Schellhas' system; a death-god, 172-173;\n  thought to resemble the Aztec Xipe, 174\n\nGod B. Doubtless Quetzalcoatl, 173\n\nGod C. A god of the pole-star, 173\n\nGod D. A moon-god, probably Itzamna, 173\n\nGod E. A maize-god, similar to Centeotl, 174\n\nGod F. Resembles God A, 174\n\nGod G. A sun-god, 174\n\nGod H. 174\n\nGod K. Probably a god of the Quetzalcoatl group, 175-176\n\nGod L. Probably an earth-god, 176\n\nGod M. Probably a god of travelling merchants, 176-177\n\nGod N. Probably god of the \"unlucky days,\" 177\n\nGod P. A frog-god, 177\n\nGoddess I. A water-goddess, 175\n\nGoddess O. Probably tutelar of married women, 177\n\nGods. Connection of, with war and the food-supply, 74;\n  Nahua conception of the limited productivity of food and rain\n  deities, 77;\n  American myth rich in hero-gods, 237\n\nGomara, F. L. de. Work on Mexican lore, 58\n\nGuachimines (Darklings). Inhabitants of the primeval earth in Peruvian\nmyth, 301\n\nGuamansuri. The first of mortals in Peruvian myth, 301\n\nGuatemala.\n  I. The state; the Maya of, 157-159.\n  II. The city; the lost Popol Vuh found in, 207\n\nGucumatz (Serpent with Green Feathers). Kiche form of Quetzalcoatl,\nworshipped in Guatemala, 83, 167, 236;\n  in the Kiche story of the creation, 209\n\nGwyneth, Owen, father of Madoc, 5\n\n\n\nH\n\nHacavitz.\n  I. The god assigned to Mahacutah in the Kiche story of the creation,\n  230;\n    turned into stone, 231.\n  II. Mountain at which the Kiche first saw the sun, 231\n\nHakluyt. His English Voyages, cited, 5\n\nHastu-huaraca. Chieftain of the Antahuayllas; defeated by Pachacutic,\n284-285;\n  joins with Pachacutic, 285\n\nHenry VII. His patronage of early American explorers, 6\n\nHernandez, Father. And the goddess Ix chebel yax, 170\n\nHouse of Bats. Abode of the bat-god, 171;\n  mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 226\n\nHouse of Cold. In the Kiche Hades, 226\n\nHouse of Darkness. Ruin at Ak\u00e9, 186\n\nHouse of Feathers. Toltec edifice, 15\n\nHouse of Fire. In the Kiche Hades, 226\n\nHouse of Gloom. In the Kiche Hades, 221, 225\n\nHouse of Lances. In the Kiche Hades, 226\n\nHouse of Tigers. In the Kiche Hades, 226\n\nHrdlicka, Dr. And Mexican cliff-dwellings, 24\n\nHuacaquan. Mountain; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 318\n\nHuacas. Sacred objects of the Peruvians, 294\n\nHuaina Ccapac (The Young Chief). Eleventh Inca, 7, 288-289;\n  and the lake-goddess of Titicaca, 299\n\nHuamantantac. Peruvian deity responsible for the gathering of\nsea-birds, 296\n\nHuanca. Peruvian race; allied against the Incas, 282, 285\n\nHuancas. Agricultural fetishes of the Peruvians, 294\n\nHuantay-sara. Idol representing the tutelary spirit of the maize\nplant, 295\n\nHuarcans. The Inca Tupac and, 288\n\nHuarco (The Gibbet). The valley of; the Inca Tupac and the natives\nof, 288\n\nHuaris (Great Ones). Ancestors of the aristocrats of a tribe in Peru;\nreverence paid to, 296\n\nHuarochiri. Village; in Coniraya myth, 323\n\nHuascar, or Tupac-cusi-huallpa (The Sun makes Joy). Son of the Inca\nHuaina Ccapac, 7;\n  strives for the crown with Atauhuallpa, 289-290\n\nHuasteca. Aboriginal Mexican race of Maya stock, 23, 147-148;\n  probably represent early Maya efforts at colonisation, 147\n\nHuatenay. River in Peru; runs through the Intipampa at Cuzco, 261\n\nHuathiacuri. A hero, son of Paricaca; a myth of, 324-326\n\nHuatulco. Place in Mexico; Toltecs at, 12\n\nHuehuequauhtitlan. Place in Mexico; Quetzalcoatl at, 64\n\nHuehueteotl (Oldest of Gods). A name of the Mexican fire-god, 95\n\nHuehue Tlapallan (Very Old Tlapallan). In Toltec creation-myth, 119\n\nHuehuetzin. Toltec chieftain; rebels against Acxitl, 18, 19\n\nHuemac II. Toltec king, 15, 16;\n  abdicates, 17;\n  opposes Huehuetzin, 19\n\nHuexotzinco. Mexican city, 48, 49\n\nHuexotzincos. Aztec tribe, 233\n\nHueymatzin (Great Hand). Toltec necromancer and sage, 14;\n  reputed author of the Teo-Amoxtli, 46;\n  and Quetzalcoatl, 84\n\nHueytozoztli (The Great Watch). Festival of Chicomecohuatl, 86\n\nHuichaana. Zapotec deity; in creation-myth, 121, 122\n\nHuillcamayu (Huillca-river). River in Peru; regarded as an oracle, 296\n\nHuillcanuta. Place in Peru, 311\n\nHuillcas. Sacred objects of the nature of oracles, in Peru, 296\n\nHuitzilimitzin. In the story of the vicious princess, 130\n\nHuitzilopocho. Mexican city, 50\n\nHuitzilopochtli (Humming-bird to the Left). Aztec god of war,\noriginally a chieftain, 28, 70;\n  and the foundation of Mexico, 28;\n  the great temple of, at Mexico, 30, 31;\n  plots against the Toltecs and Quetzalcoatl, 60;\n  and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, 63-64;\n  myth of the origin of, 70-72;\n  associated with the serpent and the humming-bird, 72-73;\n  as usually represented, 73;\n  associated with the gladiatorial stone, 73;\n  as Mexitli, 74;\n  as serpent-god of lightning, associated with the summer, 74;\n  in connection with Tlaloc, 74;\n  the Toxcatl festival of, 74;\n  the priesthood of, 75;\n  in connection with the legend of the sacrificed princess, 124\n\nHun-Apu (Master, or Magician). A hero-god, twin with Xbalanque;\nin a Kiche myth, 211-219;\n  in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220, 223-227;\n  mentioned, 237\n\nHun-Came. One of the rulers of Xibalba, the Kiche Hades, 220, 221, 224\n\nHunabku. God of the Maya, representing divine unity, 171\n\nHunac Eel. Ruler of the Cocomes, 155\n\nHunbatz. Son of Hunhun-Apu, 220, 222, 223\n\nHunchouen. Son of Hunhun-Apu, 220, 222, 223\n\nHunhun-Apu. Son of Xpiyacoc and Xmucane; in the myth in the second\nbook of the Popol Vuh, 220-222, 224, 225, 227\n\nHunpictok (Commander-in-Chief of Eight Thousand Flints). The palace\nof, at Itzamal, 187-188\n\nHunsa. City at which the Zoque of the Chibchas lived, 276\n\nHurakan (The One-legged). Maya god of lightning;\n  prototype of Tlaloc, 76, 78;\n  the mustachioed image of, at Itzamal, 188;\n  = the mighty wind, in the Kiche story of the creation, 209;\n  and the creation of man in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 229-230;\n  probably same as Nahua Tezcatlipoca, 237;\n  his sub-gods, 237\n\n\n\nI\n\nIcutemal. Ruler of the Kiche, 159\n\nIlhuicatlan (In the Sky). Column in temple at Mexico, connected with\nthe worship of the planet Venus, 96\n\nIllatici (The Thunder Vase). Peruvian deity representing the\nthunderstorm, 301\n\nInca Roca. Sixth Inca, 283\n\nIncas (People of the Sun). The Peruvian ruling race; a composite\npeople, 254;\n  place of origin, 254;\n  inferior to the Mexicans in general culture, 248;\n  mythology of, 255-258, 317-327;\n  character of their civilisation, 259;\n  no personal freedom, 260;\n  age of marriage, 260;\n  their system of mummification, 