The number of human victims sacrificed annually in Mexico is not exactly known. Las Casas, the champion of the natives, places it at an insignificantly low figure, while Zumárraga states that twenty thousand were sacrificed in the capital alone every year. That the number was immense we can readily believe, when we read in Torquemada, Ixtlilxochitl, Boturini, and Acosta, that from seventy to eighty thousand human beings were slaughtered at the inauguration of the temple of Huitzilopochtli, and a proportionately large number at the other celebrations of the kind.[X-37]
The victims were mostly captives of war, and for the sole purpose of obtaining these wars were often made; a large proportion of the sacrificed, however, were of slaves and children, either bought or presented for the purpose, and condemned criminals. Moreover, instances are not wanting of devout people offering themselves voluntarily for the good of the people and the honor of the god.[X-38] The greater part of the victims died under the knife, in the manner so often described;[X-39] some, however, were, as we have seen in the preceding volume, burned alive; children were often buried, or immured alive, or drowned; in some cases criminals were crushed between stones. The Tlascaltecs frequently bound the doomed one to a pole and made his body a target for their spears and arrows.
It is difficult to determine what religious ideas were connected with the almost universal practice of anthropophagy. We have seen that several of the savage tribes ate portions of slain heroes, thinking thereby to inherit a portion of the dead man's good qualities; the same reason might be assigned for the cannibalism of the Aztecs, were it not for the fact that they ate the flesh of sacrificed slaves and children as well as that of warriors and notable persons. Whatever may have been the original significance of the rite, it is most probable that finally the body, the essence of which served to regale the god, was regarded merely as the remains of a divine feast, and, therefore, as sacred food. It is quite possible, however, that religious anthropophagy gradually degenerated into an unnatural appetite for human flesh and nothing more.
I here close the review of the Aztec gods. Like most of its branches, this great centre of North American mythology rests on natural phenomena and anthropomorphic creations, with an occasional euhemeristic development or apotheosis, but is attended by a worship so sanguinary and monstrous that it stands out an isolated spectacle of the extreme to which fanatical zeal and blind superstition can go. A glance at the Greek and Roman mythology is sufficient to show how much purer was the Nahua conception of divine character. The Nahua gods did not, like those of Greece, play with vice, but rather abhorred it. Tezcatlipoca is the only deity that can be fairly compared with the fitful Zeus of Homer—now moved with extreme passion, now governed by a noble impulse, now swayed by brutal lust, now drawn on by a vein of humor. But the polished Greek, poetic, refined, full of ideas, exulting in his strong, beautiful, immoral gods, and making his art immortal by his sublime representations of them, presents a picture very different from the Aztec, phlegmatic, bloody-minded, ferocious, broken in body and in spirit by the excesses of his worship, overshadowed by countless terrors of the imagination, quaking continually before gods who feast on his flesh and blood. Nevertheless there was one bright spot, set afar off on the horizon, upon which the Aztec might look and hope. Like the Brahmans, the Buddhists, and the Jews, he looked forward to a new era under a great leader, even Quetzalcoatl, who had promised to return from the glowing east, bringing with him all the prosperity, peace, and happiness of his former reign. The Totonacs, also, knew of one in heaven who pleaded unceasingly for them with the great god, and who was ultimately to bring about a gentler era.
WORSHIP IN MICHOACAN.
Worship in Michoacan, though on a smaller scale, was very similar to that in Mexico. The misty form of a Supreme Being that hovers through the latter, here assumes a more distinct outline, however. A First Cause, a Creator of All, a Ruler of the World, who bestows existence, and regulates the seasons, is recognized in the god Tucapacha; an invisible being whose abode is in the heaven above, an inconceivable being whom no image can represent, a merciful being to whom the people may hopefully pray.[X-40] But the very beauty and simplicity of the conception of this god seem to have operated against the popularity of his worship. The people needed a less shadowy personification of their ideas, and this they found in Curicaneri, originally the patron divinity of the Chichimec rulers of the country, and by them exalted over Xaratanga, the former head god of the Tarascos. Brasseur de Bourbourg thinks Curicaneri to be identical with the sun, and gives as his reason that the Chichimecs presented their offerings first to that luminary and then to the inferior deities. There is another point that seems to favor this view. The insignia of Curicaneri and Xaratanga were carried by the priests in the van of the army to inspire courage and confidence of victory. Before setting out on the march a fire was lighted before the idol, and as the incense rose to heaven, the priest addressed the god of fire, imploring him to accept the offering and favor the expedition.[X-41] The image of Curicaneri was profusely adorned with jewels, each one of which represented a human sacrifice made in honor of the god.
The goddess Xaratanga, though second in rank, seems to have occupied the first place in the affections of the Tarascos, in spite of the myth which associates her name with the downfall of the native dynasty, saying that she transformed their princes into snakes, because they appeared drunk at her festivals, and thus afforded the Chichimecs an opportunity to seize the sceptre. The priests did their utmost, besides, to maintain her prestige, and they were successful, as we have seen from the position of the goddess by the side of Curicaneri, in the van of the army.
Among the inferior gods were Manovapa, son of Xaratanga, and Taras, from whom, says Sahagun, the Tarascos took their name, and who corresponded to the Mexican Mixcoatl. The Matlaltzincas worshiped Coltzin, suffocating before his image the few human beings offered to him. They reverenced very highly, also, a great reformer, Surites, a high-priest, who preached morality, and, inspired by a prophetic spirit, is said to have prepared the people for a better faith, which was to come from the direction of the rising sun. The festivals of the Peranscuaro, which corresponded to our Christmas, and the Zitacuarencuaro, or 'resurrection,' were instituted by Surites. These ideas, however, bear traces of having been 'improved' by the padres.
The priests of Michoacan exercised even a greater influence over the people than those of Mexico. In order to retain this power they appealed to the religious side of the people's character by thundering sermons and solemn rites, and to their affections by practicing charity at every opportunity. The king himself, when he paid his annual visit to the high-priest to inaugurate the offering of first-fruits, set an example of humility by kneeling before the pontiff and reverently kissing his hand. The priests of Michoacan formed a distinct class, composed of three orders, at the head of which stood the high priest of Curicaneri.[X-42] Those who served the goddess Xaratanga were called watarecha, and were distinguished by their shaven crowns, long black hair, and tunics bordered with red fringe.[X-43] Marriage was one of their privileges.
