regarding the Indies, and which until now has not been found in any
other part of them. As this kingdom, on account of its close proximity
to it, comes within the jurisdiction of my bishopric of Chiapa, on one
of my visits I disembarked and remained at a very healthy port. I met
there a clergyman, good, so it seemed, of mature age and honest, and
[one] who knew the language of the natives from having lived there
several years. As it was necessary for me to return to my episcopal
residence, I nominated him as my vicar, and ordered and entreated him
to travel inland and visit the Indians there and preach to them in a
certain way in which I instructed him. After a certain number of months
(I even believe it was one year), he wrote to me that on his trip he had
met a principal lord or chief, and that on inquiring of him concerning
his faith and the ancient belief all over his realm, he answered him
that they knew and believed in God who was in heaven; that that God was
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. That the Father is called by
them _Icona_,[15] and that he had created man and all things. The Son's
name was _Bacab_,[16] who was born from a maiden who had ever remained a
virgin, whose name was _Chibirias_,[17] and who is in heaven with God.
The Holy Ghost they called _Echuac_.[18] They say that _Icona_ means the
great Father. _Bacab_, who is the son, they say killed _Eopuco_,[19] and
flagellated him, crowning him with a crown of thorns, and placed him
with arms extended on a pole, not meaning that he should be nailed to
it, but tied (and in order to show him how, the chief extended his own
arms), where he finally died. He was dead for three days, but on the
third day he returned to life and went up to heaven, and he is there
with his Father. After this immediately came _Echuac_, which is the Holy
Ghost, and he filled the earth with all it needs. When asked what
_Bacab_ or _Bacabab_ meant, he said it meant the son of the great
Father, and that _Echuac_ meant merchant. And very good merchandise did
the Holy Ghost bring to this earth, for he filled men with all their
faculties, and divine and abundant graces. _Chibirias_ means mother of
the Son of the great Father. He added, furthermore, that at a certain
time all men would have to die, but he did not seem to know anything of
the resurrection of the flesh. When asked how they came to know all
these things, the chief replied that the lords taught their sons, and in
this manner it descended from one age to another. They also assert that
in olden times, long ago, there came to the land twenty men (he gave
the names of fifteen of them), but because they were very poorly
written, and furthermore as they do not have great importance for this
report, I do not copy them. Of the five others the vicar says he could
not obtain their names. The principal one was called _Cocolcan_,[20] and
they called this one the God of all kinds of fevers. Two of the others
are the Gods of fish, still another two the Gods of farms and homesteads
[landed properties], still another was the God of Lightning, etc. They
all wore long gowns or mantles, and sandals for their feet. They had
long beards, and wore nothing to cover their heads. These men ordained
that the people should go to confession and should fast, and some people
fasted on Fridays because on that day _Bacab_ had died. The name of this
day (Friday) is _Himis_,[21] and they honor it in their devotion on
account of the death of _Bacab_. The chiefs (caciques) know all the
particulars of those things, but the common people believe only in the
three persons, _Icona_ and _Bacab_ and _Echuac_, and in _Chibirias_,
the mother of _Bacab_, and also [in] the mother of _Chibirias_ called
_Hischen_,[22] whom we consider to have been Saint Ann. All this above
stated is from information I have received in a letter from that
reverend father whose name is Francisco Hernandez, and I still have his
letter among my papers. He also stated that he took the said chief to a
Franciscan friar who lived near there, and that the cacique repeated all
he said before the friar, and they remained both greatly surprised at
it. If all those things just stated are true, it would seem that that
part of the land had been (long ago) informed about our Holy Faith, for
in no other part of the Indies have we ever found such news. It is true
that in Brazil, which belongs to the Portuguese, it was stated that
traces of the wanderings of Saint Thomas the Apostle had been
discovered, but such news could not very well fly over through the air,
and furthermore it is quite certain that the country and kingdom of
Yucatan give us more special and singular cases to ponder over, and of
far greater antiquity, if we think of the great, exquisite, and
admirable way the most ancient buildings are constructed, also of a
certain lettering in queer characters which are not found anywhere else.
