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THE    WORKS 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


/ 

THE    WORKS 


HUBERT  HOWE  BANCROFT. 


VOLUME  III. 


THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

VOL.    III.      MYTHS    AND    LANGUAGES. 


SAN  FKANCISCO  : 
A.  L.  BANCROFT  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS. 

1882. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  Year  1882,  by 

HUBERT  H.  BANCROFT. 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  "Washington. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


u.  c. 

OF 

FACIFIC  COAST 
HISTORY 


CONTENTS  OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


MYTHOLOGY. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

PAGE. 

Difference  between  Man  and  Brutes — Mind-Language  and  Soul-Lan- 
guage— Origin  of  Language:  A  Gift  of  the  Creator,  a  Human  In- 
vention, or  an  Evolution — Mature  and  Value  of  Myth — Origin  of 
Myth:  The  Divine  Idea,  a  Fiction  of  Sorcery,  the  Creation  of  a 
Designing  Priesthood — Origin  of  Worship,  of  Prayer,  of  Sacrifice 
— Fetichism  and  the  Origin  of  Animal- Worship — Religion  and  My- 
thology   1 

CHAPTER  II. 

ORIGIN   AND    END    OF   THINGS. 

Quiche"  Creation-Myth — Aztec  Origin-Myths — The  Papagos — Montezu- 
ma  and  the  Coyote — The  Moquis — The  Great  Spider's  Web  of  the 
Pimas — Navajo  and  Pueblo  Creations — Origin  of  Clear  Lake  and 
Lake  Tahoe — Chareya  of  the  Cahrocs— Mount  Shasta,  the  Wig- 
wam of  the  Great  Spirit — Idaho  Springs  and  Water  Falls — How 
Differences  in  Language  Occurred — Yehl,  the  Creator  of  the  Thlin- 
keets — The  Raven  and  the  Dog 42 

CHAPTER  in. 

PHYSICAL    MYTHS. 

Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars — Eclipses — The  Moon  Personified  in  the  Land 
of  the  Crescent — Fire— How  the  Coyote  Stole  Fire  for  the  Cahrocs 
— How  the  Frog  Lost  His  Tail — How  the  Coyote  Stole  Fire  for 
the  Navajos— Wind  and  Thunder — The  Four  Winds  and  the  Cross 
— Water,  the  1  irst  of  Elemental  Things — Its  Sacred  and  Cleansing 
Power — Earth  and  Sky — Earthquakes  and  Volcanoes — Mountains 
— How  the  Hawk  and  Crow  Built  the  Coast  Range— The  Moun- 
tains of  Yosemite  . .  .  108 


iv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ANIMAL   MYTHOLOGY. 

R61es  Assigned  to  Animals — Atiguries  from  their  Movements — The  Ill- 
omened  Owl  — Tutelary  Animals  —  Metamorphosed  Men  —  The 
Ogress-Squirrel  of  Vancouver  Island— Monkeys  and  Beavers- 
Fallen  Men— The  Sacred  Animals — Prominence  of  the  Bird — An 
Emblem  of  the  Wind — The  Serpent,,  an  Emblem  of  the  Lightning 
— Not  Specially  connected  Avith  Evil — The  Serpent  of  the  Pueblos 
— The  Water-Snake — Ophiolatry — Prominence  of  the  Dog,  or  the 
Coyote — Generally  though  not  always  a  Benevolent  Power — How 
the  Coyote  let  Salmon  up  the  Klamath — Danse  Macabre  and  Sad 
Death  of  the  Coyote 127 

CHAPTER  V. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Eskimo  Witchcraft — The  Tinneh  and  the  Koniagas  —  Kugans  of  the 
Aleuts — The  Thlinkeets,  the  Haidahs,  and  the  Nootkas — Paradise 
Lost  of  the  Okanagans — The  Salish,  the  Clallams,  the  Chinooks, 
the  Cayuses,  the  Walla  Wallas,  and  the  Nez  Perces — Shoshone 
Ghouls — Northern  California — The  Sun  at  Monterey — Ouiot  and 
Chinigchinich— Antagonistic  Gods  of  Lower  California— Coman- 
ches,  Apaches,  and  Navajos — Montezuma  of  the  Pueblos— Moquis 
and  Mojaves — Primeval  Race  of  Northern  California 140 

CHAPTER  VI. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Gods  and  Religious  Rites  of  Chihuahua,  Sonora,  Durango,  and  Si- 
naloa — The  Mexican  Religion,  received  with  different  degrees  of 
credulity  by  different  classes  of  the  people — Opinions  of  different 
Writers  as  to  its  Nature— Monotheism  of  Nezahualcoyotl — Present 
condition  of  the  Study  of  Mexican  Mythology  —  Tezcatlipoca — 
Prayers  to  Him  in  the  time  of  Pestilence,  of  War,  for  those  in  Au- 
thority— Prayer  used  by  an  Absolving  Priest — Genuineness  of  the 
foregoing  Prayers — Character  and  WTorks  of  Sahagun 178 

CHAPTER  VII. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Image  of  Tezcatlipoca  —  His  Seats  at  the  Street-corners  —  Various 
Legends  about  his  Life  on  Earth — Quetzalcoatl — His  Dexterity  iu 
the  Mechanical  Arts — His  Religious  Observances — The  Wealth 
and  Niinbleiii-ss  of  his  Adherents — Expulsion  from  Tula  of  l,>lK!t- 
zalcoatl  by  Tezcatlipoca  and  Huitzilopochtli — The  Magic  Draught 


CONTENTS.  v 

PAGE. 

— Huemac,  or  Vemac,  King  of  the  Toltecs,  and  the  Misfortunes 
brought  upon  him  and  his  people  by  Tezcatlipoca  in  various  dis- 
guises— Quetzalcoatl  in  Cholula — Differing  Accounts  of  the  Birth 
and  Life  of  Quetzalcoatl — His  Gentle  Character — He  drew  up  the 
Mexican  Calender — Incidents  of  his  Exile  and  of  his  Journey  to 
Tlapalla,  as  related  and  commented  upon  by  various  writers — Bras- 
seur's  ideas  about  the  Quetzalcoatl  Myths — Quetzalcoatl  considered 
a  Sun-God  by  Tylor,  and  as  a  Dawn-Hero  by  Brinton — Helps — 
Domenech — The  Codices  —  Long  Discussion  of  the  Quetzalcoatl 
Myths  by  J.  G.  Miiller 237 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Various  accounts  of  the  Birth,  Origin,  and  Derivation  of  the  name  of 
the  Mexican  War  God,  Huitzilopochtli,  of  his  Temple,  Image, 
Ceremonial,  Festivals,  and  his  deputy,  or  page,  Paynal — Clavigero 
— Boturini — Acosta — Solis  —  Sahagvln — Herrera — Torquemada — J. 
G.  Miiller's  Summary  of  the  Huitzilopochtli  Myths,  their  Origin, 
Relation,  and  Signification  —  Tylor — Codex  Vaticanus  —  Tlaloc, 
God  of  Water,  especially  of  Rain,  and  of  Mountains— Clavigero, 
Gama,  and  Ixtlilxochitl — Prayer  in  time  of  Drought — Camargo, 
Motolinia,  Mendieta,  and  the  Vatican  Codex  on  the  Sacrifices  to 
Tlaloc — The  Decorations  of  his  Victims  and  the  places  of  their 
Execution— Gathering  Rushes  for  the  Service  of  the  Water  God — 
Highway  Robberies  by  the  Priests  at  this  time — Decorations  and 
Implements  of  the  Priests — Punishments  for  Ceremonial  Offences 
— The  Whirlpool  of  Pantitlan— Images  of  the  Mountains  in  honor 
of  the  Tlaloc  Festival — of  the  coming  Rain  and  Mutilation  of  the 
Images  of  the  Mountains — General  Prominence  in  the  cult  of  Tla- 
loc, of  the  Number  Four,  the  Cross,  and  the  Snake 288 

CHAPTEE  IX. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL    BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

The  Mother  or  all-nourishing  Goddess  xinder  various  names  and  in 
various  aspects — Her  Feast  in  the  Eleventh  Aztec  month  Och- 
paniztli — Festivals  of  the  Eighth  month,  Hueytecuilhuitl,  and  of  the 
Fourth,  Hueytozoztli  —  The  deification  of  women  that  died  in 
child-birth — The  Goddess'  of  Water  under  various  names  and  in 
various  aspects — Ceremonies  of  the  Baptism  or  lustration  of  chil- 
dren— The  Goddess  of  Love,  her  various  names  and  aspects — Rites 
of  confession  and  absolution  —  The  God  of  fire  and  his  various 
names — His  festivals  in  the  tenth  month  Xocotlveti  and  in  the 
eighteenth  month  Yzcali;  also  his  quadriennial  festival  in  the 
latter  month — The  great  festival  of  every  fifty-two  years;  lighting 
the  new  fire — The  God  of  Hades,  and  Teoyaomique,  collector  of  the 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

souls  of  the  fallen  brave-Deification  of  dead  nilers  and  heroes- 
Mixcoatl,  God  of  hunting,  and  his  feast  in  the  fourteenth  month 
Quecholl  -Various  other  Mexican  deities-Festival  in  the  second 
month,  Tlacaxipehualiztli,  With  notice  of  the  gladiatorial  sacrifices 
-Complete  Synopsis  of  the  festivals  of  the  Mexican  Calendar,  fixed 
and  movable—  Temples  and  Priests  ................. 

CHAPTEE  X. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Revenues  of  the  Mexican  Temples-Vast  number  of  the  Priests-Mexi- 
can Sacerdotal  System-Priestesses-The  Orders  «  ..Tlamaxcaca- 
yotl   and   Telpochtiliztli-Religious  Devotees-Baptism-Circu 
cision-Communion-Fasts  and  Penance-Blood-drawing-- 
Sacrifices-The  Gods  of  the  Tarascos-Pnests  and  Temp  le  > 
vice  of  Michoacan-Worship  in  Jalisco-Oajaca-\  otan  and  Quet. 
zalcoatl-Travels  of  Votan-The  Apost  le  W  ixe  peco  cha-Ca^e 
near  Xustlahuaca-The  Princess  Pinopiaa-Worslnp  of  <  a-  ^ 

tox—  Tree  Worship  ................................ 

CHAPTER  XI. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

Maya  Pantheon-Zamna-Cukulcan-The  Gods  of  Yucaten-The 
Symbol  of  the  Cross  in  America-Human  Sacrifices  in  Yucatan- 
Priests  of  Yucatan-Guatemalan  Pantheon-Tepeuand  Hurakan- 
Avilix  and  Hacavitz-The  Heroes  of  the  Sacred  Book-Quiche 
Godfr-Wonhip  of  the  Choles,  Manches,  Itzaes,  Lacandones  and 
others-Tradition  of  Comizahual-Fasts-Priests  of  Guatenuaa- 
Gods!  Worship,  and  Priests  of_  Nicaragua-W  orship  oil  he  Mos- 
quito Coast-Gods  and  Worship  of  the  Isthmians-Phallic  Wo  r- 
ship  in  America  .............................. 

CHAPTEE  XII. 

FUTURE    STATE. 

Aboriginal  Ideas  of  Future-General  Conceptions  of  Souls-Future 
State  of  the  Aleuts,  Chepewyans,  Natives  at  Milbank  Sound   and 
Okanagans-Happy  Land  of  the  Salish  and  Chinooks-C^ceptions 
of  Heaven  and  Hell  of  the  Nez  Percys,  Flatheads,  and  Haulahs- 
Thfllealmsof  Qnawtcaht  and  Chayher-Beliefs  of  *»*»*£• 
CHUams  and  Pend  d'Oreilles-The  Future  State  of  the  Cal  foi- 
and'  Nevada  Tribes,  Comanches,  Pueblos,  Navajo,,  Apaches, 
Mari,oPus,  Yumas,  and  others-The  Sun  House  of  the 

-- 


^u  a,o,  , 

Mexicalis-Tlalocan  and  Mictlan-Condition  of  the  Dead-Jour- 
ney  of  the  Dead-Future  of  the  Tlascaltecs  and  other  Nations  .  .  .  .  o 


CONTENTS.  vii 


LANGUAGES. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

INTRODUCTION  TO  LANGUAGES. 

PAGE. 

Native  Languages  in  Advance  of  Social  Customs — Characteristic  Indi- 
viduality of  American  Tongues  —  Frequent  Occurrence  of  Long 
Words — Reduplications,  Frequentatives,  and  Duals — Intertribal 
Languages  —  Gesture-Language — Slave  and  Chinook  Jargons — 
Pacific  States  Languages — The  Tinneh,  Aztec,  and  Maya  Tongues 
The  Larger  Families  Inland — Language  as  a  Test  of  Origin — Simi- 
larities in  Unrelated  Languages — Plan  of  this  Investigation 551 

CHAPTEE  II. 

HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

Distinction  between  Eskimo  and  American  —  Eskimo  Pronunciation 
and  Declension — Dialects  of  the  Koniagas  and  Alents — Language 
of  the  Thliukeets — Hypothetical  Affinities — The  Tinneh  Family 
and  its  Dialects — Eastern,  Western,  Central,  and  Southern  Divi- 
sions— Chepewyan  Declension — Oratorical  Display  in  the  Speech 
of  the  Kutchins — Dialects  of  the  Atnahs  and  Ugalenzes  Compared 
— Specimen  of  the  Koltshane  Tongue — Tacully  Gutturals — Hoopah 
Vocabulary  —  Apache  Dialects — Lipan  Lord's  Prayer  —  Navajo 
Words — Comparative  Vocabulary  of  the  Tinueh  Family 574 

CHAPTEE  III. 

COLUMBIAN   LANGUAGES. 

The  Haidah,  its  Construction  and  Conjugation — The  Nass  Language 
and  its  Dialects — Bellacoola  and  Chimsyan  Comparisons — The 
Nootka  Languages  of  Vancouver  Island — Nanaimo  Ten  Command- 
ments and  Lord's  Prayer — Aztec  Analogies — Fraser  and  Thompson 
Kiver  Languages  —  The  Neetlakapamuck  Grammar  and  Lord's 
Prayer — Sound  Languages — The  Salish  Family — Flathead  Gram- 
mar and  Lord's  Prayer— The  Kootenai — The  Sahaptin  Family — 
Nez  Perc£  Grammar — Yakima  Lord's  Prayer — Sahaptin  State  and 
Slave  Languages — The  Chinook  Family — Grammar  of  the  Chinook 
Language — Aztec  Affinities — The  Chinook  Jargon 604 

CHAPTEE  IV. 

CALIFORNIAN   LANGUAGES. 

Multiplicity  of  Tongues — Yakon,  Klamath,  and  Palaik  Comparisons — 
Pitt  River  and  Wintoon  Vocabularies — Weeyot,  Wishosk,  Weitspek, 


vm  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

and  Ehnek  Comparisons — Languages  of  Humboldt  Bay — Potter 
Valley,  Russian  and  Eel  Iliver  Languages — Porno  Languages — 
Gallinomero  Grammar —  Trans-Pacific  Comparisons  —  Chocuyem 
Lord's  Prayer — Languages  of  the  Sacramento,  San  Joaquin,  Napa, 
and  Sonoma  Valleys — The  Olhone  and  other  Languages  of  San 
Francisco  Bay — Runsien  and  Eslene  of  Monterey — Santa  Clara 
Lord's  Prayer — Mutsun  Grammar — Languages  of  the  Missions  Santa 
Cruz,  San  Antonio  de  Padua,  Soledad,  and  San  Miguel — Tatche" 
Grammar — The  Dialects  of  Santa  Cruz  and  other  Islands 635 

CHAPTER  V. 

SHOSHONE   LANGUAGES. 

Aztec-Sonora  Connections  with  the  Shoshone  Family — The  Utah,  Co- 
manche,  Moqui,  Kizh,  Netela,  Kechi,  Cahuillo,  and  Chemehuevi — 
Eastern  and  Western  Shoshone,  or  Wihinasht — The  Baunack  and 
Digger,  or  Shoshokee — The  Utah  and  its  Dialects — The  Goshute, 
Washoe,  Paiulee,  Piute,  Sampitche,  and  Mono — Popular  Belief  as 
to  the  Aztec  Element  in  the  North— Grimm's  Law — Shoshone,  Co- 
manche,  and  -Moqui  Comparative  Table — Netela  Stanza — Kizh 
Grammar — The  Lord's  Prayer  in  two  Dialects  of  the  Kizh — Cheme- 
huevi and  Cahuillo  Grammar— Comparative  Vocabulary 660 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    PUEBLO,     COLORADO    RIVER,    AND    LOWER    CALIFORNIA     LANGUAGES. 

Traces  of  the  Aztec  not  found  among  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona — The  Five  Languages  of  the  Pueblos,  the  Queres,  the 
Tegua,  the  Picoris,  Jemez,  and  Zuiii — Pueblo  Comparative  Vocabu- 
lary— The  Yuma  and  its  Dialects,  the  Maricopa,  Cuchan,  Mojave, 
Diegueno,  Yampais,  and  Yavipais — The  Cochimi  and  Pericii,  with 
their  Dialects  of  Lower  California  —  Guaicuri  Grammar  —  Pater 
Noster  in  Three  Cochimi  Dialects — The  Languages  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia wholly  Isolated 680 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   PIMA,    OPATA,    AND    CERI   LANGUAGES. 

Pima  Alto  and  Bajo — Pdpago — Pima  Grammar — Formation  of  Plurals 
— Personal  Pronoun — Conjugation — Classification  of  Verbs — Ad- 
verbs— Prepositions,  Conjunctions,  and  Interjections — Syntax  of 
the  Pima — Prayers  in  different  dialects — The  Opata  and  Eucleve — 
Eudeve  Grammar — Conjugation  of  Active  and  Passive  Verbs — 
Lord's  Prayer — Opata  Grammar — Declension — Possessive  Pronoun 
— Conjugation — Ceri  Language  with  its  Dialects,  Guayini  and  Te- 
poca — Ceri  Vocabulary 694 


CONTENTS.  1* 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

NEW   MEXICAN   LANGUAGES. 

The  Cahita  and  its  Dialects — Cahita  Grammar — Dialectic  Differences 
of  the  Mayo,  Yaqui,  and  Tehueco  —  Comparative  Vocabulary  — 
Cahita  Lord's  Prayer— The  Tarahurnara  and  its  Dialects— The 
Tarahumara  Grammar — Tarahumara  Lord's  Prayer  in  two  Dialects 
— The  Concho,  the  Toboso,  the  Julime,  the  Piro,  the  Suma,  the 
Chinarra,  the  Tubar,  the  Irritila — Tejano — Tejano  Grammar — 
Specimen  of  the  Tejano — The  Tepehuana — Tepehuana  Grammar 
and  Lord's  Prayer — Acaxee  and  its  Dialects,  the  Topia,  Sabaibo 
and  Xixime — The  Zacatec,  Cazcane,  Mazapile,  Huitcole,  Guachi- 
chile,  Colotlan,  Tlaxomultec,  Tecuexe,  and  Tepecano — The  Cora 
and  its  Dialects,  the  Muutzicat,  Teacuaeitzca,  and  Ateacari — Cora 
Grammar 706 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   AZTEC   AND    OTOMI   LANGUAGES. 

Nahua  or  Aztec,  Chichimec,  and  Toltec  languages  identical — Anahuac 
the  aboriginal  seat  of  the  Aztec  Tongue — The  Aztec  the  oldest 
language  in  Anahuac — Beauty  and  Richness  of  the  Aztec — Testi- 
mony of  the  Missionaries  and  early  writers  in  its  favor — Specimen 
from  Paredes'  Manual — Grammar  of  the  Aztec  Language — Aztec 
Lord's  Prayer — The  Otomi  a  Monosyllabic  Language  of  Anahuac 
— Relationship  claimed  with  the  Chinese  and  Cherokee — Otomi 
Grammar — Otomi  Lord's  Prayer  in  Different  Dialects 723 

CHAPTER  X. 

LANGUAGES  OP  CENTEAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

The  Pame  and  its  Dialects — The  Meco  of  Guanajuato  and  the  Sierra 
Gordo — The  Tarasco  of  Michoacan  and  its  Grammar — The  Matlal- 
tzinca  and  its  Grammar — The  Ocuiltec — The  Miztec  and  its  Dialects 
— Miztec  Grammar — The  Amusgo,  Chocho,  Mazatec,  Cuicatec,  Cha- 
tino,  Tlapanec,  Chinantec,  and  Popoluca — The  Zapotec  and  its 
Grammar — The  Mije — Mije  Grammar  and  Lord's  Prayer — The 
Huave  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec — Huave  Numerals 742 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  MAYA-QUICHE'  LANGUAGES. 

The  Maya-Quiche",  the  Languages  of  the  Civilized  Nations  of  Central 
America — Enumeration  of  the  Members  of  this  Family — Hypothet- 
ical Analogies  with  Languages  of  the  Old  World — Lord's  Prayers 
in  the  Chafiabal,  Chiapanec,  Choi,  Tzendal,  Zoque,  and  Zotzil — 
Pokonchi  Grammar — The  Maine  or  Zaklopahkap — Quiche"  Gram- 
mar— Cakchiquel  Lord's  Prayer — Maya  Grammar — Totonac  Gram- 
mar— Totonac  Dialects — Huastec  Grammar 759 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS,  NICARAGUA,  COSTA  RICA,  AND  THE  ISTHMUS 

OF    DARIEN. 

The  Carib  an  Imported  Language — The  Mosquito  Language— The  Poya, 
Towka,  Seco,  Valieute,  Rama,  Cookra,  Woohva,  and  other  Lan- 
guages in  Honduras— The  Chontal — Mosquito  Grammar — Love 
Song  in  the  Mosquito  Language — Comparative  Vocabulary  of 
Honduras  Tongues — The  Coribici,  Chorotega,  Chontal,  and  Orotiiia 
in  Nicaragua — Grammar  of  the  Orotina  or  Nagrandan — Comparison 
between  the  Orotiiia  and  Chorotega — The  Chiriqui,  Guatuso,  Tiri- 
bi,  and  others  in  Costa  Rica — Talanianca  Vocabulary. — Diversity 
of  Speech  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien — Enumeration  of  Languages 
— Comparative  Vocabulary 782 


THE    NATIVE    RACES 


PACIFIC   STATES. 


MYTHOLOGY,   LANGUAGES. 

• 

CHAPTER  I. 

SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    MAN    AND    BBCTTE8— MlND  LANGUAGE    AND   SoUL-LAN- 

GUAGE  —  ORIGIN  OF  LANGUAGE  :  A  GIFT  OF  THE  CEEATOE,  A  HUMAN 
INVENTION,  OB  AN  EVOLUTION — NATURE  AND  VALUE  OF  MYTH — ORIGIN  OF 
MYTH:  THE  DIVINE  IDEA,  A  FICTION  OF  SORCERY,  THE  CREATION  OF  A 
DESIGNING  PRIESTHOOD — ORIGIN  OF  WORSHIP,  OF  PRAYKR,  OF  SACRIFICE — 
FETICHISM  AND  THE  ORIGIN  OF  ANIMAL -WORSHIP — RELIGION  AND  MY- 
THOLOGY. 

HITHERTO  we  have  beheld  Man  only  in  his  material 
organism;  as  a  wild  though  intellectual  animal.  We 
Jiave  watched  the  intercourse  of  uncultured  mind  with 
its  environment.  We  have  seen  how,  to  clothe  himself, 
the  savage  robs  the  beast;  how,  like  animals,  primitive 
man  constructs  his  habitation,  provides  food,  rears  a 
family,  exercises  authority,  holds  property,  wages  war, 
indulges  in  amusements,  gratifies  social  instincts;  and 
that  in  all  this,  the  savage  is  but  one  remove  from  the 
brute.  Ascending  the  scale,  we  have  examined  the  first 
stages  of  human  progress  and  analyzed  an  incipient  civ- 
ilization. We  will  now  pass  the  frontier  which  separates 
mankind  from  animal-kind,  and  enter  the  domain  of  the 
immaterial  and  supernatural ;  phenomena  which  philos- 
ophy purely  positive  cannot  explain. 

VOL.  in.  1 


2  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

The  primary  indication  of  an  absolute  superiority  in 
man  over  other  animals  is  the  faculty  of  speech;  not 
those  mute  or  vocal  symbols,  expressive  of  passion  and 
emotion,  displayed  alike  in  brutes  and  men;  but  the 
power  to  separate  ideas,  to  generate  in  the  mind  and 
embody  in  words,  sequences  of  thought.  True,  upon  the 
threshold  of  this  inquiry,  as  in  whatever  relates  to 
primitive  man,  we  find  the  brute  creation  hotly  pursuing, 
and  disputing  for  a  share  in  this  progressional  power. 
In  common  with  man,  animals  possess  all  the  organs  of 
sensation.  They  see,  hearr  feel,  taste,  and  smell.  They 
have  even  the  organs  of  speech;  but  they  have  not 
speech.  The  source  of  this  wonderful  faculty  lies  further 
back,  obscured  by  the  mists  which  ever  settle  round  the 
immaterial.  Whether  brutes  have  souls,  according  to 
the  Aristotelean  theory  of  soul,  or  whether  brute-soul  is 
immortal,  or  of  quality  and  destiny  unlike  and  inferior 
to  that  of  man-soul,  we  see  in  them  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  mental  faculties.  The  higher  order  of  animals 
possess  the  lower  order  of  intellectual  perceptions.  Thus 
pride  is  manifested  by  the  caparisoned  horse,  shame  by 
the  beaten  dog,  will  by  the  stubborn  mule.  Brutes 
have  memory;  they  manifest  love  and  hate,  joy  and 
sorrow,  gratitude  and  revenge.  They  are  courageous  or 
cowardly,  subtle  or  simple,  not  merely  up  to  the  meas- 
ure of  what  we  commonly' term  instinct,  but  with  evi- 
dent exercise  of  judgment;  and,  to  a  certain  point,  we 
might  even  claim  for  them  foresight,  as  in  laying  in  a 
store  of  food  for  winter.  But  with  all  this  there  seems 
to  be  a  lack  of  true  or  connected  thought,  and  of  the  fac- 
ulty of  abstraction,  whereby  conceptions  are  analyzed 
and  impressions  defined. 

They  have  also  a  language,  such  as  it  is;  indeed,  all 
the  varieties  of  language  common  to  man.  What  ges- 
ture-language can  be  more  expressive  than  that  employed 
by  the  horse  with  its  ears  and  by  the  dog  with  its  tail, 
wherein  are  manifestations  of  every  shade  of  joy,  sor- 
row, courage,  fear,  shame,  and  anger?  In  their  brutish 
physiognomy,  also,  one  may  read  the  language  of  the 


THOUGHT  AND  EXPEESSION.  3 

emotions,  which,  if  not  so  delicately  pictured  as  in  the 
face  of  man,  is  none  the  less  distinctive.  Nor  are  they 
without  their  vocal  language.  Every  fowl  and  eve^ 
quadruped  possesses  the  power  of  communicating  intelli- 
gence by  means  of  the  voice.  They  have  their  noise  of 
gladness,  their  signal  cry  of  danger,  their  notes  of 
anger  and  of  woe.  Thus  we  see  in  brutes  not  only  in- 
telligence but  the  power  of  communicating  intelligence. 
But  intelligence  is  not  thought,  neither  is  expression 
speech.  The  language  of  brutes,  like  themselves,  is  soul- 
less. 

The  next  indication  of  man's  superiority  over  brutes,  is 
the  faculty  of  worship.  The  wild  beast,  to  escape  the 
storm,  flies  howling  to  its  den ;  the  savage,  awe-stricken, 
turns  and  prays.  The  lowest  man  perceives  a  hand  be- 
hind the  lightning,  hears  a  voice  abroad  upon  the  storm, 
for  which  the  highest  brute  has  neither  eye  nor  ear.  This 
essential  of  humanity  we  see  primordially  displayed  in 
my  thic  phenomena ;  in  the  first  struggle  of  spiritual  man- 
hood to  find  expression.  Language  is  symbol  significant 
of  thought,  mythology  is  symbol  significant  of  soul.  The 
one  is  the  first  distinctive  sound  that  separates  the  ideal 
from  the  material,  the  other  the  first  respiration  of  the 
soul  which  distinguishes  the  immortal  from  the  animal. 
Language  is  thought  incarnate ;  mythology,  soul  incar- 
nate. The  one  is  the  instrument  of  thought,  as  the  other 
is  the  essence  of  thought.  Neither  is  thought ;  both  are 
closely  akin  to  thought;  separated  from  either,  in  some 
form,  perfect  intellectual  manhood  cannot  develop.  I 
do  not  mean  to  say  with  some,  that  thought  without 
speech  cannot  exist ;  unless  by  speech  is  meant  any  form 
of  expression  symbolical,  emotional,  or  vocal,  or  unless 
by  thought  is  meant  something  more  than  mere  self- 
consciousness  Avithout  sequence  and  without  abstraction. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  speech  is  the  living  breath 
of  thought,  and  that  the  exercise  of  speech  reacts  upon 
the  mental  and  emotional  faculties.  In  brutes  is  found 
neither  speech  nor  myth ;  in  the  deaf  and  dumb,  thought 
and  belief  are  shadowy  and  undefined;  in  infants, 


4  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

thought  is  but  as  a  fleeting  cloud  passing  over  the  brain. 
Yet  for  all  this,  deaf  mutes  and  children  who  have  no 
adequate  form  of  expression  cannot  be  placed  in  the  cate- 
gory of  brutes.  The  invention  of  the  finger-alphabet 
opened  a  way  to  the  understanding  of  the  deaf  and  dumb ; 
but  long  before  this  is  learned,  in  every  instance,  these 
unfortunates  invent  a  gesture-language  of  their  own,  in 
which  they  think  as  well  as  speak.  And  could  we  but  see 
the  strangely  contorted  imagery  which  takes  possession 
of  a  gesture-thinker's  brain,  we  should  better  appreciate 
the  value  of  words.  So,  into  the  mouth  of  children 
words  are  put,  round  which  thoughts  coalesce;  but  evi- 
dences of  ideas  are  discovered  some  time  before  they  can 
be  fully  expressed  by  signs  or  sounds.  Kant  held  the 
opinion  that  the  mind  of  a  deaf  mute  is  incapable  of 
development,  but  the  wonderful  success  of  our  modern 
institutions  has  dissipated  forever  that  idea. 

The  soul  of  man  is  a  half-conscious  inspiration  from 
which  perception  and  expression  are  inseparable.  Na- 
ture speaks  to  it  in  that  subtle  sympathy  by  which  the 
immaterial  within  holds  converse  with  the  immaterial 
without,  in  the  soft  whisperings  of  the  breeze,  in  the 
fearful  bellowings  of  the  tempest.  Between  the  soul 
and  body  there  is  the  closest  sympathy,  an  interaction  in 
every  relation.  Therefore  these  voices  of  nature  speak- 
ing to  nature's  offspring,  are  answered  back  in  various 
ways  according  to  the  various  organisms  addressed.  The 
animal,  the  intellectual,  the  spiritual,  whatsoever  the 
entity  consists  of,  responds,  and  responding  expands  and 
unfolds.  Once  give  an  animal  the  power  to  speak  and 
mental  development  ensues;  for  speech  cannot  continue 
without  ideas,  and  ideas  cannot  spring  up  without  intel- 
lectual evolution.  A  dim,  half-conscious,  brutish  thought 
there  may  be ;  but  the  faculty  of  abstraction,  sequences 
of  thought,  without  words  either  spoken  or  unspoken, 
cannot  exist, 

It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  a  system  of  gesture-lan- 
guage was  ever  employed  by  any  primitive  people,  prior 
or  in  preference  to  vocal  language.  To  communicate  by 


OKIGIN  OF  LANGUAGE.  5 

signs  requires  no  little  skill  and  implies  a  degree  of  arti- 
fice and  forethought  far  beyond  that  required  in  vocal 
or  emotional  language.  Long  before  a  child  arrives  at 
the  point  of  intelligence  necessary  for  conveying  thought 
by  signs,  it  is  well  advanced  in  a  vocal  language  of  its 
own. 

In  mythology,  language  assumes  personality  and  inde- 
pendence. Often  the  significance  of  the  word  becomes 
the  essential  idea.  Zeus,  from  meaning  simply  sky,  be- 
comes god  of  the  sky ;  Eos,  originally  the  dawn,  is  made 
the  goddess  of  the  opening  day.  Not  the  idea  but  the 
expression  of  the  idea  becomes  the  deity.  And  so,  by 
these  creations  of  fancy,  the  imagination  expands;  in 
the  embodiment  of  the  idea,  the  mind  enlarges  with  its 
own  creation.  Then  yet  bolder  metaphors  a/e  thrown 
off  like  soap-bubbles,  which  no  sooner  take  form  in 
words  than  they  are  also  deified.  Thus  soul  and  thought 
and  speech  act  and  react  on  one  another,  all  the  evolu- 
tions of  conception  seeking  vent  in  sound  or  speculation ; 
and  thus  language,  the  expression  of  mind,  and  mythol- 
ogy, the  expression  of  soul,  become  the  exponents  of 
divine  humanity. 

But  what  then  is  Language,  what  is  Myth,  and  whence 
are  they?  Broadly,  the  term  language  may  be  ap- 
plied to  whatever  social  beings  employ  to  communi- 
cate passion  or  sentiment,  or  to  influence  one  another ; 
whatever  is  made  a  vehicle  of  intelligence,  ideographic 
or  phonetic,  is  language.  In  this  category  may  be  placed, 
as  we  have  seen,  gestures,  both  instinctive  and  artificial ; 
emotional  expression,  displayed  in  form  or  feature ;  vocal 
sounds,  such  as  the  cries  of  birds,  the  howling  of  beasts. 
Indeed,  language  is  everywhere,  in  everything.  While 
listening  to  the  rippling  brook,  the  roaring  sea,  the  mur- 
muring forest,  as  well  as  to  the  still  small  voice  within, 
we  are  but  reading  from  the  vocabulary  of  nature. 

Thus  construed,  the  principle  assumes  a  variety 
of  shapes,  and  may  be  followed  through  successive 
stages  of  development.  In  fact,  neither  form  nor  feature 
can  be  set  in  motion,  or  even  left  in  a  state  of  repose, 


6  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

without  conveying  intelligence  to  the  observer.  The 
countenance  of  man,  whether  it  will  or  not,  perpetually 
speaks,  and  speaks  in  most  exquisite  shades  of  signifi- 
cance, and  with  expression  far  more  delicate  than  that 
employed  by  tongue  or  pen.  The  face  is  the  reflex  of 
the  soul ;  a  transparency  which  glows  with  light,  divine 
or  devilish,  thrown  upon  it  from  within.  It  is  a  por- 
trait of  individual  intelligence,  a  photograph  of  the  inner 
being,  a  measure  of  innate  intelligence.  And  in  all 
pertaining  to  the  actions  and  passions  of  mankind,  what 
can  be  more  expressive  than  the  language  of  the  emo- 
tions? There  are  the  soft,  silent  wooings  of  love,  the 
frantic  fury  of  hate,  the  dancing  delirium  of  joy,  the 
hungry  cravings  of  desire,  the  settled  melancholy  of  dead 
hopes.  But  more  definitely,  language  is  articulate 
human  speech  or  symbolic  expression  of  ideas. 

How  man  first  learned  to  speak,  and  wrhence  the  power 
of  speech  was  originally  derived,  are  questions  concern- 
ing which  tradition  is  uncommunicative.  Even  mythol- 
ogy, which  attempts  the  solution  of  supernatural  mys- 
teries, the  explanation  of  all  phenomena  not  otherwise 
accounted  for,  has  little  to  say  as  to  the  genesis  of  this 
most  potential  of  all  human  powers. 

Many  theories  have  been  advanced  concerning  the 
origin  of  language.  Some  of  them  are  exploded ;  others 
in  various  stages  of  modification  remain,  no  two  phi- 
lologists thinking  exactly  alike.  The  main  hypotheses 
are  three;  the  subordinate  ones  are  legion.  Obvious- 
ly, speech  must  be  either  a  direct,  completed  gift  of  the 
Creator,  with  one  or  more  independent  beginnings ;  or  a 
human  invention;  or  an  evolution  from  a  natural  germ. 

Schleicher  conceives  primordial  language  to  be  a  sim- 
ple organism  of  vocal  gestures;  Gould  Brown  believes 
language  to  be  partly  natural  and  partly  artificial ;  Adam 
Smith  and  Dugald  Stewart  give  to  man  the  creation  and 
development  of  speech  by  his  own  artificial  invention. 
According  to  Heroditus,  the  Phrygians  and  the  Egyptians 
disputed  over  the  question  of  the  antiquity  of  their  lan- 
guages. Psammetichus  thereupon  confided  two  babes  to 


SCIENCE  OF  PHILOLOGY.  7 

the  care  of  goats,  apart  from  every  human  sound.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  they  were  heard  to  pronounce  the 
word  bekos,  the  Phrygian  for  bread.  The  Phrygians 
therefore  claimed  for  their  language  the  seniority. 

In  ancient  times  it  was  thought  that  there  was  some 
one  primeval  tongue,  a  central  language  from  which  all 
the  languages  of  the  earth  radiated.  The  Sythic, 
Ethiopia,  Chinese,  Greek,  Latin,  and  other  languages 
advanced  claims  for  this  seniority.  Plato  believed  lan- 
guage to  be  an  invention  of  the  gods,  and  by  them  given 
to  man.  Orthodox  religionists  did  not  hesitate  to  affirm 
that  Hebrew,  the  language  of  Paradise,  was  not  only 
given  in  a  perfected  state  to  man,  but  was  miraculously 
preserved  in  a  state  of  purity  for  the  chosen  Israel. 
After  the  dispersion  from  Babel,  such  nations  as  relapsed 
into  barbarism  became  barbaric  in  speech.  And  in  the 
roots  of  every  dialect  of  both  the  old.  world  and  the 
new,  the  Fathers  were  able  to  discern  Hebrew  analogies 
sufficient  to  confirm  them  in  their  dogma.  Indeed  other 
belief  was  heresy. 

There  were  others  who  held  that,  when  gesture-lan- 
guage and  the  language  of  the  emotions  were  found 
insufficient  for  the  growing  necessities  of  man,  by  com- 
mon consent,  it  was  agreed  that  certain  objects  should  be 
represented  by  certain  sounds,  and  that  so,  when  a  word 
had  been  invented  for  every  object,  language  was  made. 

Another  doctrine,  called  by  Mr.  Wedgwood,  its  enthu- 
siastic advocate,  'onomatopoeia,'  and  by  Professor  Max 
Miiller  the  'bow-wow'  theory,  explains  the  origin  of 
language  in  the  effort  of  man  to  imitate  the  cries  of 
nature.  Thus,  for  dog  the  primitive  languageless  man 
would  say  bow-wow;  to  the  rivulet,  the  wind,  the  birds 
and  beasts,  names  were  applied  which  as  far  as  possible 
were  but  reproductions  of  the  sounds  made  by  these  ele- 
ments or  animals. 

Thus  philology  up  to  a  comparatively  late  period  was 
a  speculation  rather  than  a  science.  Philosophers  sought 
to  know  whence  language  came  rather  than  what  lan- 
guage is.  But  when  the  great  discovery  concerning  the 


8  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

Arian  and  Semitic  families  was  made,  comparative 
philologists  went  to  work  after  the  manner  of  practical 
investigators  in  other  branches  of  study,  by  collecting, 
classifying  and  comparing  vocabularies,  and  there- 
from striking  out  a  path  backward  to  original  trunks. 
Catalogues  of  languages  were  published,  one  in  1800  by 
Hervas,  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  containing  three  hundred  dia- 
lects, followed  by  Adelung  and  Vater's  Mithridates,  from 
1806-17.  But  not  until  Sanscrit  was  made  a  subject  of 
European  study  did  it  become  apparent  that  affinities  of 
tongues  are  subject  to  the  laws  that  govern  affinities 
of  blood.  Then  it  was  that  a  similarity  was  discovered, 
not  only  between  the  Sanscrit  and  the  Greek  and  Latin 
tongues,  but  between  these  languages  and  the  Teutonic, 
Celtic,  Iranic,  and  Indie,  all  of  which  became  united  in 
the  great  Arian  family.  At  the  same  time,  the  ancient 
language  of  the  Jews,  the  Arabic,  and  the  Aramaic — 
which  constitute  the  Semitic  family — were  found  to  be 
totally  different  from  the  Arian  in  their  radical  struc- 
ture. From  these  investigations,  philologists  were  no 
less  convinced  that  the  Indo-European  languages  were 
all  of  the  same  stock,  than  that  the  Semitic  idioms  did 
not  belong  to  it.  The  doctrine  of  the  Fathers  therefore 
would  not  stand;  for  it  was  found  that  all  languages 
were  not  derivations  from  the  Hebrew,  nor  from  any 
other  known  central  tongue. 

Then  too,  the  subordination  of  tongues  to  the  laws  of 
evolution  became  apparent.  It  was  discovered  that  lan- 
guage was  in  a  state  of  constant  change;  that,  with  all 
its  variations,  human  speech  could  be  grouped  into  fami- 
lies, and  degrees  of  relationship  ascertained ;  and  that,  by 
the  comparison  of  vocabularies,  a  classification  at  once 
morphological  and  genealogical  could  be  made.  Varieties 
of  tongues,  as  numberless  as  the  phases  of  humanity, 
could  be  traced  back  towards  their  beginnings  and  resolved 
into  earlier  forms.  It  was  discovered  that  in  the  first 
order  of  linguistic  development,  words  are  monosyllabic. 
In  this  rudimentary  stage,  to  which  the  Chinese,  Tibetan, 
and  perhaps  the  Japanese  belong,  roots,  or  sounds  ex- 


VARIATIONS  OF  LANGUAGE.  9 

pressive  only  of  the  material  or  substantial  parts  of 
things,  are  used.  In  the  second  stage,  called  the  poly- 
synthetic,  aggregative,  or  agglutinate,  a  modifying  ter- 
mination, significant  of  the  relations  of  ideas  or  things 
to  each  other,  is  affixed  or  glued  to  the  root.  To  the 
agglutinate  languages  belong  the  American  and  Tura- 
nian families.  In  the  third,  called  the  inflectional 
stage,  which  comprises  only  the  Arian  and  Semitic  fami- 
lies, the  two  elements  are  more  perfectly  developed,  and 
it  is  only  in  this  stage  that  language  can  attain  the 
highest  degree  of  richness  and  refinement. 

While  these  stages  or  conditions  are  recognized  by  all,  j 
it  is  claimed  on  one  side  that  although  settled  languages 
retain   their   grammatical   character,  every  agglutinate 
language  must  once  have  been  monosyllabic,  or  radical, ' 
and  every  inflectional  language  once  agglutinate ;  and  on 
the  other  side  it  is  averred  that  the  assertion  is  incapable  ( 
of  proof,  for  no  historical  evidence  exists  of  any  one 
type  ever  having  gassed  from  one  of  these  stages  to 
another.     Now  if  speech  is  a  perfected  gift  of  the  Crea- 1 
tor,  how  happens  it  that  we  find  language  in  every  stage 
of  development  or  relapse,  from  the  duckings  of  Thlin-  ' 
keets  to  the  classic  lines  of  Homer  and  of  Shakspeare? 
In  his  physiological  structure,  so  far  as  is  known,  Man  is 
neither  more  nor  less  perfect  now  than  in  the  days  of 
Adam.     How  then  if  language  is  an  organism,  is  it,  un- ', 
like  other  organisms,  subject  to  extreme  and    sudden 
change?     In  animated  nature  there  are  two  principles; 
one  fixed  and  finished  as  an  organism,  subject  to  per- 
petual birth  and  decay,  but  incapable  of  advancing  or 
retrograding ;  the  other,  elemental  life,  the  germ  or  cen- 
tre of  a  future  development.     The  one  grows,  the  other 
unfolds.     We   have   no   evidence    that    instincts    and 
organic  functions  were  more  or  less  perfect  in  the  be- 
ginning than  now.     If  therefore  language  is  an  instinct 
or  an  organism, 'a  perfect  gift  of  the  Creator,  how  can  it 
exist  otherwise  than  in  a  concrete  and  perfect  state  like 
other  instincts  and  organisms? 

The  absurdity  that  human  speech  is  the  invention  of 


10  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

primitive  man  — that  upon  some  grassy  knoll  a  company 
of  half-clad  barbarians  met,  and  without  words  invented 
words,  without  significant  sounds  produced  sounds  sig- 
nificant of  every  object,  therein  by  mutual  consent 
originating  a  language — may  be  set  aside.  Of  all  con- 
jectures concerning  the  origin  of  language,  the  hypothesis 
that  words  are  an  artificial  invention  is  the  least  tenable. 
And  what  is  most  surprising  to  us,  at  the  present  day, 
is  that  such  men  as  Locke  and  Adam  Smith  and  Dugald 
Stewart  could  for  a  moment  have  entertained  the  idea. 
Obviously,  without  language  there  could  be  no  culture, 
and  without  culture,  words  never  could  have  been  in- 
vented. Words  are  the  symbols  of  objects  and  ideas. 
Certain  wrords  may  be  arbitrarily  selected,  and,  by  the 
tacit  agreement  or  general  concurrence  of  society,  may 
be  made  to  signify  certain  things.  And  in  this  sense 
words  may  originate  conventionally.  But  though  words 
may  have  been  conventionally  selected,  they  were  never 
selected  by  conventions.  We  then  have  the  discoveries 
of  modern  philologists,  not  only  to*  positively  deny  the 
infallibility  of  the  common-origin  theory,  but  to  bring 
forward  a  number  of  other  claimants  for  the  greatest 
antiquity,  as  well  entitled  to  a  hearing  as  the  Hebrew. 

Diversity  in  the  origin  of  speech  does  not  of  necessity 
imply  diversity  in  the  origin  of  race.  Thus  with  a 
unity  of  race,  circumstances  may  be  conceived  in 
which  independent  tongues  may  have  arisen  in  different 
localities ;  wiiereas  with  a  diversity  of  race,  but  one  lan- 
guage hypothetically  may  have  been  given  to  all.  A 
common  origin  is  probable,  a  diversity  of  origin  is  pos- 
sible ;  neither  can  be  proved  or  disproved.  The  radical 
differences  in  the  structure  of  the  three  great  types,  the 
monosyllabic,  the  agglutinate,  and  the  inflectional;  and 
the  inherent  heterogeneities  of  the  several  families  of  the 
same  type,  as  of  the  Chinese  and  Siamese,  of  the  American 
and  Turanian,  or  even  of  the  Arian  and  Semitic,  would 
seem  to  present  insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  theory 
of  a  common  origin;  wiiile  on  the  other  hand  the  won- 
derful mutations  of  types  and  trunks,  the  known  trans- 


UNIVERSALITY  OF  SPEECH.  11 

formations  of  language,  and  the  identifications  by  some 
philologists,  of  the  same  stock  in  each  of  the  three  pro- 
gressional  stages,  render  the  theory  of  a  unity  of  ori- 
gin in  language  equally  probable.  Therefore  the  ques- 
tion of  unity  or  diversity  of  tongues,  as  we  speak  of 
unity  or  diversity  of  race,  can  be  of  but  little  moment 
to  us.  Language  shows  the  connection,  between  nations 
widely  separated,  leads  us  back  beyond  tradition  into 
the  obscure  past,  follows  the  sinuosities  of  migrations, 
indicates  epochs  in  human  development,  points  towards 
the  origin  of  peoples,  serves  as  a  guide  in  following  the 
radiation  of  races  from  common  centres.  Yet  a  simi- 
larity in  the  sound,  or  even  in  the  construction  of  two 
words,  does  not  necessarily  imply  relationship.  Two 
totally  distinct  languages  may  have  borrowed  the  same 
word  from  a  third  language;  which  fact  would  never 
establish  relationship  between  the  borrowers.  When 
like  forms  are  found  in  different  languages,  in  order 
to  establish  a  relationship,  historical  evidence  must  be 
applied  as  a  test,  and  the  words  followed  up  to  their 
roots. 

Stripped  of  technicalities,  the  question  before  us  is 
reduced  to  a  few  simple  propositions.  All  men  speak ; 
there  never  yet  was  found  a  nation  without  articulate 
language.  Aside  from  individual  and  abnormal  excep- 
tions, no  primitive  tribe  has  ever  been  discovered,  where 
part  of  the  people  spoke,  and  part  were  speechless.  Lan- 
guage is  as  much  a  part  of  man,  as  any  physical  con- 
stituent; yet  unlike  physical  organs,  as  the  eye,  the  ear, 
the  hand,  language  is  not  born  with  the  individual.  It 
is  not  in  the  blood.  The  Caucasian  infant  stolen  by 
Apaches,  cannot  converse  with  its  own  mother  when 
restored  to  her  a  few  years  after. 

Therefore  speech  is  not  an  independent,  perfected  gift 
of  the  Creator,  but  an  incidental  acquirement.  Further- 
more language  is  an  attribute  of  society.  It  belongs  to 
the  people  and  not  to  the  individual.  The  child  before 
mentioned,  if  dropped  by  the  Apaches  among  the  bears 
and  by  them  nurtured  and  reared,  is  doomed  to  mutism 


12  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

or  bear-language.  Man  was  made  a  social  being ;  speech 
was  made  as  a  means  of  communicating  intelligence  be- 
tween social  beings;  one  individual  alone  never  could 
originate,  or  even  preserve  a  language. 

But  how  then  happens  it,  if  man  did  not  make  it,  and 
God  did  not  give  it  him,  that  human  speech  is  universal? 
With  the  organism  of  man  the  Creator  implants  the 
organs  of  speech.  With  the  elemental  and  progressional 
life  of  man  the  Creator  implants  the  germ  of  speech. 
In  common  with  the  element  of  progress  and  civilization, 
innate  from  the  beginning,  speech  has  developed  by  slow 
degrees  through  thousands  of  cycles  and  by  various  stages, 
marching  steadily  forward  with  the  forward  march  of 
the  intellect.  Comparative  philology,  in  common  with 
all  other  sciences,  accords  to  man  a  remote  antiquity. 
Bunsen  estimates  that  at  least  twenty  thousand  years  are 
required  for  a  language  to  pass  from  one  rudimentary 
stage  to  another. 

The  mind  receives  impressions  and  the  soul  intuitions, 
and  to  throw  them  off  in  some  form  is  an  absolute  neces- 
sity. Painful  impressions  tend  to  produce  bodily  contor- 
tions and  dolorous  sounds ;  pleasant  impressions  to  illu- 
mine the  features  and  to  make  musical  the  voice.  And 
not  only  is  this  compressed  emotion  destined  to  find  ex- 
pression, but  to  impress  itself  upon  others.  Emotion  is 
essentially  sympathetic.  Why  certain  objects  are  repre- 
sented by  certain  sounds  we  can  never  know.  Some 
think  that  between  every  word  and  the  object  or  idea 
which  it  represents,  there  was  in  the  first  instance  an 
intimate  relationship.  By  degrees  certain  natural  ar- 
ticulations became  associated  with  certain  ideas;  then 
new  names  were  suggested  by  some  fancied  analogy  to 
objects  already  named.  Everything  else  being  equal, 
similar  conditions  and  causations  produce  similar  im- 
pressions and  are  expressed  by  similar  sounds.  Hence  a 
certain  uniformity  between  all  human  tongues ;  and  a  ten- 
dency in  man  to  imitate  the  sounds  in  nature,  the  cries 
of  animals,  the  melodies  of  winds  and  waters,  accounts 
,for  the  origin  of  many  words. 


MYTHOLOGY.  13 

From  giving  expression  in  some  outward  form  to  our 
inward  emotion  there  is  no  escape.  Let  us  now  apply 
to  the  expression  of  feeling  and  emotion  the  same  law 
of  evolution  which  governs  all  social  and  intellectual 
phenomena,  and  from  a  language  of  exclamations,  we 
have  first  the  monosyllabic  noun  and  verb,  then  auxil- 
liaries,  —  adverbs,  adjectives,  ^prepositions  and  pro- 
nouns, —  and  finally  inflections  of  parts  of  speech  by 
which  the  finer  shades  of  meaning  may  be  expressed. 

The  spontaneous  outbursts  of  feeling,  or  the  meta- 
phorical expressions  of  emotion,  arising  instinctively 
and  acting  almost  simultaneously  with  the  conception 
or  impression  made  upon  the  mind,  develop  with  time 
into  settled  forms  of  speech.  Man  speaks  as  birds 
fly  or  fishes  swim.  The  Creator  supplies  the  organs 
and  implants  the  instinct.  Speech,  though  intuitive, 
is  more  than  intuition;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  speech 
is  a  social  rather  than  an  individual  attribute.  Dar- 
win perceives  in  language  not  only  a  spontaneous  gen- 
eration, but  a  natural  selection  of  grammatical  forms; 
the  best  words,  the  clearest  and  shortest  expressions, 
continually  displacing  the  weaker.  So  words  are  made 
to  fit  occasions,  and  dropped  as  soon  as  better  ones  can 
be  found. 

Languages  are  not  inherited,  yet  language  is  an  in- 
heritance. Language  is  not  artificially  invented,  yet 
languages  are  but  conventional  agreements.  Languages 
are  not  a  concrete  perfected  gift  of  the  Creator,  yet  the 
germ  of  language  is  ineradicably  implanted  in  man,  and 
was  there  implanted  by  none  but  man's  Creator.  This 
then  is  Language:  it  is  an  acquisition,  but  an  acquisi- 
tion from  necessity;  it  is  a  gift,  but,  when  given,  an 
undeveloped  germ;  it  is  an  artifice,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
developed  by  the  application  of  individual  agencies. 

Here,  for  a  while,  we  will  leave  Language  and  turn 
to  Mythology,  the  mytJios  'fable'  and  logos  'speech'  of 
the  Grecians. 

Under  analysis  mythology  is  open  to  broad  yet  sig: 


14  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

nificant  interpretations.  As  made  up  of  legendary  ac- 
counts of  places  and  personages,  it  is  history ;  as  relating 
to  the  genesis  of  the  gods,  the  nature  and  adventures 
of  divinities,  it  is  religion;  placed  in  the  category  of 
science,  it  is  the  science  of  fable;  of  philosophy,  the 
philosophy  of  intuitive  beliefs.  A  mass  of  fragmentary 
truth  and  fiction  not  6pen  to  rationalistic  criticism;  a 
system  of  tradition,  genealogical  and  political,  confound- 
ing the  subjective  with  the  objective ;  a  partition  wall  of 
allegories,  built  of  dead  facts  cemented  with  wild  fan- 
cies,— it  looms  ever  between  the  immeasurable  and  the 
measurable  past. 

Thick  black  clouds,  portentous  of  evil,  hang  threaten- 
ingly over  the  savage  during  his  entire  life.  Genii 
murmur  in  the  flowing  river,  in  the  rustling  branches 
are  felt  the  breathings  of  the  gods,  goblins  dance  in 
vapory  twilight,  and  demons  howl  in  the  darkness. 

In  the  myths  of  wild,  untutored  man,  is  displayed 
that  inherent  desire  to  account  for  the  origin  of  things, 
which,  even  at  the  present  time,  commands  the  pro- 
foundest  attention  of  philosophy;  and,  as  we  look  back 
upon  the  absurd  conceptions  of  our  savage  ancestry  with 
feelings  akin  to  pity  and  disgust,  so  may  the  speculations 
of  our  own  times  appear  to  those  who  shall  come  after  us. 
Those  weird  tales  which  to  us  are  puerility  or  poetry,  ac- 
cording as  we  please  to  regard  them,  were  to  their  believ- 
ers history,  science,  and  religion.  Yet  this  effort,  which 
continues  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  is  not  valueless ; 
in  it  is  embodied  the  soul  of  human  progress.  Without 
mythology,  the  only  door  at  once  to  the  ideal  and  inner 
life  of  primitive  peoples  and  to  their  heroic  and  historic 
past  would  be  forever  closed  to  us.  Nothing  so  reflects 
their  heart-secrets,  exposes  to  our  view  their  springs  of 
action,  shadows  forth  the  sources  of  their  hopes  and 
fears,  exhibits  the  models  after  which  they  moulded 
their  lives. 

Within  crude  poetic  imagery  are  enrolled  their  re- 
ligious beliefs,  are  laid  the  foundations  of  their  systems 
of  worship,  are  portrayed  their  thoughts  concerning 


ALL  MYTHS  FOUNDED  ON  FACT.  15 

causations  and  the  destinies  of  mankind.  Under  sym- 
bolic veils  is  shrouded  their  ancient  national  spirit,  all 
that  can  be  known  of  their  early  history  and  popular 
ideas.  Thus  are  explained  the  fundamental  laws  of  na- 
ture ;  thus  we  are  told  how  earth  sprang  from  chaos,  how 
men  and  beasts  and  plants  were  made,  how  heaven  was 
peopled,  and  earth,  and  what  wrere  the  relative  powers 
and  successive  dynasties  of  the  gods.  Heroes  are  made 
gods ;  gods  are  materialized  and  brought  down  to  men. 

Of  the  value  of  mythology  it  is  unnecessary  here  to 
speak.  Never  was  there  a  time  in  the  history  of  phi- 
losophy when  the  character,  customs,  and  beliefs  of 
aboriginal  man,  and  everything  appertaining  to  him,  were 
held  in  such  high  esteem  by  scholars  as  at  present.  As 
the  ultimate  of  human  knowledge  is  approached,  the  in- 
quirer is  thrown  back  upon  the  past ;  and  more  and  more 
the  fact  becomes  apparent,  that  what  is,  is  but  a  re- 
production of  what  has  been;  that  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  human  development  may  be  found  the  counterpart  of 
every  phase  of  modern  social  life.  Higher  and  more 
heterogeneous  as  are  our  present  systems  of  politics  and 
philosophy,  every  principle,  when  tracked  to  its  begin- 
ning, proves  to  have  been  evolved,  not  originated. 

As  there  never  yet  was  found  a  people  without  a  lan- 
guage, so  every  nation  has  its  mythology,  some  popular 
and  attractive  form  for  preserving  historical  tradition 
and  presenting  ethical  maxims;  and  as  by  the  range 
of  their  vocabularies  we  may  follow  men  through  all 
the  stages  of  their  progress  in  government,  domestic 
affairs  and  mechanical  arts,  so,  by  beliefs  expressed,  we 
may  determine  at  any  given  epoch  in  the  history  of  a 
race  their  ideal  and  intellectual  condition.  Without  the 
substance  there  can  be  no  shadow,  without  the  object 
there  can  be  no  name  for  it ;  therefore  Avhen  wre  find  a 
language  without  a  word  to  denote  property  or  chastity, 
we  may  be  sure  that  the  wealth  and  women  of  the  tribe 
are  held  in  common ;  and  when  in  a  system  of  mythology 
certain  important  metaphysical  or  aesthetic  ideas  and  at- 
tributes are  wanting,  it  is  evident  that  the  intellect  of 


16  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

its  composers  has  not  yet  reached  beyond  a  certain  low 
point  of  conception. 

Moreover,  as  in  things  evil  may  be  found  a  spirit 
of  good,  so  in'  fable  we  find  an  element  of  truth. 
It  is  now  a  recognized  principle  of  philosophy,  that  no 
religious  belief,  however  crude,  nor  any  historical  tra- 
dition, however  absurd,  can  be  held  by  the  majority  of  a 
people  for  any  considerable  time  as  true,  without  having 
in  the  beginning  some  foundation  in  fact.  More  espe- 
cially is  the  truth  of  this  principle  apparent  when  we 
consider  that  in  all  the  multitudinous  beliefs  of  all  ages, 
held  by  peoples  savage  and  civilized,  there  exist  a  con- 
currence of  ideas  and  a  coincidence  of  opinion.  Human 
conceptions  of  supernatural  affairs  spring  from  like  intui- 
tions. As  human  nature  is  essentially  the  same  through- 
out the  world  and  throughout  time,  so  the  religious 
instincts  which  form  a  part  of  that  universal  humanity 
generate  and  develop  in  like  manner  under  like  con- 
ditions. The  desire  to  penetrate  hidden  surroundings 
and  the  method  of  attempting  it  are  to  a  certain  extent 
common  to  all.  All  wonder  at  the  mysterious;  all 
attempt  the  solution  of  mysteries;  all  primarily  possess 
equal  facilities  for  arriving  at  correct  conclusions.  The 
genesis  of  belief  is  uniform,  and  the  results  under  like 
conditions  analogous. 

We  may  conclude  that  the  purposes  for  which  these 
fictitious  narratives  were  so  carefully  preserved  and 
handed  down  to  posterity  were  two-fold, — to  keep  alive 
certain  facts  and  to  inculcate  certain  doctrines. 

Something  there  must  have  been  in  every  legend,  in 
every  tradition,  in  every  belief,  which  has  ever  been  en- 
tertained by  the  majority  of  a  people,  to  recommend  it 
to  the  minds  of  men  in  the  first  instance.  Error  abso- 
lute cannot  exist;  false  doctrine  without  an  amalgam  of 
verity,  speedily  crumbles,  and  the  more  monstrous  the 
falsity  the  more  rapid  its  decomposition.  Myths  were 
the  oracles  of  our  savage  ancestors;  their  creed,  the  rule 
of  their  life,  prized  by  them  as  men  now  prize  their 
faith;  and,  by  whatever  savage  philosophy  these  strange 


VALUE  OF  MYTHOLOGY.  17 

conceits  were  eliminated,  their  effect  upon  the  popular 
mind  was  vital.  Anaxagoras,  Socrates,  Protagoras,  and 
Epicurus  well  knew  and  boldly  proclaimed  that  the 
gods  of  the  Grecians  were  disreputable  characters,  not 
the  kind  of  deities  to  make  or  govern  worlds;  yet  so 
deep  rooted  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  the  maxims 
of  the  past,  that  for  these  expressions  one  heretic  was 
cast  into  prison,  another  expelled  from  Athens,  and 
another  forced  to  drink  the  hemlock.  And  the  less 
a  fable  presents  the  appearance  of  probability,  the  more 
grotesque  and  extravagant  it  is,  the  less  the  likelihood 
of  its  having  originated  in  pure  invention ;  for  no  ex- 
travagantly absurd  invention  without  a  particle  of  truth 
could  by  any  possibility  have  been  palmed  off  upon  a 
people,  and  by  them  accepted,  revered,  recited,  preserved 
as  veritable  incident  or  solution  of  mystery,  and  handed 
down  to  those  most  dear  to  them,  to  be  in  like  manner 
held  as  sacred. 

Therefore  we  may  be  sure  that  there  never  was  a 
myth  without  a  meaning;  that  mythology  is  not  a  bun- 
dle of  ridiculous  fancies  invented  for  vulgar  amusement ; 
that  there  is  not  one  of  these  stories,  no  matter  how 
silly  or  absurd,  which  was  not  founded  in  fact,  which  did 
not  once  hold  a  significance.  "And  though  I  have  well 
weighed  and  considered  all  this,"  concluded  Lord  Bacon, 
nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  "and  thoroughly  seen 
into  the  levity  which  the  mind  indulges  for  allegories 
and  illusions,  yet  I  cannot  but  retain  a  high  value  for 
the  ancient  mythology."  Indeed,  to  ancient  myths  has 
been  attributed  the  preservation  of  shattered  fragments 
of  lost  sciences,  even  as  some  have  alleged  that  we  are 
indebted  to  the  writings  of  Democritus  and  Aristotle  for 
modern  geographical  discoveries. 

That  these  ductile  narratives  have  suffered  in  their 
transmission  to  us,  that  through  the  magnifying  and 
refracting  influences  of  time,  and  the  ignorance  and 
fanaticism  of  those  to  whom  they  were  first  recited,  we 
receive  them  mutilated  and  distorted,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  Not  one  in  a  thousand  of  those  aboriginal 

VOL.  III.    2 


18  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

beliefs  which  were  held  by  the  people  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  at  the  time  of  its  first  occupation  by  foreigners,  has 
been  preserved.  And  for  the  originality  and  purity  of 
such  as  we  have,  in  many  instances,  no  one  can  vouch. 
Infatuated  ecclesiastics  who  saw  in  the  native  fable  in- 
disputable evidence  of  the  presence  of  an  apostle,  or. the 
interposition  of  a  tutelary  saint  in  the  affairs  of  benighted 
heathendom,  could  but  render  the  narrative  in  accord- 
ance with  their  prepossessions.  The  desire  of  some  to 
prove  a  certain  origin  for  the  Indians,  and  the  contempt 
of  others  for  native  character,  also  led  to  imperfect  or 
colored  narrations.  But  happily,  enough  has  been  pre- 
served in  authentic  picture-writings,  and  by  narrators 
whose  integrity  and  intelligence  are  above  suspicion,  to 
give  us  a  fair  insight  into  the  native  psychological  struc- 
ture and  belief;  and  if  the  knowledge  we  have  is  but  in- 
finitesimal in  comparison  with  what  has  been  lost,  we 
may  thereby  learn  to  prize  more  highly  such  as  we  have. 
Again  we  come  to  the  ever -recurring  question  — 
Whence  is  it?  Whence  arise  belief,  worship,  supersti- 
tion? Whence  the  striking  likeness  in  all  supernatural 
conceptions  between  nations  and  ages  the  most  diverse? 
Why  is  it  that  so  many  peoples,  during  the  successive 
stages  of  their  progress,  have  their  creation  myth,  their 
origin  myth,  their  flood  myth,  their  animal,  and  plant, 
and  planet  myths?  This  coincidence  of  evolution  can 
scarcely  be  the  result  of  accident.  Mythologies,  then, 
being  like  languages  common  to  mankind,  uniform  in 
substance  yet  varying  in  detail,  what  follows  with  re- 
gard to  the  essential  system  of  their  supernatural  con- 
ceptions? Is  it  a  perfected  gift  of  the  Creator,  the 
invention  of  a  designing  priesthood,  or  a  spontaneous 
generation  and  natural  development?  So  broad  a  ques- 
tion, involving  as  it  does  the  weightiest  matters  con- 
nected with  man,  may  scarcely  expect  exactly  the  same 
answer  from  any  two  persons.  Origin  of  life,  prigiri  of 
mind,  origin  of  belief,  are  as  much  problems  to  the 
profoundest  philosopher  of  to-day,  as  they  were  to  the 
first  wondering,  bewildered  savage  who  wandered 
through  primeval  forests. 


ORIGIN  OF  BELIEF.  19 

Life  is  defined  by  Herbert  Spencer  as  "the  coordina- 
tion of  actions,  or  their  continuous  adjustment;"  by 
Lewes  as  "a  series  of  definite  and  successive  changes, 
both  of  structure  and  composition,  which  take  place 
within  an  individual  without  destroying  its  identity;" 
by  Schelling  as  "the  tendency  to  individuation;"  by 
Richeraud  as  "a collection  of  phenomena  which  succeed 
each  other  during  a  limited  time  in  an  organized  body;" 
and  by  De  Blainville  as  "the  two-fold  internal  movement 
of  composition  and  decomposition,  at  once  general  and 
continuous/'  According  to  Hume,  Mind  is  but  a  bundle 
of  ideas  and  impressions  which  are  the  sum  of  all  knowl- 
edge, and  consequently,  "  the  only  things  known  to  exist." 
In  the  positive  philosophy  of  Auguste  Comte,  intel- 
lectual development  is  divided  into  three  phases ;  namely, 
the  Supernatural,  in  which  the  mind  seeks  for  super- 
natural causes;  the  Metaphysical,  wherein  abstract 
forces  are  set  up  in  place  of  supernatural  agencies ;  and 
the  Positive,  which  inquires  into  the  laws  which  engender 
phenomena.  Martineau,  commenting  upon  intuition  and 
the  mind's  place  in  nature,  charges  the  current  doctrine  of 
evolution  with  excluding  the  element  of  life  from  devel- 
oping organisms.  Until  the  origin  of  mind,  and  the  rela- 
tion of  mind  to  its  environment  is  determined,  the  origin 
of  the  supernatural  must  remain  unaccounted  for.  Yet  we 
may  follow  the  principle  of  worship  back  to  very  near 
its  source,  if  we  are  unable  entirely  to  account  for  it. 

We  have  seen  how  the  inability  of  brutes  to  form  in 
the  mind  long  sequences  of  thought,  prevents  speech; 
so,  in  primitive  societies,  when  successions  of  unrecorded 
events  are  forgotten  before  any  conception  of  general 
laws  can  be  formed  therefrom,  polytheism  in  its  grossest 
form  is  sure  to  prevail.  Not  until  the  earlier  stages  of 
progress  are  passed,  and,  from  a  multitude  of  correlative 
and  oft-repeated  experiences,  general  deductions  made, 
can  there  be  any  higher  religious  conceptions  than  that 
of  an  independent  cause  for  every  consequence. 

By  some  it  is  alleged  that  the  religious  sentiment  is  a 
divine  idea  perfected  by  the  Creator  and  implanted  in 


20  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

man  as  part  of  his  nature,  before  his  divergence  from 
a  primitive  centre.  Singularly  enough,  the  Fathers  of 
the  Church  referred  the  origin  of  fable  as  well  as  the 
origin  of  fact  to  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Supported  by 
the  soundest  sophistry,  they  saw  in  every  myth,  Grecian 
or  barbarian,  a  biblical  character.  Thus  the  Greek 
Hercules  wras  none  other  than  the  Hebrew  Sampson; 
Arion  was  Jonah,  and  Deucalion  Noah.  Other  mytho- 
logical characters  were  supposed  by  them  to  have  been 
incarnated  fiends,  who  disappeared  after  working  for  a 
time  their  evil  upon  men. 

There  have  been  those  who  held  myths  to  be  the 
fictions  of  sorcery,  as  there  are  now  those  who  believe 
that  forms  of  worship  were  invented  by  a  designing 
priesthood,  or  that  mythology  is  but  a  collection  of  tales, 
physical,  ethical  and  historical,  invented  by  the  sages 
and  ancient  wise  men  of  the  nation,  for  the  purpose  of 
overawing  the  wicked  and  encouraging  the  good.  Some 
declare  that  religion  is  a  factitious  or  accidental  social 
phenomenon ;  others  that  it  is  an  aggregation  of  organ- 
ized human  experiences;  others  that  it  is  a  bundle  of 
sentiments  which  were  originally  projected  by  the  im- 
agination, and  ultimately  adopted  as  entities;  others 
that  it  is  a  feeling  or  emotion,  the  genesis  of  which  is 
due  to  surrounding  circumstances. 

Many  believe  all  mythological  personages  to  have  been 
once  real  human  heroes,  the  foundations  of  whose  his- 
tories were  laid  in  truth,  while  the  structure  was  reared 
by  fancy.  The  Egyptians  informed  Herodotus  that  their 
deities — the  last  of  whom  was  Orus  son  of  Osiris,  the 
Apollo  of  the  Grecians — were  originally  their  kings. 
Others  affirm  that  myths  are  but  symbolic  ideas  deified ; 
that  they  are  but  the  embodiment  of  a  maxim  in  the 
form  of  an  allegory,  and  that  under  these  allegorical 
forms  were  taught  history,  religion,  law  and  morality. 

Intermingled  with  all  these  hypotheses  are  elements 
of  truth,  and  yet  none  of  them  appear  to  be  satisfying 
explanations.  All  imply  that  religion,  in  some  form,  is 
an  essential  constituent  of  humanity,  and  that  whatever 


RISE  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  PRIESTHOOD.  21 

its  origin  o.nd  functions,  it  has  exercised  from  the  earliest 
ages  and  does  yet  exercise  the  most  powerful  influence 
upon  man ;  working  like  leaven  in  the  lump,  keeping 
the  world  in  a  ferment,  stirring  up  men  to  action,  band- 
ing and  disrupting  nations,  uniting  and  dividing  com- 
munities, and  forming  the  nucleus  of  numberless  socie- 
ties and  institutions. 

In  every  society,  small  and  great,  there  are  undoubt- 
edly certain  intellects  of  quicker  than  ordinary  percep- 
tion, which  seize  upon  occasions,  and  by  a  skillful  use 
of  means  obtain  a  mastery  over  inferior  minds.  It  is 
thus  that  political  and  social,  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
power  arises.  Not  that  the  leader  creates  a  want — he 
is  but  the  mouth-piece  or  agent  of  pent-up  human  in- 
stincts. One  of  these  instincts  is  dependence.  That 
we  are  created  subordinate,  not  absolute  nor  unre- 
strained, is  a  fact  from  which  none  can  escape.  Thral- 
dom, constant  and  insurmountable,  we  feel  we  have 
inherited.  Most  naturally,  therefore,  the  masses  of 
mankind  seek  from  among  their  fellows  some  embodi- 
ment of  power,  and  ranging  themselves  under  the  ban- 
ner of  leaders,  follow  blindly  whithersoever  they  are 
led.  Perceiving  the  power  thus  placed  in  their  hands, 
these  born  leaders  of  men  are  not  slow  to  invent  means 
for  retaining  and  increasing  it.  To  the  inquiry  of  the 
child  or  unsophisticated  savage,  who,  startled  by  a  peal 
of  distant  thunder,  cries,  "What  is  that?"  the  explana- 
tion is  given:  "That  is  the  storm-god  speaking."  UI 
am  afraid,  protect  me!"  implores  the  supplicant.  "I 
will,  only  obey,"  is  the  reply.  The  answer  is  sufficient, 
curiosity  is  satisfied,  and  terror  allayed;  the  barbarian 
teacher  gains  a  devotee.  In  this  manner,  the  super- 
structure of  creeds,  witchcrafts,  priestcrafts,  may  have 
arisen ;  some  gods  may  thus  have  been  made,  forms  of 
worship  invented,  and  intercourse  opened  with  beings 
supernal  and  infernal.  Then  devotion  advances  and 
becomes  an  art;  professors  by  practice  become  experts. 
Meanwhile,  craft  is  economized ;  the  wary  Shaman  rain- 
doctor — like  the  worthy  clergyman  of  civilized  ortho- 


22  SPEECH  AMD   SPECULATION. 

doxy,  who  refused  to  pray  for  rain  "while  the  wind 
was  in  that  quarter" — watches  well  the  gathering  ripe- 
ness of  the  cloud  before  he  attempts  to  burst  it  with  an 
arrow.  And  in  the  end,  a  more  than  ordinary  skill  in 
the  exercise  of  this  power,  deifies  or  demonizes  the 
possessor. 

But  whence  arises  the  necessity  for  craft  and  whence 
the  craft?  The  faculty  of  invention  implies  skill.  Skill 
successfully  to  play  upon  the  instincts  of  humanity  can 
only  be  acquired  through  the  medium  of  like  instincts, 
and  although  the  skill  be  empirical,  the  play  must  be 
natural.  Craft  alone  will  not  suffice  to  satisfy  the  de- 
sire ;  the  hook  must  be  baited  with  some  small  element 
of  truth  before  the  most  credulous  will  seize  it.  If 
religious  beliefs  are  the  fruits  of  invention,  how  shall 
we  account  for  the  strange  coincidences  of  thought 
and  worship  which  prevail  throughout  all  myths  and 
cults?  Why  is  it  that  all  men  of  every  age,  in 
conditions  diverse,  and  in  countries  widely  sundered, 
are  found  searching  out  the  same  essential  facts?  All 
worship;  nearly  all  have  their  creation-myth,  their 
flood-myth,  their  theory  of  origin,  of  distribution  from 
primitive  centres,  and  of  a  future  state.  In  this  regard 
as  in  many  another,  civilization  is  but  an  evolution  of 
savagism;  for  almost  every  principle  of  modern  phi- 
losophy there  may  be  found  in  primitive  times  its 
parallel. 

The  nature  and  order  of  supernatural  conceptions  are 
essentially  as  follows :  The  first  and  rudest  form  of  be- 
lief is  Fetichism,  which  invests  every  phenomenon  witli 
an  independent  personality.  In  the  sunshine,  fire,  and 
water,  in  the  wind  and  rock  and  stream,  in  every 
animal,  bird,  and  plant,  there  is  a  separate  deity;  for 
every  effect  there  is  a  cause.  Even  Kepler,  whose  in- 
tellect could  track  the  planets  in  their  orbits,  must  needs 
assume  a  guiding  spirit  for  every  world.  It  is  impos- 
sible for  the  mind  to  conceive  of  self-creative  or  self- 
existent  forces. 

In  time  the  personalities  of  the  fetich- worshiper  be- 


THEORIES  CONCERNING  THE  ORIGIN  OF  WORSHIP.        23 

come  to  some  extent  generalized.  Homogeneous  appear- 
ances are  grouped  into  classes,  and  each  class  referred 
to  a  separate  deity,  and  hence  Polytheism.  Pantheism 
then  comes  in  and  makes  all  created  substance  one  with 
the  creator ;  nature  and  the  universe  are  God.  From  the 
impersonating  of  the  forces  of  nature  to  the  creation  of 
imaginary  deities  there  is  but  a  step.  Every  virtue  and 
vice,  every  good  and  evil  becomes  a  personality,  under 
the  direct  governance  of  which  lie  certain  passions  and 
events ;  and  thus  in  place  of  one  god  for  many  individ- 
uals, each  individual  may  have  a  multitude  of  his  own 
personal  gods.  The  theogony  of  Hesiod  was  but  a  sys- 
tem of  materialized  love  and  hate ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  gods  of  Homer,  although  personating  human 
passions,  were  likewise  endowed  with  moral  perceptions. 
In  them  the  blind  forces  of  nature  are  lighted  up  into  a 
human-divine  intelligence. 

In  Monotheism  the  distinct  personalities,  which  to  the 
savage  underlie  every  appearance,  become  wholly  gen- 
eralized, and  the  origin  of  all  phenomena  is  referred  to 
one  First  Cause.  The  subtle  and  philosophic  Greeks 
well  knew  that  God  to  be  God  must  be  omnipotent,  and 
omnipotency  is  indivisible.  That  the  Aztecs  could  be- 
lieve and  practice  the  absurdities  they  did  is  less  an  ob- 
ject of  wonder,  than  that  the  intellectual  philosophers  of 
Athens  could  have  tolerated  the  gods  of  Homer.  In- 
deed, the  religion  of  the  more  cultivated  Greeks  appears 
to  us  monstrous,  in  proportion  as  they  were  superior  to 
other  men  in  poetry,  art,  and  philosophy. 

Comparative  mythologists  explain  the  origin  of  wor- 
ship by  two  apparently  oppugnant  theories.  The  first  is 
that  whatever  is  seen  in  nature  strange  and  wonder- 
ful, is  deemed  by  primitive  man  an  object  worthy  of 
worship.  The  other  is,  that  upon  certain  noted  indi- 
viduals are  fastened  metaphorical  names,  symbolic  of 
some  quality  alike  in  them  and  in  the  natural  object 
after  which  they  are  called ;  that  this  name,  which  at 
the  first  was  but  the  surname  of  an  individual,  after  its 
possessor  is  dead  and  forgotten,  lives,  reverts  to  the 


24  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

plant  or  animal  whence  it  came,  becomes  impersonal, 
and  is  worshiped  by  a  conservative  posterity.  In  other 
words,  one  theory  fastens  upon  natural  phenomena, 
human  attributes,  and  worships  nature  under  covering 
of  those  attributes,  while  the  other  worships  in  the 
natural  object  only  the  memory  of  a  dead  and  forgotten 
man.  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  both  of  these  'hypotheses 
are  elements  of  truth. 

In  the  earlier  acts  of  worship  the  tendency  is  to 
assimilate  the  object  worshiped  and  the  character  of  the 
worshiper,  and  also  to  assign  habitations  to  deities, 
behind  man's  immediate  environment.  Every  people 
has  its  heaven  and  hell ;  the  former  most  generally  lo- 
cated beyond  the  blue  sky,  and  the  latter  in  the  dark 
interior  caves  of  the  earth.  Man  in  nature  reproduces 
himself;  invests  appearances  with  attributes  analogous 
to  his  own.  This  likeness  of  the  supernatural  to  the 
natural,  of  gods  to  man,  is  the  first  advance  from  fetich- 
ism,  but  as  the  intellect  advances  anthropomorphism 
declines.  As  one  by  one  the  nearest  mysteries  are 
solved  by  science,  the  emptiness  of  superstition  becomes 
apparent,  and  the  wonderless  wonder  is  referred  by  the 
waking  mind  to  general  laws  of  causation ;  but  still  cling- 
ing to  its  first  conceptions  it  places  them  on  objects  more 
remote.  Man  fixes  his  eyes  upon  the  planets,  discovers 
their  movements,  and  fancies  their  controlling  spirit  also 
controls  his  destiny;  and  when  released  by  reason  from 
star- worship,  as  formerly  from  fetichism,  again  an  ad- 
vance is  made,  always  nearing  the  doctrine  of  universal 
law. 

In  one  tersely  comprehensive  sentence  Clarke  gives 
the  old  view  of  what  were  called  natural  religions: 
"They  considered  them,  in  their  source,  the  work  of 
fraud;  in  their  essence,  corrupt  superstitions;  in  their 
doctrines,  wholly  false ;  in  their  moral  tendency,  abso- 
lutely injurious;  and  in  their  result,  degenerating  more 
and  more  into  greater  evil." 

And  this  view  seems  to  him  alike  uncharitable  and 
unreasonable:  "To  assume  that  they  are  wholly  evil  is 


PRIESTCRAFT  AND  PROPITIATION.  25 

disrespectful  to  human  nature.  It  supposes  man  to  be 
the  easy  and  universal  dupe  of  fraud.  But  these  reli- 
gions do  not  rest  on  such  a  sandy  foundation,  but  on  the 
feeling  of  dependence,  the  sense  of  accountability,  the 
recognition  of  spiritual  realities  very  near  to  this  world 
of  matter,  and  the  need  of  looking  up  and  worshiping 
some  unseen  power  higher  and  better  than  ourselves. 
We  shall  find  them  always  feeling  after  God,  often  find- 
ing him.  We  shall  see  that  in  their  origin  they  are  not 
the  work  of  priestcraft,  but  of  human  nature;  in  their 
essence  not  superstitions,  but  religions;  in  their  doc- 
trines true  more  frequently  than  false ;  in  their  moral 
tendency  good  rather  than  evil.  And  instead  of  degen- 
erating toward  something  worse,  they  come  to  prepare 
the  way  for  something  better." 

The  nearest  case  to  deliberate  invention  of  deities, 
was,  perhaps,  the  promulgation  as  objects  of  worship  by 
the  Roman  pontiffs,  of  such  abstractions  as  Hope  (Spes), 
Fear  (Pallor),  Concord  (Concordia),  Courage  (Yirtus), 
etc.  How  far  these  gods  were  gods,  however,  in  even 
the  ordinary  heathen  sense  of  the  word,  is  doubtful.  In 
any  case,  they  were  but  the  extension  of  an  old  and  ex- 
istent principle — the  personification  of  divine  aspects  or 
qualities ;  they  added  no  more  to  what  went  before  than 
a  new  Saint  or  Virgin  of  Loretto  does  to  the  Catholic 
Church. 

"It  was  a  favorite  opinion  with  the  Christian  apolo- 
gists, Eusebius  and  others,"  says  Gladstone,  "that  the 
pagan  deities  represented  deified  men.  Others  consider 
them  to  signify  the  powers  of  external  nature  personi- 
fied. For  others  they  are,  in  many  cases,  impersona- 
tions of  human  passions  and  propensities,  reflected  back 
from  the  mind  of  man.  A  fourth  mode  of  interpreta- 
tion would  treat  them  as  copies,  distorted  and  depraved, 
of  a  primitive  system  of  religion  given  by  God  to  man. 
The  Apostle  St.  Paul  speaks  of  them  as  devils ;  by  which 
he  may  perhaps  intend  to  convey  that,  under  the  names 
and  in  connection  with  the  worship  of  those  deities,  the 
worst  influences  of  the  Evil  One  were  at  work.  This 


26  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

would  rather  be  a  subjective  than  an  objective  descrip- 
tion; and  would  rather  convey  an  account  of  the  prac- 
tical working  of  a  corrupted  religion,  than  an  explanation 
of  its  origin  or  its  early  course.  As  between  the  other 
four,  it  seems  probable  that  they  all,  in  various  degrees 
and  manners,  entered  into  the  composition  of  the  later 
paganism,  and  also  of  the  Homeric  or  Olympian  system. 
That  system,  however,  was  profoundly  adverse  to  mere 
Nature-worsliip ;  while  the  care  of  departments  or  prov- 
inces of  external  nature  were  assigned  to  its  leading 
personages.  Such  worship  of  natural  objects  or  ele- 
mental powers,  as  prevailed  in  connection  with  it,  was 
in  general  local  or  secondary.  And  the  deification  of 
heroes  in  the  age  of  Homer  was  rare  and  merely  titular. 
We  do  not  find  that  any  cult  or  system  of  devotion  was 
attached  to  it." 

So  humanly  divine,  so  impotently  great  are  the  gods 
of  Homer;  so  thoroughly  invested  with  the  passions  of 
men,  clothed  in  distinctive  shades  of  human  character; 
such  mingled  virtue  and  vice,  love  and  hate,  courage  and 
cowardice;  animal  passions  uniting  with  noble  senti- 
ments; base  and  vulgar  thoughts  with  lofty  and  sub- 
lime ideas;  and  all  so  wrought  up  by  his  inimitable 
fancy  into  divine  and  supernatural  beings,  as  to  work 
most  powerfully  upon  the  nature  of  the  people. 

These  concrete  conceptions  of  his  deities  have  ever 
been  a  source  of  consolation  to  the  savage ;  for,  by  thus 
bringing  down  the  gods  to  a  nearer  level  with  himself, 
they  could  be  more  materially  propitiated,  and  their  pro- 
tection purchased  with  gifts  and  sacrifices.  Thus  the 
Greeks  could  obtain  advice  through  oracles,  the  Hindoo 
could  pass  at  once  into  eternal  joys  by  throwing  himself 
under  the  car  of  Juggernaut,  while  the  latter-day  offender 
calls  in  the  assistance  of  the  departed,  buys  forgiveness 
with  charities,  and  compounds  crime  by  building 
churches. 

The  difficulty  is,  that  in  attempting  to  establish  any 
theory  concerning  the  origin  of  things,  the  soundest 
logic  is  little  else  than  wild  speculation.  Mankind  pro- 


UNKECOKDED  FACTS  SOON  BECOME  MYTHOLOGICAL.   27 

gress  unconsciously.  We  know  not  what  problems  we 
ourselves  are  working  out  for  those  who  come  after  us ; 
we  know  not  by  what  process  we  arrive  at  many  of  our 
conclusions ;  much  of  that  which  is  clear  to  ourselves  is 
never  understood  by  our  neighbor,  and  never  will  be 
even  known  by  our  posterity.  Events  the  most  material 
are  soon  forgotten,  or  else  are  made  spiritual  and  pre- 
served as  myths.  Blot  out  the  process  by  which  science 
arrived  at  results,  and  in  every  achievement  of  science, 
in  the  steam  engine,  the  electric  telegraph,  we  should  soon 
have  a  heaven-descended  agency,  a  god  for  every  ma- 
chine. Where  mythology  ceases  and  history  begins,  is 
in  the  annals  of  every  nation  a  matter  of  dispute. 
What  at  first  appears  to  be  wholly  fabulous  may  contain 
some  truth,  whereas  much  of  what  is  held  to  be  true  is 
mere  fable,  and  herein  excessive  skepticism  is  as  un- 
wise as  excessive  credulity. 

Historical  facts,  if  unrecorded,  are  soon  lost.  Thus 
when  Juan  de  Dilate  penetrated  New  Mexico  in  1596, 
Fray  Marco  de  Niza,  and  the  expedition  of  Coronado  in 
1540,  appear  to  have  been  entirely  forgotten  by  the 
Cibolans.  Fathers  Crespi  and  Jum'pero  Serra,  in  their 
overland  explorations  of  1769,  preparatory  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  line  of  Missions  along  the  Californian 
seaboard,  could  find  no  traces,  in  the  minds  of  the  natives, 
of  Cabrillo's  voyage  in  1542,  or  of  the  landing  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake  in  1579 ;  although,  so  impressed  were  the 
savages  in  the  latter  instance,  that,  according  to  the  worthy 
chaplain  of  the  expedition,  they  desired  "with  submis- 
sion and  fear  to  worship  us  as  gods."  Nor  can  we  think 
civilized  memories — which  ascribe  the  plays  of  Shake- 
speare to  Bacon,  and  parcel  out  the  Iliad  of  Homer 
among  numberless  unrecorded  verse-makers — more  te- 
nacious. Frederick  Augustus  Wolf  denies  that  a  Homer 
ever  existed;  or,  if  he  did,  that  he  ever  wrote  his  poem, 
as  writing  was  at  that  time  not  generally  known ;  but  he 
claims  that  snatches  of  history,  descending  orally  from  one 
generation  to  another,  in  the  end  coalesced  into  the 
matchless  Iliad  and  Odyssey.  The  event  which  so 


28  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

strongly  impressed  the  father,  becomes  vague  in  the 
mind  of  the  son,  and  in  the  third  generation  is  either 
lost  or  becomes  legendary.  Incidents  of  recent  occur- 
rence, contemporary  perhaps  with  the  narration,  are 
sometimes  so  misinterpreted  by  ignorance  or  distorted 
by  prejudice,  as  to  place  the  fact  strangely  at  variance 
with  the  recital.  Yet  no  incident  nor  action  falls  pur- 
poseless to  the  ground.  Unrecorded  it  may  be,  unwit- 
nessed, unheard  by  beings  material;  a  thought- wave 
even,  lost  in  space  invisible,  acting,  for  aught  we  know, 
only  upon  the  author ;  yet  so  acting,  it  casts  an  influence, 
stamps  on  fleeting  time  its  record,  thereby  fulfilling  its 
destiny.  Thus  linger  vapory  conceits  long  after  the 
action  which  created  them  has  sunk  into  oblivion ;  unde- 
fined shadows  of  substance  departed ;  none  the  less  im- 
pressive because  mingled  with  immortal  imagery. 

Turn  now  from  outward  events  to  inner  life ;  from 
events  grown  shadowy  with  time,  to  life  ever  dim  and 
mysterious  alike  to  savage  and  sage.  Everywhere  man 
beholds  much  that  is  incomprehensible;  within,  around, 
the  past,  the  future.  Invisible  forces  are  at  work,  in- 
visible agencies  play  upon  his  destiny.  And  in  the 
creations  of  fancy,  which  of  necessity  grow  out  of  the 
influence  of  nature  upon  the  imagination,  it  is  not 
strange  that  mysteries  darken,  facts  and  fancies  blend; 
the  past  and  the  future  uniting  in  a  supernatural 
present. 

We  are  never  content  with  positive  knowledge.  From 
the  earliest  workings  of  the  mind,  creations  of  fancy 
play  as  important  a  part  in  ethical  economy  as  positive 
perceptions.  Nor  does  culture  in  any  wise  lessen  these 
fanciful  creations  of  the  intellect.  In  the  political  arena 
of  civilized  nations,  wars  and  revolutions  for  the  en- 
forcement of  opinion  concerning  matters  beyond  the 
reach  of  positive  knowledge,  have  equaled  if  they  have 
not  exceeded  wars  for  empire  or  ascendancy.  In  the 
social  and  individual  affairs  of  life  we  are  governed 
more  by  the  ideal  than  by  the  real.  On  reaching  the 
limits  of  positive  knowledge,  reason  pauses,  but  fancy 


RELIGIOUS  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ULTIMATES.  29 

overleaps  the  boundary,  and  wanders  forward  in  an  end- 
less waste  of  speculation. 

The  tendency  of  intellectual  progress,  according  to 
the  philosophy  of  Herbert  Spencer,  is  from  the  concrete 
to  the  abstract,  from  the  homogeneous  to  the  heteroge- 
neous, from  the  knowable  to  the  unknowable.  Primor- 
dially  nothing  was  known ;  as  superstitions  and  priest- 
craft grew  rank,  everything  became  known;  there  was 
not  a  problem  in  the  natural  or  in  the  supernatural 
world  unsolvable  by  religion.  Now,  when  some  ele- 
ments of  absolute  knowledge  are  beginning  to  appear, 
we  discover,  not  only  that  little  is  positively  known,  but 
that  much  of  what  has  been  hitherto  deemed  past  con- 
troverting, is,  under  the  present  regime  of  thought, 
absolutely  unknowable.  Formerly  ultimate  religious 
knowledge  was  attained  by  the  very  novices  of  religion, 
and  ultimate  scientific  knowledge  was  explained  through 
their  fanatical  conceptions.  Not  only  were  all  the  mys- 
teries of  the  material  universe  easily  solved  by  the 
Fathers,  but  heaven  was  measured  and  the  phenomena 
of  hell  minutely  described.  Now  we  are  just  begin- 
ning to  comprehend  that  ultimate  facts  will  probably 
ever  remain  unknowable  facts,  for  when  the  present 
ultimate  is  attained,  an  eternity  of  undiscovered  truth 
will  still  lay  stretched  out  before  the  searcher.  Until 
the  finite  becomes  infinite,  and  time  lapses  into  eternit}^ 
the  realm  of  thought  will  remain  unfilled.  At  present, 
and  until  the  scope  of  the  intellect  is  materially  en- 
larged, such  theories  as  the  origin  of  the  universe- 
held  by  atheists  to  be  self-existent,  by  pantheists  to  have 
been  self-created,  and  by  theists  to  have  been  originated 
by  an  external  agency — must  remain,  as  they  are  now 
admitted  to  be,  questions  beyond  even  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  intellect.  Likewise  scientific  ultimates — such 
as  the  qualities  of  time  and  space,  the  divisibility  of  mat- 
ter, the  co-ordination  of  motion  and  rest,  the  correlation 
of  forces,  the  mysteries  of  gravitation,  light  and  heat — 
are  found  to  be  not  only  not  solvable,  but  not  conceiva- 
ble. And,  as  with  the  external,  so  with  the  inward 


30  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

life;  we  cannot  conceive  the  nature,  nor  explain  the 
origin  and  duration,  of  consciousness.  The  endless  spec- 
ulations of  biology  and  psychology  only  leave  impres- 
sions at  once  of  the  strength  and  weakness  of  the  mind 
of  man;  strong  in  empirical  knowledge,  impotent  in 
every  attempt  rationally  to  penetrate  the  unfathomable. 
Nowhere  in  mythology  do  we  find  the  world  self-created 
or  self-existent.  Some  external  agency  is  ever  brought 
in  to  perform  the  wrork,  and  in  the  end  the  structure  of 
the  universe  is  resolved  into  its  original  elements. 

Primordial  man  finds  himself  surrounded  by  natural 
phenomena,  the  operations  of  which  his  intelligence  is 
capable  of  grasping  but  partially.  Certain  appetites 
sharpen,  at  once,  certain  instincts.  Hunger  makes  him 
acquainted  with  the  fruits  of  the  earth ;  cold  with  the 
skins  of  beasts.  Accident  supplies  him  with  rude  im- 
plements, and  imparts  to  him  a  knowledge  of  his  power 
over  animals.  But  as  instinct  merges  into  intellect, 
strange  powers  in  nature  are  felt ;  invisible  agents  wield- 
ing invisible  weapons ;  realities  which  exist  unheard  and 
move  unseen ;  outward  manifestations  of  hidden  strength. 
Humanity,  divine,  but  wild  and  wondering,  half- fed, 
half-clad,  ranges  woods  primeval,  hears  the  roar  of  bat- 
tling elements,  sees  the  ancient  forest-tree  shivered  into 
fragments  by  heaven's  artillery,  feels  the  solid  earth  rise 
up  in  rumbling  waves  beneath  his  feet.  He  receives,  as 
it  were,  a  blow  from  within  the  darkness,  and  flinging 
himself  upon  the  ground  he  begs  protection ;  from  what 
he  knows  not,  of  whom  he  knows  not.  "Bury  me  not, 
0  tumultuous  heavens,"  he  cries,  "  under  the  clouds  of 
your  displeasure!"  "Strike  me  not  down  in  wrath,  0 
fierce  flaming  fire!"  "Earth,  be  firm!"  Here,  then,  is 
the  origin  of  prayer.  And  to  render  more  effectual  his 
entreaties,  a  gift  is  offered.  Seizing  upon  whatever  he 
prizes  most,  his  food,  his  raiment,  he  rushes  forth  and 
hurls  his  propitiatory  offering  heavenward,  earthward, 
whithersoever  his  frenzied  fancy  dictates.  Or,  if  this 
is  not  enough,  the  still  more  dearly  valued  gift  of  human 
blood  or  human  life  is  offered.  His  own  flesh  he  freely 


ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS  OF  PRIESTCRAFT.  31 

lacerates;  to  save  his  own  life  he  gives  that  of  his 
enemy,  his  slave,  or  even  his  child.  Hence  arises  sac- 
rifice. 

And  here  also  conjurings  commence.  The  necessity 
is  felt  of  opening  up  some  intercourse  with  these  mys- 
terious powers ;  relations  commercial  and  social ;  calami- 
ties and  casualties,  personal  and  public,  must  be  traced 
to  causes,  and  the  tormenting  demon  bought  off.  But  it 
is  clearly  evident  that  these  elemental  forces  are  not  all 
of  them  inimical  to  the  happiness  of  mankind.  Sun- 
shine, air  and  water,  the  benign  influences  in  nature, 
are  as  powerful  to  create,  as  the  adverse  elements  are  to 
destroy.  And  as  these  forces  appear  conflicting,  part 
productive  of  life  and  enjoyment,  and  part  of  destruc- 
tion, decay,  and  death,  a  separation  is  made.  Hence 
principles  of  good  and  evil  are  discovered ;  and  to  all 
these  unaccountable  forces  in  nature,  names  and  proper- 
ties are  given,  and  causations  invented.  For  every  act 
there  is  an  actor — for  every  deed  a  doer ;  for  every 
power  and  passion  there  is  made  a  god. 

Thus  we  see  that  worship  in  some  form  is  a  human 
necessity,  or,  at  least,  a  constant  accompaniment  of  hu- 
manity. Until  perfect  wisdom  and  limitless  power  are 
the  attributes  of  humanity,  adoration  will  continue;  for 
men  will  never  cease  to  reverence  what  they  do  not  un- 
derstand, nor  will  they  cease  to  fear  such  elements  of 
strength  as  are  beyond  their  control.  The  form  of  this 
conciliatory  homage  appears  to  arise  from  common  hu- 
man instincts;  for,  throughout  the  world  and  in  all 
ages,  a  similarity  in  primitive  religious  forms  has  existed. 
It  is  a  giving  of  something;  the  barter  of  a  valuable 
something  for  a  something  more  valuable.  As  in  his 
civil  polity  all  crimes  may  be  compounded  or  avenged, 
so  in  his  worship,  the  savage  gives  his  pride,  his  prop- 
erty, or  his  blood. 

At  first,  this  spirit  power  is  seen  in  everything;  in 
the  storm  and  in  the  soft  evening  air;  in  clouds  and 
cataracts,  in  mountains,  rocks,  and  rivers;  in  trees,  in 
reptiles,  beasts,  and  fishes.  But  when  progressive  man 


32  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

obtains  a  more  perfect  mastery  over  the  brute  creation, 
brute  worship  ceases;  as  he  becomes  familiar  with  the 
causes  of  some  of  the  forces  in  nature,  and  is  better  able 
to  protect  himself  from  them,  the  fear  of  natural  objects 
is  lessened.  Leaving  the  level  of  the  brute  creation  he 
mounts  upward,  and  selecting  from  his  own  species  some 
living  or  dead  hero,  he  endows  a  king  or  comrade  with 
superhuman  attributes,  and  worships  his  dead  fellow 
as  a  divine  being.  Still  he  tunes  his  thoughts  to  subtler 
creations,  and  carves  with  skillful  fingers  material  images 
of  supernatural  forms.  Then  comes  idolatry.  The  great 
principles  of  causation  being  determined  and  embodied 
in  perceptible  forms,  adorations  ensue.  Cravings,  how- 
ever, increase.  As  the  intellect  expands,  one  idol  after 
another  is  thrown  dowrn.  Mind  assumes  the  mastery 
over  matter.  From  gods  of  wood  and  stone,  made  by 
men's  fingers,  and  from  suns  and  planets,  carved  by  the 
fingers  of  omnipotence,  the  creature  now  turns  to  the 
Creator.  A  form  of  ideal  worship  supplants  the  mate- 
rial form;  gods  known  and  tangible  are  thrown  aside 
for  the  unknown  God.  And  well  were  it  for  the  intel* 
lect  could  it  stop  here.  But,  as  the  actions  of  countless 
material  gods  wrere  clear  to  the  primitive  priest,  and  by 
him  satisfactorily  explained  to  the  savage  masses ;  so,  in 
this  more  advanced  state  men  are  not  wanting  who  re- 
ceive from  their  ideal  god  revelations  of  his  actions  and 
motives.  To  its  new,  unknown,  ideal  god,  the  partially 
awakened  human  mind  attaches  the  positive  attributes 
of  the  old,  material  deities,  or  invents  new  ones,  and 
starts  anew  to  tread  the  endless  mythologic  circle ;  until 
in  yet  a  higher  state  it  discovers  that  both  god  and  attri- 
butes are  wholly  beyond  its  grasp,  and  that  with  all  its 
progress,  it  has  advanced  but  slightly  beyond  the  first 
savage  conception; — a  power  altogether  mysterious,  in- 
explicable to  science,  controlling  phenomena  of  mind 
and  matter. 

Barbarians  are  the  most  religious  of  mortals.  While 
the  busy,  overworked  brain  of  the  scholar  or  man  of 
business  is  occupied  with  more  practical  affairs,  the  list- 


ORIGIN  OF  FETICHISM.  33 

less  mind  of  the  savage,  thrown  as  he  is  upon  the  very 
bosom  of  nature,  is  filled  with  innumerable  conjectures 
and  interrogatories.  His  curiosity,  like  that  of  a  child, 
is  proverbial,  and  as  superstition  is  ever  the  resource  of 
ignorance,  queer  fancies  and  fantasms  concerning  life  and 
death,  and  gods  and  devils  float  continually  through  his 
unenlightened  imagination. 

Ill-protected  from  the  elements,  his  comfort  and  his 
uncertain  food-supply  depending  upon  them,  primitive 
man  regards  nature  with  eager  interest.  Like  the 
beasts,  his  forest  companions,  he  places  himself  as  far  as 
possible  in  harmony  with  his  environment.  He  migrates 
with  the  seasons;  feasts  when  food  is  plenty,  fasts  in 
famine-time ;  basks  and  gambols  in  the  sunshine,  cowers 
beneath  the  fury  of  the  storm,  crawls  from  the  cold  into 
his  den,  and  there  quasi-torpidly  remains  until  nature 
releases  him.  Is  it  therefore  strange  that  savage  intel- 
lect peoples  the  elements  with  supernatural  powers ;  that 
God  is  everywhere,  in  everything;  in  the  most  trilling 
accident  and  incident,  as  well  as  in  the  sun,  the  sea,  the 
grove ;  that  when  evil  comes  God  is  angry,  when  fortune 
smiles  God  is  favorable;  and  that  he  speaks  to  his  wild, 
untutored  people  in  signs  and  dreams,  in  the  tempest  and 
in  the  sunshine.  Nor  does  he  withhold  the  still,  small 
voice,  which  breathes  upon  minds  most  darkened,  and 
into  breasts  the  most  savage,  a  spirit  of  progress,  which, 
if  a  people  be  left  to  the  free  fulfillment  of  their  destiny, 
is  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  ripen  into  full  development, 

We  will  now  glance  at  the  origin  of  fetichism,  which 
indeed  may  be  called  the  origin  of  ideal  religion,  from 
the  other  standpoint;  that  which  arises  from  the  respect 
men  feel  for  the  memory  of  their  departed  ancestors. 

The  first  conception  of  a  dualty  in  man's  nature  has 
been  attributed  to  various  causes ;  it  may  be  the  result  of 
a  combination  of  causes.  There  is  the  shadow  upon 
the  ground,  separate,  yet  inseparable;  the  reflection  of 
the  form  upon  the  water;  the  echo  of  the  voice, 
the  adventures  of  fancy  portrayed  by  dreams.  Self 

VOL.  III.  3 


34  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

is  divisible  from  and  inseparably  connected  with  this 
other  self.  Herefrom  arise  innumerable  superstitions ;  it 
was  portentous  of  misfortune  for  one's  clothes  to  be 
stepped  on;  no  food  must  be  left  uneaten;  nail  clippings 
and  locks  of  hair  must  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  an 
enemy.  Catlin,  in  sketching  his  portraits,  often  narrow- 
ly escaped  with  his  life,  the  Indians  believing  that  in 
their  likenesses  he  carried  away  their  other  self. 
And  when  death  comes,  and  this  other  self  departs, 
whither  has  it  gone?  The  lifeless  body  remains,  but 
where  is  the  life?  The  mind  cannot  conceive  of  the 
total  extinguishment  of  an  entity,  and  so  the  imagina- 
tion rears  a  local  habitation  for  every  departed  spirit. 
Every  phenomenon  and  every  event  is  analyzed  under 
this  hypothesis.  For  every  event  there  is  not  only  a 
cause,  but  a  personal  cause,  an  independent  agent  behind 
every  consequence.  Every  animal,  every  fish  and  bird, 
every  rock  and  stream  and  plant,  the  ripening  fruit, 
the  falling  rain,  the  uncertain  wind,  the  sun  and  stars, 
are  all  personified.  There  is  no  disease  without  its  god 
or  devil,  no  fish  entangled  in  the  net,  no  beast  or  bird 
that  falls  before  the  hunter,  without  its  special  sender. 
Savages  are  more  afraid  of  a  dead  man  than  a  live 
one.  They  are  overwhelmed  with  terror  at  the  thought 
of  this  unseen  power  over  them.  The  spirit  of  the  de- 
parted is  omnipotent  and  omnipresent.  At  any  cost  or 
hazard  it  must  be  propitiated.  So  food  is  placed  in  the 
grave;  wives  and  slaves,  and  horses  and  dogs,  are  slain, 
and  in  spirit  sent  to  serve  the  ghost  of  the  departed ; 
phantom  messengers  are  sent  to  the  region  of  shadows 
from  time  to  time;  the  messengers  sometimes  even  vol- 
unteering to  go.  So  boats  and  weapons  and  all  the 
property  of  the  deceased  are  burned  or  deposited  with 
him.  In  the  hand  of  the  dead  child  is  placed  a  toy ;  in 
that  of  the  departed  warrior,  the  symbolic  pipe  of  peace, 
which  is  to  open  a  tranquil  entrance  into  his  new  abode ; 
clothes,  and  ornaments,  and  paint,  are  conveniently 
placed,  and  thus  a  proper  personal  appearance  guaran- 
teed. Not  that  the  things  themselves  are  to  be  used, 


THE  WOKSHIP  OF  DEAD  ANCESTORS.  35 

but  the  souls  of  things.  The  body  of  the  chief  rots, 
as  does  the  material  substance  of  the  articles  buried 
with  it;  but  the  soul  of  every  article  follows  the  soul  of 
its  owner,  to  serve  its  own  peculiar  end  in  the  land  of 
phantoms. 

The  Chinese,  grown  cunning  with  the  great  antiquity 
of  their  burial  customs,  which  require  money  and  food 
to  be  deposited  for  the  benefit  of  the  deceased,  spiritual- 
ize the  money,  by  making  an  imitation  coin  of  paste- 
board, while  the  food,  untouched  by  the  dead,  is  finally 
eaten  by  themselves. 

But  whence  arises  the  strange  propensity  of  all  prim- 
itive nations  to  worship  animals,  and  plants,  and  stones, 
things  animate  and  inanimate,  natural  and  supernatural? 
Why  is  it  that  all  nations  or  tribes  select  from  nature 
some  object  which  they  hold  to  be  sacred,  and  which 
they  venerate  as  deity?  It  is  the  opinion  of  Herbert 
Spencer  that  "the  rudimentary  form  of  all  religion  is 
the  propitiation  of  dead  ancestors,  who  are  supposed  to 
be  still  existing,  and  to  be  capable  of  working  good  or 
evil  to  their  descendants."  It  is  the  universal  custom  with 
savage  tribes,  as  the  character  of  their  members  becomes 
developed,  to  drop  the  real  name  of  individuals  and 
to  fix  upon  them  the  attribute  of  some  external  object, 
by  whose  name  only  they  are  afterwards  known.  Thus 
a  swift  runner  is  called  the  '  antelope,'  the  slow  of  foot, 
the  'tortoise,'  a  merciless  warrior,  the  'wolf,'  a  dark- 
eyed  maid  may  be  likened  to  the  'raven,'  a  majestic 
matron  to  the '  cypress.'  And  so  the  rivulet,  the  rock,  the 
dawn,  the  sun,  and  even  elements  invisible,  are  seized  up- 
on as  metaphors  and  fastened  upon  individuals,  according 
to  a  real  or  fancied  resemblance  between  the  qualities 
of  nature  and  the  character  of  the  men.  Inferiority 
and  baseness,  alike  with  nobleness  and  wise  conduct, 
perpetuate  a  name.  Even  in  civilized  societies,  a  nick- 
name often  takes  the  place  of  the  real  name.  School- 
boys are  quick  to  distinguish  peculiarities  in  their  fel- 
lows, and  fasten  upon  them  significant  names.  A  dull 
scholar  is  called  '  cabbage-head,'  the  girl  with  red  ring- 


36  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

lets,  '  carrots.'  In  the  family  there  is  the  greedy 
'pig/  the  darling  'duck/  the  little  'lamb.'  In  new 
countries,  and  abnormal  communities,  where  strangers 
from  all  parts  are  promiscuously  thrown  together,  not  un- 
frequently  men  live  on  terms  of  intimacy  for  years  with- 
out ever  knowing  each  other's  real  name.  Among  miners, 
such  appellations  as  'Muley  Bill/  'Sandy/  'Shorty/ 
'Sassafras  Jack/  often  serve  all  the  purposes  of  a  name. 
In  more  refined  circles,  there  is  the  hypocritical  'cro- 
codile/ the  sly  'fox/  the  gruff  'bear.'  We  say  of  the 
horse,  '  he  is  as  fleet  as  the  wind/  of  a  rapid  account- 
ant, '  he  is  as  quick  as  lightning/  These  names,  which 
are  used  by  us  but  for  the  moment,  or  to  fit  occasions, 
are  among  rude  nations  permanent — in  many  instances 
the  only  name  a  person  ever  receives. 

Sometimes  the  nickname  of  the  individual  becomes 
first  a  family  name  and  then  a  tribal  name;  as  when 
the  chief,  'Coyote/  becomes  renowned,  his  children 
love  to  call  themselves  'Coyotes.'  The  chieftainship 
descending  to  the  son  and  grandson  of  Coyote,  the 
name  becomes  famous,  the  Coyote  family  the  domin- 
ant family  of  the  tribe ;  members  of  the  tribe,  in  their 
intercourse  with  other  tribes,  call  themselves  'coyotes^ 
to  distinguish  themselves  from  other  tribes;  the  head, 
or  tail,  or  claws,  or  skin,  of  the  coyote  ornaments  the 
dress  or  adorns  the  body ;  the  name  becomes  tribal,  and 
the  aniinil  the  symbol  or  totem  of  the  tribe.  After  a 
few  generations  have  passed,  the  great  chieftain,  Coyote, 
and  his  immediate  progeny  are  forgotten;  meanwhile 
the  beast  becomes  a  favorite  with  the  people;  he  begins 
to  be  regarded  as  privileged;  is  not  hunted  down  like 
other  beasts;  the  virtues  and  exploits  of  the  whole 
Coyote  clan  become  identified  with  the  brute;  the  af- 
fections of  the  people  are  centered  in  the  animal,  and 
finally,  all  else  being  lost  and  forgotten,  the  descendants 
of  the  chieftain,  Coyote,  are  the  offspring  of  the  veri- 
table beast,  coyote. 

Concerning  image-worship  and  the  material  represen- 
tation of  ideal  beings,  Mr.  Tylor  believes  that  "when 


ABSTEACT  CONCEPTIONS,  MONSTEKS,  AND  METAPHORS.     37 

man  has  got  some  way  in  developing  the  religious  ele- 
ment in  him,  he  begins  to  catch  at  the  device  of  setting  up 
a  puppet,  or  a  stone,  as  the  symbol  and  representative  of 
the  notions  of  a  higher  being  which  are  floating  in  his 
mind." 

Primitive  languages  cannot  express  abstract  qualities. 
For  every  kind  of  animal  or  bird  or  plant  there  may  be 
a  name,  but  for  animals,  plants,  and  birds  in  general,  they 
have  no  name  or  conception.  Therefore,  the  abstract 
quality  becomes  the  concrete  idea  of  a  god,  and  the  de- 
scendants of  a  man  whose  symbolic  name  was  '  dog,' 
from  being  the  children  of  the  man  become  the  child- 
ren of  the  dog. 

Hence  also  arise  monsters,  beings  compounded  of 
beast,  bird,  and  fish,  sphinxes,  mermaids,  human-headed 
brutes,  winged  animals;  as  when  the  descendant  of  the 
'hawk'  carries  off  a  wife  from  the  '  salmon'  tribe,  a  totem 
representing  a  fish  with  a  hawk's  head  for  a  time  keeps 
alive  the  occurrence  and  finally  becomes  the  deity. 

Thus  realities  become  metaphors  and  metaphors  reali- 
ties; the  fact  dwindles  into  shadowy  nothingness  and 
the  fancy  springs  into  actual  being.  The  historical  inci- 
dent becomes  first  indistinct  and  then  is  forgotten;  the 
metaphorical  name  of  the  dead  ancestor  is  first  respected 
in  the  animal  or  plant,  then  worshiped  in  the  animal 
or  plant,  and  finally  the  nickname  and  the  ancestor  both 
are  forgotten  and  the  idea  becomes  the  entity,  and  the 
veritable  object  of  worship.  From  forgetfulness  of  primo- 
genitor and  metaphor,  conceiving  the  animal  to  be  the 
very  ancestor,  words  are  put  into  the  animal's  mouth,  the 
sayings  of  the  ancestor  become  the  sayings  of  the  brute ; 
hence  mythological  legends  of  talking  beasts,  and  birds, 
and  wise  fishes.  To  one  animal  is  attributed  a  miracu- 
lous cure,  to  another,  assistance  in  time  of  trouble ;  one 
animal  is  a  deceiver,  another  a  betrayer;  and  thus 
through  their  myths  and  metaphors  we  may  look  back 
into  the  soul  of  savagism  and  into  their  soul  of  nature. 

That  this  is  the  origin  of  some  phases  of  fetichism 
there  can  be  no  doubt;  that  it  is  the  origin  of  all  reli- 


38  SPEECH  AND   SPECULATION. 

gions,  or  even  the  only  method  by  which  animal  and 
plant  worship  originates,  I  do  not  believe.  While 
there  are  undoubtedly  general  principles  underlying  all 
religious  conceptions,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow,  that 
in  every  instance  the  methods  of  arriving  at  those  funda- 
mental principles  must  be  identical.  As  with  us  a  child 
weeps  over  a  dead  mother's  picture,  regarding  it  with 
fond  devotion,  so  the  dutiful  barbarian  son,  in  order  the 
better  to  propitiate  the  favor  of  his  dead  ancestor,  some- 
times carves  his  image  in  wood  or  stone,  which  sentiment 
with  time  lapses  into  idolatry.  Any  object  which  strikes 
the  rude  fancy  as  analogous  to  the  character  of  an  indi- 
vidual may  become  an  object  of  worship. 

The  interpretation  of  myth  can  never  be  absolute  and 
positive ;  yet  we  may  in  almost  every  instance  discover 
the  general  purport.  Thus  a  superior  god,  we  may  be 
almost  sure,  refers  to  some  potent  hero,  some  primitive 
ruler,  whom  tradition  has  made  superhuman  in  origin  and 
in  power;  demigods,  subordinate  or  inferior  beings  in 
power,  must  be  regarded  as  legendary,  referring  to  cer- 
tain influential  persons,  identified  with  some  element  or 
incident  in  which  the  deified  personage  played  a  con- 
spicuous part. 

Although  in  mythology  religion  is  the  dominant  ele- 
ment, yet  mythology  is  not  wholly  made  up  of  religion, 
nor  are  all  primitive  religions  mythical.  "  There  are 
few  mistakes"  says  Professor  Max  M tiller  "so  widely 
spread  and  so  firmly  established  as  that  which  makes  us 
confound  the  religion  and  the  mythology  of  the  ancient 
nations  of  the  world.  How  mythology  arises,  necessarily 
and  naturally,  I  tried  to  explain  in  my  former  lectures, 
and  we  saw  that,  as  an  affection  or  disorder  of  language, 
mythology  may  infect  every  part  of  the  intellectual  life 
of  man.  True  it  is  that  no  ideas  are  more  liable  to  my- 
thological disease  than  religious  ideas,  because  they 
transcend  those  regions  of  our  experience  within  which 
language  has  its  natural  origin,  and  must  therefore,  ac- 
cording to  their  very  nature,  be  satisfied  with  metaphori- 
cal expressions.  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 


FUNDAMENTAL  IDEAS  OF  RELIGION.  39 

hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man.  Yet  even  the 
religions  of  the  ancient  nations  are  by  no  means  inevi- 
tably and  altogether  mythological.  On  the  contrary,  as 
a  diseased  frame  pre-supposes  a  healthy  frame,  so  a 
mythological  religion  pre-supposes,  I  believe,  a  healthy 
religion." 

The  universal  secrets  of  supernatural  beings  are  wrap- 
ped up  in  probable  or  possible  fable;  the  elements  of 
physical  nature  are  impersonated  in  allegories,  and 
arrayed  in  forms  perceptible  to  the  imagination;  deities 
are  sometimes  introduced  into  the  machinery  of  the 
supernatural  in  order  to  gratify  that  love  for  the  mar- 
velous which  every  attempt  to  explain  the  mysterious 
forces  of  nature  creates  in  the  ignorant  mind.  Yet 
it  cannot  truly  be  said  that  any  form  of  religion,  much 
less  any  religion  was  wholly  invented.  Fanatics  some- 
times originate  doctrines,  and  the  Church  sets  forth  its 
dogmas,  but  there  must  be  a  foundation  of  truth  or  the 
edifice  cannot  stand.  Inventions  there  undoubtedly 
have  been  and  are,  but  inventions,  sooner  or  later  fall 
to  the  ground,  while  the  essential  principles  underlying 
religion  and  mythology,  though  momentarily  overcome 
or  swept  away,  are  sure  to  remain. 

Every  one  of  the  fundamental  ideas  of  religion  is  of 
indigenous  origin,  generating  spontaneously  in  the 
human  heart.  It  is  a  characteristic  of  mythology  that  the 
present  inhabitants  of  the  world  descended  from  some 
nobler  race.  From  the  nobler  impulses  of  fancy  the 
savage  derives  his  origin.  His  higher  instincts  teach 
him,  that  his  dim  distant  past,  and  his  impenetrable 
future,  are  alike  of  a  lighter,  more  ethereal  nature ;  that 
his  earthly  nature  is  base,  that  that  which  binds  him 
to  earth  is  the  lowest,  vilest  part  of  himself. 

The  tendency  of  positive  knowlege  is  to  overthrow 
superstition.  Hence  as  science  develops,  many  tenets  of 
established  religions,  palpably  erroneous,  are  dropped,  and 
the  more  knowledge  becomes  real,  the  more  real  know- 
ledge is  denied.  Superstition  is  not  the  effect  of  an 
active  imagination,  but  shows  rather  a  lack  of  imagination, 


40  SPEECH  AND  SPECULATION. 

for  we  see  that  the  lower  the  stage  of  intelligence,  and 
the  feebler  the  imagination,  the  greater  the  superstition. 
A  keen,  vivid  imagination,  although  capable  of  broader 
and  more  complicated  conceptions,  is  able  to  explain  the 
cruder  marvels,  and  consequently  to  dispel  the  coarser 
phases  of  superstition,  while  the  dull  intellect  accepts 
everything  which  is  put  upon  it  as  true.  Ultimate  reli- 
gious conceptions  are  symbolic  rather  than  actual.  Ul- 
timate ideas  of  the  universe  are  even  beyond  the  grasp 
of  the  profoundest  intellect.  We  can  form  but  an  ap- 
proximate idea  of  the  sphere  on  which  we  live.  To  form 
conceptions  of  the  relative  and  actual  distances  and 
magnitudes  of  heavenly  bodies,  of  systems  of  worlds,  and 
eternities  of  space,  the  human  mind  is  totally  inadequate. 
If,  therefore,  the  mind  is  unable  to  grasp  material  visible 
objects,  how  much  less  are  we  able  to  measure  the  invisi- 
ble and  eternal. 

When  therefore  the  savage  attempts  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  natural  phenomena,  he  first  reduces  broad  concep- 
tions to  symbolic  ideas.  He  moulds  his  deity  according 
to  the  measure  of  his  mind ;  and  in  forming  a  skeleton 
upon  which  to  elaborate  his  religious  instincts,  proximate 
theories  are  accepted,  and  almost  any  explanation  ap- 
pears to  him  plausible.  The  potential  creations  of  his 
fancy  are  brought  within  the  compass  of  his  comprehen- 
sion; symbolic  gods  are  moulded  from  mud,  or  carved 
from  wood  or  stone;  and  thus  by  segregating  an  infi- 
nitesimal part  of  the  vast  idea  of  deity,  the  worshiper 
meets  the  material  requirements  of  his  religious  con- 
ceptions. And  although  the  lower  forms  of  worship  are 
abandoned  as  the  intellect  unfolds,  the  same  principle 
is  continued.  We  set  up  in  the  mind  symbols  of  the  ulti- 
mate idea  which  is  too  great  for  our  grasp,  and  imagining 
ourselves  in  possession  of  the  actual  idea,  we  fall  into 
numberless  errors  concerning  what  we  believe  or  think. 
The  atheistic  hypothesis  of  self-existence,  the  pantheistic 
hypothesis  of  self-creation,  and  the  theistic  hypothesis  of 
creation  by  an  external  agency  are  equally  unthinkable, 
and  therefore  as  postulates  equally  untenable.  Yet  tin- 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  PACIFIC  STATES'  MYTHS.  41 

derlying  all,  however  gross  or  superstitious  the  dogma, 
is  one  fundamental  truth,  namely,  that  there  is  a  prob- 
lem to  be  solved,  an  existent  mysterious  universe  to  be 
accounted  for. 

Deep  down  in  every  human  breast  is  implanted  a 
religiosity  ».s  a  fundamental  attribute  of  man's  nature; 
a  consciousness  that  behind  visible  appearances  is  an  in- 
visible power;  underlying  all  conception  is  an  instinct 
or  intuition  from  which  there  is  no  escape,  that  beyond 
material  actualities  potential  agencies  are  at  work;  and 
throughout  all  belief,  from  the  stupidest  fetichism  to  the 
most  exalted  monotheism,  as  part  of  these  instinctive  con- 
victions, it  is  held  that  the  beings,  or  being,  who  rule 
man's  destiny  may  be  propitiated. 

The  first  cry  of  nature  is  hushed.  From  time  im- 
memorial nations  and  peoples  have  come  and  gone, 
whence  and  whither  no  one  knows;  entering  existence 
unannounced  they  disappear  and  leave  no  trace,  save 
perhaps  their  impress  on  the  language  or  the  mythology 
of  the  world.  Thus  from  historic  fact  blended  with  the 
religious  sentiments  springs  the  Mythic  Idea. 

In  the  following  chapters,  I  have  attempted,  as  far  as 
practicable,  to  classify  the  Myths  of  the  Pacific  States 
under  appropriate  heads.  In  making  such  a  classification 
there  is  no  difficulty,  except  where  in  one  myth  occur 
two  or  more  divisions  of  the  subject,  in  which  case  it 
becomes  necessary,  either  to  break  the  narrative,  or 
make  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  of  classifying.  I 
have  invariably  adopted  the  latter  alternative.  The 
divisions  which  I  make  of  Mythology  are  as  follows:  I. 
Origin  and  End  of  Things;  II.  Physical  Myths;  III. 
Animal  Myths;  IV.  Gods,  Supernatural  Beings,  and 
Worship;  V.  The  Future  State. 


CHAPTER  II. 


ORIGIN   AND    END    OF   THINGS. 

.->"__ 
QUICHE"  CREATION-MYTH — AZTEC  ORIGIN-MYTHS — THE   PAPAOOS — MONTEZU- 

MA  AND  THE  COYOTE — THE  MoQUIS THE  GREAT  SPIDER'S  WEB  OF  THE 

PIMAS — NAVAJO  AND  PUEBLO  CREATIONS — ORIGIN  OF  CLEAR  LAKE  AND 
LAKE  TAHOE — CHAREYA  OF  THE  CAHROCS— MOUNT  SHASTA,  THE  WIG- 
WAM OF  THE  GREAT  SPIRIT— IDAHO  SPRINGS  AND  WATER  FALLS — How 
DIFFERENCES  IN  LANGUAGE  OCCURRED — YEHL,  THE  CREATOR  OF  THE 
THLINKEETS — THE  EAVEN  AND  THE  DOG. 

Of  all  American  peoples-  the  Quiches,  of  Guatema- 
la, have  left  us  the  richest  mythological  legacy.  Their 
description  of  the  creation  as  given  in  the  Popol  Yuh, 
which  may  be  called  the  national  book  of  the  Quiches,1 

1  In  Vienna  in  1857,  the  book  now  best  known  as  the  Popol  Vuh 
was  first  brought  to  the  notice  of  European  scholars,  tinder  the  following 
title:  Las  lliaturias  del  Ori</en  de  los  Indios  de  esta  Provincia  de  Guatemala, 
traducidas  de  la  Lengua  Quiche  at  Castellano  para  mas  Comodidad  de  los 
Ministros  del  8.  Evangelic,  por  el  R.  P.  F.  Francisco  Ximenez,  cura  dodrinero 
par  el  real  patronato  del  Pueblo  de  8.  Thomas  Chuila. — Exdctaiiiente  segun 
el  texto  espanol  del  manuscrito  original  que  se  halla  en  la  biblinteca  de  la 
Universidad  de  Guatemala,  publicado  por  la  priniera  vez,  y  aamentado  con 
una  introduction  y  anotacionen  por  el  Dr  C.  Scherzer.  What  Dr  Scherzer 
says  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Vienna  Academy  of  Sciences,  Feb.  20th, 
1856,  and  repents  in  his  introduction,  about  its  author,  amounts  to  this:  In 
the  earlj-  part  of  the  18th  century  Francisco  Ximenez,  a  Dominican  Father  of 
great  repute  for  his  learning  and  his  love  of  truth,  filled  the  office  of  curate 
in  the  little  Indian  town  of  Chichicastenango  in  the  highlands  of  Guatemala. 
Neither  the  time  of  his  birth  nor  that  of  his  death  can  be  exactly  ascertained, 
but  the  internal  evidence  of  one  of  his  works  shows  that  he  was  engaged 
upon  it  in  17.21.  He  left  many  manuscripts,  but  it  is  supposed  that 
the  unpalatable  truths  some  of  them  contain  with  regard  to  the  ill-treatment 
of  the  Indians  by  the  colonial  authorities  sufficed,  as  previously  in  the  case 
of  Las  Casas,  to  ensure  their  partial  destruction  and  total  suppression.  \N  hat 
remains  of  them  lay  long  hid  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  Convent  of  the 
Dominicans  in  Guatemala,  and  passed  afterwards,  on  the  supression  of  all 

42 


THE  POPOL  VUH.  43 

is,  in  its  rude  strange  eloquence  and  poetic  originality, 
one  of  the  rarest  relics  of  aboriginal  thought.  Although 
obliged  in  reproducing  it  to  condense  somewhat,  I  have 

the  religions  orders,  into  the  library  of  the  University  of  San  Carlos  (Gua- 
temala). Here  Dr.  Scherzer  discovered  them  in  June  1854,  and  care- 
fully copied,  and  afterwards  published  as  above  the  particular  treatise 
with  which  we  are  now  concerned.  This,  according  to  Father  Ximenez  him- 
self, and  according  to  its  internal  evidence,  is  a  translation  of  a  literal  copy  of 
an  original  book,  written  by  one  or  more  Quiches,  in  the  Quiche  language,  in 
Roman  letters,  after  the  Christians  had  occupied  Guatemala,  and  after  the 
real  original  Popol  Vuh — National  liook— had  been  lost  or  destroyed — lite- 
rally, was  no  more  to  be  seen — and  written  to  replace  that  lost  book.  '  Quise 
trasladar  todas  las  historias  d  la  lelra  de  estos  iudios,  y  tambien  traducirla 
en  la  lengua  castellana.'  '  Esto  escribiremos  ya  en  la  ley  de  Dios  en  la 
cristiandad,  los  sacaremos,  porque  ya  no  hay  libro  comun,  original  donde 
verlo,  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  1,  4,  5.  '  Voila  ce  quenous  ecrironsde- 
puis  (qu'on  a  promulgue)  la  parole  de  Dieu,  et  en  dedans  du  Christianisme ; 
nous  le  reproduirons,  parce  qu'on  ne  voit  plus  ce  Livre  national,'  'Vae 
x-chi-ka  tzibah  chupan  chic  u  chabal  Dios,  pa  Christianoil  chic;  x-chi-k'- 
elezah,  rumal  ma-habi  chic  ilbal  re  Popo-Vuh,'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol 
Vuh,  p.  5.  The  evidence  that  the  author  was  Quiche  will  be  found  in 
the  numerous  passages  scattered  through  the  narrative  in  which  he 
speaks  of  the  Quiche  nation,  and  of  the  ancestors  of  that  nation  as  '  our 
people,  '  our  ancestors, '  and  so  on.  We  pass  now  to  what  the  Abbe  Bras- 
seur de  Bourbourg  has  to  say  about  the  book.  He  says  that  Ximenes 
'discovered  this  document,  in  the  last  years  of  the  17th  century.'  In 
1855,  at  Guatemala,  the  abbe  first  saw  Ximenez'  manuscript  containing  this 
work.  The  manuscript  contained  the  Quiche  text  and  the  Spanish  curate's 
translation  of  that  text.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  copied  both  at  that  time,  but 
he  was  dissatisfied  with  the  translation,  believing  it  to  be  full  of  faults  owing 
to  the  prejudices  and  the  ignorance  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  made,  as  well 
as  disfigured  by  abridgments  and  omissions.  So  in  1860  he  settled  himself 
among  the  Quiches  and  by  the  help  of  natives  joined  to  his  own  practical 
knowledge  of  their  language,  he  elaborated  a  new  and  literal  translation, 
(aussi  littt'rale  qu'il  a  ete  possible  de  la  faire).  We  seem  justified  then  on 
the  whole  in  taking  this  document  for  what  Ximenez  and  its  own  evidence 
declare  it  to  be,  namely,  a  reproduction  of  an  older  work  or  body  of  Quiche 
traditional  history,  written  because  that  older  work  had  been  lost  and  was 
likely  to  be  forgotten,  and  written  by  a  Quiche  not  long  after  the  Spanish 
conquest.  One  consequence  of  the  last  fact  would  seem  to  be  that  a  tinge  of 
biblical  expression  has,  consciously  or  unconsciously  to  the  Quiche  who 
wrote,  influenced  the  form  of  the  narrative.  But  these  coincidences  may  be 
wholly  accidental,  the  more  as  there  are  also  striking  resemblances  to  expres- 
sions in  the  Scandinavian  Edda  and  in  the  Hindoo  Veda.  And  even  if  they 
be  not  accidental,  '  much  remains, '  adopting  the  language  and  the  conclu- 
sion of  Professor  Max  Miiller,  '  in  these  American  traditions  which  is  so 
different  from  anything  else  in  the  national  literatures  of  other  countries, 
that  we  may  safely  treat  it  as  the  genuine  growth  of  the  intellectual  soil  of 
America.'  Chips  from  a  German  Workshop,  vol.  i.,  p.  328.  For  the  fore- 
going, as  well  as  further  information  on  the  subject  see: — Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg, Popol  Vuh,  pp.  5-31,  195-231;  S'il  existe  des  Sources  de  I'Hist.  Prim., 
pp.  83-7;  Hist,  des  Xat.  Cw.,  tom.i.,  pp.  47-G1;  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat., 
pp.  5-15;  Sclierzer,  in  Sitzunyberichte  der  Akademie  der  Wissenshaften  Wien, 
20th  Feb.,  1856;  Helps'  Spanish  Conquest,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  455-6.  Professor 
Miiller  in  his  essay  on  the  Popol  Vuh,  has  in  one  or  two  places  misunder- 
stood the  narrative.  There  was  no  such  creation  of  man  as  that  he  gives 
as  the  second,  while  his  third  creation  is  the  second  of  the  original. 
Again,  he  makes  the  four  Quiche  ancestors  to  be  the  progenitors  of 


44  OEIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

endeavored  to  give  not  only  the  substance,  but  also,  as 
far  as  ppssible,  the  peculiar  style  and  phraseology  of  the 
original.  It  is  with  this  primeval  picture,  whose  simple 
silent  sublimity  is  that  of  the  inscrutable  past,  that  we 
begin  :— 

And  the  heaven  was  formed,  and  all  the  signs  thereof 
set  in  their  angle  and  alignment,  and  its  boundaries  fixed 
towards  the  four  winds  by  the  Creator  and  Former,  and 
Mother  and  Father  of  life  and  existence, — he  by  whom 
all  move  and  breathe,  the  Father  and  Cherisher  of  the 
peace  of  nations  and  of  the  civilization  of  his  people,— 
he  whose  wisdom  has  projected  the  excellence  of  all  that 
is  on  the  earth,  or  in  the  lakes,  or  in  the  sea. 

Behold  the  first  word  and  the  first  discourse.  There 
\vas  as  yet  no  man,  nor  any  animal,  nor  bird,  nor  fish, 
nor  crawfish,  nor  any  pit,  nor  ravine,  nor  green  herb, 
nor  any  tree ;  nothing  was  but  the  firmament.  The  face 
of  the  earth  had  not  yet  appeared, — only  the  peaceful  sea 
and  all  the  space  of  heaven.  There  was  nothing  yet 
joined  together,  nothing  that  clung  to  anything  else ;  no- 
thing that  balanced  itself,  that  made  the  least  rustling, 
that  made  a  sound  in  the  heaven.  There  was  nothing 
that  stood  up;  nothing  but  the  quiet  water,  but  the  sea, 
calm  and  alone  in  its  boundaries :  nothing  existed ;  no- 
thing but  immobility  and  silence,  in  the  darkness,  in  the 
night.2 

all  tribes  both  while  and  black;  while  they  were  the  parents  of  the  Quiche 
and  kindred  races  only.  The  course  of  the  legend  brings  us  to  tribes  of  a 
strange  blood,  with  which  these  four  ancestors  and  their  people  were  often 
at  war.  The  narrative  is,  however,  itself  so  confused  and  contradictory 
at  points,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  avoid  such  things;  and,  as  a 
whole,  the  views  of  Professor  Miiller  on  the  Popol  Vuh  seem  just  and  well 
considered.  Baldwin,  Ancient  America,  pp.  191-7,  gives  a  mere  dilution  of 
Professor  Mtiller's  essay,  and  that  without  acknowledgment. 

2  The  original  Quicht-  runs  as  follows:  '  Are  u  tzihoxic  vae  ea  cu  tzinin-oc, 
ca  ca  chamam-oc,  ca  tziuouic;  ca  ca  zilanic,  ca  ca  lolinic,  ca  tolona  pvich  u 
pa  cah.  Vae  cute  nabe  tzih,  nabe  uchan. — Ma-habi-oc  hun  vinak,  lum 
chicop;  tziquin,  car,  tap,  che,  abah,  hul,  civan,  quim,  qichelah:  xa-utuquel 
cah  qolic.  Mavi  calah  u  vach  uleu:  xa-utuquel  remanic  palo,  u  pah  cah 
ronohel.  Ma-habi  nakila  ca  molobic,  ca  cotzobic:  hunta  ca  zilobic;  ca  nial 
ca  ban-tah,  ca  cotz  ca  ban-tah  pa  cah.  X-ma  qo-vi  nakila  qolic  yacalic;  xa 
remanic  ha,  xa  liauic  palo,  xa-utuquel  remanic;  x-ma  qo-vi  nakilalo  qolic. 
Xa  ca  chamanic,  ca  tzininic  chi  gekum,  chi  agab.' 

This  passage  is  rendered  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  thus :  '  Voi- 
ci  le  recit  comme  quoi  tout  etait  en  suspeus,  tout  etait  calme  et  silencieux; 


THE  QUICHE  IDEA  OF  CREATION.  45 

Alone  also  the  Creator,  the  Former,  the  Dominator, 
the  Feathered  Serpent, — those  that  engender,  those 
that  give  being,  they  are  upon  the  water,  like  a 
growing  light.  They  are  enveloped  in  green  and 
blue;  and  therefore  their  name  is  Gucumatz.3  Lo, 
now  how  the  heavens  exist,  how  exists  also  the 
Heart  of  Heaven;  such  is  the  name  of  God;  it  is 
thus  that  he  is  called.  And  they  spake;  they  con- 
sulted together  and  meditated ;  they  mingled  their  words 
and  their  opinion.  And  the  creation  was  verily  after 
this  wise:  Earth,  they  said,  and  on  the  instant  it  was 
formed ;  like  a  cloud  or  a  fog  was  its  beginning.  Then 
the  mountains  rose  over  the  water  like  great  lobsters; 
in  an  instant  the  mountains  and  the  plains  were  visible, 
and  the  cypress  and  the  pine  appeared.  Then  was  the 
Gucumatz  filled  with  joy,  crying  out:  Blessed  be  thy 
coming.  0  Heart  of  Heaven,  Hurakan,  Thunderbolt. 
Our  work  and  our  labor  has  accomplished  its  end. 

The  earth  and  its  vegetation  having  thus  appeared,  it 
was  peopled  with  the  various  forms  of  animal  life.  And 
the  Makers  said  to  the  animals:  Speak  now  our  name, 

tout  etait  immobile,  tout  etait  paisible,  et  vide  etait  1'  immensity  des  cieux. 
Voila  done  la  premiere  parole  et  le  premier  discours.  II  n'y  avait  pas  encore 
un  seul  homme,  pas  un  animal;  pas  d'oiseaux,  de  poissons,  d'ecrevisses, 
de  bois,  de  pierre,  de  fonclrieres,  de  ravins,  d'herbe  ou  bebocages:  seulement 
le  ciel  existait.  La  face  de  la  terre  ne  se  manifestait  pas  encore:  seule  la 
mer  paisible  etait  et  tout  1'espace  des  cieux.  II  n'y  avait  encore  rien  qui  fit 
corps,  rien  qui  se  cramponnat  a  autre  chose:  rien  qui  se  balanqat,  qui  fit  (le 
moindre)  frolement,  qui  fit  (entendre)  un  son  dans  le  ciel.  II  n'y  avait  rien 
qui  existat  debout;  (il  n'y  avait)  que  1'eau  paisible,  que  la  mer  calme  et  seule 
Tan  ;  ses  bornes;  car  il  n'y  avait  rien  qui  existat.  Ce  n'etait  que  rimmobili- 
te  etle  silence  dans  les  tenebres,  dans  la  nuit.'  Popol  }'uh,p.  7. 

And  by  Francisco  Ximenez  thus :  Este  es  su  ser  dicho  cuando  estaba  sus- 
pense en  calma,  en  silencio,  sin  moverse,  sin  cosa  sino  vacio  el  cielo.  Y  esta 
es  la  prhnera  palabra  y  elocuencia;  aun  nohabia  hombres,  animales,  pajaros, 
pescado,  cangrejo,  palo,  piedra,  hoya,  barranca,  paja  ni  monte,  sino  solo 
estaba  el  cielo;  no  se  manif estaba  la  faz  de  la  tierra;  sino  que  solo  estaba  el 
mar  represado,  y  todolo  del  cielo;  aun  nohabia  cosa  alguna  junta,  nisonaba 
nada,  ni  cosa  alguna  se  meneaba,  ni  cosa  que  hiciera  mal,  ni  cosa  que  hiciera 
"  cotz,"  (esto  es  ruido  en  el  cielo),  ni  habia  cosa  que  estuviese  parada  en 
pie ;  solo  el  agua  represada,  solo  la  mar  sosegada,  solo  ella  represada,  ni  cosa 
algiina  habia  que  estuviese ;  solo  estaba  en  silencio,  y  sosiego  en  la  obscu- 
ridad,  y  la  noche.'  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  5-6. 

3  '  Gucumatz,  litteralement  serpent  emplume,  et  dans  un  sens  plus  etendu, 
serpent  revetu  de  couleurs  brillantes,  de  vert  ou  d'azur.  Les  plumes  du  guc 
ou  quetzal  offrent  egalement  les  deux  teintes.  C'est  exactment  la  merne 
chose  que  queizalcohuatl  dans  la  langue  mexicaine.'  Brasseur  de  B&urbourg, 
Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  50. 


46  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

honor  us,  us  your  mother  and  father;  invoke  Hurakan, 
the  Lightning-flash,  the  Thunderbolt  that  strikes,  the 
Heart  of  Heaven,  the  Heart  of  the  Earth,  the  Creator  and 
Former,  Him  who  begets,  and  Him  who  gives  being,— 
Speak,  call  on  us,  salute  us !  So  was  it  said  to  the  animals. 
But  the  animals  could  not  answer ;  they  could  not  speak 
at  all  after  the  manner  of  men ;  they  could  only  cluck, 
and  croak,  each  murmuring  after  his  kind  in  a  different 
manner.  This  displeased  the  Creators,  and  they  said  to 
the  animals:  Inasmuch  as  ye  can  not  praise  us,  neither 
call  upon  our  names,  your  flesh  shall  be  humiliated ;  it 
shall  be  broken  with  teeth ;  ye  shall  be  killed  and  eaten. 

Again  the  gods  took  counsel  together ;  they  determined 
to  make  man.  So  they  made  a  man  of  clay ;  and  when 
they  had  made  him,  they  saw  that  it  was  not  good.  He 
was  without  cohesion,  without  consistence,  motionless, 
strengthless,  inept,  watery;  he  could  not  move  his  head, 
his  face  looked  but  one  way;  his  sight  was  restricted,  he 
could  not  look  behind  him ;  he  had  been  endowed  with 
language,  but  he  had  no  intelligence,  so  he  was  consumed 
in  the  water. 

Again  is  there  counsel  in  heaven:  Let  us  make 
an  intelligent  being  who  shall  adore  and  invoke  us. 
It  was  decided  that  a  man  should  be  made  of  wood 
and  a  woman  of  a  kind  of  pith.  They  were  made ;  but 
the  result  was  in  no  wise  satisfactory.  They  moved 
about  perfectly  well,  it  is  true ;  they  increased  and  mul- 
tiplied ;  they  peopled  the  world  with  sons  and  daughters, 
little  wooden  mannikins  like  themselves;  but  still  the 
heart  and  the  intelligence  were  wanting;  they  held  no 
memory  of  their  Maker  and  Former ;  they  led  a  useless 
existence,  they  lived  as  the  beasts  live ;  they  forgot  the 
Heart  of  Heaven.  They  were  but  an  essay,  an  attempt 
at  men;  they  had  neither  blood,  nor  substance,  nor 
moisture,  nor  fat ;  their  cheeks  were  shrivelled,  their  feet 
and  hands  dried  up ;  their  flesh  languished. 

Then  was  the  Heart  of  Heaven  wroth ;  and  he  sent 
ruin  and  destruction  upon  tho.se  ingrates ;  he  rained  upon 
them  night  and  day  from  heaven  with  a  thick  resin  j 


DESTRUCTION  AND  RE-CREATION  OF  MAN.  47 

and  the  earth  was  darkened.  And  the  men  went  mad 
with  terror;  they  tried  to  mount  upon  the  roofs  and  the 
houses  fell ;  they  tried  to  climb  the  trees  and  the  trees 
shook  them  far  from  their  branches;  they  tried  to  hide 
in  the  caves  and  dens  of  the  earth,  but  these  closed  their 
holes  against  them.  The  bird  Xecotcovach  came  to  tear 
out  their  eyes ;  and  the  Camalotz  cut  off  their  head ;  and 
the  Cotzbalam  devoured  their  flesh;  and  the  Tecum- 
balam  broke  and  bruised  their  bones  to  powder.  Thus 
were  they  all  devoted  to  chastisement  and  destruction, 
save  only  a  few  who  were  preserved  as  memorials  of  the 
wooden  men  that  had  been ;  and  these  now  exist  in  the 
woods  as  little  apes.4 

Once  more  are  the  gods  in  counsel;  in  the  darkness, 
in  the  night  of  a  desolated  universe  do  they  commune  to- 
gether: of  what  shall  we  make  man?  And  the  Crea- 
tor and  Former  made  four  perfect  men;  and  wholly  of 
yellow  and  white  maize  was  their  flesh  composed.  These 
were  the  names  of  the  four  men  that  were  made :  the 
name  of  the  first  was  Balam-Quitze ;  of  the  second,  Balam- 
Agab;  of  the  third  Mahucutah;  and  of  the  fourth,  Iqi- 
Balam.5  They  had  neither  father  nor  mother,  neither 
were  they  made  by  the  ordinary  agents  in  the  work  of 
creation ;  but  their  corning  into  existence  was  a  miracle 
extraordinary,  wrought  by  the  special  intervention  of 
him  who  is  preeminently  The  Creator.  Verily,  at  last, 
were  there  found  men  wrorthy  of  their  origin  and  their 
destiny ;  verily,  at  last,  did  the  gods  look  on  beings  who 
could  see  with  their  eyes,  and  handle  with  their  hands, 
and  understand  with  their  hearts.  Grand  of  counte- 
nance and  broad  of  limb  the  four  sires  of  our  race  stood 
up  under  the  white  rays  of  the  morning  star — sole  light 
as  yet  of  the  primeval  world — stood  up  and  looked. 
Their  great  clear  eyes  swept  rapidly  over  all;  they  saw 

4  A  long  rambling  story  is  here  introduced  which  has  nothing  to  do  with 
Creation,  and  which  is  omitted  for  the  present. 

*  Balam-Quitze,  the  tiger  with  the  sweet  smile;  Balam-Agab,  the  tiger  of  the 
night;  Mahucutah,  the  distinguished  name;  Iql-Balam,  the  tiger  of  the  moon. 
'  Telle  est  la  signification  litterale  que  Ximenez  a  donriee  de  ces  quatre  norns.' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  199. 


43  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

the  woods  and  the  rocks,  the  lakes  and  the  sea,  the 
mountains  and  the  valleys,  and  the  heavens  that  were 
above  all ;  and  they  comprehended  all  and  admired  ex- 
ceedingly. Then  they  returned  thanks  to  those  who  had 
made  the  world  and  all  that  therein  was:  We  offer  up 
our  thanks,  twice — yea  verily,  thrice !  We  have  received 
life;  we  speak,  we  walk,  we  taste;  we  hear  and  under- 
stand ;  we  know,  both  that  which  is  near  and  that  which 
is  far  off;  we  see  all  things,  great  and  small,  in  all  the 
heaven  and  earth.  Thanks  then,  Maker  and  Former, 
Father  and  Mother  of  our  life!  we  have  been  created; 
we  are. 

But  the  gods  were  not  wholly  pleased  with  this  thing; 
Heaven  they  thought  had  overshot  its  mark;  these  men 
were  too  perfect;  knew,  understood,  and  saw  too  much. 
Therefore  there  was  counsel  again  in  heaven :  What  shall 
we  do  with  man  now?  It  is  not  good,  this  that  we  see; 
these  are  as  gods;  they  would  make  themselves  equal 
with  us ;  lo,  they  know  all  things,  great  and  small.  Let 
us  now  contract  their  sight,  so  that  they  may  see  only  a 
little  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  be  content.  There- 
upon the  Heart  of  Heaven  breathed  a  cloud  over  the 
pupil  of  the  eyes  of  men,  and  a  veil  came  over  it  as 
when  one  breathes  on  the  face  of  a  mirror ;  thus  was  the 
globe  of  the  eye  darkened ;  neither  was  that  which  was 
far  off  clear  to  it  any  more,  but  only  that  which  was  near. 

Then  the  four  men  slept,  and  there  was  counsel  in 
heaven:  and  four  women  were  made, — to  Balam-Quitze 
was  allotted  Caha-Paluma  to  wife;  to  Balam-Agab, 
Chomiha;  to  Mahucuth,  Tzummiha;  and  to  Iqi-Balam, 
Cakixaha.6  Now  the  women  were  exceedingly  fair  to 
look  upon ;  and  when  the  men  awoke,  their  hearts  were 
glad  because  of  the  women. 

Xext,  as  I  interpret  the  narrative,  there  were  other 
men  created,  the  ancestors  of  other  peoples,  while  the 

6  Caha-paluma,  the  falling  water;  Chomi-ha  or  Chomih-a,  the  beautiful  house 
or  the  beautiful  water ;  in  the  same  way,  Tzitnitnika  may  mean  either  the  house 
or  the  water  of  the  humming-birds ;  and  Cakixaha,  either  the  house  or  the 
water  of  the  aras  [which  are  a  kind  of  parrot].  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Popol 
rah,  p.  205. 


THE  QUICHES  SET  OUT  FOR  TULAN-ZUIYA.  49 

first  four  were  the  fathers  of  all  the  branches  of  the 
Quiche  race.  The  different  tribes  at  first,  however,  lived 
together  amicably  enough,  in  a  primitive  state ;  and  in- 
creased and  multiplied,  leading  happy  lives  under  their 
bright  and  morning  star,  precursor  of  the  yet  unseen  sun. 
They  had  as  yet  no  worship  save  the  breathing  of  the 
instinct  of  their  soul,  as  yet  no  altars  to  the  gods; 
only — and  is  there  not  a  whole  idyl  in  the  simple  words? 
— only  they  gazed  up  into  heaven,  not  knowing  what  they 
had  come  so  far  to  do!7  They  were  filled  with  love, 
with  obedience,  and  with  fear ;  and  lifting  their  eyes  to- 
wards heaven,  they  made  their  requests:— 

Hail!  0  Creator,  0  Former!  thou  that  hearest  and 
understandest  us!  abandon  us  not,  forsake  us  not!  0 
God,  thou  that  art  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth,  0  Heart 
of  Heaven,  0  Heart  of  Earth!  give  us  descendants  and  a 
posterity  as  long  as  the  light  endure.  Give  us  to  walk 
always  in  an  open  road,  in  a  path  without  snares;  to 
lead  happy,  quiet,  and  peaceable  lives,  free  of  all  reproach. 
It  was  thus  they  spake,  living  tranquilly,  invoking  the 
return  of  the  light,  waiting  the  rising  of  the  sun,  watch- 
ing the  star  of  the  morning,  precursor  of  the  sun.  But 
no  sun  came,  and  the  four  men  and  their  descendants 
grew  uneasy :  We  have  no  person  to  watch  over  us,  they 
said,  nothing  to  guard  our  symbols.  So  the  four  men  and 
their  people  set  out  for  Tulan-Zuiva,8  otherwise  called 
the  Seven-caves  or  Seven-ravines,  and  there  ,they  re- 
ceived gods,  each  man  as  head  of  a  family,  a  god ;  though 
inasmuch  as  the  fourth  man,  Iqi-Balam,  had  no  children 
and  founded  no  family,  his  god  is  not  usually  taken  into 
the  account.  Balam-Quitze  received  the  god  Tohil;  Ba- 

7  '  Are  ma-habi  chi  tzukun,  qui  coon ;  xavi  chi  cab  chi  qui  pacaba  qiti  vach ; 
mavi  qu'etaam  x-e  be-vi  naht  x-qni  bauo.'     '  Alors  ils  ne  servaient  pas  encore 
et  ne  soiitenaient  point  (les  autels  des  dieux) ;  seulement  ils  tournaient  leurs 
visages  vers  le  ciel,  et  ils  ne  savaient  ce  qu'ils  etaient  venus  faire  si  loin.' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  209.     It  is  right  to  add,  however,  that 
Ximenez  gives  a  much  more  prosaic  turn  to  the  passage:   'No  cabian  de 
sustento,  sino  que  levantaban  las  caras  al  cielo  y  no  se  sabian  alejar.'  Hist. 
Ind.  Guat.,  p.  84. 

8  Or  as  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  87,  writes  it,  —  Tulanzii,  (las  siete 
cuevas  y  siete  barrancas). 

VOL.  III.    4 


50  OEIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

lam  Agab  received  the  god  Avilix;  and  Mahucutah  re- 
ceived the  god  Hacavitz ;  all  very  powerful  gods,  but  Tohil 
seems  to  have  been  the  chief,  and  in  a  general  way,  god 
of  the  whole  Quiche  nation.  Other  people  received  gods 
at  the  same  time ;  and  it  had  been  for  all  a  long  march 
to  Tulan. 

Now  the  Quiches  had  as  yet  no  fire,  and  as  Tulan 
was  a  much  colder  climate  than  the  happy  eastern  land 
they  had  left,  they  soon  began  to  feel  the  want  of  it. 
The  god  Tohil  who  was  the  creator  of  fire  had  some  in  his 
possession ;  so  to  him,  as  was  most  natural,  the  Quiches 
applied,  and  Tohil  in  some  way  supplied  them  with  fire. 

But  shortly  after,  there  fell  a  great  rain  that  extin- 
guished all  the  fires  of  the  land ;  and  much  hail  also  fell 
on  the  heads  of  the  people ;  and  because  of  the  rain  and 
the  hail,  their  fires  were  utterly  scattered  and  put  out. 
Then  Tohil  created  fire  again  by  stamping  with  his 
sandal.  Several  times  thus  fire  failed  them,  but  Tohil 
always  renewed  it.  Many  other  trials  also  they  under- 
went in  Tulan,  famines  and  such  things,  and  a  general 
dampness  and  cold, — for  the  earth  was  moist,  there  being 
as  yet  no  sun. 

Here  also  the  language  of  all  the  families  was  confused 
so  that  no  one  of  the  first  four  men  could  any  longer  un- 
derstand the  speech  of  another.  This  also  made  them 
very  sad.  They  determined  to  leave  Tulan;  and  the 
greater  part  of  them,  under  the  guardianship  and  direc- 
tion of  Tohil,  set  out  to  see  where  they  should  take  up  their 
abode.  They  continued  on  their  way  amid  the  most 
extreme  hardships  for  want  of  food;  sustaining  them- 
selves at  one  time  upon  the  mere  smell  of  their  staves, 
and  by  imagining  that  they  were  eating,  when  in  verity 
and  in  truth,  they  ate  nothing.  Their  heart,  indeed,  it 
is  again  and  again  said,  was  almost  broken  by  affliction. 
Poor  wanderers!  they  had  a  cruel  way  to  go,  many  for- 
ests to  pierce,  many  stern  mountains  to  overpass  and  a 
long  passage  to  make  through  the  sea,  along  the  shingle 
and  pebbles  and  drifted  sand, — the  sea  being,  however, 
parted  for  their  passage. 


QUICHE  OEIGIN  OF  THE  SUN.  51 

At  last  they  came  to  a  mountain  that  they  named 
Hacavitz,  after  one  of  their  gods,  and  here  they  rested, — 
for  here  they  were  by  some  means  given  to  understand 
that  they  should  see  the  sun.  Then  indeed,  was  filled 
with  an  exceeding  joy,  the  heart  of  Balam-Quitze,  of 
Balam- Agab,  of  Mahucutah,  and  of  Iqi-Balam.  It  seemed 
to  them  that  even  the  face  of  the  morning  star  caught  a 
new  and  more  resplendent  brightness.  They  shook  their 
incense  pans  and  danced  for  very  gladness :  sweet  were 
their  tears  in  dancing,  very  hot  their  incense — their  pre- 
cious incense.  At  last  the  sun  commenced  to  advance : 
the  animals,  small  and  great,  were  full  of  delight ;  they 
raised  themselves  to  the  surface  of  the-  water;  they  flut- 
tered in  the  ravines;  they  gathered  at  the  edge  of  the 
mountains,  turning  their  heads  together  toward  that 
part  from  which  the  sun  came.  And  the  lion  and  the 
tiger  roared.  And  the  first  bird  that  sang  was  that  called 
the  Queletzu.  All  the  animals  were  beside  themselves  at 
the  sight;  the  eagle  and  the  kite  beat  their  wings,  and 
every  bird,  both  small  and  great.  The  men  prostrated 
themselves  on  the  ground,  for  their  hearts  were  full  to 
the  brim. 

And  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars  were  now 
all  established.  Yet  was  not  the  sun  then  in  the  be- 
ginning the  same  as  now ;  his  heat  wanted  force,  and  he 
was  but  as  a  reflection  in  a  mirror ;  verily,  say  the  histo- 
ries, not  at  all  the  same  sun  as  that  of  to-day.  Never- 
theless he  dried  up  and  warmed  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  answered  many  good  ends. 

Another  wonder  when  the  sun  rose!  The  three  tribal 
gods,  Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz,  were  turned  into  stone, 
as  were  also  the  gods  connected  with  the  lion,  the  tiger, 
the  viper,  and  other  fierce  and  dangerous  animals.  Per- 
haps we  should  not  be  alive  at  this  moment — continues 
the  chronicle — because  of  the  voracity  of  these  fierce  ani- 
mals, of  these  lions,  and  tigers,  and  vipers ;  perhaps  to- 
day our  glory  would  not  be  in  existence,  had  not  the  sun 
caused  this  petrification. 

And  the  people  multiplied  on  this  Mount  Hacavitz, 


52  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

and  here  they  built  their  city.  It  is  here  also  that  they 
began  to  sing  that  song  called  Kamucu,  'we  see.'  They 
sang  it,  though  it  made  their  hearts  ache,  for  this  is  what 
they  said  in  singing:  Alas!  We  ruined  ourselves  in 
Tulan,  there  lost  we  many  of  our  kith  and  kin,  they  still 
remain  there,  left  behind!  We  indeed  have  seen  the 
sun,  but  they — now  that  his  golden  light  begins  to  ap- 
pear, where  are  they? 

And  they  worshiped  the  gods  that  had  become  stoner 
Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz;  and  they  offered  them  the 
blood  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  pierced  their  own  ears 
and  shoulders  in  honor  of  these  gods,  and  collected  the 
blood  with  a  sponge,  and  pressed  it  out  into  a  cup  before 
them. 

Toward  the  end  of  their  long  and  eventful  life  Ba- 
lam-Quitze,  Balam-Agab,  Mahucutah,  and  Iqi-Balam 
were  impelled,  apparently  by  a  supernatural  vision,  to 
lay  before  their  gods  a  more  awful  offering  than  the  life 
of  senseless  beasts.  They  began  to  wet  their  altars 
with  the  heart's  blood  of  human  victims.  From  their 
mountain  hold  they  watched  for  lonely  travelers  belong- 
ing to  the  surrounding  tribes,  seized,  overpowered,  and 
slew  them  for  a  sacrifice.  Man  after  man  was  missing  in 
the  neighboring  villages ;  and  the  people  said :  *Lo !  the 
tigers  have  carried  them  away, — for  wherever  the  blood 
was  of  a  man  slain,  were  always  found  the  tracks  of 
many  tigers.  Now  this  was  the  craft  of  the  priests,  and 
at  last  the  tribes  began  to  suspect  the  thing  and  to  fol- 
low the  tracks  of  the  tigers.  But  the  trails  had  been 
made  purposely  intricate,  by  steps  returning  on  them- 
selves and  by  the  obliteration  of  steps;  and  the  moun- 
tain region  where  the  altars  were  was  already  covered 
with  a  thick  fog  and  a  small  rain,  and  its  paths  flowed 
with  mud. 

The  hearts  of  the  villagers  were  thus  fatigued  within 
them,  pursuing  unknown  enemies.  At  last,  however,  it 
became  plain  that  the  gods  Tohil,  Avilix  and  Hacavitz, 
and  their  worship,  were  in  some  way  or  other  the  cause 
of  this  bereavement:  so  the  people  of  the  villages  con- 


THE  END  OF  THE  QUICHE  CREATION.  53 

spired  against  them.  Many  attacks,  both  openly  and 
by  ruses,  did  they  make  on  the  gods,  and  on  the  four 
men,  and  on  the  children  and  people  connected  with 
them ;  but  not  once  did  they  succeed,  so  great  was  the 
wisdom,  and  power,  and  courage  of  the  four  men  and  of 
their  deities.  And  these  three  gods  petrified,  as  we 
have  told,  could  nevertheless  resume  a  movable  shape 
when  they  pleased;  which  indeed  they  often  did,  as  will 
be  seen  hereafter. 

At  last  the  war  was  finished.  By  the  miraculous  aid 
of  a  horde  of,  wasps  and  hornets,  the  Quiches  utterly  de- 
feated and  put  to  the  rout  in  a  general  battle  all  their 
enemies.  And  the  tribes  humiliated  themselves  before 
the  face  of  Balam-Quitze,  of  Balam-Agab,  and  of  Mahu- 
cutah:  Unfortunates  that  we  are,  they  said,  spare  to  us 
at  least  our  lives.  Let  it  be  so,  it  was  answered,  al- 
though you  be  worthy  of  death ;  you  shall,  however,  be 
our  tributaries  and  serve  us,  as  long  as  the  sun  endure, 
as  long  as  the  light  shall  follow  his  course.  This  was 
the  reply  of  our  fathers  and  mothers,  upon  Mount  Ha- 
cavitz;  and  thereafter  they  lived  in  great  honor  and 
peace,  and  their  souls  had  rest,  and  all  the  tribes  served 
them  there. 

Now  it  came  to  pass  that  the  time  of  the  death  of 
Balam-Quitze,  Balam-Agab,  Mahucutah,  and  Iqi-Balam 
drew  near.  No  bodily  sickness  nor  suffering  came  upon 
them;  but  they  were  forewarned  that  their  death  and 
their  end  was  at  hand.  Then  they  called  their  sons 
and  their  descendants  round  them  to  receive  their  last 
counsels. 

And  the  heart  of  the  old  men  was  rent  within  them. 
In  the  anguish  of  their  heart  they  sang  the  Kamucu, 
the  old  sad  song  that  they  had  sung  when  the  sun  first 
rose,  when  the  sun  rose  and  they  thought  of  the  friends 
they  had  left  in  Tulan,  whose  face  they  should  see 
no  more  for  ever.  Then  they  took  leave  of  their 
wives,  one  by  one;  and  of  their  sons,  one  by  one;  of 
each  in  particular  they  took  leave;  and  they  said: 
We  return  to  our  people;  already  the  King  of  the 


54  OEIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

Stags  is  ready,  he  stretches  himself  through  the  heaven. 
Lo,  we  are  about  to  return ;  our  work  is  done ;  the  day » 
of  our  life  are  complete.  Remember  us  well;  let  us 
never  pass  from  your  memory.  You  will  see  still  our 
houses  and  our  mountains ;  multiply  in  them,  and  then 
go  on  upon  your  way  and  see  again  the  places  whence  we 
are  come. 

So  the  old  men  took  leave  of  their  sons  and  of  their 
wives;  and  Balam-Quitze  spake  again:  Behold!  he  said, 
I  leave  you  what  shall  keep  me  in  remembrance.  I 
have  taken  leave  of  you — and  am  filled  with  sadness, 
he  added.  Then  instantly  the  four  old  men  were  not; 
but  in  their  place  was  a  great  bundle ;  and  it  was  never 
unfolded,  neither  could  any  man  find  seam  therein  on 
rolling  it  over  and  over.  So  it  was  called  the  Majesty 
Enveloped ;  and  it  became  a  memorial  of  these  fathers, 
and  was  held  very  dear  and  precious  in  the  sight  of  the 
Quiches ;  and  they  burned  incense  before  it.9 

Thus  died  and  disappeared  on  Mount  Hacavitz  Balam- 
Quitze,  Balam-Agab,  Mahucutah,  and  Iqi-Balam,  these 
first  men  who  came  from  the  east,  from  the  other  side  of 
the  sea.  Long  time  had  they  been  here  when  they 
died ;  and  they  were  very  old,  and  surnamed  the  Ven- 
erated and  the  Sacrificers. 

Such  is  the  Quiche  account  of  the  creation  of  the 
earth  and  its  inhabitants  and  of  the  first  years  of  the 
existence  of  mankind.  Although  we  find  here  described 

9  The  following  passage  in  a  letter  from  the  Abbe  Brassenr  de  Bonrbonrg, 
to  Mr.  Rafn  of  Copenhagen,  bearing  date  25th  October,  1858,  may  be  iisi-fiil 
in  this  connection: — '  On  sait  que  la  coutume  tolteque  et  mcxieaino  etuit  do 
conserver,  coinme  chez  lea  Chretiens,  lea  reliquea  des  heros  de  la  patrie :  on 
enveloppait  leurs  os  aveo  des  pierres  precieusea  dans  un  paqnet  d'etoffes 
auquel  on  doiiuait  le  nom  de  Tlaquimilolli;  cea  paquets  deiueuraient  a  ja- 
mais  feruies  et  on  les  deposait  au  fond  dea  sanctuaires  oil  on  les  conservait 
comme  dea  objects  sacn's.'  Nonvettts  Annales  rfts  Vnynfirs,  1858,  torn,  iv.,  p. 
268.  One  of  these  'bundles,'  was  given  up  to  the  Christians  by  a  Tlasca- 
Itec  some  time  after  the  conquest.  It  was  reported  to  contain  the  remains  of 
Camaxtli,  the  chief  god  of  Tlascala.  The  native  historian,  Camargo,  de- 
scribes it  as  follows:  '  Quand  on  dent  le  paqnet  oi»  se  tronvaient  les  cemlres 

de  1'idole  Camaxtle,  on  y  tronva  aussi  un  paqnet  de  cheveux  blonds, 

on  y  trouva  aussi  line  emeraude,  et  de  sea  cendrea  on  avait  fait  une  pate, 
en  les  petrissant  avec  le  sang  des  enfants  que  1'on  nvait  sacrines.'  Ill-it,  de 
Tlaxcallan-y  in  Nouvelles  Aiinaks  des  Voy.,  toui.  xcix.,  1843,  p.  179. 


MEXICAN  COSMOGONY.  55 

in  the  plainest  and  least  equivocal  terms  a  supreme,  all- 
'powerful  Creator  of  all  things,  there  are  joined  with 
him,  in  a  somewhat  perplexing  manner  a  number  of 
.auxiliary  deities  and  makers.  It  may  be  that  those 
,  whose  faith  the  Popol  Vuh  represents,  conceiving  and 
speaking  of  their  supreme  god  under  many  aspects  and 
as  fulfilling  many  functions,  came  at  times,  either  un- 
consciously or  for  dramatic  effect,  to  bring  this  one 
great  Being  upon  their  mythic  stage,  sustaining  at  once 
many  of  his  different  parts  and  characters.  Or  per- 
haps, like  the  Hebrews,  they  believed  that  the  Creator 
had  made  out  of  nothing  or  out  of  his  own  essence,  in 
some  mysterious  way,  angels  and  other  beings  to  obey 
and  to  assist  him  in  his  sovereign  designs,  and  that 
these  'were  called  gods.'  That  these  Quiche  notions 
seem  foolishness  to  us,  is  no  argument  as  to  their  adapta- 
tion to  the  life  and  thoughts  of  those  who  believed  them ; 
for,  in  the  words  of  Professor  Max  Miiller,  "the  thoughts 
of  primitive  humanity  were  not  only  different  from  our 
thoughts,  but  different  also  from  what  we  think  their 
[thoughts  ought  to  have  been."10 

Yet  whatever  be  the  inconsistencies  that  obscure 
the  Popol  Yuh,  we  find  them  multiplied  in  the 
Mexican  cosmogony,  a  tangled  string  of  meagre  and 
apparently  fragmentary  traditions.  There  appear  to 
have  been  two  principal  schools  of  opinion  in 
Anahuac,  differing  as  to  who  was  the  Creator  of 
the  world,  as  well  as  on  other  points, — two  veins  of 
tradition,  perhaps  of  common  origin,  which  often  seem 
to  run  into  one,  and  are  oftener  still  considered  as  one 
by  historians  to  whom  Jhese  heathen  vanities  were  mat- 
ters of  little  importance.  The  more  advanced  school, 
ascribing  its  inspiration  to  Toltec  sources,  seems  to  have 
flourished  notably  in  Tezcuco,  especially  while  the  fa- 
mous Nezahualcoyotl  reigned  there,  and  to  have  had 
very  definite  monotheistic  ideas.  It  taught,  as  is 
asserted  in  unmistakable  terms,  that  all  things  had  been 

10  See  Cox's  Mythology  of  the  Aryan  Nations,  vol.  i.,  p.  333. 


I  56  .  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

'made  by  one  God,  omnipotent  and  invisible;  and  to 
^his  school  were  probably  owing  the  many  gentle  and 
beautiful  ideas  and  rites,  mingled  with  the  hard,  coarse, 
and  prosaic  cult  of  the  mass  of  the  people.11 

The  other  school  may  be  considered  as  more  distinc- 
tively national,  and  as  representing  more  particularly 
the  ordinary  Mexican  mind.  To  it  is  to  be  ascribed  by 
far  the  larger  part  of  all  we  know  about  the  Mexican 
religion.12  According  to  the  version  of  this  school,  Tez- 
catlipoca,  a  god  whose  birth  and  adventures  are  set 
forth  hereafter,  was  the  creator  of  the  material  heaven 
and  earth,  though  not  of  mankind ;  and  sometimes  even 
the  honor  of  this  partial  creation  is  disputed  by  others 
of  the  gods. 

One  Mexican  nation,  again,  according  to  an  ancient 
writer  of  their  own  blood,  affirmed  that  the  earth  had 
been  created  by  chance ;  and  as  for  the  heavens,  they  had 
always  existed.13 

11  Even  supposing  there  were  no  special  historical  reasons  for  making  this 
distinction,  it  seems  convenient  that  such  a  division  should  be  made  in  a 
country  where  the  distinction  of  classes  was  so  marked  as  in  Mexico.  As 
Reade  puts  the  case,  Marlrydom  of  Man,  p.  177,  '  In  those  countries  where 
two  distinct  classes  of  men  exist,  the  one  intellectual  and  learned,  the  other 
illiterate  and  degraded,  there  will  be  in  reality  two  religions,  though  nomi- 
nally there  may  be  only  one.' 

12 '  Les  pretres  et  les  nobles  de  Mexico  avaient  peri  presque  tous  lors  de  la 
prise  de  cette  ville,  et  ceux  qui  avaient  echappe  au  massacre  s'etaient  refu- 
gies  dans  des  lieux  inaccessibles.  Ce  furentdonc  presque  toujours  des  gens 
du  peuple  sans  education  et  livres  aux  plus  grossieres  superstitions  qui  leur 
firent  les  recits  qu'ils  nous  out  transmis;  Les  missionnaires,  d'ailleurs, 
avaieut  plus  d'interet  a  connaitre  les  usages  qu'ils  voulaieut  deraciner  de  la 
masse  du  peuple  qu'a  comprendre  le  sens  plus  eleve  que  la  partie  eclairee 
de  la  nation  pouvait  y  attacher.'  Ternaux-Compans,  Essai  sur  la  Theogonie 
Mexicnine,  in  Nouvdies  Annales  des  Voy.,  torn.  Ixxxv.,  1840,  p.  274. 

13  This  last  statement  rests  on  the  authority  of  Domingo  Muiioz  Camargo, 
a  native  of  the  city  of  Tlascala  who  wrote  about  1585.  See  his  Hist,  de 
Tlaxc 'lUti'ii  as  translated  by  Ternaux  Compans  in  the  Xourelles  Ainmles 
des  Vny.,  torn,  xcix.,  1843,  p.  129.  'Les  Indieus  ue  croyaient  pas  que  le 
monde  efit  ete  cree,  mais  peusaient  qu'il  etait  le  produit  du  hazard.  Us 
disau-nt  itussi  que  les  cieux  avaieut  toujours  existe.'  '  Estos,  pues,  alcanza- 
rou  con  claridad  el  verdadero  origeu  y  principio  de  todo  el  Universe,  porque 
asientan  que  el  cielo  y  la  tierra  y  cuanto  en  ellos  se  halla  es  obra  de  la 
poderosa  mano  de  un  Dios  Supremo  y  imico,  a  quien  dabaii  el  nombre  de 
Tloquf?  Nahuaque,  que  quiere  decir,  criador  de  todas  las  cosas.  Llamabaule 
tambien  Ipaluemoliualoui,  que  quiere  decir,  por  quien  vivimos  y  somos, 
y  fue  la  imica  deidad  que  adoraron  en  aquellos  primitivos  tiempos:  y 
aun  despues.  que  se  introdujo  la  idolatria  y  el  falso  culto,  le  creyeron  sicni- 
pre  superior  a  todos  sus  dioses,  y  le  invocaban  levautando  los  ojos  al  cielo. 
En  esta  creencia  se  mautuvieron  constantes  hasta  la  llegada  de  los  es- 


CHIMALPOPOCA  MANUSCKIPT.  57' 

From  the  fragments  of  the  Chimalpopoca  manuscript 
given  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  we  learn  that 
the  Creator — whoever  he  may  have  been — produced  his 
work  in  successive  epochs.  In  the  sign  Tochtli,  the 
earth  was  created ;  in  the  sign  Acatl  was  made  the  fir- 
mament, and  in  the  sign  Tecpatl  the  animals.  Man  it  is 
added,  was  made  and  animated  out  of  ashes  or  dust  by 
God  on  the  seventh  day,  Ehecatl,  but  finished  and  per- 
fected by  that  mysterious  personage  Quetzalcoatl. 
However  this  account  may  be  reconciled  with  itself  or 
with  others,  it  further  appears  that  man  was  four  times 
made  and  four  times  destroyed.14 

panoles,  como  afirma  Herrera,  no  solo  los  mejicanos,  sino  tambien  los  de 
Michoacan.'  Veytia,  Historia  Antigua  de  Me'jico,  torn.  L,  p.  7.  '  Los  Tultecas 
alcanzaron  y  supieron  la  creacion  del  mundo,  y  como  el  Tloque  Nahuaque  lo 
crio  y  las  demas  cosas  que  hay  en  el,  como  son  plantas,  monies,  auirnales, 
aves,  agua  y  peces ;  asimismo  supieron  como  crio  Dios  al  hombre  y  uria  mn- 
ger,  de  donde  los  hombres  descendieron  y  se  mtiltiplicaron,  y  sobre  esto 
amulen  muchas  fabulas  que  por  escusar  prolijidad  no  se  ponen  aqui.'  Ixilil- 
xocldtl,  IMaciones,  in  Kiugsborough,  vol.  ix.,  p.  321.  '  Dios  Criador,  que  en 
lengua  Indiana  llamo  Tloque  Nahuaque,  queriendo  dar  a  entender,  que  este 
Solo,  Poderoso,  y  Clementissimo  Dios.'  Boturint,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  p.  79, 
'  Confessauan  losMexicanos  a  vn  supremo  Dios,  Senor,  y  hazedor  de  todo,  y 
este  era  el  principal  que  venerauan,  mirando  al  cielo,  llainandole  criador  del 
cieloy  tierra.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen  ,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  15,  p.  85.  'Eldiosque 
se  llamaba  Titlacaaon,  (Tezcatlipuca),  decian  que  era  criador  del  cielo  y  de  la 
tierra  y  era  todo  poderoso.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Ant.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  Hb.iii.,  p.  241. 
'  Tezcatlipoca,  Questo  era  il  maggior  Dio,  che  in  que'  paesi  si  adorava, 

dopo  il  Dio  invisibile,  o  Supremo  Essere,  di  cui  abbiam  ragionato Era 

il  Dio  della  Providenza,  1'anima  del  Mondo,  il  Creator  del  Cielo  e  della  Ter- 
ra, ed  il  Signor  di  tutte  le  cose.'  Clavriero,  Storia  Antica  dtl  Messico,  torn,  ii., 
p.  7.  '  La  creacion  del  cielo  y  de  la  tierra  aplicaban  a  diversos  dioses,  y  al- 
gunos  a  Tezcatlipuca  y  a  Uzilopuchtli,  6  segun  otros,  Ocelopuchtli,  y  de  los 
principales de  Mexico.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Eden.,  p.  8L 

11 '  Lorsq\ae  le  ciel  et  la  terre  s'etaient  faits,  quatre  fois  deja  1'homme  avnit 
etj  formt'.  . .  .de  cendres  Dieu  1'avait  formu  et  aninvj.'  The  Codex  Chimalpo- 
poca,  or  Chimalpopoca  M8.,  after  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  H'ist.  des  Nat.  .Civ., 
torn,  i.,  p.  53.  This  Codex  Chimalpopoca,  so  called  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  is  an  anonymous  manuscript  in  the  Mexican  language.  What 
we  really  know  of  this  nmch-talked-of  document  is  little,  and  will  be  best 
given  in  the  original  form.  The  following  is  the  first  notice  I  find  of  this 
manuscript,  with  its  appurtenances,  being  Botttrini's  description  of"  it  as 
possessed  at  one  time  by  him.  Catdlogo,  pp.  17-18.  '  Una  historia  de  los 
Keynos  de  Culhuacan,  y  Mexico  en  lengua  Nahuatl,  y  papel  Europeo  de 
Autor  Anonymo,  y  tieiie  anadida  una  Breve  Relaciou  de  los  Dioses,  y  Eitos 
ds  la  Gantilidad  en  lengua  Castellana  que  escribio  el  Bachiller  Don  Pedro 
Ponce,  Indio  Cazique  Beneficiado,  que  fue  del  Partido  de  Tzumpahuacan. 
Estii  todo  copiado  de  letra  de  Don  Fernando  de  Alba,  y  le  falta  la  primera 
foja.'  With  regard  to  the  term  Nahuatl  used  in  this  Catalogue,  see  id  p.  95: 
'  Los  Manuscritos  en  lengua  Nahuatl,  que  en  este  Catalogo  se  citan,  se  enti- 
ende  ser  en  lengua  Mexicana!'  This  manuscript,  or  a  copy  of  it,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  in  the  , 
year  1850,  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Bibliotheque  Mexico-CfuattiniaUetine,  Intro- 


58  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

This  may  perhaps  be  looked  upon  as  proceeding  from 
what  I  have  called  for  convenience  the  Toltecan  school, 
though  this  particular  fragment  shows  traces  of  Christian 
influence.  .What  follows  seems  however  to  belong  to 
'  a  distinctively  Mexican  and  ruder  vein  of  thought.  It 
is  gathered  from  Mendieta,  who  was  indebted  again  to 
Fray  Andres  de  Olmos,  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries 
among  the  Mexicans  of  whom  he  treats;  and  it  is  de- 
cidedly one  of  the  most  authentic  accounts  of  such  mat- 
ters extant. 

The  Mexicans  in  most  of  the  provinces  were  agreed 
that  there  was  a  god  in  heaven  called  Citlalatonac,  and 
a  goddess  called  Citlalicue  ;13  and  that  this  goddess  had 
given  birth  to  a  flint  knife,  Tecpatl.  Now  she  had  many 
sons  living  with  her  in  heaven,  who  seeing  this  extraor- 
dinary thing  were  alarmed,  and  flung  the  flint  down  to 
the  earth.  It  fell  in  a  place  called  Chicomoztoc,  that 
is  to  say  the  Seven  Caves,  and  there  immediately 
sprang  up  from  it  one  thousand  six  hundred  gods. 
These  gods  being  alone  on  the  earth, — though  as  will 
hereafter  appear,  there  had  been  men  in  the  world  at 
a  former  period, — sent  up  their  messenger  Tlotli, 
the  Hawk,  to  pray  their  mother  to  empower  them 
to  create  men,  so  that  they  might  have  servants  as  be- 
came their  lineage.  Citlalicue  seemed  to  be  a  little 

duction,  p.  xxi.,  and  the  learned  Abbe  describes  it  as  follows: — 'Codex 
Chhnalpopoca  (Copie  du),  contenant  les  Epoques,  dites  Histoire  des  So- 
leils  et  1'Histoire  des  Royautnes  de  Colhuacau  et  de  Mexico,  texte  Mexi- 
cain  (corrige  d'apres  celui  de  M.  Aubin),  avec  un  essai  de  traduction  fran- 
<jaise  en  regard,  gr.  in  4° — Manuscrit  de  93  ff.,  copie  et  traduit  par  le  signa- 
taire  de  la  bibliotheque.  C'est  la  copie  du  document  marque  au  n"  13, 
§  viii.,  du  catalogue  de  Boturini,  sous  le  titre  de:  Historia  de  los  Reyuos  de 
Oolhuacau  y  Mexico,  etc.  Ce  document,  on  pour  la  premiere  fois  j'ai  souleve 
le  voile  enigmatique  qui  recouvrait  les  symboles  de  la  religion  et  de  1'histoire 
du  Mexique  et  le  pins  important  de  tous  ceux  qui  nous  soient  restes  des  nn- 
nales  antiques  muxicaiues.  II  renferme  chronologiquement  1'histoire  gt'olo- 
gique  du  riiomle,  par  s'ries  de  13  ans,  a  commencer  de  plus  de  dix  mille  ans 
avant  1'ere  chri-tienne,  suivant  les  calculs  mexicains.'  Id.,  p.  47. 

15  Otherwise  called,  according  to  Clavigero,  the  god  Omeieuctli,  and  the 
goddess  Omei-Ahuatt.  Ternaux-Coinpans  says:  'Les  noms  d'Ometeuetli  et 
d'Ornecihuatl  ne  se  trouvent  nulle  part  ailleurs  dans  la  mythologie  rnexicaine; 
m;iis  on  pourrait  les  expliquer  par  1'etyniologie.  0»ie  signifie  deux  en  mexi- 
cain,  et  tous  les  auteurs  sont  d'accord  pour  traduire  litteralement  leur  uom 
par  deux  seigneurs  et  deux  danies.'  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  torn.  Ixxxvi., 
1840,  p.  7. 


AZTEC  CKEATION-MYTHS.  59 

ashamed  of  these  sons  of  hers,  born  in  so  strange  a 
manner,  and  she  twitted  them,  cruelly  enough  on  what 
they  could  hardly  help :  Had  you  been  what  you  ought  to 
have  been,  she  exclaimed,  you  would  still  be  in  my  com- 
pany. Nevertheless  she  told  them  what  to  do  in  the  mat- 
ter of  obtaining  their  desire:  Go  beg  of  Mictlanteuctli, 
Lord  of  Hades,  that  he  may  give  you  a  bone  or  some  ashes 
of  the  dead  that  are  with  him;  which  having  received 
you  shall  sacrifice  over  it,  sprinkling  blood  from  your 
own  bodies.  And  the  fallen  gods  having  consulted  to- 
gether, sent  one  of  their  number,  called  Xolotl,16  down 
to  hades  as  their  mother  had  advised.  He  succeeded 
in  getting  a  bone  of  six  feet  long  from  Mictlanteuctli ; 
and  then,  wary  of  his  grisly  host,  he  took  an  abrupt  de- 
parture, running  at  the  top  of  his  speed.  Wroth  at  this, 
the  infernal  chief  gave  chase ;  not  causing  to  Xolotl,  how- 
ever, any  more  serious  inconvenience  than  a  hasty  fall 
in  which  the  bone  was  broken  in  pieces.  The  messenger 
gathered  up  what  he  could  in  all  haste,  and  despite 
his  stumble  made  his  escape.  Reaching  the  earth, 
he  put  the  fragments  of  bone  into  a  basin,  and  all  the 
gods  drew  blood  from  their  bodies  and  sprinkled  it  into 
the  vessel.  On  the  fourth  day  there  was  a  movement 
among  the  wetted  bones  and  a  boy  lay  there  before  all ; 
and  in  four  days  more,  the  blood-letting  and  sprinkling 
being  still  kept  up,  a  girl  was  lifted  from  the  ghastly 
dish.  The  children  were  given  to  Xolotl  to  bring  up; 
and  he  fed  them  on  the  juice  of  the  maguey.17  Increas- 

16  Xolotl,  '  servant  or  page.' — Molina,  Vocabulario  en  lengua  Castellana  Mexi- 
cana.    Not  '  eye  '  as  some  scholiasts  have  it. 

17  Literally,  in  the  earliest  copy  of  the  myth  that  I  have  seen,  the  milk  of 
the  thistle,  '  la  leche  de  cardo, '  which  term  has  been  repeated  blindly,  and 
apparently  without  any  idea  of  its  meaning,  by  the  various  writers  that  have 
followed.       The  old  authorities,   however,    and  especially  Mendieta,  from 
whom  I  take  the  legend,  were  in  the  habit  of  calling  the  maguey  a  thistle; 
and  indeed  the  tremendous  prickles  of  the  Mexican  plant  may  lay  good  claim 
to  the  Nemo  me  impune  lacessit  of  the  Scottish  emblem.     '  Maguey,  que  es  el  car- 
don  de  donde  sacan  la  miel.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles,  p.  110.     'Metl  es  uu  arbol 
6  cardo  que  en  leugua  de  las  Islas  se  llama  maguey.'  Motolinia,  Hist,  de  los 
Ind.,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  243.     '  Et  similmente-cogliono  le 
foglie  di  questo  albero,  6  cardo  che  si  tengono  la,  come  qua  le  vigne,  et 
ehiamanlo  magueis.'  Itelatione  fatta  per  un  Gentil'huomo  del  Kignor  Corteset  in 
liamusio    Viagyi,  torn,  iii.,  fol.  307. 


60  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

ing  in  stature,  they  became  man  and  woman;  and  from 
them  are  the  people  of  the  present  day  descended,  who, 
even  as  the  primordial  bone  was  broken  into  unequal 
pieces,  vary  in  size  and  shape.  The  name  of  this  first 
man  was  Iztacmixcuatl,  and  the  name  of  his  wife  Ilan- 
cueitl,18  and  they  had  six  sons  born  to  them,  whose  de- 
scendants, with  their  god-masters,  in  process  of  time 
moved  eastward  from  their  original  home,  almost  uni- 
versally described  as  having  been  towards  Jalisco. 

Now  there  had  been  no  sun  in  existence  for  many 
years;  so  the  gods  being  assembled  in  a  place  called 
Teotihuacan,  six  leagues  from  Mexico,  and  gathered  at 
the  time  round  a  great  fire,  told  their  devotees  that  he 
of  them  who  should  first  cast  himself  into  that  fire, 
should  have  the  honor  of  being  transformed  into  a  sun. 
So  one  of  them  called  Nanahuatzin, — either  as  most 
say,  out  of  pure  bravery,  or  as  Sahagun  relates,  because 
his  life  had  become  a  burden  to  him  through  a  syphilitic 
disease, — flung  himself  into  the  fire.  Then  the  gods 
began  to  peer  through  the  gloom  in  all  directions  for  the 
expected  light  and  to  make  bets  as  to  what  part  of 
heaven  he  should  first  appear  in.  And  some-  said  Here, 
and  some  said  There;  but  when  the  sun  rose  they  were 
all  proved  wrong,  for  not  one  of  them  had  fixed  upon  the 
east.19  And  in  that  same  hour,  though  they  knew  it 

18  Motolinia  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  torn,  i.,  pp.  6-10,  says  this  first  man  and 
woman  were  begotten  between  the  rain  and  the  dust  of  the  earth — '  engeudmda 
de  la  lluvia  y  del  polvo  de  la  tierra' — and  in  other  ways  adds  to  the  per- 
plexity; so  that  I  am  well  inclined  to  agree  with  Miiller,  Amerikanische  t/Vre- 
lui'ionen,  p.  518,  when  he  says  these  cosmogonical  myths  display  marks  of 
local  origin  and  of  the  subsequent  fusion  of  several  legends  into  an  incon- 
gruous whole.     '  Aus  dieser  Menge   von  Verschiedeiiheiten  in  dieseu  Kos- 
mogouien  ist  ersichtlich,  dass  viele  Lokalmythen  hier  wie  in  Peru  uuabhan- 
gig  von  einander  entstanden  die  man  ausserlich  uiit  eiuander  verband,  die 
aber  in  mancherlei  Widerspriichen  auch  noch  spater  ihre  urspriiiigliche  Un- 
abhangigkeit  zu  erkennen  geben.' 

19  Here,  as  elsewhere  in  this  legend  we  follow  Andres  de  Olmos'  account  as 
given  by  Mendieta.     Sahagun,  however  differs  from  it  a  good  deal  in  places. 
At  this  point  for  example,  he  mentions  some  notable  personages  who  guessed 
right  about  the  rising  of  the  sun: — '  Otros  se  pusieron  a,  mirar  acia  el  oriente, 
y  digeron  aqui,  de  esta  parte  ha  de  salir  el  Sol.     El  dichode  estos  fue  verdu- 
dero.     Dicen  que  los  que  mivarou  acia  el  Oriente,  fuerou  Quetzalcoatl,  qne 
tambien  se  llama  Ecatl,  y  otro  que  se  llama  Totec,  y  por  otro  nombre  Auaoatly- 
tecu,  y  por  otro  nombre  Tlatavictezcatlipuca,  y  otros  que  se  llaman  Miniz- 
coa,'  or  as  in  Kiugsborough's  edition,  Mex.  Antlq,  vol.  vii.,  p.  186.     'por 


HOW  THE  SUN  WAS  PLACED  IN  THE  HEAVENS.  61 

not,  the  decree  went  forth  that  they  should  all  die  by 
sacrifice. 

The  sun  had  risen  indeed,  and  with  a  glory  of  the 
cruel  fire  about  him  that  not  even  the  eyes  of  the  gods 
could  endure ;  but  he  moved  not.  There  he  lay  on  the 
horizon ;  and  when  the  deities  sent  Tlotli  their  messenger 
to  him,  with  orders  that  he  should  go  on  upon  his  way, 
his  ominous  answer  was,  that  he  would  never  leave  that 
place  till  he  had  destroyed  and  put  an  end  to  them  all. 
Then  a  great  fear  fell  upon  some,  while  others  were  moved 
only  to  anger ;  and  among  the  latter  was  one  Citli,  who  im- 
mediately strung  his  bow  and  advanced  against  the  glit- 
tering enemy.  By  quickly  lowering  his  head  the  Sun 
avoided  the  first  arrow  shot  at  him ;  but  the  second  and 
third  had  attained  his  body  in  quick  succession,  when, 
filled  with  fury,  he  seized  the  last  and  launched  it  back 
upon  his  assailant.  And  the  brave  Citli  laid  shaft  to 
string  nevermore,  for  the  arrow  of  the  sun  pierced  his 
forehead. 

Then  all  was  dismay  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods,  and 
despair  filled  their  heart,  for  they  saw  that  they  could 
not  prevail  against  the  shining  one ;  and  they  agreed  to 
die,  and  to  cut  themselves  open  through  the  breast. 
Xolotl  was  appointed  minister,  and  he  killed  his 
companions  one  by  one,  and  last  of  all  he  slew  himself 
also.20  So  they. died  like  gods;  and  each  left  to  the  sad 
and  wondering  men  who  were  his  servants,  his  garments 
for  a  memorial.  And  these  servants  made  up,  each 
party,  a  bundle  of  the  raiment  that  had  been  left  to 

otro  nombre  Anaoatl  y  Teen,  y  por  otro  nombre  Tlatavictezcatlipuca,  y  otros 
que  se  llaman  Mirnizcoa,  que  son  inumerables;y  cuatro  mugeres,  la  una  se 
llama  Tiacapan,  la  otra  Teicxi,  la  tercera  Tlacoeoa,  la  cuarta  Xocoyotl.'  Sa.ha- 
gun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  viii.,  p.  248. 

20  Besides  differences  of  authorities  already  noticed,  I  may  add  that  Sa- 
hagun  describes  the  personage  who  became  the  sun, — as  well  as  him  who, 
as  we  shall  soon  see,  became  the  moon, — as  belonging  before  his  transfor- 
mation to  the  number  of  the  gods,  and  not  as  one  of  the  men  who  served 
them.  Further,  in  recounting  the  death  of  the  gods,  Sahagun  says  that  to 
the  Air,  Ecatl,  Quetzalcoatl,  was  alloted  the  task  of  killing  the  rest;  nor  does 
it  appear  that  Quetzalcoatl  killed  himself.  As  to  Xolotl,  he  plays  quite  a 
cowardly  part  in  this  version;  trying  to  elude  his  death,  he  transformed  him- 
Be'.f  into  various  things,  and  was  only  at  last  taken  and  killed  under  the  form 
of  a  fish  called  Axolotl. 


62  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

them,  binding  it  about  a  stick  into  which  they  had  bed- 
ded a  small  green  stone  to  serve  as  a  heart.  These  bun- 
dles were  called  tlaquimilloli,  and  each  bore  the  name  of 
that  god  whose  memorial  it  was ;  and  these  things  were 
more  reverenced  than  the  ordinary  gods  of  stone  and 
wood  of  the  country.  Fray  Andres  de  Olmos  found  one 
of  these  relics  in  Tlalmanalco,  wrapped  up  in  many 
cloths,  and  half  rotten  with  being  kept  hid  so  long.21 

Immediately  on  the  death  of  the  gods  the  sun  be- 
gan his  motion  in  the  heavens;  and  a  man  called  Te- 
cuzistecatl,  or  Tezcociztecatl,  who,  when  Nanahuatzin 
leaped  into  the  fire,  had  retired  into  a  cave,  now 
emerged  from  his  concealment  as  the  moon.  Others 
say  that  instead  of  going  into  a  cave,  this  Tecuzis- 
tecatl,  had  leaped  into  the  fire  after  Nanahuatzin, 
but  that,  the  heat  of  the  fire  being  somewhat  abated, 
he  had  come  out  less  brilliant  than  the  sun.  Still 
another  variation  is,  that  the  sun  and  moon  came 
out  equally  bright,  but  this  not  seeming  good  to  the  gods, 
one  of  them  took  a  rabbit  by  the  heels  and  slung  it  into 
the  face  of  the  moon,  dimming  its  lustre  with  a  blotch 
whose  mark  may  be  seen  to  this  day. 

After  the  gods  had  died  in  the  way  herein  related, 
leaving  their  garments  behind  as  relics,  those  servants 
went  about  everywhere,  bearing  these  relics  like  bundles 
upon  their  shoulders,  very  sad  and  pensive  and  wonder- 
ing if  ever  again  they  would  see  their  departed  gods. 
Now  the  name  of  one  of  these  deceased  deities  was  Tez- 
catlipoca,  and  his  servant  having  arrived  at  the  sea 
coast,  was  favored  with  an  apparition  of  his  master  in 
three  different  shapes.  And  Tezcatlipoca  spake  to  his 
servant  saying :  Come  hither,  thou  that  lovest  me  so  well, 
that  I  may  tell  thee  what  thou  hast  to  do.  Go  now  to 
the  House  of  the  Sun  and  fetch  thence  singers  and  in- 
struments so  that  thou  mayest  make  me  a  festival ;  but 
first  call  upon  the  whale,  and  upon  the  siren,  and  upon 
the  tortoise,  and  they  shall  make  thee  a  bridge  to  the  sun. 

21  This  kind  of  idol  answers  evidently  to  the  mysterious  '  Envelope  '  of 
the  Quiche  myth.  See  also  note  9. 


THE  TEZCUCAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION.  63 

Then  was  all  this  done;  and  the  messenger  went 
across  the  sea  upon  his  living  bridge,  towards  the  House 
of  the  Sun,  singing  what  he  had  to  say.  And  the  Sun 
heard  the  song,  and  he  straitly  charged  his  people  and 
servants,  saying:  See  now  that  ye  make  no  response  to 
this  chant,  for  whoever  replies  to  it  must  be  taken  away 
by  the  singer.  But  the  song  was  so  exceeding  sweet 
that  some  of  them  could  not  but  answer,  and  they  were 
lured  away,  bearing  with  them  the  drum,  teponaztli,  and 
the  kettle-drum,  vevetL  Such  was  the  origin  of  the 
festivals  and  the  dances  to  the  gods ;  and  the  songs  sung 
during  these  dances  they  held  as  prayers,  singing  them 
always  with  great  accuracy  of  intonation  and  time. 

In  their  oral  traditions,  the  Tezcucans  agreed  with  the 
usual  Mexican  account  of  creation — the  falling  of  the 
flint  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  so  on — but  what  they  after- 
ward showed  in  a  picture,  and  explained  to  Fray  Andres 
de  Olmos  as  the  manner  of  the  creation  of  mankind,  was 
this :  The  event  took  place  in  the  land  of  Aculma,  on 
the  Tezcucan  boundary  at  a  distance  of  two  leagues  from 
Tezcuco  and  of  five  from  Mexico.  It  is  said  that  the 
sun,  being  at  the  hour  of  nine,  cast  a  dart  into  the  earth 
at  the  place  we  have  mentioned  and  made  a  hole ;  from 
this  hole  a  man  came  out,  the  first  man  and  somewhat 
imperfect  withal,  as  there  was  no  more  of  him  than  from 
the  arm-pits  up,  much  like  the  conventional  European 
cherub,  only  without  wings.  After  that  the  woman 
came  up  out  of  the  hole.  The  rest  of  the  story  was  not 
considered  proper  for  printing  by  Mendieta;  but  at  any 
rate  from  these  two  are  mankind  descended.  The  name 
of  the  first  man  was  Aculmaitl, — that  is  to  say,  aculli, 
shoulder,  and  maitl,  hand  or  arm, — and  from  him  the 
town  of  Aculma  is  said  to  take  its  name.22  And  this  ety- 
mology seems  to  make  it  probable  that  the  details  of  this 
myth  are  derived,  to  some  extent,  from  the  name  of  the 

22  Besides  the  Chhnalpopoca  manuscript,  the  earliest  summaries  of  the 
Mexican  creation-myths  aie  to  be  found  in  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  pp.  77-81; 
Sahayun,  IFist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  233,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  246-250; 
Soturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  37-43;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp. 
31-5,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  76-8;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  8-10. 


64  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

place  in  which  it  was  located ;  or  that  the  name  of  the 
first  man  belonging  to  an  early  phase  of  the  language, 
has  been  misunderstood,  and  that  to  the  false  etymol- 
ogy the  details  of  the  myth  are  owing. 

As  already  stated  there  had  been  men  on  the  earth 
previous  to  that  final  and  perfect  creation  of  man  from 
the  bone  supplied  by  Mictlanteuctli,  and  wetted  by  the 
gods  with  their  own  blood  at  the  place  of  the  Seven 
Caves.  These  men  had  been  swept  away  by  a  succes- 
sion of  great  destructions.  With  regard  to  the  number  of 
these  destructions  it  is  hard  to  speak  positively,  as  on  no 
single  point  in  the  wide  range  of  early  American  reli- 
gion, does  there  exist  so  much  difference  of  opinion.  All 
the  way  from  twice  to  five  times,  following  different 
accounts,  has  the  world  been  desolated  by  tremendous 
convulsions  of  nature.  I  follow  most  closely  the  version 
of  the  Tezcucan  historian  Ixtlilxochitl,  as  being  one  of 
the  earliest  accounts,  as,  prima  facie,  from  its  origin, 
one  of  the  most  authentic,  and  as  being  supported  by  a 
majority  of  respectable  historians  up  to  the  time  of  Hum- 
boldt. 

Of  the  creation  which  ushered  in  the  first  age  we  know 
nothing;  we  are  only  told  by  Boturini,  that  giants  then 
began  to  appear  on  the  earth.  This  First  Age,  or  'sun.' 
was  called  the  Sun  of  the  Water,  and  it  was  ended  by 
a  tremendous  flood  in  which  every  living  thing  perished, 
or  was  transformed,  except,  following  some  accounts,  one 
man  and  one  woman  of  the  giant  race,  of  whose  escape 
more  hereafter.  The  Second  Age,  called  the  Sun  of 
the  Earth,  was  closed  with  earthquakes,  y awnings  of  the 
earth,  and  the  overthrow  of  the  highest  mountains. 
Giants,  or  Quinamis,  a  powerful  and  haughty  race  still 
appear  to  be  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  world.  The 
Third  Age  was  the  Sun  of  the  Air.  It  was  ended  by 
tempests  and  hurricanes,  so  destructive  that  few  indeed 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  were  left;  and  those 
that  were  saved,  lost,  according  to  the  Tlascaltec  ac- 
count, their  reason  and  speech,  becoming  monkeys. 

The  present  is  the  Fourth  Age.     To  it  appear  to  be- 


THE  AGES  OR  SUNS  OF  THE  MEXICANS.        65 

long  the  falling  of  the  goddess-born  flint  from  heaven, 
the  birth  of  the  sixteen  hundred  heroes  from  that  flint, 
the  birth  of  mankind  from  the  bone  brought  from  hades, 
the  transformation  of  Nanahuatzin  into  the  sun,  the  trans- 
formation of  Tezcatecatl  into  the  moon,  and  the  death  of 
the  sixteen  hundred  heroes  or  gods.  It  is  called  the 
Sun  of  Fire,  and  is  to  be  ended  by  a  universal  conflagra- 
tion.23 

Connected  with  the  great  flood  of  water,  there  is  a 

23  IxUilxochitl,  Hist.  Chichimeca  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  pp. 
205-6.  The  same  author,  in  his  Reladones,  Ib.  pp.  321-2,  either  through 
his  own  carelessness  or  that  of  a  transcriber,  transposes  the  second  and 
third  Ages.  Tor  see  that  it  is  an  oversight  of  some  sort,  we  have  but  to  pass 
to  the  summary  he  gives  at  the  end  of  these  same  Relaciones,  Ib.,  p.  459, 
where  the  account  is  again  found  in  strict  agreement  with  the  version  given 
in  the  text.  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlax.  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  torn, 
xcix.,  1813,  p.  132,  giving  as  we  may  suppose  the  Tlascaltec  version  of  the 
general  Mexican  myth,  agrees  with  Ixtlilxochitl  as  to  the  whole  number  of 
Ages,  following,  however,  the  order  of  the  error  above  noticed  in  the  Rela- 
ciones. The  Tlascaltec  historian,  moreover,  affirms  that  only  two  of  these 
Ages  are  past,  and  that  the  third  and  fourth  destructions  are  yet  to  come. 
M.  Ternaux-Compans,  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  torn.  Ixxxvi.,  1840,  p.  5, 
adopts  this  Tlascaltec  account  as  the  general  Mexican  tradition;  he  is  fol- 
lowed by  Dr.  Prichard,  Rese'trches,  vol  v.,  pp.,  360-1.  Dr.  Prichard  cites 
Bradford  as  supporting  the  same  opinion,  but  erroneously,  as  Bradford,  Am. 
Antiq.,  p.  328,  follows  Humboldt.  Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  p.  3,  and  Clavi- 
gero,  StoriaAnt.  del  Mjssico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  57,  agree  exactly  with  the  text.  The 
Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  also  accepts  the  version  of  three  past  destruc- 
tions, S'U  existe  des  Sources  de  I'Hist.  Prim.,  pp.  '26-7.  Professor  J.  G.  Miil- 
ler,  Amerikanische  Urreligtonen,  pp.  510-12,  admits  that  the  version  of  three 
past  destructions  and  one  to  come,  as  given  in  the  text,  and  in  the  order  there 
given,  '  seems  to  be  the  most  ancient  Mexican  version;'  though  he  decides  to 
follow  Humboldt,  and  adopts  what  he  calls  the  '  latest  and  fullest  form  of  the 
myth. '  The  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  [  Vaticano]  contradicts 
itself,  giving  first  two  past  destructions,  and  farther  on  four,  Kinysborough's 
MKX.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  163-7;  as  does  also  the  Explic.  del  Codex  Telleriano- 
Remensis,  Ib.,  pp.  13i-6.  Kingsborough  himself  seems  to  favor  the  idea  of 
three  past  destructions  and  four  ages  in  all;  see  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  171, 
note.  Gomara,  Hist.  Mex.,  fol.  297-8;  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  parte  i., 
pp.  94-5;  Humboldt,  Vues.,  tom.ii.,  pp.  118-129;  Prescott,  Conq.  of  Mex., 
vol.  i.,  p.  61;  Gallatin,  in  Am.  Ethnol.  Soc.  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  325, — de- 
scribe four  past  destructions  and  one  yet  to  come,  or  five  Ages,  and 
the  Chimalpopoca  MS.,  see  note  13,  seems  also  to  favor  this  opinion. 
Lastly,  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  81,  declares  that  the  Mexicans  believe  in 
five  Suns,  or  Ages,  in  times  past;  but  these  suns  were  of  inferior  quality,  so 
that  the  soil  produced  its  fruits  only  in  a  crude  and  imperfect  state.  The 
consequence  was  that  in  every  case  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  died  through 
the  eating  of  divers  things.  This  present  and  sixth  Sun  was  good,  however, 
and  under  its  influence  all  things  were  produced  properly.  Torquemada — 
who  has,  indeed,  been  all  along  appropriating,  by  whole  chapters,  .the  so 
long  inedited  work  of  Mendieta ;  and  that,  if  we  believe  Icazbalceta,  Hist. 
Ecles.,  Noticias  del  Autor.,  pp.  xxx.  to  xlv.,  under  circumstances  of  peculiar 
turpitude — of  course  gives  also  five  past  Ages,  repeating  Mendieta  word  for 
word  with  the  exception  of  a  single  '  la.'  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  79. 
VOL.  in.  6 


66  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

Mexican  tradition  presenting  some  analogies  to  the  story 
of  Noah  and  his  ark.  In  most  of  the  painted  manu- 
scripts supposed  to  relate  to  this  event,  a  kind  of  boat  is 
represented  floating  over  the  waste  of  water,  and  con- 
taining a  man  and  a  woman.  Even  the  Tlascaltecs,  the 
Zapotecs,  the  Miztecs,  and  the  people  of  Michoacan  are 
said  to  have  had  such  pictures.  The  man  is  variously 
called  Coxcox,  Teocipactli,  Tezpi,  and  Nata ;  the  woman 
Xochiquetzal  and  Nena.24 

The  following  has  been  usually  accepted  as  the  ordi- 
nary Mexican  version  of  this  myth :  In  Atonatiuh,  the 
Age  of  Water,  a  great  flood  covered  all  the.  face  of  the 
earth,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  were  turned  into 
fishes.  Only  one  man  and  one  woman  escaped,  saving 
themselves  in  the  hollow  trunk  of  an  ahahuete  or  bald 
cypress ;  the  name  of  the  man  being  Coxcox,  and  that  of 
of  his  wife  Xochiquetzal.  On  the  waters  abating  a  little 
they  grounded  their  ark  on  the  Peak  of  Colhuacan,  the 
Ararat  of  Mexico.  Here  they  increased  and  multiplied, 
and  children  began  to  gather  about  them,  children  who 
were  all  born  dumb.  And  a  dove  came  and  gave  them 
tongues,  innumerable  languages.  Only  fifteen  of  the 
descendants  of  Coxcox,  who  afterward  became  heads  of 
families,  spake  the  same  language  or  could  at  all  under- 
stand each  other;  and  from  these  fifteen  are  descended 
the  Toltecs,  the  Aztecs,  and  the  Acolhuas.  This  dove 
is  not  the  only  bird  mentioned  in  these  deluvial  tra- 
ditions, and  must  by  no  means  be  confounded  with  the 
birds  of  another  palpably  Christianized  story.  For  in 
Michoacan  a  tradition  was  preserved,  following  which 
the  name  of  the  Mexican  Noah  was  Tezpi.  With  better 
fortune  than  that  ascribed  to  Coxcox,  he  was  able  to 
save,  in  a  spacious  vessel,  not  only  himself  and  his  wife, 

«*  Professor  J.  G.  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  568,  remarks  of 
these  two  personages :  '  Rein  nordisch  1st  der  chichiinekische  Coxcox,  der 
schon  bei  der  Fluthsage  genannt  wnrde,  der  Tezpi  der  Mechoakaner.  Das 
1st  auch  urspriinglich  em  Wassergott  und  Fischgott,  darum  tragt  er  auch  den 
Namen  Cipactli,  Fisch,  Teocipactli,  gottlicher  Fiscb,  Huehuetonacateoci- 
pactli,  alter  Fischgott  von  uuserem  Fleisch.  Darum  ist  auch  seine  Gattin 
erne  Pflanzengottin  mit  Namen  Xochiquetzal  d.  h.  gefliigelte  Blurne.' 


THE  TOWER  OF  BABEL.  67 

but  also  his  children,  several  animals,  and  a  quantity  of 
grain  for  the  common  use.  When  the  waters  began  to 
subside,  he  sent  out  a  vulture  that  it  might  go  to  and 
fro  on  the  earth  and  bring  him  word  again  when  the  dry 
land  began  to  appear.  But  the  vulture  fed  upon  the 
carcasses  that  were  strewed  in  every  part,  and  never  re- 
turned. Then  Tezpi  sent  out  other  birds,  and  among 
these  was  a  humming-bird.  And  when  the  sun  began  to 
cover  the  earth  with  a  new  verdure,  the  humming-bird 
returned  to  its  old  refuge  bearing  green  leaves.  And 
Tezpi  saw  that  his  vessel  was  aground  near  the  moun- 
tain of  Colhuacan  and  he  landed  there. 

The  Mexicans  round  Cholula  had  a  special  legend, 
connecting  the  escape  of  a  remnant  from  the  great  del- 
uge with  the  often-mentioned  story  of  the  origin  of  the 
people  of  Anahuac  from  Chicomoztoc,  or  the  Seven 
Caves.  At  the  time  of  the  cataclysm,  the  country,  ac- 
cording to  Pedro  de  los  Rios,  was  inhabited  by  giants. 
Some  of  these  perished  utterly ;  others  were  changed  in- 
to fishes;  while  seven  brothers  of  them  found  safety  by 
closing  themselves  into  certain  caves  in  a  mountain 
called  Tlaloc.  When  the  waters  were  assuaged,  one 
of  the  giants,  Xelhua,  surnamed  the  Architect,  went  to 
Cholula  and  began  to  build  an  artificial  mountain, 
as  a  monument  and  a  memorial  of  the  Tlaloc  that 
had  sheltered  him  and  his  when  the  angry  waters  swept 
through  all  the  land.  The  bricks  were  made  in  Tlama- 
nalco,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra 'de  Cocotl,  and  passed  to 
Cholula  from  hand  to  hand  along  a  file  of  men — whence 
these  came  is  not  said — stretching  between  the  two  places. 
Then  were  the  jealousy  and  the  anger  of  the  gods 
aroused,  as  the  huge  pyramid  rose  slowly  up,  threaten- 
ing to  reach  the  clouds  and  the  great  heaven  itself;  and 
the  gods  launched  their  fire  upon  the  builders  and  slew 
many,  so  that  the  work  was  stopped.25  But  the  half-fin- 

25  Boiurini,  Idea  de  una  ITist.  pp.  113-4;  Id.,  Catdlogo,  pp.  39-40;  Clavi- 
gero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  129-30,  torn,  ii.,  p.  6;  Spieyazione 
delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  [Vaticano]  tav.  vii.,  in  Kinr/sborou<ih's  Hex- 
Ant.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  1(54-5;  Gemelli  Carreri,  in  Churchill's  Col.  Voy.,  vol.  iv.,  p. 
481;  Humboldt,  Vues.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  114-15,  torn  ii.,  pp.,  175-8;  Tylor's  Ana. 


68  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

ished  structure,  afterwards  dedicated  by  the  Cholultecs 
to  Quetzalcoatl,  still  remains  to  show  how  well  Xelhua, 
the  giant,  deserved  his  surname  of  the  Architect. 

huac,  pp.  276-7;  Gondra,  in  Prescott,  Conquista  de  Mexico,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  1-10. 
A  careful  comparison  of  the  passages  given  .above  will  show  that  this  whole 
story  of  the  escape  of  Coxcox  and  his  wife  in  a  boat  from  a  great  deluge, 
and  of  the  distribution  by  a  bird  of  different  languages  to  their  descend- 
ants, rests  on  the  interpretation  of  certain  Aztec  paintings,  containing  sup- 
posed pictures  of  a  flood,  of  Coxcox  and  his  wife,  of  a  canoe  or  rude  vessel 
of  some  kind,  of  the  mountain  Culhuacan,  which  was  the  Mexican  Ararat, 
aud  of  a  bird  distributing  languages  to  a  number  of  men.  Not  one  of 
the  earliest  writers  on  Mexican  mythology,  none  of  those  personally  fa- 
miliar with  the  natives  and  with  their  oral  traditions  as  existing  at  the 
time  of,  or  immediately  after  the  conquest,  seems  to  have  known  this 
legend;  Olmos,  Sahagun,  Motolinia,  Mendieta,  Ixtlilxochitl,  and  Camargo, 
are  all  of  them  silent  with  regard  to  it.  These  facts  must  give  rise  to  grave 
suspicions  with  regard  to  the  accuracy  of  the  commonly  accepted  version, 
notwithstanding  its  apparently  implicit  reception  up  to  this  time  by  the  most 
critical  historians.  These  suspicions  will  not  be  lessened  by  the  result  of 
the  researches  of  Don  Jose  Fernando  Ramirez,  Conservator  of  the  Mexican 
National  Museum,  a  gentleman  not  less  remarkable  for  his  familiarity  with 
the  language  and  antiquities  of  Mexico  than  for  the  moderation  and  calmness  of 
his  critical  judgments,  as  far  as  these  are  known.  In  a  communication  dated 
April,  1858,  to  Garcia  y  Cubas,  Atlas  Geograftco,  Estadistico  e  Historico  de  la  Re- 
p  Mioa  M'jicana,  entrega  29,  speaking  of  the  celebrated  Mexican  picture 
there  for  the  first  time,  as  he  claims,  accurately  given  to  the  public, — Sigiienza's 
copy  of  it,  as  given  by  Gemelli  Carerri,  that  given  by  Clavigero  in  his  Storia  del 
M-^ssico,  that  given  by  Humboldt  in  his  Atlas  Pittoresque,  and  that  given  by 
Kingsborough  being  all  incorrect, — Sefior  Ramirez  says: — The  authority  of 
writers  so  competent  as  Siguenza  and  Clavigero  imposed  silence  on  the  in- 
credulous, and  after  the  illustrious  Baron  von  Humboldt  added  his  irresistible 
authority,  adopting  that  interpretation,  nobody  doubted  that  "the  traditions 
of  the  Hebrews  were  found  among  the  people  of  America;"  that,  as  the  wise 
Baron  thought,  "their  Coxcox,  Teocipactli,  or  Tezpi  is  the  Noah,  Xisutrus, 
or  Menou  of  the  Asiatic  families;"  and  that  "the  Cerro  of  Culhuacan  is  the 
Ararat  of  the  Mexicans. ' '  Grand  and  magnificent  thoxight,  but  unfortunately 
only  a  delusion.  The  blue  square  No.  1,  with  its  bands  or  obscure  lines 
of  the  same  color,  cannot  represent  the  terrestrial  globe  covered  with  the 
waters  of  the  flood,  because  we  should  have  to  suppose  a  repetition  of  the 
same  deluge  in  the  figure  No.  40,  where  it  is  reproduced  with  some  of  its 
principal  accidents.  Neither,  for  the  same  reason,  do  the  human  heads  and 
the  heads  of  birds  which  appear  to  float  there,  denote  the  submerging  of  men 
and  animals,  for  it  would  be  necessary  to  give  the  same  explanation  to  those 
seen  in  group  No.  39.  It  might  be  argued  that  the  group  to  the  left  (of 
No.  1),  made  up  of  a  human  head  placed  under  the  head  of  a  bird,  repre- 
sented phonetically  the  name  Coxcox,  and  denoted  the  Aztec  Noah ;  but  the 
group  on  the  right,  formed  of  a  woman's  head  with  other  symbolic  figures 
above  it,  evidently  does  not  express  the  name  Xochiquetzal,  which  is  said  to 

have  been  that  of  his  wife Let  us  now  pass  on  to  the  dove  giving  tongues 

to  the  primitive  men  who  were  born  mute.  The  commas  which  seem  to 
come  from  the  beak  of  the  bird  there  represented,  form  one  of  the  most  com- 
plex and  varied  symbols,  in  respect  to  their  phonetic  force,  which  are  found 
in  our  hieroglyphic  writing.  In  connection  with  animated  beings  they 
designate  generically  the  emission  of  the  voice ....  In  the  group  before  us  they 
denote  purely  and  simply  that  the  bird  was  singing  or  speaking — to  whom? 
— to  the  group  of  persons  before  it,  who  by  the  direction  of  their  faces  and 
bodies  show  clearly  and  distinctly  the  attention  with  which  they  listened. 
Consequently  the  designer  of  the  before-mentioned  drawing  for  Clavigero, 


THE  MEXICAN  DELUGE.  69 

Yet  another  record  remains  to  us  of  a  traditional 
Mexican  deluge,  in  the  following  extract  from  the  Chimal- 
popoca  Manuscript.  Its  words  seem  to  have  a  familiar 
sound ;  but  it  would  hardly  be  scientific  to  draw  from 
such  a  fragment  any  very  sweeping  conclusion  as  to  its 
relationship,  whether  that  be  Quiche  or  Christian: — 

When  the  Sun,  or  Age,  Nahui-Atl  came,  there  had 
passed  already  four  hundred  years ;  then  came  two  hun- 
dred years,  then  seventy  and  six,  and  then  mankind 
were  lost  and  drowned  and  turrred  into  fishes.  The 
waters  and  the  sky  drew  near  each  other;  in  a  single 
day  all  was  lost;  the  day  Four  Flower  consumed  all 
that  there  was  of  our  flesh.  And  this  year  was  the  year 
Ce-Calli;  on  the  first  day,  Nahui-Atl,  all  was  lost.  The 
very  mountains  were  swallowed  up  in  the  flood  and  the 
waters  remained,  lying  tranquil  during  fifty  and  two 
spring-times.  But  before  the  flood  began,  Titlacahuan 
had  warned  the  man  Nata  and  his  wife  Nena,  saying: 

pre-occupied  with  the  idea  of  signifying  by  it  the  pretended  confusion  of 
tongues,  changed  with  his  pencil  the  historic  truth,  giving  to  these  figures 
opposite  directions.  Examining  attentively  the  inexactitudes  and  errors  of 
the  graver  and  the  pencil  in  all  historical  engravings  relating  to  Mexico,  it  is 
seen  that  they  are  no  less  numerous  and  serious  than  those  of  the  pen.  The 
interpretations  given  to  the  ancient  Mexican  paintings  by  ardent  imagina- 
tions led  away  by  love  of  novelty  or  by  the  spirit  of  system,  justify  to  a  cer- 
tain point  the  distrust  and  disfavor  with  which  the  last  and  most  distin- 
guished historian  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  ( W.  H.  Prescott)  has  treated  this 
interesting  and  precious  class  of  historical  documents.  Senor  Ramirez  goes 
on  thus  at  some  length  to  his  conclusions,  which  reduce  the  original  paint- 
ing to  a  simple  record  of  a  wandering  of  the  Mexicans  among  the  lakes  of  the 
Mexican  valley, — that  journey  beginning  at  a  place  'not  more  than  nine 
miles  from  the  gutters  of  Mexico,' — a  record  having  absolutely  110  connection 
either  with  the  mythical  deluge,  already  described  as  one  of  the  four  destruc- 
tions of  the  world,  or  with  any  other.  The  bird  speaking  in  the  picture,  he 
connects  with  a  well-known  Mexican  fable  given  by  Torquemada,  in  which  a 
bird  is  described  as  speaking  from  a  tree  to  the  leaders  of  the  Mexicans  at  a 
certain  stage  of  their  migration,  and  repeating  the  work  Tihui,  that  is  to  say, 
'  Let  us  go. '  A  little  bird  called  the  Tihuitochan,  with  a  cry  that  the  vulgar  still 
interpret  in  a  somewhat  similar  sense,  is  well  known  in  Mexico,  and  is  per- 
haps at  the  bottom  of  the  tradition.  It  may  be  added  that  Torquemada  gives 
a  painted  manuscript,  possibly  that  under  discussion,  as  his  authority  for  the 
story.  The  boat,  the  mountain,  and  the  other  adjuncts  of  the  picture  are 
explained  in  a  like  simple  way,  as  the  hieroglyphics,  for  the  most  part,  of 
various  proper  names.  Our  space  here  will  not  permit  further  details, — 
though  another  volume  will  contain  this  picture  and  a  further  discussion  of 
the  subject, — but  I  may  remark  in  concluding  that  the  moderation  with 
which  Senor  Ramirez  discusses  the  question,  as  well  as  his  great  experience 
and  learning  in  matters  of  Mexican  antiquity,  seem  to  claim  for  his  views 
the  serious  consideration  of  future  students. 


70  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

Make  now  no  more  pulque,  but  hollow  out  to  yourselves 
a  great  cypress,  into  which  you  shall  enter  when,  in  the 
month  Tozoztli,  the  waters  shall  near  the  sky.  Then 
they  entered  into  it,  and  when  Titlacahuan  had  shut 
them  in,  he  said  to  the  man :  Thou  shalt  eat  but  a  single 
ear  of  maize,  and  thy  wife  but  one  also.  And  when 
they  had  finished  eating,  each  an  ear  of  maize,  they  pre- 
pared to  set  forth,  for  the  waters  remained  tranquil  and 
their  log  moved  no  longer ;  and  opening  it  they  began  to 
see  the  fishes.  Then  they  lit  a  fire,  rubbing  pieces  of 
wood  together,  and  they  roasted  fish.  And  behold  the 
deities  Citlallinicue  and  Citlallatonac  looking  down  from 
above,  cried  out:  0  divine  Lord!  what  is  this  fire  that 
they  make  there?  wherefore  do  they  so  fill  the  heaven 
with  smoke  ?  And  immediately  Titlacahuan  Tetzcatli- 
poca  came  down,  and  set  himself  to  grumble,  saying: 
What  does  this  fire  here?  Then  he  seized  the  fishes  and 
fashioned  them  behind  and  before,  and  changed  them 
into  dogs.26 

We  turn  now  to  the  traditions  of  some  nations  situated 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  Mexican  Empire,  traditions  dif- 
fering from  those  of  Mexico,  if  not  in  their  elements,  at 
least  in  the  combination  of  those  elements.  Following 
our  usual  custom,  I  give  the  following  legend  belonging 
to  the  Miztecs  just  as  they  themselves  were  accus- 
tomed to  depict  and  to  interpret  it  in  their  primitive 
scrolls : — 27 

In  the  year  and  in  the  day  of  obscurity  and  darkness, 
yea  even  before  the  days  or  the  years  were,  when  the 
world  was  in  a  great  darkness  and  chaos,  when  the  earth 
was  covered  with  water  and  there  was  nothing  but  mud 
and  slime  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth, — behold  a  god 
became  visible,  and  his  name  was  the  Deer,  and  his  sur- 

26  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Wist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  425-7. 

27  Fr.  Gregorio  Garcia,  Orii/en  de  los  Ltd.,  pp.  327-9,  took  this  narrative 
from  a  book  he  found  in  a  convent  in  Cuilapa,  a  little  Indian  town  about  a 
league  and  a  half  south  of  Oajaca.     The  book  had  been  compiled  by  the 
vicar  of  that  convent,  and — '  escrito  con  sus  Figuras,  como  los  Indies  de  aquel 
Eeino  Mixteco  las  tenian  en  sus  Libros,  6  Pergaminos  arrollados,  con  la  de- 
claracion  de  lo  que  significaban  las  Figuras,  en  que  contaban  su  Origen,  la 
Creacion  del  Hondo,  i  Diluvio  General.' 


THE  FLYING  HEEOES  OF  MIZTECA.  71 

name  was  the  Lion-Snake.  There  appeared  also  a  very 
beautiful  goddess  called  the  Deer,  and  surnamed  the 
Tiger- Snake.28  These  two  gods  were  the  origin  and  be- 
gining  of  all  the  gods. 

Now  when  these  two  gods  became  visible  in  the  world, 
they  made,  in  their  knowledge  and  omnipotence,  a  great 
rock,  upon  which  they  built  a  very  sumptuous  palace,  a 
masterpiece  of  skill,  in  which  they  made  their  abode 
upon  earth.  On  the  highest  part  of  this  building  there 
was  an  axe  of  copper,  the  edge  being  uppermost,  and  on 
this  axe  the  heavens  rested. 

This  rock  and  the  palace  of  the  gods  were  on  a  moun- 
tain in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town  of  Apoala  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Mizteca  Alta.  The  rock  was  called  The  Place 
of  Heaven;  there  the  gods  first  abode  on  earth,  living 
many  years  in  great  rest  and  content,  as  in  a  happy  and 
delicious  land,  though  the  world  still  lay  in  obscurity 
and  darkness. 

The  father  and  mother  of  all  the  gods  being  here  in 
their  place,  two  sons  were  born  to  them,  very  handsome 
and  very  learned  in  all  wisdom  and  arts.  The  first  was 
called  the  Wind  of  Nine  Snakes,  after  the  name  of  the 
day  on  which  he  was  born;  and  the  second  was  called, 
in  like  manner,  the  Wind  of  Nine  Caves.  Very  daintily 
indeed  were  these  youths  brought  up.  When  the  elder 
wished  to  amuse  himself,  he  took  the  form  of  an  eagle,  fly- 
ing thus  far  and  wide ;  the  younger  turned  himself  into 
a  small  beast  of  a  serpent  shape,  having  wings  that  he 
used  with  such  agility  and  sleight  that  he  became  invis- 
ible, and  flew  through  rocks  and  walls  even  as  through 
the  air.  As  they  went,  the  din  and  clamor  of  these 
brethren  was  heard  by  those  over  whom  they  passed. 
They  took  these  figures  to  manifest  the  power  that  was  in 
them,  both  in  transforming  themselves  and  in  resuming 
again  their  original  shape.  And  they  abode  in  great  peace 
in  the  mansion  of  their  parents,  so  they  agreed  to  make 

28  '  Que  aparecieron  visiblemente  un  Dios,  que  tuvo  por  Nombre  un  Ciervo, 
i  por  sobrenoinbre  Culebra  de  Leon;  i  una  Diosa  mui  linda,  i  hermosa,  que  su 
Nombre  fue  un  Ciervo  :  por  sobrenombre  Culebra  de  Tigre.'  Garcia,  Id.,  pp. 
327-9 


72  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

a  sacrifice  and  an  offering  to  these  gods,  to  their  father 
and  to  their  mother.  Then  they  took  each  a  censer  of 
clay,  and  put  fire  therein,  and  poured  in  ground  betetto 
for  incense ;  and  this  offering  was  the  first  that  had  ever 
been  made  in  the  world.  Next  the  brothers  made  to 
themselves  a  garden,  in  which  they  put  many  trees, 
and  fruit-trees,  and  flowers,  and  roses,  and  odorous  herbs 
of  different  kinds.  Joined  to  this  garden  they  laid  out 
a  very  beautiful  meadow,  which  they  fitted  up  with  all 
things  necessary  for  offering  sacrifice  to  the  gods.  In 
this  manner  the  two  brethren  left  their  parents'  house, 
and  fixed  themselves  in  this  garden  to  dress  it  and  to 
keep  it,  watering  the  trees  and  the  plants  and  the  odor- 
ous herbs,  multiplying  them,  and  burning  incense  of 
powder  of  beleno  in  censers  of  clay  to  the  gods,  their 
father  and  mother.  They  made  also  vows  to  these  gods, 
and  promises,  praying  that  it  might  seem  good  to  them 
to  shape  the  firmament  and  lighten  the  darkness  of  the 
world,  and  to  establish  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  or 
rather  to  gather  the  waters  together  so  that  the  earth 
might  appear, — as  they  had  no  place  to  rest  in  save  only 
one  little  garden.  And  to  make  their  prayers  more  ob- 
ligatory upon  the  gods,  they  pierced  their  ears  and 
tongues  with  flakes  of  flint,  sprinkling  the  blood  that 
dropped  from  the  wounds  over  the  trees  and  plants  of  the 
garden  with  a  willow  branch,  as  a  sacred  and  blessed 
thing.  After  this  sort  they  employed  themselves,  post- 
poning pleasure  till  the  time  of  the  granting  of  their  de- 
sire, remaining  always  in  subjection  to  the  gods,  their 
father  and  mother,  and  attributing  to  them  more  power 
and  divinity  than  they  really  possessed. 

Fray  Garcia  here  makes  a  break  in  the  relation, — that 
he  may  not  weary  his  readers  with  so  many  absurdities, 
— but  it  would  appear  that  the  firmament  was  arranged 
and  the  earth  made  fit  for  mankind,  who  about  that  time 
must  also  have  made  their  appearance.  For  there  came 
a  great  deluge  afterwards,  wherein  perished  many  of  the 
sons  and  daughters  that  had  been  born  to  the  gods;  and 
it  is  said  that  when  the  deluge  was  passed  the  human 


THE  DUEL  WITH  THE  SUN.  73 

race  was  restored  as  at  the  first,  and  the  Miztec  king- 
dom populated,  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  estab- 
lished. 

This  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  the  traditional  ori- 
gin of  the  common  people ;  but  the  governing  family  of 
Mizteca  proclaimed  themselves  the  descendants  of  two 
youths  born  from  two  majestic  trees  that  stood  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  gorge  of  Apoala,  and  that  maintained  them- 
selves there  despite  a  violent  wind  continually  rising 
from  a  cavern  in  the  vicinity. 

Whether  the  trees  of  themselves  produced  these  youths, 
or  whether  some  primeval  yEsir,  as  in  the  Scandinavian 
story,  gave  them  shape  and  blood  and  breath  and  sense, 
we  know  not.  We  are  only  told  that  soon  or  late  the 
youths  separated,  each  going  his  own  way  to  conquer 
lands  for  himself.  The  braver  of  the  two  coming  to  the 
vicinity  of  Tilantongo,  armed  with  buckler  and  bow,  was 
much  vexed  and  oppressed  by  the  ardent  rays  of  the 
sun,  which  he  took  to  be  the  lord  of  that  district  striv- 
ing to  prevent  his  entrance  therein.  Then  the  young 
warrior  strung  his  bow,  and  advanced  his  buckler  before 
him,  and  drew  shafts  from  his  quiver.  He  shot  there 
against  the  great  light  even  till  the  going  down  of  the 
same;  then  he  took  possession  of  all  that  land,  seeing  he 
had  grievously  wounded  the  sun,  and  forced  him  to  hide 
behind  the  mountains.  Upon  this  story  is  founded  the 
lordship  of  all  the  caciques  of  Mizteca,  and  upon  their 
descent  from  this  mighty  archer  their  ancestor.  Even 
to  this  day,  the  chiefs  of  the  Miztecs  blazon  as  their 
arms  a  plumed  chief  with  bow,  arrows,  and  shield,  and 
the  sun  in  front  of  him  setting  behind  gray  clouds.29  • 

Of  the  origin  of  the  Zapotecs,  a  people  bordering  on 
these  Miztecs,  Burgoa  says,  with  a  touching  simplicity, 
that  he  could  find  no  account  worthy  of  belief.  Their 
historical  paintings  he  ascribes  to  the  invention  of  the 
devil,  affirming  hotly  that  these  people  were  blinder  in 
such  vanities  than  the  Egyptians  and  the  Chaldeans. 

29  Buryoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn  i.,  fol.  128,  176. 


74  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

Some,  he  said,  to  boast  of  their  valor  made  themselves 
out  the  sons  of  lions  and  divers  wild  beasts;  others, 
grand  lords  of  ancient  lineage,  were  produced  by  the 
greatest  and  most  shady  trees ;  while  still  others  of  an 
unyielding  and  obstinate  nature,  were  descended  from 
rocks.  Their  language,  continues  the  worthy  Provincial, 
striking  suddenly  and  by  an  undirected  shot  the  very 
center  of  mythological  interpretation, — their  language 
was  full  of  metaphors;  those  who  wished  to  persuade 
spake  always  in  parables,  and  in  like  manner  painted 
their  historians.30 

In  Guatemala,  according  to  the  relations  given  to  Fa- 
ther Geronimo  Roman  by  the  natives,  it  was  believed 
there  was  a  time  when  nothing  existed  but  a  certain 
divine  Father  called  Xchmel,  and  a  divine  Mother  called 
Xtmana.  To  these  were  born  three  sons,31  the  eldest  of 
whom,  filled  with  pride  and  presumption,  set  about  a 
creation  contrary  to  the  will  of  •  his  parents.  But  he 
could  create  nothing  save  old  vessels  fit  for  mean  uses, 
such  as  earthen  pots,  jugs,  and  things  still  more  despicable ; 
and  he  was  hurled  into  hades.  Then  the  two  younger 
brethren,  called  respectively  Hunchevan  and  Hun- 
avan,  prayed  their  parents  for  permission  to  attempt  the 
work  in  which  their  brother  had  failed  so  signally.  And 
they  were  granted  leave,  being  told  at  the  same  time, 
that  inasmuch  as  they  had  humbled  themselves,  they 
would  succeed  in  their  undertaking.  Then  they  made 
the  heavens,  and  the  earth  with  the  plants  thereon,  and 
fire  and  air,  and  out  of  the  earth  itself  they  made  a  man 
and  a  woman, — presumably  the  parents  of  the  human 
race. 

According  to  Torquemada,  there  was  a  deluge  some 
time  after  this,  and  after  the  deluge  the  people  continued 
to  invoke  as  god  the  great  Father  and  the  great  Mother 


so  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  fol.  196-7. 

31  One  of  the  Las  Casas  MSS,  gives,  according  to  Helps,  '  trece  hijos '  in- 
stead of  'tres  hijos;'  the  latter,  however,  being  the  correct  reading,  as  the 
list  of  names  in  the  same  manuscript  shows,  and  as  Father  Koman  gives  it. 
See  note  33. 


THE  COYOTE  OF  THE  PAPAGOS.  75 

already  mentioned.  But  at  last  a  principal  woman  ** 
among  them,  having  received  a  revelation  from  heaven, 
taught  them  the  true  name  of  God,  and  how  that  name 
should  be  adored;  all  this,  however,  they  afterward  for- 
got.33 

In  Nicaragua,  a  country  where  the  principal  language 
was  a  Mexican  dialect,  it  was  believed  that  ages  ago 
the  world  was  destroyed  by  a  flood  in  which  the  most 
part  of  mankind  perished.  Afterward  the  teotes,  or 
gods,  restocked  the  earth  as  at  the  beginning.  Whence 
came  the  teotes,  no  one  knows;  but  the  names  of  two 
of  them  who  took  a  principal  part  in  the  creation  were 
Tamagostat  and  Cipattonal.34 

Leaving  now  the  Central  American  region  we  pass 
north  into  the  Papago  country,  lying  south  of  the  Gila, 
with  the  river  Santa  Cruz  on  the  east  and  the  Gulf  of 
California  on  the  west.  Here  we  meet  for  the  first  time 
the  coyote,  or  prairie  wolf;  we  find  him  much  more  than 
an  animal,  something  more  even  than  a  man,  only  a 
little  lower  than  the  gods.  In  the  following  Papago 
myth35  he  figures  as  a  prophet,  and  as  a  minister  and  as- 
sistant to  a  certain  great  hero-god  Montezuma,  whom  we 
are  destined  to  meet  often,  and  in  many  characters,  as  a 
central  figure  in  the  myths  of  the  Gila  valley : — 

The  Great  Spirit  made  the  earth  and  all  living  things, 

32  This  tradition,  says  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  74-5,  has  indubitably  reference  to  a  queen  whose  memory 
lias  become  attached  to  very  many  places  in  Guatemala,  and  Central  Ameri- 
ca generally.     She  was  called  Atit,  Grandmother;  and  from  her  the  volcano 
of  Atitlan,  received  the  name  Atilal-huyu,  by  which  it  is  still  known  to  the 
aboiigines.     This  Atit  lived  during  four  centuries,  and  from  her  are  descended 
all  the  royal  and  princely  families  of  Guatemala. 

33  Roman,  EepMica  de  los  Indios  Occidentaks,  part  1,  lib.  2,  cap.  15,  after 
Garcia,  Origen  de  los  Ind.,  pp.  329-30;    Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apolofje'tica,  MS., 
cap.  235,   after  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,   vol.  ii.,  p.  140;    Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Lid.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  53-4;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
pp.  74-5. 

34  The  first  of  these  two  names  is  erroneously  spelt  '  Famagoztad '  by  M. 
Ternaux-Compans,  Mr.  Squier,  and  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg;  the 
two  latter  perhaps  led  astray  by  the  error  of  M.  Ternaux-Compans,  an  error 
which  first  appeared  in   that  gentleman's   translation  of  Oviedo.     Oviedo, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  40.     Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vi.,  cap.  4. 

35  This  tradition  was  '  gathered  piincipally  from  the  relations  of  Con 
Quien,  the  intelligent  chief  of  the  central  Papagos.'  Davidson,  in  Ind.  Aff. 
Kept.,  1865,  pp.  131-3. 


76  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

before  he  made  man.  And  he  descended  from  heaven,  and 
digging  in  the  earth,  found  clay  such  as  the  potters  use, 
which,  having  again  ascended  into  the  sky,  he  dropped 
into  the  hole  that  he  had  dug.  Immediately  there  came 
out  Montezuma  and,  with  the  assistance  of  Montezuma, 
the  rest  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  order.  Last  of  all  came 
the  Apaches,  wild  from  their  natal  hour,  running  away 
as  fast  as  they  were  created.  Those  first  days  of  the 
world  were  happy  and  peaceful  days.  The  sun  was 
nearer  the  earth  than  he  is  now ;  his  grateful  rays  made 
all  the  seasons  equal,  and  rendered  garments  unneces- 
sary. Men  and  beasts  talked  together,  a  common  lan- 
guage made  all  brethren.  But  an  awful  destruction 
ended  this  happy  age.  A  great  flood  destroyed  all  flesh 
wherein  was  the  breath  of  life;  Montezuma  and  his 
friend  the  Coyote  alone  escaping.  For  before  the  flood 
began,  the  Coyote  prophesied  its  coming,  and  Montezu- 
ma took  the  warning  and  hollowed  out  a  boat  to  himself, 
keeping  it  ready  on  the  topmost  summit  of  Santa  Rosa. 
The  Coyote  also  prepared  an  ark ;  gnawing  down  a  great 
cane  by  the  river  bank,  entering  it,  and  stopping  up  the 
end  with  a  certain  gum.  So  when  the  waters  rose  these 
two  saved  themselves,  and  met  again  at  last  on  dry  land 
after  the  flood  had  passed  away.  Naturally  enough  Mon- 
tezuma was  now  anxious  to  know  how  much  dry  land 
had  been  left,  and  he  sent  the  Coyote  off  on  four  succes- 
sive journeys,  to  find  exactly  where  the  sea  lay  toward 
each  of  the  four  winds.  From  the  west  and  from  the 
south,  the  answer  swiftly  came:  The  sea  is  at  hand.  A 
longer  search  was  that  made  towards  the  east,  but  at  last 
there  too  was  the  sea  found.  On  the  north  only  was  no 
water  found,  though  the  faithful  messenger  almost 
wearied  himself  out  with  searching.  In  the  meantime 
the  Great  Spirit,  aided  by  Montezuma,  had  again  re- 
peopled  the  world,  and  animals  and  men  began  to  in- 
crease and  multiply.  To  Montezuma  had  been  allotted 
the  care  and  government  of  the  new  race ;  but  puffed  up 
with  pride  and  self  importance,  he  neglected  the  most  im- 
portant duties  of  his  onerous  position,  and  suffered  the 


LEGEND  OF  MONTEZUMA.  77 

most  disgraceful  wickedness  to  pass  unnoticed  among  the 
people.  In  vain  the  Great  Spirit  came  down  to  earth 
and  remonstrated  with  his  vicegerent,  who  only  scorned 
his  laws  and  advice,  and  ended  at  last  by  breaking  out 
into  open  rebellion.  Then  indeed  the  Great  Spirit  was 
filled  with  anger,  and  he  returned  to  heaven,  pushing 
back  the  sun  on  his  way,  to  that  remote  part  of  the  sky 
he  now  occupies.  But  Montezuma  hardened  his  heart, 
and  collecting  all  the  tribes  to  aid  him,  set  about  build- 
ing a  house  that  should  reach  up  to  heaven  itself.  Al- 
ready it  had  attained  a  great  height,  and  contained  many 
apartments  lined  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones, 
the  whole  threatening  soon  to  make  good  the  boast  of  its 
architect,  when  the  Great  Spirit  launched  his  thunder, 
and  laid  its  glory  in  ruins.  Still  Montezuma  hardened 
himself;  proud  and  inflexible,  he  answered  the  thunderer 
out  of  the  haughty  defiance  of  his  heart ;  he  ordered  the 
temple-houses  to  be  desecrated,  and  the  holy  images  to 
be  dragged  in  the  dust,  he  made  them  a  scoff  and  by- 
word for  the  very  children  in  the  village  streets.  Then 
the  Great  Spirit  prepared  his  supreme  punishment.  He 
sent  an  insect  flying  away  towards  the  east,  towards  an 
unknown  land,  to  bring  the  Spaniards.  When  these 
came,  they  made  war  upon  Montezuma  and  destroyed 
him,  and  utterly  dissipated  the  idea  of  his  divinity.36 

36  The  legendary  Montezuma,  whom  we  shall  meet  so  often  in  the  mythol- 
ogy of  the  Gila  valley,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  two  Mexican  mon- 
archs  of  the  same  title.  The  name  itself  would  seem,  in  tne  absence  of  proof 
to  the  contrary,  to  have  been  carried  into  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  by  the 
Spaniards  or  their  Mexican  attendants,  and  to  have  become  gradually  associ- 
ated in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  New  Mexican  and  neighboring  tribes,  with 
a  vague,  mythical,  and  departed  grandeur.  The  name  Montezuma  became 
thus,  to  use  Mr.  Tylor's  words,  that  of  the  great  '  Somebody '  of  the  tribe. 
This  being  once  the  case,  all  the  lesser  heroes  would  be  gradually  absorbed 
in  the  greater,  and  their  names  forgotten.  Their  deeds  would  become  hia 
deeds,  their  fame  his  fame.  There  is  evidence  enough  that  this  is  a  general 
tendency  of  tradition,  even  in  historical  times.  The  pages  of  Mr.  Cox's 
scholaily  and  comprehensive  work,  The  Mythology  of  the  Aryan  Nations,  teem 
with  examples  of  it.  In  Persia,  deeds  of  every  kind  and  date  are  referred  to 
Antar.  In  Russia,  buildings  of  every  age  are  declared  to  be  the  work 
of  Peter  the  Great.  All  over  Europe,  in  Germany,  France,  Spain,  Switzer- 
land, England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  the  exploits  of  the  oldest  mythological 
teroes  figuring  in  the  Sagas,  Eddas,  and  Nibelungen  Lied  have  been  ascribed 
in  the  folk-lore  and  ballads  of  the  people  to  Barbarossa,  Charlemagne,  Boab- 
dil,  Charles  V.,  William  Tell,  Arthur,  Robin  Hood,  Wallace,  and  St.  Patrick. 


78  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

The  Pimas,37  a  neighboring  and  closely  allied  people 
to  the  Papagos,  say  that  the  earth  was  made  by  a  cer- 
tain Chiowotmahke,  that  is  to  say  Earth-prophet.  It 
appeared  in  the  beginning  like  a  spider's  web,  stretching 
far  and  fragile  across  the  nothingness  that  was.  Then 
the  Earth-prophet  flew  over  all  lands  in  the  form  of  a 
butterfly,  till  he  came  to  the  place  he  judged  fit  for  his 
purpose,  and  there  he  made  man.  And  the  thing  was 
after  this  wise :  The  Creator  took  clay  in  his  hands,  and 
mixing  it  with  the  sweat  of  his  own  body,  kneaded  the 
whole  into  a  lump.  Then  he  blew  upon  the  lump  till  it 
wa,s  filled  with  life  and  began  to  move ;  and  it  became 
man  and  woman.  This  Creator  had  a  son  called  Szeu- 
kha,  who,  when  the  world  was  beginning  to  be  tolerably 
peopled,  lived  in  the  Gila  valley,  where  lived  also  at  the 
same  time  a  great  prophet,  whose  name  has  been  forgot- 
ten. Upon  a  certain  night  when  the  prophet  slept,  he 
was  wakened  by  a  noise  at  the  door  of  his  house,  and 
when  he  looked,  a  great  Eagle  stood  before  him.  And 
the  Eagle  spake:  Arise,  thou  that  healest  the  sick,  thou 
that  shouldest  know  what  is  to  come,  for  behold  a  deluge 
is  at  hand.  But  the  prophet  laughed  the  bird  to  scorn 
and  gathered  his  robes  about  him  and  slept.  After- 
wards the  Eagle  came  again  and  warned  him  of  the 
waters  near  at  hand ;  but  he  gave  no  ear  to  the  bird  at 
all.  Perhaps  he  would  not  listen  because  this  Eagle  had 
an  exceedingly  bad  reputation  among  men,  being  re- 
ported to  take  at  times  the  form  of  an  old  woman  that 
lured  away  girls  and  children  to  a  certain  cliff  so  that 
they  were  never  seen  again ;  of  this,  however,  more  anon. 
A  third  time,  the  Eagle  came  to  warn  the  prophet,  and 
to  say  that  all  the  valley  of  the  Gila  should  be  laid  waste 
with  water;  but  the  prophet  gave  no  heed.  Then,  in 


The  connection  of  the  name  of  Monteznma  with  ancient  buildings  and  legend- 
ary adventures  in  the  mythology  of  the  Gila  valley  seems  to  be  simply  an- 
other example  of  the  same  kind. 

37  I  am  indebted  for  these  particulars  of  the  belief  of  the  Pimas  to  the 
kindness  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Stout  of  the  Pima  agency,  who  procured  me  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  five  chiefs  of  that  nation,  and  their  very  intelligent  and 
obliging  interpreter,  Mr.  Walker,  at  San  Francisco,  in  October,  1873. 


DELUGE  OF  THE  PIMAS.  79 

the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and  even  as  the  flapping  of  the 
Eagle's  wings  died  away  into  the  night,  there  came  a 
peal  of  thunder  and  ai>  awful  crash ;  and  a  green  mound 
of  water  reared  itself  over  the  plain.  It  seemed  to  stand 
upright  for  a  second,  then,  cut  incessantly  by  the  light- 
ning, goaded  on  like  a  great  beast,  it  flung  itself  upon  the 
prophet's  hut.  When  the  morning  broke  there  was  noth- 
ing to  be  seen  alive  but  one  man — if  indeed  he  were  a 
man ;  Szeukha,  the  son  of  the  Creator,  had  saved  himself 
by  floating  on  a  ball  of  gum  or  resin.  On  the  waters  fall- 
ing a  little,  he  landed  near  the  mouth  of  the  Salt  River, 
upon  a  mountain  where  there  is  a  cave  that  can  still  be 
seen,  together  with  the  tools  and  utensils  Szeukha  used 
while  he  lived  there.  Szeukha  was  very  angry  with 
the  Great  Eagle,  who  he  probably  thought  had  had  more 
to  do  with  bringing  on  the  flood  than  appears  in  the 
narrative.  At  any  rate  the  general  reputation  of  the 
bird  was  sufficiently  bad,  and  Szeukha  prepared  a  kind 
of  rope  ladder  from  a  very  tough  species  of  tree,  much 
like  woodbine,  with  the  aid  of  which  he  climbed  up  to 
the  cliff  where  the  Eagle  lived,  and  slew  him.38  Looking 
about  here,  he  found  the  mutilated  and  decaying  bodies  of 
a  great  multitude  of  those  that  the  Eagle  had  stolen  and 
taken  for  a  prey ;  and  he  raised  them  all  to  life  again  and 
sent  them  away  to  repeople  the  earth.  In  the  house  or 
den  of  the  Eagle,  he  found  a  woman  that  the  monster  had 
taken  to  wife,  and  a  child.  These  he  sent  also  upon 
their  way,  and  from  these  are  descended  that  great  peo- 
ple called  Hohocam,  'ancients  or  grandfathers,'  who 
were  led  in  all  their  wanderings  by  an  eagle,  and  who 
eventually  passed  into  Mexico.39  One  of  these  Hohocam 

38  For  the  killing  of  this  Great  Eagle  Szeukha  had  to  do  a  kind  of  pen- 
ance, which  was  never  to  scratch  himself  with  his  nails,  but  always  with  a 
small  stick.     This  custom  is  still  observed  by  all  Pimas ;  and  a  bit  of  wood, 
renewed  every  fourth  day,  is  carried  for  this  purpose  stuck  in  their  long  hair. 

39  With  the  reader,  as  with  myself,  this  clause  will  probably  call  up  some- 
thing more  than  a  mere  suspicion  of  Spanish  influence  tinging  the  incidents 
of  the  legend.     The  Pimas  themselves,  however,  asserted  that  this  tradition 
existed  among  them  long  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  and  was  not 
modified  thereby.     One  fact  that  seems  to  speak  for  the  comparative  purity 
of  their  traditions  is  that  the  name  of  Montezuma  is  nowhere  to  be  foxmd  in 
them,  although  Cremony,  Apaches,  p.  102,  states  the  contrary. 


80  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

named  Sivano,  built  the  Casa  Grande  on  the  Gila,  and  in- 
deed the  ruins  of  this  structure  are  called  after  his  name 
to  this  day.  On  the  death  of  Sivano,  his  son  led  a 
branch  of  the  Hohocam  to  Salt  River,  where  he  built 
certain  edifices  and  dug  a  large  canal,  or  aceqitia.  At 
last  it  came  about  that  a  woman  ruled  over  the  Hohocam. 
Her  throne  was  cut  out  of  a  blue  stone,  and  a  mysteri- 
ous bird  was  her  constant  attendant.  These  Hohocam 
were  at  war  with  a  people  that  lived  to  the  east  of  them, 
on  the  Rio  Verde,  and  one  day  the  bird  warned  her  that 
the  enemy  was  at  hand.  The  warning  was  disregarded 
or  it  came  too  late,  for  the  eastern  people  came  down  in 
three  bands,  destroyed  the  cities  of  the  Hohocam,  and 
killed  or  drove  away  all  the  inhabitants. 

Most  of  the  Pueblo  tribes  call  themselves  the  .descend- 
ants of  Montezuma;40  the  Moquis,  however,  have  a  quite 
different  story  of  their  origin.  They  believe  in  a  great 
Father  living  where  the  sun  rises ;  and  in  a  great  Moth- 
er, whose  home  is  where  the  sun  goes  down.  The  Fa- 
ther is  the  father  of  evil,  war,  pestilence,  and  famine; 
but  from  the  Mother  are  all  joys,  peace,  plenty,  and 
health.  In  the  beginning  of  time  the  Mother  produced 
from  her  western  home  nine  races  of  men  in  the  follow- 
ing primary  forms:  First,  the  Deer  race;  second,  the 
Sand  race ;  third,  the  Water  race ;  fourth,  the  Bear  race ; 
fifth,  the  Hare  race ;  sixth,  the  Prairie-wolf  race ;  seventh, 
the  Rattle-snake  race;  eighth,  the  Tobacco-plant  race; 
and  ninth,  the  Reed-grass  race.  All  these  the  Mother 
placed  respectively  on  the  spots  where  their  villages  now 
stand,  and  transformed  them  into  the  men  who  built  the 
present  Pueblos.  These  race-distinctions  are  still  sharp- 
ly kept  up;  for  they  are  believed  to  be  realities,  not 
only  of  the  past  and  present,  but  also  of  the  future ;  every 
man  when  he  dies  shall  be  resolved  into  his  primeval 
form;  shall  wave  in  the  grass,  or  drift  in  the  sand,  or 
prowl  on  the  prairie  as  in  the  beginning.41 

40  Gregg's  Commerce  of  the  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  p.  268. 

tl  Ten  Broeck  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  85-6. 


CAVE-ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAVAJOS.  81 

The  Navajos,  living  north  of  the  Pueblos,  say  that  at 
one  time  all  the  nations,  Navajos,  Pueblos,  Coyoteros, 
and  white  people,  lived  together,  underground  in  the  heart 
of  a  mountain  near  the  river  San  Juan.  Their  only 
food  was  meat,  which  they  had  in  abundance,  for  all 
kinds  of  game  were  closed  up  with  them  in  their  cave ; 
but  their  light  was  dim  and  only  endured  for  a  few 
hours  each  day.  There  were  happily  two  dumb  men 
among  the  Navajos,  flute-players  who  enlivened  the  dark- 
ness with  music.  One  of  these  striking  by  chance  on 
the  roof  of  the  limbo  with  his  flute,  brought  out  a  hol- 
low sound,  upon  which  the  elders  of  the  tribes  deter- 
mined to  bore  in  the  direction  whence  the  sound  came. 
The  flute  was  then  set  up  against  the  roof,  and  the  Rac- 
coon sent  up  the  tube  to  dig  a  way  out;  but  he  could 
not.  Then  the  Moth-worm  mounted  into  the  breach, 
and  bored  and  bored  till  he  found  himself  suddenly  on 
the  outside  of  the  mountain  and  surrounded  by  water. 
Under  these  novel  circumstances,  he  heaped  up  a  little 
mound  and  set  himself  down  on  it  to  observe  and  pon- 
der the  situation.  A  critical  situation  enough !  for,  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  universe,  four  great  white  Swans 
bore  down  upon  him,  every  one  with  two  arrows,  one 
under  either  wing.  The  Swan  from  the  north  reached 
him  first,  and  having  pierced  him  with  two  arrows,  drew 
them  out  and  examined  their  points,  exclaiming  as  the 
result :  He  is  of  my  race.  So  also,  in  succession,  did  all 
the  others.  Then  they  went  away ;  and  towards  the  di- 
rections in  which  they  departed,  to  the  north,  south,  east, 
and  west,  were  found  four  great  arroyos,  by  which  all 
the  water  flowed  off,  leaving  only  mud.  The  worm  now 
returned  to  the  cave,  and  the  Raccoon  went  up  into  the 
mud,  sinking  in  it  mid-leg  deep,  as  the  marks  on  his  fur 
show  to  this  day.  And  the  wind  began  to  rise,  sweep- 
ing up  the  four  great  arroyos,  and  the  mud  was  dried 
away.  Then  the  men  and  the  animals  began  to  come 
up  from  their  cave,  and  their  coming  up  required  sever- 
al days.  First  came  the  Navajos,  and  no  sooner  had 


82  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

they  reached  the  surface  then  they  commenced  gaming 
at  patok,  their  favorite  game.  Then  came  the  Pueblos 
and  other  Indians  who  crop  their  hair  and  build  houses. 
Lastly  came  the  white  people,  who  started  off  at  once  for 
the  rising  sun  and  were  lost  sight  of  for  many  winters. 

While  these  nations  lived  underground  they  all  spake 
one  tongue ;  but  with  the  light  of  day  and  the  level  of 
earth,  came  many  languages.  The  earth  was  at  this 
time  very  small  and  the  light  was  quite  as  scanty  as  it 
had  been  down  below;  for  there  was  as  yet  no  heaven, 
nor  sun,  nor  moon,  nor  stars.  So  another  council  of  the 
ancients  was  held  and  a  committee  of  their  number  ap- 
pointed to  manufacture  these  luminaries.  A  large  house 
or  workshop  was  erected ;  and  when  the  sun  and  moon 
were  ready,  they  were  entrusted  to  the  direction  and 
guidance  of  the  two  dumb  fluters  already  mentioned. 
The  one  who  got  charge  of  the  sun  came  very  near, 
through  his  clumsiness  in  his  new  office,  to  making  a 
Phaethon  of  himself  and  setting  fire  to  the  earth.  The 
old  men,  however,  either  more  lenient  than  Zeus  or  lack- 
ing his  thunder,  contented  themselves  with  forcing  the 
offender  back  by  puffing  the  smoke  of  their  pipes  into 
his  face.  Since  then  the  increasing  size  of  the  earth 
has  four  times  rendered  it  necessary  that  he  should  be 
put  back,  and  his  course  farther  removed  from  the  world 
and  from  the  subterranean  cave  to  which  he  nightly  re- 
tires with  the  great  light.  At  night  also  the  other  dumb 
man  issues  from  this  cave,  bearing  the  moon  under  his 
arm,  and  lighting  up  such  part  of  the  world  as  he  can. 
Next  the  old  men  set  to  work  to  make  the  heavens,  in- 
tending to  broider  in  the  stars  in  beautiful  patterns,  of 
bears,  birds,  and  such  things.  But  just  as  they  had 
made  a  beginning  a  prairie-wolf  rushed  in,  and  crying 
out:  Why  all  this  trouble  and  embroidery?  scattered  the 
pile  of  stars  over  all  the  floor  of  heaven,  just  as  they 
still  lie. 

When  now  the  world  and  its  firmament  had  been  fin- 
ished, the  old  men  prepared  two  earthen  tinages  or  water- 
jars,  and  having  decorated  one  with  bright  colors,  filled 


ORIGIN-MYTHS  OF  SOUTHEEN  CALIFORNIA.  83 

it  with  trifles ;  while  the  other  was  left  plain  on  the  out- 
side, but  filled  within  with  flocks  and  herds  and  riches 
of  all  kinds.  These  jars  being  covered  and  presented  to 
the  Navajos  and  Pueblos,  the  former  chose  the  gaudy 
but  paltry  jar ;  while  the  Pueblos  received  the  plain  and 
rich  vessel ;  each  nation  showing  in  its  choice  traits 
which  characterize  it  to  this  day.  Next  there  arose 
among  the  Navajos  a  great  gambler,  who  went  on  win- 
ning the  goods  and  the  persons  of  his  opponents  till  he 
had  won  the  whole  tribe.  Upon  this,  one  of  the  old 
men  became  indignant,  set  the  gambler  on  his  bow- 
string and  shot  him  oft'  into  space, — an  unfortunate  pro- 
ceeding, for  the  fellow  returned  in  a  short  time  with  fire- 
arms and  the  Spaniards.  Let  me  conclude  by  telling 
how  the  Navajos  came  by  the  seed  they  now  cultivate : 
All  the  wise  men  being  one  day  assembled,  a  turkey-hen 
came  flying  from  the  direction  of  the  morning  star,  and 
shook  from  her  feathers  an  ear  of  blue  corn  into  the 
midst  of  the  company ;  and  in  subsequent  visits  brought 
all  the  other  seeds  they  possess/2 

Of  some  tribes,  we  do  not  know  that  they  possess  any 
other  ideas  of  their  origin  than  the  name  of  their  first 
ancestor,  or  the  name  of  a  creator  or  a  tradition  of  his 
existence. 

The  Sinaloas,  from  Culiacan  north  to  the  Yaqui  River, 
have  dances  in  honor  of  a  certain  Viriseva,  the  mother 
of  the  first  man.  Tbis  first  man,  who  was  her  son,  and 
called  Vairubi,  they  hold  in  like  esteem.43  The  Cochimis, 
of  Lower  California,  amid  an  apparent  multiplicity  of 
gods,  say  there  is  in  reality  only  one,  who  created 
heaven,  earth,  plants,  animals,  and  man.44  The  Pericues, 
also  of  Lower  California,  call  the  creator  Niparaya,  and 
say  that  the  heavens  are  his  dwelling-place.  A  sect  of 

42  Ten  Broeck  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  89-90;  and  Eaton,  lb., 
pp.  218-9.  The  latter  account  differs  a  little  from  that  given  in  the  text,  and 
makes  the  following  addition :  After  the  Navajos  came  up  from  the  cave,  there 
came  a  time  when,  "by  the  ferocity  of  giants  and  rapacious  animals,  their 
numbers  were  reduced  to  three — an  old  man,  an  old  woman,  and  a  young 
woman.  The  stock  was  replenished  by  the  latter  bearing  a  child  to  the  sun. 

«  Eibas,  Hist.,  pp.  18,  40. 

44  Clawjero,  Storia  ddla  Cal,  torn  L,  p.  139. 


84  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS, 

the  same  tribe,  add  that  the  stars  are  made  of  metal,  and 
are  the  work  of  a  certain  Purutabui ;  while  the  moon  has 
been  made  by  one  Cucunumic.45 

The  nations  of  Los  Angeles  County,  California,  believe 
that  their  one  god,  Quaoar,  came  down  from  heaven ; 
and,  after  reducing  chaos  to  order,  put  the  world  on  the 
back  of  seven  giants.  He  then  created  the  lower  ani- 
mals, and  lastly  a  man  and  a  woman.  These  were  made 
separately  out  of  earth  and  called,  the  man  Tobohar,  and 
the  woman  Pabavit.46 

Hugo  Reid,  to  whom  we  are  mainly  indebted  for  the 
mythology  of  Southern  California,  and  who  is  an  excel- 
lent authority,  inasmuch  as  his  wife  was  an  Indian  woman 
of  that  country,  besides  the  preceding  gives  us  another 
and  different  tradition  on  the  same  subject:  Two  great 
Beings  made  the  world,  filled  it  with  grass  and  trees,  and 
gave  form,  life,  and  motion  to  the  various  animals  that 
people  land  and  sea.  When  this  work  was  done,  the 
elder  Creator  went  up  to  heaven  and  left  his  brother 
alone  on  the  earth.  The  solitary  god  left  below,  made  to 
himself  men-children,  that  he  should  not  be  utterly  com- 
panionless.  Fortunately  also,  about  this  time,  the  moon 
came  to  that  neighborhood ;  she  was  very  fair  in  her 
delicate  beauty,  very  kind  hearted,  and  she  filled  the 
place  of  a  mother  to  the  men-children  that  the  god  had 
created.  She  watched  over  them,  and  guarded  them 
from  all  evil  things  of  the  night,  standing  at  the  door  of 
their  lodge.  The  children  grew  up  very  happily,  lay- 
ing great  store  by  the  love  with  which  their  guardians 
regarded  them;  but  there  came  a  day  when  their  heart 
saddened,  in  which  they  began  to  notice  that  neither 
their  god-creator  nor  their  moon  foster-mother  gave  them 
any  longer  undivided  affection  and  care,  but  that  in- 
stead, the  two  great  ones  seemed  to  waste  much  precious 
love  upon  each  other.  The  tall  god  began  to  steal  out 
of  their  lodge  at  dusk,  and  spend  the  night  watches  in 
the  company  of  the  white-haired  moon,  who,  on  the 

«  Clavigero,  Storia  della  Cal.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  135-7. 
46  Hugo  Held,  in  Los  Angeles  Star. 


CENTRAL-CALIFORNIAN  CREATION-MYTHS.  85 

other  hand,  did  not  seem  on  these  occasions  to  pay  such 
absorbing  attention  to  her  sentinel  duty  as  at  other  times. 
The  children  grew  sad  at  this,  and  bitter  at  the  heart 
with  a  boyish  jealousy.  But  worse  was  yet  to  come: 
one  night  they  were  awakened  by  a  querulous  wail- 
ing in  their  lodge,  and  the  earliest  dawn  showed  them 
a  strange  thing,  which  they  afterwards  came  to  know 
was  a  new-born  infant,  lying  in  the  doorway.  The  god 
and  the  moon  had  eloped  together;  their  Great  One 
had  returned  to  his  place  beyond  the  aether,  and  that  he 
might  not  be  separated  from  his  paramour,  he  had  appoint- 
ed her  at  the  same  time  a  lodge  in  the  great  firmament ; 
where  she  may  yet  be  seen,  with  her  gauzy  robe  and 
shining  silver  hair,  treading  celestial  paths.  The  child 
left  on  the  earth  was  a  girl.  She  grew  up  very  soft, 
very  bright,  very  beautiful,  like  her  mother;  but  like 
her  mother  also,  0  so  fickle  and  frail!  She  was  the 
first  of  woman-kind,  from  her  are  all  other  women 
descended,  and  from  the  moon;  and  as  the  moon  changes 
so  they  all  change,  say  the  philosophers  of  Los  An- 
geles.47 

A  much  more  prosaic  and  materialistic  origin  is  that 
accorded  to  the  moon  in  the  traditions  of  the  Gallino- 
meros  of  Central  California.48  In  the  beginning,  they 
say,  there  was  no  light,  but  a  thick  darkness  covered  all 
the  earth.  Man  stumbled  blindly  against  man  and 
against  the  animals,  the  birds  clashed  together  in  the 
air,  and  confusion  reigned  everywhere.  The  Hawk 
happening  by  chance  to  fly  into  the  face  of  the  Coyote, 
there  followed  mutual  apologies  and  afterwards  a  long 
discussion  on  the  emergency  of  the  situation.  Deter- 
mined to  make  some  effort  toward  abating  the  public 
evil,  the  two  set  about  a  remedy.  The  Coyote  gathered 
a  great  heap  of  tules,  rolled  them  into  a  ball,  and  gave  it 
to  the  Hawk,  together  with  some  pieces  of  flint.  Gather- 
ing all  together  as  well  as  he  could,  the  Hawk  flew 
straight  up  into  the  sky,  where  he  struck  fire  with  the 

«  Hugo  Reid,  Ib. 

48  Russian  River  Valley,  Sonoma  County. 


86  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

flints,  lit  his  ball  of  reeds,  and  left  it  there,  whirling 
along  all  in  a  fierce  red  glow  as  it  continues  to  the  pres- 
ent; for  it  is  the  sun.  In  the  same  way  the  moon  was 
made,  but  as  the  tules  of  which  it  was  constructed  were 
rather  damp,  its  light  has  been  always  somewhat  uncer- 
tain and  feeble.49 

In  northern  California,  we  find  the  Mattoles,50  wrho 
connect  a  tradition  of  a  destructive  flood  with  Taylor 
Peak,  a  mountain  in  their  locality,  on  which  they 
say  their  forefathers  took  refuge.  As  to  the  creation, 
they  teach  that  a  certain  Big  Man  began  by  making 
the  naked  earth,  silent  and  bleak,  with  nothing  of 
plant  or  animal  thereon,  save  one  Indian,  who  roamed 
about  in  a  wofully  hungry  and  desolate  state.  Sudden- 
ly there  rose  a  terrible  whirlwind,  the  air  grew  dark 
and  thick  with  dust  and  drifting  sand,  and  the  Indian 
fell  upon  his  face  in  sore  dread.  Then  there  came  a 
great  cairn,  and  the  man  rose  and  looked,  and  lo,  all  the 
earth  was  perfect  and  peopled ;  the  grass  and  the  trees 
were  green  on  every  plain  and  hill ;  the  beasts  of  the 
fields,  the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  creeping  things,  the  things 
that  swim,  moved  everywhere  in  his  sight.  There  is  a 
limit  set  to  the  number  of  the  animals,  which  is  this : 
only  a  certain  number  of  animal  spirits  are  in  existence ; 
when  one  beast  dies,  his  spirit  immediately  takes  up  its 
abode  in  another  body,  so  that  the  wrhole  number  of  ani- 
mals is  always  the  same,  and  the  original  spirits  move  in 
an  endless  circle  of  earthy  immortality.51 

We  pass  now  to  a  train  of  myths  in  which  the  Coyote 
again  appears,  figuring  in  many  important  and  some- 
what mystical  roles, — figuring  in  fact  as  the  great  Some- 
body of  many  tribes.  To  him,  though  involuntarily  as 
it  appears,  are  owing  the  fish  to  be  found  in  Clear  Lake. 
The  story  runs  that  one  summer  long  ago  there  was  a 
terrible  drought  in  that  region,  followed  by  a  plague  of 
grasshoppers.  The  Coyote  ate  a  great  quantity  of  these 

<9  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 
so  Hurnboldt  Connty. 
51  Powers'  Po??io,  MS. 


THE  COYOTE  OF  THE  CALIFOENIANS.  87 

grasshoppers,  and  drank  up  the  whole  lake  to  quench  his 
thirst.  After  this  he  lay  down  to  sleep  off  the  effects  of 
his  extraordinary  repast,  and  while  he  slept  a  man  came 
up  from  the  south  country  arid  thrust  him  through  with 
a  spear.  Then  all  the  water  he  had  drunk  flowed  back 
through  his  wound  into  the  lake,  and  with  the  water  the 
grasshoppers  he  had  eaten;  and  these  insects  became 
fishes,  the  same  that  still  swim  in  Clear  Lake.52 

The  Californians  in  most  cases  describe  themselves  as 
originating  from  the  Coyote,  and  more  remotely,  from 
the  very  soil  they  tread.  In  the  language  of  Mr. 
Powers, — whose  extended  personal  investigations  give 
him  the  right  to  speak  with  authority, — "  All  the  abo- 
riginal inhabitants  of  California,  without  exception, 
believe  that  their  first  ancestors  were  created  directly 
from  the  earth  of  their  respective  present  dwelling- 
places,  and,  in  very  many  cases,  that  these  ancestors  were 
coyotes."53 

The  Potoy antes  give  an  ingenious  account  of  the 
transformation  of  the  first  coyotes  into  men:  There  was 
an  age  in  which  no  men  existed,  nothing  but  coyotes. 
When  one  of  these  animals  died,  his  body  used  to  breed 
a  multitude  of  little  animals,  much  as  the  carcass  of  the 
huge  Ymir,  rotting  in  Ginnunga-gap,  bred  the  maggots 
that  turned  to  dwarfs.  The  little  animals  of  our  story 
were  in  reality  spirits,  which,  after  crawling  about  for  a 
time  on  the  dead  coyote,  and  taking  all  kinds  of  shapes, 
ended  by  spreading  wings  and  floating  off  to  the  moon. 
This  evidently  would  not  do;  the  earth  was  in  danger 
of  becoming  depopulated ;  so  the  old  coyotes  took  coun- 
sel together  if  perchance  they  might  devise  a  remedy. 
The  result  was  a  general  order  that,  for  the  time  to  come, 
all  bodies  should  be  incinerated  immediately  after  death. 
Thus  originated  the  custom  of-  burning  the  dead,  a 
custom  still  kept  up  among  these  people.  We  next  learn, 
—what  indeed  might  have  been  expected  of  animals  of 
such  wisdom  and  parts, — that  these  primeval  coyotes 

52  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 
i3  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


88  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

began  by  degrees  to  assume  the  shape  of  men.  At  first, 
it  is  true,  with  many  imperfections  j  but,  a  toe,  an  ear, 
a  hand,  bit  by  bit,  they  were  gradually  builded  up  into 
the  perfect  form  of  man  looking  upward.  For  one 
thing  they  still  grieve,  however,  of  all  their  lost  estate, — 
their  tails  are  gone.  An  acquired  habit  of  sitting  up- 
right, has  utterly  erased  and  destroyed  that  beautiful 
member.  Lost  is  indeed  lost,  and  gone  is  gone  for  ever, 
yet  still  when  in  dance  and  festival,  the  Potoyante 
throws  off  the  weary  burden  of  hard  and  utilitarian  care, 
he  attaches  to  himself,  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  ancient 
place,  an  artificial  tail,  and  forgets  for  a  happy  hour  the 
degeneracy  of  the  present  in  simulating  the  glory  of  the 
past.54 

The  Californians  tell  again  of  a  great  flood,  or  at  least 
of  a  time  when  the  whole  country,  with  the  exception  of 
Mount  Diablo  and  Reed  Peak,  was  covered  with  water. 
There  was  a  Coyote  on  the  peak,  the  only  living  thing 
the  wide  world  over,  and  there  was  a  single  feather  toss- 
ing about  on  the  rippled  water.  The  Coyote  was  look- 
ing at  the  feather,  and  even  as  he  looked,  flesh  and 
bones  and  other  feathers,  came  and  joined  themselves 
to  the  first,  and  became  an  Eagle.  There  was  a  stir  on 
the  water,  a  rush  of  broad  pinions,  and  before  the 
widening  circles  reached  the  island-hill,  the  bird  stood 
beside  the  astonished  Coyote.  The  t\vo  came  soon  to  be 
acquainted  and  to  be  good  friends,  and  they  made  occa- 
sional excursions  together  to  the  other  hill,  the  Eagle 
flying  leisurely  overhead  while  the  Coyote  swam.  After 
a  time  they  began  to  feel  lonely,  so  they  created  men ;  and 
as  the  men  multiplied  the  waters  abated,  till  the  dry  land 
came  to  be  much  as  it  is  at  present. 

Now,  also,  the  Sacramento  River  and  the  San  Joaquin 
began  to  find  their  way  into  the  Pacific,  through  the 
mountains  which,  up  to  this  time,  had  stretched  across 
the  mouth  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  No  Poseidon  clove 
the  hills  with  his  trident,  as  when  the  pleasant  vale  of 
Tempe  was  formed,  but  a  strong  earthquake  tore  the 

54  Johnston,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  224-5. 


HOW  THE  GOLDEN  GATE  WAS  OPENED.  89 

rock  apart  and  opened  the  Golden  Grate  between  the 
waters  within  and  those  without.  Before  this  there  had 
existed  only  two  outlets  for  the  drainage  of  the  whole 
country ;  one  was  the  Russian  River,  and  the  other  the 
San  Juan.55 

The  natives  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Tahoe,  ascribe 
its  origin  to  a  great  natural  convulsion.  There  was 
a  time,  they  say,  when  their  tribe  possessed  the  whole 
earth,  and  were  strong,  numerous,  and  rich;  but  a  day 
came  in  which  a  people  rose  up  stronger  than  the}-, 
and  defeated  and  enslaved  them.  Afterwards  the 
Great  Spirit  sent  an  immense  wave  across  the  conti- 
nent from  the  sea,  and  this  wave  engulfed  both 
the  oppressors  and  the  oppressed,  all  but  a  very  small 
remnant.  Then  the  taskmasters  made  the  remaining 
people  raise  up  a  great  temple,  so  that  they,  of  the 
ruling  .caste,  should  have  a  refuge  incase  of  another  flood, 
and  on  the  top  of  this  temple  the  masters  worshiped  a 
column  of  perpetual  fire. 

Half  a  moon  had  not  elapsed,  however,  before  the 
earth  was  again  troubled,  this  time  with  strong  con- 
vulsions and  thunderings,  upon  which  the  masters  took 
refuge  in  their  great  tower,  closing  the  people  out. 
The  poor  slaves  fled  to  the  Humboldt  River,  and 
getting  into  canoes  paddled  for  life  from  the  awful  sight 
behind  them.  For  the  land  was  tossing  like  a  troubled 
sea,  and  casting  up  fire,  smoke,  and  ashes.  The  flames 
went  up  to  the  very  heaven  and  melted  many  stars,  so 
that  they  rained  down  in  molten  metal  upon  the  earth, 
forming  the  ore  that  the  white  men  seek.  The  Sierra 
was  mounded  up  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth ;  while 
the  place  where  the  great  fort  stood  sank,  leaving  only 
the  dome  on  the  top  exposed  above  the  waters  of  Lake 
Tahoe.  The  inmates  of  the  temple-tower  clung  to  this 
dome  to  save  themselves  from  drowning;  but  the  Great 
Spirit  walked  upon  the  waters  in  his  wrath,  and  took 
the  oppressors  one  by  one  like  pebbles,  and  threw  them 
far  into  the  recesses  of  a  great  cavern,  on  the  east  side  of 

"  //.  B.  D.  in  Hesperian  Jfag.,  vol.  iii.,  1859,  p.  326. 


90  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

the  lake,  called  to  this  day  the  Spirit  Lodge,  where  the 
waters  shut  them  in.  There  must  they  remain  till  a 
last  great  volcanic  burning,  which  is  to  overturn  the 
whole  earth,  shall  again  set  them  free.  In  the  depths  of 
their  cavern-prison  they  may  still  be  heard,  wailing  and 
moaning,  when  the  snows  melt  and  the  waters  swell  in 
the  lake.66 

We  again  meet  the  Coyote  among  the  Cahrocs  of 
Klamath  River  in  Northern  California.  These  Cahrocs 
believe  in  a  certain  Chareya,  Old  Man  Above,  who  made 
the  world,  sitting  the  while  upon  a  certain  stool  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  high-priest,  or  chief  medicine-man. 
After  the  creation  of  the  earth,  Chareya  first  made  fishes, 
then  the  lower  animals,  and  lastly  man,  upon  whom  was 
conferred  the  power  of  assigning  to  each  animal  its  re- 
spective duties  and  position.  The  man  determined  to 
give  each  a  bow,  the  length  of  which  should  denote  the 
rank  of  the  receiver.  So  he  called  all  the  animals 
together,  and  told  them  that  next  day,  early  in  the 
morning,  the  distribution  of  bows  would  take  place. 
Now  the  Coyote  greatly  desired  the  longest  bow;  and, 
in  order  to  be  in  first  at  the  division,  he  determined  to 
remain  awake  all  night.  His  anxiety  sustained  him  for 
some  time ;  but  just  before  morning  he  gave  way,  and 
fell  into  a  sound  sleep.  The  consequence  was,  he  was 
last  at  the  rendezvous,  and  got  the  shortest  bow  of  all. 
The  man  took  pity  on  his  distress,  however,  and  brought 
the  matter  to  the  notice  of  Chareya,  who,  on  considering 
the  circumstances,  decreed  that  the  Coyote  should  become 
the  most  cunning  of  animals,  as  he  remains  to  this  time. 
The  Coyote  was  very  grateful  to  the  man  for  his  inter- 
cession, and  he  became  his  friend  and  the  friend  of  his 
children,  and  did  many  things  to  aid  mankind  as  we 
shall  see  hereafter.57 

The  natives  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Shasta,  in 
Northern  California,  say  that  the  Great  Spirit  made  this 
mountain  first  of  all.  Boring  a  hole  in  the  sky,  using  a 

56  Wadsworth,  in  Hidchinys'  Gal.  Mag.,  vol.  ii.,  1858,  pp.  356-8. 

57  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


MOUNT  SHASTA  THE  WIGWAM  OF  THE  GREAT  SPIRIT.     91 

large  stone  as  an  auger,  he  pushed  down  snow  and  ice 
until  they  had  reached  the  desired  height;  then  he 
stepped  from  cloud  to  cloud  down  to  the  great  icy  pile, 
and  from,  it  to  the  earth,  where  he  planted  the  first  trees 
by  merely  putting  his  finger  into  the  soil  here  and  there. 
The  sun  began  to  melt  the  snow;  the  snow  produced 
water;  the  water  ran  down  the  sides  of  the  mountains, 
refreshed  the  trees,  and  made  rivers.  The  Creator 
gathered  the  leaves  that  fell  from  the  trees,  blew  upon 
them,  and  they  became  birds.  He  took  a  stick  and 
broke  it  into  pieces;  of  the  small  end  he  made  fishes; 
and  of  the  middle  of  the  stick  he  made  animals, — the 
grizzly  bear  excepted,  which  he  formed  from  the  big  end 
of  his  stick,  appointing  him  to  be  master  over  all  the 
others.  Indeed  this  animal  was  then  so  large,  strong, 
and  cunning,  that  the  Creator  somewhat  feared  him,  and 
hollowed  out  Mount  Shasta  as  a  wigwam  for  himself, 
where  he  might  reside  while  on  earth,  in  the  most  per- 
fect security  and  comfort.  So  the  smoke  was  soon  to  be 
seen  curling  up  from  the  mountain,  where  the  Great 
Spirit  and  his  family  lived,  and  still  live,  though  their 
hearth-fire  is  alight  no  longer,  now  that  the  white  man 
is  in  the  land.  This  was  thousands  of  snows  ago,  and 
there  came  after  this  a  late  and  severe  spring-time,  in 
which  a  memorable  storm  blew  up  from  the  sea,  shaking 
the  huge  lodge  to  its  base.  The  Great  Spirit  commanded 
his  daughter,  little  more  than  an  infant,  to  go  up  and 
bid  the  wind  to  be  still,  cautioning  her  at  the  same  time 
in  his  fatherly  way,  not  to  put  her  head  out  into  the 
blast,  but  only  to  thrust  out  her  little  red  arm  and  make 
a  sign  before  she  delivered  her  message.  The  eager 
child  hastened  up  to  the  hole  in  the  roof,  did  as  she 
was  told,  and  then  turned  to  descend ;  but  the  Eve  was 
too  strong  in  her  to  leave  without  a  look  at  the  forbidden 
world  outside  and  the  rivers  and  the  trees,  at  the  far 
ocean  and  the  great  waves  that  the  storm  had  made  as 
hoary  as  the  forests  when  the  snow  is  on  the  firs.  She 
stopped,  she  put  out  her  head  to  look;  instantly  the 
storm  took  her  by  the  long  hair,  and  blew  her  down  to 


92  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

the  earth,  down  the  mountain  side,  over  the  smooth  ice 
and  soft  snow,  down  to  the  land  of  the  grizzly  bears. 

Now  the  grizzly  bears  were  somewhat  different  then 
from  what  they  are  at  present.  In  appearance  they 
were  much  the  same  it  is  true ;  but  they  walked  then  on 
their  hind  legs  like  men,  and  talked,  and  carried  clubs, 
using  the  fore-limbs  as  men  use  their  arms. 

There  was  a  family  of  these  grizzlies  living  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  at  the  place  where  the  child  was 
blown  to.  The  father  was  returning  from  the  hunt 
with  his  club  on  his  shoulder  and  a  young  elk  in  his 
hand,  when  he  saw  the  little  shivering  waif  lying  on  the 
snow  with  her  hair  all  tangled  about  her.  The  old 
Grizzly,  pitying  and  wondering  at  the  strange  forlorn 
creature,  lifted  it  up,  and  carried  it  in  to  his  wife  to  see 
what  should  be  done.  She  too  was  pitiful,  and  she  fed 
it  from  her  own  breast,  bringing  it  up  quietly  as  one  of 
her  family.  So  the  girl  grew  up,  and  the  eldest  son 
of  the  old  Grizzly  married  her,  and  their  offspring  was 
neither  grizzly  nor  Great  Spirit,  but  man.  Yery  proud 
indeed  were  the  whole  grizzly  nation  of  the  new  race, 
and  uniting  their  strength  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
they  built  the  young  mother  and  her  family  a  mount- 
ain wigwam  near  that  of  the  Great  Spirit;  and  this 
structure  of  theirs  is  now  known  as  Little  Mount  Shasta. 
Many  years  passed  away,  and  at  last  the  old  grandmother 
Grizzly  became  very  feeble  and  felt  that  she  must  soon 
die.  She  knew  that  the  girl  she  had  adopted  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  her  conscience  troubled 
her  that  she  had  never  let  him  know  anything  of 
the  fate  of  his  child.  So  she  called  all  the  grizzlies 
together  to  the  new  lodge,  and  sent  her  eldest  grandson 
up  on  a  cloud  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Shasta,  to  tell 
the  father  that  his  daughter  yet  lived.  When  the 
Great  Spirit  heard  that,  he  was  so  glad  that  he  immedi- 
ately ran  down  the  mountain,  on  the  south  side,  toward 
where  he  had  been  told  his  daughter  was;  and  such 
was  the  swiftness  of  his  pace  that  the  snow  was  melted 
here  and  there  along  his  course,  as  it  remains  to  this 


TH3  GRIZZLY  FAMILY  OF  MOUNT  SHASTA.  93 

day.  The  grizzlies  had  prepared  him  an  honorable 
reception,  and  as  he  approached  his  daughter's  home,  he 
found  them  standing  in  thousands  in  two  files,  on  either 
side  of  the  door,  with  their  clubs  under  their  arms.  He 
had  never  pictured  his  daughter  as  aught  but  the  little 
child  he  had  loved  so  long  ago ;  but  when  he  found  that 
she  was  a  mother,  and  that  he  had  been  betrayed  into  the 
creation  of  a  new  race,  his  anger  overcame  him ;  he  scowled 
so  terribly  on  the  poor  old  grandmother  Grizzly  that  she 
died  upon  the  spot.  At  this  all  the  bears  set  up  a  fear- 
ful howl,  but  the  exasperated  father,  taking  his  lost  dar- 
ling on  his  shoulder,  turned  to  the  armed  host,  and  in  his 
fury  cursed  them.  Peace!  he  said.  Be  silent  for  ever! 
Let  no  articulate  word  ever  again  pass  your  lips, 
neither  stand  any  more  upright;  but  use  your  hands  as 
feet,  and  look  downward  until  I  come  again !  Then  he 
drove  them  all  out ;  he  drove  out  also  the  new  race  of  men, 
shut  to  the  door  of  Little  Mount  Shasta,  and  passed 
away  to  his  mountain,  carrying  his  daughter;  and  her 
or  him  no  eye  has  since  seen.  The  grizzlies  never  spoke 
again,  nor  stood  up;  save  indeed  when  fighting  for  their 
life,  when  the  Great  Spirit  still  permits  them  to  stand  as 
in  the  old  time,  and  to  use  their  fists  like  men.  No  Indian 
tracing  his  descent  from  the  spirit  mother  and  the  grizzly, 
as  here  described,  will  kill  a  grizzly  bear ;  and  if  by  an 
evil  chance  a  grizzly  kill  a  man  in  any  place,  that  spot 
becomes  memorable,  and  eVery  one  that  passes  casts  a 
stone  there  till  a  great  pile  is  thrown  up.58 

Let  us  now  pass  on,  and  going  east  and  north,  enter 
the  Shoshone  country.  In  Idaho  there  are  certain  famous 
Soda  Springs  whose  origin  the  Snakes  refer  to  the  close 
of  their  happiest  age.  Long  ago,  the  legend  runs,  when 
the  cotton-woods  on  the  Big  River  were  no  larger  than 
arrows,  all  red  men  were  at  peace,  the  hatchet  was 
everywhere  buried,  and  hunter  met  hunter  in  the  game- 
lands  of  the  one  or  the  other,  with  all  hospitality  and  good- 
will. During  this  state  of  things,  two  chiefs,  one  of  the 

58  Joaquin  Miller's  Life  Amongst  the  Modocs,  pp.  235-236,  242-6. 


94  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

Shoshone,  the  other  of  the  Comanche  nation,  met  one 
day  at  a  certain  spring.  The  Shoshone  had  been  suc- 
cessful in  the  chase,  and  the  Comanche  very  unlucky, 
which  put  the  latter  in  rather  an  ill  humor.  So  he  got 
up  a  dispute  with  the  other  as  to  the  importance  of  their 
respective  and  related  tribes,  and  ended  by  making  an 
unprovoked  and  treacherous  attack  on  the  Shoshone, 
striking  him  into  the  water  from  behind,  when  he  had 
stooped  to  drink.  The  murdered  man  fell  forward  into 
the  water,  and  immediately  a  strange  commotion  was 
observable  there;  great  bubbles  and  spirts  of  gas  shot 
up  from  the  bottom  of  the  pool,  and  amid  a  cloud  of 
vapor  there  arose  also  an  old  white-haired  Indian,  armed 
with  a  ponderous  club  of  elk-horn.  Well  the  assassin 
knew  who  stood  before  him;  the  totem  on  the  breast 
was  that  of  Wankanaga,  the  father  both  of  the  Shoshone 
and  of  the  Comanche  nations,  an  ancient  famous  for  his 
brave  deeds,  and  celebrated  in  the  hieroglyphic  pictures 
of  both  peoples.  Accursed  of  two  nations !  cried  the  old 
man,  this  day  hast  thou  put  death  between  the  two 
greatest  peoples  under  the  sun;  see,  the  blood  of  this 
Shoshone  cries  out  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  vengeance.  And 
he  dashed  out  the  brains  of  the  Comanche  with  his  club, 
and  the  murderer  fell  there  beside  his  victim  into  the 
spring.  After  that  the  spring  became  foul  and  bitter, 
nor  even  to  this  day  can  any  one  drink  of  its  nauseous 
water.  Then  Wankanaga,  seeing  that  it  had  been  defiled, 
took  his  club  and  smote  a  neighboring  rock,  and  the  rock 
burst  forth  into  clear  bubbling  water,  so  fresh  and  so 
grateful  to  the  palate  that  no  other  water  can  even  be 
compared  to  it.59 

Passing  into  Washington,  we  find  an  account  of  the 
origin  of  the  falls  of  Palouse  River  and  of  certain  native 
tribes.  There  lived  here  at  one  time  a  family  of  giants, 
four  brothers  and  a  sister.  The  sister  wanted  some 
beaver-fat  and  she  begged  her  brothers  to  get  it  for  her, 
— no  easy  task,  as  there  was  only  one  beaver  in  the 

,  in  Mex.,  pp.  244-6. 


THE  GIANTS  OF  THE  PALOUSE  KIVEE.  95 

country,  and  he  an  animal  of  extraordinary  size  and 
activity.  However,  like  four  gallant  fellows,  the  giants 
set  out  to  find  the  monster,  soon  catching  sight  of  him  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Palouse,  then  a  peaceful  gliding  river 
with  an  even  though  winding  channel.  They  at  once 
gave  chase,  heading  him  up  the  river.  A  little  distance 
up-stream  they  succeeded  in  striking  him  for  the  first  time 
with  their  spears,  but  he  shook  himself  clear,  making  in  his 
struggle  the  first  rapids  of  the  Palouse,  and  dashed  on 
up-stream.  Again  the  brothers  overtook  him,  pinning  him 
to  the  river-bed  with  their  weapons,  and  again  the  vigor- 
ous beast  writhed  away,  making  thus  the  second  falls 
of  the  Palouse.  Another  chase,  and,  in  a  third  and 
fatal  attack,  the  four  spear-shafts  are  struck  again  through 
the  broad  wounded  back.  There  is  a  last  stubborn 
struggle  at  the  spot  since  marked  by  the  great  falls  called 
Aputaput,  a  tearing  of  earth  and  a  lashing  of  water  in  the 
fierce  death-flurry,  and  the  huge  Beaver  is  dead.  The 
brothers  having  secured  the  skin  and  fat,  cut  up  the  body 
and  threw  the  pieces  in  various  directions.  From  these 
pieces  have  originated  the  various  tribes  of  the  country, 
as  the  Cayuses,  the  Nez  Perces,  the  Walla  Wallas,  and 
so  on.  The  Cayuses  sprang  from  the  beaver's  heart,  and 
for  this  reason  they  are  more  energetic,  daring,  and  suc- 
cessful than  their  neighbors.60 

In  Oregon  the  Chinooks  and  neighboring  people  tell 
of  a  pre-human  demon  race,  called  Ulhaipa  by  the 
Chinooks,  and  Sehuiab  by  the  Clallams  and  Lummis. 
The  Chinooks  say  that  the  human  race  was  created  by 
Italapas,  the  Coyote.  The  first  men  were  sent  into 
the  world  in  a  very  lumpish  and  imperfect  state,  their 
mouth  and  eyes  were  closed,  their  hands  and  feet  im- 
movable. Then  a  kind  and  powerful  spirit  called  Ika- 
nam,  took  a  sharp  stone,  opened  the  eyes  of  these  poor 
creatures,  and  gave  motion  to  their  hands  and  feet.  He 
taught  them  how  to  make  canoes  as  well  as  all  other 
implements  and  utensils;  and  he  threw  great  rocks  into 

eo  Wilkes'  Nar.  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  496. 