The temple-service of Michoacan was much the same as in Mexico. Human sacrifices, which seem to have been introduced at a late period, were probably very numerous, since hundreds of human victims were immolated at the funeral of a monarch. The hearts of the sacrificed were eaten by the priests, says Beaumont, and this is not unlikely since the Otomí population of Michoacan sold flesh in the public market. During seasons of drought the Otomís sought to propitiate the rain gods by sacrificing a virgin on the top of a hill.[X-44]
WORSHIP IN JALISCO.
In Jalisco, several forms of worship appear, each with its special divinities. These were mostly genii of natural features. Thus, the towns about Chapala paid divine honors to the spirit of the lake, who was represented by a misshapen image with a miniature lake before it. The people of other places had idols mounted on rocks, or represented in the act of fighting with a wild animal or monster. In Zentipac and Acaponeta the stars were honored with offerings of the choicest fruit and flowers. Equally innocent were the offerings brought to Piltzinteolli, the 'child god,' whose youthful form was reared in several places. An instance of apotheosis occurred in Nayarit, where the skeleton of a king, enthroned in a cave, received divine honors.
Among the temples consecrated to the various idols, may be mentioned one in Jalisco, which was a square pyramid, decorated with breast-work and turrets, to which access was had by a staircase sixty feet in height. At each of the four corners was a hearth so arranged that the smoke from the sacred fire spread in a dense cloud over the temple. Another, at Teul, consisted of a stone building, five fathoms in length, by three in breadth, and gradually widening towards the top. Two entrances, one at the north corner, the other at the south, each with five steps, gave admission to the interior; close by were several piles, formed of the bones of the sacrificed.
The festivals which took place seem to have been disgraced not only by excesses of the most infamous character, but by the most horrible cruelties, if we are to believe Oviedo, who writes of furnaces filled with charred human remains. These sacrifices, however, if sacrifices they were, which were common in the north-eastern parts, where intercourse with Mexico had produced many changes, do not appear as we advance southward. Not only do they entirely vanish, but the chroniclers state that in Colima, which was reputed to have been at one time governed by a very wise prince, no outward worship of any kind could be found; moreover, they hint at an atheism having existed there, restricted only by moral precepts. But the reality of an oasis of this character, in the midst of the most degraded superstitions and the wildest fanaticism, is at the least, doubtful, and the work of the Fathers seems to be once more apparent.[X-45]
WORSHIP IN OAJACA.
The worship of Oajaca bore even a stronger resemblance to that of Mexico than did that of Michoacan, and the assertion of some modern writers that both nations have a common origin seems fully borne out by the records of the old chroniclers. The array of gods was, if possible, greater, for almost every feature of the grand, wild scenery, every want, every virtue, even every vice, says Burgoa, had one or more patron deities, to whom offerings were made on the household altars. This was especially the case in the upper district of Mizteca and Zapoteca, where the rugged, cloud-capped peaks, dense forests, boiling cataracts, and stealthy streams, all tended to fill the crude mind of the native with a superstitious awe that must have vent. Through all this may be discerned the vague shape of a Supreme Being, bearing many titles, such as Piyetao Piyexoo, 'one without being,' Pitao Cozaana, 'creator of beings,' Wichaana, 'creator of men and fishes,' Coquiza-Chibataya Cozaanatao, 'the sustainer and governor of all,' and a multitude of other titles, which merely serve to show how indefinite was the position this Invisible One occupied in the minds of a people unable to rise to a definite conception of his eminence, and groveling before the hideous gnomes bred of their own imagination.[X-46]
When the disciples of Quetzalcoatl, the Toltec god and lawgiver, went forth at the command of their master to preach his doctrines, some are said to have wended their way to Oajaca, where they founded several centres of worship,[X-47] and among them Achiuhtla, the headquarters of the Miztec religion, situated in the most rugged part of the mountains. Here, in a cave the interior of which was filled with idols, set up in niches upon stones dyed with human blood and smoke of incense, was a large transparent chalchiuite,[X-48] entwined by a snake whose head pointed toward a little bird perched on the apex. This relic, worshiped since time immemorial under the name of the 'heart of the people,' has all the chief attributes of Quetzalcoatl; the stone, the emblem of the air god, the snake and the bird; yet how mutilated the original myth, how much of its beautiful significance gone! Burgoa invests the relic with another attribute in making it the supporter of the earth, another Atlas in fact, whose movements produce earthquakes. This also accords with the character of Quetzalcoatl, who, under the name of Huemac, was supposed to produce earthquakes. The Zapotecs, besides, prayed to it for victory and wealth, and Quetzalcoatl as the 'peace god,' could doubtless influence the former, while the latter gift was always in his power.[X-49] In several other places were idols with the same name, as at Yangüistlan, Chalcatongo, and Coatlan, where the temples were caves, a fact worthy of note when we consider that Quetzalcoatl is stated by the myth to have erected temples to Mictlantecutli, the Mexican Pluto.[X-50]
VOTAN AND QUETZALCOATL.
The few authors, however, who have referred to this relic, nearly all hold it to represent Votan; the old writers doubtless because the name signifies 'heart'[X-51] in the Tzendal dialect of Chiapas, where he was the most prominent deity, the modern, because its attributes accord with those of this god. But Votan has so much in common with Quetzalcoatl that some writers are inclined to consider them identical, or at least related. Müller, however, declares him to be an original Maya snake-god, one of the thirteen chief snakes, to whom the bird attribute was given at a late period, borrowed, perhaps, from Quetzalcoatl. He is gradually anthropomorphized into one of the many leaders whose names have been given to the days of the month, Votan taking the third of the four names that designated days as well as years. Yet Professor Müller concedes that the god was brought from Cholula, and that certain special attributes of Quetzalcoatl may be recognized in the figures on the Palenque ruins, which probably refer to Votan; and further, that a phase of the myth seems to point to him as the grandson of Quetzalcoatl.[X-52] Brasseur de Bourbourg, while accepting his identity with the 'heart of the people,' considers that the double aspect of the tradition allows us to suppose that there were several Votans, or that this name was accorded to deserving men who came after him. At times he seems to be a mythic creation, the mediator between man and God, the representation of wisdom and power; at times a prince and legislator who introduced a higher culture among his people. The analogy presented by traditions between Votan, Gucumatz, Cukulcan, and Quetzalcoatl, would lead us to believe that one individual united in his person all these appellations. Nevertheless, a comparison of the different traditions admits of two, Votan and Quetzalcoatl, the other names having the same signification as the latter.
