NAHUA ARTS AND MANUFACTURES.
METALS USED AND MANNER OF OBTAINING THEM--WORKING OF GOLD
AND SILVER--WONDERFUL SKILL IN IMITATING--GILDING AND
PLATING--WORKING IN STONE--LAPIDARY WORK--WOOD
CARVING--MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY--VARIOUS KINDS OF
CLOTH--MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND LEATHER--PREPARATION OF DYES
AND PAINTS--THE ART OF PAINTING--FEATHER MOSAIC
WORK--LEAF-MATS--MANNER OF KINDLING
FIRE--TORCHES--SOAP--COUNCIL OF ARTS IN TEZCUCO--ORATORY AND
POETRY--NEZAHUALCOYOTL'S ODES ON THE MUTABILITY OF LIFE AND
THE TYRANT TEZOZOMOC--AZTEC ARITHMETICAL SYSTEM.
Gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead were the metals known to and used
by the Nahuas. The latter, however, is merely mentioned, and nothing
is known about where it was obtained or for what purposes it was
employed. We have only very slight information respecting the
processes by which any of the metals were obtained. Gold came to the
cities of Anáhuac chiefly from the southern Nahua provinces, through
the agency of traders and tax-gatherers; silver and tin were taken
from the mines of Taxco and Tzompanco; copper was obtained from the
mountains of Zacatollan, the province of the Cohuixcas, and from
Michoacan. Nuggets of gold and masses of native copper were found on
the surface of the ground in certain regions; gold was chiefly
obtained, however, from the sand in the bed of rivers by divers. It
was kept, in the form of dust, in small tubes or quills, or was
melted in small pots, by the aid of hollow bamboo blow-pipes used
instead of bellows, and cast in small bars. Prescott tells us that
these metals were also mined from veins in the solid rock, extensive
galleries being opened for the purpose. Quicksilver, sulphur, alum,
ochre, and other minerals were collected to a certain extent and
employed by the natives in the preparation of colors and for other
purposes.[584] The use of iron, though that metal was abundant in the
country, was unknown. Such metals as they had they were most skillful
in working, chiefly by melting and casting, and by carving, but also
to some extent by the use of the hammer. We have no details of the
means employed to melt the harder metals, besides the rude blow-pipe
and furnace mentioned in connection with gold.
For cutting implements copper was the only metal used, but it was
hardened with an alloy of tin until it sufficed to cut the hardest
substances nearly as well as steel.[585] The pure and softer metal was
used to make kettles and other vessels. Copper tools were, however,
rare compared with those of stone, and seem to have been used chiefly
in working wood where a sharp and enduring edge was required. Such
tools usually took the form of axes and chisels. Sticks for working
the ground, the nearest Nahua approach to the plow, were also often
tipped with copper, as we have seen. Metal was not much used in making
weapons, not being found in swords or arrow-heads, but employed with
obsidian in spearheads and on the _maza_, or club. Both copper and tin
dishes and plates are mentioned but were not in common use. In the
manufacture of implements of copper and tin these metals were wrought
by means of stone hammers and not cast.[586]
[Sidenote: GOLD AND SILVER SMITHS.]
No branch of Nahua art was carried to a higher degree of perfection
than the ornamental working of gold and silver. The conquerors were
struck with admiration on beholding the work of the native goldsmiths;
they even in some cases frankly acknowledge that they admired the work
more than the material, and saved the most beautiful specimens from
the melting furnace, the greatest compliment these gold-greedy
adventurers could pay to native art. Many of the finer articles were
sent as presents and curiosities to European princes, who added their
testimony to that of the conquerors, pronouncing the jewelry in many
instances superior to the work of old-world artists. Azcapuzalco was
the headquarters of the workers in gold and silver.[587] The imitation
of natural objects, particularly animals, birds, and fishes, was a
favorite field for the display of this branch of Nahua talent. The
conqueror Cortés tells us that Montezuma had in his collection a
counterfeit in gold, silver, stones, or feathers, of every object
under heaven in his dominions, so skillfully made, so far as the work
in metal was concerned, that no smith in the world could excel them.
This statement is repeated by every writer on the subject. Dr
Hernandez, the naturalist, in preparing a treatise on Mexican zoology
for Philip II., is said to have supplied his want of real specimens of
certain rare species by a resort to these imitations.[588] The native
artists are said to have fashioned animals and birds with movable
heads, legs, wings, and tongues, an ape with a spindle in its hands in
the act of spinning and in certain comic attitudes; and what
particularly interested and surprised the Spaniards was the
art--spoken of by them as a lost art--of casting the parts of an
object of different metals each distinct from the rest but all forming
a complete whole, and this, as the authorities say, without soldering.
Thus a fish was molded with alternate scales of gold and silver,
plates were cast in sections of the same metal, and loose handles were
attached to different vessels.[589]
[Sidenote: GILDING AND PLATING.]
After the Spaniards came, the native artisans had a new and wide field
for the display of their skill, in imitating the numerous products of
European art. A slight examination, often obtained by stealthily
looking into the shop windows, enabled them to reproduce and not
unfrequently to improve upon the finest articles of jewelry and
plate.[590]
Clavigero says that vessels of copper or other inferior metal were
gilded, by employing an unknown process in which certain herbs were
used, and which would have made the fortune of a goldsmith in Spain
and Italy. Oviedo also tells us that various ornamental articles were
covered with thin gold plate.[591] To enumerate the articles
manufactured by the Nahua gold and silver smiths, and included in the
long lists of presents made by Montezuma and other chieftains to their
conquerors is impracticable; they included finely modeled goblets,
pitchers, and other vessels for the tables of the kings and nobility;
frames for stone mirrors and rich settings for various precious
stones; personal ornaments for the wealthy, and especially for
warriors, including rings, bracelets, eardrops, beads, helmets and
various other portions of armor; small figures in human form worn as
charms or venerated as idols; and finally the most gorgeous and
complicated decorations for the larger idols, and their temples and
altars.[592]
Little is known of the methods or implements by which the workers in
gold accomplished such marvelous results. The authors tell us that
they excelled particularly in working the precious metals by means of
fire; and the furnaces already mentioned are pictured in several of
the Aztec picture-writings as simple vessels, perhaps of earthen ware,
various in form, heaped with lumps of metal, and possibly with wood
and coal, from which the tongues of flame protrude, as the workman
sits by his furnace with his bamboo blow-pipe. How they cast or molded
the molten gold into numerous graceful and ornamental forms is
absolutely unknown. The process by which these patient workers carved
or engraved ornamental figures on gold and silver vessels by means of
their implements of stone and hardened copper, although not explained,
may in a general way be easily imagined. They worked also to some
extent with the hammer, but as gold-beaters they were regarded as
inferior workmen, using only stone implements. The art of working in
the precious metals was derived traditionally from the Toltecs, and
the gold and silversmiths formed in Mexico a kind of corporation under
the divine guidance of the god Xipe.[593]
[Sidenote: WORKING IN STONE.]
Stone was the material of most Nahua implements. For this purpose all
the harder kinds found in the country were worked, flint, porphyry,
basalt, but especially obsidian, the native _iztli_. Of this hard
material, extensively quarried some distance north of Mexico, nearly
all the sharp-edged tools were made. These tools, such as knives,
razors, lancets, spear and arrow heads, were simply flakes from an
obsidian block. The knives were double-edged and the best of them
slightly curved at the point. The maker held a round block of iztli
between his bare feet, pressed with his chest and hands on a long
wooden instrument, one end of which was applied near the edge of the
block, and thus split off knife after knife with great rapidity, which
required only to be fitted to a wooden handle to be ready for use. The
edge thus produced was at first as sharp as one of steel, but became
blunted by slight use, when the instrument must be thrown away. Thus
Las Casas tells us that ten or fifteen obsidian razors were required
to shave one man's beard. Stone knives seem rarely if ever to have
been sharpened by grinding.[594] Of obsidian were made the knives used
in the sacrifice of human victims, and the lancets used in bleeding
for medicinal purposes and in drawing blood in the service of the
gods. For bleeding, similar knives are said to be still used in
Mexico.[595] The use of stone in the manufacture of weapons has been
mentioned in another chapter. Masks and even rings and cups were
sometimes worked from obsidian and other kinds of stone. Axes were of
flint, jade, or basalt, and were bound with cords to a handle of hard
wood, the end of which was split to receive it.[596] Torquemada says
that agricultural implements were made of stone.[597] Mirrors were of
obsidian, or of _margajita_,--spoken of by some as a metal, by others
as a stone,--often double-faced, and richly set in gold.[598]
The quarrying of stone for building and sculpture was done by means of
wooden and stone implements, by methods unknown but adequate to the
working of the hardest material. Stone implements alone seem to have
been used for the sculpture of idols, statues, and architectural
decorations. A better idea of the excellence of the Nahuas in the art
of stone-carving may be formed from the consideration of antiquarian
relics in another volume than from the remarks of the early
chroniclers. Most of the sculptured designs were executed in soft
material, in working which flint instruments would be almost as
effective as those of steel; but some of the preserved specimens are
carved in the hardest stone, and must have taxed the sculptor's
patience to the utmost even with hard copper chisels. The idols and
hieroglyphics on which the native art was chiefly exercised, present
purposely distorted figures and are a poor test of the artists'
skill; according to traditional history portrait-statues of the kings
were made, and although none of these are known to have survived, yet
a few specimens in the various collections indicate that the human
face and form in true proportions were not beyond the scope of
American art; and the native sculptors were, moreover, extremely
successful in the modeling of animals in stone.[599]
[Sidenote: WORKING OF PRECIOUS STONES.]
