_The Sun and Fire as emblems--The Serpent and the Sun--Taut and the
Serpent--Horapollo and the Serpent symbol--Sanchoniathon and the
Serpent--Ancient Mysteries of Osiris, &c.--Rationale of the connection
of Solar, Phallic, and Serpent Worship--The Aztec Pantheon--Mexican
Gods--The Snake in Mexican Mythology--The Great Father and
Mother--Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent--Researches of Stephens
and Catherwood--Discoveries of Mr. Stephens._
That fire should be taken to be the physical, of what the sun is the
celestial emblem, is sufficiently apparent; we can readily understand also
how the bull, the goat, or ram, the phallus, and other symbols should have
the same import; also how naturally and almost inevitably and universally
the sun came to symbolize the active principle, the vivifying power, and
how obviously the egg symbolized the passive elements of nature, but how
the serpent came to possess, as a symbol, a like significance with these
is not so obvious. That it did so, however, cannot be doubted, and the
proofs will appear as we proceed; likewise that it sometimes symbolized
the great hermaphrodite first principle, the Supreme Unity of the Greeks
and Egyptians.
Although generally, it did not always symbolize the sun, or the power of
which the sun is an emblem; but, invested with various meanings, it
entered widely into the primitive mythologies. It typified wisdom, power,
duration, the good and evil principles, life, reproduction--in short, in
Egypt, Syria, Greece, India, China, Scandinavia, America, everywhere in
the globe it has been a prominent emblem. In the somewhat poetical
language of a learned author, "It entered into the mythology of every
nation, consecrated almost every temple, symbolized almost every deity,
was imagined in the heavens, stamped on the earth, and ruled in the realms
of everlasting sorrow." Its general acceptance seems to have been remarked
at a very early period. It arrested the attention of the ancient sages,
who assigned a variety of reasons for its adoption, founded upon the
natural history of the reptile. Among these speculations, none are more
curious than those preserved by Sanchoniathon, who says:--"Taut first
attributed something of the Divine nature to the Serpent, in which he was
followed by the Phoenicians and Egyptians. For this animal was esteemed
by him to be the most inspirited of all reptiles, and of a fiery nature,
inasmuch as it exhibits an incredible celerity, moving by its spirit,
without hands or feet, or any of the external members by which the other
animals effect their motion; and, in its progress, it assumes a variety of
forms, moving in a spiral course, and darting forward with whatever degree
of swiftness it pleases."
It is, moreover, long lived, and has the quality not only of putting off
its old age, and assuming a second youth, but of receiving at the same
time an augmentation of its size and strength; and when it has filled the
appointed measure of its existence, it consumes itself, as Taut has laid
down in the Sacred Books, upon which account this animal is received into
the sacred rites and mysteries.
Horapollo, referring to the serpent symbol, says of it:--"When the
Egyptians would represent the Universe they delineate a serpent bespeckled
with variegated scales, devouring its own tail, the scales intimating the
stars in the Universe. The animal is extremely heavy, as is the earth, and
extremely slippery like the water, moreover, it every year puts off its
old age with its skin, as in the Universe the annual period effects a
corresponding change and becomes renovated, and the making use of its own
body for food implies that all things whatever, which are generated by
divine providence in the world, undergo a corruption into them again."
Nothing is more certain than that the serpent at a very remote period was
regarded with high veneration as the most mysterious of living creatures.
Its habits were imperfectly understood, and it was invested, as we
perceive from the above quotations, with the most extraordinary qualities.
Alike the object of fear, admiration, and wonder, it is not surprising
that it became early connected with man's superstitions, but how it
obtained so general a predominance it is difficult to understand.
Perhaps there is no circumstance in the natural history of the serpent
more striking than that alluded to by Sanchoniathon, viz.: the annual
sloughing of its skin, or supposed rejuvenation.
"As an old serpent casts his sealy vest,
Wreaths in the sun, in youthful glory dressed,
So when Alcides' mortal mould resign'd,
His better part enlarged, and grew refin'd."--OVID.
It was probably this which connected it with the idea of an eternal
succession of forms, constant reproduction and dissolution, a process
which was supposed by the ancients to have been for ever going on in
nature. This doctrine is illustrated in the notion of a succession of Ages
which prevailed among the Greeks, corresponding to the Yugs of the Hindus,
and Suns of the aboriginal Mexicans. It is further illustrated by the
annual dissolution and renovation exhibited, in the succession of the
seasons, and which was supposed to result from the augmentation and
decline of the active principle, the Sun.
The mysteries of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, in Egypt; Atys and Cybele, in
Phrygia; Ceres and Proserpine, at Eleusis; of Venus and Adonis in
Phoenicia; of Bona Dea, and Priapus, in Rome, are all susceptible of one
explanation. They all set forth and illustrated, by solemn and impressive
rites and mystical symbols, the grand phenomena of nature, especially as
connected with the creation of things and the perpetuation of life. In
all, it is worthy of remark, the serpent was more or less conspicuously
introduced, always as symbolical of the invigorating or active energy of
nature. In the mysteries of Ceres and Proserpine, the grand secret
communicated to the initiated was thus enigmatically expressed: _Taurus
Draconem genuit, et Taurum Draco_; "The bull has begotten a serpent, and
the serpent a bull." The bull, as already seen, was a prominent emblem of
generative force, the Bacchus Zagreus, or Tauriformis.
The doctrine of an unending succession of forms was not remotely connected
with that of regeneration, or new birth, which was part of the phallic
system, and which was recognised in a form more or less distinct in nearly
all the primitive religions. In Hindustan, this doctrine is still enforced
in the most unequivocal manner, through the medium of rites of portentous
solemnity and significance to the devotees of the Hindu religion. "For the
purpose of regeneration," says Wilford, "it is directed to make an image
of pure gold of the female powers of nature in the shape of either a woman
or a cow. In this statue the person to be regenerated is enclosed, and
afterwards dragged out through the usual channel. As a statue of pure
gold, and of proper dimensions would be too expensive, it is sufficient to
make an image of the sacred Yoni, through which the person to be
regenerated is to pass."
