Chipiripe was recognized, who inhabited the heaven above, whence he
regulated celestial movements; with him lived a beautiful woman with
one child. Nothing else was known respecting this divine family. This
ignorance of the deity was further manifested by the absence of any
form of worship; the moral laws were well defined, however, so that
adultery and even lying were regarded as sinful.[XI-112] Las Casas
states that Chicune, 'the beginning of all,' who lived in heaven, was
the one being to whom the people of Darien addressed their invocations
and sacrifices, though a certain sect, or tribe, among them worshiped
the water. In another chapter he declares that the Isthmians had
little or no religion, for they had no temples and few or no gods or
idols.[XI-113] According to Peter Martyr, the embalmed and bejeweled
bodies of ancestors were worshiped in Comagre, and in Veragua gold was
invested with divine qualities, so that the gathering of it was
attended with fasting and penance.[XI-114] Tuira, whom the Spanish
writers declared to have been the devil himself, was a widely known
being who communed with his servants, _tequina_, 'masters,'[XI-115] in
roofless huts kept for this purpose. Here the tequinas entered at
night, and spoke in different voices, to induce the belief that the
spirits were actually answering their questions; the result of the
interview was communicated to their patrons. At times the evil one
appeared in the guise of a handsome boy without hands[XI-116] and with
three-toed feet, and accompanied the sorcerers upon their expeditions
to work mischief, and supplied them with a protecting ointment. Among
the evil deeds imputed to these sorcerers was that of sucking the
navel of sleeping people until they died.[XI-117] These men naturally
took care to foster ideas that tended to sustain or increase their
influence, and circulated, besides, most extravagant stories of
supernatural events and beings. Once a terrible hurricane, blowing
from the east, devastated the country and brought with it two birds
with maiden faces, one of which was of a size so great that it seized
upon men and carried them off to its mountain nest. No tree could
support it, and where it alighted upon the rocks, the imprint of its
talons were left. The other bird was smaller and supposed to be the
offspring of the first. After trying several plans to kill these
man-eating harpies, they hit upon the device of fixing a large beam in
the ground, near the place where they usually alighted, leaving only
one end exposed, on which was carved the image of a man. With the dawn
of day the larger bird came swooping down upon the decoy and imbedded
its claws so firmly in the beam that it could not withdraw them, and
thus the people were enabled to kill it.[XI-118]
The knowledge that the human mind, no matter how low its condition,
can be capable of such puerile conceptions, must bring with it a sense
of humiliation to the thinking man; and well were it for him could he
comfort himself with the belief that such debasing superstitions were
at least confined to humanity in its first and lowest stages; but this
he cannot do. It is true that the belief of the civilized Aztec was
far higher and nobler than that of the uncivilized Carib, but can he
who has read the evidence upon which old women and young maidens were
convicted of riding upon broomsticks to witches' Sabbaths, by the most
learned judges of the most learned law-courts of modern Europe, deny
that the coarsest superstition and the highest civilization have
hitherto gone hand in hand.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: PHALLIC WORSHIP.]
Before leaving this division it will be well to say a few words
concerning the existence of Phallic Worship in America.
One of the first problems of the primitive man is creation. If
analogies lead him to conceive it as allied to a birth, and the joint
result of some unknown male and female energy, then the symbolization
of this power is liable to take the gross form of phallic worship.
Thus it is that among the earliest nations of which we possess any
knowledge, the life-giving and vivifying principle of nature has been
always symbolized by the human organs of generation. The Lingham of
India, the Phallus of Greece, the Priapus of Rome, the Baal-Peor of
the Hebrew records, and the Peor-Apis of Egypt, all have plainly the
same significance. In most mythologies the sun, the principle of fire,
the moon, and the earth, were connected with this belief; the sun and
moon as the celestial emblems of the generative and productive powers
of nature, fire and the earth as the terrestrial emblems. These were
the Father and the Mother, and their most obvious symbols, as already
stated, were the phallus and wares, or the Skuas and yoni of
Hindustan.
It is unnecessary to multiply quotations respecting the basal though
often veiled idea of One, underlying the polytheistic systems. The
difficulty to the human mind of considering anything in another than
human aspect, and our natural delight in analogies, leads, however, in
many cases to the consideration in certain aspects of this deity as a
duality or joint essence of the masculine and the feminine. Take the
learned Cory's summary of ancient mythology: "It recognizes, as the
primary elements of all things, two independent principles, of the
nature of male and female; and these, in mystic union, as the soul and
body, constitute the Great Hermaphrodite Deity, The One, the universe
itself, consisting still of the two separate elements of its
composition, modified though combined in one individual.... If we
investigate the Pantheons of the ancient nations, we shall find that
each, notwithstanding the variety of names, acknowledged the same
deities and the same system of Theology; and, however humble any of
the deities may appear, each who has any claim to antiquity will be
found ultimately, if not immediately, resolvable into one or other of
the Primeval Principles, the Great God and Goddess of the
Gentiles."[XI-119]
[Sidenote: RATIONALE OF PHALLIC WORSHIP.]
To the moral ideal of the present age, an ideal derived from acquired
habit, not from nature, phallic worship will doubtless appear
repulsive and indelicate in the extreme. It was, nevertheless, the
most natural form of worship that the primitive man could adopt; for
him the symbol had no impure meaning, and was associated with none of
the disgusting excesses by means of which, as he became more
sophisticated, he converted his reverence of Nature into a worship of
Lust.
What could be more natural than that he should symbolize the
fecundating principle, the creative power, by the immediate cause of
reproduction, or as he doubtless took it, of creation, the phallus. He
recognized no impurity or licentiousness in the moderate and regular
gratification of any natural appetite; nor did it seem to him that the
organs of one species of enjoyment were naturally to be considered as
subjects of shame and concealment more than those of another. As Payne
Knight remarks of the ancient nations of the old world: "In an age,
therefore, when no prejudices of artificial decency existed, what more
just and natural image could they find, by which to express their idea
of the beneficent power of the great Creator than that organ which
endowed them with the power of procreation, and made them partakers,
not only of the felicity of the Deity, but of his great characteristic
attribute, that of multiplying his own image, communicating his
blessings, and extending them to the generations yet unborn." Nothing
natural was to them offensively obscene. When the Egyptian matrons
touched the phallus they did so with the pure wish of obtaining
offspring. The gold lingam on the neck of the Hindoo wives was not an
object of shame to them.
[Sidenote: RELICS OF PHALLIC WORSHIP.]
That the worship of the reciprocal principles of nature was recognized
and practiced in America, there is in my mind no doubt. The almost
universal prevalence of sun-worship, which is, as I have already
intimated, closely connected with phallic rites, would alone go far
to prove this, but an account of certain material relics and well
known customs is still more satisfactory evidence.