The Nahuas were no less skillful in working precious stones than gold
and silver. Their Toltec ancestors possessed the same skill and used
to search for the stones at sunrise, being directed to the hidden
treasure by the vapor which rose from the place that concealed it. All
the stones found in the country were used for ornamental purposes, but
emeralds, amethysts, and turquoises were most abundant. The jewels
were cut with copper tools with the aid of a silicious sand. Single
stones were carved in various forms, often those of animals, and set
in gold, or sometimes formed into small cups or boxes. Pearls, mother
of pearl, and bright-colored shells were used with the precious stones
in the formation of necklaces, bracelets, ear-rings, and other
decorations for the nobles or for the idols. Various articles of dress
or armor were completely studded with gems tastefully arranged, and a
kind of mosaic, with which wooden masks for the idols were often
covered, attracted much attention among the Spaniards. Mirrors of rock
crystal, obsidian, and other stones, brightly polished and encased in
rich frames, were said to reflect the human face as clearly as the
best of European manufacture.[600]
Trees were felled with copper hatchets, hewn with the same instruments
into beams, and dragged by slaves over rollers to the place where they
were needed for building. Some of the chief idols, as for instance
that of Huitzilopochtli, according to Acosta, were of wood, but
wood-carving was not apparently carried to a high degree of
perfection. Some boxes, furnished with lids and hinges, also tables
and chairs, were made of wood, which was the chief material of weapons
and agricultural implements. The authorities devote but few words to
the workers in wood, who, however, after the conquest seem to have
become quite skillful under Spanish instruction, and with the aid of
European tools. Fire-wood was sold in the markets; and Las Casas also
tells us that charcoal was burned.[601]
[Sidenote: MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY.]
At Cholula the best pottery was made, but throughout the whole country
nearly all the dishes used were of clay. Pots, kettles, vases, plates
for domestic use, as well as censers and other utensils for the temple
service, also idols, beads, and various ornaments were modeled from
this material. The early Spaniards were enthusiastic in praising the
native potters' skill, but beyond the statement that vessels of
earthen ware were glazed and often tastefully decorated, they give no
definite information respecting this branch of manufactures. Many
small earthen trumpets, or flageolets, capable of producing various
sounds, and of imitating the cries of different birds, have been found
in different parts of the Mexican Republic. Fortunately relics of
pottery in every form are of frequent occurrence in the museums, and
from the description of such relics in another volume the excellence
of Aztec pottery may be estimated. Besides the earthen dishes, and
vessels of metal and carved wood, some baskets were made, and
drinking-cups or bowls of different sizes and shapes were formed from
the hollow shells of gourds. These were known as _xicalli_, later
jicaras, and _tecomatl_.[602] Seashells were also used as dishes to
some extent.[603]
The finer kinds of cloth were made of cotton, of rabbit-hair, of the
two mixed, or of cotton mixed with feathers. The rabbit-hair fabrics
were pronounced equal in finish and texture to silk, and cotton cloths
were also fine and white. Fabrics of this better class were used for
articles of dress by the rich, nobles, and priests; they were both
woven and dyed in variegated colors. The cloths in the manufacture of
which feathers were employed often served for carpets, tapestry, and
bed-coverings. Maguey-fibre, and that of the palm-leaves _icxotl_ and
_izhuatl_ were woven into coarse cloths, the maguey-cloth being known
as _nequen_. This nequen and the coarser kinds of cotton were the
materials with which the poorer classes clothed themselves. The palm
and maguey fibres were prepared for use in the same manner as flax in
other countries, being soaked in water, pounded, and dried. The same
material served also for cords, ropes, and mats. A coarser kind of
matting was, however, made of different varieties of reeds. All the
work of spinning and weaving was performed by the women, forming
indeed their chief employment. The spindle used in spinning, shown in
many of the Aztec manuscripts, was like a top, which was set whirling
in a shallow dish, the fibre being applied to its pointed upper
extremity until the impetus was exhausted. All we know of the native
process of weaving is derived from the native paintings, a sample of
which from the Mendoza Collection, showing a woman engaged in weaving,
may be seen in chapter xvii. of this volume.[604]
[Sidenote: MAKING OF CLOTH AND PAPER.]
Paper, in Aztec _amatl_, used chiefly as a material on which to paint
the hieroglyphic records to be described in a future chapter, was made
for the most part of maguey-fibre, although the other fibres used in
the manufacture of cloth were occasionally mixed with those of this
plant. The material must have been pressed together when wet, and the
product was generally very thick, more like a soft paste-board than
our paper. The surface was smooth and well adapted to the painting
which it was to bear. Certain gums are said to have been used for the
more perfect coherence of the fibre, and the amatl was made in long
narrow sheets suitable for rolling or folding. Humboldt describes
certain bags of oval form, the work of a species of caterpillars, on
the trees in Michoacan. They are white and may be separated into thin
layers, which, as the author states, were used by the ancient
inhabitants in the manufacture of a superior kind of paper.[605]
The skins of animals killed by the Nahua hunters were tanned both with
and without the hair, by a process of which the authorities say
nothing, although universally praising its results. The leather was
used in some cases as a sort of parchment for hieroglyphic writings,
but oftener for articles of dress, ornament, or armor.[606]
[Sidenote: DYEING AND PAINTING.]
In the preparation of dyes and paints, both mineral, animal, and
vegetable colors were employed, the latter extracted from woods,
barks, leaves, flowers, and fruits. In the art of dyeing they probably
excelled the Europeans, and many of their dyes have since the conquest
been introduced throughout the world. Chief among these was the
cochineal, _nochiztli_, an insect fed by the Nahuas on the leaves of
the nopal, from which they obtained beautiful and permanent red and
purple colors for their cotton fabrics. The flower of the
_matlalxihuitl_ supplied blue shades; indigo was the sediment of water
in which branches of the _xiuhquilipitzahuac_ had been soaked; seeds
of the _achiotl_ boiled in water yielded a red, the French _roucou_;
ochre, or _tecozahuitl_, furnished yellow, as did also the plant
_xochipalli_, the latter being changed to orange by the use of nitre;
other shades were produced by the use of alum; the stones
_chimaltizatl_ and _tizatlalli_ being calcined, produced something
like Spanish white; black was obtained from a stinking mineral,
_tlaliac_, or from the soot of a pine called _ocotl_. In mixing paints
they used chian-oil, or sometimes the glutinous juice of the
_tzauhtli_. The numerous dye-woods of the tierra caliente, now the
chief exports from that region, were all employed by the native dyers.
It is probable that many of the secrets of this branch of Nahua art
were never learned by the Spaniards.[607]
The Nahua paintings showed no great artistic merit, being chiefly
noticeable for the excellence of the colors. Very few specimens have
been preserved for modern examination, except the hieroglyphic
paintings in which most of the figures are hideously and, as it is
supposed, purposely distorted, and consequently no criterion of the
artist's skill. It is not known that the Nahuas ever attempted to
paint natural scenery, except that they prepared maps of sections of
their territory on which they rudely represented the mountains,
rivers, and forests, indicating the lands of different owners or lords
by the use of different colors. They sometimes made portraits of the
kings and nobles, but the Spanish chroniclers admit that they
exhibited much less skill in picturing the human form and face than in
drawing animals, birds, trees, and flowers. Some modern critics of
lively imagination have, however, detected indications of great
artistic genius in the awkward figures of the picture-writings.
Native painters, when Cortés arrived on the coast, painted his ships,
men, horses, cannon, in fact everything new and strange in the white
men's equipment, and hurried with the canvas to Montezuma at the
capital. Very little is known of ornamental painting on the walls of
private dwellings, but that on the temples naturally partook to a
great extent of a hieroglyphic character. The durability of the
paintings on cloth and paper, especially when rubbed occasionally with
oil, was remarked by many observers, as was also the skill displayed
by the natives later under Spanish instruction.[608]
[Sidenote: FEATHER-MOSAIC.]