It is certain, however, that from them, whether heroes, priests, rulers, or warriors, Central America received the culture which their successors brought to such perfection. The knowledge of one supreme being appears to have been among the first dogmas instilled into the minds of their people; but in the tradition presented to us, the hero's name is often confounded with that of the divinities.[X-53] Like Quetzalcoatl, Votan was the first historian of his people, and wrote a book on the origin of the race, in which he declares himself a snake, a descendant of Imos, of the line of Chan, of the race of Chivim.[X-54] One of his titles was 'lord of the hollow tree,' the tepahuaste, or teponaztli.[X-55]
From the confused tradition of the Tzendals, as rendered by Nuñez de la Vega and Ordoñez y Aguiar, it seems that Votan, proceeded by divine command to America and there portioned out the land.[X-56] He accordingly departed from Valum Chivim, passed by the 'dwelling of the thirteen snakes,' and arrived in Valum Votan,[X-57] where he took with him several of his family to form the nucleus of the settlement. With them he passed through the island-strewn Laguna de Terminos, ascended the Usumacinta, and here, on one of its tributaries founded Nachan,[X-58] or Palenque, the future metropolis of a mighty kingdom, and one of the reputed cradles of American civilization. The Tzendal inhabitants bestowed upon the strange-looking new-comers the name Tzequiles, 'men with petticoats,' on account of their long robes, but soon exchanged ideas and customs with them, submitted to their rule, and gave them their daughters in marriage. This event is laid a thousand years before Christ.[X-59]
TRAVELS OF VOTAN.
Ordoñez proceeds to say that Votan, after the establishment of his government, made four or more visits to his former home. On his first voyage he came to a great city, wherein a magnificent temple was in course of erection; this city Ordoñez supposed to be Jerusalem; he next visited an edifice which had been originally intended to reach heaven, an object defeated by a confusion of tongues; finally he was allowed to penetrate by a subterranean passage to the root of heaven.[X-60] On returning to Palenque, Votan found that several more of his nations had arrived; these he recognized as snakes, and showed them many favors, in return for which his supremacy was made secure, and he was at last apotheosized.[X-61] Among the monuments left by the hero was a temple on the Huehuetan River, called 'house of darkness,' from its subterranean chambers, where the records of the nation were deposited under the charge of a fixed number of old men, termed tlapianes, or guardians, and an order of priestesses, whose superior was likewise the head of the male members. Here were also kept a number of tapirs, a sacred animal among the people.[X-62]
The claims of Votan to be considered as the 'heart of the people,' are supported, according to the above accounts, chiefly by his name, which means 'heart,' and by the fact that a chalchiuite, of which stone the relic was made, was placed by the Mexicans and other peoples between the lips of deceased. The other attributes accord more with the character of Quetzalcoatl, as we have seen, and the tradition is very similar; its confusion goes to show that it is a mutilated version of the Toltec myth. If we accept Votan as a grandson of Quetzalcoatl we may also suppose that he was one of the disciples sent out by the prophet to spread his doctrines, and that his own name has been substituted for that of his master. This view is favored by the fact that Quetzalcoatl is identified with the snake-heroes of Yucatan and Guatemala, countries that lie beside and beyond Chiapas. Then, again, we find that Votan's worship was known in Cholula, and that he landed in the very region where the former hero disappeared. However doubtful the preceding tradition may be, there is one among the Oajacans, which to me has all the appearance of a mutilated version of the myth of Quetzalcoatl, deformed still more by the orthodox Fathers. In very remote times, about the era of the apostles, according to the padres, an old white man, with long hair and beard, appeared suddenly at Huatulco, coming from the south-west by sea, and preached to the natives in their own tongue, but of things beyond their understanding. He lived a strict life, passing the greater part of the night in a kneeling posture, and eating but little. He disappeared shortly after as mysteriously as he had come, but left as a memento of his visit a cross, which he planted with his own hand, and admonished the people to preserve it sacredly, for one day they would be taught its significance.[X-63] Some authors describe a personage of the same appearance and character, coming from the same quarter, and appearing in the country shortly after, but it is doubtless the same old man, who, on leaving Huatulco, may have turned his steps to the interior. His voice is next heard in Mictlan,[X-64] inveighing in gentle but firm accents against the pleasures of this world, and enjoining repentance and expiation. His life was in strict accordance with his doctrines, and never, except at confession, did he approach a woman. But the lot of Wixepecocha, as the Zapotecs call him, was that of most reformers. Persecuted by those whose vice and superstitions he attacked, he was driven from one province to another, and at last took refuge on Mount Cempoaltepec. Even here his pursuers followed him, climbing its craggy sides to lay hands upon the prophet. Just as they reached the summit, he vanished like a shadow, leaving only the print of his feet upon the rock.[X-65]
THE APOSTLE WIXEPECOCHA.