Finally these are the secrets which only God knows.
GLOSSARY
_Alux_, _h'lox_, or more fully _h'loxkatob_. According to Brinton
the meaning is "the strong clay images." He writes in his paper,
The Folk-lore of Yucatan, that "the derivation of this word is
from _kat_, which, in the Diccionario Maya-Espanol del Convento
de Motul (MS. of about 1580), is defined as 'la tierra y barro de
las olleras,' but which Perez in his modern Maya dictionary
translates 'ollas o figuras de barro'; _ob_ is the plural
termination; _lox_ is strong, or the strength of anything; _h'_
or _ah_, as it is often written, is the rough breathing which in
Maya indicates the masculine gender."
_Atole._ Nahuan _atolli_, or _atlaolli_. Corn-meal gruel.
_Balam._ Tiger or mountain-lion. The word was applied also to a
class of priests and to kings as a title of distinction.
_Balche._ A fermented liquor made from wild honey and the bark of
a tree.
_Buhul_, _buuhul_. A section of a stick of wood split lengthwise
in the middle.
_Bulihuah._ Tortillas made of corn-meal and beans. From _bul_ or
_buul_, beans; _uah_, tortilla.
_Cacique._ Antillean word meaning a lord or chief.
_Camote._ Nahuan _camotl_, a kind of sweet-potato.
_Canlahuntaz._ Large loaves of native bread. From _canlahun_,
fourteen; _taz_, tiers, or layers.
_Comal._ Nahuan _comalli_, clay griddle.
_Hipil._ Nahuan _huipilli_, a woman's chemise.
_Huahuapach, ua ua pach._ According to Brinton (op. cit.) it
means giant crab.
_Huit_, _uith_. Loin-cloth.
_Jicara._ Nahuan _xicalli_, corrupted into _jicara_, a calabash.
_Kex._ To barter or change; also used as a name for ex votos
placed on altars.
_Kipxosi_, _kipchoh_, _cipchoh_. "A diviner bird among the
Indians."
_Kool._ A dish prepared by cooking corn with chicken.
_Mecapal._ Nahuan _mecapalli_, leathern band used over the
forehead for carrying burdens.
_Mecate._ Nahuan _mecatl_, rope or cord made of maguey fiber.
_Metate._ Nahuan _metatl_, a stone on which corn is ground.
_Milpa._ Nahuan _milli_, cultivated land; _pan_, a postposition.
_Mitote._ Nahuan _mitotli_, a dance.
_Moloch._ Brush-wood or kindling.
_Pahatun_, _pah ah tun_. The four _pa ah tunes_, the lords of
rains, are, according to Brinton, "identical with the winds, and
the four cardinal points from which they blow.... The name
_pahatun_ is of difficult derivation, but it probably means
'stone, or pillar, set up or erected.'"
_Pib._ An underground oven.
_Pochat tancab._ According to the author of this report the
phrase has the same signification as _buhul_: the offering made
to a girl by a prospective bridegroom.
The words seem to be: _poc_, to wash or rub; _hat_, numerical
termination serving to count split-wood; _tancab_, outside the
house, or in the patio.
_Pozole._ Nahuan _pozolatl_, or _pocol atl_, a drink of cooked
corn.
_Saca_, _zaca_. Orgeat of corn; from _za_, corn gruel; _ca_, or
_caa_, duplicative particle.
_Sintun_, _zintun_. A heated stone for heating water for bathing
purposes. From _zin_, to haul, girdle or encircle; _tun_, stone.
_Taukul_, _tunkul_. A wooden drum.
_Tich._ A mass celebrated in planted fields. See Brinton, op.
cit.
_Xache xtabay._ According to the author, the name of a plant. The
first word, _xache_, is evidently _xach_ or _xachah_, to comb.
_Xtabay_ may be _x-_, a prefix, indicating feminine gender;
_tabal_, to deceive.