In Yucatan, according to Stephens, "the ornaments upon the external
cornice of several large buildings actually consisted of _membra
conjuncta in coitu_, too plainly sculptured to be misunderstood. And,
if this were not sufficient testimony, more was found in the isolated
and scattered representations of the _membrum virile_, so accurate
that even the Indians recognised the object, and invited the attention
of Mr Catherwood to the originals of some of his drawings as yet
unpublished."
The sculptured pillars to be seen at Copan and other ruins in Central
America, which are acknowledged to be connected with sun worship, are
very similar to the sculptured phallus-pillars of the East.[XI-120] Mr
Squier is of the opinion that they may be considered as such, and the
Abbé Brasseur takes the same view in making the plain cylindrical
pillar found in so many places the representation of the volcano, the
goddess of love, and whence it issues as the symbol of new life. On
another page he terms the phallus the Crescent, the land whence the
Nahuas originated, and the continent of America the body.[XI-121] Some of
the pillars appear without ornament, as the _picote_ at Uxmal, a round
stone of irregular form, which stood in front of one of the ruins, but
the worshipers of Priapus at Thespia and other places were content
with a rude stone for an image in early times. In Mexico according to
Gama, the presiding god of spring, Xopancalehuey Tlalloc, was often
represented without a human body, having instead a pilaster or square
column, upon a pedestal covered with various sculptured designs.[XI-122]
In Pánuco images of the generative organs were kept in the temples as
objects of worship, and statues representing men and women performing
the sexual act in various postures stood in the temple-courts.[XI-123]
Near Laguna de Terminos, on the coast of Yucatan, Grijalva found
images of men committing acts of indescribable beastliness, while
close by lay the bodies of victims recently sacrificed in their
honor.[XI-124] The united symbols of the sexual organs were publicly
worshiped in Tlascala, and in the month of Quecholli a grand festival
was held in honor of Xochiquetzal, Xochitecatl, and Tlazolteotl,
goddesses of sensual delights, when the prostitutes and young men
addicted to sodomy were allowed to solicit custom on the public
streets.[XI-125] On Zapatero Island, around Lake Nicaragua, and in Costa
Rica, a number of idols have been found of which the disproportionately
large _membrum generationis virile in erectione_ was the most
prominent feature. Palacio relates that at Cezori, in Honduras, the
natives offered blood drawn from the organs of generation and
circumcised boys before an idol called Icelaca, which was simply a
round stone,[XI-126] with two faces and a number of eyes, and was
supposed to know all things, past, present, and future.[XI-127] The
frequent occurrence of the cross, which has served in so many and such
widely separated parts of the earth as the symbol of the life-giving,
creative, and fertilizing principle in nature, is, perhaps, one of the
most striking evidences of the former recognition of the reciprocal
principles of nature by the Americans; especially when we remember
that the Mexican name for the emblem, tonacaquahuitl, signifies 'tree
of one life, or flesh.'[XI-128] Of two terra-cotta relics found at
Ococingo, in the state of Chiapas, one would certainly attract the
attention of any one who had investigated the subject of phallic
worship or had seen the phallic amulets and ornaments of the old
world.[XI-129] In the Museum at Mexico are two small images which were
evidently used as ornaments. Each of these represents a human figure
in a crouching posture, clasping with both hands an enormous phallus.
Col. Brantz Mayer kindly showed me drawings of these made by himself.
One of these figures is reproduced in another volume of this work.
[Sidenote: PHALLIC RITES.]
The Pipiles abstained from their wives for four days previous to
sowing, in order to indulge in the marital act to the fullest extent
on the eve of that day, evidently with a view to initiate or urge the
fecundating powers of nature. It is even said that certain persons
were appointed to perform the sexual act at the moment of planting the
first seed. During the bitter cold nights of the Hyperborean winter,
the Aleuts, both men and women, joined hands in the open air and
whirled perfectly naked round certain idols, lighted only by the pale
moon. The spirit was supposed to hallow the dance with his presence.
There certainly could have been no licentious element in this
ceremony, for setting aside the discomfort of dancing naked with the
thermometer at zero, we read that the dancers were blindfolded, and
that decorum was strictly enforced. In Nicaragua, maize sprinkled with
blood drawn from the genitals was regarded as sacred food.[XI-130] The
custom of drawing blood from this part of the body was observed as a
religious rite by almost every tribe from Mexico to Panamá, though
this, of course, does not prove that it was in all cases connected
with phallic worship. Circumcision is regarded by Squier as a phallic
rite, but there is not sufficient testimony to support this view.
Tezcatlipoca, the chief god of the Nahuas, who has been frequently
identified with the sun, was adored as a love-god, according to
Boturini, who adds that the Nahua Lotharios held disorderly festivals
in his honor, to induce him to favor their designs.[XI-131] Orgies,
characterized by the grossest licentiousness are met with at different
places along the coast, as among the Nootkas, the Upper and Lower
Californians, in Sinaloa, Nicaragua, and especially in Yucatan, where
every festival ended in a debauch. During a certain annual festival
held in Nicaragua, women, of whatever condition, could abandon
themselves to the embrace of whomever they pleased, without incurring
any disgrace.[XI-132]
The feast of the Mexican month Xocotlhuetzin, 'fall, or maturity of
fruit,' is to me a most striking evidence of the former existence of
phallic worship, or at least recognition of the fecundating principle
in nature. I will, however, leave the reader to draw his own
conclusions. This feast of the 'maturity of fruit' was dedicated to
Xiuhtecutli, god of fire, and, therefore, of fertility, or fecundity.
The principal feature of the feast was a tall, straight tree, which
was stripped of all its branches except those close to the top and
set up in the court of the temple. Within a few feet of its top a
cross-yard thirty feet long was fastened; thus a perfect cross was
formed. Above all, a dough image of the god of fire curiously dressed
was fixed. After certain horrible sacrifices had been made to the
deity of the day, the people assembled about the pole, and the youth
scrambled up for the image, which they broke in pieces and scattered
upon the ground.[XI-133] A great number of similar analogies may be
detected in the rites and customs of the people, and it is almost
reluctantly that I refrain from giving my views in full. I have made
it my aim, however, to deal with facts, and leave speculation to
others. Those who wish to thoroughly investigate this most interesting
subject, cannot do better than study Mr Squier's learned and
exhaustive treatise on the Serpent Symbol.
FOOTNOTES:
[XI-1] 'Toda esta Tierra, con estotra, ... tenia vna misma manera de
religion, y ritos, y si en algo diferenciaba, era, en mui poco.' 'Lo
mismo fue de las Provincias de Quatimala, Nicaragua, y Honduras.'