96  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

the  rivers  and  made  falls,  to  obstruct  the  salmon  in  their 
ascent,  so  that  they  might  be  easily  caught.61 

Farther  north  among  the  Ahts  of  Vancouver  Island, 
perhaps  the  commonest  notion  of  origin  is  that  men  at 
first  existed  as  birds,  animals,  and  fishes.  We  are  told  of 
a  certain  Quawteaht,  represented  somewhat  contradictori- 
ly, as  the  first  Aht  that  ever  lived,  thickset  and  hairy- 
limbed,  and  as  the  chief  Aht  deity,  a  purely  supernatural 
being,  if  not  the  creator,  at  least  the  maker  and  shaper 
of  most  things,  the  maker  of  the  land  and  the  water, 
and  of  the  animals  that  inhabit  the  one  or  the 
other.  In  each  of  these  animals  as  at  first  created,  there 
resided  the  embryo  or  essence  of  a  man.  One  day  a 
canoe  came  down  the  coast,  paddled  by  two  personages 
in  the,  at  that  time,  unknown  form  of  men.  The  ani- 
mals were  frightened  out  of  their  wits,  and  fled,  each 
from  -his  house,  in  such  haste  that  he  left  behind 
him  the  human  essence  that  he  usually  carried  in  his 
body.  These  embryos  rapidly  developed  into  men ;  they 
multiplied,  made  use  of  the  huts  deserted  by  the  animals, 
and  became  in  every  way  as  the  Ahts  are  now.  There 
exists  another  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Ahts,  which 
would  make  them  the  direct  descendants  of  Quawteaht 
and  an  immense  bird  that  he  married, — the  great  Thun- 
der Bird,  Tootooch,  with  which,  under  a  different  name 
and  in  a  different  sex,  we  shall  become  more  familiar 
presently.  The  flapping  of  Tootooch' s  wings  shook  the 
hills  with  thunder,  tootah;  and  when  she  put  out  her 
forked  tongue,  the  lightning  quivered  across  the  sky. 

The  Ahts  have  various  legends  of  the  way  in  which 
fire  was  first  obtained,  which  legends  may  be  reduced  to 
the  following:  Quawteaht  withheld  fire,  for  some  reason 
or  other,  from  the  creatures  that  he  had  brought  into  the 
world,  with  one  exception;  it  was  always  to  be  found 
burning  in  the  home  of  the  cuttle-fish,  telhoop.  The 
other  beasts  attempted  to  steal  this  fire,  but  only  the 

61  Franchere's  jVar.,  p.  258;  Cox's  Adven.,  vol.  i.,  p.  317;  Gibbs'  Chinook 
Vocal).,  pp.,  11-13;  Id.,  Clattam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  pp.  15-29;  Parker's  Ex- 
plor.  Tour,  p.  139. 


NOOTKA  AND  SALISH  CREATION-MYTHS.  97 

deer  succeeded ;  he  hid  a  little  of  it  in  the  joint  of  his 
hind  leg,  and  escaping,  introduced  the  element  to  general 
use. 

Not  all  animals,  it  would  appear,  were  produced  in  the 
general  creation;  the  loon  and  the  crow  had  a  special 
origin,  being  metamorphosed  men.  Two  fishermen, 
being  out  at  sea  in  their  canoes,  fell  to  quarreling,  the 
one  ridiculing  the  other  for  his  small  success  in  fishing. 
Finally  the  unsuccessful  man  became  so  infuriated  by 
the  taunts  of  his  companion  that  he  knocked  him  on  the 
head,  and  stole  his  fish,  cutting  out  his  tongue  before  he 
paddled  off,  lest  by  any  chance  the  unfortunate  should 
recover  his  senses  and  gain  the  shore.  The  precaution  was 
well  taken,  for  the  mutilated  man  reached  the  land  and 
tried  to  denounce  his  late  companion.  No  sound  how- 
ever could  he  utter  but  something  resembling  the  cry  of  a 
loon,  upon  which  the  Great  Spirit,  Quawteaht,  became 
so  indiscriminatingly  angry  at  the  whole  affair  that  he 
changed  the  poor  mute  into  a  loon,  and  his  assailant 
into  a  crow.  So  when  the  mournful  voice  of  the  loon 
is  heard  from  the  silent  lake  or  river,  it  is  still  the  poor 
fisherman  that  we  hear,  trying  to  make  himself  under- 
stood and  to  tell  the  hard  story  of  his  wrongs.62 

The  general  drift  of  many  of  the  foregoing  myths 
would  go  to  indicate  a  wide-spread  belief  in  the  theory 
of  an  evolution  of  man  from  animals.63  Traditions  are 
not  wanting,  however,  whose  teaching  is  precisely  the 
reverse.  The  Salish,  the  Nisquallies,  and  the  Yakimas 
of  Washington,  all  hold  that  beasts,  fishes,  and  even 
edible  roots  are  descended  from  human  originals.  One 
account  of  this  inverse  Darwinian  development  is  this: 
The  son  of  the  Sun — whoever  he  may  have  been — caused 
certain  individuals  to  swim  through  a  lake  of  magic  oil, 
a  liquid  of  such  Circean  potency  that  the  unfortunates 

62  Sproat's  Scenes,  pp.  176-85,  203-14. 

63  To  the  examples  already  given  of  this  we  may  add  the  case  of  the  Hai- 
dahs  of  Queen  Charlotte  Island,   of  whom  Mr.  Poole,  Q.  Char.  Isl.,  p.  136, 
says :  '  Their  descent  from  the  crows  is  quite  gravely  affirmed  and  steadfastly- 
maintained.  ' 

VOL.  in.    7 


98  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

immersed  were  transformed  as  above  related.  The 
peculiarities  of  organism  of  the  various  animals,  are  the 
results  of  incidents  of  their  passage ;  the  bear  dived,  and 
is  therefore  fat  all  over;  the  goose  swam  high,  and  is 
consequently  fat  only  up  to  the  water-line;  and  so  on 
through  all  the  list.64 

Moving  north  to  the  Tacullies  of  British  Columbia, 
we  find  the  Musk-rat  an  active  agent  in  the  work  of 
creation.  The  flat  earth,  following  the  Tacully  cosmog- 
ony, was  at  first  wholly  covered  with  water.  On  the 
water  a  Musk-rat  swam  to  and  fro,  seeking  food.  Find- 
ing none  there,  he  dived  to  the  bottom  and  brought  up  a 
mouthful  of  mud,  but  only  to  spit  it  out  again  when  he 
came  to  the  surface.  All  this  he  did  again  and  again 
till  quite  an  island  was  formed  and  by  degrees  the  whole 
earth.  In  some  unexplained  way  this  earth  became 
afterwards  peopled  in  every  part,  and  so  remained,  until 
a  fierce  fire  of  several  days'  duration  swept  over  it,  de- 
stroying all  life,  with  two  exceptions ;  one  man  and  one 
woman  hid  themselves  in  a  deep  cave  in  the  heart  of  a 
mountain,  and  from  these  two  has  the  world  been  since. 
repeopled.65 

From  the  Tacully  country  we  pass  north  and  west 
to  the  coast  inhabited  by  the  Thlinkeets,  among  whom 
the  myth  of  a  great  Bird,  or  of  a  great  hero-deity,  whose 
favorite  disguise  is  the  shape  of  a  bird,  assumes  the  most 
elaborate  proportions  and  importance.  Here  the  name 
of  this  great  Somebody  is  Yehl,  the  Crow  or  Raven, 
creator  of  most  things,  and  especially  of  the  Thlinkeets. 
•Very  dark,  damp,  and  chaotic  was  the  world  in  the 
beginning;  nothing  with  breath  or  body  moved  there 
except  Yehl ;  in  the  likeness  of  a  raven  he  brooded  over 
the  mist,  his  black  wings  beat  down  the  vast  confusion, 
the  waters  went  back  before  him  and  the  dry  land 
appeared.  The  Thlinkeets  were  placed  on  the  earth- 
though  how  or  when  does  not  exactly  appear — while  the 
world  was  still  in  darkness,  and  without  sun  or  moon 

64  Anderson  in  Lord's  Nai.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  240. 
w  Harmon's  Jour.,  pp.  302-3. 


YEHL,  THE  CKEATOE  OF  THE  THLINKEETS.       99 

or  stars.  A  certain  Thlinkeet,  we  are  further  informed, 
had  a  wife  and  a  sister.  Of  the  wife  he  was  devour- 
ingly jealous,  and  when  employed  in  the  woods  at  his 
trad'e  of  building  canoes,  he  had  her  constantly  watched 
by  eight  red  birds  of  the  kind  called  kun.  To  make 
assurance  surer,,  he  even  used  to  coop  her  up  in  a  kind  of 
box  every  time  he  left  home.  All  this  while  his  sister, 
a  widow  it  would  appear,  was  bringing  up  certain  sons 
she  had,  fine  tall  fellows,  rapidly  approaching  manhood. 
The  jealous  uncle  could  not  endure  the  thought  of  their 
being  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  wife.  So  he  inveigled 
them  one  by  one,  time  after  time,  out  to  sea  with  him 
on  pretense  of  fishing,  and  drowned  them  there.  The 
poor  mother  was  left  desolate,  she  went  to  the  sea-shore 
to  weep  for  her  children.  A  dolphin — some  say  a  whale 
— saw  her  there,  and  pitied  her;  the  beast  told  her  to 
swallow  a  small  pebble  and  drink  some  sea-water.  She 
did  so,  and  in  eight  months  was  delivered  of  a  child. 
That  child  was  Yehl,  who  thus  took  upon  himself  a 
human  shape,  and  grew  up  a  mighty  hunter  and  nota- 
ble archer.  One  day  a  large  bird  appeared  to  him,  hav- 
ing a  long  tail  like  a  magpie,  and  a  long  glittering  bill 
as  of  metal;  the  name  of  the  bird  was  Kutzghatushl, 
that  is,  Crane  that  can  soar  to  heaven.  Yehl  shot  the 
bird,  skinned  it,  and  whenever  he  wished  to  fly  used  to 
clothe  himself  in  its  skin. 

Now  Yehl  had  grown  to  manhood,  and  he  determined 
to  avenge  himself  upon  his  uncle  for  the  death  of  his 
brothers ;  so  he  opened  the  box  in  which  the  well-guard- 
ed wife  was  shut  up.  Instantly  the  eight  faithful  birds 
flew  off  and  told  the  husband,  who  set  out  for  his  home 
in  a  murderous  mood.  Most  cunning,  however,  in  his 
patience,  he  greeted  Yehl  with  composure,  and^  invited 
him  into  his  canoe  for  a  short  trip  to  sea.  Having 
paddled  out  some  way,  he  flung  himself  on  the  young 
man  and  forced  him  overboard.  Then  he  put  his  canoe 
about  and  made  leisurely  for  the  land,  rid  as  he  thought 
of  another  enemy.  But  Yehl  swam  in  quietly  ^another 
way,  and  stood  up  in  his  uncle's  house.  The  baffled 


100  OEIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

murderer  was  beside  himself  with  fury,  he  imprecated 
with  a  potent  curse  a  deluge  upon  all  the  earth,  well 
content  to  perish  himself  so  he  involved  his  rival  in 
the  common  destruction,  for  jealousy  is.  cruel  as  the 
grave.  The  flood  came,  the  waters  rose  and  rose;  but 
Yehl  clothed  himself  in  his  bird-skin,  and  soared  up  to 
heaven,  where  he  struck  his  beak  into  a  cloud,  and  re- 
mained till  the  waters  were  assuaged. 

After  this  affair  Yehl  had  many  other  adventures,  so 
many  that  "  one  man  cannot  know  them  all,"  as  the 
Thlinkeets  say.  One  of  the  most  useful  things  he  did 
was  to  supply  light  to  mankind — with  whom,  as  appears, 
the  earth  had  been  again  peopled  after  the  deluge.  Now 
all  the  light  in  the  world  was  stored  away  in  .three 
boxes,  among  the  riches  of  a  certain  mysterious  old 
Chief,  who  guarded  his  treasure  closely.  Yehl  set 
his  wits  to  wTork  to  secure  the  boxes ;  he  determined  to 
be  born  into  the  chief's  family.  The  old  fellow  had  one 
daughter  upon  whom  he  doted,  and  Yehl  transformin 
himself  into  a  blade  of  grass,  got  into  the  girl's  drinking- 
cup  and  wras  swallowed  by  her.  •  In  due  time  she  gave 
birth  to  a  son,  who  wras  Yehl,  thus  a  second  time  born  of 
a  woman  into  the  world.  Very  proud  was  the  old  chief 
of  his  grandson,  loving  him  even  as  he  loved  his  daugh-, 
ter,  so  that  Yehl  came  to  be  a  decidedly  spoiled  child. 
He  fell  a  crying  one  day,  working  himself  almost  into  a 
fit;  he  kicked  and  scratched  and  howled,  and  turned 
the  family  hut  into  a  little  pandemonium  as  only  an 
infant  plague  can.  He  screamed  for  one  of  the  three 
boxes;  he  would  have  a  box;  nothing  but  a  box  should 
ever  appease  him !  The  indulgent  grandfather  gave  him 
one  of  the  boxes;  he  clutched  it,  stopped  crying,  and 
crawled  off  into  the  yard  to  play.  Playing,  he.  contrived 
to  wrench  the  lid  off,  and  lo !  the  beautiful  heaven  ,  was 
thick  with  stars,  and  the  box  empty.  The  old  man 
wept  for  the  loss  of  his  stars,  but  he  did 'not  scold  his 
grandson,  he  loved  him  too  blindly  for  that.  Yehl  had 
succeeded  in  getting  the  stars  into  the  firmament,  and 
he  proceeded  to  repeat  his  successful  trick,  to  do  the  like 


ADVENTURES  OF  YEHL  AND  KHANUKH.  101 

by  the  moon  and  sun.  As  may  be  imagined ,  the  difficulty 
was  much  increased ;  still  he  gained  his  end.  He  first 
let  the  moon  out  into  the  sky,  and  some  time  afterward, 
getting  possession  of  the  box  that  held  the  sun,  he 
changed  himself  into  a  raven  and  flew  away  with  his 
greatest  prize  of  all.  When  he  set  up  the  blazing  light 
in  heaven,  the  people  that  saw  it  were  at  first  afraid. 
Many  hid  themselves  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the 
forests,  arid  even  in  the  water,  and  were  changed  into 
the  various  kinds  of  animals  that  frequent  these  places. 

There  are  still  other  feats  of  Yehl's  replete  with  the 
happiest  consequences  to  mankind.  There  was  a  time, 
for  instance,  when  all  the  fire  in  the  world  was  hid  away 
in  an  island  of  the  ocean.  Thither  flew  the  indefatigable 
deity,  fetching  back  a  brand  in  his  mouth.  The  dis- 
tance, however,  was  so  great  that  most  of  the  wood  was 
burned  away  and  a  part  of  his  beak,  before  he  reached 
the  Thlinkeet  shore.  Arrived  there,  he  dropped  the 
mbers  at  once,  and  the  sparks  flew  about  in  all  direc- 

>ns  among  various  sticks  and  stones;  therefore  it  is 
that  by  striking  these  stones,  and  by  friction  on  this  wood, 
fire  is  always  to  be  obtained. 

Light  they  now  had,  and  fire;  but  one  thing  was  still 
wanting  to  men;  they  had  no  fresh  water.  A  personage 
called  Khanukh66  kept  all  the  fresh  water  in  his  well, 
in  an  island  to  the  east  of  Sitka,  and  over  the  mouth  of 
the  well,  for  its  better  custody,  he  had  built  his  hut. 
Yehl  set  out  to  the  island  in  his  boat,  to  secure  the  water, 
and  on  his  way  he  met  Khanukh  himself,  paddling  along 
in  another  boat.  Khanukh  spoke  first :  How  long 
hast-.thou  been,  living  in  the  world?  Proudly  Yehl 
answered:  Before  the  world  stood  in  its  place,  I  was 
there.  Yehl  in  his  turn  questioned  Khanukh:  But  how 
long  hast  thou  lived  in  the  world,?  To  which  Khanukh 
replied:  Ever  since  the  time  that  the  liver  came  out  from 

*  This  Khanukh  was  the  progenitor  of  the  Wolf  family  of  the  Thlinkeets 
even  as  Yehl  was  that  of  the  Raven  family.  The  influence  of  this  wolf-deity 
seems  to  have  been  generally  malign,  but  except  in  connection  with  this 
water-legend,  he  is  little  mentioned  in  the  Thliukeet  myths. 


102  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

below.67  Then  said  Yehl :  Thou  art  older  than  I.  Upon 
this  Khanukh,  to  show  that  his  power  was  as  great  as 
his  age?  took  off  his  hat,  and  there  rose  a  dense  fog,  so 
that  the  one  could  no  longer  see  the  other.  Yehl  then 
became  afraid,  and  cried  out  to  Khanukh ;  but  Khanukh 
answered  nothing.  At  last  when  Yehl  found  himself 
completely  helpless  in  the  darkness,  he  began  to  weep 
and  howl;  upon  which  the  old  sorcerer  put  on  his  hat 
again,  and  the  fog  vanished.  Khanukh  then  invited 
Yehl  to  his  house,  and  entertained  him  handsomely  with 
many  luxuries,  among  which  was  fresh  water.  The 
meal  over,  host  and  guest  sat  down,  and  the  latter  began 
a  long  relation  of  his  many  exploits  and  adventures. 
Khanukh  listened  as  attentively  as  he  could,  but  the 
story  was  really  so  interminable  that  he  at  last  fell 
asleep  across  the  cover  of  his  well.  This  frustrated 
Yehl's  intention  of  stealing  the  water  while  its  owner 
slept,  so  he  resorted  to  another  stratagem:  he  put  some 
filth  under  the  sleeper,  then  waking  him  up,  made  him 
believe  he  had  bewrayed  himself.  Khanukh,  whose  own 
nose  abhorred  him,  at  once  hurried  off  to  the  sea  to  wash, 
and  his  deceiver  as  quickly  set  about  securing  the  pre- 
cious water.  Just  as  All-father  Odin,  the  Raven-god,  stole 
Suttung's  mead,  drinking  it  up  and  escaping  in  the  form 
of  a  bird,  so  Yehl  drank  what  fresh  water  he  could, 
filling  himself  to  the  very  beak,  then  took  the  form 
of  a  raven  and  attempted  to  fly  off  through  the  chimney 
of  the  hut.  He  stuck  in  the  flue  however,  and  Khanukh 
returning  at  that  instant  recognized  his  guest  in  the 
struggling  bird.  The  old  man  comprehended  the  situa- 
tion, and  quietly  piling  up  a  roaring  fire,  he  sat  down 
comfortably  to  watch  the  choking  and  scorching  of  his 
crafty  guest.  The  raven  had  always  been  a  white  bird, 
but  so  thoroughly  was  he  smoked  in  the  chimney  on  this 
occasion  that  he  has  ever  since  remained  the  sootiest  of 

67  «  Seit  der  Zeit,  entgegnete  Khanukh,  als  von  unten  die  Leber  heraus- 
kam.'  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skh.,  p.  61.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  '  die  Leber,' 
literally  the  particular  gland  of  the  body  called  in  English  'the  liver,'  I 
cannot  say;  neither  Holmberg  or  any  one  else,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  goes, 
attempting  any  explanation. 


CHETHL  AND  AHGISHANAKHOU.  103 

fowls.  At  last  Khanukh  watching  the  fire,  became 
drowsy  and  fell  asleep;  so  Yehl  escaped  from  the  island 
with  the  water.  He  flew  back  to  the  continent,  where 
he  scattered  it  in  every  direction;  and  wherever  small 
drops  fell  there  are  now  springs  and  creeks,  while  the 
large  drops  have  produced  lakes  and  rivers.  This  is  the 
end  of  the  exploits  of  Yehl;  having  thus  done  every- 
thing necessary  to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  he  returned 
to  his  habitation,  which  is  in  the  east,  and  into  which  no 
other  spirit,  nor  any  man  can  possibly  enter. 

The  existing  difference  in  language  between  the  Thlin- 
keets  and  other  people  is  one  of  the  consequences  of  a 
great  flood, — perhaps  that  flood  already  described  as 
having  been  brought  on  through  the  jealousy  of  the 
canoe-builder.  Many  persons  escaped  drowning  by 
taking  refuge  in  a  great  floating  building.  When  the 
waters  fell,  this  vessel  grounded  upon  a  rock,  and  was 
broken  into  two  pieces;  in  the  one  fragment  were  left 
those  whose  descendants  speak  the  Thlinkeet  language, 
in  the  other  remained  all  whose  descendants  employ  a 
different  idiom. 

Connected  with  the  history  of  this  deluge  is  another 
myth  in  which  a  great  Bird  figures.  When  the  waters 
rose  a  certain  mysterious  brother  and  sister  found  it 
necessary  to  part.  The  name  of  the  brother  was  Chethl, 
that  is,  Thunder  or  'Lightning,  and  the  name  of  the 
sister  was  Ahgishanakhou,  which  means  the  Under- 
ground Woman.  As  they  'separated  Chethl  said  to  her : 
Sister,  you  shall  never  see  me  again,  but  Awhile  I  live 
you  shall  hear  my  voice.  Then  he  clothed  himself  in 
the  skin  of  a  great  bird,-  and  flew  towards  the  south- 
west. His  sister  climbed  to  the  top  of  Mount  Edgecomb, 
which  is  near  Sitka,  and  it  opened  and  swallowed  her 
up,  leaving  a  great  hole,  or  crater.  The  world  itself  is 
an  immense  flat  plate  supported  on  a  pillar,  and  under 
the  world,  in  silence  and  darkness,  this  Under-ground 
Woman  guards  the  great  pillar  from  evil  and  malignant 
powers.  She  has  never  seen'her  brother  since  she  left 
the  upper  world,  and  she  shall  never  see  him  again ;  but 


101  OKIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

still,  when  the  tempest  sweeps  down  on  Edgecomb,  the 
lightning  of  his  eyes  gleams  down  her  crater-window, 
and  the  thundering  of  his  wings  re-echoes  through  all  her 
subterranean  halls.68 

The  Koniagas,  north  of  the  Thlinkeets,  have  their 
legendary  Bird  and  Dog, — the  latter  taking  the  place 
occupied  in  the  mythology  of  many  other  tribes  by  the 
wolf  or  coyote.  Up  in  heaven,  according  to  the  Koni- 
agas,  there  exists  a  great  deity  called  Shljam  Schoa. 
He  created  two  personages  and  sent  them  down  to  the 
earth,  and  the  Raven  accompanied  them  carrying  light. 
This  original  pair  made  sea,  rivers,  mountains,  forests, 
and  such  things.  Among  other  places  they  made  the 
Island  of  Kadiak,  and  so  stocked  it  that  the  present 
Koniagas  assert  themselves  the  descendants  of  a  Dog.69 

The  Aleuts  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago  seem  to  dis- 
agree upon  their  origin.  Some  say  that  in  the  beginning 
a  Bitch  inhabited  Unalaska,  and  that  a  great  Dog  swam 
across  to  her  from  Kadiak;  from  which  pair  the  human 
race  have  sprung.  Others,  naming  the  bitch-mother  of 
their  race  Mahakh.  describe  a  certain  Old  Man,  called 
Iraghdadakh,  who  came  from  the  north  to  visit  this 
Mahakh.  The  result  of  this  visit  was  the  birth  of  two 
creatures,  male  and  female,  with  such  an  extraordinary 
mixing  up  of  the  elements  of  nature  in  them  that  they 
were  each  half  man  half  fox.  The  name  of  the  male 
creature  was  Acagnikakh,  and  by  the  other  creature  he 
became  father  of  the  human  race.  The  Old  Man  how- 
ever seems  hardly  to  have  needed  any  help  to  people  the 
world,  for  like  the  great  patriarch  of  Thessaly,  he  was 
able  to  create  men  by  merely  casting  stones  on  the  earth. 
He  flung  also  other  stones  into  the  air,  into  the  water, 
and  over  the  land,  thus  making  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes. 
In  another  version  of  the  narrative,  the  first  father  of  the 

68  Barrelt-Lennard's  Trav.,  pp.  54-7;  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  pp.  14,  52-63; 
Boer,  Slat.  u.  Ethn.,  pp.  93-100;  DalVs  Alaska,  pp.  421-22;  Macfie's  Vane. 
Isl.,  pp  452-5;  RicharJson's  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  p.  405;  Wayne's  B.C,.  p.  272. 

<»  liaer,  Stat.  u.  Ethn.,  p.  116;  Lisiansky's  Voy.,  pp.  197-8;  Dall's  Alaska, 
p.  405;  llolm'jeiy,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  140. 


THE  DOG-ORIGIN  OF  THE  HYPEROEEANS.  105 

Aleuts  is  said  to  have  fallen  from  heaven  in  the  shape 
of  a  dog.70 

In  the  legends  of  the  Tinneh,  living  inland,  north-east 
of  the  Koniagas,  the  familiar  Bird  and  Dog  again  appear. 
These  legends  tell  us  that  the  world  existed  at  first  as  a 
great  ocean  frequented  only  by  an  immense  Bird,  the 
beating  of  whose  wings  was  thunder,  and  its  glance  light- 
ning. This  great  flying  monster  descended  and  touched 
the  waters,  upon  which  the  earth  rose  up  and  appeared 
above  them;  it  touched  the  earth,  and  therefrom  came 
every  living  creature, — except  the  Tinneh,  who  owe  their 
origin  to  a  Dog.  Therefore  it  is  that  to  this  day  a  dog's 
flesh  is  an  abomination  to  the  Tinneh,  as  are  also  all 
who  eat  such  flesh.  A  few  years  before  Captain  Frank- 
lin's visit  they  almost  ruined  themselves  by  following  the 
advice  of  some  fanatic  reformer.  Convinced  by  him  of 
the  wickedness  of  exacting  labor  from  their  near  rela- 
tions, the  dogs,  they  got  rid  at  once  of  the  sin  and  of 
all  temptation  to  its  recommission,  by  killing  every  cur  in 
their  possession. 

To  return  to  the  origin  of  the  Tinneh,  the  wonderful 
Bird  before  mentioned  made  and  presented  to  them  a 
peculiar  arrow,  which  they  were  to  preserve  for  all  time 
with  great  care.  But  they  would  not;  they  misappro- 
priated the  sacred  shaft  to  some  common  use,  and  imme- 
diately the  great  Bird  flew  away  never  to  return.  With 
its  departure  ended  the  Golden  Age  of  the  Tinneh, — an 
age  in  which  men  lived  till  their  throats  were  worn 
through  with  eating,  and  their  feet  with  walking.71 

Belonging  to  the  Northern-Indian  branch  of  the  Tin- 
neh we  find  a  narrative  in  which  the  Dog  holds  a  promi- 
nent place,  but  in  which  we  find  no  mention  at  all  of 
the  Bird :  The  earth  existed  at  first  in  a  chaotic  state, 
with  only  one  human  inhabitant,  a  woman  who  dwelt  in 
a  cave  and  lived  on  berries.  While  gathering  these  one 
day,  she  encountered  an  animal  like  a  dog,  which  followed 

7°  Choris,  Voy.  Pitt.,  pt.  vii.,  p.  7;  Kotzebue's  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.,  165. 
71  Dunn's   Oregon,   pp.  102,    et  seq;    ScJtoolcraft's  Arch,   vol.  v.,    p.    173; 
Mackenzie's  Voy.,  p.  cxviii.;  Franklin's  Nar.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  249-50. 


106  ORIGIN  AND  END  OF  THINGS. 

her  home.  This  Dog  possessed  the  power  of  transform- 
ing himself  into  a  handsome  young  man,  and  in  this 
shape  he  became  the  father  by  the  woman  of  the  first 
men.  In  course  of  time  a  giant  of  such  height  that  his 
head  reached  the  clouds,  arrived  on  the  scene  and  fitted 
the  earth  for  its  inhabitants.  He  reduced  the  chaos  to 
order;  he  established  the  land  in  its  boundaries,  he 
marked  out  with  his  staff  the  position  or  course  of  the 
lakes,  ponds,  and  rivers.  Next  he  slew  the  Dog  and  tore 
him  to  pieces,  as  the  four  giants  did  the  Beaver  of  the 
Palouse  River,  or  as  the  creating  yEsir  did  Aurgelmir. 
Unlike  the  four  brothers,  however,  and  unlike  the  sons 
of  Bor,  this  giant  of  the  Tinneh  used  the  fragments  not 
to  create  men  or  things,  but  animals.  The  entrails  of 
the  dog  he  threw  into  the  water,  and  every  piece  became 
a  fish ;  the  flesh  he  scattered  over  the  land,  and  every 
scrap  became  an  animal ;  the  bits  of  skin  he  sowed  upon 
the  wind,  and  they  became  birds.  All  these  spread  over 
the  earth,  and  increased  and  multiplied ;  and  the  giant 
gave  the  woman  and  her  progeny  power  to  kill  and  eat 
of  them  according  to  their  necessities.  After  this  he 
returned  to  his  place,  and  he  has  not  since  been  heard 
of.72 

Leaving  now  this  division  of  our  subject,  more  par- 
ticularly concerned  with  cosmogony,  it  may  not  be  amiss 
to  forestall  possible  criticism  as  to  the  disconnected  man- 
ner in  which  the  various  myths  are  given.  I  have  but 
to  repeat  that  the  mythology  with  which  we  have  to 
deal  is  only  known  in  fragments,  and  to  submit  that  a 
broken  statue,  or  even  a  broken  sherd,  of  genuine 
or  presumably  genuine  antiquity,  is  more  valuable  to 
science  and  even  to  poetry,  than  the  most  skillful  ideal 
restoration. 

Further,  the  absence  of  any  attempt  to  form  a  con- 
nected whole  out  of  the  myths  that  come  under  our 
notice  cannot  but  obviate  that  tendency  to  alter  in  out- 
line and  to  color  in  detail  which  is  so  insensibly  natural 
to  any  mythographer  prepossessed  with  the  spirit  of  a 

72  Jlearne's  Journey,  pp.  342-3. 


INTEKPKETATION  OF  MYTHS.  107 

system.  In  advancing  lastly  the  opinion  that  the  dis- 
connected arrangement  is  not  only  better  adapted  toward 
preserving  the  original  myths  in  their  integrity,  but  is 
also  better  for  the  student,  I  may  be  allowed  to  close  the 
chapter  with  the  second  of  the  Rules  for  the  Inter- 
pretation of  Mythes  given  by  so  distinguished  an  au- 
thority as  Mr.  Keightley:  "In  like  manner  the  mythes 
themselves  should  be  considered  separately,  and  detached 
from  the  system  in  which  they  are  placed ;  for  the  single 
mythes  existed  long  beibre  the  system,  and  were  the  prod- 
uct of  other  minds  than  those  which  afterwards  set  them 
in  connection,  not  unfrequently  without  fully  under- 
standing them."  73 

's  Myth,  of  Ancient  Greece  and  Italy,  p.  14. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PHYSICAL    MYTHS. 

SUN,  MOON,  AND  STARS — ECLIPSES— THE  MOON  PERSONIFIED  IN  THE  LAND 
OF  THE  CRESCENT — FIKE — How  THE  COYOTE  STOLE  FIRE  FOR  THE  CAHHOCS- 
How  THE  FROG  LOST  His  TAIL — How  THE  COYOTE  STOLE  FIRE  FOR 
THE  NAVAJOS— WIND  AND  THUNDER — THE  FOUR  WINDS  AND  THE  CROSS 
— WATER,  THE  FIRST  OF  ELEMENTAL  THINGS  — ITS  SACRED  AND  CLEANS- 
ING POWER— EARTH  AND  SKY — EARTHQUAKES  AND  VOLCANOES — MOUN- 
TAINS— How  THE  HAWK  AND  CROW  BUILT  THE  COAST  RANGE — THE 
MOUNTAINS  OF  YOSEMITE. 

Fetichism  seems  to  be  the  physical  philosophy  of  man 
in  his  most  primitive  state.  He  looks  on  material  things 
as  animated  by  a  life  analogous  to  his  own,  as  having  a 
personal  consciousness  and  character,  as  being  severally 
the  material  body  that  contains  some  immaterial  essence 
or  soul.  A  child  or  a  savage  strikes  or  chides  any  object 
that  hurts  him,  and  caresses  the  gewgaw  that  takes  his 
fancy,  talking  to  it  much  as  to  a  companion. 

Let  there  be  something  peculiar,  mysterious,  or  danger- 
ous about  the  thing  and  the  savage  worships  it,  deprecates 
its  wrath  and  entreats  its  favor,  with  such  ceremonies, 
prayers,  and  sacrifices  as  he  may  deem  likely  to  win 
upon  its  regard.  In  considering  such  cases  mythologic- 
ally,  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine  the  facts  to  see 
whether  we  have  to  deal  with  simple  fetichism  or  with 
idolatry.  That  savage  worships  a  fetich  who  worships 
the  heaving  sea  as  a  great  living  creature,  or  kneels  to 
flame  as  to  a  hissing  roaring  animal ;  but  the  Greeks  in 
conceiving  a  separate  anthropomorphic  god  of  the  sea  or 


VAGAEIES  CONCEKNING  CELESTIAL  BODIES.  109 

of  the  fire,  and  in  representing  that  god  by  figures  of 
different  kinds,  were  only  idolaters.  The  two  things, 
however,  are  often  so  merged  into  each  other  that  it 
becomes  difficult  or  impossible  to  say  in  many  instances 
whether  a  particular  object,  for  example  the  sun,  is 
regarded  as  the  deity  or  merely  as  the  representation  or 
symbol  of  the  deity.  It  is  plain  enough,  however,  that 
a  tolerably  distinct  element  of  fetichism  underlies  much 
of  the  Indian  mythology.  Speaking  of  this  mythology 
in  the  mass,  the  North  American  Review  says:  "  A 
mysterious  and  inexplicable  power  resides  in  inanimate 
things.  They,  too,  can  listen  to  the  voice  of  man,  and 
influence  his  life  for  evil  or  for  good.  Lakes,  rivers,  and 
waterfalls  are  sometimes  the  dwelling-place  of  spirits, 
but  more  frequently  they  are  themselves  living  beings,  to 
be  propitiated  by  prayers  and  offerings."1 

The  explicit  worship  of  the  sun  and  more  or  less  that 
of  other  heavenly  bodies,  or  at  least  a  recognition  of 
some  supernatural  power  resident  in  or  connected  with 
them,  was  widely  spread  through  Mexico,  as  well  among 
the  uncivilized  as  among  the  civilized  tribes.  The  wild 
Chichimecs  or  that  portion  of  the  wild  tribes  of  Mexico  to 
which  Alegre  applied  this  name,  owned  the  sun  as  their 
deity,  as  did  also  the  people  of  the  Nayarit  country.2 

In  what  we  may  call  civilized  Mexico,  the  sun  was 
definitely  worshiped  under  the  name  of  Tonatiuh,  the 
Sun  in  his  substance,  and  under  that  of  Naolin,  the  Sun 
in  his  four  motions.  He  was  sometimes  represented  by 
a  human  face  surrounded  with  rays,  at  other  times  by  a 
full-length  human  figure,  while  again  he  often  seems  to 
be  confused  or  connected  with  the  element  fire  and  the 
god  of  fire.  Sahagun,  for  instance,  usually  speaks  of 
the  festival  of  the  month  Itzcalli  as  appertaining  to  the 
god  of  fire,  but  in  at  least  one  place  he  describes  it  as 
belonging  to  the  sun  and  the  fire.3  The  sun,  it  is  toler- 

1  North  Am.  Rev.,  vol.  ciii.,  p.  1. 

2  Alegre,  Hist.  (Jomp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i.,  p.  279;  Apostolicos  Afanes,  p.  68. 

3  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  74-5,  200-18;   Explication  del 
Codex  Teileriano-Remensis,  parte  ii.,  lam.  x.,  in  Kinr/sborough's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  p.  139;  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (VaticanoJ  tav. 


110  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

ably  certain,  held,  if  not  the  highest  place,  one  not  far 
removed  from  that  position  in  the  Mexican  pantheon. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Tylor,  Squier,  and  Schoolcraft 
agree  in  considering  sun-worship  the  most  radical  reli- 
gious idea  of  all  civilized  American  religions.4  Pro- 
fessor Miiller  considers  the  sun-god  and  the  supreme 
Mexican  Teotl  to  be  identical.5  Dr.  Brinton,  as  we  shall 
see  when  we  come  to  notice  the  mythology  of  fire,  while 
not  denying  the  prominence  of  the  sun-cult,  would  refer 
that  cult  to  a  basal  and  original  fire-worship.  Many 
interpreters  of  mythology  see  also  the  personification  of 
the  sun  in  others  of  the  Mexican  gods  besides  Tonatiuh. 
More  especially  does  evidence  seem  to  point  strongly  in 
this  direction  in  the  case  of  Quetzalcoatl,  as  will  be  seen 
when  we  come  to  deal  with  this  god. 

The  Mexicans  were  much  troubled  and  distressed  by 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  They  thought  that  he  was  much 
disturbed  and  tossed  about  by  something,  and  that  he 
was  becoming  seriously  jaundiced.  This  was  the  occa- 
sion of  a  general  panic,  women  weeping  aloud,  and  men 
howling  and  shouting  and  striking  the  hand  upon  the 
mouth.  There  was  an  immediate  search  for  men  with 
white  hair  and  white  faces,  and  these  were  sacrificed  to  the 
sun,  amid  the  din  and  tumult  of  singing  and  musical  in- 
struments. It  was  thought  that  should  the  eclipse  become 
once  total,  there  would  be  an  end  of  the  light,  and  that 
in  the  darkness  the  demons  would  come  down  to  the 
devouring  of  the  people.6 

xxv.  and  xxxiii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  178, 181-2;  Mendieta, 
Hist.  Ecles.,  pp.  80-1;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  9,  11, 
17,  34-5. 

4  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  301;  Brasseur  d« 
Bourbourg,  Quatre  Lettres,  p.  156;    Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  259,  262 
-3;  Squier's  Serpent  Symbol,  pp.  18-20;  Schoolcraft' s  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  60, 
vol.  iv.,  p.  639,  vol.  v.,  pp.  29-87.  vol.  vi.,  pp.  594,  626,  636. 

5  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  474. 

*  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  244-5.  In  Campeche,  in 
1834,  M.  Waldeck  witnessed  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  during  which  the  Yuca- 
tecs  conducted  themselves  much  as  their  fathers  might  have  done  in  their 
gentile  days,  howling  frightfully  and  making  every  effort  to  part  the  celestial 
combatants.  The  only  apparent  advance  made  on  the  old  customs  was  the 
firing  off  of  muskets,  '  to  prove  '  in  the  words  of  the  sarcastic  artist,  '  that  the 
Yucatecs  of  to-day  are  not  strangers  to  the  progress  of  civilization.'  Waldeck. 
Voy.  Pitt.,  p.  14. 


ECLIPSES,  AND  THEIK  EFFECT  ON  MAN.  Ill 

The  Tlascaltecs,  regarding  the  sun  and  the  moon  as 
husband  and  wife,  believed  eclipses  to  be  domestic  quar- 
rels, whose  consequences  were  likely  to  be  fatal  to  the 
world  if  peace  could  not  be  made  before  things  proceeded 
to  an  extremity.  To  sooth  the  ruffled  spirit  of  the  sun 
when  he  was  eclipsed,  a  human  sacrifice  was  offered  to 
him  of  the  ruddiest  victims  that  could  be  found ;  and 
when  the  moon  was  darkened  she  was  appeased  with 
the  blood  of  those  white-complexioned  persons  commonly 
known  as  Albinos.7 

The  idea  of  averting  the  evil  by  noise,  in  case  of  an 
eclipse  either  of  the  sun  or  moon,  seems  to  have  been  a 
common  one  among  other  American  tribes.  Alegre 
ascribes  it  to  the  natives  of  Sonora  in  general.  Ribas 
tells  how  the  Sinaloas  held  that  the  moon  in  an  eclipse 
was  darkened  with  the  dust  of  battle.  Her  enemy  had 
come  upon  her,  and  a  terrible  fight,  big  with  consequence 
to  those  on  earth,  went  on  in  heaven.  In  wild  excite- 
ment the  people  beat  on  the  sides  of  their  houses,  en- 
couraging the  moon  and  shooting  nights  of  arrows  up 
into  the  sky  to  distract  her  adversary.  Much  the  same 
as  this  was  also  done  by  certain  Californians.8 

With  regard  to  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  the  Mexicans 
seem  to  have  had  rather  special  ideas  as  to  its  effects 
upon  unborn  children.  At  such  times,  women  who  were 
with  child  became  alarmed  lest  their  infant  should  be 
turned  into  a  mouse,  and  to  guard  against  such  an  un- 
desirable consummation  they  held  a  bit  of  obsidian,  iztli, 
in  their  mouth,  or  put  a  piece  of  it  in  their  girdle,  so 
that  the  child  should  be  born  perfect  and  not  lipless,  or 
noseless,  or  wry-mouthed,  or  squinting,  or  a  monster.9 
These  ideas  are  probably  connected  with  the  fact  that 
the  Mexicans  worshiped  the  moon  under  the  name  of 
Meztli,  as  a  deity  presiding  over  human  generations. 


7  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlaxcallan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn, 
xcvii.,  p.  193. 

8  Alec/re,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  218;  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Trium- 
phos,  p.  202;  Boscana,  in  Robi)ison's  Life  in  Cal.,  pp.  296-300. 

9  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  viii.,  p.  25U. 


112  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

This  moon-god  is  considered  by  Clavigero  to  be  identical 
with  Joaltecutli,  god  of  night.10 

It  is  to  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  however,  that 
we  must  turn  for  a  truly  novel  and  cyclopean  theory  of 
Mexican  lunolatry.  He  sees  back  to  a  time  when  the 
forefathers  of  American  civilization  lived  in  a  certain 
Crescent  Land  in  the  Atlantic;  here  they  practiced 
Sabaism.  Through  some  tremendous  physical  catas- 
trophe their  country  was  utterly  overwhelmed  by  the 
sea;  and  this  inundation  is  considered  by  the  abbe  to 
be  the  origin  of  the  deluge-myths  of  the  Central- Ameri- 
can nations.  A  remnant  of  these  Crescent  people  saved 
themselves  in  the  seven  principal  islands  of  the  Lesser 
Antilles;  these  are,  he  explains,  the  seven  mythical 
caves  or  grottoes  celebrated  in  so  many  American  legends 
as  the  cradle  of  the  nations.  The  saved  remnant  of  the 
people  wept  the  loss  of  their  friends  and  of  their  old  land, 
making  the  latter,  with  its  crescent  shape,  memorable  for- 
ever by  adopting  the  moon  as  their  god.  "It  is  the 
moon,"  writes  the  great  Americaniste,  "  male  and 
female,  Luna  and  Lunus,  personified  in  the  land  of  the 
Crescent,  engulfed  in  the  abyss,  that  I  believe  I  see  at 
the  commencement  of  this  amalgam  of  rites  and  symbols 
of  every  kind."  u  I  confess  inability  to  follow  the  path 
by  which  the  abbe  has  reached  this  conclusion;  but  I 
have  indicated  its  whereabouts,  and  future  students  may 
be  granted  a  further  insight  into  this  new  labyrinth  and 
the  subtleties  of  its  industrious  Daedalus. 

The  Mexicans  had  many  curious  ideas  about  the  stars, 
some  of  which  have  come  down  to  us.  They  particularly 
reverenced  a  certain  group  of  three  called  mamalhoaztli, 
in,  or  in  the  neighborhood  of,  the  sign  Taurus  of  the 
zodiac.  This  name  was  >the  same  as  that  of  the  sticks 
from  which  fire  was  procured:  a  resemblance  of  some 

10  Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  part,  ii.,  lam.  x.,  in  Khu/n- 
borou/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  139;  tfpiegazione  dette  Tavole  del  Codice  Mixi- 
cano  (VatiranoJ,  tav.  xxvi.,  in  Kini/sborouf/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  179; 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  p.  250;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico, 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  9-17. 

11  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  155-6. 


WHAT  THE  MEXICANS  THOUGHT  OF  STAKS  AND  COMETS.  113 

kind  being  supposed  to  exist  between  them  and  these 
stars.  Connected  again  with  this  wras  the  burning  by 
every  male  Mexican  of  certain  marks  upon  his  wrist,  in 
honor  of  the  same  stars ;  it  being  believed  that  the  man 
wrho  died  without  these  marks  should,  on  his  arrival  in 
hades,  be  forced  to  draw  fire  from  his  wrist  by  boring 
upon  it  as  on  a  fire-stick.  The  planet  Venus  was  wor- 
shiped as  the  first  light  that  appeared  in  the  world,  as  the 
god  of  twilight,  and,  according  to  some,  as  being  identical 
with  Quetzalcoatl.  This  star  has  been  further  said  to 
borrow  its  light  from  the  moon,  and  to  rise  by  four  starts. 
Its  first  twinkle  was  a  bad  augury,  and  to  be  closed  out 
of  all  doors  and  windows;  on  appearing  for  the  third 
time,  it  began  to  give  a  steady  light,  and  on  the  fourth 
it  shone  forth  in  all  its  clearness  and  brilliancy. 

Comets  were  called  each  citlalinpopoca,  or  the  smok- 
ing star;  their  appearance  was  considered  as  a  public 
disaster,  and  as  announcing  pest,  dearth,  or  the  death  of 
some  prince.  The  common  people  were  accustomed  to 
say  of  one,  This  is  our  famine,  and  they  believed  it  to 
cast  down  certain  darts,  which  falling  on  any  animal, 
bred  a  maggot  that  rendered  the  creature  unfit  for  food. 
All  possible  precautions  of  shelter  were  of  course  taken 
by  persons  in  positions  exposed  to  the  influence  of  these 
noxious  rays.  Besides  the  foregoing,  there  were  many 
stars  or  groups  of  stars  whose  names  were  identical  with 
those  of  certain  gods;  the  following  seem  to  belong  to' 
this  class:  Tonacatlecutli  or  Citlalalatonalli,  the  milky 
way;  Yzacatecutli,  Tlahvizcalpantecutli,  Ceyacatl,  Achi- 
tumetl,  Xacupancalqui,  Mixcoatl,  Tezcatlipoca,  and  Con- 
temoctli.12 

I  have  already  noticed  a  prevailing  tendency  to  con- 
nect the  worship  of  fire  and  that  of  the  sun.  .The  rites 
of  a  perpetual  fire  are  found  closely  connected  with 

12  Explication  deUe  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  part,  i.,  lam.  ii.,  part,  ii., 
lam.  xiv.,  in  Kingsborourjh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  132,  140;  Spiegazione 
delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.,  xvii.,  xxxi.,  lb.,  vol.  v.,  pp. 
175,  181;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  250-252;  Camargo, 
Hist,  de  Tlaxcallan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p.  193; 
VOL.  HI.  8 


114  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

a  sun-cult,  and,  whichever  may  be  the  older,  it  is  certain 
they  are  rarely  found  apart.  "What,"  saj^s  Tylor,  ''the 
sea  is  to  Water-worship,  in  some  measure  the  Sun  is  to 
Fire-worship."13  Brinton  would  reverse  this  and  give 
to  fire  the  predominance:  in  short,  he  says,  the  sun 
"is always  spoken  of  as  a  fire;"  " and  without  danger 
or  error  we  can  merge  the  consideration  of  its  wor- 
ship almost  altogether  is  this  element." u  This  sounds 
rather  extravagant  and  is  hardly  needed  in  any  case ; 
for  sufficient  reason  for  its  deification  can  alwa}rs  be 
found  in  its  mysterious  nature  and  awful  powers  of 
destruction,  as  well  as  in  its  kind  and  constantly 
renewed  services,  if  gratitude  have  any  power  in  mak- 
ing a  god.  The  mere  guarding  and  holding  sacred 
a  particular  fire  probably  originated  in  the  importance 
of  possessing  an  unfailing  source  of  the  element,  and  in 
the  difficulty  of  its  production  if  allowed  to  die  out, 
among  men  not  possessed  of  the  appliances  of  civiliza- 
tion. 

When  we  come  to  review  the  gods  in  general,  those 
connected  with  fire  will  be  pointed  out  as  they  appear; 
for  the  present,  let  it  suffice  to  say  that  many  American 
peoples  had  such  gods,  or  had  ceremonies  suggesting 
their  existence  and  recognition,  or  lastly,  had  legends  of 
the  origin  or  procurement  of  the  fire  they  daily  used  on 
the  altar  or  on  the  hearth.  In  the  Pueblos  of  New 
Mexico,  and  more  especially  among  the  Pecos,  sacred 
perpetual  fires  were  kept  up  by  special  command  of 
their  traditionary  god  and  ruler  Montezuma;  but  these 
fires  were  not  regarded  as  fetiches.15  The  Mexican 
fire-god  was  known  by  the  name  of  Xiuhtecutli,  and 
by  other  names  appertaining  to  the  different  aspects 
in  which  he  was  viewed.  While  preserving  his  own 
well-marked  identity,  he  was  evidently  closely  re- 

Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  81.  The  word  tecutli  is  of  frequent  occurrence  as  a 
termination  in  the  names  of  Mexican  gods.  It  signifies  '  lord '  and  is  written 
with  various  spellings.  I  follow  that  given  by  Molina's  Vocabulary. 

is  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  259. 

"  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  143. 

,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Sept.,  1864,  p.  193. 


HOW  THE  CAHROCS  OBTAINED  FIEE.  115 

lated  also  to  the  sun-god.  Many  and  various,  even 
in  domestic  life,  were  the  ceremonies  by  which  he 
was  recognized ;  the  most  important  ritual  in  connection 
with  his  service  being,  perhaps,  the  lighting  of  the  new 
fire,  with  which,  as  we  shall  see,  the  beginning  of  every 
Mexican  cycle  was  solemnized.16 

There  are  various  fables  scattered  up  and  down  among 
the  various  tribes  regarding  the  origin  or  rather  the  pro- 
curing of  fire.  We  know  how  the  Quiches  received  it 
from  the  stamp  of  the  sandal  of  Tohil ;  how,  from  the 
home  of  the  cuttle-fish,  a  deer  brought  it  to  the  Ahts  in 
a  joint  of  his  leg ;  how  from  a  distant  island  the  great 
Yehl  of  the  Thlinkeets  fetched  the  brand  in  his  beak 
that  filled  the  flint  and  the  fire-stick  with  seeds  of  eter- 
nal fire. 

The  Cahrocs  hold  that,  when  in  the  beginning  the  crea- 
tor Chareya  made  fire,  he  gave  it  into  the  custody  of  two 
old  hags,  lest  the  Cahrocs  should  steal  it.  The  Cahrocs, 
having  exhausted  every  means  to  procure  the  treasure, 
applied  for  help  to  their  old  friend  the  Coyote;  who, 
having  maturely,  considered  how  the  theft  might  best 
be,  accomplished,  set  about  the  thing  in  this  way: 
From  the  land  of  the  Cahrocs  to  the  home  of  the  old 
women  he  stationed  a  great  company  of  animals,  at 
convenient  distances ;  the  strongest  nearest  the  den  of  the 
old  beldames,  the  weakest  farthest  removed.  Last  of 
all  he  hid  a  Cahroc  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  hut,  and, 
having  left  the  man  precise  directions  how  to  act,  he 
trotted  up  to  the  door  and  asked  to  be  let  in  out  of  the 
cold.  Suspecting  nothing,  the  crones  gave  him  ad- 
mittance;'so  he  lay  down  in  front  of  the  fire,  and  made 
himself  as  comfortable  as  possible,  waiting  for  the  further 
action  of  his  human  accomplice  without.  In  good  time, 
the  man  made  a  furious  attack  on  the  house  and  the  old 
furies  rushed  out  at  once  to  drive  off  the  invader.  This 
was  the  Coyote's  opportunity.'  Instantly  he  seized  a 

. 16  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  16;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  56-7;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp. 
•4J1— 2. 


116  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

half-burnt  brand  and  fled  like  a  comet  down  the  trail ;  and 
the  two  hags,  seeing  how  they  had  been  outwitted,  turned 
after  him  in  immediate  and  furious  chase.  It  had  gone 
hard  then  with  the  hopes  of  the  Cahrocs,  if  their  four- 
legged  Prometheus  had  trusted  to  his  single  speed ;  but 
just  as  he  began  to  feel  the  pace  tell  on  him,  and  just  as 
the  wierd  women  thought  they  were  about  to  recover 
the  brand,  the  Cougar  relieved  him  of  it.  Great  was 
the  satisfaction  of  our  wise  Coyote,  as  he  sank  down, 
clearing  his  sooty  eyes  and  throat,  and  catching  his 
breath,  to  see  the  great  lithe  cat  leap  away  with  the 
torch,  and  the  hags  gnash  their  choppy  gums  as  they 
rushed  by,  hard  in  pursuit,  on  the  dim  trail  of  sparks. 
The  Cougar  passed  the  brand  to  the  Bear,  the  Bear  to 
his  neighbor,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  Down  the  long  line 
of  carriers,  the  panting  crones  plied  their  withered  old 
legs  in  vain ;  only  two  mishaps  occurring  among  all  the 
animals  that  made  up  the  file.  The  squirrel,  last  in  the 
train  but  one,  burned  his  tail  so  badly  that  it  curled  up 
over  his  back,  and  even  scorched  the  skin  above  his 
shoulders.  Last  of  all,  the  poor  Frog,  who  received  the 
brand  when  it  had  burned  down  to  a  very  little  piece, 
hopped  along  so  heavily  that  his  pursuers  gained  on  him, 
gained  fast  and  surely.  In  vain  he  gathered  himself  for 
every  spring,  in  vain  he  stretched  at  every  leap  till  the 
jarred  muscles  cracked  again.  He  was  caught.  The 
smoke-dimmed  eyes  stood  out  from  his  head,  his  little 
heart  thumped  like  a  club  against  the  lean  fingers  that 
closed  upon  his  body — yet  that  wild  croak  was  not  the 
croak  of  despair.  Once  more  for  the  hope  of  the  Cah- 
rocs! one  more  struggle  for  the  Coyote  that  trusted 
him  in  this  great  thing!  and  with  a  gulp  the  plucky 
little  martyr  swallowed  the  fire,  tore  himself  from  the 
hands  that  held  him,  leaped  into  a  river,  and  diving 
deep  and  long,  gained  his  goal ;  but  gained  it  a  mourn- 
ful wreck,  the  handsome  tail,  which,  of  all  his  race, 
only  the  tadpole  should  ever  wear  again,  was  utterly  gone, 
left,  like  that  of  an  O'Shanter's  mare,  in  the  witch's 
grasp ;  only  the  ghost  of  himself  was  left  to  spit  out  on 


FIRE,  THE  LIGHTNING,  AND  WIND.  117 

some  pieces  of  wood  the  precious  embers  preserved  at  so 
great  a  cost.  And  it  is  because  the  Frog  spat  out  this 
fire  upon  these  pieces  of  wood  that  it  can  always  be 
extracted  again  by  rubbing  them  hard  together.17 

The  Navajos  have  a  legend  as  to  the  procuring  of  fire, 
that  has  many  analogies  to  the  foregoing.  They  tell 
how,  when  they  first  gained  the  earth,  they  were  with- 
out fire,  and  how  the  Coyote,  the  Bat,  and  the  Squirrel 
agreed  to  procure  it  for  them.  The  object  of  their  desire 
seems  to  have  been  in  the  possession  of  the  animals  in 
general,  in  some  distant  locality.  The  Coyote,  having 
attached  pine  splinters  to  his  tail,  ran  quickly  through 
the  fire  and  fled  with  his  lighted  prize.  Being  keenly 
pursued,  however,  by  the  other  animals,  he  soon  tired; 
upon  which  the  Bat  relieved  him,  and  dodging  and 
flitting  here  and  there,  carried  the  splinters  still  farther. 
Then  the  Squirrel  came  to  the  assistance  of  the  Bat.  and 
succeeding  him  in  his  office,  contrived  to  reach  the 
hearths  of  the  Navajos  with  the  coveted  embers.18 

The  natives  of  Mendocino  county,  California,  believe 
that  lightning  is  the  origin  of  fire,  that  a  primeval  bolt 
hurled  down  by  the  Man  Above  fell  upon  certain  wood, 
from  which,  consequently  fire  can  always  be  extracted  by 
rubbing  two  pieces  together.19 

From  fire  let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to  wind,  whose 
phenomena,  as  might  be  expected,  have  not  been  allowed 
to  pass  wholly  unnoticed  by  the  mythologies  with  which 
we  have  to  deal.  When  we  come  to  examine  ideas 
connected  with  death  and  with  the  soul  of  man  and  its 
future,  we  shall  find  the  wind,  or  the  air,  often  in  use  as 
the  best  name  and  figure  for  the  expression  of  primitive 
conceptions  of  that  mysterious  thing,  the  vital  essence  or 
spirit.  The  wind  too  is  often  considered  as  a  god,  or  at 
least  as  the  breath  of  a  god,  and  in  many  American 
languages  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  Great  Wind  are  one 
and  the  same  both  in  word  and  signification.  The  name 

17  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

is  Eaton,  in  Schoolcra/t's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  218-19. 

»  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


118  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

of  the  god  Hurakan,  mentioned  in  Quiche  myths,  still 
signifies  the  Storm  in  many  a  language  strange  to  his 
worshipers,  while  in  Quiche  it  may  be  translated  Spirit, 
or  swiftly  moving  Spirit;20  and  the  name  of  the  Mexi- 
can god  Mixcoatl  is  said  to  be  to  this  day  the  correct 
Mexican  term  for  the  whirlwind.21 

An  interesting  point  here  arises  with  regard  to  the 
division  of  the  heavens  into  four  quarters  and  the  naming 
of  these  after  the  names  of  the  wind.  Dr.  Brinton 
believes  this  fact  to  be  at  the  bottom  of.  the  sacredness 
and  often  occurrence  of  the  number  four  in  so  many 
early  legends,  and  he  connects  these  four  winds  and 
their  embodiment  in  many  quaternions  of  deities,  with 
the  sacredness  of  the  cross  and  its  use  among  widely 
separated  nations,  to  whom  its  later  Christian  significa- 
tion was  utterly  unknown.22 

If  we  may  suppose  that  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  wind 
are  often  represented  under  the  form  of  an  enormous  bird, 
we  must  connect  with  them,  as  their  most  inseparable 
attributes,  the  thunder  and  the  lightning;  the  first,  as 
we  have  so  often  seen,  is  the  rustling  or  stridor  of  the 
wings  of  the  bird,  the  second  is  the  flashing  of  his  eyes. 
The  Raven  of  the  Koniagas  is  not,  however,  as  among 
most  other  tribes  of  the  great  Northwest,  the  author  of 
these  things;  but  their  principal  deity  when  he  is  angry 
sends  down  two  dwarfs,  who  thunder  and  lighten 
according  to  his  command.23  Of  the  god  Hurakan, 
whom  we  have  noticed  as  the  etymon  of  the  word  hurri- 
cane, the  Popol  Vuh  says:  "  The  flash  is  the  first  sign 
of  Hurakan ;  the  second  is  the  furrow  of  the  flash ;  the 
third  is  the  thunder-bolt  that  strikes;"24  and  to  the 
Mexican  god,  Tlaloc,  are  also  attached  the  same  three 
attributes.25 

20  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  S'il  Existe  des  Sources  de  VUisi.  Prim,  du  Mexique, 
p.  101. 

21  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  485;  Brinton's  Myths, 
p.  51. 

22  Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  G6-98. 

»  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  141. 

24  Ximen?z,  IFist.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  6;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  9. 

25  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt.  ii.,  p.  76. 


WATER  AS  A  PURIFYING  ELEMENT.  119 

Turning  to  water,  we  find  it  regarded  among  many 
tribes  as  the  first  of  elemental  things.  It  is  from  a  pri- 
meval ocean  of  water  that  the  earth  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  come  up.  Water  is  obviously  a  first  and  chief 
nourisher  of  vegetable  life,  and  an  indispensable  prere- 
quisite of  all  fertility ;  from  this  it  is  but  a  short  step  to 
saying,  that  it  is  the  mother  of  those  that  live  by  the 
earth's  fertility.  "Your  mother,  Chalchiuhtlicue,  god- 
dess of  water,"  is  a  phrase  constantly  found  in  the  mid- 
wife's mouth,  in  her  address  to  the  child,  in  the  Mexican 
washing  or  baptismal  service.26 

The  use  of  water  more  or  less  sanctified  or  set  apart  or 
made  worthy  the  distinction  '  holy ;'  the  employment  of 
this  in  a  rite  of  avowed  purification  from  inherent  sin, 
at  the  time  of  giving  a  name, — baptism,  in  one  word, — 
runs  back  to  a  period  far  pre-Christian  among  the 
Mexican,  Maya,  and  other  American  nations;  as 
ancient  ceremonies  to  be  hereafter  described  will  show. 
That  man  sets  out  in  this  life-journey  of  his  with  a 
terrible  bias  toward  evil,  with  a  sad  and  pitiful  liability 
to  temptation,  is  a  point  upon  which  all  religions  are 
practically  unanimous.  How  else  could  they  exist? 
Were  man  born  perfect  he  would  remain  perfect,  other- 
wise the  first  element  of  perfection  would  be  wanting; 
and  perfection  admits  of  no  superlative,  no  greater,  no 
god.  Where  there  is  a  religion  then,  there  is  generally 
a  consciousness  of  sin  voluntary  and  involuntary.  How 
shall  I  be  cleansed  ?  how  shall  my  child  be  cleansed  from 
this  great  wickedness?  is  the  cry  of  the  idolater  as  well 
as  of  the  monotheist.  Is  it  strange  that  the  analogy  be- 
tween corporal  and  spiritual  pollution  should  indepen- 
dently suggest  itself  to  both?  Surely  not.  Wash  and 
be  clean,  is  to  all  the  world  a  parable  needing  no  inter- 
preter.27 

26  Salutriun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  197. 

27  Singularly  apt  in  this  connection  are  the  wise  words  that  Carlyle,  Past 
and  Present  Chartism,  book  i.,  p.  233,  puts  into  the  moiith  of  his  mythical 
friend  Sauerteig, — '  Strip  thyself,  go  into  the  bath,  or  were  it  into  the  limpid 
pool  and  running  brook,  and  there  wash  and  be  clean;  thou  wilt  step  out 
again  a  purer  and  a  better  man.     This  consciousness  of  perfect  outer  pureness, 


120  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

The  ceremonial  use  of  water  followed  the  Mexican 
through  all  his  life;  though  for  the  present  we  shall 
only  notice  one  more  custom  connected  with  it,  the  last 
of  all.  When  a  body  was  buried,  a  vase  of  clean,  sweet 
water  was  let  down  into  the  tomb ;  bright,  clear,  life- 
giving  and  preserving  water, — hope  and  love,  dumb  and 
inarticulate,  stretching  vague  hand  toward  a  resurrection. 

The  Mexican  rain  and  water  god  was  Tlaloc,  sender 
of  thunder  and  lightning,  lord  of  the  earthly  paradise, 
and  fertilizer  of  earth ;  his  wife  was  the  Chalchiuhtlicue, 
already  mentioned.28  Like  Tlaloc  was  Quiateot,  the 
Nicaraguan  rain-god,  master  of  thunderbolts  and  general 
director  of  meteorological  phenomena.29 

The  Navajos  puffed  tobacco  smoke  straight  up  toward 
heaven  to  bring  rain,  and  those  of  them  that  carried  a 
corpse  to  burial  were  unclean  till  washed  in  water.30  In 
a  deep  and  lonely  canon  near  Fort  Defiance  there  is  a 
spring  that  this  tribe  hold  sacred,  approaching  it  only 
with  much  reverence  and  the  performance  of  certain 
mystic  ceremonies.  They  say  it  was  once  a  boiling 
spring,  and  that  even  yet  if  approached  heedlessly  or  by 
a  bad  Indian,  its  waters  will  seethe  up  and  leap  forth  to 
overwhelm  the  intruder.31 

The  Zunis  had  also  a  sacred  spring;  sacred  to  the  rain- 
god,  who,  as  we  see  by  implication,  is  Montezuma  the 
great  Pueblo  deity  himself.  No  animal  might  taste  of 
its  sacred  waters,  and  it  was  cleansed  annually  with 
vessels  also  sacred, — most  ancient  vases  that  had  been 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation  since  times  to 

that  to  thy  skin  there  now  adheres  no  foreign  speck  of  imperfection,  how  it 
radiates  in  on  thee  with  cunning  symbolic  influences,  to  the  very  soul ! .  . . . 

It  remains  a  religious  duty  from  oldest  time  in  the  East Even  the  dull 

English  feel  something  of  this;  they  have  a  saying,  "  cleanliness  is  near  of 
kin  to  Godliness."  ' 

28  Clavljero,  Storia  Ant.  del  J/Ksstco,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  15-16.     '  Era  conosciuta 
con  altri  nomi  assai  espressive,  i  quali  o  significavano  i  diversi  effetti,  che 
cagionano  1'acque,  o  le  diverse  appurenze,  colon,  che  formano  col  loro  inoto. 
I  Tlascallesi   la  chiamavano  Matlalcueje,  cioe,  vestita  di  gonna  turchina.' 
See  also  ^fuller,  Rviscn  in  Mex.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  89. 

29  Oviedo,  Hist,  Gen.',  torn,  iv.,  pp.  46,  55. 

3<>  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  91;  Bristol,  in  Ind.  Aff. 
Rept.,  1867,  p.  358. 

si  Backus,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  213. 


THE  EARTH,  THE  SEA,  THE  SKY.  121 

which  even  tradition  went  not  back.  These  vessels  were 
kept  ranged  on  the  wall  of  the  well.  The  frog,  the 
rattlesnake,  and  the  tortoise  were  depicted  upon  them, 
and  were  sacred  to  the  great  patron  of  the  place,  whose 
terrible  lightning  should  consume  the  sacrilegious  hand 
that  touched  these  hallowed  relics.32 

AVe  have  seen  how  the  Californian  tribes  believe 
themselves  descended  from  the  very  earth,  how  the  bodi- 
less ancestor  of  the  Tezcucans  came  up  from  the  soil,  how 
the  Guatemaltecs,  Papagos,  and  Pimas  were  molded 
from  the  clay  they  tread,  and  how  the  Navajos  came  to 
light  from  the  bowrels  of  a  great  mountain  near  the  river 
San  Juan.  It  seems  long  ago  and  often  to  have  come 
into  men's  mind  that  the  over-arching  heaven  or 
something  there  and  the  all-producing  earth  are,  as  it 
were,  a  father  and  mother  to  all  living  creatures.  The 
Comanches  call  on  the  earth  as  their  mother,  and  on  the 
Great  Spirit  as  their  father.  The  Mexicans  used  to 
pray:  Be  pleased,  0  our  Lord,  that  the  nobles  who  may 
die  in  the  wrar  be  peacefully  and  pleasingly  received  by 
the  sun  and  the  earth,  who  are  the  father  and  mother  of 
all.33  It  was  probably,  again,  with  some  reference  to  the 
motherly  function  of  the  earth  that  the  same  people, 
when  an  earthquake  came,  took  their  children  by  the 
head  or  hand,  and  lifted  them  up  saying:  The  earth- 
quake will  make  them  grow.34  Sometimes  they  specified 
a  particular  part  of  the  earth  as  closer  to  them  in  this 
relation  than  other  parts.  It  is  said  that  on  the  tenth 
day  of  the  month  Quecholli,  the  citizens  of  Mexico  and 
those  of  Tlatelolco  were  wont  to  visit  a  hill  called  Caca- 
tepec,  for  they  said  it  was  their  mother.35 

As  to  the  substance,  arrangement,  and  so  on  of  the 
earth  and  sky  there  remain  one  or  two  ideas  not  already 
given  in  connection  with  the  general  creation.  The 
Tlascaltecs,  and  perhaps  others  of  the  Anahuac  peoples, 
believed  that  the  earth  was  flat,  and  ending  with  the  sea- 

32  WJdpple,  in  Pac  R.  R.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  39. 

33  Sahajun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  43. 

34  Sabar/un,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  v.,  ap.,  pp.  21-2. 
33  SaJuujun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  70. 


122  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

shore,  was  borne  up  by  certain  divinities,  who  when 
fatigued  relieved  each  other,  and  that  as  the  burden  was 
shifted  from  shoulder  to  shoulder  earthquakes  occurred. 
The  sea  and  sky  were  considered  as  of  one  material,  the  sea 
being  more  highly  condensed ;  and  the  rain  was  thought 
to  fall  not  from  clouds  but  from  the  very  substance  of 
heaven  itself.36  The  Southern  Californians  believed  that 
when  the  Creator  made  the  world  he  fixed  it  on  the  back 
of  seven  giants,  whose  movements,  as  in  the  preceding 
myth,  caused  earthquakes.37  The  sky,  according  to  cer- 
tain of  the  Yucatecs,  was  held  up  by  four  brothers  called 
each  of  them  Bacab,  in  addition  to  their  several  names, 
which  seem  to  have  been  Kan,  Muluc,  Ix,  and  Cauac. 
These  four,  God  had  placed  at  the  four  corners  of  the 
world  when  he  created  it,  and  they  had  escaped  when  all 
else  were  destroyed  by  flood.38 

In  the  interior  of  the  earth,  in  volcanoes,  subterranean 
gods  were  often  supposed  to  reside.  The  Koniagas,  for 
example,  held  that  the  craters  of  Alaska  were  inhabited 
by  beings  mightier  then  men,  and  that  these  sent  forth 
fire  and  smoke  when  they  heated  their  sweat-houses  or 
cooked  their  food.39 

The  rugged  majesty  of  hills  and  mountains  has  not 
been  without  its  effect  on  the  reverential  mind  of  the 
American  aborigines.  Direct  worship  was  unusual,  but 
several  incidents  must  have  already  informed  the  reader 
that  a  kind  of  sanctity  is  often  attached  to  great  eleva- 
tions in  nature.  A  predilection  for  hills  and  mounds  as 
landmarks  and  fanes  of  tradition,  and  as  places  of  wor- 
ship, was  as  common  among  the  Americans  as  among  the 
people  of  the  old  world.  The  Choles  of  the  province  of 
Itza  had  a  hill  in  their  country  that  they  regarded  as 
the  god  of  all  the  mountains,  and  on  which  they  burned 
a  perpetual  fire.40  The  Mexicans,  praying  for  rain,  were 

36  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlaxcallan,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1834,  torn, 
xcviii.,  p.  192. 

37  Reid,  in  Los  Anc/des  Star. 

38  Landa,  Rel.  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  p.  206. 
so  Ilolmbery,  Etlm.  Skiz.,  p.  141. 

4°  Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  de  Itza,  pp.  151-2. 


HILLS  AND  MOUNTAIN  RANGES.  123 

accustomed  to  vow  that  they  would  make  images  of  the 
mountains  if  their  petitions  were  favorably  received  ;41 
and,  in  other  points  connected  with  their  religion  to  show, 
as  has  appeared  and  will  appear  both  with  them  and 
with  other  people,  their  recognition  of  a  divinity  abid- 
ing on  or  hedging  about  the  great  peaks.  What  wonder, 
indeed,  that  to  the  rude  and  awe-struck  mind,  the  ever- 
lasting hills  seemed  nearer  and  liker  heaven  than  the 
common-place  level  of  earth,?  and  that  the  wild  man 
should  kneel  or  go  softly  there,  as  in  the  peculiar  pre- 
sence of  the  Great  Spirit?  This  is  hardly  a  new  feeling, 
it  seems  an  instinct  and  custom  as  old  as  religion. 
Where  went  Abraham  in  that  awful  hour,  counted  to  him 
for  righteousness  through  all  the  centuries?  Where 
smoked  the  thunderings  and  lightnings  that  heralded 
the  delivery  of  the  Law,  when  the  son  of  Amram  talked 
with  Jehovah  face  to  face,  as  a  man  talketh  with  his 
friend  ?  Whence  saw  a  greater  than  Moses  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  them  ?  whence,  in  the  all- 
nights  that  came  after,  did  the  prayers  of  the  Christ 
ascend?  and  where  stood  he  when  his  raiment  became 
as  no  fuller  on  earth  could  white  it,  Moses  and  Elias 
talking  with  him,  and  Peter  so  sore  afraid  ? 

Where  hills  were  not  found  conveniently  situated  for 
purposes  of  worship,  they  seem  to  have  been  counterfeit- 
ed after  man's  feeble  fashion:  from  high-place  and 
mound,  from  pyramid  and  teocalli,  since  the  morning 
stars  sang  together,  the  smoke  of  the  altar  and  the 
censer  has  not  ceased  to  ascend.  But  the  day  begins 
to  .broaden  out,  and  the  mists  of  the  morning  flee 
away;  though  the  hills  be  not  lowered,  God  is  lifted 
up.  Yet  they  have  their  glory  and  their  charm  still 
even  to  us,  and  to  the  savage  they  often  appear  as 
the  result  of  a  special  and  several  creation.  We  remem- 
ber how  the  Great  Spirit  made  Mount  Shasta  as  his 
only  worthy  abiding-place  on  earth;  and  I  give  here 
another  legend  of  a  much  more  trivial  sort  than  the  first, 

41  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  177. 


124  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

telling  how,  not  Mount  Shasta  alone,  but  all  the  mount- 
ains of  California  were  built  and  put  into  position: — 42 
At  a  time  when  the  world  was  covered  with  water  there 
existed  a  Hawk  and  a  Crow  and  a  very  small  Duck. 
The  latter,  after  diving  to  the  bottom  and  bringing  up  a 
beakful  of  mud,  died ;  whereupon  the  Crow  and  the  Hawk 
took  each  a  half  of  the  mud  that  had  been  brought  up, 
and  set  to  work  to  make  the  mountains.  Beginning  at 
a  place  called  Teheechaypah  Pass,  they  built  northwards, 
the  Hawk  working  on  the  eastern  range  and  the  Crow 
on  the  western.  It  was  a  long  and  weary  toil,  but  in 
time  the  work  was  finished,  and  as  they  laid  the  last 
peak  the  workers  met  at  Mount  Shasta.  Then  the  Hawk 
saw  that  there  had  been  foul  play  somewhere,  for  the 
western  range  was  bigger  than  his;  and  he  charged  the 
Crow  with  stealing  some  of  his  mud.  But  the  smart 
bird  laughed  a  hoarse  guffaw  in  the  face  of  his  eastern 
brother,  not  even  taking  the  trouble  to  disown  the  theft, 
and  chuckled  hugely  over  his  own  success  and  western 
enterprise.  The  honest  Hawk  was  at  his  wits'  end,  and 
he  stood  thinking  with  his  head  on  one  side  for  quite  a 
long  time;  then  in  an  absent  kind  of  way  he  picked  up 
a  leaf  of  Indian  tobacco  and  began  to  chew,  and  wisdom 
came  with  chewing.  And  he  strengthened  himself 
mightily,  and  fixed  his  claws  in  the  mountains,  and 
turned  the  whole  chain  in  the  water  like  a  great  floating 
wheel,  till  the  range  of  his  rival  had  changed  places  with 
his,  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  was  on  the  east  and  the 
Coast  Range  on  the  west,  as  they  remain  to  this  day. 

This  legend  is  not  without  ingenuity  in  its  way  Jjut 
there  is  more  of  human  interest  in  the  following  pretty 
story  of  the  Yosemite  nations,  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
names  and  present  appearance  of  certain  peaks  and  other 
natural  features  of  their  valley: — 

A  certain  Totokonula  was  once  chief  of  the  people 
here;  a  mighty  hunter  and  a  good  husbandman,  his 

42  Powers'  Porno,  MS.  This  is  a  tradition  of  the  Yocuts,  a  Californian 
tribe,  occupying  the  Kern  and  Tulare  basins,  the  middle  San  Joaquin,  and 
the  various  streams  running  into  Lake  Tulare. 


TOTOKONULA  AND  TISAYAC  OF  YOSEMITE.  125 

tribe  never  wanted  food  while  he  attended  to  their  wel- 
fare. But  a  change  came;  while  out  hunting  one  day, 
the  young  man  met  a  spirit-maid,  the  guardian  angel  of 
the  valley,  the  beautiful  Tisayac.  She  was  not  as  the 
dusky  beauties  of  his  tribe,  but  white  and  fair,  with  roll- 
ing yellow  tresses  that  fell  over  her  shoulders  like  sun- 
shine, and  blue  eyes  with  a  light  in  them  like  the  sky 
where  the  sun  goes  down.  White,  cloudlike  wings  were 
folded  behind  her  shoulders,  and  her  voice  was  sweeter 
than  the  song  of  birds ;  no  wonder  the  strong  chief  loved 
her  with  a  mad  and  instant  love.  He  reached  toward 
her,  but  the  snowy  wings  lifted  her  above  his  sight,  and 
he  stood  again  alone  upon  the  dome,  where  she  had  been. 

No  more  Totokonula  led  in  the  chase  or  heeded 
the  crops  in  the  valley;  he  wandered  here  and  there 
like  a  man  distraught,  ever  seeking  that  wonderful  shin- 
ing vision  that  had  made  all  else  on  earth  stale  and  un- 
profitable in  his  sight.  The  land  began  to  languish, 
missing  the  industrious  directing  hand  that  had  tended 
it  so  long;  the  pleasant  garden  became  a  wilderness 
where  the  drought  laid  waste,  and  the  wild  beast  spoiled 
what  was  left,  and  taught  his  cubs  to  divide  the  prey. 
When  the  fair  spirit  returned  at  last  to  visit  her  valley, 
she  wept  to  see  the  desolation,  and  she  knelt  upon  the 
dome,  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  succor.  God 
heard,  and  stooping  from  his  place,  he  clove  the  dome 
upon  which  she  stood,  and  the  granite  was  riven  beneath 
her  feet,  and  the  melted  snows  of  the  Nevada  rushed 
through  the  gorge,  bearing  fertility  upon  their  cool  bosom. 
A  beautiful  lake  was  formed  between  the  cloven  walls  of 
the  mountain,  and  a  river  issued  from  it  to  feed  the 
valley  for  ever.  Then  sang  the  birds  as  of  old,  laving  their 
bodies  in  the  water,  and  the  odor  of  flowers  rose  like  a 
pleasant  incense,  and  the  trees  put  forth  their  buds,  and 
the  corn  shot  up  to  meet  the  sun  and  rustled  when  the 
breeze  crept  through  the  tall  stalks. 

Tisayac  moved  away  as  she  had  come,  and  none  knew 
whither  she  went;  but  the  people  called  the  dome  by 
her  name,  as  it  is  indeed  known  to  this  day.  After  her 


126  PHYSICAL  MYTHS. 

departure  the  chief  returned  from  his  weary  quest;  and 
as  he  heard  that  the  winged  one  had  visited  the  valley, 
the  old  madness  crept  up  into  his  eyes  and  entered, 
seven  times  worse  than  at  the  first,  into  his  empty  soul ; 
he  turned  his  back  on  the  lodges  of  his  people.  His  last 
act  was  to  cut  with  his  hunting-knife  the  outline  of  his 
face  upon  a  lofty  rock,  so  that  if  he  never  returned  his 
memorial  at  least  should  remain  with  them  forever.  He 
never  did  return  from  that  hopeless  search,  but  the 
graven  rock  was  called  Totokonula,  after .  his  name, 
and  it  may  be  still  seen,  three  thousand  feet  high,  guard- 
ing the  entrance  of  the  beautiful  valley.43 

Leaving  this  locality  and  subject,  I  may  remark  that 
the  natives  have  named  the  Pohono  Fall,  in  the  same 
valley,  after  an  evil  spirit;  many  persons  having  been 
swept  over  and  dashed  to  pieces  there.  No  native  of  the 
vicinity  will  so  much  as  point  at  this  fall  when  going 
through  the  valley,  nor  could  anything  tempt  one  of 
them  to  sleep  near  it ;  for  the  ghosts  of  the  drowned  are 
tossing  in  its  spray,  and  their  wail  is  heard  forever  above 
the  hiss  of  its  rushing  waters.44 

«  Hwtchings'  Col.  Mag.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  197-9. 
"Hutchings'  Col.  Mag,,  vol.  iv.,  p.  243. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ANIMAL    MYTHOLOGY. 

HOLES  ASSIGNED  TO  ANIMALS— AUGURIES  FROM  THEIK  MOVEMENTS — THE  ILL- 
OMENED  OWL— TUTELARY  ANIMALS — METAMORPHOSED  MEN — THE  OGRESS- 
SQUIRREL  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND—  MONKEYS  AND  BEAVERS — FALLEN  MEN 
— THE  SACRED  ANIMALS — PROMINENCE  OF  THE  BIRD — AN  EMBLEM  OF 
THE  WIND — THE  SERPENT,  AN  EMBLEM  OF  THE  LIGHTNING — NOT  SPE- 
CIALLY CONNECTED  WITH  EviL — THE  SERPENT  OF  THE  PUEBLOS THE 

WATER-SNAKE — OPHIOLATRY — PROMINENCE  OF  THE  DOG,  OR  THE  COYOTE 
— GENERALLY  THOUGH  NOT  ALWAYS  A  BENEVOLENT  POWER — How  THE 
COYOTE  LET  SALMON  UP  THE  KLAMATH — DANSE  MACABRE  AND  SAD 
DEATH  OF  THE  COYOTE. 

The  reader  must  have  already  noticed  the  strange  roles 
filled  by  animals  in  the  creeds  of  the  Native  Races  of  the 
Pacific  States.  Beasts  and  birds  and  fishes  fetch  arid 
carry,  talk  and  act,  in  a  way  that  leaves  even  ^Esop's  heroes 
in  the  shade ;  while  a  mysterious  and  inexplicable  influence 
over  human  destiny  is  often  accorded  to  them.  It  is  of 
course  impossible  to  say  precisely  how  much  of  all  this  is 
metaphorical,  and -how  much  is  held  as  soberly  and 
literally  true.  Probably  the  proportion  varies  all  the 
way  from  one  extreme  to  the  other  among  different 
nations,  and  among  peoples  of  different  stages  of  culture 
in  the  same  nation.  They  spake  only  in  part,  these 
priests  and  prophets  of  barbaric  cults,  and  we  can  under- 
stand only  in  part;  we  cannot  solve  the  dark  riddle  of 
the  past ;  we  can  oftenest  only  repeat  it,  and  even  that  in 
a  more  or  less  imperfect  manner. 

The  Mexicans  had  their  official  augurs  and  sooth- 

(127) 


128  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

sayers,  who  divined  much  as  did  their  brethren  of  classic 
times.  The  people  also  drew  omen  and  presage  from 
many  things:  from  the  howling  of  wild  beasts  at  night; 
the  singing  of  certain  birds ;  the  hooting  of  the  owl ;  a 
weasel  crossing  a  traveler's  path;  a  rabbit  running  into 
its  burrow;  from  the  chance  movements  of  worms,  bee- 
tles, ants,  frogs,  and  mice;  and  so  on  in  detail.1 

The  owl  seems  to  have  been  in  many  places  considered 
a  bird  of  ill  omen.  Among  all  the  tribes  visited  by  Mr 
Lord,  from  the  Fraser  River  to  tbe  Saint  Lawrence,  this 
bird  was  portentously  sacred,  and  was  a  favorite  decora- 
tion of  the  medicine-men.  To  come  on  an  owl  at  an 
unusual  time,  in  daylight  for  example,  and  to  hear  its 
mystic  cry,  were  things  not  desirable  of  any  that  loved 
fulness  of  pleasure  and  length  of  days.2  In  California, 
by  the  tribes  on  the  Russian  River,  owls  were  held  to  be 
devils  or  evil  spirits  incarnate.3 

We  often  find  an  animal  adopted  in  much  the  same 
way  as  a  patron  saint  was  selected  by  the  mediaeval  knight. 
The  Hyperborean  lad,  for  example,  when  he  reaches  man- 
hood, takes  some  beast  or  fish  or  bird  to  be  his  patron,  and 
the  spirit  connected  with  that  animal  is  supposed  to  guard 
him.  LTnlike  most  Indians,  the  Eskimo  will  have  no 
hesitation  in  killing  an  animal  of  his  tutelary  species; 
he  is  only  careful  to  wear  a  piece  of  its  skin  or  bone, 
which  he  regards  as  an  amulet,  which  it  were  to  him  a 
serious  misfortune  to  lose.  Prolonged  ill  luck  some- 
times leads  a  man  to  change  his  patron  beast  for  another. 
The  spirits  connected  with  the  deer,  the  seal,  the  salmon, 
and  the  beluga  are  regarded  by  all  with  special  venera- 
tion.4 

The  Mexicans  used  to  allot  certain  animals  to  certain 
parts  of  the  .body ;  perhaps  in  much  the  same  way  as 
astrologers  and  alchymists  used  to  connect  the  stars  of 
heaven  with  different  substances  and  persons.  The  fol- 
lowing twenty  Mexican  symbols  were  supposed  to  rule 

1  Sakayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  v.,  pp.  1-14,  ap.  pp.  25-6. 
8  Lord's  Naturalist  in  Vancouver  Island,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  32-4. 
3  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 
<  Dall's  Alaska,  p.  145. 


THE  HUMANITY  OF  ANIMALS.  129 

over  the  various  members  of  the  human  bodyr  The  sign 
of  the  deer,  over  the  right  foot;  of  the  tiger,  over  the 
left  foot;  of  the  eagle,  over  the  right  hand;  of  the 
monkey,  over  the  left  hand;  of  death, — represented  by 
a  skull, — over  the  skull ;  of  water,  over  the  hair ;  of  the 
house,  over  the  brow ;  of  rain,  over  the  eyes ;  of  the  dog, 
over  the  nose ;  of  the  vulture,  over  the  right  ear ;  of  the 
rabbit,  over  the  left  ear;  of  the  earthquake,  over  the 
tongue ;  of  flint,  over  the  teeth ;  of  air,  over  the  breath ; 
of  the  rose,  over  the  breast ;  of  the  cane,  over  the  heart ; 
of  wind,  over  the  lungs — as  appears  from  the  plate  in  the 
Codex  Vaticanus,  the  Italian  interpreter  giving,  how- 
ever, "  over  the  liver;"  of  the  grass,  over  the  intestines; 
of  the  lizard,  over  the  loins;  and  of  the  serpent, over  the 
genitals.5 

Sometimes  the  whole  life  and  being  of  a  man  was 
supposed  to  be  bound  up  in  the  bundle  with  that  of  some 
animal.  Thus,  of  the  Guatemaltecs,  old  Gage  quaintly 
enough  writes:  "  Many  are  deluded  by  the  Devil  to  be- 
lieve that  their  life  dependeth  upon  the  life  of  such  and 
such  a  beast  (which  they  take  unto  them  as  their  familiar 
spirit)  and  think  that  when  that  beast  dieth  they  must 
die;  when  he  is  chased  their  hearts  pant;  when  he  is 
faint  they  are  faint;  nay  it  happeneth  that  by  the  devil's 
delusion  they  appear  in  the  shape  of  that  beast.  "f 

Animals  are  sometimes  only  men  in  disguise;  and 
this  is  the  idea  often  to  be  found  at  the  bottom  of  that 
sacredness  which  among  particular  tribes  is  ascribed  to 
particular  animals. 

The  Thlinkeet  will  kill  a  bear  only  in  case  of  great 
necessity,  for  the  bear  is  supposed  to  be  a  man  that  has 
taken  the  shape  of  an  animal.  We  do  not  know  if  they 
think  the  same  of  the  albatross,  but  they  certainly  will 

5  Codex  Vaticanus  (Max.),  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ii.,  plate  75; 
Spiegazione  ddle    Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),   in  Kingsborough's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  197,  tav.  Ixxv.;  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in 
Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  222-3,  plate  Ixxv.    It  will  be  seen 
that  I  have  trusted  more  to  the  plate  itself  than  to  the  Italian  explanation. 
As  to  Kingsborough's  translation  of  that  explanation,  it  is  nothing  but  a  glosa 
with  additions  to  and  omissions  from  the  original. 

6  Gage's  New  Survey,  p.  334. 

VOL.  III.    9 


130  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

not  kill  this  bird,  believing,  like  mariners  ancient  and 
modern,  that  such  a  misdeed  would  be  followed  by  bad 
weather.7 

Among  the  natives  seen  by  Mr  Lord  on  Vancouver  Is- 
land, ill-luck  is  supposed  to  attend  the  profane  killing  of 
the  ogress-squirrel,  and  the  conjurers  wear  its  skin  as  a 
strong  charm  among  their  other  trumpery.  As  tradition 
tells,  there  once  lived  there  a  monstrous  old  woman  with 
wolfish  teeth,  and  finger-nails  like  claws.  She  ate  chil- 
dren, this  old  hag,  wiling  them  to  her  .with  cunning 
and  oily  words,  and  many  were  the  broken  hearts  and 
empty  cradles  that  she  left.  One  poor  Rachel,  weeping 
for  her  child  and  not  to  be  comforted  because  it  was  not, 
cries  aloud:  Oh,  Great  Spirit,  Great  Medicine,  save  my 
son,  in  any  way,  in  any  form!  And  the  great,  good 
Father,  looking  down  upon  the  red  mother  pities  her; 
lo,  the  child's  soft  brown  skin  turns  to  fur,  and  there 
slides  from  the  ogress's  grip  no  child,  but  the  happiest, 
liveliest,  merriest  little  squirrel  of  all  the  west — but 
bearing,  as  its  descendants  still  bear,  those  four  dark 
lines  along  the  back  that  show  where  the  cruel  claws 
plowed  into  it  escaping.8 

Where  monkeys  are  found,  the  idea  seems  often  to 
have  occurred  to  men,  to  account  for  the  resemblance  of 
the  monkey  to  the  man  by  making  of  the  first  a  fallen 
or  changed  form  of  the  latter.  We  have  already  seen 
how  the  third  Quiche  destruction  of  the  human  race  ter- 
minated thus ;  and  how  the  hurricane-ended  Sun  of  the 
Air  in  Mexican  mythology,  also  left  men  in  the  apish 
state.  The  intelligence  of  beavers  may  have  been  the 
means  of  winning  them  a  similar  distinction.  The  Flat- 
head  says  these  animals  are  a  fallen  race  of  Indians, 
condemned  for  their  wickedness  to  this  form,  but  who 
will  yet,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  be  restored  to  their  hu- 
manity.9 

As  we  shall  see  more  particularly,  when  we  come  to 

7  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  p.  30. 

8  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  52-4. 

9  Cox's  Adven.,  vol.  i.,  p.  253. 


SACEEDNESS  OF  CERTAIN  BRUTES.         131 

deal  with  the  question  of  the  future  life,  it  was  a  com- 
mon idea  that  the  soul  of  the  dead  took  an  animal  shape, 
sometimes  inhabiting  another  world,  sometimes  this. 
The  Thlinkeets,  for  example,  believed  that  their  shamans 
used  to  have  interviews  with  certain  spirits  of  the  dead 
that  appeared  to  them  in  two  forms,  some  as  land  ani- 
mals, some  as  marine.10 

The  Californians  round  San  Diego  will  not  eat  the 
flesh  of  large  game,  believing  such  animals  are  inhabited 
by  the  souls  of  generations  of  people  that  have  died  ages 
ago ;  i  eater  of  venison ! '  is  a  term  of  reproach  among 
them.11 

The  Pimos  and  Maricopas  had,  if  Bartlett's  account 
be  correct,  some  curious  and  unusual  ideas  regarding 
their  future  state;  saying  that  the  several  parts  of 
the  body  should  be  changed  into  separate  animals;  the 
head  would  perhaps  take  the  form  of  an  owl,  the  feet 
become  wolves,  and  so  on,12  The  Moquis  supposed  that 
at  death  they  should  be  severally  changed  into  animals 
— bears,  deer,  and  such  beasts;  which  indeed,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  they  believed  to  have  been  their  ori- 
ginal form.13 

Different  reasons  are  given  by  different  tribes  for 
holding  certain  animals  sacred ;  some  of  these  we  have 
already  had  occasion  to  notice.  Somewhat  different 
from  most,  however,  is  that  given  by  the  Northern-Indian 
branch  of  the  Tinneh,  for  not  eating  the  flesh  of  foxes, 
wolves,  ravens,  and  so  on.  This  tribe  are  accustomed  to 
abandon  the  bodies  of  their  dead  wherever  they  happen 
to  fall,  leaving  them  to  the  maws  of  kites  or  of  any  other 
animals  of  prey  in  the  neighborhood ;  therefore  nothing 
but  the  extrernest  necessity  can  force  any  member  of  the 
nation  to  make  use  of  such  animals  as  food.1* 

Certain  natives  of  Guatemala  in  the  province  of  Acalan, 
called  by  Villagutierre  Mazotecas,  kept  deer  in  so  tame  a 

w  Doll's  Alaska,  pp.  422-3. 

11  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  215. 

»2  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  222. 

13  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  86. 

**  Hearne's  Journey,  p.  341 . 


132  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

state  that  they  were  easily  killed  by  the  least  active  soldiers.1 
These  deer  were  held  as  sacred  b}^  the  inhabitants;  for 
tradition  told  them  that  their  greatest  god  had  visited 
them  in  this  figure.15  The  Apaches  greatly  respect  the 
bear,  neither  killing  him  nor  tasting  his  flesh.  They 
think  that  there  are  spirits  of  divine  origin  within  or 
connected  with  the  eagle,  the  owl,  and  all  birds  perfectly 
white.  Swine,  they  hold  to  be  wholly  unclean.16  Some 
animals  are  sacred  to  particular  gods:  with  the  Zuiiis, 
the  frog,  the  turtle,  and  the  rattlesnake  w^re  either  con- 
sidered as  specially  under  the  protection  of  Montezuma, 
—here  considered  as  the  god  of  rain, — or  they  were  them- 
selves the  lesser  divinities  of  water.17 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  guard  against  being  mis- 
led by  names.  Thus  the  natives  of  Nicaragua  had  gods 
whose  name  was  that  of  a  rabbit  or  a  deer;  yet  these 
animals  were  not  considered  as  gods.  The  identity  of 
name  went  only  to  say  that  such  and  such  wrere  the  gods 
to  be  invoked  in  hunting  such  and  such  animals.18 

The  reader  must  have  already  noticed  how  important 
is  the  part  assigned  to  birds  in  our  mythology,  especially 
in  creation-myths.  A  great  bird  is  the  agent  of  the  chief 
deity,  perhaps  the  chief  deity  himself.  The  sweep  of. 
his  wings  is  thunder ;  the  lightnings  are  the  'glances  of 
his  eyes.19  Chipewyans,  Thlinkeets,  Atnas,  Koltschanes, 
Kenai,  and  other  nations  give  this  being  great  prominence 
in  their  legends. 

Brinton  believes  this  bird  to  be  the  emblem  of  the  wind, 
to  be  "  a  relic  of  the  cosmogonal  myth  which  explained 
the  origin  of  the  world  from  the  action  of  the  winds,  un- 


15  Vtilagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p.  43. 

w  Charlton,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  209. 

17  Whlpple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner's  liept.,  pp.  39-40,  *in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept., 
vol.  iii. 

18  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  iv.r  pp.  54-5. 

19  Swinburne,  Anadoria,  has  found  an  allied  idea  worthy  of  his  sublime 
verse: — 

'  Cast  forth  of  heaven,  with  feet  of  awful  gold, 
And  pluineless  wings  that  make  the  bright  air  blind, 
Lightning,  with  thunder  for  a  hound  behind, 
Hunting  through  fields  unfurrowed  and  unsown — ' 


THE  WIND  OB  THUNDER  BIED.  133 

der  the  image  of  the  bird,  on  the  primeval  ocean;"20  and 
his  view  is  probably  correct  in  many  cases. 

The  savage  is  ever  ready  to  be  smitten  by  natural 
powers.  Ignorant  and  agape  with  wonder,  is  it  unnatural 
that  he  should  regard,  with  a  superstitious  awe  and  re- 
spect, the  higher  and  more  peculiar  animal  gifts,  relating 
them  to  like  physical  powers,  and  managing  to  mix  and 
confuse  the  whole  by  a  strange  synthesis  of  philosophy  ? 
Birds  flew,  the  winds  flew ;  the  birds  were  of  the  kith  of 
the  winds,  and  the  winds  were  of  the  kin  of  the  gods 
who  are  over  all.  Poor,  weary,  painted  man,  who  could 
only  toil  dustily  along,  footsore  and  perhaps  heartsore, 
with  strange  longings  that  venison  and  bear-meat  could 
not  satisfy, — was  it  very  wonderful  if  the  throbbing 
music  and  upward  flight  of  the  clear-throated  and  swift- 
winged  were  to  him  very  mysterious  and  sacred  things  ? 
u  All  living  beings,"  say  the  north-eastern  Eskimos, 
"  have  the  faculty  of  soul,  but  especially  the  bird."  From 
the  flight  and  song  of  birds,  the  Mexican  divined  and 
shadowed  forth  the  unborn  shapes  of  the  to-come.  He 
died  too,  if  he  died  in  an  odor  of  warlike  sanctity,  in 
the  strong  faith  that  his  soul  should  ultimately  take  the 
form  of  a  bird  and  twitter  through  the  ages  in  the  purple 
shadows  of  the  trees  of  paradise.21 

The  Kailtas  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Trinity  in  Cali- 
co Brintoris  Myths,  p.  205.     The  Norse  belief  is  akin  to  this: — 
'  The  giant  Hrsuelgur, 
At  the  end  of  heaven, 
Sits  in  an  eagle's  form; 
'Tis  said  that  from  his  wings 
The  cold  winds  sweep 
Over  all  the  nations.' 

Vafthrudvers  maal;  Grenville  Pigott's 
translation,  in  Scandinavian  Mythology,  p.  27. 

Scott,  Pirate,  chap,  v.,  in  the  '  Song  of  the  Tempest,'  which  he  translates 
from  Norna's  mouth,  shows  that  the  same  idea  is  still  found  in  the  Shetland 
Islands : — 

Stern  eagle  of  the  far  north-west, 
Thou  that  bearest  in  thy  grasp  the  thunderbolt, 
Thou  whose  rushing  pinions  stir  ocean  to  madness, 
Cease  thou  the  waving  of  thy  pinions, 
Let  the  ocean  repose  in  her  dark  strength; 
Cease  thou  the  flashing  of  thine  eyes, 
Let  the  thunderbolt  sleep  in  the  armory  of  Odin.' 

21  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i,  lib.  iii.,  p.  265;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5. 


134  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

fornia,  though  they  do  not  turn  the  soul  into  a  bird,  do 
say  that  as  it  leaves  the  body  a  little  bird  carries  it  up  to 
the  spirit-land.22 

The  Spaniards  of  Vizcaino's  expedition,  in  1602, 
found  the  Californians  of  Santa  Catalina  Island  venerat- 
ing two  great  black  crows,  which,  according  to  Sefior 
Galan,  were  probably  a  species  of  bird  known  in  Mexico 
as  rey  de  los  zopilotes,  or  king  of  turkey-buzzards;  he 
adding  that  these  birds  are  still  the  objects  of  respect 
and  devotion  among  most  Californian  tribes.23 

As  another  symbol,  sign,  or  type  of  the  supernatural, 
the  serpent  would  naturally  suggest  itself  at  an  early 
date  to  man.  Its  stealthy,  subtle,  sinuous  motion,  the 
glittering  fascination  of  its  eyes,  the  silent  deathly  thrust 
of  its  channeled  fangs,— what  marvel  if  the  foolishest 
of  men,  like  the  wisest  of  kings,  should  say  "  I  know  it 
not;  it  is  a  thing  too  wonderful  for  me?"  It  seems  to 
be  immortal :  every  spring-time  it  cast  off  and  crept  from 
its  former  skin,  a  crawling  unburnt  phoenix,  a  new  ani- 
mal. 

Schwartz,  of  Berlin,  affirms,  from  deep  research  in 
Greek  and  German  mythology,  that  the  paramount 
germinal  idea  in  this  wide-spread  serpent-emblem  is  the 
lightning,  and  Dr.  Brinton  develops  the  same  opinion  at 
some  length.24 

Tlaloc,  the  Aztec  rain-god,  held  in  his  hand  a  ser- 
pent-shaped piece  of  gold,  representing  most  probably 
the  lightning.  Hurakan,  of  the  Quiche  legends, 
is  otherwise  the  Strong  Serpent,  he  who  hurls 
below,  referring  in  all  likelihood  to  storm  powers  as 
thunderer.25  This  view  being  accepted,  the  lightning- 

22  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

23  Torquemada,  Moimrq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  713:    'The  entire  tribes  of  the 
Calif orniaii  Indiania  [sic]  appear  to  have  had  a  great  devotion  and  venera- 
tion for  the  Condor  or  Yellow-headed  Vulture.'    Taylor,  in  Gal.  Farmer,  May 
25th,  1800.      '  Cathartes  Californianus,  the  largest  rapacious  bird  of  North 
Americe.'    Baird's  Birds  of  N.  Am.,  p.  5.     'This  bird  is  an  object  of  great 
veneration  or  worship  among  the  Indian  tribes  of  every  portion  of  the  state .' 
Reid,  in  Los  Angeles  Star. 

24  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  112. 

*J  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind  ,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  46-71;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  14-15;  Gamer,  Dos  Pudras,  pt.  ii.,  pp.  76-7. 


THE  CKOSS  AND  THE  FOUE  WINDS.  135 

serpent  is  the  type  of  fruitfulness ;  the  thunder 
storm  being  inseparably  joined  with  the  thick,  fer- 
tilizing summer  showers.26  Born,  too,  in  the  middle 
heaven,  of  a  cloud  mother  and  of  an  Ixion  upon  whom 
science  cannot  yet  place  her  finger,  amid  moaning  breeze 
and  threatening  tempest,  the  lightning  is  surely  also 
akin  to  the  wind  and  to  the  bird  that  is  their  symbol. 
The  amalgamation  of  these  powers  in  one  deity  seems  to 
be  what  is  indicated  by  such  names  as  Quetzalcoatl, 
Gucumatz,  Cukulcan,  all  titles  of  the  God  of  the  Air  in 
different  American  languages,  and  all  signifying  '  Bird- 
Serpent.'  , 

In  a  tablet  on  the  wall  of  a  room  at  Palenque  is  a 
cross  surmounted  by  a  bird,  and  supported  by  what  ap- 
pears to  be  the  head  of  a  serpent:  "The  cross,"  says 
Brinton,  "  is  the  symbol  of  the  four  winds;  the  bird  and 
serpent,  the  rebus  of  the  air  god,  their  ruler." 

It  does  not  appear  that  savages  attach  any  special  signi- 
ficance of  evil  to  the  snake,  though  the  prepossessions 
of  early  writers  almost  invariably  blind  them  on  this 
point.27  This  rule  is  not  without  its  exceptions  however ; 
the  Apaches  hold  that  every  rattlesnake  contains  the 
soul  of  a  bad  man  or  is  an  emissary  of  the  Evil  Spirit.28 
The  Piutes  of  Nevada  have  a  demon-deity  in  the  form 
of  a  serpent  still  supposed  to  exist  in  the  waters  of  Pyra- 
mid Lake.  The  wind  when  it  sweeps  down  among  the 
nine  islands  of  the  lake  drives  the  waters  into  the  most 
fantastic  swirls  and  eddies,  even  when  the  general  surface 
of  the  lake  is  tolerably  placid.  This,  say  the  Piutes,  is 
the  devil-snake  causing  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot;  this 
is  the  old  serpent  seeking  whom  he  may  devour ;  and  no 
native  in  possession  of  his  five  sober  wits  will  be  found 
steering  toward  those  troubled  waters  at  such  a  time.29 

.  In  the  Pueblo  cities,  among  the  Pecos  especially,  there 
existed  in  early  times  an  immense  serpent,  supposed  to 
be  sacred,  and  which,  according  to  some  accounts,  was 

26  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Urreliyionen,  p.  500. 

27  Tylor'sPrim.  Cidt.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  217. 

28  Charlton,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  209. 

»  Virginia  City  Chronicle,  in  S.  F.  Daily  Eug  Post,  of  Aug.  12th,  1872. 


136  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

fed  with  the  flesh  of  his  devotees.  Gregg  heard  an 
"honest  ranchero"  relate  how,  one  snowy  morning,  he 
had  come  upon  this  terrible  reptile's  trail,  "  large  as  that 
of  a  dragging  ox;"  the  ranchero  did  not,  pursue  the  in- 
vestigation farther,  not  obtruding  his  science,  such  as  it 
was,  upon  his  religion.  This  serpent  was  supposed  to 
be  specially  connected  with  Montezuma,  and  with  rain 
phenomena:  it  is  often  called  "  the  great  water-snake." 
It  was  described  to  Whipple  "  as  being  as  large  round 
as  a  man's  body;  and  of  exceeding  great  length,  slowly 
gliding  upon  the  water,  with  long  wavy  folds  "  like  the 
Nahant  sea-serpent, — to  Mollhausen,  as  being  a  great 
rattlesnake,  possessor  of  power  over  seas,  lakes,  rivers  and 
rain;  as  thick  as  many  men  put  together,  and  much 
longer  than  all  the  snakes  in  the  world ;  moving  in  great 
curves  and  destroying  wicked  men.  The  Pueblo  In- 
dians prayed  to  it  for  rain  and  revered  its  mysterious 
powers.30 

A  people,  called  by  Castaiieda  Tahus,  apparently  of 
Sinaloa  in  the  neighborhood  of  Culiacan,  regarded  cer- 
tain large  serpents  with  sentiments  of  great  veneration 
if  not  of  worship.31  These  reptiles  seem  also  to  have 
been  regarded  with  considerable  reverence  in  Yucatan. 
In  1517,  Bernal  Diaz  noticed  many  figures  of  serpents  in 
a  temple  he  saw  at  Campeche.  Juan  de  Grijalva,  also, 
found  at  the  same  time  many  such  figures  at  Champoton, 
among  other  idols  of  clay  and  wood.32 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  Mexican  Tlaloc  and  of 
the  frequent  appearance  of  the  serpent  in  his  worship; 
it  does  not  appear,  however,  notwithstanding  Mr  Squier's 
assertion  to  the  contrary,  that  that  the  serpent  was  actu- 
ally worshiped  either  in  Yucatan  or  Mexico.  Bernal 
Diaz,  indeed,  says  positively  in  one  passage,  speaking  of 

30  Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  pp.  271-2;  Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner's 
Rept.,  pp.  38-9,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rtpt.,  vol.  iii.;  Mdlllmusen,  Tagebuch,  p.  170; 
Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  1(34-5.  Certain  later  travelers  deny  all  the 
foregoing  as  'fiction  and  fable;'  meaning,  probably,  that  they  saw  nothing 
of  it,  or  that  it  does  not  exist  at  present.  Wand,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1864,  p. 
193;  Meline's  Two  Thousand  Mies.  p.  '256. 

si  Castnneda,  Voy.  de  Cibola,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voyages,  serie  i.,  torn. 
ix.,  p.  150. 

3*  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Cong.,  fol.  3,  8. 


THE  DOG  OF  AMEEICAN  MYTHOLOGY.  137 

a  town  called  Tenayuca,  that  "  they  worshiped  here,  in 
their  chief  temple,  three  serpents;"  but  the  stout  soldier 
was  not  one  to  make  fine  distinctions  between  gods  and 
their  attributes  or  symbols ;  nor,  even  with  the  best  in- 
tentions, was  he  or  any  other  of  the  conquistadores  in  a 
position  to  do  justice  to  the  faith  of  '  gentiles.' 33 

We  shall  hereafter  find  the  serpent  closely  connected 
with  Quetzalcoatl  in  many  of  his  manifestations,  as  well 
as  with  others  of  the  Mexican  gods. 

From  the  serpent  let  us  turn  to  the  dog,  with  his  rela- 
tions the  wolf  and  coyote,  an  animal  holding  a  respecta- 
ble place  in  American  mythology.  We  have  seen  how 
many  tribes  derive,  figuratively  or  literally,  their  origin 
from  him,  and  how  often  he  becomes  legendarily  impor- 
tant as  the  hero  of  some  adventure  or  the  agent  of  some 
deity.  He  is  generally  brought  before  us  in  a  rather 
benevolent  aspect,  though  an  exception  occurs  to  this  in 
the  case  of  the  Chinooks  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 
With  these  the  coyote  figures  as  the  chosen  medium  for 
the  action  of  the  Evil  Spirit  toward  any  given  malevo- 
lent end, — as  the  form  taken  by  the  Evil  One  to  coun- 
teract some  beneficence  of  the  Good  Spirit  toward  the 
poor  Indian  whom  he  loves.34 

Very  different  from  this  is  the  character  of  that  Coyote 
of  the  Cahrocs  whose  good  deeds  we  have  so  often  had 
occasion  to  set  forth.  One  feat  of  his  yet  remains  to  be 
told. — how  he  stocked  the  river  with  salmon.  Chareya, 
the  creator,  had  made  salmon,  but  he  had  put  them  in 
the  big-water,  and  made  a  great  fish-dam  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Klamath,  so  that  they  could  not  go  up;  and  this 
dam  was  closed  with  something  of  the  nature  of  a  white 
man's  key,  which  key  was  given  in  charge  to  two  old 
hags,  not  wholly  unfamiliar  to  us,  to  keep  and  watch 
over  it  night  and  day,  so  that  no  Cahroc  should  get  near 
it.  Now  fish  being  wanting  to  the  Cahrocs,  they  were 
sorely  pushed  by  hunger,  and  the  voice  of  women  and 

33  Berried  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  136;   Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  105. 

34  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  218. 


138  ANIMAL  MYTHOLOGY. 

little  children  was  heard  imploring  food.  The  Coyote 
determined  to  help  them ;  he  swore  by  the  stool  of  Cha- 
reya  that  before  another  moon  their  lodges  should  drip 
with  salmon,  and  the  very  dogs  be  satisfied  withal.  So 
he  traveled  down  the  Klamath  many  days'  journey  till 
he  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  saw  the  big- water 
and  heard  the  thunder  of  its  waves.  Up  he  went  to  the 
hut  of  the  old  women,  rapped,  and  asked  hospitality  for 
the  night;  and  he  was  so  polite  and  debonair  that  the 
crones  could  find  no  excuse  for  refusing  him.  He 
entered  the  place  and  threw  himself  down  by  the  fire, 
warming  himself  while  they  prepared  salmon  for  supper, 
which  they  ate  without  offering  him  a  bite.  All  night 
long  he  lay  by  the  fire  pretending  to  sleep,  but  thinking 
over  his  plans  and  waiting  for  the  event  that  should  put 
him  in  possession  of  the  mighty  key  that  he  saw  hanging 
so  high  above  his  reach.  In  the  morning  one  of  the 
hags  took  down  the  key  and  started  off  toward  the  dam 
to  get  some  fish  for  breakfast.  Like  a  flash  the  Coyote 
leaped  at  her,  hurling  himself  between  her  feet;  heels 
over  head  she  pitched,  and  the  key  flew  far  from  her 
hands.  Before  she  well  knew  what  had  hurt  her  the 
Coyote  stood  at  the  dam  with  the  key  in  his  teeth, 
wrenching  at  the  fastenings.  They  gave  way;  and  with  a 
great  roar  the  green  water  raced  through,  all  ashine  with 
salmon,  utterly  destroying  and  breaking  down  the  dam, 
so  that  ever  after  fish  found  free  way  up  the  Klamath. 

The  end  of  the  poor  Coyote  was  rather  sad,  considering 
his  kindness  of  heart  and  the  many  services  he  had  ren- 
dered the  Cahrocs.  Like  too  many  great  personages,  he 
grew  proud  and  puffed  up  with  the  adulation  of  flatterers 
and  sycophants, — proud  of  his  courage  and  cunning,  and 
of  the  success  that  had  crowned  his  great  enterprises  for 
the  good  of  mankind, — proud  that  he  had  twice  deceived 
and  outwitted  the  guardian  hags  to  whom  Chareya  had 
entrusted  the  fire  and  the  salmon, — so  proud  that  he 
determined  to  have  a  dance  through  heaven  itself,  hav- 
ing chosen  as  his  partner  a  certain  star  that  used  to  pass 
quite  close  by  a  mountain  where  he  spent  a  good  deal  of 


COYOTES  MUST  NOT  DANCE  WITH  STAKS.  139 

his  time.  So  he  called  out  to  the  star  to  take  him  by 
the  paw  and  they  would  go  round  the  world  together  for 
a  night;  but  the  star  only  laughed,  and  winked  in  an 
excessively  provoking  way  from  time  to  time.  The 
Coyote  persisted  angrily  in  his  demand,  and  barked  and 
barked  at  the  star  all  round  heaven,  till  the  twinkling 
thing  grew  tired  of  his  noise  and  told  him  to  be  quiet 
and  he  should  be  taken  next  night.  Next  night  the  star 
came  quite  up  close  to  the  cliff  where  the  Coyote  stood, 
who  leaping  was  able  to  catch  on.  Away  they  danced 
together  through  the  blue  heavens.  Fine  sport  it  was 
for  a  while ;  but  oh,  it  grew  bitter  cold  up  there  for  a 
Coyote  of  the  earth,  and  it  was  an  awful  sight  to  look 
down  to  where  the  broad  Klamath  lay  like  a  slack  bow- 
string and  the  Cahroc  villages  like  arrow-heads.  Woe 
for  the  Coyote !  his  numb  paws  have  slipped  their  hold 
on  his  bright  companion ;  dark  is  the  partner  that  leads 
the  dance  now,  and  the  name  of  him  is  Death.  Ten 
long  snows  the  Coyote  is  in  falling,  and  when  he  strikes 
the  earth  he  is  "  smashed  as  flat  as  a  willow-mat". — 
Coyotes  must  not  dance  with  stars.35 

35  Power's  Porno,  MS.;  Boscana,  in  Robuison's  Life  in  Oal.,  pp.  259-262, 
describes  certain  other  Californians  as  worshiping  for  their  chief  god  some- 
thing in  the  form  of  a  stuffed  coyote. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

ESKIMO  WITCHCRAFT  —  THE  TINNEH  AND  THE  KONIAGAS — KUGANS  OF  THE 
ALEUTS — THE  THLIXKEETS,  THE  HAIDAHS,  AND  THE  NOOTKAS — PARADISE 
LOST  OP  THE  OKANAGANS — THE  SALISH,  THE  CLALLAMS,  THE  CHINOOKS, 
THE  CAYUSES,  THE  WALLA  WALLAS,  AND  THE  NEZ  PERCES— SHOSHONE 
GHOULS — NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA — THE  SUN  AT  MONTEREY — OUIOT  AND 
CHINIGCHINICH  —  ANTAGONISTIC  GODS  OF  LOWEE  CALIFORNIA  —  COMAN- 
CHES,  APACHES,  AND  NAVAJOS — MONTEZUMA  OF  THE  PUEBLOS — MOQDIS 
AND  MOJAVES — PRIMEVAL  EACE  OF  NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 

We  now  come  to  the  broadest,  whether  or  not  it 
be  the  most  important,  branch  of  our  subject,  namely, 
the  gods  and  spirits  that  men  worship  or  know  of. 
Gommencing  at  the  extreme  north,  we  shall  follow 
them  through  the  various  nations  of  our  territory 
toward  the  south.  Very  wild  and  conflicting  is  the 
general  mass  of  evidence  bearing  on  a  belief  in 
supernatural  existences.  Not  only  from  the  nature 
of  the  subject  is  it  allied  to  questions  and  matters 
the  most  abstruse  and  transcendental, — in  the  ex- 
pression of  which  the  exactest  dialectic  terminology 
must  often  be  at  fault ;  much  more  the  rude  and  stam- 
mering speech  of  savages — but  it  is  also  apt  to  call  up 
prejudices  of  the  most  warping  and  contradictory  kind 
in  the  minds  of  those  through  whose  relation  it  must 
pass  to  us.  However  hopeless  the  task,  I  will  strive  to 
hold  an  equal  beam  of  historical  truth,  and  putting  away 
speculations  of  either  extreme,  try  to  give  the  naked 
expression  of  the  belief  of  the  peoples  we  deal  with,— 


ESKIMO  SHA.MA1NISM.  Ul 

however  stupid,  however  absurd, — and  not  what  they 
ought  to  believe,  or  may  be  supposed  to  believe,  accord- 
ing to  the  ingenious  speculations  of  different  theorists. 

The  Eskimos  do  not  appear  to  recognize  any  supreme 
deity,  but  only  an  indefinite  number  of  supernatural 
beings  varying  in  name,  power,  and  character — the  evil 
seeming  to  predominate.  They  carry  on  the  person  a 
small  ivory  image  rudely  carved  to  represent  some  ani- 
mal, as  a  kind  of  talisman ;  these  are  thought  to  further 
success  in  hunting,  fishing  and  other  pursuits,  but  can 
hardly  be  looked  upon  with  any  great  reverence,  as  they 
are  generally  to  be  bought  of  their  owners  for  a  reasona- 
ble price.  All  supernatural  business  is  transacted  through 
the  medium  of  shamans ; — functionaries  answering  to  the 
medicine-men  of  eastern  Indian  tribes ; — of  these  there  are 
both  male  and  female,  each  practising  on  or  for  the  bene- 
fit of  his  or  her  own  respective  sex.  The  rites  of  their 
black  art  differ  somewhat,  according  to  Dall,  from  those 
of  their  Tinneh  neighbors,  and  very  much  from  those  of 
the  Tschuktschi  and  other  Siberian  tribes;  and  their 
whole  religion  may  be  summed  up  as  a  vague  fear  finding 
its  expression  in  witchcraft.1 

The  Tinneh,  that  great  people  stretching  north  of  the 
fifty-fifth  parallel  nearly  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  to  the 
Pacific,  do  not  seem  in  any  of  their  various  tribes  to  have 
a  single  expressed  idea  with  regard  to  a  supreme  power. 
The  Loucheux  branch  recognize  a  certain  personage,  resi- 
dent in  the  moon,  whom  they  supplicate  for  success  in 
starting  on  a  hunting  expedition.  This  being  once  lived 
among  them  as  a  poor  ragged  boy  that  an  old  woman 
had  found  and  was  bringing  up;  and  who  made  him- 
self ridiculous  to  his  fellows  by  making  a  pair  of 
very  large  snow-shoes ;  for  the  people  could  not  see  what 
a  starveling  like  him  should  want  with  shoes  of  such 
unusual  size.  Times  of  great  scarcity  troubled  the  hunt- 
ers, and  they  would  often  have  fared  badly  had  they  not 
invariably  on  such  occasions  come  across  a  new  broad 


1  Armstrong's  Nar.,  pp.  102,  193;  Richardson's  Pol.  Reg.,  pp.  3 
Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  i.f  pp.  358,  385;  Dall's  Alaska,  pp.  144-5. 


319-20,  325; 


142          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

trail  that  led  to  a  head  or  two  of  freshly  killed  game. 
They  were  glad  enough  to  get  the  game  and  without 
scruples  as  to  its  appropriation;  still  they  felt  curious  as 
to  whence  it  came  and  how.  Suspicion  at  last  pointing 
to  the  boy  and  his  great  shoes,  as  being  in  some  way 
implicated  in  the  affair,  he  was  watched.  It  soon 
became  evident  that  he  was  indeed  the  benefactor  of  the 
Loucheux,  and  the  secret  hunter  whose  quarry  had  so 
often  replenished  their  empty  pots ;  yet  the  people  were 
far  from  being  adequately  grateful,  and  continued  to 
treat  him  with  little  kindness  or  respect.  On  one  occa- 
sion they  refused  him  a  certain  piece  of  fat — him  who  had 
so  often  saved  their  lives  by  his  timely  bounty !  That  night 
the  lad  disappeared,  leaving  only  his  clothes  behind,  hang- 
ing on  a  tree.  He  returned  to  them  in  a  month,  however, 
appearing  as  a  man  and  dressed  as  a  man.  He  told 
them  that  he  had  taken  up  his  home  in  the  moon ;  that 
he  would  always  look  down  with  a  kindly  eye  to  their 
success  in  hunting;  but  he  added,  that  as  a  punishment 
for  their  shameless  greed  and  ingratitude  in  refusing  him 
the  piece  of  fat,  all  animals  should  be  lean  the  long  win- 
ter through,  and  fat  only  in  summer;  as  has  since  been 
the  case. 

According  to  Hearne,  the  Tinneh  believe  in  a  kind  of 
spirits,  or  fairies,  called  nantena,  which  people  the  e'arth, 
the  sea,  and  the  air,  and  are  instrumental  for  both  good 
and  evil.  Some  of  them  believe  in  a  good  spirit  called 
Tihugun,  '  my  old  friend,'  supposed  to  reside  in  the  sun 
and  in  the  moon ;  they  have  also  a  bad  spirit,  Chutsain, 
apparently  only  a  personification  of  death,  and  for  this 
reason  called  bad. 

They  have  no  regular  order  of  shamans ;  any  one  when 
the  spirit  moves  him  may  take  upon  himself  their  duties 
and  pretensions,  though  some  by  happy  chances,  or  pecu- 
liar cunning,  are  much  more  highly  esteemed  in  this  re- 
gard than  others,  and  are  supported  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions. The  conjurer  often  shuts  himself  in  his  tent 
and  abstains  from  food  for  days  till  his  earthly  grossness 
thins  away,  and  the  spirits  and  things  unseen  are  con- 


SPIRITS  WITH  THE  KONIAGAS  AND  TINNEH.  143 

strained  to  appear  at  his  behest.  The  younger  Tinneh 
care  for  none  of  these  things ;  the  strong  limb  and  the 
keen  eye,  holding  their  own  well  in  the  jostle  of  life, 
mock  at  the  terrors  of  the  invisible ;  but  as  the  pulses 
dwindle  with  disease  or  age,  and  the  knees  strike  together 
in  the  shadow  of  impending  death,  the  shaman  is  hired 
to  expel  the  evil  things  of  which  the  patient  is  possessed. 
Among  the  Tacullies,  a  confession  is  often  resorted  to  at 
this  stage,  on  the  truth  and  accuracy  of  which  depend 
the  chances  of  a  recovery.  As  Harmon  says,  "  the  crimes 
which  they  most  frequently  confess  discover  something 
of  their  moral  character  and  therefore  deserve  to  be 
mentioned;"  but  in  truth  I  cannot  mention  them;  both 
with  women  and  with  men  a  filthiness  and  bestiality 
worse  than  the  sins  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  defy  the 
stomach  of  description.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the 
tedious  and  disgusting  rites  performed  by  the  Tinneh 
shamans  over  the  sick  and  at  various  other  emergencies. 
They  blow  on  the  invalid,  leap  about  him  or  upon  him, 
shriek,  sing,  groan,  gesticulate,  and  foam  at  the  mouth, 
with  other  details  of  hocus-pocus  varying  indefinitely 
with  tribe  and  locality.  The  existence  of  a  soul  is  for 
the  most  part  denied,  and  the  spirits  with  whom  dealings 
are  had  are  not  spirits  that  were  ever  in  or  of  men; 
neither  are  they  regarded  by  men  with  any  sentiment  of 
love  or  kindly  respect;  fear  and  self-interest  are  the 
bonds — where  any  bonds  exist — that  link  the  Tinneh 
with  powers  supernal  or  infernal.2 

The  Koniagas  have  the  usual  legion  of  spirits  haunt- 
ing water,  earth,  and  air,  whose  wrath  is  only  to  be  ap- 
peased by  offerings  to  the  shamans;  and  sometimes, 
though  very  rarely,  by  human  sacrifices  of  slaves.  They 
have  also  a  chief  deity  or  spirit,  called  Shljam  Schoa, 
and  a  power  for  evil  called  Eyak.8 

2  Hardisty,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  pp.  318-19;  Jarvis'  Religion,  Ind.  N. 
Am.,  p.  91;   Kennicott,  in  Whymper's  Alaska,  p.  345;   Mackenzie's   Voy.,  p. 
cxxviii.;  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  178;  Ross,  in  Smithsonian  Rcpt.,  1866, 
pp.  306-7;  Franklin's  Nar.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  246-7;  Harmon's  Jour.,  p.  300;  Hoop- 
er's Tuski,  p.  317;   Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  385-6;   DaU's  Alaska,  pp. 
88-9J;  Whymper's  Alaska,  pp.  231-2. 

3  IMmberg,  Ethn.  Skiz.,  pp.  140-1;  Sauer,  Billings'  Ex.,  p.  174. 


144          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Of  the  Aleuts,  it  is  said  that  their  rites  showed  a  much 
higher  religious  development  than  was  to  be  found  among 
any  of  their  neighbors ;  the  labors  of  the  Russian  priests 
have,  however,  been  successful  enough  among  them  to 
obliterate  all  remembrance  of  aught  but  the  outlines  of 
their  ancient  cult.  They  recognize  a  creator-god,  but 
without  worshiping  him;  he  had  made  the  world,  but 
he  did  not  guide  it ;  men  had  nothing  to  do  any  longer 
with  him,  but  only  with  the  lesser  kugans,  or  spirits,  to 
whom  the  direction  and  care  of  earthly  affairs  have  been 
committed.  The  stars  and  the  sun  and  the  moon  were 
worshiped,  or  the  spirits  of  them  among  others,  and 
avenged  themselves  on  those  that  adored  them  not.  The 
offended  sun  smote  the  eyes  of  a  scoffer  with  blindness, 
the  moon  stoned  him  to  death,  and  the  stars  constrained 
him  to  count  their  number — hopeless  task  that  always 
left  the  victim  a  staring  maniac.  The  shamans  do  not 
seem  to  have  enjoyed  that  distinction  among  the  Aleuts 
that  their  monopoly  of  mediation  between  man  and  the 
invisible  world  gave  them  among  other  nations.  They 
were  generally  very  poor,  living  in  want  and  dying  in 
misery ;  they  had  no  part  nor  lot  in  the  joys  or  sorrows 
of  social  life ;  never  at  feast,  at  wedding,  or  at  a  funeral 
was  their  face  seen.  They  lived  and  wandered  men  for- 
bid, driven  to  and  fro  by  phantoms  that  wTere  their  mas- 
ters and  not  their  slaves.  The  Aleuts  had  no  permanent 
idols,  nor  any  worshiping-places  built  with  hands;  near 
every  village  was  some  sanctified  high  place  or  rock, 
sacred  as  a  Sinai  against  the  foot  of  woman  or  youth, 
and  whoever  profaned  it  became  immediately  mad  or 
sick  to  death.  Only  the  men  and  the  old  men  visited 
the  place  leaving  there  their  offerings  of  skins  or  feathers 
with  unknown  mysterious  ceremonies. 

The  use  of  amulets  was  universal;  and  more  than 
shield  or  spear  to  the  warrior  going  to  battle  was  a  belt 
of  sea- weed  woven  in  magic  knots.  What  a  philosopher's 
stone  was  to  a  Roger  Bacon  or  a  Paracelsus,  was  the 
tkhimkee,  a  marvelous  pebble  thrown  up  at  rare  inter- 
vals by  the  sea,  to  the  Aleutian  hunter.  No  beast  could 


ALEUTIAN  MYSTERY-DANCE.  145 

resist  its  attraction;  he  that  carried  it  had  no  need  to 
chase  his  prey,  he  had  only  to  wait  and  strike  as  the 
animal  walked  up  to  its  death.  Another  potent  charm 
was  grease  taken  from  a  dead  man's  body;  the  spear- 
head touched  with  this  was  sure  to  reach  a  mortal  spot 
in  the  whale  at  which  it  was  hurled. 

There  are  dim  Aleutian  traditions  of  certain  religious 
night  dances  held  in  the  month  of  December.  Wooden 
idols,  or  figures  of  some  kind,  were  made  for  the  occasion 
and  carried  from  island  to  island  with  many  esoteric 
ceremonies.  Then  was  to  be  seen  a  marvelous  sight. 
The  men  and  women  were  put  far  apart ;  in  the  middle  of 
each  party  a  wooden  figure  was  set  up;  certain  great 
wooden  masks  or  blinders  were  put  on  each  person,  so 
contrived  that  the  wearer  could  see  nothing  outside  a 
little  circle  round  his  feet.  Then  every  one  stripped, 
and  there  upon  the  snow,  under  the  moonlight,  in  the 
bitter  Arctic  night,  danced  naked  before  the  image, — say 
rather  before  the  god,  for  as  they  danced  a  kugan 
descended  and  entered  into  the  wooden  figure.  Woe  to 
him  or  to  her  whose  drift-wood  mask  fell,  or  was  lifted, 
in  the  whirl  of  that  awful  dance ;  the  stare  of  the  Gorgon 
was  not  more  fatal  than  a  glance  of  the  demon  that 
possessed  the  idol ;  and  for  any  one  to  look  on  one  of  the 
opposite  sex,  however  it  came  about,  he  might  be  even 
counted  as  one  dead.  When  the  dance  was  over,  the 
idols  and  the  masks  were  broken  and  cast  away.  It 
may  be  added  that  such  masks  as  this  were  needed,  even 
by  prophets  in  their  interviews  with  the  great  spirits 
that  know  all  mortal  consequences;  and  that  when  a 
man  died  such  a  mask  was  put  over  his  eyes — 0  naked 
and  shivering  soul,  face  to  face  with  the  darkest  kugan 
of  all  we  will  shelter  thee  what  we  can.4 

The  Thlinkeets  are  said  not  to  believe  in  any  supreme 
being.  They  have  that  Yehl,  the  Raven,  and  that  Kha- 
nukh,  the  Wolf,  whom  we  are  already  to  some  extent 
acquainted  with ;  but  neither  the  exact  rank  and  charac- 

*  D'Orbigny,  Voy.,  pp.  579-80;   Coxe's,  Buss.  Bis.,  p.  217;   Doll's  Alaska, 
pp.  385,  389;  See  Bancroft's  Nat.  Races,  vol.  i.,  p.  93. 
VOL.  III.,  10. 


146          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ter  of  these  in  the  supernatural  world,  nor  even  their 
comparative  rank,  can  be  established  above  contradiction. 
Thus  Yehl  is  said  to  be  the  creator  of  all  beings  and 
things,  yet  we  have  not  forgotten  how  Khanukh  wrung 
from  the  unwilling  lips  of  him  the  confession:  Thou  art 
older  that  I.  It  is  again  said  of  Yehl  that  his  power  is 
unlimited ;  but  alas,  we  have  seen  him  helpless  in  the 
magic  darkness  raised  by  Khanukh,  and  howling  as  a 
frightened  child  might  do  in  a  gloomy  corridor.  The 
nature  of  Yehl  is  kind  and  he  loves  men,  while  the  re- 
verse is  generally  considered  true  of  Khanukh ;  but  Yehl, 
too,  when  his  anger  is  stirred  up  sends  sickness  and  evil 
fortune.  Yehl  existed  before  his  birth  upon  earth;  he 
cannot  die  nor  even  become  older.  Where  the  sources 
of  the  Nass  are,  whence  the  east-wind  comes,  is  Nass- 
shakieyehl,  the  home  of  Yehl;  the  east-wind  brings 
news  of  him.  By  an  unknown  mother  a  son  was  born 
to  him,  who  loves  mankind  even  more  than  his  father, 
and  provides  their  food  in  due  season.  To  conclude  the 
matter,  Yehl  is,  if  not  the  central  figure,  at  least  the 
most  prominent  in  the  Thlinkeet  pantheon,  and  the 
alpha  and  the  omega  of  Thlinkeet  philosophy  and  theol- 
ogy is  summed  up  in  their  favorite  aphorism :  As  Yehl 
acted  and  lived,  so  also  will  wre  live  and  do.  After 
Yehl  and  Khanukh,  the  Thlinkeets  believe  in  the  brother 
and  sister,  Chethl  and  Ahgishanakhou,  the  Thunder  or 
Thunder-bird,  and  the  Under-ground  Woman.  Chethl 
is  a  kind  of  great  northern  rukh  that  snatches  up  and 
swallows  a  whale  without  difficulty,  while  his  wings  and 
eyes  produce  thunder  and  lightning  as  already  described ; 
his  sister  Ahgishanakhou  sits  alone  below  and  guards 
the  Irminsul  that  supports  the  world  of  the  North-west.5 
The  Thlinkeets  have  no  idols,  unless  the  little  images 


5  In  Holmberg's  account  of  these  Thlinkeet  supernatural  powers,  nothing 
is  said  of  the  sun  or  moon  as  indicating  the  possession  of  life  bjr  them  or  of 
any  qualities  not  material.  But  Dunn,  The  Oregon  Territory,  p.  284,  and 
Dixon,  Voyage  Round  the  World,  pp.  189-90,  desciibe  at  least  some  tribe  or 
tribes  of  the  Thlinkeets  and  many  tribes  of  the  Haidahs,  that  consider  the  sun 
to  be  a  great  spirit  moving  over  the  earth  once  every  day,  animating  and 
keeping  alive  all  creatures,  and,  apparently,  as  being  the  origin  of  all;  the 
moon  is  a  subordinate  and  night  watcher. 


THE  THLINKEET  SHAMAN.  147 

sometimes  carried  by  the  magicians  for  charming  with 
may  be  called  by  that  name;  they  have  no  worship 
nor  priests,  unless  their  sorcerers  and  the  rites  of  them 
may  be  entitled  to  these  appellations.  These  sorcerers 
or  shamans  seem  to  be  much  respected ;  their  words  and 
actions  are  generally  believed  and  acquiesced  in  by  all; 
though  the  death  of  a  patient  or  victim,  or  supposed  vic- 
tim, is  sometimes  avenged  upon  them  by  the  relatives  of 
the  deceased.  Shamanism  is  mostly  hereditary ;  as  a  natu- 
ral course  of  things  the  long  array  of  apparatus,  masks, 
dresses,  and  so  on,  is  inherited  by  the  son  or  grandson 
of  the  deceased  conjurer.  The  young  man  must,  how- 
ever, prove  himself  worthy  of  his  position  before  it  be- 
comes assured  to  him,  by  calling  up  and  communicating 
with  spirits.  The  future  shaman  retires  into  a  lonely 
forest  or  up  some  mountain,  where  he  lives  retired,  feed- 
ing only  on  the  roots  of  the  panax-horridum,  and  waiting 
for  the  spirits  to  come  to  him,  which  they  are  generally 
supposed  to  do  in  from  two  to  four  weeks.  If  all  go  well 
the  meeting  takes  place,  and  the  chief  of  the  spirits  sends 
to  the  neophyte  a  river-otter,  in  the  tongue  of  which 
animal  is  supposed  to  be  hid  the  whole  power  and  secret 
of  shamanism.  The  man  meets  the  beast  face  to  face, 
and  four  times,  each  time  in  a  different  fashion,  he  pro- 
nounces the  syllable  'Oh! '  Upon  this, the  otter  falls  in- 
stantly, reaching  out  at  the  same  time  its  tongue,  which 
the  man  cuts  off  and  preserves ;  hiding  it  away  in  a  close 
place,  for  if  any  one  not  initiated  should  look  on  this 
talisman  the  sight  would  drive  him  mad.  The  otter  is 
skinned  by  the  new  shaman  and  the  skin  kept  for  a  sign 
of  his  profession,  while  the  flesh  is  buried ;  it  was  un- 
lawful to  kill  a  river-otter  save  on  such  occasions  as 
have  been  described.  If,  however,  the  spirits  will  not 
visit  the  would-be  shaman,  nor  give  him  any  opportunity 
to  get  the  otter-tongue  as  described  above,  the  neophyte 
visits  the  tomb  of  a  dead  shaman  and  keeps  an  awful 
vigil  over  night,  holding  in  his  living  mouth  a  finger  of 
the  dead  man  or  one  of  his  teeth ;  this  constrains  the 
spirits  very  powerfully  to  send  the  necessary  otter. 


148          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

When  all  these  things  have  been  done  the  shaman  re- 
turns to  his  family  emaciated  and  worn  out,  and  his  new 
powers  are  immediately  put  to  the  test.  His  reputation 
depends  on  the  number  of  spirits  at  his  command.  The 
spirits  are  called  yek,  and  to  every  conjurer  a  certain 
number  of  them  are  attached  as  familiars,  while  there 
are  others  on  wThom  he  may  call  in  an  emergency;  in- 
deed every  man  of  whatever  rank  or  profession  is 
attended  by  a  familiar  spirit  or  demon,  who  only  aban- 
dons his  charge  when  the  man  becomes  exceedingly  bad. 
The  world  of  spirits  in  general  is  divided  into  three 
classes:  keeyek,  tdkeeyek,  and  Ukeeyek.  The  first-class, 
'  the  Upper  Ones,'  dwell  in  the  north  and  seem 
to  be  connected  writh  the  northern  lights;  they  are 
the  spirits  of  the  brave  fallen  in  battle.  The  other  two 
classes  are  the  spirits  of  those  that  died  a  natural  death, 
and  their  dwelling  is  called  takankou.  The  takeeyek, 
'  land-spirits,'  appear  to  the  shamans  in  the  form  of  land 
animals.  With  regard  to  the  tekeeyek,  'sea-spirits' 
which  appear  in  the  form  of  marine  animals,  there  is 
some  dispute  among  the  Thlinkeets  as  to  whether  these 
spirits  were  ever  the  spirits  of  men  like  those  of  the  other 
two  classes,  or  whether  they  were  merely  the  souls  of  sea 
animals. 

The  supreme  feat  of  a  conjurer's  power  is  to  throw  one 
of  his  liege  spirits  into  the  body  of  one  who  refuses  to 
believe  in  his  power  •  upon  which  the  possessed  is  taken 
with  swooning  and  fits.  The  hair  of  a  shaman  is  never 
cut.  As  among  the  Aleuts,  a  wooden  mask  is  necessiry 
to  his  safe  intercourse  with  any  spirit;  separate  masks 
are  worn  for  interviews  with  separate  spirits.  When  a 
shaman  sickens,  his  relatives  fast  for  his  recovery ;  when 
he  dies,  his  body  is  not  burned  like  that  of  other  men, 
but  put  in  a  box  which  is  set  up  on  a  high  frame.  The 
first  night  following  his  death  his  body  is  left  in  that 
corner  of  his  hut  in  which  he  died.  On  the  second 
night  it  is  carried  to  another  corner,  and  so  on  for  four 
nights  till  it  has  occupied  successively  all  the  corners  of 
the  yourt,  all  the  occupants  of  which  are  supposed  to  fast 


SOLAK  SPIRIT  OF  THE  HAIDAHS.  149 

during  this  time.  On  the  fifth  day  the  body  is  tied 
down  on  a  board,  and  two  bones  that  the  dead  man  had 
often  used  in  his  rites  when  alive  are  stuck,  the  one  in 
his  hair  and  the  other  in  the  bridge  of  his  nose.  The 
head  is  then  covered  with  a  willow  basket,  and  the  body 
token  to  its  place  of  sepulture,  which  is  always  near  the 
sea-shore;  no  Thlinkeet  ever  passes  the  spot  without 
dropping  a  little  tobacco  into  the  water  to  conciliate  the 
manes  of  the  mighty  dead.6 

The  Haidahs  believe  the  great  solar  spirit  to  be  the 
creator  and  supreme  ruler ;  they  do  not  however  confuse 
him  with  the  material  sun,  who  is  a  shining  man  walk- 
ing round  the  fixed  earth  and  wearing  a  "  radiated" 
crown.  Sometimes  the  moon  is  also  connected  in  a  con- 
fused indefinite  way  with  the  great  spirit.  There  is 
an  evil  spirit  Avho,  according  to  Dunn,  is  provided 
with  hoofs  and  horns,  though  nothing  is  said  as  to  the 
fashion  of  them,  whether  orthodox  or  not.  The  Haidahs, 
at  least  those  seen  by  Mr  Poole  on  Queen  Charlotte  Is- 
land, have  no  worship,  nor  did  they  look  upon  themselves 
as  in  any  way  responsible  to  any  deity  for  their  actions. 
As  with  their  northern  neighbors,  a  belief  in  goblins, 
spectres,  and  sorcery  seems  to  be  the  sum  of  their  religion. 

6  Holmberg,  Ethn.  Sklz.,  pp.  52-73;  Dall's  Alaska,  pp.  421-3;  Kotzelue's 
New  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  58;  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  280;  Bendd's  Alex.  Arch., 
pp.  31-3.  This  last  traveler  gives  us  a  variation  of  the  history  of  Yehl  and 
Khanukh,  which  is  best  presented  in  his  own  words: — '  The  Klinkits  do  not 
believe  in  one  Supreme  Being,  but  in  a  host  of  good  and  evil  spirits,  above 
whom  are  towering  two  lofty  beings  of  godlike  magnitude,  who  are  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  Indian  reverence.  These  are  Yethl  and  Kanugh — two 
brothers;  the  former  the  benefactor  and  well-wisher  of  mankind,  but  of  a 
very  whimsical  and  unreliable  nature ;  the  latter  the  stern  God  of  War,  terri- 
ble in  his  wrath,  but  a  true  patron  of  every  fearless  brave.  It  is  he  who 
sends  epidemics,  bloodshed  and  war  to  those  who  have  displeased  him, 
while  it  seems  to  be  the  principal  function  of  Yethl  to  cross  the  sinister  pur- 
poses of  his  dark-minded  brother.  Yethl  and  Kanugh  lived  formerly  on 
earth,  and  were  born  of  a  woman  of  a  supernatural  race  now  passed  away, 
about  the  origin  and  nature  of  which  many  conflicting  legends  are  told,  hard 
to  comprehend.  When  Yethl  walked  on  earth  and  was  quite  young  he  ac- 
quired great  skill  in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow.  He  used  to  kill  large 
birds,  assume  their  shape  and  fly  about.  His  favorite  bird  was  the  raven; 
hence  its  name,  "  Yethl, "  which  signiiies  "raven  "  in  the  Klinkit  language. 
He  had  also  the  fogs  and  clouds  at  his  command,  and  he  would  often  draw 
them  around  him  to  escape  his  enemies.  His  brother's  name,  Kanugh,  signi- 
fies "wolf,"  consequently  "raven"  and  "wolf"  are  the  names  of  the  two 
gods  of  the  Klinkits,  who  are  supposed  to  be  the  founders  of  the  Indian 


150          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

With  some  at  least  of  the  Haidahs  there  was  in  exist- 
ence a  rite  of  this  sorcery  attended  by  circumstances  of 
more  than  ordinary  barbarity  and  ferocity.  When  the 
salmon  season  is  over  and  the  provisions  of  winter  have 
been  stored  away,  feasting  and  conjuring  begin.  The 
chief — who  seems  to  be  the  principal  sorcerer,  and  indeed 
to  possess  little  authority  save  from  his  connection  with 
the  preter-human  powers — goes  off  to  the  loneliest  and 
wildest  retreat  he  knows  of  or  can  discover  in  the  mount- 
ains or  forest,  and  half  starves  himself  there  for  some 
weeks  till  he  is  worked  up  to  a  frenzy  of  religious  in- 
sanity and  the  nawloks — fearful  beings  of  some  kind  not 
human — consent  to  communicate  with  him  by  voices  or 
otherwise.  During  all  this  observance,  the  chief  is  called 
taamishj  and  woe  to  the  unlucky  Haidah  who  happens 
by  chance  so  much  as  to  look  on  him  during  its  continu- 
ance; even  if  the  taamish  do  not  instantly  slay  the  in- 
truder, his  neighbors  are  certain  to  do  so  when  the  thing 
comes  to  their  knowledge,  and  if  the  victim  attempt  to 
conceal  the  affair,  or  do  not  himself  confess  it,  the  most 
cruel  tortures  are  added  to  his  fate.  At  last  the  inspired 
demoniac  returns  to  his  village,  naked  save  a  bear-skin 
or  a  ragged  blanket,  with  a  chaplet  on  his  head  and  a 
red  band  of  alder-bark  about  his  neck.  He  springs  on 
the  first  person  he  meets,  bites  out  and  swallows  one  or 
more  mouthfuls  of  the  man's  living  flesh  wherever  he 
can  fix  his  teeth,  then  rushes  to  another  and  another, 
repeating  his  revolting  meal  till  he  Mis  into  a  torpor  from 
his  sudden  and  half-masticated  surfeit  of  flesh.  For 
some  days  after  this  he  lies  in  a  kind  of  coma,  "  like  an 
over-gorged  beast  of  prey,"  as  Dunn  says;  the  same 
observer  adding  that  his  breath  during  that  time  is 
"  like  an  exhalation  from  a  grave."  The  victims  of  this 
ferocity  dare  not  resist  the  bite  of  the  taamish;  on  the 
contrary,  they  are  sometimes  willing  to  offer  themselves 
to  the  ordeal,  and  are  always  proud  of  its  scars.7 

The  Nootkas  acknowledge  the  existence  of  a  great  per- 

*  Dunn's  Oregon,  pp.  253-9;  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  voL  xi.,  p. 
223;  Bancroft's'Nat.  liaces,  voL  i.,  pp.  170-71. 


NOOTKA  GODS.  151 

sonage  called  Quahootze,  whose  habitation  is  apparently 
in  the  sky,  but  of  whose  nature  little  is  known.  When 
a  storm  begins  to  rage  dangerously  the  Nootkas  climb  to 
the  top  of  their  houses  and  looking  upwards  to  this  great 
god,  they  beat  drums  and  chant  and  call  upon  his  name, 
imploring  him  to  still  the  tempest.  They  fast,  as  some- 
thing agreeable  to  the  same  deity,  before  setting  out  on 
the  hunt,  and,  if  their  success  warrant  it,  hold  a  feast  in 
his  honor  after  their  return.  This  festival  is  held  usually 
in  December,  and  it  was  formerly  the  custom  to  finish  it 
with  a  human  sacrifice,  an  atrocity  now  happily  fallen 
into  disuse ;  a  boy,  with  knives  stuck  through  the  super- 
ficial flesh  of  his  arms,  legs,  and  sides,  being  exhibited  as 
a  substitute  for  the  ancient  victim. 

Matlose  is  a  famous  hob-goblin  of  the  Nootkas;  he  is 
a  very  Caliban  of  spirits ;  his  head  is  like  the  head  of 
something  that  might  have  been  a  man  but  is  not;  his 
uncouth  bulk  is  horrid  with  black  bristles;  his  monstrous 
teeth  and  nails  are  like  the  fangs  and  claws  of  a  bear. 
Whoever  hears  his  terrible  voice  falls  like  one  smitten, 
and  his  curved  claws  rend  a  prey  into  morsels  with  a 
single  stroke. 

The  Nootkas,  like  so  many  American  peoples,  have  a 
tradition  of  a  supernatural  teacher  and  benefactor,  an 
old  man  that  came  to  them  up  the  Sound  long  ago.  His 
canoe  was  copper,  and  the  paddles  of  it  copper;  every 
thing  he  had  on  him  or  about  him  was  of  the  same  metal. 
He  landed  and  instructed  the  men  of  that  day  in  many 
things;  telling  them  that  he  came  from  the  sky,  that 
their  country  should  be  eventually  destroyed,  that  they 
should  all  die,  but  after  death  rise  and  live  with  him 
above.  Then  all  the  people  rose  up  angry,  and  took  his 
canoe  from  him,  and  slew  him ;  a  crime  from  which  their 
descendants  have  derived  much  benefit,  for  copper  and 
the  use  of  it  have  remained  with  them  ever  since.  Huge 
images,  carved  in  wood,  still  stand  in  their  houses  in- 
tended to  represent  the  form  and  hold  in  remembrance 
the  visit  of  this  old  man, — by  which  visit  is  not  improb- 
ably intended  to  be  signified  an  avatar  or  incarnation 


152          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  that  chief  deity,  or  great  spirit,  worshiped  by  many 
California!!  tribes  as  '  the  Old  Man  above.' 

The  Ahts  regard  the  moon  and  the  sun  as  their 
highest  deities,  the  moon  being  the  husband  and  the 
sun  the  wife.  To  the  moon  chiefly,  as  the  more 
powerful  deity,  they  pray  for  what  they  require ;  and  to 
both  moon  and  sun,  as  to  all  good  deities,  their  prayers 
are  addressed  directly  and  without  the  intervention  of 
the  sorcerers.  Quawteaht — which  seems  to  be  a  local  Aht 
modification  of  Quahootze  —  who  made  most  things 
that  are  in  the  world,  was  the  first  to  teach  the  people  to 
worship  these  luminaries  who,  over  all  and  seeing  all. 
are  more  powerful  than  himself,  though  more  distant 
and  less  active.  There  is  also  that  Tootooch,  thunder- 
bird,  of  which  so  much  has  been  already  said. 

The  Nootkas,  in  general,  believe  in  the  existence  of 
numberless  spirits  of  various  kinds,  and  in  the  efficacy 
of  sorcery.  As  in  neighboring  nations,  the  shaman 
gains  or  renews  his  inspiration  by  fasting  and  solitary 
meditation  in  some  retired  place,  re-appearing  at  the  end 
of  his  vigil  half-starved  and  half-insane,  but  filled  with 
the  black  virtue  of  his  art.  He  does  not  generally  col- 
lect a  meal  of  living  human  flesh  like  the  taamish  of  the 
preceding  family,  but  he  is  satisfied  with  what  his  teeth 
can  tear  from  the  corpses  in  the  burial-places.  Old 
women  are  admitted  to  a  share  in  the  powers  of  sorcery 
and  prophecy  and  the  interpretation  of  omens  and  dreams ; 
the  latter  a  most  important  function,  as  few  days  and 
nights  pass  over  a  Nootka  house  that  do  not  give  occasion 
by  some  vision  or  occurrence  for  the  office  of  the  sibyl  or 
the  augur.8 

8  Jewitt's  Nar.,  p.  83;  Seouler,  in  Lend.  Geog.  Soc.  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  223- 
4;  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  i.,  p.  345;  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viagt,  p.  136;  Means' 
Vo>/.,  p.  270;  Hutchiii'is'  Cal.  May.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  222-4;  Macfie's  Vane.  Isl.,  pp. 
433-441,455;  Barret- Lennard's  Trav.,  pp.  51-3;  Sproat's  Scenes,  pp.  40,  156- 
8,  167-75,  205-11;  Cook's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  317.  As  illustrating 
strongly  the  Xootku  ideas  with  regard  to  the  sanctity  of  the  moon  and  sun, 
as  well  as  the  connection  of  the  sun  with  the  fire,  it  may  be  well  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  two  following  customs: — '  El  Tays  [chief]  no  puede  hacer uso  de  BUS 
mugeres  sin  ver  enterameute  iluminado  el  disco  de  la  luna.'  tfutil  y  M<.ri- 
cana,  V\<i[i>\  p.  145.  '  Girls  at  puberty  .  .are  kept  particularly  from  the  sun  or 
fire.'  Bancroft's  Nat,  Races,  vol.  i.,  p.  197.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  men,- 


PARADISE  LOST  OF  THE  OKANAGANS.        153 

The  Okanagans  believe  in  a  good  spirit  or  master  of 
life,  called  Elemehumkillanwaist  or  Skyappe;  and  in 
a  bad  spirit  Kishtsamah  or  Chacha;  both  moving  con- 
stantly through  the  air,  so  that  nothing  can  be  done 
without  their  knowledge.  The  Okanagans  have  no  wor- 
ship public  or  private,  but  before  engaging  in  anything 
of  importance  they  offer  up  a  short  prayer  to  the  good 
spirit  for  assistance;  again  on  state  occasions,  a  pipe  is 
passed  round  and  each  one  smokes  three  whiffs  toward 
the  rising  sun,  the  same  toward  the  setting,  and  the  same 
respectively  toward  the  heaven  above  and  the  earth 
beneath.  Then  they  have  their  great  mythic  ruler  and 
heroine,  Scomalt,  whose  story  is  intimately  connected  with 
a  kind  of  Okanagan  fall  or  paradise  lost.  Long  ago,  so 
long  ago  that  the  sun  was  quite  young  and  very  small 
and  no  bigger  than  a  star,  there  was  an  island  far  out  at 
sea  called  Samahtumiwhoolah,  or  the  White  Man's 
Island.  It  was  inhabited  by  a  white  race  of  gigantic 
stature,  and  governed  by  a  tall  fair  woman  called  Scorn- 
alt;  and  she  was  a  great  and  strong  'medicine,'  this 
Scomalt.  At  last  the  peace  of  the  island  was  destroyed 
by  war,  and  the  noise  of  battle  was  heard,  the  white  men 
fighting  the  one  with  the  other ;  and  Scomalt  was  exceed- 
ingly wroth.  She  rose  up  and  said :  lo,  now  I  will  drive 
these  wicked  far  from  me;  my  soul  shall  be  no  longer 
vexed  concerning  them,  neither  shall  they  trouble  the 
faithful  of  my  people  with  their  strivings  any  more. 
And  she  drove  the  rebellious  together  to  the  uttermost 
end  of  the  island,  and  broke  off  the  piece  of  land  on 
which  they  were  huddled,  and  pushed  it  out  to  sea  to 

tiojied  that  Mr  Lord,  Naturalist,  ,vol.  ii.,  p.  257,  saw  among  the  Nootkas 
while  at  Fort  Rupert,  a  very  peculiar  Indian  "medicine,"  a  solid  piece  of 
native  copper,  hammered  flat,  oval  it  would  appear  from  the  description,  and 
painted  with  curious  devices,  eyes  of  all  sizes  being  especially  conspicuous. 
The  Hudson-Bay  traders  call  it  an  "  Indian  copper,"  and  said  it  was  only 
exhibited  on  extraordinary  occasions,  and  that  its  value  to  the  tribe  was  esti- 
mated at  fifteen  slaves  or  two  hundred  blankets.  This  "medicine"  was  pre- 
served in  an  elaborately  ornamented  wooden  case,  and  belonging  to  the  tribe, 
not  to  the  chief,  was  guarded  by  the  medicine-men.  Similar  sheets  of  cop- 
per are  described  by  Schoolcraft  as  in  use  among  certain  of  the  Vespcric 
aborigines :  May  they  all  be  intended  for  symbols  of  the  sun,  such  aa  that 
reverenced  by  the  Peruvians? 


154          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

drift  whither  it  would.  This  floating  island  was  tossed 
to  and  fro  many  days  and  buffeted  of  the  winds  exceed- 
ingly, so  that  all  the  people  thereon  died  save  one  man 
and  one  woman,  who,  seeing  their  island  was  ready  to 
sink,  made  themselves  a  canoe  and  gat  them  away  to- 
ward the  west.  After  paddling  day  and  night  for  many 
suns,  they  came  to  certain  islands,  whence  steering 
through  them,  they  came  at  last  to  where  the  mainland 
was,  being  the  territory  that  the  Okanagans  now  inhabit; 
it  was,  however,  much  smaller  in  those  days,  having 
grown  much  since.  This  man  and  woman  were  so  sorely 
weather-beaten  when  they  landed  that  they  found  their 
original  whiteness  quite  gone,  and  a  dusky  reddish  color 
in  its  place.  All  the  people  of  the  continent  are  de- 
scended from  this  pair,  and  the  dingy  skin  of  their  storm- 
tossed  ancestors  has  become  a  characteristic  of  the  race. 
And  even,  as  in  time  past  the  wrath  of  the  fair  Scomalt 
loosed  the  island  of  their  ancestors  from  its  mainland, 
and  sent  it  adrift  with  its  burden  of  sinful  men,  so  in 
a  time  to  come,  the  deep  lakes,  that  like  some  Hannibal's 
vinegar  soften  the  rocks  of  the  foundations  of  the  world, 
and  the  rivers  that  run  for  ever  and  gnaw  them  away, 
shall  set  the  earth  afloat  again ;  then  shall  the  end  of  the 
world  be,  the  awful  itsowleigh.9 

The  Salish  tribes  believe  the  sun  to  be  the  chief  deity, 
and  certain  ceremonies,  described  by  Mr  Lord  as  having 
taken  place  on  the  death  of  a  chief,  seem  to  indicate  that 
fire  is  in  some  way  connected  with  the  great  light.10  The 
chief  is  ex  officio  a  kind  of  priest,  presiding  for  the  most 
part  at  the  various  observances  by  which  the  deity  of  the 
sun  is  recognized.  There  is  the  usual  belief  in  sorcery 
and  second  sight,  and  individuals  succeed,  by  force  of 

»  Ross'  Adven.,  pp.  287-9. 

1(>  '  The  bravest  woman  of  the  tribe,  one  used  to  carrying  ammunition  to 
the  warrior  when  engaged  in  fight,  bared  her  breast  to  the  person  who  for 
courage  and  conduct  was  deemed  fit  successor  to  the  departed.  From  the 
breast  he  cut  a  small  portion,  which  he  threw  into  the  fire.  She  then  cut  a 
small  piece  from  the  shoulder  of  the  warrior,  which  was  also  thrown  into 
the  fire.  A  piece  of  bitter  root,  with  a  piece  of  meat,  were  next  thrown  into 
the  fire,  all  these  being  intended  as  offerings  to  the  Sun,  the  deity  of  the 
Flatheads.'  Tolmie,  in  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  237-8.  For  references  to  the 
remaining  matter  of  the  paragraph  see  Id.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  237-43,  260. 


DEITIES  OF  THE  CLALLAMS.  155 

special  gifts  for  fasting  and  lonely  meditation,  in  having 
themselves  accounted  conjurers, — an  honor  of  dubious 
profit,  as  medicine-men  are  constantly  liable  to  be  shot 
by  an  enraged  relative  of  any  one  whose  death  they  may 
be  supposed  to  have  brought  about. 

The  Clallams,  a  coast  tribe  on  the  mainland  opposite 
the  south  end  of  Vancouver  Island,  have  a  principal 
good  deity  called  by  various  names,  and  an  evil  spirit 
called  Skoocoom ;  to  these  some  add  a  certain  Teyutlma, 
'  the  genius  of  good  fortune.'  The  medicine-men  of  the 
tribe  are  supposed  to  have  much  influence  both  for  good 
and  evil  with  these  spirits  and  with  all  the  demon  race, 
or  sekuiab  as  the  latter  are  sometimes  called.  In  this 
tribe  the  various  conjurers  are  united  by  the  bonds  of  a 
secret  society,  the  initiation  into  which  is  attended  by  a 
good  deal  of  ceremony  and  expense.  Three  days  and 
three  nights  must  the  novice  of  the  order  fast  alone  in  a 
mysterious  lodge  prepared  for  him,  round  which  during 
all  that  time  the  brethren  already  initiated  sing  and 
dance.  This  period  elapsed,  during  which  it  would  seem 
that  the  old  nature  has  been  killed  out  of  him,  he  is 
taken  up  like  one  dead  and  soused  into  the  nearest  cold 
water,  where  he  is  washed  till  he  revives;  which  thing 
they  call  "  washing  the  dead."  When  his  senses  are 
sufficiently  gathered  to  him,  he  is  set  on  his  feet;  upon 
which  he  runs  off  into  the  forest,  whence  he  soon  reap- 
pears a  perfect  medicine-man,  rattle  in  hand  and  decked 
out  with  the  various  trappings  of  his  profession.  He 
then  parts  all  his  worldly  gear  among  his  friends,  himself 
henceforth  to  be  supported  only  by  the  fees  of  his  new 
calling.11 

Ikanam,  the  creator  of  the  universe,  is  a  powerful  deity 
among  the  Chinooks,  who  have  a  mountain  named  after 
him  from  a  belief  that  he  there  turned  himself  into  stone. 
After  him,  or  before  him  as  many  say,  comes  Italapas, 
the  Coyote,  who  created  men  after  an  imperfect  fashion,12 
taught  them  how  to  make  nets  and  catch  salmon,  how  to 

11  Kane's  Wand.,  pp.  218-9;  GiWs  Clallam  and  Lurnmi  Vocab.,  p.  15. 

12  This  vol.,  pp.  95-6. 


15G          GODS,  SUPEKNATUAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

make  a  fire,  and  how  to  cook  ;  for  this  the  first  fruits  of  the 
fishing  season  are  always  sacred  to  him,  and  his  figure  is 
to  be  found  carved  on  the  head  of  almost  every  Chinook 
canoe  on  the  Columbia.  They  have  a  fire-spirit,  an  evil 
spirit,  and  a  body  of  familiar  spirits,  tamanowas.  Each 
person  has  his  special  spirit,  selected  by  him  at  an  early 
age,  sometimes  by  fasting  and  other  mortification  of  the 
flesh,  sometimes  by  the  adoption  of  the  first  object  the 
child  or  young  man  sees,  or  thinks  he  sees,  on  visiting 
the  woods.  These  spirits  have  a  great  effect  on  the 
imagination  of  the  Chinooks,  and  their  supposed  direc- 
tions are  followed  under  pain  of  mysterious  and  awful 
punishments  ;  people  converse  —  "  particularly  when  in  the 
water"-—  with  them,  apparently  talking  to  themselves  in 
low  monotonous  tones.  Some  say  that  when  a  man  dies 
his  tamanowa  passes  to  his  son;  but  the  whole  matter 
is  darkened  with  much  mystery  and  secrecy;  the  name 
of  one's  familiar  spirit  or  guardian  never  being  mentioned 
even  to  the  nearest  friend.  A  similar  custom  forbids 
the  mention  of  a  dead  man's  name,  at  least  till  many 
years  have  elapsed  after  the  bereavement. 

The  Chinook  medicine-men  are  possessed  of  the  usual 
powers  of  converse  and  mediation  with  the  spirits  good 
and  evil;  there  are  two  classes  of  them,  employed  in 
all  cases  of  sickness,  —  the  etaminuas,  or  priests,  who  in- 
tercede for  the  soul  of  the  patient,  and,  if  necessary,  for 
its  safe  passage  to  the  land  of  spirits,  —  and  the  keelalles, 
or  doctors,  sometimes  women,  whose  duty  it  is  to  ad- 
minister medical  as  well  as  spiritual  aid.13 

With  the  Cayuses  and  the  Walla-Wallas  any  one  may 
become  a  medicine-man  ;  among  the  Nez  Perces  the  office 
belongs  to  an  hereditary  order.  Women  are  sometimes 
trained  to  the  profession,  but  they  are  not  believed  to 
hold  such  extreme  powers  as  the  males,  nor  are  they 
murdered  on  the  supposed  exercise  of  some  fatal  influ- 

13  Wilkes'  Nar.  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  124-5;  Cox's  Adven.,  vol.  i.,  p. 
317;  Dunn's  Oregon,  pp.  125-6;  Fmnchere's  Nar.,  p.  258;  3/o/m.s,  ' 


torn,  ii.,  p.  334;  Ross'  Adven.,  p.  96;  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  pp.  13!),  246, 
254;  Tolmi",  in  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  248;  Gibbs'  Chinook  Vocab.,  pp.  11,  13; 
Gibbs',  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  pp.  15,  29;  Irving's  Astoria,  pp.  339-40; 
Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  253. 


SHOSHONE  DEMONS.  157 

ence.  For,  as  with  the  Chinooks14  so  here,  the  reputa- 
tion of  sorcerer  is  at  once  the  most  terrible  to  others  and 
the  most  dangerous  to  one's  self  that  one  can  have.  His 
is  a  power  of  life,  and  death ;  his  evil  eye  can  wither  and 
freeze  a  hated  life  if  not  as  swiftly  at  least  as  surely  as 
the  stare  of  the  Medusa ;  he  is  mortal,  however, — he  can 
slay  your  friend  or  yourself,  and  death  is  bitter,  but  then 
how  sweet  an  anodyne  is  revenge!  There  is  no  strong 
magic  can  avail  when  the  heart's  blood  trickles  down  the 
avenger's  shaft,  no  cunning  enchantment  that  can  keep 
the  life  in  wrhen  his  tomahawk  crumbles  the  skull  like  a 
potsherd, — and  so  it  comes  about  that  the  conjurers  walk 
everywhere  with  their  life  in  their  hand,  and  are  con- 
strained to  be  very  wary  in  their  exercise  of  their  nefa- 
rious powers.15 

The  Shoshone  legends  people  certain  parts  of  the 
mountains  of  Montana  with  little  imps  or  demons  called 
ninumbees,  who  are  about  two  feet  long,  perfectly  naked, 
and  provided  each  with  a  tail.  These  limbs  of  the  evil 
one  are  accustomed  to  eat  up  any  unguarded  infant  they 
may  find,  leaving  in  its  stead  one  of  their  own  baneful 
race.  When  the  mother  comes  to  suckle  what  she  sup- 
poses to  be  her  child,  the  fiendish  changeling  seizes  her 
breast  and  begins  to  devour  it;  then,  although  her  screams 
and  the  alarm  thereby  given  soon  force  the  malicious 
imp  to  make  his  escape,  there  is  no  hope  further;  she 
dies  within  the  twenty-four  hours,  and  if  not  well  watched 
in  the  meantime,  the  little  demon  will  even  return 
and  make  an  end  of  her  by  finishing  his  interrupted 
meal.  There  is  another  variety  of  these  hobgoblins 
call pahonahs,  'water-infants,'  who  devour  women  and 
children  as  do  their  brother-fiends  of  the  mountain,  and 
complete  the  ring  of  ghoulish  terror  that  closes  round  the 
Shoshone  child  and  mother.16 

14  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  p.  254:    '  The  chiefs  say,  that  they  and  their  sons 
are  too  great  to  die  of  themselves,  and  although  they  may  be  sick,  and  de- 
cline, and  die,  as  others  do,  yet  some  person,  or  some  evil  spirit  instigated 
by  some  one,  is  the  invisible  cause  of  their  death ;  and  therefore  when  a 
chief,  or  chief's  son  dies,  the  supposed  author  of  the  deed  must  be  killed.' 

15  Alvord,  in  SchoolcraJ't's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  652. 

16  Stuart's  Montana,  pp.  64-6. 


158          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  Californian  tribes,  taken  as  a  whole,  are  pretty 
uniform  in  the  main  features  of  their  theogonic  beliefs. 
They  seem,  without  exception,  to  have  had  a  hazy  con- 
ception of  a  lofty,  almost  supreme  being;  for  the  most 
part  referred  to  as  a  Great  Man,  the  Old  Man  Above,  the 
One  Above ;  attributing  to  him,  however,  as  is  usual  in 
such  cases,  nothing  but  the  vaguest  and  most  negative 
functions  and  qualities.  The  real,  practical  power  that 
most  interested  them,  who  had  most  to  do  with  them  and 
they  with  him,  was  a  demon,  or  body  of  demons,  of  a  toler- 
ably pronounced  character.  In  the  face  of  divers  assertions 
to  the  effect  that  no  such  thing  as  a  devil  proper  has  ever 
been  found  in  savage  mythology,  we  would  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  following  extract  from  the  Porno  manuscript  of 
Mr  Powers — a  gentleman  who,  both  by  his  study  and  by 
personal  investigation,  has  made  himself  one  of  the  best 
qualified  authorities  on  the  belief  of  the  native  Californi- 
an, and  whose  dealings  have  been  for  the  most  part  with 
(tribes  that  have  never  had  any  friendly  intercourse  with 
white  men: — li  Of  course  the  thin  and  meagre  imagina- 
tion of  the  American  savages  was  not  equal  to  the  crea- 
tion of  Milton's  magnificent  imperial  Satan,  or  of  Goethe's 
Mephistopheles,  with  his  subtle  intellect,  his  vast  powers, 
his  malignant  mirth;  but  in  so  far  as  the  Indian  fiends 
or  devils  have  the  ability,  they  are  wholly  as  wicked  as 
these.  They  are  totally  bad,  they  have  no  good  thing 
in  them,  they  think  only  evil;  but  they  are  weak  and 
undignified  and  absurd ;  they  are  as  much  beneath  Satan 
as  the  '  Big  Indians '  who  invent  them  are  inferior  in 
imagination  to  John  Milton."17 

A  definite  location  is  generally  assigned  to  the  evil 
.one  as  his  favorite  residence  or  resort;  thus  the  Cali- 
•fornians  in  the  county  of  Siskiyou,  give  over  Devil's 
Castle,  its  mount  and  lake,  to  the  malignant  spirits,  and 
avoid  the  vicinity  of  these  places  with  all  possible  care. 

The  medicine-man  of  these  people  is  a  personage  of  some 
importance,  dressing  in  the  most  costly  furs ;  he  is  a  non- 
combatant,  not  coming  on  the  field  till  after  the  fight ;  among 

17  Power's  Porno,  MS. 


SACRED  FIRES.  159 

other  duties,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  visit  any 
camp  from  which  the  tribe  has  been  driven  by  the 
enemy,  there  to  chant  the  death-song  and  appease  the 
angry  spirit  that  wrought  this  judgment  of  defeat,  for 
only  after  this  has  been  done  is  it  thought  safe  to  light 
again  the  lodge-fires  on  the  old  hearths.  Once  lit  these 
lodge-fires  are  never  allowed  to  go  out  during  times  of 
peace;  it  would  be  a  bad  omen,  and  omens  are  every- 
thing with  these  men,  and  deducible  from  all  things. 
The  power  of  prophecy  is  thoroughly  believed  in,  and  is 
credited  not  only  to  special  seers,  but  also  to  distinguished 
warriors  going  into  battle;  in  the  latter  case,  as  far  at 
least  as  their  own  several  fate  is  concerned ;  this,  accord- 
ing to  Mr  Miller,  they  often  predict  with  startling  accu- 
racy.18 

There  is  a  strange  sacredness  mixed  up  with  the  sweat- 
house  and  its  use,  among  the  Cahrocs,  the  Eurocs,  and 
many  other  tribes.  The  men  of  every  village  spend  the 
winter  and  rainy  season  in  its  warm  shelter ;  but  squaws 
are  forbidden  to  enter,  under  penalty  of  death,  except  when 
they  are  initiated  into  the  ranks  of  the  'medicines.' 
So  consistent  are  the  Indians  in  this  matter,  that  women 
are  not  allowed  even  to  gather  the  wood  that  is  to  be  burned 
in  the  sacred  fire  of  a  sweat-house ;  all  is  done  by  men,  and 
that  only  with  certain  precautions  and  ceremonies.  The 
sacred  fire  is  lit  every  year  in  September  by  a  l  medi- 
cine '  who  has  gone  out  into  the  forest  and  fasted  and 
meditated  for  ten  days;  and,  till  a  certain  time  has 
elapsed,  no  secular  eye  must  behold  so  much  as  the  smoke 
of  it  under  awful  penalties.  The  flame  once  burning  is 
never  suffered  to  go  out  till  the  spring  begins  to  render 
further  heat  unnecessary  and  inconvenient. 

On  one  only  occasion  is  the  ban  lifted  from  the  head 
of  women ;  when  a  female  is  being  admitted  to  the  medi- 
cine ranks,  she  is  made  to  dance  in  the  sweat-house 
till  she  falls  exhausted.  It  does  not  appear,  howrever, 
that  even  by  becoming  a  medicine  can  she  hope  to  see 
twice  the  interior  of  this  lodge. 

18  Joaquin  Miller's  Life  amongst  the  Modocs,  pp,  21,  116,  259-60,  360. 


160          GODS,  SUPEBNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  admission  of  a  man  to  the  medicine  is  a  much 
severer  affair.  He  must  retire  to  the  forest  for  ten  days, 
eating  no  meat  the  while,  and  only  enough  acorn-porridge 
to  keep  the  life  in  him ;  the  ten  days  past,  he  returns  to 
the  sweat-house  and  leaps  up  and  down  till  he  falls,  just 
as  the  wroman  did. 

The  doctors  or  sorcerers  are  of  two  kinds,  '  root  doctors' 
and  '  barking  doctors.'  To  the  barking  doctor  falls  the 
diagnosis  of  a  case  of  sickness.  He,  or  she,  squats  down 
opposite  the  patient,  and  barks  at  him  after  the  manner 
of  an  enraged  cur,  for  hours  together.  If  it  be  a  poison- 
ing case,  or  a  case  of  malady  inflicted  by  some  conjurer, 
the  barking  doctor  then  goes  on  to  suck  the  evil  thing  out 
through  the  skin  or  administer  emetics,  as  may  be 
deemed  desirable.  If  the  case,  however,  be  one  of  less 
serious  proportions,  the  i  barker,'  after  having  made  his 
diagnosis,  retires,  and  the  root-doctor  comes  in,  who,  with 
his  herbs  and  simples  and  a  few  minor  incantations,  pro- 
ceeds to  cure  the  ailment.  If  a  patient  die,  then  the 
medicine  is  forced  to  return  his  fee;  and  if  he  refuse 
to  attend  on  anyone  and  the  person  die,  then  he  is  forced 
to  pay  to  the  relatives  a  sum  equal  to  that  which  was 
tendered  to  him  as  a  fee  in  the  beginning  of  the  affair ; 
thus  like  all  professions,  that  of  a  medicine  has  its 
draw-backs  as  well  as  advantages. 

Several  Northern  Californian  tribes  have  secret  socie- 
ties which  meet  in  a  lodge  set  apart,  or  in  a  sweat-house, 
and  engage  in  mummeries  of  various  kinds,  all  to  fright- 
en their  women.  The  men  pretend  to  converse  with  the 
devil,  and  make  their  meeting-place  shake  and  ring  again 
with  yells  and  whoops.  In  some  instances,  one  of  their 
number,  disguised  as  the  master  fiend  himself,  issues  from 
the  haunted  lodge,  and  rushes  like  a  madman  through 
the  village,  doing  his  best  to  frighten  contumacious 
women  and  children  out  of  their  senses.  This,  it  would 
seem,  has  been  going  on  from  time  immemorial  and  the 
poor  women  are  still  gulled  by  it,  and  even  frightened 
into  more  or  less  prolonged  fits  of  wifely  propriety  and 
less  easy  virtue. 


CALIFORNIA!*  DEITIES.  161 

The  coast  tribes  of  Del  Norte  County,  California,  live 
in  constant  terror  of  a  malignant  spirit  that  takes  the 
form  of  certain  animals,  the  form  of  a  bat,  of  a  hawk,  of 
a  tarantula,  and  so  on, — but  especially  delights  in  and 
affects  that  of  a  screech-owl.  The  belief  of  the  Russian- 
River  tribes  and  others  is  practically  identical  with  this. 

The  Cahrocs  have,  as  we  already  know,  some  concep- 
tion of  a  great  deity,  called  Chareya,  the  Old  Man  Above ; 
he  is  wont  to  appear  upon  earth  at  times  to  some  of  the 
most  favored  sorcerers;  he  is  described  as  wearing 
a  close  tunic,  with  a  medicine-bag,  and  as  having  long 
white  hair  that  falls  venerably  about  his  shoulders. 
Practically,  however,  the  Cahrocs,  like  the  majority  of 
Californian  tribes,  venerate  chiefly  the  coyote.  Great 
dread  is  also  had  of  certain  forest-demons  of  nocturnal 
habits ;  these,  say  the  Eurocs,  take  the  form  of  bears  and 
shoot  arrows  at  benighted  wayfarers.19 

Between  the  foregoing  outlines  of  Californian  belief 
and  those  connected  with  the  remaining  tribes,  passing 
south,  we  can  detect  no  salient  difference  till  we  reach 
the  Olchones,  a  coast  tribe  between  San  Francisco  and 
Monterey;  the  sun  here  begins  to  be  connected,  or  iden- 
tified by  name,  with  that  great  spirit,  or  rather,  that  Big 
Man,  who  made  the  earth  and  who  rules  in  the  sky.20 
So  we  find  it  again  both  around  Monterey  and  around 
San  Luis  Obispo ;  the  first  fruits  of  the  earth  were  offered 
in  these  neighborhoods  to  the  great  light,  and  his  rising 
was  greeted  with  cries  of  joy.21 

Father  Geronimo  Boscana22   gives   us  the  following 

19  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

20  Bfechey's  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  78. 

21  Fac/es,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  vol.  ci.,  pp.  316,  335. 

22  Father  Boscana,  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries  to  Upper  California, 
left  behind  him  the  short  manuscript  history  from  which  the  tradition  follow- 
ing in  the  text  has  been  taken, — through  the  medium  of  a  now  rare  transla- 
tion by  Mr  Robinson.    Filled  with  the  prejudices  of  its  age  and  of  the  profes- 
sion of  its  author,  it  is  yet  marvelously  truthlike;  though  a  painstaking  care 
has   evidently  been  used  with  regard  to  its  most  apparently  insignificant 
details,  there  are  none  of  those  too  visible  wrenchings  after  consistency,  and 
fillings  up  of  lacunae  which  so  surely  betray  the  hand  of  the  sophisticator 
in  so  many  monkish  manuscripts  on  like  and  kindred  siibjects.     There  are 
found  on  the  other  hand  frank  confessions  of  ignorance  on  doubtful  points, 
and  many  naTve  and  puzzled  comments  on  the  whole.    It  is  apparently  the 

Vox.  HI.,  11. 


162          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

relation  of  the  faith  and  worship  of  the  Acagchemem 
nations,  in  the  valley  and  neighborhood  of  San  Juan 
Capistrano,  California.  Part  of  it  would  fall  naturally 
into  that  part  of  this  work  alloted  to  origin;  but  the 
whole  is  so  intimately  mixed  with  so  much  concerning 
the  life,  deeds,  and  worship  of  various  supernatural  per- 
sonages that  it  has  seemed  better  to  fit  its  present  position 
than  any  other.  Of  the  first  part  of  the  tradition  there 
are  two  versions — if  indeed  they  be  versions  of  the  same 
tradition.  We  give  first  that  version  held.by  the  serranos, 
or  highlanders,  of  the  interior  country,  three  or  four 
leagues  inland  from  the  said  San  Juan  Capistrano : — 

Before  the  material  world  at  all  existed  there  lived  two 
beings,  brother  and  sister,  of  a  nature  that  can  not  be 
explained;  the  brother  living  above,  and  his  name 
meaning  the  Heavens,  the  sister  living  below  and  her 
name  signifying  Earth.  From  the  union  of  these  two, 
there  sprang  a  numerous  offspring.  Earth  and  sand 
were  the  first  fruits  of  this  marriage;  then  were  born 
rocks  and  stones ;  then  trees  both  great  and  small ;  then 
grass  and  herbs ;  then  animals ;  lastly  was  born  a  great 
personage  called  Ouiot,  who  was  a  "grand  captain."  By 
some  unknown  mother  many  children  of  a  medicine  race 
were  born  to  this  Ouiot.  All  these  things  happened 
in  the  north;  and  afterward  when  men  were  created 
they  were  created  in  the  north ;  but  as  the  people  multi- 
plied they  moved  toward  the  south,  the  earth  growing 
larger  also  and  extending  itself  in  the  same  direction. 

In  process  of  time,  Ouiot  becoming  old,  his  chil- 
dren plotted  to  kill  him,  alleging  that  the  infirmities  of 

longest  and  the  most  valuable  notice  in  existence  on  the  religion  of  a  nation  of 
the  native  Californians,  as  existing  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conqviest,  and 
more  worthy  of  confidence  than  the  general  run  of  such  documents  of  any 
date  whatever.  The  father  procured  his  information  as  follows.  He  says: 
'  God  assigned  to  me  three  aged  Indians,  the  youngest  of  whom  was  over 
seventy  years  of  age.  They  knew  all  the  secrets,  for  two  of  them  were 
capitanes,  and  the  other  a  pul,  who  were  well  instructed  in  the  mysteries.  By 
gifts,  endearments,  and  kindness,  I  elicited  from  them  their  secrets,  with 
their  explanations;  and  by  witnessing  the  ceremonies  which  they  performed, 
I  learned  by  degrees,  their  mysteries .  Thus,  by  devoting  a  portion  of  the 
nights  to  profound  meditation,  and  comparing  their  actions  with  their  dis- 
closures, I  was  enabled  after  a  long  time,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  their  re- 
ligion.' Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in  Cal.,  p.  236. 


THE  COYOTE  OF  THE  ACAGCHEMEMS.        163 

age  made  him  unfit  any  longer  to  govern  them  or  attend 
to  their  welfare.  So  they  put  a  strong  poison  in  his 
drink,  and  when  he  drank  of  it  a  sore  sickness  came 
upon  him;  he  rose  up  and  left  his  home  in  the 
mountains  and  went  down  to  what  is  now  the  sea-shore, 
though  at  that  time  there  was  no  sea  there.  His  mother, 
whose  name  is  the  Earth,  mixed  him  an  antidote  in  a 
large  shell,  and  set  the  potion  out  in  the  sun  to  brew; 
but  the  fragrance  of  it  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
Coyote,  who  came  and  overset  the  shell.  So  Ouiot  sick- 
ened to  death,  and  though  he  told  his  children  that  he 
would  shortly  return  and  be  with  them  again,  he  has 
never  been  seen  since.  All  the  people  made  a  great 
pile  of  wood  and  burnt  his  body  there,  and  just  as  the 
ceremony  began  the  Coyote  leaped  upon  the  body,  saying 
that  he  would  burn  with  it ;  but  he  only  tore  a  piece  of 
flesh  from  the  stomach  and  ate  it  and  escaped.  After 
that  the  title  of  the  Coyote  was  changed  from  Eyacque, 
which  means  Sub-captain,  to  Eno,  that  is  to  say,  Thief 
and  Cannibal. 

When  now  the  funeral  rites  were  over,  a  general  coun- 
cil was  held  and  arrangements  made  for  collecting  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  food ;  for  up  to  this  time  the  children 
and  descendants  of  Ouiot  had  nothing  to  eat  but  a  kind 
of  white  clay.  And  while  they  consulted  together,  be- 
hold a  marvelous  thing  appeared  before  them,  and  they 
spoke  to  it  saying:  Art  thou  our  captain,  Ouiot.  But  the 
spectre  said:  Nay,  for  I  am  greater  than  Ouiot;  my 
habitation  is  above,  and  my  name  is  Chinigchinich. 
Then  he  spoke  further,  having  been  told  for  what  they 
were  come  together:  I  create  all  things,  and  I  go  now  to 
make  man,  another  people  like  unto  you ;  as  for  you  I 
give  you  power,  each  after  his  kind,  to  produce  all  good 
and  pleasant  things.  One  of  you  shall  bring  rain,  and 
another  dew,  and  another  make  the  acorn  grow,  and 
others  other  seeds,  and  yet  others  shall  cause  all  kinds  of 
game  to  abound  in  the  land;  and  your  children  shall 
have  this  power  for  ever,  and  they  shall  be  sorcerers  to 
the  men  I  go  to  create,  and  shall  receive  gifts  of  them, 


164          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

that  the  game  fail  not  and  the  harvests  be  sure.  Then 
Chinigchinich  made  man;  out  of  the  clay  of  the  lake  he 
formed  him,  male  and  female;  and  the  present  Califor- 
nians  are  the  descendants  of  the  one  or  more  pairs  there 
and  thus  created. 

So  ends  the  known  tradition  of  the  mountaineers; 
we  must  now  go  back  and  take  up  the  story  anew  at  its 
beginning,  as  told  by  the  playanos,  or  people  of  the  valley 
of  San  Juan  Capistrano.  These  say  that  an  invisible 
all-powerful  being,  called  Nocuma,  made  the  wrorld  and 
all  that  it  contains  of  things  that  grow  and  move.  He 
made  it  round  like  a  ball  and  held  it  in  his  hands,  where 
it  rolled  about  a  good  deal  at  first,  till  he  steadied  it  by 
sticking  a  heavy  black  rock  called  tosaut  into  it,  as  a  kind 
of  ballast.  The  sea  was  at  this  time  only  a  little  stream 
running  round  the  world,  and  so  crowded  with  fish  that 
their  twinkling  fins  had  no  longer  room  to  move;  so 
'great  was  the  press  that  some  of  the  more  foolish  fry 
were  for  effecting  a  landing  and  founding  a  colony, 
upon  the  dry  land,  and  it  was  only  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  that  they  were  persuaded  by  their  elders,  that 
the  killing  air  and  baneful  sun  and  the  want  of  feet  must 
infallibly  prove  the  destruction  before  many  days  of  all 
who  took  part  in  such  a  desperate  enterprise.  The  proper 
plan  was  evidently  to  improve  and  enlarge  their  present 
home ;  and  to  this  end,  principally  by  the  aid  of  one  very 
large  fish,  they  broke  the  great  rock  tosaut  in  two,  find- 
ing a  bladder  in  the  centre  filled  with  a  very  bitter  sub- 
stance. The  taste  of  it  pleased  the  fish,  so  they  emptied 
it  into  the  water,  and  instantly  the  water  became  salt 
and  swelled  up  and  overflowed  a  great  part  of  the  old 
earth,  and  made  itself  the'  new  boundaries  that  remain 
to  this  day. 

Then  Nocuma  created  a  man,  shaping  him  out  of  the 
soil  of  the  earth,  calling  him  Ejoni.  A  woman  also  the 
great  god  made,  presumably  of  the  same  material  as  the 
man,  calling  her  Ae.  Many  children  were  born  to  this 
first  pair,  and  their  descendants  multiplied  over  the  land. 
The  name  of  one  of  these  last  was  Sirout,  that  is  to  say, 


THE  FIEST  MEDICINE-MAN.  165 

Handful  of  Tobacco,  and  the  name  of  his  wife  was  Yca- 
iut,  which  means  Above ;  and  to  Sirout  and  Ycaiut  was 
born  a  son,  while  they  lived  in  a  place  north-east  about 
eight  leagues  from  San  Juan  Capistrano.  The  name  of 
this  son  was  Ouiot,  that  is  to  say  Dominator ;  he  grew  a 
fierce  and  redoubtable  warrior ;  haughty,  ambitious,  tyran- 
nous, he  extended  his  lordship  on  every  side,  ruling 
everywhere  as  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  and  the  people  con- 
spired against  him.  It  was  determined  that  he  should 
die  by  poison;  a  piece  of  the  rock  tosaut  was  ground  up 
in  so  deadly  a  way  that  its  mere  external  application 
was  sufficient  to  cause  death.  Ouiot,  notwithstanding 
that  he  held  himself  constantly  on  the  alert,  having  been 
warned  of  his  danger  by  a  small  burrowing  animal  called 
the  cucumel,  was  unable  to  avoid  his  fate ;  a  few  grains 
of  the  cankerous  mixture  were  dropped  upon  his  breast 
while  he  slept,  and  the  strong  mineral  ate  its  way  to  the 
very  springs  of  his  life.  All  the  wise  men  of  the  land 
were  called  to  his  assistance;  but  there  was  nothing  for 
him  save  to  die.  His  body  was  burned  on  a  great  pile 
with  songs  of  joy  and  dances,  and  the  nation  rejoiced. 

While  the  people  were  gathered  to  this  end,  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  consult  on  the  feasibility  of  pro- 
curing seed  and  flesh  to  eat  instead  of  the  clay  which 
had  up  to  this  time  been  the  sole  food  of  the  human 
family.  And  while  they  yet  talked  together,  there  ap- 
peared to  them,  coming  they  knew  not  whence,  one 
called  Attajen,  "  which  name  implies  man,  or  rational 
being."  And  Attajen,  understanding  their  desires,  chose 
out  certain  of  the  elders  among  them,  and  to  these  gave 
he  power;  one  that  he  might  cause  rain  to  fall,  to  an- 
other that  he  might  cause  game  to  abound,  and  so  with 
the  rest,  to  each  his  power  and  gift,  and  to  the  successors 
of  each  for  ever.  These  were  the  first  medicine-men. 

Many  years  having  elapsed  since  the  death  of  Ouiot, 
there  appeared  in  the  same  place  one  called  Ouiamot, 
reputed  son  of  Tacu  and  Auzar — people  unknown,  but 
natives,  it  is  thought  by  Boscana,  of  u  some  distant  land." 
This  Ouiamot  is  better  known  by  his  great  name  Chinig- 


1G6          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

chinich,  which  means  Almighty.  He  first  manifested 
his  powers  to  the  people  on  a  day  when  they  had  met  in 
congregation  for  some  purpose  or  other;  he  appeared 
dancing  before  them  crowned  with  a  kind  of  high 
crown  made  of  tall  feathers  stuck  into  a  circlet  of  some 
kind,  girt  with  a  kind  of  petticoat  of  feathers,  and  having 
his  flesh  painted  black  and  red.  Thus  decorated  he  was 
called  the  tobet.  Having  danced  some  time,  Chinigchinich 
called  out  the  medicine-men,  or  puplems  as  they  were 
called,  among  whom  it  would  appear  the  chiefs  are 
always  numbered,  and  confirmed  their  power;  telling 
them  that  he  had  come  from  the  stars  to  instruct  them 
in  dancing  and  all  other  things,  and  commanding  that 
in  all  their  necessities  they  should  array  themselves  in 
the  tobet,  and  so  dance  as  he  had  danced,  supplicating 
him  by  his  great  name,  that  thus  they  might  receive 
of  their  petitions.  He  taught  them  how  to  worship 
him,  how  to  build  vanquechs,  or  places  of  worship,  and 
how  to  direct  their  conduct  in  various  affairs  of  life. 
Then  he  prepared  to  die,  and  the  people  asked  him  if 
they  should  bury  him;  but  he  warned  them  against 
attempting  such  a  thing:  If  ye  buried  me,  he  said,  ye 
would  tread  upon  my  grave,  and  for  that  my  hand  would 
be  heavy  upon  you;  look  to  it,  and  to  all  your  ways, 
for  lo,  I  go  up  where  the  high  stars  are,  where  mine  eyes 
shall  see  all  the  ways  of  men ;  and  whosoever  will  not 
keep  my  commandments  nor  observe  the  things  I  have 
taught,  behold  disease  shall  plague  all  his  body,  and  no 
food  shall  come  near  his  lips,  the  bear  shall  rend  his 
flesh,  and  the  crooked  tooth  of  the  serpent  shall  sting 
him. 

The  vanquech.  or  place  of  worship,  seems  to  have  been 
an  unroofed  inclosure  of  stakes,  within  which,  on  a 
hurdle,  was  placed  the  image  of  the  god  Chinigchinich. 
This  image  was  the  skin  of  a  coyote  or  that  of  a  mount- 
ain-cat stuffed  with  the  feathers  of  certain  birds,  and 
with  various  other  things,  so  that  it  looked  like  a  live 
animal ;  a  bow  and  some  arrows  were  attached  to  it  on  the 
outside,  and  other  arrows  were  thrust  down  its  throat  so 


SANCTUARIES  OF  REFUGE.  167 

that  the  feathers  of  them  appeared  at  the  mouth  as  out 
of  a  quiver.  The  whole  place  of  the  inclosure  was 
sacred,  and  not  to  be  approached  without  reverence;  it 
does  not  seem  that  sacrifices  formed  any  part  of  the  wor- 
ship there  offered,  but  only  pra}^er,  and  sometimes  a  kind 
of  pantomine  connected  with  the  undertaking  desired  to 
be  furthered — thus,  desiring  success  in  hunting  one 
mimicked  the  actions  of  the  chase,  leaping  and  twanging 
one's  bow.  Each  vanquech  was  a  city  of  refuge,  with 
rights  of  sanctuary  exceeding  any  ever  granted  in  Jewish 
or  Christian  countries.  Not  only  was  every  criminal 
safe  there  whatever  his  crime,  but  the  crime  was  as  it 
were  blotted  out  from  that  moment,  and  the  offender  was 
at  liberty  to  leave  the  sanctuary  and  walk  about  as 
before ;  it  was  not  lawful  even  to  mention  his  crime ;  all 
that  the  avenger  could  do  was  to  point  at  him  and  deride 
him,  saying:  Lo,  a  coward,  who  has  been  forced  to  flee  to 
Chinigchinich !  This  flight  was  rendered  so  much  a 
meaner  thing  in  that  it  only  turned  the  punishment  from 
the  head  of  him  that  fled  upon  that  of  some  of  his  rela- 
tives; life  went  for  life,  eye  for  eye,  and  tooth  for  tooth, 
even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  for  justice'  sake. 
Besides  Chinigchinich  they  worshiped,  or  at  any  rate 
feared,  a  god  called  Touch;  who  inhabited  the  moun- 
tains and  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  appearing,  however, 
from  time  to  time  in  the  form  of  various  animals  of  a 
terrifying  kind.  Every  child  at  the  age  of  six  or  seven 
received,  sent  to  him  from  this  god,  some  animal  as  a 
protector.  To  find  out  what  this  animal  or  spirit  in  the 
shape  of  animal  was,  narcotic  drinks  were  swallowed,  or 
the  subject  fasted  and  watched  in  the  vanquech  for  a 
given  time,  generally  three  days.  He  whose  rank 
entitled  him  to  wait  for  his  guardian  apparition  in  the 
sacred  inclosure,  was  set  there  by  the  side  of  the  god's 
image,  and  on  the  ground  before  him  was  sketched  by 
one  of  the  wise  men  an  uncouth  figure  of  some  animal. 
The  child  was  then  left  to  complete  his  vigil,  being 
warned  at  the  same  time  to  endure  its  hardships  with 
patience,  in  that  any  attempt  to  infringe  upon  its  rules, 


168          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

by  eating  or  drinking  or  otherwise,  would  be  reported  to 
the  god  by  the  sprawling  figure  the  enchanter  had  drawn 
in  the  clay,  and  that  in  such  a  case  the  punishment  of 
Chinigchinich  would  be  terrible.  After  all  this  was 
over,  a  scar  was  made  on  the  child's  right  arm,  and  some- 
times on  the  thick  part  of  the  leg  also,  by  covering  the 
part,  "  according  to  the  figure  required,"  with  a  peculiar 
herb  dried  and  powdered,  and  setting  fire  to  it.  This 
was  a  brand  or  seal  required  by  Chinigchinich,  and  was 
besides  supposed  to  strengthen  the  nerves  and  give  "  a 
better  pulse  for  the  management  of  the  bow."  23 

The  Acagchemems,  like  many  other  Californian  tribes,24 
regard  the  great  buzzard  with  sentiments  of  veneration, 
while  they  seem  to  have  had  connected  with  it  several 
rites  and  ideas  peculiar  to  themselves.  They  called  this 
bird  the  panes,  and  once  every  year  they  had  a  festival  of 
the  same  name,  in  which  the  principal  ceremony  was  the 
killing  of  a  buzzard  without  losing  a  drop  of  its  blood. 
It  was  next  skinned,  all  possible  care  being  taken  to  pre- 
serve the  feathers  entire,  as  these  were  used  in  making 
the  feathered  petticoat  and  diadem,  already  described  as 
part  of  the  tobet.  Last  of  all  the  body  was  buried  within 
the  sacred  inclosure  amid  great  apparent  grief  from  the 
old  women,  they  mourning  as  over  the  loss  of  rela- 
tive or  friend.  Tradition  explained  this:  the  panes 
had  indeed  been  once  a  woman,  whom,  wandering  in  the 
mountain  ways,  the  great  god  Chinigchinich  had  come 
suddenly  upon  and  changed  into  a  bird.  How  this  was 
connected  with  the  killing  of  her  anew  every  year  by 
the  people,  and  with  certain  extraordinary  ideas  held 
relative  to  that  killing  is,  however,  by  no  means  clear; 
for  it  was  believed  that  as  often  as  the  bird  was  killed  it 
was  made  alive  again,  and  more,  and  faith  to  move 
mountains — that  the  birds  killed  in  one  same  yearly  feast 
in  many  separate  villages  were  one  and  the  same  bird. 
How  these  things  were  or  why,  none  knew,  it  was  enough 

23  See  p.  113,  of  this  volume,  for  a  custom  among  the  Mexicans  not  with- 
out analogies  to  this. 

24  See  p.  134,  of  this  volume. 


AND  THERE  WAS  WAE  IN  HEAVEN.  169 

that  they  were  a  commandment  and  ordinance  of  Chinig- 

chinich,  whose  ways  were  not  as  the  ways  of  men.25 

« 

The  Pericues  of  Lower  California  were  divided  into 
two  sects,  worshiping  two  hostile  divinities  who  made 
a  war  of  extermination  upon  each  other.  The  tradition 
explains  that  there  was  a  great  lord  in  heaven,  called 
Niparaya,  who  made  earth  and  sea,  and  was  almighty 
and  invisible.  His  wife  was  Anayicoyondi,  a  goddess 
who,  though  possessing  no  body,  bore  him  in  a  divinely 
mysterious  manner  three  children ;  one  of  whom,  Quaay- 
ayp,  was  a  real  man  and  born  on  earth,  on  the  Acaragui 
mountains.  Very  powerful  this  young  god  was,  and  a 
long  time  he  lived  with  the  ancestors  of  the  Pericues, 
whom  it  is  almost  to  be  inferred  that  he  created ;  at  any  rate 
we  are  told  that  he  was  able  to  make  men,  drawing  them 
up  out  of  the  earth.  The  men  at  last  killed  this  their 
great  hero  and  teacher,  and  put  a  crown  of  thorns  upon 
his  head.26  Somewhere  or  other  he  remains  lying  dead 
to  this  day,  and  he  remains  constantly  beautiful,  neither 
does  his  body  know  corruption.  Blood  drips  constantly 
from  his  wounds,  and  he  can  speak  no  more,  being  dead ; 
yet  there  is  an  owl  that  speaks  to  him.  And  besides  the 
before-spoken-of  god  Niparaya  in  heaven,  there  was 
another  and  hostile  god  called  Wac  or  Tuparan.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Niparaya  sect,  this  Wac  had  made  war  on  their 
favorite  god,  and  been  by  him  defeated  and  cast  forth  of 
heaven  into  a  cave  under  the  earth,  of  which  cave  the 
whales  of  the  sea  were  the  guardians.  With  a  perverse, 
though  not  unnatural,  obstinacy  the  sect  that  held  Wac  or 
Tuparan  to  be  their  great  god  persisted  in  holding  ideas 
peculiar  to  themselves  with  regard  to  the  truth  of  the 
foregoing  story;  and  their  account  of  the  great  war  in 
heaven  and  its  results  differed  from  the  other,  as  differ  the 
creeds  of  heterodox  and  orthodox  everywhere ;  they  ascribe. 
for  example,  part  of  the  creation  to  other  gods  besides 

85  Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in  Cal.,  pp.  242-301. 

26  The  Christian  leaven,  whose  workings  are  evident  through  this  narra- 
tive, ferments  here  too  violently  to  need  pointing  out. 


170          GODS,  SUPERNATUAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Niparaya.27  The  Cochimis  and  remaining  natives  of  the 
Californian  peninsula  seem  to  have  held  in  the  main 
much  the  same  ideas  with  regard  to  the  gods  and  powers 
above  them  as  the  Pericues  held,  and  the  sorcerers  of  all 
had  the  common  blowings,  leapings,  fastings,  and  other 
mummeries  that  make  these  professors  of  the  sinister  art 
so  much  alike  everywhere  in  our  territory.28 

The  natives  of  Nevada  have  ideas  respecting  a  great 
kind  Spirit  of  some  kind,  as  well  as  a  myth  concerning 
an  evil  one ;  but  they  have  no  special  class  set  apart  as 
medicine-men.29  The  Utah  belief  seems  to  be  as  nearly 
as  possible  identical  with  that  of  Nevada.30 

The  Comanches  acknowledge  more  or  less  vaguely  a 
Supreme  Spirit,  but  seem  to  use  the  Sun  and  the  Earth 
as  mediators  with  and,  in  some  sort,  as  embodiments  of 
him.  They  have  a  recognized  body  of  sorcerers  called 
pmjacanies,  and  various  religious  ceremonies  and  chants; 
for  the  most  part  of  a  simple  kind,  and  directed  to  the  Sun 
as  the  great  source  of  life,  and  to  the  Earth  as  the  pro- 
ducer and  receptacle  of  all  that  sustains  life.  According 
to  the  Abbe  Domenech,  every  Comanche  wears  a  little 
figure  of  the  sun,  attached  to  his  neck,  or  has  a  picture  of 
it  painted  on  his  shield ;  from  the  ears  of  each  hang  also 
two  crescents,  which  may  possibly  represent  the  moon.31 

The  Apaches  recognize  a  supreme  power  in  heaven 
under  the  name  Yaxtaxitaxitanne,  the  creator  and  master 
of  all  things ;  but  they  render  him  no  open  service  nor  wor- 
ship. To  any  taciturn  cunning  man  they  are  accustomed 
to  credit  intercourse  with  a  preternatural  power  of  some 
kind,  and  to  look  to  him  as  a  sort  of  oracle  in  various 
emergencies.  This  is,  in  fact,  their  medicine-man,  and 

27  See  pp.  83-4,  this  volume. 

28  Veneijas,  Noticias  de  la  Cal.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  102-124;  Claviyero,  Storiadella 
Cal.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  135-141;  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  314. 

29  Vinjinia  City  Chronicle,  quoted  in  8.  F.  Daily  Ev'g  Post,  of  Oct.  12th, 
1872;  Browne's  Lower  Cal.,  p.  188. 

3«  De  Smet's  Letters,  p.  41. 

31  Parker,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  684;  Whipple,  Ewbank,  and 
Tumor's  Kept.,  pp.  35-6,  in  Pac.  R.  11.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.;  Barre,iro,  Ojeada  sobre 
N.  Me.t.,  ap.  p.  8;  FUley's  Life  and  Adven.,  p.  82;  Marcy's  Army  Life,  pp.  58, 
Ci;  Domenech,  Jour,  d'un  Miss.,  pp.  13,  131,  469. 


MONTEZUMA  OF  THE  PUEBLOS.  171 

in  cases  of  illness  he  pretends  to  perform  cures  by  the 
aid  of  herbs  and  ceremonies  of  various  kinds.32 

The  Navajos,  having  the  usual  class  of  sorcerers,  call 
their  good  deity  "Whaillahay,  and  their  evil  one  Chiiiday ; 
the  principal  use  of  their  good  god  seems  to  be  to  protect 
them  from  their  evil  one.  In  smoking  they  sometimes 
puff  their  tobacco-smoke  toward  heaven  with  great  for- 
mality; this  is  said  to  bring  rain;  to  the  same  end  cer- 
tain long  round  stones,  thought  to  be  cast  down  by  the 
clouds  in  a  thunderstorm,  are  used  with  various  cere- 
monies. 

The  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  thought  to  be  powers 
connected  with  rain  and  fine  weather ;  while  the  god  Mon- 
tezuma  of  their  Pueblo  neighbors  is  unknown  among 
them.33 

All  the  Pueblo  cities,  though  speaking  different  lan- 
guages hold^  substantialy  the  same  faith.  They  seem  to 
assent  to  the  statement  of  the  existence  of  a  great  and 
good  spirit  whose  name  is  too  sacred  to  be  mentioned ; 
but  most  say  that  Montezuma  is  his  equal ;  and  some, 
again,  that  the  Sun  is  the  same  as  or  equal  to  Montezuma. 
There  are,  besides,  the  lesser  divinities  of  water, — Mon- 
tezuma being  considered  in  one  aspect  as  the  great  rain- 
god,  and  as  such  often  mentioned  as  being  aided  by  or 
being,  in  connection  with  a  serpent.  Over  and  above 
all  these,  the  existence  of  a  general  class  or  body  of  evil 
spirits  is  taken  for  granted. 

Many  places  in  New  Mexico  claim  -to  be  the  birthplace 
of  the  great  leader,  teacher,  and  god  Montezuma.  At 
any  rate  he  is  traditionally  supposed  to  have  appeared 
among  the  Pueblos  before  they  had  arrived  at  or  built 
their  present  towns.  Some  traditions  would  make  him 
either  the  ancestor  or  the  creator  of  the  same  people ;  but 

32  Barreiro,   Ojeada  sobre  N.  Mex.,  ap.  pp.  2-3;   Henry,  in  Schoolcraft's 
Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  212. 

33  Crofutt's  Western  World,  Aug.  1872,  p.  27;    Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Tur- 
ner's Kept.,  p.  42,  in  Pac.  R.  B.  Eept.,  vol.  iii. ;  Ten  Broec.k,  in  Schoolcraft's 
Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  91;   Bristol,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Eept.,  Special  Com.,  1867,  p.  358; 
Brinton'a  Myths,  p.  158;  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.ii.,  p.  402. 


172          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  most  regard  him  as  a  kind  of  semi  or  wholly  divine 
priest,  prophet,  leader,  and  legislator.  Under  restric- 
tions pointed  out  in  a  former  note,34  we  may  fairly  regard 
him  as  at  once  the  Melchizedek,  the  Moses,  and  the 
Messiah  of  these  Pueblo  desert  wanderers  from  an  Egypt 
that  history  is  ignorant  of,  and  whose  name  even  tradi- 
tion whispers  not.  He  taught  his  people  to  build  cities 
swith  tall  houses,  to  construct  estufas,  or  semi-sacred 
sweat-houses,  and  to  kindle  and  guard  the  sacred  fire. 

At  Acoma,  it  is  said  by  some,  was  established  the  first 
Pueblo,  and  thence  the  people  marched  southward,  form- 
ing others.  Acoma  was  one,  and  Pecos  another.  At 
this  last,  Montezuma  planted  a  tree  upside  down,  and 
said  that,  on  his  leaving  them,  a  strange  nation  should 
oppress  them  for  many  years,  years  also  in  which  there 
should  be  no  rain,  but  that  they  were  to  persist  in 
watching  the  sacred  fire  until  the  tree  fell,  when  he 
would  return,  with  a  white  race  which  should  destroy 
their  enemies;  and  then  rain  should  fall  again  and  the 
earth  be  fertile.  It  is  said  that  this  tree  fell  from  its 
abnormal  position,  as  the  American  army  entered  Santa 
Fe. 

The  watching  of  the  fire,  kept  up  in  subterranean 
estufas,  under  a  covering  of  ashes  generally,  and  in  the 
basin  of  a  small  altar,  was  no  light  task.  The  warriors 
took  the  post  by  turns,  some  said,  for  two  successive  days 
and  nights,  sans  food,  sans  drink,  sans  sleep,  sans  every- 
thing. Others  affirm  that  this  watching  was  kept  up 
till  exhaustion  and  even  death  relieved  the  guard — the 
last  not  to  be  wandered  at,  seeing  the  insufferable  close- 
ness of  the  place  and  the  accumulation  of  carbonic  acid. 
The  remains  of  the  dead  were,  it  was  sometimes  supposed, 
carried  off  by  a  monstrous  serpent.  This  holy  fire  was 
believed  to  be  the  palladium  of  the  city,  and  the  watch- 
ers by  it  could  well  dream  of  that  day,  when,  coming 
with  the  sun,  Montezuma  should  descend  by  the  column 
of  smoke  whose  roots  they  fed,  and  should  fill  the  shabby 

3*  See  pp.  77-8,  note  36,  this  volume. 


HE  IS  NOT  DEAD  BUT  SLEEPETH.  173 

little  estufa  with  a  glory  like  that  in  a  wilderness  taber- 
nacle they  knew  not  of,  where  a  more  awful  pillar  of 
smoke  shadowed  the  mystic  cherubim.  Hope  dies  hard, 
and  the  dim  memories  of  a  great  past  never  quite  fade 
away  from  among  any  people.  No  true-born  British 
bard  ever  doubted  of  Arthur's  return  from  his  kingly 
rest  in  Avalon,  nor  that  the  flash  of  Excalibar  should  be 
one  day  again  as  the  lightning  of  death  in  the  eyes  of 
the  hated  Saxon.  The  herders  on  the  shore  of  Lucerne 
know  that  were  Switzerland  in  peril,  the  Tell  would 
spring  from  his  sleep  as  at  the  crack  of  doom.  "  When 
Germany  is  at  her  lowest  then  is  her  greatness  nearest" 
say  the  weird  old  ballads  of  that  land ;  for  then  shall  the 
Great  Kaiser  rise  from  the  vault  in  the  Kyffhauser, — Bar- 
barossa  shall  rise,  though  his  beard  be  grown  through  the 
long  stone  table.  Neither  is  the  Frank  without  his 
savior :  Sing,  0  troubadours,  sing  and  strike  the  chords 
proudly!  Who  shall  prevail  while  Charlemagne  but 
sleeps  in  the  shadow  of  the  Untersberg? — And  so  our 
Pueblo  sentinel  climbing  the  housetop  at  Pecos,  looking 
ever  eastward  from  Santo  Domingo  on  the  Rio  Grande ; 
he  too  waits  for  the  beautiful  feet  upon  the  mountains 
and  the  plumes  of  him — 

Who  dwelt  up  in  the  yellow  sun, 
And  sorrowing  for  man's  despair, 
Slid  by  his  trailing  yellow  hair 
To  earth,  to  rule  with  love  and  bring 
The  blessedness  of  peace. 3S 

The  Pueblo  chiefs  seem  to  be  at  the  same  time  priests  ; 
they  perform  the  various  simple  rites  by  which  the  power 
of  the  sun  and  of  Montezuma  is  recognized  as  well  as 
the  power — according  to  some  accounts — of  "  the  Great 
Snake,  to  whom  by  order  of  Montezuma  they  are  to  look 
for  life;"  they  also  officiate  in  certain  ceremonies  with 
which  they  pray  for  rain.  There  are  painted  represen- 
tations of  the  Great  Snake,  together  with  that  of  a  mis- 
shapen red-haired  man  declared  to  stand  for  Montezuma. 
Of  this  last  there  was  also  in  1845,  in  the  pueblo  of 

35  Joaguin  Mitter's  Calif ornian. 


174          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Laguna,  a  rude  effigy  or  idol,  intended,  apparently,  to 
represent  only  the  head  of  the  deity;  it  was  made  of 
tanned  skin  in  the  form  of  a  brimless  hat  or  cylinder 
open  at  the  bottom.  Half-way  round,  it  was  painted 
red;  the  other  half  was  green.  The  green  side  was 
rudely  marked  to  suggest  a  face:  two  triangles  were  cut 
for  eyes;  there  was  no  nose;  a  circular  leather  patch 
served  for  a  mouth,  and  two  other  patches  in  an 
appropriate  situation  suggested  ears.  Crowning  the 
head  was  a  small  tuft  of  leather,  said  to  be  supplemented 
by  feathers  on  festal  occasions.  A  sorry  image  one 
would  say,  yet  one  looked  upon  by  its  exhibitors  with 
apparently  the  greatest  veneration;  they  kneeling  in  a 
most  devoted  manner,  going  through  a  form  of  prayer, 
and  sprinkling  it  with  a  white  powder.  One  of  the 
worshipers  said  it  was  God  and  the  brother  of  God; 
and  the  people  bring  it  out  in  dry  seasons,  and,  with 
dancing  and  other  rites,  invoke  it  for  rain. 

Christianity  has  now  effaced  the  memory  of  most  of 
the  rites  of  the  Pueblo  religion,  but  Dr  Ten  Broeck 
noticed  that  many  of  the  worshipers  at  the  Christian 
church  in  Laguna  carried  little  baskets  in  their  hands 
containing  images  of  domestic  animals,  or  of  beasts  of  the 
chase,  molded  in  mud  or  dough ;  it  being  the  custom,  as 
it  had  been  there  from  time  immemorial,  for  those  that 
had  been  successful  in  the  chase,  or  in  accumulating 
cattle,  to  bring  such  simulachres  of  their  prosperity  before 
the  altar  of  God, — probably,  a  modification  produced  by 
the  poverty  of  the  people  of  a  rite  as  old  as  the  altar  of 
Abel,  to  wit,  the  offering  of  the  firstlings  and  firstfruits  to 
that  Deity  whose  blessing  had  given  the  increase. 

It  has  been  affirmed,  without  much  foundation  or  pro- 
bability of  truth,  that  the  Pueblos  worshiped  fire  and 
water.36 

36  Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  pp.  271-3;  Davis'  El  Gringo,  pp.  142,  396; 
Simpson's  Overland  Journ.,  pp.  21-3;  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  164-5,  418, 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  62-3,  401;  Mollkausen,  Tttgebuch,  pp.  170,  219,  284;  Mcline's  Two 
Thousand  Miles  on  Horseback,  pp.  202,  226;  Rwdon's  Adven.  in  Mex.,  p.  193; 
Ten  Broeck,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  73;  Ward,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept., 
1864,  pp.  192-3;  Emory's  Reconnaissance,  p.  30;  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii., 
p.  384;  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  190;  Coronado,  in  RakluyVs  Voy.,  vol.  iii.,  p. 


MOJAVE  DEITIES.  175 

The  Moquis  know  nothing  of  Montezuma ;  they  believe 
in  a  Great  Father,  living  where  the  sun  rises,  and  in  a 
great  Mother,  whose  home  is  where  the  sun  goes  down. 
This  Father  is  the  father  of  evil,  war,  pestilence,  and 
famine;  but  from  the  mother  are  all  their  joy,  peace, 
plenty,  and  health.37 

The  Mojaves  tell  of  a  certain  Matevil,  creator  of  hea- 
ven and  earth,  who  was  wont  in  time  past  to  remain 
among  them  in  a  certain  grand  casa.  This  habitation 
was,  however,  by  some  untoward  event  broken  down ; 
the  nations  were  destroyed ;  and  Matevil  departed  east- 
ward. Whence,  in  the  latter  days,  he  will  again  return 
to  consolidate,  prosper,  and  live  with  his  people  forever. 
This  Matevil,  or  Mathowelia,  has  a  son  called  Mastamho, 
who  made  the  water  and  planted  trees.  There  is  also 
an  Evil  Spirit  Newathie.38 

From  a  letter  just  received  from  Judge  Roseborough, 
I  am  enabled  to  close  this  chapter  with  some  new  and 
valuable  facts  regarding  the  religious  ideas  of  certain 
tribes — not  accurately  specified — of  the  north-west  por- 
tion of  Upper  California.  The  learned  judge  has  given 
unusual  attention  to  the  subject  of  which  he  writes,  and  his 
opportunities  for  procuring  information  must  have  been 
frequent  during  ten  years  of  travel  and  residence  in  the 
districts  of  the  northern  counties  of  California : — 

Among  the  tribes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Trinity  river 
is  found  a  legend  relating  to  a  certain  Wappeckquemow, 
who  was  a  giant,  and  apparently  the  father  and  leader  of 

379.  Fremont  gives  an  account  of  the  birth  of  Montezuma:  His  mother  was, 
it  is  said,  a  woman  of  exquisite  beauty,  admired  and  sought  after  by  all  men, 
they  making  her  presents  of  corn  and  skins  and  all  that  they  had;  but  the 
fastidious  beauty  would  accept  nothing  of  them  but  their  gifts.  In  process 
of  time  a  season  of  drought  brought  on  a  famine  and  much  distress;  then  it 
was  that  the  rich  lady  showed  her  charity  to  be  as  great  in  one  direction  as 
it  had  been  wanting  in  another.  She  opened  her  granaries  and  the  gifts  of 
the  lovers  she  had  not  loved  went  to  releave  the  hungry  she  pitied.  At  last 
with  rain,  fertility  returned  to  the  earth ;  and  on  the  chaste  Artemis  of  the 
Pueblos  its  touch  fell  too.  She  bore  a  son  to  the  thick  summer  shower  and 
that  son  was  Montezuma. 

37  Ten  Broeck,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  85-6. 

33  Whipple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner's  Rept.,  pp.  42-3,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept., 
vol.  iii.;  Dodt,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1870,  p.  129. 


1/6          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

a  pre-human  race  like  himself.  He  was  expelled  from  the 
country  that  he  inhabited — near  the  mouth  of  the  Kla- 
math — -for  disobeying  or  offending  some  great  god,  and  a 
curse  was  pronounced  against  him,  so  that  not  even  his 
descendants  should  ever  return  to  that  land.  On  the 
expulsion  of  these  Anakim,  the  ancestors  of  the  people  to 
whom  this  legend  belongs  came  down  from  the  north- 
west, a  direction  of  migration,  according  to  Judge  Rose- 
borough,  uniformly  adhered  to  in  the  legends  of  all  the 
tribes  of  north-west  California.  These  new  settlers,  how- 
ever, like  their  predecessors  of  the  giant  race,  quarreled 
with  the  great  god  and  were  abandoned  by  him  to  their 
own  devices,  being  given  over  into  the  hands  of  certain 
evil  powers  or  devils.  Of  these  the  first  is  Omaha,  who, 
possessing  the  shape  of  a  grizzly  bear,  is  invisible  and 
goes  about  everywhere  bringing  sickness  and  misfortune 
on  mankind.  JSText  there  is  Makalay,  a  fiend  with  a  horn 
like  a  unicorn;  he  is  swift  as  the  wind  and  moves  by 
great  leaps  like  a  kangaroo.  The  sight  of  him  is  usually 
death  to  mortals.  There  is,  thirdly,  a  dreadful  being 
called  Kalicknateck,  wrho  seems  a  faithful  reproduction  of 
the  great  thunder-bird  of  the  north :  thus  Kalicknateck 
"  is  a  huge  bird  that  sits  on  the  mountain-peak,  and  broods 
in  silence  over  his  thoughts  until  hungry ;  when  he  will 
sweep  down  over  the  ocean,  snatch  up  a  large  whale,  and 
carry  it  to  his  mountain- throne,  for  a  single  meal." 

Besides  the  before-mentioned  powers  of  evil,  these 
Trinity  people  have  legends  connected  with  other  person- 
ages of  the  same  nature,  among  whom  are  Wanuswegock, 
Surgelp,  Napousney,  and  Nequiteh. 

When  white  miners  first  came  to  work  on  the  Trinity 
River,  their  advent  caused,  as  may  be  imagined,  much 
unsatisfactory  speculation  among  the  aborigines;  some 
saying  one  thing  of  the  whites  and  some  another.  At 
last  an  old  seer  of  the  Hoopah  Valley  settled  the  question 
by  declaring  that  the  new-comers  were  descendants  of 
that  banished  Wappeckquemow,  from  whose  heads  the 
already-mentioned  curse,  forbidding  their  return,  had 
been  by  some  means  lifted. 


THE  KITCHEN-MIDDEN  OF  THE  HOHGATES.  177 

The  coast  people  in  northern  California  have 
a  story  about  a  mysterious  people  called  Hohgates, 
to  whom  is  ascribed  an  immense  bed  of  mussel- 
shells  and  bones  of  animals  still  existing  on  the 
table-land  of  Point  St  George,  near  Crescent  City. 
These  Hohgates,  seven  in  number,  are  said  to  have 
come  to  the  place  in  a  boat,  to  have  built  themselves 
"houses  above-ground,  after  the  style  of  white  men" 
— all  this  about  the  time  that  the  first  natives  came 
down  the  coast  from  the  north.  These  Hohgates,  living 
at  the  point  mentioned,  killed  many  elk  on  land,  and 
many  seals  and  sea-lions  in  fishing  excursions  from  their 
boats;  using  for  the  latter  purpose  a  kind  of  harpoon 
made  of  a  knife  attached  to  a  stick,  and  the  whole  fastened 
to  the  boat  with  a  long  line.  They  also  sailed  frequently 
to  certain  rocks,  and  loaded  their  little  vessels  with  mus- 
sels. By  all  this  they  secured  plenty  of  food,  and  the 
refuse  of  it,  the  bones  and  shells  and  so  on,  rapidly 
accumulated  into  the  great  kjokken  modeling  still  to  be 
seen.  One  day,  however,  all  the  Hohgates  being  out  at 
sea  in  their  boat,  they  struck  a  huge  sea-lion  with  their 
rude  harpoon,  and,  unable  or  unwilling  to  cut  or  throw 
off  their  line,  were  dragged  with  fearful  speed  toward  a 
great  whirlpool,  called  Chareckquin,  that  lay  far  toward 
the  north-west.  It  is  the  place  where  souls  go,  where 
in  darkness  and  cold  the  spirits  shiver  for  ever;  living 
men  suffer  even  from  its  winds, — from  the  north-west 
wind,  the  bleak  and  bitter  Charreck-rawek.  And  just 
as  the  boat  reached  the  edge  of  this  fearful  place,  behold, 
a  marvelous  thing:  the  rope  broke  and  the  sea-monster 
was  swept  down  alone  into  the  whirl  of  wind  and  water, 
while  the  Hohgates  were  caught  up  into  the  air;  swing- 
ing round  and  round,  their  boat  floated  steadily  up  into  the 
vast  of  heaven.  Nevermore  on  earth  were  the  Hohgates 
seen ;  but  there  are  seven  stars  in  heaven  that  all  men 
know  of,  and  these  stars  are  the  seven  Hohgates  that 
once  lived  where  the  great  shell-bed  near  Crescent  City 
now  is. 


VOL.  Ill,    12 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

GODS  AND  RELIGIOUS  RITES  or  CHIHUAHUA,   SONOEA,   DUBANGO,  AND  SIN- 
AI.OA — THE  MEXICAN  RELIGION,  BECEIVED  WITH  DIFFEBENT  DEGBEES  or 

CEEDULITT  BY  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF  THE  PEOPLE — OPINIONS  OF  DIFFEE- 
ENT WBITEBS  AS  TO  ITS  NATUBE — MONOTHEISM  OF  NEZAHUALCOYOTL — 
PEESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  MEXICAN  MYTHOLOGY — TEZCATLI- 
POCA —  PBAYEES  TO  HIM  IN  TIME  OF  PESTILENCE,  OF  WAB,  FOE  THOSE 
IN  AUTHOBITY— PBAYEB  USED  BY  AN  ABSOLVING  PEIEST— GENUINENESS  OF 
THE  FOEEGOING  PBAYEBS — CHABACTEB  AND  WoBKS  OF  SAHAGUN. 

From  the  Pueblo  cities  let  us  now  pass  down  into 
Mexico,  glancing  first  at  the  northern  and  north-western 
neighbors  of  this  great  people  that  ruled  on  the  plateau 
of  Anahuac.  The  Chihuahuans  worshiped  a  great  god 
called  by  them  the  'captain  of  heaven'  and  recognized 
a  lesser  divinity  as  abiding  in  and  inspiring  their  priests 
and  medicine-men.  They  rendered  homage  to  the  sun ; 
and  when  any  comet  or  other  phenomenon  appeared  in 
the  heavens  they  offered  sacrifice  thereto;  their  sacrifice 
being  much  after  the  Mexican  fashion ;  fruits,  herbs,  and 
such  things  as  they  had,  together  with  blood  drawn  from 
their  bodies  by  the  pricks  of  a  thorn.1 

In  Sonora, — the  great  central  heart  of  Mexico  making 
its  beatings  more  and  more  clearly  felt  as  we  approach 
it  nearer, — the  vague  feelings  of  awe  and  reverence  with 
which  the  savage  regards  the  unseen,  unknown,  and  un- 
knowable powers,  begin  at  last  to  somewhat  lose  their 

1  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Soletin,  torn,  iii.,  p.  22;  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn. 
lit,  p.  86.  (1?8) 


GODS  OF  SONORA  AND  DURANGO.  179 

vagueness  and  to  crystallize  into  the  recognition  of  a 
power  to  be  represented  and  symbolized  by  a  god  made 
with  hands.  The  offerings  thereto  begin  also,  more  and 
more,  to  lose  their  primitive  simple  shape,  and  the  blood, 
without  which  is  no  remission  of  sins,  stains  the  rude 
altar  that  a  more  Arcadian  race  had  only  heaped  with 
flowers  and  fruit.  '  The  natives  of  Sonora  bring,  says  Las 
Casas,  "many  deer,  wolves,  hares,  and  birds  before  a 
large  idol,  with  music  of  many  flutes  and  other  instru- 
ments of  theirs;  then  cutting  open  the  animals  through 
the  middle,  they  take  out  their  hearts  and  hang  them 
round  the  neck  of  the  image,  wetting  it  with  the  flowing 
blood.  It  is  certain  that  the  only  offering  made  in  all 
this  province  of  Sonora  was  the  hearts  of  brutes." s  All 
this  they  did  more  especially  in  two  great  festivals  they 
had,  the  one  at  seed-time,  the  other  at  harvest ;  and  we  have 
reason  to  rejoice  that  the  thing  was  no  worse,  reason  to 
be  glad  that  the  hearts  of  brave  men  and  fair  women,  and 
soft  children  not  knowing  their  right  hand  from  their  left, 
were  not  called  for,  as  in  the  land  of  the  eagle  and  cactus 
banner,  to  feed  that  devil's  Minotaur,  superstition. 

The  people  of  Durango  called  the  principal  power  in 
which  they  believed  Meyuncame,  that  is  to  say,  Maker 
of  All  Things;  they  had  another  god,  Cachiripa,  whose 
name  is  all  we  know  of  him.  They  had  besides  innu- 
merable private  idols,  penates  of  all  possible  and  impos- 
sible figures;  some  being  stone,  shaped  by  nature  only. 
In  one  village  they  worshiped  a  great  flint  knife  that 
their  flint  implements  of  every  kind  might  be  good  and 
sure.  They  had  gods  of  storm  and  gods  of  sunshine, 
gods  of  good  and  gods  of  evil,  gods  of  everything  in 
heaven  above  or  in  the  earth  beneath  or  in  the  \vaters 
under  the  earth.  Their  idols  received  bloody  sacrifices, 
not  always  of  beasts;  a  bowl  containing  beans  and  the 
cooked  human  flesh  of  an  enemy  was  offered  to  them 
for  success  in  war.3 

2  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  torn,  iii.,  cap.  168;   Smith's  Relation 
of  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  p.  177. 

3  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Triumphos,  pp.  473-5;  Doc.  Hist.  Hex,,  eerie  iv.,  torn, 
iii.,  p.  48. 


180         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

Much  of  the  preceding  paragraph  belongs  also  to  Sin- 
aloa  or  cannot  be  exactly  located  more  in  the  one  province 
than  in  the  other.  The  Sinaloas  are  said  to  have 
venerated  above  all  the  other  gods  one  called  Cocohuamer 
which  is,  being  interpreted,  Death.  They  Worshiped  also 
a  certain  Ouraba,4  which  is  Valor,  offering  him  bows, 
arrows,  and  all  kinds  of  instruments  of  war.  To  Sehua- 
toba,  that  is  to  say  Pleasure,  they  sacrificed  feathers, 
raiment,  beads  of  glass,  and  women's  ornaments.  Bam- 
usehua  was  the  god  of  water.  In  some  parts,  it  is  said, 
there  was  recognized  a  divine  element  in  common  herbs 
and  birds.  One  deity — or  devil,  asRibas  calls  him  with 
the  exquisite  courtesy  that  distinguishes  the  theosophic 
historian — was  the  especial  patron  of  a  class  of  wizards 
closely  resembling  the  shamans  and  medicine-men  of 
the  north.  No  one  seemed  to  know  exactly  the  powers 
of  this  deity,  but  everyone  admitted  their  extent  by  re- 
cognizing with  a  respectful  awe  their  effects;  effects 
brought  about  through  the  agency  of  the  wizards, 
by  the  use  of  bags,  rattles,  magic  stones,  blowings,  suck- 
ings,  and  all  that  routine  of  sorcery  with  which  we  are 
already  familiar.  This  deity  was  called  Grandfather  or 
Ancestor.5 

One  Sinaloa  nation,  the  Tahus,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Culiacan,  reared  great  serpents  for  which  they  had 
a  good  deal  of  veneration.  They  propitiated  their  gods 
with  offerings  of  precious  stones  and  rich  stuffs,  but  they 
did  not  sacrifice  men.  With  an  altogether  characteris- 
tic insinuation,  the  Abbu  Domenech  says,  that  though 
highly  immoral  in  the  main,  they  so  highly  respected 
women  who  devoted  themselves  to  a  life  of  celibacy, 

4  Apparently  the  same  as  that  Vairubi  spoken  of  on  p.  83  of  this  volume. 

*  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Triuwphos,  pp.  16,  18,  40.  'A  uno  de  BUS  dioses  llam- 
abanOuraba,  que  quiere  deciv  fortaleza.  Era  como  JVIarte,  dios  de  la  gmrru. 
Ofrecianle  arcos,  flechas  y  todo  genero  de  armas  para  el  feliz  e*xito  de  siis 
butiillas.  A  otro  llamabuu  Sehuatoba,  que  quiere  decir,  deleite,  it  quieii 
ofreciaii  plumtis,  mantas,  cuentecillas  de  vidrio  y  adornos  mugeriles.  Al  dios 
de  las  aguas  llamaban  Bamusehua.  El  mas  venerado  de  todos  era  Coco- 
huame,  que  significa  rnuerte.'  Akgrc,  Hist.  Conip.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  45. 
'They  worship  for  their  gods  such" things  as  they  haue  in  their  houses,  as 
namely,  hearbes,  and  birdes,  and  sing  songs  vnto  them  in  their  language. 
Coronado,  in  Hakluyt's  Voy.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  363. 


THE  MEXICAN  RELIGION  AND  ITS  HISTORIANS.  181 

that  they  held  great  festivals  in  their  honor  - 
leaving  the  reader  to  suppose  that  the  Tahus  had  a  class 
of  female  religious  who  devoted  themselves  to  a  life  of 
chastity  and  were  respected  for  that  reason ;  the  truth  is 
found  to  be,  on  referring  to  the  author  Castaileda — from 
whom  apparently  the  abbe  has  taken  this  half  truth 
and  whole  falsehood — that  these  estimable  celibate  women 
were  the  public  prostitutes  of  the  nation.6 

The  Mexican  religion,  as  transmitted  to  us,  is  a  con- 
fused and  clashing  chaos  of  fragments.  If  ever  the  great 
nation  of  Anahuac  had  its  Hesiod  or  its  Homer,  no  ray 
of  his  light  has  reached  the  stumbling  feet  of  research  in 
that  direction ;  no  echo  of  his  harmony  has  been  ever 
heard  by  any  ear  less  dull  than  that  of  a  Zumarraga.  It 
is  given  to  few  men  to  rise  above  their  age,  and  it  is 
folly  to  expect  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles;  yet  it 
is  hard  to  suppress  wholly  some  feelings  of  regret,  in 
poring  upon  those  ponderous  tomes  of  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  century  history  that  touch  upon  Mexican 
religion;  one  pities  far  less  the  inevitable  superstition 
and  childish  ignorance  of  the  barbarian  than  the  senility 
of  his  Christian  historian  and  critic — there  was  some 
element  of  hope  and  evidence  of  attainment  in  what  the 
half-civilized  barbarian  knew;  but  from  what  heights  of 
Athenian,  Roman,  and  Alexandrian  philosophy  and  elo- 
quence, had  civilization  fallen  into  the  dull  and  arrogant 
nescience  of  the  chronicles  of  the  clergy  of  Spain. 

We  have  already  noticed7  the  existence  of  at  least  two 
schools  of  religious  philosophy  in  Mexico,  two  average 

6  '  Us  celebraient  de  grandes  fetes  en  Thonneur  des  femmes  qui  voulaient 
vivre  dans  le  ct'libat.     Les  caciques  d'un  canton  se  reunissaient  et  dansaieiit 
tous  nus,  1'un  apres  1'autre,  avec  la  femme  qui  avait  pris  cette  determination. 
Quaud  la  danse  etait  terminee,  ils  la  conduisaient  dans  line  petite  maison 

3u'on  avait -ducoroe  a  cet  effet,  et  ils  jouissaient  de  sa  persoime,  les  caciques 
'  abord  et  ensuite  tous  ceux  qui  le  voulaient.  A  dater  de  ce  moment,  elles 
ne  pouvaient  rien  refuser  a  quiconque  leur  offrait  le  prix  fixe  pour  cela. 
Elk's  uY;taicnt  jamais  .dispensees  de  cette  obligation,  meme  quaud  plus  tard 
elles  se  mariaient/  Castafteda,  in  Ternaua^-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  i.,  torn.  ix.f 
pp.  150-1.  '  Although  these  men  were  very  immoral,  yet  such  was  their  re- 
spect for  all  women  who  led  a  life  of  celibacy,  that  they  celebrated  grand 
festivals  in  their  honour. '  And  there  he  makes  an  end.  Domenech's  Deserts, 
vol.  i.,  p.  170. 

7  This  volume,  pp.  55-6. 


182          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

levels  of  thought,  the  one  that  of  the  vulgar  and  credu- 
lous, the  other  that  of  the  more  enlightened  and  reflec- 
tive. It  has  resulted  from  this  that  different  writers 
differ  somewhat  in  their  opinions  with  regard  to  the  pre- 
cise nature  and  essence  of  that  religion,  some  saying  one 
thing  and  some  another.  I  cannot  show  this  more  short- 
ly and — what  is  much  more  important  in  a  subject  like 
this — more  exactly,  than  by  quoting  a  number  of  these 
opinions : 

"  Turning  from  the  simple  faiths  of  savage  tribes  of 
America,  to  the  complex  religion  of  the  half-civilized 
Mexican  nation,  we  find  what  we  might  naturally  expect, 
a  cumbrous  polytheism  complicated  by  mixture  of  several 
national  pantheons,  and  beside  and  beyond  this,  certain 
appearances  of  a  doctrine  of  divine  supremacy.  But 
these  doctrines  seem  to  have  been  spoken  of  more  defi- 
nitely than  the  evidence  warrants.  A  remarkable  native 
development  of  Mexican  theism  must  be  admitted,  in 
so  far  as  we  may  receive  the  native  historian  Ixtlilxo- 
chitl's  account  of  the  worship  paid  by  Nezahualcoyotl, 
the  poet-king  of  Tezcuco,  to  the  invisible  supreme  Tloque- 
jS'ahuaque,  he  who  has  all  in  him,  the  cause  of  causes, 
in  whose  star-roofed  pyramid  stood  an  idol,  and  who 
there  received  no  bloody  sacrifice,  but  only  flowers  and 
incense.  Yet  it  would  have  been  more  satisfactory,  were 
the  stories  told  by  this  Aztec  panegyrist  of  his  royal  an- 
cestors confirmed  by  other  records.  Traces  of  divinft 
supremacy  in  Mexican  religion  are  especially  associated 
with  Tezcatlipoca,  '  Shining  Mirror,'  a  deity  who  seems 
in  his  original  nature  the  Sun-god,  and  thence  by  ex- 
pansion to  have  become  the  soul  of  the  world,  creator  of 
heaven  and  earth,  lord  of  all  things,  Supreme  Deity. 
Such  conceptions  may,  in  more  or  less  measure,  have 
arisen  in  native  thought,  but  it  should  be  pointed  out 
that  the  remarkable  Aztec  religious  formulas  collected 
by  Sahagun,  in  which  the  deity  Tezcatlipoca  is  so  promi- 
nent a  figure,  show  traces  of  Christian  admixture  in  their 
material,  as  well  as  of  Christian  influence  in  their  style. 
In  distinct  and  absolute  personality,  the  divine  Sun  in 


COMPLEXITY  OF  AZTEC  THEOLOGY.  183 

Aztec  theology  was  Tonatiuh8  whose  huge  pyramid  - 
mound  stands  on  the  plain  of  Teotihuacan,  a  witness  of 
his  worship  for  future  ages.  Beyond  this  the  religion  of 
Mexico,  in  its  complex  system,  or  congeries  of  great  gods, 
such  as  results  from  the  mixture  and  alliance  of  the 
deities  of  several  nations,  showrs  the  solar  element  rooted 
deeply  and  widely  in  other  personages  of  its  divine  my- 
thology, and  attributes  especially  to  the  sun  the  title  of 
Teotl,  God."9 

"  It  is  remarkable,"  says  Professor  J.  G.  Mliller,  "  that 
the  well-instructed  Acosta  should  have  known  nothing 
about  the  adoration  of  a  highest  invisible  God,  under 
the  name  of  Teotl.  And  yet  this  adoration  has  been  re- 
ported in  the  most  certain  manner  by  others,  and  made 
evident  from  more  exact  statements  regarding  the  nature 
of  this  deity.  He  has  been  surnamed  Ipalnemoan,  that 
is,  He  through  whom  we  live,  and  Tloquenahuaque,  that 
is,  He  who  is  all  things  through  himself.  He  has  been 
looked  upon  as  the  originator  and  essence  of  all  things, 
and  as  especially  throned  in  the  high  cloud-surrounded 
mountains.  Rightly  does  Wuttke  contend  against  any 
conception  of  this  deity  as  a  monotheistic  one,  the  poly- 
theism of  the  people  being  considered — for  polytheism  and 
monotheism  will  not  be  yoked  together ;  even  if  a  logical 
concordance  were  found,  the  inner  spirits  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  two  would  still  be  opposed  to  each  other. 
Another  argument  stands  also  clearly  out,  in  the  total 
absence  of  any  prayers,  offerings,  feasts,  or  temples  to  or 
in  the  honor  of  this  god.  From  this  it  is  evident  that 
Teotl  was  not  a  god  of  the  common  people.  Yet  this, 
on  the  other  hand,  cannot  justify  us, — the  so-frequently- 
occurring  statements  of  \vell-inforrned  authorities  being 
taken  into  account, — in  denying  in  toto  all  traces  of  a  pan- 
theistic monotheism,  as  this  latter  may  easily  spring  up 

8  I  would  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Alvarado,  the  ruddy  handsome 
Spanish  captain,  was  called  Tonatiuh  by  the  Mexicans,  just  as  Barnabas  was 
called  Jupiter,  and  Paul,  Mercurius,  by  the  people  of  Lystra — going  to  show 
how  unfetish  and  anthropomorphic  were  the  ideas  connected  with  the  sun- 
god  by  the  Mexicans. 

9  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  311. 


184          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

among  cultivated  polytheists  as  a  logical  result  and  out- 
come of  their  natural  religion.  Nezahualcoyotl,  the  en- 
lightened king  of  Tezcuco,  adored  as  the  cause  of  causes, 
a  god  without  an  image.  The  chief  of  the  Totonac 
aborigines  of  Cempoallan  had,  if  we  may  credit  the 
speech  put  in  his  mouth  by  Las  Casas  and  Herrera,  an 
idea  of  a  highest  god  and  creator.  This  abstract 
idea  has  also  here,  as  in  other  parts  of  America,  inter- 
twined itself  with  the  conception  of  a  sun-god.  Hence 
the  Mexicans  named  the  sun-god  pre-eminently  Teotl; 
and  that  enlightened  king  of  Tezcuco,  who  built  a  temple 
of  nine  stories — symbolizing  the  nine  heavens — in  honor 
of  the  stars,  called  the  sun-god  his  father." 10 

"  To  the  most  ancient  gods,"  says  Klemm,  "belonged 
the  divinities  of  nature,  as  well  as  a  highest  being  called 
Teotl,  God.  He  was  perfect,  independent,  and  invisible, 
and  consequently  not  represented  by  any  image.  His 
qualities  were  represented  by  expressions  like  these: 
He  through  whom  we  live,  He  who  is  all  in  himself. 
This  god  coincides  very  nearly  with  the  Master  of 
Life  of  the  North  Americans.  In  opposition  to  him 
is  the  evil  spirit,  the  enemy  of  mankind,  who  often 
appears  to  and  terrifies  them.  He  is  called  Tlacate- 
cololotl,  that  is  to  say,  Rational  Owl,  and  may  possi- 
bly, like  the  Lame- foot  of  the  Peruvians,  be  a  sur- 
vival from  the  times  when  the  old  hunter-nations  in- 
habited the  forests  and  mountains.  Next  to  Teotl 


1°  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  473-4.  The  so-often  discussed 
resemblance  in  form  and  signification  between  the  two  Mexican  words  teotl 
and  calli  (see  Molina,  Vocabuhtrio)  and  the  two  Greek  words  titans  and 
/.-«/('«,  is  completely  enough  noticed  by  Mtiller.  '  Die  Mexikanischen  Vulker 
haben  einen  Appellativnameu  fiir  Gott,  Teotl,  welch er,  da  die  Buchstaben 
tl  blosse  aztekische  Enduiig  siud,  merkwiirdiger  Weise  mit  dem  Indoger- 
mauischen  theos,  Deus,  Deva,  Dew,  zusammenstimmt.  Dieses  Wort  wird 
zur  Bildung  mancher  Gotternamen  oder  Kultusgegenstande  gebraucht. 
Hieher  gehoren  die  Gotternamen  Tcotlacozanqui,  Teocipactli,  Teotetl, 
Teoyainiqni,  Tlozolteotl.  Der  Tempel  heisst  Teocalli  (vgl.  Kalia,  Hiitte, 
Kalias  Capelle)  odor  wortlich  Hans  Gottes — das  giittliche  Buch,  Teoamoxtli, 
Priestei  Teopuixqui,  oder  anch  Teotenktli,  eine  Prozessiou  Teoneneini, 
Gottermarsch.  Dazn  kommen  noch  inanche  Namen  von  Stiidten,  die  als 
Kultussitze  ausgezeichnet  waren,  wie  das  uns  schon  friiher  bekannt  gewordene 
Teotihuacan.  Im  Plural  wurden  die  Gutter  Teules  genannt  und  ebon  so, 
•wie  uns  Bernal  Diaz  so  oft  erzahlt,  die  Gefahrten  des  Cortes  welche  das  ge- 
meiiie  Volk  als  Gutter  bezeichneu  wollte.'  Id.,  p.  472. 


TLOQUE-NAHUAQUE.  185 

was  Tezcatlipoca,  that  is  to  say,  Shining  Mirror;  he 
was  the  god  of  providence,  the  soul  of  the  world, 
and  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth.  Teotl  was 
not  represented  by  any  image,  and  was  probably  not 
worshiped  with  offerings  nor  in  any  special  temples; 
Tezcatlipoca  was,  however,  so  represented,  and  that  as 
a  youth,  because  time  could  have  no  power  over  his 
beauty  and  his  splendor.  He  rewarded  the  righteous, 
and  punished  the  ungodly  with  sickness  and  misfortune. 
He  created  the  world,  and  mankind,  and  the  sun,  and 
the  water,  and  he  was  himself  in  a  certain  degree  the 
overseer  thereof.''11 

The  Abbe  Brasseur  believes  in  the  knowledge  by  the 
Mexicans  and  certain  neighboring  or  related  nations,  of 
a  Supreme  God ;  but  he  thinks  also  that  the  names  of 
great  priests  and  legislators  have  often  been  used  for  or 
confounded  with  the  one  Name  above  every  name.  He 
says:  "In  the  traditions  that  have  reached  us  the 
name  of  the  legislator  is  often  confused  with  that 
of  the  divinity ;  and  behind  the  symbolic  veil  that  covers 
primitive  history,  he  who  civilized  and  brought  to  light 
in  the  Americans  a  new  life,  is  designedly  identified  with 
the  Father  of  the  universal  creation.  The  writers  who 
treat  of  the  history  of  the  ancient  American  nations  avow 
that,  at  the  time  of  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards  on  the 
soil  of  the  western  continent,  there  was  not  one  that  did 
not  recognize  the  existence  of  a  supreme  deity  and  arbi- 
ter of  the  universe.  In  that  confusion  of  religious  ideas, 
which  is  the  inevitable  result  of  ignorance  and  supersti- 
tion, the  notion  of  a  unique  immaterial  being,  of  an  in- 
visible power,  had  survived  the  shipwreck  of  pure  primi- 
tive creeds.  Under  the  name  Tloque-Nahuaque,  the 
Mexicans  adored  Him  who  is  the  first  cause  of  all  things, 
who  preserves  and  sustains  all  by  his  providence;  call- 
ing him  again,  for  the  same  reason,  Ipalnemoakmi,  He 
in  whom  and  by  whom  we  are  and  live.  This  god  was 
the  same  as  that  Kunab-Ku,  the  Alone  Holy,  who  was 
adored  in  Yucatan;  the  same  again  as  that  Hurakari, 

11  Klemm,  Cultur-GeschicMe,  torn,  v.,  pp.  114-5. 


186          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  Voice  that  Cries,  the  Heart  of  Heaven,  found  with  the 
Guatemalan  nations  of  Central  America;  and  the  same 
lastly  as  that  Teotl,  God,  whom  we  find  named  in  the 
Tzendal  and  Mexican  books.  This  "God  of  all  purity," 
as  he  wras  styled  in  a  Mexican  prayer,  was,  however,  too 
elevated  for  the  thoughts  of  the  vulgar.  His  existence 
was  recognized,  and  sages  invoked  him;  but  he  had 
neither  temples  nor  altars, — perhaps  because  no  one 
knew  how  he  should  be  represented, — and  it  was  only 
in  the  last  times  of  the  Aztec  monarchy  .that  Xezahual- 
coyotl,  king  of  Tezcuco,  dedicated  to  him  a  teocalli  of  nine 
terraces,  without  statues,  under  the  title  of  the  unknown 
god."12 

Mr  Gallatin  says  of  the  Mexicans :  "  Their  mythology, 
as  far  as  we  know  it,  presents  a  great  number  of  uncon- 
nected gods,  without  apparent  system  or  unity  of  design. 
It  exhibits  no  evidence  of  metaphysical  research  or  ima- 
ginative powers.  Viewed  only  as  a  development  of  the 
intellectual  faculties  of  man,  it  is,  in  every  respect,  vastly 
inferior  to  the  religious  systems  of  Egypt,  India,  Greece, 
or  Scandinavia.  If  imported,  it  must  have  been  from 
some  barbarous  country,  and  brought  directly  from  such 
country  to  Mexico,  since  no  traces  of  a  similar  worship 
are  found  in  the  more  northern  parts  of  America." 13 

"The  Aztecs,"  writes  Prescott,  "recognized  the  exist- 
ence of  a  Supreme  Creator  and  Lord  of  the  Universe. 
But  the  idea  of  unity — of  a  being,  with  whom  volition 
is  action,  who  has  no  need  of  inferior  ministers  to 
execute  his  purposes — was  too  simple,  or  too  vast,  for 
their  understandings;  and  they  sought  relief  as  usual, 
in  a  plurality  of  deities,  who  presided  over  the  elements, 
the  changes  of  the  seasons,  and  the  various  occupations 
of  man.  Of  these,  there  were  thirteen  principal  deities, 
and  more  than  two  hundred  inferior;  to  each  of  whom 
some  special  day,  or  appropriate  festival,  was  conse- 
crated."14 

12  Brasseur  <lf  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  45-6. 

13  Uail'tlin,  in  Amer.Antiq.  Soc.  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  352. 
J4  PrescoU's  Conq.  of  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  57. 


PRIMITIVE  WOESHIP.  187 

According  to  Mr  Squier:  "  The  original  deities  of  the 
Mexican  pantheon  are  few  in  number.  Thus  when  the 
Mexicans  engaged  in  a  war,  in  defense  of  the  liberty  or 
sovereignty  of  their  country,  they  invoked  the  War  God, 
under  his  aspect  and  name  Huitzlipochtli.  When  sud- 
denly attacked  by  enemies,  they  called  upon  the  same 
god,  under  his  aspect  and  name  of  Paynalton,  which  im- 
plied God  of  Emergencies,  etc.  In  fact,  as  already  else- 
where observed,  all  the  divinities  of  the  Mexican,  as  of 
every  other  mythology,  resolve  themselves  into  the  pri- 
meval God  and  Goddess."15 

"  The  population  of  Central  America,"  says  the  Yi- 
cornte  de  Bussierre,  "  although  they  had  preserved  the 
vague   notion   of  a  superior  eternal  God  and  creator, 
known  by  the  name  Teotl,  had  an  Olympus  as  numerous 
as  that  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans.   It  would  appear,— 
the  most  ancient,  though,  unfortunately,  also  the  most 
obscure  legends  being  followed, — that  during  the  civilized 
period  which  preceded  the  successive  invasions  of  the 
barbarous  hordes  of  the  north,  the  inhabitants  of  Ana- 
huac  joined  to  the  idea  of  a  supreme  being  the  worship 
of  the  sun  and  the  moon,  offering  them  flowers,  fruits, 
and  the  first  fruits  of  their  fields.     The  -most  ancient 
monuments  of  the  country,  such  as  the  pyramids  of  Teo- 
tihuacan,  were  incontestably  consecrated  to  these  lumi- 
naries.     Let  us  now  trace  some  of  the  most  striking 
features  of  these  people.     Among  the  number  of  their 
gods,  is  found  one  represented  under  the  figure  of  a  man 
eternally  young,  and  considered  as  the  symbol  of  the 
supreme  and  mysterious  God.     Two  other  gods  there 
were,  watching  over  mortals  from  the  height  of  a  celestial 
city,    and   charged   with   the   accomplishment  of  their 
prayers.     Air,  earth,  fire,  and  water  had  their  particu- 
lar divinities.     The  woman  of  the  serpent,  the  prolific 
woman,   she  who  never  gave  birth  but  to  twins,  was 
adored  as  the  mother  of  the  human  race.     The  sun  and 
the  moon  had  their  altars.     Various  divinities  presided 
over  the  phenomena  of  nature,  over  the  day,  the  night, 

15  Squier's  Serpent  Symbol,  p.  47. 


183          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  mist,  the  thunder,  the  harvest,  the  mountains,  and 
so  on.  Souls,  the  place  of  the  dead,  warriors,  hunters, 
merchants,  fishing,  love,  drunkenness,  medicine,  flowers, 
and  many  other  things  had  their  special  gods.  A  multi- 
tude of  heroes  and  of  illustrious  kings,  whose  apotheosis 
had  been  decreed,  took  their  place  in  this  vast  pantheon, 
where  were  besides  seated  two  hundred  and  sixty  divin- 
ities of  inferior  rank,  to  each  of  whom  nevertheless  one 
of  the  days  of  the  year  was  consecrated.  Lastly,  every 
city,  every  family,  every  individual,  had  .its  or  his  celes- 
tial protector,  to  whom  worship  wras  rendered.  The 
number  of  the  temples  corresponded  to  that  of  the  gods ; 
these  temples  were  found  everywhere,  in  the  cities,  in 
the  fields,  in  the  woods,  along  the  roads,  and  all  of  them 
had  priests  charged  with  their  service.  This  complicated 
mythology  was  common  to  all  the  nations  of  Anahuac, 
even  to  those  that  the  empire  had  been  unable  to  sub- 
jugate  and  with  which  it  was  at  war;  but  each  countiy 
had  its  favorite  god,  such  god  being  to  it,  what  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  the  god  of  war,  \vas  to  the  Aztecs." 16 

The  Mexican  religion,  as  summed  up  by  Mr  Brantz  May- 
er,17 "was  a  compound  of  spiritualism  and  gross  idolatry; 
for  the  Aztecs  believed  in  a  Supreme  Deity,  whom  they 
called  Teotl,  God;  or  Ipalnemoani,  He  by  whom  we 
live;  or  Tloque  Nahuaque,  He  who  has  all  in  himself; 
while  their  evil  spirit  bore  the  name  of  Tlaleatcololotl, 
the  Rational  Owl.  These  spiritual  beings  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  number  of  lesser  divinities,  who  were  prob- 
ably the  ministerial  agents  of  Teotl.  These  were 
Huitzilopochtli,  the  god  of  war,  and  Teoyaomiqui, 
his  spouse,  whose  duty  it  was  to  conduct  the  souls  of 
warriors  who  perished  in  defense  of  their  homes  and 
and  religion  to  the  '  house  of  the  sun,'  the  Aztec  heaven. 
Huitzilopotchtli,  or  Mextli,  the  god  of  war,  was  the 
special  protector  of  the  Aztecs;  and  devoted  as  they 
were  to  war,  this  deity  was  always  invoked  before  battle, 

i6  Busfderre,  L'Empire  Mexicain,  pp.  131-3. 

I?  Brantz  Mayer,  in  Schoolcraj't's  Arch.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  585;  see  also,  Braniz 
Mayer's  Mexico  as  it  was,  p.  110. 


MEXICAN  KELIGION,  GEEEK  AND  EOMANi  189 

and  recompensed  after  it  by  the  offering  of  numerous 
captives  taken  in  conflict." 

"  The  religion  of  the  Mexicans,"  writes  Senor  Carbajal 
Espinosa,18  plagiarizing  as  literally  as  possible  from  Clavi- 
gero,  i '  was  a  tissue  of  errors  and  of  cruel  and  superstitious 
rites.  Similar  infirmities  of  the  human  mind  are  in- 
separable from  a  religious  system  originating  in  caprice 
and  fear,  as  we  see  even  in  the  most  cultured  nations 
of  antiquity.  If  the  religion  of  the  Mexicans  be  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  latter  is  the  more  superstitious  and  ridic- 
ulous and  the  former  the  more  barbarous  and  sangui- 
nary. These  celebrated  nations  of  ancient  Europe 
multiplied  excessively  their  gods  because  of  the  mean 
idea  that  they  had  of  their  power ;  restricting  their  rule 
within  narrow  limits,  attributing  to  them  the  most  atro- 
cious crimes,  and  solemnizing  their  worship  with  such 
execrable  impurities  as  were  so  justly  condemned  by  the 
fathers  of  Christianity.  The  gods  of  the  Mexicans  wrere 
less  imperfect,  and  their  worship  although  superstitious 
contained  nothing  repugnant  to  decency.  They  had 
some  idea,  although  imperfect,  of  a  Supreme  Being,  ab- 
solute, independent,  believing  that  they  owed  him  tri- 
bute, adoration,  and  fear.  They  had  no  figure  whereby 
to  represent  him,  believing  him  to  be  invisible,  neither 
did  they  give  him  any  other  name,  save  the  generic  one, 
God,  which  is  in  the  Mexican  tongue  teotl,  resembling 
even  more  in  sense  than  in  pronunciation  the  theos  of 
the  Greeks;  they  used,  however,  epithets,  in  the  highest 
degree  expressive,  to  signify  the  grandeur  and  the  power 
which  they  believed  him  endowed  with,  calling  him 
Ipalnemoani,  that  is  to  say,  He  by  whom  we  live,  and 
Tloque-Nahuaque,  which  means,  He  that  is  all  things  in 
himself.  But  the  knowledge  and  the  worship  of  this 
Supreme  Essence  were  obscured  by  the  multitude  of  gods 
invented  by  superstition.  The  people  believed  further- 
more in  an  evil  spirit,  inimical  to  mankind,  calling 

is  Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist,  de  Mexico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  468-9;    Clavigero,  Storia 
Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  3-4. 


190          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

him  Tlacatecololotl,  or  Rational  Owl,  and  saying  that 
oftentimes  he  revealed  himself  to  men,  to  hurt  or  to 
terrify  them." 

"  The  Mexicans  and  the  Tezcucans,"  following  Seflor 
Pimentel,  "  recognized  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being, 
of  a  First  Cause,  and  gave  him  that  generic  title  Teotl, 
God.  the  analogy  of  which  with  the  Theos  of  the  Greeks, 
has  been  already  noted  by  various  authors.  The  idea  of 
God  is  one  of  those  that  appear  radical  to  our  very  exist- 
ence ....  With  the  Mexicans  and  Tezcucans  this  idea 
was  darkened  by  the  adoration  of  a  thousand  gods,  in- 
voked in  all  emergencies;  of  these  gods  there  were  thir- 
teen principal,  the  most  notable  being  the  god  of  prov- 
idence, that  of  war,  and  that  of  the  wind  and  waters. 
The  god  of  providence  had  his  seat  in  the  sky,  and  had 
in  his  care  all  human  affairs.  The  god  of  the  waters 
was  considered  as  the  fertilizer  of  earth,  and  his  dwelling 
was  in  the  highest  of  the  mountains  where  he  arranged 
the  clouds.  The  god  of  war  was  the  principal  protector 
of  the  Mexicans,  their  guide  in  their  wanderings  from 
the  mysterious  country  of  Aztlan,  the  god  to  whose 
favor  they  owed  those  great  victories  that  elevated  them 
from  the  lowly  estate  of  lake-fishermen  up  to  the  lord- 
ship of  Anahuac.  The  god  of  the  wind  had  an  aspect 
more  benign ....  The  Mexicans  also  worshiped  the  sun 
and  the  moon,  and  even,  it  would  appear,  certain  ani- 
mals considered  as  sacred.  There  figured  also  in  the 
Aztec  mythology  an  evil  genius  called  the  Owl-man,19 
since  in  some  manner  the  good  and  the  bad,  mixed  up 
here  on  earth,  have  to  be  explained.  So  the  Persians 
had  their  Oromasdes  and  Arimanes,  the  first  the  genius 
of  good,  and  the  second  of  evil,  and  so,  later,  Maniche- 
ism  presents  us  with  analogous  explanations."20 

Solis,  writing  of  Mexico  and  the  Mexicans  says: 
"There  was  hardly  a  street  without  its  tutelary  god; 
neither  was  there  any  calamity  of  nature  without  its  altar, 
to  which  they  had  recourse  for  remedy.  They  imagined 

w  Hombre  Buho. 

20  Pimentel,  Mem.  sobre  la  Raza  Indlgena,  pp.  11-13. 


THE  NAMELESS  GOD.  191 

and  made  their  gods  out  of  their  own  fear;  not  under- 
standing that  they  lessened  the  power  of  some  by  what 
they  attributed  to  others ....  But  for  all  so  many  as  were 
their  gods,  and  so  complete  as  was  the  blindness  of  their 
idolatry,  they  were  not  without  the  knowledge  of  a 
Superior  Deity,  to  whom  they  attributed  the  creation  of 
the  heavens  and  the  earth.  This  original  of  things  was, 
among  the  Mexicans,  a  god  without  name ;  they  had  no 
word  in  their  language  with  which  to  express  him,  only 
they  gave  it  to  be  understood  that  they  knew  him,  pointing 
reverently  towards  heaven,  and  giving  to  him  after  their 
fashion  the  attribute  of  ineffable,  with  that  sort  of  relig- 
ious uncertainty  with  which  the  Athenians  venerated  the 
Unknown  God."  21 

The  interpreter  of  the  Codex  Telleriano-Rernensis  calls 
the  Supreme  God  of  the  Mexicans  by  the  name  Tonaca- 
teotle.22  The  interpreter  says:  "  God,  Lord,  Creator, 
Governor  of  all,  Tloque,  Nauaq,  Tlalticpaque,  Teotlalale- 
Matlava-Tepeva, — all  these  epithets  they  bestowed  on 
their  god  Tonacateotle,  who,  they  said,  was  the  god  that 
created  the  world;  and  him  alone  they  painted  with  a 
crown  as  lord  of  all.  They  never  offered  sacrifices  to 
this  god  for  they  said  he  cared  not  for  such  things.  All 
the  others  to  whom  they  sacrificed  were  men  once  on  a 
time,  or  demons."  23 

We  have  already  seen  from  Herrera  that  "  the  Mexi- 
cans confessed  to  a  Supreme  God,  Lord,  and  maker  of 
all  things,  and  the  said  God  was  the  principal  that  they 
venerated,  looking  towards  heaven,  and  calling  him 

21  Soils,  Hist,  de  la  Conq.  de  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  398-9,  431. 

22  Gallatin,   in   Artier.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  Transact,    vol.  i.,  p.  350,  identifies 
this  god  with  Tezcatlipoca  of  whom  he  writes  in  the  following  terms :  '  Tez- 
catlipoca.     A  true  invisible  god,  dwells  in  heaven,  earth,  and  hell;  alone 
attends  to  the  government  of  the  world,  gives  and  takes  away  wealth  and 
prosperity.     Called  also  TUlacoa  (whence  his  star  TitlacaJntan) .     Under  the 
name  of  Necocyaotl,  the  author  of  wars  and  discords.     According  to  Boturini, 
he  is  the  god  of  providence.     He  seems  to  be  the  only  equivalent  for  the 
Tonacatlecottle  of  the  interpreters  of  the  Codices. ' 

23  Explic.  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  in   Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  p.  135.     I  take  this  opportunity  of  cautioning  the  reader  against 
Kingsborough's  translation  of  the  above  codex,  as  well  as  against  his  trans- 
lation of  the  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Cndice  Mtxicano:  every  error  that  could 
vitiate  a  translation  seems  to  have  crept  into  these  two. 


192          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Creator  of  heaven  and  earth."  24  In  contra-distinction 
to  this  it  may  be  well  to  consider  the  following  extract 
from  the  same  author:  "  Such  was  the  blindness  of  the 
Mexicans,  even  to  the  natural  light,  that  they  did  not 
think  like  men  of  good  judgment  that  all  created  things 
were  the  work  and  effect  of  some  immense  and  infinite 
cause,  the  which  only  the  First  Cause  and  true  God  is. 
.  .  .  .And  in  Mexico  alone  (according  to  the  common 
opinion)  they  had  and  adored  two  thousand  gods,  of  whom 
the  principal  were  Vizilipuztli  and  Tezcatlipucatl,  who 
as  supreme  were  set  up  in  the  height  of  the  great  temple, 
over  two  altars ....  Tezcatlipucatl  was  the  god  of  provi- 
dence, and  Vizilipuztli  the  god  of  war." 

Speaking  of  Mexican  temples26  and  gods,  Oviedo  say*-- 
"But  Montezuma  had  the  chief  [temple],  together  wittr 
three  other  prayer-houses,  in  which  he  sacrificed  in 
honor  of  four  gods,  or  idols,  that  he  had ;  of  these  they 
had  one  for  god  of  war,  as  the  Gentiles  had  Mars;  to 
another  they  gave  honor  and  sacrifice  as  god  of  the 
waters,  even  as  the  ancients  gave  to  Neptune ;  another  they 
adored  for  god  of  the  wrind,  as  the  lost  heathen  adored 
JEolus ;  and  another  still  they  revered  as  their  sovereign 
god,  and  this  was  the  sun.  .  .  .They  had  further  other 
gods ;  making  one  of  them  god  of  the  maize-fields,  attri- 
buting to  him  the  power  of  guarding  and  multiplying 
the  same,  as  the  fable-writing  poets  and  ancients  of  an- 
tiquity did  to  Ceres.  They  had  gods  for  everything, 
giving  attributes  to  each  according  to  their  surmises,  in- 
vesting them  with  that  godhead  which  they  had  not,  and 
with  which  it  was  not  right  to  invest  any  save  only  the 
true  God."27 

Speaking  in  general  terms  of  probably  a  large  part  of 

24  See  this  vol.  p.  57,  note  13.     On  pages  55  and  56,  and  in  the  note  per- 
taining thereto,  will  also  be  found  many  references  bearing  on  the  matter 
under  present  discussion. 

25  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  xviii.,  p.  253. 

26  Qiies,  Oviedo  calls  them,  (spelled  cites  by  most  writers)  the  following  ex- 
planation being  given  in  glossary  of  Voces  Americanos  Empleadas  por  Oviedo, 
appended  to  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Hist.  Gen. :  '  Qu:  teniplo,  casa  de  oraci- 
on.    Esta  voz  era  muy  general  en  casi  toda  America,  y  muy  principalmente 
en  las  comarcas  de  Yucatan  y  Mechuacan.' 

87  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  503. 


ACOSTA  AND  TEOTL.  193 

New  Spain,  Torquemada,  says:  "These  idolaters  did 
not  deny  that  they  had  a  god  called  Ypalnemoaloni,  that 
is  to  say,  Lord  by  whom  we  live,  and  his  nature  is  that 
his  existence  is  in  himself28:  the  which  is  most  proper 
to  God,  who  is  in  his  essence  life.  But  that  in  which 
these  people  erred  was  in  distributing  this  divinity  and 
attributing  it  to  many  gods ;  yet,  in  reality,  and  verily, 
they  recognized  a  Supreme  God,  to  whom  all  the  others 
were  inferior.  But  for  the  greatness  of  their  sins,  they 
lacked  faith  and  ran  into  this  error  like  the  other  nations 
that  have  done  so." 

Acosta,  as  has  been  already  noticed  by  Professor  J. 
G.  M  tiller,  either  never  heard  of  or  disbelieved  in  the 
existence  of  the  name  Teotl  and  of  the  ideas  connected 
therewith  by  so  many  historians.29  The  said  Acosta 
says:  "If  wee  shall  seeke  into  the  Indian  tongue  for  a 
word  to  answer  to  this  name  of  God,  as  in  Latin,  Deus; 
in  Greeke,  Theos ;  in  Hebrew,  El;  in  Arabike,  Alia ; » but 
wee  shall  not  finde  any  in  the  Cuscan  or  Mexicaine 
tongues.  So  as  such  as  preach,  or  write  to  the  Indians, 
vse  our  Spanish  name  Dios,  fitting  it*  to  the  accent  or 
pronounciation  of  the  Indian  tongues,  the  which  differ 
much,  whereby  appeares  the  small  knowledge  they  had 
of  God,  seeing  they  cannot  so  much  as  name  him,  if 
it  be  not  by  our  very  name:  yet  in  trueth  they  had 
some  little  knowledge ....  The  Mexicaines  almost  in  the 
same  manner  [as  the  Peruvians]  after  the  supreame  God, 
worshiped  the  Sunne:  And  therefore  they  called  Her- 
nando  Cortez,  Sonne  of  the  Sunne,  for  his  care  and 
courage  to  compasse  the  earth.  But  they  made  their 

28  '  Ypalnemoaloni,  que  quiere  decir,  Sefior  por  quien  se  vive,  y  ai  ser  en 
el  de  Naturalecja.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn.  iii.,  p.  30. 

29  See  this  vol.  p.  183. — Not,  be  it  remarked  that  Acosta  denies  the  knowl- 
edge by  the  Mexicans  of  a  Supreme  God;  he  only  denies   the  existence  of 
any  name  by  which  the  said  deity  was  generally  known.     This  is  clear  from 
the  following  extract  from  the  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  p.  333:   'First,  although  the 
darkenesse  of  infidelitie  holdeth  these  nations  in  blindenesse,  yet  in  many 
thinges  the  light  of  truth  and  reason  works  somewhat  in  them.     And  they 
commonly  acknowledge  a  supreame  Lorde  and  Author  of  all  things,  which 
they  of  Peru  called  Viracocha ...   Him  they  did  worship,  as  the  chief est  of 
all,  whom  they  did  honor  in  beholding  the  heaven.    The  like  wee  see  amougest 
them  of  Mexico." 

VOL.  III.    13 


194         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

greatest  adoration  to  an  Idol  called  Yitzilipuztli,  the 
which  in  all  this  region  they  called  the  most  puissant 
and  Lord  of  all  things:  for  this  cause  the  Mexicaines 
built  him  a  Temple,  the  greatest,  the  fairest,  the  highest, 
and  the  most  sumptuous  of  all  others ....  But  heere 
the  Mexicaines  Idolatrie  hath  bin  more  pernicious  arid 
hurtfull  than  that  of  the  Inguas,  as  wee  shall  see  plainer 
heereafter,  for  that  the  greatest  part  of  their  adoration 
and  idolatrie,  was  imployed  to  Idols,  and  not  to  naturall 
things,  although  they  did  attribute  naturall  effects  to 
these  Idolls,  as  raine,  multiplication  of  cattell,  warre,  and 
generation,  even  as  the  Greekes  and  Latins  have  forged 
Idolls  of  Phoebus,  Mercuric,  Jupiter,  Minerva,  and  of 
Mars.  To  conclude,  who  so  shall  neerely  looke  into  it, 
shall  finde  this  manner  which  the  Divell  hath  vsed  to 
deceive  the  Indians,  to  be  the  same  wherewith  hee  hath 
deceived  the  Greekes  and  Romans,  and  other  ancient 
Gentiles,  giving  them  to  vnderstand  that  these  notable 
creatures,  the  Sunne,  Moone,  Starres,  and  Elements,  had 
power  and  authoritie  to  doe  good  or  harme  to  men." ! 

Mendieta  says!  "  It  is  to  be  noted  for  a  general  rule 
that,  though  these  people,  in  all  the  continent  of  these 
Indias,  from  the  farthest  parts  of  New  Spain  to  the  parts 
of  Florida,  and  farther  still  to  the  kingdoms  of  Peru, 
had,  as  has  been  said,  an  infinity  of  idols  that  they 
reverenced  as  gods,  nevertheless,  above  all,  they  still 
held  the  sun  as  chiefest  and  most  powerful.  And  they 
dedicated  to  the  sun  the  greatest,  richest,  and  most 
sumptuous  of  their  temples.  This  should  be  the  power 
the  Mexicans  called  Ipalnemohuani,  that  is  to  say,  '  by 
whom  all  live,'  and  Moyucuyatzin  ayac  oquiyocux  ayac 
oquipic,  that  is  to  say,  '  he  that  no  one  created  or  formed, 
but  who,  on  the  contrary,  made  all  things  by  his  own 
power  and  will.' ....  So  many  are  the  fictions  and  fa- 
bles that  the  Indians  invented  about  their  gods,  and  so 
differently  are  these  related  in  the  different  towns,  that 
neither  can  they  agree  among  themselves  in  recounting 

s«  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  pp.  334,  337-8. 


MENDIETA'S  EUHEMERISTIC  THEOKY.  195 

them,  nor  shall  there  be  found  any  one  who  shall  under- 
stand them.  In  the  principal  provinces  of  this  New 
Spain,  they  had, — after  the  sun,  which  was  the  common 
god  of  them  all, — each  province,  its  particular  and  prin- 
cipal god,  to  which  god  above  all  others  they  offered 
their  sacrifices;  as  the  Mexicans  to  Uzilopuchtli — a  name 
that  the  Spaniards  not  being  able  to  pronounce  called 
Ocholobos,  'eight  wolves',  or  Uchilobos;  as  theTezucans 
to  Tezcatlipuca ;  as  the  Tlaxcalans  to  Camaxtli,  and 
and  as  the  Cholulans  to  Quetzalcoatl ;  doubtless  all 
these  were  famous  men  that  performed  some  notable 
feats,  or  invented  some  new  thing,  to  the  honor  and 
benefit  of  the  state;  or  perhaps  again  these  gave  the 
people  laws  and  a  rule  of  life,  or  taught  them  trades,  or 
to  offer  up  sacrifices,  or  some  other  thing  that  appeared 
good  and  worthy  to  be  rewarded  with  grateful  acknowl- 
edgements  The  demon,  the  old  enemy,  did  not 

content  himself  with  the  service  that  these  people  did 
him  in  the  adoration  of  almost  every  visible  creature, 
in  making  idols  of  them,  both  carven  and  painted,  but 
he  also  kept  them  blinded  with  a  thousand  fashions  of 
witchcrafts,  parodies  of  sacraments,  and  superstitions."31 
"  It  is  well  to  remark,"  writes  Camargo,  "  that  although 
the  Indians  had  a  divinity  for  each  thing,  they  were 
aware  of  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  God  that  they  named 
Tloque-Nahuaque,  or  He  who  contains  all,  regarding  the 
same  as  superior  to  all  the  other  gods."  This  Tlascaltec 
author  has  also  preserved  us  a  native  prayer  couched  in 
the  following  terms:  "0,  all-powerful  gods,  that  inhabit 
the  heavens,  even  as  far  as  the  ninth,  where  abides  your 
master  and  ours,  the  great  Tloque-Nahuaque  (this  name 
means,  He  that  accompanies  the  other  gods32), — you  that 

31  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  pp.  88,  91,  107. 

32  The  interpretation  of  the  title  Tloque  Nahuaque  is  not  only  irreconci- 
lable with  another  given  by  the  same  author  a  few  lines  above  in  our  text, 
but  it  is  also  at  utter  variance  with  those  of  all  other  authors  with  which  I 
am  acquainted.     It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  turn  to  the  best  authority  ac- 
cessible in  matters  of  Mexican  idiom :  Molina,  Vocabulnrio,  describes  the 
title  to  mean,  '  He  upon  whom  depends  the  existence  of  all  things,  preserv- 
ing and  sustaining  them,' — a -word  used  also  to  mean  God,  or  Lord.     '  Tlo- 
que nauaque,  cabe  quien  esta  el  ser  de  todas  las  cosas,  conseruandolas  y  sue- 
tentandolas:  y  dizese  de  nro  senor  dios.' 


193          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

have  all  power  over  men  forsake  us  not  in  danger.  We 
invoke  you,  as  well  also  as  the  sun  Xauholin,  and  the 
moon,  spouse  of  that  brilliant  luminary,  the  stars  of 
heaven  also,  and  the  wind  of  the  night  and  of  the  day."** 

According  to  the  somewhat  vague  and  incomplete  ac- 
count of  Fray  Toribio  de  Benavente,  or  Motolinia, — the 
latter  his  adopted  name"  and  that  by  which  he  is  best 
known, — another  of  the  original  and  early  authorities  in 
matter  concerning  the  gentile  Mexicans:  "  Tezcatlipoca 
was  the  god  or  demon  that  they  held  for  greatest  and 
to  whom  most  dignity  was  attributed  . . .  They  had 
idols  of  stone,  and  of  wood,  and  of  baked  clay;  they  also 
made  them  of  dough  and  of  seeds  kneaded  into  the 
dough  . . .  Some  of  them  were  shaped  like  men,. . .  some 
were  like  women ; . . .  some  were  like  wild  beasts,  as  lions, 
tigers,  dogs,  deer,  and  such  other  animals  as  frequented 
the  mountains  and  plains ; . . .  some  like  snakes  of  many 
fashions,  large  and  coiling ...  Of  the  owl  and  other 
night-birds,  and  of  others  as  the  kite,  and  of  every  large 
bird,  or  beautiful,  or  fierce,  or  preciously  feathered,— 
they  had  an  idol.  But  the  principal  of  all  was  the  sun. 
Likewise  had  they  idols  of  the  moon  and  stars,  and  of 
the  great  fishes,  and  of  the  water-lizards,  and  of  toads  and 
frogs,  and  of  other  fishes ;  and  these  they  said  were  the 
gods  of  the  fishes .  .  .  They  had  for  gods  fire,  water,  and 
earth ;  and  of  all  these  they  had  painted  figures ...  Of 
many  other  things  they  had  figures  and  idols,  carved  or 
painted,  even  of  butterflies,  fleas,  and  locusts."34 

Nezahualcoyotl,  king  of  Tezcuco,  was  he  who — accord- 
ing to  the  no  doubt  somewhat  partial  account  of  his  de- 
scendant Ixtlilxochitl — pushed  the  farthest  into  overt 
speech  and  act  his  contempt  of  the  vulgar  idolatry  and 
his  recognition  of  a  high,  holy,  and  to  a  great  extent 
unknowable  supreme  power.  This  thoughtful  monarch 
"  found  for  false  all  the  gods  adored  by  the  people  of 
this  land,  saying  that  they  were  statues  and  demons 

33  Camargo,  Hist,  de  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcviii., 
p.  191,  tom.xcix.,  p.  168. 

3*  Itlotollnia,  Hist.  Indian,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.,  torn,  i.,  pp.4,  33-24. 


THE  CEEED  OF  NEZAHUALCOYOTL.  197 

hostile  to  the  human  race;  for  he  was  very  learned  in 
moral  things,  and  he  went  to  and  fro  more  than  any 
other,  seeking  if  haply  he  might  lind  light  to  affirm  the 
true  God  and  creator  of  all  things,  as  has  been  seen  in 
the  discourse  of  his  history,  and  as  bear  witness  the  songs 
that  he  composed  on  this  theme.  He  said  that  there 
was  only  One,  that  this  One  wras  the  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,  that  he  sustained  all  he  had  made  and  created, 
and  that  he  was  where  was  no  second,  above  the  nine 
heavens ;  that  no  eye  had  ever  seen  this  One,  in  a  human 
shape  nor  in  any  shape  whatever;  that  the  souls  of  the 
virtuous  went  to  him  after  death,  while  the  souls  of  the 
bad  went  to  another  place,  some  most  infamous  spot  of 
earth,  filled  with  horrible  hardships  and  sufferings. 
Never — though  there  were  many  gods  representing  many 
idols — did  the  king  neglect  an  opportunity  of  saying 
when  divinity  was  discussed,  '  yntloque  in  nauhaque  y 
palne  moalani,'  which  sentence  sums  up  his  convictions 
as  above  expressed.  Nevertheless  he  recognized  the  sun 
as  his  father  and  the  earth  as  his  mother."  ^ 

Now  it  is  in  the  face  of  much  that  has  been  said  deny- 
ing or  doubting  Ixtlilxochitl's  account  of  the  creed  of 
Nezahualcoyotl  that  I  have  selected  the  passage  above 
translated,  from  among  other  passages  touching  the  same 
subject  in  the  Historia  Chicliimeca  and  in  the  Relaciones. 
I  have  selected  it  not  because  it  is  the  most  clearly 
worded,  or  the  most  eloquent,  or  the  most  complete ;  but 

35  Ixtlilxochitl,  Hist.  Chichimeca,  in  Kingdborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  p. 
261.  '  Tiivo  por  falsos  a  todos  los  dioses  que  adoraban  los  de  esta  tierra, 
diciendo  que  eran  estatuas  6  demonios  enemigos  del  genero  humano;  por 
que  fue  muy  sabio  en  las  cosas  morales,  y  el  que  mas  vacilo  buscando  de 
don.de  tomar  1  timbre  para  certificarse  del  verdadero  Dios  y  criador  de  todas 
las  cosas,  como  se  ha  visto  en  el  discurso  de  su  historia,  y  dan  testimonio 
sus  cantos  que  compuso  en  razon  de  esto  como  es  el  decir  que  habia  uno 
solo,  y  que  este  era  el  hacedor  del  cielo  y  da  la  tierra,  y  sustentaba  todo  lo 
hecho  y  criado  por  el,  y  que  estaba  donde  no  tenia  segundo,  sobre  los  nueve 
cielos,  que  el  alcanzaba,  que  jamas  se  habia  visto  en  forma  humana,  ni  otra 
figura,  que  con  el  iban  a  parar  las  almas  de  los  virtuosos  despues  de  muertos, 
y  que  las  de  los  malos  iban  a  otro  lugar,  que  era  el  mas  fufimo  de  la  tierra, 
de  trabajos  y  penas  horribles.  Nunca  jamas  (aunque  habia  inuchos  idolos 
que  representaban  inuchos  dioses)  cuando  se  ofrecia  tratar  de  deidad,  ni  en 
general  ni  en  particular,  sino  que  decia  •  yntloque  in  nauhaque  y  palue  moa- 
lani, que  signilica  lo  que  esta  atras  declarado  Solo  decia,  que  reconocia  al 
sol  por  padre;  y  a  la  tierra  por  madre.'  See  also  the  Relaciones  of  the  same 
author,  in  the  same  volume,  p.  454. 


198          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

solely  on  account  of  the  sentence  with  which  it  concludes: 
Nezahualcoyotl  "  recognized  the  sun  as  his  father 
and  the  earth  as  his  mother."  These  few  words  occurr- 
ing at  the  end  of  a  eulogy  of  the  great  Tezcucan  by  a 
confessed  admirer,  these  few  words  that  have  passed  un- 
noticed amid  the  din  and  hubbub  raised  over  the  lofty 
creed  to  which  they  form  the  last  article,  these  few  words 
so  insignificant  apparently  and  yet  so  significant  in  their 
connection, — should  go  far  to  prove  the  faithfulness  of 
of  Ixtlilxochitl's  record,  and  the  greater  or  less  complete- 
ness of  his  portrait  of  his  great  ancestor.  Were  Ixtlilxo- 
chitl  dishonest,  would  he  ever  have  allowed  such  a  pagan 
chord  as  this  to  come  jangling  into  the  otherwise  perfect 
music  of  his  description  of  a  perfect  sage  and  Christian, 
who  believed  in  a  God  alone  and  all-sufficient,  who  be- 
lieved in  a  creator  of  all  things  without  any  help  at  all, 
much  less  the  help  of  his  dead  material  creatures  the  sun 
and  the  earth?  Let  us  admit  the  honesty  of  Ixtlilxo- 
chitl,  and  admit  with  him  a  knowledge  of  that  Unknown 
God,  whom,  as  did  the  Athenians,  Nezahualcoyotl  igno- 
rantly  worshiped ;  but  let  us  not  be  blinded  by  a  glitter 
of  words — which  we  may  be  sure  lose  nothing  in  the 
repetition — as  to  the  significance  of  that  '  ignorantly ; ' 
let  us  never  lose  sight  across  the  shadow  of  that  obscure 
Athenian  altar  to  the  Unknown  God,  of  the  mighty 
columns  of  the  Acropolis  and  the  crest  of  the  Athena 
Promachos.  Nezahualcoyotl  seems  a  fair  type  of  a 
thoughtful,  somewhat  sceptical  Mexican  of  that  better- 
instructed  class  which  is  ever  and  everywhere  the  horror 
of  hypocrites  and  fanatics,  of  that  class  never  without 
its  witnesses  in  all  countries  and  at  all  times,  of  that 
class  two  steps  above  the  ignorant  laity,  and  one  step 
above  the  learned  priesthood,  yet  far  still  from  that  simple 
and  perfect  truth  which  shall  one  day  be  patent  enough 
to  all. 

Turning  from  the  discussion  of  a  point  so  obscure  and 
intangible  as  the  monotheism  of  Xezahualcoyotl  and  the 
school  of  which  he  was  the  type,  let  us  review  the  very 
palpable  and  indubitable  polytheism  of  the  Mexicans. 


AMERICAN  MYTHOLOGY.  199 

It  seems  radically  to  differ  little  from  other  polytheisms 
better  known,  such  as  those  of  Greece,  Rome,  and  Scan- 
dinavia; it  seems  to  have  been  a  jumble  of  personified 
powers,  causes,  and  qualities,  developed  in  the  ordinary 
way  from  the  mythical  corruption  of  that  florid  hyper- 
bolical style  of  speech  natural  to  all  peoples  in  days 
before  the  exact  definition  of  words  was  either  possi- 
ble or  necessary;  just  such  a  jumble  as  the  Aryan 
polytheisms  were  in  the  days  of  the  Euhemerists,  and  for 
too  long  after  unfortunately;  such  a  jumble  as  Aryan 
mythology  was  till  the  brothers  Grimm  led  the  van  of 
the  ripest  talent  and  scholarship  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury into  the  paths  of  i  word-shunting,'  which  led  again 
into  god  or  hero  shunting,  if  the  term  may  be  invented. 
Unfortunately  the  philologic  and  mythologic  material  for 
such  an  exhaustive  synthesis  of  the  origin  and  relations 
of  the  American  creeds  as  Mr  Cox,  for  example,  has 
given  to  the  world  on  the  Aryan  legends,  in  his  Mythology 
of  the  Aryan  Nations,  is  yet  far  from  complete;  which  fact 
indeed  makes  the  raison  d'etre  of  works  like  the  present. 
There  is  nothing  for  me  at  present  but  to  gather,  sift,  and 
arrange,  with  such  sifting  and  arrangement  as  may  be  pos- 
sible, all  accessible  materials  relating  to  the  subject  in  hand ; 
that  done  let  more  skilled  workmen  find  and  give  them 
their  place  in  the  wall  of  science.  For  they  have  a 
place  there,  whether  or  no  it  be  found  to-day  or  to- 
morrow ;  a  breach  is  there  that  shall  be  empty  until  they 
fit  and  fill  it. 

Tezcatlipoca  seems  to  have  been  considered  on  the 
whole,  and  the  patron-gods  of  different  cities  aside,  as  the 
most  important  of  the  Mexican  gods.  We  have  seen 
him  identified  in  several  of  the  preceding  quotations 
with  a  supreme  invisible  god,  and  I  now  proceed,  illus- 
trating this  phase  of  his  character,  to  translate  as  closely 
as  possible  the  various  prayers  given  by  Sahagun  as  ad- 
dressed to  this  great  deity  under  his  various  names, 
Titlacoan,  Yautl,  Telpuchtli,  Tlamatzincatl,  Moiocoiatzin, 
laotzin,  Necociautl,  Necaoalpilli,  and  others:— 


200          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

0,  thou  almighty  God,  that  givest  life  to  men,  and 
art  called  Titlacaoan,  grant  me  in  thy  mercy  everything 
needful  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  to  enjoy  of  thy  soft  and 
delicate  things;  for  in  grievous  toil  and  straitness  I  live 
in  the  world.  Have  mercy  on  me,  so  poor  I  am  and 
naked,  I  that  labor  in  thy  service,  and  for  thy  service 
sweep,  and  clean,  and  put  light  in  this  poor  house,  where 
I  await  thine  orders ;  otherwise  let  me  die  soon  and  end 
this  toilful  and  miserable  life,  so  that  my  body  may  find 
rest  and  a  breathing- time. 

In  illness  the  people  prayed  to  this  dei-ty  as  follows: 

0  God,  whose  name  is  Titlacaoan,  be  merciful  and  send 
away  this  sickness  which  is  killing  me,  and  I  will  reform 
my  life.     Let  me  be  once  healed  of  this  infirmity  and  I 
swear  to  serve  thee  and  to  earn  the  right  to  live ;  should 

1  by  hard  toil  gain  something,  I  will   not   eat  it  nor 
employ  it  in  anything  save  only  to  thine  honor ;  I  will 
give  a  feast  and  a  banquet  of  dancing  in  this  poor  house. 

But  the  sick  man  that  could  not  recover,  and  that  felt 
it  so,  used  to  grow  desperate  and  blaspheme  saying:  0 
Titlacaoan,  since  thou  mockest  me,  why  dost  thou  not 
kill  me?36 

Then  following  is  a  prayer  to  Tezcatlipoca,  used  by 
the  priest  in  time  of  pestilence:  0  mighty  Lord,  under 
whose  wing  we  find  defense  and  shelter,  thou  art  invis- 
ible and  impalpable  even  as  night  and  the  air.  How 
can  I  that  am  so  mean  and  worthless  dare  to  appear  be- 
fore thy  majesty?  Stuttering  and  with  rude  lips  I  speak; 
ungainly  is  the  manner  of  my  speech  as  one  leaping 
among  furrows,  as  one  advancing  unevenly;  for  all  this 
I  fear  to  raise  thine  anger,  and  to  provoke  instead  of  ap- 
peasing thee;  nevertheless  thou  wilt  do  unto  me  as  may 
please  thee.  0  Lord,  that  hast  held  it  good  to  forsake 
us  in  these  days,  according  to  the  counsel  thou  hast  as 
well  in  heaven  as  in  hades, — alas  for  us,  in  that  thine 
anger  and  indignation  has  descended  in  these  days 
upon  us;  alas,  in  that  the  many  and  grievous  afflictions 
of  thy  wrath  have  overgone  and  swallowed  us  up, 

36  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  241-2. 


PEAYEK  IN  TIME  OF  PESTILENCE.  201 

coming  down  even  as  stones,  spears,  and  arrows  upon  the 
wretches  that  inhabit  the  earth, — this  is  the  sore  pesti- 
lence with  which  wTe  are  afflicted  and  almost  destroyed. 
Alas,  0  valiant  and  all-powerful  Lord,  the  common  peo- 
ple are  almost  made  an  end  of  and  destroyed ;  a  great 
destruction  and  ruin  the  pestilence  already  makes  in 
this  nation;  and,  what  is  most  pitiful  of  all,  the  little 
children  that  are  innocent  and  understand  nothing, 
only  to  play  with  pebbles  and  to  heap  up  little  mounds 
of  earth,  they  too  die,  broken  and  dashed  to  pieces  as 
against  stones  and  a  wall — a  thing  very  pitiful  and  grievous 
to  be  seen,  for  there  remain  of  them  riot  even  those  in 
the  cradles,  nor  those  that  could  not  walk  nor  speak. 
Ah,  Lord,  how  all  things  become  confounded ;  of  young 
and  old  and  of  men  and  women  there  remains  neither 
branch  nor  root;  thy  nation  and  thy  people  and  thy 
wealth  are  leveled  down  and  destroyed.  0  our  Lord, 
protector  of  all,  most  valiant  and  most  kind,  what  is  this? 
Thine  anger  and  thine  indignation,  does  it  glory  or  delight 
in  hurling  the  stone  and  arrow  and  spear?  The  fire  of  the 
pestilence,  made  exceeding  hot,  is  upon  thy  nation,  as  a  fire 
in  a  hut,  burning  and  smoking,  leaving  nothing  upright  or 
sound.  The  grinders  of  thy  teeth  are  employed,  and  thy 
bitter  whips  upon  the  miserable  of  thy  people,  who  have 
become  lean  and  of  little  substance,  even  as  a  hollow  green 
cane.  Yea,  what  doest  thou  now,  0  Lord,  most  strong, 
compassionate,  invisible,  and  impalpable,  whose  will 
all  things  obey,  upon  whose  disposal  depends  the  rule  of 
the  world,  to  whom  all  is  subject, — what  in  thy  divine 
breast  hast  thou  decreed?  Peradventure  hast  thou  alto- 
gether forsaken  thy  nation  and  thy  people?  Hast  thou 
verily  determined  that  it  utterly  perish,  and  that  there 
be  no  more  memory  of  it  in  the  world,  that  the  peopled 
place  become  a  wooded  hill  and  a  wilderness  of  stones? 
Peradventure  wilt  thou  permit  that  the  temples,  and 
the  places  of  prayer,  and  the  altars,  built  for  thy  service, 
be  razed  and  destroyed  and  no  memory  of  them  be  left  ? 
Is  it  indeed  possible  that  thy  wrath  and  punishment, 
and  vexed  indignation  are  altogether  implacable  and 


202          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

will  go  on  to  the  end  to  our  destruction  ?  Is  it  already 
fixed  in  thy  divine  counsel  that  there  is  to  be  no  mercy 
nor  pity  for  us,  until  the  arrows  of  thy  fury  are  spent  to 
our  utter  perdition  and  destruction?  Is  it  possible  that 
this  lush  and  chastisement  is  not  given  for  our  cor- 
rection and  amendment,  but  only  for  our  total  destruc- 
tion and  obliteration;  that  the  sun  shall  nevermore 
shine  upon  us,  but  that  we  must  remain  in  perpetual 
darkness  and  silence;  that  nevermore  thou  wilt  look 
upon  us  with  eyes  of  mercy,  neither  little  nor  much  ? 
Wilt  thou  after  this  fashion  destroy  the  wretched  sick 
that  cannot  find  rest  nor  turn  from  side  to  side, 
whose  mouth  and  teeth  are  filled  with  earth  and 
scurf?  It  is  a  sore  thing  to  tell  how  we  are  all  in  dark- 
ness, having  none  understanding  nor  sense  to  w^atch  for 
or  aid  one  another.  We  are  all  as  drunken  and  without 
understanding,  without  hope  of  any  aid;  already  the 
little  children  perish  of  hunger,  for  there  is  none  to  give 
them  food,  nor  drink,  nor  consolation,  nor  caress, — none  to 
give  the  breast  to  them  that  suck;  for  their  fathers  and 
and  mothers  have  died  and  left  them  orphans,  suffer- 
ing for  the  sins  of  their  fathers.  0  our  Lord,  all- 
powerful,  full  of  mercy,  our  refuge,  though  indeed 
thine  anger  and  indignation,  thine  arrows  and  stones,  have 
sorely  hurt  this  poor  people,  let  it  be  as  a  father  or  a 
mother  that  rebukes  children,  pulling  their  ears,  pinch- 
ing their  arms,  whipping  them  with  nettles,  pouring 
chill  water  upon  them;  all  being  done  that  they  may 
amend  their  puerility  and  childishness.  Thy  chastise- 
ment and  indignation  have  lorded  and  prevailed  over 
these  thy  servants,  over  this  poor  people,  even  as  rain 
falling  upon  the  trees  and  the  green  canes,  being  touched 
of  the  wind,  drops  also  upon  those  that  are  below.  0  most 
compassionate  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  the  common  folk 
are  as  children,  that  being  whipped  they  cry  and  sob  and 
repent  of  what  they  have  done.  Peradventure,  already 
these  poor  people  by  reason  of  thy  chastisement  weep,  sigh, 
blame,  and  murmur  against  themselves ;  in  thy  presence 
they  blame  and  bear  witness  against  their  bad  heeds  and 


SPAEE  THE  GEEEN  AND  TAKE  THE  KIPE.  203 

punish  themselves  therefor.  Our  Lord  most  compassio- 
nate, pitiful,  noble,  and  precious,  let  a  time  be  given  the 
people  to  repent;  let  the  past  chastisement  suffice,  let  it 
end  here,  to  begin  again  if  the  reform  endure  not.  Par- 
don and  overlook  the  sins  of  the  people;  cause  thine 
anger  and  thy  resentment  to  cease;  repress  it  again 
within  thy  breast  that  it  destroy  no  farther;  let  it  rest 
there;  let  it  cease,  for  of  a  surety  none  can  avoid 
death  nor  escape  to  any  place.  We  owe  tribute  to  death ; 
and  all  that  live  in  the  world  are  the  vassals  thereof; 
this  tribute  shall  every  man  pay  with  his  life.  None 
shall  avoid  from  following  death,  for  it  is  thy  messenger 
what  hour  soever  it  may  be  sent,  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing always  to  devour  all  that  are  in  the  world  and  so 
powerful  that  none  shall  escape :  then  indeed  shall  every 
man  be  punished  according  to  his  deeds.  0  most  pitiful 
Lord,  at  least  take  pity  and  have  mercy  upon  the  child- 
ren that  are  in  the  cradles,  upon  those  that  cannot  walk. 
Have  mercy  also,  0  Lord,  upon  the  poor  and  very  mise- 
rable, who  have  nothing  to  eat,  nor  to  cover  themselves 
withal,  nor  a  place  to  sleep,  who  do  not  know  what  thing 
a  happy  day  is,  whose  days  pass  altogether  in  pain, 
affliction,  and  sadness.  Than  this,  were  it  not  better, 
0  Lord,  if  thou  should  forget  to  have  mercy  upon  the 
soldiers  and  upon  the  men  of  war,  whom  thou  wilt  have 
need  of  sometime ;  behold  it  is  better  to  die  in  war  and 
go  to  serve  food  and  drink  in  the  house  of  the  sun,  than 
to  die  in  this  pestilence  and  descend  to  hades.  0  most 
strong  Lord,  protector  of  all,  lord  of  the  earth,  governor 
of  the  world,  and  universal  master,  let  the  sport  and  satis- 
faction thou  hast  already  taken  in  this  past  punishment 
suffice ;  make  an  end  of  this  smoke  and  fog  of  thy  resent- 
ment; quench  also  the  burning  and  destroying  fire  of 
thine  anger:  let  serenity  come  and  clearness;  let  the 
small  birds  of  thy  people  begin  to  sing  and  to  approach 
the  sun;  give  them  quiet  weather  so  that  they  may 
cause  their  voices  to  reach  thy  highness  and  thou  mayest 
know  them.  0  our  Lord,  most  strong,  most  compassion- 
ate, and  most  noble,  this  little  have  I  said  before  thee, 


204          GODS,  SUPERNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

and  I  have  nothing  more  to  say,  only  to  prostrate  and 
throw  myself  at  thy  feet,  seeking  pardon  for  the  faults 
of  this  my  prayer ;  certainly  I  would  not  remain  in  thy 
displeasure,  and  I  have  no  other  thing  to  say. 