We have seen the serpent as a symbol of productive energy associated with
the egg as a symbol of the passive elements of nature. The egg does not,
however, appear except in the earlier cosmogonies. "As the male serpent,"
says Faber, "was employed to symbolize the Great Father, so the female
serpent was equally used to typify the Great Mother. Such a mode of
representation may be proved by express testimony, and is wholly agreeable
to the analogy of the entire system of Gentile mythology. In the same
manner that the two great parents were worshipped under the hieroglyphics
of a bull and cow, a lion and lioness, &c., so they were adored under the
cognate figures of a male and female serpent."
Nearly every inquirer into the primitive superstitions of men has observed
a close relationship, if not an absolute identity, in what are usually
distinguished as Solar, Phallic, and Serpent Worship, yet the _rationale_
of the connection has been rarely detected. They really are all forms of a
single worship. "If (as it seems certain) they all three be identical,"
observes Mr. O'Brien, "where is the occasion for surprise at our meeting
the sun, phallus, and serpent, the constituent symbols of each, occurring
in combination, embossed upon the same table, and grouped upon the same
architrave."
We turn again to America. The principal God of the Aztecs, subordinate to
the great Unity, was the impersonation of the active, creative energy,
Tezcatlipoca or Tonacatlecoatl. He was also called Tonacatenctli.
Like the Hindu Brahma, the Greek Phanes, and the Egyptian Phtha, he was
the "Creator of heaven and earth," "the Great Father," "the God of
Providence," who dwells in heaven, earth, and hades, and attends to the
government of the world. To denote this unfailing power and eternal youth,
his figure was that of a young man. His celestial emblem was Tonatiuh, the
Sun. His companion or wife was Cihuacohuatl or Tonaeacihua, "the Great
Mother" both of gods and men.
The remaining gods and goddesses of the Aztec Pantheon resolve themselves
into modified impersonations of these two powers. Thus, we have Ometuctli
and Omecihuatl, the adorable god and goddess who preside over the
celestial paradise, and which, though generally supposed to be distinct
divinities, are, nevertheless, according to the Codex Vaticanus, but other
names for the deities already designated. We have also Xiuhteuctli,
"Master of the Year," "the God of Fire," the terrestrial symbol of the
active principle, and Xochitli, "the Goddess of Earth and Corn;" Tlaloc
and Cinteotl, or Chalchiuhcueije, "the god and goddess of the waters;"
Mictlanteuctli and Mictlancihuatl, "the god and goddess of the dead;" the
terrible Mexitli or Huitzlipochtli, corresponding to the Hindu Siva, in
his character of destroyer, and his wife Teoyamiqui, whose image, like
that of Kali, the consort of Siva, was decorated with the combined emblems
of life and death.
In the simple mythology and pure Sabianism of Peru, we have already shown
the existence of the primeval principles symbolized, the first by the Sun
and the second by his wife and sister the Moon. That the sun was here
regarded as symbolizing the intermediate father, or demiurgic creator,
cannot be doubted. The great and solemn feast of Raimi was instituted in
acknowledgment of the Sun as the great father of all visible things, by
whom all living things are generated and sustained. The ceremonies of this
feast were emblematical, and principally referred to the sun as the
reproductive and preserving power of nature. In Mexico, where the
primitive religion partook of the fiercer nature of the people, we find
the Raimaic ceremonies assuming a sanguinary character, and the
acknowledgment of the reproductive associated with the propitiation of its
antagonist principle, as we see in the orgies of Huitzlipochtli in his
character of the Destroyer. The same remarks hold true of Central America,
the religion and mythology of which country correspond essentially with
those of the nations of Anahuac.
We have said that the principal god of the Aztec pantheon, subordinate
only to the Unity and corresponding to the Hindu Brahma, was Tezcatlipoca,
Tonacatlecoalt, or Tonacateuctli. If we consult the etymology of these
names we shall find ample confirmation of the correctness of the
deductions already drawn from the mythologies of the East. Thus
Tonacateuctli embodied Lord Sun from Tonatiuh, Sun, _nacayo_ or catl, body
or person, and teuctli, master or lord. Again, Tonacatlcoatl, the Serpent
Sun, from Tonctiah and catl, as above, and coatl, serpent. If we adopt
another etymology for the names (and that which seems to have been most
generally accepted by the early writers) we shall have Tonacateuctli, Lord
of our Flesh, from to, the possessive pronoun plural, nacatl, flesh or
body, and teuctli, master or lord. We shall also have Tonacatlecoatl,
Serpent of our Flesh, from to and nacatl, and coatl, serpent.
According to Sahagim, Tezcatlipoca, in his character of the God of Hosts,
was addressed as follows by the Mexican High Priest:--"We entreat that
those who die in war may be received by thee, our Father the Sun, and our
Mother the Earth, for thou alone reignest." The same authority informs us
that in the prayer of thanks, returned to Tezcatlipoca by the Mexican
kings on the occasion of their coronation, God was recognised as the God
of Fire, to whom Xiuthteuctli, Lord of Vegetation, and specifically Lord
of Fire, bears the same relation that Suyra does to the first person of
the Hindu Triad. The king petitions that he may act "in conformity with
the will of the ancient God, the Father of all Gods, who is the God of
Fire; whose habitation is in the midst of the waters, encompassed by
battlements, surrounded by rocks as it were with roses, whose name is
Xiuteuctli," etc.
