COMMERCE OF THE NAHUA NATIONS.
THE MAIN FEATURES OF NAHUA COMMERCE--COMMERCE IN PRE-AZTEC
TIMES--OUTRAGES COMMITTED BY AZTEC MERCHANTS--PRIVILEGES OF
THE MERCHANTS OF TLATELULCO--JEALOUSY BETWEEN MERCHANTS AND
NOBLES--ARTICLES USED AS CURRENCY--THE MARKETS OF
ANÁHUAC--ARRANGEMENT AND REGULATIONS OF THE
MARKET-PLACES--NUMBER OF BUYERS AND SELLERS--TRANSPORTATION
OF WARES--TRAVELING MERCHANTS--COMMERCIAL ROUTES--SETTING
OUT ON A JOURNEY--CARAVANS OF TRADERS--THE RETURN--CUSTOMS
AND FEASTS OF THE MERCHANTS--NAHUA BOATS AND NAVIGATION.
[Sidenote: COMMERCE IN PRE-AZTEC TIMES.]
Traditional history tells us but little respecting American commerce
previous to the formation of the great Aztec alliance, or empire, but
the faint light thrown on the subject would indicate little or no
change in the system within the limits of Nahua history. The main
features of the commercial system in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, were: markets in one or more of the public squares of every
town, where eatables and other articles of immediate necessity were
daily sold--shops proper being unknown; frequently recurring fairs in
each of the large towns, where the products of agriculture,
manufacture, and art in the surrounding country were displayed before
consumers and merchants from home and from abroad; similar fairs but
on a grander scale in the great commercial centres, where home
products were exchanged for foreign merchandise, or sold for export
to merchants from distant nations who attended these fairs in large
numbers; itinerant traders continually traversing the country in
companies, or caravans; and the existence of a separate class
exclusively devoted to commerce.
From the earliest times the two southern Anáhuacs of Ayotlan and
Xicalanco, corresponding to what are now the southern coast of Oajaca
and the tierra caliente of Tabasco and southern Vera Cruz, were
inhabited by commercial peoples, and were noted for their fairs and
the rich wares therein exposed for sale. These nations, the
Xicalancas, Mijes, Huaves, and Zapotecs even engaged to some extent in
a maritime coasting trade, mostly confined, however, as it would
appear, to the coasts of their own territories and those immediately
adjacent; and in this branch of commerce little or no advance had been
made at the time when the Spaniards came.[410]
The Toltecs are reported to have excelled in commerce as in all other
respects, and the markets of Tollan and Cholula are pictured in
glowing colors; but all traditions on this subject are exceedingly
vague.[411] In the new era of prosperity that followed the Toltec
disasters Cholula seems to have held the first place as a commercial
centre, her fairs were the most famous, and her merchants controlled
the trade of the southern coasts on either ocean. After the coming of
the Teo-Chichimec hordes to the eastern plateau, Tlascala became in
her turn the commercial metropolis of the north, a position which she
retained until forced to yield it to the merchants of the Mexican
valley, who were supported by the warlike hordes of the Aztec
confederacy. Before the Aztec supremacy, trade seems to have been
conducted with some show of fairness, and commerce and politics were
kept to a great extent separate. But the Aztecs introduced a new
order of things. Their merchants, instead of peaceful, industrious,
unassuming travelers, became insolent and overbearing, meddling
without scruple in the public affairs of the nations through whose
territory they had to pass, and trusting to the dread of the armies of
Mexico for their own safety; caravans became little less than armed
bodies of robbers. The confederate kings were ever ready to extend by
war the field of their commerce, and to avenge by the hands of their
warriors any insult, real or imaginary, offered to their merchants.
The traveling bands of traders were instructed to prepare maps of
countries traversed, to observe carefully their condition for defence,
and their resources. If any province was reported rich and desirable,
its people were easily aggravated to commit some act of insolence
which served as a pretext to lay waste their lands, and make them
tributary to the kings of Anáhuac. Within the provinces that were
permanently and submissively tributary to Mexico, Tezcuco, and
Tlacopan, traffic may be supposed to have been as a rule fairly
conducted. The merchants had in turn to pay into the royal treasury a
large percentage of their gains, but this, under the circumstances,
they could well afford.
Tlatelulco while an independent city was noted for her commerce, as
was Tenochtitlan for the prowess of her warriors, and when mercantile
enterprise was forced to yield to the power of arms, Tlatelulco, as a
part of Mexico, retained her former preëminence in trade, and became
the commercial centre of Anáhuac. Her merchants, who were a separate
class of the population, were highly honored, and, so far as the
higher grades were concerned, the merchant princes, the _pochtecas_,
dwellers in the aristocratic quarter of Pochtlan, had privileges fully
equal to those of the nobles. They had tribunals of their own, to
which alone they were responsible, for the regulation of all matters
of trade. They formed indeed, to all intents and purposes, a
commercial corporation controlling the whole trade of the country, of
which all the leading merchants of other cities were in a sense
subordinate members. Jealousy between this honored class of merchants
and the nobility proper, brought about the many complications during
the last years of the Aztec empire, to which I have referred in a
preceding chapter. Throughout the Nahua dominion commerce was in the
hands of a distinct class, educated for their calling, and everywhere
honored both by people and by kings; in many regions the highest
nobles thought it no disgrace to engage in commercial pursuits.