Among the points in this myth that correspond to the character of Quetzalcoatl may be noticed the appearance of the prophet from the south-west, which agrees with the direction of the moisture-bearing winds, the chief attribute of the Toltec god; the cross, which indicates not only the four winds, but the rain of which they are the bearers, attributes recognized by the Mexicans who decorated the mantle of the god with crosses; the long beard, the white face, and the dress, which all accord with the Toltec Quetzalcoatl. Like him Wixepecocha taught gentle doctrines of reform, like him he was persecuted and forced to wander from place to place, and at last disappeared, leaving his followers the hope of a better future. The doctrine of Wixepecocha, took root and flourished in the land he had consecrated with his toils and prayers, and, according to Brasseur de Bourbourg, Wiyatao, the pontiff of Zapotecapan, was vicar and successor of the 'prophet of Monapostiac.'[X-66]
The early padres saw in this personage none other than St. Thomas, the apostle, who had walked across to plant the cross and prepare the way for christianity. There is, or was until recently, a statue of him in the village of Magdalena, four leagues from Tehuantepec, which represented him with long white beard, and muffled up in a long robe with a hood, secured by a cord round the waist; he was seated in a reflective attitude, listening to the confession of a woman kneeling by his side.[X-67] A similar statue is mentioned by Burgoa, as having existed in a cave not far from Xustlahuaca, in Mistecapan,[X-68] where it stood near the entrance, on a marble monolith eleven feet in height. The approach to the cavern appears to have formerly led through a beautiful garden; within were masses of stalactite of the most fantastic and varied forms, many of which the people had fashioned into images of different kinds, and of the most artistic execution, says the padre, whose fancy was doubtless aided by the twilight within. Here lay the embalmed bodies of kings and pontiffs, surrounded by treasures, for this was a supposed entrance to the flowered fields of heaven. The temple cave at Mictlan bore a similar reputation, and served as a sepulchre for the Zapotec grandees. It consisted of four chief divisions, the largest forming the sanctuary proper, the second and third the tombs of kings and pontiffs, and the fourth a vestibule to an immense labyrinthine grotto, in which brave warriors were occasionally buried. Into this, the very ante-room of paradise, frenzied devotees would at times enter, and seek in its dark mazes for the abode of the gods; none ever returned from this dread quest, for the entrance was closed with a great stone, and doubtless many a poor wretch as he touched in his last feeble gropings the bones of those who had preceded him, felt the light come in upon his soul in spite of the thick darkness, and knew he had been deluded; but the mighty stone at the mouth of the cave told no secrets.[X-69]
GODS OF OAJACA.
The prominence of the Plutonic element in the worship of Oajaca is shown by the fact that Pezelao, whose character corresponded to that of the Mexican Mictlantecutli, received high honors. The other conspicuous gods, as enumerated by Brasseur de Bourbourg, were Pitao-Cocobi, god of abundance, or of the harvest; Cociyo, the rain god; Cozaana, patron of hunters and fishermen; and Pitao-Xoo, god of earthquakes. Other deities controlled riches, misfortunes, auguries, poetic inspiration—even the hens had their patron divinity. As might be expected of a people who regarded even living kings and priests with adoration, apotheosis was common. Thus, Petela, an ancient Zapotec cacique whose name signified dog, was worshiped in the cavern of Coatlan. At one end of this subterranean temple a yawning abyss received the foaming waters of a mountain torrent, and into this slaves and captives, gaily dressed and adorned with flowers, were cast on certain occasions.[X-70]
At another place was a white stone shaped like a nine-pin, supposed to be the embodiment of Pinopiaa, a saintly princess of Zapotecapan, whose corpse had been miraculously conveyed to heaven and returned in this form for the benefit of the devout.[X-71]
In Chiapas they worshiped Costahuntox, who was represented with ram's horns on his head, and sat on a throne surrounded by thirteen grandees. In the district of Llanos, Yabalan, or Yahalan, and Canamlum were the chief gods. Even living beings held the position of deities, according to Diaz, who states that a fat old woman, dressed in richly decorated robes, whom the natives venerated as a goddess, led them against the Spanish invaders, but was killed.[X-72] Among the Mijes a green flat stone, with blood-red, lustrous rays, was held in much veneration. Although this is the only reference made by the chroniclers that may be connected with sun worship—which, by the way, could scarcely have claimed a very high position here, since the founder of the Miztec royal family is stated to have been victorious in a contest with the sun—it is worthy of note that the Zapotec word nuhu, fire, also denotes divinity, idol, everything sacred, the earth itself.[X-73] The household idols had their names, history, and worship depicted on bark, and smoked or painted hides, in order to keep them always before the people, and insure to the youth a knowledge of their god. How firmly rooted idolatry was, and how slow the work of eradicating it must have been, to the padres, notwithstanding they destroyed every idol they could lay hands on, is shown by the fact that among the Guechecoros a statue of Cortés served as an object of worship.[X-74] Nagualism is one of the ancient forms of worship which still flourish, and consists in choosing an animal as the tulelary divinity of child, whose existence will be so closely connected with it, that the life of one depends on that of the other. Burgoa states that the priest selected the animal by divination; when the boy grew up he was directed to proceed to a mountain to offer sacrifice, and there the animal would appear to him. Others say that at the hour of the mother's confinement, the father and friends drew on the floor of the hut the outline of various animals, effacing each figure as soon as they began the next, and the figure that remained at the moment of delivery represented the guardian of the infant; or, that the bird or beast first seen by the watchers after the confinement was accepted as the nagual. The bestowal of the sign of the day upon the infant as its name may perhaps be considered as a species of nagualism, since the name of animals often formed these signs.[X-75]
TREE WORSHIP.
A form of worship particularly marked in this country was the veneration accorded to trees, as may be judged from the myth which attributes the origin of the Miztec, as well as a portion at least of the Zapotec people to two trees. This cult existed also in other parts of Mexico and Central America, where cypresses and palms growing near the temples, generally in groups of three, were tended with great care, and often received offerings of incense and other gifts. They do not, however, seem to have been dedicated to any particular god, as among the Romans, where Pluto claimed the cypress, and Victory the palm. One of the most sacred of these relics is a cypress standing at Santa María de Tule, the venerable trunk of which measures ninety feet in circumference, at a height of six feet from the ground.[X-76]
One of the chief offerings of the Zapotecs was the blood of the, to them sacred, turkey; straws and feathers smeared with blood from the back of the ear, and from beneath the tongue of persons, also constituted a large portion of the sacred offerings, and were presented in special grass vessels. Human sacrifices were not common with the Oajacan people, but in case of emergency, captives and slaves were generally the victims. The usual mode of offering them was to tear out the heart, but in some places, as at Coatlan, they were cast into an abyss. Herrera states that men were offered to the gods, women to goddesses, and children to inferior deities, and that their bodies were eaten, but the latter statement is doubtful.[X-77]
Maya Pantheon—Zamná—Cukulcan—The Gods of Yucatan—The Symbol of the Cross in America—Human Sacrifices in Yucatan—Priests of Yucatan—Guatemalan Pantheon—Tepeu and Hurakan—Avilix and Hacavitz—The Heroes of the Sacred Book—Quiché Gods—Worship of the Choles, Manches, Itzas, Lacandones, and others—Tradition of Comizahual—Fasts—Priests of Guatemala—Gods, Worship, and Priests of Nicaragua—Worship on the Mosquito Coast—Gods and Worship of the Isthmians—Phallic Worship in America.