The  following  is  a  prayer  to  the  same  deity,  under  his 
names  Tezcatlipuca  and  Yoalliehecatl,  for  succor  against 
poverty:  0  our  Lord,  protector  most  strong  and  com- 
passionate, invisible,  and  impalpable,  thou  art  the  giver 
of  life ;  lord  of  all,  and  lord  of  battles,  I  present  myself 
here  before  thee  to  say  some  few  words  concerning  the 
need  of  the  poor  people,  the  people  of  none  estate  nor 
intelligence.  When  they  lie  down  at  night  they  have 
nothing,  nor  when  they  rise  up  in  the  morning;  the 
darkness  and  the  light  pass  alike  in  great  poverty. 
Know,  0  Lord,  that  thy  subjects  and  servants,  suffer  a 
sore  poverty  that  cannot  be  told  of  more  than  that  it  is 
a  sore  poverty  and  desolateness.  The  men  have  no  gar- 
ments nor  the  women  to  cover  themselves  with,  but  only 
certain  rags  rent  in  every  part  that  allow  the  air  and  the 
cold  to  pass  everywhere.  With  great  toil  and  weariness 
they  scrape  together  enough  for  each  day,  going  by 
mountain  and  wilderness  seeking  their  food ;  so  faint  and 
enfeebled  are  they  that  their  bowels  cleave  to  the  ribs, 
and  all  their  body  reechoes  with  hollowness;  and  they 
walk  as  people  affrighted,  the  face  and  the  body  in  like-^ 
ness  of  death.  If  they  be  merchants,  they  now  sell 
only  cakes  of  salt  and  broken  pepper;  the  people  that 
have  something  despise  their  wares,  so  that  they  go  out 
to  sell  from  door  to  door  and  from  house  to  house;  and 
when  they  sell  nothing  they  sit  down  sadly  by  some  fence, 
or  wall,  or  in  some  corner,  licking  their  lips  and  gnaw- 
ing the  nails  of  their  hands  for  the  hunger  that  is  in 
them ;  they  look  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other  at  the 
mouths  of  those  that  pass  by,  hoping  peradventure  that 
one  may  speak  some  word  to  them.  0  compassionate 
God,  the  bed  on  which  they  lie  down  is  not  a  thing  to 
rest  upon,  but  to  endure  torment  in;  they  draw  a  rag 
over  them  at  night  and  so  sleep;  there  they  throw  down 
their  bodies  and  the  bodies  of  children  that  thou  hast 


PRAYER  FOR  AID  AGAIXST  POVERTY.  205 

given  them.  For  the  misery  they  grow  up  in,  for  the 
filth37  of  their  food,  for  the  lack  of  covering,  their  faces 
are  yellow  and  all  their  bodies  of  the  color  of  earth. 
They  tremble  with  cold,  and  for  leanness  they  stagger  in 
walking.  They  go  weeping,  and  sighing,  and  full  of 
sadness,  and  all  misfortunes  are  joined  to  them ;  though 
they  stay  by  a  fire  they  find  little  heat.  0  our  Lord, 
most  clement,  invisible,  and  impalpable,  I  supplicate 
thee  to  see  good  to  have  pity  upon  them  as  they  move  in 
thy  presence  wailing  and  clamoring  and  seeking  mercy 
with  anguish  of  heart.  0  our  Lord,  in  whose  power  it 
is  to  give  all  content,  consolation,  sweetness,  softness, 
prosperity  and  riches,  for  thou  alone  art  lord  of  all  good, 

—have  mercy  upon  them  for  they  are  thy  servants.  I 
supplicate  thee,  0  Lord,  that  thou  prove  them  a  little 
with  tenderness,  indulgence,  sweetness,  and  softness, 
which  indeed  they  sorely  lack  and  require.  I  suppli- 
cate thee  that  thou  will  lift  up  their  heads  with  thy  favor 
and  aid,  that  thou  will  see  good  that  they  enjoy  some 
days  of  prosperity  and  tranquillity,  so  they  may  sleep  and 
know  repose,  having  prosperous  and  peaceable  days  of 
life.  Should  they  still  refuse  to  serve  thee,  thou  after- 
wards canst  take  away  what  thou  hast  given ;  they  having 
enjoyed  it  but  a  few  days,  as  those  that  enjoy  a  fragrant 
and  beautiful  flower  and  find  it  wither  presently.  ShoulcJ. 
this  nation,  for  whom  I  pray  and  entreat  thee  to  do  them 
good,  not  understand  what  thou  hast  given,  thou  canst 
take  away  the  good  and  pour  out  cursing;  so  that  all 
evil  may  come  upon  them,  and  they  become  poor,  in 
need,  maimed,  lame,  blind,  and  deaf:  then  indeed  they 
shall  waken  and  know  the  good  that  they  had  and  have 
not,  and  they  shall  call  upon  thee  and  lean  towards  thee ; 
but  thou  wilt  not  listen,  for  in  the  day  of  abundance 
they  would  not  understand  thy  goodness  towards  them. 
In  conclusion,  I  supplicate  thee,  0  most  kind  and  benif- 
icent  Lord,  that  thou  will  see  good  to  give  this  people 
to  taste  of  the  goods  and  riches  that  thou  art  wont  to 
give,  and  that  proceed  from  thee,  things  sweet  and  soft 

37  For  la  freza  de  la  comida:  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  39. 


206          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

and  bringing  content  and  joy,  although  it  be  but  for  a  little 
while,  and  as  a  dream  that  passes.  For  it  is  certain  that 
for  a  long  time  the  people  go  sadly  before  thee,  weeping 
and  thoughtful,  because  of  the  anguish,  hardship,  and 
anxiety  that  fill  their  bodies  and  hearts,  taking  awa}-  all 
ease  and  rest.  Verily,  it  is  not  doubtful  that  to  this  poor 
nation,  needy  and  shelterless,  happens  all  I  have  said. 
If  thou  answerest  my  petition  it  will  be  only  of  thy 
liberality  and  magnificence,  for  no  one  is  worthy  to  re- 
ceive thy  bounty  for  any  merit  of  his,  but  only  through 
thy  grace.  Search  below  the  dung-hills  and  in  the 
mountains  for  thy  servants,  friends,  and  acquaintance, 
and  raise  them  to  riches  and  dignities.  0  our  Lord, 
most  clement,  let  thy  will  be  done  as  it  is  ordained  in 
thy  heart,  and  we  shall  have  nothing  to  say.  I,  a  rude 
man  and  common,  would  not  by  importunity  and  pro- 
lixity disgust  and  annoy  thee,  detailing  my  sickness, 
destruction,  and  punishment.  Whom  do  I  speak  to? 
Where  am  I  ?  Lo  I  speak  with  thee,  0  King ;  well  do  I 
know  that  I  stand  in  an  eminent  place,  and  that  I  talk 
with  one  of  great  majesty,  before  whose  presence 
flows  a  river  through  a  chasm,  a  gulf  sheer  down  of 
awful  depth ;  this  also  is  a  slippery  place,  whence  many 
precipitate  themselves,  for  there  shall  not  be  found  one 
without  error  before  thy  majesty.  I  myself,  a  man  of 
little  understanding  and  lacking  speech,  dare  to  address 
my  words  to  thee;  I  put  myself  in  peril  of  falling  into  the 
gorge  and  cavern  of  this  river.  I,  Lord,  have  come  to 
take  with  my  hands  blindness  to  mine  eyes,  rotten- 
ness and  shrivelling  to  my  members,  poverty  and 
affliction  to  my  body;  for  my  meanness  and  rudeness 
this  it  is  that  I  merit  to  receive.  Live  and  rule  for 
ever  in  all  quietness  and  tranquillity,  0  thou  that  art  our 
lord,  our  shelter,  our  protector,  most  compassionate,  most 
pitiful,  invisible,  impalpable. 

This  following  is  a  petition  in  time  of  war  to  the  same 
principal  god,  under  his  name  of  Tezcatlipoca  Yautlnecoci- 
autlmonenequi,  praying  favor  against  the  enemy:  0  our 
Lord,  most  compassionate,  protector,  defender,  invisible, 


PKAYEE  IN  TIME  OF  WAK.  207 

impalpable,  by  whose  will  and  wisdom  we  are  directed 
and  governed,  beneath  whose  rule  we  live,  —  0,  Lord 
of  battles,  it  is  a  thing  very  certain  and  settled  that  war 
begins  to  be  arranged  and  prepared  for.  The  god  of 
the  earth  opens  his  mouth,  thirsty  to  drink  the  blood 
of  them  that  shall  die  in  this  strife.  It  seems  that  they 
wish  to  be  merry,  the  sun  and  the  god  of  the  earth 
called  Tlaltecutli ;  they  wish  to  give  to  eat  and  drink  to 
the  gods  of  heaven  and  hades,  making  them  a  banquet 
with  the  blood  and  flesh  of  the  men  that  have  to  die  in 
this  war.  Already  do  they  look,  the  gods  of  heaven 
and  hades,  to  see  who  they  are  that  have  to  con- 
quer, and  who  to  be  conquered;  who  they  are  that 
have  to  slay,  and  who  to  be  slain;  whose  blood 
it  is  that  has  to  be  drunken,  and  whose  flesh  it  is 
that  has  to  be  eaten; — which  things  the  noble  fathers 
and  mothers  whose  sons  have  to  die,  are  ignorant  of. 
Even  so  are  ignorant  all  their  kith  and  kin,  and  the 
nurses  that  gave  them  suck, — ignorant  also  are  the  fa- 
thers that  toiled  for  them,  seeking  things  needful  for 
their  food  and  drink  and  raiment  until  they  reached  the 
age  they  now  have.  Certainly  they  could  not  foretell 
how  those  sons  should  end  whom  they  reared  so  anx- 
iously, or  that  they  should  be  one  day  left  captives  or 
dead  upon  the  field.  See  good,  0  our  Lord,  that  the 
nobles  who  die  in  the  shock  of  war  be  peacefully  and 
agreeably  received,  and  with  bowels  of  love,  by  the  sun 
and  the  earth  that  are  father  and  mother  of  all.  For 
verily  thou  dost  not  deceive  thyself  in  what  thou  doest,38 
to  wit,  in  wishing  them  to  die  in  war;  for  certainly 
for  this  didst  thou  send  them  into  the  world,  so 
that  with  their  flesh  and  their  blood  they  might  be 
for  meat  and  drink  to  the  sun  and  the  earth.  Be  not 
wroth,  0  Lord,  anew  against  those  of  the  profession  of 
war,  for  in  the  same  place  where  they  will  die  have  died 

38  'Porque  £  la  verdad  no  os  engafiais  con  lo  que  haceis:'  see  Sahar/un,^in 
Kinysboroui/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  356,  as  the  substitution  of  'engafieis  ' 
for  '  engafiais  '  destroys  the  sense  of  the  passage  in  Bustamante's  ed.  of  the 
same,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  43. 


203          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

many  generous30  and  noble  lords  and  captains,  and 
valiant  men.  The  nobility  and  generosity  of  the  nobles 
and  the  greatheartedness  of  the  warriors  is  made  appar- 
ent, and  thou  makest  manifest,  0  Lord,  how  estimable 
and  precious  is  each  one,  so  that  as  such  he  may  be  held 
and  honored,  even  as  a  stone  of  price  or  a  rich  feather. 
0  Lord,  most  clement,  lord  of  battles,  emperor  of  all, 
whose  name  is  Tezcatlipoca,  invisible  and  impalpable, 
we  supplicate  thee  that  he  or  they  that  thou  wilt  per- 
mit to  die  in  this  war  may  be  received  into  the  house  of 
the  sun  in  heaven,  with  love  and  honor,  and  may  be 
placed  and  lodged  between  the  brave  and  famous  war- 
riors already  dead  in  war,  to  wit,  the  lords  Quitzicqua- 
quatzin,  Maceuhcatzin,  Tlacahuepantzin,  Ixtlilcuechavac, 
Ihuitltemuc,  Chavacuetzin,  and  all  the  other  valiant  and 
renowned  men  that  died  in  former  times, — who  are  re- 
joicing with  and  praising  our  lord  the  sun,  who  are  glad 
and  eternally  rich  through  him,  and  shall  be  for  ever; 
they  go  about  sucking  the  sweetness  of  all  flowers  delec- 
table and  pleasant  to  the  taste.  This  is  a  great  dignity 
for  the  stout  and  valiant  ones  that  died  in  war ;  for  this 
they  are  drunken  with  delight,  keeping  no  account  of 
night,  nor  day,  nor  years,  nor  times ;  their  joy  and  their 
wealth  is  without  end;  the  nectarous  flowers  they  sip 
never  fade,  and  for  the  desire  thereof  men  of  high  de- 
scent strengthen  themselves  to  die.  In  conclusion,  I 
entreat  thee,  0  Lord,  that  art  our  lord  most  clement, 
our  emperor  most  invincible,  to  see  good  that  those  that 
die  in  this  war  be  received  with  bowels  of  pity  and  love 
by  our  father  the  sun,  and  our  mother  the  earth ;  for 
thou  only  livest  and  rulest  and  art  our  most  compassion- 
ate lord.  Nor  do  I  supplicate  alone  for  the  illustrious  and 
noble,  but  also  for  the  other  soldiers,  who  are  troubled  and 
tormented  in  heart,  who  clamor,  calling  upon  thee, 
holding  their  lives  as  nothing,  and  who  fling  themselves 
without  fear  upon  the  enemy,  seeking  death.  Grant 

39  By  an  error  and  a  solecism  of  Bustamente's  ed.  the  words  '  gentes 
rojos '  are  substituted  for  the  adjective  'generosos:'  see,  as  in  the  pn  rt-d- 
iug  note,  Sahagun,  in  Kinfisboroitf/h'sJlcx.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  357,  and  Sahayun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  43. 


PKAYEE  TO  THE  GOD  OF  BATTLES.         209 

them  at  least  some  small  part  of  their  desire,  some  rest 
and  repose  in  this  life;  or  if  here,  in  this  world,  they  are 
not  destined  to  prosperity,  appoint  them  for  servants  and 
officers  of  the  sun,  to  give  food  and  drink  to  those  in 
hades  and  to  those  in  heaven.  As  for  those  whose  charge 
it  is  to  rule  the  state  and  to  be  tlacateccatl  or  tlacochcal- 
atl,40  make  them  to  be  fathers  and  mothers  to  the  men 
of  war  that  wander  by  field  and  mountain,  by  height 
and  ravine, — in  their  hand  is  the  sentence  of  death  for 
enemies  and  criminals,  as  also  the  distribution  of  digni- 
ties, the  offices  and  the  arms  of  war,  the  badges,  the 
granting  privileges  to  those  that  wear  visors  and  tassels41 
on  the  head,  and  ear-rings,  pendants,  and  bracelets,  and 
have  yellow  skins  tied  to  their  ankles, — with  them  is  the 
privilege  of  appointing  the  fashion  of  the  raiment  that 
every  one  shall  wear.  It  is  to  these  also  to  give  per- 
mission to  certain  to  use  and  wear  precious  stones,  as 
chalchivetes,  turquoises,  and  rich  feathers  in  the  dances, 
and  to  wear  necklaces  and  jewels  of  gold :  all  of  which 
things  are  delicate  and  precious  gifts  proceeding  from 
thy  riches,  and  which  thou  givest  to  those  that  perform 
feats  and  valiant  deeds  in  war.  I  entreat  thee  also,  0 
Lord,  to  make  grace  of  thy  largess  to  the  common 
soldiers,  give  them  some  shelter  and  good  lodging  in  this 
world,  make  them  stout  and  brave,  and  take  away  all 
cowardice  from  their  heart,  so  that  not  only  shall  they 
meet  death  with  cheerfulness,  but  even  desire  it  as  a 
sweet  thing,  as  flowers  and  dainty  food,  nor  dread  at  all 
the  hoots  and  shouts  of  their  enemies:  this  do  to  them 
as  to  thy  friend.  Forasmuch  as  thou  art  lord  of  battles, 
on  whose  will  depends  the  victory,  aiding  whom  thou 
wilt,  needing  not  that  any  counsel  thee, — I  entreat  thee, 
0  Lord,  to  make  mad  and  drunken  our  enemies  so  that 
without  hurt  to  us  they  may  cast  themselves  into  our 
hands,  into  the  hands  of  our  men  of  war  enduring 

40  '  Es  decir  Comandantes  6  Capitanes  generales  de  ejurcito :'  Bustamente,  in 
Sakagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  44. 

41  'Borlas,'  see  Sahagun,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  358, 
given  'bollas  '   in  Bustamante's  SaJuigun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  45. 

VOL.  III.    u 


210          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

so  much  hardship  and  poverty.  0  our  Lord,  since 
thou  art  God,  all-powerful,  all-knowing,  disposer  of  all 
things,  able  to  make  this  land  rich,  prosperous,  praised, 
honored,  famed  in  the  art  and  feats  of  war,  able  to  make 
the  warriors  now  in  the  field  to  live  and  be  prosperous, 
if,  in  the  days  at  hand,  thou  see  good  that  they  die  in 
wrar,  let  it  be  to  go  to  the  house  of  the  sun,  among  all 
the  heroes  that  are  there  and  that  died  upon  the  battle- 
field. 

The  following  prayer  is  one  addressed  to  the  principal 
deity,  under  his  name  Tezcatlipoca  Teiocoiani  Tehima- 
tini?  asking  favor  for  a  newly  elected  ruler:  To-day,  a 
fortunate  day,  the  sun  has  risen  upon  us,  warming  us,  so 
that  in  it  a  precious  stone  may  be  wrought,  and  a  hand- 
some sapphire.  To  us  has  appeared  a  new  light,  has 
arrived  a  new  brightness,  to  us  has  been  given  a  glitter- 
ing axe  to  rule  and  govern  our  nation, — has  been  given 
a  man  to  take  upon  his  shoulders  the  affairs  and  troubles 
of  the  state.  He  is  to  be  the  image  and  substitute  of 
the  lords  and  governors  that  have  already  passed  away 
from  this  life,  who  for  some  days  labored,  bearing 
the  burden  of  thy  people,  possessing  thy  throne  and 
seat,  which  is  the  principal  dignity42  of  this  thy  nation, 
province,  and  kingdom;  having  and  holding  the  same 
in  thy  name  and  person  some  few  days.  These  have 
now  departed  from  this  life,  put  off  their  shoulders  the 
great  load  and  burden  that  so  few  are  able  to  suffer.  Now, 
0  Lord,  we  marvel  that  thou  hast  indeed  set  thine  eyes 
on  this  man,  rude  and  of  little  knowledge,  to  make  him 
for  some  days,  for  some  little  time,  the  governor  of  this 
state,  nation,  province,  and  kingdom.  0  our  Lord,  most 
clement,  art  thou  peradventure  in  want  of  persons  and 
friends? — nay  verily,  thou  that  hast  thereof  more  than 
can  be  counted!  Is  it,  peradventure,  by  error,  or  that 
thou  dost  not  know  him;  or  is  it  that  thou  hast  taken 
him  for  the  nonce,  while  thou  seekest  among  many  for 

<z  '  Dignidad, '  Sahwjun,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v..  p.  359, 
misprinted  '  diligencia '  in  Bustamente's  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib. 
vi.,  p.  46. 


PEAYEE  THAT  A  EULEE  MAY  EULE  WELL.      211 

another  and  a  better  than  he,  unwise,  indiscrete,  un- 
profitable, a  superfluous  man  in  the  world.  Finally,  we 
give  thanks  to  thy  majesty  for  the  favor  thou  hast  done 
us.  What  thy  designs  therein  are  thou  alone  knowest; 
perhaps  beforehand  this  office  has  been  provided  for: 
thy  will  be  done  as  it  is  determined  in  thy  heart;  let 
this  man  serve  for  some  days  and  times.  It  may  be 
that  he  will  fill  this  office  defectively,  giving  unrest  and 
fear  to  his  subjects,  doing  things  without  counsel  or  con- 
sideration, deeming  himself  worthy  of  the  dignity  he 
has,  thinking  that  he  will  remain  in  it  for  a  long  time, 
making  a  sad  dream  of  it,  making  the  occupation  and 
dignity  thou  hast  given  him  an  occasion  of  pride  and 
presumption,  making  little  of  everybody  and  going  about 
with  pomp  and  pageantry.  Within  a  few  days,  thou  wilt 
know  the  event  of  all,  for  all  men  are  thy  spectacle  and 
theatre,  at  which  thou  laughest  and  makest  thyself 
merry.  Perhaps  this  ruler  will  lose  his  office 
through  his  childishness,  or  it  will  happen  through  his 
carelessness  and  laziness;  for  verily  nothing  is  hidden 
from  thee,  thy  sight  makes  way  through  stone  and 
wood,  and  thine  hearing.  Or  perhaps  his  arrogance, 
and  the  secret  boasting  of  his  thoughts  will  destroy  him. 
Then  thou  wilt  throw  him  among  the  filth  and  upon  the 
dung-hills,  and  his  reward  will  be  blindness,  and  shrivel- 
lings,  and  extreme  poverty  till  the  hour  of  his  death, 
when  thou  wilt  put  him  under  thy  feet.  Since  this  poor 
man  is  put  in  this  risk  and  peril,  we  supplicate  thee, 
who  art  our  Lord,  our  invisible  and  impalpable  protec- 
tor, under  whose  will  and  pleasure  we  are,  who  alone 
disposes  of  and  provides  for  all, — we  supplicate  thee 
that  thou  see  good  to  deal  mercifully  with  him ;  inas- 
much as  he  is  needy,  thy  subject  and  servant,  and  blind ; 
deign  to  provide  him  with  thy  light,  that  he  may  know 
what  he  has  to  think,  what  he  has  to  do,  and  the  road 
he  has  to  follow,  so  as  to  commit  no  error  in  his  office, 
contrary  to  thy  disposition  and  will.  .Thou  knowest 
what  is  to  happen  to  him  in  this  office  both  by  day  and 
night;  we  know,  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  that  our 


212          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEIX3S,  AND  WOESHIP. 

ways  and  deeds  are  not  so  much  in  our  hands  as  in  the 
hands  of  our  ruler.  If  this  ruler  after  an  evil  and  per- 
verse fashion,  in  the  place  to  which  thou  hast  elevated 
him,  and  in  the  seat  in  which  thou  hast  put  him, — which 
is  thine, — where  he  manages  the  affairs  of  the  people, 
as  one  that  washes  filthy  things  with  clean  and  clear 
water,  (yea  in  the  same  seat  holds  a  similar  cleansing 
office  the  ancient  god,  who  is  father  and  mother  to  thy- 
self, and  is  god  of  fire,  who  stands  in  the  midst  of  flowers, 
in  the  midst  of  the  place  bounded  by  four  walls,  who  is 
covered  with  shining  feathers  that  are  as  wings), — if  this 
ruler-elect  of  ours  do  evil  with  which  to  provoke  thine 
ire  and  indignation,  and  to  awaken  thy  chastisement 
against  himself,  it  will  not  be  of  his  own  will  or  seek- 
ing, but  by  thy  permission  or  by  some  impulse  from 
without ;  for  which  I  entreat  thee  to  see  good  to  open  his 
eyes  to  give  him  light ;  open  also  his  ears  and  guide  him, 
not  so  much  for  his  own  sake  as  for  that  of  those  whom 
he  has  to  rule  over  and  carry  on  his  shoulders.43  I  sup- 

43  This  doubtful  and  involved  sentence,  with  the  contained  clause  touching 
the  nature  of  the  tire-god,  runs  exactly  as  follows  in  the  two  varying  editions 
of  the  original:  '  Si  algtina  cosa  aviesa  6  mal  heche  hiciera  en  la  dignidad  que 
le  habeis  dado,  y  en  la  silla  en  que  le  habeis  puesto,  que  es  vuestra,  donde 
esta  tratando  los  negocios  populares,  como  quien  lava  cosas  sucias  con  agua 
muy  clai'a  y  muy  limpia;  en  la  qual  silla  y  dignidad  tiene  el  mismo  oficio  de 
lavar  vuestro  padre  y  madre  de  todos  los  Dioses,  el  Dios  antiguo  que  es  el 
Dios  del  fuego,  que  esta.  en  medio  del  albergue  cerca  de  quatro  paredes,  y 
estii  cubierto  con  plumas  resplaudecientes  que  son  como  alas,  lo  que  este 
electo  hiciese  mal  hecho,  con  que  provoque  vuestra  ira  e  indignacion,  y  des- 
pierte  vuestro  castigo  contra  si,  no  sei'a  de  su  albedrio  6  de  su  querer,  sino  de 
vuestra  permision,  6  dealgun  otra  sugestion  vuestra,  6  de  otro;  por  lo  cual  os 
suplico  tengais  por  bien  de  abrirle  los  ojos  y  darle  lumbre  y  abrirle  las  orejas, 
y  guiadle  a  este  pobre  electo,  no  tanto  por  lo  que  i-l  es,  sino  principal  immte 
por  aquellos  a  quienes  ha  de  regir  y  llevar  a  cuestas.'  Saha</un,  in  Khtt/s- 
borougn's  Mix.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  360-361.  '  Si  alguna  cosa  aviesa  6  mal 
hecha  hiciere,  en  la  diguidad  que  le  habeis  dado,  y  en  la  silla  en  que  lo 
habeis  puesto  que  es  vuestra,  donde  esta  trataudo  los  negocios  populares, 
como  quien  laba  cosas  sucias,  con  agua  muy  clara  y  muy  limpia,  en  la  cual 
silla  y  dignidad  tiene  el  mismo  oficio  de  labar  vuestro  padre  y  madre,  de 
todos  los  dioses,  el  dios  antiguo,  que  es  el  dios  del  fuego  que  esta  en  medio 
de  las  flores,  y  en  medio  del  albergue  cercado  de  cuatro  paredes,  y  esta 
cubierto  con  plumas  resplanclecientes  que  son  sonic  alas;  lo  que  este  electo 
hiciere  mal  hecho  con  que  provoque  vuestra  ira  e  indignacion,  y  despierte 
vuestro  castigo  contra  si,  no  sera  de  su  alvedrio  de  6  su  querer,  sino  de  vues- 
tra permisiou,  6  de  alguna  otra  sugestion  vuestra,  d  de  otro;  por  lo  cual  os 
suplico  tengais  por  bien  de  abirle  los  ojos,  y  darle  luz,  y  abridle  tambieu  las 
orejas,  y  guiad  a  este  pobre  electo ;  no  tanto  por  lo  que  es  el,  sino  principal- 
mente  por  aquellos  a  quien  ha  de  regir  y  llevar  acuestas:'  Bustamente's 
Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  48. 


THAT  A  RULER  MAY  NOT  ABUSE  HIS  POWER.  213 

plicate  thee,  that  now,  from  the  beginning,  thou  inspire 
him  with  what  he  is  to  conceive  in  his  heart,  and  the 
road  he  is  to  follow,  inasmuch  as  thou  hast  made  of  him 
a  seat  on  which  to  seat  thyself,  and  also  as  it  were  a 
flute  that,  being  played  upon,  may  signify  thy  will. 
Make  him,  0  Lord,  a  faithful  image  of  thyself,  and  per- 
mit not  that  in  thy  throne  and  hall  he  make  himself 
proud  and  haughty;  but  rather  see  good,  0  Lord,  that 
quietly  and  prudently  he  rule  and  govern  those  in  his 
charge  who  are  common  people:  do  not  permit  him  to 
insult  and  oppress  his  subjects,  nor  to  give  over  without 
reason  any  of  them  to  destruction.  Neither  permit,  0 
Lord,  that  he  spot  and  defile  thy  throne  and  hall  with 
any  injustice  or  oppression,  for  in  so  doing  he  will  stain 
also  thine  honor  and  fame.  Already,  0  Lord,  has  this 
poor  man  accepted  and  received  the  honor  and  lordship 
that  thou  hast  given  him ;  already  he  possesses  the  glory 
and  riches  thereof;  already  thou  hast  adorned  his  hands, 
feet,  head,  ears,  and  lips,  with  visor,  ear-rings,  and  brace- 
lets, and  put  yellow  leather  upon  his  ankles.  Permit  it 
not,  0  Lord,  that  these  decorations,  badges,  and  ornaments 
be  to  him  a  cause  of  pride  and  presumption ;  but  rather 
that  he  serve  thee  with  humility  and  plainness.  May  it 
please  thee,  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  that  he  rule  and 
govern  this,  thy  seignory,  that  thou  hast  committed  to 
him,  with  all  prudence  and  wisdom.  May  it  please  thee 
that  he  do  nothing  wrong  or  to  thine  offense;  deign  to 
walk  with  him  and  direct  him  in  all  his  ways.  But  if 
thou  wilt  not  do  this,  ordain  that  from  this  day  hence- 
forth he  be  abhorred  and  disliked,  and  that  he  die  in 
war  at  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  that  he  depart  to  the 
house  of  the  sun ;  where  he  will  be  taken  care  of  as  a 
precious  stone,  and  his  heart  esteemed  by  the  sun-lord ; 
he  dying  in  the  war  like  a  stout  and  valiant  man.  This 
would  be  much  better  than  to  be  dishonored  in  the  world, 
to  be  disliked  and  abhorred  of  his  people  for  his  faults  or 
defects.  0  our  Lord,  thou  that  providest  to  all  the 
things  needful  for  them,  let  this  thing  be  done  as  I  have 
entreated  and  supplicated  thee. 


214          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  next  prayer,  directed  to  the  god  under  his  name 
Tezcatlipoca  Titlacaoamoquequeloa,  is  to  ask,  after  the 
death  of  a  ruler,  that  another  may  be  given:  0  our 
Lord,  already  thou  knowest  how  our  ruler  is  dead, 
already  thou  hast  put  him  under  thy  feet ;  he  is  gathered 
to  his  place ;  he  is  gone  by  the  road  that  all  have  to  go 
by,  and  to  the  house  where  all  have  to  lodge ;  house  of 
perpetual  darkness,  where  there  is  no  window,  nor  any 
light  at  all ;  he  is  now  where  none  shall  trouble  his  rest. 
He  served  thee  here  in  his  office  during  some  few  days 
and  years,  not  indeed  without  fault  and  offense.  Thou 
gavest  him  to  taste  in  this  world  somewhat  of  thy  kind- 
ness and  favor,  passing  it  before  his  face  as  a  thing  that 
passes  quickly.  This  is  the  dignity  and  office  that  thou 
placedst  him  in,  that  he  served  thee  in  for  some  days,  as 
has  been  said,  with  sighs,  tears  and  devout  prayers  .be- 
fore thy  majesty.  Alas,  he  is  gone  now  where  our 
father  and  mother  the  god  of  hades  is,  the  god  that 
descended  head  foremost  below  the  fire,44  the  god  that 
desires  to  carry  us  all  to  his  place,  with  a  very  impor- 
tunate desire,  with  such  a  desire  as  one  has  that  dies  of 
hunger  and  thirst;  the  god  that  is  moved  exceedingly, 
both  by  day  and  night,  crying  and  demanding  that  all 
go  to  him.  There,  with  this  god,  is  now  our  late-de- 
parted ruler ;  he  is  there  with  all  his  ancestors  that  were 
in  the  first  times,  that  governed  this  kingdom,  with 
Acamapichtli,  with  Tyzoc,  with  Avitzotl,  with  the  first 
Mocthecuzoma,  with  Axayacatl,  and  with  those  that 
came  last,  as  the  second  Mocthecuzoma  and  also  Moc- 
thecuzoma Ilhuicamina.45  All  these  lords  and  kings 
ruled,  governed,  and  enjoyed  the  sovereignty  and  royal 
dignity,  and  throne  and  seat  of  this  empire;  they 
ordered  and  regulated  the  affairs  of  this  thy  kingdom,— 
thou  that  art  the  universal  lord  and  emperor,  and  that 
needest  not  to  take  counsel  with  another.  Already  had 

44  See  this  volume  p.  60. 

**  Somo  of  these  names  are  differently  spelt  in  Kingsborough's  ed.,  3/ex. 
Ant'uj.,  vol.  v.,  p.  3G2. :  '  Uno  de  los  quales  fue  Camnpk-htli,  otro  frit'  Tizocic, 
otro  Avit/otl,  otro  el  primero  Motezuzoma,  otro  Axayaca,  y  los  que  ahora  a 
la  parte  hail  muerto,  como  el  segundo  Motezuzoma,  y  tamb'ien  Ylhiycamiiiai' 


THAT  A  RULER  BE  SET  OVER  THE  NATION.  215 

these  put  off  the  intolerable  load  that  they  had  on  their 
shoulders,  leaving  it  to  their  successor,  our  late  ruler,  so 
that  for  some  days  he  bore  up  this  lordship  and  kingdom ; 
but  now  he  has  passed  on  after  his  predecessors  to  the 
other  world.  For  thou  didst  ordain  him  to  go,  and  didst 
call  him  to  give  thanks  for  being  unloaded  of  so  great 
a  burden,  quit  of  so  sore  a  toil,  and  left  in  peace  and 
rest.  Some  few  days  we  have  enjoyed  him,  but  now 
forever  he  is  absent  from  us,  never  more  to  return  to 
the  world.  Perad venture  has  he  gone  to  any  place 
whence  he  can  return  here,  so  that  his  subjects  may  see 
his  face  again  ?  Will  he  come  again  to  tell  us  to  do  this 
or  that?  Will  he  come  again  to  look  to  the  consuls  or 
governors  of  the  state  ?  Perad  venture  will  they  see  him 
any  more,  or  hear  his  decree  and  commandment?  Will  he 
come  any  more  to  give  consolation  and  comfort  to  his 
principal  men  and  his  consuls  ?  Alas,  there  is  an  end 
to  his  presence,  he  is  gone  for  ever.  Alas,  that  our 
candle  has  been  quenched,  and  our  light,  that  the  axe 
that  shone  with  us  is  lost  altogether.  All  his  subjects  and 
inferiors,  he  has  left  in  orphanage  and  without  shelter. 
Peradventure  will  he  take  care  henceforward  of  this 
city,  province,  and  kingdom,  though  this  city  be  de- 
stroyed and  leveled  to  the  ground,  with  this  seignory 
and  kingdom?  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  is  it  a  fit 
thing  that  by  the  absence  of  him  that  died  shall  come  to 
the  city,  seignory,  and  kingdom  some  misfortune,  in 
which  will  be  destroyed,  undone,  and  affrighted  the  vas- 
sals that  live  therein?  For  while  living,  he  who  has 
died  gave  shelter  under  his  wings,  and  kept  his  feathers 
spread  over  the  people.  Great  danger  runs  this  your 
city,  seignory,  and  kingdom,  if  another  ruler  be  not 
elected  immediately  to  be  a  shelter  thereto.  What  is  it 
that  thou  art  resolved  to  do?  Is  it  good  that  thy  people 
be  in  darkness?  Is  it  good  that  they  be  without  head  or 
shelter?  Is  it  thy  will  that  they  be  leveled  down  and 
destroyed?  Woe  for  the  poor  and  the  little  ones,  thy 
servants,  that  go  seeking  a  father  and  mother,  some  one 
to  shelter  and  govern  them,  even  as  little  children  that 


216          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

go  weeping,  seeking  an  absent  father  and  mother,  and 
that  grieve,  not  finding  them.  Woe  for  the  merchants, 
petty  and  poor,  that  go  about  by  the  mountains,  deserts, 
and  meadows,  woe  also  to  the  sad  toilers  that  go  about 
seeking  herbs  to  eat,  roots  and  wood  to  burn,  or  to  sell, 
to  eke  out  an  existence  withal.  Woe  for  the  poor  sol- 
diers, for  the  men  of  war,  that  go  about  seeking  death, 
that  abhor  life,  that  think  of  nothing  but  the  field  and 
the  line  where  battle  is  given, — upon  whom  shall  they 
call  ?  who  shall  take  a  captive  ?  to  whom  shall  they  pre- 
sent the  same?  And  if  they  themselves  be  taken  cap- 
tive, to  whom  shall  they  give  notice,  that  it  may  be 
known  in  their  land?  Whom  shall  they  take  for  father 
and  mother,  so  that  in  such  a  case  favor  may  be  granted 
them?  Since  he  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  to  this,  who 
was  as  father  and  mother  to  all,  is  already  dead.  There 
will  be  none  to  weep,  to  sigh  for  the  captives,  to  tell 
their  relatives  about  them.  Woe  for  the  poor  of  the 
litigants,  for  those  that  have  lawsuits  with  those  that 
would  take  their  estates.  Who  will  judge,  make  peace 
among,  and  clear  them  of  their  disputes  and  quarrels? 
Behold  when  a  child  becomes  dirty,  if  his  mother  clean 
him  not,  he  must  remain  filthy.  And  those  that  make 
strife  between  themselves,  that  beat,  that  knock  down, 
who  will  keep  peace  between  them  ?  Those  that  for  all 
this  go  weeping  and  shedding  tears,  who  shall  wipe  away 
their  tears  and  put  a  stop  to  their  laments?  Peradven- 
ture  can  they  apply  a  remedy  to  themselves  ?  Those 
deserving  death,  will  they  peradventure  pass  sentence 
upon  themselves?  Who  shall  set  up  the  throne  of 
justice?  Who  shall  possess  the  hall  of  the  judge, 
since  there  is  no  judge?  Who  will  ordain  the 
things  that  are  necessary  for  the  good  of  this  city, 
seignory,  and  kingdom?  Who  will  elect  the  special 
judges  that  have  charge  of  the  lower  people,  district  by 
district  ?  Who  will  look  to  the  sounding  of  the  drum 
and  fife  to  gather  the  people  for  war?  who  will  collect 
and  lead  the  soldiers  and  dexterous  men  to  battle?  0 
our  Lord  and  protector  see  good  to  elect  and  decide  upon 


PRAYER  TO  BE  RID  OF  A  BAD  RULER.  217 

some  person  sufficient  to  fill  your  throne  and  bear  upon 
his  shoulders  the  sore  burden  of  the  ruling  of  the  state, 
to  gladden  and  cheer  the  common  people,  even  as  the 
mother  caresses  the  child,  taking  it  in  her  lap;  who  will 
make  music  to  the  troubled  bees*6  so  that  they  may  be 
at  rest?  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  favor  our  ruler- 
elect,  whom  we  deem  fit  for  this  office,  elect  and  choose 
him  so  that  he  may  hold  this  your  lordship  and  govern- 
ment; give  him  as  a  loan  your  throne  and  seat,  so  that 
he  may  rule  over  this  seignory  and  kingdom  as  long  as 
he  lives;  lift  him  from  the  lowliness  and  humility  in 
which  he  is,  and  put  on  him  this  honor  and  dignity  that 
we  think  him  worthy  of;  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  give 
light  and  splendor  with  your  hand  to  this  state  and  king- 
dom. What  has  been  said  I  only  come  to  propose  to  thy 
majesty ;  although  very  defectively,  as  one  that  is  drunk- 
en, and  that  staggers,  almost  ready  to  fall.  Do  that 
which  may  best  serve  thee,  in  all  and  through  all. 

What  follows  is  a  kind  of  greater  excommunication, 
or  prayer  to  get  rid  of  a  ruler  that  abused  and  misused 
his  power  and  dignity:  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  that 
givest  shelter  to  every  one  that  approaches,  even  as  a 
tree  of  great  height  and  breadth,  thou  that  art  invisible 
and  impalpable;  that  art,  as  we  understand,  able  to 
penetrate  the  stones  and  the  trees,  seeing  what  is  con- 
tained therein.  For  this  same  reason  thou  seest  and 
knowest  what  is  within  our  hearts  and  readest  our 
thoughts.  Our  soul  in  thy  presence  is  as  a  little  smoke 
or  fog  that  rises  from  the  earth.  It  cannot  at  all  be 
hidden  from  thee,  the  deed  and  the  manner  of  living  of 
any  one ;  for  thou  seest  and  knowest  his  secrets  and  the 
sources  of  his  pride  and  ambition.  Thou  knowest  that 
our  ruler  has  a  cruel  and  hard  heart  and  abuses  the 
dignity  that  thou  hast  given  him,  as  the  drunkard  abuses 
his  wine,  as  one  drunken  with  a  soporific;47  that  is  to  say 
that  the  riches,  dignity,  and  abundance  that  for  a  little 

46  '  Obejas, '  in  Bust.imente's  ed.  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p. 
53;  *  abejiis'  in  K'm'jsborouriti s  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  364. 

47  'Y  como  el  loco  de  losbelenos.'  tiahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi., 
p.  54. 


218          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

while  thou  hast  given  him,  fill  him  with  error,  haughti- 
ness, and  unrest,  and  that  he  becomes  a  fool,  intoxicated 
with  the  poison  that  makes  him  mad.  His  prosperity 
causes  him  to  despise  and  make  little  of  every  one;  it 
seems  that  his  heart  is  covered  with  sharp  thorns  and 
also  his  face :  all  of  which  is  made  apparent  by  his  man- 
ner of  living,  and  by  his  manner  of  talking;  never  say- 
ing nor  doing  anything  that  gives  pleasure  to  any  one, 
never  caring  for  any  one,  never  taking  counsel  of  any  one ; 
he  ever  lives  as  seems  good  to  him  and  as  the  whim 
directs.  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  protector  of  all, 
creator  and  maker  of  all,  it  is  too  certain  that  this  man 
has  destroyed  himself,  has  acted  like  a  child  ungrateful 
to  his  father,  like  a  drunkard  without  reason.  The 
favors  thou  hast  accorded  him,  the  dignity  thou  hast  set 
him  in,  have  occasioned  his  perdition.  Besides  these, 
there  is  another  thing,  exceedingly  hurtful  and  repre- 
hensible: he  is  irreligious,  never  praying  to  the  gods, 
never  weeping  before  them,  nor  grieving  for  his  sins,  nor 
sighing ;  from  this  it  comes  about  that  he  is  as  headstrong 
as  a  drunkard  in  his  vices,  going  about  like  a  hollow  and 
empty  person,  wholly  senseless ;  he  stays  not  to  consider 
what  he  is  nor  the  office  that  he  fills.  Of  a  verity  he 
dishonors  and  affronts  the  dignity  and  throne  that  he 
holds,  which  is  thine,  and  which  ought  to  be  much 
honored  and  reverenced ;  for  from  it  depends  the  justice 
and  tightness  of  the  judicature  that  he  holds,  for  the  sus- 
taining and  worthily  directing  of  thy  nation,  thou  being 
emperor  of  all.  He  should  so  hold  his  power  that  the  low- 
er people  be  not  injured  and  oppressed  by  the  great;  from 
him  should  fall  punishment  and  humiliation  on  those 
that  respect  not  thy  power  and  dignity.  But  all  things 
and  people  suffer  loss  in  that  he  fills  not  his  office  as  he 
ought.  The  merchants  suffer  also,  who  are  those  to  whom 
thou  givest  the  most  of  thy  riches,  who  overrun  all  the 
world,  yea  the  mountains  and  the  unpeopled  places, 
seeking  through  much  sorrow  thy  gifts,  favors,  and  dain- 
ties, the  which  thou  givest  sparingly  and  to  thy  friends. 
Ah,  Lord,  not  only  does  he  dishonor  thee  as  aforesaid, 


THAT  A  BAD  RULER  BE  EEMOVED.          219 

but  also  when  we  are  gathered  together  to  intone  thy 
songs,  gathered  in  the  place  where  we  solicit  thy  mercies 
and  gifts,  in  the  place  where  thou  art  praised  and  prayed 
to,  where  the  sad  afflicted  ones  and  the  poor  gather  com- 
fort and  strength,  where  very  cowards  find  spirit  to  die 
in  war, — in  this  so  holy  and  reverend  place  this  man 
exhibits  his  dissoluteness  and  hurts  devotion ;  he  troubles 
those  that  serve  and  praise  thee  in  the  place  where  thou 
gatherest  and  markest  thy  friends,  as  a  shepherd  marks 
his  flock.48  Since  thou,  Lord,  hearest  and  knowest  to  be 
true  all  that  I  have  now  said  in  thy  presence,  there  re- 
mains no  more  but  that  thy  will  be  done,  and  the  good 
pleasure  of  thy  heart  to  the  remedy  of  this  affair.  At 
least,  0  Lord,  punish  this  man  in  such  wise  that  he  be- 
come a  warning  to  others,  so  that  they  may  not  imitate 
his  evil  life.  Let  the  punishment  fall  on  him  from  thy 
hand  that  to  thee  seems  most  meet,  be  it  sickness  or 
any  other  affliction;  or  deprive  him  of  the  lordship,  so 
that  thou  mayest  give  it  to  another,  to  one  of  thy  friends, 
to  one  humble,  devoted,  and  penitent;  for  many  such 
thou  hast,  thou  that  lackest  not  persons  such  as  are 
necessary  for  this  office,  friends  that  hope,  crying  to  thee : 
thou  knowest  those  for  friends  and  servants  that  weep 
and  sigh  in  thy  presence  every  day.  Elect  some  one  of 
these  that  he  may  hold  the  dignity  of  this  thy  kingdom 
and  seignory ;  make  trial  of  some  of  these.  And  now, 
0  Lord,  of  all  the  aforesaid  things  which  is  it  that  thou 
wilt  grant?  Wilt  thou  take  from  this  ruler  the  lordship, 
dignity,  and  riches  on  which  he  prides  himself,  and  give 
them  to  another  who  may  be  devout,  penitent,  humble, 
obedient,  capable,  and  of  good  understanding?  Or,  per- 
adventure,  wilt  thou  be  served  by  the  falling  of  this 
proud  one  into  poverty  and  misery,  as  one  of  the  poor 
rustics  that  can  hardly  gather  the  wherewithal  to  eat, 
drink,  and  clothe  himself?  Or,  perad venture,  will  it 
please  thee  to  smite  him  with  a  sore  punishment  so  that 

<8  Both  editors  of  Sahagun  agree  herein  using  the  word  'obejas.'  As 
sheep  were  unknown  in  Mexico  it  is  too  evident  that  other  hands  than  Mexi- 
can have  been  employed  in  the  construction  of  this  simile. 


220          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

all  his  body  may  shrivel  up,  or  his  eyes  be  made  blind, 
or  his  members  rotten?  Or  wilt  thou  be  pleased 
to  withdraw  him  from  the  world  through  death,  and 
send  him  to  hades,  to  the  house  of  darkness  and  obscur- 
ity, where  his  ancestors  are,  whither  we  have  all  to  go, 
where  our  father  is,  and  our  mother,  the  god  and  the 
goddess  of  hell.  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  what  is  it 
that  thy  heart  desires  the  most?  Let  thy  will  be  done. 
And  in  this  matter  in  which  I  supplicate  thee,  I  am  not 
moved  by  envy  nor  hate;  nor  with  any  such  motives 
have  I  come  into  thy  presence.  I  am  moved  only  by 
the  robbery  and  ill-treatment  that  the  people  suffer,  only 
by  a  desire  for  their  peace  and  prosperity.  I  would  not 
desire,  0  Lord,  to  provoke  against  myself  thy  wrath  and 
indignation,  I  that  am  a  mean  man  and  rude ;  for  it  is 
to  thee,  0  Lord,  to  penetrate  the  heart  and  to  know  the 
thoughts  of  all  mortals. 

The  following  is  a  form  of  Mexican  prayer  to  Tezcat- 
lipoca,  used  by  the  officiating  confessor  after  having  heard 
a  confession  of  sins  from  some  one.  The  peculiarity  of 
a  Mexican  confession  was  that  it  could  not  lawfully  have 
place  in  a  man's  life  more  than  once ;  a  man's  first  absolu- 
tion and  remission  of  sins  was  also  the  last  and  the  only 
one  he  had  to  hope  for: — 0  our  most  compassionate 
Lord,  protector  and  favorer  of  all,  thou  hast  now  heard 
the  confession  of  this  poor  sinner,  with  which  he  has 
published  in  thy  presence  his  rottenness  and  unsavori- 
ness.  Perhaps  he  has  hidden  some  of  his  sins  before 
thee,  and  if  it  be  so  he  has  irreverently  and  offensively 
mocked  thy  majesty,  and  thrown  himself  into  a  dark 
cavern  and  into  a  deep  ravine;49  he  has  snared  and  en- 
tangled himself;  he  has  made  himself  worthy  of  blind- 
ness, shrivelling  and  rotting  of  the  members,  poverty, 
and  misery.  Alas,  if  this  poor  sinner  have  attempted 

49  '  Si  es  asi  ha  hecho  burla  de  V.M.,  y  con  desacato  y  grande  ofensa,  se 
ha  arrojado  a  una  ciina,  y  en  nna  profunda  barranca:'  Bustamente's  ed.  of 
Saluujun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  58.  The  same  passage  runs  as  fol- 
lows in  Kingsborough's  ed. :  'Si  es  asi  ha  hecho  burla  de  vuestra  magestnd,  y 
con  desacato  y  grande  ofensa  de  vuestra  magt-stad  scrii  arrojado  en  una  sima, 
y  en  uua  profunda  barranca:'  Kinysborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  o67. 


PEAYEK  USED  BY  A  CONFESSOK  OF  SINS.  221 

any  such  audacity  as  to  offend  thus  before  thy  majesty, 
before  thee  that  art  lord  and  emperor  of  all,  that  keepest 
a  reckoning  with  all,  he  has  tied  himself  up,  he  has  made 
himself  vile,  he  has  mocked  himself.  Thou  thoroughly 
seest  him,  for  thou  seest  all  things,  being  invisible  and 
without  bodily  parts.  If  he  have  done  this  thing,  he  has, 
of  his  own  will,  put  himself  in  this  peril  and  risk ;  for 
this  is  a  place  of  very  strict  justice  and  very  strait  judg- 
ment. This  rite  is  like  very  clear  water  with  which 
thou  washest  away  the  faults  of  him  that  wholly  con- 
fesses, even  if  he  have  incurred  destruction  and 
shortening  of  days;  if  indeed  he  have  told  all  the 
truth,  and  have  freed  and  untied  himself  from  his  sins 
and  faults,  he  has  received  the  pardon  of  them  and  of 
what  they  have  incurred.  This  poor  man  is  even  as  a 
man  that  has  slipped  and  fallen  in  thy  presence,  offend- 
ing thee  in  divers  ways,  dirting  himself  also  and  casting 
himself  into  a  deep  cavern  and  a  bottomless  well.51  He 
fell  like  a  poor  and  lean  man,  and  now  he  is  grieved  and 
discontented  with  all  the  past;  his  heart  and  body  are 
pained  and  ill  at  ease;  he  is  now  filled  with  heaviness 
for  having  done  what  he  did ;  he  is  now  wholly  deter- 
mined never  to  offend  thee  again.  In  thy  presence,  0 
Lord,  I  speak,  that  knowest  all  things,  that  knowest 
also  that  this  poor  wretch  did  not  sin  with  an  entire 
liberty  of  free  will ;  he  was  pushed  to  it  and  inclined  by 
the  nature  of  the  sign  under  which  he  was  born.  And 
since  this  is  so,  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  protector  and 
helper  of  all,  since  also  this  poor  man  has  gravely  offend- 
ed thee,  wilt  thou  not  remove  thine  anger  and  thine  in- 
dignation from  him?  Give  him  time,  0  Lord;  favor 
and  pardon  him,  inasmuch  as  he  weeps,  sighs,  and  sobs, 
looking  before  him  on  the  evil  he  has  done,  and  on  that 
wherein  he  has  offended  thee.  He  is  sorrowful,  he  sheds 
many  tears,  the  sorrow  of  his  sins  afflicts  his  heart;  he 
is  not  sorry  only,  but  terrified  also  at  thoughts  of  them. 
This  being  so,  it  is  also  a  just  thing  that  thy  fury  and 

51  '  Poca '  is  misprinted  for  '  poza '  in  Bustamente's  ed.,   Sahagun,  Hist. 
fren.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  v.,  p.  58. 


222          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

indignation  against  him  be  appeased  and  that  his  sins 
be  thrown  on  one  side.  Since  thou  art  full  of  pity,  0 
Lord,  see  good  to  pardon  and  to  cleanse  him;  grant  him 
the  pardon  and  remission  of  his  sins,  a  thing  that  de- 
scends from  heaven,  as  water  very  clear  and  very  pure 
to  wash  away  sins,62  with  which  thou  washest  away  all 
the  stain  and  impurity  that  sin  causes  in  the  soul.  See 
good,  0  Lord,  that  this  man  go  in  peace,  and  command 
him  in  what  he  has  to  do;  let  him  go  to  do  penance  for 
and  to  weep  over  his  sins;  give  him  the  counsels  neces- 
sary to  his  well  living. 

At  this  point  the  confessor  ceases  from  addressing  the 
god  and  turns  to  the  penitent,  saying :  0  my  brother,  thou 
hast  come  into  a  place  of  much  peril,  a  place  of  travail 
and  fear;  thou  hast  come  to  a  steep  chasm  and  a  sheer 
rock,  where  if  any  one  fall  he  shall  never  come  up  again ; 
thou  hast  come  to  the  very  place  where  the  snares  and  the 
nets  touch  one  another,  where  they  are  set  one  upon  an- 
other, in  such  wise  that  no  one  may  pass  thereby  without 
falling  into  some  of  them,  and  not  only  snares  and  nets 
but  also  holes  like  wrells.  Thou  hast  thrown  thyself  down 
the  banks  of  the  river  and  among  the  snares  and  nets, 
whence  without  aid  it  is  not  possible  that  thou  shouldst 
escape.  These  thy  sins  are  not  only  snares,  nets,  and 
wells,  into  which  thou  hast  fallen,  but  they  are  also  wild 
beasts  that  kill  and  rend  both  body  and  soul.  Perad- 
venture,  hast  thou  hidden  some  one  or  some  of  thy  sins, 
weighty,  huge,  filthy,  unsavory,  hidden  something  now 
published  in  heaven,  earth,  and  hades,  something  that 
now  stinks  to  the  uttermost  part  of  the  world  ?  Thou 
hast  now  presented  thyself  before  our  most  clement  Lord 
and  protector  of  all,  whom  thou  didst  irritate,  offend,  and 
provoke  the  anger  of,  who  to-morrow,  or  some  other 
day,  will  take  thee  out  of  this  world  and  put  thee  under 

58  '  Cosa  que  desciende  del  cielo,  como  agua  clariaima  y  purisima  par  lavar 
loa  pecados:'  Sahagun,  in  Kiruisborough'sMex.Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  368.  See 
alao  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  59. 

The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd 

It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 

Upon  the  place  beneath:  Merchant  of  Venice,  act.  iv. 


PERILS  OF  FALSE  CONFESSION.  223 

his  feet,  and  send  thee  to  the  universal  house  of  hades, 
where  thy  father  is  and  thy  mother,  the  god  and  the 
goddess  of  hell,  whose  mouths  are  always  open  desiring 
to  swallow  thee  and  as  many  as  may  be  in  the  world. 
In  that  place  shall  be  given  thee  whatsoever  thou  didst 
merit  in  this  world,  according  to  the  divine  justice,  and 
to  what  thou  hast  earned  with  thy  works  of  poverty, 
misery,  and  sickness.  In  divers  manners  thou  wilt  be 
tormented  and  afflicted  in  the  extreme,  and  wilt  be  soaked 
in  a  lake  of  intolerable  torments  and  miseries ;  but  here, 
at  this  time,  thou  hast  had  pity  upon  thyself  in  speaking 
and  communicating  with  our  Lord,  with  him  that  sees 
all  the  secrets  of  every  heart.  Tell  therefore  wholly  all 
that  thou  hast  done,  as  one  that  flings  himself  into  a 
deep  place,  into  a  well  without  bottom.  When  thou  wast 
created  and  sent  into  the  world,  clean  and  good  thou 
wast  created  and  sent ;  thy  father  and  thy  mother  Quet- 
zalcoatl  formed  thee  like  a  precious  stone,  and  like  a 
bead  of  gold  of  much  value ;  when  thou  wast  born  thou 
wast  like  a  rich  stone  and  a  jewel  of  gold  very  shining 
and  very  polished.  But  of  thine  own  will  and  volition 
thou  hast  defiled  and  stained  thyself,  and  rolled  in 
filth,  and  in  the  uncleanness  of  the  sins  and  evil  deeds 
that  thou  hast  committed  and  now  confessed.  Thou 
hast  acted  as  a  child  without  judgment  or  understand- 
ing, that  playing  and  toying  defiles  himself  with  a  loath- 
some filth ;  so  hast  thou  acted  in  the  matter  of  the  sins 
that  thou  hast  taken  pleasure  in,  but  hast  now  confessed 
and  altogether  discovered  before  our  Lord,  who  is  the 
protector  and  purifier  of  all  sinners.  This  thou  shalt 
not  take  for  an  occasion  of  jesting,  for  verily  thou  hast 
come  to  the  fountain  of  mercy,  which  is  like  very  clear 
water,  with  which  filthinesses  of  the  soul  are  washed 
away  by  our  Lord  God,  the  protector  and  favorer  of  all 
that  turn  to  him.  Thou  hast  snatched  thyself  from 
hades,  and  hast  returned  again  to  come  to  life  in  this 
world,  as  one  that  comes  from  another.  Now  thou  hast 
been  born  anew,  thou  hast  begun  to  live  anew,  and  our 
Lord  God  gives  thee  light  and  a  new  sun.  Now  once 


224          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

more  thou  bcginnest  to  radiate  and  to  shine  anew  like 
a  very  precious  and  clear  stone,  issuing  from  the  belly 
of  the  matrix  in  which  it  was  created.  Since  this  is 
thus,  see  that  thoulive  with  much  circumspection  and  very 
advisedly  now  and  henceforward,  all  the  time  that  thou 
mayest  live  in  this  world  under  the  power  and  lordship 
of  our  Lord  God,  most  clement,  beneficent,  and  munif- 
icent. Weep,  be  sad,  walk  humbly,  with  submission, 
with  the  head  low  and  bowed  down,  praying  to  God. 
Look  that  pride  find  no  place  within  thee,  otherwise  thou 
wilt  displease  our  Lord,  who  sees  the  hearts  and  the 
thoughts  of  all  mortals.  In  what  dost  thou  esteem  thy- 
self? At  how  much  dost  thou  hold  thyself?  What  is 
thy  foundation  and  root?  On  what  dost  thou  support 
thyself?  It  is  clear  that  thou  art  nothing,  canst  do  no- 
thing, and  art  worth  nothing;  for  our  Lord  will  do  with 
thee  all  he  may  desire  and  none  shall  stay  his  hand. 
Peradventure,  must  he  show  thee  those  things  writh 
which  he  torments  and  afflicts,  so  that  thou  mayest  see 
them  with  thine  eyes  in  this  world  ?  Nay  verily,  for  the 
torments  and  horrible  sufferings  of  his  tortures'  of  the 
other  world  are  not  visible,  nor  able  to  be  seen  by  those 
that  live  here.  Perhaps  he  will  condemn  thee  to  the 
universal  house  of  hades ;  and  the  house  where  thou  now 
livest  will  fall  down  and  be  destroyed,  and  be  as  a  dung- 
hill of  filthiness  and  uncleanness,  thou  having  been  ac- 
customed to  live  therein  with  much  satisfaction,  waiting 
to  know  how  he  would  dispose  of  thee,  he  our  Lord  and 
helper,  the  invisible,  incorporeal  and  alone  one.  Therefore 
I  entreat  thee  to  stand  up  and  strengthen  thyself  and  to 
be  no  more  henceforth  as  thou  hast  been  in  the  past. 
Take  to  thyself  a  new  heart  and  a  new  manner  of  living, 
and  take  good  care  not  to  turn  again  to  thine  old  sins. 
Consider  that  thou  canst  not  see  with  thine  eyes  our 
Lord  God,  for  he  is  invisible  and  impalpable,  he  is  Tez- 
catlipoca,  he  is  Titlacaoa,  he  is  a  youth  of  perfect  per- 
fection and  without  spot.  Strengthen  thyself  to  sweep, 
to  clean,  and  to  arrange  thy  house;  for  if  thou  do  not 
this,  thou  wilt  reject  from  thy  company  and  from  thy 


EXHORTATION  TO  THE  PENITENT.  225 

house,  and  wilt  offend  much  the  very  clement  youth  that 
is  ever  walking  through  our  houses,  and  through  our 
streets,  enjoying  and  amusing  himself, — the  youth  that 
labors,  seeking  his  friends,  to  comfort  them  and  to  comfort 
himself  with  them.     To  conclude,  I  tell  thee  to  go  and 
learn  to  sweep,  and  to  get  rid  of  the  filth  and  sweepings 
of  thy  house,  and  to  cleanse  everything,  thyself  not  the 
least.     Seek  out  also  a  slave  to  immolate  him  before  God ; 
make  a  feast  to  the  principal  men,  and  let  them  sing 
the  praises  of  our  Lord.     It  is  moreover  fit  that  thou 
shouldst  do  penance,  working  a  year  or  more  in  the  house 
of  God ;  there  thou  shalt  bleed  thyself,  and  prick  thy 
body  with  maguey  thorns;    and,  as  a  penance  for  the 
adulteries  and  other  vilenesses  that  thou  hast  committed, 
thou  shalt,  twice  every  day,  pass  osier  twigs  through 
holes  pierced  in  thy  body,  once  through  thy  tongue,  and 
once  through  thine  ears.     This  penance  shalt  thou  do 
not  alone  for  the  carnalities  above  mentioned,  but  also 
for  the  evil  and  injurious  words  with  which  thou  hast 
insulted  and  affronted  thy  neighbors;   as  also  for  the 
ingratitude  thou  hast  shown  with  reference  to  the  gifts 
bestowed  on  thee  by  our  Lord,  and  for  thine  inhumanity 
toward  thy  neighbors,  neither  making  offerings  of  the 
goods  that  were  given  thee  by  God,  nor  sharing  with 
the  poor  the  temporal  benefits  given  by  our  Lord.    Thou 
shalt  burden  thyself  to  offer  paper  and  copal ;  thou  shalt 
give  alms  to  the  needy  and  the  hungry,  to  those  that 
have  nothing  to  eat  nor  to  drink  nor  to  cover  themselves 
with;  even  though  thou  thyself  go  without  food  to  give 
it  away  and  to  clothe  the  naked :  look  to  it,  for  their 
flesh  is  like  thy  flesh,  and  they  are  men  as  thou.     Care 
most  of  all  for  the  sick,  they  are  the  image  of  God.53 
There  remains  nothing  more  to  be  said  to  thee;  go  in 
peace,  and  entreat  God  to  aid  thee  to  fulfill  what  thou 
art  obliged  to  do;  for  he  gives  favor  to  all. 

The  following  prayer  is  one  addressed  to  Tezcatlipoca 
by  a  recently  elected  ruler,  to  give  thanks  for  his  election 

53  .  . . . '  mayormente  a  ^os  enfermos  porque  son  imagen  de  dios.'  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  63. 


VOL.  III.    15 


223          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

and  to  ask  favor  and  light  for  the  proper  performance  of 
his  office:  0  our  lord,  most  clement,  invisible  and  im- 
palpable protector  and  governor,  well  do  I  know  that 
thou  knowest  me,  who  am  a  poor  man,  of  low  destiny, 
born  and  brought  up  among  filth,  and  a  man  of  small 
reason  and  mean  judgment,  full  of  many  defects  and 
faults,  a  man  that  knows  not  himself,  nor  considers  who 
he  is.  Thou  hast  bestowed  on  me  a  great  benefit,  favor, 
and  mercy,  without  any  merit  on  my  part;  thou  hast 
lifted  me  from  the  dung-hill  and  set  me  in  the  royal 
dignity  and  throne.  Who  am  I,  my  Lord,  and  what  is 
my  worth  that  thou  shouldst  put  me  among  the  num- 
ber of  those  that  thou  lovest?  among  the  number  of 
thine  acquaintance,  of  those  thou  boldest  for  chosen 
friends  and  worthy  of  all  honor;  born  and  brought  up 
for  thrones  and  royal  dignities;  to  this  end  thou  hast 
created  them  able,  prudent,  descended  from  noble  and 
generous  fathers;  for  this  end  they  were  created  and 
educated ;  to  be  thine  instruments  and  images  they  were 
born  and  baptized  under  the  signs  and  constellations  that 
lords  are  born  under.  They  were  born  to  rule  thy  king- 
doms, thy  word  being  within  them  and  speaking  by  their 
mouth, — according  to  the  desire  of  the  ancient  god, 
the  father  of  all  the  gods,  the  god  of  fire,  who  is  in  the 
pond  of  water  among  turrets  surrounded  with  stones  like 
roses,  who  is  called  Xiuhtecutli,  who  determines,  exam- 
ines, and  settles  the  business  and  lawsuits  of  the  nation 
and  of  the  common  people,  as  it  were  washing  them  with 
water;  in  the  company  and  presence  of  this  god  the 
generous  personages  aforementioned  always  are.  0 
most  clement  Lord,  ruler,  and  governor,  thou  hast  done 
me  a  great  favor.  Perhaps  it  has  been  through  the  in- 
tercession and  through  the  tears  shed  by  the  departed 
lords  and  ladies  that  had  charge  of  this  kingdom.54  It 
would  be  great  madness  to  suppose  that  for  any  merit 
or  courage  of  mine  thou  hast  favored  me,  setting  me 
over  this  your  kingdom,  the  government  of  which  is 

M  '  Los  pasados  senores  y  senoras  que  tuvierou  cargo  de  este  reino.'  Saha- 
gun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  71. 


PRAYER  OF  A  RULER.  227 

something  very  heavy,  difficult,  and  even  fearful ;  it  is 
as  a  huge  burden,  carried  on  the  shoulders,  and  one  that 
with  great  difficulty  the  past  rulers  bore,  ruling  in  thy 
name.  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  invisible,  and  impal- 
pable, ruler  and  governor,  creator  and  knower  of  all 
things  and  thoughts,  beautifier  of  thy  creatures,55  what 
shall  I  say  more,  poor  me?  In  what  wise  have  I  to 
rule  and  govern  this  thy  state,  or  how  have  I  to 
carry  this  burden  of  the  common  people?  I  who 
am  blind  and  deaf,  who  do  not  even  know  myself,  nor 
know  how  to  rule  over  myself.  I  am  accustomed  to 
walk  in  filth,  my  faculties  fit  me  for  seeking  and  selling 
edible  herbs,  and  for  carrying  and  selling  wood.  What 
I  deserve,  0  Lord,  is  blindness  for  mine  eyes  and 
shriveling  and  rotting  for  my  limbs,  and  to  go  dressed 
in  rags  and  tatters;  this  is  what  I  deserve  and  what 
ought  to  be  given  me.  It  is  I  that  need  to  be  ruled  and 
to  be  carried  on  some  one's  back.  Thou  hast  many 
friends  and  acquaintances  that  may  be  trusted  with  this 
load.  Since,  however,  thou  has  already  determined  to 
set  me  up  for  a  scoff  and  a  jeer  to  the  world,  let  thy  will 
be  done  and  thy  word  fulfilled.  Peradventure  thou 
knowest  not  who  I  am ;  and,  after  having  known  me, 
wilt  seek  another  and  take  the  government  from  me; 
taking  it  again  to  thyself,  hiding  again  in  thyself  this 
dignity  and  honor,  being  already  angry  and  weary  of 
bearing  with  me;  and  thou  wilt  give  the  government  to 
another,  to  some  close  friend  and  acquaintance  of  thine, 
to  some  one  very  devout  toward  thee,  that  weeps  and 
sighs  and  so  merits  this  dignity.  Or,  peradventure, 
this  thing  that  happened  to  me  is  a  dream,  or  a 
walking  in  sleep.  0  Lord,  thou  that  art  present 
in  every  place,  that  knowest  all  thoughts,  that  dis- 
tributest  all  gifts,  be  pleased  not  to  hide  from  me  thy 
words  and  thine  inspiration.  I  do  not  know  the  road  I 
have  to  follow,  nor  what  I  have  to  do,  deign  then  not 

55  '  Adornador  de  las  criaturas:'  Sahagun,  in  Kingsborouc/h's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  p.  377.  'Adornador  de  las  almas.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib. 
vi.,  p.  71, 


228          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

to  hide  from  me  the  light  and  the  mirror  that  have  to 
guide  me.  Do  not  allow  me  to  cause  those  I  have  to 
rule  and  carry  on  my  shoulders  to  lose  the  road  and  to 
wander  over  rocks  and  mountains.  Do  not  allow  me  to 
guide  them  in  the  tracks  of  rabbits  and  deer*  Do  not 
permit,  0  Lord,  any  war  to  be  raised  against  me,  nor 
any  pestilence  to  come  upon  those  I  govern ;  for  I  should 
not  know,  in  such  a  case,  what  to  do,  nor  where  to  take 
those  I  have  upon  my  shoulders ;  alas  for  me,  that  am 
incapable  and  ignorant.  I  would  not  that  any  sickness 
come  upon  me,  for  in  that  case  thy  nation  and  people 
would  be  lost,  and  thy  kingdom  desolated  and  given  up 
to  darkness.  What  shall  I  do,  0  Lord  and  creator,  if 
by  chance  I  fall  into  some  disgraceful  fleshly  sin,  and 
thereby  ruin  the  kingdom  ?  what  do  if  by  negligence  or 
sloth  I  undo  my  subjects  ?  what  do  if  through  my  fault  I 
hurl  down  a  precipice  those  I  have  to  rule  ?  Our  Lord, 
most  clement,  invisible  and  impalpable,  I  entreat  thee 
not  to  separate  thyself  from  me;  visit  me  often;  visit 
this  poor  house,  for  I  will  be  waiting  for  thee  therein. 
With  great  thirst  I  await  thee  and  demand  urgently 
thy  word  and  inspiration,  which  thou  didst  breathe  into 
thine  ancient  friends  and  acquaintances  that  have  ruled 
with  diligence  and  rectitude  over  thy  kingdom.  This  is 
thy  throne  and  honor,  on  either  side  whereof  are  seated 
thy  senators  and  principal  men,  who  are  as  thine  image 
and  very  person.  They  give  sentence  and  speak  on  the 
affairs  of  the  state  in  thy  name;  thou  usest  them  as 
thy  flutes,  speaking  from  within  them  and  placing  thy- 
self in  their  faces  and  ears,  opening  their  mouths  so  that 
they  may  speak  well.  In  this  place  the  merchants  mock 
and  jest  at  our  follies,  with  which  merchants  thou  art 
spending  thy  leisure,  since  they  are  thy  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances ;  there  also  thou  inspirest  and  breathest  upon 
thy  devoted  ones,  who  weep  and  sigh  in  thy  presence, 
sincerely  giving  thee  their  heart.55  For  this  reason  thou 

56  The  precise  force  of  much  of  this  sentence  it  is  hard  to  understand.  It 
seems  to  show,  at  any  rate,  that  the  merchants  were  supposed  to  be  very 
intimate  with  and  especially  favored  by  this  deity.  The  original  runs  as 
follows:  'Eneste  lugar  burlau  y  rieu  de  nuestras  boberfas  los  uegociantes. 


PRAYER  OF  A  RULER  FOR  DIRECTION.  229 

adornest  them  with  prudence  and  wisdom,  so  that  they 
may  look  as  into  a  mirror  with  two  faces,  where  every 
one's  image  is  to  be  seen;57  for  this  thou  givest  them  a 
very  clear  axe,  without  any  dimness,  whose  brightness 
flashes  into  all  places.  For  this  cause  also  thou  givest 
them  gifts  and  precious  jewels,  hanging  them  from  their 
necks  and  ears,  even  like  material  ornaments  such  as  are 
the  nacocM,  the  tentetl,  the  ilapiloni  or  head-tassel,  the 
matemecatl  or  tanned  strap  that  lords  tie  round  their 
wrists,58  the  yellow  leather  bound  on  the  ankles,  the 
beads  of  gold,  and  the  rich  feathers.  In  this  place  of 
the  good  governing  and  rule  of  thy  kingdom,  are  merited 
thy  riches  and  glory,  thy  sweet  and  delightful  things, 
calmness  and  tranquillity,  a  peaceable  and  contented  life ; 
all  of  which  come  from  thy  hand.  In  the  same  place, 
lastly,  are  also  merited  the  adverse  and  wearisome  things, 
sickness,  poverty,  and  the  shortness  of  life;  which  things 
are  sent  by  thee  to  those  that  in  this  condition  do  not 
fulfill  their  duty.  0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  knower  of 
thoughts  and  giver  of  gifts,  is  it  in  my  hand,  that  am  a 
mean  man,  to  know  how  to  rule?  is  the  manner  of  my 
life  in  my  hand,  and  the  works  that  I  have  to  do  in  my 
office?  which  indeed  is  of  thy  kingdom  and  dignity  and 
not  mine.  What  thou  mayest  wish  me  to  do  and  what 
may  be  thy  will  and  disposition,  thou  aiding  me  I  will 
do.  The  road  thou  mayest  show  me  I  will  walk  in; 
that  thou  mayest  inspire  me  with,  and  put  in  my 
heart,  that  I  will  say  and  speak.  O  our  Lord,  most 
clement,  in  thy  hand  I  wholly  place  myself,  for  it  is  not 
possible  for  me  to  direct  or  govern  myself;  I  am  blind, 
darkness,  a  dung-hill.  See  good,  0  Lord,  to  give  me  a 

con  los  quales  estais  vos  liolgandoos,  porque  sonvuestroa  amigos  y  vuestroa 
conocidos,  y  alii  inspirais  e  insuflais  a  vuestros  devotos,  que  lloran  y  suspi- 
xan  en  vuestra  presencia  y  os  dan  do  verdad  su  corazon.'  tiahayun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  73. 

57  "  Para  que  vean  como  en  espejo  de  dos  hazes,  donde  se  representa  la 
imagen  de  oada  uno'.  Sakayun,  HiA.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  73. 

M  .\'(tcochtll,  orejeras  [ear-rings];  Tentetl,  be<jote  de  indio  [lip-ornament]: 
Molina,  Vocabulario.  Molina  gives  also  Matfmfcatl  to  mean,  a  gold  bracelet 
or  something  of  that  kind;  Bustamante  translates  the  word  in  the  same  way, 
explaining  that  the  strap  mentioned  in  the  text  was  used  to  tie  the  bracelet 
on.  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  74. 


230          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

little  light,  though  it  be  only  as  much  as  a  fire-fly  gives 
out,  going  about  at  night;  to  light  me  in  this  dream,  in 
this  life  asleep  that  endures  as  for  a  day;  where  are 
man}-  things  to  stumble  at,  many  things  to  give  occasion 
for  laughing  at  one,  many  things  like  a  rugged  road  that 
has  to  be  gone  over  by  leaps.  All  this  has  to  happen  in 
the  position  thou  hast  put  me  in,  giving  me  thy  seat  and 
dignity.  0  Lord,  most  clement,  I  entreat  thee  to  visit 
me  with  thy  light,  that  I  may  not  err,  that  I  may  not 
undo  myself,  that  my  vassals  may  not  cry  out  against 
me.  0  our  Lord,  most  pitiful,  thou  hast  made  me  now 
the  back-piece59  of  thy  chair,  also  thy  flute;  all  without 
any  merit  of  mine.  I  am  thy  mouth,  thy  face,  thine 
ears,  thy  teeth,  and  thy  nails.  Although  I  am  a  mean  man 
I  desire  to  say  that  I  unworthily  represent  thy  person, 
and  thine  image,  that  the  words  I  shall  speak  have  to 
be  esteemed  as  thine,  that  my  face  has  to  be  held  as 
thine,  mine  eyes  as  thine,  and  the  punishment  that  I 
shall  inflict  as  if  thou  hadst  inflicted  it.  For  all  this 
I  entreat  thee  to  put  thy  spirit  within  me,  and  thy  words, 
so  that  all  may  obey  them  and  none  contradict.60 

Now  with  regard  to  the  measure  of  the  genuineness  of 
the  prayers  to  Tezcatlipoca,  just  given,  it  seems  evident 
that  either  with  or  without  the  conscious  connivance  of 
Father  Bernardino  de  Sahagun,  their  historian,  a  certain 
amount  of  sophistication  and  adaptation  to  Christian 
ideas  has  crept  into  them ;  it  appears  to  be  just  as  evi- 
dent, however,  on  the  other  hand,  that  they  contain  a 
great  deal  that  is  original,  indigenous,  and  characteristic 
in  regard  to  the  Mexican  religion.  At  any  rate  they 
purport  to  do  so,  and  as  evidence  bearing  on  the  matter, 
presented  by  a  hearer  and  eye-witness  at  first  hand,  by 

M  'Espaldar  de  vnestra  silln.'  SaJiaiun,  TTtsf.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  75. 

60  '  He  that  delivered  this  prayer  before  Tesccatlipoca,  stood  on  his  fr<-t, 
his  feet  close  together,  bending  himself  towards  the  earth.  Those  that  were- 
very  devout  were  naked.  Before  they  began  the  prayer  they  offered  copal  to 
the  lire,  or  some  other  sacrifice,  and  if  they  were  covered  with  a  blanket,  flu  y 
pulled  the  knot  of  it  round  to  the  breast,  so  that  they  were  naked  in  front. 
Some  spoke  this  prayer  squatting  on  their  calves,  and  kept  the  knot  of  the 
blanket  on  the  shoulder  '  tiahagun  Hist.  Gtn.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  \i.,  p.  75. 


GENUINENESS  OF  THE  FOREGOING  PRAYERS.  231 

a  man  of  strongly  authenticated  probity,  learning,  and 
above  all,  of  strong  sympathy  with  the  Mexican  people, 
beloved  and  trusted  by  those  of  them  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  and  admitted  to  the  familiarity  of  a 
friend  with  their  traditions  and  habits  of  thought, — for 
all  these  reasons  his  evidence,  however  we  may  esteem 
it,  must  be  heard  and  judged.61 

61  Father  Bernardino  de  Sahagun,  a  Spanish  Franciscan,  was  one  of  the 
first  preachers  sent  to  Mexico;  where  he  was  much  employed  in  the  in- 
struction of  the  native  youth,  working  for  the  most  part  in  the  province  of 
Tezcuco.  While  there,  in  the  city  of  Tepeopulco,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  he  began  the  work,  best  known  to  us  as  the  Ilisloria 
General  de  las  Cosas  de  Nueva  Espana,  from  which  the  above  prayers  have 
been  translated,  and  from  which  we  shall  draw  largely  for  further  informa- 
tion. It  would  be  hard  to  imagine  a  work  of  such  a  character  constructed 
after  a  better  fashion  of  working  than  his.  Gathering  the  principal  natives  of 
the  town  in  which  he  carried  on  his  labors,  he  induced  them  to  appoint  him 
n  number  of  persons,  the  most  learned  and  experienced  in  the  things  of  which 
he  wished  to  write.  These  learned  Mexicans  being  collected,  Father  Saha- 
gun was  accustomed  to  get  them  to  paint  down  in  their  native  fashion  the 
various  legends,  details  of  history  and  mythology,  and  so  on  that  he  wanted;  at 
the  foot  of  the  said  pictures  these  learned  Mexicans  wrote  out  the  explanations 
of  the  same  in  the  Mexican  tongue;  and  this  explanation  the  Father  Saha- 
gun translated  into  Spanish:  that  translation  purports  to  be  what  we  now 
read  as  the  Historia  General.  Here  follows  a  translation  of  the  Prologo  of 
his  work,  in  which  he  describes  all  the  foregoing  in  his  own  way :  ' '  All 
writers  labor  the  best  that  they  can  to  make  their  works  authoritative;  some 
by  witnesses  worthy  of  faith,  others  by  the  writings  of  previous  writers  held 
worthy  of  belief,  others  by  the  testimony  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  To  me 
are  wanting  all  these  foundations  to  make  authoritative  what  I  have  written 
in  these  twelve  books  [of  the  Historia  General'].  I  have  no  other  founda- 
tion, but  to  set  down  here  the  relation  of  the  diligence  that  I  made  to  know 
the  truth  of  all  that  is  written  in  these  twelve  books.  As  I  have  said  in  other 
prologues  to  this  work,  I  was  commanded  in  all  holy  obedience  by  my  chitf 
prelate  to  write  in  the  Mexican  language  that  which  appeared  to  me  to  be 
useful  for  the  doctrine,  worship,  and  maintenance  of  Christianity  among 
these  natives  of  New  Spain,  and  for  the  aid  of  the  workers  and  ministers  that 
taught  them.  Having  received  this  commandment,  I  made  in  the  Spanish 
language  a  minute  or  memorandum  of  all  the  matters  that  I  had  to  treat  of, 
which  matters  are  what  is  written  in  the  twelve  books, . . .  .which  were  begun 
in  the  pueblo  of  Tepeopulco,  which  is  in  the  province  of  Culhuacan  or  Tez- 
coco.  The  work  was  done  in  the  following  way.  In  the  aforesaid  pueblo,  I 
got  together  all  the  principal  men,  together  with  the  lord  of  the  place,  who 
was  called  Don  Diego  deMendoza,  of  great  distinction  and  ability,  well  experi- 
enced in  things  ecclesiastic,  military,  political,  and  even  relating  to  idolatry. 
They  being  come  together,  I  set  before  them  what  I  proposed  to  do,  and 
prayed  them  to  appoint  me  able  and  experienced  persons,  with  whom  I 
might  converse  and  come  to  an  understanding  on  such  questions  as  I  might 
propose.  They  answered  me  that  they  would  talk  the  matter  over  and  give 
their  answer  on  another  day;  and  with  this  they  took  their  departure.  So 
on  another  day  the  lord  and  his  principal  men  came,  and  having  conferred 
together  with  great  solemnity,  as  they  were  accustomed  at  that  time  to  do, 
they  chose  out  ten  or  twelve  of  the  principal  old  men,  and  told  me  that  with 
these  I  might  communicate  and  that  these  would  instruct  me  in  any  matters 
I  should  inquire  of.  Of  these  there  were  as  many  as  four  instructed  in  Latin, 
to  whom  I,  some  few  years  before,  had  myself  taught  grammar  in  the  college 


232         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  Santa  Cruz,  in  Tlaltelolco.  "With  these  appointed  principal  men,  includ- 
ing the  four  instructed  in  grammar,  I  talked  many  days  during  about  two 
years,  following  the  order  of  the  minute  I  had  already  made  out.  On  all  the 
subjects  on  which  we  conferred  they  gave  me  pictures,— which  were  the 
writings  anciently  in  use  among  them, — and  these  the  grammarians  inter- 
preted to  rne  in  their  language,  writing  the  interpretation  at  the  foot  of 
the  picture.  Even  to  this  day  I  hold  the  originals  of  these. . .  .When  I  went 
to  the  chapter,  with  which  was  ended  the  seven  years'  term  of  Fray  Francis- 
co Toral  —he  that  had  imposed  the  charge  of  this  work  upon  me — I  was  re- 
moved from  Tepeopulco,  carrying  all  niy  writings.  I  went  to  reside  at  Sant- 
iago del  Tlaltelolco.  There  I  brought  together  the  principal  men,  set  before 
them  the  matter  of  my  writings,  and  asked  them  to  appoint  me  some  able 
principal  men,  with  whom  I  might  examine  and  talk  over  the  writings  I  had 
brought  from  Tepeopulco.  The  governor,  with  the  alcaldes,  appointed  me 
as  many  as  eight  or  ten  principal  men,  selected  from  all  the  most  able  in  their 
language,  and  in  the  things  of  their  antiquities.  With  these  and  with  four 
or  five  collegians,  all  trilinguists,  and  living  for  the  space  of  a  year  or  more 
secluded  in  the  college,  all  that  had  been  brought  written  from  Tepeopulco 
was  clearly  emended  and  added  to;  and  the  whole  was  rewritten  in  small 
letters,  for  it  was  written  with  much  haste.  In  this  scrutiny  or  examination, 
he  that  worked  the  hardest  of  all  the  collegians  was  Martin  -lacobita,  who 
was  then  rector  of  the  college,  an  inhabitant  of  the  ward  of  Santa  Ana.  I, 
having  done  all  as  above  said  in  Tlaltelolco,  went,  taking  with  me  all  my 
writings,  to  reside  in  San  Francisco  de  Mexico,  where,  by  myself,  for  the  space 
of  three  years,  I  examined  over  and  over  again  the  writings,  emended  them, 
divided  them  into  twelve  books,  and  each  book  into  chapters  and  paragraphs. 
After  this,  Father  Miguel  Navarro  being  provincial,  and  Father  Diego  de 
Mendoza  commissary-general  in  Mexico,  with  their  favor  I  had  all  the 
twelve  books  clearly  copied  in  a  good  hand,  as  also  the  Postilla  and  the  '  'nn- 
tdres  [which  were  other  works  on  which  Sahagun  was  engaged].  I  made 
out  also  an  Art  of  the  Mexican  language  with  a  vocabulary-appendix.  Now 
the  Mexicans  added  to  and  emended  my  twelve  books  [of  the  Hisloria  Gene- 
ral] in  many  things  while  they  were  being  copied  out  in  full;  so  that  the  first 
sieve  through  which  my  work  passed  was  that  of  Tepeopulco,  the  second 
that  of  Tlaltelolco,  the  third  that  of  Mexico ;  and  in  all  these  scrutinies  collegi- 
ate grammarians  had  been  employed.  The  chief  and  most  learned  was  An- 
tonio Valeriano,  a  resident  of  Aztcapuzalco;  another,  little  less  than  the  first, 
was  Alonso  Vegerano,  resident  of  Cuauhtitlan ;  another  was  Martin  Jacobite, 
above  mentioned;  another  Pedro  de  Santa  Buenaventura,  resident  of  Cuauh- 
titlau;  all  expert  in  three  languages,  Latin,  Spanish,  and  Indian  [Mexican]. 
The  scribes  that  made  out  the  clear  copies  of  all  the  works  are  Diego 
Degrade,  resident  of  the  ward  of  San  Martin,  Mateo  Severiuo.  resident  of  Xo- 
chimilco,  of  the  part  of  Ullac.  The  clear  copy  being  fully  made  out,  by  tho 
favor  of  the  fathers  above  mentioned  and  the  expenditure  of  hard  cash  on  the 
scribes,  the  author  thereof  asked  of  the  delegate  Father  Francisco  de  Rivera 
that  the  work  be  submitted  to  three  or  four  religious,  so  that  they  might  give 
ail-opinion,  on  it,  and  that  in  the  provincial  chapter,  which  was  close  at  Land, 
they  might  attend  and  report  on  the  matter  to  the  assembly,  speaking  us 
the  thing  might  appear  to  them.  And  these  reported  in  the  assembly  that 
the  writings  were  of  much  value  and  deserved  such  support  as  was  necessary 
toward  their  completion.  But  to  some  of  the  assembly  it  seemed  that  it 
was  contrary  to  their  vows  of  poverty  to  spend  money  in  copying  these  writ- 
ings; so  they  commanded  the  author  to  dismiss  his  scribes,  and  that  he 
alone  with  his  own  hand  should  do  what  copying  he  wanted  done ;  but  as  he 
was  more  than  seventy  years  old,  and  for  the  trembling  of  his  hand  not  able 
to  write  anything,  nor  able  to  procure  a  dispensation  from  this  mandate, 
there  was  nothing  done  with  the  writings  for  more  than  five  years.  During 
this  interval,  and  at  the  next  chapter.  Father  Miguel  Navarro  was  elected 
by  the  general  chapter  for  custos  custodium.  and  Father  Alonso  de  Escalona, 
for  provincial.  During  this  time  the  author  made  a  summary  of  all  the 
books  and  of  all  the  chapters  of  each  book,  and  prologues,  wherein  was  said 


CHAEACTEE  AND  WORKS  OF  SAHAGUN.  233 

with  brevity  all  that  the  books  contained.  This  summary  Father  Miguel 
Navarro  and  his  companion,  Father  Ger  onimo  de  Mendieta,  carried  to  Spain, 
and  thus  in  Spain  the  things  that  had  been  written  about  this  laud  made 
their  appearance.  In  the  mean  time,  the  father  provincial  took  all  the 
books  of  the  author  and  dispersed  them  through  all  the  province,  where  they 
were  seen  by  many  religious  and  approved  for  very  precious  and  valuable. 
After  some  years,  the  general  chapter  meeting  again,  Father  Miguel  Navarro, 
at  the  petition  of  the  author,  turned  with  censures  to  collect  again  the  said 
books;  which,  from  that  collecting,  came  within  about  a  year  into  the 
hands  of  the  author.  During  that  time  nothing  was  done  in  them,  nor  was 
there  any  one  to  help  to  get  them  translated  into  the  vernacular  Spanish, 
until  the  delegate-general  Father  Eodrigo  de  Sequera  came  to  these  parts, 
saw  and  was  much  pleased  with  them,  and  commanded  the  author  to  translate 
them  into  Spanish;  providing  all  that  was  necessary  to  their  being  re- written, 
the  Mexican  language  in  one  column  and  the  Spanish  in  another,  so  that  they 
might  be  sent  to  Spain;  for  the  most  illustrious  Seuor  Don  Juan  de  Ovando, 
president  of  the  Council  of  Indies,  had  inquired  after  them,  he  knowing  of 
them  by  reason  of  the  summary  that  the  said  Father  Miguel  Navarro  had 
carried  to  Spain,  as  above  said.  And  all  the  above-said  is  to  show  that  this 
work  has  been  examined  and  approved  by  many,  and  during  many  years 
has  passed  through  many  troubles  and  misfortunes  before  reaching  the  place 
it  now  has:'  Sahugun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  Prologo,  pp.  iii.  vii.  As  to 
the  date  at  which  Sahagun  wrote  he  says :  '  These  twelve  books  and  the  Art 
and  the  vocabulary-appendix  were  finished  in  a  clear  copy  in  the  year  1569; 
but  not  translated  into  Spanish.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  i.,  lutro- 
duccion,  p.  xv.  The  following  scanty  sketch  of  the  life  of  Sahaguu,  is  taken, 
after  Bustamante,  from  the  Menealoyio  Serqfico  of  Father  Betancourt :  'Fa- 
ther Bernardino  Sahagun,  native  of  Sahagun,  took  the  robe  in  the  convent 
of  Salamanca,  being  a  student  of  that  university.  He  passed  into  this  pro- 
vince [Mexico]  in  the  year  1529,  in  the  company  of  Father  Antonio  de  Ciudad 
Eodrigo.  While  a  youth  he  was  endowed  with  a  beauty  and  grace  of  person 
that  corresponded  with  that  of  his  soul.  From  his  tenderest  years  he  was 
very  observant,  self-contained,  and  given  to  prayer.  Father  Martin  de  Va- 
lencia held  very  close  communion  with  him,  owing  to  which  he  saw  him 
many  times  snatched  up  into  an  ecstasy.  Sahagun  was  very  exact  in  his  at- 
tendance in  the  choir,  even  in  his  old  age,  he  never  was  absent  at  matins. 
He  was  gentle,  humble,  courteous  in  his  converse  with  all.  He  was 
elected  secondly  with  the  learned  Father  Juan  de  Gaona,  as  professor  at 
Tlaltelolco  in  the  college  of  Santa  Cruz;  where  he  shone  like  a  light 
on  a  candlestick,  for  he  was  perfect  in  all  the  sciences.  His  possession 
of  the  Mexican  language  was  of  a  perfectness  that  has  never  to  this  day 
being  equaled;  he  wrote  many  books  in  it  that  will  be  mentioned  in  the 
catalogue  of  authors.  He  had  to  strive  with  much  opposition,  for  to  some 
it  did  not  seem  good  to  write  out  in  the  language  of  the  Mexicans  their 
ancient  rites,  lest  it  should  give  occasion  for  their  being  persevered  in.  He 
watched  over  the  honor  of  God  against  idolatry,  and  sought  earnestly  to 
impress  the  Christian  faith  upon  the  converted.  He  affirmed  as  a  minis- 
ter of  much  experience,  that  during  the  first  twenty  years  [of  his  life  in  the 
province]  the  fervor  of  the  natives  was  very  great;  but  that  afterward  they 
inclined  to  idolatry,  and  became  very  lukewarm  in  the  faith.  This  he  says 
in  the  book  of  his  Postillas  that  I  have,  in  which  I  learnt  much.  During  the 
first  twenty  years  of  his  life  [in  the  province]  he  was  guardian  of  some  con- 
vents; bat  after  that  he  desired  not  to  take  upon  himself  any  office  or  guar- 
dianship for  more  than  forty  years,  so  that  he  could  occupy  himself  in 
pre  idling,  confessing,  and  writing.  During  the  sixty  and  one  years  that 
he  lived  in  the  province,  for  the  most  part  in  college,  without  resting  a  single 
day,  he  instructed  the  boys  in  civilization  and  good  customs,  teaching  them 
reading,  vvriting,  grammar,  music,  and  other  things  in  the  service  of  God 
and  the  state.  This  went  on  till  the  year  1590,  when,  the  approach  of  death 
becoming  apparent  to  everyone,  he  entered  the  hospital  of  Mexico;  whore  he 
died  on  the  Jord  of  October.  There  assembled  to  his  funeral  the  collegians, 


234          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

trailing  their  becas,  and  the  natives  shedding  tears,  and  the  members  of  the 
different  religions  houses  giving  praises  to  God  our  Lord  for  this  holy  death, 
of  which  the  niartyrology  treats,  —  Gouzaga,  Torquemada,  Deza,  Rampineo, 
and  many  others.  In  the  library  of  Senior  Eguiara,  in  the  manuscript  of  the 
Turriuna  collection,  I  have  read  the  article  relating  to  Father  Sahagun  ;  in  it 
a  large  catalogue  of  works  that  he  wrote  is  given.  I  remember  only  the  fol- 
lowing: Htitoria  General  df  las  cosas  de  JVue-ra  Espana;  Arte  de 


mexicana;  Diccionario  trilingue  de  espanol,  latin,  y  mexicano;  Semtoius 
para  todo  el  a/lo  en  mexicano,  (poseo  auuque  sin  nombre  de  autor);  7'«.-7/7- 
las  6  commentarios  al  evangelio,  para  las  misas  solenmes  de  dia  de  precepto; 
Historut  de  los  primeros  pobludores  franciscanos  en  Mtmco;  Salmodia  de  la 
vida  de  Crlsto,  de  la  viryen  y  de  los  santos,  que  ttsalan  los  indios,  y  precep- 
tos  para  los  casados;  Escala  espiritual,  que  fue  la  priuiera  obra  que  se  irn- 
primio  en  Mexico  en  la  inipreuta  que  trajo  Hernan  Cortes  de  Espana.  '  Saha- 
gun, Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  vii.-ix.  As  to  the  manner  in  which  the  Ilis- 
toi-ia  General  of  Sahaguu,  'whom,'  says  Prescott,  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  67, 
'  I  have  followed  as  the  highest  authority  '  in  matters  of  Mexican  re- 
ligion, —  at  last  saw  the  light  of  publication,  I  give  Prescott's  account, 
Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  88,  as  exact  save  in  one  point,  for  which  see  the  correction 
in  brackets:  —  'At  length,  toward  the  close  of  the  last  century,  the  indefati- 
gable Munoz  succeeded  in  disinterring  the  long  lost  manuscript  from  the 
place  tradition  had  assigned  to  it,  —  the  library  of  a  convent  at  Tolosa,  in  Na- 
varre, the  northern  extremity  of  Spain.  With  his  usual  ardor,  he  transcribed 
the  whole  work  with  his  own  hands,  and  added  it  to  the  inestimable  collec- 
tion, of  which,  alas!  he  was  destined  not  to  reap  the  full  benefit  himself. 
From  this  transcript  Lord  Kingsborough  was  enabled  to  procure  the  copy 
which  was  published  in  1830,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  his  magnificent  compila- 
tion. [It  was  published  in  two  parts,  in  the  fifth  and  seventh  volumes  of  that 
compilation,  and  the  exact  date  of  the  publication  was  1831.]  In  it  he  expresses 
an  honest  satisfaction  at  being  the  first  to  give  Sahagun's  work  to  the  world. 
But  in  this  supposition  he  was  riKstaken.  The  very  year  preceding,  an  edition 
of  it,  with  annotations,  appeared  in  Mexico,  in  three  volumes  8vo.  It  was 
prepared  by  Bustamaute,  —  a  scholar  to  whose  editorial  activity  his  countiy 
is  largely  indebted,  —  from  a  copy  of  the  Munoz  manuscript  which  came  into 
his  possession.  Thus  this  remarkable  work,  which  was  denied  the  honors 
of  the  press  during  the  author's  lifetime,  after  passing  into  oblivion,  reap- 
peared, at  the  distance  of  nearly  three  centuries,  not  in  his  own  covmtry,  but 
in  foreign  lands  widely  remote  from  each  other,  and  that  almost  simultane- 
ously ....  Sahagun  divided  his  history  into  twelve  books.  The  first  eleven 
are  occupied  with  the  social  institutions  of  Mexico,  and  the  last  with  the 
Conquest.  On  the  religion  of  the  country  he  is  particularly  full.  His  great 
object  evidently  was,  to  give  a  clear  view  of  its  mythology,  and  of  the  bur- 
densome ritual  which  belonged  to  it.  Religion  entered  so  intimately  into 
the  most  private  concerns  and  usages  of  the  Aztecs,  that  Sahagun's  work 
must  be  a  text-book  for  every  student  of  their  antiquities.  Torquemadn 
availed  himself  of  a  manuscript  copy,  which  fell  into  his  hands  before  it  was 
sent  to  Spain,  to  enrich  his  own  pages,  —  a  circumstance  more  fortunate  for 
his  readers  than  for  Sahagun's  reputation,  whose  work,  now  that  it  is  pub- 
lished, loses  much  of  the  originality  and  interest  which  would  otherwise 
attach  to  it.  In  one  respect  it  is  invaluable;  as  presenting  a  complete  col- 
lection of  the  various  forms  of  prayer,  accommodated  to  every  possible  emer- 
gency, in  use  by  the  Mexicans.  They  are  often  clothed  in  dignified  and 
beautiful  language,  showing  that  sublime  speculative  tenets  are  quite  com- 
patible with  the  most  degrading  practices  of  superstition.  It  is  much  to  be 
regretted  that  we  have  not  the  eighteen  hymns,  inserted  by  the  author  in  his 
book,  which  would  have  particular  interest,  as  the  only  specimen  of  devo- 
tional poetry  preserved  of  the  Aztecs.  The  hieroglyphics]  paintings,  which 
accompanied  the  text  are  also  missing.  If  they  have  escaped  the  hands  of 
fanaticism,  both  may  reappear  at  some  futiire  day.'  As  may  have  been 
noticed,  the  editions  of  Sahagun  by  both  Bustamante  and  Kingsborough  have 
been  constantly  used  together  and  collated  during  the  course  of  this  present 


ADULTEBATION  OF  THE  SAHAGUN  MSS.  235 

work.  They  differ,  especially  in  many  minor  points  of  typography,  Busta- 
niiuite's  being  the  more  carelessly  edited  in  this  respect.  Notwithstanding, 
however,  the  opinion  to  the  contrary  of  Mr  Harrisse,  Bustarnante's  edition 
is  on  the  whole  the  more  complete;  Kingsborough  having  avowedly  omitted 
divers  parts  of  the  original  which  he  thought  unimportant  or  uninteresting, 
— a  fault  also  of  Bustamaute's,  but  to  a  lesser  extent.  Fortunately  what  is 
absent  in  the  one  I  have  always  found  in  the  other;  and  indeed,  as  a  whole, 
and  all  circumstances  being  considered,  they  agree  tolerably  well.  The  crit- 
icism of  Mr  Harrisse,  just  referred  to,  runs  as  follows,  Bib.  Am.  Vet.,  p.  208, 
nota  52:  '  Historia  General  de  las  Cosas  de  Nueva  Espana;  Mexico,  3  vols.,  4to, 
1829  ( edited  and  castrated  by  Bustamentef  Bustamante]  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  require  for  a  perfect  understanding  of  that  dry  but  important  work,  the 
reading  of  the  parts  also  published  in  vols.  v.  and  vi.  [v.  and  vii.],  of  Kings- 
borough's  Antiquities.)'  We  are  not  yet  done,  however,  with  editions  of  Saha- 
gun.  A  third  edition  of  part  of  his  work  has  seen  the  light.  It  is  Bustamante 
himself  that  attempts  to  supersede  a  part  of  his  first  edition.  He  affirms,  that 
book  xii.  of  that  first  edition  of  his,  as  of  course  also  book  xii.  of  Kingsborough 's 
edition,  is  spurious  and  has  been  garbled  and  glossed  by  Spanish  hands 
quite  away  from  the  original  as  written  by  Sahaguu.  Exactly  how  or  when 
this  corruption  took  place  he  does  not  show;  but  he  leaves  it  to  be  inferred 
that  it  was  immediately  after  the  original  manuscript  had  been  taken  from 
its  author,  and  that  it  was  done  because  that  twelfth  book,  which  treats  more 
immediately  of  the  Conquest,  reflected  too  hardly  on  the  Conquerors.  Bus- 
tamante having  procured,  in  a  manner  now  to  be  given  in  his  own  words,  a 
correct  and  genuine  copy  of  the  twelfth  book,  a  copy  written  and  signed 
by  the  hand  of  Sahaguu  himself,  proceeded  in  1840  to  give  it  to  the  world 
under  the  extraordinary  title  of  La  Aparinon  de  Nucstra  tivnora  de  Guadalupe 
de  Mexico,  cornprobada.  con  la  refutation  del  argumento  negative  que  presenta  D. 
Juan  Bautista  Munoz,  fundandose  en  el  testimonio  dd  P.  Fr.  Bernardino  Saha- 
gun;  6  sea,  Historia  Original  de  este  Escritor,  que  altera  la  publicada  en  1829  en 
el  equivocado  concepto  de  ser  la  unica  y  original  del  dicho  autor.  All  of  which 
means  to  say  that  he,  Bustamante,  having  already  published  in  1829-30,  a 
complete  edition  of  Sahagun's  Historia  General,  in  twelve  books,  according 
t:i  the  best  manuscript  he  could  then  find,  has  found  the  twelfth  book  of  that 
history  to  be  not  genuine,  has  found  the  genuine  original  of  said  twelfth 
book,  and  now,  in  i840,  publishes  said  genuine  twelfth  book  under  the  al:ove 
extraordinary  name,  inasmuch  as  it  contains  some  reference  to  what  is 
supposed  to  be  uppermost  in  every  religious  Mexican's  mind,  to  wit,  the 
miraculous  appearance  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  to  a  certain  native  Mexican, 
la  aparicion  de  nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe  de  Mexico.  Bustamaute's  own 
account  of  all  the  foregoing,  being  translated  from  the  above-mentioned  JVra. 
Senora  de  Guadalupe,  pp.  iv.,  viii.,  xxiii.,  runs  as  follows:  'As  he  [Sahi'gunJ 
wrote  with  the  frankness  proper  to  truth,  and  as  this  was  not  pleasing  to  the 
heads  of  the  then  government,  nor  even  to  some  of  his  brother  friars,  he  was 
despoiled  of  his  writings.  These  were  sent  to  Spain,  and  ordered  to  be  stored 
away  in  the  archives  of  the  convent  of  San  Francisco  de  Tolosa  de  Navarra, 
so  that  no  one  should  ever  be  able  to  read  them;  there  they  lay  hid  for  more 
than  two  centuries.  During  the  reign  of  Carlos  iii.,  SenorMunoz  was  com- 
missioned to  write  the  history  of  the  New  World.  But  he  found  himself 
without  this  work  [of  Sahagun's]  so  necessary  to  his  purpose;  and  he  was 
ignorant  of  its  whereabouts,  till,  reading  the  index  of  the  Biblioteca  Francis- 
cana  he  came  to  know  about  it,  and,  furnished  by  the  government  with  all 
powers,  he  took  it  out  of  the  said  monastery.  Colonel  D.  Diego  Garcfa 
Panes  having  come  to  Madrid  at  the  same  time,  to  publish  the  works  of  Sefior 
Veytia,  this  gentleman  contracted  a  friendship  with  Munoz  who  allowed  him 
to  copy  the  two  thick  volumes  in  which  Sahagun's  work  was  written. ... 
These  two  volumes,  then,  that  Colonel  Panes  had  copied,  were  what  was  held 
to  be  solely  the  work  of  Father  Sahagun,  and  as  such  esteemed;  still  it  does 
not  appear  to  be  proved  by  attestation  that  this  was  the  author's  original  au- 
tograph history.  Had  it  been  so,  the  circumstance  would  hardly  have  been 
left  without  definite  mention,  when  the  relation  was  given  of  the  way  in 


236          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

•which  the  book  was  got  hold  of,  and  when  the  guarantee  of  the  exactness  of 
the  copy  was  procured.  I,  to-day,  possess  an  original  manuscript,  written 
altogether  and  signed  by  the  hand  of  Father  Sahagun;  in  which  is  to  be 
noted  an  essential  variation  in  certain  of  the  chapters  which  I  now  present, 
from  those  that  I  before  published  in  the  twelfth  book  of  his  Historia  Gene- 
ral; which  is  the  book  treating  of  the  Conquest.  Sahagnn  wrote  this  manu- 
script in  the  year  1585,  th.it  is  to  say,  five  years  before  his  death,  and  he 
•wrote  it  without  doubt  under  a  presentiment  of  the  alterations  that  his  work 
would  suffer.  He  had  already  made  alterations  therein  himself,  since  he 
confesses  ( they  are  his  words )  that  certain  defects  existed  in  them,  that  certain 
things  had  been  put  into  the  narrative  of  that  Conquest  that  should  not  have 
been  put  there,  while  other  things  were  left  out  that  should  not  have  been 
omitted.  Therefore  [says  Bustamante],  this  autograph  manuscript  discovers 
the  alterations  that  his  writings  underwent  and  gives  us  good  reason  to  doubt 
the  authenticity  and  exactness  of  the  text  seen  by  Murioz ....  During  the  re- 
volution of  Madrid,  in  May,  1808,  caused  by  the  entrance.of  the  French  and 
the  removal  of  the  royal  family  to  Bayoune,  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the 
Academy  of  History  was  robbed,  and  from  it  were  taken  various  bundles  of 
the  works  of  Father  Sahagun.  These  an  old  lawyer  of  the  court  bought,  and 
among  them  one  entitled:  Edation  de  la  conquista  de  esta  Nueva  Espana,  como 
la  contaron  los  soldados  indios  que  se  hallaron  presentes.  Convertiose  en  lengua 
espanola  liana  e  intel'vjible  y  bien  enmendada  en  este  ano  de  1585.  Unfortu- 
nately there  had  only  remained  [of  the  Relation,  etc.,  (?)]  a  single  volume 
of  manuscript,  which  Sefior  D.  Jose  Gomez  de  la  Cortina,  ex-count  of  that 
title,  bought,  giving  therefor  the  sum  of  a  hundred  dollars.  He  allowed 
me  the  use  of  it,  and  I  have  made  an  exact  copy  of  it,  adding  notes 
for  the  better  understanding  of  the  Conquest;  the  before-mentioned 
being  altogether  written,  as  I  have  said,  and  signed  by  the  hands  of 
Father  Sahagun.  This  portion,  which  the  said  ex-count  has  certified  to, 
induces  us  to  believe  that  the  other  works  of  Sahaguu,  relating  both  to 
the  Conquest  and  to  the  Aparicion  Guadalupana  have  been  adulterated 
because  they  did  little  honor  to  the  first  Conquerors.  That  they  have  at 
all  come  to  be  discussed  with  posterity,  has  been  because  a  knowledge  of 
them  was  generally  scattered,  and  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  no  longer  possi- 
ble to  keep  them  hidden;  or,  perhaps,  because  the  faction  interested  in  their 
concealment  had  disappeared.  In  proof  of  the  authenticity  aud  identity  of 
this  manuscript,  we  refer  to  Father  Betancur  in  his  Chronicle  of  the  pro- 
vince of  the  Santo  Evangelio  de  Mexico,  making  a  catalogue  of  the  illustri- 
ous men  thereof;  speaking  of  Sahaguu,  he  says  on  page  138:  "The  ninth 
book  that  this  writer  composed  was  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortes; 
which  book  afterward,  in  the  year  1585,  he  re-wrote  aud  emended;  the 
f  emended]  original  of  this  I  saw  signed  with  his  hand  in  the  possssion  of  Sefior 
D.  Juan  Francisco  de  Montemayor,  president  of  the  Royal  Audiencia,  who 
carried  it  to  Spain  with  the  intention  of  having  it  printed;  and  of  this  I  have 
a  translation  wherein  it  is  said  that  the  Marquis  of  Villa-Maurique,  viceroy 
of  Mexico,  took  from  him  [Sahagun]  the  twelve  books  and  sent  them  to  his 
majesty  for  the  royal  chronicler."  '  Bustamante  lastly  gives  a  certificate  of 
the  authenticity  of  the  manuscript  under  discussion  aud  published  by  him. 
The  certificate  is  signed  by  Jose  Gomez  de  la  Cortina,  and  runs  as  follows: 
'  Mexico,  1st  April,  1840.  I  certify  that,  being  in  Madrid  in  the  year  1828,  I 
bought  from  D.  Lorenzo  Ruiz  de  Artieda,  thi'ough  the  agency  of  my  friend 
and  companion,  D.  Josy  Musso  Valiente,  member  of  the  Spanish  Academies 
of  language  and  of  history,  the  original  manuscript  of  Father  Sahagun,  of 
which  mention  is  made  in  this  work  by  his  Excellency  Senor  D.  Carlos  Mui-fa 
Bustamante,  as  constated  by  the  receipts  of  the  seller,  and  by  other  docu- 
ments in  my  possession.'  So  much  for  Bustamante's  new  position  as  a 
reeditor  of  a  part  of  Sahagun's  llisiona  General;  we  have  stated  it  in  his 
own  words,  and  in  those  of  his  own  witnesses  as  brought  forward  by  him.  The 
changes  referred  to  do  not  involve  any  matter  bearing  on  mythology;  it  may 
be  not  out  of  place  to  say  however,  that  the  evidence  in  favor  of  Bustamaute's 
new  views  seems  strong  and  truth-like. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL    BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

IMAGE  OF  TEZCATLIPOCA  —  His  SEATS  AT  THE  STBEET-COKNEKS  —  VARIOUS 
LEGENDS  ABOUT  HIS  LIFE  ON  EAETH — QUETZALCOATL — His  DEXTERITY  IN 
THE  MECHANICAL  ARTS  —  His  RELIGIOUS  OBSERVANCES— THE  WEALTH 

AND  NlMBLENESS  OF  HIS  ADHERENTS EXPULSION  FROM  TuLLA.  OF  QuET- 

ZALCOATL  BY  TEZCATLIPOCA  AND  HuiTZILOPOOHTLI THE  MAGIC  DRAUGHT 

— HUEMAC,  OB  VEMAC,  KING  OF  THE  TOLTECS,  AND  THE  MISFORTUNES 
BROUGHT  UPON  HIM  AND  H33  PEOPLE  BY  TEZCATLIPOCA  IN  VARIOUS 
DISGUISES  —  QUETZALCOATL  IN  CHOLULA — DIFFERING  ACCOUNTS  OF  THE 
BIRTH  AND  LIFE  OF  QUETZALCOATL — His  GENTLE  CHARACTER— HE  DREW 
UP  THE  MEXICAN  CALENDAR — INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  EXILE  AND  OF  HIS  JOUR- 
NEY TO  TLAPALLA,  AS  RELATED  AND  COMMENTED  UPON  BY  VARIOUS  WRIT- 
ERS— BRASSEUR'S  IDEAS  ABOUT  THE  QUETZALCOATL  MYTHS — QUETZALCOATL 

CONSIDERED  A  SUN-GOD  BY  TYLOR,  AND  AS  A  DAWN-HERO  BY  BlUNTON 

HELPS — DOMENECH — THE  CODICES — LONG  DISCUSSION  OF  THE  QUETZAL- 
COATL MYTHS  BY  J.  G.  MCLLER. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  given  only  the  loftier 
view  of  Tezcatlipoca's  nature,  which  even  on  this  side 
cannot  be  illustrated  without  many  inconsistencies.  We 
pass  now  to  relations  evidencing  a  much  meaner  idea 
of  his  character,  and  showing  him  whom  we  have  seen 
called  invisible,  almighty,  and  beneficent,  in  a  new  and 
much  less  imposing  light.  We  pass,  in  fact,  from  the 
Zeus  of  Plato  and  Socrates  to  the  Zeus  of  Hesiod  and 
Homer. 

Let  us  glance  first  at  the  fashion  of  his  representation  in 
the  temples,  though  with  little  hope  of  seeing  the  particular 
fitness  of  many  of  the  trappings  and  symbols  with  which 
his  statue  was  decorated.  His  principal  image,  at  least 

(237) 


238          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

in  the  city  of  Mexico,  was  cut  out  of  a  very  shining  black 
stone,  called  iztli,  a  variety  of  obsidian, — a  stone  valued, 
in  consideration  of  its  capabilities  of  cleavage,  for  making 
those  long  splinters,  used  as  knives  by  the  Aztecs,  for 
sacrificial  and  other  purposes.  For  these  uses  in  wor- 
ship, and  perhaps  indeed  for  its  manifold  uses  in  all  re- 
gards, it  was  surnamed  teotetl,  divine  stone.  In  places 
wrhere  stone  was  less  convenient  the  image  was  made  of 
wTood.  The  general  idea  intended  to  be  given  was  that 
of  a  young  man ;  by  which  the  immortality  of  the  god 
was  set  forth.  The  ears  of  the  idol  were  bright  with  ear- 
rings of  gold  and  silver.  Through  his  lower  lip  was 
thrust  a  little  crystal  tube,  perhaps  six  inches  long,  and 
through  the  hollow  of  this  tube  a  feather  was  drawn; 
sometimes  a  green  feather,  sometimes  a  blue,  giving  the 
transparent  ornament  the  tint  at  one  time  of  an  eme- 
rald, at  another  of  a  turquois.  The  hair — carved  from 
the  stone,  wre  may  suppose — was  drawn  into  a  queue  and 
bound  with  a  ribbon  of  burnished  gold,  to  the  end  of 
which  ribbon,  hanging  down  behind,  was  attached  a 
golden  ear  with  certain  tongues  of  ascending  smoke 
painted  thereon;  which  smoke  was  intended  to  signify 
the  prayers  of  those  sinners  and  afflicted  that,  commend- 
ing themselves  to  the  god,  wrere  heard  by  him.  Upon 
his  head  were  many  plumes  of  red  and  green  feathers. 
From  his  neck  there  hung  down  in  front  a  great  jewel  of 
gold  that  covered  all  his  breast.  Bracelets  of  gold  were 
upon  his  arms,  and  in  his  navel  was  set  a  precious  green 
stone.  In  his  left  hand  there  flashed  a  great  circular 
mirror  of  gold,  bordered  like  a  fan  with  precious  feathers, 
green  and  azure  and  yellow ;  the  eyes  of  the  god  were 
ever  fixed  on  this,  for  therein  he  saw  reflected  all  that 
was  done  in  the  world.  This  mirror  was  called  itlachia, 
that  is  to  say,  the  '  looker-on,'  the  '  viewer.'  Tezcatlipoca 
was  sometimes  seated  on  a  bench  covered  with  a  red 
cloth,  worked  with  the  likeness  of  many  skulls,  having 
in  his  right  hand  four  darts,  signifying,  according  to  some, 
that  he  punished  sin.  To  the  top  of  his  feet  were  at- 
tached twenty  bells  of  gold,  and  to  his  right  foot  the  fore- 


WORSHIP  OF  TEZCATLIPOCA.  239 

foot  of  a  deer,  to  show  the  exceeding  swiftness  of  this 
deity  in  all  his  ways.  Hiding  the  shining  black  body, 
was  a  great  cloak,  curiously  wrought  in  black  and  white, 
adorned  with  feathers,  and  fringed  about  with  rosettes  of 
three  colors,  red,  white,  and  black.  This  god,  whose 
decorations  vary  a  little  with  different  writers — varia- 
tions probably  not  greater  than  those  really  existing 
among  the  different  figures  representing  in  different 
places  the  same  deity  —  had  a  kind  of  chapel  built 
to  hold  him  on  the  top  of  his  temple.  It  was 
a  dark  chamber  lined  with  rich  cloths  of  many 
colors;  and  from  its  obscurity  the  image  looked  out, 
seated  on  a  pedestal,  with  a  costly  canopy  immediately 
overhead,  and  an  altar  in  front;  not  apparently  an 
altar  of  sacrifice,  but  a  kind  of  ornamental  table,  like  a 
Christian  altar,  covered  with  rich  cloth.  Into  this  holy 
of  holies  it  was  not  lawful  for  any  but  a  priest  to  enter. 

What  most  of  all,  however,  must  have  served  to  bring 
the  worship  of  Tezcatlipoca  prominently  before  the  people, 
were  the  seats  of  stone,  built  at  the  corners  of  the  streets, 
for  the  accommodation  of  this  god  when  he  walked  in- 
visibly abroad.  Mortal,  born  of  woman,  never  sat  there- 
on ;  not  the  king  himself  might  dare  to  use  them :  sacred 
they  were,  sacred  for  ever,  and  always  shadowed  by  a 
canopy  of  green  boughs,  reverently  renewed  every  five 
days.1 

Lower  and  lower  we  must  now  descend  from  the  idea 
of  an  almighty  god,  to  take  up  the  thread  of  various 
legends  in  which  Tezcatlipoca  figures  in  an  anything  but 
creditable  light.  We  have  already  seen  him  described 
as  one  of  those  hero-gods  whom  the  new-born  Sun  was 
instrumental  in  destroying;2  and  we  may  suppose  that 
he  then  ascended  into  heaven,  for  we  find  him  after- 
ward descending  thence,  letting  himself  down  by  a 

1  Acosla,  irist.  Nat.  Ind.,  pp.  353-4;  Claviqero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Msssico,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  7;  Damn,  Hist.  Ant.  de  la  Nueva  Espana,  MS.,  quoted  in  Squier's  Noles 
to  Palacio,  Carta,  note  27,  pp.  117-8;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p. 
242;  Explication  del  Codex   Telleriano-Piemensis,  lam.  ii.  and  xxvi.,  in  Kinys- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  132, 144-5;  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Oodice 
Mexicano,  tav.  xlii.,  xlix.,in  Kingsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  185,  188. 

2  See  this  volume  p.  62. 


240          GODS,  SUPESNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

rope  twined  from  spider's  web.  Rambling  through  the 
world  he  came  to  a  place  called  Tulla,  where  a  certain 
Quetzalcoatl — another,  according  to  Sahagun,  of  the  hero- 
gods  just  referred  to — had  been  ruling  for  many  years. 
The  two  engaged  in  a  game  of  ball,  in  the  course  of 
which  Tezcatlipoca  suddenly  transformed  himself  into  a 
tiger,  occasioning  thereby  a  tremendous  panic  among  the 
spectators,  many  of  whom  in  the  haste  of  their  flight 
precipitated  themselves  down  a  ravine  in  the  neighbor- 
hood into  a  river  and  were  drowned.  Tezcatlipoca  then 
began  to  persecute  Quetzalcoatl  from  city  to  city  till  he 
drove  him  to  Cholula.  Here  Quetzalcoatl  was  held  as 
chief  god,  and  here  for  some  time  he  was  safe.  But  only 
for  a  few  years;  his  indefatigable  and  powerful  enemy 
forced  him  to  retreat  with  a  few  of  his  adherents  toward 
the  sea,  to  a  place  called  Tlillapa  or  Tizapan.  Here  the 
hunted  Quetzalcoatl  died,  and  his  followers  inaugurated 
the  custom  of  burning  the  dead  by  burning  his  body.3 

The  foregoing,  from  Mendieta,  gives  us  a  glimpse,  from 
one  point  of  view,  of  that  great  personage  Quetzalcoatl, 
of  whom  we  shall  know  much  more  anon,  and  whom  in 
the  meantime  we  meet  again  and  again  as  the  opponent, 
or  rather  victim  of  Tezcatlipoca.  Let  us  consider  Saha- 
gun's  version  of  the  incidents  of  this  strife: — 

Quetzalcoatl  was,  from  very  ancient  times,  adored  as  a 
god  in  Tulla.  He  had  a  very  high  cu*  there,  with  many 
steps  up  to  it,  steps  so  narrow  that  there  was  not  room 
for  a  whole  foot  on  any  of  them.  His  image  was  always 
in  a  recumbent  position  and  covered  with  blankets. 
The  face  of  it  was  very  ugly,  the  head  large  and  fur- 
nished with  a  long  beard.  The  adherents  of  this  god  were 
all  devoted  to  the  mechanical  arts,  dexterous  in  working 
the  green  stone  called  chalchiuite,  and  in  founding  the 
precious  metals ;  all  of  which  arts  had  their  beginning  and 
origin  with  the  said  Quetzalcoatl.  He  had  whole  houses 
made  of  chalchiuites,  others  made  of  silver,  others  of 
white  and  red  shells,  others  of  planks,  others  of  turquoises, 

'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  82. 

«  Temple;  see  this  vol.,  p.  192,  note  2G. 


QUETZALCOATL.  241 

and  others  of  rich  feathers.  His  adherents  were  very 
light  of  foot  and  swift  in  going  whither  they  wished, 
and  they  were  called  tlanquacemilhiyme.  There  is  a 
mountain  called  Tzatzitepetl  on  which  Quetzalcoatl  used 
to  have  a  crier,  and  the  people  afar  off  and  scattered, 
and  the  people  of  Anahuac,  a  hundred  leagues  distant, 
heard  and  understood  at  once  whatever  the  said  Quet- 
zalcoatl commanded.  And  Quetzalcoatl  was  very  rich ; 
he  had  all  that  was  needful  both  to  eat  and  to  drink ;  maize 
was  abundant,  and  a  head  of  it  was  as  much  as  a  man  could 
carry  clasped  in  his  arms ;  pumpkins  measured  a  fathom 
round ;  the  stalks  of  the  wild  amarinth  were  so  large  and 
thick  that  people  climbed  them  like  trees.  Cotton  was 
sowed  and  gathered  in  of  all  colors,  red,  scarlet,  yellow,  vio- 
let, whitish,  green,  blue,  blackish,  grey,  orange,  and  tawny ; 
these  colors  in  the  cotton  were  natural  to  it,  thus  it  grew. 
Further  it  is  said  that  in  that  city  of  Tulla,  there 
abounded  many  sorts  of  birds  of  rich  and  many-colored 
plumage,  the  xiuhtototl,  the  quetzaltototl,  the  zaquan,  the 
tlauhquecholj  and  other  birds  that  sang  with  much  sweet- 
less.  And  this  Quetzalcoatl  had  all  the  riches  of  the 
world,  of  gold  and  silver,  of  green  stones  called  chalchi- 
uites,  and  of  other  precious  things,  and  a  great  abundance 
of  cocoa-nut  trees  of  divers  colors.  The  vassals  or  ad- 
herents of  Quetzalcoatl  were  also  very  rich  and  wanted 
for  nothing ;  they  were  never  hungry ;  they  never  lacked 
maize,  nor  ate  the  small  ears  of  it,  but  burned  them  like 
wood  to  heat  the  baths.  It  is  said  lastly  that  Quetzal- 
coatl did  penance  by  pricking  his  legs  and  drawing  blood 
with  the  spines  of  the  maguey  and  by  washing  at  mid- 
night in  a  fountain  called  xicapoya;5  this  custom  the 
priests  and  ministers  of  the  Mexican  idols  adopted. 

There  came  at  last  a  time  in  which  the  fortunes  of 
Quetzalcoatl  and  of  his  people,  the  Toltecs,  began  to  fail ; 
for  there  came  against  them  three  sorcerers,  gods  in  dis- 
guise, to  wit  Tezcatlipoca,  Huitzilopochtli,  and  Tlacavepan, 

5  Or  perhaps  xipacoya,  as  in  Kingsborough's  ed.  of  Sahagun,  Hex.  Antiq.t 
vol.  vii.,  p.  108. 

VOL.  III.    16 


242          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

who  wrought  many  deceits  in  Tulla.  Tezcatlipoca  especi- 
ally prepared  a  cunning  trick ;  he  turned  himself  into  a 
hoary-headed  old  man,  and  went  to  the  house  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl,  saying  to  the  servants  there,  I  wish  to  see  and 
speak  to  your  master.  Then  the  servants  said,  Go  away, 
old  man,  thou  canst  not  see  our  king,  for  he  is  sick,  thou 
wilt  annoy  him  and  cause  him  heaviness.  But  Tezcatli- 
poca insisted,  I  must  see  him.  Then  the  servants  bid 
the  sorcerer  to  wait,  and  they  went  in  and  told  Quetzal- 
coat!  how  an  old  man  without  affirmed  that  he  would 
see  the  king  and  would  not  be  denied.  And  Quetzal- 
coatl  answered.  Let  him  come  in,  behold  for  many  days  I 
have  waited  for  his  coming.  So  Tezcatlipoca  entered, 
and  he  said  to  the  sick  god-king,  How  art  thou?  adding 
further  that  he  had  a  medicine  for  him  to  drink.  Then 
Quetzalcoatl  answered,  Thou  art  welcome,  old  man,  be- 
hold for  many  days  I  have  waited  for  thee.  And  the 
old  sorcerer  spake  again,  How  is  thy  body,  and  how  art 
thou  in  health?  I  am  exceedingly  sick,  said  Quetzalcoatl, 
all  my  body  is  in  pain,  I  cannot  move  my  hands  nor  my 
feet.  Then,  answered  Tezcatlipoca,  behold  this  medicine 
that  I  have,  it  is  good  and  wholesome  and  intoxicating; 
if  thou  will  drink  it.  thou  shalt  be  intoxicated  and  healed 
and  eased  at  the  heart,  and  thou  shalt  have  in  mind  the 
toils  and  fatigues  of  death  and  of  thy  departure.6  Where, 
cried  Quetzalcoatl,  have  I  to  go?  To  Tullantlapallan,  re- 
plied Tezcatlipoca,  where  there  is  another  old  man  wait- 
ing for  thee ;  he  and  thou  shall  talk  together,  and  on  thy 
return  thence  thou  shalt  be  as  a  youth,  yea,  as  a  boy. 
And  Quetzalcoatl  hearing  these  words  his  heart  was 
moved,  while  the  old  sorcerer,  insisting  more  and  more, 
said,  Sir,  drink  this  medicine.  But  the  king  did  not  wish 
to  drink  it.  The  sorcerer,  however,  insisted,  Drink,  my 
lord,  or  thou  wilt  be  sorry  for  it  hereafter;  at  least  rub 
a  little  on  thy  brow  and  taste  a  sip.  So  Quetzalcoatl 
tried  and  tasted  it,  and  drank,  saying,  What  is  this?  it 

6  Y  acordarseos  ha  de  los  trabajos  y  fatigas  de  la  muerte,  6  de  vuestra  ida. 
Kin^sborou'/h's  Mtx.  Ardiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  109.  Y  acordarseos  ha  los  trnbajos  y 
fatigas  de  la  muerte,  6  de  vuestra  vida.  Sahagun,  Hist,  (/en.,  tom.  i.,  lib.  iii., 
pp.  245-6. 


TEZCATLIPOCA  AS  A  PEDDLER.  243 

seems  to  be  a  thing  very  good  and  savory;  already  I 
feel  myself  healed  and  quit  of  mine  infirmity ;  already  I 
am  well.  Then  the  old  sorcerer  said  again,  Drink  once 
more,  my  lord,  since  it  is  good;  so  thou  shall  be  the 
more  perfectly  healed.  And  Quetzalcoatl  drank  again, 
he  made  himself  drunk,  he  began  to  weep  sadly,  his  heart 
was  eased  and  moved  to  depart,  he  could  not  rid  himself 
of  the  thought  that  he  must  go ;  for  this  was  the  snare 
and  deceit  of  Tezcatlipoca.  And  the  medicine  that  Quet- 
zalcoatl drank  was  the  white  wine  of  the  country,  made 
from  the  magueys  that  are  called  teumetl. 

So  Quetzalcoatl,  whose  fortunes  we  shall  hereafter  fol- 
low more  particularly,  set  out  upon  his  journey ;  and  Tez- 
catlipoca proceeded  further  guilefully  to  kill  many  Toltecs, 
and  to  ally  himself  by  marriage  with  Vemac,  who  was 
the  temporal  lord  of  the  Toltecs,  even  as  Quetzalcoatl  was 
the  spiritual  ruler  of  that  people.  To  accomplish  these 
things  Tezcatlipoca  took  the  appearance  of  a  poor  for- 
eigner, and  presented  himself  naked,  as  was  the  custom 
of  such  people,  in  the  market-place  of  Tulla,  selling  green 
chilly  pepper.  Now  the  palace  of  Vemac,  the  great  king, 
overlooked  the  market-place,  and  he  had  an  only  daugh- 
ter, and  the  girl,  looking  by  chance  among  the  buyers 
and  sellers,  saw  the  disguised  god.  She  was  smitten 
through  with  love  of  him,  and  she  began  to  sicken. 
Vemac  heard  of  her  sickness  and  he  inquired  of  the 
women  that  guarded  her  as  to  what  ailed  his  daughter. 
They  told  him  as  best  they  could,  how  for  the  love  of  a 
peddler  of  pepper,  named  Toveyo,  the  princess  had  lain 
down  to  die.  The  king  immediately  sent  a  crier  upon 
the  mountain  Tzatzitepec  to  make  this  proclamation :  0 
Toltecs,  seek  me  out  Toveyo  that  goes  about  selling 
green  pepper,  let  him  be  brought  before  me.  So  the 
people  sought  everywhere  for  the  handsome  pepper  ven- 
der; but  he  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  Then,  after  they 
could  not  find  him,  he  appeared  of  his  own  accord  one 
day,  at  his  old  place  and  trade  in  the  market.  He  was 
brought  before  the  king,  who  said  to  him,  Where  dost 
thou  belong  to?  and  Toveyo  answered,  I  am  a  foreigner 


2J4  ODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

cx>me  here  to  sell  my  green  pepper.  Why  dost  thoti 
delay  to  cover  thyself  with  breeches  and  with  a  blanket? 
said  Yemac.  Toveyo  answered  that  in  his  country  such 
things  were  not  in  fashion.  Yemac  continued,  My 
daughter  longs  after  thee,  not  willing  to  be  comforted 
by  any  Toltec;  she  is  sick  of  love  and  thou  must  heal 
her.  But  Toveyo  replied.  This  thing  can  in  no  wise  be, 
kill  me  first;  I  desire  to  die,  not  being  worthy  to  hear 
these  words,  who  get  my  living  by  selling  green  pepper. 
I  tell  thee,  said  the  king,  that  thou  must  heal  my  daugh- 
ter of  this  her  sickness ;  fear  not.  Then  they  took  the 
cunning  god,  and  washed  him,  and  cut  his  hair,  and  dyed 
Jill  his  body,  and  put  breeches  on  him  and  a  blanket ; 
and  the  king  Yemac  said,  Get  thee  in  and  see  my  daugh- 
ter, there  where  they  guard  her.  Then  the  young  man 
went  in  and  he  remained  with  the  princess  and  she  be- 
came sound  and  well ;  thus  Toveyo  became  the  son-in- 
law  of  the  king  of  Tulla. 

Then  behold  all  the  Toltecs  being  filled  with  jealousy 
and  offended,  spake  injurious  and  insulting  words  against 
king  Yemac,  saying  among  themselves,  Of  all  the  Toltecs 
can  there  not  to  be  found  a  man,  that  this  Yemac  marries 
his  daughter  to  a  peddler?  Now  when  the  king  heard 
all  the  injurious  and  insulting  words  that  the  people 
spake  against  him,  he  was  moved,  and  he  spoke  to  the 
people  saying,  Come  hither,  behold  I  have  heard  all 
these  things  that  ye  say  against  me  in  the  matter  of  my 
son-in-law  Toveyo;  dissimulate  then;  take  him  deceit- 
fully with  you  to  the  war  of  Cacatepec  and  Coatepecr 
let  the  enemy  kill  him  there.  Having  heard  these  words 
the  Toltecs  armed  themselves,  and  collected  a  multitude, 
and  went  to  the  war,  bringing  Toveyo  along.  Arrived 
where  the  fighting  was  to  take  place,  they  hid  him  with 
the  lame  and  the  dwarfs,  charging  them,  as  the  custom 
was  in  such  cases,  to  watch  for  the  enemy,  while  the 
soldiers  went  on  to  the  attack.  The  battle  began;  the 
Toltecs  at  once  gave  way;  treacherously  and  guilefully 
deserting  Toveyo  and  the  cripples,  leaving  them  to  be 
slaughtered  at  their  post,  they  returned  to  Tulla  and  told 


TKIUMPH  OF  TEZCATLIPOCA.  245 

the  king  how  they  had  left  Toveyo  and  his  companions 
alone  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  When  the  king  heard 
the  treason  he  was  glad,  thinking  Toveyo  dead,  for  he 
was  ashamed  of  having  him  for  a  son-in-law.  Affairs 
had  gone  otherwise,  however,  with  Toveyo  from  what 
the  plotters  supposed.  On  the  approach  of  the  hostile 
army  he  consoled  his  deformed  companions,  saying,  Fear 
nothing;  the  enemy  come  against  us,  but  I  know  that  I 
shall  kill  them  all.  Then  he  rose  up  and  went  forward 
against  them,  against  the  men  of  Coatepec  and  Cacatepec ; 
he  put  them  to  flight  and  slew  of  them  without  number. 
When  this  came  to  the  ears  of  Vemac,  it  weighed  upon 
and  terrified  him  exceedingly.  He  said  to  his  Toltecs, 
Let  us  now  go  and  receive  my  son-in-law.  So  they  all 
went  out  with  king  Vemac  to  receive  Toveyo,  bearing 
the  arms  or  devises  called  quetmlapanecayutl,  and  the 
shields  called  xiuchimali.  They  gave  these  things  to 
Toveyo,  and  he  and  his  comrades  received  them  with 
dancing  and  the  music  of  flutes,  with  triumph  and  re- 
joicing. Furthermore,  on  reaching  the  palace  of  the  king, 
plumes  were  put  upon  the  heads  of  the  conquerors,  and 
all  the  body  of  each  of  them  was  stained  yellow,  and  all 
the  face  red;  this  was  the  customary  reward  of  those 
that  came  back  victorious  from  war.  And  king 
Vemac  said  to  his  son-in-law,  I  am  now  satisfied  with 
what  thou  hast  done  and  the  Toltecs  are  satisfied ;  thou 
hast  dealt  very  well  with  our  enemies,  rest  and  take  thine 
ease.  But  Toveyo  held  his  peace. 

And  after  this,  Toveyo  adorned  all  his  body  with  the 
rich  feathers  called  tocivitl,  and  commanded  the  Toltecs 
to  gather  together  for  a  festival,  and  sent  a  crier  up  to 
the  top  of  the  mountain,  Tzatzitepec,  to  call  in  the 
strangers  and  the  people  afar  off  to  dance  and  to  feast. 
A  numberless  multitude  gathered  to  Tulla.  When  they 
were  all  gathered  Toveyo  led  them  out,  young  men  and 
girls,  to  a  place  called  Texcalapa,  where  he  himself  began 
and  led  the  dancing,  playing  on  a  drum.  He  sang  too, 
singing  each  verse  to  the  dancers,  who  sang  it  after  him, 
though  they  knew  not  the  song  before  hand.  Then  was 


246          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

to  be  seen  there  a  marvelous  and  terrible  thing.  From 
sunset  till  midnight  the  beat  of  the  countless  feet  grew 
faster  and  faster;  the  tap,  tap,  tap  of  the  drum  closed 
up  and  poured  into  a  continual  roll ;  the  monotonous 
song  rose  higher,  wilder,  till  it  burst  into  a  roar.  The 
multitude  became  a  mob,  the  revel  a  riot ;  the  people  be- 
gan to  press  upon  and  hustle  each  other ;  the  riot  became 
a  panic.  There  was  a  fearful  gorge  or  ravine  there,  with 
a  river  rushing  through  it  called  the  Texcaltlauhco ;  a 
stone  bridge  led  over  the  river.  Toveyo  broke  down 
this  bridge  as  the  people  fled;  grim  corypheus  of  this 
fearful  revel,  he  saw  them  tread  and  crush  each  other 
down,  under- foot,  and  over  into  the  abyss.  They  that 
fell  were  turned  into  rocks  and  stones;  as  for  them  that 
escaped,  they  did  not  see  nor  think  that  it  was  Toveyo 
and  his  sorceries  had  wrought  this  great  destruction; 
they  were  blinded  by  the  witchcraft  of  the  god,  and  out 
of  their  senses  like  drunken  men. 

Far  from  being  satisfied  with  the  slaughter  at  Texca- 
lapa,  Tezcatlipoca  proceeded  to  hatch  further  evil  against 
the  Toltecs.  He  took  the  appearance  of  a  certain  val- 
iant man  called  Teguioa,  and  commanded  a  crier  to  sum- 
mon all  the  inhabitants  of  Tulla  and  its  neighborhood 
to  come  and  help  at  a  certain  piece  of  work  in  a  certain 
flower-garden  (said  to  have  been  a  garden  belonging  to 
Quetzalcoatl.).  All  the  people  gathered  to  the  work, 
whereupon  the  disguised  god  fell  upon  them,  knocking 
them  on  the  head  with  a  coa?  Those  that  escaped  the 
coa  were  trodden  down  and  killed  by  their  fellows  in 
attempting  to  escape ;  a  countless  number  was  slain ;  every 
man  that  had  come  to  the  work  was  left  lying  dead 
among  the  trodden  flowers. 

And  after  this  Tezcatlipoca  wrought  another  witch- 
craft against  the  Toltecs.  He  called  himself  Tlacave- 
pan,  or  Acexcoch,  and  came  and  sat  down  in  the  midst 
of  the  market-place  of  Tulla,  having  a  little  manikin  (said 

7  Hoe  of  burnt  wood.  '  Coa:  palo  tostado,  empleado  por  los  indios  para 
labrar  la  tierra,  a  niauera  de  hazada.  (Lengna  de  Cuba.)'  Voces  Americanos 
Empleadas  Por  Oviedo,  appended  to  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  596. 


TEZCATLIPOCA  DEAD.  247 

to  have  been  Huitzilopochtli)  dancing  upon  his  hand. 
There  was  an  instant  uproar  of  all  the  buyers  and 
sellers  and  a  rush  to  see  the  miracle.  The  people  crushed 
and  trod  each  other  down,  so  that  many  were  killed  there ; 
and  all  this  happened  many  times.  At  last  the  god- 
sorcerer  cried  out,  on  one  such  occasion,  What  is  this? 
do  you  not  see  that  you  are  befooled  by  us?  stone  and 
kill  us.  So  the  people  took  up  stones  and  killed  the 
said  sorcerer  and  his  little  dancing  manikin.  But  when 
the  body  of  the  sorcerer  had  lain  in  the  market-place  for 
some  time  it  began  to  stink  and  to  taint  the  air,  and  the 
wind  of  it  poisoned  many.  Then  the  dead  sorcerer  spake 
again,  saying,  Cast  this  body  outside  the  town,  for  many 
Toltecs  die  because  of  it.  So  they  prepared  to  cast  out  the 
body,  and  fastened  ropes  thereto  and  pulled.  But  the 
talkative  and  ill-smelling  corpse  was  so  heavy  that  they 
could  not  move  it.  Then  a  crier  made  a  proclamation, 
saying,  Come  all  ye  Toltecs,  and  bring  ropes  with  you,  that 
we  may  drag  out  and  get  rid  of  this  pestilential  carcass. 
All  came  accordingly,  bringing  ropes,  and  the  ropes  were 
fastened  to  the  body,  and  all  pulled.  It  was  utterly  in 
vain.  Rope  after  rope  broke  with  a  sudden  snap,  and 
those  that  dragged  on  a  rope  fell  and  were  killed  when  it 
broke.  Then  the  dead  wizard  looked  up  and  said,  0 
Toltecs,  a  verse  of  a  song  is  needed ;  and  he  himself  gave 
them  a  verse.  They  repeated  the  verse  after  him,  and, 
singing  it,  pulled  all  together,  so  that  with  shouts  they 
hauled  the  body  out  of  the  city ;  though  still  not  without 
many  ropes  breaking  and  many  persons  being  killed  as 
before.  All  this  being  over,  those  Toltecs  that  remained 
unhurt  returned  every  man  to  his  place,  not  remember- 
ing anything  of  what  had  happened,  for  they  were  all  as 
drunken. 

Other  signs  and  wonders  were  wrought  by  Tezcatli- 
poca  in  his  role  of  sorcerer.  A  white  bird  called  Yz- 
taccuixtli,  was  clearly  seen  flying  over  Tulla,  transfixed 
with  a  dart.  At  night  also,  the  sierra  called  Zacatepec 
burned,  and  the  flames  were  seen  from  far.  All  the 
people  were  stirred  up  and  affrighted,  saying  one  to  an- 


248          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

other,  0  Toltecs,  it  is  all  over  with  us  now ;  the  time  of 
the  end  of  Tulla  is  come ;  alas  for  us,  whither  shall  we 
go? 

Then  Tezcatlipoca  wrought  another  evil  upon  the  Tol- 
tecs:  he  rained  down  stones  upon  them.  There  fell  also, 
at  the  same  time,  a  great  stone  from  heaven  called  tech- 
catl-  and  when  it  fell  the  god-sorcerer  took  the  appear- 
ance of  an  old  woman,  and  went  about  selling  little  ban- 
ners in  a  place  called  Chapultepecuitlapilco,  othenvise 
named  Vetzinco.  Many  then  became  mad  and  bought 
of  these  banners  and  went  to  the  place  where  was  the 
stone  Techcatl,  and  there  got  themselves  killed ;  and  no 
one  was  found  to  say  so  much  as,  What  is  this  that  hap- 
pens to  us?  they  were  all  mad. 

Another  wroe  Tezcatlipoca  brought  upon  the  Toltecs. 
All  their  victuals  suddenly  became  sour,  and  no  one  was 
able  to  eat  of  them.  The  old  woman,  above  mentioned, 
took  up  then  her  abode  in  a  place  called  Xochitla,  and 
began  to  roast  maize ;  and  the  odor  of  the  roasted  maize 
reached  all  the  cities  round  about.  The  starving  people 
set  out  immediately,  and  with  one  accord,  to  go  where  the 
old  woman  was.  They  reached  her  instantly,  for  here  it 
may  be  again  said,  that  the  Toltecs  were  exceedingly 
light  of  foot,  and  arrived  always  immediately  whitherso- 
ever they  wished  to  go.  As  for  the  Toltecs  that  gathered 
to  the  sham  sorceress,  not  one  of  them  escaped,  she  killed 
them  every  one.9 

Turning,  without  remark  for  the  present,  from  Tezcat- 
lipoca, of  whose  life  on  earth  the  preceding  farrago  of 
legends  is  all  that  is  known,  let  us  take  up  the  same 
period  in  the  history  of  Quetzalcoatl.  The  city  of  Cho- 
lula  was  the  place  in  which  this  god  was  most  honored, 
and  towards  which  he  was  supposed  to  be  most  favorably 
inclined ;  Cholula  being  greatly  given  to  commerce  and 

8  Xochitla,  garden;  see  Molina  Vocabulario.    Perhaps  that  garden  belong- 
ing to  Quetzalcoatl,  which  had  been  already  so  fatal  to  the  Toltecs.     See  this 
volume  p.  246. 

9  Kint/xborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  108-13;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  Jib.  iii.,  pp.  243-55.     It  will  be  seen  that  in  almost  all  point  of  spell- 
ing the  edition  of  Kingsborough  is  followed  in  preference  to  the,  in  such 
points  very  inaccurate,  edition  of  Bustainaute. 


IMAGE  OF  QUETZALCOATL.  249 

handicraft,  and  the  Cholulans  considering  Quetzalcoatl 
to  be  the  god  of  merchandise.  As  Acosta  tells:  "In 
Cholula,  which  is  a  commonwealth  of  Mexico,  they 
worshipt  a  famous  idoll  which  was  the  god  of  marchan- 
dise,  being  to  this  day  greatly  given  to  trafficke.  They 
called  it  Quetzaalcoalt.  This  idoll  was  in  a  great  place  in 
a  temple  very  hie :  it  had  about  it,  golde,  silver,  Jewells, 
very  rich  feathers,  and  habites  of  divers  colours.  It 
had  the  forme  of  a  man,  but  the  visage  of  a  little  bird, 
with  a  red  bill,  and  above  a  combe  full  of  wartes,  hav- 
ing ranckes  of  teeth,  and  the  tongue  hanging  out.  It 
carried  vpon  the  head,  a  pointed  myter  of  painted  paper, 
a  sithe  in  the  hand,  and  many  toyes  of  golde  on  the  legges ; 
with  a  thousand  other  foolish  inventions,  whereof  all 
had  their  significations,  and  they  worshipt  it,  for  that  hee 
enriched  whome  hee  pleased,  as  Memnon  and  Plutus.  In 
trueth  this  name  which  the  Choluanos  gave  to  their  god, 
was  very  fitte,  although  they  vnderstood  it  not:  they 
called  it  Quetzaalcoalt,  signifying  colour  of  a  rich  feather, 
for  such  is  the  divell  of  covetousnesse."10 

Motolinia  gives  the  following  confused  account  of  the 
birth  as  a  man,  the  life,  and  the  apotheosis  of  this  god. 
The  Mexican  Adam,  called  Iztacmixcoatl  by  some  writ- 
ers, married  a  second  time.11  This  second  wife,  Chima- 
inatl  by  name,  bore  him,  it  is  said,  an  only  son  who  was 
called  Quetzacoatl.  This  son  grew  up  a  chaste  and  tem- 
perate man.  He  originated  by  his  preaching  and  prac- 
tice the  custom  of  fasting  and  self-punishment ;  and  from 
that  time  many  in  that  country  began  to  do  this  pen- 
ance. He  never  married,  nor  knew  any  woman,  but  lived 
restrainedly  and  chastely  all  his  days.  The  custom  of 
sacrificing  the  ears  and  the  tongue,  by  drawing  blood 
from  these  members,  was  also  introduced  by  him;  not 
for  the  service  of  the  devil  but  in  penitence  for  the  sins 
of  his  speech  and  his  hearing :  it  is  true  that  afterward 
the  demon  misappropriated  these  rites  to  his  own  use 
and  worship.  A  man  called  Chichimecatl  fastened  a 

10  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  p.  354. 

11  As  to  the  first  wife  and  her  family  see  this  vol.  p.  60. 


250          GODS,  SUPEENATUBAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOBSHIP. 

leather  strap  on  the  arm  of  Quetzalcoatl,  fixing  it  high 
up  near  the  shoulder ;  Chichimecatl  was  from  that  time 
called  Acolhuatl,  and  from  him,  it  is  said,  are  descended 
those  of  Colhua,  ancestors  of  Montezuma  and  lords  of 
Mexico  and  Coluacan.  This  Quetzalcoatl  is  now  held 
as  a  deity  and  called  the  god  of  the  air;  everywhere  an 
infinite  number  of  temples  has  been  raised  to  him,  and 
everywhere  his  statue  or  picture  is  found.12 

According  to  the  account  of  Mendieta,  tradition  varied 
much  as  to  the  facts  of  the  life  of  Quetzalcoatl.  Some 
said  he  was  the  son  of  Camaxtli,  god  of  hunting  and 
fishing,  and  of  Camaxtli' s  wife  Chirnalma.  Others  make 
mention  only  of  the  name  of  Chimalma,  saying  that  as  she 
was  sweeping  one  day  she  found  a  small  green  stone 
called  chalchiuite,  that  she  picked  it  up,  became  miracu- 
lously pregnant,  and  gave  birth  to  the  said  Quetzalcoatl. 
This  god  was  worshiped  as  a  principal  deity  in  Cholula, 
where,  as  well  as  in  Tlaxcala  and  Huejotzingo,  there 
were  many  of  his  temples.  We  have  already  had  one 
legend  from  Mendieta,13  giving  an  account  of  the  expul- 
sion from  Tulla  and  death  of  Quetzalcoatl ;  the  following 
from  the  same  source  gives  a  different  and  more  usual 
version  of  the  said  expulsion : — 

Quetzalcoatl  came  from  the  parts  of  Yucatan  (although 
some  said  from  Tulla)  to  the  city  of  Cholula.  He  was 
a  white  man,  of  portly  person,  broad  brow,  great  eyes, 
long  black  hair,  and  large  round  beard ;  of  exceedingly 
chaste  and  quiet  life,  and  of  great  moderation  in  all 
things.  The  people  had  at  least  three  reasons  for  the 
great  love,  reverence,  and  devotion  with  which  they  re- 
garded him:  first,  he  taught  the  silversmith's  art,  a  craft 
the  Cholulans  greatly  prided  themselves  on;  second,  he 
desired  no  sacrifice  of  the  blood  of  men  or  animals,  but 
delighted  only  in  offerings  of  bread,  roses  and  other 
flowers,  of  perfumes  and  sweet  odors;  third,  he  pro- 
hibited and  forbade  all  war  and  violence.  Nor  were 
these  qualities  esteemed  only  in  the  city  of  his  chiefest 

12  Mntolinia,  Hist.  Indlos,  in  Icazlalceta,  Col.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  10-11. 

13  Sec  this  vol.,  p.  240. 


DEPASTURE  OF  QUETZALCOATL.  251 

labors  and  teachings;  from  all  the  land  came  pilgrims 
and  devotees  to  the  shrine  of  the  gentle  god.  Even 
the  enemies  of  Cholula  came  and  went  secure,  in  fulfill- 
ing their  vows;  and  the  lords  of  distant  lands  had  in 
Cholula  their  chapels  and  idols  to  the  common  object  of 
devotion  and  esteem.  And  only  Quetzalcoatl  among  all 
the  gods  was  preeminently  called  Lord ;  in  such  sort,  that 
when  any  one  swore,  saying,  By  Our  Lord,  he  meant 
Quetzalcoatl  and  no  other;  though  there  were  many 
other  highly  esteemed  gods.  For  indeed  the  service  of 
this  god  was  gentle,  neither  did  he  demand  hard  things, 
but  light;  and  he  taught  only  virtue,  abhorring  all  evil 
and  hurt.  Twenty  years  this  good  deity  remained  in 
Cholula,  then  he  passed  away  by  the  road  he  had  come, 
carrying  with  him  four  of  the  principal  and  most  virtu- 
ous youths  of  that  city.  He  journeyed  for  a  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues,  till  he  came  to  the  sea,  in  a  distant 
province  called  Goatzacoalco.  Here  he  took  leave  of 
his  companions  and  sent  them  back  to  their  city,  in- 
structing them  to  tell  their  fellow  citizens  that  a  day 
should  come  in  which  white  men  would  land  upon  their 
coasts,  by  way  of  the  sea  in  which  the  sun  rises; 
brethren  of  his  and  having  beards  like  his;  and  that 
they  should  rule  that  land.  The  Mexicans  always  waited 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  prophecy,  and  when  the 
Spaniards  came  they  took  them  for  the  descendants  of 
their  meek  and  gentle  prophet,  although,  as  Mendieta  re- 
marks with  some  sarcasm,  when  they  came  to  know  them 
and  to  experience  their  works,  they  thought  otherwise. 

Quetzalcoatl  is  further  reported  by  Mendieta  to  have 
assisted  in  drawing  up  and  arranging  the  Mexican  Calen- 
dar, a  sacred  book  of  thirteen  tables,  in  which  the  reli- 
gious rites  and  ceremonies  proper  to  each  day  were  set 
forth,  in  connection  with  the  appropriate  signs.  It  is 
said  that  the  gods  having  created  mankind,  bethought 
themselves  that  it  would  be  well  if  the  people  they  had 
made  had  some  writings  by  which  they  might  direct 
themselves.  Now  there  were,  in  a  certain  cave  at  Cuer- 
navaca,  two  personages  of  the  number  of  the  gods,  and 


252          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGtS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

they  were  man  and  wife,  he  Oxomoco  and  she  Cipacto- 
nal;  and  they  were  consulting  together.  It  appeared 
good  to  the  old  woman  that  her  descendant  Quetzalcoatl 
should  be  consulted.  The  Cholulan  god  thought  the 
thing  of  the  calendar  to  be  good  and  reasonable ;  so  the 
the  three  set  to  work.  To  the  old  woman  was  respect- 
fully allotted  the  privilege  of  choosing  and  writing  the 
first  sign;  she  painted  a  kind  of  water-serpent  called 
cipactli,  and  called  the  sign  Oe  Cipactli,  that  is  "  a  ser- 
pent." Oxomoco,  in  his  turn  wrote  "  two  canes,"  and 
then  Quetzalcoatl  wrote  "three  houses;"  and  so  they 
went  on  till  the  whole  thirteen  signs  of  each  table  were 
written  out  in  their  order.1* 

Let  us  now  take  up  again  the  narrative  of  Sahagun,  at 
the  point  where  Quetzalcoatl,  after  drinking  the  potion 
prepared  by  Tezcatlipoca,  prepares  to  set  off  upon  his 
journey.  Quetzalcoatl,  very  heavy  in  heart  for  all  the 
misfortunes  that  this  rival  god  was  bringing  upon  the 
Toltecs,  burned  his  beautiful  houses  of  silver  and  of  shell, 
and  ordered  other  precious  things  to  be  buried  in  the 
mountains  and  ravines.  He  turned  the  cocoa-nut  trees 
into  a  kind  of  trees  that  are  called  mizquitl;  he  com- 
manded all  the  birds  of  rich  plumage,  the  quetzaltototl, 
and  the  xiuhtotl,  and  the  tlauquechol,  to  fly  away  and 
go  into  Anahuac,  a  hundred  leagues  distant.  Then  he 
himself  set  out  upon  his  road  from  Tulla ;  he  traveled  on 
till  he  came  to  a  place  called  Quauhtitlan,  where  was  a 
great  tree,  high  and  very  thick.  Here  the  exile  rested, 
and  he  asked  his  servants  for  a  mirror,  and  looked 
at  his  own  face.  What  thoughts  soever  were  working 
in  his  heart,  he  only  said,  I  am  already  old.  Then  he 
named  that  place  Vevequauhtitlan,  and  he  took  up  stones 
and  stoned  the  great  tree;  and  all  the  stones  he  threw 
,s:ink  into  it,  and  were  for  a  long  time  to  be  seen  sticking 
there,  from  the  ground  even  up  to  the  topmost  branches. 
Continuing  his  journey,  having  flute-players  playing 
before  him,  he  came  to  a  place  on  the  road  where  he 
was  weary  and  sat  down  on  a  stone  to  rest.  And  looking 

w  JUendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  pp.  82,  86,  92-3,  97-8. 


THE  SUN  CALLS  QUETZALCOATL.  253 

toward  Tulla,  he  wept  bitterly.  His  tears  marked  and 
ate  into  the  stone  on  which  he  sat,  and  the  print  of  his 
hands,  and  of  his  back  parts,  was  also  found  therein 
when  he  resumed  his  journey.  He  called  that  place 
Temacpalco.  After  that  he  reached  a  very  great  and 
wide  river,  and  he  commanded  a  stone  bridge  to  be 
thrown  across  it;  on  that  bridge  he  crossed  the  river, 
and  he  named  the  place  Tepanoaya.  Going  on  upon 
his  way,  Quetzalcoatl  came  to  another  place,  where  cer- 
tain sorcerers  met  and  tried  to  stop  him,  saying,  Whither 
goest  thou?  why  dost  thou  leave  thy  city?  to  whose  care 
wilt  thou  commend  it  ?  who  will  do  penance  ?  Quetzalcoatl 
replied  to  the  said  sorcerers,  Ye  can  in  no  wise  hinder 
my  going,  for  I  must  go.  They  asked  him  further, 
Whither  goest  thou?  He  said,  To  Tlapalla.  They  con- 
tinued, But  to  what  end  goest  thou?  He  said,  I  am 
called  and  the  sun  calls  me.  So  the  sorcerers  said,  Go 
then,  but  leave  behind  all  the  mechanical  arts,  the  melt- 
ing of  silver,  the  working  of  precious  stones  and  of  ma- 
sonry, the  painting,  feather-working,  and  other  crafts. 
And  of  all  these  the  sorcerers  despoiled  Quetzalcoatl.  As 
for  him,  he  cast  into  a  fountain  all  the  rich  jewels  that 
he  had  with  him ;  and  that  fountain  was  called  Cohcaa- 
pa,  and  it  is  so  named  to  this  day. 

Quetzalcoatl  continued  his  journey;  and  there  came 
another  sorcerer  to  meet  him,  saying,  Whither  goest  thou  ? 
Quetzalcoatl  said,  To  Tlapalla.  The  wizard  said,  Yery 
well;  but  drink  this  wine  that  I  have.  The  traveler 
answered,  No :  I  cannot  drink  it ;  I  cannot  so  much  as 
taste  it.  Thou  must  drink,  said  the  grim  magician,  were 
it  but  a  drop;  for  to  none  of  the  living  can  I  give  it;  it 
intoxicates  all,  so  drink.  Then  Quetzalcoatl  took  the 
wine  and  drank  it  through  a  cane.  Drinking,  he  made 
himself  drunk ;  he  slept  upon  the  road ;  he  began  to  snore ; 
and  when  he  awoke,  he  looked  on  one  side  and  on  the 
other,  and  tore  his  hair  with  his  hands.  And  that  place 
was  called  Cochtoca. 

Quetzalcoatl  going  on  upon  his  way  and  passing  be- 
tween the  sierra  of  the  volcano  and  the  snowy  sierra,  all 


254          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

his  servants,  being  hump-backed  and  dwarfs,  died  of  cold 
in  the  pass  between  the  said  mountains.  And  Quet- 
zalcoatl  bewailed  their  death  bitterly  and  sang  with 
weeping  and  sighing.  Then  he  saw  the  other  snowy 
sierra,  which  is  called  Poyauhtecatl  and  is  near  Teca- 
machalco;  and  so  he  passed  by  all  the  cities  and  places, 
leaving  many  signs,  it  is  said,  in  all  the  mountains  and 
roads.  It  is  said  further  that  he  had  a  way  of  crossing 
the  sierras  whereby  he  amused  and  rested  himself  at  the 
same  time:  when  he  came  to  the  top  of  a  mountain  he 
used  to  sit  down,  and  so  seated,  let  himself  slide  down 
the  mountain-side  to  the  bottom.  In  one  place  he  built 
a  court  for  ball-play,  all  of  squared  stone,  and  here  he 
used  to  play  the  game  called  tlachtli.16  Through  the  midst 
of  this  court  he  drew  a  line  called  the  tekoil;  and  where 
that  line  was  made  the  mountain  is  now  opened  with  a 
deep  gash.  In  another  place  he  cast  a  dart  at  a  great 
tree  called  a  pochutl,  piercing  it  through  with  the  dart 
in  such  wise  that  the  tree  looked  like  a  cross ;  for  the 
dart  he  threw  was  itself  a  tree  of  the  same  kind.17  Some 
say  that  Quetzalcoatl  built  certain  subterranean  houses, 
called  mictfancalco]  and  further,  that  he  set  up  and  bal- 
anced a  great  stone,  so  that  one  could  move  it  with  one's 
little  finger,  yet  a  multitude  could  not  displace  it.  Many 
other  notable  things  remain  that  Quetzalcoatl  did  among 
many  peoples;  he  it  was  that  named  all  the  places  and 
woods  and  mountains.  Traveling  ever  onward,  he  came 
at  last  to  the  sea-shore,  and  there  commanded  a  raft  to 
be  made  of  the  snakes  called  coailapechtli.  Having  seated 
himself  on  this  raft  as  in  a  canoe,  he  put  out  to  sea,  and 
no  man  knows  how  he  got  to  Tlapallan.18 

Torquemada  gives  a  long  and  valuable  account  of 
Quetzalcoatl,  gathered  from  many  sources,  which  cannot 
be  overlooked.  It  runs  much  as  follows: — The  name 

I*  See  this  vol.  p.  243. 

is  Tlachtli,  juego  de  pelota  con  las  nalgas;  el  lugar  donde  jnegan  assi. 
Mcllna,  Vocabulario. 

17  This  last  clause  is  to  be  found  only  in  Bustamante's  ed. ;  see  Sahagun, 
HM.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  258. 

J8  Kin'tsborough's  Mex.  Anliq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  114-5;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
toin.  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  255-9. 


SWIFTNESS  OF  THE  SEEVANTS  OF  QUETZALCOATL.      255 

Quetzalcoatl  means  Snake-plumage,  or  Snake  that  has 
plumage, — and  the  kind  of  snake  referred  to  in  this 
name,  is  found  in  the  province  of  Xicalanco,  which  is 
on  the  frontier  of  the  kingdom  of  Yucatan  as  one  goes 
thence  to  Tabasco.  This  god  Quetzalcoatl  was  very  cele- 
brated among  the  people  of  the  city  of  Cholula,  and  held 
in  that  place  for  the  greatest  of  all.  He  was,  according 
to  credible  histories,  high  priest  in  the  city  of  Tulla. 
From  that  place  he  went  to  Cholula,  and  not,  as  Bishop 
Bartolome  de  las  Casas  says  in  his  Apologia,  to  Yucatan ; 
though  he  went  to  Yucatan  afterwards,  as  we  shall  see. 
It  is  said  of  Quetzalcoatl  that  he  was  a  white  man,  large 
bodied,  broad-browed,  great-eyed,  with  long  black  hair, 
and  a  beard  heavy  and  rounded.19  He  was  a  great  arti- 
ficer, and  very  ingenious.  He  taught  many  mechanical 
arts,  especially  the  art  of  working  the  precious  stones 
called  chalchiuites,  which  are  a  kind  of  green  stone 
highly  valued,  and  the  art  of  casting  silver  and  gold. 
The  people,  seeing  him  so  inventive,  held  him  in  great 
estimation,  and  reverenced  him  as  king  in  that  city ;  and 
so  it  came  about  that,  though  in  temporal  things  the 
ruler  of  Tulla  was  a  lord  named  Huemac,20  yet  in  all 
spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  matters  Quetzalcoatl  was  su- 
preme, and  as  it  were  chief  pontiff. 

It  is  feigned  by  those  that  seek  to  make  much  of  their 
god  that  he  had  certain  palaces  made  of  green  stone  like 
emeralds,  others  made  of  silver,  others  of  shells,  red  and 
white,  others  of  all  kinds  of  wood,  others  of  turquoise, 
and  others  of  precious  feathers.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
very  rich,  and  in  need  of  nothing.  His  vassals  were 
very  obedient  to  him,  and  very  light  of  foot ;  they  were 
called  tlanquacemilhuique.  When  they  wished  to  pub- 
lish any  command  of  Quetzalcoatl,  they  sent  a  crier  up 
upon  a  high  mountain  called  Tzatzitepec,  where  with  a 
loud  voice  he  proclaimed  the  order;  and  the  voice  of 
this  crier  was  heard  for  a  hundred  leagues  distance,  and 

19  '  Era  Hoinbre  bianco,  crecido  de  cuerpo,  ancha  la  frente,  los  ojos  gran- 
des,  los  cabellos  largos,  y  negros,  la  barba  grande  y  redonda.'    Torquemada, 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p,  47. 

20  Spelled  Vernac  by  Sahagun;  see  preceding  pages  of  this  chapter. 


256          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

farther,  even  to  the  coasts  of  the  sea:  all  this  is  affirmed 
for  true.  The  fruits  of  the  earth  and  the  trees  flourished 
there  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  and  sweet  singing  birds 
were  abundant.  The  great  pontiff  inaugurated  a  system 
of  penance,  pricking  his  legs,  and  drawing  blood  and 
staining  therewith  maguey  thorns.  He  washed  also  at 
midnight  in  a  fountain  called  Xiuhpacoya.  From  all 
this,  it  is  said,  the  idolatrous  priests  of  Mexico  adopted 
their  similar  custom. 

While  Quetzalcoatl  was  enjoying  this  good  fortune  with 
pomp  and  majesty,  we  are  told  that  a  great  magician 
called  Titlacahua  [Tezcatlipoca],  another  of  the  gods, 
arrived  at  Tulla.  He  took  the  form  of  an  old  man,  and 
went  in  to  see  Quetzalcoatl,  saying  to  him,  My  lord,  in- 
asmuch as  I  know  thine  intent  and  how  much  thou 
desirest  to  set  out  for  certain  distant  lands,  also,  because 
I  know  from  thy  servants  that  thou  art  unwell,  I  have 
brought  thee  a  certain  beverage,  by  drinking  which  thou 
shalt  attain  thine  end.  Thou  shalt  so  make  thy  way  to 
the  country  thou  desirest,  having  perfect  health  to  make 
the  journey;  neither  shalt  thou  remember  at  all  the 
fatigues  and  toils  of  life,  nor  how  thou  art  mortal.21 
Seeing  all  his  projects  thus  discovered  by  the  pretended 
old  man,  Quetzalcoatl  questioned  him,  Where  have  I  to 
go.  Tezcatlipoca  answered,  That  it  was  already  deter- 
mined with  the  supreme  gods,  that  he  had  to  go  to  Tla- 
palla,  and  that  the  thing  was  inevitable,  because  there 
was  another  old  man  waiting  for  him  at  his  destination. 
A  ?  Quetzalcoatl  heard  this,  he  said  that  it  was  true,  and 
that  he  desired  it  much;  and  he  took  the  vessel  and 
drank  the  liquor  it  contained.  Quetzalcoatl  was  thus 
easily  persuaded  to  what  Tezcatlipoca  desired,  because 
he  wished  to  make  himself  immortal  and  to  enjoy  per- 
petual life.  Having  swallowed  the  draught  he  became 
beside  himself,  and  out  of  his  mind,  weeping  sadly  and 
bitterly.  He  determined  to  go  to  Tlapalla.  He  de- 
stroyed or  buried  all  his  plate  and  other  property  and 

21  This  agrees  ill  with  what  is  related  at  this  point  by  Sahagun ;  see  this 
vol.  p.  '242. 


QUETZALCOATL  LEAVES  MAKES  ON  A  STONE.  257 

set  out.  First  he  arrived  at  the  place,  Quauhtitlan, 
where  the  great  tree  was  and  where  he,  borrowing  a 
mirror  from  his  servants,  found  himself  "  already  old." 
The  name  of  this  place  was  changed  by  him  to  Huehue- 
quauhtitlan,  that  is  to  say,  u  near  the  old  tree,  or  the 
tree  of  the  old  man ;"  and  the  trunk  of  the  tree  was  filled 
with  stones  that  he  cast  at  it.  After  that  he  journeyed 
on,  his  people  playing  flutes  and  other  instruments,  till 
he  came  to  a  mountain  near  the  city  of  Tlalnepantla, 
two  leagues  from  the  city  of  Mexico,  where  he  sat  down  on 
a  stone  and  put  his  hands  on  it,  leaving  marks  embedded 
therein  that  may  be  seen  to  this  day.  The  truth  of  this 
thing  is  strongly  corroborated  by  the  inhabitants  of  that 
district ;  I  myself  have  questioned  them  upon  the  sub- 
ject, and  it  has  been  certified  to  me.  Furthermore  we 
have  it  written  down  accurately  by  many  worthy  authors ; 
and  the  name  of  the  locality  is  now  Temacpalco,  that  is 
to  say  "  in  the -palm  of  the  hand." 

Journeying  on  to  the  coast  and  to  the  kingdom  of  Tla- 
palla,  Quetzalcoatl  was  met  by  the  three  sorcerers,  Tez- 
catlipoca  and  other  two  with  him,  who  had  already 
brought  so  much  destruction  upon  Tulla.  These  tried 
to  stop  or  hinder  him  in  his  journey,  questioning  him, 
Whither  goest  thou?  He  answered,  To  Tlapalla.  To 
whom,  they  inquired,  hast  thou  given  the  charge  of  thy 
kingdom  of  Tulla,  and  who  will  do  penance  there  ?  But 
he  said  that  that  was  no  longer  any  affair  of  his  and  that 
he  must  pursue  his  road.  And  being  further  questioned 
as  to  the  object  of  his  journey,  he  said  that  he  was  called 
by  the  lord  of  the  land  to  which  he  was  going,  who  was 
the  sun.22  The  three  wizards  seeing  then  the  determi- 

22  At  this  part  of  the  story  Torquemada  takes  opportunity,  parenthet- 
ically, to  remark  that  this  fable  was  very  generally  current  among  the 
Mexicans,  and  that  when  Father  Bernardino  de  Sahagun  was  in  the  city  of 
Xuchimilco,  they  asked  him  where  Tlapalla  was.  Sahagun  replied  that  he 
did  not  know,  as  indeed  he  did  not  (nor  any  one  else  — it  being  apparently 
wholly  mythical),  nor  even  understand  their  question,  inasmuch  as  he  had 
been  at  that  time  only  a  little  while  in  the  country — it  being  fifty  years  before 
he  wrote  his  book  [the  Historia  General].  Sahagun  adds  that  the  Mexicans 
made  at  that  time  divers  trials  of  this  kind,  questioning  the  Christians  to 
see  if  they  knew  anything  of  their  antiquities.  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.*. 
torn,  ii.,  p.  50. 

VOL.  III.    If 


258         GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

nation  of  Quetzalcoatl,  made  no  further  attempt  to  dis- 
suade him  from  his  purpose,  but  .contented  themselves 
with  taking  from  him  all  his  instruments  and  his 
mechanical  arts,  so  that  though  he  departed  those 
things  should  not  be  wanting  to  the  state.  It  was  here 
that  Quetzalcoatl  threw  into  a  fountain  all  the  rich 
jewels  that  he  carried  with  him;  for  which  thing  the 
fountain  was  called  from  that  time  Cozcaapan.  that  is  to 
say,  "  The  water  of  the  strings  or  chains  of  jewels." 
The  same  place  is  now  called  Coaapan,  that  is  to  say, 
"  In  the  snake- water,"  and  very  properly,  because  the 
word  Quetzalcoatl  means  "  feathered  snake."  In  this 
way  he  journeyed  on,  suffering  various  molestations 
from  those  sorcerers,  his  enemies,  till  he  arrived  at 
Cholula  where  he  was  received  (as  we  in  another  part 
say),23  and  afterward  adored  as  god.  Having  lived 
twenty  years  in  that  city  he  was  expelled  by  Tezcatli- 
poca.  He  set  out  for  the  kingdom  of  Tlapalla,  accom- 
panied by  four  virtuous  youths  of  noble  birth,  and  in 

23  The  passage  of  Torquemada  referred  to  I  condense  as  follows:— Cer- 
tain people  came  from  the  north  by  way  of  Panuco.     These  were  men  of 
good  carriage,  well-dressed  in  long  robes  of  black  linen,  open  in  front,  and 
without  capes,  cut  low  at  the  neck,  with  short  sleeves  that  did  not  come  to 
the  elbow;  the  same,  in  fact,  as  the  natives  use  to  this  day  in  their  dances. 
From  Panuco  they  passed  on  very  peaceably  by  degrees  to  Tulla,  where  they 
were  well  received  by  the  inhabitants.     The  countiy  there,  however,  was 
already  too  thickly  populated  to  sustain  the  new-comers,  so  these  passed  on 
to  Cholula  where   they  had   an   excellent   reception.     They  brought  with 
them  as  their  chief  and  head,  a  personage  called  Quetzalcoatl,  a  fair  and 
ruddy  complexioned  man,   with   a  long  beard.     In  Cholula  these  people 
remained  and  multiplied,  and  sent  colonies  to  people  Upper  and  Lower  Miz- 
teca  and  the  Zapotecan  country;  and  these  it  is  said  raised  the  grand  edifices, 
whose  remains  are  still  to  be  seen  at  Mictlan.     These  followers  of  Quetzal- 
coatl were  men  of  great  knowledge  and  cunning  artists  in  all  kinds  of  fine 
work;  not  so  good  at  masonry  and  the  use  of  the  hammer,  as  in  casting  and 
in  the  engraving  and  setting  of  precious  stones,  and  in  all  kinds  of  artistic 
sculpture,  and  in   agriculture.     Quetzalcoatl  had,  however,  two   enemies; 
Tezcatlipoca  was  one,  and  Huemac  king  of  Tulla  the  other;  these  two  had 
been  most  instrumental  in  causing  him  to  leave  Tulla.     And  at  Cholula, 
Huemac  followed  him  up  with  a  great  army;  and  Quetzalcotal,  not  wishing 
to  engage  in  any  war,  departed  for  another  part  with  most  part  of  his  people 
— going,  it  is  said,  to  a  land  called  Onotyualco,  which  is  near  the  sea,  and 
embraced  what  are  now  called  Yucatan,  Tabasco,  and  Campeche.     Then 
when  Huemac  came  to  the  place  where  he  had  thought  to  find  Quetzalcoatl, 
and  found  him  not,  he  was  wrath  and  laid  waste  and  destroyed  all   the 
country,  and  made  himself  lord  over  it  and  caused  also  that  the  people  wor- 
shipped him  as  a  god.     All  this  he  did  to  obscure  and  blot  out  the  memory 
of   Quetzalcoatl  and  for  the  hate  that  he  bore  him.   Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  254-6. 


QUETZALCOATL  SWEPT  THE  KOADS.         259 

Goatzacoalco,  a  province  distant  from  Cholula  toward 
the  sea  a  hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  he  embarked  for  his 
destination.  Parting  with  his  disciples,  he  told  them 
that  there  should  surely  come  to  them  in  after  times,  by 
way  of  the  sea  where  the  sun  rises,  certain  white  men 
with  white  beards,  like  him,  and  that  these  would  be  his 
brothers  and  would  rule  that  land. 

After  that  the  four  disciples  returned  to  Cholula,  and 
told  all  that  their  master  and  god  had  prophesied  when 
departing.  Then  the  Cholulans  divided  their  province 
into  four  principalities  and  gave  the  government  to  those 
four,  and  some  four  of  their  descendants  always  ruled 
in  like  manner  over  these  tetrarchies  till  the  Spaniard 
came ;  being,  however,  subordinate  to  a  central  power. 

This  Quetzalcoatl  was  god  of  the  air,  and  as  such  had 
his  temple,  of  a  round  shape  and  very  magnificent. 
He  was  made  god  of  the  air  for  the  mildness  and  gentle- 
ness of  all  his  ways,  not  liking  the  sharp  and  harsh 
measures  to  which  the  other  gods  were  so  strongly  in- 
clined. It  is  to  be  said  further  that  his  life  on  earth 
was  marked  by  intensely  religious  characteristics;  not 
only  was  he  devoted  to  the  careful  observance  of  all  the 
old  customary  forms  of  worship,  but  he  himself  ordained 
and  appointed  many  new  rites,  ceremonies,  and  festivals 
for  the  adoration  of  the  gods;  and  it  is  held  for  certain 
that  he  made  the  calendar.  He  had  priests  who  were 
called  quequetzalcohua,  that  is  to  say  "  priests  of  the 
order  of  Quetzalcoatl."  The  memory  of  him  was  en- 
graved deeply  upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  it  is 
said  that  when  barren  women  prayed  and  made  sacri- 
fices to  him,  children  were  given  them.  He  was,  as 
we  have  said,  god  of  the  winds,  and  the  power  of  causing 
them  to  blow  was  attributed  to  him  as  well  as  the  power 
of  calming  or  causing  their  fury  to  cease.  It  was  said 
further  that  he  swept  the  road,  so  that  thevgods  called 
Tlaloques  could  rain:  this  the  people  imagined  because 
ordinarily  a  month  or  more  before  the  rains  began  there 
blew  strong  winds  throughout  all  New  Spain.  Quetzal- 
coatl is  described  as  having  worn  during  life,  for  the 


260          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

sake  of  modesty,  garments  that  reached  down  to  the 
feet,  with  a  blanket  over  all,  sown  with  red  crosses. 
The  Cholulans  preserved  certain  green  stones  that  had 
belonged  to  him,  regarding  them  with  great  veneration 
and  esteeming  them  as  relics.  Upon  one  of  these  was 
carved  a  monkey's  head,  very  natural.  In  the  city  of 
Cholula  there  was  to  be  found  dedicated  to  him  a  great 
and  magnificent  temple,  with  many  steps,  but  each  step 
so  narrow  that  there  was  not  room  for  a  foot  on  it.  His 
image  had  a  very  ugly  face,  with  a  large  and  heavily 
bearded  head.  It  was  not  set  on  its  feet  but  lying 
down,  and  covered  with  blankets.  This,  it  is  said,  was 
done  as  a  memorial  that  he  would  one  day  return  to 
reign.  For  reverence  of  his  great  majesty,  his  image 
was  kept  covered,  and  to  signify  his  absence  it  was  kept 
lying  down,  as  one  that  sleeps,  as  one  that  lies  down  to 
sleep.  In  awaking  from  that  sleep,  he  was  to  rise  up 
and  reign.  The  people  also  of  Yucatan  reverenced  this 
god  Quetzalcoatl,  calling  him  Kukulcan,  and  saying  that 
he  came  to  them  from  the  west,  that  is  from  New  Spain, 
for  Yucatan  is  eastward  therefrom.  From  him  it  is  said 
the  kings  of  Yucatan  are  descended,  who  call  themselves 
Cocomes,  that  is  to  say  "judges  or  hearers."24 

Clavigero's  account  is  characteristically  clear  and  com- 
prehensible. It  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: — 

Among  the  Mexicans  and  other  nations  of  Anahuac, 
Quetzalcoatl  was  accounted  god  of  the  air.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  sometime  high-priest  of  Tulla.  He  is  de- 
scribed as  having  been  white, — a  large,  broad-browedr 
great-eyed  man,  with  long  black  hair  and  thick  beard. 
His  life  was  rigidly  temperate  and  exemplary,  and  his 
industry  was  directed  by  the  profoundest  wisdom.  He 
amassed  great  treasure,  and  his  was  the  invention  of 
gem-cutting  and  of  metal-casting.  All  things  prospered 
in  his  time.  One  ear  of  corn  was  a  man's  load;  and 
the  gourds,  or  pumpkins,  of  the  day  were  as  tall  as  one's 
body.  Xo  one  dyed  cotton  then,  for  it  grew  of  all  colors ; 
and  all  other  things  in  like  manner  were  perfect  and 

2*  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  48-52^ 


CLAVIGEKO  ON  QUETZALCOATL.          261 

abundant.  The  very  birds  in  the  trees  sang  such  songs 
as  have  never  since  been  heard,  and  flashed  such  mar- 
velous beauties  in  the  sun  as  no  plumage  of  later  times 
could  rival.  Quetzalcoatl  had  his  laws  proclaimed  from 
the  top  of  the  hill  Tzatzitepec,  (mountain  of  outcry), 
near  Tulla,  by  a  crier  whose  voice  was  audible  for  three 
hundred  miles. 

All  this,  however,  was  put  an  end  to,  as  far  as  Tulla 
was  concerned,  by  Tezcatlipoca,  who,  moved  perhaps  by 
jealousy,  determined  to  remove  Quetzalcoatl.  So  the 
god  appeared  to  the  great  teacher  in  the  guise  of  an  old 
man,  telling  him  it  was  the  will  of  the  gods  that  he  be- 
take himself  to  Tlapalla,  and  administering  at  the  same 
time  a  potion,  the  effect  of  which  was  to  cause  an  in- 
tense longing  for  the  said  journey.  Quetzalcoatl  set  out 
and,  having  performed  many  marvels  on  the  way,  arrived 
in  Cholula.  Here  the  inhabitants  would  not  suffer  him 
to  go  farther,  but  persuaded  him  to  accept  the  govern- 
ment of  their  city ;  and  he  remained  with  them,  teaching 
many  useful  arts,  customs,  and  ceremonies  and  preach- 
ing against  war  and  all  other  forms  of  cruelty.  Accord- 
ing to  some,  he  at  this  time  arranged  the  divisions  of 
the  seasons  and  the  calendar. 

Having  lived  twenty  years  in  Cholula,  he  left,  still 
impelled  by  the  subtle  draught,  to  seek  this  imaginary 
city  of  Tlapalla.  He  was  no  more  seen  of  men,  some 
said  one  thing  and  some  another;  but,  however  he 
might  have  disappeared,  he  was  apotheosized  by  the 
Toltecs  of  Cholula,  who  raised  him  a  great  mound  and 
built  a  sanctuary  upon  it.  A  similar  structure  was 
erected  to  his  honor  at  Tulla.  From  Cholula  his  wor- 
ship as  god  of  the  air  spread  over  all  the  country ;  in 
Yucatan  the  nobles  claimed  descent  from  him.25 

The  ideas  of  Brasseur  with  regard  to  Quetzalcoatl  have 
their  roots  in  and  must  be  traced  back  to  the  very  first 
appearing  of  the  Mexican  religion,  or  of  the  religion  or 
religions  by  which  it  was  preceded;  so  that  to  arrive  at 
those  ideas  I  must  give  a  summary  of  the  abbe's  whole 

25  Claviyero,  Hist.  Ant.  del  Messico,  pp.  11-13. 


262          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP 

theory  of  the  origin  of  that  creed.  He  believes  that  in 
the  seething  and  thundering  of  volcanoes  a  conception 
of  divinity  and  of  supernatural  powers  first  sprang  up  in 
the  mind  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Mexicans.  The  volca- 
noes were  afterwards  identified  with  the  stars,  and  the 
most  terrific  of  all,  Nanahuatl  or  Nanahuatzin,26  received 
the  honors  of  apotheosis  in  the  sun.  Issued  from  the 
earth  of  the  Crescent  (Brasseur's  sunken  island  or  con- 
tinent in  the  Atlantic),27  personified  in  the  antique 
Quetzalcoatl,  prototype  of  priests  and  of  sacerdotal  con- 
tinence, he  is  thus  his  son  and  identifies  himself  with 
him;  he  (the  divinity,  Tylor's  "Great  Somebody")  is 
the  model  of  sages  under  the  name  of  Hueman  and 
the  prototype  of  kings  under  that  of  Topiltzin.  Strange 
thing  to  find  united  in  one  being,  personalities  so  diverse  .!. 
King,  philosopher,  priest  par  excellence,  whose  virtues 
serve  as  a  rule  to  all  the  priests  of  the  pagan  antiquity, 
and,  side  by  side  with  all  that,  incontinence  and  passion 
deified  in  this  invalid,  whose  name  even,  "  the  syphili- 
tic," is  the  expression  of  the  abuse  he  has  made  of  the 
sex. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  religion  two  sects  appear 
to  have  sprung  up,  or  rather  two  manners  of  judging  the 
same  events.  There  was  first  a  struggle,  and  then  a 
separation ;  under  the  banner-names  of  Quetzalcoatl  and 
Tezcatlipoca  the  rival  schools  fought  for  the  most  part — 
of  course  there  were  divers  minor  factions;  but  the 
foregoing  were  the  principal  and  most  important.  There 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  religion  that  took 
Quetzalcoatl  for  symbol  was  but  a  reformation  upon 
another  more  ancient,  that  had  the  moon  for  its  object. 
It  is  the  moon,  male  and  female,  Luna  Lunus,  personi- 
fied in  the  earth  of  the  Crescent,  engulfed  in  the  abyss, 
that  I  believe  (it  is  always  the  abbe  that  speaks)  I  see 
at  the  commencement  of  the  amalgam  of  rites  and  sym- 
bols of  every  kind,  religion  of  enjoyments  and  material 
pleasures,  born  of  the  promiscuity  of  the  men  and 

86  See  p.  60  of  this  volume. 

87  See  p.  112  of  this  volume. 


BRASSEUR  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  263 

women,  taken  refuge  in  the  lesser  Antilles  after  the  cata- 
clysm. 

The  religion  that  had  taken  the  moon  for  point  of 
departure,  and  in  which  women  seem  to  have  played  the 
principal  role,  as  priestesses,  attacked  formally,  by  this 
very  fact,  a  more  antique  religion,  a  pre-diluvian  relig- 
ion that  appears  to  have  been  Sabaism,  entirely  exempt 
from  idolatry,  and  in  which  the  sun  received  the  chief 
homage.  In  the  new  religion,  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
not  the  moon  as  a  star,  which  was  the  real  object  of 
worship,  it  was  the  moon-land  (lune-terre) ,  it  was  the 
region  of  the  Crescent,  shrouded  under  the  waves,  whose 
death  was  wept  and  whose  resurrection  was  afterward 
celebrated  in  the  appearance  of  the  isles — refuge  of  the 
shipwrecked  of  the  grand  catastrophe — of  the  Lesser 
Antilles ;  to  the  number  of  seven  principal  islands,  sung, 
in  all  American  legends,  as  the  Seven  Grottoes,  cradle  of 
nations. 

This  is  the  myth  of  Quetzalcoatl,  who  dies  or  disap- 
pears, and  whose  personality  is  represented  at  the 
outset  in  the  isles,  then  successively,  in  all  the  coun- 
tries whither  the  civilization  was  carried  of  which  he 
was  the  flag.  So  far  as  I  can  judge  at  present,  the  priest 
who  placed  himself  under  the  eegis  of  this  grand  name, 
labored  solely  to  reform  what  there  was  of  odious  and 
barbarous  in  the  cult  of  which  the  women  had  the  chief 
direction,  and  under  whose  regime  human  blood  flowed 
in  waves.  After  the  triumph  of  Quetzalcoatl,  the  men 
who  bore  his  name  took  the  direction  of  religion  and 
society,  which  then  made  considerable  progress  in  their 
hands. 

But  if  we  are  to  believe  the  same  traditions,  their  pre- 
ponderance had  not  a  very  long  duration.  The  most 
restless  and  the  most  audacious  among  the  partisans  of 
the  ancient  order  of  things,  raised  the  flag  of  revolt: 
they  became  the  chiefs  of  a  warlike  faction,  rival  of  the 
sacerdotal, — a  conquering  faction,  source  of  veritable 
royal  dynasties  and  of  the  religion  of  the  sun  living  and 
victorious,  in  opposition  to  the  god  entombed  in  the 


264          GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

abyss.  Quetzalcoatl,  vanquished  by  Tezcatlipoca,  then 
retired  before  a  too-powerful  enemy,  and  the  Toltecs 
were  dispersed  among  all  nations.  Those  of  them  that 
remained  coalesced  with  the  victors,  and  from  the  accord 
of  the  aforementioned  three  cults,  there  sprang  that 
monstrous  amalgam  of  so  many  different  ideas  and  sym- 
bols, such  as  is  found  to-day  in  what  remains  to  us  of  the 
Mexican  religion. 

For  me  (and  it  is  always  the  abbe  that  speaks),  I  be- 
lieve I  perceive  the  origin  of  the  struggle,  not  alone  in 
the  diversity  of  races,  but  principally  in  the  existence  of 
two  currents  of  contrary  ideas,  having  had  the  same  point 
of  departure  in  the  events  of  the  great  cataclysm  of  the 
Crescent  Land,  above  referred  to.  Different  manners  of 
looking  at  these  events  and  of  commemorating  them,  seem 
to  me  to  have  marked  from  the  beginning  the  starting 
point  of  two  religions  that  lived,  perhaps,  side  by  side 
for  centuries  without  the  explosion  of  their  disagree- 
ments, otherwise  than  by  insignificant  agitations.  Before 
these  two  could  take,  with  regard  to  each  other,  the  pro- 
portions of  a  schism  or  a  heresy,  it  was  necessary  that 
all  the  materials  of  which  these  religions  are  constituted 
had  had  time  to  elaborate  themselves,  and  that  the 
hieroglyphics  which  represented  their  origin  had  become 
sufficiently  obscure  for  the  priesthood  to  keep  the  vulgar 
from  understanding  them.  For,  if  schism  has  brought 
on  the  struggle  between  and  afterward  the  violent  sepa- 
ration of  families,  this  separation  can  not  have  taken 
place  till  after  the  entire  creation  of  myths,  the  entire 
construction  of  these  divine  genealogies,  of  these  poetic 
traditions,  that  are  found  scattered  among  all  the  peoples 
of  the  earth,  but  of  which  the  complete  whole  does  not 
exist,  save  in  the  history  and  religion  of  Mexico.28 

Two  orders  of  gods, — the  one  order  fallen  from  heaven 

28  This,  in  its  astounding  immensity,  is  the  abbe's  theory:  his  supposi- 
tional Crescent  Land  was  the  cradle  of  all  human  races  and  human  creeds. 
On  its  submergence  the  aforesaid  races  and  creeds  spread  and  developed 
through  all  the  world  to  their  respective  present  localities  and  phases.  The 
Mexican  branch  of  this  development  he  considers  the  likest  to  and  the  most 
closely  connected  with  the  original. 


MANY  CHARACTERS  OF  QUETZALCOATL.       265 

into  the  abyss,  becoming  there  the  judges  of  the  dead, 
and  being  personified  in  one  of  their  number,  who  came 
to  life  again,  symbolizing  thus  life  and  death,— the  other 
order  surviving  the  cataclysm  and  symbolizing  thus  an 
imperishable  life, — such,  at  its  origin,  is  the  double 
character  of  the  myth  of  Quetzalcoatl.  But,  in  reality, 
this  god  he  is  the  earth,  he  is  the  region  swallowed  up 
by  the  waters,  he  is  the  vanquished  stifled  under  the 
weight  of  his  adversary,  under  the  force  of  the  victorious 
wave ;  which  adversary,  which  power  in  opposition  to  the 
first,  joining  itself  to  the  fire  on  the  blazing  pile  of  JSTa- 
nahuatl,  is  Tezcatlipoca,  is  Hercules,  conqueror  of  ene- 
mies, is  the  god  whose  struggle  is  eternal  as  that  of  the 
ocean  beating  the  shore,  is  he  in  whom  the  light  becomes 
afterward  personified,  and  who  becomes  thus  the  battle- 
flag  of  the  opponents  of  Quetzalcoatl.  To  the  dead  god 
a  victim  is  necessary,  one  that  like  him  descends  into 
the  abyss.  This  victim  was  a  young  girl,  chosen  among 
those  that  were  consecrated  at  the  foot  of  the  pyramid, 
and  drowned ;  a  custom  long  found  as  well  in  Egypt  as 
at  Chichen-Itza,29  and  in  many  other  countries  of  the 
world.  But  to  the  god  come  to  life  again,  to  the  god  in 
whom  fire  was  personified,  and  immortal  life,  to  Quet- 
zalcoatl when  he  became  Huitzilopochtli,  victims  were 
sacrificed,  by  tearing  out  the  heart — symbol  of  the  jet 
of  flame  issuing  from  the  volcano — to  offer  it  to  the  con- 
quering sun,  symbol  of  Tezcatlipoca,  who  first  demanded 
holocausts  of  human  blood.30 

29  In  Yucatan. 

30  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Quatres  Lettres,  pp.  154-7.     Much  of  this  last 
paragraph  seems  utterly  incomprehensible  and  absurd,  even  viewed  from  the 
stand-point  of  the  Abb6  Brasseur  himself.     By  no  means  certain,  at  all  points, 
of  having  caught  the  exact  meaning  by  its  author,  I  give  the  original:— Deux 
or.lres  de  dieux,  dont  les  uns,  tombes  du  ciel  dans  1'abime  ou  ils  devieuneut 
les  juges  des  morts,  se  personnifient  en  un  seul  qui  ressuscite,  symbole  de  la 
vie  et  de  la  mort;  dont  les  autres  survivent  a  la  destruction,  symbole  de  la 
vie  imperissable ;  tel  est  le  double  caractere  du  mythe  de  Quetzal-Coatl,  a  son 
origine.     Mais  en  realite,  ce  dieu,  c'est  la  terre,  c'est  la  region  ensevelie  sous 
les  eaux,  c'est  le  vaincu  etouffe  sous  le  poids  de  son  adversaire,  sous  1'effort 
de  la  vague  victorieuse  et  celle-ci  s'unissaut  au  feu  sur  le  bucher  deNauahu- 
atl,  c'est  Tezcatlipoca,  c'est  Hercule,  vainqueurde  ses  ennemis,  c'est  le  dieu 
dont  la  lutte  est  eternelle,  comme  celle  de  1'Ocean  battant  le  rivage,  c'est 
celui  en  qui  se  personuifie  ensuite  la  lumiere  et  qui  devient  ainsi  le  drapeau 
des  adversaires  de  Quetzal-Coatl.     Au  dieu  mort,  il  fallait  une  victime,  com- 


266          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Mr  Tylor  declares  Quetzalcoatl  to  have  been  the  Sun: 
"  We  may  even  find  him  identified  with  the  Sun  by 
name,  and  his  history  is  perhaps  a  more  compact  and 
perfect  series  of  solar  myths  than  hangs  to  the  name  of 
any  single  personage  in  our  own  Aryan  mythology. 
His  mother,  the  Dawn  or  the  Night,  gives  birth  to  him, 
and  dies.  His  father  Camaxtli  is  the  sun,  and  was  wor- 
shiped with  solar  rites  in  Mexico,  but  he  is  the  old  Sun 
of  yesterday.  The  clouds,  personified  in  the  mythic 
race  of  the  Mixcohuas,  or  "  Cloud- Snakes"  (the  Nibel- 
ungs  of  the  western  hemisphere),  bear  down  the  old  Sun 
and  choke  him,  and  bury  him  in  their  mountain.  But 
the  young  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Sun  of  to-day,  rushes  up  in- 
to the  midst  of  them  from  below,  and  some  he  slays  at 
the  first  onset,  and  some  he  leaves,  rift  with  red  wounds 
to  die.  We  have  the  Sun  boat  of  Helios,  of  the  Egypt- 
ian Ila,  of  the  Polynesian  Maui.  Quetzolcoatl,  his 
bright  career  drawing  toward  its  close,  is  chased  into 
far  lands  by  his  kindsman  Tezcatlipoca,  the  young  Sun 
of  to-morrow.  He,  too,  is  well  known  as  a  Sun  God  in 
the  Mexican  theology.  Wonderfully  fitting  wyith  all 
this,  one  incident  after  another  in  the  life  of  Quetzal- 
coatl falls  into  its  place.  The  guardians  of  the  sacred 
fire  tend  him,  his  funeral  pile  is  on  the  top  of  Orizaba, 
he  is  the  helper  of  travelers,  the  maker  of  the  calendar, 
the  source  of  astrology,  the  beginner  of  history,  the 
bringer  of  wealth  and  happiness.  He  is  the  patron  of 
the  craftsmen,  whom  he  lights  to  his  labor;  as  it  is 
written  in  an  ancient  Sanskrit  hymn,  l  He  steps  forth, 
the  splendor  of  the  sky,  the  wide-seeing,  the  far-aiming, 
the  shining  wanderer;  surely  enlivened  by  the  sun,  do 
men  go  to  their  tasks  and  do  their  work.'  Even  his 

me  lui,  descendue  dans  1'abime:  ce  fut  une  jeune  fille,  choisie  parmi  celles 
qui  lui  etaient  consacrees  au  pied  de  la  pyramide,  et  qu'on  noyait  en  la 
plongeant  sous  1'eau,  contuine  qu'on  retrouva  longtemps  en  Egypte,  comme 
a  Ckicbeii-Itzu,  ainsi  que  dans  bien  d'autres  pays  du  monde.  Mais  au  dieu 
ressuscite,  au  dieu  en  qui  se  personnifiait  le  feu,  la  vie  immortelle,  a  Q\«  tzal- 
Coatl,  deveuu  HuitzU-OpochUi,  on  sacrina  des  victimes  sans  nombre,  k  qui 
Ton  arrachait  le  coaur,  symbole  du  jet  de  flamme  sortant  du  volcau,  pour 
1'offrir  au  soleil  vainqueur,  symbole  de  Tezcatlipoca  qui,  le  premier,  avait 
demande  des  holocaustes  de  sang  bumaiii.  Id.,  pp.  342-3. 


BBINTON  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  267 

people,  the  Toltecs,  catch  from  him  solar  qualities.  Will 
it  be  even  possible  to  grant  to  this  famous  race,  in  whose 
story  the  legend  of  Quetzalcoatl  is  the  leading  incident, 
anything  more  than  a  mythic  existence?"31 

Dr  Brinton  is  of  opinion  that  "that  there  were  in 
truth  many  Quetzalcoatls,  for  his  high  priest  always  bore 
his  name,  but  he  himself  is  a  pure  creation  of  the  fancy, 
and  all  his  alleged  history  is  nothing  but  a  myth.  His 
emblematic  name,  the  Bird- Serpent,  and  his  rebus  and 
cross  at  Palenque,  I  have  already  explained.  Others  of 
his  titles  were,  Ehecatl,  the  air ;  Yolcuat,  the  rattlesnake ; 
Tohil,  the  rumbler ;  Huemac,  the  strong  hand ;  Nanihe- 
hecatl,  lord  of  the  four  winds.  The -same  dualism  re- 
appears in  him  that  has  been  noted  in  his  analogues 
elsewhere.  He  is  both  lord  of  the  eastern  light  and  the 
wind. 

As  the  former,  he  was  born  of  a  virgin  in  the  land  of 
Tula  or  Tlapallan,  in  the  distant  Orient,  and  was  high 
priest  of  that  happy  realm.  The  morning  star  \vas  his 
symbol,  and  the  temple  of  Cholula  was  dedicated  to  him 
expressly  as  the  author  of  light.  As  by  days  we 
measure  time,  he  was  the  alleged  inventor  of  the  calen- 
dar. Like  all  the  dawn  heroes,  he  too  was  represented 
as  of  white  complexion,  clothed  in  long  white  robes,  and, 
as  most  of  the  Aztec  gods,  with  a  full  and  flowing  beard. 
When  his  earthly  work  was  done  he  too  returned  to  the 
east,  assigning  as  a  reason  that  the  sun,  the  ruler  of 
Tlapallan,  demanded  his  presence.  But  the  real  motive 
was  that  he  had  been  overcome  by  Tezcatlipoca,  other- 
wise called  Yoalliehecatl,  the  wind  or  spirit  of  night, 
who  had  descended  from  heaven  by  a  spider's  web  and 
presented  his  rival  with  a  draught  pretended  to  confer 
immortality,  but,  in  fact,  producing  uncontrollable  long- 
ing for  home.  For  the  wind  and  the  light  both  depart 
when  the  gloaming  draws  near,  or  when  the  clouds 
spread  their  dark  and  shadowy  webs  along  the  mount- 
ains, and  pour  the  vivifying  rain  upon  the  fields. 

In  his  other  character,  he  was  begot  of  the  breath  of 

31  Tylor's  Researches,  pp.  155-6. 


268          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Tonacateotl,  god  of  our  flesh  or  subsistence,  or  (accord- 
ing to  Gomara)  was  the  son  of  Iztac  Mixcoatl,  the  white 
cloud  serpent,  the  spirit  of  the  tornado.  Messenger  of 
Tlaloc,  god  of  rain,  he  was  figuratively  said  to  sweep 
the  road  for  him,  since  in  that  country  violent  winds  are 
the  precursors  of  the  wet  seasons.  Wherever  he  went 
all  manner  of  singing  birds  bore  him  company,  emblems 
of  the  whistling  breezes.  When  he  finally  disappeared 
in  the  far  east,  he  sent  back  four  trusty  youths  who 
had  ever  shared  his  fortunes,  l  incomparably  swift  and 
light  of  foot,'  with  directions  to  divide  the  earth  between 
them  and  rule  it  till  he  should  return  and  resume  his 
power.  When  he  would  promulgate  his  decrees,  his 
herald  proclaimed  them  from  Tzatzitepec,  the  hill  of 
shouting,  with  such  a  mighty  voice  that  it  could  be  heard 
a  hundred  leagues  around.  The  arrows  which  he  shot 
transfixed  great  trees,  the  stones  he  threw  leveled  for- 
ests, and  when  he  laid  his  hands  on  the  rocks  the  mark 
was  indelible.  Yet  as  thus  emblematic  of  the  thunder- 
storm, he  possessed  in  full  measure  its  better  attributes. 
By  shaking  his  sandals  he  gave  fire  to  men ;  and  peace, 
plenty,  and  riches  blessed  his  subjects.  Tradition  says 
he  built  many  temples  to  Mictlantecutli,  the  Aztec  Pluto, 
and  at  the  creation  of  the  sun  that  he  slew  all  the  other 
gods,  for  the  advancing  dawn  disperses  the  spectral 
shapes  of  night,  and  yet  all  its  vivifying  power  does  but 
result  in  increasing  the  number  doomed  to  fall  before  the 
remorseless  stroke  of  death. 

His  symbols  were  the  bird,  the  serpent,  the  cross  and 
the  flint,  representing  the  clouds,  the  lightning,  the  four 
winds,  and  the  thunderbolt.  Perhaps,  as  Huemac,  the 
Strong  Hand,  he  was  god  of  the  earthquakes.  The  Za- 
potecs  worshiped  such  a  deity  under  the  image  of  this 
number  carved  from  a  precious  stone,  calling  to  mind 
the  'Kab  ul,'  the  Working  Hand,  adored  by  the  Mayas, 
and  said  to  be  one  of  the  images  of  Zamna  their  hero 
god.  The  human  hand,  '  that  divine  tool,'  as  it  has 
been  called,  might  well  be  regarded  by  the  reflective 
mind  as  the  teacher  of  the  arts  and  the  amulet  whose 


ANALOGUES  OF  QUETZALCOATL.  269 

magic  power  has  won  for  man  what  vantage  he  has 
gained  in  his  long  combat  with  nature  and  his  fellows."32 

Mr  Helps  sees  in  Quetzalcoatl  the  closest  analogies 
with  certain  other  great  civilizers  and  teachers  that 
made  their  appearance  in  various  parts  of  the  American 
continent: — "  One  peculiar  circumstance,  as  Humboldt 
remarks,  is  very  much  to  be  noted  in  the  ancient  records 
and  traditions  of  the  Indian  nations.  In  no  less  than 
three  remarkable  instances  has  superior  civilization  been 
attributed  to  the  sudden  presence  among  them  of  per- 
sons differing  from  themselves  in  appearance  and  de- 
scent. 

Bohica,  a  white  man  with  a  beard,  appeared  to  the 
Mozca  Indians  in  the  plains  of  Bogota,  taught  them  how 
to  build  and  to  sow,  formed  them  into  communities, 
gave  an  outlet  to  the  waters  of  the  great  lake,  and,  hav- 
ing settled  the  government  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  retired 
into  a  monastic  state  of  pentitence  for  two  thousand 
years. 

In  like  manner  Manco  Capac,  accompanied  by  his 
sister,  Mama  Oello,  descended  amongst  the  Peruvians, 
gave  them  a  code  of  admirable  laws,  reduced  them  into 
communities,  and  then  ascended  to  his  father,  the  Sun. 

Amongst  the  Mexicans  there  suddenly  appeared  Quet- 
zalcoatl (green-feathered  snake),  a  white  and  bearded 
man,  of  broad  brow,  dressed  in  a  strange  dress;  a 
legislator,  who  recommended  severe  penances,  lacerating 
his  own  body  with  the  prickles  of  the  agave  and  the 
thorns  of  the  cactus,  but  who  dissuaded  his  followers 
from  human  sacrifice.  While,  he  remained  in  Anahuac, 
it  was  a  Saturnian  reign ;  but  this  great  legislator,  after 
moving  on  to  the  plains  of  Cholula,  and  governing  the 
Cholulans  with  wisdom,  passed  away  to  a  distant  country, 
and  was  never  heard  of  more.  It  is  said  briefly  of  him 
that  '  he  ordained  sacrifices  of  flowers  and  fruits,  and 
stopped  his  ears  when  he  was  spoken  to  of  war.'  "  ^ 

The  Abbe  Domenech  considers  the  tradition  of  the 

32  Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  180-3. 

33  Helps'  Span.  Cong.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  286-7. 


270          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

lives  of  Quetzalcoatl  and  Tezcatlipoca  to  be  a  bit  of  sim- 
ple and  slightly  veiled  history,  and  also  that  there  were 
several  Quetzalcoatls.  Let  it  be  remembered  in  reading 
the  abbe's  version  of  this  matter  that  the  names  of  places, 
peoples,  and  the  dates  he  gives  are  in  great  part  myth- 
ical and  conjectural : — "  After  the  enfranchisement  of  the 
Olmecs,  a  man  named  Quetzalcoatl  arrived  in  the  coun- 
try, whom  Garcia,  Torquemada,  Sahagun,  and  other  Span- 
ish writers  took  to  be  Saint  Thomas.  It  was  also  at  that 
time  that  the  third  age  ended,  and  that  the  fourth  began, 
called  Sun  of  the  fire,  because  it  was  supposed  that  it  was 
in  this  last  stage  that  the  world  wrould  be  destroyed  by 
fire. 

It  is  in  this  fourth  period  that  the  Mexican  historian 
places  the  Toltecs'  arrival  in  New  Spain,  that  is  to  say, 
about  the  third  century  before  the  Christian  era.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Quiches'  traditions,  the  primitive  portion 
of  the  Nahoas,  or  ancestors  of  the  Toltecs,  were  in  a  dis- 
tant East,  beyond  immense  seas  and  lands.  Amongst 
the  families  and  tribes  that  bore  with  least  patience 
this  long  repose  and  immobility,  those  of  Canub,  and  of 
Tlocab  may  be  cited,  for  they  were  the  first  who  deter- 
mined to  leave  their  country.  The  Nahoas  sailed  in 
seven  barks  or  ships,  which  Sahagun  calls  Chicomoztoc, 
or  the  seven  grottos.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  that  in 
all  ages  the  number  seven  was  a  sacred  number  among 
the  American  people,  from  one  pole  to  the  other.  It 
was  at  Panuco,  near  Tampico,  that  those  strangers  dis- 
embarked; they  established  themselves  at  Paxil,  with 
the  Votanites'  consent,  and  their  state  took  the  name  of 
Huehue-Tlopallan.  It  is  not  stated  from  whence  they 
came,  but  merely  that  they  came  out  of  the  regions 
where  the  sun  rises.  The  supreme  command  was  in  the 
hand  of  a  chieftain,  whom  history  calls  Quetzalcohuatl, 
that  is  to  say,  Lord  par  excellence.  To  his  care  was  con- 
fided the  holy  envelope,  which  concealed  the  divinity  from 
the  human  gaze,  and  he  alone  received  from  it  the 
necessary  instructions  to  guide  his  people's  march. 
These  kinds  of  divinities,  thus  enveloped,  passed  for 


THE  CODICES  ON  QUETZALCOATL.          271 

being  sure  talismans,  and  were  looked  upon  with  the 
greatest  respect  and  veneration.  They  consisted  gener- 
ally of  a  bit  of  wood,  in  which  was  inserted  a  little 
idol  of  green  stone ;  this  was  covered  with  the  skin  of  a  ser- 
pent or  of  a  tiger,  after  which  it  was  rolled  in  numerous 
little  bands  of  stuff,  wherein  it  would  remain  wrapped 
for  centuries  together.  Such  is,  perhaps,  the  origin  of 
the  medicine  bags  made  use  of,  even  in  the  present  day, 
by  the  Indians  of  the  Great  Desert,  and  of  which  we  shall 
speak  in  the  second  volume  of  this  work." 

Of  apparently  another  Quetzalcoatl,  he  writes:  u  The 
Toltecs  became  highly  flourishing  under  the  reign  of 
Ceocatl  Quetzalcohuatl,  a  Culhuacan  prince,  who  preached 
a  new  religion,  sanctioning  auricular  confession  and  the 
celibacy  of  the  priests.  He  proscribed  all  kinds  of  war- 
fare and  human  sacrifices.  Tezcatlipoca  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  dissatisfied  party,  and  besieged  Tollan, 
the  residence  of  Ceocatl  Quetzalcohuatl ;  but  the  latter  re- 
fused to  defend  himself,  in  order  to  avoid  the  effusion  of- 
blood,  which  was  prohibited  by  the  laws  of  the  religion 
he  himself  had  established,  and  retired  to  Cholula,  that 
had  been  constructed  by  his  followers.  From  thence  he 
went  to  Yucatan.  Tezcatlipoca,  his  fortunate  rival,  after 
a  long  reign  became  in  his  turn  the  victim  of  the  popu- 
lar discontent,  and  fell  in  a  battle  that  was  given  him 
by  Ceocatl  Quetzalcohuatl' s  relatives.  Those  two  kings 
are  elevated  to  the  rank  of  gods,  and  their  worship  was 
a  perpetual  subject  of  discord  and  civil  war  in  all 
Anahuac  until  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  New 
World."34 

The  interpreters  of  the  different  codices,  or  Mexican 
paintings  represented  in  Kingsborough's  great  work, 
give,  as  is  their  wont  in  all  matters,  a  confused,  imper- 
fect, and  often  erroneous  account  of  Quetzalcoatl:— 
"  Quetzalcoatl  is  he  who  was  born  of  the  virgin,  called 
Chalchihuitztli,  which  means  the  precious  stone  of  pen- 
ance or  of  sacrifice.  He  was  saved  in  the  deluge,  and 
was  born  in  Zivenaritzcatl  where  he  resides.  His  fast 

34  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  32-3,  39 


272          GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

was  a  kind  of  preparation  For  the  arrival  of  the  end  of  the 
world  which  they  said  would  happen  on  the  day  of  Four 
Earthquakes,  so  that  they  wyere  thus  in  daily  expectation 
of  that  event.  Quetzalcoatl  was  he  who  they  say  created 
the  world,  and  they  bestowed  on  him  the  appellation  of 
lord  of  the  wrind,  because  they  said  that  Tonacatecotli, 
when  it  appeared  good  to  him,  breathed  and  begat 
Quetzalcoatl.  They  erected  round  temples  to  him,  with- 
out any  corners.  They  said  that  it  was  he  (who  was 
also  the  lord  of  the  thirteen  signs  which  are  here  repre- 
sented), who  formed  the  first  man.  He  alone  had  a 
human  body  like  that  of  men,  the  other  gods  were  of  an 
incorporeal  nature."35 

"They  declare  that  their  supreme  deity,  or  more  pro- 
perly speaking,  demon  Tonacatecotle,  whom  we  have 
just  mentioned,  who  by  another  name  was  called  Citina- 
tonali, ....  begot  Quetzalcoatl,  not  by  connection  with  a 
woman,  but  by  his  breath  alone,  as  wre  have  observed 
above,  when  he  sent  his  ambassador,  as  they  say,  to  the 
virgin  of  Tulla.  They  believed  him  to  be  the  god  of  the 
air,  and  he  was  the  first  to  whom  they  built  temples  and 
churches,  which  they  formed  perfectly  round,  without 
any  angles.  They  say  it  was  he  who  effected  the  reform- 
ation of  the  world  by  penance,  as  we  have  already  said ; 
since,  according  to  their  account,  his  father  had  cre- 
ated the  world,  and  men  had  given  themselves  up  to 
vice,  on  which  account  it  had  been  so  frequently  de- 
stroyed. Citinatonali  sent  this  his  son  into  the  world  to 
reform  it.  We  certainly  must  deplore  the  blindness  of 
these  miserable  people,  on  whom  Saint  Paul  says  the 
wrath  of  God  has  to  be  revealed,  inasmuch  as  his  eternal 
truth  was  so  long  kept  back  by  the  injustice  of  attribut- 
ing to  this  demon  that  which  belonged  to  Him ;  for  He 
being  the  sole  creator  of  the  universe,  and  He  who  made 
the  division  of  the  waters,  which  these  poor  people  just 
now  attributed  to  the  Devil,  when  it  appeared  good  to 
Him,  dispatched  the  heavenly  ambassador  to  announce 

35  Explication  del  Codex  Tdleriano-Ttemensis,  parte  ii.,  lam.  ii.,  in  Eings- 
borowjh'a  Alex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  135-6. 


MULLEE  ON  QUETZALCOATL.  273 

to  the  virgin  that  she  should  be  the  mother  of  his  eter- 
nal word ;  who,  when  He  found  the  world  corrupt,  re- 
formed it  by  doing  penance  and  by  dying  upon  the  cross 
for  our  sins;  and  not  the  wretched  Quetzalcoatl,  to 
whom  these  miserable  people  attributed  this  work. 
They  assigned  to  him  the  dominion  over  the  other 
thirteen  signs,  which  are  here  represented,  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  had  assigned  the  preceding  thirteen  to 
his  father.  They  celebrated  a  great  festival  on  the  ar- 
rival of  his  sign,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sign  of  Four 
Earthquakes,  which  is  the  fourth  in  order  here,  because 
they  feared  that  the  world  would  be  destroyed  in  that 
sign,  as  he  had  foretold  to  them  when  he  disappeared  in 
the  Red  Sea;  which  event  occurred  on  the  same  sign. 
As  they  considered  him  their  advocate,  they  celebrated 
a  solemn  festival,  and  fasted  during  four  signs."2 

J.  Gr.  Miiller  holds  Quetzalcoatl  to  be  the  representative 
national  god  of  the  Toltecs,  surviving  under  many  miscon- 
ceptions and  amid  many  incongruities, — bequeathed  to 
or  adopted  into  the  later  Mexican  religion.  The  learned 
professor  has  devoted  an  unusual  amount  of  care  and 
research  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Quetzalcoatl  myths ; 
and  as  no  other  inquirer  has  shown  therein  at  once  so 
accurate  and  extensive  an  acquaintance  with  the  subject 
and  so  calm  and  judicious  a  judgment,  we  give  his 
opinion  at  length,  and  first  his  summing  up  of  the  fable- 
history  of  Quetzalcoatl  :— 

The  Toltecs,  a  traditional  pre-historic  people,  after 
leaving  their  orignal  northern  home  Huehuetlapallan 
(that  is  Old-red-land)  chose  Tulla,  north  of  Anahuac 
as  the  first  capital  of  their  newly  founded  kingdom. 
Quetzalcoatl  was  their  high-priest  and  religious  chief 
at  this  place.  Huemac,  or  Huematzin,  conducted  the 
civil  government  as  the  companion  of  Quetzalcoatl,  and 
wrote  the  code  of  the  nation.  Quetzalcoatl  is  said  to 
have  been  a  white  man  (some  gave  him  a  bright  red 

36  Spie^azione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  xli.,  Eingsborough' &. 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  184-5. 
VOL.  III.    18 


274          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

face),  with  a  strong  formation  of  body,  broad  forehead, 
large  eyes,  black  hair,  and  a  heavy  beard.  He  always 
wore  a  long  white  robe;  which,  according  to  Gomara, 
was  decorated  with  crosses ;  he  had  a  mitre  on  his  head 
and  a  sickle  in  his  hand.  At  the  volcano  of  Cotcitepec, 
or  Tzatzitepec,  near  Tulla,  he  practised  long  and  numer- 
ous penances,  giving  thereby  an  example  to  his  priests 
and  successors.  The  name  of  this  volcano  means  "  the 
mountain  of  outcry;"  and  when  Quetzalcoatl  gave 
laws,  he  sent  a  crier  to  the  top  of  it  whose  voice 
could  be  heard  three  hundred  miles  off.  He  did 
what  the  founders  of  religions  and  cults  have  done 
in  other  countries:  he  taught  the  people  agriculture, 
metallurgy,  stone-cutting,  and  the  art  of  government. 
He  also  arranged  the  calendar,  and  taught  his  subjects 
fit  religious  ceremonies;  preaching  specially  against 
human  sacrifices,  and  ordering  offerings  of  fruits  and 
flowers  only.  He  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  wars, 
even  covering  his  ears  when  the  subject  was  mentioned. 
His  was  a  veritable  golden  age,  as  in  the  time  of  Saturn ; 
animals  and  even  men  lived  in  peace,  the  soil  produced 
the  richest  harvests  without  cultivation,  and  the  grain 
grew  so  large  that  a  man  found  it  trouble  enough  to 
carry  one  ear;  no  cotton  was  dyed,  as  it  grew  of  all 
colors,  and  fruits  of  all  kinds  abounded.  Everybody 
was  rich  and  Quetzalcoatl  owned  whole  palaces  of  gold, 
silver,  and  precious  stones.  The  air  was  filled  with  the 
most  pleasant  aromas,  and  a  host  of  finely  feathered 
birds  filled  the  world  with  melody. 

But  this  earthly  happiness  came  to  an  end.  Tezcat- 
lipoca  rose  up  against  Quetzalcoatl  and  against  Huemac, 
in  order  to  separate  them,  and  to  destroy  their  govern- 
ment. He  descended  from  the  sky  on  a  rope  of  spider- 
web  and  commenced  to  work  for  his  object  with  the  aid 
of  magic  arts.  He  first  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  hand- 
some youth  (and  in  the  dress  of  a  merchant),  dressed  ;is 
a  merchant  selling  pepper-pods,  and  presented  himself 
before  the  daughter  of  king  Huemac.  He  soon  seduced 
the  princess,  and  thereby  opened  the  road  to  a  general 


TRAVELS  OF  QUETZALCOATL.  275 

immorality  and  a  total  collapse  of  the  laws.  He  pre- 
sented himself  before  Quetzalcoatl  in  the  form  of  an  old 
man,  with  the  view  of  inducing  him  to  depart  to  his 
home  in  Tlapalla.  For  this  purpose  he  offered  him  a 
drink  which  he  pretended  would  endow  him  with  im- 
mortality. No  sooner  had  Quetzalcoatl  taken  the  drink, 
then  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  desire  to  see  his  father- 
land. He  destroyed  the  palaces  of  gold,  silver,  and  pre- 
cious stones,  transformed  the  fruit-trees  into  withered 
trunks,  and  ordered  all  song-birds  to  leave  the  country, 
and  to  accompany  him.  Thus  he  departed,  and  the  birds 
entertained  him  during  his  journey  with  their  songs. 

He  first  traveled  southward,  and  arrived  in  Quauh- 
titlan,  in  Anahuac.  In  the  vicinity  of  this  town  he 
broke  down  a  tree  by  throwing  stones,  the  stones  remain- 
ing in  the  trunk.  Farther  south,  in  the  same  valley, 
near  Tlalnepantla,  or  Tanepantla,  he  pressed  hand  and 
foot  into  a  rock  with  such  force  that  the  impression  has 
remained  down  to  the  latest  centuries,  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  mark  of  the  shoes  of  the  horses  of  Castor  and 
Pollux  near  Regillum.  The  Spaniards  were  inclined 
to  ascribe  these  and  similar  freaks  of  nature  to  the  Apos- 
tle Thomas. 

Quetzalcoatl  now  turned  toward  the  east,  and  arrived 
in  Cholula,  where  he  had  to  remain  for  a  longer  period, 
as  the  inhabitants  intrusted  him  with  the  government  of 
their  state.  The  same  order  of  things  which  had  taken 
place  in  Tulla,  his  first  residence,  was  here  renewed. 
From  this  centre  his  rule  spread  far  and  wide;  he  sent 
colonists  from  Cholula  to  Huaxayacac,  Tabasco  and  Cam- 
peche,  and  the  nobility  of  Yucatan  prided  themselves  on 
their  descent  from  him ;  men  having  been  found  in  our 
time  who  bear  his  name,  just  as  the  descendants  of  Yo- 
tan  bore  the  name  of  Yotan  in  Chiapas.  In  Cholula  it- 
self he  was  adored,  and  temples  were  everywhere  erected 
in  his  honor,  even  by  the  enemies  of  the  Cholulans.  After 
a  residence  of  twenty  years  in  Cholula,  he  proceeded  on 
his  journey  toward  Tlalpalla  until  he  arrived  at  the 
river  and  in  the  province  of  Coatzacoalco,  or  Goasacoal- 


276          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

co,  Guasacualco,  that  is  Hiding-nook  of  the  snake — south 
of  Vera  Cruz.  He  now  sent  the  four  youths,  who  had 
accompanied  him  from  Cholula,  back  to  the  Cholulans, 
promising  to  return  later  on  and  renew  the  old  govern- 
ment. The  Cholulans  placed  the  four  youths  at  the  head 
of  their  government,  out  of  love  for  him.  This  hope  of 
his  return  still  existed  among  the  Mexican  nations  at  the 
time  of  Cortes'  arrival.  In  fact,  Cortes  was  at  first  held 
to  be  the  returning  Quetzalcoatl,  and  a  man  was  sacrificed 
to  him,  with  whose  blood  the  conqueror  and  his  com- 
panions were  marked.  Father  Sahagun  was  also  asked, 
by  everybody  on  his  journey  to  Mexico,  if  he  and  his  suite 
came  from  Tlapalla.  According  to  Montezuma's  account 
to  Cortes,  Quetzalcoatl  really  did  once  return  to  Cholula, 
but  after  such  a  length  of  time  that  he  found  his  subjects 
married  to  the  native  women,  having  children,  and  so 
numerous  that  a  number  of  new  districts  had  to  be 
founded.  This  new  race  would  not  recognize  their  old 
chief,  and.  refused  to  obey  him.  He  thereupon  departed 
angrily,  threatening  to  return  at  another  time  and  to 
subdue  them  by  force.  It  is  not  remarkable  that  an 
expectation,  which  was  a  hope  to  the  Cholulans,  should 
be  a  dread  to  Montezuma  and  his  subjects. 

According  to  some  accounts,  Quetzalcoatl  died  in  the 
Hiding-nook  of  the  snakes,  in  the  Goatzacoalco  country ; 
according  to  others,  he  suddenly  disappeared  toward  the 
east,  and  a  ship,  formed  of  snakes  wound  together, 
brought  him  to  Tlapalla. 

A  closer  view  and  criticism  of  this  tale,  in  the  light  of 
the  analogy  of  mythological  laws,  shows  us  that  Quetzal- 
coatl is  the  euhemerized  religious  ideal  of  the  Toltecan 
nations.  The  similarity  of  this  tale  with  those  of  Man- 
co  Capac,  Botschika,  Saturn,  and  others,  is  at  once  ap- 
parent. The  opinion  of  Prescott,  Wuttke,  and  many 
others,  who  held  him  for  a  deified  man,  founder  of  a 
religion  and  of  a  civilization,  is  confirmed  by  the  latest 
version  of  the  fable,  in  which  Quetzalcoatl  is  represented 
in  this  character.  Although  euhernerism  is  an  old  idea 
with  all  people,  as  well  as  with  the  Americans, — per- 


QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  TOLTECS.  277 

Bonification  being  the  first  step  toward  it, — the  general 
reasons  which  everywhere  appear  against  the  existence 
of  such  founders  of  a  civilization  must  also  be  made  to 
speak  against  this  idea  of  Quetzalcoatl. 

If  a  special  value  is  placed  upon  the  white  face  and 
the  beard,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  beard,  which 
is  given  to  the  Mexican  priests,  could  not  be  omitted 
with  Quetzalcoatl ;  and  the  mention  by  some  of  his  hav- 
ing had  a  white  face,  and  by  others  a  red,  might  arouse 
a  suspicion  that  Quetzalcoatl  has  been  represented  as  a 
white  man  on  account  of  his  white  robe. 

The  fable  of  Quetzalcoatl  contains  contradictions,  the 
younger  elements  of  which  are  a  pure  idealism  of  the 
more  ancient.  For  instance,  the  statement  that  the 
earth  produced  everything  spontaneously,  without  hu- 
man labor,  does  not  agree  with  the  old  version  of  the 
myth,  according  to  which  Quetzalcoatl  taught  agricul- 
ture and  other  industries  requiring  application  and  hard 
work.  The  sentimental  love  of  peace  has  also  been  at- 
tributed to  this  god  in  later  times,  during  a  time  when  the 
Toltecs  had  lost  the  martial  spirit  of  their  victorious  ances- 
tors, and  when  the  Cholulans,  given  to  effeminacy,  dis- 
tinguished themselves  more  by  cunning  than  by  courage. 
The  face  of  the  god  is  represented,  in  the  fable,  as  more 
beautiful  and  attractive,  than  it  is  depicted  on  the  images. 
At  the  place  where  he  was  most  worshiped,  in  Cholula, 
the  statute  of  Quetzalcoatl  stood  in  his  temple,  on  the 
summit  of  the  great  pyramid.  Its  features  had  a 
gloomy  cast,  and  differed  from  the  beautiful  face  which 
is  said  to  have  been  his  on  earth. 

The  fable  shows  its  later  idealized  elements  in  these 
points.  In  all  other  respects,  the  Toltecan  peculiarities  of 
the  entire  nation  are  either  clearly  and  faithfully  de- 
picted in  their  hero,  as  in  a  personified  ideal,  or  else  the 
original  attributes  of  the  nature  deity  are  recognizable. 
Where  the  Toltecs  were,  there  was  he  also,  or  a  hero 
identical  with  him;  the  Toltecs  who  journeyed  south- 
ward are  colonists  sent  by  him;  the  Toltecs  capitals, 
Tulla  and  Cholula,  are  his  residences;  and  as  the  laws 


278          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  the  Toltecs  extended  far  and  wide,  so  did  the  voice 
of  his  crier  reach  three  hundred  miles  into  the  country. 
The  arts  and  welfare  of  the  Toltecs,  their  riches  and  re- 
ligious feeling,  even  their  later  tmwarlike  peacefulness, 
all  these  attributes  are  transferred  to  Quetzalcoatl.  The 
long  robe  of  the  Toltecs  was  also  the  dress  of  their 
hero;  the  necktie  of  the  boys  of  his  religious  order  is 
attached  to  his  image;  and,  as  his  priests  wore  the 
mitre,  he  is  also  represented  with  it.  He  is,  above  all, 
depicted  as  the  original  model  of  the  Toltec  priests,  the 
Tlamacazque  (the  order  was  called  Tlamacazcojotl),  whose 
chief,  or  superior,  always  bore  the  name  pf  Quetzalcoatl. 
As  these  orders  of  his  had  to  submit  to  the  strictest  ob- 
servances,— their  members  having  to  slit  the  tongue, 
ears  and  lips  in  honor  of  Quetzalcoatl,  and  the  small 
boys  being  set  apart  for  him  by  making  an  incision  on 
their  breasts, — so  he  submitted,  before  all  others,  to 
these  penances  on  the  Tzatzitipec  Mountain.  These  self- 
inflicted  punishments  must  not  be  termed  penances,  as 
is  often  done,  for  they  have  no  moral  meaning,  such  as  to 
do  penance  for  committed  sins,  nor  have  they  the  nestle 
meaning  of  the  East  Indian  idea  of  the  end  of  the 
world  ( Weltabsterben)  and  the  return  to  the  pantheistic 
chaos  (Urall  and  Urnichts) ;  all  this  is  foreign  to  the 
American  religion.  They  are,  on  the  contrary,  blood- 
offerings,  substitutes  for  the  human  sacrifices  in  the 
background,  to  obtain  earthly  blessings,  and  to  avert 
earthly  misfortunes.  As  Quetzalcoatl  preached  against 
human  sacrifices,  so  his  priests  under  the  Aztec  rule, 
were  very  reluctant  to  make  them.  After  the  great 
slaughter  by  Cortes,  in  Cholula,  Montezuma  proceeded 
to  the  great  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  made  many 
human  sacrifices,  and  questioned  the  god,  who  bade  him 
to  be  of  good  heart,  and  assured  him  that  the  Cholulans 
had  suffered  so  terribly  merely  on  account  of  their  re- 
luctance to  offer  up  human  beings. 

As  the  disappearance  of  the  Toltecs  toward  the  south 
and  the  south-east  agrees  with  the  disappearance  of 
Quetzalcoatl,  so  we  find  many  traits  from  the  end  of  the 


QUETZALCOATL  A  NATUEE-DEITY.  279 

last  Toltec  king  reproduced  in  the  end  of  the  Toltec  hero. 
After  the  defeat  of  king  Tlolpintzin,  he  (Tlolpintzin) 
fled  southward,  toward  Tlapalla.  He  made  use  of  these 
words,  in  his  last  farewell  to  his  friends:  I  have  retired 
toward  the  east,  but  will  return  after  5012  years  to 
avenge  myself  on  the  descendants  of  mine  enemies. 
After  having  lived  thirty  years  in  Tlapalla,  he  died. 
His  laws  were  afterward  accepted  by  Nezalhualcoyotzin. 
The  belief  that  Tlolpintzin  stayed  with  Nezalhualcoy- 
otzin,  and  some  other  brave  kings,  in  the  cave  of  Xicco, 
after  death,  like  the  three  Tells  of  Switzerland,  but 
would  at  some  time  come  out  and  deliver  his  people,  was 
long  current  among  the  Indians.  Every  one  will  notice 
how  well  this  agrees  with  Mbntezuma's  account  of  the  re- 
turn of  Quetzalcoatl. 

Quezatlcoatl  cannot,  however,  be  a  representative  and 
a  national  god  of  the  Toltecs,  without  having  an  original 
nature-basis  for  his  existence  as  a  god.  It  is  every- 
where the  case  among  savages  with  their  national  god, 
that  the  latter  is  a  nature-deity,  who  becomes  gradually 
transformed  into  a  national  god,  then  into  a  national 
king,  high-priest,  founder  of  a  religion,  and  at  last  ends 
in  being  considered  a  human  being.  The  older  and  purer 
the  civilization  of  a  people  is,  the  easier  it  is  to  recognise 
the  original  essence  of  its  national  god,  in  spite  of  all 
transformations  and  disguises.  So  it  is  here.  Behind 
the  human  form  of  the  god  glimmers  the  nature  shape, 
and  the  national  god  is  known  by,  perhaps,  all  his  wor- 
shipers as  also  a  nature  deity.  From  his  powerful 
influence  upon  nature,  he  might  also  be  held  as  the 
creator. 

The  pure  human  form  of  this  god,  as  it  appears  in  the 
fable,  as  well  as  in  the  image,  is  not  the  original,  but 
the  youngest.  His  oldest  concrete  forms  are  taken  from 
nature,  to  which  he  originally  belongs,  and  have 
maintained  themselves  in  many  attributes.  All  these 
symbolize  him  as  the  god  of  fertility,  chiefly,  as  it  is 
made  apparent,  by  means  of  the  beneficial  influence  of 
the  air.  All  Mexican  and  European  statements  make 


280          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

him  appear  as  the  god  of  the  air  and  of  the  wind ;  even 
the  euhemeristic  idea  deifies  the  man  Quetzalcoatl  into 
a  god  of  the  air.  All  the  Mexican  tribes  adored  him  at 
the  time  of  the  conquest  as  god  of  the  air,  and  all  ac- 
counts, however  much  they  may  differ  on  the  particular 
points  of  his  poetical  life,  agree,  without  exception,  in 
this  one  respect,  as  the  essential  and  chief  point.  Be- 
sides the  symbols,  which  are  merely  attached  to  the 
image,  there  are  three  attributes,  which  represent  as 
many  original  visible  forms  and  exteriors  of  the  god,  in 
which  he  is  represented  and  worshiped :  the  sparrow,  the 
flint  (Feuerstein),  and  the  snake. 

According  to  Herrera,  the  image  of  Quetzalcoatl  had 
the  body  of  a  man,  but  the  head  of  a  bird,  a  sparrow 
with  a  red  bill,  a  large  comb,  and  with  the  tongue  hang- 
ing far  out  of  the  mouth.  The  air-god  of  these  northern 
people,  parallel  to  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Aztec  Huitzilopochtli, 
was  represented  with  devices  connected  with  the  hum- 
ming-bird, in  remembrance1  of  his  former  humming-bird 
nature.  This  is  the  northern  element.  The  great  spirit 
of  the  northern  redskins  also  appear  in  his  most  esteemed 
form  as  a  bird.  The  Latin  Picus  was  originally  a  wood- 
pecker (Specht),  afterward  anthropomorphized  and  even 
euhernerized,  but  he  has  ever  the  woodpecker  by  his  side, 
in  his  capacity  of  human  seer.  Several  Egyptian  gods 
have  human  bodies  and  animal  heads,  especially  heads  of 
birds.  Birds  are  not  alone  symbols  of  particular  godlike 
attributes,  as  used  in  the  anthropomorphic  times,  not  mere 
messengers  and  transmitters  of  the  orders  of  the  gods,  but 
they  have  originally  been  considered  as  gods  themselves, 
with  forms  of  godlike  powers,  especially  in  North 
America;  and  the  exterior  of  the  god  of  the  air,  the 
fructifying  air,  is  naturally  that  of  a  bird,  a  singing- 
bird.  The  hieroglyphic  sign  among  the  Mexicans  for 
the  air  is,  therefore,  the  head  of  a  bird  with  three  tongues. 
Wherever  Quetzalcoatl  stayed  and  ruled,  there  birds 
filled  the  air, '  and  song-birds  gave  indication  of  their 
presence;  when  he  departed,  he  took  them  with  him, 
and  was  entertained  during  the  journey  by  their  singing. 


QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  FLINT.  281 

A  second  form  of  Quetzalcoatl  was  the  flint,  which 
we  have  already  learned  to  know  as  a  symbol  and 
hieroglyphic  sign  for  the  air.  He  was  either  repre- 
sented as  a  black  stone,  or  several  small  green  ones, 
supposed  to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  most  likely  aerolites, 
which  were  adored  by  the  Cholulans  in  the  service  of 
Quetzalcoatl.  Betancourt  even  explains  the  meaning  of 
the  name  Quetzalcoatl,  contrary  to  the  usual  definition, 
as  "  twin  of  a  precious  stone."  The  fable  of  Quauhtit- 
lan  is  also  connected  with  this  stone- worship;  how  Quet- 
zalcoatl had  overthrown  a  tree  by  means  of  stones  which 
remained  fixed  in  it.  These  stones  were  later  on  adored 
as  holy  stones  of  Quetzalcoatl.  The  stone  at  Tlalnepan- 
tla,  into  which  he  pressed  his  hand,  must  also  have  rep- 
presented  the  god  himself.  Similar  ancient  stone-wor- 
ships, of  greater  nature  deities  as  well  as  fetiches,  were 
found,  in  many  instances,  in  Peru,  in  the  pre-Inca  times. 
In  ancient  Central  America  we  meet  with  the  worship 
of  such  green  stones  called  chalchihuites.  Yotan  was 
worshiped  in  the  form  of  such  a  green  stone,  connected 
with  the  other  two  attributes.  This  attribute  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl most  likely  belongs  to  the  south. 

The  third  form  of  Quetzalcoatl,  which  also  belongs  to 
the  south,  is  the  snake;  he  is  a  snake-god,  or,  at  least, 
merged  into  an  ancient  snake-god.  The  snake  is  not,  as 
far  as  I  know,  a  direct  symbol  of  the  air,  and  this  attri- 
bute is,  therefore,  not  the  one  pertaining  to  him  from 
the  beginning;  but  the  snake  represents  the  season  which, 
in  conjunction  with  heat  and  rain,  contains  the  fructify- 
ing influence  of  the  atmosphere,  spring,  the  rejuvenating 
year.  However,  the  very  name  of  the  god  signifies, 
according  to  the  usual  explanation  given  to  it,  "  the 
feathered  snake,  the  snake  covered  with  feathers,  the 
green  feathered-snake,  the  wood-snake  with  rich  feath- 
ers." A  snake  has  consequently  been  added  to  the 
human  figure  of  this  god.  The  other  name,  under  which 
he  is  adored  in  Yucatan,  is  Cuculcan,  a  snake  covered 
with  godlike  feathers.  The  entrance  to  his  round  temple 
in  Mexico  represented  the  jaw  and  fangs  of  a  tremen- 


282          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

dous  snake,  Quetzalcoatl  disappeared  in  Goatzacoalco, 
the  Snake-corner  (or  nook),  and  a  ship  of  snakes  brought 
him  to  Tlapalla.  His  followers  in  Yucatan  were  called 
snakes,  Cocome  (plural  of  Coatl),  while  he  himself  bore 
the  name  of  Cocolcan  in  this  country  as  well  as  in  Chia- 
pas. The  snake  attribute  signifies,  in  connection  with 
Huitzilopochtli,  also  the  beneficial  influence  of  the  atmos- 
phere, the  yearly  renewed  course  of  nature,  the  continu- 
al rejuvenation  of  nature  in  germs  and  blossoms.  The 
northern  celestial  god,  Odin,  is  in  many  ways  connected 
with  snakes,  he  transformed  himself  into  a  snake,  and 
bore  the  by-name  of  Snake. 

The  relationship  of  Tezcatlipoca  and  Quetzalcoatl,  as 
given  in  the  fable,  may  be  touched  upon  here.  The 
driving  away  of  the  latter  by  Tezcatlipoca  does  not,  as 
may  be  supposed,  signify  a  contest  between  the  Aztec 
religion  and  the  preceding  Toltecan.  In  such  a  case 
Huitzilopochtli,  the  chief  of  the  Aztec  gods,  by  whose 
adoration  the  contrast  is  painted  in  the  deepest  colors, 
would  have  been  a  much  better  representant. 

Quetzalcoatl  no  doubt  preached  against  human  sacri- 
fices, brought  into  such  unprecedented  swing  by  the 
Aztecs,  yet  the  worshipers  of  this  god  adopted  the  sacri- 
fice of  human  beings  in  an  extensive  way  during  the 
Aztec  rule,  to  which  period  this  part  of  the  Quetzalcoatl 
fable  necessarily  owes  its  origin.  At  this  time  the  con- 
trast was  so  slight  that  Quetzalcoatl  partook  of  the  high- 
est adoration  of  Aztecs,  not  only  in  Cholula,  but  in 
Mexico  and  everywhere.  His  priest  enjoyed  the  highest 
esteem  and  his  temple  in  Mexico  stood  by  the  side  of 
that  of  Huitzilopochtli.  Montezuma  not  only  calls  the 
Toltec  hero  a  leader  of  his  forefathers,  but  the  Aztecs 
actually  consider  him  as  a  son  of  Huitzilopochtli.  The 
opposition  of  the  two  gods,  Quetzalcoatl  and  Tezcatlipoca, 
has  another  reason:  the  difference  lies  not  in  their  wor- 
ship, but  in  their  nature  and  being,  in  the  natural  phe- 
nomena which  they  represent.  If  the  god  of  the  beneficial 
atmosphere,  the  manifested  god-power  of  the  atmosphere 
of  the  fructifying  seasons,  is  adored  in  Quetzalcoatl ;  then 


QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  'SNAKE.  283 

Tezcatlipoca  is  his  opposite,  the  god  of  the  gloomy  lower 
regions  destitute  of  life  and  germ,  the  god  of  drouth,  of 
withering,  of  death. 

Wherever,  therefore,  Quetzalcoatl  rules,  there  are  riches 
and  abundance,  the  air  is  filled  with  fragrance  and  song- 
birds— an  actual  golden  era;  but  when  he  goes  south- 
ward with  his  song-birds,  he  is  expelled  by  Tezcatlipoca, 
drouth  sets  in,  and  the  palaces  of  gold,  silver,  and  pre- 
cious stones,  symbols  of  wealth,  are  destroyed.  He 
promises,  however,  everywhere  to  return.  A  represen- 
tation mentioned  and  copied  by  Humboldt,  shows  Tez- 
catlipoca in  the  act  of  cutting  up  the  snake.  This 
has  not  the  meaning  of  the  acts  of  Hercules,  of  Ton- 
atiuh,  of  the  great  spirit  of  the  Chippewas,  of  the  Ger- 
man Siegfried,  of  the  Celtic  dragon-killers  Tristan  and 
Iwein,  or  of  the  other  sun-gods,  spring-gods,  and  culture- 
heroes,  who  fight  and  subdue  the  snake  of  the  unfertile 
moisture ;  such  an  interpretation  would  be  opposed  to  the 
nature  of  this  god.  On  the  contrary,  the  god  of  death 
and  drouth  here  fights  the  snake  as  the  symbol  of  mois- 
ture, of  the  fertilization  of  the  plant-life. 

The  question  now  arises:  if  Quetzalcoatl  only  received 
his  snake  attribute  in  the  south,  and  this  his  name,  what 
was  his  original  northern  and  Toltecan  name?  We 
answer,  coinciding  with  the  views  expressed  by  Ixtlil- 
xochitl  and  others,  who  affirm  that  Quetzalcoatl  and  his 
worldly  companion,  Huemac,  were  one  and  the  same 
person.  The  opposed  opinion  of  Ternaux-Compans, 
who  states  that  Quetzalcoatl  must  have  been  an  Olmec, 
while  Huemac  was  a  Toltec,  actually  gives  the  key  to 
the  solution  of  the  question.  Both  are  right,  Ixtlilxo- 
chitl  and  Ternaux,  Huemac  is  the  original  Toltec  name 
of  the  Toltec  national  god,  ruler,  .and  author  of  the 
holy  books,  the  ancient  name  used  by  the  Toltecs.  As 
this  people  succumbed  more  and  more  to  southern  influ- 
ences, and  their  ancient  air-god  in  his  sparrow  form  re- 
ceived in  addition  the  snake  attribute,  on  account  of 
his  rejuvenating  influence  upon  nature,  then,  the  new 
name  of  the  more  cultivated  people  soon  appeared* 


284          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP.- 

The  name  may,  therefore,  be  Olmec,  but  not  the  god ; 
we  may  sooner  suppose  that  the  attributes  of  the  Maya 
god,  Votan,  have  been  transferred  to  the  Toltec  god. 
Both  names  having  thus  a  double  origin;  the  legend 
which  found  two  names,  made  also  two  persons  of  them, 
and  placed  them  side  by  side.  It  is,  however,  easy  to 
see  that  they  are  naturally  one:  Huemac  has  just  as 
much  a  religious  signification  as  Quetzalcoatl ;  as  Hue- 
matzin,  he  wrote  the  divine  book,  containing  all  the 
earthly  and  heavenly  wisdom  of  the  Toltecs.  Quetzal- 
coatl has,  in  the  same  degree,  besides  his  religious  posi- 
tion, the  worldly  one  of  ruler  and  founder  of  a  civili- 
zation. As  Quetzalcoatl  possesses  a  divine  nature,  so 
does  Huemac,  to  whom  also  are  ascribed  the  three  hun- 
dred years  of  life,  and  the  impression  of  the  hand  in  the 
rock. 

Besides  the  attributes  of  the  sparrow,  flint,  and  snake, 
there  are  others  which  ascribe  to  Quetzalcoatl  the  same 
properties,  but  less  prominently.  As  god  of  the  air, 
he  holds  the  wonderfully  painted  shield  in  his  hand,  a 
symbol  of  his  power  over  the  winds.  As  god  of  the  fer- 
tilizing influence  of  the  air,  he  holds,  like  Saturn,  the 
sickle,  symbol  of  the  harvest — he  it  is  that  causes  the 
grain  to  ripen.  It  used  to  be  said  that  he  prepared  the 
way  for  the  water-god,  for  in  these  regions,  the  rains 
are  always  preceded  by  winds.  It  was  on  account  of 
this  intimate  connection  with  the  rain,  which  had 
already  procured  him  the  snake  attribute,  that  his 
mantle  was  adorned  writh  crosses.  We  have  already  seen 
that  such  crosses  represented  the  rain-god  with  the 
Mayas,  and  are  symbols  of  the  fructifying  rain.  Con- 
sequently they  are  well  suited  for  the  god  who  is  only 
air-god  in  the  sense  of  the  air  exercising  its  fructifying 
and  invigorating  influence  upon  the  earth. 

Another  question,  which  has  already  occurred  to  us, 
must  here  be  considered.  Why  did  this  god  come  from 
the  east,  depart  toward  the  east,  and  why  should  he  be 
expected  from  the  east?  The  Toltecs  have,  according 
to  almost  unanimous  statements,  come  from  the  north, 


QUETZALCOATL  AND  THE  TRADE-WINDS.  285 

and  even  Quetzalcoatl  commences  his  rule  in  the  north, 
in  Tulla,  and  proceeds  gradually  on  his  journey  from  the 
north  to  the  south-east,  just  like  the  Toltecs,  who  trav- 
eled southward  from  Tulla.  It  is  plain  that  he  departs 
for  the  east,  because  this  is  his  home,  from  which  he  came 
and  will  return.  His  eastern  origin  is,  no  doubt,  based 
upon  the  direction  of  the  eastern  trade-winds,  which 
carry  rain  and,  with  it,  fertility  to  the  interior  of  Cen- 
tral America.  The  rains  began  three  or  four  weeks 
earlier  in  Yera  Cruz,  Tampico,  and  Tabasco  than  in 
Puebla  and  Mexico.  Another  reason,  which  has,  how- 
ever, a  certain  connection  with  the  above,  may  be  the 
relationship  of  the  god  of  air  and  the  sun-god,  who  often 
assumed  an  equal  position  in  nature  and  in  worship. 
We  know  that  the  founders  of  the  Peruvian  and  Muys- 
can  cults  come  from  the  east,  because  they  are  sun-gods. 
Quetzalcoatl  is  not  such  a  deity,  it  is  true,  but  the  ferti- 
lizing air-god  is  also  in  other  places  closely  connected 
with  the  fructifying  sun,  as,  for  example  Huitzilopochtli, 
Odin,  and  Brama.  The  sun  is  his  eye.  This  connection 
with  the  sun,  Montezuma  referred  to  when  he  spoke  in 
the  presence  of  Cortes  of  the  departure  of  Quetzalcoatl 
for  the  regions  from  which  the  sun  comes.  As  the 
sun  is  the  eye  of  heaven,  to  whom  the  heart  of  the  vic- 
tim sacrificed  to  the  god  of  heaven  is  presented,  so  it  is 
at  night  with  the  moon,  to  whom  the  same  tribute  was 
paid  at  the  feast  of  Quetzalcoatl.  I  merely  refer  to  this 
here  to  show  the  connection  of  the  air-god  with  the  great 
heavenly  bodies. 

Several  other  significations  are  attached  to  the  idea  of 
an  air-god.  It  is  natural  that  the  god  of  heavenly  bless- 
ing should  also  be  the  god  of  wealth.  All  wealth  depends 
originally  upon  the  produce  of  the  soil,  upon  the  blessing 
of  heaven,  however  worldly  the  opinion  of  the  matter  may 
be.  Gold  is  merely  the  symbol  of  this  wealth,  like  the 
golden  shower  of  Zeus.  The  image  of  Quetzalcoatl  was, 
therefore,  according  to  Acosta,  adorned  with  gold,  silver, 
jewels,  rich  feathers,  and  gay  dresses,  to  illustrate  his 
wealth.  For  this  reason  he  wore  a  golden  helmet, 


286          GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

and  his  sceptre  was  decorated  with  costly  stones.  The 
same  view  is  also  the  basis  of  the  n^ths  of  the  ancients 
about  snakes  and  dragons  guarding  treasures.  The 
fact  that  the  merchants  of  Cholula  worshiped  the  god  of 
wealth  before  all  others,  and  as  their  chief  deity,  requires 
no  explanation. 

His  worship  in  Cholula  was  conducted  as  follows: 
Forty  days  before  the  festival,  the  merchants  bought  a 
spotless  slave,  who  was  first  taken  to  bathe  in  a  lake 
called  the  Lake  of  the  Gods,  then  dressed  up  as  the 
god  Quetzalcoatl,  whom  he  had  to  represent  for  forty 
days.  During  this  time  he  enjoyed  the  same  adoration 
as  was  given  to  the  god:  he  was  set  upon  a  raised 
place,  presented  with  flowers,  and  fed  on  the  choicest 
viands.  He  was,  however,  well  guarded  during  the 
night,  so  that  he  might  not  escape.  During  his  exhibition 
through  the  town,  he  danced  and  sang,  and  the  women  and 
children  ran  out  of  their  houses  to  salute  him  and  make 
him  presents.  This  continued  until  nine  days  Before  the 
end  of  the  forty  days.  Then  two  old  priests  approached 
him  in  all  humility,  saying,  in  deep  voice:  Lord,  know 
that  in  nine  days  thy  singing  and  dancing  will  cease,  be- 
cause thou  must  die!  If  he  continued  of  good  spirit,  and 
inclined  to  dance  and  sing,  it  was  considered  a  good  omen, 
if  the  contrary,  a  bad  one.  In  the  latter  case  they  pre- 
pared him  a  drink  of  blood  and  cacao,  which  was  to  ob- 
literate the  remembrance  of  the  past  conversation. 
After  drinking  this,  it  was  hoped  that  he  would  resume 
his  former  good  humor.  On  the  day  of  the  festival 
still  greater  honors  were  shown  him,  music  sounded  and 
incense  was  burnt.  At  last,  at  the  midnight  hour,  he 
was  sacrificed,  the  heart  was  torn  out  of  his  body, 
held  up  to  the  moon,  and  then  thrown  toward  the  image 
of  the  god.  The  body  was  cast  down  the  steps  of  the 
temple,  and  served  the  merchants,  especially  the  slave- 
dealers,  for  a  sacrificial  meal.  This  feast  and  sacrifice 
took  place  every  year,  but  after  a  certain  number  of 
cycles,  as  in  the  divine  year,  Teoxihuitl,  they  were  cele- 
brated with  much  more  pomp.  Quetzalcoatl  had,  gene- 


QUETZALCOATL  AS  A  HEALING  GOD.  287 

rally,  his  human  sacrifices  during  the  Aztec  rule,  as  well 
as  the  other  gods. 

The  power  which  reestablishes  the  macrocosm,  heals 
and  rejuvenates  the  microcosm  also:  it  is  the  general 
healing  power.  With  the  good  weather  thousands  of 
invalids  are  restored,  and  refreshing  rains  not  only  re- 
vive the  thirsty  plains  of  the  tropics,  but  man  himself. 
Thus  the  air-god,  the  atmosphere,  becomes  a  healing 
god.  A  Phoenician  told  Pausanius  that  the  snake  god, 
JEsculapius,  signified  the  health-restoring  air.  If  this 
god  of  heaven  is  also  a  snake-god,  like  Quetzalcoatl,  the 
rejuvenating  and  reinvigorating  power  of  nature  is  ex- 
pressed in  a  clear  parallelism. 

The  snake-god  is  also  a  healing  god,  and  even  the 
Greek  ^Esculapius  cannot  dispense  with  the  snake. 
It  is,  thus,  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  sterile  women 
of  the  Mexican  peoples  directed  their  prayers  to  Quetzal- 
coatl.37 

This  concludes  the  able  summing-up  presented  by 
Miiller,  and  it  is  given  as  I  give  all  theoretical  matter, 
neither  accepting  nor  rejecting  it,  as  simply  another  ray 
of  light  bent  in  upon  the  god  Quetzalcoatl,  whose  nature 
,'i,  is  not  proposed  here  to  either  explain  or  illustrate, 
but  only  to  reproduce,  as  regarded  from  many  sides  by 
the  earliest  and  closest  observers. 

37  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  577-590.  Some  further  notes 
regarding  this  god  from  a  different  point,  may  be  found  in  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Palenque,  pp.40  etc.,  66  etc. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL   BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

YiRIOTTS  ACCOUNTS  OP  THE  BlETH,  ORIGIN,  AND  DERIVATION  OF  THE  NAME 
OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  GOD,  HUITZILOPOCHTLI,  OF  HIS  TEMPLE,  IMAGE, 
CEREMONIAL,  FESTIVALS,  AND  HIS  DEPUTY,  OR  PAGE,  PAYNAL — CLAVIGE- 

RO BOTURINI ACOSTA SoLIS &AHAGUN HERRERA ToRQUEMADA 

— J.  G.  MULLER'S  SUMMARY  OF  THE  HUITZILOPOCHTLI  MYTHS,  THEIR 
ORIGIN,  RELATION,  AND  SIGNIFICATION  —  TYLOB  —  CODEX  VATICANUS — 
TLALOC,  GOD  OF  WATER,  ESPECIALLY  OF  RAIN,  AND  OF  MOUNTAINS — 
CLAVIGERO,  GAMA,  AND  IXTLILXOCHITL  —  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  DROUGHT 
— CAMARGO,  MOIOLINIA,  MENDIETA,  AND  THE  VATICAN  CODEX  ON  THE 
SACRIFICES  TO  TLALOC— THE  DECORATIONS  OF  HIS  VICTIMS  AND  THE  PLACES 
OF  THEIR  EXECUTION — GATHERING  RUSHES  FOB  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE 
WATER  GOD  —  HIGHWAY  ROBBERIES  BY  THE  PRIESTS  AT  THIS  TIME — 
DECORATIONS  AND  IMPLEMENTS  OF  THE  PRIESTS — PUNISHMENTS  FOR  CERE- 
MONIAL OFFENCES  —  THE  WHIRLPOOL  OF  PANTITLAN  —  IMAGES  OF  THE 
MOUNTAINS  IN  HONOR  OF  THE  TLALOC  FESTIVAL  —  OF  THE  COMING  RAIN 
AND  MUTILATION  OF  THE  IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS — GENERAL  PROMI- 
NENCE IN  THE  CULT  OF  TLALOC,  OF  THE  NUMBER  FOUR,  THE  CROSS, 

AND  THE  SNAKE. 

Huitzilopochtli,  Huitziloputzli,  or  Vitziliputzli,  was 
the  god  of  war  and  the  especially  national  god  of  the 
Mexicans.  Some  said  that  he  was  a  purely  spiritual 
being,  others  that  a  woman  had  borne  him  after  mirac- 
ulous conception.  This  legend,  following  Clavigero,  ran 
as  follows: 

In  the  ancient  city  of  Tulla,  lived  a  most  devout 
woman,  Coatlicue  by  name.  Walking  one  day  in  the 
temple  as  her  custom  was,  she  saw  a  little  ball  of  feath- 
ers floating  down  from  heaven,  which,  taking  without 

(288)  ° 


BIRTH  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  289 

thought,  she  put  into  her  bosom.  The  walk  being  ended, 
however,  she  could  not  find  the  ball,  and  wondered 
much,  all  the  more  that  soon  after  this  she  found  her- 
self pregnant.  She  had  already  many  children,  who 
now,  to  avert  this  dishonor  of  their  house,  conspired  to 
kill  her;  at  which  she  was  sorely  troubled.  But,  from 
the  midst  of  her  womb  the  god  spoke :  Fear  not,  0  my 
mother,  for  this  danger  will  I  turn  to  our  great  honor 
and  glory.  And  lo,  Huitzilopochtli,  perfect  as  Pallas 
Athena,  was  instantly  born,  springing  up  with  a  mighty 
war-shout,  grasping  the  shield  and  the  glittering  spear. 
His  left  leg  and  his  head  were  adorned  with  plumes  of 
green;  his  face,  arms,  and  thighs  barred  terribly  with 
lines  of  blue.  He  fell  upon  the  unnatural  children,  slew 
them  all,  and  endowed  his  mother  with  their  spoils.  And 
from  that  day  forth  his  names  were  Tezahuitl,  Terror,  and 
Tetzauhteotl,  Terrible  god. 

This  was  the  god  who  became  protector  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, who  conducted  them  so  many  years  in  their  pil- 
grimage, and  settled  them  at  last  on  the  site  of  Mexico. 
And  in  this  city  they  raised  him  that  proud  temple  so 
much  celebrated  even  by  the  Spaniards,  in  which  were 
annually  held  their  solemn  festivals,  in  the  fifth,  ninth, 
and  fifteenth  months;  besides  those  kept  every  four 
years,  every  thirteen  years,  and  at  the  beginning  of  every 
century.  His  statue  was  of  gigantic  size,  in  the  posture 
of  a  man  seated  on  a  blue-colored  bench,  from  the  four 
corners  of  which  issued  four  huge  snakes.  His  forehead 
was  blue,  but  his  face  was  covered  with  a  golden  mask, 
while  another  of  the  same  kind  covered  the  back  of  his 
head.  Upon  his  head  he  carried  a  beautiful  crest,  shaped 
like  the  beak  of  a  bird ;  upon  his  neck  a  collar  consist- 
ing of  ten  figures  of  the  human  heart;  in  his  right  hand, 
a  large,  blue,  twisted  club;  in  his  left,  a  shield,  on  which 
appeared  five  balls  of  feathers  disposed  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  and  from  the  upper  part  of  the  shield  rose  a  golden 
flag  with  four  arrows,  which  the  Mexicans  pretended  to 
have  been  sent  to  them  from  heaven  to  perform  those 
glorious  actions  which  we  have  seen  in  their  history.  His 

VOL.  in.   19 


290          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AKD  WOESHIP. 

body  was  girt  with  a  large  golden  snake,  and  adorned  with 
various  lesser  figures  of  animals  made  of  gold  and  pre- 
cious stones,  which  ornaments  and  insignia  had  each  their 
peculiar  meaning.  They  never  deliberated  upon  making 
war  without  imploring  the  protection  of  this  god,  with 
prayers  and  sacrifices ;  and  offered  up  a  greater  number 
of  human  sacrifices  to  him  than  to  any  other  of  the  gods.1 

A  different  account  of  the  origin  of  this  deity  is  given 
by  Boturini,  showing  the  god  to  have  been  a  brave  Mexi- 
can chief,  who  was  afterward  apotheosized: — 

While  the  Mexicans  wyere  pushing  their  conquests  and 
their  advance  towrard  the  country  now  occupied  by  them, 
they  had  a  very  renowned  captain,  or  leader,  called 
Huitziton.  He  it  was  that  in  these  long  and  perilous 
journeys  through  unknown  lands,  sparing  himself  no 
fatigue,  took  care  of  the  Mexicans.  The  fable  says  of 
him  that  being  full  of  years  and  wisdom  he  was  one 
night  caught  up  in  sight  of  his  army,  and  of  all  his 
people,  and  presented  to  the  god  Tezauhteotl,  that  is  to 
say  the  Frightful  God,  who,  being  in  the  shape  of  a 
horrible  dragon,  commanded  him  to  be  seated  at  his 
right  hand,  saying:  Welcome,  0  valiant  captain;  very 
grateful  am  I  for  thy  fidelity  in  my  service  and  in  gov- 
erning my  people.  It  is  time  that  thou  shouldest  rest, 
since  thou  art  already  old,  and  since  thy  great  deeds 
raise  thee  up  to  the  fellowship  of  the  immortal  gods. 
Return  then  to  thy  sons  and  tell  them  not  to  be  afflicted 
if  in  future  they  cannot  see  thee  as  a  mortal  man ;  for 
from  the  nine  heavens  thou  shalt  look  down  propitious 
upon  them.  And  not  only  that,  but  also,  when  I  strip 
the  vestments  of  humanity  from  thee,  I  will  leave  to 
thine  afflicted  and  orphan  people  thy  bones  and  thy 
skull  so  that  they  may  be  comforted  in  their  sorrow,  and 
may  consult  thy  relics  as  to  the  road  they  have  to  fol- 
low: and  in  due  time  the  land  shall  be  shown  them  that 


1  Huitzilopochtli  is  derived  from  two  •words;  huittilin,  the  humming-bird, 
and  opochtli,  left, — so  called  from  the  left  foot  of  his  image  being  decorated 
with  humming-bird  feathers.  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  dd  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
17-19. 


IMAGE  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  291 

I  have  destined  for  them,  a  land  in  which  they  shall 
hold  wide  empire,  being  respected  of  the  other  nations. 
Huitziton  did  according  to  these  instructions,  and  after 
a  sorrowful  interview  with  his  people,  disappeared, 
carried  away  by  the  gods.  The  weeping  Mexicans  re- 
mained with  the  skull  and  bones  of  their  beloved  captain, 
which  they  carried  with  them  till  they  arrived. in  New 
Spain,  and  at  the  place  where  they  built  the  great  city 
of  Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico.  All  this  time  the  devil 
spoke  to  them  through  this  skull  of  Huitziton,  often  asking 
for  the  immolation  of  men  and  women,  from  which 
thing  originated  those  bloody  sacrifices,  practiced  after- 
wards by  this  nation  with  so  much  cruelty  on  prisoners 
of  war.  This  deity  was  called,  in  early  as  well  as  in 
later  times,  Huitzilopochtli, — for  the  principal  men  be- 
lieved that  he  was  seated  at  the  left  hand  of  Tezcatlipoca, 
— a  man  derived  from  the  original  name  Huitziton,  and 
from  the  word  mapoche,  i  left  hand.' 2 

Acosta  gives  a  minute  description  of  the  image  and 
temple  of  this  god : — - 

"The  chiefest  idoll  of  Mexico  was,  as  I  have  sayde, 
Yitziliputzli.  It  was  an  image  of  wood  like  to  a  man, 
set  vpon  a  stoole  of  the  colour  of  azure,  in  a  brankard  or 
litter,  at  every  corner  was  a  piece  of  wood  in  forme  of  a 
Serpent's  head.  The  stoole  signified  that  he  was  set  in 
heaven:  this  idoll  hadde  all  the  forehead  azure,  and  had 
a  band  of  azure  vnder  the  nose  from  one  eare  to  another : 
vpon  his  head  he  had  a  rich  plume  of  feathers,  like  to 
the  beake  of  a  small  bird,  the  which  was  covered  on  the 
toppe  with  golde  burnished  very  browne :  hee  had  in  his 
left  hand  a  white  target,  with  the  figures  of  five  pine 
apples,  made  of  white  feathers,  set  in  a  crosse :  and  from 
above  issued  forth  a  crest  of  gold,  and  at  his  sides  hee 
hadde  foure  dartes,  which  (the  Mexicaines  say)  had 
beene  sent  from  heaven  to  do  those  actes  and  prowesses 
which  shall  be  spoken  of:  In  his  right  hand  he  had  an 
azured  staffe,  cutte  in  fashion  of  a  waving  snake.  All 
those  ornaments  with  the  rest  hee  had,  carried  his  sence 

*  Soturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  60-1. 


292         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

as  the  Mexicaines  doe  shew;  the  name  of  Yitziliputzli 
signifies  the  left  hand  of  a  shining  feather.  I  will 
speake  heereafter  of  the  prowde  Temple,  the  sacrifices, 
feasts  and  ceremonies  of  this  great  idoll,  being  very 
notable  things.  But  at  this  present  we  will  only  shew, 
that  this  idoll  thus  richly  appareled  and  deckt,  was  set 
vpon  an  high  Altare,  in  a  small  peece  or  boxe,  well 
covered  with  linnen  clothes,  Jewells,  feathers  and  orna- 
ments of  golde,  with  many  rundles  of  feathers,  the  fairest 
and  most  exquisite  that  could  be  found :  hee  had  alwaies 
a  curtine  before  him  for  the  greater  veneration.  loyning 
to  the  chamber  or  chappell  of  this  idoll,  there  was  a 
peece  of  lesse  worke,  and  not  so  well  beautified,  where 
there  was  another  idoll  they  called  Tlaloc.  These  two 
idolls  were  alwayes  together,  for  that  they  held  them  as 
companions,  and  of  equal  power. 

There  was  in  Mexico,  this  Cu,  the  famous  Temple 
of  Yitziliputzli,  it  had  a  very  great  circuite,  and  within 
a  faire  Court.  It  was  built  of  great  stones,  in  fashion  of 
snakes  tied  one  to  another,  and  the  circuite  was  called 
Coatepantli,  which  is,  a  circuite  of  snakes:  vppon  the 
toppe  of  every  chamber  and  oratorie  where  the  Idolls 
were,  was  a  fine  piller  wrought  with  small  stones,  blacke 
as  ieate,  set  in  goodly  order,  the  ground  raised  vp  with 
white  and  red,  which  below  gave  a  great  light.  Vpon 
the  top  of  the  pillar  were  battlements  very  artificially 
made,  wrought  like  snailes  [caracoles],  supported  by  two 
Indians  of  stone,  sitting,  holding  candlesticks  in  their 
hands,  the  which  were  like  Croisants  garnished  and  en- 
riched at  the  ends,  with  yellow  and  greene  feathers  and 
long  fringes  of  the  same.  Within  the  circuite  of  this 
court,  there  were  many  chambers  of  religious  men,  and 
others  that  were  appointed  for  the  service  of  the  Priests 
and  Popes,  for  so  they  call  the  soveraigne  Priests  which 
serve  the  Idoll. 

There  were  foure  gates  or  entries,  at  the  east,  west, 
north,  and  south ;  at  every  one  of  these  gates  beganne  a 
faire  cawsey  of  two  or  three  leagues  long.  There  was  in 
the  midst  of  the  lake  where  the  cittie  of  Mexico  is  built, 


TEMPLE  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  293 

foure  large  cawseies  in  crosse,  which  did  much  beautify 
it;  vpori  every  portall  or  entry,  was  a  God  or  Idoll, 
having  the  visage  turned  to  the  causey,  right  against 
the  Temple  gate  of  Yitziliputzli.  There  were  thirtie 
steppes  of  thirtie  fadome  long,  and  they  divided  from 
the  circuit  of  the  court  by  a  streete  that  went  betwixt 
them ;  vpon  the  toppe  of  these  steppes  there  was  a  walke 
thirtie  foote  broad,  all  plaistered  with  chalke,  in  the 
midst  of  which  walke  was  a  Pallisado  artificially  made 
of  very  high  trees,  planted  in  order  a  fadome  one  from 
another.  These  trees  were  very  bigge,  and  all  pierced 
with  small  holes  from  the  foote  to  the  top,  and  there 
were  roddes  did  runne  from  one  tree  to  another,  to  the 
which  were  chained  or  tied  many  dead  mens  heades. 
Vpon  every  rod  were  twentie  sculles,  and  these  ranckes 
of  sculles  continue  from  the  foote  to  the  toppe  of  the  tree. 
This  Pallissado  was  full  of  dead  mens  sculls  from  one 
end  to  the  other,  the  which  was  a  wonderfull  mourne- 
full  sight  and  full  of  horror.  These  were  the  heads  of 
such  as  had  beene  sacrificed;  for  after  they  were  dead, 
and  had  eaten  the  flesh,  the  head  was  delivered  to  the 
Ministers  of  the  Temple,  which  tied  them  in  this  sort 
vntil  they  fell  off  by  morcells ;  and  then  had  they  a  care 
to  set  others  in  their  places.  Vpon  the  toppe  of  the 
temple  were  two  stones  or  chappells,  and  in  them  were 
the  two  Idolls  which  I  have  spoken  of,  Vitziliputzli,  and 
his  companion  Tlaloc.  These  Chappells  were  carved  and 
graven  very  artificially,  and  so  high,  that  to  ascend  vp  to 
it,  there  was  a  staire  of  stone  of  sixscore  steppes.  Before 
these  Chambers  or  Chappells,  there  was  a  Court  of  fortie 
foote  square,  in  the  midst  thereof,  was  a  high  stone  of 
five  hand  breadth,  poynted  in  fashion  of  a  Pyramide,  it 
was  placed  there  for  the  sacrificing  of  men;  for  being 
laid  on  their  backes,  it  made  their  bodies  to  bend,  and 
so  they  did  open  them  and  pull  out  their  hearts,  as  I 
shall  shew  heereafter." 3 

3  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  Ind.,  pp.  352-3,  361-3.  Acosta  gives  a  description  of 
the  wanderings  of  the  Mexicans  and  how  their  god  Vitzilipntzli,  directed  and 
guided  them  therein,  much  as  the  God  of  Israel  directed  his  people,  across 
the  wilderness  to  the  Promised  Land.  Tradition  also  tells,  how  he  him- 


294          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

Soils  describes  this  temple  also: — 

The  top  of  the  truncated  pyramid  on  which  the  idols 
of  Huitzilopochtli  and  Tlaloc  were  placed  was  forty  feet 
square,  and  reached  by  a  stair  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
steps.  On  this  platform,  on  either  hand,  at  the  head  of 
the  stairs,  stood  two  sentinel-statues  supporting  great  can- 
dlesticks of  an  extraordinary  fashion.  And  first,  from 
the  jasper  flags,  rose  a  hump-backed  altar  of  green  stone. 
Opposite  and  beyond  was  the  chapel  wherein  behind 
curtains  sat  Huitzilopochtli,  on  a  throne  supported  by  a 
blue  globe.  From  this,  supposed  to  represent  the  heav- 
ens, projected  four  staves  with  serpents'  heads,  by  which 
the  priests  carried  the  god  when  he  was  brought 
before  the  public.  The  image  bore  on  its  head  a  bird  of 
wrought  plumes  whose  beak  and  crest  were  of  burnished 
gold.  The  feathers  expressed  horrid  cruelty  and  were 
made  still  more  ghastly  by  two  stripes  of  blue  one  on  the 
brow  and  the  other  on  the  nose.  Its  right  hand  leaned 
as  on  a  staff  upon  a  crooked  serpent.  Upon  the  left  arm 
was  a  buckler  bearing  five  white  plums,  arranged  in  form 
of  a  cross ;  and  the  hand  grasped  four  arrows  venerated 
as  heaven-descended.  To  the  left  of  this  was  another 
chapel,  that  of  Tlaloc.  Now  these  two  chapels  and  idols 
were  the  same  in  every  particular.  These  gods  were 
esteemed  brothers — their  attributes,  qualities,  powers, 
inclinations,  service,  prayers,  and  so  on,  were  identical 
or  interchangeable/ 

Sahagun  says  of  Huitzilopochtli,  that,  being  originally 
a  man,  he  was  a  sort  of  Hercules,  of  great  strength  and 
warlike,  a  great  destroyer  of  towns  and  slayer  of  men. 

self  revealed  that  manner  of  sacrifice  most  acceptable  to  his  will: — some  of 
the  priests  having  overnight  offended  him,  lo,  in  the  morning,  they  were 
all  dead  men;  their  stomachs  being  cut  open,  and  their  hearts  pulled  out; 
which  rites  in  sacrifice  were  thereupon  adopted  for  the  service  of  that  deity, 
and  retained  until  their  rooting  out  by  the  stern  Spanish  husbandry,  so  well 
adapted  to  such  foul  and  bloody  tares.  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv.,  pp. 
1002-3. 

*  Soils,  Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  396-8.  This  writer  says:  '  The  Spanish 
soldiers  called  this  idol  Huchilobos,  by  a  corrupt  pronunciation:  so  too  Bernal 
Diaz  del  Castillo  writes  it  Ai;thors  differ  much  in  describing  this  magnifi- 
cent building.  Antonio  de  Herrera  follows  Francisco  Lopez  de  Gomara  too 
closely.  We  shall  follow  Father  Josef  de  Acosta  and  the  better  informed 
authors.'  Id.,  p.  395. 


HUITZILOPOCHTLI  AND  CAMAXTLI.  295 

In  war  he  had  been  a  living  fire,  very  terrible  to  his 
adversaries;  and  the  devise  he  bore  was  a  dragon's  head, 
frightful  in  the  extreme,  and  casting  fire  out  of  its 
mouth.  A  great  wizard  he  had  been,  and  sorcerer,  trans- 
forming himself  into  the  shape  of  divers  birds  and  beasts. 
While  he  lived,  the  Mexicans  esteemed  this  man  very 
highly  for  his  strength  and  dexterity  in  war,  and  when 
he  died  they  honored  him  as  a  god,  offering  slaves,  and 
sacrificing  them  in  his  presence.  And  they  looked  to  it 
that  those  slaves  were  well  fed  and  well  decorated  with 
such  ornaments  as  were  in  use,  with  ear-rings  and  visors ; 
all  for  the  greater  honor  of  the  god.  In  Tlaxcala  also 
they  had  a  deity,  called  Camaxtli,  who  was  similar  to 
this  Huitzilopochtli.5 

Gage,  in  a  pretty  fair  translation  of  Herrera,  describes 
this  god  with  Tezcatlipoca.  He  says: — 

"  The  gods  of  Mexico  (as  the  Indians  reported  to  the 
first  Spaniards)  were  two  thousand  in  number;  the 
chiefest  were  Yitzilopuchtli,  and  Tezcatlipoca,  whose 
images  stood  highest  in  the  temple  upon  the  altars. 
They  were  made  of  stone  in  full  proportion  as  big  as 
a  giant.  They  were  covered  with  a  lawn  called  Na- 
car;  they  were  beset  with  pearls,  precious  stones,  and 
pieces  of  gold,  wrought  like  birds,  beasts,  fishes,  and 
flowers,  adorned  with  emeralds,  turquies,  chalcedons, 
and  other  little  fine  stones,  so  that  when  the  lawn  was 
taken  away,  the  images  seemed  very  beautiful  and  glorious 
to  behold.  These  two  Indian  idols  had  for  a  girdle  great 
snakes  of  gold,  and  for  collars  or  chains  about  their 
necks  ten  hearts  of  men  made  of  gold ;  and  each  of  them 
had  a  counterfeit  visor  with  eyes  of  glass,  and  in  their 
necks  Death  painted.  These  two  gods  were  brethren, 
for  Tezcatlipoca  was  the  god  of  providence,  and  Yitzilo- 
puchtli, god  of  the  wars,  who  was  worshiped  and  feared 
more  than  all  the  rest." 6 

Torquemada  goes  to    some  length   into    the   legend 

5  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  i. 

.  6  Gage's  New  Survey,  pp.  116-7;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  dec.  ii., 
lib.  vii.,  cap.  xvii. 


296          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

and  description  of  this  god  of  war,  Huitzilopochtli,  or 
Mexitl:7- 

Huitzilopochtli,  the  ancient  god  and  guide  of  the 
Mexicans,  is  a  name  variously  derived.  Some  say  it  is 
composed  of  two  words:  huitzilin^  '  a  humming-bird',  and 
tlahuipuchtli,  '  a  sorcerer  that  spits  fire.'  Others  say  that 
the  second  part  of  the  name  comes  not  from  tlahuipucht- 
li, but  from  opuchtli,  that  is,  'the  left  hand;'  so  that  the 
whole  name,  Huitzilopochtli,  would  mean  '  the  shining- 
feathered  left  hand.'  For  this  idol  was  decorated  with 
rich  and  resplendent  feathers  on  the  left  arm.  And 
this  god  it  was  that  led  out  the  Mexicans  from  their  own 
land  and  brought  them  into  Anahuac. 

Some  held  him  to  be  a  purely  spiritual  being,  others 
affirmed  that  he  had  been  born  of  a  woman,  and  related 
his  history  after  the  following  fashion:  Near  the  city  of 
Tulla  there  is  a  mountain  called  Coatepec,  that  is  to  say 
the  Mountain  of  the  Snake,  where  a  wroman  lived,  named 
Coatlicue,  or  Snake-petticoat.  She  was  the  mother  of 
many  sons  called  Centzunhuitznahua,  and  of  a  daughter 
whose  name  was  Coyolxauhqui.  Coatlicue  was  very 
devout  and  careful  in  the  service  of  the  gods,  and  she 
occupied  herself  ordinarily  in  sweeping  and  cleaning  the 
sacred  places  of  that  mountain.  It  happened  that  one 
day,  occupied  with  these  duties,  she  saw  a  little  ball  of 
feathers  floating  down  to  her  through  the  air,  which  she 
taking,  as  wre  have  already  related,  found  herself  in  a 
short  time  pregnant.8 

Upon  this  all  her  children  conspired  against  her  to 

7  '  Pero  los  mismos  Nattirales  afirman,  que  este  Nombre  tomaron  de  el 
Dios  Principal,  que  ellos  traxeron,  el  qual  tenia  dos  Nombres,  el  uno  Huit- 
zilopuchtli,  y  el   otro  Mexitly,  y   este   segundo,   quiere  decir  Ombligo  de 
Maguey.'   Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  293. 

8  '  Acontecio,  pues,  vn  clia,  que  estando  barriendo,  come  acostumbraba, 
vio  bajar  por  el  Aire,  iina  pelota  pequena,  hecha  de  plumas,  a  manera  de 
ovillo,  hecho  de  hilado,  que  se  le  vino  a  los  mauos,  la  qual  tonio,  y  meti6 
entre  los  Nahuas,  6  Faldellin,  y  la  carne,  debajo  de  la  faja  que  le  cenia  el 
cuerpo  (porque  siempre  traen  fajado  este  genero  de  vestido)  no  iruagijiando 
ningiin  nristerio,  ni  fin  de  aqnel  caso.     Acabo  de  barrer,  y  busco  la  pelota 
de  ))luma,  para  ver  de  que  podria  aprovecharla  en  servicio  de  sus  Dioses,  y 
no  la  hallo.     Quedo  de  esto  admirada,  y  mucho  mas  de  conocer  en  si,  que 
desde  nonel  punto  se  avia  hecho  preiiada.'    Torquemada,  Monarq.  IniL,  tom. 
ii.,  pp.  41-2. 


DOUGH  STATUE  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  297 

slay  her,  and  came  armed  against  her,  the  daughter 
Coyolxauhqui  being  the  ringleader  and  most  violent 
of  all.  Then,  immediately,  Huitzilopochtli  was  born, 
fully  armed,  having  a  shield  called  teuehueli  in  his  left 
hand,  in  his  right  a  dart,  or  long  blue  pole,  and  all  his 
face  barred  over  with  lines  of  the  same  color.  His  fore- 
head was  decorated  with  a  great  tuft  of  green  feathers, 
his  left  leg  was  lean  and  feathered,  and  both  thighs  and 
the  arms  barred  with  blue.  He  then  caused  to  appear 
a  serpent  made  of  torches,  teas,  called  xiuhcoatl]  and 
he  ordered  a  soldier  named  Tochaucalqui  to  light  this 
serpent,  and  taking  it  with  him,  to  embrace  Coyolxauh- 
qui. From  this  embrace  the  matricidal  daughter  imme- 
diately died,  and  Huitzilopochtli  himself  slew  all  her 
brethren  and  took  their  spoil,  enriching  his  mother 
therewith.  After  this  he  was  surnamed  Tetzahuitl,  that 
is  to  say,  Fright,  or  Amazement,  and  held  as  a  god,  born 
of  a  mother,  without  a  father, — as  the  great  god  of  bat- 
tles, for  in  these  his  worshipers  found  him  very  favor- 
able to  them.  Besides  the  ordinary  image  of  this  god, 
permanently  set  up  in  the  great  temple  of  Mexico, 
there  was  another,  renewed  every  year,  made  of  grains 
and  seeds  of  various  kinds.  In  one  of  the  halls  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  temple  the  priests  collected  and 
ground  up  with  great  devotion  a  mass  of  seeds,  of  the  ama- 
ranth and  other  plants,  moistening  the  same  with  the 
blood  of  children,  and  making  a  dough  thereof,  which 
they  shaped  into  a  statue  of  the  form  and  stature  of  a 
man.  The  priests  carried  this  image  to  the  temple  and 
the  altar,  previously  arranged  for  its  reception,  playing 
trumpets  and  other  instruments,  and  making  much  noise 
and  ado  with  dancing  and  singing  at  the  head  of  the 
procession.  All  this  during  the  night;  in  the  morning 
the  high-priest  and  the  other  priests  blessed  and  conse- 
crated the  image,  with  such  blessing  and  consecration  as 
were  in  use  among  them.  This  done,  and  the  people 
assembled,  every  person  that  could  come  at  the  image 
touched  it  wherever  he  could,  as  Christians  touch  a  relic, 
and  made  offerings  thereto,  of  jewels  of  gold  and  pre- 


298          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

cious  stones,  each  according  to  his  means  and  devotion, 
sticking  the  said  offerings  into  the  soft  fresh  dough  of 
which  the  idol  was  confected.  After  this  ceremony 
no  one  was  allowed  to  touch  the  image  any  more,  nor  to 
enter  the  place  where  it  was,  save  only  the  high- priest. 
After  that  they  brought  out  the  image  of  the  god  Pay- 
nalton,9 — who  is  also  a  war  god,  being  vicar  or  sub-cap- 
tain of  the  said  Huitzilopochtli, — an  image  made  of 
wood.  It  was  carried  in  the  arms  of  a  priest  who  rep- 
resented the  god  Quetzalcoatl,  and  who  was  decorated 
with  ornaments  rich  and  curious.  Before  this  priest 
there  marched  another  carrying  [the  image  of]  a  great 
snake,  large  and  thick,  twisted  and  of  many  coils.  The 
procession  filed  along  at  great  length,  and  here  and  there 
at  various  temples  and  altars  the  priests  offered  up  sacri- 
fices, immolating  human  captives  and  quails.  The 
first  station,  or  stopping-place,  was  at  the  ward  of  Teot- 
lachco.  Thence  the  cortege  passed  to  Tlatelulco  (where 
I,  Torquemada,  am  now  writing  this  history) ;  then  to 
Popotlan;  then  to  Chapultepec — nearly  a  league  from 
the  city  of  Mexico;  then  to  Tepetoca;  then  to  Acachi- 
nanco ;  then  back  again  to  the  temple  whence  it  had  set 
out;  and  then  the  image  of  Paynalton  was  put  on  the 
altar  where  stood  that  of  Huitzilopochtli,  being  left  there 
with  the  banner,  called  ezpaniztli,  that  had  been  carried 
before  it  during  the  march :  only  the  great  snake,  men- 
tioned above,  was  carried  away  and  put  in  another  place, 

9  This  Paynalton,  or  Paynal,  was  a  kind  of  deputy-god,  or  substitute  for 
Huitzilopochtli;  used  in  cases  of  urgent  haste  and  immediate  emergency, 
where  perhaps  it  might  be  thought  there  was  not  time  for  the  lengthened 
ceremonies  necessary  to  the  invocation  of  the  greater  war  deity.  Sahagun's 
account  of  Paynal  is  concise,  and  will  throw  light  on  the  remarks  of 
Torquemada,  as  given  above  in  the  text.  Sahagun  says,  in  effect:  This  god 
Paynal  was  a  kind  of  sub-captain  to  Huitzilopochtli.  The  latter,  as  chief- 
captain,  dictated  the  deliberate  undertaking  of  war  against  any  province;  the 
former,  as  vicar  to  the  other,  served  when  it  became  unexpectedly  necessary  to 
t  ike  up  arms  and  make  front  hurriedly  against  an  enemy.  Then  it  was  that 
Paynal — whose  name  means  '  swift,  or  hurried, ' — when  living  on  earth  set 
out  in  person  to  stir  up  the  people  to  repulse  the  enemy.  Upon  his  death 
he  was  deified  and  a  festival  appointed  in  his  honor.  In  this  festival,  his 
image,  richly  decorated,  was  carried  in  a  long  procession,  every  one,  bearer 
of  the  idol  or  not,  running  as  fast  as  he  could;  all  of  which  represented  the 
promptness  that  is  many  times  necessary  to  resist  the  assault  of  a  foe  attack- 
ing by  surprise  or  ambuscade.  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  2. 


SYMBOLIC  DEATH  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  299 

to  which  it  belonged.  And  at  all  these  places  where 
the  procession  appeared,  it  was  received  with  incensings, 
sacrifices,  and  other  ceremonies. 

This  procession  finished,  it  having  occupied  the  great- 
er part  of  the  day,  all  was  prepared  for  a  sacrifice.  The 
king  himself  acted  the  part  of  priest;  taking  a  censer, 
he  put  incense  therein  with  certain  ceremonies  and  in- 
censed the  image  of  the  god.  This  done,  they  took  down 
again  the  idol,  Paynalton,  and  set  out  in  march,  those 
going  in  front  that  had  to  be  sacrificed,  together  with  all 
things  pertaining  to  the  fatal  rite.  Two  or  three  times 
they  made  the  circle  of  the  temple,  moving  in  horrid 
cortege,  and  then  ascended  to  the  top,  where  they  slew 
the  victims;  beginning  with  the  prisoners  of  war,  and 
finishing  with  the  fattened  slaves,  purchased  for  the 
occasion,  rending  out  their  hearts  and  casting  the  same 
at  the  feet  of  the  idol. 

All  through  this  day  the  festivities  and  the  rejoicings 
continued,  and,  all  the  day  and  night  the  priests  watched 
vigilantly  the  dough  statue  of  Huitzilopochtli,  so  that  no 
oversight  or  carelessness  should  interfere  with  the  venera- 
tion and  service  due  thereto.  Early  next  day  they  took 
down  said  statue  and  set  it  on  its  feet  in  a  hall.  In- 
to this  hall  there  entered  the  priest,  called  after  Quet- 
zalcoatl,  who  had  carried  the  image  of  Paynalton  in  his 
arms  in  the  procession,  as  before  related ;  there  entered 
also  the  king,  with  one  of  the  most  intimate  servants, 
called  Tehua,  of  the  god  Huitzilopochtli,  four  other 
great  priests,  and  four  of  the  principal  youths,  called 
Telpochtlatoque,  out  of  the  number  of  those  that  had 
charge  of  the  other  youths  of  the  temple.  These  men- 
tioned, and  these  alone,  being  assembled,  the  priest 
named  after  Quetzalcoatl  took  a  dart  tipped  with  flint 
and  hurled  it  into  the  breast  of  the  statue  of  dough, 
which  fell  on  receiving  the  stroke.  This  ceremony  was 
styled,  i  killing  the  god  Huitzilopochtli  so  that  his  body 
might  be  eaten.'  Upon  this  the  priests  advanced  to 
the  fallen  image  and  one  of  them  pulled  the  heart  out  of 
it,  and  gave  the  same  to  the  king.  The  other  priests 


303       .  GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

cut  the  pasty  body  into  two  halves.  One  half  was  given 
to  the  people  of  Tlatelulco,  who  parted  it  out  in  crumbs 
among  all  their  wards,  arid  specially  to  the  young 
soldiers, — no  woman  being  allowed  to  taste  a  morsel. 
The  other  half  was  allotted  to  the  people  of  that  part  of 
Mexico  called  Tenochtlitlan ;  it  was  divided  among  the 
four  wards,  Teopan,  Atzaqualco,  Quepopan,  and  Moyot- 
lan ;  and  given  to  the  men,  to  both  small  and  great,  even 
to  the  men-children  in  the  cradle.  All  this  ceremony 
was  called  teoqualo,  that  is  to  say,  '  god  is  eaten,'  and 
this  making  of  the  dough  statue  and  eating  of  it  was  re- 
newed once  every  year.10 

Closely  as  J.  Gr.  M tiller  studied  the  character  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl, his  examination  of  that  of  Huitzilopochtli,  has 
been  still  more  minute  and  was  indeed  the  subject  of  a 
monograph  published  by  him  in  184T.  A  student  of 
the  subject  cannot  afford  to  overlook  this  study,  and  I 
translate  the  more  important  parts  of  it  in  the  paragraphs 
which  follow;  not,  indeed,  either  for  or  against  the  in- 
terests of  the  theory  it  supports,  but  for  the  sake  of  the 
accurate  and  detailed  handling,  rehandling,  and  group- 
ing there,  by  a  master  in  this  department  of  mythologi- 
cal learning,  of  almost  all  the  data  relating  to  the  matter 
in  hand:— 

Huitzilopochtli  has  been  already  referred  to  as  an  orig- 
inal god  of  the  air  and  of  heaven.  He  agrees  also  with 
Quetzalcoatl  in  a  second  capital  point,  in  having  be- 
come the  anthropomorphic  national  god  of  the  Aztecs, 
as  Quetzalcoatl  of  the  Toltecs.  On  their  marches  and 
in  their  wars,  in  the  establishment  of  codes  and  towns, 
in  happiness  as  well  as  in  misfortune,  the  Aztecs  were 
guided  by  his  oracle,  by  the  spirit  of  his  being.  As  the 
Toltecs,  especially  in  their  later  national  character, 
differ  from  the  Aztecs,  so  differ  their  two  chief  national 
gods.  If  the  capital  of  the  Toltecs,  Cholula,  resembled 
modern  Rome  in  its  religious  efforts,  so  the  god  enthroned 
there  was  transformed  into  the  human  form  of  a  high- 
priest,  in  whom  this  people  saw^his  human  ideal.  In 

10  Torquemada,  Monarq.Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  293,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  41-3,  71-3. 


