Besides this there were several other temples and public oratories in the city, situated either in groups within a square, or scattered throughout the wards, and attended to by their special priests and servants. Torquemada thinks that their number equaled the days in the Aztec year, namely, three hundred and sixty, and Clavigero believes that there were two thousand chapels besides.[800]
The temples in other towns were pretty much like the foregoing, three being usually grouped around a central pyramid in a square, each with its idol and one or two braziers. Others were mounds of earth cased with stone, with one broad stairway in the centre of the western side, or with steps on three sides, sometimes at each corner.[801] The chapels on the platform were usually two or three stories in height, often provided with balconies, the whole edifice being plastered and polished.[802]
TEOCALLI AT CHOLULA AND TEZCUCO.
The pyramid at Mexico, large as it was, did not equal that at Cholula, which Humboldt estimates at five thousand seven hundred and sixty feet in circumference and one hundred and seventy-seven feet in height. It consisted of four square terraces facing the cardinal points, which seem to have been composed of alternate layers of adobe and clay, and was surrounded by a double wall, according to Diaz. On the top stood the semi-spherical chapel of Quetzalcoatl, with its door made low so that all who entered should bend in humility.[803] This city contained, besides, a great number of smaller temples, the total equaling the number of days in the Mexican year.[804] The temple at Tezcuco was also several steps higher than the Mexican pyramid.[805] King Nezahualcoyotl, who is said to have believed in one supreme god, erected in his honor a nine-story building, to indicate the nine heavens, the roof of which was studded with stars and surmounted by three pinnacles; the interior was decorated with gold and feather-work and precious stones. The upper floor was a receptacle for musical instruments, from one of which, the chililitli, the edifice was named.[806] The traditional temples of early times, very fairy creations according to the accounts of the natives, were far superior to the later ones; but these relations are little more than supernatural fables.[807]
Mexican Contributions to Medical Science—The Botanical Gardens—Longevity—Prevalent Diseases—Introduction of Small-pox and Syphilis—Medical Treatment—The Temazcalli—Aboriginal Physicians—The Aztec Faculty—Standard Remedies—Surgery—Superstitious Ceremonies in Healing—Funeral Rites of Aztecs—Cremation—Royal Obsequies—Embalming—The Funeral Pyre—Human Sacrifice—Disposal of the Ashes and Ornaments—Mourners—Funeral Ceremonies of the People—Certain Classes Buried—Rites for the Slain in Battle—Burial among the Teo-Chichimecs and Tabascans—Cremation Ceremonies in Michoacan—Burial by the Miztecs in Oajaca.
Writers on Mexico have paid but slight attention to aboriginal medical science, although the greatest benefit which Europe derived from that part of the New World came doubtless in the form of medicinal substances. Most of the additions to the world's stock of remedies since the sixteenth century were indigenous to tropical America, and in few instances, if any, were their curative properties unknown or unfamiliar to the native doctors. Jalap, sarsaparilla, tobacco, with numerous gums and balsams, were among the simples of American origin. Dr Hernandez, physician to Phillip II., was sent to Mexico by his king to investigate the natural history of the country. The results of his researches, in which he was assisted by native experts, were published in a large work, which contains long lists of plants with their medicinal properties, and which has been much used by later writers. I shall not, however, attempt in this chapter to give any catalogue of medicinal plants.[808] The healing art was protected by royalty, and the numerous rare plants in the royal gardens, collected at great expense from all parts of the country, were placed at the disposal of the doctors in the large cities, who were ordered to experiment with each variety, that its curative or injurious properties might be utilized or shunned. Thus the court physicians derived from these constantly increasing collections all the advantages of travel through distant provinces.[809]
The Nahuas were a healthy race; naturally so with their fine climate, their hardy training, active habits, frequent bathing, and temperate diet. The extraordinary statements respecting the great age attained by their kings in the earlier periods of Nahua history are of course absurdly exaggerated; but as centenarians are often met with among their descendants at the present day, there is no doubt that they were a long-lived race, and that those who did not attain a hundred years, succumbed for the most part to acute diseases.[810] Indigestion and its accompanying ills were unknown, and deformed people were so rare that Montezuma kept a collection of them as a curiosity. The diseases most prevalent were acute fevers, colds, pleurisy, catarrh, diarrhea, and, in the coast districts, intermittent fever, spasms, and consumption, aggravated by exposure.[811]
EPIDEMICS AND THEIR RAVAGES.
Deadly epidemics swept the country at intervals, the traditional accounts of which are so intermingled with fable that we can form no idea of their nature. One of the most fatal and wide-spread recorded was that brought on by famine, war, and the anger of the gods at the breaking-up of the Toltec empire.[812] The matlazahuatl was a pestilence said to be confined entirely in its ravages to the natives, and which made great havoc even after the Spaniards came. It is thought by some to have attacked the people periodically in former times, and to have been similar in its nature to the yellow fever. While the Aztecs were shut up in their island home, a curious malady, consisting of a swelling of the eyelids, followed by a violent dysentery ending in death, or, as others say, by a swelling of the throat and body, attacked the nations on the main land, especially the Tepanecs. The popular tradition was that the fumes of roasted fish and insects wafted from the island to the shore, created a powerful longing for this new and, to them, unobtainable food, and that the pangs of an unsatisfied appetite originated the pestilence.[813] Ixtlilxochitl relates that a catarrhic scourge fell upon the people during the unusually severe winter of 1450 and carried off large numbers, especially of the aged.[814]
The vices introduced by the Spaniards, their oppression of the natives, and the consequent disregard of the ancient regulations respecting cleanliness and the use of liquors, prepared the way for new maladies. With the Spaniards came the small-pox, measles, and as some believe, the syphilis. Small-pox is said to have been introduced by a negro from one of Narvaez' ships and spread with frightful rapidity over the whole country, destroying whole households who died and found no other graves than their houses. Measles were introduced some ten or eleven years later also from the Spanish ships. The yellow fever has never prevailed to any great extent among the natives.[815] Respecting syphilitic diseases and their origin there has been much discussion. The first appearance of the malady has been attributed to the old world and the new, and to many localities in the former. But naturally neither continent, nor any nation has been willing to accept the so-regarded dishonor of inflicting on the world this loathsome plague. The discussion of the subject seems unprofitable and I shall not reopen it here. The testimony in the matter appears to me to prove that syphilis existed in Europe long before the discovery of America; but there are also some indications in the traditional history of the Nahua peoples that the disease in some of its forms was not unknown to the aboriginal Americans before their intercourse with foreigners.[816]
ATTENTIONS TO THE SICK.
