[X-45]Beaumont,Crón. Mechoacan, MS., p. 232, tells of a Supreme Being 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, tom. iii., p. 197, and Padilla,Conq. N. Galicia, MS., p. 8, mention additional gods, but give no description.Villa-Señor y Sanchez,Theatro, tom. ii., pp. 269-70;Alcedo,Diccionario, tom. iii., p. 299;Tello, inIcazbalceta,Col. de Doc., tom. ii., p. 363;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iii., p. 566;Gil, inSoc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., pp. 496-8.[X-46]'Les dieux, de quelque nature qu'ils fussent, avaient dans la langue zapotèque le nom de "Pitao," qui correspond à l'idée du grand-esprit, d'un esprit étendu.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 26-7.[X-47]Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 255-6, also refers to emigration of Toltec chiefs to found new states.[X-48]'Vna esmeralda tan grande como vn gruesso pimiento de esta tierra, tenia labrado encima vna auesita, ò pajarillo con grandissimo primor, y de arriba à baxo enroscada vna culebrilla con el mesmo arte, la piedra era tan transparente, que brillaba desde el fondo.'Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt i., fol. 156.[X-49]Burgoa gives the relic in this instance a title which varies somewhat in the wording, although the former sense remains: 'El Alma, y coraçon del Reyno.'Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 396. Dávila Padilla,Hist. Fvnd. Mex., p. 639, mentions an idol among the Zapotecs in shape of a hand, which may have represented Huemac.[X-50]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.Geog. Descrip., tom. i., pt ii., fol. 198.[X-51]Cabrera,Teatro, inRio's Description, p. 37.[X-52]He also calls him the Miztec Cultur god.Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 486-90.[X-53]Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 44-5.[X-54]Chan, 'snake,' was the name of a tribe of Lacandones, near Palenque, 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 Quiché language, was in the possession of Nuñez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapas, who published short extracts of it in hisConstitut. Diœces, but seems to have had it burned, together with other native relics, in 1691, at Huehuetan. Previous to this, however, Ordoñez y Aguiar had obtained a copy of it, written in Latin characters, and gave a résumé of the contents in hisHist. del Cielo, MS. This author contradicts himself by stating, in one part of his MS., that the original was written by a descendant of Votan.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. lxxxvii., cviii.;Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., p. 12;Cabrera,Teatro, inRio's Descrip., pp. 33-4. Cabrera, who bases his account of the myth on Ordoñez' 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 Phœnician 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, inRio's Descrip., p. 34, et seq.[X-55]Boturini,Idea, p. 115. It may be of interest to compare his name with Odon in the Michoacan calendar, and Oton, the Otomí god and chief. Humboldt was particularly struck with its resemblance to Odin, the Scandinavian god-hero.Vues, tom. i., p. 208;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. lxxvi.[X-56]Equivalent to laying the foundation for civilization. According to Ordoñez he was sent to people the continent; a view also taken by Clavigero,Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 150-1. Torquemada's account of the spreading of the Toltecs southward, may throw some light on this subject.Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 256, et seq.[X-57]Valum Chivim, Valum Votan, land of Chivim and Votan. See note 15. Cabrera considers two marble columns found at Tangier, with Phœnician 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 Santo Domingo.Teatro, inRio's Descrip., p. 34, et seq. Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, 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 thirteen chiefs of Xibalba. There is a ruin bearing the name of Valum Votan about nine leagues from Ciudad Real, Chiapas.Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii. Ordoñez holds Valum Votan to be Cuba, whence he takes seven families with him.Cabrera, ubi sup.[X-58]Ordoñez says the original Na-chan means 'place of snakes.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 69.[X-59]A date which is confirmed by the Chimalpopoca MS.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii. One tradition makes the Tzequiles speak a Nahua dialect, but it is possible that Ordoñez confounds two epochs.Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 70.[X-60]In the traditions presented onpp. 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. Ordoñez' orthodox ideas have probably added much to the native MS. from which he took his account, yet Nuñez de la Vega agrees with him in most respects. Cabrera,Teatro, inRio'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 Tulhá, 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 Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 72-3.[X-61]Cabrera has it that the new-comers are seven Tzequiles, or shipwrecked countrymen of Votan. The voyages and other incidents he considers confirmed by the sculptures on the Palenque ruins, which shows Votan surrounded by symbols of travel, indications of the places visited in the old and new world; he recognizes the attributes of Osiris in the idol brought over by Votan, with the intention of establishing its worship in the new world. Lastly, Votan and his families are Carthaginians.Teatro, inRio's Description, pp. 95, 34.[X-62]The ruins of Huehuetan, 'city of old men,' are still to be seen.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. 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.[X-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,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 350-2.[X-64]The place of the dead, or hades, also called Yopaa, land of tombs.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 9.[X-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.Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 299.[X-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 Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 411. Quetzalcoatl also disappeared seaward.[X-67]He debarked near Tehuantepec, bearing a cross in his hand;Gondra,Rasgos y señales de la primera predicacion en el Nuevo-Mundo, MS.;Carriedo,Estudios, Hist. del Estado Oaxaqueño, tom. i., cap. i.;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 9-10.[X-68]Brasseur de Bourbourg seems to place it at Chalcatongo.Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 19;Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt i., fol. 170.[X-69]Escalera and Llana,Mej. Hist. Descrip., p. 330.[X-70]'Le tenian enterrado, seco, y embalsamado en su proporcion.'The cave was supposed to connect with the city of Chiapas, 200 leagues distant.Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv.[X-71]'Piedra blanca, labrada al modo de vn acho de bolos ... vn gruesso taladro.'Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 362.[X-72]Bernal Diaz,Hist. Conq., fol. 179;Salazar y Olarte,Hist. Conq. Mex., p. 137. There were many among 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.'Piñeda, inSoc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., p. 419.[X-73]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 17;Dávila Padilla,Hist. Fvnd. Mex., pp. 638-9. In Chiapas are found a number of representations of heavenly bodies, sculptured, or drawn, and at Palenque a sun temple is supposed to have existed.Piñeda, inSoc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., p. 419.[X-74]They 'worship his image in their own peculiar way, sometimes by cutting off a turkey's head.' 'The natives are about as far advanced in christianity as they were at the time of the conquest.'Hutchings' Cal. Mag., vol. ii., p. 542.[X-75]Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 395;Ferry,Costal L'Indien, pp. 6-7.[X-76]Some consider it to be composed of three trunks which have grown together, and the deep indentations certainly give it that appearance; but trees of this species generally present irregular forms.Escalera and Llana,Méj. Hist. Descrip., pp. 224-5;Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. xviii.[X-77]Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv.;Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 282;Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., p. 194. Pontelli, who claims to have paid a visit to the forbidden retreats of the mountain Lacandones, 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;Cal. Farmer, Nov. 7, 1862.[XI-1]'Toda esta Tierra, con estotra, ... tenia vna misma manera de religion, y ritos, y si en algo diferenciaba, era, en mui poco.' 'Lo mismo fue de las Provincias de Quatimala, Nicaragua, y Honduras.'Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. 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 reconnaît facilement que le culte y était partout basé sur le rituel toltèque, et que les formes mêmes ne différaient guère les unes des autres.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 559.[XI-2]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 42, calls him the sun.[XI-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.[XI-4]'Porque à este le llamaban tambien Ytzamnà.