THE  NAME  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  301 

the  same  manner  one  might  be  led  to  compare  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Aztecs  with  ancient  Rome,  on  account  of  its 
warlike  spirit,  and  therefore  it  was  right  to  make  the 
national  god  of  the  Aztecs  a  war  god  like  the  Roman 
Mars. 

We  will  commence  with  the  name  of  the  god,  which, 
according  to  Sahagun,  Acosta,  Torquemada,  and  most  of 
the  writers,  signifies  '  on  the  left  side  a  humming-bird ;' 
from  liuitzilin,  'a  humming-bird,'  and  opoclitli,  'left.' 
In  connecting  the  Aztec  words,  the  ending  is  cut  off. 
The  image  of  the  god  had  in  reality,  frequently,  the 
feathers  of  the  humming-bird  on  the  left  foot.  The  con- 
nection of  this  bird  with  the  god  is,  in  many  ways,  ap- 
propriate. It  no  doubt  appeared  to  them  as  the  most 
beautiful  of  birds,  and  as  the  most  worthy  representant 
of  their  chief  deity.  Does  not  its  crest  glitter  like  a 
crown  set  with  rubies  and  all  kinds  of  precious  stones? 
The  Aztecs  have  accordingly,  .in  their  way,  called  the 
humming-bird,  'sun-beam,'  '  or  sun-hair ;'  as  its  alighting 
upon  flowers,  is  like  that  of  a  sun-beam.  The  chief  god 
of  the  Caribs,  Juluca,  is  also  decorated  with  a  band 
of  its  feathers  round  the  forehead.  The  ancient  Mexi- 
cans had,  as  their  most  noble  adornment,  state-mantles 
of  the  same  feathers,  so  much  praised  by  Cortes;  and 
even  at  the  present  time  the  Aztec  women  adorn  their 
ears  with  these  plumes.  This  humming-bird  decoration 
on  the  left  foot  of  the  god  was  not  the  only  one;  he 
had  also  a  green  bunch  of  plumage  upon  his  head,  shaped 
like  the  bill  of  a  small  bird.  The  shield  in  his  left  hand 
was  decorated  with  white  feathers,  and  the  whole  image 
was  at  times  covered  with  a  mantle  of  feathers.  To 
the  general  virtues  which  make  comprehensible  the 
humming-bird  attribute  as  a  divine  one,  must  be  added 
the  special  virtue  of  bravery  peculiar  to  this  bird,  which 
is  specially  suited  to  the  war  god.  The  English  trav- 
eler Bullock  tells  how  this  bird  distinguishes  itself 
for  its  extraordinary  courage,  attacking  others  ten 
times  its  own  size,  flying  into  their  eyes,  and  using 
its  sharp  bill  as  a  most  dangerous  weapon.  Noth- 


302          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ing  more  daring  can  be  witnessed  than  its  attack  upon 
other  birds  of  its  own  species,  when  it  fears  disturbance 
during  the  breeding-season.  The  effects  of  jealousy 
transform  these  birds  into  perfect  furies,  the  throat 
swells,  the  crest  on  their  head,  the  tail,  and  the  wings 
are  expanded ;  they  fight  whistling  in  the  air,  until  one 
of  them  falls  exhausted  to  the  ground.  That  such  a 
martial  spirit  should  exist  in  so  small  a  'creature 
shows  the  intensity  of  this  spirit;  and  the  religious 
feeling  is  the  sooner  aroused,  when  the  instrument  of  a 
divine  power  appears  in  so  trifling  and  weak  a  body. 
The  small  but  brave  and  warlike  woodpecker  stood  in  a 
similar  relation  to  Mars,  and  is  accordingly  termed  picus 
martins. 

This,  the  most  common  explanation  of  the  name  Huit- 
zilopochtli,  as  '  humming-bird,  left  side'  is  not  followed 
by  Veytia,  with  whom  Prichard  agrees.  He  declares 
the  meaning  of  the  name  to  be  l  left  hand,'  from  huit- 
zitoc,  'hand,'  because  Huitzilopochtli,  according  to  the 
fable,  after  his  death,  sits  on  the  left  side  of  the  god 
Tezcatlipoca.  Now,  Huitzilopochtli  is  in  another  place 
considered  as  the  brother  of  this  god;  he  also  stands 
higher,  and  can  therefore  scarcely  have  obtained  his 
name  from  his  position  with  respect  to  the  other  deity. 
Besides,  hand  in  Aztec  is  properly  translated  as  maitl,  or 
toma. 

Over  and  above  this  attribute  which  gives  the  god  his 
name,  there  are  others  which  point  towards  the  concep- 
tion of  a  war  god.  Huitzilopochtli  had,  like  Mars  and 
Odin,  the  spear,  or  a  bow,  in  his  right  hand,  and  in 
the  left,  sometimes  a  bundle  of  arrows,  sometimes  a 
round  white  shield,  on  the  side  of  which  were  the  four 
arrows  sent  him  from  heaven  wherewith  to  perform 
the  heroic  deeds  of  his  people.  On  these  weapons  de- 
pended the  welfare  of  the  state,  just  as  on  the  ancile 
of  the  Roman  Mars,  which  had  fallen  from  the  sky,  or 
on  the  palladium  of  the  warlike  Pallas  Athena. 

By-names  also  point  out  Huitzilopochtli  as  war  god ; 
for  he  is  called  the  terrible  god,  Tetzateotl,  or  the  rag- 


KINDEED  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  303 

ing,  Tetzahuitl.  These  names  he  received  at  his  birth, 
when  he,  just  issued  from  his  mother's  womb,  overthrew 
his  adversaries. 

Not  less  do  his  connections  indicate  his  warlike  nature. 
His  youngest  brother,  Tlacahuepancuextotzin,  was  also 
a  war  god,  whose  statue  existed  in  Mexico,  and  who  re- 
ceived homage,  especially  in  Tezcuco.  In  still  closer 
relationship  to  him  stands  his  brother-in-arms,  or,  as 
Bernal  Diaz  calls  him,  his  page,  Paynalton,  that  is, 
'the  fleet  one;'  he  was  the  god  of  the  sudden  war 
alarm,  tumultus  or  general  lev£e  en  'masse;  his  call 
obliged  all  capable  of  bearing  arms  to  rush  to  the  de- 
fence. He  is  otherwise  considered  as  the  representant 
of  Huitzilopochtli  and  subordinate  to  him,  for  he  was 
only  a  small  image,  as  Diaz  says,  and  as  the  ending  ton 
denotes.  The  statue  of  this  little  war-crier  was  always 
placed  upon  the  altar  of  Huitzilopochtli,  and  sometimes 
carried  round  at  his  feast. 

Other  symbolic  attributes  establish  Huitzilopochtli  as 
the  general  national  god  of  this  warlike  people,  and  sym- 
bolized his  personal  presence.  On  the  march  from  the 
ancient  home,  the  priests  took  their  turn,  in  fours,  to 
carry  his  wooden  image,  with  the  little  flag  fallen  from 
heaven,  and  the  four  arrows.  The  litter,  upon  which 
the  image  was  carried,  was  called  the  l  chair  of  god,' 
teoicpalli,  and  was  a  holy  box,  such  as  was  used  among 
the  Etruscans  and  Egyptians,  the  Greeks  and  the  Ro- 
mans, in  Ilium,  among  the  Japanese,  among  the  Mon- 
gols. In  America,  the  Cherokees  are  also  found  with 
such  an  ark.  The  ark  of  the  covenant  carried  by  the 
Levites  through  the  desert  and  in  battle,  was  of  a  simi- 
lar kind.  Wherever  the  Aztecs  halted  for  some  time 
during  their  wanderings,  they  erected  an  altar  or  a 
sacrifice  mound  to  their  god,  upon  which  they  placed 
this  god's-litter  with  the  image;  which  ancient  observ- 
ance they  kept  up,  in  later  times,  in  their  temples. 
By  its  side  they  erected  a  movable  tent,  tahernaculum, 
(Stiftshutte),  in  the  open  country,  as  is  customary 
among  nomadic  people,  such  as  the  Mongols.  The  god, 


304          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

however,  gave  them  the  codes  and  usages  of  a  cultured 
people,  and  received  offerings  of  prisoners,  hawks,  and 
quails. 

As  the  head  of  a  sparrow  on  a  human  body  points  to 
the  former  worship  of  Quetzalcoatl  under  the  form  of 
a  sparrow,  so  the  humming-bird  attribute  on  the  image 
and  in  the  name  of  Huitzilopochtli,  points  him  out  as  an 
original  animal  god.  The  general  mythological  rule,  that 
such  animal  attributes  refer  to  an  ancient  worship  of  the 
god  in  question  under  the  form  of  an  animal,  points  this 
out  in  his  case,  and  the  special  myth  of  Huitziton  assists 
here  in  the  investigation  of  the  foundation  of  this  origin- 
al nature. 

When  the  Aztecs  still  lived  in  Aztlan,  a  certain 
Huitziton  enjoyed  their  highest  esteem,  as  the  fable 
tells.  This  Huitziton  heard  the  voice  of  a  bird,  which 
cried  "  tihui,"  that  is  '  let  us  go.' n  He  thereupon 
asked  the  people  to  leave  their  home,  which  they  ac- 
cordingly did.  When  we  consider  the  name  Huitzi- 
ton, the  nature  of  the  story,  and  the  mythical  time  to 
which  it  refers,  no  doubt  remains  as  to  who  this  Huit- 
ziton is  supposed  to  be.  It  is  evident  that  he  is  none 
other  than  the  little  bird  itself,  which,  in  our  later  form 
of  the  myth,  as  an  anthropomorphic  fable,  is  separated 
from  him ;  separated  euherneristically,  just  as  the  Latia 
Picus  was  separated  from  his  woodpecker.  This  Picus, 
whose  songs  and  flight  were  portentous,  was  rep- 
resented as  a  youth  with  a  woodpecker  on  his  head,  of 
which  he  made  use  for  his  seer-art;  but  was  originally! 
us  denoted  by  his  name,  nothing  else  than  a  woodpecker, 
which  was  adored  on  the  wooden  pillar  from  which  it 
sent  its  sayings.  This  woodpecker  placed  itself  upon  the 
vexillum  of  the  Sabines,  and  guided  them  to  the  region 
which  has  been  named  Picenum  after  it.  As  this  bird 
guided  its  people  to  their  new  abode,  like  Huitziton, 
so  many  other  animal  gods  have  lead  those  who,  in 
ancient  times,  sought  new  homes.  Thus  a  crow  con- 
ducted Battus  to  Gyrene;  a  dove  led  the  Chalcid- 

11  See  this  vol.,  p.  69,  note. 


HUITZITON  AND  PAYNALTON.  305 

ians  to  Gyrene;  Apollo,  in  the  form  of  a  dolphin,  took 
the  Cretans  to  Pytho;  Antinous  founded  a  new  settle- 
ment, to  which  a  snake  had  pointed  the  way ;  a  bull 
carried  Cadmus  to  Thebes;  a  wolf  led  the  Hirpinians. 
The  original  stock  of  the  South  American  people,  the 
Mbayas,  received  the  divine  order,  through  the  bird  Cara- 
cara,  to  roam  as  enemies  in  the  territories  of  other 
people  instead  of  settling  down  in  a  fixed  habitation— 
this  is  an  anti-culture  myth.  As  the  founding  of  towns 
favors  the  birth  of  myths  like  the  preceeding,  so  also  does 
the  founding  of  convents,  the  sites  of  which,  according 
to  the  numerous  fables  of  the  Christian  mediaeval  age, 
were  pointed  out  by  animals, — one  of  the  remnants  of 
old  heathenism  then  existing  in  the  popular  fancy.  To 
resume  the  subject,  Huitziton  is,  therefore,  the  humming- 
bird god,  who,  as  oracular  god,  commanded  the  Aztecs 
to  emigrate.  His  name  signifies  nothing  else  than  l  small 
humming-bird,'  the  ending  ton  being  a  diminutive 
syllable,  as  in  Paynalton.  Thus  the  humming-bird  was 
the  bearer,  at  the  time  of  the  great  flood,  of  the  divine 
message  of  joy  to  the  Tezpi  of  the  Michoacans,  a  people 
related  to  the  Aztecs.  It  had  been  let  loose  as  the 
water  receded,  and  soon  returned  with  a  small  twig  to 
the  ark.12  On  the  Catherine  Islands  [islands  of  Santa 
Catalina],13  in  California,  crows  were  adored  as  inter- 
preters of  the  divine  will.  From  the  above  it  is  also 
self-evident  that  Huitziton  and  Huitzilopochtli  were  one, 
which  is  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  the  learned  re- 
searcher of  Mexican  languages  and  traditions,  the  Italian 
Boturini.  The  name,  myth,  and  attributes  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli point  then  to  the  humming-bird.  Previous  to 
the  transformation  of  this  god,  by  anthropomorphism, 
he  was  merely  a  small  humming-bird,  huitziton;  by 
anthropomorphism,  the  bird  became,  however,  merely 
the  attribute,  emblem  or  symbol,  and  name  of  the  god, 
—a  name  which  changed  with  his  form  into  '  humming- 
bird on  the  left,'  or  Huitzilopochtli. 

12  See  this  vol.  p.  67. 

13  See  this  vol.  p.  134. 

VOL.  III.    20 


306          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  identity  of  the  two,  in  spite  of  the  different  ex- 
planations of  the  name,  is  accepted  by  Yeytia,  who  gives 
Huitzitoc  as  the  name  of  the  chief  who  led  the  Aztec 
armies  during  their  last  wanderings  from  Chicomoztoc,  or 
the  Seven  Caves,  into  Anahuac.  Under  his  leadership 
the  Aztecs  were  everywhere  victorious,  and  for  this 
reason  he  was  placed,  after  his  death,  on  the  left  side  of 
the  god  Tezcatlipoca ;  since  which  time  he  was  called 
Huitzilopochtli. 

The  identity  of  Huitziton  and  Huitzilopochtli,  is  also 
shown  by  other  facts  besides  the  name,  the  attribute,  and 
the  n^thological  analogy :  the  same  important  acts  are 
ascribed  to  both.  We  have  seen  that  Huitziton  com- 
manded the  Aztecs  to  leave  their  home;  according  to 
another  account  of  Acosta,  this  was  done  on  the  persua- 
sion of  Huitzilopochtli.  If  other  Spanish  authors  state 
that  this  was  done  by  instigation  of  the  devil,  they  mean 
none  other  than  Huitzilopochtli,  using  a  mode  of  speech 
which  had  become  an  established  one.  This  name  became 
a  common  title  of  the  devil  in  Germany,  under  the  form 
of  Vizliputzli,  soon  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  old  popular  drama  of  Faust.  The  fable 
further  relates  of  Huitziton  that  he  taught  the  Aztecs  to 
produce  fire  by  friction,  during  their  wanderings.  The 
gift  of  fire  is  usually  ascribed  to  a  culture-god.  Huitzil- 
opochtli was  such  a  deity;  he  introduced  dress,  laws,  and 
ceremonies  among  his  people.  The  statement  that  Huit- 
ziton had  at  some  time,  given  fire  to  the  people,  has  no 
historical  meaning;  there  is  no  people  without  fire,  and 
a  formerly  told  myth  mentions  that  man  made  fire  even 
before  the  existence  of  the  present  sun.  The  significa- 
tion of  the  fable  is  a  religious  one,  it  is  a  myth  in  which 
the  Aztecs  ascribe  the  origin  of  all  human  culture  to 
Huitziton  their  culture-god,  afterward  Huitzilopochtli. 

This  god  wore  also  a  band  of  human  hearts  and  faces 
of  gold  and  silver ;  while  various  bones  of  dead  men,  as 
well  as  a  man  torn  in  pieces,  were  depicted  on  his  dress. 
These  attributes  like  those  of  the  Indian  Schiwa  and 
Kali,  clearly  point  him  out  as  the  god  to  whom  human 


SACKIFICE  MYTHS.  307 

sacrifices  were  made.  It  was  extensively  believed 
among  the  nations  composing  the  Mexican  Empire  that 
human  sacrifices  had  been  introduced  by  the  Aztecs 
within  the  last  two  centuries.  Before  that  time  only 
bloodless  offerings  had  been  made.  A  myth  places  the 
commencement  of  human  sacrifices  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  in  which  the  three  first  successive  cases  thereof 
are  said  to  have  occurred. 

The  Colhuas,  the  ruling  nation  at  that  time  in  the 
valley  of  Anahuac,  are  said  to  have  fought  a  battle  with 
their  enemies  of  Xochimilco,  which  was  decided  in  favor 
of  the  Colhuas,  owing  to  the  impetuous  attack  made  by 
the  tributary  Aztecs  in  their  aid.  While  the  Colhuas 
\vere  presenting  a  large  number  of  prisoners  before  their 
king,  the  Aztecs  had  only  secured  four,  whom  they  kept 
secreted,  but  exhibited,  in  token  of  their  bravery,  a  num- 
ber of  ears  that  they  had  cut  from  their  slain  enemies, 
boasting  that  the  victory  would  have  been  much  delayed 
had  they  lost  time  in  making  prisoners.  Proud  of  their 
triumph,  they  erected  an  altar  to  Huitzilopochtli,  in 
Huitzilopochco,  and  made  known  to  their  lord,  the  king 
of  the  Colhuas,  that  they  desired  to  offer  this  god  a 
costly  and  worthy  sacrifice.  The  king  sent  them,  by 
the  hands  of  priests,  a  dead  bird,  which  the  messen- 
gers laid  irreverently  upon  the  altar,  and  departed. 
The  Aztecs  swallowed  their  chagrin,  and  set  a  fra- 
grant herb  with  a  knife  of  iztli  beside  the  bird.  As 
the  king  with  his  suite  arrived  at  the  festival,  more 
for  the  sake  of  mocking  the  proceedings  than  to  grace 
them,  the  four  prisoners  taken  from  the  Xochimilcos 
were  brought  out,  placed  upon  the  stone  of  sacrifice, 
their  breasts  cut  open  with  the  iztli,  and  the  palpitating 
heart  torn  out.  This  sacrifice  brought  consternation 
upon  the  Colhuas,  they  discharged  the  Aztecs  from 
their  service  and  drove  them  away.  The  Aztecs  wan- 
dered for  some  time  about  the  country,  and  then,  at  the 
command  of  their  god,  founded  the  town  of  Tenochtit- 
lan,  or  Mexico,  on  a  site  where  they  had  found  a  nopal 
(Opuntie)  growing  upon  a  rock. 


308          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

'At  the  second  sacrifice  a  Colhua  was  the  victim, 
An  Aztec  was  hunting,  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  for  an 
animal  to  offer  his  patron  deity,  when  he  met  a  Colhua 
called  Xomimitl;  he  attacks  him  furiously,  bears  him 
down,  and  the  defeated  man  is  made  to  bleed  upon  the 
sacrifice  stone. 

Both  myths  are  aitiological,  and  explained  by  the 
sacrifice  system  (Opferkultus).  This  is  shown  in  the 
case  of  the  four  prisoners,  of  whom  we  shall  learn  more 
in  the  third  story.  The  second  story  personifies  the 
Aztec  and  the  Colhua  peoples  in  the  two  men,  the 
second  nation  supplying  the  first  with  human  sacrifices. 
With  the  sacrifice  of  Xomimitl,  the  parallelism  of  which 
to  the  four  Xochimilos>  cannot  be  overlooked  by  any 
one,  the  first  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  in  Tenochtitlan, 
was  inaugurated. 

The  third  sacrifice  shows  still  more  closely  the  relig- 
ious basis  (Kultusgrundlage)  of  the  myth.  Here  also, 
as  in  the  former,  we  have  to  do  with  a  Colhua. 
The  Aztecs  offered  the  Colhua  king  to  show  divine 
honors  to  his  daughter  and  to  apotheosize  her  into  the 
mother  of  their  national  god,  declaring  that  such  was 
the  will  of  the  deity.  The  king,  rejoicing  at  the  honor 
intended  for  his  daughter,  let  her  go,  and  she  was 
brought  to  Tenochtitlan  with  great  pomp.  No  sooner, 
however,  had  she  arrived  than  she  was  sacrificed,  flayed, 
and  one  of  the  bravest  youths  dressed  in  her  skin.  The 
king  was  invited  to  the  solemn  act  of  the  deification  of 
his  daughter,  and  only  became  aware  of  her  death  when 
the  flame  from  the  copal  gum  revealed  to  him  the  bloody 
skin  about  the  youth  placed  at  the  side  of  the  god.  The 
daughter  was,  however,  at  once  formally  declared  mother 
of  Huitzilopochtli  and  of  all  the  gods. 

This  aitiological  cultus-myth  is  easily  explained. 
The  name  of  the  daughter  is  Teteionan,  whom  we  have 
learned  to  know  as  the  gods' -mother,  and  as  Tocitzin,  '  our 
grandmother.'1*  She  was  never  the  daughter  of  a 

14  If  some  of  the  names  and  myths,  mentioned  or  alluded  to  from  time  to 
time,  by  Miiller  and  others,  are  yet  unknown  to  the  reader,  he  will  remem- 


TETEIONAN.  309 

human  king,  but  has  been  transformed  into  one  by  eu- 
hemerism,  somewhat  as  Iphigenia  is  to  be  considered  as 
originally  Artemis.  The  goddess  Teteionan  had  her 
special  festival  in  Mexico,  when  a  woman,  dressed  as 
goddess,  was  sacrificed ;  while  held  on  the  back  of  an- 
other woman,  her  head  was  cut  off,  then  she  was  flayed, 
and  the  skin  carried  by  a  youth,  accompanied  by  a 
numerous  retinue,  as  a  present  to  Huitzilopochtli.  Four 
prisoners  of  war  were,  moreover,  previously  sacrificed. 

Similar  to  this  story,  told  by  Clavigero,  is  another, 
narrated  by  Acosta.  According  to  the  latter,  Tozi  was 
the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Culhuacan,  and  wras  made 
the  first  human  sacrifice  by  order  of  Huitzilopochtli,  who 
desired  her  for  a  sister.  Tozi  is,  however,  none  other 
than  Tocitzin,  and  is  also  shown  to  be  'our  grandmother.' 
According  to  the  Aztec  version,  the  custom  of  dressing- 
priests  in  the  skin  of  sacrificed  beings  dates  from  her — 
such  representations  are  often  seen,  especially  in  Hum- 
boldt ;  the  Basle  collection  of  Mexican  antiquities  possesses 
also  the  stone  image  of  a  priest  dressed  in  a  human  skin. 
The  fourth  month,  Tlacaxipehualitzli,  this  is,  'to  flay  a 
man,'  derived  its  name  from  this  custom,  which  is  said  to 
have  been  most  frequent  at  this  period  of  the  year. 

Goddesses,  or  beings  representing  goddesses,  are  sacri- 
ficed in  both  of  these  fables.  We  have  met  with  human 
sacrifices  among  the  Muyscas  in  Central*America,  and  in 
connection  with  many  deities  of  the  Mexicans,  in  which 
the  human  victim  represents  the  god  to  wrhom  he  is  to 
be  sacrificed.  Slaves  impersonating  gods  were  also 
sacrificed  among  the  northern  Indians,  the  so-called 
Indios  bravos.  The  person  sacrificed  is  devoured  by 
the  god,  is  given  over  to  him,  is  already  part  of  him, 
is  the  god  himself.  Such  was  the  case  with  the  slave 
that  personated  Quetzalcoatl  in  the  merchants'  festival 
in  Cholula. 

The  critic  is  only  able  to  admit  the  relative  truth  of 

ber  the  impossibility  of  any  arrangement  of  these  mixed  and  far-involved 
legends  by  which,  without  infinite  verbiage,  this  trouble  could  be  wholly 
obviated.  In  good  time,  and  with  what  clearness  is  possible,  the  list  of  gods 
and  legends  will  be  made  as  nearly  as  may  be  complete. 


310          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  recentness  of  the  period  in  which  the  origin  of  Mexi- 
can human  sacrifices  is  placed  by  these  three  myths.  We 
already  know  that  human  sacrifices  are  very  ancient  in 
all  America,  and  that  they  have  only  been  put  aside  at  a 
few  places  by  humane  efforts ;  as  in  Peru  to  some  extent 
by  means  of  the  Incas.  We  have  met  with  them  through- 
out all  South  America. 

The  statement  so  generally  made  that  the  Toltec 
Quetzalcoatl  preached  against  human  sacrifices,  certainly 
implies  the  previous  existence  of  such  sacrifices.  This 
statement  about  Quetzalcoatl  also  points  out  the  way  to 
the  assimilation  of  the  varying  accounts,  fables,  and 
myths.  In  very  ancient  times  human  sacrifices  pre- 
dominated everywhere.  The  Toltecs,  like  the  Incas, 
endeavored  more  or  less  to  abolish  them,  and,  even  if  not 
altogether  successful,  they  reduced  them  considerably. 
The  Aztecs  re'mtroduced  them.  In  the  East  Indies, 
these  sacrifices  date  back  to  the  era  before  the  flood,  and 
the  Greeks  there  met  with  remains  of  anthropophagy, 
the  basis  thereof. 

Brahmanism  sought  to  exterminate  these  ancient  sac- 
rifices, and  the  Vedas  forbid  them,  a  prohibition  which, 
in  connection  with  the  custom  of  pretending  to  sacrifice 
human  beings,  gives  evidence  of  a  former  use  of  actual 
sacrifices.  The  later  sect  of  Shiwaits  again  introduced 
them. 

However  ancient  the  national  political  phase  of  Huit- 
zilopochtli  may  be,  the  nature  phase  is  still  older. 
This  god,  too,  has  a  nature-basis  which  not  only  explains 
his  being,  but  throws  light  upon  his  further  unfolding 
as  a  national  or  war  god.  All  searchers  who  do  not 
begin  with  this  basis,  see  nothing  but  inexplicable  rid- 
dles and  contradictions  before  them. 

This  nature-basis  is  first  seen  in  the  myth  about  his 
birth.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Tulla  there  was  a  place 
called  Coatepec,  where  lived  a  god-fearing  woman, 
called  Coatlicue.  One  day,  as  she  was  going  to  the 
temple,  according  to  her  custom,  a  gaily  colored  ball  of 
feathers  fell  down  from  heaven ;  she  picked  it  up,  and 


TWO  MOTHERS  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  311 

hid  it  in  her  bosom,  intending  to  decorate  the  altar 
therewith.  As  she  was  on  the  point  of  producing  it  for 
this  purpose,  it  could  not  be  found.  A  few  days  after- 
ward she  was  aware  of  being  pregnant.  Her  children,  the 
Centzunhuitznahuas,  also  noticed  this,  and,  in  order  to 
avoid  their  own  disgrace,  they  determined  to  kill  her  be- 
fore she  was  delivered.  Her  sorrow  was  however,  mirac- 
ulously consoled  by  a  voice  that  made  itself  heard  from 
within  her  womb,  saying:  Fear  not,  0  mother,  I  will  save 
thee  to  thy  great  honor,  and  to  my  great  fame!  The 
brothers,  urged  on  by  their  sister,  were  on  the  point  of 
killing  her,  when,  behold,  even  as  the  armed  Athena 
sprang  from  her  father's  head,  Huitzilopochtli  was  born; 
the  shield  in  his  left  hand,  the  spear  in  his  right,  the 
green  plumage  on  his  head,  and  humming-bird  feathers 
on  his  left  leg ;  his  face,  arms,  and  legs  being,  moreover, 
striped  with  blue.  At  once  he  slew  his  opponents, 
plundered  their  dwellings,  and  brought  the  spoils  to  his 
mother.  From  this  he  was  called  Terror  and  the  Fright- 
ful God. 

If  we  dissect  this  myth,  we  notice  that  another  mother 
appears  than  the  one  formerly  sacrificed  in  his  honor,  Te- 
teionan.  Two  mothers  present  nothing  remarkable  in 
mythology,  I  have  only  to  mention  Aphrodite  and  Athena, 
who  according  to  different  accounts,  had  different  fathers. 
So  long  as  the  formation  of  myths  goes  on,  founded  upon 
fresh  conceptions  of  nature,  somewhat  different  ideas 
(for  wholly  different,  even  here,  the  two  mothers  are 
not)  from  distinct  points  of  view,  are  always  possible. 
It  is  the  anthropomorphism  of  the  age  that  fixes  on  the 
one-sided  conclusion.  Teteionan  is  Huitzilopochtli' s 
mother,  because  she  is  the  mother  of  all  the  gods.  The 
mother,  in  this  instance,  is  the  Flora  of  the  Aztecs,  eu- 
hemerized  into  a  god-fearing  woman,  Coatlicue,  or  Coat- 
lantana,  of  whose  worship  in  Coatepec  and  Mexico  we 
we  have  already  spoken. 

The  second  point  prominent  in  the  myth,  is  the 
close  connection  of  Huitzilopochtli  with  the  botanical 
kingdom.  The  humming-bird  is  the  messenger  of 


312          GODS,  SUPEKNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

spring,  sent  by  the  south  to  the  north,  by  the  hot  to 
the  temperate  region.  It  is  the  means  of  fructifying  the 
flowers,  its  movements  causing  the  transfer  of  the  pol- 
len from  the  stamens  to  the  germ-shells.  It  sticks  its 
long,  thin  little  bill  deep  into  the  flower,  and  rummag- 
ing beneath  the  stamens,  drinks  the  nectar  of  the  flower, 
while  promoting  the  act  of  plant-reproduction.  In  the 
Latin  myth  also,  Mars  stands  in  close  connection  with 
Flora:  Juno  gives  him  birth  with  Flora's  aid,  without 
the  assistance  of  Jupiter.  In  our  mythology  of  the 
north,  Thor  is  on  a  friendly  footing  with  Nanna,  the 
northern  Flora.  We  are  already  acquainted  also  with 
a  fable  of  the  Pimas,  according  to  which  the  goddess  of 
maize  became  pregnant  by  a  raindrop,  and  bore  the 
forefather  of  the  people,  he  who  built  the  great  houses. 

The  question,  why  Huitzilopochtli  should  be  the  son 
of  the  goddess  of  plants,  and  wrhat  his  real  connec- 
tion with  the  botanical  kingdom  consists  in,  is  solved  by 
examining  his  worship  at  the  three  ancient  yearly  feasts, 
which  take  place  exactly  at  those  periods  of  the  year 
that  are  the  most  influential  for  the  Mexican  climate, 
the  middle  of  May,  the  middle  of  August,  and  the  end 
of  December.  As  a  rule,  in  the  first  half  of  May 
the  rain  begins.  Previous  to  this,  the  greatest  drought 
and  torpidness  reign ;  the  plants  appear  feeble  and  droop- 
ing ;  nature  is  bare,  the  earth  gray  with  dry,  withered 
grass.  After  a  few  days  of  rain,  however,  the  trees 
appear  in  a  fresh  green,  the  ground  is  covered  with  new 
herbs,  all  nature  is  reanimated.  Trees,  bushes,  plants, 
develop  their  blossoms;  a  vapory  fragrance  rises  over  all. 
The  fruit  shoots  from  the  cultivated  field,  the  juicy, 
bright  green  of  the  maize  refreshes  the  eye.  Miihlen- 
pfordt,  who  stayed  a  long  time  in  these  regions,  gives  this 
description  of  the  season.  Volker's  statement  that  rain 
and  water  stand  as  fructifying  principles  in  the  first 
rank  in  ancient  physics,  and  that  they  meet  us  in  innu- 
merable n^ths,  holds  doubly  good  for  the  tropics.  It 
requires  little  imagination  to  understand  what  a  POAYCT- 
ful  impression  transformed  nature,  with  all  its  beauty 


SISTERS  OF  HUITZILOPOCHTLI.  313 

and  blessings',  must  produce  in  the  soul  of  the  child  of 
nature.  It  is  on  this  account  that  the  ancient  Tlaloc 
came  to  enjoy  so  high  a  regard  among  the  Aztecs,  nor 
has  Quetzalcoatl  disdained  to  adorn  his  mantle  with  the 
crosses  of  a  rain-god.  And  so  Huitzilopochtli's  first  feast 
of  the  year,  the  festival  of  the  arrival  of  the  god,  of  the 
offering  of  incense,  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the 
season  of  the  reinvigorating  of  nature  by  the  rain.  The 
pagan  Germans  used  to  say  that  Nerthus,  Freya,  Hukla, 
Bertha,  Frieg,  and  other  divinities,  entered  the  country 
at  this  period.  The  Aztecs  prepared  especially  for  this 
feast  an  image  of  their  chief  god,  made  of  edible  plants 
arid  honey,  of  the  same  size  as  the  wooden  image ;  and 
the  youths  sang  the  deeds  of  their  god  before  it,  and 
hymns  praying  for  rain  and  fertility.  Offering  of  multi- 
tudes of  quails,  incense-burning,  and  the  significant  dance 
of  priests  and  virgins,  followed.  The  virgins,  who  on  this 
day  were  called  sisters  of  Huitzilopochtli,  wore  garlands 
of  dry  maize-leaves  on  their  heads,  and  carried  split 
reeds  in  their  hands;  by  this  representing  the  dry  sea- 
son. The  priests,  on  the  contrary,  represented  the 
quickened  nature,  having  their  lips  smeared  with  honey. 
Now  although,  according  to  Max  von  Wied,  there  were 
no  bees  in  America  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans,  the 
bees  are  here  represented  by  humming-birds,  also  called 
honey  or  bee  birds,  which,  hovering  and  humming  like 
bees,  gather  their  food  from  the  tube-shaped  flowers. 
This  food  consists  of  a  small  insect  that  lives  on  honey, 
and  they  feed  their  young  by  letting  them  suck  at  the 
tongue  covered  with  this  honey.  The  priests  bore, 
further,  another  symbol  of  spring:  each  one  held  a  staff 
in  his  hand,  on  which  a  flower  of  feathers  was  fixed, 
having  another  bunch  of  feathers  fixed  over  it;  thus  too, 
Freya's  hawk-plumage  denoted  the  advent  of  the  fine 
season.  A  prisoner  had  been  selected  a  year  in  advance 
as  a  victim,  arid  was  called  '  wise  lord  of  the  heaven,'  for 
he  personated  the  god,  and  had  the  privilege  of  choosing 
the  hour  of  the  sacrifice;  he  did  not  die,  like  the  other 
prisoners,  on  the  sacrifice  stone,  but  on  the  shoulders  of 


314          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  priests.  The  little  children  were  consecrated  to  the 
god  of  their  country,  at  this  festival,  by  a  small  incision 
on  the  breast. 

So  also  Mars  appears  as  god  of  spring,  he  to  whom  the 
grass  and  the  sacred  spring  time  of  the  birth  of  animals 
fver  sacrum)  were  dedicated,  whose  phief  festival  and 
whose  month  are  placed  at  the  commencement  of  spring, 
at  which  time  the  Salii  also  sang  their  old  religious  songs, 
and  a  rnan  personated  the  god.  The  Tyrian  festival  of 
the  awaking  of  Hercules  fell  also  in  spring,  for  the  same 
reason.  Thus,  in  the  myth  of  the  birth  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  and  in  his  first  festival,  spring,  or  the  energy  that 
produces  spring,  is  made  the  basis  of  his  being.  His 
warlike  attributes  are  appendages  of  the  anthropomor- 
phized national  and  war  god. 

The  second  great  festival  of  the  deity  takes  place  in 
the  middle  of  August.  The  rains  which  have  lasted 
and  refreshed  up  to  this  time,  become  intermittent,  and 
the  fine  season  approaches,  during  which  the  azure  sky  of 
the  tropics  pours  its  splendor  and  its  beneficial  warmth 
upon  men,  animals,  and  plants,  scattered  over  a  plain 
situated  8500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  is 
the  twelfth  month  there,  the  month  of  ripe  fruits.  The 
idols  in  all  temples  and  dwellings  are  decorated  with 
flowers.  It  is  now  no  longer  the  rain  which  is  the  bless- 
ing, but  the  blue  sky  which  cherishes  the  variegated 
flower- world.  For  this  reason  the  image  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  was  blue,  his  head  was  wound  round  with  an  azure 
ribbon,  in  his  right  hand  he  held  an  azure  staff  or  club, 
and  lie  sat  on  an  azure  stool,  wrhich,  according  to  ancient 
accounts,  represents  heaven  as  his  dwelling-place.  His 
arms  and  legs  had  also  blue  stripes,  and  costly  blue 
stones  hung  round  his  neck.  The  Egyptian  god  of  fer- 
tility, Khem,  was  also  represented  in  blue. 

The  third  festival  of  Huitzilopochtli  takes  place  dur- 
ing the  winter  solstice,  a  period  which  plays  a  great  role 
in  all  worships  and  myths.  The  best-known  festival  of 
this  kind  is  the  one  held  on  the  25th  of  December 
throughout  the  Roman  Empire,  to  celebrate  the  birth  of 


DEATH  OF  VEGETATION.  315 

Mithras,  the  invincible  sun.  The  Chipewas  in  North 
America  call  December  the  month  of  the  small  spirit, 
and  January  that  of  the  great  spirit.  The  Mexican  fes- 
tival of  this  month  represented  the  character  of  the  enter- 
ing season,  and  the  new  state  of  nature.  The  cold  sets 
in,  the  mountains  are  covered  with  snow,  the  ground 
dries  up,  the  plants  search  in  vain  for  their  nourishment, 
many  trees  lose  their  foliage — in  a  word,  nature  seems 
dead.  And  so  it  happened  with  their  god.  The  priests 
prepared  his  image  of  various  seeds  kneaded  with  the 
blood  of  sacrificed  children.  Numerous  religious  purify  - 
ings  and  penances,  washings  with  water,  blood-lettings, 
fasts,  processions,  burning  of  incense,  sacrifices  of  quails 
and  human  beings,  inaugurated  the  festival.  One  of 
Quetzalcoatl's  priests  then  shot  an  arrow  at  this  image 
of  Huitzilopochtli,  which  penetrated  the  god  who  was 
now  considered  as  dead.  His  heart  was  cut  out,  as 
with  human  victims,  and  eaten  by  the  king,  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  god  on  earth.  The  body,  however,  was 
divided  among  the  various  quarters  of  the  city,  so  that 
every  man  received  a  piece.  This  was  called  teoqualo  i  the 
god  who  is  eaten.' 

The  meaning  of  the  death  of  this  god  is,  on  the  whole, 
evident;  it  corresponds  with  the  death  of  vegetation ;  and 
a  comparison  of  the  myth  of  his  birth,  with  the  two 
other  feasts  of  Huitzilopochtli,  leads  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion. This  third  feast  is,  therefore,  at  the  same  time,  a 
festival  in  honor  of  the  brother  of  this  god,  Tezcatlipoca, 
the  god  of  the  under-world,  of  death,  of  drought,  and  of 
hunger,  whose  rule  commences  where  that  of  his  brother 
ends.  The  myth  gives  a  similar  form  and  sense  to  the 
death  of  Osiris,  who  is  killed  by  Typhon,  and  the  death 
of  Dionysos  and  Hercules  in  the  Phoenician  colonies. 
Adonis  lives  with  Aphrodite  during  one  half  of  the  year, 
and  with  Persephone  the  other  half;  the  Indian  Krish- 
na leaves  for  the  under-world ;  thus,  too,  Brahma  and  the 
Celtic  sun-god,  Hu,  died  yearly,  and  were  yearly  born 
again.  The  festival  of  the  self-burning  of  the  T3<rian 
Heracles  is  also  of  this  kind ;  it  takes  place  at  the  time. 


1316          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  the  dying  off  of  vegetation,  even  if  this  should  be  in 
the  summer. 

As  regards  the  custom  of  eating  the  god,  this  also 
occurs  at  another  feast  which  is  celebrated  during  this 
season,  in  honor  of  the  gods  of  the  mountains  and  the 
water.  Small  idols  of  seeds  and  dough  were  then  pre- 
pared, their  breasts  were  opened  like  those  of  human  vic- 
tims, the  heart  was  cut  out,  and  the  body  distributed  for 
eating.  The  time  at  which  this  occurs,  shows  that  it 
stands  in  necessary  connection  with  the  death  of  the  god. 
When  the  god  dies  it  must  be  as  a  sacrifice  in  the  fashion 
of  his  religion,  and  when  the  anthropomorphized  god 
dies,  it  is  as  a  human  sacrifice  amid  all  the  necessary 
usages  pertaining  thereto:  he  is  killed  by  priests,  the 
heart  is  torn  out,  and  his  body  eaten  at  the  sacrifice 
meal,  just  as  was  done  with  every  human  sacrifice. 
Could  it  be  meant  that  the  god,  in  being  eaten,  is  im- 
parted to,  or  incorporated  with,  the  person  eating  him  ? 
This  is  no  doubt  so,  though  not  in  the  abstract,  meta- 
physical, Christian  or  moral  sense,  but  only  with  regard 
to  his  nature-sense,  (seiner  Naturseite),  which  is  the  real 
essence  of  the  god.  He  gives  his  body,  in  seed,  to  be 
eaten  by  his  people,  just  as  nature,  dying  at  the  approach 
of  the  winter,  at  this  very  period,  has  stored  up  an 
abundance  of  its  gifts  for  the  sustenance  of  man.  It 
gives  man  its  life-fruit,  or  its  fruit  of  life  as  a  host  or 
holy  wafer.  As  a  rule,  the  god,  during  the  time  of  sac- 
rifice, regales  with  the  offering  those  bringing  sacrifices; 
and,  the  eating  of  the  flesh  of  the  slave,  who  so  often 
represents  the  god  to  whom  he  is  sacrificed,  is  the  same 
as  eating  the  god.  We  have  heard  of  the  custom  among 
some  nations  of  eating  the  ashes  of  their  forefathers,  to 
whom  they  give  divine  honors,  in  order  to  become  pos- 
sessors of  their  virtues.  The  Arkansas  nation,  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  which  worshiped  the  dog,  used  to  eat 
dog-flesh  at  one  of  its  feasts.  Many  other  peoples 
solemnly  slaughter  animals,  consume  their  flesh,  and 
moreover  pay  divine  honors  to  the  remains  of  these  ani- 
mals. Here  the  eating  of  the  god,  in  seeds,  is  made 


YEARLY  LIFE  OF  THE  PLANT-WORLD.  317 

clear — this  custom  also  existed  among  the  Greeks.  The 
division  of  the  year-god  by  the  ancients,  in  myth  and 
religious  system,  has,  for  the  rest,  no  other  sense  than 
has  this  distribution  of  the  body  of  Huitzilopochtli.  This 
is  done  with  the  sun-bull  at  the  festival  of  the  Persian 
Mithras,  as  at  the  feast,  and  in  the  myth  of  the  Diony- 
sos-Zagreus,  of  Osiris  and  Attys. 

The  three  yearly  festivals,  as  well  as  the  myth  of  his 
birth,  all  tend  to  show  the  positive  connection  of  Huit- 
zilopochtli with  the  yearly  life  of  the  plant- world. 
The  first  festival  is  the  arrival  of  the  god,  as  the  plant- 
world  is  ushered  in,  with  its  hymns  praying  for  rain, 
its  virgins  representing  the  sisters  of  the  god  and  the 
inimical  drought,  in  the  same  sense  as  the  brothers  and 
sister,  especially  the  latter,  are  his  enemies  in  the  myth 
of  his  birth,  and,  as  Tezcatlipoca,  the  god  of  drought  is 
his  brother.  Brothers  and  sisters  not  seldom  represent 
parallel  contrasts  in  mythology  and  worship.  The 
second  celebration  presents  the  god  as  the  botanical 
kingdom  in  its  splendor,  for  which  reason  the  Mexicans 
call  the  humming-bird  the  sunbeam,  from  the  form  as- 
sumed by  the  god  at  this  time.  The  humming-bird, 
moreover,  takes  also  his  winter  sleep,  and  thus  the  god 
dies  in  winter  with  the  plants.  The  Greenlanders  asked 
the  younger  Egede  if  the  god  of  heaven  and  earth  ever 
died,  and,  when  answered  in  the  negative,  they  were 
much  surprised,  and  said  that  he  must  surely  be  a  great 
god.  This  intimate  connection  with  the  plant-world  is 
also  shown  in  the  birth-myth  of  Huitzilopochtli,  who  here 
appears  as  the  son  of  the  goddess  of  plants.  It  now  be- 
comes easier  to  answer  the  question  of  Wuttke :  has  the 
fable  of  this  birth  reference  merely  to  the  making  a  man 
out  of  a  god  already  existing,  or  to  the  actual  birth 
of  the  god?  The  Aztecs,  it  is  true,  were  undecided  on 
this  point,  some  conceding  to  him  a  human  existence  on 
earth,  others  investing  him  with  a  conciousness  of  his 
nature  being.  We,  however,  answer  this  question  simply, 
from  the  preceding:  the  birth  of  the  god  is  annual,  and 
the  myth  has  therefrom  invented  one  birth,  said  to  have 


318          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

taken  place  at  some  period,  while  the  anthropomorphism 
fables  very  prettily  the  transformation  into  a  man.  Of 
the  former  existence  of  a  born  god,  the  myth  knows 
nothing,  for  it  is  only  afterward  that  it  raises  the  god 
into  heaven.  It  has  not,  however,  come  to  euhemerism 
in  the  case  of  Huitzilopochtli,  though  it  has  with  Huit- 
ziton.  In  placing  the  god  in  the  position  of  son  to  the 
plant-goddess,  the  myth  separates  his  being  from  that  of 
the  mother,  consequently,  Huitzilopochtli  is  not  the  plant- 
world  himself,  however  closely  he  may  be  related  to  it. 
This  is  made  clearer  by  following  up  the  birth-myth, 
which  makes  him  out  to  be  not  only  the  son  of  Coatlicue, 
but  also  of  the  force  causing  her  fructification.  The 
variegated  ball  of  feathers  which  fell  from  heaven,  is 
none  other  than  Huitzilopochtli  himself,  the  little  hum- 
ming-bird, which  is  the  means  of  fructifying  the  plants, 
and  the  virile,  fructifying  nature-force  manifested  by 
and  issuing  from  him  in  the  spring.  He  is  also  born 
with  the  feather-tuft,  and  this  symbol  of  the  fine  season 
never  leaves  him  in  any  of  his  forms,  it  remains  his  at- 
tribute. 

The  Tapuas  in  South  America  have,  after  a  similar 
symbolism,  the  custom,  at  their  yearly  seed-sowing 
festivals,  of  letting  some  one  hang  a  bunch  of  ostrich- 
feathers  on  his  back,  the  feathers  being  spread  over  like 
a  wheel.  This  feather-bunch  is  their  symbol  of  the  fruc- 
tifying power  which  comes  from  heaven.  Their  belief 
that  bread  falls  from  heaven  into  this  tuft  of  feathers  is 
thus  made  clear.  In  this  myth  we  find  the  natural  basis 
of  such  a  birth-myth.  In  our  northern  mythology, 
Xeekris,  the  ball,  is,  in  the  same  manner,  the  father  of 
Nanna,  the  northern  Flora.  That  this  virile  power  of 
heaven  is  made  to  appear  as  a  ball  of  feathers,  suits  the 
humming-bird  god.  The  Esths  also  imagined  their  god 
of  thunder,  as  the  god  of  warmth,  in  the  form  of  a  bird. 
In  the  same  sense,  doves  were  consecrated  to  Zeus, 
in  Dodona  and  Arcadia,  and  a  flying  bird  is  a  symbol 
of  heaven  among  the  Chinese.  This  force  may,  how- 
ever, be  symbolized  in  another  form,  and  give  rise  to  a 


THE  VIRILE  NATURE-POWER.  319 

birth-myth  of  exactly  the  same  kind.  Thus,  the 
daughter  of  the  god  Sangarius,  in  the  Phrygian  myth, 
hid  in  her  bosom  the  fruit  of  an  almond-tree,  which  had 
grown  out  of  the  seed  of  the  child  of  the  earth,  Agdistis: 
the  fruit  disappeared,  the  daughter  became  pregnant  and 
bore  the  beautiful  boy  Attes.  According  to  Arnobius, 
it  was  the  fruit  of  a  pomegranate-tree,  which  fructified 
Nanna.  Among  the  Chinese,  a  nymph,  called  Puzza, 
the  nourisher  of  all  living  things,  became  pregnant  by 
eating  a  lotus-flower,  and  gave  birth  to  a  great  law- 
giver and  conqueror.  Danae,  again,  becomes  pregnant 
from  the  golden  shower  of  Zeus — an  easily  understood 
symbolism.  It  is  alwa}Ts  the  virile  nature -power,  either 
as  seen  in  the  sun,  or  in  the  azure  sky  (for  which  reason 
Huitzilopochtli  is  called  the  lord  of  the  heaven,  Ochibus 
or  Huchilobos) ,  which  puts  the  variegated  seed  into  the 
womb  of  the  plant- world,  '  at  the  same  time  bringing 
himself  forth  again,  and  making  himself  manifest  in  the 
plant- world.'  This  heavenly  life-force  no  sooner  finds 
an  earthly  mother- womb  than  its  triumph  is  assured,  even 
before  birth,  while  developing  its  bud ;  just  as  the  inner 
voice,  in  the  myth,  consoled  the  mother,  and  protected 
her  against  all  her  enemies.  It  is  only  after  his  birth 
that  the  myth  holds  Huitzilopochtli  as  a  personal  an- 
thropomorphic god. 

This  is  the  natural  signification  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
which  we  have  accepted  as  the  basis  of  all  other  devel- 
opments of  the  god,  and  for  this  universal  reason, 
namely,  that  the  most  ancient  heathen  gods  are  nature- 
gods,  mythologic  rules  being  followed,  and  that  the  pagan 
religion  is  essentially  a  nature-worship  as  well  as  a  poly- 
theism. The  special  investigation  and  following  up  of 
the  various  virtues  have  led  to  the  same  result.  But, 
as  this  view  has  not  yet  been  generally  accepted  in  re- 
gard to  this  god,  a  few  words  concerning  the  union  of 
the  anthropomorphic-  national  aspect  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
with  his  natural  one  may  be  added.  It  has  been  thought 
necessary  to  make  the  martial  phase  of  Huitzilopochtli 
the  basis  of  .the  others,  as  with  Mars.  War  is,  from 


320          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

this  point  of  view,  a  child  of  spring,  because  weapons 
are  then  resumed  after  the  long  winter  armistice.  This 
is  not  at  all  the  case  with  Huitzilopochtli,  because  the 
rainy  season,  setting  in  in  spring,  when  the  arrival  and 
birth  of  the  god  are  celebrated,  renders  the  soft  roads  of 
Mexico  unsuitable  for  war  expeditions.  Wars  were 
originally  children  of  autumn,  at  which  time  the  ripe 
fruits  were  objects  of  robbery.  But  the  idea  of  a  war 
and  national  god  is  easily  connected  with  the  basis  of  a 
fructifying  god  of  heaven.  This  chief  nature-god  may 
either  be  god  of  heaven,  as  Huitzilopochtli,  as  the  rain- 
giving  Zeus  is  made  the  national  god  by  Homer,  to 
whom  human  sacrifices  were  brought  in  Arcadia  down 
to  a  late  period,  or  he  may  be  a  sun-god,  like  Baal,  to 
whom  prayers  for  rain  were  addressed  in  Phoenicia,  to 
further  the  growth  of  the  fruit,  and  who  also  received 
human  sacrifices.  The  Celtic  Hu  is  also  an  ethereal 
war  god,  properly  sun-god,  who  received  human  sacri- 
fices in  honor  of  the  victory  of  spring ;  none  the  less  is 
Odin's  connection  with  war,  battle,  and  war  horrors;  he 
is  a  fire-god,  like  Moloch  and  Shiva,  to  whom  human 
sacrifices  were  made  for  fear  of  famine  and  failure  of 
crops.  The  apparent  basis  of  such  a  god  has  not  to  be 
considered  so  much  as  the  point  that  the  people  ascribed 
to  him  the  chief  government  of  the  course  of  the  year.  In 
such  a  case,  the  chief  ruler  also  becomes  the  national  god, 
the  life  of  the  nation  depending  immediately  on  the 
yearly  course  of  nature.  Is  the  nation  warlike,  then,  the 
national  god  naturally  becomes  a  war  god  as  well.  As 
anthropomorphism  connects  itself  with  the  nature-god 
only  at  a  later  period,  so  does  his  worship  as  war  god 
and  national  god.  In  the  case  of  Mars,  as  well  as  of 
Picus  and  Faunus,  the  same'  succession  is  followed. 
Mars,  for  example,  is  called  upon  in  a  prayer  which  has 
been  preserved  by  Cato,  to  protect  shepherds  and  flocks, 
and  to  avert  bad  weather  and  misgrowth ;  Virgil  refers 
to  him  as  a  god  of  plants.  In  the  song  of  the  Arvalian 
brothers,  he  is  called  upon  as  the  protector  of  the  flowers. 
Thus,  in  his  case  also,  the  nature  side  is  the  basis.  The 


5NAKE  SYMBOLISM.  321 

Chinese  symbolism  of  the  union  of  the  two  sides  or 
phases,  is  expressed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  spears 
and  weapons  representations  of  the  germs  of  plants. 
This  union  has  already  been  illustrated  among  the 
Aztecs,  in  the  humming-bird,  the  sunbeam  which  plays 
round  the  flowers,  in  whose  little  body  the  intensest  war 
spirit  burns.  Among  the  Egyptians,  the  beetle  was 
placed  upon  the  ring  of  the  warrior,  with  whom  it  sig- 
nified world  and  production. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  another  attribute  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli,  the  snake  attribute.  Huitzilopochtli  is  also  a 
snake-god.  We  have  already,  when  treating  of  the 
snake- worship  of  the  Mayas,  referred  to  the  numerous 
snakes  with  which  this  god  is  connected  by  myth  and 
image,  and  how  this  attribute  was  added  to  the  original 
humming-bird  attribute,  in  Coatepec,  where  the  snake- 
goddess  Coatlicue  gave  him  birth.  If  the  snake  signi- 
fies, in  one  case,  time,  in  another,  world,  and  in  another 
instance,  water,  or  the  yearly  rejuvenation  of  germs  and 
blossoms,  the  eternal  circle  of  nature,  domination,  sooth- 
saying,— it  is  quite  proper;  for  all  these  qualities  are 
found  united  in  the  god.  Still  other  qualities,  not 
seemingly  possessed  by  him,  we  pass  over,  such  as  a 
connection  with  the  earth  and  with  the  healing  power,  to 
be  found  in  other  Mexican  gods,  or  the  evil  principle, 
which  is  entirely  wanting.  Just  as  the  snake  changes 
its  skin  every  year,  and  takes  its  winter  sleep,  so  does 
Huitzilopochtli,  whose  mother,  Flora,  is,  therefore,  a 
snake-goddess.  Even  so  the  snake  represents  the  seed- 
corn  in  the  mysteries  of  Demeter.  In  the  Sabazii  it  re- 
presents the  fructifying  Zeus  and  the  blessing.  It  is  also 
the  symbol  of  productive  power  and  heat,  or  of  life,  attri- 
bute of  the  life-endowing  Shiva ;  among  the  Egyptians  it 
represents  the  yearly  rejuvenation  of  germs  and  blossoms. 
The  snake  Agathodsemon  appears  with  ears  of  grain  and 
poppies,  as  the  symbol  of  fertility.  If  the  god  exhibits 
this  nature  of  his,  in  spring,  in  the  rain,  then  the  snake 
is  a  suitable  attribute.  In  India,  snakes  are  genii  of 
seas,  and  the  Punjab,  whose  fertility  is  assured  by  the 


VOL.  III.    21 


322          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

yearly  inundations,  lias  the  name  of  snake  lands  (ISTag- 
akhanda),  and  claims  an  ancient  worship.  The  sustain- 
ing water-god,  Vishnu,  also  received  the  snake  attribute. 
Among  the  Chinese,  the  water  could  be  represented  by 
a  snake.  The  Peruvians  call  the  boa  constrictor  the 
mother  of  nature. 

The  idea  of  the  yearly  renewal  of  nature  is  also  con- 
nected with  that  of  time  forever  young,  and  the  Aztecs, 
therefore,  encircle  their  cycle  with  a  snake  as  the  sym- 
bol of  time.  The  more  positive  signification  which 
the  snake,  placed  by  the  side  of  the  humming-bird,  gives 
to  Huitzilopochtli,  is  that  of  a  soothsaying  god,  like  the 
snake  Python  among  the  Greeks.  The  snake  signified 
'king'  among  the  Egyptians,  and  this  suits  Huitzilo- 
pochtli also,  who  may  properly  enough  be  considered  the 
real  king  of  his  people.  If,  as  connected  with  Huitzilo- 
pochtli, the  snake  also  represents  the  war  god,  on  ac- 
count of  its  spirited  mode  of  attack,  I  cannot  with  cer- 
tainty say,  but  the  myth  as  well  as  the  worship  places 
it  in  this  relation  to  the  war  goddess  Athene.  Although 
the  idea  of  a  national  and  a  war  god  is  not  quite  obscured 
in  the  snake  attribute,  yet  the  nature  side  is  especially 
denoted  by  it,  as  in  the  southern  countries,  where  snake 
worship  prevailed ;  the  reference  to  the  southern  nature 
of  this  god  is  quite  evident  in  the  snake  attribute.  In 
the  north,  moisture,  represented  by  the  snake,  has  never 
attained  the  cosmological  import  which  it  has  in  the  hot 
countries  of  the  south.  There,  the  snake  rather  repre- 
sents an  anticosmogonic,  or  a  bad  principle.15 

Mr  Tylor,  without  committing  himself  to  any  extent  in 
details,  yet  agrees,  as  far  as  he  goes,  with  Mliller.  He 
says:  "  The  very  name  of  Mexico  seems  derived  from 
Mexitli,  the  national  war-god,  identical  or  identified 
with  the  hideous  gory  Huitzilopochtli.  Not  to  attempt 
a  general  solution  of  the  enigmatic  nature  of  this  inex- 
tricable compound  parthenogenetic  deity,  we  may  notice 
the  association  of  his  principal  festival  with  the  winter- 

u  Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urreligiontn,  pp.  591-612. 


WINTER-SOLSTICE  FESTIVAL.  323 

solstice,  when  his  paste  idol  was  shot  through  with  an 
arrow,  and  being  thus  killed,  was  divided  into  morsels 
and  eaten,  wherefore  the  ceremony  was  called  the  teo- 
qualo,  or  '  god-eating.'  This,  and  other  details,  tend  to 
show  Huitzilopochtli  as  originally  a  nature-deity,  whose 
life  and  death  were  connected  with  the  year's,  wrhile  his 
functions  of  war-god  may  be  of  later  addition."16 

Of  this  festival  of  the  winter  solstice  the  date  and 
further  particulars  are  given  by  the  Vatican  Codex  as 
follows : — 

The  name  Panquetzaliztli,  of  the  Mexican  month  that 
began  on  the  first  of  December,  means,  being  interpreted, 
4  the  elevation  of  banners.'  For,  on  the  first  day  of  De- 
cember every  person  raised  over  his  house  a  small  paper 
flag  in  honor  of  this  god  of  battle ;  and  the  captains  and 
soldiers  sacrificed  those  that  they  had  taken  prisoners  in 
war,  who,  before  they  were  sacrificed,  being  set  at 
liberty,  and  presented  with  arms  equal  to  their  adver- 
saries, were  allowed  to  defend  themselves  till  they 
were  either  vanquished  or  killed,  and  thus  sacrificed. 
The  Mexicans  celebrated  in  this  month  the  festival  of 
their  first  captain,  Vichilopuchitl.  They  celebrated  at 
this  time  the  festival  of  the  wafer  or  cake.  They  made  a 
a  cake  of  the  meal  of  bledos,  which  is  called  tzoalli,  and 
having  made  it,  they  spoke  over  it  in  their  manner, 
and  broke  it  into  pieces.  These  the  high  priest  put  into 
certain  very  clean  vessels,  and  with  a  thorn  of  maguey, 
which  resembles  a  thick  needle,  he  took  up  with  the 
utmost  reverence  single  morsels,  and  put  them  into  the 
mouth  of  each  individual,  in  the  manner  of  a  com- 
munion,—and  I  am  willing  to  believe  that  these  poor 
people  have  had  the  knowledge  of  our  mode  of  com- 
munion or  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel;  or  perhaps 
the  devil,  most  envious  of  the  honor  of  God,  may  have 
led  them  into  this  superstition  in  order  that  by  this 
ceremony  he  might  be  adored  and  served  as  Christ  our 
Lord.  On  the  twenty-first  of  December  they  cele- 

»6  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult,,  vol.  ii.,  p  279. 


324          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

brated  the  festival  of  this  god, — through  whose  instru- 
mentality, they  say,  the  earth  became  again  visible  after 
it  had  been  drowned  with  the  waters  of  the  deluge:  they 
therefore  kept  his  festival  during  the  twenty  following 
days,  in  which  they  offered  sacrifices  to  him.17 

The  deity  Tlaloc,  or  Tlalocateuchtli,  whom  we  have 
several  times  found  mentioned  as  seated  beside  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  in  the  great  temple,  was  the  god  of  water  and 
rain,  and  the  fertilizer  of  the  earth.  He  was  held 
to  reside  where  the  clouds  gather,  upon  the  highest 
mountain-tops,  especially  upon  those  of  Tlaloc,  Tlascala, 
and  Toluca,  and  his  attributes  were  the  thunderbolt,  the 
flash,  and  the  thunder.  It  was  also  believed  that  in 
the  high  hills  there  resided  other  gods,  subaltern  to 
Tlaloc — all  passing  under  the  same  name,  and  revered 
not  only  as  gods  of  water  but  also  as  gods  of  moun- 
tains. The  prominent  colors  of  the  image  of  Tlaloc  were 
azure  and  green,  thereby  symbolizing  the  various  shades 
of  water.  The  decorations  of  this  image  varied  a  good 
deal  according  to  locality  and  the  several  fancies  of 
different  worshipers:  the  description  of  Gama,  founded 
on  the  inspection  of  original  works  of  Mexican  religious 
art,  is  the  most  authentic  and  complete.  In  the  great 
temple  of  Mexico,  in  his  own  proper  chapel,  called  epe- 
oatl,  adjoining  that  of  Huitzilopochtli,  this  god  of  water 
stood  upon  his  pedestal.  In  his  left  hand  was  a  shield 
ornamented  with  feathers;  in  his  right  were  certain 
thin,  shining,  wavy  sheets  of  gold  representing  his 
thunderbolts,  or  sometimes  a  golden  serpent  represent- 
ing either  the  thunderbolt  or  the  moisture  with  which 
this  deity  was  so  intimately  connected.  On  his  feet  were 
a  kind  of  half-boots,  with  little  bells  of  gold  hanging  there- 
from. Round  his  neck  was  a  band  or  collar  set  with 
gold  and  gems  of  price ;  while  from  his  wrists  depended 
strings  of  costly  stones,  even  such  as  are  the  ornaments  of 
kings.  His  vesture  was  an  azure  smock  reaching  to  the 
middle  of  the  thigh,  cross-hatched  all  over  with  ribbons 

17  Spieyazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  fVaticanoJ,  tav.  lxxi.-ii., 
in  Kin'jsboroiKjh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v,,  pp.  195-0. 


DECORATIONS  OF  TLALOC.  325 

of  silver  forming  squares;  and  in  the  middle  of  each 
square  was  a  circle  also  of  silver,  while  in  the  angles 
thereof  were  flowers,  pearl-colored,  with  yellow  leaves 
hanging  down.  And  even  as  the  decoration  of  the  vest- 
ure so  was  that  of  the  shield ;  the  ground  blue,  covered 
with  crossed  ribbons  of  silver  and  circles  of  silver:  and 
the  feathers  of  yellow  and  green  and  flesh-color  and 
blue,  each  color  forming  a  distinct  band.  The  body  was 
naked  from  mid-thigh  down,  and  of  a  grey  tint,  as  was 
also  the  face.  This  face  had  only  one  eye  of  a  somewhat 
extraordinary  character:  there  was  an  exterior  circle  of 
blue,  the  interior  was  white  with  a  black  line  across  it 
and  a  little  semi-circle  below  the  line.  Either  round 
the  whole  eye  or  round  the  mouth  was  a  doubled  band, 
or  ribbon  of  blue ;  this,  although  unnoticed  by  Torque- 
mada,  is  affirmed  by  Grama  to  have  been  never  omitted 
from  any  figure  of  Tlaloc,  to  have  been  his  most  char- 
acteristic device,  and  that  which  distinguished  him  speci- 
ally from  the  other  gods.  In  his  open  mouth  were  to  be 
seen  only  three  grinders;  his  front  teeth  were  painted 
red,  as  was  also  the  pendant,  with  its  button  of  gold, 
that  hung  from  his  ear.  His  head-adornment  was  an 
open  crown,  covered  in  its  circumference  with  white  and 
green  feathers,  and  from  behind  it  over  the  shoulder 
depended  other  plumes  of  red  and  white.  Sometimes 
the  insignium  of  the  thunderbolt  is  omitted  with  this 
god,  and  Ixtlilxochitl  represents  him,  in  the  picture  of 
the  month  Etzalli,  with  a  cane  of  maize  in  the  one  hand, 
and  in  the  other  a  kind  of  instrument  with  which  he 
was  digging  in  the  ground.  In  the  ground  thus  dug  were 
put  maize  leaves  filled  with  a  kind  of  food,  like  fritters, 
called  etzalli;  from  this  the  month  took  its  name.18 

A  prayer  to  this  god  has  been  preserved  by  Sahagun, 
in  which  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  word  Tlaloc  is  used 
sometimes  in  the  singular  and  sometimes  in  the  plural  :— 

0  our  Lord,  most  clement,  liberal  giver  and  lord  of 
verdure  and  coolness,  lord  of  the  terrestrial  paradise, 

18  Clavir/ero,  Sloria  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  14;  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos 
Piedras,  pt  L,  p.  101,  pt  ii.,  pp.  76-9. 


326          GODS,  SUPERNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

odorous  and  flowery,  and  lord  of  the  incense  of  copal,  woe 
are  we  that  the  gods  of  water,  thy  subjects,  have  hid 
themselves  away  in  their  retreat,  who  are  wont  to  serve 
us  with  the  things  we  need  and  who  are  themselves 
served  with  ulli  and  aucktli  and  copal.  They  have  left 
concealed  all  the  things  that  sustain  our  lives,  and 
carried  away  with  them  their  sister  the  goddess  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  carried  away  also  the  goddess  of 
pepper.  0  our  Lord,  take  pity  on  us  that  live;  our  food 
goes  to  destruction,  is  lost,  is  dried  up ;  for  lack  of  water, 
it  is  as  if  turned  to  dust  and  mixed  with  spiders'  webs. 
Woe  for  the  miserable  laborers  and  for  the  common 
people ;  they  are  wasted  with  hunger,  they  go  about  un- 
recognizable and  disfigured  every  one.  They  are  blue 
under  the  eyes  as  with  death ;  their  mouths  are  dry  as 
sedge;  all  the  bones  of  their  bodies  may  be  counted 
as  in  a  skeleton.  The  children  are  disfigured  and  yellow 
as  earth;  not  only  those  that  begin  to  walk,  but  even 
those  in  the  cradle.  There  is  no  one  to  whom  this  tor- 
ment of  hunger  does  not  come;  the  very  animals  and 
birds  suffer  hard  want,  by  the  drought  that  is.  It  is 
pitiful  to  see  the  birds,  some  dragging  themselves  along 
with  drooping  wings,  others  falling  down  utterly  and  un- 
able to  \valk,  and  others  still  with  their  mouths  open 
through  this  hunger  and  thirst.  The  animals,  0  our 
Lord,  it  is  a  grievous  sight  to  see  them  stumbling  and 
falling,  licking  the  earth  for  hunger,  and  panting  with 
open  mouth  and  hanging  tongue.  The  people  lose  their 
senses  and  die  for  thirst;  they  perish,  none  is  like  to  re- 
main. It  is  woeful,  0  our  Lord,  to  see  all  the  face  of 
the  earth  dry,  so  that  it  cannot  produce  the  herbs  nor 
the  trees,  nor  anything  to  sustain  us, — the  earth  that 
used  to  be  as  a  father  and  mother  to  us,  giving  us  milk 
and  *all  nourishment,  herbs  and  fruits  that  therein  grew. 
Now  is  all  dry,  all  lost;  it  is  evident  that  the  Tlaloc 
gods  have  carried  all  away  with  them,  and  hid  in 
their  retreat,  which  is  the  terrestrial  paradise.  The 
things,  0  Lord,  that  thou  wert  graciously  wont  to  give 
us,  upon  which  we  lived  and  were  joyful,  which  are  the 


PEAYEK  TO  TLALOC.  327 

life  and  joy  of  all  the  world,  and  precious  as  emeralds 
or  sapphires, — all  these  things  are  departed  from  us. 
0  our  Lord,  god  of  nourishment  and  giver  thereof,  most 
humane  and  most  compassionate,  what  thing  hast  thou 
determined  to  do  with  us?  Hast  thou,  perad venture 
altogether  forsaken  us?  Thy  wrath  and  indignation 
shall  it  not  be  appeased  ?  Hast  thou  determined  on  the 
perdition  of  all  thy  servants  and  vassals,  and  that  thy 
city  and  kingdom  shall  be  left  desolate  and  uninhabited? 
Perad  venture,  this  has  been  determined,  and  settled  in 
heaven  and  hades.  0  our  Lord,  concede  at  least  this, 
that  the  innocent  children,  who  cannot  so  much  as  walk, 
who  are  still  in  the  cradle,  may  have  something  to  eat,  so 
that  they  may  live,  and  not  die  in  this  so  great  famine. 
What  have  they  done  that  they  should  be  tormented  and 
should  die  of  hunger  ?  No  iniquity  have  they  committed , 
neither  know  they  what  thing  it  is  to  sin;  they  have 
neither  offended  the  god  of  heaven  nor  the  god  of  hell. 
We,  if  we  have  offended  in  many  things,  if  our  sins  have 
reached  heaven  and  hades,  and  the  stink  thereof  gone 
out  to  the  endvS  of  the  earth,  just  it  is  that  we  be  de- 
stroyed and  made  an  end  of;  we  have  nothing  to  say 
thereto,  nor  to  excuse  ourselves  withal,  nor  to  resist 
what  is  determined  against  us  in  heaven  and  in  hades. 
Let  it  be  done;  destroy  us  all,  and  that  swiftly,  that  we 
may  not  suffer  from  this  long  weariness  which  is  worse 
than  if  we  burned  in  fire.  Certainly  it  is  a  horri- 
ble thing  to  suffer  this  hunger;  it  is  like  a  snake  lacking 
food,  it  gulps  down  its  saliva,  it  hisses,  it  cries  out  for 
something  to  devour.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  see  the 
anguish  of  it  demanding  somewhat  to  eat;  this  hunger 
is  intense  as  burning  fire,  flinging  out  sparks.  Lord, 
let  the  thing  happen  that  many  years  ago  we  have  heard 
said  by  the  old  men  and  women  that  have  passed  away 
from  us,  let  the  heavens  fall  on  us  and  the  demons  of 
the  air  come  down,  the  Izitzimites,  who  are  to  come  to 
destroy  the  earth  with  all  that  dwell  on  it ;  let  darkness 
and  obscurity  cover  the  whole  world,  and  the  habitation 
of  men  be  nowhere  found  therein.  This  thing  was 


328          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

known  to  the  ancients,  and  they  divulged  it,  and  from 
mouth  to  mouth  it  has  come  down  to  us,  all  this  that 
has  to  happen  when  the  world  ends  and  the  earth  is 
weary  of  producing  creatures.  Our  Lord,  such  present 
end  would  be  now  dear  to  us  as  riches  or  pleasures  once 
were — miserable  that  we  are!  See  good,  0  Lord,  that 
there  fall  some  pestilence  to  end  us  quickly.  Such 
plague  usually  comes  from  the  god  of  hades;  and  if  it 
came  there  would  peradventure  be  provided  some  allow- 
ance of  food,  so  that  the  dead  should  not  travel  to  hades 
without  any  provision  for  the  way.  0  that  this  tribu- 
lation were  of  war,  which  is  originated  by  the  sun,  and 
which  breaks  from  sleep  like  a  strong  and  valiant  one, 
—for  then  would  the  soldiers  and  the  brave,  the  stout 
and  warlike  men,  take  pleasure  therein.  In  it  many 
die,  and  much  blood  is  spilt,  and  the  battle-field  is  filled 
with  dead  bodies  and  with  the  bones  and  skulls  of  the 
vanquished ;  strewn  also  is  the  face  of  the  earth  with 
the  hairs  of  the  head  of  warriors  that  rot ;  but  this  they 
fear  not,  for  they  know  that  their  souls  go  to  ,the  house 
of  the  sun.  And  there  they  honor  the  sun  with  joyful 
voices,  and  suck  the  various  flowers  with  great  delight ; 
there  all  the  stout  and  valiant  ones  that  died  in  war  are 
glorified  and  extolled ;  there  also  the  little  and  tender 
children  that  die  in  war  are  presented  to  the  Sun,  very 
clean  and  well  adorned  and  shining  like  precious  stones. 
Thy  sister,  the  goddess  of  food,  provides  for  those 
that  go  thither,  supplying  them  with  provision  for  the 
way;  and  this  provision  of  necessary  things  is  the 
strength  and  the  soul  and  the  staff  of  all  the  people  of 
the  world,  and  without  it  there  is  no  life.  But  this 
hunger  with  which  we  are  afflicted,  0  our  most  humane 
Lord,  is  so  sore  and  intolerable  that  the  miserable  com- 
mon people  are  not  able  to  suffer  nor  support  it;  being 
still  alive  they  die  many  deaths;  and  not  the  people 
alone  suffer  but  also  all  the  animals.  0  our  most 
compassionate  Lord,  lord  of  green  things  and  gums, 
of  herbs  odorous  and  virtuous,  I  beseech  thee  to  look 
with  eyes  of  pity  on  the  people  of  this  thy  city  and 


PRAYER  FOR  RAIN.  329 

kingdom;    for    the    whole    world    down   to   the   very 
beasts   is   in   peril  of  destruction,    and    disappearance, 
and    irremediable    end.      Since    this    is    so,    I  entreat 
thee  to  see  good  to  send  back   to  us   the    food-giving 
gods,  gods  of  the  rain  and  storm,  of  the  herbs  and  of 
the  trees;   so  that  they  perform  again  their  office  here 
with  us  on  the  earth.     Scatter  the  riches  and  the  pros- 
perity of  thy  treasures,  let  the  timbrels  of  joy  be  shaken 
that  are  the  staves  of  the  gods  of  water,  let  them  take 
their  sandals  of  india-rubber  that  they  may  walk  with 
swiftness.     Give  succor,  0  Lord,  to  our  lord,  the  god 
of  the   earth,  at   least  with   one    shower  of  water,  for 
when  he  has  water  he  creates  and  sustains  us.     See 
good,  0  Lord,  to  invigorate  the  corn  and  the  other  foods, 
much  wished  for    and  much  needed,   now  sown  and 
planted ;  for  the  ridges  of  the  earth  suffer  sore  need  and 
anguish  from  lack  of  water.     See  good,  0  Lord,  that 
the  people  receive  this  favor  and  mercy  at  thine  hand, 
let  them  see  and  enjoy  of  the  verdure  and  coolness  that 
are  as  precious  stones;  see  good  that  the  fruit  and  the 
substance  of  the  Tlalocs  be  given,  which  are  the  clouds 
that  these  gods  carry  with  them  and  that  sow  the  rain 
about   us.     See  good,   0  Lord,   that   the  animals  and 
herbs  be  made  glad,  and  that  the  fowls  and   birds  of 
precious  feather,  such  as  the  quechotl  and  the  caguan, 
fly  and  sing  and  suck  the  herbs  and  flowers.     And  let 
not  this  come  about  with  thunderings  and  lightnings, 
symbols  of  thy  wrath ;  for  if  our  lords  the  Tlalocs  come 
with  thunder  and  lightning  the  whole  people,  being  lean 
and  very  weak  with  hunger,  would  be  terrified.     If  in- 
deed some  are  already  marked  out  to  go  to  the  earthly 
paradise  by  the  stroke  of  the  thunderbolt,  let  this  death 
be  restricted  to  them,  and  let  no  injury  befall  any  of 
the  other  people  in  mountain  or  cabin;  neither  let  hurt 
come  near  the  magueys  or  the  other  trees  and  plants  of 
the  earth ;  for  these  things  are*  necessary  to  the  life  and 
sustenance  of  the  people,  poor,  forsaken,  and  cast-away, 
who  can  with  difficulty  get  food  enough  •  to  live,  going 
about  through  hunger  with  the  bowels  empty  and  stick- 


330          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ing  to  the  ribs.  0  our  Lord,  most  compassionate,  most 
generous,  giver  of  all  nourishment,  be  pleased  to  bless 
the  earth  and  all  the  things  that  live  on  the  face  thereof. 
With  deep  sighing  and  with  anguish  of  heart  I  cry  upon 
all  those  that  are  gods  of  water,  that  are  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  east  and  west,  north  and  south, 
and  upon  those  that  dwell  in  the  hollow  of  the  earth,  or 
in  the  air,  or  in  the  high  mountains,  or  in  the  deep 
caves,  I  beseech  them  to  come  and  console  this  poor 
people  and  to  water  the  earth ;  for  the  eyes  of  all  that 
inhabit  the  earth,  animals  as  well  as  men,  are  turned 
toward  you,  and  their  hope  is  set  upon  your  persons.  0 
our  Lord,  be  pleased  to  come.19 

This  is  a  prayer  to  Tlaloc.  But  it  was  not  with 
prayers  alone  that  they  deprecated  his  wrath  and  im- 
plored his  assistance;  here  as  elsewhere  in  the  Mexican 
religion  sacrifices  played  an  important  part.  When  the 
rain  failed  and  the  land  was  parched  by  drought,  great 
processions  wrere  made  in  which  a  number  of  hairless 
dogs,  common  to  the  country,  arid  good  to  eat,  were 
carried  on  decorated  litters  to  a  place  devoted  to  this 
use.  There  they  were  sacrificed  to  the  god  of  water  by 
cutting  out  their  hearts.  Afterwards  the  carcasses  were 
eaten  amid  great  festivities.  All  these  things  the  Tlas- 
caltec  historian,  Camargo,  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes 
thirty  years  before  writing  his  book.  The  sacrifices  of 
men,  wrhich  were  added  to  these  in  the  days  of  great- 
ness of  the  old  religion,  he  describes  as  he  was  informed 
by  priests  who  had  officiated  thereat.  Two  festivals  in 
the  year  were  celebrated  to  Tlaloc,  the  greater  feast  and 
the  less.  Each  of  these  was  terminated  by  human  sacri- 
fices. The  side  of  the  victim  was  opened  with  a  sharp 
knife ;  the  high  priest  tore  out  the  heart,  and  turning 
toward  the  east  offered  it  with  lifted  hands  to  the  sun, 
crushing  it  at  the  same  time  with  all  his  strength.  He 
repeated  this,  turning  in  succession  towards  the  remain- 
ing three  cardinal  points;  the  other  tlamacaxques,  or 

19  Sahagun,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Aniiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  372-6;  Sahagun, 
Illst.  Gen.',  vol.  ii  ,  pp.'  6i-70. 


VENGEANCE  OF  TLALOC.  331 

priests,  not  ceasing  the  while  to  darken  with  clouds  of 
incense  the  faces  of  the  idols.  The  heart  wras  lastly 
burned  and  the  body  flung  down  the  steps  of  the  temple. 
A  priest,  who  had  afterwards  been  converted  to  Christi- 
anity, told  Camargo  that  when  he  tore  out  the  heart  of 
a  victim  and  flung  it  down,  it  used  to  palpitate  with  such 
force  as  to  clear  itself  of  the  ground  several  times  till  it  grew 
cold.  Tlaloc  was  held  in  exceeding  respect  and  the  priests 
alone  had  the  right  to  enter  his  temple.  Whoever  dared 
to  blaspheme  against  him  was  supposed  to  die  suddenly  or 
to  be  stricken  of  thunder;  the  thunderbolt,  instrument  of 
his  vengeance,  flashed  from  the  sky  even  at  the  mo- 
ment it  was  clearest.  The  sacrifices  offered  to  him  in 
times  of  drought  were  never  without  answer  and  result ; 
for,  as  Camargo  craftily  insinuates,  the  priests  took  good 
care  never  to  undertake  them  till  they  saw  indications 
of  coming  rain;  besides,  he  adds, — introducing,  in  de- 
fiance of  nee  deus  intersit,  a  surely  unneeded  personage, 
if  we  suppose  his  last  statement  true, — the  devil,  to 
to  confirm  these  people  in  their  errors,  was  always  sure 
to  send  rain.20 

Children  were  also  sacrificed  to  Tlaloc.  Says  Moto- 
linia,  when  four  years  came  together  in  which  there 
was  no  rain,  and  there  remained  as  a  consequence  hardly 
any  green  thing  in  the  fields,  the  people  waited  till  the 
maize  grew  as  high  as  the  knee,  and  then  made  a  gene- 
ral subscription  with  which  four  slave  children,  of  five 
or  six  years  of  age,  were  purchased.  These  they  sacri- 
ficed in  a  cruel  manner  by  closing  them  up  in  a  cave, 
which  was  never  opened  except  on  these  occasions.21 

According  to  Mendieta,  again,  children  were  some- 

80  Camargo,  Hist,  de  TlascMllan,  in  Nouvelles  Annettes  dfs  Voy,,  1843,  torn. 
99,  pp.  133,  135-7.  Camargo,  being  a  Tlascaltec,  most  of  bis  writings 
have  particular  reference  to  his  own  province,  but  in  this  as  in  other  places 
he  seems  to  be  describing  general  Mexican  customs. 

21  The  text  without  saying  directly  that  these  unfortunate  children  were 
closed  there  alive  appears  to  infer  it:  'Cuando  el  maiz  estaba  a  la  rodilla, 
para  un  dia  repartian  y  echaban  pecho,  con  que  compraban  cuatro  niiios 
esclavos  de  edad  de  cinco  a  seis  anos,  y  sacrificabanlos  a  Tlaloc,  dios  del 
agua,  poniendolos  en  una  cueva,  y  cerrabanla  hasta  otro  ano  que  hacian  lo 
niisnio.  Este  cruel  sacrificio.'  Motolinia,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn.  L, 
p.  45. 


332          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

times  offered  to  this  god  by  drowning.  The  children 
were  put  into  a  canoe  which  was  carried  to  a  certain  part 
of  the  lake  of  Mexico  where  was  a  whirlpool,  which  is 
no  longer  visible.  Here  the  boat  was  sunk  with  its 
living  cargo.  These  gods  had,  according  to  the  same 
author,  altars  in  the  neighborhood  of  pools  especially 
near  springs;  which  altars  were  furnished  with  some 
kind  of  roof,  and  at  the  principal  fountains  were  four 
in  number  set  over  against  each  other  in  the  shape  of  a 
cross — the  cross  of  the  rain  god.22 

The  Vatican  Codex  says,  that  in  April  a  boy  was 
sacrificed  to  Tlaloc  and  his  dead  body  put  into  the  maize 
granaries  or  maize  fields — it  is  not  clearly  apparent  which 
—to  preserve  the  food  of  the  people  from  spoiling.23  It 
is  to  Sahagun,  however,  that  we  must  turn  for  the  most 
complete  and  authentic  account  of  the  festivals  of  Tlaloc 
with  their  attendant  sacrifices. 

In  the  first  days  of  the  first  month  of  the  year,  which 
month  is  called  in  some  parts  of  Mexico,  Quavitleloa, 
but  generally  Atlcaoalo,  and  begins  on  the  second  of  our 
February,  a  great  feast  was  made  in  honor  of  the  Tlalocs, 
gods  of  rain  and  water.  For  this  occasion  many  chil- 
dren at  the  breast  were  purchased  from  their  mothers ; 
those  being  chosen  that  had  two  whirls  (remolinos)  in 
their  hair,  and  that  had  been  been  born  under  a  good 
sign ;  it  being  said  that  such  were  the  most  agreeable 
sacrifice  to  the  storm  gods,  and  most  likely  to  induce 
them  to  send  rain  in  due  season.  Some  of  these  infants 
were  butchered  for  this  divine  holiday  on  certain  moun- 
tains, and  some  were  drowned  in  the  lake  of  Mexico. 
With  the  beginning  of  the  festival,  in  every  house,  from 
the  hut  to  the  palace,  certain  poles  were  set  up  and  to 

22  '  Tambien  tenian  idolos  junto  a  los  agnas,  mayormente  cerca  de  las 
fuentes,  a  do  hacian  sus  altares  con  sus  gradas  cubiertas  por  euciina,  y  en 
muchas  principales  fuentes  cuatro  altares  de  estos  a  manera  de  crnz  unos 
enfrente  de  otros,  y  alii  en  el  agua  echaban  mucho  encienso  ofrecido  y  papel.' 
Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  pp.  87,  102. 

23  '  In  qnesto  mese  ritornavano  ad  ornare  li  tempj,  e  le  irumagini  come 
nello  passato,  ed  in  fine  delli  veiiti  df  sacrificavano  uu  putto  al  Dio  dell'  ac- 
qua,  e  lo  mettevano  infra  il  maiz.  a  fine  che  non  si  guastasse  la  provisione 
di  tutto  1'   anno.'    Spiegazione  dellf  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  lx.,  in 
Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  191. 


SACRIFICES  OF  CHILDREN.  333 

these  were  attached  strips  of  the  paper  of  the  country, 
daubed  over  with  india-rubber  gum,  said  strips 
being  called  amateteuitl;  this  was  considered  an  honor 
to  the  water-gods.  And  the  first  place  where  children 
were  killed  was  Quauhtepetl,  a  high  mountain  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Tlatelulco;  all  infants,  boys  or  girls, 
sacrificed  there  were  called  by  the  name  of  the  place, 
Quauhtepetl,  and  were  decorated  with  strips  of  paper 
dyed  red.  The  second  place  where  children  were  killed 
was  Yoaltecatl,  a  high  mountain  near  Guadalupe.  The 
victims  were  decorated  with  pieces  of  black  paper,  with 
red  lines  on  it,  and  were  named  after  the  place,  Yoal- 
tecatl. The  third  death-halt  was  made  at  Tepetzingo,  a 
a  well-known  hillock  that  rose  up  from  the  waters  of 
the  lake  opposite  Tlatelulco;  there  they  killed  a  little 
girl,  decking  her  with  blue  paper,  and  calling  her  Qute- 
zalxoch,  for  so  was  this  hillock  called  by  another  name. 
Poiauhtla,  on  the  boundary  of  Tlascala,  was  the  fourth 
hill  of  sacrifice.  Here  they  killed  children,  named  as 
usual  after  the  locality,  and  decorated  with  paper  on 
which  were  lines  of  india-rubber  oil.  The  fifth  place  of 
sacrifice  was  the  no  longer  visible  whirlpool  or  sink  of 
the  lake  of  Mexico,  Pantitlan.  Those  drowned  here 
wrere  called  Epcoatl,  and  their  adornment  epuepaniuliqui. 
The  sixth  hill  of  death  was  Cocotl,2i  near  Chalcoatenco ; 
the  infant  victims  were  named  after  it  and  decorated 
with  strips  of  paper  of  which  half  the  number  were  red 
and  half  a  tawny  color.  The  mount  Yiauhqueme,  near 
Atlacuioaia,  was  the  seventh  station ;  the  victims  being 
named  after  the  place  and  adorned  with  paper  of  a  tawny 
color. 

All  these  miserable  babes  before  being  carried  to 
their  death  were  bedecked  with  precious  stones  and 
rich  feathers  and  with  raiment  and  sandals  wrought 
curiously;  they  put  upon  them  paper  wings  (as  if 
they  were  angels) ;  they  stained  their  faces  with  oil  of 

24  '  Whence  is  derived  the  name  cocoles,  by  which  the  boys  of  the  choir  of 
the  cathedral  of  Mexico  are  now  known.'  Eustainante,  note  to  Sahagan,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  85. 


334          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

india-rubber,  and  on  the  middle  of  each  tiny  cheek  they 
painted  a  round  spot  of  white.  Not  able  yet  to  walk, 
the  victims  were  carried  in  litters  shining  with  jewels 
and  awave  with  plumes;  flutes  and  trumpets  bellowed 
and  shrilled  round  the  little  bedizened  heads,  all  so  un- 
fortunate in  their  two  whirls  of  hair,  as  they  passed 
along;  and  everywhere  as  the  litters  were  borne  by,  all 
the  people  wept  When  the  procession  reached  the 
temple  near  Tepetzinco,  on  the  east,  called  Tozocan, 
the  priests  rested  there  all  night,  watching  and  singing 
songs,  so  that  the  little  ones  could  not  sleep.  In  the 
morning  the  march  was  again  resumed;  if  the  children 
wept  copiously  those  around  them  were  very  glad,  say- 
ing it  was  a  sign  that  much  rain  would  fall;  while  if 
they  met  any  dropsical  person  on  the  road  it  was  taken 
for  a  bad  omen  and  something  that  would  hinder  the 
rain.  If  any  of  the  temple  ministers,  or  of  the  others 
called  quaquavitli,  or  of  the  old  men,  broke  off  from  the 
procession  or  turned  back  to  their  houses  before  they 
came  to  the  place  where  the  sacrifice  was  done,  they 
were  held  for  infamous  and  unworthy  of  any  public  of- 
fice ;  thenceforward  they  were  called  mocauhque,  that  is 
to  say,  '  deserters.'25 

More  ludicrous  than  diabolical  are  the  ceremonies  of 
the  next  feast  of  Tlaloc.  In  the  sixth  Aztec  month,  the 
month  Etzalqualixtli,  there  was  held  a  festival  in  honor 
of  the  gods  of  water  and  rain.  Before  the  commence- 
ment of  this  festival  the  idol  priests  fasted  four  days, 
and  before  beginning  to  fast  they  made  a  procession 
to  a  certain  piece  of  water,  near  Citlaltepec,  to  gather 
tules;  for  at  that  place  these  rushes  grew  very  tall  and 
thick  and  what  part  of  them  was  under  water  was 
very  white.  There  they  pulled  them  up,  rolled  them 
in  bundles  wrapped  about  with  their  blankets,  and 
so  carried  them  back  on  their  shoulders.  Both  on  going 
out  for  these  rushes  and  on  coming  back  with  them,  it 
was  the  custom  to  rob  anyone  that  was  met  on  the  road ; 

«  Kingsborongh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  37-8;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii..  pp.  84-7. 


SPOLIATION  OF  C^SAE  FOE  THE  CHUECH.  335 

and  as  every  one  knew  of  this  custom  the  roads 
were  generally  pretty  clear  of  stragglers  about  this  time. 
No  one,  not  even  a  king's  officer  returning  to  his 
master  with  tribute,  could  hope  to  escape  on  such 
an  occasion,  nor  to  obtain  from  any  court  or  magis- 
trate any  indemnification  for  loss  or  injury  so  sustained 
in  goods  or  person ;  and  if  he  made  any  resistance  to  his 
clerical  spoilers  they  beat  and  kicked  and  dragged  him 
over  the  ground.  When  they  reached  the  temple  with 
their  rushes  they  spread  them  out  on  the  ground  and 
plaited  them,  white  with  green,  into  as  it  were  painted 
mats,  sewing  them  firm  with  threads  of  maguey-root; 
of  these  mats  they  made  stools,  and  chairs  with  backs. 
The  first  day  of  the  fast  arrived,  all  the  idol  ministers 
and  priests  retired  to  their  apartments  in  the  temple 
buildings.  There  retired  all  those  called  tlamacaztequio- 
(igues,  that  is  to  say,  '  priests  that  have  done  feats  in 
war,  that  have  captured  three  or  four  prisoners;'  these 
although  they  did  not  reside  continually  in  the  temple, 
resorted  thither  at  set  times  to  fulfil  their  offices.  There 
retired  also  those  called  tlaniacazcayiaque.  that  is,  l  priests 
that  have  taken  one  prisoner  in  war;'  these  also,  al- 
though not  regular  inmates  of  the  cues,  resorted  thither, 
when  called  by  their  duties.  There  retired  also  those 
that  are  called  tlamacazquecuicani7ner  i  priest  singers,'  who 
resided  permanently  in  the  temple  building  because  they 
had  as  yet  captured  no  one  in  war.  Last  of  all  those 
also  retired  that '  were  called  tlamacaztezcalwan,  which 
means  l  inferior  ministers,'  and  those  boys,  like  little 
sacristans,  who  were  called  tlamacatoton,  '  little  ministers.' 
Next,  all  the  rush  mats  that  had  been  made  which 
were  called  aztapilpetlatl,  '  jaspered  mats  of  rushes,  or 
mats  of  white  and  green'  were  spread  round  about 
the  hearths  (hogares)  of  the  temple,  and  the  priests  pro- 
ceeded to  invest  themselves  for  their  offices.  They 
put  on  a  kind  of  jacket  that  they  had,  called  xicolli  of 
painted  cloth;  on  the  left  arm  they  put  a  kind  of  scarf, 
macataxtli ;  in  the  left  hand  they  took  a  bag  of  copal,  and 
in  the  right  a  censer,  temaitl,  which  is  a  kind  of  sauce- 


336          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

pan  or  frying-pan  of  baked  clay.  Then  they  entered  into 
the  court-yard  of  the  temple,  took  up  their  station  in 
the  middle  of  it,  put  live  coals  into  their  censers,  added 
copal,  and  offered  incense  toward  the  four  quarters  of 
the  world,  east,  north,  west,  and  south.  This  done 
they  emptied  the  coals  from  their  incense-pans  into  the 
great  brasiers  that  were  always  burning  at  night  in  the 
court,  brasiers  somewhat  less  in  height  than  the  height 
of  a  man,  and  so  thick  that  two  men  could  with  difficulty 
clasp  them. 

This  over,  the  priests  returned  to  the  temple  build- 
ings, cabmcac,  and  put  off  their  ornaments.  Then  they 
offered  before  the  hearth  little  balls  of  dough,  called 
veutelolotli ;  each  priest  offering  four,  arranging  them  on 
the  aforementioned  rush  mats,  and  putting  them  down 
with  great  care,  so  that  they  should  not  roll  nor  move; 
and  if  .the  balls  of  any  one  stirred,  it  was  the  duty  of 
his  fellows  to  call  attention  to  the  matter  and  have  him 
punished  therefor.  Some  offered  instead  of  dough  four 
little  pies  or  four  pods  of  green  pepper.  A  careful  scru- 
tiny was  also  observed  to  see  if  any  one  had  any  dirt  on 
his  blanket,  or  any  bit  of  thread  or  hair  or  feather,  and 
that  no  one  should  trip  or  fall ;  for  in  such  a  case  he  had 
to  be  punished ;  and  as  a  consequence  every  man  took  good 
heed  to  all  his  steps  and  ways  during  these  four  days. 
At  the  end  of  each  day's  offerings,  certain  old  men,  called 
quaquacuiltin,  came,  their  faces  dyed  black,  and  their 
heads  shaved,  save  only  the  crown  of  the  head,  where 
the  hair  was  allowed  to  grow  long,  the  reverse  of  the 
custom  of  the  Christian  priests.  These  old  men  daily 
collected  the  offerings  that  had  been  made,  dividing 
them  among  themselves.  It  was  further  the  custom 
with  all  the  priests  and  in  all  the  temples,  while  fasting 
these  four  days,  to  be  wakened  at  midnight  by  the  blast 
of  horns  and  shells  and  other  instruments;  when  all 
rose  up  and,  utterly  naked,  went  to  where  were 
certain  thorns  of  maguey,  cut  for  the  purpose  the  day 
before,  and  with  little  lancets  of  stone  they  hacked  their 
ears,  staining  the  prepared  thorns  of  maguey  and  be- 


BATHING  IN  THE  FESTIVAL  OF  TLALOC.  337 

smearing  their  faces  with  the  blood  that  flowed ;  each 
man  staining  maguey-thorns  with  his  blood  in  number 
proportioned  to  his  devotion,  some  five,  others  more, 
others  less.  This  done  all  the  priests  went  to  bathe 
themselves,  how  cold  soever  it  might  be,  attended  by 
the  music  of  marine  shells  and  shrill  whistles  of  baked 
clay.  Every  one  had  a  little  bag  strapped  to  his  shoul- 
ders, ornamented  with  tassels  or  strips  of  painted  paper ; 
in  these  bags  was  carried  a  sort  of  herb  ground  fine 
and  made  up  with  a  kind  of  black  dye  into  little  longish 
pellets.26  The  general  body  of  the  priests  marched 
along,  each  one  carrying  a  leaf  of  maguey  in  which  the 
thorns  were  stuck,  as  in  a  pincushion,  which  he  had  to 
use.  Before  these  went  a  priest  with  his  censer  full  of 
live  coals  and  a  bag  of  copal ;  and  in  advance  of  all  these 
walked  one  carrying  a  board  on  his  shoulder  of  about  a 
span  broad  and  two  yards  long,  hollowed  apparently  in 
some  way,  and  filled  with  little  rollers  of  wood  that 
rattled  and  sounded  as  the  bearer  went  along  shaking 
them.27  All  the  priests  took  part  in  this  procession,  only 
four  remaining  behind  to  take  care  of  the  temple-build- 
ing, or  calmecac,  which  was  their  monastery.  These  four 
during  the  absence  of  the  others  remained  seated  in  the 
calmecac  and  occupied  themselves  in  devotion  to  the 
gods,  in  singing  and  in  rattling  with  a  hollow  board 
of  the  sort  mentioned  above.  At  the  piece  of  water 
where  the  priests  were  to  bathe  there  were  four  houses, 
called  axaucatti,  '  fog  houses,'  set  each  toward  one  of  the 
four  quarters  of  the  compass;  in  the  ablutkms  of  the  first 
night  one  of  these  houses  was  occupied,  on  the  second 

26  '  En  aquellas  talegas  llevaban  una  manera  de  harina  hecha  a  la  manera 
de  estiercol  de  ratones,  que  ellos  llamaban  yyaqualli,  que  era  conficionada 
con  tinta  y  con  polvos  de  una  yerva  que  ellos  Hainan  yietll;  es  como  velenos 
de  Castilla.'  Jfingsborow/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  51. 

27  Sahagun  gives  two  diferent  accounts  of  this  instrument:  '  Una  tabla  tan 
larga  como  dos  varas,  y  ancha  como  un  palmo  6  poco  mas.     Yvan  dentro  de 
estas  tablas  unas  sonajas,  y  el  que  le  llevaba  iva  sonando  con  ellas.     Llama- 
ban  a  esta  tabla  Axochicaoaliztli,  6  Nacatlquoavitl.'     The  second  description 
is:  'Una  tabla  de  anchura  de  un  palmo  y  de  largura  de  dos  brazas;  a  trechos 
ivan  unos  sonajas  en  esta  tabla.  unos  pedazuelos  de  madero  rollizos  y  atadoa 
a  la  misma  tabla,  y  dentro  de  ella  ivan  sonando  los  unos  con  los  otro's.     Esta 
tabla  se  llamaba  aiauhchicaoaztli , '  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq. ,  vol.  vii.,  pp. 
51  and  53. 

VOL.  III.    22 


338          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

night  another,  and  so  on  through  all  the  four  nights  and 
four  houses  of  the  fog.  Here  also  were  four  tall  poles 
standing  up  out  of  the  water.  And  the  unfortunate 
bathers,  naked  from  the  outset  as  we  remember,  reached 
this  place  trembling  and  their  teeth  chattering  with 
cold.  One  of  their  number  mumbled  a  few  words, 
which  being  translated  mean:  this  is  the  place  of 
snakes,  the  place  of  mosquitos,  the  place  of  ducks,  and 
the  place  of  rushes.  This  said,  all  flung  themselves  into 
the  wTater  and  began  to  splash  with  their  hands  and 
feet,  making  a  great  noise  and  imitating  the  cries  of 
various  aquatic  birds.28  When  the  bathing  was  over, 
the  naked  priests  took  their  way  back  accompanied  by 
the  music  of  pipes  and  shells.  Half  dead  with  cold  and 
weariness  they  reached  the  temple,  where  drawing  their 
mantles  over  them  they  flung  themselves  down  in  a  con- 
fused heap  on  the  rush  mats,  so  often  mentioned,  and 
slept  as  best  they  could.  We  are  told  that  some  talked 
in  their  sleep,  and  some  walked  about  in  it,  and  some 
snored,  and  some  sighed  in  a  painful  manner.  There 
they  lay  in  a  tangled  weary  heap  not  rising  till  noon  of 
the  next  day. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  on  waking  was  to  array 
themselves  in  their  canonicals,  take  their  censers, 
and  to  follow  an  old  priest  called  Quaquacuilti  to  all 
the  chapels  and  altars  of  the  idols,  incensing  them. 
After  this  they  were  at  liberty  to  eat ;  they  squatted 
down  in  groups,  and  to  each  one  was  given  such  food  as 
had  been  sent  to  him  from  his  own  house ;  and  if  any  one 
took  any  of  the  portion  of  another,  or  even  exchanged  his 
for  that  of  another,  he  was  punished  for  it.  Punish- 
ment also  attended  the  dropping  of  any  morsel  while 
eating,  if  the  fault  were  not  atoned  for  by  a  fine.  After 
this  meal,  they  all  went  to  cut  down  branches  of  a  cer- 

28  '  Oomenzaban  a  vocear  y  a  gritar  y  a  contrahacer  las  aves  del  ngna, 
unos  a  los  anades,  otros  a  unas  aves  zancudas  del  agua  que  llama  pipititi, 
otros  a  los  cuervos  marines,  otros  a  las  garzotas  blancas,  otros  a  las  garzas. 
Aquellas  palabras  que  decia  el  satrapa  parece  que  eran  invocacion  del  De- 
inonio  para  hablar  aquellos  lenguages  de  aves  en  al  agua.'  Kwgsboruwjh's 
Jfex.  Anliq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  51. 


RELIGIOUS  DISCIPLINE.  339 

tain  kind  called  acxoiail,  or,  where  these  were  not  to  be 
found,  green  canes  instead,  and  to  bring  them  to  the 
temple  in  sheaves.  There  they  sat  down,  every  man 
with  his  sheaf,  and  waited  for  an  arranged  signal.  The 
signal  given,  every  one  sprang  up  to  some  appointed 
part  of  the  temple  to  decorate  it  with  his  boughs ;  and  if 
any  one  went  to  a  place  not  his,  or  wandered  from  his 
companions,  or  lagged  behind  them,  they  punished  him 
— a  punishment  only  to  be  remitted  by  paying  to  his 
accuser,  within  the  four  days  of  which  we  are  now  speak- 
ing, either  a  hen  or  a  blanket  or  a  breech-clout,  or,  if  very 
poor,  a  ball  of  dough  in  a  cup. 

These  four  days  over,  the  festival  was  come,  and  every 
man  began  it  by  eating  etzalli,  a  kind  of  maize  porridge, 
in  his  own  house.  For  those  that  wished  it  there  was 
general  dancing  and  rejoicing.  Many  decked  themselves 
out  like  merry-andrews  and  went  about  in  parties  carry- 
ing pots,  going  from  house  to  house,  demanding  etzalli. 
They  sang  and  danced  before  the  door,  and  said,  "If 
you  do  not  give  me  some  porridge,  I  will  knock  a  hole  in 
your  house;"  whereupon  the  etzalli  was  given.  These 
revels  began  at  midnight  and  ceased  at  dawn.  Then 
indeed  did  the  priests  array  themselves  in  all  their 
glory:  underneath  wras  a  jacket,  over  that  a  thin  trans- 
parent mantle  called  aiauhquemitl,  decorated  with  par- 
rot-feathers set  cross-wise.  Between  the  shoulders  they 
fastened  a  great  round  paper  flower,  like  a  shield.  To 
the  nape  of  the  neck  they  attached  other  flowers  of 
crumpled  paper  of  a  semi-circular  shape;  these  hung 
down  on  both  sides  of  the  head  like  ears.  The  forehead 
was  painted  blue  and  over  the  paint  was  dusted  powder 
of  marcasite.  In  the  right  hand  was  carried  a  bag  made 
of  tiger-skin,  and  embroidered  with  little  white  shells 
which  clattered  as  one  walked.  The  bag  seems  to  have 
been  three-cornered;  from  one  angle  hung  down  the 
tiger's  tail,  from  another  his  two  fore  feet,  from  another 
his  two  hind  feet.  It  contained  incense  made  from  a 
certain  herb  called  yiauktliJ29  There  went  one  priest 

29  '  Yauhtlaulli  or  Yauitl,  mayz  moreno  o  negro.'  Molina,  Vocabulario. 


340          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

bearing  a  hollow  board  filled  with  wooden  rattles,  as 
before  described.  In  advance  of  this  personage  there 
marched  a  number  of  others,  carrying  in  their  arms 
images  of  the  gods  made  of  that  gum  that  is  black  and 
leaps,  called  utti  (india-rubber),  these  images  were  called 
tilteteu,  that  is  to  say  '  gods  of  ulli.'  Other  ministers 
there  were  carrying  in  their  arms  lumps  of  copal,  shaped 
like  sugar  loaves;  each  pyramid  having  a  rich  feather, 
called  quetzal,  stuck  in  the  peak  of  it  like  a  plume.  In 
this  manner  went  the  procession  with  the  usual  horns 
and  shells,  and  the  purpose  of  it  was  to  lead  to  punish- 
ment those  that  had  transgressed  in  any  of  the  points 
we  have  already  discussed.  The  culprits  were  marched 
along,  some  held  by  the  hair  at  the  nape  of  the  neck, 
others  by  the  breech-clout ;  the  boy  offenders  were  held 
by  the  hand,  or,  if  very  small,  were  carried.  All  these 
were  brought  to  a  place  called  Totecco,  where  water  was. 
Here  certain  ceremonies  were  performed,  paper  was 
burned  in  sacrifice,  as  were  also  the  pyramids  of  copal 
and  images  of  ulli,  incense  being  thrown  into  the  fire 
and  other  incense  scattered  over  the  rush  mats  with 
which  the  place  was  adorned.  While  this  was  going  on 
those  in  charge  of  the  culprits  had  not  been  idle,  but 
were  flinging  them  into  the  water.  Great  was  the  noise, 
it  is  said,  made  by  the  splash  of  one  tossed  in,  and  the 
water  leaped  high  with  the  shock.  As  any  one  came  to 
the  surface  or  tried  to  scramble  out  he  was  pushed  in  or 
pushed  down  again — well  was  it  then  for  him  who  could 
H\vim,  and  by  long  far  diving  keep  out  of  the  reach  of 
his  tormentors.  For  the  others  they  were  so  roughly 
handled  that  they  were  often  left  for  dead  on  the  water's 
edge,  where  their  relatives  would  come  and  hang  them 
up  by  the  feet  to  let  the  water  they  had  swallowed  run 
out  of  them;  a  method  of  cure  surely  as  bad  as  the 
malady. 

The  shrill  music  struck  up  again  and  the  procession 
returned  by  the  way  it  had  come;  the  friends  of  the 
punished  ones  carrying  them.  The  monastery  or  cal- 
mecac  reached,  there  began  another  four  days'  fast, 


THE  FOUR  BALLS.  341 

called  netlacacaoattztli ;  but  in  this  the  sharp  religious  eti- 
quette of  the  first  four  days'  fast  was  not  observed,  or  at 
least  one  was  not  liable  to  be  informed  upon  or  punished 
for  a  breach  of  such  etiquette.  The  conclusion  of  this 
fast  was  celebrated  by  feasting.  Again  the  priests  de- 
corated themselves  in  festal  array.  All  the  head  was 
painted  blue,  the  face  was  covered  with  honey  (miel) 
mixed  with  a  black  dye.  Over  the  shoulders  were  car- 
ried the  incense-bags  embroidered  with  little  white  shells, 
—bags  made  of  tiger-skins,  as  before  described,  for  the 
chief  priests,  and  of  paper  painted  to  imitate  tiger-skin 
in  the  case  of  the  inferior  priests.  Some  of  these 
satchels  were  fashioned  to  resemble  the  bird  called  atzit- 
zicuitotl,  others  to  resemble  ducks.  The  priests  marched 
in  procession  to  the  temple,  and  before  all  marched  the 
priest  of  Tlaloc.  He  had  on  his  head  a  crown  of  basket- 
work,  fitting  close  to  the  temples  below  and  spreading 
out  above,  with  many  plumes  issuing  from  the  middle  of 
it.  His  face  was  anointed  with  incited  india-rubber 
gum,  black  as  ink,  and  concealed  by  an  ugly  mask  with 
a  great  nose,  and  a  wig  attached  which  fell  as  low  as  the 
waist.  All  went  along  mumbling  to  themselves  as  if 
they  prayed,  till  they  came  to  the  cu  of  Tlaloc.  There 
they  stopped  and  spread  tule  mats  on  the  ground,  and 
dusted  them  over  with  powdered  tule-leaves  mixed  with 
yiauhtli  incense.  Upon  this  the  acting  priest  placed 
four  round  chalchiuites,  like  little  balls;  then  he  took  a 
small  hook  painted  blue,  and  touched  each  ball  with  it; 
and  as  he  touched  each  he  made  a  movement  as  if 
drawing  back  his  hand,  and  turned  himself  completely 
round.  He  scattered  more  incense  on  the  mats,  then 
he  took  the  board  with  the  rattles  inside  and  sounded 
with  it — perhaps  a  kind  of  religious  stage  thunder  in 
imitation  of  the  thunder  of  his  god.  Upon  this  every 
one  retired  to  his  house  or  to  his  monastery  and  put  off 
his  ornaments;  and  the  unfortunates  who  had  been 
ducked  were  carried  at  last  to  their  own  dwellings  for 
the  rest  and  recovery  that  they  so  sorely  needed. 
That  night  the  festivities  burst  out  with  a  new  glory, 


342          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

the  musical  instruments  of  the  cu  itself  were  sounded, 
the  great  drums  and  the  shrill  shells.  Well  watched 
that  night  were  the  prisoners  who  were  doomed  to  death 
on  the  morrow.  When  it  came  they  were  adorned  with 
the  trappings  of  the  Tlaloc  gods — for  it  was  said  they 
were  the  images  of  these  gods — and  those  that  were 
killed  first  were  said  to  be  the  foundation  of  the  others, 
which  seemed  to  be  symbolized  by  those  who  had  to  die 
last  being  made  to  seat  themselves  on  those  who  had 
been  first  killed.30 

The  slaughter  over,  the  hearts  of  the  victims  were  put 
into  a  pot  that  was  painted  blue  and  stained  with  ulli  in 
four  places.  Together  with  this  pot  offerings  were  taken 
of  paper  and  feathers  and  precious  stones  and  chalchiuites, 
and  a  party  set  out  with  the  whole  for  that  part  of  the 
lake  where  the  whirlpool  is,  called  Pantitlan.  All  who 
assisted  at  this  offering  and  sacrifice  were  provided  with 
a  supply  of  the  herb  called  iztaukiatlj  which  is  something 
like  the  incense  used  in  Spain,  and  they  puffed  it  with 
their  mouths  over  each  other's  faces  and  over  the  faces 
of  their  children.  This  they  did  to  hinder  maggots 
getting  into  the  eyes,  and  also  to  protect  against  a  certain 
disease  of  the  eyes  called  exocuitto-o-cdixtli  ;  some  also  put 
this  herb  into  their  ears,  and  others  for  a  certain  super- 
stition they  had  held  a  handful  of  it  clutched  in  the  hand. 
The  party  entered  a  great  canoe  belonging  to  the  king, 
furnished  with  green  oars,  or  paddles,  spotted  with  ulli, 
and  rowed  swiftly  to  the  place  Pantitlan,  where  the 
whirlpool  was.  This  whirlpool  was  surrounded  by  logs 
driven  into  the  bottom  of  the  lake  like  piles — probably 
to  keep  canoes  from  being  drawn  into  the  sink.  These 
logs  being  reached,  the  priests,  standing  in  the  bows  of 
the  royal  vessel,  began  to  play  on  their  horns  and  shells. 
Conspicuous  among  them  stood  their  chief  holding  the 

30  '  Comenzaban  luego  a  matar  a  los  captivos;  aquellos  que  primero  mata- 
ban  decian  qne  erau  el  fnndamento  de  los  que  eran  imagen  de  los  Tlaloques, 
que  ivan  aderezados  con  los  ornamentos  de  los  mismos  Tlaloques  que  (ivim 
aderezados )  decian  eran  sus  imagenes,  y  asi  los  que  moriaii  a  la  postre  ivanse 
a  sentar  sobre  los  que  primero  habian  niuerto.'  Eingsborongh's  Mex.  Antiq.. 
vol,  vii.,  p.  54. 


IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS.  343 

pot  containing  the  hearts;  he  flung  them  far  into  the 
whirling  hollow  of  water,  and  it  is  said  that  when  the 
hearts  plunged  in,  the  waters  were  strangely  moved  and 
stirred  into  waves  and  foam.  The  precious  stones  were 
also  thrown  in,  and  the  papers  of  the  offering  were 
fastened  to  the  stakes  with  a  number  of  the  chalchiuites 
and  other  stones.  A  priest  took  a  censer  and  put  four 
papers  called  telhuitl  into  it,  and  burned  them,  offering 
them  toward  the  whirlpool;  then  he  threw  them,  censer 
and  all,  still  burning  into  the  sink.  That  done,  the 
canoe  was  put  about  and  rowed  to  the  landing  of  Teta- 
macolco,  and  every  one  bathed  there. 

All  this  took  place  between  midnight  and  morning, 
and  when  the  light  began  to  break  the  whole  body  of 
the  priests  went  to  bathe  in  the  usual  place.  They 
washed  the  blue  paint  off  their  heads,  save  only  on  the 
forehead ;  and  if  there  were  any  offences  of  any  priest  to 
be  punished  he  was  here  ducked  and  half  drowned  as 
described  above.  Lastly  all  returned  to  their  monas- 
teries, and  the  green  rush  mats  spread  there  were  thrown 
out  behind  each  house.31 

We  have  given  the  description  of  two  great  festivals 
of  the  Tlalocs, — two  being  all  that  are  mentioned  by 
many  authorities  —  there  still  remain,  however,  two 
other  notable  occasions  on  which  they  were  propitiated 
and  honored. 

In  the  thirteenth  month,  which  was  called  Tepeilhuitl, 
and  which  began,  according  to  Clavigero,  on  the  24th  of 
October,  it  was  the  custom  to  cut  certain  sticks  into  the 
shape  of  snakes.  Certain  images  as  of  children  were  also 
cut  out  of  wood,  and  these  dolls,  called  hecatotonti,  to- 
gether with  the  wooden  snakes,  were  used  as  a  founda- 
tion or  centre  round  which  to  build  up  little  effigies  of 
the  mountains ;  wherein  the  Tlalocs  were  honored  as  gods 
of  the  mountains,  and  wherein  memorial  was  had  of 
those  that  had  been  drowned,  or  killed  by  thunderbolts, 
or  whose  bodies  had  been  buried  without  cremation — the 

31  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  49-55;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  111-124. 


344          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

dolls  perhaps  representing  the  bodies  of  these,  and  the 
snakes  the  thunderbolts.  Having  then  these  wooden 
dolls  and  snakes  as  a  basis,  they  were  covered  with  dough 
mixed  from  the  seeds  of  the  wild  amaranth ;  over  each 
doll  certain  papers  were  put;  round  one  snake  and  one 
doll,  set  back  to  back,  there  appears  next  to  have  been, 
bound  a  wisp  of  hay,  (which  wisp  was  kept  from  year  to 
year  and  washed  on  the  vigil  of  every  feast),  till  the 
proper  shape  of  a  mountain  was  arrived  at;  over  the 
whole  was  then  daubed  a  layer  of  dough,  of  the  kind 
already  mentioned.  We  have  now  our  -image  of  the 
mountain  with  two  heads  looking  opposite  ways,  stick- 
ing out  from  its  summit.  Round  this  summit  there 
seem  to  have  been  stuck  rolls  of  dough  representing  the 
clouds  usually  formed  about  the  crests  of  high  mountains. 
The  face  of  the  human  image  that  looked  out  over  these 
dough  clouds  was  daubed  with  melted  ulli ;  and  to  both 
cheeks  of  it  were  stuck  little  tortillas,  or  cakes  of  the 
everywhere-present  dough  of  wild  amaranth  seeds.  On 
the  head  of  this  same  image  was  put  a  crown  with  feath- 
ers issuing  from  it.32  These  images  were  made  at  night, 

32  This  passage  relating  to  the  making  of  images  of  the  mountains  is  such 
a  chaotic  jumble  in  the  original  that  one  is  forced  to  use  largely  any  con- 
structive imagination  one  may  possess  to  reproduce  even  a  comprehensible 
description.  I  give  the  original;  if  any  one  can  make  rhyme  or  reason  out 
of  it  by  a  closer  following  of  the  words  of  Sahagun,  he  shall  not  want  the 
opportunity:  '  Al  trece  mes  llamaban  Tepeilhuitl.  En  la  fiesta  que  se  hacia 
en  este  mes  cubriah  de  masa  de  bledos  unos  palos  que  teuian  hechos  corno 
culebras,  y  hacian  imagenes  de  monies  fundadas  sobre  unos  palos  hechos  a 
manera  de  ninos  que  llamaban  Hecatotonti:  era  la  imagen  del  monte  de 
masa  de  bledos.  Pouianle  delante  junto  unas  rnasas  rollizas  y  larguillas  de 
masa  de  bledos  a  manera  de  bezos,  y  estos  llamaban  Yomiio.  Hacian  estas 
imagenes  a  honra  de  los  montes  altos  donde  se  juntan  las  nubes,  y  en  memo- 
ria  de  los  que  habian  muerto  en  agua  6  heridos  de  rayo,  y  de  los  que  no  se 
qnemaban  sus  cuerpos  sino  que  los  enterraban.  Estos  montes  hacianlos 
sobre  unos  rodeos  6  roscas  hechas  de  heno  atadas  con  zacate,  y  guardabaulas 
de  un  ano  para  otro.  La  vigilia  de  esta  fiesta  llevaban  a  lavar  estas  roscas 
al  rio  6  a  la  fuente,  y  quando  las  llevaban  ivaulas  tanendo  con  uuos  pitos 
hechos  de  barro  cocido  6  con  vinos  caracoles  mariscos.  Lavabanlas  en  unas 
casas  li  oratorias  que  estaban  hechos  a  la  orilla  del  agua  que  se  llama  Ayauh 
calli.  Lavabanlas  con  unas  ojas  de  canas  verdes;  algunos  con  el  agua  que 
pasaba  pbr  su  casa  las  lavaban.  En  acabandolas  de  lavar  volviaulas  a  su 
casa  con  la  mi  sum  musica;  luego  hacian  sobre  ellas  las  imagenes  de  los 
montes  como  esta  dicho.  Algunos  hacian  estas  imagenes  de  noche  antes  de 
amanecer  cerca  del  dia ;  la  cabeza  de  cada  un  monte,  tenia  dos  caras,  una  de 
persona  y  otra  de  culebra.  y  Tintaban  la  cara  de  persona  con  ulli  derretido,  y 
hacian  unas  tortillas  prequenuelas  de  masa  de  bledos  amarillos,  y  ponianlas 
en  las  mexillas  de  la  cara  de  persona  de  uua  parte  y  de  otra;  cubriaulos  con 


SACKIFICES  TO  TLALOC.  345 

and  in  the  morning  they  were  carried  to  their  '  oratories,' 
and  laid  down  on  beds  of  rushes  or  reeds ;  then  food  was 
offered  to  them,  small  pies  or  tarts,  a  porridge  of  maize- 
flour  and  sugar,  and  the  stewed  flesh  of  fowls  or  of  dogs. 
Incense  was  burned  before  them,  being  thrown  into  a 
censer  shaped  like  a  hand,  as  it  were  a  great  spoon  full  of 
burning  coals.  Those  who  could  afford  it  sang  and 
drank  pulque  in  honor  of  their  dead  ones  and  of  these 
gods. 

In  this  feast  four  women  and  a  man  were  killed  in 
honor  of  the  Tlalocs  and  of  the  mountains.  The  four 
women  were  named  respectively,  Tepoxch,  Matlalquac, 
Xochetecatl,  and  Mayavel — this  last  was  decorated  to 
appear  as  the  image  of  the  magueyes.  The  man  was 
called  Milnaoatl;  he  stood  for  an  image  of  'the  snakes.' 
These  victims,  adorned  with  crowns  of  paper  stained  with 
ulli,  were  borne  to  their  doom  in  litters.  Being  carried 
to  the  summit  of  the  cu,  they  were  thrown  one  by  one 
on  the  sacrificial  stone,  their  hearts  taken  out  with  the 
flint  and  offered  to  Tlaloc,  and  their  bodies  allowed  to 
slide  slowly  down  the  temple-steps  to  the  earth — a  too 
rapid  descent  being  hindered  by  the  priests.  The 
corpses  were  carried  to  a  place  where  the  heads  were 
cut  off  and  preserved,  spitted  on  poles  thrust  through 
the  temples  of  each  skull.  The  bodies  were  lastly 
carried  to  the  wards  from  which  they  had  set  out  alive, 
and  there  cut  in  pieces  and  eaten.  At  the  same  time 
the  images  of  the  mountains,  which  we  have  attempted 
to  describe,  were  broken  up.  the  dough  with  which 
they  were  covered  was  set  out  to  dry  in  the  sun,  and 
was  eaten,  every  day  a  piece.  The  papers  with  which 
the  said  images  had  been  adorned  were  then  spread 
over  the  wisps  of  hay.  above  mentioned,  and  the 
whole  was  fastened  up  in  the  rafters  of  the  oratory  that 
every  one  had  in  his  house;  there  to  remain  till  required 

unos  papeles  que  llamaban  Tetcuitli;  ponianlos  \inas  coronas  en  las 
cabezas  cou  sus  peuachos.  Tambien  a  los  imagenes  tie  los  muertos  las  poni- 
an  sobre  aquellas  roscas  de  zacate,  y  hiego  en  amaneciendo  ponian  estas 
imagenes  eu  sus  oratorios,  sobre  unos  lechos  de  espadanas  <5  de  juncias  d 
juiicos.'  Kingsborouyli' s  J/ex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  71-2. 


346          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

for  the  next  year's  feast  of  the  same  kind;  on  which 
occasion,  and  as  a  preliminary  to  the  other  ceremonies 
which  we  have  already  described  in  the  first  part  of  this 
feast,  the  people  took  down  the  paper  and  the  wisp  from 
their  private  oratories,  and  carried  them  to  the  public 
oratory  called  the  acaucaRi,  left  the  paper  there,  and  re- 
turned with  the  wisp  to  make  of  it  anew  the  image  of  a 
mountain.33 

The  fourth  and  last  festival  of  Tlaloc  which  we 
have  to  describe,  fell  in  our  December  and  in  the  six- 
teenth Aztec  month,  called  the  month  Ateinuztli.  About 
this  time  it  began  to  thunder  round  the  mountain-tops, 
and  the  first  rains  to  fall  there;  the  common  people  said, 
a  Now  come  the  Tlalocs,"  and  for  love  of  the  water  they 
made  vows  to  make  images  of  the  mountains — not,  how- 
ever, as  it  would  appear,  such  images  as  have  been  de- 
scribed as  appertaining  to  the  preceding  festival.  The 
priests  were  very  devout  at  this  season  and  very  earnest 
in  prayer,  expecting  the  rain.  They  took  each  man  his 
incense-pan  or  censer,  made  like  a  great  spoon  with  a 
long  round  hollow  handle  filled  with  rattles  and  termi- 
nating in  a  snake's  head,  and  offered  incense  to  all  the 
idols.  Five  days  before  the  beginning  of  the  feast  the 
common  people  bought  paper  and  ulli  and  flint  knives 
and  a  kind  of  coarse  cloth  called  nequen,  and  devoutly 
prepared  themselves  with  fasting  and  penance  to  make 
their  images  of  the  mountains  and  to  cover  them  with 
paper.  In  this  holy  season,  although  every  one  bathed, 
he  washed  no  higher  than  the  neck,  the  head  was  left 
unwashed;  the  men,  moreover,  abstained  from  their 
wives.  The  night  preceding  the  great  feast-day  was 
spent  wholly,  flint  knife  in  hand,  cutting  out  paper  into 
various  shapes.  These  papers  called  tetevitl,  were  stained 
with  ulli ;  and  every  householder  got  a  long  pole,  covered 
it  with  pieces  of  this  paper,  and  set  it  up  in  his  court- 
yard, where  it  remained  all  the  day  of  the  festival. 
Those  that  had  vowed  to  make  images  of  the  mountains 

315  Kinisbwoucth's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  71-3;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp,  159-162. 


KILLING  IMAGES  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS.  347 

invited  priests  to  their  houses  to  do  it  for  them.  The 
priests  came,  bearing  their  drums  and  rattles  and  instru- 
ments of  music  of  tortoise-shell.  They  made  the  images 
—apparently  like  human  figures — out  of  the  dough  of 
wild  amaranth  seed,  and  covered  them  with  paper.  In 
some  houses  there  were  made  five  of  such  images,  in 
others  ten,  in  others  fifteen ;  they  were  figures  that  stood 
for  such  mountains  as  the  clouds  gather  round,  such  as 
the  volcano  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  or  that  of  the  Sierra  of 
Tlascala.  These  images  being  constructed,  they  were 
set  in  order  in  the  oratory  of  the  house,  and  before  each 
one  was  set  food — very  small  pies,  on  small  platters,  pro- 
portionate to  the  little  image,  small  boxes  holding  a  little 
sweet  porridge  of  rnaize,  little  calabashes  of  cacao,  and 
other  small  green  calabashes  containing  pulque.  In  one 
night  they  presented  the  figures  with  food  in  this  man- 
ner four  times.  All  the  night  too  they  sang  before  them, 
and  played  upon  flutes;  the  regular  flutists  not  being 
employed  on  this  occasion,  but  certain  small  boys  who 
were  paid  for  their  trouble  with  something  to  eat.  When 
the  morning  came,  the  ministers  of  the  idols  asked  the 
master  of  the  house  for  his  tzotzopaztli,  a  kind  of  broad 
wooden  knife  used  in  weaving,34  and  thrust  it  into  the 
breasts  of  the  images  of  the  mountains,  as  if  they  were 
living  men,  and  cut  their  throats  and  drew  out  the  hearts, 
which  they  put  in  a  green  cup  and  gave  to  the  owner  of 
the  house.  This  done,  they  took  all  the  paper  with 
which  these  images  had  been  adorned,  together  with 
certain  green  mats  that  had  been  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, and  the  utensils  in  which  the  offering  of  food  had 
been  put,  and  burned  all  in  the  court-yard  of  the  house. 
The  ashes  and  the  mutilated  images  seem  then  to  have 
been  carried  to  a  public  oratory  called  Aiauhcalco,  on 
the  shore  of  the  lake.  Then  all  who  assisted  at  these 
ceremonies  joined  themselves  to  eat  and  drink  in  honor 
of  the  mutilated  images,  which  were  called  tepieme. 
Women  were  allowed  to  join  in  this  banquet  provided 

'  Tzotzopaztli,  palo  ancho  como  cuchilla  con  que  tupen  y  aprietau  la 
tela  que  se  texe.'  Molina,   Vocabulario. 


348          GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

they  brought  fifteen  or  twenty  heads  of  maize  with  them ; 
they  received  every  one  his  or  her  share  of  food  and 
pulque.  The  pulque  was  kept  in  black  jars  and  lifted  out 
to  be  drunk  with  black  cups.  This  banquet  over,  the 
paper  streamers  were  taken  down  from  the  poles  set  up 
in  the  court-yards  of  the  houses  and  carried  to  certain 
places  in  the  water  that  were  marked  out  by  piles  driven 
in — we  may  remember  that  our  whirlpool  of  Pantitlan, 
in  the  lake  of  Mexico,  was  one  place  so  marked — and  to 
to  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  left  there  as  it  wrould 

oe 

appear. 

In  taking  leave  here  of  Tlaloc  I  may  draw  attention 
to  the  prominence  in  his  cult  of  the  number  four,  the 
cross,  and  the  snake ;  and  add  that  as  lord  of  one  of  the 
three  Aztec  divisions  of  the  future  \vorld,  lord  of  the 
terrestrial  paradise,  we  shall  meet  with  him  again  in 
our  examination  of  the  Mexican  ideas  of  a  future  life. 

35  Kingshorough's  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  80-1;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gren., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  176-9,  198,  210.  Farther  notice  of  Tlaloc  and  his  wor- 
ship will  bs  found  in  the  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav. 
xxviii.,  Ivii.,  lx.,  Ixii.,  in  Sinr/sborou'/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  179,  190-2; 
Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  12-3,  99,  101;  Amer.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  305; 
Motolinia,  Hist.  Ind.,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i  ,  pp.  32,  39,  42,  44-5; 
Torqnemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  290,  and  torn,  ii.,  pp.  45-6,  119,  121, 
147,  151,  212,  251-4;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  cap.  xv.;  Gomara, 
Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  216;  Tylor's  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  235,  243;  Miiller, 
AmerikaniscJie  Urreliyionen,  pp.  500-4  et  passim. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL    BEINGS,    AND    WORSHIP. 

THE  MOTHER   OB  ALL-NOURISHING  GODDESS  TINDER  VARIOUS  NAMES  AND  IN 

VARIOUS  ASPECTS HER  FEAST  IN  THE  ELEVENTH  AZTEC  MONTH  OCHP- 

ANIZTLI  —  FESTIVALS  OF  THE  EIGHTH  MONTH,  HUEYTECUILHUITL,  AND 
OF  THE  FOURTH,  HUEYTOZOZTLI — THE  DEIFICATION  OF  WOMEN  THAT  DIED 
IN  CHILD-BIRTH — THE  GODDESS  OF  WATER  UNDER  VARIOUS  NAMES  AND 
IN  VARIOUS  ASPECTS — CEREMONIES  OF  THE  BAPTISM  OR  LUSTRATION  OF 
CHILDREN — THE  GODDESS  OF  LOVE,  HER  VARIOUS  NAMES  AND  ASPECTS — 
ElTES  OF  CONFESSION  AND  ABSOLUTION — THE  GOD  OF  FIRE  AND  HIS  VARI- 
OUS NAMES — HlS  FESTIVALS  IN  THE  TENTH  MONTH  XOCOTLVETI  AND  IN 
THE  EIGHTEENTH  MONTH  YzCALi;  ALSO  HIS  QUADRIENNIAL  FESTIVAL  IN 
THE  LATTER  MONTH — THE  GREAT  FESTIVAL  OF  EVERY  FIFTY-TWO  YEARS; 
LIGHTING  THE  NEW  FIRE — THE  GOD  OF  HADES,  AND  TEOYAOMIQUE,  COLLEC- 
TOR OF  THE  SOULS  OF  THE  FALLEN  BRAVE — DEIFICATION  OF  DEAD  RULERS  AND 

HEROES MlXCOATL,  GOD  OF  HUNTING  AND  HIS  FEAST  IN  'JHE  FOURTEENTH 

MONTH,  QUECHOLLI VARIOUS  OTHER  MEXICAN  DEITIES — FESTIVAL  IN  THE 

8ECOND  MONTH,  TLACAXIPEHUALIZTLI,  WITH  NOTICE  OF  THE  GLADIATORIAL 
SACRIFICES — COMPLETE  SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  FESTIVALS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  CAL- 
ENDAR, FIXED  AND  MOVABLE— TEMPLES  AND  PRIESTS. 

Centeotl  is  a  goddess,  or  according  to  some  good  au- 
thorities a  god,  who  held,  under  many  names  and  in  many 
characters,  a  most  important  place  in  the  divine  world  of 
the  Aztecs,  and  of  other  Mexican  and  Central  American 
peoples.  She  was  goddess  of  maize,  and  consequently, 
from  the  importance  in  America  of  this  grain,  of  agricul- 
ture, and  of  the  producing  earth  generally.  Many  of  her 
various  names  seem  dependent  on  the  varying  aspects  of 
the  maize  at  different  stages  of  its  growth ;  others  seem  to 
have  originated  in  the  mother-like  nourishing  qualities 

(349) 


350          GODS,  SUPERNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

• 

of  the  grain  of  which  she  was  the  deity.  Miiller  lays 
much  stress  on  this  aspect  of  her  character:  "  The  force 
which  sustains  life  must  also  have  created  it.  Centeotl 
was  therefore  considered  as  bringing  children  to  light, 
and  is  represented  with  an  infant  in  her  arms.  Neftel 
gives  us  such  a  representation,  and  in  our  Mexican 
museum  at  Basel  there  are  many  images  in  this  form, 
made  of  burnt  clay.  Where  agriculture  rules,  there 
more  children  are  brought  to  mature  age  than  among 
the  hunting  nations,  and  the  land  revels  in  a  large  popu- 
lation. Xo  part  of  the  world  is  so  well  adapted  to 
exhibit  this  difference  as  America.  Centeotl  is  conse- 
quently the  great  producer,  not  of  children  merely,  she 
is  the  great  goddess,  the  most  ancient  goddess." 

Centeotl  was  known,  according  to  Clavigero,  by  the 
titles  Tonacajohua,  '  she  who  sustains  us ;'  Tzinteotl, 
'  original  goddess ;'  and  by  the  further  names  Xilonen, 
Iztacacenteotl,  and  Tlatlauhquicenteotl.  She  was  fur- 
ther, according  to  the  same  author,  identical  with  To- 
nantzin,  '  our  mother,'  and,  according  to  Miiller  and 
many  Spanish  authorities,  either  identical  or  closely  con- 
nected with  the  various  deities  known  as  Teteionan,  '  the 
mother  of  the  gods,' 2  Cihuatcoatl,  l  the  snake-woman,' 
Tazi  or  Toci  or  Tocitzin,  '  our  grandmother,'  and  Earth, 
the  universal  material  mother.  Squier  says  of  Tiazol- 
teotl,  that  "  she  is  Cinteotl  the  goddess  of  maize,  under 
another  aspect."  3 

She  was  particularly  honored  by  the  Totonacs,  with 

1  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Vrreligionen,  p.  493. 

8  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  16,  22,  indeed  says  that 
Teteionan  and  Tocitzin  are  '  certainly  different.' 

3  Squier's  Serpent  Symbol,  p.  47.  A  passage  which  makes  the  principal  ele- 
ment of  the  character  of  Toci  or  Tocitzin  that  of  Goddess  of  Discord  may 
be  condensed  from  Acosta,  as  follows:  When  the  Mexicans,  in  their 
wanderings,  had  settled  for  a  time  in  the  territory  of  Cnlhuacan,  they  were 
instructed  by  their  god  Huitzilopochtli  to  go  forth  and  make  wars,  and  first 
to  apotheosize,  after  his  directions,  a  Goddess  of  Discord.  Following  these 
directions,  they  sent  to  the  king  of  Culhuacan  for  his  daughter  to  be  their 
queen.  Moved  by  the  honor,  the  father  sent  his  hapless  daughter,  gorge- 
ously attired,  to  be  enthroned.  But  the  wiley,  superstitious,  and  ferocious 
Mexicans  slew  the  girl  and  flayed  her,  and  clothed  a  young  man  in  her  skin, 
calling  him  '  their  goddess  and  mother  of  their  god, '  under  the  name  of 
Toccy.  that  is  'grand  mother.'  See  also  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes,  vol.  iv., 
p.  1004. 


THE  MOTHER-NOURISHES.  351 

whom  she  was  the  chief  divinity.  They  greatly  loved 
her,  believing  that  she  did  not  demand  human  victims, 
but  was  content  with  flowers  and  fruits,  the  fat  banana 
and  the  yellow  maize,  and  small  animals,  such  as  doves, 
quails,  and  rabbits.  More,  they  hoped  that  she  would  in 
the  end  utterly  deliver  them  from  the  cruel  necessity  of 
such  sacrifices,  even  to  the  other  gods. 

With  very  different  feelings,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  did 
the  Mexicans  proper  approach  this  deity,  making  her 
temples  horrid  with  the  tortured  forms  of  human  sacri- 
fices. It  shows  how  deep  the  stain  of  the  blood  was  in 
the  Mexican  religious  heart,  how  poisonous  far  the  odor 
of  it  had  crept  through  all  the  senses  of  the  Aztec  soul, 
when  it  could  be  believed  that  the  great  sustainer,  the 
yellow  waving  maize,  the  very  mother  of  all,  must  be 
fed  upon  the  flesh  of  her  own  children.4 

To  make  comprehensible  various  allusions  it  seems 
well  here  to  sum  up  rapidly  the  characters  given  of  cer- 

*  Claviyero,  StoriaAnt.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  16-22;  Explication  del  Codex 
Tetteriano-Remensis,  lam.  xii.,  in  Kinysborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  140; 
Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  tav.  xxx.,  Ib.,  p.  180;  Humboldt, 
Essai  Politique,  torn,  i.,  p.  217;  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  631.  The  sacri- 
fices to  Ceuteotl,  if  she  be  identical  with  the  earth-mother,  are  illustrated 
by  the  statement  of  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  81,  that  the  Mexicans  painted 
the  earth-goddess  as  a  frog  with  a  bloody  mouth  in  every  joint  of  her  body, 
(which  frog  we  shall  meet  again  by  and  ^by  in  a  Centeotl  festival)  for  they 
said  that  the  earth  devoured  all  things — a  proof  also,  by  the  by,  among 
others  of  a  like  kind  which  we  shall  encounter,  that  not  to  the  Hindoos  alone 
(as  Mr  J.  G.  Miiller  somewhere  affirms),  but  to  the  Mexicans  also,  belonged 
the  idea  of  multiplying  the  organs  of  their  deities  to  express  great  powers  in 
any  given  direction.  The  following  note  from  the  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole 
del  Codice  Mexicano,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  179-80,  illus- 
trates the  last  point  noticed,  gives  another  form  or  relation  of  the  goddess  of 
sustenance,  and  also  the  origin  of  the  name  applied  to  the  Mexican 
priests :  '  They  feign  that  Mayaguil  was  a  woman  with  four  hundred  breasts, 
and  that  the  gods,  on  account  of  her  fruitfulness,  changed  her  into  the 
Maguey,  which  is  the  vine  of  that  country,  from  which  they  make  wine. 
She  presided  over  these  thirteen  signs;  but  whoever  chanced  to  be  born  on 
the  first  sign  of  the  Herb,  it  proved  unlucky  to  him;  for  they  say  that  it  was 
applied  to  the  Tlamatzatzguex,  who  were  a  race  of  demons  dwelling  amongst 
them,  who  according  to  their  account  wandered  through  the  air,  from  whom 
the  ministers  of  their  temples  took  their  denomination.  When  this  sign 
arrived,  parents  enjoined  their  children  not  to  leave  the  house,  lest  any  mis- 
fortune or  unlucky  accident  should  befall  them.  They  believed  that  those 
who  were  born  in  Two  Canes,  which  is  the  second  sign,  would  be  long  lived, 
for  they  say  that  that  sign  was  applied  to  heaven.  They  manufacture  so 
many  things  from  this  plant  called  the  Maguey,  and  it  is  so  very  useful  in  that 
country,  that  the  devil  took  occasion  to  induce  them  to  believe  that  it  was  a 
god,  and  to  worship  and  offer  sacrifices  to  it.' 


352          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

tain  goddesses  identical  with  or  resembling  in  various 
points  this  Centeotl.  Chicomecoatl5  was,  according  to 
Sahagun,  the  Ceres  of  Mexico,  and  the  goddess  of  provi- 
sions, as  well  of  what  is  drunk  as  of  what  is  eaten.  She 
was  represented  with  a  crown  on  her  head,  a  vase  in  her 
right  hand,  and  on  her  left  arm  a  shield  with  a  great 
flower  painted  thereon;  her  garments  and  her  sandals 
were  red. 

The  first  of  the  Mexican  goddesses  was,  following  the 
same  authority,  Cioacoatl,  or  Civacoatl,  the  goddess  of  ad- 
verse things,  such  as  poverty,  downheartedness,  and  toil. 
She  appeared  often  in  the  guise  of  a  great  lady,  wearing 
such  apparel  as  was  used  in  the  palace ;  she  was  also  heard 
at  night  in  the  air  shouting  and  even  roaring.  Besides  her 
name  Cioacoatl,  which  means  '  snake-woman,'  she  was 
known  as  Tonantzin,  that  is  to  say,  '  our  mother.'  She 
was  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  her  hair  was  arranged 
in  front,  over  her  forehead,  in  little  curls  that  crossed 
each  other.  It  was  a  custom  with  her  to  carry  a  cradle 
on  her  shoulders,  as  one  that  carries  a  child  in  it,  and 
after  setting  it  down  in  the  market-place  beside  the 
other  women,  to  disappear.  When  this  cradle  was  ex- 


5  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  5-6;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethnol. 
Soc,,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  341,  349-50,  condensing  from  and  commenting 
upon  the  codices  Vaticanus  and  Tellerianus  says:  'Tonacacigua,  alias 
Tuchiquetzal  (plucking  rose),  and  Chicomecouatl  (seven  serpents);  wife  of 
Touaeatlecotle ;  the  cause  of  sterility,  famine,  and  miseries  of  life .... 
Amongst  Sahagun's  superior  deities,  is  found  Civacoatl,  the  '  serpent  woman, ' 
also  called  Tonantzin,  '  our  mother;'  and  he,  sober  as  he  is  in  Scriptural 
allusions,  calls  her  Eve,  and  ascribes  to  her,  as  the  interpreters  [of  the 
codices]  to  Tonatacinga,  all  the  miseries  and  adverse  things  of  the  world. 
This  analogy  is,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  only  foundation  for  all  the  allu- 
sions to  Eve  and  her  history,  before,  during,  and  after  the  sin,  which  the  in- 
terpreters have  tried  to  extract  from  paintings  which  indicate  nothing  of  the 
kind.  They  ware  certainly  mistaken  in  saying  that  their  Touacacinga  was 
also  called  Chicomecouatl,  seven  serpents.  They  should  have  said  Civacoatl, 
the  serpent  woman.  Chicomecoatl,  instead  of  being  the  cause  of  sterility, 
famine,  etc.,  is,  according  to  Sahagun,  the  goddess  of  abundance,  that  which 
supplies  both  eating  and  drinking:  probably  the  same  as  Tziuteotl,  or  Cin- 
teotl,  the  goddess  of  maize  (from  centll,  maize),  which  he  does  not  mention. 
There  is  no  more  foundation  for  ascribing  to  Tonacacigua  the  name  of  Suchi- 
quetzal.'  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt  i.,  p.  39,  says  in  effect:  Cihuacohuatl, 
or  snake  woman,  was  supposed  to  have  given  birth  to  two  children,  male 
and  female,  whence  sprung  the  hunian  race.  It  is  on  this  account  that 
twins  are  called  in  Mexico  cocohua,  '  snakes,'  or  in  the  singular  cohuatl  or 
coatl,  now  vulgarly  pronounced  coate. 


MEDICINE-GODDESS.  353 

amined,  there  was  found  a  stone  knife  in  it,  and  with 
this  the  priests  slew  their  sacrificial  victims. 

The  goddess  of  Sahagun's  description  most  resemb- 
ling the  Toci  of  other  writers,  is  the  one  that  he  calls 
'  the  mother  of  the  gods,  the  heart  of  the  earth,  and 
our  ancestor  or  grandmother  (abuela).'  She  is  de- 
scribed as  the  goddess  of  medicine  and  of  medicinal 
herbs,  as  worshiped  by  doctors,  surgeons,  blood-letters, 
of  those  that  gave  herbs  to  produce  abortions,  and  also 
of  the  diviners  that  pronounced  upon  the  fortune  of 
children  according  to  their  birth.  They  worshiped  her 
also  that  cast  lots  with  grains  of  maize,  those  that  augured 
by  looking  into  water  in  a  bowl,  those  that  cast  lots  with 
bits  of  cord  tied  together,  those  that  drew  little  worms 
or  maggots  from  the  mouth  or  eyes,  those  that  extracted 
little  stones  from  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  those  that 
had  sweat-baths,  teinazcattis,  in  their  houses.  These  last 
always  set  the  image  of  this  goddess  in  the  baths,  calling 
her  Ternazcalteci,  that  is  to  say,  '  the  grandmother  of 
the  baths.'  Her  adorers  made  this  goddess  a  feast  every 
year,  buying  a  woman  for  a  sacrifice,  decorating  this 
victim  with  the  ornaments  proper  to  the  goddess.  Every 
evening  they  danced  with  this  unfortunate,  and  regaled 
her  delicately,  praying  her  to  eat  as  they  would  a  great 
lady,  and  amusing  her  in  every  way  that  she  might  not 
weep  nor  be  sad  at  the  prospect  of  death.  When  the 
dreadful  hour  did  come,  having  slain  her,  together  with 
two  others  that  accompanied  her  to  death,  they  flayed 
her ;  then  a  man  clothed  himself  in  her  skin,  and  went 
about  all  the  city  playing  many  pranks, — by  all  of  which 
her  identity  with  Tozi  seems  sufficiently  clear.  This 
goddess  was  represented  with  the  mouth  and  chin  stained 
with  ulli,  and  a  round  patch  of  the  same  on  her  face; 
on  her  head  she  had  a  kind  of  turban  made  of  cloth 
rolled  round  and  knotted  behind.  In  this  knot  were 
stuck  plumes  which  issued  from  it  like  flames,  and 
the  ends  of  the  cloth  fell  behind  over  the  shoulders. 
She  wore  sandals,  a  shirt  with  a  kind  of  broad  serrated 
lower  border,  and  white  petticoats.  In  her  left  hand 


VOL.  III.    23 


354          GODS,  SUPEENATDEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

she  held  a  shield  with  a  round  plate  of  gold  in  the  centre 
thereof;  in  her  right  hand  she  held  a  broom.6 

The  festival  in  which  divers  of  the  various  manifesta- 
tions of  the  mother-goddess  wrere  honored,  was  held  in 
the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  Aztec  month,  begining  on 
the  14th  of  September;  Centeotl,  or  Cinteotl,  or  Cen- 
teutl,  or  Tzinteutl,  is  however  represented  therein  as  a 
male  and  not  a  female. 

Fifteen  days  before  the  commencement  of  the  festival 
those  that  took  part  in  it  began  to  dance,  if  dancing  it 
could  be  called,  in  which  the  feet  and  body  were  hardly 
moved,  and  in  which  the  time  was  kept  by  raising  and 
lowering  the  hands  to  the  beat  of  the  drum.  This  wrent 
on  for  eight  days,  beginning  in  the  afternoon  and  finishing 
with  the  set  of  sun,  the  dancers  being  perfectly  silent, 
arranged  in  four  lines,  and  each  having  both  hands  full 
of  flowers,  cut  branches  and  all.  Some  of  the  youths, 
indeed,  too  restless  to  bear  the  silence,  imitated  with 
their  mouths  the  sound  of  the  drum ;  but  all  were  forced 
to  keep,  as  well  in  motion  as  in  voice,  the  exactest  time 
and  good  order.  On  the  expiration  of  these  eight  days 
the  medical  women,  both  old  and  young,  divided  them- 
selves into  two  parties,  and  fought  a  kind  of  mock  battle 
before  the  woman  that  had  to  die  in  this  festival,  to 
amuse  her  and  keep  tears  away ;  for  they  held  it  of  bad 
augury  if  this  miserable  creature  gave  way  to  her  grief, 
and  as  a  sign  that  many  women  had  to  die  in  child- 
birth. This  woman  who  was  called  for  the  time  being, 
1  the  image  of  the  mother  of  the  gods,'  led  in  person  the 
first  attack  upon  one  of  the  two  parties  of  fighters,  being 
accompanied  by  three  old  wromen  that  were  to  her  as 
mothers  and  never  left  her  side,  called  respectively  Aoa, 
Tlavitezqui,  and  Xocuauhtli.7  The  fight  consisted  in 
pelting  each  other  with  handfuls  of  red  leaves,  or  leaves 
of  the  nopal,  or  of  yellow  flowers  called  cempoalsuchitl, 
the  same  sort  as  had  been  carried  by  the  actors  in  the 

6  Eingsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  3-4;   Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  4-J-7. 

7  Or,  according  to  Bnstamante's  ed.,  Aba,  Tlavitecqui,  and  Xoquauchtli.' 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  149. 


SACRIFICE  TO  THE  MOTHER-GODDESS.  355 

preceding  dance.  These  women  all  wore  girdles,  to 
which  were  suspended  little  gourds  filled  with  powder 
of  the  herb  called  yietl.  When  the  pelting-match  was 
over,  the  woman  that  had  to  die  was  led  back  to  the 
house  where  she  was  guarded ;  and  all  this  was  repeated 
during  four  successive  days.  Then  the  victim  represent- 
ing Toci,  that  is  to  say,  'our  grandmother  or  ancestor/ 
for  so  was  called  the  mother  of  the  gods,  was  led  for  the 
last  time  through  the  market-place  by  the  medical 
woman.  This  ceremony  was  called  '  the  farewell  to  the 
market-place ;'  for  never  more  should  she  see  it  who  this 
day  passed  through,  decorated  in  such  mournful  frippery, 
surrounded  by  the  pomp  of  such  hollow  mirth.  She 
went  sowing  maize  on  every  side  as  she  walked,  and 
having  passed  through  the  market  she  was  received  by 
the  priests  who  took  her  to  a  house  near  the  cu  where 
she  had  to  be  killed.  There  the  medical  women  and 
mid  wives  consoled  her:  Daughter,  be  joyful  and  not  sad, 
this  night  thou  shalt  sleep  with  the  king.  Then  they 
adorned  her  with  the  ornaments  of  the  goddess  Toci, 
striving  all  the  while  to  keep  the  fact  of  her  death  in  the 
back-ground,  that  she  might  die  suddenly  and  without 
knowing  it.  At  midnight,  in  darkness,  not  so  much  as 
a  cough  breaking  the  silence,  she  was  led  to  the  holy 
temple-top,  and  caught  up  swiftly  on  the  shoulders  of  a 
man.  There  was  hardty  a  struggle ;  her  bearer  felt  him- 
self deluged  with  blood,  while  she  was  beheaded  with 
all  despatch,  and  flayed,  still  warm.  The  skin  of  the 
thighs  was  first  taken  off  and  carried,  for  a  purpose  to  be 
presently  revealed,  to  the  cu  of  Centeotl,  who  was  the 
son  of  Toci.  With  the  remainder  of  the  skin,  next 
taken  off,  a  priest  clothed  himself,  drawing  it  on,  it  would 
appear  from  other  records,  like  a  glove;  this  priest 
who  was  a  young  man  chosen  for  his  bodily  forces  and 
size,  thus  clothed  represented  Toci,  the  goddess  herself. 
The  Toci  priest,  with  this  horrible  jacket  sticking  to  his 
sinewy  bust,  then  came  down  from  the  temple  amid  the 
chanting  of  the  singers  of  the  cu.  On  each  side  of  him 
went  two  persons,  who  had  made  a  vow  to  help  him  in 


356          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

this  service,  and  behind  came  several  other  priests.  In 
front  there  ran  a  number  of  principal  men  and  soldiers, 
armed  with  besoms  of  blood-stained  grass,  who  looked 
back  from  time  to  time,  and  struck  their  shields  as  if 
provoking  a  fight;  these  he  pretended  to  pursue  with 
great  fury,  and  all  that  saw  this  play  (which  was  called 
cacacalli)  feared  and  trembled  exceedingly.  On  reach- 
ing the  cu  of  Huitzilopochtli,  the  Toci  priest  spread  out 
his  arms  and  stood  like  a  cross  before  the  image  of  the 
war  god ;  this  he  did  four  times  and  then  went  on  to  the 
cu  of  Centeotl,  whither,  as  we  remember,  the  skin  of  the 
thighs  of  the  flayed  woman  had  been  sent.  This  skin 
of  the  thighs  another  young  priest,  representing  the  god 
Centeotl,  son  of  Toci,  had  put  on  over  his  face  like  a 
mask.  In  addition  to  this  loathsome  veil,  he  wore  a 
jacket  of  feathers  and  a  hood  of  feathers  attached  to  the 
jacket.  This  hood  ran  out  into  a  peak  of  a  spiral  form 
falling  behind ;  and  the  back-bone  or  spine  of  this  spiral 
resembled  the  comb  of  a  cock ;  this  hood  was  called  ytz- 
tlacoliuhqui,  that  is  to  say  '  god  of  frost.' 

The  Toci  priest  and  the  Centeotl  priest  next  went  to- 
gether to  the  cu  of  Toci,  where  the  first  waited  for 
the  morning  (for  all  this  already  described  took 
place  at  night)  to  have  certain  trappings  put  on  over 
his  horrid  under-vest.  When  the  morning  broke, 
amid  the  chanting  of  the  singers,  all  the  principal 
men,  who  had  been  waiting  below,  ran  with  great 
swiftness  up  the  steps  of  the  temple  carrying  their 
offerings.  Some  of  these  principal  men  began  to  cover 
the  feet  and  the  head  of  the  Toci  priest  with  the  white 
downy  inner  feathers  of  the  eagle;  others  painted  his 
face  red;  others  put  on  him  a  rather  short  shirt  with 
the  figure  of  an  eagle  wrought  or  woven  into  the  breast 
of  it,  and  certain  painted  petticoats;  others  beheaded 
quails  and  offered  copal.  All  this  done  quickly,  these 
men  took  their  departure. 

Then  were  brought  forth  and  put  on  the  Toci  priest 
all  his  rich  vestures,  and  a  kind  of  square  crown  very 
wide  above  and  ornamented  with  five  little  banners,  one 


THE  SKIN-BEAKERS.  357 

in  each  corner,  and  in  the  centre  one  higher  than  the 
others.  All  the  captives  that  had  to  die  were  brought 
out  and  set  in  line,  and  he  took  four  of  them  one  after 
the  other,  threw  them  down  on  the  sacrificial  stone  and 
took  out  their  hearts ;  the  rest  of  the  captives  he  handed 
over  to  the  other  priests  to  complete  the  work  he  had 
begun.  After  this  he  set  out  with  the  Centeotl  priest 
for  the  cu  of  the  latter.  In  advance  of  these  a  little 
way  there  walked  a  party  of  their  devotees,  called 
ycuexocm,  decorated  with  papers,  girt  for  breech-clout 
with  twisted  paper,  carrying  at  their  shoulders  a 
crumpled  paper,  round  like  a  shield,  and  tassels  of  un- 
twisted cotton.  On  either  side  also  there  went  those 
that  sold  lime8  in  the  market,  and  the  medical  women, 
moving  to  the  singing  of  the  priests  and  the  beat  of 
drum.  Having  come  to  the  place  where  heads  were 
spitted  at  the  cu  of  Centeotl,  the  Toci  priest  set  one  foot 
on  the  drum  and  waited  there  for  the  Centeotl  priest. 
The  two  being  come  together  it  would  seem  that  he  who 
represented  Centeotl  now  set  out  alone,  with  much  haste 
and  accompanied  by  many  soldiers,  for  a  place  on  the 
enemy's  frontier  where  there  was  a  kind  of  small  hut 
built.  There  at  last  was  deposited  and  left  the  skin  of 
the  thighs  of  the  sacrificed  woman  which  had  served 
such  ghastly  use.  And  often,  it  is  said,  it  happened, 
.this  ceremony  taking  place  on  the  border  of  a  hostile 
territory,  that  the  enemy  sallied  out  against  the  proces- 
sion, and  there  was  fighting  and  many  were  slain. 

After  this  the  young  man  who  represented  the  goddess 
Toci  was  taken  to  the  house  that  is  called  Atempan. 
The  king  took  his  seat  on  a  throne  with  a  mat  of  eagle- 
skin  and  feathers  under  his  feet,  and  a  tiger-skin  over 
the  back  of  his  seat,  and  there  was  a  grand  review  of  the 
army,  and  a  distribution  from  the  royal  treasury  of 
raiment,  ornaments,  and  arms;  and  it  was  understood 
that  those  who  received  such  arms  had  to  die  with  them 
in  war.  This  done,  dancing  was  begun  in  the  court- 

8  Lime  was  much  used  in  the  preparation  of  maize  for  making  various 
articles  of  food. 


358          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

yard  of  the  temple  of  Toci ;  and  all  who  had  received 
presents,  as  above,  repaired  thither.  This  dancing,  as  in 
the  first  part  of  the  festival,  consisted  for  the  most  part 
in  keeping  time  to  the  beat  of  the  drum  with  hands  filled 
with  flowers;  so  that  the  whole  court  looked  like  a  liv- 
ing garden;  and  there  was  so  much  gold,  for  the  king 
and  all  the  princes  were  there,  that  the  sun  flashed 
through  all  as  on  water.  This  began  at  mid-day  and 
went  on  for  two  days.  On  the  evening  of  the  second 
day,  the  priests  of  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl,  clothed 
with  the  skins  of  the  captives  that  had  died  in  a  former 
day,  ascended  a  small  cu  called  the  table  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  and  sowed  maize  of  all  kinds,  white  and  yellow  and 
red,  and  calabash-seeds,  upon  the  heads  of  the  people 
that  were  below.  The  people  tried  to  gather  up  these  as 
they  fell,  and  elbowed  each  other  a  good  deal.  The 
damsels,  called  tioaifamacazque,  that  served  the  goddess 
Chicomecoatl,  carried  each  one  on  her  shoulder,  rolled  in 
a  rich  mantle,  seven  ears  of  maize,  striped  with  melted 
ulli  and  wrapped  in  white  paper;  their  legs  and  arms 
were  decorated  with  feathers  sprinkled  over  with  mar- 
casite.  These  sang  with  the  priest  of  their  goddess. 
This  done,  one  of  the  priests  descended  from  the  above- 
mentioned  cu  of  Huitzilopochtli,  carrying  in  his  hand  a 
large  basket  filled  with  powdered  chalk  and  feather-down, 
which  he  set  in  a  small  chamber,  or  little  cave,  called  coax- 
alpan,  between  the  temple-stairs  and  the  temple  itself. 
This  cavity  was  reached  from  below  by  four  or  five  steps, 
and  when  the  basket  was  put  down  there  was  a  general 
rush  of  the  soldiers  to  be  first  to  secure  some  of  the  contents. 
Every  one,  as  he  got  his  hands  filled,  with  much  elbow- 
ing, returned  running  to  the  place  whence  he  had  set 
out.  All  this  time  the  Toci  priest  had  been  looking  on, 
and  now  he  pretended  to  chase  those  that  ran,  while  they 
pelted  him  back  with  the  down  and  powdered  chalk 
they  had  in  their  hands;  the  king  himself  running  a 
little  way  and  pelting  him  like  the  rest.  After  this 
fashion  they  all  ran  away  from  him  and  left  him  alone, 
except  some  priests,  who  followed  him  to  a  place  called 


THE  XILONEN  FESTIVAL.  359 

Tocititlan,  when  he  took  off  the  skin  of  the  sacrificed 
woman  and  hung  it  up  in  a  little  hut  that  was  there ; 
taking  care  that  its  arms  were  stretched  out,  and  that 
the  head  (or,  surely,  the  neck — for  have  we  not  read 
that  the  head  was  cut  off  the  woman  on  the  fatal  night 
which  terminated  her  life?),  was  turned  toward  the  road, 
or  street.  And  this  was  the  last  of  the  ceremonies  of 
the  feast  of  Ochpaniztli.9 

The  intimate  connection  of  the  goddess  Xilonen  (from 
xilotl,  a  young  or  tender  ear  of  maize)  with  Centeotl  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  cu  of  Centeotl  was  killed 
the  unfortunate  wroman  who  was  decorated  to  resemble 
the  goddess  Xilonen.  The  festival  of  Xilonen  com- 
menced on  the  eleventh  day  of  the  eighth  Mexican  month, 
which  month  begins  on  the  16th  of  July.  The  victim 
was  made  to  resemble  the  image  of  the  goddess  by  having 
her  face  painted  yellow  from  the  nose  downward,  and  her 
brow  red.  On  her  head  was  put  a  crown  of  paper  with 
four  corners,  from  the  centre  and  top  of  which  issued 
many  plumes.  Round  her  neck  and  over  her  breasts 
hung  strings  of  precious  stones,  and  over  these  was  put 
a  round  medal  of  gold.  Her  garments  and  sandals  were 
curiously  wrought,  the  latter  painted  with  red  stripes. 
On  her  left  arm  was  a  shield,  and  in  the  right  hand  she 
held  a  stick,  or  baton,  painted  yellow.  The  women  led 
her  to  death  dancing  round  her,  and  the  priests  and  the 
principal  men  danced  before  them,  sowing  incense  as 
they  went.  The  priest  who  was  to  act  as  executioner 
had  on  his  shoulders  a  bunch  of  feathers  held  there  in 
the  grip  of  an  eagle's  talons,  artificial;  another  of  the 
priests  carried  the  hollow  board  filled  wjth  rattles,  so 
often  mentioned.  At  the  foot  of  the  cu  of  Centeotl,  this 
latter  stopped  in  front  of  the  Xilonen  woman,  scattered 
incense  before  her,  and  rattled  with  his  board,  waving 
it  from  side  to  side.  They  ascended  the  cu,  and  one  of 
the  priests  caught  the  victim  up,  twisting  her  backwards, 
her  shoulders  against  his  shoulders;  on  which  living 

9  Kingsborou</h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  69-70;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  148-56. 


3GO          GODS,  SUPEENATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

altar  her  heart  was  cut  out  through  her  breast,  and  put 
into  a  cup.  After  that  there  was  more  dancing,  in 
which  the  women,  old  and  .young,  took  part  in  a  body  by 
themselves,  their  arms  and  legs  decorated  with  red  ma- 
caw feathers,  and  their  faces  painted  yellow  and  dusted 
with  marcasite.  There  was  also  a  banquet  of  small 
pies  called  xocotamatti,  during  which  to  the  old  men  and 
women  license  was  given  to  drink  pulque;  the  young, 
however,  being  restrained  from  the  bacchanalian  part  of 
this  enjoyment  by  severe  and  sometimes  capital  punish- 
ment.10 

Lastly,  the  intimate  connection  or  identity  of  Centeotl 
with  the  earth-mother,  the  all-nourisher,  seems  clearly 
symbolized  in  the  feast  of  the  fourth  month  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, which  began  on  the  27th  of  April.  In  it  they 
made  a  festival  to  the  god  of  cereals,  under  the  name  of 
Centeotl,  and  to  the  goddess  of  provisions,  called  Chico- 
mecoatl.  First  they  fasted  four  days,  putting  certain 
rushes  or  wrater-flags  beside  the  images  of  the  gods,  stain- 
ing the  white  part  of  the  bottom  of  each  rush  with  blood 
drawn  from  their  ears  or  legs ;  branches  too,  of  the  kind 
called  acxoiatlj  and  a  kind  of  bed  or  mattress  of  hay 
were  put  before  the  altars.  A  sort  of  porridge  of  maize 
called  mazamwra  was  also  made  and  given  to  the  youths. 
Then  all  walked  out  into  the  country,  and  through  the 
maize-fields,  carrying  stalks  of  maize,  and  other  herbs 
called  mecoatL  With  these  they  strewed  the  image  of 
the  god  of  cereals  that  every  one  had  in  his  house,  and 
they  put  papers  on  it  and  food  before  it  of  various  kinds ; 
five  chiquivites,11  or  baskets,  of  tortillas,  and  on  the  top 
of  each  chiquivitl  a  cooked  frog,  a  basket  of  chianlz  flour, 
which  they  call^>mo//i;13  and  a  basket  of  toasted  maize 
mixed  with  beans.  They  cut  also  a  joint  from  a  green 
maize-stalk,  stuffed  the  little  tube  with  morsels  of  every 

10  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Aniiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  60-1;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  135-9;  Claviyero,  Storia  Ant.  del  J/essico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  75;  Tor- 
quemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  269-71. 

11  Chiquiuitl,  cesto  6  canasta.  Molina,  Vocabulario. 

12  Chian,  o  Chia,  cierta  semilla  de  que  sacan  azeite.  Id. 

13  Piiiolli,  la  harina  de  uiayz  y  chia,  antes  que  la  deslian.  Id. 


BLESSING  THE  SEED-MAIZE.  361 

kind  of  the  above-mentioned  food,  and  set  it  carefully 
on  the  back  of  the  frog.14  This  each  one  did  in  his  own 
house,  and  in  the  afternoon  all  this  offering  of  food  was 
carried  to  the  cu  of  the  goddess  of  provisions,  of  the  god- 
dess Chicomecoatl,  and  eaten  there  in  a  general  scramble, 
take  who  take  could ;  symbolizing  one  knows  not  what, 
if  not  the  laisser-faire  and  laisser-aller  system  of  national 
commisariat  much  advocated  by  many  political  econo- 
mists, savage  and  civilized. 

In  this  festival  the  ears  of  maize  that  were  preserved 
for  seed  were  carried  in  procession  by  virgins  to  a  cu, 
apparently  the  one  just  mentioned,  but  which  is  here 
called  the  cu  of  Chicomecoatl  and  of  Centeotl.  The 
maidens  carried  on  their  shoulders  not  more  than  seven 
ears  of  corn  apiece,  sprinkled  with  drops  of  oil  of  ulli, 
and  wrapped  first  in  papers  and  then  in  a  cloth.  The 
legs  and  arms  of  these  girls  were  ornamented  with  red 
feathers,  and  their  faces  were  smeared  with  the  pitch 
called  chapopctK  and  sprinkled  with  marcasite.  As  they 
went  along  in  this  bizarre  attire,  the  people  crowded  to 
see  them  pass,  but  it  was  forbidden  to  speak  to  them. 
Sometimes  indeed  an  irrepressible  youth  would  break 
out  into  words  of  admiration  or  love  toward  some  fair 
pitch-besmeared  face,  but  his  answer  came  sharp  and 
swift  from  one  of  the  old  women  that  watched  the 
younger,  in  some  such  fashion  as  this:  And  so  thou 
speakest,  raw  coward !  thou  must  be  speaking,  eh  ?  Think 
first  of  performing  some  man's  feat,  and  get  rid  of  that 
tail  of  hair  at  the  nape  of  thy  neck  that  marks  the 
coward  and  the  good-for-nothing.  It  is  not  for  thee  to 
speak  here ;  thou  art  as  much  a  woman  as  I  am ;  thou 
hast  never  come  out  from  behind  the  fire!  But  the 
young  lovers  of  Tenochtitlan  were  not  without  insolent 
springalls  among  them,  much  given  to  rude  gibes,  and 
retorts  like  the  following:  Well  said,  my  lady,  I  receive 
this  with  thanks,  I  will  do  what  you  command  me, 
will  take  care  to  show  myself  a  man ;  but  as  for  you, 

11  Apparently  the  earth  symbolized  as  a  frog  (see  this  vol.  p.  351,  note  4.) 
and  bearing  the  fruits  thereof  on  her  back. 


362          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

I  value  two  cacao-beans  more  than  you  and  all  your 
lineage;  put  mud  on  your  body,  and  scratch  yourself; 
fold  one  leg  over  the  other  and  roll  in  the  dust;  see! 
here  is  a  rough  stone,  knock  your  face  against  it ;  and  if 
you  want  anything  more  take  a  red-hot  coal  and  burn  a 
hole  in  your  throat  to  spit  through;  for  God's  sake,  hold 
your  peace. 

This  the  3'oung  fellows  said,  writes  Sahagun,  to  show 
their  courage;  and  so  it  went,  give  and  take,  till  the 
maize  was  carried  to  the  cu  and  blessed.  Then  the 
folk  returned  to  their  houses  and  sanctified  maize  was 
put  in  the  bottom  of  every  granary,  and  it  was  said 
that  it  was  the  heart  thereof,  and  it  remained  there  till 
taken  out  for  seed.  These  ceremonies  were  specially  in 
honor  of  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl.  She  supplied  pro- 
visions, she  it  was  that  had  made  all  kinds  of  maize  and 
frijoles,  and  whatsover  vegetables  could  be  eaten,  and  all 
sorts  of  chia;  and  for  this  they  made  her  that  festival 
with  offerings  of  food,  and  with  songs  and  dances,  and 
with  the  blood  of  quails.  All  the  ornaments  of  her  attire 
were  bright  red  and  curiously  wrought,  and  in  her 
hands  they  put  stalks  of  maize.15 

The  Mexicans  deified,  under  the  name  Cioapipilti, 
all  women  that  died  in  child-bed.  There  were  ora- 
tories raised  to  their  honor  in  every  ward  that  had  two 
streets.  In  such  oratories,  called  cioateucalli  or  ciateupan, 
there  were  kept  images  of  these  goddesses  adorned  with 
certain  papers  called  amatetevitL  The  eighth  movable 
feast  of  the  Mexican  calendar  was  dedicated  to  them, 
falling  in  the  sign  Cequiahuitl,  in  the  first  house ;  in  this 
feast  were  slain  in  their  honor  all  lying  in  the  jails  under 
pain  of  death.  These  goddesses  were  said  to  move 
through  the  air  at  pleasure,  and  to  appear  to  whom  they 
would  of  those  that  lived  upon  the  earth,  and  sometimes 
to  enter  into  and  possess  them.  They  were  accustomed 
to  hurt  children  with  various  infirmities,  especially  paral- 

15  Kincjsborowili' s  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  43-4;  Sahaqun,  Hist.  Gen.,  tom. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  97-100;  Clavii/ero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  67;  Tor- 
qucmada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  52-3,  60-1,  134,  152-3,  181,  255-0. 


THE  MOTHER-GODDESS  AND  WOMAN  IN  CHILD-BED.     363 

ysis  and  other  sudden  diseases.  Their  favorite  haunt 
on  earth  was  the  cross-roads,  and,  on  certain  days  of  the 
year,  people  would  not  go  out  of  their  houses  for  fear  of 
meeting  them.  They  were  propitiated  in  their  temples 
and  at  the  cross-roads  by  offerings  of  bread  kneaded  into 
various  shapes, — into  figures  of  butter-flies  and  thunder- 
bolts for  example, — by  offerings  of  small  tamales,  or 
pies,  and  of  toasted  maize.  Their  images,  besides 
the  papers  above  mentioned,  were  decorated  by  having 
the  face,  arms,  and  legs  painted  very  white ;  their  ears 
were  made  of  gold ;  their  hair  was  dressed  like  that  of 
ladies,  in  little  curls;  the  shirt  was  painted  over  with 
black  waves ;  the  petticoats  were  worked  in  divers  colors ; 
the  sandals  were  white. 

The  mother-goddess,  under  the  form  of  the  serpent- 
woman,  Cioacoatl,  or  Ciuacoatl,  or  Cihuacoatl,  or,  lastly, 
Quilaztli,  seems  to  have  been  held  as  the  patroness  of 
'  women  in  child-bed  generally,  and,  especially,  of  those 
that  died  there.  When  the  delivery  of  a  woman  was 
likely  to  be  tedious  and  dangerous,  the  midwife  ad- 
dressed the  patient  saying :  Be  strong,  my  daughter ;  we 
can  do  nothing  for  thee.  Here  are  present  thy  mother 
and  thy  relations,  but  thou  alone  must  conduct  this  busi- 
ness to  its  termination.  See  to  it,  my  daughter,  my  well- 
beloved,  that  thou  be  a  strong  and  valiant  and  manly 
woman ;  be  like  her  who  first  bore  children,  like  Cioa- 
coatl, like  Quilaztli.  And  if  still  after  a  day  and  a 
night  of  labor  the  woman  could  not  bring  forth,  the  mid- 
wife took  her  away  from  all  other  persons  and  brought 
her  into  a  closed  room  and  made  many  prayers,  calling 
upon  the  goddess  Cioacoatl,  and  upon  the  goddess  Yoal- 
ticitl,16  and  upon  other  goddesses.  If,  notwithstanding 

16  Yoalticitl,  another  name  of  the  mother-goddess,  of  the  mother  of  the 
gods,  of  the  mother  of  us  all,  of  our  grand-mother  or  ancestress;  more  par- 
ticularly that  form  of  the  mother-goddess  described,  after  Sahagun  (this  vol. 
p.  353),  as  being  the  patroness  of  medicine  and  of  doctors  and  of  the  sweat- 
baths.  Sahaguu  speaks  in  another  passage  of  Yoalticitl  (Slngsborough's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  453) :  La  inadre  de  los  Dioses,  que  es  la  Diosa  de  las 
medicinas  y  medicos,  y  es  madre  de  todos  nosotros,  la  cual  se  llama  Yoalti- 
citl, la  qual  tieue  poder  y  autoridad  sobre  los  Temazcales  (sweat-baths)  que 
Hainan  Xuchicalli,  en  el  qual  lugar  esta  Diosa  ve  las  cosas  secretas,  y  adereza 


364          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

all,  however,  the  woman  died,  they  gave  her  the  title, 
mociaquezqui,  that  is  '  valiant  woman,'  and  they  washed 
all  her  body,  and  washed  with  soap  her  head  and  her 
hair.  Her  husband  lifted  her  on  his  shoulders,  and, 
with  her  long  hair  flowing  loose  behind  him,  carried  her 
to  the  place  of  burial.  All  the  old  midwives  accom- 
panied the  body,  marching  with  shields  and  swords,  and 
shouting  as  when  soldiers  close  in  the  attack.  They 
had  need  of  their  weapons,  for  the  body  that  they 
escorted  was  a  holy  relic  which  many  were  eager  to  win ; 
and  a  party  of  youths  fought  with  these  Amazons  to  take 
their  treasure  from  them :  this  fight  was  no  play  but  a 
very  bone-breaking  earnest.  The  burial  procession  set 
out  at  the  setting  of  the  sun  and  the  corpse  was  interred 
in  the  court-yard  of  the  cu  of  the  goddesses,  or  celestial 
women  called  Cioapipilti.  Four  nights  the  husband 
and  his  friends  guarded  the  grave  and  four  nights  the 
youths,  or  rawest  and  most  inexperienced  soldiers, 
prowled  like  wolves  about  the  little  band.  If,  either 
from  the  fighting  midwives  or  from  the  night-watchers, 
they  succeeded  in  securing  the  body,  they  instantly  cut 
off  the  middle  finger  of  the  left  hand  and  the  hair  of 
the  head ;  either  of  these  things  being  put  in  one's  shield, 
made  one  fierce,  brave,  invincible  in  war,  and  blinded 
the  eyes  of  one's  enemies.  There  prowled  also  round 
the  sacred  tomb  certain  wizards,  called  temamacpalitoti- 
que,  seeking  to  hack  off  and  steal  the  whole  left  arm  of 
the  dead  wife ;  for  they  held  it  to  be  of  mighty  potency 
in  their  enchantments,  and  a  thing  that  when  they  went 
to  a  house  to  work  their  malice  thereon,  would  wholly 
take  away  the  courage  of  the  inmates,  and  dismay  them 
so  that  they  could  neither  move  hand  nor  foot,  though 
they  saw  all  that  passed. 

The  death  of  this  woman  in  child-bed  was  mourned 
by  the  midwives,  but  her  parents  and  relations  were 
joyful  thereat ;  for  they  said  that  she  did  not  go  to  hades, 
or  the  under-ground  world,  but  to  the  western  part  of 

las  cosaa  desconcertadas  en  los  cuerpos  de  los  hombres,  y  fortifica  las  cosas 
tieruas  y  blandas. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SUN.  365 

the  House  of  the  Sun.  To  the  eastern  part  of  the  House  of 
the  Sim,  as  the  ancients  said,  were  taken  up  all  the 
soldiers  that  died  in  war.  When  the  sun  rose  in  the 
morning  these  brave  men  decorated  themselves  in  their 
panoply  of  war,  and  accompanied  him  towards  the  mid- 
heaven,  shouting  and  fighting,  apparently  in  a  sham  or 
review  battle,  until  they  reached  the  point  of  noon- 
day, which  was  called  nepanilatonatiuh.  At  this  point 
the  heroines,  whose  home  was  in  the  west  of  heaven,  the 
mocioaquezque,  the  valiant  women,  dead  in  child-bed,  who 
ranked  as  equal  with  the  heroes  fallen  in  war,  met  these 
heroes  and  relieved  them  of  their  duty  as  guards  of 
honor  of  the  sun.  From  noon  till  night,  down  the 
western  slope  of  light,  while  the  forenoon  escort  of  war- 
riors were  scattered  through  all  the  fields  and  gardens  of 
heaven,  sucking  flowers  till  another  day  should  call 
them  anew  to  their  duty,  the  women,  in  panoply  of  war, 
just  as  the  men  had  been,  and  fighting  like  them  with 
clashing  shields  and  shouts  of  joy,  bore  the  sun 
to  his  setting;  carrying  him  on  a  litter  of  quetzales,  or 
rich  feathers,  called  the  quetzal-apanecaiutl.  At  this 
setting-place  of  the  sun  the  women  were,  in  their  turn, 
relieved  by  those  of  the  under  world,  who  here  came  out 
to  receive  him.  For  it  was  reported  of  old  by  the 
ancients  that  when  night  began  in  the  upper  world  the 
sun  began  to  shine  through  hades,  and  that  thereupon 
the  dead  rose  up  from  their  sleep  and  bore  his  shin- 
ing litter  through  their  domain.  At  this  hour  too  the 
celestial  women,  released  from  their  duty  in  heaven, 
scattered  and  poured  down  through  the  air  upon  the 
earth,  where,  with  a  touch  of  the  dear  nature  that  makes 
the  world  kin,  they  are  described  as  looking  for  spindles 
to  spin  with,  and  shuttles  to  weave  with,  and  all  the  old 
furniture  and  implements  of  their  Jiouse-wifely  pride. 
This  thing,  says  Sahagun,  "  the  devil  wrought  to  deceive 
withal,  for  very  often,  in  the  form  of  those  women,  he 
appeared  to  their  bereaved  husbands,  giving  them  petti- 
coats and  shirts." 

Very  beautiful  was  the  form  of  address  before  burial 


366          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

used  by  the  midwife  to  the  dead  woman  who  had  taken 
rank  among  the  mocioaquezque  or  mocioaquetza :  0  woman, 
strong  and  warlike,  child  well-beloved,  valiant  one, 
beautiful  and  tender  dove,  strong  hast  thou  been  and 
toil-enduring  as  a  hero;  thou  hast  conquered,  thou  hast 
done  as  did  thy  mother  the  lady  Cioacoatl,  or  Quilaztli. 
Very  valiantly  hast  thou  fought,  stoutly  hast  thou 
handled  the  shield  and  the  spear  that  the  great  mother 
put  in  thine  hand.  Up  with  thee!  break  from  sleep! 
behold  it  is  already  day;  already  the  red  of  morning 
shoots  through  the  clouds ;  already  the  swallows  and  all 
birds  are  abroad.  Rise,  my  daughter,  attire  th}-self,  go 
to  that  good  land  where  is  the  house  of  thy  father  and 
mother  the  Sun;  thither  let  thy  sisters,  the  celestial 
women,  carry  thee,  they  that  are  always  joyful  and 
merry  and  filled  with  delight,  because  of  the  Sun  with 
whom  they  take  pleasure.  My  tender  daughter  and 
lady,  not  without  sore  travail  hast  thou  gotten  the  glory 
of  this  victory ;  a  great  pain  and  a  hard  penance  hast 
thou  undergone.  Well  and  fortunately  hast  thou  pur- 
chased this  death.  Is  this,  peradventure,  a  fruitless 
death,  and  without  great  merit  and  honor?  Nay,  verily, 
but  one  of  much  honor  and  profit.  Who  receives  other 
such  great  mercy,  other  such  happy  victory  as  thou  ?  for 
thou  hast  gained  with  thy  death  eternal  life,  a  life  full 
of  joy  and  delight,  with  the  goddesses  called  Cioapipilti, 
the  celestial  goddesses.  Go  now,  my  lady,  my  well- 
beloved  ;  little  by  little  advance  toward  them ;  be  one  of 
them,  that  they  may  receive  thee  and  be  always  with 
thee,  that  thou  mayest  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  our  father 
and  mother  the  Sun,  and  accompany  him  whithersoever 
he  wish  to  take  pleasure.  O  my  lady,  my  well-beloved 
daughter,  thou  hast  left  us  behind,  us  old  people,  un- 
worthy of  such  glor^ ;  thou  hast  torn  thyself  away  from 
thy  father  and  mother,  and  departed.  Not  indeed  of 
thine  own  will,  but  thou  wast  called ;  thou  didst  follow 
a  voice  that  called.  We  must  remain  orphans  and  for- 
lorn, old  and  luckless  and  poor;  misery  will  glorify  it- 
self in  us.  0  my  lady,  thou  hast  left  us  here  that  we 


CHALCHIHTJITLICUE.  3G7 

may  go  from  door  to  door  and  through  the  streets  in 
poverty  and  sorrow;  we  pray  thee  to  remember  us 
wliere  thou  art,  and  to  provide  for  the  poverty  that 
we  here  endure.  The  sun  wearies  us  with  his  great 
heat,  the  air  with  its  coldness,  and  the  frost  with 
its  torment.  All  these  things  afflict  and  grieve  our 
miserable  earthen  bodies;  hunger  is  lord  over  us,  and 
we  can  do  nothing  against  it.  My  well-beloved,  I  pray 
thee  to  visit  us  since  thou  art  a  valorous  woman  and  a 
lady,  since  thou  art  settled  forever  in  the  place  of  delight 
and  blessedness,  there  to  live  and  be  forever  withj  our 
Lord.  Thou  seest  him  with  thine  eyes,  thou  speakest  to 
him  with  thy  tongue,  pray  to  him  for  us,  entreat  him 
that  he  favor  us,  and  therewith  we  shall  be  at  rest.17 

Chalchihuitlicue  or  Chalchiuhcyeje  is  described  by 
Clavigero  as  the  goddess  of  water  and  the  mate  of  Tla- 
loc.  She  had  other  names  relating  to  water  in  its  differ- 
ent states,  as  Apozonallotl  and  Acuecuejotl,  which  mean 
the  swelling  and  fluctuation  of  water;  Atlacamani,  or 
the  storms  excited  thereon;  Ahuic  and  Aiauh,  or  its 
motion,  now  to  one  side,  now  to  the  other ;  and  Xixiqui- 
pilihui,  the  alternate  rising  and  falling  of  the  waves. 
The  Tlascaltecs  called  her  Matlalcueje,  that  is  'clothed 
in  a  green  robe;'  and  they  gave  the  same  name  to  the 
highest  mountain  of  Tlascala,  on  whose  summit  are  found 
those  stormy  clouds  which  generally  burst  over  the  city 
of  Puebla.  To  that  summit  the  Tlascaltecs  ascended 
to  perform  their  sacrifices,  and  offer  up  their  prayers. 
This  is  the  very  same  goddess  of  water  to  whom  Tor- 
quemada  gives  the  name  of  Hochiquetzal,  and  Boturini 
that  of  Macuilxochiquetzalli.18 

Of  the  accuracy  of  the  assertions  of  this  last  sen- 
tence I  am  by  no  means  certain;  Boturini  and  Tor- 
quemada  both  describe  their  goddess  of  water  with- 
out giving  any  support  thereto.  Boturini  says  that 

17  Kingsborouqh's  Mex.  Anliq.,   vol.  vii.,    pp.   5,  35,   vol.  v.,   pp.   459-2; 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  8-9,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  78-9;  torn,  ii.,  lib. 
vi.,  pp.  185-191. 

18  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  16. 


368          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

she  was  metaphorically  called  by  the  Mexicans  the 
goddess  of  the  Petticoat  of  Precious  Stones,  —  chal- 
chihuites,  as  it  would  appear  from  other  authorities, 
being  meant, — and  that  she  was  represented  with 
large  pools  at  her  feet,  and  symbolized  by  certain 
reeds  that  grow  in  moist  places.  She  was  par- 
ticularly honored  by  fishermen  and  others  whose  trade 
connected  them  with  water,  and  great  ladies  were  ac- 
customed to  dedicate  to  her  their  nuptials — probably, 
as  will  be  seen  immediately,  because  this  goddess  had 
much  to  do  with  certain  lustral  ceremonies  performed 
on  new-born  children.19 

Many  names,  writes  Torquemada,  wrere  given  to  this 
goddess,  but  that  of  Chalchihuitlicue  was  the  most  com- 
mon and  usual ;  it  meant  to  say,  '  petticoat  of  water,  of 
a  shade  between  green  and  blue,'  that  is,  of  the  color  of 
the  stones  called  chalchihuites.20  She  was  the  com- 
panion, not  the  wife  of  Tlaloc,  for  indeed  as  our  author 
affirms,  the  Mexicans  did  not  think  so  grossly  of  their 
gods  and  goddesses  as  to  marry  them.21 

According  to  Sahagun,  Chalchihuitlicue  was  the  sister 
of  the  Tlalocs.  She  was  honored  because  she  had  power 
over  the  waters  of  the  sea  and  of  the  rivers  to  drown 


19  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  25-6. 

20  '  The  stones  called  chalchiuites  by  the  Mexicans  (and  written  variously 
ckalchibetes,  chalchihuis,  and  calchihuis,  by  the  chroniclers)  were  esteemed  of 
high  value  by  all  the  Central  American  and  Mexican  nations.     They  were 
generally  of  green  quartz,  jade,  or  the  stone  known  as  madre  de  Esnieralda 
....  The  goddess  of  water,  amongst  the  Mexicans,  bore  the  name  of  Chalchiuil- 
cuye,  the  woman  of  the  Chalchiuites,  and  the  name  of  Chalchiuihapan  was 
often  applied  to  the  city  of  Tlaxcalla,  from  a  beautiful  fountain  of  water 
found    near    it,  'the   color  of    which,'  according   to   Torquemada,    '  was 
between  blue  and  green.'  '     Squier  in  Palacio,  Curia,  p.  110,  note  15.     In 
the  same  work  p.  53,  we  find  mention   made   by  Palacio  of  an  idol   ap- 
parently representing  Chalchihuitlicue:  'Very  near  here,  is  a  little  village 
called  Coatan,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which  is  a  lake  ["  This  lake  is  distant 
two  leagues  to  the  southward  of  the  present  considerable  town  of  Guateptque, 
from  which  it  takes  its  name,  Lai/nna  de  Ouatepue  " — Guatemala],  situated 
on  the  flank  of  the  volcano.     Its  water  is  bad;  it  is  deep,  and  full  of  cay- 
mans.    In  its  middle  there  are  two  small  islands.     The  Indians  regard  the 
lake  as  an  oracle  of  much  authority. . .  I  learned  that  certain  negioes  and 
mulattos  of  an  adjacent  estate  had  been  there  [on  the  islands],  and  had 
found  a  great  idol  of  stone,  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  and  some  objects  which 
had  been  offered  in  sacrifice.     Near  by  were  found  some  stones  called  chal- 
chibites.' 

81  Torquemada,  Monarq.  2nd  ,  torn,  ii.,  p.  47. 


IDOL  OF  CHALCHIHUITLICUE.  369 

those  that  went  down  to  them,  to  raise  tempests  and 
whirlwinds,  and  to  cause  boats  to  founder.  They 
worshiped  her  all  those  that  dealt  in  water,  that  went 
about  selling  it  from  canoes,  or  peddled  jars  of  it  in  the 
market.  They  represented  this  goddess  as  a  woman, 
painted  her  face  yellow,  save  the  forehead,  which  was 
often  blue,  and  hung  round  her  neck  a  collar  of  pre- 
cious stones  from  which  depended  a  medal  of  gold.  On 
her  head  was  a  crown  of  light  blue  paper,  with  plumes  of 
green  feathers,  and  tassels  that  fell  to  the  nape  of  her  neck. 
Her  ear-rings  were  of  turquoise  wrought  in  mosaic.  Her 
clothing  was  a  shirt,  or  upper  body-garment,  clear  blue 
petticoats  with  fringes  from  which  hung  marine  shells, 
and  white  sandals.  In  her  left  hand  she  held  a  shield, 
and  a  leaf  of  the  broad  round  white  water-lily,  called  atla- 
cuezona.'*2  In  her  right  hand  she  held  as  a  sceptre  a  vessel 
in  the  shape  of  a  cross,  or  of  a  monstrance  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  This  goddess,  together  with  Chicomecoatl, 
goddess  of  provisions,  and  Yixtocioatl,  goddess  of  salt, 
was  held  in  high  veneration  by  kings  and  lords,  for  they 
said  that  these  three  supported  the  common  people  so 
that  they  could  live  and  multiply.23 

Chalchihuitlicue  was  especially  connected  with  certain 
ceremonies  of  lustration  of  children,  resembling  in  many 

22  Allaciwconan,  ninfa  vel  onenufar,  flor  cle  yerna  de  agna.  Molina,  Vocab- 
•ulario.     The'  Abbe  Brasseur  adds,  on  what  authority  I  have  not  been  able 
to  find,  that  this  leaf  was  ornamented  with  golden  flags.  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  i.,  p.  324.     He  adds  in  a  note  to  this  passage,  what  is  very  true,  that, 
'  Suivant  Ixtlilxochitl,  et  apres  lui  Veytia,  la  deesse  des  eaux  aurait  ete  adoree 
sous  la  forme  d'une  grenouille,  faite  d'une  seule  emeraude,  et  qui,  suivaut 
Ixtlilxochitl,  existait  encore  au  temps  de  la  conquete  de  Mexico.     La  seule 
deesse  adoree  sous  la  forme  unique  d'une  grenouille  etait  la  terre.'     (See 
this  vol.  p.  351,   note  4.)  Gomara.  Hist.  Conq  Mtx.,  fol.  326,  says  that  the 
figure  of  a  frog  was  held  to  be  the  goddess  of  fishes :  '  Entre  los  idolos . . . .  es- 
taua  el  de  la  ratua.     A  la  cual  tenian  por  diosa  del  pescado.'     Motolinia  ex- 
tends this  last  statement  as  follows.     The  Mexicans  had  idols  he  says,  in 
Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  34,  '  de  los  pescados  grandes  y  de  los  la- 
gartos  de  agua,  hasta  sapos  y  ranas,  y  de  otros  peces  grandes,  y  estos  deciaii 
que  eran  los  dieses  del  pescado.     De  un  pueblo  de  la  laguna  de  Mexico 
llevaron  unos  idolos  de  estos  peces,  que  eran  unos  peces  hechos  de  piedra, 
grandes;  y  despues  volviendo  por  alii  pidieronles  para  comer  algunos  peces, 
y  respondieron  que  habian  llevado  el  dios  del  pescado  y  que  no  podian  to- 
mar  peces.' 

23  Kinisborouf]h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  5-6,  36;  Sahac/un,   Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  9-10,  lib.  ii.,  p.  81;  Amer.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  transact,  vol.  i.* 
pp.  342,  351). 

VOL.  m.    24 


370          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

points  baptism  among  Christians.  It  would  seem  that 
two  of  these  lustrations  were  practiced  upon  every  in- 
fant, and  the  first  took  place  immediately  upon  its  birth. 
When  the  midwife  had  cut  the  umbilical  cord  of  the 
child,  then  she  washed  it,  and  while  washing  it  said, 
varying  her  address  according  to  its  sex:  My  son,  ap- 
proach now  thy  mother,  Chalchihuitlicue,  the  goddess  of 
water;  may  she  see  good  to  receive  thee,  to  wash  thee, 
and  to  put  away  from  thee  the  filthiness  that  thou  takest 
from  thy  father  and  mother ;  may  she  see  good  to  purify 
thine  heart,  to  make  it  good  and  clean,  and  to  instill 
into  thee  good  habits  and  manners. 

Then  the  midwife  turned  to  the  water  itself  and  spoke : 
Most  compassionate  lady.  Chalchihuitlicue,  here  has  come 
into  the  world  this  thy  servant,  sent  hither  by  our 
father  and  mother,  whose  names  are  Ometecutli  and 
Omecioatl,24  who  live  on  the  ninth  heaven,  which  is  the 
place  of  the  habitation  of  the  gods.  We  know  not  what 
are  the  gifts  that  this  infant  brings  with  it;  we  know 
not  what  was  given  to  it  before  the  beginning  of  the 
world ;  we  know  not  what  it  is,  nor  what  mischief  and 
vice  it  brings  with  it  taken  from  its  father  and  mother. 
It  is  now  in  thine  hands,  wash  and  cleanse  it  as  thou  know- 
est  to  be  necessary;  in  thine  hands  we  leave  it,  Purge 
it  from  the  filthiness  it  inherits  from  its  father  and  its 
mother,  all  spot  and  defilement  let  the  water  carry  away 
and  undo.  See  good,  0  our  lady,  to  cleanse  and  purify 
its  heart  and  life  that  it  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
life  in  this  world ;  for  indeed  we  leave  this  creature  in 
thine  hands,  who  art  mother  and  lady  of  the  gods,  and 
alone  worthy  of  the  gift  of  cleansing  that  thou  has  held 
from  before  the  beginning  of  the  world ;  see  good  to  do 
as  we  have  entreated  thee  to  this  child  now  in  thy  pre- 
sence. 

Then  the  midwife  spake  again ;  I  pray  thee  to  receive 
this  child  here  brought  before  thee.  This  said,  the  mid- 
wife took  water  and  blew  her  breath  upon  it,  and  gave 
to  taste  of  it  to  the  babe,  and  touched  the  babe  with  it 

"  See  this  vol.,  p.  58,  note  15. 


TWO  LUSTRATIONS  OR  BAPTISMS.  371 

on  the  breast  and  on  the  top  of  the  head.  Then  she 
said :  My  well-beloved  son,  or  daughter,  approach  here 
thy  mother  and  father,  Chalchihuitlicue  and  Chalchihui- 
tlatonac;  let  now  this  goddess  take  thee,  for  she  has  to 
bear  thee  on  her  shoulders  and  in  her  arms  through  this 
world.  Then  the  midwife  dipped  the  child  into  water 
and  said:  Enter,  my  son,  into  the  water  that  is  called 
mamathc  and  tuspalac  •  let  it  wrash  thee ;  let  him  cleanse 
thee  that  is  in  every  place,  let  him  see  good  to  put  away 
from  thee  all  the  evil  that  thou  hast  carried  with  thee 
from  before  the  beginning  of  the  world,  the  evil  that 
thy  father  and  thy  mother  have  joined  to  thee.  Hav- 
ing so  washed  the  creature,  the  midwife  then  wrapped 
it  up,  addressing  it  the  while  as  follows:  0  precious 
"stone,  0  rich  feather,  0  emerald,  0  sapphire,  thou  wert 
shaped  where  abide  the  great  god  and  the  great  goddess 
that  are  above  the  heavens;  created  and  formed  thou 
wert  by  thy  mother  and  father,  Ometecutli  and  Omeci- 
oatl,  the  celestial  woman  and  the  celestial  man.  Thou 
hast  come  into  this  world,  a  place  of  many  toils  and 
troubles,  of  intemperate  heat  and  intemperate  cold  and 
wind,  a  place  of  hunger  and  thirst,  of  weariness  and  of 
tears ;  of  a  verity  we  cannot  say  that  this  world  is  other 
than  a  place  of  weeping,  of  sadness,  of  vexation.  Be- 
hold thy  lot,  weariness  and  weeping  and  tears.  Thou 
hast  come,  my  well-beloved,  repose  then  and  take  here 
thy  rest;  let  our  Lord  that  is  in  every  place  provide  for 
and  support  thee.  And  in  saying  all  these  things  the 
midwife  spake  softly,  as  one  that  prays. 

The  second  lustration  or  baptism,  usually  took  place 
on  the  fifth  day  after  birth,  but  in  every  case  the  astrolo- 
gers and  diviners  were  consulted,  and  if  the  signs  were 
not  propitious,  the  baptism  was  postponed  till  a  day  of 
good  sign  came.  The  ceremony,  when  the  child  was  a 
boy,  began  by  bringing  to  it  a  little  shield,  bow,  and 
arrows;  of  which  arrows  there  were  four,  one  pointing 
toward  each  of  the  four  points  of  the  world.  There 
were  also  brought  a  little  shield,  bow,  and  arrows,  made 
of  paste  or  dough  of  wild  amaranth  seeds,  and  a  pottage 


372          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  beans  and  toasted  maize,  and  a  little  breech-clout  and 
blanket  or  mantle.  The  poor  in  such  cases  had  no  more 
than  the  little  shield,  bow,  and  arrows,  together  with  some 
tamales  and  toasted  maize.  When  the  child  was  a  girl, 
there  were  brought  to  it,  instead  of  mimic  weapons,  cer- 
tain woman's  implements  and  tools  for  spinning  and 
weaving,  the  spindle  and  distaff,  a  little  shirt  and  petti- 
coats. These  things  being  prepared,  suiting  the  sex  of 
the  infant,  its  parents  and  relatives  assembled  before 
sunrise.  When  the  sun  rose  the  midwife  asked  for  a 
new  vessel  full  of  water;  and  she  took  the  child  in  her 
hands.  Then  the  by-standers  carried  all  the  implements 
and  utensils  already  mentioned  into  the  court-yard  of 
the  house,  where  the  midwife  set  the  face  of  the  child 
toward  the  west,  and  spake  to  the  child  saying:  0" 
grandson  of  mine,  0  eagle,  0  tiger,  0  valiant  man, 
thou  hast  come  into  the  world,  sent  by  thy  father  and 
mother,  the  great  Lord  and  the  great  lady;  thou  wast 
created  and  begotten  in  thy  house,  which  is  the  place  of 
the  supreme  gods  that  are  above  the  nine  heavens.  Thou 
art  a  gift  from  our  son  Quetzalcoatl,  who  is  in  every 
place;  join  thyself  now  to  thy  mother,  the  goddess  of 
water,  Chalchihuitlicue. 

Then  the  midwife  gave  the  child  to  taste  of  the  waterT 
putting  her  moistened  fingers  in  its  mouth,  and  said: 
Take  this;  by  this  thou  hast  to  live  on  the  earth,  to 
grow  and  to  flourish ;  through  this  we  get  all  things  that 
support  existence  on  the  earth ;  receive  it.  Then  with 
her  moistened  fingers  she  touched  the  breast  of  the  child T 
and  said:  Behold  the  pure  water  that  washes  and 
cleanses  thine  heart,  that  removes  all  filthiness;  receive 
it;  may  the  goddess  see  good  to  purify  and  cleanse  thine 
heart.  Then  the  midwife  poured  water  upon  the  head 
of  the  child  saying:  0  my  grandson,  my  son.  take  this 
water  of  the  Lord  of  the  world,  which  is  thy  life,  in- 
vigorating and  refreshing,  washing  and  cleansing.  I 
pray  that  this  celestial  water,  blue  and  light  blue,  may 
enter  into  thy  body  and  there  live ;  I  pray  that  it  may 
destroy  in  thee  and  put  away  from  thee  all  the  things 


PKAYEK  TO  THE  EARTH-MOTHER.  373 

evil  and  adverse  that  were  given  thee  before  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world.  Into  thine  hand,  0  goddess  of  water, 
are  all  mankind  put,  because  thou  art  our  mother  Chal- 
chihuitlicue.  Having  so  washed  the  body  of  the  child 
and  so  spoken,  the  midwife  said :  Wheresoever  thou  art 
in  this  child,  0  thou  hurtful  thing,  begone,  leave  it,  put 
thyself  apart ;  for  now  does  it  live  anew,  and  anew  is  it 
born :  now  again  is  it  purified  and  cleansed ;  now  again 
is  it  shaped  and  engendered  by  our  mother  the  goddess 
of  water. 

All  these  things  being  done  and  spoken,  the  midwife 
lifted  the  child  in  both  her  hands  toward  heaven  and 
said:  0  Lord,  behold  here  thy  creature  that  thou  hast 
sent  to  this  place  of  pain,  of  affliction,  of  anguish,  to  this 
world.  Give  it,  O  Lord,  thy  gifts  and  thine  inspira- 
tion, forasmuch  as  thou  art  the  great  god,  and  hast  with 
thee  the  great  goddess.  Then  the  midwife  stooped  again 
and  set  the  child  upon  the  earth,  and  raised  it  the  second 
time  toward  heaven,  saying:  0  our  lady,  *vho  art 
mother  of  the  heavens,  who  art  called  Citlalatonac, 25  to 
thee  I  direct  my  voice  and  my  cry;  I  pray  thee  to  in- 
spire with  thy  virtue,  what  virtue  soever  it  may  be,  to 
give  and  to  instil  it  into  this  creature.  Then  the  mid- 


25  See  note  24.  '  Entre  los  Dioses  que  estos  ciegos  Mexicanos  fingieron 
tener,  y  ser  maiores,  qae  otros,  fueron  dos;  vno  llamadoj  Ometecuhtli,  que 
quiere  decir,  dos  hidalgos,  6  cavalleros ;  y  el  otro  llamaron  Oniecihuatl,  que 
quiere1  decir,  dos  mugeres :  los  quales,  por  otros  nombres,  fueron  llamados, 
Citlalatonac,  que  quiere  decir,  Estrella  que  resplandece,  6  resplandeciente; 
y  el  otro,  Citlalicue,  que  quiere  decir,  Faldellin  de  la  Estrella:  . . .  .Estos  dos 
Dioses  fingidos  de  esta  Gentilidad,  crelan  ser  el  vno  Hornbre,  y  el  otro 
Muger;  y  como  a  dos  naturalecas  distintas,  y  de  distintos  sexos  las  nombra- 
baii,  como  por  los  nombres  dichos  parece.  De  estos  dos  Dioses,  (o  por 
mejor  decir,  Demonios)  tuvieron  creido  estos  naturales,  que  residian  en  vna 
Ciudad  gloriosa,  asentada  sobre  los  once  Cielos,  cuio  suelo  era  mas  alto,  y  su- 
premo de  ellos;  y  que  en  aquella  Ciudad  gocjaban  de  todos  los  deleites  imagin- 
ables  y  poseian  todas  las  riquecas  de  el  Mundo ;  y  decian,  que  desde  alii  arriba 
regiau.  y  governaban  toda  esta  maquina  inferior  del  Mundo,  y  todo  aquello 
que  es  visible,  e  invisible,  influiendo  en  todas  las  Animas,  que  criaban  todas 
las  iucliuaciones  naturales,  que  vemos  aver  en  todas  las  criaturas  racionales, 
e  irracionales;  y  que  cuidaban  de  todo,  como  por  naturaleca  los  convenia, 
atalaiudo  desde  aquel  sn  asiento  las  cosas  criadas. . .  .De  manera,  que  segun 
lo  dicko,  esta  mui  claro  de  eutender,  que  tenian  opinion,  que  les  que  regian, 
y  governaban  el  Mundo,  eran  dos  (conviene  a  saber)  vn  Dios,  y  vna  Diosa, 
de  los  quales  el  vno  que  era  el  Dios  Hombre,  obraba  en  todo  el  genero  de 
los  Varones;  y  el  otro,  qiie  era  la  Diosa,  criaba,  y  obraba  en  todo  el  genero 
de  las  Mugeres.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  37. 


374          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

wife  stooped  again  and  set  the  child  on  the  ground,  and 
raised  it  the  third  time  toward  heaven,  and  said :  0  our 
Lord,  god  and  goddess  celestial,  that  are  in  the  heavens, 
behold  this  creature;  see  good  to  pour  into  it  thy  virtue 
and  thy  breath,  so  that  it  may  live  upon  the  earth. 
Then  a  fourth  and  last  time  the  midwife  set  the  babe 
upon  the  ground,  a  fourth  time  she  lifted  it  toward 
heaven,  and  she  spake  to  the  sun  and  said :  0  our  Lord, 
Sun,  Totonametl,  Tlaltecutli,  that  art  our  mother  and  our 
father,  behold  this  creature,  which  is  like  a  bird  of  pre- 
cious plumage,  like  a  zaquan  or  a  quechuil™  thine,  0  our 
Lord  the  Sun,  he  is;  thou  who  art  valiant  in  war  and 
painted  like  a  tiger  in  black  and  gray,  he  is  thy  creature 
and  of  thine  estate  and  patrimony.  For  this  he  was 
born,  to  serve  thee  and  to  give  thee  food  and  drink ;  he 
is  of  the  family  of  warriors  and  soldiers  that  fight  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

Then  the  midwife  took  the  shield,  and  the  bow  and 

26  (^aquantototl,  paxaro  de  pluma  amarillo  y  rica.  Molina,  Vocabulario. 
According  to  Bustamante  however,  this  bird  is  not  one  in  any  way  remark- 
able for  plumage,  but  is  identical  with  the  tzacua  described  by  Clnvigero,  and 
is  here  used  as  an  example  of  a  vigilant  and  active  soldier.  Bustamante  (in 
a  note  to  Sahaaun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp.  194-5)  writes:  Tzacua, 
of  this  bird  repeated  mention  has  been  made  in  this  history,  for  the  Indians 
used  it  for  a  means  of  comparison  or  simile  in  their  speeches.  It  is  an  early- 
rising  bird  (madrugador),  and  has  nothing  notable  in  its  plumage  or  in  its 
voice,  but  only  in  its  habits.  This  bird  is  one  of  the  last  to  go  to  rest  at 
night  and  one  of  the  first  to  announce  the  coming  sun.  An  hour  before  day- 
break a  bird  of  this  species,  having  passed  the  night  with  many  of  his  fel- 
lows on  any  branch,  begins  to  call  them,  with  a  shrill  clear  note  that  he 
keeps  repeating  in  a  glad  tone  till  some  of  them  reply.  The  tzacua  is  about 
the  size  of  a  sparrow,  and  very  similar  in  color  to  the  bunting  ( calandria ) , 
Lut  more  marvellous  in  its  habits.  It  is  a  social  bird,  each  tree  is  a  town  of 
many  nests.  One  tzacua  plays  the  part  of  chief  and  guards  the  rest;  his  post 
is  in  the  top  of  the  tree,  whence,  from  time  to  time,  he  flies  from  nest  to  nest 
uttering  his  notes;  and  while  he  is  visiting  a  nest  all  within  are  silent.  If 
he  sees  any  bird  of  another  species  approaching  the  tree  he  sallies  out  upon 
the  invader  and  with  beak  and  wings  compels  a  retreat.  But  if  he  sees  a 
man  or  any  large  object  advancing,  he  flies  screaming  to  a  neighboring 
tree,  and,  meeting  other  birds  of  his  tribe  flying  homeward,  he  obliges  them 
to  retire  by  changing  the  tone  of  his  note.  When  the  danger  is  over  he  re- 
turns to  his  tree  and  begins  his  rounds  as  before,  from  nest  to  nest.  Tzaeuas 
abound  in  Michoacan,  and  to  their  observations  regarding  them  the  Indians 
are  doubtless  indebted  for  many  hints  and  comparisons  applied  to  soldiers 
diligent  in  duty.  The  quechutt,  or  tlauhquechol,  is  a  large  aquatic  bird  with 
plumage  of  a  beautiful  scarlet  color,  or  a  reddish  white,  except  that  of  the 
neck,  which  is  black.  Its  home  is  on  the  sea-shore  and  by  the  river  banks, 
where  it  feeds  on  live  fish,  never  touching  dead  flesh.  See  Claviyero,  Storia 
Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  87,  91-3. 


DEDICATION  OF  THE  CHILD  TO  WAE.  375 

the  dart  that  were  there  prepared,  and  spake  to  the  Sun 
after  this  sort:  Behold  here  the  instruments  of  war 
which  thou  art  served  with,  which  thou  delightest  in; 
impart  to  this  babe  the  gift  that  thou  art  wont  to  give 
to  thy  soldiers,  enabling  them  to  go  to  thine  house  of 
delights,  where,  having  fallen  in  battle,  they  rest  and  are 
joyful  and  are  now  with  thee  praising  thee.  Will  this 
poor  little  nobody  ever  be  one  of  them  ?  Have  pity  upon 
him,  0  clement  Lord  of  ours. 

During  all  the  time  of  these  ceremonies  a  great  torch 
of  candlewood  was  burning ;  and  when  these  ceremonies 
were  accomplished,  a  name  was  given  to  the  child,  that 
of  one  of  his  ancestors,  so  that  he  might  inherit  the  for- 
tune or  lot  of  him  whose  name  was  so  taken.  This  name 
was  applied  to  the  child  by  the  midwife,  or  priestess, 
who  performed  the  baptism.  Suppose  the  name  given 
was  Yautl.  Then  the  midwife  began  to  shout  and  to 
talk  like  a  man  to  the  child :  0  Yautl,  0  valiant  man, 
take  this  shield  and  this  dart;  these  are  for  thy  amuse- 
ment, they  are  the  delight  of  the  sun.  Then  she  tied 
the  little  mantle  on  its  shoulders  and  girt  the  breech- 
clout  about  it.  Now  all  the  boys  of  the  ward  were  as- 
sembled, and  at  this  stage  of  the  ceremony  they  rushed 
into  the  house  where  the  baptism  had  taken  place,  and 
representing  soldiers  and  forrayers,  they  took  food  that 
was  there  prepared  for  them,  which  was  called  '  the 
navel-string,'  or  'navel,'  of  the  child,  and  set  out  with 
it  into  the  streets,  shouting  and  eating.  They  cried  0 
Yautl,  Yautl,  get  thee  to  the  field  of  battle,  put  thyself 
into  the  thickest  of  the  fight ;  0  Yautl,  Yautl,  thine  office 
is  to  make  glad  the  sun  and  the  earth,  to  give  them  to 
eat  and  to  drink ;  upon  thee  has  fallen  the  lot  of  the 
soldiers  that  are  eagles  and  tigers,  that  die  in  war,  that 
are  now  making  merry  and  singing  before  the  sun. 
And  they  cried  again :  0  soldiers,  0  men  of  war,  come 
hither,  come  to  eat  of  the  navel  of  Yautl.  Then  the 
midwife,  'or  priestess,  took  the  child  into  the  house,  and 
departed,  the  great  torch  of  candlewood  being  carried 


376          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

burning  before  her,  and  this  was  the  last  of  the  cere- 
mony.27 

27  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  479-483,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  151-2; 
Saharjun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp.  215-221.  According  to  some  au- 
thors, and  I  think  Boturini  for  one,  this  baptism  was  supplemented  by  pass- 
ing the  child  through  fire.  There  was  such  a  ceremony;  however,  it  was 
not  connected  with  that  of  baptism,  but  it  took  place  on  the  last  night  of 
every  fourth  year,  before  the  five  unlucky  days.  On  the  last  night  of  every 
fourth  year,  parents  chose  god-parents  for  their  children  born  during  the 
three  preceding  years,  and  these  god-fathers  and  god-mothers  passed  the 
children  over,  or  near  to,  or  about  the  flame  of  a  prepared  fire  (rodearlos  por 
las  llamas  del  fuego  que  tenian  aparejado  para  esto,  que  en  el  latin  se  dice 
lustrare) .  They  also  bored  the  children's  ears,  which  caused  no  small  up- 
roar (Habia  gran  voceria  de  rnuchachos  y  muchachas  por  el  ahugeramieiito 
de  las  orejas)  as  may  well  be  imagined.  They  clasped  'the  children  by  the 
temples  and  lifted  them  up  '  to  make  them  grow;'  wherefore  they  called  the 
feast  izcatti,  'growing.'  They  finished  by  giving  the  little  things  pulque 
in  tiny  cups,  and  for  this  the  feast  was  called  the  '  drunkenness  of  children.' 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  189-192.  In  the  Spicgazione  delle 
Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xxxi.,  in  Kingsborowjh'  s  Mex. 
Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  181,  there  is  given  a  description  of  the  water  baptism  dif- 
fering somewhat  from  that  given  in  the  text.  It  runs  as  follows :  '  T|?hey 
took  some  ficitle;  and  having  a  large  vessel  of  water  near  them,  they  made 
the  leaves  of  the  ficitle  into  a  bunch,  and  dipped  it  into  the  water,  with 
which  they  sprinkled  the  child;  and  after  fumigating  it  with  incense,  they 
gave  it  a  name,  taken  from  the  sign  on  which  it  was  born ;  and  they  put  into 
its  hand  a  shield  and  arrow,  if  it  was  a  boy,  which  is  what  the  figure  of 
Xiuatlatl  denotes,  who  here  represents  the  god  of  war;  they  also  uttered 
over  the  child  certain  prayers  in  the  manner  of  deprecations,  that  he 
might  become  a  brave,  intrepid,  and  courageous  man.  The  offering  which 
his  parents  carried  to  the  temple  the  elder  priests  took  and  divided  with  the 
other  children  who  were  in  the  temple,  who  ran  with  it  through  the  whole 
city.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  107,  again  describes  this  rite,  in  substance 
as  follows:  'They  had  a  sort  of  baptism:  thus  when  the  child  was  a  few 
days  old,  an  old  woman  was  called  in,  who  took  the  child  out  into  the  court 
of  the  house  where  it  was  born,  and  washed  it  a  certain  number  of  times 
with  the  wine  of  the  country,  and  as  many  times  again  with  water;  then 
she  put  a  name  on  it,  and  performed  certain  ceremonies  with  the  umbilical 
cord.  These  names  were  taken  from  the  idols,  or  from  the  feasts  that 
fell  about  that  time,  or  from  a  beast  or  bird.'  See  further  Explication 
de  la  Coleccion  de  Mendoza,  pt  iii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
v.,  pp.  90-1;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  445,  449-458;  Cla- 
vi'/ero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  85-9;  Humboldt,  Vues  des 
Cordilleres,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  311,  318;  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt  ii.,  pp. 
39-41;  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  385;  Erinton's  Myths,  pp.  122,  130; 
Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  652;  Biart,  La  Terre  Tevipe'ree,  p. 
274.  Mr  Tylor,  speaking  of  Mexico,  in  his  Anahuac,  p.  279,  says: 
'  Children  were  sprinkled  with  water  when  their  names  were  given 
to  them.  This  is  certainly  true,  though  the  statement  that  they 
believed  that  the  process  purified  them  from  original  sin  is  probably 
a  monkish  fiction.'  Farther  reading,  however,  has  shown  Mr  Tylor  the 
injustice  of  this  judgment,  and  in  his  masterly  latest  and  greatest  work  (see 
Primitive  Culture,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  429-36),  he  writes  as  follows:  '  The  last  group 
of  rites  whose  course  through  religious  history  is  to  be  outlined  here,  takes 
in  the  varied  dramatic  acts  of  ceremonial  purification  or  Lustration.  With 
all  the  obscurity  and  intricacy  due  to  age-long  modification,  the  primitive 
thought  Avhich  underlies  these  ceremonies  is  still  open  to  view.  It  is  the  tran- 
sition from  practical  to  symbolic  cleansing,  from  removal  of  bodily  impurity 
to  deliverance  from  invisible,  spiritual,  and  at  last  moral  evil.  (See  this  vol.  p\ 


THE  AZTEC  VENUS.  377 

The  goddess  (or  god,  as  some  have  it)  connected  by 
the  Mexicans  with  carnal  love  was  variously  called  Tla- 
zolteotl,  Ixcuina,  Tlaclquani,  with  other  names,  and, 
especially  it  would  appear  in  .Tlascala,  Xochiquetzal. 
She  had  no  very  prominent  or  honorable  place  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  and  was  much  more  closely  allied  to 
the  Roman  Cloacina  than  to  the  Greek  Aphrodite. 
Camargo,  the  Tlascaltec,  gives  much  the  most  agreeable 
and  pleasing  account  of  her.  Her  home  was  in  the 
ninth  heaven,  in  a  pleasant  garden,  watered  by  innu- 
merable fountains,  where  she  passed  her  time  spinning 
and  weaving  rich  stuffs,  in  the  midst  of  delights,  minis- 
tered to  by  the  inferior  deities.  No  man  was  able  to 
approach  her,  but  she  had  in  her  service  a  crowd  of 
dwarfs,  buffoons,  and  hunchbacks,  who  diverted  her  with 
their  songs  and  dances,  and  acted  as  messengers  to  such 
gods  as  she  took  a  fancy  to.  So  beautiful  was  she  painted 
that  no  woman  in  the  world  could  equal  her;  and  the 
place  of  her  habitation  was  called  lamotamohuanichan, 
Xochitlycacan,  Chitamihuany,  Cicuhnauhuepaniuhcan, 
and  Tuhecayan,  that  is  to  say  '  the  place  of  Tamohuan, 
the  place  of  the  tree  of  flowers  Xochitlihcacan,  where  the 
air  is  purest,  beyond  the  nine  heavens.'  It  was  further 
said,  that  whoever  had  been  touched  by  one  of  the 

119) ...  .In  old  Mexico,  the  first  act  of  ceremonial  lustration  took  place  at 
birth.  The  nurse  washed  the  infant  in  the  name  of  the  water-goddess,  to  re- 
move the  impurity  of  its  birth,  to  cleanse  its  heart  and  give  it  a  good  and  per- 
fect life ;  then  blowing  on  water  in  her  right  hand  she  washed  it  again,  warning 
it  of  forthcoming  trials  and  miseries  and  labors,  and  praying  the  invisible 
Deity  to  descend  upon  the  water,  to  cleanse  the  child  from  sin  and  foulness, 
and  to  deliver  it  from  misfortune.  The  second  act  took  place  some  four 
days  later,  unless  the  astrologers  postponed  it.  At  a  festive  gathering,  amid 
fires  kept  alight  from  the  first  ceremony,  the  nurse  undressed  the  child  sent 
by  the  gods  into  this  sad  and  doleful  world,  bade  it  to  receive  the  lift-giving 
water,  and  washed  it,  driving  out  evil  from  each  limb  and  offering  to  the 
deities  appointed  prayers  for  virtue  and  blessing.  It  was  then  that  the  toy 
instruments  of  war  or  craft  or  household  labor  were  placed  in  the  boy's  or 
girl's  hand  (a  custom  singularly  corresponding  with  one  usual  in  China), 
and  the  other  children,  instructed  by  their  parents,  gave  the  new-comer  its 
child-name,  here  again  to  be  replaced  by  another  8t  manhood  or  womanhood. 
There  is  nothing  unlikely  in  the  statement  that  the  child  was  also  passed 
four  times  through  the  fire,  but  the  authority  this  is  given  on  is  not  sufficient. 
The  religious  character  of  ablution  is  well  shown  in  Mexico  by  its  form- 
ing part  of  the  daily  service  of  the  priests.  Aztec  life  ended  as  it  had 
begun,  with  this  ceremonial  lustration;  it  was  one  of  the  funeral  ceremonies 
to  sprinkle  the  head  of  the  corpse  with  the  lustral  water  of  this  life.' 


378          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

flowers  that  grow  in  the  beautiful  garden  of  Xochiquet- 
zal should  love  to  the  end,  should  love  faithfully.28 

Boturini  gives  a  legend  in  which  this  goddess  figures 
in  a  very  characteristic  way.  There  was  a  man  called 
Yappan,  who,  to  win  the  regard  of  the  gods  made  him- 
self a  hermit,  leaving  his  wife  and  his  relations,  and  re- 
tiring to  a  desert  place,  there  to  lead  a  chaste  and  soli- 
tary life.  In  that  desert  was  a  great  stone  or  rock, 
called  Tehuehuetl,  dedicated  to  penitential  acts,  which 
rock  Yappan  ascended  and  took  up  his  abode  upon  like 
a  western  Simeon  Stylites.  The  gods  observed  all  this 
with  attention,  but  doubtful  of  the  firmness  of  purpose 
of  the  new  recluse,  they  set  a  spy  upon  him  in  the  per- 
son of  an  enemy  of  his,  named  Yaotl,  the  word  ydotl  in- 
deed signifying  '  enemy.'  Yet  not  even  the  sharpened 
eye  of  hate  and  envy  could  find  any  spot  in  the  austere 
continent  life  of  the  anchorite,  and  the  many  women  sent 
by  the  gods  to  tempt  him  to  pleasure  were  repulsed  and 
baifled.  In  heaven  itself  the  chaste  victories  of  the 
lonely  saint  were  applauded,  and  it  began  to  be  thought 
that  he  was  worthy  to  be  transformed  into  some  higher 
form  of  life.  Then  Tlazolteotl,  feeling  herself  slighted 
and  held  for  nought,  rose  up  in  her  evil  beauty,  wrath- 
ful, contemptuous,  and  said :  Think  not,  ye  high  and  im- 
mortal gods,  that  this  hero  of  yours  has  the  force  to  pre- 
serve his  resolution  before  me,  or  that  he  is  worthy  of 
any  very  sublime  transformation;  I  descend  to  earth, 
behold  now  how  strong  is  the  vow  of  your  devotee,  how 
unfeigned  his  continence! 

That  day  the  flowers  of  the  gardens  of  Xochiquetzal 
were  untended  by  their  mistress,  her  singing  dwarfs 
were  silent,  her  messengers  undisturbed  by  her  behests, 
and  away  in  the  desert,  by  the  lonely  rock,  the 
crouching  spy  Yaotl  saw  a  wondrous  sight:  one  shaped 

2S  Camarqo,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  pp.  132- 
3.  '  On  celebrait  chaque  annee  une  fete  solennelle  en  I'honueur  de  cette 
deesse  Xochiquetzal,  et  uiie  foule  de  peuple  se  reunissait  dans  son  temple. 
On  disait  qu'elle  etait  la  femme  de  Tlaloc  le  dieu  des  eaux,  et  qne  Texcat- 
lipuca  la  lui  avait  enlevee  et  1'avait  transported  au  neuvieme  ciel.  Met- 
lacueycjiti  etait  la  deesse  des  magicieimes.  Tlaloc  1'epousa  quaiid  Xochi- 
quetzal lui  cut  ete  eiilevee.' 


TLAZOLTEOTL  SEDUCES  YAPP  AN.          379 

like  a  woman,  but  fairer  than  eye  can  conceive,  ad- 
vancing toward  the  lean  penance-withered  man  on 
the  sacred  height.  Ha!  thrills  not  the  hermit's  mor- 
tified flesh  with  something  more  than  surprise,  while 
the  sweet  voice  speaks:  My  brother  Yappan,  I  the  god- 
dess Tlazolteotl,  amazed  at  thy  constancy,  and  commiser- 
ating thy  hardships,  come  to  comfort  thee ;  what  way  shall 
I  take,  or  what  path,  that  I  may  get  up  to  speak  with 
thee?  The  simple  one  did  not  see  the  ruse,  he  came 
down  from  his  place  and  helped  the  goddess  up.  Alas, 
in  such  a  crisis,  what  need  is  there  to  speak  further  ? — no 
other  victory  of  Yappan.  was  destined  to  be  famous  in 
heaven,  but  in  a  cloud  of  shame  his  chaste  light  went 
down  for  ever.  And  thou,  0  shameless  one,  have  thy 
fierce  red  lips  had  their  fill  of  kisses,  is  thy  Paphian 
soul  satisfied  withal,  as  now,  flushed  with  victory, 
thou  passest  back  to  the  tinkling  fountains,  and  to  the 
great  tree  of  flowers,  and  to  the  far-reaching  gardens 
where  thy  slaves  await  thee  in  the  ninth  heaven  ?  Do 
thine  eyes  lower  themselves  at  all  in  any  heed  of 
the  miserable  disenchanted  victim  left  crouching, 
humbled  on  his  desecrated  rock,  his  nights  and  days  of 
fasting  and  weariness  gone  for  nought,  his  dreams,  his 
hopes  dissipated,  scattered  like  dust  at  the  trailing  of  thy 
robes?  And  for  thee,  poor  Yappan,  the  troubles  of  this 
life  are  soon  to  end ;  Yaotl,  the  enemy,  has  not  seen  all 
these  things  for  nothing;  he,  at  least,  has  not  borne 
hunger  and  thirst  and  weariness,  has  not  watched  and 
waited  in  vain.  0  it  avails  nothing  to  lift  the  pleading 
hands,  they  are  warm  but  not  with  clasping  in  prayer, 
and  weary  but  not  with  waving  the  censer;  the  flint- 
edged  mace  beats  down  thy  feeble  guard,  the  neck  that 
Tlazolteotl  clasped  is  smitten  through,  the  lips  she  kissed 
roll  in  the  dust  beside  a  headless  trunk. 

The  gods  transformed  the  dead  man  into  a  scorpion, 
with  the  forearms  fixed  lifted  up  as  when  he  deprecated 
the  blow  of  his  murderer;  and  he  crawled  under  the 
stone  upon  which  he  had  abode.  His  wife,  whose  name 
was  Tlahuitzin,  that  is  to  say  '  the  inflamed/  still  lived. 


380          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  implacable  Yaotl  sought  her  out,  led  her  to  the  spot 
stained  with  her  husband's  blood,  detailed  pitilessly  the 
circumstances  of  the  sin  and  death  of  the  hermit,  and 
then  smote  off  her  head.  The  gods  transformed  the  poor 
woman  into  that  species  of  scorpion  called  the  alacran 
encendido,  and  she  crawled  under  the  stone  and  found 
her  husband.  And  so  it  comes  that  tradition  says  that 
all  reddish  colored  scorpions  are  descended  from  Tlahui- 
tzin,  and  all  dusky  or  ash-colored  scorpions  from  Yap- 
pan,  while  both  keep  hidden  under  the  stones  and  flee 
the  light  for  shame  of  their  disgrace  and  punishment. 
Last  of  all  the  wrath  of  the  gods  fell  on  Yaotl  for  his 
cruelty  and  presumption  in  exceeding  their  commands; 
he  was  transformed  into  a  sort  of  locust  that  the  Mexicans 
call  ahuacachapullin™ 

Sahagun  gives  a  very  full  description  of  this  goddess 
and  her  connection  with  certain  rites  of  confession,  much 
resembling  those  already  described  in  speaking  of  Tez- 
catlipoca.30  The  goddess  had  according  to  our  author, 
three  names.  The  first  was  Tlazolteotl,  that  is  to  say 
'  the  goddess  of  carnality.'  The  second  name  was 
Yxcuina,  which  signifies  four  sisters,  called  respec- 
tively, and  in  order  of  age,  Tiacapan,  Teicu,  Tlaco, 
Xucotsi.  The  third  and  last  name  of  this  deity  was 
Tlaclquani,  which  means  '  eater  of  filthy  things,'  referring 
it  is  said  to  her  function  of  hearing  and  pardoning 
the  confessions  of  men  and  women  guilty  of  unclean 
and  carnal  crimes.  For  this  goddess,  or  these  god- 
desses, had  power  not  only  to  inspire  and  provoke  to 
the  commission  of  such  sins,  and  to  aid  in  their  accom- 
plishment, but  also  to  pardon  them,  if  they  were  con- 
fessed to  certain  priests  who  were  also  diviners  and  tel- 
lers of  fortunes  and  wizards  generally.  In  this  confession, 
however,  Tlazolteotl  seems  not  to  have  been  directlj-  ad- 

29  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  15,  63-^ :  '  Pero,  no  menos  indignados  los  Dioses 
del  pecatlo  de  Yappau,  que  de  la  inobediencia,  y  atrevinrieuto  de  Ynotl,  le 
couvirtieron  en  Laugosta,  que  Hainan  los  Indios  Ahuacacbapattin,  mamlaudo 
se  llamasse  en  adelante  Tzontecoinama,  que  quiere  dicir,  (.'(trc/a  Calezn,  y  en 
efecto  este  animal  parece  que  lleva  cargo  consigo,  propriedad  de  los  Malsines, 
que  sieinpre  cargan  las  houras,  que  ban  quitado  a  sus  Proximos." 

so  See  this  vol.  pp.  220-5. 


CONFESSION.  381 

dressed,  but  only  the  supreme  deity  under  several  of  his 
names.  Thus  the  person  whom,  by  a  stretch  of  courtesy, 
we  may  call  the  penitent,  having  sought  out  a  confessor 
from  the  class  above  mentioned,  addressed  that  function- 
ary in  these  words:  Sir,  I  wish  to  approach  the  all- 
powerful  god,  protector  of  all,  Yoalliehecatl,  or  Tezcat- 
lipoca ;  I  wish  to  confess  my  sins  in  secret.  To  this  the 
wizard,  or  priest,  replied:  Welcome,  my  son;  the  thing 
thou  wouldst  do  is  for  thy  good  and  profit.  This  said, 
he  searched  the  divining  book,  tonalamail,  to  see  what 
day  would  be  most  opportune  for  hearing  the  confession. 
That  day  come,  the  penitent  brought  a  new  mat,  and 
white  incense  called  copatti,  and  wood  for  the  fire  in 
which  the  incense  was  to  be  burned.  Sometimes  when 
he  was  a  very  noble  personage,  the  priest  went  to  his 
house  to  confess  him,  but  as  a  general  rule  the  ceremony 
took  place  at  the  residence  of  the  priest.  On  entering 
this  house  the  penitent  swept  very  clean  a  portion  of  the 
floor  and  spread  the  new  mat  there  for  the  confessor  to 
seat  himself  upon,  and  kindled  the  wood.  The  priest 
then  threw  the  copal  upon  the  fire  and  said:  0  Lord, 
thou  that  art  the  father  and  the  mother  of  the  gods  and 
the  most  ancient  god,31  know  that  here  is  come  thy 
vassal  and  servant,  weeping  and  with  great  sadness ;  he 
is  aware  that  he  has  wandered  from  the  way,  that  he 
has  stumbled,  that  he  has  slidden,  that  he  is  spotted 
with  certain  filthy  sins  and  grave  crimes  worthy  of  death. 
Our  Lord,  very  pitiful,  since  thou  art  the  protector  and 
defender  of  all,  accept  the  penitence,  give  ear  to  the  an- 
guish of  this  thy  servant  ~and  vassal. 

At  this  point  the  confessor  turned  to  the  sinner  and 
said:  My  son,  thou  art  come  into  the  presence  of  God, 
favorer  and  protector  of  all ;  thou  art  come  to  lay  bare 
thy  inner  rottenness  and  unsavoriness ;  thou  art  come  to 
publish  the  secrets  of  thine  heart ;  see  that  thou  fall  into 
no  pit  by  lying  unto  our  Lord ;  strip  thyself,  put  away 
all  shame  before  him  who  is  called  Yoalliehecatl  and 
Tezcatlipoca.  It  is  certain  that  thou  art  now  in  his  pres- 

31  See  this  vol.,  pp.  212,  226. 


382          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ence,  although  thou  art  not  worthy  to  see  him,  neither 
will  he  speak  with  thee,  for  he  is  invisible  and  impalpable. 
See  then  to  it  how  thou  comest,  and  with  what  heart; 
fear  nothing  to  publish  thy  secrets  in  his  presence,  give 
account  of  thy  life,  relate  thine  evil  deeds  as  thou  didst 
perform  them ;  tell  all  with  sadness  to  our  Lord  God, 
who  is  the  favorer  of  all,  and  whose  arms  are  open  and 
ready  to  embrace  and  set  thee  on  his  shoulders.  Be- 
ware of  hiding  anything  through  shame  or  through  weak- 
ness. 

Having  heard  these  words  the  penitent  took  oath, 
after  the  Mexican  fashion,  to  tell  the  truth.  He  touched 
the  ground  with  his  hand  and  licked  off  the  earth  that 
adhered  to  it;32  then  he  threw  copal  in  the  fire,  which 
was  another  way  of  swearing  to  tell  the  truth.  Then 
he  set  himself  down  before  the  priest  and,  inasmuch  as 
he  held  him  to  be  the  image  and  vicar  of  god,  he,  the 
penitent,  began  to  speak  after  this  fashion :  0  our  Lord 
who  receivest  and  shelterest  all,  give  ear  to  my  foul 
deeds;  in  thy  presence  I  strip,  I  put  away  from  myself 
what  shameful  things  soever  1  have  done.  Not  from  thee, 
of  a  verity,  are  hidden  my  crimes,  for  to  thee  all  things 
are  manifest  and  clear.  Having  thus  said,  the  penitent 
proceeded  to  relate  his  sins  in  the  order  in  which  they 
had  been  committed,  clearly  and  quietly,  as  in  a  slow  and 

32  Other  descriptions  of  this  rite  are  given  with  additional  details:  'Usa- 
ban  una  ceremouia  generalmente  en  toda  esta  tierra,  hombres  y  niugeres, 
uiiios  y  ninas,  que  quaudo  entraban  en  algun  lugar  donde  habia  image-lies  de 
los  idolos,  una  d  muchas,  luego  toeaban  en  la  tierra  con  el  dedo,  y  luego 
le  llegaban  a  la  boca  6  a  la  lengua :  a,  esto  llamaban  comer  tierra,  haciendolo 
en  reverencia  de  sus  Dioses,  y  todos  los  que  salian  de  sus  casas,  auuque  no 
saliesen  del  pueblo,  volviendo  a  su  casa  haciau  lo  mismo,  y  por  los  caminos 
quaudo  pasaban  delante  algun  Cu  11  oratorio  hacian  lo  niismo,  y  en  lugar  de 
juramento  usaban  esto  niisino,  que  para  afirmar  quien  decia  verdad  hacian 
esta  ceremonia,  y  los  que  se  querian  satisfacer  del  que  hablaba  si  decia  ver- 
dad, demandabaule  hiciese  esta  ceremonia,  luego  le  creian  como  juramento 
. .  .  Teniau  tumbien  costumbre  de  hacer  juramento  de  cumplir  alguna  cosa  a 
que  ae  obligaban,  y  aquel  a  quien  se  obligaban  les  demaudaba  que  hiciesen 
juramento  para  estar  seguro  de  su  palabra  y  el  juramento  que  haciau  era  en 
esta  forma:  Por  vida  del  Sol  y  de  nuestra  senora  la  tierra  que  no  falte  en  lo 
que  tengo  dicho,  y  para  mayor  seguvidad  como  esta  tierra ;  y  luego  tocaba 
con  los  dedos  en  la  tierra,  llegabalos  a  la  boca  y  lainialos;  y  asi  comia  tierra 
haciendo  juramento/  Kinysborowili's  J/e.T.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  95-6,  101; 
Xahagun,  Nist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  i.,  ap.,  pp.  21*2,  226;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant, 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  25. 


PENANCES.  383 

distinctly  pronounced  chant,  as  one  that  walked  along  a 
very  straight  way  turning  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor 
to  the  left.  When  he  had  done  the  priest  answered  him 
as  follows:  My  son,  thou  hast  spoken  before  our  Lord 
God,  revealing  to  him  thine  evil  works;  and  I  shall  now 
tell  thee  what  thou  hast  to  do.  When  the  goddesses  Civa- 
pipilti  descend  to  the  earth,  or  when  it  is  the  time  of 
the  festival  of  the  four  sister  goddesses  of  carnality  that 
are  called  Yxcuina,  thou  shalt  fast  four  days  afflicting 
thy  stomach  and  thy  mouth ;  this  feast  of  the  Yxcuina 
being  come,  at  daybreak  thou  shalt  do  penance  suitable 
to  thy  sins.33  Through  a  hole  pierced  by  a  maguey-thorn 
through  the  middle  of  thy  tongue  thou  shall  pass  certain 
osier-twigs  called  teucahacatl  or  tlacoil,  passing  them  in 
front  of  the  face  and  throwing  them  over  the  shoulder 
one  by  one ;  or  thou  mayest  fasten  them  the  one  to  the 
other  and  so  pull  them  through  thy  tongue  like  a  long 
cord.  These  twigs  were  sometimes  passed  through  a 
hole  in  the  ear;  and,  wherever  they  were  passed,  it 
would  appear  by  our  author  that  there  were  sometimes 
used  of  them  by  one  penitent  to  the  number  of  four 
hundred,  or  even  of  eight  hundred. 

If  the  sin  seemed  too  light  for  such  a  punishment  as 
the  preceding,  the  priest  would  sa,y  to  the  penitent:  My 
son,  thou  shalt  fast,  thou  shall  fatigue  thy  stomach  with 
hunger  and  thy  mouth  with  thirst,  and  that  for  four 
days,  eating  only  once  on  each  day  and  that  at  noon. 
Or,  the  priest  would  say  to  him :  Thou  shalt  go  to  offer 
paper  in  the  usual  places,  thou  shalt  make  images  covered 
therewith  in  number  proportionate  to  thy  devotion,  thou 
shalt  sing  and  dance  before  them  as  custom  directs.  Or, 
again,  he  would  say  to  him:  Thou  hast  offended  God, 

33  Quite  different  versions  of  this  sentence  are  given  by  Kingsborough's 
and  Bustamante's  editions  respectively.  That  of  Kingsborougk's  Mex.  Ai'tiq  , 
vol.  vii.,  p.  7,  reads:  '  Quando  decienden  a  la  tierra  las  Diosas  Ixcniuame, 
luego  de  rnaiiana  6  en  amaneciendo,  paraque  hagas  la  penitencia  convenible 
por  tus  pecados.'  That  of  Bustamante,  attitagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.. 
p.  13,  reads:  '  Cnando  descienden  a  la  tierra  las  diosas  llarnadas  (.'ivapipilti,  6 
cuando  se  hace  la  fiesta  de  las  diosas  de  la  carnalidad  que  se  Hainan  Yxtui- 
ncmie,  ayunaras  cuatro  dias  afligiendo  tu  estomago  y  tu  boca,  y  llegado  el 
dia  de  la  fiesta  de  estas  diosas  Yxtuiname,  luego  de  manana  6  en  amaueciendo 
para  que  hagas  la  penitencia  convenible  por  tus  pecados.' 


384          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

thou  hast  got  drunk;  thou  must  expiate  the  matter  be- 
fore Totochti,  the  god  of  wine;  and  when  thou  goest  to 
do  penance  thou  shalt  go  at  night,  naked,  save  only  a 
piece  of  paper  hanging  from  thy  girdle  in  front  and  an- 
other behind;  thou  shalt  repeat  thy  prayer  and  then 
throw  down  there  before  the  gods  those  two  pieces  of 
paper,  and  so  take  thy  departure. 

This  confession  was  held  not  to  have  been  made  to 
a  priest,  or  to  a  man,  but  to  God ;  and,  inasmuch  as  it 
could  only  be  heard  once  in  a  man's  life,  and,  as  for  a 
relapse  into  sin  after  it  there  was  no  forgiveness,  it  was 
generally  put  off  till  old  age.  The  absolution  given  by 
the  priest  was  valuable  in  a  double  regard ;  the  absolved 
was  held  shriven  of  every  crime  he  had  confessed,  and 
clear  of  all  pains  and  penalties,  temporal  or  spiritual, 
civil  or  ecclesiastical,  due  therefor.  Thus  was  the  fiery 
lash  of  Nemesis  bound  up,  thus  were  struck  down  alike 
the  staff  of  Minos  and  the  sword  of  Themis  before  the 
awful  aegis  of  religion.  It  may  be  imagined  with  what 
reluctance  this  last  hope,  this  unique  life-confession  was 
resorted  to ;  it  was  the  one  city  of  refuge,  the  one  Mexi- 
can benefit  of  sanctuary,  the  sole  horn  of  the  altar,  of 
which  a  man  might  once  take  hold  and  live,  but  no 
more  again  for  ever.34 

34  '  De  esto  bien  se  arguye  que  aunque  habian  hecho  muchos  pecados  en 
tiempo  de  su  jnventud,  no  se  confesaban  de  ellos  hasta  la  vejez,  por  no  se 
obligur  a  cesar  de  pecar  antes  de  la  vejez,  por  la  opinion  que  tenian,  que  el 
que  tornaba  a  reincidir  en  los  pecados,  al  que  se  confesaba  una  vez  no  tenia 
reraedio.'  ffingsborough's  Mex.  Aniiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  6-8:  Suhagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i..  pp.  10-16.  Prescott  writes,  Mtx.,  vol.  i.,  p.  68:  'It  is  re- 
markable that  they  administered  the  rites  of  confession  and  absolution. 
The  secrets  of  the  confessional  were  held  inviolable,  and  penances  were  im- 
posed of  much  the  same  kind  as  those  enjoined  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  There  were  two  remarkable  peciiliarities  in  the  Aztec  ceremony. 
The  first  was,  that,  as  the  repetition  of  an  offence,  once  atoned  for,  was 
deemed  inexpiable,  confession  was  made  but  once  in  a  man's  life,  and  waa 
usually  deferred  to  a  late  period  of  it,  when  the  penitent  unburdened  his 
conscience,  and  settled,  at  once,  the  long  arrears  of  iniquity.  Another  pecu- 
liarity was,  that  priestly  absolution  was  received  in  place  of  the  legal  punish- 
ment of  offences,  and  authorized  an  acquital  in  case  of  arrest.'  Mention  of 
Tlazolteotl  will  be  found  in  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  3U9;  Torquemada, 
Mnnarq.  Ind.,  torn.  ii..  pp.  62,  79;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  vi., 
cap.  xv.;  Claviyero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Mfssico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  21.  They  say  that 
Yxcuina,  who  was  the  goddess  of  shame,  protected  adulterers.  She  was  the 
goddess  of  salt,  of  dirt,  and  of  immodesty,  and  the  cause  of  all  sins.  They 
painted  her  with  two  faces,  or  with  two  different  colors  on  the  face.  She 


GOD  OF  FIRE.  385 

The  Mexican  god  of  fire  as  we  have  already  noticed 
was  usually  called  Xiuhtecutli.  He  had,  however,  other 
names  such  as  Ixcozauhqui,  that  is  to  say,  '  yellow-faced ;' 
and  Cuecaltzin,  which  means  'flame  of  fire;'  and  Hue- 
hueteotl,  or  'the  ancient  god.'35  His  idol  represented 
a  naked  man,  the  chin  blackened  with  ulli,  and  wearing 
a  lip-jewel  of  red  stone.  On  his  head  was  a  parti- 
colored paper  crown,  with  green  plumes  issuing  from  the 
top  of  it  like  flames  of  fire ;  from  the  sides  hung  tassels 
of  feathers  down  to  the  ears.  The  ear-rings  of  the  image 
were  of  turquoise  wrought  in  mosaic.  On  the  idol's 
back  was  a  dragon's  head  made  of  yellow  feathers  and 
some  little  marine  shells.  To  the  ankles  were  attached 
little  bells  or  rattles.  On  the  left  arm  was  a  shield, 
almost  entirely  covered  with  a  plate  of  gold,  into  which 
were  set  in  the  shape  of  a  cross  five  chalchiuites.  In 
the  right  hand  the  god  held  a  round  pierced  plate  of 
gold,  called  the  i  looking-plate,'  (miradoromiradero) ;  with 
this  he  covered  his  face,  looking  only  through  the  hole 
in  the  golden  plate.  Xiuhtecutli  was  held  by  the  people  to 
be  their  father,  and  regarded  with  feelings  of  mingled  love 
and  fear;  and  they  celebrated  to  him  two  fixed  festivals 
every  year,  one  in  the  tenth  and  another  in  the  eighteenth 
month,  together  with  a  movable  feast  in  which,  accord- 
ing to  Clavigero,  they  appointed  magistrates  and  re- 
newed the  ceremony  of  the  investiture  of  the  fiefs  of  the 
kingdom.  The  sacrifices  of  the  first  of  these  festivals, 
the  festival  of  the  tenth  month,  Xocotlveti,  were  par- 
ticularly cruel  even  for  the  Mexican  religion. 

The  assistants  began  by  cutting  down  a  great  tree  of 
five  and  twenty  fathoms  long  and  dressing  off  the 
branches,  removing  all  it  would  seem  but  a  few  round 
the  top.  This  tree  was  then  dragged  by  ropes  into  the 
city,  on  rollers  apparently,  with  great  precaution  against 

was  the  wife  of  Mizuitlantecntli,  the  god  of  hell.     She  was  also  the  goddess 
of  prostitutes;  and  she  presided  over  these  thirteen  signs,  which  were  all  un- 
lucky, and  thus  they  held  that  those  who  were  born  in  these  signs  would  be 
rogues  or  prostitutes.    Spier/azione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano,  (Vatica- 
Jio),  tav.  xxxix.,  in  Kingsborourih's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  184;  Brasseur  de 
£ourbonrfj.  Quatre  Lcttres,  pp.  291-2,  301. 
35  See  this  vol.,  pp.  212,  226. 
VOL.  III.    '25 


386          GODS,  SUPEBNATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

bruising  or  spoiling  it ;  and  the  women  met  the  entering 
procession  giving  those  that  dragged  cacao  to  drink. 
The  tree,  which  was  called  xocotl,  was  received  into  the 
court  of  a  cu  with  shouts,  and  there  set  up  in  a  hole  in 
in  the  ground  and  allowed  to  remain  for  twenty  days. 
On  the  eve  of  the  festival  Xocotlvetzi,  they  let  this  large 
tree  or  pole  down  gently  to  the  ground,  by  means  of 
ropes  and  trestles,  or  rests,  made  of  beams  tied  two  and 
two,  probably  in  an  X  shape;  and  carpenters  dressed  it 
perfectly  smooth  and  straight,  and,  where  the  branches 
had  been  left,  near  the  top,  they  fastened  with  ropes  a 
kind  of  yard  or  cross-beam  of  five  fathoms  long.  Then 
was  prepared,  to  be  set  on  the  very  top  of  the  pole  or 
tree,  a  statue  of  the  god  Xiuhtecutli,  made  like  a  man 
out  of  the  dough  of  wild  amaranth  seeds,  and  covered 
and  decorated  with  innumerable  white  papers.  Into 
the  head  of  the  image  were  stuck  strips  of  paper  instead 
of  hair;  sashes  of  paper  crossed  the  body  from  each 
shoulder;  on  the  arms  were  pieces  of  paper  like  wings, 
painted  over  with  figures  of  sparrow-hawks;  a  max- 
tle  of  paper  covered  the  loins;  and  a  kind  of  paper 
shirt  or  tabard  covered  all.  Great  strips  of  paper,  half  a 
fathom  broad  and  ten  fathoms  long,  floated  from  the 
feet  of  the  dough  god  half  way  down  the  tree ;  and  into 
his  head  were  struck  three  rods  with  a  tamale  or  small 
pie  on  the  top  of  each.  The  tree  being  now  prepared 
with  all  these  things,  ten  ropes  were  attached  to  the 
middle  of  it,  and  by  the  help  of  the  above-mentioned 
tressles  and  a  large  crowd  pulling  all  together,  the  whole 
structure  was  reared  into  an  upright  position  and  there 
fixed,  with  great  shouting  and  stamping  of  feet. 

Then  came  all  those  that  had  captives  to  sacrifice; 
they  came  decorated  for  dancing,  all  the  body  painted 
yellow  (which  is  the  livery  color  of  the.  god),  and  the 
face  vermilion.  They  wore  a  mass  of  the  red  plumage 
of  the  parrot,  arranged  to  resemble  a  butterfly,  and 
carried  shields  covered  with  white  feathers  and  as  it 
were  the  feet  of  tigers  or  eagles  walking.  Each  one 
went  dancing  side  by  side  with  his  captive.  These 


FESTIVAL  OF  THE  FIRE  GOD.  387 

captives  had  the  body  painted  white,  and  the  face  ver- 
milion, save  the  cheeks  which  were  black;  they  were 
adorned  with  papers,  much,  apparently,  as  the  dough 
image  was,  and  they  had  white  feathers  on  the  head  and 
rip-ornaments  of  feathers.  At  set  of  sun  the  dancing 
ceased;  the  captives  were  shut  up  in  the  calpulli^  and 
watched  by  their  owners,  not  being  even  allowed  to  sleep. 
About  midnight  every  owner  shaved  away  the  hair  of 
the  top  of  the  head  of  his  slave,  which  hair,  being 
fastened  with  red  thread  to  a  little  tuft  of  feathers,  he 
put  in  a  sinall  case  of  cane,  and  attached  to  the  raf- 
ters of  his  house,  that  every  one  might  see  that  he  was  a 
valiant  man  and  had  taken  a  captive.  The  knife  with 
which  this  shaving  was  accomplished  was  called  the  claw 
of  the  sparrow-h^wk.  At  daybreak  the  doomed  and 
shorn  slaves  were  arranged  in  order  in  front  of  the  place 
called  Tzompantli,  w^iere  the  skulls  of  the  sacrificed  were 
spitted  in  rows.  Here,  one  of  the  priests  went  along  the 
row  of  captives  taking  from  them  certain  little  banners 
that  they  carried  and  all  their  raiment  or  adornment, 
and  burning  the  same  in  a  fire;  for  raiment  or  orna- 
ment these  unfortunates  should  need  no  more  on  earth. 
While  they  were  standing  thus  all  naked  and  wait- 
ing for  death,  there  came  another  priest,  carrying  in 
his  arms  the  image  of  the  god  Paynal  and  his 
ornaments;  he  ran  up  with  this  idol  to  the  top 
of  the  cu  Tlacacouhcan  where  the  victims  were  to 
die.  Down  he  came,  then  up  again,  and  as  he  went 
up  the  second  time  the  owners  took  their  slaves  by 
the  hair  and  led  them  to  the  place  called  Apetlac  and 
there  left  them.  Immediately  there  descended  from  the 
cu  those  that  were  to  execute  the  sacrifice,  bearing  bags 
of  a  kind  of  stupefying  incense  called  yiauhtli™  which 

36<  II  Jauhtli  e  una  pianta,  il  cni  fusto  e  lungo  tin  ctibito,  le  foglie  somigli- 
anti  a  quelle  del  Salcio,  ma  dentate,  i  fiori  gialli,  e  la  radice  sottile.  Cos!  i 
fiori,  come  1'altre  parti  della  pianta,  hanno  lo  stesso  odore  e  sapore  dell' 
Anice.  E'  assai  utile  per  la  Medicina,  ed  i  Medici  Messicaui  1'adoperavano 
coutro  parecchie  malattie;  ma  servivansi  ancora  d'essa  per  alcnni  usi  super- 
Ktiziosi.'  This  is  the  note  given  by  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  .,1/e.s.vico,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  77,  in  describing  this  festival,  and  the  incense  used  for  stupefying  the 
victims;  see  a  different  note  however,  iu  this  vol.,  p.  339,  in  which  Molina 


388         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

they  threw  by  handfuls  into  the  faces  of  the  victims 
to  deaden  somewhat  their  agonies  in  the  fearful  death 
before  them.  Each  captive  was  then  bound  hand  and 
foot  and  so  carried  up  to  the  top  of  the  cu  where  smoul- 
dered a  huge  heap  of  live  coal.  The  carriers  heaved  their 
living  burdens  in;  and  the  old  narrative  gives  minute 
details  about  the  great  hole  made  in  the  sparkling  embers 
by  each  slave,  and  how  the  ashy  dust  rose  in  a  cloud  as 
he  fell.  As  the  dust  settled  the  bound  bodies  could  be 
seen  writhing  and  jerking  themselves  about  in  torment 
on  their  soft  dull-red  bed,  and  their  flesh  could  be  heard 
crackling  and  roasting.  Now  came  a  part  of  the  cere- 
mony requiring  much  experience  and  judgment;  the 
wild -eyed  priests  stood  grappling-hook  in  hand  biding 
their  time.  The  victims  were  not  to  die  in  the  fire,  the 
instant  the  great  blisters  began  to  rise  handsomely  over 
their  scorched  skins  it  was  enough,  they  were  raked 
out.  The  poor  blackened  bodies  were  then  flung  on  the 
'tajon'  and  the  agonized  soul  dismissed  by  the  sacrificial 
breast-cut  (from  nipple  to  nipple,  or  a  little  lower) ;  the 
heart  was  then  torn  out  and  cast  at  the  feet  of  Xiuhte- 
cutli,  god  of  fire. 

This  slaughter  being  over,  the  statue  of  Paynal  was 
carried  away  to  its  own  cu  and  every  man  went  home  to 
eat.  And  the  young  men  and  boys,  all  those  called 
quexpaleque™  because  they  had  a  lock  of  hair  at  the  nape 
of  the  neck,  came,  together  with  all  the  people,  the 
women  in  order  among  the  men,  and  began  at  mid-day 
to  dance  and  to  sing  in  the  court-yard  of  Xiuhtecutli; 
the  place  was  so  crowded  that  there  was  hardly  room  to 
move.  Suddenly  there  arose  a  great  cry,  and  a  rush 
was  made  out  of  the  court  toward  the  place  where  was 
raised  the  tall  tree  already  described  at  some  length. 
Let  us  shoulder  our  way  forward,  not  without  risk  to 

describes  yiauhtli  as  'black  maize.'  In  some  cases,  according  to  Mendieta, 
Hint.  Edes.,  p.  100,  there  was  given  to  the  condemned  a  certain  drink  that 
put  them  beside  themselves,  so  that  they  went  to  the  sacrifice  with  a  ghastly 
drunken  merriment. 

37 '  Cuexpalli,  cabello  largo  que  dexan  a  los  inuchachos  en  el  cogote,  quando 
los  tresqxiilan.'  Molina,  Vocabulario. 


CLIMBING  FOK  THE  GOD.  389 

our  ribs,  and  see  what  we  can  see:  there  stands  the  tall 
pole  with  streamers  of  paper  and  the  ten  ropes  by  which 
it  was  raised  dangling  from  it.  On  the  top  stands  the 
dough  image  of  the  fire  god,  with  all  his  ornaments  and 
weapons,  and  with  the  three  tamales  sticking  out  so 
oddly  above  his  head.  Ware  clubs!  we  press  too  close; 
shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  thick  serried  ring  round  the 
foot  of  the  pole  stand  the  '  captains  of  the  youths '  keep- 
ing the  youngsters  back  with  cudgels,  till  the  word  be 
given  at  which  all  may  begin  to  climb  the  said  pole  for 
the  great  prize  at  the  top.  But  the  youths  are  wild  for 
fame ;  old  renowned  heroes  look  on ;  the  eyes  of  all  the 
women  of  the  city  are  fixed  on  the  great  tree  where  it 
shoots  above  the  head  of  the  struggling  crowd ;  glory  to 
him  who  first  gains  the  cross-beam  and  the  image. 
Stand  back,  then,  ye  captains,  let  us  pass!  There  is  a 
rush,  and  a  trampling,  and  despite  a  rain  of  .blows,  all 
the  pole  with  its  hanging  ropes  is  aswarm  with  climbers, 
thrusting  each  other  down.  The  first  youth  at  the  top 
seizes  the  idol  of  dough;  he  takes  the  shield  and  the 
arrows  and  the  darts  and  the  stick  atalt  for  throwing 
the  darts ;  he  takes  the  tamales  from  the  head  of  the 
statue,  crumbles  them  up,  and  throws  the  crumbs  with 
the  plumes  of  the  image  down  into  the  crowd ;  the  secur- 
ing of  which  crumbs  and  plumes  is  a  new  occasion  for 
shouting  and  scrambling  and  fisticuffs  among  the  multi- 
tude. When  the  young  hero  comes  down  with  the 
weapons  of  the  god  which  he  has  secured,  he  is  received 
with  far-roaring  applause  and  carried  up  to  the  cu  Tlaca- 
couhcan,  there  to  receive  the  reward  of  his  activity  and 
endurance,  praises  and  jewels  and  a  rich  mantle  not  law- 
ful for  another  to  wear,  and  the  honor  of  being  carried 
by  the  priests  to  his  house,  amid  the  music  of  horns  and 
shells.  The  festivity  is  over  now ;  all  the  people  lay  hold 
on  the  ropes  fastened  to  the  tree,  and  pull  it  down 
with  a  crash  that  breaks  it  to  pieces,  together,  apparently, 
with  all  that  is  left  of  the  wild-amaranth-dough  image 
of  Xiuhtecutli.38 

38  Kinysborouyli's  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  8-9,  28,  63-6;  Suhacjun,  Hist. 


390          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Another  feast  of  the  god  of  fire  was  held  in  the  month 
Yzcalli,  the  eighteenth  month;  it  was  called  motlaxqui- 
antota,  that  is  to  say  '  our  father  the  fire  toasts  his  food.' 
An  image  of  the  god  of  fire  was  made,  with  a  frame  of 
hoops  and  sticks  tied  together  as  the  basis  or  model  to  be 
covered  with  his  ornaments.  On  the  head  of  this  image 
was  put  a  shining  mask  of  turquoise  mosaic,  banded 
across  with  rows  of  green  chalchiuites.  Upon  the  mask 
was  put  a  crown  fitting  to  the  head  below,  wide  above, 
and  gorgeous  with  rich  plumage  as  a  flower;  a  wig  of 
reddish  hair  was  attached  to  this  crown  so  that  the 
evenly  cut  locks  flowed  from  below  it,  behind  and  around 
the  mask,  as  if  they  were  natural.  A  robe  of  costly 
feathers  covered  all  the  front  of  the  image  and  fell  over  the 
ground  before  the  feet,  so  light  that  it  shivered  and  floated 
with  the  least  breath  of  air  till  the  variegated  feathers 
glittered  and  changed  color  like  water.  The  back  of  the 
image  seems  to  have  been  left  unadorned,  concealed  by 
a  throne  on  which  it  was  seated,  a  throne  covered  with 
a  dried  tiger-skin,  paws  and  head  complete.  Before  this 
statue  new  fire  was  produced  at  midnight  by  boring 
rapidly  by  hand  one  stick  upon  another;  the  spunk  or 
tinder  so  inflamed  was  put  on  the  hearth  and  a  fire  lit.39 
At  break  of  day  came  all  the  boys  and  youths  with  game 
and  fish  that  they  had  captured  on  the  previous  day; 
walking  round  the  fire,  they  gave  it  to  certain  old  men 
that  stood  there,  who  taking  it  threw  it  into  the  flames 
before  the  god,  giving  the  youths  in  return  certain  tarn- 
ales  that  had  been  made  and  offered  for  this  purpose  by 
the  women.  To  eat  these  tamales  it  was  necessary  to 
strip  off  the  maize-leaves  in  which  they  had  been  wrapped 
and  cooked ;  these  leaves  were  not  thrown  into  the  fire, 

Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  16-19,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  62-4,  141-8;  Clavitjero,  Storla  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  16,  76;  Spieyazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano, 
(Vaticano),  tav.  Ivi.,  in  Kingshnrough  s  Mex.  Aniiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  190. 

39  '  Esta  estatua  asi  adornado  no  lejos  de  un  lugar  que  estaba  delnnte  de 
ella,  a  la  media  noche  sacaban  fuego  nuevo  para  que  ardiese  en  aquel  lu^ur, 
y  sacabanlo  con  nnos  palos,  uno  puesto  abajo,  y  sobre  el  barreuabaii  con 
otro  palo,  como  torciendole  entre  las  nianos  con  gran  prisa,  y  con  aquel 
niovimiento  y  oalor  se  encendia  el  fuego,  y  alii  lo  tomaban  con  yesca  y  eu- 
cendian  en  el  hogar.'  Kingsborough's  Alex.  Aniiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  84;  Sahayun, 
Hint.  Gen.,  torn,  i,,  lib.  ii.,  p.  18-4. 


FOURTH  YEAR  FESTIVAL.  391 

but  were  all  put  together  and  thrown  into  water.  After 
this  all  the  old  men  of  the  ward  in  which  the  fire  was. 
drank  pulque  and  sang  before  the  image  of  Xiuhtecutli 
till  night.  This  was  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  and 
thus  finished  that  feast,  or  that  part  of  the  feast,  which 
was  called  vauquitamalqualiztli. 

On  the  twentieth  and  last  day  of  the  month  was  made 
another  statue  of  the  fire  god,  with  a  frame  of  sticks  and 
hoops  as  already  described.  They  put  on  the  head  of  it 
a  mask  with  a  ground  of  mosaic  of  little  bits  of  the  shell 
called  tapaztli,40  composed  below  the  mouth  of  black  stones, 
banded  across  the  nostrils  with  black  stones  of  another 
sort,  and  the  cheeks  made  of  a  still  different  stone  called 
tezcapuclitli.  As  in  the  previous  case  there  was  a  crown 
on  this  mask,  and  over  all  and  over  the  body  of  the 
image  costly  and  beautiful  decorations  of  feather-work. 
Before  the  throne  on  which  this  statue  sat  there  was  a 
fire,  and  the  youths  offered  game  to  and  received  cakes 
from  the  old  men  with  various  ceremonies;  the  day 
being  closed  with  a  great  drinking  of  pulque  by  the  old 
people,  though  not  to  the  point  of  intoxication.  Thus 
ended  the  eighteenth  month ;  and  with  regard  to  the  two 
ceremonies  just  described,  Sahagun  says,  that  though 
not  observed  in  all  parts  of  Mexico,  they  were  observed 
at  least  in  Tezcuco. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  festivals  of  this  month  have 
been  without  human  sacrifices ;  but  every  fourth  year  was 
an  exception  to  this.  In  such  a  year  on  the  twentieth 
and  last  day  of  this  eighteenth  month,  being  also,  according 
to  some,  the  last  day  of  the  year,  the  five  Nemonteni,  or 
unlucky  days,  being  excepted,  men  and  women  were  slain 
as  images  of  the  god  of  fire.  The  women  that  had  to 
die  carried  all  their  apparel  and  ornaments  on  their 
shoulders,  and  the  men  did  the  same.  Arrived  thus 
naked  where  they  had  to  die,  men  and  women  alike 
were  decorated  to  resemble  the  god  of  fire ;  they  ascended 
the  cu,  walked  round  the  sacrificial  stone,  and  then  de- 

40  Or  tapachtli  as  Bustamante  spells  it.  '  Tapachtli,  cral,  concha  o  venera.' 
Molina,  Vocabulario. 


392          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

scended  and  returned  to  the  place  where  they  were  to 
be  kept  for  the  night.  Each  male  victim  had  a  rope  tied 
round  the  middle  of  his  body  which  was  held  by  his 
guards.  At  midnight  the  hair  of  the  crown  of  the  head 
of  each  was  shaven  off  before  the  fire  and  kept  for  a 
relic,  and  the  head  itself  was  covered  with  a  mixture 
of  resin  and  hens'  feathers.  After  this  the  doomed 
ones  burned  or  gave  away  to  their  keepers  their  now 
useless  apparel,  and  as  the  morning  broke  they  were 
decorated  with  papers  and  led  in  procession  to  die,  with 
singing  and  shouting  and  dancing.  These  festivities 
went  on  till  mid-day,  when  a  priest  of  the  cu,  arrayed  in 
the  ornaments  of  the  god  Paynal,  came  down,  passed 
before  the  victims,  and  then  went  up  again.  They  were 
led  up  after  him,  captives  first  and  slaves  after,  in  the 
order  they  had  to  die  in;  they  suffered  in  the  usual 
manner.  There  was  then  a  grand  dance  of  the  lords, 
led  by  the  king  himself;  each  dancer  wearing  a  high- 
fronted  paper  coronet,  a  kind  of  false  nose  of  blue  paper, 
ear-rings  of  turquoise  mosaic,  or  of  wood  wrought  with 
flowers,  a  blue  curiously  flowered  jacket,  and  a  mantle. 
Hanging  to  the  neck  of  each  was  the  figure  of  a  dog 
made  of  paper  and  painted  with  flowers ;  in  the  'right 
hand  was  carried  a  stick  shaped  like  a  chopping-knife, 
the  lower  half  of  which  was  painted  red  and  the  upper 
half  white ;  in  the  left  hand  was  carried  a  little  paper 
bag  of  copal.  This  dance  was  begun  on  the  top  of  the 
cu  and  finished  by  descending  and  going  four  times 
round  the  court-yard  of  the  cu ;  after  which  all  entered 
the  palace  with  the  king.  This  dance  took  place  only 
once  in  four  years,  and  none  but  the  king  and  his  lords 
could  take  part  in  it.  On  this  day  the  ears  of  all  chil- 
dren born  during  the  three  preceding  years  were  bored 
with  a  bone  awl,  and  the  children  themselves  passed 
near  or  through  the  flames  of  a  fire  as  already  related.41 
There  was  a  further  ceremony  of  taking  the  children  by 
the  head  and  lifting  them  up  "  to  make  them  grow;" 

«  See  this  vol.,  p.  376,  note  27. 


THE  GREAT  NEW  FIRE  FESTIVAL.  393 

and  from  this  the  month  took  its  name,  Yzcalli  meaning 
1  growth.'  *2 

There  was  generally  observed  in  honor  of  fire  a  custom 
called  '  the  throwing/  which  was  that  no  one  ate  without 
first  flinging  into  the  fire  a  scrap  of  the  food.  Another 
common  ceremony  was  in  drinking  pulque  to  first 
spill  a  little  on  the  edge  of  the  hearth.  Also  when  a 
person  began  upon  a  jar  of  pulque  he  emptied  out  a 
little  into  a  broad  pan  and  put  it  beside  the  fire,  whence 
with  another  vessel  he  spilt  of  it  four  times  upon  the 
edc;e  of  the  hearth ;  this  was  l  the  libation  or  the  tast- 
ing.' 43 

The  most  solemn  and  important  of  all  the  Mexican 
festivals  was  that  called  Toxilmolpilia  or  Xiuhmolpilli, 
the  '  the  binding  up  of  the  years.'  Every  fifty- 
two  years  was  called  a  sheaf  of  years;  and  it 
was  held  for  certain  that  at  the  end  of  some  sheaf 
of  fifty-two  years  the  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
should  cease  and  the  world  itself  come  to  an  end. 
As  the  possible  day  of  destruction  drew  near  all  the 
people  cast  their  household  gods  of  wood  and  stone  into 
the  water,  as  also  the  stones  used  on  the  hearth  for  cook- 
and  bruising  pepper.  They  washed  thoroughly  their 
houses,  and  last  of  all  put  out  all  fires.  For  the  lighting 
of  the  new  fire  there  was  a  place  set  apart,  the  summit 
of  a  mountain  called  Vixachtlan,  or  Huixachtla,  on  the 
boundary  line  between  the  cities  of  Itztapalapa  and  Col- 
huacan,  about  six  miles  from  the  city  of  Mexico.  In 
the  production  of  this  new  fire  none  but  priests  had  any 
part,  and  the  task  fell  specially  upon  those  of  the  ward 
Copolco.  On  the  last  day  of  the  fifty-two  years,  after 
the  sun  had  set,  all  the  priests  clothed  themselves 
with  the  dress  and  insignia  of  their  gods,  so  as  to 
themselves  appear  like  very  gods,  and  set  out  in  pro- 

42  Klngsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  33,  83-7;  Sahar/un,  IR^t.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  74-5,   183-92;  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  138;  Spiei/azione  delld 
Tavola  del  Codice  Mexicano,  (Vaticano),  tav.  Ixxiv.,  in  Stngsoorotigh's  Mex., 
Antiq.,  vol.  v.,pp.  196-7;  Clavu/ero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  82. 

43  Itin;jfiborough' s  Mex.  Antiq.,   vol.  vii.,  p.  96;  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gtn.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  ap.,  p.  213. 


394          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

cession  for  the  mountain,  walking  very  slowly,  with 
much  gravity  and  silence,  as  befitted  the  occasion  and 
the  garb  they  wore,  u  walking,"  as  they  phrased  it,  "  like 
gods."  The  priest  of  the  wrard  of  Copolco,  whose  office 
it  was  to  produce  the  fire,  carried  the  instruments  there- 
of in  his  hand,  trying  them  from  time  to  time  to  see  that 
all  was  right.  Then,  a  little  before  midnight,  the  mount- 
ain being  gained,  and  a  cu  which  was  there  builded  for 
that  ceremony,  they  began  to  watch  the  heavens  and 
especially  the  motion  of  the  Pleiades.  Now  this  night 
always  fell  so  that  at  midnight  these  seven  stars  were  in 
the  middle  of  the  sky  with  respect  to  the  Mexican  hori- 
zon; and  the  priests  watched  them  to  see  them  pass  the 
zenith  and  so  give  sign  of  the  endurance  of  the  world, 
for  another  fifty  and  two  years.  That  sign  was  the 
signal  for  the  production  of  the  new  fire,  lit  as  follows. 
The  bravest  and  finest  of  the  prisoners  taken  in  war  was 
thrown  down  alive,  and  a  board  of  very  dry  wood  was 
put  upon  his  breast;  upon  this  the  acting  priest  at  the 
critical  moment  bored  with  another  stick,  twirling  it 
rapidly  between  his  palms  till  fire  caught.  Then  in- 
stantly the  bowels  of  the  captive  were  laid  open,  his 
heart  torn  out,  and  it  with  all  the  body  thrown  upon  and 
consumed  by  a  pile  of  fire.  All  this  time  an  awful 
anxiety  and  suspense  held  possession  of  the  people  at 
large ;  for  it  was  said,  that  if  anything  happened  to  pre- 
vent the  production  at  the  proper  time  of  the  new  fire, 
there  would  be  an  end  of  the  human  race,  the  night  and 
the  darkness  would  be  perpetual,  and  those  terrible  and 
ugly  beings  the  Tzitzimitles44  would  descend  to  devour 
all  mankind.  As  the  fateful  hour  approached,  the  people 
gathered  on  the  flat  house-tops,  no  one  willingly  remain- 
ing below.  All  pregnant  women,  however,  were  closed 
into  the  granaries,  their  faces  being  covered  with  maize- 
leaves  ;  for  it  was  said  that  if  the  new  fire  could  not  be 
produced,  these  wromen  would  turn  into  fierce  animals 
and  devour  men  and  women.  Children  also  had  masks 

44  Or  Izitzimites  as  on  p.  427  of  this  vol. 


FEAST  OF  THE  NEW  FIEE.  395 

of  maize-leaf  put  on  their  faces,  and  they  were  kept 
awake  by  cries  and  pushes,  it  being  believed  that  if  they 
were  allowed  to  sleep  they  would  become  mice. 

From  the  crowded  house-tops  every  eye  was  bent  on 
Yixachtlan.  Suddenly  a  moving  speck  of  light  was 
seen  by  those  nearest,  and  then  a  great  column  of  flame 
shot  up  against  the  sky.  The  new  fire!  and  a  great 
shout  of  joy  went  up  from  all  the  country  round  about. 
The  stars  moved  on  in  their  courses ;  fifty  and  two  years 
more  at  least  had  the  universe  to  exist.  Every  one  did 
penance,  cutting  his  ear  with  a  splinter  of  flint  and 
scattering  the  blood  toward  the  part  where  the  fire  was; 
even  the  ears  of  children  in  the  cradle  were  so  cut. 
And  now  from  the  blazing  pile  on  the  mountain,  burn- 
ing brands  of  pine  candle-wood  were  carried  by  the 
swiftest  runners  toward  every  quarter  of  the  kingdom. 
In  the  city  of  Mexico,  on  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
before  the  altar,  there  was  a  fire-place  of  stone  and  lime 
containing  much  copal;  into  this  a  blazing  brand  was 
flung  by  the  first  runner,  and  from  this  place  fire  was 
carried  to  all  the  houses  of  the  priests,  and  thence  again 
to  all  the  city.  There  soon  blazed  great  central  fires  in 
every  ward,  and  it  was  a  thing  to  be  seen  the  multitude 
of  people  that  came  together  to  get  light,  and  the  gene- 
ral rejoicings. 

The  hearth-fires  being  thus  lit,  the  inhabitants  of  every 
house  began  to  renew  their  household  gods  and  furni- 
ture, and  to  lay  down  new  mats,  and  to  put  on  new 
raiment ;  they  made  everything  new  in  sign  of  the  new 
sheaf  of  years;  they  beheaded  quails,  and  burned  in- 
cense in  their  court-yard  toward  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world,  and  on  their  hearths.  After  eating  a  meal  of 
wild  amaranth  seed  and  honey,  a  fast  was  ordered,  even 
the  drinking  of  water  till  noon  being  forbidden.  Then 
the  eating  and  drinking  were  renewed,  sacrifices  of  slaves 
and  captives  were  made,  and  the  great  fires  renewed. 
The  last  solemn  festival  of  the  new  fire  was  celebrated 
in  the  year  1507,  the  Spaniards  being  not  then  in  the 
land ;  and  through  their  presence,  there  was  no  public 


393          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

ceremony  when  the  next  sheaf  of  years  was  finished  in 
1559.45 

Miotlan,  the  Mexican  hades,  or  place  of  the  dead, 
signifies  either  primarily,  or  by  an  acquired  meaning, 
'  northward,  or  toward  the  north,'  though  many  authori- 
ties have  located  it  underground  or  below  the  earth. 
This  region  was  the  seat  of  the  power  of  a  god  best 
known  under  his  title  of  Mictlantecutli ;  his  female  com- 
panion was  called  Mictlancihuatl,  made  identical  by  some 
legends  with  Tlazolteotl,  and  by  others  apparently  with  the 
serpent- woman  and  mother  goddess.46  There  has  beendis- 

45  Kinqsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  157,  191-3;   Saha^un,  Hixt. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iv.,  ap.,  pp.  316-7,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  260-4;  Torque* 
mada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  292-5;  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  18-21;  Ulavi- 
gero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  62,  84-5;  Mmdieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p. 
101;  Aconta,  Hist,  de  las  Yndias,  pp.  398-9.     Leon  y  Gauia,  Dos  Piedras,  pt 
i.,  pp.  51-55,  differs  somewhat  from  the  text;  he  was  unfortunate  in  never 
having  seen  the  works  of  Sahagun. 

46  This  vol.  p.  59.     The  interpretations  of  the  codices  represent  this  god 
as  peculiarly  honored  in  their  paintings:  They  place  Michitlatecotle  oppo- 
site to  the  sun,  to  see  if  he  can  rescue  any  of  those  seized  upon  by  the  lords 
of  the  dead,  for  Michitla  signifies  the  dead  below.     These  nations  painted 
only  two  of  their  gods  with  the  crown  called  Altontcatecoatle,  viz.,  the  God 
of  heaven  and  of  abundance  and  this  lord  of  the  dead,  which  kind  of  crown 
I  have  seen  upon  the  captains  in  the  war  of  Coatle.  Explicarion  del  ( 'odfx 
Telleriano  Remensis,  pt  ii.,  lam.  xv.,  in  Efagsborough'a  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v., 
p.  140.     Miquitlantecotli  signifies  the  great  lord  of  the  dead  fellow  in  hell 
who  alone  after  Touacatecotle  was  painted  with  a  crown,  which  kind  of  a 
crown  was  used  in  war  even  after  the  arrival  of  the  Christians  in  those  coun- 
tries, and  was  seen  in  the  war  of  Coatlan,  as  the  person  who  copied  these 
paintings  relates,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  Order  of  Saint  Dominic,  named 
Pedro  de  los  Rios.     They  painted  this  demon  near  the  sun;  for  in  the  same 
way  as  they  believed  that  the  one  conducted  souls  to  heaven,  so  they  supposed 
that  the  other  carried  them  to  hell.     He  is  here  represented  with  his  hands 
open  and  stretched  toward  the  sun,  to  seize  on  any  soul  which  might  escape 
from  him.  Spiegazione  ddle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mcxicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xxxiv., 
in  Kiugsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  182.    The  Vatican  Codex  says  further- 
that  these  were  four  gods  or  principal  demons  in  the  Mexican  hell.    Miquit- 
lamtecotl  or  Zitzimitl;  Yzpunteque,  the  lame  demon,  who  appeared  in  the 
streets  with  the  feet  of  a  cock ;  Nextepelma,  scatterer  of  ashes ;  and  C'outemoque, 
he  who  descends  head-foremost.     These  four  have  goddesses,  not  as  wives, 
but  as  companions,  which  was  the  simple  relation  in  which  all  the  Mexican 
god  and  goddesses  stood  to  one  another,  there  having  been — according  to 
most  authorities — in  their  olympus  neither  marrying  nor  giving  in  marriage. 
Picking  our  way  as  well  as  possible  across  the  frightful  spelling  of  the  inter- 
preter, the  males  and  females  seem  paired  as  follows:  To  Miquitlamtecotl  or 
Tzitzimitl,  was  joined  as  goddess,  Miqiiitecacigua;  to  Yzpuuteque,  Nexoxncho; 
to  Nextepelma,  Micapetlacoli;  and  to  Contemoque,  Chaliuecaciuatl.  X)>ict,uzi- 

•one  ddle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.,  iii.,  iv.,  in  KingsboroHuh's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  162-3;  Boturini,  Idea.  pp.  30-1;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  ap.  pp.  260-3;  Kinfisborowih's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  116- 
17,  says  t^at  this  god  was  known  by  the  further  name  of  Tzoutemoc  and  Acul- 


TEOYAOMIQUE.  397 

covered  and  there  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the  city  of  Mexico 
a  huge  compound  statue,  representing  various  deities,  the 
most  prominent  being  a  certain  goddess  Teoyaomique, 
who.  it  seems  to  me,  is  almost  identical  with  or  at  least 

naoacatl.  davi^ero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  6,  17.  Gallatin, 
Amer.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  L,  pp.  350-1,  says  that  '  Mictlanteuctli  is 
specially  distinguished  by  the  interpreters  as  one  of  the  crowned  gods.  His 
representation  is  found  under  the  basis  of  the  statue  of  Teoyaoraiqui,  and 
Gama  has  published  the  copy.  According  to  him,  the  name  of  that  god 
means,  the  god  of  the  place  of  the  dead.  He  presided  over  the  funeral  of 
those  who  died  of  diseases.  The  souls  of  all  those  killed  in  battle  were  led 
by  Teoyaomiqui  to  the  dwelling  of  the  sun.  The  others  fell  under  the  do- 
minion of  Mictanteuctli.'  T< >rquemada,  Monarq.Ind.,  tom.i.,  pp.  77,  148,447, 
torn,  ii.,  p.  428.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  mentions  this  god  and  his  wife, 
bringing  up  several  interesting  points,  for  which,  however,  he  must  bear  the 
sole  responsibility:  S'il  ExiSte  des  Sources  de  I' Hist.  Prim.,  pp.  98-9.  '  Du 
fond  des  eaux  qui  couvraient  le  monde,  ajoute  un  autre  document  mexicain 
(Cod.  Mex.  Tell-Rem.,  fol.  4,  v.),  le  dieu  des  regions  d'en  bas,  Mictlan-Teuct- 
li  fait  surgir  un  monstre  marin  nonime  Cipactli  ou  Capadli  (Motol'via,  Hist. 
Anlif/.  de  Ins  Indios,  part.  MS.  Dans  ce  document,  au  lieu  de  dpactli  il  y  a 
capactli,  qui  n'est  peut-etre  qu'une  erreur  du  copiste,  mais  qui,  peut-etre 
aussi  est  le  souvenir  d'une  langue  perdue  et  qui  se  rattacherait  au  capac  ou 
Manco-Capac  du  Perou.):  de  ce  moustre,  qui  a  la  forme  d'un  caiman,  il  cree 
la  terre  (Motolinia,  Ibid.).  Ne  serait-ce  pas  la  le  crocodile,  image  du  temps, 
chez  les  tfgyptiens,  et  ainsi  que  1'indique  Champollion  (Dans  Herapollon,  i., 
69  et  70,  le  crocodile  est  le  symbole  du  couchant  et  des  tenebres)  symbole 
egalement  de  la  Region  du  Couchant,  de  I'Amenti?  Dans  1'Orcus  mexi- 
cain, le  prince  des  Morts,  Mictlan-Teudli,  a  pour  compagne  Midecacihuatl, 
celle  qui  etend  les  morts.  On  1'appelle  Ixcuina,  ou  la  deesse  au 
visage  peint  ou  au  double  visage,  parce  qu'elle  avait  le  visage  de 
deux  couleurs,  rouge  avec  le  contour  de  la  bouche  et  du  nez  peint  en 
noir  (Cod.  Mex.  Tell-Rem.,  fol.  18,  v.).  On  lui  donnait  aussi  le  noin  de 
Tlacnlteott,  la  deesse  de  1'ordure,  ou  Tlacolquani.  la  mangeuse  d'ordure,  parce 
qu'elle  presidait  aux  amours  et  aux  plaisirs  lubriques  avec  ses  trois  soeurs. 
On  la  trouve  personifiee  encore  avec  Chantico,  quelquefois  representt'e  com- 
me  un  chien,  soit  a  cause  de  sa  lubricite,  soit  a  cause  du  nom  de  Chiucnauh- 
Itzcuintli  ou  les  Neuf-Chiens,  qu'on  lui  donnait  egalemeut  (Cod.  Mex  Tell- 
Rem.,  fol.  21,  v.).  C'est  ainsi  que  dans  1'Italie  ante-pelasgique,  dans  la 
Sicile  et  dans  1'ile  de  Samothrace,  anterieurement  aux  Thraces  et  aux  Pelas- 
ges,  on  adorait  une  Zerinthia,  une  Hecate,  deesse  Chienne  qui  nourrissait 
se  ?  trois  fils,  ses  trois  chiens,  sur  le  meme  aiitel,  dans  la  demeure  souterraiue ; 
1'une  et  1'autre  rappelaient  ainsi  le  souvenir  de  ces  hetaires  qui  veillaient  au 
pied  des  pyramides,  ou  elles  se  prostituaient  aux  marins,  aux  marchauds  et 
aux  voyageurs,  pour  ramasser  1'argent  necessaire  a  1'erection  des  tombeaux  des 
rois.  "  Tout  un  calcul  des  temps,  dit  Eckstein  (Sur  les  sources  de  la  Coswo- 
aonie  de  Sanchoniatlion,  pp.  101,  197),  se  rattache  a  1'adoration  solaire  de  cette 
deesse  et  de  ses  fils.  Le  Chien,  le  Sirius,  regne  dans  1'astre  de  ce  uom,  au 
Zenith  de  1'annee,  durant  les  jours  de  la  canicule.  On  commit  le  cycle  oula 
puriode  que  preside  1'astre  du  chien  :^  on  sait  qu'il  ne  se  rattache  pas  seule- 
ment  aux  institutions  de  la  vieille  Egypte,  mais  encore  a  celles  de  la  haute 
Asie."  En  A^nerique  le  nom  de  la  deesse  Ixcuina  se  rattache  egalemeut  a  la 
constellation  du  sud,  ou  on  la  personnifie  encore  avec  Ixtl'tcoliuhqw,  autre 
divinite  des  ivrognes  et  des  amours  obscenes:  les  astrologues  lui  attribuaieut 
un  grand  pouvoir  sur  les  evenernents  de  la  guerre,  et,  dans  les  derniers  temps, 
on  en  faisait  dependre  le  chatiment  des  adulteres  et  des  incestueux  (Cod.  Mcx. 
Tett-Rem.,  fol.  16,  v.).'  See  also,  lirinton's  Myths,  pp.  130-7;  Leon  y  Gama, 
DosPiedras,  pt  i.,  p.  12,  pt  ii.,  pp.  65-6. 


398          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

a  connecting  link  between  the  mother  goddess  and  the 
companion  of  Mictlantecutli.  Mr  Gallatin  says47  that 
the  Mexican  gods  "were  painted  in  different  ways  ac- 
cording to  their  various  attributes  and  names:  and  the 
priests  were  also  in  the  habit  of  connecting  with  the 
statue  of  a  god  or  goddess,  symbols  of  other  deities  whi^h 
partook  of  a  similar  character.  Gama  has  adduced 
several  instances  of  both  practices,  in  the  part  of  his  dis- 
sertation which  relates  to  the  statue  of  the  goddess  of 
death  found  buried  in  the  great  Square  of  Mexico  of 
which  he,  and  lately  Mr  Nebel,  have  given  copies.*8  Her 
name  is  Teoyaorniqui,  which  means,  to  die  in  sacred  war, 
or  '  in  defense  of  the  gods/  and  she  is  the  proper  com- 
panion of  Huitzilopochtli,  the  god  of  war.  The  symbols 
of  her  own  attributes  are  found  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
statue:  but  those  from  the  waist  downwards  relate  to 
other  deities  connected  with  her  or  with  Huitzilopochtli. 
The  serpents  are  the  symbols  of  his  mother  Cohuatlycue, 
and  also  of  Cihuacohuatl,  the  serpent  woman  who  begat 
twins,  male  and  female,  from  which  mankind  proceeded : 
the  same  serpents  and  feathers  are  the  symbol  of  Quez- 
atlcohuatl,  the  precious  stones  designate  Chalchihuitlycue, 
the  goddess  of  water ;  the  teeth  and  claws  refer  to  Tlaloc 
and  to  Tlatocaocelocelotl  (the  tiger  king) :  and  together 

«  Amer.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  338-9. 

<8  Speaking  of  the  great  image  in  the  Mexican  museum  of  antiquities  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  this  Mexican  goddess  of  war,  or  of  death,  Teoyaomique, 
Mr  Tylor  says,  Anahuac,  pp.  222-3:  '  The  stone  known  as  the  statue  of  the 
war-goddess  is  a  huge  block  of  basalt  covered  with  sculptures.  The  anti- 
quaries think  that  the  figures  on  it  stand  for  different  personages,  and  that 
it  is  three  gods,— Huitzilopochtli  the  god  of  war,  Teoyaomiqui  his  wife,  and 
Mictlauteuctli  the  god  of  hell.  It  has  necklaces  of  alternate  hearts  and  dead 
men's  hands,  with  death's  head  for  a  central  ornament.  At  the  bottom  of 
the  block  is  a  strange  sprawling  figure,  which  one  cannot  see  now,  for  it  is 
the  base  which  rests  on  the  ground;  but  there  are  two  shoulders  projecting 
from  the  idol,  which  show  plainly  that  it  did  not  stand  on  the  ground,  but 
was  supported  aloft  on  the  tops  of  two  pillars.  The  figure  carved  upon  the 
bottom  represents  a  monster  holding  a  skull  in  each  hand,  while  others  hang 
from  his  knees  and  elbows.  His  mouth  is  a  mere  oval  ring,  a  common  fea- 
ture of  Mexican  idols,  and  four  tusks  project  just  above  it.  Tie  new  moon 
laid  down  like  a  bridge  forms  his  forehead,  and  a  star  is  placed  on  each  side 
of  it.  This  is  thought  to  have  been  the  conventional  representation  of  Mict- 
lanteiictli  (Lord  of  the  land  of  the  dead),  the  god  of  hell,  which  was  a  pla;-e 
of  utter  and  eternal  darkness.  Probably  each  victim  as  he  was  led  to  the 
altar  could  look  up  between  the  two  pillars  and  see  the  hideous  god  of  hell 
staring  down  upon  him  from  above.' 


GAMA  ON  THE  COMPOUND  IMAGE.  399 

with  her  own  attributes,  the  whole  is  a  most  horrible 
figure." 

Of  this  great  compound  statue  of  Huitzilopochtli  (for 
the  most  part  under  his  name  of  Teoyaotlatohua),  Teoyao- 
mique,  and  Mictlantecutli,  and  of  the  three  deities  sepa- 
rately Leon  y  Gama  treats,  in  substance  as  follows, 
beginning  with  Mictlantecutli  :49- 

The  Chevalier  Boturini  mentions  another  of  his 
names,  Teoyaotlatohua,  and  says  that  as  director  and 
chief  of  sacred  war  he  was  always  accompanied  by 
Teoyaomique,  a  goddess  whose  business  it  was  to 
collect  the  souls  of  those  that  died  in  war  and  of 
those  that  were  sacrificed  afterward  as  captives.  Let 
these  statements  be  put  alongside  of  what  Torquemada 
says,  to  wit,  that  in  the  great  feast  of  the  month  Huei- 
miccailhuitl,50  divine  names  were  given  to  dead  kings 
and  to  all  famous  persons  who  had  died  heroically  in 
war,  and  in  the  power  of  the  enemy ;  idols  were  made 
furthermore  of  these  persons,  and  they  were  put  with 
the  deities;  for  it  was  said  that  they  had  gone  to  the  place 
of  delights  and  pleasures  there  to  be  with  the  gods. 
From  all  this  it  would  appear  that  before  this  image,  in 
which  were  closely  united  Teoyaotlatohua  and  Teoyao- 
mique,  there  were  each  year  celebrated  certain  rites  in 
memory  and  honor  of  dead  kings  and  lords  and  captains 
and  soldiers  fallen  in  battle.  And  not  only  did  the 
Mexicans  venerate  in  the  temple  this  image  of  many 

49  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt  i.,  pp.  41-4. 

so  The  tenth  month,  so  named  by  the  Tlascaltecs  and  others.  See  Tor- 
quemada, Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  298:  'Al  decimo  Mes  del  Kalendario 
Indiano  llamaban  sus  Satrapas,  Xocotlhuetzi,  que  quiere  decir:  Qtiando  se 
cae,  y  acaba  la  Fruta,  y  debia  de  ser,  por  esta  ration,  de  que  por  aquel  Tiem- 
po  se  acababa,  que  cae  en  nuestro  Agosto,  e  ia  en  todo  este  Mes  se  pasan  las 
Frutas  en  tierra  fria.  Pero  los  Tiaxcaltecas,  y  otros  lo  llamaban  Hueymicea- 
ilhuitl,  que  quiere  decir:  La  Fiesta  maior  de  los  Difuntos;  y  llamavanla  asi, 
porque  este  Mes  solenmic,aban  la  niemoria  de  los  Difuntos,  con  grandes  cla- 
niores,  y  llantos,  y  doblados  lutos,  que  la  primera,  y  se  tefiian  los  cuerpos  de 
color  negro,  y  se  tiznuban  toda  la  cara;  y  asi,  las  ceremonias,  que  se  hacian 
de  Dia,  y  de  Noche.  en  todos  los  Templos,  y  fuera  de  ellos,  eran  de  nmcha 
tnste(ja,  segun  que  cada  vno  podia  hacer  su  sentimiento;  y  en  este  Mes  da- 
ban  nombre  de  Divinos,  a  SMS  Eeies  difuntos,  yatodasaquellasPersonas  sen- 
aladas,  que  haviau  muerto  hac^anosamente  en  las  Guerras,  y  en  poder  de  sus 
enemigos,  y  les  hacian  sus  Idolos,  y  los  colocaban,  con  sus  Dioses,  diciendo, 
que  avian  ido  al  lugar  de  sus  deleites,  y  pasatiempos,  en  compania  de  los 
otros  Dioses.1 


400          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

gods,  but  the  judicial  astrologers  feigned  a  constellation 
answering  thereto  and  influencing  persons  bom  under 
it.     In  depicting  this  constellation  Teoyaotlatohua  Huit- 
zilopochtli  was  represented  with  only  half  his  body,  as 
it  were  seated  on  a  bench,  and  with  his  mouth  open  as 
if  speaking.     His  head  was  decorated  after  a  peculiar 
fashion  with  feathers,  his  arms  were  made  like  trunks 
of  trees  with  branches,  while  from  his  girdle  there  issued 
certain  herbs  that  fell  downwards  over  the  bench.     Op- 
posite this  figure  was  Teoyaomique,  naked  save  a  thin 
robe,51  and  standing  on  a  pedestal,  apparently  holding  her 
head  in  her  hands,  at  any  rate  with  her  head  cut  off, 
her  eyes  bandaged,  and  two  snakes  issuing  from  the  neck 
where  the  head  should  have  been.     Between  the  god 
and  the  goddess  was  a  flowering  tree  divided  through  the 
middle,  to  which  was  attached  a  beam  with  various  cross- 
pieces,  and  over  all  was  a  bird  with  the  head  separated 
from  its  body.     There  was  to  be  seen  also  the  head  of  a 
bird  in  a  cup,  and  the  head  of  a  serpent,  together  with 
a  pot  turned  upside  down  while  the  contents — water  as 
it  would  appear  by  the  hieroglyphics  attached — ran  out. 
In  this  form  were  painted  these  two  gods,  as  one  'of 
the  twenty  celestial  signs,  sufficiently  noticed  by  Boturi- 
ni,  although  as  he  confesses,  he  had  not  arranged  them 
in  the  proper  order.     Returning  to  notice  the  office  at- 
tributed to  Teoyaomique,  that  of  collecting  the  souls  of 
the  dead,  we  find  that  Cristobal  del  Castillo  says  that 
all  born  under  the  sign  which,  with  the  god  of  war,  this 
goddess  ruled,  were  to  become  at  an  early  age  valorous 
soldiers ;  but  that  their  career  was  to  be  short  as  it  was 

41  As  the  whole  description  becomes  a  little  puzzling  here,  I  give  the  original, 
Leon  y  Gama  Dos  Piedras,  p.  42:  'Enfrente  de  esta  ngura  esta  Teoyaomique 
desnnda,  y  ctibierta  con  solo  un  cendal,  parada  sobre  una  basa,  6  port-ion  de 
]  ilaatra;  la  cabeza  separada  del  cuerpo,  arriba  del  cuello,  con  los  ojos  ven- 
dados,  y  en  su  lugnr  dos  Viborns  6  culebras,  que  nacen  del  mismo  cuello. 
Entre  estas  dos  figuras  esta  un  arbol  de  flores  purtido  por  medio,  ul  cual  se 
junta  un  madero  con  varios  atravesanos,  y  encima  de  el  una  ave,  cuya  ca- 
beza esta  taiubien  dividida  del  cuerpo.  Se  ve  tambien  otra  cabeza  de  ave 
dentro  de  una  j;cara,  otra  de  sierpe,  una  olla  con  la  boca  para  abajo,  saliendo 
de  eila  la  materia  que  contenia  dentro,  cuya  figura  parece  ser  lu  que  usabun 
para  representar  el  ngua;  y  finalmente  ocupan  el  resto  del  cuadro'[of  the  re- 
presentation of  the  constellation  above  mentioned  in  the  text]  otros  gerogli- 
ncos  y  nguras  dif erentes. ' 


MICTECACIHUATL.  401 

brilliant,  for  they  were  to  fall  in  battle  young.  These 
souls  were  to  rise.to  heaven,  to  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
sun,  where  were  woods  and  groves.  There  they  were  to 
exist  four  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  were  to 
be  converted  into  birds  of  rich  and  beautiful  plumage, 
and  to  go  about  sucking  flowers  both  in  heaven  and  on 
earth. 