Accustomed to look on death in its most terrible form in connection with their oft-recurring religious festivals, the people seem to have become somewhat callous to its dread presence, and to have met its approach with less fear of the dark and unknown hereafter than might have been expected from their superstitious nature. An attack of illness did not necessarily produce great anxiety, or an immediate recourse to the doctor's services; but the common people resorted for the most part to simple home cures, which were the more effective as the curative properties of herbs and their modes of application were generally well known.[817] The unconcern with which they regarded sickness did not result from want of affection, for the Aztecs are said to have been very attentive to their sick, and spent their wealth without stint to save the life of friends. Yet the Tlascaltecs, a hardier race, are reported by Motolinia to have been less attentive, and some other Teo-Chichimec tribes did not hesitate to kill a patient whose malady did not soon yield to their treatment, under pretense of putting him out of his misery, but really to get him off their hands. This work of charity was performed by thrusting an arrow down the throat of the invalid, and old people were especially the recipients of such favors.[818]
The favorite remedy for almost every ill of the flesh was the vapor-bath, or temazcalli. No well-to-do citizen's house was complete without conveniences for indulging in these baths, and the poorer families of each community owned one or more temazcalli in common. The reader is already sufficiently familiar with the general features of these baths, a confined space with facilities for converting water into steam being all that was required. Clavigero describes and pictures a very graceful structure for this purpose, for which, as it seems to involve the then-unknown principle of the arch, he probably drew somewhat upon his imagination. It is of adobes, semi-globular in form, about eight feet in diameter, six feet high, with a convex floor a little below the level of the ground. On one side was an opening sufficiently large to admit a man's body, on the opposite side a square furnace separated from the interior by a slab of tetzontli, and at the top an air-hole. Most of the bath-houses, however, were simply square or oblong chambers with no furnace attached, in which case the fire had of course to be removed before the apartment was ready for use. When the apparatus was properly heated a mat was spread on the floor, and the patient entered, sometimes accompanied by an assistant, bearing a dish of water to be thrown on the floor and walls to produce steam, and a bunch of maize-leaves with which his body, and especially the part affected, was to be beaten. A plunge into cold water after a profuse perspiration was frequently but not always resorted to. As I have said, there were scarcely any maladies for which this treatment was not recommended, but it was regarded as particularly efficacious in the case of fevers brought on by costiveness, bites of venomous serpents and insects, bruises, and unstrung nerves, and to relieve the pains and purify the system of child-bearing women. The steam-baths were also much used to promote cleanliness and to refresh the weary bodies of those in good health.[819]
The beneficial effects of a change of climate upon invalids seem to have been appreciated, if we may credit Herrera, who states that Michoacan was much resorted to by the sick from all parts of the country.[820] For severe cases, the expenses of treating which could not be borne except by the wealthy classes, hospitals were established by the government in all the larger cities, endowed with ample revenues, where patients from the surrounding country were cared for by experienced doctors, surgeons, and nurses well versed in all the native healing arts.[821] Medical practitioners were numerous, who attended patients for a small remuneration; the jealousy of Spanish physicians, however, brought them into disrepute soon after the conquest, and the healing art, like others, greatly degenerated. It is related that a famous medicine-man of Michoacan was summoned before the college of physicians in Mexico on the charge of being a quack. In reply to the accusation he asked his judges to smell a certain herb, which produced a severe hemorrhage, and then invited them to check the flow of blood. Seeing that they were unable to do this promptly, he administered a powder that immediately had the desired effect. "These are my attainments," he exclaimed, "and this the manner in which I cure the ailings of my patients."[822]
THE NAHUA ESCULAPIUS.
The Esculapius of the Nahuas was embodied in the persons of Oxomococipactonatl and Tlatecuinxochicaoaca, who were traditionally the inventors of medicine and the first herbalists among the Toltecs. Soon after its invention the healing profession became one of the most highly honored, and its followers constituted a regular faculty, handing down their knowledge and practice from generation to generation, according to the Nahua caste-system, according to which the son almost invariably adopted the profession of his father, by whom he was educated. This system of education from early childhood under the father's guidance, the opportunities for practice in the public hospitals, free access to the botanical gardens, and the numerous subjects for anatomical dissection supplied by sacrificial rites, certainly offered to the Nahua doctor abundant opportunities of acquiring great knowledge and skill. The profession was not altogether in the hands of the sterner sex; for female physicians were in high repute, especially on the eastern coast. In certain cases, as of childbirth, we find the patient attended by none but women, who administer medicines and baths and render other necessary assistance, even going so far as to cut out the infant in order to save the mother's life.[823]
Medicines were given in all the usual forms of draught, powder, injection, ointment, plaster, etc.; the material for which was gathered from the three natural kingdoms in great variety. Many of the herbs were doubtless obtained from the gardens, but large quantities were obtained in the forests of different provinces by wandering collectors who brought their herbs to the market-places for sale, or even peddled them, it is said, from house to house. Each ailment had its particular corrective, the knowledge of which was not entrusted to the memory alone, but was also recorded in painted books.[824] Doubtless many of the vegetable and other medicines employed were mere nostrums administered to give an exalted opinion of the doctor's knowledge and skill rather than with any hope of effecting a cure.
TREATMENT OF VARIOUS DISEASES.