Tonacateuctli, or Tezcatlipoca, is often, not to say generally, both on
the monuments and in the paintings, represented as surrounded by a disc of
the sun.
The name of the primitive goddess, the wife of Tezcatlipoca, was
Cihuacohuatl or Tonacacihua. She was well known by other names, all
referring to her attributes. The etymology of Cihuacohuatl is clearly
Cihua, woman or female, and coatl, serpent--Female Serpent. And
Tonacacihua is Female Sun, from Tonatiuh nacatl (as before) and cihua,
woman or female. Adopting the other etymology, it is Woman of our Flesh.
Gama, who is said to be by far the most intelligent author who has treated
with any detail of the Mexican Gods, referring to the serpent symbols
belonging to the statue of Teoyaomiqui, says--"These refer to another
Goddess named Cihuacohuatl, or Female Serpent, which the Mexicans believe
gave to the light, at a single birth, two children, one male and the other
female, to whom they refer the origin of mankind: and hence twins, among
the Mexicans, are called cohuatl or coatl, which is corrupted in the
pronunciation by the vulgar into coate."
Whichever etymology we assign to Tonaca in these combinations, the leading
fact that the Great Father was designated as the male serpent, and the
Great Mother as the female servant, remains unaffected. Not only were they
thus designated, but Cinacoatl or Cihuacohuatl was generally if not always
represented, in the paintings, accompanied by a great snake or
feather-headed serpent (Tonacatlecoatl "serpent sun") in which the monkish
interpreters did not fail to discover a palpable allusion to Eve and the
tempter of the garden.
Pursuing the subject of the connection of the Serpent Symbol with American
Mythology, we remark, the fact that it was a conspicuous symbol and could
not escape the attention of the most superficial of observers of the
Mexican and Central American monuments, and mythological paintings. The
early Spaniards were particularly struck with its prominence.
"The snake," says Dupaix, "was a conspicuous object in the Mexican
mythology, and we find it carved in various shapes and sizes, coiled,
extended, spiral or entwined with great beauty, and sometimes represented
with feathers and other ornaments. These different representatives," he
continues, "no doubt denoted its different attributes."
The editor of Kingsborough's great work observes:--"Like the Egyptian
Sphynx, the mystical snake of the Mexicans had its enigmas, and both are
beyond our power to unravel;" this, however, is a matter of opinion, and
the conclusion is one from which many will strongly dissent.
In almost every primitive mythology we find, not only a Great Father and
Mother, the representatives of the reciprocal principles, and a Great
Hemaphrodite Unity from whom the first proceed and in whom they are both
combined, but we find also a beneficial character, partaking of a divine
and human nature, who is the Great Teacher of Men, who instructs them in
religion, civil organization and the arts, and who, after a life of
exemplary usefulness, disappears mysteriously, leaving his people
impressed with the highest respect for his institutions and the
profoundest regard for his memory. This demi-god, to whom divine honours
are often paid after his withdrawal from the earth, is usually the Son of
the Sun, or of the Demiurgic Creator, the Great Father, who stands at the
head of the primitive pantheons and subordinate only to the Supreme Unity;
he is born of an earthly mother, a virgin, and often a vestal of the Sun,
who conceives in a mysterious manner, and who, after giving birth to her
half-divine son, is herself sometimes elevated to the rank of a goddess.
In the more refined and systematized mythologies he appears clearly as an
incarnation of the Great Father and partaking of his attributes, his
terrestial representative, and the mediator between him and man. He
appears as Buddha in India; Fohi in China; Schaka in Thibet; Zoroasta in
Persia; Osiris in Egypt; Taut in Phoenicia; Hermes or Cadmus in Greece;
Romulus in Rome; Odin in Scandinavia; and in each case is regarded as the
Great Teacher of Men, and the founder of religion.
In the mythological systems of America, this intermediate demi-god was not
less clearly recognised than in those of the Old World; indeed, as these
systems were less complicated because less modified from the original or
primitive forms, the Great Teacher appears here with more distinctness.
Among the savage tribes his origin and character were, for obvious
reasons, much confused; but among the more advanced nations he occupied a
well-defined position.
Among the nations of Anahuac, he bore the name of Quetzalcoatl (Feathered
Serpent) and was regarded with the highest veneration. His festivals were
the most gorgeous of the year. To him it is said the great temple of
Cholula was dedicated. His history, drawn from various sources, is as
follows:--The god of the "Milky Way"--in other words, of Heaven--the
principal deity of the Aztec Pantheon, and the Great Father of gods and
men, sent a message to a virgin of Tulan, telling her that it was the will
of the gods that she should conceive a son, which she did without knowing
any man. This son was Quetzalcoatl, who was figured as tall, of fair
complexion, open forehead, large eyes and a thick beard. He became high
priest of Tulan, introducted the worship of the gods, established laws
displaying the profoundest wisdom, regulated the calendar, and maintained
the most rigid and exemplary manners in his life. He was averse to
cruelty, abhorred war, and taught men to cultivate the soil, to reduce
metal from their ores, and many other things necessary to their welfare.
Under his benign administration the widest happiness prevailed amongst
men. The corn grew to such a size that a single ear was a load for a man;
gourds were as long as a man's body; it was unnecessary to dye cotton for
it grew of all colours; all fruits were in the greatest profusion and of
extraordinary size; there were also vast numbers of beautiful and sweet
singing birds. His reign was the golden age of Anahuac. He however
disappeared suddenly and mysteriously, in what manner is unknown. Some say
he died on the sea-shore, and others say that he wandered away in search
of the imaginary kingdom of Tlallapa. He was deified; temples were erected
to him, and he was adored throughout Anahuac.