To  the  statue  mentioned  above  there  was  joined  with 
great  propriety  the  image  of  another  god,  feigned  to  be 
the  god  of  hell,  or  of  the  place  of  the  dead,  which  latter 
is  the  literal  signification  of  his  name,  Mictlantecutli. 
This  image  was  engraved  in  demi-relief  on  the  lower 
plane  of  the  stone  of  the  great  compound  statue ;  but  it 
was  also  venerated  separately  in  its  own  proper  temple, 
called  Tlalxicco,  that  is  to  say,  '  in  the  bowels  or  navel 
of  the  earth.'     Among  the  various  offices  attributed  to 
this  deity  was  that  of  burying  the  corpses  of  the  dead, 
principally  of  those  that  died  of  natural  infirmities ;  for 
the  souls  of  these  went  to  hell  to  present  themselves  be- 
fore this  Mictlantecutli  and  before  his  wife  Mictecacihu- 
atl,  which   name  Torquemada  interprets  as  '  she  that 
throws  into  hell.'     Thither  indeed  it  was  said  that  these 
dead  went  to  offer  themselves  as  vassals  carrying  offer- 
ings, and  to  have  pointed  out  to  them  the  places  that 
they  were  to  occupy  according  to  the  manner  of  their 
death.     This  god  of  hades  was  further  called  Tzontemoc, 
a  term  interpreted  by  Torquemada  to  mean  '-he  that 
lowers  his  head;'   but  it  would  rather  appear  that  it 
should  take  its  signification  from  the  action  indicated 
by  the  great  statue,  where  this  deity  is  seen  as  it  were 
carrying  down  tied  to  himself  the  heads  of  corpses  to 
bury  them  in  the  ground,  as  Boturini  says.     The  places 
or  habitations  supposed  to  exist  in  hell,  and  to  which 
the  souls  of  the  dead  had  to  go,  were  nine ;  in  the  last  of 
which,  called  Chicuhnauhrnictlan,  the  said  souls  were  sup- 
posed to  be  annihilated  and  totally  destroyed.     There 
was  lastly  given  to  this  god  a  place  in  heaven,  he  being 
joined  with  one  of  the  planets  and  accompanied  by  Teo- 
tlaniacazqui ;  at  his  feet,  there  was  painted  a  body  that 

VOL.  III.    2C 


402          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

was  half  buried,  or  covered  with  earth  from  the  head  to 
the  waist,  while  the  rest  stuck  out  uncovered.  It  only 
remains  to  be  said  that  such  was  the  veneration  and  re- 
ligious feeling  with  \vhich  were  regarded  all  things  re- 
lating to  the  dead,  that  not  only  there  were  invented  for 
them  tutelary  gods,  much  honored  by  frequent  feasts  and 
sacrifice;  but  the  Mexicans  elevated  Death  itself,  dedi- 
cating to  it  a  day  of  the  calendar  (the  first  day  of  the 
sixth  'trecena'),  joining  it  to  the  number  of  the  celes- 
tial signs ;  and  erecting  to  it  a  sumptuous  temple  called 
Tolnahuac,  within  the  circuit  of  the  great  temple  of 
Mexico,  wherein  it  was  particularly  adored  with  holo- 
causts and  victims  under  the  title  Ce  Miquiztli.52 

52  Boturini,  Idea,  pp.  27-8,  mentions  the  goddess  Teoyaomique;  on  pp. 
30-1,  he  notices  the  respect  with  which  Mictlantecutli  and  the  dead  were  re- 
garded :  '  Me  resta  solo  tratar  de  la  decima  tercia,  y  ultima  Deidad  esto  es,  el 
J)ios  del  Infierno,  Geroglifico,  que  explica  el  piadoso  acto  de  sepultar  los 
muertos,  y  el  gran  respeto,  que  estos  antiguos  Indies  tenian  a  los  sepulcros, 
creyendo,  a  imitacion  de  otras  Naciones,  no  solo  que  alii  asistian  las  aluias 
de  los  Difuutos, . . .  sino  que  tambien  dichos  Parientes  eran  sus  Dioses  hidi- 
getes,  ita  dicti,  quasi  inde  geniti,  cuyos  huessos,  y  cenizas  daban  alii  indubita- 
bles,  y  ciertas  sefiales  de  el  dominio,  que  tuvieron  en  aquella  misma  tierra, 
donde  se  hallaban  sepultados,  la  que  havian  domado  con  los  sudores  de  la 
Agricultura,  y  aun  defendian  con  los  respetos,  y  eloquencia  muda  de  sus  cada- 

veres Nuestros  Indios  en  la  segunda  Edad  dedicaron  dos  nieses  de  el 

ano  llamados  Micaylhuitl,  y  Hueymicaylhuitl  a.  la  Commemoracion  de  los 
Difuntos,  y  en  la  tercera  exercitaron  varios  actos  de  piedad  en  su  memoria, 
prueba  constante  de  que  confessaron  la  immortalidad  de  el  alma.'  See  fur- 
ther Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  529-30.  Of  the  compound  idol 
discussed  above,  Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cordilleres,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  153-7,  speaks 
at  some  length.  He  says:  '  On  distingue,  a  la  partie  superieure,  les  tetes  de 
deux  monstres  accoles  et  1'on  trouve,  a  chaque  face,  deux  yeux  et  une  large 
'gueule  armee  de  quatre  dents.  Ces  figures  monstrueuses  n'indiquent  peut- 
etre  que  des  masques:  car,  chez  les  Mexicains,  on  etoit  dans  1'usage  de  mas- 
quer les  idoles  a  1'epoque  de  la  maladie  d'un  roi,  et  dans  toute  autre  cala- 
mite  publique.  Les  bras  et  les  pieds  sont  caches  sous  une  draperie  entouree 
d'enormes  serpens,  et  que  les  Mexicains  designoient  sous  le  nom  de  cohuatli- 
cnye,  vetement  de  serpent,  Tous  ces  accessoires,  surtout  les  franges  en  forme 
de  plumes,  sont  sculptes  avec  le  plus  grand  soin.  M.  Gama,  daris  un  me- 
moire  particulier,  a  rendu  tres-probable  que  cette  idole  represente  le  dieu  de 
la  guerre,  Huitzilopochtli,  ou  Tlacahuepancuexcotzin,  et  sa  femme,  appelee 
Teoyamiqui  (de  rniqui,  mourir,  et  de  leoyao,  guerre  divine),  parcequ'elle 
comluisoit  les  aines  des  guerriers  morts  pour  la  defense  des  dieux,  a  la  mais- 
on  du  Solell,  le  paradis  dts  Mexicains,  oil  elle  les  transformoit  en  colibiis. 
Les  tetes  de  morts  et  les  mains  coupees,  dont  quatre  entourent  le  sein  de  la 
deesse,  rappellent  les  horribles  sacrifices  (teoquauhquttzoliztli)  celebres  dans 
la  quinzieme  periode  de  treize  jours,  apres  le  solstice  d'ete,  a  Ihouneur  du 
dieu  de  la  guerre  et  de  sa  compagne  Teoyamiqui.  Les  mains  coupees  alter- 
nent  avec  la  figure  de  certains  vases  dans  lesquels  on  bruloit  I'eucens.  Ces 
vases  etoient  appeles  top-xicalli,  sacs  en  forme  de  calelasse  (de  toptli,  bourse 
tissue  de  fil  de  pite,  et  de  xicali,  calebasse).  Cette  idole  ttant  sculptee  sur 
toutes  sea  faces,  meme  par  dessous  (fig.  5),  oil  Ton  voit  represente  Jtfictfan- 


MIXCOATL,  GOD  OF  HUNTING.  403 

Mixcoatl  is  the  god, — or  goddess  according  to  some 
good  authorities, — of  hunting.  The  name  means  '  cloud- 
serpent'  and  indeed  seems  common  to  a  whole  class  of 
deities  or  heroes  somewhat  resembling  the  Nibelungs  of 
northern  European  mythology.53  He  is  further  sup- 
posed to  be  connected  with  the  thunderstorm:  u  Mixco- 
fitl,  the  Cloud- Serpent,  or  Iztac-Mixcoatl,  the  White  or 
Gleaming  Cloud- Serpent,"  writes  Brinton,54  "  said  to 
have  been  the  only  divinity  of  the  ancient  Chichimecs, 
held  in  high  honor  by  the  Nahuas,  Nicaraguans,  and 
Otomi's,  and  identical  with  Taras,  supreme  god  of  the 
Tarascos,  and  Camaxtli,  god  of  the  Teo-Chichimecs,  is 
another  personification  of  the  thunder-storm.  To  this 
day  this  is  the  familiar  name  of  the  tropical  tornado  in 
the  Mexican  language.  He  was  represented,  like  Jove, 
with  a  bundle  of  arrows  in  his  hand,  the  thunderbolts. 
Both  the  Nahuas  and  Tarascos  related  legends  in  which 
he  figured  as  father  of  the  race  of  man.  Like  other 
lords  of  the  lightning  he  was  worshiped  as  the  dispenser 
of  riches  and  the  patron  of  traffic;  and  in  Nicaragua 
his  image  is  described  as  being  '  engraved  stones '  pro- 
bably the  supposed  products  of  the  thunder." 

teuhtti,  le  seigneur  du  lieu  des  marts,  on  ne  sauroit  douter  qu'elle  e"toit  soutenue 
en.  1'air  au  moyen  de  deux  colonnes  sur  lesquelles  reposoient  les  parties  mar- 
quees A.  et  B,  dans  les  figures  1  et  3.  D'apres  cette  disposition  bizarre,  la 
tete  de  1'idole  se  trouvoit  vraisemblableuieut  elevee  de  cinq  a  six  metres  au- 
dessus  du  pave  du  temple,  de  maniere  que  les  pretres  (Teopixqui)  trainoient 
les  malheureuses  Yictimes  a  1'autel,  en  les  faisant  passer  au-dessous  de  la 
figure  de  Mictlanteuhtti.' 

53  According  to  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Nouvelles  Ammles  des  Voyages, 
1858,  torn,  clx.,  pp.  267-8:  '  Les  heros  et  demi-deux  qui,  sous  le  nom  generique 
de  Chichimeques-Mixcohuas,  jouent  un  si  grand  role  dans  la  mythologie  mex'- 
caine,  et  qui  du  viie  au  ixe  siecle  de  notre  ere,  obtinrent  la  preponderance  sur 
le  plateau  azteque. . .  .Les  plus  celebres  de  ces  heros  sont  Mixcohuatl-Maza- 
tzin  (le  Serpent  Nt-buleux  et  le  Daira),  fondateur  de  la  royaute  a  Tollan  (au- 
jourd'  hui  Tula),  Tetzcatlipoca,  specialement  adore  a  Tetzcuco,  et  son  frere 
Mixcohuatl  le  jeune,  dit  Camaxtli,  en  particulier  adore  a  Tlaxcallan,  1'un  et 
1'autre  mentionn-Js,  sous  d'autres  noins,  parmi  les  rois  de  Culhuacan  et  cou- 
sideres,  ainsi  que  le  premier,  comme  les  principaux  fondateurs  de  la  mon- 
archie  tolteque .  On  ignore  ou  ils  recjurent  le  jour.  Un  manuscrit  mexicain, 
[Codex  Chimalpopoca],  en  les  donuant  pour  fils  d'lztac-Mixcohuatl  ou  le 
Serpent  Blanc  Nebuleux  et  d'Iztac-Chalchiuhlicue  ou  la  Blanche  Dame 
azurt-e,  fait  allegoriquement  allusion  aux  pays  nebuleux  et  aquatiques  ou  ils 
ont  pris  naissance;  le  meme  document  ajoute  qu'ils  vinrent  par  eau  et  qu'ils 
demeurerent  un  certain  temps  en  barque.  Peut-etre  que  le  nom  d'  Iztac  ou 
Blanc,  egalement  donne  a  Mixcohuatl,  designe  aussi  une  race  differente  de 
celle  des  Indiens  et  plus  en  rapport  avec  la  notre.' 

u  Brinloris  Mytlis,  p.  158. 


404         GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

In  the  fourteenth  month,  called  Quecholli,  and  begin- 
ning, according  to  Clavigero,  on  the  fourteenth  of  Novem- 
ber, there  was  made  with  many  obscure  ceremonies,  a  feast 
to  this  god.  On  the  sixth  day  of  the  month  all  assem- 
bled at  the  cu  of  Huitzilopochtli,  where  during  four  days 
they  made  arrows  and  darts  for  use  in  war  and  for 
general  practice  at  a  mark,  mortifying  at  the  same  time 
their  flesh  by  drawing  blood,  and  by  abstaining  from 
women  and  pulque.  This  done  they  made,  in  honor  of 
the  dead,  certain  little  mimic  darts  of  a  hand  long,  of 
which  four  seem  to  have  been  tied  together  with  four 
splinters  of  candle-wood  pine;  these  were  put  on  the 
graves,  and  at  set  of  sun,  lit  and  burned,  after  which  the 
ashes  were  interred  on  the  spot.  There  were  taken  a 
maize-stalk  of  nine  knots  with  a  paper  flag  on  the  top 
that  hung  down  to  the  bottom,  together  with  a  shield  and 
dart  belonging  to  the  dead  man,  and  his  maxtle  and 
blanket;  the  last  two  being  attached  to  the  maize-stalk. 
The  hanging  flag  was  ornamented  on  either  side  with 
red  cotton  thread,  in  the  figure  of  an  X;  a  piece  of 
twisted  white  thread  also  hung  down  to  which  was  sus- 
pended a  dead  humming-bird.  Handfuls  of  the  white 
feathers  of  the  heron  were  tied  two  and  two  and  fastened 
to  the  burdened  maize-stalk,  while  all  the  cotton  threads 
used  were  covered  with  white  hen's  feathers,  stuck  on 
with  resin.  Lastly  all  these  were  burned  on  a  stone  block 
called  the  quaulixicalcalico. 

In  the  court  of  the  cu  of  Mixcoatl  was  scattered  much 
dried  grass  brought  from  the  mountains,  upon  which  the 
old  women-priests,  or  cioatlamacazque,  seated  themselves, 
each  with  a  mat  before  her.  All  the  women  that  had 
children  came,  each  bringing  her  child  and  five  sweet 
tamales ;  and  the  tamales  were  put  on  the  mats  before 
the  old  women,  who  in  return  took  the  children,  tossed 
them  in  their  arms  and  then  returned  them  to  their 
mothers. 

About  the  middle  of  the  month  was  made  a  special 
feast  to  this  god  of  the  Otomis,  to  Mixcoatl.  In  the 
morning  all  prepared  for  a  great  drive-hunt,  girding 


DRIVE-HUNT  OF  MIXCOATL.  405 

their  blankets  to  their  loins,  and  taking  bows  and  arrows. 
They  wended  their  way  to  a  mountain-slope,  anci- 
ently Zapatepec,  or  Yxillantonan,  above  the  sierra  of 
Atlacuizoayan,  or  as  it  is  now  called,  according  to  Busta- 
mante,  Tacubaya.  There  they  drove  deer,  rabbits,  hares, 
coyotes,  and  other  game  together,  little  by  little,  every 
one  in  the  meantime  killing  what  he  could ;  few  or 
no  animals  escaping.  To  the  most  successful  hunters 
blankets  were  given,  and  every  one  brought  to  his  house 
the  heads  of  the  animals  he  had  taken,  and  hanged  them 
up  for  tokens  of  his  prowess  or  activity. 

There  were  human  sacrifices  in  honor  of  this  hunting 
god  with  other  deities.  The  manufacturers  of  pulque 
bought,  apparently  two  slaves  who  were  decorated  with 
paper  and  killed  in  honor  of  the  gods  Tlamatzincatl  and 
Yzquitecatl ;  there  were  also  sacrificed  women  supposed 
to  represent  the  wives  of  these  two  deities.  The  ccdpix- 
guis  on  their  part  led  other  two  slaves  to  the  death  in 
honor  of  Mixcoatl  and  of  Cohuatlicue  his  wife.  On  the 
morning  of  the  last  day  but  one  of  the  month,  all  the 
doomed  were  brought  out  and  led  round  the  cu  where 
they  had  to  die ;  after  mid-day  they  were  led  up  the  cu, 
round  the  sacrifical  block,  down  again,  then  back  to  the 
calpulco,  to  be  at  once  guarded  and  forced  to  keep  awake 
for  the  night.  At  midnight  their  heads  were  shaven 
before  the  fire,  and  every  one  of  them  burned  there 
what  goods  he  had,  little  paper  flags,  eane  tobacco- 
pipes55  and  drinking- vessels ;  the  women  threw  into 
the  flame  their  raiment,  their  ornaments,  their 
spindles,  little  baskets,  vessels  in  which  the  spin- 
dles were  twirled,  warping- frames,  fuller's  earth, 
pieces  of  cane  for  pressing  a  fabric  together,  cords 
for  fastening  it  up,  maguey-thorns,  measuring-rods, 
and  other  implements  for  weaving;  and  they  said  that 
all  these  things  had  to  be  given  to  them  in  the  other 
world  after  their  death.  At  daybreak  these  captives 
were  carried  or  assisted  up,  each  having  a  paper  flag 

55  Canas  de  humo:  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  75;  SaJiagun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  166. 


406          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

borne  before  him,  to  the  several  cues  of  the  gods  they 
were  to  die  in  honor  of.  Four  that  had  to  die,  probably 
before  Mixcoatl,  were,  each  by  four  bearers,  carried  up 
to  a  temple,  bound  hand  and  foot  to  represent  dead  deer  ; 
while  others  were  merely  assisted  up  the  steps  by  a 
youth  at  each  arm,  so  that  they  should  not  faint  nor  fail  ; 
two  other  youths  trailing  or  letting  them  down  the  same 
steps  after  they  were  dead.  The  preceding  relates 
only  to  the  male  captives,  the  women  being  slain  before 
the  men,  in  a  separate  cu  called  the  coatlan;  it  is  said 
that  as  they  were  forced  up  the  steps  of  it.  some  screamed 
and  others  wept.  In  letting  the  dead  bodies  of  these 
women  down  the  steps  again,  it  is  also  specially  written, 
that  they  were  not  hurled  down  roughly,  but  rolled  down 
little  by  little.  At  the  place  where  the  skulls  of  the 
dead  were  exposed,  waited  two  old  women  called  teixa- 
mique,  having  by  them  salt  water  and  bread  and  a  mess 
or  gruel  of  some  kind.  The  carcasses  of  the  victims 
being  brought  to  them,  they  dipped  cane-leaves  into  the 
salt  water  and  sprinkled  the  faces  of  them  therewith, 
and  into  each  mouth  they  put  four  morsels  of  bread 
moistened  with  the  gruel  or  mess  above-mentioned. 
Then  the  heads  were  cut  off  and  spitted  on  poles  ;  and  so 
the  feast  ended.56 

In  connection  with  the  religious  honors  paid  to  the 
dead,  it  may  be  here  said  that  the  Mexicans  had  a  deity 
of  whom  almost  all  we  know  is  that  he  was  the  god  of 
those  that  died  in  the  houses  of  the  lords  or  in  the 
palaces  of  the  principal  men;  he  was  called  Macuilxo- 

56  Kingsborourjh's  Mfx.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  73-6;  Sahafjitn,  Ifisl.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  162-7;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  148-9,  151-2, 
280-1;  ('laviqero,  Storlt  Ant.  del  Messico,  toin.  ii.,  p.  79;  Miiller, 


niwlu  Urreliyionen,  pp.  483,  486,  and  elsewhere.  Brasseur,  as  his  custom  is, 
euhemarizes  this  god,  detailing  the  events  of  his  reign,  and  theorizing  on 
his  policy,  as  soberly  and  believingly  as  if  it  were  a  question  of  the  reign  of 
a  Louis  XIV.,  or  a  Napoleon  I.;  see  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  227-:}5. 
Gomara,  Conq.  J/ex.,  fol.  88,  and  others,  make  Camaxtle,  the  principal  god  of 
Tlascala,  identical  with  Mixcoatl.  The  Chichimecs  '  had  only  one  god  called 
Mixcoatl  ani  they  kept  this  image  or  statue.  They  held  to  another  god,  in- 
visible, without  image,  called  looalliehecatl,  —  that  is  to  say,  god  invisible  and 
impalpable,  favoring,  sheltering,  all-powerful,  by  whose  power  all  live,  etc.* 
Sakagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  64. 


MACUILXOCHITL.  407 

chitl,  l  the  chief  that  gives  flowers,  or  that  takes  care  of 
the  giving  of  flowers.'57  The  festival  of  this  god  fell 
among  the  movable  feasts  and  was  called  Xochilhuitl, 
or  '  the  festival  of  flowers.'  There  were  in  it  the  usual 
preliminary  fasting  (that  is  to  say,  eating  but  once  a  day, 
at  noon,  and  then  only  of  a  restricted  diet),  blood-letting, 
and  offering  of  food  in  the  temple ;  though  there  did  not 
occur  therein  anything  suggestive  either  of  a  god  of 
flowers  or  of  a  god  of  the  more  noble  dead.  The  image 
of  this  deity  was  in  the  likeness  of  an  almost  naked  man, 
either  flayed  or  painted  of  a  vermilion  color ;  the  mouth 
and  chin  were  of  three  tints,  white,  black,  and  light  blue ; 
the  face  was  of  a  light  reddish  tinge.  It  had  a  crown  of 
light  green  color,  with  plumes  of  the  same  hue,  and  tas- 
sels that  hung  down  to  the  shoulders.  On  the  back  of 
the  idol  was  a  device  wrought  in  feathers,  representing 
a  banner  planted  on  a  hill ;  about  the  loins  of  it  was  a 
bright  reddish  blanket,  fringed  with  sea-shells;  curiously 
wrought  sandals  adorned  its  feet;  on  the  left  arm  of  it 
was  a  white  shield,  in  the  midst  of  which  were  set  four 
stones,  joined  two  and  two ;  it  held  a  sceptre,  shaped  like 
a  heart  and  tipped  with  green  and  yellow  feathers.58 

57  This  deity  must   not,  it  would  seem,  be  confounded  with   another 
mentioned  by  Sahagun,  viz.,  Coatlyace,  or  Coatlyate,  or  Coatlantouan,  a 
goddess  of  whom  we  know  little  save  the  fact,  incidentally  mentioned,  that 
she  was  regarded  with  great  devotion  by  the  dealers  in  flowers.     See  Kinc/a- 
borouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  42,  and  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii., 
p.  95! 

58  Kinqsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  10-11, 136;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  19-22,  lib.  iv.,  p.  305.   Botiirini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  14-15, 
speaks  of  a  goddess  called  Macuilxochiquetzalli;  by  a  comparison  of  the  pass- 
age with  note  28  of  this  chapter,  it  will  I  think  be  evident  that  the  chevalier's 
Macuilxochiquetzalli  is  identical  not  with  Macuilxochitl,  but  with  Xochiquet- 
zal,  the  Aztec  Venus.     See  further,  on  the  relations  of  this  goddess,  Brat- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii  ,  pp.  490-1:  '  Matlalcui'ye,  qui 
donnait  son  nom  au  versant  de  la  montagne  du  cote  de  Tlaxcallan,  etait 
regardee  comme  la  protectrice  speciale  des  magiciennes.     La  legende  disait 
qu'elle  etait  devenue  1'epouse  de  Tlaloc,  apres  que  Xochiquetzal  eut  c'te  en- 
levee  a  ce  dieu  [see  this  vol.  p.  378].     Celle-ci,  dont  elle  n'etait,  apres  tout, 
qu'uue  personniftcation  diftvrente,  etait  appelee  aussi  Chalchiuhlycue,  ou  le 
Jupon  seme  d'eroeraudes,  ensa  qualite  de  deesse  des  eaux.     Le  symbole  sous 
lequel  on  la  represente,  comme  deesse  des  amours  honnetes,  est  eelui  d'un 
eventail  compose  de  cinq  flours,  ce  que  rend  encore  le  nom  qu'on  lui  donnait 
"  Macuil-Xochiquetzalli."  '     Brasseur,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  distinguishes 
between  Xochiquetzal  as  the  goddess  of  honest  love,  and  Tlazolteotl  as  the 

s  of  lubricity. 


408         ,GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAIT  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

Ome  AcatTwas  the  god  of  banquets  and  of  guests;  his 
name  signified  l  two  canes.'     When  a  man  made  a  feast 
to  his  friends,  he  had  the  image  of  this  deity  carried  to 
his  house  by  certain  of  its  priests;  and  if  the  host  did 
not  do  this,  the  deity  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  re- 
buking him  in  such  words  as  these:  Thou  bad  man,  be- 
cause thou  hast  withheld  from  me  my  due  honor,  know 
that  I  will  forsake  thee  and  that  thou  shalt  pay  dearly 
for  this  insult.     When  this  god  was  excessively  angered, 
he  was  accustomed  to  mix  hairs  with  the  food  and  drink 
of  the  guests  of  the  object  of  his  wrath,  so  that  the  giver 
of  the  feast  should  be   disgraced.       As  in  the  case  of 
Huitzilopochtli,  there  was  a  kind  of  communion  sacra- 
ment in  connection  with  the  adoration  of  this  god  of 
feasts:  in  each  ward  dough  was  taken  and  kneaded  by 
the  principal  men  into  the  figure  of  a  bone  of  about  a 
cubit  long,  called  the  bone  of  Ome  Acatl.     A  night  seems 
to  have  been  spent  in  eating  and  in  drinking  pulque ;  then 
at  break  of  day  an  unfortunate  person,  set  up  as  the  living 
image  of  the  god,  had  his  belly  pricked  with  pins,  or 
some  such  articles;  being  hurt  thereby,  as  we  are  told. 
This  done  the  bone  was  divided  and  each  one  ate  what 
of  it  fell  to  his  lot;  and  when  those  that  had  insulted 
this  god  ate,  they  often  grew  sick,  and  almost  choked, 
and  went  stumbling  and  falling.     Ome  Acatl  was  repre- 
sented as  a  man  seated  on  a  bunch  of  cyperus-sedges. 
His  face  was  painted  white  and  black;  upon  his  head 
was  a  paper  crown  surrounded  by  a  long  and  broad  fillet 
of  divers  colors,  knotted  up  at  the  back  of  the  head ;  and 
again  round  and  over  the  fillet,  was  wound  a  string  of 
chalchiuite  beads.     His  blanket  was  made  like  a  net,  and 
had  a  broad  border  of  flowers  woven  into  it.     He  bore 
a  shield,  from  the  lower  part  of  which  hung  a  kind  of 
fringe  of  broad  tassels.     In  the  right  hand  he  held  a 
sceptre  called  the  tlachielonique,  or  '  looker,' 59  because  it 
was  furnished  with  a  round  plate  through  which  a  hole 


59  The  fire-god  Xiuhtecutli  used  an  instrument  of  this  kind;  see  this  vol. 
p.  385. 


IXTLILTON,  HEALEE  OF  CHILDEEN.  409 

was  pierced,  and  the  god  kept  his  face  covered  with  the 
plate  and  looked  through  the  hole.00 

Yxtliton,  or  Ixtlilton, — that  is  to  say  '  the  little  negro,' 
according  to  Sahagun,  and  i  the  black-faced,'  according 
to  Clavigero — was  a  god  who  cured  children  of  various 
diseases.61  His  '  oratory'  was  a  kind  of  temporary  build- 
ing made  of  painted  boards ;  his  image  was  neither  graven 
nor  painted ;  it  was  a  living  man  decorated  with  certain 
vestments.  In  this  temple  or  oratory  were  kept  many 
pans  and  jars,  covered  with  boards,  and  containing  a 
fluid  which  was  called  '  black  water.'  When  a  child 
sickened,  it  was  brought  to  this  temple  and  one  of  these 
jars  was  uncovered,  upon  which  the  child  drank  of  the 
black  water  and  was  healed  of  its  disease — 'the  cure  being 
probably  most  prompt  and  complete  \vhen  the  priests  as 
well  as  the  god  knew  something  of  physic.  When  one 
made  a  feast  to  this  god — which  seems  to  have  been 
when  one  made  new  pulque — the  man  that  was  the 
image  of  Ixtlilton  came  to  the  house  of  the  feast-giver 
with  music  and  dancing,  and  preceded  by  the  smoke  of 


60Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  11-12;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  22-3;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  58,  240-1;  Clavi- 
gero, Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  22;  Brasseur  de  .Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nut.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  492. 

6!  This  god,  who  was  also  known  by  the  title  of  Tlaltecuin,  is  the  third 
Mexican  god  connected  with  medicine.  There  is  first  that  unnamed  goddess 
described  on  p.  353,  of  this  vol.;  and  there  is  then  a  certain  Tzaputlatena, 
described  by  Sahagun — Kinysborouyti 's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  4;  Sahagun, 
Hint.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  7-8 — as  the  goddess  of  turpentine  (see  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourci,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  494),  or  of  some  such  sub- 
stance, used  to  cure  the  itch  in  the  head,  irruptions  on  the  skin,  sore 
throats,  ch  ipped  feet  or  lips,  and  other  such  things  :  '  Tzaputlatena  fue  uua 
muger,  seguu  su  nombre,  nacida  en  el  pueblo  de  Tzaputla,  y  por  esto  se 
llama  la  Madre  de  Tzaputla,  porque  fue  la  primera  que  invento  la  resiua  que 
se  llama  uxitl,  y  es  uu  aceyte  sacado  por  artificio  de  la  resiua  del  pino,  que 
aprovecha  para  sanar  muchas  enfermedades,  y  prirneraniente  aprovecha  cou- 
tru  uaa  maneva  de  bubas,  6  sarna,  que  nace  en  la  cabeza,  que  se  llama  Quaxo- 
o  icivistli;  y  tambien  contra  otra  enfermedad  es  provechosa  asi  mismo,  que. 
nace  en  la  cabeza,  que  es  como  bubas,  qiie  se  llama  Chaguachicioiztli,  y  tani- 
bien  para  la  sarua  de  la  cabeza.  Aprovecha  tambien  contra  la  ronguera  de  la 
gargiinta.  Aprovecha  tambien  contra  las  grietas  de  las  pies  y  de  los  labios. 
Es  tambien  contra  los  empeines  que  nacen  en  la  cara  6  en  las  mauos.  Es 
tambien  contra  el  usagre ;  contra  muchas  otras  enfermedades  es  bueiio.  Y 
como  esta  muger  debio  ser  la  primera  que  hallo  este  aceyte,  contaronla 
entre  las  Diosas,  y  hicianla  fiesta  y  sacrificios  aquellos  que  venden  y  haceu 
este  aceyte  que  se  llama  Uxitl.' 


410          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

copal  incense.  The  representative  of  the  deity  having 
arrived,  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  eat  and  drink; 
there  were  more  dances  and  festivities  in  his  honor,  in 
which  he  took  part,  and  then  he  entered  the  cellar  of 
the  house,  where  were  many  jars  of  pulque  that  had  been 
covered  for  four  days  with  boards  or  lids  of  some  kind. 
He  opened  one  or  many  of  these  jars,  a  ceremony  called 
1  the  opening  of  the  first,  or  of  the  new  wine,'  and  him- 
self with  those  that  were  with  him  drank  thereof.  This 
done,  he  went  out  into  the  court-yard  of  the  house, 
where  there  were  prepared  certain  jars  of  the  above- 
mentioned  black  water,  which  also  had  been  kept  covered 
four  days ;  these  he  opened,  and  if  there  was  found  there- 
in any  dirt,  or  piece  of  straw,  or  hair,  or  ash,  it  was 
taken  as  a  sign  that  the  giver  of  the  feast  was  a  man  of 
evil  life,  an  adulterer,  or  a  thief,  or  a  quarrelsome  per- 
son, and  he  was  affronted  with  the  charge  accordingly. 
When  the  representative  of  the  god  set  out  from  the 
house  where  all  this  occurred,  he  was  presented  with 
certain  blankets  called  yxguen,  or  ixquen,  that  is  to  say, 
'  covering  of  the  face,'  because  \vhen  any  fault  had  been 
found  in  the  black  water,  the  giver  of  the  feast  was  put 
to  shame.62 

Opuchtli,  or  Opochtli,  '  the  left-handed,'  was  venerated 
by  fishermen  as  their  protector  and  the  inventor  of  their 
nets,  fish-spears,  oars,  and  other  gear.  In  Cuitlahuac,  an 
island  of  lake  Chalco,  there  was  a  god  of  fishing  called 
Amimitl,  who,  according  to  Clavigero,  differed  from  the 
first-mentioned  only  in  name.  Sahagun  says  that  Opuch- 
tli was  counted  among  the  number  of  the  Tlaloques, 
and  that  the  offerings  made  to  him  were  composed  of 
pulque,  stalks  of  green  maize,  flowers,  the  smoking-canes, 
or  pipes  called  yietl,  copal  incense,  the  odorous  herb 
yiauhtli,  and  parched  maize.  These  things  seem  to  have 
been  strewed  before  him  as  rushes  used  to  be  strewed 
before  a  procession.  There  were  used  in  these  solemni- 

62  Kinfisborouyh's  Mex.  Aniiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  12-13;  Sahagim,  Hist.  Gen., 
toin.  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  24-5;  Clavigero,  Hist.  Ant.  del  Messico,  toin.  ii.,  p.  21. 


OPUCHTLI,  GOD  OF  FISHING.  411 

ties  certain  rattles  enclosed  in  hollow  walking-sticks. 
The  image  of  this  god  was  like  a  man,  almost  naked, 
with  the  face  of  that  grey  tint  seen  in  quails'  feathers; 
on  the  head  was  a  paper  crown  of  divers  colors,  made 
like  a  rose,  as  it  were,  of  leaves  overlapping  each  other, 
topped  by  green  feathers  issuing  from  a  yellow  tassel ; 
other  long  tassels  hung  from  this  crown  to  the  shoulders 
of  the  idol.  Crossed  over  the  breast  was  a  green  stole 
resembling  that  worn  by  the  Christian  priest  when  say- 
ing mass;  on  the  feet  were  white  sandals;  on  the  left 
arm  was  a  red  shield,  and  in  the  centre  of  its  field  a 
white  flower  with  four  leaves  disposed  like  a  cross ;  and 
in  the  left  hand  was  a  sceptre  of  a  peculiar  fashion.63 

Xipe,  or  Totec,  or  Xipetotec,  or  Thipetotec,  is,  accord- 
ing to  Clavigero,  a  god  whose  name  has  no  meaning,6* 
who  was  the  deity  of  the  goldsmiths,  and  who  was  much 
venerated  by  the  Mexicans,  they  being  persuaded  that 
those  that  neglected  his  worship  would  be  smitten  with 

63  '  Tenia  en  la  mano  izquierda  una  rodela  tefiida  de  Colorado,  y  en  el  me- 
dio  de  este  campo  una  flor  blanca  con  quatro  ojas  a  manera  de  cruz,  y  de  los 
espacios  de  las  ojas  salian  quatro  puntas  que  eran  tambien  ojas  de  la  misrna 
flor.     Tenia  un  cetro  en  la  mano  derecha  coino  un  caliz,  y  de  lo  alto  de  el 
salia  como  un  casquillo  de  saetas:'  Kingsborough' s  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  13; 
Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  26-7;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messi- 
co,  torn,  ii.,  p.  20;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn.  ii..  pp.  60-1.     '  La  ptkhe 
avait,  toutefois,  son  genie  particulier:  c'etait  Opochtli,  le  Gaucher,  personni- 
ficatiou  de  Huitzilopochtli . . . . : '    Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist,  des  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  iii.,  p.  494. 

64  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Mexico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  22.     This  is  evidently  a 
blunder,  however;  Boturini  explains  Totec  to  mean  '  god  our  lord,'  and  Xipe 
(or  Oxipe,  as  he  writes  it)  to  signify  '  god  of  the  flaying:'  '  Tlaxipehualiztli, 
Symbolo  del  primer  Mes,  quiere  decir  Deshollarniento  de  Gentes,  porque  en  an 
primer  dia  se  deshollaban  unos  Hombres  vivos  dedicados  al  Dios  Tote'uc,  esto 
es,  Dios  Senor  nuestro,  6  al  Dios  Oxipe,  Dios  de  el  Deshollamiento,  syncope  de 
Tloxipeitca:'  Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  p.  51.     Sahagun  says  that  the  name 
means    'the  flayed  one.'      'Xipetotec,  que  quiere  decir  desollado:'  Kinys- 
orou'/h's  Mex.  Antiq., -vol.  vii.,  pp.  14;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  p.  27. 
While  Torquemada  affirms  that  it  means  '  the  bald,'  or  '  the  blackened  one:' 
'Teuian  los  Plateros  otro  Dios,  que  se  llamaba  Xippe,  y  Totec. . .  Este  De- 
monio  Xippe,  que  quiere  decir,  Calvo,  6  Ateqado : '    Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  58.     Brasseur,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  503,   partially 
accepts  all  these  derivations:  'Xipe,  le  chauve  ou  1'ecorche,  autrement  dit 
encore  Totec  ou  notre  seigneur. '     This  god  was  further  suruamed,  according 
to  the  interpreter  of  the  Vatican  Codex,   'the  mournful  combatant,'  or,  as 
Gallatin  gives  it,   'the  disconsolate;'  see  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice 
Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xliii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  186; 
and  Amer.  Ethnol.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  345,  350. 


412          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

diseases;  especially  the  boils,  the  itch,  and  pains  of  the 
head  and  eyes.  They  excelled  themselves  therefore  in 
cruelty  at  his  festival  time,  occurring  ordinarily  in  the 
second  month. 

Sahagun  describes  this  god  as  specially  honored  by 
dwellers  on  the  sea-shore,  and  as  having  had  his  origin 
at  Zapotlan  in  Jalisco.  He  was  supposed  to  afflict 
people  with  sore  eyes  and  with  various  skin-diseases, 
such  as  small-pox,  abscesses,  and  itch.  His  image  was 
made  like  a  human  form,  one  side  or  flank  of  it  being 
painted  yellow,  and  the  other  of  a  tawny  color;  down 
each  side  of  the  face  from  the  brow  to  the  jaw  a  thin 
stripe  was  wrought;  and  on  the  head  was  a  little  cap 
with  hanging  tassels.  The  upper  part  of  the  body  was 
clothed  with  the  flayed  skin  of  a  man ;  round  the  loins 
was  girt  a  kind  of  green  skirt.  It  had  on  one  arm  a 
yellow  shield  with  a  red  border,  and  held  in  both  hands 
a  scepter  shaped  like  the  calix  of  a  poppy  and  tipped  with 
an  arrow-head.65 

On  the  last  day  of  the  second  month, — or,  accord- 
ing to  some  authors,  of  the  first,  —  Tlacaxipehualiztli, 
there  was  celebrated  a  solemn  feast  in  honor  at  once 
of  Xipetotec  and  of  Huitzilopochtli.  It  was  preceded 
by  a  very  solemn  dance  at  noon  of  the  day  before. 
As  the  night  of'  the  vigil  fell,  the  captives  were  shut  up 
and  guarded ;  at  midnight— the  time  when  it  was  usual 
to  draw  blood  from  the  ears — the  hair  of  the  middle  of 
the  head  of  each  was  shaven  away  before  a  fire.  When 
the  dawn  appeared  they  were  led  by  their  owners  to  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  of  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli, — and 
if  they  would  not  ascend  willingly  the  priests  dragged 
them  up  by  the  hair.  The  priests  threw  them  down  one 
by  one  on  the  back  on  a  stone  of  three  quarters  of  a 
yard  or  more  high,  and  square  on  the  top  something 
more  than  a  foot  every  way.  Two  assistants  held  the 
victim  down  by  the  feet,  two  by  the  hands,  and  one  by 
the  head — this  last  according  to  many  accounts  putting 

65  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antlq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  14;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i., 
lib.  i.,  pp.  27-8;  Boturini,  Idea  de  Nueva  Hist.,  p.  51. 


EATING  THE  BODIES  OF  THE  SACRIFICED.  413 

a  yoke  over  the  neck  of  the  man  and  so  pressing  it  down. 
Then  the  priest,  holding  with  both  hands  a  splinter 
of  flint,  or  a  stone  resembling  flint,  like  a  large  lance- 
head,  struck  across  the  breast  therewith,  and  tore  out  the 
heart  through  the  gash  so  made ;  which,  after  offering  it 
to  the  sun  and  other  gods  by  holding  it  up  toward  the 
four  quarters  of  heaven,  he  threw  into  a  wooden  vessel.66 
The  blood  was  collected  also  in  a  vessel  and  given  to  the 
owner  of  the  dead  captive,  while  the  body,  thrown  down 
the  temple  steps,  was  taken  to  the  calpule  by  certain 
old  men,  called  guaquacuiltin,  flayed,  cut  into  pieces,  and 
divided  for  eating ;  the  king  receiving  the  flesh  of  the 
thigh,  while  the  rest  of  the  carcass  was  eaten  at  the 
house  of  the  owner  of  the  captive,  though,  as  will  appear 
by  a  remark  hereafter,67  it  is  improbable  that  the  captor 
or  owner  himself  ate  any  of  it.  With  the  skin  of  these 
flayed  persons,  a  party  of  youths  called  the  tototedi 
clothed  themselves,  and  fought  in  sham  fight  with  an- 
other party  of  young  men ;  prisoners  being  taken  on  both 
sides,  who  were  not  released  without  a  ransom  of  some 
kind  or  other.  This  sham  battle  was  succeeded  by  com- 
bats of  a  terribly  real  sort,  the  famous  so-called  gladia- 
torial fights  of  Mexico.  On  a  great  round  stone,  like  an 


66  These  human  sacrifices  were  begnn,  according  to  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  165-7,  by  the  Mexicans,  before  the  foundation  of  their 
city,  while  yet  slaves  of  the  Culhuas.     These  Mexicans  had  done  good  ser- 
vice to  their  rulers  in  a  battle  against  the  Xochimilcas.     The  masters  were 
expected  to  furnish  their  serfs  with  a  thank-offering  for  the  war  god.     They 
sent  a  filthy  rag  and  a  rotten  fowl.     The  Mexicans  received  and  were  silent. 
The  day  of  festival  came;  and  with  it  the  Culhua  nobles  to  see  the  sport — 
the  Helots  and  their  vile  sacrifice.     But  the  filth  did  not  appear,  only  a 
coarse  altar,  wreathed  with  a  fragrant  herb,  bearing  a  great  flake  of  keen- 
ground  obsidian.    The  dance  began,  the  frenzy  mounted  up,  the  priests 
advanced  to  the  altar,  and  with  them  they  dragged  four  Xochimilca  prison- 
ers.    There  is  a  quick  struggle,  and  over  a  prisoner  bruised,  doubled  back 
supine  on  the  altar-block  gleams  and  falls  the  itzli,  driven  with  a  two-handed 
blow.     The  blood  spurts  like  a  recoil  into  the  bent  face  of  the  high  priest,  who 
grabbles,  grasps,  tears  out  and  flings  the  heart  to  the  god.     Another,  anoth- 
er, another,  and  there  are  four  hearts  beating  in  the  lap  of  the  grim  image. 
There  are  more  dances  but  there  is  no  more  sport  for  the  Culhuas :  with  lips 
considerably  whitened  they  return  to  their  place.     After  this  there  could  be 
no  more  mastership,  nor  thought  of  mastership  over  such  a  people;  there 
Avas  too  much  of  the  wild  beast  in  them;  they  had  already  tasted  blood. 
And  the  Mexicans  were  allowed  to  leave  the  land  of  their  bondage,  and  jour- 
ney north  toward  the  future  Tenochtitlan. 

67  See  this  vol.,  p.  415. 


414          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

enormous  mill-stone,  a  captive  was  tied  by  a  cord,  pass- 
ing round  his  waist  and  through  the  hole  of  the  stone, 
long  enough  to  permit  him  freedom  of  motion  every- 
where about  the  block — set  near  or  at  a  temple  called 
yopico,  of  the  god  Totec,  or  Xipe.68  With  various  cere- 
monies, more  particularly  described  in  the  preceding 
volume,  the  bound  man  furnished  with  inferior  weapons 
was  made  to  fight  with  a  picked  Mexican  champion— 
the  latter  holding  up  his  sword  and  shield  to  the  sun 
before  engaging.  If,  as  sometimes  happened,  the  desper- 
ate though  hampered  and  ill-armed  captive — whose  club- 
sword  was,  by  a  refinement  of  mockery,  deprived  of  its 
jagged  flint  edging  and  set  with  feathers — slew  his  oppo- 
nent, another  champion  was  sent  against  him,  and  so 
on  to  the  number  of  five,  at  which  point,  according  to 
some,  the  captive  was  set  free ;  though  according  to  other 
authorities,  he  was  not  allowed  so  to  escape,  but  cham- 
pions were  sent  against  him  till  he  fell.  Upon  which  a 
priest  called  the  yooallaoa  opened  his  breast,  tore  out  his 
heart,  offered  it  to  the  sun,  and  threw  it  into  the  usual 
wooden  vessel;  while  the  ropes  used  for  binding  to  the 
fighting-stone  were  carried  to  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world,  reverently  with  weeping  and  sighing.  A  second 
priest  thrust  a  piece  of  cane  into  the  gash  in  the  victim's 
breast  and  held  it  up  stained  with  blood  to  the  sun. 
Then  the  owner  of  the  captive  came  and  received  the 
blood  into  a  vessel  bordered  with  feathers ;  this  vessel  he 
took  with  a  little  cane-and-feather  broom  or  aspergillum 
and  went  about  all  the  temples  and  calpules,  giving  to  each 

68  Further  notice  of  this  stone  appears  in  Kingsborough' s  Mex.  Antlq.,  vol. 
vii.,  p.  94,  or  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  ap.,  pp.  207-8:  '  El  sesenta 
y  clos  edificio  se  llamaba  Temalacatl.  Era  una  piedra  conio  nmela  de  inoli- 
iio  grande,  y  estaba  agnjereada  en  el  medio  como  muela  de  niolino.  Sobre 
esta  piedra  ponian  los  esclavos  y  acuchillabanse  con  ellos:  estaban  ntados 
por  medio  de  tal  mauera  que  podian  llegar  hasta  la  circumferencia  de  la 
piedra,  y  dabanles  armas  con  que  peleasen.  Era  este  un  espectaculo  mny 
f  requente,  y  donde  concurria  gente  de  todas  las  comarcas  a  verle.  Un  satra- 
pa  vestido  de  nn  pellejo  de  oso  6  Cuetlachtli,  era  alii  el  padrino  de  los  cap- 
tivos  que  alii  inataban,  que  los  llevaba  a  la  piedra  y  los  ataba  alii,  y  los  daba 
las  armas,  y  los  lloraba  entre  tauto  que  peleabau,  y  quando  caian  los  en- 
tregaba  al  que  les  habia  de  sacar  el  corazon,  que  era  otro  satrapa  vestido  con 
otro  pellejo  que  se  llamaba  Tooallaoan.  Esta  relacion  queda  escrita  en  la 
fiesta  de  Tlacaxipeoaliztli. ' 


KELATIONS  BETWEEN  CAPTOE  AND  CAPTIVE.  415 

of  the  idols,  as  it  were  to  taste  of  the  blood  of  his  captive. 
The  slain  body  was  then  carried  to  the  calpulco, — where, 
while  alive,  it  had  been  confined  the  night  before  the 
sacrifice, — and  there  skinned.  Thence  it  was  brought  to 
the  house  of  its  owner,  who  divided  and  made  presents 
of  it  to  his  superiors,  relatives,  and  friends ;  not  however 
tasting  thereof  himself,  for,  we  are  told,  "  he  counted  it 
as  the  flesh  of  his  own  body,"  because  from  the  hour  that 
he  took  the  prisoner  "  he  held  him  to  be  his  son,  and  the 
captive  looked  up  to  his  captor  as  to  a  father." 

The  skins  of  the  dead  belonged  to  their  captors,  who 
gave  them  again  to  others  to  be  worn  by  them  for  appar- 
ently twenty  days,  probably  as  a  kind  of  penance — the 
persons  so  clothed  collecting  alms  from  everyone  in  the 
meantime  and  bringing  all  they  got,  each  to  the  man 
that  had  given  him  the  skin.  When  done  with,  these 
skins  were  hid  away  in  a  rotting  condition  in  a  certain 
cave,  while  the  ex-wearers  thereof  washed  themselves 
with  great  rejoicings.  At  the  putting  away  of  these 
skins  there  assisted  numbers  of  people  ill  with  the  itch 
and  such  other  diseases  as  Xipe  inflicted — hoping  thus 
to  be  healed  of  their  infirmities,  and  it  is  said  that  many 
were  so  cured.69 

69  Klnr/sborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  23,  37-43;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  51-3,  86-97;  Explication  del  Codex  Tellcriano-Remensis, 
pt.  i.,  lain,  iii.,  in  Kingsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  133;  Spieijazione 
del'e  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  Ixiii.,  in  Id.,  vol.  v.,  p.  191 ;  Tor- 
quemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  154,  252-4;  LeonyGama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt 
ii.,  pp.  50-4;  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  78,  note;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  481.  We  learn  from  Clavigero,  Ibid,  torn,  i.,  pp.  281-2, 
that  this  great  gladiatorial  block  was  sometimes  to  an  extraordinary  extent  a 
'  stone  of  sacrifice'  to  the  executioners  as  well  as  to  the  doomed  victim.  In 
the  last  year  of  the  reign  of  the  last  Montezuma,  a  famous  Tlascaltec  general, 
Tlahuicol,  was  captured  by  the  merest  accident.  His  strength  of  arm  was 
such  that  few  men  could  lift  his  maquahuil,  or  sword  of  the  Mexican  type, 
from  the  ground.  Montezuma,  too  proud  to  use  such  an  inglorious  triumph, 
or  perhaps  moved  by  a  sincere  admiration  of  the  terrible  and  dignified  warri- 
or, offered  him  his  liberty,  either  to  return  to  Tlascala,  or  to  accept  high 
office  in  Mexico.  But  the  honor  of  the  chief  was  at  stake,  as  he  understood 
it;  and  not  even  a  favor  would  he  accept  from  the  hated  Mexican;  the 
death,  the  death!  he  said,  and,  if  you  dare,  by  battle  on  the  gladiatorial 
stone.  So  they  tied  him,  (by  the  foot  says  Clavigero),  upon  the  t,  malacatl, 
armed  with  a  great  staff  only,  and  chose  out  champions  to  kill  him  from  the 
most  renowned  of  the  warriors ;  but  the  grim  Tlascaltec  dashed  out  the  brains 
of  eight  with  his  club,  and  hurt  twenty  more,  before  he  fell,  dying  like  him- 
self. They  tore  out  his  heart,  as  of  wont,  and  a  costlier  heart  to  Mexico 
never  smoked  before  the  aun. 


416          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  merchants  of  Mexico — a  class  of  men  who  hawked 
their  goods  from  place  to  place  and  wandered  often  far 
into  strange  countries  to  buy  or  sell — had  various  deities 
to  whom  they  did  special  honor.  Among  these  the 
chief,  and  often  the  only  one  mentioned,  was  the  god 
Yiacatecutli,  or  Jacateuctli,  or  lyacatecuhtli,  that  is  '  the 
lord  that  guides,'  otherwise  called  Yacacoliuhqui,  or 
Jacacoliuhqui.70  This  chief  god  of  the  merchants  had, 
however,  according  to  Sahagun,  five  brothers  and  a  sis- 
ter, also  reverenced  by  traders,  the  sister  being  called 
Chalmecacioatl,  and  the  brothers  respectively  Chiconqui- 
avitl,  Xomocuil,  Nacxitl,  Cochimetl.  and  Yacapitzaoac. 
The  principal  image  of  this  god  was  a  figure  represent- 
ing a  man  walking  along  a  road  with  a  staff;  the  face 
black  and  white ;  the  hair  tied  up  in  a  bundle  on  the 
middle  of  the  top  of  the  head  with  two  tassels  of  rich 
quetzal- feathers;  the  ear-rings  of  gold;  the  mantle  blue, 
bordered  with  a  flowered  fringe,  and  covered  with  a  red 
net,  through  whose  meshes  the  blue  appeared ;  round  the 
ankles  leather  straps  from  which  hung  marine  shells; 
curiously  wrought  sandals  on  the  feet;  and  on  the  arm 
a  plain  unornamented  yellow  shield,  with  a  spot  of  light 
blue  in  the  centre  of  its  field.  Practically,  however, 
every  merchant  reverenced  his  own  stout  staff — gener- 
ally made  of  a  solid,  knotless  piece  of  black  cane,  called 
utatl — -as  the  representative  or  symbol  of  this  god  Yiaca- 
tecutli ;  keeping  it,  when  not  in  use,  in  the  oratory  or 
sacred  place  in  his  house,  and  invariably  putting  food 
before  it  preliminary  to  eating  his  own  meal.  When 
traveling  the  traders  were  accustomed  nightly  to  stack 
up  their  staves  in  a  convenient  position,  bind  them 
about,  build  a  fire  before  them,71  and  then  offering  blood 

70  This  last  name   means,  Torquemada,   Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  57, 
being  followed,  '  the  hook-nosed;'  and  it  is  carious  enough  that  this  type  of 
face,  so  generally  connected  with  the  Hebrew  race  and  through  them  with 
particular  astuteness  in  trade,  should  be  the  characteristic  of  the  Mexican 
god  of  trade :  '  Los  mercaderes  tuvieron  Dios  particular,  al  qual  llamaron 
lyacatecuhtli,  y  por  otro  nombre  se  llamo  Yacacoliuhqui,  que  quiere  decir: 
El  que  tieue  la  nariz  aguilena,  que  propriamente  represeuta  persona  que 
tiene  vive<ja,  6  habilidad,  para  mofar  graciosamente,  6  enganar,  y  es  sabio,  y 
sagaz  (que  es  propia  condicion  de  mercaderes.)' 

71  Without  laying  any  particular  stress  ou  this  lighting  a  fire  before  Yiaca- 


NAPATECUTLI.  417 

and  copal,  pray  for  preservation  and  shelter  from  the 
many  perils  to  which  their  wandering  life  made  them 
especially  subject.72 

Napatecutli,  that  is  to  say  '  four  times  lord/  was  the 
god  of  the  mat- makers  and  of  all  workers  in  water-flags 
and  rushes.  A  beneficent  and  helpful  divinity,  and  one 
of  the  Tlalocs,  he  was  known  by  various  names,  such  as 
Tepahpaca  Teaaltati,  '  the  purifier  or  washer;'  Quitzetz- 
elohua,  or  Tlaitlanililoni,  '  he  that  scatters  or  winnows 
down ;'  Tlanempopoloa,  '  he  that  is  large  and  liberal ;' 
Teatzelhuia,  '  he  that  sprinkles  with  water ;  and  Amo- 
tenenqua,  '  he  that  shows  himself  grateful.'  This  god 
had  two  temples  in  Mexico  and  his  festival  fell  in  the 
thirteenth  month,  by  Clavigero's  reckoning.  His  image 
resembled  a  black  man,  the  face  being  spotted  with  white 
and  black,  with  tassels  hanging  down  behind  supporting 
a  green  plume  of  three  feathers.  Round  the  loins  and 
reaching  to  the  knees  was  girt  a  kind  of  white  and  black 
skirt  or  petticoat,  adorned  with  little  sea-shells.  The 

tecutli — perhaps  here  necessary  as  a  camp-fire  and  probably,  at  any  rate,  a 
•thing  done  before  many  other  gods  -  it  may  be  noticed  that  the  fire  god 
seems  to  be  particularly  connected  with  the  merchant-  god  and  indeed  with 
the  merchants  themselves.  Describing  a  certain  coming  down  or  arrival  of 
the  gods  among  men,  believed  to  take  place  in  the  twelfth  Mexican  month, 
Bahagun — after  describing  the  coming,  first  of  Tezcatlipoca,  who,  '  being  a 
youth,  and  light  and  strong,  walked  fastest,'  and  then  the  coming  of  all 
the  rest  (their  arrival  being  known  to  the  priests  by  the  marks  of  their  feet 
on  a  little  heap  of  maize  flour,  specially  prepared  for  the  purpose) — says  that 
a  day  after  all  the  rest  of  the  gods,  came  the  god  of  nre  and  the  god  of  the 
merchants,  together;  they  being  old  and  unable  to  walk  as  fast  as  their 
younger  divine  brethern :  '  El  dia  siguiente  llegaba  el  dios  de  los  Mercaderes 
llamado  Yiaiacapitzaoac,  6  Yiacatecutli,  y  otro  Dios  llamado  Hiscocauzqui 
(Yxcocauhqui),  6  Xiveteuctli  (Xiuhtecutli),  que  es  el  Dios  del  fuego  a  quien 
los  mercaderes  tienen  graude  devocion.  Estos  dos  llegaban  a  la  postre  un 
dia  despues  de  los  otros,  porque  decian  que  eran  viejos  y  no  andaban  tanto 
como  los  otros:'  Kingsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  71,  or  Sahagun,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  158.  See  also,  for  the  connection  of  the  fire  god 
Xiuhtecutli  with  business,  this  vol.  p.  226;  and  for  the  high  position  of  the 
merchants  themselves  besides  Tezcatlipoca  see  this  vol.,  p.  228. 

72  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  14-16;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  29-33;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  20.  The 
Nahuihehecatli,  or  Nauiehecatl,  mentioned  by  the  interpreters  of  the  codices, 
as  a  god  honored  by  the  merchants,  is  either  some  air  god  like  Quetzalcoatl, 
or,  as  Sahagun  gives  it,  merely  the  name  of  a  sign :  see  Spiegazione  delle  Ta- 
vole  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  xxvii.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq., 
vol.  v.,  p.  179;  also,  pp.  139-40;  Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis, 
lam.  xii.;  also,  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.,  iv.,  pp.  304-5,  and  Jnngs- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  135-6. 
VOL.  III.  27 


418          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

sandals  of  this  idol  were  white;  on  its  left  arm  was  a 
shield  made  like  the  broad  leaf  of  the  water-lily,  or  ne- 
nuphar; while  the  right  hand  held  a  sceptre  like  a 
flowering  staff,  the  flowers  being  of  paper;  and  across 
the  body,  passing  under  the  left  arm,  was  a  white  scarf, 
painted  over  with  black  flowers.73 

The  Mexicans  had  several  gods  of  wine,  or  rather  of 
pulque ;  of  these  the  chief  seems  to  have  been  Tezcatzon- 
catl,  otherwise  known  as  Tequechmecaniani  'the  stran- 
gler,'  and  as  Teatlahuiani  'the  drowner;'  epithets 
suggested  by  the  effects  of  drunkenness.  The  companion 
deities  of  this  Aztec  Dionysus  were  called  as  a  class  by 
the  somewhat  extraordinary  name  of  Centzontotochtin 
or  '  the  four  hundred  rabbits' ;  Yiaulatecatl,  Yzquitecatl, 
Acoloa,  Thilhoa,  Pantecatl  (the  Patecatl  of  the  interpre- 
ters of  the  codices),  Tultecatl,  Papaztac,  Tlaltecaiooa, 
Ometochtli  (often  referred  to  as  the  principal  god  of 
wine),  Tepuztecatl,  Chimapalnecatl,  were  deities  of  this 
class.  The  principal  characteristic  of  the  image  of  the 
Mexican  god  of  drunkenness  was,  according  to  Mendieta 
and  Motolinia,  a  kind  of  vessel  carried  on  the  head  of 
the  idol,  into  which  vessel  wine  was  ceremoniously 
poured.  The  feast  of  this  god,  like  that  of  the  preceding 
divinity,  fell  in  the  thirteenth  month,  Tepeilhuitl,  and 
in  his  temple  in  the  city  of  Mexico  there  served  four 
hundred  consecrated  priests,  so  great  was  the  service 
done  this  everywhere  too  widely  and  well  known  god.7* 

73  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  16-17;  Sahagun,  Hint.  Gen.,  torn, 
i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  33-5;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  2nd.,  torn.  ii.,pp.  59-60;  Clavigero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  22. 

74  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  7,  19,  90,  93;  Sahagun,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  i.,  pp.  14,  39-40,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  200,  205;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
ImL,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  58,  152, 184,  416;  Spiegazione  delle  Tavole  del  Codice  Mexicano 
(Vaticano),  tav.  xxxv.,  and  Explication  del  Codex  Telleriano-Remensis,  lam. 
xvi.,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  141,  182;  Gallalin,  in  Amer. 
Elhno.  Soc.',  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  344,  350;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  87,  315; 
Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  21.     '  Otros  tenian  figuras  de 
hombres;  tenian  estos  en  la  cabeza  un  mortero  en  lugar  de  mitra,  y  nlli  lea 
echaban  vino,  por  ser  el  dios  del  vino.'     Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbaleeta, 
Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  33.     '  Otros  con  \m  mortero  en  la  cabeza,  y  este  pnrece 
que  era  el  dios  del  vino,  y  asi  le  echaban  vino  en  aquel  como  mortero:'  Men- 
dieta, H'ist.  Ecles.,  p.  88.     '  Papaztla  6  Papaztac. . .  .Este  era  uno  de  los  tres 
pueblos  de  donde  se  sacaban  los  esclavos  para  el  sacrificio  que  se  hacia  de 
dia,  al  idolo  Cenlzentotochtin,  Dios  del  vino  en  elmes  nombrado  Hueipachtli,  6 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  GODS.  419 

The  Mexicans  had  certain  household  gods  called  Tepi- 
toton,  or  Tepictoton,  'the  little  ones,' — small  statues  of 
which  kings  kept  six  in  their  houses,  nobles  four,  and 
common  folks  two.  Whether  tbese  were  a  particular 
class  of  deities  or  merely  miniature  images  of  the  already 
described  greater  gods  it  is  hard  to  say.  Similar  small 
idols  are  said  to  have  adorned  streets,  cross-roads,  fount- 
ains and  other  places  of  public  traffic  and  resort.75 

With  these  Tepitoton  may  be  said  to  finish  the  list  of 
Mexican  gods  of  any  repute  or  any  general  notoriety ;  so 
that  it  seems  fit  to  give  here  a  condensed  and  arranged 
resume  of  all  the  fixed  festivals  and  celebrations  of  the 
Aztec  calendar,  with  its  eighteen  months  of  twenty 
days  each,  and  its  five  supplementary  days  at  the  end 
of  the  year.  There  is  some  disagreement  as  to  which  of 
the  months  the  year  began  with ;  but  it  will  best  suit 
our  present  purpose  to  follow  the  arrangement  of  Saha- 
gun,  the  interpreters  of  the  Codices,  Torquemada,  and 
Clavigero,  in  which  the  month  variously  called  Atl- 
cahualco,  or  Quahuitlehua,  or  Cihuailhuitl,  or  Xilomana- 
liztli,  is  the  first.76  The  name  Atlchualco,  or  Atlaooalo, 

tepeilhuitl  en  su  templo  propio  qtie  es  el  cuadragesimo  cuarto  edificio  de  los 
que  se  contenian  en  la  area  del  mayor,  como  dice  el  Dr.  Hernandez:  "Tern- 
plum  erat  dicatum  vini  deo,  in  cujus  honorem  tres  captives  interdiu  tameu, 
et  nonnoctu  jugulabant,  quorum  primum  Tepuztecatl  nuncupabant  secundum 
toltecatl,  tertium  vero  Papaztac  quod  fiebat  quotanni  circa  festum  Tepeil- 
huiltl."  Apud  P.  Nieremberg,  pag.  144.'  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt  ii., 
p.  35.  '  Les  buveurs  et  les  ivrognes  avaient  cependant,  parmi  les  Azteques, 
plusieurs  divinites  particulieres :  la  principale  etait  Izquitecatl;  mais  le  plus 
connu  devait  etre  Tezcatzoncatl,  appele  aussi  Tequechinecaniani,  ou  le  Peu- 
deur:'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  493. 

75  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  64.     Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  23.     These  were  what  the  Spaniards  called  'oratorios ' 
in  the  houses  of  the  Mexicans.    In  or  before  these  oratories  the  people  offered 
cooked  food  to  such  images  of  the  gods  as  they  had  there.     Every  morning 
the  good-wife  of  the  house  woke  up  the  members  of  her  family  and  took 
care  that  they  made  the  proper  offering,  as  above,  to  these  deities.     Kings- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii.,  p.  95;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii., 
up.  p.  211. 

76  It  is  obviously  of  little  consequence  to  mythology  whether  the  Mexi- 
cans called  the  month  Atlcahualco  the  first  or  the   third  month   (or,  as 
Boturini  has  it,  the  eighteenth,)  so  long  as  we  know,  with  some  accuracy, 
to  what  month  and  day  of  the  month  it  corresponds  in  our  own  Gi'egorian 
calendar.    For  the  complete   discussion  of  this  question  of  the  calendar 
we  refer  readers  to  the  preceding  volume  of  this  series.     Gama  was  unfor- 
tunately unacquainted  with  the  writings  of  Sahagun,  and  Bustamante  (who 


420          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

or  Atalcaoplo,  means  '  the  buying  or  scarcity  of  water ; ' 
Quahuitlehua,  or  Quavitleloa,  'the  sprouting  of  trees;' 
and  Xilomanaliztli,  '  the  offering  of  Xilotl  (that  is  heads 
of  maize,  which  were  then  presented  to  the  gods  to  secure 
their  blessing  on  the  seed  time).'  This  first  month  be- 
ginning on  the  second  of  February  according  to  Sahagun , 
the  eighteenth  according  to  Gama,  and  the  twenty- 
sixth  according  to  Clavigero,  was  consecrated  to  Tlaloc 
and  the  other  gods  of  water,  and  in  it  great  numbers  of 
children  wrere  sacrificed.77  In  further  honor  of  the  Tla- 
locs  there  were  also  at  this  time  killed  many  captives  on 
the  gladiatorial  stone. 

It  was  the  second  month,  called  Tlacaxiphualiztli.78 
or  '  the  flaying  of  men,'  that  was  specially  famous  for  its 
gladiatorial  sacrifices,  sacrifices  already  described  and 
performed  to  the  honor  of  Xipe,  or  Xipetotec.79 

The  third  month  called  Tozoztontli,  'the  lesser  fast 
or  penance,'  was  inaugurated  by  the  sacrifice  on  the 
mountains  of  children  to  the  Tlalocs.  Those  also  that 
traded  in  flowers  and  were  called  Sochimanque,  or  Xo- 
chimanqui,  made  a  festival  to  their  goddess,  Coatlycuer 
or  Coatlantona,  offering  her  the  first-fruits  of  the  flowers 

edited  the  works  both  of  Gama  and  Sahagun)  remarks  in  a  note  to  the 
writings  of  the  astronomer:  'Muchas  veces  he  deplorado,  que  el  siibio  Sr.  D. 
Antonio  Leon  y  Gama  no  hubiese  teuido  a  la  vista  para  fonnar  esta  preciosa 
obra  los  manuscritos  del  P.  Sahagun,  que  he  publicado  en  los  anos  de  1829 
y  30  en  la  oficina  de  D.  Alejandro  Valdes,  y  solo  hubiese  lei'do  la  obra  del  P. 
Torquemada,  disci'pulo  de  D.  Antonio  Valeriano,  que  lo  fue  de  dicho  P.  Sa- 
hagun; pues  la  lectura  del  texto  de  este,  que  acaso  trunco,  6  no  entendio 
bien,  podrian  haberle  dejado  dudas  en  hechos  muy  interesantes  a  esta  his- 
toria.'  See  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Piedras,  pt  i,  pp.  45-89;  Kingsborough's 
Mex.  Antiq.,  voL  vh.,  pp.  20-34,  or  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp. 
49-76;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  251-86;  Acosta,  Hist,  de 
las  Ynd.,  p.  397;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  58-84; 
del  Codex  TeUeriano-Remensis,  pt  i.,  and  Spiegazione  delle.  Tavole 


del  Codice  Mexicano  (Vaticano),  tav.  Ivii-lxxiv,  in  JCinysborough's  Mex.  Antiq. t 
vol.  v.,  pp.  129-34,  190-7;  Boturini,  Idea  de  una  Hist.,  pp.  47-53;  Gomara, 
Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  294;  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  pp.  646-8;  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ  ,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  502-37;  Gallatin,  iu  Amer.  Ethno. 
Son.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  57-114. 

77  See  this  vol.,  pp.  332-4. 

78  It  is  also  surnamed  Cohnailhuitl,  'fenst  of  the  snake:'  see  above. 

79  There  seems  to  be  some  confusion  with  regard  to  whether  or  not  there 
were  gladiatorial  sacrifices  in  each  of  the  first  two  months.     Sahagun,  how- 
ever, appears  to  describe  sacrifices  of  this  kind,  as  occurring  in  both  periods; 
those  of  the  first  month  being  in  honor  of  the  Tlalocs  and  those  of  the  second 
n  honor  of  Xipe.     For  a  description  of  these  rites  see  this  vol.  pp.  414-5. 


THE  CEREMONIAL  CALENDAR.  421 

of  the  year,  of  these  that  had  grown  in  the  precincts  of 
the  cu  yapico,  a  cu  as  we  have  seen,  consecrated  to  Tlaloc. 
Into  a  cave  belonging  to  this  temple  there  were  also  at 
this  time  cast  the  now  rotten  skins  of  the  human  beings 
that  had  been  flayed  in  the  preceding  month.  Thither, 
"  stinking  like  dead  dogs,"  as  Sahagun  phrases  it,  marched 
in  procession  the  persons  that  wore  these  skins  and  there 
they  put  them  off,  washing  themselves  with  many  cere- 
monies; and  sick  folk  troubled  with  certain  skin-diseases 
followed  and  looked  on,  hoping  by  the  sight  of  all  these 
things  to  be  healed  of  their  infirmities.  The  owners  of  the 
captives  that  had  been  slain  had  also  been  doing  penance 
for  twenty  days,  neither  washing  nor  bathing  during 
that  time;  and  they  now,  when  they  had  seen  the 
skins  deposited  in  the  cave,  washed  and  gave  a  banquet  to 
all  their  friends  and  relatives,  performing  many  cere- 
monies writh  the  bones  of  the  dead  captives.  All  the 
twenty  days  of  this  month  singing  exercises,  praising 
the  god,  were  carried  on  in  the  houses  called  Cuicacalli, 
the  performers  not  dancing  but  remaining  seated. 

The  fourth  month  was  called,  in  contradistinction  to 
the  third,  Yeitozoztli,  or  Hueytozoztli,  that  is  to  say, 
'  the  greater  penance  or  letting  of  blood ;'  because  in  it 
not  only  the  priests  but  also  the  populace  and  nobility 
did  penance,  drawing  blood  from  their  ears,  shins,  and 
other  parts  of  the  body,  and  exposing  at  their  doors 
leaves  of  sword-grass  stained  therewith.  After  this  they 
performed  certain  already  described  ceremonies,80  and 
and  then  made,  out  of  the  dough  known  as  tzoallif1  an 
image  of  the  goddess  Chicomecoatl,  in  the  court-yard  of 
her  temple,  offering  before  it  all  kinds  of  maize,  beans, 
and  chian,  because  she  was  the  maker  and  giver  of  these 
things  and  the  sustainer  of  the  people.  In  this  month, 
as  well  as  in  the  three  months  preceding,  little  children 
were  sacrificed,  a  cruelty  which  was  supposed  to  please 

80  See  this  vol.,  pp.  360-2. 

81  'Le  Tzohualli  i-tait  un  compose  de  graines  legumineuses  parti culieres 
a\i  Mexique,  qu'on  niiiiigeait  de  diverses  inanieres.'  Mrasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  513. 


422          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  water  gods,  and  wrhich  was  kept  up  till  the  rains 
began  to  fall  abundantly. 

The  fifth  month,  called  Toxcatl  and  sometimes  Tepo- 
pochuiliztli,82  was  begun  by  the  most  solemn  and  famous 
feast  of  the  year,  in  honor  of  the  principal  Mexican  god, 
a  god  known  by  a  multitude  of  names  and  epithets, 
among  which  were  Tezcatlipoca,  Titlacaoan,  Yautl,  Tel- 
puchtli,  and  Tlamatzincatl.  A  year  before  this  feast, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  captives  reserved 
for  sacrifice  was  chosen  out  for  superior  grace  and  per- 
sonal appearance  from  among  all  his  fellows,  and  given 
in  charge  to  the  priestly  functionaries  called  calpixques. 
These  instructed  him  with  great  diligence  in  all  the  arts 
pertaining  to  good  breeding,  according  to  the  Mexican 
idea:  such  as  playing  on  the  flute,  walking,  speaking, 
saluting  those  he  happened  to  meet,  the  use  and  carry- 
ing about  of  straight  cane  tobacco-pipes  and  of  flowers, 
with  the  dexterous  smoking  of  the  one,  and  the  graceful 
inhalation  of  the  odor  of  the  other.  He  was  attended 
upon  by  eight  pages,  who  were  clad  in  the  livery  of 
of  the  palace,  and  had  perfect  liberty  to  go  where  he 
pleased  night  and  day;  while  his  food  was  so  rich  that 
to  guard  against  his  growing  too  fat,  it  was  at  times 
necessary  to  vary  the  diet  by  a  purge  of  salt  and  wrater. 
Everywhere  honored  and  adored  as  the  living  image 
and  accredited  representative  of  Tezcatlipoca,  he  went 
about  playing  on  a  small  shrill  clay  flute,  or  fife,  and 
adorned  with  rich  and  curious  raiment  furnished  by 
the  king,  while  all  he  met  did  him  reverence  kissing 
the  earth.  All  his  body  and  face  was  painted — black, 
it  would  appear ;  his  long  hair  flowed  to  the  waist ;  his 
head  was  covered  with  white  hens'  feathers  stuck  on 


«2  The  name  'Tepopochuiliztli'  signifies  'smoke  or  vapor.'  As  to  the 
meaning  of  '  Toxcatl'  writers  are  divided,  Boturini  interpreting  it  to  mean 
'effort,'  and  Torquemada  'a  slippery  place.'  Acosta,  Sahagun,  and  Gama 
agree,  however,  in  accepting  it  as  an  epithet  applied  to  a  string  of  parched  or 
or  toasted  maize  used  in  ceremonies  to  be  immediately  described,  and  Acos- 
ta further  gives  as  its  root  signification  'a  dried  thing.'  Consult,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  references  given  in  the  note  at  the  beginning  of  these  descriptions 
of  the  feasts,  Acosta,  Hist.  <h  las  Ynd,,  p.  383;  Klnr/sboroitfjh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
vii.,  pp.  45-9;  Sahagun,  Hint.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  100-11. 


THE  MONTH  TOXCATL.  423 

with  resin,  and  covered  with  a  garland  of  the  flowers 
called  yzquisuchitl;  while  two  strings  of  the  same  flowers 
crossed  his  body  in  the  fashion  of  cross-belts.  Ear- 
rings of  gold,  a  necklace  of  precious  stones  with  a 
great  dependent  gem  hanging  to  the  breast,  a  lip-orna- 
ment (barbote)  of  sea-shell,  bracelets  of  gold  above 
the  elbow  on  each  arm,  and  strings  of  gems  called 
macuextli  winding  from  wrist  almost  to  elbow,  glit- 
tered and  flashed  back  the  light  as  the  doomed  man- 
god  moved.  He  was  covered  with  a  rich  beautifully 
fringed  mantle  of  netting,  and  bore  on  his  shoulders 
something  like  a  purse  made  of  white  cloth  of  a  span 
square,  ornamented  with  tassels  and  fringe.  A  white 
maxtle  of  a  span  broad  went  about  his  loins,  the  two 
ends,  curiously  wrought,  falling  in  front  almost  to  the 
knee.  Little  bells  of  gold  kept  time  with  every  motion 
of  his  feet,  which  were  shod  with  painted  sandals  called 
ocelunacace. 

All  this  was  the  attire  he  wore  from  the  beginning 
of  his  year  of  preparation ;  but  twenty  days  before  the 
coming  of  the  festival,  they  changed  his  vestments, 
washed  away  the  paint  or  dye  from  his  skin,  and  cut 
down  his  long  hair  to  the  length,  and  arranged  it  after 
the  fashion,  of  the  hair  of  the  captains,  tying  it  up  on  the 
crown  of  the  head  with  feathers  and  fringe  and  two  gold- 
buttoned  tassels.  At  the  same  time  they  married  to  him 
four  damsels,  who  had  been  pampered  and  educated  for 
this  purpose,  and  who  were  surnamed  respectively  after 
the  four  goddesses,  Xochiquetzal,  Xilonen,  Atlatonan, 
and  Yixtocioatl.83  Five  days  before  the  great  day  of 

83  With  three  of  these  goddesses  we  are  tolerably  familiar,  knowing  them  to 
be  intimately  connected  with  each  other  and  concerned  in  the  production, 
preservation,  or  support  of  life  and  of  life-giving  food.  Of  Atlatouan  little  is 
known,  but  she  seems  to  belong  to  the  same  class,  being  generally  mentioned 
in  connection  with  Cinteotl.  Her  name  means,  according  to  Torquemada, 
'  she  that  shines  in  the  water.'  '  Otra  Capilla,  6  Templo  avia,  que  se  llamaba 
Xiuhcalco,  dedicado  al  Dios  Cinteutl,  en  cuia  fiesta  sacrificubau  dos  Varoues 
Esclavos,  y  una  Muger,  a  los  quales  ponian  el  nombre  de  su  Dios.  Al  vno 
llamaban  Iztaccinteutl,  Dios  Tlatlauhquicinteutl,  Dios  de  las  Mieses  encen- 
didas,  o  coloradas;  y  a  la  Muger  Atlantona,  que  quiere  decir,  que  resplau- 
dece  en  el  Agua,  a  la  qual  desollaban,  cuio  pellejo,  y  cuero,  se  vestia  vu 
Sacerdote,  luego  que  acababa  el  Sacrificio,  que  era  de  uoche.'  Torquemada, 


424          GODS,  SUPEKNATUBAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

the  feast,84  the  day  of  the  feast  being  counted  one,  all 
the  people,  high  and  low,  the  king  it  would  appear  being 
alone  excepted,  went  out  to  celebrate  with  the  man-god 
a  solemn  banquet  and  dance,  in  the  ward  called  Tecan- 
man ;  the  fourth  day  before  the  feast,  the  same  was  done 
in  the  ward  in  which  was  guarded  the  statue  of  Tezcat- 
lipoca.  The  little  hill,  or  island,  called  Tepetzinco,  ris- 
ing out  of  the  waters  of  the  lake  of  Mexico,  was  the 
scene  of  the  next  day's  solemnities;  solemnities  renewed 
for  the  last  time  on  the  next  day,  or  that  immediately 
preceding  the  great  day,  on  another  like  island  called 
Tepelpulco,  or  Tepepulco.  There,  with  the  four  women 
that  had  been  given  him  for  his  consolation,  the  hon- 
ored victim  was  put  into  a  covered  canoe  usually  re- 
served for  the  sole  use  of  the  king;  and  he  was  carried 
across  the  lake  to  a  place  called  Tlapitzaoayan,  near 
the  road  that  goes  from  Yztapalapan  to  Chalco,  at  a 

Monarq.  Ind..  torn,  ii.,  p.  155;  see  also,  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vii., 
p.  94;  or  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  ap.,  p.  209. 

81  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  pp.  382-3,  gives  an  account  of  various  other 
ceremonies  which  took  place  ten  days  before  the  great  feast  day,  which  ac- 
count has  been  followed  by  Torquemada,  Clavigero,  and  later  writers,  and 
which  we  reproduce  from  the  quaint  but  in  this  case  at  least  full  and  accurate 
translation  of  E.G., — a  translation  which,  however,  makes  this  chapter  the 
29th  of  the  fifth  book  instead  of  the  28th  as  in  the  original :  '  Then  came  forth 
one  of  the  chiefe  of  the  temple,  attired  like  to  the  idoll,  carrying  flowers  in 
his  hand,  and  a  flute  of  earth,  having  a  very  sharpe  sound,  and  turning  to- 
wards the  east,  he  sounded  it,  and  then  looking  to  the  west,  north  and  south 
he  did  the  like.  And  after  he  had  thus  sounded  towards  the  foure  parts  of  the 
world  (shewing  that  both  they  that  were  present  and  absent  did  heare  him) 
hee  put  his  finger  into  the  aire,  and  then  gathered  vp  earth,  which  he  put  in 
his  mouth,  and  did  eate  it  in  signe  of  adoration.  The  like  did  all  they  that 
were  present,  and  weeping,  they  fell  flat  to  the  ground,  invocating  the  dark- 
nesse  of  the  night,  and  the  wiudes,  iutreatiug  them  not  to  leave  them,  nor  to 
forget  them,  or  else  to  take  away  their  lives,  and  free  them  from  the  labors 
they  indured  therein.  Theeves,  adulterers,  and  murtherers,  and  all  others 
offendors  had  great  feare  and  heavinesse,  whilest  this  flute  sounded;  so  as 
some  could  not  dissemble  nor  hide  their  offences.  By  this  meanes  they  all 
demanded  no  other  thing  of  their  god,  but  to  have  their  offences  concealed, 
po  wring  foorth  many  teares,  with  great  repentaunce  and  sorrow,  offering  great 
store  of  incense  to  appease  their  gods.  The  couragious  and  valiant  men, 
and  all  the  olde  souldiers,  that  followed  the  Arte  of  Warre,  hearing  this  flnte, 
demaunded  with  great  devotion  of  God  the  Creator,  of  the  Lordo  for  whome 
wee  live,  of  the  sunne.  and  of  other  their  gods,  that  they  would  give  them 
victorie  against  their  ennernies,  and  strength  to  take  many  captives,  therewith 
BO  honour  their  sacrifices.  This  cereinonie  was  dooue  ten  dayes  before  the 
feast:  During  which  tenne  dayes  the  Priest  did  sound  this  flute,  to  the  end 
that  all  might  do  this  worship  in  eating  of  earth,  and  demaund  of  their  idol 
what  they  pleased:  they  every  day  made  their  praiers,  with  their  eyes  lift  vp 
to  heaven,  and  with  sighs  and  groaniugs,  as  men  that  were  grieved  for  their 
sinues  and  offences.' 


THE  FEAST  OF  TOXCATL.  425 

place  where  was  a  little  hill  called  Acacuilpan,  or 
Cabaltepec.  Here  left  him  the  four  beautiful  girls, 
whose  society  for  twenty  days  he  had  enjoyed,  they 
returning  to  the  capital  with  all  the  people;  there  ac- 
companying the  hero  of  this  terrible  tragedy  only  those 
eight  attendants  that  had  been  with  him  all  the  year. 
Almost  alone,  done  with  the  joys  of  beauty,  banquet, 
and  dance,  bearing  a  bundle  of  his  flutes,  he  walked  to 
a  little  ill-built  cu,  some  distance  from  the  road  men- 
tioned above,  and  about  a  league  removed  from  the  city. 
He  marched  up  the  temple  steps,  not  dragged,  not 
bound,  not  carried  like  a  common  slave  or  captive;  and 
as  he  ascended  he  dashed  down  and  broke  on  every 
step  one  of  the  flutes  that  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
play  on  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity.  He  reached  the 
top ; — by  sickening  repetition  we  have  learned  to  know  the 
rest;  one  thing  only,  from  the  sacrificial  stone  his  body 
was  not  hurled  down  the  steps,  but  was  carried  by  four 
men  down  to  the  Tzompantli,  to  the  place  of  the  spitting 
of  heads. 

And  the  chroniclers  say  that  all  this  signified  that 
those  who  enjoyed  riches,  delights  in  this  life,  should  at 
the  end  come  to  poverty  and  sorrow — so  determined  are 
these  same  chroniclers  to  let  nothing  escape  without  its 
moral. 

In  this  feast  of  Toxcatl,  in  the  cu  called  Huitznahuac, 
where  the  image  of  Huitzilopochtli  was  always  kept,  the 
priests  made  a  bust  of  this  god  out  of  tzoatti  dough,  with 
pieces  of  mizquitl-wood  inserted  by  way  of  bones.  They 
decorated  it  with  his  ornaments;  putting  on  a  jacket 
wrought  over  with  human  bones,  a  mantle  of  very  thin 
nequen,  and  another  mantle  called  the  tlaquaquallo, 
covered  with  rich  feathers,  fitting  the  head  below  and 
widening  out  above;  in  the  middle  of  this  stood  up  a 
little  rod,  also  decorated  with  feathers  and  sticking  into 
the  top  of  the  rod  was  a  flint  knife  half  covered  with 
blood.  The  image  was  set  on  a  platform  made  of  pieces 
of  wood  resembling  snakes  and  so  arranged  that  heads 
and  tails  alternated  all  the  way  round;  the  whole  borne 


426          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

by  many  captains  and  men  of  war.  Before  this  image 
and  platform  a  number  of  strong  youths  carried  an 
enormous  sheet  of  paper  resembling  pasteboard,  twenty 
fathoms  long,  one  fathom  broad,  and  a  little  less  than  an 
inch  thick ;  it  was  supported  by  spear-shafts  arranged  in 
pairs  of  one  shaft  above  and  one  below  the  paper,  while 
persons  on  either  side  of  the  paper  held  each  one  of 
these  pairs  in  one  hand.  When  the  procession,  with 
dancing  and  singing,  reached  the  cu  to  be  ascended,  the 
snaky  platform  was  carefully  and  cautiously  hoisted  up 
by  cords  attached  to  its  four  corners,  the-  image  was  set 
on  a  seat,  and  those  that  carried  the  paper  rolled  it  up 
and  set  down  the  roll  before  the  bust  of  the  god.  It  was 
sunset  when  the  image  was  so  set  up;  and  the  following 
morning  every  one  offered  food  in  his  own  house  before 
the  image  of  Huitzilopochtli  there,  incensing  also  such 
images  of  other  gods  as  he  had,  and  then  went  to  offer 
quails'  blood  before  the  bust  set  up  on  the  cu.  The  king 
began,  wringing  off  the  heads  of  four  quails ;  the  priests 
offered  next,  then  all  the  people;  the  whole  multitude 
carrying  clay  fire-pans  and  burning  copal  incense  of 
every  kind,  after  which  every  one  threw  his  live  coals  upon 
a  great  hearth  in  the  temple-yard.  The  virgins  painted 
their  faces,  put  on  their  heads  garlands  of  parched  maize 
with  strings  of  the  same  across  their  breasts,  decorated 
their  arms  and  legs  with  red  feathers,  and  carried  black 
paper  flags  stuck  into  split  canes.  The  flags  of  the 
daughters  of  nobles  were  not  of  paper  but  of  a  thin  cloth 
called  canaoac,  painted  with  vertical  black  stripes.  These 
girls  joining  hands  danced  round  the  great  hearth,  upon 
or  over  which  on  an  elevated  place  of  some  kind  there 
danced,  giving  the  time  and  step,  two  men,  having  each 
a  kind  of  pine  cage  covered  with  paper  flags  on  his 
shoulders,  the  strap  supporting  which  passed,  not  across 
the  forehead, — the  usual  way  for  men  to  carry  a  burden, 
—but  across,  the  chest  as  was  the  fashion  with  women. 
The  priests  of  the  temple,  dancing  on  this  occasion  with 
the  women,  bore  shields  of  paper,  crumpled  up  like  great 
flowers;  their  heads  were  adorned  with  white  feathers, 


DEATH  OF  THE  YXTEUCALLI.  427 

tlieir  lips  and  part  of  the  face  were  smeared  with  sugar- 
cane juice  which  produced  a  peculiar  effect  over  the  black 
with  which  their  faces  were  always  painted.  They 
carried  in  their  hands  pieces  of  paper  called  amasmaxtli, 
and  sceptres  of  palm-wood  tipped  with  a  black  flower 
and  having  in  the  lower  part  a  ball  of  black  feathers. 
In  dancing  they  used  this  sceptre  like  a  staff,  and  the 
part  by  which  they  grasped  it  was  wrapped  round  with 
a  paper  painted  with  black  lines.  The  music  for  the 
dancers  was  supplied  by  a  party  of  unseen  musicians, 
who  occupied  one  of  the  temple  buildings,  where  they  sat, 
he  that  played  on  the  drum  in  the  centre,  and  the  per- 
formers on  the  other  instruments  about  him.  The  men 
and  women  danced  on  till  night,  but  the  strictest  order 
and  decency  were  preserved,  and  any  lewd  word  or 
look  brought  down  swift  punishment  from  the  ap- 
pointed overseers. 

This  feast  was  closed  by  the  death  of  a  youth  who 
had  been  during  the  past  year  dedicated  to  and  taken 
care  of  for  Huitzilopochtli,  resembling  in  this  the  vic- 
tim of  Tezcatlipoca,  whose  companion  he  had  indeed 
been,  but  without  receiving  such  high  honors.  This 
Huitzilopochtli  youth  was  entitled  Yxteucalli,  or  Tla- 
cabepan,  or  Teicauhtzin,  and  was  held  to  be  the  image 
and  representative  of  the  god.  When  the  day  of  his 
death  came,  the  priests  decorated  him  with  papers 
painted  over  with  black  circles,  and  put  a  mitre  of 
eagles'  feathers  on  his  head,  in  the  .midst  of  whose 
plumes  was  stuck  a  flint  knife,  stained  half  way  up 
with  blood  and  adorned  with  red  feathers.  Tied  to  his 
shoulders,  by  strings  passing  across  the  breast,  was  a 
piece  of  very  thin  cloth  about  a  span  square,  and  over 
it  hung  a  little  bag.  Over  one  of  his  arms  was  thrown 
a  wild  beast's  skin,  arranged  somewhat  like  a  maniple; 
bells  of  gold  jingled  at  his  legs  as  he  walked  or  danced. 
There  were  two  peculiar  things  connected  with  the 
death  of  this  youth;  first  he  had  absolute  liberty  of 
choice  regarding  the  hour  in  which  he  was  to  die ;  and 
second,  he  was  not  extended  upon  any  block  or  altar, 


423          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

but  \vhen  he  wished  he  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of 
the  priests,  and  had  his  heart  so  cut  out.  His  head 
was  then  hacked  off  and  spitted  alongside  of  that  of 
the  Tezcatlipoca  youth,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  al- 
ready. In  this  same  day  the  priests  made  little  marks 
on  children,  cutting  them,  with  thin  stone  knives,  in 
the  breast,  stomach,  wrists,  and  fleshy  part  of  the  arms; 
marks,  as  the  Spanish  priests  considered,  by  which  the 
devil  should  know  his  own  sheep.85  The  ceremonies  of 
the  ensuing  monthly  festivals  have  already  been  de- 
scribed at  length.80 

There  were,  besides,  a  number  of  movable  feasts  in 
honor  of  the  higher  gods,  the  celestial  bodies,  and  the 
patron  deities  of  the  various  trades  and  professions. 
Sahagun  gives  an  account  of  sixteen  movable  feasts, 
many  of  which,  however,  contained  no  religious  ele- 
ment.87 The  first  was  dedicated  to  the  sun,  to  whom  a 
ghostly  deputation  of  eighteen  souls  was  sent  to  make 
known  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  implore  future 
favors.  The  selected  victims  were  ranged  in  order  at 
the  place  of  sacrifice,  and  addressed  by  the  priest,  who 
exhorted  them  to  bear  in  mind  the  sacred  nature  of 
their  mission,  and  the  glory  which  would  be  theirs 
upon  its  proper  fulfillment.  The  music  now  strikes  up; 
amid  the  crash  and  din  the  victims  one  after  another 
are  stretched  upon  the  altar;  a  few  flashes  of  the  iztli- 
knife  in  the  practiced  hand  of  the  slayer,  and  the  em- 
bassy has  set  out  for  the  presence  of  the  sun.88 

The  sixth,  seventh,  and  eleventh  festivals  were  cele- 
brated to  Quetzalcoatl,  Tezcatlipoca,  and  Huitzilopochtli 
respectively.  The  public  and  household  idols  of  these 

85  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn.  i. ,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  100-11;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  263-6;  Clarigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  70-3. 

86  For  the  month  Etzalqu.iliztli,  see  this  volume,  pp.  334-43;  for  the 
months  Tecuilhuitzintli,  Hueytecnilhuitl,  and  Tlaxochimaco,  see  vol.  ii.  of 
this  work,  pp.  225-8;  for  Xocotlhuetziu  and  Ochpaniztli,  this  volume,   pp. 
385-9,  354-9;  for  Teotleco,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  332-4;  for  Tepeilhnitl,  Quecholli,  Pau- 
quetzaliztli,  and  Atemoztli,  this  volume,  pp.  343-6.  404-6,  297-300,  323-  4, 
316-8;  for  Tititl,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  337-8;  for  Itzcnlli,  this  volume,  pp.   390-3. 

87  Hiit.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,   pp.  194-7,   216.     There  are  other  scattered 
notices  of  these  movable  feasts,  which  will  be  referred  to  as  they  appear. 

**  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxvi. 


MISCELLANEOUS  FEASTS.  429 

gods  were  at  such  seasons  decorated,  and  presented  with 
offerings  of  food,  quails,  and  incense.  During  the  festi- 
val of  the  god  of  fire,  the  thirteenth  of  the  movable 
feasts,  various  public  officials  were  elected,  and  a  great 
many  grand  banquets  given.  The  atamalqualiztli,  or 
'fast  of  bread  and  water/  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
the  most  important  of  the  movable  feasts.  The  people 
prepared  for  its  celebration,  which  took  place  every 
eight  years,  by  a  rigid  fast,  broken  only  by  a  midday 
meal  of  water  and  unsalted  bread.  Those  who  offended 
the  gods  by  neglecting  to  observe  this  fast  were  thought 
to  expose  themselves  to  an  attack  of  leprosy.  The 
people  indulged  in  all  sorts  of  amusements  during  the 
holiday  season  which  succeeded  the  fast.  The  most 
interesting  feature  of  the  festivities  was  a  bal  masque, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  attended  by  all  the  gods. 
The  chief  honors  of  the  day  were,  however,  rendered 
to  the  Tlalocs,  and  round  their  effigy,  which  stood  in 
the  midst  of  a  pond  alive  with  frogs  and  snakes,  the 
dancers  whirled  continually.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
ceremonies  for  a  number  of  men  called  maxatecaz  to 
devour  the  reptiles  in  the  pond ;  this  they  did  by  each 
seizing  a  snake  or  a  frog  in  his  teeth,  and  swallowing  it 
gradually  as  he  joined  in  the  dance ;  the  one  who  first 
bolted  his  titbit  cried  out  triumphantly,  'Papa,  papa!' 
Every  fourth  year,  called  ieoodhuitl,  or  'divine  year/ 
and  at  the  beginning  of  every  period  of  thirteen  years, 
the  feasts  were  more  numerous  and  on  a  larger  scale, 
the  fasts  more  severe,  and  the  sacrifices  far  greater  in 
number  than  upon  ordinary  occasions.89  The  entire 
series  of  festivals  may  be  said  to  have  closed  with  the 
solemn  Toxilmolpilia,  or  'binding  up -of  the  years/ 
which  took  place  every  fifty-two  years,  and  marked  the 
expiration  and  renewal  of  the  world's  lease  of  ex- 
istence.90 

89  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  84;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  77-8,   195-218.     The  last  five  days  of  the  year  were, 
according  to  Gomara,  Conq.  Hex.,  fol.  331,  devoted  to  religious  ceremonies, 
as  drawing  of  blood,  sacrifices,  and  dances,  but  most  other  authors  state  that 
they  were  passed  in  quiet  retirement. 

90  See  this  volume,  pp.  393-6. 


CHAPTER  X. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL    BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

REVENUES  OF  THE  MEXICAN  TEMPLES — VAST  NUMBER  OF  THE  PEIESTS— MEXI- 
CAN SACERDOTAL  SYSTEM — PRIESTESSES — THE  ORDERS  OF  TLAMAXCACAY- 
OTL  AND  TELPOCHTILIZTLI —  RELIGIOUS  DEVOTEES — BAPTISM — CIRCUM- 
CISION —  COMMUNION  —  FASTS  AND  PENANCE  —  BLOOD-DRAWING  —  HUMAN 
SACRIFICES — THE  GODS  OF  THE  TARASCOS — PRIESTS  AND  TEMPLE  SER- 
VICE OF  MlCHOACAN WORSHIP  IN  JALISCO  AND  OAJACA VoTAN  AND 

QUETZALCOATL TRAVELS  OF  VOTAN THE  APOSTLE  WlXEPECOCHA CAVE 

NEAB  XUSTLAHUACA — THE  PRINCESS  PlNOPIAA — WORSHIP  OF   COSTAHUN- 
TOX — TBEE  WORSHIP. 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  volume  that  the  num- 
ber of  religious  edifices  was  very  great ;  that  in  addition 
to  the  temples  in  the  cities — and  Mexico  alone  is  said 
to  have  contained  two  thousand  sacred  buildings — there 
were  "on  every  isolated  hill,  along  the  roads,  and  in 
the  fields,  substantial  structures  consecrated  to  some 
deity."  Torquemada  estimates  the  whole  number  at 
eighty  thousand. 

The  vast  revenues  needed  for  the  support  and  repair 
of  the  temples,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  immense 
army  of  priests  that  officiated  in  them,  were  derived 
from  various  sources.  The  greatest  part  was  supplied 
from  large  tracts  of  land  which  were  the  property  of 
the  church,  and  were  held  by  vassals  under  certain 
conditions,  or  worked  by  slaves.  Besides  this,  taxes  of 
wine  and  grain,  especially  first  fruits,  were  levied  upon 


TEMPLE  SEVENTIES.  431 

communities,  and  stored  in  granaries  attached  to  the 
temples.  The  voluntary  contributions,  from  a  cake, 
feather,  or  robe  to  slaves  or  priceless  gems,  given  in  per- 
formance of  a  vow,  or  at  the  numerous  festivals,  formed 
no  unimportant  item.  Quantities  of  food  were  provided 
by  the  parents  of  the  children  attending  the  schools, 
and  there  were  never  wanting  devout  women  eager  to 
prepare  it.  In  the  kingdom  of  Tezcuco,  thirty  towns 
were  required  to  provide  firewood  for  the  temples  and 
palaces;1  in  Meztitlan,  says  Chaves,  every  man  gave 
four  pieces  of  wood  every  five  days ;  it  is  easy  to  believe 
that  the  supply  of  fuel  must  have  been  immense,  when 
we  consider  that  six  hundred  fires  were  kept  continually 
blazing  in  the  great  temple  of  Mexico  alone.2  Whatever 
surplus  remained  of  the  revenues  after  all  expenses  had 
been  defrayed,  is  said  to  have  been  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  charitable  institutions  and  the  relief  of  the  poor;3 
in  this  respect,  at  least  the  Holy  Mother  Church  of  con- 
temporary Europe  might  have  taken  a  lesson  from  her 
pagan  sister  in  the  New  World. 

Each  temple  had  its  complement  of  ministers  to 
conduct  and  take  part  in  the  daily  services,  and  of 
servants  to  attend  to  the  cleansing,  firing,  and  other 
menial  offices.  In  the  great  temple  at  Mexico  there 
were  five  thousand  priests  and  attendants,4  the  total  num- 
ber of  the  ecclesiastical  host  must  therefore  have  been 
immense;  Clavigero  places  it  at  a  million,  which  does 
not  appear  improbable  if  we  accept  Torquemada's  state- 
ment that  there  were  forty  thousand  temples  as  a  basis 
for  the  computation.  It  should  be  remembered,  how- 
ever, that  the  sacerdotal  body  was  not  composed  entirely 

1  '  Los  Pueblos,  que  a  los  Templos  de  la  Ciudad  de  Tetzcuco  Servian,  con 
Lena,  Carbon,  y  cortec.a  de  Roble,  eran  quince ....  y  otros  qniuce  Pueblos 
. . .  .Servian  los  otros  seis  meses  del  Ano,  con  lo  misrno,  a  las  Casas  lieales, 
y  Templo  Maior. '   Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  164. 

2  Rapport,  in  Ternaux-Compans,   Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.,  p.  305. 

3  Torqucmada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  164-6;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apo- 
togetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxix. ,  cxli.     '  E'  da  credersi,  che  quel  tratto  di  paese, 
die  avea  il  nome  di  Teotlalpan,  (Terra  d^gli  Dei,)  fosse  cosi  appellata,  per 
esservi  delle  possesioni  de'  Tempj.'  Clarigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  33. 

4  Oomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  120. 


432          GODS,  SUPEBNATDEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  permanent  members;  some  were  merely  engaged  for 
a  certain  number  of  years,  in  fulfillment  of  a  vow  made 
by  themselves  or  their  parents;  others  were  obliged  to 
attend  at  intervals  only,  or  at  certain  festivals,  the  rest 
of  their  time  being  passed  in  the  pursuit  of  some  pro- 
fession, usually  that  of  arms.5 

The  vast  number  of  the  priests,  their  enormous  wealth, 
and  the  blind  zeal  of  the  people,  all  combined  to  render 
the  sacerdotal  power  extremely  formidable.  The  king 
himself  performed  the  functions  of  high-priest  on  cer- 
tain occasions,  and  frequently  held  some  sacred  office 
before  succeeding  to  the  throne.  The  heads  of  Church 
and  State  seem  to  have  worked  amicably  together,  and 
to  have  united  their  power  to  keep  the  masses  in  sub- 
jection. The  sovereign  took  no  step  of  importance 
without  first  consulting  the  high-priests  to  learn  whether 
the  gods  were  favorable  to  the  project.  The  people  were 
guided  in  the  same  manner  by  the  inferior  ministers,  and 
this  influence  was  not  likely  to  decrease,  for  the  priests 
as  the  possessors  of  all  learning,  the  historians  and  poets 
of  the  nation,  were  intrusted  with  the  education  of 
the  youth,  whom  they  took  care  to  mold  to  their 
purposes. 

At  the  head  of  the  Mexican  priesthood  were  two 
supreme  ministers;  the  Teotecuhtli  or  'divine  lord,' 
who  seems  to  have  attended  more  particularly  to  secular 
matters,  and  the  Hueiteopixqui,  who  chiefly  superin- 
tended religious  aftairs.  These  ministers  were  elected, 
ostensibly  from  among  the  priests  most  distinguished  in 
point  of  birth,  piety,  and  learning;  but  as  the  king  and 
principal  nobles  were  the  electors,  the  preference  was 
doubtless  given  to  those  who  were  most  devoted  to  their 
interests,  or  to  members  of  the  royal  family.6  They 

5  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  112;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del 
Messico,  torn.  ii. ,  pp.  36-7. 

6  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  175-7;  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  37.  Suhagun  calls  them  Quetzalcoatl  Teoteztlama- 
cazqui,  who  was  also  high-priest  of  Huitzilopochtli,  and  Tlaloctlamacazqni, 
who  was  Tlaloc's  chief  priest;  they  were  equals,  and  elected  from  the  most 
perfect,  without  reference  to  birth.  H'i*t.  G'en.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  276-7. 
There  are  two  inconsistencies  iu  this,  the  only  strong  contradiction  of  the 
statement  of  the  above,  as  well  as  several  other  authors,  who  form  the  au- 


MEXICAN  PBIESTHOOD.  433 

were  distinguished  by  a  tuft  of  cotton,  falling  down 
upon  the  breast.  Their  robes  of  ceremony  varied  with 
the  nature  of  the  god  whose  festival  they  celebrated. 
In  Tezcuco  and  Tlacopan,  the  pontifical  dignity  was 
always  conferred  upon  the  second  son  of  the  king.  The 
Totonacs  elected  their  pontiff  from  among  the  six  chief 
priests,  who  seem  to  have  risen  from  the  ranks  of  the 
Centeotl  monks;  the  ointment  used  at  his  consecration 
was  composed  partly  of  children's  blood.  High  as  was 
the  high-priest's  rank,  he  was  not  by  any  means  ex- 
empt from  punishment;  in  Ichatlan,  for  instance,  where 
he  was  elected  by  his  fellow-priests,  if  he  violated  his 
vow  of  celibacy  he  was  cut  in  pieces,  and  the  bloody 
limbs  were  given  as  a  warning  to  his  successor.7 

Next  in  rank  to  the  two  Mexican  high-priests  was 
the  Mexicatlteohuatzin,  who  was  appointed  by  them, 
and  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  Vicar  General.  His 
duties  were  to  see  that  the  worship  of  the  gods  was  prop- 
erly observed  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  to  supervise 
the  priesthood,  monasteries,  and  schools.  His  badge  of 
office  was  a  bag  of  incense  of  peculiar  shape.  Two 
coadjutors  assisted  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties; 
the  Huitzuahuacteohuatzin,  who  acted  in  his  place  when 
necessary,  and  the  Tepanteohuatzin,  who  attended 
chiefly  to  the  schools.8  Conquered  provinces  retained 

thority  of  my  text:  first,  Sahagun  calls  the  first  high-priest  Quetzalcoatl 
Teotectlamacazqui,  a  name  which  scarcely  accords  with  the  title  of  Huitzi- 
lopochtli's  high-priest;  secondly,  he  ignores  the  almost  unanimous  evidence 
of  old  writers,  who  state  that  the  latter  office  was  hereditary  in  a  certain 
district.  '  Al  Summo  Ponttfice  llamaban  en  1 1  lengua  mexicaua  Tehuatecolt. ' 
Las  C'asas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxiii.  'El  mayor  de  todos  que  es 
superlado,  Achcauhtli. '  Gomara,  Conq.  Hex.,  fol.  323.  But  this  was  the  title 
of  the  Tlascaltec  high-priest.  'A  los  supremos  Sacerdotes. . .  .llamauan  en 
su  antigua  lengua  Papas."  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  336.  See  also  Cha- 
ves,  Rapport,  in  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.,  pp.  303-4. 

7  Torquernada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  177,1  80;  Claviyero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  41;   Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xv.; 
Las  C'asas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxiii. 

8  Sahiiun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  218-19.     Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  519-51,  whose  chief  authority  is  Her- 
nandez, and  who  is  not  very  clear  in  his  description,  holds  that  the  Mexi- 
catlteohuatzin was  the  supreme  priest,  and  that  he  also  bore  the  title  of 
Te  )tecuhtli,  the  rank  of  chief  priest  of  Huitzilopochtli,  and  was  the  right 
han  1  minister  of  the  king.     Quetzalcoatl's   high-priest  he   places  next  in 
rank,  but  outside  of  the  political  sphere.     On  one  page  he  states  that  the 
high-priest  was  elected  by  the  two  chief  merx  in  the  hierarchy,  and  on  an- 

VOL.III.   28 


434          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

control  over  their  own  religious  affairs.9  Among  other 
dignitaries  of  the  church  may  be  mentioned  the  Topil- 
tzin,  who  held  the  hereditary  office  of  sacrificer,  in 
which  he  was  aided  by  five  assistants;10  the  Tlalqui- 
miloltecuhtli,  keeper  of  relics  and  ornaments ;  the  Ome- 
tochtli,  composer  of  hymns;  the  Tlapixcatzin,  musical 
director;  the  Epcoaquacuiltzin,  master  of  ceremonies; 
the  treasurer;  the  master  of  temple  properties;  and  a 
number  of  leaders  of  special  celebrations.  Besides  these, 
every  ward,  or  parish,  had  its  rector,  who  performed 
divine  service  in  the  temple,  assisted  by  'a  number  of  in- 
ferior priests  and  school-children.  The  nobles  kept  pri- 
vate chaplains  to  attend  to  the  worship  of  the  household 
gods,  which  everyone  was  required  to  have  in  his  dwell- 
ing.11 The  statement  of  some  writers  indicate  that  the 
body  of  priests  attached  to  the  service  of  each  god,  was 
to  a  certain  extent  independent,  and  governed  by  its 
own  rules.  Thus  in  some  wards  the  service  of  Huitzi- 
lopochtli  was  hereditary,  and  held  in  higher  estimation 
than  any  other. 

other  he  distinctly  implies  that  the  king  made  the  higher  appointments  in 
order  to  control  the  church.  The  sacrificing  priest,  whom  he  evidently 
holds  to  be  the  same  as  the  high-priest,  he  invests  with  the  rank  of  general- 
issimo, and  heir  to  the  throne. 

9  Carbajal  states  that  a  temple  bearing  the  name  of  the  people,  or  their 
chief  town,  was  erected  in  the  metropolis,  and  attended  by  a  body  of  priests 
brought  from  the  province.  Discurso,  p.  110.  This  may,  however,  be  a  mis- 
interpretation of  Torquemada,  who  gives  a  description  of  a  building  attached 
to  the  chief  temple  at  Mexico,  in  which  the  idols  of  subjugated  people  were 
kept  imprisoned,  to  prevent  them  from  aiding  their  worshipers  to  regain 
their  liberty. 

i"  Some  authors  seem  to  associate  this  office  with  that  of  the  pontiff,  but 
it  appears  that  the  high-priest  merely  inaugurated  the  sacrifices  on  special 
occasions.  'Era  esta  vna  dignidad  suprema,  y  entre  ellos  tenida  en  mucho, 
la  qual  se  heredaua  coino  cosa  de  mayorazgo.  El  ministro  que  teuia  oficio 
de  niatar  . .  .era  tenido  y  reuereuciado  como  supreme  Sacerdote,  o  Poutifice." 
Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  352.  'Era  como  decir,  el  Sumo  Sacerdote,  al 
quid,  y  no  a  otro,  era  dado  este  oficio  de  abrir  los  Hombres  por  los  pechos, 
. . .  .siendo  coinunmeute  los  herederos,  de  este  Patrimonio,  y  suerte  Eclesi- 
astica,  los  primogenitos.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  117.  It  is 
difficult  to  decide  upon  the  interpretation  of  these  sentences.  The  expres- 
sion of  his  being  'held  or  reverenced  ns  pontiff'  certainly  indicates  that  an- 
other priest  held  the  office,  so  does  the  sentence,  'it  was  inherited  by  the 
first-born  '  of  certain  families.  But  the  phrase,  '  el  Sumo  Sacerdote,  al  qual 
y  no  a  otro,  era  dado  este  oficio,'  points  very  directly  to  the  high-priest  as 
the  holder  of  the  post. 

11  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  178-9;  Claviqero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  37-9;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  pp.  218- 
26;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  551. 


MEXICAN  PKIESTESSES.  435 

The  distinguishing  dress  of  the  ordinary  priests  was  a 
black  cotton  cloth,  from  five  to  six  feet  square,  which 
hung  from  the  back  of  the  head  like  a  veil.  Their  hair, 
which  was  never  cut  and  frequently  reached  to  the 
knees,  was  painted  black  and  braided  with  cord ;  during 
many  of  their  long  fasts  it  was  left  unwashed,  and  it 
was  a  rule  with  some  of  the  more  ascetic  orders  never 
to  cleanse  their  heads.12  Reed  sandals  protected  their 
feet.  They  frequently  dyed  their  bodies  with  a  black 
mixture  made  of  ocotl-root,  and  painted  themselves 
with  ochre  and  cinnabar.  They  bathed  every  night  in 
ponds  set  apart  for  the  purpose  within  the  temple  en- 
closure. When  they  went  out  into  the  mountains  to 
sacrifice,  or  do  penance,  they  anointed  their  bodies  with 
a  mixture  called  teopatli,  which  consisted  of  the  ashes  of 
poisonous  insects,  snakes,  and  worms,  mixed  with  ocotl- 
soot,  tobacco,  ololiuhqui,  and  sacred  water.  This  filthy 
compound  was  supposed  to  be  a  safeguard  against  snake- 
bites, and  the  attack  of  wild  beasts.13 

Sacred  offices  were  not  occupied  by  males  only;  fe- 
males held  positions  in  the  temples,  though  they  were 
excluded  from  the  sacrificial  and  higher  offices.  The 
manner  in  which  they  were  dedicated  to  the  temple 
»school  has  been  already  described.14  Like  the  Roman 
vestals,  their  chief  duty  seems  to  have  been  to  tend  the 
sacred  fires,  though  they  were  also  required  to  place  the 
meat  offerings  upon  the  altar,  and  to  make  sacerdotal 
vestments.  The  punishment  inflicted  upon  those  who 
violated  their  vow  of  chastity  was  death.  They  were 
divided  into  watches,  and  during  the  performance  of 

12  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  323-4.     He  describes  the  dress  as  'vna  ropa 
de  algodon  blanca  estrecha,  y  larga,  y  encima  vna  manta  por  capa  anudada 
al  hombro. . .  .Tiznaunse  los  dios  festiuales,  y  quando  su  regla  mandaua  de 
negro  las  piemas,'  etc. 

13  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  39-40;  Acosta,  Hist,  de 
las  Ynd.,  pp.  369-71.     Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  thinks  that  the  teopatli  was 
the  ointment  used  at  the  consecration  of  the  high-priest,  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  preparation  which  served  monks  and  invalids  as  body  paint,  would  be 
applied  to  the  heads  and  of  high-priests  and  kings.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii., 
p.  558.     Every  priestly  adornment  had,  doubtless,  its  mystic  meaning.     The 
custom  of  painting  the  body  black  was  first  done  in  honor  of  the  god  of 
Hades.  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  117. 

14  See  vol.  ii.,  pp.  242,  et  seq. 


436         GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

their  duties  were  required  to  keep  at  a  proper  distance 
from  the  male  assistants,  at  whom  they  did  not  even  dare 
to  glance.15 

Of  the  several  religious  orders  the  most  renowned  for 
its  sanctity  was  the  Tlamaxcacayotl,  which  was  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  Quetzalcoatl.  The  superior  of 
this  order,  who  was  named  after  the  god,  never  deigned 
to  issue  from  his  seclusion  except  to  confer  with  the  king. 
Its  members,  called  tlamaccuxqui,  led  a  very  ascetic  life, 
living  on  coarse  fare,  dressing  in  simple  black  robes,16 
and  performing  all  manner  of  hard  work.  They  bathed 
at  midnight,  and  kept  watch  until  an  hour  or  two  before 
dawn,  singing  hymns  to  Quetzalcoatl ;  on  occasions  some 
of  them  would  retire  into  the  desert  to  lead  a  life  of 
prayer  and  penance  in  solitude.  Children  dedicated  to 
this  order  were  distinguished  by  a  collar  called  yanuati, 
which  they  wore  till  their  fourth  year,  the  earliest  age 
at  which  they  were  admitted  as  novices.  The  females 
who  joined  these  orders  were  not  necessarily  virgins,  for 
it  seems  that  married  women  were  admitted.17 

The  order  of  Telpochtiliztli,  'congregation  of  young 
men,'  was  composed  of  youths  who  lived  with  their  pa- 
rents, but  met  at  sunset  in  a  house  set  apart  for  them, 
to  dance  and  chant  hymns  in  honor  of  their  patron  god, 
Tezcatlipoca.  Females  also  attended  these  meetings, 
and,  according  to  report,  strict  decorum  was  maintained, 
at  least  while  the  services  lasted.18 

Acosta  makes  mention  of  certain  ascetics  who  dedi- 
cated themselves  for  a  year  to  the  most  austere  life; 

15  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  189-91;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen., 
tim.  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp.  223-31;  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta,  Co!,  de 
Dot-.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  53-4.  '  Sustentabanse  del  trabujo  de  BUS  inauos  6  por  sus 
padres  y  parientes.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  107. 

!6  '  Trahiun  en  las  cabec_as  coronas  como  frayles,  poco  cabtllo,  annque 
crezido  hasta  media  oreja,  y  mas  largo  por  el  colodrillo  hasta  las  espaldas,  y 
a  manera  de  trenqado  le  atauan.'  Ilerrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap. 
xvi. 

"  Clavigero  asserts  that  at  the  age  of  two  the  boy  was  consecrated  to  the 
order  of  tlamacazcnyotl  by  a  cut  in  the  breast,  and  at  seven  he  was  admitted. 
Storia  Ant.  del,  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  44;  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios.  in  Icazbalceta, 
Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  p.  53. 

is  Torquemada,  Mrmarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  220-4.  Whether  this  decorum 
was  preserved  after  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting,  is  a  point  which  some 
writers  are  inclined  to  doubt. 


KELIGIOTTS  DEVOTEES.  437 

they  assisted  the  priests  at  the  hours  of  incensing,  and 
drew  much  blood  from  their  bodies  in  sacrifice.  They 
dressed  in  white  robes  and  lived  by  begging.19  Camargo 
refers  to  a  similar  class  of  penitents  in  Tlascala,  who 
called  themselves  tlamaceuhque,  and  sought  to  obtain 
divine  favor  by  passing  from  temple  to  temple  at  night, 
carrying  pans  of  fire  upon  their  heads;  this  they  kept 
up  for  a  year  or  two,  during  which  time  they  led  a  very 
strict  life.20  The  Totonacs  had  a  very  strict  sect,  limited 
in  number,  devoted  to  Centeotl,  to  which  none  were 
admitted  but  widowers  of  irreproachable  character,  who 
had  passed  the  age  of  sixty.  It  was  they  who  made 
the  historical  and  other  paintings  from  which  the  high- 
priest  drew  his  discourses.  They  were  much  respected 
by  the  people,  and  were  applied  to  by  all  classes  for  ad- 
vice, which  they  gave  gravely,  squatted  upon  their 
haunches  and  with  lowered  eyes.  They  dressed  in 
skins,  and  ate  no  meat.21 

The  children,  who  were  all  required,  says  Las  Casas, 
to  attend  school  between  the  ages  of  six  and  nine,  ren- 
dered valuable  assistance  to  the  priests  by  performing 
the  minor  duties  about  the  temple.  Those  of  the  lower 
school  performed  much  of  the  outside  labor,  such  as 
carrying  wood  and  drawing  water,  while  the  sons  of  the 
nobility  were  assigned  higher  tasks  in  the  interior  of 
the  building.22 

The  daily  routine  of  temple  duties  was  performed  by 
bodies  of  priests,  who  relieved  each  other  at  intervals 
of  a  few  hours  or  days.  The  service,  which  chiefly 
consisted  of  hymn-chanting  and  incense-burning,  was 
performed  four  times  each  day,  at  dawn,  noon,  sunset, 
and  midnight.  At  the  midnight  service  the  priests 
drew  blood  from  their  bodies  and  bathed  themselves. 
The  sun  received  offerings  of  quails  four  times  during 

»  Hist,  de  Ins  Ynd.,  pp.  341-2. 

20  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  pp.  134-5. 

21  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxii. ;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p. 
90. 

22  IMS  Casas,  Hist.  Apoloyetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxix. ;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  185-6. 


438         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  day,  and  five  times  during  the  night.23  The  priests 
of  Quetzalcoatl  sounded  the  hours  of  these  watches 
with  shell-trumpets  and  drums.  Thrice  every  morning 
the  Totonac  pontiff  wafted  incense  toward  the  sun; 
after  which  the  elder  priests,  who  followed  him  in  a 
file,  according  to  rank,  waved  their  censers  three  times 
before  the  principal  idols,  and  once  before  the  others; 
finally,  incense  was  burned  in  honor  of  the  pontiff 
himself.  The  copal  that  remained  was  distributed  in 
heaps  upon  the  various  altars.  Later  in  the  day,  the 
high-priest  delivered  a  lecture  before  the  priests  and 
and  nobles.24  Their  prayers  were  standard  composi- 
tions, learned  by  rote  at  school  ;25  while  reciting  them, 
they  assumed  a  squatting  posture,26  usually  with  the 
face  toward  the  east;  on  occasions  of  great  solemnity 
they  prostrated  themselves.  A  test  was  sometimes  ap- 
plied to  ascertain  whether  the  deity  W7as  disposed  to 
respond  to  the  prayers  of  the  nation,  when  offered  for 
a  particular  purpose.  This  was  done  by  sprinkling 
snuff  upon  the  altar,  and  if,  shortly  afterwards,  the 
foot-print  of  an  animal,  particularly  that  of  an  eagle, 
was  found  impressed  in  the  snuff,  it  was  regarded  as  a 
mark  of  divine  favor,  and  great  was  the  shouting  when 
the  priest  announced  the  augury.27 

Many   rites   and    ceremonies   were    found   to   exist 

23  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  39.   According  to  Torque- 
mada,  the  night  service  was  partly  devoted  to  the  god  of  night.  Monarq. 
Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  227. 

24  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxv.;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii., 
pp.  224-5,  275;  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  pp.  336.  343;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xv. 

**  This  was  the  answer  given  by  Juan  de  Tovar,  in  his  Hist.  Ind.,  MS., 
to  the  doubts  expressed  by  Acosta  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  long-winded 
prayers  of  the  Mexicans,  whose  imperfect  writing  was  not  well  adapted  to 
reproduce  orations.  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  vol.  i.,  p.  282. 

26  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  93.  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  24,  certainly  says :  "Tuceano  le  loro  preghiere  comunemente  ingiuoc- 
chione,'  but  we  are  told  by  Sahagun  and  others,  that  when  they  approached 
the  deity  with  most  humility,  namely,  at  the  confession,  a  squatting  position 
was  assumed;  the  same  was  done  when  they  delivered  orations.  The  great- 
est sign  of  adoration,  according  to  Camargo,  was  to  take  a  handful  of  earth 
and  grass  and  eat  it;  very  similar  to  the  manner  of  taking  an  oath  or  greet- 
ing a  superior,  which  consisted  in  touching  the  hand  to  the  ground  and  then 
putting  it  to  the  lips.  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annaks  des  V<>y.,  1843,  torn, 
xcix.,  p.  168. 

2? 


BAPTISM  AND  CIRCUMCISION.  439 

among  the  civilized  nations  of  America  that  were  very 
similar  to  certain  others  observed  by  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians in  the  old  world.  The  innumerable  speculators 
on  the  origin  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  new 
world,  or  at  least  on  the  origin  of  their  civilization, 
have  not  neglected  to  bring  forward  these  coincidences 
—there  is  no  good  reason  to  suppose  them  anything 
else — in  support  of  their  various  theories. 

The  cleansing  virtue  of  water  would  naturally  suggest 
its  adaptability  to  the  purification  of  spiritual  stains; 
the  priests  and  ascetics,  plunging  at  midnight,  with 
their  self-inflicted  wounds  unclosed,  into  the  icy 
pool  within  the  temple  inclosure,  had  this  end  in 
view ;  there  is  therefore  no  cause  to  wonder  that 
baptism  developed  into  an  established  rite.  The  fact 
that  infants  were  baptized  immediately  after  birth, 
proves  that  these  people  believed,  with  the  Chris- 
tians and  Jews,  that  sin  is  inherited;  but  this,  to  my 
thinking  at  least,  does  not  necessarily  show  that  any 
communication  or  connection  of  any  kind  ever  took 
place  or  existed  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  old 
world  and  those  of  the  new.  They  saw  that  life  was 
not  all  happiness;  they  saw  that  a  man's  suffering 
begins  at  his  birth ;  they  were  peculiarly  apt  to  regard 
everv  misfortune  as  a  direct  visitation  of  the  offended 

»/ 

gods,  whose  anger  they  continually  deprecated  by  prayer 
and  sacrifice;  how,  then,  could  they  help  but  believe  in 
the  inherency  of  sin — in  the  visiting  of  the  sins  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children — while  the  suffering  entailed 
upon  irresponsible  infancy  was  continually -before  them  ? 
The  rite  of  circumcision  has  been  the  main-stay  of 
the  numerous  theorists  who  have  attempted  to  prove 
that  the  native  Americans  are  descended  from  the  Jews; 
but  with  the  same  evidence  they  may  be  proved  to  be 
descended  from  the  Caffirs,  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  the 
Ethiopians,  the  Egyptians,  or  from  any  Mohammedan 
people,  who  all  either  have  practiced,  or  do  now  prac- 
tice circumcision.28  Brinton  thinks  that  the  rite  was 

28  At  the  present  rlay  the  rite  of  circumcision  may  be  traced  almost  iu  an 
unbroken  line  from  China  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


440         GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

probably  a  symbolic  renunciation  of  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh;29  but,  as  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  li- 
centious race  than  the  American,  this  supposition  is 
unsatisfactory.  After  all,  why  need  we  grope  among 
the  recesses  of  an  obscure  cult  for  the  meaning  and 
origin  of  a  custom  which  may  have  had  no  religious 
ideas  connected  with  it?  We  know  that  several  of  the 
nations  of  the  old  world  practiced  circumcision  merely 
for  purposes  of  cleanliness  and  convenience,  why  not 
also  the  Americans? 

A  rite,  analogous  in  some  aspects  to-  the  Christian 
communion,  was  observed  on  certain  occasions.  Thus, 
in  the  fifteenth  month,  a  dough  statue  of  Huitzilo- 
pochtli  was  broken  up  and  distributed  among  the  men ; 
this  ceremony  was  called  teoqualo,  meaning  'the  god  is 
eaten.'  At  other  times,  sacred  cakes  of  amaranth-seeds 
and  honey,  were  stuck  upon  maguey- thorns  and  dis- 
tributed. Mendieta  states  that  tobacco  was  eaten  in 
honor  of  Cihuacoatl.  The  Totonacs  made  a  dough  of 
first-fruits  from  the  temple  garden,  utti,  and  the  blood 
of  three  infants  sacrificed  at  a  certain  festival;  of  this 
the  men  above  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  the  women 
above  sixteen,  partook  every  six  months;  as  the  dough 
became  stale,  it  was  moistened  with  the  heart's  blood  of 
ordinary  victims.30  The  rite  of  confession  has  been 
already  described.31 

Fasting  was  observed  as  an  atonement  for  sin,  as  well 
as  a  preparation  for  solemn  festivals.  An  ordinary  fast 
consisted  in  abstaining  from  meat  for  a  period  of  from 
one  to  ten  days,  and  taking  but  one  meal  a  day,  at 
noon;  at  no  other  hour  might  so  much  as  a  drop  of 
water  be  touched.  In  the  'divine  year'  a  fast  of  eighty 
days  was  observed.  Some  of  the  fasts  held  by  the 
priests  lasted  one  hundred  and  sixty  days,  and,  owing 
to  the  insufficient  food  allowed  and  terrible  mutilations 

»  Myths,  p.  147. 

30  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  83;  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  pp. 
108-9;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologetina,  MS.,  cap.  clxxv. ;  Explication  del  Codex 
Telleriano-Rem»nsis,  in  Kingaborough'i  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  v.,  p.  133. 

31  See  this  volume,  pp.  380-4. 


FASTS  AND  PENANCE.  441 

practiced,  these  long  feasts  not  unfrequently  resulted 
fatally  to  the  devotees.  The  high-priest  sometimes  set 
a  shining  example  to  his  subordinates  by  going  into  the 
mountains  and  there  passing  several  months,  in  perfect 
solitude,  praying,  burning  incense,  drawing  blood  from 
his  body,  and  supporting  life  upon  uncooked  maize.32 

In  Teotihuacan,  four  priests  undertook  a  four  years' 
penance,  which,  if  strictly  observed,  entitled  them  to  be 
regarded  as  saints  forever  after.  A  thin  mantle  and  a 
breech-clout  were  all  the  dress  allowed  them,  no  matter 
what  the  weather  might  be;  the  bare  ground  was  their 
only  bread,  a  stone  their  softest  pillow;  their  noonday 
and  only  meal  was  a  two-ounce  cake,  and  a  small  bowl 
of  porridge  made  of  meal  and  honey,  except  on  the 
first  of  each  month,  when  they  were  allowed  to  take 
part  in  the  general  banquets.  Two  of  them  watched 
every  alternate  night,  drawing  blood  and  praying. 
Every  twentieth  day  they  passed  twenty  sticks  through 
the  upper  part  of  the  ear;  and  these,  Gromara  solemnly 
assures  us,  were  allowed  to  accumulate  from  month  to 
month,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  four  years,  the  ear 
held  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  sticks, 
which  were  burned  in  honor  of  the  gods  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  time  of  penance.33 

Blood-drawing  was  the  favorite  and  most  common 
mode  of  expiating  sin  and  showing  devotion.  Chaves 
says  that  the  people  of  Meztitlan  drew  blood  every  five 
days,  staining  pieces  of  paper  with  it,  and  offering  them 
to  the  god.34  The  instruments  used  in  ordinary  scarifi- 
cation were  maguey-thorns,  which  were  offered  to  the 
idol,  and  afterwards  burned,  but  for  more  severe  dis- 

3*  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  212-13;  Acosta,  Hist,  de  las 
Ynd.,  p.  3i3;  Sahagun.  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  275-6. 

33  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  336.     Some  of  these  sticks  were  thicker  than  a  finger, 
'y  largos,  como  el  tamano  de  vn  braijo.'     'Eran  en  numero  de  quatrocien- 
tas.'   Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  102-3;  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios, 
in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  51-2. 

34  Rapport,  in  Ternaux-Compans,   Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  v.,  p.  305.     The 
Mexican  priests  performed  this  sacrifice  every  five  days.  Explanation  of  the 
Cortex  Vaticanus,  in  Kingsborou[/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  225,     'De  lasan- 
gre  qne  sacaban  de  las  partes  del  Cuerpo  en  cada  provincia  teniau  diferente 
costumbre.'  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologe'tica,  MS.,  cap.  clxx. 


442          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

cipline  iztli  knives  were  used,  and  cords  or  sticks  were 
passed  through  the  tongue,  ears,  or  genitals. 

The  offering  most  acceptable  to  the  Nahua  divinities 
was  human  life,  and  without  this  no  festival  of  any 
importance  was  complete.  The  origin  of  the  rite  of 
human  sacrifice,  as  connected  with  sun-worship  at  least, 
dates  back  to  the  earliest  times.  It  is  mentioned  in  the 
story  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  sun  to  the  Mexicans, 
which  relates  how  that  luminary  refused  to  proceed 
upon  its  daily  circuit  until  appeased  by  the  sacrifice  of 
certain  heroes  who  had  offended  it.35  Some  affirm  that 
human  sacrifice  was  first  introduced  by  Tezcatlipoca ; 
others  again  say  that  it  was  practiced  before  Quetzal- 
coatl's  time,  which  is  likely  enough,  if,  as  we  are  told, 
that  prophet  not  only  preached  against  it  as  an  abomi- 
nation, but  shut  his  ears  with  both  hands  when  it  was 
even  mentioned.  Written,  or  painted,  records  show  its 
existence  in  1091,  though  some  native  writers  assert 
that  it  was  not  practiced  until  after  this  date.  The 
nations  that  encompass  the  Aztecs  ascribe  the  intro- 
duction of  human  sacrifice  to  the  latter  people ;  a  state- 
ment accepted  by  most  of  the  early  historians,  who 
relate  that  the  first  human  victims  were  four  Xochi- 
milcos,  with  whose  blood  the  newly  erected  altar  of 
Huitzilopochtli  was  consecrated.36 

The  number  of  human  victims  sacrificed  annually  in 
Mexico  is  not  exactly  known.  Las  Casas,  the  champion 
of  the  natives,  places  it  at  an  insignificantly  low  figure, 
while  Zumarraga  states  that  twenty  thousand  were  sacri- 

35  See  this  volume,  p.  61. 

36  Clavit/ero,   Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.   165-7.     Torquemada, 
however,  mentions  one  earlier  sacrifice  of  some  refractory  Mexicans,  who 
desired  to  leave  their  wandering  countrymen  and  settle  at  Tula,  contrary  to 
the  command  of  the  god.  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  115-16,  50.     «  On  pre- 
tend que  cet  usage  vint  de  la  province  de  Chalco  dans  celle  de  Tlaxcallan.' 
Camaryo,  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvdlcs  Annales  des  Voy.,   1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p. 
199;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Quatre  Lettres,  p.   343.     '  Quetzalcoatle  was  the 
first  inventor  of  sacrifices  of  human  blood.'  Explanation  of  Codex  Vaticamis, 
in  ffingsborough't  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  201.     It  is  conceded,  however,  by 
other  writers,  that  Quetzalcoatl  was  opposed  to  all  bloodshed.  See  this  vol- 
ume, p.  '278.    Miiller,  Amerikanixche  Urreliyionen,  p.  G28,  thinks  that  the  Az- 
tecs introduced  certain  rites  of  human  sacrifice,  which  they  connected  with 
others  already  existing  in  Mexico. 


HUMAN  SACRIFICES.  443 

ficed  in  the  capital  alone  every  year.  That  the  number 
was  immense  we  can  readily  believe,  when  we  read  in  Tor- 
quemada,  Ixtlilxochitl,  Boturini,  and  Acosta,  that  from 
seventy  to  eighty  thousand  human  beings  were  slaugh- 
tered at  the  inauguration  of  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli, 
and  a  proportionately  large  number  at  the  other  celebra- 
tions of  the  kind.37 

The  victims  were  mostly  captives  of  war,  and  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  obtaining  these  wars  were  often  made ;  a 
large  proportion  of  the  sacrificed,  however,  were  of 
slaves  and  children,  either  bought  or  presented  for  the 
purpose,  and  condemned  criminals.  Moreover,  instances 
are  not  wanting  of  devout  people  offering  themselves 
voluntarily  for  the  good  of  the  people  and  the  honor  of 
the  god.38  The  greater  part  of  the  victims  died  under 
the  knife,  in  the  manner  so  often  described;39  some, 
however,  were,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
volume,  burned  alive:  children  were  often  buried,  or 
immured  alive,  or  drowned;  in  some  cases  criminals 
were  crushed  between  stones.  The  Tlascaltecs  frequently 
bound  the  doomed  one  to  a  pole  and  made  his  body  a 
target  for  their  spears  and  arrows. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  what  religious  ideas  were 
connected  with  the  almost  universal  practice  of  anthro- 
pophagy. We  have  seen  that  several  of  the  savage 
tribes  ate  portions  of  slain  heroes,  thinking  thereby  to 
inherit  a  portion  of  the  dead  man's  good  qualities;  the 
same  reason  might  be  assigned  for  the  cannibalism  of 
the  Aztecs,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  they  ate  the 
flesh  of  sacrificed  slaves  and  children  as  well  as  that  of 

37  Torquemada,    Mon'irq.   Tnd.,   torn,  i.,  p.  186.     'Eran  cada  ano  estos 
Nifios  sacrificados  mas  de  veinte  mil  por  cuenta.'   Id.,  torn,  ii.,  p.   .120.     A 
misconstruction  of  Zumarraga,  who  does  not  specify  them  as  children.  Cla- 
vigero,  Storla  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  49,  torn,  i.,  p.  237;  Ixtlilxochttl, 
Hist.  Chich.,  in  Kinysborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,   p.  ^68;  Boturini,  Idea, 
p.  28.     '  Aflrman  que  auia  vez  que  passauan  de  cinco  mil,  y  dia  vuo  que  en 
diuersas  partes  fueron  assi  sacrificados  mas  de  veynta  mil.'  Amsta,  llist.  de 
las  Ynd.,  p.  356.     Gomara  states  that  the  conquerors  couuted  136,000  skulls 
in  one  skull-yard  alone.  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  122. 

38  'Non  furono  mai  veduti  i  Messicani  sacriucare  i  propj  lor  Nazionali,  se 
non  coloro,  che  per  Ii  loro  delitti  erano  rei  di  morte.'  Claviyero,  Storia  Ant. 
del  Messico,  torn,  iv.,  p.  299.     A  rather  hasty  assertion. 

39  See  vol.  ii.,  p.  307. 


444         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

warriors  and  notable  persons.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  original  significance  of  the  rite,  it  is  most  prob- 
able that  finally  the  body,  the  essence  of  which  served 
to  regale  the  god,  was  regarded  merely  as  the  remains 
of  a  divine  feast,  and,  therefore,  as  sacred  food.  It  is 
quite  possible,  however,  that  religious  anthropophagy 
gradually  degenerated  into  an  unnatural  appetite  for 
human  flesh  and  nothing  more. 

I  here  close  the  review  of  the  Aztec  gods.  Like  most 
of  its  branches,  this  great  centre  of  North  American 
mythology  rests  on  natural  phenomena  and  anthropo- 
morphic creations,  with  an  occasional  euemeristic  devel- 
opment or  apotheosis,  but  is  attended  by  a  worship  so 
sanguinary  and  monstrous  that  it  stands  out  an  isolated 
spectacle  of  the  extreme  to  which  fanatical  zeal  and 
blind  superstition  can  go.  A  glance  at  the  Greek  and 
Roman  mythology  is  sufficient  to  show  how  much  purer 
was  the  Nahua  conception  of  divine  character.  The 
Nahua  gods  did  not,  like  those  of  Greece,  play  with 
vice,  but  rather  abhorred  it.  Tezcatlipoca  is  the  only 
deity  that  can  be  fairly  compared  with  the  fitful  Zeus  of 
Homer, — now  moved  with  -extreme  passion,  now  gov- 
erned by  a  noble  impulse,  now  swayed  by  brutal  lust, 
now  drawn  on  by  a  vein  of  humor.  But  the  polished 
Greek,  poetic,  refined,  full  of  ideas,  exulting  in  his 
strong,  beautiful,  immoral  gods,  and  making  his  art  im- 
mortal by  his  sublime  representations  of  them,  presents 
a  picture  very  different  from  the  Aztec,  phlegmatic, 
bloody-minded,  ferocious,  broken  in  body  and  in  spirit 
by  the  excesses  of  his  worship,  overshadowed  by  count- 
less terrors  of  the  imagination,  quaking  continually 
before  gods  who  feast  on  his  flesh  and  blood.  Neverthe- 
less there  was  one  bright  spot,  set  afar  oft*  on  the  horizon, 
upon  which  the  Aztec  might  look  and  hope.  Like,  the 
Brahmans.  the  Buddhists,  and  the  Jews,  he  looked  for- 
ward to  a  new  era  under  a  great  leader,  even  Quetzal- 
coatl,  who  had  promised  to  return  from  the  glowing 
east,  bringing  with  him  all  the  prosperity,  peace,  and 


WORSHIP  IN  MICHOACAN.  445 

happiness  of  his  former  reign.  The  Totonacs,  also, 
knew  of  one  in  heaven  who  pleaded  unceasingly  for  them 
with  the  great  god,  and  who  was  ultimately  to  bring 
about  a  gentler  era. 

Worship  in  Michoacan,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  was 
very  similar  to  that  in  Mexico.  The  misty  form  of  a 
Supreme  Being  that  hovers  through  the  latter,  here 
assumes  a  more  distinct  outline,  however.  A  First 
Cause,  a  Creator  of  All,  a  Ruler  of  the  World,  who 
bestows  existence,  and  regulates  the  seasons,  is  re- 
cognized in  the  god  Tucapacha;  an  invisible  being 
whose  abode  is  in  the  heaven  above,  an  inconceiva- 
ble being  whom  no  image  can  represent,  a  merciful 
being  to  whom  the  people  may  hopefully  pray.40  But 
the  very  beauty  and  simplicity  of  the  conception  of 
this  god  seem  to  have  operated  against  the  popularity 
of  his  worship.  The  people  needed  a  less  shadowy  per- 
sonification of  their  ideas,  and  this  they  found  in  Curi- 
caneri,  originally  the  patron  divinity  of  the  Chichimec 
rulers  of  the  country,  and  by  them  exalted  over  Xara- 
tanga,  the  former  head  god  of  the  Tarascos.  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg  thinks  Curicaneri  to  be  identical  with  the 
sun,  and  gives  as  his  reason  that  the  Chichimecs  pre- 
sented their  offerings  first  to  that  luminary  and  then  to 
the  inferior  deities.  There  is  another  point  that  seems 
to  favor  this  view.  The  insignia  of  Curicaneri  and 
Xaratanga  were  carried  by  the  priests  in  the  van  of 
the  army  to  inspire  courage  and  confidence  of  vic- 
tory* Before  setting  out  on  the  march  a  fire  was 
lighted  before  the  idol,  and  as  the  incense  rose  to 
heaven,  the  priest  addressed  the  god  of  fire,  imploring 
him  to  accept  the  offering  and  favor  the  expedition.41 
The  image  of  Curicaneri  was  profusely  adorned  with 
jewels,  each  one  of  which  represented  a  human  sacrifice 
made  in  honor  of  the  god. 

40  Salazar  y  Olarte,  Hist.  Conq.  Hex.,  p.  71;  Herrera.  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii., 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  x. 

41  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  79-82.     This  au- 
thor gives  the  name  as  Curicaweri. 


446          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  goddess  Xaratanga,  though  second  in  rank,  seems 
to  have  occupied  the  first  place  in  the  affections  of  the 
Tarascos,  in  spite  of  the  myth  which  associates  her 
name  with  the  downfall  of  the  native  dynasty,  saying 
that  she  transformed  their  princes  into  snakes,  because 
they  appeared  drunk  at  her  festivals,  and  thus  afforded 
the  Chichimecs  an  opportunity  to  seize  the  sceptre. 
The  priests  did  their  utmost,  besides,  to  maintain  her 
prestige,  and  they  were  successful,  as  we  have  seen  from 
the  position  of  the  goddess  by  the  side  of  Curicaneri,  in 
the  van  of  the  army. 

Among  the  inferior  gods  were  Manovapa,  son  of 
Xaratanga,  and  Taras,  from  whom,  says  Sahagun, 
the  Tarascos  took  their  name,  and  who  corresponded 
to  the  Mexican  Mixcoatl.  The  Matlaltzincas  wor- 
shiped Coltzin,  suffocating  before  his  image  the  few 
human  beings  offered  to  him.  They  reverenced  very 
highly,  also,  a  great  reformer,  Surites,  a  high-priest, 
who  preached  morality,  and,  inspired  by  a  prophetic 
spirit,  is  said  to  have  prepared  the  people  for  a  better 
faith,  which  was  to  come  from  the  direction  of  the 
rising  sun.  The  festivals  of  the  Peranscuaro,  which 
corresponded  to  our  Christmas,  and  the  Zitacuarencuaro, 
or  'resurrection,'  were  instituted  by  Surites.  These 
ideas,  however,  bear  traces  of  having  been  '  improved ' 
by  the  padres. 

The  priests  of  Michoacan  exercised  even  a  greater  in- 
fluence over  the  people  than  those  of  Mexico.  In  order 
to  retain  this  power  they  appealed  to  the  religious  side 
of  the  people's  character  by  thundering  sermons  and 
solemn  rites,  and  to  their  affections  by  practicing  charity 
at  every  opportunity.  The  king  himself,  when  he  paid 
his  annual  visit  to  the  high-priest  to  inaugurate  the  offer- 
ing of  first-fruits,  set  an  example  of  humility  by  kneel- 
ing before  the  pontiff  arid  reverently  kissing  his  hand. 
The  priests  of  Michoacan  formed  a  distinct  class,  com- 
posed of  three  orders,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  the 
high  priest  of  Curicaneri.42  Those  who  served  the  god- 

42  'El  Sumo  Sacerdote  Curinacanery.'  Beaumont,  Cron.  Mechoacan,  MS., 
p.  52. 


WORSHIP  IN  JALISCO.  447 

dess  Xaratanga  were  called  watarecha,  and  were  dis- 
tinguished by  their  shaven  crowns,  long  black  hair,  and 
tunics  bordered  with  red  fringe.43  Marriage  was  one  of 
their  privileges. 

The  temple-service  of  Michoacan  was  much  the  same 
as  in  Mexico.  Human  sacrifices,  which  seem  to  have 
been  introduced  at  a  late  period,  were  probably  very 
numerous,  since  hundreds  of  human  victims  were  im- 
molated at  the  funeral  of  a  monarch.  The  hearts  of  the 
sacrificed  were  eaten  by  the  priests,  says  Beaumont,  and 
this  is  not  unlikely  since  the  Otorni  population  of  Micho- 
acan sold  flesh  in  the  public  market.  During  seasons 
of  drought  the  Otomis  sought  to  propitiate  the  rain  gods 
by  sacrificing  a  virgin  on  the  top  of  a  hill.44 

In  Jalisco,  several  forms  of  worship  appear,  each  with 
its  special  divinities.  These  were  mostly  genii  of  natu- 
ral features.  Thus,  the  towns  about  Chapala  paid  divine 
honors  to  the  spirit  of  the  lake,  who  was  represented  by 
a  mis-shapen  image  with  a  miniature  lake  before  it. 
The  people  of  other  places  had  idols  mounted  on  rocks, 
or  represented  in  the  act  of  fighting  with  a  wild  animal 
or  monster.  In  Zentipac  and  Acaponeta  the  stars  were 
honored  with  offerings  of  the  choicest  fruit  and  flowers. 
Equally  innocent  were  the  offerings  brought  to  Piltzin- 
teolli,  the  '  child  god,'  whose  youthful  form  was  reared 
in  several  places.  An  instance  of  apotheosis  occurred 
in  Nayarit,  where  the  skeleton  of  a  king,  enthroned  in  a 
cave,  received  divine  honors. 

Among  the  temples  consecrated  to  the  various  idols, 
may  be  mentioned  one  in  Jalisco,  which  was  a  square 
pyramid,  decorated  with  breast-work  and  turrets,  to 

43  ' Guirnaldas  de  fluecos  colorados, '  says  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii., 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  x. 

44  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  x. ;  Beaumont,   Cron  Mechoa- 
can,  MS.,  pp.  52-3,  75;  Alegre,  Hist.  Coinp.  de  Jesus,  lorn,  i.,  pp.  91-2;  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  tom.  iii.,  pp.59,  64-5,  79-N2;  Torquemada, 
Monarq,  Ind.,  tom.  ii.,  p.  525;  Carbajal  Espinosa,  I1M.  Mex.,  tom.  i.,  pp. 
291-2,  thinks  that  the  sacrifices  were  introduced  by  surrounding  tribes,  and 
that  cannibalism  was  unknown  to  the  Tarascos.     'Sacriticabun  culebras, 
aves  y  conejos,  y  no  los  hombres,  aunque  fuesen  cantivos,  porque  se  Ser- 
vian de  ellos,  como  de  esclavos.'  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  tom.  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p. 
138.     See  also  vol.  ii.,  pp.  620-1,  of  this  work. 


M8          GODS,  SUPERNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

which  access  was  had  by  a  staircase  sixty  feet  in  height. 
At  each  of  the  four  corners  was  a  hearth  so  arranged  that 
the  smoke  from  the  sacred  tire  spread  in  a  dense  cloud 
over  the  temple.  Another,  at  Teul,  consisted  of  a  stone 
building,  five  fathoms  in  length,  by  three  in  breadth, 
and  gradually  widening  towards  the  top.  Two  entrances, 
one  at  the  north  corner,  the  other  at  the  south,  each 
with  five  steps,  gave  admission  to  the  interior;  close  by 
were  several  piles,  formed  of  the  bones  of  the  sacrificed. 

The  festivals  which  took  place  seem  to  have  been  dis- 
graced not  only  by  excesses  of  the  most  infamous  charac- 
ter, but  by  the  most  horrible  cruelties,  if  wre  are  to 
believe  Oviedo,  who  writes  of  furnaces  filled  with  charred 
human  remains.  These  sacrifices,  however,  if  sacrifices 
they  were,  which  were  common  in  the  north-eastern 
parts,  where  intercourse  with  Mexico  had  produced 
many  changes,  do  not  appear  as  we  advance  southward. 
Not  only  do  they  entirely  vanish,  but  the  chroniclers 
state  that  in  Colima,  which  was  reputed  to  have  been 
at  one  time  governed  by  a  very  wise  prince,  no  outward 
worship  of  any  kind  could  be  found;  moreover,  they 
hint  at  an  atheism  having  existed  there,  restricted  only 
by  moral  precepts.  But  the  reality  of  an  oasis  of  this 
character,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  degraded  superstitions 
and  the  wildest  fanaticism,  is  at  the  least,  doubtful,  and 
the  work  of  the  Fathers  seems  to  be  once  more  apparent.45 

The  worship  of  Oajaca  bore  even  a  stronger  resem- 
blance to  that  of  Mexico  than  did  that  of  Michoacan,  and 
the  assertion  of  some  modern  writers  that  both  nations 
have  a  common  origin  seems  fully  borne  out  by  the 
records  of  the  old  chroniclers.  The  array  of  gods  was, 
if  possible,  greater,  for  almost  every  feature  of  the  grand, 
wild  scenery,  every  want,  every  virtue,  even  every  vice, 

45  Beaumont,  Cron.  Mechoncan,  MS.,  p.  232,  tells  of  a  Supreme  Beiug 
in  heaven,  and  with  him  an  ever  young  virgin  from  whom  all  men  descend; 
a  belief  which  the  child-god  is  said  to  have  promulgated;  but  the  account 
seems  somewhat  confused  both  as  to  place  and  authority.  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp. 
de  Jesus,  torn,  iii.,  p.  197,  and  Padilla,  Conq.  N,  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  8,  men- 
tion additional  gods,  but  give  no  description.  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Thea- 
tro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  269-70;  Alcsdo,  Diccionario,  torn,  iii.,  p.  299;  Tello,  in  Icaz- 
balceta.  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  363;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  566; 
Oil,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geoy.t  Holetin,  torn,  viii.,  pp.  496-8. 


WORSHIP  IN  OAJACA.  449 

says  Burgoa,  had  one  or  more  patron  deities,  to  whom 
offerings  were  made  on  the  household  altars.  This  was 
especially  the  case  in  the  upper  district  of  Mizteca  and 
Zapoteca,  where  the  rugged,  cloud-capped  peaks,  dense 
forests,  boiling  cataracts,  and  stealthy  streams,  all  tend- 
ed to  fill  the  crude  mind  of  the  native  with  a  supersti- 
tious awe  that  must  have  vent.  Through  all  this  may 
be  discerned  the  vague  shape  of  a  Supreme  Being,  bear- 
ing many  titles,  such  as  Piyetao  Piyexoo,  '  one  without 
being,'  Pitao  Cozaana,  ;  creator  of  beings,'  Wichaana, 
'  creator  of  men  and  fishes,'  Coquiza-Chibataya  Cozaa- 
natao,  '  the  sustainer  and  governor  of  all,'  and  a  multitude 
of  other  titles,  which  merely  serve  to  show  how  indefi- 
nite was  the  position  this  Invisible  One  occupied  in  the 
minds  of  a  people  unable  to  rise  to  a  definite  conception 
of  his  eminence,  and  groveling  before  the  hideous 
gnomes  bred  of  their  own  imagination.46 

When  the  disciples  of  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Toltec  god 
and  lawgiver,  went  forth  at  the  command  of  their  mas- 
ter to  preach  his  doctrines,  some  are  said  to  have  wended 
their  way  to  Oajaca,  where  they  founded  several  centres 
of  worship,47  and  among  them  Achiuhtla,  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Miztec  religion,  situated  in  the  most  rugged 
part  of  the  mountains.  Here,  in  a  cave  the  interior  of 
which  was  filled  with  idols,  set  up  in  niches  upon  stones 
dyed  with  human  blood  and  smoke  of  incense,  was  a 
large  transparent  chalchiuite,48  entwined  by  a  snake 
whose  head  pointed  toward  a  little  bird  perched  on  the 
apex.  This  relic,  worshiped  since  time  immemorial 
under  the  name  of  the  '  heart  of  the  people,'  has  all  the 
chief  attributes  of  Quetzalcoatl;  the  stone,  the  emblem 
of  the  air  god,  the  snake  and  the  bird ;  yet  how  mutilated 

46  'Les  dieux,  de  quelque  nature  qu'ils  fussent,  avaient  dans  la  langue 
zapoteque  le  nom  de  "  Pitao,"  qui  correspond  a  1'idee  du  grand-esprit,  d'un 
esprit  etendu.'  Brasseur  de  B<>urbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  26-7. 

47  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  255-6,  also  refers  to  emigra- 
tion of  Toltec  chiefs  to  found  new  states. 

48  '  Vna  esmeralda  tan  grande  como  vn  gruesso  pimiento  de  esta  tierra, 
tenia  labrado  encirna  vna  auesita,  6  pajarillo  con  grandissimo  primor,  y  de 
nniba  a  baxo  enroscada  vna  culebrilla  con  el  raesmo  arte,  la  piedra  era  tan 
trausparente,  que  brillab.i  desde  el  foudo."  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii., 
pt  i.,  fol.  156. 

VOL.  in.    29 


450          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  original  myth,  how  much  of  its  beautiful  significance 
gone!  Bnrgoa  invests  the  relic  with  another  attribute 
in  making  it  the  supporter  of  the  earth,  another  Atlas  in 
fact,  whose  movements  produce  earthquakes.  This  also 
accords  with  the  character  of  Quetzalcoatl,  who,  under  the 
name  of  Huemac,  was  supposed  to  produce  earthquakes. 
The  Zapotecs,  besides,  prayed  to  it  for  victory  and  wealth, 
and  Quetzalcoatl  as  the  '  peace  god/  could  doubtless  in- 
fluence the  former,  while  the  latter  gift  was  always  in  his 
power.49  In  several  other  places  were  idols  with  the 
same  name,  as  at  Yangiiistlan,  Chalcatongo,  and  Coatlan, 
where  the  temples  were  caves,  a  fact  worthy  of  note 
when  we  consider  that  Quetzalcoatl  is  stated  by  the 
myth  to  have  erected  temples  to  Mictlantecutli,  the 
Mexican  Pluto.50 

The  few  authors,  however,  who  have  referred  to  this 
relic,  nearly  all  hold  it  to  represent  Votan;  the  old 
writers  doubtless  because  the  name  signifies  '  heart ' 61 
in  the  Tzendal  dialect  of  Chiapas,  where  he  was  the 
most  prominent  deity,  the  modern,  because  its  attributes 
accord  with  those  of  this  god.  But  Yotan  has  so  much 
in  common  with  Quetzalcoatl  that  some  writers  are  in- 
clined to  consider  them  identical,  or  at  least  related. 
Miiller,  however,  declares  him  to  be  an  original  Maya 
snake-god,  one  of  the  thirteen  chief  snakes,  to  whom  the 
bird  attribute  was  given  at  a  late  period,  borrowed,  per- 
haps, from  Quetzalcoatl.  He  is  gradually  anthropomor- 
phized into  one  of  the  many  leaders  whose  names  have 
been  given  to  the  days  of  the  month,  Votan  taking  the 
third  of  the  four  names  that  designated  days  as  well  as 
years.  Yet  Professor  Miiller  concedes  that  the  god  was 

49  Bnrgoa  gives  the  relic  in  this  instance  a  title  which  varies  somewhnt  in 
the  wording,  although  the  former  sense  remains:  'El  Alma,  y  corac,on  del 
Reyno.'  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  ptii.,  fol.  396.  Davila  Paclilla,  Hist.  Fend. 
Mex.,  p.  639,  mentions  an  idol  among  -the  Zapotecs  in  shape  of -a  iitiiid, 
which  may  have  represented  Huemac. 

*°  The  Zapotecs  had  other  temples  also,  fashioned  like  those  of  Mexico  in 
superimposed  terraces  of  stone-cased  earth.  Burgoa  describes  one  which 
measured  2000  paces  in  circumference,  and  rose  to  a  height  of  88-90  feet; 
on  each  terrace  stood  an  adobe  chapel  with  a  well  attached  for  the  storage  of 
water.  On  the  occasion  of  a  great  victory  another  terrace  was  added  to  the 
pile.  Oeog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  pt  ii.,  fol.  198. 

si  Cabrera,  Teatro,  in  Rto's  Description,  p.  37. 


YOTAN  AND  QUETZALCOATL.  451 

brought  from  Cholula,  and  that  certain  special  attributes 
of  Quetzalcoatl  may  be  recognized  in  the  figures  on  the 
Palenque  ruins,  which  probably  refer  to  Yotan ;  and  fur- 
ther, that  a  phase  of  the  myth  seems  to  point  to  him  as 
the  grandson  of  Quetzalcoatl.52  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
while  accepting  his  identity  with  the  '  heart  of  the  peo- 
ple,' considers  that  the  double  aspect  of  the  tradition 
allows  us  to  suppose  that  there  were  several  Yotans,  or 
that  this  name  was  accorded  to  deserving  men  who  came 
after  him.  At  times  he  seems  to  be  a  mythic  creation, 
the  mediator  between  man  and  God,  the  representation 
of  wisdom  and  power ;  at  times  a  prince  and  legislator 
who  introduced  a  higher  culture  among  his  people.  The 
analogy  presented  by  traditions  between  Yotan,  Gucu- 
matz,  Cukulcan,  and  Quetzalcoatl,  wrould  lead  us  to  believe 
that  one  individual  united  in  his  person  all  these  appel- 
lations. Nevertheless,  a  comparison  of  the  different  tra- 
ditions admits  of  two,  Yotan  and  Quetzalcoatl,  the  other 
names  having  the  same  signification  as  the  latter. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  from  them,  whether  heroes, 
priests,  rulers,  or  warriors,  Central  America  received 
the  culture  which  their  successors  brought  to  such  per- 
fection. The  knowledge  of  one  supreme  being  appears 
to  have  been  among  the  first  dogmas  instilled  into  the 
minds  of  their  people;  but  in  the  tradition  presented  to 
us,  the  hero's  name  is  often  confounded  with  that  of  the 
divinities.53  Like  Quetzalcoatl,  Yotan  was  the  first  histo- 
rian of  his  people,  and  wrote  a  book  on  the  origin  of  the 
race,  in  which  he  declares  himself  a  snake,  a  descendant 
of  Imos.  of  the  line  of  Chan,  of  the  race  of  Chiviin.54 

*2  He  also  calls  him  the  Miztec  Cultur  god.  Amerikanische  Urreligionen, 
pp.  486-90. 

*3  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  44-5. 

84  Chan,  'snake,'  was  the  name  of  a  tribe  of  Lacandones,  near  Palen- 
que, known  also  as  Colhuas,  Chanes,  or  Quinames.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Popol  Vuh,  p.  109.  The  book  referred  to  or  a  copy  of  it,  written  in  the 
Tzendal  or  Quiche  language,  was  in  the  possession  of  Nunez  de  la  Vega, 
Bishop  of  Chiapas,  who  published  short  extracts  of  it  in  his  Constitut.  Dice- 
ces.  but  seems  to  have  had  it  burned,  together  with  other  native  relics,  in 
1691,  at  Huehuetan.  Previous  to  this,  however,  Ordonez  y  Aguiar  had  ob- 
tained a  copy  of  it.  written  in  Latin  characters,  and  gave  a  rc'sume  of  the 
contents  in  his  HM.  del  Cielo,  MS.  This  author  contradicts  himself  by  stat- 
ing, in  one  part  of  his  MS.,  that  the  original  was  written  by  a  descendant 


452         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

One  of  his  titles  was  '  lord  of  the  hollow  tree/  the  tepa- 
huaste,  or  teponaztli.65 

From  the  confused  tradition  of  the  Tzendals,  as  ren- 
dered by  Nunez  de  la  Vega  and  Ordonez  y  Aguiar,  it 
seems  that  Votan,  proceeded  by  divine  command  to 
America  and  there  portioned  out  the  land.56  He  accord- 
ingly departed  from  Valum  Chivim,  passed  by  the  'dwel- 
ling of  the  thirteen  snakes/  and  arrived  in  Valum  Vo- 
tan,57 where  he  took  with  him  several  of  his  family  to 
form  the  nucleus  of  the  settlement.  With  them  he 
passed  through  the  island-strewn  Laguna  de  Terminos, 
ascended  the  Usumacinta,  and  here,  on  one  of  its  tribu- 
taries founded  Nachan,58  or  Palenque,  the  future  metrop- 
olis of  a  mighty  kingdom,  and  one  of  the  reputed  cra- 
dles of  American  civilization.  The  Tzendal  inhabitants 
bestowed  upon  the  strange-looking  new-comers  the  name 
Tzequiles,  'men  with  petticoats/  on  account  of  their  long 

of  Votan.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourq,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  Ixxxvii.,  cviii.;  Tschudi's 
Peruvian  Antiq.,  p.  12;  Cabrera,  Teatro,  in  Rio's  Descrip.,  pp.  33-4.  Cabrera, 
who  bases  his  account  of  the  myth  ou  Ordonez'  rendering,  which  he  at  times 
seems  to  have  misunderstood  and  mutilated,  thinks  that  Chivim  refers  to 
Tripoli,  and  it  is  the  same  as  Hivim  or  Givim,  the  Phoenician  word  for 
snake,  which,  again,  refers  to  Hivites,  the  descendants  of  Heth,  son  of 
Canaan.  Votan's  expression,  as  given  in  his  book,  '  I  am  a  snake,  a  Chivim,' 
signifies  '  I  am  a  Hivite  from  Tripoli.'  Teatro,  in  Rio's  Descrip.,  p.  34,  et  seq. 

55  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  115.     It  may  be  of  interest  to  compare  his  name  with 
Odon  in  the  Michoacan  calendar,  and  Oton,  the  Otomi   god  and  chief. 
Humboldt  was  particularly  struck  with  its  resemblance  to  Odin,  the  Scan- 
dinavian god-hero.    Vues,  torn,  i.,  p.  208;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh, 
p.  Ixxvi. 

56  Equivalent  to  laying  the  foundation  for  civilization.     According  to  Or- 
donez he  was  sent  to  people  the  continent;  a  view  also  taken  by  Clavigero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  150-1.     Torquemada's  account  of  the 
spreading  of  the  Toltecs  southward,  may  throw  some  light  on  this  subject. 
Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  256,  et  seq. 

57  Valum  Chivim,  Valum  Votan,  land  of  Chivim  and  Votan.  See  note  15. 
Cabrera  considers  two  marble  columns  found  at  Tangier,  with  Phoenician 
inscriptions,  a  trace  of  his  route;  the  dwellings  of  the  thirteen  snakes  are 
thirteen    islands    of  the  Canary  group,  and  Valum   Votan,   the  Island  of 
S:into  Domingo.   Teatro,  in  Rio's  Descrip.,  p.  34,  et  seq.     Muller,  Amerika- 
nischt  Urrelii/ionen,  p.  489,  hints  significantly  at  the  worship  of  the  snake- 
god  Votan,  on  Santo  Domingo  Island,  under  the  name  of  Vaudoux.    Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg's  ideas  on  this  point  have  already  been  made  pretty  evident 
in  the  account  of  Quetzalcoatl's  myth.     The  thirteen  snakes  may  mean  thir- 
teen chiefs  of  Xibalba.     There  is  a  ruin  bearing  the  name  of  Valum  Votan 
about  nine  leagues  from  Ciudad  Real,  Chiapas.  Popnl  Vuh,  p.  Ixxxviii.    Or- 
donez holds  Valum  Votan  to  be  Cuba,  whence  he  takes  seven  families  with 
him.  Cabrera,  ubi  sup. 

58  Ordonez  says  the  original  Na-chan  means  'place  of  snakes.'  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  C9. 


TEAVELS  OF  VOTAN.  453 

robes,  but  soon  exchanged  ideas  and  customs  with  them, 
submitted  to  their  rule,  and  gave  them  their  daughters 
in  marriage.  This  event  is  laid  a  thousand  years  before 
Christ.59 

Ordoiiez  proceeds  to  say  that  Yotan,  after  the  establish- 
ment of  his  government,  made  four  or  more  visits  to  his 
former  home.  On  his  first  voyage  he  came  to  a  great  city, 
wherein  a  magnificent  temple  was  in  course  of  erection; 
this  city  Ordonez  supposed  to  be  Jerusalem ;  he  next  visited 
an  edifice  which  had  been  originally  intended  to  reach 
heaven,  an  object  defeated  by  a  confusion  of  tongues; 
finally  he  was  allowed  to  penetrate  by  a  subterranean 
passage  to  the  root  of  heaven.60  On  returning  to  Palen- 
que,  Votan  found  that  several  more  of  his  nations  had 
arrived ;  these  he  recognized  as  snakes,  and  showed  them 
many  favors,  in  return  for  which  his  supremacy  was 
made  secure,  and  he  was  at  last  apotheosized.61  Among 
the  monuments  left  by  the  hero  was  a  temple  on  the 
Huehuetan  River,  called  '  house  of  darkness,'  from  its 
subterranean  chambers,  where  the  records  of  the  nation 
were  deposited  under  the  charge  of  a  fixed  number  of 
old  men,  termed  tlapianes,  or  guardians,  and  an  order  of 
priestesses,  whose  superior  was  likewise  the  head  of  the 

59  A  date  which  is  confirmed  by  the  Chimalpopoca  MS.  Brasseurde  Bour- 
bourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  Ixxxviii.     One  tradition  makes  the  Tzequiles  speak  a 
Nahua  dialect,  but  it  is  possible  that  Ordonez  confounds  two  epocs.  Id., 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  70. 

60  In  the  traditions  presented  on  pp.  67-8,  50,  of  this  volume,  will  be 
found  reference  to  Cholula  as  the  place  where  the  tower  of  Babel  was  built, 
and  to  the  confusion  of  tongues,  which  tends  to  connect  this  myth  with  those 
of  the  neighboring  country.     Ordonez'  orthodox  ideas  have  probably  added 
much  to  the  native  MS.  from  which  he  took  his  account,  yet  Nunez  de  la 
Vega  agrees  with  him  in  most  respects.     Cabrera,  Teatro,  in  Rio's  Descrip., 
p.  84,  considers  the  great  city  to  be  Rome,  but  agrees  with  his  authorities 
that  the  latter  edifice  is  the  tower  of  Babel.     A  Tzendal  legend  relates  that 
a  subterranean  passage,  leading  from  Palenque  to  T ulha,  near  Ococingo,  was 
constructed  in  commemoration  of  the  celestial  passage,  or  'serpent  hole," 
into  which  Votan  in  his  quality  of  snake,  was  admitted.  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
boury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  72-3. 

fii  Cabrera  has  it  that  the  new-comers  are  seven  Tzequiles,  or  shipwrecked 
countrymen  of  Votan.  The  voyages  and  other  incidents  he  considers  con- 
firmed by  the  sculptures  on  the  Palenque  ruins,  which  shows  Votan  sur- 
rounded by  symbols  of  travel,  indications  of  the  places  visited  in  the  old  and 
new  world;  he  recognizes  the  attributes  of  Osiris  in  the  idol  brovight  over  by 
Votan,  with  the  intention  of  establishing  its  worship  in  the  new  world. 
Lastly,  Votan  and  his  families  are  Carthaginians.  Teairo,  in  liio's  Description, 
pp.  95,  34. 


454          GODS,  SUPEKNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

male  members.     Here  were  also  kept  a  number  of  tapirs, 
a  sacred  animal  among  the  people.62 

The  claims  of  Votan  to  be  considered  as  the  'heart  of  the 
people/  are  supported,  according  to  the  above  accounts, 
chiefly  by  his  name,  which  means  'heart,'  and  by  the  fact 
that  a  chalchiuite,  of  which  stone  the  relic  was  made,  was 
placed  by  the  Mexicans  and  other  peoples  between  the 
lips  of  deceased.  The  other  attributes  accord  more  with 
the  character  of  Quetzalcoatl,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the 
tradition  is  very  similar ;  its  confusion  goes  to  show  that 
it  is  a  mutilated  version  of  the  Toltec  myth.  If  we 
accept  Yotan  as  a  grandson  of  Quetzalcoatl  we  may  also 
suppose  that  he  was  one  of  the  disciples  sent  out  by  the 
prophet  to  spread  his  doctrines,  and  that  his  own  name 
has  been  substituted  for  that  of  his  master.  This  view 
is  favored  by  the  fact  that  Quetzalcoatl  is  identified  with 
the  snake-heroes  of  Yucatan  and  Guatemala,  countries 
that  lie  beside  and  beyond  Chiapas.  Then,  again,  we 
find  that  Yotan's  worship  was  known  in  Cholula,  and 
that  he  landed  in  the  very  region  where  the  former  hero 
disappeared.  However  doubtful  the  preceding  tradition 
may  be,  there  is  one  among  the  Oajacans,  which  to  me 
has  all  the  appearance  of  a  mutilated  version  of  the 
myth  of  Quetzalcoatl,  deformed  still  more  by  the  ortho- 
dox Fathers.  In  very  remote  times,  about  the  era  of 
the  apostles,  according  to  the  padres,  an  old  white  man, 
with  long  hair  and  beard,  appeared  suddenly  at  Huatul- 
co,  coming  from  the  south-west  by  sea,  and  preached  to 
the  natives  in  their  own  tongue,  but  of  things  beyond 
their  understanding.  He  lived  a  strict  life,  passing  the 
greater  part  of  the  night  in  a  kneeling  posture,  and  eat- 
ing but  little.  He  disappeared  shortly  after  as  mysteri- 
ously as  he  had  come,  but  left  as  a  memento  of  his  visit 

12  The  ruins  of  Huehuetan,  '  city  of  old  men,"  are  still  to  be  seen.  Bras- 
stur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  73-4;  Tschudi's  Peruvian  Antiq., 
pp.  11-15;  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  pp.  10-21.  Vega  mentions  that  at 
Teopixca  in  Chiapas  he  found  several  families  who  bore  the  hero's  name 
and  claimed  to  be  descendants  of  his.  This  has  little  value,  however,  for  we 
know  that  priests  assumed  the  name  of  their  god,  and  nearly  all  mythical 
heroes  have  had  descendants,  as  Zeus,  Herakles,  and  others.  Boturini,  Idea, 
p.  115. 


THE  APOSTLE  WIXEPECOCHA.  455 

a  cross,  which  he  planted  with  his  own  hand,  and  ad- 
monished the  people  to  preserve  it  sacredly,  for  one  day 
they  would  be  taught  its  significance.63  Some  authors 
describe  a  personage  of  the  same  appearance  and  charac- 
ter, coming  from  the  same  quarter,  and  appearing  in  the 
country  shortly  after,  but  it  is  doubtless  the  same  old 
man,  who,  on  leaving  Huatulco,  may  have  turned  his 
steps  to  the  interior.  His  voice  is  next  heard  in  Mict- 
lan,64  inveighing  in  gentle  but  firm  accents  against  the 
pleasures  of  this  world,  and  enjoining  repentance  and 
expiation.  His  life  was  in  strict  accordance  with  his 
doctrines,  and  never,  except  at  confession,  did  he  ap- 
proach a  woman.  But  the  lot  of  Wixepecocha,  as  the 
Zapotecs  call  him,  was  that  of  most  reformers.  Perse- 
cuted by  those  whose  vice  and  superstitions  he  attacked, 
he  was  driven  from  one  province  to  another,  and  at  last 
took  refuge  on  Mount  Cempoaltepec.  Even  here  his 
pursuers  followed  him,  climbing  its  craggy  sides  to  lay 
hands  upon  the  prophet.  Just  as  they  reached  the  sum- 
mit, he  vanished  like  a  shadow,  leaving  only  the  print 
of  his  feet  upon  the  rock.65 

Among  the  points  in  this  myth  that  correspond  to  the 
character  of  Quetzalcoatl  may  be  noticed  the  appearance 
of  the  prophet  from  the  south-west,  which  agrees  with 
the  direction  of  the  moisture-bearing  winds,  the  chief 
attribute  of  the  Toltec  god ;  the  cross,  which  indicates 
not  only  the  four  winds,  but  the  rain  of  which  they  are 
the  bearers,  attributes  recognized  by  the  Mexicans  who 
decorated  the  mantle  of  the  god  with  crosses;  the  long 
beard,  the  white  face,  and  the  dress,  which  all  accord 
with  the  Toltec  Quetzalcoatl.  Like  him  Wixepecocha 
taught  gentle  doctrines  of  reform,  like  him  he  was  perse- 


63  A  portion  of  this  relic  was  sent  to  Pope  Paul  V.,  in  1613;  the  remainder 
was  deposited  in  the  cathedral  for  safe  keeping.  Burgoa,  Geoy.  Descrip.,  torn, 
ii.,  pt  ii.,  fol.  350-2. 

M  The  place  of  the  dead,  or  hades,  also  called  Yopaa,  land  of  tombs. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  9. 

65  Fray  Juan  de  Ojedo  saw  and  felt  the  indentation  of  two  feet  upon  the 
rook,  the  muscles  and  toes  as  distinctly  marked  as  if  they  had  been  pressed 
upon  soft  wax.  The  Mijes  had  this  tradition  written  in  characters  on  skin. 
Bunjoa,  Geoy.  Descrip.,  torn,  i:.,  pt  ii.,  fol.  299. 


456         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

cuted  and  forced  to  wander  from  place  to  place,  and  at 
last  disappeared,  leaving  his  followers  the  hope  of  a  better 
future.  The  doctrine  of  Wixepecocha,  took  root  and 
flourished  in  the  land  he  had  consecrated  with  his  toils 
and  prayers,  and,  according  to  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Wiyatao,  the  pontiff  of  Zapotecapan,  was  vicar  and  suc- 
cessor of  the  '  prophet  of  Monapostiac.'  ^ 

The  early  padres  saw  in  this  personage  none  other 
than  St.  Thomas,  the  apostle,  who  had  walked  across 
to  plant  the  cross  and  prepare  the  way  for  Christianity. 
There  is,  or  was  until  recently,  a  statue  .of  him  in  the 
village  of  Magdalena,  four  leagues  from  Tehuantepec, 
which  represented  him  with  long  white  beard,  and 
muffled  up  in  a  long  robe  with  a  hood,  secured  by  a  cord 
round  the  waist;  he  was  seated  in  a  reflective  attitude, 
listening  to  the  confession  of  a  woman  kneeling  by  his 
side.67  A  similar  statue  is  mentioned  by  Burgoa,  as 
having  existed  in  a  cave  not  far  from  Xustlahuaca.  in 
Mistecapan,68  where  it  stood  near  the  entrance,  on  a  mar- 
ble monolith  eleven  feet  in  height.  The  approach  to  the 
cavern  appears  to  have  formerly  led  through  a  beautiful 
garden;  within  were  masses  of  stalactite,  of  the  most 
fantastic  and  varied  forms,  many  of  which  the  people 
had  fashioned  into  images  of  different  kinds,  and  of  the 
most  artistic  execution,  says  the  padre,  whose  fancy  was 
doubtless  aided  by  the  twilight  within.  Here  lay  the 
embalmed  bodies  of  kings  and  pontiffs,  surrounded  by  treas- 
ures, for  this  was  a  supposed  entrance  to  the  flowered 
fields  of  heaven.  The  temple  cave  at  Mictlan  bore  a 
similar  reputation,  and  served  as  a  sepulchre  for  the 
Zapotec  grandees.  It  consisted  of  four  chief  divisions, 
the  largest  forming  the  sanctuary  proper,  the  second  and 

66  A  name  given  to  Wixepecocha  by  the  tradition,  which  adds  that  he  was 
seen  on  the  island  of  Monapostiac,  near  Tehuantepec,  previous  to  his  final 
disappearance.   Brasseur  de  Jiourbourg,   Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  411. 
QuetZMlcoatl  also  disappeared  seaward. 

67  He  debarked  neur  Tehuantepec,  bearing  a  cross  in  his  hand;  Oondra, 
Rasf/os  y  senales  de  la  primera  predication  en  el  Nuevo-Mundo,  MS.;  Carriedo, 
Estudios,  Hist,  del  Eslado  Oaxaqueno,  torn,  i.,  cap.  i.;  Brasseur  de  Jiourbourg, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  9-10. 

68  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  seems  to   place  it  at  Chalcaton^o.  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  to.n.  iii.,  p.  19;  Bouryoa,  Geog.  Dcscrip.,  torn,  ii.,  pt  i.,  fol.  17U. 


GODS  OF  OAJACA.  457 

third  the  tombs  of  kings  and  pontiffs,  and  the  fourth  a 
vestibule  to  an  immense  labyrinthine  grotto,  in  which 
brave  warriors  were  occasionally  buried.  Into  this,  the 
very  ante-room  of  paradise,  frenzied  devotees  would  at 
times  enter,  and  seek  in  its  dark  mazes  for  the  abode  of 
the  gods ;  none  ever  returned  from  this  dread  quest,  for 
the  entrance  was  closed  with  a  great  stone,  and  doubt- 
less many  a  poor  wretch  as  he  touched  in  his  last  feeble 
gropings  the  bones  of  those  who  had  preceded  him,  felt 
the  light  come  in  upon  his  soul  in  spite  of  the  thick 
darkness,  and  knew  he  had  been  deluded;  but  the 
mighty  stone  at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  told  no  secrets.69 

The  prominence  of  the  Plutonic  element  in  the  wor- 
ship of  Oajaca  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Pezelao,  whose 
character  corresponded  to  that  of  the  Mexican  Mictlan- 
tecutli,  received  high  honors.  The  other  conspicuous 
gods,  as  enumerated  by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  were 
Pitao-Cocobi,  god  of  abundance,  or  of  the  harvest ;  Cociyo, 
the  rain  god ;  Cozaana,  patron  of  hunters  and  fishermen ; 
and  Pitao-Xoo,  god  of  earthquakes.  Other  deities  con- 
trolled riches,  misfortunes,  auguries,  poetic  inspiration 
— even  the  hens  had  their  patron  divinity.  As  might  be 
expected  of  a  people  who  regarded  even  living  kings  and 
priests  with  adoration,  apotheosis  was  common.  Thus, 
Petela,  an  ancient  Zapotec  cacique  whose  name  signified 
dog,  was  worshiped  in  the  cavern  of  Coatlan.  At  one 
end  of  this  subterranean  temple  a  yawning  abyss  re- 
ceived the  foaming  waters  of  a  mountain  torrent,  and 
into  this  slaves  and  captives,  gaily  dressed  and  adorned 
with  flowers,  were  cast  on  certain  occasions.70 

At  another  place  was  a  white  stone  shaped  like  a  nine- 
pin,  supposed  to  be  the  embodiment  of  Pinopiaa,  a  saintly 
princess  of  Zapotecapan,  whose  corpse  had  been  miracu- 
lously conveyed  to  heaven  and  returned  in  this  form  for 
the  benefit  of  the  devout.71 

69  Escalera  and  Liana,  Mcj.  Hist.  Descrip.,  p.  330. 

70  '  Le  tenian  enterrado,   seco,  y  embalsamado  en  sit  proporcion.'     The 
cave  was  supposed  to  connect  with  the  city  of  Chiapas,  200  leagues  distant. 
Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xiv. 

71  '  Piedra  blanca,  labrada  al  modo  de  vn  acho  de  bolos  .  ..vn  gruesso 
taladro.'  Bur,joa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  tom.ii.,  pt  ii.,  fol.  362. 


458         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP . 

In  Chiapas  they  worshiped  Costahuntox,  who  was  rep- 
resented with  ram's  horns  on  his  head,  and  sat  on  a 
throne  surrounded  by  thirteen  grandees.  In  the  district 
of  Llanos,  Yabalan,  or  Yahalan,  and  Canamlum  were 
the  chief  gods.  Even  living  beings  held  the  position  of 
deities,  according  to  Diaz,  who  states  that  a  fat  old 
woman,  dressed  in  richly  decorated  robes,  whom  the 
natives  venerated  as  a  goddess,  led  them  against  the 
Spanish  invaders,  but  was  killed.72  Among  the  Mijes  a 
green  flat  stone,  with  blood-red,  lustrous  rays,  was  held 
in  much  veneration.  Although  this  is  the  only  reference 
made  by  the  chroniclers  that  may  be  connected  with  sun  , 
worship, — which,  by  the  way,  could  scarcely  have  claimed 
a  very  high  position  here,  since  the  founder  of  the  Miz- 
tec  royal  family  is  stated  to  have  been  victorious  in  a 
contest  with  the  sun, — it  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  Zapo- 
tec  word  uuhu,  fire,  also  denotes  divinity,  idol,  everything 
sacred,  the  earth  itself.73  The  household  idols  had  their 
names,  history,  and  worship  depicted  on  bark,  and 
smoked  or  painted  hides,  in  order  to  keep  them  always 
before  the  people,  and  insure  to  the  youth  a  knowledge 
of  their  god.  How  firmly  rooted  idolatry  was,  and  how 
slow  the  work  of  eradicating  it  must  have  been, 
to  the  padres,  notwithstanding  they  destroyed  every 
idol  they  could  lay  hands  on,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  among  the  Guechecoros  a  statue  of  Cortes  served 
as  an  object  of  worship.74  Nagualism  is  one  of  the 
ancient  forms  of  worship  which  still  flourish,  and  consists 
in  choosing  an  animal  as  the  tulelary  divinity  of  child, 
whose  existence  will  be  so  closely  connected  with  it,  that 

72  Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  179;  Salazar  y  Olarte,  Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  p. 
137.     There  were  many  aruoug  the  padres  who  held  Yabalan  to  have  been  an 
immediate  descendant  of  Noah's  son  Ham,  because  the  name  signified  '  chief 
black  man,  or  negro.'  Pineda,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  iii.,  p.  419. 

73  Bmsseur  de  Boarbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  17;   DdvUa  PwHUu, 
Hist.  Fend.  Mex.,  pp.  638-9.     In  Chiapas  are  found  a  number  of  representa- 
tions of  heavenly  bodies,  sculptured,  or  drawn  and  at  Palenque  a  sun  tem- 
ple is  supposed  to  have  existed.    Pineda,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geoy.,  Boletin,  torn, 
iii.,  p.  419. 

74  They  '  worship  his  image  in  their  own  peculiar  way,  sometimes  by  cut- 
ting off  a  turkey's  head.'     '  The  natives  are  about  as  far  advanced  in  Christi- 
anity as  thej'  were  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.'  Hatching's  Cal.  Mag.,  vol.  ii., 
p.  542. 


TREE  WORSHIP.  459 

the  life  of  one  depends  on  that  of  the  other.  Burgoa 
states  that  the  priest  selected  the  animal  by  divination; 
when  the  boy  grew  up  he  was  directed  to  proceed  to  a 
mountain  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  there  the  animal  would 
appear  to  him.  Others  say  that  at  the  hour  of  the 
mother's  confinement,  the  father  and  friends  drew  on 
the  floor  of  the  hut  the  outline  of  various  animals,  effac- 
ing each  figure  as  soon  as  they  began  the  next,  and  the 
figure  that  remained  at  the  moment  of  delivery  repre- 
sented the  guardian  of  the  infant;  or,  that  the  bird  or 
beast  first  seen  by  the  watchers  after  the  confinement 
was  accepted  as  the  nagual.  The  bestowal  of  the  sign  of 
the  day  upon  the  infant  as  its  name  may  perhaps  be  con- 
sidered as  a  species  of  nagualism,  since  the  name  of  ani- 
mals often  formed  these  signs.75 

A  form  of  worship  particularly  marked  in  this  country 
was  the  veneration  accorded  to  trees,  as  may  be  judged 
from  the  myth  which  attributes  the  origin  of  the  Miztec, 
as  well  as  a  portion  at  least  of  the  Zapotec  people  to  two 
trees.  This  cult  existed  also  in  other  parts  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  where  cypresses  and  palms  grow- 
ing near  the  temples,  generally  in  groups  of  three,  were 
tended  with  great  care,  and  often  received  offerings  of 
incense  and  other  gifts.  They  do  not,  however,  seem 
to  have  been  dedicated  to  any  particular  god,  as  among 
the  Romans,  where  Pluto  claimed  the  cypress,  andVic- 
tory  the  palm.  One  of  the  most  sacred  of  these  relics  is 
a  cypress  standing  at  Santa  Maria  de  Tule,  the  venerable 
trunk  of  which  measures  ninety  feet  in  circumference,  at 
a  height  of  six  feet  from  the  ground.76 

One  of  the  chief  offerings  of  the  Zapotecs  was  the  blood 
of  the,  to  them  sacred,  turkey;  straws  and  feathers 
smeared  with  blood  from  the  back  of  the  ear,  and  from 
beneath  the  tongue  of  persons,  also  constituted  a  large  por- 

75  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  pt  ii.,  fol.  395;    Ferry,  Costal  L'Indien, 
pp.  6-7. 

76  Some  consider  it  to  be  composed  of  three  trunks  which  have  grown  to- 
gether, and  the  deep  indentations  certainly  give  it  that  appearance;  but  trees 
of  this  species  generally  present  irregular  forms.  Escaiera  and  Liana,  Mej, 
Hist.  Descrip.,  pp.  221-5;  Charnay,  Euints  Arnvr.,  phot,  xviii. 


460          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

tion  of  the  sacred  offerings,  and  were  presented  in  spec- 
ial grass  vessels.  Human  sacrifices  were  not  common  with 
the  Oajacan  people,  but  in  case  of  emergency,  captives 
and  slaves  were  generally  the  victims.  The  usual  mode 
of  offering  them  was  to  tear  out  the  heart,  but  in  some 
places,  as  at  Coatlan,  they  were  cast  into  an  abyss. 
Herrera  states  that  men  were  offered  to  the  gods,  women 
to  goddesses,  and  children  to  inferior  deities,  and  that 
their  bodies  were  eaten,  but  the  latter  statement  is  doubt- 
ful.77 

77  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xiv.;  Burgoa,  Oeog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii., 
pt  ii.,  fol.  282;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mfjico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  194.  Pontelli,  who  claims 
to  have  paid  a  visit  to  the  forbidden  retreats  of  the  mountain  Lacandoues, 
a  few  years  ago,  mentions,  among  other  peculiarities,  a  stone  of  sacrifice, 
interlaced  by  serpents,  and  covered  with  hieroglyphics,  on  which  the  heart 
of  human  beings  were  torn  out.  Correo  de  Ultramar,  Paris  1860 ;  Cat.  Farmer, 
Nov.  7.  1862. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

GODS,    SUPERNATURAL    BEINGS,    AND   WORSHIP. 

MAYA  PANTHRON — ZAMNA — CTJKULCAN — THE  GODS  OF  YUCATAN — THE  SYM- 
BOL OP  THE  CROSS  IN  AMERICA  —  HUMAN  SACRIFICES  IN  YUCATAN — 
PKIESTS  OF  YUCATAN — GUATEMALAN  PANTHEON — TEPEU  AND  HUBAKAN — 
ATILIX  AND  HACAVITZ— THE  HEKOES  OF  THE  SACKED  BOOK — QUICHE; 
GODS  —  WORSHIP  OF  THE  CHOLES,  MANCHES,  ITZAS,  LACANDONES,  AND 
OTHERS — TRADITION  OF  COMIZAHUAL — FASTS — PRIESTS  OF  GUATEMALA — 
GODS,  WORSHIP,  AND  PRIESTS  OF  NICARAGUA — WORSHIP  ON  THE  MOS- 
QUITO COAST  —  GODS  AND  WORSHIP  OF  THE  ISTHMIANS  —  PHALLIC  WOR- 
SHIP IN  AMERICA. 

The  religion  of  the  Mayas  was  fundamentally  the  same 
as  that  of  the  Nahuas,  though  it  differed  somewhat  in 
outward  forms.  Most  of  the  gods  were  deified  heroes, 
brought  more  or  less  prominently  to  the  front  by  their 
importance.  Occasionally  we  find  very  distinct  traces 
of  an  older  sun-worship,  which  has  succumbed  to  later 
forms,  introduced,  according  to  vague  tradition,  from 
Anahuac.  The  generality  of  this  cult  is  testified  to  by 
the  numerous  representations  of  sun-plates  and  sun-pil- 
lars found  among  the  ruins  of  Central  America.1 

1  '  Toda  esta  Tierra,  con  estotra,  . .  tenia  vna  misma  manera  de  religion, 
y  ritos,  y  si  en  algo  diferenciaba,  era,  en  imii  poco. '  '  Lo  mismo  fue  de  las 
Provincias  de  Quatimala,  Nicaragua,  y  Honduras.'  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
In  I.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  54,  191.  Tylor  thinks  that  'the  civilizations  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America  were  originally  independent,  but  that  they  came  much 
in  contact,  and  thus  modified  one  another  to  no  small  extent.'  Anahuac,  p. 
191.  '  On  recommit  facilement  que  le  culte  y  etait  partout  base  sur  le  ritnel 
tolteque,  et  que  les  formes  memes  ne  differaient  guere  les  unes  des  autres.' 
de  Hourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn.  ii..  p.  559. 
(461) 


462         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

In  Yucatan,  Hunab  Ku,  'the  only  god',  called  also 
Kinehahau,  'the  mouth  or  eyes  of  the  sun',2  is  repre- 
sented as  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Creator,  the  Invisible 
one,  whom  no  image  can  represent.3  His  spouse  Ixazal- 
voh  was  honored  as  the  inventor  of  weaving,  and  their 
son  Zamna,  or  Yaxcocahmut,  one  of  the  culture-heroes 
of  the  people,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  inventor  of 
the  art  of  writing.*  The  inquiries  instituted  by  Las 
Casas  revealed  the  existence  of  a  trinity,  the  first  per- 
son of  which  was  Izona,  the  Great  Father;  the  second 
was  the  Son  of  the  Great  Father,  Bacab,  born  of  the 
virgin  Chibirias,5  scourged  and  crucified,  he  descended 
into  the  realms  of  the  dead,  rose  again  the  third  day, 
and  ascended  into  heaven ;  the  third  person  of  the  trin- 
ity was  Echuah,  or  Ekchuah,  the  Holy  Ghost.6  Now,  to 
accuse  the  reverend  Fathers  of  deliberately  concocting 
this  and  other  statements  of  a  similar  character  is  to  ac- 
cuse them  of  acts  of  charlatanism  which  no  religious 
zeal  could  justify.  On  the  other  hand,  that  this  mys- 
terious trinity,  this  Maya  Christ-myth,  had  any  real  ex- 
istence in  the  original  belief  of  the  natives,  is  so  improb- 
able as  to  be  almost  impossible.  It  may  be,  however, 
that  the  natives,  when  questioned  concerning  their  re- 
ligion, endeavored  to  make  it  conform  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible to  that  of  their  conquerors,  hoping  by  this  means 
to  gain  the  good  will  of  their  masters,  and  to  lull  suspi- 
cions of  lurking  idolatry. 

Bacab,  stated  above  to  mean  the  Son  of  the  Great 
Father,  was  in  reality  the  name  of  four  spirits  who  sup- 

2  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  42,  calls  him  the 
sun. 

3  Representations  of  the  sun,  with  whom  he  seems  to  be  identified,  are 
not  impossible  to  these  peoples  if  we  may  judge  from  the  sun-plates  with 
lapping  tongues  and  other  representations  found  on  the  ruins  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America. 

*  '  Porque  a  este  le  llamaban  tambien  Ytzamna.'  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc., 
pp.  196,  192. 

5  The  daughter  of  Ixchel,  the  Yucatec  medicine  goddess.    Brasseur  de 
Bourborg,  Jlixt.  2fat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  43.     He  writes  the  virgin's  name  as 
Chiribias.     Ixchel  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  Guatemalan  Xmucaue,  mother 
of  the  gods.'  Id.,  Quatre  J^ttres,  p.  243. 

6  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologelica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiii.;  Cogolludo,  Hint.  Yuc.,  p. 
190;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  216;  To?-quemada,  Monarq.  Ind.t  torn,  iii.,  p. 
133. 


ZAMNA.  463 

ported  the  firmament;  while  Echuah,  or  the  Holy 
Ghost,  was  the  patron  god  of  merchants  and  travelers. 
The  goddess  Ixcanleox  was  held  to  be  the  mother  of 
the  gods,  but  as  Cogolludo  states  that  she  had  several 
names,  she  may  possibly  be  identical  with  Ixazaluoh, 
the  wife  of  Hunab  Ku,  whose  name  implies  generation.7 
The  Mayas  were  not  behind  their  neighbors  in  the  num- 
ber of  their  lesser  and  special  divinities,  so  that  there 
was  scarcely  an  animal  or  imaginary  creature  which  they 
did  not  represent  by  sacred  images.  These  idols,  or 
semes,8  as  they  were  called,  were  generally  made  of  terra 
cotta,  though  sometimes  they  were  of  stone,  gold,  or 
wood.  In  the  front  rank  of  the  circle  of  gods,  known 
by  the  name  of  ku,  were  the  deified  kings  and  heroes, 
whom  we  often  find  credited  with  attributes  so  closely 
connected  as  to  imply  identity,  or  representation  of 
varied  phases  of  the  same  element.9  The  most  popular 
names  were  Zamna  and  Cukulcan,  both  culture-heroes, 
and  considered  by  some  to  be  identical ;  a  very  probable 
supposition  when  we  consider  that  Quetzalcoatl,  who  is 
admitted  to  be  the  same  as  Cukulcan,  had  the  attribute 
of  the  strong  hand,  as  well  as  Zamna.  The  tradition 
relates  that  some  time  after  the  fall  of  the  Quinamean 
Empire,  Zamnd  appeared  in  Yucatan,  coming  from  the 
west,  and  was  received  witji  great  respect  wherever  he 
stayed.  Besides  being  the  inventor  of  the  alphabet,  he 
is  said  to  have  named  all  points  and  places  in  the 
country.  Over  his  grave  rose  a  city  called  Izamal 
or  Itzamat  Ul,  which  soon  became  one  of  the  chief  cen- 
tres of  pilgrimage  in  the  peninsula,  especially  for  the 
afflicted,  who  sincerely  believed  that  their  prayers  when 
accompanied  by  suitable  presents  would  not  fail  to  obtain 

7  '  Celle  de  1'eau  matrice  d'embryon,  ix-a-zal-uoh.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
MS.  Troano,  torn,  ii.,  p.  258. 

8  '  Idolo,  6  Zeim.'    Villayulierre,  Hist  Conq.   Itzn,  p.  33.     '  Zemes  which 
are  the  Images  of  their  familiar  and  domesticall  spirites.'  Peter  Martyr,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  vi. 

9  '  Les  dieux  de  1'Yucatan,  disent  Lizana  et  Cogolludo,  etaient  presqne 
tons  des  rois  pins  on  moins  bons  que  la  gratitude  on  la  terreur  avait  fait 
placer  au  rung  des  divinites. '  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
p.  20;  Landa,  Relation,  p.  158;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  198. 


464         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

a  hearing.  This  class  of  devotees  generally  resorted  to 
the  temple  where  he  was  represented  in  the  form  of  a 
hand,  Kab  Ul,  or  working  hand,  whose  touch  was  suf- 
ficient to  restore  health.10 

Professor  M tiller  thinks  it  very  uncertain  whether  the 
creating  or  working  hand  referred  to  the  sun,  as  was  the 
case  among  the  northern  tribes,  but  the  account  given 
of  the  following  idol  seems  to  me  to  make  this  not  im- 
probable. In  the  same  city  was  an  image  of  Kinich 
Kakmo,  'face  or  eye  of  the  sun',  whom  Landa represents 
to  be  the  offspring  of  the  sun,  but  who  subsequently  be- 
came identified  with  that  luminary  and  received  divine 
honors  in  the  very  temple  that  he  had  erected  to  his 
father.  He  is  represented  in  the  act  of  sacrifice,  point- 
ing the  finger  toward  a  ray  from  the  midday  sun,  as  if 
to  draw  a  spark  wherewith  to  kindle  the  sacred  fire.  To 
this  idol  the  people  resorted  in  times  of  calamity  and 
sickness,  bringing  offerings  to  induce  oracular  advice.11 
There  are  many  things  which  seem  to  me  to  identify 
this  personage  with  Zamna,  although  other  writers  hold 
them  to  be  distinct.  Cogolludo,  for  instance,  implies 
that  Zamna  was  the  only  son  of  the  sun,  or  Supreme 
Being,  while  Landa  and  others  declare  Kinich  Kakmo 
to  be  the  son  of  that  luminary;  both  are  placed  on  or 
about  the  same  level  and  considered  as  healers,  and  the 
uplifted  hand  of  the  latter  reminds  us  strongly  of  the 
Kab  Ul.  Another  form  in  which  we  may  recognize 

w  Lizam,  in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  356;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Tuc.,  p.  197;  Brin- 
ton,  MytJis,  p.  188,  speaks  of  '  Zainna,  or  Cukulcan,  lord  of  the  dawn  and  four 
winds,'  and  connects  him  with  Votan  also.  'Ilyatoute  upparence  qu'il 
etait  de  la  meme  race  (as  Votan)  et  que  son  arrivee  eut  lieu  peu  d'miuees 
apres  la  fondation  de  la  monarchic  palenqaeenue.'  Brasscur  de  Bourbourg, 
Hist,  Xat.  C'if.,  torn,  i.,  p.  76,  et  seq.  The  hand  in  picture-writing  signifies 
strength,  power,  mastery,  and  is  frequently  met  with  on  Central  American 
I'uius,  impressed  in  red  color.  Anioug  the  North  American  savages  it  was 
the  symbol  of  supplication.  Their  doctors  sometimes  smeared  the  hand 
with  paint  find  daubed  it  over  the  patient.  Schoolcrafv  in  Stephens'  Yuca- 
tan, vol.  ii.,  pp.  476-8. 

11  Lizaua,  in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  360,  translates  the  name  as  '  Sol  con 
rostro  que  sus  rayos  eran  de  fuego,1  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  198,  178; 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  MS.  Troano,  p.  270;  Id.,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
5-6;  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  475.  In  the  syllable  mo  of  the 
hero's  name  is  found  another  reference  to  the  sun,  for  moo  is  the  Maya  term 
for  the  bird  ara,  the  symbol  of  the  sun. 


CUKULCAN.  465 

Zamna  is  the  image  of  Itzamat  Ul,  or  '  the  dew  of  heaven', 
who  is  said  to  have  been  a  great  ruler,  the  son  of  god, 
and  who  cured  diseases,  raised  the  dead,  and  pronounced 
oracles.  When  asked  his  name,  he  replied,  ytzencaan, 
ytzenmuyaLn 

The  other  culture-hero,  Cukulcan,  appeared  in  Yuca- 
tan from  the  west,  with  nineteen  followers,  two  of  whom 
were  gods  of  fishes,  two  gods  of  farms,  and  one  of  thun- 
der, all  wearing  full  beard,  long  robes,  and  sandals,  but 
no  head-covering.  This  event  is  supposed  to  have  oc- 
curred at  the  very  time  that  Quetzalcoatl  disappeared  in 
the  neighboring  province  of  Goazacoalco,  a  conjecture 
which,  in  addition  to  the  similarity  of  the  names, 
character,  and  work  of  the  heroes,  forms  the  basis  for 
their  almost  generally  accepted  identity.  Cukulcan 
stopped  at  several  places  in  Yucatan,  but  at  last  settled 
in  Chichen  Itza,  where  he  governed  for  ten  years,  and 
framed  laws.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period,  he  left 
without  apparent  reason  to  return  to  the  country  whence 
he  had  come.  A  grateful  people  erected  temples  at 
Mayapan  and  Chichen,  to  which  pilgrims  resorted  from 
all  quarters  to  worship  him  as  a  god,  and  to  drink  of 
the  waters  in  which  he  had  bathed.  His  worship,  al- 
though pretty  general  throughout  Yucatan  at  one  time, 
was  later  on  confined  chiefly  to  the  immediate  scenes  of 
his  labors.13 

12  'El  que  recibe,  y  possee  la  gracia,  6  rozio  del  Cielo.'     'No  couocian 
otro  Dios  Autor  de  la  vida,  siiio  a  este.'  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  179.     '  Ce- 
lui  qui  demande  ou  obtientla  roseeou  la  glace,  ou  remplide  1'eau  en  bras  de 
glace,  itz-m-a-tul.'  Brasseurde  Bourbourg,  MS.  Troano,  tom.  ii.,  p.  257;  Landa, 
Eelacion,  pp.  284-5. 

13  After  staying  a  short  time  at  Potonchan,  he  embarked  and  nothing 
more  was  heard  of  him.     The  Codex  Chimalpopoca  states,  however,  that  he 
died  in  Tlapallan,  four  days  after  his  return.     Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  tom.  ii.,  p.  18.     In  another  place  this  writer  refers  to  three  broth- 
ers, itzaob,  '  saintly  man,'  who  were  probably  sent  by  Quetzalcoatl  to  spread 
his  doctrines,  but  who  ultimately  founded  a  monarchy.     They  also  seem  to 
throw  a  doubt  on  the  identity  of  Cukulcan  with  Quetzalcoatl.     '  II  n'y  a  pas 
k  douter,  toutefois,  que,  s'il  est  le  meme  que  Quetzalcohuatl,  la  doctrine  aura 
ete  la  meme.'  Id.,  pp.  10-1,  43.     Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ltd.,  tom.  ii.,  p.  52, 
states  that  the  Cocomes  were  his  descendants,  but  as  the  hero  never  married, 
his  disciples  must  rather  be  accepted  as  their  ancestors.  Landa,  Relation,  pp. 
35-9,  300-1:  Ilerrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  ii.     Veytia  connects 

-him  with  St.  Thomas.    Hist.  Antig.  Mfj.,  tom.  i.,  pp.  195-8.     Speaking  of 
Cukulcan  and  his  companions  Las  Casas  says:  '  A  este  llamaron  Dios  de  las 
VOL.  III.    30 


486          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

Besides  Izamal  and  Chichen,  there  was  a  third  great 
centre  of  worship  in  Yucatan,  namely,  the  temple  of 
Ahulneb,  on  Cozumel  Island,  said  by  some  writers  to 
have  been  the  chief  sanctuary,  Chichen  being  second  in 
importance.  It  consisted  of  a  square  tower  of  consider- 
able size,  within  which  was  the  gigantic  terra-cotta  statue 
of  Ahulneb,  dressed  as  a  warrior,  and  holding  an  arrow 
in  his  hand.  The  statue  was  hollow  and  set  up  close 
against  an  aperture  in  the  wall,  by  which  the  priest  en- 
tered the  figure  to  deliver  the  oracle;  should  the  predic- 
tion not  be  fulfilled,  which  was  scarcely  likely  as  it  was 
generally  so  worded  that  it  might  mean  anything  or 
nothing,  the  failure  was  ascribed  to  insufficient  sacrifice 
or  unatoned  sin.  So  famous  did  this  oracle  become, 
and  so  great  was  the  multitude  of  pilgrims  continually 
flocking  to  it,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  construct 
roads  leading  from  the  chief  cities  of  Yucatan,  and  even 
from  Tabasco  and  Guatemala,  to  Pole,  a  town  on  the 
continent  opposite  the  island.  Before  embarking,  the 
genius  of  the  sea  was  always  propitiated  by  the  sacrifice 
of  a  dog,  which  was  slain  with  arrows  amid  music  and 
dancing.14 

The  Bacabs  were  four  brothers  who  supported  the 
four  corners  of  the  firmament;  they  were  also  regarded 
as  air  gods.  Cogolludo  speaks  of  them  as  Zacal  Bacab, 
Canal  Bacab,  Chacal  Bacab,  and  Ekel  Bacab,  but  they 
were  also  known  by  other  names.  Echuah  was  the 
patron-god  of  merchants  and  of  roads;  to  him  the  trav- 
eler erected  every  night  a  rude  altar  of  six  stones,  three 
laid  flat,  and  three  set  upright,  upon  which  he  burned 
incense  while  he  invoked  the  protection  of  the  god.  It 

fiebres  6  Calentnras  . .  .Los  cuales  mandaban  que  se  confesasen  las  gentes  y 
ayunasen;  y  que  algunos  ayunaban  el  viernes  porque  hnbia  mnerto  aqnel 
dia  Bacab;  y  tiene  por  nombre  aquel  dia  Hinris.'  Hist.  Apolo(/<!ti<;<i,  XI S., 
cap.  cxxiii.  'Kukulcan,  vient  de  kuk,  oiseau  qui  parait  etre  le  meme  que  le 
quetzal;  son  determinatif  est  knkul  qui  uni  a  cow,  serpent,  faitex.-icteiuent  le 
meme  mot  que  Quetzal  Cokuatl,  serpent  aux  plumes  vertes,  ou  de  Quetzal. ' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Ismda,  Relation,  p.  35. 

"  Gomara,  Conq.  Max.,  fol.  22;    Landa,  Relation,  p.  158;    Coaolludo,  Hist. 
Yuc.,  p.  202;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hint.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  46-7.     '  Se 
tenian  por  santiftcados  los  que  alia  auian  estado,'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.' 
iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  iv. 


YUCATEC  DEITIES.  467 

was  considered  a  religious  duty  by  Yucatec  wayfarers, 
when  passing  some  prominent  point  on  the  road  or  spot 
where  an  image  of  Echuah  stood,  to  add  a  stone  or  two 
to  the  heap  already  accumulated  there,  an  act  of  devo- 
tion similar  to  that  performed  by  the  Romans  in  honor 
of  Mercury.  Yuncemil  was  Lord  of  Death,  or,  perhaps, 
the  personification  of  death  itself;  this  dread  deity  was 
propitiated  with  offerings  of  food.15  Acat  was  God  of 
Life ;  he  it  was  that  formed  the  infant  in  the  womb.  At 
Tihoo,  the  present  Merida,  stood  the  magnificent  temple 
of  Yahau  Kuna  in  which  Baklum  Chaam,  the  Priapus 
of  the  Mayas  and  their  most  ancient  god  was  worshiped. 
Chac,  or  Chaac.  a  former  king  of  Izamal,  was  honored 
as  the  god  of  fields,  and  fertility,  and  the  inventor  of 
agriculture.  Some  distance  south-west  of  this  city  was 
the  temple  of  Hunpictok,  '  commander  of  eight  thousand 
lances',  a  title  given  also  to  the  general  of  the  army.16 
Abchuy  Kak  was  another  apotheosized  warrior-prince, 
whose  statue,  dressed  in  royal  robes,  was  borne  in  the 
van  of  the  army  by  four  of  the  most  illustrious  captains, 
and  received  an  ovation  all  along  the  route.  Yxchebel- 
yax  is  mentioned  as  the  inventor  of  the  art  of  inter- 
weaving figures  in  cloth,  and  of  painting.  Xibalba,  l  he 
who  disappears,'  was  the  name  of  the  evil  spirit.  Ex- 
quemelin  relates  that  nagualism  obtained  on  the  coast. 
The  naked  child  was  placed  on  a  bed  of  ashes  in  the 
temple,  and  the  animal  whose  footprint  was  noticed  in 
the  ashes,  was  adopted  as  the  nagual,  and  to  it  the  child 
offered  incense  as  it  grew  up.17 

One    of    the   most    remarkable  emblems    of    Maya 

15  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  50,  calls  the  god  of 
death  Kakalku.     Baeza,  in  Registro   Yuc.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  168-9,  mentions  a 
transparent  stone  called  zatzun,  by  means  of  which  hidden  things  and  causes 
of  diseases  could  be  discovered. 

16  '  Cette  divinite  parait  etre  la  meme  que  le  Tihax  des  Quiches  et  Cakchi- 
quels,  le  Tecpatl  des  Mexicains,  la  lance  ou  la  fleche.'  Brasseur  de  Bourboury, 
in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  363. 

«  Zee-Rovers,  p.  64;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  178,  190-1,  196-7;  Landa, 
Relacipn,  pp.  206-8;  Lizana,  in  Id.,  pp.  356-64;  Ternaux-Comparts,  in  Nou- 
velles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  tom.  xcvii.,  pp.  40-4;  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol. 
i.,  pp.  17,  32;  Remesnl,  Hist.  Chyapa,  pp.  245-6;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Hist.  Nat,  Civ.,  tom.  ii.,  pp.  4-10,  20,  42-50. 


438          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

worship,  in  the  estimation  of  the  conquerors,  was  the 
cross,  which  has  also  been  noticed  in  other  parts  of  Cen- 
tral America  and  in  Mexico,18  although  less  prominently 
than  here.  Among  the  many  conjectures  as  to  its  origin  it 
is  supposed  that  it  was  received  from  Spaniards  who 
were  wrecked  on  the  coast  before  Cordova  discovered 
Yucatan,  as,  for  instance,  the  pious  Aguilar,  Cortes'  in- 
terpreter ;  but  this  would  not  account  for  the  crosses  that 
existed  in  other  parts  of  Central  America.  The  natives 
had  a  tradition,  however,  which  placed  the  introduction 
of  the  cross  a  few  years  before  the  conquest.  Among 
the  many  prophets  who  arose  at  that  time  was  one  who 
predicted  the  coming  of  a  strange  people  from  the  di- 
rection of  the  rising  sun,  who  would  bring  with  them 
a  monotheistic  faith  having  the  cross  for  its  emblem. 
He  admonished  them  to  accept  the  new  religion,  and 
erected  a  cross  as  a  token  of  his  prophecy.19  Another 
tradition  states  that  a  very  handsome  man  passed  through 
the  country  and  left  the  cross  as  a  memento,  and  this 
many  of  the  padres  readily  believed,  declaring  this  per- 
sonage to  be  none  other  than  the  wanderer  St  Thomas.20 
The  opinion  that  it  was  introduced  by  early  Christians, 
or  old-world  pagans,  is,  however,  opposed  by  the  argu- 
ment that  other  more  practical  features  of  their  culture 

18  '  Tra  le  Croci  sono  celebri  quelle  di  Jucatau,  della  Mizteea,  di  Queretaro, 
di  Tepique,  e  di  Tianquiztepec.'  dai'igero,  Moria  Ant.  del  Mestdco,  torn.  ii.. 
p.  14.     There  were  also  crosses  at  Palenque,  on  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  at  Copan, 
iu  Nicaragua,  and  other  places.     '  Die  Toltekeu  haben  namlich  die  Vereh- 
rnn'4  des  Kreuzes  mit  durohans  bewusster  Beziehung  desselben  auf  den 
Regen,  von  der  alten  Urbevolkerung  aiifgenommen.'  Mulkr,  Annrikanische 
Urreliuionen,  pp.  498-9;  Palacio,  Curia,  p.  88. 

19  This  and  other  prophecies,  which,  if  not  mere  fabrications,  bear  at 
least  marks  of   mutilation   and  addition,   may  be  found  in   Torquemada, 
Monarq.  bid.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  132-3;  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  pp.  245-6;  Co<jol- 
ludo,  Hisf.  Yuc.,  pp.  99-100;  Brasseur  de  Baurloury,  Hist.  not.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
pp.  603-6.     Briuton  thinks  that  they  may  refer  to  '  the  return  of  Zamma,  or 
Kuckulcan,  lord  of  the  dawn  and  the  four  winds,  worshipped  at  Cozumel 

. .  .under  the  sign  of  the  cross.'  Myths,  p.  188.     The  report  circulated  by 
Aguilar  of  his  people  and  of  the  cross,  may  have  given  the  prophets  a  clue. 

"20  '  The  formation  of  such  an  opinion  by  the  Spaniards  seems  to  shew 
almost  conclusively,  that  the  aborigines  of  the  country  did  not  retain  any 
traditional  history  on  the  subject  that  would  justify  the  simple  belief,  that 
Catholic  Europeans  had  ever  possessed  influence  enough  among  them  to 
have  established  so  important  a  feature  in  their  superstitious  observances.' 
McCulloh,  liesearches  in  Amer.,  p.  327.  'Afirmaban  que  por  que  habia  muer- 
to  en  ella  un  hombre  mas  replandeciente  que  el  sol.'  Las  Cams,  Hist.  Ajwlo- 
getica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiii;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i. 


THE  SYMBOL  OF  THE  CROSS.  469 

would  have  left  their  mark  at  the  same  time.  The  sym- 
bol itself  is  so  simple  and  suggestive  of  so  many  ideas 
that  it  seems  to  me  most  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
natives  adopted  it  without  foreign  aid.  At  all  events, 
us  the  crojs  was  in  use  both  as  a  religious  emblem  and 
an  instrument  of  punishment  long  before  the  Christian 
era.  it  is  surely  unnecessary  to  account  for  its  presence 
in  America  by  Christ-myths  invented  for  the  occasion, 
or,  in  fact,  in  any  way  to  connect  it  with  Christianity. 
The  most  common  signification  attributed  to  the  symbol 
is  fertility  or  generation.  A  piece  of  wood  fastened 
horizontally  to  an  upright  beam  indicated  the  height  of 
the  overflow  of  the  Nile.  If  the  flood  reached  this  mark, 
the  crops  flourished;  should  it  fail  to  do  so,  famine  was 
the  result;  thus,  we  are  told,  in  Egypt  the  cross  came  to 
be  worshipped  as  a  symbol  of  life  and  generation,  or 
feared  as  an  image  of  decay  and  death.  By  other  peo- 
ples and  for  other  reasons  it  was  closely  connected  with 
phallic  rites,  of  which  I  shall  speak  elsewhere,  or  was 
connected  with  the  worship  of  that  great  fertilizer  and 
life-giver,  the  sun.  Among  the  Chinese  the  cross  signi- 
fies conception.  The  cross  of  Thor  may  possibly  be 
an  exception,  and  refer  merely  to  his  hammer  or  thun- 
derbolt.21 

With  the  Mexicans  the  cross  was  a  symbol  of  rain, 
the  fertilizing  element,  or  rather  of  the  four  winds,  the 
bearers  of  rain,  and  as  such  it  was  one  of  Quetzalcoatl's 
emblems.  Chalchiuitlicue,  the  sister  of  the  rain-gods, 
bore  in  her  hands  a  cross-shaped  vessel.  The  cross  is  to 
be  found  in  Mexican  MSS.,  and  appears  in  that  of  Fe- 

21  Mr  Godfrey  Higgins,  in  his  Celtic  Druids,  p.  126,  says:  'Few  causes 
have  been  more  powerful  in  producing  mistakes  in  ancient  history ,N than 
the  idea,  hastily  taken  up  by  Christians  in  all  ages,  that  every  monument  of 
antiquity  marked  with  a  cross,  or  with  any  of  those  symbols  which  they 
conceived  to  be  monograms  of  Christ,  were  of  Christian  origin.  . .  .The  cross 
is  as  common  in  India  as  in  Egypt,  and  Europe,'  Mr  Maurice,  in  his  Indian 
Antiquities,  vol.  ii.,  p.  361,  writes:  '  Let  not  the  piety  of  the  Catholic  Chris- 
tian be  offended  at  the  preceding  assertion  that  the  cross  was  one  of  the 
most  usual  symbols  among  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt  and  India.'  The 
emblem  of  universal  nature  is  equally  honored  in  the  Gentile  and  Chris- 
tian world.  '  In  the  cave  at  Elephanta,  in  India,  over  the  head  of  the 
principal  figure,  again  may  be  seen  this  figure  (the  cross),  and  a  little  in 
the  front  the  huge  Liughani'  (phallus). 


470         GODS,  SUPERNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

jervary  with  a  bird,  which,  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  air, 
may  be  said  to  accord  with  the  character  of  the  symbol. 
The  Mexican  name  of  the  cross,  tonacaquahuitl,  l  tree  of 
one  life,  or  flesh,'  certainly  conveys  the  idea  of  fertility. 
It  is  nevertheless  regarded  by  some  writers  merely  as  an 
astronomical  sign.22  The  first  cross  noticed  by  the  Span- 
iards stood  within  the  turreted  courtyard  of  a  temple 
on  Cozumel  Island;  it  was  composed  of  lime  and  stone, 
and  was  ten  spans  (palmos)  in  height.  To  this  cross  the 
natives  prayed  for  rain,  and  in  times  of  drought  went  in 
procession  to  offer  vahomche,  as  they  called  the  symbol, 
quails  and  other  propitiatory  gifts.  Another  cross  stood 
within  the  precincts  of  the  Spanish  cloister  at  Merida, 
whither  the  pious  monks  had  most  likely  brought  it  from 
Cozumel;  it  was  about  three  feet  high,  six  inches  thick, 
and  had  another  cross  sculptured  on  its  face.23  The 
sculptured  cross  at  Palenque  has  the  latin  form ;  a  bird 
is  perched  on  its  apex,  and  on  either  side  stands  a  human 
figure,  apparently  priests,  one  of  whom  offers  it  a  child. 


M 


22  Constantio  holds  it  to  be  a  symbol  of  the  solstices.  Mrtlte-Brun,  Precis 
de  la  Gtiog.,  torn,  vi.,  pp.  464-5;  Humboldt,  Exam.  Grit.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  354-6; 
Waldeck,  Voy.  Pitt.,  p.  24;   Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreli<ji<men,  pp.  497-500 ; 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  133,  200-6,   '299;    M'Culloh's  Re- 
searches, pp.  331-6;   Klemm,  Cultur-Geschichte,  toin.  v.,  p.  143;   Gomara,  Hist. 
Ind.,  fol.  63.     Briiiton  refers  to  a  statement  that  the  Mexicans  had  cruciform 
graves,  and  supposes  that  this  referred  to  four  spirits  of  the  world  who  were 
to  carry  the  deceased  to  heaven,  but  there  seems  to  be  a  mistake  on  both  of 
these  points.  Myths,  pp.  95-8;   Gould's  Curious  Myths,  vol.  ii.,  p.  79,  et  seq.;. 
Cox's  Mythology  of  Aryan  Nations,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  369-72.     Some  of  the  crosses 
referred  to  lack  the  head  piece,  and  being  of  this  shape,  T»  resemble,  some- 
what, a  Mexican  coin. 

23  '  No  solo  se  hallo  vna  Cruz,  sino  algunaa.'  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp. 
199-302;   Bernal  Diaz,  Hist.  Conq.,  fol.  3;   Hererra,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib. 
iii.,  cap.  i. ;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  24.     Stephens  found  a  cross  at  the 
church  of  Mejorada,  in  Merida.  which  an  old  monk  had  dug  out  of  the  ruins 
of  a  church  on  Cozumel  Island.     '  The  connecting  of  the  "  Cozumel  Cross" 
with  the  ruined  church  on  the  island  completely  invalidates  the  strongest 
proof  offered  at  this  day  that  the  cross  was  ever  recognized  by  the  Indians 
as  a  symbol  of  worship.'   Yucatan,  vol.  ii..  pp.  377-8.     Rather  a  hasty  asser- 
tion when  made  in  the  face  of  so  many  old  authorities. 

24  This  seems  to  confirm  the  idea  that  it  was  worshiped,  yet  Constnntio 
regards  it  as  a  representation  of  the  birth  of  the  sun  in  the  winter  solstice, 
and  holds  the  ruin  to  which  the  cross  belongs  to  be  a  sun  temple.  Maltr- 
Brun,  Precis  de  la  Geog.,  torn,  vi.,  pp.  464-5;    Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreli- 
gionen,  p.  498;  Stephen's  Cent.  Amer.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  345-8.     Squier.  who  denies 
that  the  Tonacaquahuitl  was  intended  to  represent  a  cross,  thinks  that  the 
Palenque  cross  merely  represents   one   of  tbese   trees  with  the   branches 
placed  crosswise.  Palacio,  Carta,  pp.  12i)-l;  Jones,  Hist.  Anc.  Amer.,  p.  149, 
et  seq,  who  identifies  almost  every  feature  of  Central  American  worship 


HUMAN  SACKIFICES  IN  YUCATAN.  471 

The  Yucatecs  were  as  careful  as  the  Mexicans  to  pre- 
pare for  their  numerous  festivals  by  fasts  marked  by 
strict  chastity  and  absence  from  salt  and  pepper.25  Scar- 
ification could  not  be  omitted  by  the  pious  on  these  oc- 
casions, although  women  were  not  called  upon  to  draw 
blood.26  Yet  their  gods  were  not  by  any  means  so  blood- 
thirsty as  the  Mexican,  being  generally  appeased  by  the 
blood  of  animals,  and  human  sacrifices  were  called  for 
only  on  extraordinary  occasions.  Cukulcan,  like  his 
prototype  Quetzalcoatl,  doubtless  opposed  the  shedding 
of  human  blood,  but  after  his  departure  the  practice 
certainly  existed,  and  the  pit  at  Chichen  Itza,  whose 
waters  he  had  consecrated  with  his  person,  was  among 
the  first  places  to  be  polluted.  The  victims  here  were 
generally  young  virgins,  who  were  charged  when  they 
should  come  into  the  presence  of  the  gods  to  entreat  them 
for  the  needed  blessings.  Medel  relates  that  on  one  oc- 
casion the  victim  threatened  to  invoke  the  most  terrible 
evils  upon  the  people,  instead  of  blessings,  if  they  sac- 
rificed her  against  her  will;  the  perplexed  priests 
thought  it  prudent  to  let  the  girl  go,  and  select  another 
and  more  tractable  sacrifice  in  her  place.  The  victims 
who  died  under  the  knife,  or  were  tied  to  a  tree  and 
shot,  were  usually  enslaved  captives,  especially  those  of 
rank,  but  when  these  failed,  criminals  and  even  children 
were  substituted.  All  contributed  to  these  sacrifices, 
either  by  presenting  slaves  and  children,  or  by  subscrib- 
ing to  the  purchase  money.  While  awaiting  this  doom 
the  victims  were  well  treated,  and  conducted  from  town 
to  town  amid  great  rejoicings;  care  was  taken,  however, 
that  no  sinful  act  should  detract  from  their  purity  or 

with  the  Phoenician,  asserts  that  the  Palenque  cross  proves  the  Tyrian  origin 
of  the  aborigines. 

25  Cogolludo  says,  however:  '  Solian  ayunar  dos,  y  fares  dias,  sin  comer 
cosaalguna.'  Hist.  Yuc,.,  p.  194. 

26  These  mutilations  were  at  times  very  severe.     '  Otras  vczes  hazian  un 
snzio  y  penoso  sacrificio  anndandose  los  que  lo  hazian  en  el  templo,  donde 
puestas  en  rengla,  se  hnzian  sendos  aguzeros  en  los  miembros  viriles  al  sos 
layo  por  el  lado,  y  hechos  passavan  toda  la  nias  cantidad  de  hiio  que  podian, 
quedando  assi  todos  asidos.'  Landa,  Relation,  pp.  162-2.     This  author  thinks 
that  the  practice  of  slitting  the  prepuce  gave  rise  to  the  idea  that  circumci- 
sion existed  in  Yucatan. 


472         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

value.27  Sometimes  the  body  was  eaten,  says  Landa, 
the  feet,  hands  and  head  being  given  to  the  priests,  the 
rest  to  the  chiefs  and  others ;  but  Cogolludo  and  Gomara 
insist  that  cannibalism  was  not  practiced.  The  latter 
statement  can  not  apply  to  the  whole  of  the  peninsula, 
however,  for  on  a  preceding  page  Cogolludo  relates  that 
Aguilar's  shipwrecked  companions  were  sacrificed  and 
eaten  by  the  natives.28 

Confession,  which  Cukulcan  is  said  to  have  introduced, 
was  much  resorted  to,  the  more  so  as  death  and  disease 
wrere  thought  to  be  direct  punishments  for  sin  commit- 
ted. Married  priests  were  the  regular  confessors,  but 
these  were  not  always  applied  to  for  spiritual  aid ;  the 
wife  would  often  confess  to  her  husband,  or  a  husband 
to  his  wife,  or  sometimes  a  public  avowal  was  made.  Men- 
tal sins  however,  says  Landa,  were  not  confessed.29 

The  priesthood  of  Yucatan  were  divided  into  different 
factions,  some  of  which  regarded  Zamna  and  Cukulcan 
as  their  respective  founders,  while  others  remained  true 
to  more  ancient  leaders.  According  to  Landa  the  high- 
priest  was  termed  Ahkin  Mai,  or  Ahau  Can  Mai,  and 
held  in  great  veneration,  as  one  whose /ad  vice  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  kings  and  grandees.  The  revenues  of  the 
office,  which  passed  as  an  inheritance  to  the  son  or  near- 
est relative,  consisted  of  presents  from  the  king  and  of 
tributes  collected  by  the  priests.  The  ordinary  priests 
bore  the  title  of  ahkin™  and  were  divided  into  several 

27  Landa,  Pelacion,  pp.  161-8;  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  193-4;  Medd,  in 
Nouvellvs  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcvii.,  p.  43;  vol.  ii.,   pp.  704-5,  of 
this  work.     'For  want  of  children  they  sacrifice  dogges.'  Peter  Martyr,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  vi.     '  El  numero  de  la  gente  sacrificada  era  mucho:  y  esta  costnmbre 
fue  iutroduzida  en  Yucatan,  por  los  Mexicauos.'     'Flechauan  algunas  vezes 
al  sacrincado . . . .  desollauanlos,  vestiase  el  sacerdote  el  pellejo,  y  baylauo,  y 
enterrauan   el  cnerpo   en   el  patio   del  templo.'  Hcrrera,    Hist.    Gen.,   dec. 
iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  iii.,  iv.      Tradition  relates  that  in  a  cave  near  Uxmal  existed 
a  well  like  that  of  Chichen.  guarded  by  an  old  woman,  the  builder  of  the 
dwarf  palace  in  that  city,  who  sold  the  water  for  infants,  and  these  she  cast 
before  the  snake  at  her  side.  Step/tens'  Cent.  Anter.,  vol  ii.,  p.  425. 

28  Landa,  Rdacion,  p.  1C5;   Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  pp.  25,  180;  Gomara, 
Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  62. 

29  Relation,  p.  154;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  iv.     For  des- 
cription of  baptismal  rites,  see  vol.  ii.,  pp.  082— 4,  of  this  work. 

3"  '  Que  se  deriva  de  un  verbo  kin  yah.  que  signiflca  "  sortear  6  echr.r 
suertes. "  '  Lizana,  in  Landa,  Relation,  p.  362. 


PKIESTS  OF  YUCATAN.  473 

classes.  Some  of  them  preached,  made  offerings,  kept 
records,  and  instructed  the  sons  of  nobles  and  those  des- 
tined for  the  priesthood  in  the  various  branches  of  edu- 
cation. The  chilanes  who  construed  the  oracles  of  the 
gods,  and  accordingly  exercised  great  influence,  held  the 
highest  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  before 
whom  they  appeared  in  state,  borne  in  litters.  The  sor- 
cerers and  medicine  men  foretold  fortunes  and  cured 
diseases.  The  chacs  were  four  old  men  elected  at  every 
celebration  to  assist  the  priests,  from  which  it  would 
seem  that  the  priesthood  was  not  a  very  numerous  body. 
nacon  was  the  title  of  the  sacrificer,  an  office  held 
for  life,  but  little  esteemed ;  this  title  was  also  borne  by 
the  general  of  the  army,  who  assisted  at  certain  festi- 
vals. Marriage  seems  to  have  been  permitted  to  all, 
and  confessors  were  actually  required  to  have  wives,  yet 
there  were  doubtless  a  large  number  who  lived  in  a  state 
of  celibacy,  devoted  to  their  sacred  duties.  Their  dress 
varied  according  to  their  rank,  the  high-priest  being  dis- 
tinguished by  a  mitre  in  addition  to  his  peculiar  robe ; 
the  most  usual  dress  was,  however,  a  large  white  cotton 
robe31  and  a  turban  formed  by  wreathing  the  unwashed 
hair  round  the  head,  and  keeping  it  pasted  in  that 
position  with  blood.  Connected  with  the  sun  wor- 
ship was  an  order  of  vestals,  formed  by  princess  Zu- 
hui  Kak,  'fire  virgin,'  the  daughter  of  Kinich  Kakmo. 
superioress  of  the  vestals.  The  members  were  all  vol- 
unteers, who  generally  enrolled  themselves  for  a  certain 
time,  at  the  expiration  of  which  they  were  allowed  to 
leave  and  enter  the  married  state;  some,  however,  re- 
mained for  ever  in  the  service  of  the  temple,  and  were 
apotheosized.  Their  duty  was  to  tend  the  sacred  fire, 
the  emblem  of  the  sun,  and  to  keep  strictly  chaste: 
those  who  broke  their  vows  were  shot  to  death  with 


31  '  Longues  robes  noires.'  Mordet,  Voyage,  torn,  i.,  p.  168. 

3?  Cogolludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  198;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  (5;  Ternaux-Compans,  in  Nourellcs  Annales  des  Vvy.,  1843,  torn, 
xcvii.,  pp.  39-41.  Temples  are  described  in  vol.  ii.,  pp.  791-3,  of  this  work. 


474         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

The  chief  account  of  Guatemalan  worship  is  derived 
from  the  sacred  book  of  the  Quiches,  the  Popol  Vuh,  to 
which  I  have  already  referred  in  the  opening  pages  of 
this  volume,  but  the  description  given  in  it  is  so  con- 
fused, the  names  and  attributes  of  the  gods  so  mixed, 
that  no  very  reliable  conclusions  can  be  derived  there- 
from. This  very  confusion  seems,  however,  to  indicate 
that  the  imported  names  of  Hurakan,  Gucumatz,  and 
others,  were  with  their  attributes  attached  to  native  he- 
roes, who  undergo  the  most  varying  fortunes  and  charac- 
ter, amid  which  now  and  then  a  glance  is  obtained  at 
their  original  form. 

The  most  ancient  of  the  gods  are  two  persons  called 
Hun  Ahpu  Vuch  and  Hun  Ahpu  UtYu,  or  Xpiyacoc  and 
Xmucane,  Creator  and  Protector,  Grandfather  and  Grand- 
mother of  the  sun  and  moon,  who  are  often  confounded 
under  either  gender  and  represented  with  big  noses,  like 
tapirs,  an  animal  sacred  to  these  people.  Brasseur  iden- 
tifies them  with  the  Mexican  Oxomoco  and  Cipactonal,33 
Tonacatlecutli  and  Tonacatepetl,  Ometecutli  and  Omeci- 
huatl,  the  female  also  with  Centeotl  and  Toci,  and  places 
her  in  the  Quiche  calendar  as  Hun  Ahpu,  while  the  male 
heads  the  list  of  months  under  the  name  of  Imox.34  Con- 


33  '  Celebres  dans  toutes  les  traditions  d'origine  tolteque,  comme  les  peres 
du  soleil  et  de  la  magie.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p. 
120. 

34  '  Hun- Ahpu-  Vuch  un  Tireur  de  Sarbacane  au  Sarigue  et  Hun- Ahpu-  Ut'iu 
un  Tireur  de  Sarbacane  au  Chacal.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popl  Vult,  pp. 
cxviii.,  cxix,  pp.  2-5.    They  are  also  referred  to  as  conjurers.  Id.,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  54.     Ximenez  spells  the  latter  name  Huu-ahpu-uhii,  and 
Btates  that  they  are  held  as  oracles.  Hist.  Ind.  Gnat.,  pp.  4,  156-8,  82.     Las 
Casas,  Hist.  Apologitica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv,  refers  to  these  beings  as  having 
been  adored  under  the  name  of  grandfather  and  grandmother  before  the 
deluge,  but  later  on  a  woman  appeared  who  taught  them  to  call  the  gods  by 
other  names.     This  woman,  Brnsseur  de  Bourbourg  holds  to  be  the  tradi- 
tional and  celebrated  queen  Atit,  from  whom  Atitlan  volcano  obtained  its 
name,  and  from  whom  the  princely  families  of  Guatemala  have  descended. 
The  natives  still  recall  her  name,  but  as  that  of  a  phantom.     Hist.  Nat.  do., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  74-5.     He  further  finds  considerable  similarity  between  her  and 
Aditi  of  the  Veda.     In  his  solution  of  the  Antilles  cataclysm  he  identifies 
Xmucane  as  the  South  American  part  of  the  continent  and  Xpiyacoc  as 
North  America.  Qu/itre  Leitres,  pp.  223-4,  235-8.     Garcia,  Oriijen  de  los  Ind., 
pp.  329-31),  culls  these  first  beings  Xchinel  and  Xtmana,  and  gives  them  three 
sons,  who  create  nil  things.     In  the  younger  of  these  we  recognize  the  two 
legitimate  sons  of  Hunhuu  Ahpu,  who  will  be  described  later  on  as  the  patrons 
of  the  fine  arts. 


TEPEU  AND  HUEAKAN.  475 

nected  with  them  stands  Tepeu,  termed  by  the  sacred 
book  Dominator,  He  who  Begets,  and  whose  name  means 
grand,  majestic.  Ximenez,  by  translating  his  name  as 
buboes,  or  syphilis,  connects  him  with  Nanalmatzin,  the 
Nahua  hero  who  threw  himself  into  the  fire  and  rose  as 
the  sun.35  Tepeu  is  more  generally  known  under  the 
name  of  Gucumatz,  '  feathered  snake/  which  is  univer- 
sally identified  with  Quetzalcoatl,  the  Nahua  air  god.  In 
this  character  he  is  said  to  transform  himself  every 
seven  days  into  four  forms,  snake,  eagle,  tiger,  a  mass 
of  coagulated  blood,  one  after  the  other,  and  every 
seven  days  he  visits  heaven  and  hell  alternately.  He 
is  also  held  to  be  the  introducer  of  culture  in  Guatemala, 
though  more  as  one  who  directs  man  in  his  search  for 
improvement,  than  as  a  culture-hero.36  These  two  gods 
blending  into  one,  often  form  a  trinity  with  Hun  Ahpu 
Vuch  and  Hun  Ahpu  UtYu,  under  the  one  name  of  Gu- 
eumatz,  the  Heart  of  Heaven.  The  assumption  by  this 
god  of  four  forms  may  have  reference  to  the  divine  quar- 
tette, and  in  the  expression  "they  are  enveloped  in  a 
mist  of  green  and  azure,'  Brasseur  de  Botirbourg  sees  a 
reference  to  the  sacred  bundle  containing  the  four  first 
men  and  sacrifices,  transformed  into  gods.37 

Hurakan,38  although  connected  with  the  above  quar- 
tette in  the  enumeration  of  titles  of  the  supreme  deity, 
keeps  aloof  from  the  lower  sphere  in  which  these  move 
at  times,  and  is  even  invoked  by  Gucumatz.  who  calls 

35  To  be  aflicted  with  buboes  implied  the  possession  of  many  women  and 
consequently  wealth  and  grandeur.  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  157;  see  this  vol.  p. 
6J;  Brasseur  de  Bourboun/,  Popol  Vuh.,  p.  3. 

36  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh.,  p.  315,  does  not  understand  why 
Ximeuez,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat..  p.  125,  translates  heaven  and  Xib.dba  as  heaven 
aud  hell,  but  as  both  terms  doubtless  refer  to  provinces,  or  towns,  it  is  better 
to  retain  the  figurative  name.     Xibalba  is,  besides,  derivtd  from  the  same 
source  as  the  Xibilba  '  demon  '  of  the  Yucatecs,     Brasseur  translates:  '  Cha- 
que  sept  (jours)  il  montait  au  ciel  et  en  sept  (jours)  il  fuisait  le  chemin  pour 
desceudre  a  Xibalba,'  while  Ximeuez  with  more  apparent  correctness  renders : 
'  Siete  dias  se  subia  al  cielo  y  siete  dias  se  iba  al  infieruo.'    In  Quatre  Let- 
ires,  p.  228,  the  Abbe  explains  Xibalba  as  hell.     See  also  vol.  ii.,  pp.  715-7, 
of  this  work. 

37  Popol  Vuh.,  p.  cxvii.-cxx.,  7,  9;  see  this  vol.,  pp.  48-54.     The  occur- 
rence of  the  number  4  in  mvthical  and  historical  accounts  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America  is  very  frequent. 

38  '  Parait  venir  des  Antilles,  oil  il  designait  la  tempete  et  le  grondement 
de  1'orage.'  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Popol  Vuh.,  p.  8. 


476          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

him,  among  other  names,  Creator,  he  who  begets  and 
gives  being.  That  he  was  held  to  be  distinct,  and  wor- 
shiped as  such  by  the  Quiches,  may  be  seen  from  the 
fact  that  they  had  one  high-priest  for  Gucumatz,  and  an- 
other for  Tohil,  another  name  of  Hurakan,  who  seems  to 
have  ranked  a  degree  above  the  former.39  He  repre- 
sented the  thunder  and  lightning,  and  his  particular  title 
seems  to  have  been  Heart  of  Heaven,  under  which  were 
included  the  three  phases  of  his  attribute,  the  thunder, 
the  lightning,  and  the  thunderbolt,  or,  as  stated  in  an- 
other place,  the  flash,  the  track  of  the  lightning,  and  the 
thunderbolt,40  another  conception  of  a  trinity.  He  is 
also  called  Centre  of  the  Earth  and  is  represented  with 
thunder  in  his  hand.  The  bird  Voc  was  his  messenger. 
Miiller  considers  him  a  sun  god,  probably  because  of  his 
title  'Heart  of  Heaven,'  which  determines  nothing, 
while  others  hold  him  to  be  identical  with  the 
Tlalocs,  the  Mexican  rain  gods.  He  is  doubtless  the 
same  as  Tohil,  the  leader  of  the  Quiche  gods,  who  is 
represented  by  the  sign  of  water,  but  whose  name  sig- 
nifies rumble,  clash.41  In  him  are  also  found  united  the 
three  symbols  of  Quiche  trinity,  as  will  be  seen  shortly, 
and  his  priests  address  him:  "Hail,  Beauty  of  the 
Day,  Hurakan,  Heart  of  Heaven  and  of  Earth  !  Thou 
who  givest  glory,  riches  and  children  !  Thou  Tohil, 
Avilix,  Gagavitz,  Bowels  of  Heaven,  Bowels  of  Earth  ! 
Thou  who  dost  constitute  the  four  ends  of  Heaven  !"42 
He  was  also  god  of  fire,  and  as  such  gave  his  people  fire 
by  shaking  his  sandals.43  According  to  the  version  of 

39  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  496. 

40  Garcilaso  says:  '  C'est  encore  1'idee  du  Tonnerre,  de  1'Eclair  et  de  la. 
Fcmdre,  contenus  dans  un  seul  Hurakan,  le  centre,  le  coeur  du  ciel,  la  tem- 
pete,  le  vent,  le  souffle.'   Comentarios  lieules,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xxiii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap. 
xxi.,  lib.  iii.;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol    Vuh.,  p.  ccxxxv.,  9;   Id.,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  51. 

41  Ximenez  dit  qu'il  signifie  Pluie,  Averse:  mais  il  confond  ici  le  noin  du 

dieu  avec  le  signe.     Toh est  rendu  par  le  mot  paga,  paie,  pagar,  payer. 

Mais  le  MS.  Cakehiquel. . .  .dit  que  les  Quiches  re<jurent  celui  de  Tohohil, 
qui  signitie  grondeineut,  bruit,'  etc.     Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p. 
214.     He  seeins  identical  with  the  Maya  Hunpictok. 

42  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p,  553,  torn,  i.,  p.  128. 

43  Brinton,  Myths,  pp.  15(5-7,  who  holds  Hurakan  to  be  the  Tlaloc,  con- 
nects Tohil  with  Quetzalcoatl  -ideas  taken  most  likely  from  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg — states  that  he  was  represented  by  a  flint.    Tuis    must  refer 


HAVALITZ  AND  HACAVITZ.  477 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  his  temple  at  Utatlan,  where  he- 
seems  to  have  taken  the  place  of  an  ancient  god,  was  a 
truncated  pyramid  with  extremely  steep  steps  in  the  fa- 
9ade.  On  its  summit  was  a  temple  of  great  height, 
built  of  cut  stone,  and  with  a  roof  of  precious  woods;  the 
walls  within  and  without  were  covered  with  fine,  bril- 
liant stucco  of  extreme  hardness.  In  the  midst  of  the 
most  splendid  surroundings  sat  the  idol,  on  a  throne  set 
with  precious  stones.  His  priests  perpetually  prayed  and 
burnt  precious  incense  before  him,  relieving  each  other 
in  bands  of  thirteen,  so  that  while  some  attended  to  his 
service,  the  others  fasted  to  prepare  for  it.  The  chief 
men  of  the  kingdom  also  attended  in  bands  of  eighteen, 
to  invoke  his  blessing  for  them  and  their  provinces,  nine 
fasting,  while  nine  offered  incense.4*  Tohil,  and  the 
other  members  of  the  trinity,  Avilix  and  Hacavitz,  or 
Gagavitz,  who  also  represent  the  thunder,  the  lightning, 
and  the  thunderbolt,  were  the  family  gods  given  by  the 
Creator  to  the  founders  of  the  Quiche  race,  and  though 
they  afterwards  became  stone,  they  could  still  assume 
other  shapes  in  conformity  with  the  supreme  will.  As 
family  gods  they  had  special  temples  in  the  palace  of 
the  princes,  where  their  regular  service  was  conducted, 
and  three  mountain  peaks  bearing  their  names,  served  to 
keep  them  before  the  people.45  The  flint  with  which 
Brinton  identifies  Tohil  may,  perhaps,  be  the  black  stone 
brought  from  the  far  east,  and  venerated  in  the  temple 

to  his  traditional  transformation  into  a  stone,  for  the  Abbe  declares,  that  no 
description  of  his  idol  is  given  by  the  chroniclers.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii., 
p.  552.  Now,  although  the  Abbe  declares  Tohil  to  be  the  same  ns  Quetzal- 
coatl,  in  the  Pohol  Vuh,  p.  '214,  and  other  places,  he  acknowledges  that 
the  tradition  positively  identifies  him  with  Hurakan,  and  confirms  this 
by  explaining  ou  p.  cclxvii.,  that  Tohil,  sometimes  in  himself,  sometimes  in 
connection  with  the  two  other  members  of  the  trinity,  combines  the  attri- 
butes of  thunder,  flash,  and  thunderbolt;  further,  he  gives  a  prayer  by  the 
Tohil  priests  in  which  this  god  is  addressed  as  Hurakan.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  553.  Gucumatz,  the  acknowledged  representative  of  Quetzalco- 
atl,  is,  besides,  shown  to  be  distinct  from  Tohil.  Every  point,  therefore, 
tradition,  name,  attributes,  connect  Tohil  and  Hurakan,  and  identify  them 
with  Tlaloc. 

«  Ili*t.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  552-3. 

45  Brasseur  de  Bourbourc/,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  cclxvii.,  235;  Id.,  Hist  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  554.  The  turning  into  stone  'veut  dire  que  les  trois  principaux 
volcaus  s'eteignirent  ou  cesserent  de  lancer  leursfeux.'  Id.,  Quatre  Lettres. 
p.  331. 


478         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

of  Kahba,  'house  of  sacrifice,'  at  Utatlan.  but  there  is 
no  confirmation  by  the  chroniclers.  It  is,  besides,  stated 
that  the  worship  of  Kahba  had  greatly  declined,  but 
was  again  restored  to  something  like  its  former  glory  by 
Gucumatz;  Tohil,  on  the  other  hand,  always  stood 
high,  and  his  high-priest  belonged  to  a  different  family.46 
A  similar  stone  existed  in  a  temple  situated  in  a  deep 
ravine  near  Iximche,  in  whose  polished  face  the  gods 
made  known  their  will.  This  stone  was  often  used  to 
determine  the  fate  of  those  accused  of  crime;  if  the 
judges  perceived  no  change  in  the  stone  the  prisoner 
went  free.47 

We  now  come  to  the  heroes  with  whose  adventures  the 
Popol  Vuh  is  chiefly  occupied.  From  the  union  of  the 
Grandfather  and  Grandmother  who  head  the  list  of 
Quiche  deities,  proceeded  two  sons,  Hunhun  Ahpu  and 
Vukab  Hun  Ahpu.48  They  incur  the  suspicion  and 
hatred  of  the  princes  of  Xibalba,  who  plan  their  down- 
fall and  for  this  purpose  invite  them  to  their  court,  under 
the  pretence  of  playing  a  game  of  ball  with  them.  On 
their  arrival  they  are  subjected  to  various  indignities 
and  finally  condemned  to  lose  their  heads.  The  head 
of  Hunhun  Ahpu  is  placed  between  the  withered 
branches  of  a  calabash-tree;  but  lo!  a  miracle  takes 
place;  the  tree  immediately  becomes  laden  with  fruit 
and  the  head  turns  into  a  calabash.  Henceforth  the  tree 
is  held  sacred  and  the  king  commands  that  none  shall 
touch  it.  Xquiq,  however,  a  ro}7al  princess,  Eve-like, 
disregards  the  injunction,  and  approaches  to  pluck  the 
fruit.  As  she  stretches  forth  her  arm,  Hunhun  Ahpu 
spits  into  her  hand,  and  Xquiq  finds  herself  pregnant. 
Her  father  soon  perceives  her  condition,  and  in  a  fury 
condemns  her  to  death,  telling  the  executioners  to  bring 
him  the  heart  of  his  daughter  to  prove  that  they  have 

46  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  497,  75;  Id.,  Popol 
Vuh,  p.  cclxii.;  see  note  7. 

47  Id.,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  521;  Juarros'  Hist.  Guat.,  p.  384. 

48  '  Hunhun- Ahpu.  signifie  Chaque  Tireurde  Sarbacane;  Vukub-Hun-Ahpn, 
Sept  un  Tireur  de  Snrbacane.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxxxv. 
Their  chief  name  Ahpu  '  designe  la  puissance  volcanique.'  Id.,  Quutre  Let- 
ires,  p.  225. 


ADVENTURES  OF  XQUIQ,  HUN  AHPU,  AND  XBALANQUE.    479 

done  their  duty.  While  being  led  to  the  wood  Xquiq 
pleads  earnestly  for  her  life,  and  finally  prevails  upon 
her  executioners  to  deceive  her  father  by  substituting  for 
her  heart  the  jelly-like  resin  of  a  tree,  which  she  pro- 
cures. Xquiq  proceeds  to  Utatlan,  to  the  Grandmother, 
Xmucane,  and  gives  birth  to  the  twins  Hun  Ahpu  and 
Xbulanque,49  who  develop  rapidly;  their  superior  talents 
soon  make  their  elder  brothers  jealous,  and  they  attempt 
their  destruction,  but  the  twins  anticipate  their  designs 
and  transform  them  into  apes.  These  brothers  Hun 
Batz  and  Hun  Chouen,  were  the  sons  of  Hunhun  Ahpu 
by  Xbakiyalo,  and  were  invoked  as  the  patrons  of  the 
fine  arts50.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  explains  this  myth  by 
saying  that  Hunhun  Ahpu  denotes  the  Nahua  immi- 
grants who  by  their  superiority  gain  the  women  of  the 
country,  and  whose  children  carry  on  a  successful  strug- 
gle with  the  aboriginal  race.  The  continuance  of  the 
contest  and  the  triumph  of  the  Nahuas  is  described  in 
the  adventures  of  Hun  Ahpu  and  Xbalanque.  A  rat 
reveals  to  them  their  origin,  and  the  place  where  the 
ball-game  implements  of  their  father  are  hidden.  They 
play  a  match  with  the  Xibalba  princes  who  had  chal- 
lenged their  father,  and  are  successful  in  this  as  well  as 
several  herculean  tasks  assigned  to  them,  but  are  never- 
theless burned.51  The  ashes,  thrown  into  the  water,  are 
transfonned  into  two  handsome  young  men,  and  then 
into  man-fishes,  a  reference,  perhaps,  to  the  arrival  by 
sea  of  allies  to  help  them.  Again  they  make  their  ap- 
pearance in  Xibalba,  this  time  as  conjurers,  and  lay 

49  Hun  Ahpu,  a  sarbacan  shooter.  '  Xbahnque,  de  balam,  tigre,  jaguar;  le 
que  final  est  un  signe  pluriel,  et  le  x  qui  precede,  prononcez  sli  (anglais),  est 
alternativement  un  dimiautif  ou  uii  signe  feminiu.'  Brasseur  de  Uuurboury, 
Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxxxv.  Ximenez,  Hist.  Ind.  Ouat.,pp.  146-7,  156,  remarks  the 
similarity  of  these  personages  to  the  God  son  and  virgin  of  the  Christians. 

so  'Hun-Batz,  Un  Singe  (ou  un  Fileur);  Hun-Chouen,  un  qui  se  blam-hit, 
ou  s'embellit.'  They  seem  to  correspond  to  the  Mexican  Ozoniatli  and  Pilt- 
zinteciitli.  Brasseur  de  Bourbowy,  Pi>pol  Vuh,  pp.  cxxxv.,  69, 117.  The  ba  in 
Hun-Batz  refers  to  something  underground,  or  deep  down,  and  Hun-Chouen 
'  "  Une  Souvis  cachee"  ou  "  un  lac  en  sentinelle."  '  Both  names  indicate 
the  disordered  condition  and  movement  of  a  region  (the  Antilles).  Id., 
Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  227-9. 

51  '  Les  deux  freres,  s'etant  einbrasses,  s'elancent  dans  les  flammes.' 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  137. 


480          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOKSHIP. 

their  plans  so  skillfully  as  to  overthrow  the  Prince  Yu- 
kub  Cakix  with  his  adherents,  and  obtain  the  apoth- 
eosis of  their  father  and  his  adherents  as  sun,  moon, 
and  stars.  Yukub  Cakix,  who  represents  the  sun, 
may  be  taken  as  the  representative  of  an  older 
sun- worship  replaced  by  the  newer  cult  introduced  by 
Hun  Ahpu.52  The  burning  of  this  hero  agrees  with 
that  of  the  Mexican  Nanahuatzin  who  by  this  act  be- 
came a  sun.  In  fact,  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  considers 
the  whole  as  a  version  of  the  Nahua  myth.  From  an- 
other point  of  view  Hun  Ahpu,  whose  name,  signifying 
'sarbacan-blower  or  air-shooter,'  suits  the  attribute  of 
the  air-god,  may  be  considered  as  the  morning  wind 
dispersing  the  clouds  and  disclosing  the  splendors  of  the 
sun.53 

In  the  Quatre  Lettres,  the  Abbs  takes  another  view 
of  the  myth,  and  sees  in  it  but  a  version  of  the  con- 
vulsions that  take  place  in  the  Antilles,  the  Seven  Grot- 
tos of  the  Mexican  myth,  of  which  I  have  spoken  in 
a  preceding  chapter.  Hunhun  Ahpu,  Yukub  Hun 
Ahpu,  and  the  two  legitimate  sons  of  the  former  are 
volcanoes,  and  their  plays,  death,  and  transformation, 
are  earthquakes,  extinction,  and  upheavals.  The  burn- 
ing of  Hun  Ahpu  and  Xbalanque  and  the  scattering  of 
their  ashes  upon  the  waters  is  the  final  catastrophe,  the 
sinking  of  the  Atlantides,  or  the  seven  islands;  and  as 
the  brothers  rise  again  in  the  form  of  beautiful  young 
men,  so  do  new  islands  take  the  place  of  those  de- 

52  Vukub  Cakix,  'seven  aras,'  a  type  of  the  sun,  although  declared  in 
one  place  to  have  usurped  the  solar  attribute,  seems  to  have  been  worshiped 
as  the   sun;    his  two  sons,  Zipacna  and  Cabrakan,  represent  respectively 
the  creator  of  the  earth  and  the  earthquake,  which  confirms  their  father's 
high  position.    Brasseur  de  liourUourg,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  31-9,  cciv.,  ccliii. 

53  The  allegorical  account  of  these  events  is  related  on  pp.  31  to  192  of 
Popol  Vuh,  and  Brasseur's  remarks  are  given  on  pages  cxxxiv.  to  cxl.  Jnar- 
ros.  Hint,  (ruat  ,  p.  164,  states  that  Hian  Ahpu  discovered  the  use  of  cacao 
and  cotton,  which  is  but  another  indication   of   the   introduction   of  cul- 
ture.    According  to  Las   Casas,   Xbalanque  descends  into  hell,   Xibaiba, 
where  he  captures  Satan  and  his  chief  men,  and  when  the  devil  implores 
the  hero  not  to  bring  him  to  the  light,  he  kicks  him  back  with  the  curse 
that  all  things  rotten  and  abhorrent  may  cling  to  him.     When  he  returns,  his 
people  do  not  receive  him  with  due  honor,  and  he  accordingly  leaves  for 
other  parts.    Hist.  Apologe'tica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv, ;    Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  53-4. 


QUICHfi  GODS.  481 

strojed.  The  confirmation  of  this  he  finds  in  a  tradition 
current  on  the  islands,  which  speaks  of  certain  upheavals 
similar  to  the  above.54 

The  Quiches  had  a  multitude  of  other  gods  and  genii, 
who  controlled  the  elements  and  exercised  their  influence 
upon  the  destinies  of  man.  The  places  where  they  most 
loved  to  linger  were  dark  quiet  spots,  in  the  undis- 
turbed silence  of  the  grotto,  at  the  foot  of  some  steep 
precipice,  beneath  the  shade  of  mighty  trees,  especially 
where  a  spring  trickled  forth  between  its  roots,  and  on 
the  summit  of  the  mountains ;  and  here  the  simple  native 
came  to  pour  out  his  sorrow,  and  to  offer  his  sacrifice. 
In  some  places  this  idea  of  seclusion  was  carried  to  such 
an  extent  that  idols  were  kept  hidden  in  subterranean 
chapels,  that  they  might  not  be  disturbed  or  the  people 
become  too  familiar  with  them;  another  reason,  however, 
was  to  prevent  their  being  stolen  by  other  villagers.  The 
god  of  the  road  had  sanctuaries,  called  mumah,  all  along 
the  highways,  especially  at  the  junctions,  and  the  trav- 
eler in  passing  never  failed  to  rub  his  legs  with  a  hand- 
ful of  grass,  upon  which  he  afterwards  spat  with  great 
respect,  and  deposited  it  upon  the  altar  together  with  a 
small  stone,  believing  that  this  act  of  piety  would  give 
him  renewed  strength.  He  also  left  a  small  tribute 
from  his  stock  of  food  or  merchandise,  which  remained 
to  decay  before  the  idol,  for  none  dared  to  remove  it. 
This  custom  Was  also  observed  in  Nicaragua. 

The  household  gods  were  termed  ch&halha,  'guardian 
of  the  house,'  and  to  them  incense  was  burned  and  sac- 
rifice made  during  the  erection  of  a  building;  when 
finished,  a  corner  in  the  interior  was  consecrated  to  their 
use.  They  seem  to  have  been  identified  with  the  spirit 
of  departed  friends,  for  occasionally  a  corpse  was  buried 
beneath  the  house  to  insure  their  presence.55 

Among  the  more  superstitious  highlanders,  the  ancient 
worship  has  retained  its  hold  upon  the  population  to  a 

«  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  225-53;  see  this  vol.  261-4. 

55  On  one  occasion  the  people  '  egorgerent  chacun  un  de  leurs  fils,  dont 
ils  mirent  les  cadavrea  dans  les  fondations. '    Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  5ol-4. 
VOL.  in.  si 


482         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

great  extent,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  padres.  Scher- 
zer  tells  us  that  the  people  of  Istlavacan  reverenced  gods 
of  reason,  health,  sowing,  and  others,  under  the  names 
of  Noj,  Ajmak,  Kanil,  and  Ik,  who  were  generally 
embodied  in  natural  features,  as  mountains,  or  big 
trees.  They  recognized  an  Ormuzd  and  an  Ahriman  in 
Kij,  the  god  of  light  and  good  principle,  opposed  by 
Juiup,  the  god  of  earth  and  evil  principle,  who  was  rep- 
resented by  a  rock,  three  feet  high  and  one  foot  thick, 
supposed  to  be  a  distorted  human  face.  The  native 
priests  generally  took  the  horoscope,  and  appointed  a 
nagual,  or  guardian  spirit  for  their  children,  before 
the  padres  were  allowed  to  baptize  them.  They  are 
said  to  have  sacrificed  infants,  scattering  their  heart's 
blood  upon  a  stone  before  the  idol,  and  burying  the  body 
in  the  woods  to  avoid  detection.56 

The  Choles  and  Manches  of  Yera  Paz,  impressed  with 
the  wild  features  of  their  country,  venerated  the  mount- 
ains, and  on  one  called  Escurruchan,  which  stood  at  the 
junction  of  several  branches  of  their  principal  river,  they 
kept  up  a  perpetual  fire  to  which  passers-by  added  fuel, 
and  at  which  sacrifices  were  offered.  At  another  place 
the  padres  found  a  rough  altar  of  stone  and  clay  sur- 
rounded by  a  fence,  where  they  burned  torches  of  black 
wax  and  resinous  wood,  and  offered  fowls,  and  blood 
from  their  bodies,  to  mountains,  cross-roads  and  pools  in 
the  river,  whence  came  all  means  of  existence  and  all 
increase.57 

The  chief  idol  of  the  Itzas  was  Hubo,  who  was 
represented  by  a  hollow  metal  figure  with  an  opening 
between  the  shoulders,  through  which  human  beings 
were  passed,  charged  to  implore  the  favors  of  the  gods. 
A  fire  was  then  lighted  beneath  the  figure,  and  while 
the  victims  were  roasting  alive,  their  friends  joined  in 

56  Indianer  von  Istlavacan,    pp.   11-3.     The   natives  believed  that  they 
would  have  to  share  all  the  sufferings  and  emotions  of  their  uaguals.  (in<i<'s 
New  Survey,  p.  331;   Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  iv.,  also  re- 
fers to  naguals,  and  states  that  the  Honduras  protege  made  his  compact  with 
it  in  the  mountains  by  offerings  and  blood-letting. 

57  Espinosa,  Chron.  Apost.,  pp,   344-5;   Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  726; 
Villagutierre,  Hist.  Cong.  Itza,  pp.  151-3. 


WOESHIP  OF  A  HORSE.  483 

a  dance  around  it,  drowning  the  cries  of  the  victims 
with  shouts  and  rattling  of  drums.  No  women  were 
allowed  to  join  in  the  temple  ceremonies.  On  the  chief 
island  in  the  lake  of  Peten,  the  conquerors  found  twenty- 
one  stone  temples  with  stone  roofs,  the  chief  of  which 
formed  a  kind  of  pyramid  of  nine  steps.  In  this  was 
found  a  large  chalchiuite,  representing  one  of  their  two 
battle-gods,  Pakoc  and  Hunchunchan,  who  gave  oracles 
and  were  supposed  to  join  the  people  in  their  dances. 
This  familiarity  evidently  bred  contempt,  however,  for 
it  is  related  that  when  a  prediction  of  the  oracle  was 
not  fulfilled,  the  priest  without  hesitation  castigated 
the  idol.  In  the  same  temple  stood  a  gypsum  image 
in  the  form  of  the  sun,  adorned  with  rays,  inlaid  with 
nacar,  and  having  a  gaping  mouth  set  with  human 
teeth.  The  bones  of  a  horse,  which  hung  from  the 
rafters,  were  adored  as  sacred  relics.  These  were  the 
remains  of  a  wounded  horse  left  by  Cortes  among  the 
natives  when  on  his  way  to  Honduras.  Having  seen 
the  Spaniards  fire  from  its  back,  they  believed  that 
the  animal  produced  the  flash  and  report,  and  hence 
adored  it  as  Tziminchac,  god  of  thunder,  and  brought 
it  flowers,  flesh,  and  incense;  but  such  offerings  did 
not  sustain  life,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  bones 
of  the  apotheosized  charger  were  all  that  remained  to 
his  worshipers.  In  another  place  was  a  stone  and  lime 
imitation  of  this  horse,  seated  on  the  floor  on  its  haunches, 
which  the  natives  adored  in  the  same  manner.  This 
animal-worship  was  the  more  readily  admitted,  since 
their  gods  was  supposed  to  assume  such  forms.58 

Their  idols  were  so  numerous,  say  the  conquerors, 
that  it  took  over  a  hundred  men  a  whole  day  to  destroy 
those  existing  on  the  chief  island  alone;  Cogolludo 
affirms  that  the  priests  had  charge  of  all  the  idols.59  The 
chief  god  of  the  Cakchiquels,  Chamalcan,  or  Chimala- 

58  'Tenian  por  sus  Dioses  a  los  Venados.'  Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza, 
p.  43. 

M  ITist.  Yuc.,  pp.  699,  489-93,  509;  VUlagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  pp. 
100-2,  182,  50U-2;  Moreltt,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  p.  32;  M'Culloh's  Researches 
in  Amer.,  p.  318. 


484          GODS,  SUPEKNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

can,60  had  many  of  the  attributes  of  Tohil,  but  took  the 
form  of  a  bat,  the  symbol  of  the  royal  house  of  Zotzil. 
Every  seventh  and  thirteenth  day  of  the  month  the 
priests  placed  before  him  bloodstained  thorns,  fresh  white 
resin,  bark  and  branches  of  pine,  and  a  cat,  the  emblem 
of  night,  which  were  burned  in  his  honor.61 

The  purest  form  of  sun-worship  appears  among  the 
Lacandones,  who  adored  the  luminary  without  the 
intervention  of  an  image,  and  sacrificed  before  it  in 
the  Mexican  fashion.  They  had  temples,  however,  the 
walls  of  which  were  decorated  with  hieroglyphs  of  the 
sun  and  moon,  and  with  a  figure  in  the  act  of  praying 
to  the  sun.62  The  Nahua  tribe  of  the  Pi  piles  also  wor- 
shiped the  sun,  before  which  they  prostrated  themselves 
while  offering  incense  and  muttering  invocations.  Quet- 
zalcoatl  and  the  goddess  Itzquej^e  were  honored  in  the 
sacrifice,63  which  generally  consisted  of  a  deer.  The 
relative  importance  of  Quetzalcoatl  and  Itzqueye,  may 
be  seen  from  the  statement  that  the  festival  held 
in  honor  of  the  former  on  certain  occasions  lasted 
fifteen  days,  while  that  in  honor  of  the  latter  was  but 
of  five  days  duration.  The  chief  centre  of  worship 
was  at  Mictlan,  near  Huixa  Lake,  where  now  is  the 
village  of  Santa  Maria  Mita,  founded,  according  to  tra- 
dition, by  an  old  man,  who  in  company  with  an  ex- 
ceedingly beautiful  girl  issued  from  the  lake,  both  dressed 
in  long  blue  robes,  the  man  also  wearing  a  mitre. 
He  seated  himself  upon  a  stone  on  the  hill,  while  the 
girl  pursued  her  way  and  disappeared,  and  here,  by  his 
order,  was  built  the  temple  of  Mictlan,  round  which 
statety  palaces  afterwards  arose;  he  also  organized  the 
government  of  the  place.64 

60  '  Cha-malcan  serait  done  Fleche  ou  Dard  frotte*  d'ocre  jaune,'  etc.  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourc/,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  248-9. 
6'  Id.,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  173. 

62  Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urrelv/ionen,  p.  475.     In  their  want  of  idols  they 
contrasted  strongly  with  thi-ir  neighbors.    Villayutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p. 
74;  Moreld,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  p.  79. 

63  '  C'est  a  eux  qu'elles  offraient  presque  tons  leurs  sacrifices.'  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourf],  Hist.  Nut.  Civ  ,  torn,  ii.,  p.  55G;  Palacio,  Carla,  pp.  66-70. 

64  '  L'upoque   que   les   eVenoments   paraissent   assiguer   &  cette   legende 
coincide  uvec  la  periode  de  la  gruude  emigration  tolteque  et  la  foudation 


TRADITION  OF  COMIZAHUAL.  485 

Among  the  vestiges  of  older  worship  we  find  the  na- 
tives of  Cerquin  in  Honduras,63  venerating  and  praying 
for  health  to  two  idols,  called  respectively  Great  Father 
and  Great  Mother,  which  probably  refer  to  the  Grand- 
father and  Grandmother  of  the  Quiches.  A  faint  idea 
of  a  Supreme  Being,  says  Torquemada,  was  mixed  up 
with  the  worship  of  the  sun  and  stars,  to  which  sacrifices 
were  made.  Their  culture-tradition  speaks  of  a  beauti- 
ful white  woman,  called  Comizahual,  or  '  flying  tigress,' 
a  reputed  sorceress,  as  the  introducer  of  civilization  in 
Cerquin.  She  is  said  to  have  descended  from  heaven 
and  to  have  been  transported  by  an  invisible  hand  to 
the  city  of  Cealcoquin,  where  she  built  a  palace  adorned 
with  monstrous  figures  of  men  and  animals,  and  placed 
in  the  chief  temple  a  stone  having  on  each  of  its  three 
sides  three  faces  of  strange  and  hideous  aspect;  by  aid 
of  this  stone  she  conquered  her  enemies.  She  remained 
a  virgin,  yet  three  sons  were  born  to  her,66  among  whom 
she  divided  the  kingdom  when  she  grew  old.  After 
arranging  her  affairs,  she  commanded  her  attendants  lo 
carry  her  on  her  bed  to  the  highest  part  of  the  palace, 
whence  she  suddenly  disappeared  amid  thunder  and 
lightning,  doubtless  to  resume  her  place  among  the  gods ; 
directly  afterwards  a  beautiful  bird  was  seen  to  fly  up- 
wards and  disappear.  The  people  erected  a  temple  in 
her  honor,  where  the  priest  delivered  her  oracles,  and 
celebrated  every  year  the  anniversary  of  her  disappear- 
ance with  great  feasts.  Palacio  refers  to  a  stone,  like 
the  one  with  three  faces,  named  Icelaca,  in  Cezori,  which 
disclosed  things  past,  present,  and  future,  and  before 
which  the  people  sacrificed  fowls,  rabbits  and  various 

des  divers  royaumes  gnatemaliens.'  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  81;  Id.,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  cxxviii.  Near  the  village  of  Coatan 
was  a  small  lake  which  they  regarded  as  oracular,  into  which  none  dared 
to  peer  least  he  should  be  smitteu  with  dumbness  and  death.  Palacio,  Carta, 
p.  50. 

60  '  Aujourd'hui  de  Gracias .  . . .  II  y  a  encore  aujourd'hui  un  village  du 
meme  nom,  paroisse  a  12  1.  de  Comayagua.'  Brasseur  de  Hourbowy,  Mixt.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  106. 

66  'Aunque  otros  dicen,  que  eran  sus  Hermanos.'  Torqaemada,  Monarq. 
Ind.,  tom.  i  ,  p,  3o6. 


486          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

kinds  of  food,  and  smeared  the  face  with  blood  drawn 
from  the  generative  organs.67 

The  religious  fervor  of  the  people  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  whatever  work  they  undertook  they  commenced  by 
sanctifying  it  with  prayers  and  offerings  and  by  incens- 
ing their  implements  that  they  might  acquire  more 
efficacy;  thus,  before  commencing  to  sow,  the  laborers 
killed  a  turkey  whose  blood  they  scattered  over  the 
field,  and  performed  other  ceremonies.^8  Simple  in  their 
mode  of  life,  they  did  not  importune  the  gods  for  vain 
luxuries:  their  prayers  were  for  long  life,  health,  child- 
ren, and  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  first  they  hoped 
to  obtain  by  scarifications  and  penances;  to  guard 
against  disease,  they  sent  the  priest  a  bird,  generally  a 
quail,  to  sacrifice.  When  actually  attacked  by  sickness 
confession  was  resorted  to  as  a  powerful  means  of  pro- 
pitiation, as  was  also  the  case  on  all  important  occasions 
to  secure  divine  blessings  and  avert  immediate  danger. 
It  is  related  by  an  old  chronicler  that  when  a  party  of 
travelers  met  a  jaguar  or  puma,  each  one  immediately 
commended  himself  to  the  gods  and  confessed  in  a  loud 
voice  the  sins  he  had  committed,  imploring  pardon.  If 
the  object  of  their  terror  still  advanced  upon  them,  they 
cried,  "we  have  committed  as  many  more  sins,  do  not 
kill  us!"  and  sat  down,  saying  one  to  another,  "one  of 
us  has  done  some  grievous  deed,  and  him  the  wild  beast 
will  kill  !"69 

In  their  scarifications,  those  who  drew  the  most  blood, 
especially  from  the  secret  organs,  were  held  to  be  the 
most  pious.  Among  the  Pipiles  the  women  joined  in 
drawing  blood  from  the  ears  and  tongue,  and  smearing 

&  Carte,  pp.  82-4.  As  an  instance  of  the  respect  entertained  for  the 
idols,  Las  Casaa  relates  that  on  the  Spaniards  once  profaning  them  with 
their  touch,  the  natives  brought  censers  with  which  they  incensed  them,  and 
then  carried  them  back  to  their  altar  with  great  respect,  shedding  their 
blood  upon  the  road  traversed  by  the  idols.  Hist.  Apohgetica,  MS.,  cap. 
clxxx.;  Torquemada,  Jkonarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  326;  Hen-era,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  iv. 

68  See  vol.  ii.  of  this  work,  pp.  719-20. 

69  Roman,  Hepublica  de  los  Indian,  in  Ximentz,  Hist.  Ind.  Guat.,  pp.  176- 
81;   Brasseur  de  liourboimi,  Hist.  Xat.Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  564-506;  Lot  Casaa, 
Hist.  Apoloyetiua,  MS.,  cup.  clxxix.;  Juurros,  Hist.  Uuut.,  p.  1%. 


SPECIAL  FASTS.  487 

it  on  cotton,  offered  it  to  Quetzalcoatl,  and  then  to 
Itzcueye.70  On  extraordinary  occasions,  as  in  the  event 
of  a  public  calamity,  the  priests  and  chief  men  held  a 
council  to  determine  the  propitiatory  penance  to  be  im- 
posed on  the  people,  and  the  kind  of  sacrifice  to  be 
offered ;  the  Ahgih  were  called  upon  to  trace  magic  circles 
and  figures,  arid  to  cast  grains,  so  as  to  determine  the 
time  when  it  should  be  made.  The  esteemed  task  of 
collecting  the  fuel  for  this  celebration  devolved  upon  a 
royal  prince,  who  formed  the  boys  of  the  district  into 
bands  to  forage  for  the  wood.  The  efforts  of  the  people 
alone  were  not  considered  sufficient  at  such  times  to 
propitiate  the  gods;  it  required  the  sanctified  presence 
and  powerful  influence  of  the  high  priest  to  secure 
remission  of  sins.  This  personage,  whether  king  or 
pontiff,  subjected  himself  to  a  very  severe  fast  and 
penance  during  the  twenty,  or  even  hundred  days  de- 
termined upon.  He  removed  to  an  arbor  near  the  hid- 
den sanctuary  of  the  idols,  and  lived  in  entire  solitude, 
subsisting  on  grains  and  fruit,  touching  no  food  pre- 
pared by  fire,  sacrificing  the  offerings  brought  him 
during  the  day,  and  drawing  blood.  The  fast  over,  with 
its  attendant  separation  of  man  and  wife,  bathing,  paint- 
ing in  red,  and  other  acts  of  penance,  the  nobles  went 
in  a  body  to  the  retreat  of  the  idols,  and  having  adorned 
them  in  the  most  splendid  manner,  conducted  them  in 
procession  to  the  town,  attended  by  the  high  priest  and 
victims.  In  places  where  the  idols  were  kept  in  the 
temples  of  the  town,  they  marched  with  them  round 
the  city.  The  various  rites  closed  with  games  of  ball, 
played  under  the  supervision  of  the  idols,  and  with 
feasting  and  reveling.71 

The  Popol  Yuh  ascribes  the  introduction  of  human 
sacrifices  to  Tohil,  who  exacted  this  offering  from  the 
first  four  men  in  return  for  the  fire  given  to  the  Qui- 
ches, while  Las  Casas  states  that  Xbalanque  initiated 

70  The  ancient  Quiches  '  recueillirent  leur  sang  avec  des  eponges,'  jBras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  259. 

71  Branseur  de  Bourhoury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  559-6*];  Las  Casas, 
Hist.  Apoloyutica,  MS.,  cap.  clxxvii.;  vol.  ii.  of  this  work,  pp.  088. 


488          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

them.  Their  knives  of  sacrifice,  he  says,  had  fallen 
from  heaven,  and  were  accordingly  adored  as  'hands  of 
God,'  and  set  in  rich  handles  of  gold  or  silver,  orna- 
mented with  turquoises  and  emeralds.  The  ordinary 
sacrifices  occurred  several  times  a  month,  and  among  the 
Pipiles,  the  number  and  quality  were  indicated  by  the 
calendar  and  consisted  chiefly  of  bastard  boys  from  six 
to  twelve  years  of  age.  Their  most  solemn  offerings 
were  made  at  the  commencement  and  end  of  the  rains, 
and  were  attended  by  the  chief  men  only.  Juarros 
states  that  human  sacrifices  were  not  offered  by  the 
Pipiles  and  that  the  attempt  of  caciques  to  introduce  them 
resulted  in  an  insurrection;  and,  although  this  will 
scarcely  apply  to  later  times,  it  seems  that  formerly 
the  sacrifices  were  very  few  in  number.  The  Cakchi- 
quels  are,  however,  said  to  have  abstained  from  the 
rite.  Cortes  relates  that  at  Acala  the  fairest  girls  to 
be  found  were  selected  by  the  priests  and  brought  up, 
in  strict  chastity,  to  be  sacrificed,  at  the  proper  time,  to 
the  goddess  of  the  place.  The  Itzas,  who  when  captives 
failed  took  the  fattest  of  their  young  men  for  victims, 
had  several  modes  of  immolation,  as  roasting  the  vic- 
tims alive  in-  the  metal  image ;  dispatching  them  with 
the  knife  on  the  stone  of  sacrifice,  a  large  one  of  which 
was  found  at  Taysal ;  impalement,  followed  by  extraction 
of  the  heart,  as  at  Prospero;  and  in  earlier  times  shoot- 
ing, as  was  done  by  their  Yucatec  ancestors.  According 
to  Cogolludo,  three  persons  assisted  at  the  sacrifices, 
the  ad/eulelj  master  of  ceremonies,  the  adkayom.  and  a 
virgin  who  must  be  the  daughter  of  one  of  these;  but 
Villagutierre  mentions  that  the  stone  of  sacrifice  at  the 
chief  temple  at  Taysal,  was  surrounded  by  twelve  seats 
for  the  attendant  priests;  and  assistants  to  hold  the  vic- 
tims were  certainly  required.  Cannibalism  seems  to 
have  attended  all  these  sacrifices,  the  flesh  being  boiled 
and  seasoned,  and  the  choice  bits  reserved  for  the  high 
priests  and  chiefs.72 

?2  Brasfteur  de  Bourbourg,  Pnpol  Vuh,  pp.  226-7;  Las  Casas,   Hist.  Apolo- 
getica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv.,  clxxvii.;  Juarros'  Hist.  Guat.,  p.  ii25;    Torqueniadu, 


THE  PRIESTS  OF  GUATEMALA.  489 

Each  of  the  numerous  tribes  of  Guatemala  had  a  dis- 
tinct and  separate  body  of  priests,  who  by  means  of  their 
oracles  exercised  a  decided  influence  on  the  state,  and 
some,  the  Quiches  for  instance,  were  spiritually  governed 
by  independent  pontiffs.  The  high  priests  of  Tohil  and 
Gucumatz,  Ahau  Ah  Tohil  and  Ahau  Ah  Gucumatz, 
belonged  to  the  royal  house  of  Cawek,  and  held  the  fourth 
and  fifth  rank  respectively  among  the  grandees  of  the 
Empire;  Ahau-Avilix,  the  high-priest  of  Avilix,  was  a 
member  of  the  Niha'ib  family ;  Ahau  Gagavitz  came  of 
the  Ahau  Quiche  house;  and  the  two  high-priests  of  the 
Kahba  temple  in  Utatlan  were  of  the  Zakik  house,  and 
each  had  a  province  allotted  him  for  his  support.  The 
Tohil  priests  were  vowed  to  perpetual  continence  and 
austere  penitence,  and  were  not  permitted  to  taste  meat 
or  bread.73  The  pontiff  at  Mictlan,  in  Salvador,  who  stood 
on  nearly  the  same  level  as  the  king,  bore  the  title  of 
Teoti,  'divine'  u  and  was  distinguished  by  a  long  blue 
robe,  a  diadem,  and  a  baton  like  an  episcopal  cross;  on 
solemn  occasions  he  substituted  a  mitre  of  beautiful 
feathers  for  the  diadem.  Next  to  him  came  an  ecclesi- 
astical council  composed  of  the  Tehuamatlini  chief  of  the 
astrologers  and  learned  priests,  who  acted  as  lieuten- 
ant of  the  high  priest,  and  superintended  the  writings 
and  divinations,  and  four  other  priests,  teopixqvi,  who 
dressed  in  different  colors.  These  ruled  the  rest  of  the 
priesthood,  composed  of  keepers  of  properties,  sacrificers, 
watchers,  and  the  ordinary  priests,  termed  teupas.  who 
were  all  appointed  by  the  high-priests  from  the  sons  of 

Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  54;  Palacio,  Curia,  p.  66;  Squier,  in  Id.,  pp.  116-7; 
Cortes,  Cartas,  pp.  417-8;  Cor/olludo,  Hist.  Yuc.,  p.  699;  Villagutierre,  Hist. 
Conq.  Itza,  pp.  392,  502;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  268;  Waldec'k,  Voy.Pitt., 
p.  40;  see  also,  this  vol.  pp.  688-9,  706-10,  735;  Stephen's  Cent.  Amer.,  vol. 
ii.,  pp.  184-5.  Ximeiiez,  ttiat.  Ind.  Guat.,  p.  210,  states,  that  in  case  of  a 
8eveiv  illness,  a  father  would  not  hesitate  to  sucrifice  his  son  to  obtain  relief. 
The  very  fact  of  such  a  tale  passing  current,  shows  how  little  human  life  was 
valued. 

73  'Us  n'avaient  pour  toute  nourriture  que  des  fruits.'  MS.,  Quiche  de 
Chichicastenango,  in  Brassfur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  552— 
553,  4J6-7;  Las  Casas,  Hist.  Apologetica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxxiii. 

7*  Temaux-Cotnpans  renders  it  iuti,  Recueil  de  Doc.,  p.  29,  while  Squier 
gives  it  as  facti.  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  62.  But  as  an  Aztec  word,  it  ought  to  be 
written  teoti. 


490  GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

the  ministers.  When  the  high-priest  died,  the  body 
was  embalmed  and  placed  in  a  crypt  beneath  the  palace. 
After  fifteen  days  of  mourning,  attended  by  fasts,  the 
king  and  Tehuamatlini  drew  lots  for  his  successor  from 
among  the  four  teopixqui,  the  vacancy  in  their  ranks 
being  filled  by  a  son  of  the  pontiff,  or  one  of  their  own 
sons.  The  elected  purified  himself  for  the  office  by 
blood-letting  and  other  observances,  while  the  people 
celebrated  his  accession  with  feasting  and  dancing.  In 
Yera  Paz  the  chief  priest  was  elected  according  to  merit 
from  a  certain  family  by  the  people,  and  ranked  next 
to  the  king.75  As  an  instance  of  the  lasting  influence 
possessed  by  the  priesthood  over  the  people,  Scherzer 
relates  that  at  Istlavacan  there  were  a  few  years  ago 
as  many  as  sixty  priests,  diviners,  and  medicine-men, 
Ahgih,  Ahqixb,  and  Ahqahb,  as  they  used  to  be  termed, 
who  exercised  their  offices  among  them.  At  Coban, 
Bays  Yillagutierre,  a  priest  was  so  highly  respected  that 
the  person  who  presumed  to  touch  him  was  expected  to 
fail  dead  immediately.76 

The  iSTahua  impress,  noticeable  in  the  languages  and 
customs  of  Nicaragua,  is  still  more  strongly  marked  in 
the  mythology  of  that  country.77  Instead  of  obliterating 
the  older  forms  of  worship,  however,  as  it  seems  to  have 
done  in  the  northern  part  of  Central  America,  it  has 
here  and  there  passed  by  many  of  the  distinct  beliefs 
helql  by  different  tribes,  and  blended  with  the  chief  ele- 
ment of  a  system  which  is  traced  to  the  Muyscas  in 
South  America.  The  inquiries  instituted  by  a  Spanish 
friar  among  different  classes  of  people  in  the  Xagrando 
district  go  to  prove  that  Tainagostat78  and  Cipattonal, 

75  Palario,  Carta,  pp.  62-6;  JJerrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  x. ; 
Xirnenez,  Hist.  Ind.  &uat.,  pp.  2CJO-1;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hixt.  Nat.  Cic., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  105,  555-6;  Saluzar  y  Olarte,  Hist.  Conq.  Alex.,  pp.  315-6. 

76  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p.  61;    Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  cxviii., 
cclxvi.;  Scherzer,  Indianer  von  Tstldracan,  p.  10. 

77  Gomara  says  with  regard  to  this:  'Religion  de  Nicaragua  qne  casi  es  la 
mesma  Mexicaua.'  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  63. 

78  The  similarity  of  the  name  of  tamachaz  and  tamagast,  names  given  to 
angels  and  priests,  is  striking.     The  ending  tat  might  also  be  regarded  as  a 
coniractkm  of  the  Aztec  tatli,  father.  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  pp.  161-5. 


GODS  OF  THE  NICARAGUANS.  491 

male  and  female  deities  who  inhabit  the  regions  of  the 
rising  sun,  were  the  supreme  beings.  They  created  all 
things,  stars  as  well  as  mortals,  and  re-created  what 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  flood,  in  which  work  they 
were  aided  by  Ecalchot,  surnamed  Huelme,  'the  aged,' 
and  Ciagat  'the  little.'  In  Tamagostat  Miiller  at  once 
recognizes  Fomagata,  the  ancient  sun-god  of  the  Muyscas, 
who  after  his  dethronement  by  a  newer  solar  deity  be- 
came more  particularly  the  fire -god  of  that  people,  but 
retained  more  of  his  original  preeminence  in  the 
countries  to  which  his  worship  spread,  as  in  Nicaragua. 
This  view  is  supported  by  the  statement  that  he  in- 
habited the  heavens  above,  or  rather  the  region  of  sun- 
rise. His  consort  Cipattonal,  Miiller,  judging  from 
their  relationship,  holds  to  be  the  moon;  her  name  seems 
however,  to  be  derived  from  a  Mexican  source,  probably 
from  xipalli,  'dark  blue  color,'  and  tonalli.  'sun,'79  which 
may  be  construed  as  referring  to  the  sun  in  its  blue 
element,  or,  as  the  fainter  sun,  to  the  moon.  In  either 
case  the  connection  of  the  two  is  perfectly  legitimate. 
Ecalchot,  who  is  represented  as  a  young  man,  yet  is 
surnamed  'the  aged,'  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  Mexi- 
can Ehecatl,  'wind,  air,'  an  element  ever  young,  }<etever 
old,  and  Ciagat  may  mean  'moisture;'80  both  forming  with 
the  sun  the  iertilizing  forces  that  create.81  Oviedo  gives 
the  names  of  these  deities  as  Tamagostat  or  Tamagostad, 
Zipattoval  or  Zipattonal,  Calchithuehue,  and  Chicozi- 
agat.82  'father.'  He  further  names  Chiquinaut  and  Hecat 
as  gods  of  the  winds,  which  seems  to  be  merely  another 
version  of  Chicoziagat  and  Ehecatl.83 

79  Suschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  163. 

80  '  Ich  bringe  es  in  Verbhidnng  mit  dem  Stammworte  ciahua  oAerciyahua 
befeuchten,  bewassern.'  76.     It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  Aztec  h  frequently 
changes  into  g,  in  these  countries. 

sl  Miiller,  Ameri/canteche  Urreliuionen,  pp.  435-8,  503;  Squier's  Nicaragua, 
(Ed.  1856),  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3i9-GO;  Jirasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  112 — this  author  identifies  Tamagostat  and  Cipaltona  with  the  solar 
deities  Oxomoc  and  Cipactonal  of  the  Toltecs,  but  places  them  in  rather 
an  inferior  position. 

82  Oxomogo  is  also  introduced,  which  tends  to  throw  doubt  on  Brasseur's 
identification  of  Jamagostad  with  this  personage. 

83  '  Ehecatl   oder  verkiirzt  Ecatl....ist  die   Berichtigung  fiir   Oviedo's 
Hecat.'  JJuschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  163;  Odedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  40-5, 
52. 


492          GODS,  SUPERXATUKAL  BEIXGS,  AXD  WORSHIP. 

The  Guatemalan  trinity  reappears  in  the  character  of 
Omeyateite  and  Omeyatezigoat84 — easily  recognizable 
in  the  Mexican  Ometecutli  and  Omecihuatl — and  their 
son  Ruiatcot,  the  rain  god,85  who  sends  forth  thunder, 
lightning  and  rain.  They  are  also  supposed  to  live 
where  the  sun  rises,  doubtless  because  that  seems  the 
abode  of  bliss,  and  as  fertilizing  forces  they  are  regarded 
as  creators,  but  not  connected  with  the  two  before  men- 
tioned. Quiateot  was  the  most  prominent,  if  not  the 
supreme,  member  of  the  trinity,  for  the  other  two.  as 
representing  the  thunder  and  lighting,  the  forerunners, 
or  parents,  of  the  showers,  do  not  seem  to  have  been  in- 
voked when  rain  was  wanted,  or  to  have  participated  in 
the  sacrifices  of  young  boys  and  girls  offered  on  such 
occasions.86 

The  Nicaraguans  had  other  deities  presiding  over  the 
elements,  seasons,  and  necessaries  of  life.  Thus,  Macat 
and  Toste,  also  written  Mazat  and  Teotost,87  the  deer 
and  rabbit,  were  gods  of  the  chase.  When  a  deer  was 
killed,  the  hunter  placed  the  head  in  a  basket  in  his 
house,  and  regarded  it  as  the  representation  ol  the  god.88 
Mixcoa  was  the  god  invoked  by  the  traders,  and  those 
about  to  make  purchases;  Cacaguat  was  the  patron  of 
cacao-culture;  Miquetanteot,  god  of  hades,  was  evidently 
the  same  as  Mictlantecutli  of  Mexico ;  there  were,  besides, 
others  whose  names  have  been  given  to  the  days  of  the 
month.  In  Martiari  the  chief  deity  was  called  Tipotani. 
In  Nicaragua  proper,  they  adored  Tomaoteot,  '  the 
great  god,'  whose  son  Teotbilche  was  sent  down  to  man- 
kind. This  looks  like  another  Christ-myth,  especially 
when  we  read  of  attendant  angels  who  had  wings  and 

84  In  Ternaux-Compans,  Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  40,   they  are  written 
Homey-Atelite  and  Homey-Ateciguat,   but  the   above,  spelling  corresponds 
better  with  other  similar  Aztec  names  in  Nicaragua.  Oviedo,  Hist.  (Jen.,  torn. 
iv.,  p.  46. 

85  '  Von  quiahui  oder  quiyahui  regnen :  mit  teotl  Gott  verbunden. '   Busch- 
mann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  167. 

86  Oriedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  46. 

87  Brasseur  de  Bourbourfj,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  113.     The  latter 
seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  Mexican  Teotochtli,   '  rabbit  god.' 

88  '  Y  esso  teneinos  por  el  dios  de  los  venados.'  Ouiedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn. 
iv.,  p.  55. 