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 54, 191. Tylor thinks that
'the civilizations of Mexico and Central America were originally
independent, but that they came much in contact, and thus modified one
another to no small extent.' _Anahuac_, p. 191. 'On reconnaît
facilement que le culte y était partout basé sur le rituel toltèque,
et que les formes mêmes ne différaient guère les unes des autres.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 559.
[XI-2] Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 42, calls
him the sun.
[XI-3] Representations of the sun, with whom he seems to be identified,
are not impossible to these peoples if we may judge from the
sun-plates with lapping tongues and other representations found on the
ruins in Mexico and Central America.
[XI-4] 'Porque à este le llamaban tambien Ytzamnà.' _Cogolludo_, _Hist.
Yuc._, pp. 196, 192.
[XI-5] The daughter of Ixchel, the Yucatec medicine goddess. _Brasseur
de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 43. He writes the
virgin's name as Chiribias. Ixchel seems to be the same as the
Guatemalan Xmucané, mother of the gods.' _Id._, _Quatre Lettres_, p.
243.
[XI-6] _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxiii.;
_Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 190; _Remesal_, _Hist. Chyapa_, p. 246;
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. iii., p. 133.
[XI-7] 'Celle de l'eau matrice d'embryon, _ix-a-zal-uoh_.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _MS. Troano_, tom. ii., p. 258.
[XI-8] 'Idolo, ò Zemì.' _Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_, p. 33.
'Zemes which are the Images of their familiar and domesticall
spirites.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vi.
[XI-9] 'Les dieux de l'Yucatan, disent Lizana et Cogolludo, étaient
presque tous des rois plus ou moins bons que la gratitude ou la
terreur avait fait placer au rang des divinités.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 20; _Landa_, _Relacion_,
p. 158; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 198.
[XI-10] _Lizana_, in _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 356; _Cogolludo_, _Hist.
Yuc._, p. 197; Brinton, _Myths_, p. 188, speaks of 'Zamna, or
Cukulcan, lord of the dawn and four winds,' and connects him with
Votan also. 'Il y a toute apparence qu'il était de la même race (as
Votan) et que son arrivée eut lieu peu d'années après la fondation de
la monarchie palenquéenne.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat.
Civ._, tom. i., p. 76, et seq. The hand in picture-writing signifies
strength, power, mastery, and is frequently met with on Central
American ruins, impressed in red color. Among the North American
savages it was the symbol of supplication. Their doctors sometimes
smeared the hand with paint and daubed it over the patient.
_Schoolcraft_, in _Stephens' Yucatan_, vol. ii., pp. 476-8.
[XI-11] Lizana, in _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 360, translates the name as
'Sol con rostro que sus rayos eran de fuego,' _Cogolludo_, _Hist.
Yuc._, pp. 198, 178; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _MS. Troano_, p. 270;
_Id._, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 5-6; _Müller_, _Amerikanische
Urreligionen_, p. 475. In the syllable _mo_ of the hero's name is
found another reference to the sun, for _moo_ is the Maya term for the
bird _ara_, the symbol of the sun.
[XI-12] 'El que recibe, y possee la gracia, ò rozio del Cielo.' 'No
conocian otro Dios Autor de la vida, sino à este.' _Cogolludo_, _Hist.
Yuc._, p. 179. 'Celui qui demande ou obtient la rosée ou la glace, ou
rempli de l'eau en bras de glace, _itz-m-a-tul_.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _MS. Troano_, tom. ii., p. 257; _Landa_, _Relacion_, pp.
284-5.
[XI-13] After staying a short time at Potonchan, he embarked and nothing
more was heard of him. The _Codex Chimalpopoca_ states, however, that
he died in Tlapallan, four days after his return. _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 18. In another place this
writer refers to three brothers, _itzaob_, 'saintly man,' who were
probably sent by Quetzalcoatl to spread his doctrines, but who
ultimately founded a monarchy. They also seem to throw a doubt on the
identity of Cukulcan with Quetzalcoatl. 'Il n'y a pas à douter,
toutefois, que, s'il est le même que Quetzalcohuatl, la doctrine aura
été la même.' _Id._, pp. 10-1, 43. Torquemada, _Monarq. Ind._, tom.
ii., p. 52, states that the Cocomes were his descendants, but as the
hero never married, his disciples must rather be accepted as their
ancestors. _Landa_, _Relacion_, pp. 35-9, 300-1; _Herrera_, _Hist.
Gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii. Veytia connects him with St.
Thomas. _Hist. Antig. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 195-8. Speaking of Cukulcan
and his companions Las Casas says: 'A este llamaron Dios de las
fiebres ò Calenturas.... Los cuales mandaban que se confesasen las
gentes y ayunasen; y que algunos ayunaban el viernes porque habia
muerto aquel dia Bacab; y tiene por nombre aquel dia Himis.' _Hist.
Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxiii. '_Kukulcan_, vient de _kuk_, oiseau
qui paraît être le même que le quetzal; son déterminatif est _kukul_
qui uni à can, serpent, fait exactement le même mot que _Quetzal
Cohuatl_, serpent aux plumes vertes, ou de Quetzal.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, in _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 35.
[XI-14] _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 22; _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 158;
_Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 202; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist.
Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 46-7. 'Se tenian por santificados los que
alla auian estado,' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. x., cap.
iv.
[XI-15] Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 50, calls
the god of death Rakalku. Baeza, in _Registro Yuc._, tom. i., pp.
168-9, mentions a transparent stone called _zatzun_, by means of which
hidden things and causes of diseases could be discovered.
[XI-16] 'Cette divinité paraît être la même que le _Tihax_ des Quichés
et Cakchiquels, le _Tecpatl_ des Mexicains, la lance ou la flèche.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, in _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 363.
[XI-17] _Zee-Rovers_, p. 64; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, pp. 178, 190-1,
196-7; _Landa_, _Relacion_, pp. 206-8; _Lizana_, in _Id._, pp. 356-64;
_Ternaux-Compans_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcvii.,
pp. 40-4; _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., pp. 17, 32; _Remesal_, _Hist.
Chyapa_, pp. 245-6; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
ii., pp. 4-10, 20, 42-50.
[XI-18] 'Tra le Croci sono celebri quelle di Jucatan, della Mizteca, di
Queretaro, di Tepique, e di Tianquiztepec.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant.
del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 14. There were also crosses at Palenque, on
San Juan de Ulloa, at Copan, in Nicaragua, and other places. 'Die
Tolteken haben nämlich die Verehrung des Kreuzes mit durchaus
bewusster Beziehung desselben auf den Regen, von der alten
Urbevölkerung aufgenommen.' _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_,
pp. 498-9; _Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 88.
[XI-19] This and other prophecies, which, if not mere fabrications, bear
at least marks of mutilation and addition, may be found in
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. iii., pp. 132-3; _Remesal_, _Hist.