Quetzalcoatl is, therefore, but an incarnation of the "Serpent Sun"
Tonacatlecoalt, and, as is indicated by his name, the feathered serpent
was his recognised symbol. He was thus symbolized in accordance with a
practice which (says Gama) prevailed in Mexico, of associating or
connecting with the representatives of a god or goddess, the symbols of
the other deities from whom they are derived, or to whom they sustain
some relation. His temples were distinguished as being circular, and the
one dedicated to his worship in Mexico, was, according to Gomera, entered
by a door "like unto the mouth of a serpent, which was a thing to fear by
those who went in thereat, especially by the Christians, to whom it
represented very hell."
The Mayas of Yucatan had a demi-god corresponding entirely with
Quetzalcoatl, if he was not the same under a different name--a conjecture
very well sustained by the evident relationship between the Mexican and
Mayan mythologies. He was named Itzamna or Zamna, and was the only son of
the principal God, Kinchanan. He arrived from the East, and instructed the
people in all that was essential to their welfare. "He," says Cogolludo,
"invented the characters which they use as letters, and which are called
after him, Itzamna, and they adore him as a god."
There was another similar character in Yucatan, called Ku Kulcan or
Cuculcan, another in Nicaragua named Theotbilake, son of their principal
god Thomathoyo, and another in Colombia bearing the name of Bochia. Peru
and Guatemala furnish similar traditions, as do also Brazil, the nations
of the Tamanac race, Florida, and various savage tribes of the West.
The serpent, as we show elsewhere, was an emblem both of Quetzalcoatl and
of Ku Kulcan--a fact which gives some importance to the statement of
Cabrera that Votan of Guatemala as above was represented to be a serpent,
or of serpent origin.
Torquemada states, that the images of Huitzlipochtli of Mexico,
Quetzalcoatl, and Tlaloc were each represented with a golden serpent,
bearing different symbolical sacrificial allusions. He also assures us
that serpents often entered into the symbolical sacrificial ceremonies of
the Mexicans, and presents the following example:--
"Among the many sacrifices which these Indians made, there was one which
they performed in honour of the mountains, by forming serpents out of wood
or of the roots of the trees, to which they affixed serpents' heads, and
also dolls of the same, which they called Ecatotowin, which figures of
serpents and fictitious children they covered with dough, named by them
Tzoalli, composed of the seeds of Bledos, and placed them on supports of
wood, carved in the representation of hills or mountains, on the tops of
which they fixed them. This was the kind of offering which they made to
the mountains and high hills."
The mother of Huitzlipochtli was a priestess of Tezcatlipoca (a cleanser
of the temple, says Gama) named Coatlantona, Coatlcue, or Coatlcyue
(serpent of the temple or serpent woman). She was extremely devoted to the
gods, and one day when walking in the temple, she beheld, descending in
the air, a ball made of variously coloured feathers. She placed it in her
girdle, became at once pregnant, and afterwards was delivered of Mexith or
Huitzlipochtli, full armed, with a spear in one hand, a shield in the
other, and a crest of green feathers on his head. He became, according to
some, their leader into Anahuac, guiding them to the place where Mexico is
built. His statue was of gigantic size, and covered with ornaments each
one of which had its significance. He was depicted placed upon a seat,
from the four corners of which issued four large serpents. "His body,"
says Gomeza, "was beset with pearls, precious stones and gold, and for
collars and chains around his neck ten hearts of men made of gold. It had
also a counterfeit vizard, with eyes of glass, and in its neck death
painted, all of which things had their considerations and meanings." It
was to him in his divine character of the destroyer that the bloodiest
sacrifices of Mexico were performed. His wife, Teoyaomiqui (from Teo,
sacred or divine; Yaoyotl, war; and Miqui, to kill) was represented as a
figure bearing the full breasts of a woman, literally enveloped in
serpents, and ornamented with feathers, shells, and the teeth and claws of
a tiger. She had a necklace composed of six hands. Around her waist is a
belt to which death's heads are attached. One of her statues, a horrible
figure, still exists in the city of Mexico. It is carved from a solid
block of vasalt, and is nine feet in height and five and a half in
breadth.
It is not improbable that the serpent-mother of Huitzlipochtli was an
impersonation of the great female serpent Cinacohuatl, the wife of
Tonacatlecoatl, the serpent-father of Quetzalcoatl. However this may be,
it is clear that a more intimate connection exists between the several
principal divinities of Mexico, than appears from the confused and meagre
accounts which have been left us of their mythology. Indeed, we have seen
that the Hindu Triad, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, has very nearly its
counterpart in Tezcatlipoca, Tlaloc, and the celestial Huitzlipochtli, the
Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer and Reproducer. In the delineations of
Siva or Mahadeo, in his character of the destroyer, he is represented as
wrapped in tiger skins. A hooded snake is twisted around him and lifts its
head above his shoulder, and twisted snakes form his head-dress. In other
cases he holds a spear, a sword, a serpent, and a skull, and has a girdle
of skulls around his waist. The bull Nandi (emblem of generative force),
as also the lingham, are among his emblems. To him were dedicated the
bloodiest sacrifices of India. Durga, or Kali (an impersonation of Bhavin,
goddess of nature and fecundity) corresponds with the Mexican Tesyaomiqui,
and is represented in a similar manner. She is a war goddess and her
martial deeds give her a high position in the Hindu pantheon. As Kali, her
representatives are most terrible. The emblems of destruction are common
to all: she is entwined with serpents; a circlet of flowers surrounds her
head; a necklace of skulls; a girdle of dissevered human hands; tigers
crouching at her feet--indeed every combination of the horrible and the
loathsome is invoked to portray the dark character which she represents.