262-264;\n  severity of their legal code, 264;\n  social system, 264-265;\n  calendar, 265-266;\n  religious festivals, 267;\n  architecture, 268-269;\n  architectural remains, 270-273;\n  irrigation works, 273;\n  possessed no system of writing, 278;\n  the quipos, 278-279;\n  as craftsmen, 279-281;\n  the pottery of, 280-281;\n  period and extent of their dominion, 281-282;\n  fusion of the constituent peoples, 285-286;\n  splitting of the race, 286;\n  their despotism, 290;\n  religion of, 291;\n  sun-worship of, 307-313\n\nIncas. The rulers of Peru, 282-290;\n  the Inca the representative of the sun, 260;\n  unlimited power of, 260;\n  the moon the mythic mother of the dynasty, 262\n\nInti-huasi. Building sacred to the sun in Peruvian villages, 308\n\nIntihuatana. Inca device for marking the date of the sun-festivals, 265\n\nIntip Raymi (Great Feast of the Sun). Peruvian festival, 267, 311-312\n\nIntipampa (Field of the Sun). Garden in which the Coricancha of Cuzco\nstood, 260-261\n\nIpalnemohuani (He by whom Men Live). Mexican name of the sun-god, 97\n\nIqi-Balam (Tiger of the Moon). One of the first men of the Popol Vuh\nmyth, 229, 230\n\nIrma. District in Peru; local creation-myth of, 258-259\n\nItzaes. A warlike race, founders of Chichen-Itza, 153\n\nItzamal. Maya city-state in Yucatan, 8, 152, 154;\n  ruins at, 187-188\n\nItzamna. Maya moon-god, father of gods and men, tutelar of the west,\n170;\n  founder of the state of Itzamal, 152;\n  God D probably is, 173;\n  the temple of, at Itzamal, 187;\n  called also Kab-ul (The Miraculous Hand), 187;\n  the gigantic image of, at Itzamal, 188\n\nIx. A minor Maya deity, 170\n\nIx chebel yax. Maya goddess; identified with Virgin Mary by Hernandez,\n170\n\nIx ch'el. Maya goddess of medicine, 170\n\nIxcoatl. Mexican king, 35\n\nIxcuiname. Mexican goddesses of carnal things, 108\n\nIxtlilton (The Little Black One). Mexican god of medicine and healing,\n112;\n  called brother of Macuilxochitl, 112\n\nIxtlilxochitl, Don Fernando de Alva. Mexican chronicler, 11, 46;\n  account of the early Toltec migrations, 11, 12;\n  and myths of the Toltecs, 13;\n  reference to the Teo-Amoxtli, 45;\n  his Historia Chichimeca and Relaciones, 46, 58;\n  his value as historian, 46;\n  legend of the creation related by, 119-120\n\nIzimin Chac. The image of Cort\u00e9s' horse, 195\n\nIzpuzteque. Demon in the Mexican Other-world, 38\n\nIztacmixcohuatl. Father of Quetzalcoatl, 79\n\n\n\nJ\n\nJaguar-Snake. Mixtec deer-goddess; in creation-myth, 120\n\nJalisco. Mexican province; cliff-dwellings in, 24, 25\n\n\n\nK\n\nKabah. Maya city; ruins at, 190-191\n\nKab-ul (The Miraculous Hand). Name given to Itzamna, 187\n\nKakchiquel dialect, 145\n\nKakchiquels. A Maya people of Guatemala, 157-159;\n  and the episode of the defeat of Cay Hun-Apu, 159\n\n\"Kamucu\" (We see). The song of the Kiche at the first appearance of\nthe sun, and at death of the first men, 232\n\nKan. A minor Maya deity, 170\n\nKanikilak. Indian deity, 83, 84\n\nKi Pixab (Corner of the Earth). Name given by the Kiche to their land\nof origin, 254\n\nKiche. A Maya people of Guatemala, 157-159;\n  their rulers supreme in Guatemala, 158;\n  their story of the creation as related in the Popol Vuh, 209;\n  origin of, as related in the Popol Vuh, 229-230;\n  fond of ceremonial dances and chants, 238\n\nKiche (or Quiche) dialect, 145, 209;\n  the Popol Vuh originally written in, 207, 209\n\n\"Kingdom of the Great Snake.\" Semi-historical Maya empire, 144\n\nKinich-ahau (Lord of the Face of the Sun). Same as Arara and\nKinich-Kakmo. Sun-god of the Maya of Yucatan, tutelar of the north, 170\n\nKinich-Kakmo (Sun-bird).\n  I. Same as Kinich-ahau, which see.\n  II. The pyramid of, ruin at Itzamal, 187\n\nKlaproth, H. J. von. And the Fu Sang fallacy, 3\n\nKnuc (Palace of Owls). Ruin at Ak\u00e9, 186\n\nKuicatecs. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24;\n  a medium through which Maya civilisation filtered to the north, 147\n\nKukulcan. Maya form of Quetzalcoatl, 83, 167;\n  regarded as King of Mayapan, 152\n\nKumsn\u00f6otl. God of the Salish Indians, 83\n\n\n\nL\n\nLamacazton (Little Priests). Lowest order of the Aztec priesthood, 116\n\nLanda, Bishop. And the Maya alphabet, 161;\n  discovers the Maya numeral system, 165\n\n\"Lands of the Sun.\" Name given to Inca territories, 308\n\nLanguage. Mexican or Nahuan, 42-43, 342;\n  Mayan, 161, 342;\n  Peruvian, 342\n\nLe Plongeon, Dr. Augustus. His theories as to the Maya, 239;\n  and the Maya hieroglyphs, 239;\n  his story of Queen M\u00f3o, 239-247\n\nLeguicano, Mancio Serra de. And the golden plate from the Coricancha,\n262\n\nLiyobaa. Village near Mitla; mentioned by Father Burgoa, 204\n\nLizana, Father. And the prophecy of Chilan Balam, 8\n\nLlama. Importance of, among the Incas, 268\n\nLloque Yupanqui. The third Inca, 283\n\nLorillard. Maya city; architectural remains found at, 195\n\n\n\nM\n\nMacuilxochitl (or Xochipilli) (Five-Flower, Source of Flowers). God\nof luck in gaming, 103;\n  Ixtlilton called brother of, 112\n\nMadoc. The legend of, 5, 6\n\nMahacutah (The Distinguished Name). One of the first men of the Popol\nVuh myth, 229, 230\n\nMaize-gods. Mexican, 85-91;\n  Peruvian, 295\n\nMallinalcas. Aztec tribe, 233\n\nMama Oullo Huaca. Wife of Manco Ccapac, 256\n\nMama-cocha (Mother-sea). Conception under which the Peruvians\nworshipped the sea, 306\n\nMamacota. Name given to Lake Titicaca by people of the Collao, 298\n\nMamacuna. Matrons who had charge of the Acllacuna, in Peru, 313\n\nMamapacha (or Pachamama). The Peruvian earth-goddess, 303\n\nMamas (Mothers). Tutelary spirits of the maize and other plants in\nPeru, 295\n\nMames. District in Guatemala, 158\n\nMan of the Sun. Quetzalcoatl as, 81;\n  other conceptions of, 83\n\nManco. The Inca appointed by Pizarro; and an oracle, 302-303\n\nManco Ccapac.\n  I. Divine being, son of the Life-giver; sent to instruct the\n  primitive Peruvians, 255-256;\n    a legend in connection with, 256.\n  II. The first Inca, identical with the foregoing, 282, 283;\n    regarded as son of the sun, 306;\n    a myth of, 320-321\n\nMani. Mexican city, founded by the Tutul Xius, 155\n\nMannikins. In the Kiche story of the creation related in the Popol\nVuh, 209-210\n\nMarkham, Sir Clements. On Inca architecture, 269\n\nMatlatzincas. Aztec tribe, 233\n\nMaxtla.\n  I. King of the Tecpanecs; and Nezahualcoyotl, 125-128.