The mixture of feathers with cotton and other fibres in the
manufacture of clothing, tapestry, carpets, and bed-coverings has
already been mentioned. For such fabrics plain colors from ducks and
other aquatic birds were generally employed, brighter hues being
occasionally introduced for ornamental purposes. Feathers also played
an important part in the decoration of warriors' armor, the
tail-feathers of the bright-hued quetzal being the favorites. These
were formed into brilliant plumes, often tipped with gold and set in
precious stones. Beautiful fans were made of the same material. But
the art which of all those practiced by the Nahuas most delighted and
astonished the Europeans, was the use of feathers in the making of
what has been called feather-mosaic. The myriads of tropical birds in
which the forests of the tierra caliente abounded, chief among which
were the quetzal, many varieties of the parrot kind, and the
_huitzilin_, or humming-bird, supplied feathers, fine and coarse, of
every desired color and shade. It was for this use chiefly that the
royal and other collections of birds, already described, were so
carefully kept. These captive birds were plucked each year at the
proper season, and their plumage sorted according to color and
quality. Some shades only to be obtained from the rarest birds, were
for ordinary feather-work artificially produced by dyeing the white
plumage of more common birds.
To prepare for work the _amanteca_, or artist, arranged his colors in
small earthen dishes within easy reach of his hand, stretched a piece
of cloth on a board before him, and provided himself with a pot of
glue--called by Clavigero tzauhtli,--and a pair of very delicate
pincers. The design he wished to execute was first sketched roughly on
the cloth, and then with the aid of the pincers feather after feather
was taken from its dish and glued to the canvas. The Spanish writers
marvel at the care with which this work was done; sometimes, they say,
a whole day was consumed in properly choosing and adjusting one
delicate feather, the artist patiently experimenting until the hue and
position of the feather, viewed from different points and under
different lights, became satisfactory to his eye. When a large piece
was to be done, many workmen assembled, a part of the work was given
to each, and so skillfully was the task performed that the parts
rarely failed at the end to blend into an harmonious whole; but if the
effect of any part was unsatisfactory it must be commenced anew. By
this method a great variety of graceful patterns were wrought, either
fanciful, or taken from natural objects, flowers, animals, and even
the human face, which latter the native artists are said to have
successfully portrayed. Las Casas tells us they made these
feather-fabrics so skillfully that they appeared of different colors
according to the direction from which they were viewed. The Spaniards
declare that the feather-pictures were fully equal to the best works
of European painters, and are at a loss for words to express their
admiration of this wonderful Nahua invention; specimens of great
beauty have also been preserved and are to be seen in the museums.
Besides mantles and other garments, tapestry, bed-coverings, and other
ornamental fabrics for the use of the noble and wealthy classes, to
which this art was applied, the feather-mosaic was a favorite covering
for the shields and armor of noted warriors. By the same process masks
were made representing in a manner true to nature the faces of fierce
animals; and even the whole bodies of such animals were sometimes
counterfeited, as Zuazo says, so faithfully as to deceive the ignorant
observer. The Tarascos of Michoacan were reputed to be the most
skillful in feather-work.[609]
The feather-workers were called amantecas from Amantla, the name of
the ward of Mexico in which they chiefly lived. This ward adjoined
that of Pochtlan, where lived the chief merchants called pochtecas,
and the shrine of the amantecas' god Ciotliahuatl, was also joined to
that of the merchants' god Iyacatecutli. The feather-workers and
merchants were closely united, there was great similarity in all their
idolatrous rites, and they often sat together at the same
banquet.[610]
Another art, similar in its nature to that of the feather-mosaics, was
that of pasting leaves and flowers upon mats so as to form attractive
designs for temporary use on the occasion of special festivals. The
natives made great use of these flower-pictures after the conquest in
the decoration of the churches for Catholic holidays.[611]
The Nahuas kindled a fire like their more savage brethren by friction
between two pieces of wood, achiotl being the kind of wood preferred
for this purpose. Boturini, followed by later writers, states that the
use of the flint was also known. Once kindled, the flames were fanned
by the use of a blow-pipe. For lights, torches of resinous wood were
employed, especially the _ocotl_, which emitted a pleasing odor. The
use of wicks with oil or wax was apparently unknown until after the
coming of Europeans. Substitutes for soap were found in the fruit of
the _copalxocotl_ and root of the _amolli_.
[Sidenote: THE COUNCIL OF ARTS IN TEZCUCO.]
All the branches of art among the Nahuas were placed under the control
of a council or academy which was instituted to favor the development
of poetry, oratory, history, painting, and also to some extent of
sculpture and work in gold, precious stones, and feathers. Tezcuco was
the centre of all high art and refinement during the palmy days of the
Chichimec empire, and retained its preëminence to a great extent down
to the coming of the Spaniards; consequently its school of arts is
better known than others that probably existed in other cities. It was
called the Council of Music, although taking cognizance of other arts
and sciences, chiefly by controlling the education of the young, since
no teacher of arts could exercise his profession without a certificate
of his qualifications from the council. Before the same body all
pupils must be brought for examination. The greatest care was taken
that no defective work of lapidary, goldsmith, or worker in feathers
should be exposed for sale in the markets, and that no imperfectly
instructed artists should be allowed to vitiate the public taste. But
it was above all with literary arts, poetry, oratory, and historical
paintings, that this tribunal, composed of the best talent and culture
of the kingdom, had to do, and every literary work was subject to its
revision. The members, nominated by the emperor of Tezcuco, held daily
meetings, and seats of honor were reserved for the kings of the three
allied kingdoms, although a presiding officer was elected from the
nobility with reference to his literary acquirements. At certain
sessions of the council, poems and historical essays were read by
their authors, and new inventions were exhibited for inspection, rich
prizes being awarded for excellence in any branch of learning.[612]
[Sidenote: ORATORY AND POESY.]
Speech-making is a prominent feature in the life of most aboriginal
tribes, and in their fondness for oratory the Nahuas were no
exceptions to the rule. Many and long addresses accompanied the
installation of kings and all public officers; all diplomatic
correspondence between different nations was carried on by orators;
prayers to the gods were in aboriginal as in modern times elaborate
elocutionary efforts; the departing and returning traveler was
dismissed and welcomed with a speech; condolence for misfortune and
congratulation for success were expressed in public and private by
the friends most skillful in the art of speaking; social intercourse
in feasts and banquets was but a succession of speeches; and parents
even employed long discourses to impart to their children instruction
and advice. Consequently children were instructed at an early age in
the art of public speaking; some were even specially educated as
orators. They were obliged to commit to memory, and taught to repeat
as declamations, the speeches of their most famous ancestors, handed
down from father to son for many generations. Specimens of the
orations delivered by Nahua speakers on different occasions are so
numerous in this and the following volume, that the reader may judge
for himself respecting their merit. It is impossible, however, to
decide how far these compositions have been modified in passing
through Spanish hands, although it is probable, according to the
judgment of the best critics, that they retain much of the original
spirit of their reputed authors.[613]
Poets, if somewhat less numerous, were no less honored than orators.
Their compositions were also recited, or sung, before the Council of
Music in Tezcuco, and the most talented bards were honored with
prizes. The heroic deeds of warlike ancestors, national annals and
traditions, praise of the gods, moral lessons drawn from actual
events, allegorical productions with illustrations drawn from the
beauties of nature, and even love and the charms of woman were the
common themes. The emperor Nezahualcoyotl, the protector and promoter
of all the arts and sciences, was himself a poet of great renown.
Several of his compositions, or fragments of such, have been
preserved; that is, the poems were written from memory in Aztec with
Roman letters after the conquest, and translated into Spanish by
Ixtlilxochitl, a lineal descendant of the royal poet. They have also
been translated into other languages by various authors. The following
will serve as specimens.[614]
[Sidenote: NEZAHUALCOYOTL'S ODES.]
SONG OF NEZAHUALCOYOTL, KING OF TEZCUCO; ON THE MUTABILITY OF
LIFE.
Now will I sing for a moment,
Since time and occasion offer,
And I trust to be heard with favor
If my effort proveth deserving;
Wherefore thus I begin my singing,
Or rather my lamentation.
O thou, my friend, and beloved,
Enjoy the sweet flowers I bring thee;
Let us be joyful together
And banish each care and each sorrow;
For although life's pleasures are fleeting,
Life's bitterness also must leave us.
I will strike, to help me in singing,
The instrument deep and sonorous;
Dance thou, while enjoying these flowers,
Before the great Lord who is mighty;
Let us grasp the sweet things of the present,
For the life of a man is soon over.