_Xanleox_, _x'kanleox_. From _x-_, prefix denoting feminine
gender; _kan_, yellow; _lox_, to strike with the closed fist.
Brinton simply gives "yellow goddess" as the equivalent.
_Xbolonthahroch bokolhahoch_, _X bolon thoroch bokol_ (or
_bookol_) _h'otoch_. From _x-_, prefix denoting feminine gender;
_bolon_, nine; _thoroch_, sound of a spindle revolving in its
shaft. Brinton says, "The name therefore signifies 'the female
imp who magnifies the sound of the spindle." _Bokol_ or _bookol_,
to stir; _h_ or _ah_, to indicate the rough breathing which in
Maya denotes the masculine gender.
_Xhantumbu_, _xkantumbub,_ or _xkantun bub_. A small plant used
for medicinal purposes.
_Xtabay._ See etymology under _xache xtabay_.
_Xulab._ Spelled by Sanchez de Aguilar _xubab_. An ant which
attacks beehives.
_Yuncimil_, _Yumcimil_. The God of Death; from _yum_, universal
father or lord; _cimil_, death.
_Zaztun._ A quartz crystal; from _zaz_, clear; _tun_, stone.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1845
BAEZA, BARTOLOME JOSE GRANADO. Los Indios de Yucatan. Informe
dado por el cura de Yaxcaba D. Bartolome del Granado Baeza, en
contestacion al interrogatorio de 36 preguntas, circulado por el
ministerio de Ultramar sobre el manejo, vida y costumbres de los
Indios, que acompano el Illmo. Sr. obispo a la deputacion
provincial. _Registro Yucateco_, Merida, tomo I, pp. 165-178.
This account was written in Yaxcaba, April 1, 1813. It is one
of the principal sources of information used by Brinton in his
paper, The Folk-lore of Yucatan.
G. C. El Indio Yucateco, caracter, costumbres y condicion de los
Indios de Yucatan. _Registro Yucateco_, Merida, tomo I, pp.
291-297.
This report is dated Mexico, December 30, 1843.
1846
CARRILLO, ESTANISLAO. Papeles sueltos de P. Carrillo. Fantasmas.
_Registro Yucateco_, tomo IV, pp. 103-106.
The material in this article was used by Brinton in his paper,
op. cit.
HERNANDEZ, JUAN JOSE. Costumbres de las Indias de Yucatan.
_Registro Yucateco_, Merida, tomo III, pp. 290, 298.
This report is dated Merida, April 24, 1846.
1865
CARRILLO, CRESCENCIO. Estudio historico sobre la raza indigena
de Yucatan. Vera Cruz, 1865, 26 pp.
1882
BANCROFT, HUBERT HOWE. The native races of the Pacific states. 5
volumes, San Francisco.
In the several volumes of this work Bancroft has assembled most
of the early accounts of the manners and customs of the Maya of
Yucatan. He was unaware of the existence of the report by
Mendez which forms the basis of our publication.
1883
BRINTON, DANIEL G. The Folk-lore of Yucatan. _Folk-Lore
Journal_, London, vol. 1, part viii, pp. 1-13.
This study is based largely on the report of Baeza, with
additions from the article of Estanislao Carrillo, and
manuscript notes of several other persons, notably those of
Carl Hermann Berendt.
CARRILLO Y ANCONA, CRESCENCIO. Historia de Welinna. Leyenda
Yucateca. Segunda edicion, Merida, 52 pp.
The first edition was printed in 1862.
1895
BRINTON, DANIEL G. A Primer of Mayan hieroglyphs. _Publications
of the University of Pennsylvania, Series in Philology,
Literature, and Archaeology_, vol. III, no. 2.
1905
REJON GARCIA, MANUEL. Supersticiones y leyendas Mayas. Merida,
1905.
NOTES
[1] For the meaning of this and of other Indian words, consult the
glossary.
[2] _Fotuto_ is a musical instrument used by the Carib Indians and also
by the negroes of the Antilles.
[3] _Luneros_ are Monday-workers.
[4] _Fagina_--_faena_, manual labor.