Chyapa_, pp. 245-6; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, pp. 99-100; _Brasseur
de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 603-6. Brinton thinks
that they may refer to 'the return of Zamná, or Kuckulcan, lord of the
dawn and the four winds, worshipped at Cozumel ... under the sign of
the cross.' _Myths_, p. 188. The report circulated by Aguilar of his
people and of the cross, may have given the prophets a clue.
[XI-20] 'The formation of such an opinion by the Spaniards seems to shew
almost conclusively, that the aborigines of the country did not retain
any traditional history on the subject that would justify the simple
belief, that Catholic Europeans had ever possessed influence enough
among them to have established so important a feature in their
superstitious observances.' _McCulloh_, _Researches in Amer._, p. 327.
'Afirmaban que por que habia muerto en ella un hombre mas
replandeciente que el sol.' _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS.,
cap. cxxiii.; _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv., lib. i.
[XI-21] Mr Godfrey Higgins, in his _Celtic Druids_, p. 126, says: 'Few
causes have been more powerful in producing mistakes in ancient
history, than the idea, hastily taken up by Christians in all ages,
that every monument of antiquity marked with a cross, or with any of
those symbols which they conceived to be monograms of Christ, were of
Christian origin.... The cross is as common in India as in Egypt, and
Europe,' Mr Maurice, in his _Indian Antiquities_, vol. ii., p. 361,
writes: 'Let not the piety of the Catholic Christian be offended at
the preceding assertion that the cross was one of the most usual
symbols among the hieroglyphics of Egypt and India.' The emblem of
universal nature is equally honored in the Gentile and Christian
world. 'In the cave at Elephanta, in India, over the head of the
principal figure, again may be seen this figure (the cross), and a
little in the front the huge Lingham (phallus).'
[XI-22] Constantio holds it to be a symbol of the solstices.
_Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., pp. 464-5; _Humboldt_,
_Exam. Crit._, tom. ii., pp. 354-6; _Waldeck_, _Voy. Pitt._, p. 24;
_Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, pp. 497-500; _Torquemada_,
_Monarq. Ind._, tom. iii., pp. 133, 200-6, 299; _McCulloh's
Researches_, pp. 331-6; _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v., p. 143;
_Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, fol. 63. Brinton refers to a statement that
the Mexicans had cruciform graves, and supposes that this referred to
four spirits of the world who were to carry the deceased to heaven,
but there seems to be a mistake on both of these points. _Myths_, pp.
95-8; _Gould's Curious Myths_, vol. ii., p. 79, et seq.; _Cox's
Mythology of the Aryan Nations_, vol. ii., pp. 369-72. Some of the
crosses referred to lack the head piece, and being of this shape,
"T", resemble, somewhat, a Mexican coin.
[XI-23] 'No solo se hallò vna Cruz, sino algunas.' _Cogolludo_, _Hist.
Yuc._, pp. 199-302; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 3; _Herrera_,
_Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. iii., cap. i.; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._,
fol. 24. Stephens found a cross at the church of Mejorada, in Mérida,
which an old monk had dug out of the ruins of a church on Cozumel
Island. 'The connecting of the "Cozumel Cross" with the ruined church
on the island completely invalidates the strongest proof offered at
this day that the cross was ever recognized by the Indians as a symbol
of worship.' _Yucatan_, vol. ii., pp. 377-8. Rather a hasty assertion
when made in the face of so many old authorities.
[XI-24] This seems to confirm the idea that it was worshiped, yet
Constantio regards it as a representation of the birth of the sun in
the winter solstice, and holds the ruin to which the cross belongs to
be a sun temple. _Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., pp.
464-5; _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, p. 498; _Stephens'
Cent. Amer._, vol. i., pp. 345-8. Squier, who denies that the
Tonacaquahuitl was intended to represent a cross, thinks that the
Palenque cross merely represents one of these trees with the branches
placed crosswise. _Palacio_, _Carta_, pp. 120-1. Jones, _Hist. Anc.
Amer._, p. 149, et seq., who identifies almost every feature of
Central American worship with the Phœnician, asserts that the
Palenque cross proves the Tyrian origin of the aborigines.
[XI-25] Cogolludo says, however: 'Solian ayunar dos, y tres dias, sin
comer cosa alguna.' _Hist. Yuc._, p. 194.
[XI-26] These mutilations were at times very severe. 'Otras vezes hazian
un suzio y penoso sacrificio añudandose los que lo hazian en el
templo, donde puestas en rengla, se hazian sendos aguzeros en los
miembros viriles al soslayo por el lado, y hechos passavan toda la
mas cantidad de hilo que podian, quedando assi todos asidos.' _Landa_,
_Relacion_, pp. 162-3. This author thinks that the practice of
slitting the prepuce gave rise to the idea that circumcision existed
in Yucatan.
[XI-27] _Landa_, _Relacion_, pp. 164-8; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, pp.
193-4; _Medel_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcvii., p.
43; vol. ii., pp. 704-5, of this work. 'For want of children they
sacrifice dogges.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vi. 'El numero de la
gente sacrificada era mucho: y esta costumbre fue introduzida en
Yucatan, por los Mexicanos.' 'Flechauan algunas vezes al sacrificado
... desollauanlos, vestiase el sacerdote el pellejo, y baylauo, y
enterrauan el cuerpo en el patio del templo.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._,
dec. iv., lib. x., cap. iii., iv. Tradition relates that in a cave
near Uxmal existed a well like that of Chichen, guarded by an old
woman, the builder of the dwarf palace in that city, who sold the
water for infants, and these she cast before the snake at her side.
_Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., p. 425.
[XI-28] _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 165; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, pp. 25,
180; _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, fol. 62.
[XI-29] _Relacion_, p. 154; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. x.,
cap. iv. For description of baptismal rites, see vol. ii., pp. 682-4,
of this work.
[XI-30] 'Que se deriva de un verbo _kinyah_, que significa "sortear ó
echar suertes."' _Lizana_, in _Landa_, _Relacion_, p. 362.
[XI-31] 'Longues robes noires.' _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. i., p. 168.
[XI-32] _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 198; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_,
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 6; _Ternaux-Compans_, in _Nouvelles
Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcvii., pp. 39-41. Temples are described
in vol. ii., pp. 791-3, of this work.
[XI-33] 'Célèbres dans toutes les traditions d'origine toltèque, comme
les pères du soleil et de la magie.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist.
Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 120.
[XI-34] '_Hun-Ahpu-Vuch_ un Tireur de Sarbacane au Sarigue et
_Hun-Ahpu-Utïu_ un Tireur de Sarbacane au Chacal.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, pp. cxviii., cxix., pp. 2-5. They are also
referred to as conjurers. _Id._, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 54.