Fair Acolhuacán thou hast chosen
As thy dwelling-place and thy palace;
Thou hast set up thy royal throne there,
With thine own hand hast thou enriched it;
Wherefore it seems to be certain
That thy kingdom shall prosper and flourish.
And thou, O wise Prince Oyoyotzin,
Mighty monarch, and King without equal,
Rejoice in the beauty of spring-time,
Be happy while spring abides with thee,
For the day creepeth nearer and nearer
When thou shalt seek joy and not find it.
A day when dark Fate, the destroyer,
Shall tear from thine hand the proud sceptre,
When the moon of thy glory shall lessen,
Thy pride and thy strength be diminished,
The spoil from thy servants be taken,
Thy kingdom and honor go from thee.
Ah, then in this day of great sorrow
The lords of thy line will be mournful,
The princes of might will be downcast,
The pride of high birth will avail not;
When thou, their great Head, hast been smitten
The pains of grim Want will assail them.
Then with bitterness will they remember
The glory and fame of thy greatness,
Thy triumphs so worthy of envy,
Until, while comparing the present
With years that are gone now forever,
Their tears shall be more than the ocean.
The vassals that cluster about thee
And are as a crown to thy kingdom,
When thine arm doth no longer uphold them,
Will suffer the fate of the exile;
In strange lands their pride will be humbled,
Their rank and their name be forgotten.
The fame of the race that is mighty,
And worthy a thousand fair kingdoms,
Will not in the future be heeded;
The nations will only remember
The justice with which they were governed
In the years when the kingdom was threefold.
In Mexico, proudest of cities,
Reigned the mighty and brave Montezuma,
Nezahualcoyotl, the just one
Of blest Culhuacán was the monarch,
To strong Totoquíl fell the portion
Of Acatlapán, the third kingdom.
But yet thou shalt not be forgotten,
Nor the good thou hast ever accomplished;
For, is not the throne that thou fillest
The gift of the god without equal,
The mighty Creator of all things,
The maker of Kings and of Princes!
Nezahualcoyotl, be happy
With the pleasant things that thou knowest,
Rejoice in the beautiful garden,
Wreathe thy front with a garland of flowers,
Give heed to my song and my music,
For I care but to pleasure thy fancy.
The sweet things of life are but shadows;
The triumphs, the honors, what are they
But dreams that are idle and last not
Though clothed in a semblance of being?
And so great is the truth that I utter,
I pray thee to answer this question.
Cihuapán, the valiant, where is he,
And Quauhtzintecomtzin, the mighty,
The great Cohuahuatzin, where are they?
They are dead, and have left us no token,
Save their names, and the fame of their valor;
They are gone from this world to another.
I would that those living in friendship,
Whom the thread of strong love doth encircle,
Could see the sharp sword of the Death-god.
For, verily, pleasure is fleeting,
All sweetness must change in the future,
The good things of life are inconstant.
ODE ON THE TYRANT TEZOZOMOC BY NEZAHUALCOYOTL THE KING.
Give ear unto the lamentation which I, Nezahualcoyotl the
King, make within myself for the fate of the Empire, and set
forth for an example unto others.
O King, unstable and restless, when thou art dead then shall
thy people be overthrown and confounded; thy place shall be
no more; the Creator, the All-powerful shall reign.
Who could have thought, having seen the palaces and the
court, the glory and the power of the old King Tezozomoc,
that these things could have an end? Yet have they withered
and perished. Verily, life giveth naught but disappointment
and vexation; all that is, weareth out and passeth away.
Who will not be sorrowful at the remembrance of the ancient
splendor of this tyrant, this withered old man; who, like a
thirsty willow, nourished by the moisture of his ambition
and avarice, lorded it over the lowly meadows and flowery
fields while spring-time lasted, but at length, dried up and
decayed, the storms of winter tore him up by the roots and
scattered him in pieces upon the ground.
But now, with this mournful song, I bring to mind the things
that flourish for an hour, and present, in the fate of
Tezozomoc, an example of the brevity of human greatness.
Who, that listens to me, can refrain from weeping? Verily,
the enjoyments and pleasures of life are as a bouquet of
flowers, that is passed from hand to hand until it fades,
withers, and is dead.
Hearken unto me, ye sons of kings and of princes, take good
heed and ponder the theme of my mournful song, the things
that flourish for an hour, and the end of the King
Tezozomoc. Who is he, I say again, that can hear me and not
weep? Verily, the enjoyments and pleasures of life are as a
handful of flowers, blooming for a space, but soon withered
and dead.
Let the joyous birds sing on and rejoice in the beauty of
spring, and the butterflies enjoy the honey and perfume of
the flowers, for life is as a tender plant that is plucked
and withereth away.
Granados tells us that Nezahualcoyotl's poems were all in iambic
verse, resembling in style the works of Manilius, Seneca, Pomponius,
Euripides, and Lilius. In one of his songs he compared the shortness
of life and of its pleasures with the fleeting bloom of a flower, so
pathetically as to draw tears from the audience, as Clavigero relates.
Ixtlilxochitl narrates that a prisoner condemned to death obtained
pardon by reciting a poem before the king. There is not much evidence
that verses were ever written in rhyme, but the authors say that due
attention was paid to cadence and metre, and that some unmeaning
syllables were added to certain lines to accommodate the measure. By
their system of combination a single word often sufficed for a line in
the longest measure. Many of their poetical compositions were intended
for the dramatic representations which have been spoken of
elsewhere.[615]
[Sidenote: AZTEC ARITHMETICAL SYSTEM.]
The Nahua system of numeration was very simple and comprehensive,
there being no limit to the numbers that could be expressed by it. The
following table will give a clear idea of the method as employed by
the Aztecs:
One, _ce_, or _cen_.
Two, _ome_.
Three, _yey_, or _ei_.
Four, _nahui_.
Five, _macuilli_,--signifying the 'clenched hand,' one finger
having been originally doubled, as is supposed, for each unit in
counting from one to five.
Six, _chico a ce_.
Seven, _chic ome_.
Eight, _chico ey_.
Nine, _chico nahui_,--These names from six to nine are simply those
from one to four, with a prefix whose meaning is not
altogether clear, but which is said to be composed of
_chico_, 'at one side,' and _ihuan_ or _huan_, meaning
'near another,' 'with,' or simply 'and.' These names
may consequently be interpreted perhaps, 'one side
(or hand) with one,' 'one hand with two,' etc., or one
two, etc., 'with the other side.'
Ten, _matlactli_--that is the upper part of the body, or all the
fingers of the hands.
Eleven, _matlactli oc ce_, ten and one.
Twelve, _matlactli om ome_, ten and two.
Thirteen, _matlactli om ey_, ten and three.
Fourteen, _matlactli o nahui_, ten and four.
In these names _oc_, _om_, _o_, or _on_ as Molina gives it,
seems to be used as a connective particle, equivalent
to 'and,' but I am not acquainted with its derivation.
Fifteen, _caxtolli_, a word to which the authorities give no
derivative meaning.
Sixteen, _caxtolli oc ce_, fifteen and one, etc.
Twenty, _cem pohualli_, once twenty.
The word _pohualli_ means 'a count,' the number
twenty being in a sense the foundation of the whole
numerical system.
Twenty-one, _cem pohualli oc ce_, once twenty and one, etc.
Thirty, _cem pohualli, ihuan_ (or _om_ as Molina has it)
_matlactli_, once twenty and ten.
Thirty-five, _cem pohualli ihuan_ (or _on_) _caxtolli_, once
twenty and fifteen, etc.
Forty, _ome pohualli_, twice twenty, etc.
One hundred, _macuil pohualli_, five times twenty.
Two hundred, _matlactli pohualli_, ten times twenty.
Four hundred, _cen tzontli_, once four hundred, 'the hair of
the head.'
Eight hundred, _ome tzontli_, twice four hundred.
One thousand, _ome tzontli ihuan matlactli pohualli_, twice four
hundred and ten times twenty.
Eight thousand, _xiquipilli_, a purse or sack, already mentioned
as containing eight thousand cacao-nibs.
Sixteen thousand, _ome xiquipilli_, twice eight thousand.
It will be seen from the table that the only numbers having simple
names are one, two, three, four, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, four
hundred, and eight thousand; all the rest are compounds of these
constructed on the principle that when the smaller number follows the
larger the sum of the two is expressed, but when the smaller precedes
the larger, their product is indicated. Molina and Leon y Gama are the
chief authorities on the Nahua arithmetical system. All the writers
agree perfectly respecting its details, but differ considerably in
orthography. Molina writes each compound name together as a single
word, while Gama often separates a word into its parts as I have done
in every case, following his spelling.
[Sidenote: SYSTEM OF NUMERATION.]