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 196, 192.[XI-5]The daughter of Ixchel, the Yucatec medicine goddess.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 43. He writes the virgin's name as Chiribias. Ixchel seems to be the same as the Guatemalan Xmucané, mother of the gods.'Id.,Quatre Lettres, p. 243.[XI-6]Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiii.;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 190;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, p. 246;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. iii., p. 133.[XI-7]'Celle de l'eau matrice d'embryon,ix-a-zal-uoh.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,MS. Troano, tom. ii., p. 258.[XI-8]'Idolo, ò Zemì.'Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 33.'Zemes which are the Images of their familiar and domesticall spirites.'Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. vi.[XI-9]'Les dieux de l'Yucatan, disent Lizana et Cogolludo, étaient presque tous des rois plus ou moins bons que la gratitude ou la terreur avait fait placer au rang des divinités.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 20;Landa,Relacion, p. 158;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 198.[XI-10]Lizana, inLanda,Relacion, p. 356;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 197; Brinton,Myths, p. 188, speaks of 'Zamna, or Cukulcan, lord of the dawn and four winds,' and connects him with Votan also.'Il y a toute apparence qu'il était de la même race (as Votan) et que son arrivée eut lieu peu d'années après la fondation de la monarchie palenquéenne.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 76, et seq.The hand in picture-writing signifies strength, power, mastery, and is frequently met with on Central American ruins, impressed in red color. Among the North American savages it was the symbol of supplication. Their doctors sometimes smeared the hand with paint and daubed it over the patient.Schoolcraft, inStephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., pp. 476-8.[XI-11]Lizana, inLanda,Relacion, p. 360, translates the name as 'Sol con rostro que sus rayos eran de fuego,'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 198, 178;Brasseur de Bourbourg,MS. Troano, p. 270;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 5-6;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 475. In the syllablemoof the hero's name is found another reference to the sun, formoois the Maya term for the birdara, the symbol of the sun.[XI-12]'El que recibe, y possee la gracia, ò rozio del Cielo.' 'No conocian otro Dios Autor de la vida, sino à este.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 179.'Celui qui demande ou obtient la rosée ou la glace, ou rempli de l'eau en bras de glace,itz-m-a-tul.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,MS. Troano, tom. ii., p. 257;Landa,Relacion, pp. 284-5.[XI-13]After staying a short time at Potonchan, he embarked and nothing more was heard of him. TheCodex Chimalpopocastates, 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 brothers,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.'Il n'y a pas à douter, toutefois, que, s'il est le même que Quetzalcohuatl, la doctrine aura été la même.'Id., pp. 10-1, 43.Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., 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,Relacion, pp. 35-9, 300-1;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. Veytia connects him with St. Thomas.Hist. Antig. Mej., tom. i., pp. 195-8. Speaking of Cukulcan and his companions Las Casas says:'A este llamaron Dios de las fiebres ò Calenturas.... Los cuales mandaban que se confesasen las gentes y ayunasen; y que algunos ayunaban el viernes porque habia muerto aquel dia Bacab; y tiene por nombre aquel dia Himis.'Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiii.'Kukulcan, vient dekuk, oiseau qui paraît être le même que le quetzal; son déterminatif estkukulqui uni à can, serpent, fait exactement le même mot queQuetzal Cohuatl, serpent aux plumes vertes, ou de Quetzal.'Brasseur de Bourbourg, inLanda,Relacion, p. 35.[XI-14]Gomara,Conq. Mex., fol. 22;Landa,Relacion, p. 158;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 202;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 46-7.'Se tenian por santificados los que alla auian estado,'Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.[XI-15]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 50, calls the god of death Rakalku. Baeza, inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., pp. 168-9, mentions a transparent stone calledzatzun, by means of which hidden things and causes of diseases could be discovered.[XI-16]'Cette divinité paraît être la même que leTihaxdes Quichés et Cakchiquels, leTecpatldes Mexicains, la lance ou la flèche.'Brasseur de Bourbourg, inLanda,Relacion, p. 363.[XI-17]Zee-Rovers, p. 64;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 178, 190-1, 196-7;Landa,Relacion, pp. 206-8;Lizana, inId., pp. 356-64;Ternaux-Compans, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 40-4;Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 17, 32;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, pp. 245-6;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 4-10, 20, 42-50.[XI-18]'Tra le Croci sono celebri quelle di Jucatan, della Mizteca, di Queretaro, di Tepique, e di Tianquiztepec.'Clavigero,Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. ii., p. 14.There were also crosses at Palenque, on San Juan de Ulloa, at Copan, in Nicaragua, and other places.'Die Tolteken haben nämlich die Verehrung des Kreuzes mit durchaus bewusster Beziehung desselben auf den Regen, von der alten Urbevölkerung aufgenommen.'Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 498-9;Palacio,Carta, p. 88.[XI-19]This and other prophecies, which, if not mere fabrications, bear at least marks of mutilation and addition, may be found inTorquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. iii., pp. 132-3;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, pp. 245-6;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 99-100;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 603-6. Brinton thinks that they may refer to 'the return of Zamná, 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.[XI-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,Researches in Amer., p. 327.'Afirmaban que por que habia muerto en ella un hombre mas replandeciente que el sol.'Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiii.;Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. i.[XI-21]Mr Godfrey Higgins, in hisCeltic Druids, p. 126, says: 'Few causes have been more powerful in producing mistakes in ancient history, 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 hisIndian Antiquities, vol. ii., p. 361, writes: 'Let not the piety of the Catholic Christian 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 Christian 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 Lingham (phallus).'[XI-22]Constantio holds it to be a symbol of the solstices.Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., pp. 464-5;Humboldt,Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 354-6;Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 24;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 497-500;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. iii., pp. 133, 200-6, 299;McCulloh's Researches, pp. 331-6;Klemm,Cultur-Geschichte, tom. v., p. 143;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 63. Brinton 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 the Aryan Nations, vol. ii., pp. 369-72. Some of the crosses referred to lack the head piece, and being of this shape,T, resemble, somewhat, a Mexican coin.[XI-23]'No solo se hallò vna Cruz, sino algunas.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 199-302;Bernal Diaz,Hist. Conq., fol. 3;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. i.;Gomara,Conq. Mex., fol. 24. Stephens found a cross at the church of Mejorada, in Mérida, 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 assertion when made in the face of so many old authorities.[XI-24]This seems to confirm the idea that it was worshiped, yet Constantio 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.Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., pp. 464-5;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 498;Stephens' 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 these trees with the branches placed crosswise.Palacio,Carta, pp. 120-1. Jones,Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 149, et seq., who identifies almost every feature of Central American worship with the Phœnician, asserts that the Palenque cross proves the Tyrian origin of the aborigines.[XI-25]Cogolludo says, however:'Solian ayunar dos, y tres dias, sin comer cosa alguna.'Hist. Yuc., p. 194.[XI-26]These mutilations were at times very severe.'Otras vezes hazian un suzio y penoso sacrificio añudandose los que lo hazian en el templo, donde puestas en rengla, se hazian sendos aguzeros en los miembros viriles al soslayo por el lado, y hechos passavan toda la mas cantidad de hilo que podian, quedando assi todos asidos.'Landa,Relacion, pp. 162-3.This author thinks that the practice of slitting the prepuce gave rise to the idea that circumcision existed in Yucatan.