She delights in human sacrifices and the ritual prescribes that, previous
to the death of the victim, she should be invoked as follows: "Let the
sacrificer first repeat the name of Kali thrice, Hail, Kali! Kali! Hail,
Devi! Hail, Goddess of Thunder! iron-sceptered, hail, fierce Kali! Cut,
slay, destroy! bind, secure! Cut with the axe, drink blood, slay,
destroy!" "She has four hands," says Patterson, "two of which are employed
in the work of death; one points downwards, allusive to the destruction
which surrounds her, and the other upwards, which seems to promise the
regeneration of nature by a new creation." "On her festivals," says
Coleman, "her temples literally stream with blood." As Durga, however, she
is often represented as the patroness of Virtue and her battles with evil
demons form the subject of many Hindu poems. She is under this aspect the
armed Phallas.
We have seen that the Creator of the World, the Great Father of the
Aztecs, Tonacatlecoatl or Tezcatlipoca, and his wife Cihuacohuatl, were
not only symbolized as the Sun and Moon, but also that they were
designated as the male and female serpent, and that in the mythological
pictures the former was represented as a feather-headed snake. We have
also seen that the incarnate or human representative of this deity
Quetzalcoatl, was also symbolized as a feathered serpent. This was in
accordance with the system of the Aztecs, who represented cognate symbols,
and invested the impersonations or descendants of the greater gods with
their emblems.
These facts being well established, many monuments of American antiquity,
otherwise inexplicable, become invested with significance. In Mexico,
unfortunately, the monumental records of the ancient inhabitants have
been so ruthlessly destroyed or obliterated that now they afford us but
little aid in our researches. Her ancient paintings, although there are
some which have escaped the general devastation, are principally beyond
our reach and cannot be consulted particularly upon these points. In
Central America, however, we find many remains which, although in a ruined
state, are much more complete and much more interesting than any others
concerning which we possess any certain information.
The researches and explorations of Messrs. Stephens and Catherwood have
placed many of these before us in a form which enables us to detect their
leading features. Ranking first among the many interesting groups of ruins
discovered by these gentlemen, both in respect to their extent and
character, are those of Chichen-itza. One of the structures comprising
this group is described as follows:--"The building called the Castillo is
the first which we saw, and is, from every point of view, the grandest and
most conspicuous object that towers above the plain. The mound upon which
it stands measures one hundred and ninety-seven feet at the base, and is
built up, apparently solid, to the height of seventy-five feet. On the
west side is a stairway thirty-seven feet wide; on the north another,
forty-four feet wide, and containing ninety steps. On the ground at the
foot of the stairway, forming a bold, striking, and well-conceived
commencement, are two collossal serpents' heads (feathered) ten feet in
length, with mouths wide open and tongues protruding."
"No doubt they were emblematic of some religious belief, and, in the minds
of the imaginative people passing between them, must have excited feelings
of solemn awe. The platform on the mound is about sixty feet square and is
crowned by a building measuring forty-three by forty-nine feet. Single
doorways face the east, south and west, having massive lentils of zapote
wood, covered with elaborate carvings, and the jambs are ornamented with
sculptured figures. The sculpture is much worn, but the head-dress of
feathers and portions of the rich attire still remain. The face is well
preserved and has a dignified aspect. All the other jambs are decorated
with sculptures of the same general character, and all open into a
corridor six feet wide, extending around three sides of the building. The
interior of this building was ornamented with very elaborate but much
obliterated carvings.
"The sacred character of this remarkable structure is apparent at the
first glance, and it is equally obvious that the various sculptures must
have some significance. The entrance between the two colossal serpents'
heads remind us at once of Gomera's description of the entrance to the
temple of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico, which 'was like unto the mouth of a
serpent and which was a thing to fear by those who entered in thereat.'"
The circumstance that these heads are feathered seems further to connect
this temple with the worship of that divinity. But in the figures
sculptured upon the jambs of the entrances, and which, Mr. Stephens
observes, were of the same general character throughout, we have further
proof that this structure was dedicated to a serpent divinity. Let it be
remembered that the dignified personage there represented is accompanied
by a feathered serpent, the folds of which are gracefully arrayed behind
the figure and the tail of which is marked by the rattles of the
rattle-snake--the distinguishing mark of the monumental serpent of the
continent, whether represented in the carvings of the mounds or in the
sculptures of Central America. This temple, we may therefore reasonably
infer, was sacred to the benign Quetzalcoatl, or a character corresponding
to him, whose symbolical serpent guarded the ascent to the summit, and
whose imposing representation was sculptured on its portals. This
inference is supported by the fact that in Mexican paintings the temples
of Quetzalcoatl are indicated by a serpent entwined around or rising above
them, as may be seen in an example from the Codex Borgianus in
Kingsborough.
But this is not all. We have already said that amongst the Itzaes--"holy
men"--the founders of Chichen-itza and afterwards of Mayapan, there was a
character, corresponding in many respects with Quetzalcoatl, named Ku
Kulcan or Cuculcan. Torquemada, quoted by Cogolludo, asserts that this was
but another name for Quetzalcoatl. Cogolludo himself speaks of Ku Kulcan
as "one who had been a great captain among them," and was afterwards
worshipped as a god. Herrara states that he ruled at Chichen-itza; that
all agreed that he came from the westward, but that a difference exists as
to whether he came before or afterwards or with the Itzaes. "But" he adds,
"the name of the structure at Chichen-itza and the events of that country
after the death of the lords, shows that Cuculcan governed with them. He
was a man of good disposition, not known to have had wife or children, a
great statesman, and therefore looked upon as a god, he having contrived
to build another city in which business might be managed. To this purpose
they pitched upon a spot eight leagues from Merida, where they made an
enclosure of about an eighth of a league in circuit, being a wall of dry
stone with only two gates. They built temples, calling the greatest of
them Cuculcan. Near the enclosures were the houses of the prime men, among
whom Cuculcan divided the land, appointing towns to each of them.