The manner in which the numbers were written was as simple as the
system itself. A point or small circle indicated a unit, and these
points sufficed for the numbers from one to nineteen. Twenty was
indicated by a flag, four hundred by a feather, and eight thousand by
a purse. One character placed above another indicated that the product
was to be taken; for instance, 160,000 might be expressed either by
twenty purses, or by a flag over a purse. To avoid the excessive use
of the unit points in writing large and fractional numbers, each flag,
feather, and purse was divided into four quarters, and only those
quarters which were colored were to be counted. Thus five might be
expressed by five points or by a flag with but one quarter colored;
three hundred and fifty-six would be indicated by a feather with three
quarters colored, two complete flags, three quarters of another flag,
and one point.
We have seen that twenties were used, much as dozens are by us, as the
foundation of all numeration, but strangely enough these twenties took
different names in counting different classes of articles. The regular
name, as given in the table, is _pohualli_; in counting sheets of
paper, tortillas, small skins, and other thin objects capable of being
packed one above another in small parcels, each twenty was called
_pilli_; in counting cloths and other articles usually formed into
large rolls, _quimilli_ was the name applied to twenty; and in
counting persons, lines, walls, and other things ranged in order, the
term _tecpantli_ was sometimes employed. In reckoning birds, eggs,
fruits, seeds, and round or plump objects, generally _tetl_, 'a
stone,' was affixed to each one of the numerals in the table; _pantli_
was in the same way added for objects arranged in regular order, and
also for surface measurements; _tlamantli_ likewise was joined to the
numerals for articles sold in pairs or sets, as shoes, dishes, etc.;
while ears of corn, cacao in bunches, and other bulky articles
required the termination _olotl_.
Among all the Nahua nations, so far as known, the arithmetical system
was practically the same, and was essentially decimal. Nearly all gave
great prominence to the number twenty; the Huastec language had simple
names for the numbers from one to ten, twenty, and one thousand; the
Otomí approached still nearer our modern system by making one hundred
also one of its fundamental numbers with an uncompounded name as well
as a compounded one.[616]
Astrology, soothsaying, the interpretation of dreams, and of auguries
such as the flight or song of birds, the sudden meeting of wild
animals, or the occurrence of other unlooked-for events, were regarded
by the Nahuas as of the greatest importance, and the practice of such
arts was entrusted to the _tonalpouhqui_, 'those who count by the
sun,' a class of men held in high esteem, to whom was attributed a
perfect knowledge of future events. We have seen that no undertaking,
public or private, of any importance, could be engaged in except under
a suitable and propitious sign, and to determine this sign the
tonalpouhqui was appealed to. The science of astrology was written
down in books kept with great secrecy and mystery, altogether
unintelligible to the common crowd, whose good or bad fortune was
therein supposed to be painted. The details of the methods employed in
the mysterious rites of divination are nowhere recorded, and the
continual mention of the seer's services throughout the chapters of
this and the following volume render this paragraph on the subject
sufficient here.
[Sidenote: AUTHORITIES ON NAHUA ARTS.]
In addition to the miscellaneous arts described in the preceding
pages, separate chapters will be devoted to the Nahua calendar,
hieroglyphics, architecture, and medicine.[617]
FOOTNOTES:
[584] 'Tambien las minas de plata y oro, cobre, plomo, oropel natural,
estaño y otros metales, que todos los sacaron, labraron, y dejaron
señales y memoria.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp.
110-11. To obtain gold 'se metian al fondo del agua y sacaban las
manos llenas de arena, para buscar luego en ella los granos, los que
se guardaban en la boca.' _Diaz_, _Itinerario_, in _Icazbalceta_,
_Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 299. In Michoacan 'trabajaban minas de
cobre.' _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., p. 48. 'The traces of
their labors furnished the best indications for the early Spanish
miners.' _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 138-9; _Carbajal Espinosa_,
_Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 99-100; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, p.
198 et seq.
[585] 'Whether a man desire the rude mettall, or to haue it molten, or
beaten out, and cunningly made into any kinde of Iewell, hee shall
find them ready wrought.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv. Gomara and
Gama state that they mixed gold and silver, as well as tin, with
copper, for the manufacture of gimlets, axes, and chisels. _Conq.
Mex._, fol. 318; _Dos Piedras_, pt ii., p. 26. Clavigero states that
in Zacatollan two kinds of copper were found, hard and soft, so that
there was no need of any hardening process. _Storia Ant. del Messico_,
tom. iv., pp. 210-11.
[586] 'Porras claveteadas de hierro, cobre y oro.' _Ixtlilxochitl_,
_Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 332. 'Nous
avons eu entre les mains de beaux outils de cuivre rosette.'
_Viollet-le-Duc_, in _Charnay_, _Ruines Amér._, pp. 86-7. 'Hazen
muchas cosas, como los mejores caldereros del mundo.' _Herrera_,
_Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix. Some had plates and other
vessels of tin. _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., p. 465.
'Contuttociò si sa, che lavoravano bene il rame, e che piacquero assai
agli Spagnuoli lo loro scuri, e le loro picche.' _Clavigero_, _Storia
Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 196. Peter Martyr speaks of large
copper stands or candlesticks which supported pine torches to light
the courts of the better houses. Dec. v., tom. x. 'Il existait de si
grands vases d'argent qu'un homme pouvait à peine les entourer de ses
bras.' _Baril_, _Mexique_, p. 209; _Brownell's Ind. Races_, p. 94;
_Edinburgh Review_, July 1867.
[587] 'Todo variadizo, que en nuestra España los grandes Plateros
tienen que mirar en ello.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 69. 'Los
Plateros de Madrid, viendo algunas Piezas, Brazaletes de oro, con que
se armaban en guerra los Reyes, y Capitanes Indianos, confessaron que
eran inimitables en Europa.' _Boturini_, _Idea_, p. 78. 'Non sarebbero
verisimili le maraviglie di cotal arte, se oltre alla testimonianza di
quanti le videro, non fossero state mandate in Europa in gran copia sì
fatte rarità.' 'Finalmente erano tali sì fatte opere, che anche que'
Soldati spagnuoli, che si sentivano travagliati dalla sacra fame
dell'oro, pregiavano in esse più l'arte, che la materia.' _Clavigero_,
_Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 195-6.
[588] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, pp. 109, 100-1. In the collection of
Nezahualcoyotzin 'no faltava alli ave, pez ni animal de toda esta
tierra, que no estuvìese vivo, ó hecho figura y talle, en piedras de
oro y pedrería.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Kingsborough's
Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 244. 'There is no fourefooted beast, no
foule, no fyshe, which their Artificers have once seene, but they are
able to drawe, and cutte in mettall the likenesse and proportion
thereof, euen to the lyfe.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v., lib. x., iv.
Eight gold shrimps of much perfection. _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom.
iii., p. 285; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la Raza Indígena_, p. 56.
[589] 'Sacan un ave, como un papagayo que se le anda la lengua como si
vivo la menease y tambien la cabeza y las alas. Un rostro de aguila lo
mismo, una rana, y un pescado, señalada muchas escamas una de plata y
otra de oro, todo de vaciado, que espanta à todos nuestros oficiales.'
_Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxiii. 'Funden vna mona,
que juegue pies y cabeça, y tenga en las manos vn huso, que parezca
que hila, o vna mançana, que come. Esto tuuieron a mucho nuestros
Españoles, y los plateros de aca no alcançan el primor.' _Gomara_,
_Conq. Mex._, fol. 117. 'Y lo que mas es, que sacaban de la fundicion
vna pieça, la mitad de Oro, y la mitad de Plata.' _Torquemada_,
_Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 487; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, pt ii.,
p. 59; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, pp. 403-7. 'Sacauan al mercado los
oficiales deste arte, platos, ochauados de vn quarto de oro, y otro de
plata, no soldados, sino fundidos, y en la fundicion pegado, cosa
dificultosa de entender. Sacauan vna caldereta de plata, con
excelentes labores, y su assa de vna fundicion, y lo que era de
marauillar que la asa estaua suelta.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec.
ii., lib. vii., cap. xv.
[590] 'Acaeciales á los principios estar un indio envuelto en una
manta que no se le parecian si no los ojos, como ellos se ponen no muy
cerca de una tienda de algun platero de los nuestros disimuladamente,
como no pretendia mirar nada y el platero estar labrando de oro y de
plata alguna joya ó pieza de mucho artificio y muy delicada, y de solo
verle hacer alguna parte della irse á su casa y hacello tanto y mas
perfecto y traello desde á poco en la mano para lo vender.' _Las
Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxiii. Zuazo, however,
pronounces some of the native work inferior to the European. 'Yo vi
algunas piezas y no me parecieron tan primamente labradas como las
nuestras.' _Carta_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 362.
[591] _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iv., p. 211;
_Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., p. 520.