\n  II. A noble; in the story of the vicious princess, 130\n\nMaya. The most highly civilised of ancient American peoples, 1, 143;\n  their culture erroneously stated to be of Asiatic origin, 1;\n  theory as to Toltec relationship, 143;\n  sphere of the civilisation, 144;\n  the nucleus of the civilisation, 144-145, 149;\n  the dialects, 145;\n  origin of the race, 145;\n  their civilisation self-developed, 143, 146;\n  blood and cultural relationships with Nahua, 146-147;\n  efforts at expansion, 147-148;\n  climatic influence on the civilisation and religion, 148;\n  sources of their history, 148-149;\n  division of the aristocratic and labouring classes, 150;\n  influence of the Nahua invasions, 151;\n  cleavage between Yucatan and Guatemala peoples, 151;\n  the Yucatec race, 151-152;\n  incidents in migration myths represent genuine experience, 152;\n  the race in Guatemala, 157;\n  the writing system, 159-166;\n  the manuscripts, 160-161;\n  the numeral system, 165;\n  the mythology, 166-169, 207-247;\n  the calendar, 38, 39, 169;\n  the pantheon, 168, 170-177;\n  architecture, 178-198;\n  relationship of the mythology to that of the Nahua, 166;\n  Dr. Le Plongeon's theories as to, 239\n\nMayapan. City-state in Yucatan, 152;\n  rises into prominence, 153, 155;\n  overthrown by allies, 156\n\nMayta Ccapac. The fourth Inca, 283\n\nMeahuan, Mount. In the Kiche myth of Vukub-Cakix, 216\n\nMedicine-men. Account of the methods of, among Peruvians, 314-315\n\nMetztli (or Yohualticitl) (The Lady of Night). Mexican goddess of\nthe moon, 106;\n  in myth of Nanahuatl, 93, 106\n\nMexicatl Teohuatzin (Mexican Lord of Divine Matters). Head of the\nAztec priesthood, 116\n\nMexico.\n  I. The city; capital of the Aztecs, native name Tenochtitlan, 26, 47;\n    origin of the name, 73;\n    said to have been founded by Acolhuans, 26;\n    Huitzilopochtli and, 28, 73;\n    legends of the foundation of, 28-29;\n    at the period of the conquest, 29-30;\n    the annual \"bloodless battle\" with Tlascala, 48.\n  II. The state; the civilisation of, 1, 9;\n    possibly reached by early Norsemen, 5\n\nMexico-Tenochtitlan. Native name of city of Mexico, 29\n\nMexitli (Hare of the Aloes). A name of Huitzilopochtli, 74\n\nMictecaciuatl. Wife of Mictlan, 96\n\nMictlan (or Mictlantecutli) (Lord of Hades).\n  I. Mexican god of the dead and the underworld, 37, 76, 95-96;\n    God A probably identical with, 173.\n  II. The abode of the god Mictlan; Mitla identified with, 198.\n  III. Village mentioned by Torquemada, 199\n\nMigration Myths. Probably reflect actual migrations, 234-235\n\nMitla. Maya city, 31, 144;\n  ruins at, 197-198;\n  identified with Mictlan, the Mexican Hades, 198;\n  description of, by Father Torquemada, 199;\n  description of, by Father Burgoa, 199-206\n\nMixcoatl (Cloud Serpent). Aztec god of the chase, 110-111;\n  Camaxtli identified with, 111\n\nMixe. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24\n\nMixteca. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23;\n  creation-myth of, 120-121;\n  a medium through which Maya civilisation passed north, 147\n\nMoche. Place in Peru; sepulchral mound at, 271\n\nMohanes (or Agoreros). Members of Peruvian tribes who claimed power\nas oracles, 297-298, 314\n\nMoneneque (The Claimer of Prayer). A name of Tezcatlipoca, 67\n\nMontezuma II. Mexican emperor, native name Motequauhzoma; mentioned,\n35, 44;\n  and the coming of Cort\u00e9s, 7;\n  in the story of Tlalhuicole, 136-137;\n  in the story of Princess Papan, 139-142\n\nM\u00f3o, Queen. The story of, 239-247\n\nMoon, The. Mythic mother of the Inca dynasty, 262;\n  temple of, at Cuzco, 261-262;\n  wife of the sun, in the mythology of the Chibchas, 276\n\nMuluc. A minor Maya deity, 170\n\nMummification. Among the Peruvians, 262-264\n\n\n\nN\n\nNadaillac, Marquis de. Account of the use of quipos, 278-279\n\nNahua (Those who live by Rule). Ancient Mexican race, 9;\n  civilisation, features in, and character of, 9, 146, 148;\n  compared with Oriental peoples, 10;\n  meaning of the name, 10;\n  place of origin, 10-11;\n  route of migrations to Mexico, 12;\n  theory of Toltec influence upon, 22;\n  and cliff-dwellers, 24-25;\n  territories occupied by, 25;\n  writing system of, 34-35;\n  calendric system of, 38-41;\n  language of, 42-43;\n  science of, 43;\n  form of government, 43-44;\n  domestic life of, 44-45;\n  distribution of the component tribes, 47;\n  authentic history of the nation, 48-53;\n  religion, 54;\n  Tezcatlipoca and, 67;\n  influence of the Maya civilisation upon, 147;\n  culture and religion influenced by climatic conditions, 148;\n  invade Maya territory, 150-151;\n  influence Maya cleavage, 151;\n  in the Maya conflict in Guatemala, 159;\n  the relationship of the mythology of, to that of the Maya, 166;\n  difference in sun-worship of, from Peruvian, 307-308\n\nNahuatlatolli. The Nahua tongue, 25\n\nNanahuatl (Poor Leper) (or Nanauatzin). Mexican god of skin diseases,\n93;\n  the myth of, 93;\n  Xolotl probably identical with, 93\n\nNanauatzin. Same as Nanahuatl, which see\n\nNanihehecatl. Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84\n\nNata. The Mexican Noah, 122-123\n\nNauhollin (The Four Motions). Mexican sacrificial ceremonies, 99\n\nNauhyotl. Toltec ruler of Colhuacan, 20\n\nNemontemi (unlucky days). In Mexican calendar, 39, 40\n\nNena. Wife of Nata, the Mexican Noah, 122-123\n\nNexiuhilpilitztli (binding of years). In Mexican calendar, 39, 40\n\nNextepehua. Fiend in the Mexican Other-world, 38\n\nNezahualcoyotl (Fasting Coyote). King of Tezcuco; the story of,\n125-128;\n  his enlightened rule, 128;\n  as a poet, 128;\n  his theology, 128;\n  and his son's offence, 129;\n  his palace, 132;\n  his villa of Tezcotzinco, 133-136\n\nNezahualpilli (The Hungry Chief).\n  I. A manifestation of Tezcatlipoca, 66.\n  II. Son of Nezahualcoyotl; story of his wife's crime, 129-132;\n    in the story of Princess Papan, 140\n\nNima-Kiche. The ancestor of the Kiche race; the legend of, 158\n\nNinxor-Carchah. Place in Guatemala; mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 224\n\nNiti\u00e7apoloa. Ceremony connected with worship of Centeotl the son, 90\n\nNonohualco. Place in Mexico; Tutul Xius may have come from, 153\n\nNorsemen. Voyages of the, to America, 5\n\nNunnery. The ruin at Chichen-Itza, 189-190\n\n\n\nO\n\nObsequies. In Peru; a description of, 316-317\n\nOcosingo. Ruined Maya city, 149\n\nOllanta. Inca chieftain; in the drama Apu-Ollanta, 251-253\n\nOllantay-tampu. Prehistoric ruins at, 250-251;\n  Apu-Ollanta, the drama legend of, 251-253\n\nOmacatl (Two Reeds). Mexican god of festivity, 112-113\n\nOmeciuatl. Mexican mother god of the human species, associated with\nOmetecutli, 103-104, 118;\n  Xmucane the Kiche equivalent of, 236\n\nOmetecutli (Two-Lord). Father god of the human species, associated\nwith Omeciuatl, 103-104, 118;\n  Xpiyacoc the Kiche equivalent of, 236\n\nOmetochtli.\n  I. A pulque-god, 104.