[1] E. G. Squier, _The States of Central America_, p. 317 (London,
1858).
[2] The conquest of Nicaragua is described by Oviedo, _Historia
General de las Indias_, Lib. XXIX, cap. XXI, and Herrera, _Decadas
de Indias_, Dec. III, Lib. IV, and see Dec. IV, Lib. VIII, cap. X.
[3] "_Nicaragua_ es lo mismo que _Nica anahuac_, aqui estan los
Mexicanos ò Anahuacos." Fray Francisco Vasquez, _Cronica de la
Provincia de Guatemala_, Parte II, Lib. V, cap. I (Guatemala, 1716).
The form _Nicarao_, adopted by Dr. Berendt, is certainly corrupt, as
the termination of a proper name in _ao_ is not found in correct
Nahuatl. Squier's term _Niquirans_ was adopted by him from a
misreading of Oviedo, and has no authority whatever; so, also, his
attempted discrimination between Chorotegans and Cholotecans, as
both these are forms of the same word.
[4] "The hypothesis of a migration from Nicaragua and Cuscatlan to
Anahuac is altogether more consonant with probabilities, and with
traditions, than that which derives the Mexicans from the
north."--E. G. Squier. _Notes on Central America_, p. 349. It is
difficult to understand how Mr. Squier could make this statement in
the face of the words of Herrera and so many other writers.
[5] "La Gente de esta tierra decia, que havia descendido de la
Mexicana; su Trage, i Lengua, era casi, como el de Mexico."--Herrera,
Decada III, Lib. V, Cap. XII. "Dicèn, que huvo en los tiempos
antiguos, en Nueva España una gran Seca, por lo qúal se fueron por
aquella Mar Austral à poblar à Nicaragua."--Id. Dec. III, Lib. IV,
cap. VII. Torquemada, specifically quoting the traditions obtained
from the oldest natives, states that the Nicaraguans came from
Anahuac at no remote epoch.--_Monarquia Indiana_, Lib. III, cap. XL.
See, also, Gomara, _Hist. de las Indias_, cap. 206.
[6] Prof. Buschmann, who obtained these names in a garbled form from
Ternaux-Compans' translation of Oviedo, gave them up as insoluble,
while recognizing their value as indicating the wanderings of the
Nicaraguans. "Unglücklicherweise," he says, "sind jene zwei Namen
von so ungünstigem Gehalte, das ich nichts aus ihnen hervorlocken
kann."--_Ueber die Aztekischen Ortsnamen_, p. 768 (Berlin, 1852).
[7] The careless statement of the historian Herrera, that it was
only the Chorotegans who had such books, can be corrected from his
own volumes, and also from the explicit words of Oviedo and Gomara.
Compare Herrera, Dec. III, Lib. IV, cap. VII, with Oviedo, _Hist. de
las Indias_, Lib. XLII, cap. I, and Gomara, _Hist. de las Indias_,
cap. 202.
[8] The word _mánkeme_ is a derivative from _[chi]imá_, the head,
whence the Chapanec _d[chi]ämä_, the ruler or head man, and
_mand[chi]ämä_, master, chief, in which word _ma_ is a possessive
prefix, and _n_ a particle, sometimes relative, sometimes euphonic,
of exceedingly frequent use in this tongue. It may be compared to
the Nahuatl _in_.
[9] This latter, or a portion of them, inhabiting a hilly country
south of Masaya, were called _Dirians_, from the Mangue word
_diri_=, a hill, a name which has improperly been extended to the
whole tribe.
[10] The "compulsive" form of the verb _choloa_, to run away, is
_chololtia_, to cause to run away, to drive out. No doubt the name
of Cholula (Cholollan) in Mexico is of the same derivation, but it
arose from a different, though similar, historical event.
[11] Torquemada appears to have been the first to make this guess;
and it has recently been advocated by Dr. Valentini, _The Olmecas
and the Tultecas_, p. 20 (Worcester, 1883), and was also sanctioned
by Dr. Berendt.
[12] In a note to his translation of Oviedo's _Nicaragua_.
[13] The proper spelling is "Chapanec." It is not an Aztec word, but
from the Mangue tongue, in which _Chapa_ means the ara, or red
macaw, their sacred bird. The name was derived from that of the
lofty peak on which their principal town in Chiapas was
situated--_chapa niiu_, the ara of fire.