Ximenez spells the latter name Hun-ahpu-uhú, and states that they are
held as oracles. _Hist. Ind. Guat._, pp. 4, 156-8, 82. Las Casas,
_Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxiv., refers to these beings as
having been adored under the name of grandfather and grandmother
before the deluge, but later on a woman appeared who taught them to
call the gods by other names. This woman, Brasseur de Bourbourg holds
to be the traditional and celebrated queen Atit, from whom Atitlan
volcano obtained its name, and from whom the princely families of
Guatemala have descended. The natives still recall her name, but as
that of a phantom. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 74-5. He further
finds considerable similarity between her and Aditi of the Veda. In
his solution of the Antilles cataclysm he identifies Xmucane as the
South American part of the continent and Xpiyacoc as North America.
_Quatre Lettres_, pp. 223-4, 235-8. Garcia, _Origen de los Ind._, pp.
329-30, calls these first beings Xchmel and Xtmana, and gives them
three sons, who create all things. In the younger of these we
recognize the two legitimate sons of Hunhun Ahpu, who will be
described later on as the patrons of the fine arts.
[XI-35] To be afflicted with buboes implied the possession of many women
and consequently wealth and grandeur. _Hist. Ind. Guat._, p. 157; see
this vol. p. 60; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. 3.
[XI-36] Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Popol Vuh_, p. 315, does not understand
why Ximenez, _Hist. Ind. Guat._, p. 125, translates heaven and Xibalba
as heaven and hell, but as both terms doubtless refer to provinces, or
towns, it is better to retain the figurative name. Xibalba is,
besides, derived from the same source as the Insomuch 'demon' of the
Yucatecs. Brasseur translates: 'Chaque sept (jours) il montait au ciel
et en sept (jours) il faisait le chemin pour descendre à Xibalba;'
while Ximenez with more apparent correctness renders: 'Siete dias se
subia al cielo y siete dias se iba al infierno.' In _Quatre Lettres_,
p. 228, the Abbé explains Xibalba as hell. See also vol. ii., pp.
715-7, of this work.
[XI-37] _Popol Vuh_, p. cxvii.-cxx., 7, 9; see this vol., pp. 48-54. The
occurrence of the number 4 in mythical and historical accounts of
Mexico and Central America is very frequent.
[XI-38] 'Parait venir des Antilles, où il désignait la tempête et le
grondement de l'orage.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. 8.
[XI-39] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 496.
[XI-40] Garcilaso says: 'C'est encore l'idée du Tonnerre, de l'Eclair et
de la Foudre, contenus dans un seul _Hurakan_, le centre, le coeur
du ciel, la tempête, le vent, le souffle.' _Comentarios Reales_, lib.
ii., cap. xxiii., lib. iii., cap. xxi., lib. iii.; _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. ccxxxv., 9; _Id._, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
i., p. 51.
[XI-41] 'Ximenez dit qu'il signifie _Pluie, Averse_: mais il confond ici
le nom du dieu avec le signe. _Toh_, ... est rendu par le mot _paga_,
paie, _pagar_, payer. Mais le MS. _Cakehiquel_ ... dit que les Quichés
reçurent celui de _Tohohil_, qui signifie grondement, bruit,' etc.
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. 214. He seems identical with
the Maya Hunpictok.
[XI-42] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 553,
tom. i., p. 128.
[XI-43] Brinton, _Myths_, pp. 156-7, who holds Hurakan to be the Tlaloc,
connects Tohil with Quetzalcoatl--ideas taken most likely from
Brasseur de Bourbourg--states that he was represented by a flint. This
must refer to his traditional transformation into a stone, for the
Abbé declares that no description of his idol is given by the
chroniclers. _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 552. Now, although the
Abbé declares Tohil to be the same as Quetzalcoatl, in the _Popol
Vuh_, p. 214, and other places, he acknowledges that the tradition
positively identifies him with Hurakan, and confirms this by
explaining on p. cclxvii., that Tohil, sometimes in himself, sometimes
in connection with the two other members of the trinity, combines the
attributes of thunder, flash, and thunderbolt; further, he gives a
prayer by the Tohil priests in which this god is addressed as Hurakan.
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 553. Gucumatz, the acknowledged
representative of Quetzalcoatl, is, besides, shown to be distinct from
Tohil. Every point, therefore, tradition, name, attributes, connect
Tohil and Hurakan, and identify them with Tlaloc.
[XI-44] _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 552-3.
[XI-45] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. cclxvii., 235; _Id._,
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 554. The turning into stone 'veut dire
que les trois principaux volcans s'éteignirent ou cessèrent de lancer
leurs feux.' _Id._, _Quatre Lettres_, p. 331.
[XI-46] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 497,
75; _Id._, _Popol Vuh_, p. cclxii.; see note 7.
[XI-47] _Id._, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 521; _Juarros' Hist.
Guat._, p. 384.
[XI-48] '_Hunhun-Ahpu_ signifie Chaque Tireur de Sarbacane;
_Vukub-Hun-Ahpu_, Sept un Tireur de Sarbacane.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. cxxxv. Their chief name, Ahpu, 'désigne la
puissance volcanique.' _Id._, _Quatre Lettres_, p. 225.
[XI-49] Hun Ahpu, a sarbacan shooter. '_Xbalenque, de balam_, tigre,
jaguar; le _que_ final est un signe pluriel, et le _x_ qui précède,
prononcez _sh_ (anglais), est alternativement un diminutif ou un signe
féminin.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. cxxxv. Ximenez,
_Hist. Ind. Guat._, pp. 146-7, 156, remarks the similarity of these
personages to the God, son, and virgin of the Christians.
[XI-50] '_Hun-Batz_, Un Singe (ou un Fileur); _Hun-Chouen_, un qui se
blanchit, ou s'embellit.' They seem to correspond to the Mexican
Ozomatli and Piltzintecutli. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, pp.
cxxxv., 69, 117. The _ba_ in Hun-Batz refers to something underground,
or deep down, and Hun-Chouen '"Une Souris cachée" ou "un lac en
sentinelle."' Both names indicate the disordered condition and
movement of a region (the Antilles). _Id._, _Quatre Lettres_, pp.
227-9.
[XI-51] 'Les deux frères, s'étant embrassés, s'élancent dans les
flammes.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 137.
[XI-52] Vukub Cakix, 'seven aras,' a type of the sun, although declared
in one place to have usurped the solar attribute, seems to have been
worshiped as the sun; his two sons, Zipacna and Cabrakan, represent
respectively the creator of the earth and the earthquake, which
confirms their father's high position. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol
Vuh_, pp. 31-9, cciv., ccliii.