[592] 'Vna rueda de hechura de Sol, tan grande como de vna carreta,
con muchas labores, todo de oro muy fino, gran obra de mirar; ... otra
mayor rueda de plata, figurada la Luna, con muchos resplandores, y
otras figuras en ella.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 26-7.
'Espejos hechos de Margajita, que es vn metal hermosissimo, como plata
muy resplandeciente y estos grandes como vn puño redondos como vna
bola, engastados en oro.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. v.,
cap. v. 'Doze zebratanas de fusta y plata, con que solia el tirar. Las
unas pintadas y matizadas de aves, animales, rosas, flores,
yarboles.... Las otras eran variadas, y sinzeladas con mas primor y
sotileza que la pintura.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 135-6, 42;
_Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., p. 259; _Las Casas_, _Hist.
Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxxii.
[593] 'Vnas fundidas, otras labradas de Piedra.' _Torquemada_,
_Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 557; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii.,
lib. vii., cap. xv. 'Y lo que mas las hace admirables, es que las
obran y labran con solo fuego y con una piedra ó pedernal.' _Las
Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxiii. Hammered work inferior
to that of European artisans. _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_,
tom. ii., p. 196. 'Los oficiales que labran oro son de dos maneras,
unos de ellos se llaman martilladores ó amajadores, porque estos
labran oro de martillo majándolo con piedras ó con martillos, para
hacerlo delgado como papel: otros se llaman _tlatlaliani_, que quiere
decir, que asientan el oro ó alguna cosa en él, ó en la plata, estos
son verdaderos oficiales ó por otro nombre se llaman _tulteca_; pero
están divididos en dos partes, porque labran el oro cada uno de su
manera.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., p. 387, et seq.
For pictures of furnaces and of some manufactured articles from the
hieroglyphic MSS., see _Ewbank_, in _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. iv.,
p. 448, et seq. 'They cast, also, vessels of gold and silver, carving
them with their metallic chisels in a very delicate manner.'
_Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 139-40.
[594] 'Siéntanse en el suelo y toman un pedazo de aquella piedra
negra.... Aquel pedazo que toman es de un palmo ó poco mas largo, y de
grueso como la pierna ó poco menos, y rollizo. Tienen un palo del
grueso de una lanza y largo como tres codos ó poco mas, y al principio
de este palo ponen pegado y bien atado un trozo de palo de un palmo,
grueso como el molledo del brazo, y algo mas, y este tiene su frente
llana y tajada, y sirve este trozo para que pese mas aquella parte.
Juntan ambos piés descalzos, y con ellos aprietan la piedra con el
pecho, y con ambas las manos toman el palo que dije era como vara de
lanza (que tambien es llano y tajado) y pónenlo á besar con el canto
de la frente de la piedra (que tambien es llana y tajada), y entonces
aprietan hácia el pecho, y luego salta de la piedra una navaja con su
punta y sus filos de ambas partes.' _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, p.
406; repeated in nearly the same words in _Torquemada_, _Monarq.
Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 489-90; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS.,
cap. lxii., lxvi; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, pt ii., p. 60.
[595] _Tylor's Researches_, p. 194. 'Tienen lancetas de azabache
negro, y vnas nauajas de axeme, hechas como puñal, mas gordas en medio
que á los filos, con que se jassan y sangran de la lengua, braços, y
piernas.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 324-5; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las
Ynd._, p. 491.
[596] _Lenoir_, _Parallèle_, pp. 64-5. 'In the beginning of this so
rare inuention, I gotte one of them, which Christophorus Colonus,
Admirall of the Sea gaue mee. This stone was of a greene darkishe
colour, fastened in most firme and harde woode, which was the handle
or helue thereof. I stroke with all my force vpon Iron barres and
dented the Iron with my strokes without spoyling or hurting of the
stone in any part thereof. With these stones therefore they make their
instruments, for hewing of stone, or cutting of timber, or any
workemanship in gold or siluer.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v., lib. iv.
[597] _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 231.
[598] _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxii. See note 9 of
this chapter.
[599] 'Sculptured images were so numerous, that the foundations of the
cathedral in the _plaza mayor_, the great square of Mexico, are said
to be entirely composed of them.' _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp.
140-1. Two statues in likeness of Montezuma and his brother cut in the
cliff at Chapultepec. _Duran_, _Hist. Indias_, MS., tom. i., cap. iii.
The idols destroyed by Cortés 'eran de manera de dragones espantables,
tan grandes como becerros, y otras figuras de manera de medio hombre,
y de perros grandes, y de malas semejanças.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist.
Conq._, fol. 35. 'Sapevano esprimere nelle loro statue tutti gli
atteggiamenti, e positure, di cui è capace il corpo, osservavano
esattamente le proporzioni, e facevano, dove si richiedeva, i più
minuti, e dilicati intaglj.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_,
tom. ii., p. 195. 'Habia entre ellos grandes escultores de cantería,
que labraban cuanto querian en piedra, con guijarros ó pedernales, tan
prima y curiosamente como en nuestra Castilla los muy buenos oficiales
con escodas y picos de acero.' _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, p. 403;
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 486-8. Portrait-statues of
the Tezcucan kings. _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in
_Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 264; _Id._, _Relaciones_,
p. 440. Statues of Montezuma and brother. _Bustamante_, in _Cavo_,
_Tres Siglos_, tom. iii., p. 49.
[600] 'Gli smeraldi erano tanto comuni, che non v'era Signore, che non
ne avesse.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp.
206-7. 'Esmaltan assi mesmo, engastan y labran esmeraldas, turquesas,
y otras piedras, y agujeran perlas pero no tambien como por aca.'
_Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 117. 'Ambar, cristal, y las piedras
llamadas _amatista_ perlas, y todo género de ellas, y demas que traían
por joyas que ahora se usan.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib.
x., pp. 109-11, 117-18. 'Un encalado muy pulido, que era de ver, y
piedras de que estaban hechas, tambien labradas y pegadas, que parecia
ser cosa de musaico.' _Id._, p. 107. Shields adorned with 'perlas
menudas como aljofar, y no se puede dezir su artificio, lindeza, y
hermosura.' Sandals having 'por suelas vna piedra blanca y azul, cosa
preciosa y muy delgada.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. v.,
cap. v. Guariques of blue stones set in gold; a stone face surrounded
with gold; a string of stone beads. 'Dos mascaras de piedras menudas,
como turquesas, sentadas sobre madera de otra musáyca.' _Oviedo_,
_Hist. Gen._, tom. i., pp. 526-8, tom. iii., pp. 285, 305. Idol
covered with mosaic work of mother of pearl, turquoises, emeralds, and
chalcedonies. _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. cxxxii.
'Excellent glasses may bee made thereof by smoothing and polishing
them, so that we all confessed that none of ours did better shewe the
naturall and liuely face of a manne.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v., lib. x.
'Ils avaient des masques garnis de pierres précieuses, représentant
des lions, des tigres, des ours, etc.' _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in
_Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 133. Emerald
altar to the Miztec god. _Burgoa_, _Geog. Descrip._, tom. i., pt ii.,
fol. 156. 'Y lo de las piedras, que no basta juicio á comprehender con
qué instrumentos se hiciese tan perfecto.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 109.
[601] Huitzilopochtli's idol 'era vna estatua de madera entretallada
en semejança de vn hombre sentado en vn escaño azul.' _Acosta_, _Hist.
de las Ynd._, p. 324. Large chests 'hechas de madera con sus tapaderas
que se abren y cierran con unos colgadizos.' _Zuazo_, _Carta_, in
_Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., pp. 361-2. 'I Falegnami
lavoravano bene parecchie spezie di legni co'loro strumenti di rame,
d' quali se ne vedono alcuni anche oggidì.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant.
del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 207, 194-5. 'Los carpinteros y
entalladores labraban la madera con instrumentos de cobre, pero no se
daban á labrar cosas curiosas como los canteros.' _Mendieta_, _Hist.
Ecles._, p. 403. 'Labravan lazos, y animales tan curiosos que causaron
admiracion à los primeros Españoles.' _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, pt
ii., p. 59. 'With their Copper Hatchets, and Axes, cunnyngly tempered,
they fell those trees, and hewe them smooth, taking away the chyppes,
that they may more easily be drawne. They haue also certayne hearbes,
with the which, in steed of broome, and hempe, they make ropes,
cordes, and cables: and boaring a hole in one of the edges of the
beame, they fasten the rope, then sette their slaues vnto it, like
yoakes of oxen, and lastly insteede of wheels, putting round blocks
vnder the timber, whether it be to be drawn steepe vp, or directly
downe the hill, the matter is performed by the neckes of the slaues,
the carpenters onely directing the carriage.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v.,
lib. x. 'Hazen caxas, escritorios, mesas, escriuanias, y otras cosas
de mucho primor.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap.
ix. 'They made cups and vases of a lackered or painted wood,
impervious to wet and gaudily colored.' _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., p.