\n  II. A day in the Mexican calendar, 105\n\nOpochtli (The Left-handed). Mexican god of fishers and bird-catchers,\n113-114\n\nOracles in Peru, 296-297;\n  a legend connected with an oracle, 302-303\n\nOtomi. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23, 25, 50\n\nOwen, Guttyn. Mentioned, 6\n\nOxford Codex, 37\n\n\n\nP\n\nPaapiti. Island on Lake Titicaca; Huaina Ccapac and the lake-goddess\nand, 299\n\nPacari Tampu (House of the Dawn). Place of origin of four brothers\nand sisters who initiated the systems of worship and civilised Peru,\n305, 307\n\nPacaw. A sorcerer mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 227\n\nPaccariscas. Holy places of origin of the Peruvian tribes, 292,\n293, 305\n\nPachacamac.\n  I. The supreme divinity of the Incas, known also as Pacharurac,\n  257, 303-304;\n    not a primitive conception, 257;\n    in the local creation-myth of Irma, 258-259;\n    the Ccapac Raymi the national festival of, 267;\n    Yatiri the Aymara name for, 299;\n    symbol of, in the Coricancha, 304;\n    regarded as son of the sun, 306;\n    daughters of, in the Coniraya myth, 323.\n  II. Sacred city of the Incas, 310;\n    ruins of, 273;\n    in the Coniraya myth, 322\n\nPachacamama (Earth-Mother). Name given by the Incas to their conception\nof the earth, 257\n\nPachacta unanchac. Inca device for determining the solstices, 265-266\n\nPachacutic (or Yupanqui Pachacutic) (He who changes the World). Ninth\nInca; in the drama Apu-Ollanta, 251-252;\n  defeats Hastu-huaraca, 282, 284-285;\n  formerly known as Yupanqui, 285;\n  his extensive dominion, 286;\n  his achievements as ruler, 286-287;\n  a man like the Mexican Nezahualcoyotl, 291;\n  and the legend of the stones that turned into warriors, 294;\n  and the thunder-god, 300;\n  and the conception of the creator, 304;\n  introduces sun-worship, 308;\n  the vision of, 317-318\n\nPachamama (or Mamapacha) (Earth-Mother). The Peruvian earth-goddess,\n303\n\nPacharurac. A name of Pachacamac, which see\n\nPachayachachic. A form of Pachacamac, regarded as direct ruler of\nthe universe, 299, 304;\n  Viracocha called, 307\n\n\"Palace of Owls.\" Ruin at Ak\u00e9, 186\n\nPalace, The, at Palenque, 183-185\n\nPalenque. Maya city, 144, 149, 182-186;\n  the Palace at, 183-185;\n  Temple of Inscriptions at, 185;\n  Temple of the Sun, 185;\n  Temple of the Cross, 185;\n  Temple of the Cross No. II, 186;\n  \"Tablet of the Cross\" at, 161, 185-186\n\nPalpan. Hill near Tollan; excavations at, 34\n\nPapantzin. Sister of Montezuma II; the story of her return from the\ntomb, 139-142\n\nPapaztac (The Nerveless). A pulque-god, 104\n\nPariacaca.\n  I. A name of the Peruvian thunder-god, 299-300;\n    and the lake of Pariacaca, 300.\n  II. The lake of, 300\n\nParicaca. A hero, father of Huathiacuri; in the Huathiacuri myth,\n324-326;\n  in a flood-myth, 326-327;\n  and the Choque Suso myth, 327\n\nParis (or Tellerio-Remensis) Codex, 37\n\nPatecatl. A pulque-god, 104\n\n\"Path of the Dead, The,\" at Teotihuacan, 33\n\nPayne, E. J. On the origin of the Maya culture, 1;\n  on the origin of the Nahua, 10;\n  on the Toltecs, 21;\n  on the Teoyaominqui fallacy, 88-90\n\nPeru. The civilisation of, 1, 248-290;\n  the country, 248-249;\n  the people, 253-255;\n  the mythology, 255-259, 291-327;\n  government, 259-260, 290;\n  laws and customs, 264-265;\n  the calendar, 265-266;\n  the festivals, 267;\n  architecture and architectural remains, 259, 268-273;\n  irrigation works, 273;\n  no writing or numeral system, 278;\n  craftsmanship, 259, 279-281;\n  history, 281-290;\n  religion, 291-313;\n  human sacrifice, 313\n\nPeten-Itza. Maya city, founded by a prince of Chichen-Itza, 156;\n  the incident of Cort\u00e9s and his horse at, 195-196;\n  a city \"filled with idols,\" 196\n\nPetlac. Place mentioned in myth of Huitzilopochtli's origin, 72\n\nPiedras Negras. Ruined Maya city, 149\n\n\"Pigeon House.\" Ruin at Uxmal, 194\n\nPiguerao. Peruvian deity, brother of Apocatequil; in a creation-myth,\n301\n\nPillan. Thunder-god of aborigines of Chile, analogous to Tlaloc, 78\n\nPillco-puncu. Door to be passed before reaching Rock of Titicaca, 311\n\nPinturas. Mexican hieroglyphs, or picture-writing, 7, 34-37\n\nPipil dialect, 145\n\nPiqui-Chaqui (Flea-footed). Servant of Ollanta, 251\n\nPissac. Ruined Inca fortress at, 250\n\nPitu Salla. Guardian of Yma Sumac, 253\n\nPizarro, Francisco. Conqueror of Peru, 255\n\nPizarro, Pedro. Cousin of Francisco Pizarro, 262\n\n\"Place of Fruits.\" Valley in which Tollan stood, 14\n\nPleiades. Kiche myth of the origin of, 215\n\nPocomams. District in Guatemala, 158\n\nPopocatepetl. The mountain; sacred to Tlaloc, 77\n\nPopolcan. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24\n\n\"Popol Vuh\" (The Collection of Written Leaves). A volume of Maya-Kiche\nmythology and history, 152, 157, 158;\n  description, 207-209;\n  genuine character, 208;\n  probable date of composition, 235;\n  antiquity, 236, 238;\n  the gods and others mentioned in, 236-237;\n  probably a metrical composition originally, 237-238.\n  The first book:\n    The creation, 209;\n    the downfall of man, 209-210;\n    story of Vukub-Cakix, 210-213;\n    the undoing of Zipacna, 213-216;\n    the overthrow of Cabrakan, 216-219;\n    the creation-story probably the result of the fusion of several\n    myths, 235.\n  The second book:\n    Hunhun-Apu and Vukub-Hunapu descend to the Underworld, 220-221;\n    Hunhun-Apu and Xquiq, 222;\n    birth and exploits of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque, 223-224;\n    the hero-brothers in Xibalba, and the discomfiture of the Lords\n    of Hell, 225-227;\n    the conception in this book common to other mythologies, 228;\n    the savage dread of death probably responsible for the conception\n    of its vanquishment, 228;\n    other sources of the myth, 228.\n  The third book:\n    Man is created, 229;\n    woman is created, 230;\n    gods are vouchsafed to man, 230;\n    Tohil provides fire, 230-231;\n    the race is confounded in speech and migrates, 231;\n    the sun appears, 231;\n    death of the first men, 232;\n    resemblance of the myth to those of other American peoples, 232;\n    similarity of the migration-story to others, 233-234;\n    probable origin of the migration-myth, 234-235.