The religion of the Mayas was fundamentally the same as that of the Nahuas, though it differed somewhat in outward forms. Most of the gods were deified heroes, brought more or less prominently to the front by their importance. Occasionally we find very distinct traces of an older sun-worship, which has succumbed to later forms, introduced, according to vague tradition, from Anáhuac. The generality of this cult is testified to by the numerous representations of sun-plates and sun-pillars found among the ruins of Central America.[XI-1]
In Yucatan, Hunab Ku, 'the only god', called also Kinehahau, 'the mouth or eyes of the sun',[XI-2] is represented as the Supreme Being, the Creator, the Invisible one, whom no image can represent.[XI-3] His spouse Ixazalvoh was honored as the inventor of weaving, and their son Zamná, or Yaxcocahmut, one of the culture-heroes of the people, is supposed to have been the inventor of the art of writing.[XI-4] The inquiries instituted by Las Casas revealed the existence of a trinity, the first person of which was Izona, the Great Father; the second was the Son of the Great Father, Bacab, born of the virgin Chibirias,[XI-5] scourged and crucified, he descended into the realms of the dead, rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; the third person of the trinity was Echuah, or Ekchuah, the Holy Ghost.[XI-6] Now, to accuse the reverend Fathers of deliberately concocting this and other statements of a similar character is to accuse them of acts of charlatanism which no religious zeal could justify. On the other hand, that this mysterious trinity, had any real existence in the original belief of the natives, is, to put it in its mildest form, exceedingly doubtful. It may be, however, that the natives, when questioned concerning their religion, endeavored to make it conform as nearly as possible to that of their conquerors, hoping by this means to gain the good will of their masters, and to lull suspicions of lurking idolatry.
Bacab, stated above to mean the Son of the Great Father, was in reality the name of four spirits who supported the firmament; while Echuah, or the Holy Ghost, was the patron god of merchants and travelers.
ZAMNÁ.
The goddess Ixcanleox was held to be the mother of the gods, but as Cogolludo states that she had several names, she may possibly be identical with Ixazaluoh, the wife of Hunab Ku, whose name implies generation.[XI-7] The Mayas were not behind their neighbors in the number of their lesser and special divinities, so that there was scarcely an animal or imaginary creature which they did not represent by sacred images. These idols, or zemes,[XI-8] as they were called, were generally made of terra cotta, though sometimes they were of stone, gold, or wood. In the front rank of the circle of gods, known by the name of ku, were the deified kings and heroes, whom we often find credited with attributes so closely connected as to imply identity, or representation of varied phases of the same element.[XI-9] The most popular names were Zamná and Cukulcan, both culture-heroes, and considered by some to be identical; a very probable supposition when we consider that Quetzalcoatl, who is admitted to be the same as Cukulcan, had the attribute of the strong hand, as well as Zamná. The tradition relates that some time after the fall of the Quinamean Empire, Zamná appeared in Yucatan, coming from the west, and was received with great respect wherever he stayed. Besides being the inventor of the alphabet, he is said to have named all points and places in the country. Over his grave rose a city called Izamal or Itzamat Ul, which soon became one of the chief centres of pilgrimage in the peninsula, especially for the afflicted, who sincerely believed that their prayers when accompanied by suitable presents would not fail to obtain a hearing. This class of devotees generally resorted to the temple where he was represented in the form of a hand, Kab Ul, or working hand, whose touch was sufficient to restore health.[XI-10]
Professor Müller thinks it very uncertain whether the creating or working hand referred to the sun, as was the case among the northern tribes, but the account given of the following idol seems to me to make this not improbable. In the same city was an image of Kinich Kakmo, 'face or eye of the sun', whom Landa represents to be the offspring of the sun, but who subsequently became identified with that luminary and received divine honors in the very temple that he had erected to his father. He is represented in the act of sacrifice, pointing the finger toward a ray from the midday sun, as if to draw a spark wherewith to kindle the sacred fire. To this idol the people resorted in times of calamity and sickness, bringing offerings to induce oracular advice.[XI-11] There are many things which seem to me to identify this personage with Zamná, although other writers hold them to be distinct. Cogolludo, for instance, implies that Zamná was the only son of the sun, or Supreme Being, while Landa and others declare Kinich Kakmo to be the son of that luminary; both are placed on or about the same level and considered as healers, and the uplifted hand of the latter reminds us strongly of the Kab Ul. Another form in which we may recognize Zamná is the image of Itzamat Ul, or 'the dew of heaven', who is said to have been a great ruler, the son of god, and who cured diseases, raised the dead, and pronounced oracles. When asked his name, he replied, ytzencaan, ytzenmuyal.[XI-12]
CUKULCAN.
The other culture-hero, Cukulcan, appeared in Yucatan from the west, with nineteen followers, two of whom were gods of fishes, two gods of farms, and one of thunder, all wearing full beard, long robes, and sandals, but no head-covering. This event is supposed to have occurred at the very time that Quetzalcoatl disappeared in the neighboring province of Goazacoalco, a conjecture which, in addition to the similarity of the names, character, and work of the heroes, forms the basis for their almost generally accepted identity. Cukulcan stopped at several places in Yucatan, but at last settled in Chichen Itza, where he governed for ten years, and framed laws. At the expiration of this period, he left without apparent reason to return to the country whence he had come. A grateful people erected temples at Mayapan and Chichen, to which pilgrims resorted from all quarters to worship him as a god, and to drink of the waters in which he had bathed. His worship, although pretty general throughout Yucatan at one time, was later on confined chiefly to the immediate scenes of his labors.[XI-13]
Besides Izamal and Chichen, there was a third great centre of worship in Yucatan, namely, the temple of Ahulneb, on Cozumel Island, said by some writers to have been the chief sanctuary, Chichen being second in importance. It consisted of a square tower of considerable size, within which was the gigantic terra-cotta statue of Ahulneb, dressed as a warrior, and holding an arrow in his hand. The statue was hollow and set up close against an aperture in the wall, by which the priest entered the figure to deliver the oracle; should the prediction not be fulfilled, which was scarcely likely as it was generally so worded that it might mean anything or nothing, the failure was ascribed to insufficient sacrifice or unatoned sin. So famous did this oracle become, and so great was the multitude of pilgrims continually flocking to it, that it was found necessary to construct roads leading from the chief cities of Yucatan, and even from Tabasco and Guatemala, to Polé, a town on the continent opposite the island. Before embarking, the genius of the sea was always propitiated by the sacrifice of a dog, which was slain with arrows amid music and dancing.[XI-14]
YUCATEC DEITIES.