[XI-27]Landa,Relacion, pp. 164-8;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 193-4;Medel, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. 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 costumbre fue introduzida en Yucatan, por los Mexicanos.' 'Flechauan algunas vezes al sacrificado ... desollauanlos, vestiase el sacerdote el pellejo, y baylauo, y enterrauan el cuerpo en el patio del templo.'Herrera,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.Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 425.[XI-28]Landa,Relacion, p. 165;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 25, 180;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 62.[XI-29]Relacion, p. 154;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. For description of baptismal rites, see vol. ii., pp. 682-4, of this work.[XI-30]'Que se deriva de un verbokinyah, que significa "sortear ó echar suertes."'Lizana, inLanda,Relacion, p. 362.[XI-31]'Longues robes noires.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., p. 168.[XI-32]Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 198;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 6;Ternaux-Compans, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 39-41. Temples are described in vol. ii., pp. 791-3, of this work.[XI-33]'Célèbres dans toutes les traditions d'origine toltèque, comme les pères du soleil et de la magie.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 120.[XI-34]'Hun-Ahpu-Vuchun Tireur de Sarbacane au Sarigue etHun-Ahpu-Utïuun Tireur de Sarbacane au Chacal.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. cxviii., cxix., pp. 2-5.They are also referred to as conjurers.Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 54. Ximenez spells the latter name Hun-ahpu-uhú, and states that they are held as oracles.Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 4, 156-8, 82. Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, 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, Brasseur de Bourbourg holds to be the traditional 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. Civ., tom. 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.Quatre Lettres, pp. 223-4, 235-8. Garcia,Origen de los Ind., pp. 329-30, calls these first beings Xchmel and Xtmana, and gives them three sons, who create all things. In the younger of these we recognize the two legitimate sons of Hunhun Ahpu, who will be described later on as the patrons of the fine arts.[XI-35]To be afflicted with buboes implied the possession of many women and consequently wealth and grandeur.Hist. Ind. Guat., p. 157; see this vol.p. 60;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 3.[XI-36]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 315, does not understand why Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., p. 125, translates heaven and Xibalba as heaven and hell, but as both terms doubtless refer to provinces, or towns, it is better to retain the figurative name. Xibalba is, besides, derived from the same source as the Insomuch 'demon' of the Yucatecs. Brasseur translates:'Chaque sept (jours) il montait au ciel et en sept (jours) il faisait le chemin pour descendre à Xibalba;'while Ximenez with more apparent correctness renders:'Siete dias se subia al cielo y siete dias se iba al infierno.'InQuatre Lettres, p. 228, the Abbé explains Xibalba as hell. See also vol. ii., pp. 715-7, of this work.[XI-37]Popol Vuh, p. cxvii.-cxx., 7, 9; see this vol.,pp. 48-54. The occurrence of the number 4 in mythical and historical accounts of Mexico and Central America is very frequent.[XI-38]'Parait venir des Antilles, où il désignait la tempête et le grondement de l'orage.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 8.[XI-39]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 496.[XI-40]Garcilaso says:'C'est encore l'idée du Tonnerre, de l'Eclair et de la Foudre, contenus dans un seulHurakan, le centre, le cœur du ciel, la tempête, le vent, le souffle.'Comentarios Reales, lib. ii., cap. xxiii., lib. iii., cap. xxi., lib. iii.;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. ccxxxv., 9;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 51.[XI-41]'Ximenez dit qu'il signifiePluie, Averse: mais il confond ici le nom du dieu avec le signe.Toh, ... est rendu par le motpaga, paie,pagar, payer. Mais le MS.Cakehiquel... dit que les Quichés reçurent celui deTohohil, qui signifie grondement, bruit,' etc.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 214.He seems identical with the Maya Hunpictok.[XI-42]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 553, tom. i., p. 128.[XI-43]Brinton,Myths, pp. 156-7, who holds Hurakan to be the Tlaloc, connects Tohil with Quetzalcoatl—ideas taken most likely from Brasseur de Bourbourg—states that he was represented by a flint. This must refer to his traditional transformation into a stone, for the Abbé declares that no description of his idol is given by the chroniclers.Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 552. Now, although the Abbé declares Tohil to be the same as Quetzalcoatl, in thePopol Vuh, p. 214, and other places, he acknowledges that the tradition positively identifies him with Hurakan, and confirms this by explaining on p. cclxvii., that Tohil, sometimes in himself, sometimes in connection with the two other members of the trinity, combines the attributes 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., tom. ii., p. 553. Gucumatz, the acknowledged representative of Quetzalcoatl, is, besides, shown to be distinct from Tohil. Every point, therefore, tradition, name, attributes, connect Tohil and Hurakan, and identify them with Tlaloc.[XI-44]Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 552-3.[XI-45]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. cclxvii., 235;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 554. The turning into stone'veut dire que les trois principaux volcans s'éteignirent ou cessèrent de lancer leurs feux.'Id.,Quatre Lettres, p. 331.[XI-46]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 497, 75;Id.,Popol Vuh, p. cclxii.; see note 7.[XI-47]Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 521;Juarros' Hist. Guat., p. 384.[XI-48]'Hunhun-Ahpusignifie Chaque Tireur de Sarbacane;Vukub-Hun-Ahpu, Sept un Tireur de Sarbacane.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. cxxxv.Their chief name, Ahpu,'désigne la puissance volcanique.'Id.,Quatre Lettres, p. 225.[XI-49]Hun Ahpu, a sarbacan shooter.'Xbalenque, de balam, tigre, jaguar; lequefinal est un signe pluriel, et lexqui précède, prononcezsh(anglais), est alternativement un diminutif ou un signe féminin.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. cxxxv.Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 146-7, 156, remarks the similarity of these personages to the God, son, and virgin of the Christians.[XI-50]'Hun-Batz, Un Singe (ou un Fileur);Hun-Chouen, un qui se blanchit, ou s'embellit.'They seem to correspond to the Mexican Ozomatli and Piltzintecutli.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. cxxxv., 69, 117. Thebain Hun-Batz refers to something underground, or deep down, and Hun-Chouen'"Une Souris cachée" ou "un lac en sentinelle."'Both names indicate the disordered condition and movement of a region (the Antilles).Id.,Quatre Lettres, pp. 227-9.[XI-51]'Les deux frères, s'étant embrassés, s'élancent dans les flammes.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 137.[XI-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 Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. 31-9, cciv., ccliii.[XI-53]The allegorical account of these events is related on pp. 31 to 192 ofPopol Vuh, and Brasseur's remarks are given on pages cxxxiv. to cxl. Juarros,Hist. Guat., p. 164, states that Hun Ahpu discovered the use of cacao and cotton, which is but another indication of the introduction of culture. According to Las Casas, Xbalanque descends into hell, Xibalba, 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. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiv.;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., pp. 53-4.[XI-54]Quatre Lettres, pp. 225-53; see this vol.261-4.[XI-55]On one occasion the people'égorgèrent chacun un de leurs fils, dont ils mirent les cadavres dans les fondations.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 561-4.[XI-56]Indianer von Istlávacan, pp. 11-3. The natives believed that they would have to share all the sufferings and emotions of their naguals.Gage's New Survey, p. 334; Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iv., also refers to naguals, and states that the Honduras protégé made his compact with it in the mountains by offerings and blood-letting.[XI-57]Espinosa,Chrón. Apost., pp. 344-5;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, p. 726;Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 151-3.[XI-58]'Tenian por sus Dioses à los Venados.'Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 43.[XI-59]Hist. Yuc., pp. 699, 489-93, 509;Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 100-2, 182, 500-2;Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 32;McCulloh's Researches in Amer., p. 318.[XI-60]'Cha-malcanserait donc Flèche ou Dard frotté d'ocre jaune,' etc.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. 248-9.[XI-61]Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 173.