\n  The fourth book, 238-239\n\nPotosi. Peruvian city, 248\n\nPowel. History of Wales, cited, 5\n\nPoyauhtecatl, Mount. In Quetzalcoatl myth, 65\n\nPpapp-Hol-Chac (The House of Heads and Lightnings). Ruin at Itzamal,\n187\n\nPriesthood, Mexican, 114-117;\n  power of, 114;\n  beneficent ministrations of, 115;\n  revenues of, 115;\n  education conducted by, 115-116;\n  orders of, 116;\n  rigorous existence of, 116-117\n\nPucara. Peruvian fortress-city; leader in the Huanca alliance, 282\n\nPueblo Indians. Probably related to Nahua, 24\n\nPulque. The universal Mexican beverage, 45\n\nPulque-gods, 104-105\n\nPuma-puncu. Door to be passed before reaching Rock of Titicaca, 311\n\nPuma-Snake. Mixtec deer-god; in creation-myth, 120\n\nPumatampu. Place in Peru; Inca Roca defeats the Conti-suyu at, 283\n\nPurunpacha. The period after the deluge when there was no king,\nin Peru, 324\n\nPyramid of Sacrifice. Ruin at Uxmal, 194\n\n\n\nQ\n\nQu\u00e4aqua. Sun-god of the Salish Indians, 83\n\nQuacamayo Birds. In a myth of the Canaris Indians, 319\n\nQuaquiutl. Indian tribe, 83\n\nQuatlapanqui (The Head-splitter). A pulque-god, 104\n\nQuatavita, The Lake of. The Chibchas and, 276\n\nQuauhquauhtinchan (House of the Eagles). Sacrifice to the sun in, 99\n\nQuauhtitlan. Place mentioned in legend of Quetzalcoatl's journey from\nTollan, 64\n\nQuauhxicalli (Cup of the Eagles). Mexican sacrificial stone, 99, 100\n\nQuauitleua. Festival of Tlaloc, 77\n\nQuauitlicac. In myth of Huitzilopochtli's origin, 71, 72\n\nQuemada. Place in Mexico; cyclopean ruins at, 32\n\nQuenti-puncu. Door to be passed before reaching Rock of Titicaca, 311\n\nQuetzalcoatl (\"Feathered Serpent\" or \"Feathered Staff\"). The Kukulcan\nof the Maya, god of the sun, the wind, and thunder, common to Mexican\nand Maya mythologies; Mexican legend of, 6-7;\n  probably cognate with Yetl, 12;\n  king of the Toltecs in Nahua myth, 21;\n  Tezcatlipoca and, 60, 79;\n  Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, and Tlacahuepan plot against, 60;\n  quits Tollan and proceeds to Tlapallan, 64-65, 79;\n  probably a god of pre-Nahua people, 78;\n  \"Father of the Toltecs,\" 79;\n  enlightened sway as ruler of Tollan, 79;\n  consequences of his exile, 79;\n  legend of, in connection with the morning star, 80, 96;\n  whether rightly considered god of the sun, 80;\n  conception of, as god of the air, 80;\n  as wind-god and god of fire and light, 80-81;\n  whether originating from a \"culture-hero,\" 81;\n  the \"St. Thomas\" idea, 81;\n  as Man of the Sun, 81-82;\n  as usually represented, 82;\n  regarded as a liberator, 82;\n  various conceptions of, 82-84, 167;\n  probable northern origin, 83;\n  Hueymatzin and, 84;\n  the worship of, 84-85;\n  the priesthood of, 116;\n  place in the Mexican calendar, 122;\n  vogue among Maya, 144, 167;\n  regarded as foreign to the soil in Mexico, 167;\n  differences in the Maya and Nahua conceptions of, 167;\n  called Kukulcan by the Maya, 167;\n  called Gucumatz in Guatemala, 167, 236;\n  God B probably is, 173\n\nQuetzalpetlatl. Female counterpart of Quetzalcoatl, 79\n\nQuiche. Same as Kiche, which see\n\nQuichua. Peruvian race, 254-255;\n  fusion of, with Aymara, 285-286\n\nQuichua-Aymara. The Inca race. See Incas\n\nQuichua Chinchay-suyu. One of the four racial divisions of ancient\nPeru, 255\n\nQuinames. Earth-giants; in Toltec creation-myth, 120\n\nQuineveyan. Grotto, mentioned in Aztec migration-myth, 233\n\nQuinuamama. Guardian spirit of the quinua plant, in Peru, 295\n\nQuipos. Cords used by the Incas for records and communications,\n278-279;\n  account of the use of, by the Marquis de Nadaillac, 278-279\n\nQuito. Sometime centre of the northern district of Peru, 286, 289\n\n\n\nR\n\nRaxa-Cakulha. A sub-god of Hurakan, 237\n\nReligion.\n  I. Of the Nahua, 54-55;\n    the worship of one god, 58-59.\n  II. Of the Peruvians, 291;\n    inferior to the Mexican, 248;\n    the legend relating to the evolution of, 305-306\n\nRiopampa. Sometime centre of the northern district of Peru, 286\n\nRosny, L\u00e9on de. Research on the Maya writing by, 161-162\n\nRumi-\u00f1aui. Inca general; in the drama Apu-Ollanta, 252-253\n\n\n\nS\n\nSacrifice, Human. In connection with Teotleco festival, 69;\n  with Toxcatl festival, 69-70;\n  with Tlaloc, 76-77;\n  displaced by \"substitution of part for whole,\" 85, 116;\n  in the Xalaquia festival, 87;\n  in connection with Xipe, 92;\n  Xolotl the representative of, 93;\n  in worship of the planet Venus, 96;\n  in sun-worship, 98-100, 101;\n  the keynote of Nahua mythology, 166;\n  among the Maya, 166;\n  at Mitla, described by Father Burgoa, 202-203;\n  among the Chibchas, 276;\n  in Peru, 313\n\nSacrificed Princess, the legend of the, 123-124\n\nSacsahuaman. Inca fortress; the ruins of, 250;\n  built by Pachacutic, 287\n\nSahagun, Father Bernardino. His work on Mexican lore, 56-57;\n  account of the Teotleco festival, 68-69;\n  account of a confession ceremony, 106-108\n\nSalish Indians, 83\n\n\"Salvador,\" The. A curious Inca vase, 281\n\nSan Carlos. The University of, in Guatemala; the lost Popol Vuh found\nin, 207\n\nSan Lorenzo. Village; in a myth of Paricaca, 327\n\nSaramama. Guardian spirit of the maize plant, in Peru, 295\n\nSchellhas, Dr. And the Maya writing, 162;\n  and names of the Maya deities, 168\n\nScherzer, Dr. C. Finds the lost Popol Vuh, 207\n\nSea. Worshipped by the Peruvians as Mama-cocha, 306\n\nSeler, Dr. On Quetzalcoatl, 80-81;\n  on Xolotl, 93-94;\n  and the Maya writing, 162, 164;\n  on God K, 175-176;\n  on God P, 177;\n  on Mitla and the origin of the American race, 198\n\nSerpent. Varied significance of the, 72, 74, 76;\n  association of Huitzilopochtli with, 72-73;\n  associated with the bird, 73\n\nSeven Caverns. Myth of the, 123\n\nSierra Nevada (Mountain of Snow). In legend of Quetzalcoatl's\nmigration, 65\n\nSinchi Roca (Wise Chief). The second Inca, 283\n\nSkinner, J. Account of the discovery of a wooden cross, 274-275;\n  on mohanes, 297-298;\n  account of the methods of medicine men in Peru, 314-315;\n  account of obsequies among a Peruvian tribe, 315-317\n\nSl\u00e4alekam. Sun-god of the Salish Indians, 83\n\nSondor-huasi. An Inca building bearing a thatched roof, 269\n\nSoto, Hernando de. Mentioned, 7\n\nSquier, E. G. On the Coricancha, 261\n\nStephens, J. L. Legend of the dwarf related by, 192-194;\n  story of the unknown city, 195\n\nStones, worship of, in Peru, 292-293\n\nSuarez. Lorillard City discovered by, 195\n\nSun. Prophecy as to coming of white men from, 7;\n  symbolised as a serpent by Hopi Indians, 82;\n  pictured as abode of Quetzalcoatl, 82;\n  \"father\" of Totonacs, 82;\n  Quaquiutl myth respecting, 83-84;\n  worship of the, in Mexico, 97-102;\n  the supreme Mexican deity, 97;\n  the heart his special sacrifice, 97;\n  blood his especial food, 98;\n  destruction of successive suns, 98;\n  human sacrifice to, in Mexico, 98-100;\n  as god of warriors, 99;\n  conception of the warrior's after-life with, 101;\n  the feast of Totec, the chief Mexican festival of, 101-102;\n  the supreme Maya deity, 171;\n  in Inca creation-myth, 258, 305;\n  in the mythology of the Chibchas, 276;\n  worship of, in Peru, 306, 307-313;\n  the possessions of, and service rendered to, 308-309;\n  