Sahagun gives page after page of native recipes for every ailment of the human body, which cannot be reproduced here. Many of the remedies and methods of application are as absurd as any of those which have been noticed among the wild tribes. For diseases of the scalp a wash of urine, an ointment of soot, and an application of black clay were prescribed, together with vegetable specifics too numerous to mention. The white of an egg was much used in mixing remedies for wounds and bruises; a certain animal tapaiaxin was eaten for a swollen face; the broth of a boiled fowl was recommended for convalescents. Cataracts on the eye were rasped and scraped with certain roots; for bloodshot eyes the membrane was cut, raised with a thorn, and anointed with woman's milk; clouded eyes were treated with lizard's dung. Morning dew cured catarrh in newly born children. Hoarseness was treated by drinking honey, and an external application of India-rubber. Wounds in the lips must be sewn up with a hair; a certain insect pounded and hot pepper were among the remedies for toothache, and great care of the teeth was recommended. Stammering in children was supposed to be caused by too long suckling. Remedies for a cold were nearly as numerous as in our day. Copper-filings were applied to bubos, which may or may not have been syphilitic sores. For looseness of the bowels in infants, the remedy was given not only to the child but to the nurse. For a severe blow on the chest, urine in which lizards had been boiled must be drunk. The necessity of regulating the bowels to sustain health was well understood, and the doctor usually effected his purpose by injecting a herbal decoction from his mouth through the leg-bone of a heron. Purgatives in common use were jalap, pine-cones, tacuache, amamaxtla, and other roots; diuretics, axixpatli and axixtlacotl; emetics, mexochitl and neixcotlapatli. Izticpatli, and chatalhuic, are mentioned among the remedies for fevers. Balsams were obtained from the huitziloxitl by distillation, from the huaconex by soaking the bark in water, and from the maripenda, by boiling the fruit and tender stones. Oils were made from tlapatl, chile, chian, ocotl (a kind of pine), and the India-rubber tree. Octli, or wine, was often prescribed to strengthen the system, and was also mixed with other medicines to render them more palatable, for which latter purpose cacao was also much used.
Several stones possessed medicinal properties: the aztetl, held in the hand or applied to the neck, stopped bleeding at the nose; the xiuhtomoltetl, taken in the form of a powder, cured heartburn and internal heat. This latter stone fell from the clouds in stormy weather, sunk into the earth, and grew continually larger and larger, a solitary tuft of grass alone indicating to the collector its whereabouts. The bones of giants dug up at the foot of the mountains, were collected by their dwarfish successors, ground to powder, mixed with cacao, and drunk as a cure for diarrhea and dysentery. Persons suffering from fever, or wishing to allay carnal desires, ate jaguar's flesh; while the skin, bones, and excrement of the same animal, burnt, powdered, and mixed with resin, formed an antidote for insanity. Certain horny-skinned worms, similarly powdered and mixed, were a specific for the gout, decayed teeth, and divers other ailments.
SUPERSTITIOUS CURATIVE RITES.
Surgery was no less advanced than other branches of the healing art, and Cortés himself had occasion to acknowledge the skill and speed with which they cured wounds. Snake-bites, common enough among a barefooted people, were cured by sucking and scarifying the wound, covering it with a thin transparent pellicle from the maguey-plant. Rubbing with snuff, together with heat, was another treatment, and the coanenepilli and coapatli were also considered antidotes. Fractures were treated with certain herbs and gums, different kinds for different limbs, and bound up with splints; if the healing did not progress satisfactorily the bone was scraped before the operation of resetting. For painful operations of this nature it is possible that narcotics were administered, for at certain of the sacrifices it is related that the victims were sprinkled with yauhtli powder to render them less sensitive to pain. Mendieta states that a stupefying drink was given on similar occasions; and Acosta mentions that oliliuhqui was taken by persons who desired to see visions. This latter was a seed, which was also an ingredient of the teopatli, or divine medicine, composed besides of India-rubber gum, ocotl-resin, tobacco, and sacred water. This medicine could only be obtained from the priests. Blood-letting was much in vogue for various ills, the lancets used being iztli knives, porcupine-quills, or maguey-thorns. Ulli-marked papers were burned by the recovered patient as a thank-offering to the gods. Veterinary surgeons are mentioned by Oviedo as having been employed in the zoölogical gardens of Montezuma.[825]
The medicines, though prepared and applied by the doctors themselves, were not deemed sufficient for the patient; superstitious ceremonies were held to be indispensable to effect a cure, and to enhance the value of professional services. Evil beings and things had to be exorcised, the gods must be invoked, especially the patron deity, known chiefly by the name of Teteionan, who was esteemed the inventor of many valuable specifics, as the ocotl-oil and others, and confessions were extorted to ease the conscience and appease the offended deity. The affected parts were rubbed and pressed amid mutterings and strange gestures, and to work the more upon the simple-minded patient, they pretended to extract a piece of coal, bone, wood, or other object, the supposed cause of the ailment. A favorite treatment in certain prostrating cases was to form a figure of corn dough, which was laid upon a prickly maguey-leaf and placed in the road, with the view of letting the first passer-by carry away the disease—a charitable hope that seems to have afforded much relief to the afflicted. However absurd this jugglery may appear, it no doubt gave a powerful stimulus to the imagination, which must have aided the working of the medicine. In critical cases, chance was often consulted as to the fate of the sufferer. A handful of the largest grains or beans were thrown on the ground, and if any happened to fall upright it was regarded as a sure sign that the patient would die, and he received little or no attention after that; otherwise prescriptions and encouraging words were not spared. Sometimes a number of cord rings were thrown in the same manner, and if they fell in a heap, death was expected to result; but if any fell apart, a change for the better was looked for. To encounter a snake or lizard was held to be a sign of death for the person himself or for his sick friend. Although no curative process, probably, in the case of a serious illness was altogether free from superstitious rites, yet it is surprising that these played so unimportant a rôle. Among a people so addicted on every occasion to complicated ceremonies, the most complicated might naturally be sought in their efforts to combat disease; but it is just here that the least reliance seems to have been placed in supernatural agencies.[826]
FUNERAL RITES OF KINGS.