The Bacabs were four brothers who supported the four corners of the firmament; they were also regarded as air gods. Cogolludo speaks of them as Zacal Bacab, Canal Bacab, Chacal Bacab, and Ekel Bacab, but they were also known by other names. Echuah was the patron-god of merchants and of roads; to him the traveler erected every night a rude altar of six stones, three laid flat, and three set upright, upon which he burned incense while he invoked the protection of the god. It was considered a religious duty by Yucatec wayfarers, when passing some prominent point on the road or spot where an image of Echuah stood, to add a stone or two to the heap already accumulated there, an act of devotion similar to that performed by the Romans in honor of Mercury. Yuncemil was Lord of Death, or, perhaps, the personification of death itself; this dread deity was propitiated with offerings of food.[XI-15] Acat was God of Life; he it was that formed the infant in the womb. At Tihoo, the present Mérida, stood the magnificent temple of Yahau Kuna in which Baklum Chaam, the Priapus of the Mayas and their most ancient god was worshiped. Chac, or Chaac, a former king of Izamal, was honored as the god of fields, and fertility, and the inventor of agriculture. Some distance south-west of this city was the temple of Hunpictok, 'commander of eight thousand lances', a title given also to the general of the army.[XI-16] Abchuy Kak was another apotheosized warrior-prince, whose statue, dressed in royal robes, was borne in the van of the army by four of the most illustrious captains, and received an ovation all along the route. Yxchebelyax is mentioned as the inventor of the art of interweaving figures in cloth, and of painting. Xibalba, 'he who disappears,' was the name of the evil spirit. Exquemelin relates that nagualism obtained on the coast. The naked child was placed on a bed of ashes in the temple, and the animal whose footprint was noticed in the ashes, was adopted as the nagual, and to it the child offered incense as it grew up.[XI-17]
SYMBOL OF THE CROSS.
One of the most remarkable emblems of Maya worship, in the estimation of the conquerors, was the cross, which has also been noticed in other parts of Central America and in Mexico,[XI-18] although less prominently than here. Among the many conjectures as to its origin it is supposed that it was received from Spaniards who were wrecked on the coast before Córdova discovered Yucatan, as, for instance, the pious Aguilar, Cortés' interpreter; but this would not account for the crosses that existed in other parts of Central America. The natives had a tradition, however, which placed the introduction of the cross a few years before the conquest. Among the many prophets who arose at that time was one who predicted the coming of a strange people from the direction of the rising sun, who would bring with them a monotheistic faith having the cross for its emblem. He admonished them to accept the new religion, and erected a cross as a token of his prophecy.[XI-19] Another tradition states that a very handsome man passed through the country and left the cross as a memento, and this many of the padres readily believed, declaring this personage to be none other than the wanderer St Thomas.[XI-20] The opinion that it was introduced by early Christians, or old-world pagans, is, however, opposed by the argument that other more practical features of their culture would have left their mark at the same time. The symbol itself is so simple and suggestive of so many ideas that it seems to me most reasonable to suppose that the natives adopted it without foreign aid. At all events, as the cross was in use both as a religious emblem and an instrument of punishment long before the Christian era, it is surely unnecessary to account for its presence in America by theories invented for the occasion, or, in fact, in any way to connect it with Christianity. The most common signification attributed to the symbol is fertility or generation. A piece of wood fastened horizontally to an upright beam indicated the height of the overflow of the Nile. If the flood reached this mark, the crops flourished; should it fail to do so, famine was the result; thus, we are told, in Egypt the cross came to be worshipped as a symbol of life and generation, or feared as an image of decay and death. By other peoples and for other reasons it was closely connected with phallic rites, of which I shall speak elsewhere, or was connected with the worship of that great fertilizer and life-giver, the sun. Among the Chinese the cross signifies conception. The cross of Thor may possibly be an exception, and refer merely to his hammer or thunderbolt.[XI-21]
With the Mexicans the cross was a symbol of rain, the fertilizing element, or rather of the four winds, the bearers of rain, and as such it was one of Quetzalcoatl's emblems. Chalchiuitlicue, the sister of the rain-gods, bore in her hands a cross-shaped vessel. The cross is to be found in Mexican MSS., and appears in that of Fejérvary with a bird, which, as an inhabitant of the air, may be said to accord with the character of the symbol. The Mexican name of the cross, tonacaquahuitl, 'tree of one life, or flesh,' certainly conveys the idea of fertility. It is nevertheless regarded by some writers merely as an astronomical sign.[XI-22] The first cross noticed by the Spaniards stood within the turreted court-yard of a temple on Cozumel Island; it was composed of lime and stone, and was ten spans (palmos) in height. To this cross the natives prayed for rain, and in times of drought went in procession to offer vahomche, as they called the symbol, quails and other propitiatory gifts. Another cross stood within the precincts of the Spanish cloister at Mérida, whither the pious monks had most likely brought it from Cozumel; it was about three feet high, six inches thick, and had another cross sculptured on its face.[XI-23] The sculptured cross at Palenque has the latin form; a bird is perched on its apex, and on either side stands a human figure, apparently priests, one of whom offers it a child.[XI-24]
HUMAN SACRIFICES IN YUCATAN.