[XI-62]Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 475. In their want of idols they contrasted strongly with their neighbors.Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 74;Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 79.[XI-63]'C'est à eux qu'elles offraient presque tous leurs sacrifices.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 556;Palacio,Carta, pp. 66-70.[XI-64]'L'époque que les événements paraissent assigner à cette légende coïncide avec la période de la grande émigration toltèque et la fondation des divers royaumes guatémaliens.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. 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 smitten with dumbness and death.Palacio,Carta, p. 50.[XI-65]'Aujourd'hui deGracias.... Il y a encore aujourd'hui un village du même nom, paroisse à 12 l. de Comayagua.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 106.[XI-66]'Aunque otros dicen, que eran sus Hermanos.'Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 336.[XI-67]Carta, pp. 82-4. As an instance of the respect entertained for the idols, Las Casas 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. Apologética, MS., cap. clxxx.;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., 326;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iv.[XI-68]See vol. ii. of this work, pp. 719-20.[XI-69]Roman,Republica de los Indios, inXimenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 176-81;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 564-566;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. clxxix.;Juarros,Hist. Guat., p. 196.[XI-70]The ancient Quichés'recueillirent leur sang avec des éponges,'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 259.[XI-71]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 559-63;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. clxxvii.; vol. ii. of this work, pp. 688.[XI-72]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. 226-7;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiv., clxxvii.;Juarros' Hist. Guat., p. 225;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 54;Palacio,Carta, p. 66;Squier, inId., pp. 116-7;Cortés,Cartas, pp. 417-8;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 699;Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 392, 502;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 268;Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 40; see also, this vol. pp.688-9,706-10,735;Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 184-5. Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., p. 210, states, that in case of a severe illness, a father would not hesitate to sacrifice his son to obtain relief. The very fact of such a tale passing current, shows how little human life was valued.[XI-73]'Ils n'avaient pour toute nourriture que des fruits.' MS.,Quiché de Chichicastenango, inBrasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 552-553, 496-7;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxxiii.[XI-74]Ternaux-Compans renders ittuti,Recueil de Doc., p. 29, while Squier gives it astecti.Palacio,Carta, p. 62. But as an Aztec word, it ought to be writtenteoti.[XI-75]Palacio,Carta, pp. 62-6;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x.;Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 200-1;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 105, 555-6;Salazar y Olarte,Hist. Conq. Mex., pp. 315-6.[XI-76]Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 61;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. cxviii., cclxvi.;Scherzer,Indianer von Istlávacan, p. 10.[XI-77]Gomara says with regard to this: 'Religion de Nicaragua que casi es la mesma Mexicana.'Hist. Ind., fol. 63.[XI-78]The similarity of the name oftamachazandtamagast, names given to angels and priests, is striking. The endingtatmight also be regarded as a contraction of the Aztectatli, father.Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 164-5.[XI-79]Buschmann,Ortsnamen, p. 163.[XI-80]'Ich bringe es in Verbindung mit dem Stammworteciahuaoderciyahuabefeuchten, bewässern.'Ib.It is to be noticed that the Aztechfrequently changes intog, in these countries.[XI-81]Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 435-8, 503;Squier's Nicaragua, (Ed. 1856), vol. ii., pp. 349-60;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. 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.[XI-82]Oxomogo is also introduced, which tends to throw doubt on Brasseur's identification of Jamagostad with this personage.[XI-83]'Ehecatl oder verkürzt Ecatl ... ist die Berichtigung für Oviedo's Hecat.'Buschmann,Ortsnamen, p. 163;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 40-5, 52.[XI-84]InTernaux-Compans,Voy., série ii., tom. iii., p. 40, they are written Homey-Atelïte and Homey-Ateciguat, but the above spelling corresponds better with other similar Aztec names in Nicaragua.Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 46.[XI-85]'Von quiahui oder quiyahui regnen: mitteotlGott verbunden.'Buschmann,Ortsnamen, p. 167.[XI-86]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 46.[XI-87]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 113. The latter seems to be the same as the Mexican Teotochtli, 'rabbit god.'[XI-88]'Y esso tenemos por el dios de los venados.'Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 55.[XI-89]All probably derived fromtlamacazqui, priest.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 112-4. This author, followingOviedo,Hist. Nic., spells the names somewhat differently.Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 165-8;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 48, 52, 101.[XI-90]These remarks appear inconsistent with the statement that the spirit only of men ascended to heaven.Id., pp. 41-2.[XI-91]'Téobatvient probablement deTéohuatl, être divin.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 113.[XI-92]'En toda la plaça, ni en el templo donde están, entran allí hombre ni muger en tanto que allí están, sino solamente los muchachos pequeños que les llevan é dan de comer.'Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 47.[XI-93]Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 330.[XI-94]Peter Martyr describes this edifice as follows: 'Within the viewe of their Temples there are diuers 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.[XI-95]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 46-7, 53, 56, 93-4, 98, 101;Peter Martyr, dec. vi., lib. vii.;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 265-6;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec., iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; vol. ii., pp. 708-10, 715, of this work.[XI-96]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 55-6;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. v., cap. xii.;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 256.[XI-97]Brasseur de Bourbourg says:'Tamagoz, c'est encore une autre corruption du mottlamacazqui.'Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 114.[XI-98]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 46-7, 53;Andagoya, inNavarrete,Col. de Viages, tom. iii., p. 414; vol. ii., p. 728, of this work. Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 265, states that the priests were all married, while Herrera,Hist. 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 temples, 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 service 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 difficult to keep up the routine of feasts and ceremonies, write the books of records, teach the children, and maintain discipline.[XI-99]Arricivita,Crónica Seráfica, p. 57;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 101, 107.'Sous le nom de "Texoxé" on désignait les naguals, les génies mauvais de toute espèce, ainsi que les sorciers.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 113.[XI-100]Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 63.[XI-101]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.[XI-102]Id., and dec. iv., lib. i., cap. vi.; see vol. i., p. 740, of this work.[XI-103]'Es ist dafür das Wort God aus dem Englischen aufgenommen.'Mosquitoland,Bericht, p. 142.[XI-104]Bard's Waikna, p. 243. 'Devils, the chief of whom they call the Woolsaw, or evil principle, witchcraft.'Strangeways' Mosquito Shore, p. 331. Young writes Oulasser.Narrative, p. 72.[XI-105]Bell, inLond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. xxxii., p. 254.[XI-106]A shape which assigns the story a comparatively recent date, unless a deer was originally meant.[XI-107]Bell, inLond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. xxxii., pp. 253-4;Young's Narrative, p. 79.[XI-108]Froebel's Cent. Amer., p. 137; see also vol. i., pp. 740-1, of this work.[XI-109]Hist. Ind., fol. 255.[XI-110]Id., fol. 89;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iii., pp. 20, 125.
[X-45]Beaumont,Crón. Mechoacan, MS., p. 232, tells of a Supreme Being 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, tom. iii., p. 197, and Padilla,Conq. N. Galicia, MS., p. 8, mention additional gods, but give no description.Villa-Señor y Sanchez,Theatro, tom. ii., pp. 269-70;Alcedo,Diccionario, tom. iii., p. 299;Tello, inIcazbalceta,Col. de Doc., tom. ii., p. 363;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iii., p. 566;Gil, inSoc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., pp. 496-8.