THE  GODDESS  OF  THE  VOLCANO.          493 

flew  about  in  heaven.  The  names  of  the  two  chief 
angels  were  Taraacazcati  and  Tamacaztobal.89  The  Di- 
rans  revered  in  particular-  the  goddess  of  the  volcano 
Masaya;  for  her  they  placed  food  on  the  brink  of  the 
crater,  into  which  they  cast  human  beings,  especially 
when  she  manifested  her  anger  by  earthquakes.  On 
such  occasions  the  chiefs  and  priests,  who  alone  were 
permitted  to  look  into  the  seething  abyss,  went  to  the 
summit  and  called  upon  the  genius,  who  issued  from  the 
lake  of  fire  in  the  form  of  an  old  woman  and  instructed 
them  what  to  do.  She  is  described  as  a  naked,  dark- 
skinned  hag,  with  hanging  breasts,  scanty  hair,  long, 
sharp  teeth,  and  sunken  glaring  eyeballs.  The  gods 
were  invested  with  all  the  peculiarities  of  humanity, 
formed  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  lived  on  the  food  pro- 
vided for  man,  besides  blood  and  incense.  They  also 
appeared  on  earth  dressed  like  the  natives,  but  since  the 
death  of  the  cacique  Xostoval  these  visits  ceased.90  They 
were  personified  by  idols  of  stone,  clay,  or  wood,  called 
teobat?1  whose  forms  their  forefathers  had  transmitted ; 
to  them  were  brought  offerings  of  food  and.  other  things, 
which  were  taken  in  at  the  door  of  the  temple  by  boys 
serving  there,  for  none  except  the  consecrated  were 
allowed  to  enter  the  sanctuary.92  To  encourage  the  piety 
that  prompted  these  offerings,  the  priests  never  failed  to 
remind  the  people  of  the  punishment  inflicted  on  the  in- 
habitants of  the  ancient  capital  of  Nagrando,  who  hav- 
ing given  themselves  up  to  the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  and 
neglected  the  gods,  were  one  night  swallowed  up,  not  a 
vestige  of  their  city  being  left.93  The  most  acceptable 
offering  was,  of  course,  human  blood.  At  certain  times 

89  All  probably  derived  from  tlamacazqui,  priest.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  112-4.      This  author,  following  Oviedo,   Hist. 
Nic.,  spells  the  names  somewhat  differently.     .Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  pp.  165- 
8;  Odedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  48,  52,  101. 

90  These  remarks  appear  inconsistent  with  the  statement  that  the  spirit 
only  of  men  ascended  to  heaven.    Id.,  pp.  41-2. 

91  '  Teobat  vient  problement  de  Teohuall,  etre  divine.'  Brasseur  de  Bour- 
bourg,  Hist.  Nut.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  113. 

92  '  En  toda  la  placa,  ni  en  el  templo  donde  estan,  entran  alii  hombre  ni 
inuger  en  tanto  que  alii  estan,  sino  solamente  los  muchachos  pequefios  quo 
les  llevan  e  dan  de  comer.'  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  47. 

93  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  330. 


494          GODS,  SUPEENATUEAL  BEINGS,  AND  WOESHIP. 

the  favorite  idol  was  set  on  a  spear  and  planted  in  an 
open  place  amid  gorgeously  adorned  attendants  holding 
banners,  and  flowers.  Here  the  priests  gashed  their 
tongues,  and  other  parts,  smearing  the  face  of  the  image 
with  the  blood  that  flowed,  while  the  devout  approached 
to  whisper  their  desires  into  the  ear  of  the  idol.  Songs, 
dances,  and  games  attended  these  ceremonies. 

Before  each  temple  was  a  conic  or  pyramidal  mound 
of  adobe,  called  tescuit,  or  tezarit,  ascended  by  an  interior 
staircase.9*  From  its  summit,  upon  which  there  was 
room  for  about  ten  men  to  stand,  the  priest  proclaimed 
the  nature  of  the  approaching  festival,  and  the  kind  of 
sacrifice  to  be  made,  and  here,  upon  a  stone  block,  the 
victims,  generally  captives  and  slaves,  had  their  hearts 
cut  out,  after  which  they  were  decapitated,  the  body  to 
be  cut  up  and  prepared  for  the  grand  banquets,  while 
the  head,  if  that  of  a  captive,  was  hung  on  a  tree  near  the 
temple,  a  particular  tree  being  reserved  for  each  tribe 
from  whom  the  victims  were  captured.  The  most  prized 
victims  were  young  boys  and  girls,  who  were  brought 
up  by  the  chiefs  for  the  purpose  and  treated  with  great 
care  and  respect  wherever  they  went,  for  they  were  sup- 
posed to  become  deified  after  death  and  to  exercise  great 
influence  over  the  affairs  of  life.  Women,  who  were 
held  to  be  unworthy  to  perform  any  duty  in  connection 
with  the  temples,  were  immolated  outside  the  temple 
ground  of  the  large  sanctuaries,  and  even  their  flesh  was 
unclean  food  for  the  high-priest,  who  accordingly  ate 
only  of  the  flesh  of  males.95 

Fasts  and  baptismal  rites,  so  prominent  hitherto,  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  practiced  in  Nicaragua.  A 
kind  of  sacrament  was  administered,  however,  by  means 
of  maize  sprinkled  with  blood  drawn  from  the  generative 
organs,  and  confession  was  a  recognized  institution.  The 

94  Peter  Martyr  describes  this  edifice  as  follows:  'Within  the  viewe  of 
of  theii- Temples  there  are  diners  Bases   or  Pillers  like  the  Pulpittes. . 
which  Bases  consist  of  eight  steppes  or  stayres  in  some  places  twelue,  and 
in  another  fifteene. '  Dec.  vi. ,  lib.  vi. 

9>  Onedo,  Hid.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  46-7,  53,  56,  93-4,  98,  101;  Peter  Mar- 
tyr, dec.  vi.,  lib.  vii. ;  Gomura,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  265-6;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.,  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii. ;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  708-10,  715,  of  this  work. 


PEIESTS  OF  NICARAGUA.  495 

confessor  was  chosen  from  among  the  most  aged  and 
respected  citizens;  a  calabash  suspended  from  the  neck 
was  his  badge  of  office.  He  was  required  to  be  a  man 
of  blameless  life,  unmarried,  and  not  connected  with  the 
temple.  Those  who  wished  to  confess  went  to  his 
house,  and  there  standing  with  humility  before  him  un- 
burdened their  conscience.  The  confessor  was  forbid- 
den to  reveal  any  secret  confided  to  him  in  his  official 
capacity,  under  pain  of  punishment.  The  penance  he 
imposed  was  generally  some  kind  of  labor  to  be  per- 
formed for  the  benefit  of  the  temple..  Boys  did  not 
confess,  but  seem  to  have  reserved  the  avowal  of  their 
peccadillos  for  maturer  age.96 

The  office  of  high-priest  was  held  by  the  caciques,  who 
each  in  his  turn  left  home  and  occupation  and  removed 
to  the  chief  temple,  there  to  remain  for  a  year  attending 
to  religious  matters  and  praying  for  the  people.  At  the 
expiration  of  the  term  he  received  the  honorable  distinc- 
tion of  having  his  nose  perforated.  Subordinate  duties 
were  performed  by  boys.  In  the  inferior  temples  other 
classes  entered  for  a  year's  penance,  living  like  the  chief 
in  strict  seclusion,  except  at  festivals  perhaps,  seeing 
none  but  the  boys  who  brought  food  from  their  homes. 
The  ordinary  priests  were  called  tamagasf1  and  lived 
on  the  offerings  made  to  the  idols,  and  perhaps  by  their 
own  exertions,  for  the  temples  had  no  fixed  revenues.9** 
They  had  sorcerers,  texoxes,  who  sometimes  caused  the 

96  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  55-6;    Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii., 
lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.,  lib.  v.,  cap.  xii. ;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  256. 

97  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  says:  '  Tamagoz,  c'est  encore  uue  autre  corrup- 
tion du  mot  tlamacazqid.'  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  114. 

s8  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  46-7,  53;  Andagoya,  in  Navarrete,  Col. 
de  Viages,  torn,  iii.,  p.  414;  vol.  ii.,  p.  728,  of  this  work.  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind., 
fol.  265,  states  that  the  priests  were  all  married,  while  Herrera,  Hwt.  Gen., 
dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.,  asserts  the  contrary.  The  latter  view  seems  more 
correct  when  we  consider  that  women  were  not  permitted  to  enter  the  tem- 
ples, and  that  the  high  priest  and  devotees  were  obliged  to  leave  their  wives 
when  they  passed  into  the  sanctuary.  It  is  even  probable  that  there  was  no 
distinct  priesthood,  since  the  temples  had  no  revenues,  and  the  temple  ser- 
vice was  performed  in  part  at  least  by  volunteers;  to  this  must  be  added  the 
fact,  that  although  the  confessor  might  not  be  connected  with  the  temple,  yet 
he  ordered  penance  for  its  benefit.  It  must  be  considered,  however,  that 
without  regular  ministers  it  would  have  been  difficulty  to  keep  up  the  routine 
of  feasts  and  ceremonies,  write  the  books  of  records/teach  the  children,  and 
maintain  discipline. 


496          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

death  of  children  by  merely  looking  at  them,  and  who 
could  assume  animal  forms,  for  which  reasons  they  were 
much  feared  by  the  people.  To  strengthen  this  belief 
they  at  times  disguised  themselves  in  skins  of  beasts.99 
In  Honduras  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  and  Creator 
was  connected  with  a  worship  of  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  to  which  the  people  made  sacrifices.100  Near 
Truxillo  were  three  chief  temples101  in  one  of  which  was 
a  chalchiuite  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  to  which  the  peo- 
ple praj-ed.  and  which  answered  them  through  the  priests. 
Preparatory  to  any  important  undertaking,  cocks,  dogs. 
or  even  men,  were  sacrificed  to  secure  the  favor  of  the 
gods.  In  each  of  the  sanctuaries  presided  a  papa,  or 
chief  priest,  to  whom  the  education  of  the  sons  of  the 
nobles  was  entrusted.  These  were  unmarried  men,  dis- 
tinguished by  long  hair  reaching  to  the  waist,  though  in 
some  places  they  wound  it  round  the  head  in  plaits. 
Their  sanctity  and  superior  knowledge  gave  them  great 
influence,  and  their  advice  wras  sought  on  all  affairs  of 
importance  by  the  principal  men,  for  none  else  dared  to 
approach  them.  There  were  also  sorcerers  who  could 
assume  animal  forms,  in  which  guise  they  went  about 
devouring  men  and  spreading  diseases.102. 

Among  the  barbarians  of  the  Mosquito  Coast,  we  find, 
of  course,  a  much  lower  order  of  belief,  and  one  which 
calls  to  mind  the  ghouls  and  ghosts  of  Californian 
mythology.  The  natives  acknowledged  a  good  spirit  or 
principle,  to  which  they  gave  no  definite  name103  and 
rendered  no  homage,  for  there  was  no  necessity,  they 
said,  to  pray  to  one  who  always  did  good;  as  for  thank- 
ing him  for  mercies  received,  such  an  idea  seems  never 

w  Arridvita,  Cronica  Serdfica,  p.  57;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  101, 
107.  '  Sous  le  nom  de  "  Texoxe  "  ou  designait  les  iiaguals,  les  genies  uiau- 
vais  de  toute  espece,  ainsi  que  les  sorciers.'  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  113. 

100  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  63. 

H"  At  Cape  Honduras  they  consisted  of  long,  narrow  houses,  raised  above 
the  ground,  containing  idols  with  heads  of  animals.  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec. 
iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  v. 

102  Id.,  and  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  vi.;  see  vol.  i.,  p.  740,  of  this  work. 

103  'Es  1st  dafur  das  Wort  God  aus  dein  Englischen  aufgenommen.'  Mos- 
quiloland,  Bericht,  p.  142. 


THE  MOSQUITO  PANTHEON.  497 

to  have  occurred  to  them.  In  fact,  they  had  neither 
temples  nor  idols,  and  the  only  ceremonies  that  partook 
of  a  religious  character  were  the  conjurations  of  their 
sukias,  or  sorceresses,  who  were  constantly  engaged  in 
breaking  the  spells  of  evil  spirits,  with  which  the  people's 
fancy,  excited  by  grewsome  stories  told  round  the  camp- 
fire,  had  filled  every  dark  and  dismal  place,  every  stream 
and  mountain  top.  These  gnomes  were  known  by  the 
name  of  Wulasha,104  and  were  supposed  to  issue  from 
their  hiding-places,  especially  at  night,  to  do  all  manner 
of  evil;  they  were  especially  addicted  to  carrying  off 
solitary  wanderers ;  it  was,  therefore,  say  the  chroniclers, 
almost  impossible  to  induce  a  native  to  go  out  alone  after 
dark. 

Amid  the  underwood  and  fallen  trees  about  the 
sources  of  rivers,  big  snakes  were  thought  to  dwell. 
These  monsters  were  assisted  by  a  resistless  upward  cur- 
rent and  a  strong  wind  which  swept  the  unwary  boat- 
man within  the  reach  of  the  red  jaws  and  slimy  folds. 
Patook,  among  other  rivers,  had  this  bad  reputation, 
and  a  white  man  who  despite  the  warnings  of  the 
natives  started  to  explore  its  mysteries,  returned  in  a 
few  days  with  the  story  that  his  progress  had  been  op- 
posed by  a  big  white  cock.  Leewa105  was  the  name  of 
the  water  spirit,  who  sucked  the  bather  into  pools  and 
eddies  and  sent  forth  devastating  waterspouts  and  hurri- 
canes. Wihwin,  a  spirit  having  the  appearance  of  a 
horse,106  with  tremendous  teeth  to  devour  human  prey, 
haunted  the  hills  during  the  summer,  but  retired  with 
the  winter  to  the  sea,  whence  he  originally  issued.  In 
mountain  caves,  guarded  by  fierce  white  boars,  lived  the 
patron  deity  of  the  warrees,  the  wild  pigs  of  the  country, 
of  childish  form  but  immense  strength,  who  directed  the 
movements  of  the  droves.  There  were,  besides,  certain 

104  Bard's  Waikna,  p.  243.     '  Devils,  the  chief  of  whom  they  call  the 
Woolsaw,  or  evil  principle,  witchcraft. '  Strangeioays'  Mosquito  Shore,  p.  331. 
Young  writes  Oulasser.  Narrative,  p.  72. 

105  Bell,  in  Lond.  Geoy.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxii.,  p.  254. 

106  A  shape  which  assigns  the  story  a  comparatively  recent  date,  unless  a- 
deer  was  originally  meant. 

VOL.  III.    33 


498          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

venomous  lizards,  who  after  biting  a  man  ran  im- 
mediately to  the  nearest  water:  if  the  wounded  person 
did  the  same  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  water  first, 
he  was  saved,  and  the  lizard  died ;  otherwise  the  man 
was  doomed.107  The  Sukias  who  were  called  upon  to 
exorcise  these  malignant  beings  on  every  occasion  of 
sickness,  or  misfortune,  were  generally  old  hags,  supposed 
to  have  a  compact  with  the  evil  one,  in  whose  name 
they  exacted  half  their  fee  before  commencing  their  en- 
chantments. The  Caribs  held  regular  meetings  or  festi- 
vals to  propitiate  these  spirits,  and  the-  Wool  was,  who 
seem  to  have  had  many  religious  forms  in  common  with 
the  Nicaraguans,  had  "dances  with  the  gods."108 

Among  the  Isthmians  several  forms  of  worship  appear, 
that  in  the  vicinity  of  Panama  resembling  the  system 
prevalent  in  Hayti  and  Cuba,  says  Gomara.109  The 
heavenly  bodies  seem  to  have  been  very  generally 
adored,  especially  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Isthmus, 
were  all  good  things  were  thought  to  come  from  the  sun 
and  moon,  which  were  considered  as  man  and  wife ;  but 
no  accounts  are  given  of  temples,  or  forms  of  worship, 
except  that  prayers  were  addressed  io  the  sun.110 

The  most  prominent  personage  in  the  Isthmian  pan- 
theon was  Dabaiba,a  goddess  who  controlled  the  thunder 
and  lightning,  and  with  their  aid  devastated  the  lands 
of  those  who  displeased  her.  In  South  America,  thunder 
and  lightning  were  held  to  be  the  instruments  used  by 
the  sun  to  inflict  punishment  upon  its  enemies,  which 
makes  it  probable  that  Dabaiba  was  a  transformed  sun- 
goddess.  Pilgrims  resorted  from  afar  to  her  temple  at 
Uraba,  bringing  costly  presents  and  human  victims,  who 
were  first  killed  and  then  burned,  that  the  savory  odors 
of  roasting  flesh  might  be  grateful  in  the  delicate  nostrils 
of  the  goddess.  Some  describe  her  as  a  native  princess, 

!07  BfJl,  in  Lond  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxii.,  pp.  253-4;  Young's  Narra* 
.«ue,  p.  79. 

NW  Froebel's  Cent.  Amer.,  p.  137;  see  also  vol.  i.,  pp.  740-1,  of  this  work. 

109  Ifist.  Ind.,  fol.  255. 

no  Id.,  fol.  89;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  toin,  iii.,  pp.  20,  125. 


GODS  OF  THE  ISTHMIANS.  499 

whose  reign  was  marked  by  great  wisdom  and  many  mira- 
cles, and  who  was  apotheosized  after  death.  She  was  also 
honored  as  the  mother  of  the  Creator,  the  maker  of  the 
sun,  the  moon,  and  all  invisible  things,  and  the  sender 
of  blessings,  who  seems  to  have  acted  as  mediator  be- 
tween the  people  and  his  mother,  for  their  prayers  for 
rain  were  addressed  to  him,  although  she  is  described  as 
controlling  the  showers,  and  once  when  her  worship 
was  neglected  she  inflicted  a  severe  drouth  upon  the 
country. 

When  the  needs  of  the  people  were  very  urgent,  the 
chiefs  and  priests  remained  in  the  temple  fasting  and 
praying  with  uplifted  hands;  the  people  meanwhile  ob- 
served a  four-days  fast,  lacerating  their  bodies  and  wash- 
ing their  faces,  which  were  at  other  times  covered  with 
paint.  So  strict  was  this  fast  that  no  meat  or  drink 
was  to  be  touched  until  the  fourth  day,  and  then  only  a 
soup  made  from  maize-flour.  The  priests  themselves 
were  sworn  to  perpetual  chastity  and  abstinence,  and 
those  who  went  astray  in  these  matters  were  burned  or 
stoned  to  death.  Their  temples  were  encompassed  with 
walls  and  kept  scrupulously  clean ;  golden  trumpets,  and 
bells  with  bone  clappers  summoned  the  people  to  wor- 
ship.111 

In  the  province  of  Pocorosa  the  existence  of  a  rain- 
god  called  Chipiripe  was  recognized,  who  inhabited  the 
heaven  above,  whence  he  regulated  celestial  movements ; 
with  him  lived  a  beautiful  woman  with  one  child. 
Nothing  else  was  known  respecting  this  divine  family. 
This  ignorance  of  the  deity  was  further  manifested  by 
the  absence  of  any  form  of  worship;  the  moral  laws  were 
well  defined,  however,  so  that  adultery  and  even  lying 
were  regarded  as  sinful.112  Las  Casas  states  that  Chi- 
cune,  'the  beginning  of  all,'  who  lived  in  heaven, 
was  the  one  being  to  whom  the  people  of  Darien 
addressed  their  invocations  and  sacrifices,  though  a 

111  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vii.,  lib.  x. ;  Irving' 's  Columbus,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  173-4; 
Miiller,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p.  421. 

118  Andagoya,  in  Navarreie,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn,  iii.,  p.  401;  Herrera,  Hist. 
Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  xi.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  v. 


500         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

certain  sect,  or  tribe,  among  them  worshiped  the  water. 
In  another  chapter  he  declares  that  the  Isthmians 
had  little  or  no  religion,  for  they  had  no  temples 
and  few  or  no  gods  or  idols.113  According  to  Peter 
Martyr,  the  embalmed  and  bejeweled  bodies  of  ances- 
tors were  worshiped  in  Comagre,  and  in  Veragua  gold 
was  invested  with  divine  qualities,  so  that  the  gathering 
of  it  was  attended  with  fasting  and  penance.114  Tuira, 
whom  the  Spanish  writers  declared  to  have  been  the 
devil  himself,  was  a  widely  known  being  who  communed 
with  his  servants,  tequina,  'masters,'115. in  roofless  huts 
kept  for  this  purpose.  Here  the  tequinas  entered  at 
night,  and  spoke  in  different  voices,  to  induce  the 
belief  that  the  spirits  were  actually  answering  their  ques- 
tions; the  result  of  the  interview  was  communicated  to 
their  patrons.  At  times  the  evil  one  appeared  in  the 
guise  of  a  handsome  boy  without  hands116  and  with 
three- toed  feet,  and  accompanied  the  sorcerers  upon  their 
expeditions  to  work  mischief,  and  supplied  them  with  a 
protecting  ointment.  Among  the  evil  deeds  imputed  to 
these  sorcerers  was  that  of  sucking  the  navel  of  sleeping 
people  until  they  died.117  These '  men  naturally  took 
care  to  foster  ideas  that  tended  to  sustain  or  increase  their 
influence,  and  circulated,  besides,  most  extravagant  stories 
of  supernatural  events  and  beings.  Once  a  terrible  hurri- 
cane, blowing  from  the  east,  devasted  the  country  and 
brought  with  it  two  birds  with  maiden  faces,  one  of 
which  was  of  a  size  so  great  that  it  seized  upon  men  and 
carried  them  off  to  its  mountain  nest.  No  tree  could 
support  it,  and  where  it  alighted  upon  the  rocks,  the 
imprint  of  its  talons  were  left.  The  other  bird  was 
smaller  and  supposed  to  be  the  offspring  of  the  first. 

113  Hist.  Apologelica,  MS.,  cap.  cxxiv.,  ccxlii.;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  G3. 

i'4  Dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  iii. 

115  A  name  applied  in  Cueba  to  all  who  excelled  in  an  art.  Oviedo,  Hist. 
Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  126-7. 

UG  'Las  manos  no  se  las  vian.'  Andagoya,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages, 
torn,  iii.,  p.  400. 

117  For  farther  account  of  sorcerers,  see  vol.  i.,  pp.  779-80.  Gomara 
writes:  '  Tauira,  que  es  el  Diablo.'  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  255;  Ilerrera,  Hist.  Gen., 
dec.  ii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  x.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  v.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  x. 


PHALLIC  WORSHIP.  501 

After  trying  several  plans  to  kill  these  man-eating  har- 
pies, they  hit  upon  the  device  of  fixing  a  large  beam  in 
the  ground,  near  the  place  where  they  usually  alighted, 
leaving  only  one  end  exposed,  on  which  was  carved  the 
image  of  a  man.  With  the  dawn  of  day  the  larger 
bird  came  swooping  down  upon  the  decoy  and  imbedded 
its  claws  so  firmly  in  the  beam  that  it  could  not  with- 
draw them,  and  thus  the  people  were  enabled  to  kill  it.118 
The  knowledge  that  the  human  mind,  no  matter 
how  low  its  condition,  can  be  capable  of  such  puerile 
conceptions,  must  bring  with  it  a  sense  of  humiliation  to 
the  thinking  man;  and  well  were  it  for  him  could  he 
comfort  himself  with  the  belief  that  such  debasing  super- 
stitions were  at  least  confined  to  humanity  in  its  first  and 
lowest  stages ;  but  this  he  cannot  do.  It  is  true  that  the 
belief  of  the  civilized  Aztec  was  far  higher  and  nobler 
than  that  of  the  uncivilized  Carib,  but  can  he  who  has 
read  the  evidence  upon  which  old  women  and  young 
maidens  were  convicted  of  riding  upon  broomsticks  to 
witches'  Sabbaths,  by  the  most  learned  judges  of  the 
most  learned  law-courts  of  modern  Europe,  deny  that 
the  coarsest  superstition  and  the  highest  civilization  have 
hitherto  gone  hand  in  hand. 

Before  leaving  this  division  it  will  be  well  to  say  a 
few  words  concerning  the  existence  of  Phallic  Worship 
in  America. 

One  of  the  first  problems  of  the  primitive  man  is  crea- 
tion. If  analogies  lead  him  to  conceive  it  as  allied  to  a 
birth,  and  the  joint  result  of  some  unknown  male  and 
female  energy,  then  the  symbolization  of  this  power  is 
liable  to  take  the  gross  form  of  phallic  worship.  Thus 
it  is  that  among  the  earliest  nations  of  which  we  pos- 
sess any  knowledge,  the  life-giving  and  vivifying 
principle  of  nature  has  been  always  symbolized  by  the 
human  organs  of  generation.  The  Lingham  of  India, 
the  Phallus  of  Greece,  the  Priapus  of  Rome,  the  Baal- 
Peor  of  the  Hebrew  records,  and  the  Peor-Apis  of  Egypt, 

118  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  vii.,  lib.  x. 


502         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

all  have  plainly  the  same  significance.  In  most  mythol- 
ogies the  sun,  the  principle  of  fire,  the  moon,  and  the 
earth,  were  connected  with  this  belief;  the  sun  and  moon 
as  the  celestial  emblems  of  the  generative  and  product- 
ive powers  of  nature,  fire  and  the  earth  as  the  terrestial 
emblems.  These  were  the  Father  and  the  Mother,  and 
their  most  obvious  symbols,  as  already  stated,  were  the 
phallus  and  kteis,  or  the  lingham  and  yoni  of  Hin- 
dustan. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  multiply  quotations  respecting  the 
basal  though  often  veiled  idea  of  One,  'underlying  the 
polytheistic  systems.  The  difficulty  to  the  human  mind 
of  considering  anything  in  another  than  human  aspect, 
and  our  natural  delight  in  analogies,  leads,  however,  in 
many  cases  to  the  consideration  in  certain  aspects  of  this 
deity  as  a  duality  or  joint  essence  of  the  masculine  and 
the  feminine.  Take  the  learned  Cory's  summary  of 
ancient  mythology:  "It  recognizes,  as  the  primary  ele- 
ments of  all  things,  two  independent  principles,  of  the 
nature  of  male  and  female;  and  these,  in  mystic  union, 
as  the  soul  and  body,  constitute  the  Great  Hermaphro- 
dite Deity,  The  One,  the  universe  itself,  consisting  still 
of  the  two  separate  elements  of  its  composition,  modified 
though  combined  in  one  individual ....  If  we  investigate 
the  Pantheons  of  the  ancient  nations,  we  shall  find  that 
each,  notwithstanding  the  variety  of  names,  acknowl- 
edged the  same  deities  and  the  same  system  of  Theology  j 
and,  however  humble  any  of  the  deities  may  appear, 
each  who  has  any  claim  to  antiquity  will  be  found  ulti- 
mately, if  not  immediately,  resolvable  into  one  or  other 
of  the  Primeval  Principles,  the  Great  God  and  Goddess 
of  the  Gentiles."191 

119  Ancient  Fragments,  introduction,  p.  34.  M.  Pictet  says  of  the  primitive 
Celtic  religion:  "From  a  primitive  duality,  constituting  the  fundamental 
forces  of  the  universe,  there  arises  a  double  progression  of  cosmical  powers, 
which,  after  having  crossed  each  other  by  a  mutual  transition,  at  last  pro- 
ceed to  blend  in  One  Supreme  Unity,  as  in  their  essential  principles."  Says 
Sir  William  Jones:  "  We  must  not  by  surprised  at  finding,  on  a  close  exami- 
nation, that  the  characters  of  all  the  Pagan  deities,  male  and  female,  melt 
into  each  other,  aud  at  last  into  one  or  two,  for  it  seems  a  well-founded 
opinion  that  the  whole  crowd  of  gods  and  goddesses  in  ancient  Home  and 
modern  Varanes,  mean  only  the  Powers  of  Nature,  and  principally  those  of 


RATIONALE  OF  PHALLIC  WORSHIP.  503 

To  the  moral  ideal  of  the  present  age,  an  ideal  de- 
rived from  acquired  habit,  not  from  nature,  phallic  wor- 
ship will  doubtless  appear  repulsive  and  indelicate  in 
the  extreme.  It  was,  neverthless,  the  most  natural  form 
of  worship  that  the  primitive  man  could  adopt ;  for  him 
the  symbol  had  no  impure  meaning,  and  was  associated 
with  none  of  the  disgusting  excesses  by  means  of  which, 
as  he  became  more  sophisticated,  he  converted  his  rever- 
ence of  Nature  into  a  worship  of  Lust. 

What  could  be  more  natural  than  that  he  should  sym- 
bolize the  fecundating  principle,  the  creative  power,  by 
the  immediate  cause  of  reproduction,  or  as  he  doubtless 
took  it,  of  creation,  the  phallus.  He  recognized  no 
impurity  or  licentiousness  in  the  moderate  and  regular 
gratification  of  any  natural  appetite ;  nor  did  it  seem  to 
him  that  the  organs  of  one  species  of  enjoyment  were 
naturally  to  be  considered  as  subjects  of  shame  and  con- 
cealment more  than  those  of  another.  As  Payne  Knight 
remarks  of  the  ancient  nations  of  the  old  world:  "In 
*an  age,  therefore,  when  no  prejudices  of  artificial  de- 
cency existed,  what  more  just  and  natural  image  could 
they  find,  by  which  to  express  their  idea  of  the  benefi- 
cent power  of  the  great  Creator  than  that  organ  which 
endowed  them  with  the  power  of  procreation,  and  made 
them  partakers,  not  only  of  the  felicity  of  the  Deity, 
but  of  his  great  characteristic  attribute,  that  of  mul- 
tiplying his  own  image,  communicating  his  blessings,  and 
extending  them  to  the  generations  yet  unborn."  Noth- 
ing natural  was  to  them  offensively  obscene.  When  the 
Egyptian  matrons  touched  the  phallus  they  did  so  with 
the  pure  wish  of  obtaining  offspring.  The  gold  ling- 
ham  on  the  neck  of  the  Hindoo  wives  was  not  an  object 
of  shame  to  them. 

That  the  worship  of  the  reciprocal  principles  of  nature 
was  recognized  and  practiced  in  America,  there  is  in  my 
mind  no  doubt.  The  almost  universal  prevalence  of  sun- 
worship,  which  is,  as  I  have  already  intimated,  closely 

the  SUN,  expressed  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  by  a  multitude  of  fanciful 
names."  On  the  Gods  of  Greece,  Italy,  and  India,  p.  273. 


504          GODS,  SUPERNATUKAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

connected  with  phallic  rites,  would  alone  go  far  to  prove 
this,  but  an  account  of  certain  material  relics  and  well 
known  customs  is  still  more  satisfactory  evidence. 

In  Yucatan,  according  to  Stephens,  "the  ornaments 
upon  the  external  cornice  of  several  large  buildings 
actually  consisted  of  membra  conjuncta  in  coitu,  too 
plainly  sculptured  to  be  misunderstood.  And.  if  this 
were  not  sufficient  testimony,  more  was  found  in  the 
isolated  and  scattered  representations  of  the  membrum 
virile,  so  accurate  that  even  the  Indians  recognised  the 
object,  and  invited  the  attention  of  Mr  Gatherwood  to 
the  originals  of  some  of  his  drawings  as  }7et  unpub- 
lished." 

The  sculptured  pillars  to  be  seen  at  Copan  and  other 
ruins  in  Central  America,  which  are  acknowledged  to 
be  connected  with  sun  worship,  are  very  similar  to 
the  sculptured  phallus-pillars  of  the  East.120  Mr.  Squier 

wo  'This  suggestion  was  first  publicly  made  in  a  communication  read,' 
says  Squier,  Serpent  Symbol,  p.  49,  'before  the  American  Ethnological  Society, 
by  a  distinguished  member  of  that  body;  from  which  the  following  passages* 
are  extracted.  After  noticing  several  tacts  tending  to  show  the  former  ex- 
istence of  Phallic  worship  in  America,  the  author  of  the  paper  proceeds 
as  follows: — "We  coine  now  to  Central  America.  Upon  a  perusal 
of  the  first  journey  of  our  fellow-members,  Messrs.  Stephens  and 
Catherwood,  into  Guatemala  and  the  central  territories  of  the  Con- 
tinent, I  was  forcibly  struck  with  the  monolithic  idols  of  Copan. 
We  knew  nothing  before,  save  of  Mexican,  Palenque,  and  Uxmal 
remains;  and  those  of  Copan  appeared  to  me  to  be  unlike  them  all, 
and  probably  of  an  older  date.  My  reading  furnishes  me  with  but  one  par- 
allel to  those  singular  monolithic  sculptures,  and  that  was  seen  in  Ceylon,  in 
1796,  by  Captain  Colin  McKenzie,  and  described  in  the  6th  volume  of  the 
Asiatic  Researches.  As  the  description  is  short,  I  transcribe  it:  "The  figure 
is  cut  out  of  stone  in  relievo;  but  the  whole  is  sunk  in  a  hollow,  scooped  out, 
so  that  it  is  defended  from  injury  on  the  sides.  It  may  be  about  fourteen  feet 
high,  the  countenance  wild,  a  full  round  visage,  the  eyes  large,  the  nose 
round  and  long;  it  has  no  beard;  nor  the  usual  distinguishing  marks  of  the 
Geutoo  casts.  He  holds  up  both  his  hands,  with  the  forefingers  and  thumbs 
bent;  the  head-dress  is  high,  and  seems  ornamented  with  jewels;  on  the  little 
finger  of  the  left  hand  is  a  ring;  on  the  arms  bracelets;  a  belt  high  about  the 
waist;  the  lower  dress  or  drapery  fixed  with  a  girdle  much  lower  than  the 
Gentoo  dress,  from  which  something  like  tassels  depend;  a  collar  and  orna- 
ments on  the  neck  and  shoulders;  and  rings  seem  to  hang  low  from  the  ears. 
No  appearance  of  any  arms  or  weapons. "  This  was  the  nearest  approximation 
I  could  make  to  the  Copnn  idols;  for  idols  I  took  them  to  be,  from  the  fact 
that  an  altar  was  invariably  placed  before  them.  From  a  close  inspection  of 
Mr.  Cutherwood's  drawings,  I  found  that  though  no  single  figure  presented 
nil  the  foregoing  ch  iracteristics,  yet  in  the  various  figures  I  could  find  every 
particular  enumerated  in  the  Ceylon  sculpture.  It  then  occurred  to  me  thut 
one  of  the  most  usual  symbols  of  the  Phallus  was  an  erect  stone,  often  in  its 
rough  state,  sometimes  sculptured,  and  that  no  other  object  of  heathen  wor- 
ship was  so  often  shadowed  forth  by  a  single  stone  placed  on  end,  as  the 


KELICS  OF  PHALLIC  WOKSHIP.  505 

is  of  the  opinion  that  they  may  be  considered  as  such, 
and  the  Abbe  Brasseur  takes  the  same  view  in  making 
the  plain  cylindrical  pillar  found  in  so  many  places 
the  representation  of  the  volcano,  the  goddess  of  love, 
and  whence  it  issues  as  the  symbol  of  new  life. 
On  another  page  he  terms  the  phallus  the  Crescent, 
the  land  whence  the  Nahuas  originated,  and  the  con- 
tinent of  America  the  body.121  Some  of  the  pillars 
appear  without  ornament,  as  the  picote  at  Uxrnal,  a 
round  stone  of  irregular  form,  which  stood  in  front  of 
one  of  the  ruins,  but  the  worshipers  of  Priapus  at 
Thespia  and  other  places  were  content  with  a  rude  stone 
for  an  image  in  early  times.  In  Mexico  according  to 
Grarna,  the  presiding  god  of  spring,  Xopancalehuey 
Tlalloc,  was  often  represented  without  a  human  body, 
having  instead  a  pilaster  or  square  column,  upon  a 
pedestal  covered  with  various  sculptured  designs.122  In 
Panuco  images  of  the  generative  organs  were  kept  in  the 
temples  as  objects  of  worship,  and  statues  representing 
men  and  women  performing  the  sexual  act  in  various 
postures  stood  in  the  temple-courts.123  Near  Laguna  de 
Terminos,  on  'the  coast  of  Yucatan.  Grijalva  found  im- 
ages of  men  committing  acts  of  indescribable  beastliness, 
while  close  by  lay  the  bodies  of  victims  recently  sacri- 
ficed in  their  honor.124  The  united  symbols  of  the  sexual 

Phallus.  That  the  worship  of  the  Priapus,  [Lingham]  existed  in  Ceylon, 
has  long  since  been  satisfactorily  established;  and  hence  I  was  led  to  suspect 
that  these  monuments  at  Copan,  might  be  vestiges  of  a  similar  idolatry.  A 
further  inspection  confirmed  my  suspicions;  for,  as  I  supposed,  I  found 
sculptured  on  the  American  ruins  the  organs  of  generation,  and  on  the  back 
of  one  of  the  emblems  relative  to  uterine  existence,  parturition,  etc.  I 
should,  however,  have  wanted  entire  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  my 
suspicions,  had  the  mutter  rested  here.  On  the  return  of  Messrs.  Stephens 
and  Cathervvood  from  their  second  expedition,  every  doubt  of  the  existence 
of  Phallic  worship,  especially  in  Yucatan,  was  removed. 

121  Quatre  Lettres,  pp.  290,  301;  Squier's  Serpent  Symbol,  pp.  47-50. 

12'!  Leon  y  Gama,  Dos  Pledras,  part  i. ,  p.  40. 

121  In  Panuco  and  other  provinces  '  adorano  il  membro  che  portano 
gli  huomiui  fra  le  gainbe,  &  lo  tengono  nella  meschita,  &  posto  similmtnte 
sopra  la  piazza  insieme  con  le  imagini  de  rilieuo  di  tutti  modi  di  piacere  che 
possono.essere  fra  I'huomo  &  la  donna,  &  gli  hanno  di  ritratto  con  le  gam- 
be  di  alzate  in  diuersi  modi.'  Rdatione  fatt't  per  vn  gentil'huomo  del  Signer 
Fernando  Corte'se,  in  Rnmusio,  Navigationi,  torn,  iii.,  fol.  307. 

124  '  Hallaron  entre  vnos  arboles  vn  idolillo  de  oro  y  muchos  de  barro,  dos 
hoinbres  de  palo,  caualgaudo  vno  sobre  otro,  a  fuer  Sodoma,  y  otro  de  tierra 
cozida  con  ambas  manos  alo  suyo,  que  lo  tenia  retajado,  como  son  casi  todos 
los  Indios  de  Yucatan.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  58. 


506          GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

organs  were  publicly  worshiped  in  Tlascala,  and  in  the 
month  of  Quecholli  a  grand  festival  was  held  in  honor  of 
Xochiquetzal,  Xochitecatl,  and  Tlazolteotl,  goddesses  of 
sensual  delights,  when  the  prostitutes  and  young  men 
addicted  to  sodomy  were  allowed  to  solicit  custom  on  the 
public  streets.125  On  Zapatero  Island,  around  Lake 
Nicaragua,  and  in  Costa  Rica,  a  number  of  idols  have 
been  found  of  which  the  disproportionately  large  mem- 
brum  generationis  virile  in  erectione  was  the  most  prominent 
feature.  Palacio  relates  that  at  Cezori,  in  Honduras, 
the  natives  offered  blood  drawn  from  the  organs  of  gene- 
ration and  circumcised  boys  before  an  idol  called  Icela- 
ca,  which  was  simply  a  round  stone,126  with  two  faces 
and  a  number  of  eyes,  and  was  supposed  to  know  all 
things,  past,  present,  and  future.127  The  frequent  occur- 
rence of  the  cross,  which  has  served  in  so  many  and 
such  widely  separated  parts  of  the  earth  as  the  symbol  of 
the  life-giving,  creative,  and  fertilizing  principle  in  na- 
ture, is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  striking  evidences  of 
the  former  recognition  of  the  reciprocal  principles  of 
nature  by  the  Americans ;  especially  when  we  remember 
that  the  Mexican  name  for  the  emblem,  tonacaquahuitl, 
signifies  '  tree  of  one  life,  or  flesh.' 128  Of  two  terra- 
cotta relics  found  at  Ococingo,  in  the  state  of  Chiapas, 
one  would  certainly  attract  the  attention  of  any  one  who 
had  investigated  the  subject  of  phallic  worship  or  had 
seen  the  phallic  amulets  and  ornaments  of  the  old 
world.129  In  the  Museum  at  Mexico  are  two  small 
images  which  were  evidently  used  as  ornaments.  Each 
of  these  represents  a  human  figure  in  a  crouching  pos- 
ture, clasping  with  both  hands  an  enormous  phallus. 
Col.  Brantz  Mayer  kindly  showed  me  drawings  of  these 
made  by  himself.  One  of  these  figures  is  reproduced  in 
another  volume  of  this  work. 


123  See  vol.  ii  ,  pp.  33G-7,  concerning  this  festival. 

12ti  '  Un  ido'o  de  piedra,  redondo,'  which  may  mean  a  '  cylindrical  stone,' 
as  the  translator  of  Palacio's  Carta  has  rendered  it. 
«  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  84. 

12S  Concerning  the  cross  in  America,  see  this  vol.  pp. 
129  I  refer  to  the  left  hand  figure  iu  the  cut  on  p.  348,  vol.  iv.,  of  this 


PHALLIC  KITES.  507 

The  Pipiles  abstained  from  their  wives  for  four  days 
previous  to  sowing,  in  order  to  indulge  in  the  marital 
act  to  the  fullest  extent  on  the  eve  of  that  day.  evidently 
with  a  view  to  initiate  or  urge  the  fecundating  powers  of 
nature.  It  is  even  said  that  certain  persons  were  ap- 
pointed to  perform  the  sexual  act  at  the  moment  of 
planting  the  first  seed.  During  the  bitter  cold  nights 
of  the  Hyperborean  winter,  the  Aleuts,  both  men  and 
women,  joined  hands  in  the  open  air  and  whirled  per- 
fectly naked  round  certain  idols,  .lighted  only  by  the 
pale  moon.  The  spirit  was  supposed  to  hallow  the  dance 
with  his  presence.  There  certainly  could  have  been 
no  licentious  element  in  this  ceremony,  for  setting  aside 
the  discomfort  of  dancing  naked  with  the  thermometer 
at  zero,  we  read  that  the  dancers  were  blindfolded,  and 
that  decorum  was  strictly  enforced.  In  Nicaragua, 
maize  sprinkled  with  blood  drawn  from  the  genitals  was 
regarded  as  sacred  food.130  The  custom  of  drawing  blood 
from  this  part  of  the  body  was  observed  as  a  religious 
rite  by  almost  every  tribe  from  Mexico  to  Panama, 
though  this,  of  course,  does  not  prove  that  it  was  in  all 
cases  connected  with  phallic  worship.  Circumcision  is 
regarded  by  Squier  as  a  phallic  rite,  but  there  is  not 
sufficient  testimony  to  support  this  view.  Tezcatlipoca, 
the  chief  god  of  the  N  almas,  who  has  been  frequently 
identified  with  the  sun,  was  adored  as  a  love-god,  accord- 
ing to  Boturini,  who  adds  that  the  Nahua  Lotharios  held 
disorderly  festivals  in  his  honor,  to  induce  him  to  favor 
their  designs.131  Orgies,  characterized  by  the  grossest 
licentiousness  are  met  with  at  different  places  along  the 
coast,  as  among  the  Nootkas,  the  Upper  and  Lower  Cali- 
fornians,  in  Sinaloa,  Nicaragua,  and  especially  in  Yuca- 
tan, where  every  festival  ended  in  a  debauch.  During 
a  certain  annual  festival  held  in  Nicaragua,  women,  of 
whatever  condition,  could  abandon  themselves  to  the 

work.     For  examples  of  the  amulets  mentioned,  see  illustrations  in  Payne 
Knight's  Worship  of  Priapus. 

130  See  vol.  i.,  of  this  work,  p.  93;   Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  48; 
See  vol.  ii.>  of  this  work.  pp.  719-20. 

131  Boturini,  Idea,  p.  13;  see  also  this  volume,  pp.  213-4. 


508         GODS,  SUPERNATURAL  BEINGS,  AND  WORSHIP. 

embrace  of  whomever  they  pleased,   without  incurring 
any  disgrace.132 

The  feast  of  the  Mexican  month  Xocotlhuetzin,  '  fall, 
or  maturity  of  fruit,'  is  to  me  a  most  striking  evidence 
of  the  former  existence  of  phallic  worship,  or  at  least 
recognition  of  the  fecundating  principle  in  nature.  I 
will,  however,  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclu- 
sions. This  feast  of  the  'maturity  of  fruit'  was  dedi- 
cated to  Xiuhtecutli,  god  of  fire,  and,  therefore,  of  fertil- 
ity, or  fecundity.  The  principal  feature  of  the  feast 
was  a  tall,  straight  tree,  which  was  stripped  of  all  its 

132  See  vol.  i.,  of  this  work,  pp.  200,  414,  566-6;  vol.  ii.,  p.  676,  and  ac- 
count of  Yucatec  feasts  in  chap.  xxii.  In  citing  these  brutish  orgies  I  do  not 
presume,  or  wish  to  assert,  that  they  were  in  any  way  connected  with  phallus 
worship,  or  indeed,  that  there  was  anything  of  a  religious  nature  in  them. 
Still,  as  they  certainly  were  indulged  in  during,  or  immediately  after  the  great 
religious  festivals,  and  as  we  know  how  the  phallic  cult  degenerated  from  its 
original  purity  into  just  such  bestiality  iu  Greece  and  Rome,  I  have  thought 
it  well  to  mention  them.  There  is  much  truth  in  the  following  remarks  on 
this  point,  by  Mr.  Brinton,  though  with  his  statement  that  the  proofs  of  a 
recognition  of  the  fecundating  principle  in  Nature  by  the  Americans  are  '  alto- 
gether wanting,'  I  cannot  agree.  He  says:  '  There  is  no  ground  whatever  to 
invest  these  debauches  with  any  recondite  meaning.  They  are  simply  indi- 
cations of  the  thorough  and  utter  immorality  which  prevailed  throughout 
the  race.  And  a  still  more  disgusting  proof  of  it  is  seen  in  the  frequent  ap- 
pearance among  diverse  tribes  of  men  dressed  as  women  and  yielding  them- 
selves to  indescribable  vices.  There  was  at  first  nothing  of  a  religious  nature 
in  such  exhibitions.  Lascivious  priests  chose  at  times  to  invest  them  with 
some  such  meaning  for  their  own  sensual  gratification,  just  as  iu  Brazil  they 
still  claim  the  jus  primae  noctis.  The  pretended  phallic  worship  of  the  Nat- 
chez and  of  Culhuacau,  cited  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur,  rests  on  no  good  au- 
thority, and  if  true,  is  like  that  of  the  Huastecs  of  Panuco,  nothing  but  an 
unrestrained  and  boundless  profligacy  which  it  were  an  absurdity  to  call  a 
religion.  That  which  Mr.  Stephens  attempts  to  show  existed  once  in  Yuca- 
tan, rests  entirely  by  his  own  statement  on  a  fancied  resemblance  of  no  value 
whatever,  and  the  arguments  of  Lafitau  to  the  same  effect  are  quite  insufficient. 
There  is  a  decided  indecency  in  the  remains  of  ancient  American  art,  especi- 
ally in  Peru,  (Meyen)  and  great  lubricity  in  many  ceremonies,  but  the  proof 
is  altogether  wanting  to  bind  these  with  the  recognition  of  fecundating  princi- 
ple throughout  nature,  or,  indeed,  to  suppose  for  them  any  other  origin  than 
the  promptings  of  an  impure  fancy.  I  even  doubt  whether  they  often  re- 
ferred to  fire  as  the  deity  of  sexual  love.  By  a  flight  of  fancy  inspired  by  a 
study  of  oriental  mythology,  the  worship  of  the  reciprocal  principle  in  Ame- 
rica has  been  connected  with  that  of  the  sun  and  moon,  as  the  primitive 
pair  from  whose  fecund  union  all  creatures  proceeded.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  if  such  a  myth  exists  among  the  Indians— which  is  questionable — it  jus- 
tifies no  such  deduction;  that  the  moon  is  often  mentioned  in  their  languages 
merely  as  the  "night  sun;"  and  that  in  such  important  stocks  as  the  Iro- 
quois,  Athapascas,  Cherokees,  and  Tupis,  the  sun  is  said  to  be  a  feminine 
noun;  while  the  myths  represent  them  more  frequently  as  brother  and  sister 
than  as  man  and  wife;  nor  did  at  least  the  northern  tribes  regard  the  sun  as 
the  cause  of  fecundity  in  nature  at  all,  but  solely  as  giving  light  and  warmth.' 
Myths,  pp.  1411-50;  Schoolcra/t's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  416-17. 


PHALLIC  KITES.  509 

branches  except  those  close  to  the  top  and  set  up  in  the 
court  of  the  temple.  Within  a  few  feet  of  its  top  a  cross- 
yard  thirty  feet  long  was  fastened ;  thus  a  perfect  cross 
was  formed.  Above  all,  a  dough  image  of  the  god  of 
fire  curiously  dressed  was  fixed.  After  certain  horrible 
sacrifices  had  been  made  to  the  deity  of  the  day,  the 
people  assembled  about  the  pole,  and  the  youth  scram- 
bled up  for  the  image,  which  they  broke  in  pieces  and 
scattered  upon  the  ground.133  A  great  number  of  simi- 
lar analogies  may  be  detected  in  the  rites  and  customs  of 
the  people,  and  it  is  almost  reluctantly  that  I  refrain  from 
giving  my  views  in  full.  I  have  made  it  my  aim,  how- 
ever, to  deal  with  facts,  and  leave  speculation  to  others. 
Those  who  wish  to  thoroughly  investigate  this  most  in- 
teresting subject,  cannot  do  better  than  study  Mr  Squier's 
learned  and  exhaustive  treatise  on  the  Serpent  Symbol. 

133  For  a  fun  account  of  this  feast  see  vol.  ii.,  of  this  work,  pp.  329-30. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

FUTURE    STATE. 

ABORIGINAL  IDEAS  OP  FOTUBE  —  GENERAL  CONCEPTIONS  OP  SOUL  —  FUTURE 
STATE  OF  THE  ALEUTS,  CHEPEWYANS,  NATIVES  AT  MILBANK  SOUND,  AND 
OKANAGANS — HAPPY  LAND  OF  THE  SALISH  AND  CHINOOKS — CONCEPTIONS 
OF  HEAVEN  AND  HELL  OF  THE  NEZ  PEBCES,  FLATHEADS,  AND  HAIDAHS 
— THE  REALMS  OF  QUAWTEAHT  AND  CHAYHER — BELIEFS  OF  THE  SONGHIES, 
CLALLAMS,  AND  PEND  D'OREILLES — THE  FUTURK  STATE  OF  THE  CALI- 
FOKNIAN  AND  NEVADA  TRIBES,  CoMANCHES,  PUEBLOS,  NAVAJOS,  APACHES, 
MOQUIS,  MARICOPAS,  YUMAS,  AND  OTHERS — THE  SUN  HOUSE  OF  THE  MEXI- 
CANS— TLALOCAN  AND  MICTLAN — CONDITION  OF  THE  DEAD — JOURNEY  OF 
THE  DEAD — FUTURE  OF  THE  TLASCALTECS  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 

The  hope,  or  at  least  the  expectation  of  immortality,  is 
universal  among  men.  The  mind  instinctively  shrinks 
from  the  thought  of  utter  annihilation,  and  ever  clings 
to  the  hope  of  a  future  which  shall  be  better  than 
the  present.  But  as  man's  ideal  of  supreme  happiness 
depends  upon  his  culture,  tastes,  and  condition  in  this 
life,  we  find  among  different  people  widely  differing  con- 
ceptions of  a  future.  The  intellectual  Greek  looked  for- 
ward to  the  enjoyment  of  less  gross  and  more  varied 
pleasures  in  his  Elysian  Fields,  than  the  sensual  Mussul- 
man, whose  paradise  was  merely  a  place  where  bright- 
eyed  houris  could  administer  to  his  every  want,  or  the 
fierce  Yiking  whose  Valhalla  was  a  scene  of  continual 
gluttony  and  strife,  of  alternate  hewing  in  pieces  and 
swilling  of  mead. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  idea  of  future 

<610) 


IDEAS  OF  FUTURE.  511 

punishment  and  reward  was  unknown  to  the  Americans.1 
This  is  certainly  an  error,  for  some  of  the  Pacific  Coast 
tribes  had  very  definite  ideas  of  future  retribution,  and 
almost  all,  in  supposing  that  the  manner  of  death  in- 
fluenced the  future  state  of  the  deceased,  implied  a  belief 
in  future  reward,  at  least.  The  slave,  too,  who  was 
sacrificed  on  the  grave  of  his  master,  was  thought  to  earn 
by  his  devotion,  enforced  though  it  might  be,  a  passport 
to  the  realms  of  eternal  joy;  had  there  been  no  less 
blissful  bourne  this  prospective  reward  for  fidelity  would 
have  been  manifestly  superfluous. 

The  future  life  of  these  people  was  sharply  defined, 
and  was  of  the  earth,  earthy.  In  its  most  common 
forms  it  was  merely  earth-life,  more  or  less  free  from 
mortal  ills.  The  soul  was  subject  to  the  same  wants  as 
the  body,  and  must  be  supplied  by  the  same  means.  In 
fact,  the  pagan's  conception  of  heaven  was  much  more 
clearly  defined  than  the  Christian's,  and  the  former  must 
have  anticipated  a  removal  thither  with  a  far  less  won- 
dering and  troubled  mind  than  the  latter. 

In  the  Mexican  heaven  there  were  various  degrees  of 
happiness,  and  each  was  appointed  to  his  place  accord- 
ing to  his  rank  and  deserts  in  this  life.  The  high-born 
warrior  who  fell  gloriously  in  battle  did  not  meet  on 
equal  terms  the  base-born  rustic  who  died  in  his  bed. 
Even  in  the  House  of  the  Sun,  the  most  blissful  abode  of 
the  brave,  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life  were  not  entire- 
ly dispensed  with,  and  after  their  singing  and  dancing, 
the  man  took  up  his  bow  again,  and  the  woman  her  spin- 
dle. The  lower  heavens  possessed  a  less  degree  of  splen- 
dor and  happiness  until  the  abode  of  the  great  mass  of 
those  who  had  lived  an  obscure  life  and  died  a  natu- 
ral death  was  reached.  These  pursued  their  avocations 

1  'The  preconceived  opinions,'  says  Brinton,  'that  snw  in  the  meteorolo- 
gical myths  of  the  Indian  a  conflict  between  the  Spirit  of  Good  arid  the 
Spirit  of  Evil,  have  with  like  unconscious  error  falsified  his  doctrine  of  a 
future  life,  and  almost  without  an  exception  drawn  it  more  or  less  in  the 
likeness  of  a  Christian  heaven,  hell,  and  purgatory ....  Nowhere  was  any  well- 
defined  doctrine  that  moral  turpitude  was  judged  and  punished  in  the  next 
world.  No  contrast  is  discoverable  between  a  place  of  torments  and  a  realm 
of  joy;  at  the  worst,  but  a  negative  castigation  awaited  the  liar,  the  coward, 
or  the  niggard.'  Myths,  p.  242. 


512  FUTURE  STATE. 

'by  twilight,  or  passed  their  time  in  a  dreamy  condition, 
or  state  of  torpor.  As  slaves  were  often  sacrificed  over 
their  master's  grave  that  they  might  serve  in  the  next 
world,  we  must  suppose  that  differences  of  rank  were 
maintained  there.  The  Tlascaltecs  supposed  that  the 
common  people  were  after  death  transformed  into  beetles 
and  disgusting  objects,  while  the  nobler  became  stars 
and  beautiful  birds.  But  this  condition  was  also  influ- 
enced by  the  acts  and  conduct  of  friends  of  the  deceased. 

Sir  John  Lubbock2  does  not  believe  with  Wilson  and 
other  archaeologists  that  the  burial  of  implements  with 
the  dead  was  because  of  any  belief  that  they  would  be 
of  use  to  the  deceased  in  a  future  state;  but  solely  as  a 
tribute  of  affection,  an  outburst  of  that  spirit  of  sacrifice 
and  offering  so  noticeable  in  all,  from  the  most  savage  to 
the  most  civilized,  in  the  presence  of  lost  brotherhood, 
friendship,  or  love.  In  the  first  place  the  outfit  in  a 
great  majority  of  cases  is  wholly  unfit  and  inadequate, 
viewed  in  any  rational  scale  of  utility;  they  are  not 
such  as  the  dead  warrior  would  procure,  if  by  any 
means  he  were  again  restored  to  earth  and  to  his  friends. 
In  the  second  place  it  was  and  is  usual  to  so  effectually 
mutilate  the  devoted  arms  and  utensils,  as  to  render 
them  a  mere  mockery  if  they  are  intended  for  the  future 
use  of  the  dead.  It  is  easy  to  classify  this  phenomenon 
in  the  same  category  with  the  deserting  or  destroying  of 
the  house  of  the  deceased,  the  refusal  to  mention  his 
name,  and  all  the  other  rude  contrivances  by  which  the 
memory  of  their  sorrow  may  be  buried  out  of  their  sight. 

This  subject  may  be  viewed  in  another  light,  how- 
ever, by  considering  that  these  Indians  sometimes  impute 
spirits  even  to  inanimate  objects,  and  when  the  wife  or 
the  slave  is  slain,  their  spirits  meet  the  chief  in  the 
future  land.  Do  they  not>  also  break  the  bow  and  the 
spear  that  the  ghostly  weapons  may  seek  above  the 
hands  of  their  sometime  owner,  not  leaving  him  de- 
fenceless among  the  awful  shades.  The  mutilation  of 

*   Prehistoric  Times,  p.  139. 


THE  ROAD  TO  HEAVEN.  513 

the  articles  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  a  symbolic  kill- 
ing, to  release  the  soul  of  the  object •;  the  inadequacy  of 
the  supply  may  indicate  that  they  were  to  be  used  only 
during  the  journey,  or  preparatory  state,  more  perfect 
articles  being  given  to  the  soul,  or  prepared  by  it,  on 
entering  the  heaven  proper. 

The  slaves  sacrificed  at  the  grave  by  the  Aztecs  and 
Tarascos  were  selected  from  various  trades  and  profes- 
sions and  took  with  them  the  most  cherished  articles  of 
the  master,  and  the  implements  of  their  trade,  wherewith 
to  supply  his  wants.  Passports  were  given  for  the  differ- 
ent points  along  the  road,  and  a  dog  as  guide.  Thus  the 
souls  of  animals  are  shown  to  have  entered  heaven  with 
man,  and  this  is  also  implied  by  the  belief  that  men 
were  there  transformed  into  birds  and  insects,  and  that 
they  followed  the  chase.  Another  instance  which  seems 
to  indicate  that  the  souls  of  these  earthly  objects  were 
used  merely  during  the  preparatory  state,  was  the  yearly 
feast  given  to  departed  souls  during  the  period  that  this 
condition  endured.  After  that  they  were  left  to  ob- 
livion. The  Miztecs  had  the  custom  of  inviting  the 
spirits  to  enter  and  partake  of  the  repast  spread  for  them, 
and  this  food,  the  essence  of  which  had  been  consumed 
by  the  unseen  visitors,  was  regarded  as  sacred.3 

The  road  to  paradise  was  represented  to  be  full  of 
dangers — an  idea  probably  suggested  to  them  by  the 
awful  mystery  of  death.  In  the  idea  of  this  perilous 
journey,  this  road  beset  with  many  dangers — storms, 
monsters,  deep  waters,  and  whirlpools — we  may  trace  a 
belief  in  future  retribution,  for  though  the  majority  of 
travelers  manage  to  reach  their  destination  having 
only  suffered  more  or  less  maltreatment  by  the  way, 
yet  many  a  solitary,  ill-provided  wanderer  is  over- 
whelmed and  prevented  from  doing  so.  In  exceptional 
cases,  the  perils  of  this  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 
are  avoided  by  the  intervention  of  a  friendly  deity  who, 
Hermes-like,  bears  the  weary  soul  straight  to  its  rest. 
Among  the  Mexicans  Teoyaomique,  the  consort  of  the 

3  See  vol.  ii.,  pp.  618,  623. 

~   L.  III.    33 


VOL. 


5U  FUTURE  STATE. 

war-god,  performed  this  good  office  for  the  fallen  war- 
rior. 

With  the  alternative  of  this  not  very  attractive  future 
before  them,  it  is  natural  that  the  theory  of  metempsycho- 
sis should  have  found  wide  and  ready  acceptance,  for 
with  these  people  it  did  not  mean  purification  from  sin, 
as  among  the  Brahmans ;  it  was  simply  the  return  of  the 
soul  to  the  world,  to  live  once  more  the  old  life,  although 
at  times  in  a  different  and  superior  sphere.  The  human 
form  was,  therefore,  assumed  more  often  than  that  of 
animals.  The  soul  generally  entered  the  body  of  a 
female  relative  to  form  the  soul  of  the  unborn  infant;  the 
likeness  of  the  child  to  a  deceased  friend  in  features  or 
peculiarities  lent  great  weight  to  this  belief.  This  reem- 
bodiment  was  not  limited  to  individuals;  the  Nootkas, 
for  instance,  accounted  for  the  existence  of  a  distant 
tribe,  speaking  the  same  language  as  themselves,  by 
declaring  them  to  be  the  incarnated  spirits  of  their  dead. 
The  preservation  of  the  bones  of  the  dead,  seems  in  some 
cases  to  be  connected  with  a  belief  in  a  resurrection  of 
the  body.  The  opinion  underlying  the  various  customs 
of  preservation  of  remains,  says  Brinton,  "  was,  that  a 
part  of  the  soul,  or  one  of  the  souls,  dwelt  in  the  bones ; 
that  these  were  the  seeds  which,  planted  in  the  earth, 
or  preserved  unbroken  in  safe  places,  would,  in  time, 
put  on  once  again  a  garb  of  flesh,  and  germinate  into 
living  human  beings."4  Indeed,  a  Mexican  creation- 
myth  relates  that  man  sprang  from  dead  bones,5  and  in 
Goatzacoalco  the  bones  were  actually  deposited  in  a  con- 
venient place,  that  the  soul  might  resume  them. 

The  most  general  idea  of  a  soul  seems  to  have  been 
that  of  a  double  self,  possessing  all  the  essence  and  attri- 
butes of  the  individual,  except  the  carnal  embodiment, 
and  independent  of  the  body  in  so  far  as  it  was  able  to 
leave  it,  and  revel  in  other  scenes  or  spheres.  It  would 
accordingly  appear  to  another  person,  by  day  or  night,  as 
a  phantom,  with  recognizable  form  and  features,  and 


*  Myths,  p.  257. 

5  See  p.  59,  this  volume. 


IDEAS  OF  SOUL.  615 

leave  the  impression  of  its  visits  in  ideas,  remembrances, 
or  dreams.  Every  misty  outline,  every  rustle,  was  liable 
to  be  regarded  by  the  undiscriminating  aborigine  as  a 
soul  on  its  wanderings,  and  the  ideas  of  air,  wind,  breath, 
shadow,  soul,  were  often  represented  by  the  same  word. 
The  Eskimo  word  silla,  signifies  air,  wind,  and  conveys 
the  idea  of  world,  mind;  tarnak,  means  soul,  shadow. 
The  Yakima  word  for  wind  and  life  contains  the  same 
root;  the  Aztec  ehecail  signifies  wind,  air,  life,  soul, 
shadow ;  in  Quiche  the  soul  bears  the  name  of  natub, 
shadow;  the  Nicaraguans  think  that  it  is  yulia,  the 
breath,  which  goes  to  heaven.6  Some  hold  that  man 
has  several  souls,  one  of  which  goes  to  heaven, 
the  others  remain  with  the  body,  and  hover  about 
their  former  home.  The  Mexicans  and  Quiches  re- 
ceived a  soul  after  death  from  a  stone  placed  between 
the  lips  for  that  purpose,  which  also  served  for  heart, 
the  seat  of  the  soul;7  this  was  buried  with  the  re- 
mains. The  custom  of  eating  the  flesh  of  brave  ene- 
mies in  order  to  inherit  their  virtues,  points  to  a  belief 
in  the  existence  of  another  soul  or  vital  quality  in  the 
corpse.  Some  Oregon  tribes  gave  a  soul  to  every  mem- 
ber of  the  body.  A  plurality  of  souls  is  also  implied  by 
the  belief  in  soul- wandering  during  sleep,  for  is  not  the 
body  animate  though  the  soul  be  separated  from  it  ?  yet 
the  soul  proper  could  not  remain  away  from  the  body 
beyond  a  certain  time,  lest  the  weaker  soul  that  remained 
should  fail  to  sustain  life. 

With  the  many  contradictions  and  vague  statements 
before  us,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  phrase  "  immor- 
tality of  the  soul "  is  often  misleading.  Tylor  even  con- 
siders it  doubtful  "  how  far  the  lower  psychology  enter- 
tains at  all  an  absolute  conception  of  immortality,  for  past 
and  future  fade  soon  into  utter  vagueness  as  the  savage 
mind  quits  the  present  to  explore  them."8 

6  Oviedo,  Hist.  Nic.,  in  Ternaux-Compans,    Voy.,  serie  ii.,  torn.  iii.  p.  38; 
Buschrnann,  Spuren  der  Aztec,  Spr.,  p.  74;    Id.,  Ortsman,  p.  159;    Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  Gram.  Quiche,  p.  196;  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  49-52,  235. 

7  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  608,  799,  of  this  work. 
«  Prim.  Cult.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  22. 


516  FUTURE  STATE. 

Some  tribes  among  the  Hyperboreans  actually  dis- 
believed in  a  future  existence,  while  others  held  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  reward  and  punishment.  The  con- 
ceptions of  a  soul  were  well  defined  however;  the  Thlin- 
keets  supposed  it  to  enter  the  spirit- world,  among  the 
yekSj  on  being  released  from  the  body.  The  braves  who 
had  fallen  in  battle,  or  had  been  murdered,  became  kee- 
yeksj i  upper  ones, '  and  went  to  dwell  in  the  north,  where 
the  aurora  borealis,  omen  of  war,  flashes  in  reflection  from 
the  lights  which  illuminate  their  dances;  so  at  least  the 
Eskimos  regard  it.9  Those  who  died  a  natural  death 
became  tdkeeyeks,  land-spirits,  and  tekeeyeks,  sea-spirits, 
and  dwelt  in  takankon  ,  doubtless  situated  in  the  centre 
of  the  earth,10  the  road  to  which  was  watered,  and  made 
smooth  by  the  tears  of  relatives,  but  if  too  much  crying 
was  indulged  in,  it  became  swampy  and  difficult  to  travel. 
The  takeeyeks  and  tekeeyeks  appear  to  have  attached 
themselves  as  guardian  spirits  to  the  living,  and  were 
under  the  control  of  the  shamans,  before  whom  they 
came  in  the  form  of  land  and  sea  animals,  to  do  their 
bidding  and  reveal  the  past  and  future.11  The  keeyeks 
were  evidently  above  the  conjuration  of  the  sorcerers. 
The  comforts  of  heaven,  like  the  road  to  it,  depended  on 
earthly  conditions;  thus,  the  body  was  burned  in  order 
that  it  might  be  warm  in  its  new  home.  Slaves,  how- 
ever, who  were  buried,  were  condemned  to  freeze,  but 
the  shamans  whose  bodies  were  also  left  to  moulder,  had 
doubtless  power  to  avoid  such  misery.  All  lived  in 
heaven  as  on  earth,  earning  their  living  in  the  same 
manner,  to  which  end  the  implements  and  other  articles 
burnt  with  them  were  brought  into  use;  wealthy  people 
appointed  two  slaves  to  be  sacrificed  at  the  pyre,  upon 
whom  devolved  the  duty  of  attending  to  their  wants. 

9  DaWs  Alaska,  pp.  145,  422. 

10  Barrett-Lennard  says,  however :  '  Those  that  die  a  natural  death  are 
condemned  to  dwell  for  ages  among  the  branches  of  tall  trees.1   Trav.,  p.  54. 
'  Careciese  de  algunas  ideas  religiosas,  y  viviese  persuadido  de  la  total  ani- 
quilacion  del  hombre  con  la  muerte. '  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viaye,  p.  cxviii.     It 
is  doubtful  whether  the  latter  class  is  composed  of  the  spirits  of  men,  or 
merely  of  marine  animals.     See  this  vol.,  p.  148. 

11  The  Tiunehs  do  not  regard  these  as  the  spirits  of  men.  Dall's  Alaska, 
p.  88. 


METEMPSYCHOSIS.  517 

The  slaves  carried  their  long- pending  doom  very  philo- 
sophically, it  is  said.12  It  appears,  however,  that  the 
soul  had  the  option  of  returning  to  this  life,  and  as  I 
have  said,  generally  entered  the  body  of  a  female  relative 
to  forai  the  soul  of  a  coming  infant.  If  the  child  resembled 
a  deceased  friend  or  relation,  this  reembodiment  was  at 
once  recognized,  and  the  name  of  the  dead  person  was 
given  to  it.  Metempsychosis  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  restricted  to  relatives  only,  for  the  Thlinkeets  were 
often  heard  to  express  a  desire  to  be  born  again  into  fami- 
lies distinguished  for  wealth  and  position,  and  even  to 
wish  to  die  soon  in  order  to  attain  this  bliss  the  earlier.13 
This  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls  was  widely 
spread,  and  accounts  to  some  extent  for  the  fearlessness 
with  which  the  Hyperboreans  contemplated  death.14 
The  Tacullies  and  Sicannis  asked  the  deceased  whether 
he  would  return  to  life  or  not,  and  the  shaman  who  put 
the  question  decided  the  matter  by  looking  at  the  naked 
breast  of  the  body  through  his  fingers;  he  then  raised 
his  hand  toward  heaven,  and  blew  the  soul,  which  had 
apparently  entered  his  fingers,  into  the  air,  that  it  might 
seek  a  body  to  take  possession  of;  or  the  shaman  placed 
his  hands  upon  the  head  of  one  of  the  mourners  and 
sent  the  spirit  into  him,  to  be  embodied  in  his  next  off- 
spring. The  relative  thus  favored  added  the  name  of 
the  deceased  to  his  own.  If  these  things  were  not  done 
the  deceased  was  supposed  to  depart  to  the  centre  of  the 
earth  to  enjoy  happiness,  according  to  their  estimate  of  it. 
The  Kenai  supposed  that  a  soft  twilight  reigned  per- 
petually in  this  place,  and  that  its  inhabitants  pursued 
their  avocations;  while  the  living  slept  they  worked. 
The  soul  did  not,  however,  attain  perfect  rest  until  a 
feast  had  been  given  in  its  honor,  attended  by  a  distri- 
bution of  skins.15 

12  Kotzebue's  New  Voy..  vol.  ii.,  p.  54.     'They  have  a  confused  notion  of 
immortality.'    Id,,  p.  58.      The  Koniagas  also  used  to  kill  a  slave  on  the 
grave  of  wealthy  men.  Dall's  Alaska,  p.  403. 

13  Dall's  Alaska,  pp.  422-3;  Holmberg,  Eihno.  Skiz.,  pp.  63-5. 

The  Chepewyans  also  held  this  theory,  though  they  believed  in  a  heav- 
en of  bliss  and  a  state  of  punishment.  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  p.  cxix. 

"  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  409-10;  Boer,  Stal  u.  Ethno.,  pp.  107-8, 


518  FDTUEE  STATE. 

Dall,  in  speaking  of  the  Tinnehs,  to  which  family  the 
Tacullies  and  Kenai  belong,  states  that  he  found  few  who 
believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  none  in 
future  reward  and  punishment;  any  contrary  assertion 
he  characterizes  as  proceeding  from  ignorance  or  exagger- 
ation. Other  authors,  however,  in  treating  of  tribes 
situated  both  in  the  extreme  north,  and  in  the  center  of 
this  family,  as  the  Loucheux  and  Chepewyans,  declare 
that  good  and  wicked  were  treated  according  to  their 
deserts,  the  poor  and  rich  often  changing  lots  in  the 
other  life.  Terrible  punishment  was  sometimes  inflicted 
upon  the  wicked  in  this  world ;  thus,  in  Stickeen  River 
stand  several  stone  pillars,  which  are  said  to  be  the  re- 
mains of  an  evil-doing  chief  and  his  family,  whom  divine 
anger  placed  there  as  a  warning  to  others.  According 
to  Kennicott,  the  soul,  whether  good  or  bad,  was  received 
by  Chutsain,  the  spirit  of  death,  who  was,  for  this 
reason  probably,  called  the  bad  spirit.16  The  Eskimos 
seem  to  have  believed  in  a  future  state,  for  Richardson 
relates  that  a  dying  man  whom  he  saw  at  Cumberland 
Inlet  declared  his  joy  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  his 
children  in  the  other  world  and  there  living  in  bliss.  It 
is  also  a  suggestive  fact  that  implements  and  clothes 
were  buried  with  the  body,  care  being  taken  that  noth- 
ing should  press  heavily  upon  it.  The  large  destruction 
of  property  practiced  by  some  Rocky  Mountain  tribes 
was  for  the  purpose  of  obliterating  the  memory  of  the 
deceased.17  The  Aleuts  believed  that  the  spirits  of  their 
relatives  attended  them  as  good  genii,  and  invoked  them 
on  all  trying  occasions,  especially  in  cases  of  vendetta.™ 
The  Chepewyan  story  relates  that  the  soul  arrives  after 

111;  Harmon's  Jour.,  pp.  299-300;  Wilkes'  Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  iv., 
p.  482. 

if'  IVhymper's  Alaska,  p.  315;  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  p.  cxxviii.;  Hardisty,  in 
Smithsonian  Rcpt.,  1806,  p.  318.  '  Nach  demTode  wurde  naeh  ihren  (Konia- 
gas)  Begriffen  jeder  Mensch  ein  Teufel;  bisweilen  zeigte  er  sich  den  Ver- 
wandteu,  und  dass  hatte  GKick  zu  bedeuten.'  Holmberg,  Ethno.  tikiz.,  p.  122; 
Macfie's  Vane.  IsL,  pp.  457-8. 

"  Vol.  i.,  pp.  126-7,  of  this  work;  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  83;  Silliman's  Jour., 
vol.  xvi.,  p.  147;  Seeman's  Voy.  Herald,  vol.  ii.,  p.  67;  Richardson's  Pol.  Reg., 
p.  322.  The  Eskimos  had  no  idea  of  '  future  reward  and  punishment. '  Doll's 
Alaska,  p.  145. 

18  D'Orliyny's  Voy.,  p.  50. 


FUTURE  OF  THE  COLUMBIAN  TRIBES.  519 

death  at  a  river  upon  which  floats  a  stone  canoe.  In 
this  it  embarks  and  is  borne  by  the  gentle  current  to  an 
extensive  lake  in  the  midst  of  which  is  an  enchanted 
island.  While  the  soul  is  drifting  toward  it,  the  actions 
of  its  life  are  examined,  and  if  the  good  predominate,  the 
canoe  lands  it  on  the  shore,  where  the  senses  revel  in 
never-ending  pleasures.  But  if  the  evil  of  its  past  life 
out-weigh  the  good,  the  stone  canoe  sinks,  leaving  the 
spirit-occupant  immersed  up  to  the  chin,  there  eternally 
to  float  and  struggle,  ever  beholding  but  never  realizing 
the  happiness  of  the  good.19  This  pronounced  belief  in  a 
future  reward  and  punishment  obtained  among  several 
of  the  Columbian  tribes:  The  natives  of  Millbank 
Sound  picture  it  as  two  rivers  guarded  by  huge  gates, 
and  flowing  out  of  a  dark  lake — the  gloom  of  death. 
The  good  enter  the  stream  to  the  right,  which  sparkles 
in  constant  sunshine,  and  supplies  them  with  an  abun- 
dance of  salmon  and  berries ;  the  wicked  pass  in  to  the 
left  and  suffer  cold  and  starvation  on  its  bleak,  snow- 
clad  banks.20  The  Okanagans  call  paradise,  or  the 
abode  of  the  good  spirit,  demehumkittamvaist,  and  hell, 
where  those  who  kill  and  steal  go,  kishtsamah.  The 
torments  of  the  latter  place  are  increased  by  an  evil 
spirit  in  human  form,  but  with  tail  and  ears  like  a  horse, 
who  jumps  about  from  tree  to  tree  with  a  stick  in  his 
hand  and  belabors  the  condemned.21 

Some  among  the  Salish  and  Chi  nooks  describe  the 
happy  state  as  a  bright  land,  called  tamath  by  the  latter, 
evidently  situated  in  the  direction  of  the  sunny  south, 
and  abounding  in  all  good  things.  Here  the  soul  can 
revel  in  enjoyments,  which,  however,  depend  on  its 
own  exertions ;  the  wealthy,  therefore,  take  slaves  with 
them  to  perform  the  menial  duties.  The  wicked  on  the 
other  hand  are  consigned  to  a  desolate  region  under  the 
control  of  an  evil  spirit,  known  as  the  Black  Chief,  there 
to  be  constantly  tantalized  by  the  sight  of  game,  water 

19  Mackenzie's  Voy.,  p.  cxix;  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  104. 

20  Dunn's  Oregon,  'pp.  272-3. 

21  Ross'  AJven.,  p.  288;  Cox's  Adi-en.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  158. 


520  FUTURE  STATE. 

and  fire,  which  they  can  never  reach.  Some  held  that 
tarnath  was  gained  by  a  difficult  road  called  otuihuti, 
which  lay  along  the  Milky  Way,  while  others  believed 
that  a  canoe  took  the  soul  across  the  water  that  was  sup- 
posed to  separate  it  from  the  land  of  the  living.22 

The  Nez  Perces,  Flatheads,  and  some  of  the  Haidah 
tribes  believed  that  the  wicked,  after  expiating  their 
crimes  by  a  longer  or  shorter  sojourn  in  the  land  of  deso- 
lation, were  admitted  to  the  abode  of  bliss.  The  Hai- 
dahs  called  the  latter  place  keawuck,  'above,'  within 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  still  brighter  spot  termed 
keewuckkow,  l  life  above/  the  abode  of  perennial  youth, 
whither  the  spirit  of  the  fallen  brave  took  its  flight. 
Those  who  died  a  natural  death  were  consigned  with 
the  wicked  to  seewukkow,  the  purgatorial  department, 
situated  in  the  forest,  there  to  be  purified  before  enter- 
ing the  happy  keewuck.23  The  Queen  Charlotte  Island- 
ers termed  paradise  '  the  happy  hunting-ground, '  a 
rather  strange  idea  when  we  consider  that  their  almost 
sole  avocation  was  fishing.24  The  Nez  Perces  believed 
also  in  a  purgatory  for  the  living,  and  that  the  beavers 
were  men  condemned  to  atone  their  sins  before  they 
could  resume  the  human  form.25  It  seems  to  have  been 
undecided  whether  the  wives  and  young  children  shared 
the  fate  of  the  head  of  the  family-  the  Flatheads  ex- 
pressed a  belief  in  reunion,  but  that  may  have  been  after 
one  or  all  had  been  purified  in  the  intermediate  state. 
Those  who  sacrificed  slaves  on  the  grave,  sent  them 
alike  with  the  master  that  died  gloriously  on  the  battle- 
field, or  obscurely  in  his  bed. 

The  Ahts  hold  that  the  soul  inhabits  at  once  the  heart 
and  the  head  of  man.  Some  say  that  after  death  it  will 

«2  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  pp.  235,  246-7;  Wilkes'  Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex., 
vol.  v.,  p.  124;  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  120.  The  Salish  and  Pend  d'Oreilles 
believed  that  the  brave  went  to  the  sun,  while  the  bad  remained  near 
earth  to  trouble  the  living,  or  ceased  to  exist.  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  239- 
40.  But  this  is  contradicted  by  other  accounts. 

23  Macfie's  description  leaves  a  doubt  whether  the  keewuck  and  keewnck- 
kow  are  names  for  the  same  heaven,  or  separate.  Vane.  Isl.,  p.  457. 

2*  Pools' s  Q.  Char.  Isl.,  p.  320. 

**  Cox's  Adoen.,  vol.  i.,  p.  252;  Dunn,  Oregon,  p.  318,  says,  'beavers  are  a 
fallen  race  of  Indians.' 


QUAWTEAHT  AND  CHAYHER.  521 

return  to  the  animal  form  from  which  its  owner  can  trace 
his  descent;  others  that,  according  to  rank,  disembodied 
souls  will  go  to  live  with  Quawteaht  or  with  Cipher. 
Quawteaht  inhabits  a  beautiful  country  somewhere  up 
in  the  heavens,  though  not  directly  over  the  earth;  a 
goodly  land  flowing  with  all  manner  of  Indian  milk  and 
honey;  no  storms  there,  no  snow  nor  frost  to  bind  the 
rivers,  but  only  warmth  and  sunshine  and  abundant 
game  and  fish.  Here  the  chiefs  live  in  the  very  man- 
sion of  Quawteaht,  and  the  slain  in  battle  live  in 
a  neighboring  lodge,  enjoying  also  in  their  degree,  all 
the  amenities  of  the  place.  And  these  are  the  only 
doors  to  this  Valhalla  of  the  Ahts ;  only  lofty  birth  or  a 
glorious  death  in  battle  can  confer  the  right  of  entry 
here.  The  souls  of  those  that  die.  a  woman's  death,  in 
their  bed,  go  down  to  the  land  of  Chayher.  Chayher 
is  a  figure  of  flesh  without  bones — thus  reversing  our 
pictorial  idea  of  the  grisly  king  of  terrors — who  is  in  the 
form  of  an  old  gray-bearded  man.  He  wanders  about 
in  the  night  stealing  men's  souls,  when,  unless  the  doc- 
tors can  recover  the  soul,  the  man  dies.  The  country  of 
Chayher  is  also  called  chayher.  It  resembles  a  sub- 
terranean earth  but  is  every  way  an  inferior  country: 
there  are  no  salmon  there  and  the  deer  are  wretchedly 
small,  while  the  blankets  are  so  thin  and  narrow  as  to 
be  almost  useless  for  either  warmth  or  decoration.  This 
is  why  people  burn  blankets  when  burying  their  friends; 
they  cannot  bear  that  their  friend  be  sent  shivering  to 
the  world  below.  The  dead  Aht  seems  to  have  been 
allowed  in  some  cases  to  roam  about  on  earth  in  the 
form  of  a  person  or  animal,  doing  both  good  and  evil,  a 
belief  which  induced  many  to  make  conciliatory  offerings 
of  food  to  the  deceased.  Some  Chinook  tribes  were 
afraid  to  pronounce  the  names  of  their  dead  lest  they 
should  be  attracted  and  carry  off  souls.  This  was  es- 
pecially feared  at  the  sick-bed,  and  the  medicine-man 
had  to  be  constantly  on  guard  with  his  familiars  to  frus- 
trate such  attempts.26  The  Aht  sorcerer  even  sent  his 

26  Schooler  aft's  Arch.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  619;  vol.  i.,  p.  248,  of  this  work. 


522  FUTUKE  STATE. 

own  soul  down  to  chaj-her  to  recover  the  truant,  in 
which  he  generally  succeeded,  unless  the  spirit  of  the 
sick  man  had  entered  a  house.27  Some  among  the  tribes 
believed  that  the  soul  issued  from  animals,  especially  sea- 
gulls and  partridges,  and  would  return  to  its  original 
form.  The  Songhies  said  the  hunter  was  transformed 
into  a  deer,  the  fisherman  into  a  fish ;  and  the  Nootkas, 
that  the  spirit  could  reassume  a  human  form  if  the  celes- 
tial abode  were  not  to  its  taste.28 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  preceding  beliefs  in  fu- 
turity, and  to  that  of  the  Clallams,  who  with  universal- 
istic  feeling  believe  that  the  good  spirit  will  receive  all, 
without  exception,  in  his  happy  hunting-ground,  we  are 
told  that  the  Pend  d'Oreilles  had  no  conceptions  what- 
ever of  soul  or  immortality,  so  that  the  missionaries  found 
it  difficult  to  explain  these  matters  to  them.  It  is  cer- 
tainly strange  that  a  tribe  surrounded  by  and  in  con- 
stant contact  with  others  who  held  these  ideas  should 
have  remained  uninfluenced  by  them,  especially  as  they 
were  extremely  superstitious  and  believed  in  guardian 
spirits  and  dreams.29  Disbelief  in  a  future  state  is 
assigned  to  many  tribes,  which  upon  closer  examina- 
tion are  shown  to  possess  ideas  of  a  life  after  this; 
such  statements  must,  therefore,  be  accepted  with  cau- 
tion. Among  the  Californians  who  are  said  to  iden- 
tify death  with  annihilation,  are  the  Meewocs  and  the 
tribes  of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  yet  the  latter  are  afraid 
to  pronounce  the  name  of  a  deceased  person,  lest  he 
should  rise  from  dark  oblivion.30  But  these  may  be  re- 
garded as  exceptions,  the  remainder  had  pretty  definite 
ideas  of  futurity,  heaven  being  generally  placed  in  the 
west,  whither  the  glorious  sun  speeds  to  rest.  The 

27  The  sorcerer  is  stated  by  one  native  to  have  brought  the  soul  on  a 
small  stick  and  thrown  it  buck  into  the  head  of  its  body.  Sprout's  Scenes,  p. 
'214.  '  The  natives  often  imagine  that  a  bad  spirit,  which  loves  to  vex  and 
torment,  takes  the  place  of  the  truant  soul  during  its  absence.'  Id.,  pp.  173- 
4;  llutchinrjs'  Cal.  Alag.,  vol.  v.,  p.  225. 

2S  May iw' s  B.C.,  p.  181;  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  p.  136;  Meares'  Voy.,  p. 
270;  J/ac/ze's  Vane.,  IsL,  p.  457;  Sproat's  Scenes,  pp.  212-3. 

29  Stevens,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1854,  p.  212;  Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  233-4;  see 
note  2. 

3<>  Johnston,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.,  iv.,  p.  225. 


FUTURE  OF  THE  CALIFORNIANS.  523 

Northern  Californian  regarded  it  as  a  great  camping- 
ground,  under  the  charge  of  the  good  spirit,  where  all 
meet  after  death,  to  enjoy  a  life  free  from  want.  But 
there  were  dangers  upon  the  road  which  led  to  this  bliss ; 
for  Omaha,  the  evil  spirit,  hovered  near  the  dying  man, 
ready  to  snatch  and  carry  off  the  soul  as  soon  as  it  should 
leave  its  earthly  tenement.  To  prevent  such  a  calamity, 
the  friends  who  attended  the  burning  of  the  body 
shouted  and  gesticulated  to  distract  the  Evil  One's  atten- 
tion and  enable  the  heart,  in  which  the  soul  resided,  to 
leap  out  of  the  flames  and  escape  to  heaven.  If  the 
body  was  interred,  they  thought  the  devil  would  have 
more  chance  of  capturing  the  heart,  which  would  then  be 
sent  back  to  earth  to  annoy  the  living.31  The  natives 
near  the  mouth  of  Russian  River  burned  their  dead  to 
prevent  their  becoming  grizzlies,  while  those  about  Clear 
Lake  supposed  that  the  wicked  alone  were  thus  meta- 
morphosed, or  condemned  to  wander  as  spirits.32  Others, 
however,  who  adhered  to  interment,  sought  to  complete 
the  ceremony  before  night,  when  the  coyote,  in  which 
form  the  evil  spirit  probably  appeared,  begins  to  howl, 
and  for  three  days  they  kept  up  noisy  demonstrations 
and  fires  at  the  graves;  after  that  the  fate  of  the  soul 
was  no  longer  doubtful.  If  captured,  the  good  spirit 
could  redeem  it  with  a  big  knife.  It  was  the  belief  in 
some  parts  that  the  deceased  remained  in  the  grave  dur- 
ing the  three  days,  and  then  proceeded  to  heaven,  where 
earth  and  sky  meet,  to  become  stars,  chiefs  assuming  the 
most  brilliant  forms.33 

The  bright  rivers,  sunny  slopes,  and  green  forests  of 
the  Euroc  paradise  are  separated  from  the  earth  by  a 
deep  chasm,  which  good  and  wicked  alike  must  cross  on 
a  thin,  slippery  pole.  The  former  soon  reach  the  goal, 
aided,  doubtless,  by  the  good  spirit,  as  well  as  by  the  fire 
lighted  on  the  grave  by  mourning  friends,  but  the  wicked 
man  has  to  falter  unaided  along  the  shivering  bridge; 

31  Hutchings'  Cal.  Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  438-9;  Macfie's  Vane.  Isl.,  p.  448. 

32  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

33  lb.;  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  140. 


524  FUTURE  STATE. 

and  many  are  the  nights  that  pass  before  his  friends 
venture  to  dispense  with  the  beacon,  lest  the  soul  miss 
the  path,  and  fall  into  the  dark  abyss.  Nor  does  retri- 
bution end  with  the  peril  and  anxiety  of  the  passage, 
for  many  are  liable  to  return  to  the  earth  as  birds,  beasts, 
and  insects.  When  a  Kailta  dies,  a  little  bird  carries 
the  soul  to  spirit-land,  but  its  flight  is  impeded  by  the 
sins  of  the  wicked,  which  enables  a  watching  hawk  to 
overtake  and  devour  the  soul.34 

The  Cahrocs  have  a  more  distinct  conception  of  future 
reward  and  punishment,  and  suppose  that  the  spirit  on 
its  journey  comes  to  two  roads,  one  strewn  with  flowers 
and  leading  to  the  bright  western  land  beyond  the  great 
waters,  across  which  good  Chareya  doubtless  aids  it; 
the  other,  bristling  with  thorns  and  briars,  leading 
to  a  place  full  of  deadly  serpents,  where  the  wicked 
must  wander  for  ever.35  The  Tolewahs  place  heaven 
behind  the  sun,  wherever  that  is,  and  picture  hell  as  a 
dark  place  where  souls  shiver  for  ever  before  the  cold 
winds,  and  are  harassed  by  fiends.36  The  Modocs  be- 
lieve in  a  spirit-land,  evidently  situated  in  the  air  above 
the  earthly  home,  where  souls  hover  about  inciting  the 
living  to  good  or  evil.  Merit  appears  to  be  measured 
by  bodily  stature,  for  contemptible  woman  becomes  so 
small  here  that  the  warrior,  whose  stature  is  in  propor- 
tion to  his  powers,  requires  quite  a  number  of  females  to 
supply  his  wants.37 

The  Ukiahs,  Sanels,  and  others  sprinkle  food  about  the 
favorite  haunts  of  the  dead.  The  mother,  for  instance, 
while  chanting  her  mournful  ditty  over  the  grave  of  her 
dead  babe  sprinkles  the  nourishing  milk  in  the  air.39 

Many  of  the  Nevada  tribes  thought  that  several  heav- 
ens await  the  soul,  each  with  a  degree  of  bliss  in  propor- 
tion to  the  merits  of  the  dead  person ;  but  this  belief  was 
not  well  defined ;  nor  was  that  of  the  Snakes,  who  killed 

34  Powers'  Porno,  MS. ;  Miller's  Life  amongst  the  Modocs,  pp.  241,  249. 

35  Powers,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  430-1. 

36  Id.,  Porno,  MS.;  this  vol.,  p.  177. 

37  Meacham,  Reli'/ion  of  Indians. 

38  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


METEMPSYCHOSIS  IN  CALIFOENIA.  525 

the  favorite  horse,  and  even  wife,  for  the  deceased,  that 
he  might  not  be  lonely.39  The  Allequas  supposed  that 
before  the  soul  could  enter  the  ever-green  prairies  to  live 
its  second  life,  free  from,  want  and  sorrow,  it  had  expiated 
its  sins  in  the  form  of  some  animal,  weak,  or  strong,  bad 
or  good,  often  passing  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  grade, 
according  to  the  earthly  conduct  of  the  deceased.  By 
eating  prairie-dogs  and  other  game,  some  sought  to  gather 
souls,  apparently  with  a  view  to  increase  the  purity  of 
their  own  and  shorten  the  preparatory  term.40  The 
San  Diego  tribes,  on  the  other  hand,  who  considered 
large  game  as  the  embodied  spirits  of  certain  genera- 
tions, abstained  from  their  flesh,  evidently  fearing  that 
such  fare  would  hasten  their  metamorphosis;  but  old 
men,  whose  term  of  life  was  nearly  run,  were  not  de- 
terred by  these  fears. 

Ideas  of  metempsychosis  also  appear  in  one  of  the 
songs  of  a  Southern  Californian  tribe,  which  runs :  As 
the  moon  dies  to  be  reborn,  so  the  soul  of  man  will  be  re- 
newed. Yet  this  people  professed  no  belief  in  a  future 
reward,  or  punishment.  It  is  doubtless  the  same  people, 
living  near  Monterey,  of  whom  Marmier  says,  they  sup- 
posed that  the  dead  retired  to  certain  verdant  isles  in 
the  sea,  while  awaiting  the  birth  of  the  infants  whose 
souls  they  were  to  form.  Others  regarded  these  islands 
as  paradise,  and  placed  hell  in  a  mountain  chasm.41 

Among  the  Acagchemems  we  meet  with  a  peculiar 
pantheistic  notion.  Death  was  regarded  as  an  invisible 
entity  constituting  the  air,  which  also  formed  the  soul 
of  man,  or  his  breath,  whose  particular  seat  was  the 
heart.  As  man  became  decrepit,  his  soul  was  gradually 
absorbed  in  the  element  which  had  originated  it,  until  it 
finally  became  merged  and  lost  therein.  But  this  was 
the  belief  of  some  only  among  the  tribe.  Others  sup- 

39  Vol.  i.,  pp.  439-40,  this  work;  Browne's  L.  Cal.,  p.  188. 

40  Meyer,  Nach  dem  Sacramento,  pp.  228-9;  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v,,  pp. 
215-6. 

41  La  Pe'rouse,  Voy.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  307;   Marmier,  Notice,  in  Bryant,  Voy.  en 
Cal.,  p.  238;  Pages,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,   1844,  torn,  ci.,  pp.  335- 
6;   Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  379-80. 


526  FUTURE  STATE. 

posed  that  they  would  go  to  tolmec,  the  abode  of  the  great 
Chinigchinich,  situated  below  the  earth,  abounding  in 
sensual  pleasures,  unembittered  by  sorrow,  and  where 
food  and  other  wants  were  supplied  without  labor.  Still 
others  held  that  Chinigchinich  sent  the  soul,  or  the 
heart,  as  they  expressed  it,  to  different  places,  according 
to  the  station  in  life  and  manner  of  death  of  the  deceased. 
Thus,  chiefs  and  medicine-men,  whom  Tacu,  the  eater  of 
human  flesh,  honored  by  devouring,  became  heavenly 
bodies,  while  those  who  died  by  drowning,  or  in  captiv- 
ity, and  could  not  be  eaten  by  Tacu,  went  elsewhere. 
Souls  of  common  people  were  consigned  to  some  unde- 
fined, though  evidently  happy,  place,  since  they  were 
obliged  to  pass  a  probationary  term  on  the  borders  of  the 
sea,  on  mountains,  in  valleys,  or  forests,  whence  they 
came  to  commune  with,  or  among,  their  widows  or  rela- 
tives, who  often  burned  or  razed  the  house  to  be  saved 
from  such  visits.42 

The  Mojaves  have  more  liberal  ideas  and  admit  all  to 
share  the  joys  of  heaven.  With  the  smoke,  curling  up- 
wards from  the  pyre,  the  soul  rises  and  floats  eastward  to 
the  regions  of  the  rising  sun,  whither  Matevil  has  gone 
before,  and  where  a  second  earth-life  awaits  it,  free  from 
want  and  sorrow.  But  if  its  purity  be  sullied  by  crime, 
or  stained  with  human  blood,  the  soul  is  transformed 
into  a  rat  and  must  remain  for- four  days  in  a  rat-hole 
to  be  purified  before  Matevil  can  receive  it.  According 
to  some,  Matevil  dwells  in  a  certain  lofty  mountain  lying 
in  the  Mojave  territory.43 

The  Pimas  also  believe  that  the  soul44  goes  to  the  east, 
to  the  sun-house  perhaps,  there  to  live  with  Sehuiab, 

*8  Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  In  CaL,  pp.  316-24. 

43  'Ives  legte  dem  Gebirge  den  Nainen:  "  Berg  der  Todten  "  bei.'  Moll- 
hausen,  Eeisen  in  die  Felsengeb.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  357-8.     'All  cowardly  Indians 
(and  bravery  was  the  good  with  them)  were  tormented  with  hardships  and 
failures,  sickness  and  defeats.     This  hill,  or  hades,  they  never  dared  visit.' 
Stratton's  Capt.  Oatman  Girls,  p.  233;   Dodt,  in  Lid.  Aff.  Rept.,  1870,  p.  129; 
WTiipple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner's  Rept.,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept,,  vol.  iii,,  p.  43. 

44  Estupec,  the  soul  or  heart,  may  be  connected  with  eep,  breath.   Wal- 
ker's Pimas,  MS.     In  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  461,  occurs  the  term 
angel,  but  the  Pima  chiefs  whom  I  have  questioned  state  that  the  term 
angel  was  not  known  to  them. 


FUTURE  OF  MAKICOPAS,  YUMAS,  APACHES,  MOQUIS.     527 

the  son  of  the  creator,  but  this  Elysion  is  not  perfect, 
for  a  devil  called  Chiawat  is  admitted  there,  and  he 
greatly  plagues  the  inmates.45  The  Maricopas  are  stated 
in  one  account  to  believe  in  a  future  state  exactly  similar 
to  the  life  on  earth,  with  all  its  social  distinctions  and 
wants,  so  that  in  order  to  enable  the  soul  to  assume  its 
proper  position  among  the  spirits,  all  the  property  of  the 
deceased,  as  well  as  a  great  part  of  that  of  his  relatives, 
is  offered  up  at  the  grave.  But  according  to  Bartlett 
thev  think  the  dead  will  return  to  their  ancient  home 

•/ 

on  the  banks  of  the  Colorado,  and  live  on  the  sand  hills. 
Here  the  different  parts  of  the  body  will  be  transformed 
into  animals,  the  head,  for  instance,  becoming  an  owl, 
the  hands,  bats,  the  feet,  wolves,  and  in  these  forms  con- 
tinue their  ancient  feuds  with  the  Yumas,  who  expelled 
them  from  that  country.*6  The  Yumas,  however,  do  not 
conform  to  these  views,  but  expect  that  the  good  soul 
will  leave  worldly  strife  for  a  pleasant  valley  hidden  in 
one  of  the  canons  of  the  Colorado,  and  that  the  wicked 
will  be  shut  up  in  a  dark  cavern  to  be  tantalized  by  the 
view  of  the  bliss  beyond  their  reach.47 

The  Apaches  believe  in  metempsychosis  and  consider 
the  rattlesnake  as  the  form  to  be  assumed  by  the  wicked 
after  death.  The  owl,  the  eagle,  and  perfectly  white  birds, 
were  regarded  as  possessing  souls  of  divine  origin,  and 
the  bear  was  not  less  sacred  in  their  estimation,  for  the 
very  daughter  of  Montezuma,  whom  it  had  carried  off 
from  her  father's  home,  was  the  mother  of  its  race.48 
The  Moquis,  went  so  far  as  to  suppose  that  they  would 
return  to  the  primeval  condition  of  animals,  plants,  and 
inanimate  objects.49  The  faith  of  the  other  Pueblo  tribes 
in  New  Mexico  was  more  in  accordance  with  their  cul- 
tured condition,  namely,  that  the  soul  would  be  judged 

«  Walker's  Pimas,  MS. 

46  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  222;   Cremnny's  Apaches,  pij.  104-5.      '  Cuando 
muere  vd  a  vivir  su  corazon  por  el  mar  hacia  el  poniente:  que  alguuos  cles- 
pues  que  mueren  viven  coino  tecolotes.  y  uitimamente  dijeron  qne  ellos  no 
sabeu  bien  estas  cosas. '  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  s^rie  ii.,  torn,  i., 
p.  239. 

47  Day,  in  Hesperian,  vol.  iii.,  p.  482. 

48  Henry,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  209. 

49  Ten  Broeck,  in  Id.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  86. 


528  FUTUKE  STATE. 

immediately  after  death  according  to  its  deeds.  Food 
was  placed  with  the  dead,  and  stones  were  thrown  upon 
the  body  to  drive  out  the  evil  spirit.  On  a  certain  night, 
in  August  it  seems,  the  soul  haunted  the  hills  near  its 
former  home  to  receive  the  tributes  of  food  and  drink 
which  affectionate  friends  hastened  to  offer.  Scoffers 
connected  the  disappearance  of  the  choice  viands  with 
the  rotund  form  of  the  priests.50 

The  Xavajos  expected  to  return  to  their  place  whence 
they  originated,  below  the  earth,  where  all  kinds  of 
fruits  and  cereals,  germinated  from  the  seeds  lost 
above,  grow  in  unrivaled  luxuriance.  Released  from 
their  earthly  bonds  the  spirits  proceed  to 'an  extensive 
marsh  in  which  many  a  soul  is  bemired  through  re- 
lying too  much  on  its  own  efforts,  and  failing  to  ask 
the  aid  of  the  great  spirit;  or,  perhaps  the  outfit  of 
live  stock  and  implements  offered  at  the  grave  has 
been  inadequate  to  the  journey.  After  wandering 
about  for  four  days  the  more  fortunate  souls  come  to 
a  ladder  conducting  to  the  under  world;  this  they 
descend  and  are  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  two  great 
spirits,  male  and  female,  who  sit  combing  their  hair. 
After  looking  on  for  a  few  suns  imbibing  lessons  of 
cleanliness,  perhaps,  they  climb  up  to  the  swamp  again 
to  be  purified,  and  then  return  to  the  abode  of  the 
spirits  to  live  in  peace  and  plenty  for  ever.  Some 
believe  that  the  bad  become  coyotes,  and  that  women 
turn  into  fishes,  and  then  into  other  forms.51 

Among  the  Comanches  we  find  the  orthodox  Ameri-' 
can  paradise,  in  its  full  glory.  In  the  direction  of  the 
setting  sun  lie  the  happy  prairies,  where  the  buffalo  lead 
the  hunter  in  the  glorious  chase,  and  where  the  horse 
of  the  pale-face  aids  those  who  have  excelled  in  scalping 
and  horse-stealing,  to  attain  supreme  felicity.  At  night 
they  are  permitted  to  revisit  the  earth,  but  must  re- 

*o  Id.,  p.  78;  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  ii.,  p.  402;  Whipple's  Kept.,  in  Poc. 
R.  R.  RfpL,  vol.  iii.,  p.  59. 

51  Beadle,  in  Crofutt's  Western  World,  Aug.,  1872,  p.  27;  Bristol,  in  Ind. 
Aff.  Rept.,  1867,  p. '358;  Eaton,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  218;  Davis' 
El  Gringo,  p.  418. 


THE  EEALM  OF  MUCCHITA.  529 

turn  before  the  break  of  day.52  In  striking  contrast 
to  this  idea  stands  the  curious  belief  said  to  have  been 
held  by  the  Pericuis  of  Lower  California.  Their  great 
spirit  Niparaya  hated  war,  and  to  deter  his  people  from 
engaging  therein,  consigned  all  those  slain  in  battle  to 
Tuparan  or  Wac,  a  spirit  who  rising  in  rebellion  against 
the  peace-loving  Niparaya  was  deprived  of  all  luxu- 
ries, and  imprisoned  in  a  cave  by  the  sea,  guarded  by 
whales.  Yet  a  number  openly  professed  themselves 
adherents  of  this  personage.  The  Cochimis,  who  appear 

to  have  had  nearlv  the  same  belief,  declare  that  it  was 

•/ 

the  bad  spirits  who  sought  to  secure  the  soul  and  hold 
it  captive  in  the  cave.  Whatever  may  be  the  correct 
version,  their  belief  in  a  future  state,  says  Baegert,  is 
evident  from  the  custom  of  putting  sandals  on  the  feet 
of  the  dead.53 

The  souls  of  the  Sonora  Indians  dwell  in  the  caves 
and  among  the  rocks  of  the  cliffs,  and  the  echoes  heard 
there  are  their  clamoring  voices.54  Ribas  declares  that 
in  one  part  of  Sinaloa  a  future  state  was  ignored,  yet 
he  says  that  they  acknowledged  a  supreme  mother  and 
her  son,  who  was  the  first  man.55  In  Nayarit  we 
come  upon  the  Mexican  idea  of  different  heavens,  de- 
termined by  the  mode  of  death.  Thus,  children  and 
those  who  were  carried  off  by  disease  went  to  one  place ; 
those  who  died  a  violent  death,  to  the  air  regions,  where 
they  became  shooting  stars.  The  others  went  to  mucchita. 
placed  somewhere  in  the  district  of  Rosario,  where  they 
lived  under  the  care  of  men  with  shaven  heads.  During 
the  day  they  were  allowed  to  consort  with  the  living, 
in  the  form  of  flies,  to  seek  food;  but  at  night  they 
returned  to  the  mucchita  to  assume  the  human  form 


52  Marcy's  Army  Life,  p.   57;  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  pp.  54,  685. 
Food  is  left  at  the  grave  for  a  certain  time;  this  would  indicate  that  the  soul 
proper,  or  its  second  form,  remains  with  the  body  for  a  while.  Id.,  pp.  78-9. 

53  Smithsonian  Kept.,   1866,  p.  3S7;   Claiigero,  Sloria  delict  Gal.,  torn,  i., 
pp.  136-7,  139. 

54  Alger's  Future  Life,  p.  208.     '  Lo  llevuii  a  enterrar  sentado  y  con  sus 
mejores  vestidos,  ponieudo  a  su  lado  competente  porcion  de  sus  ordinarioa 
alimentos.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  218. 

i5  Eist.  de  los  Triumphos,  p.  18. 
VOL.  III.    34 


530  FUTUEE  STATE. 

and  pass  the  time  in  dancing.  At  one  time  they  could  be 
released  from  this  abode,  but  owing  to  the  imprudence 
of  one  man,  this  privilege  was  lost.  This  person  one 
day  made  a  trip  to  the  coast  to  procure  salt,  leaving 
his  wife  to  take  care  of  the  house.  After  a  short 
absence  he  returned,  in  time  only  to  see  her  disappear 
in  the  mucchita,  whither  the  spirits  had  beckoned  her. 
His  sorrow  was  boundless,  for  he  loved  his  wife  dearly. 
At  last  his  tears  and  sighs  touched  the  heart  of  the 
keeper  of  the  souls,  who  told  him  to  watch  for  his 
wife  one  night  when  she  appeared  in  the  dance,  and 
wound  her  with  an  arrow:  she  would  then  recognize 
him  and  return  home ;  but  he  warned  him  not  to  speak 
a  loud  word,  or  she  would  disappear  forever.  The 
man  did  as  he  was  told,  wounded  his  wife  on  the  leg, 
and  had  the  joy  to  see  her  return  home.  Musicians 
and  singers  were  called  in,  and  a  grand  feast  was  held 
to  celebrate  the  event;  but,  overcome  with  excitement, 
the  husband  gave  vent  to  a  shout  of  joy.  The  next 
moment  the  warning  of  the  keeper  was  verified — a 
ghastly  corpse  had  taken  the  place  of  the  wife.  Since 
then  no  other  soul  has  been  allowed  to  rejoin  the 
living.56  It  is  curious  to  note  in  how  many  countries 
the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  has  been  connected  with  the 
legend  of  some  hero  who  has  died,  descended  into  the 
under- world,  and  again  risen  to  life.  How  closely  does 
this  American  legend  resemble  the  old  story  of  Orpheus 
and  Eurydice;  the  death  and  resurrection  of  the  Egyp- 
tian Osiris;  the  Mithraic  Mysteries  of  Persia,  in  which 
the  initiated,  in  dumb  show,  died  and  rose  again  from 
the  coffin;  the  Indian  Mahadeva  searching  for  the  life- 
less Sita,  and  made  glad  by  his  resuscitation ;  the  re- 
covery of  Atys  by  Cybele  among  the  Phrygians ;  the  re- 
turn of  Kore  to  Demeter  for  half  of  every  year  in  the 
Elusinian  Mysteries;  the  mock  murder  and  new  birth  of 
the  impersonated  Zagreus,  in  the  Bacchic  Mysteries;  the 
Metamorphoses  in  the  Celtic  and  Druidic  Mysteries 

56  Aposiolicos  Afanes,  pp.  22-4. 


EICUT  AND  YOATOTOWEE.  531 

practiced  in  Gaul  and  Britain ;  all  are  different  forms  of 
but  one  idea. 

An  equally  devoted  husband  was  the  Neeshenam 
whose  story  is  told  by  Mr  Powers  in  the  following 
legend: — "  First  of  all  things  existed  the  moon.  The 
moon  created  man,  some  say  in  the  form  of  a  stone, 
others  say  in  the  form  of  a  simple,  straight,  hairless, 
limbless  mass  of  flesh,  like  an  enormous  earth-worm,  from 
which  he  gradually  developed  into  his  present  shape. 
The  first  man  thus  created  was  called  Eicut;  his  wife, 
Yoatotowee,  In  process  of  time  Yoatotowee  fell  sick, 
and  though  Eicut  nursed  her  tenderly,  she  gradually 
faded  away  before  his  eyes  and  died.  He  loved  her 
with  a  love  passing  the  love  of  brothers,  and  now  his 
heart  was  broken  with  grief.  He  dug  a  grave  for  her 
close  beside  his  camp-fire  ( for  the  Neeshenams  did  not 
burn  the  dead  then),  that  he  might  daily  and  hourly 
weep  above  her  silent  dust.  His  grief  knew  no  bounds. 
His  life  became  a  burden  to  him ;  all  the  light  was  gone 
out  of  his  eyes,  and  all  this  world  was  black  and  dreary. 
He  wished  to  die,  that  he  might  follow  his  beloved 
Yoatotowee.  In  the  greatness  of  his  grief  he  fell  into  a 
trance,  there  was  a  rumbling  in  the  ground,  and  the 
spirit  of  the  dead  Yoatotowee  arose  out  of  her  grave  and 
came  and  stood  beside  him.  When  he  awoke  out  of  his 
trance  and  beheld  his  wife,  he  would  have  spoken  to  her, 
but  she  forbade  him,  for  in  what  moment  an  Indian 
speaks  to  a  ghost  he  dies.  She  turned  away  and  set  out 
to  seek  the  spirit-land  ( ooshwooshe  koom.  literally,  'the 
dance-house  of  ghosts.')  Eicut  followed  her,  but  the 
ghost  turned  and  said,  '  why  do  you  follow  me  ?  you  are 
not  dead.'  They  journeyed  on  through  a  great  country 
and  a  darksome — a  land  that  no  man  has  seen  and  re- 
turned to  report — until  they  came  to  a  river  that  sepa- 
rated them  from  the  spirit-land.  Over  this  river  there 
was  a  bridge  of  one  small  rope,  so  very  narrow  that  a 
spider  could  hardly  cross  over  it.  Here  the  spirit  of 
Yoatotowee  must  bid  farewell  to  her  husband  and  go 
over  alone  into  the  spirit-land.  But  the  great  unspeak- 


C32  FUTUEE  STATE. 

able  grief  of  Eicut  at  beholding  his  wife  leaving  him  for- 
ever overcame  his  love  of  life,  and  he  called  aloud  after 
her.  •  In  that  self-same  instant  he  died — for  no  Indian 
can  speak  to  a  ghost  and  live — and  together  they  entered 
the  land  of  spirits.  Thus  Eicut  passed  away  from  the 
realm  of  earth,  and  in  the  invisible  world  became  a  good 
and  quiet  spirit,  who  constantly  watches  over  and  be- 
friends his  posterity  still  living  on  earth.  But  he  and 
his  wife  left  behind  them  two  children,  a  brother  and  a 
sister;  and  to  prevent  incest  the  moon  created  another 
pair  and  from  these  two  pairs  are  descended  all  the 
Nee.shenams  of  to-day."57 

The  future  abode  of  the  Mexicans  had -three  divisions 
to  which  the  dead  were  admitted  according  to  their  rank 
in  life  and  manner  of  death.  Glorious  as  was  the  fate 
of  the  warrior  who  died  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  on 
the  battle-field,  or  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy's  priests, 
still  more  glorious  was  the  destiny  that  awaited  his  soul. 
The  fallen  Viking  was  carried  by  radiant  Valkyries  to 
Valhalla,  but  the  Aztec  hero  was  borne  in  the  arms  of 
Teoyaomique  herself,  the  consort  of  Huitzilopochtli,  to 
the  bright  plains  of  the  sun-house,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  heavens,  where  shady  groves,  trees  loaded  with 
luscious  fruit,  and  flowers  steeped  in  honey,  vied  with 
the  attractions  of  vast  hunting-parks,  to  make  his  time 
pass  happily.  Here  also  awaited  him  the  presents  sent 
by  affectionate  friends  below.  Every  morning  when  the 
sun  set  out  upon  his  journey,  these  bright  strong  war- 
riors seized  their  weapons58  and  marched  before  him, 
shouting  and  fighting  sham  battles.  This  continued  un- 
til they  reached  the  zenith,  where  the  sun  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  charge  of  the  Celestial  Women,  after  which 
the  warriors  dispersed  to  the  chase  or  the  shady  grove. 

57  This  legend  is  taken  from  a  MS  kindly  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Ste- 
phen Powers,  and  is  a  corrected  version  of  the  legend  entitled  '  Hilpuiecone 
and  Olt'gauce '  contributed  by  the  same  gentleman  to  the  Overland  Monthly, 
January,  1874.  pp.  30-1. 

58  '  El  que  tenia  rodela  horadada  de  saetas  no  podia  inirar  al  sol.'  Sahagun, 
Hist.  Gtn.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii. ,  p.  265.     This  may  perhaps  mean  that  the  hum- 
bler warrior,  whose  inferior  shield  was  more  likely  to  be  pierced,  could  not 
look  upon  the  majestic  face  of  the  sun,  just  as  he  had  been  interdicted  from 
regarding  the  face  of  his  king. 


THE  SUN  HOUSE  AND  TLALOCAN.  533 

The  members  of  the  new  escort  were  women  who  had 
died  in  war  or  child-bed,  and  lived  in  the  western  part 
of  the  Sun  House.  Dressed  like  the  warriors  in  martial 
accoutrement,59  they  conducted  the  sun  to  his  home, 
some  carrying  the  litter  of  quetzal  feathers  in  which  he 
reclined,  while  others  went  in  front  shouting  and  fighting 
gaily.  Arrived  at  the  extreme  west  they  transferred 
the  sun  to  the  dead  of  Mictlan,  and  went  in  quest  of 
their  spindles,  shuttles,  baskets,  and  other  implements 
necessary  for  weaving  or  household  work.60  The  only 
other  persons  who  are  mentioned  as  being  admitted  to 
the  Sun  House,  were  merchants  who  died  on  their  jour- 
ney. After  four  years  of  this  life  the  souls  of  the  war- 
riors pass  into  birds  of  beautiful  plumage,  which  live  on 
the  honey  of  flowers  growing  in  the  celestial  gardens 
or  seek  their  sustenance  on  earth.61 

The  second  place  of  bliss  was  Tlalocan,  the  abode  of 
Tlaloc,  a  terrestrial  paradise,  the  source  of  the  rivers 
and  all  the  nourishment  of  the  earth,  where  joy  reigns 
and  sorrow  is  unknown,62  where  every  imaginable  pro- 
duct of  the  field  and  garden  grows  in  profusion  beneath 
a  perpetual  summer  sky.  This  paradise  appears  to 
have  been  erected  on  the  ideal  reminiscences  of  the 
happy  Tollan,  the  cradle  of  the  race,  where  their  fathers 

59  '  When  the  midwife  speaks  to  a  woman  who  has  died  in  childbed,  she 
refers  to  the  noble  manner  in  which  she  has  nsed  the  sword  and  shield,  a 
figure  of  speech  which  is  probably  intended  to  represent  the  high  estimation 
in  which  they  held  her.'  Id.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  189. 

60  '  Descendiau  ac<t  a  la  tierra.'  Ib.     But  it  is  just  as  likely  that  they  used 
the  weaving  implements  STipplied  to  them  at  the  grave,   as    those  of    the 
living.     Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  says  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  region  had 
day  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  slept;  but  since  the  women  resumed 
their  work  after  the  setting  of  the  sun,  it  is  more  likely  that  they  always  had 
light  up  there,  and  that  they  never  slept.  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn.  iii.,  p.  497. 

61  The  humming-bird,  the  emblem  and  attribute  of  the  war-god,  offered 
on  the  grave  in  the  month  of  Quecholli,  probably  referred  to  this  transfor- 
mation. Sahagan,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.,  ii.,  p.  164,  lib.  iv.,  pp.  264-5,  torn, 
ii.,  lib.  vi.,  pp.  18S-9,  lib.  ix. ,  p.  358;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  lnd.,tom.  ii.,  p. 
530.      '  Nachher  werden  sie  theils  in  Wolken  verwandelt,  theils  in  Kolibris.' 
Miiller,  Ammkanische  Urrelic/ionen,  p.  C61.     The  transformation  into  clouds 
seems  to  refer  to  the  Tlascaitecs. 

62  Tlalocan  is  the  name  given  by  some  old  writers  to  the  country  between 
Chiapas  and  O.ijaca.   Brasseur  de  .Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  49(3; 
Brinton's  Myths,  pp.  88-9.     It  may  also  be  the  place  referred  to  under  the 
names  of  Tumo-inchn,   Xuchitlyca^an.    Explanation  of  the  Codex  Tdleriano- 
Remensis,  in  Kingsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  127. 


534  FUTURE  STATE. 

reveled  in  richess  and  splendor.  To  this  place  went 
those  who  had  been  killed  by  lightning,  the  drowned, 
those  suffering  from  itch,  gout,  tumors,  dropsy,  leprosy 
and  other  incurable  diseases.  Children  also,  at  least 
those  who  were  sacrificed  to  the  Tlalocs,  played  about 
in  its  gardens,  and  once  a  year  they  descended  among 
the  living  in  an  invisible  form  to  join  in  their  festi- 
vals.63 It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  this  paradise 
was  perpetual,  for  according  to  some  authors  the  dis- 
eased stayed  here  but  a  short  time,  and  then  passed 
on  to  Mictlan ;  while  the  children,  balked  of  their  life 
by  death  or  sacrifice,  were  allowed  to  essay  it  again.6* 
The  third  destination  of  the  dead,  provided  for  those 
who  died  of  ordinary  diseases  or  old  age,  and,  accord- 
ingly, for  the  great  majority,  was  Mictlan,  'the  place  of 
the  dead,'  which  is  described  as  a  vast,  pathless  place,  a 
land  of  darkness  and  desolation,  where  the  dead  after 
their  time  of  probation  are  sunk  in  a  sleep  that  knows 
no  waking.  In  addressing  the  corpse  they  spoke  of  this 
place  of  Mictlan  as  a  'most  obscure  land,  where  light 
cometh  not.  and  whence  none  can  ever  return.'65  There 
are  several  points,  however,  given  by  Sahagun,  as  well 
as  other  writers,  which  tend  to  modify  this  aspect  of 
Mictlan.  The  lords  and  nobles  seem  even  here  to  have 
kept  up  the  barriers  which  separated  them  from,  the  con- 
taminating touch  of  inferiors,  and  doubtless  the  good 
and  respectable  were  classed  apart  from  low  miscreants 
and  criminals,  for  there  were  nine  divisions  in  Mictlan, 
of  which  Chicohnahuimictlan  or  Ninth-Mictlan,  was  the 


63  Vol.  ii.,  p.  336,  this  work. 

64  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  97;    Torquemada,  Monarq.  lnd.t  torn,  ii.,  pp. 
82,  529.     The  remarks  of  the  above  authors  with  reference  to  those  who  die 
of  diseases  may,  however,  refer  to  sufferers  from  ordinary  afflictions,  who 
were  from  all  doomed  to  Miotlan.  In  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Valicanus,  in 
KingsboroiKjh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  169-71,  all  who  die  of  diseases  and 
a  violent  death  are  consigned  to  Mictlan.     BrMon's  Myths,  pp.  246-7;  Aider's 
Future  Life,  pp.  475-6.      Chevalier,  Mex.  Ancien  et  Mod.,  p.  91,  who  regards 
the  sun  as  heaven,  and  Mictlan  as  hell,  considers  this  an  intermediate  and 
incomplete  paradise.  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  264;  Claviyero, 
Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5. 

65  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  260-1,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vi.,  p.  176; 
Torquemada,   Monarq.   Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p.   529;  Brasssur  de  J'xiin-hnnrti.  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  571;  Tezosomoc,  Mist.  JUex.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  3i.9,  U31. 


MICTLAN.  535 

abode  of  the  Aztec  Pluto  and  his  Proserpine.  This  name 
seems  also  to  have  been  applied  to  the  whole  region, 
meaning  then  the  nine  Mictlans.66  The  different  idol- 
mantles  in  which  the  dead  person  was  attired,  deter- 
mined by  his  profession  and  by  his  manner  of  death, 
would  imply  that  different  gods  had  control  of  these 
divisions.67  Whatever  distinction  there  may  have  been 
was  kept  up  by  the  humbler  or  richer  offerings  of  food, 
clothing,  implements,  and  slaves,  made  at  the  time  of  the 
burial,  at  the  end  of  eighty  days,  and  on  the  first,  second 
third,  and  fourth  anniversary  of  the  death ;  all  of  which 
went  before  Mictlantecutli  before  being  turned  over  to 
the  use  of  the  person  for  whom  they  were  destined.68  In 
one  place  Sahagun  states  that  four  years  were  passed  in 
traveling  before  the  soul  reached  Mictlan,  and  on  another 
page  he  distinctly  implies  that  this  term  was  passed 
within  that  region,  when  he  says  that  the  dead  awoke 
from  their  sleep  as  the  sun  reached  the  western  horizon, 
and  rose  to  escort  it  through  their  land;  Torquemada 
says  that  four  days  were  occupied  in  the  journey.69  The 
only  way  to  reconcile  these  statements  is  by  supposing 
that  the  soul  passed  from  one  division  to  another,  until 
it  finally,  at  the  end  of  the  four  years,  reached  Mictlan 
proper,  or  Ninth-Mictlan,  and  attained  repose.  Their 
duties  during  this  term  consisting  in  escorting  the  sun, 
and  working  like  their  happier  brethren  in  the  Sun 
House,  besides  passing  a  certain  time  in  sleep.  The  fact 
that  the  people  besought  the  dead  to  visit  them  during 
the  festival  in  their  honor,  implies  that  they  were  within 
Mictlan,  though  their  liberty  there,  at  that  season, 

66  Id.,  p.  329.     'Le  phis  coramun  est  Chiucnauh-Mictlan,  les  Neuf  sejours 
des  Morts.'  limsseurde  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  495;  Mendieta, 
Hist.  Ecles,  p.  97;  Sahagm,  Hlit.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263. 

67  This  seems  also  to  be  the  idea  of  Gomai-a,  Conq.  Mex.  fol.  308-9,  although 
he  makes  the  heavens  distinct  from  one  another,  and  includes  the  Sun  House 
and  Tlalocan  in  the  list. 

68  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  1G6,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263. 

69  Monarg.  Ind.,   torn,  ii.,   p.  522.   -The  fact  that  offerings  and  prayers 
were  kept  lip  for  four  days  by  the  mourners,  confirms  this  statement.  Salta- 
gun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263,  torn,  ii.,   lib.  vi.,  p.  189.      'Until 
souls  had  arrived  at  the  destined  place  nt  the  expiration  of  those  four  years, 
they  had  to  encounter  much  hardship,  cold,  and  toil.'  Explanation  of  the  Codex 
Tdleriaiio-ltemeiisis,  in  Kinysborouyh's  Hex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  96. 


536  FUTURE  STATE. 

at  least,  was  not  so  very  restricted.  'As  they  helped  to 
escort  the  sun,  we  must  suppose  that  they  also  enjoyed 
the  blessings  of  sunshine  while  terrestrial  beings  slept, 
and  the  expression  of  Tezozomoc,  a  place  where  none 
knows  whether  it  be  night  or  day,  a  place  of  eternal 
rest,'  must  refer  to  those  only  who  have  passed  the  time 
of  probation,  and  lapsed  into  the  final  sleep.  It  may  be 
however,  that  the  sun  was  lustreless  at  night,  for  Ca- 
margo  states  that  it  slept  after  its  journey.70  If  so,  the 
dim  twilight  noticed  among  the  northern  people,  or  the 
moon,  the  deity  of  the  night,  must  have  replaced  the 
obscured  brightness  of  the  sun,  if  lights  indeed  were 
needed,  for  the  escort  and  the  workers-  could  scarcely 
have  used  artificial  illumination.  The  route  of  the  sun 
further  indicates  that  Mictlan  was  situated  in  the  anti- 
podean regions,  or  rather  in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  to 
which  the  term  i  dark  and  pathless  regions'  also  applies. 
This  is  the  supposition  of  Clavigero,  who  bases  it  on  the 
fact  that  Tlalxicco,  the  name  of  Mictlantecutli's  temple, 
signifies  center  or  bowels  of  the  earth.' 71  But  Sahagun 
and  others  place  it  in  the  north,  and  support  this  asser- 
tion by  showing  that  Mictlampa  signified  north.72  The 
fact  that  the  people  turned  the  face  to  the  north  when  call- 
ing upon  the  dead,73  is  strongly  in  favor  of  this  theory ; 
the  north  is  also  the  dark  quarter.  These  apparently  con- 
tradictory statements  may  be  reconciled  by  supposing 
that  Mictlan  was  situated  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
subterranean  regions,  as  the  home  of  the  heroes  was  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  heavens. 

As  the  warrior  in  the   Sun  House  passes  after  four 

?o  nist.  Tlax,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcviii.,  p.  193; 
Tezozomoc,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  331.  'When  the  sun  sets,  it  goes  to^give 
light  to  the  dead.'  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Ttlleriano-Kemensis,  .in  Kings- 
borough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  128. 

7'  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  6.  Tlalxicco  may  be  considered  as 
hell  proper,  and  distinct  from  Mictlan,  and  may  have  been  ruled  over  by 
Tzontemoc  who  must  then  be  regarded  as  distinct  from  Mictlantecutli.  Kinys- 
borow/h's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  219.. 

72  Mictlampaehecatl,  the  north-wind,  is  said  to  come  from  hell.  Saharjun, 
Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  253,  256-7;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  81. 

73  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in  Kingsborouyh's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol. 
vi.,  pp.  218-9. 


THE  JOURNEY  OF  THE  DEAD.  537 

years  of  perfect  enjoyment  into  a  seemingly  less  happy 
state,  so  the  Mictlan  probationer  appears  to  have  aban- 
doned his  work  for  a  condition  of  everlasting  repose.7* 
This  condition  is  already  indicated  by  the  very  signifi- 
cation of  the  name  Mictlan,  '  place  of  the  dead,'  and  by 
the  preceding  statements;  it  also  implied  by  the  myth  of 
the  creation  of  man,  wherein  the  god-heroes  say  to 
Xolotl :  Go  beg  of  Mictlantecutli,  Lord  of  Hades,  ttyat  he 
may  give  thee  a  bone  or  some  ashes  of  the  dead  that  are 
with  him.75 

I  will  now  revert  to  the  terrible  four  days'  jour- 
ney,76 which  those  who  were  unfortunate  enough  to 
die  a  peaceful  death  had  to  perform  before  they  could 
attain  their  negative  happiness.  Fully  impressed  with 
the  idea  of  its  hardships,  the  friends  of  the  deceased 
held  it  to  be  a  religious  duty  to  provide  him  witli  a  full 
outfit  of  food,  clothing,  implements,  and  even  slaves,  to 
enable  him  to  pass  safely  through  the  ordeal.  Idols  were 
also  deposited  by  his  side,  and  if  the  dead  man  were  a 
lord,  his  chaplain  was  sent  to  attend  to  their  service. 
This  maintenance  of  wrorship  during  the  journey  is  also 
implied  by  the  sprinkling  of  water  upon  the  ashes  with 
the  words :  Let  the  dead  wash  himself.77  The  officiating 
priests,  laid,  besides,  passports  with  the  body,  which 
which  were  to  serve  for  various  points  along  the  road. 
The  first  papers  passed  him  by  two  mountains,  which, 
like  the  symplegades,  threatened  to  meet  and  crush  him 
in  their  embrace.  The  second  was  a  pass  for  the  road 
guarded  by  a  big  snake;  the  other  papers  took  him  by 
the  green  crocodile,  Xochitonal,  across  eight  deserts,  and 
over  eight  hills.  Then  came  the  freezing  itzehecaya, 

74  'Despues  de  pasaclos  cuatro  anos,  el  difunto  se  salfa  y  se  iba  a  Ins 
nueve  infiernos. . .  .en  este  lugar  del  infierno  que  se  llanmba  Chicuiutmictl't, 
se  acababan  y  fenecian  los  difuntos.'  Sahayun,  Hint.  Gen.,  turn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p. 
263;  see  also  note  8.  At  the  end  of  four  years  the  souls  came  to  a  place 
where  they  enjoyed  a  certain  degree  of  repose.  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Vuti- 
tunus,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  218. 

"  This  vol.,  p.  59;  see  also,  pp.  296-402. 

76  See  not  12.     Four  was  the  most  sacred  number  among  the  Mexicans  as 
well  as  the  other  nations  of  America,  and  is  derived  from  the  adoration  of 
the  cardinal  points.  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  67.     The  Central  Americans  believed 
that  the  soul  arrived  at  its  destination  in  four  days  after  death. 

77  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  263. 


538  FUTURE  STATE. 

'wind  of  knives,'  which  hurls  stones  and  knives  upon 
the  traveler,  who  now  more  than  ever  finds  the  offerings 
of  his  friends  of  service.  How  the  poor  soul  escaped  this 
ordeal  is  not  stated.  Lastly  he  came  to  the  broad  river 
Chiconahuapan  '  nine  waters,'  which  could  be  crossed 
only  upon  the  back  of  a  dog  of  reddish  color,  which  was 
killed  for  this  purposes  by  thrusting  an  arrow  down  its 
throat,  and  was  burnt  with  the  corpse.  According  to 
Gomara,  the  dog  served  for  a  guide  to  Mictlan,  but  other 
authors  state  that  it  preceded  its  master,  and  when  he 
arrived  at  the  river,  he  found  it  on  the  opposite  bank, 
waiting  with  a  number  of  others  for  their  owners.  As 
soon  as  the  dog  recognized  its  master,  it  swam  over,  and 
bore  him  safely  across  the  rushing  current.  A  cotton 
string  tied  round  its  neck  when  placed  upon  the  pyre 
may  have  served  to  distinguish  it  from  other  dogs,  or  as 
a  passport.78  The  traveler  was  now  taken  before  Mict- 
lantecutli,  to  whom  he  presented  the  passports  together 
with  gifts  consisting  of  candlewood,  perfume-canes,  soft 
threads  of  plain  and  colored  cotton,  a  piece  of  cloth,  a 
mantle  and  other  articles  of  clothing,  and  was  thereupon 
assigned  to  his  sphere.  Women  underwent  the  same 
ordeal.79  Camargo  mentions  a  paradise  above  the  nine 
heavens,  occupied  by  the  goddess  of  love,  where  dwarfs, 
fools,  and  hunchbacks  danced  and  sang  for  her  amuse- 
ment, but  whether  these  beings  were  of  human  or  divine 
origin  is  not  stated.80  At  times  the  old  chroniclers  con- 
sider Mictlan  as  a  place  of  punishment,81  but  the  priests 

78  'Pour  qn'il  ne  fut  pas  entraine  en  traversant  le  Styx  indien.'  Biart, 
Terre  Temperee,  p.  280;  Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  309.  'Los  porres  de  pelo 
bianco  y  negro,  no  podian  nadar  y  pasar  el  rio,  porque  dizque  decia  el  porro 
de  pelo  negro:  "yo  me  labe  "  y  el  perro  de  pelo  bianco  decia:  "yo  me  he 
mauchado  de  color  prieto,  y  por  eso  no  puedo  pasaros"  solauaente  el  perro 
de  pelo  vermejo  podia  pusur. '  Sahayun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  '2(>:i. 

7»  Saha;iun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  pp.  260-4;  Torquemada,  Monarq. 
Lid.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  528-30;  Clavigero,  StoriaAnt.  del  Messico,  toin.  ii.,  pp.  5-6; 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  603-19,  of  this  work. 

80  Hint.  Tlux.,  in  Nouvelleti  Annalts  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcix.,  pp.  192-3. 

81  '  Teuiau  por  cierto,  que  en  el  infierno  habiaii  de  padecer  diversas  penas4 
conforme  a  la  calidad  de  los  delitos.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.  83.     'Enton- 
ces  todos  seran  castigados  conforme  a  svis  obras.'  Sahar/im,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn, 
ii.,  lib.  vii.,  pp.  3G-7;  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  ii.,  p. 80.     'Us  etaient 
plunges  dans   une  obscurite  profonde,  livres  a  leurs  remords.'    Clirvalier, 

.  Ancien  ct  Mod,  p.  91. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  TLASCALTECS.  539 

in  their  homilies  never  appear  to  have  urged  repentance 
for  the  purpose  of  escaping  future  punishment,  but  merely 
to  avoid  earthly  inflictions,  visited  upon  them  or  their 
children.82  The  philanthropist  whose  whole  life  had 
been  one  continuous  act  of  benevolence,  the  wise  prince 
who  had  lived  but  for  his  country's  good,  the  saintly  her- 
mit, the  pious  priest  who  had  passed  his  days  in  per- 
petual fasts,  penance,  and  self-torture,  all  were  consigned 
to  Mictlan,  together  with  the  drunkard,  the  mur- 
derer, the  thief,  and  none  were  exempt  from  the  terrible 
journey,  or  from  the  long  probation  which  ends  in  eternal 
sleep.  They  may  have  accounted  to  themselves  for  the 
manifest  unfairness  of  this  system  by  means  of  their 
belief  in  predestination,  which  taught  that  the  sign  under 
which  a  man  was  born  determined  to  a  great  extent,  if 
not  entirely,  his  character,  career,  and  consequently  his 
future.83  Mictlan  cannot,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  a  hell ; 
it  is  but  a  place  of  negative  punishment,  a  Nirvana,  in 
which  the  soul  is  at  last  blown  out  and  lost.84 

The  Tlascaltecs  supposed  that  the  souls  of  people  of 
rank  entered  after  death  into  the  bodies  of  the  higher 
animals,  or  even  into  clouds  and  gems,  while  common 

82  'Padecen  por  los  pecados  de  sus  padres.'  SaJmgun,  Tlist.  Gen.,  torn,  ii., 
lib.,  vi.,  p.  36.      Their  prayers  and  penances,  says  Acosta,  were  merely  on 
account  of  corporal  inflictions,  for  they  certainly  feared  no  punishment  in 
the  world  to  coine,  but  expected  that  all  would  rest  there.  Hist,  de  las  Ynd., 
p.  383.     '  In   the   destiny  they  assigned  to  the  wicked,  we  discern  similar 
traces  of  refinement;  since  the  absceuce  of  all  physical  torture  forms  a  strik- 
ing contrast  to  the  schemes  of  suffering  so  ingeniously  devised  by  the  fancies 
of  the  most  enlightened  nations.     In  all  this,  so  contrary  to  the  natural 
suggestions  of  the  ferocious  Aztec,  we  see  the  evidences  of  a  higher  civiliza- 
tion, inherited  from  their  predecessors  in  the  laud.'  Prescott's  Mex.,  vol.  i., 
pp.  6-2-3. 

83  S  ihayun,  Hint.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  iii.,  p.  267,  et  seq. 

84  The  reader  who  thinks  upon  the  subject  at  all,  cannot  help  being  struck 
by  the  remarkable  resemblance  in  some  points  between  these  future  abodes 
of  the  Mexicans  and  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans.     The  trem- 
bling soul  has  to  pass  over  the  same  dreadful  river,  ferried  by  a  brute  Charon. 
In  Hades  as  in  Mictlan,  the  condition  of  the  dead  was  a  shadowy  sort  of  ap- 
parent life,  in  which,  mere  ghosts  of  their  former  selves,  they  continued 
dreamily  to  perform  the  labors  and  carry  on  the  occupations  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed  on  earth.     In  Greece  as  in  Mexico,  the  shades  of  the 
dead  were  occasionally  permitted  to  visit  their  friends  on  earth,  summoned 
.by  a  sacrifice  and  religious  rites.     Neither  Elysion  nor  the  glorious  Sun 
House  was  the  reward  of  the  purely  good  so  much  as  of  the  favorites  of  the 
gods.     Such  points  of  resemblance  as  these  are,  however,  unnoticed  by  those 
who  theorize  concerning  the  origin  of  the  Americans;  they  go  farther  for 
analogies,  and  perhaps  fare  worse. 


540  FUTURE  STATE. 

souls  passed  into  lower  animal  forms.85  With  the  Mexi- 
cans they  believed  that  little  children  who  died  were 
given  another  trial  of  earth-life.86  In  Goatzacoalco  the 
bones  of  the  dead  were  so  placed  that  the  soul  might 
have  no  difficulty  in  finding  them.87  In  the  Aztec  crea- 
tion-myth we  have  seen  that  out  of  bone  man  was 
formed,  and  Brinton  considers  this,  together  with  in- 
stances of  the  careful"  preservation  of  remains  to  be 
noticed  in  different  parts  of  America,  evidence  of  a  wide- 
spread belief  that  the  soul  resided  in  the  bones.  This 
receives  further  confirmation  in  the  Quiche  legend  which 
relates  that  the  bones  of  certain  heroes  were  ground  to 
powder  to  prevent  their  removal.88  Yet  the  idea  does  not 
accord  with  the  Mexican  custom  of  placing  a  stone 
between  the  lips  of  the  dead  to  serve  as  heart,  and, 
doubtless,  to  hold  the  soul  as  the  Quiches  supposed. 
Either  instance,  however,  implies  a  belief  in  several 
souls,  although  no  reference  is  made  to  such  plurality. 
The  Tlascaltecs  had  guardian  spirits  which  were  em- 
bodied in  the  idols  called  tepictoton,  and  Camargo  men- 
tions angels  who  inhabited  the  air  and  influenced  thun- 
der, winds,  and  other  phenomena,  and  who  were  doubt- 
less the  children  of  Tlalocan.89  A  devil  they  could 
scarcely  have  had,  for  evil  mingled  too  liberally  in  the 
nature  of  most  of  the  Mexican  gods  to  admit  of  its  per- 
sonification by  one  alone.  The  nearest  approach  to  our 
Satan  was  to  be  found  in  a  phantom  called  Tlacatecolotl, 
the  'owlish  one'90  who  roamed  about  doing  mischief; 
to  see  an  owl  was  accordingly  held  to  be  an  evil  sign, 
and  much  dreaded.  Will  o'  the  wisps  were  regarded  as 
transformed  wizards  and  witches,  or  animals.91  The 
Tlascaltecs  supposed  that  the  sparks  which  sped  away 

85  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  5;   Mendida,  Bust.  Ecles., 
p.  97. 

86  Alger's  Future  Life,  pp.  475-6. 

87  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  ix.,  cap.  vii. 

88  Myths,  p.  258;  Brnsaeur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  p.  175. 

89  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des   Voy.,  1843,  tom.  xcviii.,  p.  192; 
Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  tom.  ii.,  p.  64. 

9"  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  p.  81.     'Tlacatecolotl,  demonio  o  diablo.' 
Molina,  Dii'cionario. 

9i  Mendieta,  Hist'.  Ecks.,  p.  109. 


FUTUEE  OF  THE  OTOMIS,  MIZTECS,  AND  MAYAS.         541 

from  the  craters  of  volcanoes  were  the  souls  of  tyrants 
sent  forth  by  the  gods  to  torment  the  people.92 

The  Otomfs  believed  that  the  soul  died  with  the 
body,93  while  the  Tarascos,  according  to  Herrera.  admit- 
ted a  future  judgment,  with  its  accompaniments  of 
heaven  and  hell,  but  to  judge  from  their  burial  customs, 
with  immolation  of  attendants,  term  of  mourning,  and  so 
forth,  it  would  appear  that  they  had  the  same  belief  as 
the  Aztecs.94 

The  Miztecs  placed  the  gates  of  paradise  within  the 
cavern  of  Chalcatongo,  and  the  grandees  of  the  kingdom 
were  therefore  eager  to  be  buried  within  its  precincts, 
in  order  to  be  near  the  abode  of  bliss.  The  Zapotecs 
placed  the  heavenly  portals  within  the  cave  of  Mictlan. 
Their  heaven  must  accordingly  have  been  situated  with- 
in the  earth,  although  the  custom  of  placing  the  dead 
with  their  feet  towards  the  east  indicates  that  it  lay  to- 
ward the  sunny  morning  land.  The  common  people  at 
least  seem,  like  the  Aztecs,  to  have  been  required  to  pass 
a  probationary  term  before  entering  the  holy  place,  and 
during  this  period  they  were  permitted  to  visit  their 
friends  on  earth  once  a  year,  and  partake  of  the  repast 
spread  for  them.  The  Zapotecs  gave  as  a  reason  for  in- 
terring the  dead,  that  those  who  were  burned  failed  to 
reach  heaven.95 

The  Mayas  believed  in  a  place  of  everlasting  de- 
light, where  the  good  should  recline  in  voluptuous  repose 
beneath  the  shade  of  the  yaxche?6  indulging  in  dainty 

92  '  The  inhabitants  suppose  kinges  (who,  while  they  lined,  goxierned 
amisse)  to  haue  a  temporary  aboade  there  being  companions  with  diuels 
amonge  those  flames,  where  they  may  purge  the  foule  spots  of  their  wicked- 
nesse.'  Ptter  Martyr,  dec.  v.,  lib.  ii. 

93  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  4:  Mendieia,  Hist.  Ecles., 
p.  96. 

91  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  x. ;  Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn, 
i.,  p.  292;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  620-2,  of  this  work. 

s»5  Buri/oa,  Geog.  Descrlp.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  230-1,  torn,  i.,  fol.  159-61;  Clan- 
gero,  Sioria  Ant.  del  Messico,  tom.ii.,  p.  5;  Explanation  of  the  Codex  Telleriano- 
Remensis,  in  Kingsborough's  Mex.  Antiq,,  vol.  vi.,  p.  96;  Id.,  Codex  Vaticanus, 
p.  218;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  622-3,  of  this  work. 

96  '  Le  Yaxche,  qui  signifie  arbre  vert,  est  probablement  le  meme  que  le 
tonacnste  ou  tonacazquahuitl,  arbe  au  tronc  puissant  et  eleve,  au  feuillage 
immense,  mais  menu  et  serre,  dont  la  beaute  et  I'extr&me  fraicheur  lui  out 


542  FUTURE  STATE. 

food  and  delicious  drinks.  Those  who  died  by  hanging 
were  especially  sure  of  admittance  to  this  paradise,  for 
their  goddess  Ixtab  carried  them  thither  herself,  and 
many  enthusiasts  committed  suicide  with  this  expecta- 
tion. The  wicked,  on  the  other  hand,  descended  into 
Mitnal,97  a  sphere  below  this,  where  hunger  and  other 
torments  awaited  them.  Cacao  money  was  laid  with 
the  body  to  pay  its  way,  and  frequent  offerings  of  food 
were  made,  but  the  funeral  was  not  proceeded  with  un- 
til the  fifth  day,  when  the  soul  had  entered  its  sphere. 
A  trace  of  metempsychosis  may  be  noticed  in  the  super- 
stitious belief  that  sorcerers  transformed  people  into  ani- 
mals.98 

Whether  the  Quiches  believed  in  a  future  reward  and 
punishment  is  uncertain,  for  on  the  one  hand  we  are 
told  that  Xibalba,  which  implies  a  place  of  terror,  was 
their  hell,  where  ruled  two  princes  bearing  the  sugges- 
tive names  of  One  Death  and  Seven  Deaths;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  sacrifice  of  slaves  and  other  objects, 
implies  a  negative  punishment.  A  gentle,  unwarlike. 
tribe  of  Guatemala  is  said  to  have  had  a  belief  similar 
to  that  of  the  Pericuis,  namely  that  a  future  life  was  ac- 
corded to  those  only  who  died  a  natural  death,  and, 
therefore,  they  left  the  bodies  of  the  slain  to  beasts  and 
vultures."  The  Pipiles  appear  to  have  looked  forward  to 
the  same  future  abodes  as  the  Mexicans,  and  to  the 
same  dreadful  journey  after  death.  During  the  four 
days  and  four  nights  that  the  soul  was  on  the  road,  the 
mourners  wailed  deeply,  probably  with  fear  for  its 
safety,  but  on  the  fifth  day,  when  the  priest  announced 
that  it  had  reached  the  goal,  the  lamentation  ceased. 
During  this  time  also,  the  mother  whose  infant  had  de- 

fait  donner  le  nom  d'arbre  de  la  vie.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Landa,  Rela- 
tion, p.  2^0. 

97  An  evident  corruption  of  Mictlan. 

98  '  Dezian  se  lo  (el  difunto)  nvia  llevado  el  diablo  porqne  del  pensavan 
lea  venian  los  males  todos  y  especial  la  muerte.'  Landa,  Relation,  p.  li'ii., 
198-202;  Cogolludo,  Hist.    Yuc.,  p.   1J2;    Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  .W. 
Civ.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  62-3;  Carrillo,  in  Mex.  Soc.  Geog.,  Boldin,  2da  epoca,  torn, 
iii.,  pp.  2G5-6. 

90  Brinton's  Myths,  p.  246;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Popol  Vuh,  pp.  Ixxix.- 
Ixxx.,  cxxviii.-cxxx;  vol.  ii.,  p.  799,  of  this  work. 


FUTURE  OF  THE  NICARAGUANS.  543 

parted  withheld  the  milk  from  all  other  children,  lest 
the  thirsty  little  wanderer  should  be  angry,  and  smite 
the  usurper.100  The  probationary  routine  of  the  spirits 
appears  to  have  called  them  to  the  earth  at  intervals,  for 
a  legend  of  the  isles  of  Lake  Ilopango  recounts  that  at 
certain  times  of  the  year  spectre  barks  glide  in  silence 
over  the  tranquil  waters  of  the  lake,  anointing  every 
island  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  offering  upon  each 
to  some  bloody  divinity  of  past  times  a  human  victim, 
an  infant  chosen  by  lot.101 

The  same  view  of  futurity  was  taken  by  the  Nicara- 
guans,  who  thought  that  the  souls102  of  slain  warriors 
went  to  the  sunrise  regions,  the  abode  of  Tarnagostat 
and  Cipattonal,  who  welcomed  them  with  the  title  of 
'  our  children.'  But  all  the  good,  that  is  those  who  had 
obeyed  and  reverenced  the  gods,  were  admitted  here, 
whether  warriors  or  not,  and  strong  must  have  been 
their  faith  in  the  bliss  that  awaited  them,  for  the 
virgins,  says  Andagoya,  who  were  cast  as  offerings  into 
the  seething  lava  streams  of  the  volcano  met  their  fate 
without  fear.103  The  wicked  were  doomed  to  annihila- 
tion in  the  abode  of  Miquetanteot.104  Infants  who  died 
before  they  were  weaned  returned  to  the  house  of  their 
parents  to  be  cared  for,  evidently  in  spirit  form.105  The 
Mosquitos  believe  in  one  heaven  only,  and  this  is  open  to 
all ;  for  it  they  prepare  at  the  very  beginning  of  life  by 
tying  a  little  bag  of  seeds  round  the  neck  of  the  infant, 
wherewith  to  pay  the  ferriage  across  the  great  river  be- 
yond which  paradise  lies.106  In  and  about  Yeragua  death 

100  Palacio,  Carta,  pp.  76-8. 

1*1  Bollfus  and  Mont-Serrat,  Voy.  Oeologique,  p.  12. 

102  Yolia  or  yulia  derived  from  yoli,  to  live  is  distinct  from  heart,  yollotli. 
Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  159.    Yet  the  heart  was  evidently  considered  ns 
the  seat  of  the  soul,  for  some  Indians  stated  that  'el  coracon  va  arriba,' 
•while  others  explained  that  by  this  was  meant  the  breath.  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen., 
torn.  iv..  pp.  44-5. 

103  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viar/es,  torn,  iii.,  p.  415. 

i°4  Corresponding  to  the  Aztec  Mictlantecutli.  It  is  not  quite  cleat 
whether  all  agreed  upon  total  annihilation  in  this  place. 

101  '  H  in  de  resuQitar  6  tornar  a  casa  de  sus  padres,  &  sus  padres  los  co- 
nosec,ran  t:  criaran.1  Oviedo,  Hist  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  41,  42-9;  Brinton's  Alyths, 
pp.  145,  235;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist.  Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  ii  ,  pp.  113-4. 

i°6  Bell  adds  that  this  ferriage  money  was  provided  lest  the  child  '  should 
die  yoiing.'  Offerings  are  also  placed  upon  the  grave.  Land.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour., 
vol.  xxxii.,  pp.  254-5. 


544  FUTUKE  STATE. 

means  annihilation,  and  no  food  is  left  for  the  dead.  In 
some  places  the  dying  are  carried  out  to  the  woods  and 
abandoned  to  wild  beasts.107  In  Costa  Rica  and  D.irien 
slaves  and  even  wives  are  sacrificed  that  their  souls 
may  serve  their  lords  in  heaven.108 

Writing  on  the  customs  of  Dabaiba,  Peter  Martyr 
says :  '  They  are  such  simple  men,  that  they  know  not 
how  to  call  the  soule,  nor  vnderstand  the  power  thereof: 
whereupon,  they  often  talk  among  themselues  with  ad- 
miration what  that  inuisible  and  not  intelligible  essence 
might  bee,  whereby  the  members  of  men  and  brute 
beastes  should  be  moued:  I  know  not  what  secret  thing 
they  say,  should  Hue  after  the  corporall  life.  That  ( I 
know  not  what )  they  beleeue  that  after  this  peregrina- 
tion, if  it  liued  without  spott,  and  reserued  that  masse 
committed  vnto  it  without  iniury  done  to  any,  it  shoulde 
goe  to  a  certayne  asternall  felicity :  contrary,  if  it  shall 
suffer  the  same  to  be  corrupted  with  any  filthy  lust, 
violent  rapine,  or  raging  furie,  they  say,  it  shall  finde  a 
thousande  tortures  in  rough  and  vnpleasant  places  vnder 
the  Center:  and  speaking  these  things,  lifting  vpp  their 
the  handes  they  shewe  the  heauens,  and  after  that  casting 
right  hand  down,  they  poynt  to  the  wombe  of  the 
earth ' !  Their  belief  in  a  future  punishment  he  further 
illustrates  by  relating  that  '  the  thicke  spott  scene  in  the 
globe  of  the  Moone,  at  the  full,  is  a  mann,  and  they  be- 
leeue hee  was  cast  out  to  the  moyst,  and  colde  Circle  of 
the  Moone,  that  hee  might  perpetually  bee  tormented 
bet\veene  those  two  passions,  in  suffering  colde,  and  moys- 
ture,  for  incest  committed  with  his  sister.'109 

The  following  myths,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the 
kindness  and  industrious  investigation  of  Mr  Powers, 
having  come  to  hand  too  late  for  insertion  in  their 


- 


107  <  They  suppose  that  men  do  naturally  Hue  and  die  as  other  beastes  do.' 
Peter  Martyr,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv. 

108  '  Aquel  humo  ib.i  donde  estaba  el  anima  de  aquel  defunto ....  en  el  cielo, 
y  que  en  el  humo  iba  alia.'  Andagoya,  in  Navarrete,  Col.  de  Viages,  torn,  iii., 
p.  402;   Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  i.,  lib.  vii.,  cap.  xvi.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap. 
v.;  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  255;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  142. 

i«9  Dec.  vii.,  lib.  x. 


THE  COYOTE'S  ELOPEMENT.  545 

proper  places  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  give 
them  here: — There  dwells,  say  the  Neeshenams,  upon  the 
hills  and  in  the  forests,  a  ghost  named  Buhem  Ciilleh, 
which  is  at  once  man  and  woman.  It  is  a  bad  spirit,  but 
nevertheless  a  useful  one  to  those  who  seek  its  aid,  and 
these  are  mostly  bad  people.  Sometimes  in  the  night  its 
wierd  eldritch  cry  is  heard  in  the  forest,  and  then  some 
woman  about  to  be  overtaken  in  dishonest  childbirth  goes 
out  into  the  woods  alone,  with  her  shame  and  her  pangs 
upon  her,  and  having  brought  forth,  presently  returns, 
crying  and  lamenting  that  the  wicked  ghost  met  and 
overcame  her  and  that  she  has  conceived  of  the  spirit. 
Or  perhaps  it  is  a  man  who  has  wrought  an  evil  thing 
who  makes  this  bad  spirit  responsible  for  his  wickedness. 
Either  a  man  or  a  woman  wandering  alone  in  the  forest 
is  exposed  to  the  enticements  of  the  ghost  Bohem  Clilleh, 
to  commit  fornication  with  it. 

'  The  Coyote's  Elopement '  forms  the  subject  of  another 
Neeshenarn  tale.  It  is  as  follows — The  coyote  and  the 
bat  were  one  day  gathering  the  soft-shelled  nuts  of  the 
sugar  pine,  when  there  came  along  two  women-deer 
( the  only  way  they  have  of  expressing  '  female  deer ' ) , 
who  were  the  wives  of  pigeons.  The  coyote,  upon  this, 
took  a  handful  of  pitch  and  besmeared  the  bat's  eyes  so 
that  it  could  not  see.  The  poor  bat  was  totally  blinded, 
but  it  called  upon  the  wind  to  blow,  and  its  eyes  were 
opened  a  little,  as  we  see  them  to-day.  Meantime  the 
rascally  coyote  eloped  with  the  two  women-deer.  But 
it  was  not  long  before  they  came  to  a  bridge  so  extremely 
narrow  that  they  could  not  pass  over  it.  Just  then  there 
came  along  a  quail,  and  he  took  the  two  women-deer 
and  led  them  across,  leaving  the  bigamous  coyote  in  the 
lurch.  No  sooner  had  they  crossed  than  the  sister  of 
the  pigeons  took  the  quail  away  to  his  mother's  camp, 
and  thus  the  women-deer  were  set  at  liberty,  and  re- 
covered by  their  husbands,  the  pigeons. 

''In  this  story,"  says  Mr  Powers,  "  as  in  many  others, 
we  have  something  analogous  to  the  were-wolves  and 
swan-maidens  of  the  medieval  legends.  It  also  illustrates 

Vol.  III.    35 


546  FUTUKE  STATE. 

the  Indian  belief  in  the  common  origin  of  all  animals. 
Their  favorite  theory  is,  that  the  man  originated  from  the 
coyote,  and  the  woman  from  the  deer.  Wherefore  this 
story  probably  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  first  courtship 
recorded  of  the  human  race,  when  the  animals  had  so 
developed,  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  Darwinian 
programme,  that  man  was  about  to  appear  upon  the 
scene.  The  failure  of  the  coyote's  elopement  delayed 
that  auspicious  event  a  little  while." 

Another  Neeshenam  legend  relates  that  there  was 
once  a  medicine-man  who  possessed  the  wonderful  faculty 
of  turning  himself  into  a  bear  for  a  brief  season.  When 
one  of  his  patients  was  extremely  ill,  and,  according  to 
custom,  he  sucked  him  to  extract  the  injurious  matter, 
he  would  presently  be  seized  with  a  spasm.  Falling 
upon  all  fours,  he  would  find  his  hands  and  feet  sprawled 
along  the  ground  in  plantigrade  fashion,  his  nails  would 
grow  long  and  sharp,  a  short  tail  would  sprout  forth, 
hair  would  spring  up  all  over  his  body,  in  short  he  would 
become  a  raging,  roaring  bear.  When  the  spasm  had 
passed  away,  he  would  return  to  the  human  form. 

According  to  yet  another  Neeshenam  tradition,  there 
lived  long,  long  ago  a  very  terrible  old  man,  whose  chief 
delight  it  was  to  kill  and  devour  Indians.  He  had  stone 
mortars  in  which  he  pounded  the  flesh  to  make  it  tender 
for  eating.  Far  down  on  the  Sacramento  plains,  thirty  or 
forty  miles  away,  he  and  his  wife  lived  together,  and 
around  their  wigwam  the  blood  of  Indians  lay  a  foot 
deep.  The  Indians  all  made  war  on  them  and  tried  to 
kill  them,  but  they  could  do  nothing  against  them. 
Then  at  last  the  Old  Coyote  took  pity  on  the  Indians 
whom  he  had  created,  and  he  determined  to  kill  this 
old  man.  He  was  accustomed  to  go  into  the  great  round 
dance-honse  when  the  Indians  were  assembled  within 
it,  and  slay  the  chief.  So  the  Old  Coyote  dug  a  deep 
hole  just  outside  the  door,  and  hid  himself  in  it,  armed 
with  a  big  knife.  The  knife  was  just  on  a  level  with  the 
ground,  and  when  the  old  man  came  along,  going  into 
the  dance-house,  he  saw  it,  and  gave  a  kick  at  it.  but 


SHASTA  LEGENDS.  547 

did  not  notice  the  Coyote,  who  immediately  jumped  out 
of  his  hole,  ran  into  the  dance-house,  and  killed  the  old 
man. 

This  story,  Mr  Powers  thinks  probably  refers  to  some 
long  extinct  race  of  cannibals  who  were  superior  in 
power  to  the  present  race.  "  To  them,"  he  says,  ''may 
be  assigned  the  stone  mortars  found  in  so  many  parts  of 
California,  which  the  Indians  now  living  here  confes- 
sedly did  not  make.  Others  account  for  these  stone 
mortars  by  saying  they  were  made  by  the  chief  of  the 
spirits,  Haylin  Kakeeny,  and  his  subordinates." 

The  following  queer  legends  are,  on  the  indisputable 
authority  of  Mr  Powers,  of  Shasta  origin:  The  world 
was  created  by  Old  Groundmole,  ididoc,  a  huge  animal 
that  heaved  creation  into  existence  on  its  back,  by 
rooting  underneath  somewhere.  When  the  flood  came 
it  destroyed  all  animals  except  a  squirrel,  as  large  as  a 
bear,  which  exists  to  this  day  on  a  mountain  called  by 
the  Shastas,  Wakwaynuma,  near  Happy  Camp. 

A  long  time  ago  there  was  a  fire-stone  in  the  distant 
east,  white  and  glistening,  like  the  purest  quartz ;  and  the 
coyote  journeyed  east,  brought  this  fire-stone  and 
gave  it  to  the  Indians,  and  that  was  the  origin  of 
fire. 

Originally  the  sun  had  nine  brothers,  all,  like  him- 
self, flaming  hot  with  fire,  so  that  the  world  was 
like  to  perish;  but  the  coyote  slew  nine  of  the  broth- 
ers, and  thus  saved  mankind  from  burning  up.  The 
moon  also  had  nine  brothers,  all  like  to  himself, 
made  of  the  coldest  ice,  so  that  in  the  night  people 
went  near  to  freeze  to  death.  But  the  coyote  went 
away  out  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  world  with  a 
mighty  big  knife  of  flint  stone,  heated  stones  to  keep  his 
hands  warm,  then  laid  hold  of  the  nine  moons,  one  after 
another,  and  slew  them  likewise,  and  thus  men  got  warm 
again. 

When  it  rains,  there  is  some  Indian  sick  in  heaven, 
weeping.  Long,  long  ago  there  was  a  good  young  Indian 
on  earth,  and  when  he  died  all  the  Indians  cried  so  much 


548  FUTURE  STATE. 

that  a  flood  came  on  the  earth  and  rose  up  to  heaven, 
and  drowned  all  people  except  one  couple. 

The  Chenposels  relate  that  there  was  once  a  man 
who  loved  two  women,  and  wished  to  marry  them. 
Now,  these  two  women  were  magpies,  atchatch,  and  they 
loved  him  not,  but  laughed  his  wooing  to  scorn.  Then 
he  fell  into  a  rage  and  cursed  these-  two  women  that 
were  magpies  and  went  far  away  to  the  north,  and  there 
he  set  the  world  on  fire,  made  for  himself  a  tule  boat 
in  which  he  escaped  to  sea,  and  was  never  heard  of 
more.  But  the  fire  which  he  had  kindled  burned  with 
a  mighty  burning.  It  ate  its  way  south  with  terrible 
swiftness,  licking  up  all  things  that  are -on  earth — men, 
trees,  rocks,  animals,  water,  and  even  the  ground  itself. 
But  the  Old  Coyote  saw  the  burning  and  smoke  from 
his  place  far  in  the  south,  and  he  ran  with  all  his  might 
to  put  it  out.  He  took  two  little  boys  in  a  sack  on 
his  back,  and  ran  north  like  the  wind.  So  fast  did 
he  run  that  he  gave  out  just  as  he  got  to  the  fire,  and 
dropped  the  two  little  boys.  But  he  took  Indian  sugar 
(honey  dew)  in  his  mouth,  chewed  it  up,  spat  it  on  the 
fire  and  put  it  out.  Now  the  fire  was  out,  but  the  Coyote 
was  very  thirsty,  but  there  was  no  water,  so  he 
took  Indian  sugar  again,  chewed  it  up,  dug  a  hole  in 
the  bottom  of  the  creek,  covered  up  the  sugar  in  it,  and 
it  turned  to  water,  and  the  earth  thus  had  water  again. 
But  the  two  little  boys  cried  because  they  were  lonely 
for  there  was  nobody  on  earth.  Then  the  Coyote  made 
a  sweat-house,  and  split  up  a  great  number  of  little 
sticks,  which  he  laid  in  the  sweat-house  over  night;  in 
the  morning  they  were  all  turned  into  men  and  women, 
so  the  two  little  boys  had  company,  and  the  earth  was 
repeopled.110 

I  conclude  with  a  sun-myth  of  the  Pallawonaps,  who 
lived  on  Kern  River  in  Southern  California:— Pokbh 


110  "  It  is  possible"  concludes  Mr  Powers,  "  that  this  legend  has  dim  re- 
ference to  that  great  ancient  cataclysm,  or  overflow  of  lava  from  the  north, 
which  has  been  demonstrated  by  Professor  le  C'onte,  in  a  paper  read  before 
the  Californiau  Academy  of  Science. 


SUN-MYTH  OF  THE  PALLAWONAPS.  549 

made  all  things.  Long  ago  the  sun  was  a  man.  The  sun 
is  bad  and  wishes  to  kill  all  things,  but  the  moon  is  good. 
The  sun's  rays  are  arrows,  and  he  gives  a  bundle  to  every 
creature,  more  to  the  lion,  fewer  to  the  coyote,  etc. ;  but  to 
none  does  he  give  an  arrow  that  will  slay  a  man.  The  coyo- 
te wished  to  go  to  the  sun,  and  he  asked  Pokbh  the  road. 
Pokoh  pointed  out  to  him  a  good  road,  and  the  coyote 
traveled  on  it  all  day,  but  the  sun  turned  round,  so  he 
traveled  in  a  circle,  and  came  back  at  night  to  the  place 
whence  he  had  started  in  the  morning.  A  second  time 
he  asked  Pokoh,  and  a  second  time  he  came  back 
in  a  circle.  Then  Pokoh  told  him  to  go  straight  to  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  earth,  and  wait  there  until  the  sun 
came  up.  So  the  coyote  went  and  sat  down  on  the  hole 
where  the  sun  came  up,  with  his  back  turned  to  the  east, 
and  kept  pointing  with  his  arrow  in  very  direction,  pre- 
tending he  was  going  to  shoot.  The  sun  came  up  under  him, 
and  told  him  to  get  out  of  the  way.  But  the  coyote  sat 
there  until  it  became  so  warm  that  he  was  obliged  to  coil 
up  his  tail  under  him.  Then  he  began  to  get  thirsty,  and 
asked  the  sun  for  water.  The  sun  gave  him  an  acorn- 
cup  full,  but  this  did  not  satisfy  the  coyote's  great  thirst. 
Next  his  shoulders  began  to  get  warm,  so  he  spat  on  his 
paws  and  rubbed  his  back  with  them.  Then  he  said  to 
the  sun,  Why  do  you  come  up  here,  meddling  with 
me?  But  the  sun  said,  lam  not  meddling  with  you; 
I  am  traveling  where  I  have  a  right  to  travel.  The 
coyote  told  him  to  go  round  some  other  way,  that  that 
was  his  road,  but  the  sun  insisted  on  going  straight  up. 
Then  the  coyote  wanted  to  go  up  with  him,  so  the  good 
natured  sun  took  him  along.  Presently  they  came  to  a 
path  with  steps  like  a  ladder,  and  as  the  sun  went  up  he 
counted  the  steps;  when  they  got  up  above  the  world, 
the  coyote  found  it  getting  hot  and  wanted  to  jump  down, 
but  the  distance  was  too  great.  By  noon  the  sun  was 
very  hot  and  bright,  and  he  told  the  coyote  to  shut  his 
eyes.  He  did  so,  but  he  opened  them  quickly  again,  and 
so  kept  opening  and  shutting  them  all  the  afternoon,  to 
see  how  fast  the  sun  was  sliding  down.  When  the  sun 


550  FUTUEE  STATE. 

came  down  to  the  earth  in  the  west,  the  coyote  jumped 
oft' on  to  a  tree,  and  so  clambered  down  to  the  ground.111 


Such  are  the  Myths  of  the  Farthest  West,  such 
the  endeavors  of  these  men  unenlightened,  according 
to  onr  ideas  of  enlightenment,  to  define  the  indefinable, 
such  the  result  of  their  'yearning  after  the  gods.'  Most 
of  their  myths  and  beliefs  are  extravagant,  childish, 
meaningless,  to  our  understanding  of  them,  but  doubt- 
less our  myths  would  be  the  same  to  them.  From  the 
beginning  of  time  men  have  grappled  with  shadows, 
have  accounted  for  material  certainties  by  immaterial 
uncertainties.  Let  us  be  content  to  gather  and  preserve^ 
these  perishable  phantoms  now;  they  will  be  very  curi- 
ous relics  in  the  day  of  the  triumph  of  substance. 

111  This  myth,  Mr  Powers  thinks,  has  been  belittled  or  corrupted  from 
the  ancient  myth  of  the  zodiac,  and,  in  his  opinion,  argues  for  the  Americans 
a  civilized,  or  at  least  semi-civilized,  Asiatic  origin, — a  very  far-fetched  con- 
clusion I  should  say. 


THE  NATIVE  RACES 

•  OF  THE 

PACIFIC  STATES.    ::,;,;: 

LANGUAGES. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    REMARKS. 

NATIVE  LANGUAGES  IN  ADVANCE  OF  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS — CHABACTEEISTIO  INDI- 
VIDUALITY OF  AMERICAN  TONGUES — FBEQUENT  OCCUKRENCE  OF  LONG 
WORDS — REDUPLICATIONS,  FBEQUENTATIVES,  AND  DUALS — INTERTRIBAL 
LANGUAGES — GESTURE-LANGUAGE— -SLAVE  AND  CHINOOK  JARGONS— PACIFIC 
STATES  LANGUAGES — THE  TINNEH,  AZTEC,  AND  MAYA  TONGUES — THE 
LARGER  FAMILIES  INLAND — LANGUAGE  AS  A  TEST  OF  ORIGIN — SIMI- 
LARITIES IN  UNRELATED  LANGUAGES— PLAN  OF  THIS  INVESTIGATION. 

In  nothing,  perhaps,  do  the  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific 
States  show  signs  of  age,  and  of  progress  from  absolute 
primevalisrn,  more  than  in  their  languages.  Indeed, 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  two  Americas 
aboriginal  tongues  display  greater  richness,  more  deli- 
cate gradations,  and  a  wider  scope,  than  from  the  uncul- 
tured condition  in  which  the  people  were  found,  one 
would  be  led  to  suppose.  Until  recently,  no  attention 
has  been  given  by  scholars  to  these  languages ;  now  it  is 
admitted  that  the  more  they  are  studied  the  more  do  new 
beauties  appear,  and  that  in  their  speech  these  nations 
are  in  advance  of  what  their  general  rudeness  in  other 

(551) 


552  GENERAL  EEMAKKS. 

respects  would  imply.  Nor  is  there  that  difference  in 
the  construction  of  words  and  the  scope  of  vocabularies 
between  nations  which  we  .call  civilized  and  those  called 
savage,  which,  from  the  difference  in  their  customs,  in- 
dustries, and  polities  we  should  expect  to  find;  from 
which  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  in  progress,  after  the  essen- 
tial corporeal  requirements  are  satisfied,  the  necessities 
of  the  intellect,  of  which  speech  is  the  very  first,  are 
not  only  met,  but  are  developed  and  gratified  beyond 
what  the  actual  necessities  of  the  body  demand.  That 
is,  speech  or  no  speech  the  body  must  be  fed  or  the 
animal  dies,  but  writh  the  absolute  necessities  of  the 
body  supplied,  the  intellect  and  its  supernumeraries  shoot 
forward  beyond  their  relative  primeval  state,  leaving 
bodily  comforts  far  behind.  Hence,  in  the  very  outset 
of  what  we  call  progress,  we  see  the  intellect  assert- 
ing its  independence  and  developing  those  organs  only 
which  in  their  turn  assist  its  own  development. 
Again,  under  certain  conditions,  two  nations  having  ad- 
vanced materially  and  intellectually  side  by  side  up  to  a 
certain  point,  may  from  extrinsic  or  incidental  causes 
become  widely  separate;  one  may  go  forward  intellectu- 
ally while  the  two  remain  together  substantially ;  one 
may  go  forward  materially  while  mentally  there  is  no 
apparent  difference.  The  causes  which  give  rise  to  these 
strange  inequalities  we  cannot  fathom  until  we  can 
minutely  retrace  the  progress  of  the  people  for  thousands 
of  ages  in  their  history ;  we  only  see,  in  the  many  ex- 
amples round  us,  that  such  is  the  fact.  A  people  well 
advanced  in  art  and  language  may,  from  war  or  famine, 
become  reduced  to  primeval  penury  and  yet  retain  traces 
of  its  former  culture  in  its  speech,  but  by  no  possibility 
can  rude  and  barbaric  speech  suddenly  assume  depth 
and  richness  from  material  prosperity ;  from  all  of  which 
it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  language  is  the  surest  test  of 
the  age  of  a  people,  for  the  mind  cannot  expand  with- 
out an  improvement  in  speech,  and  speech  improves 
only  as  it  is  forced  slowly  to  develop  under  pressure  of 
the  mind. 


KELATIONSHIP  OF  AMERICAN  LANGUAGES.  553 

The  researches  of  the  few  philologists  who  have  given 
American  languages  their  study  have  brought  to  light 
the  following  facts.  First,  that  a  relationship  exists 
among  all  the  tongues  of  the  northern  and  southern  con- 
tinents ;  and  that  while  certain  characteristics  are  found 
in  common  throughout  all  the  languages  of  America, 
these  languages  are  as  a  whole  sufficiently  peculiar  to  be 
distinguishable  from  the  speech  of  all  the  other  races  of 
the  world.  Although  some  of  these  characteristics,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  are  found  in  some  of  the  languages 
of  the  old  world — more  of  them  in  the  Turanian  family 
than  in  any  other, — yet  nowhere  on  the  globe  are  uni- 
formities of  speech  carried  over  vast  areas  and  through 
innumerable  and  diversified  races  with  such  persistency, 
as  in  America;  nowhere  are  tongues  so  dissimilar  and 
yet  so  alike  as  here.  In  this  general  similarity  would 
be  a  strong  ground-work  for  a  theory  of  common  origin, 
either  indigenous  or  foreign,  but  for  the  fact  that  while 
the  languages  of  America  appear  distinct  from  all  other 
languages  of  the  world,  and  do  indeed  in  certain  respects 
bear  a  general  resemblance  one  to  another  throughout, 
yet  at  the  same  time  I  may  safely  assert  that  on  no  other 
continent  can  there  be  found  such  a  multitude  of  distinct 
languages  which  definitely  approach  one  another  in 
scarcely  a  single  word  or  syllable  as  in  America.  It  is 
as  easy  to  prove  from  language  that  the  nations  of  the 
New  World  were  originally  thrown  together  from  differ- 
ent parts,  and  that  by  intermigrations,  uniformity  in 
customs  and  climate,  and  the  lapse  of  long  ages  the 
people  have  become  approximately  brethren  in  speech, 
while  their  incessant  wars  have  at  the  same  time  held 
them  asunder  and  prevented  a  more  particular  uniform- 
ity, as  it  would  be  to  prove  a  common  origin  and  subse- 
quent dispersion;  without  further  light  both  theories  are 
alike  insusceptible  of  proof,  as  are,  indeed,  all  hypoth- 
eses concerning  the  origin  of  the  native  races  of  this  con- 
tinent. Another  fact  which  naturally  becomes  more 
apparent  the  more  we  investigate  the  subject,  particularly 
as  regards  the  nations  inhabiting  the  western  half  of 


554  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

North  America,  is,  that  the  innumerable  diversities  of 
speech  found  among  these  tribes  constantly  tend  to  dis- 
appear, tend  to  range  themselves  under  broad  divisions, 
coalescing  into  groups  and  families,  thereby  establishing 
more  intimate  relationship  between  some,  and  widening 
the  distance  between  others.  The  numbers  of  tongues 
and  dialects,  which  at  the  first  appeared  to  be  legion, 
by  comparison  and  classification  are  constantly  being  re- 
duced. Could  we  go  back,  even  for  a  few  thousand  years, 
and  follow  these  peoples  through  the  turnings  and  twist- 
ings  of  their  nomadic  existence,  we  should  be  surprised 
at  the  rapid  and  complete  changes  constantly  taking  place ; 
we  should  see  throughout  this  broad  continent  the  tide  of 
human  life  ebbing  and  flowing  like  a  mighty  ocean,  surg- 
ing to  and  fro  in  a  perpetual  unrest,  huge  billows  of 
humanity  rolling  over  forest,  plain,  and  mountain,  nations 
driving  out  nations,  absorbing,  or  annihilating,  only  to  be 
themselves  inevitably  driven  out,  absorbed,  or  annihilated ; 
we  should  see  as  a  result  of  this  interminable  mixture, 
languages  constantly  being  modified,  some  wholly  or  in 
part  disappearing,  some  changing  in  a  lesser  degree,  hardly 
one  remaining  the  same  for  any  considerable  length  of 
time.  Even  within  the  short  period  of  our  own  obser- 
vation, between  the  time  of  the  first  arrival  of  Europeans 
and  the  disappearance  of  the  natives,  many  changes  are 
apparent;  while  we  are  gazing  upon  them  we  see  their 
boundaries  oscillate,  like  the  play  of  the  threads  in  net- 
work. On  the  buffalo-hunting  inland  plains  I  have  seen 
aggregations  of  tribes  driven  out  from  their  old  camping- 
ground,  in  some  instances  a  thousand  miles  away,  and 
their  places  occupied  by  others;  in  the  narrower  limits 
of  the  north-western  mountains  I  have  seen  numerous 
tribes  extirpated  by  their  neighbors,  a  remnant  only 
being  kept  as  slaves.  While  such  was  the  normal  con- 
dition of  the  aborigines  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  in 
some  degree  at  least,  the  effect  upon  languages.  Yet 
while  American  languages  are  indeed,  as  Whitney  terms 
them, "the  most  changeful  human  forms  of  speech"  there 
are  yet  found  indestructible  characteristic  elements,  anil- 


LONG  WORDS  IN  AMEEICAN  LANGUAGES.  555 

iations  which  no   circumstances   of  time  or  place  can 
wholly  obliterate. 

One  of  these  characteristic  elements  is  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  long  words.  Even  the  Otomi,  the  only 
language  in  America  which  can  be  called  monosyllabic, 
consisting  as  it  does,  for  the  most  part,  of  etymons  of  one 
syllable,  contains  some  comparatively  long  words.  This 
frequency  of  long  words,  the  method  of  their  construc- 
tion, and  the  ease  with  which  they  are  manufactured 
constitute  a  striking  feature  in  the  system  of  unity  that 
pervades  all  American  languages.  The  native  of  the 
New  World  expresses  in  a  single  word,  accompanied 
perhaps  by  a  grunt  or  a  gesture,  what  a  European  would 
employ  a  whole  sentence  to  elucidate.  He  crowds  the 
greatest  possible  number  of  ideas  into  the  most  compact 
form  possible,  as  though  in  a  multitude  of  words  he 
found  weakness  rather  than  strength, — taking  their  sev- 
eral ideas  by  their  monosyllabic  equivalents,  and  joining 
them  in  one  single  expression.  This  rule  is  universal ; 
and  so  these  languages  become  as  Humboldt  expresses 
it  "  like  different  substances  in  analogous  forms,"  in 
which,  as  Gallatin  observes,  there  is  "an  universal  ten- 
dency to  express  in  the  same  word,  not  only  all  that 
modifies  or  relates  to  the  same  object  or  action  but  both 
the  action  and  the  object,  thus  concentrating  in  a  single 
expression  a  complex  idea  or  several  ideas,  among  which 
there  is  a  natural  connection."  This  linguistic  pecul- 
iarity is  called  by  various  names.  Duponceau  terms  it 
the  polysynthetic  stage  or  system,  Wilhelm  von  Hum- 
boldt the  agglutinative,  Lieber  the  holophrastic ;  others 
the  aggregative,  the  incorporative,  and  so  on.  As  an 
illustration  of  this  peculiarity,  take  the  Aztec  word  for 
letter-postage,  amatlacuilolitquitcatlaxtlahuilli,  which  in- 
terpreted literally  signifies,  'the  payment  received  for 
carrying  a  paper  on  which  something  is  written.'  The 
Cherokees  go  yet  further  and  express  a  whole  sen- 
tence in  a  single  word — a  long  one  it  is  true,  but  yet 
one  word — winitawtigeginaUskawlungtanawnelitisesti  which 
translated  forms  the  sentence,  'they  will  by  that  time 


556  GENEEAL  REMARKS. 

have  nearly  finished  granting  favors  from  a  distance  to 
thee  and  me.'  Other  peculiarities  common  to  all  Amer- 
ican languages  might  be  mentioned,  such  as  reduplica- 
tions, or  a  repetition  of  the  same  syllable  to  express 
plurals;  the  use  of  frequentatives  and  duals;  the  appli- 
cation of  gender  to  the  third  person  of  the  verb;  the 
direct  conversion  of  nouns,  substantive  and  adjective, 
into  verbs,  and  their  conjugation  as  such ;  peculiar  gen- 
eric distinctions  arising  from  a  separation  of  animate 
from  inanimate  beings,  and  the  like. 

The  multiplicity  of  tongues,  even  within  compar- 
atively narrow  areas,  rendered  the  adoption  of  some  sort 
of  universal  language  absolutely  necessary.  This  in- 
ternational language  in  America  is  for  the  most  part 
confined  to  gestures,  and  nowhere  has  gesture-language 
attained  a  higher  degree  of  perfection  than  here;  and 
what  is  most  remarkable,  the  same  representatives  are 
employed  from  Alaska  to  Mexico  and  even  in  South 
America.  Thus  each  tribe  has  a  certain  gesture  to  in- 
dicate its  name,  which  is  understood  by  all  others.  A 
Flathead  will  make  his  tribe  known  by  placing  his  hand 
upon  his  head ;  a  Crow  by  imitating  the  flapping  of  the 
wings  of  a  bird;  aNezPerce  by  pointing  with  his  linger 
through  his  nose,  and  so  on.  Fire  is  generally  indicated 
by  blowing  followed  by  a  pretended  warming  of  the 
hands,  water  by  a  pretended  scooping  up  and  drinking, 
trade  or  exchange  by  crossing  the  fore  fingers,  a  certain 
gesture  being  fixed  for  everything  necessary  to  carry  on 
a  conversation.  Besides  this  natural  gesture-language 
there  is  found  in  various  parts  an  intertribal  jargon 
composed  of  words  chosen  to  fit  emergencies,  from  the 
speech  of  the  several  neighboring  nations;  the  words 
being  altered,  if  necessary,  in  construction  or  pronuncia- 
tion to  suit  all.  Thus  in  the  valley  of  the  Yukon  we  find 
the  Slave  jargon,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  the. 
Chinook  jargon,  which  latter  arose  originally,  not  as  is 
generally  supposed  conventionally  between  the  French- 
Canadian  and  English  trappers  and  the  natives  of  the 
north-west  solely  for  purposes  of  trade,  but  which  origi- 


LANGUAGES  OF  THE  PACIFIC  STATES.  557 

natecl  among  the  tribes  themselves  spontaneously  and 
before  the  advent  of  Europeans,  though  greatly  modified 
and  extended  by  subsequent  European  intercourse. 
Thus  has  been  laid,  no  doubt,  the  foundation  of  many 
permanent  languages  and  dialects;  and  thus  we  may 
easily  perceive  the  powerful  and  continued  effect  of  one 
language  upon  another. 

As  to  the  number  of  languages  in  America  much  dif- 
ference of  opinion  exists.  Hervas,  before  half  the 
country  was  discovered,  felt  justified  in  classifying  them 
all  under  seven  families,  while  others  find,  on  the  Pacific 
side  of  the  northern  continent  alone,  over  six  hundred 
languages  which  thus  far  refuse  to  affiliate.  The  differ- 
ent dialects  are  countless ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding  the 
formidable  array  of  names  which  I  have  gathered  at  the 
end  of  this  chapter,  probably  not  one- fourth  of  their  real 
number  are  or  ever  will  be  known  to  us. 

Many  of  the  Pacific  States'  languages  bear  resem- 
blances to  one  another,  and  may  therefore  be  brought 
more  or  less  under  groups  and  classes.  These  languages, 
however,  resemble  one  another  too  slightly  to  be  called 
dialects,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  no  affiliations  of 
any  kind  can  be  traced.  But  four  great  languages  are 
found  within  our  territory,  or,  if  we  exclude  the  Eskimo, 
which  is  not  properly  an  American  language,  there  re- 
main but  three,  the  Tinneh,  the  Aztec,  and  the  Maya. 
Of  the  lesser  tongues  there  are  many  more,  as  will  ap- 
pear further  on.  The  Eskimos  skirt  the  shores  of  the 
north  polar  ocean  and  belong  more  to  the  old  world  than 
to  the  new.  The  Tinneh,  Athabasca,  or  Chepewyan  family 
covers  the  northern  end  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range, 
sending  its  branches  in  every  direction,  into  Alaska, 
British  Columbia,  British  America,  Washington,  Oregon, 
California,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Mexico.  The  Aztec 
language,  whose  seat  is  Central  Mexico,  is  found  also  in 
Nicaragua  and  other  parts  of  Central  America.  Traces 
moreover  appear  in  some  parts  of  Sonora,  Sinaloa, 
Durango,  Chihuahua,  Texas,  Arizona,  California,  Utah, 


558  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

Nevada,  Idaho,  Montana,  and  Oregon.  The  Maya  is  the 
chief  Central  American  tongue,  but  traces  of  it  may  be 
found  as  well  in  Mexico.  Thus  we  see  that  while  the 
cradle  of  the  Tinneh  tongue  appears  to  be  in  the  centre  of 
British  North  America,  its  dialects  extend  westward  and 
southward,  lessening  in  intensity  the  further  they  are  re- 
moved from  the  hypothetical  original  centre,  suddenly 
dying  out  in  some  directions,  fading  gradually  away  in 
others,  and  breaking  out  at  disconnected  intervals  in 
others.  So  with  the  Aztec  language,  whose  primitive 
centre,  so  far  as  present  appearances  go,  was  the  valley  of 
Mexico;  we  find  it  extending  south  along  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific  as  far  as  Nicaragua,  while  northward  its  traces 
grow  fainter  and  fainter  until  it  disappears.  And  so  it 
is  with  the  Maya,  which,  covering  as  it  does  a  less  extent 
of  territory,  is  more  distinctly  marked  and  consequently 
more  easily  followed. 

In  classifying  the  languages  of  the  Pacific  States, 
the  marks  of  identification  vary  with  different  families. 
Thus  the  linguistic  affiliations  of  the  Tinneh  family  are 
founded  not  so  much  on  certain  recurring  grammatical 
rules,  as  on  the  number  of  important  words  occurring 
under  the  same  or  slightly  altered  form.  In  the  Aztec 
language  the  reverse  of  this  is  true ;  for  although  to  some 
extent,  in  the  establishing  of  relationships,  we  are 
governed  by  verbal  similarities,  yet  we  also  find  positive 
grammatical  rules  which  carry  with  them  much  more 
weight  than  mere  word  likenesses. 

For  example,  in  the  north,  wherever  Aztec  traces  are 
found,  the  Aztec  substantive  endings  tl  and  tli  are  either 
abreviated  or  changed  according  to  a  regular  sytem  into 
2i,  te,  t,  de,  re,  &£,  he,  ca,  fo,  ri.  Aztec  numerals  are  used 
by  these  northern  nations, but  in  greatly  modified  forms; 
personal  pronouns  are  there  found  but  little  changed, 
while  demonstrative,  interrogative,  and  indefinite  pro- 
nouns likewise  show  signs  of  Aztec  origin.  The  ending 
ame,  which,  attached  to  the  verb,  designates  the  person 
acting,  can  be  plainly  traced;  while  among  these  same 
northern  nations  of  which  I  am  speaking,  is  found  that 


INLAND  AND  COAST  LANGUAGES.  559 


t— 7 


certain  system  of  LautverscMebung  or  sound-shunting 
originally  discovered  by  Grimm  in  the  Indo-Germanic 
family,  and  by  Professor  Max  Miiller  called  Grimm's 
law. 

In  the  pursuance  of  this  investigation  I  noticed  a 
two-fold  curiosity  which  may  be  worthy  of  mention. 
Throughout  the  great  Northwest,  as  well  in  most  of  the 
many  Tinneh  vocabularies  as  elsewhere,  is  found  the 
Aztec  word  for  stone,  tetl,  sometimes  slightly  changed 
but  always  recognizable,  and  to  which  the  same  meaning 
is  invariably  attached;  while  on  the  other  hand  the 

»/ 

Tinneh  word  for  fire,  cun,  or  coon,  appears  in  like  manner 
in  several  of  the  Mexican  languages,  and  I  even  noticed 
it  in  the  vocabulary  of  a  Honduras  nation.  This 
may  be  purely  accidental,  but  both  being  important 
words  I  thought  best  to  draw  attention  to  the  fact. 

The  larger  linguistic  families  are  for  the  most  part 
found  inland,  while  along  the  sea-shore  the  speech  of  the 
people  is  broken  into  innumerable  fragments.  Particu- 
larly is  this  the  case  along  the  shores  of  the  Northwest. 
South  of  Acapulco,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Aztec  tongue 
holds  the  seaboard  for  some  distance ;  but  again  farther 
south,  as  well  as  on  the  gulf  coast,  there  is  found  a 
great  diversity  in  languages  and  dialects.  In  California 
the  confusion  becomes  interminable ;  as  if  Babel-builders 
from  every  quarter  of  the  earth  had  here  met  to  the 
eternal  confounding  of  all;  yet  there  are  linguistic 
families  even  in  California,  principally  in  the  northern 
part.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  Malays,  Chinese, 
or  Japanese,  or  all  of  them,  did  at  some  time  appear  in 
what  is  now  North  America,  in  such  numbers  as  materially 
to  influence  language,  but  hitherto  no  Asiatic  nor  European 
tongue,  excepting  always  the  Eskimo,  has  been  found 
in  America ;  nor  have  affinities  with  any  other  language 
of  the  world  been  discovered  sufficiently  marked  to 
warrant  the  claim  of  relationship.  Theorizers  enough 
there  have  been  and  will  be ;  for  centuries  to  come  half- 
fledged  scientists,  ignorant  of  what  others  have  done  or 
rather  have  failed  to  do,  will  not  cease  to  bring  forward 


560  GENERAL  REMARKS. 

wonderful  conceptions,  striking  analogies;  will  not  cease 
to  speculate,  linguistically,  ethnologically,  cosmograph- 
ically  and  otherwise  to  their  own  satisfaction  and  to  the 
confusion  of  their  readers.  The  absurdity  of  these  spec- 
ulations is  apparent  to  all  but  the  speculator.  Xo 
sooner  is  a  monosyllabic  language,  the  Otomi,  discovered 
in  America  than  up  rises  a  champion,  Seuor  Najera, 
claiming  the  distinction  for  the  Chinese,  and  with  no 
other  result  than  to  establish  both  as  monosyllabic,  which 
was  well  enough  known  before.  So  the  Abbe  Brasseur 
de  Bourbourg,  who  has  given  the  subject  more  years  of 
study  and  more  pages  of  printed  matter  than  any  other 
writer,  unless  it  be  the  half-crazed  Lord  Kingsborough, 
first  attempts  to  prove  that  the  Maya  languages  are  de- 
rived from  the  Latin,  Greek,  English,  German,  Scandi- 
navian, or  other  Aryan  tongues;  then  that  all  these 
languages  are  but  offshoots  from  the  Maya  itself,  which 
is  the  only  true  primeval  language.  So  much  for  in- 
temperate speculation,  which,  whether  learned  or  shallow, 
too  often  originates  in  doubt  and  ends  in  obscurity.  In 
all  these  hypotheses,  argument  assumes  the  form  of 
analogies  drawn  between  the  peoples  with  whom  a  re- 
lationship is  attempted  to  be  established, — no  difficult 
matter,  truly,  when  we  consider  that  all  mankind  are 
formed  on  one  model,  and  that  innumerable  similarities 
must  of  necessity  exist  among  all  the  races  of  the  globe. 
To  show  the  futility  of  such  attempts,  let  me  give  a 
few  words,  analogous  both  in  signification  and  sound, 
selected  from  American,  European,  Asiatic,  and  other 
languages,  between  which  it  is  now  well  established  that 
no  relationship  exists.  For  the  German  ja  we  have  the 
Shasta  ya ;  for  komm,  the  Cornanche  kim ;  for  Kopf,  the 
Cahita  coba,  for  weinen,  the  Cora  vyeine;  for  ihun,  the 
Tepehuana  duni ;  for  nichts,  nein,  the  Chinook  nixt,  nix. 
For  the  Greek  x6pa.Z,  there  is  the  Tarahumara  colatschi; 
for  efJLOL^ov,  juaSeiv,  the  Cora  muate ;  foryvrrf,  the  Cahita 
cuna.  For  the  Latin  hie,  vas,  we  have  the  Tepehuana 
hie,  vase ;  for  mucor,  the  Cora  mucuare ;  for  lingua,  the 
Moqui  linga;  for  vattis,  the  Kalapooya  wattdh;  for  toga, 


ACCIDENTAL  WOED-SIMILARITIES.  561 

manus,  the  Kenai  togaai,  man.  For  the  French  c#sser,we 
find  the  Tarahumara  cassmaler ;  for  tdtonner,  the  Tepe- 
huana  tatame.  For  the  Spanish  hueco,  the  Tarahumara 
hoco;  for  tuetano,  the  Cora  tdtana.  For  the  Italian  cosi, 
the  Tarahumara  cossi;  for  the  Arabic  «c/iar,the  Tarahu- 
mara ajare;  for  the  Hawaiian  ^>o,  the  Sekumne  po  (night). 

For  the  Sanscrit  da,  there  is  the  Cora  ta  (give) ;  for  eke, 
the  Miztec  ec  (one) ;  for  md,  the  Tepehuana  mai  (not)  and 
the  Maya  ma  (no) ;  for  masd  (month),  the  Pima  mahsa 
(moon) ;  fortschandra  (moon),  the  Kenai  tscfiane  (moon) ; 
for  pada  (foot),  the  Sekumne  podo  (leg);  for  kamd 
(love),  the  Shoshone  kamakh  (to  love) ;  for  pd,  the  Kizh 
paa  (to  drink).  For  the  Malay  tdna,  we  have  the 
Tepehuana  tani  (to  ask) ;  for  hurip,  tcibdh,  the  Cora  huri 
(to  live) ,  tdbd  (to  beat) ;  for  homah,  the  Shasta  oma 
(house),  and  so  on. 

These  examples  I  could  increase  indefinitely  and  show 
striking  similarities  in  some  few  words  between  almost 
any  two  languages  of  the  world.  When  there  are  enough 
of  them  similar  in  sound  and  signification  in  any  two 
tongues  to  constitute  a  rule  rather  than  exceptions,  such 
languages  are  said  to  be  related ;  but  where,  as  in  the 
above-cited  instances,  these  similarities  are  merely  ac- 
cidental, to  prove  them  related  would  prove  too  much, 
for  then  all  the  languages  of  the  earth  might  be  said  to 
be  related. 

In  treating  of  the  languages  of  the  Pacific  States, 
commencing  with  those  of  the  north  and  proceeding  south- 
ward, I  make  it  a  rule  to  follow  them  wherever  they 
lead,  without  restricting  myself  to  place  or  nation.  One 
nation  may  speak  two  languages;  the  same  language 
may  be  spoken  by  a  dozen  nations,  and  if  the  evidence 
is  such  as  to  imply  the  existence  of  the  same  language, 
or  traces  of  it,  in  Alaska  and  in  Sonora,  I  can  do  no 
less  than  step  from  one  place  to  the  other  in  speaking  of 
it.  Besides  the  names  and  localities  of  languages  and 
linguistic  families,  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  some  idea  of 
their  several  peculiar  characteristics,  their  grammatical 
construction,  with  such  specimens  of  each  as  will  enable 


VOL.  III. 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


the  student  to  make  comparisons  and  draw  inferences. 
In  the  following  table  I  have  attempted  a  classification 
of  these  languages;  but  in  some  instances,  from  the  lack 
of  vocabularies  taken  before  the  intermixtures  that 
followed  the  advent  of  Europeans,  any  classification  can 
be  but  approximative. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  ABORIGINAL  LANGUAGES  OF 
THE  PACIFIC  STATES. 

'  Naggeuktormute 
Kittear 
Kangrnali-Innuin 

NunXg^un 
Kitegue 

'  Malemute 

Pashtolik 

( Kuskoquigmute. 


usAoa 

•         '  N                        c 

;  {'§£ 

.ft  ^n 

Northern 
Eskimo 

Jill    9W 

^JJJll 

u£>  Silt  , 

'd     8 

Eskimo 

Southern 

Eskimo 

or 

JJOliO  9ia  J319 

Koniagan 

rl  y^vB  iti  HO 

Q  nmft  'i^ 

1/7  Jiid  ;i)A 

1 

Aleut  •; 

1 

;  uoJ'i>7O'iq  blijow  .Ij 

a 

iiigitii  iiixi,- 

- 

N 

^ 

Thlinkeet 

» 

. 

<'i<[  bin 

Y£ 

filt)dj  v/o; 

an 

S3 

adi  jaaa 

90 

p\f*'«     p/JOT 

9 

jnm:  I 

9llt   tO   S£ 

of' 

''.     Ill 

yni. 
Tinneh 

Eastern 
.   Division 

TJi.t;1-. 

to 

Ut»M  dff1 

rg  oJ  S.to7'.« 

Its 

>iijs.rarn.r. 

->iJsr 

Ql 

larto  liiw  set  . 

{jxey  lo  an: 

Magemute 

Agulniute 

Kejataigmute 

Aglegmute 

Chugatsch 

Kadiak 

• 


•JAtkha 

rv   i     *   * 

f  Yakutat 
Chilkat 
Hoodsinoo 
Takoo 
Auk 

itka 
Eeliknoo 

iSngass 

f  Sawessaw-tinneh  or  Chepewyan 
Tantsawhoot-tinueh  or  Coppermine  River 
Horn  Mountain 
Beaver 

Thlingcha-tinneh  or  Dog-Rib 
Kawcho-tinneh  or  Hare 
Ambawta\vhoot-tinneh  or  Sheep  , 
Sarsis  or  Sursees 

Tsilluwdawhoot-tinneh  or  Brush-wood     ; 
Nagailer 

Slouacuss-tinneh 
Rocky  Mountain 
Edchawtawoot-ti  nneh 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


5C3 


f  Degothi-kntchinorLoucheux 
Vanta-kutchin 
Natche-kutchin 

Kukuth-kutchin 

Kutchin 

Tutchone-kutchin 
Tathzey-kutchin 
Han-kutchin 

Western 

Artez-kutchhi 

Division 

Kutcha-kutchin 

[  Tenan-kutchin 

4'jj 

VL 
,^ 

Kenai     - 

'  Junakachotana 
Jugelnut 
Ingalik 
Inkalit 
Kenai 

Ugalenz 
Atnah  or  Nehanne 
Koltschane 

'  Tautm  or  Talkotin 

Tsilkotin  or  Chilkotin 

Naskotin 

Thetliotin 

Tacully 

Tsatsnotin 
Nulaautin 

• 

or 
Carrier 

Ntshaautin 
Natliautin 

aa 

Nikozliautin 

§ 

Tatshiautin 

EBOEE 

Tinneh 

Central 
Division 

Babine 
Sicauiii 

8 

£3 

£ 

Tlatskanai 

~. 

Qualhioqua 

Umpqua 

. 

f  Lassies 

>r 

1  Wilacki 

TT        i,    J  Hayuaggi 
Hoopah   1  Tolewah 

Tahahteen 

^Siah 

() 

Apache  proper 
Tonto 

Chiricagui 
Gileno 

Mirnbreno  ' 

Faraon 

ti 

Mescalero 

''•  Southern 

Llauero 

Division 

Apaches   i  Lipan 

I 

Vaquero 

J* 

Xicurilla 

Natage 

Pifialeno 

Coyotero 

Tejua 

Coppermine 

Navajo 

564 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


Haidah . 


Nass 


Bellacoola 
Chimsyaii 


Nootka    . 


Haidah 
Kaiganie 

Nass 

Sebassa 

Hailtza 


Nootka 

Quackoll 

Cowichin 

Tlaoquatch 

Uclenu 

Quane 

Quactoe 

Koskiemo 

-Quatsino 

Kycucut 

Aitizztiht 

Chicklezaht 

Ahazaht 

Eshquaht 

Klaizzaht 

Nitinaht 

Toqtiaht 

Seshaht 

Clayoquot 

Patcheena 

Soke 

Nimkish 

Wickinninish 

Sougkie 

Sanetch 

Comux 

Noosdalum 

Kwantlum 

Teet 

Nanaimo 

Taculta 

Ucleta 

Neculta 

Queehaniculta 

Newittee 

Saukaulutuck 

Makah 

Newchemass 

Shimiahmoo 

Nooksak 

Sarnish 

Skagit 

Snohoinish 

Chimakuin 

Clallam 

Toanhooch 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


565 


Salish 


H    , 

a  -i 
b 

M 


Kootenai 


Saliaptin 


Waiilatpu. 


Salish  proper  or  Flathead 

Lummi 

Clallam 

Kullespelm  or  Pend  d'Oreilles 

Shushwap 

Spokane 

Soaiatlpi 

Okauagan  

Skitsuish,  or  Coeur  d'Alene 

Pisquouse 

Cowlitz 

Nsietshaw 


Chehalis. 


[  Nisqually 


f  Sahaptin  proper  or  Nez  Perce 

Walla  Walla 

Palouse 
i  Yakima 

Kliketat 
[  Tairtla 

j  Cayuse 
1  Mollale 


|  Rngomenei 
•<  Snpoilschi 
( Syk'eszilni 

St  lakam 


I  Chehalis  proper 
-<  Quaiantl 
( Queniauitl 


Chinook. 


Chinook 
Wakiakum 
Cathlamet 
Clatsop 
Mnltnomah 
Skilloot 
LWatlala 


Yamkally 
Calapooya 
Chinook  Jargon 


Tototin 
Yakon 

!Lntnami  or  Klamath 
Modoc 
Copah 


Shasta. 


{Shasta 
Palaik 
Watsahewah 


Euroc 

Cahroc 

Oppegach 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


(Yuka 
Ynka. |Tahtoo 

( Wapo  or  Ashocbemie    . 

\       v 


Pataway  or 
Weitspeck 


Veeard 
Weeyot 
Wishosk 


Ehnek  or  Pelitsik 

Howteteoh 

Nabiltse 

Patawat 

Chillulah 

Wheelcutta 

Kailta 

Chimalaquai 


' 


^ 

Pomo 


Cushna 

Kinkla 

Yuba 

Sonoma 

Oleepa 

Yoloy  or  Yolo 

Nemshous 

Colusa 

Bashonee 

Veshanack 

Meidoo 

Neeshenam 


Gallinomero 

Masullamagoon 

Gualala 

Matole 

Kulanapo 

Sanel 

Yonios 

Choweshak 

Batemdakaie 

Chocuyem 

Olamentke 

Kainamare 

Chwachamaju    ' 

•• 
I 


• 


no§T'. 


'  Ochecamne 

• 

Seronskumne 

Chupumne 

Omochunine 

Secumne 

Sacramento 
Valley 
Languages 

Eastern 
Dialects 

Walagumne 
Cosumne 
Sololumne 

Turealnnine 

Saywamine 

Newichumne 
Matchemne 
Sagayayumne 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


567 


E 

.stem    JMuthelemne 

D 

ialects   j  kop«tatuinuf 

f  Puzlumne 

Sacramento 
Valley 
Languages        ^ 

Yasumne 
Pujuiii 
Sekumne 
estern  j  Kisky 

D 

ialects      Yalesumne 

Huk 

Yukal 

Tsamak 

. 

Nemshav 

Napobatin 

f  Napa 

(Myacoma 

Galayomane 

Caymus 

Uluca 

Suscol 

Mustitul 

Tulkay 

Suisun 

Karquines 

Tomales 

a 

Lekatuit 

Bq-: 

Petaluma 

Guiluco 

Tulare 

Hawhaw 

, 

Coconoon 

Yocut 

Matalan 

Salse 
Quirote 

If.': 

Olhone 

Runsien 

Eslene 

Ismuracan 

od; 

Aspianaque 

Sakhone 

Chalone 

Katleudaruca 

Poytoqui 

Mutsun 
Thamien 

Chowchilla 

Meewoc 
Tatche 
San  Miguel 

Santa  Cruz 

("  Shoshone 

Shoshone  

I  Wihinasht 

1  Bannack 

\  Shoshokee 

B 

i"  9 


568 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


Utah. 


Utah 
Uiutaute 
Goshute 
Piute 
Pahute 
Paiulee 
Washoe 
Sampitche 
[  Mono 


Comanche 

Moqui 

Kizh 

Netela 

Kechi 

Chemehuevi 

Cahuillo 


Queres. 


Tegua  or  Tezuque 

Picons 

Jemez 

Zufii 


i  Kiwomi 
•J  Cochitemi 
( Aeonia 


Yuma.. 


Chevet 

Cajuenche 
Tamajab 

Beneme 

Covaji 

Noche 


Cochimi 


Guaicuri 


Pericu 


Yuma 
Maricopa 
Cuchan 
Mojave 
Diegeno 
Yampais 
^Yavipais 


j  Ca.juenche 
j  Jalliquamai 


j  Tecuicbo 
j  Teniqueche 


( Laymon 
Ilka 

f  Cora 
I  Monqui 
|  Didiu 

ILiyue 
Edu 
Uchitie 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


569 


Piraa  Alto  . 
Pima  Bajo 


J  Papago 
j  Sobaipuris 


Opata 


Eudeve 
Teguis 
Teguima 
Coguinachie 
-(  Batnca 
Salmaripa 
Himeri 
Guazaba 
Jova 

!Mayo 
Yaqui 
Tehueco 


Cahita 


Zoe 

Guazave 

Batuca 

Aibino 

Ocoroni 

Vocaregui 

Zuaque 

Comoporis 

Ahome 

Mocorito 

Petatlan 

Huite 

Ore 

Macoyahui 

Tauro 

Troea 

Nio 

Cahuimeto 

Tepave 

Ohuero 

Chicorata 

Basopa 


( Varogio 

Tarahumara....  -|  Guazapare 
( Pachera 

Concho 

Toboso 

Jiilime 

Piro 

Suma 

Chinarra 

Irritilia 

Tejano 

Tiibar 


Tepehuana 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 


Acaxee  - 

Topia 
Sabaibo           grtw 

-  oiiA  c 

3 

Xixime 

1 

Zacatec 

cmi1! 

Cazcane 

>* 

Mazapile 

p        T- 

ETHEE] 

Huitcole 
Guachichile 
Colotlan     , 

estv 

g 

Tlaxomultec 
Tecuexe 
Tepecano 

BOH 

fiqb; 
h 

-                                                    fur       i.    • 

(  Muutzicat 

1 

(  Cora,  or  Ateakari 
Aztec,  Mexican,  or  Nahuatl 

•      .  .         ...J3r 

- 

1 

Otomi  

j  Otomi 
[  Mazahua 

B 

B 

Fame 
Meco,  or  Serrano 

j 

Yue 

ia  • 

o 

Yeme 
Olive 
Xanambre 
Fisone 

&B'"  • 

001 

Bnoq 

9C 

Tamaulipec 

oil  • 

an' 

Tarasco 

Matlaltzinca 

Ocuiltec 

"ujds 

' 

'  Tepuzcnlano 

Yangiiistlan 

Miztec  baja 
Miztec  alta 
Cuixlahuac 

oiatn 

OIQLIffO 

Miztec  • 

Tlaxiaco 

Cuilapa 
Mictlantongo 

<5:te  " 

§ 

Tanaazulapa 

i 

Xaltepec                ^^ 

a. 

Chocho,  or  Chuchone 

§ 

Amusgo 

B 

Mazatec 

P 

Cuicatec 

• 

o 

Chatiuo 

BQ 

Tlapanec 

Chinantec 

&m!s3 

Popoluca 

BTJ 

fii! 

[Zaachilla 

Ocotlan 

Etla 

Netzicho 

AXU0J 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES.  571 


|  Serrano  de  Itztepec 

Zauotec  j  Serrano  de  Cajonos 

^ap°tec TBeniXono  a.v 

[  Serrano  de  Miahuatlan  jjniri 


aoT 


flomoM 

Mije  erascp.crjif 

Huave 


Huastec 


Tetikilhati 

Chakalmati 

Ipapana 

Tatimolo,  or  Naolingo 

Bfiiio-tO 


Totonac 
Chiapanec 

S3P  TSS 

ISSI611 

Mam 

Achie 

Guatemaltec 

Cuettac 

Hhirichota 

Pokonchi 

Caechicolchi  jujwfi-roV 

Tlacacebastla  IB<j 

Apay 

Poton 

Taulepa 

Ulna 

Quiche 

Cakchiquel 

Zutugil 

Chord 

Alaguilac 

Caichi 

Ixil 

Zoque 

Coxoh 

Chafiabal 

Choi 

Uzpantec 

Aguacatec 

Quechi 

Maya 


Carib 
Mosquito 

•^°ya  flgfiiiBifilO 

Towka  ,ftj:0A 

SPCO  t~\ 

Valiente 

Rama 

Cookra 

Woolwa 

Toonglas 


572  CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES. 

Lenca 

Smoo 

Teguca 

Albatuina 

Jara 

Toa 

Gaula 

Motuca 

Fansasma 

Sambo 


Coribici 
Chorotega 
Chontal 
Orotina 
6  ( 


3  Blanco 

Tiribi 
Talamanca 
Chiripo 
Guatuso 


Nicoya 

Cerebaro 

Chiriqui 

Burica 

Veragua 

Paris 

Escoria 

Biruqueta 

Nata 

Urraca 

Chiru 

Cham* 

Chicacotra 

Sangaua 

Guarara 

Cutara 

Panama 

Chuchura 

Chagre 

Chepo 

Cueba 

Quarecua 

Chiape 

Ponca 

Pocora 

Zuuianama 

Coiba 

Ponca 

Chitarraga 

Acla 

Careta 

Darien 

Abieiba 

Abenamechey 

Dabaiba 

Bird 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  LANGUAGES.  573 


Tule 

Cholo 

Doracho 

Cimarron 

Bayauo 

Ciuiarron 

Manzanillo,  or  San  Bias 

Maudiiigo 

Cuna 

Cunacuna 

Choco 

Caomane 

Uraba 

Idiba 

Paya 

Goajiro 

Motilone 

Guaineta 

Cocina 


HUG 


CHAPTER  II. 

HYPERBOREAN   LANGUAGES. 

DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  ESKIMO  AND  AMERICAN — ESKIMO  PRONUNCIATION  AND 
DECLENSION — DIALECTS  OP  THE  KONIAGAS  AND  ALEUTS — LANGUAGE  OF 
THE  THLINKEETS — HYPOTHETICAL  AFFINITIES — THE  TINNEH  FAMILY  AND 
ITS  DIALECTS — EASTEEN,  WESTERN,  CENTRAL,  AND  SOUTHERN  DIVISIONS — 
CHEPEWYAN  DECLENSION — ORATOEICAL  DISPLAY  IN  THE  SPEECH  OF  THE 
KUTCHINS— DIALECTS  OF  THE  ATNAHS  AND  UGALENZES  COMPARED — SPE- 
CIMEN OP  THE  KOLTSHANE  TONGUE — TACULLY  GUTTURALS — HOOPAH 

VOCABULARY — APACHE  DIALECTS — LIPAN  LORD'S  PRAYER — NAVAJO  WORDS 
— COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY  OF  THE  TINNEH  FAMILY. 

The  national  and  tribal  distinctions  given  in  the  first 
volume  of  this  work  will,  for  the  most  part,  serve  as 
divisions  for  languages  and  dialects ;  I  shall  not  therefore 
repeat  here  the  names  and  boundaries  before  mentioned, 
except  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  in  speaking  of  lan- 
guages alone.  As  a  rule  those  physical  and  social  dis- 
tinctions which  indicate  severalness  among  peoples,  are 
followed,  if  indeed  they  are  not  governed  by  the  several- 
ness  of  dialects,  that  is,  the  diversities  of  language  operate 
as  powerfully  as  the  aspects  of  nature  or  any  other  causes, 
in  separating  mankind  into  tribes  and  nations;  hence  it 
is  that  in  the  different  divisions  of  humanity  are  found 
different  dialects,  and  between  dialects  physical  and 
geographical  divisions.1 

As  I  have  said  in  another  place  the  Eskimos  are 
the  anomalous  race  of  the  New  World;  and  this  is  no 

1  See  vol.  i.,  p.  42  et  seq.  of  this  work. 

(574) 


LANGUAGES  ON  THE  AECTIC  'SEABOARD.  7,75 

less  true  in  their  language  than  in  their  physical  charac- 
teristics. Obviously  they  are  a  polar  people  rather  than 
mi  American  or  an  Asiatic  people.2  They  cling  to  the 
seaboard;  and  while  the  distinction  between  them  and 
the  inland  American  is  clearly  drawn,  as  we  descend  the 
strait  and  sea  of  Bering,  cross  "-the:  .Alaskan  peninsula 
and  follow  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  eastward  and  south- 
ward, gradually  the  Arctic  dialect  merges  into  that  of 
the  American  proper.  In  our  Hyperborean  group,  whosfe 
southern  bound  is  the  fifty-fifth  parallel,  the  northern 
seaboard  part  is  occupied  wholly  by  Eskimos,  the  southern 
by  a  people  called  by  some  Eskimos  and  by  others  Koni- 
agas,  while  further  on  the  graduation  is  so  complete  and 
the  transition  from  one  to  the  other  so  imperceptible  that 
it  is  often  difficult  to  determine  which  are  Indians  and 
which  Eskimos.  In  treating  of  their  manners  and 
customs,  I  separated  the  littoral  Alaskans  into  two  di- 
visions, calling  them  Eskimos  and  Koniagas,  but  in  their 
languages  and  dialects  I-  shall  speak  of  them  as  one. 
No  philologist  familiar  with  the  whole  territory  has 
attempted  to  classify  these  Hyperborean  tongues;  differ- 
ent writers  refer  the  languages  of  all  to  such  particular 
parts  as  they  happen  to  be  familiar  with.  Thus  the 
Russian  priest  Veniaminoif  divides  the  Eskimo  language 
into  six  dialects,  all  belonging  to  the  Koniagas;  on' the 

?,n  agnir'jnsf 

2  '  Ces  deux  langues. .  .'.sont  absolurneiit  la  meme  que  celle  des  Vogules, 
habitants  de  la  Tartarie,  et  la  rnenie  qu$  celle  des  Lapons.'  'Monglaue,  in 
Afdiq.Mex.,  torn.  i.,div.  i.,  p.  05.  'Los  Esquimaux  d'Amerique  et  les  Tohoutchis 
do  I'extrcmite  nord  de  1'Asie  orieiitale. . .  .il  o'st  niso  de  rec6una!tre  qu'ils 
appartiennent  a  uue  uieine  fainille-.'  Mo/ras,  Etjdor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  330.  'Thei 
whole  arctic  shore  of  North  America  is  possessed  by  the  Esquimaux  and  Green- 
landers,  who  speak  an  original  tongue 'called  Karalit.'  MoCulloch's  Hestarhes 
in  Amer.,  p.  36.  '  The  Arctic  region  is  mainly  covered  by  dialects  of  a  single 
language— the  Eskimo.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil., vol.  viii.,  p.  384.  'DerAmeri- 
kanische  Sprachtypus,  die  Eskimo-Sprache,  reicht  hinuber  nach  A'sion.' 
liasr/nnann,  Spuren  der  Aztek  Spr.,  p.  711.  '  Alle  Eskimos  sprechen  im 
Wesentlichen  dieselbe  Sprache.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,^.  280.  '  The  language 
of  the  Western  Esquimaux  so  nearly  resembles  that  of  the  tribes  to  the 
eastward.'  Beechey's  Voyage,  TO!.,  ii.,  p.  311.  Sauer's  Billmys'  Ex.,  p.  245. 
JCotzebue's  Voyage,  vol.  iii.,  p.  314;  Fr'anklvn's  Ndr.,  vol.  i.,  p.  30;  Dease  and 
Simpson,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  222.  Seemann'sVoy.  Herald, 
Vol.  ii.,  p.  08.  But  Vater  does  not  believe  that  the  language  extends  across 
to  Asia.  '  Dass  sich  wohl  ein  Einfluss  der  Eskimo-Sprache,  aber  nicht 
diese  selbst  iiber  die  zwischen  Asieii  and  Amerika  liegenden  Inseln  erstreckt.* 
Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  458,  426. 


576  HYPEKBOKEAN  LANGUAGES. 

Kadiak  Islands  and  the  adjacent  territory.  The  fact 
is  Veniaminoff  dwelt  in  southern  Alaska  and  in  the 
Aleutian  Isles,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  great  inland 
nations  to  the  north  and  west.  To  the  people  of  Kadiak 
he  gives  two  dialects,  a  northern  and  a  -southern,  and 
carries  the  same  language  over  to  the  main  land  adjacent.3 
The  Russian  explorer  Sagoskin,  to  the  Chnagmute 
dialect  of  Veniaminoff,  unites  the  Kwichpagmute  and 
Kuskoquigmute  under  the  collective  name  of  Kangjulit, 
of  which  with  the  Kadiak  he  makes  a  comparative  vocabu- 
lary establishing  their  identity.4  In  like  manner  Baer 
classifies  these  northern  languages,  but  confines  himself 
almost  exclusively  to  the  coast  above- Kadiak  Island.5 

Kotzebue  says  that  a  dialect  of  this  same  language  is 
spoken  by  the  natives  of  St  Lawrence  Island.6  Yet  if 
we  may  believe  Mr  Seemann,  all  these  dialects  are  essen- 
tially different.  The  Eskimo  language,  he  writes,  "is 
divided  into  many  dialects,  which  often  vary  so  much 
that  those  who  speak  one  are  unable  to  understand  the 
others.  The  natives  of  Kotzebue  Sound  for  instance 
have  to  use  an  interpreter  in  conversing  with  their 
countrymen  in  Norton  Sound;  towards  Point  Barrow 
another  dialect  prevails,  which  however  is  not  sufficiently 
distinct  to  be  unintelligible  to  the  Kotzebue  people."7 

According  to  Yater  and  Richardson  the  Eskimo 
language  as  spoken  east  of  the  Mackenzie  River  appears 
to  have  a  softer  sound,  as  for  instance,  for  the  western 
ending  tch  the  eastern  tribes  mostly  use  s  and  some- 
times h.  The  German  sound  ch,  guttural,  is  frequently 
heard  among  the  western  people.  Nouns  have  six  cases, 
the  changes  of  which  are  expressed  by  affixed  syllables. 

3  Veniaminoff,  Ueber  die  Sprachen  des  russ.  Amer.,  in  Erman,  Archiv.,  torn, 
vii.,  No.  1,  p.  126  et  seq. 

4  Sagoskin,  Tagebuch,  in   Russ.  Geog.  G-eselL,  Denkschr.,  torn,   i.,  p.    359 
et  seq. 

5  '  Alle  diese  Volkerschaften  reden  eine  Sprache  and  gehoren  zu  einem  und 
demselben  Stamme,  der  sich   auch   welter  nordlich   Langs   der  Kuste.... 
ausdehnt.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  122. 

5  Kotzebue's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  175. 

7  Of  the  similarity  between  the  Kadiak  and  Alaska  idiom  Langsdorff 
says :  '  In  a  great  degree  the  clothing  and  language  of  the  Alaksaus,  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  people  of  Kodiak.'  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  236.  Seemann's 
Voy.  Herald,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  68-G9. 


EXAMPLES  OF  THE  ESKIMO  GRAMMAR.  577 

These  are  in  the  singular  mut,  mik,  mit,  me,  and  kut,  and 
in  the  plural  nut,  nik,  nit,  ne,  and  gut.  Ga,  go,  ne,  ait, 
anga,  am,  etc.,  affixed  to  the  nominative,  denote  a  pos- 
sessive case.  As: — kivgah,  a  servant;  kivganga,  my 
servant;  kivgane,  his  servant;  etc.  Arsu  and  arsuit  are 
diminutive  endings  and  soak,  sudset,  and  sudsek  augment- 
atives.  Adjectives  are  also  declinable.  Nouns  can  be 
transposed  into  verbs  by  affixing  evok  and  ovok,  and  the 
adjective  is  altered  in  the  same  manner. 

The  third  person  singular  of  the  indicative  is  taken 
as  the  root  of  the  verb,  and  by  changing  its  termination 
it  may  be  used  as  a  noun.  The  infinitive  is  formed  by 
the  postposition  nek.  The  verb  has  numerous  inflections. 

<FTo  be'  or  '  to  have,'  both  possessing  a  similar  signifi- 
cation, are  expressed  by  gi  or  vi — as  nunagiva,  it  is  his 
land. 

Richardson  gives  the  following  declension  of  a  noun7 
transitively  and  intransitively  (?) : 

TUPEK,  A  TENT. 

SINGULAB  DUAL  PLT7BAL 

N0m'  fnt,  Kb    \  '°PP>*  «•*- 

Gen.  turkib  tuppak  turket 

Dat.     tr.  tuppek  tuppak  turket 

intr.  tuppermut  tuppangnut  tuppernut 

Ace.     tr.  tuppak  tuppak  turkinut 

intr.  tuppernik  tuppangnit  turkit 

Abl.     tr.  tuppermit  tuppangnit  tuppermit 

intr.  tuppermut  tuppangnut  turkinnut  8 

Some  claim  that  the  languages  of  Kadiak  and  the 
Aleutian  Islands  are  cognate,  others  deny  any  relation- 
ship. Stephen  Glottoft',  one  of  the  first  to  visit  Kadiak 
Island,  states  positively  that  the  inhabitants  of  Unalaska 
and  particularly  a  boy  from  the  western  Aleutian  Isles 
could  not  understand  the  people  of  Kadiak.9  Captain 
Cook  thought  there  existed  a  phonetic  similarity  between 

8  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  364  et  seq  ;  Veniaminoff,  in  Erman,  Archiv, 
torn,  iii.,  No.  i.,  pp.  142-43 ;  Beechey's  Voyage,vo\.  ii.,  p.  366  ;  Vater,  Mithridates, 
torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  458  et  seq  ;  notes  on  the  Chugatsh  dialect  at  Prince 
William  Sound  in  Cook's  Voy.  toPac.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  374-6,  and  Portlock's  Voy., 
pp.  254-5. 

9  '  Er  konnte    die   Sprache  dieser  Insulaner  nicht. . .  .verstehen.'  Neue 
Nachrichten,  p.  105. 

Voi,.  HI.    37 


578  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

the  speech  of  the  Unalaskas  and  the  people  of  Norton 
Sound,  which  opinion  appears  to  be  correct.10  So 
disarranged  have  the  aboriginal  tongues  in  this  vicinity 
become  since  the  advent  of  the  Russians  that  little  de- 
pendence can  be  placed  on  latter-day  investigations. 
I) all  admits  the  speech  of  the  two  peoples  to  be  dissimilar 
yet  their  language  he  believes  to  be  one.11  Yater,  more 
cautious,  thinks  that  there  is  perhaps  some  Eskimo  in- 
fluence noticeable  among  the  Koniagas.12  Baer  gives 
Admiral  von  "Wrangell's  opinion,  which  also  inclines 
towards  such  a  connection,  but  he  himself  expresses  the 
opposite  belief,  citing  in  support  of  this  that  the  physical 
appearance  of  the  Koniagas  differs  entirely  from  that  of 
the  Eskimo  race.13  Buschmann  gives,  as  the  result  of 
careful  investigations  and  comparisons,  the  opinion  that 
the  language  of  Unalaska  is  distinct  from  that  of  Kadiak, 
and  supports  it  by  the  statements  of  travelers,  as 
for  instance  that  of  the  mate  Saikoff,  given  in  the  Nwe 
Nordische  Beitmge,  torn,  iii.,  p.  284,  who  says  that  the 
two  are  totally  different. 

Throughout  the  whole  Aleutian  Archipelago  there  are 
but  two  dialects,  one  of  which  is  spoken  on  the  peninsula, 
on  Unalaska,  and  a  few  islands  contiguous,  while  the 
other — -by  Yeniarninoff  called  the  Atkha  dialect — ex- 
tends thence  over  all  the  other  Aleutian  Isles.  In  neither 
dialect  is  there  any  distinction  of  gender;  but  to  make 
up  for  this  deficiency,  besides  the  plural,  a  dual  is 
used .  Substantives  have  three  cases : — adakch,  the  father ; 
adam  or  adaganilyak,  of  the  father ;  adanian,  to  the  father ; 
adakik  or  adakin,  both  fathers ;  adan,  the  fathers ;  adanik, 
to  the  fathers.  Yerbs  are  conjugated  by  means  of  ter- 
minals. They  are  divided  into  three  classes,  active, 
medium,  and  passive.  Negation  is  expressed  by  the  sylla- 
ble oljuk  added  to  the  root  of  the  verb ;  sometimes  also  by 

10  Cook's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  522. 

11  Dall's  Alaska,  pp.  377-8. 

12  '  Dass  sich  wohl  ein  Einfluss  der  Eskimo-Sprache  aber  nicht  diese 
S3lbst  uber  diez\vis;hen  Asien  and  Amerika  liegeiiden  Inselnerstreckt.'  Vater, 
Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  458. 

11  '  Der  Bewohner  von  Unalaschka  kann  den  von  Kadjack  gar  nicht  ver- 
stehen.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  pp.  123-288-9. 


ATKHA  AND  UNALASKA  DIALECTS.  579 

Ijaka,  Ijaga,  or  gana.  Sjukong,  I  take ;  sjunakchmg,  I  took ; 
sjuljakakching,  I  take  not;  sjunagoljuting,  I  took  not; 
sjuda,  take ;  sjutjagada,  or  sjuganaclitchin,  take  not. 

The  eastern  Aleuts  enunciate  very  rapidly,  without 
dividing  their  words  distinctly,  making  it  very  difficult 
for  a  stranger  to  understand  them.  In  Unalaska  their 
speech  is  more  drawling,  while  on  Atkha  Island  the 
natives  pronounce  each  word  very  distinctly.  The 
western  Aleuts  and  the  people  on  Umnak  also  speak 
rather  slowly — drawling.14  Dall  states  that  the  chief 
difference  between  the  Atkha  and  Unalaska  -dialects 
consists  in  the  formation  of  the  plural  of  nouns.  The 
former  for  this  purpose  employ  the  terminal  letters  s, 
sA,  or  ng.  For  diminutives  the  Atkhas  use  the  ending 
kutshak  and  the  Unalaskas  dak.15 

On  the  next  page  I  insert  a  vocabulary  of  Eskimo, 
Kuskoquigmute,  Malemute,  Aleut,  and  Kadiak  tongues. 

Turn  now  to  the  Thlinkeets,  who  extend  along  the 
coast  southward  from  Mount  St  Elias,  as  Holmberg  says, 
to  the  Columbia  River;16  Chlebnikoff,  to  the  forty-first 
parallel ;  Yater,  to  Queen  Charlotte  Island  ;17  and  Venia- 
minoff,  to  the  Stikeen  River;  the  latter  affirming,  at  the 
same  time,  that  there  is  but  one  dialect  spoken  among 
them  all.18  The  nations  mentioned  by  Captain  Bryant  as 
speaking  this  language  are  the  Chilkats,  Sitkas,  Hood- 
sinoos,  Auks,  Kakas,  Elikinoos,  Stikeens,  and  Tungass.19 

From  all  accounts  the   Thlinkeets  possess  the  most 

14  '  Dass . . .  .sich  das  aleutische  Idiom. . .  .als  ein  eigner,  von  dem  grossen 
eskimoischen  ganz  verschiedener  Sprachtypus  erweist.'  Buschmann,  Spuren. 
der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  702  et  seq.  Veniaminoff  s  examples  are  as  follows:  active, 
he  took;medium,  betook  me;  passive,  he  was  born.  InErman,  Archiv.,  tom. 
iii.,  No.  1,  pp.  136-8:  Veniaminoff,  Sapiski  ob  Ostrovach  Oonalaskinskacho 
Otjela,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  264-71. 

K  Ball's  Alaska,  p.  38G:  Vater,  Mithridatcs,  tom.  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  459-460. 

*6  '  Von  St  Eliasberge  bis  hinunter  zum  Columbia-strorne.'  Holtnberg, 
Ethno.  Skiz.,  p.  9. 

17  '  Sie  erstrecken  sich  von  lakutat  siidlich  bis  zu  den  Charlotten-Inselu.' 
Vater,  Mithridates,  tom.  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p-.  219. 

18  '  Von  Ltu  bis  Stachin,  und  hat  fast  nur  einen  Dialect. '  Veniaminoff, 
in  Erman,  Arc.hiv.,  tom.  vii.,  No.  i.,  p.  l-28. 

19  Bryant's    Jour.,   in    Amer.    Aniiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,   vol.    ii.,    p.   302. 
The   Tungass  language  '  as  Mr.  Tolrnie  conjectured,  is  nearly  the  same   as 
that  spoken  at  Sitga.'  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Oeoy.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  218. 


580 


HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 


COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY. 


ESKIMO. 

KUSKOQCTIO- 

MALEMUTE. 

ALEUT. 

KADIAK. 

MUTB. 

Man 

tuak 

yugut 

enuk 

toioch 

sewk 

Woman 

agnak 

okanok 

aiyagar 

Fire 

ignik  or 
iguuck 

knik 

iknik 

kignak 

knok 

Fresh 
Water 

emik 

Salt 

tarreoke 

Water 

Water 

inik 

inimik 

taangak 

taangak 

Earth 

nuni 

nuneh 

tshekak 

noona 

Stone 

angmak 

Dog 

keuma  or 
kooneack 

annakhukkta 

kiyukmuk 

uikuk 

pewatit 

Knife 

sequetat 

chivichuk 

chowik 

omgazshiz- 

tshangielk 

(  baittsaach 

shik 

Sun      <  maisak  or 

akhtah 

shukeenyuk 

akathak 

madzshak 

(  neiya 

I 

woonga 

bwihka 

wunga 

keen 

chooi 

Thou 

Ipit 

illewit 

ingaan 

chlput 

Eat 

ashadlooik  or 
ishadlooweet 

neega 

nugerunger 

kaangen 

pittooaga 

Yes 

a 

you 

wah 

aang 

aang 

1 

inaga,  nau, 

No 

tuum,  nao, 

chashituk 

peechuk 

maselikan 

pedok 

aunga 

One 

tegara  or 
adaitsuk 

atauchik 

atowsik 

attakon 

alcheluk 

Two 

milleit- 
sungnet 

malkhok 

malruk 

alluk 

malogh 

(  pingettsat- 

Three  <  sungnet  or 

painaivak 

pinyusut 

kankoon 

pingaien 

pingeyook 

Four 

tsetummat  or 

setumet 

t'chamik 

setemat 

shitshin 

stamen 

tadglemat 

Five 

adreyeet  or 

talimik 

telemat 

tshang 

'aliman 

taleema 

f  arkbunna 
Six       -1  aghwinnak 

,  akkaooin- 

akhvinok 

aghwinuleet 

attoon 

agovinligin 

L  elget 

r  aitpa 

achwinnigh- 

Seven  - 

ipagha 
mullaroonik 

ainaakhva- 
nam 

mahluditagh- 
winuleet 

olung 

malchongun 

L  or  bolruk 

Eight 

penayua 
penniyooik 
pegesset  . 

pinaiviak 

pinyusnni- 
laghwinuleet 

kamtshing 

inglulgin 

Nine 

seetnmna 
I  teeidimmik 

chtamiak- 
vanam 

koolinotyluk 

sitching 

kollemgaien 

i  tadleema  or 

Ten 

(  kdlit 

kullnuk 

kooleet 

hasuk 

kollen 

Eleven 

attakatha- 
matldch 

alchtoch      jo 

HARSHNESS  OF  THE  THLINKEET  TONGUE.  581 

barbarous  speech  found  anywhere  in  the  Pacific  States. 
Whether  this  arises  from  the  huge  block  of  wood  with 
which  the  Thlinkeet  matrons  grace  their  under  lip, 
which  drives  the  sound  from  the  throat  through  the 
teeth  and  nose  before  it  reaches  the  ear  of  the  listener,  I 
do  not  pretend  to  say;  but  that  it  is  hard,  guttural, 
clucking,  hissing,  in  short  everything  but  labial,  there  is 
no  doubt.  All  who  have  visited  them,  whether  German, 
English,  French,  or  Spanish,  agree  in  this  particular. 
Marchand  describes  it  as  excessively  rude  and  wild. 
Most  of  their  articulations  are  accompanied  by  a 
strong  nasal  aspiration,  with  strenuous  efforts  of  the 
throat;  particularly  in  producing  the  sound  of  a  double 
r,  which  is  heavy  and  hard.  Many  of  their  words  com- 
mence with  a  strongly  guttural  k  sound  and  this  same 
sound  is  frequently  heard  three  times  in  one  word.  Dr 
Roblet  who  accompanied  Marchand,  says  that,  notwith- 
standing all  this,  the  language  is  very  complete,  possess- 
ing a  multitude  of  words,  the  natives  being  at  no  loss  to 
give  a  name  to  everything.21  La  Perouse,  who  makes  a 
similar  report,  gives  as  an  example  of  its  harshness  the 
word  khlrkies,  hair.22  In  Veniaminoff's  vocabulary  are 
found  such  words  as  thlklunuk,  healthy,  and  katlhtli,  ashes, 
literally  unpronounceable.  The  frequently  occurring 
sound  tl  has  led  several  authors  to  suppose  a  relationship 
with  the  Aztec  tongue ;  as  for  example  Vater,  who  made 
a  small  comparative  table  which  I  insert  to  show  directly 
the  contrary  to  what  he  wished  to  prove. 

Setting  aside  the  tetl,  te,  stone,  of  which  I  have  made 
previous  mention,  had  the  words  been  selected  to  prove 
a  want  of  affinity  between  the  two  languages  they  could 
not  have  been  more  to  the  point.  Buschmann  asserts, 
moreover,  that  several  of  the  Mexican  words  are  mis- 

20  Taken  from  Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.;  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.;  Ball's  Alaska; 
and  Suuer's  Billings'  Ex. 

21  Marchand,  Voyage,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  109-110. 

22  La  Perouse,  Voy.,  torn,   ii.,  p.  238.    '  Their  language  is  harsh  and  un- 
pleasant to  the  ear.'  Portlock's  Voy., -p.  293.  '  It  appears  barbarous,  uncouth, 
and  difficult  to  pronounce.'  Dixon's  Voy.,  p.  172.  '  La  dificil  prouunciaciou 
de  sus  vozes  . . .  pues  las  f orman  de  la  garganta  con  un  movimiento  de  la 
lengaa  contra  el  paladar.'  Bodega  y  Quadra,  Nav.,  MS.,  pp.  46-47. 


582  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES.  , 

AZTEC.  THLINKEET. 

Mother  nantli  attli 

Brother  teachcauh  achaik  or  achonoik 

Face  xayacatl  kaga 

Forehead  yxquatl  kakak 

Strong  velitilizcotl  itlzin 

Depth  vecatlyotl  kattljan 

Stone  tetl  te 

Earth  tlalli  tljaknak  or  tlatka 

Duck  canauhtli  kauchu 

Star  citlati  tlaachztl  23 

quoted.24  A  few  instances  have  been  discovered  by  the 
same  writer,  where  the  Thlinkeet  tongue  appears  to  be 
verging  towards  the  Tinneh.  Among  others  he  mentions 
the  Thlinkeet  words  te,  stone,  zyyn,  muskrat,  comparing  the 
latter  with  the  Dogrib  tzin,  the  Thlinkeet  achschat, 
woman,  wife,  with  theUmpqua  sch'at;  the  Thlinkeet  tje, 
teik1  road,  with  the  Tacully  fee.25  La  Perouse  pretends 
that  they  do  not  use  and  can  hardly  pronounce  the 
letters  b,  /,  j,  d,  p,  and  v.  Most  words  commence  with 
&,  tj  n,  s,  or  m,  the  first  named  being  the  most  frequently 
used;  no  word  commences  with  an  r.26  Veniaminoff 
again  says  that  it  would  take  thirty-eight  letters  or  com- 
binations to  write  the  distinct  sounds  which  are  expressed 
in  the  Thlinkeet  language.  The  personal  pronouns  are 
khat,  or  khatsh,  I ;  bae,  be,  or  belch,  thou ;  b  or  6cA,  he ;  ban 
or  bantch,  we;  iban  or  ibantck,  you;  as  or  astch  or  youtas. 
or  youastch,  they.  The  verb  'to  do'  is  conjugated  as 
follows : 


PRESENT    INDICATIVE  FIRST   FUTURE 


etakhani  ekbkazyani 


SECOND   FUTURE 


enkbzini 


IMPEEFECT 

etakhanegin 


PERFECT 


ekhbzim  or  ekhbzinnigin 


23  Vater,  Sfithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  212-13;  Holmberg,  Elhno.  Skiz., 
p.  16. 

2*  'Von  der  ganzen  Liste  bleibt  allein  The,  Stein  als  ahnlich.'  Bnsch- 
mann,  Pima  u.  Koloschen  Sprache,  p.  386.  '  Zwischen  ihnen  uud  der  mexi- 
canischen  in  Wortern  und  Grammatik  keine  Verwandtschaft  existirt 
ganzlich  vom  Mex.  versehieden  siud.'  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  G9.  'Ja 
n'ai  trouve  aucune  ressemblauce  eutre  lea  mots  de  cette  langue  et  celle  des 
. . .  .Mexicains.'  La  Perouse,  Voy.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  240. 

25  Buschmann,  Pima  u.  Koloschen  Kprache,  p.  388. 

26  La  Perou.se.   Voy.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  238-9. 

*7  Veniannnoff,  Saplski  ob  Ostrovach  Oonalashkinskacho  Oljela,  torn,  iii.,  pp. 
149-51.     No  translation  is  given. 


THLINKEET  LOED'S  PEAYEE.  583 

Vater  has  a  Lord's  prayer  communicated  by  Baranoff, 
director  of  the  late  Russian  possessions  in  America.  It 
reads  as  follows: 

Ais   waan,  wet  wwetu      tikeu;       ikukastii     itssagi 

Father       our,       who  art        in  the  clouds;    honored  be  name 

bae;   faa  atkwakut  ikustigi  ibee;    atkwakut  attiiitugati 

thiue;      let  come  kingdom     thine,         be  done  will 

bee     ikachtekin     linkitani     zu    tlekw.     Katuachawat 

thine  as  we  in  heaven         and  on  earth.  Food 

uaan   zuikwiilkinichat     akech   uaan   itat;    tamil    uaan 

our  needful  give  us       to-day;  absolve         tis 

tschaniktschak  aagi  zu    uaan    akut   tugati   ajat;     ilil 

debts  ours  as  also       we         give       debtors      ours;    not  lead 

uan  zulkikagatii  taat   anachut   uan      akalleelchwetach. 

us      into  temptation     but         deliver         us  from  the  evil  Spirit. 

Til. 

SO.** 


Next  come  the  Tinneh,  a  people  whose  diffusion  is 
only  equaled  by  that  of  the  Aryan  or  Semitic  nations 
of  the  old  world.  The  dialects  of  the  Tinneh  language 
are  by  no  means  confined  within  the  limits  of  the  Hy- 
perborean division.  Stretching  from  the  northern  in- 
terior of  Alaska  down  into  Sonora  and  Chihuahua,  we 
have  here  a  linguistic  line  of  more  than  four  thousand 
miles  in  length  extending  diagonally  over  forty-two 
degrees  of  latitude;  like  a  great  tree  whose  trunk  is  the 
Rocky  Mountain  range,  whose  roots  encompass  the 
deserts  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and  whose  branches 
touch  the  borders  of  Hudson  Bay29  and  of  the  Arctic 


28  Vater,  Mlthridales,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  225. 

29  '  Dimensionen,  in  welchen  er  ein  ungeheures  Gebiet  im  Innern  des 
nordlichen  Continents  einnimmt,  nahe  an  das  Eismeer  reicht,  und   queer 
das   nordamerikanische   Festland  durchzieht:  indem  er  im  Osteii  die  Hud- 
Bonsbai,  im  Stidwesten  in  abgestossenen  Stiimmen   am  Umpqua-Flnsse  das 
stille  Meer  beruhrt.'   Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  323.     '  This  great 
family  includes  a  large  number  of  North  American  tribes,  extending,  from 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie,  south  to  the  borders  of  Mexico.'  Dall's 
Alaska,  p.  428.     '  There  are  outlyers  of  the  stock  as  far  as  the  southern 


581  HYPEKBOBEAN  LANGUAGES. 

and  Pacific  oceans.30  In  the  north  immense  compact 
areas  are  covered  by  these  dialects;  towards  the  south 
the  line  holds  its  course  steadily  in  one  direction,  \vbile 
at  the  same  time  on  either  side  are  isolated  spots,  broken 
fragments  as  it  were,  of  the  Tinneh  tongue,  at  wide  dis- 
tances in  some  cases  from  the  central  line.  A  refer- 
ence to  the  classification  given  at  the  end  of  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  will  show  the  separation  of  the  Tinneh 
family  into  four  divisions, — the  eastern,  western,  central 
and  southern.  The  eastern  division  embraces  the  di- 
alects spoken  between  Hudson  Bay  and  the  Mackenzie 
River;  the  western,  those  of  the  Kutchins  and  Kenai  of 
interior  Alaska  and  the  Pacific  Coast  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mount  St  Elias  and  Copper  River ;  the  central,  those  of 
the  Tacullies  of  New  Caledonia,  the  Umpquas  of  Oregon, 
and  the  Hoopahs  of  California;  the  southern,  those  of 
the  Apaches  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  Northern 
Mexico. 

Near  the  sources  of  a  branch  of  the  Saskatchewan 
River  are  the  Sursees,  who  have  been  frequently  classed 
with  the  Blackfeet,  but  Mackenzie  had  before  this  stated 
that  they  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Tinneh.31  Umfreville 
who  visited  these  people,  compares  their  language  to  the 
cackling  of  hens,  and  says  that  it  is  very  difficult  for  their 
neighbors  to  learn  it.32 

Glance  first  at  the  dialects  round  Hudson  Bay,  and 

parts  of  Oregon.  More  than  this,  there  are  Athabascans  in  California, 
New  Mexico  and  Souora.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  393. 
'  Dass  er  in  seinein  Hauptgiirtel  von  der  nordlichen  Hudsonsbai  aus  fast  die 
ganze  Breite  des  Continents  durchlauft;  und  dass  er  in  abgesonderten,  in 
die  Feme  geschleuderten  Gliedern,  gen  Siiden  nicht  allein  unter  dem 
46ten  (Tlatskanai  und  Kwalhioqua)  und  43ten  Grade  nordlicher  Breite  (Ump- 
qua)  das  stille  Meer  beriihrt,  sondern  auch  tief  irn  Inneen  in  den  Navajos 

den   36ten   Grad  trifft wiihreud   er   im  Norden   und   Nordwesten   den 

Goten  Grad  und  beiuahe  die  Gestade  des  Polarmeers  erreicht.'  Buschmann, 
Athapask.  Sprachstamm,  p.  313.     See  also  vol.  i.,  pp.  114,  143-9. 
so  Gi'jbs,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  p.  303. 

31  '  The  Sarsees  who  are  but  few  in  number,  appear  from  their  language, 
to  come  on  the  contrary  from  the  North-Westward,  and  are  of  the  same  people 
as  the  Rocky-Mountain  Indians   . . .  who  are  a   tribe  of  the  Chepewyaus. ' 
Mackenzie's  Voyages,  pp.  Ixxi.-lxxii. 

32  Vater,  Mit'/iridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  252;  Gallatin,  in  Amtr.  Aniiq.  Soc., 
Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  19.      The  Sarsi,  Sussees  '  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Chip- 
pewyan  (Athapascan),  allied  to  the  Tahkali.'  Hale's  Ethnoy.,  in  U.  $.  Ex. 
Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  219. 


DIALECTS  OF  THE  TINNEH  FAMILY.  585 

thence  towards  the  west.  The  northern  dialects  are  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  pronounce,  being  composed  largely 
of  gutturals.  Richardson  compares  some  of  the  sounds 
to  the  Hottentot  cluck,  and  Isbister  calls  them  "harsh 
and  guttural,  difficult  of  enunciation  and  unpleasant  to 
the  ear."33  They  differ  mainly  in  accentuation  and 
pronunciation,  and  it  therefore  does  not  require  that 
philological  research  which  is  necessary  with  the  farther 
outlying  branches  of  the  family  to  establish  their  con- 
nection. Richardson  says  that  the  Hare  and  Dog-rib 
dialects  differ  scarcely  at  all  even  in  their  accents;  and 
again  that  the  Sheep  dialect  is  well  understood  by  the 
Hare  Indians.  Latham  affirms  that  the  "  Beaver  Ind- 
ian is  transitional  to  the  Slave  and  Chepewyan  proper." 
Of  the  Coppermine  people,  Franklin  writes  that  their 
language  is  "essentially  the  same  with  those  of  the 
Chipewyans."  Ross  Cox  says  that  the  language  of  the 
Slowacuss  and  Nascud  "bears  a  close  affinity  to  that 
spoken  by  the  Chepewyans  and  Beaver  Indians."34 

From  a  paper  in  the  collection  of  M.  Du  Ponceau, 
cited  by  Mr  Gallatin,  there  appears  to  be  in  the  grammar 
of  these  northern  dialects  a  dual  as  well  as  a  plural. 
Thus  clinne,  a  person ;  dinne  you,  a  man ;  dinne  you  keh, 
two  men ;  dinne  you  tMang,  many  men.  Again  we  have 
sick  keh,  my  foot ;  sick  keh  keh,  my  feet.  The  Chepewyan 
declension  is  as  follows: 

My  two  hats,  sit  sackhalle  keh;  thy  two  hats,  nit 
sackhalle  keh;  his  two  hats,  bit  sackhalee  keh,  or  noneh  Ud 
tsakhalle  keh;  their  two  hats,  hoot  sackhalle  keh;  two 
pieces  of  wood,  teitchin  keh;  much,  or  many  pieces  of 
wood,  teitchin  thlang ;  my  son,  see  az6;  my  two  sons,  see 
az6  keh;  thy  two  sons,  nee  az6  keh;  his  two  sons,  bee 
az6  keh;  their  two  sons,  hoo  bee  aze'  keh;  my  children, 

33  '  They  speak  a  copious  language,  which  is  very  difficult  to  be  attained.' 
Mackenzie's  Voyages,  p.  114.  'As  a  language  it  is  exceedingly  meagre  and 
imperfect.'  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3,  28. 

3i  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3,  7;  Franklin's  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  76. 
'  Hare  Indians,  who  also  speak  a  dialect  of  the  Chipewyan  language.'  Id., 
p.  83.  Rocky  Mountain  Indians  differ  but  little  from  the  Strongbow, 
Beaver,  etc.  M.,  p.  85.  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  388,  391;  Id., 
vol.  iii.,  p.  393;  Cox's  Adven.,  p.  323. 


586  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

see  aze  keh  thlang,  or  siskaine'.  Thus  we  see  that  the 
dual  ending  is  keh  (which  also  means  foot),  and  that  of 
the  plural,  tMang.  Possessive  pronouns  are :  first  person, 
si,  sit  or  nee;  second  person,  nit  or  nee;  third  person, 
his  or  their,  bit,  bee,  noot,  or  lioo. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEKB  I  SPEAK,  YAWS'THEE. 

PBESENT.  IMPERFECT. 


I  speak,              yaws'thee 
Thou  speakest,  yawnelt'hee 
He  speaks,          yawlt'hee 
We  speak,           yawoult'hee 
You  speak,          tayoult'hee 
They  speak,       tayathee 

I  spoke,               yawaylt'hee 
Thou  spakest,    yayolt'hee 
He  spoke,           yalthee 
We  spoke,          tayaolthee 
You  spoke,         tayahelthee 
They  spoke,       tayolthee    35 

At  the  end  of  this  chapter  may  be  found  a  compara- 
tive vocabulary,  comprising  words  selected  from  these 
and  other  dialects,  belonging  to  this  family. 

Crossing  over  to  the  country  drained  by  the  Yukon, 
we  find  the  great  Kutchin  nation  and  to  their  north-east 
the  Kenai.  The  Kutchins,  according  to  Jones,  are 
"divided  into  about  twenty- two  different  tribes,  each 
speaking  a  dialect  of  the  same  language."  Hardisty 
affirms  that  "  the  Loucheux  proper  is  spoken  by  the 
Indians  of  Peels  River,  thence  traversing  the  mountains, 
westward  down  Rat  River,  the  Tuk-kuth,  and  Yan-tah- 
koo-chin,  which  extend  to  the  Tran-jik-koo-chiri,  Xa- 
tsik-koo-chin,  and  Koo-cha-koo-chin  of  the  Youcon." 36 
The  connection  of  the  Kutchin  language  with  the  Tinneh 
has  been,  by  early  travelers,  denied,  and  this  denial  re- 
echoed by  writers  following  them  f  but  later  philological 
investigations  have  established  the  relationship  beyond  a 

'5  GallaKn,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact. ,vol.  ii.,  pp.  215-16,  269. 

36  Richardson's  Jour.,  pp.  377-413;  Latham's  Native  Races,  pp.  293-4; 
Jones,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  p.  320;  Hardixty,  in  Id.,  p.  311. 

3?  *  They  speak  a  language  distinct  from  the  Chipewyan.'  Franklin's  Nar., 
vol.  ii.,  p.  83.  'The  similarity  of  language  amongst  all  the  tribes  (Athabas- 
cans) that  have  been  enumerated  under  this  head  (the  Loucheux  excepted)  is 
fully  established.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  any  distinct  affinities  with 
any  other  than  that  of  the  Kinai.'  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Tranwt., 
vol.  ii.,p.  20.  '  The  language  of  the  latter  (Loucheux)  is  entirely  different 
from  that  of  the  other  known  tribes  who  possess  the  vast  region  to  the  north- 
ward of  a  line  drawn  from  Churchill,  on  Hudson's  Bay,  across  the  Kocky 
Mount dns,  to  New  Caledonia.'  Simpson's  Nar.,  p.  157.  'The  Degothees 
or  Loucheux,  called  Quarrellers  by  the  English,  speak  a  different  language.' 
tichoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  542. 


THE  KUTCHIN  DIALECTS  OF  THE  YUKON.  587 

question.  Furthermore,- to  corroborate  this  fact  there 
are  persons,  well  acquainted  with  these  people  and  their 
language,  having  lived  in  their  country  and  traded  with 
them  for  years,  who  are  positive  that  the  Kutchin  is  a 
dialect  of  the  Tinneh.  Some  of  them  even  affirm  that 
the  eastern  Kutchin  dialect  hears  a  closer  relationship 
to  that  of  their  neighbors,  the  Hares  and  Slaves,  than  do 
some  of  the  dialects  of  the  western  Kutchins  to  each 
other,  yet  it  is  certain  that  all  the  Kutchin  tribes  of  the 
Yukon  and  its  tributaries  understand  one  another,  ac- 
centuation being  the  principal  distinction  between  them. 

A  greater  divergence  from  the  stock  language  is 
observable  in  the  dialect  of  the  Tutchone  Kutchin,  which, 
with  those  of  the  Han  Kutchin,  the  Slave  of  Francis 
Lake  and  Fort  Halkett,  the  Sicannis,  the  Abbato-tinneh 
of  the  Felly  and  Macmillan  Rivers,  and  the  Nehanne 
of  forts  Liard  and  Simpson,  might  almost  be  called  a 
dialectic  division  of  the  Tinneh  language.38 

Richardson,  following  Murray,  cautiously  traces  these 
relationships  in  the  following  words:  "More  resem- 
blances, he  thinks,  might  be  traced  through  the  Mountain 
Indian  speech  (Naha-'tdinne  or  Dtche-ta-ut-'tinne)  than 
directly  between  the  Kutchin  and  Dog-rib  tongues.  The 
Han-Kutchi  of  the  sources  of  the  Yukon,  speak  a  dialect 
of  the  Kutcha-Kutchi  language,  yet  they  understand  and 
are  readily  understood  by  the  Indians  of  Frances  Lake 
and  the  banks  of  the  Pelly.  Now  these  converse  freely 
with  the  JSTaha-  or  Dtche-ta-ut  'tinmj,  and  other  Rocky 
Mountain  tribes,  whose  language  resembles  the  Dog-rib 
tongue,  and  who  are,  in  fact,  acknowledged  members  of 
the  Chepewyan  nation.  Again,  the  Frances  Lake  In- 
dians understand  the  Netsilley,  or  Wild  Nation,  who 
trade  at  Fort  Halkett,  on  the  River  of  the  Mountains; 
these  again  are  understood  by  the  Sikrinis;  and  the  Sik- 
anis  by  the  Beaver  Indians,  whose  dialect  varies  little 
from  that  of  the  Athabascans,  the  longest-known  mem- 
ber of  the  Tinne  nation."39 

38  Hardisty,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1866,  p.  311. 

39  Richardson's  Jour.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  400-1;  Hooper's  Tuski,  p.  270. 


588  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  Kutchins  pride  themselves  on  their  oratorical 
powers,  making  long,  windy,  and  allegorical  speeches  re- 
markable alike  for  native  wit  and  eloquence.  In 
public  speaking  their  delivery  is  unique  and  effective; 
commencing  in  a  low  monotonous  tone  the  voice  slowly 
rises  to  a  crescendo,  then  increases  to  a  forte,  and 
finally  rolls  forth  in  grand  fortissimo,  at  which  point, 
accompanied  by  striking  gestures,  it  continues  until  sheer 
exhaustion  compels  the  orator  to  pause  for  breath.  The 
speech  closes  with  a  "most  infernal  screech,"  as  Har- 
disty  calls  it,  which  is  supposed  to  be  a  clincher  to  the 
most  abstruse  argument. 

It  was  among  these  people,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Tananah  with  the  Yukon  River  that  the 
before-mentioned  broken  Slave  jargon  originated.  Be- 
fore the  arrival  of  foreigners,  the  necessity  of  a  trade,  or 
intertribal,  language  was  felt  and  met,  the  dialect  spoken 
on  the  Liard  River  forming  the  basis.  With  the  arrival 
of  Russians,  French,  and  English  successively,  each  one 
of  these  nationalities  contributed  of  its  words  to  form  the 
general  jargon.  Dall  says  that  it  is  in  use  among  all 
western  Eskimos  who  have  intercourse  with  the  Tinneh. 
The  European  element  in  their  jargon  is  very  slight, 
much  less  than  in  the  Chinook  jargon,  from  the  fact  that 
but  few  Europeans  have  ever  come  in  contact  with. the 
inland  tribes  of  Alaska  even  in  an  indirect  way. 

Following  the  Tinneh  tongue  southward  from  Central 
Alaska,  we  strike  the  Pacific  seaboard  at  Cook's  Inlet 
and  Prince  William  Sound,  where  we  find  the  Kenai, 
with  six  or  more  dialects,  stretching  along  the  shores  of 
the  Ocean  as  far  as  Copper  River.  The  word  Kenai,  or 
as  they  are  sometimes  called  the  Thnaina,40  meaning 
men,  in  signification  and  sound  is  almost  identical  with 
the  word  Tinneh,  Dinneh,  Tinne,  Dinay,  Tinna,  with 
many  other  variations  applied  to  this  family.41  Ac- 

40  Holmberg,  Ethno.  Skiz.,  pp.  6-7;  Baer,  Slat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  97;   Voter,  Mith- 
ridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  228;    Dall's  Alaska,  p.  430;  Latham's  Nat.  Races, 
p.  292. 

41  Buschmann,  Athapask.  Sprachstamm,  p.  223  ;Erusentern,  Woerter-Samm- 
lung,  p.  xi. 


KENAI  LINGUISTIC  AFFILIATIONS.  589 

cording  to  Sagoskin  the  Ingaliks.  Unakatanas,  and  others 
of  the  Yukon  and  Nulato  rivers  call  themselves  Ttynai- 
chbtana.42  Yeniarninoff,  a  high  authority  on  matters 
coming  under  his  immediate  observation,  draws  erroneous 
conclusions  from  his  comparisons  of  Kenai  dialects. 
The  Kenai  language,  he  says,  is  divided  into  four  dialects ; 
the  Kenai  proper,  the  Atnah  spoken  by  the  Koltshanes 
and  the  people  of  Copper  River,  the  Kuskoquim,  and  the 
Kwichpak.43  Baron  von  Wrangell  is  of  the  opinion  that 
the  Kenai  are  of  Thlinkeet  stock,  affirming  that  although 
their  idiom  is  different  yet  it  comes  from  the  same  root  ;4i 
but  Dall  believes  that  it  might  be  "  more  properly 
grouped  with  the  Tinneh."  *5  The  dialect  of  the  Uga- 
lenzes,  Buschmann  confidently  asserts,  belongs  to  the 
Tinneh  family,  although  its  connection  with  the  Kenai 
is  not  strongly  marked,  while  slight  traces  of  the  Thlin- 
keet tongue  are  found  in  it,  but  not  the  least  shadow  of 
the  Aztec  as  Yater  imagined.46  Long  words  are  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  in  the  speech  of  the  Ugalenzes;  as 
for  example,  chafdjtschejalsga,  work;  tekssekonachakk, 
enemy;  kakujasliatenna,  to  divide;  aukatschetohatk,  to 
take  away. 

The  Atnah  dialect  has  also  been  classed  with  the 
Thlinkeet  by  Baer,  who  inserts  a  small  comparative 
vocabulary  to  show  the  similarity,  but  in  it  few  similar 
words  are  found,  while  between  the  Atnah  and  the 


42  '  So  nennen  die  Seekustenbewohner  Ulukag  Mjuten  Inkiliken,  und- 
dieseletzten  nennen  sich  selbst  entweder  nach  dem  Dorfe,  oder  im  allge 
meineuTtynai-Chotana.'  Sagoskin,  Tagebuch,  in  Russ.  Qeog.  Oesell.,  Denkschr., 
p.  321. 

43  Veniamlnoff,  in  Erman,  Archw,  torn,  vii.,  No.  i.,  p.  128. 

44 '  Ihre  Spracha  ist  zwar  von  der  der  Koloschen  verschieden,  stammt  aber 
von  derselben  Wurzel  ab.'  Baer,  titat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  97. 

«  Dall's  Alaska,  p.  430. 

46  '  Ich  bleide  dabei  stehn  sie  f iir  eine  athapaskische  Sprache  zu  er- 
kliiren.'  liw-hminn,  Spuren  der  Aztek  Spr.,p.6S7.  'Two  tribes  are  found, 
on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  whose  kindred  languages,  though  exhibiting  some 
affinities  both  with  that  of  the  Western  Eskiinaux  and  with  that  of  the  Atha- 
pascas,  we  sh-ill,  for  the  present,  consider  as  forming  a  distinct  family. 
They  are  the  Kinai,  in  or  near  Cook's  Inlet  or  River,  and  the  Ugaljachmutzi 
(Oagalachmioutzy)  of  Prince  William's  Sound.'  Q-allaiin,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.t 
Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  14. 


590  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

Ugalenze    the   connection   is   quite   prominent,   as   for 
instance ; 

ATNAH  UGALENZE 

Heaven  jaat  jaa 

Ice  tton        •  ttetz 

Stone  ttzesch  ttza 

Fox  nakattze  nakattze 

Eagle  ttschkulak  tkotschkalak 

Blood  tell  tedlch 

Fat  chcha  chche 

Come  here  any  anatschtja    47 

In  like  manner  the  Kenai  dialect  has  been  classed 
with  the  Thlinkeet;48  but  here  the  preponderance  of 
evidence  is  with  the  Tinneh.  Buschmann  claims  it 
as  his  discovery  that  the  Kenai  belong  to  the  Tinneh 
family.49  The  Kenai  dialect  is  very  difficult  to  pronounce, 
so  much  so  that  even  the  neighboring  people  with  their 
harsh,  nasal,  and  guttural  idioms,  find  great  trouble  in 
enunciating  it  clearly.  Some  of  the  combinations  of 
consonants  are  really  very  curious,50 — aljtii/jan,  earth; 
kyssynj,  woman;  mljchny,  to  drink;  keljkatj,  to  eat; 
Jdaaltailni,  to  shoot ;  kydykntjassnissj.  I  hear ;  tschatschee- 
intschichku,  do  not  be  afraid;  kazikatejityssny,  I  know  not. 

Baer  makes  the  Ingalik  cognate  with  Kenai,  Atnah, 
and  Thlinkeet;51  an  affinity  is  also  detected  between  the 
Inkalit  and  the  Kenai,  Atnah,  and  Unalaska  dialects  ;52 

47  'Dieses  Volk  gehort  gleich  den  Ugalenzen  zu  einem  und  demselben 
Stamme  mit  den  Koloschen  . . .  Auch  in  der  Sprache  giebt  es  nu-hrere  Worter, 
die  auf  eine  gemeinschaftliche  Wurzel  hindeuten.'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  99. 

48  'Gehort  zu  dsmselben  Stamme  wie  die   Galzanen  oder  Koltschanen, 
Atnaer  und  Koloschen.     Dieses  bezeugt  nicht  nur  die  noch  vorhandene 
Aehnlichkeit  einiger  Worter  in  den  Sprachen  dieser  Volker  ( eine  Aehulich- 
keit,  welcbe  freilich  in  der  Sprache  der  Koloschen  kauin  noch  merkbar  und 
fast  ganzlich  verschwunden  ist).'  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  103. 

49  '  Die  Kinai,  Kenai  oder  Kenaizen  wurden  bisher  shon  als  ein  Hauptvolk 
und  ihre  Spr.iche  als   eine    hauptsachliche  des   russichen    Nordamerika's 
betrachtet.     Sie  umziehen  in  ihren  Wohnungen  an  jener  Kiiste  die  grosse 
Kinai-Bucht  oder  den  sogenannten  Cooks-Fluss.    Ihr  Idiom  gait  bisher  als 
eine  selbststandige  und  urspriingliche  Sprache,  Tragerinn  mehrerer  anderer. 
Nach  meinen  Entdecknngen  ist  es   ein  Glied  des  grosseu   athapaskischen 
Sprachstammes,  und  seine  Venvaudten  im  russischen  Nord-westen  sind  an- 
dere  Glieder  desselben.'  Buschmann,  Athapaslc.  Sprachstamm,  p.  223. 

50  'Die  Kenai-Sprache  ist,  wegen  der  Menge  ihrer  Gurgellaute,  von  alien 
Idiomen  des  russichen  Amerika's  am  schwierigsten  auszusprechen.     Rclbst 
die  Nachbarn  der  Kenajer,  deren  Sprachen  schon  ein   sehr  geschmeidiges 
Organ    erfordern,    siud   nicht    im    Stande,  Worter    des   Kenajischeu    rein 
•wiederz-ugeben.'  Veniaminoff,  in  Errnan,  Archiv,  torn,  vii.,  No.  i.,  p.  128. 

51  Baer,  Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  119. 

32  '  Sie  sprechen  eine  Sprache,  die  ganz  verschieden  ist  von  der  an  der  See- 


CENTRAL  TINNEH  DIVISION.  591 

while  Sagoskin  numbers  both  the  Ingalik  and  the  Inka- 
lit  among  the  members  of  the  Tinneh  family.53  Like 
those  of  their  neighbors  these  two  dialects  are  harsh  and 
difficult  of  pronunciation,  as  for  instance  in  the  Inkalit, 
tschugljkchuja,  a  fox. 

From  the  earliest  times  it  has  been  known  that  the 
Koltshanes  could  converse  freely  with  the  Atnahs  and 
Kenai,  and  the  relationship  existing  between  these  dia- 
lects has  long  been  recognized.54  As  a  specimen  of  the 
Koltshane  tongue,  I  present  the  following:  tschiljkaje, 
eagle;  nynkaMt,  earth;  ssyljlschitan,  cold;  sstscheljssilj, 
warm;  tschilje,  man. 

To  the  Tacullies  of  our  central  Tinneh  division,  whose 
language  Hale  separates  into  eleven  dialects,  Latham 
adds  the  Sicannis,  and  other  writers  the  Umpquas  and 
the  Hoopahs.55  The  northern  dialects  of  this  division  are 
represented  as  composed  of  words  harsh  and  difficult  to 
pronounce,  while  the  southern  dialects  are  softer  and 
more  sonorous,  yet  robust  and  emphatic.  Mr  Hale  felt 
the  necessity  of  adopting  a  peculiar  style  of  orthography 
to  represent  the  sounds  of  these  words.  The  Greek 
chi  he  employed  to  reproduce  the  Tacully  gutturals, 
which  he  says  are  somewhat  deeper  than  the  Spanish 
jota,  probably  nearly  akin  to  the  German  ch  in  acht  und 
acktzig.  With  t  chi  I  he  aims  to  convey  a  sound  which  "is 

kiiste  gebrauchlichen  Sprache  der  Aleuten  von  Kadjack;  der  Dialect  der  In- 
kaliten  1st  ein  Gemisch  aus  den  Sprachen  der  Kenayer,  Unalaschken  und 
Atnaer . . . .  auch  die  Anwigmiiten  und  Magimiiten  sind  Inkaliten.'  Baer, 
Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  pp.  120-1. 

53  '  Der  zwei  iStamnie  des  Volkes  Ttynai,  hauptsachlich  der  Inkiliken  und 
der  Inkaliten-jug-elnut.'  Sayoskin,  Tayebush,  in  Russ.  Geog.  Qesell.,  Denkschr., 
torn,  i.,  p.  352;   Whymper's  Alaska,  p.  175. 

54  '  Die  na'her  wohnenden  gehoren  zu  demselben  Stamme  wie  die  Atnaer 
und  Kenayer  uiid  konnen  sich  mit  ihnen,  obgleich  sie  einen  anderen  Dia- 
lect sprechen,  verstaudigen.'  Baer,  Stat,  u.  Ethno.,  p.  101. 

55  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  ii.,  p.  62;  Mackenzie's  Voyages,  p.  284.     'Their 
language  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Chipewyans,  and  has  a  great  affinity 
to  the  tongues  spoken  by  the  Beaver  Indians  and  the  Sicaunes.      Between 
all  the  different  villages  of  the  Carriers,  there  prevails  a  difference  of  dialect, 
to  such  an  extent,  that  they  often  give  different  names  to  the  most  common 
utensils.'  Harmon's  Jour.,  pp.  285-6,379,  193,  196;  Ludewig's  Ab.  Lang.,  p. 
178.     '  Les  Indiens  de  la  c&te  ou  de  la  Nouvelle  Caledonie,  les  Tokalis,  les 
Chargeurs  (Carriers),  les  Schouchonaps,  les  Atnas,  appartiennent  tous  a  la 
nation  des  Chipeuhaians.'  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  337;  Gallatin,  in  Amer. 
Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  20.     'A  branch  of  the   great  Chippewyan 
(Athapascan)  stock.'  Hak's  Ethnoy.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  202. 


592  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

a  combination  uttered  by  forcing  out  the  breath  at  the 
side  of  the  mouth  between  the  tongue  and  the  palate.''56 
In  the  following  words  instead  of  the  Greek  chi,  I  write 
M,  and  for  t  chi  I,  sch.  Schling,  dog ;  schluk,  fish ;  sutschon, 
good;  kwun,  fire;  JcuMi,  house;  schhdl,  mountain;  tse, 
stone;  Jcuschkai,  run. 

Hale  is  the  only  author  who  gives  any  information  of 
the  two  tribes  Tlatskanai  and  Kwalhioqua.  The  Kwal- 
hioquas  dwell  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia,  near 
its  mouth ;  but  between  them  and  the  river  there  runs  a 
wedge  of  Chinook  territory.  The  former  are  to  be  found 
south  of  the  river,  on  a  narrow  strip  extending  north 
and  south.  Being  nearly  related  to  the  Tacully,  these 
languages  also  belong  to  the  Tinneh  family.  The  only 
vocabulary  obtainable  is  given  by  Mr  Hale.  Round  the 
headwaters  of  the  river  Umpqua  live  the  people  of  that 
name,  speaking  a  language  related  to  the  two  last  men- 
tioned, but  which,  if  we  may  believe  Mr  Hale,  is  "much 
softer  than  the  others." 

Scouler,  who  has  made  a  curious  classification  of  the 
languages  of  north-western  America,  places  the  Umpqua  in 
the  same  family  with  the  Calapooya  and  Yamkally  under 
the  general  name  of  Cathlascon.57  The  southernmost 
dialect  of  this  division  is  that  of  the  Hoopahs,  on  Trinity 
River.  Upon  the  authority  of  Mr  Powers,  "the  Hoopa 
language  is  worthy  of  the  people  who  speak  it — copious 
in  its  vocabulary;  robust,  sonorous,  and  strong  in  utter- 
ance; of  a  martial  simplicity  and  rudeness  in  con- 
struction." Again  he  writes,  "as  the  Hoopas  remind 
one  of  the  Romans  among  savages,  so  is  their  language 
something  akin  to  the  Latin  in  its  phonetic  characteris- 
tics: the  idiom  of  camps — rude,  strong,  laconic.  Let  a 
grave  and  decorous  Indian  speak  it  deliberately,  and 
every  word  comes  out  like  the  thud  of  a  battering-ram 
against  a  wall.  For  instance  let  the  reader  take  the 
words  for  'devil'  and  'death' — keetoanchwa and  cheechwit 
— and  note  the  robust  strength  with  which  they  can  be 

56  Hole's  Ethnoft.,  in  IT.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  533. 

57  ticoukr,  in  Lond.  Gtog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  225;  Hities'  Voy.t  p.  117. 


VOCABULARY  OF  HOOPAH  DIALECTS.  593 

uttered.  What  a  grand  roll  of  drums  there  is  in  that 
long,  strong  word,  conchwilchwil."  Mr  Powers  gives 
the  following  declension:  I,  hive;  father,  hoota;  my 
lather,  hivehoota;  you,  nine;  your  father,  nineta;  mother, 
necho;  death,  cheechwit;  your  mother's  death,  nincho  cheech- 
wit.59 

On  the  western  slope  of  Mount  Shasta,  there  is  the 
Wi-Lackee  language,  which  bears  a  close  likeness  to  the 
Hoopah ;  on  Mad  River  is  the  Lassie  and  on  Eel  River 
the  Siah,  both  probably  Hoopah  dialects,  and  on  Smith 
River  in  Del  Norte  County,  the  Haynaggi,  Tolewah  and 
Tahahteen,  also  presumably  Hoopah  and  Wi-Lackee  dia- 
lects. The  following  comparative  table  of  the  numerals 
in  the  Tolewah,  Hoopah,  and  Wi-Lackee  dialects,  will 
serve  to  illustrate  their  relationship. 

TOLEWAH.  HOOPAH.  WI-LACKEE. 

One  chla  chla  clyhy 

Two  nacheh  nach  nocka 

Three  tacheh  tach  tock 

Four  tencheh  tirickh  tenckha 

Five  swoila  chwola  tuscnlla 

Six  ostaneh  hostan  cooslac 

Seven  tsayteh  ochkit  coosnac 

Eight  lanesh  tnata  cahnem  coostac 

Nine  chla  ntuch  nocosta  coostenckha 

Ten  neh  sun  minchla  kwang  enta 

In  the  southern  and  last  division  of  the  Tinneh  family 
are  found  the  great  Apache  and  Navajo  nations,  with 
their  many  dialects.  The  Apaches  may  be  said  to  in- 
habit or  rather  to  roam  over  the  country,  commencing 
at  the  Colorado  desert  and  extending  east  to  the  Rio 
Pecos,  or  from  about  103°  to  114°  west  long.,  and  from 
Utah  Territory  into  the  states  of  Sonora,  Chihuahua, 
Coahuila,  Nuevo  Leon,  and  Texas,  or  from  about  38°  to 
30°  north  lat.  Hardly  two  authors  agree  in  stating  the 
number  and  names  of  the  different  tribes  belonging  to 
this  nation.59  The  names  by  which  they  are  known 

M  Powers,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  ix.,  pp.  157-8;  Gibbs,  in  School- 
craft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  422;  Turner,  in  Pac.  li.  R.  Re.pt.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  87-5. 
;  Ich  habe  spater  die  Hoop  ill  Spraclie  wirkiieh  fur  eiiie  athapaskische  ange- 
nornmen.'  Buschmann.  Spurender  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  576. 

•»  BartleU's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  i.,  p.  325.  '  Desde  el  Real  de  Chiguagua, 
cruzaudo  al  Poniente,  hasta  el  rio  Gila,  y  subiendo  al  Norte,  hasta  el  Moqui,. 
VOL.  III.  38 


594  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

among  themselves  are,  according  to  Orozco  y  Berra: 
Vlnni  ettinen-ne,  Segatajen-ne,  Tjuiccujen-ne, .  Iccujen-ne, 
Ywtajen-ne,  Sejen-ne,  Cuelcajen-ne,  Lipajen-ne,  for  which 
the  Mexicans  have  substituted,  such  words  as  Apaches, 
Tontos,  Chiricaguis,  Gilenos,  Mimbreilos,  Faraones, 
Mescaleros,  Llaneros,  Lipanes,  and  Navajos.60  The  na- 
tions that  make  up  this  great  people  are  the  Chiricaguis 
•in  north-eastern  Sonora ;  Coyoteros  in  the  Gila  country ; 
Faraones,  west  of  New  Mexico  in  the  Sierras  del  Diablo, 
Chanate,  and  Pilares;  Gilenos  at  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Sierra  de  los  Mimbres  south  of  the  Rio  Gila ;  the  people 
of  the  copper  mines  on  both  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
ranging  west  to  the  Coyoteros  and  Pirialefios,  and  also 
into  Chihuahua  and  Sonora,  and  at  Lake  Guzman  west 
of  Paso  del  Norte;  the  Lipanes,  or  Ipandes,  in  Texas; 

y  Nuevo  Mexico,  y  Provincias  de  Texas  y  Qtiahuila;  y  revolviendo  al  Sur 
remata  en  el  sobredicho  Real.'  Arricivita,  Cronica  Serdfica,  p.  338;  Voter, 
Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  177;  Miihlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  i.,  pp.  212-3; 
'  Extend  from  the  black  mountains  in  New  Mexico  to  the  frontiers  of  Cog- 
quitla.'  Pike's  Explor.  Trav.,  (Phil.  1810,)  appendix,  p.  10;  Turner,  in  Pac. 
R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  83;  Malte-Bnm,  Precis  de  la  Ge'og.,  torn,  vi.,  p. 
446;  Pope,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  13;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek. 
Spr.,  p.  298;  Ludewiy's  Ab.  Lang.,  p.  8.  '  Se  extienden  en  el  vasto  espacio 
de  dicho  continente,  que  comprenden  los  grades  30  a  38  de  latitud  Norte, 
y  264  a  277  de  longitud  de  Tenerife.'  Cordero,  in  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia, 
p.  369;  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  393,  et  seq.  •  Tota  haec 
regio,  quain  Novam  Mexicanam  vocant,  ab  omnibus  pene  lateribus  ambitur 
ab  Apachibus.'  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  316;  Venegas,  Noticia  de  la  CaL,  torn, 
ii.,  553;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  40. 

60  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  369.  'La  nacion  apache  es  una  misma 
aunque  con  las  denominaciones  de  Gilenos,  Carlaues,  Chilpaiues,  Xicarillas, 
Faraones,  Mescaleros,  Natales,  Lipanes,  etc.  varia  poco  en  su  idioma.'  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  10.  'Los  Apaches  se  dividen  en  cinco 
parciulidades  como  son:  Tontos  6  Coyoteros,  Chiricahues,  Gilenos,  Fara- 
ones, Mescaleros,  Llaneros,  Lipanes,  Xicarillas  y  otras.'  Barreiro,  Ojeada, 
appendix,  p.  7.  Browne  mentions  the  Gila  Apaches,  and  as  belonging  to 
them  Mimbrenas,  Chiricahuas,  Sierra  Blancas,  Pinal  llanos,  Coyoteros, 
Cominos,  Tontos,  and  Mogallones.'  Apache  Country,  p.  290;  Vaier,  Mithri- 
dates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  177-8;  Miihlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  i.,  p.  211.  '  The 
Apache;  from  which  branch  the  Navajos,  Apaches,  Coyoteros,  Mescaleros, 
Moquis,  Yabipias,  Maricopas,  Chiricaquis,  Chemeguabas,  Yumayas  (the 
last  two  tribes  of  the  Moqui),  and  the  ^Jijoras,  a  small  tribe  on  the  Gila.' 
Ration's  Adven.  Mex.,  p.  194;  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1857,  p.  298;  1858,  pp.  205-6; 
1854,  p.  180;  1861,  p.  122;  1862,  p.  238;  1863,  p.  108;  1864,  p.  156;  1865,  p. 
506;  1869,  p.  234;  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  289.  'Los  apaches 
se  dividen  en  nueve  parcialidades  6  tribus.'  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p. 
251.  'Since  acquiring  the  Apache  language,  I  have  discovered  that  they 
(Lipans)  are  a  branch  of  that  great  tribe,  speaking  identically  the  same  lan- 
guage, with  the  exception  of  a  few  terms  and  names  of  things  existing  in 
their  region  and  not  generally  known  to  those  branches  which  inhabit  Ari- 
zona and  New  Mexico.'  Cremony's  Apaches,  p.  21. 


SPEECH  OF  THE  APACHE  TEIBES.  595 

the  Llaneros,  north-east  of  Santa  Fe,  and  northerly  of 
the  Rio  Rojo  de  Natchitoches  or  Rio  Pecos ;  Mescaleros, 
in  the  Sierras  del  Diablo,  Chanate,  Pilares,  and  on 
both  banks  of  the  Rio  Tuerco,  above  its  confluence  with 
the  Rio  Grande ;  the  Natages,  or  Natajes,  in  Texas  near 
the  Lipanes;  the  Pelones,  in  Coahuila;  the  Pinalenos, 
in  the  Sierras  del  Pinal  and  Blanca;  the  Tejuas,  east 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  the  Gila  country ;  the  Tontos,  in 
north-eastern  Sonora,  in  the  north-east  near  the  Seris  in 
the  Pimeria  Alta,  and  south  of  the  Maricopas  and 
the  Rio  Gila;  the  Vaqueros  in  the  eastern  part  of  New 
Mexico;  the  Mimbrenos,  in  the  Sierra  de  los  Mimbres, 
west  of  Paso  del  Norte,  and  in  the  south-western  end  of 
New  Mexico,  on  the  northern  boundary  of  Chihuahua.61 
The  Xicarillas,  whose  dialect  forms  the  principal  con- 
necting link  between  the  Apache  language  and  the 
Tinneh  family,  live  on  the  Rio  de  los  Osos,  west  of  the 
Rio  Grande;  also  in  the  Moro  Mountains  and  along  the 
Cimarron.62  All  the  Apache  tribes  speak  dialects  but 
slightly  varying  from  one  another,  and  all  can  converse 
easily  together.  Different  accentuations  and  some  pecul- 
iar vocal  appellations  are,  for  the  most  part,  all  that 
constitute  severalness  in  these  dialects.  Don  Jose  Cortez 
states  that  "the  utterance  of  the  language  is  very  violent, 
but  it  is  not  so  difficult  to  speak  as  the  first  impression 

si  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  303,  et  seq.  'El  intermedio 
•del  Colorado  y  Gila,  ocupan  los  yavipaistejua,  y  otros  yavipais;  al  sur  del 
Moqui  son  todos  yavipais,  que  es  lo  mismo  que  apaches,  donde  se  conoce 
el  gran  terreno  que  ocupa  esta  nacion.'  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex., 
sarie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  352;  San  Francisco  Evening  Bulletin,  Feb.  18, 1804.  Padilla 
mentions  the  following  nations  with  the  Apaches:  'Apaches,  Pharaoues, 
Natagees,  Gilas,  Mescaleros,  Cosninas,  Quartelejos,  -Palomas,  Xicarillas, 
Yutas,  Moquinos.'  Conq.  N.  GaKcia,  MS.,  p.  785;  Cortez,  Hist.  Apache  Na- 
tions, in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  118-20.  'The  Apaches,  the  Nava- 
hoes,  and  the  Lipans,  of  Texas,  speak  dialects  of  the  same  language. 
The  Jicarillas,  (Hic-ah-ree-ahs)  Mescaleros.  Tontos,  and  Coyotens,  are  all 
bands  of  Apaches;  and  I  am  induced  to  think  the  Garoteros  are  also  an  off- 
shoot from  the  Apache  tribe.'  Lane,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689. 

62  'A  distancia  de  ciuco  leguas,  al  mesmo  runibo  (north  of  Taos),  esta  una 
Naciou  de  Indios,  que  llaman  Xicarillas.'  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  420;  Davis,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1869,  p.  255.  Xicarillas,  Apache 
Indians  of  northern  New  Mexico.  Their  language  shows  affinity  with  the 
great  Athabascan  stock  of  languages.  Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex,  u.  der 
Westseite  des  B.  Nordamer,,  p.  274;  Id.,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  318-9; 
ochoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  203. 


596  HYPERBOEEAN  LANGUAGES. 

of  it  would  lead  one  to  suppose;  for  the  ear,  becoming 
accustomed  to  the  sound,  discovers  a  cadence  in  the 
words."  "It  has  great  poverty,  both  of  expression  and 
words."  It  appears  as  well  that  the  harsh  gutturals  so 
constantly  heard  among  the  northern  members  of  the 
Tinneh  family,  frequently  occur  in  the  Apache  dialects.63 
Bartlett  writes,  "it  sounds  like  a  combination  of  Polish, 
Chinese,  Choctaw,  and  Dutch.  Grunts  and  gutturals 
abound,  and  there  is  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Hot- 
tentot click.  Now  blend  these  together,  and  as  you 
utter  the  word,  swallow  it.  and  the  sound  will  be  a  fair 
specimen  of  an  Apache  word."64  Apache  affiliations 
have  been  surmised  by  different  writers,-  with  nearly  all 
their  neighbors,  and  even  with  more  distant  nations. 
Arricivita  hints  at  a  possible  relationship  with  the  Otorni, 
because  an  Otomi  muleteer  told  him  that  lie  could  con- 
verse with  the  Apaches.65  The  Shoshone  and  Comanche 
dialects  have  also  been  referred  to  the  Tinneh  trunk,  but 
in  reality  they  belong  to  the  Sonora  vernacular,  a  dis- 
covery first  made  by  Turner,  and  proved  by  Buschmann. 
Col.  Cremony,  who  was  interpreter  for  the  United 
States  Mexican  boundary  commission,  and  hence  convers- 
ant with  the  Apache  language,  gives  some  valuable 
grammatical  notes.  "Their  verbs"  he  says  "express  the 
past,  present  and  future  with  much  regularity,  and  have 
the  infinitive,  indicative,  subjunctive  and  imperative 
moods,  together  with  the  first,  second  and  third  persons, 
and  the  singular,  dual  and  plural  numbers.  Many  of 


63  Cortez,  Hist.  Apache  Nations,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  120.  '  Hab- 
lan  un  mismo  idioma,  y  nunque  varia  el  acento  y  tal  cual  voz  provincial,  no 
infiuye  esta  diferencia  que  dejen  de  entenderse  reciproeamente.'  Orozco  y 
Berra,  Q?o  irafia,  p.  339. 

<;i  liirtlett's  Letter,  in  Literary  World,  April  24,  1852,  pp.  298-9.  'It 
abounds  equally  with  guttural,  hissing  arid  indistinctly  uttered  mixed  in- 
tonations. ...  It  abounds  in  the  sound  of  tz,  so  common  in  the  Shemitic  lan- 
guages, of  zl  of  d  and  the  rough  rr....It  may  be  suggested  that  its  proper 
affinities  are  to  be  found  in  the  Athpasca.'  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  pp. 
202-3. 

65  '  Le  pregunto  que  si  acaso  entendia  la  lengna  de  los  Apaches,  y  satis- 
fizo  con  que  era  la  misma  Otomite  que  el  hablaba,  y  solo  con  la  diferencia 
de  que  ellos  variaban  la  signiticacion  de  muchos  vocablos  que  en  la  suya 
querian  decir  otras  cosas :  pero  por  el  contexto  de  las  otras  palabras,  f  acil- 
inente  se  entendian.'  Arricivita,  Cr6nica  Senifaa,  p.  339. 


APACHE  GKAMMAE.  597 

them  are  very  irregular,  and  depend  upon  auxiliaries 
which  are  few.  In  all  that  relates  to  special  individuality 
the  language  is  exacting;  thus,  shee  means  I,  or  me; 
but  shee-dafi  means  I  myself,  or  me  myself ;  dee  means 
thee  or  thou ;  but  dee-dah  means  you  yourself  especially 
and  personally,  without  reference  to  any  other  being. 
When  an  Apache  is  relating  his  own  personal  adventures 
he  never  says  shee  for  I,  because  that  word,  in  some 
sense,  includes  all  who  were  present  and  took  any  part 
in  the  affair  but  he  uses  the  word  shee-dah,  to  show  that  the 
act  was  wholly  his  own.  The  pronouns  are :  shee — I ; 
shee-dah — I  myself;  dee — thee  or  thou;  dee-dah,  thee 
thyself;  aghan — it,  he,  her,  or  they.  The  word  to-dah 
means  no,  and  all  their  affirmatives  are  negatived  by 
dividing  this  word  so  as  to  place  the  first  syllable  in 
front  and  the  second  in  the  rear  of  the  verb  to  be  nega- 
tived. For  example,  ink-tali  means,  sit  down,  but  to 
say,  do  not  sit  down,  we  must  express  it  to-ink-tah-dali ; 
nuest-chee-shee,  come  here;  to-nuest-chee-shee-dah,  do  not 
come  here ;  anah-zont-tee,  begone ;  to-anah-zont-tee-dah,  do 
not  begone."66 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE,  AH  GHONTAY. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  am,         tak  she 

Thou  art,  tan-dee -ah-aht-tee 
He  is,        tah-annah 


We  are,      tan-ah-hee-ah-aht-tee 
You  are,     nah-hee-ah-aht-tee 
They  are,  aghan-day-aht-tee 


IMPERFECT. 

I  was,  tash-ee-ah-ash-ee 

Thou  wast,  dee-ah-alt-een 

He  was,  tah  annah-kah-on-yah, 

We  were,  akunnah  sin-kali 

You  were,  nah-hee-dah-a-kan  nah-dash-shosh 

They  were,  aghan-do-doh-ah-kah-gah-kah 


FIRST  FUTURE. 


I  shall  be,  she-ah-dnsh-'n-dahl 
Thoti  wilt  be,  dee-ay-goh-ay-dahl 
He  will  be,  ando-ay-gah-ee-dahl 


We  shall  be,    nah-he-do-gont-ee  dahl 
You  will  be,    nah-he-nah-hat-han-dahl 
They  will  be,  nah-hayt-han-dahl 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  DO,  AH  GOSH  LAH. 


I  do,  she-ash-1  ah 

Thou  dost,  tan-dee -aghon-lah 
He  does        tah-pee-ay-il-lah 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


We  do,         tah-uah-hee-ah-ghont-lah 
You  do,        nah-hee-ah-ghast-lah 
They  do,     tah-goh-pee-ah-goh-lah 


66  Cremony's  Apaches,  p.  239;    Id.,  in  Overland  Monthly,  Sept.  1868,   pp. 
306-7. 


598 


HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 


I  did, 

Thou  didst, 
He  did, 


IMPERFECT. 

tah-she-ash-lah  We  did,      tah-nah-kee-and-lah 

dee-aud-lah  You  d.d,     uah-hee-alt-lah 

pee-iud-lah  They  did,  goh-pee-ah-goh-nind-lah 

FIEST  FUTUKK. 

I  shall  do,  tash-ee-ah-dosh-leel 

Thou  wilt  do,  dee-ah-goh-dont-leel 

He  will  do,  tah-pee-aye-dabl-teel 

We  shall  do,  tah-nah-he-ah-go-dont-leel 

You  will  do,  nah-he-ah-dash-leel 

They  will  do,  go-pee-ah-guill-dah-leel 


PRKSENT  SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  do, 
If  thou  do, 
If  he  do, 


she-ash-lah-nah-ah 

dee-alt-in-dahl 

tah-pee-ayilt-in-dahl 


If  we  do, 
If  you  do, 
If  they  do, 


tah-nah-hee-ant-lah 

nah-hee-alt-lah 

go-pee-ah-wilt-ee 


IMPEEATTVE. 

Do  thou,  eah-and-lah 

PRKSENT    PARTICIPLE, 

Doing,  ah-whee-lah 
CONJUGATION  OF  THE  YERB  TO  EAT,  ISH  SHAN. 


I  eat,  she-ish-shan 

Thou  eatest,  deah-iu-nah 
He  eats,          aghan-iz-yan 


PSESENT   INDICATIVE. 

We  eat, 
You  eat, 
They  eat, 


tah-nah-de-hit-tahn 
nah-he-ualoh-in-daif 
goh-pee-goo-iz-yan 


PEEFECT. 

I  have  eaten,          she-ohz-yan 
Thou  hast  eaten,  dee-schlee-ohn-nah 
He  has  eaten,        aghaii-ohuz-yan 
We  have  eaten,      tah-nah-hee-al-ke-dah-ohn-tan 
You  have  eaten,    nah-he-ahz-yan 
They  have  eaten,  goh-pee-go-yohnz-yan 


I  shall  eat, 
Thou  wilt  eat, 
He  will  eat, 
We  shall  eat, 
You  will  eat, 
They  will  eat, 


FIRST  FUTURE. 

she-go-ish-shan 
dee-doh-in-mah  dahl 
aghandoh-iz-yan 
tah-nah-hee-hin-tahn-dahl 
nah-he-goh  an  -shan 
goh-pee-goh-iz-yan-dahl 


IMPERATIVE. 

Eat  thou,        tan-dee-in-nah         |      Let  them  eat,  tah-goh-pee-niz-yan 
CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  SLEEP,  IL  HOOSH. 


PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 


I  sleep, 
Thou  sleepest, 
He  sleeps, 


she-ish-hoosh 

dee-ilt-hoosh 

aghan-it-hoosh 

I  have  slept, 
Thou  hast  slept, 
He  has  slept, 
We  have  slept, 
You  have  slept, 
They  have  slept, 


We  sleep, 
You  sleep, 
They  sleep, 


tah-nah-he-il-hoosh 

nah-he-il-hoosh 

go-pee-will-noosh 


PERFECT. 

she-al-kee-dah-ish-hash 

dee-al-kee-dah-ish-hash 

aghando-ish-hash 

tah-nah-he-al-kee-dah-il-gash 

nah-he-al-kee-dah-al-hoosh 

go-pee-al-kee-dah-go-il-gash 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  APACHE  MESCALERO. 


599 


FIBST    FUTURE. 


I  shall  sleep, 
Thou  wilt  sleep, 
He  will  sleep, 
We  shall  sleep, 
You  will  sleep, 
They  will  sleep, 

Sleep  thou, 
Sleep  you, 
Sleep  they, 


she-do-ish-hoosht-tahl 

dee-do-dohl-goosh 

aghando-il-hoosht-dahl 

tah-nah-he-do-il-goosh-tahl 

iiah-he-doh-al-hoosh-tahl 

go-pee-go-will-hoosh-tahl 

IMPEBATIVE. 

dee-ilh-hoosh 

nah-hee-doh-al-hoosh 

go-pee-go-il-hoosh 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE,  IN  KAY  GO  ISHT  LEE. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  love, 

sheah-in-kay-go-isht  lee 

We  love,     tan-ah-hee-in-kay-go-it-lee 

Thou  lovest,  deah-vick-kay-go-int-lee 

You  love,   nah-he-vick-kay-at-lee 

He  loves, 

aghan-ee-kay-go-it-lee 

They  love,  goh-pee-vick-kay-go-it-lee 

IMPERFECT. 

I  loved,                    she-in-kay-go-isht-leeth-lay 

Thou  lovedst,          dee-vick-kay-go-int-leeth-lee 

He  loved,                 aghan-vick-kay-go-it-leelth-lee 

We  loved,                tau-ah-hee-vick-kay-iut-leelth-lee 

You  loved,               nah-he-vick-kay-at-leelth-lee 

They  loved,             go-pee-vick-kay-go-leelth-lee 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

Thou  wilt  love,       dee-vick-kay-go-isht-lee-dahl 

He  will  love,           aghan-vick-kay-go-it-lee-dahl 
I  shall  love,             she-in-kay-go-isht-lee-dahl 

We  shall  love,         tah-nah-he-vick-kay-go-it-tlee-dahl 

You  will  love,          nah-he-vick-kay-at-tlee-clahl 

They  will  love,       goh-pee-vick-kay-go-it-tlee-dahl 

IMPEBFECT   POTENTIAL. 

I  should  love,              she  'dn-vick-kay-go-isht-leel-dahl 

Thou  shouldst  love,    dee  'du-vick-kay-go-isht-leel-dahl 

He  should  love,           aghan-vick-kay-ich-klee-dahl 

We  should  love,           tah-uah-he-vick-kay-go-in-klee-dahl 

Yoii  should  love,         nah-he-vick-kay-go-in-klee-dahl 

They  should  love,       goh-pee-vick-kay-go-iu-klee-dahl 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love  thou,               vick-kay-go-it-lee 

Love  you,                nah-he-vick-kay-at-lee 

Let  them  love,        goh-pee-vick-kay-go-it-lee 

NUMEBALS. 

