Camping on the plains. — A night amongst the hills in Chiapas. —
Lopez. — Indian Sun worship. — Ocosingo. — An ancient idol. —
Proposed expedition through the unknown region occupied by the
Lacandones to British Honduras. — Bachajon. — Tzendal Indians. —
Chilon. — Indian Carnival. — Yajalon. — Carnival amongst the
Tzendales. — Drunkenness. — Dances. — Horse races. — Ruined
Churches and Convents. — Influence of the Priests over the
Indian Tribes. — Las Casas. — Forced labour. — The Presbitero
Fernando Macal.
It was a fine February morning when we left Comitan. An Indian named
Lopez was hired to guide me as far as Ocosingo, three days’ journey
distant. No trustworthy man could be found who was acquainted with the
country beyond that place. With regard to the subject of safety and
fidelity, it was arranged that Lopez should receive half his wages in
advance and the remainder upon his return. The money was deposited
with my friend who engaged him. Lopez was also to bring back a letter
from me to the effect that he had performed his duty, and that I
was satisfied with his conduct. These measures of precaution were
considered to be advisable.
After a long day’s ride we reached a place where we decided to pass the
night. It was upon an open plain where we saw some muleteers encamped.
As there were no trees upon which to hang the hammock, it was necessary
to sleep on the ground. There was a heavy mist and everything was very
damp. We noticed that the muleteers had taken off the halters from
their mules and tied them together and placed the long rope thus made
in a circle, within which they were sleeping. Lopez said that I must
follow the same plan, which he explained to be a method employed to
prevent serpents from crawling near them, the rough fibrous nature of
the halter being so disagreeable to them that they would not pass over
it. Consequently I was encircled in this manner and with a saddle for
a pillow, endeavoured to get rest, but the thick mist was the cause of
much discomfort. Lopez passed the time on guard, watching the mule.
The next day as early as possible we continued our journey. After
passing a few huts called Jotána, we entered upon a wide expanse of
undulating land well studded with trees. Here we met some Mexicans
travelling on their way from their hacienda or farm. They were men,
women, boys and girls, all bright and gay, riding horses and mules,
galloping over the smooth grass land and enjoying the sunny weather.
I took the opportunity of occasionally joining the laughing cheerful
group, and I was sorry when we had to part company and follow different
paths.
In the afternoon we reached a steep, sharp ascent. The track was
difficult to trace, and in several places was almost impassable. Large
masses of stone had fallen over it. There were also numerous deep,
slippery ruts, through which the mule plunged with difficulty. It was
sunset when, after having made our way over several leagues of this
rough ground, we came to an open space, where it was thought expedient
to stop. We found two trees, between which the hammock was secured.
The mule was tethered within reach, and Lopez went to an adjacent wood
and got some twigs and leaves to enable us to make a fire. This was a
work of difficulty requiring great patience; no one but an Indian would
have succeeded. The first supply of fuel, after half an hour’s useless
endeavour, could not be ignited, and Lopez made a second expedition
to find drier materials. Finally, when I thought that it was useless
to continue the attempt, an accidental spark suddenly set fire to a
dry leaf and we were soon sitting round a blazing mass of flame, and
preparing a supper of tortillas and chocolate.
The air was too chilly and damp to permit of our expecting much rest,
and the night was chiefly occupied in attending to the fire, and
in listening to Lopez’s account of his superstitions and religious
beliefs, and those generally held by his tribe. There was something
in Lopez’s character which showed that he was possessed of a kind of
devotional enthusiasm, which made his stories of Indian faiths, past
and present, singularly interesting, because it was evident that he
spoke with earnestness and as a man convinced. Thus the night passed
away, and in the morning as soon the earliest signs of dawn appeared in
the sky, and long before the sun had risen over the hills, we continued
our journey northwards through Chiapas.
In the forenoon we reached the hamlet of San Carlos. I observed that
Lopez went to the rising ground near at hand, and stood for several
moments facing the sun, with the palms of his hands joined together and
raised to the level of his face. He seemed to be muttering a request.
When he returned I asked him what he had been doing. He said that the
Indians of his tribe always thanked the sun in the morning for coming
and giving light, and thus enabling men to work. In the evening they
again thanked the sun for what had been done, and asked it to return
again. They also offered prayers to the moon for the same reason,
because it gave light and helped men to live. The stars they did not
worship.
In answer to questions that I put to him, he said that the Indians
always prayed or made offerings with reference to the world in which
they lived, and for objects relating to themselves and their wants,
and never took into consideration anything regarding a future life.
He thought it was impossible to know if a man was to live again, or
whether he was to be given some other shape or kind of existence.