[X-46]'Les dieux, de quelque nature qu'ils fussent, avaient dans la langue zapotèque le nom de "Pitao," qui correspond à l'idée du grand-esprit, d'un esprit étendu.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 26-7.
[X-47]Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 255-6, also refers to emigration of Toltec chiefs to found new states.
[X-48]'Vna esmeralda tan grande como vn gruesso pimiento de esta tierra, tenia labrado encima vna auesita, ò pajarillo con grandissimo primor, y de arriba à baxo enroscada vna culebrilla con el mesmo arte, la piedra era tan transparente, que brillaba desde el fondo.'Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt i., fol. 156.
[X-49]Burgoa gives the relic in this instance a title which varies somewhat in the wording, although the former sense remains: 'El Alma, y coraçon del Reyno.'Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 396. Dávila Padilla,Hist. Fvnd. Mex., p. 639, mentions an idol among the Zapotecs in shape of a hand, which may have represented Huemac.
[X-50]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.Geog. Descrip., tom. i., pt ii., fol. 198.
[X-51]Cabrera,Teatro, inRio's Description, p. 37.
[X-52]He also calls him the Miztec Cultur god.Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 486-90.
[X-53]Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 44-5.
[X-54]Chan, 'snake,' was the name of a tribe of Lacandones, near Palenque, 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 Quiché language, was in the possession of Nuñez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapas, who published short extracts of it in hisConstitut. Diœces, but seems to have had it burned, together with other native relics, in 1691, at Huehuetan. Previous to this, however, Ordoñez y Aguiar had obtained a copy of it, written in Latin characters, and gave a résumé of the contents in hisHist. del Cielo, MS. This author contradicts himself by stating, in one part of his MS., that the original was written by a descendant of Votan.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. lxxxvii., cviii.;Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., p. 12;Cabrera,Teatro, inRio's Descrip., pp. 33-4. Cabrera, who bases his account of the myth on Ordoñez' 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 Phœnician 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, inRio's Descrip., p. 34, et seq.
[X-55]Boturini,Idea, p. 115. It may be of interest to compare his name with Odon in the Michoacan calendar, and Oton, the Otomí god and chief. Humboldt was particularly struck with its resemblance to Odin, the Scandinavian god-hero.Vues, tom. i., p. 208;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. lxxvi.
[X-56]Equivalent to laying the foundation for civilization. According to Ordoñez he was sent to people the continent; a view also taken by Clavigero,Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 150-1. Torquemada's account of the spreading of the Toltecs southward, may throw some light on this subject.Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 256, et seq.
[X-57]Valum Chivim, Valum Votan, land of Chivim and Votan. See note 15. Cabrera considers two marble columns found at Tangier, with Phœnician 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 Santo Domingo.Teatro, inRio's Descrip., p. 34, et seq. Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, 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 thirteen chiefs of Xibalba. There is a ruin bearing the name of Valum Votan about nine leagues from Ciudad Real, Chiapas.Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii. Ordoñez holds Valum Votan to be Cuba, whence he takes seven families with him.Cabrera, ubi sup.
[X-58]Ordoñez says the original Na-chan means 'place of snakes.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 69.
[X-59]A date which is confirmed by the Chimalpopoca MS.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii. One tradition makes the Tzequiles speak a Nahua dialect, but it is possible that Ordoñez confounds two epochs.Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 70.
[X-60]In the traditions presented onpp. 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. Ordoñez' orthodox ideas have probably added much to the native MS. from which he took his account, yet Nuñez de la Vega agrees with him in most respects. Cabrera,Teatro, inRio'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 Tulhá, 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 Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 72-3.
[X-61]Cabrera has it that the new-comers are seven Tzequiles, or shipwrecked countrymen of Votan. The voyages and other incidents he considers confirmed by the sculptures on the Palenque ruins, which shows Votan surrounded by symbols of travel, indications of the places visited in the old and new world; he recognizes the attributes of Osiris in the idol brought over by Votan, with the intention of establishing its worship in the new world. Lastly, Votan and his families are Carthaginians.Teatro, inRio's Description, pp. 95, 34.
[X-62]The ruins of Huehuetan, 'city of old men,' are still to be seen.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. 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.
[X-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,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 350-2.
[X-64]The place of the dead, or hades, also called Yopaa, land of tombs.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 9.
[X-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.Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 299.
[X-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 Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 411. Quetzalcoatl also disappeared seaward.
[X-67]He debarked near Tehuantepec, bearing a cross in his hand;Gondra,Rasgos y señales de la primera predicacion en el Nuevo-Mundo, MS.;Carriedo,Estudios, Hist. del Estado Oaxaqueño, tom. i., cap. i.;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., pp. 9-10.
[X-68]Brasseur de Bourbourg seems to place it at Chalcatongo.Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 19;Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt i., fol. 170.
[X-69]Escalera and Llana,Mej. Hist. Descrip., p. 330.
[X-70]'Le tenian enterrado, seco, y embalsamado en su proporcion.'The cave was supposed to connect with the city of Chiapas, 200 leagues distant.Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv.
[X-71]'Piedra blanca, labrada al modo de vn acho de bolos ... vn gruesso taladro.'Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 362.
[X-72]Bernal Diaz,Hist. Conq., fol. 179;Salazar y Olarte,Hist. Conq. Mex., p. 137. There were many among 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.'Piñeda, inSoc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., p. 419.
[X-73]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 17;Dávila Padilla,Hist. Fvnd. Mex., pp. 638-9. In Chiapas are found a number of representations of heavenly bodies, sculptured, or drawn, and at Palenque a sun temple is supposed to have existed.Piñeda, inSoc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., p. 419.
[X-74]They 'worship his image in their own peculiar way, sometimes by cutting off a turkey's head.' 'The natives are about as far advanced in christianity as they were at the time of the conquest.'Hutchings' Cal. Mag., vol. ii., p. 542.
[X-75]Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 395;Ferry,Costal L'Indien, pp. 6-7.
[X-76]Some consider it to be composed of three trunks which have grown together, and the deep indentations certainly give it that appearance; but trees of this species generally present irregular forms.Escalera and Llana,Méj. Hist. Descrip., pp. 224-5;Charnay,Ruines Amér., phot. xviii.
[X-77]Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv.;Burgoa,Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 282;Mühlenpfordt,Mejico, tom. ii., p. 194. Pontelli, who claims to have paid a visit to the forbidden retreats of the mountain Lacandones, 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;Cal. Farmer, Nov. 7, 1862.
[XI-1]'Toda esta Tierra, con estotra, ... tenia vna misma manera de religion, y ritos, y si en algo diferenciaba, era, en mui poco.' 'Lo mismo fue de las Provincias de Quatimala, Nicaragua, y Honduras.'Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. 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 reconnaît facilement que le culte y était partout basé sur le rituel toltèque, et que les formes mêmes ne différaient guère les unes des autres.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 559.
[XI-2]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 42, calls him the sun.
[XI-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.
[XI-4]'Porque à este le llamaban tambien Ytzamnà.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 196, 192.
[XI-5]The daughter of Ixchel, the Yucatec medicine goddess.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 43. He writes the virgin's name as Chiribias. Ixchel seems to be the same as the Guatemalan Xmucané, mother of the gods.'Id.,Quatre Lettres, p. 243.
[XI-6]Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiii.;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 190;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, p. 246;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. iii., p. 133.
[XI-7]'Celle de l'eau matrice d'embryon,ix-a-zal-uoh.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,MS. Troano, tom. ii., p. 258.