"This city was called Mayapan (the standard of Maya), the Mayan being the
language of the country. Cuculcan governed in peace and quietness and with
great justice for some years, when, having provided for his departure and
recommended to them the good form of government which had been
established, he returned to Mexico the same way he came, making some stay
at Chanpotan, where, as a memorial of his journey, he erected a structure
in the sea, which is to be seen to this day."[9]
We have here the direct statement that the principal structure at Mayapan
was called Cuculcan; and from the language of Herrara the conclusion is
irresistible that the principal structure of Chichen-itza was also called
by the same name. These are extremely interesting facts, going far to show
that the figure represented in the "Castillo," and which we have
identified upon other evidence as being that of a personage corresponding
to Quetzalcoatl, is none other than the figure of the demi-god Ku Kulcan,
or Cuculcan, to whose worship the temple was dedicated and after whom it
was named.
If we consult the etymology of the name Ku Kulcan we shall have further
and striking evidence in support of this conclusion. _Ku_ in the Mayan
language means God, and _can_ serpent. We have, then, Ku _Kul_can,
God--_Kul_, Serpent, or Serpent-God. What _Kul_ signifies it is not
pretended to say, but we may reasonably conjecture that it is a qualifying
word to _can_ serpent. _Kukum_ is feather, and it is possible that by
being converted into an adjective form it may change its termination into
Kukul. The etymology may therefore be Kukumcan Feather-Serpent, or
Kukulcan Feathered Serpent. We, however, repose on the first explanation,
and unhesitatingly hazard the opinion that, when opportunity is afforded
of ascertaining the value of _Kul_, the correctness of our conclusions
will be fully justified.
And here we may also add that the etymology of Kinchahan, the name of the
principal god of the Mayas and corresponding to Tonacatlcoatl of Mexico,
is precisely the same as that of the latter. _Kin_ is Sun in the Mayan
language, and _Chahan_, as every one acquainted with the Spanish
pronunciation well knows, is nothing more than a variation in orthography
for _Caeaen_ or _Can_, serpent. Kin Chahan, Kincaan, or Kincan is,
therefore, Sun-serpent.
The observation that Quetzalcoatl might be regarded as the incarnation of
Tezcatlipoca, or Tonacatlcoatl, corresponding to the Buddha of the Hindus,
was based upon the coincidences in their origin, character, and teachings,
but there are some remarkable coincidences between the temples dedicated
to the worship of these two great teachers--or perhaps we should say,
between the religious structures of Central America and Mexico and
Hindustan and the islands of the Indian Archipelago, which deserve
attention.
From the top of the lofty temple at Chichen-itza, just described, Mr.
Stephens saw, for the first time, groups of columns or upright stones
which, he observes, proved upon examination to be among the most
remarkable and unintelligible remains he had yet encountered. "They stood
in rows of three, four and five abreast, many rows continuing in the same
direction, when they collectively changed and pursued another. They were
low, the tallest not more than six feet high. Many had fallen, in some
places lying prostrate in rows, all in the same direction, as if thrown
intentionally. In some cases they extended to the bases of large mounds,
on which were ruins of buildings and large fragments of sculptures, while
in others they branched off and terminated abruptly. I counted three
hundred and eighty, and there were many more; but so many were broken and
lay so irregularly that I gave up counting them."
Those represented by Mr. Stephens, in his plate, occur in immediate
connection with the temple above described, and enclose an area nearly
four hundred feet square.
In the third volume of the "Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society" is
an account of the mixed temples of the ancient city of Anarajapura
(situated in the centre of the island of Ceylon) by Captain Chapman, of
the British Army. The remarkable character of these ancient structures and
the decided resemblances which they sustain to those of Central America,
and particularly to the group of Chichen-itza, justify a somewhat detailed
notice of them.
According to native records, Anarajapura was, for a period of thirteen
hundred years, both the principal seat of the religion of the country and
the residence of its kings. It abounded in magnificent buildings,
sculptures and other works of art, and was, as it still is, held in the
greatest veneration by the followers of Buddha as the most sacred spot in
the island.
"At this time," says Captain Chapman, "the only remaining traces of the
city consist of nine temples; of two very extensive banks; of several
smaller ones in ruins; of groups of pillars, and of portions of walls,
which are scattered over an extent of several miles. The nine temples are
still held in great reverence, and are visited periodically by the
Buddhists. They consist first of an enclosure, in which are the sacred
trees called the Bogaha; the Thousand Pillars called Lowa Maha Paya; and
the seven mounds or Dagobas, each one of which has a distinct name given
it by its founder."
The temple of Bo Malloa, especially sacred to Buddha, is of granite and
consists of a series of four rectangular terraces, faced with granite,
rising out of each other and diminishing both in height and extent, upon
which are situated the altars and the sacred Bogaha trees, or trees of
Buddha. The total height of the terraces is about twenty feet and the
extent of the largest thirty paces by fifteen. These terraces are ascended
by flights of steps. At the foot of the principal flight are slabs of
granite, placed perpendicularly, upon which figures are boldly sculptured;
and between is a semi-circular stone with simple mouldings let in the
ground. Upon the east of the building projects a colossal figure of
Buddha. Another similar, but smaller, structure is placed a little to the
eastward of that first described. Both are surrounded by a wall, enclosing
a space one hundred and twenty five paces long by seventy-five wide,
within which are planted a variety of odoriferous trees.
A few paces to the eastward of this enclosure are the ruins of the
"Thousand Pillars." These consisted originally of 1600 pillars, disposed
in a square. The greater part are still standing; they consist, with a few
exceptions, of a single piece of gneiss in the rough state in which they
were quarried. They are ten or twelve feet above the ground; twelve inches
by eight square, and about four feet from each other; but the two in the
centre of the outer line differ from the rest in being of hard blue
granite, and in being more carefully finished. These pillars were said to
have been covered with _chunam_ (plaster) and thus converted into columns
having definite forms and proportions. There is a tradition that there
was formerly in the centre of this square a brazen chamber, in which was
contained a relic held in much veneration. A few paces from this was a
single pillar of gneiss in a rough state, which was from fourteen to
sixteen feet high.