I told Lopez about the “adoratorio” in the Sierra Madre above
Jacaltenango. He declared that the Indians near Comitan also had a
stone image in a cave amongst the hills. He went there once a year to
light a candle, “la sua candela,” before it, but it was usual amongst
the men of his tribe to go there more frequently. The image was about
two feet six inches in height, and had its arms folded. It was one of
the ancient idols worshipped before the conquest.
From San Carlos there was a ride of six leagues over a less difficult
road, and as we approached Ocosingo we passed through some fine
scenery. The path followed the line of the summit of the hills, and
commanded extensive views of both valleys. At Ocosingo, I called upon
Don Remigio Salorzano, to whom I carried a note of introduction. Don
Remigio told me that the ancient Indian ruins were over a league from
the pueblo, but that there was very little to be seen there.
The temples were almost destroyed, and the materials had been taken
away for building purposes. There were, however, fragments of stones
covered with hieroglyphic characters still remaining there. I went with
him to look at some idols that had been brought from the ruins. One of
these at once arrested my attention. It was made of hard sandstone, and
was about three feet high. The head was broken off, and had been taken
away to prevent the Indians from worshipping it. I at first thought
that the idol must have been made subsequent to the Spanish occupation
of this part of Mexico, for by the costume it seemed to be intended to
represent a Spanish cavalier. In front of the waist belt there was a
small head surmounting a rudely shaped cross.
It appeared as if the native sculptor had wished to make the image
of a knight holding before him a head, such as is not infrequently
seen in early sacred pictures.[76] But although this was the vague
impression made upon the mind by an examination of the front of the
statue, it was evident upon looking at the reverse side that the date
of its sculpture was of a much earlier period, for it was covered
with an upright line of hieroglyphics of the same character as those
carved upon the idols at Copan. I examined with care the details of the
figure, and made sketches of the front and back, as I thought that it
would be useful to preserve a slight memorial of this idol which may
eventually share the fate of many others and be destroyed.
[Illustration: Indian statue. Ocosingo.]
Two larger idols were placed against the wall of the church. These
were also headless. Don Remigio showed me several long stones that
were used for the door steps at the entrance of some of the largest
of the huts occupied by Ladinos and which had been taken from the
ruins. One of these, made of limestone, was covered with deeply carved
hieroglyphics still quite clear and distinct. In front of one of the
dwellings there was a flat stone measuring about three feet square. On
the surface of this stone were two figures. A woman in an imploring
attitude was presenting a cup to a man, who was standing up and bending
forward to receive the offering. The wall of an adjoining house was
partly built with stones also taken from the temples. They had a
perfectly smooth surface and were each about two feet long, one foot
wide and two inches thick. Similar stones were scattered about the
pueblo, and many were used as stepping stones across the stream that
flowed eastwards to join the waters of the river Usamacinta.
The church, from its size and manner of construction, had been
evidently of considerable importance. It was then in ruins and the roof
had fallen. As there were no funds available for its restoration it was
deserted.
The Gefe Politico, who held the appointment in this town and district
of Civil Governor, spoke to me about an expedition that was under
consideration, for constructing a road or mule path to connect this
part of Mexico with the English port of Belize in Honduras. He thought
that if such a road was practicable it would become the principal
line for trade, and the ranges of mountains near Tumbalá would be
avoided. This was to be the primary purpose of the expedition, but
there were other objects which influenced the minds of the inhabitants
of Ocosingo. It was thought that the surveyors might make strange
discoveries in the mysterious and unknown region occupied by the
Lacandon Indians. Possibly amongst the forests in the sierras, temples
and hidden treasures might be found; or perhaps a city where the
ancient ceremonies and sacrifices were still performed.
The Gefe said that a small band of explorers had lately penetrated
a few leagues into the forest, and had seen several circular shaped
huts, but the Indians who lived in them had fled. They found maize and
tomatoes growing upon the open spaces, but they saw no horses, dogs or
other animals. He pointed out to me the hills amongst which the wild
Lacandones lived. It was afterwards suggested that I might take the
post of leader of the proposed expedition.
If I had been quite free, with sufficient time at my disposal, I
should have been much inclined to assist to the best of my power in
the formation of a preliminary surveying party. I thought that a
practicable route would be found to connect Ocosingo with the existing
road leading from Guatemala to Flores, on the lake of Peten, and
thence to Honduras, and that, in this manner, the distance to Belize
would be much shortened. The first portion of the survey would have
to be conducted through a region which is unknown, and possibly many
interesting facts would be ascertained, and perhaps an ancient ruined
temple might be discovered.