[XI-8]'Idolo, ò Zemì.'Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 33.'Zemes which are the Images of their familiar and domesticall spirites.'Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. vi.
[XI-9]'Les dieux de l'Yucatan, disent Lizana et Cogolludo, étaient presque tous des rois plus ou moins bons que la gratitude ou la terreur avait fait placer au rang des divinités.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 20;Landa,Relacion, p. 158;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 198.
[XI-10]Lizana, inLanda,Relacion, p. 356;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 197; Brinton,Myths, p. 188, speaks of 'Zamna, or Cukulcan, lord of the dawn and four winds,' and connects him with Votan also.'Il y a toute apparence qu'il était de la même race (as Votan) et que son arrivée eut lieu peu d'années après la fondation de la monarchie palenquéenne.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 76, et seq.The hand in picture-writing signifies strength, power, mastery, and is frequently met with on Central American ruins, impressed in red color. Among the North American savages it was the symbol of supplication. Their doctors sometimes smeared the hand with paint and daubed it over the patient.Schoolcraft, inStephens' Yucatan, vol. ii., pp. 476-8.
[XI-11]Lizana, inLanda,Relacion, p. 360, translates the name as 'Sol con rostro que sus rayos eran de fuego,'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 198, 178;Brasseur de Bourbourg,MS. Troano, p. 270;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 5-6;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 475. In the syllablemoof the hero's name is found another reference to the sun, formoois the Maya term for the birdara, the symbol of the sun.
[XI-12]'El que recibe, y possee la gracia, ò rozio del Cielo.' 'No conocian otro Dios Autor de la vida, sino à este.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 179.'Celui qui demande ou obtient la rosée ou la glace, ou rempli de l'eau en bras de glace,itz-m-a-tul.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,MS. Troano, tom. ii., p. 257;Landa,Relacion, pp. 284-5.
[XI-13]After staying a short time at Potonchan, he embarked and nothing more was heard of him. TheCodex Chimalpopocastates, 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 brothers,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.'Il n'y a pas à douter, toutefois, que, s'il est le même que Quetzalcohuatl, la doctrine aura été la même.'Id., pp. 10-1, 43.Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., 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,Relacion, pp. 35-9, 300-1;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. Veytia connects him with St. Thomas.Hist. Antig. Mej., tom. i., pp. 195-8. Speaking of Cukulcan and his companions Las Casas says:'A este llamaron Dios de las fiebres ò Calenturas.... Los cuales mandaban que se confesasen las gentes y ayunasen; y que algunos ayunaban el viernes porque habia muerto aquel dia Bacab; y tiene por nombre aquel dia Himis.'Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiii.'Kukulcan, vient dekuk, oiseau qui paraît être le même que le quetzal; son déterminatif estkukulqui uni à can, serpent, fait exactement le même mot queQuetzal Cohuatl, serpent aux plumes vertes, ou de Quetzal.'Brasseur de Bourbourg, inLanda,Relacion, p. 35.
[XI-14]Gomara,Conq. Mex., fol. 22;Landa,Relacion, p. 158;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 202;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 46-7.'Se tenian por santificados los que alla auian estado,'Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv.
[XI-15]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 50, calls the god of death Rakalku. Baeza, inRegistro Yuc., tom. i., pp. 168-9, mentions a transparent stone calledzatzun, by means of which hidden things and causes of diseases could be discovered.
[XI-16]'Cette divinité paraît être la même que leTihaxdes Quichés et Cakchiquels, leTecpatldes Mexicains, la lance ou la flèche.'Brasseur de Bourbourg, inLanda,Relacion, p. 363.
[XI-17]Zee-Rovers, p. 64;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 178, 190-1, 196-7;Landa,Relacion, pp. 206-8;Lizana, inId., pp. 356-64;Ternaux-Compans, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 40-4;Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 17, 32;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, pp. 245-6;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 4-10, 20, 42-50.
[XI-18]'Tra le Croci sono celebri quelle di Jucatan, della Mizteca, di Queretaro, di Tepique, e di Tianquiztepec.'Clavigero,Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. ii., p. 14.There were also crosses at Palenque, on San Juan de Ulloa, at Copan, in Nicaragua, and other places.'Die Tolteken haben nämlich die Verehrung des Kreuzes mit durchaus bewusster Beziehung desselben auf den Regen, von der alten Urbevölkerung aufgenommen.'Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 498-9;Palacio,Carta, p. 88.
[XI-19]This and other prophecies, which, if not mere fabrications, bear at least marks of mutilation and addition, may be found inTorquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. iii., pp. 132-3;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, pp. 245-6;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 99-100;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 603-6. Brinton thinks that they may refer to 'the return of Zamná, 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.
[XI-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,Researches in Amer., p. 327.'Afirmaban que por que habia muerto en ella un hombre mas replandeciente que el sol.'Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiii.;Peter Martyr, dec. iv., lib. i.
[XI-21]Mr Godfrey Higgins, in hisCeltic Druids, p. 126, says: 'Few causes have been more powerful in producing mistakes in ancient history, 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 hisIndian Antiquities, vol. ii., p. 361, writes: 'Let not the piety of the Catholic Christian 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 Christian 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 Lingham (phallus).'
[XI-22]Constantio holds it to be a symbol of the solstices.Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., pp. 464-5;Humboldt,Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 354-6;Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 24;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 497-500;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. iii., pp. 133, 200-6, 299;McCulloh's Researches, pp. 331-6;Klemm,Cultur-Geschichte, tom. v., p. 143;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 63. Brinton 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 the Aryan Nations, vol. ii., pp. 369-72. Some of the crosses referred to lack the head piece, and being of this shape,T, resemble, somewhat, a Mexican coin.
[XI-23]'No solo se hallò vna Cruz, sino algunas.'Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 199-302;Bernal Diaz,Hist. Conq., fol. 3;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. i.;Gomara,Conq. Mex., fol. 24. Stephens found a cross at the church of Mejorada, in Mérida, 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 assertion when made in the face of so many old authorities.
[XI-24]This seems to confirm the idea that it was worshiped, yet Constantio 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.Malte-Brun,Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., pp. 464-5;Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 498;Stephens' 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 these trees with the branches placed crosswise.Palacio,Carta, pp. 120-1. Jones,Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 149, et seq., who identifies almost every feature of Central American worship with the Phœnician, asserts that the Palenque cross proves the Tyrian origin of the aborigines.
[XI-25]Cogolludo says, however:'Solian ayunar dos, y tres dias, sin comer cosa alguna.'Hist. Yuc., p. 194.
[XI-26]These mutilations were at times very severe.'Otras vezes hazian un suzio y penoso sacrificio añudandose los que lo hazian en el templo, donde puestas en rengla, se hazian sendos aguzeros en los miembros viriles al soslayo por el lado, y hechos passavan toda la mas cantidad de hilo que podian, quedando assi todos asidos.'Landa,Relacion, pp. 162-3.This author thinks that the practice of slitting the prepuce gave rise to the idea that circumcision existed in Yucatan.
[XI-27]Landa,Relacion, pp. 164-8;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 193-4;Medel, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. 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 costumbre fue introduzida en Yucatan, por los Mexicanos.' 'Flechauan algunas vezes al sacrificado ... desollauanlos, vestiase el sacerdote el pellejo, y baylauo, y enterrauan el cuerpo en el patio del templo.'Herrera,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.Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 425.
[XI-28]Landa,Relacion, p. 165;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., pp. 25, 180;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 62.