The Aztecs were very particular about the disposal of their dead, and conducted funeral rites with the pomp that attended all their ceremonials. The obsequies of kings were especially imposing, and their description, embracing as it does nearly all the ceremonies used on such occasions by these nations, will present the most complete view of the proceedings.
PREPARATION FOR FUTURE EXISTENCE.
When the serious condition of the monarch became apparent, a veil[827] was thrown over the face of the patron god, to be removed on his death, and notice was sent to all the friendly princes, the grandees and nobles of the empire, to attend the obsequies; those who were unable to attend in person sent representatives to deliver their condolence and presents. As soon as the king had breathed his last, certain masters of ceremonies, generally old men whose business it was to attend on these occasions, and who were doubtless connected with the priesthood,[828] were summoned to prepare the body for the funeral. The corpse was washed with aromatic water, extracted chiefly from trefoil,[829] and occasionally a process of embalming was resorted to. The bowels were taken out and replaced by aromatic substances, but the method does not seem to have been very complete, and may only have been intended to serve while the body lay in state, for no remains of embalmed mummies have been found. The art was an ancient one, however, dating from the Toltecs as usual, yet generally known and practiced throughout the whole country. A curious mode of preserving bodies was used by the lord of Chalco who captured two Tezcucan princes, and, in order that he might feast his eyes upon their hated forms, had them dried and placed as light-holders in his ball-room.[830] When the invited guests had arrived the body was dressed in many mantles, often to the number of fifteen or twenty, such as the king had worn on the most solemn occasions, and consequently richly embroidered and glittering with jewels.[831] While some were shrouding the body, others cut papers of different colors into strips of various forms, and adorned the corpse therewith. Water was then poured upon its head with these words: "This is the water which thou usedst in this world;"[832] and a jug of water was placed among the shrouds, the priest saying: "This is the water wherewith thou art to perform the journey." More papers were now delivered to the deceased in bunches, the priest explaining the import of each, as he placed it with the body. On delivering the first bunch he said: "With these thou art to pass between two mountains that confront each other." The second bunch, he was told, would pass him safely over a road guarded by a large snake; the third would conduct him by a place held by an alligator, xochitonal; the fourth would protect and aid him in traversing the 'eight deserts;' other papers would facilitate the passage of the 'eight hills,' and still others afford protection against the cutting winds termed itzehecayan, which were so strong as to tear out rocks and cut like very razors; here the wearing-apparel buried with him would also be of great service. A little red dog was thereupon slain by thrusting an arrow down its throat, and the body placed by the side of the deceased, with a cotton string about its neck. The dog was to perform the part of Charon, and carry the king on his back across the deep stream called Chicunahuapan, 'nine waters,'[833] a name which points to the nine heavens of the Mexicans.
It will thus be seen that the dead had a difficult road to travel before reaching their future abode, which was on the fifth day after the burial, and that they needed the articles of comfort and necessity, as food, dresses, and slaves, which affectionate friends provided for their use. The ideas entertained by the Nahuas respecting a future life belong to another department of my work, and will only be alluded to incidentally in this chapter. After the defunct had received his passports, he was covered with a mantle like that of the god which his condition and mode of death rendered appropriate, and decorated with its image. As most kings were warriors, he would be dressed in a mantle of Huitzilopochtli, and would, in addition, wear the mantle of his favorite god.[834] A lock of hair was cut off and placed, with one that had been cut at his birth, as well as small idols, in a casket painted inside and out with the images of the patron deity. The casket used for this purpose in the case of some of the Chichimec kings is described to have been of emerald or other fine stone, three feet square, and covered by a gold lid set with precious stones. A mask either painted, or of gold, or of turquoise mosaic was placed over the face,[835] and a chalchiuite, which was to serve for a heart, between the lips. According to Tezozomoc and Duran a statue was placed with the king, dressed in royal insignia by the hands of princes. The chiefs of the senate redressed it in other robes after painting it blue. It was then honored with addresses and presents, and again undressed, painted black, and arrayed in a robe of Quetzalcoatl; a garland of heron-feathers was placed upon its head, bracelets and jewelry about its body, a small gilded shield by its side, and a stick in the hand. This figure shared the honors given to the body and was burned with it.[836]
ROYAL OBSEQUIES.
The arrayed corpse was either laid upon a litter covered with rich cloths, or seated upon a throne, and watched over by a guard of honor, while princes and courtiers came to pay their last respects.[837] They approached with great manifestations of grief, weeping, lamenting, clapping their hands, bending the body or exhibiting neglect of person, and addressed the defunct, referring to his present happiness, the loss his departure had caused, his goodness and bravery, and begged his acceptance of the presents they had brought. This performance was enacted by all, those of higher rank taking precedence and leaving offerings of ten slaves, a hundred robes, and other things, while others brought gifts of less value. Then came the women, and while they were leaving their presents of food, the aged courtiers intoned the funeral chant, the miccacuicatl. Addresses of condolence were also made to the royal family or the senate. The human sacrifices were inaugurated at this time by the immolation of the sacerdotal slave under whose charge the household idols stood.[838] On the fifth day, before daybreak, a grand procession formed for the temple, preceded by an enormous paper banner, four fathoms in length, and richly adorned with feathers, on which the deeds of the defunct were doubtless inscribed, and attended by priests who wafted incense and chanted his glory, though in mournful strains, and without instrumental accompaniment.[839] The corpse was borne upon the state litter by the most trusted of the noble servitors, while at the sides walked the chief lords and princes dressed in mourning, their attire consisting of long, square mantles of dark color, trailing on the ground, without any ornaments; some, however, were painted with figures of skulls, bones, and skeletons. Behind them came the ambassadors of absent princes, the grandees and nobles from all parts of the country, each carrying some insignia, weapons, or jewels to be offered on the pyre.[840] In the procession were also a large number of slaves, all newly attired in the royal livery,[841] and carrying clothes, implements, and other articles, according to the duties assigned them. On reaching the courtyard of the temple, the priest who directed the burning came to receive the procession, and conducted it to the altar devoted to cremation, all chanting the while a moral song, in which they reminded the mourners that as they were now carrying a senseless body to its last resting-place, so would they be carried; they also reminded them that good deeds alone would remain to keep their remembrance green, and pictured the glories in store for the deserving. These priests were called coacuiles, and their office was held to be of such importance that they prepared for it by fasting and confession. They appeared in the same idol dress as the dead king, though with more elaborate ornaments. We find them on one occasion as demons with faces at different parts of their dress, set with eyes of mirrors and gaping mouths; and at another time with blackened or dyed bodies and paper maxtlis, swinging the yellow sticks used to stir the ashes. According to Ixtlilxochitl, the high-priest of Cihuacoatl, who was supposed to gather the dead, came out to receive the procession.[842]
CREMATION AND INTERMENT.