[14] In Mr. Bancroft's _Native Races of the Pacific States_, Vol. V,
p. 659.
[15] The contrary of this has been very positively stated by Dr.
Valentini (_ubi supra_). The only evidence he brings forward is the
word _calachuni_, for chieftain, applied by Gil Gonzalez to one of
the rulers in Nicaragua. This is, no doubt, the Maya _halach uinic_,
holy man, but Gonzalez wrote in 1522, and this word was adopted by
the Spaniards in 1518, during Grijalva's expedition to Yucatan, as
the accounts show, and was promiscuously applied, just as _cacique_,
_canoe_, etc., from the Haytian dialect. A careful analysis of all
the native words in Oviedo's account of Nicaragua does not show a
single Maya affinity.
[16] The chief asked Gonzalez if, at the end of the world, the earth
would be overturned, or would the sky fall? How large are the stars,
why they move, and what keeps them in their courses? When, and how
do the sun and moon change their brightness? Why is the night dark
and the winter cold, since light and warmth are so much better?
(Herrera, Decad. III, Lib. IV, cap. V.)
[17] The leading authorities on the antiquities of Nicaragua are E.
G. Squier, _Nicaragua, Its People, Scenery and Monuments_, together
with his numerous other works pertaining to Central America; and the
reports of Dr. Earl Flint and Dr. J. F. Bransford, to the
Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Habel and Dr. Berendt also made
numerous investigations, but their reports have not appeared in
adequate detail.
[18] See his essay, _Remarks on the Centres of Ancient American
Civilization in Central America, and their Geographical
Distribution, in the Bulletin of the American Geog. Soc. No. 2,
1876._
[19] _Historia General de las Indias_, Lib. XLII, cap. V.
[20] The older writers have left scant information about these
idioms. Oviedo preserved thirty or forty Nahuatl words, most of
which have been analyzed by Buschman; and Benzoni, in a brief
passage, notes the identity of the Nicaraguan and Mexican. "Chiamano
li Signori Tutruane, il pane tascal, and le galline totoli, and
occomaia tanto vuol dire como aspetta un poco e al infirmita
mococoua and al ballare mitote." _La Historia del Mondo Nuovo_, p.
103. It is said that a _Doctrina_ was printed in the Mangue; but the
only work on that tongue I know of is the _Apuntamientos de la
Lengua Mangue_, by Don Juan Eligio de la Rocha (MS. Masaya, 1842) a
fragment of which is in my possession.
Dr. S. Habel, who visited Nicaragua in 1865, in spite of the
greatest efforts, was unable to find a single person speaking
Nahuatl; they told him it was all forgotten.--_Archæological and
Ethnological Investigations in Central and South America_, p. 24
(Washington, 1878).
[21] The superior position of the Nahuatl among the Nicaraguan
languages was noted by Benzoni, in his visit to that country, as
early as about 1550. He observes: "Parlano in Nicaragua quatro
lenguaggi, pero la meglio è la Messicana, laquale si stende piu di
mille e cinquecento miglia di paese and è la piu facile da
imparare."--_Istoria del Nuovo Mondo_, p. 103 (Venetia, 1565).
[22] "Una mezcla de Castellano y Mexicano, que ni en uno ni en otro
idioma se entiende."--_Compendio del Arte de la Lengua Mexicana_,
pp. 93, 202.
[23] Speaking of the natives of Nicaragua and Honduras, Father
Francisco Vasquez says: "Muchos de aquellos Indios por la
comunicacion que tienen con gente ladina de las estancias vecinas
alcanzan mucho de la lengua Castellana."--_Historia de la Provincia
de Guatemala._ Parte II, Lib. V, Trat. I, Cap. 1 (Guatemala, 1716).
[24] This verse is from a song by Dr. Gollena, a highly appreciated
poet of Guatemala, who has written, but I believe never published,
some poems in the Nicaraguan dialect.
[25] Oviedo, _Historia General de las Indias_, Lib. XLII, cap. XI.