Captain Chapman observes that structures, accompanied by similar groups of
columns, exist on the opposite or continental coast. The temples of
Ramiseram, Madura, and the celebrated one of Seringham, have each their
"Thousand Pillars." In Ramiseram the pillars are arranged in colonnades of
several parallel rows, and these colonnades are separated by tanks or
spaces occupied by buildings in the manner indicated by Mr. Stephens at
Chichen-itza. Some of these pillars are carved; others are in their rough
state or covered with plaster. In Madura the pillars are disposed in a
square of lines radiating in such a manner that a person placed in the
centre can see through in every direction. This square is on a raised
terrace, the pillars rude and only about eight feet high. At Seringham the
pillars also form a square.
The dagobas, occurring in connection with the temple of Buddha and the
"Thousand Pillars" at Anarajapura, deserve a notice, as they correspond in
many respects with some of the structures at Chichen. They are of various
dimensions and consist generally of raised terraces or platforms of great
extent, surrounded by mounds of earth faced with brick or stone, and often
crowned with circular, dome-shaped structures. The base is usually
surrounded by rows of columns. They vary from fifty to one hundred and
fifty feet in height. The dagobas, of intermediate size, have occasionally
a form approaching that of a bubble, but in general they have the form of
a bell. They constitute part of the Buddhist Temples, almost without
exception. We have, in the character of these singular columns and their
arrangement in respect to each other and the pyramidal structures in
connection with which they are found, a most striking resemblance between
the ruins of Chichen-itza in Central America, and Anarajapura in
Ceylon--between the temples of Buddha and those of Quetzalcoatl, or some
corresponding character. The further coincidences which exist between the
sacred architecture of India and Central America will be reserved for
another place. We cannot, however, omit to notice here the structure at
Chichen-itza designated as the "Caracol," both from its resemblance to the
dagobas of Ceylon and its connection with the worship of the Serpent
Deity. Mr. Stephens describes it as follows:--
"It is circular in form and is known by the name of the Caracol, or
Winding Staircase, on account of its interior arrangements. It stands on
the upper of two terraces. The lower one measuring in front, from north to
south, two hundred and twenty-three feet, and is still in good
preservation. A grand staircase, forty-five feet wide, and containing
twenty steps, rises to the platform of this terrace. On each side of the
staircase, forming a sort of balustrade, rest the entwined bodies of two
gigantic serpents, three feet wide, portions of which are still in place;
and amongst the ruins of the staircase a gigantic head, which had
terminated, at one side the foot of the steps. The platform of the second
terrace measured eighty feet in front and fifty-five in depth, and is
reached by another staircase forty-two feet wide and having forty-two
steps. In the centre of the steps and against the wall of the terrace are
the remains of a pedestal six feet high, on which probably once stood an
idol. On the platform, fifteen feet from the last step, stands the
building. It is twenty-two feet in diameter and has four small doorways
facing the cardinal points. Above the cornice the roof sloped off so as to
form an apex. The height, including the terraces, is little short of sixty
feet. The doorways give entrance to a circular corridor five feet wide.
The inner wall has four doorways, smaller than the others, and standing
intermediately with respect to them. These doors give entrance to a second
circular corridor, four feet wide, and in the centre is a circular mass,
apparently of solid stone, seven feet six inches in diameter; but in one
place, at the height of eleven feet from the floor, was a small square
opening, which I endeavoured to clear out but without success. The roof
was so tottering that I could not discover to what this opening led. The
walls of both corridors were plastered and covered with paintings, and
both were covered with a triangular arch."
Mr. Stephens also found at Mayapan, which city, as we have seen, was built
by Ku Kulcan, the great ruler and demi-god of Chichen-itza, a dome-shaped
edifice of much the same character with that here described. It is the
principal structure here, and stands on a mound thirty feet high. The
walls are ten feet high to the top of the lower cornice, and fourteen more
to the upper one. It has a single entrance towards the west. The outer
wall is five feet thick, within which is a corridor three feet wide,
surrounding a solid cylindrical mass of stone, nine feet in thickness. The
walls have four or five coats of stucco and were covered with remains of
paintings, in which red, yellow, blue and white were distinctly visible.
On the south-west of the building was a double row of columns, eight feet
apart, though probably from the remains around, there had been more, and
by clearing away the trees others might be found. They were two feet and a
half in diameter. We are not informed upon the point but presumably the
columns were arranged, in respect to the structure, in the same manner as
those accompanying the dagobas of Ceylon, or the mounds of Chichen-itza.
Among the ruins of Chichen are none more remarkable than that called by
the natives "Egclesia" or the Church. It is described by Mr. Stephens as
consisting of "two immense parallel walls each two hundred and
seventy-five feet long, thirty feet thick, and placed one hundred and
twenty feet apart. One hundred feet from the northern extremity, facing
the space between the walls, stands, on a terrace, a building thirty-five
feet long, containing a single chamber, with the front fallen, and rising
among the rubbish the remains of two columns elaborately ornamented, the
whole interior wall being exposed to view, covered from top to bottom with
sculptured figures in bas-relief much worn and faded. At the southern end
also, placed back a hundred feet and corresponding in position, is another
building eighty-one feet long, in ruins, but also exhibiting the remains
of this column richly sculptured. In the centre of the great stone walls,
exactly opposite each other, and at the height of thirty feet from the
ground, are two massive stone rings, four feet in diameter and one foot
one inch thick, the diameter of the hole is one foot seven inches. On the
rim and border are sculptured two entwined serpents; one of them is
feather-headed, the other is not." May we regard them as allusive to the
Serpent God and the Serpent Goddess of the Aztec mythology? Mr. Stephens
is disposed to regard the singular structure here described as a Gymnasium
or Tennis Court, and supports his opinion by a quotation from Herrara. It
seems to others much more probable that, with the other buildings of the
group, this had an exclusively sacred origin. However that may be, the
entwined serpents are clearly symbolical, inasmuch as we find them
elsewhere, in a much more conspicuous position, and occupying the first
place among the emblematic figures sculptured on the aboriginal temples.