The Yucatecs were as careful as the Mexicans to prepare for their numerous festivals by fasts marked by strict chastity and absence from salt and pepper.[XI-25] Scarification could not be omitted by the pious on these occasions, although women were not called upon to draw blood.[XI-26] Yet their gods were not by any means so blood-thirsty as the Mexican, being generally appeased by the blood of animals, and human sacrifices were called for only on extraordinary occasions. Cukulcan, like his prototype Quetzalcoatl, doubtless opposed the shedding of human blood, but after his departure the practice certainly existed, and the pit at Chichen Itza, whose waters he had consecrated with his person, was among the first places to be polluted. The victims here were generally young virgins, who were charged when they should come into the presence of the gods to entreat them for the needed blessings. Medel relates that on one occasion the victim threatened to invoke the most terrible evils upon the people, instead of blessings, if they sacrificed her against her will; the perplexed priests thought it prudent to let the girl go, and select another and more tractable sacrifice in her place. The victims who died under the knife, or were tied to a tree and shot, were usually enslaved captives, especially those of rank, but when these failed, criminals and even children were substituted. All contributed to these sacrifices, either by presenting slaves and children, or by subscribing to the purchase money. While awaiting this doom the victims were well treated, and conducted from town to town amid great rejoicings; care was taken, however, that no sinful act should detract from their purity or value.[XI-27] Sometimes the body was eaten, says Landa, the feet, hands and head being given to the priests, the rest to the chiefs and others; but Cogolludo and Gomara insist that cannibalism was not practiced. The latter statement can not apply to the whole of the peninsula, however, for on a preceding page Cogolludo relates that Aguilar's shipwrecked companions were sacrificed and eaten by the natives.[XI-28]
Confession, which Cukulcan is said to have introduced, was much resorted to, the more so as death and disease were thought to be direct punishments for sin committed. Married priests were the regular confessors, but these were not always applied to for spiritual aid; the wife would often confess to her husband, or a husband to his wife, or sometimes a public avowal was made. Mental sins however, says Landa, were not confessed.[XI-29]
PRIESTS OF YUCATAN.
The priesthood of Yucatan were divided into different factions, some of which regarded Zamná and Cukulcan as their respective founders, while others remained true to more ancient leaders. According to Landa the high-priest was termed Ahkin Mai, or Ahau Can Mai, and held in great veneration, as one whose advice was followed by the kings and grandees. The revenues of the office, which passed as an inheritance to the son or nearest relative, consisted of presents from the king and of tributes collected by the priests. The ordinary priests bore the title of ahkin,[XI-30] and were divided into several classes. Some of them preached, made offerings, kept records, and instructed the sons of nobles and those destined for the priesthood in the various branches of education. The chilanes who construed the oracles of the gods, and accordingly exercised great influence, held the highest place in the estimation of the people, before whom they appeared in state, borne in litters. The sorcerers and medicine men foretold fortunes and cured diseases. The chacs were four old men elected at every celebration to assist the priests, from which it would seem that the priesthood was not a very numerous body. Nacon was the title of the sacrificer, an office held for life, but little esteemed; this title was also borne by the general of the army, who assisted at certain festivals. Marriage seems to have been permitted to all, and confessors were actually required to have wives, yet there were doubtless a large number who lived in a state of celibacy, devoted to their sacred duties. Their dress varied according to their rank, the high-priest being distinguished by a mitre in addition to his peculiar robe; the most usual dress was, however, a large white cotton robe[XI-31] and a turban formed by wreathing the unwashed hair round the head, and keeping it pasted in that position with blood. Connected with the sun worship was an order of vestals, formed by princess Zuhui Kak, 'fire virgin,' the daughter of Kinich Kakmo, superioress of the vestals. The members were all volunteers, who generally enrolled themselves for a certain time, at the expiration of which they were allowed to leave and enter the married state; some, however, remained for ever in the service of the temple, and were apotheosized. Their duty was to tend the sacred fire, the emblem of the sun, and to keep strictly chaste; those who broke their vows were shot to death with arrows.[XI-32]
The chief account of Guatemalan worship is derived from the sacred book of the Quichés, the Popol Vuh, to which I have already referred in the opening pages of this volume, but the description given in it is so confused, the names and attributes of the gods so mixed, that no very reliable conclusions can be derived therefrom. This very confusion seems, however, to indicate that the imported names of Hurakan, Gucumatz, and others, were with their attributes attached to native heroes, who undergo the most varying fortunes and character, amid which now and then a glance is obtained at their original form.
TEPEU AND HURAKAN.
The most ancient of the gods are two persons called Hun Ahpu Vuch and Hun Ahpu Utïu, or Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, Creator and Protector, Grandfather and Grandmother of the sun and moon, who are often confounded under either gender and represented with big noses, like tapirs, an animal sacred to these people. Brasseur identifies them with the Mexican Oxomoco and Cipactonal,[XI-33] Tonacatlecutli and Tonacatepetl, Ometecutli and Omecihuatl, the female also with Centeotl and Toci, and places her in the Quiché calendar as Hun Ahpu, while the male heads the list of months under the name of Imox.[XI-34] Connected with them stands Tepeu, termed by the sacred book Dominator, He who Begets, and whose name means grand, majestic. Ximenez, by translating his name as buboes, or syphilis, connects him with Nanahuatzin, the Nahua hero who threw himself into the fire and rose as the sun.[XI-35] Tepeu is more generally known under the name of Gucumatz, 'feathered snake,' which is universally identified with Quetzalcoatl, the Nahua air god. In this character he is said to transform himself every seven days into four forms, snake, eagle, tiger, a mass of coagulated blood, one after the other, and every seven days he visits heaven and hell alternately. He is also held to be the introducer of culture in Guatemala, though more, as one who directs man in his search for improvement, than as a culture-hero.[XI-36] These two gods blending into one, often form a trinity with Hun Ahpu Vuch and Hun Ahpu Utïu, under the one name of Gucumatz, the Heart of Heaven. The assumption by this god of four forms may have reference to the divine quartette, and in the expression "they are enveloped in a mist of green and azure," Brasseur de Bourbourg sees a reference to the sacred bundle containing the four first men and sacrifices, transformed into gods.[XI-37]