and the Rock of Titicaca, 309-311;\n  especially worshipped by the aged, 310;\n  the Intip-Raymi festival of, 311-312;\n  the Citoc-Raymi festival, 312-313;\n  human sacrifice to, in Peru, 313\n\nSunrise, Land of. In early American belief, 6\n\n\"Suns,\" the Four. In Aztec theology, 55\n\nSusur-pugaio. A fountain; and the vision of Yupanqui, 318\n\n\n\nT\n\nTabasco. Same as Tlapallan, which see\n\n\"Tablet of the Cross,\" 161, 185-186\n\nTancah. Maya city, 8\n\nTapac-yauri. The royal sceptre of the Incas, 321\n\nTarahumare. Mexican tribe; and cliff-dwellings, 25\n\nTarma. Place in Peru; Huanca defeated at, 285\n\nTarpuntaita-cuma. Incas who conducted sacrifice, 311\n\nTata (Our Father). A name of the Mexican fire-god, 95\n\nTayasal. Maya city, 196\n\nTeatlahuiani. A pulque-god, 104\n\nTecpanecs. Confederacy of Nahua tribes, 26, 50;\n  significance of the name, 26, 50;\n  rivals of the Chichimecs, 27;\n  of Huexotzinco, defeated by Tlascaltecs, 49;\n  Aztecs allies of, 51;\n  growth of their empire, 51;\n  conquer Tezcuco and Chichimecs, 51\n\nTecumbalam. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209\n\nTelpochtli (The Youthful Warrior). A name of Tezcatlipoca, 66\n\nTemacpalco. Place mentioned in the myth of Quetzalcoatl's journey to\nTlapallan, 65\n\nTemalacatl. The Mexican gladiatorial stone of combat, 100\n\nTemple of the Cross No. I, The, at Palenque, 185, 186;\n  No. II, 186\n\nTemple of Inscriptions, The, at Palenque, 185\n\nTemple of the Sun, The.\n  I. At Palenque, 185.\n  II. At Tikal, 196\n\nTenayucan. Chichimec city, 26\n\nTenochtitlan. Same as Mexico, which see\n\nTeo-Amoxtli (Divine Book). A Nahua native chronicle, 45-46\n\nTeocalli. The Mexican temple, 30\n\nTeocuinani. Mountain; sacred to Tlaloc, 77\n\nTeohuatzin. High-priest of Huitzilopochtli, 75\n\nTeotihuacan. Sacred city of the Toltecs, 18, 47;\n  the fiend at the convention at, 18;\n  the Mecca of the Nahua races, 32;\n  architectural remains at, 32, 33;\n  rebuilt by Xolotl, Chichimec king, 33;\n  Charnay's excavations at, 33\n\nTeotleco (Coming of the Gods). Mexican festival, 68-69\n\nTeoyaominqui. Name given to the image of Chicomecohuatl by early\ninvestigators, 88;\n  Payne on the error, 88-90\n\nTepeolotlec. A distortion of the name of Tepeyollotl, 102\n\nTepeyollotl (Heart of the Mountain). A god of desert places, 102-103;\n  called Tepeolotlec, 102\n\nTepoxtecatl. The pulque-god of Tepoztlan, 105, 117\n\nTepoztlan. Mexican city, 105\n\nTequechmecauiani. A pulque-god, 104\n\nTequiua. Disguise of Tezcatlipoca, 63\n\nTernaux-Compans, H. Cited, 4\n\nTeteoinnan (Mother of the Gods). Mexican maize-goddess, known also\nas Tocitzin, and identical with Centeotl the mother, 85, 90\n\nTezcatlipoca (Fiery Mirror). Same as Titlacahuan and Tlamatzincatl. The\nMexican god of the air, the Jupiter of the Nahua pantheon, 37, 59, 67;\n  tribal god of the Tezcucans, 59;\n  development of the conception, 59-60;\n  in legends of the overthrow of Tollan, 60;\n  adversary of Quetzalcoatl, 60, 79;\n  plots against Quetzalcoatl, and overcomes him, 60-61;\n  as Toueyo, and the daughter of Uemac, 61-62;\n  and the dance at the feast in Tollan, 63;\n  as Tequiua, and the garden of Xochitla, 63;\n  and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, 63-64;\n  as Nezahualpilli, 66;\n  as Yaotzin, 66;\n  as Telpochtli, 66;\n  as usually depicted, 66;\n  Aztec conception of, as wind-god, 66;\n  as Yoalli Ehecatl, 66;\n  extent and development of the cult of, 67-68;\n  as Moneneque, 67;\n  and the Teotleco festival, 68-69;\n  the Toxcatl festival of, 69-70, 74;\n  in the character of Tlazolteotl, 107, 108\n\nTezcotzinco. The villa of Nezahualcoyotl, 133-136\n\nTezcuco.\n  I. Chichimec city, 26, 47;\n    rivalry with Azcapozalco, 49;\n    its hegemony, 49;\n    conquered by Tecpanecs, 51;\n    allied with Aztecs, 52;\n    Tezcatlipoca the tribal god, 59;\n    the story of Nezahualcoyotl, the prince of, 125-128.\n  II. Lake, 26;\n    in legend of the foundation of Mexico, 28;\n    the cities upon, 47, 49-50\n\nTezozomoc, F. de A. On Mexican mythology, 58\n\nTheozapotlan. Mexican city, 203\n\nThlingit. Indian tribe, 83\n\nThomas, Professor C. Research on Maya writing, 162;\n  on God L, 176\n\nThomas, St. The Apostle; Cort\u00e9s believed to be, 7;\n  associated with the Maya cross, 187, 275;\n  and the wooden cross found in the valley of the Chichas, 274\n\nThonapa. Son of the creator in Peruvian myth; in connection with\nstone-worship, 293;\n  myths of, 319-320\n\nThunder-god, Peruvian, 299-302\n\nTiahuanaco. Prehistoric city of the Andeans, 249-250;\n  the  great doorway at, 249;\n  in a legend of Manco Ccapac, 256;\n  in Inca creation-myth, 258;\n  and legend of Thonapa the Civiliser, 293\n\nTi\u00e7otzicatzin. In the story of Princess Papan, 140\n\nTikal. Maya city; architectural remains at, 196\n\nTiticaca.\n  I. Lake, 249;\n    settlements of the Quichua-Aymara on the shores of, 254;\n    Manco Ccapac and Mama Oullo Huaca descend to earth near, 256;\n    regarded by Peruvians as place where men and animals were created,\n    298;\n    called Mamacota by people of the Collao, 298;\n    idols connected with, 298-299.\n  II. Island on Lake Titicaca;\n    the most sacred of the Peruvian shrines, 270;\n    ruined palace on, 270;\n    sacred rock on, the paccarisca of the sun, 293, 309;\n    sun-worship and the Rock of Titicaca, 309-311;\n    the Inca Tupac and the Rock, 309-310;\n    effect on the island of the Inca worship of the Rock, 310;\n    pilgrimage to, 310-311;\n    Thonapa on, 320\n\nTitlacahuan. Same as Tezcatlipoca, which see\n\nTitlacahuan-Tezcatlipoca, 123\n\nTiya-manacu. Town in Peru; Thonapa at, 320\n\nTlacahuepan. Mexican deity; plots against Quetzalcoatl, 60;\n  and the legend of the amusing infant and the pestilence, 63-64\n\nTlachtli. National ball-game of the Nahua and Maya, 33, 220, 224, 227\n\nTlacopan. Mexican city, 26, 50;\n  Aztecs allied with, 52\n\nTlaelquani (Filth-eater). A name of Tlazolteotl, which see\n\nTlalhuicole. Tlascalan warrior; the story of, 136-138\n\nTlaloc. The Mexican rain-god,or god of waters, 29, 75;\n  and the foundation of Mexico, 29;\n  in association with Huitzilopochtli, 74;\n  as usually represented, 75-76;\n  espoused to Chalchihuitlicue, 75;\n  Tlalocs his offspring, 75;\n  Kiche god Hurakan his prototype, 76;\n  manifestations of, 76;\n  festivals of, 77;\n  human sacrifice in connection with, 76-77;\n  and Atamalqualiztli festival, 77-78;\n  similarities to, in other mythologies, 78\n\nTlalocan (The Country of Tlaloc). Abode of Tlaloc, 76\n\nTlalocs. Gods of moisture; and Huemac II, 16;\n  offspring of Tlaloc, 75\n\nTlalxicco (Navel of the Earth). Name of the abode of Mictlan, 95\n\nTlamatzincatl. Same