[5] _Milpa roza_ is, literally, field cleared of underbrush and ready
for planting.
[6] _Milpa cana_, literally cane field.
[7] An _almud_ is a dry measure equivalent to twelve English bushels.
There seems to be an error in the quantity here.
[8] The author here seems to have confused the meaning of the word
_mitote_ (see glossary). In Yucatan the instrument he describes is
called _tunkul_.
[9] The _machete_ is the large knife which the Indian men of Yucatan
invariably carry with them.
[10] The _arroba_ is the Spanish measure of twenty-five pounds.
[11] We have been unable to find the meaning of the word _gueero_.
[12] _Calabaza_ is the Spanish for pumpkin; but the Mexican pumpkin is
different from that raised in our latitudes.
[13] _Jicama_ seems to be a local word not in the dictionary.
[14] _Tzomes_, according to Sanchez de Aguilar, is the name applied to
hairless dogs. The common appellation is _kukbil_, or _kikbil_. _Tzom_
in Maya means a horn, also a proboscis. The word _tzomes_ is close to
_tzimin_, pl. _tzimines_, the name of the tapir, which has an elongate
snout. Alonzo Ponce who was in Yucatan in 1588, speaks of tapirs being
called by the natives _tzimines_, and further states that they call
horses by the same name, a definition to be found in the Maya dictionary
of Pio Perez.
[15] The names to which we call attention in notes 15 to 22 represent,
with a single exception, in misspelled form, well-known Mayan deities.
It is interesting to note the early influence of the Spaniards on the
religious beliefs of the Maya, as evidenced by the interpretation given
to Father Hernandez by the old cacique. There is a curious mixture of
old and new in the account. Dr Seler has identified the various deities
spoken of, and a description of their attributes will be found in
Brinton's Primer of Mayan Hieroglyphs. Icona is _Itzamna_, chief of the
beneficent gods, the personification of the East. According to Brinton
the name means "the dew or moisture of the morning." Brinton writes, "He
was said to have been the creator of men, animals, and plants, and was
the founder of the culture of the Mayas. He was the first priest of
their religion, and invented writing and books."
[16] According to Brinton the _Bacabs_, or _Chacs_, were the offspring
of _Itzamna_ and his consort _Ix-Chel_ (spoken of by the cacique as
_Hischen_).
[17] _Chibirias_ is identified by Seler as _Ix-chebel-yax_, who,
according to Brinton, was "the inventress of painting and of colored
designs on woven stuffs."
[18] _Echuac_ is _Ek Chua_, said by Landa to be the god of the cacao
planters, hence, as cacao-beans were the medium of exchange, the god of
merchants, as here related. It is difficult to understand the confusion
by which this god has been interwoven in Christian beliefs as the Holy
Ghost.
[19] _Eopuco_ has been interpreted by Seler as_ Ah uoh puc_, or
_Ah-puch_, the God of Death, or God of Evil. Brinton believes that
"these words mean the Undoer, or Spoiler, apparently a euphemism to
avoid pronouncing a name of evil omen." In modern Maya he is plain _Yum
cimil_, lord of death.
[20] _Cocolcan_ is _Cuculcan_, or _Kukulcan_, the same as the Nahuan
_Quetzalcoatl_. _Kukulcan_ was the feathered or winged serpent god, a
deity of culture and kindliness.
[21] _Himis_ is _Imix_, the name of the first day of the twenty-day
month of the Maya calendar.
[22] _Hischen_ is _Ix-Chel_, the consort of _Itzamna_. Brinton states
that the word means "rainbow," and that the goddess was also known as
_Ix Kan Leom_, "the spider-web" which catches the dew of the morning.
Her children, according to Brinton, the _Bacabs_ or _Chacs_ were "four
mighty brethren, who were the gods of the four cardinal points, of the
winds which blow from them, of the rains these bring, of the thunder and
the lightning, and consequently of agriculture, the harvests, and food
supply. Their position in the ritual was of the first importance. To
each were assigned a particular color and a certain year and day in the
calendar."