One 

tash-ay-ay 

Sixteen              host-kon-sah-tah-hay 

Two 

nah-kee 

Seventeen         host-ee-sah-tah-hay 

Three 

kah-yay 

Eighteen            tau-pee-sah-tah-hay 

Four 

in-yeh 

Nineteen          'n-ghost-ah-sah-tah-hay 

Five 

asht-lay 

Twenty              natin-yay 

Six 

host-kon-nay 

Thirty                kah-tin-yay 

Seven 

host-ee-day 

Forty                  tinsh-tin-yay 

Eight 

hah-pee 

Fifty                  asht-lah-tiu-yay 

Nine 

'n-ghost-ay 

Sixty                   host-kon-tin-yay 

Ten 

go-nay-nan-nay 

Seventy             host-ee-tin-yay 

Eleven 

klats-ah-tah 

Eighty                sau-vee-tiu-yay 

Twelve 

nah-kee-sah-tah 

Ninety                'n-ghost-ah-tin-yay 

Thirteen 

kah-yay-sah-tah 

One  hundred    tah-len-too-ooh 

Fourteen 

tin-sah-tah-hay 

One  thousand  go-nay-nan-too-ooh 

Fifteen 

asht-lay-sah-tah-hay 

Two  thousand  uah-tin-ee-too-ooh 

600  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  following  sentences  will  serve  as  specimens  to  show 
the  construction  of  this  language. 

Whence  come  you?    hash-ee-ohn-dahl? 

I  come  from  afar,  an-dah-she-oh-ihal. 

I  am  a  friend,  tah-in-joon-ay-ish-ke. 

What  do  you  want?  ee-ya-althe-ee  'n? 

There  are  wood,  water,  and  grass,  tooh-tlo-chee-gon-lee. 

Go  and  watch  the  enemy,  niii-dah-bin-naht-hah-aden-he. 

Take  notice  of  them,  gon-joon-ay-go-hah-den-ee. 

Of  what  nation  are  they?  yah-indah-akt-ee? 

Where  is  their  camp?  hah-ay-vee-yoat-hah? 

Note  well  their  position,  gon-joon-ay-go-nel-he-7iayago- 
ah-tay-na-lee. 

They  are  near  by,  goh-pee-ach-han-nay-she-go. 

I  do  not  believe  it,  too-vah-osht-lah-dah. 

Show  me  the  road,  in-tin-dee-she-chee-toh-golt-chee. 

Mine,  shee. 

It  is  mine,  es-shee. 

Thine,  dee. 

It  is  his  or  hers,  ah-Jcoon-pee. 

It  is  not  mine,  too-she-dah. 

It  is  not  thine,  too-in-dee-dah. 

It  is  not  his  or  hers,  too-pee-dah. 

These,  tee-hay-ah. 

Those,  ah-wayh-hay-yah. 

As  a  further  illustration,  I  give  a  speech  made  by 
General  Carleton  during  an  interview  with  the  Mesca- 
leros,  which  was  translated  and  written  down  at  the 
time  by  Col.  Cremony. 

Nah-heedn  day  nah  goodnltay ;    toogo  take  headah ; 

Your  people  are  bad;  they  have  not  kept  faith; 

bayay   geah    gontay;      schlee   nahhah   goh   inay   een; 

they  are  treacherous;  they  have  stolen  our  horses; 

nahgah  godilt  say ;  nahhannah  gwinheay  endah  ah  tay ; 

they  have  imirdered  our  people;  they  must  make  amends; 

too  nahhan  neet  ee  dah;  tab  nakee  ahendah  adenh  dee; 

they  must  cease  troubling  us;          .          they  must  obey  our  orders; 


SPEECH  IN  THE  MESCALERO  DIALECT.  601 

nah   schleen   nahhannah    weedah  ayl;     han    eganday 

they  must  restore  oar  animals;  they  must 

nahhannah    goee   dalt    yeal;     enday    nahhah   hitjash 

give  up  the  murderers;  they  must  give  us 

toohayago  andadah;   alkeedah  llaynah  ildee;    eschlanay 

hostages;  let  them  remember  past  times;        they  were 

vaygo  daht  eel;    saylth  lee  goh-pee;    taat  hooay  takee 

numerous  and  powerful;  they  held  all  the  sierras;  they  occupied  all 

anah   goh  kah;    tah   golkahay   takay   ikay   goon   lee; 

the  water-holes;  they  were  masters  of  the  plains; 

tash   lainah    too    nelchedah.    Ako   ahn   day   hahdah? 

none  made  them  afraid.  Where  are  they  now? 

Eeyah  veeahkah  tsay  nogoshee  'n  nilt  ee?    Nakay  eeah 

Why  do  they  hide  behind  rocks?  Where  is  their 

haddah?     Pahyay    kay  'n  nilt  ee?     She  aghan  iltisch 

possession?        Way  do  they  hide  like  coyotes?  I  will  tell 

in    dee.  taykay    indah    nash    lee;          taykay    ay 

them  why ;        they  have  been  enemies  to  all  other  people ;     they  have  made 

veeakah  nah  hindah;     tahnahhe    elchindah   nah  hee; 

all  other  people  their  enemies;         they  have  made  enemies  of  each  other; 

tannahee  eedaltsay  ay  veeahkah  hee  nahindah;   too  nah 

they  have  lived  by  robbery  and  murder;  they  have 

yah  seedah;  tah  nalkoneeay  vickaygo  tee  en  nahseego; 

not  worked;  idleness  breeds  want; 

tee    en    nahseego  chin  nah  hilt  yeeay;    chevilheeaygo 

want  breeds  hunger ;  hunger 

vilkonyeago  takhoogo  ont  yeal ;  yont  hooaygo  anaht  eel ; 

and  idleness  breed  crime;  they  have  committed  crimes; 

takhoogo  ninis  yah ;  aghon  ahltay  koohaygo  naht   lee ; 

the  punishment  has  fallen  on  them;    their  thousands  have  become  hundreds; 

elchinalcheego    vickeah    golt    seel;     nahee   vah    ah  tee 

we  speak  harsh  truths;  we  speak  so  only  for 

elchinahtee;        naschayhay       too       ahnah       lahdah; 

their  good;  we  have  no  vengeance  in  our  hearts; 

Elchinalcheego    inklees    andah    'n  June;     nah    kashee 

Our  talk  is  hard  but  good;  let  them 

vanan  an  keeays ;     anahtay  kahdayah  too  wakhahdah ; 

reflect  upon  it;  let  them  change  their  ways; 

innee  riahl  ash  lah;  ilk  jeel  eego  andah  'n  June.67 

let  them  cultivate  the  earth;    let  them  be  a  strong  but  a  good  people. 

67   Prepared  at  Fort  Suniner,  Bosque  Redondo,  on  the  Pecos  River,  New 
Mexico,  in  1863,  as  certified  by  Brig.  Gen.  James  H.  Caileton,  U.  8.  A.,  and 


602  HYPERBOREAN  LANGUAGES. 

Mr  Dorr,  writing  in  the  Overland  Monthly,  makes  an 
erroneous  assertion  that  the  Apache  and  Zuiii  languages 
are  the  same,  "  differing  only  in  accent,  intonation,  and 
cadence,  they  understand  each  other  without  difficulty. 
The  Zuiii,  or  Apache  language  is  very  flexible  and 
suave,  and  may  at  some  time  have  been  the  Court  lan- 
guage of  the  ancient  races.  It  is  often  as  expressive  of 
fine  shades  of  distinction  as  even  the  Greek  itself.  It 
preserves — in  the  adyta  of  its  wonderful  radicals — the 
traditional  duality  of  the  human  race :  its  dual,  as  well 
as  singular  and  plural,  forms  of  speech."68 

Vater  intimates  a  relationship  between  the  Apaches 
and  the  Pawnees,  and  that  chiefly  on  the  ground  of  a 
similarity  in  the  names  Pawnees  and  Lipanes.69 

Pimentel  gives  a  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Lipan  dialect, 
which  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  language : 

'  Cutall  nezllo  ezlla  anel  ti  qui  Llata ;  setezdanela  net 
aga  nautela;  nosesene  nda  tendaje  lie  aga  tande: 
tanzanenda  aga  atanclaju,  senegui  ti  ezllza  glezi,  aj  ullu 
ti  lie  lata;  Lie  tulatan  nezlle  ja  lag£  tatichi  anizane 
tatichi  en  gucecen  de  joulle  vandaezhe  lenegui  ajullu 
da  ye  nachezonlle  tenage  vandaezhec  en  ne  zto  agatenja 
tenda  tlez  ti  tezchupanen  da  glicoa  genechi  te  najacengli 
Gaache  lye  net.'70 

The  Navajos,  or  Apache  Navajos,  of  New  Mexico, 
like  the  northern  Tinneh,  call  themselves  Tennai,  men. 
Their  dialect  approaches  the  Xicarilla  Apache,  and  Mr 
Eaton  even  asserts  that  it  is  about  the  same.71  Pike 
mentions  the  Nanahaws,  which  name  is  probably  intended 
for  Xavajos,  as  no  other  account  can  be  found  of  such 
a  people. 

the  only  Apache  grammar  known  to  exist  at  this  date.  Cremony's  Vocabu- 
lary and  Grammar  of  the  Mescalero  ApacJte  Language,  MS. 

6a  Dorr's  Ride  with  the  Apaches,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  vi.,  p.  343. 

69   Vater,  Mithrldfites,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  179. 

TO  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  251,  and  in  Coleccion  Polidioniica  Mexicana 
que  contiene  La  Oracion  Dominical;  por  la  Sodedad  Mex.  Geog.  y  Esiad., 
Mexico  1860. 

71  '  The  Apaches  call  the  Navajoes  Yu-tah-kah.  The  Navajoes  call 
themselves,  as  a  tribe,  Teniiai  (man.)  The  appellation  Navajo,  was  unques- 
tionably given  them  by  the  Spaniards.'  Eaton,  in  Schooler; ift'n  Arch.,  vol. 
iv.,  pp.  217-8;  MoUhausen,  Tayebuch,  p.  229.  'Gehort  ebenf alls  zur  Fami lie 
der  Apaches.'  Id.,  Rcisen,  torn,  ii.,  p.  236. 


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CHAPTER  III. 

COLUMBIAN   LANGUAGES. 

THE  HAIDAH,  ITS  CONSTRUCTION  AND  CONJUGATION — THE  NASS  LANGUAGE  AND 
ITS  DIALECTS — BELLACOQLA  AND  CHIMSYAN  COMPARISONS — THE  NOOTKA 
LANGUAGES  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND — NANAIMO  TEN  COMMANDMENTS  AND 
LORD'S  PEAYEE — AZTEC  ANALOGIES — FEASER  AND  THOMPSON  RIVER  LAN- 
GUAGES— THE  NEETLAKAPAMUCK  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PBAYER — SOUND 
LANGUAGES — THE  SALISH  FAMILY — FLATHEAD  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S 
PBAYER — THE  KOOTENAI — THE  SAHAPTIN  FAMILY — NEZ  PEBCE  GRAMMAR 
— YAKIMA  LORD'S  PRAYER—  SAHAPTIN  STATE  AND  SLAVE  LANGUAGES — 
THE  CHINOOK  FAMILY — GRAMMAR  OF  THE  CHINOOK  LANGUAGE — AZTEC 
AFFINITIES — THE  CHINOOK  JAEGON. 

Returned  from  the  south,  whither  we  were  led  by  the 
Apache  branch  of  the  Tinneh  family,  let  us  examine 
the  languages  of  our  Columbian  group.  Next  along 
the  sea-board,  south  of  the  Thlinkeets,  are  the  Haidahs 
and  Kaiganies,  whose  language  is  spoken  on  the  southern 
part  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago,  and  on  Queen 
Charlotte  Island.  This  language  is  sometimes  called 
Haidah,  and  sometimes  Kaiganie,1  and  although  many 
tribes  belong  to  these  nations,  I  find  among  them  no 
dialectic  difference,  except  that  between  the  Haidahs  of 
Queen  Charlotte  Island  and  the  Kaiganies  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago. 

March  and  claims  that  this  language  is  understood  by 


1  '  Die  Kaigan-Sprache  wird  auf  der  Insel  Kaigan  und  den  Charlotten 
Inseln. . .  .gesprochen.'  Veiiwtminoff,  in  Ernian,  Archiv,  torn,  vii.,  No.  i, 
p.  128. 

(604) 


THE  HAIDAH  AND  KAIGANIE.  605 

the  Thlinkeets  and  other  eastern  tribes;2  Capt.  Dixon 
thinks  it  is  a  distinct  and  separate  tongue;3  Scouler 
makes  one  large  northern  family,  which  he  says  spreads 
"from  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the  northern  extremity  of 
Quadra  and  Vancouver's  Island ; "  *  Radloff  s  comparative 
researches  incline  him  to  the  opinion  that,  although 
there  may  be  a  few  similarities  in  words  between  this 
and  other  idioms,  as,  for  example,  the  Thlinkeet,  they 
are  yet  insufficient  to  prove  identity.5 

Some  of  those  who  have  heard  the  Haidahs  speak,  say 
that  their  language  is  uncouth  and  difficult  to  articulate, 
abounding  in  consonants,  and  with  a  labial  and  dental 
pronunciation  ;6  others  affirm  that  it  does  not  possess  the 
hard  aspirated  consonants  so  frequently  found  in  the. 
Thlinkeet  language,  that  it  is  richer  in  vowels  and 
softer,  though,  like  the  Thlinkeet,  it  is  wanting  in  labials, 
in  the  dental  r,  and  in  the  guttural  /,  while  the  Haidah 
has  the  clear  V  The  Haidah  language  lacks  the  letters 
5,  p,  /,  and  the  dental  r ;  neither  its  substantives  nor 
adjectives  have  any  gender,  and  to  express  the  feminine 

2  '  En  parlant  du  langage  de    Tchinkittiine,  j  'ai  rapporte  d'avance  les 
termes    numeriques    employes    aux    lies    de    Queen-Charlotte,    tels   que   le 
capitaine  Chanal  a  pu  les  recneillir  a  Cloak-Bay;  il  observe  que  quelqiies- 
uns  de  ces  termes  sont  communs   aux  autres  parties  de  ces  isles  qu'il  a 
visitees,  ainsi  que  quelqiies  autres  termes  qu'il  a  pu  saisir,  et  par  lesquels 

les  Naturels  expriment  les  objets  suivanes Cette   similitude  des  termes 

numeriques  et  d'autres  termes,  employes  egalement  par  les  diverses  Tribus, 
saparees  les  unes  des  autres,  qui  occupent  la  partie  de  cotes  des  iles   de 
Queen-Charlotte  que   le  Capitaine  Chanal  a  visitee,   me  semble  demontrer, 
centre  1'opinion   hasardee   du  Redacteur  du  Journal   de    Dixon,  que  ces 
Tribus  cominuniquent  habituellement  eutre  elles:  cette  identite  du  langage 
pourroit  encore  prouver  que  les  Peuplades  qui  habitent  ces  iles  ont  uiie 
origine  commune.'     Marchand,  Voyaye,  torn,  ii.,  p.  216. 

3  '  There  are  at  least  two  or  three  different  languages  spoken  on  the  coast, 
and  yet  prob  ibly  they  are  all  pretty  generally  understood;  though  if  we  may 
credit  the  old  Chief  at  Queen  Charlotte's  Islands,  his  people  were  totally 
ignorant  of  that  spoken  by  the  inhabitants  to  the  Eastward."     Dixon' s  Voy.t 
p.  240. 

4  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  218,  220. 

5  E'idloff,  Sprache  der  Kait/anen,  in  Mel.  Busses,  torn,  iii.,  liv.  v.,  p.  675; 
(?re?n,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  302. 

6  Dixon's  Voy.,  p.  240. 

7  'Es  fehlen  dem  Kaigani  (Haidah)  jene  harten  aspirirten  Consonanten, 
die  dem  Thliukit  so  gelaufig  sind,  es  ist  vocalreicher  und  weicher.     Dagegeii 
theilt  est  mit  dem  Thlinki't  deii  Mangel  der  Labialen,  des  dentalen  r,  wie 
auch   der  Verbindung    des   1   mit    Dentalen,    Gutturalen  und   Sibilanten, 
wahrend  jenem,  dagegen  das  reirie  1  des  Kaigani  ganz  fremd  ist.'     Radloff, 
•S/>/!  tche  der  Knganen,  in  Mill.  Jiusses,  toni  iii.,  liv.  v.,  pp.  575-6. 


606  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

the  word  dshetta,  woman,  is  added.  Itlk  dshetta,  wife 
of  the  chief;  ha,  dog;  ha  dshetta,  slut.  Neither  is 
there  any  particular  expression  for  the  plural.  Kjeganei, 
my  house;  kjeganei  tljonxl  Idgun,  my  three  houses  are 
good ;  ton  dsha,  thy  wife ;  ton  dsha  stong  hdna,  thy  two 
wives  are  both  pretty.  Two  exceptions  have  been  men- 
tioned;— gjea,  must]  feeing  hlohnhl,  three  masts;  //<,///, 
man  (homo) ;  hdtei,  men.  Substantives  are  not  declined, 
but  remain  unchanged  in  all  cases.  Uantl,  water;  lm'1 
hantl,  bring  water ;  tht,  boat ;  tlu  ton  gistasa,  I  give  thee 
a  boat;  katt,  deer;  katt  hutsu  ziggin,  I  have  a  small  deer ; 
ski,  hand;  hall  t'Jn  ski,  give  thy  hand.  Pronouns  are 
either  distinct  words,  or  are  prefixes  to  substantives 
and  verbs.  Prefixes  also  denote  the  possessive  case. 
To  the  former  class  belong  htlci,  I;  and  tonga,  thou. 
To  the  latter  belong  te,  ti,  de,  di,  zi,  kje,  teea,  tl,  t,  mine, 
all  of  which  are  used  in  the  first  person  singular.  Sec- 
ond person  singular,  to'ng,  ton,  ten,  thine;  second  person 
plural,  to'Ub'ng,  yours. 

Of  the  conjugation  of  the  verb,  the  following  may 
serve  as  example:  Present  indicative — I  am  hungry, 
tekutke;  thou  art  hungry,  to'ng  khuttus;  he  is  hungry, 
law  khitttung;  we  are  hungry,  itl  khi'ittung;  you  are 
hungry,  tollong  khuttus;  they  are  hungry,  linnas  khttttung. 
Root  words  are  not  of  great  length.  The  larger  part  are 
words  of  one  or  two  syllables ;  some  are  of  three  or  four, 
but  these  are  rare ;  nevertheless,  words  may  be  agglutin- 
ated to  any  length.8 

The  Nass  language  is  spoken  with  very  slight  differ- 
ences by  the  Nass,  Hailtzas,  and  Sebassas,  who  dwell 
around  Observatory  Inlet,  Millbank  Sound,  and  the 
islands  of  Pitt  Archipelago,  respectively.  Harsh  sounds 
and  gutturals  predominate.9  The  personal  pronouns  are, 
— noohva,  I ;  cmho,  thou ;  nesho,  mine ;  cusho,  thine ;  nook- 
ivintok,  we ;  kycusko,  ye ;  caigh  qua,  he ;  elee  caigh  qua,  they.10 

8  Id.,  pp.  569-607. 

9  Green,  in  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.,    Transact.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  302.     'Niiss...  in 
custom  and  language,   resemble  the    Sabassa.'      Dunn's    Oregon,   p.    27y. 
Unschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.,  u.  der  Westseite  des  b.  Nordamer.,  p.  398,  et  seq. 

w  Scouler,  IH  Lond.  Geoy.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol  ix.,  p.  234. 


BELLACOOLA  AND  CHIMSYAN.  607 

Dunn  gives  a  few  sentences,  which  I  insert  as  speci- 
mens: wheaky  towels  kuss>'(,  where  are  you  going? 
howmitlikm  pooquialla  iltsouk,  do  you  understand  our 
language?  lowels,  cah  ciinter  cah  millali,  go  shoot  deer." 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Nass  are  two  other 
languages,  the  Bellacoola  and  Chimsyan,  of  which  hardly 
anything  is  known.  Tolmie  supposes  the  Chimsyan  to 
be  related  to  the  Tacully  language,  but  Buschmann,  on 
comparing  the  vocabularies,  could  not  find  the  affinity. 
The  Rev.  Mr  Good  informs  me  that  the  Chimsyan 
tongue  extends  inland  as  far  as  Fraser  and  Stuart 
Lake.12  Compare  the  following  words: 

BELLACOOLA.  CHIMSYAN. 

I  untsh  newyo 

Thou  eno  nooue 

Mine  untshil  nawhawae 

We  unshto  neuhami 

Ye  enooh  netimi 

He  teechtil  taigh  qua 

They  teech  til  tin  no  mo  taight  queet 

Man  tliiusdah  tzib 

Woman  chinash  unaach 

Knife  teech  tah  ilth-a-peesh 

Water  kull  ah  use 

Stone  quils  tolomick  loap 

Sun  skin  nuch  kium  uk 

Moon  tlooki  kium  ugum  aat  uk 

Good  teeah  aam 

Bad  ushee  atuchk 

The  Hailtzas  and  the  Bellacoolas  have  the  following 
words  in  common; — watz,  dog;  poe,  halibut;  tlah,  black 
bear;  nun,  grizzly  bear.13 

On  Vancouver  Island  a  multitude  of  dialects  are  spok- 
en, and  various  and  contradictory  classifications  have 
been  made,  none  of  which,  in  my  opinion,  are  correct. 
From  the  evidence,  dialetic  diversity  prevails  to  such  an 
extent  that  almost  every  petty  tribe  has  its  idiom ;  so 
that,  even  if  affinities  do  exist,  sufficient  to  justify 
a  classification  into  languages  and  dialects,  so  meagre 
is  our  knowledge  that  it  is  impossible  in  many  instances 
to  say  which  are  languages  and  which  dialects.  Hence 

11  Dunn's  Oregon,  p.  358. 

12  Scouler,  in  Lond.  Oeog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  221. 

13  Id.,  p.  230,  et  seq. 


608  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

in  my  classification  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  make  of 
the  Nootka  one  language,  and  give  a  list  of  the  dialects 
on  the  island,  with  all  the  information  concerning  them 
at  my  command.  Four  languages  of  the  island, — the 
Quackoll  in  the  north,  the  Cowichin  on  the  east,  the 
Clallam  at  the  south,  and  the  Makah  on  the  west,  are 
said  to  be  "  totally  distinct  from  each  other,  both  in 
sound,  formation,  and  modes  of  expression."  The  one 
last  mentioned  is  said  to  bear  some  affinity  to  the  lan- 
guage spoken  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,14  and 
is  called  by  Sproat  the  Aht  language,  for  which  he 
claims  in  like  manner  that  it  "  can  be  traced  through 
all  the  tribes  on  the  ocean  coast,  as  far  south  as  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia."  The  Comux,  which  people  he 
locates  on  the  east  coast  between  the  Cowichins  and 
Quackolls,  migrated  thither,  he  says,  from  the  main 
land,  and  the  tribes  "  do  not  readily  understand  one 
another's  language;"  from  all  of  which  we  may  infer 
that  in  reality  there  is  only  one  language,  of  which 
these  four  are  the  chief  dialects.15  Yet  this  is  partially 
contradicted  by  Grant,  who  affirms  that  the  Cowichins 
and  Clallams  can  communicate  with  each  other,  though 
not  very  easily,  but  that  the  Makahs  and  Quackolls  can- 
not converse  with  each  other  or  with  any  of  the  other 
nations.16  Another  authority,  who  certainly  ought  to  be 
entitled  to  an  opinion,  having  been  a  captive  among 
these  nations  for  some  years,  also  intimates  that  in  re- 
ality there  was  only  one  language  dominant  on  the 
island.  After  enumerating  the  different  tribes  he  con- 
cludes; "all  of  whom  speak  the  same  language.  But 
the  Newchemass  who  come  from  a  great  way  Northward, 
and  from  some  distance  inland,  speak  quite  a  different 
language,  although  it  is  well  understood  by  those  of 
Nootka."1' 


n  Grant's  Vane.  IsL,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxvii.,  pp.  295-6. 
1J  Sprout's  Scenes,  p.  311. 

16  brant's  Vane.  IsL,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  -vol.  xxvii.,  p.  295. 

17  '  The  inhabitants  of  Nootka  Sound  and  the  Tlaoquatch,  who  occupy  the 
south-western  points  of  the  island,  speak  the  same   language.'  Scouler.  in 
Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  224;   Jewitt's  Nar.,  pp.  74-77;    Hak's 


LANGUAGES  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND.  609 

Xational  differences  appear  to  consist  more  in  pro- 
nunciation than  in  grammatical  construction.  Thus 
the  articulation  of  the  Klaizzahts  is  hoarser  and  more 
guttural  than  that  of  the  people  of  Nootka  Sound.18 
Dialectic  differences  sometimes  go  so  far  that  the  several 
bands  of  the  same  tribe  find  difficulty  in  making 
themselves  understood;  as  for  instance  the  Nitinaht 
tribes  when  conversing  with  one  another,  have  fre- 
quently to  repeat  their  sentences  differently  accented  to 
make  them  intelligible.  The  chief  peculiarity  of  the 
Nitinaht  dialect  is  the  transmutation  of  the  letters  m 
and  n,  which  are  in  universal  use  throughout  the  island, 
for  which  it  substitutes  b  and  d.  Thus  for  mamook,  to 
work,  the  Nitinahts  say  bab&ik;  nismah,  country,  they 
pronounce  dissibach,  and  so  on.19 

As  compared  with  that  of  the  Thlinkeets,  the  Nootka 
language  is  neither  harsh  nor  disagreeable.  Its  most 
curious  feature  is  the  predominance  of  labials  and  dentals 
over  gutturals.  The  Nootkas  possess  fine  oratorical 
powers,  lending  assistance  to  their  words  by  shaking 
their  head,  gesticulating  forcibly,  and  even  jumping  at 
each  other.  A  singular  sound,  and  one  which  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  express  by  any  combination  of  letters, 
happens  in  many  of  their  words.  Spreading  the  corners 
of  the  mouth  to  their  widest  extent,  and  raising  the 
point  of  the  tongue  against  the  palate,  they  expel  the 
air  from  the  sides  of  the  mouth,  at  the  same  time  bring- 

Ethnofj.,  in  V.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  220;  Means'  Voy.,  pp.  229-32;  Douglas' 
]!>'/>  >i-t,  in  J.ond.  Geo<j.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  '24(5.  At  Point  Discovery, 
Vancouver  met  people  some  of  whom  'understood  a  few  words  of  the  Noot- 
Ica  language.'  Voyage,  vol.  i.,  p.  228.  '  The  distinct  languages  spoken  by  the 
Indians  are  few  in  number,  but  the  dialects  employed  by  the  various  tribes  are 
so  many,  that,  although  the  inhabitants  of  any  particular  district  have  no 
great  difficulty  in  communicating  with  each  other, . . . . '  Mayne's  B.C.,  p.  244; 
S/>ro«t's  Scenes,  p.  311.  The  Rev.  Mr  Good  divides  and  locates  the  languages 
of  Vancouver  Island  and  the  opposite  shore  on  the  mainland,  as  follows.  The 
first  language,  lie  says,  runs  along  the  coast  from  Nitinaht  to  Nootka  Sound; 
the  second  prevails  from  Sooke  to  Nanaimo,  and  across  the  Sound  tip  to 
Bird  Inlet  on  the  main  land,  thence  following  up  the  Fraser  River  as  far  as 
Yale:  this  he  names  the  Cowichin.  On  the  island  north  of  Cowichin  he 
locates  the  Comnx  and  adjoining  it  the  Ucleta;  finally  starting  at  Fort 
Rupert  and  following  the  north  coast  of  the  island  and  also  on  the  opposite 
shore  of  the  main  land  is  the  Quackoll. 

w  Jewiit's  Nar.,  p.  75. 

w  Sprout's  S<vnes,  p.  132. 
VOL.  in.   aa 


610  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

ing  the  tongue  down  strongly,  which  obviously  produces 
a  sound  altogether  foreign  to  the  English  vocabulary. 
Captain  Cook  says  of  this  sound,  "  it  is  formed,  in  a 
particular  manner,  by  clashing  the  tongue  partly  against 
the  roof  of  the  mouth,  with  considerable  force;  and  may 
be  compared  to  a  very  coarse  or  harsh  method  of  lisp- 
ing," and  he  attempts  to  give  the  sound  by  the  letters 
Iszthl.  Many  words  end  with  this  sound,  and  also  with 
a  tt,  2,  or  ss  ;  —  as  opulszthl,  sun  ;  onulszthl,  moon  ;  kahsheetl, 
dead;  teeshcheetl,  to  throw  a  stone;  kooomitz,  a  human 
skull  ;  quahmiss,  fish-roe.  Captain  Cook  further  remarks 
upon  their  language  that  it  "can  only  be  inferred,  from 
their  method  of  speaking,  which  is  very  slow  and  dis- 
tinct, that  it  has  few  prepositions  or  conjunctions  ;  and,  as 
far  as  we  could  discover,  is  destitute  of  even  a  single  in- 
terjection, to  express  admiration  or  surprize."20 

Furthermore,  I  may  add,  there  is  no  case,  nor  gender, 
nor  tense,  and  number  is  expressed  only  in  the  personal 
pronoun  and  in  the  inflection  of  verbs.  In  the  first 
persons  singular  and  plural,  verbs  end  in  a  or  mah  ;  in 
the  second  persons,  huk  or  ayts;  and  in  the  third 
persons,  in  mah,  win,  or  utlma.  Sometimes  these 
endings  go  over  to  the  adverb  which  accompanies 
the  verb,  and  they  are  subject  to  phonetic  rules, 
according  to  which  syllables  are  sometimes  changed  or 
left  out  altogether.  We  have  wik,  not  ;  and  kumotop,  to 
understand;  wikahkumotop  or  tuimmutomah,  I  do 
not  understand;  the  latter  mode  being  a  change  for 
the  sake  of  euphony.  Plurals,  and  particularly  fre- 
quentative plurals,  are  expressed  by  duplication:  as 
mahte  or  mahs,  house  ;  mdhtmahs,  all  the  houses.  Dif- 
ferent classes  of  words  appear  to  have  different  terminals: 
for  example,  instruments  end  with  ik,  —  hukkaik^  a 
knife  ;  hissik,  a  saw.  Colors  end  in  uk  or  ook,  —  ey 


20  '  El  idioma  de  estos  nnturales  es  tal  vez  el  mas  aspero  y  duro  de  los  cono- 
cidos.  Abnndan  mucbo  en  el  las  consonantes,  y  las  termiuaciones  en  //  y  tz, 
constando  el  intermedio  y  el  principle  de  los  vocables  de  aspiraciones  nniy 
fuertes.'  Sutil  y  3/e.ricana,  Viage,  p.  147.  '  Tbeir  language  is  very  guttural, 
and  if  it  were  possible  to  reduce  it  to  our  orthography,  it  would  very  much 
abound  with  consonants.'  Sparks'  Life  of  Ledyard,  p.  72;  Cook's  Voy.  to 
Pftc.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  334-6. 


NANAIMO  COMMANDMENTS.  611 

quk,  green;  kistokkuk,  blue;  klayliook,  purple;  kleesook, 
white;  toopkook,  black.  Hissit,  red,  forms  an  exception. 
Trees  and  plants  end  in.pt, — kowwhipt,  seewhipt,  ootsmv.pt, 
klakkupt,  etc.  Verbs  end  in  shitl,  shetl,  and  chitl,  although 
some  exceptions  occur.  Another  distinctive  ending  is 
tip, — chdtayup,  to  cut  off  with  a  knife;  kddsup,  to 
hurt  or  wound ;  hyyusatyup,  to  diminish ;  ashsup,  to  break 
a  string  or  cord;  quoyup,  to  break  a  stick,  etc.21  As  a 
specimen  of  the  language,  I  give  the  first  three  of  the 
Ten  Commandments,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  in  the 
dialect  of  the  Nanaimos.22 

NUTSA. 

Owa  tonowa  quinet  ta  eesaila  tseetsel  seeam,  ohi  tanca 
tseetsel  seeam. 

EESAILA. 

Owa  tanowa  seeise  ta  seeathl  sta  ta  stem  nay  quo 
tseetsel,  sta  ta  stem  aitna  tomuck,  e  sta  ta  stem  nay  ta 
ka,  kokoo  taswa  tseetsel  seeam  owa  tanowa  cappausorn  e 
stayweeil  ta  sta,  ohi  tanca  tseetsel  seeam.  Towhat  o}^as 
kullstuck,  tanca  ouseete  tanca  quaquat  e  towhat  ighstuck 
tanca  e  oyas  shatlm  tanswan  squell  oseete  tanca  igh 
lalamat. 

TLEETJGH. 

Owa  tanowa  heewaulim  ta  squish  quo  tseetsel  seeam 
oseete  tseetsel  seeam  quaquasaum  towhat  oyas  sta. 

TA   KALHEM    TA   JESUKIT. 

Saulth  man  nay  quo  tseetsel  igh  telneemelth  oyas 
stlay  stuck  ta  statsn  squish.  Tel-neemelth  ohi  stlay 
tanowa  sthee  seeam  nay  toumuck  tomuck.  Igh  taswa 
mestiu  shatlm  ta  squell  aitna  tomuck  sta  ta  tseetsel 
mestiu.  Tana  quial  e  muck  squial  mistook  ta  saulth 
saulthan.  Igh  tanowa  nahi  tataeuk  whawa  telneemelth 
e  ta  saulth  kull  squiaxits  sta  telneemelth  nahi  tataeuk 

21  Sprout's  Scenes,  p.  124,  et  seq. 

22  For  a  copy  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  Mr  3    T&.  Carmany  of  the 
Overland  Monthly. 


612  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

whunem  tourauck  mestiu  kull  squiaxits  whawa  telnee- 
melth.  Igh  telneemelth  owanam  ethlkalth  ta  kull,  igh 
tanowa  awistuck  etha  igh.  Ohi  tanowa  oonans  sthee 
seeam,  tanowa  ohi  sthee  quamqum  telneeraelth  ohi  cap- 
pausom  high  quo  tanowa  ovas  oyas.  Amen. 

From  certain  interpretations  placed  upon  the  ancient 
Aztec  manuscripts,  it  was  by  some  inferred  that  the  origin 
of  that  people  must  be  sought  in  the  north;  hence 
speculative  philologists  have,  from  time  to  time,  discov- 
ered many  fancied  resemblances  between  the  language  of 
the  aboriginal  Mexicans  and  those  of  various  northern 
nations.  Thus,  in  the  speech  of  the  Nootkas,  a  dis- 
tinct phonetic  resemblance,  and  the  frequent  occurrence 
of  the  ending  tl  were  sufficient  evidence  to  Vater  and 
others  that  a  relationship  exists  between  the  Aztecs  and 
the  Nootkas.  Prescott,  following  his  predecessors,  fell 
into  the  same  error.  Humboldt,  although  struck  with  the 
similarities  mentioned,  yet  pronounced  them  different 
tongues,23  while  Buschmann,  who  has  examined  thesub- 
ject  more  than  all  others  combined,  denies  all  such 
relationship.24 

Coming  over  to  the  main  land  we  find,  for  the  most 
part,  in  each  of  the  many  inlets  and  canals  a  separate 
language.  Between  these  languages,  from  perpetual  inter- 
tribal intercourse,  it  is  impossible  to  determine,  in  some 

23  '  En  examinant  avec  soin  des  vocabulaires  formes  a  Noutka  et  a  Mon- 
terey, j'ai  ete  frappe  de  1'homotonie  et  des  desinences  raexicaines  de  pl;.- 
sieurs  mots,  comine,  par  exemple,  dans  la  luugue  des  Noutkieus ....  Cependant, 
en  gen 'nil,  les   langues  de  la  Nouvelle-Californie   et  de   1'ile   de    Quadra, 
different    essentiellement  de  1'azteque.'     Humboldt,  Essai.  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p. 
321.     '  Sprachahulichkeiten . . .  .hat  man,  wie  auch  nachker  bey  der  Betrach- 
t'liig  der  Mexikanischen  Sprache  aus  einander  gesetzt  werden  soil,  an  die 'ser 
Nordwest-Kiiste   am    Nutka-Sunde  und  bey  den  Volkern  in  der  Nahe  der 
l\ussis,-hen  Colonien  gefunden.'    Vater,  ^fithridnits,   torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  76. 
'  In  the  neighborhood  of  Nootka,  tribes  still  exist  whose  dialects,  both  m  the 
termination  and  general  sound  of  the  words,  bear  considerable  resemblance 
to  the  Mexican.'    Prescott's  Mcx.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  3'J9. 

24  '  So  gewinnt  die  Nntka-Sprache,  durch  eine  reiche  Zahl  von  Wortern 
und  dureh  grosse  Ziige  ihres  Lautwesens,  einzig  vor  alien  anderen  fremden 
...  .in  einem  bedeutenden  Theile  eine  tauschende  Ahnlichkeit  mit  der  azte- 
kischen  oder  mexicnnischen;  und  so  wird  die  ihr  schon  fruher  gewidim  te 
Aul'inerksamkeit  vollstandig  gerechtfertigt.    Ihrer  mexicanishen  Erscheinnng 
fehlt  aber,  wie  ich  von  meiner  Seite  hier  ausspreche,  jedo  Wirklichkeit.' 
Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.  u.  der  Weatkuste  des  b.  Nordamer.,  p.  371. 


LANGUAGES  OF  BKITISH  COLUMBIA 


613 


instances,  what  relationship,  if  any,  exists.  Several  of 
the  languages  of  the  island  we  find  also  on  the  main  land 
adjacent.  The  Clallams  are  found  on  both  sides  of  Juan 
de  Fuca  Straits;  and  nearly  related  to  the  Cowichins, 
who  are  found  as  well  on  the  main  land  near  the  mouth 
of  Fraser  River  as  on  the  island,  are  the  Noosdalums  of 
Hood  Canal,  one  language  being  but  a  dialect  of  the 
other. 

Respecting  the  languages  spoken  in  the  interior  of 
British  Columbia,  the  Rev.  Mr  Good,  who  has  spent 
fifteen  years  among  the  inland  nations,  and  who  is  fully 
conversant  with  their  languages,  gives  me  the  fol- 
lowing information:  From  Yale  to  Lilloet,  on  the 
Fraser  River,  thence  from  Bonaparte  to  Nicola  River, 
the  Neetlakapamuch,  or  Thompson  River,  language 
is  spoken.  From  Douglas,  along  the  Harrison  River 
and  lake,  to  its  confluence  with  the  Fraser,  as  far 
as  Chilicothe.  and  again  from  Lillooet  northward  to 
Clinton,  the  Stlatelemuck,  or  Lillooet,  language  prevails. 
Next,  from  Bonaparte  River  northward  to  William  Lake, 
to  Shushwap  Lake,  around  Lake  Kamloops,  and  for  some 
distance  on  the  Thompson  River,  the  Suwapamuck,  or 
Shushwap,  tongue  prevails ;  and  finally,  from  Nicola  Lake 
to  Kamloops,  and  southward  as  far  as  Columbia  River,  the 
Chitwout,  or  Similkameen,  language  is  used.  Mr  Good 
further  asserts  that,  although  there  are  four  distinct 
languages,  they  are  nevertheless  in  some  degree  affiliated. 
From  the  same  gentleman,  I  also  obtained  the  following 
grammatical  notes  and  specimens  of  the  Neetlakapamuch 
tongue.  Personal  pronouns  are. — I,  ens;  thou,  aivee; 
he,  cheneett;  we,  nemeemutt-,  you,  aweepeeaps;  they, 
chinkoast. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEEB  TO  GIVE. 

PBESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  give,  ens  nahktinna 

Thou  givest,  awee  nahkfrxtta 
He  gives,         cheneelt  nahktass 


We  give,      nemeemult  nahktam 
You  give,    aweepeeaps  nahktattose 
They  give,  chinkvast  nahkteeiks 


I  gave, 


IMPERFECT. 

huinahktlam 


614  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

FIRST   FUTtTEE. 

I  shall  give,     huinahkchin 

IMPEBATIVE. 

Give  me,         nahkchanis  |    Give  us,  nahkteea 

Mamans  inserted  in  'a  word,  signifies  a  desire  to  do  a 
thing;  thus,  winaskin,  means  to  go;  and  winasmainankin, 
I  am  wishing  to  go.  The  syllable  weltin,  affixed  to  a 
word,  expresses  that  a  thing  has  been  done  effectively  ;— 
tlokktinnaweltin,  I  have  fastened  it  well,  or  thoroughly. 
Tata  is  a  negative  preposition. 

THE    LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Takamote     nemeemult      skatzazact     whohakn     nil 

Our  Father  who  art  in 

kakhtomew.     Axseeas  chutam  clas  squest  awee.  Eyah 

heaven.  Good        to  be  done      the        name       thine.       Good 

huntohs   stakums   asait  cunamah  axclahaks  swonakum 

make  haste  all  men  come  truly 

eah    tuksmite    Jesu  Cree  huntoseamal.    Awee   kaseah 

good      children  of       Jesus     Christ        make  haste.  Thy  will 

eah   ah   chuwo   naanatornew,    clah  seeatahah  L' angels 

good  done  on  earth,  as  the  angels 

archkhwamo    incheah    nilkahtomew.      Takamose    nnk 

do  there  heaven.  All  and 

stakum  a  tseetlekut  nahkteea  nemeemult  stakums  as 

every  day  give  us  all        our 

skhlayans.     Altla  quonquonstyea   nemeenult  takamote 

food.  And  forgive  us  all 

nemeemult  outkest,  tseeah   nemeemult  quonquonstama 

our  evil,  as  we  forgive 

takamote  tooal  saitcunama  aks  weetsikteese  tekest  whoa 

all  of  men  who         accomplish      any  evil        to 

nemeemult.      Atahmose     tah     hoshaman     as    masteel 

us.  Never  let         the  evil  one  lead 

nemeemult  axkhokestumtum  a  quonteese  akest.  Kamult 

us  to  wish  to    lay  hold  of    any  evil.         But 

akklokpistyip  nemeemult  takamote  too  a  kest  wilkakow. 

deliver  us  all          that  is    evil        far  from  us. 

Shutenmeenwawee  takamose  atomew.      Shutenmeenwa- 

Thine  all  the  world.  Thine 


PUGET  SOUND  DIALECTS.  615 

wee  takamose   azozoht.      Shutenmeenwawee   takamose 

all  strength.  Thine  all 

asyameet.         Taeah        asklakarneemus      astinansouse, 

worship.  Good  evermore  to  come, 

asklakarneemus  astinansouse.     Axseahs. 

evermore  to  come.  Amen. 

Proceeding  southward  to  Puget  Sound,  we  have 
the  Shiraiahmoo,  Nooksak,  Lumnii,  Samish,  Snohomish, 
and  others;  and  around  Cape  Flattery,  the  Classet, 
The  Makah,  Classet,  or  Klaizzaht,  I  have  spoken  of 
already,  in  connection  with  the  language  of  Vancouver 
Island,  and  it  also  appears  that  the  Clallam,  S'klalum, 
or  as  they  call  themselves,  Nusklaiyum,  is  also  connected 
with  the  Vancouver  Island  language.25  It  is  probably 
the  same  which  Dr  Scouler  has  called  the  Nooedalum, 
The  Lummi,  or  Nukhlumi,  and  the  Shimiahmoo  have 
also  some  affinity  with  the  Sanetch  dialect  of  Vancouver 
Island,  and  the  languages  of  the  Skagits  and  Samish 
approach  that  of  the  Nisquallies.  Yet  while  the  Clallam 
and  Lummi  show  certain  affinities  to  the  Nootka  dialect, 
they  nevertheless  clearly  belong  to  the  Salish,  or  Flat- 
head  family.26 

We  now  come  to  the  great  interior  Salish  family, 
although  I  shall  have  occasion  again  to  refer  to  the  coast 
language  in  this  vicinity.  The  northernmost  Salish 
language  is  the  Shushwap,  or  Atnah,  which  approaches 
near  to  its  neighbor  the  Salish  proper;27  then  there  are 
the  Kullespelm,  or  Pend  d'Oreille,  the  Spokane,  the 

25  They  spoke   the  same   language  as  the  Nootkas.    Vancouver's  Voy., 
vol.  i.,  p.  218. 

26  '  The  affinities  of  the  Clallam  and  Lummi  are  too  obvious  to  require 
demonstration.'  Gibbs'  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  p.  vii.     'The  Tsihaili- 
Selish  languages  reach  the  sea  in  the  part  opposite  Vancouver's  Island.     Per- 
haps they  touch  it  to  the  north  also.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p. 
401;  Galrdner,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jout.,  vol.  xi.,  p.  255. 

2?  '  Les  Indiens  de  la  cote  ou  de  la  Nouvelle  Caledonie,  les  Tokalis,  lea 
Chargeurs  (Carriers),  les  Schouchouaps,  les  Atuas  appartiemient  tous  a  la 
nation  des  ChipeonaTans.'  Mofras,  Explnr.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  337.  'The  Atnah 
language  has  no  affinity  to  any  with  which  I  am  acquainted.'  Mackenzie's 
Voy  ayes,  p.  258. 


616 


COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 


Soaiatlpi,  and  the  Okanagan,  which  with  others  spoken  on 
the  Columbia  show  close  affinities. 

The  Salish  proper,  or  Flathead,  is  harsh  and  guttural. 
The  letters  b,  d,  /,  r,  v,  do  not  exist  in  this  language.  The 
plural  of  substantives  is  formed  in  different  ways:  first, 
by  duplicating  the  root — skoi,  mother;  skoikoi,  mothers: 
second  by  duplicating  and  dropping  a  vowel  from  the 
root — skatimigu,  man ;  sklkaltmigu,  men ;  esmbck,  mountain ; 
esmbkmck,  mountains:  third,  by  duplicating  a  consonant 
in  the  middle  of  the  word— skokhemus,  eyelid ;  skbkham- 
miis,  eyelids:  fourth,  by  prefixing  the  syllable  ul — nackoe- 
men,  thief;  idnakoemen,  thieves:  and  lastly  there  are 
divers  formations,  as  es'schite,  tree;  szMil,  trees,  forest; 
s'm'em,  woman  (mulier) ;  pelplgui,  women.  Diminutives 
are  expressed  by  placing  I  before  the  root,  as,  s'mem, 
woman;  sbriem,  small  woman;  luk,  wood;  lltiVlk,  a  small 
piece  of  wood.  Augmentatives  are  formed  by  prefixing 
the  syllable  kutn,  or  kuti,  when  the  word  commences 
with  an  s  or  /,  thus,  skagae,  horse ;  kuti-skagae,  a  great  horse ; 
smot,  smoke ;  kuti-smot,  a  great  smoke.  There  are  pro- 
nouns, personal,  possessive,  demonstrative,  relative,  in- 
terrogative, and  indefinite.  According  to  Mengarini  the 
personal  pronoun  has  two  forms,  absolute  and  copulative, 
the  exact  meaning  attached  to  these  terms  not  being  ex- 
plained. 


i 

Thou 

He 

We 

You 

They 


ABSOLUTE. 

koie 

anui 

ziiilz 

kaempile 

mpilepstemp 

zni'ilz 


COPULATIVE. 

ko 
ku 

kae 

p,  or  mp 


As  examples  of  the  others  there  are  possessives, — mine, 
in;  thine,  an;  his, — s;  ours,  kao;  yours, — mp;  theirs, — s: 
demonstratives, — this,  w ;  that,  zi :  interrogative, — who, 
suzt:  and  indefinite, — some  one,  chndksi. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE  ANGRY. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  am  angry,  tnes  aimt-i 

Thou  art  angry,     kues  aimt-i 
He  is  angry,          es  aimt-i 


We  are  angry,          kaes  aimt-i 
You  are  angry,         pes  aimt-i 
They  are  angry,       es  aiimt-i 


SALISH  DIALECTS.  617 


PEBFECT. 

I  have  been  angry,        tn-aimt  or  tnes  aimt 

FIBST  FUTOBE. 

I  shall  be  angry,        nem  tn  aimt 

IMPEBATTVE.      ' 

Be  angry,         aimt  sch 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  be  angry,  tiks  aimt-i 

If  them  be  angry,        kuks  aimt-i 
If  he  be  angry,  ks  aimt-i 


If  we  be  angry,  kaeks  aimt-i 

If  yon  be  angry,         pks  aimt-i 
If  they  be  angry,        ks  ai'imt-i 


IMPEBFECT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  were  angry,         k  neu  tn  airnt 

OPTATIVE. 

If  I  might  be  angry,  korni  tn  aimt 

Following  is  a  Lord's  Prayer,  the  nationality  not 
given: 

Kae  1'eu  IVchichmaskat  u  ku  1'zii,  asku    est   kuks 

Our  father  in  heaven  who      liveth,         thy      name   of  thee 

gamenchltm;     ku     Id  cheltich  s  esia  sp'us;  aszntMs  ks 

be    loved;  thou      be       Lord  of  all    hearts;  thy  will 

kulli     ie  1  stuligu,  ezgaii  IVchichmaskat.    Kae  guizlilt 

be  done  this  on      earth,  as  in  heaven.  Us  give  to-day 

ie  tlgoa  lu  kaesiapzinm.     Kaelkolgoullilt  lu  kae  gulguilt 

what  we  need.  Us  forgive  our          debts, 

ezgaii  lu  tkaempile  kaes  kolgoelltm,  lu  e  epl  gulguilt  1 

as  we  forgive  (those)  who  have        debts   with 

kaempile.    Kae  olkschililt  ta  ka  keskuestm  lu  teie;  u  kai 

us.  Us          assist          not    at  any  time  receive     evil:  but    us 

gulguillilt    lu    tel  teie.     Komi  ezgaii. 

preserve  uninjured  from    evil.  Be  it  so.28 

The  above  is  taken  from  the  grammar  of  Mengarini, 
written  in  Latin;  following  is  a  Lord's  Prayer  of  the 
Pend  d'Oreilles,  from  Father  De  Smet,  who  wrote  in 
French  : 

Kyleeyou,  Itchitchemask,  askwees      kowaaskshamen- 

Our  father  of  heaven,        that  your  name  be  respected 

shem  ailetzemilkou  yeelskyloog  5-  ntziezie   telletzia  spoo 

by  all  the  earth;  reign  in  all  the 

oez.          Assinteels        astskole,        yelstoloeg       etzageel 

hearts.          That  your  will          be  done  on  earth  as  also 

28  Mengarini,  Selish  Gram. 


618  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Itchichemask.     Hoogwitzilt  yettilgwa  lokaitssia  petzim. 

iu  heaven.  Give  us  now  all  our      necessaries. 

Knwaasksmeemiltem      klotayie     kloitskeyen     etzageel 

Forgive  us  .       the  evil    which  we   have  done,        as 

kaitsskolgwelem      klotoiye      kloitskwen      klielskyloog. 

we  forgive  (the  evil)  to  those  who        us  have  offended. 

Koaxalock        shitem         takaakskwentem         klotaiye; 

Accord  to  us  assistance  to  evade  evil; 

kowaaksgweeltem  klotaiye-     Komieetzegeel. 

but  deliver  us          from  evil.  So  be  it.29 

Also  belonging  to  this  family  are  the  languages  spoken 
by  the  Skitsuish,  Pisquouse,  Nsietshaws,  Nisquallies,  and 
Chehalis.  The  Nsietshaw  differs  more  than  the  others 
from  the  Salish  proper,  which  is  the  stock  language  of 
this  family,  and  particularly  in  not  possessing  any 
labials;  the  letters  m  and  b  being  changed  to  w,  andj? 
to  h.  Thus,  in  the  Chehalis  and  Nisqually  languages, 
we  have,  numan,  son;  tomokh,  earth;  pansototsi,  winter; 
which,  in  the  Nsietshaw,  are  pronounced  respectively, 
nuwon,  taivekli  and  hansototsi.  The  Chehalis  is  spoken  in 
.  three  dialects,  the  Chehalis  proper,  the  Quaiantl,  and  the 
Queniauitl.30 

The  languages  of  the  Salish  Family,  particularly  that 
of  the  Chehalis,  are  rich  in  words,  by  means  of  which 

29  'Nationes  que  radicaliter  linguam  Selicam  loquuntur  sunt  saltern 
decem:  Calispelm,  (vulgo)  Pends  d'orcilles  du  Lac  Inferieur.  Slkatkoinlchi, 
Pends  d'oreilles  du  Lac  Superieur.  Selish,  Tctes  Plattes.  Sngoiuunei, 
Snpoilschi,  Szk'eszilui,  Spokanes.  S'chizni,  Cceurs  d'alene.  Sgoielpi, 
Cltaudieres.  Okinakein,  StlakamOAxma.qran.'  Mem/arini,  SelishGram.,  p.  120. 
'Their  language  is  the  same  as  the  Spokeius' and  Flatheads'.'  Parker's 
Explor.  Tour,  p.  307.  '  The  Spokanes  speak  the  same  dialect  as  the  Flat- 
heads  and  Pend  d'Oreilles.'  Chapman,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1866,  p.  201;  De 
timet,  Voy.,  p.  237.  '  The  Flatheads  are  divided  into  numerous  tribes,  each 
having  its  own  peculiar  locality,  and  differing  more  or  less  from  the  others 
in  language,  customs,  and  manners.'  'The  Spokan  Indians  are  a  small 
tribe,  differing  very  little  from  the  Indians  at  Colville  either  in  their  ap- 
pearance, habits,  or  language.'  Kane's  Wand.,  pp.  173,307.  '  The  Peiid" 
d'Oreilles  are  generally  called  the  Flatheads,  the  two  clans,  in  fact,  being 
united ....  Still,  the  two  races  are-entirely  distinct,  their  languages  being  fun- 
damentally different.  The  variety  of  tongues  on  the  west  side  of  the  (Rocky) 
mountains  is  almost  infinite,  so  that  scarcely  any  two  tribes  undo:  stand  cadi 
other  perfectly.  They  have  all,  however,  the  common  character  of  In  ing 
very  guttural;  and,  in  fact,  the  sentences  often  appear  to  be  mere  juir.bles 
of  grants  and  croaks,  such  as  no  alphabet  could  express  in  writing.'  Simp- 
son's Overland  Jour,,  vol.  i.,  p.  14(5. 

so  Hate's  Ethnocj.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  535-7. 


SALISH  LANGUAGES.  619 

everything  coming  within  their  knowledge  may  find 
expression;  they  are  not  easily  acquired  by  strangers; 
it  is  difficult  for  the  different  nations  and  tribes  to  make 
themselves  understood  to  one  another.  This  is  owing 
principally  to  the  many  localisms  in  vogue  among  them, 
of  which  there  is  a  good  specimen  in  the  Chehalis  lan- 
guage. Thus,  tolneuch-  means  west-wind,  offshore,  to- 
ward the  sea,  or  to  the  west.  Now,  if  the  Chehalis  are 
leaving  the  shore  in  a  canoe,  and  one  of  them  wants  to 
tell  his  mate  to  put  her  head  off  shore,  he  will  say 
tolneucli,  but  if  in  a  hurry,  neuch  neuch.  Claathhim  sig- 
nifies east- wind,  also  ashore;  this  they  transpose  into 
clath  clath.31  The  Clallum  and  Lunimi  languages  have 
another  peculiarity,  Avhich  is  a  certain  nasal  sound  at 
the  commencement  and  ending  of  words  like  a  strong 
nasal  ns;  also  a  broad  a  sound  as  in  far,  path.  The 
sounds  of  the  letters  v,  r,  z,  are  wanting.32  The  fre- 
quently occurring  ending  tl  has  also  led  to  speculation, 
and  to  a  search  for  Aztec  affinities  among  these  lan- 
guages, but  nothing  except  this  phonetic  similarity  has 
been  discovered.  This  tl  ending  is  very  common.  Swan 
says  that,  "sometimes  they  will,  as  if  for  amusement, 
end  all  their  words  with  tl]  and  the  effect  is  ludicrous 
to  hear  three  or  four  talking  at  the  same  time,  with  this 
singular  sound,  like  so  many  sitting  hens.'33  East  of 
the  Salish,  the  Kitunaha,  Kootenai,  or  Coutanie  language 
is  spoken.  Authorities  differ  widely  in  describing  this 
language.  Parker  calls  it  "open  and  sonorous,  and  free 
from  gutturals,  which  are  common  in  the  language  of  the 
surrounding  tribes;"  while  Capt.  Palliser  affirms  that  it 
is  "  most  guttural  and  unpronounceable  by  a  European, 
every  word  appearing  to  be  brought  from  their  lowest 

31  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  p.  315. 

32  Gibbs'  Clallam  and  Lummi  Vocab.,  p.  7. 

33  'In  the  northern  districts  of  the   great  chain  of  Rocky  Mountains 
•which  were  visited  by  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  there  are  several  nations  of 
unknown  language  and  origin.    The  Atnah  nation  is  one  of  them.    Their  dia- 
lect appears,  from  the  short  vocabulary  given  by  that  traveller,  to  be  one  of 
those  languages  which,  in  the  frequent  recurrence  of  peculiar  consonants, 
bears  a  certain  resemblance  to  the  Mexican.'    Prichard's  Nat.   Hist. 

vol.  ii.,  p.  55U;  Swan's  N.  W.  Coast,  pp.  315-6. 


620  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

extremities  with  difficulty."34  The  following  Lord's 
Prayer,  taken  by  a  Frenchman  will  give  a  better  idea  of 
the  language  than  any  description: 

Katitoe     naitle    Haite,     akiklenais      zedabitskinne 

Our  father,     who  art    in  heaven,        may  thy  name  be  great 

wilkane.       Ninshalinne    oshemake  kapaik  akaitlainam. 

and  honored.  Be  thou  the  master        of  all  hearts. 

Inshazetluite  younoamake  yekakaekinaitte. 

May  thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven. 

Komnakaike  logenie  niggenawaislme  naiosaem  miaiteke. 

Grant  us  this  day  all  our  wants. 

Kekepaime    nekoetjekoetleaitle    ixzeai,  iyakaikakaaike 

Forgive  us  all  the  evil  we  have  done,        •    as  we  forgive 

iyazeaikinawash      kokakipaimenaitle.        Amatikezawes 

all  the  evil  done  unto  us.  Strengthen  us 

itchkestshimmekakkowelle         akatakzen.         Shaeykia- 

against  all  evil,  and  deliver  us  from  it.  May  it 

kakaaike. 

be  so.35 

The  languages  of  the  Sahaptin  family  are  spoken 
along  the  Lewis  and  Snake  Rivers  and  their  tributaries, 
as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Walla 
Walla,  Palouse,  Yakima,  Kliketat,  and  Sahaptin 
proper,  some  of  them  widely  divergent  from  the  mother 
tongue,  are  of  this  family.36  The  Walla  Walla  differs 

34  '  Der  Prinz  bezeugt  (Bd.  ii,  511)  dass  der  behauptete  Mangel  an  Gur- 
gellauten  ein  Irrthum  ist;  er  bemerkt:  dass  die  Sprache  durch  den  ihr  eiguen 
"  Zungen-schnalu  "  fiir  das  Aussprechen  schwierig  werde,  und  dass  sie  eine 
Menge  von   Gutturaltonen    habe.     Man    spreche    die    Worter  leise    und 
undeutlich  aus;  dabei  gebe  es  daiin  viele  schnalzende  Tone,   indem  man 
mit  der  Zungens;ntze  anstosst;  auch  gebe  es  darin  viele  dumpfe  Kehllaute.' 
Prince  Max  zu  Wied,  in  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  661.     '  Their 
language  bears  no  affinity  whatever  to  that  of  any  of  the  western  nations. 
It  is  infinitely  softer  and  more  free  from  those  unpronounceable  gutturals 
so  common  among  the  lower  tribes.'     Cox's  Adven.,  p.  233;  Blakiston's  Eept., 
in  Palliscr's  Explor.,  p.  73;  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  p.  307. 

35  De  Sinet's  Oregon  Muss.,  p.  409. 

36  Tribes  speaking  the  Kliketat  language:  Whulwhypum,  Tait-inapum, 
Yaliiina,  Walla  Wallapum,  Kyoose,  Umatilla,  Peloose,  Wyampam;  the  Yaki- 
mas  and  Kliketats  or  Whulwhypum ....  speaking  the  Walla-Walla  language, 
otherwise  known  as  the  Kliketat.    Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  244,  232.     'The 
Kyeuse  resemble  the  Walla- Wallas  very  much  . . .  Their  language  and  customs 
are  almost  identical.'     Kane's  Wand.,  p.  280.     The  Fend  d'Oreilles  'speak 
the  same  language'  (Nez  Perce.)     Hutchins,  in  Ind.  Aff.  I\ept.,  1803,  p.  456, 
The  Palouse  Indians  'speak  the  same  language.'  Cain,  in  Id.,  1860,  p.  210. 


SAHAPTTN  LANGUAGES.  G21 

from  the  Sahaptin  proper  not  more  than  the  Portuguese 
from  the  Spanish.  Father  Pandosy  made  a  grammar 
of  the  Yakima  language,  under  which  he  ranges  the 
whole  Sahaptin  family,  dividing  it  into  dialects,  as  the 
Walla  Walla,  the  Tairtla,  the  Roilroilpam,  or  Kliketat, 
and  the  Palouse.37 

In  the  ]STez  Perec  language,  the  following  letters  only 
are  found :  A,  &,  I,  m,  n,  p,  s,  t,  w,  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  but  the 
missionaries  having  introduced  some  new  words,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  add  J,  d,  f,  g,  v,  z.  Agglutination  is 
carried  to  a  great  length,  and  long  words  are  very  fre- 
quent. In  fact,  wherever  a  sentence  can  be  expressed 
by  joining  one  word  to  another,  it  is  done,  leaving  out 
letters  in  places,  for  the  sake  of  euphony.  The  following 
is  a  fair  illustration :  hitauluafawihnankauna,  he  traveled 
past  in  a  rainy  night.  Analysed,  hi  expresses  the  third 
person  singular ;  tau,  a  thing  done  at  night ;  tuala,  some- 
thing done  in  the  rain;  wihnan,  to  travel  on  foot; 
kau  is  derived  from  the  verb  kokauna,  to  pass  by; 
na  expresses  the  indicative  mood,  aorist  tense,  direc- 
tion from  the  speaker.  The  plural  of  substantives  is 
formed  by  duplicating  the  first  syllable:  pitin,  girl; 
pipitm,  girls.  Or  when  the  word  commences  with  a 
vowel,  the  vowel  is  sometimes  repeated :  atwai,  old 
woman;  aatwai,  old. women.  Exceptions  to  this  rule 
are  made  in  words  expressing  family  relations,  the  prefix 
ma  being  employed  in  such  cases,  as  pika,  mother; 
pikama,  mothers.  If  p  terminates  the  word,  it  is 
omitted,  as  askap,  plural  askama.  To  express  gender, 
the  words  hama,  male,  and  aiat,  female,  are  employed, 

'The  Wallah- Wallahs,  whose  language  'belongs  to  the  same  family.' 
'  The  Wallah- Wallahs  and  Nez  Perces  speak  dialects,  of  a  common  lan- 
guage, and  the  Cayuses  have  abandoned  their  own  for  that  of  the  latter.' 
Gibbs,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Re.pt.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  416,  425;  If  ale's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex. 
Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  '213,  542.  'The  nation  among  which  we  now  are  call  them- 
selves Sokulks;  and  with  them  are  united  a  few  of  another  nation,  who  reside 
on  a  western  branch,  emptying  itself  into  the  Columbia  a  few  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  river,  and  whose  name  is  Chimnapum.  The  language 
of  both  these  nations  differs  but  little  from  each  other,  or  from  that  of  the 
Chopunnish  who  inhabit  the  Kooskooskee  and  Lewis's  river.'  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  Trav.,  p.  12.  '  The  language  of  the  Walla-Wallas  differs  from  the 
Nez  Perces'.  Parker's  Explor.  Tour,  p.  137. 
37  Pandosy' s  Yakama  Lang.,  p,  9. 


622 


COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 


but  the  substantive  remains  unchanged.  Nouns  are 
declined  either  by  changing  their  terminals,  or  by 
affixes: 

Nom.  a  house  init 

Gen.  of  a  house  inium 

Ace.  house  iuina 

1st  Dat.  to  or  for  a  house  initph 

2d  Dat.  in  on,  or  upon  a  house  iuitpa 

1st  Abl.  with  a  house  initki 

2d  Abl.  from  a  house  initpkinih 

3d  Abl.  for  the  purpose  of  a  house    initain 

Comparison, —  tahs,  good;  tahs  Jcanmakanm,  better; 
tahsni,  best.  Personal  prounouns, — in,  I;  im,  thou; 
ipi,  he,  or  she;  nun,  we;  ima,  ye;  imma,  they.  Of  the 
verb  numerous  variations  are  made.  They  are  divided 
into  three  classes,  neuter,  active  transitive,  and  active 
intransitive.  The  two  neuter  verbs  are  wash,  to  be ;  and 
witsasha,  to  become.  Active  intransitive  verbs  cannot 
be  followed  by  any  accusative. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE. 


I  am, 

Thou  art, 

He  is,  it  is  his, 

We  are, 

You  are, 

They  are,  it  is  theirs, 


PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 
DIRECTION   FBOM. 

in  wash 

im  a  wash 

ipi  hiwash,  ipnim  ush 

nun  washih 

ima  ath  washih 

imma  hiushih,  imman  aushih 


I  have  just  been, 
Thou  hast  just  been, 
He  has  just  been, 
it  has  j  ust  been  his, 
We  have  just  been, 
You  have  just  been, 
They  have  just  been, 
it  has  just  been  theirs, 

The  following 
the  Yakima  and 
haptin  family. 

Nom. 

Gen. 

Dat. 

Ace. 

Voc. 

Abl. 


RECENT  PAST   TENSE. 

waka 
a  waka 

hiwaka,  awaka 
washeka 
ath  washeka 


DIRECTION   TOWARDS. 

im  a  warn 
ipi  hiwam 

ima  ath  washinm 
imma  hiushinm 

wamka 
a  wamka 

hiwamka 
washinmka 
ath  washinmka 


kinsheka,  ausheka  hiushinmka  38 

gramatical  notes  will  serve  to  illustrate 
some  of  the  other  languages  of  the  Sa- 


8INGTTLAH. 

the  horse 
of  the  horse 
to  the  horse 
the  horse 
O  horse 
for  the  horse 


kussi-nan 

kussi-nmi 

kussi-ow 

kussi-nan 

na-kussi 

kussi-ei 


38  Hate's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  542,  et  seq. 


YAKIMA,  WALLA  WALLA,  AND  PALOUSE.  623 

PLURAL. 

Nom.  the  horses  kussi-ma 

Gen.  of  the  horses  kussi-ma  mi 

Dat.  to  the  horses  kussi-ma-miow 

Ace.  the  horses  kussi  ma-man 

Voc.  O  horses  na-knssi-ma 

Abl.  for  the  horses  kussi-rna-rniei 

In  the  Palouse  and  Walla  Walla  languages  the  affix 
nan  is  changed  into  na.  Personal  pronouns, — I,  ink,  nes, 
nesh,  or  sh  •  of  me,  enmi ;  to  me,  enmiatu ;  me,  inak ;  for  me, 
enmiei ;  we,  namak,  natte,  nanam,  aates,  or  namtk  •  of  us, 
neemi  •  to  us  neemiow  •  us,  nemanak ;  for  us,  neemiei.  The 
Walla  Wallas  leaves  off  the  k  from  the  affix  ak;  thus, 
instead  of  inak,  me,  they  say  ma,  and  instead  of  namak, 
we,  nama. 

YAKIMA.  WALLA  WALLA  AND  PALOUSE. 

He  penk  penk 

Of  him        .  pin-mink  pinmin 

To  him  pin-miwk  pinmiow 

Him  pin-nim  pinminnan 

For  him  pin-mikaiei  pinmiei 

They  pmak  pma 

Of  them  pe-mink  pamin 

To  them  pe-miwk  pamiwk 

Them  pe-minak  pamanak 

For  them  pe-mikaiei  pamikaiei 

In  one  dialect  the  terminal  ak  is  changed  into  ei. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEKB  TO  HAVE. 

PBESENT   INDICATIVE. 

I  have,  nesh  wa,  or  wash  nesh 

Thou  hast,  mesh  wa,  or  wash  mesh 

He  has,  penk  awa,  or  pinmiuk  awa 

We  have,  natesh  wa,  or  wash  natesh 

You  have,  matesh  wa,  or  wash  ruatesh 

They  have,  pa  wa,  or  pemink  awa 

PERFECT   AND   PLUPERFECT. 

I  had,  or  have  had,        nesh  wacha 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have,        nesh  wata 

As  a  specimen  of  agglutination  there  is  the  word 
ipinashapatawtrahliktaniawarsha,  he  himself  makes  night 
disagreeably  tiresome  long  wait;  that  is,  he  keeps  one 
long  waiting  for  him  at  night. 

YAKIMA    LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Neerni     Psht,   imk    nam    wamsh         Roiemich-nik; 

Our        Father         thou       who  art    high  on  the  side  (heaven) ; 


62-4  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

shir   nam  'manak  p'a   t-maknani    tarnei  wanicht;  shir 

well  thou      they  (indef. )    should  respect      the  name;      well 

ewianawitarnei  emink  miawarwit ;    shir  nanimanak  pa 

should  arrive  thy  chieftainship;       well  thee  they 

twanenitarnei,     ichinak       techampa,       tenma,       prw, 

should  follow  here  earth  (on)     inhabitants  (the)    will 

amakwsrimmanak      pa      twanenishamsh      roiemipaina 

thou  as  thyself  they  follow  high  of  the  (heaven) 

tenma.  Nemanak  nim  t-kwatak  kwalissim  maisr 

inhabitants  (the).      Our  (us)     give  us        food  always     to-morrow 

maisr.        Nemanak     laknanim     chelwitit :    aateskwsri 

to-morrow.  Our  (us)  forget  sins:  us      as 

namak   t'normaman  laknanisha  chelwitit   anakvvnkink 

we  others  forget  sins  have  by  which 

neemiow       pa    chelwitia.       R-t-to   anianim    nemanak 

us  have        offended.  Strong          make  our  (us) 

temna;  t-kraw   krial.      Nemanak   eikrenkem  '  chelwit- 

heart;         that  it  fall  not.  Us  snatch  bad  from 

knik.     Ekws  iwa  neemi  temna. 

the  side.        So       it  is        our        heart.39 

The  Nez  Perces  make  use  of  two  languages,  one  the 
native  language  proper,  or,  as  a  European  might  say, 
the  court  language,  and  the  other  a  slave  language,  or 
jargon.  They  differ  so  much,  that  a  stranger  fully  con- 
versant with  one  cannot  understand  the  other.  This 
jargon  originated,  probably,  from  intermixing  prisoners 
of  war  of  different  nationalities  who  were  enslaved,  and 
their  languages  mingled  with  each  other,  and  with  that 
that  of  their  conquerors.  The  pure-blooded  Nez  Perces 
all  understand  the  jargon,  learning  it  when  children, 
together  with  their  own  proper  language.  Nor  is  this 
all.  The  jargon  is  more  or  less  modified  by  each  of  the 
several  languages,  or  dialects,  in  which  it  is  spoken.  The 
employes  of  the  fur  companies,  who  first  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  Sahaptins,  were  greatly  annoyed  by  this 
multiformity;  as,  for  example,  one  Nez  Perce  coming 
to  sell  a  beaver  skin  would  say,  tammecess  taxpooL  I  wish 
to  sell  a  beaver;  another  would  say,  toweyou  weespoose,  I 

39  Fandosy's  Yakama  Lang. 


COURT  LANGUAGE  OF  THE  SAHAPTINS.  625 

wish  to  trade  a  beaver;  and  a  third  would  say,  e'towpa 
eyechm,  I  wish  to  trade  a  beaver. 

The  following  short  vocabulary  will  show  some  of  the 
differences  between  the  Nez  Perce  language  and  the 
jargon: 

NEZ   PEKCE  JAKGON. 

Man  kewas  winch 

Woman  eyatt  tealacky 

Boy  tachnutsem  tuchnoot 

Girl  tochanough  peten 

No  waatown,  tsya 

Knife  waltz  wbapallmeh, 

Horse  she  came  koosy 

Hair  tootanick  kookoo 

Eyes  shelaw  Atchass.40 

Professor  Rafinesque,  out  of  twenty-four  Sahaptin 
words,  claims  to  have  found  six  bearing  close  affinities 
to  the  English,  but  Buschmann  says  that  of  these 
twenty-four,  many  are  not  Sahaptin  at  all.41  The 
Waiilatpu  language,  conterminous  with  the  Sahaptin,  is 
spoken  in  two  dialects,  the  Cayuse  and  Mollale.  The 
Cayuses  mingle  frequently  with  the  Sahaptins,  and  there- 
fore many  words  of  the  latter  have  been  adopted  into 
their  tongue.  They  mostly  understand  and  speak  the 
Sahaptin,  and  frequently  the  Walla  Walla,  and  this  not 
from  any  relationship  in  the  several  languages,  but 
from  intercourse.42 

Like  their  neighbors,  the  Cayuses  employ  two  lan- 
guages; one  in  the  transaction  of  the  common  affairs  of 
life,  and  the  other  on  high  state  occasions,  such  as  when 
making  speeches  round  the  council  fire,  to  determine 
questions  of  war  and  peace,  as  well  as  all  other  inter- 
tribal affairs.  That  is  to  say,  the  Sahaptins  use  their 
court  language  on  all  ordinary,  as  well  as  extraordinary 
occasions,  keeping  the  jargon  for  their  servants,  while 
the  Cayuses  employ  the  baser  tongue  for  common,  and 
the  higher  for  state  occasions. 


4"   Ross'  Fur  Hunters,  vol.  i.,  p.  313,  et  seq. 

41  Rafinesque,  Atlantic  Jour.,  p.  133,  quoted  in  Buschmann,  Spuren  der 
Aziek  Spr.,  p.  615.  'Ich  habe  diese  Worter  Rafinesque's  zu  einem  Theil 
gauz  verschieden  von  den  Sahaptan  gefunden.'  Ib. 

«   Hole's  Elhnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol  vi.,  p.  561. 
VOL.  II I.    40 


626  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

The  Cayuses  were  eloquent  speakers ;  their  language 
abounded  in  elegant  expressions,  and  they  well  knew 
how  to  make  the  most  of  it.  When  first  known  to 
Europeans,  it  was  fast  fading  away,  and  subsequently 
merged  into  the  Sahaptin ;  so  fleeting  are  these  native 
idioms.43 

The  Chinook  language  is  spoken  by  the  different 
tribes  inhabiting  the  banks  of  the  Lower  Columbia  and 
adjacent  country.  This  family  is  divided  into  many 
dialects,  which  diverge  from  the  mother  tongue  as  we 
ascend  the  river;  in  fact,  the  upper  tribes  have  mostly 
to  employ  an  interpreter,  when  they  communicate  with 
those  on  the  lower  part  of  the  river.  The  chief  diversi- 
ties of  this  language  are  the  Chinook  proper,  the  Wakia- 
kum,  Cathlamet,  and  Clatsop,  and  the  various  dialects 
mentioned  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  as  belonging  to  those  in- 
habiting this  region  at  the  time  of  their  expedition,  but 
which  cannot  now  be  positively  identified  with  any  of 
the  languages  known  to  us.  Two  of  the  last-mentioned 
dialects,  the  Multnomah  and  the  Skilloot,  the  explorers 
describe  as  belonging  to  the  Chinook.44  Among  all  the 
languages  of  north-western  America,  except  perhaps  that 

43  'The  Skyuse  have  two  distinct  languages :    the  one  used  in  ordinary 
intercourse,   the   other  on  extraordinary   occasions;   as   in  war  counsels, 
<fcc.'     Farnham's  Travels,  p.  153.     'The  Cayuses  have  abandoned  their  own 
for  that  of  the  Nez  Perces.'     Gibbs,  in  Pac.  R.   R.  Rept.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  416. 
425.     '  Their  language  bears  some  affinity  to  the  Sahaptin  or    Nez-Perc6 
language.'     Ludwitfs  Ab.  Lang.,  p.  199;  Coke's  Rocky  Alts.,  p  295;  Kane's 
Wand.,  p.  279.      'Their  original  language,  now  almost  extinct  .    .having 
affinity  to  that  of  the  Carriers,  of  North  Caledonia,  and  the  Umpqua  Indians 
of  Southern  Oregon.'     Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  249-50. 

44  '  The  language  of  the  bands  farther  up  the  river  departed  more  and 
more  widely  from  the  Chinook  proper,  so  that  the  lower  ones  could  not 
have  understood  the  others  without  an  interpreter.'  Gibbs'  Chinook  V»<-ii>>., 
p.  4.     '  The  vocabulary  given  by  Dr.  Scouler  as  "  Chenook"  is  almost  alto- 
gether Chihalis.     His  "Cathlascon" . . .  is  Chinook.'  Id.,  p.  5.     '  Des  7>/<i- 
nooks,  d'oii  est  sortie  la  langue-mere  de  ces  sativages."   Saint-Amant,  Voy- 
ages, p.  381.     '  Cathlamahs  speak  the  same  language  as  the  Chinnooks  and 
Clatsops.'  Lewis  and  Clarke's  Travels,  p.  424.     Chinooks  'in  language.... 
resemble  the  Clatsops,  Cathlamahs,  and   indeed   all    the  people   near  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia.'  Id.,  p.  426.    '  The  Chinooks,  Clatsops,  Wahluacuma 
and   Cathlamahs. ..  .resembled    each  other  in    person,    dress,    languiu'e.' 
Irvine's  Astoria,  pp.  85.  336.      Chinooks,   Clatsops,  Cathlamux,  Wakicnms, 
Wacalamus,  Cattle  ;iutles,  Clatscanias,  Killiumx,  Moltnomas,  Chickelis. .  .  . . 
resemble  one   another  in  language.     Ross'  Adven.,  pp.  87-S8.     'The  Chi- 
nook language  is  spoken  by  all  the  nations  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
to  the  falls.'  Franchere's  Nar.,  p.  262. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  CHINOOK.  627 

of  the  Thlinkeets,  the  Chinook  is  considered  in  its  con- 
struction the  most  intricate ;  and  in  its  pronunciation  the 
most  difficult.  No  words  are  to  be  found  in  the  English 
vocabulary  which  can  accurately  describe  it.  To  say 
that  it  is  guttural,  clucking,  spluttering,  and  the  like 
conveys  but  a  faint  conception  of  the  sound  produced 
by  a  Chinook  in  his  frantic  effort  to  unburden  his  mind 
of  an  idea.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  yet  discovered 
the  use  of  the  lips  and  tongue  in  speaking,  but  struggles 
with  the  lower  part  of  the  throat  to  produce  sounds 
for  the  expression  of  his  thoughts.  Some  declare  that 
the  speech  of  the  Thlinkeets,  whose  language  like 
that  of  the  Chinook  contains  no  labials,  is  melody  in 
comparison  to  the  croakings  of  the  Chinooks.  Ross  says 
that  "  to  speak  the  Chinook  dialect,  you  must  be  a  Chi- 
nook."45 Indeed,  they  appear  to  have  become  tired  of 
their  own  language  and  to  have  voluntarily  abandoned 
it,  for,  to-day,  the  youthful  Chinook  speaks  almost 
wholly  Chehalis  and  the  jargon.  The  employes  of  the 
fur  companies,  voyageurs,  trappers  and  traders,  who 
were  accustomed  to  master  with  little  difficulty  the  abo- 
riginal tongues  which  they  encountered,  were  completely 
nonplussed  by  the  Chinook.  A  Canadian  of  Astor's 
company  is  the  only  person  known  to  have  acquired 
it  so  as  to  speak  it  fluently.  During  a  long  illnes  he 
was  nursed  by  the  Chinooks,  and  during  his  convales- 


45  '  The  language  spoken  by  these  people  is  guttural,  very  difficult  for  a 
foreigner  to  learn,  and  equally  hard  to  pronounce.'  lioss'  Adven.,  p.  101. 
'  Decidedly  the  most  unpronounceable  compound  of  gutturals  ever  formed 
for  the  communication  of  human  thoughts,  or  the  expression  of  human 
wants.'  Cox's  Adixn.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  133.  'I  would  willingly  give  a  specimen  of 
the  barbarous  language  of  this  people,  were  it  possible  to  represent  by  any 
combination  of  our  alphabet  the  horrible,  harsh,  spluttering  sounds  which 
proceed  from  their  throats  apparently  unguided  either  by  the  tongue  or  lip.' 
Kane's  Wand.,  p.  182.  '  It  is  hard  and  difficult  to  pronounce,  for  strangers; 
being  full  of  gutturals,  like  the  Gaelic.  The  combinations  thl,  or  ti,  and  It, 
are  as  frequent  in  the  Chinook  as  in  the  Mexican.'  Franchere's  Nar.,  p.  262. 
1  After  the  soft  languages  and  rapid  enunciation  of  the  islanders,  the  Chi- 
nooks presented  a  singular  contrast  in  the  slow,  deliberate  manner  in  which 
they  seemed  to  choke  out  their  words;  giving  utterance  to  sounds,  some  of 
which  could  scarcely  be  represented  by  combinations  of  known  letters.' 
Pickering's  Races,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  23.  '  It  abounds  with  gut- 
turals and  "  clucking"  sounds,  almost  as  difficult  to  analyse  as  to  utter.' 
Gibbs'  Chinook  Vocab.,  p.  5. 


628  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

cense  devoted  his  entire  time  to  perfecting  himself  in 
their  tongue.46 

Here  the  sounds  of  the  letters  /;  r,  -y,  and  z  do  not 
exist,  the  pronunciation  is  generally  very  indistinct,  and 
f  and  8,  k  and*/,  d  and  t,  are  almost  always  confounded. 

In  the  first  person  of  the  dual  and  plural  of  pronouns, 
the  person  present  and  addressed  is  either  included  or 
excluded  according  to  the  form  used. 

Personal  pronouns  in  the  Watlala  dialect  are : 

SINGULAR.  DUAL.  PLURAL. 


I  naika 

Thon     maika 
He         iakhka 


We  (two)  (exc.)  ndaika 

We  (two)  (incl.)  tkhaika 

You  (two)  mdaika 

They  (two)  i<jtakhka 


We  (ex.)  netaika 

We  (incl.)  olkhaika 

You  mdaika 

They  tkhlaitc>a 


Of  the  possessive  pronouns  the  following  will  serve  as 
examples.  They  are  joined  to  the  noun  itukutkhle,  or  itu- 
kwutkhle,  house. 


SINGULAR. 

My  house 
Thy  house 
His  house 

kukwiitkhl 
meokwitkhl 
iakwitkhl 

I.) 
si.) 

DUAL. 

ndakwitkhl 
tkhakwitkhl 
mclakwitkhl 
iqtakwitkhl 

PLURAL. 

ntc,akwitkhl  (exc.) 
olkhakwitkhl  (incl.) 
mc.akwitkhl 
tkhlakwitkhl 

Our  house  (exc.) 
Our  house  (incl.) 
Your  house 
Their  house 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEKB  TO  BE  COLD. 

PRESENT  INDICATIVE,    8INGULAB. 

I  am  cold,  naika  tcjiiiokhkeakh 

Thou  art  cold,  maika  tcjic.omkeakh 

He  is  cold,  iakhka  tcikeukh 

DUAL. 

We  (two)  are  cold  (exc.),  ndaika  tc.ic.ontkeakh 

We  (two)  are  cold  (incl.),  tkhaika  tc,ic,tkeakh 

You  (two)  are  cold,  mdaika  tc.iiuokeakh 

They  (two)  are  cold,  ictakhka  tcicjtkeakh 

PLURAL. 

We  are  cold  (exc.),  ntc,aika  tc.icontc.keakh 

We  are  cold  (incl.),  olkhaika  tcjlokeakh 

You  are  cold,  meaika  tcic.oiiKjkeakh 

They  are  cold,  tkhlaitqka  t^i^otkhlkeakh 

46  '  The  ancient  Chenook  is  such  a  guttural,  difficult  tongue,  that  many 
of  the  young  Chenook  Indians  cannot  speak  it,  but  have  been  taught  by 
their  parents  the  Chehalis  language  and  the  Jargon.'  Swan's  N.  W.  Of-/,  p. 
30U;  Hale's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  5G2.  'The  very  difficult 
pronunciation  and  excessively  complicated  form  of  the  Chinook  has  effectu- 
ally prevented  its  acquisition,  even  by  missionaries  and  fur  traders.'  Gibbs1 
Chinook  Vocab.,  p.  5. 


CALAPOOYA  PRONOUNS.  629 

IMPEBFFCT. 

Yesterday  I  was  cold,        takotkhl  naika  tcinotkeakh 

FIRST   FDTLTKE. 

By  and  bye  I  shall  be  cold,      atkhlke  naika  t^iqonkhatka 
I  shall  be  cold,  naika.  onq  khatka  t<jiq 

THE  VERB  TO  KILL. 

I  kill  thee,  aminowagua 

I  kill  him,  tijinowagua 

I  kill  you  (dual),  omtkinowagua 

I  kill  them  (dual),  oc_tkinowagua 

I  kill  you  (pl.)>  oinqkinowagua 

I  kill  them,  otkhlkinowagua 

You  kill  him,  om^kiwagua 

You  kill  them,  otkhlkiwagua 

Dialectic  differences  particularly  among  the  upper 
Chinooks,  or  Watlalas,  are  found  principally  in  words; 
grammatical  forms  being  alike  in  both.47  Kane  remarks 
as  a  peculiarity  that  this  language  contains  ''  no  oaths, 
or  any  words  conveying  gratitude  or  thanks."  48 

Moving  again  southward  to  the  Willamette  Yalley,  I 
find  the  Calapooya  language,  and  for  the  first  time  a 
soft  and  harmonious  idiom.  Although  the  guttural  kh 
sometimes  occurs,  it  is  more  frequently  softened  to  h. 
The  consonants  are  9,  or  s,  fj,  k,  /,  m,  n,  ng,  p,  or  6,  /,  or  d, 
q,  and  w.  Unlike  the  Sahaptin  and  Chinook  there  are 
neither  dual  nor  plural  forms  in  the  Calapooya  lan- 
guage. 

The  personal  pronouns  are: 

I  tsi,  or  tsii 

Thou  maha,  or  maa 

He  koka,  or  kak 

We  soto 

You  miti 

They  kinuk 

My  father  tsi  simna 

Thy  father  maha  kaham 

His  father  kok  inifam 

Our  father  soto  tufam 

Your  father  miti  tifam 

Their  father  kinuk  inifam 

My  mother  tsi  sinni 

Thy  mother  maha  kanni 

His  mother  kok  ininnim 

Our  mother  soto  tunnim 

Your  mother  miti  tinnim 

Their  mother  kinuk  iniunim 

<7  Hole's  Ethnog.,  in  V.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.,  vi.,  p.  562,  et  seq. 
48  Katie's  Wand.,  p.  183. 


630  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE  SICK,  ILFATIN. 

PBESENT  KEDTEB. 

I  am  sick,  tsi  ilfatin 

Thou  art  sick,  intsi  ilfatin 
He  is  sick,  ilfatin 

We  are  sick,  tsiti  ilfaf 

You  are  sick,  intsip  ilfaf 

They  are  sick,  kinuk  in  ilfaf 

NEGATIVE. 

I  am  not  sick,  wangk  tsik  ilfatit 

IMPEBFECT. 

I  was  sick  yesterday,  ilfatin  tsi  kuyi 

Thou  wast  sick  yesterday,  imku  ilfatin 

He  was  sick  yesterday,  hu  ilfatin 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

To-morrow  I  shall  be  sick,  midji  tai'lfit  tsii 

The  following  example  will  serve  to   illustrate   the 
great  changes  verbs  undergo  in  their   conjugations;— 
ksitapatsitup  maha,  I  love  thee ;  tsitapintsuo  kok,  I  love  him ; 
Jiimtapintsiwata  tsii  kak.  he  loves  me :  hintsitapintsiwata  tsii, 
dost,  thou  love  me?49 

The  Yamkally  is  spoken  at  the  sources  of  the  Willa- 
mette River.  A  comparison  of  the  Yamkally  and 
Calapooya  vocabularies  shows  a  certain  relationship 
between  them.50 

I  have  said  that  certain  affinities  are  discovered  be- 
tween the  Waiilatpu  and  Mollale,  and  also  between  the 
Watlala  and  Chinook ;  in  these,  as  well  as  in  the  Cala- 
pooya and  Yamkally,  Buschmann  discovers  faint  traces 
of  the  Aztec  language.  Others  have  discovered  a 
fancied  relationship  between  the  language  of  the 
Mexicans  and  those  of  more  northern  nations,  but  Mr 
Buschmann  believes  that,  descending  from  the  north, 
the  peoples  mentioned,  whose  lands  are  drained  by 
the  Columbia,  are  the  first  in  which  the  Aztec,  in 
dim  shadows,  makes  its  appearance.  These  sirnilaritie, 
he  discovered  not  alone  by  direct  comparisons  with  the 
Aztec,  but  also  by  detecting  resemblances  between  these 
Columbian  dialects  and  those  of  certain  nations  which 

«   Kile's  Ethnng.,  in  V.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  566,  et  seq. 

50  '  Yamkallie,  Kalliipuinh.  Oregon  Indians  of  the  plains  of  the  Walla- 
mette,  speaking  a  language  related  to  that  of  the  Ciithlascons  and  Haeeltzuk.' 
Ludewi'i's  Ab.  Lfmg.,  p.  2U2.  '  Gross  die  Verwandtschuft  der  Kalapuyu  mid 
des  Yamkallie;  aber  an  verschiedenen  Wortern  fehlt  ea  nicht.'  £u8cnm&n&, 
Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  628. 


COLUMBIAN  AND  MEXICAN  COMPARISONS. 


631 


he  calls  his  Sonora  group  and  its  affiliations,  all  of  which 
contain  elements  of  the  Aztec  tongue.  Yet  Mr  Busch- 
inann  does  not  therefrom  claim  any  relationship  between 
the  Aztecs  and  Columbians,  but  only  notices  these  few 
slight  assimilations.51 

Herewitli   is  a  comparative   table,  containing  a  few 
similar  words: 


COMPAKATIVE  TABLE,  SHOWING  SIMILARITIES  BETWEEN  THE  COLUMBIAN  AND 
MEXICAN  TONGUES. 


ENG- 

WAII- 

MOL- 

LISH. 

LATPU. 

LALE. 

Yes 

i 

ia 

Tooth 

tenif 

Eed 

Wind 

Black 

Water 

I 

Chief 

iatoiang 

iakaftt 

WATLALA.   CHINOOK.    CALA- 
POOYA. 

a  ah  he,  aw 

tanti 

tkhlpal       tkhlpolpol 
ikkhala      itskhakh       ikhala 
tkhlol         tkhlalukh 
wematkhl  webatkhl 

naika  nee 


AZTEC.          SONOBA 
FAMILY. 

e,  ha 
tlantli 
tlapalli 

ehecatl    heicala 
tliUi 
atl 

ne 

iout,  iauta 


The  Chinook  jargon  is  employed  by  the  white 
people  in  their  intercourse  with  the  natives,  as  well  as 
by  the  natives  among  themselves.  It  is  spoken  through- 
out Oregon,  Washington  Territory,  pn  Vancouver  Island, 
and  extends  inland  into  Idaho  and  some  parts  of  Mon- 
tana. It  is  more  than  probable  that,  like  other  languages 
de  convenance,  it  formed  itself  gradually,  first  among  the 
natives  themselves,  and  that  in  the  course  of  time,  in 
order  to  facilitate  their  intercourse  with  the  aborigines, 
trappers  and  traders  adopted  and  improved  it,  until  it 
was  finally  brought  into  its  present  state.  Indeed,  so 
great  was  the  diversity  of  languages  in  this  vicinity,  and 
so  intricate  were  they,  that  without  something  of  this 
kind  there  could  have  been  but  little  intercourse  between 
the  people.  • 

A  somewhat  similar  mixture  I  have  already  men- 
tioned as  existing  in  Alaska.  Father  Paul  Le  Jeune 
gives  a  short  account  of  a  jargon  in  use  between  the 


si  '  Hochst  merkwiirdig  sind  einzelne  nnlatigbare  aztekische  und  zweitens 
einzelne  souorische  \V6rter,  welche  ich  in  diesen  Sprachen  aufgefuuden 
habe.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Astek.  Spr.,  p.  629. 


632  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

French  and  the  Indians,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of 
America,  as  early  as  the  year  1633.52  In  Europe  a  simi- 
lar mixture,  or  patois,  prevails  to  this  day,  the  lingua 
franca,  used  by  the  many  nationalities  that  con- 
gregate upon  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  In 
China,  and  in  the  East  Indies,  the  so-called  pigeon 
English  occupies  the  same  place;  and  in  various  parts 
of  Central  and  Southern  America,  neutral  languages 
may  be  found.  To  show  how  languages  spring  up  and 
grow,  Vancouver,  when  visiting  the  coast  in  1792, 
found  in  various  places  along  the  shores  of  Oregon, 
Washington,  and  Vancouver  Island,  nations  that  now 
and  then  understood  words  and  sentences  of  the  Nootka 
and  other  tongues,  some  of  which  had  been  adopted 
into  their  own  language. 

When  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1806,  reached  the  coast, 
the  jargon  seems  to  have  already  assume'd  a  fixed  shape, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  sentences  quoted  by  the  explorers. 
But  not  until  the  arrival  of  the  expedition  sent  out  by 
John  Jacob  Astor  does  it  appear  that  either  English  or 
French  words,  of  which  it  contains  a  large  percentage, 
were  incorporated.  Very  few,  if  any,  of  the  words  of 
which  the  jargon  is  composed,  retain  their  original  shape. 
The  harsh,  guttural,  and  unpronounceable  native  cackling 
was  softened  or  omitted,  thus  forming  a  speech  suited 
to  all.  In  the  same  manner,  some  of  the  English  sounds, 
like/  and  r,  unpronounceable  by  the  native,  were 
dropped,  or  transferred  into  p  and  /,  while  all  grammati- 
cal forms  were  reduced  to  the  fewest  and  plainest  rules 
possible.53  But  even  in  this  jargon,  there  are  what 

52  '  This  system  of  jargons  began  very  early,  and  has,  doubtless,  led  to 
many  errors.     As  earl}'  as  1G33,  the  Jesuit  Father  Paul  Le  Jeune  wrote:     "I 
have  remarked,  in  the  study  of  their  language,  that  there  is  a  certain  jargon 
between  the  French  and  Indians,  which  is  neither  French  nor  Indian ;  and  yet, 
when  the  French  use  it,  they  think  they  are  speaking  Indian,  and  the  Indians 
tising  it,  think  they  speak  good  French."  '     Hist.  Mag.,  vol.  v.,  p.  345. 

53  Gibbs'    Chinook    Die.,  p.  6;   San    Francisco   Evening  Bulletin,    June 
15,    18G6.     'Chinook  is   a  jargon   which    was    invented    by   the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  communication  with  the  dif- 
ferent Indian  tribes.     These  were  so   numerous,  and  their   languages  so 
various,  that  the  traders  found  it  impossible  to  learn  them  all,  and  adopted 
the  device  of  a  judicious  mixture  of  English,  French,  Russian,   and  several 
Indian  tongues,  which  has  a  very  limited  vocabulary;  but  which,  by  the 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  CHINOOK  JAEGON.  633 

may  be  called  dialectic  differences;  for  instance,  many 
words  used  at  the  Dalles,  are  quite  unintelligible  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  at  Puget  Sound.  It  has 
often  been  asserted  that  the  jargon  was  invented  or 
originated  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but  although 
the  fur  company  undoubtedly  greatly  aided  its  develop- 
ment, and  assisted  in  perfecting  it,  it  is  well  known, 
first,  that  this  jargon  existed  before  the  advent  of 
Europeans,  and  secondly,  that  languages  are  not  made 
in  this  \vay. 

Mr  Gibbs  states  the  number  of  words  to  be  nearly 
five  hundred,  and  after  a  careful  analysis  of  the  language, 
has  arrived  at  the  following  conclusion  as  to  the  number 
contributed  by  the  several  nationalities : 

Chinook  and  Clatsop  200    words 
Chinook,  having  analogies  with  other  languages         21 

Interjections  common  to  several  8 

Nootka,  including  dialects  24 

Chehalis,  32,  and  Nisqually,  7  39 

Kliketet  and  Yakima  2 

Cree  2 

Chippeway  (Ojibway)  1 

Wasco  (probably)  4 

Calapooya  (probably)  4 

By  direct  onomatopoeia  6 

Derivation  unknown,  or  undetermined  18 

French,  90,  Canadian,  4  94 

English  67 

As  before  mentioned,  foreign  words  adopted  into  the 
jargon  vocabulary  are  changed  to  suit  the  taste  of  the 

help  of  signs,  is  readily  understood  by  all  the  natives,  and  serves  as  a  com- 
mon language.'  Milton  and  (J handle's  N.  W.  Passage,  p.  344.  'The  jargon 
BO  much  in  use  all  over  the  North  Pacific  Coast,  among  both  whites  and 
Indians,  as  a  verbal  medium  of  communicating  with  each  othtjr,  was  origin- 
ally invented  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  pro- 
gress of  their  commerce  with  Indians. '  Stuart's  Dictionary  of  Chinook  Jargon, 
p.  161.  'Chinook  is  a  jargon,  consisting  of  not  more  than  three  or  four 
hundred  words,  drawn  from  the  French,  English,  Spanish,  Indian,  and  the 
fancy  of  the  inventor.  It  was  contrived  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  for 
the  convenience  of  trade.'  Brunot,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1871,  p.  124.  Sproat 
disputes  the  invention  of  the  jargon,  and  says:  '  Such  an  achievement  as  the 
invention  of  a  language,  is  beyond  the  capabilities  of  even  a  chief  factor.' 
Scenes,  p.  139.  '  I  think  that,  among  the  Coast  Indians  in  particular,  the 
Indian  part  of  the  language  has  been  in  use  for  years.'  Swan's  N.  \V.  Coast, 
p.  307.  Halt's  Ethno;/,  in  U.S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  635,  et  seq. 

54  Gibbs'  Chinook  Die.,  pp.  vii.-viii.  'All  the  words  thus  brought 
together  and  combined  in  this  singularly  constructed  speech  are  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  in  number.'  Hale's  Ethno<j.,  in  U.  <S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p. 
6  56.  '  Words  undoubtedly  of  Japanese  origin  are  still  used  in  the  jargon 
spoken  on  the  coast  called  Chinook.'  Lord's  Nat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  217. 


634  COLUMBIAN  LANGUAGES. 

speaker,  as  in  the  word  Frai^ais,  being  unable  to  pro- 
nounce the/,  r,  and  n,  for  Frenchman  they  say  pasaiuks, 
and  for  French,  pasai  The  few  words  formed  by 
onomatopoeia,  are  after  this  fashion; — tumtum,  heart,  an 
imitation  of  its  beating ;  tintin,  bell ;  tiktik,  watch ;  liplip, 
to  boil,  from  the  sound  of  boiling  water,  and  so  on. 

Neither  article  nor  inflections  are  employed.  Okok, 
this,  at  times  takes  the  place  of  the  English  the.  As  a 
rule,  plurals  are  not  distinguished,  but  sometimes  the 
word  ham,  many,  is  used.  Adjectives  precede  nouns,  as 
in  English, — lasuai  hakatshum,  silk  handkerchief;  masatsi 
tilikum,  bad  people.  The  comparative  is  expressed,  for 
example,  in  the  sentence,  I  am  stronger  than  thou,  by  wek 
ma'ika  skukum  kakwa  naika,  thou  not  strong  as  1. 
Superlative, — haias  oluman  okok  kanem,  very  old  that 
canoe.  There  are  only  two  conjunctions,  pi,  derived 
from  the  French puis,  which  denotes  and,  or  then;  and 
pos,  from  suppose,  meaning  if,  in  case  that,  provided 
that.  The  particle  na  is  at  times  used  as  an  interroga- 
tive.55 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Chinook  jargon  is  as 
follows: 

Nesika   papa  klaksta   mitlite    kopa   saghalie,  kloshe 

Our        Father        who  stayeth  in        the  above,        good 

kopa   nesika   tumtum    mika  nem;  kloshe    mika    tyee 

in  our         hearts  (be)        thy       name;       good  thou        chief 

kopa  konoway  tilikum;     kloshe    mika    tumtum    kopa 

among          all  people;  good  thy  will  upon 

illahie,  kahkwe  kopa  saghalie.     Potlatch  konaway  sun 

earth,      as      in    the  above.     Give      every     day 

nesika  muckamuck.     Spose  nesika  mamook  masahchie, 

our  food.  If  we  do  ill, 

wake     mika  hyas  solleks,  pe  spose   klaksta   masahchie 

(be)  not      thou      .  very    angry,        and        if          any  one  evil 

kopa     nesika,  wake  nesika  solleks  kopa  klaska.   Mahsh 

towards        us,  not  we  angry    towards    them.     Send  away 

siah  kopa  nesaika  konaway  masahchie.   Kloshe  kahkwa. 

far      from          us  all  evil.56 

«   link's  Ethnoy.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  636,  et  seq. 
56   GUIs'  Chinook  Die.,  p.  44. 


CHAPTER   IT. 

CALIFORNIAN   LANGUAGES. 

MULTIPLICITY  OP  TONGUES — YAKON,  KLAMATH,  AND  PALAIK  COMPARISONS — 
PITT  RIVER  AND  WINTOON  VOCABULARIES — WEEYOT,  WISHOSK,  WEITSPEK, 
AND  EHNEK  COMPARISONS  —  LANGUAGES  OF  HUMBOLDT  BAY  —  POTTER, 
VALLEY,  RUSSIAN  AND  EEL  RIVER  LANGUAGES— POMO  LANGUAGES — 
GALLINOMERO  GRAMMAR  —  TRANS  -  PACIFIC  COMPARISONS  —  CHOCUYEM 
LORD'S  PRAYER — LANGUAGES  OF  THE  SACRAMENTO,  SAN  JOAQUIN,  NAPA 
AND  SONOMA  VALLEYS — THE  OLHONE  AND  OTHER  LANGUAGES  OF  SAN 
FRANCISCO  BAY — RUNSIEN  AND  ESLENE  OF  MONTEREY — SANTA  CLARA 
LORD'S  PRAYER—  MUTSUN  GRAMMAR — LANGUAGES  OF  THE  MISSIONS  SANTA 
CRUZ,  SAN  ANTONIO  DE  PADUA,  SOLEDAD,  AND  SAN  MIGUEL— TATCHE 
GRAMMAR — THE  DIALECTS  OF  SANTA  CRUZ  AND  OTHER  ISLANDS. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  diversity  of  tongues  en- 
countered in  the  regions  of  the  north,  the  confusion 
increases  ten-fold  on  entering  California.  Probably 
nowhere  in  America  is  there  a  greater  multiformity  of 
languages  and  dialects  than  here.  Until  quite  recently, 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring  order  out  of  this 
linguistic  chaos,  owing  mainly  to  a  lack  of  grammars 
and  vocabularies.  Within  the  last  few  years  this  want 
has,  in  a  measure,  been  supplied,  and  I  hope  to  be  able 
to  present  some  broader  classifications  than  have  hitherto 
been  attempted.  Through  the  researches  of  Mr  Powers, 
who  has  kindly  placed  his  materials  at  my  disposal,  and 
the  valuable  information  communicated  by  Judge  Rose- 
borough,  the  dialects  of  northern  California  have  been 
reduced  to  some  sort  of  system,  yet  there  remains  the 

(635) 


636  CALIFOBXIAN  LANGUAGES. 

fact  that,  in  central  and  southern  California,  hundreds 
of  dialects  have  been  permitted  to  die  out,  without 
leaving  us  so  much  as  their  name.1 

In  attempting  the  classification  of  Californian  tongues, 
no  little  difficulty  arises  from  the  ambiguity  of  tribal 
names.  So  far  as  appearances  go,  some  peoples  have  no 
distinctive  name ;  others  are  known  by  the  name  of  their 
chief  alone,  or  their  rancheria ;  the  affiliation  of  chief, 
rancheria,  and  tribe  being  identical  or  distinct,  as  the 
case  may  be.  Some  writers  have  a  common  name  for 
air  tribes  speaking  the  same,  or  dialects  of  the  same,  lan- 
guage; others  name  a  people  from  each  dialect.  Last 
of  all,  there  are  nations  and  tribes  that  call  themselves 
by  one  name,  while  their  neighbors  call  them  by  another, 
so  that  the  classifier,  ethnologic  or  philologic,  is  apt  to 
enumerate  one  people  under  two  names,  while  omitting 
many.2 

We  have  seen  in  the  Columbian  languages,  as  we 
approach  the  south,  that  they  become  softer  and  less 
guttural ;  this  is  yet  more  observable  among  Californians, 
whose  speech,  for  the  most  part,  is  harmonious,  pro- 
nounceable, and  rich  in  vowels ;  and  this  feature  becomes 
more  and  more  marked  as  we  proceed  from  northern  to 
southern  California.  On  this  point,  Mr  Powers  writes: 
"Not  only  are  the  California  languages  distinguished  for 
that  affluence  of  vowel  sounds,  which  is  more  or  less 
characteristic  of  all  tongues  spoken  in  warm  climates; 

1  Roseborough's  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS. ;  The  Shostas  and  their  Neighbors, 
MS.     '  The  diversity  of  language  is  so  great,  in  California,  that  at  almost  every 
15  or  20  leagues,  you  find  a  distinct  dialect.'     Hoscana,  in  Robinson's  Life 
in  CaL,  p.  240.     '  II  n'est  peut-etre  aucnn  pays  ou  les  differens  idiomes  soient 
aussi  multiplies  que  dans  la  Calit'oruie  septentrionale.'     La  Perouse,  Voy., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  323.     '  One  might  spend  years  with  diligence  in  acquiring  an  In- 
dian tongue,  then  journey  n  three-hours'  space,  and  find  himself  adrift  again, 
so  multitudinous  are  the  languages  and  dialects  of   California.'     Powers' 
North.  CaL  Ind.,  in  Overland  Monthly,  vol.  viii.,  p.  328.     'The  diversity  is 
such  as  to  preclude  almost  entirely  all  verbal  communication.'     Hatchings' 
Col.  May.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  159.     '  Languages  vary  from  tribe  to  tribe.'      Pick- 
erings Races,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  106.     '  In  California,  there  appears 
to  be  spoken  two  or  more  distinct  languages.'     McCulloh's  Researches  in 
Amer.,  p.  37;  Kotzebue's  Voyny?,  vol.  iii.,  p.  48;  Id.,  New  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
98;  Taylor,  in  Bancroft's  Handbook  Almanac,  1864,  p.  29 

2  See  vol  i.,  p.  325;  Roseborou>/h's  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS.;  The  Xhastas 
and  their  Neighbors,  MS.;  Hutchinys'  CaL  Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  lot). 


RULES  OF  EUPHONY  IN  CALIFORNIA.  637 

but  most  of  them  are  also  remarkable  for  tbeir  special 
(striving  after  harmony.  There  are  a  few  languages  found 
in  the  northern  mountains  which  are  harsh  and  sesqui- 
pedalian, and  some  on  the  coast  that  are  guttural  beyond 
the  compass  of  our  American  organs  of  speech ;  but  with 
these  few  exceptions,  the  numerous  languages  of  the 
state  are  beautiful  above  all  their  neighbors  for  their 
simplicity,  the  brevity  of  their  words,  their  melody,  and 
their  harmonious  sequences."3 

Throughout  California,  much  attention  is  paid  to  the 
euphony  of  words;  and  if,  in  the  inevitable  manufacturing 
process,  a  syllable  does  not  sound  well,  or  does  not  ex- 
actly harmonize  according  to  the  native  ear,  it  is  ruth- 
lessly sacrificed.  In  many  languages  these  elisions  are 
made  in  accordance  with  fixed  rules,  while  others,  again, 
obey  no  other  mandate  but  harmony. 

Concerning  the  languages  of  northern  California, 
Judge  Roseborough  writes:  "In  an  ethnological  view, 
the  language  of  these  various  tribes  is  a  subject  of  great 
interest.  They  seem  to  be  governed  by  the  geographical 
nature  of  the  country,  which  has  had  much  influence 
in  directing  the  migrations  and  settlement  of  the  various 
tribes  in  this  state,  where  they  have  been  found  by  the 
whites ;  and  there  have  been  in  remote  times  at  least  three 
currents,  or  lines  of  migration,  namely, — first,  one  along 
the  coast  southward,  dispersing  more  or  less  towards  the 
interior  as  the  nature  of  the  country  and  hostile  tribes  per- 
mitted. In  so  broken  and  rough  a  country  the  migrations 
must  have  been  slow,  and  the  eddies  numerous,  leav- 
ing many  fragments  of  aboriginal  tribes  here  and  there 
with  language  and  customs  wholly  dissimilar.  Second; 
that  along  the  Willamette  Valley,  over  the  passes  of 
the  Calapooya,  across  the  open  lands  of  the  Umpqua, 
southward  through  Rogue  River  Valley  into  Shasta  and 
Scott  valleys.  As  an  evidence  of  this  trace  I  may 
mention  that  all  the  tribes  on  this  line,  from  the  Calapooya 
mountains  southward  to  the  head  of  Shasta  and  Scott 
valleys,  speak  the  same  language,  and  were  confederate 

3    Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


638  CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

in  their  wars  with  the  tribes  on  Pitt  River,  who  seem 
to  have  arrested  their  progress  southward.  In  this  con- 
nection I  may  mention  two  facts  worthy  of  remark, 
namely,  first,  in  this  cataclysm  of  tribes,  there  have  been 
some  singular  displacements ;  for  instance,  the  similarity 
of  language  and  customs  of  the  Cumbatwas  and  other 
cognate  tribes  on  Pitt  River  denotes  a  common  origin 
with  a  small  tribe  found  on  Smith  River,  on  the  north- 
west coast:  and  secondly,  the  traditions  of  the  Shastas 
settled  in  Shasta  and  Scott  valleys,  the  advance  of  this 
line  of  migrations,  show  that  a  former  tribe  had  been 
found  in  possession  of  those  valleys  and  mountains,  and 
had  been  driven  out.  The  remains  of  their  ancient 
villages,  and  the  arrangements  still  visible  in  their 
excavations  confirm  the  fact,  and  also  the  further  fact 
that  the  expelled  tribes  were  the  same,  or  cognate  to 
those  which  the  whites  found  in  occupation  of  the  Sac- 
ramento Valley.  For  instance,  in  all  of  these  ancient 
villages,  there  was  one  house  of  very  large  dimensions, 
used  for  feasts,  ceremonious  dances,  etc.,  just  as  we 
found  on  the  settlement  of  California,  in  the  valley  of 
Sacramento.  The  existing  tribes  in  those  mountains 
have  no  such  domicil  and  no  public  houses.  They  say, 
when  asked,  that  the  villages  were  built  and  inhabited 
by  a  tribe  that  lived  there  before  they  came,  and  that 
those  ancient  dwellers  worshiped  the  great  snowy  Mount 
Shasta,  and  always  built  their  villages  in  places  from 
which  they  could  behold  that  mountain.  Thirdly, 
another  wave  of  migration  evidently  came  southward 
along  the  Des  Chutes  River,  upon  the  great  plateau  of 
the  lakes,  which  conclusion  is  borne  out  by  a  similarity 
of  languages  and  customs,  as  well  as  by  traditions."  * 

In  support  of  this  theory  Judge  Roseborough  states, 
that  the  languages  spoken  on  Smith  River,  and  extending 
thence  forty  miles  along  the  coast,  are  radically  and 
wholly  different  from  those  of  the  neighboring  tribes. 
The  former  are  harsh,  guttural,  irregular,  and  apparently 
monosyllabic,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  neighboring 

*  Roseborough's  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS. 


LANGUAGES  OF  NORTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  639 

tribes  inhabiting  the  coast  southward  to  Humboldt  Bay, 
and  along  the  Klamath  as  far  up  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Trinity,  speak  a  language  very  regular  in  its  structure ; 
copious  in  its  capacity  for  expressing  ideas  and  shades  of 
thought,  and  not  unpleasing  to  the  ear,  being  free  from 
harsh  and  guttural  sounds.  Of  all  the  languages  spoken 
in  this  part,  that  which  prevails  along  the  Klamath 
River,  as  far  up  as  Happy  Camp,  and  along  the  Salmon 
to  its  sources,  is  by  far  the  most  regular  and  musical. 
In  fact,  for  its  regular  and  musical  accents  it  occupies 
among  the  Indian  tongues  of  the  continent  the  same 
preeminence  that  the  Spanish  does  among  the  Cauca- 
sian languages.  For  instance,  their  proper  nouns  for 
persons  and  places  are  very  euphoneous,  as,  euphippa, 
escassasoo,  names  of  persons,  and  tahasoofca,  cheenich,  pa- 
numna,  chimicanee,  tooyook,  savorum,  names  of  noted  lo- 
calities along  the  river. 

As  an  example  of  the  copiousness  and  richness  of 
the  coast  languages  above  Humboldt  Bay,  Judge  Rose- 
borough  cites  the  following,  for  one,  two,  three,  four, 
they  say,  kor,  nihhi,  naxil,  choknah ;  so  for  to-morrow  they 
say,  kohchamol]  for  the  day  after  to-morrow,  nahamohl; 
three  days  hence,  naxamohl;  four  days  hence,  chohnah- 
amol  Nor  do  they  stop  here;  mare,  being  five,  and 
marunimicha,  fifteen ;  the  fifteenth  day  from  the  present 
is,  marunimichdhamohl. 

Mr  George  Bancroft  in  his  Indianology  erroneously 
asserts  that  the  sound  of  our  letter  r  does  not  occur  in 
any  of  the  aboriginal  languages  of  America.  A  similar 
assertion  has  been  made  with  regard  to  Asiatic  tongues, 
that  there  is  not  a  people  from  the  peninsula  of  Hindos- 
tan  to  Kamchatka  who  make  use  of  this  sound.  Although 
this  idea  is  now  exploded,  evidence  goes  to  show  the 
rarity  of  the  use  of  the  letter  r  in  these  regions ;  yet, 
Judge  Roseborough  assures  me  that  in  these  northern 
Californian  dialects  the  sound  of  this  letter  is  not  only 
frequent,  but  is  uttered  with  its  most  rolling,  whirring 
emphasis;  that  such  words  as  arrarra,  Indian;  carrook, 
or  cahroc,  up;  eurook,  or  euroc,  down;  seearrook,  across 


640 


CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 


and  up;  micarra,  the  name  of  a  village;  tahasoofcarrah, 
that  is  to  say  the  village  of  upper  Tahasoofca,  are 
brought  forth  with  an  intensity  that  a  Frenchman  could 
not  exceed. 


On  both  sides  of  the  Oregon  and  Californian  boundary 
line  is  spoken  the  Klamath  language;  adjoining  it  on 
the  north  is  the  Yakon,  and  on  the  south  the  Shasta  and 
the  Palaik.  A  dialect  of  the  Klamath  is  also  spoken  by 
the  Modocs.  Herewith  I  give  a  short  comparative  table, 
and  although  no  relationship  between  them  is  claimed, 
yet  many  of  the  words  which  I  have  selected  are  not 
without  a  similarity.5 


KLAMATH. 


Man 
Woman 

kalt 
tkhlaks 

hisuatsos 

suawats 

awatikoa 
taritsi 

yaliu 
omtewitsen 

Mouth 
Leg 
Water 
Blood 
Earth 

qai 

sia 
kilo 
pouts 
onitstoh 

sum 
tsoks 
ampo 
poits 
kaela 

au,  or  aof, 
halaway,  or  hatis, 
atsa 
iine 
tarak 

ap 

atetewa 
as 
ahati 
kela 

Stone 

kelih 

kotai 

itsa 

olisti 

Wood 

kukh 

anko 

awa 

hau 

Beaver 
Dog 
Bird 

kaatsilawa 
tskekh 
kokoaia 

pum 
watsak 
lalak 

tawai 
hapso 
tararakh 

pum 
watsaqa 
lauitsa 

Salmon 

tstitais 

tsialus 

kitari 

tsialas 

Great 

haihaiat 

moonis 

kempe 

wawa 

Along  Pitt  River  and  its  tributaries  are  the  Pitt  River 
Indians  and  the  Wintoons,  of  which  languages  short 
vocabularies  are  given. 


Man 

Woman 

House 

Tree  (pine) 

Water 

Stone 

Sun 


PITT   EIVEB. 


t'elyou 

emmetowchan 

teoomchee 

oswoo 

oss 

alliste 

tsool 


Hair 

Eyes 

Nose 

Mouth 

Teeth 

Legs 

Fire 


teee 
ossa 
yame 
yanena 

1-tfSJl 

saya 

uiallis 


5  '  The  Lutnami,  Shasti  and  Palaik  are  thrown  by  Gallatin  into  three  sepa- 
rate classes.  They  are  without  doubt  mutually  unintelligible.  Nevertheless 
they  cannot  be  very  widely  separated.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p. 
407.  The  T-ka,  Id-do-a,  Ho-te-day,  We-o-how,  or  Shasta  Indians,  speak 
the  same  language.  Steele,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1864,  p.  120.  The  Modocs  speak 
the  same  language  as  the  Klamaths.  Palmer,  in  Id.,  1854,  p.  262;  Bale's 
Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.,  Ex.,  vol.  vi..  p.  218;  Serghaus,  Oeographisches  Jahrluch, 
torn,  iii.,  p.  48;  Taylor,  in  Col.  Farmer,  June  8,  1860.  'A  branch  of  the 
latter  (Shoshone)  is  the  tribe  of  Tlamath  Indians.'  Euxton's  Adi-en.  Mex.,  p. 
•244. 


THE  WINTOON,  EUKOC,  AND  CAHKOC. 


G41 


Moon 

Crow 

Dog 

Deer 

Bear 


tchool 

owwicha 

chahoom 

doshshe 

loehta 


Big 

Little 

Dead 

Mountain 

Fish 


Yes 

ummina 

Woman 

darcus 

House 

boss 

I,  or  me 

net 

Water 

mem 

Rain 

luhay 

Son 

sash 

Moon 

chamitta 

Night 

kenavina,  or  peno 

Dog 

stico 

Deer 

nope 

Bear 

chilch,  or  weemer, 

Warm 

Eyes 

Nose 

Mouth 

Teeth 

Talk 

To  kill 

Larpe 

To  tight 

Dead 

North 

South 


pela 

toomb 

sono 

all 

see 

teene 

kloina 

bohama 

cluckapooda 

menil 

wy 

uora  7 


On  the  lower  Klamath,  the  Euroc  language  prevails. 
As  compared  with  the  dialects  of  southern  California, 
it  is  guttural;  there  being  apparently  in  some  of  its 
words,  or  rather  grunts,  a  total  absence  of  vowels,— 
mrprh,  nose;  chlh,  earth;  ynx<  child.  Among  other 
sounds  peculiar  to  it,  there  is  that  of  the  II,  so  frequent 
in  the  Welsh  language.  Mr  Powers  says  that,  "in 
conversation  they  terminate  many  words  with  an  aspi- 
ration which  is  imperfectly  indicated  by  the  letter  A,  a 
sort  of  catching  of  the  sound,  immediately  followed  by 
the  letting  out  of  the  residue  of  breath,  with  a  quick 
little  grunt.  This  makes  their  speech  harsh  and  halting ; 
the  voice  often  comes  to  a  dead  stop  in  the  middle  of  a 
sentence."  He  further  adds  that  ''the  language  seems 
to  have  had  a  monosyllabic  origin,  and,  in  fact,  they 
pronounce  many  dissyllables  as  if  they  were  two  mono- 
syllables." 

Along  the  upper  Klamath,  the  Cahroc  language  is 
spoken,  which  is  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  the 
Eurocs.  It  is  sonorous,  and  its  intonation  has  even 
been  compared  with  that  of  the  Spanish,  being  not 
at  all  guttural  like  the  Euroc.  The  r,  when  it  oc- 
curs in  such  words  as  chareya,  and  cahroc,  is  strangely 
rolled.  The  language  is  copious;  the  people  speaking  it 
having  a  name  for  everything,  and  on  seeing  any  article 

6  The  Shastas  and  their  Nnfjlibors,  MS. 

T  Jackson's  Vocab.  of  the  Wintoon  Language,  MS, ;  Powers'  Vocabularies,  MS. 
VOL.  m.     41 


642 


CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 


new  to  them,  if  a  proper  designation  is  not  immediately 
at  hand,  they  forthwith  proceed  to  manufacture  one. 

Another  guttural  language  is  the  Pataway,  spoken  on 
Trinity  River.  Its  pronunciation  is  like  the  Euroc,  and 
it  has  the  same  curious,  abrupt  stopping  of  the  voice  at 
the  end  of  syllables  terminating  with  a  vowel,  as  Mi- 
Powers  describes  it.  Related  to  it  is  the  Veeard  of 
lower  Humboldt  Bay.  The  numerals  in  the  latter  lan- 
guage are:  koh-tseh,  one;  dee-teh,  two;  dee-keh,  three; 
deeh-ok,  four;  weh-sah,  five;  chilokeh,  six;  awtloh,  seven; 
owit,  eight;  serokeh,  nine;  lokel  ten.8 

The  language  known  as  the  Weitspek,  spoken  at  the 
junction  of  the  Trinity  and  Klamath  rivers,  is  probably 
the  same  which  Mr  Powers  has  named  the  Pataway. 
It  is  also  said  to  have  the  frequently  occurring  rolling  r. 
The/,  as  in  the  Oregon  languages,  is  wanting.  Dia- 
lects of  the  Weitspek  are  the  Weeyot  and  Wishosk,  on 
Eel  and  Mad  rivers.  This  language  is  understood  from 
the  coast  range  down  to  the  coast  between  Cape  Mendo- 
cino  and  Mad  River.9  The  Ehnek,  or  Pehtsik,  language 
is  spoken  on  Salmon  River ;  thence  in  the  region  of  the 
Klamath,  are  the  Watsahewah,  Howteteoh,  and  Nabiltse 


languages.10 


COMPARISONS. 


\VEEYOT. 

WISHOSK. 

WEITSPEK. 

EHNEK. 

Man 

ko  eh 

ko-eh 

pagehk 

ah  wunsh 

Arrow 

sahpe 

tsahpe 

nah  qut 

kha-wish 

Water 

merah  tche 

mer  ah  che" 

pa  ha 

iss  shah 

Earth 

let  kuk 

let  kuk 

chahk 

steep 

Dog 

wyets 

wy'ts 

chishe 

chish  ee 

Fire 

mass 

mess 

mets 

ah 

Sun 

taum 

tahm 

wil  noush  leh 

kosh  rah 

One 

koh  tse 

kohtsa 

spinekoh 

issah 

Two 

er  ee  ta 

ritta 

nuh  ehr 

ach  hok 

Three 

er  ee  ka 

rihk 

nak  sa 

kui  rahk 

Four 

re  aw  wa 

ri  yah 

toh  hun  ne 

peehs 

Five 

wessa 

wehsah 

rnahr  o  turn 

ti  rah  o 

8  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

9  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  422.    '  The  junction  of  the  rivers 
Klamath,  or  Trinity,  gives  us  the  locality  of  the  Weitspek.     Its  dialects,  the 
Weyot  and  Wishosk,  extend  far  into  Hnmboldt  county,  where  they  are  prob- 
ably the  prevailing  form  of  speech,  being  used  on  the  Mad  River,  and  the 
parts  about  Cape  Mendocino.  •  From  the  Weitspek  they  differ  much  more 
than  they  do   from   each  other."     Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  40. 
'Weeyot  und  Wish-osk,  unter  einander  verwandt."    Busckmann,  Spuren  der 
Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  575. 

10  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  422-3. 


THE  POMO  FAMILY  AND  ITS  DIALECTS.  643 

The  Chillulah,  Wheelcutta,  and  Kailta  were  spoken 
on  Redwood  Greek,  but  before  the  extinction  of  these 
people,  their  languages  were  merged  into  that  of  the 
Hoopahs  by  whom  they  were  subjugated.  The  language 
of  the  ^  Chimalquays  of  New  River  has  also  been  ab- 
sorbed by  the  Hoopah.  Of  the  Chimalquays  Powers 
hyperbolically  remarks  u  their  language  was  like  the 
mountain  city  of  California,  beautiful  in  its  simplicity, 
but  frail."11  * 

At  Humboldt  Bay  a  language  called  Patawat  is  men- 
tioned, and  in  Round  Valley  the  Yuka.  The  numerals 
in  the  latter  tongue  are — pongwe,  one ;  opeh,  two ;  malmeh, 
three ;  and  omehet,  four.  In  Potter  Valley  is  the  Tahtoo 
language  which  Mr  Powers  thinks  may  belong  to  the 
Porno  or  the  Yuka.12  In  the  Eel  River  and  Russian 
River  valleys  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Russian  River  and 
in  Potter  Valley,  the  diiferent  tribes  known  by  the 
names  of  Ukiahs  or  Yokias,  Sanels,  Gallinomeros,  Ma- 
sallarnagoons,  Grualalas,  and  Matoles,  speak  various  dia- 
lects of  the  Porno  language,  which  obtains  in  Potter 
Valley  and  the  dialects  of  which  become  more  and  more 
estranged  according  to  the  distance  from  the  aboriginal 
centre.  The  Porno  men  are  good  linguists ;  they  readily 
acquire  all  the  different  dialects  of  their  language,  which 
in  places  differ  to  such  an  extent,  that  unless  they  are 
previously  learned  they  cannot  be  understood.  Porno 
women  are  not  allowed  to  learn  any  dialect  but  their 
own. 

The  following  comparative  table  of  numerals  will 
illustrate  the  relationship  of  these  tribes,  among  which 
I  include  the  Kulanapo  spoken  near  Clear  Lake,  and  of 
which  Mr  Gibbs  has  also  noticed  an  affinity  to  the  Rus- 
sian River  and  Eel  River  languages;  also,  the  language 
spoken  by  the  natives  of  the  Yonios  Rancheria  in  Marin 
County.13 


11  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

12  Roseborowih's  Letter  to  the  Author,  MS.;  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 

is  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  421-2;  Powers'  Porno,  MS.; 
Taylor,  in  Cal.  Farmer,  March  30,  1860. 


644  CALIFORNIA!*  LANGUAGES. 

POMO          TTKIAH.  SAN&D.  OALINO-    KULAXAPO.  TONTO. 

MEEO. 

One      cha  taro  tate  cha          k'hah  lib  kalli 

Two      co  can  co  aco          kots  botz 

Three  sibbo  sibbo  sibboo  mesibbo  bomeka  hnmka 

Four     tack  duban  ducbo  meta        dol  caddol 

Five     sbal  native  mato  toosbuh  leh  ma  lema 

Six       padeh  tsadeb  tsadeb  lancba     tsa  di  sav 

Seven  copah  boyneit  coemar  latco        kn  la  bots  kolaus 

Eight   cowal  cogodol  cogodol  coineta    ko  ka  dobl  kadol 

Nine     shalsbal  nemgoshum  numoshum  chaco      hah  da  rol  sbum  gin 

Ten      sala  nempotec  navacotec  chasiito  hab  da  rul  tek  hidelema 

On  the  Gallinomero  dialect  I  make  a  few  grammatical 
remarks.  In  conversation  the  Grallinorneros  are  rather 
slovenly  and  make  use  of  frequent  contractions  and  abbre- 
viations like  the  English  can't  and  shan't,  which  makes 
it  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  understand  them.  Another 
difficulty  for  the  student  is  the  convertibility  of  a  number 
of  letters,  such  as  t  into  ch,  sh  into  ch,  i  into  ah,  etc. 
Nouns  have  neither  number,  case,  nor  gender;  the  first 
being  only  occasionally  indicated  by  a  separate  word, — 
cha  ataboonya,  one  man;  aco  ataboonja,  two  men.  The 
genitive  is  formed  by  placing  the  words  in  juxtaposition, — 
atopte  metitega,  the  chief's  brother;  the  governed  word 
being  always  prepositive.  None  of  the  remaining  cases 
are  distinguished ;  for  example, — chadnna  bidricha,  I  see 
the  river;  biddcha  hoalye,  I  go  to  the  river,  or,  into  the 
river ;  biddclia  huodthw,  I  come  out  of  the  river ;  diddcha 
tohokena,  I  go  away  from  the  river;  the  accusative 
may  be  recognized,  as  being  placed  immediately  after  the 
verb,  but  there  are  man}^  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Some- 
times the  accusative  is  also  marked  by  the  ending  ga 
or  gen, — chechoanootxgen,  I  strike  the  boy;  but  this  is 
seldom  used.  Verbs  are  always  regular.  There  are 
present,  imperfect,  and  future  tenses,  and  three  forms  of 
the  imperative,  all  distinctly  marked  by  tense  endings. 

PKESENTINEICATIVE.        IMPEBFECT.  FIRST  FDTUKE. 

Do, 
Go, 
Break, 
Kill, 
See, 
Fight, 

In  some  instances  these  endings  are  changed  for  the 


tseena 
boalye 

niiitsana 
mutoinana 
chadi':na 
niehailme 

tseeteena 
boaleteena 
matsanteena 
matemantet'na 
cbadnteena 
mehailmooteena 

tseecuwa 
boaleciiwa 
matsancuwa 
matemancnwa 
chaduci'nva 
inehailmooct'nva 

GALLINOMERO  GRAMMAR.  645 

sake  of  euphony,  certain  letters  being  elided.  The  end- 
ings may  really  be  called  auxiliary  verbs,  attached  to 
the  principal  verb.  Thus  the  imperfect  reads,  literally, 
'  would  be  I  go  do,'  the  ending  teena  being  nothing  but 
the  word  tseena,  with  the  s  omitted.  In  like  manner  the 
future  is  formed,  as  in  tuddwa,  to  want,  which  is  changed 
into  ciiwa. 

There  is  nothing  to  denote  number  in  the  verb,  as  can 
be  seen  in  the 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  BE. 


I  am,  ahwa 

Thou  art,  amawa 

He  is,  hamowa 


We  are,  ayawa 

You  are,  amawa 

They  are,  hamowa 


Of  the  imperative,  the  following  may  serve  as  an 
example:  hodlekih,  let  me  go;  hoalin,  go  thou;  Iwdlegun, 
let  him  go.  The  verb  chadiina,  to  see,  may  signify 
either  I  see,  or  seeing,  or  to  see,  or  it  may  be  construed 
as  a  substantive — sight ;  or  as  an  adjective  in  agglutin- 
ation, as  chadunatoboonya,  a  watchful  man.  Chanhodin 
is  an  auxiliary  verb  and  is  always  prepositive.  The 
pronouns  are,  ah,  ahto,  or  ahmet,  I;  ama,  thou;  and 
'wemo,  waymo,  hamo,  or  dmata,  he.  The  first  person  of 
the  pronoun  is  always  omitted,  except  with  the  verb  to 
be,  and  the  second  and  third  persons  frequently.  Pro- 
nominal adjectives  are  quite  irregular,  as  owkei/j  from 
ah;  maykey,  from  ama^webakey,  from  wemo;  and  they 
are  also  used  irregularly  with  nouns.  Thus  in  medde, 
father;  ahmen,  or  owkdhmen,  or  dhmedde,  being  equiva- 
lent to  I  father,  my  father.  Here,  also,  euphony  steps 
in  and  makes  words  sometimes  wholly  unrecognizable,  as 
ahtotdna,  equivalent  to  mehand,  and  still  more  different, 
as  mamdwky,  this  is  for  me.  Your  father  is  mdykemay; 
his  father,  ivebamen.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  medde  is 
changed,  or  abbreviated,  into  men,  and  may.  Sometimes 
the  personal  pronoun  is  agglutinated  to  the  verb,  and 
sometimes  it  is  not; — chechodnomdo  (dtechodna  meto), 
I  strike  you;  meto  tuddwa,  I  love  you.  As  in  many 
other  Pacific  States  languages,  we  have  here  a  reveren- 


646  CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

tial  syllable,  which  in  this  language  is  always  prefixed, 
whereas  in  others,  for  instance  the  Aztec,  it  is  an  affix. 
Speaking  of  persons  related,  or  of  things  belonging,  to 
the  chief,  the  reverential  me  or  jin,  is  always  prefixed ; 
—owkeybal,  my  wife;  maykeybal,  your  wife;  atopte 
meetchen,  the  chief's  wife;  shinna,  head;  metoshin,  your 
head;  webashin,  his  head;  atopte  jinshinna,  the  chief's 
head.  All  adjectives  are  really  substantives,  and  are 
used  for  both  purposes.  Thus,  ootu,  boy,  also  signifies 
little,  or  young.  Adjectives  are  generally  placed  after 
nouns, — niajey  codey.  good  day ;  but  there  are  also  many 
exceptions  to  this  rule.  Comparatives  are  expressed  by 
the  particle  pala,  more ; — pakyabdta  waymo  ahmet,  he  is 
greater  than  I,  pala  becoming  paUya,  in  composition. 
This  is  only  used  by  the  more  intelligent  class.  A 
Gallinomero  of  the  lower  order  would  say,  bata  ivaymo 
ahmet,  great  he  I.  The  principal  characteristics  of  the 
language  are  euphony  and  brevity,  to  which  all  things 
else  are  subservient,  but  nevertheless,  as  I  have  shown 
already,  agglutination  is  carried  to  the  farthest  extent.14 
As  will  be  seen  by  the  following  comparative  table, 
the  Porno  language,  or  rather  one  of  its  dialects,  the 
Kulanapo,  shows  some  affinity  to  the  Malay  family  of 
languages.  Of  one  hundred  and  seventy  words  which  I 
have  compared,  I  find  fifteen  per  cent,  showing  Malay 
similarities,  and  more  could  perhaps  have  been  found  if 
the  several  vocabularies  had  been  made  upon  some  one 
system.  As  it  is,  I  have  been  obliged  to  use  a  Malay,  a 
Tonga,  and  other  Polynesian  vocabularies,  taken  by  dif- 
ferent persons,  at  different  times.  Without  attempting  to 
establish  any  relationship  between  the  Polynesians  and 
Californians,  I  present  these  similarities  merely  as  a 
fact;  these  analogies  I  find  existing  nowhere  else  in  Cal- 
ifornia, and  between  them  and  no  other  Trans-Pacific 
peoples.15 


14  Powers'  Notes  on  Cal.  Languages.  MS. 

15  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  428,  et  seq.;  Ilah's  Ethnof/., 
in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.   vi.,  p.  342,  et  seq  ;  Keppel's  Exped.t  vol.  i.,  appendix, 
p.  14,  et  seq.  i  Martin's  Tonga  Isl.t  vol.  li. 


TEAKS-PACIFIC  COMPARISONS. 


647 


KULANAPO.  MALAY  DIALECT  OF  THE 

MALAY. 

Kayan 

Sakarran 

Malay 

Malay 

Malay 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Malay 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Millauow 

Tonga 

Suntah 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Malay 

Polynesian 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Tonga 

Malay 

Malay 

feuntah 

The  similarities  existing  between  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese,  and  the  Californian  languages,  appearing  from 
a  careful  comparison  of  the  same  one  hundred  and 
seventy  words,  are  insufficient  to  establish  any  relation- 
ship; the  few  resemblances  may  be  regarded  as  purely 
accidental.  Of  these  words  I  insert  the  following, 
which  are  all  between  which  I  have  been  able  to  discover 
any  likeness: 


Woman 

dah 

do 

Mother 

nihk 

indi,  ini 

Husband 

dah'k 

laki,  lake 

Wife 

bai  le 

biiii 

Head 
Hair 

kai  yah 
moo  sooh 

kapala 
fooloo 

Neck 
Foot 

mi  yah 
kah  mah 

gia 
kaki 

House 
Sun 

kah  (calli,  Aztec) 
lah 

falle 
laa 

Fire 
Water 
Mountain 

poh  (Copeh) 
k'hah 
dah  no 

apoe 
vy,  cawna 
darud 

Black 

keela  keelick 

kele 

Bed 

keh  dah  reh  duk 

dadara 

Green 

doh  tor 

ota 

Dead 

mu  dal 

mati 

I 

hah 

au 

One 

k'hah  lih 

tasi 

Four 

tchah  (Yukai) 
dol 

satu 
tau 

Five 

leh  ma 

lima 

Eat 

ku  hu 

kai 

Drink 

mih 

mea  inoo 

To  see 
Togo 
Bow 
Tongue 
Leg 

el  lih  (Chocuyem) 
le  loom 
pah  chee  . 
lehnteep  (Chocuyem) 
co  yok  (Chocuyem) 

ilaw 
aloo 
pana 
lida 
ku  jak 

Husband 

Teeth 

Knife 

Fire 

Water 

Dog 

Deer 


Japanese 

Chinese 

Japanese 

Chinese 

Japanese 

Japanese 

Japanese 


muko 

chi 

deba 

ho 

sui 

chin 

sh'ka 


Costafios 

Copeh 

Costanos 

Choweshak 

Costanos 

Weitspek  and 

Ehnek 
Copeh 


makho 
see  ih 
tepah 
ho 

see  ee 
chishe 

siah 


The  Choweshak  and  Batemdakaiee  are  mentioned  as 
being  spoken  at  the  head  of  Eel  River,  and  the  Cho- 
cuyem in  Marin  County,  near  the  Mission  of  San 
Rafael.  On  Russian  River,  there  yet  remain  to  be 


618  CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

mentioned  the  Olamentke,  and  the  Chwachamaju.  All 
these  may  be  properly  classed  as  dialects  nearly  related 
to  the  Porno  family,  and  some  of  them  may  even  be  the 
same  dialects  under  different  names.16 

Of  the  Chocuyem  I  give  the  following  Lord's  Prayer: 

Api  rnaco  su  lilecoe,  ma  nenas  mi  aues  oinai  macono 
mi  taucuchs  oyopa  mi  tauco  chaquenit  opu  neyatto 
chaquenit  opu  liletto.  Tu  maco  muye  genum  ji  naya 
macono  sucuji  sulia  macono  masocte,  chague  mat  opu 
ma  suli  mayaco.  Macoi  yangia  ume  omutto,  ulemi 
macono  omu  incapo.  Nette  esa  Jesus.17 

In  Round  Valley,  northern  California,  there  is  the 
before-mentioned  Yuka  language,  which  is  connected 
with  the  Wapo,  or  Ashochemie,  spoken  hear  Calistoga, 
and  in  the  mountains  leading  thence  to  the  Geysers.18 

On  Tuba  and  Feather  rivers  are  the  Meidoos  and 
Xeeshenams  of  whose  language  Powers  says  that  "the 
Meidoo  shades  away  so  gradually  into  the  Neeshenam 
that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  draw  a  line  anywhere. 
But  it  must  be  drawn  somewhere,  because  a  vocabulary 
taken  down  on  Feather  River  will  lose  three  fourths  of 
its  words  before  it  reaches  the  Cosumnes.  Even  a  vocab- 
ulary taken  on  Bear  River  will  lose  half  or  more  of  its 
words  in  going  to  the  Cosumnes,  which  denotes,  as  is 

16  '  Die  Indianer  in  Bodega  verstehen  nur  mit  Miihe  die  Sprache  derje- 
nigen  welche   in  den  Ebeneu   am  Slawanka-Flusse  leben;  die  Sprache  der 
ncirdlich  von  Ross  lebenden  Statnme  ist  ihuen  vollig  imverstandlich. '    Kaer, 
Stat.  u.  Ethno.,  p.  75.      'Die  Bodegischen  Indiauer  verstehen  die  nordlichen 
nicht,  sowohl  die  Sprache  als  die  Art  der  Aussprache  ist  verschieden.     Die 
Entfernten  und  die  Steppen-Indianer  sprechen  eiue  Menge  Dialecte  oder 
Sprachen,  deren  Eigenthiimlichkeit  und  Verwandtschaft  noch  nicht  bekaunt 
smd.'     K')stromitonow,  in  Id.,  p.  80;  Gibbs,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii.,  p. 
421.    'Kulanapo  und  Yukai,  verwandt:  d.  h.  in  dem  besehrankten  Grade, 
dass  viele  Worter,  zwischen  ihiien  ubereinstimmen,  viele  andere,  z.  B.  ein 
guter  Theil   der  Zahlworter,  verschieden  siud. . .  .Choweshak   und  Batem- 
dakaiee  83hr  genau  uud  im  vollkommnen  Maasse  unter  einander,  und  wie- 
derum  beide  gauz  genau  mit  Yukai,  und  auch  Kulanapo  verwandt ....  Wichtig 
ist  es  aber  zu  sagen,  dass  die  Sprache  Tchokoyem  mit  dem  Olaineutke  der 
Bodega  Bai  und  mit  dt-r  Mission  S.Raphael  nahe  gleich  ist.'   Buae&nwnm, 
Spuren  der  Aztck.  Spr.,  p.  575.     'The  Kauimares  speak  a  different  dialect 
from  the  Tamalos.    The  Sonoma  Indians  also  speak  different  from  Tamalos. 
The  Sonomos  speak  a  similar  dialect  as  the  Suisuns.    The  San  Rafael  Indi- 
ans speak  the  same  as  the  Tamalos.'     Taylor,  in  Col.  Farmer,  March  30th, 
1860. 

17  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  391. 
is  Powers'  Porno,  MS. 


LANGUAGES  OF  THE  SACEAMENTO  VALLEY.  649 

the  fact,  that  the  Xeeshenam  language  varies  greatly 
within  itself.  Indeed,  it  is  probably  less  homogeneous 
and  more  thronged  with  dialects  than  any  other  tongue 
in  California.  Let  an  Indian  go  even  from  Georgetown 
to  American  Flat,  or  from  Bear  River  to  Auburn,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  numerals  he  will  not  at  first 
understand  above  one  word  in  four,  or  five,  or  six.  But, 
with  this  small  stock  in  common,  and  the  same  laws  of 
grammar  to  guide  them,  they  pick  up  each  others  dialects 
with  amazing  rapidity.  It  is  these  wide  variations 
which  have  caused  some  pioneers  to  believe  that  there 
is  one  tongue  spoken  on  the  plains  around  Sacramento, 
and  another  in  the  mountains;  whereas  they  are  as 
nearly  identical  as- the  mountain  dialects  are.  So  long 
as  the  numerals  remain  the  same,  I  count  it  one  lan- 
guage ;  and  so  long  as  this  is  the  case,  the  Indians  gen- 
erally learn  each  others  dialects;  but  when  the  numerals 
change  utterly,  they  often  find  it  easier  to  speak  the 
English  together  than  to  acquire  another  tongue.  As 
to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Neeshenam  there  is  no 
doubt,  for  at  the  Cosumnes  the  language  changes  abruptly 
and  totally." 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento,  two  distinct  lin- 
guistic systems  are  said  to  prevail.  But  to  what  extent 
all  the  languages  mentioned  in  that  vicinity  are  related, 
or  can  be  classified,  it  is  difficult  to  say;  for  not  only  is 
there  great  confusion  in  names,  but  what  is  more  essen- 
tial, vocabularies  of  most  of  them  are  wanting.  On  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Sacramento  and  extending  along 
Feather  River,  the  Cosumnes,  and  other  tributaries  of 
the  Sacramento,  the  following  languages  are  mentioned : 
Ochecamne,  Serouskumne,  Chupumne,  Omochurnne,  Sie- 
cumne,  Walagumne,  Cosumne,  Sololumne,  Turealurnne, 
Saywamine,  Newichumne,  Matchemne,  Sagayayumne, 
Muthelemne,  Sopotatumne,  and  Talatiu.  In  all  these 
dialects  the  word  for  water  is  kik,  but  in  the  dialects 
spoken  on  the  west  bank  it  is  momi.  On  the  western 
bank  are  mentioned  the  dialects  of  the  Pujuni,  Puzlutn- 
ne,  Secumne,  Tsamak,  Yasumne,  Nemshaw,  Kisky,  Ya- 


G50  CALIFOENIAN  LANGUAGES. 

lesumne,  Huk,  and  others.19  Undoubtedly  all  these  Sac- 
ramento Valley  dialects  are  more  or  less  related,  but  of 
tham  we  have  no  positive  knowledge  except  that  the 
Secumne  and  Tsamak  are  closely  related,  while  the 
Puzlumne  and  Talatiu  also  show  many  words  in  com- 
mon, but  cannot  be  said  to  affiliate.20  In  the  mountains 
south  of  the  Yuba,  and  also  on  some  parts  of  the  Sacra- 
mento the  Cushna  language  obtains.  On  the  latter 
river  Wilkes  mentions  the  Kinkla,  of  which  he  says 
that  in  comparison  with  the  language  of  the  northern 
nations  it  may  be  called  soft,  "  as  much  so  as  that  of  the 
Polynesians."  Repetitions  of  syllables  appear  to  be  fre- 
quent as  wai-wai,  and  hau-hau-hau?1  In  Napa  Valley 
six  dialects  were  spoken,  the  Myacoma,  Calayomane, 
Caymus,  Napa,  Uluka,  and  Suscol.22  In  Solano  County 
the  Guiluco  language  was  spoken,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing Lord's  .Prayer  may  serve  as  a  specimen: 

Alia  igame  mutryocuse  mi  zahua  om  mi  yahuatail 
cha  usqui  etra  shou  mur  tzecali  ziam  pac  onjinta  mul 
zhaiige  nasoyate  chelegua  mul  znatzoitze  tzecali  zicmatan 
zchiitiilaa  chalehua  mesqui  pihuatzite  yteima  omahua. 
Emqui  Jesus.23 

Near  the  straits  of  Karquines,  and  also  in  the  San 
Joaquin  and  Tulare  valleys,  the  Tulare  tongue  prevailed. 
In  this  language,  if  we  may  believe  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras, 
the  letters  5,  d,  /,  g.  and  r  do  not  exist,  the  r  being 
changed  into  /,  as  muria,  malia.  Many  guttural  sounds 
like  M,  tsh,  hn,  tp,  tsp,  th,  etc.,  are  found,  yet  softer  than 


is  Bale's  Ethnof}.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  222,  630;  Wttkes'  Nar., 
in  Id.,  vol.  v.,  p.  2J1. 

20  '  Puzhune,  Sekainne,  Tsamak  und  Talatui ...  Sekumne  und  Tsamak 
sind  nahe  verwandt,  die  ubrigen  zeigen  gemeinsames  und  fremdes.'  JJusch- 
mmn,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  571.  'Bale's  vocabulary  of  the  Talatiu  be- 
longs to  the  group  for  which  the  name  of  Moquelumue  is  proposed,  a  Moque- 
luinne  Hill  and  a  Moquelumne  River  being  found  within  the  area  over 
which  the  languages  belonging  to  it  are  spoken.  Again,  the  names  of  the 
tribes  that  speak  them  end  largely  in  mne,  Chupumne,  etc.  As  far  south  as 
Tuolunme  County  the  language  belongs  to  this  division,  viz.,  1,  the  Murnal- 
tachi;  2,  Mullateco;  3,  Apaugasi;  4,  Lapappu;  5,  Siyante,  or  Typoxi  baud, 
spe.ik  this  language.'  Lailiam's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  414. 

2'-  Wilkes'  Nur.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  v.,  p.  201. 

22  Montgomery's  Indianolo  iy  of  Nupa  County,  MS. 

23  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  3'J1. 


SPECIMENS  OF  SOUTHERN  LANGUAGES.  651 

the  gutturals  of  the  north.  Notwithstanding  the  above 
statement  M.  de  Mofras  gives  as  a  specimen  of  the 
Tulare  language  the  following  Lord's  Prayer,  in  which 
the  r  frequently  occurs: 

Appa  rnacquen  erinigmo  tasunimac  emracat,  jinnin 
eccey  macqueii  iunismmac  macquen  quitti  ene  soteyma 
erinigmo:  smnimac  macquen  hamjamu  jinnan  guara 
ayei:  sunun  macquen  quit  ti  enesimumac  ayacma: 
aquectsem  unisimtac  nininti  equetmini :  jurina  macquen 
equetmini  em  men. 

Of  the  languages  spoken  at  the  mission  of  Santa  Inez 
the  following  Lord's  Prayer  is  given  by  M.  de  Mofras; 
and  this  is  very  likely  in  the  true  Tulare  language  in 
place  of  the  one  above. 

Dios  caquicoco  upalequen  alapa,  quiaenicho  opte:  pa- 
quininigug  quique  eccuet  upalacs  huatahuc  itimisslmp 
caneche  alapa.  Ulamuhu  ilahulalisahue.  Picsiyug 
'equepe  ginsucutaniyug  uquiyagmagin,  canechequique 
quisagin  sucutanagun  utiyagmayiyug  peux  hoyug  quie 
utic  lex  ulechop  santequiyug  ilautechop.  Amen  Jesus.2* 

The  Tulare  language  is  probably  the  same  which  was 
known  under  the  name  of  Kahwreyah  in  central  Califor- 
nia and  may  have  some  connection  with  the  Cahuillo  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  state.25 

Languages,  in  the  interior,  of  which  but  little  more 
than  the  name  and  the  region  where  they  were  spoken 
is  known,  are,  on  the  Tuolumne  River  the  Hawhaw  and 
another  which  has  no  particular  name;  on  the  Merced 
River  the  Coconoon  with  a  dialect  extending  to  King 
River  and  to  Tulare  Lake.26  Mr  Powers  makes  of  the 
tribes  inhabiting  Kern  and  Tulare  valleys  the  Yocut  na- 
tion, yocut  signifying  an  aggregation  of  people,  while 

24  Arroyo,  Gram,  de  la  lencjua  Tularena,  MS.,  quoted  in  Mofras,  Explor., 
torn,  ii.,  p.  388,  see  also  pp.  392-3.  'Malgre  le  grand  nouibre  de  dialectea 
des  Missions  de  la  Californie,  les  Franciscains  espuguols  s'etaient  attaches 
a  appreudre  la  langue  generate  de  la  grande  vallee  de  los  Tulares,  dout  pres- 
que  toutes  les  tribus  sont  origiuaires,  et  ils  ont  rediges  le  vocabulaire  et  une 
sorte  de  grammaire  de  cette  langue  nominee  el  Tulareilo.'  Id.,  p.  387. 

2i  Taylor,  in  Cal.  Farmer,  May  25,  1860. 

26  Johnston,  in  Schooler -aft' s  Arch.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  407.  'Die  Sprachen  der 
Coconooiis  uud  die  vom  King's  River  sind  nalie  verwandt.'  Buschmann,  Fpuren 
der  Azkk.  Spr.,  p.  564. 


652 


CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 


myee,  or  nono,  means  man.  "  It  is  a  singular  fact"  ob- 
serves this  writer,  "  that  in  several  of  the  northern  lan- 
guages kiya  denotes  dog,  while  in  the  Yocutj  kiya  is 
coyote." 

From  Mr  Powers  I  have  also  the  following  vocabu- 
laries, which  have  never  before  been  published. 


Man 

Woman 

Sun 

Earth 

Dog 

Water 

Stone 

Fire 

Head 

Mouth 

Hand 

Big 

Little 

To  eat 

To  give 

To  work 


Man 

Woman 

Sun 

Earth 

Dog 

Water 

Stone 

Fire 

Head 

Mouth 

Hand 

Big 

Little 

To  eat 

To  give 

To  work 


CAHBOC. 

awans 

asicitawa 

coosooda 

soosaney 

cheshee 

ahs 

ass 

alih 

huchwa 

apman 

teeik 

nuckishnuck 

neenums 

ohamt 

tanuteh 

ickeekht 

MEEWOC. 

Meewa 

Osuh 

Watoo 

Toleh 

Chookoo 

Kikuh 

Sawa 

Wookeh 

Hanna 

Awoh 

Tissuh 

Oyaneh 

Toonchickche 

Sowuh 


midoo 

catee 

pocum 

caweh 

seyu 

momeh 

ohm 

sum 

onum 

cumbo 

ma  mah 

haylin 

wedaka 

pin 

meey 

tawale 

YOCUT. 

nono 

mokella 

ope 

hoocheh 

chehca 

ilic 

sileh 

osit 

oochuh 

samah 

poonose 

koteh 

colich 

hatch 

wahueh 

tawhaleh 


PALEGAWONAP. 

aughanil 
coveem 
tahl 
serwahl 
poongool 
pahl 
tuhnt 
quoat 
' koonte 
tawkunte 


NEESHENAM. 

neeshenam  or  maidee 

culleh 

ophy 

cow 

sooh 

moh 

oam 

sah 

tsoll 

sim 

mah 

nem 

hunum 

pap 

meh 

towhan 


Information  regarding  the  languages  spoken  where 
the  city  of  San  Francisco  now  stands,  and  throughout 
the  adjacent  country,  is  meagre,  and  of  a  very  indefinite 
character.  On  the  shores  of  San  Francisco  Bay, 
there  are  the  languages  spoken  by  the  Matalans,  Salses, 
and  Quirotes,  which  are  dialects  of  one  mother  language.27 

27  '  Dans  la  bale  de  San  Francisco  on  distingue  les  tribus  des  Matalans, 
Salseu  et  Quirotes,  dont  les  langnes  deriveut  d'une  sonche  commune.' 
Humboldt,  Essai  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  321-2;  Muhlenpfordt,  M(jico,tom.  ii,  pt 
ii.,  p.  454. 


DIALECTS  OF  THE  KUNSIEN  AND  ESLENE  653 

Tins  language  has  by  some  been  called  the  Olhone,  and 
although  other  dialects  are  mentioned  as  belonging  to  it, 
it  is  generally  stated  that  but  one  general  language  was 
spoken  by  all  of  them.28  Southward,  near  Monterey, 
there  are  more  positive  data.  Here  we  find  as  the  prin- 
cipal languages,  the  two  spoken  by  the  Runsiens  and 
Eslenes;  besides  which,  the  Isrnuracan  and  Aspianaque 
are  mentioned.29 

But  although  they  are  called  distinct  languages, 
Taylor  affirms  that  the  Eslenes,  Sakhones,  Chalones, 
Katlendarukas,  Poytoquis,  Mutsunes,  Thamiens,  and 
many  others,  spoke  different  dialects  of  the  Runsien  lan- 
guage, and  that  over  a  stretch  of  country  one  hundred  and 
seventy  miles  in  length,  the  natives  were  all  able  to  con- 
verse with  greater  or  less  facility  with  each  other,  and  that 
although  "  their  dialects  were  infinitesimal  and  puzzling, 
their  vocal  communications  were  intelligible  enough 
when  brought  together  at  the  different  missions."  La 
Perouse's  Achastliens  and  Ecclemachs  are  probably 
nothing  more  than  other  names  for  some  of  the  above- 
mentioned  dialects.30 

28  'The  tribe  of  Indians  which  roamed  over  this  great  valley,  from  San 
Francisco  to  near  San  Juan  Bautista  Mission . . .   were  the  Olhones.     Their 
language  slightly  resembled  that  spoken  by  the  Mutsuns,  at  the  Mission  of 
San  Juan  Bautista,  although  it  was  by  no  means  the  same.'   Hall's  San 
Jose,  p.  40.     '  In  the  single   mission,    Santa   Clara  more  than  twenty  lan- 
guages are  spoken.'     Kotzebue's  New  Voy.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  98;  Kotzebue's  Voyage, 
vol.  iii.,  p.  51;  Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  78;  Choris,  Voy.  Pitt.,  pt  iii.,  pp. 
6-6;  Conder's  Mex.  Guat.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  94-5. 

29  '  La  misma  diferencia  que  se  advierte  en  los  uses  y  costurnbres  de  una 
y  otra  nacion  hay  en  sus  idiomas.'   Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Viage,  p.  172. 

30  '  Each  tribe  has  a  different  dialect;  and  though  their  districts  are  small, 
tlie  languages  are  sometimes  so  different  that  the  neighbouring  tribes  cannot 
understand  each  other.     I  have  before  observed  that  in  the  Mission  of  San 
Carlos  there  are  eleven  different  dialects.'     Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.,  p.  73. 
'  La   langue    de   ces   habitans  (Ecclemachs)    differe  absolnrnent  de  toutes 
celles  de  leurs  voisins;  elle  a  meme  plusde  rapport  avec  nos  langues  Europe- 
ennes  qu'avec  celles  de  I'Amerique. . .  .L'idiomedecette  nation  est  d'ailleurs 
plus  riche  que  celui  des  autres  peuples  de  la  Californie.'    La  Perouse,  Voy., 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  324-326.    'Lapartie  septentrionale  de  la  Nouvelle-Cnlifornie  est 
habitee  par  les  deux  nations  de  Kumsen  et  Escelen.     Elles  parleut  des  lan- 
gues entierementdifferentes.'    Humboldt,  Esmi.  Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  321.    'Beyde 
Darstellungen  derselben  sind,  wie  man   aus  der  so  bestimmten    Erklarung 
beider  Schriftsteller,  dass  diese  zwey  Volker  die  Bevolkerung  jener  Gegend 
ausina-.-heu,  schliessen  muss,  ohne  Zweifel  uuter  verschiedeiien  Abtheilungen 
Eines  Volkes  aufgefasst,  unter  dessen  Zweigen  die  Dialekte,  ungeregelt,  wie 
sie  sind  leicht  grosse  Abweichungen  von  einander  zeigen  werden.'      Voter, 
Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  p.  202;  Taylor,  in  Cal.  Farmer,  Feb.  22.  Apr. 
20,  1860. 


654 


CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 


Xot  only  do  all  these  before-mentioned  languages  show 
a  relationship  one  with  another,  but  there  are  faint 
resemblances  detected  between  them  and  the  Olhone 
language  of  San  Francisco  Bay.  Furthermore,  between 
the  latter  and  the  language  spoken  at  La  Soledad  Mission, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  Olamentkes  of  Russian  River,  which 
I  have  already  classed  with  the  Porno  family,  there  are 
faint  traces  of  relationship. 


MTTTSTTN. 

LA  SOLEDAD. 

BUNSIEN. 

ACHASTLIEN. 

One 

hemethscha 

himitsa 

enjala 

moukala 

Two 

usthrgin 

utshe 

ultis 

outis 

Three 

capjan 

hapkha 

kappei 

capes 

Four 

nthrit 

utjit 

ultizim 

outiti 

Five 

parnes 

paruash 

Lali  i/u 

is 

Father 

appa 

nikapa 

appan 

Mother 

anaii 

nikana 

aan 

Daughter 

ca 

nika 

kaana 

Nose 

us 

us 

Ears 

ocho 

otsho 

Mouth 

jai 

hai 

31 

A  further  confirmation  of  this  relationship  is  found  in 
the  statement  of  the  first  missionary  Fathers,  who 
traveled  overland  from  Monterey  to  San  Francisco,  and 
who,  although  at  that  time  totally  unacquainted  with 
these  languages,  recognized  resemblances  in  certain 
words.33  The  dialect  spoken  at  the  Mission  of  Santa 
Clara  has  been  preserved  to  us  only  in  the  shape  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  which  follows: 

Appa  macrene  me  saura  saraahtiga  elecpuhmen  im- 
ragat.  sacan  macrene  mensaraah  assueiy  nouman  ourun 
macari  pireca  numa  ban  saraathtiga  poluma  macrene 
souhaii  naltis  anat  macrene  neena,  ia  annanit  macrene 
nieena,  ia  annanit  macrene  macrec  equetr  maccari  nou- 
mabaii  mare  annan,  nou  marote,  jassemper  macrene  in 
eckoue  tamouniri  innam  tattahne  icatrarca  oniet  macrene 
equets  naccaritkoun  oun  och  a  Jesus.33 

31  '  Es  erhellt  aber  aus  den  Zahlwortern  und  anderen  Wortern,  dass  die 
Sprache  von  la  Soledad,  der  der  Runsien  nahe  gleich  und  der  der  Achastlier 
ahnlich  ist.'    Buschmann,  Spnren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  561;    Turner,  in  Hist, 
Mdfi.,  vol.  i.,  p.  206. 

32  '  En  estos  indios  repar£  que  entendian  mas  one  otros  los  terminos  de 
Monterey  y  entendi  muchos  terminos  de  lo  que  hablaban  . .  El  diciendome 
meapam    tu  eres   mi    padre,   que   es  la  misma  palabra   que  usan  los  de 
Monterey.'    Palou,    Notidas,  in   Doc.    Hist   Mex.,   serie  iv.,  torn,  vii.,   pp. 
62-3,  59,  65,  67,  69. 

33  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  392. 


MUTSUN  GRAMMAR.  655 

Of  the  Mutsun  dialect  I  give  the  following  grammati- 
cal notes.  Words  of  this  language  do  not  contain  the 
letters  b,  d,  &,  f,  v.  x,  and  the  rolling  r. 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  APPA,  FATHER. 

SINGULAR.  PLCTEAL. 

Nom.  appa  appagma 

Gen.  appa  appagma 

Dat.  appahuas  appagmahuas 

Ace.  appase  apagamase 

Voc.  appa  appagma 

Abl.  appatsu    J^appatca  appagmatsu    (orappamatca 

{ or  appame  ( or  appagmane 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  ARA,  TO  GIVE. 


PEESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  give,  can  ara 

Thou  givest,         men  ara 
He  gives,  nunissia  ara 


We  give,  macse  ara 

You  give,  macam  ara 

They  give,  nupcan  ara 


PAST. 

I  gave  (a  very  short  time  ago),  can  itzs  aran 

I  gave  (a  long  while  ago),  can  cus  aras 

I  gave  (very  long  ago),  can  hoes  ara 

I  gave  (from  time  immemorial),  can  munna  aras 
I  gave  (without  mentioning  time),  can  aran 

I  gave  (who  knows  when),  can  aras 

I  gave  ( sometime  ago),  can  araicun 

I  gave  (already),  can  aragte 

FUTUBE. 

I  shall  give  (soon),  can  et  (or  iete)  ara 

I  shall  give  (after  many  days),  can  iti  ara 

I  shall  give  (after  many  years/,  can  miinna  ara 

I  shall  have  given  (perhaps;,  can  pin  aran 

IMPERATIVE. 

Give  me,  arat,  or  aratit 

Give  thyself,  araia 

Give  him,  arai,  or  arati 

Give  them,  arais 

SUBJUNCTIVE. 

That  I  give,  cat  ara 

If  I  gave,  imatcum  can  ara,  or  cochop  tucne  can  ara 

The  language  abounds  in  adverbs,  of  which  I  give  the 
following. 

This  day  neppe  tengis  To-morrow  aruta 

Now  naha  Since  yete 

Immediately  inaha  Always  imi 

Never  ecue  et  Before  aru 

Never  more  ecue  imi  Much  tolon 

Good  miste,  utin  Very  much  tompe 

Bad  equitseste  Little  cutis 

Gently  chequen  Very  little  cuti 

Certainly  amane  Yes  gehe 

No  ecue  Truly  asaha,  eres 

To-day  naha  Look  gire 


656  CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

Adjectives  are  declined  the  same  as  substantives  when 
they  are  declined  alone ;  but  they  differ  in  their  de- 
clension from  substantives  when  they  are  declined  in 
connection  with  them,  because  then  they  do  not  change 
their  terminations,  but  remain  the  same  in  all  the  cases. 
The  rules  of  syntax  are  intricate  and  very  difficult. 

Father  Cornelias  speaks  of  a  language  at  the  Mission 
of  Santa  Cruz,  with  numerous  dialects,  in  fact  so  many, 
that  the  language  changed  nearly  every  two  leagues,  and 
being  at  times  so  divergent,  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
neighboring  people  could  understand  one  another.35  In 
the  vicinity  of  the  Mission  San  Antonio  de  Padua,  there 
is  a  language  which  has  been  variously  named,  Tatche, 
Telame,  and  Sextapay.  It  appears  to  be  a  distinct 
language,  and  Taylor  affirms  that  the  people  speaking 
it  could  not  understand  those  of  LaSoledad  Mission,  thirty 
miles  north.36  In  this  language  the  letters  &,  d,  r,  do 
not  appear;  na  expresses  the  article  the,  and  also  this. 
There  are  many  different  ways  of  expressing  the  plural 
of  nouns.  Some  add  the  syllable  i7,  el,  I,  or  ti,  others 
insert  ti,  or  £,  while  others  again  add  leg,  aten,  ten,  or 
teno,&s  may  be  seen  in  the  following  examples.34 

SINOULAB.  PLTJBAL. 

Counsellor  tayito  tayilito 

Flame  me"chealiya  meuckeuliliya 

Work  tacato  tuqueleHo 

My  enemy  zitchofn  zitcliofneal 

Brother  citol  citolantl 

Grass  ca*tz  ca*tza  °  nel 

Man  tama  tarn  aten 

Mouse  eazzqui*lmog  eazzqui*lmoco*ten 

Oven  aloconiya  alocotiniya 

Prison  que"  luczugne  que"lueztigtine 

Fat  cu*pinit  cupinitleg 

Woman  lixii  litzzin 

Bone  ejaco  ejaclito 

34  '  Qtiod  quanquam  hoc  iclioma  ineloquens  videatur  et  inelegans,  in  rei 
veritate  nou  est  ita:  est  valde  copiosum,  oblongum,  abuudans  et  eloquens.' 
Arroyo  de  la  Cuesta,  Alpliabs  Rivulus  Obeundus,  preface,  also,  Arroyo  de  la 
Cuesta,  Afutsun  Grammar.     On  the  cover  of  the  manuscript  is  the  following 
important  note.     '  Copia  de  la  lengua  Mutsun  en  estilo  Catalan  a  causa  la 
escribio  uu  Catalan.     La  Castellsma  usa  de  la  fuerza  de  la  pronunciacion  de 
letras  de  otro  modo  en  su  alfabeto.'     The  Catalans  pronounce  ch  hard,  and./' 
like  the  Germans. 

35  Cornelias,  in  Gal.  Farmer,  April  5,  1860. 
se  Taylor,  in  Id.,  April  27,  1860. 


TATCHE  GRAMMAR.  657 

Cases  do  not  appear  to  exist,  the  relations  of  the  nouns 
being  expressed  by  particles.  Adjectives  do  not  vary  to 
show  gender  or  degree.  Personal  pronouns  are  usually 
copulative  and  included  in  the  verb,  whether  subject- 
ive or  objective.  Of  the  use  of  the  possessive  pro- 
noun the  following  examples  will  give  the  clearest  idea: 
Brother,  citolo;  my  brother,  c'tol;  thy  brother,  eatsmitol; 
brothers,  citohnelo;  my  brothers,  citdanel;  thy  brothers, 
eatsmitolanel;  mother,  epjo;  thy  mother,  petsmipeg ;  house, 
chviconou-j  my  house,  chvicowf;  thy  house,  zimchvicono; 
blood,  akata ;  my  blood,  ekata ;  thy  blood,  cimekata ;  father, 
ecco ;  my  father,  tUi  •  thy  father,  cimic  •  our  father,  tatitti ; 
work,  tdcdto;  my  work,  tdcdt;  thy  work,  cimtdcdt;  our 
work,  zatdcdt;  your  work,  zugtdcdt;  mine,  zee;  thine, 
eatsmeamee ;  this,  na ;  tha,t,  pea. 

Verbs  have  also  a  plural  form.  Calom,  to  teach; 
ca*6lilom,  to  teach  much,  or,  to  teach  many. 


SINGULAR. 

PLUKAL. 

To  desire 

quia  °  lep 

quia  °  lilep 

To  drink 

cacheme 

cachetem 

To  run 

quenole 

quenoltec 

To  say 

malaco 

maloltaco 

To  walk 

qui*tipav 

qui*lipav 

VEEB   AND 

PRONOUN. 

I  teach, 

'eca°*lom 

Give  me, 

meaya°c 

He  teaches  me, 

quepa  °  alac 

Give  us, 

maitiltac 

Speak  thou  to  me, 

pssia  °  c 

He  gives  us, 

peaya°c 

Speak  you  to  me, 

pssitao 

He  gives  us, 

paitiltac 

To  give, 

peyaco,  peaico 

I  love  thee,                    'epeapa°maqueca 

Thou  lovest  thyself,      mimo  e  a  tsme  a  pa  °  mapque 

*co 

The  following  are  prepositions:  by,  zo;  in  neapea;  to 
zui,  zuiyOj  zo;  from,  zeapea;  on,  zyi;  within,  zineapav.  A 
few  examples  of  adverbs  are — here,  zopav;  there,  neape; 
to-day,  taha;  to-morrow,  tixjdy;  yesterday,  notcieyo. 

LORD'S  PRAYER. 
Za  tili,  mo  quixco  neapea  limaatnil.     An  zucueteyem 

Our  father,  thou        art  in  heaven.  Hallowed 

na    etsmatz:    aiitsiejtsitia    na    ejtmilina.     An    citaha 

the          thy  name:  come  the     thy  kingdom.  Be  done 

natsmalog  zui  lac*  quicha  neapae  lima.      Ma^iltac  taha 

thy  will          on    earth          as  in        heaven.  Give  us  to-day 

VOL.  III.    42 


658  CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

zizalamaget    zizucanatel    ziczia.      Za    manimtiltac    na 

our  food  our  daily.  Forgive  us          the 

zanayl,   quicha  na  kac   apaninitilico  na  zananaol.     Zi 

Debts,  as          the      we          forgive  them      the        our  debt. 

quetza  commanatatelnec   za     alimeta    zo    na   ziuxnia. 

Let  not  us  fall  into    the     temptation. 

Za  no  quissili  jom  zig  zumtaylitee.     Amen.37 

Us          from        evil  defend. 

Another  distinct  language  is  found  at  and  near  the 
Mission  of  San  Miguel,  but  of  it  nothing  but  a  short 
vocabulary  taken  by  Mr  Hale  is  known.  The  language 
spoken  at  San  Gabriel  and  at  San  Fernando  Hey,  called 
Kizh,  and  the  Netela  used  at  San  Juan  Capistrano,  I 
shall  not  describe  here,  but  include  them  with  the  Sho- 
shone  family,  to  which  they  are  related.  The  Cheme- 
huevi  and  Cahuillo  I  also  place  among  the  Shoshone  dia- 
lects, while  the  Diegeno  and  Comeya  will  be  included  in 
the  Yuma  family.  It  therefore  only  remains  for  me  to 
speak  of  the  languages  of  the  islands  near  the  coast  of 
California.  Of  these,  the  principal,  or  mother  language, 
was  spoken  on  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz.  The  different 
tribes  inhabiting  the  various  islands  all  spoke  dialects  of 
one  language,  which  was  somewhat  guttural.  I  insert 
a  short  vocabulary  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Island  language 
with  that  of  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel. 

SAN  MIOtTEX.  SANTA  CBDZ  ISLAND. 

Man  loaf,  or  loguai  alamuun 

Woman  tlene"  he  mutch 

Father  tata  ceske 

Mother  apai  osloe 

Head  tobuko  pispulaoah 

Hair  teasakho  toffooll 

Ears  tentkhito  pasthoo 

Eyes  trugento  tisplesoose 

Mouth  treliko  pasaotch 

One  tohi  ismala 

Two  kogsu  ischum 

Three  tlobahi  maseghe 

Four  kesa  scumoo 

37  Siljar,  Vocabulario  de  la  M.  de  San  Antonio.  The  orthography  em- 
ployed by  Father  Sitjar  is  very  curious;  accents,  stars,  small  letters  above  or 
below  the  line,  and  various  other  marks  are  constantly  used;  but  no  expla- 
nation of  these  have  been  found  in  the  MS.  I  have  therefore,  as  far  as  posi- 
ble,  presented  the  original  style  of  writing.  See  also  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn, 
ii.,  pp.  39^-3. 


SAN  MIGCEL  AND  SANTA  CRUZ  VOCABULARY.  659 

SAN   MIGUEL.  SANTA   CKUZ   ISLAND. 

Five  oldrato  sietisma 

Six  paiate  sietiscbum 

Seven  tepa  sietmasshugh 

Eight  sratel  malawah 

Niue  teditrup  spah 

Ten  trupa  kascum  38 

38  Bale's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  8.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  633-4;  Taylor,  in  Cal. 
Farmer,  May  4,  1860. 


CHAPTER   V. 

SHOSHONE   LANGUAGES.       .- 

AZTEC-SONOBA  CONNECTIONS  WITH  THE  SHOSHONE  FAMILY — THE  UTAH,  Co- 

MANCHE,  MOQUI,  KlZH,  NETELA,  KfiCHI,  CAHUILLO,  AND  CHEMEHUEVI 

EASTERN  AND  WESTERN  SHOSHONE,  OK  WIHINASHT — THE  BANNACK  AND 
DIGGER,  OB  SHOSHOKEE — THE  UTAH  AND  res  DIALECTS — THE  GOSHUTE, 
WASHOE,  PAIULEE,  PIUTE,  SAMPITCHE,  AND  MONO — POPULAR  BELIEF  AS  TO 
THE  AZTEC  ELEMENT  IN  THE  NORTH — GRIMM'S  LAW — SHOSHONE,  COMAN- 
CHE,  AND  MOQUI  COMPARATIVE  TABLE — NETELA  STANZA — KlZH  GRAMMAR 
THE  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  TWO  DIALECTS  OF  THE  KIZH — CHEMEHUEVI  AND 
CAHUILLO  GRAMMAR — COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY. 

In  this  chapter  I  include  all  the  languages  of  the 
Shoshone  family,  the  "Wihinasht  or  western  Shoshone 
of  Idaho  and  Oregon,  the  Utah  with  its  many  dialects, 
the  Comanche  or  Yetan  of  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  the 
Moqui  of  Arizona,  the  Kizh,  Netela,  and  Kechi  of  the 
San  Fernando  Mission,  and  their  dialects,  and  the  Ca- 
huillo  and  Chemehuevi  of  south-eastern  California.  The 
six  last  mentioned  do  not  properly  belong  to  the  Sho- 
shone family,  but  on  account  of  certain  faint  traces  of 
Aztec,  found  alike  in  them  and  in  all  Shoshone  idioms, 
I  cannot  do  better  than  to  speak  of  them  in  this  connec- 
tion. As  regards  this  Aztec  element,  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  these  languages  are  related  to  the  Aztec  language, 
in  the  same  sense  that  other  languages  are  spoken  of  as 
being  related  to  each  other,  for  this  might  lead  those 
who  are  searching  for  the  former  habitation  or  fatherland 

(660) 


SHOSHONE  AND  UTAH  DIALECTS.  661 

of  the  Aztecs,  to  suppose  that  it  has  been  found.  This 
element  consists  simply  in  a  number  of  words,  identical 
or  reasonably  approximate  to  the  like  Aztec  words,  and 
in  the  similarity,  perhaps,  of  a  few  grammatical  rules. 
How  this  Aztec  word-material  crept  into  the  languages 
of  the  Shoshones,  whether  by  intercommunication,  or 
Aztec  colonization,  we  do  not  know.  Nor  do  I  wish  to  be 
understood  as  attempting  to  sustain  the  popular  theory 
of  an  Aztec  migration  from  the  north ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  evidence  of  language  is  all  on  the  other  side. 
Whether  or  n6t  the  Great  Basin,  or  any  part  of  the 
Northwest,  was  once  occupied  by  the  ancient  Mexicans, 
it  is  certain  that  the  Aztec  language,  as  a  base,  is  found 
nowhere  north  of  central  Mexico,  so  that  these  incidental 
or  accidental  word-analogies  if  they  prove  anything, 
indicate  only  a  scattering  from  some  primeval  centre, 
other  than  the  place  where  they  are  found,  and  tend  to 
show  that  the  language  whose  words  are  thus  thinly 
sprinkled  over  so  broad  an  area,  could  not  have  been 
the  aboriginal  stock  language  of  the  country. 

The  Shoshone  and  the  Utah  are  the  principal  lan- 
guages of  the  great  interior  basin ;  and  these  may  be  re- 
garded as  sisters  of  a  common  mother  language,  the 
Shoshone  preponderating.  Each  has  many  dialects. 
The  Shoshone  language  may  be  divided  into  eastern,  or 
Shoshone  proper,  and  western  Shoshone,  or  Wihinasht. 
Of  the  former  the  Bannack,  and  the  Digger,  or  Shoshokee, 
are  the  chief  variations.  The  Utah  dialects  more 
numerous,  are  the  Goshute,  Washoe,  Paiulee,  Piute, 
Sampitche,  Mono,  and  a  few  others,  which  latter  vary  so 
little  from  some  one  of  the  others,  that  it  is  unnecessary 
to  trace  them  as  separate  dialects.  The  Comanche  dia- 
lects I  shall  not  attempt  to  classify.1  No  grammar  has 

1  '  The  Shoshoni  and  Pdnasht  (Bonnaks)  of  the  Columbia,  the  Yutes  and 
Sampitches  . . .  the  Commanches  of  Texas,  and  some  other  tribes  along 
the  northern  frontier  of  Mexico,  are  said  to  speak  dialects  of  a  common 
language.'  Hole's  Ethnoc/.,  in  V.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  218-9.  'The  great 
Shoshonee,  or  Snake,  family:  which  comprehends  the  Shoshones  proper 
. . .  .the  Utahs. . .  .Pah-Utahs. . .  the  Kizh. . .  .the  Netela. . .  the  Kechi. . . . 
the  Comanches.'  Turner,  in  Pac.  K.  E.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  76.  '  Shoshcnies 
ou  Serpents  et  de  Soshocos  ou  Deterreurs  de  ratines parlent  la  meme 


662  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

ever  been  written  of  any  of  these  languages.  In  all  of 
them  words  are  generally  accented  on  the  first  syllable, 
except  when  a  possessive  pronoun  is  prefixed.  Words 
of  more  than  four  syllables,  generally  have  a  secondary 
accent  on  the  fifth,  as  in  te-ith-tis-chi-ho-no,  valley.2  A 
few  words  in  these  languages  are  found  almost  identi- 
cal with  like  words  of  the  Tinneh  family,  which  have 
probably  found  their  way  into  them  by  intercommuni- 

langue.'  De  Smet,  Voy.,  p.  126.  'The  Shoshone  language  is  spoken 
mostly  by  all  the  bands  of  Indians  in  southeastern  Nevada.'  Parker, 
in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1866,  p.  114.  'Their  language  (Shoshones)  is  very 
different  from  that  of  either  the  Bannocks,  or  Pi-Utes.'  Campbell,  in 
Id.,  p.  120.  Goshautes  speak  the  same  language  as  Shoshones.  Forney, 
in  Id.,  1859,  p.  363.  'The  language  is  spoken  by  bands  in  the  gold 
mine  region  of  the  Sacramento.'  Schoolcrafl's  Arch.,  vol,  i.,  p.  198.  '  Pai- 
uches  speak  the  same  language  as  theYutas.'  Farnham's  Life  in  Cal., 
pp.  371,  375.  '  Pi-Edes,  allied  in  language  to  the  Utahs.'  Cooley,  in  Ind.  Aff. 
Kept.,  1865,  p.  18.  Goships,  or  Gosha  Utes  'talk  very  nearly  the  Shoshonee 
language.'  Irish,  in  Id.,  p.  144.  Shoshones  and  Comanches  'both  speak  the 
same  language.'  Sarnpiches.  '  Their  language  is  said  to  be  allied  to  that  of 
the  Snakes.'  Youtas.  '  Their  language  is  by  some  thought  to  be  peculiar.' 
Wilkes'  Nar.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  501.  '  Pueblan  todas  las  partes  de 
esta  sierra  por  el  sueste,  sur  sudoeste  y  oeste,  gran  niimero  de  gentes  de  la 
misma  nacion,  idioma  etc., '  which  they  call  Timpanogotzis.  Dominguez  and  Es- 
calante,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  467.  '  The  language  spoken  by 
the  Comanches  is  of  great  antiquity,  and  differs  but  little  from  that  of  the  In- 
cas  of  Peru.'  Maillard's  Hist.  Tex.,  p.  249;  Buschniann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr., 
pp.  349,  351.  '  Yam-pah.  'This  is  what  the  Snakes  call  the  Comanches,  of 
which  they  are  either  the  parents  or  descendants,  for  the  two  languages  are 
nearly  the  same,  and  they  readily  understand  each  other,  and  say  that  they 
were  once  one  people. '  '  The  Snake  language  is  talked  and  understood  by  ail 
the  tribes  from  the  Rocky  mountains  to  California,  and  from  the  Colorado  to 
the  Columbia,  and  by  a  few  in  many  tribes  outside  of  these  limits.'  Stuart's 
Montana,  pp.  58,  82.  '  The  different  bands  of  the  Comanches  and  Shoshonies 
or  Snakes,  constitute  another  extensive  stock,  speaking  one  language.'  Gregg's 
Com.  Prairies,  vol.  ii.,  p.  251.  'The  vernacular  language  of  the  Yutas  is 
said  to  be  distantly  allied  to  that  of  the  Navajoes,  but  it  has  appeared  to  me 
much  more  guttural,  having  a  deep  sepiilchral  sound  resembling  ventrilo- 
quism.' Id.,  vol.  i.,  p.  300.  'The  Utahs,  who  speak  the  same  language 
as  the  Kyaways.'  Conder's  Mex.  Guat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  74;  Sciioolcraft,'.^  Arch., 
vol.  v.,  p.  197.  The  Goshutes  are  of  different  language  from  the  Shoshoues, 
Douglas,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Eept.,  1870,  p.  96.  Diggers,  'differ  from  the  other 
Snakes  somewhat  in  language.'  Wyeth,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  i.,  p.  206; 
Berghaus,  in  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  371.  The  Kusi-Utahs, 
'in  speaking  they  clipped  their  words. . .  .we  recognized  the  sounds  of  the 
language  of  the  Shoshones.'  liemy  and  Brenchley's  Journey,  vol.  ii.,  p.  412; 
Thiimmel,  Mvxiko,  p.  359;  Catlin's  N.  Amer.  Ind.,  vol.  ii..  p.  113.  'Their 
native  language  (Comanches),  in  sound  differs  from  the  language  of  any 
other  nation,  and  no  one  can  easily  learn  to  speak  it.  They  have  also  a 
language  of  signs,  by  which  they  converse  among  themselves.'  French's 
Hist.  La.,  (N.  Y.  185'J),  p.  156.  'The  primitive  terms  of  the  Comanches 
are  short,  and  several  are  combined  for  the  expression  of  complex  ideas. 
The  language  is  very  barren  of  verbs,  the  functions  of  which  are  frequently 
performed  by  the  aid  of  gestures  and  grimaces.'  Kennedy's  Texas,  vol.  i.,  p. 
348. 

*  Turner,  in  Pac.  It.  R.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  77. 


SHOSHONE  AND  TINNEH  SIMILARITIES.  663 

cation.  Of  these  the  following  are  the  principal  ones, 
so  far  as  designated  by  existing  vocabularies. 

Fire :  Comanche,  ku-ona ;  Shoshone,  kuna  •  Chepewy- 
an,  counn,  kon,  kone ;  Utah,  coon.  Bow :  Comanche,  etli ; 
Shoshone,  atscho;  Wihinasht,  ati;  Chepewyan,  atheike. 
Cold:  Comanche,  etscko;  Shoshone,  otschoin;  Wihinasht, 
izits ;  Chepewyan,  edzah.  Eye:  Comanche,  nachich]  Che- 
pewyan, nackhay? 

In  the  Wihinasht,  words  occur  sometimes  in  which 
an  unusual  number  of  vowels  are  combined, — -paoaiu, 
great;  long  words  are  also  not  infrequent,  like  pima- 
tiyimivaidkinj  salt.4  A  short  comparative  vocabulary  to 
show  the  connection  between  these  languages,  is  given 
further  on. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  often  discussed  but  ill  under- 
stood question  of  the  Aztec  language  in  the  north. 
Torquernada  and  Yetancurt  narrate  the  expedition  of 
Juan  de  Ofiate,  who  invaded  New  Mexico  during  the 
last  years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Father  Roque  de 
Figueredo,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  says  that 
while  searching  for  a  lost  mule,  at  the  Rio  del  Tizon, 
the  Mexican  muleteers  met  certain  natives  who  ad- 
dressed them  in  their  own  language,  and  who,  on 
being  asked  whence  they  came,  answered  that  they 
came  from  the  north,  where  that  language  was  spoken. 
Clavigero,  who  repeats  the  above,  also  asserts,  that 
during  the  expedition  made  by  the  Spaniards,  in 
1606,  to  New  Mexico,  when  north  of  the  Rio  del  Tizon, 
they  saw  some  large  houses,  and  near  them  certain  na- 
tives who  spoke  the  Mexican  language.  Then  we  have 
the  statement  of  Father  Geronimo  de  Zarate,  that  while 
searching  for  the  Laguna  de  Copala,  he  was  informed, 
among  other  things,  that  the  country  in  its  vicinity  was 
densely  peopled  by  men  who  spoke  a  language  similar  to 
that  of  his  Aztec  servants.  Zarate  was  at  this  time  at 
the  Rio  del  Tizon,  and  the  natives,  who  are  close  observ- 
ers in  such  matters,  Assured  the  Spaniards  that  they 


3  B-uschmann,  Spurtn  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  402-3. 
*  Id.,  p.  645,  et  seq. 


664  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

detected  in  the  speech  of  the  servant  certain  words 
common  to  both  his  own  and  the  language  of  the  people 
of  the  Laguna  de  Copala.  And  again,  in  the  region 
toward  the  east,  Acosta  says  that  "of  late  they  have 
discovered  a  new  land,  which  they  call  New  Mexico, 
where  they  say  is  much  people  that  speake  the  Mexican 
tongue." 

Vater,  in  his  Mithridates,  intimates  that  the  Mexican 
language  spread  far  northward,  through  the  roamings  of 
wild  tribes,  particularly  the  Chichirnecs;  but  when  we 
remember  that  the  term  Chichimec  was  applied  by  the 
early  Spaniards  to  all  the  immense  unknown  nomadic 
hordes  north  and  west,  this  mention  carries  with  it  but 
little  weight.  Mr  Anderson,  who  accompanied  Captain 
Cook  to  the  north-west  coast,  in  1778,  fancied  he  de- 
tected a  resemblance  between  the  Aztec  and  the  language 
of  ,the  Nootkas.  "From  the  few  Mexican  words,"  he 
says,  "I  have  been  able  to  procure,  there  is  the  most  ob- 
vious agreement,  in  the  very  frequent  terminations  of 
the  vowels  in  /,  tl,  or  z,  throughout  the  language."  And 

remarks  the  editor,  "mav  we  not,  in  confirmation  of  Mr. 

*/ 

Anderson's  remark,  observe,  that  Opulszthl,  the  Nootka 
name  of  the  Sun;  and  Vitziputzli,  the  name  of  the  Mexi- 
can Divinity,  have  no  very  distant  affinity  in  sound." 
Now  the  absurdity  of  all  idle  speculations  is  apparent 
when  we  encounter  such  far-fetched  comparisons  as 
this.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  affinity  in  the  sounds 
of  the  two  words,  and  in  the  next  place  there  is  no 
such  Aztec  god, — Huitzilopochtli  probably  being  the  god 
meant.  Neither  has  this  last  word  any  resemblance  to 
the  sun;  it  is  composed  of  the  two  words,  huitzilin,  an 
abbreviation  of  the  Mexican  hutizitzUin,  which  signifies 
'  humming-bird,'  and  ofopochtM,  that  is  to  say  '  left,'  Vater 
also  draws  analogies  between  the  Aztec  and  the  Nootka, 
and  Ugalenze,  which  on  close  comparison  do  not  hold 
good. 

Regarding  the  affinity  of  the  Aztec  language  with 
those  of  the  Pueblos,  Moquis,  Apaches,  Yumas,  and 
others  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  Ruxton  ventures 


AZTEC  TRACES  NORTH  OF  MEXICO.  G65 

the  assertion,  "all  these  speak  dialects  of  the  same  lan- 
guage ....  They  likewise  all  understand  each  other's 
tongue.  What  relation  this  language  bears  to  the 
Mexican  is  unknown;  but  my  impression  is,  that  it 
will  be  found  to  assimilate  greatly,  if  not  to  be  ident- 
ical/'— in  all  of  which  assertions  Mr  Ruxton  is  greatly 
in  error. 

All  this,  as  evidence,  does  not  amount  to  much;  it 
only  indicates  the  origin  of  a  popular  belief  which  placed 
a  Mexican  language  in  various  parts  of  the  north,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  shows  upon  how  slender  a  thread 
hangs  this  belief,  and  how  the  vaguest  traditionary  ru- 
mors come,  by  repetition,  to  be  accredited  as  fixed 
facts. 

Buschmann  asks  himself  the  question  whether  the 
Aztec  words,  in  any  considerable  number,  are  not  found 
in  any  other  languages  of  the  great  Mexican  empire, — in 
the  Zapotec,  Miztec,  Tarasco,  Otomi,or  Huastec, — and  the 
answer  is  no;  he  has  discovered  a  few  accidental  word- 
similarities,  such  as  may  be  found  between  the  Aztec 
and  other  American  languages,  or  between  any  two  lan- 
guages of  the  world,  but  nothing  which,  by  any  possi- 
bility, could  denote  relationship. 

From  another  class  of  evidence  we  approach  a  little 
nearer  the  truth.  Andres  Perez  de  Ribas,  missionary 
to  Sinaloa  writing  about  1640,  says,  that  while  studying 
the  language  of  his  people,  he  noticed  many  Mexican 
words  particularly  radicals,  and  also  words  which  ap- 
peared to  have  been  originally  Mexican,  but  which  had 
been  so  altered  that  only  one  or  two  syllables  in  them 
could  be  recognized  as  Aztec. 

Father  Ortega,  in  1732,  wrote  a  vocabulary  of  the 
Cora  language,  in  which  he  says,  the  people  had  incor- 
porated in  their  language  many  words  of  the  Mexican 
and  some  few  of  the  Spanish  languages,  and  this  at  a 
period  so  early  that  at  the  time  of  his  writing  they 
were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  original  language. 

Hervas,  whose  work  appeared  in  1787,  says  that  the 
Tarahumara  language  is  full  of  Mexican  words.  Vater, 


666  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

writing  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  affirms  that  the 
Cora  is  remarkable  for  its  relation  to  the  Mexican,  and 
that  the  Tarahumara,  which  is  a  more  polished  language 
than  its  neighbors,  contains  some  words  similar  to  the 
Aztec.  In  his  Mithridates,  Vater  notices  a  relationship 
between  the  Cora  and  the  Aztec,  furthermore  asserting 
that  the  conjugations  of  the  two  are  so  alike  as  plainly 
to  prove  the  connection. 

Wilhelm  von  Humboldt  left  us  a  short  manuscript 
grammar  of  the  Cora  and  Tarahumara,  in  which  he  re- 
marks that  for  languages  which  are  related,  the  Cora 
and  the  Mexican  have  great  differences  in  their  sound- 
systems,  and  although  these  two  languages  certainly  ap- 
pear to  be  related,  yet  he  is  unwilling  to  assert  that 
either  is  derived  from  the  other.  "  There  are  more 
ways  than  one,"  says  the  great  philologist  Wilhelm  von 
Humboldt,  "  by  which  languages  are  connected.  The 
impression  left  upon  me  by  the  Cora,  is  that  it  is  a  mix- 
ture of  two  different  languages:  one  the  Mexican,  and 
the  other  some  older  and  richer  language,  but  rougher. 
In  the  grammar  of  the  Cora  there  are  found  very  many 
forms  which  strikingly  call  to  mind  the  Mexican,  yet  at 
the  same  time  there  are  many  forms  wholly  different, 
made  by  rules  directly  opposite,  among  which  are  the 
pronouns."  He  further  remarks  two  other  important 
differences  between  the  Cora  and  the  Mexican  which 
are  the  absence  of  the  reduplication  of  syllables  and  of 
the  reverential  forms. 

Such  was  the  attitude  of  the  subject  when  Mr  Busch- 
mann  took  it  up.  From  the  prevailing  impression  of  an 
Aztec  origin  in  the  north,  but  more  particularly  from 
certain  remarks  of  Alexander  von  Humboldt  concerning 
the  probable  passing  of  the  ancient  Mexicans  through 
the  regions  of  the  north,  he  set  himself  to  work  to  find 
this  line  of  migration,  and  the  exact  relations  of  their 
their  language  in  various  parts.  Commencing  at  the 
Valley  of  Mexico  he  made  a  careful  analysis  of  every 
western  language  north  of  that  place  of  which  he  could 
obtain  any  material.  The  result  of  Mr  Buschmann's 


AZTEC  TRACES  IN  NORTHERN  MEXICO.  6G7 

researches  was  the  discovery  of  Aztec  traces  in  certain 
parts,  but  nowhere  did  he  find  the  Aztec  language  as  a 
base. 

More  particularly  were  these  Aztec  words  and  word- 
analogies  perceptible  in  four  certain  languages  of  north- 
western Mexico ;  in  the  Cora,  spoken  in  the  Xayarit  dis- 
trict of  Jalisco,  commencing  about  fifteen  leagues  from 
the  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Tololotlan,  and  ex- 
tending between  the  parallels  21°30/  and  20°  back  irreg- 
ularly into  the  interior  about  twenty  leagues;  in  the 
Tepehuana  of  northern  Sinaloa,  northern  Durango,  and 
southern  Chihuahua,  or  as  laid  down  on  the  map  of 
Orozco  y  Berra,  commencing  near  the  twenty-third 
parallel  about  twenty  leagues  from  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  Gulf  of  California,  and  extending  over  a  horse-shoe 
shaped  territory  to  about  the  twenty-seventh  parallel ;  in 
the  Tarahumara  spoken  immediately  north  of  the  Tepe- 
huana in  the  states  of  Chihuahua  and  Sonora,  in  the 
centre  of  the  Sierra  Madre;  and  lastly  in  the  Cahita 
spoken  by  the  people  inhabiting  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Gulf  of  California,  between  latitude  26°  and  28°  north, 
and  extending  back  from  the  coast  irregularly  about 
forty  leagues,  being  almost  directly  west  of  the  Tarahu- 
mara, though  not  exactly  contiguous.  The  name  Cahita 
is  applied  by  the  missionaries  only  to  the  language,  and 
not  to  the  people  speaking  it.  In  the  license  prefixed 
to  the  Manual  para  administrar  a  bs  Indios  del  idioma 
Cahita  los  santos  sacramentos  compuesto  por  un  Sacerdote 
de  fa  Campania  de  Jesus,  printed  in  Mexico  in  1740,  it  is 
called  the  common  language  of  the  missions  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Sinaloa,  spoken  by  the  Yaquis  and  the  Mayos,  the 
latter  extending  far  into  southern  Sonora.  In  a  vocab- 
ulary of  the  Cahita  given  by  Ternaux-Compans,  in  the 
Nouvelks  Annaks,  there  are  likewise  found  many  Aztec 
words.  Neither  of  these  languages  are  related  to  the 
others,  yet  in  all  of  them  is  a  sprinkling  of  Aztec  word- 
material.  The  Aztec  substantive  ending  tl  and  tli,  in 
the  Cora  are  found  changed  in  ti,  te,  and  t ;  in  the  Tepe- 
huana into  de,  re,  and  sci;  in  the  Tarahumara  into  &i,  ke, 


668  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

m,  and  la]  and  in  the  Cahita,  into  ri.  In  all  four  of 
the  languages  substantive  endings  are  dropped,  first, 
in  composition  when  the  substantive  is  united  with  the 
possessive  pronoun ;  secondly,  before  an  affix ;  thirdly,  in 
the  Cora  alone,  before  the  ending  of  the  plural;  and 
before  affixes  in  the  formation  of  words.  The}*  are  not 
dropped  in  verbs  derived  from  substantives;  ard  when 
two  substantives  are  combined  to  form  a  word  the 
Aztec  terminal  is  dropped  in  the  first,  and  also  in  the 
combination  of  a  substantive  and  verb. 

In  the  Cora,  the  ending  tyahta  has  the  same  meaning 
as  the  Aztec  local  ending  tla,  or  tlan,  which  signifies  the 
locality  of  a  thing;  as.  acotn,  a  fir-tree;  (Aztec,  ocoil] 
ocotyahta,  a  fir-forest ;  (Aztec,  ocotlan).  Another  striking 
similarity  between  these  four  languages  and  the  Aztec, 
consists  in  the  use  of  a  postfix  in  the  formation  of  sub- 
stantives of  locality  and  names  of  places.  Then  come 
the  numerals,  in  which  are  found  similarities  in  all  their 
formations.  The  Aztec  verb  ca,  to  be,  and  even  its 
irregular  branch,  catqui,  is  found  disseminated  through- 
out all  these  languages.  In  the  Tarahumara  dictionary 
of  Steffel,  and  in  the  Cora  dictionary  of  Ortega,  Busch- 
mann  found  the  Aztec  element  even  stronger  than  he 
had  supposed,  and  he  wondered  how  Gallatin,  who  had 
Tellechea's  grammar,  could  have  allowed  these  similari- 
ties to  escape  his  observations. 

Of  these  four  languages  Buschmann  makes  what  he 
.calls  his  Sonora  family ;  which  term  is  somewhat  a  mis- 
nomer as  applied  to  languages  not  related,  and  spoken 
more  without  than  within  the  province  of  Sonora.  Their 
only  bond  of  union  is  this  Aztec  element,  which  may 
have  found  its  way  into  them  at  different  times  and 
under  different  circumstances.  The  most  peculiar  fea- 
ture of  it  all,  is  the  departure  which  is  made  by  these 
Aztec-Sonora  languages,  as  from  an  original  centre, 
and  their  several  appearance,  each  stamped  alike  with 
Aztec  marks  while  at  the  same  time  sustaining  its  own 
individuality,  in  different  parts  of  the  great  northern 
regions.  It  is  as  though  a  handful  of  Aztec  words  had 


AZTEC  MATERIAL  IN  THE  AZTEC-SONORA  FAMILY.       669 

been  thrown,  at  intervals,  into  the  languages  of  each  of 
these  four  peoples,  and,  after  partial  amalgamations 
of  these  foreign  words  with  those  of  the  aboriginal 
tongues,  by  some  means  the  words  so  modified  had  found 
their  way  in  greater  or  less  quantities  into  the  lan- 
guages of  other  and  remote  tribes.  It  is  at  such  times, 
when  we  obtain  a  glance  from  a  distance  at  their 
shadowy  hisktfy,  that  there  arise  in  the  mind  visions  of 
their  illimitable  unwritten  past,  and  of  the  mighty  tur- 
moils and  revolutions  which  must  forever  remain  as 
they  are,  shrouded  in  the  deepest  mystery. 

In  these  four  Aztec-Sonora  languages  there  are  nearly 
two  hundred  Aztec  words,  and  the  words  derived  from 
them  by  the  respective  native  idioms  into  which  they 
were  projected,  swell  the  list  to  four  times  that  number; 
and  these,  with  other  pure  Aztec  words  in  every  stage 
of  mutilation  and  transformation  are  found  re-scattered 
throughout  the  before-mentioned  Pueblo,  Shoshone,  and 
other  languages  of  the  north.  But  again,  let  me  say, 
nowhere  does  the  Aztec,  or  any  of  its  affiliations  appear 
as  a  base  north  of  central  Mexico.5 


5  '  Que  en  casi  todas  ellas  (qne  son  muchas  y  varias)  se  hallan  vocables, 
principalmente  los  que  llaman  radicales,  que  o  son  de  la  lengua  Mexicana, 
o  se  deriuaii  della,  y  retienen  muchas  de  sus  silabas,  de  que  pudiera  hazer 
aqui  vn  muy  largo  catalago.  De  todo  lo  qual  se  infieren  dos  cosas.  La  pri- 
meni  que  casi  todas  estas  Naciones  comunicaron  en  puestos  y  lenguas  con  la 
Mexicana:  y  aunque  los  Artes  y  Graniaticas  dellas  son  diferentes;  pero  en 
muchos  de  sus  preceptos  concuerdan. '  liibas,  Hist,  de  los  Trivmphos,  p.  20. 
'  Piutaron  esta  laguna  en  tierra  y  muy  poblada  de  gentes,  y  oyendo 
liablar  a  un  indio,  criado  de  un  soldado,  en  el  idionui  mexicano,  pre- 
guutaron  si  era  de  Copala,  porque  asi  hablaban  los  de  alia.,  que  dis- 
taba  de  alii  diez  jornadas  pobladas.'  Zarate,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie 
iii.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  83.  'El  Padre  Fr.  Roque  d  Figueredo  haze  del  viage 
que  hizo  con  D.  luan  de  Ofiate  500  leguas  al  Norte  hallaremos  que  dice, 
que  aviendoseles  perdido  vnas  bestias,  buscandolas  el  no  de  Tizon  arriba  en- 
contraron  los  mosos  vu  Indio  que  les  hablo  en  lengua  mexicana  que  pregun- 
tado  de  donde  era,  dixo  ser  del  Reyno  adentro. . .  .que  esta  en  las  ProA'incias 
del  Norte  donde  se  habla  en  esta  lengua  Mexicana  cuyo  es  vocablo. '  Vetancurt, 
Teatro  Mex.,  pt  ii.,  p.  11.  'Inun  viaggio,  che  fecero  gli  Spagnnoli  1'auno 
1606.  dal  Nuovo  Messico  fino  al  fiume,  che  eglino  appellarono  del  Tizon, 
seicento  miglia  da  quella  Provincia  verso  Maestro,  vi  trovarono  alcuni  grand! 
edificj,  e  s'abbatterono  in  alcuni  Indiani,  che  parlavano  la  lingua  messicana.' 
Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn.,  iv.,  p.  29.  Tarahumara  'la  cui  lin- 
gua abbonda  di  parole  Messicane.'  Hervas,  Sagyio  Pratico  delle  Linf/ue,  p. 
71.  'Die  Sprache  (Cora)  ist  auch  wegen  ihres  Verhaltnisses  zur  Mexica- 
nischeu  merkwiirdig.'  'Die  Sprache  (Tarahumara)  welche  eirre  gewisse 
Ausbildung  zeigt,  hat  manche  dem  Mexicanischen  ahnliche  Worter, '  Vatert 


670  SHO  SHONE  LANGUAGES. 

Taking  into  consideration  that  some  Aztec  and  Sho- 
shone  words  are  almost  identical,  and  that  the  endings 
of  others  are  almost  exactly  alike,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing if  the  acute  ear  of  the  natives  detected  phonetic 
resemblances.  The  connection  between  these  languages 
may  not  be  in  one  respect  as  positive  as  that  between 
the  languages  which  compose  the  great  Aryan  family 
on  the  Asiatic  and  European  continents,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  presents  a  somewhat  analogous  system,  by 
means  of  which  it  becomes  possible  to  establish  a  con- 
nection. I  allude  to  Mr  Grimm's  discovery  of  what  has 
been  termed  l  Lautverschiebung,'  or  '  Lautveriinderung,' 
anglic£  'Sound-shunting.'6 

This  phenomenon  consists  of  the  changing,  or  shunting, 
of  certain  vowels  or  consonants  in  the  words  of  one  lan- 
guage, into  certain  other  vowels  and  consonants  in  the 
same  words  of  another  language ;  and  this  not  accidentally, 
but  in  accordance  with  fixed  rules.  Sound-shunt- 
ing, originally  discovered  by  Mr  Grimm  in  the  Aryan 
tongues,  has  also  been  found  by  Mr  Buschmann  in  the 
languages  of  his  Sonora  family,  where  it  is  more  par- 
ticularly prominent  in  the  word-endings.  In  a  subse- 
quent place  I  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  again  to  this 
point,  and  particularly  when  speaking  of  the  North 
Mexican  languages,  the  Tarahumara,  Tepehuana,  Cora, 
and  Cahita,  where  it  can  be  clearly  shown  by  compari- 
son with  the  Aztec,  that  such  shunting,  or  changing,  has 
taken  place.  In  the  languages  at  present  under  consid- 
eration, the  Shoshone,  Utah,  and  Comanche,  we  have 
this  shunting  system  illustrated  in  the  substantives  and 
adjective  endings  p,  pa,  pe,  pi,  be,  wa,  ph,  pee,  rp,  and  rpe ; 
and  more  particularly  in  the  Utah  and  Shoshone  ts,  tse, 
tsi,  all  of  which  may  be  referred  to  the  Aztec  endings  tl, 
fli,  and  others.  In  the  last-mentioned  case  the  endings 
have  been  preserved  in  a  purer  form,  while  in  the  former 

Litteratur  der  Grammatiken,  Lexica  und  Worter-Samnilunflen  oiler  Sprachen  der 
Erde,  pp.  52,  231;  Cook's  Voy.  to  Pac.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  336;  Ruxton's  Adven. 
Mex.,  p.  194. 

6  Max  'Muller  simply  names  it  '  Grimm's  Law.'  /Science  of  Language, 
series  ii.,  p.  213,  et  seq. 


THE  MOQUI  LANGUAGE.  671 

the  shunting  or  changing  law  is  observed.  As  illustrat- 
ing the  connection  between  the  languages  under  con- 
sideration and  those  before  mentioned  of  Sonora  and 
through  them  with  the  Aztec,  I  append  on  the  next  page 
a  short  vocabulary  in  which  the  similarities  can  be  easily 
observed.7 

The  Moqui,  as  before  observed,  does  not  properly  be- 
long to  the  Shoshone  family,  but  shows  a  connection 
with  the  Aztec.  It  is  strange  that  two  permanently  lo- 
cated peoples,  the  Moquis  and  the  Pueblos,  both  living 
in  well-built  towns  not  far  apart,  and  both  showing  signs 
of  a  budding  civilization,  should  speak  languages  totally 
different  from  each  other;  that  one  of  these  languages 
should  show  a  connection  with  the  Aztec  and  the  other 
not;  that  neither  is  related  to  the  tongue  of  the  Sho- 
shones,  who  nearly  surround  them;  and,  furthermore, 
that  in  six  of  the  seven  Moqui  towns  only,  the  Moqui 
language  is  spoken,  while  in  the  seventh,  Harno,  the 
Tegua,  a  language  of  one  of  the  New  Mexican  Pueblos  is 
spoken.  The  people  of  Harno  can  converse  with  the 
Moquis  of  the  six  other  towns,  but  among  themselves 
they  never  make  use  of  the  Moqui,  always  speaking  the 
Tegua.8 

7  '  Indem  ich  die  Urtheile  wegen  der  comanchischen  und  schoschonischen 
Verwandschaft  bestatige,  erklare  ich  die  Yutah-Sprache  fiir  ein  Glied  des 
sonorischen  Sprachstamiiies. '    '  Nock  ehe  icli  zur  Wortvergleichung  iibergehe, 
kann  ich  die  sonorische  Natur  der  Sprache  nach  den  beiden  Eleinenten  der 
aztekischen  uud  sonorischen  Gemeiuschaft,  und  sogar  ihre  besondere  Stel- 
luug  zwischen  der  comanche-schoschonischen  Ligue,  durch  blosse  zwei,  in 
ihr  sich  hervorthueude   Substantiv-Endungen  (ts  und  p)  darlegen.'     'Die 
zwiefache  Schoschoneu  Sprache  und  das  Volk  der  Schoschonen  sind  das 
ausserste  Glied  meiner  Entdeckungen:  des  grossen  Bnndes,  durch  ein  mach- 
tiges   eigues   Element  zusammengehaltener   Spracheii,  von   einem   kleiuen 
Erbtheil  aztekischen  Wortstoffes  durchdrungen;  welches  ich,  von  Guadala- 
xara  aus  nordwarts   suchend   nach   den   Spuren  des  Azteken-Idioms  und 
seines  Volkes,  angetroffeu   habe;  sie  bilden  den  Schlusstein  nieines  sono- 
rischen Baues.'  Bushmann,  Spurender  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  349,  351,  648,  391,  652, 
etseq.;  Sivers,  Mittelamerika,  pp.  291-2. 

8  '  They  all  speak  the  same  language  except  Harno,  the  most  northern 
town   of   the    three,    which   has    a    language   and    some   custom    peculiar 
to  itself.'  Marcy's  Army  Life,  p.  111.     'In  six  of  the  seven  Moqui  pueblos, 
the  same   language  is   said  to  be  spoken. ..  .Those   of   San  Juan....  and 
one  Moqui   pueblo  all  speak  the  same  language. ..  .Tay-wangh.'     Law,  in 
Schooler  a  ft's  Arch.,  vol.,  v.,  p.  689;  Ten  Broeclc,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol. 
iv.,  p.  87.      'The  Moquis.... do    not   all  speak  the  same  language.     At 
Oraybe  some  of  the  Indians  actually  professed  to  be  unable  to  understand 
what  was  said  by  the  Mooshahneh  chief,  and  the  latter  told  nie  that  the  laii- 


672  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 


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MOQUI  AFFILIATIONS.  673 

No  grammar  has  been  written  of  the  Moqui  language, 
and  a  few  vocabularies  are  all  we  possess  of  it.  Gov. 
Lane,  speaking  of  the  Pueblo  languages  collectively,  writes : 
"All  these  languages  are  extremely  guttural,  and,  to  my 
ear,  seemed  so  much  alike,  that  I  imagine  they  have 
sprung  from  the  same  parent  stock."9 

Some  claim  a  relationship  between  the  Moquis  and 
the  Apaches  and  others,  but  no  such  connection  has  ever 
been  established.10  The  only  positive  statement  in  this 
regard  is  made  by  Buschmann,  who,  by  actual  compari- 
son of  vocabularies,  has  determined  its  status.11  Among 

guage  of  the  two  towns  was  different.  At  Tegua  they  say  that  a  third  distinct 
tongue  is  spoken ....  The  people ....  have  abandoned  the  habit  of  visiting 
each  other  till  the  languages,  which,  with  all  Indian  tribes,  are  subject  to  great 
mutations,  have  gi-aduully  become  dissimilar.'  Ives'  Colorado  Riv.,  p.  127. 
'  Wie  ich  erfuhr,  sollen  die  Moquis  nicht  alle  eine  und  dieselbe  Sprache 
haben,  und  die  Bewohner  einiger  Stadte  nicht  nur  fremde  Dialekte,  sondern 
sogar  freinde  Sprachen  reden. '  Mollhuusen,  Eeisen,  torn,  ii.,  p.  239.  Davis, 
referring  to  a  MS.  by  Cruzate,  a  former  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  maintains 
that  the  Moqui  speak  the  Queres  language,  but  at  the  same  time  he  says  '  it 
is  maintained  by  some  that  ...four  of  the  Moqui  villages  speak  a  dialect 
very  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  Navajos,  while  a  fifth  speaks  that  of 
San  Juan,  which  is  Tegua.  . .  .The  distance  from  Picoris  to  the  Moqui  vil- 
lages is  about  four  hundred  miles  . .  yet  these  widely  separated  pueblos 
speak,...  the  same  language.'  El  Gringo,  pp.  116-7,  155.  Comparisons  of 
the  vocabularies  in  Simpson,  Davis,  and  Meliue  prove  the  Moqui  to  be  a 
distinct  language.  Ward,  in  Ind.  Aff.  liept.,  1864;  p.  191. 
9  Lane,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689. 

10  'The  language  of  the  Moquis,   or  the  Moquinos,  is  said  to  differ  but 
little  from  that  of  the  Navajos.'  Hughes'  Doniphan's  Ex.,  p.  197.     Speaking 
of  all  the  Pueblo  languages,  including  the  Moqui:  'All  these  speak  dialects 
of  the  same  language,  more  or  less  approximating  to  the  Apache,  and  of  all  of 
which  the  idiomatic  structure  is  the  same.    They  likewise  all  understand  each 
other's  tongue.     What  relation  this  language  bears  to  the  Mexican  is  un- 
known, but  my  impression  is  that  it  will  be  found  to  assimilate  greatly,  if 
not  to  be  identical.'  Ruxtoris  Adven.  Mex.,  p.   194;   Gregg's  Com.  Prairies, 
vol.  i.,  p.  269. 

11  'No  analogy  has  yet  been  traced  between  the  language  of  the  old  Mexi- 
cans and  any  tribe  at  the  north  in  the  district  from  which  they  are  supposed 
to  have  come.'  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  283.     '  Eeste  der  Mexika- 
nischen  Sprache  fanden  dagegen  in  den  Sprachen  dieser  Volker  die  im  Mexi- 
kanischen  sehr  geiibten  Missionare  nicht,  sondern  die  Sprache  von  Moqui, 
uud  die  der  Yabipais,  welche  lange  Barte  tragen,  wesentlich  unterschieden 
von  dem  Mexikanischen.'    Vater,  MithridatfS,  torn,  iii.,  ptiii.,  p.   182.     'Ce- 
peudant  la  langue  qne  parlent  les  Indiens  du  Moqui,  les  Yabipais,  qui  por- 
tent de  longue  barbes,  et  ceux  qui  habitent  les  plaines  voisines  du  Rio  Colo- 
rado, diffcH'e  essentiellement  de  la  langue  mexicaine.'  Humboldt,  Essai  Pol., 
torn,  i.,  p.  305.     '  Doch  reden  die  Moquis  . .   Sprachen  gauz  verschieden  vom 
Aztekischen.'  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  ptii.,  p.  539.  '  Die  Moqui-Sprache 
ist  doch  der  mexikanischen  befreundet!  sie  ist— dies  ist  meine  Erfindung — 
eiu  Zweig  des  Idioms,  welches  dem  Suchenden  als  ein  Phantom  statt  des 
leibhaften  wihuatl  als  sein  Schattenbild,  in  dem  alten  Nordeii  uberall  entgs- 
geutritt:  ein  Gebilde  der  sonorischen  Zunge,  bei  welchem  Namen  ein  kleines 
aztekisches  Erbtheil  sich  von  selbst  versteht .    . .  Ich   erklare  die   Moqui- 

VOL.  III.    43 


674  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

other  connecting  links  he  particularly  mentions  the  sub- 
stantive endings pe,  be,  and  others,  by  means  of  which,  he 
says,  the  Moqui  attaches  itself  to  the  Shoshone-Comanche 
branch  of  the  Sonora  idioms.  The  comparative  vocabu- 
lary before  given  will  further  illustrate  their  affiliation.12 

Returning  to  southern  California,  let  us  examine 
the  three  languages,  Kizh,  Netela,  and  Kechi,  spoken 
near  the  missions  of  San  Gabriel,  San  Juan  Capistrano, 
and  San  Luis  Hey,  respectively,  which  are  not  only 
distantly  related  to  each  other,  but  show  traces  of  the 
Sonora- Aztec  idioms.  Father  Boscana,  who  has  left  us 
an  accurate  description  of  the  natives  at  San  Juan  Ca- 
pistrano, unfortunately  devoted  little  attention  to  their 
language,  and  only  gives  us  a  few  scattered  words  and 
stanzas.  One  of  the  latter  reads  as  follows: 

Quic  noit  noivam 

Qnic  secat  peleblich 

Ybicnum  majaar  vesagnec 

Ibi  panal,  ibi  urusar, 

Ibi  ecbal,  ibi  seja,  ibi  calcel. 

Which  may  be  rendered  thus: 

I  go  to  my  home 
That  is  shaded  with  willows. 
These  five  they  have  placed, 
This  agave,  this  stone  pot, 
This  sand,  this  honey,  etc.13 

But  very  little  is  known  of  the  grammatical  structure 
of  these  languages.  In  the  Kizh,  the  plural  is  formed 
in  various  ways,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  following  ex- 
amples: 

SINGUIAB.  PLUBAI,. 

Man  woroit  wororoit 

House  kitsh  kikitsh 

Mountain  haikh  hahaikh 

Sprache  fur  ein  Glied  meines  Sonorischen  Sprachstammes.  Schon  die  anf- 
fallend  vielen,  manchmal  in  vorziiglich  reiner  Form  erscheinenden,  azteki- 
schen  Worter  bezeichnen  die  Sprache  als  eine  sonorische;  es  kommt  das 
zweite  Kennzeichen  hinzu:  der  Besitz  gewisser  acht  sonorischer  Worter. 
In  einem  grossen  Theile  erscheint  die  Sprache  aber  iiberaus  fremdartig:  um 
so  mehr  als  sie  auch  von  den  5  Pueblo-Sprachen,  wie  schon  Simpson  be- 
merkt  hat,  ganzlich  verschieden  ist. . .  .Die  Spuren  der  Subst.  Endung  pe, 
be  u.a.  weisen  der  Moqui-Spriche  ihren  Platz  unter  der  comanche-shoshoni- 
schen  Familie  des  Sonora  Idioms  an.  Dieses  allgemeine  Urtheil  fiber  die 
Sprache  ist  sicher.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  dtr  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  289-90. 

12  Simpson's  Jour.  Mil.  Eecon.,  pp.  128-30;  Davis'  El  Gringo,  pp.  157-9. 

13  Boscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in  Cat.,  p.  282. 


KIZH  AND  NETELA  SPECIMENS.  675 


SINGULAR. 

Wolf  ishot  ishishpt 

Good  tihorwait  tiriwait 

Small  tshinui  tsbltshmui 

Black  yupikha  yupinot 

Woman  tokor  totokor 

Bow  paitkhuar  pupai'tkhuar 

Bad  mohai  momohai 

White  arawatai  rawanot 

Red  kwauokha  kwaukbonot 

DECLENSION  WITH  PRONOUN. 

My  father  ninak  Our  father  ayoinak 

Thy  father  monak  Your  father  asoinak 

His  father  anak 

My  house  nikin  Our  house  eyoknga 

Thy  house  mukin  Your  house  asoknga 

His  house  akinga  Their  house  pomoknga 

Of  the  Netela  there  are  also  the  following  few  speci- 
mens of  plural  formation  and  pronouns  ;  —  suol,  star  ;  sul- 
um.  stars;  nopulum,  my  eyes;  nunakom,  my  ears;  niki- 
walom,  my  cheeks  ;  natakabm,  my  hand  ;  netemehm,  my 
knees. 

DECLENSION  WITH  PKONOUN. 

My  house  niki  Onr  house  tshomki 

Thy  house  om  aki  Your  house  omomomki 

His  house  poki  Their  house  omp  omki 

My  boat  nokh  Our  boat  tshomikh 

Thy  boat  om  omikh  Your  boat  omom  omikh 

His  boat  ompomikh  Their  boat  ompomikh  14 

The  Kizh  appears  also  to  have  been  spoken,  in  a 
slightly  divergent  dialect,  at  the  Mission  of  San  Fer- 
nando, as  may  be  easily  seen  by  comparing  the  following 
two  versions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer;  the  first  in  the  lan- 
guage of  San  Fernando,  and  the  latter  in  that  spoken 
at  San  Gabriel. 

Y  yorac  yona  taray  tucupuma  sagouco  motoanian 
majarmi  moin  main  mono  muismi  miojor  yiactucupar. 
Pan  yyogin  gimiamerin  majarmi  mifema  coyo  ogorna 
yio  mamainay  mii,  yiarma  ogonug  y  yona,  y  yo  ocaynen 
coijarmea  main  ytomo  mojay  coiyama  huermi.  Parima. 

Yyonac  y  yogin  tucupugnaisa  sujucoy  motuanian 
masarmi  magin  tucupra  maimano  muisme  milleosar  y 

M  Bale's  Ethnog.,  in  V.  S.  Ex.  Ex.,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  5G6-7;  Buschmann,  Kizh 
vnd  Netela,  pp.  -512-13. 


676  SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 

ya  tucupar  jiman  bxi  y  yoni  masaxmi  mitema  coy  abox- 
mi  y  yo  mamamatar  momojaich  milli  y  yaxma  abonac 
y  yo  no  y  yo  ocaihuc  coy  jaxrnea  main  itan  momosaich 
coy  jama  juexme  huememesaich. 

In  like  manner  do  the  Netela  and  Kechi  show  a  close 
affinity.  The  Netela  Lord's  Prayer  reads: 

Ghana    ech    tupana    ave    onench,  otune  a  cuachin,- 
chame  om  reino,  libi  yb  chosonec  esna  tupana   chain 
nechetepe,  micate  torn  cha  chaom,  pepsum  yg  cai  cay- 
chame,  y  i  julugcalme  cai  ech.     Depupnn  opco  chame 
chum  oyote.     Amen  Jesus. 

The  Kechi  is  as  follows: 

Cham  na  chain  mig  tu  panga  auc  onan  moquiz  cham 
to  gai  ha  cua  che  nag  omreina  li  vi  hiche  ca  noc  yba 
heg  ga  y  vi  au  qui  ga  topanga.  Cham  na  cholane  mini 
cha  pan  pituo  mag  ma  jan  pohi  cala  cai  gui  cha  me  hol- 
loto  gai  torn  chame  o  gui  chag  cay  ne  che  cai  me  tus  so 
Hi  olo  calme  alia  linoc  chame  cham  cho  sivo." 15 

Although  Mr  Turner  classed  these  languages  with  the 
Shoshone  family,  in  reality  they  only  form  such  a  tie 
through  their  Sonora  and  Aztec  connection.16  This  is 
illustrated  by  Mr  Buschmann  in  an  extensive  compara- 
tive vocabulary  of  the  three  languages,  of  which  1  shall 
give  a  brief  extract  on  a  subsequent  page.17 

is  Mofrns,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  393-4. 

16  '  Belong  to  the  great  Shoshonee,  or  Snake  family.'  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R. 
Rtpt.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  76.     'The  similarity  which  exists  between  many  words  in 
these  two  languages,  and  in  the  Shoshoni,  is  evident  enough  from  a  com- 
parison of  the  vocabularies.     The  resemblance  is  too  great,  to  be  attributed 
to  mere  casual  intercourse,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  evidence  which  it 
affords  will  justify  us  in  classing  them  together  as  branches  of  the  same 
family.'  Bale's  Ethnog.,  in  U.  S.  Ex.  Ex,  vol.  vi.,  p.  567.     'The  natives  of 
St.  Diejjo  cannot  understand  a  word  of  the  language  used  in  this  mission, 
and  in  like  manner,  those  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Barbara,  and  farther 
north.'    Iloscana,  in  Robinson's  Life  in  Cai.,  p.   240;   Gleeson's  Hist.  L'ath. 
Church,  p.  97. 

17  '  Ich  habe  in  dern  Kizh  . .  .und  in  der  Netela. . .  .zwei  Glieder  meiues 
sonorischen  Sprachstammes,  ausgestattet  mit  Aztekischem  Sprachstoff,  ent- 
deckt.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  546.     'Bei  der,  genugsam  von 
inir  aufgezeigten  Geineinschaft  der  zwei  calif oruiscli en   Idiome,   so   lautet 
meiu  Urtheil,  hofft  man  auch  hier  veryebens  auf  ein  genaues,  gliickliches  Zu- 
treffen   eigenthumlicher  Formen  dieser  Sprachen  mit  dem  Comanche  und 
Schoschonischen  oder  mit  den  siidlicheren  sonorischen  Hauptsprachen,  ein 
Zusammentreffen   mit  etwas  recht   Besc-nderem   Einer   Sprache   mit  eiuer 
anderen:  so  nahe  liegen  die  Sprachen  sich  nie,  sie  sind  alle  fremd  genug 
gegen  einauder.'   Buschmann,  Kizh  und  Jfetela,  p.  518. 


CHEMEHUEVI  AND  CAHUILLO  PKONOUNS.  677 

The  Chemehuevi  and  Cahuillo,  .the  last  two  of  this 
division,  have  also  been  classed  as  belonging  to  the  Sho- 
shone  family,  and  some  have  even  called  them  bands  of 
Pah-Utes,  but  what  has  been  said  concerning  the  affilia- 
tion of  the  three  last  mentioned  will  apply  to  these  with 
equal  force.  That  they  are  distinct  languages  has  al- 
ready been  stated  by  Padre  Grarces,  who  describes  them 
under  the  name  of  Chemegue  cajuala,  Chemegue  sebita, 
Ohemeguaba,  and  Chemegue,  ascribing  the  same  lan- 
guage to  all  of  them  in  distinction  from  their  neighbors. 
He  includes  with  the  Chemehuevi  the  Yavipai  muca 
oraive  or  Moqui,  who,  although  not  speaking  the  same 
language,  are  still  somewhat  connected  with  them, 
through  their  Sonora  and  Aztec  relations,  which  conjec- 
tures are  singularly  significant.18  Grammatical  remarks 
on  these  languages  there  are  but  few  to  offer.  The 
accentuation  is  in  neither  very  regular;  in  the  Cheme- 
huevi, it  is  generally  on  the  second  syllable,  while  in  the 
Cahuillo  it  is  mostly  on  the  first.19  I  give  here  the 
personal  pronouns  of  the  two  languages. 

CHEMEHUEVI.  CAHUILLO. 

I  nuu  neh 

Thou  haii'co  eh 

He  einpa  peh 

We  chemim 

You  ehmim 

They  fwim 

To  illustrate  the  Sonora  and  Aztec  connection,  I  offer 
the  following  short  comparative  vocabulary. 

1S  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  351.  Orozco  y 
Berra  includes  them  as  well  as  the  Utahs  and  Moquis  with  the  Apache  fam- 
ily of  languages,  in  support  of  which  he  cites  Balbi,  tableau  xxxii.  'Die 
Chimehwhuebes,  Comanches  und  Cahuillos,  also  Starnme,  die  zwischen  den 
Kiisten  der  Siidsee  und  Texas  verbreitet  sind,  als  Nebenstanmie  der  Nation 
der  Schoschone  oder  Schlangen-Indianer  betrachtet  werden  konnen.'  Mvll- 
hausen,  Eeisen  in  die  Felsenfltib.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  435-6.  'The  Chertiekuevis  are  a 
band  of  Pah-Utahs. .  .whose  language  .  .agrees  most  nearly  with  Simpson's 
Utah,  and  Hale's  East  Shoshouee.'  The  Cahuillo  'exhibits  the  closest  affin- 
ity to  the  Kechi  and  Netela,  especially  the  former.  Its  affinity  to  the  Kizh  is 
equally  evident.'  Turner,  in  Pac.  li.  R.  Tiept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  76.  'Die  Cheme- 
huevi- und  Ciihuillo-Sprache  sind  einander  so  fremd,  dass  sie  beinahe  fur 
alle  Begriffe  gauz  andere  Worter  besitzen;  ihre  Verschiedenheit  ist  so  gross, 
dass  man  aus  ihnen  allein  nicht  almden  sollte,  sie  seien  beide  gleichmassig 
sonorische  Glieder.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  554. 

!9  Turner,  in  Pac.  E.  Ii.  Kept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  77. 


SHOSHONE  LANGUAGES. 


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AZTEC  TRACES  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA.  679 

As  regards  the  Sonora  and  Aztec  relationship,  we  have 
here  again  the  substantive  endings  p,  6,  t,  in  various  forms, 
which,  as  before  stated,  may  be  compared  with  Aztec 
endings,  changed  according  to  certain  linguistic  laws. 
In  the  Cahuillo,  as  in  the  Kechi,  prefixed  possessive 
pronouns,  before  substantives  representing  parts  of  the 
human  body,  particularly  that  in  the  first  person  sin- 
gular, n,  are  proof  of  the  Sonora  affiliation.  In  the 
same  words,  the  Chemehuevi  has  the  two  pronouns  ni 
and  wi,  which  always  carry  with  them  the  ending,  m.21 

w  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  553-4. 


CHAPTER   YL 

THE    PUEBLO,     COLORADO    RIVER,     AND    LOWER    CALIFORNIA 

LANGUAGES. 

TKACES  OF  THE  AZTEC  NOT  FOUND  AMONG  THE  PUEBLOS  OF  NEW  MEXICO  AND 
ARIZONA  —  THE  FIVE  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  PUEBLOS,  THE  QUERES,  THE 
TEGUA,  THE  PICOBIS,  JEMKZ,  AND  Zufa — PUEBLO  COMPARATIVE  VOCABU- 
LARY— THE  YUMA  AND  ITS  DIALECTS,  THE  MABICOPA,  CUCHAN,  MOJAVE, 
DIEGENO,  YAMPAIS,  AND  YAVIPAIS— THE  CoCHnvd .  GUAICUR! ,  AND  PERIOD, 
WITH  THEIR  DIALECTS  OF  LOWER  CALIFORNIA — GUAICUBI  GRAMMAR — PA- 
TEH  NOSTER  IN  THREE  CocniMf  DIALECTS— THE  LANGUAGES  OF  LOWEB 
CALIFORNIA  WHOLLY  ISOLATED. 

Having  already  mentioned  some  of  the  principal 
idioms  spoken  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Great  Basin, 
as  parts  of  the  trunks  to  which  they  belong,  or  with 
which  they  affiliate,  I  shall  devote  the  present  chapter 
to  such  languages  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  as  can- 
not be  brought  into  the  Tinneh  or  Sonora  stocks,  and 
to  those  of  Lower  California.  Beginning  with  the 
several  tongues  of  the  Pueblos,  thence  proceeding  west- 
ward to  the  Colorado  River,  and  following  its  course 
southward  to  the  Gulf  of  California,  I  shall  include 
the  languages  of  the  southern  extremity  of  California, 
and  finally  those  of  the  peninsula.  These  languages 
are  none  of  them  cognate  with  any  spoken  in  Mexico. 
Respecting  those  of  the  Pueblos  which  have  long  been 
popularly  regarded  as  allied  to  southern  tongues,  it  is 
now  very  certain  that  they  are  in  no  wise  related  to 
them,  if  we  except  the  Aztec  word-material  found  in 

(680) 


THE  FIVE  PUEBLO  LANGUAGES.  681 

the  Moqui.  From  analogous  manners  and  customs, 
from  ancient  traditions  and  time-honored  beliefs,  many 
have  claimed  that  these  New  Mexican  towns-people  are 
the  remains  of  aboriginal  Aztec  civilization,  attempting 
meanwhile  to  explain  away  the  adverse  testimony  of 
language,  by  amalgamation  of  the  ancient  tongue  with 
those  of  other  nations,  or  by  absorption  or  annihila- 
tion; all  of  which,  so  far  as  arriving  at  definite  con- 
clusions is  concerned,  amounts  to  nothing.  Analogies 
may  be  drawn  between  any  nations  of  the  earth; 
human  beings  are  not  so  unlike  but  that  in  every 
community  much  may  be  found  that  is  common 
to  other  communities,  irrespective  of  distance  and 
race,  especially  when  the  comparison  is  drawn 
between  two  peoples  both  just  emerging  from  sav- 
agism.  The  facts  before  us  concerning  the  Pueblo 
languages  are  these:  although  all  alike  are  well  ad- 
vanced from  primeval  savagism,  live  in  similar  sub- 
stantial houses,  and  have  many  common  customs,  yet 
their  languages,  though  distinct  as  a  whole  from  those 
of  the  more  savage  surrounding  tribes,  do  not  agree 
with  each  other.  It  is  difficult  to  prove  that  the  Aztec, 
although  now  perhaps  extinguished,  never  was  the 
tongue  of  New  Mexico;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  im- 
possible to  prove  that  it  was,  and  surely  theorists  go 
far  out  of  their  way  in  attempting  to  establish  a  people 
in  a  land  where  no  trace  of  their  language  exists,  or 
exists  only  in  such  a  phase  as  proves  conclusively  that 
it  could  not  possibly  have  ever  been  the  basis  of  the 
language  now  spoken. 

Five  distinct  languages,  with  numerous  dialects,  more 
or  less  deviating,  are  spoken  by  the  Pueblos.  By  the 
inhabitants  of  Santo  Domingo,  San  Felipe,  Santa  Ana, 
Silla,  Laguna,  Pojuate,  Acoma,  and  Cochiti,  the  Queres 
language  is  spoken;  in  San  Juan,  Santa  Clara,  San 
Ildefonso,  Pojuaque,  Nambe,  Tezuque,  and  also  in  Harno, 
one  of  the  Moqui  towns,  the  Tegua  language  prevails; 
in  Taos,  Picoris,  Zandia,  and  Isleta,  there  is  the  Picoris 
language;  in  Jemez  and  Old  Pecos,  the  Jernez;  in  Zuiii, 


682  PUEBLO  LANGUAGES. 

the  Zuni  language.1  The  three  principal  dialects  of 
Queres  are  the  Kiwomi,  Cochitemi.  and  Acoma.  Of 
these  the  first  two  are  very  similar,  in  some  cases  al- 
most identical,  while  the  Acoma  is  more  distinct.2  In 
the  Queres  the  accent  is  almost  invariably  on  the  first 
syllable,  and  the  words  are  in  general  rather  short, 
although  a  few  long  words  occur.  Possessive  pronouns 
appear  to  be  affixed ;  they  are  ini,  ni,  ne,  in,  and  *. 
In  the  Tegua  and  Zuni  the  personal  pronouns  are: 

TEGtTA.  ZUNI. 

I  nah  ht'io 

Thou  uh  t6o 

He  ihih  looko 

She  ihih 

We  (incl.)  tahquireh  hdbno 

We  (exc.)  nihyeuboh 

You  nahih  ahchee 

They  ihnah  looko 

In  the  Tegua,  although  many  monosyllables  appear, 
there  are  also  a  number  of  long  words,  such  as  pelignah- 
vicahmborih,  shrub ;  haihiombotahrei,  for  ever ;  hahnguena- 
aknpih,  to  be;  hai/iahgnuhai,  great;  heinginubainboyohj 
nothing.  In  the  Zuiii,  long  words  appear  to  predomi- 

1  '  No  one  showing  anything  more  than  the  faintest,  if  any,  indications 
of  a  cognate  origin  with  the  other.'  Simpson's  Jour.  Mil.  Recon.,  pp.  5, 128-9. 
'  Classed  by  dialects,  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  at  the  period  of  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Spaniards  spoke  four  separate  and  distinct  languages,  called  the 
Tegua,  the  Piro,  the  Queres,  and  the  Tagnos.'     'There  are  now  five  differ- 
ent dialects  spoken  by  the  Pueblos.'     No  Pueblo  can  'understand  another 
of  a  different  dialect.'     'It  does  not  follow  that  the  groups  by  dialect  corres- 
pond with  their  geographical  grouping;  for,  freqtiently,  those  furthest  apart 
speak  the  same,  and  those  nearest  speak  different  languages.'  Mtline's  Two 
Thousand  Miles,   pp.   203-4;   Lane,   in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol.  v.,  p.  689. 
'  The  Pueblo  Indians  of  Taos,  Pecuris  and  Acoma  speak  a  language   of 
which  a  dialect  is  used  by  those  of  the  Rio  Abajo,  including  the  Pueblos  of 
San  Felipe,  Sandia,  Ysleta,    and  Xemez.'  Ruxton's  Adven.    Mex.,   p.  194. 
'  There  are  but  three  or  four  different  languages  spoken  among  them,  and 
these,  indeed,  may  be  distantly  allied  to  each  other.'     '  Those  further  to  the 
westward  are  perhaps  allied  to  the  Navajoes.'  Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i., 
p.  269.     '  In  ancient  times  the  several  pueblos  formed  four  distinct  nations, 
callc-d  the  1'iro,  Tegua,  Queres,  and  Tagnos  or  Tanos,  speaking  as  many  dif- 
ferent dialects  or  languages.'  Davis'  El  Gringo,  p.  116;  see  also  pp.  155-%,  on 
classification  according  to  Cruzate.    '  The  Jemez ....  speak  precisely  the  same 
language  as  the  Pecos.'  Domenech's  Deserts,  vol.  i.,  p.  198;  Turner,  in  Pac. 
R.  R.,  Rept.,  vol.  iii .,  pp.  90,  et  seq.     '  There  are  five  different  dialects  spoken 
by  the  nineteen  pueblos.'     These  are  so  distinct  that  the  Spanish  language 
'has  to  be  resorted  to  as  a  common  medium  of  communication.'    Ward,  in 
Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1864,  p.  191;  Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex.  u.  der  Westseile  des  b. 
Nordamer.,  p.  280,  et  seq. 

2  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  90;  Buschmann,  Spr.  N.  Mex. 
u.  der  Westseite  des  b.  Nordamer.,  p.  302. 


PUEBLO  COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY. 


683 


nate, — dlimeeashneekeeah,  autumn ;  dhseeailahpalhtonnai^ 
finger;  lalitaUoopeetslnnah}  gold;  tehleenaliweeteekeeah,  mid- 
night; tdhmclialipahndhmnee,  war-club,  and  others.3  As 
will  more  clearly  appear  by  the  following  comparative 
vocabulary,  none  of  these  languages  are  cognate;  they 
have  no  affinity  among  themselves,  nor  with  any  other 
family  or  group.* 


Sun 

Moon 
Star 
Earth 
Man 
Woman 
Head 
Eye 
Nose 
Mouth 
Ear 
Hand 
Dog 
Fire 
Water 

QUEEES. 

shecatj 
hahats 
hatssee 
naiatsay 
nashcanne 
kannah 
karwishshe 
tseeikah 
kahupah 
kahinoshtay 
tish 
hahkanye 
tseats 

TEGDA. 

pah 
poyye 
adoyeah 
nan 
sayen 
ker 
pumbah 
chay 
shay 
sho 
oyeo 
mah 
cher 
fah 
ogh 

PIOOBIS. 

hoolennah 
pannah 
hahheglannah 
pahhannah 
tahhahnenah 
clayaunah 
pinemah 
chenay 
pooaenah 
clahmoenah 
taglayonay 

sodornah 
pahaunah 
pohahoon 

JEMEZ. 

pay 

pahah 
woonhah 
dockuh 
shuotish 
steosh 
chitchous 
saech 
forsaech 
eaequah 
washchish 
inahtish 
cannu 
fwaah 
pah 

ZUNI. 

yattockkah 

moyatchuway 
oulocknanuay 
oatse 
ocare 
oshuckquinnay 
toonahway 
nolinnay 
aewahtinnay 
lahschucktinnay 
shoncheway 
watsetah 
mackke 
keaoway 

In  the  region  through  which  flows  the  Colorado,  and 
between  that  river  and  the  Grila,  many  different  lan- 
guages are  mentioned  by  the  early  missionaries  but  at 
this  time  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  how  far  different 
names  are  applied  to  any  one  nation. 

The  missionaries  themselves  frequently  did  not  know 

3  Tusuque  words  '  are  monosyllabic,  and  suggest  a  connection  with  Asi- 
atic stocks,  in  which  this  feature  is  prominent.'  Schooler aft's  Arch.,  vol.  iii., 
p.  406.     '  All  these  languages  are  extremely  guttural  and  to  my  ear  seemed 
so  much  alike  that  I  imagine  they  have  sprung  from  the  same  parent  stock.' 
Lane,  in  Id.,  vol.  v.,  p.  089;  Turner,  in  Pac.  It.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  93  et 
seq.;  Buschmann,  New  M°.x.  und  Brit.  N.  Amer.,  p.  2sO  et  seq. 

4  '  Die  Queres-Spracha  ist  trotz  einiger  Anklange  an  andere  eine  ganz 
besondere  Sprache,  von  der  keine  Verwandtschaft  aufzufinden.'  Buschmai/n, 
Spr.  N.  Mdx.  u.  der  Westseite  des  b.  Nordamer.,  p.  303.     'Die  Fremdheit  der 
Tezuque-Sprache  gegen  alles  Bekannte  is  durch  das  Wortverzeichniss  ge- 
nugsam  erwiesen.'     'Ich  unterlasse  es  spielende  aztekische  oder  Soriorische 
Ahnlichkeiten  zu  bezeichnen,  da  auch   die  Zuni-Sprache  diesen   Idiomen 
ganz  fremd  ist.'  Id.,  pp.  296-7.     Tanos,  'one  of  the  Moqui  villages,  at  pres- 
ent speak  the  Tegua  language,  which  is  also  spoken  by  several  of  the  New 
Mexican  Pueblo  Indians,  which  leaves  but  little  doubt  as  to  the  common 
origin  of  all  the  village  Indians  of  this  country  and  Old  Mexico.'  Arny,  in 
Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1871,  p.  381.     '  These  Indians  claim,  and  are  generally  sup- 
posed, to  have  descended  from  the  ancient  Aztec  race,  but  the  fact  of  their 
speaking  three  or  four  different  languages  would  tend  to  cast  a  doubt  upon 
this  point.'  Merriwether,  in  Id.,  1854,  p.  174.     'The  words  in  the  Zufii  lan- 
guage very  much  resemble  the  English.'  Hutchings'  Cal.  Mag.,  vol.  ii.,  p. 348; 
Gregg's  Com.  Prairies,  vol.  i.,  p.  285. 


684  COLORADO  EIVER  LANGUAGES. 

how  to  name  the  people;  often  they  gave  several  names 
to  one  language,  and  several  languages  one  name ;  many 
of  the  then  existing  dialects  are  known  to  have  since 
become  extinct,  and  many  more  have  mysteriously  dis- 
appeared, along  with  those  who  spoke  them,  so  that  in 
many  instances,  a  century  after  their  first  mention  no 
such  language  could  be  found.  It  seems  seldom  to  have 
occurred  to  the  missionaries  and  conquerors  that  the 
barbarous  tongues  of  these  heathen  could  ever  be  of  in- 
terest or  value  to  Christendom,  still  less  lists  of  their 
words;  so  that  vocabularies,  almost  the  only  valuable 
speech -material  of  the  philologist,  are  exceedingly  rare 
among  the  writings  of  the  early  missionary  Fathers. 
If  one  half  of  their  profitless  homilies  on  savage  sal- 
vation had  been  devoted  to  the  simple  gleaning  of 
facts,  science  would  have  been  the  gainer,  and  the  souls 
of  the  natives  no  whit  less  at  peace.  Of  late,  however, 
vocabularies  of  the  dialects  of  this  region  have  become 
numerous,  and  relationships  are  at  length  becoming 
permanently  established. 

The  languages  under  consideration,  on  comparison, 
may  nearly  all  be  comprised  in  what  may  be  called  the 
Yuma  family.  The  principal  dialects  which  constitute 
the  Yuma  family  are  the  Yuma,  Maricopa,  Cuchan, 
Mojave,  and  Diegueno,  which  last  is  spoken  in  southern 
California,  and  more  particularly  around  the  bay  of 
San  Diego.  Among  others  mentioned  are  the  Yavipais 
and  Yampais.5  Compared  with  that  of  their  neighbors 

5  Cocomaricop.a,  Tuma,  Jalchedun  and  Jamajab,  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage. Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mtx.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i.,  p.  350;  Kino, 
Relncion,  in  Id.,  serie  iv.,  tom.  i.,  pp.  292-3.  '  Opas,  que  hablan  la  lengua 
de  los  Yumas  y  Cocomaricopas  . . .  Corre  la  geutilidiid  de  estos  y  de  su  misma 
lengua  por  los  rios  Azul,  Verde,  Salado  y  otros  que  entrau  el  Colorado.'  Ar- 
ricivlta,  Cronica  Serdfica,  p.  416.  '  La  lengua  de  todas  estas  nadones  es  una, 
Cocomaricopas,  Yuma,  Nijora,  Quicamopa.'  Sedelmair,  Relation,  iu  Doc.  Hist. 
Mex.,  siirie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  852.  Cue-bans,  or  Yumas,  'speak  tbe  same  dia- 
lect" as  the  Maricopas.  Emory's  Rept.  U.  S.  and  Mex.  lioundnry  Surrey,  p. 
107;  Turner,  in  Fac.  R.  R.  Repl.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  101  3;  Mdllhausen,  Reis>  n  in 
die  Felsenyeb.,  torn,  i.,  p.  433.  Yumas  'no  s.r  Nacion  distinta  de  la  Coco- 
maricopa,  pu?s  usan  el  mesmo  Idioma.'  Villa-Senor  y  Sanclrez,  Tkeatro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  408;  Gallatin,  in  Emory's  Reconnaissance,  p.  129;  Cremony's  Apachfs, 

p.  90.     'The  Pimos  and  Cocoinai icopas speaking  different  languages. 

Guilts'  Conq.  of  Cal.,  p.  189.  Cosninos  and  Tontos,  'leur  langiie  aurait  plus 
d'affinit«  avtc  celle  des  Mohaves  et  des  Cuchans  du  Colorado.'  'Les  Yumas, 


DIEGUENO   LOED'S  PEAYEE.  685 

the  language  of  the  Diegueilos  is  soft  and  harmonious, 
and  as  it  contains  all  the  sounds  of  the  letters  in  the 
English  alphabet,  the  people  speaking  it  readily  learn 
to  pronounce  the  English  and  Spanish  languages  cor- 
rectly.6 The  following  Lord's  Prayer  is  a  specimen  of 
the  dialect  of  the  Diegueilos. 

Nagua  anall  amai  tacaguach  naguanetuuxp  mamamul- 
po  cayuca  amaibo  mamatam  meyayam  canaao  amat 
amaibo  quexuic  echasau  naguagui  fiaila  chonilaquin 
fu'pil  meneque  pachi's  echeyuchapo  fiagua  quexuic  iiagu- 
afch  nacaguaihpo  namechamel  anipuch  uch-guelich-cui- 
apo.  Nacuiuch-pambo-cuchlich-cuiatpo-iiamat.  Napui- 
ja.7 

Of  the  other  dialects  the  short  vocabulary  on  the 
following  page  will  give  an  illustration : 

auxquels  se  joignent  les  Cocopas,  les  Mohaves,  les  Hawalcoes,  et  les  Diegue- 
nos.  Chacune  de  ces  tribus  a  une  laugue  particuliere,  mais  qui,  jusqu'  a 
un  certain  point,  se  rapproche  de  celles  des  tribus  du  rneme  groupe.'  Bras- 
seur  de  Bourbourg,  Esquisses,  pp.  28-9.  '  Gexviss  ist,  dass  die  Cocomaricopas 
und  Yumas  nur  Dialecte  einer  und  derselben  Sprache  reden.'  Muhlenpfordt, 
Mejico,  torn,  i.,  p.  211.  'The  Maricopas  speak. .  .  .a  dialect  of  the  Cocapa, 
Yuma,  Mohave,  and  Diegana  tongue.'  Mowry,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Kept.,  1859,  p. 
361;  Id.,  1857,  p.  302.  Papagos,  Pimos,  and  Maricopas.  'These  tribes 
speak  a  common  language,  which  is  conceded  to  be  the  ancient  Aztec 
tongue.'  Dacidson,  in  Id.,  1865,  p.  131.  Pima  and  Maricopa.  'Their  lan- 
guages are  totally  different,  so  much  so  that  I  was  enabled  to  distinguish 
them  when  spoken.'  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262.  'Los  opas,  coco- 
maricopas,  hudcoadan,  yumas,  cuhuanas,  quiquimas,  y  otros  mas  alia  del 
rio  Colorado,  se  pueden  tambien  llamar  pimas  y  contar  por  otras  tantas  tri- 
bus de  esta  nacion;  pues  la  lengua  de  que  usan  es  una  rnisma  con  sola  la 
difereucia  del  dialecto.'  Sonnra,  Descrip.  lu'eog.,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Alex.,  st'rie  iii., 
p.  554;  Sonora,  Rudo  Ensayo,  p.  103.  'Yuma.  Dialecto  del  Pima,  lo  tieuen 
los  Yumas,  6  chirumas,  gilenos  6  xilefios,  opas,  cocopas,  Cocomaricopas, 
hudcoadanes,  jamajabs  6  cuesninas,  6  cuismer  o  cosninas  6  culisnisnas  6 
culisnurs  y  los  quicarnopas.  Cajuenche.  Dialecto  del  pima,  pertenecen  a 
esta  seccion  los  cucapa  6  cuhanas,  jallicuamai,  cajuenches,  quiquimas  6  qui- 
hnimas,  ynanes,  cutganes,  alchedomas,  bagiopas,  cunai  y  quemeya.'  Orozco 
y  Berra,  Geo</rafia,  pp.  353,  37;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztec.  8pr~,  p.  264, 
et  seq.  'Die  Yumas,  deren  Sprache  von  der  der  Cocomericoopus . .  .  .weuig 
ver.ichieden  ist.'  ' Cocomericoopas,  Yumas,  Pimas. . .  .haden  jode  ihre  be- 
somlere  Sprache.'  Pfefferkorn,  in  Vater,  Mithridates,  vol.  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  159. 
'  Alike  in  other  respects  the  Pima  and  Cocomaricopa  Indians  differ  in  lan- 
guage.' Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  421. 

6  '  Suave  al  parecer,  y  mas  facil  que  no  la  pima,  pues  tiene  la  suave  vocal 
el  la  que  falta  a  los  pimas,  repitiendo  ellos  la  u  hablan  su  idioma  caiitando.' 
Sedehnair,  Relacion,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  852.     '  Soft  and 
melodious.'  Bartlett's  Pers,  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262;  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R  Rept., 
vol.  iii.,  p.  101. 

7  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  395. 


686 


LOWER  CALIFORNIA^  LANGUAGES. 


Man 

e'patch 

eepache 

Woman 

seenynck 

sinchayaixhutch 

House 

eenouwa 

Sun 

n'yatch 

n'yatz 

Moon 

hullyar 

hullash 

Fire 

aawo 

ahooch 

Water 

aha 

Maize 

terditch 

terditz 

Good 

ahotk 

ahotk 

I 

n'yat 

inyatz 

Go 

n'yeemoom 

Sleep 

aseemah 

MOJAVE. 

DIEGUENO. 

ipah 

aycdotchet 

sinyax 

seen 

ahba 

awah 

n'yatz 

hullya 

awa 

ahha 

aha 

terdicha 

ahhotk 

ban 

n'yatz 

n'yat8 

n'yimoom 

esoma'om 

Then  there  are  the  Yampai  and  Yavipai,  said'  to 
approach  the  Cuchan  and  Mojave;9  the  Chevet  reported 
as  a  distinct  tongue;10  the  Cajuenche  said  to  be  another 
language,  and  the  Jalliquamai,  a  dialect  of  the  Ca- 
juenche.11 The  Tamajab  is  a  strange  language,  described 
by  Don  Jose  Cortez  as  "  spoken  with  violent  utterance 
and  lofty  arrogance  of  manner;  and  in  making  speeches, 
the  thighs  are  violently  struck  with  the  palms  of  the 
hands."12 

There  are  further  mentioned  the  Benemc  with  the 
dialects  Tecuiche  and  Teniqueche,  and  lastly  the  Covaji 
and  Noche,  each  a  distinct  tongue.13  The  people  speak- 
ing the  Noche  probably  were  the  northern  and  eastern 
neighbors  of  the  Dieguenos,  and  may  have  been  men- 
tioned by  some  writers  under  other  names.  I  have 
preferred  to  enumerate  them  here,  because  the  names 
frequently  occur  in  the  reports  of  the  earlier  expeditions 
to  the  Yuma  nations. 

On  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California,  there  are 
three  distinct  languages  with  many  dialects,  more  or 
less  related  to  each  other.  Some  of  these  dialects  ap- 

8  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  95,  etseq.;  Schoolcrafl's  Arch., 
vol.  ii.,  p.  118,  et  seq. 

»  Whlpple,  Ewbank,  and  Turner,  in  Pac.  R.  R,  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  14. 

it-  'La  Nacion  Chevet. . .  .de  muy  distinto  idioma  de  los  que  tieuen  Ins 
demas  Naciones.'  Arricivita,  Cronica  Serdfica,  p.  472. 

11  'La  lengua  de  los  cajuenches  es  inuy  distiuta  de  la  yuma.'  Jalliqua- 
mais  '  aunque  parece  el  mismo  idioma  que  el  de  los  cajuenches,  se  diferencfa 
niucho.'  Garces,  Diario,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  ii.,  torn,  i,,  pp.  247,  251. 

i*  'The  Cucapas,  Talliguamays,  and  Cajuenches  speak  one  tongue;  the 
Yumas,  Talchedums,  andTamajabs  have  a  distinct  one.'  Cortez,  Hist.  Apache 
Rations,  in  Pac.  R.  R.  Rept.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  124. 

is  Id.,  p,  125. 


THREE  STOCK  LANGUAGES  IN  LOWEE  CALIFORNIA.      687 

pear  so  remote  from  the  parent  stock  that  the  early  mis- 
sionaries believed  them  to  be  independent  languages, 
and  accordingly  the  number  of  tongues  on  the  penin- 
sula has  been  variously  estimated,  some  saying  four, 
others  six;  but  careful  comparisons  refer  them  all  to 
three  stock  languages.  These  are  the  Cochimi,  with 
its  principal  dialects,  the  Laymon  and  Ika;  the  Guai- 
curi,  with  the  Cora,  Monqui,  Didiu,  Liyiie,  Edu,  and 
Uchiti  dialects ;  and  lastly  the  Pericu.  Besides  the  above, 
there  were  also  other  dialectic  differences  in  almost  every 
mission,  such  as  the  variations  of  word-endings,  and  other 
minor  points.14  In  general  these  languages  have  been  de- 

14  '  Nun  dann  fiinf  andere  ganz  verschiedene,  und  in  dem  bisher  entdeck- 
ten  Calif ornien  iibliche  Sprachen  (welche  seynd  die  Laymona,  in  der  Gegend 
der  Mission  von  Loreto,  die  Cotschimi,  in  der  Mission  des  heil  Xaverii 
und  anderen  gegen  Noi'den,  die  Utschi  i,  und  die  Periciia  in  Suden,  und  die 
annoch  unbekanute  welche  die  Volker  reden,  so  P.  Linck  auf  seiner  Reis  hat 
angetroff'en)  nebst  einer  Menge  Absprossen  oder  Dialekten,  auf  Seit  gesetzt, 
und  von  der  Wai'curischen  allein  etwas  anzumerken.'  Baegert,  Nachr.  von 
Cal.,  pp.  176-7..  'Tres  son  (dice  el  Padre  Taraval)  las  Lenguas:  la  Co- 
chimi, la  Pericu  y  la  de  Loreto.  De  esta  ultima  salen  dos  ramos,  y  eon:  la 
Guayciira,  y  la  Uchiti;  verdad  es,  que  es  la  variacion  tanta,  que. . .  .jnzgara, 
no  solo  que  hay  quatro  Lenguas,  sino  que  hay  cinco.'  Venegas,  Noticia  de  la 
Cal.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  63-7.  Pericui,  Guaicuri,  Cochimi.  '  Ognuna  di  queste  tre 
Nazioni  aveva  il  suo  linguaggio  proprio.'  Clavigero,  Storia  della  Cal.,  torn,  i., 
p.  109.  '  Vehitls,  Coras,  Pericos,  Guaicuras,  Cantils,  Cayeyus,  y  otros  mu- 
chos.'  '  Los  de  la  baja  peninzula.  ..hablan  distintos  idiomas  pero  todos 
se  entienden.'  Revillagigedo,  Carta,  MS.,  p.  7.  Edues,  Cochimies,  et 
Perinches.  '  Ces  trois  tribus  parlent  neuf  dialectes  diferents,  derives 
de  trois  langues-matrices.'  Pauw,  Eech.  Phil.,  torn,  i.,  p.  168.  'Les  unes 
parlant  la  Langue  Monqui ....  les  autres  la  Langue  Laimone. '  Picolo,  Me- 
moire,  in  Recueil  de  Voiagcs  au  Nord,  torn,  iii.,  p.  279.  'Dreyerley  Sprachen 
in  Calit'ornien, '  'die  de  los  Picos,  dann  die  de  los  Wai'curos . . . .  und  end- 
lich  die  de  los  Laymones.'  Ducrue,  in  Murr,  Nachrichten,  p.  392.  'Die 
Pericu;  die  Waicura  mit  den  Dialecten  Cora,  Uchidie  und  Aripe;  die 
Laymon;  die  Cochima  mit  4  verschiedenen  Dialecten,  worunter  der  von  S. 
Francesco  und  Borgia;  die  Utschita;  die  Ika.'  Hassel,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  57. 
'  Die  Perfcues,  dann  die  Monquis  oder  Menguis,  zu  welchen  die  Familien 
der  Guaycuras  und  Coras  gehoren,  die  Cochi'mas  oder  Colimies,  die  Lai- 
mdnes,  die  Utschitas  oder  Vehitis,  und  die  leas.'  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn. 
i.,  p.  212.  See  also  torn,  ii.,  ptii.,  pp.  443-4;  Taylor,  in  Browne's  L.  Cal., 
pp.  53-4.  '  The  Cochimi,  Pericu,  and  Loretto  languages;  the  former  is 
the  same  as  the  Laymon,  for  the  Laymones  are  the  northern  Cochimies;  the 
Loretto  has  two  dialects,  that  of  the  Guaycuru  and  the  Uchiti.'  Prichard's 
Nat.  Hist.  Man,  vol.  ii.,  p.  553.  'The  languages  of  old  California  were:  1. 
The  Waikur,  spoken  in  several  dialects;  2.  The  Utshiti;  3.  The  Laymon;  4. 
The  Cochimi  North  and  the  Pericu  at  the  Bouthem  extremity  of  the  penin- 
sula; 5.  A  probably  new  form  of  speech  used  by  some  tribes  visited  by 
Link.'  Latham's  Comp.  Phil.,  vol.  viii.,  p.  423.  Morrell  mentions  three 
languages,  tire  Pericues,  Menquis,  and  Cochimies.  Nar.,  p.  198.  Forbes, 
quoting  Father  Taraval,  also  speaks  of  three  languages,  Pericues,  Monquis, 
and  Cochimfs.  Cal.,  p.  21.  'Holo  habia  dos  idiomas  distintos;  el  uno  todo 
lo  que  comprehende  la  parte  del  Mediodfa,  y  llamaban  Ado;  y  el  otro  todo 


688  LOWER  CALIFORNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

scribed  as  harsh  and  poverty-stricken.  The  mission- 
aries complained  of  not  being  able  to  find  terms  with 
which  to  express  many  of  the  doctrines  which  they 
wished  to  inculcate;  but  from  the  grammatical  notes 
left  by  Father  Baegert  and  those  of  Ducrue  contained 
in  Murrs  Nachrichten,  as  well  as  from  the  various  Pater 
Fosters  at  hand,  it  appears  that  these  languages  are  not 
so  very  poor  after  all.  Much  there  may  have  been 
wanting  to  the  zealous  Fathers;  many  burning  words 
and  soul-stirring  expressions,  which  would  have  greatly 
assisted  their  efforts,  but  except  that  there  is  certainly 
no  redundancy  in  these  languages,  they  offer  nothing 
very  extraordinary.15  Following  I  give  a  few  gram- 
matical notes  on  the  Guaicuri  language'.  The  sounds 
represented  by  the  German  letters,  o,  f,  g.  I,  x,  2,  and  s, 
excepting  in  tsh,  do  not  appear.  Possessive  pronouns 
are  shown  in  the  following  examples: 

My  father  bedare  My  nose  minamu 

Thy  father  eclare  Thy  nose  einamii 

His  father  tiare  His  nose  tinamu 

Our  father  kepedare 

lo  que  abraza  el  Departamento  del  Norte  y  llamaban  Cochimi.'  Calif ornias, 
Noticias,  carta  i.,  p.  99;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  182,  etseq.; 
Baegert,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1861,  p.  393.  Orozco  y  Eerra  also  accepts 
three,  naming  them,  Pericu;  Guaicura,  with  the  dialects,  Cora,  Conchos, 
Uchita  and  Aripa;  and  the  Cochimi  with  the  dialects,  Edii,  Didu,  and 
Northern  Cochimi.  Geografia,  pp.  365-7;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  207, 
et  seq.;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  469,  et  seq. 

15  'La  lingua  Cochimi,  la  quale  e  la  piii  distesa,  e  niolto  dificile,  e  piena 
d'aspirazioni,  ed  ha  alcune  mauiere  di  pronuuziare,  die  non  e  possibile  di 
darle  ad  intendere. . .  La  lingua  Pericii  e  oggimai  estinta  . .  .  Labranca  degli 
Uchiti,  e  quasi  tutta  quella  de'  Cori  si  sono  estinte.'  Claviijero,  Gloria  d,lia 
<-al.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  110,  109.  Edues  and  Didius,  'snspalabras  no  eraii  de  limy 
diffcil  pronunciacion,  pero  careciau  enteramente  de  la  f  y  s.'  Albgre,  Hist. 
Coinp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  46-7.  'Die  Aussprache  ist  meistenstheils  gut- 
turalis  und  narium.'  Ducrue,  in  Murr,  Nachrichten,  p.  392.  WaTcuri.  '  Kann 
man  von  derselben  sagen,  dass  sie  im  hochsten  Grad  wild  sej'  und  barba- 
risch....so  bestehet  derselben  Barbarey  in  folgendem,  und  zwar — 1.  Iii 
eineni  erbarmlichen  und  erstaunlichtn  Mangel  unendlich  vieler  Worter. . . . 
in  dem  Mangel  xind  Abgang  der  Prapositionen,  Coujunctionen,  und  Rela- 
tivorum,  das  deve,  oder  tip.:tscheu,  BO  wegen,  uud  das  t  na,  welches  auf 
heisset,  ausgenommen. . .  .1m  Abgang  des  Comparative  uud  Superlativi,  und 
der  Worter  mehr  und  weuiger,  item,  aller  Adverbiorum,  so  wohl  deien, 
welche  von  Adjectivis  herkommen,  als  auch  schier  aller  nnderen. . .  .Im  Ab- 
gang des  Modi  Conjunctivi,  mandativi  und  schier  gar  des  optativi.  Item, 
des  verbi  Passivi,  oder  an  statt  desseu,  des  verbi  Reciproci,  eldest  n  sich  die 
Spjinierund  Frauzosen  bedieueu.  Item,  in  Abgaug  der  Declinationen,  und 
zugleich  der  Artiklen  der,  die,  das,  etc.'  Bacgert,  Nachr.  von  C'al,  pp.  177- 
83.  See  also,  Smithsonian  Kept.,  18'J4,  pp.  394-5. 


GUAICURI  GRAMMAR.  689 

Of  prepositions  only  two  are  mentioned, — tina,  on  or 
upon;  and  deve,  or  tipitscheil,  on  account  of,  or  for  (prop- 
terj.  There  is  no  article,  and  nouns  are  indeclinable. 
The  conjunction  tshie  is  always  placed  after  the  words 
to  be  connected.  Verbs  have  only  one  mood  and  three 
tenses — the  present,  the  perfect,  and  the  future.  The 
present  is  formed  by  the  affix  re  or  reke;  the  perfect  by 
the  affix  rikiri,  rujere,  raupe,  or  raiipere;  and  the  future 
by  adding  in  like  manner  me,  meje,  or  eneme.  If  the 
action  of  several  persons  is  to  be  expressed,  the  syllable 
ku  or  k  is  prefixed  to  the  verb,  or  the  first  syllable  is 
changed  into  hi. 

SINGULAR.  FLUEAL. 

To  fight  piabake  kupiabake 

To  remember  umutu  kumutu 

To  speak  Jake  kuake 

Some  verbs  have  also  a  perfect  passive  participle  in 
the  form  of  a  substantive,- — tschipake,  to  beat;  tschipit- 
scMrre,  a  person  who  has  been  beaten.  The  personal 
pronouns  are:  6e,  I,  me,  to  me,  my;  ei,  thou,  thee,  to 
thee,  thy ;  becim,  beticiin,  ecun,  or  eiticun,  mine,  thine. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  AMUKIRI,  TO  PLAT. 


PBESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  play,  be  amukirire 

Thou  playest,       e'i  amukirire 
He  plays,  tutau  amukirire 


We  play,  cate  amukfrire 

You  play,          pete  amukirire 
They  play,        tucava  amukirire 


PERFECT.  FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  have  played,     be  amukiririkiri        |          I  shall  play,       be  amukfrime 

IMPERATIVE. 

Play  thou,  amukiri  tei  |         Play  you,  amukiri  tu 

OPTATIVE. 

Would  that  I  had  not  played,         beri  amukiririkirikara 
or,  beri  amukirirujerara 

I  also  add   a  Guaicuri   Lord's   Prayer  with  literal 
translation. 

Kepe  dare  tekerekadatemba      dai,       eiri     akatuike- 

Our       father  arched  earth  (heaven)   thou  art,   thee  O  that       acknow- 

pu-me,     tschakarrake-pu-me         ti        tschie:        ecim 

ledge  all  will,  -          praise   all   will  people        and:  thy 

gracia-ri    atume    cate    tekerekadatemba  tschie:   eiri 

grace  0  that    have  will      we  arched  earth  and:    thee  0  that 

•      VOL.  in.   4A 


690 


LOWEK  CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 


jebarrakeme     ti     pu  jaupe  datemba,  pae  e'i  jebarrakere, 

obey  will       people   all       here  earth,        as  thee  obey, 

aena  kea:  kepecun  hue  kepe  ken  jatupe  untairi:  cate 

above       are:  our          food      us         give         this  day:  us 

kuitscharrake  tei  tschie  kepecun  atacamara,  pae  knit- 
forgive  thou     and  our  evil,  as 

scharrakere    cate    tschie   cavape    atukiara    kepetujake: 

forgive  we         also  the  evil  us  do: 

cate     tikakamba     tei    tschie,     cuvumera     cate     ue 

us  help  thou        and,          desire  will  not       we   something 

atukiara:  kepe  kakunjtt  pe  atacara  tschie.     Amen.16 

us         protect     from 


evil: 


evil 


and. 


Amen. 


As  regards  the  other  two  languages,  the  only  ma- 
terials at  hand  are  some  Lord's  Prayers  in  various  dia- 
lects of  the  Cochimi,  as  used  in  the  different  missions. 
Of  these  I  insert  the  following  as  samples  of  the  dialects 
spoken — I.  at  the  Mission  of  Santa  Maria,  II.  at  San 
Francisco  de  Borgia,  and  III.  at  San  Ignacio: 

Father  our  heaven  in       who  art :          thy  name 

I.  Lahai-apa     ambeing      mia:     niimbangajua      val 

II.  Cahai    apa,    ambeing      mia,    mimbang-ajud     val 

III.  Ua-bappa  amma-bang  miamii,  ma  mang-a-jua  huit 

all  honored:  earth  thy  kingdom  come: 

I.  vuit-maha:     amet    mididivvaijua    kukuem:    jen- 

II.  vuit-maha;  amet  mididuvaijua    cucyem;    jemmu- 

III.  maja  tegein  amat-ma-thadabajua"  ucuem:  kemmu- 


will  thine 

heaven 

done    be                    earth  on 

I. 

II. 
III. 

mu-jua 
jua 
jua 

amabang 
amabang 
ammabang 

vihi  mieng      ametetenang 
vihi  mieng       ametenaug 
vahi-mang       amatanang 

as 

Bread 

I. 
II. 
III. 

luvihim. 
luichim. 
lauahim. 

Thevap 
Thevap 
Teguap 

yi-cue        ti-mi-ei-di-gua 
yiecud        ti-rni-ei-di-gua, 
ibang  gual  guiang-avit-a-jua 

16  Baegert,  Nachr.  von  Cal.,  pp.  175-94;  Id.,  in  Smithsonian  Kept.,  1864, 
pp.  394-393;  also  in  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  207-14;  Soc.  Mex.  Geog., 
Jloletim,  2da  epoca,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  31-40;  Voter,  Afithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii., 
pp.  188-92;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  484-95. 


LOED'S  PKAYERS  IN  DIFFERENT  DIALECTS.  691 

Day 

I.  ibang-a-nang  na-kahit  tevichip 

II.  ibang-anang  gna         cahit  tevichip 

III.  ibanganane  pac-kagit:          machi 

I.  nuhigua      aviuve   ham :        vichip      iyeg-ua  na 
II.  nuhigud,      aviuveham  vichip      iyegud  gna 

III.  pugijua        abadakegem,         machi      uayecg-jua 

I.  kaviu-vem  cassetajuang    inamenit   nakum 

II.  caviu  vem  cassetasuang   mamenit  guakum 

III.  pac  kabaya  guem ;   kazet-a  juan    a  juang-amuegnit 

I.  guang   tevisiec    na-kavinaha. 

II.  guang   tevisiec    gna  cavignaha. 

III.  pacum  guang  mayi-acg  packanajam.17 

The  dialect  spoken  at  the  Missions  of  San  Francisco 
Xavier,  San  Jose  de  Comondu,  and  at  Santa  Gertrudis, 
differed  considerably  from  the  above  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  following  Lord's  Prayer  as  used  in  the  last  mentioned 
places. 

Pennayu    makenamba,    yaa    ambayujup    miya   mo, 

Our  father  who  heaven  thou        art, 

buhu  mombojua  tamrnala  gkomenda  hi  nagodognb  de- 

thy  name  men  recognize        and  love 

muejueg  gkajim:    pennayula   bogodognb   gkajim,  guihi 

all ;  as  and 

ambayujup  maba,  yaa  kaeammet  e  decuinyi  m5  puegign: 

heaven          above  earth  satisfy 

yaam  buhula  mujua  ambayujupmb  de  dahijua,  amet  e 

thy  will  heaven  in  done  be,        earth  on 

nb  guilugui,  ji  pagkajim.     Tamada  yaa  ibb  tejueg  gui- 

this  as.  Bread          this    day 

luguigui  pamijich  e  mb,  ibb  yanno  puegin :  guihi  tamrmi 

day  and          men 

yaa    gambuegjula      kfepujui      ambinyijua     pennayula 

who  have  done  evil  us 

17  Hervds,  Sagrjio  Pratico,  p.  125;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp. 
496-7;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  193-4;  Fimentel,  Cuadro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  222;  Mofras,  Explor.,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  395-6;  Clavigcro,  Storia  ddla  Col., 
torn,  i.,  p.  205. 


692  LOWER  CALIFOKNIAN  LANGUAGES. 

dedaudugujua,  guilugui  pagkajim :  guihi  yau  tagamuegla 

done  have  as:  and 

hui  ambinyyjua  hi  doomo  puguegjua,  hi  doomo  pogou- 

evil  and  although  and  although 

nyira;    tamuegjua,  guihi  usi   mahel  ksemmet   e  dicuin 

also  earth  satisfy 

yumo,  guihi  yaa  hui  mabinyi  yaa,  gainbuegjua  pagka- 

and        what    is  evil 

udugum.18 

Clavigero  does  not  give  a  translation  of  this  Lord's 
Prayer,  but  Hervas,  who  copies  it  in  his  Saggio  Pratico, 
translates  all  words  which  he  could  find  in  a  short 
vocabulary;  Buschmann  and  others  copy  from  him, 
and  even  at  this  time  no  complete  translation  is  ob- 
tainable. 

Lastly,  I  present  a  few  sentences  in  the  Laymon 
dialect,  literally  translated. 

Tamma  amayben  metan  aguinani 

Man  years  many        lives  not 

Kenedabapa  urap,  guang  lizi,  quimib  tejunoey 

Father  mine    eats,          and    drinks,        but         little. 

Kenassa  maba  guimma 

Sister        thine        sleeps. 

Kadagua  gadey  iguimil  decuini 

The  nsh         sees      but  not      hears 

Juetabajua  tahipeni 

Blood  mine    good  not 

Kotajua  kamang  gehua 

The  stone  (is)  great,      hard 

Ibungajua  ganehmajen  kaluhu 

Moon  sun  greater  is.19 

None  of  the  Lower  Californian  languages  are  in  any 
way  related  to,  or  connected  with,  any  other  language. 
In  Jalisco  an  idiom  is  spoken  which  is  called  the  Cora, 

18  Clavigero,  Storia  delta  Cal.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  264-5;   Buschmann,  Spuren  der 
Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  497;  Hervds,  Saggio  Pratico,  p.  125;   Vater,  Milhridates,  tom. 
iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  192-4;  Mofras,  JExplor.,  tom.  ii.,  pp.  393-6;  Pimentel,  Cuadro, 
tom.  ii.,  pp.  221-2. 

19  Ducrue,  in  Jfurr,  Nachrichten,  pp.  394-7. 


THE  COKA  DIALECT  IN  LOWEE  CALIFOBNIA.  G93 

but  Senor  Pimentel  after  comparing  it  with  the  Cora  of 
the  peninsula  as  well  as  with  others  in  Lower  California, 
assures  us  that  not  the  least  connection  exists  between 
them.20  It  has  also  been  stated  that  the  languages 
spoken  on  the  peninsula  north  of  La  Paz  are  affiliated 
with  the  Yuma  tongue,  but  this  is  not  the  case.  As  wTe 
have  seen,  the  dialect  of  the  Diegueiios  reaches  the  sea- 
coast  near  San  Diego,  and  again  south  of  that  point,  and 
this  being  a  Yuma  dialect,  it  has  perhaps  given  rise  to 
the  belief  that  the  Lower  California!!  languages  incline 
the  same  way.21  In  South  America  there  is  a  language 
called  the  Guaicuru,  which  has  nothing  in  common  with 
the  Gruaicuri  of  Lower  California.22 

20  '  H  iy  otra  idioma  llamado  Cora  en  California,  que  es  un  dialecto  del 
Guaicura  6  Vaicura,  diferente  al  que  se  habla  en  Jalisco.'  Pimentel,   in  Soc. 
Mex.  Geoij.,  ttoldin,  torn,  viii.,  p.  003. 

21  '  All  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  peninsula  seem  to  be  affiliated  with  the 
Yumas  of  the   Colorado,  and  with   the   Coras  below  La   Paz.'    Taylor,  iu 
Urowne's  L,  Cal.,  p.  53. 

22  '  Beide  Sprachen,  die  californische  und  die  Sudamerikauische  Guay- 
cura  oder  Guaycuru  (Mbaya)   von  eiuander  ganzlich  verschieden  sind.' 
BuscUmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  494. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   PIMA,    6PATA,    AND    CERI   LANGUAGES. 

PIMA  ALTO  AND  BAJO— PAPAGO — PIMA  GBAMMAB — FOBMATION  OF  PLUBALS — 
PERSONAL  PBONOUN — CONJUGATION — CLASSIFICATION  OF  VEBBS — ADVEBBS, 
PBEPOSITIONS,  CONJUNCTIONS,  AND  INTERJECTIONS  —  SYNTAX  OF  THE 
PIMA — PBAYEBS  IN  DIFFERENT  DIALECTS — THE  6pATA  AND  EUDEVE — Eu- 
DEVK  GBAMMAB — CONJUGATION  OF  ACTIVE  AND  PASSIVE  VERBS — LORD'S 
PBAYEK — 6pATA  GBAMMAB — DECLENSION  —  POSSESSIVE  PBONOUN — CON- 
JUGATION— CEEI  LANGUAGE  WITH  ITS  DIALECTS,  GUAYMI  AND  TEPOCA — 
CEBI  VOCABULAEY. 

From  the  Rio  Gila  southward,  in  Sonora  and  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  northern  Sinaloa,  is  found  the  Pima  lan- 
guage, spoken  in  many  dialects,  of  which  the  principal 
divisions  are  the  Pima  alto  and  Pima  bajo,  or  upper  and 
lower  Pima,  and  it  has  generally  been  considered  one  of 
the  chief  languages  of  northern  Mexico.  North  of  the 
thirty-second  parallel,  the  Papago  is  the  dominant  dialect 
of  the  Pima;  in  Sonora  there  are  the  Sobaipuri  and  others 
more  or  less  divergent.1  The  Pima  as  compared  with 

1  'Estos  se  parten  en  altos  y  bajos. . .  .hasta  los  rios  Xila  y  Colorado, 
aunque  de  otra  banda  de  este  hay  muchos  que  hablan  todavi'a  el  rnisino 
idioma.'  Aleyre,  Hist.  Cornp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  '210.  'Los  pimas  bdjos 
usan  del  mismo  idioma  con  los  altos,  y  estos  con  todas  las  demas  parcialida- 
des  de  indios  que  habitau  los  arenales  y  paramos  de  los  papagos,  los  arnenos 
valles  de  Sobakipuris,  las  vegas  de  los  rios  Xila  (a  escepcion  de  los  apaches) 
y  Colorado,  y  aun  el  lado  opuesto  del  ultimo  gran  niiinero  de  geutes,  que  a 
dicho  del  Padre  Kino  y  Sedelmayr,  no  dif  erencian  sino  en  el  dialecto, '  tionora, 
Descrip.  Geo<j.,  in  Doc.  Hist.  J\Jex.,  serie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  531-5.  'Los  opas, 
cocomaricopas,  hudcoadan,  yumas,  cnhuanas,  quiquimas,  y  otras  mas  alia 
del  rio  Colorado  se  pueden  tambien  llamar  pimas  y  coutar  por  otras  tautus 
tiibus  de  estar  uaciou;  pues  la  lengaa  de  que  usan  es  uua  uiisma  con  sola  la 
(694) 


.  PIMA  GRAMMAR.  695 

the  languages  of  their  northern  and  southern  neighbors 
is  represented  as  complete,  full,  and  harmonious.2  Al- 
though frequently  classified  with  the  Yuma,  it  is  never- 
theless a  distinct  tongue.  It  is  closely  connected  with 
the  Aztec- Sonora  languages,  which  may  be  proven  no 
less  by  its  grammatical  coincidences,  than  by  the  simi- 
larity of  many  of  its  words.3  Following  is  an  extract 
from  a  Pima  grammar.  The  alphabet  consists  of  the 
following  letters :  a,  b,  c,  d,  g,  h,  i,  j,  m,  n,  o,  p,  q,  r,  rh, 
s,  t,  u,  v,  a?,  y.  Nearly  all  words  end  with  a  vowel. 
To  form  the  plural,  the  first  syllable  of  the  singular 
noun  is  duplicated, — hota,  stone;  hohota,  stones.  Excep- 
tions to  this  rule  occur  in  some  few  cases ; — vinoy,  snake ; 
vipinoy,  snakes;  tuaia,  girl;  tusia,  girls;  sm,  brother; 
sisiki,  brothers;  tuvu,  hare;  tutuapa,  hares.  Gender  is 
expressed  by  means  of  the  words  ubi.  female,  and  ituoti, 

diferencia  del  dialecto.'  Id.,  p.  554.  Sonora,  Estado  de  to  Provinda,  in  Id. , 
pp.  618-19;  Sonora,  Papeles,  in  Id.,  p.  772.  '  Sobaypuris,  y  hablau  en  el 
idioma  de  los  Pimas,  aunque  con  alguna  diferencia  en  la  prouunciacion.' 
Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn.  ii.,p.  396;  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Triumphos, 
p.  369.  '  El  idioma  es  igual,  y  con  respecto  al  de  los  piinas  se  difei-encian  en 
muy  determinadas  palabras.'  Velasco,  Nolicias  de  Sonora,  p.  161;  Zapata, 
Relation,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  301,  etseq.  'Las  naciones 
Pima,  Soba  y  sobaipuris . . . .  es  una  misma  y  general  el  idioma  qne  todos 
hablan,  con  poca  diferencia  de  tal  cual  verbo  y  nombre  '  'papabotas  de 
la  misma  leiigua.'  Kino,  Relation,  in  Id.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  292-3.  Pimas  '  usan 
todos  una  misma  leugua,  pero  especialniente  al  Norte  que  en  todo  se  aven- 
taja  a  los  demas,  mas  abuudaute  y  con  mas  primores  que  al  Poniente  y 
Pimeria  baja;  todos  no  obstaute  se  eutienden.'  Velarde,  in  Id.,  torn,  i.,  p. 
366.  '  El  pirna  se  divide  en  varies  dialectos,  de  los  cuales ...  el  tecoripa 
y  el  sabagui.'  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  94.  Orozco  y  Berra  gives  as  dia- 
lects of  the  Pirna,  the  Papago,  Sobaipuri,  Yuma  and  Cajuenche.  Geogmfia, 
pp.  58-9,  35-40,  345-53.  Papagos  '  die  mit  den  Pimas  dieselbe  Sprache 
reden.'  Pfefferkorn,  iu  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  159.  'Die 
Sprache  der  ISovaipure,  als  verwaudt  mit  der  der  Pima.'  Id.,  p.  161.  '  Aux 
Yi;mas. .  .  .se  rattachent  aussi,  quant  a  la  langue. . .  .les  Cocomaricopas  et  les 
tribus  nombreuses  qui,  sous  le  nom  de  Pinios,  s'etendent. . .  .de  la  memo 
souche  paraissent  venir  aussi  les  Pupayes. . .  .mais  dout  la  langue  s'eloigne 
da  vantage  de  celle  des  Yumas.'  Brasseur  de  Sourbourg,  Esquisses,  p.  30. 

2  'Esta  lengua  distingue  par  flexion  el  singular  del  plural  de  los  nombres 
sustautivos;  coloca  de  las  preposiciones  despues  de  sus  regfmenes  y  las  con- 
junciones  al  fin  de  las  preposiciones:  la  siutaxis  es  muy  complicada  y  del  todo 
distinta  de  la  de  las  lenguas  Europeas. '  Balbi,  in  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geoyrafia, 
p.  332;  Bartlett's  Pers.  Nar.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  262. 

3  '  Sie  ist  unfraglich  uud  deutlich  ein  Glied  des  souorischen  Sprachstam- 
mes;   aber  wieder  sehr  eigenthiimliches,  selbstandiges  und  wichtiges  Idiom.' 
Buschmann,  Pima-Sprache,  p.  352.     Family,  Dolnne.  ..  .Language,  Pima.... 
Dialects,  Opata,  Heve,  Nevome,  Papagos,  etc.'  Hist.  May.,  vol.  v.,  p.  236. 
'These   tribes   speak   a   common   language,   which   is   conceded  to  be  the 
ancient  Aztec  tongue.'  Davidson,  in  Ind.  Aff.  Rept.,  1865,  p.  131;  Parker,  in 
Id.,  1869,  p.  19. 


696  PIMA  LANGUAGES. 

male.  Derivatives  expressing  something  which  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  the  primitive  are  formed  with  the 
affix  mag  ui; — xaivori,  honey;  xaivorimaqui,  honeyed.  For 
the  same  purpose  the  terminal  kama  is  also  used; — 
hadunikama,  related  to.  Kama  is  also  employed  to  form 
names  of  places  and  patronymics.  Abstract  words  are 
formed  with  the  word  daga  ; — humatkama,  man;  Jtum- 
atkamadaga,  mankind;  stoa,  white;  stoadaga,  whiteness. 
The  particle  parha,  affixed  to  nouns  implies  a  past  con- 
dition;— nigaga,  my  land  for  planting;  nigaga  parha;  the 
land  for  planting  which  was  mine. 

PERSONAL  PRONOUNS. 

6INGULAK. 
FIRST  PEKSON.  SECOND   PEKSON. 


Nom.  ani,  an'ani 

Gen.,  Dat.,  and  Abl.      ni 

Ace.  ni,  nunu,  nu 


Nom.  ati,  at'ati 

Gen.,  Dat.,  and  Abl.,        ti 

Ac.,  ti,  tutu,  tu 


Nom.  api,  ap'api 

Gen.,  Dat.,  and  Abl.  mu 

Ace.  mumu,  mu 

Voc.  api 

IAL. 

Nom.,  and  Voc.  apimu 

Gen.,  Dat.,  and  Abl.  amu 

Ac.  um mini,  .-111111 


THIRD   PERSON. 

He,  or  she,  hugai  huka  j    They,  those,        nugama,  hukama 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  AQUIARLDA,  TO  COUNT. 


PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  count,  ani  haquiarida 

Thou  countest,     api  haquiaridu 
He  counts,  hugai  haquiarida 


We  count,  ati  haquiarida 

You  count,  apimu  haquiarida 

They  count,         hugam  haquiarida 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  counted,  ani  haquiarid  cada       |  I  have  counted,        an't'  haquiari 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  counted,        an't'haquiarid  cada 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  count,        ani  aquiaridamucu,  or  an't'io  haquiari 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  counted,        an't'  io  haquiari 

IMPERATIVE. 

Count  thou,         hnquiaridsini,  or  hahaquiarida 

Count  you,  haquiarida  vorha,  or  gorha  haquiarida 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  count,        co'n'igui  haquiaridana 

PRESENT   OPTATIVE. 

O  that  I  may  count,        dod'  an'  iki  haquiaridana 


PIMA  GRAMMAR. 


697 


When  I  am  counting  (speaking  of  one  person  only),   haquiaridatu 

Speaking  of  two  persons,  haquiaridada 

Having  counted,  huquiaridac 

When  I  count,  or  after  counting,         haquiaridaay 

He  who  counts,  haquiaridiidama 

He  who  counted,  haquiaridacamu 

He  who  has  to  count,    haquiaridaaguidania,  or  io  haquiaridacama 

Verbs  are  divided  into  many  classes,  such  as  sin- 
gular, plural,  frequentative,  applicative,  and  com- 
pulsive. Plural-verbs ; — murha,  to  run,  one  person ;  vo- 
pobo,  to  run,  many.  Frequentatives  are  formed  with 
the  verb  himu,  to  go ; — for  example,  vaita,  to  call ;  vaita- 
himu,  to  call  frequently.  Applicatives  are  made  by 
changing  the  terminal  vowel  of  the  verb  into  i,  and 
adding  the  terminal  da ; — tubanu,  to  lower ;  tubanida,  to 
lower  something.  Compulsive  verbs  are  formed  with  the 
affix  tuda: — hukiaridatuda,  to  compel  to  count.  A  large 
number  of  adverbs  are  used,  of  which  I  give  only  a  few 
specimens : 

ua,  ubai  Near  here 

ia  High 

ay  Yesterday 

How,  as 


Where 

Here 

Here  (moving) 

Near 

Nearer 


macu 


No 


avn 
tai 
taco 

xa,  astu,  xaco 
pima 


Before 
For 
Upon 
In 

And 

But 
Because 


PREPOSITIONS. 
vaita  Since 

iqniti,  vusio  With 

damana  Of 

aba 


oiti 

bumatu,  buma 

amidurhu 


upu,  cosi 

posa 

coiva 


CONJUNCTIONS. 

Or 

Then 
Although 


aspumusi, 

bunoga 

apcada 


aspi 


Substantives  are  generally  placed  after  the  adjectives. 
To  signify  possession  the  name  of  the  possessor  is  sim- 
ply prefixed: — Pedro  onnigga,  wife  of  Pedro.  Preposi- 
tions are  affixed.4  Of  the  different  dialects  there  are 
four  specimens,  of  which  one  differs  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  be  hardly  recognizable.  Neither  the  names  of 
these  dialects  nor  the  places  where  they  were  spoken 
are  given  with  any  of  them  by  the  authorities.  The 

*  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Nevome,  que  se  dice  Pima;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii., 
pp.  93-118;  Vnter,  Milhridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  166-9;  Coulter,  in  Land. 
Georj.  Soc,.,  Jour.,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  248-50;  Parry,  in  Schoolcraft's  Arch.,  vol. 
iii.,  pp.  461-2;  Hist.  May,,  vol.  v.,  pp.  202-3;  Buschmann,  Pima-Sprache,  pp. 
357-69;  Mofras,  Exploit,  torn,  ii.,  p.  401. 


698  PIMA  LANGUAGES. 

first  which  I  give  is  by  the  missionary  Father  Pfeffer- 
korn,  and  differs  most  from  any  of  the  others. 

Diosch  ini  mam,  ami  si  schoic  tat,  wus  in'  ipudakit. 

God      my        dear,       I    very    sorry    am    towards    my        heart  of 

Ant'       apotuta      si     sia      pitana,      apt'     urn      soreto 

I    have    done  very  much          ugly,  thou         me  punish  wilt 

taikisa     pia     humac     tasch     pia     etonni     tat. 

fire  in         no  single  time         not        burning         is. 

The  next,  a  Lord's  Prayer,  is  from  a  Doctrina  Chris- 
tiana: 

T'oga  ti  dama  ca  turn'  ami  da  cama  s'cuga  m'aguna 
mu  tuguiga,  tubui  divianna  simu  tuodidaga.  Cosasi 
m'huga  cugai  kiti  ti  dama  catum'  ami  gusuda  huco  bupo 
gusudana  ia  duburh'  aba.  Siari  vugadi  ti  coadaga  vutu 
ica  tas'  aba  cati  maca.  Ypu  gat'  oanida  pima  s'cugati 
tuidiga  cos'  as'  ati  pima  tuguitoa  t'obaga  to  buy  pima 
s'cuga  tuidiga.  Pima  t'  huhuguida  tudana  vpu  pima 
s'cuga  tuidiga,  co'  pi  ti  duguvonidani  pima  scuga  ami 
durhu.  Doda  hapu  muduna  Jhs. 

The  next  is  a  Lord's  Prayer  from  Hervas: 
T'oca  titauacatum  ami  dacama;    scuc  amu  aca  mu 
tukica;   ta  hui  dibiana  ma  tuotidaca;  cosassi  mu  cus- 
suma  amocacugai  titamacatum  apa  hapa  cussudana  ina- 
tuburch  apa  mui  siarirn  t'hukiacugai  buto  ca  tu  maca. 
Pirn'  upu  ca  tukitoa  pima  scuca  ta  tuica  cosas  ati  pima 
tukitoa  t'oopa  amidurch  pima  scuca  tuitic;  pirn'  upu  ca 
ta  dakitoa  co  diablo  ta  hiatokidara;  cupto  ta  itucuubun-. 
dana  pirn  scuc  amidurch. 

The  fourth,  also  a  Lord's  Prayer,  is  from  the  collec- 
tion of  the  Mexican  Geographical  Society: 

Choga  dama  cata  diacama  izquiama  ila  meitilla  tabus 
matiiyaga  cosamacai  yi,  dama  cata  gussada  imidirraba 
Sulit  ecuadaga  butis  maca  vupuc  chuan  yiga  cosismatito 
chavaga  tiapisnisquantillos  pinitiandana  copetullafii  imis- 
quiandura  doda  maduna  cetus. 