The opinions as to the introduction of cremation are extremely varied, but it seems to have been practiced in very ancient times by the migrating tribes, who took this means to secure the remains of honored chiefs from desecration; their ashes could thus be carried along and serve as talismanic relics. Ixtlilxochitl gives an instance of this in the case of a Chichimec king who died in battle and whose body was burned, so that the ashes might be carried home with convenience and safety. Brasseur de Bourbourg also holds that cremation was an ancient Toltec custom, but the first recorded case is that of the last Toltec king, Topiltzin.[843] Others assert that the Toltecs who remained in the country after the destruction of their empire adhered to interment, as did the early Chichimecs. Veytia affirms that Ixtlilxochitl or Tezozomoc was the first to be deposited according to the forms instituted by Topiltzin and used by the Mexicans, namely, burning; Torquemada distinctly states that the Chichimecs used cremation, and Clavigero agrees with him.[844] Veytia also thinks that the first Aztec kings were buried, but this is contrary to all other reliable accounts. The custom may not have been very general, for Sahagun states that during Itzcoatl's reign it was resolved by the chiefs that all should be burned, indicating at the same time that cremation was then already in use. The later established usage was to burn all except those who died a violent death, or of incurable diseases, and those under seventeen years of age, who were all interred. The Tlascaltecs and Tarascos practiced burning like the Aztecs.[845]
The altar devoted to the burning was doubtless one attached to the temple consecrated to the deity to whose abode the deceased was supposed to go. Chaves describes it as three feet in height and the same in width,[846] on which a heap of ocotl was piled. Upon this pyre the body was laid in full array, together with the dog, and, as the fire flared up, the mourners added insignia, jewels, weapons, food, and other tributes. Two of the demon-like coacuiles stirred the fire while others stood by chanting appropriate songs and sprinkling blessed water and incense upon the remains, as well as upon the mourners. Now began the sacrifice of those doomed to follow the deceased to the other world and there administer to his wants and pleasure. These were at first but few in number, but during the bloody dominion of the Aztecs they increased to several hundred, as at the funeral of Nezahualpilli, when two hundred males and one hundred females were immolated; they consisted chiefly of slaves and deformed beings from the royal retinue, and such as had been presented. Duran says that all slaves and deformed persons belonging to the household were killed, and Acosta goes so far as to state that the whole royal household was dispatched, including the favorite brother of the king; but this must be taken with a grain of allowance, for, at this rate, the nobles, who crowded the service of the monarch, even in menial positions, would soon have been exterminated. Some courtiers were, no doubt, expected to prove the sincerity of their life-long adulations by either offering themselves as victims, or submitting to a selection made from their number. Sometimes a chief would signify his preference for those among his concubines whom he wished to have with him, a mark of favor often received with great joy, for they would thus be sure of entering into the supreme heaven, where the warlike lords usually went, while they might otherwise be doomed to dark Mictlan. Self-immolation of wives was, accordingly, not uncommon, although not prescribed by law as in India. Brasseur says that captives were sacrificed, but Duran states that they were not offered except to the gods. Persons born during the last five days of the year—the unlucky days—were, however, reserved for royal obsequies.[847]
DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINS.
This array of victims was harangued by a relative of the deceased, who dilated on the happiness before them in being allowed to join their master, and admonished them to serve him as faithfully in the next world as they had done here. They were then consigned to the priests, who laid them upon a teponaztli,[848] cut open the breast and tore out the heart, which was thrown upon the pyre, while the bodies were cast upon another blazing hearth near by.[849] Gomara and others state that the bodies were interred, but as the dog and the property were burned, it is not likely that the more important and useful human servants were buried.[850]
When the body had been thoroughly burned, the fire was quenched, the blood collected from the victims being used for this purpose, according to Duran, and the ashes, sprinkled with holy water, were placed with the charred bones, stones, and melted jewelry in the urn, or casket, which contained also the hair of the deceased. On the top of this was placed a statue of wood or stone, attired in the royal habiliments, and bearing the mask and insignia, and the casket was deposited at the feet of the patron deity, in the chapel.[851] On the return of the procession a grand banquet was given to the guests, ending, as usual, with a presentation of gifts. For four days the mourners paid constant visits to the shrine to manifest their sorrow and to present the offerings of food, clothes, or jewels, termed quitonaltia, 'to give good luck.' These were either placed by the urn or upon the altar of the god, and removed by the priests, who ate the food and sent the valuables to the temple treasury. These ceremonies closed with the sacrifice of ten to fifteen slaves, and then the casket was deposited in that part of the temple appointed for its permanent reception.[852] Among the Chichimecs the royal casket often remained forty days on view in the palace, whence it was carried in procession to its final resting-place.[853]
NAHUA SEPULCHRES.