[Sidenote: THE TLATELULCAN COMPANY.]
Besides the pochtecas, two other classes of merchants are mentioned in
Tlatelulco, the _nahualoztomecas_, those who made a specialty of
visiting the lands of enemies in disguise, and the _teyaohualohuani_
or traders in slaves.[412] The merchants were exempt from military and
other public service, and had the right not only to make laws for the
regulation of trade, but to punish even those who were not of their
class for offenses against such laws. Sahagun gives an account of the
gradual development and history of the Tlatelulcan company, stating
the names of the leading merchants under the successive kings, with
details respecting the various articles dealt in at different periods,
all of which is not deemed of sufficient interest to be reproduced in
these pages.
Nahua trade was as a rule carried on by means of barter, one article
of merchandise being exchanged for another of equivalent value. Still,
regular purchase and sale were not uncommon, particularly in the
business of retailing the various commodities to consumers. Although
no regular coined money was used, yet several more or less convenient
substitutes furnished a medium of circulation. Chief among these were
nibs, or grains, of the cacao, of a species somewhat different from
that employed in making the favorite drink, chocolate. This money,
known as _patlachté_, passed current anywhere, and payments of it
were made by count up to eight thousand, which constituted a
_xiquipilli_. In large transactions sacks containing three xiquipilli
were used to save labor in counting. _Patolquachtli_ were small pieces
of cotton cloth used as money in the purchase of articles of immediate
necessity or of little value. Another circulating medium was gold-dust
kept in translucent quills, that the quantity might be readily seen.
Copper was also cut into small pieces shaped like a T, which
constituted perhaps the nearest approach to coined money. Cortés, in
search of materials for the manufacture of artillery, found that in
several provinces pieces of tin circulated as money, and that a mine
of that metal was worked in Taxco. Sahagun says the Mexican king gave
to the merchant-soldiers, dispatched on one of their politico-commercial
expeditions, sixteen hundred _quauhtli_, or eagles, to trade with.
Bustamante, Sahagun's editor, supposes these to have been the copper
pieces already mentioned, but Brasseur believes, from the small value
of the copper and the large amount of rich fabrics purchased with the
eagles, that they were of gold. The same authority believes that the
golden quoits with which Montezuma paid his losses at gambling also
served as money.[413]
[Sidenote: THE MARKETS OF ANÁHUAC.]
The Nahuas bought and sold their merchandise by count and by measures
both of length and capacity, but not by weight; at least, such is the
general opinion of the authorities. Sahagun, however, says of the
skillful merchant that he knows "the value of gold and silver,
according to the weight and fineness, is diligent and solicitous in
his duty, and defrauds not in weighing, but rather gives overweight,"
and this too in the "time of their infidelity." Native words also
appear in several vocabularies for weights and scales. Brasseur de
Bourbourg regards this as ample proof that scales were used. Clavigero
thinks weights may have been employed and mention of the fact omitted
in the narratives.[414] The market, _tianquiztli_, of Tlatelulco was
the grandest in the country and may be taken as a representative of
all. Its grandeur consisted, however, in the abundance and variety of
the merchandise offered for sale and in the crowd of buyers and
sellers, not in the magnificence of the buildings connected with it;
for the market-place was simply an open plaza, surrounded as all the
authorities say with 'porticoes' where merchandise was exhibited. What
these porticoes were we are left to conjecture. Probably they were
nothing more than simple booths arranged in streets and covering the
whole plaza, where merchants and their wares were sheltered from the
rays of a tropical sun. Whatever may have been the nature and
arrangement of these shelters, we know that the space was
systematically apportioned among the different industries represented.
Fishermen, hunters, farmers, and artists, each had their allotted
space for the transaction of business. Hither, as Torquemada tells us,
came the potters and jewelers from Cholula, the workers in gold from
Azcapuzalco, the painters from Tezcuco, the shoe-makers from
Tenayocan, the huntsmen from Xilotepec, the fishermen from Cuitlahuac,
the fruit-growers of the tierra caliente, the mat-makers of
Quauhtitlan, the flower-dealers of Xochimilco, and yet so great was
the market that to each of these was afforded an opportunity to
display his wares.
All kinds of food, animal and vegetable, cooked and uncooked, were
arranged in the most attractive manner; eating-houses were also
attached to the tianquiztli and much patronized by the poorer classes.
Here were to be found all the native cloths and fabrics, in the piece
and made up into garments coarse and fine, plain and elaborately
embroidered, to suit the taste and means of purchasers; precious
stones, and ornaments of metal, feathers, or shells; implements and
weapons of metal, stone, and wood; building material, lime, stone,
wood, and brick; articles of household furniture; matting of various
degrees of fineness; medicinal herbs and prepared medicines; wood and
coal; incense and censers; cotton and cochineal; tanned skins;
numerous beverages; and an infinite variety of pottery; but to
enumerate all the articles noticed in the market-place by the
conquerors would make a very long list, and would involve, beside, the
repetition of many names which have been or will be mentioned
elsewhere.