[XI-53] The allegorical account of these events is related on pp. 31 to
192 of _Popol Vuh_, and Brasseur's remarks are given on pages cxxxiv.
to cxl. Juarros, _Hist. Guat._, p. 164, states that Hun Ahpu
discovered the use of cacao and cotton, which is but another
indication of the introduction of culture. According to Las Casas,
Xbalanque descends into hell, Xibalba, where he captures Satan and his
chief men, and when the devil implores the hero not to bring him to
the light, he kicks him back with the curse that all things rotten and
abhorrent may cling to him. When he returns, his people do not receive
him with due honor, and he accordingly leaves for other parts. _Hist.
Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxiv.; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom.
ii., pp. 53-4.
[XI-54] _Quatre Lettres_, pp. 225-53; see this vol. 261-4.
[XI-55] On one occasion the people 'égorgèrent chacun un de leurs fils,
dont ils mirent les cadavres dans les fondations.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 561-4.
[XI-56] _Indianer von Istlávacan_, pp. 11-3. The natives believed that
they would have to share all the sufferings and emotions of their
naguals. _Gage's New Survey_, p. 334; Herrera, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv.,
lib. viii., cap. iv., also refers to naguals, and states that the
Honduras protégé made his compact with it in the mountains by
offerings and blood-letting.
[XI-57] _Espinosa_, _Chrón. Apost._, pp. 344-5; _Remesal_, _Hist.
Chyapa_, p. 726; _Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_, pp. 151-3.
[XI-58] 'Tenian por sus Dioses à los Venados.' _Villagutierre_, _Hist.
Conq. Itza_, p. 43.
[XI-59] _Hist. Yuc._, pp. 699, 489-93, 509; _Villagutierre_, _Hist.
Conq. Itza_, pp. 100-2, 182, 500-2; _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., p.
32; _McCulloh's Researches in Amer._, p. 318.
[XI-60] '_Cha-malcan_ serait donc Flèche ou Dard frotté d'ocre jaune,'
etc. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, pp. 248-9.
[XI-61] _Id._, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 173.
[XI-62] _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, p. 475. In their want of
idols they contrasted strongly with their neighbors. _Villagutierre_,
_Hist. Conq. Itza_, p. 74; _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., p. 79.
[XI-63] 'C'est à eux qu'elles offraient presque tous leurs sacrifices.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 556;
_Palacio_, _Carta_, pp. 66-70.
[XI-64] 'L'époque que les événements paraissent assigner à cette légende
coïncide avec la période de la grande émigration toltèque et la
fondation des divers royaumes guatémaliens.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_,
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 81; _Id._, _Popol Vuh_, p. cxxviii.
Near the village of Coatan was a small lake which they regarded as
oracular, into which none dared to peer least he should be smitten
with dumbness and death. _Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 50.
[XI-65] 'Aujourd'hui de _Gracias_.... Il y a encore aujourd'hui un
village du même nom, paroisse à 12 l. de Comayagua.' _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 106.
[XI-66] 'Aunque otros dicen, que eran sus Hermanos.' _Torquemada_,
_Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 336.
[XI-67] _Carta_, pp. 82-4. As an instance of the respect entertained for
the idols, Las Casas relates that on the Spaniards once profaning them
with their touch, the natives brought censers with which they incensed
them, and then carried them back to their altar with great respect,
shedding their blood upon the road traversed by the idols. _Hist.
Apologética_, MS., cap. clxxx.; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i.,
326; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. iv.
[XI-68] See vol. ii. of this work, pp. 719-20.
[XI-69] _Roman_, _Republica de los Indios_, in _Ximenez_, _Hist. Ind.
Guat._, pp. 176-81; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
ii., pp. 564-566; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. clxxix.;
_Juarros_, _Hist. Guat._, p. 196.
[XI-70] The ancient Quichés 'recueillirent leur sang avec des éponges,'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, p. 259.
[XI-71] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp.
559-63; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. clxxvii.; vol. ii.
of this work, pp. 688.
[XI-72] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, pp. 226-7; _Las Casas_,
_Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxiv., clxxvii.; _Juarros' Hist.
Guat._, p. 225; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 54;
_Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 66; _Squier_, in _Id._, pp. 116-7; _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, pp. 417-8; _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 699;
_Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_, pp. 392, 502; _Gomara_, _Hist.
Ind._, fol. 268; _Waldeck_, _Voy. Pitt._, p. 40; see also, this vol.
pp. 688-9, 706-10, 735; _Stephens' Cent. Amer._, vol. ii., pp. 184-5.
Ximenez, _Hist. Ind. Guat._, p. 210, states, that in case of a severe
illness, a father would not hesitate to sacrifice his son to obtain
relief. The very fact of such a tale passing current, shows how little
human life was valued.
[XI-73] 'Ils n'avaient pour toute nourriture que des fruits.' MS.,
_Quiché de Chichicastenango_, in _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat.
Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 552-553, 496-7; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_,
MS., cap. cxxxiii.
[XI-74] Ternaux-Compans renders it _tuti_, _Recueil de Doc._, p. 29,
while Squier gives it as _tecti_. _Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 62. But as an
Aztec word, it ought to be written _teoti_.
[XI-75] _Palacio_, _Carta_, pp. 62-6; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv.,
lib. viii., cap. x.; _Ximenez_, _Hist. Ind. Guat._, pp. 200-1;
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 105, 555-6;
_Salazar y Olarte_, _Hist. Conq. Mex._, pp. 315-6.
[XI-76] _Hist. Conq. Itza_, p. 61; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_,
pp. cxviii., cclxvi.; _Scherzer_, _Indianer von Istlávacan_, p. 10.
[XI-77] Gomara says with regard to this: 'Religion de Nicaragua que casi
es la mesma Mexicana.' _Hist. Ind._, fol. 63.
[XI-78] The similarity of the name of _tamachaz_ and _tamagast_, names
given to angels and priests, is striking. The ending _tat_ might also
be regarded as a contraction of the Aztec _tatli_, father.
_Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, pp. 164-5.
[XI-79] _Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, p. 163.
[XI-80] 'Ich bringe es in Verbindung mit dem Stammworte _ciahua_ oder
_ciyahua_ befeuchten, bewässern.' _Ib._ It is to be noticed that the
Aztec _h_ frequently changes into _g_, in these countries.
[XI-81] _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, pp. 435-8, 503;
_Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856), vol. ii., pp. 349-60; _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 112; this author
identifies Tamagostat and Cipaltona with the solar deities Oxomoc and
Cipactonal of the Toltecs, but places them in rather an inferior
position.
[XI-82] Oxomogo is also introduced, which tends to throw doubt on
Brasseur's identification of Jamagostad with this personage.
[XI-83] 'Ehecatl oder verkürzt Ecatl ... ist die Berichtigung für
Oviedo's Hecat.' _Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, p. 163; _Oviedo_, _Hist.
Gen._, tom. iv., pp. 40-5, 52.
[XI-84] In _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série ii., tom. iii., p. 40, they
are written Homey-Atelïte and Homey-Ateciguat, but the above spelling
corresponds better with other similar Aztec names in Nicaragua.
_Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., p. 46.
[XI-85] 'Von quiahui oder quiyahui regnen: mit _teotl_ Gott verbunden.'
_Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, p. 167.
[XI-86] _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., p. 46.
[XI-87] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 113.
The latter seems to be the same as the Mexican Teotochtli, 'rabbit
god.'
[XI-88] 'Y esso tenemos por el dios de los venados.' _Oviedo_, _Hist.
Gen._, tom. iv., p. 55.
[XI-89] All probably derived from _tlamacazqui_, priest. _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 112-4. This author,
following _Oviedo_, _Hist. Nic._, spells the names somewhat
differently. _Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, pp. 165-8; _Oviedo_, _Hist.
Gen._, tom. iv., pp. 48, 52, 101.
[XI-90] These remarks appear inconsistent with the statement that the
spirit only of men ascended to heaven. _Id._, pp. 41-2.
[XI-91] '_Téobat_ vient probablement de _Téohuatl_, être divin.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 113.
[XI-92] 'En toda la plaça, ni en el templo donde están, entran allí
hombre ni muger en tanto que allí están, sino solamente los muchachos
pequeños que les llevan é dan de comer.' _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom.
iv., p. 47.
[XI-93] _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 330.
[XI-94] Peter Martyr describes this edifice as follows: 'Within the
viewe of their Temples there are diuers Bases or Pillers like the
Pulpittes ... which Bases consist of eight steppes or stayres in some
places twelue, and in another fifteene.' Dec. vi., lib. vi.
[XI-95] _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., pp. 46-7, 53, 56, 93-4, 98,
101; _Peter Martyr_, dec. vi., lib. vii.; _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, fol.
265-6; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec., iii., lib. iv., cap. vii.; vol.
ii., pp. 708-10, 715, of this work.
[XI-96] _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., pp. 55-6; _Herrera_, _Hist.
Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii., lib. v., cap. xii.; _Gomara_,
_Hist. Ind._, fol. 256.
[XI-97] Brasseur de Bourbourg says: '_Tamagoz_, c'est encore une autre
corruption du mot _tlamacazqui_.' _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 114.
[XI-98] _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., pp. 46-7, 53; _Andagoya_, in
_Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, tom. iii., p. 414; vol. ii., p. 728, of
this work. Gomara, _Hist. Ind._, fol. 265, states that the priests
were all married, while Herrera, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv.,
cap. vii., asserts the contrary. The latter view seems more correct
when we consider that women were not permitted to enter the temples,
and that the high priest and devotees were obliged to leave their
wives when they passed into the sanctuary. It is even probable that
there was no distinct priesthood, since the temples had no revenues,
and the temple service was performed in part at least by volunteers;
to this must be added the fact, that although the confessor might not
be connected with the temple, yet he ordered penance for its benefit.
It must be considered, however, that without regular ministers it
would have been difficult to keep up the routine of feasts and
ceremonies, write the books of records, teach the children, and
maintain discipline.
[XI-99] _Arricivita_, _Crónica Seráfica_, p. 57; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._,
tom. iv., pp. 101, 107. 'Sous le nom de "Texoxé" on désignait les
naguals, les génies mauvais de toute espèce, ainsi que les sorciers.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 113.
[XI-100] _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 63.
[XI-101] At Cape Honduras they consisted of long, narrow houses, raised
above the ground, containing idols with heads of animals. _Herrera_,
_Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. v.
[XI-102] _Id._, and dec. iv., lib. i., cap. vi.; see vol. i., p. 740, of
this work.
[XI-103] 'Es ist dafür das Wort God aus dem Englischen aufgenommen.'
_Mosquitoland_, _Bericht_, p. 142.
[XI-104] _Bard's Waikna_, p. 243. 'Devils, the chief of whom they call
the Woolsaw, or evil principle, witchcraft.' _Strangeways' Mosquito
Shore_, p. 331. Young writes Oulasser. _Narrative_, p. 72.
[XI-105] _Bell_, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xxxii., p. 254.
[XI-106] A shape which assigns the story a comparatively recent date,
unless a deer was originally meant.
[XI-107] _Bell_, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xxxii., pp. 253-4;
_Young's Narrative_, p. 79.
[XI-108] _Froebel's Cent. Amer._, p. 137; see also vol. i., pp. 740-1,
of this work.
[XI-109] _Hist. Ind._, fol. 255.
[XI-110] _Id._, fol. 89; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., pp. 20, 125.
[XI-111] _Peter Martyr_, dec. vii., lib. x.; _Irving's Columbus_, vol.
iii., pp. 173-4; _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, p. 421.
[XI-112] _Andagoya_, in _Navarrete_, _Col. de Viages_, tom. iii., p. 401;
_Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. i., cap. xi., dec. ii., lib.
iii., cap. v.
[XI-113] _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxiv., ccxlii.; _Torquemada_,
_Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 63.
[XI-114] Dec. iii., lib. iv., dec. ii., lib. iii.
[XI-115] A name applied in Cueba to all who excelled in an art. _Oviedo_,
_Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., pp. 126-7.
[XI-116] 'Las manos no se las vian.' _Andagoya_, in _Navarrete_, _Col.
de Viages_, tom. iii., p. 400.
[XI-117] For further account of sorcerers, see vol. i., pp. 779-80.
Gomara writes: 'Tauira, que es el Diablo.' _Hist. Ind._, fol. 255;
_Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. ii., cap. x., lib. iii., cap.
v., dec. iv., lib. i., cap. x.
[XI-118] _Peter Martyr_, dec. vii., lib. x.
[XI-119] _Ancient Fragments_, introduction, p. 34. M. Pictet says of the
primitive Celtic religion: "From a _primitive duality_, constituting
the fundamental forces of the universe, there arises a double
progression of cosmical powers, which, after having crossed each other
by a mutual transition, at last proceed to blend in One Supreme Unity,
as in their essential principles." Says Sir William Jones: "We must
not be surprised at finding, on a close examination, that the
characters of all the Pagan deities, male and female, melt into each
other, and at last into one or two, for it seems a well-founded
opinion that the whole crowd of gods and goddesses in ancient Rome and
modern Váránes, mean only the Powers of Nature, and principally those
of the SUN, expressed in a variety of ways, and by a multitude of
fanciful names." _On the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India_, p. 273.
[XI-120] 'This suggestion was first publicly made in a communication
read,' says Squier, _Serpent Symbol_, p. 49, 'before the American
Ethnological Society, by a distinguished member of that body; from
which the following passages are extracted. After noticing several
facts tending to show the former existence of Phallic worship in
America, the author of the paper proceeds as follows:--"We come now to
Central America. Upon a perusal of the first journey of our
fellow-members, Messrs. Stephens and Catherwood, into Guatemala and
the central territories of the Continent, I was forcibly struck with
the monolithic idols of Copan. We knew nothing before, save of
Mexican, Palenque, and Uxmal remains; and those of Copan appeared to
me to be unlike them all, and probably of an older date. My reading
furnishes me with but one parallel to those singular monolithic
sculptures, and that was seen in Ceylon, in 1796, by Captain Colin
McKenzie, and described in the 6th volume of the Asiatic Researches.