In cases of interment the deceased was deposited in the grave, seated on a throne in full array, facing the north,[854] with his property and victims around him. In early times, when the practice of interment was more general, the victims were few, if not dispensed with entirely, and consisted usually of two favorite concubines, placed one on each side of their master, who, it is said, were entombed alive, though it is more probable that they were stupefied by narcotic drinks, or clubbed, as in Michoacan. This practice of burying alive is ascribed to the Toltecs.[855] The graves were usually large subterranean vaults of stone and lime, situated in the temple court, palace, or some favorite spot near the city, as Chapultepec. It is related that the temple pyramid in Mexico was the superstructure of royal graves, the remains being deposited on the summit, and the successor to the crown erecting upon this another platform. On destroying the temple, the Spaniards found several vaults, one beneath the other, with their valuable contents of jewelry.[856] The Toltecs also buried their dead in and near the temples, and, according to some authors, the mounds at Teotihuacan, to the number of several hundred, which will be described in Vol. IV. of this work, are the graves of Toltec chiefs.[857] The Chichimec kings were usually buried in round holes, five to six feet deep, situated in caves beneath the palace or in the mountains; in later times, however, they chose the temples.[858]
Twenty days after the burial further offerings were made, together with a sacrifice of from four to five slaves; on the fortieth day two or three more died; on the sixtieth, one or two; while the final immolation consisting of ten to twelve slaves took place at the end of eighty days, and put an end to the mourning. Motolinia adds, however, that testimonials of sorrow accompanied by offerings continued to be made every eightieth day for the space of a year.[859]
PLEBEIAN FUNERAL RITES.
The obsequies of the subjects were, of course, on a scale of much less grandeur, though the rich and nobles ventured to exhibit a certain pomp. The common man, after having been washed in aromatic waters, was dressed in his best garments; a cheap stone called the tentetl, 'mouth-stone,' was inserted between the lips; the passport papers for the dark journey were handed to him with the usual address; and by his side were placed the water, the dog, the insignia of his trade, as arms, spade, or the like—spindle or broom in the case of a woman—with the dresses and other things required for comfort. Lastly the mantle of the god which his condition in life and manner of death rendered appropriate, was placed upon him; thus, a warrior would wear the mantle of Huitzilopochtli with the image of the war god upon it; a merchant the mantle of Iyacatecutli; the artisan that of the patron deity of his trade. A drunkard would, in addition, be covered with the robe of the god of wine; a person who had died by drowning, with that of the water gods; the man executed for adultery, with that of the god of lasciviousness; and so on.[860] According to Zuazo, the corpse was further decorated with feathers of various colors, and seated in a chair to receive the expressions of sorrow and respect of friends, and their humble offerings of flowers, food, or dresses. After a couple of hours a second set of shrouders removed the garments, washed the body again, re-dressed it in red mantles, with feathers of the same color, and left it to be viewed for an hour or more, according to the number of the visitors. A third time the body was washed, by a fresh corps of attendants, and arrayed, this time, in black garments, with feathers of the same sombre color. These suits were either given to the temple or buried with the body.[861] Nobles had the large banner borne in their procession, and seem to have been allowed the use of sacrifices.[862] According to Chaves the common people were also burned in their own premises or in the forest, a statement which Acosta and others indirectly confirm by saying that they had no regular burial-places, but their ashes were deposited in the yards of their houses, in the temple courts, in the mountains, or in the field. Upon the graves were placed flags, ornaments, and various offerings of food during the four days of mourning. Visits of condolence with attendant feasting extended over a period of several days, however.[863] People who had died a violent death, by lightning or other natural causes or of incurable diseases, such as leprosy, tumors, itch, gout, or dropsy, were not burned but interred in special graves. Branches or shoots of amaranth were placed upon their cheeks, the brow was rubbed with texutli, certain papers were laid over the brain, and in one hand was placed a wooden rod which was supposed to become green and throw out branches in the other world. The bodies of women who died in childbed were also buried; and the burial was attended by great difficulty, since warriors and sorcerers fought bravely to obtain possession of some part of her body, as has been stated in a preceding chapter.[864]
A trader of the rank of pochteca, who died on a journey, was dressed in the garb of his class, with eyes painted black, red circles round the mouth, and with strips of paper all over his person. The body was then deposited in a cacaxtli, or square basket, well secured by cords, and carried to the top of a mountain, where it was fixed to a tree, or pole driven into the ground, and left to wither. The spirit was supposed to have entered the abode of the sun.[865] On the return of the caravan the death was reported to the guild, who broke the news to the family of the deceased. A puppet made of candlewood, and adorned with the usual paper ornaments, was left at the temple for a day, during which the friends mourned over it as if the body was actually before them. At midnight the puppet was burned in the quauhxicalco and the ashes buried in the usual manner. Funeral ceremonies were held for four days, after which the relatives washed the faces, that had remained untouched by water during the absence of the trader, and put an end to the mourning. The practice of paying honors to the dead in effigy was especially in vogue among the warrior class.[866]
HONORS TO THE SLAIN IN BATTLE.