Whilst staying at Ocosingo I collected a small vocabulary of the words
of the local dialect. These were nearly the same as those spoken near
Comitan, and I was surprised to find that Lopez could not carry on a
conversation with these men. I asked him how this happened and he said
that the languages (lenguas) were quite different, and that he could
not speak with the Ocosingos. It seems probable that, in the course of
time, the construction of the phrases commonly used, or the manner of
the application of the words must have become changed. Although it is
only three days’ journey between the two tribes, it is evident that
there cannot have been much communication between them for several
centuries.
As Lopez did not know the country beyond Ocosingo, it was settled that
he should return to Comitan. I was sorry to part with him. He had
carried the luggage and provisions, and although a part of the journey
must have been extremely fatiguing to him he never complained. He
also showed the utmost zeal in obtaining forage for the mule, and was
willing and attentive. Don Remigio hired for me a guide named Bito, who
spoke Spanish and knew the paths as far as Chilon, about eleven leagues
distant. Bito brought with him a horse, and thus we were able to travel
at a fair speed. After riding through several leagues of pine forests
we reached Bachajon in the afternoon.
Bachajon was a strictly Indian village, for the natives objected to any
white people or Ladinos settling amongst them. In the Plaza we found
numbers of Indians congregated together. They differed greatly from
those that I had hitherto seen both in appearance and dialect. The
men wore a white cloth folded round the head, and white frocks and
trousers. The women wore a white frock cut open and square over the
shoulders, and below this a blue skirt reaching nearly to the feet.
Their thick black hair was tied back with a strip of bright red cotton.
Many of the younger women were handsome, but their figures were spoilt
and bent by the custom of carrying large water jars on the hip. The men
were of a larger stature than the natives on the Pacific side of the
Cordilleras, and their skin was of a dark copper colour. Their faces
were broad, but the cheek bones were not so high as is usual with the
North American Indians. Their hair was long, black and very thick, and
their eyes were dark, large, round and restless. With all of them the
nostrils were very wide.
The church was in ruins, the roof had entirely disappeared, and only
the porch and outer walls remained standing. I remained for several
hours in the Plaza, and my attention was directed to a remarkable
observance. The Indians, when returning from their fields upon the
completion of their day’s work, invariably, before going to their
huts, went to the front of the ruined porch. There they knelt down
and prayed for some minutes. I was deeply interested in observing the
practice of this custom. There was something that appealed strongly to
the imagination in witnessing the simple and earnest devotion of these
wild, ignorant and uncivilised people. It was impossible to conjecture
what was present in their minds, as one by one they, in their solitary
manner, knelt devoutly before these ruined walls. Possibly they
worshipped in their memory the images that, many years before, had
been enshrined within.
In the evening, as we approached Chilon, we met hundreds of Indians,
men and women, all of whom came forward by the side of my mule, and
inclined their heads saying “Tá” (Padre.) Bito told me that they
supposed that I was a priest, and that they expected me to follow the
custom of the priests and put my hand upon their foreheads. As I did
not wish to sail under false colours, I made an objection to this
proceeding, but Bito said that if I did not do it the Indians would
feel distressed, and would not understand why they were treated in an
unkind manner. He also begged me to do what they wished, or otherwise
some trouble might arise, as many of the men appeared to be in a
half-drunken condition.
At Chilon I was welcomed by the Justicia, to whom I had a letter from
Don Manuel Cansino. The town was in a state of much excitement. It was
the commencement of the Carnival, an event which caused a considerable
degree of anxiety and apprehension in the minds of the officials.
Processions of Indians, dressed in appropriate costumes, were marching
through the town, and groups of wild-looking men were dancing to the
sounds of rudely shaped fifes and hollow wooden drums. In the morning
these Indians, in accordance with their annual custom, performed a
dance before the door of each house. These dancers were supposed to be
dressed like the conquerors. They wore red, slashed doublets, and loose
white trousers. They carried spears or lances with coloured pennons.
The scene was bright, gay and picturesque.
During the day I discharged Bito, and obtained a guide to accompany me
to Yajalon. We arrived there about sunset and the Presbitero Fernando
Macal received me with much kindness and attention. At Yajalon the
Indians had assembled in great numbers and the Carnival was at its
height. Here as at Chilon, the performances chiefly consisted of
processions and dances. There were also horse races in front of the
cabildo, and one of the most curious scenes was the representation of
the Spaniards entering a captured city on horseback. The Indians were
Tzendales of the same race as those at Bachajon and were very wild
looking men. An important part of the festival consisted in eating as
great a quantity of food as possible, and drinking copious draughts of
strong spirits. In the evening there was much drunkenness.