From  the  same  source  I  also  take  a  Papago  Lord's 
Prayer : 

Pan  toe  momo  tamcaschina  apeta  michucuyca  Santo: 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  THE  OPATA  LANGUAGE.  699 

anchut  botonia  ati  chuyca:  entupo  hoyehui  maetachui 
apo  masima  motepa  cachitmo,  mapotomal  pami  buemasi- 
taapa,  jummo  tomae,  boetoicusipua  chuyechica,  apomasi 
maza  china  sugocuita  juann  motupay  assimi  qui,  jubo 
gibu  inatama  cazi  pachuichica,  panchit  borrapi.  Amen.5 
Wedged  in  between  the  Pima  alto  and  the  Pima 
bajo,  is  the  Opata,  or  Teguima,  with  its  principal  dialect 
the  Eudeve.  Although  the  Opata  and  Eudeve  have 
generally  been  enumerated  as  distinct  languages,  after 
careful  comparison  I  think  with  the  missionaries  who 
were  conversant  with  both,  that  it  will  be  safe  to  call 
the  one  a  dialect  of  the  other.  An  anonymous  author 
even  says  that  the  difference  between  them  is  not 
greater  than  between  the  Portuguese  and  Castilian,  or 
between  the  French  and  the  Provencal.6  Like  the 
Pima,  it  is  a  branch  of  the  Aztec-Sonora  languages. 
As  is  most  frequent  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  classification 
differs  greatly  according  to  fancy;  thus  it  is  with  the 
Opata;  its  classifications  have  been  many,  and  among 
others  it  has  been  placed  with  the  Pima  family.  Many 
dialects  are  mentioned,  but  little  is  said  of  them.  Of 
these  there  are  the  Teguis,  Teguirna,  Coguinachi,  Ba- 
tuca,  Sahuaripa,  Himeri,  Guazaba,  and  Jova.7  The 

5  Pfefferkorn,  in  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,   pp.  164-5;  Pimen- 
tel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  113-15;  Doctrina  Christiana,  in  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Ne- 
votne,  p.  3.;  Buschmann,  Pima-Sprache,  p.  353;  Col.  Polidiomica  Mex.,  Oration 
Dominical,  pp.  34-5. 

6  '  A  la  Opata  se  pueden  reducir  los  Edues  y  Jovas;  aquellos,  por  diferen- 
ciar  tan  poco  su  lengua  de  la  opata,  corno  la  portuguesa  de  la  castellana,  6 
la  proveuzal  de  la  france-sa.'     'La  uacion  Opata  y  Eudeve,  que  con  muy 
poco  diferencfan  en  su  idioma.'  Sonora,  Descrip.  Geoij.,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex., 
serie  iii.,  toin.  iv.,  pp.  534,  494.     '  A  las  opatas  se  reducen  los  tovas  y  eu- 
deves,  poco  diferentes  en  el  idioma.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii., 
p.  216. 

7  '  E'vero,  eke  fra  alcune  di  queste  lingue  si  scorge  una  tale  affinita,  che 
da  tosto  a  divedere,  che  esse  son  nate  da  una  medesiina  madre,  sicome  I' Eu- 
deve, I' Opata,  Q  la  Tarahumara  nell'America  setteutrionale.'  Claviyero,  Sto- 
ria  Ant.  dd  Massico,  torn,  iv.,  p.  21;  Hervds,  Catdloyo,  torn,  i.,  p.  333;  Sal- 
meron,  lielaciones,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iii.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  68.     'Auck  von 
den,  nachher  anzufiihrenden  Opata  uud  Eudeve  sieht  man  aus  Pfefl'erkorn, 
dass  sie  von  eben  denselben  Missiouaren  bedient  wurden,  \vie  die  Pima: 
gleichwohl  sind  die  Sprachen  derselben,  so  weit  sich  aus  den  V.  U.  schlies- 
sen  lasst,  sehr  verschieden.'  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  161.     Eu- 
deve '  Ihre  Verwandtschaft  mit  dem  sonorischen  Sprachstanime,  als  eines 
Scliten  Gliedes,  mit  erfreulicher   Bestimmtheit  beweisen.'      'Man  kan  sie 
(Opata)  mit  Ruhe  uud  ohne  viele  Einschrankunp;  als  ein  Glied  in  den  sono- 
rischen Sprachstamm  einreihen.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp. 
227,  235;  Orozco  y  Herra,  Geoymfia,  pp.  343-5. 


700  6PATA  LANGUAGES. 

Opata  is  represented  as  finished,  easy  to  acquire,  and 
abounding  in  eloquent  expressions.8  Of  the  Eudeve 
dialect  I  insert  a  few  grammatical  remarks.  In  the 
alphabet  are  wanting  the  letters  f,  j,  k,  w,  x,  y,  and  1-, 
vowels  are  pronounced  as  in  the  Spanish;  nouns  are 
declined  without  the  aid  of  articles.  Verbal  nouns  are 
frequently  used; — hiosguadauh,  painting  or  writing,  from 
hiosguan,  I  write.  Nouns  as  names  of  instruments  are 
formed  from  the  future  active  of  verbs,  designating  the 
action  performed  by  the  said  instrument; — -metecan,  I 
chop ;  future,  metetze,  by  changing  its  last  syllable  into 
siven,  forms  metesiven — as  a  noun,  meaning  axe  or  chop- 
per. In  some  cases  the  ending  rina  is  used  instead  of 
siven; — blcusirina,  flute,  from  bicudan,  I  whistle,  and 
bihirina,  shovel,  from  bifidn,  I  scrape.  Abstract  nouns 
are  formed  with  the  particles  ragua  or  sura, — vdde.  joy- 
ously, vdderagua,  joy;  deni,  good,  deniragua,  goodness; 
dohme,  man  or  people;  dohmemgua,  humanity.  All 
verbs  are  used  as  nouns,  and  as  such  are  declined  as 
well  as  conjugated ; — hiosguan,  I  write,  also  means  writer; 
nemutzan,  I  bewitch,  is  also  wizard.  Adjective  nouns 
ending  with  ten  and  ei  signify  quality  ',—^baviteri,  ele- 
gant ;  aresumeteri,  different  or  distinct ;  tasuquei,  narrow. 
The  ending  rdve  denotes  plenitude; — sitordve,  full  of 
honey ;  sitori,  honey ;  and  rdve,  full.  Endings  in  e,  o, 
u,  signify  possession ; — ese,  she  that  has  petticoats ;  nono, 
he  that  has  a  father,  from  nonogua,  father;  sittuu,  he 
that  has  finger-nails,  from  sutil.  Ca  prefixed  to  a  word 
reverses  its  meaning ; — ciine,  married ;  cacune,  not  mar- 
ried. Sguari,  affixed,  denotes  an  augmentative; — dotzi, 
old  man ;  dotzisguari,  very  old  man. 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  SIIBI,  HAWK. 

Nom.  siibi  Ace.  siibic 

Gen.  siiibique  Voc.  siibi 

Dat.  siibt  Abl.  sibitze 

The  plural  of  nouns  is  usually  formed  by  duplica- 
tion;— dor,  man  or  male,  plural  dodor;  Jioit,  woman, 

8  '  El  idioma  de  los  dpatas  es  muy  arrogante  6  elocuente  en  su  espresion, 
facil  de  aprender,  y  tiene  muchas  voces  del  castellano.'  Vefasco  Notidas  de 
Sunora,  p.  151. 


EUDEVE  GEAMMAE.  701 

hohoit,  women.  Some  exceptions  to  this  rule  occur; — 
as,  doritzi,  boy,  plural  vus,  applied  to  both  sexes,  but 
when  intended  only  for  males,  it  is  dodorus.  In  some 
cases  females  employ  different  words  from  those  used  by 
the  male  sex ;  for  example,  the  father  says  to  his  son, 
noguat,  to  his  daughter,  morqua;  the  mother  says  to 
either,  notzgua ;  the  son  says  to  the  father,  nonoyua ;  and 
the  daughter,  mosgua. 

Personal  pronouns  are  nee,  I ;  nap,  thou ;  id,  at,  or  ar, 
he,  or  she ;  tamide,  we ;  emet,  or  em'de,  you ;  amet,  or 
met,  these  or  they.  In  joining  pronouns  with  other 
words,  elision  takes  place,  the  last  letter  or  syllable  of 
the  pronouns  being  dropped. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEEB  HI6SGUAN,  I  PAINT. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 
ACTIVE.  PASSIVE. 


I  paint,  nee  hidsguan 

Thou  paintest,  nap  hiosguan 
He  paints,          id,  or  at  hiosguan 
We  paint,  tamide  hiosguame 

You  paint,          emet  hiosguame 
They  paint,       amet  hiosguame 


I  am  painted,        nee  hidsguadauh 
Thou  art  painted,  nap  hiosguadauh 
He  is  painted,        id,  or  at  hiosguadauh 
We  are  painted,     tamide  hidsguadagua 
You  are  painted,   emet  hiosguadagua 
They  are  painted,  amet  hiosguadagua 


IMPERFECT. 

I  painted,         nee  hidsguamru  |    I  was  painted,        nee  hidsguadauhru 

PERFECT. 

I  have  painted,        nee  hidsguari        I  have  been  painted,    nee  hidsguacauh 

or  nee  hidsguarit 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  painted,    nee  hidsguariru   |  I  had  been  painted,   nee  hidsguacauhrutu 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  paint,      nee  hidsgnatze          |  I  shall  be  painted,    nee  hidsguatzidauh 

Paint  thou,  hidsgua 

Paint  ye,  hidsguavn 

I  will  see  that  I  paint,  asmane  hidsguatze 

I  shall  see  that  I  be  painted,  asmane  hidsguatzidauh 

Even  though  you  paint,  venesmana  hidsguam 

I  will  that  you  paint,  nee  erne  hiosguaco  naquem 

I  will  that  thou  be  painted,  nee  erne  hidsquarico  naquem 

Even  though  I  may  paint,  venesmane  hiosguam 

Even  though  I  may  be  painted,  venesmane  hic'>sguadauh 

If  I  should  paint,  nee  hidsgua tzeru 

I  should  be  painted,  nee  hidsquatziudauhru 

There  are  seven  other  kinds  of  verbs  mentioned,  such 
as  frequentative,  compulsive,  applicative  verbs,  etc. 
The  numerals  show  more  particularly  a  strong  affinity 


702  6PATA  LANGUAGES, 

to  those  of  the  Aztec  language:  1.  sei-,  2.  godum; 
3.  veidum;  4.  nauoi;  5.  marqui-  6.  vusani;  7.  seni- 
ovusdni;  8.  gos  ndvoi;  9.  vesmdcoi;  10.  macoi. 

THE   LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Tamo  Nono,  tevictze  catzi,  canne  tegua  uehoa  vitzua 
terddauh.  Torao  canne  vene  hasem  amo  queidagua. 
Amo  canne  hinadocauh  iuhtepatz  endaugh,  tenictze  en- 
dahteven.  Quecovi  tamo  badagua  oqui  tame  mic.  Tame 
naventzitih  tame  piuidedo  tamo  camide  emca;  ein  tami- 
de  tamo.  Ovi  tamo  naven  tziuhdahteven.  Cana  totzi 
Diablo  tatacoritze  tame  huetudenta;  nassa  tame  hipiir 
cadenitzeuai.9 

Of  the  Opata,  there  exists  a  grammar  written  by 
Natal  Lombardo,  from  which  a  few  remarks  are  here 
given.  The  alphabet:  a,  b,  ch,  d,  e,  g,  h,  i,  k,  m,  n,  o,  p, 
r,  rA,  s,  t,  th,  tz,  u,  v,  x,  z.  Most  words  end  with  a 
vowel.  Long  words  are  not  rare,  as  chumikanahuina- 
guat,  name  of  a  plant;  Jcuguesaguataguikide,  spring 
(season) ;  makoisenignabussanibegua,  seventeen.  Gender 
is  expressed  either  by  the  addition  of  the  word,  male 
or  female,  or  by  distinct  words.  The  plural  is  formed 
by  duplication;  the  manner  of  duplicating  varies ;  some- 
times the  first,  and  at  others  the  last  syllable  being  re- 
peated, and  very  frequently  letters  changed; — Tema- 
chi,  lad;  plural,  tetemachi-,  hore,  squirrel;  plural, 
hohore ;  uri,  male ;  plural,  urini ;  vatziguat,  brother ; 
plural,  vapatziyuat]  maraguat,  daughter;  plural,  mama- 
raguat,  daughters.  Ten  declensions  are  described;  they 
may  be  recognized  by  different  endings  of  the  genitive, 
which  are:  te,  ri,  si,  gui,  ni,  tzi,  ki,  ku,  Jcu,  pi.  The 
greater  number  of  words  belong  to  the  first  declension. 
In  the  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th,  6th,  7th,  and  10th,  the  accusa- 
tive and  dative  are  the  same  as  the  genitive;  in  the  8th 
the  genitive,  which  ends  in  kii,  is  formed  from  the  accus- 
ative, while  in  the  9th,  in  which  the  genitive  also  ends 
in  ku.  the  accusative  and  dative  are  like  the  nominative. 

9  Smith's  Gram.  Ileve  Lang.;  Hcrvds,  in  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt 
iii.,  pp.  165-6;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  154-67 ;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der 
Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  222-9. 


.  6PATA  GRAMMAR.  703 

1st  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  TAT  THE  SUN. 
Nona.  tat         |          Gen.  tatte          |          Dat.  or  Ace.  tatta 

2d  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  KUKU,  THE  QUAIL. 
Nom.        kuku          |          Gen.        kukuri  Dat.  or  Ace.        kukuri 

8th  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  CHI,  THE  BIRD. 
Norn.          chi          |          Gen.       .  chimiku  j          Dat.  or  Ace.        chimi 

9th  DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  TUTZI,  THE  TIGER. 
Nom.          tutzi          |          Gen.          tutziku          |          Dat.  or  Ace.          tutzi 

Abstract  terms  are  formed  by  the  affix  ragua ; — massi, 
father;  massiragtia,  paternity;  naideni,  good;  naidenira- 
gua,  goodness.  The  word  ahka  is  used  for  a  like  pur- 
pose;— uri,  man;  uriahka,  humanity;  tossai,  white;  tos- 
saiahka,  whiteness.  To  express  a  local  noun,  the 
syllable  de  is  added ; — denide,  place  of  light ;  neomachide, 
difficult  place.  Suraua,  gueua,  ena,  en,  essa,  and  otze, 
signify  much,  and  are  used  to  form  superlatives.  Per- 
sonal pronouns  are: — ne,  I;  ta,  we;  ma,  thou;  emido, 
you ;  i  or  it,  he  or  she ;  me,  they.  Possessive  pronouns 
are: — no,  mine;  tamo,  ours;  amo,  thine;  emo,  yours; 
are,  araku,  his;  mereki,  theirs. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  NE  HIO,  I  PAINT. 


I  paint,  ne  hio 

Thou  paintest,       nia  hio 
He  paints,  i  hio 


PEESENT    INDICATIVE. 


We  paint,  ta,  or  tamido  hio 

You  paint,  einido  hio 

They  paint,          me  hio 


IMPERFECT.  PREFECT. 

I  painted,  ne  hiokaru  |    I  have  painted,     ne  hiosia,  or  ne  hiove 

PLUPEBFECT.  FIRST  FUTURE . 

I  had  painted,  ne  hiosiruta      |    I  shall  paint,  ne  hiosea 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  painted,  ne  hioseave 

IMPERATIVE. 

Paint  thon,  hiotte  I    Paint  you,  hiovu 

Let  him  paint,          hioseai  I    Let  them  paint,  hioseame 

Painting,  hiopa,  or  hioko 

Having  painted,  hiosaru,  or  hiositzi 

Having  to  paint,  hioseakoko,  or  hioseakiko 

He  who  shall  paint,  hioseakame 

He  who  paints,  kiokame 

He  who  painted,  hiosi 

As  in  the  Eudeve,  there  are  in  this  language  many 
classes  of  verbs,  differing  mostly  in  endings  of  certain 
persons.  Prepositions  and  adverbs  exist  in  great  num- 
ber. Finally  I  give  a  few  of  the  conjunctions; — guetza, 
although;  vese,  and;  nemake,  also;  naneguari,  why,  etc. 


704  6PATA  LANGUAGES. 

THE   LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Tamomas  teguikaktzigua   kakame  amo   tegua   santo 

Of  our  father  heaven  in  he  who  is    of  thee      name        holy 

ah,  amo     reino    tame  makte,    hinadoka   iguati   tevepa 

is,     of  thee    kingdom    to  us        give,  thy  will  here       earth  on 

ahnia    teguikaktzi  veri.       Chiama      tamo    guaka    veu 

be  done  heaven  in  so.  Of  all  the  days      of  us         food          now 

tame  mak,  tame  neavere  tamo  kainaideni  ata  api  tamido 

to  us      give,      to  us    forgive  of  us  bad  as    also 

neavere  tamo  opagua,  kai  tame  taotidudare ;  kianaideni 

forgive       of  us      enemy,      not      to  us  fall  let;  bad 

chiguadu  apita  kaktzia.10 

of  also        deliver. 

Following  is  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Jova  dialect: 
Dios  Noiksa:  Vantegueca  cachi,  sec  jan  itemijunale- 
qua  itemijunalequa  motequan.  Veda  no  parin,  embeida 
mogitiipejepa.  Ennio  ju  guidade,  nate,  vite  teva,  nate 
vantegueca.  Necho  cuguirra,  setata  vete  toomaca  ento 
oreira,  en  tobarurra,  como  ite  yte  topa  oreira  toon  oreira 
seejan  Caa  ton  surratoga  canecno  jorra  sacu  nuna 
dogiie  seejan  iguite  caagiieta. 

East  of  the  Opata  and  Pima  bajo,  on  the  shores  of 
the  gulf  of  California,  and  thence  for  some  distance  in- 
land, and  also  on  the  island  of  Tiburon,  the  Ceri  lan- 
guage with  its  dialects,  the  Guaymi  and  Tepoca,  is  spoken. 
Few  of  the  words  are  known,  and  the  excuse  given 
by  travelers  for  not  taking  vocabularies,  is,  that  it  was 
too  difficult  to  catch  the  sound.  It  is  represented  as 
extremely  harsh  and  guttural  in  its  pronunciation,  and 
well  suited  to  the  people  who  speak  it,  who  are  de- 
scribed as  wild  and  fierce.11  It  is,  so  far  as  known, 

10  Lombardo,  in  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  407-445;  Hervds,  in  Valer, 
Mithridatcx,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii..  p.  16G;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp. 
229-23 j;  Pimenlel,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  BoleHn,  torn,  x.,  pp.  288-313;  Col.  Po- 
lidiomica,  J/ex.,  Oration  Dominical,  p.  11. 

11  '  Tosee  un  idioma  gutural  muy  dificilde  aprender.'   Velasco,  Noticias  de 
Sonora,  p.  131.     'Los  guaimas. . .  .de  la  misma  lengua.'  Alei/re,  Ulst.  <.'<HHJ>. 
de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  216.     'Poco  es  la  distincion  que  hay  entre  sen  y  upuii- 
gnaima, . . .  .y  unos  y  otros  casi  hablun  un  mismo  idioma.'  Gallardo,  in  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iii.,  pp.  889;  Sonora,  Lescrip.  Geoy.,  in  Id.,  p.  535. 


SUPPOSED  CEEI  AND  WELSH  SIMILAEITIES.  705 

not  related  to  any  of  the  Mexican  linguistic  families. 
As  in  many  other  languages,  some  have  fancied  they 
saw  Welsh  traces  in  it ;  one  writer  thought  he  detected 
similarities  to  Arabic,  but  neither  of  these  speculations 
are  worth  anything.  The  Arabic  relationship  has  been 
disproven  by  Senor  Ramirez,  who  compared  the  two, 
and  the  statement  regarding  the  Welsh  is  given  on 
the  hearsay  of  some  sailors,  who  are  said  to  have  stated 
that  they  thought  they  discovered  some  Welsh  sounds, 
when  hearing  the  Ceris  speak.12  I  give  here  the  only 
vocabulary  which  I  have  been  able  to  find  of  this 
language : 

Woman  jidja  Horse  cai 

Population  jiciri  Boom  (chamber)  migenman 

Milk  junin  More  amen 

Wine  amat  Less  tungura 

Good  tanjajipe  Little  jinas 

Belter  jipe 

12  'For  su  idioma. . .  .se  aparta  completamente  de  la  filiacion  de  las  na- 
ciones  que  la  rodean."  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geoymfta,  pp.  42,  353-4.  'Their  lan- 
guage is  giittural,  and  very  different  from  any  other  idiom  in  Sonora.  It  is 
said  that  on  one  occasion,  some  of  these  Indians  passed  by  a  shop  in  Guay- 
mas,  where  some  Welsh  sailors  were  talking,  and  on  hearing  the  Welsh 
language  spoken,  stopped,  listened,  and  appeared  much  interested;  declaring 
that  these  white  men  were  their  brothers,  for  they  had  a  tongue  like  their 
own.'  Stone,  in  Hist.  Mag.,  vol.  v.,  p.  166;  Lavandera,  quoted  by  Ramirez, 
in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  £o!etin,  torn,  ii.,  p.  148.  and  Ramirez,  in  Id.,  p.  149.  . 
Vol.  III.  45 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


NORTH    MEXICAN    LANGUAGES. 

THE  CAHITA  AND  ITS  DIALECTS— CAHITA  GRAMMAR — DIALECTIC  DIFFERENCES 
or  THE  MAYO,  YAQUI,  AND  TEHDECO  —  COMPARATIVE  VOCABULARY  — 
CAHITA  LORD'S  PRAYER  —  THE  TARAHUMARA  AND  ITS  DIALECTS— THE 
TARAHUMARA  GRAMMAR  —  TARAHUMARA  LORD'S  PRAYER  IN  TWO  DIALECTS 
— THE  CONCHO,  THE  TOBOSO,  THE  JULIME,  THE  PIRO,  THE  SUMA,  THE 
CHINAHRA,  THE  TUBAR,  THE  IRRITILA  —  TEJANO  —  TEJANO  GRAMMAR — 
SPECIMEN  OF  THE  TEJANO  —  THE  TEPEHUANA  —  TEPEHUANA  GRAMMAR 
AND  LORD'S  PRAYER  —  ACAXEE  AND  ITS  DIALECTS,  THE  TOPIA,  SABAIBO, 
AND  XIXIME  —  THE  ZACATEC,  CAZCANE,  MAZAPILE,  HUITCOLE,  GUACHI- 
CHILE,  COLOTLAN,  TLAXOMULTEC,  TfiCUEXE,  AND  TEPECANO— THE  CoHA 
AND  ITS  DIALECTS,  THE  MUUTZICAT,  TEACUAEITZICA,  AND  ATEACARI  — 
CORA  GRAMMAR. 

We  now  come  to  the  four  Aztec- Sonora  languages 
before  mentioned,  the  Cora,  the  Cahita,  the  Tepehuana, 
and  the  Tarahumara,  and  their  neighbors.  I  have  al- 
ready said  that  notwithstanding  the  Aztec  element 
contained  in  them,  they  are  in  no  wise  related  to  each 
other. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Sinaloa,  extending  across  the 
boundary  into  Sonora,  the  principal  language  is  the 
Cahita,  spoken  in  many  dialects,  of  most  of  which 
nothing  is  transmitted  to  us.  Numerous  languages, 
which  were  perhaps  only  dialects,  are  named  in  this 
region,  and  by  some  classed  with  the  Cahita,  but  the 
information  regarding  them  is  vague  and  contradictory. 
No  vocabularies  or  other  specimens  of  them  can  be 

(706) 


NUMEKOUS  LANGUAGES  IN  SINALOA.  707 

obtained,  nor  can  I  find  anywhere  mention  that  any 
were  ever  written.  Of  these  there  are  the  Zoe,  the 
Guazave,  the  Vacoregue,  the  Batucari,  the  Aibino,  the 
Ocoroni,  which  are  mentioned  as  related,  as  also  the 
Zuaque  and  Tehueco,  and  the  Comoporis  and  Ahome. 
There  are  also  the  Mocorito  and  Petatlan,  both  dis- 
tinct; the  Huite,  the  Ore,  the  Varogio,  the  Tauro,  the 
Macoyahui,  the  Troe,  the  Nio,  the  Cahuimeto,  the 
Tepague,  the  Ohuero,  the  Chicorata,  the  Basopa,  and 
two  distinct  tongues  spoken  at  the  Mission  San  Andres 
de  Conicari,  and  four  at  the  Mission  of  San  Miguel  de 
Mocorito.1  The  only  dialects  of  the  Cahita,  regarding 
which  a  few  notes  exist,  and  which  at  the  same  time 
appear  to  have  been  the  principal  ones,  according  to 
the  best  authorities,  are  the  Mayo,  Yaqui,  and  Tehueco.2 
The  Cahita  language  is  copious,  but  will  not  readily 


1  Mocorito,  Petatlan  and  Ocoroni  are  '  gentes  de  varias  lenguas.'  Eibas, 
Hist,  de  los  Trivrnphos,  p.  34.  Ahome  are  'gente  da  diferente  lengua  llama- 
da  Zoe.'  Zoes  'son  de  la  misma  lengua  con  los  Guacaues.'  Id.,  p.  145. 
'  Comoporis  los  quales  aunque  eran  de  la  misma  lengua  de  los  mansos  Aho- 
mes.'  Id.,  p.  153.  'Huites  de  diferente  lengua'  from  the  Cinaloas.  Id.,  p. 
2(J7.  Zuaques  and  Tehueoos  '  ser  todos  de  una  misma  lengua.'  Batuca  '  de 
una  lengua  no  dificil,  y  pareeida  mucho  a  la  de  Ocoroiri.'  Alet/re,  Hist.  Comp. 
de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  10,  186.  'La  lengua  es  ore.'  '  Varogia  y  segun  se  ha 
reconocido  es  lo  mismo  que  la  taura,  aunque  varia  algo  principalmeute  en 
la  gramatica. '  '  La  lengua  es  particular  macoyahui  con  que  son  tres  las  len- 
guas de  este  partido.'  In  San  Andres  de  Conicari  '  la  lengua  es  particular  y 
distinta  de  la  de  los  demas  pueblos  si  bien  todos  los  demas  de  ellos  entien- 
den  la  lengua  tepave,  y  aun  la  caita  aunque  no  la  hablan.'  'La  lengua  es 
particular  que  Hainan  troes.'  'La  gente  en  su  idioma  es  guazave.'  'La 
leng;ia  es  distina  y  particular  que  Hainan  nio.'  '  Conversan  entre  si  distintas 
las  lenguas  de  cahuimetos  y  ohueras.'  'Lenguas  que  hablan  entre  si  y 
son  chieurata  y  basopa.'  San  Miguel  de  Mocorito  '  de  cuatro  parcialidades 
y  distintas  lenguas.'  Zapata,  Relation,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii., 
pp.  333-409.  'Los  misioneros. . .  .colocaban  en  las  misiones  de  la  lengua 
cahita  a  los  sinaloas,  hichucios,  zuaques,  biaras,  matapanes  y  tehuecos.' 
'  El  ahoine  y  el  comopori  son  dialectos  muy  diversos  6  lenguas  hermanas 
del  guazave.'  Orozio  y  Berra,  Georjrafia,  p.  35;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn, 
iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  154-7;  Hassel,  Mex.  Gur'it.,  p.  175. 

2  '  La  nacion  Hiaqui  y  por  consecuencia  la  Mayo  y  del  Fuerte, ....  que 
en  la  sustancia  son  una  misma  y  de  una  propia  lengua.'  Cancio,  in  Doc. 
Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  246.  Mayo  and  Yaqui;  '  Su  idioma  por 
consiguiente  es  el  mismo,  con  la  diferencia  de  unas  cuant.is  voces.'  Fe/asco, 
Noticias  de  Sonora,  p.  82.  Mayo  '  su  lengua  es  la  misma  que  corre  en  los 
rios  de  Cuaque  y  Hiaqui.'  Yaqui  'que  es  la  mas  general  de  Cinaloa.' 
Rl'mft,  Hist,  de  los  Triumpfios,  pp.  237,  287;  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  286.  'La 
lengua  cahita  es  dividida  en  tres  dialectos  principales,  el  mayo,  yaqui  y 
tehueco;  ademas  hay  otros  secundarios.'  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  485. 
'  Tres  dialectos  principales,  el  zuaque,  la  maya  y  el  yaqui.'  Balbi,  in  Orozco 
y  Berra,  Geoyrafia,  p.  35;  Brasseur  de  Bourboury,  Esquisses,  p.  31. 


708  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

express  polite  sentiments.3  Father  Ribas  says  that  the 
Yaquis  always  speak  very  loudly  and  arrogantly,  and 
that  when  he  asked  them  to  lower  their  voice,  they  an- 
swered: "Dost  thou  not  see  that  I  am  a  Yaqui?" 
which  latter  word  signifies,  '  he  who  speaks  loudly.'  * 

A  grammar  of  the  Cahita  was  written  in  the  year 
1737,  of  which  I  give  here  an  extract.  The  alphabet 
consists  of  the  following  letters:  a,  6,  ch,  e,  h,  i,j,  k,  l: 
m,  n,  o,  p,  r,  s,  t,  u,  v,  y,  z,  tz. 

There  are  three  declensions;  two  for  nouns,  and  the 
third  for  adjectives.  To  the  first  belong  those  words 
which  end  in  a  vowel,  and  also  the  participles  ending 
with  me  and  u ;  to  the  second,  those  ending  with  a  con- 
sonant. Nouns  ending  with  a  vowel,  and  adjectives,  form 
the  plural  by  appending  an  m  to  the  singular ; — tabu,  rab- 
bit; tabum,  rabbits.  Those  ending  with  a  consonant 
affix  im,  and  those  ending  with  t  affix  zim; — -paros,  hare; 
parosim,  hares;  uiJdt,  bird;  uikitzim,  birds.  The  per- 
sonal pronouns  are :  inopo,  nelieriua,  iwheri,  nehe,  ne,  I ; 
itopo,  iteriua,  itee,  te,  we;  empo,  eheriua,  eheri,  ehee,  e, 
thou;  empom,  emeriua,  emeri,  emee,  em,  you;  uaJiaa, 
uahariua,  uahari,  he;  uameriua,  uameri,  uamee,  im,  they. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE. 

PRESENT     INDICATIVE. 


I  love,  ne  eria 

Thou  lovest,  e  eria 

He  loves,  eria 


We  love,  te  eria 

You  love,  em  eria 

They  love,  im  eria 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  loved,  ne  eriai  |    I  have  loved,  ne  eriak 

PLUPERFECT.  FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  had  loved,  ne  eriakai  |    I  shall  love,  ne  erianak« 

SECOND    FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  loved,  ne  eriasuuake 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love  thon,  e  eria,  or  e  eriama 

Let  him  love,  eria,  or  eriama 

Love  yon,  em  eriabu,  or  em  eriamabu 

Let  them  love,  im  eriabu,  or  im  eriamabu 

3  '  Su  idioma  es  muy  franco,  nada  dificil  de  aprenderse,  y  susceptible  de 
reducirse  a  las  reglas  gramaticales  de  cualquiera  nacion  civilizada.'    [''elasco, 
Noticias  de  Sonora,  p.  75. 

4  'En  hablar  alto,  y  con  brio  singulares,  y  grandemente  arrognntos.' 
'  No  ves  que  soy  Hiaqui:  y  dezianlo.  porque  essi  palabra,  y  nombre,  signinca, 
el  que  habla  a  gritos.'  Ribus,  Hist,  delos  Trivmphos,  p.  285. 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  CAHITA. 


709 


PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE . 

If  I  love,  ne  eriauaua,  or  eriana 

OPTATIVE. 

O  that  I  may  love,  netziyo  eriayo 

PRESENT   PARTICIPLE. 

Loving,         eriakuri,  eriayo,  eriako,  or  eriakako 

INFINITIVE    PASSIVE. 

To  be  loved,  erianaketeka,  or  erianakekari 


He  who  loves, 
He  who  has  loved, 
He  who  will  love, 


ename 

eriakame 

eriauakeme 


He  who  was  loved, 
He  who  had  loved, 


enau 
eriakau 


Of  the  many  prepositions  I  only  insert  the  following  :- 


To 

In 

With 

Before 

Above 


Also 

Although 
But 
Not  even 


ui 
tzi 

ye 

•uepatzi,  patzi 
vepa 


Below 

Toward 

For 

Within 

Whence 


CONJUNCTIONS. 

vetzi,  suri,  huneri,  soko  As  if 

mautzi  Thus 

vitzi,  tepa  Besides 

tepesan  If 


vetukuni,  tukimi 

venukutzi,  patiua 

vetziu 

uahiua 

kuni,  uni 


siua 
huleni 

ioentoksoko,  ientoik 
sok 


The  dialectic  differences  between  the  Mayo,  Yaqui, 
and  Tehueco  are  as  follows; — the  Yaquis  and  Mayos 
use  the  letter  A,  where  the  Tehuecos  use  s  when  it 
occurs  in  the  middle  of  a  word,  and  is  followed  by  a 
consonant;  —  tuhta,  by  the  Tehuecos  is  pronounced 
tusta.  Other  words  also,  by  some  are  pronounced 
short,  while  others  pronounce  them  long.  The  inter- 
jection of  the  vocative  is  with  some  hiua,  and  with 
others  me.  The  pronoun  nepo,  the  Yaquis  use  instead 
of  inopo.  The  Mayos  use  the  imperfect  as  before  given ; 
the  Tehuecos  end  it  with  t,  and  the  Yaquis  with  n. 
The  pluperfect  of  the  Tehuecos  ends  with  Jc\  that  of 
the  Yaquis  with  kam;  that  of  the  Maya  with  kcd. 

To  illustrate  dialectic  differences,  I  insert  a  short 
comparative  vocabulary,  made  up  from  a  dictionary,  a 
doctrina,  and  from  words  of  the  Mayo  and  two  Yaqui 
dialects: 

DICTIONARY      DOCTRINA  MAYO  YAQUI  YAQUI 

Father  achai  atzai  hechai  achay  achai 

Our  itom  itom  itoiu  itom  itom 

Be  katek  katek  katek  katek  katek 

Itespected  aioiore  ioiori  llori  llori  iori 

Thine  em  em  em  em  em 


710 


NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 


DICTIONARY 

DOCTEINA 

MAYO 

YAQUI 

YAQOT 

Name 

tehua 

tehuam 

tegam 

tegnam 

teguam 

Bread 

buahuanie 

buaieu 

buanakem 

buailem 

buaye 

Daily 

rnatzukve 

makhukve 

makehnt 

matehui 

niachuk 

Give 

nmaka 

aniika 

ainikii 

amika 

mika 

To  day 

ieni 

ieni 

bene 

iau 

bien 

Of 

vetana 

betana 

betana 

betana 

betana 

forgive  us 

itorn   beherim 


emposi 

thou 


The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Cahita: 

Itom  atzai  teuekapo  katekame  emtehuam  checheuasu 

Our    father       beaven  in       be  wbo  is          tby  name  very  much 

ioioriua,    itom   ipeisana     emiauraua  emuarepo  imbuiapo 

be  respected,  to  us  that  he  may  come    thy  kingdom       thy  will       earth  in 

anua      aman   teuekapo  anua  eueni.    Makhukve  itom 

let  it  be  done       also         heaven  in  is  done        as.  Each  day  our 

buaieu    ieni     itom    amika,    itome    sok    alulutiria  itom 

bread        to-day      to  us  give,        to  us        also 

kaalanekau    itome    sok  alulutiria  eueni 

sins  we  also      we  forgive  as  our 

kate  sok    itom   butia    huena    kutekom    uoti: 

not      and      to  us       lead  fall  temptation          in: 

aman   itom   ioretua     katuri      betana. 

also  us  save      no  good  (bad)         of. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Yaqui  dialect: 

Ytoma  chay  teque  canca  tecame  emtegtiam  chehegua- 
sullorima  yem  iton  llejosama.  Emllauragua  embalepo 
ynim  buiajo  angua.  Aman  teguecapo  anguaben  mate- 
hui itom  buailem  yan  sitoma  mica.  Sor  y  toma  a 
hitaria  cala  ytom  a  hitaria  y  topo  a  litariame  ytom 
begerim  catuise  ytom  bulilae  contegotiama,  ca  juena 
cuchi  emposu  juchi  aman  ytom  lloretuane  caturim  be- 
tana. Amen  Jesus.5 

East  of  the  Cahita,  in  the  states  of  Chihuahua, 
Sonora,  and  Durango,  an  uncivilized  and  barbarous 
people  inhabit  the  Sierra  Madre,  who  speak  the  Tam- 
il umara  tongue,  which  contains  the  same  Aztec  element 
as  the  Cahita,  but  is  otherwise,  as  previously  stated,  a 
distinct  language.  The  principal  dialects  are  the  Yarogio, 

5  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  456-91,  Hervds,  in  Voter,  Mllhridates, 
torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  157-8;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztelc.  Spr.,  pp.  211-18; 
Ternfinx-Compans,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1841,  torn,  xcii.,  pp.  260— 
87;  Col.  Polidiomiaa,  Mex.,  Oracion  Dominical,  p.  49. 


GRAMMAR  OF  THE  TARAHUMARA  LANGUAGE.  711 

Guazapare  and  Pachera.6  The  Tarahumara  is  a  rather 
difficult  language  to  acquire,  mainly  owing  to  its  pro- 
nunciation. The  final  syllables  of  words  are  frequently 
omitted  or  swallowed,  and  sometimes  even  the  first 
syllables  or  letters.  The  accentuation  also  differs  much, 
nouns  generally  being  accentuated  on  the  penultimate, 
and  verbs  on  the  ultimate.  The  alphabet  consists  of 
the  following  letters:  a,  5,  cA,  e,  g,  i,j,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  r, 
s,  t,  u,  v,  y.  These  letters,  and  also  the  following  gram- 
matical remarks  refer  specially  to  the  language  as 
spoken  in  Chinipas.  Other  dialects  have  the  letter  h 
in  place  of  j  or  r,  and  2  for  s.  The  plural  of  nouns  is 
formed  by  duplicating  a  syllable; — muki,  woman;  mu- 
muki,  women;  or,  in  some  cases  an  adverb,  indicating 
the  plural,  is  appended.  Patronymics  form  the  plural, 
by  duplicating  the  last  syllable.  The  particle  gua  also 
indicates  the  plural.  The  possessive  case  is  formed  by 
annexing  the  syllable  ra  to  the  thing  possessed ; — Pedro 
bukiira,  house  of  Pedro.  Comparatives  are  expressed 
by  adding  the  terminal  be; — gam,  good;  garabe,  better; 
and  superlatives  by  simply  putting  a  heavier  accent  on 
the  comparative  terminal; — rere,  low;  rerebe,  lower; 
rerebee,  lowest.  Personal  pronouns  are:  neje,  I;  muje, 
thou;  semt,  he;  tamuje  or  ramuje,  we;  emeje  or  erne, 
you;  giiepund,  they. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  COUNT. 

PBESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  count,  neje  tara 

Thou  countest,        muje  tara 
He  counts,  senii  tara 


We  count,  ramuje  tara 

You  count,  emeje  tara 

They  count,  guepuna  tara 


PEEFECT.  PLUPERFECT. 

I  have  counted,  neje  taraca          |  I  had  counted,         neje  tarayeque 

FIRST   FUTUEE.  SECOND   FUTUBE. 

I  shall  count,  neje  tarara  |  I  shall  have  counted,  neje  taragopera 

IMPEEATIVE. 


Ccnint  thou,  tara 

Count -you,  tarasi 

Let  us  count,  tarayeque 


Let  them  count,  tarara 

Do  not  count,  cate  tarasi 


6  '  Varogia  y  segun  se  ha  reconocido  es  lo  mismo  que  la  taura  aunque 
varia  algo  priucipalmente  en  la  gramatica.'  Guazapare  'la  leugua  es  la 
misma  auuqne  ya  mas  parecida  a  la  de  los  taraumares.'  Zapata,  Relation,  in 
Doc.  Hist.  Alex.,  serieiv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  388,  390,  334,  et  seq.;  Steffel,  in  Murr, 


712  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 


PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 


If  I  count,  soneca  tarara 

If  them  count,  somuca  tarara 


If  we  count,       sotameneca  tarira 
If  they  count,    sopucA  tarara 


If  he  count,  sosenuca  tarara 

IMPERFECT. 
If  I  did  count,  soneca  tarareyeque 

He  who  counts,     tarayameque  I  They  who  have  to  count,     tarameri 

Counting,  taroyd  I  He  who  has  to  count,  taraberi 

Having  counted,   tarasago  1 

Of  the  different  dialects  there  are  five  specimens,  all 
Lord's  Prayers,  a  comparison  of  which  will  show  their 
variations.  The  first  is  from  Father  Steffel: 

Tami  Non6,  mamii  regui  guami  gatiki,  tami  noineruje 
mu.  regua  selimea  rekijena,  tami  neguaruje  mii  jelaliki 
henna  guetschikf,  mapu  hatschibe  reguega  quami.  Tami 
nutiituje  hipela,  tami  guecauje  tami  guikeliki,  niatame 
hatschibe  reguega  tami  guecauje  putse  tami  guikejameke, 
ke  ta  tami  satuje,  telegatigameke  mechca  hula.  Amen. 

The  second  is  from  Tellechea,  who  lived  in  Chinipas 
and  at  Zapopan: 

Tainu  nono  repa  regiiegachi  atigameque  muteguarari 
santo  nireboa,  mu  semarari  regiiegachi  atiga,  tamii  jura 
rnuyerari  jenagiiichiqui  mapu  regiiega  eguarigua  repa 
regiiegachi.  Sesenu  ragiie  tamii  nitugara,  jipe  ragiie 
tami  neja.  tarni  cheligiie  tamucheina  yori  yoma  mata- 
meregiiegia  cheligue  tamii  ayoriguameque  uche  mapii 
requi  chati  ju  meca  mu  jura,  mapii  tami  tayorabua 
queco. 

The  third  is  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  the  district  of 
Mina: 

Taminono  tehuastiqui  tehuara  santi  riboa  razihuachi 
tamupera  arimihuymira  nahuichi  chumirica  tehuane- 
huario  teamonetella  sinerahue  hiperahui  tameneja. 
Seoriqui  cahuille  chumarica  cahuille  quiamoque  ta- 
rube  chimera  chiniariqui  masti  nahuchimoba.  Amen 
Jesus. 


Nachrichten,  pp.  296-300;  Eibas,  Hist,  de  los  Trhmphos,  p.  592;  Pimentel, 
Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  3G3;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  34. 

7  Tdlechca,  Compendia  Gram,  del  Idioma  Tarahumar,  pp.  2-3. 


TARAHUMARA  LORD'S  PRAYERS.  713 

For  the  next  two  no  localities  are  given : 
Tarni  nono  guami  repa  reguegachi  atiame:  ta  chei- 
quichi  ju,  miipu  miireg  uega  repa  asaga  mu  atiqui: 
Jena  ibi,  guichimoba  quima  neogarae  mu  naguara;  mu 
llela  litae  guichimoba  mil  llolara  guali  mil  cii  mollenara, 
mi,  repa  reguegachi.  Amen  Jesus. 

Horio  tami  niguega  matu  ati  crepa:  guebruca  nilrera 
que  mubregua.  Tami  nagiiibra  que  munetebrichi,  nil- 
relraque  mu  el  rabrichi  gena  guichimoba:  mapu  bregue- 
gal  repa.  Brami  goguame  epilri  bragiie  brame  jipeya, 
brami  giiecaglie.  Mata  igui  giiica  mapu  bregiiega  bra- 
mege.  Guecagiie  mapu  brami  giiique  ta  nobri  brami 
guichavari  que  chitichi  natabrichi.  Habri  brami  guaini 
mane  brisiga  equime.  Amen  Isuis.8 

Although  in  possession  of  Tellechea's  grammar,  Gal- 
latin  denies  the  connection  between  the  Tarahumara 
and  the  Aztec.9  I  give  here  some  of  their  gram- 
matical resemblances.  These  are,  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  noun  with  the  verb  in  some  cases;  the 
combination  of  two  verbs,  the  dropping  of  the  original 
end-syllables  when  joining  or  incorporating  several 
•words  together,  the  formation  of  the  plural  by  dupli- 
cation, and  the  traces  of  a  reverential  end  syllable. 
All  these  are  important  points,  and  combined  with  the 
similarity — in  some  cases  even  identity — of  a  great 
number  of  words,  they  make  the  relationship  or  traces 
of  the  Aztec  language  in  the  Tarahumara  incontest- 
able.10 

Passing  to  the  north-eastern  part  of  Mexico  I  enter  a 

8  Tellechea,  Compendio  Gram.,  del  Idioma  Tarahumar;  also  in  Soc.  Mex. 
Geog.,  JJoletin,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  145-68,  and  in  Pimentel,  Cuudro,   torn,  i.,  pr>. 
336-400;  Steffcl,  Tarahumarischcs  }V6rterbuch,  in  Murr,  NfichricJden,  pp.  L'Ji;- 
374;  Ternaux-Compans,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,   1841,  torn,  xiii.,  pp. 
230-287;    \\tter,  Mithridales,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  144-54;   Col.   Polidii-mica, 
J/c.c.,  Oracion  Dominical,  pp.  40-43. 

9  'Have  no  resemblance  with  the  Mexican.'  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno. 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  4.     'This  (the  Tarahumara)  has  not  in  its  words 
any  affinity  with  the  Mexican;  and  the  people  who  speak  it  have  a  decimal 
arithmetic.'  Id.,  p.  203.     'Ihre  Aehnlichkeit  init  dein  Mexikanischen. . .  .ist 
doch  gross  germg. '    Vater,  M'dhridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,   p.  143;   Wilhdm  von 
Iliunboldt,  in  Bnschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  pp.  4G-50. 

10  Wilhdm  von  Uumboldt,  in  B-usvhmann,  tipurcn  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  50. 


714  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

totally  unknown  region,  of  whose  languages  mention  is 
made,  but  nothing  more.  Neither  vocabularies,  nor 
grammars,  nor  any  other  specimens  of  them  exist,  and 
in  most  cases  it  is  even  difficult  to  fix  the  exact  geo- 
graphical location  of  the  people  who  are  reported  to 
have  spoken  them.  Of  these  I  name  first  the  Concho, 
which  language  is  reported  to  have  been  a  dialect  of 
the  Aztec,  but  this  is  denied  by  Hervas,  who  had  his 
information  from  the  missionary  Palacios,  although  the 
latter  admits  that  the  people  spoke  the  Aztec.  Their 
location  is  stated  to  have  been  near  the  Rio  Concho.11 
In  the  Bolson  de  Mapimi,  the  Toboso  language  is 
named.  This  people  are  reported  to  have  understood 
the  language  of  the  Zacatecs  and  the  Aztecs;  and 
furthermore,  to  have  had  their  own  distinct  tongue.12 
Other  idioms  mentioned  near  the  same  region  are  the 
Hualahuise,  Julime,  Piro,  Surna,  and  Chinarra.13  Of 
the  Piro  I  find  the  following  Lord's  Prayer: 

Quitatac  nasaul  e  yapolhua  tol  huy  quiamgiana  mi 
quiamnarinu.  Jaquie  mugilley  nasamagui  hikiey  quiam- 
samae,  mukiataxam,  hikiey,  hiquiquiamo  quia  inae, 
huskilley  nafoleguey,  gimorey,  y  apol  y  ahuley,  quia- 
liey,  nasan  e  poino  llekey,  quiale  mahimnague  yo  se 
mahi  kana  rrohoy,  se  teman  quiennatehui  mukilley, 
nani,  nani  einolley  quinaroy  zetasi,  nasan  quianatehuey 
pemcihipompo  y,  qui  solakuey  quifollohipuca.  Kuey 
maihua  atellan,  folliquitey.  Amen. 

The  Irritila,  which  was  spoken  by  a  number  of 
tribes,  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  Laguneros,  inhab- 
iting the  country  near  the  Missions  of  Parras,  is  an- 
other extinct  tongue.14  In  Coahuila,  the  Tejaho  or 
Coahuiltec  language  is  found.  A  short  manual  for  the 
use  of  the  priests  was  written  in  this  language  by 

11  A'egre,  Ifist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  ii.,  p.  58;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Ocografia, 
pp.  324-5;  Busclimann,  Spuren  der  Azlek.  Spr.,  p.  172. 

1-2  VUl'i-Scnor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  348;  Pascual,  in  Hist.  Doc. 
Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  201;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  172; 
Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  308-9. 

13  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  309,  327;  Col.  Polidiomica,  Mex.,  Oracion 
Dominical,  p.  36. 

i*  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  339. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  COAHUILTEC  GRAMMAR.  715 

Father  Garcia,  and  from  it  a  few  grammatical   observa- 
tions have  been  drawn  by  Pimentel. 

The  letters  used  are  a,  c,  ch,  e,  g,  h,  i,  j,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  q, 
s,  t,  u,  y,  tz.  The  pronunciation  is  similar  to  that  of 
some  of  the  people  who  inhabit  the  Northwest  Coast,  as 
the  Nootkas,  Thlinkeets,  and  others.  A  kind  of  clicking 
sound  produced  with  the  tongue,  which  Garcia  desig- 
nates by  an  apostrophe,  thus — c',  q,  t\  p] ',  l\  The  c\ 
and  q,  are  pronounced  with  a  rasping  sound  from  the 
root  of  the  tongue ;  t1  with  a  click  with  the  point  of  the 
tongue  against  the  teeth,  etc.  There  is  no  plural  in  the 
language  except  such  as  is  expressed  by  the  words  many, 
all,  and  some.  Pronouns  are  tzin,  I;  jamin,  or  am,  thou; 
ttcimi,  mine ;  ;c?,  thine ;  jami,  ours.  Interrogation  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  letter  e  after  the  verb; — -japtil poe?  are 
you  a  father?  po  being  the  verb.  Negation  is  expressed 
by  ojua,  if  it  stands  for  '  no '  alone,  but  if  it  is  joined  to  a 
verb  it  is  expressed  by  ajdm  following  the  verb,  and  if 
the  verb  ends  with  a  vowel,  by  yajdm.  The  Tejano  is 
divided  into  several  dialects  which  vary  chiefly  in  the 
different  pronunciation  of  some  words :  as  for  die  they 
say  chi,  or  so  for  se,  cue  instead  of  co,  etc.  The  follow- 
ing soul-winning  dogma  with  the  translation  is  given  as 
a  specimen  of  the  language. 

Mej  t'  oajum  pitucuej  pinta  pilaplm  chojai  pilche 
guatzarnujuajamate.  piliipajuaj  sauj  chojai:  Mej  t'  oajara 
pitucuej  pilapuujpaco  san  paj  guajatam  atu ;  talum  apnan 
pan  t'  oajam  tucuet  apcue  tucue  apajai  sanche  guasaya- 
jam:  sajpara  pinapsa  pitachijo,  mai  cuan  tzam  aguajta, 
namo,  namo  t'  oajam  tucuem  maisajac  mem;  t'  ajacat 
mem  jatalam  ajam  e  ? 

And  there  in  hell  there  is  nothing  to  eat,  nor  any 
sleep,  nor  rest;  there  is  no  getting  out  of  hell;  the 
great  fire  of  hell  will  never  be  finished.  If  thou  hadst 
died  with  those  sins,  thou  wouldst  be  already  there  in 
hell ;  then,  why  art  thou  not  afraid  ? 15 

The  Tubar  is  another  idiom  which  was  spoken  near 
the  head-waters  of  the  Rio  Sinaloa.  Ribas  affirms  that 

15  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  409-413. 


716  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

two  totally  distinct  languages  are  spoken  by  this  people. 
From  a  Lord's  Prayer  preserved  in  this  tongue  Mr 
Buschraann  after  careful  comparison  has  concluded  that 
the  Tubar  is  another  member  of  the  Aztec- Sonora  group, 
showing,  as  it  does,  unmistakeable  Aztec  traces.  I  in- 
sert the  Lord's  Prayer  with  translation. 

Ite   cafiar    tegmuecarichin   catemat    imit   tegmuarat 

Our      father  heaven  in  art  thy  name 

milituraba  teochigualac ;  imit  huegmica  carin  iti  bacachin- 

be  praised;  thy       kingdom  us  to 

assisaguin,  imit  avamunarir  echu  nafiigualac  imocuigan 

come,  thy  will  here  be  done  as        well  as 

amo  nachic  tegmuecarichin ;  ite  cokuatarit  essemcr  taui- 

there    is  done  heaven;  our  bread        -  du.ly 

guarit  iabba  ite  micam;  ite  tatacoli  ikiri  atzomua  iki- 

to-day      us         give;       our         sins        forgive  as  we 

rirain  ite  bacachin  cale  kuegmua  naniguacantem   caisa 

forgive      us          against       evil       previously        have  done  not 

ite  nosara  baca  tatacoli  bacachin  ackir5  muetzerac  ite.16 

us       lead  in  sin  of  evil  deliver        us. 

The  following  is  a  Lord's  Prayer  of  the  Tubar  dialect 
spoken  in  the  district  of  Mina  in  Chihuahua. 

Kite  caiiac  temo  calichin  catema  himite  muhara  hui- 
turaba  santoiletara  himitemoh  acari  hay  sesahui  hite- 
bacachin  hitaramare  hechinemolac  amo  cuira  pan  amo- 
temo  calichin  hitecocohatari  eseme  tan  huaric.  Llava  hi- 
temicahin  tatacoli  higuili  bite  nachi  higuiriray  hitebacach 
in  calquihuan  nehun  conten  hitehohui  caltehue  cheraca 
tatacol  bacachin  hiqu  ipo  calquihua  fiahuite  baquit  eba- 
cachin  calaserac.  Amen  Jesus.17 

16<Tienen  estos  indios  dos  lenguas  totalmente  distintas:  la  una,  y  que 
mas  corre  entre  ellos,  y  demas  gente,  es  de  1  is  que  yo  tengo  en  este  partido, 
con  que  les  hablo,  y  me  entienden. . .  .la  otra  es  totalmente  distinta.'  lli-mla, 
Ca<«7o<7O,  torn,  i.,  p.  320.  Hibas,  Jfist.  de  Ins  Trivniphos,  p.  11-8;  Vdtvr,  Jli- 
thridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  139.  'Zwar  voll  von  Fremdheit  und  sehr  fiir 
sich  dasteht,  aberdoch  als  eiu  wirldiches  sonorisches  Glied,  bei  bestimmten 
Gemeinschaften  mit  den  auderen  und  als  vorzugsweise  reich  an  axti-kischen 
Stoff  ausgestattet . . .  .Ihre  Ahn'.ichkeiteu  neigen  abwechselnd  gegen  die  <  'ora, 
Tarahumara,  und  Cahita,  besonders  gegen  die  beiden  letzten,  aueh  Hititjui; 
der  Tepet/uana  bleibt  sie  mehr  fremd.'  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Azttk.  Spr., 
pp.  1G4,  "170-1. 

17  Col.  PolldiSmica,  Mex.,  Oration  Dominical,  p.  47. 


TEPEHUANA  GRAMMAR.  717 

In  the  state  of  Durango  and  extending  into  parts  of 
Jalisco.  Chihuahua,  Coahuila  and  Sonora,  is  spoken  the 
Tepehuana  language.18  Like  the  Tarahumara  it' is  gut- 
tural and  pronounced  in  a  rather  sputtering  manner. 
The  Tepehuanes  speak  very  fast,  and  often  leave  off  or 
swallow  the  end  syllables,  which  occasioned  much  trouble 
to  the  missionaries,  who  on  that  account  could  not  easily 
understand  them.  Another  difficulty  is  the  accentua- 
tion, as  the  slightest  variation  of  accent  will  change  the 
meaning  of  a  word.19  The  following  alphabet  is  used  to 
represent  the  sound  of  the  Tephuana,  «,  0,  ch,  d.  e,  g,  h, 
i,  j,  k,  /,  m,  n,  o,  p,  q,  r,  s,  sc,  £,  u,  v,  y.  In  the  forma- 
tion of  words  many  vowels  are  frequently  combined,  as, 
ooo,  bone;  iiuie,  to  drink.  Long  words  are  of  frequent 
occurrence  fis;—soigulidadatudadamo,  difficult;  meit  sciu- 
gmdodadaguitodadamoe,  continually.  The  letter  d  ap- 
pears to  be  very  frequently  used,  as  in  the  word — toddas- 
cidaraga,  or  doadidamodaraga,  fright.  To  form  the  plural 
of  words,  the  first  syllable  is  duplicated.  Personal  pro- 
nouns are ; — aneane,  or  ane,  I ;  api,  thou ;  eggue,  he ;  atum, 
we;  apum,  you;  eggama,  they;  in,  mine;  u,  thine;  di, 
or  de,  his;  ut,  ours;  wn,  yours. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  SAY. 


PRESENT     INDICATIVE. 


I  say,  aneane  aguidi 

Thou  sayest,  api  aguidi 

He  says,  eggue  aguidi 


We  say,  atum  aguidi 

You  say,  apum  aguidi 

They  say,  eggam  aguidi 


IMPKEFECT.  PERFECT. 


I  said,  aneaue  aguiditade 


I  have  said,  aguidianta  or 

aneaneaiita  aguidi 


FIRST   FUTURE.  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  say,     aneane  aguidiague   |    I  shall  have  said,    aneane  aquidiamokue 


18  Ribas,  Hist,  de  los  Trivmphos,  p.  673;   Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus, 
torn,   i.,  p.  319;  Museo,  Mex.,  torn,  iii.,   p.  269;  Znpata,  Relation,  in  Doc. 
Hint.  Mex.,  eerie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  310-15;  Orozco  y  Jlerra,  Geoyraf'ia,  pp.  34, 
320;    Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.   138;  Pimentd,   Cuadro,  torn,  ii., 
p.  43;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  162;  Hervds,  Catdlogo,  torn,  i., 
p.  327. 

19  '  La  pronunciacion  es  muy  gutural  y  basta  el  mas  ligero  cambio  en  ella 
para  que  cambien  de  sentido  las  palabras.'  Rinaldmi,  Gramatica,  in  Pimen- 
td, Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  46;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr.,  p.  36. 


718  NORTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

IMPEEATTVB. 

Let  me  say,  aguidiana  ane 

Say  thou,  aguidiani,  or  aguidiana  api 

Let  him  say,  aguidiana  eggue 

Let  \is  say,  aguiuiaua  atuin 

Say  yon,  aguidiana  apum,  or  aguidavoramoe 

Let  them  say,  aguidiana  eggam 

I  may  say,  aneane  aguidana 

I  should  say,  aneane  aguidaguitade 

I  should  have  said,  aneane  aguidaguijatade 

If  I  should  say,  aneane  aguidaguiague 

PARTICIPLE. 

Saying,  aguidimi  I    Having  said,  aguidati 

He  is  saying,  aguidimijatade        | 

In  some  places  the  ending  of  the  imperfect  indicative 
is  kade  instead  of  tade. 


sciupu 

tumasei,  tume 
ukaidi 


And 
As  if 
Also 
And  for  that 

CONJUN 

atnider 
apnia  na 
jattiki,  kat 
ikaidiatut 

CTIONS. 

Or 
Although 
For  which 

THE    LORD  S   PRAYER. 


Utogga   atemo   tubaggue   dama   santusikamoe  uggue 

Our  father      who  in         heaven          above  sanctified  be  he 

ututugaraga   duviana   uguiere    api    oddima   gutuguito- 

thy  name  come       thy  kingdom  thou          do  thy 

daraga  tami  dubur  dama  tubaggue.     Udguaddaga  ud 

will        as  well       earth         above  heaven.  Our  food          to  us 

makane  scibi  ud  joigudane  ud  sceadoadaraga  addukate 

give         to-day    to  us       forgive        our  sins  as 

joigude  jut  jaddune   maitague   daguito   ud.20 

we  forgive    our        debtors  not  tempt          us. 

The  roughest  and  most  inaccessible  part  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  in  the  state  of  Durango,  is  the  seat  of  the 
Acaxee  language,  which  from  this  centre  spreads,  under 
different  names  and  dialects,  into  the  neighbor- 
ing states.  Among  these  dialects  are  mentioned  the 
Topia,  Sabaibo,  Xixime,  Hume,  Mediotaquel  and  Te- 
baca.21  Some  writers  claim  that  the  Acaxee  with  all  its 

20  Pimentel,  Cundro.  torn,  ii.,  pp.  46-68. 

21  Sabaibos  'eran  de  la  rnistna  lengua  y  Nacion  Acaxee.'  Ribas,  Hist,  de 
Ins  Triiinphos,  pp.  471,  491.     Sabaibos  'distinta  nacion,  aunque  del  mismo 
idioma ' — Acaxee.  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i.,  p.  422.     '  Humes,  na- 
cion distinta  de  los  xiximes  aunque  tienen  una  inisrna  lengua.'  Alonso  dtl 


THE  CORA  LANGUAGE  AND  ITS  DIALECTS.  719 

differences  is  related  to  the  Mexican,  while  others,  among 
them  Balbi,  make  it  a  distinct  tongue.  As  neither  vo- 
cabularies nor  other  specimens  of  it  exist,  the  real  fact 
cannot  be  ascertained.  The  missionaries  say  that  the 
Aztec  language  was  spoken  and  understood  in  these  parts. 
In  Zacatecas  is  mentioned  as  the  prevailing  tongue  the 
Zacatec,  besides  which  some  authors  speak  of  the  Cazca- 
ne  as  a  distinct  idiom,  while  others  aver  that  the  Cazca- 
nes  and  Zacatecs  were  one  people.  Besides  these  there 
are  adjoining  them  the  Mazapile,  Huitcole,  and  Guachi- 
chile,  of  none  of  which  do  I  find  any  specimens  or  vocab- 
ularies.22 I  also  find  mentioned  in  Zacatecas  the  Colo- 
tlan,  and  in  Jalisco  the  Tlaxomulteca,  Tecuexe,  and  Te- 
pecano.23 

In  that  portion  of  the  state  of  Jalisco  which  is  known 
by  the  name  of  Nayarit,  the  Cora  language  is  spoken. 
It  is  divided  into  three  dialects;  the  Muutzicat,  spoken  in 
the  heart  of  the  mountains;  the  Teacuaeitzica,  on  the 
mountain  slopes;  and  the  Cora,  or  Ateacari,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Navarit,  or  Jesus  Maria.24  The  Aztec 

v  i 

Valle,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  se"rie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  96.  'Me  parece  que  tienen 
afinidad  las  lenguas  topia,  acajee  y  tepehuana,  las  quales,  coino  tambieii  la  de 
Parras,  son  dialectos  de  la  Zacateca.'  Hervds,  Catalog,  torn,  i.,  p.  327.  'Im 
Norden  von  Tepehuana  euthalt  die  gebirgige  Provinz  Topia  urn  den  25°  N. 
Br.  ausser  der  lingua  Topia  und  der  damit  verwandteu  Acaxee,  noch  im 
Norden  der  letzteren  die  Xixime,  Sicuraba,  Hina  und  Huime  als  Sprachen 
ebenso  vieler  verschiedener  in  der  Nahe  der  Topia  und  Acnxee  wohuenden 
Volkerschaften.'  Valer,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  138-9.  Castaneda 
mentions  in  these  regions  the  Tahus,  Pacasas,  and  Acaxas  languages,  in 
Ternaux-Conipaits,  Voy.,  serie  i.,  torn,  ix.,  pp.  15U-3;  Zapata,  Relation,  in 
Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  pp.  415-17;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia, 
pp.  12-13,  319-20;  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Astek.  Spr.,  pp.  173-4. 

22  '  Indies  cascaues  que  son  los  Zacatecas. '  '  Xuchipila  que  entendian  l;i 
lengna  de  los  Zacatecos.'  Padilla,  Conq.  N.  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  234;  Benxtnhz, 
D>'scrip.  Zacatecas,  p.  23.  '  Cazcanes,  qui  ad  fines  Zacatecamm  degunt,  liii- 
gua  inoribusque  a  caeteris  diversi:  Guachachihs  itidem  idiomate  diflttr- 
entes;  Denique  Guamara;,  quorum  idioma  supra  modum  concisum,  difficil- 
ime  aldiscitur.'  Laet,  Novus  Orlis,  p.  281.  'La  lengua  mexici.na  que  es  la 
generija  de  toda  la  Provincia.'  Arlegui,  Chron.  Zacatecas,  p.  52.  'Sobre  el 
Cascon  6  Zacateco,  no  creo  que  hnbiera  sido  ni  aun  dialecto  del  mexicano, 
sino  que  era  el  mismo  mexicano  hablado  por  unos  rusticos  que  estiopeuban 
las  palibras  y  que  les  daban  distinto  acento.'  Huacbicliiles,  Tejuejue  and 
Tlajomulteco  '  Sobre  estos  idiomas,  o  si  les  considera  dialectos,  jnzgo  que  no 
existieron.'  Romero  Gil,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Bolft'm,  torn,  viii.,  p.  499;  liibas, 
Hi.it.  de  los  Trivmphos,  p.  676;  Hassel,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  159. 

43  Orozco  y  JBerra,  Geografia,  p.  61. 

8*  Apostolicos  Afanes,  cap.  vii.,  p.  56.    'Dentro  de  Reyno  de  la  Galicia  que- 


720  NOKTH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

element,  which  is  stronger  and  more  apparent  in  the 
Cora  than  in  any  other  of  the  three  Aztec- Sonora  lan- 
guages, has  been  recognized  by  many  of  the  earliest 
writers.25  The  Cora  language  is  intricate  and  rather 
difficult  to  learn,  as  indeed  are  the  other  three.26  Fol- 
lowing are  a  few  grammatical  notes  taken  from  Ortega's 
vocabulary. 

The  letters  of  the  alphabet  are  <z,  5,  cA,  e,  A,  i,  k,  ra,  n, 
o,  p,  r,  t,  u,  v,  x,  y,  z,  'tz.  The  pronunciation  is  hard ; 
there  is  no  established  way  of  expressing  the  gender. 
The  names  of  animated  beings,  as  well  as  inanimate 
objects  form  the  plural  by  the  affixes  te,  eri  or  ri,  tzi  or 
zi,  and  also  with  the  preposition  mea,  although  there 
are  some  exceptions  to  this  rule;  for  example; — zearate, 
bee;  zearateri,  bees;  kanax,  sheep;  Jcanexeri,  sheep; 
uhibihuame,  orator;  ukubikuametzi,  orators;  teatzahua- 
teakame,  he  who  is  obedient,  of  which  the  plural  is 

claron  algunos  otras  Naciones  como  son  los  Cocas,  Tequexes,  Choras,  Te- 
cualmes  y  Nayaritas,  y  otras  que  despues  de  pacificada  la  tierra  hau  dejado 
de  hablarse  por  que  ya  reducidos  los  de  la  leugua  Azteca,  que  era  la  major 
naciou  se  ban  mixturado  de  suerte  que  ya  todos  las  mas  hablan  solo  una  leu- 
gua  en  toda  la  Galicia  excepta  en  la  Provincia  del  Nayarit.'  Pudilla,  Conq. 
N.  Galicia,  MS.,  p.  8.  'La  lengua  Cora,  que  es  la  del  Nayar.'  Arricicita, 
Cronica  Serdfica,  p.  89;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  39,  281-2;  Vater, 
Mithridatfs,  vol.  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  131-2. 

25  '  La  lengua  mas  comun  del  pais  es  la  chota  aunque  muy  interpolada  y 
confundida  hoy  con  la  Mexicana.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  iii.,  p. 
197.     'Muchos  vocables  de  la  lengua  rnexicana,  y  algunos  de  la  castellana, 
los  ban  corisado  haciendolos  propios  de  su  idioma  tan  antiguamente;  one 
ya  hoy  en  dia  corren,  y  se  tienen  por  Coras.'  Ortega,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Bo- 
letin,  torn,  viii.,  p.  563.     '  No  carezco  totalmente  de  datos  para  creer  que  los 
indios  nayares  son  pimas,  6  al  menos  descendientes  de  ellos.'  Orozco  y  Berra, 
Geografia,  p.  39.     '  Es  idioma  hermano  del  azteca,  tal  vez  fundado  en  algu- 
nas  palabras  que  tienen  la  forma  6  las  raices  del  mexicano;  nosotros  cree- 
mos  que  estas  semejanzas  no  provieneu  de  comunidad  de  origen  de  las  dos 
lengusis,  sino  de  las  relaciones  qne  esas  tribus  muntuvieron  por  espacio  de 
mucho  tiempo.'  Id.,  p.  282.     'La  core  offrent  tres-peu  d'affinite  avec  lea 
nutres  l.mgues  americaines.'  Malte-Brun,  Precis  de  la  Ge'og.,  torn,  vi.,  p.  449. 
'Die  Cora.  ..  .bewahrt  ihre  Vervvandtschaft  vornehmlich  dtirch  die  unver- 
kennbare  Gleichheit  einer  nur  diesen  beiden  Sprachen  gemeinshaftlichen 
Formations- Weise  des  Verbum  in  seiuen  Personen  und  die  Bezeichuung  ihrer 
Beziehung  auf  einleidendes  Object,  wie  die  Vergleichung  des  grammatischen 
Charakters  beyder  Sprachen  deutlich  zeigen  mrd.'    Vater.   Jlitliridahs.  torn. 
iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  87,  89.    '  Fur  verwandte  Sprachen,  wie  sie  allerdings  scheinen, 
haben  die  Cora  nud  die  mexicanisohe  grosse  Verschiedenheiten  in  iljrem 
Lautsystem.'   Wilhdm  von  Humboldt,  in  Buschmann,  Spuren  der  Aztek.  Spr., 
pp.  48-9. 

26  '  La  lengua  Cora  . . .  es  tan  dificil,  que  si  no  se  esta  entre  ellos  muchos 
:inos,  no  se  puede  aprendery  tiene  de  particular,  que  no  se  asemeja  a  otra 
de  las  naciones  que  tiene  vecinas.'  Caco,  Tres  Siglos,  tom.  ii.,  p.  117. 


CORA  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYER. 


721 


teatzahnateakametzi ;  kurute,  crane ;  kurutzi,  cranes ;  teaxka, 
scorpion;  teaxkate,  scorpions.  Verbal  nouns  designat- 
ing a  person  who  performs  an  action,  are  formed  by 
affixing  to  the  verb  the  syllable  kame,  or  huame ; — Jiukabi- 
huame,  advocate  (he  who  pleads) ;  timuacheakame,  lover, 
(he  who  loves) ;  tichuikame,  singer,  (he  who  sings) . 

Personal  pronouns  are; — neapue,  nea,  I;  apue,  ap, 
thou;  aehpu,  aelip,  he;  iteammo,  itean.  we;  ammo,  an, 
you;  aehmo,  aehm,  they;  but  in  conjugating  the  follow- 
ing are  used : — ne,  I ;  pe  or  pa,  thou ;  te,  we ;  ze,  you ;  me, 
they.  Of  the  conjugation  of  the  verb,  it  is  only  stated 
that  there  is  no  infinitive,  and  the  following  example  of 
the  present  indicative  is  given: 


I  love, 
Thou  lovest, 
He  loyes, 


nemuache 
peiuuache 
muache 


We  love, 
You  love, 
They  love, 


te  muache 
ze  muache 
me  muache 


There  are  plural  and  singular  verbs; — tachuite,  to  give 
a  long  thing;  taihte,  to  give  long  things. 

Prepositions  are: — hetze,  tzahta,  in;  kerne,  with,  for; 
apoan,  above;  tiliauze,  before.  The  peculiarity  of  the 
Muutzicat  dialect  is  the  frequent  use  of  the  letter  r, 
which  is  either  appended,  or  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  word  at  pleasure; — for  huihma,  they  say  mihma-, 
for  earit,  erarit.  The  Teakuaeitzicai  dialect  has  many 
distinct  words  not  used  in  any  of  the  others,  so  that 
at  times  they  are  not  at  all  understood  by  those  speak- 
ing the  other  dialects.  As  a  specimen  I  insert  the 
Lord's  Prayer: 

Tayaoppa  tahapoa  petehbe  cherihuaca  eiia  teaguarira ; 

Our  father        heaven  be  sanctified  be    thy  name; 

chemeahaubeni  tahemi  eiia  chianaca  cheaguasteni  eiia 

come  to  us        thy  world  done  be  thy 

jevira  iye  chianakatapoan  tup  up  tahapoa.    Ta   hamuit 

will         as  earth  as          heaven.        Our        bread 

huima    tahetze     rujeve     ihic     ta     taa;     huatauniraca 

always  us  by        wanting      to-day      us       give;  forgive 

ta  xanacat  tetup  iteahmo  tatahuatauni  titaxanakante  ta 

our         sin  as  we  we  forgive  ou*  Jtebtors          us 

VOL.  III.    46 


722  NOETH  MEXICAN  LANGUAGES. 

vaehre  teatkai  havobereni  xanakat  hetze  huavaehreaka 

help         that  not-       let  us  fall  sin  in  help 

tecai    tahemi  riitahuaja  tehai     eu     ene    che    enhuata 

that  not          us  reach  not       what    good        so         be  it. 

hua.27 

27  Ortega,  Vocabulario,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Geog.,  Boletin,  torn,  viii.,  pp.  561-602; 
Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  71-88;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp. 
131-8;  Buschmann,  Die  Lautverdnderung  Aztek.  Worterin  den  Sonar.  Spr.;  Id., 
Gram  der  Sonor.  Spr. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   AZTEC   AND    OTOMf   LANGUAGES. 

NAHUA  OK  AZTEC,  CHICHIMEC,  AND  TOLTEC  LANGUAGES  IDENTICAL — ANAHUAG 
THE  ABOKIGINAL  SEAT  OF  THE  AZTEC  ToNGUK — THE  AZTEC  THE  OLDEST 
LANGUAGE  IN  ANAHUAC — BEAUTY  AND  RICHNESS  OF  THE  AZTEC — TESTI- 
MONY OF  THE  MlSSIONAEIES  AND  EAKLY  WBITEBS  IN  ITS  FAVOB — SPECIMEN 
FBOM  PABEDES'  MANUAL — GBAMMAB  OF  THE  AZTEC  LANGUAGE — AZTEO 
LOBD'S  PBAYEB  —THE  C-ToMf  A  MONYSYLLABIC  LANGUAGE  OF  ANAHUAO 
— RELATIONSHIP  CLAIMED  WITH  THE  CHINESE  AND  CHEBOKEE — O'roarf 
GBAMMAB — OTOMI  LOBD'S  PBAYEB  IN  DIFFEKENT  DIALECIS. 

The  Nahua,  Aztec,  or  Mexican,  is  the  language  of 
Mexican  civilization,  spoken  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  Montezuma's  empire,  extending  from  the  plateau 
of  Anahuac,  or  valley  of  Mexico,  as  a  centre,  eastward 
to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  along  its  shores  from  above 
Vera  Cruz  east  to  the  Rio  Goatzacoalcos;  westward  to 
the  Pacific,  and  upon  its  border  from  about  the  twenty- 
sixth  to  the  sixteenth  parallel,  thus  forming  an  irreg- 
ular but  continuous  linguistic  line  from  the  gulf  of 
California  south-east,  across  the  Mexican  plateau  to  the 
gulf  of  Mexico,  of  more  than  four  hundred  leagues 
in  extent.  Again,  it  is  found  on  the  coast  of  Salva- 
dor, and  in  the  interior  of  Nicaragua,  and  we  have 
before  seen  its  connection  with  the  nations  of  the  north. 
Within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  Mexican  empire  many 
other  languages  besides  the  Aztec  were  spoken,  as  for 
instance  the  Otomi,  Huastec,  Totonac,  Zapotec,  Miztec, 

(723J 


724  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMt  LANGUAGES. 

and  Tarasco,  about  twenty  in  all.  It  has  been  claimed 
by  some  that  the  languages  of  the  Toltecs  and  Chi- 
chimecs  were  different  from  each  other,  and  from 
the  Aztec;  it  has  even  been  intimated  that  traces  of  a 
language  more  ancient  than  any  of  these  have  been 
found.  Pedro  de  los  Rios  mentions  two  words  of  a 
song  used  in  the  religious  ceremonies  at  Cholula,  tul.i- 
nian  hululaez — which  he  says  belong  to  a  language 
not  understood  by  the  Mexicans,  and  Alexander  von 
Hurnboldt  thinks  they  may  be  the  remains  of  some 
pre-Mexican  language.1  Others,  and  among  them  the 
Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  claim  greater  antiquity 
for  the  Maya,  affirming  that  it  was  spoken  in  Mexico 
before  the  Nahua-speaking  people  reached  that  country. 
From  a  careful  examination  of  the  early  authorities, 
I  can  but  entertain  the  opinion  that  the  Toltec,  Chichi - 
mec,  and  Aztec  languages  are  one,  that  the  Nahua,  or 
Aztec,  is  the  oldest  known  language  of  Anahuac.  and 
that  contrary  conclusions  arrived  at  by  certain  later 
writers  are  merely  speculative.  All  of  the  many  dif- 
ferent peoples  mentioned  as  aboriginal  in  ancient  Anu- 
huac  are  said  to  have  spoken  the  Aztec,  as  the  Ulmecs, 
Xicalancas,  Tecpanecs,  Colhuas,  Acolhuas,  Nahuas,  etc. 
Ixtlilxochitl,  the  native  Tezcucan  historian,  relates  that 
by  order  of  the  ruler,  Techotlalatzin,  the  Chichimecs 
dropped  their  own  tongue  and  adopted  that  of  the  Aztecs.2 

1  '  Les  Cholulains  chantoieut  dans  leur  fetes  en  dausant  autour  du  teo- 
calli,  et  qne  ce  cantique  commenc_oit  par  les  inots  Talaninn  liululaez,  qui  ue  sout 
d'ancuue  laugue  actuelle  du  Mexiqne.  Dans  tons  les  parties  du  globe,  sur 
le  dos  des  Cordilleres,  com  me  a  1'ile  de  Samothrace,  dans  la  mer  Eg'e,  des 
fragmi'iis  de  laugues  primitives  se  sout  conserves  dans  Jes  rites  religieux.' 
Uumboldt,  Vacs,  torn,  i.,  p.  115. 

a  '  Les  Culhnas,  les  Tecpaneques,  les  Aculhuaques,  les  Chalmecas,  les 
Ulmecas  les  Xicalaiicas. . .  .  parlaient  la  meuie  laugue,  quoiqne  dans  chaque 
province  avec  nn  autre  dialecte;  la  principal e  difference  cousistait  dans  Li 
prononciation.'  Camaryo,  Jfist.  Tlax.,  in  Nowdles  Anruiles  des  Voy.,  1843, 
torn,  xcviii.,  p.  138.  'Les  Ulmecas,  les  Xicalaiicas  et  les  Zacatecas . . . . 
avaient  les  memes  mceurs  et  la  un'-nie  langue.'  Id.,  p.  137.  'Car  la  langue 
de  ce  pays  (Xalisco)  est  le  cbichimeqne,  et  Marina  parlait  mexicain.  On  se 
servait,  a  la  veriti',  aussi  dansce  pays  d'uii  Mexicain  grossier  1 1  barbare,  tandis 
qne  Marina  le  parlait  avecbeauconp  d'i'h'gance.'  Id.,  torn,  xcix.,  p.  143.  Te- 
chotlalatzin '  f ue  el  primero  que  uso  hablar  la  Itngua  nahna,  que  ahora  se 
llama  Mexicana,  porque  sus  pasados  nunca  la  usaron;  y  asi  maiido  que  todos 
los  de  la  nation  Chicliimec  i  lahablaseu,  en  esj)ecial  todos  los  que  tuviest'iioficio 
y  cargos  de  repubJica.'  IxtUlxochitl,  Hint.  Ckich.,  in  Kiiujsboroujh's  Mex.  Antiq., 


OKIGINALITY  OF  THE  AZTEC  TONGUE.  725 

Furthermore,  internal  evidence  is  all  in  favor  of  the 
originality  of  the  Aztec  tongue.  Throughout  the  great 
empire  of  Anahuac  it  was  the  dominant  stock  language. 

vol.  IK.,  p.  217.  'Los  Mexioanos. . .  .son  de  los  mismos  de  Colhna. .  por  Rer 
la,  lengua  toda  una.'  Motol'mla,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta,  Col.  de  Doc.,  torn, 
i.,  p.  5.  'La  lengua  de  los  Mexicauo.s  es  la  de  los  Nahuales.'  Id.,  p.  187. 
'  La  principal  lengua  de  la  Nueva  Espana  que  es  de  nahuatl.'  Id.,  p.  231;  see 
also  pp.  10-11.  'Los  Tetzcueauos  (llamados  Aculhuaques;  y  los  Mexicanos, 
.  ...erau  de  vn  Lenguage.'  'La  propria,  y  antigua  Lengua,  de  los  C'hi- 
chimecas  Autiguos  . .  .es  esta  que  aora  corre,  con  comuii  Nombre  de  Mexi- 
cana.'  Torquemada,  Monarq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  31,  33,  44.  Tecpaneca,  Otomi 
y  Acolhua.  '  El  lenguage  de  estas  tres  naciones  era  diverse,  no  lo  era  rigo- 
rosnmente  hablando  el  de  la  tecpaneca  y  aculliua,  ni  pueden  llamarse  tales 
y  distiutos  de  la  lengua  uahuatl  6  mejicaua,  siuo  solumente  en  el  dialecto  y 
fnisimos,  al  modo  que  el  portuguez  respecto  del  castellaua.  La  Otond  se 
diferencia  mas  de  la  nahuatl.'  Veytia,  Hist.  Ant.  My'.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  44.  Ul- 
inecs;  'su  lengua  era  la  Nahuatl  que  hoy  Hainan  mejicana,  y  se  tiene  por 
niadre;  y  esta  fue  de  la  uacion  tolteca,  y  he  oido  decir  a  personas  bieii  in- 
struidas  en  este  idioina,  que  en  algunos  pueblos  que  aun  subsisten  en  uues- 
tros  dias  conocidas  por  de  la  naciou  ulmeca.'  Id.,  torn,  i.,  p.  154.  '  Los  Na- 
hoas,  eran  los  que  hablaban  la  lengua  mexicaua,  aunque  no  la  pronunciaban 
tan  elara,  como  los  perfeotos  mexicanos;  y  estos  Nahoas  tambien  se  Uamaban 
t'ltii-Jiimems.'  'De  estos  Chichimecas  unos  habia  que  se  decian  Nahuaz- 
chichirnecas  llamandose  de  Nahoas  y  de  Chichimecas  porque  hablaban  algo  la 
lengua  de  los  Nahoas  6  Mexicauos  y  la  suya  propia  Chichimeca.'  Saluii/un, 
Hint.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x. ,  pp.  120,  130,  147.  'Lengua  Nahuatl. . .  .se  en- 
t.endeser  en  lengua  Mexicaiia;  aunque  la  que  al  presente  hablan  y  hablaron 
en  la  Gentilidad  los  Mexicanos  no  es  suya,  siuo  aprehendida  de  las  otras 
nntecedentes  Naciones,  y  mas  bien  se  debia  llamar  Tulteca,  porque  esta 
Nacion  la  traxo  desde  su  peregriuacion,  haviendola  perfeccionado  en  la  ter- 
<•  -ra  Edad.'  Boturini,  Catalo(;o,  p.  95.  'Los  tluxcaltecos,  que  tienen  la  mes- 
ina  lengua  n;ihual  de  Mexico  y  Tezcuco.'  Mendiela,  Hist.  Edfs.,  p.  147. 
'  Le  nahuatl  est  sans  nul  doute  une  langue  deja  ancienue  dans  TAmerique 
oentrale,  et  plus  ancienne  meme  que  1'empire  dont  Montezuma  fut  le  chef.' 
Jlntsseur  de  Bourbourg,  Lettre,  in  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn, 
cxlvii.,  pp.  154,  153.  'lo  pero  non  dubito,  che  la  lingua  propria  cki  Cicime- 
chi  autichi  fosse  la  medesima  degli  Acolhui,  e  Nahuatlachi,  cioe  messicana." 
Clauigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  p.  153.  '  Los  Mexicanos,  o  por 
mejor  clecir  Aztlanecas,  no  es  su  natural  lengua  la  que  hablan  ahora,  .  es 
l.a  que  aprendieron  en  Tezouco.'  Ixtlilxoclntl,  Rdaciones,  in  Ringsborough's 
J/ciB.  Antiq.,  vol.  ix.,  p.  345.  'Que  el  lengmige  mexicano  se  uso  por  las 
antiqu'shnas  naciones  de  los  Tolt"cas  y  Chichimecas.'  Ilervds,  Catulo'jn,  toin. 
i.,  p.  298.  « Xochimilcas,  Chalquenos,  Tepanecas,  Colhuas,  Tlahuicas, 
Tlazcaltecas  y  Mexicanos. ..  .todas  hablan  un  mismo  idioma.'  Ileredia  y 
Sarmiento,  Sermon,  p.  86.  '  Mehr  oder  minder  zahlreiche  Sprachreste  aus 
dem  Mexikanischen  Sprachstamme ....  sind  Zeugen  von  der  ehemaligen 
Verbreitting  der  Tolteken  im  Siiden.'  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Urreligionen,  p. 
525.  '  Chichimecs.  ..  .same  family  with  the  Toltecs,  whose  language  they 
appear  to  have  spoken.'  Present? s  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  14.  'Die  Chfchimeken 
\\vlcheaztekischreden.'  Miihlenpfnrdt,  ir-jico,  torn,  ii.,  pt  ii.,  p.  364;  W'ap- 
piius,  Gcofj.  u.  Stat.,  pp.  34-5.  '  Dass  sie  Eines  TTrsprunges  mit  den  Tolti.'kon, 
.  ...waren  beweist  die  alien  gemeinschaftliche  Sprache,  welche  noch  die 
aztekische  heisst.'  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  6.  'The  Aztecs,  Acollmas, 
and  other  kindred  tribes  .  .were  of  the  same  language. . .  .as  the  Toltecs.' 
Gallcttin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Sor..,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  p.  203.  '  Lengua  mexicana, 
llamada  tolteca.'  Orozco  y  Ikrra,  Geograft'a,  p.  80.  'Toltecas  y  las  siete  tri- 
bus  nahuatlacas  tenian  un  mismo  orfgen  y  hablaban  la  misma  lengua,  que 
era  el  mexica.no,  uahuatl  6  azteca;  pero  de  niuguua  manera  succede  esto 


726  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMl  LANGUAGES. 

Towards  the  north,  as  we  have  seen,  sprinklings  of  it 
are  found  in  many  places,  but  nowhere  does  it  appear 
in  that  direction  as  a  base.  Far  to  the  south,  in  Nic- 
aragua, it  is  again  found  as  the  stock  tongue,  yet  with  a 
dialectic  rather  than  an  aboriginal  appearance,  so  that 
the  testimony  of  language  is  all  in  favor  of  the  plateau 
of  Anahuac  having  been  the  primal  centre  of  the  Aztec 
tongue,  rather  than  its  having  been  introduced  within 
any  measurable  epoch  by  immigration. 

That  the  Mexican  nation  did  its  utmost  to  extend 
the  language  is  certain.  It  was  the  court  language  of 
American  civilization,  the  Latin  of  medieval  and  the 
French  of  modern  times ;  it  was  used  as  the  means  of 
holding  intercourse  with  non-Aztec  speaking  people, 
also  by  all  ambassadors,  and  in  all  official  communica- 
tions ;  in  all  newly  acquired  and  conquered  territories  it 
was  immediately  introduced  as  the  official  language,  and 
the  people  were  ordered  to  learn  it.  It,  or  its  kindred 
dialects,  can  be  said  to  have  been  the  common  vernac- 
ular in  the  whole  interior  of  Andhuac,  and  over  a  large 
part  of  the  Aztec  plateau, although  within  these  limits 
other  tongues  were  in  vogue.  Southward,  it  again  ap- 
pears along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  was 
spoken  as  far  as  Guatemala,  in  the  interior  of  which  it 
appeared  in  the  shape  of  various  dialects  more  or  less 
corrupted.  It  can  also  be  traced  into  Tabasco,  and  even 
into  Yucatan  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  It  is  again  en- 
countered in  the  gulf  of  Amatique,  whence  lines  extend 
connecting  with  the  branches  of  the  Aztec  in  Guate- 
mala, Honduras,  and  Nicaragua.  It  is  also  possible  that 
it  may  at  one  time  have  been  used  even  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, as  will  appear  from  the  following  statements  of 

respecto  a  los  chichimecas,  aunqne  hasta  hoy  por  un  error  muy  comitn  se 
cree  lo  contrario. '  Pimentel,  Cttadro,  torn.  i. ,  p.  154;  Grijalua,  Cr6n.  Aurjiis- 
tht,  fol.  32.  'Les  rares  traditions  qui  nous  sont  restees  de  1'empire  des  Vo- 
tanides,  anterieuremeut  a  1'arrivoc  des  Nahoas,  ne  donnent  aucune  lumiere 
sur  les  populations  qui  habitaient,  a  cette  tfpoque,  les  provinces  int<5rieures 
du  Mexique.  .  ..Ce  que  nous  pensons,  toutefois,  pourvoir  avancer  avec  une 
conviction  plus  entiere,  c'est  que  la  majeure  partie  des  nations  qui  en  d6- 
pendaient  parlaient  une  seule  et  meme  langue.'  'Cette  langue  etait  suivant 
toute  apparence  le  Maya  on  Yucateque.'  Brasseur  de  Bourvourrj,  Hist.  Nat. 
Civ.,,  torn.  i. ,  p.  102 ;  Heller,  JKelsen,  p.  379,  et  seq. 


THE  AZTEC  LANGUAGE  EAST  OF  MEXICO.  727 

Acosta  and  Sahagun.  The  latter  says  that  the  Apala- 
ches  living  east  of  the  Mississippi  extended  their  expe- 
ditions and  colonies  far  into  Mexico,  and  were  proud 
to  show  to  the  first  conquerors  of  their  country  the  great 
highways  on  which  they  traveled.  Acosta  affirms  that 
the  Mexicans  called  these  Apalaches,  Tlatuices  or  mount- 
aineers. Sahagun,  speaking  of  them,  says  "  they  are  ]STa- 
hoas,  and  speak  the  Mexican  language."3  This  is  by  no 
means  improbable,  as  the  Aztec  is  found  eastward  in  the 
present  states  of  Tamaulipas  and  Coahuila,  and  thence 
the  distance  to  the  Mississippi  is  not  so  very  far.* 

Of  all  the  languages  spoken  on  the  American  conti- 
nent, the  Aztec  is  the  most  perfect  and  finished,  ap- 
proaching in  this  respect  the  tongues  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  and  actually  surpassing  many  of  them  by  its 
elegance  of  expression.  Although  wanting  the  six 


.    3  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat.  lud,,  p.  600;  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  ix., 
cap.  9;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Palenque,  p.  39. 

4  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  ii.,  lib.  v.,  cap.  v.,  lib.  vi.,  cap.  xii.,  dec.  iii., 
lib.  iii.,  cap.  ix.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  ix.,  cap.  xiii.;  Ddvila  Pa- 
dilla,  Hist.  Fund.,  Mex.,  p.  64.  'Nicaragua  sea  y  este  poblada  de  Nahua- 
les,  que  son  de  la  lengua  de  Mexico.'  Motolinia,  Hist.  Indios,  in  Icazbalceta, 
Col.  de  Doc.,  tom.  i.,  pp.  10-11,  231;  Oviedo,  Hist.  Gen.,  tom.  iii.,  p.  103, 
torn,  iv.,  pp.  35-37,  108;  Soils,  Hist.  Conq.  Mex.,  tom.  i.,  p.  118.  'Seine 
Herrschafft,  Lands-Sprach,  und  Glaubens-Sect  erstreckten  sicli  einer  seits 
biss  zu  dem  Markflecken  Tecoantepec,  das  ist  zweyhundert,  anderseits  biss 
gehn  Guiitimala  dass  ist  dreyhuiidert  Meil  sehr  von  der  Statt  Mexico." 
Hazart,  Eircheiigeschiclite,  torn,  ii.,  p.  499.  'Esta  lengua  mexicana  es  la  gen- 
eral que  corre  por  todas  las  provincias  de  esta  Nueva  Espafia,  puesto  que  en 
ella  hay  muy  rnuchas  y  diiferentes  lenguas  particulares,  de  cada  provincia,  y 
en  partes  de  cada  pueblo,  porque  son  innurnerables.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Eclcs., 
p.  552.  '  Sie  haben  viererley  Sprach  darinuen,  unter  welchen  der  Mexicaner 
am  lieblicksten  vnd  gebrauchlichsten  (in  Nicaragua).'  West  und  Ost-In- 
discher  Lustgart,  p.  390;  Grijalua,  Cron.  Augustin,  p.  12.  '  La  lengua  general 
del  pais,  que  era  la  Mejicaiia.'  Beaumont,  Cron.  Michoacan,  MS.,  p.  89;  Ar- 
naya,  Carta,  in  Doc.  Hist.  Mex.,  serie  iv.,  torn,  iii.,  p.  67.  '  Celui  de  Mexico 
est  regarde  conime  le  dialecte  original.'  Camargo,  Hist.  Tlax.,  in  Nouvelles 
Annalcs  des  Voy.,  1843,  tom.  xcviii.,  p.  138;  Burc/oa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  tom. 
ii.,  fol.  341;  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  252;  Gottfried,  Nvwe  Wdt,  p.  285;  Juarros, 
Hist.  Guat.,  p.  224;  Chevalier,  Mex.  Ancien  et  Mod.,  p.  160;  Museo  Mex.,  tom. 
iii.,  p.  269;  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  20;  Squier,  in  Id.,  note  iii.,  p.  100;  Squier's 
Monograph  of  Authors,  p.  ix. ;  Id.,  Cent.  Amer.,  pp.  320,  327-9,  339,  413; 
Stephens'  Cent.  Amer.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1SK);  Froebel,  Aus  Amerika,  tom.  i.,  p.  285; 
Conder's  Mex.  Guat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  178;  Romero,  Noticias  para  formar  la  llistoria 
de  Michoacan,  p.  5;  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  tom.  i.,  pp.  89-90;  Baril, 
Mexique,  p.  212;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Id.,  Esquisses,  p.  24;  Gallatin,  in 
Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  3,  8;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografta,  pp. 
54-5;  Vater,  Mithridal'S,  tom.  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  85;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  tom.  i., 
p.  158;  Annies  del  Ministerio  del  Fomento,  1854,  tom.  i, ;  Acosta,  Hist.  Nat. 
2nd.,  p.  584;  Id.,  Hist,  de  las  Ynd.,  p.  530. 


728  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMl  LANGUAGES. 

consonants,  5,  d,f,  r,  #,  s,  it  may  still  be  called  full  and 
rich.  Of  its  copiousness  the  Natural  History  of  Dr 
Hernandez  gives  evidence,  in  which  are  described 
twelve  hundred  different  species  of  Mexican  plants, 
two  hundred  or  more  species  of  birds,  and  a  large 
number  of  quadrupeds,  reptiles,  insects,  and  metals, 
each  of  which  is  given  its  proper  name  in  the  Mex- 
ican language.5  Mendieta  says  that  it  is  not  ex- 
celled in  beauty  by  the  Latin,  displaying  even  more  art  in 
its  construction,  and  abounding  in  tropes  and  metaphors. 
Camargo  calls  it  the  richest  of  the  whole  land,  and  the 
purest,  being  mixed  with  no  foreign  barbaric  element; 
Gomara,  says  it  is  the  best,  most  copious,  and  most 
extended  in  all  New  Spain;  Davila  Padilla,  that  it  is 
very  elegant  and  graceful,  although  it  contains  many 
metaphors  which  make  it  difficult;  Lorenzana,  that  it 
is  very  elegant,  sweet,  and  complete ;  Clavigero,  that  it  is 
copious,  polite,  and  expressive;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
that  from  the  most  sublime  heights  it  descends  to  com- 
mon things  with  a  sonorousness  and  richness  of  ex- 
pression peculiar  only  to  itself.  The  missionaries  found 
it  ample  for  their  purpose,  as  in  it  and  without  the  aid 
of  foreign  words  they  could  express  all  the  shades  of 
their  dogmas,  from  the  thunderings  and  anathemas  of 
Sinai  to  the  sublime  teachings  of  the  Christ. 

Although  the  Spaniards  usually  employed  the  word 
Dios  for  God,  the  Aztecs  offered  one  as  fit,  their  Teotl, 
and  Tloque  Nahuaque,  signifying  invisible  supreme 
being.  The  many  written  Aztec  sermons,  catechisms, 
and  rituals  also  attest  the  copiousness  of  the  tongue.6 

5  Hernandez,  Nova  Plant. 

6  See  Juan  de  la  Anunciucion,  Doctrina  Christiana  muy  cumplida,  donde  se 
contiene  la  exposition  de  todo  lo  iteccssario  p'ira  dodrinar  a  (us  Lxlios  y  <t<htiin- 
istralks  los  tianctos  Sacramentos.     Compuesta  en  lenyua  Caslellana  y  Mtxicana. 
Mex.,  1575.     Juan  de  la  Anunciacion,  Sermonafio  en  lengua  Mcxicana.  Mex., 
1577.     Joan  JBaptista,  Advertencias  para  7«s  <'<»i:\  sores  de  los  ^Naiurnles.  Mex., 
1600.     Rosalcs,  Loa  en  Obsequio  dela  Aparicion  de  Nueslra  S/nora  de  Uuuda- 
hipe,  Poem,  1582.     Iwm   de   Mijanaos,    Espejo   Diuino,   en  lenyna  Mexirana. 
Mex.,  1607.     Martin  de  Zeon,  Camino  del  Cielo,  en  lengua  Mi'.rintiKt.    Mex., 
1611.     Martin  de  Leon,  Manual  breve  y  forma  de  odminisirvar  los  Santos  Sacra- 
incntos  a  los  Indios.  Mex.,   1G40.     Coring  diedonio  Velasquez  de  Card' 
Leon,  Breve  Pradica,  y  Refjimen  del  Confessionario  de  Indios  en  Mexicano. 
Mex.,  16C1.     Iijnacio  de  Paredes,  Promptuario  Manual  Mexicano.  Mex.,  1759. 


SPECIMEN  OF  LONG  AZTEC  WORDS.  729 

The  Mexican,  like  the  Hebrew  and  French,  does 
not  possess  superlative  nouns,  and  like  the  Hebrew 
and  most  of  the  living  European  languages,  it  has  no 
comparatives,  their  place  being  supplied  by  certain 
particles.  The  Aztec  contains  more  diminutives  and 
augmentatives  than  the  Italian,  and  is  probably  richer 
than  any  other  tongue  in  the  world  in  verbal  nouns 
and  abstracts,  there  being  hardly  a  verb  from  which 
verbal  nouns  cannot  be  formed,  or  a  substantive  or 
adjective  of  which  abstracts  are  not  made.  It  is  equally 
rich  in  verbs,  for  every  verb  is  the  root  from  which 
others  of  different  meanings  spring.  Agglutination  or 
aggregation  is  carried  to  its  widest  extent,  and  words  of 
inordinate  length  are  not  uncommon.  In  agglutinating, 
end-syllables  or  letters  are  usually  dropped,  principally 
for  the  sake  of  euphony.  A  prayer  to  the  Virgin  of 
Guadalupe,  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Promptuario 
Manual  of  Paredes,  I  insert  here  as  a  curious  specimen 
of  long  words: 

Tlahuemmanaliztli ;  ic  momoztlae  tictocemmacazque 
in  Tlatocacihuapilli  Santa  Maria  de  Guadalupe.  TKi- 
tocacihuapille,  ]STotlazomahuiznantzine,  Santa  Mariae, 
mean  mixpantzinco  ninomayahui,  ninocnotlaza,  ihuan 
mochi  Noyollotica,  Nanimatica  nimitzhohuGcapanilhuia, 
nimitznomahuiztililia,  nirnitznotlazotilia,  ihuan  nimitz- 
notlazocamachitia  ipampa  in  nepapan  in  motetlaocolilit- 
zin;  ic  in  Tehuutzin  otinechmomacalmililitzino.  Auh 
ocyecenca  ipampa  ca  Tehuatzin,  Notzopelicanantzine,  oti- 
nechmopiltzintitzino,  ihuan,  otinechmoconetitzinu.  Auh 
ic  ipampa  in  axcan  ihuan  ye  mochipa  nimitznocemma- 
catzinoa,  Notetlaocolicanantzine,  inic  in  Tehuatzin  ni- 
mitznotlazotiliz,  ihuan  inic  aic  nimitznoyoltequipachil- 
huiz.  Auh  in  Tehuatzin,  nimitznotlatlauhtilia:  in  ma 
in  nonemian,  ihuan  in  nomiquian  xinechrnopalchuili, 

Francisco  de  Avila,  Platica  para  hazer  a  los  Indios.  Mex.,  1717.  Antonio  Vas- 
qucz  Gastdu,  Confessionario  Brere  en  lenyua  Mexicana,  (.'atecismo  Breve.  Pnebla, 
1716,  and  2d  edition,  1826,  1838,  also  1860.  Lecdones  Espiritwtles  para  las 
Tandas  de  Ejercidos.  Puebla,  1841.  Pcqueno  Uatedsmo  tn  d  idiotna  Mex. 
Puebla,  1819.  Juan  Eomualdo  A.maro,  Doctrina.  Mex.  1840. 


730  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMf  LANGUAGES. 

ma  xinechmochimalcaltili,  ihuan  ma  in  motetlaocoliliz- 
cuexantzinco  xinechmocalaquili ;  inic  qualli  ic  ninemiz. 
ihuan  nimiquiz;  inic  £atepan  nimitznomahuizalhuiz,  in 
ompa  in  Ilhuicac;  in  ompa  in  Dios  Itlutocatecpanchant- 
zinco  in  Gloria.  Amen.7 

A  word  of  sixteen  syllables,  the  name  of  a  plant, 
occurs  in  Hernandez — mihuiittUmoyoiccuitlatonpicixochitL9 
Though  the  Aztecs  made  verses,  no  specimens  of  their 
poetry  have  been  preserved  except  in  a  translated 
form.  One,  composed  by  the  great  Tezcucan,  King 
Nezahualcoyotl,  translated  in  full  in  the  preceding 
volume,  gives  us  an  exalted  idea  of  the  advanced  state 
of  the  language.9 

7  Paredes,  Prompiuario,  Manual  Mexicano,  p.  xc. 

8  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  24. 

9  '  La  ruexicana  no  es  menos  galana  y  curiosa  que  la  latina,  y  aun  pienso 
que  mas  artizada  en  conaposicion  y  derivacion  de  vocables,  y  en  metaforas, 
cuya  inteligencia  y  uso  se  ha  perdido.'  Mendieta,  Hist.  Edes.,  p.   55-2.     'La 
langue  mexicaine  est  la  plus  riche  de  toute  coutree:  elle  est  aussi  la  plus 
pure,  car  elle  n'est  pas  melangee  d'aucun  mot  etranger.'  Camargo,  Hist. 
Tlax.,  in   Nouvelles  Annaks  des    Voy.,  1843.  torn,  xcix.,  p.   13(5.     '  Lengua 
Mexicaua  y  Nahuatl,  que  es  la  mejor,  mas  copiosa  y  mas  estendida  que 
ay  en  la  nueva  Espana.'    Gomara,  Conq.  Mex.,  fol.  293;  Purchas  Ma  Pil- 
grimes,  vol,  iv.,  fol.  1135.     '  La  lengua  Mexicana,  que  aunque  es  muy  ele- 
gante y  graoiosa,  tlene  por  su  artificio  y  agudeza  muchas  metaforas,  que  la 
hazen  diticultosa.'  Ddvila  Padilla,  Hist.  Fvnd.  Mex.,  p.  31.     'Malgrado  la 
mancanza  di  quelle  sei  consonant!  e  una  lingua  copiosissiina,  assai  pulita,  e 
sommamente  espressiva.'  Claviajero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  171. 
'  Es  muy  elegante  este  idioma,  dulce,  y  muy  abundante  de  Frases,  y  compo- 
siciones.'  Cortes,  Hist.  Nueva  Espana,  p.  5;  Lad,  Novus  Orlis,  pp.  240-1; 
Carbajal  Espinosa,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  635;  Mutter,  Reisen,  torn,  iii.,  pp. 
105-8.     '  Su  lengua  es  la  mejor  y  mas  polida.'  (Tezcuco.)  Herrera,  Hist. 
Oen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  x.     'La  mas  elegante  la  Tezcucana  como  la  Cas- 
tellana  en  Toledo.'   Vetancvrt,  Teatro  Mex.,  pt  ii.,  p.  14;  Boturini,  Idea,  p. 
142;  Hutnboldt,  VUPS,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  382-3.     'Esta  lengua  mas  elegante  y  ex- 
pressiva  que  la  Latina,  y  dulce  que  la  Toscana.'  Granados  y  Galces,  Tardes 
Amer.,  p.  401.     'La  langue  mexicaine  est  riche  comme  les  antres  langues 
indiennes;  niais.  comme  elles,  elle  est  materielle  et  n'abonde  pas  en  mots 
sigirincatit's   d'idees   abstraites;  comme  elks,   elle  est  syntlu'tique  dans  sa 
structure,  et  n'en  differe,  quaut  a  ses  formes,  que  par  les  details  qui  n'af- 
fectent  point  son  genie  et  son  caractere.     Elle  nbonde  en  particules  in  ter- 
cak'es,'  Du  Ponceau,  Me'moire,  p.  253;  Sonneschnrid,   Remarks  on  Mex.  and 
the  Mex.  Lang.,  in  Amer.  Monthly  Mag.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  118;  Lnn<fs  Polynesian 
Nat.,  pp.  95-7.     'The   Mexican  tongue  abounded  in  expressions  of  rev- 
erence and  courtesy.     The  style  and  appellations  used  in  the  intercourse 
between  equals,  would  have  been  so  unbecoming  in  the  mouth  of  one  in  a 
lower  sphere,  when  he  accosted  a  person  in  higher  rank,  as  to  be  deemed  an 
insult.'  Robertson's  Hist.   Amer.,    vol.   ii.,   pp.   278-9.     '  The  low  guttural 
pronunciation  of  the  Mexican,  or  Aztec.'   Ward's  Mex.,  vol.  i.,  p.  31;  Galida 
Chimaipopocatl,  Dissertation,  in  Museo  Mex.,  torn,  iv.,  p.  517,  et  seq.;  IMlr. 
Reisen,  p.  377.     'Des  hauteurs  les  plus  sublimes,  de  la  inetaphysique,  elle 
descend  aux  choses  les  plus  vulgaires;  avec  une  sonorite  et  une  richfs.se 


AGGLUTINATION  IN  THE  AZTEC  LANGUAGE.  731 

The  Mexican  language  employs  the  following  letters:  a, 
$,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o.  p,  q.  t,  tl,  tz,  u,  v,  a?,  y,  z.  The  pro- 
nunciation is  soft  and  musical,  and  free  from  nasal 
sound.  The  a  is  clear;  ch  before  a  vowel  is  pro- 
nounced as  in  Spanish ;  but  before  a  consonant,  or  when 
a  terminal,  it  differs  somewhat ;  e  is  clear ;  h  is  an  aspir- 
ate, in  general  soft,  being  strong  only  when  it  precedes 
u.  No  word  commences  with  the  letter  £;  II  is  pro- 
nounced as  in  English.  The  t  is  sometimes  silent,  but 
not  when  it  comes  between  two  I's ;  tl  in  the  middle  of 
a  word  is  soft,  as  in  Spanish,  but  as  a  terminal  it  is 
pronounced  tie,  the  e  half  mute;  tz  is  similar  to  the 
Spanish  s,  but  a  little  stronger ;  the  v  is  by  the  women 
pronounced  as  in  Spanish,  but  men  give  it  a  sound 
very  similar  to  hu  in  Spanish;  x  is  soft,  like  sh  in 
English ;  z  is  like  s  in  Spanish,  but  less  hissing. 

By  compounding,  the  Mexicans  make  many  long 
words,  some  even  of  sixteen  syllables ;  but  there  are  also 
some  non-compounded  words  that  are  very  long.  Words 
are  compounded  by  uniting  a  number  of  whole  words, 
and  not  alone  by  simple  juxtaposition,  since,  with  much 
attention  to  brevity  and  euphony,  letters  and  sylla- 
bles are  frequently  omitted.  For  instance; — tlazotli, 
loved;  mahuiztik,  honorable,  or  reverend;  teopixqui, 
priest;  tatli,  father;  no,  mine;  of  which  is  composed  notla- 
zomahuizteopixcatzin,  that  is  to  say,  my  very  esteemed 
father  and  reverend  priest.  This  also  presents  an  exam- 
ple of  the  ending  fern,  which  simply  signifies  respect. 
leopixqui  is  composed  of  teotl,  God,  and  pia,  to  guard. 
There  are  two  particles  which  may  be  appropriately 
called  ligatures,  as  they  serve  to  unite  words  in  certain 
cases ;  they  are  ca  and  ti.  JKualani,  to  irritate,  to  anger ; 
itta,  consider,  reflect;  nikualanicaitta,  to  observe  with 
anger,  angrily. 

By  reason  of  these  compounded  words,  the  meaning 
of  a  whole  sentence  is  often  contained  in  a  single  word, 

d' expression  qni  n'appartiennent  qn'a  elle.'  Srasseur  de  Bnurbourcj,  Hist. 
X'/l.  I'io.,  torn,  i.,  p.  103;  Prescntt'ti  MX.,  vol.  i.,  p.  108,  vol.  iii.,  p.  395. 
'  The  language  of  the  Mexicans  is  to  our  apprehension  harsh  in  the  ex- 
treme.' Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  vol.  i.,  p.  288. 


732  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMl  LANGUAGES. 

as; — ilalnepanila,  in  the  middle  of  the  earth,  or,  situated 
in  the  middle;  Popocatepetl,  smoking  mountain;  atzcapiit- 
zatti,  ant-hill,  or,  place  where  there  are  many  people 
moving — alluding  to  a  dense  population;  cuauhna/nmc, 
(Cuernavaca)  near  to  the  trees;  atlixco,  above  the  water; 
tepetitlan,  above  the  mountain,  etc. 

There  are  several  ways  of  expressing  the  plural. 
As  a  rule,  plurals  are  applied  only  to  animate  ob- 
jects. Inanimate  objects  seldom  change  in  the  plural, 
as; — ce  tetlj  one  stone;  yei  tetl,  three  stones;  miec  tetl, 
many  stones.  In  exceptional  cases  the  plural  of  in- 
animate objects  is  expressed  by  terminals.  One  of 
these  exceptions  is  when  the  object  is  connected  with 
persons,  &s;—zoquitl,  mud;  tizoquime,  we  are  earth;  but 
there  are  again  exceptions  to  this  rule,  as  for  instance; — 
Hhuicame,  the  heavens;  tepeme,  mountains;  zitlaltin,  stars. 
Sometimes  inanimate  things  also  form  the  plural  by 
doubling  the  first  syllable; — tetla,  place  full  of  stones; 
tetetla,  places  full  of  stones;  calli,  house;  cacalti,  houses. 
These  various  terminations  may  be  reduced  to  the  fol- 
lowing rules.  Primitive  words  have  the  plural  in  me, 
tin,  or  que,  as; — ichcatl,  a  sheep;  ichcame,  sheep;  zolin,  a 
quail,  zoltin,  quail;  cocoxqui,  sick;  cocoxque,  sick  (plural); 
topile,  constable;  topikque,  constables.  Derivatives  form 
the  plural  as  follows:  those  called  reverentials,  ending 
with  tzintli,  have  in  the  plural  tzitzintin.  Diminutives, 
ending  in  tontli,  have  in  the  plural  totontin,  and  dimin- 
utives ending  in  ton  and  pil,  augmentatives  in  pot,  and 
reverentials  in  tzin,  double  the  terminal,  as; — tlacatzinili, 
person;  tlacatzitziiitin,  persons;  ichcatontli,  a  lamb;  ich- 
catotontin,  lambs;  ichcapil,  lamb;  ichcapipil,  lambs;  chi- 
chiton,  a  little  dog;  chichitoton,  little  dogs;  huehuetzin, 
old  man;  huehuetzitzin,  old  men. 

Words  info  whose  composition  the  possessive  pronoun 
enters,  whether  primitive  or  derivative,  have  for  the 
plural  van  or  huan; — noichcahuan,  my  sheep;  noichcato- 
tonhuan,  my  little  sheep.  The  words  tlacatl,  man,  ciuatl, 
woman,  and  those  which  imply  an  official  or  profes- 
sional position,  form  the  plural  simply  by  leaving  off 


AZTEC  GRAMMAR  733 

the  last  letters,  as; — mexicatl,  plural,  mexicd;  in  which 
case,  however,  the  ultimate  syllable  is  accented.  Some 
words,  to  form  the  plural,  double  the  first  syllable,  and 
also  use  terminals,  as; — teotl,  God;  teteo,  gods;  zolin, 
quail;  zozoltin,  quails;  zitli,  hare;  ziziltin,  hares.  Td- 
pochtli  and  ichpochjM,  double  the  syllable  po. 

Some  adjectives  have  several  plurals,  as; — miec, 
much;  plural,  mie&in,  miecintin,  or  miecin.  Gender  is 
expressed  by  adding  the  words  oguichtli  or  ciuatl,  male 
and  female,  except  in  such  words  as  in  themselves  in- 
dicate the  gender.  A  father  speaking  of  his  son  says, 
nopiltzin,  and  a  mother  of  her  daughter,  noconeuh. 

There  are  no  regular  declensions;  in  the  vocative 
case,  an  e  is  added  to  the  nominative,  or  words  ending 
in  tli  or  li,  change  the  i  into  e.  Those  ending  in  tzin  may 
change  to  tze  or  add  an  e,  but  the  latter  is  only  used  by 
males.  The  genitive  is  denoted  by  the  possessive  pro- 
noun or  by  the  juxtaposition  of  the  words,  as; — teotl,  God ; 
tenahuatilli,  emanating;  teotenahuatilli,  precept  of  God. 
The  dative  is  indicated  by  verbs  called  applicatives ;  the 
accusative,  by  certain  particles  which  accompany  the 
verb,  or  by  juxtaposition;  as; — chihua,  to  have;  tlaxcalli, 
bread ;  nitlaxcalchihua,  I  have  bread.  The  ablative  is 
indicated  by  certain  particles  and  prepositions.  Dimin- 
utives are  formed  by  the  terminals  tonili  and  ton,  as; — • 
chichi,  dog;  chichiton,  small  dog;  catti,  house;  cacontli, 
small  house.  Augmentatives  take  the  syllable  poL  The 
terminals  tla,  and  la,  serve  as  collectives ; — xocliitl,  flower ; 
xochitla,  flower-bed.  Words  ending  with  oil  are  abstracts, 
as; — quatti,  good;  quatotl,  goodness.  Those  ending  with 
va  (hua)  and  e  indicate  possession; — iUmicatl,  heaven; 
il/micahua,  master  of  heaven,  (applied  to  God).  Com- 
paratives and  superlatives  have  no  particular  termina- 
tions, but  their  place  is  supplied  by  adverbs,  as; — achi, 
ocachi,  etc.,  which  mean  'more.'  Pedro  is  better  than 
Juan,  ocachiqualli  in  Pedro  ihuan  amo  Juan;  here  the  ad- 
verb is  connected  with  quatlo,  good.  Words  derived  from 
active,  neuter,  passive,  reflective  and  impersonal  verbs, 
having  various  significations,  terminate  in  ni,  oni,  ya, 


734  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMf  LANGUAGES. 

ia,  yan,  can,  yau,  ian,  tli,  U,  liztli,  oca,  ca,  o,  tl;  as; — 
cochini,  he  who  sleeps;  tlaxcaMiikuani,  he  who  has 
bread;  motlaloani,  he  who  runs;  chihualoni,  practicable; 
neitonilonij  something  producing  perspiration;  notlachi- 
uaya,  my  instrument ;  amotlanequia,  our  will ;  tlacualoyan, 
eater;  micoayan,  place  to  sleep;  itepatiayan,  hospital; 
tlacliihuaUij  created,  produced;  tetlazotlatiztli,  love;  nachi- 
hualoka,  creation. 

Personal  pronouns  are; — neJmatl,  nehua,  ne,  I;  tehitatl, 
tehua,  te,  thou;  yehuatl,  yehua,  ye,  he  or  somebody;  te- 
huantin,  tehua,  we;  amehuantin,  amekuan,  you;  yehuan- 
tin,  yehuan,  they.  Possessives; — no,  mine;  mo,  thine; 
i,  his;  to,  ours;  amo,  yours;  in  or  im,  theirs;  te,  belong- 
ing to  others. 

The  above-mentioned  possessives  are  used  in  com- 
pounded words,  and  change  the  final  syllable  of  the 
word  to  which  they  are  joined ; — teotl,  God ;  noteuh,  my 
God;  huehuetl,  old  man;  amohuehuetcauh,  our  old  man. 

The  verb  has  indicative,  imperative,  optative,  and 
subjunctive  moods — present,  imperfect,  perfect,  pluper- 
fect, and  future  tenses. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TEMICTIA,  TO  KILL. 

PBESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  kill,  nitemictia 

Thou  killest,       titeinictia 
He  kills,  teinictia 


We  kill,  titemictia 

You  kill,  antemictia 

They  kill,  teinictia 


IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 


I  killed,  nitemictiaya 


I  have  killed,  ^   onitemicti 

We  have  killed,  otitemictiquS 


PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  killed,  onitemictica 

FIRST  FUTURE,  SECOND   FUTURE. 


I  shall  kill,  nitemictiz 

We  shall  kill,  titeuiictizque 


I  shall  have  killed,        yeonitemictli 


IMPERATIVE. 

Kill  thou,  maxictemicti         |    Kill  you,  maxitemictican 

OPTATIVE. 
Would  that  I  might  kill,  manitemictiani 

PASSIVE   FORMS. 

I  am  killed,  nimictilo 

I  was  killed,  oniuactiloya 


AZTEC  IEEEGULAE  VEKBS.  735 

PASSIVE   FOBMS. 

I  have  been  killed,  onimictiloc 

I  had  been  killed,  onimitiloca 

I  shall  be  killed,  nimictiloz 

I  shall  have  been  killed,  ye  onimictiloo 

O  that  I  may  be  killed,  maniniictilo 

0  that  I  had  been  killed,  manimictiloni 

1  ou^ht  to  be  killed,  nimictilozquia 
He  who  is  killed,  inmictilo 

OTHEB  FOKMS. 

If  I  had  killed,  intlaonitcmictiani 

If  I  had  not  killed,  intlacamo  onitemictiani 

If  I  should  kill,  intlanitemictiz 

He  who  kills,  intemictia 

I  come  to  kill,  onitemictico 

I  will  come  to  kill,  nitemictiquiuh 

May  I  come  to  kill,  manitemictiqui 

I  went  to  kill,  onitemictito 

I  will  go  to  kill,  nitemictiuh 

May  I  go  to  kill,  manitemiciti 

There  are  but  few  irregular  verbs  in  the  Aztec  lan- 
guage and  the  following  are  all  that  Pimentel  could 
find ; — Jca  and  mani,  to  be ;  imc,  to  be  on  foot ;  onoc,  to  be 
lying  down;  yauh,  to  go;  huallauh  and  huitz,  to  come; 
mazehualti,  icnopitti,  and  ilhuilti,  to  obtain  a  benefit. 

The  following  words  are  always  used  as  affixes: 


For 

pal,  pampa 

Of,  from 

tech 

Behind 

icampa,  tepotzco, 

Toward 

huic 

cuitlapan 

Between 

tzalan 

With 

huan,  pa,  copa,  ca 

In  the  midst 

nepantla 

Belonging  to 

tloc 

Together 

nahuac 

Within 

CO,  C 

Above 

icpac 

On  the  other  side 

nalko,  nal 

Before 

ixco,  ixpan, 

ixtlan, 

Upon,  in  time 

pan 

ixtla 

Underneath 

tlan 

Inside 

itic,  itec 

Under 

tziutlau 

THE    LORD  S   PRAYER. 

Totatzine       ynilhuicac  timoyeztica,  mayectenehualo 

Our  revered  father         who  heaven  in  art,  be  praised 

inmotocatzin,  mahualauh  inmotlatocayotzin  machihualo 

thy  name,  may  come  thy  kingdom  be  done 

intlalticpac    inmotlanequilitzin,     inyuhchichihualo    in- 
earth above  thy  will  as  is  dune 

ilhuicac,  intotlaxcalmomoztlae  totech  monequi  maaxcan 

heaven  in,  our  bread  every  day  to  us  is  necessary          to-day 

xitechmomaquili,  maxitechmetlapopohuili   intotlatlacol, 

give  us,  forgive  us  our  sins, 


736  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMl  LANGUAGES. 

iniuh  tiquintlapopolhuia  inteclitlatla  calhuia,  macamoxi- 

as  we  forgive  those  who       us  offend,  thou  not 

techmomacahuili   inicamo  ipan  tihuetzizque  inteneyeye- 

us  lead  that  not       in  we  fall  in  temp- 

coltiliztli:  canye  xitechmomaquixtili  iir)Thuicpa  inamo- 

tation:  but  deliver  us  against  from 

qualli.       Maiuhmochihua.10 

not  good. 

Many  comparisons  between  the  Aztec  and  the  tongues 
of  Asia  and  Europe  have  been  made,  and  relationship 
claimed  with  almost  every  prominent  language,  but  un- 
der analysis  all  these  fancied  affinities  vanish.  Simi- 
larities in  words,  in  common  with  all  tongues,  are  found 
between  the  Aztec  and  others,  but  at  best  they  can  be 
called  only  accidental.  Still,  a  few  remarkable  word- 
analogies  have  been  noticed,  among  the  chief  of  which 
are  the  following.  The  Aztec  like  the  Greek  and  Sans- 
krit, uses  the  privative  preposition  a,  which  in  the  Celtic 
has  been  changed  to  an,  in  Latin  to  in,  or  im,  and  in  the 
German  to  un\ — Greek,  athanatos;  Aztec,  amiquini,  im- 
mortal. Further,  in  the  perfect  tense,  and  sometimes  in 
the  imperfect,  o  is  used  in  the  Aztec,  like  the  Sanskrit  a, 
and  the  Greek  e.  But  the  most  remarkable  coincidence  is 
the  word  teotl,  which  is  as  near  as  possible  to  the  Greek 
Theos.  Kingsborough  and  Mrs  Simon  see  in  the  Aztec 
the  language  of  the  Jews;  Jones  that  of  the  ancient 
Tyrians ;  Lang,  that  of  the  Polynesians.  Garcia  makes 
comparisons  with  the  Hebrew,  Spanish,  Phoenician, 
Egyptian,  Japanese,  and  German,  and  for  a  relationship 
with  these  and  man}-  others  he  finds  claimants.  LTntil 
further  light  is  thrown  upon  American  philology,  the 

i"  Pedro  de  Arenas,  Vocabulirio  Manual  de  las  Lenguas  Casiellana  y  Mexi- 
cnna.  Mex.,  1583.  Manuel  Perez,  Arte  del  Idioma  Jlexicano.  Hex.,  1713. 
Antonio  Vasquez  Gastelu,  Arte  da  la  Lengua  JHexicana.  Puebla,  1716,  and  2d 
edition,  1838.  Frandsco  de  Avila,  Arte  de  la  Lenyua  Mexicana.  Mex.,  1717. 
Cn-i'lofi  de  Ttijtia  Zmdrno,  Arte  Nocisnima  de  Len>jua  Mexicana.  Mex.,  1753. 
Horatio  Carochi,  Compendia  del  Arte  de  la  Lenyua  Mexicana.  Mex.,  1759.  Mo- 
lina, Vocabulario.  Mex.,  1571.  llafatl  Sandoval,  Arte  de  la  Lengua  Mexicana. 
Mex.,  1810.  Pedro  de  Arenas,  Guide  de  la  Conversation.  Paris,  1862.  Galla- 
tiu,  in  Amer.  Elhno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  214-245;  Pimentel,  Cuadro, 
vol.  i.,  pp.  164-216;  Vaier,  M'dhridates,  vol.  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  85-106;  Busch- 
mann,  Ortsn^mn,  pp.  20-37. 


HYPOTHETICAL  OTOMI  AND  CHINESE  EELATIONSHIP.    737 

Aztec  must  stand  alone,  as  one  of  the  independent  lan- 
guages of  the  world.11 

The  Otomi,  held  to  be  next  to  the  Aztec  the  most 
widely  extended  language  in  Mexico,  was  spoken  by  a 
rough  and  barbarous  people  who  inhabit  the  mountains 
encircling  the  valley  of  Anahuac,  but  more  particularly 
those  towards  the  north-west.  Thence  it  extended  into 
the  present  state  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  was  spoken 
throughout  Queretaro  and  the  larger  part  of  Guanajuato, 
and  in  places  in  Michoacan,  Yera  Cruz,  and  Puebla.12 
From  the  Journal  and  Proceedings  of  the  fourth  Provin- 
cial Council,  held  in  Mexico  in  the  year  1771,  it  appears 
that  the  language  was  spoken  in  four  dialects,  varying 
so  much  that  it  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
that  the  several  tribes  could  hold  intercourse.13  The 
only  dialect  of  which  particular  notice  has  been  taken 
is  the  Mazahua,  spoken  in  the  ancient  province  of  Maza- 
huacan.  Of  the  others  the  only  specimens  are  a  few 
Lord's  Prayers. 

The  Otomi  claims  attention  in  one  particular;  it  is 
the  only  true  monosyllabic  language  found  in  the  Pacific 
States,  and  this  alone  has  led  many  to  claim  relation- 
ship between  it  and  the  Chinese. 

This  Chinese  relationship  has  been  mainly  advocated 
by  Senor  Najera,  a  native  Otomi,  who  in  furtherance  of 
his  peculiar  views  wrote  an  excellent  Otomi  grammar,  in 
an  appendix  to  which  he  gives  an  extensive  comparison 
between  the  two  idioms.  But,  taking  up  the  words  which 

11  '  Es  1st  nicht  moglich  von  einer  Verwandtschaft  der  mexicanischen 
Sprache  mit  den  Sprachen  anderer  Erdtheile  zu  reden.'  Buschmann,  Ortsna- 
men,   p.    20;  Garcia,    Origen  de  los  Ind.,  pp.  118-21,  187,   232-5,  241,  269; 
Jones'  Hist.  Anc.  Amer.;  Simon's  Ten  Tribes,  pp.  163,  173;  Lang's  Polynesian 
Nat.,  pp.  96-8,  etseq;  Quarterly  Review,  1816,  p.  415;  Humboldt,  Vues,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  229,  et  seq. 

12  Orozco  y  Berra  Geografia,  p.  17;   Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de  Jesus,  torn,  i., 
p.  282;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  tom.i.,  p.  118;   Valer,  Mithridates,  tom.  iii.,  ptiii., 
p.  113. 

13  '  Concordandose  en  que  no  se  entienden  los  mismos  Otomites  de  diver- 
sos  Pueblos,  aun  Vecinos,  de  que  dio  una  prueba  concluyenle  el  Obispo  de 
Puebla,  con  el  hecho  de  haver  juutado  quatro  Curas  estindantes  de  su  sierra 
Otomi  los  que  mutuamente  se  improbaban  por  hereticas,  a  disparatados  sus 
explicaciones  de  los  Mysteiios  de  nra  Religion.'  Concilia  Provincial  Memcano, 
iv.,  1771,  Jxilio  31,  MS. 

VOL.  III.    47 


738  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMf  LANGUAGES. 

he  declares  to  be  similar,  we  are  ar  once  struck  with  im- 
portant omissions  on  his  part.  The  first  is  that  he  has 
not  at  all  taken  into  consideration  the  difficulty  of  com- 
paring monosyllabic  languages,  in  which  a  word  fre- 
quently has  ten  or  more  significations,  distinguishable 
only  by  pronunciation  and  accentuation,  and  at  times 
having  scarcely  these  distinguishing  features.  Secondly, 
the  words  which  he  adduces  to  be  similar,  are  wanting 
in  the  very  essentials  that  constitute  a  relationship,  for 
in  most  instances  they  are  not  even  similar  in  sound, 
a  requisite  to  which  more  attention  ought  to  be  paid  in 
monosyllabic  languages  than  in  those  which  are  poly- 
syllabic. The  few  words  that  in  reality  are  similar  are 
probably  only  accidental  resemblances,  and  the  question 
of  relationship  between  the  Otomi  and  Chinese  cannot 
be  said  to  have  been  established  as  yet.u 

Mr  Bringier  branches  out  in  another  direction  in 
search  of  a  relationship,  and  fancies  he  finds  it  in  the 
Cherokee,  basing  his  whole  argument  on  a  hypothetical 
resemblance  of  perhaps  half  a  dozen  words,  which  in 
fact  do  not  resemble  each  other  at  all.15 

Like  other  monosyllabic  tongues  the  Otomi  is  rather 
difficult  to  acquire,  its  pronounciation  being  rough,  gut- 
tural, with  frequently  occurring  nasals  and  aspirates.16 

14  Naxera,  Dis.  sobre  la  lengua  Othomi',  Warden,  Eecherches,  in  Antiq.  Mex., 
pp.  125-9. 

15  Bringier,  Lettre,  in  Silliman's  Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  35-6. 

16  '  La  Otomi,  lengua  barbara  cuasi  enteramente  gutural,  y  que  a  penas 
cede  al  estudio  y  a  la  mas  seria  aplicacion.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Cornp.  de  Jesus, 
torn,  i.,  p.  90.    '  La  Otomi,  que  se  dilata  casi  tanto  como  la  Mexicana,  y  en 
la  difficultad,  y  obscuridad  le  haze  grandes  yentajas.'  Grijalua,  Cron.  Au- 
gustin,  fol.  74.     '  Loro  linguaggio  e  assai  difficile,  e  pieno    d'aspirazioni, 
che  fanno  parte   nella  gola,   e  parte  nel  naso  ma  peraltro  e  abbastanza 
copioso  ed  espressivo.'  Clavigero,  Storia  Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  p.   148. 
'Une  langue   pleine  d'aspirations  nasales   et  gutturales. '  Humboldt,  Essai 
Pol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  255.    'Die  Sprache  der  Othomi  zeichnet  sich  dutch  die  Ein- 
sylbigkeit  oder  wenigstens  Kiirze  ihrer  meisten  Worter,  durch  Ha'rte  und  As- 
piration aus.'   Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  114.    'Leur  langue,  rude 
comme  eux,  est  monosyllabique :  embrassant  a  la  fois  tons  les  sons,  maisclt1- 
nuee  d'ornements,  elle  montre,  nt'anmoins,  dans  sa  simplioite  quelque  chose 
de  majestueux  qui  rappelle  les  temps  antiques. '  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Nat.  Civ.,  torn,  i.,  p.  157.    'Es  dura,  seca,  ingrata  a  la  lengua  y  mal  al  oido: 
todo  lo  de  ella  es  rustico,  vasto,  sin  pulidez.'  Naxera,  Dis.  sobre  la  lengua 
Othomi,  p.  23.     '  Su  lenguage  es  muy  duro  y  corte.'  fferrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec. 
iii.,  lib.   v.,  cap.  xix;  Duponceau,  Memoire,   pp.    68-71;  Torquemada,    J/o- 
narq.  Ind.,  torn,  i.,  p.  33,  torn,  ii.,  p.   82;  Muller,  Eeisen,  torn,  iii.,  p.  45; 


OTOMl  GKAMMAE.  739 

As  before  stated,  many  words  having  distinct  mean- 
ings, are  distinguished  only  by  various  sounds,  or  in- 
tonations of  the  same  vowel ;  many  words  even  having 
the  same  sound  and  intonations  have  different  meanings. 
The  words  of  this  language  are  of  one  or  two  syllables ; 
a  few  of  them  have  three.  In  words  compounded  of 
more  than  one  syllable,  each  syllable  preserves  its  origi- 
nal meaning.  The  words  whether  noun  or  verb,  are  in- 
flexible. Neither  substantive  nor  adjective  nouns  have 
any  gender.  The  same  word  may  be  a  substantive, 
adjective,  verb,  and  adverb,  as  in  the  following  sentence ; 
— -na  nho  nho  ye  na  nho  he  nho,  which  means,  the  good- 
ness of  man  is  good  and  becomes  him  well.  Nouns  have 
neither  declension  nor  gender,  which  are  expressed  either 
by  distinct  words,  or  by  ta  or  tza,  male,  and  nsu  or 
nxu,  female; — tayo,  the  dog;  nxuyo,  slut.  The  particle 
na  has  the  property  of  the  article  and,  prefixed  to  the 
noun,  distinguishes  the  singular.  In  the  plural,  ya  af- 
fixed, or  e  prefixed,  is  substituted.  Adjectives  are  always 
placed  before  substantives; — Jca  ye,  holy  man.  Com- 
paratives are  expressed  by  the  words  nra,  more,  and 
chu,  less ; — nho,  good ;  nra  nho,  better.  Superlatives  are 
in  like  manner  shown  by  the  word  tza,  or  tze,  prefixed, 
meaning  very  much,  excessively,  exceedingly; — tza  nho, 
best;  tzentzo,  worst,  or  very  bad.  The  particle  ztzi,  or 
ztzu,  prefixed,  marks  a  diminutive; — ztzi  hensi,  a  small 
paper.  In  abstract  nouns  of  quality  the  prefix  na  is 
changed  into  sa; — na  nho  yeh,  a  good  man ;  sa  nho,  that 
which  is  good.  Personal  pronouns  are; — nuga,  nugaga, 
nugui,  I ;  gui,  Tci,  me,  for  me ;  nugue  nuy.  thou ;  y,  hi,  to 
thee,  for  thee;  nunu,  he;  bi,  ba,  ki,  him,  for  him,  to  him; 
nugahe,  nugagahe,  nuguihe,  we,  or  us;  nuguegui,  nuguehu, 
nuygui,  nflyhu,  you,  to  you ;  nuyu,  they ;  ma,  mine ;  ni, 
thine;  na,  his. 

Verbs  are  conjugated  with  the  assistance  of  particles, 
which  designate  tense  and  person.  Every  tense  has 
three  persons,  also  a  singular,  and  a  plural.  The  plural  is 

Hassel,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  152;  Muhhnpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  pt  ii.,  p.  364;  Con- 
der's  Mex.  Guat.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  119. 


740  THE  AZTEC  AND  OTOMf  LANGUAGES. 

always  designated  by  the  syllable  he,  we ;  wi,  gui,  or  Aw, 
you;  yu,  they.  All  nouns  may  also  be  verbs,  for  the 
Otomis,  unable  to  segregate  the  abstract  idea  of  existence 
from  the  thing  existing,  confound  both  and  have  no 
substantive  verb; — nJio,  good;  di  nho,  I  good,  or  I  am 
good 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEEB  NEE,  I  WILL. 

PBESENT    INDICATIVE. 

I  will,  di  nee 

Thou  wiliest,  gui  nee 

He  wills,  y  nee 


We  will,  di  nee  he" 

You  will,  gui  nee  gui 

They  will,  y  nee  yu 


TMPEBFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  willed,  di  nee  hma  |    I  have  willed,         xta  nee,  or  da  nee 

PLTTPEEFECT. 

I  had  willed,  xta  nee  hma 

FIBST  FUTUEE.  SECOND   FUTUBE. 

I  shall  will,  ga  nee  |    I  shall  have  willed,      gua  xta  nee 

IMPEEATIVE. 

Will  thou,  nee  |    Will  you,  nee  gui  nee  hu17 

LORD'S  PRAYER. 
Ma  ta  he  ni  buy  mahetsi     da    ne    ansu    ni    huhu 

My  father  we  thou  house    heaven         call    holy       thy     name      name 

da          ehe     ga  he  ni  buy    da    kha  ni  hnee    ngu 

thy  will  come   towards    us         thy  house  thy  will    do     thy    will          as 

gua  na    hay    te   ngu   mahetsi  ma  hme  he  ta  na  pa 

here     the     earth       as      also        heaven       the    bread      us      every      day 

ra      he    nar     a  pa   ya   ha    puni    he    ma    dupate  he 

give     us      one  day  new     and     forgive     us      our         debts 

tengu  di  puni  he  u  ma  ndupate  he  ha  yo    gui    he  he 

as        we       forgive  now        debtors    ours  and  avoid    the    permit  us 

ga    he   kha    na  tzb    cadi  ma    na  pehe    he  hin    nhb. 

do      us        in  bad          action    but        save  us  no  good. 

Do  kha. 

Thy  will  do. 

17  Toaquin  Lopez  Yepes,  Catecismo  y  Declaration  de  la  Dodrina  Cristiana,  en 
lengua  Otomi.  Francisco  Perez,  Catecismo  de  la  Doctrina  Cristiana,  en  lengua 
Otomi.  Naxera,  Disertacion  sobre  la  lengua  Oihomi.  Qallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno. 
Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  286-98;  Voter,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  ptiii.,  pp. 
115-24;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  vol.  i.,  pp.  120-50;  Antonio  Guadalupe  Rannrez, 
JBrece  Compendia. . .  .Dispuesto  en  lengua  Othomi.  See  also  Lond.  Geog.  Soc., 
Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  355;  Luis  de  Neve  y  Molina,  Grammatica  Delia  Linyua  Oto- 
mi. 


OTOMf  AND  MAZAHUA  LOED'S  PEAYEE'S. 


741 


Still  another  version  of  the 

same. 

Ma  ta  ki  he 
Gue  gui  buy 
Kha  hetsi 
Kha  ni  hu 
Da  di  hnec 
Bi  kho  na  hay 
Ba  na  kha  mahetsi 
Da  da  se  he 
Ma  hme  he 
Yo  ga  zo  he  gee  tzo  di. 


The  same  in  another  dialect. 

Go  ma  ta  he 

To  gui  buy 

He  tsi 

Da  ma  ka  ni  hu 

Na  di  ni  line 

Hay  he  heisi 

Ma  hme  he  ta  pa 

Sa  da  ke  ni 

Ha  pu  ni  ma  thay  he 

Ngu  y  pu  ma  thay  te  he 

Ha  yo  he 

He  ga  za  tzo  di 

The  grammar  of  the  Mazahua  dialect  is  very  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  Otomi,  and  I  therefore  insert 
the  Lord's  Prayer  only  to  illustrate  the  connection  be- 
tween the  two  languages. 

Mi  yho  me  ki  obuihui  ahezi  tanereho  ni  chuu  ta  ehe 

Our  father  is  heaven     sanctified     thy  name      come 

ni  nahmuu  ta  cha  axouihomue  cho    ni    nane  makhe 

thou      kingdom        do  earth  ?       thy       will  as 

anzi  ocha  ahezi.     Ti  yak  me  mi  bech  me  choyazmue, 

also  is  done  heaven.  Give  us  our  bread  every  day, 

ti  chotkhe  me  mo  huezok  me  makhe  anzi  tigattotpue 

forgive  us      our  faults  as  also  we  forgive 

me  mache  i  zokhegue  me  pekhecho  gueguetme  tezoxk- 

those  who         offend          us  not  us  must  lead 

hemeyo  huezok  hi  tipe  yeziz  one  macho  yoiiene  macho 

in  sins  deliver  us  from  all 

tenxi  higaho.18 

evil. 


w  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  194^201. 


CHAPTER  X. 


LANGUAGES   OF    CENTRAL    AND    SOUTHERN   MEXICO. 

THE  FAME  AND  ITS  DIALECTS — THE  MECO  OF  GUANAJUATO  AND  THE  SIEBBA 
GOBDA — THE  TAEASCO  OF  MICHOACAN  AND  ITS  GEAMMAE — THE  MATLAL- 
TZINCA  AND  ITS  GRAMMAS — THE  OcUILTEC — THE  MlZTEC  AND  ITS  DlALECTS 
— MIZTEC  GBAMMAE — THE  AMCSGO,  CHOCHO,  MAZATEC,  CUICATEC,  CHATINO, 
TLAPANEC,  CHINANTEC,  AND  POPOLUCA — THE  ZAPOTEC  AND  ITS  GEAMMAE — 
THE  MIJE — MIJE  GEAMMAE  AND  LOED'S  PEAYEE — THE  HUAVE  OF  THB 
ISTHMUS  OF  TEHUANTEPEC — HUATE  NUMEBALS. 

North-eastward  of  the  Otomi,  is  a  language  called  the 
Paine,  spoken  in  three  distinct  dialects ;  the  first  in  San 
Luis  de  la  Paz,  in  the  Sierra  Grorda;  the  second,  near 
the  city  of  Maiz,  in  San  Luis  Potosi;  and  the  third  in 
Purisima  Concepcion  de  Arnedo,  and  also  in  the  Sierra 
Gorda.  I  have  .at  hand  only  the  Lord's  Prayer  in 
three  dialects;  nor  can  I  find  mention  of  any  vocabu- 
lary or  grammar.  It  is  described  as  difficult  to  acquire, 
principally  on  account  of  the  many  dialectic  variations.1 

FIRST   DIALECT. 

Tata  mfcagon  indis  bonigemaja:  indis  unaja  grotzta- 
cuz:  Quii  unibo:  Na,ge  eu  nitaza,  unibo  ubonigi:  Ur- 
roze  paricagon  uvingui  ambogon  bucon  gatigi  bajir 
goniur,  corno  icagon  gumorbon  quipicgo  hicnango:  nena- 

1  'Es  mucha  la  dificultad  del  idioma,  porque  en  treinta  vecinos  suele 
haber  cuatro  y  cinco  lenguas  distiiitas,  y  tanto,  que  aun  despiies  de  nmcho 
t  ato  no  se  entienden  sino  las  COSMS  niuy  ordiuarias.'  Alegre,  Hist.  Comp.  de 
Jcsas,  torn  i.,  p.  282. 
(742) 


FAME  AND  MECO  LORD'S  PRAYER'S.  743 

ngui  nandazo  pacunima :  imorgo  cabonja  pajanor.     Amen 
Jesus. 

SECOND    DIALECT. 

Caucan  xugiienan,  que  humiju  cantau  impains,  ach- 
scalijon  gee  nigiu  yucant  gee  cumpo.  Chaucat  gee 
quimang,  ac-gi  cumpo  acgi  cantau  impain.  Sente 
caucan  senda  gun6  yucant  chine  iguadcatan  cancan 
humunts,  ac-gipain  caucan  hujuadptan  a  caucan  hu- 
munts. Y  mi  negenk  do  guaik  guning  cacaa  yeket  vali 
ening,  ac-ge-bo. 

THIRD    DIALECT. 

Ttattahghuhggg  ighegh  ddih  uhvoh  hinh  gghih  qquihh- 
missches:  ughgnjuhgh  ttahghgihh  innddisseh  Qquihi- 
hihh  uhgguho  uhghg  glihihh  rrehhino,  Ih  qquih  ligh- 
gghihghh  wohlluhn  ttah  ighschchahh,  Assi  uhggughh 
commo  ub  vuhnnihghh.  Uhnghehddi  uhvra  hhvihn 
qquihhphpohggiihuhh,  yhcliihh  uh  vehvehh  ihghgiihoh- 
giihuhh  ih  qqih  ih  chi  wchveh  ihhumliurhgguhuhh 
uhholiddi  nuch  hOhOhuag.  Assi  commo  ahpe  hpahhddi 
ihec  ahggiihuhh  kulimhuhruhhg  uhonnddi  ahphpiggli- 
huhh.  Ih  qquihngnahghnhGhrrggiihuhh  phpahagh, 
Ahnahssuhqquih  huhnhehh.  Mahhssehh  Uihbbrahrhr 
ihhehgglihuhh.  IhghgOhttahhehrSh  Ggehssuhs. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  third  dialect  displays  a 
a  most  singular  combination  of  letters.  It  is  a  manifest 
absurdity.  Pimentel  does  not  mention  where  he  obtained 
it,  nor  does  he  intimate  what  sounds  are  produced  from 
this  huddling  of  consonants.  I  give  it  more  as  a  curi- 
osity than  with  the  idea  that  philologists  will  ever  derive 
any  benefit  from  it.2 

In  the  Sierra  Gorda  and  in  Guanajuato,  another  lan- 
guage is  mentioned,  called  the  Meco,  or  Serrano,  of 
which  no  specimen  but  a  Lord's  Prayer  exists: 

Mataige  gui  bu  majetzi,  qui  sundat  too,  da  gu£  rit  tft 
ju  da  ne  pa  quecque  ni  moc  canani,  ne  si  dac-kaa  na 
moccanzu;  tanto  na  sinfai,  tengu,  majetzi.  Mat  tumeje 

2  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  267;  Col.  Polidiomica,  Mex.,  Oration  Do- 
minical, pp.  3i-3. 


744   LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

ta,  dt  mapa,  rac-je  pilla,  ne  si  gi  pungage,  mat-oigaje", 
tengu  si  didi  pumjee,  too  dit-tuc-je,  nello  gijega  je 
gatac-je  ratentacion;  man-aa  juegaje,  gat-tit-jov  lla- 
izoonfenni.3 

Still  less  is  said  concerning  the  languages  spoken  in 
the  state  of  Tamaulipas ;  of  them  nothing  is  known  but 
the  names,  and  it  cannot  be  ascertained  whether  they 
are  correctly  classified  or  not,  as  no  specimens  exist. 
The  languages  which  I  find  spoken  of  are  the  Yue,  Yeme, 
Olive,  Janambre,  Pisone,  and  a  general  one  named  Tama- 
ulipeco.* 

The  Tarasco,  the  principal  language  of  Michoacan,  can 
be  placed  almost  upon  an  equality  with  the  Aztec,  as 
being  copious  and  well  finished.  It  is  particularly 
sweet-sounding,  and  on  this  account  has  been  likened 
to  the  Italian;  possessing  all  the  letters  of  the  alphabet. 

Each  syllable  usually  contains  one  consonant  and  one 
vowel;  the  letter  r  is  frequent.5  From  the  different 
grammars  I  compile  the  following: 

3  Pimentd,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  p.  267. 

4  Berlandier,  Diario,  p.  144;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  p.  296. 

*  Mendieta,  Hist.  Ecles.,  p.  552.  'Tarascum,  quodhujus  geutis  proprium 
erat  et  vulgare,  coucisum  atque  elegans.'  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  267.  'La 
Tarasca,  que  corre  generalniente  en  las  Prouineias  de  Mechoacan,  esta  es  muy 
facil  por  tener  la  mesina  pronunciation  que  la  nuestra:  yassi  se  escriue  con  el 
mesmo  abecedario.  Es  muy  copiosa,  y  elegante.'  Gryalua,  Cron.  Augustin, 
fol.  75;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  ix;  Alegre,  Hist.  Cornp.  de 
Jesus,  torn,  i.,  pp.  90-1;  Acosta,  Hist.  Na.t.  Ind.,  p.  506.  'La  loro  lingua  e 
abbondante,  dolce,  e  sonora.  Adoperano  spesso  la  B,  soave:  le  loro  sillabe 
constano  per  lo  piu  d'una  sola  consonante  e  d'una  vocale.'  Clavigero,  Ktoria, 
Ant.  del  Messico,  torn,  i.,  p.  149.  'Les  Tarasques. . .  .celebres. . .  .par  1'hur- 
moniedeleur  langueriche  en  voyelles.'  Humboldt,  EssaiPoL,  torn,  i.,  p.  255; 
Beaumont,  Cron.  de  Mechoacan,  p.  43;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mfjico,  torn,  ii.,  pt  ii.,  p. 
3J4;  Romero,  Noticias  Michoacan,  p.  5;  Heredm  y  Sanniento,  £er>non,  p.  83; 
Anales  del  Ministerio  de  Fomento,  1854,  p.  185,  et  seq.;  Wappiius,  Geog.u. 
8tat.,  p.  35;  Hassel,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  152.  '  Die  Sprache  in  dieser  Provinz 
wirk  fur  die  reineste  und  zierlichste  von  ganz  Neu-Spanien  gehalten.'  Dela- 
porte,  Reisen,  pp.  313-4;  Vater,  Milhridates,  torn,  iii.,  ptiii.,  p.  125.  '  Tarasca, 
een  nette  en  korte  spraek,  die  eigentlijk  alhier  te  huis  hoort.'  Montanus, 
Nieuwe  Weereld,  p.  256.  Ward,  speaking  of  the  Tarasco,  has  made  the 
serious  mistake  of  confounding  it  with  the  Otomi,  and  seems  to  think  that 
they  are  both  one  and  the  same.  Two  languages  could  hardly  be  farther 
apart  than  these  two.  Mexico,  vol.  ii.,  p.  081.  Raffinesque,  the  indefatigable 
searcher  for  foreign  relationships  with  Mexican  languages,  claims  to  have 
discovered  an  affinity  between  the  Tarasco,  Italian,  Atlantic,  Coptic,  Pelns- 
gic,  Greek,  and  Latin  languages.  He  writes  that  he  was  '  struck  with  its 
evident  analogy '  with  the  above  and  with  the  '  languages  of  Africa  and 
Europe  both  in  words  and  structure,  in  spite  of  a  separation  of  some  thou- 
sand Years.'  In  Priest's  Amer.  Antiq.,  p.  314. 


TAKASCO  GRAMMAR.  745 

In  the  alphabet  there  is  neither  /,  v,  nor  7;  no  words 
begin  with  the  letters  5,  d,  g,  and  r;  k,  has  a  sound 
distinct  from  that  of  c,  being  pronounced  stronger.  The 
letter  s  is  often  intercalated  for  euphony;  it  must  be 
inserted  between  h  and  i,  when  a  word  ends  with  h, 
and  the  next  begins  with  i.  At  the  end  of  a  word  it 
signifies  same,  or  self;  hi,  I;  his,  I  myself.  When  a 
a  word  ends  in  s  and  the  next  begins  with  h}  the  letter 
x  is  substituted  for  both.  The  letter  x  at  the  end  of  a 
word  indicates  the  plural.  Ph  is  never  pronounced 
like  f]  the  h  after  p  only  indicates  an  aspiration  of  the 
vowel  which  follows: — -p-Jiica.  Hati,  third  person  sin- 
gular of  the  pronoun  used  in  conjugations,  may  be 
converted  into  ndi.  The  p  immediately  following  m  is 
converted  into  b.  The  r  and  t  next  following  n  are 
converted  into  d;  and  e  and  q  next  following  n  are  con- 
verted into  g.  There  are  three  kinds  of  nouns — ra- 
tional, irrational,  and  inanimate.  The  last  two  are 
indeclinable  in  the  singular.  The  plural  of  irrational 
animals  is  formed  simply  by  the  addition  of  the  particle 
echa.  Two  other  particles  are  used  to  express  the  plural 
of  inanimate  things; — uan,  and  harandeti,  many,  much. 
Five  words  of  this  species  use,  however,  the  particle 
echa  in  the  plural;  uata,  mountain;  ambocuta,  street; 
ahchiuri,  night ;  tzipag,  morning ;  hosqua,  star. 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  FATHER. 

SINGULAR.  PLUBAL. 

Nom.       tata  Nom.  tata  echa 


Geii.  tataeueri,  or  hihchiuiremba 

Dat.  tata  ni 

Acus.  tata  ni 

Voc.  tata  e 

Abl.  tata  ni  himbo 


Gen.  tata  echa  eueri 

Dat.  tata  echa  ni 

Acus.  tata  echa  ni 

Voc.  tata  eche  e 

Abl.  tata  echa  ni  himbo 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  POMI,  TO  TOUCH. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 
ACTIVE.  PASSIVE. 


I  touch,  pohaca 

Thou  touchest,  pohacare 

He  touches,  pohati 

We  touch,  pohacachuchi 

You  touch,  pohacarechuchi 

They  touch,  potix 


I  am  touched,  pogahaca 

Thou  art  touched,  pogahacare 

He  is  touched,  pogahati 

We  are  touched,  pogahacachuchi 

You  are  touched,  pogahacachuchi 

They  are  touched,  pogatix 


746      LANGUAGES  OF  CENTKAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

IMPERFECT. 

I  touched,  pohambihca          |    I  was  touched,  pogahambihca 

PERFECT. 

I  have  touched,     poca         [  I  was  touched,     pogaca 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  touched,  pophihca          |    I  had  been  touched,     pogaphica 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  touch,  pouaca  |    I  shall  be  touched,       pagauaca 

SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  touched,  thuvin  pouaca 

I  shall  have  been  touched,       thuvin  pogauaca 

IMPERATIVE. 


Let  me  touch,  popa 

Touch  thou,  po 

Let  him  touch,          poue 


Let  us  touch,  popacuche 

Touch  you,  paue 

Let  them  touch,  pauez 


I  might  touch,  popiringa  |    I  might  be  touched,     pogapiringa  6 

LORD'S  PRAYER. 
Tata  huchaeueri  thukirehaca  auandaro  santo  arikeue 

Father  our  thou  who  art        heaven  in        holy        be  said 

thucheueti  hacangurikua  uuehtsini  andarenoni  thucheue- 

thy  name  make  us  arrive  thy 

ti  irechekua  ukeue  thucheueti   uekua  iskire    auandaro 

kingdom        be  done  thy  will  as  in          heaven  in 

umengahaca  istu  umengaue  ixu  echerendo.    Huchaeueri 

it  is  made  as         it  be  made      as         earth  in.  Our 

curinda  anganaripakua  instcuhtsini  iya  canhtsini  uepou- 

bread  daily  give  us        to-day    and  to  us 

achetsnsta  huchaeueri  hatzingakuareta   iski   hucha  ueh- 

forgive  our       .  fault  as  also        we 

pouacuhuantstahaca  huchaeueri  hatsingakuaecheni   ca 

forgive  our  debtors  and 

hastsini  teruhtatzemani  terungutahperakua  himbo.    Eu- 

not  us  lead  us  temptation  but 

ahpentstatsini  caru  casingurita  himbo.7 

deliver  us  also  evil  of. 

West  of  the  valley  of  Amihuac,  in  the  ancient  king- 

6  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  275-309;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Elhno.,  Soc., 
Transact.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  245-52;  .)/o.co,  Cartas  Mcjicanas,  p.  C8;  I'ater,  Jlifhri- 
da'es,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  12li;  .Manuel  de  San  Juan  Crisostovto  Xtfjera,  Gram. 
Tarasr.a,  in  Soc.  Mex.  Goog.,  Buletin,  2da  epoca,  torn  iv.,  pp.  6G4-G81. 

?  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  p.  304;  Vater,  Mithridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii., 
pp.  126-7;  Araujo,  Manval  de  los  Santos  Sacramenios  en  el  Tdioma  de 


MATLALTZINCA  GRAMMAR.  747 

dom  of  Michoacan,  and  in  the  district  which  is  now 
called  Toluca,  was  an  independent  nation,  the  Matlalt- 
zincas,  whose  language,  of  which  there  are  several  dia- 
lects, notwithstanding  the  assertion  of  some  writers  that 
it  was  connected  with  or  related  to  the  Tarasco,  must  still 
stand  as  an  individual  and  distinct  tongue.  Com- 
parisons may  develop  a  few  phonetic  similarities,  but 
otherwise  the  two  do  not  approach  one  another  in  the 
least.8 

There  are  twenty-one  letters  used  in  the  Matlaltzinca 
language : — a,  6,  ch,  d,  e,  g,  h,  i,  k,  m,  n,  o,  p,  q,  r,  t,  fa, 
th,  u,  x,  y,  z.  Compounded  words  are  frequently  used 
and  are  considered  very  elegant; — kimituhoritakimin- 
dutzitzi,  to  look  for  something  to  eat;  kUuteginchimutho- 
hvinikuhumbi,  I  give  a  good  example.  Gender  is  ex- 
pressed and  there  is  also  a  declension.  There  is  a 
singular,  a  dual,  and  a  plural;  the  dual  is  designated 
by  the  preposition  the ; — huema,  the  man ;  thema,  the  two 
men.  The  plural  is  designated  by  the  preposition  ne ; — 
nema,  the  men ;  but  there  are  some  inanimate  substan- 
tives with  which  this  latter  preposition  is  not  used. 

The  personal  pronouns  are: — kaki,  I;  kakuehui,  ka- 
kueblj  kakuehebi,  we  two ;  kakohuiti,  kakehebi,  we ;  kahachi, 
thou;  kachehui,  you  two;  kachohui,  you;  inthehui,  he; 
inthehuehui,  they  two;  irtffiehue,  they.  Possessives; — 
mteyeh)  mine;  kaxniyeh,  thine;  niyeh  inthehui,  his. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE. 

PBESENT    INDICATIVE. 
SINGULAB. 

I  love,  kitutiatochi 

Thou  lovest,  kitutochi,  or  kikitutochi 

He  loves,  kitutochi 

DUAL. 

We  two  love,  kikuentutochi 

You  two  love,  kichentutochi 

They  two  love,          kikuentutochi 

8  '  Estos  tolucas,  y  por  otro  nombre  Matlatzincns,  no  hablaban  la  lengua 
mexicana,  sino  otra  cliferente  y  obscura. . .  .y  su  lengua  propia  de  ellos,  no 
carece  de  la  letni  R.'  tialwtgun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  129;  Grijalua, 
Cron.  Augustin,  fol.  75;  Brassew  de  Bourbourj,  Esquisses,  p.  33. 


748   LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

PLURAL. 

We  love,  kikuchentutochi 

You  love,  kichehentutochi 

They  love,  kirontutochi 

IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  loved,  kimitututochi  |    I  have  loved,  kitabutochi 

FUTURE. 

I  shall  love,  kirutochi,  or  takimitututochi 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  me  love,  kutochi 

PASSIVE. 

I  ain  loved",  kitochikikaki  I    We  are  loved,      kitochikakehebi 

We  two  are  loved,  kitochihuehuikakuebi  ] 

BEFLEXIVE. 

I  love  myself,  kitutecochi 

He  who  loves,  inmututochi         |    He  who  will  love,        inkakatutochi 

LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Kabotuntanki  kizhechori  ypiytiy  tharehetemeyuhbu- 

Father  our  thou  art  above    ill  heaven  sanctified  be 

tohui  inituyuh  tapue  nitubeye  tharetehehui  inunihami 

thy  name        come        thy  kingdom  do  above  the  earth 

inkituhenahui  ipuzka  hetehehui  ypiytiy.     Achii  ripah- 

thy  will  as  it  is  done       in  heaven.        To-day 

kehbi   inbotumehui    indahrnutze    dihemindikebi    inbo- 

give  us  our  bread  every  day  forgive  us 

tubuchochi  pukuehentukahmindi  indorihuebikeh  nuxi- 

our  fault  as  we  forgive  our  debtors 

menkarihechi    kehbi    muhe    dishedanita   kehbi   pinita 

let  us  not  fall  us  and  deliver  us  from 

inbuti.9 

evil. 

A  language  spoken  in  Toluca,  the  Ocuiltec,  is  men- 
tioned by  Sahagun  and  Grijalua,  about  which,  except- 
ing the  name  only,  no  information  can  be  obtained.10 

Principally  in  the  state  of  Oajaca,  but  also  in  parts 

9  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  409-539;  Guevara,  Arte  Doctrinal,  in  Soc. 
Mex.  Geog.,  Moletin,  torn,  ix.,  pp.  197-260;  Vater,  Mithridaies,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii., 
p.  126. 

10  '  Ocuiltecas,  viven  en  el  distrito  de  Toluca,  en  tierras  y  terminos  suyos, 
son  de  la  misma  vida,  y  costunibre  de  los  de  la  Toluca,  aunque  su  lenguage 
es  diferente.'  tiaharjun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  130.  '  Ocuilteca,  que 
es  lenjjua  singular  de  aquel  pueblo,  y  dc  solo  echo  visitas,  que  tenia  Kujetas 
asi,  y  assi  SOIUOB  solos,  los  que  la  sabenios.'  Grijalua,  Cron.  Augustin,  foi.  75j 


DIALECTS  OF  THE  HIZTEC  LANGUAGE.        749 

of  the  present  states  of  Puebla  and  Guerrero,  the  Miz- 
tec  language  is  spoken  even  to  this  day.  Of  this  lan- 
guage there  are  many  dialects,  of  which  the  following 
are  mentioned  as  chief; — the  Tepuzculano,  the  Yan- 
giiistlan,  the  Miztec  bajo,  the  Miztec  alto,  the  Cuix- 
lahuac,  the  Tlaxiaco,  the  Cuilapa,  the  Mictlantongo, 
the  Tarnazulapa,  the  Xaltepec,  and  the  Nochiztlan.  As 
related  to  the  Miztec,  the  Chocho,  or  Chuchon,  also  an 
Oajaca  idiom,  is  mentioned.11  As  the  Miztecs  are  gen- 
erally classed  among  the  autochthones  of  Mexico,  their 
language  is  considered  as  of  great  antiquity,  being 
spoken  of  in  connection  with  that  of  the  Ulmecs  and 
Xicalancas.12  Almost  all  of  the  old  missionaries  com-: 
plained  of  the  difficulty  of  acquiring  this  tongue  and 
its  many  dialects,  which  necessitated  often  a  threefold 
or  fourfold  study.13 

The  Miztec  may  be  written  by  means  of  the  follow- 
ing letters : — a,  ch.  d,  e,  h,  i,  j,  k,  m,  n,  n,  o,  s,  t,  u,  v,  x 
or  ks,  gs,  y,  z,  dz,  nd,  tn,  kh.  The  pronunciation  is  very 
clear;  the  h  is  aspirated;  v  is  as  in  English;  kh,  nd, 
and  tn,  are  nasal.  Long  words  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence. I  give  two  of  seventeen  syllables  each ; — yodoyo- 
kavuandisasikandiyosanninahasahan,  to  walk  stumbling; 
and  yokuvuihuatinindiyotuvuihitatusindisahata,  to  concili- 

11  '  Y  aunque  la  lengna  los  haze  generalmente  a  todos  vnos  en  muchos 
partes  la  ban  diferenciado  en  sylabas,  y  modo  de  pronunciarlas,  pevo  todos 
se  comunican,  y  entienden.'  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  127,  130; 
Grijahta,  Cron.  Augustin,  p.  75;  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Esquisses,  pp.  34-6; 
La«t,  Noms  Orbis,  p.  2GO;  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xii-xiii.; 
Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  189-96;  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  137;  Remesal,  Ilist.  Chyapa,  p.  712. 

J2  Torquemada,  Monarq.  2nd.,  torn,  i.,  p.  32.  'Ein  Volk,  das  zu  den 
Autocbtbonen  von  Mexico  gebort.'  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  18. 

13  '  Mistica,  cuya  eutera  pronnnciacion  se  vale  algunas  vezes  de  las  na- 
rizes,  y  tiene  mucbos  equiuocos  qvie  la  bazen  de  mayor  dificultad.'  Ddvila 
Padilla,  Hist.  Fvml.  Mex.,  p.  64.  'La  lengua  dificultosissima  en  la  pronun- 
ciacion,  con  notable  variedad  de  terminos  y  vozes  en  vnos  y  otros  Pueblos.' 
Burgoa,  Palestra,  Hist.,  pt  i.,  fol.  211.  '  Que  como  eran  Demonios  se  valian 
de  la  maliciosa  astucia  de  varias  la  vozes  y  vocablos  en  esta  lengTia,  asi  para 
los  Palacios  de  los  Caziques  con  terminos  reuereuciales,  como  para  los  Idolos 
con  parabolos,  y  tropos,  que  solos  los  satrapas  los  aprendian,  y  como  era 
aqui  lo  mas  corrupto.'  Id.,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  156.  'La  lengna  de 
aquella  nacion,  qne  es  dificultosa  de  saberse,  por  la  gran  eqniuocacion  de  los 
bocablos,  para  cuya  distincion  es  necessario  vsar  de  ordinario  del  sonido  de 
la  nariz  y  aspiracion  del  aliento.'  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  321.  '  Ser  la 
Lengua  dificnltosa  de  aprender,  por  las  muchas  equiuocaciones  que  tiene.' 
Ddvila,  Teatro  Ecles.,  torn,  i.,  p.  156. 


750      LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 

ate  the  good  graces  of  a  person.  Words  are  compounded 
or  agglutinated  in  five  different  ways; — First,  without 
changing  either  of  the  component  words,  as; — yutnu, 
tree;  and  kuihi,  fruit;  yutnukuihi,  fruit-tree.  Second, 
one  of  the  component  words  changes,  as; — huaha,  good, 
and  naha,  no;  ftahuaha,  bad.  Third,  words  which  are 
first  divided  and  cut  up,  are  afterward,  so  to  say, 
patched  together  again.  Fourth,  one  word  is  interca- 
lated with  another;  as; — yosinindi,  I  know;  mani,  an 
estimable  thing;  yosinimanindi,  I  love  or  esteem. 

There  are  many  words  in  this  language  which  ex- 
press quite  different  things,  according  to  the  con- 
nection in  which  they  are  used,  as; — yondakandi, 
I  accompany  somebody,  means  also  I  ask;  yoyuhuindi, 
I  counsel,  signifies  also,  I  go  to  receive  somebody 
on  the  road;  also,  let  us  go;  etc.  Reverential  terms 
are  of  frequent  occurrence,  necessitating  almost  a  sep- 
arate language  when  addressing  superiors.  For  in- 
stance;— noJiOj  teeth;  yeknya  yuchixa,  teeth  of  a  lord; 
dzitui,  nose;  dutuya,  nose  of  a  lord;  dzoho,  ears;  tna- 
haya,  ears  of  a  lord.  There  is  no  regular  plural, 
but  plurality  is  expressed  by  the  word  'many,'  or 
the  number.  Personal  pronouns  are; — I,  speaking  to 
inferiors  or  equals,  duhu,  ndi;  I,  speaking  with  su- 
periors, nadzana,  nadza,  ndza\  thou,  doho,  ndo]  thou, 
used  by  females  speaking  to  their  children,  diya,  nda; 
you,  or  your  honor,  disi,  maini,  m;  he,  to,  toy,  yukua] 
she,  na,  (also  used  by  women  speaking  of  men) ;  he 
or  she,  speaking  respectfully,  ya,  iija;  we,  ndoo;  you, 
doho]  they,  to,  tay.  yukua.  The  pronouns,  ndi,  ndo,  to, 
are  affixed  to  the  verb;  and  the  pronouns,  duhu,  doho, 
and  toi,  are  prefixed ;  nadzana,  is  usually  prefixed ;  Tiadza 
or  ndza,  affixed;  dm,  and  maini,  are  generally  prefixed, 
ni  is  affixed ;  diya,  is  prefixed  and  na,  ndoo,  and  ya,  are 
affixed. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  SIN. 


PRESENT     INDICATIVE. 


1  sin,  yodzatevuiudi 

Thou  sinnest,     yodzatevuindo 


He  sins,  yodzntevuita 

Wo  sin,  yodzatevuiudoo 


MIZTEC  GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYERS.  751 

IMPEBFECT.  PLUPERFECT. 

I  sinned,  nidzatevuindi          |    I  had  sinned,  sanidzatevuindi 

FIRST   FUTURE  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  sin,  dzatevuindi  |    I  shall  have  sinned,     sadzatevuikandi 

IMPEBATIVE. 


Let  me  sin,  nadzatevuindi 

Sin  thou,  dzatevui 


Let  vis  sin,  nadzatevuindoo 

Sin  you,  chidzatevui 


Let  him,  or  them  sin,  nadzatevuita 

Verbal  nouns  are  formed  by  prefixing  the  syllable  s&, 
or  sasij  to  the  present  indicative  of  the  verb.  Regarding 
the  dialects  of  the  Miztec,  Pimentel  quotes  the  following 
from  Father  Reyes'  grammar.  All  the  dialects  may  be 
grouped  into  two  principal  languages,  which  are  those 
of  Tepuzculula  and  Yangiiitlan.  That  of  Tepuzculula  is 
the  best  understood  throughout  the  district  of  Mizteca. 

The  Pater  Noster  in  the  Tepuzculula  dialect  is  as  fol- 
lows. 

Dzutundoo  yodzikani  andevui  nakakunahihuahandoo, 

Our  father  thou  art          heaven  let  us  praise, 

sananini  nakisi  santoniisini  nakuvui  nuunayevui  inini 

thy  name        come        thy  kingdom        be  done        (in  the)  world  thy  will 

dzavuatnaha  yokuvui  andevui.    Dzitandoo  yutnaa  yutnaa 

as  also  be  done     (in)  heaven.        Our  bread  each  day 

tasinisindo  huitno  dzaandoui  kuachisindoo  dzavuatnaha 

give  us  much        to-day       forgive  us  our  sins  as  well  as 

yodzandoondoo  suhani  sindoo  huasa  kivuinahani  nukui- 

we  forgive  debtor        ours          not  lead  us  we 

tandodzondoo  kuachi  tavuinahani  sanahuahua.    Dzavua 

will  fall  in  sin          deliver  you  from  evil.  So 

nakuvui. 

be  it  made. 

For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  difference  between 
the  dialects,  I  insert  two  other  Pater  Nosters,  the  first 
of  Miztec  bajo,  and  the  second  of  the  alto  dialect : 

Dutundo  hiadicani  andivi  nacuu  hii  fia  nanini:  na- 
quixidica  satonixini:  nacuu  ndiidu  mini  iiunahivi 
yohb  daguatnaha  yo  ciiu  ini  andivi.  Ditando  itian 
itian  taxinia  nundi  vichi:  te  dandooni  cuachindi  dagua 
tnaha  dandoondi  naa  ni  dativi  nundi:  te  maza  dailani 
iitziuhu  uncaguandi  ila  dativindi:  te  cuneguahanindi 
nuu  nditaca  na  unguaha.  Duha  na  cuu  Jesus. 


752      LANGUAGES  OF  CENTEAL  AND  SOUTHEEN  MEXICO. 

Dzutuyo  iyoxicani  andivi  nacui  hii  fiananini.  Xa- 
quixi  xatoniixini.  Nacuhui  ndudzuinini  unaiviyohb, 
sahuatna  yocuhui  ini  andivi.  Dzitayo  itian  itian  ta- 
xini  nundi  vichi:  sandoo-ni  cuachiyo,  sahuatanha  yo 
sandondi  nanidzativi  nundi  taun-sayahani  nacanaca- 
huandi  zadzativindi.  Sacacunino  nahani  nuu  nditaca 
na  hunhua.  Dzaa  nacuu  lya  Iesus.u 

Another  language,  said  to  be  connected  with  the 
Miztec  is  the  Amusgo.  Wedged  in  between  the  Miztec 
and  Zapotec  are  several  tongues,  of  which,  excepting  a 
few  Lord's  Prayers,  I  find  nothing  mentioned  but  the 
names;  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  of  them  were 
only  dialects  of  either  the  Miztec  or  Zapotec.  These 
are  the  Mazatec,  Cuicatec,  and  Chinantec,  which  latter 
is  described  as  a  very  guttural  tongue,  with  a  rather 
indistinct  pronunciation,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish the  vowels;  further  there  are  mentioned  the 
Chatino,  Tlapanec,  and  Popoluca.15  Orozco  y  Berra  de- 
clares that  the  following  names  designate  the  Popoluca  in 
different  states.  Thus  the  Chocho,  Chochona,  or  Chuch- 
on,  is  said  by  him  to  have  been  called, — in  Puebla, 
the  Popoluca;  in  Guerrero,  the  Tlapanec ;  in  Michoacan, 
the  Teco ;  and  in  Guatemala,  the  Pupuluca.16  Of  these 
languages  I  have  the  following  Lord's  Prayers: 

CHOCHO    OR   CHUCHON. 

Than  ay  theeiiingarmhi  athiytnuthu  y  nay  dithini 
achuua  dinchaxini  atat§u  ndithetatcu  caguiii,  nchi- 
yatheetatfu  ngarmhi  andaatatcu  sa9ermhi  y  t§ama  caa- 

14  Pi  men  tel,   Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  41-79;   Vater,  ]\fjtJm<Jates,  torn.  iii. ,  pt 
iii.,  pp.  31-41;  Catecismo  del  P.  Ripaldo,  traducida  al  Misteco;  Catecismo  en 
idioma  Mlxteco. 

15  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  p.  712.     Chinantec  '  con  la  dificultad  rle   la 
prominciacion,  y  vozes  tanequiuocas  que  con  vn  mesmo  termino  masblando 
o   mas  recio  dicho  significa  disonante  sentido. '      '  For  que  la  locucion  eg 
entre  dientes,  violenta,  y  con  los  accentos  de  consonantes  asperas,  confnsas 
las  vocales,  sin  distincion  vuas  de  otras  que  parecian  bramidos,  mas  que 
teriniuos  de  locucion.'   Burqoa,  Oeog.  Descrip.,  torn,  i.,  fol.  183.,  torn,  ii., 
fol.  284,  28(5;   VUla-S^lor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro.  torn,  ii.,  pp.  137,  141,  163,  187, 
189,  197;  Orozco  y  Berra,'  Geojmfia,  pp.  187-197;  Hakluyt's   Voy.,  vol.  iii., 
p.  497. 

16  Sahagun,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  iii.,  lib.  x.,  p.  135;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii., 
p.  262. 


MAZATEC  AND  CUICATEC  LORD'S  PRAYERS.  753 

tuenesacaha  cahau  cahau  atzizhuqhee  caa  tuenesacaha 
di  efiihay  a  taanguyheene  caguni,  ditheethaxengaqhine 
tuenesacaha  nchiyaquichuu,  ditheetaanguyheene  cagu- 
quichuu.  .  .  .  sacaha,  thiytheecheexengaqhine  quichuu 
sacaha  net^anga  yhathamini  §ixitgeyasacaha  yhee 
cheecaamini  cheecaaqhi  iieinini  caatuenesacaha  caanen- 
ndiiiaiia  andataazu. 

Of  the  Mazatec  there  are  two  specimens,  which  do 
not  appear  to  accord,  thus  showing  how  little  regard 
was  paid  to  names: 

Nadmina  Naina  ga  tecni  gahami,  sandumi  ili  ga 
tirrubanajin  nanguili.  Cuaha  catama  janirnali.  jacunit 
die  nangui  cunit  gahami.  Nino  rrajinna  tey  quitaha 
najin ;  qntedchatahanajin  gadchidtonajin  jacunitgajin 
nedchata  alejin  chidtaga  tedtimajin.  Guquimit  tacun- 
tuajin,  tued  tinajin  cuacha  ca  tama. 

Tata  nahan  xi  naca  nihaseno:  chacuca,  catoma 
niere;  catichova  rico  manimajin.  Catorna  cuazuare, 
donjara  batoo  cor  nangui,  bateco,  nihasen:  niotisla 
najin  ri  ganeihinixtin,  tinto  najin  dehi;  nicanuhi  ri 
guitenajin  donjara  batoo,  juirin  ni  canojin  ri  quiteisja- 
jin,  quiniquenahi  najin  ri  danjin  quis  anda  nongo 
niqueste.  Mee. 

Of  the  Cuicatec  there  are  also  two  dialects: 
Chidao,  chicane  cheti  jubi  chintuico  fia;  cobichi,  jubi 
fia;  chichii,  chicobi  no  ns:  nendi  fia;  cobichi  fienoiia. 
Duica  nahan,  nahan  tando  cheti  jubi.  Nondo  fiecno; 
chi  jubi,  jubi;  techi  ni  nons:  ma  dinenino,  ni  chi  can- 
ticono,  dinen,  tandonons;  dineninono  chi  canti  co  fiehen 
nons,  ata  condicno;  na  tentac  ion,  ante  danhi,  dinenino 
ni  chin  que  he  danhi. 

Chida  deco,  chicanede  vae  chetingue  cuivicu  duchi 
dende  cuichi  nusun  dende  vue  chetingue  cui,  tundube 
vedinun  dende  tica  nanaa,  tandu  vae  chetingue  yn 
dingue  deco  de  huehue  techide  deco  guema  yna  deche- 
code  deco  ducue  ticu  tica,  tandu  nusun  nadecheco  dee- 


VOL.  lit.    48 


754   LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHEKN  MEXICO. 

vioducue  cbichati  cusa  yati,  tumandicude  cuitao  vendi- 
cuido  nanguaedene  ducue  chiguetae.17 

The  ancient  kingdom  of  Zapotecapan,  in  which  the 
Zapotec  language  was  spoken,  extended  from  the  valley 
of  Oajaca  as  far  as  Tehuantepec.  The  different  dialects 
were,  the  Zaachilla,  Ocotlan,  Etla,  Netzicho,  Serrano  de 
Ixtepec,  Serrano  de  Cajones  or  Beni-Xono,  and  Serrano 
de  Miahuatlan.18  The  Zapotec  is  a  more  harmonious 
language  than  the  Miztec,  and  is  spoken  with  consider- 
able elegance,  metaphors  and  parables  abounding.19  Yet 
it  is  in  some  places  pronounced  indistinctly ;  so  much  so 
that  Juan  Cordova,  the  author  of  a  grammar,  complains 
that  the  letters  a  and  o,  e,  y,  and  i,  o  and  u,  5  and  p,  and 
t  and  r,  are  often  confounded.  The  h  is  used  only  as 
an  aspirate.  The  following  letters  of  the  alphabet  rep- 
resent the  sounds  of  the  Zapotec:  a,  b,  ch,  e,  g,  A,  i,  k, 
I,  m,  n,  n,  o,  p,  r,  t,  u,  y,  x,  z,  th.  There  are  also  five 
diphthongs:  ce,  02,  ei,  ie,  ou.  The  plural  is  expressed 
either  by  numerals  or  by  adjectives ; — -picldna,  deer ;  ziani 
pichina,  many  deer.  Like  the  Aztec,  Miztec,  and  others, 
the  Zapotec  has  reverential  terms.  The  personal  pro- 
nouns are; — naa,  ya,  a,  I;  lokui,  loy,  looy,  lo,  tliou; 
yobina,  your  honor  (when  speaking  to  superiors) ;  nikani, 
nike,  nikee,  ni,  ke,  he  or  they;  yobini  or  yobina,  he, 
(speaking  respectfully) ;  taono,  tono,  tonoo,  tona,  no,  noo, 
we ;  lato,  to,  you. 

Possessives; — xitenia,  mine;  xitemlo,  thine;  xitenini, 
his ;  xitenitono  or  xitenino,  ours ;  xitenito,  yours.  Interrog- 
atives  used  with  animate  beings,  are; — tuxa  or  tuia,  tu 
or  chu;  and  with  inanimate  things:  xiikaxa,  xiixa,  xii; 
koota  is  used  for  either  animate  or  inanimate  objects. 

17  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  259-62. 

is  Villa-Senor  y  Sanchez,  Theatro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  190-9;  Museo  Mex.,  torn, 
ii.,  p.  551;  Muhlenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  p.  186;  Wapp/ius,  Geog.  u.  Stat., 
p.  36;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Oeografia,  p.  177;  Surgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii., 
fol.  312. 

19  '  Sn  language  era  tan  metaforico,  como  el  de  los  Palestinos,  lo  qua 
querian  persuadir,  hablaban  siempre  con  parabolas.'  Surgoa,  Geo<i.  Descrip., 
torn,  i.,  fol.  196.  'La  langue  Zapoteque  est  d'une  douceur  et  d'une  sono- 
rite  qui  rappelle  1'Italien.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Esquisses,  p.  35. 


ZAPOTEC  .GRAMMAR  AND  LORD'S  PRAYER.      755 

There  are  four  conjugations,  which  are  distinguished 
by  the  particles  with  which  they  commence.  The  first 
uses,  in  the  present,  to,  in  the  past,  ka,  and  in  the 
future,  Tea;  the  second  has  fe,  pe,  and  ke;  the  third,  ti, 
kOj  ki;  and  if  they  are  passives,  ti,  pi,  ki,  or  ti,  ko,  and 
ka ;  the  fourth  uses  to,  pe,  and  ko. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  DIG. 


PEESENT     INDICATIVE. 


I  dig,  tanaya 

Thou  diggest,  tanalo 


We  dig,  tieenano 

You  dig,  tanato 


He  digs,  or  they  dig,      tanani 

IMPERFECT.  PEEFECT. 

I  dug,        tanatia,  konatia,  or  konaya  |    I  have  dug,  zianaya 

PLUPEBFECT. 

I  had  dug,  huayanaya,  konakalaya,  zianakalaya, 

or,  huayanakalaya 

FIEST  FUTUBE. 

I  shall  dig,  kanaya 

IMPEEATIVE. 

Dig  thou,  kona 

Let  us  dig,  lakeyanano,  or  kolakieenano 

Dig  you,  kolakana 

OTHEE   FOEMS. 

If  I  would  dig,        nianalayaniaka 
If  I  have  dug,          zianatilaya 
If  I  shall  dig,          nikanaya 

The  following  is  an  example  of  the  differences  between 
the  dialects.  Child  in  the  Zaachilla  is  batoo;  in  the 
Ocotlan,  metho]  in  the  Etla,  binnito;  in  the  sierra,  bitao;  in 
the  tierra  caliente,  bato. 

The  Pater  Noster  with  literal  translation  taken  from 
the  Catecismo  of  Leonardo  Levanto,  reads  as  follows. 

Bixoozetonoohe  kiiebaa    nachiibalo    nazitoo   ziikani 

Father  our  heaven    thou  who  art  above    great  has  been  clone 

laalo     kellakookii  xtennilo    kita   ziika  ruarii  nitiziguee- 

thy  name        kingdom         thine        will  come  here  thy  will 

lalo    ziika   raka   kiaa,  kiiebaa    laaniziika    gaka   ruarii 

as        is  done   above,      heaveii  as  be  done        here 

layoo.     Xikonina     kixee  kixee  peneche  ziika  anna  chela 

earth.     The  bread  of  all  us      to-morrow  give         also      to-day        and 

a  kozaananaaziikalo  tonoo  niiani  ya  kezihuina:  peziilla 

not  lead  us  us          that        we  bin:  deliver 


756   LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHERN  MEXICO 

zika  tonoo  niiaxtenni  kiraa  kellahuechiie.     Gaga     ziiga 

also          us  of  all  evil.  Will  be  done      so 

ziika.20 

so. 

Between  the  head  waters  of  the  Rio  Nexapa  and  Go- 
atzacoalco  the  Mije  language  is  spoken.  It  is  described 
as  guttural  and  rough,  and  by  some  as  poor  in  words, 
necessitating  auxiliary  gestures.  The  bishop  of  Oajaca,  to 
whose  diocese  they  belonged,  in  a  letter  to  Archbishop 
Lorenzana  stated  that  he  had  a  people  under  him,  who 
could  only  converse  during  daylight,  for  at  night  they 
could  not  see  their  gestures  and  without  these  were  un-. 
able  to  understand  each  other.21  The  following  alphabet 
is  used  by  Pimentel  in  writing  this  language ; — a,  5,  cA,  e, 
A,  i,  k,  m,  n,  n,  o,  p,  t,  u,  v,  x,  y,  tz.  Two  and  more  con- 
sonants frequently  follow  one  another  in  the  same  sylla- 
ble, as ; — akx,  epx,  itzp.  otzk,  mma,  mne,  mpi.  mto,  mxu, 
etc.  Vowels  are  also  frequently  double,  as; — A;do,  arms; 
teikkaa,  and  tinaak,  stomach.  In  declensions  the  geni- 
tive is  formed  by  prefixing  the  letter  i;—x£uh,  name; 
dios  ix&uh,  name  of  God.  The  plural  is  formed  by  the 
terminal  toch; — toix,  woman;  toixtoch,  women. 

PBONOUNS . 

I  6tz,  n,  notz 

Thou  ix,  initz,  mi,  mim,  n 

Thou,  speaking  with  reverence    inih 

He  t,  i 

He,  or  they  who  hudiiphee,  hudii 

He,  or  they  who  (affixed)  phee,  hee 

This,  these  phee,  hee,  yaat 

Who  Ppn 

We  ootz,  n 

They  ya6 

Mine  notz 

Thine  m,  mitzm 

His  i 

Our,  ours  ootzn,  nootz,  n 

20  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  321-60;  Nouvelles  Annales  des  I'oy.,  1841, 
torn,  xcii.,  p.  260,  et  seq. 

21  'Expressa  el  Illmo  Sefior  Obispo  de  Oaxaca  en  su  Pastoral,  qne  en  su 
Diocesis  hay  uunLengua,  que  solo  de  dia  se  entienden  bien,  y  que  de  iioche 
eu  apag'uuloles  ]>\  luz,  ya  no  se  pueden  explicar,  porque  con  los  gestos  sigui- 
ncan.'    Lorenzana  y  IJuttron,   Cartas  Pastorales,  p.  96,  note  1.      'Tambien 
HI  idioma  tiene  fuer^a  y  energia.'  Banjoa,  Geoij.  Deserip.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  271. 
'  Lingua  illornm,  rndis  et  crassum  quid  sonans  instar  Allemanorum.'  Laet, 
^'ucas  Orbis,  p.  262;  Barnard's  Tthuant* }:>;?,  pp.  224-5;   ViUa-Senor  y 


HUE  ADVERBS,  PREPOSITIONS,  AND  CONJUNCTIONS.    757 

ADVEEBS,    PBEPOSITIONS,    AND   CONJ0NCTIOKS. 

Here  ya 

No  katii 

Thence  heem 

Always  xiima 

Never  kahundiin 

More  niik 

Then  hueniit 

When  ko 

For,  in,  to,  above,  with  kuxm 

Of  kuxmit,  it 

In,  between  hoitp 

In  huifi 

With  moot 

Inside,  within  akuuk 

Before  huindui 

Why,  what  for  heekuxm 

That  huen 

As  much,  so  that  ixtauom 

Not  yet  katiinani 

How,  since  ixta 

THE    LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Nteitootz  tzaphoitp  mtzonaiphee  konuikx  itot  mitzm 

Father  our       in  heaven        who  lives  blessed         be         thy 

xeuh  momoikootz  mitzm  konkion  itunot  mitzm  tzokn 

name  give  us  thy  kingdom      be  done        thy  will 

ya    naxhuin  ixta  ituinu  tzaphoitp.       Outzn  kaik  opo- 

as         in  earth  as       is  done        in  heaven.  Our        bread 

mopomit   momoikootz    yoniit   etz    moyaknitokoikootzn 

daily  give  us  to-day      and  forgive  us 

pokpa  ixta  ootz  niaknitokoi   ootzn   yachotmaatpa   etz 

sin  as         we  forgive  our  offender  and 

katii   ootz  ixmomatztuit  heekuxm  katii    outz    nkedai 

not          as  lead  that  not  as      let  us  carry 

huinonn  kuxn.    Etz  mokohuankootz  nanihum  kaoiaphee 

temptation        in.  And  deliver  all  evil 

kuxmit.22 

from. 

The  language  of  the  Huaves  spoken  on  the  isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec,  is,  according  to  tradition,  not  indigenous 
to  the  country.  It  is  related  that  these  people  came 
by  water  from  a  place  down  the  coast,  although  the  lo- 

chez,  Theatre,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  155-  199-201;  MuUenpfordt,  Mejico,  torn,  ii.,  p. 
143;  Museo  Mete.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  555;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geoyrafia,  p.  176. 
22  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  173-88. 


758      LANGUAGES  OF  CENTRAL  AND  SOUTHEEN  MEXICO. 

cality  whence  they  came   is  not  given.23     I  have  only 
the  following  numerals  as  a  specimen  of  the  language. 


One  anoeth 

Two  izquied 

Three  areux 

Four  apequiu 

Five  acoquiaii 

Six  anaiii 

Seven  ayeiu 

Eight  axpecau 

Nine  axqueyeii 


Ten  agax-poax 

Eleven  agax-panocthx 

Twelve  agax-pieuhx 

Thirteen  agax-par 

Fourteen  agax-papeux 

Fifteen  agax-pacoigx 

Twenty  nicuinaio 

Thirty  nieuniiaomcaxpd 
One  hundred        anoecacocmiau  84 


23  '  Y  se  dixo  antes,  que  la  nacion  destos  Indies  huabes  avian  venido  de 
tierras  muy  lexanas,  de  alia  de  la  Costa  del  Sur,  mas  cerca  de  la  Eclyptica 
vezindad  del  Peril,  y  segun  las  circunstancias  de  su  lengua,  y  trato  de  la 
Provincia  6  Reyno  de  Nicarahua.'  Burgoa,  Geog.  Descrip.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  396; 
'  El  huave,  huavi,  guave,  llamado  tambien  en  un  autiguo  MS.  guazonteca  6 
huazonteca,  se  habla  en  el  Estado  de  Oaxaca,     Los  huaves  son  origiuarios 
de  Guatemala;  unos  les  haceu  de  la  filiacion  de  los  peruanoff,  fundandose  en 
la  semejanza  de  alguuas  costumbres,  mientras  otros  les  suponen  hermanos 
de  los  pueblos  de  Nicaragua.     La  segunda  opinion  nos  parece  la  mas  acer- 
tada,  y  aun  nos  atreveriamos  a  creer  que  el  huave  pertenece  a  la  familia 
inaya-quiche.'  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geografia,  pp.  44,  74.     'II  parait  demon- 
tre,  cependant,  que  la  langue  des  Wabi  a  de  grandes  analogies  avec  quel- 
qu'une  de  celles  qu'on  paiiait  a  Nicaragua.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Hist. 
Ifat.  Civ.,  torn.  iii. ,  p.  36. 

24  Sivers,  JUlttelamerika,  p.  290. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE   M^YA-QUICHE    LANGUAGES. 

THE  MAYA-QUICHE,  THE  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  CIVILIZED  NATIONS  OF  CENTRAL 
AMERICA — ENUMERATION  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THIS  FAMILY— HYPOTHET- 
ICAL ANALOGIES  WITH  LANGUAGES  OF  THE  OLD  WORLD — LORD'S  PRAYERS 
IN  THE  CHANABAL,  CHIAPANEC,  CHOL,  TZENDAL,  ZOQUE,  AND  ZOTZIL — 
POKONCHI  GRAMMAR — THE  MAME  OR  ZAKLOPAHKAP — QUICHE  GRAMMAR — 
CAKCHIQUEL  LORD'S  PRAYER — MAYA  GRAMMAR — TOTONAC  GRAMMAR — 
TOTONAC  DIALECTS — HUASTEC  GRAMMAR. 

The  languages  of  the  civilized  nations  of  Central 
America,  being  all  more  or  less  affiliated,  may  be  not 
improperly  classified  as  the  Maya-Quiche  family,  the 
Maya  constituting  the  mother  tongue.  Commencing 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Goazacoalco,  thence 
extending  over  Tabasco,  Chiapas,  Yucatan,  Guatemala, 
and  portions  of  Salvador,  Honduras,  and  Nicaragua, 
it  occupies  the  same  relatively  important  position  in  the 
south  as  the  Aztec  farther  north.  Besides  spreading 
out  over  this  immense  area,  there  are  two  branches  still 
farther  north,  isolated  from  the  mother  tongue,  yet  con- 
terminous to  each  other,  the  Huastec  and  the  Totonac  of 
Tamaulipas  and  Vera  Cruz.  Without  including  the 
last  mentioned,  probably  the  fullest  enumeration  of  all 
these  languages,  is  given  by  the  Licenciado  Diego  Garcia 
de  Palacio,  in  a  letter  .addressed  to  the  King  of  Spain, 
in  the  year  1576.  Omitting  the  Aztec,  which  he  in- 
cludes in  his  catalogue,  his  summary  is  substantially  as 

(759) 


760  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

follows.  In  Chiapas,  the  Chiapanec,  Tloque,  Zotzil,  and 
Zeldal-Quelen ;  in  Soconusco,  a  tongue  which  he  desig- 
nates as  the  mother  language  and  another  called  the 
Vebetlateca;  in  Suchitepec  and  Guatemala,  the  Maine, 
Achi,  Guatemaltec,  Chinantec,  Hutatec,  and  Chirichota ; 
in  Vera  Paz,  the  Pokonchi,  and  Caechicolchi;  in  the 
valleys  of  Acacebastla  and  Chiquimula,  the  Tlacacebastla, 
arid  Apay;  and  in  the  valley  of  San  Miguel,  the  Poton, 
Taulepa,  and  Ulua.  Other  authors  mention,  in  Guate- 
mala the  Quiche,  the  Cakchiquel,  the  Zutugil,  the  Chord, 
the  Alaguilac,  the  Caichi,  the  Ixil,  the  Zoque,  the 
Coxoh,  the  Chafiabal,  the  Choi,  the  Uzpanteca,  the 
Aguacateca,  the  Quecchi ;  and  in  Yucatan,  the  stock  lan- 
guage, the  Maya.  Among  all  tnese  languages  thus 
enumerated  by  different  authors,  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  some  have  been  mentioned  twice  under  different 
names.1  Most,  if  not  all  of  them,  are  related  to,  if  in- 
deed they  did  not  spring  from  one  mother  tongue,  the 
Maya,  of  which  a  dialect,  called  the  Tzendal  is  said  to 
be  the  oldest  language  spoken  in  any  of  these  countries. 
In  fact,  they  all  appear  to  be  dialects  and  variations  of 
some  few  tongues  of  yet  greater  antiquity,  which  again 
have  sprung  from  the  oldest  of  all,  the  Maya.  This 
latter,  I  may  say,  forms  the  linguistic  centre,  from  which 
all  the  others  radiate,  decreasing  in  consanguinity  ac- 
cording to  the  distance  from  this  centre,  losing,  by  inter- 
mixture, and  the  adoption  of  foreign  words,  their 
aboriginal  forms,  until  on  reaching  the  outer  edge  of 
the  circle,  it  becomes  difficult  to  trace  their  connection 
with  the  source  from  which  they  sprang.2 

1  Palacio,  Carta,  p.  20;  Juarros,  Hist.  Quit.,  p.  198;  Registro  Yucateco, 
torn,  i.,  p.  1G6;  Galindo,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,\ol.  in.,  pp.95,  63;  Galla- 
iin,  iu  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,    Transact.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  4-7;  Muhlenpfordt,   M<J'H-<>, 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  8,    17;   Wapplius,  Gtog.  u.  Slut.,  p.   245;  Herrera,   Hist.   Gen.. 
dec.  iv.,  lib.  x.,  cap.  ii-xiv.;  La  I,  Noi-us  Orbis,  pp.  277,  317,  325;  IIuml>»l<lt, 
Essai  J'ol.,  torn,  i.,  p.  267;  Heller,  Reisen,  p.  380;  Galindo,  in  Antiq.    .lA.r., 
p.  67;  Norman's  Humbles,  p.  238;  Haeflcens,  Cent.  Amer.,  p.  41'2;  I'richard's 
Nat.   Hist.   Man,  vol.  ii.,  p.   513;    Bchrendt's   Report,  in  8ii>itlu«iiii<tii   llt-jit., 
1867,  p.  423;  Squier's  Monograph,  p.  ix.;    Villagutierre,  Hist.  Conq.  Itza,  p.  84. 

2  The  languages  of  the  Mnya  family  are  spoken  in  the  old  provinces  of 
Soconusco,  Chiapas,  Suchitepec,  Vera  Paz,  Honduras,  Izalcos,  Salvador,  San 
Miguel,  Nicaragua,  Xerez  de  Cholnteca,  Tegucigalpa,  and  Costa  Rica,  says 
the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  MS.   Troano,  torn,  ii.,  p.  vi.     '  La  plu- 


THE  MAYA  LANGUAGE  IN  YUCATAN.  761 

The  Maya,  with  its  many  affiliations,  may  be  well  com- 
pared in  its  grammatical  construction  and  capacity  to  the 
Aztec.  It  has  in  this  respect  been  likened  to  the  ancient 
Greek  which  it  is  said  to  resemble  in  many  points.  Al- 
though monosyllabic  words  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  it 
has  not,  as  is  common  to  monosyllabic  languages,  many 
very  harsh  and  guttural  sounds,  but  is  generally  called 
soft  and  well-sounding.  The  dialects  spoken  on  the  coast 
of  Yucatan  and  near  Belize,  are  the  purest  and  most  ele- 
gant of  the  Maya  family,  and  the  greater  the  distance  from 
this  region,  the  greater  are  the  variations  from  the  pure 
Maya.3  Some  remarkable  hypotheses,  which,  if  proven, 

part  des  langues  de  cette  contree,  si  multiples  au  premier  aspect,  se  reduisent 
eu  realite  a  uu  petit  nombre.  Ce  sont  des  dialectes  qui  ue  different  les  uns 
des  autoes  qne  par  le  melange  de  quelques  mots  etrangers,  une  certaine 
variety  dans  les  finales  ou  daus  la  prononciatiou.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in 
Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn,  cxlvii.,  p.  155.  'II  me  parait  indubi- 
table que  la  langue  universelle  des  royauines  guatemaliens  devait  etre,  avant 
riiivasioii  des  tribus  que  les  Espaguols  trouverent  en  possession  de  ces  con- 
trees,  le  maya  d' Yucatan  ou  le  tzeiidal  qui  lui  ressemble  beaucoup.'  Ib. 
'  Lacandons . .  ..les  Mames,  Poeomames,  etc.,  qui  parlent  encore  aujourd'hui 
une  langue  presqu'en  tout  semblable  a  celle  des  Yucateques.'  Id.,  p.  156. 
'Le  Tzcu'lal  ou  Tzeldal  et  tin  dialecte  de  la  langue  zotzile  dout il  differe  fort 
peu.'  hi.,  Palenque,  p.  34.  'Toutes  sont  issues  d'une  seule  souche,  dont  le 
maya  parait  avoir  garde  le  plus  grand  nombre  d'elements.  Le  quiche,  le 
c<ik -liiquel,  le  mame,  le  tzendal,  sont  marques  eux-memes  au  sceaii  d'une 
tras-haute  antiquite,  amplement  partagee  par  le  mexicain  ou  nahuatt  malgre 
les  differences  que  comporte  sa  grammaire ;  car  si  ses  formes  et  sa  syntaxe  sont 
tras-distinctes  de  celles  du  maya,  on  peut  dire,  neanmoins,  que  tous  ces  voca- 
bles sont  composes  de  racines  communes  a  tout  le  groupe.  Id.,  MS.  Troano, 
torn,  ii.,  pp.  vii.,  viii.  'La  langue  primitive  forme  le  centre;  plus  elle 
s'avance  vers  la  circonference,  plus  elle  perde  de  son  originalite  la  tangente, 
c'est-a-dire  le  point  oil  elle  rencontre  un  autre  idiome,  est  1'endroit  oil  elle 
s'altere  pour  former  uue  langue  rnixte.'  Waldeclc,  Voy.  Pitt.,  pp.  24,  42. 
'  Les  Taitzaes,  les  Cehatches,  les  Campims,  les  Chinamitas,  les  Locenes,  les 
Ytzaes  et  les  Lacandons.  Toutes  ces  nations  parlent  la  langue  maya,  ex- 
cepte  les  Locenes,  qui  parlent  la  laugue  Choi.'  Ternaux-Couipans,  in  Xou- 
vdles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1843,  torn,  xcvii.,  p.  50;  Id.,  1840,  torn.  Ixxxviii., 
p.  6.  'La  de  Yucatan,  y  Tabasco,  que  es  toda  vua.'  Bernal  Diaz,  Hint. 
Gonq.,  fol.  25;  Soils,  Hist.  Mex.,  torn,  i.,  p.  89.  'Zoques,  Celtales  y  Quele- 
nes,  todos  de  lenguas  diferentes.'  Remesal,  Hist.  Chyapa,  pp.  264,  299;  also 
in  MontanuR,  Nieuwe  Weerebl,  p.  269;  Helps'  Span.  Conq.,  torn.  iii..  p.  252; 
Squi  T,  in  Nouvettes  Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn,  cxlviii.,  p.  275,  Id.,  1857, 
torn,  cliii.,  pp.  175,  177-8.  Tne  natives  of  the  island  of  Cozumel  '  son  do  la 
lengua  y  costambres  de  los  de  Yucatan.'  Landu,  Jle'acion,  p.  12;  Orozco  y 
lierni,  Qeoyrafki,  pp.  18-25,  55-56. 

3  '  La  simplicity  origmale  de  cette  langue  et  la  regularite  merveilleuse  de 
ses  formes  grammaticales,  c'cst  la  faciliti:  avec  laquelle  elle  se  prete  a  1'ana- 
lyse  de  chacun  de  ces  vocables  et  a  la  dissection  des  racines  dont  ils  sont 
d'rivt's.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  MS.  Troano,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  iii.,  vi.,  v.  'The 
Mnj<i  tongue  spoken  in  the  northern  parts  of  Yucatan,  is  remarkable  for  its 
extremely  guttural  pronunciation.'  Gordon's  Hist,  and  Oeocj.  Mem.,  p.  73. 
'The  whole  of  the  native  languages  are  exceedingly  guttural  in  their  pro- 


762  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

would  revolutionize  many  existing  theories,  ethnologic 
and  philologic,  have  latterly  been  brought  forward  by 
the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  This  gentleman, 
who  has  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  ancient  Cen- 
tral America  and  Mexico  for  many  years,  and  who  is 
fully  conversant  with  the  languages  of  Yucatan  and 
Guatemala,  the  Maya  and  Quiche,  claims  to  have  dis- 
covered a  close  connection  between  the  Maya,  Quiche, 
Cakchiquel,  Zutugil,  and  others,  with  most  of  the  chief 
languages  of  Europe ;  prominent  among  which  he  places 
the  Greek,  but  mentions  also  Latin,  French,  English, 
German,  Flemish,  Danish,  and  others.  Although  on  ex- 
amination many  of  the  abbe's  so-called  roots  display 
similarities,  both  phonetic  and  in  meaning,  with  some 
European  words,  still  a  large  majority  are  evidently 
twisted  to  conform  to  the  writer's  ideas,  and  it  will 
require  not  alone  further  investigations,  but  unpreju- 
diced studies,  such  as  are  not  made  for  the  purpose  of 
proving  any  particular  hypothesis,  to  substantiate  his 
theories.  Until  such  impartial  comparisons  are  made, 
and  a  clearer  light  thrown  upon  the  subject,  these  Central 
American  languages  must  remain  content  to  be  treated  as 
strangers  to  those  of  the  old  world.4  Of  the  languages 
previously  enumerated  I  have  the  following  specimens. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  Chanabal,  spoken  in  Comitan, 
in  the  state  of  Chiapas: 

Tattic  haya  culchahan   tanlinubal  a  vihil  jacue  eg 

nunciation.'  Dunn's  Guatimala,  p.  265.  'Diese  Sprache  war  wohlklingend 
uud  weich.'  Muller,  Amerikanische  Urreliglonen,  p  4-33;  Temaux-Compans,  in 
Noiioelles  Annales  des  Foy.,1843,  torn,  xcvii.,  p.  32;  Squier,  in  Id.,  torn,  cliii., 
p.  178. 

4  '  Dans  ces  langues  kakchiquele,  kichee  et  zutugile,  les  mots  qui  n'ap- 
partienuent  pas  au  Maya,  m'cmt  tout  1'air  d'etre  d'origine  geruiauique,  Bax- 
ons,  danois,  flamands,  anglais  meme.'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  Nourelles 
Annales  des  Voy.,  1855,  torn,  cxlvii.,  pp.  156-7.  '  Je  fus  frappe,  des  nion  ar- 
rivee.  . .  .de  la  similitude  qu'uue  quantity  de  mots  de  leur  langne  offrait  avec 
celles  du  nord  de  1'Europe.'  1/L,  Lettre  a  M.  Rafn,  in  Id.,  torn,  clx.,  1858,  pp. 
263,  281-90.  'The  fundamental  forms  and  words  of  the  languages  of  these 
regions  (except  the  Mexican)  are  intimately  connected  -with  the  Maya  or 
Tzeudal  and  that  all  the  words,  that  are  neither  Mexican  nor  Maya,  belong 
to  our  languages  of  Northern  Europe,  viz.,  English,  Saxon,  Danish,  Nor- 
wegian, Swedish,  Flemish  and  German,  some  even  appear  to  belong  to  the 
French  and  Persian,  and  altogether  they  are  really  very  numerous  and  as- 
tounding.' Id.,  Letter  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  November  21,  1855. 


* 
CHIAPANEC,  CHOL,  AND  TZENDAL.  763 

bagtic  a  guajan  acotuc  a  guabal  hichuc  ill  luhum  jastal 
culchahan.  Yipil  caltzil  eg  giiiniquil  tic  aquitic  sva 
yabanhi  soc  culanperdon  eg  multic  hichuc  qucj  ganticon 
guazt  culanticon  perdon  macha  hay  smul  sigilticon  soc 
mi  ztagua  concoctic  mulil  mas  lee  coltayotic  scab  pucuj 
jachuc. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Chiapanec: 

Pua  mangueme  niluma  cane  nacapajo  totcmomo  co- 
pamime  chambriomo  chalaya  guipumutamii  gadiloja 
istanacupu  cajiluca  nacopajo:  cajilo  baiia  yacameomo 
nuori  may  tarilu  mindamu  oguajime  lla  copomimemo 
taguajirne  nambucamuiieme  cuqueme  gadiluca  si  memu 
casimemu  tagnagime  nambucamuneme  copa  tipusitumu 
bica  tipucapuimu  mujarimimuname  mangueme.  Diusi 
mutarilu  nitangame  chacuillame  caji  Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Choi: 

Tiat  te  lojon,  aue  tipuchan  utzat  alvilacaval  trictic 
tolejon  han  gracia  chulee  vilic  a  pucical  vafchec  ti 
paniumil  chee  tipanchan.  Laa  cual  ti  juun  pel  quin, 
de  vennomelojon  gualee  sutven  lasvet  baschee  mue  sut- 
venlaa  y  vetob  laspibulob.  Llastel  ti  lolontecl  cotanon 
melojon  y  chachan  jaipel  y  tiue  nialoloion.  Amen 
Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Tzendal,  as  spoken  near  the  cele- 
brated ruins  of  Palenque: 

Tatic,  ta  nacalat  tachulchan :  chulalviluc  te  ajalalvile : 
acataluc  te  aguajuale:  acapastayuc:  te  tuxacane  tajich 
ta  chulchan  jichucnix  ta  valumilal.  Ecuctae  jujhan 
acabeyaotic  te  guag  vixtum  cuntic  tajujun  caal  chaybe- 
yaotic  te  multic  achiotic  chaybetic  ate  hay  smul  cagto- 
joltique  soyoc  mameaguac  yalucotic  ta  mulil  colta  yaoti- 
cnax  tastojol  piscil  te  colae.  Amen  Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Zoque,  as  spoken  in  Tabasco,  Chia- 
pas, and  parts  of  Oajaca. 

Theshata  tzapguesmue  itupue  yavecotzamue  mis  nei, 
yamine  mis  yumihacui,  ya  tuque  mis  sunoycui,  yecnas- 
quesi  tzapquesmuese.  Tesanu  hoimuepe  homepe  tzihete 


764 


THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 


yshoy,  yatocoyates  mis  hescova  lies  jaziquet  mis  atocoi- 
pase  thesquesipue  jatzi  huitemistetzaeu  hocysete  cui- 
jomue  ticomaye  ya  cotzocamisthe  mumuyatzipue  quesi, 
tese  yatuque.  Amen  Jesus. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Zotzil: 

Totit  ot-te  nacal  oi  ta  vinagel-utzilaluc  a  vi-acotal 
aguajtialel-acopas  hue  a  chul  cano-echuc  nox  ta  vinagel- 
ecluse  ta  valumil-acbeotic  e  cham-llocom  llocomutic 
-ech  xachaibeutic-cuie  tag  tojolic-ma  a  guae  llalu- 
cuntic-ta  altajoltic-ech  xacolta  utic  nox  ta  stojol  ti  coloc. 
Amen  Jesus.5 

Of  the  Pokonchi  Language  I  have  a  short  grammar, 
by  Thomas  Gage,  which  has  also  been  used  by  Vater 
and  Gallatin.  Following  are  a  few  of  its  prominent 
features : 

Nouns  are  declined  by  the  aid  of  particles,  of  which 
there  are  two  kinds,  varying  accordingly  as  the  word  to 
be  declined  commences  with  a  consonant  or  with  a 
vowel.  For  words  commencing  with  a  consonant  the  par- 
ticles nu,  a,  ru,  ca,  ata,  and  quitacque  are  used ;  and  for 
those  commencing  with  a  vowel,  v,  ay,  r,  c,  or  <?,  to, 
qu,  and  tacque.  These  particles  are  partly  prefixed  and 
partly  affixed,  as  will  appear  in  the  following  examples. 
So  the  word  pat,  house,  and  tat,  father,  are  by  Gage  de- 


clined in  the  following  manner. 


My  house 
Thy  house 
His  house 

My  father 
Thy  father 
His  father 


nupat 

apat 

rupat 

nutat 

atat 

rutat 


Our  house 
Your  house 
Their  house 

Our  father 
Your  father 
Their  father 


capat 

apatta 

quipattacque 

catat 
atatta 
quitattacque 


The  declension  of  the  word  acun,  son,  and  mm,  corn, 
are  given  by  Gage,  as  follows: 


My  son 
Thy  son 
His  son 

My  corn 
Thy  corn 
His  corn 


vacun 

avacun 

racun 

vixim 

avixim 

rixim 


Our  son 
Your  son 
Their  son 

Our  corn 
Your  corn 
Their  corn 


cacun 

avacuuta 

cacuntaque 

quixim 

avicimta 

quiximtacque 


5  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  231-45. 


POKONCHI  GRAMMAR. 


765 


Verbs  in  like  manner  change  the  particles,  by  means 
of  which  they  are  conjugated,  accordingly  as  the  word 
commences  with  a  consonant  or  a  vowel.  For  those 
commencing  with  a  consonant  the  particles  are ; — nu,  na, 
inru,  inca,  nata,  inquitacque.  Thus  the  word  locoh,  to  love, 
is  conjugated  as  follows: 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  LOCOH,  TO  LOVE. 


PRESENT     INDICATIVE. 


I  love, 

Thou  lovest, 
He  loves, 


I  am  loved, 
Thou  art  loved, 
He  is  loved, 


ntilocoh 
nalocoh 
inrulucoh 


We  love, 
You  love, 
Thev  love, 


PRESENT   PASSIVE. 

quiloconhi  We  are  loved, 

tiloconhi  You  are  loved, 

inroconhi  They  are  loved, 


incalocoh 
nalocohto 
inquilocohtacque 


coloconhi 

tiloconhita 

quil  oconhitacque 


PERFECT   PASSIVE. 

I  have  been  loved, 
Thou  hast  been  loved, 
He  has  been  loved, 
We  have  been  loved, 
You  have  been  loved, 
They  have  been  loved, 

IMPERATIVE. 

Be  thou  loved, 
Let  him  be  loved, 
Let  us  be  loved, 
Be  ye  loved, 
Let  them  be  loved, 

I  can  love, 

I  will  love, 

I  have  been  willing  to  love, 

I  have  been  able  to  love, 

I  can  love  thee, 

I  will  love  thee, 


xinloconhi 

ixtiloconhi 

ixloconhi 

xoloconhi 

ixtiloconhita 

xiloconhi  tacque 

tiloconhi 
chiloconho 
chicaloconho 
tiloconhota 
chiquilocouho  taque 

inchoinulocoh 
inranulocoh 
ixnulocoh 
ixcholixmilocoh 
tichol  nulocoh 
tira  nulocoh 


Sometimes  the  verb  I  will  is  added  to  express  the 
future; — inva,  I  will;  nava,  thou  wilt;  inra,  he  will. 

Verbs  beginning  with  a  vowel  have  the  following  par- 
ticles ; — mo,  naVj  inr,  inqu,  or  inc,  nauta,  inqu  tacque,  or 
inc  tacque.  Thus  the  verb  ega,  to  deliver,  is  conjugated. 


I  deliver, 
Thou  deliverest, 
He  delivers, 


mvec.a 
navecja 
inreqa 


We  deliver, 
You  deliver, 
They  deliver, 


mque<ja 
navecata 
inquec_a  tacque 


Adjectives  are  indeclinable,  and  the  plural  of  nouns 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  singular,  as ; — kiro  uinac, 
good  man ;  kiro  uinac,  good  men. 


766  THE  MAYA-QUICHfi  LANGUAGES. 

The  following  Lord's  Prayer  comes  from  the  same 
source : 

Catat  taxah  vilcat;  nimta  incaharcihi  avi;  inchalita 
avihauripau  cana.  Invanivita  nava  yahvir  vacacal, 
he  invataxab.  Chaye  runa  cahuhunta  quih  viic;  na- 
cachtamac,  he  inpachve  quimac  ximacquivi  chiquih; 
macoacana  chipam  catacchyhi,  coave9ata  china  unche 
tsiri,  mani  quiro,  he  inqui.  Amen.6 

Of  the  Mame,  or  Zaklohpakap,  the  following  ex- 
tract is  from  a  grammar  written  by  Diego  de  Reynoso. 
The  letters  used  are :  a,  b,  ch,  e,  h,  i,  k,  I,  ra,  n}  o,  p,  t,  u, 
v,  x,  y,  2,  tz.  There  are  no  special  syllables  or  signs  to 
express  gender,  but  distinct  words  are  used,  as; — mama, 
old  man;  ahkimikeia,  old  woman;  mamail,  old  age  of  a 
man;  keiatt,  or  ahJdmikil,  old  age  of  a  woman.  The 
plural  of  animate  beings  is  expressed  by  the  particle  e 
prefixed  to  the  word; — vuinak,  person;  emindk,  persons; 
but  it  is  considered  as  elegant  also  to  affix  the  same 
e; — Jciahol,  son;  ekiahok,  sons.  For  inanimate  things, 
either  numerals  or  adjectives  expressing  the  plural  are 
used ; — abah,  stone ;  ikoh  abah,  many  stones.  Personal 
pronouns  are ; — ain,  I ;  aia,  thou ;  ahu  or  ahi,  he ;  ao  or 
aoio,  we ;  ae  or  aeie,  you ;  aehu  or  aehi,  they. 

Me,  to  me,  in  me  vnih 

Thee,  to  thee,  in  thee  tiha 

Him,  to  him,  in  him  tihu 

Us,  to  us,  in  us  kiho 

You,  to  you,  in  you  kihae 

Them,  to  them,  in  them  kihaehu 

Of  me,  by  me  vuxm 

By  thee  tuma 

By  him  tumhi 

By  us  kumo 

By  you  kume 

By  them  kumhu 

By  myself  tipa 

By  himself  tiphi 

By  ourselves  kibo 

By  yourselves  kibe 

By  themselves  kibaehu  or  kibhu 

6  Gage's  New  Survey,  pp.  465-477,  et  seq. 


MAME  CONJUGATION. 


767 


ao,  or  aoia 
ae,  or  aeie 
aehu 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  YEKB  TO  BE. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 

I  am,  ain  in,  or  ain  inen  We  are, 

Thou  art,        aia  You  are, 

He  is,  ahu  They  are, 

IMPERFECT.  PERFECT. 

I  was,  ain  took  |    I  have  been,  ain  hi 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  been,  ain  tokem 

FIRST  FUTURE.  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  be,     in  abenelem,  or  ain  loiem      I  shall  have  been,        ain  lohi 


IMPERATIVE. 


Be, 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  XTALEM,  TO  LOVE. 


PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  love,  ain  tzum  china  xtalem 

Thou  lovest,      tzum  xtalem  a 
He  loves,  tzum  xtalem  hu 


We  love, 
You  love, 
They  love, 


tzum  ko  xtalem  o 
tzum  che  xtalem  e 
tzum  che  xtalem  hu 


IMPERFECT. 

I  loved,  tzum  tok  chim  xtalem 

PERFECT. 

I  have  loved,  ini  xtalim,  uni  xtale,  ma  chim  xtalim, 

ma  ni  xtale,  or  ma  uni  xtale 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  loved,  ixtok  chim  xtalim 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  shall  love,        uni  xtalibetz,  or  ain  chim  xtalem 

SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  loved,  ain  lo  in  xtalem 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love  thou,  ixtalin  o  ia 

Let  him  love,  ixtaliu  o  hu 

Let  us  love,  ko  ixtalin  o 

Love  you,  ixtalin  ke  ie 

Let  them  love,  ixtalin  ke  hu         * 

Of  the  Quiche,  there  is  an  abundance  of  material. 
The  letters  used  are ; — a,  6,  c,  e,  g,  h,  i,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p, 
<?,  r,  t,  w,  v,  x,  y,  z,  fa,  tch.  Gender  is  expressed  by  pre- 
fixing the  noun  ixok,  woman,  to  the  word,  as; — coA,  lion; 
ixok  coh,  lioness;  mun,  slave;  ixok  mun,  female  slave. 
The  sound  ish  expressed  by  the  letter  x  denotes  inferi- 
ority, and  is  therefore  frequently  used  to  express  the 
feminine  of  inferior  beings.  U  in  the  Quiche  and  ru  in 


7  Pimeniel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  84-110. 


768  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

the  Cakchiquel  are  either  possessive  pronouns  or  denote 
the  possession  of  the  word  which  follows.  The  particles 
re  and  ri  are  at  times  used  for  the  same  purpose ; — u  cliucli 
(ilipop,  the  mother  of  the  prince;  qui  quoxtum  tinanit, 
the  ramparts  of  the  town.  Before  the  vowels  a,  o,  and 
u,  they  are  changed  to  c ;  and  before  e  and  i,  to  qu.  De- 
rivatives are  formed  with  the  preposition  ah,  either  pre- 
fixed or  affixed  to  the  primitive  noun ; — car,  fish ;  ahcar, 
the  fisherman;  tzih,  word;  ahtzih,  the  speaker;  etc.  No 
positive  rule  can  be  given  for  the  formation  of  the 
plural,  as  there  are  several  different  methods  in  use. 
The  most  common  appears  to  be  by  the  affixes  ab,  eb, 
ib,  ob,  lib ; — beom,  merchant ;  plural,  beomab ;  ixok,  woman ; 
plural,  ixokib;  aliau.  lord;  plural,  ahauab.  In  the  Cak- 
chiquel language  the  last  letter  b  is  omitted,  as; — 
irokib,  women,  in  Quiche,  is  ixoki  in  Cakchiquel. 
With  adjectives  the  syllables  ale,  tak,  ic,  tic,  etc.,  are 
used  instead; — nim,  great;  nimak  Jia,  great  houses;  rihi. 
old;  rihitak  vinak,  old  people;  utz,  good;  utzic  va,  good 
eatables.  Adjectives  are  always  placed  before  the  sub- 
stantives;— zak,  white;  zaki  ha,  white  house.  Substan- 
tives are  formed  from  adjectives  by  adding  one  of  the 
particles,  al,  d,  il,  ol,  ul; — nim,  great;  nimal,  the  great- 
ness; zak,  white;  zakil,  the  whiteness;  utz,  good;  ut.il, 
the  goodness.  These  same  substantives  can  be  turned 
into  adjectives  again  by  adding  the  particle  ah; — nimalah 
mak,  great  sin;  utzilah  achi,  good  man.  In  the  same 
manner  all  substantives  may  be  turned  into  adjectives 
bv  adding  one  of  the  particles  akih,  elah,  ilah,  olah,  ulah, 
etc. ;  ahau,  king  or  lord ;  ahaualah,  royal. 

To  express  the  comparative,  the  present  participle  of 
the  verb  iqou,  to  surpass,  which  is  iqouinak,  is  used, 
and  sometimes  also  the  word  yalacuhinak,  from  yalacuh, 
to  exceed.  For  example; — nim,  great,  comparative,  iqou- 
inak chi  nim,  he  who  surpasses  in  greatness;  iqouinak 
chi  nim  u  hebeliqniil  ka  xokahau  Gapoh  maria  chiqui  vi  co- 
nohel  ixokib,  (literally)  surpasses  in  great  beauty-  our 
Lady  the  Virgin  Mary  all  other  women.  The  superla- 
tive is  expressed  by  the  syllable  maih,  very  great  or 


QUICHE  PRONOUNS.  769 

much;  nim,  great  or  greatly;  tih,  xoo,  qui,  much;  all 
of  which  are  placed  before  the  word  and  are  followed 
by  the  syllable  chi ; — maih  chi  nim,  very  great ;  maih  chi 
hebel,  very  fine;  maih  chi  tinamit,  very  great  city;  xoo 
qatan,  very  great  heat;  tih  nima  ha,  very  great  house. 
The  adverb  lavob  or  lob  is  also  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose ; — lavolo  or  lolo  cou  cti  a  bana,  hold  it  strong. 

The  names  of  colors  are  duplicated  to  express  the  su- 
perlative, as; — rax  rax,  very  green;  zak  zak,  very  white. 

The  reverential  syllables  in  use  are  led  and  la — lal  nu 
cahau,  your  excellency  is  my  father ;  in  alcual  la,  I  am 
the  son  of  your  excellency. 

PRONOUNS. 

I,  or  me  in,  nu,  nuv 

Thou  at,  a 

He  are,  ri,  r' 

Myself  xavi  in 

Thyself  xavi  at 

Himself  xavi  are 

We  oh 

You  yx 

They  e,  he 

Ourselves  xavi  oh 

Yourselves  xavi  yx 

Themselves  xavi  e,  he 

When  a  noun  commences  with  a  consonant,  nu,  a,  u, 
in  the  singular,  and  ka,  y,  qui,  in  the  plural  are  used  as 
possessive  pronouns,  but  if  it  commences  with  a  vowel,  -y, 
av',  r,  are  employed  in  the  singular,  and  k\  yv\  c',  or  qu\ 
in  the  plural. 

My  slave  mi  mun 

Thy  slave  a  mun 

His  slave  u  mun 

Our  slaves  ka  muiiib 

Your  slaves  y  munib 

Their  slaves  oui  muuib 

My  wrath  v'  oyoual 

Thy  wrath  av'  oyoual 

His  wrath  r'  oyoual 

Our  wrath  k'  oyoual 

Your  wrath  yv'  oyoual 

Their  wrath  c'  oyoual 

INTERROGATIVES. 

Who  naki,  achinak,  apachinak 

Who  am  I  apa-in-chinak 

Who  art  thou  apa-at-chinak 
VOL.  III.    49 


770  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

INTERROGATIVES. 

Who  is  this  apachinak-ri 

Who  is  it  naki  la 

Who  would  it  be  naki-lalo 

Who  are  we  apa-oh-chinak 

Who  are  you  apa-yx-chinak 

Who  are  they  apa-e-chinak 

The  verb,  to  be,  is  expressed  by  either  ux,  or  qo,  or 
qohe.  As  an  example  of  its  conjugation  I  insert  the  in- 
dicative present. 


I  am, 

in  ux 

or  in  qolic 

Thou  art, 

at  ux 

"  at  qolic 

He  is, 

are  ux 

"  are  qolic 

We  are, 

oh  ux 

"  oh  qolic 

You  are, 

yx  ux 

"  yx  qolic 

They  are, 

e,  or  he  ux 

"  e,  or  he  qolic 

Four  different  kinds  of  verbs  are  given  in  the  gram- 
mar compiled  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
which  he  calls  active,  absolute,  passive,  and  neuter.  The 
following  sentences  are  given  as  specimens  of  each  kind. 
Active ; — can  nu  logoh  v'  ahtih,  I  love  my  master.  Abso- 
lute;— qu  i  logon,  or  logonic,  I  love;  qu!  i  tzibanic,  I  write. 
Passive ; — ta  x-e  tzonox  rumal  ahtzak,  then  they  were  in- 
terrogated by  the  creator.  Neuter; — qu]  i  cam,  or  qui 
cam,  I  die;  qu'  in  ul,  I  come;  qu  i  be,  I  go;  qu1  i  var,  I 
sleep. 

Following  I  insert  the  conjugation  of  the  active  verb 
to  love,  in  which  the  word  logoh,  love,  commences  with 
a  consonant,  and  also  the  conjugation  of  the  active  verb 
oyohbeh,  to  wait,  which  commences  with  a  vowel,  thus 
showing  the  different  particles  used. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TO  LOVE. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  love,  ca  nu  logoh 

Thou  lovest,  c'  a  logoh 

He  loves,  c'  u  logoh 


We  love,  ca  ka  logoh 

You  love,  qu'  y  logoh 

They  love,  ca  que  logoh 


PERFECT. 

I  have  loved,       x-in,  xi-nu,  or  x-nu  logoh,  or  nu  logom 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  loved,        nu,  or  x-nu  logom-chic 

FIRST    FUTURE. 

I  shall  love,     ch'  in,  x-ch'in  chi  nu,  or  x-chi  nu  logoh 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  love,  ca  nu  logoh-tah 


QUICHE  CONJUGATIONS. 


771 


If  I  had  loved,  nu  logom-chi-tah 

PARTICIPLE. 

Loving,  logonel 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  OYOBEH,  TO  WAIT. 


PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  wait, 

Thou  waitest, 
He  waits, 


ca  v'oyobeh 
c'  av'  oyobeh 
ca  r'  oyobeh 


We  wait, 
You  wait, 
They  wait, 


ca  k'  oyobeh 
qu'  yv' oyobeh 
ca  c'  oyobeh 


PERFECT. 
I  have  waited,        xi-v'  oyobeh,  or  av'  oyobem 

SECOND    FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  waited,     chi  v',  or  xchi  v  oyobeh 

PRESENT  SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  wait,  ca  v'  oyobeh-tah 

In  the  following  three  columns  I  give  a  specimen  of 
the  conjugation  of  the  absolute,  passive,  and  neuter  verb. 


ABSOLUTE. 

I  love, 

qu'i  logon 

Thou  lovest, 

c'at  logon 

He  loves, 

ca  logon 

We  love, 

koli  logon 

You  love, 

qu'y  logon 

They  love, 

que  logon 

I  roll, 

qn'i  bol 

Thou  rollest, 

c'at  bol 

He  rolls, 

ca  bol 

I  am  loved, 
Thou  art  loved, 
He  is  loved, 
We  are  loved, 
You  are  loved, 
They  are  loved, 


qu'i  logox 
c'at  logox 
ca  legox 
koh  logox 
qu'ix  logox 
que  logox 


NEUTER. 

We  roll,  koh  bol 

You  roll,  qu'  yx  bol 

They  roll,  que  bol 

ABSOLUTE.  PASSIVE. 

I  have  loved,  x-i  logon,  I  was  loved,  x-i  logox, 

or  in  logoninak  or  in  logoxinak 

NEUTER. 

I  have  arrived,        x-in  ul,  or  in  ulinak 

FIRST   FUTURE. 
ABSOLUTE.  PASSIVE. 

I  shall  love,  x<-qui  logon  |    I  shall  be  loved,        x-qui  logox 

NEUTER. 

I  shall  arrive,  x-qu'in  ul 

There  are  further  mentioned  a  reciprocal  and  a  dis- 
tributive verb. 

Of  the  former  the  following  is  an  example. 


I  love  myself, 
Thou  lovest  thyself, 
He  loves  himself, 
We  love  ourselves, 
You  love  yourselves, 
They  love  themseives, 


ca  nu  logoh  uib 
c'a  logoh  rib 
c'u  logoh  rib 
en  ka  logoh  kib 
qu'y  logoh  yvib 
ca  qui  logoh  quib 


772  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

Of  the  second  form  this  is  an  example. 

Thee  I  love,  cat  nu  logoh 

He  loves  his  father,  cu  ri,  or  are  logoh  a  cahau 

You  love  us,  koh  y  logoh 

Thee  they  love,  cat  que  logoh 

The  prepositions — ma,  man,  or  matia,  and  wave,  are 
negatives.  When  man,  or  mana,  is  used  with  a  verb, 
the  particle  tcth  must  be  added ; — man  ca  v1  il-tah,  I  do 
not  see.  Father  Ximenez  calls  the  following  irregular 
verbs,  qo,  qoh,  or  qolic,  pa,  ux,  or  uxic;  qaz,  to  live,  and 
oh,  or  ho,  to  go. 

The  conjugation  of  the  last  mentioned  is  as  follows. 


INDICATIVE     PBESENT. 


I  go,  h'in 

Thou  goest,  h  'at 

He  goes,  oh,  or  ho 


We  go,  o'ho 

You  go,  h'yx 

They  go,  h'e 


The  Zutugil  and  Cakchiquel  appear  to  bear  a  closer 
relationship  to  each  other,  than  the  Cakchiquel  and 
Quiche.  Some  of  the  principal  differences  between  the 
three  are  the  following.  The  plural  of  nouns  which  in 
the  Quiche  is  formed  by  the  affixes  ab,  eb,  ob,  ib,  ub.  is 
in  the  Cakchiquel  designated  by  simply  affixing  the 
vowels  of  the  above  syllables,  and  in  the  Zutugil  by  the 
affixes  ay,  or  i.  The  pronouns  which  in  the  Quiche  and 
Cakchiquel  are  in,  I,  etc.,  are  in  the  Zutugil  doubled, 
as; — in-in,  I,  etc.  The  possessive  pronouns  differ  in  all 
three  of  the  languages.  The  Quiche  has  vech,  mine; 
avecha,  thine;  rech,  his;  Tcech,  ours;  yvech,  yours;  quech, 
theirs.  In  the  Cakchiquel  these  are; — vichin,  avichin, 
richin,  kichin,  yvichin,  quichin,  and  the  Zutugil  changes 
the  ch  of  the  Cakchiquel  into  n; — vixin,  avixin,  rixin, 
kixin,  yvixin,  quixin,  The  dative  in  the  Quiche  is  cliu- 
vech,  to  me,  in  the  Cakchiquel  chuvichin,  and  in  the  Zu- 
tugil, chuvixin.  Reciprocal  pronouns  in  the  Quiche  are 
vib,  avib,  rib,  kib,  yvib,  and  quib,  and  in  the  Zutugil  they 
are  vi,  avi,  ri,  ki,  yvi,  qui.  The  verb  ganeh,  which  also 
means  to  love,  is  in  the  Cakchiquel  and  Zutugil  conju- 
gated as  follows. 


I  love,  tin  ganeh 

Thou  lovest,  tah  ganeh 

He  loves,  tu  ganeh 


We  love,  ti  ka  ganeh 

You  love,  ty  gaiieli 

They  love,  ti  qui  ganeh 


QUICHE  AND  CAKCHIQUEL  LORD'S  PKAYERS.  773 

There  are  also  many  other  words  which  differ  in  one 
or  more  letters  in  the  three  languages,  but  it  appears 
that  they  are  nevertheless  so  much  alike  that  the  dif- 
ferent people  speaking  them  can  understand  one  another. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Quiche: 

Ka  cachau  chi  cab  lal  qo-vi,  r'auazirizaxic-tah  bi  la. 
Chi  pe-tah  ahauarem  la.  Chi  ban-ta  ahauam  la,  va- 
ral  chuvi  uleu  queheri  ca  ban  chi  cah.  Yah  la  chikech 
ka  hutagihil  va.  Zacha  la  ka  mak,  queheri  ca  ka  zacho 
qui  mak  rii  x-e  makun  chike  ruq  m'oh  ocotah  la  pa 
takchiibal  mak,  xata  noh  col-ta  la  pa  itzel.  Quehe 
ch'uxoc. 

Lord's  Prayer  in  Cakchiquel: 

Ka  tata  r'at  qoh  chi  cah,  r'auazirizaxic-tah  a  bi.  Ti 
pe-ta-ok  av'  ahauarem.  Ti  ban-tah  av'ahoom  vave 
chuvi  uleu,  quereri  tan-ti  ban  chi  cah.  Ta  yata-ok 
chike  vacamic  ka  hutagihil  vay.  Ta  zach-ta-qa-ok  ka 
mak,  quereri  tan-ti  ka  zach  qui  mak  riy  x-e  makun 
chike.  Ruquin  qa  maqui-tah  koh  av'ocotah  pa  takchii- 
bal mak,  xatah  koh  a  colo  pan  itzel.  Quere  ok  t'ux.8 

Of  the  Maya  Grammar,  the  following  is  a  brief  com- 
pendium : 

The  following  alphabet  is  used  to  write  the  Maya  lan- 
guage: a,  6,  c.  9,  z,  tz,  o,  cti,  ch,  e,  h,  i:  y,  k,  I,  m,  n,  0, 
p,  pp,  t,  th,  u,  x. 

The  letter  9  is  pronounced  like  the  English  2.  or  as  if 
for  example  the  word  camheg,  were  spelled  cambez.  The 
o  is  pronounced  as  if  spelled  dj,  oib  is  pronounced  as  if 
written  djib,  to  write;  h,  not  aspirated,  and  very  fre- 
quently omitted;  &,  rather  guttural;  pp  and  />,  sharp 
and  with  force;  th,  hard,  at  the  same  time  approximating 
slightly  the  English  ft.  The  gender  of  rational  beings 
is  denoted  by  the  prefixes  «A,  for  masculine,  and  ix.  for 
feminine; — ah  canibemli,  master;  ix  cambezah,  mistress. 
With  animals  the  particles  xibil,  for  males,  and  chupul, 

8  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Grammaire  de  la  Langue  Quiche;  Pimcntel,  Ctia- 
dro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  126-47. 


774  THE  MAYA-QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

for  females,  is  prefixed.  An  exception  to  this  rule  is 
the  word  pal; — xibil  pal,  the  boy ;  and  chupul  pal,  the 
girl.  Xouns  form  the  plural  by  adding  the  particle  ob; 
— ichj  eye;  ich  05,  eyes.  Adjectives  ending  in  nac,  in 
the  plural  lose  their  two  last  syllables  and  substitute 
for  them  the  syllable  lac; — kakatndc,  an  idle  thing; 
kakldc,  idle  things.  When  an  adjective  and  substantive 
are  joined  together,  the  adjective  is  always  placed  be- 
fore the  substantive,  but  the  plural  is  expressed  only  in 
the  substantive; — man,  idnic;  good,  utzul;  utzul  uinicobr 
good  men.  To  form  the  comparative,  the  last  vowel  of 
the  adjective  with  the  letter  I  added  to  it  is  affixed ;  fre- 
quently, the  particle  il  is  simply  affixed ; — further,  the 
pronoun  of  the  third  person  u  or  y  is  always  prefixed, 
in  the  comparative; — tibil,  a  good  thing;  utifriMl,  a  better 
thing;  utz,  good;  yutzil,  or  yutzul,  better;  fo&,  bad;  ulo- 
bol,  or  ulobil,  worse ;  kaz,  ugly ;  ukazal,  or  ukazil,  uglier. 
The  superlative  is  expressed  by  the  particle  hack,  which 
is  prefixed; — lob,  bad;  hachlob,  very  bad.  11  added  to 
nouns  and  adjectives  serves  to  make  them  abstracts, 
uinic,  man;  uinicil,  humanity. 

There  are  four  kinds  of  pronouns  used  in  the  Maya, 
all  of  which  are  used  in  conjugating  verbs.  But  the 
two  last  are  also  used,  united  with  nouns,  or  as  possess- 
ive pronouns,  and  never  alone,  or  as  absolute  pronouns. 

PRONOUNS. 

I  ten  We  toon 


Thou  tech 

He  lay 

I  en 

Thou  ech 

He  laylo 

I,  mine  in 

Thou,  thine  a 

He,  his  u 

Mine  u 

Thine  au 

His  y 


You  teex 

They  loob 

We  on 

You  ex 

They  ob 

We,  ours  ca 

You,  yours  a-ex 

They,  theirs  u-ob 

Ours  ca 

Yours  au-ex 

Theirs  y-ob 


RECIPROCAL  PRONOUNS. 


Myself  in-ba 

Thyself  a-ba 

Himself  u-ba 


Ourselves  ca-ba 

Yoursel  v  es  a-ba-ex 

Themselves  u-ba-ob 


MAYA  CONJUGATIONS. 


775 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  AUXILIARY  VERB  TENI,  TO  BE. 

INDICATIVE     PRESENT. 


I  am, 
Thou  art, 
He  is, 


ten 
tech 
lay 

We  are, 
You  are, 
They  are, 

IMPERFECT. 

I  was, 

ten  cuchi 

I  have  been, 

PERFECT. 

ten  hi 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  been, 

ten  hi-ili 

FIRST   FUTURE. 

I  shall  be, 

bin  ten-ac 

toon 
teex 
Idob 


SECOND  FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  been,  ten  hi-ili  coshom 

IMPERATIVE. 

Be,  ten-ac 

PRESENT  SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  be,  ten-ac  en 

IMPERFECT    SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  were,  hi  ten-ac 

FIRST   CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  NACAL,  TO  ASCEND. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  ascend, 
Thou  ascendest, 
He  ascends, 


nacal in  cah 
nacal a  cah 
nacal  li  cah 


We  ascend, 
You  ascend, 
They  ascend, 


nacal  ca  cah 
nacal  a-cah-ex 
nacal  u-cah-ob 


IMPERFECT. 

I  ascended,  nacal  in  cah-cuchi 


PERFECT. 

I  have  ascended,  nac-en 


PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  ascended,  nac-en  ili-cuchi 

FIRST  FUTURE,  SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  ascend,          bin  nacac-en  |    I  shall  have  ascended,  nac-en  ili-cuchom 

IMPERATIVE. 

Ascend,  nacac-en 

SECOND  CONJUGATION  CAMBEZAH,  TO  INSTRUCT. 

PRESENT   INDICATIVE. 


I  instruct, 
Thou  instructest, 
He  instructs, 
We  instruct, 
You  instruct, 
They  instruct, 

cambezah  in  cah,     c 
cambezah  a  cah, 
cambezah  u  cah, 
cambezah  ca  cah, 
cambezah  a  cah-ez, 
cambezah  u  cah-ob, 

r    ten  cambezic 
tech  cambezic 
lay  cambezic 
toon  cambezic 
teex  cambezic 
Idob  cambezic 

IMPERFECT. 

I  instructed,  cambezah  in  cah  cuchi 

PERFECT. 

I  have  instructed,  in  cambezah 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  instructed,  in  cambezah  ili-cuchi 


776  THE  MAYA-QUICH£  LANGUAGES. 

FIRST  FtTTCTEE. 

I  shall  instruct,  bin  in  cambez 

SECOND    FUTUKE. 

I  shall  have  instructed,        in  cambezah  ili-cochom 

IMPERATIVE. 

Let  me  instruct,  in  cambez 

Instruct  thou,  cambez 

Let  him  instruct,  u  cambez 

Let  us  instruct,  ca  cambez 

Instruct  you,  a  cambez  ex 

Let  them  instruct,  li  cambez  ob 

PBESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  instruct,  ten  in  cambez 

The  third  and  fourth  conjugations  not  differing  from 
the  above,  I  do  not  insert  them. 

THE   LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Cayum   ianeeh    ti    cuannob   cilichthantabac    akaba: 

Our  father      who  art      in        heaven  blessed  be  thy  name; 

tac       a       ahaulil     c'  okol.     Mencahac     a   uolah    uai 

it  may  come  thy  kingdom      us      over.          Be  done        thine      will  as 

ti    luun    bai    ti    caane.      Zanzamal  uah     ca     azotoon 

on    earth        as      in       heaven.  Daily  bread      us  give 

heleae     caazaatez    c'     ziipil    he  bik    c'    zaatzic    uziipil 

to-day  us  forgive      our        sins  as  we       forgive    their  sins 

ahziipiloobtoone    ma   ix    appatic   c'     lubul    ti    tuntah. 

to  sinners  not  also  let  us        fall         in    temptation 

caatocoon    ti    lob.9 

us  deliver      from    evil. 

To  the  two  languages  the  Huaztec  and  Totonac  spoken 
respectively  in  the  states  of  Tamaulipas  and  Yera  Ortiz, 
great  antiquity  is  ascribed.  I  include  them  both  in  this 
chapter,  and  classify  them  with  the  Maya  family ;  the 
Huaztec  because  its  relationship  has  already  been  satis- 
factorily established  by  Vater  and  his  successors,  and 
the  Totonac  on  the  statements  of  Sahagun  and  other 

9  Beltran  de  Santa  Rosa  Maria,  Arte;  Ruz,  Catecismo  Historico;  Id.,  Car- 
tilla;  Id.,  Gram.  Yucatect;  G.tllatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol.  i., 
pp.  252,  et  seq.;  Heller,  Rdsen,  p.  381,  et  seq.;  Vater,  Jfithridates,  torn,  iii., 
pt  iii.,  pp.  4-24;  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  5,  223,  torn,  ii  ,  pp.  119,  229; 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Grammaire,  in  Landa,  Relation,  pp.  459-479;  Id.,  in 
J/6'.  Troano,  torn.  ii. 


TOTONAC  GRAMMAR.  777 

good  authorities.10  Of  both  of  these  languages  I  insert 
some  grammatical  notes.  The  Totonac  is  divided  into 
four  principal  dialects,  named  respectively  that  oi'  the 
Sierra  Alta  or  Tetikilhati.  that  of  Xalpan  y  Pontepec, 
or  Chakahuaxti,  the  Ipapana  and  the  Naolingo  or  Tati- 
molo.  The  following  grammar  refers  specially  to  the 
last  dialect. 

The  letters  used  are  a,  ch,  e,  g,  A,  i,  k,  I,  m,  n,  o,  p,  t, 
u,  v,  a;,  y,  z,  tz,  Ik.  Compounded  or  agglutinated  words 
are  of  frequent  occurrence;  they  seem  to  be  joined  with- 
out any  particular  system,  although  it  appears  that 
the  last  letter  is  oftentimes  omitted.  The  following 
shows  the  composition  of  a  word ; — Iwxilhmagatlakacha- 
likihuin,  to  go  prophesying ;  composed  of  the  particle  li, 
the  verb  oxilha,  the  adverb  magat,  the  substantive  laka- 
tin,  and  the  verbs  chaan  and  likihuin.  There  are  no  par- 
ticular signs  or  letters  to  express  the  gender,  but  in  most 
cases  the  words  huixkana,  male,  and  pozkat,  female,  are 
prefixed  to  words. 

The  plural  for  animated  beings  is  formed  by  one  of 
the  following  terminations; — n,  in,  nin,  itni,  nitni,  an, 
na,  ne,  ni,  no,  nu; — oxga,  youth;  oxgan,  youths;  aga- 
pon,  heaven;  agaponin,  heavens;  pulana,  captain;  pula- 
nanin,  captains;  makan,  hand;  makanitni,  hands;  ztako, 
star;  ztakonitni,  stars;  xanat,  flower;  xanatna,  flowers; 
etc.,  etc. ;  in  and  itni  are  used  when  the  word  ends  with 
a  consonant,  and  nin  and  nitni  when  it  ends  with  a 
vowel. 

PERSONAL  PRONOUNS. 
I  akit  I    We  akin 


Me  kin 

Thou  huix 

He  ainab,  or  huata 


Us  kila,  or  kinka 

You  hnixin 

They  liuatonin 


10 'Estos  Totonaques decian  ser  ellas  de   ChuuMat.'     '  Otros  hay, 

que  entienden  la  lengua  Guasteca. '  Sahayun,  Hist,  Gen.,  torn.  iii. ,  lib.  x., 
pp.  131-2.  '  Im  alien  Ceiitralamerika  also  vraren  die  Sprachen  der  Toto- 
iiaken,  Otimier,  Huasteken,  Macahuer  unter  aich  sowohl  als  auch  mit  der 
Sprache  in  Yucatan  verwandt. '  Mutter,  Amerikanische  Umligionen,  p.  453; 
Juexilcanische  Zustfinde;  torn,  i.,  p.  143;  Montanus,  Nieuwe  Weereld,  p.  251; 
H-tssel,  .Ilex.  Ouat.,  p.  245;  Almaraz,  Memoria,  pp.  18,  20;  Villa-Sefior  y  San- 
chez, Theatro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  287-91;  Gallatin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact., 
vol.  i.,  p.  4;  Turnnux-Compans,  in  Nmivelles  Annales  des  Voy.,  1840,  torn. 
Ixxxviii. ,  p.  7;  Vater,  Mfthridates,  torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  p.  106;  Orozco  y  Berra, 
Qeoyrafia,  pp.  18-20,  204. 


778  THE  MAYA- QUICHE  LANGUAGES. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  IK-PAXKI-Y,  I  LOVE. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


I  love,  ik-paxki-y 

Thou  lovest,     paxki-a 
He  loves,  paxki-y 


We  love,  ik-paxki-yauh 

You  love,  paxki-yatit 

They  love,  paxki-goy 


IMPERFECT. 

I  loved,  xak-paxki-y 

PERFECT. 

I  have  loved,        ik-paxki-lh,  or  ik-paxki-nit 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  loved,  xah-paxki-nit 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  shall  love  nak-paxki-y 

SECOND    FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  loved,    ik-paxki Ih  nahuan,  or  ik-paxki-nit  nahuan 

IMPERATIVE. 

Love,  ka-paxki 

PRESENT  SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  love,  kak-paxki-lh 

IMPERFECT. 

If  I  loved,  xax-paxki-lh 

The  difference   between   the   three  dialects  may  be 
seen: 


Heart 

nako 

alkonoko 

lakatzin 

World 

kiltamako 

katoxahuat 

tankilatzon 

Moon 
Maize 
Good 
Truth 

malkoyo 
koxi 
tzey 
ztonkua 

papa 
tapaxni 
tlaau 
loloko 

laxkipap 
kizpa 

kolhana 
tikxllana 

To  believe 

akaeniy 

kanalay 

katayahnay 

The  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  dialect  of  Naolingo: 
Kintlatkane  nak  tiayan  huil  takollalihuakahuanli  6 

Our  father  in        heaven       art  sanctified  be 

mimaokxot  nikiminanin  6  mintakakchi  tacholakahuanla 

thy  name  come  thy  kingdom  be  done 

6  -minpahuat  cholei  kaknitiet  chalchix  nak  tiayan.     O 

thy  name  as  world  as  in        heaven. 

kinchouhkan  lakalliya  nikilaixkiuh  yanohue  kakilamat- 

Our  bread  daily  give  us  to-day  forgive 

zankaniuh  kintakallitkan  chonlei  6  kitnan  lamatzanka- 

us  our  faults  as  we  ourselves  we  forgive 

niyauh  6  kintalakallaniyan    ka    ala    kilaraaktaxtoj^auh 

our  debtors  and      not  us  lead 

nali  yoyauh  naka  liyogni.     Chon  tacholakahuanla. 

that        we  be  in       temptation.          So  be  it  done. 


HUAZTEC  GRAMMAR  779 

The  descriptions  or  grammatical  remarks  of  Yater 
and  Pimentel,  vary  in  many  points.  For  instance, 
Yater  says  that  the  letters  k  and  v  are  not  used  in  this 
language,  while  Pimentel  mentions  them  both  as  being 
used.  The  expression  of  the  plural  is  also  given  differ- 
ently by  both,  a,s  are  also  several  other  points.11 

From  the  grammar  of  Carlos  de  Tapia  Zenteno, 
which  was  also  used  by  Gallatin  and  Pimentel,  I  offer 
the  following  remarks  on  the  Huaztec: 

The  letters  used  in  writing  this  language  are :  a,  5,  ch, 
dj  e,  g,  h,  i,  j,  k,  I,  ra,  %,  o,  p,  t,  u,  v,  x,  ?/,  2,  ife.  The 
pronunciation  is  soft.  Gender  is  denoted  by  the  addi- 
tion of  the  words  imik,  man,  and  uxum,  woman;— 
tzatte,  king;  uxumtzatte,  queen;  tzejelinikj  young  man; 
tzejehtxum,  young  girl.  The  affix  chick  is  used  to  express 
the  plural; — atik,  son;  atikchick,  sons;  but  there  are  a 
few  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Diminutives  are  expressed 
by  the  preposition  chichick,  as; — te,  tree;  cliichikte,  small 
tree.  In  some  cases  the  preposition  tzakam,  or  the  affix 
H,  is  used  for  this  purpose.  In  the  superlative  the  syl- 
lable k  is  used  before  the  word,  as; — puttikj  great; 
leputtik,  very  great.  Personal  pronouns ; — nana,  I ;  tata, 
thou;  jaja,  he;  liualiua,  we;  xaxa,  you;  baba,  they. 

CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  TAHJAL,  TO  HAVE. 

INDICATIVE    PBKSENT. 


I  have,  nana  utahjal  or  intahjal 

Thou  hast,     tata  atahjal  or  ittahjal 
He  has,          taja,  intahjal 


We  have,       huahtia  yatahjal 
Yon  have,      xaxa  yatahjal 
They  have,    baba  tahjal 


IMPEEFECT. 

I  had,  nana  utahjalitz  or  intahjalitz 

PERFECT. 

I  have  had,      nana  utahjaitz  or  utahjamal,  or  ntahjamalitz 

PLUPEKFECT. 

I  had  had",        nana  utahjalak  or  utahjamalak,  or  utahjamalakitz 

FIBST   FUTUBE. 

I  shall  have,  nana  ku  or  kin,  or  kiatajah 

IMPERATIVE. 

\ 

Have,  tata  katahja 

u  Pimentel,  Cuadro,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  223-68;  pp.  223-61;   Vater,  Mithridates, 
torn,  iii.,  pt  iii.,  pp.  44-60. 


780  THE  MAYA-QUICHfi  LANGUAGES. 

PRESENT   SUBJUNCTIVE. 

If  I  have,  nana  kutahja  or  kiatahja 

IMPEBPECT. 

If  I  had,  nana  kin  or  intahjalak 

INFINITIVE. 

To  have,  tahjal 

Verbal  nouns  and  participles  are  formed  by  adding  x 
or  chiXj  to  the  infinitive,  as; — tzobnal,  to  know;  and  tzob- 
iiaXj  he  who  knows.  There  are  said  to  be  several  differ- 
ent dialects  of  this  language  in  use.  Following  is  the 
Pater  Noster  as  given  by  Zenteno  in  his  Doctrina,  and 
as  spoken  in  the  mountains  of  the  district  of  Tampico. 

Pailome  anitquahat  tiaeb,  quaquauhlu  anabi,  cachich 

Father  art  heaven        holy  said          thy  name     come 

anatzalletal.  Katahan  analenal  tetitzabal,  nuantianihua- 

thy  kingdom.        Be  done         thy  will      on  the  earth  as       .          to 

tahab  tiaeb.     Ani  tacupiza  xahue  cailel    yabacanil    ani 

have        heaven.     And      thoti  give      to-day  each   day      our  bread        and 

tacupaculamchi  antuhualabchic,  antiani  huahua  tupacu- 

thou  forgive  sins  as  we  for- 

lamchial  tutomnanchixlomchik,  ani  ib  takuhila  tincal 

give  debtors  and    not         lead  that  we 

ib  cucuallam  tin  exextalab.    Timat  taculouh  timba  ana  ib 

not         fall  us          in        temptation.        Bnt  save  us         from       no 

cuacua.     Anitz  catahan. 

holy  (evil)  so       be  it  done.12 

Lord's  Prayer  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  San  Luis  Potosi : 

Tatu  puilom  huahua,  itcuajat,  ti  eb  chie  pelit  santo 
jajatz  abi  cachic  atzale  tal  ti  eb  al  huahua:  catajatz  ta- 
culbetal  hantzana  titzabal  hantini  tiaeb  ani  cap  ud  pata- 
laguicha  tacubmanchi,  xoque  ani  tacupaculanchi ;  cal 
igualab,  ani  ela  tegui  tacupalanchi  cal  y  at  guitzab  ani 
il  tacujila  cugualan  cal  junhi  fataxtalb,  inaxibtaculohu 
cal  han  atax  mal  tajana  guatalel. 

12  Zenteno,  Lenqua  Hiiasteca;  Gallcitin,  in  Amer.  Ethno.  Soc.,  Transact.,  vol. 
i.,  pp.,  276-85;  Pimenlel,  Cuadro,  torn,  i.,  pp.  5-34. 


HUAZTEC  LOED'S  PRAYER.  781 

Lord's  Prayer  in  the  dialect  spoken  in  another  part 
of  the  district  of  Tampico: 

Pailon  qua  que  cuajat  tia  el:  tu  cab  tajal  hanchana 
enta  bi  ca  cliix  hanti  ca  ilal  cataja  na  aquiztal  hanchana 
antich  aval  quinitine  tia  el.  An  pan  abalgiia  ti  patas 
hiiicha  ha,  tu  piza  segue,  tu  placuanchi  ni  gualal  an- 
chana  jontinegiia  y  placuanchal  in  at  qualablom,  il  tu 
en  gila  cu  cualan  anti  at£s  cha  labial,  tu  en  librari  ti  pa- 
tas an  ataz  tabal,  anchana  juntam.  Anchanan  catajan.13 

13  Col.  Poliodomica,  Mex.,  viacion  jJomintcw,  yp.  8-10. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

LANGUAGES   OF    HONDURAS,     NICARAGUA,    COSTA    RICA,    AND 
THE  ISTHMUS  OF    DARIEN. 

THE  CABIB  AN  IMPOKTED  LANGUAGE — THE  MOSQUITO  LANGUAGE — THE  POYA, 
TOWKA,  SECO,  VALIENTE,  BAMA,  COOKEA,  WOOLWA,  AND  OTHEB  LANGUAGES 
IN  HONDUBAS — THK  CHONTAL — MOSQUITO  GuAMMAB — LOVE  SONG  IN  THE 
MOSQUITO  LANGUAGE — COMPABATIVE  VOCABULABY  OF  HONDURAS  TONGUES 
— THE  COBIBICI,  CHOBOTEGA,  CHONTAL  AND  OBOTTNA  IN  NICABAGUA — 
GBAMMAB  OF  THE  OEOTINA  OB  NAGBADAN — COMPABISON  BETWEEN  THE 
OBOTINA  AND  CHOBOTEGA — THE  CHIBIQUI,  GUATUSO,  TIHIBI,  AND  OTHEBS 
IN  COSTA  EICA — TALAMANCA  VOCABULABY — DIVEBSITY  OF  SPEECH  ON  THE 
ISTHMUS  OF  DABIEN— ENUMEBATION  OF  LANGUAGES — COMPABATIVE  VOCAB- 

TTLABY. 

In  Honduras  there  is  a  long  list  of  tribal  names, 
to  each  of  which  is  attributed  a  distinct  tongue.  Vo- 
cabularies have  been  taken  of  three  or  four  only, 
and  one,  spoken  on  the  Mosquito  coast,  has  had  its 
grammatical  structure  reduced  to  writing.  It  is  there- 
fore impossible  to  make  comparisons  and  therefrom  to 
determine  how  far  their  number  might  be  reduced  by 
classification.  The  first  which  I  introduce  is  generally 
conceded  to  have  been  imported.  It  is  the  Carib, 
spoken  on  the  shores  of  the  bay  of  Honduras  and  on 
the  adjacent  islands,  and  has  been  proven  to  be  almost 
identically  the  same  as  the  one  spoken  on  the  West 
India  Islands.  From  Cape  Honduras  to  the  Rio  San 
Juan,  and  extending  inland  as  far  as  Black  River, 
the  Mosquito  language  is  in  general  use.  Of  it  I 

(7»2) 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS.  783 

shall  insert  a  few  grammatical  remarks.  In  the 
Poya  Mountains  a  like-named  tongue  is  spoken;  on 
the  headwaters  of  the  Patook  River,  is  the  Towka,  and 
on  the  Rio  Secos,  the  Seco.  Further  in  the  mountains, 
near  the  boundary  of  Nicaragua,  and  extending  into 
that  state  are  the  Valiente  and  Rama,  said  to  be  both 
separate  tongues;  and  in  the  interior  of  the  state 
there  are  the  Cookra  and  Woolwa,  'the  latter  spoken 
in  the  province  of  Chontales.  Others  mentioned  are 
the  Tonglas,  the  Lenca,  the  Srnoo,  the  Teguaca,  the 
Albatuina,  the  Jara,  the  Taa,  the  Gaula.  the  Motuca, 
the  Fantasma,  and  the  Sambo.  Of  these  nothing  but 
the  names  can  be  given.  The  oldest  authorities  men- 
tion, as  a  principal  language  the  Chontal,  the  name 
of  a  people  and  language  met  in  many  variations 
in  almost  every  state  from  Mexico  to  Nicaragua.  As 
there  are  no  specimens  of  this  language  existing,  it  is 
impossible  to  say  whether  one  people  and  language 
extended  through  all  this  territory  or  whether  certain 
wild  tribes  were  designated  by  this  general  name,  as, 
according  to  Molina's  Mexican  dictionary,  chontalli 
means  stranger  or  foreigner;,  and  popoluca,  which 
seems  to  be  also  used  like  chontalli,  is  defined  as 
barbarian,  or  man  of  another  nation  and  language.  I 
am  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  no  such  nations  as 
Chontals  or  Popolucas  exist,  but  that  these  names  were 
employed  by  the  more  civilized  nations  to  designate 
people  speaking  other  and  barbarous  tongues.1 

1  A  classification  has  been  made  by  Mr  Squier,  but  in  the  absence  of 
reliable  data  on  which  to  base  it,  it  cannot  be  accepted  without  reserve.' 
He  says :  '  it  appears  that  Honduras  was  anciently  occupied  by  at  least  four 
distinct  families  or  groups.'  These  he  names:  the  Chorti  or  Sesenti,  belong- 
ing to  the  Maya  family,  the  Lenca,  under  the  various  names  of  Chontals  and 
perhaps  Xicaquea  and  Poyas; — in  the  third  he  includes  the  various  tribes 
intervening  between  the  Leucas  proper  and  the  inhabitants  of  Cariay,  or 
what  is  now  called  the  Mosquito  snore,  such  as  the  Toacas,  Tonglas,  llamas, 
etc.,  and  lastly  in  the  fourth,  the  savages  who  dwelt  on  the  Mosquito  shore 
from  ne:ir  Carataska  Lagoon  southward  to  the  Bio  Sail  Juan.  Cent. 
Amer.,  pp.  252-3.  See  also  Squier,  in  Palacio,  Caria,  note  iii.,  pp.  100-5; 


Choataliuin  tamen  maxime  erat  inter  eos  communi.-*.'  Lad,  Novus  Orbis,  p. 
337.     '  Tenian  diferendas  de  lenguas,  y  la  mas  general  es  la  de  los  Chonta- 


784  LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS. 

Of  the  Mosquito  language,  which  is  understood  through- 
out the  whole  Mosquito  Coast,  and  of  which  I  here  give 
a  few  grammatical  remarks,  Mr  Squier  remarks  that  "  it  is 
not  deficient  in  euphon}^,  although  defective  in  grammati- 
cal power."2  There  is  but  one  article,  the  numeral  ad- 
jective kumi,  one,  used  also  for  a  and  an.  The  adjectives 
are  few  in  number,  having  no  uniform  termination,  and 
are  discovered  only  by  their  signification,  except  when 
participles,  when  they  always  terminate  in  ra  or  n. 
Adjectives  form  the  comparative  by  adding  Team  to  the 
positive  and  the  superlative  by  adding  poll  except  in  two 
words,  uia  and  silpe,  which  have  distinct  words  for  each 
degree  of  comparison,  thus ; — silpe.  small ;  uria,  smaller ; 
katara,  smallest ;  uia,  much ;  kara,  more ;  poll,  most. 
Comparison  is  usually  formed  in  the  manner  following; 
—yamne,  good ;  yamne  kara,  better ;  yamne  poll,  best ; 
konra,  strong;  konra  kara,  stronger;  konra poll,  strongest. 

In  composition,  to  express  excess  or  diminution,  com- 
parison is  sometimes  formed  in  this  manner; — Jan  al- 
muk, Samuel  almuk  apia:  John  is  old,  Samuel  is  not 
old. 

ADJECTIVES. 

Old  almuk  Bad  sanra 

Every  bane  Green  sane 

Tight,  close  bitne  Black  sixa 

Spotted  bulne  Small  silpe 

Greedy  slabla  Transparent  slilong 

Dull  dimdim  Slippery  swokswaka 

Circular  iwit  Sour  swane 

Less  kausa  Damp  tauske 

More  kara  Great  tara 

Hot  lapta  Thin,  flat  tanta 

Rich  lela-kera  Thick  twotue 

Round  marbra  Poor  umpira 

les.'  Herrera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  viii.,  cap.  iii.;  Juarros,  Hist.  Guat.,  p. 
62;  Galindo,  Notice  of  the  Caribs,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  iii.,  p. 
290-1;  Orozco  y  Berra,  Geogra/ia,  p.  20.  'Die  Karaiben  bedienen  sich 
noch  gegenwartig  ihrer  ganz  eigenthumlichen  Sprache,  welche  bedeuttnd 
von  alien  iibrigen  abweicht,  und  von  den  anderen  Indianerstammen  nicht. 
verstanilen  wird.'  Mosquitoland,  Bericht,  pp.  19-20,  140;  Bell's  liemarks  on 
Mosquito  Ter.,  in  Lond.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxii.,  pp.  258-9;  Wells'  Ex- 
plor.  Ilond.,  pp.  552-3. 

2  Bard's  Waikna,   p.   363.     'Die  Sprache der  Sambos  oder  eigent- 

lichen  Mosquitos,  am  meisten  ausgebildet,  allgemeiu  verbreitet  und  wird  im 
ganzen  Lancle  von  alien  Stammen  verstiinden  und  gesprochen.  Sie  ist  wohl- 
klingeiul,  ohne  besondere  Kehlaute  aber  ziemlich  arm  uud  unbeholfen.' 
Mosquitoland,  BericM,  p.  140. 


MOSQUITO  .ADJECTIVES  AND  DECLENSIONS. 


785 


Sharp  mata 

White  pine 

Red  paune 

Most,  very  poli 

Grey,  light  blue  etc.  popotne 
New  raiaka 


ADJECTIVES. 
Much 
Smaller 
Weary 
Heavy 
Chief 
Good 


nia 

uria 

wet 

wira 

wita 

yamne 


THE  PEEFECT  TENSE  USED  AS  AN  ADJECTIVE. 


lawan 
shringwan 
langwan 
buswan 
klaklan 
kupia-pine 

Angry 
Fearful 
Sore 
Sick,  troubled 
Dead 

palan,  or  luan 
sibrin 
latwan 
warban 
pruan 

Dry 
Lazy 

Slack,  loose 
Wet 
Dirty 
Generous 


The  gender  is  commonly  marked  by  adding  waikna 
for  the  male  and  mairen  for  the  female,  or,  for  beasts, 
wainatka  for  the  male,  and  mairen,  as  before,  for  the 
female.  Thus; — lupia  waikna,  a  son;  lupw  mairen,  a 
daughter;  Up  wainatka,  a  bull;  hip  mairen,  a  cow.  In 
nouns  relating  to  the  human  species  the  plural  is 
formed  by  adding  nani  to  the  singular;  as; — waikna, 
a  man;  waikna  nani,  men;  yapte,  mother;  yapte  nani, 
mothers.  Other  nouns  have  the  plural  the  same  as 
the  singular,  although  sometimes  a  plural  is  formed  by 
adding  ra  to  the  singular; — inska,  a  fish;  inskara,  fishes. 

There  are  four  cases,  distinguished  by  their  termina- 
tions, the  nominative,  dative,  accusative,  and  ablative. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


DECLENSION  OF  THE  WOED  AIZE,  FATHEE. 


SINGULAB. 

Father  aize 

To  father  aizera 

Father  aize 

With  father  aize-ne 


PLURAL. 

Fathers  aize-nani 

To  fathers  aize-nanira 

Fathers  aize-nani 

With  fathers  aize-ne-nani 


WITH   AFFIX  KE. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 

SINGULAB. 

My  father 
To  my  father 
My  lather 
With  iny  father 

aize-ke 
aizekra 
aizeke 
aize-ke-ne 

PLUBAL. 

My  fathers                 aizeke-nani 
To  my  fathers           aizeke-nanira 
My  fathers                 aizeke-nani 
With  my  fathers       aizeke  ne  nani 

WITH   AFFIX   KAM. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 

Thy  father 
To  thy  father 
Thy  father 
With  thy  father 

vol.  in.  50 

aizekam 
aizekamra 
aizekam 
aizekam-ne 

Thy  fathers 
To  thy  fathers 
Thy  fathers 
With  thy  fathers 

PLUBAL. 

aizekam-nani 
aizekam-nanira 
aizekam-nani 
aizekam  ue  nani 


786 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


SINGULAR 

His  people 
To  his  people 
His  people 
With  his  people 


ai  upla 
ai  uplara 
ai  upla 
ai  uplane 


PLURAL. 

Their  people  ai  upla-nani 

To  their  people  ai  upla-nanira 

Their  people  ai  upla-nani 

With  their  people  ai  uplane-nani 


To  form  the  possessive  case  of  nouns,  the  word  dukia, 
signifying  '  belonging' ,  is  added.  The  word,  being  subject 
to  a  declension  peculiar  to  itself,  is  on  that  account  not 
put  as  an  affix  in  the  usual  declension  of  nouns. 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WOKD  DUKIA,  BELONGING,  POSSESSION. 

Belonging,  possession  dukia 

Belonging  to  him,  to  them  ai  dukiara 

Belonging  to  thee,  to  you  ai  dukiamra 

In  my  possession,  belonging  to  me  dukia-ne 


SINGULAR. 

Of  me,  mine  yung  dulda 

Of  thee,  thine  man  dukia 

Of  him,  his,  hers,  its     wetin  dukia 


Of  us,  ours 
Of  yon,  yours 
Of  them,  theirs 


yung-nani  dukia 
man-nani  dukia 
wetin  nani  dukia 


There  are  twelve  pronouns,  mostly  declinable, 
them  are  personal. 


Six  of 


i 

Thou 
He 


man 
wetin 


Self  bui 

Our  wan 

He,  his,  her,  hers,  I,  me,  etc.  ai 


Three  are  relative,  and  three  adjective. 


This 
That 
Other 


ADJECTIVE. 


baha 
naha 
wala 


What 

Which 

Who 


naki 
ansa 
dia 


The  first  three  are  declined  alike ;  thus 

DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  YUNG,  I. 


SINGULAR. 

Nom.     I 

yung 

We 

Dat.      To  me 

yungra 

To  us 

Ace.      Me 

yung 

Us 

Abl.      In  me 

yung-ne 

With  us 

PLUEAL. 


yung-nam 
yung-nanira 
yung-nani 
yung-nani  kera 


DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  MAN,  THOU. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


Nom. 
Dat. 
Ace. 
Abl. 


SINGULAR. 

Thou 
To  thee 
Thee 
In  thee 


man 
manra 
man 
man-ne 


You 
To  you 
You 
With  you 


PLURAL. 

man  nani 
man-niinira 
man-nani 
man-nani-kera 


DECLENSION  OF  THE  WORD  WETIN,  HE. 


SINGULAR. 

He 

To  him 
Him 
In  him 


wetin 

wetinra 

wetin 

wetiu-ne 


They 
To  them 
Them 
With  them 


PLURAL. 

wetin-nani 
wetin-Uiiuira 

\vrtin  nani 
wetiu-uani  kera 


MOSQUITO  ADVERBS  AND  PREPOSITIONS. 


787 


Affixes  are  also  joined  to  pronouns  to  increase,  vary, 
or  change  their  signification,  such  as  sa,  ne,  ra,  am,  and 
others,  as  well  as  prepositions  and  adverbs. 

There  are  but  three  interjections :  alai!  alas!  kais!  lo! 
and  alakai!  0  dear! 

Adverbs  are  numerous,  and  admit  of  certain  varia- 
tions in  their  signification  by  the  use  of  affixes,  thus  ;— 
nara,  here ;  narasa,  here  it  is ;  lama,  near ;  lamara,  nearer. 


Quickly 
When 
Every 
Yesterday,  the 

other  day 
Presently 
When 
Again 
Soon 
To-day 

Next,  by  and  by 
Already 
Immediately 
To-morrow 
After  to  morrow 
No,  not 
Only 

For  nothing 
Not,  never 
Not 
It  is  not 


ane 

ankia 

bane 

eua-wala 

kanara 

kanka 

kli 

init 

naiua 

naika 

put 

tiske 

yunka 

yawanka 

apia 

banian 

barke 

para 

sip 

sipsa 


Never 

Where 

Together 

There 

There  it  is 

Yonder 

Near 

Nearer,  close 

Farther 

Here 

Here  it  is 

No  more 

Yes 

Anything 

Sweetly 

Exactly 

Strangely 

Very,  truly 

Encaigh 

Truly 


tara 

ansera 

aika-aika 

bara 

barasa 

bukra 

lama 

lamara 

liwara 

nara 

narasa 

yulakane 

au 

deradera 

dumdum 

kut 

pale 

poli 

sipse 

kosak 


There  are  twenty-eight  prepositions.  Some  of  them 
are  also  used  as  conjunctions;  and  some,  like  the  ad- 
verb, admit  of  a  variation. 


At,  near,  about 

To,  there 

In 

Into,  within 

Against 

Beyond 

With 

Through 

With,  together 

In  front 

Opposite,  before 

Unto,  close 

Without,  outside 

Between,  centre 


Then 
Since 
Like 
Because,  for 


baila 

bara 

bela 

belara 

dara 

kau 

kera 

krauan 

kuki 

lalma 

lalmara 

lama 

latara 

lilapos 


For 

Beneath 

Below 

Under 

Behind 

After 

Without,  destitute 

Over,  upon 

Upon,  above 

Before,  anterior 

Without,  exterior 

Among 

With 

From,  out  of 


mata 

maira 

monunta 

monuntara 

ninara 

ninkii 

para 

pura 

purara 

pus 

skera 

tilara 

wal 

wina 


CONJUNCTIONS. 

bah  a  Until 

baha-wina  Now 

bako  How 

bamna  Next 


kut 
mek 
naki 
naika 


788' 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDURAS. 


So  thus  bun 

So  it  is  btmsa 

If  kaka 

Yet  kau 

Still  kause 


But 
Lest 

And,  also 
And 


seknna 
sia 
sin 
wal 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  KAIA,  TO  BE. 


yung  ne 
man  kam 


I  am, 

Thou  art, 

He  is,  wetin 

FEEFECT. 

I  have  been,  kare 

Thou  hast  been,  karum 

He  has  been, 


PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 

The  same,  only  placing  nani  after 
the  pronouns. 


I  shall  be, 
Thou  wilt  be, 
He  will  be, 


FUTUBE. 

kamue 

kama 

kabia 


Be  thpu,  kama 

Let  him  be,  kabia 


IMPERATIVE. 


Let  us  be, 

Be  ye, 

Let  them  be, 


kape 

man-nani-kama 
wetin  nani  kabia 


OTHER    FORMS. 

I  have  not  been, 
Thou  hast  not  been, 
He  has  not  been, 
I  shall  not  be, 
Thou  wilt  not  be, 
He  shall  not  be, 
We  shall  not  be, 
Ye  shall  not  be, 
They  shall  not  be, 
Shall  I  not  be? 
Wilt  thou  not  be? 
Shall  he  not  be? 


kerus 

kerum 

keruiskan 

kamue-apia 

kama-apia 

kabia-apia 

yung-nani  kamne-apia 

man-nani  kama-apia 

wetin-nani  kabia-apia 

kamne-apiake 

kama-apiake 

kabia-apiake 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VERB  DAUKAIA,  TO  MAKE. 


PRESENT  INDICATIVE. 
SINGULAR. 

I  make,  daukisne  We  make, 

Thou  makest,       daukisma  You  make, 

He  makes,  daukisa,  or  dauki          They  make, 


PLURAL. 

yung-nani  daukisne 
man-nani  daukisma 
wetin-nani  dauki, 
or  daukisa 


IMPERFECT. 

I  did  make,  daukatne 

Thou  didst  make,  daukatma 

He  did  make,  daukata 


In  the  same  way  every  tense  forms  the  plural,  having 
no  difference  in  the  terminations. 


PERFECT. 

I  have  made,  daukre 

Thou  hast  made,  daukrum 

He  has  made,  daukan 


FUTURE. 

I  shall  make,  daukamne 

Thou  wilt  make,      daukama 
He  will  make,  daukbia 


Make, 

Let  him  make, 


daux 

daukbia,  or 
daukbiasika 


IMPERATIVE. 

Let  us  make, 

Make  ye, 

Let  them  make, 


daukpe 

man  nani  daux 
wetiu  nani  dauk- 
bia, or  daukbia- 
sika 


MOSQUITO  LOYE  SONG.  789 


OTHEB  FOEMS. 

I  make  not,  daukrusne 

I  did  not  make,  daukruskatne 

I  have  not  made,  yung  daukrus 

I  shall  not  make,  daukamme-apia 

Make  not,  daukparama,  or  man  daukpara 

Let  him  not  make,  daukiera,  or  wetin  daukbiera 

Let  us  not  make,  yung  nani  daukbiera 

Make  ye  not,  man  naiii  daukpara,  or  daukparama 

Let  them  not  make,  wetiu  nani  daukbiera 

I  may  or  can  make,  yung  shep  daukisne 

I  sho\ild  make,  daukaiakatne 

I  may  have  made,  yuug  shep  daukre 

I  might  have  made,  yung  daukatnekrane 

I  shall  have  made,  daukaiakanine 

Do  I  make?  daukisneke 

Do  I  not  make?  daukrusneke 


Does  he  not  make?  daukruske 

Shall  I  not  make?  daukamne  apiake 

If  I  make,  yung  daukikaka 

If  I  had  not  made,  yung  daukruskaka  3 

As  a  specimen  of  this  language  I  have  the  following 
love  song: 

Keker  miren  nane,  warwar  pdser  yamne  krouekan. 
Coope  narer  mi  koolkun  I  doukser.  Dear  mane  kuker 
cle  wol  proue.  I  sabbeane  wal  moonter  moppara. 
Keker  misere  yapte  winegan.  Koker  sombolo  barnar 
lippun,  lippun,  lippunke.  Koolunker  punater  bin  bi- 
wegan.  Coope  narer  tanes  I  doukser.  Coope  narer  mi 
koolkun  I  doukser. 

Of  this  the  translation  is  given  as  follows: 
Dear  girl,  I  am  going  far  from  thee.  When  shall 
we  meet  again  to  wander  together  on  the  sea-side?  I 
feel  the  sweet  sea-breeze  blow  its  welcome  on  my  cheek. 
I  hear  the  distant  rolling  of  the  mournful  thunder.  I 
see  the  lightning  flashing  on  the  mountain's  top,  and 
illuminating  all  things  below,  but  thou  art  not  near  me. 
My  heart  is  sad  and  sorrowful;  farewell!  dear  girl, 
without  thee  I  am  desolate.4 

Following  is  a  comparative  vocabulary  of  some  of  the 
other  languages. 

3  Mosquitoland,  Bericht,  pp.  241-68;  Alex.  Henderson's  Grammar,  Moskito 
f}.,  N.  York,  1846. 
4  Young's  Narrative,  pp.  77-8. 


LANGUAGES  OF  HONDUKAS. 


ff.  «tJ» 


. 


Igf. 


gig  US-  f 
4«S«344f    | 

rr'niptBfDJS 

5  22.  3  g-g*  S.    5 

' 


T  12    S 


B  o 
o^ 


OEOTIXA  CONJUGATIONS.  791 

Besides  the  Aztec,  which  I  have  already  spoken  of 
in  a  previous  chapter,  there  were  four  distinct  languages 
spoken  in  Nicaragua: — The  Coribici,  Chorotega,  Chon- 
tal,  and  Orotifia.6  Of  the  Orotiiia,  which  Mr  Squier 
calls  the  Nagrandan,  I  have  the  following  grammatical 
notes. 

Neither  articles  nor  prepositions  are  expressed.  The 
plural  is  formed  by  the  affix  nu; — ruscu,  bird;  rus- 
cunu,  birds.  Comparatives  and  superlatives  are  ex- 
pressed by  mah,  better  or  more,  and  pooru  or  puru,  best 
or  most ; — niehena,  good ;  ma-mehena^  better ;  puru-mehena, 
best.  Diminutives,  or  deficiency,  are  expressed  by  ai 
or  mai] — ai-mehena  or  mai-meheiia,  bad  or  lacking  good. 

PRONOUNS. 

I  icu  Those  caguinu 

We,  masc.  hechelu  This,  m.  cala 

We,  fern.  hecheri  This,  f.  hala 

Thou  ica  These,  m.  cadchinulu 

You,  m.  hechela  These,  f.  cadchici 

You,  f.  hechelai  Mine,  m.  cugani  ' 

He1  icau  Mine,  f.  icagani 

She  icagui  Yours,  m.  cutani 

They,  m.  icanu  Yours,  f.  icatani 

They,  f.  icagunu  His  cagani 

That  cagui 

6  '  Ay  en  Nicaragua  cinco  lenguajes  muy  diferentes :  Coribici,  que  loan 
mucho,  Chorotega,  que  es  la  natural,  y  autigua :  y  assi  estan  enlos  que  lo  hablan 

los  heredaiuieutos,  y  el  Cacao,  que  es  la  moneda,  y  riqueza  dela  tierra 

Choudal  es  grossero,  y  serrano.  Orotifia,  que  dize  mama,  por  lo  que  no 
otros  (nosotros).  Mexicano,  que  es  la  principal.'  Gomara,  Hist.  Ind.,  fol.  264. 
'A  quatro  6  (jinco  leuguas  distintas  e  diverssas  las  unas  de  las  otras.  La 
principal  es  la  que  Hainan  de  Nicaragua,  y  es  la  mesma  que  hablan  en  Me- 
xico 6  en  Nueva  Espana.  La  otra  es  la  lengua  que  Hainan  de  Chorotega,  e 
la  terqera  es  Chondal  .  Otra  hay  ques  del  golpho  de  Orotinaruba  ha<jia  la 
parte  del  Nordeste,  6  otras  lenguas  hay  adelante  la  tierra  adentro.'  Oviedo, 
flint.  Gen.,  torn,  iv.,  pp.  35,  37.  Herrera,  who  has  copied  from  Gomara  al- 
most literally,  has  made  a  very  important  mistake;  he  speaks  of  five  lan- 
guages and  only  mentions  four.  As  Herrera  mentions  a  place  Chuloteca, 
some  writers,  and  among  them  Mr  Squier,  have  applied  this  name  to  a  lan- 
guage, but  seemingly  without  authority.  Herrera's  copy  reads:  'Hablauan 
en  Nicaragua,  cinco  lenguas  diferentes,  Coribizi,  que  lo  hablan  mucho  en 
Chuloteca,  que  es  la  natural,  y  antigua,  y  ansi  estauan  en  los  que  la  hablau- 
an.  .  .Los  de  Chondal  son  grosserus,  y  serrauos,  la  quarta  es  Orotiua,  Mex- 
icana  es  la  quinta.'  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iii.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.  Purchas  has  copied 
Gomara  more  closely,  and  cites  the  five  like  him.  Pilgrimes,  vol.  v.,  p.  887. 
Mr  Squier  makes  the  following  division :  Dirian,  Nagrandan,  Choluteca,  Oro- 
tiua, and  Choudal.  Those  speaking  the  Aztec  dialect  he  names  Niquirans 
and  also  counts  the  Choluteca  as  a  dialect  of  the  same.  Nicaragua,  vol.  ii., 
p.  iJld-12;  Buschmann,  Ortsnamen,  p.  132;  Froebel,  Cent.  Amur.,  p.  59,  et  seq.; 
/>.//'«"*  U'nh,  vol.  i.,  p.  207,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  28G-7;  Hassd,  Mex.  Guat.,  p.  397; 
Patacio,  Carta,  p.  20. 


792 


LANGUAGES  OF  NICARAGUA. 


CONJUGATION  OF  THE  VEHB  SA,  TO  BE. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 


SINGTTLAE. 

I  am, 
Thou  art, 
He  is, 

sa 
84 

sa 

PLUBAL. 

We  are,                           so 
You  are,                         soa 
They  are,                       sula 

I  was, 
Thou  wast, 
He  was, 

IMPE 

cana 
cana 
cana 

RFECT. 

We  were, 
You  were, 
They  were, 

canana 
cananoa 
lacanana 

PERFECT. 

I  have  been, 
Thou  hast  been, 
He  has  been, 

sa  ca 
sachu 
saca 

We  have  been, 
You  have  been, 
They  have  been, 

sa  cud 
8<t  cuahi 
sa  gahu 

I  had  been, 
Thou  hadst  been, 
He  had  been, 

PLUPE 
mucasini 
inucanasini 
mucanasadini 

BFECT. 

Plural  the  same 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  shall  be, 

lamanambi       j    We  shall  be, 

lamananna 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  been, 

malamana 

We  shall  have  been, 

lamana 

CONJUGATION  OF 

THE  VERB  AIHA,  TIHA,  AHIHA, 

TO  COME. 

PRESENT    INDICATIVE. 

SINGULAR. 

I  come, 

icunaha 

PLUBAL 

We  come, 

hechelunagu- 
bi 

IMPERFECT. 

I  came, 

incunahalu 

We  came, 

hechelunagu- 
balii 

I  have  come, 

PERI 

icusanaha 

ECT.     . 

We  have  come, 

hechelusagu- 
alalu 

PLUPERFECT. 

I  had  come, 

icuschisalu 

We  had  come, 

hechelunigu- 
alalu 

FIRST  FUTURE. 

I  shall  come, 

icugaha 

We  shall  come, 

hecheluguha 

SECOND   FUTURE. 

I  shall  have  come, 

icuvihiluniha 

We  shall  have  come, 

hechehivihi- 
luingualulu 

IMPERATIVE. 

Come, 

ahiyaica 

Let  us  come, 

ahiyohecheu 

I  should  come, 
If  I  had  come, 

icugahalu 

icumahaluvi- 
hilu 

We  should  come, 
If  we  had  come, 

hechelugu- 
alalu 
hechelumain- 
ueaiiiaguiha  7 

[fir's  Xicaragua,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  31C-319. 


NICARAGUA  AND  COSTA  EICA  VOCABULARIES, 


793 


Of  the  Orotiiia  and  Chorotega  I  also  insert  a  short 
vocabulary. 


CHOROTEGA 


Man 

rahpa 

nuho 

Woman 

rapaku 

nahseyomo 

Head 

a'cu,  oredi  goochemo 

Face 

enu 

grote 

Eir 

nau 

nuhme 

Eye 

setu 

nahte 

Nose 

ta'co 

mungoo 

Arm 

pa'pu 

deno 

House 

gua 

nahngu 

Sun 

ahca 

numbu 

Fire 

ahku 

hahu 

OKOTINA 

CHOBOTEGA 

Water 

eeia 

nimbu 

Stone 

esee,  or  esenu  nugo 

Wood 
To  drink 
Togo 
Dead 

White 

bara 
mahuia 
aiyu,  or  icu 
gaiigauu 
mesha 

nanguima 
boprima 
paya 
gagame 
andirume 

I 

icu 

saho 

Thou,  he 
We 

ica 
hechelu 

sumusheta 
semshmu  8 

More  scanty  still  is  the  information  regarding  the 
tongues  of  Costa  Rica.  Only  one  vocabulary  is  at 
hand  of  the  languages  spoken  by  the  Blancos,  Valientes, 
and  Talamancas,  who  inhabit  the  east  coast  between  the 
Rio  Zent  and  the  Boca  del  Toro.  Besides  these  there 
are  mentioned,  as  speaking  separate  tongues,  the  Chi- 
ripos,  Griiatusos,  and  Tiribis.  Of  the  language  of  the 
Talamancas  I  give  a  few  words. 


Man 

Woman 

Head 

Face 

Ear 

Eye 

Nose 

Hand 

House 

Sun 

Moon 

Fire 


signa-kirinema 

sigiia-aragre 

sa-za-ku 

sa-kar-kii 

su-ku-ke 

su-wu-aketei 

su-tshu-ko-to 

sa-fra-tzin-sek 

suhu 

kan-hue 

tu-lu 

tschii-ko 


Water 

Stone 

Wood 

Dog 

Good 

Bad 

I 

Thou 

He 

We 

You 

They 


di-tzita 

ak 

u-ruk 

tschi-tschi 

buisi 

be-so-i 

be-he 

tschi-si 

se-de* 

sa-ta-war-ke 

se-hetsch-te 

be-zo  9 


On  the  isthmus  of  Darien  there  is  nothing  to  be 
mentioned  but  the  names  of  tongues  said  to  have  been 
spoken  there,  and  of  specimens  nothing  but  a  few 
scanty  vocabularies  exist.  Oviedo,  speaking  of  Nica- 
ragua, Costa  Rica,  and  the  ancient  province  of  Tierra 
Firme,  thinks  there  were  as  many  as  seventy-two  dis- 
tinct tongues  spoken  in  that  region.  He  specially 
mentions  the  Cpiba,  the  Burica,  and  the  Paris.10  Anda- 

»  M.,  pp.  320-23. 

9  Wanner  and  Scherzer,  Costa  Pica,  p.  562;   Scherzer,   Vocab.,  in  fiitzungs- 
berichte  der  Akad.  der  Wissensch.,  Wien,  vol.  xv.,  no.  i.,  1855,  pp.  28-35. 
1°  '  Pieiisu  yo  que  son  apartados  del  niimero  de  las  septeuta  y  dos.'  Ori- 


794  ISTHMIAN  LANGUAGES. 

goya  speaks  of  a  distinct  language  in  the  province  of 
Acla;  another  called  the  Cueva  as  spoken  in  the  prov- 
inces of  Comogre  and  Biruqueta,  on  Pearl  Island,  about 
the  gulf  of  San  Miguel,  and  in  the  province  of  Coiba; 
at  Nombre  de  Dios  the  Chuchura ;  to  each  of  the  prov- 
inces of  Tobreytrota,  Nata,  Chiru,  Chame,  Paris,  Esco- 
ria,  Chicacotra,  Sangana,  and  Guarara,  a  distinct  lan- 
guage is  assigned.11  Another  tongue  spoken  of  by  an 
old  writer  is  that  of  the  Simerones.12  To  the  different 
surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  of  later  years  we 
are  indebted  for  a  few  notes  on  the  languages  spoken 
in  Darien  at  this  day.  The  Tules,  Dariens,  Cholos, 
Dorachos,  Savanerics,  Cunas,  and  Bayamos,  are  new 
names  not  mentioned  by  any  of  the  older -writers;  of 
some  of  them  vocabularies  have  been  taken,  but  other- 
wise we  are  left  in  darkness.13 

CHOLO  TULJS  WAFEB'S  DAEIEN  VOCAB. 

Water  payto  tee  doola 

Fire  tuboor  clio 

Sun  pesea  ipe 

Moon  hedecho  nee  nee 

Tree  pachru  chowala  (pi.) 

House  dhe  neka 

Man  mochina  mastola 

Woman  wuena  pnudola  poonah 

Thunder  pa  marra 

Dog  achu 

Ear  uwa 

Eye  ibia 

Nose  an  uchuu 

Mouth  kagya 

Father  tautah 

Mother  naunah 

Brother  roopah 

Go  chaunah 

Sleep  cotchah 

Fine  mamaubah 

edo,  Hist.  Gen.,  torn,  i.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xliii.  'En  tierra  firme. . .  .ai  mui  diver- 
sas,  i  apartudas  Lenguas.'  Oviedo,  Proemio,  in  Barcia,  Historiadores,  torn,  i., 
p.  12.  'Ai  entre  ello.s  lenguas  diferentes.'  Fernando  Colon,  in  Barcia,  Hiato- 
riadores,  torn,  i.,  fol.  106.  'Son  tra  lor  diuerse  lingue.'  Colombo,  Hist.  Am- 
meraglio,  p.  405. 

11  Andagoya,  Relacion,  in  Navarrete  Col.,  torn,  iii  ,  p.   393,  et  seq.;  Iler- 
rera,  Hist.  Gen.,  dec.  iv.,  lib.  i.,  cap.  xi. 

12  Baptisla  Antonio,  Relation,  in  Ifakluyt's  Voy.,  torn',  iii.,  fol.  554. 

13  Vater  Mithridates,  tom.  iii.,  ptii.,  p.  707;  Cidfen's  Darim,  p.  65;  Fitz- 
roy,   in  Lond.  Geog.,  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xx.,  p.  164:  Latham,  in  Id.,  pp.  1S9- 
!H);  ^prman's  Voy.  Herald,  vol.  i.,  p.  312;   BidmlFe  Isthmus,  pp.  33-38;  De 
Puydt,  Explor.,  in  Lond.  Geoy.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol.  xxxviii.,  p.  91. 


CHOLO,  TULE,  AND  DAKLEN  LANGUAGES.  795 

CHOLO  TULE  WAFEB's   DABIEN   VOCAB. 

One  quenckaqua  bean 

Two  pocoa  div 

Three  pagwa  tree 

Four  pakegua  caher 

Five  aptall  cooig 

Ten  ambe  den    14 


Although  from  a  perusal  of  what  has  here  been  gath- 
ered we  might  wish  to  know  more  of  the  weird  imag- 
inings that  floated  through  the  minds  of  these  peoples, 
and  to  follow  further  the  interminable  intermixture  of 
tongues  and  dialects,  spoken,  grunted,  and  gestured  be- 
tween the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  Atrato  River,  we  must 
content  ourselves  with  what  we  have.  I  have  gathered 
and  given  in  this  volume  all  that  I  have  been  able  to 
find ;  and  from  the  readiness  with  which  the  Americans 
were  wont  to  adopt  the  dogmas  and  creeds  of  Euro- 
peans, supernatural  conceptions  supposedly  superior  to 
their  own,  and  insist  upon  their  being  aboriginal,  and 
from  the  rapid  and  bewildering  changes  that  so  quickly 
mar  and  destroy  the  original  purity  of  tongues,  there  is 
little  hope  of  our  learning  further  from  living  lips,  or 
of  our  ever  being  able  to  study  these  things  •  from  the 
scattered  and  degraded  remnants  of  the  people  them- 
selves. 

He  who  carefully  examines  the  Myths  and  Languages 
of  the  aboriginal  nations  inhabiting  the  Pacific  States, 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  similarity  between 
them  and  the  beliefs  and  tongues  of  mankind  elsewhere. 
Here  is  the  same  insatiate  thirst  to  know  the  unknowable, 
here  are  the  same  audacious  attempts  to  tear  asunder  the 
veil,  the  same  fashioning  and  peopling  of  worlds,  laying 
out  and  circumscribing  of  celestial  regions,  and  manu- 
facturing, and  setting  up,  spiritually  and  materially,  of 
creators,  man  and  animal  makers  and  rulers,  everywhere 
manifest.  Here  is  apparent  what  would  seem  to  be  the 
same  inherent  necessity  for  worship,  for  propitiation,  for 

14  Culkn's  Darien,  pp.  90-102;  Latham,  in  Land.  Geog.  Soc.,  Jour.,  vol. 
xx.,  p.  190;  Wafer's  Ntw  Voy.,  pp.  185-188. 


796  CONCLUSION. 

purification,  or  a  cleansing  from  sin,  for  atonement  and 
sacrifice,  with  all  the  symbols  and  paraphernalia  of  nat- 
ural and  artificial  religion.  In  their  speech  the  same 
grammatical  constructions  are  seen  with  the  usual  varia- 
tions in  form  and  scope,  in  poverty  and  richness,  which 
are  found  in  nations,  rude  or  cultivated,  everywhere. 
Little  as  we  know  of  the  beginning  and  end  of  things, 
we  can  but  feel,  as  fresh  facts  are  brought  to  light  and 
new  comparisons  made  between  the  races  and  ages  of 
the  earth,  that  humanity,  of  whatsoever  origin  it  may 
be  or  howsoever  circumstanced,  is  formed  on  one  model, 
and  unfolds  under  the  influence  of  one  inspiration. 


END   OF    THE   THIRD   VOLUME.