Besides funeral honors to individuals, ceremonies for all those who died in a battle or war were of frequent occurrence, as that ordered by the first Montezuma in memory of the slain in the campaign against Chalco. A procession of all the relatives and friends of the dead, headed by the fathers bearing decorated arms and armor, and terminated by the children, marched through the streets, dancing and chanting mournful songs in honor of those who had fallen fighting for their country and their gods, and for each other's mutual consolation. Towards evening presents were distributed by the king's officials, clothing to the common people, ornaments to the chiefs, and food to all. An effigy was then prepared, the details of whose dress and decoration are minutely described, and before it, placed in the cihuacalli, war songs were chanted, instruments were played, women danced and cried for four days; then the image was burned before the temple, the ceremony being called quitlepanquetzin, 'burning the dead of the last war.' Some of the ashes were scattered upon the relatives, who fasted for eighty days, the remaining ashes being in the meantime buried; but after the eighty days had passed they were dug up and carried to the hill of Yahualiuhcan, on the boundaries of Chalco, where they were left. Five days later a feast took place, during which the garments of the dead warriors were burned, more offerings were made, and as a final honor to the memory of the departed all became intoxicated with pulque. Very distinguished warriors were sometimes honored with the funeral rites of royalty.[867]
The ceremonies during the period of mourning were not the last honors paid to deceased friends. Every year during the four years that the souls were supposed to live in a preparatory state in the heavens,[868] offerings of choice viands, wine, flowers, and reeds of perfume were placed before the casket or upon the grave; songs extolling the merits of the departed were sung, accompanied by dances, the whole closing with feasting and drinking. After this the dead were left to oblivion.[869] These commemorations took place in the months of Tlaxochimaco and Xocotlhuetzin. The former was termed 'the small festival of the dead,' and seems to have been devoted to the common people and children, but at the celebration in the latter month great demonstrations were observed by all; and certain royal personages and warriors who had died for their country were awarded divine honors, their statues being placed among those of the gods, to whose presence they had gone. While the priests were burning incense and making other offerings to the dead, the people stood with blackened bodies on the roofs of their houses, and, facing north, prayed to their dead relatives, calling on them to visit their former homes.[870]
In the month of Quecholli another celebration took place, which seems to have been chiefly intended for warriors who had perished in battle. On the fifth day certain small arrows from five to nine inches in length, and torches, were tied in bundles of four each and placed upon the graves, together with a pair of sweet tamales. At sunset the bundles were set on fire, and the ashes interred with the dead. The shield of the dead, with arrow, mantle, and maxtli attached, was afterwards fastened to a stalk of maize of nine joints, mounted by two paper flags, one of which reached the length of the stalk. On the small flag was a cross, worked in red thread, and on the other an ornamentation of red and white thread, from the white part of which a dead humming-bird was suspended. Bunches of white aztatl feathers, tied in pairs, were also attached to the stalk by a thread covered with white hen-feathers. This was burned at the quauhxicalco.[871]
FUNERAL RITES OF THE TARASCOS.
Among the peoples whose funeral ceremonies differ from those described, may be mentioned the Teo-Chichimecs, who interred their dead, and danced and sang for several days after.[872] In Tabasco interment seems also to have prevailed, for Grijalva found a grave in the sand, containing a boy and a girl wrapped in cotton cloth and adorned with jewelry.[873] In Goazacoalco it was the custom to place the bones in a basket, as soon as the flesh was gone, and hang them up in a tree, so that the spirit of the defunct might have no trouble in finding them.[874]
CREMATION OF THE TARASCAN KINGS.
In Michoacan the funeral rites were of a very exacting character. When the king lay on his death-bed it was incumbent on all vassals and courtiers to attend at the palace, and those who stayed away were severely punished. While awaiting the final breath they were royally entertained, but none could enter the death-chamber. When the corpse was ready for shrouding, the lords entered to dress it in festive robes, each attending to a particular part of the attire; the emerald brooch was put between the lips, and the body was laid upon a litter covered with cloths of different colors. On one side of the body were placed a bow and quiver, on the other was a doll made up of fine mantles and dressed exactly like the king.[875] While the courtiers were giving vent to lamentations and tendering their respects, the new king proceeded to select those among the servitors, who, according to the inviolable law of the country, were doomed to follow the dead prince. Seven of these were noble women, to whom various duties were assigned; one was appointed to carry the precious lip-ornament, another to keep the rest of the jewels, a third to be cup-bearer, and the others to attend at table and to cook. Among the male victims, who seem to have been slaves for the most part, every trade and profession was represented,[876] as valets, hair-dressers, perfumers, fan-holders, chair-bearers, wood-cutters, boatmen, sweepers, doorkeepers, and artisans; also clowns, and some of the physicians who had failed to save the life of the monarch. Occasionally some enthusiast would offer to join his beloved master of his own accord, but this seems to have been prohibited; besides, the new king had, doubtless, selected all that were obnoxious to him, and could not afford to lose good servants. At midnight the litter was carried on the shoulders of the chief men to the temple, followed by vassals, warriors, and courtiers, some blowing trumpets, others chanting the glories of the dead. In the van of the procession were the victims, who had been bathed in aromatic waters and adorned with garlands stripped of their leaves and branches, and with yellow streaks over the face, who marched in files, sounding whistles, rattling bones, and beating tortoise-shell drums. Torch-bearers attended the party, and ahead went a number of men who swept the road, singing at the same time: "Lord, here thou hast to pass, see that thou dost not miss the road!"[877] Four turns were made round the pyre before depositing the corpse upon it. While the flames shot up, and the funeral chants fell from the lips of the mourners, the victims were stupefied with drinks and clubbed; the bodies were thrown into holes behind the temple, by threes or fours, together with the ornaments and other belongings of the deceased. The ashes and valuables were gathered from the smoking pyre, and made into a figure, which was dressed in royal habiliments, with a mask for its face, a golden shield on its back, bows and arrows by its side; this was set upon a throne facing the east, the whole being placed in a large urn, which was deposited upon a bed of golden shields and silver articles in a grave with stone walls, lined with mats, about twelve feet square, and equally deep, situated at the foot of the temple. The urn was covered with a number of valuable mantles, and around it were placed various implements, food, drink, and boxes filled with feather-work and ornaments; the grave was finally bridged with varnished beams and boards, and covered with a coating of earth and clay. After the funeral, all who had taken an active part in the ceremonies went to bathe, in order to prevent any injury to their health,[878] and then assembled at the palace to partake of a sumptuous repast. At the close of the banquet a cotton cloth was given to each guest wherewith to wipe his face, but all remained seated for five days with lowered heads, without uttering a word, except the grandees, who went in turn by night to watch and mourn at the grave. During this period the mourning was general, no corn was ground, no fires lighted, no business transacted; the streets were deserted, and all remained at home, mourning and fasting. The obsequies of the people bore a general resemblance to the above, the ceremonies being regulated by the rank and means of the deceased. The graves were usually situated in the fields or on the slope of a hill.[879]
SEPULCHRES IN OAJACA.