The Carnival lasted for three days, and during that time I had to
remain in Yajalon, as no Indian could be found who would willingly
leave this scene of revelry and excitement. On the second day the
President called upon me at the convent, and informed me that, in
his opinion, it would be highly dangerous for a white man who was a
stranger, to venture out into the open country before the Indians had
recovered from the effects of the carnival, as, in consequence of their
known hatred to all white people, it was impossible to say what might
happen when they were in an excited condition. In anticipation of local
troubles he had organised a small police force which was employed in
patrolling the pueblo day and night, for the purpose of preventing any
quarrels of castes. He had also a company of seventy soldiers prepared
to act in the event of any serious outbreak. As far as I could judge,
the Indians, when in a drunken state, were quiet and inoffensive, but
the President was evidently very anxious about their conduct.
As I had no share in the responsibility for maintaining good order, the
strange life and the sounds of drums and fifes and marimbas afforded
me inexhaustible pleasure and amusement. The pretty dresses of the
women also added much to the charm of the scene. Many of these Tzendal
women were very handsome. Their heads were well set upon finely shaped
throats and shoulders. Their costume consisted of a long white frock
cut open round their neck, and embroidered with red and yellow squares,
which had a pleasing effect of colour. But not only was the festival
attractive from the quaint and novel character of the scene, but it was
also most enjoyable weather. The skies were blue, the sun was bright,
and the surrounding hills and valleys formed an agreeable contrast.
There was perhaps a slight, underlying sense of danger and a doubt as
to what would occur after sunset, and what might be the effect of the
subsequent orgies upon the savage natures of these Indians. Possibly
what began at daylight as a drama might end at night as a tragedy.
The conduct of the timorous half-caste population or Ladinos was
remarkable. They were conscious that they were hated by the Indians,
and consequently they remained within their houses, and kept themselves
out of sight.
The dances and processions are said to have been taught by the Spanish
monks. It is evident that they usually have some connection with the
events of the wars between the Spaniards and the Moors, for the Indians
always speak of these representations under the general name of “los
Moros.” But they are also mixed up with other subjects which, not
improbably, have some relation to events that happened before Cortes
conquered Mexico.
There was a peculiarity in the Indian character which was noticeable in
all their proceedings. This was the absence of all conversation amongst
the numerous spectators. The games, races and processions, the beating
of the wooden drums and the continuous sounds of the marimbas went
on incessantly, but there was no other noise and no murmur of human
voices. The gift of speech with these tribes seems almost unnecessary
for the purposes of their lives, and the language of signs would
possibly be sufficient for their requirements.
The Spaniards in the sixteenth century were astonished by the
extraordinary debauchery of the Indians during their festivals. The
events which occurred upon these occasions, especially in Yucatan,
surprised the soldiers belonging to a nation remarkable for its
sobriety. The Indians in Cuba, Hayti, and the islands of the Caribbean
sea, and those inhabiting Florida, the valley of the Mississippi, and
other parts of North America, had no knowledge of an intoxicating
spirit. The origin of the excessive insobriety amongst the Mexican
Indians is clearly traceable to the indigenous growth of the Maguey
(_Agave Americana_). This aloe grows abundantly in the sterile regions
of Central America, and supplies a fluid which, after undergoing
certain preparations, is highly alcoholic.
At Yajalon, as at Bachajon and Ocosingo, the church was in ruins. There
was nothing left of it except the bare walls, marks of the old altars
and parts of the chancel. Long grass was growing over the ground of
the nave. The convent was also in a ruinous condition and only one
side of the quadrangle remained. The interior was overgrown with weeds
and grass, and was used as a pasture for the horses belonging to the
convent.
The Presbitero was eloquent upon the subject of the wrongs suffered by
the Catholics in Mexico, and he particularly dwelt upon the harm that
had been done to the people in consequence of the decrees which had
nationalised the possessions of the church, suppressed the convents and
abolished all religious fraternities. He thought that the withdrawal
of the monks would have an injurious effect upon the condition of
the Indians, and that they would gradually relapse into a state of
ignorance and barbarism. Thus the system begun by Bishop Las Casas,
and carried on afterwards by monks and priests would come to an end,
and all their efforts to advance and benefit the aboriginal tribes be
rendered useless and vain.
It is difficult at this distance of time to estimate correctly the
value of the work done by Las Casas, and the consequences of the
enactments in favour of the Indians, obtained by his appeals to the
Spanish government. In this diocese of Chiapas his zeal led to the
establishment of numerous churches and convents. Dominicans and
brethren of other orders came over from Europe for the purpose
of living amongst these Indians, converting them, educating them
and forming centres of local civilization. To a certain extent the
ceremonies of the church, and especially the worship of images, seemed
to obtain a powerful hold upon the devotional nature of many of the
tribes, and the monks obtained great influence over them.