Precisely this baile, or one altogether like it, is described by
Diego Duran as common in Mexico in his day (about 1580). He writes:
"Tambien usaban bailar al rededor de un volador alto vistiendose
como pájaros y otras veces como monas volaban de lo alto de el
dejandose venir por unas cuerdas que en la punta de este palo estan
arolladas, desliándose poco à poco por un bastidor que tiene
arriba," etc.--_Historia de las Indias de Nueva España._ Tomo II, p.
232 (Mexico, 1880).
[26] _Historia del Nuovo Mondo_, fol. 103 (Venetia, 1565). Benzoni
gives a wood cut exhibiting the dances, but it is not instructive.
Another traveler, François Coreal, claimed to have visited Nicaragua
about 1680, and also describes the native dances, but in words so
similar to Benzoni that it is an evident plagiarism.--_Relation des
Voyages de François Coreal aux Indes Occidentales_, Tome I, p. 88
(Amsterdam, 1722).
[27] Thomas Gage, _A New Survey of the West Indies_, p. 234 (4th Ed.
London, 1699).
[28] Letter to the London _Athæneum_, 1856, p. 1537. Oviedo also
states that the songs sung at certain _bailes_ were of an historical
character, intended to recall the important incidents in personal
and tribal history, "que les quedan en lugar de historia é memoria
de las cosas pasadas."--_Historia General de las Indias_, Lib. XLII,
cap. XI.
[29] "Hay santos à quienes se hace el voto, en caso de enfermedad ú
de desgracia de ir á _bailar_ ante su imagen, en tal pueblo, el dia
de su fiesta, cuando le sacan procesionalmente."--Pablo Levy, _Notas
Geograficas y Económicas sobre la Republica de Nicaragua_, p. 281
(Paris, 1873).
[30] "Welligt blijkt de geesteloosheid dezer menschen nit niets zoo
zeer als uit hunne dansen, een vermaak, hetwelk trouwens vrij
zeldzaam onder hen is. Bij het eentoonige geluid van een paar
fluiten, en het kloppen op een hol blok hout, draaijen mannen en
vrouwen afzonderlijk, langzaam en bedaard, in alle rigtingen herom,
en schijnen veeleer diepe treurigheid dan vreugde aan den dag te
leggen."--J. Haefkens, _Centraal Amerika_, p. 407 (Dordrecht, 1832).
[31] Such dances are the "bailes usados en el populacho, y que estan
muy lejos de brillar por su desencia," referred to by Don Pablo
Levy, _Notas_, etc., _sobre Nicaragua_, p. 294.
[32] The word _Loga_ is, I have no doubt, a corruption of the
Spanish _loa_. The _loas_ in Spain were at first rhymed prologues to
the plays, but later took a more dramatic form and "differed little
from the farces that followed them." See George Ticknor, _History of
Spanish Literature_, vol. ii, pp. 527-529 (5th edition).
[33] "_Mosote._ Un casco ô gorra de cabuya teñida negra, con cola à
trensa, usada en el baile de los _Chinegritos_."--Berendt, MSS.
[34] "_Guaca._ Montecillo de sepultura de los inhabitantes antiguos.
Cueva; madriguera de animales. Hoyo subteraneo para madurar ô
guardar frutas y verduras."--Berendt, MSS.
[35] _Nicaragua, Its People, Scenery and Monuments_, Vol. I, p. 340.
[36] _Narrative of Incidents on a Journey in Mexico, Guatemala and
San Salvador_, pp. 384-6 (London, 1858). The Smithsonian Institution
contains a good specimen of the Marimba.
[37] Arthur Morelet, _Voyage dans l'Amerique Centrale_, Tome II, pp.
42, 43 (Paris, 1857).
[38] _Archæological Researches in Nicaragua_, p. 75 (Washington,
1881).
[39] The most satisfactory discussion of native music is that by
Theodore Baker, _Ueber die Musik der Nord Amerikanischen Wilden_
(Leipzig, 1882). Mr. Edwin A. Barber has also contributed some
valuable articles on the subject.
[40] _The American Naturalist_, February, 1883.
[41] _Voyage dans l'Amerique Centrale_, Tom. II, p. 44.