Among the Miztecs, in Oajaca, where cremation does not seem to have obtained, compliments and addresses were presented to the corpse of a chief, just as if he were alive. A slave arrayed in the same splendid garments worn by his master, with mask, mitre, and other insignia, was placed before it; and while the funeral procession accompanied the body to burial, he represented the chief, and received the honors paid to royalty. At midnight four priests carried the body to the forest, where it was placed, in the presence of the mourners, in a cave, with the feet to the east, and surrounded with various weapons and implements. Two male and three female slaves, who had in the meantime been made drunk and strangled, were also placed in the grave, together with idols to serve as guides. Burgoa was told by the natives that devoted servants used to follow their lord alive into the grave. On the return of the funeral cortège, the slave who represented the deceased was sacrificed and deposited in a hole, which was left unclosed. The cave selected for the grave of the chief was supposed to be the gate to paradise. Burgoa found two of these resting-places. One was situated in a hill and lighted by loopholes from above. Along the sides were stone benches, like troughs, upon which lay the bejeweled skeletons, and here and there were niches occupied by idols. Another was a stone vault, with plastered walls, arranged like the former; a stone block closed the entrance.[880] Some authors state that when the flesh was consumed, the bones were taken out and placed in graves in the houses or in the temples; this may, however, only have applied to certain chiefs, for Burgoa found skeletons, as we have seen, in the caves which he explored. Every year, on the anniversary of the birth of the last defunct lord, not on that of his death, great ceremonies were held in his honor.[881] Like the Aztecs, they believed that the soul wandered about for a number of years before entering into perfect bliss, and visited its friends on earth once a year.[882] On the eve of that day the house was prepared as if for a festive occasion, a quantity of choice food was spread upon the table, and the inmates went out with torches in their hands, bidding the spirits enter. They then returned and squatted down round the table with crossed hands and eyes lowered to the ground, for it was thought that the spirits would be offended if they were gazed upon. In this position they remained till morning, praying their unseen visitors to intercede with the gods in their favor, and then arose, rejoiced at having observed due respect for the departed. The food, which the spirits were supposed to have rendered sacred by inhaling its virtue, was distributed among the poor, or deposited in some out-of-the-way place. During the day further ceremonies, accompanied by offerings, were made at the temples, and a table was spread for the priests.[883]
PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES.
The Nahuas were physically a fine race. They are described by all the old writers as being tall,[884] well-formed, and of an olive or light copper color; as having thick, black, coarse, though soft and glossy hair, regular teeth, low, narrow, retreating foreheads,[885] black eyes, scant beards,[886] and very little hair on their bodies. Their senses were very acute, especially that of sight, which they enjoyed unimpaired to the most advanced age.[887] Their bodies they kept in training by constant exercise. They were wonderful runners and leapers, and, as we have seen, some of their athletic and acrobatic feats were looked upon by the conquerors as nothing short of the work of the devil. It was no unusual thing to meet with people who from their color could scarcely be distinguished from Europeans. The people of Michoacan enjoy the reputation of having been the tallest and handsomest among the Nahuas.[888] The women of Jalisco found great favor in the eyes of the reverend Father Torquemada. He was shown one there, he says, who might be considered a miracle of beauty; indeed, so fair was her skin, so well-proportioned her body, and so regular her features, that the most skillful portrait-painter would have been put to it to do her justice.[889] Deformed people were very uncommon; indeed, as we have seen, their rarity made them valuable as objects of curiosity, and kings and princes kept collections of them.[890]
CHARACTER OF THE NAHUAS.
The character of the Nahuas, although the statements of the best authors are nearly unanimous concerning it, is in itself strangely contradictory. We are told that they were extremely frugal in their habits, that wealth had no attractions for them, yet we find them trafficking in the most shrewd and careful manner, delighting in splendid pageants, gorgeous dresses, and rich armor, and wasting their substance in costly feasts; they were tender and kind to their children, and solicitous for their welfare, yet the punishments they inflicted upon their offspring were cruel in the extreme;[891] they were mild with their slaves, and ferocious with their captives; they were a joyous race, fond of feasting, dancing, jesting, and innocent amusements, yet they delighted in human sacrifices, and were cannibals; they possessed a well-advanced civilization, yet every action of their lives was influenced by gross superstition, by a religion inconceivably dark and bloody, and utterly without one redeeming feature; they were brave warriors, and terrible in war, yet servile and submissive to their superiors; they had a strong imagination and, in some instances, good taste, yet they represented their gods as monsters, and their religious myths and historical legends are absurd, disgusting, and puerile.
That the Nahuas were a most ingenious people is abundantly proven by their work as well as by the statements of those who knew them. It has been said that they were not inventive, but this Clavigero indignantly denies.[892] It is certain that their power of imitation was very great,[893] and that they were very quick to learn the new arts introduced among them by the Spaniards.[894] They were generous and remarkably free from avarice.[895] They are said to have been very temperate in their habits,[896] but judging from the vast number of dishes served up at the tables of the rich, and the stringent laws which were necessary to prevent drunkenness, this appears doubtful. Although terrible to their enemies, and naturally warlike, they were peaceable among themselves, and seldom quarreled. Las Casas says that when a difficulty arose between two of them, the disputants did not come at once to blows, but contented themselves with such personal abuse as: "Go to, thou hast bad eyes; thou art toothless;" or they threw handfuls of dirt in each other's faces and then separated and washed themselves. On rare occasions they pushed and elbowed each other, or even had a scuffle, in which hair was pulled out, clothes were torn, and bloody noses received, but deadly weapons were never used, nor even worn except by soldiers on duty. The same writer relates that two women were put to death by order of the king of Tezcuco for fighting in the public market-place, a scandalous outrage upon public decency, the like of which had never been heard of before. He says, further, that when two young men became enamored of the same woman, or when one carried off the other's mistress, the rivals were allowed to fight a duel for the possession of the woman. The combat did not take place, however, until the army went forth to war, when upon the first engagement they sought out each other, and fought with their weapons until one was vanquished.[897] They seem to have been very strict and jealous in all matters relating to their women.[898]