Cortés speaks of this market as being twice as large as that of
Salamanca, and all the conquistadores are enthusiastic in their
expressions of wonder not only at the variety of products offered for
sale, but at the perfect order and system which prevailed,
notwithstanding the crowd of buyers and sellers. The judges of the
commercial tribunal, twelve in number according to Torquemada, four,
according to Zuazo, held their court in connection with the market
buildings, where they regulated prices and measures, and settled
disputes. Watchmen acting under their authority, constantly patrolled
the tianquiztli to prevent disorder. Any attempt at extortionate
charges, or at passing off injured or inferior goods, or any
infringement on another's rights was immediately reported and severely
punished. The judges had even the right to enforce the death penalty.
Other markets in the Nahua regions were on a similar plan, those of
Tlascala and Tezcuco coming next to that of Tlatelulco in
importance.[415]
[Sidenote: BUYERS AND SELLERS.]
Trade was carried on daily in the tianquiztli, chiefly for the
convenience of the inhabitants of the city, but every fifth day was
set apart as a special market-day, on which a fair was held, crowded
not only by local customers, but by buyers and sellers from all the
country round, and from foreign lands. In Tlatelulco these special
market-days were those that fell under the signs calli, tochtli,
acatl, and tecpatl. In other large cities, days with other signs were
chosen, in order that the fairs might not occur on the same day in
neighboring towns. Las Casas says that each of the two market-places
in the city of Mexico would contain 200,000 persons, 100,000 being
present each fifth day; and Cortés tells us that more than 60,000
persons assembled daily in the Tlatelulco market. According to the
same authority 30,000 was the number of daily visitors to the market
of Tlascala. Perhaps, however, he refers to the fair-days, on which
occasion at Tlatelulco, the Anonymous Conqueror puts the number at
50,000, limiting the daily concourse to about 25,000.[416] Considering
the population of the cities and surrounding country, together with
the limited facilities for transportation, these accounts of the daily
attendance at the markets, as also of the abundance and variety of the
merchandise, need not be regarded as exaggerations.
On the lakes about the city of Mexico merchandise of all kinds was
transported to and from the markets by boats, 50,000 of which, as
Zuazo tells us, were employed daily in bringing provisions to the
city.[417] The heavier or more bulky articles of trade, such as
building material, were often offered for sale in the boats to save
the labor of repeated handling. Boats were also used for
transportation on the southern coasts, to some extent on navigable
rivers, and also by traveling merchants in crossing such streams as
could not conveniently be bridged. The only other means of
transportation known in the country was that afforded by the carriers.
Large numbers of these carriers, or porters, were in attendance at the
markets to move goods to and from the boats, or to carry parcels to
the houses of consumers. For transportation from town to town, or to
distant lands, merchandise was packed in bales, wrapped in skins and
mats, or in bamboo cases covered with skin, known as _petlacalli_.
Cases, or cages, for the transportation of the more fragile wares were
called _cacaxtli_. The _tlamama_, or regular carriers, were trained to
their work of carrying burdens from childhood, seventy or eighty
pounds was the usual burden carried, placed on the back and supported
by the _mecapalli_, a strap passing round the forehead; twelve or
fifteen miles was the ordinary day's journey. The tlamama, clad in a
maxtli, carried on long trips, besides his bale of merchandise, a sort
of palm-leaf umbrella, a bag of provisions, and a blanket.
[Sidenote: TRAVELING MERCHANTS.]
Expeditions to distant provinces were undertaken by the company of
Tlatelulco for purposes of commercial gain; or by order of the king,
when political gains were the object in view, and the traders in
reality armed soldiers; or more rarely by individual merchants on
their own private account. For protection large numbers usually
traveled in company, choosing some one of the company to act as
leader. Previous to departure they gave a banquet to the old merchants
of the town, who by reason of their age had ceased to travel; at this
feast they made known their plans, and spoke of the places they
intended to visit and roads by which they would travel. The old
merchants applauded the spirit and enterprise of those who were going
on the expedition, and, if they were young and inexperienced,
encouraged them and spoke of the fame they would gain for having left
their homes to undertake a dangerous journey and suffer privations and
hardships. They reminded them of the wealth and honored name acquired
by their fathers in similar expeditions, and gave them advice as to
the best manner of conducting themselves on the road.[418]
On the route the carriers marched in single file, and at every
camping-place the strictest watch was kept against enemies, and
especially against robbers, who then as now infested the dangerous
passes to lie in wait for the richly laden caravans. Rulers of the
different friendly provinces, mindful of the benefits resulting from
such expeditions, constructed roads and kept them in repair; furnished
bridges or boats for crossing unfordable streams; and at certain
points, remote from towns, placed houses for the travelers'
accommodation. Expeditions in hostile provinces were undertaken by the
nahualoztomecas, who disguised themselves in the dress of the province
visited, and endeavored to imitate the manners and to speak the
language of its people, with which it was a qualification of their
profession to make themselves acquainted. Extraordinary pains was
taken to guard against robbers on the return to Mexico, and it is also
said to have been customary for the merchants on nearing the city, to
dress in rags, affecting poverty, and an unsuccessful trip. The
motive for this latter proceeding is not very apparent, nor for the
invariable introduction of goods into the city by night; they had not
even the hope of evading the payment of taxes which in later times
prompts men to similar conduct, since merchandise could only be sold
in the public market, where it could not be offered without paying the
royal percentage of duties.