As the description is short, I transcribe it: 'The figure is cut out
of stone in relievo; but the whole is sunk in a hollow, scooped out,
so that it is defended from injury on the sides. It may be about
fourteen feet high, the countenance wild, a full round visage, the
eyes large, the nose round and long; it has no beard; nor the usual
distinguishing marks of the Gentoo casts. He holds up both his hands,
with the forefingers and thumbs bent; the head-dress is high, and
seems ornamented with jewels; on the little finger of the left hand is
a ring; on the arms bracelets; a belt high about the waist; the lower
dress or drapery fixed with a girdle much lower than the Gentoo dress,
from which something like tassels depend; a collar and ornaments on
the neck and shoulders; and rings seem to hang low from the ears. No
appearance of any arms or weapons.' This was the nearest approximation
I could make to the Copan idols; for idols I took them to be, from the
fact that an altar was invariably placed before them. From a close
inspection of Mr. Catherwood's drawings, I found that though no single
figure presented all the foregoing characteristics, yet in the various
figures I could find every particular enumerated in the Ceylon
sculpture. It then occurred to me that one of the most usual symbols
of the Phallus was an erect stone, often in its rough state, sometimes
sculptured, and that no other object of heathen worship was so often
shadowed forth by a single stone placed on end, as the Phallus. That
the worship of the Priapus, [Lingam] existed in Ceylon, has long since
been satisfactorily established; and hence I was led to suspect that
these monuments at Copan, might be vestiges of a similar idolatry. A
further inspection confirmed my suspicions; for, as I supposed, I
found sculptured on the American ruins the organs of generation, and
on the back of one of the emblems relative to uterine existence,
parturition, etc. I should, however, have wanted entire confidence in
the correctness of my suspicions, had the matter rested here. On the
return of Messrs. Stephens and Catherwood from their second
expedition, every doubt of the existence of Phallic worship,
especially in Yucatan, was removed."
[XI-121] _Quatre Lettres_, pp. 290, 301; _Squier's Serpent Symbol_, pp.
47-50.
[XI-122] _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, part i., p. 40.
[XI-123] In Pánuco and other provinces 'adorano il membro che portano gli
huomini fra le gambe, & lo tengono nella meschita, & posto similmente
sopra la piazza insieme con le imagini de rilieuo di tutti modi di
piacere che possono essere fra l'huomo & la donna, & gli hanno di
ritratto con le gambe di alzate in diuersi modi.' _Relatione fatta per
un Gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortése_, in _Ramusio_,
_Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 307.
[XI-124] 'Hallaron entre vnos arboles vn idolillo de oro y muchos de
barro, dos hombres de palo, caualgando vno sobre otro, a fuer Sodoma,
y otro de tierra cozida con ambas manos a lo suyo, que lo tenia
retajado, como son casi todos los Indios de Yucatan.' _Gomara_, _Hist.
Ind._, fol. 58.
[XI-125] See vol. ii., pp. 336-7, concerning this festival.
[XI-126] 'Un idolo de piedra redondo,' which may mean a 'cylindrical
stone,' as the translator of Palacio's _Carta_ has rendered it.
[XI-127] _Palacio_, _Carta_, p. 84.
[XI-128] Concerning the cross in America, see this vol. p. 468.
[XI-129] I refer to the left hand figure in the cut on p. 348, vol. iv.,
of this work. For examples of the amulets mentioned, see illustrations
in Payne Knight's _Worship of Priapus_.
[XI-130] See vol. i., of this work, p. 93; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom.
iv., p. 48; See vol. ii., of this work, pp. 719-20.
[XI-131] _Boturini_, _Idea_, p. 13; see also this volume, pp. 243-4.
[XI-132] See vol. i., of this work, pp. 200, 414, 566-6; vol. ii., p.
676, and account of Yucatec feasts in chap. xxii. In citing these
brutish orgies I do not presume, or wish to assert, that they were in
any way connected with phallus worship, or indeed, that there was
anything of a religious nature in them. Still, as they certainly were
indulged in during, or immediately after the great religious
festivals, and as we know how the phallic cult degenerated from its
original purity into just such bestiality in Greece and Rome, I have
thought it well to mention them. There is much truth in the following
remarks on this point, by Mr. Brinton, though with his statement that
the proofs of a recognition of the fecundating principle in Nature by
the Americans are 'altogether wanting,' I cannot agree. He says:
'There is no ground whatever to invest these debauches with any
recondite meaning. They are simply indications of the thorough and
utter immorality which prevailed throughout the race. And a still more
disgusting proof of it is seen in the frequent appearance among
diverse tribes of men dressed as women and yielding themselves to
indescribable vices. There was at first nothing of a religious nature
in such exhibitions. Lascivious priests chose at times to invest them
with some such meaning.... The pretended phallic worship of the
Natchez and of Culhuacan, cited by the Abbé Brasseur, rests on no good
authority, and if true, is like that of the Huastecs of Panuco,
nothing but an unrestrained and boundless profligacy which it were an
absurdity to call a religion. That which Mr. Stephens attempts to show
existed once in Yucatan, rests entirely by his own statement on a
fancied resemblance of no value whatever, and the arguments of Lafitau
to the same effect are quite insufficient. There is a decided
indecency in the remains of ancient American art, especially in Peru,
(Meyen) and great lubricity in many ceremonies, but the proof is
altogether wanting to bind these with the recognition of fecundating
principle throughout nature, or, indeed, to suppose for them any other
origin than the promptings of an impure fancy. I even doubt whether
they often referred to fire as the deity of sexual love. By a flight
of fancy inspired by a study of oriental mythology, the worship of the
reciprocal principle in America has been connected with that of the
sun and moon, as the primitive pair from whose fecund union all
creatures proceeded. It is sufficient to say if such a myth exists
among the Indians--which is questionable--it justifies no such
deduction; that the moon is often mentioned in their languages merely
as the "night sun;" and that in such important stocks as the Iroquois,
Athapascas, Cherokees, and Tupis, the sun is said to be a feminine
noun; while the myths represent them more frequently as brother and
sister than as man and wife; nor did at least the northern tribes
regard the sun as the cause of fecundity in nature at all, but solely
as giving light and warmth.' _Myths_, pp. 149-50; _Schoolcraft's
Arch._, vol. v., pp. 416-17.
[XI-133] For a full account of this feast see vol. ii., of this work,
pp. 329-30.