as Tezcatlipoca, which see\n\nTlapallan (The Country of Bright Colours). Legendary region, 11;\n  Nahua said to have originated at, 11;\n  the Toltecs and, 11;\n  Quetzalcoatl proceeds to, from Tollan, 64-65, 79\n\nTlapallan, Huehue (Very Old Tlapallan). In Toltec creation-myth, 119\n\nTlapallantzinco. Place in Mexico; Toltecs at, 12\n\nTlascala (or Tlaxcallan). Mexican city, 47, 48;\n  and the \"bloodless battle\" with Mexico, 48, 98, 99;\n  decline, 49\n\nTlascalans. Mexican race, offshoot of the Acolhuans, 26;\n  helped Cort\u00e9s against Aztecs, 26, 47\n\nTlauizcalpantecutli (Lord of the Dawn). Name of the planet Venus;\nmyth of Quetzalcoatl and, 80, 96;\n  Quetzalcoatl called, 84;\n  worship of, 96;\n  in the Mexican calendar, 96\n\nTlaxcallan. Same as Tlascala, which see\n\nTlazolteotl (God of Ordure) (or Tlaelquani). Mexican goddess of\nconfession, 106-108\n\nTlenamacac (Ordinary Priests). Lesser order of the Mexican priesthood,\n116\n\nTloque Nahuaque (Lord of All Existence). Toltec deity, 119\n\nTobacco. Use of, among the Nahua, 45\n\nTochtepec. Place in Mexico; Toltecs at, 12\n\nTocitzin (Our Grandmother). See Teteoinnan\n\nTohil (The Rumbler). Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84;\n  guides the Kiche-Maya to their first city, 152;\n  the god assigned to Balam-Quitze in the Kiche myth of the creation,\n  230;\n  gives fire to the Kiche, 230-231;\n  turned into stone, 231\n\nTollan. Toltec city, modern Tula; founded, 13, 26;\n  its magnificence, 14;\n  afflicted by the gods, 16-17;\n  Huehuetzin's rebellions, 18, 19;\n  overthrown, 19;\n  Charnay's excavations at, 34;\n  Tezcatlipoca and the overthrow of, 60;\n  Quetzalcoatl leaves, 64, 79\n\nTollantzinco. City of the Acolhuans, 48;\n  Toltecs at, 12\n\nToltecs. First Nahua immigrants to Mexico, 11;\n  whether a real or a mythical race, 11, 20-22;\n  at Tlapallan, 11, 12;\n  migration route, 12;\n  their migration a forced one, 12;\n  imaginative quality of their myths, 13;\n  elect a king, 14;\n  progress in arts and crafts, 14, 23;\n  under plagues, 17;\n  their empire destroyed, 19, 20;\n  and the civilisation of Central America, 20;\n  Dr. Brinton's theory, 21;\n  Quetzalcoatl king of, 21;\n  possible influence upon Nahua civilisation, 22;\n  Acolhuans may have been, 26;\n  Tezcatlipoca opposes, and plots against, 60-65;\n  and creation-myth recounted by Ixtlilxochitl, 119;\n  theory that the Maya were, 143\n\nTonacaciuatl (Lady of our Flesh). A name of Omeciuatl, which see\n\nTonacatecutli (Lord of our Flesh). A name of Ometecutli, which see\n\nTonalamatl (Book of the Calendar), 107\n\nTorito. A bird-maiden; in the myth of origin of the Canaris, 319\n\nTorquemada, Father. His work on Mexican lore, 57;\n  on Mitla, 199\n\nTotec (Our Great Chief). A sun-god, 101-102;\n  his feast, the chief solar festival, 101-102\n\nTotemism. Among the primitive Peruvians, 291-292\n\nTotonacs. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23;\n  and the sun, 82\n\nToueyo. Tezcatlipoca's disguise, 61-63\n\nToveyo. Toltec sorcerer; and the magic drum, 16\n\nToxcatl. Festival; of Tezcatlipoca, 69-70;\n  of Huitzilopochtli, 74\n\nToxilmolpilia. Mexican calendar ceremony; and the native dread of\nthe last day, 41\n\nTroano Codex. Maya manuscript, 160;\n  Dr. Le Plongeon and the reference to Queen M\u00f3o in, 246\n\nTucuman (World's End). Name given by the Quichua-Aymara to their land\nof origin, 254\n\nTulan (or Tulan-Zuiva). City; the starting-point of the Kiche\nmigrations, 157-158, 231;\n  the Kiche arrive at, and receive their gods, 230;\n  parallel with the Mexican Chicomoztoc, 230;\n  the Kiche confounded in their speech at, 231\n\nTumipampa. Sometime centre of the northern district of Peru, 286,\n289, 290\n\nTupac-atau-huallpa (The Sun makes Good Fortune). Son of Huaina\nCcapac, 289\n\nTupac-Yupanqui (Bright). Tenth Inca, son of Pachacutic, 252-253,\n287-288;\n  achievements as ruler, 287;\n  and the Huarcans, 288;\n  and the Rock of Titicaca, 309-310\n\nTutul Xius. Ruling caste among the Itzaes; found Ziyan Caan and\nChichen-Itza, 153;\n  expelled from Chichen-Itza by Cocomes, 153;\n  settle in Potonchan, build Uxmal, and regain power, 154;\n  again overthrown, and found Mani, 155;\n  finally assist in conquering the Cocomes, 156\n\nTzitzimimes. Demons attendant on Mictlan, 96\n\nTzompantitlan. Place mentioned in the myth of Huitzilopochtli's\norigin, 71\n\nTzompantli (Pyramid of Skulls). Minor temple of Huitzilopochtli, 31\n\nTzununiha (House of the Water). One of the first women of the Popol\nVuh myth, 230\n\nTzutuhils. A Maya people of Guatemala, 158, 159\n\n\n\nU\n\nUayayab. Demon who presided over the nemontemi (unlucky days), 177;\n  God N identified with, 177\n\nUemac. Tezcatlipoca and the daughter of, 61-63\n\nUitzlampa. Place in Mexico; in myth of Huitzilopochtli's origin, 72\n\nUrco-Inca. Inca superseded by Pachacutic, 284\n\nUricaechea, M. His collection of Chibcha antiquities, 277\n\nUxmal. Mexican city, founded by Tutul Xius, 154;\n  abandoned, 155;\n  ruins at, 191-194;\n  primitive type of its architecture, 194\n\n\n\nV\n\nVatican MSS., 37;\n  description of the journey of the soul in, 37-38\n\nVega, Garcilasso el Inca de la. Hist. des Incas, cited, 7;\n  on the gods of the early Peruvians, 291\n\nVenus. The planet; worship of, 96-97;\n  the only star worshipped by Mexicans, 96;\n  Camaxtli identified with, 111;\n  temple of, at Cuzco, 262\n\nVera Cruz. Quetzalcoatl lands at, 6\n\nVerapaz. District in Guatemala, 158\n\nVetancurt, A. de. On Mexican mythology, 58\n\nVilla-coto. Mountain; in a Peruvian flood-myth, 323-324\n\nVillagutierre, J. de Soto-Mayor. And the prophecy of Chilan Balam, 8\n\nViollet-le-Duc, E. On the ruined palace at Mitla, 197\n\nViracocha.\n  I. Eighth Inca, 284, 318.\n  II. Peruvian deity;\n    temple of, at Cacha, 270;\n    regarded as son of the sun, 306;\n    worshipped by Quichua-Aymara as a culture hero, and called\n    Pachayachachic, 307.\n  III. A higher class of sacred objects of the Peruvians, 294.\n  IV. Name given to any more than usually sacred being, 301\n\nVitzillopochtli. Same as Huitzilopochtli; in an Aztec migration-myth,\n233\n\nVoc. A bird, the messenger of Hurakan; in Popol Vuh myth, 225\n\nVotan. Maya god, identical with Tepeyollotl; God L probably is, 176\n\nVukub-Cakix (Seven-times-the-colour-of-fire). A sun-and-moon god\n(Dr. Seler); in a Kiche myth recounted in the Popol Vuh, 210-213;\n  possibly an earth-god, 237\n\nVukub-Came. One of the rulers of Xibalba, the Kiche Hades, 220,\n221, 224\n\nVukub-Hunapu. Son of Xpiyacoc and Xmucane; in the myth in the second\nbook of the Popol Vuh, 220-221, 224, 225, 227\n\n\n\nW\n\n\"Wallum Olum.