The usual route of commercial expeditions was south-eastward to
Tochtepec near the banks of the Rio Alvarado, whence the caravans took
separate roads according as their destination was the coast region of
Goazacoalco, the Miztec and Zapotec towns on the Pacific, or the still
more distant regions across the isthmus of Tehuantepec. The southern
limit reached by the traders of the Aztec empire, it is impossible
accurately to determine. The merchants of Xicalanco furnished Cortés,
when about to undertake the conquest of Honduras, tolerably correct
maps of the whole region as far south as the isthmus of Panamá;[419]
the raiders from Anáhuac are known to have penetrated to Chiapa,
Soconusco, and Guatemala; it is by no means improbable that her
merchants reached on more than one occasion the Isthmus.[420]
The preceding pages contain all that has been preserved concerning
Nahua trade and traders except what may be termed the mythology of
commerce, a branch of the subject not without importance, embracing
the ceremonies, sacrifices, and superstitions connected with the
setting-out, journey, and return of the Tlatelulcan caravans.
Commerce, like every other feature of Nahua civilization, was under
the care of a special deity, and no merchant dared to set out on an
expedition in quest of gain, without fully complying with all the
requirements of the god as interpreted by the priesthood. The
particular divinity of the traders was Iyacatecutli, or
Iyacacoliuhqui, 'lord with the aquiline nose'--that nasal type being,
as the Abbé Brasseur thinks, symbolic of mercantile cunning and skill.
Services in his honor were held regularly in the month of
Tlaxochimaco; but the ceremonies performed by traveling merchants,
seem to have been mostly devoted to the god of fire and the god of the
roads.
[Sidenote: SETTING-OUT OF THE MERCHANTS.]
First a day was selected for the start whose sign was deemed
favorable--Ce Cohuatl, 'one serpent,' was a favorite. The day before
they departed the hair was cropped close, and the head soaped; during
all their absence, even should it last for years, these operations
must not be repeated, nor might they wash more than the neck, face,
and hands, bathing the body being strictly prohibited. At midnight
they cut flag-shaped papers for Xiuhtecutli, the god of fire, fastened
them to sticks painted with vermilion, and marked on them the face of
the god with drops of melted _ulli_, or India-rubber. Other papers
also marked with ulli, were cut in honor of Tlaltecutli, to be worn on
the breast. Others, for the god of the merchants, were used to cover a
bamboo stick, which they worshiped and carried with them. The gods of
the roads, Zacatzontli and Tlacotzontli, also had their papers
ornamented with ulli-drops and painted butterflies; while the papers
for Cecoatlutlimelaoatl, one of the signs of the divining art, were
decorated with snake-like figures. When all the papers were ready,
those of the fire-god were placed before the fire in the house, the
others being arranged in systematic order in the courtyard. Then the
merchants, standing before the fire, offered to it some quails which
they first beheaded, and forthwith, drawing blood from their own ears
and tongue, they repeated some mystic word and sprinkled the blood
four times on the fire. Blood was then sprinkled in turn on the papers
in the house, towards the heavens and cardinal points, and finally on
the papers in the courtyard. The fire-god's papers, after a few
appropriate words to the deity, were burned in a brazier with pure
white copal. If they burned with a clear flame, it was a good omen;
otherwise ill fortune and disaster were betokened. The papers left
outside were burned together--save those of the merchants' god--in a
fire which was kindled in the court, and the ashes were carefully
buried there.
All this at midnight. At early dawn the principal merchants of the
city or of the neighborhood, or simply friends and relatives of the
party about to set out on the journey, according to the wealth of the
party, with youths and old women, were invited to assemble and, after
a washing of mouths and hands, to partake of food. After the repast,
concluded by another washing and by smoking of pipes and drinking of
chocolate, the host spoke a few words of welcome to the guests, and
explained his plans. To this some one of the chief merchants briefly
responded with wishes for the success of the expedition, advice
respecting the route to be followed and behavior while abroad,
applause for the spirit and enterprise shown, and words of
encouragement to those about to undertake their first commercial
journey, picturing to them in vivid colors both the hardships and the
honors that were before them. Then the merchandise and provisions for
the trip were made ready in bales and placed in the canoes, if the
start was to be made by water, under the direction of the leader who,
after attending to this matter, made a farewell address of thanks for
advice and good wishes, recommending to the care of those that
remained behind their wives and children. The friends again replied
briefly and all was ready for the departure. A fire was built in the
courtyard and a vase of copal was placed near it. As a final parting
ceremony each of the departing merchants took a portion of the copal
and threw it on the fire, stepping at once toward his canoe. Not
another word of farewell must be spoken, nor a parting glance be
directed backward to friends behind. To look back or speak would be a
most unpropitious augury.