Thus far the work begun by Las Casas unquestionably did much good in
this and the adjoining provinces. The exhortations of the principal
authorities of the Church in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
were also beneficial in moderating the hardships inflicted upon the
natives by the Spanish landowners. But in advocating the cause of the
Indians, Las Casas, in the fervour of his zeal, created evils the
effect of which he could not have foreseen. It was in consequence
of the measures adopted through the representations of this ardent
reformer that negro slavery was introduced into America. It was also
chiefly owing to his efforts that consecutive ordinances was decreed,
which, although issued with the intention of putting a stop to the
harsh treatment of the Indians, made it almost impossible to carry on
successfully the government of New Spain. Thus, by the abolition of
forced labour, it was found that there was an immediate danger of the
lands granted to the Spaniards becoming thrown out of cultivation and
their owners ruined. In no part of New Spain was this danger more to be
apprehended than in the neighbourhood of La Antigua Guatemala, and in
the country through which I passed on my way to Santa Cruz del Quiché.
The lands there were fertile and the farms prosperous. The Indians
performed labour upon them under fixed rules which, although strict
and exacting, were not opposed to their previous habits. When these
regulations were withdrawn the Indians ceased to work. Finally protests
were made to the government, and it was pointed out that this usage
of forced labour was not introduced by the Spaniards, but that it had
previously been practically the base of the tribal administration.
There was another usage which was stopped by orders from Spain. This
was the employment of natives as carriers of merchandise. The abolition
of this system was found to be disadvantageous to the prosperity of the
country, and it was submitted to the king that it had always been the
custom amongst the Indians to transport all things by men working as
porters, for before the arrival of the Spaniards there were no horses
or other beasts of burden. The practice of personally carrying heavy
loads still forms part of the habits of all the inferior classes of
Indians in Central America.
The restrictions enforced upon the Spanish landowners did not however
much affect the prosperity of the church, particularly in the more
remote districts, where the priests and friars devoted themselves to
the spiritual welfare and education of the natives. At the convents,
schools were established for boys and, in the chief towns, sisters
belonging to nunneries in Spain, came across the Atlantic to teach
the girls. The monks also endeavoured to arrange that the boys upon
completing their studies, should teach other Indians and thus spread
education amongst them. These exertions which, in their origin,
seemed to promise well were not subsequently attended with success,
and the authority of the brethren declined. Finally the declarations
of Independence, the revolutions, and the establishment of republics,
dealt a fatal blow to all educational work.
Amongst the various consequences of the nationalisation of
ecclesiastical property, it had come to pass that in the country
parishes, there were no funds available for maintaining the churches in
repair, and they were all rapidly falling into ruins. The Presbitero
was convinced, now that the influence of the priests upon the
characters of the tribes was no longer felt, and the church services
were not maintained, that the Indians, especially the Tzendales under
his care, would return to the practice of their ancient idolatries.
Upon a subject so doubtful as the effect of the teaching of the priests
upon the minds of the Indians it is difficult to form an opinion.
In the sixteenth century the Roman Catholic religion appeared to be
willingly accepted by the natives; but several of the priests that I
had met and who discussed this question, were in doubt as to whether
this readiness to conform with the ceremonies had not some vague
connection with some previous religious customs. The influence of
the friars also possibly had some relation to the system of Indian
priesthood before the conquest; for, according to the statements
of the Spaniards, there was a strange and inexplicable coincidence
between certain regulations by which they were bound, and those of the
Franciscans and Dominicans.
It was fortunate that during my detention at Yajalon I was the guest of
a man so well informed and highly educated as the Presbitero Fernando
Macal. It was an exceptional fate for him to be thus placed in that
parish, with its numerous detached hamlets, to perform clerical duties
amongst these intractable tribes. At the convent in the evening, the
Presbitero usually discussed questions of theology, together with his
opinions upon the aboriginal and mixed races in Chiapas. The President
occasionally joined us, but his mind was preoccupied with anxiety about
the maintenance of order. All the time, both day and night, the pueblo
was disturbed by the continuous and monotonous sounds of native music.
On the fourth morning the Carnival was over and a dissipated,
savage-looking Tzendal named Villafranca appeared at the convent
wall, and volunteered to act as my guide to Tumbalá and Palenque.
The necessary arrangements were made to secure the fulfilment of his
duties. The mule was brought out of the quadrangle and we were soon
ready to start. I was warned that the paths over the sierras were in a
bad condition, and that many difficulties would have to be overcome in
passing through the forests.