\" Records of the Leni-Lenape Indians; a migration-myth\nin, resembles Kiche and Aztec myths, 233-234\n\nWind-Nine-Cave. Mixtec deity; in creation-myth, 120-121, 122\n\nWind-Nine-Snake. Mixtec deity; in creation-myth, 120-121, 122\n\nWomen of the Sun. Women dedicated to the service of the sun in\nPeru, 308\n\nWriting. Of the Nahua, 34-35;\n  of the Maya, 159-166;\n  Dr. Le Plongeon and the Maya hieroglyphs, 239\n\n\n\nX\n\nXalaquia.\n  I. Festival of Chicomecohuatl, 86-87.\n  II. The victim sacrificed at the Xalaquia festival, 87, 90\n\nXalisco. District in Mexico Toltecs in, 12\n\nXaltocan. Mexican city, 50\n\nXan. An animal mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 225\n\nXaquixahuana. Place in Peru, 284\n\nXauxa. Place in Peru, 285\n\nXbakiyalo. Wife of Hunhun-Apu, 220\n\nXbalanque (Little Tiger). A hero-god, twin with Hun-Apu; in a Kiche\nmyth, 211-219;\n  in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220, 223-227;\n  mentioned, 237\n\nXecotcovach. Bird in the Kiche story of the creation, 209\n\nXibalba.\n  I. A semi-legendary empire of the Maya, 144.\n  II. The Kiche Hades, \"Place of Phantoms\"; in the myth in the second\n  book of the Popol Vuh, 220-222, 225-227;\n    possible origin of the conception, 229;\n    properly a \"place of the dead,\" 229;\n    origin of the name, 229\n\nXibalbans. In the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 221,\n225-227;\n  the originals of, 228-229;\n  nature of, 229\n\nXilonen. Form of Chicomecohuatl, 85\n\nXimenes, Francisco. Copied and translated the Popol Vuh, 207\n\nXipe (The Flayed). Mexican god, 91-92;\n  his dress assumed by Aztec monarchs and leaders, 91-92;\n  Xolotl has affinities with, 95;\n  God A thought to resemble, 174\n\nXiuhtecutli (Lord of the Year). A name of the Mexican fire-god, 95\n\nXiumalpilli. In Mexican calendar, 40\n\nXiyan Caan. City in Yucatan, 153\n\nXmucane (Female Vigour). The mother-god in the Kiche story of the\ncreation in the Popol Vuh, 209;\n  in the Vukub-Cakix myth, 212-213;\n  in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220-225;\n  equivalent to the Mexican Omeciuatl, 236\n\nXochicalco (The Hill of Flowers). A teocalli near Tezcuco, 33-34\n\nXochimilcos. Aztec tribe, 233\n\nXochipilli. A name of Macuilxochitl, which see\n\nXochitla. A flower-garden near Tollan; the legend of Tezcatlipoca\nand, 63\n\nXochitonal. Monster in the Mexican Other-world, 38\n\nXochiyayotl (The War of Flowers). Campaign for the capture of victims\nfor sacrifice, 98-99, 100\n\nXolotl.\n  I. King of the Chichimecs, 20;\n    Teotihuacan rebuilt by, 33.\n  II. A sun-god, 93-94;\n    of southern origin and foreign to Mexico, 93;\n    probably identical with Nanahuatl, 93;\n    representative of human sacrifice, 93;\n    has affinities with Xipe, 93;\n    representations of, 94\n\nXpiyacoc. The father god in the Popol Vuh story of the creation, 209;\n  in the Vukub-Cakix myth, 212-213;\n  in the myth in the second book of the Popol Vuh, 220;\n  equivalent to the Mexican Ometecutli, 236\n\nXquiq (Blood). A princess of Xibalba, daughter of Cuchumaquiq; in\nPopol Vuh myth, 222\n\nXulu. A sorcerer mentioned in Popol Vuh myth, 227\n\n\n\nY\n\nYacatecutli. Tutelar god of travellers of the merchant class in\nMexico, 114;\n  the Maya Ekchuah probably parallel with, 177\n\nYahuarhuaccac. Seventh Inca, 283\n\nYahuar-pampa (Plain of Blood). Battle of, 285\n\nYamquisupa. Village; Thonapa and, 319\n\nYanacaca. Rocks; in a myth of Paricaca, 327\n\nYaotzin (The Enemy). A manifestation of Tezcatlipoca, 66\n\nYatiri (The Ruler). Aymara name of Pachacamac in his form of\nPachayachachic; Huaina Ccapac and, 299\n\nYear. The Mexican, 39, 40\n\nYetl. God of natives of British Columbia, 12;\n  probably cognate with Quetzalcoatl, 12, 83\n\nYma Sumac (How Beautiful). Daughter of Curi-Coyllur; in the drama\nApu-Ollanta, 252-253\n\nYoalli Ehecatl (The Night Wind). A manifestation of Tezcatlipoca, 66\n\nYohualticitl. A name of Metztli, which see\n\nYolcuat. Form of Quetzalcoatl, 84\n\nYopi. Indian tribe; Xipe adopted from, 92\n\nYucatan. Settlement of the Maya in, 151-152;\n  architectural remains in, 178\n\nYucay. Inca ruins at, 269\n\nYum Kaax (Lord of the Harvest Fields). Maya deity; God E probably\nidentical with, 174\n\nYunca. Name given to the tropical and lowland districts of Peru, 255\n\nYupanqui Pachacutic. Ninth Inca, known also as Pachacutic. See\nPachacutic\n\n\n\nZ\n\nZacatecas. Mexican province, 32\n\nZapoteca. Aboriginal Mexican race, 23;\n  builders of Mitla, 31;\n  their calendric system, 38;\n  and Quetzalcoatl, 84-85;\n  creation-myth of, 121-122;\n  Maya influences transmitted to the Nahua through, 147;\n  in effect a border people, influenced by and influencing Maya and\n  Nahua, 147;\n  of Nahua stock, 147\n\nZaque. Aboriginal Mexican race, 24\n\nZipacna (Cockspur or Earth-heaper). Son of Vukub-Cakix; in a Kiche\nmyth in the Popol Vuh, 211-213, 216\n\nZippa. A chieftain of the Chibchas, 276\n\nZoque. A chieftain of the Chibchas, 276\n\nZotuta. Region in Yucatan inhabited by remnant of Cocomes, 156\n\nZotzilaha Chimalman. The Maya bat-god, called also Camazotz, 171-172\n\nZumarraga. Mexican chronicler, 13\n\nZutugil dialect, 145\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] By Payne in The New World called America, London, 1892-99.\n\n[2] Garcilasso el Inca de la Vega, Hist. des Incas, lib. ix. cap. 15.\n\n[3] See Payne, History of the New World called America,\nvol. ii. pp. 373 et seq.\n\n[4] See Spence, Civilisation of Ancient Mexico, chap. ii.\n\n[5] See Civilisation of Ancient Mexico, chap. ii.\n\n[6] Payne, Hist. New World, vol. ii. p. 430.\n\n[7] Unknown Mexico, vol. i., 1902; also see Bulletin 30, Bureau of\nAmerican Ethnology, p. 309.\n\n[8] Bulletin 28 of the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology.\n\n[9] See the author's article on \"American Creation-Myths\" in the\nEncyclop\u00e6dia of Religion and Ethics, vol. iv.\n\n[10] The suffix tzin after a Mexican name denotes either \"lord\" or\n\"lady,\" according to the sex of the person alluded to.\n\n[11] These words are obviously onomatopoetic, and are evidently\nintended to imitate the sound made by a millstone.\n\n[12] See my remarks on this subject in The Popol Vuh, pp. 41, 52\n(London, 1908).\n\n[13] Queen M\u00f3o and the Egyptian Sphinx (London, 1896).\n\n[14] Sacred things.\n\n[15] Skinner's State of Peru, p. 313 (1805).\n\n[16] This is the name by which he is generally alluded to in Peruvian\nhistory.\n\n[17] Skinner, State of Peru, p. 275.\n\n[18] Skinner, State of Peru, pp. 271 et seq.\n\n[19] See Spence, article \"Brazil\" in Encyclop\u00e6dia of Religion and\nEthics, vol. ii.","title":"The Myths of Mexico & Peru","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":108264}