[Sidenote: CARAVANS OF TRADERS.]
Thus they set out, generally at night, as Sahagun implies. On the
journey each merchant carried continually in his hand a smooth black
stick representing his god Iyacatecutli--probably the same sticks that
have been mentioned as being covered with papers in honor of this god
the night before the departure from home. When they halted for the
night the sticks of the company were bound together in a bundle,
forming a kind of combination divinity to whose protecting care the
encampment was piously entrusted. To this god offerings of ulli and
paper were made by the leaders, and to the gods of the roads as well.
Blood must also be drawn and mingled with the offering, else it were
of no avail; and, a most inconvenient rule for poor weak humanity, the
sacrificial offering had to be repeated twice again each night, so
that one or another of the chiefs must be continually on the watch.
The caravans, when their destination was a friendly province, usually
bore some presents from the sovereigns of Mexico as tokens of their
good will, and they were received by the authorities of such provinces
with some public ceremonies not definitely described.
When the merchants returned home, after consultation with a
_tonalpouhqui_, they awaited a favorable sign, such as Ce Calli, or
Chicome Calli, 'one, or seven house,' and then entered the city under
shade of night. They repaired immediately to the house of the leading
merchant of the corporation, or to that of the merchant under whose
direction their trip had been made, formally announcing their safe
arrival, and also their intention to invite all the merchants on the
following day to partake of "a little chocolate in their poor house,"
that is, to be present at a most sumptuous banquet. Papers were then
cut and at midnight offered with ulli, much after the manner already
described, to the gods as a thank-offering for their protection. The
feast that took place next day, when all the guests were assembled,
was accompanied by additional offerings to the gods of fire and trade,
and, of course, by speeches of the returned travelers and their
guests, but presented no particularly noticeable contrasts with the
many feasts that have been described.
Not only was the traveler obliged, according to the Nahua
superstition, to abstain from baths during his absence, but even his
family during the same period, while allowed to bathe the body, must
not wash the head or face oftener than once in eighty days; thus were
the gods propitiated to watch kindly over their absent relative
wandering in distant lands. If a merchant died while on a journey, his
body, at least if he belonged to the highest rank, was neither buried
nor burned, but, clad in fine apparel, and decorated with certain
mystical papers and painted devices, it was put in a wooden cage, or
cacaxtli, and secured to a tree on the top of a high mountain. Advice
of the death was forwarded to the old merchants, who in turn informed
the family of the deceased, and regular funeral ceremonies were
performed either immediately or on the return of the caravan. If the
deceased met his death at the hands of an enemy, a wooden image was
prepared, dressed in the clothing of the dead merchant, and made the
subject of the usual funeral rites.
[Sidenote: FEASTS OF THE MERCHANTS.]
Besides the regular feasts attending the departure and return of
caravans, many others took place under the auspices of the mercantile
class. We have noticed the fondness of the Nahua people for
entertainments of this kind, and it is natural that the merchants, as
the richest class in the community, should have been foremost in
contributing to this popular taste. Each merchant, when he had
acquired great wealth by good fortune in his trading ventures, deemed
it, as Sahagun tells us, a most disgraceful thing "to die without
having made some splendid expenditure" by entertaining his friends and
fellow-merchants in a banquet, which should be remembered as _the_
event of his career. A long time was devoted to making ready for the
feast, to the purchase of provisions and decorations, and to engaging
dancers and singers, that no item might be neglected, nor any
oversight be allowed to mar the perfect enjoyment of the invited
guests. All being ready, a propitious sign was selected, and
invitations issued. The object of the display of hospitality being not
only the entertainment of friends, but a thanksgiving to the gods for
favors shown to the host, the first ceremonies were naturally in honor
of the deities. These began in the night preceding the feast-day, with
offerings of flowers in the shrine of Huitzilopochtli, in the chapels
of other gods, and finally in the courtyard of the host, where were
placed drums and two plates, on which perfumed canes were burning.
Those officiating whistled in a peculiar manner, and all, stooping,
put some earth in their mouth, crying "our lord has sounded." Then all
burned perfumed copal, and a priest beheaded a quail before the drum,
throwing it on the ground and watching in what direction it might
flutter. If northward, it was a bad omen, foretelling sickness, or
perhaps death. But the west and south were fortunate directions,
indicating a peaceful and friendly disposition on the part of the
gods. Incense was burned toward the cardinal points, the burning coals
were thrown from the censer into the fire, and then the performers
engaged for the _areito_, including, it would seem, soldiers of
several classes, led by the _tlacatecatl_, began to dance and sing.
Neither the host nor merchant guests joined in the dance, but remained
in the house to receive the company and present them with bouquets of
flowers. At midnight ulli-marked paper was offered to the gods, and
its ashes buried to promote the prosperity of future generations.