143.
[602] Molina, _Diccionario_, says, however that, the tecomatl was an
earthen vase. See also p. 458 of this volume.
[603] 'Siete sartas de quentas menudas de barro, redondas y doradas
muy bien.' _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., pp. 526, 533. 'I Pentolai
facevano d'argilla non solo gli stoviglj necessarj per l'uso delle
case, ma eziandío altri lavori di mera curiosità.' _Clavigero_,
_Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 207, tom. iv., pp. 211-2. 'La
loza tan hermosa, y delicada como la de Faenza en Italia.' _Herrera_,
_Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ii., vii. 'Los incensarios con
que incensaban eran de barro, à manera de cuchara, cuio remate era
hueco, y dentro tenían metidas pelotillas del mismo barro, que sonaban
como cascaveles, à los golpes del Incienso, como suenan las cadenas de
nuestros incensarios.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 264.
The jicara was of gold, silver, gourd-shells, or fish-shells. 'Aunque
estèn cien Años en el Agua, nunca la pintura se les borra.' _Id._, p.
488. 'Para coger la sangre tienen escudillas de calabaça.' _Gomara_,
_Conq. Mex._, fol. 324-5. 'Many sorts also of earthen vessels are sold
there, as water pots, greate iuggs, chargers, gobblets, dishes,
colenders, basens, frying pans, porringers, pitchers.' _Peter Martyr_,
dec. v., lib. iv. 'Vasos que llaman xicalli, y tecomatl, que son de
vnos arboles, que se dan en tierras calientes.' 'À estas les dan vn
barniz con flores, y animales de diversos colores, hermoseadas, que no
se quita, ni se despinta aunque estè en el agua muchos días.'
_Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, pt ii., p. 60.
[604] 'Non aveano lana, nè seta comune, nè lino, nè canapa; ma
supplivano alla lana col cotone, alla seta colla piuma, e col pelo del
coniglio, e della lepre, ed al lino, ed alla canapa coll' _Icxotl_, o
palma montana, col _Quetzalichtli_, col Pati, e con altre spezie di
Maguei.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 207-8,
210. 'En todo el mundo no se podia hacer ni tejer otra tal, ni de tantas
ni tan diversas y naturales colores ni labores.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_,
p. 101. 'Una Vestidura del Gran Sacerdote _Achcauhquitlinamacàni_ se
embiò à Roma en tiempo de la Conquista, que dexò pasmada aquella
Corte.' _Boturini_, _Idea_, p. 77. The Olmecs used the hair of dogs
and other animals. _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 154,
252-3. 'Incredible matters of Cotton, housholde-stuffe, tapestry or
arras hangings, garments, and couerlets.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v.,
lib. iii. Humboldt states that silk made by a species of indigenous
worms was an article of commerce among the Miztecs, in the time of
Montezuma. _Essai Pol._, tom. ii., p. 454. 'Hilan teniendo el copo en
vna mano, y el huso en otra. Tuercen al reues que aca, estando el huso
en vna escudilla. No tiene hueca el huso, mas hilan a prissa y no
mal.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 318.
[605] _Humboldt_, _Essai Pol._, tom. ii., pp. 454-5. Maguey-paper
'resembling somewhat the Egyptian papyrus.' _Prescott's Mex._, vol.
i., pp. 99-100. Some paper of palm-leaf, as thin and soft as silk.
_Boturini_, _Catálogo_, in _Id._, _Idea_, pp. 95-6. Native paper
called _cauhamatl_. _Tezozomoc_, _Crónica Mex._, in _Kingsborough's
Mex. Antiq._, tom. ix., p. 65. They made paper of a certain species of
aloe, steeped together like hemp, and afterwards washed, stretched,
and smoothed; also of the palm _icxotl_, and thin barks united and
prepared with a certain gum. _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_,
tom. ii., p. 189, tom. iv., p. 239. Torquemada speaks of a sheet 20
fathoms long, one wide, and as thick as the finger. _Monarq. Ind._,
tom. ii., p. 263.
[606] 'Habia oficiales de curtir cueros y muchos de adovarlos
maravillosamente.' _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxii.
'Cueros de Venado, Tigres, y leones ... con pelo, y sin pelo, de todos
colores.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 488. 'Tan suaves
que de ellos se vestian, y sacaban correas.' _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro
Mex._, pt ii., p. 60; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p.
118. Cortés found the skins of some of his horses slain in battle 'tan
bien adobados como en todo el mundo lo pudieran hacer.' _Cartas_, p.
183. Red skins resembling parchment. _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i.,
p. 526. 'No se puede bien dezir su hermosura, y hechura.' _Herrera_,
_Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v. 'Los tarascos curtian
perfectamente las pieles de los animales.' _Payno_, in _Soc. Mex.
Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. i., p. 721. 'Des tapis de cuir
maroquinés avec la dernière perfection.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_,
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 271.
[607] _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 189-90;
_Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 652-3. Method of
raising cochineal. _Id._, pp. 625-6. 'En parcourant le palais de
Montézuma les Castillans furent très-étonnés d'y voir des sacs de
punaises dont on se servait à teindre et même à badigeonner les murs.'
_Rosny_, in _Comité d'Arch. Amér._, 1866-7, pp. 15-16. See p. 235 of
this volume. They possessed the art of dyeing a fabric without
impairing its strength, an art unknown to Europeans of the 18th
century. _Carli_, _Cartas_, pt ii., pp. 95-7.
[608] 'Y pintores ha habido entre ellos tan señalados, que sobre
muchos de los señalados donde quiera que se hallasen se podian
señalar.' _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxii. The same
author speaks of their skill in reducing or enlarging drawings. 'Havia
Pintores buenos, que retrataban al natural, en especial Aves,
Animales, Arboles, Flores, y Verduras, y otras semejantes, que vsaban
pintar, en los aposentos de los Reies, y Señores; pero formas humanas,
asi como rostros, y cuerpos de Hombres, y Mugeres, no los pintaban al
natural.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 487, tom. i., p.
388; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, p. 404. 'Dans leur grotesque et leur
raccourci, on trouve encore cependant une délicatesse de pinceau, fort
remarquable, une pureté et une finesse dans les esquisses, qu'on ne
saurait s'empêcher d'admirer; on voit, d'ailleurs, un grand nombre de
portraits de rois et de princes, qui sont évidemment faits d'après
nature.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp.
653-4. 'Wee sawe a Mappe of those countreyes 30. foote long, and
little lesse in breadth, made of white cotton, wouen: wherein the
whole playne was at large described.' _Peter Martyr_, dec. v., lib.
x., iii., v.
[609] 'La Natura ad essi somministrava quanti colori fa adoperar
l'Arte, e alcuni ancora, que essa non è capace d'imitare.' The
specimens made after the conquest were very inferior. _Clavigero_,
_Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 197-9. 'Hazense las mejores
ymagines de pluma en la prouincia de Mechoacan en el pueblo de
Pascaro.' _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, p. 285. 'Vi ciertos follajes,
pájaros, mariposas, abejones sobre unas varas temblantes, negras é tan
delgadas, que apenas se veian, é de tal manera que realmente se hacian
vivas á los que las miraban un poquito de lejos: todo lo demas que
estaba cerca de las dichas mariposas, pájaros é abejones correspondia
naturalmente á boscajes de yerbas, ramos é flores de diversas colores
é formas.' _Zuazo_, _Carta_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom.
i., p. 360. 'Figuras, y imagenes de Principes, y de sus idolos, tan
vistosas, y tan acertadas, que hazian ventaja a las pinturas
Castellanas.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. xv.
'Muchas cosas de Pluma, como Aves, Animales, Hombres, y otras cosas
mui delicadas, Capas, y Mantas para cubrirse, y vestiduras para los
Sacerdotes de sus Templos, Coronas, Mitras, Rodelas, y Mosqueadores.'
_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 488-9; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro Mex._, pt ii., p. 59; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, pp. 405-6;
_Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. lxii. 'Acontece les no
comer en todo vn dia, poniendo, quitando y assentando la pluma, y
mirando à una parte, y à otra, al sol, a la sombra,' etc. _Gomara_,
_Conq. Mex._, fol. 116-17. Mention of the birds which furnished
bright-colored feathers. _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 68-9. 'Ils
en faisaient des rondaches et d'autres insignes, compris sous le nom
d' "Apanecayotl," dont rien n'approchait pour la richesse et le fini.'
_Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 285;
_Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 109. Mention of some
specimens preserved in Europe. _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v.,
p. 30.
[610] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. 392-6.