Immediately in connection with this singular structure and constituting
part of the eastern wall, is a building, in many respects the most
interesting visited by Mr. Stephens, and respecting which it is to be
regretted he has not given us a more complete account. It requires no
extraordinary effort of fancy to discover in the sculptures and paintings
with which it is decorated the pictured records of the teachings of the
deified Ku Kulcan, who instructed men in the arts, taught them in
religion, and instituted government. There are represented processions of
figures, covered with ornaments, and carrying arms. "One of the inner
chambers is covered," says Mr. Stephens, "from the floor to the arched
roof, with designs in painting, representing, in bright and vivid colours,
human figures, battles, horses, boats, trees, and various scenes in
domestic life." These correspond very nearly with the representations on
the walls of the ancient Buddhist temples of Java, which are described by
Mr. Crawfurd as being covered with designs of "a great variety of
subjects, such as processions, audiences, religious worship, battles,
hunting, maritime and other scenes."
Among the ruins of Uxmal is a structure closely resembling the Egclesia of
Chichen. It consists of two massive walls of stone, one hundred and
twenty-eight feet long, and thirty in thickness, and placed seventy feet
apart. So far as could be made out, they are exactly alike in plan and
ornament. The sides facing each other are embellished with sculpture, and
upon both remain the fragments of entwined colossal serpents which run the
whole length of the walls. In the centre of each facade, as at Chichen,
were the fragments of a great stone ring, which had been broken off and
probably destroyed. It would therefore seem that the emblem of the
entwined serpents was significant of the purposes to which these
structures were dedicated. The destruction of these stones is another
evidence of their religious character; for the conquerors always directed
their destroying zeal against those monuments, or parts of monuments, most
venerated and valued by the Indians, and which were deemed most intimately
connected with their superstitions.
Two hundred feet to the south of this edifice is another large and
imposing structure, called Casa de las Monjas, House of the Nuns. It
stands on the highest terraces, and is reached by a flight of steps. It is
quadrangular in form, with a courtyard in the centre. This is two hundred
and fourteen by two hundred and fifty-eight. "Passing through the arched
gateway," says Mr. Stephens, "we enter this noble courtyard, with four
great facades looking down upon it, each ornamented from one end to the
other with the richest and most elaborate carving known in the art of the
builders. The facade on the left is most richly ornamented, but is much
ruined. It is one hundred and sixty feet long, and is distinguished by two
colossal serpents entwined, running through and encompassing nearly all
the ornaments throughout its entire length. At the north end, where the
facade is most entire, the tail of one serpent is held up nearly over the
head of the other, and has an ornament upon it like a turban with a plume
of feathers. There are marks upon the extremity of the tail, probably
intended to represent the rattlesnake, with which the country abounds. The
lower serpent has its monstrous jaws wide open, and within there is a
human head, the face of which is distinctly visible in the stone. The head
and tail of the two serpents at the south end of the facade are said to
have corresponded with those at the north, and when the whole was entire,
in 1836, the serpents were seen encircling every ornament of the building.
The bodies of the serpents are covered with feathers. Its ruins present a
lively idea of the large and many well-constructed buildings of lime and
stone, which Bernal Diaz saw at Campeachy, with figures of serpents and
idols painted on their walls." Mr. Norman mentions that the heads of the
serpents were adorned with plumes of feathers, and that the tails showed
the peculiarity of the rattlesnake.[10]
The eastern facade, opposite that just described, is less elaborately, but
more tastefully ornamented. Over each doorway is an ornament representing
the Sun. In every instance there is a face in the centre, with the tongue
projected, surmounted by an elaborate head-dress; between the bars there
is also a range of many lozenge-shaped ornaments, in which the remains of
red paint are distinctly visible, and at each end is a serpent's head with
the mouth open. The ornament over the principal doorway is much more
complicated and elaborate, and of that marked and peculiar style which
characterizes the highest efforts of the builders.
The central figure, with the projecting tongue, is probably that of the
Sun, and in general design coincides with the central figure sculptured on
the great calendar stone of Mexico, and with that found by Mr. Stephens on
the walls of Casa No. 3 at Palenque, where it is represented as an object
of admiration. The protrusion of the tongue signified, among the Aztecs,
ability to speak, and denoted life or existence. Among the Sclavonian
nations, the idea of vitality was conveyed by ability to eat, as it is by
to breathe among ourselves, and to walk among the Indians of the Algonquin
stock.
Although Central America was occupied by nations independent of those of
Mexico proper, yet some of them (as those inhabiting the Pacific coast, as
far south as Nicaragua) were descended directly from them, and all had
striking features in common with them. Their languages were in general
different, but cognate; their architecture was essentially the same; and
their religion, we have every reason for believing, was not widely
different, though doubtless that of the south was less ferocious in its
character, and not so generally disfigured by human sacrifices.
We may therefore look with entire safety for common mythological notions,
especially when we are assured of the fact that, whatever its
modifications, the religion of the continent is essentially the same; and
especially when we know that whatever differences may have existed amongst
the various nations of Mexico and Central America, the elements of their
religion were derived from a common Tottecan root.