Before the light of day chocolate was drunk and the _nanacatl_, or
intoxicating mushroom, was eaten, which caused some to dance, others
to sing, and yet others to sit pensive in their rooms dreaming dreams
and seeing visions of horrid import, whose narration at a later hour,
when the effects of the drug had passed away, formed a prominent
feature of the entertainment. At the appearance of the morning star
all the ashes of the sacrifices, the flowers, the burning canes, and
all the implements used in the foregoing ceremonies, were buried, that
they might not be seen by any visitor polluted by any kind of vice or
uncleanness. The rising sun was greeted with songs, dancing, and
beating of the teponaztli. The day was passed in feasting and music,
and at the close of the day's banquet food was distributed to the
common people. The banquet was often continued more than one day, and
if after the first day's feast the provision of food was exhausted, it
was regarded by the guests as a bad sign--a very sensible superstition
truly.
[Sidenote: SACRIFICE OF SLAVES.]
There was another merchant's feast in the month of Panquetzaliztli, in
which a number of slaves were killed and eaten. The victims were
purchased sometime beforehand at the slave mart in Azcapuzalco, kept
clean,--being therefore called _tlaaltilzin_, 'washed'--and fattened
for the occasion. The male slaves meantime had no work but to dance
daily on the housetop, but the women had to spin. The articles
collected for this feast embraced large numbers of rich mantles,
maxtlis, and huipiles, which were to be presented to guests. Not only
the residents of Mexico were invited but members of the Tlatelulcan
company who lived in other towns. The giver of the feast went
personally to many towns, especially to Tochtepec, to issue
invitations and distribute gifts. On his arrival he went first to the
shrine of Iyacatecutli, before whose image he performed certain
ceremonies and left some offerings. Then he went to the house of the
Tlatelulcan company, prepared a feast and summoned the rich traders,
who came at midnight. Washing of the hands and mouth preceded and
followed the eating, presents were made, chocolate drunk, pipes
smoked, quails offered in the courtyard, and incense burned. One of
the best speakers then announced the purpose of their visitor to kill
a few slaves in honor of Huitzilopochtli, and in his name invited the
company to be present at the pleasing spectacle, and partake of the
human flesh and other choice viands. Another speaker responded in a
speech of acceptance, and the feast-giver directed his steps homeward
to Mexico. After resting awhile the merchant ceremonially invited
those of his own city to be present at the feast, and the latter,
after many precautions, including an inspection by the older merchants
to satisfy themselves that food enough had been provided and that the
affair could not be a failure, deigned to accept, although they warned
the would-be host of the fearful responsibility he would incur should
the feast be in any respect improperly managed, through his
unwillingness to spend money enough. Ce Calli, Ome Xochitl, and Ome
Ozomatli, were good signs for this feast.
On the first day the male slaves, richly attired and decorated, were
made to dance and perform the areito, carrying garlands of flowers and
also pipes from which they were continually puffing smoke. The
females, in equally rich attire were stationed with plenty of food in
one of the rooms where all could readily see them. The eating,
drinking, and distribution of gifts were kept up all night. The
following day's feast was a repetition of the first, and was called
_tlaixnexia_; that of the third day was called _tetevaltia_, and on
this day they made many changes in the dress of the slaves, putting on
wigs of many-colored feathers, painted ear-flaps, stone nose-ornaments
like butterflies, jackets with fringed borders and death's heads for
decoration, hawks' wings, _tlomaitl_, on the shoulders, rings,
_matacaxtli_, on the arms, stained sandals, and girdles called
_xiuhtlalpilli_. From this time forward strict guard was kept over
them day and night until their death.
On yet a fourth occasion, apparently some days, or perhaps weeks,
later, the merchant assembled his guests, and then just before sunset
the victims were made drunk with _teuvetli_, and carried to
Huitzilopochtli's temple, where they were made to dance and sing, and
kept awake all night. At midnight they were placed on a mat before the
fire, and the master of the banquet, dressed much like the slaves
themselves, put out the fire, and in the darkness gave to each four
mouthfuls of a dough moistened with honey, called _tzoalli_. Then a
man dancing before them played upon an instrument called _chichtli_,
hairs were pulled out of the top of each slave's head and put in a
plate, _quacaxitl_, held by the dancer, and the master threw incense
toward the east, west, north, and south. The slaves were offered food,
but could not be induced to eat, expecting each moment the messenger
of death. They were first taken to the ward of Coatlan, and in the
courtyard of the temple of Huitzcalco were forced to fight against
certain persons, the most valiant of whom were called _tlaamaviques_.
If by force of arms these persons captured any of the slaves, they
were entitled to receive their full value from the owner, or in
default of such payment to take the bodies after the sacrifice and eat
the same. After the contest the victims were sacrificed on the shrine
of Huitzilopochtli, the complicated details of the ceremonies which
followed differing only very slightly from those of similar sacrifices
already several times described. The bodies were thrown down the steps
as usual, carried home by the owner, cooked with maize, seasoned with
salt without chile, and were finally eaten by the guests. With this
horrible repast the great feast of the month of Panquetzaliztli ended;
but he who had given it carefully preserved the clothing, and other
relics of the slaughtered slaves, guarding them in a basket as most
precious and pleasant souvenirs all the days of his life; and after
his death the basket and its contents were burned at his obsequies.