[611] _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 489; _Vetancvrt_,
_Teatro Mex._, pt ii., p. 59; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, p. 405;
_Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. l.
[612] _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. iii., pp. 201-3; _Torquemada_,
_Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 147; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in
_Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, tom. ix., p. 244.
[613] 'Avvegnachè i lor più celebri Aringatori non sieno da
paragonarsi cogli Oratori delle Nazioni culte dell'Europa, non può
peraltro negarsi, che i loro ragionamenti non fossero gravi, sodi, ed
eleganti, come si scorge dagli avanzi che ci restano della loro
eloquenza.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp.
174-5. 'Les raisonnements y sont graves, les arguments solides, et
pleins d'élégance.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom.
iii, p. 672; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 172-3. Montezuma's speech
to Cortés, in _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., pp. 285-6. 'The
Spaniards have given us many fine polished Indian orations, but they
were certainly fabricated at Madrid.' _Adair_, _Amer. Ind._, p. 202.
[614] Four poems or fragments are given in Spanish, in _Kingsborough's
Mex. Antiq._, vol. viii., pp. 110-15. No. 1 has for its subject the
tyrant Tezozomoc; No. 2 is an ode on the mutability of life; No. 3 is
an ode recited at a feast, comparing the great kings of Anáhuac to
precious stones; No. 4 was composed for the dedication of the author's
palace and treats of the unsatisfactory nature of earthly honors. Nos.
2 and 3 are also found in _Doc. Hist. Mex._, serie iii., tom. iv., pp.
286-93. No. 2 is given in _Prescott's Mex._, vol. iii., pp. 425-30, in
Spanish and English verse. A French translation of No. 1 is given by
Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 672-4, who
also gives an additional specimen from Carochi's grammar, in Aztec and
Spanish. Nos. 1, 2, and 4 in French, in _Bussierre_, _L'Empire Mex._,
pp. 411-17. No. 4 is to be found in _Granados y Galvez_, _Tardes
Amer._, pp. 90-4. Nos. 1 and 4, in German, in _Müller_, _Reisen_, tom.
iii., pp. 138-41, where are also two additional odes. No. 2 is also
given in German by Klemm, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v., pp. 146-51.
[615] _Boturini_, _Idea_, pp. 90-7. The language of their poetry was
brilliant, pure, and agreeable, figurative, and embellished with
frequent comparisons to the most pleasing objects in nature.
_Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 174-6.
Nezahualcoyotl left sixty hymns composed in honor of the Creator of
Heaven. _Id._, tom. i., pp. 232, 245-7; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la
Raza Indígena_, pp. 57-9; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 108, 171-5;
_Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 639-40. 'Cantauan
lamentaciones, y endechas. Tenian pronosticos, especialmente que se
auia de acabar el mundo, y los cantauan lastimosamente: y tambien
tenian memoria de sus grandezas, en cantares y pinturas.' _Herrera_,
_Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvi.; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist.
Chich._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 275.
[616] _Molina_, _Vocabulario_; _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt ii.,
pp. 128-47; _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iv., Sept.,
1872; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., pp.
49-57; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la Raza Indígena_, pp. 45-7;
_Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 109-10.
[617] My authorities for the matter in this chapter are: _Sahagun_,
_Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. ix., pp. 282-337, 387-96, tom. iii., lib.
x., pp. 107-12, 117-18, 122, 131, 137; _Las Casas_, _Hist.
Apologética_, MS., cap. l., lxii-lxiii., lxv., cxxi., cxxxii.,
clxxii., ccxi.; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, pp. 403-7; _Cortés_,
_Cartas_, pp. 29-34, 94, 100-1, 109, 183, 192; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las
Ynd._, pp. 198, 285, 324; _Vetancvrt_, _Teatro Mex._, pt ii., pp.
59-60; _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., pp. 48-50; _Boturini_,
_Idea_, pp. 77-8, 90-7; _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv., lib. iv., dec. v.,
tom. i.-v., x., dec. viii., lib. iv.; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 39,
42, 60-2, 75, 116-18, 135-6, 318, 324-5, 342-3; _Duran_, _Hist.
Indias_, MS., tom. i., cap. iii.; _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt
ii., pp. 26, 128-47; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. i.,
pp. 232, 245-7, tom. ii., pp. 174-8, 189-99, 205-10, 224-8, tom. iv.,
pp. 210-11, 232, 239; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., pp. 37,
72, 146-7, 168, 228-31, tom. ii., pp. 263, 486-90, 557-8;
_Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol.
ix., pp. 243-4, 264; _Id._, _Relaciones_, pp. 327, 332, 440-1, 455;
_Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. iv., v., lib. vi.,
cap. xi., xvi., lib. vii., cap. ii., vii., ix., xv., dec. iii., lib.
iii., cap. ix.; _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des
Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 133; _Tezozomoc_, _Crónica Mex._, in
_Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., pp. 17, 41, 46, 49, 64, 171;
_Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., pp. 520-1, 526-8, 533, tom. iii., pp.
259, 272, 285-92, 298-300, 305, 464-5, 499; _Burgoa_, _Geog.
Descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. 156, 160-1; _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist.
Conq._, fol. 26-7, 68-9; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp.
154, 238, 252-3, tom. iii., pp. 201-3, 319; _Zuazo_, _Carta_, in
_Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., pp. 360-2; _Diaz_,
_Itinerario_, in _Id._, p. 299; _Relacion de Algunas Cosas_, in _Id._,
pp. 378-9; _Motolinia_, _Hist. Indios_, in _Id._, pp. 204, 211;
_Hernandez_, _Nova Plant._, p. 339; _Granados y Galvez_, _Tardes
Amer._, pp. 90-4; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 99-100, 108-10,
138-45, 170-5, vol. iii., pp. 425-30; _Ewbank_, in _Schoolcraft's
Arch._, vol. iv., pp. 44-56; _Müller_, _Reisen_, tom. iii., pp. 125-8,
134; _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 62, 99-102, 378,
431-2, 498, 588-9, 638-40, 652-3, 657-60, 666-7, 682-3, tom. ii., pp.
60, 69-70, 74, 103-4, 198, 230-1; _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da
época, tom. i., p. 721, tom. iv., Sept. 1872; _Rosny_, in _Comité
d'Arch. Amér._, 1866-7, pp. 15-16; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc.,
Transact._, vol. i., pp. 49-57; _Tylor's Researches_, pp. 165, 194,
201, 267; _Id._, _Anahuac_, pp. 95-101, 107-9; _Humboldt_, _Essai
Pol._, tom. ii., pp. 454, 485; _Carli_, _Cartas_, pt ii., pp. 94-7;
_Lenoir_, _Parallèle_, pp. 48, 56, 62, 64-5; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_,
_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., pp. 130, 271-2, 285-6, 288, tom. iii., pp.
648-54, 672-4; _Id._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1858, tom.
clix., pp. 77-85; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la Raza Indígena_, pp. 44-7,
54-9; _Cavo_, _Tres Siglos_, tom. iii., p. 49; _Viollet-le-Duc_, in
_Charnay_, _Ruines Amér._, pp. 86-7; _Brownell's Ind. Races_, p. 94;
_Edinburgh Review_, July, 1867; _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v.,
pp. 13-20, 24, 26-32, 144-51, 162-3, 181; _Baril_, _Mexique_, pp.
209-10; _Bussierre_, _L'Empire Mex._, pp. 168-72, 244, 270, 411-17;
_Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, tom. viii., pp. 110-15; _West-Indische
Spieghel_, pp. 218, 220, 225-6, 238-9, 246, 250-1, 343; _Chevalier_,
_Mex., Ancien et Mod._, pp. 19, 28, 36-7; _Mill's Hist. Mex._, p. 150;
_Heredia y Sarmiento_, _Sermon_, pp. 73, 83; _Gage's New Survey_, pp.
110-11; _Lafond_, _Voyages_, tom. i., pp. 161-2; _Touron_, _Hist.
Gén._, tom. iii., pp. 142, 146; _Fransham's World in Miniature_, vol.
ii., p. 9; _Montanus_, _Nieuwe Weereld_, pp. 221-2; _Dapper_, _Neue
Welt_, pp. 248-50; _Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., pp.
435, 456; _Dupaix_, _Rel., 2de Expéd._, pp. 25, 28; _Soden_, _Spanier
in Peru_, tom. ii., pp. 27-9; _Wappäus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 47;
_Monglave_, _Résumé_, pp. 43, 52, 57; _Delaporte_, _Reisen_, tom. x.,
p. 268; _Gordon_, _Hist. and Geog. Mem._, p. 76; _Helps' Span. Conq._,
vol. ii., pp. 268-9, 450; _Alzate y Ramirez_, _Mem. sobre Grana._, MS.