[XI-29]Relacion, p. 154;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iv. For description of baptismal rites, see vol. ii., pp. 682-4, of this work.
[XI-30]'Que se deriva de un verbokinyah, que significa "sortear ó echar suertes."'Lizana, inLanda,Relacion, p. 362.
[XI-31]'Longues robes noires.'Morelet,Voyage, tom. i., p. 168.
[XI-32]Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 198;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 6;Ternaux-Compans, inNouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 39-41. Temples are described in vol. ii., pp. 791-3, of this work.
[XI-33]'Célèbres dans toutes les traditions d'origine toltèque, comme les pères du soleil et de la magie.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 120.
[XI-34]'Hun-Ahpu-Vuchun Tireur de Sarbacane au Sarigue etHun-Ahpu-Utïuun Tireur de Sarbacane au Chacal.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. cxviii., cxix., pp. 2-5.They are also referred to as conjurers.Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 54. Ximenez spells the latter name Hun-ahpu-uhú, and states that they are held as oracles.Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 4, 156-8, 82. Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, 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, Brasseur de Bourbourg holds to be the traditional 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. Civ., tom. 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.Quatre Lettres, pp. 223-4, 235-8. Garcia,Origen de los Ind., pp. 329-30, calls these first beings Xchmel and Xtmana, and gives them three sons, who create all things. In the younger of these we recognize the two legitimate sons of Hunhun Ahpu, who will be described later on as the patrons of the fine arts.
[XI-35]To be afflicted with buboes implied the possession of many women and consequently wealth and grandeur.Hist. Ind. Guat., p. 157; see this vol.p. 60;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 3.
[XI-36]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 315, does not understand why Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., p. 125, translates heaven and Xibalba as heaven and hell, but as both terms doubtless refer to provinces, or towns, it is better to retain the figurative name. Xibalba is, besides, derived from the same source as the Insomuch 'demon' of the Yucatecs. Brasseur translates:'Chaque sept (jours) il montait au ciel et en sept (jours) il faisait le chemin pour descendre à Xibalba;'while Ximenez with more apparent correctness renders:'Siete dias se subia al cielo y siete dias se iba al infierno.'InQuatre Lettres, p. 228, the Abbé explains Xibalba as hell. See also vol. ii., pp. 715-7, of this work.
[XI-37]Popol Vuh, p. cxvii.-cxx., 7, 9; see this vol.,pp. 48-54. The occurrence of the number 4 in mythical and historical accounts of Mexico and Central America is very frequent.
[XI-38]'Parait venir des Antilles, où il désignait la tempête et le grondement de l'orage.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 8.
[XI-39]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 496.
[XI-40]Garcilaso says:'C'est encore l'idée du Tonnerre, de l'Eclair et de la Foudre, contenus dans un seulHurakan, le centre, le cœur du ciel, la tempête, le vent, le souffle.'Comentarios Reales, lib. ii., cap. xxiii., lib. iii., cap. xxi., lib. iii.;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. ccxxxv., 9;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 51.
[XI-41]'Ximenez dit qu'il signifiePluie, Averse: mais il confond ici le nom du dieu avec le signe.Toh, ... est rendu par le motpaga, paie,pagar, payer. Mais le MS.Cakehiquel... dit que les Quichés reçurent celui deTohohil, qui signifie grondement, bruit,' etc.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 214.He seems identical with the Maya Hunpictok.
[XI-42]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 553, tom. i., p. 128.
[XI-43]Brinton,Myths, pp. 156-7, who holds Hurakan to be the Tlaloc, connects Tohil with Quetzalcoatl—ideas taken most likely from Brasseur de Bourbourg—states that he was represented by a flint. This must refer to his traditional transformation into a stone, for the Abbé declares that no description of his idol is given by the chroniclers.Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 552. Now, although the Abbé declares Tohil to be the same as Quetzalcoatl, in thePopol Vuh, p. 214, and other places, he acknowledges that the tradition positively identifies him with Hurakan, and confirms this by explaining on p. cclxvii., that Tohil, sometimes in himself, sometimes in connection with the two other members of the trinity, combines the attributes 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., tom. ii., p. 553. Gucumatz, the acknowledged representative of Quetzalcoatl, is, besides, shown to be distinct from Tohil. Every point, therefore, tradition, name, attributes, connect Tohil and Hurakan, and identify them with Tlaloc.
[XI-44]Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 552-3.
[XI-45]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. cclxvii., 235;Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 554. The turning into stone'veut dire que les trois principaux volcans s'éteignirent ou cessèrent de lancer leurs feux.'Id.,Quatre Lettres, p. 331.
[XI-46]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 497, 75;Id.,Popol Vuh, p. cclxii.; see note 7.
[XI-47]Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 521;Juarros' Hist. Guat., p. 384.
[XI-48]'Hunhun-Ahpusignifie Chaque Tireur de Sarbacane;Vukub-Hun-Ahpu, Sept un Tireur de Sarbacane.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. cxxxv.Their chief name, Ahpu,'désigne la puissance volcanique.'Id.,Quatre Lettres, p. 225.
[XI-49]Hun Ahpu, a sarbacan shooter.'Xbalenque, de balam, tigre, jaguar; lequefinal est un signe pluriel, et lexqui précède, prononcezsh(anglais), est alternativement un diminutif ou un signe féminin.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. cxxxv.Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 146-7, 156, remarks the similarity of these personages to the God, son, and virgin of the Christians.
[XI-50]'Hun-Batz, Un Singe (ou un Fileur);Hun-Chouen, un qui se blanchit, ou s'embellit.'They seem to correspond to the Mexican Ozomatli and Piltzintecutli.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. cxxxv., 69, 117. Thebain Hun-Batz refers to something underground, or deep down, and Hun-Chouen'"Une Souris cachée" ou "un lac en sentinelle."'Both names indicate the disordered condition and movement of a region (the Antilles).Id.,Quatre Lettres, pp. 227-9.
[XI-51]'Les deux frères, s'étant embrassés, s'élancent dans les flammes.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 137.
[XI-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 Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. 31-9, cciv., ccliii.
[XI-53]The allegorical account of these events is related on pp. 31 to 192 ofPopol Vuh, and Brasseur's remarks are given on pages cxxxiv. to cxl. Juarros,Hist. Guat., p. 164, states that Hun Ahpu discovered the use of cacao and cotton, which is but another indication of the introduction of culture. According to Las Casas, Xbalanque descends into hell, Xibalba, 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. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiv.;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., pp. 53-4.
[XI-54]Quatre Lettres, pp. 225-53; see this vol.261-4.
[XI-55]On one occasion the people'égorgèrent chacun un de leurs fils, dont ils mirent les cadavres dans les fondations.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 561-4.
[XI-56]Indianer von Istlávacan, pp. 11-3. The natives believed that they would have to share all the sufferings and emotions of their naguals.Gage's New Survey, p. 334; Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iv., also refers to naguals, and states that the Honduras protégé made his compact with it in the mountains by offerings and blood-letting.
[XI-57]Espinosa,Chrón. Apost., pp. 344-5;Remesal,Hist. Chyapa, p. 726;Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 151-3.
[XI-58]'Tenian por sus Dioses à los Venados.'Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 43.
[XI-59]Hist. Yuc., pp. 699, 489-93, 509;Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 100-2, 182, 500-2;Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 32;McCulloh's Researches in Amer., p. 318.
[XI-60]'Cha-malcanserait donc Flèche ou Dard frotté d'ocre jaune,' etc.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. 248-9.