Acosta tells us that in Cholula the merchants, especially those that
dealt in slaves, furnished each year a slave of fine physique to
represent their god Quetzalcoatl, in whose honor he was sacrificed,
with appropriate and complicated ceremonies, his flesh being
afterwards eaten in a banquet.[421]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: BOATS AND NAVIGATION.]
The little to be said of Nahua watercraft may be as appropriately
inserted here as elsewhere. I have already referred to the important
use made of canoes in the transportation of merchandise upon the lakes
of Anáhuac. In the art of navigation, however, no progress was made by
the Nahuas at all in proportion to their advancement in other
respects. As navigators they were altogether inferior to their savage
brethren of the Columbian and Hyperborean groups on the north-west
coasts, whose skill in the manufacture and management of boats has
been described in a preceding volume of this work. The reason is
obvious: their progress in agriculture enabled them to obtain a food
supply without risking their lives habitually on the sea; their sunny
clime obviated the necessity of whale-blubber and seal-skins. In the
earlier stages of civilization men make progress only when impelled by
some actual necessity; consequently among the Nahuas, when means were
supplied of crossing streams, and of transporting goods on the lakes
and for short distances along the coast at the mouth of large rivers,
progress in this direction ceased.
Clavigero's investigations led him to believe that the use of sails
was unknown, and although Brasseur de Bourbourg in one place speaks
of such aids to navigation, yet he gives no authority for his
statement.[422]
Rafts and 'dug-out' canoes were the vessels employed; the former were
used for the most part in crossing streams and were of various
material and construction. Those of the ruder kind were simply a
number of poles tied together with strings.[423] Those called by the
Spaniards _balsas_ were of superior construction, made of _otlatl_
reeds, or _tules_, and rushes of different kinds in bundles. The best
balsas were about five feet square, made of bamboos and supported by
hollow gourds closed by a water and air tight covering. The rafts were
propelled by swimmers, one in front and another behind.[424]
The canoes--_acalli_, 'water-houses' among the Aztecs, called also
_tahucup_ in Tabasco--were hollowed out from the trunk of a single
tree, were generally flat-bottomed and without keel, somewhat narrower
at the bow than at the stern as Las Casas says, and would carry from
two to sixty persons. As to the instruments employed in hollowing out
and finishing the acalli we have no information, neither do we know
whether fire was one of the agents made use of.[425]
[Sidenote: BOATS USED IN WAR.]
The use of boats was not altogether confined to traffic, but extended
to war and the transportation of troops. Fierce conflicts on the
waters of the lakes are recorded in the ancient annals of Anáhuac;
canoe fleets of armed natives came out to meet the Spaniards at
various points along the coast; and we read of the vain efforts to
defend the approaches to the Aztec capital, by thousands of boats
which could offer little resistance to the advance of Cortés'
brigantines.[426]
These fleets, so inefficient against Spanish vessels and arms, must
have been of great service to the Aztecs in maintaining their
domination over the many towns on the lake shores. To increase the
efficiency of boats and boatmen, races and sham fights were
established, which, besides affording useful training to paddlers and
warriors, furnished an additional means of entertainment to the people
who gathered in crowds to watch the struggles of the competitors,
applaud the ducking of each vanquished boat's crew, and to reward the
victors with honors and prizes.[427]
FOOTNOTES:
[410] _Burgoa_, _Geog. Descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. 181;
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 42-3.
[411] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., pp. 271-3;
_Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol.
ix., p. 332.
[412] 'Teyaoyaualoani, el que cerca a los enemigos.' _Molina_,
_Vocabulario_.
[413] The Toltecs 'usaban de una cierta moneda de cobre de largo de
dos dedos y de ancho uno á manera de achitas pequeñas, y de grueso,
como un real de á ocho. Esta moneda no ha mucho tiempo que la han
dejado los de Tutupec del mar del sur.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_,
in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 332. 'No saben que cosas
es moneda batida de metal ninguno.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 87,
342. The cacao nibs 'val ciascuno come vn mezzo marchetto (about three
cents) fra noi.' _Relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del Signor
Fernando Cortese_, in _Ramusio_, _Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 306.
See _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 311; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii.,
lib. ix., p. 342; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
iii., pp. 627-9; _Id._, _Quatre Lettres_, p. 276; _Clavigero_, _Storia
Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 666. Salt used as money. _Chaves_, in
_Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. 328. I omit a long
list of references to authors who merely mention cacao and the other
articles as used for money.
[414] 'No tenian peso (que yo sepa) los Mexicanos, falta grandissima
para la contratacion. Quien dize que no lo vsauan por escusar los
engaños, quien por que no lo auian menester, quien por ignorancia, que
es lo cierto. Por donde parece que no auian oido como hizo Dios todos
las cosas en cuento, peso, y medida.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol.
342; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 166;
_Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 42, 40; _Brasseur de
Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 629-30.