Hurakan,[XI-38] although connected with the above quartette in the enumeration of titles of the supreme deity, keeps aloof from the lower sphere in which these move at times, and is even invoked by Gucumatz, who calls him, among other names, Creator, he who begets and gives being. That he was held to be distinct, and worshiped as such by the Quichés, may be seen from the fact that they had one high-priest for Gucumatz, and another for Tohil, another name of Hurakan, who seems to have ranked a degree above the former.[XI-39] He represented the thunder and lightning, and his particular title seems to have been Heart of Heaven, under which were included the three phases of his attribute, the thunder, the lightning, and the thunderbolt, or, as stated in another place, the flash, the track of the lightning, and the thunderbolt,[XI-40] another conception of a trinity. He is also called Centre of the Earth and is represented with thunder in his hand. The bird Voc was his messenger. Müller considers him a sun god, probably because of his title 'Heart of Heaven,' which determines nothing, while others hold him to be identical with the Tlalocs, the Mexican rain gods. He is doubtless the same as Tohil, the leader of the Quiché gods, who is represented by the sign of water, but whose name signifies rumble, clash.[XI-41] In him are also found united the three symbols of Quiché trinity, as will be seen shortly, and his priests address him: "Hail, Beauty of the Day, Hurakan, Heart of Heaven and of Earth! Thou who givest glory, riches and children! Thou Tohil, Avilix, Gagavitz, Bowels of Heaven, Bowels of Earth! Thou who dost constitute the four ends of Heaven!"[XI-42] He was also god of fire, and as such gave his people fire by shaking his sandals.[XI-43] According to the version of Brasseur de Bourbourg, his temple at Utatlan, where he seems to have taken the place of an ancient god, was a truncated pyramid with extremely steep steps in the façade. On its summit was a temple of great height, built of cut stone, and with a roof of precious woods; the walls within and without were covered with fine, brilliant stucco of extreme hardness. In the midst of the most splendid surroundings sat the idol, on a throne set with precious stones. His priests perpetually prayed and burnt precious incense before him, relieving each other in bands of thirteen, so that while some attended to his service, the others fasted to prepare for it. The chief men of the kingdom also attended in bands of eighteen, to invoke his blessing for them and their provinces, nine fasting, while nine offered incense.[XI-44] Tohil, and the other members of the trinity, Avilix and Hacavitz, or Gagavitz, who also represent the thunder, the lightning, and the thunderbolt, were the family gods given by the Creator to the founders of the Quiché race, and though they afterwards became stone, they could still assume other shapes in conformity with the supreme will. As family gods they had special temples in the palace of the princes, where their regular service was conducted, and three mountain peaks bearing their names, served to keep them before the people.[XI-45] The flint with which Brinton identifies Tohil may, perhaps, be the black stone brought from the far east, and venerated in the temple of Kahba, 'house of sacrifice,' at Utatlan, but there is no confirmation by the chroniclers. It is, besides, stated that the worship of Kahba had greatly declined, but was again restored to something like its former glory by Gucumatz; Tohil, on the other hand, always stood high, and his high-priest belonged to a different family.[XI-46] A similar stone existed in a temple situated in a deep ravine near Iximche, in whose polished face the gods made known their will. This stone was often used to determine the fate of those accused of crime; if the judges perceived no change in the stone the prisoner went free.[XI-47]
HAVALITZ AND HACAVITZ.
ADVENTURES OF XQUIQ, HUN AHPU, AND XBALANQUE.
We now come to the heroes with whose adventures the Popol Vuh is chiefly occupied. From the union of the Grandfather and Grandmother who head the list of Quiché deities, proceeded two sons, Hunhun Ahpu and Vukab Hun Ahpu.[XI-48] They incur the suspicion and hatred of the princes of Xibalba, who plan their downfall and for this purpose invite them to their court, under the pretence of playing a game of ball with them. On their arrival they are subjected to various indignities and finally condemned to lose their heads. The head of Hunhun Ahpu is placed between the withered branches of a calabash-tree; but lo! a miracle takes place; the tree immediately becomes laden with fruit and the head turns into a calabash. Henceforth the tree is held sacred and the king commands that none shall touch it. Xquiq, however, a royal princess, Eve-like, disregards the injunction, and approaches to pluck the fruit. As she stretches forth her arm, Hunhun Ahpu spits into her hand, and Xquiq finds herself pregnant. Her father soon perceives her condition, and in a fury condemns her to death, telling the executioners to bring him the heart of his daughter to prove that they have done their duty. While being led to the wood Xquiq pleads earnestly for her life, and finally prevails upon her executioners to deceive her father by substituting for her heart the jelly-like resin of a tree, which she procures. Xquiq proceeds to Utatlan, to the Grandmother, Xmucane, and gives birth to the twins Hun Ahpu and Xbalanque,[XI-49] who develop rapidly; their superior talents soon make their elder brothers jealous, and they attempt their destruction, but the twins anticipate their designs and transform them into apes. These brothers Hun Batz and Hun Chouen, were the sons of Hunhun Ahpu by Xbakiyalo, and were invoked as the patrons of the fine arts[XI-50]. Brasseur de Bourbourg explains this myth by saying that Hunhun Ahpu denotes the Nahua immigrants who by their superiority gain the women of the country, and whose children carry on a successful struggle with the aboriginal race. The continuance of the contest and the triumph of the Nahuas is described in the adventures of Hun Ahpu and Xbalanque. A rat reveals to them their origin, and the place where the ball-game implements of their father are hidden. They play a match with the Xibalba princes who had challenged their father, and are successful in this as well as several herculean tasks assigned to them, but are nevertheless burned.[XI-51] The ashes, thrown into the water, are transformed into two handsome young men, and then into man-fishes, a reference, perhaps, to the arrival by sea of allies to help them. Again they make their appearance in Xibalba, this time as conjurers, and lay their plans so skillfully as to overthrow the Prince Vukub Cakix with his adherents, and obtain the apotheosis of their father and his adherents as sun, moon, and stars. Vukub Cakix, who represents the sun, may be taken as the representative of an older sun-worship replaced by the newer cult introduced by Hun Ahpu.[XI-52] The burning of this hero agrees with that of the Mexican Nanahuatzin who by this act became a sun. In fact, Brasseur de Bourbourg considers the whole as a version of the Nahua myth. From another point of view Hun Ahpu, whose name, signifying 'sarbacan-blower or air-shooter,' suits the attribute of the air-god, may be considered as the morning wind dispersing the clouds and disclosing the splendors of the sun.[XI-53]
In the Quatre Lettres, the Abbé takes another view of the myth, and sees in it but a version of the convulsions that take place in the Antilles, the Seven Grottos of the Mexican myth, of which I have spoken in a preceding chapter. Hunhun Ahpu, Vukub Hun Ahpu, and the two legitimate sons of the former are volcanoes, and their plays, death, and transformation, are earthquakes, extinction, and upheavals. The burning of Hun Ahpu and Xbalanque and the scattering of their ashes upon the waters is the final catastrophe, the sinking of the Atlantides, or the seven islands; and as the brothers rise again in the form of beautiful young men, so do new islands take the place of those destroyed. The confirmation of this he finds in a tradition current on the islands, which speaks of certain upheavals similar to the above.[XI-54]