[XI-61]Id.,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 173.
[XI-62]Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 475. In their want of idols they contrasted strongly with their neighbors.Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 74;Morelet,Voyage, tom. ii., p. 79.
[XI-63]'C'est à eux qu'elles offraient presque tous leurs sacrifices.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 556;Palacio,Carta, pp. 66-70.
[XI-64]'L'époque que les événements paraissent assigner à cette légende coïncide avec la période de la grande émigration toltèque et la fondation des divers royaumes guatémaliens.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. 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 smitten with dumbness and death.Palacio,Carta, p. 50.
[XI-65]'Aujourd'hui deGracias.... Il y a encore aujourd'hui un village du même nom, paroisse à 12 l. de Comayagua.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 106.
[XI-66]'Aunque otros dicen, que eran sus Hermanos.'Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 336.
[XI-67]Carta, pp. 82-4. As an instance of the respect entertained for the idols, Las Casas 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. Apologética, MS., cap. clxxx.;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., 326;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iv.
[XI-68]See vol. ii. of this work, pp. 719-20.
[XI-69]Roman,Republica de los Indios, inXimenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 176-81;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 564-566;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. clxxix.;Juarros,Hist. Guat., p. 196.
[XI-70]The ancient Quichés'recueillirent leur sang avec des éponges,'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, p. 259.
[XI-71]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 559-63;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. clxxvii.; vol. ii. of this work, pp. 688.
[XI-72]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. 226-7;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxiv., clxxvii.;Juarros' Hist. Guat., p. 225;Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 54;Palacio,Carta, p. 66;Squier, inId., pp. 116-7;Cortés,Cartas, pp. 417-8;Cogolludo,Hist. Yuc., p. 699;Villagutierre,Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 392, 502;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 268;Waldeck,Voy. Pitt., p. 40; see also, this vol. pp.688-9,706-10,735;Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 184-5. Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., p. 210, states, that in case of a severe illness, a father would not hesitate to sacrifice his son to obtain relief. The very fact of such a tale passing current, shows how little human life was valued.
[XI-73]'Ils n'avaient pour toute nourriture que des fruits.' MS.,Quiché de Chichicastenango, inBrasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 552-553, 496-7;Las Casas,Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. cxxxiii.
[XI-74]Ternaux-Compans renders ittuti,Recueil de Doc., p. 29, while Squier gives it astecti.Palacio,Carta, p. 62. But as an Aztec word, it ought to be writtenteoti.
[XI-75]Palacio,Carta, pp. 62-6;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x.;Ximenez,Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 200-1;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 105, 555-6;Salazar y Olarte,Hist. Conq. Mex., pp. 315-6.
[XI-76]Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 61;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Popol Vuh, pp. cxviii., cclxvi.;Scherzer,Indianer von Istlávacan, p. 10.
[XI-77]Gomara says with regard to this: 'Religion de Nicaragua que casi es la mesma Mexicana.'Hist. Ind., fol. 63.
[XI-78]The similarity of the name oftamachazandtamagast, names given to angels and priests, is striking. The endingtatmight also be regarded as a contraction of the Aztectatli, father.Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 164-5.
[XI-79]Buschmann,Ortsnamen, p. 163.
[XI-80]'Ich bringe es in Verbindung mit dem Stammworteciahuaoderciyahuabefeuchten, bewässern.'Ib.It is to be noticed that the Aztechfrequently changes intog, in these countries.
[XI-81]Müller,Amerikanische Urreligionen, pp. 435-8, 503;Squier's Nicaragua, (Ed. 1856), vol. ii., pp. 349-60;Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. 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.
[XI-82]Oxomogo is also introduced, which tends to throw doubt on Brasseur's identification of Jamagostad with this personage.
[XI-83]'Ehecatl oder verkürzt Ecatl ... ist die Berichtigung für Oviedo's Hecat.'Buschmann,Ortsnamen, p. 163;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 40-5, 52.
[XI-84]InTernaux-Compans,Voy., série ii., tom. iii., p. 40, they are written Homey-Atelïte and Homey-Ateciguat, but the above spelling corresponds better with other similar Aztec names in Nicaragua.Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 46.
[XI-85]'Von quiahui oder quiyahui regnen: mitteotlGott verbunden.'Buschmann,Ortsnamen, p. 167.
[XI-86]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 46.
[XI-87]Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 113. The latter seems to be the same as the Mexican Teotochtli, 'rabbit god.'
[XI-88]'Y esso tenemos por el dios de los venados.'Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 55.
[XI-89]All probably derived fromtlamacazqui, priest.Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 112-4. This author, followingOviedo,Hist. Nic., spells the names somewhat differently.Buschmann,Ortsnamen, pp. 165-8;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 48, 52, 101.
[XI-90]These remarks appear inconsistent with the statement that the spirit only of men ascended to heaven.Id., pp. 41-2.
[XI-91]'Téobatvient probablement deTéohuatl, être divin.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 113.
[XI-92]'En toda la plaça, ni en el templo donde están, entran allí hombre ni muger en tanto que allí están, sino solamente los muchachos pequeños que les llevan é dan de comer.'Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., p. 47.
[XI-93]Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 330.
[XI-94]Peter Martyr describes this edifice as follows: 'Within the viewe of their Temples there are diuers 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.
[XI-95]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 46-7, 53, 56, 93-4, 98, 101;Peter Martyr, dec. vi., lib. vii.;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 265-6;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec., iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; vol. ii., pp. 708-10, 715, of this work.
[XI-96]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 55-6;Herrera,Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. v., cap. xii.;Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 256.
[XI-97]Brasseur de Bourbourg says:'Tamagoz, c'est encore une autre corruption du mottlamacazqui.'Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 114.
[XI-98]Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 46-7, 53;Andagoya, inNavarrete,Col. de Viages, tom. iii., p. 414; vol. ii., p. 728, of this work. Gomara,Hist. Ind., fol. 265, states that the priests were all married, while Herrera,Hist. 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 temples, 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 service 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 difficult to keep up the routine of feasts and ceremonies, write the books of records, teach the children, and maintain discipline.
[XI-99]Arricivita,Crónica Seráfica, p. 57;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iv., pp. 101, 107.'Sous le nom de "Texoxé" on désignait les naguals, les génies mauvais de toute espèce, ainsi que les sorciers.'Brasseur de Bourbourg,Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 113.
[XI-100]Torquemada,Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 63.
[XI-101]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.
[XI-102]Id., and dec. iv., lib. i., cap. vi.; see vol. i., p. 740, of this work.
[XI-103]'Es ist dafür das Wort God aus dem Englischen aufgenommen.'Mosquitoland,Bericht, p. 142.
[XI-104]Bard's Waikna, p. 243. 'Devils, the chief of whom they call the Woolsaw, or evil principle, witchcraft.'Strangeways' Mosquito Shore, p. 331. Young writes Oulasser.Narrative, p. 72.
[XI-105]Bell, inLond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. xxxii., p. 254.
[XI-106]A shape which assigns the story a comparatively recent date, unless a deer was originally meant.
[XI-107]Bell, inLond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. xxxii., pp. 253-4;Young's Narrative, p. 79.
[XI-108]Froebel's Cent. Amer., p. 137; see also vol. i., pp. 740-1, of this work.
[XI-109]Hist. Ind., fol. 255.
[XI-110]Id., fol. 89;Oviedo,Hist. Gen., tom. iii., pp. 20, 125.