[415] On the Nahua markets and the articles offered for sale, see:
_Cortés_, _Cartas_, pp. 68, 103-5; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol.
70; _Relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese_,
in _Ramusio_, _Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 309; _Sahagun_, _Hist.
Gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. 323-5, tom. ix., p. 357; _Las Casas_,
_Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxx.; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._,
tom. ii., pp. 554-60; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., pp. 272,
299-301; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 87-8, 116-18; _Herrera_, _Hist.
Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xv., xvi.; _Peter Martyr_, dec. v.,
lib. iii., iv.; _Zuazo_, _Carta_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._,
tom. i., pp. 359-61.
[416] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, pp. 103, 68; _Relatione fatta per vn
gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese_, in _Ramusio_,
_Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 309. 'Es tanta la gente que concurre á
vender y comprar, que no puede facilmente declararse.' _Las Casas_,
_Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxx.
[417] _Carta_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 359.
'Sobre cincuenta mill canoas y cient mill segun se cree.' _Las Casas_,
_Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxx. 'The lake day and night is plyed
with boates going and returning.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v., lib. iii.
[418] For specimens of the exhortations of old merchants to young men
see _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., lib. iv., pp. 310-314;
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 585-6.
[419] _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. vi., cap. xii.; _Bernal
Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 197.
[420] A very full account of the Nahua commerce is given in
_Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 163-70, and the
same is translated with slight changes, in _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist.
Mex._, tom. i., pp. 628-35, in _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat.
Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 612-32, and in _Id._, in _Nouvelles Annales des
Voy._, 1858, tom. clix., pp. 45-58. See also _Helps' Span. Conq._,
vol. ii., pp. 329-31; _Gage's New Survey_, pp. 109-12; _Müller_,
_Amerikanische Urreligionen_, p. 541; _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_,
tom. v., pp. 25-8; _West-Indische Spieghel_, pp. 247-8; _Bussierre_,
_L'Empire Mex._, pp. 166-71; _Touron_, _Hist. Gén._, tom. iii., pp.
43-6. See also Note 12.
[421] On merchants' feasts, ceremonies, and superstitions, see
_Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. 335-86, tom. i., lib.
iv., pp. 310-15; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, pp. 388-92;
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 585-7. See also account of
a feast of flower-dealers in this volume, p. 315, and account of the
Cholultec feast in honor of Quetzalcoatl in vol. iii., pp. 286-7 of
this work.
[422] Clavigero's description of Nahua boats and navigation is in his
_Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 168-9. 'Leurs barques, dont
les plus grandes mesuraient jusqu'à soixante pieds de longueur,
couvertes et abritées contre le mauvais temps, marchaient à la voile
et à la rame,' probably referring to a boat met by Columbus some
distance out at sea. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
iii., p. 632.
[423] Invented, according to tradition, by the Tarascos of Michoacan
during their early migrations. _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles
Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., pp. 131-2.
[424] 'Mettevansi a sedere in questa macchina quattro, o sei
passaggieri alla volta.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom.
ii., p. 168. 'Ces radeaux sont fort légers et très-solides; ils sont
encore en usage dans l'Amérique, et nous avons passé ainsi plus d'une
rivière.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p.
295.
[425] _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxx: 'En cada vna
cabian sesenta Hombres.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p.
460, and _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. viii., cap. iv. 'The
Canowes are litle barkes, made of one tree.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv.,
lib. iii. Called _Acates_. _Id._, dec. v., lib. ii. 'Estas acallis ó
barcas cada una es de una sola pieza, de un arbol tan grande y tan
grueso como lo demanda la longitud, y conforme al ancho que le pueden
dar, que es de lo grueso del árbol de que se hacen, y para esto hay
sus maestros como en Vizcaya los hay de navíos.' _Motolinia_, _Hist.
Indios_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 200.
[426] 'The sides of the Indian boats were fortified with bulwarks.'
_Prescott's Mex._, vol. iii., p. 100; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._,
fol. 140; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 211.
[427] 'Spesso s'esercitavano in questo genere di combattimenti.'
_Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 151;
_West-Indische Spieghel_, p. 251. 200,000 canoes on the lake about
Mexico. _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 115. See also note 8 of this
chapter. Additional notes on Nahua boats. 'Habia en México muchas
acallis ó barcas para servicio de las casas, y otras muchas de
tratantes que venian con bastimentos á la ciudad, y todos los pueblos
de la redonda, que están llenos de barcas que nunca cesan de entrar y
salir á la ciudad, las cuales eran innumerables.' 'Con estas salen á
la mar, y con las grandes de estas acallis navegan de una isla á otra,
y se atreven á atravesar algun golfo pequeño.' _Motolinia_, _Hist.
Indios_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., pp. 187, 200. 'Lo
mas del trato, y camino de los Indios, en aquella Tierra, es por Agua,
en Acales, ò Canoas.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 613;
_Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. viii., cap. iv.; _Montanus_,
_Nieuwe Weereld_, p. 247; _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i.,
p. 633, tom. ii., p. 591; _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v., pp.
75-6.