[42] So little is understood about the system of the _cofradias_,
and the point is one of so much importance in the study of the
organization of Spanish ecclesiasticism in America, that it is worth
while to explain it. They are created by the priest of a parish, in
such number as he sees fit, and each bears the name of a saint or
religious occurrence. Each should have, of male members, a major
domo, a steward (_prioste_), and four or more appointees
(_diputados_). They attend the priest, serve in the church, aid in
the offices of religion, have a monthly mass, act as choristers,
etc., at fixed periods. Of female members there should be the
patroness (_patrona_ or _capitana_), and the _alguazila mayor_, each
of whom should have two special attendants, and there should be
other members. Their duties are to sweep the church, deck it with
flowers when necessary, and aid the male members in their duty. Each
_cofradia_ should have its strong box and financial resources,
independently, and the major domo is expected to keep a book
accounting for the funds. I have in my possession such a volume, in
the Chapanec language, the _Libro de Cuentas de la Cofradia del
Rosario_, 1796.
From ten to fifty cofradias were formerly attached to one church,
but the modern curas complain that they can no longer be kept up.
"Es verdad," exclaims the worthy presbyter Navarro, "que los Sres.
Curas, mis antecessores, y yo, hemos procurado organizarlas de
nuevo, pero es moralmente impossible."--_Memoria de la Parroquia de
Villa Nueva_, p. 18. (Guatemala, 1868).
[43] See, for example, the _Rabinal-Achi, ou le Drame-Ballet du
Tun_, in Kiche, published by the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg, and the
translation of the song of the Uluas of Nicaragua given by Pablo
Levy.--_Notas sobre la Republica de Nicaragua_, p. 307 (Paris,
1873).
[44] "Il y en a qui font les sourds, d'autres les aveugles.
Ils rient, ils crient, et font en un mot toute sorte de
singeries."--_Voyages de François Coreal aux Indes Occidentales
depuis 1666 jusqu'en 1697._ Tom. I, p. 88 (Amsterdam, 1722).
Borrowed, probably, from Benzoni, who says the same.
[45] "Habia un baile y canto de truhanes en el cual introducian un
bobo que fingia entender al reves lo que su amo le mandaba,
trastocandole las palabras."--P. F. Diego Duran, _Historia de las
Indias de la Nueva España_, Tomo II, p. 231 (Mexico, 1880).
[46] As Mr. George Ticknor very pointedly says, in speaking of the
Spanish drama:--"Above all, it was necessary that it should be
Spanish; and therefore, though its subject be Greek or Roman,
Oriental or mythological, the characters represented were always
Castilian, and Castilian after the fashion of the seventeenth
century,--governed by Castilian notions of gallantry, and the
Castilian point of honor."--_History of Spanish Literature_, vol II,
p. 539 (5th edition).
[47] Speaking of the comedy, he says:--"Ihr wahrer allgemeiner
Nutzen liegt in dem Lachen selbst, in der Uebung unserer
Fähigkeit das Lächerliche zu bemerken; es unter allen Bemäntelungen
der Leidenschaft und der Mode, es in allen Vermischungen
mit noch schlimmern oder mit guten Eigenschaften, sogar in den
Runzeln des feierlichen Ernstes, leicht und geschwind zu
bemerken."--_Hamburgische Dramaturgie_, 29 Stück.
[48] _Tlatoani_ means, literally, "the speaker," from _tlatoa_, to
speak, to ask, but it is translated by the Spanish lexicographers
"gran señor." The chiefs were probably so called, from their right
of speech in the assemblies. Benzoni gives something like this as
the title of the Nicaraguan chiefs. "Chiamano li Signori Tutruane,"
which I suspect is a misprint for _Tattruani_.--_Istoria del Mondo
Nuovo_, p. 103 (Venetia, 1565).
[49] Icazbalceta's discussion of the name may be found in his notes
to the _Diálogos de Francisco Cervantes Salazar_, p. 181 (Mexico,
1875). Malinalli is the twelfth day of the Mexican month. According
to Duran, the word means underbrush (_matorral_), and the prognostic
was, that those born on that day should have an annual attack of
sickness, like this underbrush, which dries up, or loses its leaves
yearly.--_Historia de la Nueva España_, Tomo II, p. 261 (Mexico,
1880).
[50] See the rare work of Fray Joan Baptista (often spelled
Bautista). _Advertencias para los Confessores de los Naturales_,
vols. 107, 108 (Mexico, en el Convento de Sanctiago Tlatilulco, año
1600).