Transcriber's Note:
Text which was marked as italic in the original text is surrounded by _
in this edition, bold text by =, superscripted text is preceded by ^.
A note on the other changes to the book can be found at the end of this
document.
_Paidology_
_The Science of the Child_
THE
HISTORICAL CHILD
BY
OSCAR CHRISMAN, A.M., Ph.D.
_Professor of Paidology and Psychology in the Ohio University_
BOSTON
RICHARD G. BADGER
THE GORHAM PRESS
COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY RICHARD G. BADGER
_All Rights Reserved_
Made in the United States of America
The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.
TO MY WIFE
PREFACE
In the _Pedagogical Seminary_ for December, 1893, in an article on "The
Hearing of Children," the last paragraph, page 438, occurred for the
first time in print the word _paidology_.[1] In _The Forum_ for
February, 1894, page 728, the first article explanatory of paidology
appeared. A more complete outlining of the subject was as a doctor's
dissertation at the University of Jena, Germany, 1896. In the first
edition of the Standard Dictionary was included the word paidology,
wherein it was defined as "The scientific study of the child." Paidology
originated in my mind at a very unexpected moment one day in April,
1893.
This book is the first of a series that it is my purpose to write upon
child life. The others will follow from time to time upon the different
phases of child being. This book and the others it is hoped may appear
are the outcome of several years of study and of teaching the subject to
young men and women, which has proved to me that people are eager to
know about children in the past as well as in the present. He who wishes
to acquaint himself with children and child nature must have a knowledge
of child life as it existed among the various nations of the world. The
child as found in Ancient Mexico and Ancient Peru is given place here
because the life and doings of these peoples have always been attractive
reading to me, and also it is well to consider child life in these
nations who reached such a high stage of existence among the lower forms
of human society and so far removed from the civilizations of Asia and
Europe. It is hoped there is value in this work to the student of child
nature and that young people may find it interesting and profitable.
It will be noted that there are topics of a general nature given in this
work, which purports to be a study of child life. When it is considered
that the affairs of a nation affect every class and age of the persons
constituting it and especially react upon women, the mothers, then it
may be understood how vital these matters become in a study of child
life among a people and how necessary they are for a better
comprehension of what is directly connected with children. Too the term
"child" is used here in a general sense, to include all ages up to full
manhood.
It seems to me that everything done and studied in my whole life touches
this science of the child and that every one with whom I have come in
contact has aided me. It is wished here to express in a general way my
thanks to these friends for their help. I must, though, mention by name
a few who have more directly made this book possible. First of all is
President G. Stanley Hall of Clark University, the great leader and
pioneer in the study of children, with whom I spent two years and from
whom I first obtained the right ideas of studying child life. Another is
Professor Wilhelm Rein of the University of Jena, who kindly permitted
me to use paidology as the subject for my doctor's thesis and extended
the time for working on it, thus giving me opportunity for use of
material at Berlin and when completed he endorsed the thesis,
"Paidologie, Entwurf zu einer Wissenschaft des Kindes," to the Senate of
his University. A third one to whom I am greatly indebted is Professor
Rudolph Eucken of the University of Jena, whose lectures listened to for
a year gave me a broader view of life and the sympathy he expressed for
myself and work were of the utmost encouragement and too at a time when
well needed. I owe much to Prof. Dr. W. Preyer of the University of
Berlin, now deceased, who wrote me encouragingly of my work before my
going to Germany and while there he talked over matters with me and went
over the thesis when completed and had faith in the idea I was
promulgating, new at that time, that the study of the child is a science
in and of itself and for which I had originated the term paidology, and
he advised and encouraged me to make it my life study.
I must take this opportunity to express gratitude to my wife who so
willingly gave up the many things which are so dear to a woman and a
mother that there might be acquired by myself the very best education
the world could give and so make possible the coming forth of paidology
and all it may contain.
O. C.
_The Ohio University._
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE 7
I. THE CHILD IN MEXICO 15-38
The people 15
Women and marriage 16
Birth 18
Casting the nativity of the infant 19
Baptizing and naming child 19
Care and treatment of children 19
Dress 24
Food and drink 25
Lore 27
Human sacrifice 28
Slavery 30
Industries 30
Couriers 33
Amusements 33
Education 36
II. THE CHILD IN PERU 39-51
The people 39
Buildings 41
Dress 41
Food, drink, narcotics 42
Marriage 43
Care and treatment of children 44
The Virgins of the Sun 44
Human sacrifice 45
Industries 45
Training of the Inca and the Order of the Huaracu 49
Education 50
III. THE CHILD IN EGYPT 52-84
The country 52
The people 53
Slavery 54
The home 55
Women and marriage 57
Child and parent 58
Dress 59
Food and drink 62
Food and clothing of children 64
Industries 65
Sickness and death 74
Child and religion 76
Amusements 76
Games, plays, and toys 81
Education 82
IV. THE CHILD IN INDIA 85-103
Caste 85
Women and marriage 85
Boys and girls 96
Infanticide 97
Dress 98
Amusements 98
Rites 99
Adoption 99
Inheritance 100
Education 100
V. THE CHILD IN CHINA 104-129
Women and marriage 104
Infancy 112
Boys and girls 115
Child and parent 116
Deformation of the feet 117
Amusements 118
Dress 121
Religion 122
Education 123
VI. THE CHILD IN JAPAN 130-160
Women 130
Marriage 134
The mother's memorial 138
Dress 140
Regulations 140
The care of children 143
Naming children 145
Carrying children 145
Adoption and inheritance 145
Power and duty of father 146
Amusements 146
Lore 152
Religion 155
Suicide 155
Work 156
Education 157
VII. THE CHILD IN PERSIA 161-166
Characteristics 161
Women and marriage 161
Dress 163
Child and parent 163
Inheritance 163
Amusements 164
Education 164
VIII. THE CHILD IN JUDEA 167-176
Historical 167
Women and marriage 167
Care and treatment of children 170
Duties of children 171
Dress 171
Amusements 173
Education 173
IX. THE CHILD IN GREECE 177-211
Physical characteristics 177
The people 177
The home 178
Girls and women 178
Marriage 182
Dress 186
Food 190
Child and parent 191
Care of children 191
Infanticide 193
Duties of children 194
Adoption and inheritance 194
Toys and playthings 194
Games and plays 195
Sports and festivals 197
Other amusements 199
Sickness and death 201
Religion 202
Education 203
X. THE CHILD IN ROME 212-263
Characteristics 212
The people 213
Slavery 214
The home 215
Women 218
Marriage 224
Dress 231
Food 237
Child and parent 238
Names 239
Care and treatment of children 239
Citizenship 240
Inheritance 241
Adoption 242
Sickness and death 243
Industries 246
The spectacles 249
Other amusements 253
The bath 254
Games and plays 254
Religion 255
Vestal Virgins 255
Education 257
XI. THE CHILD IN EARLIER AND MEDIEVAL EUROPE 264-312
Historical and critical 264
Feudalism 265
The feudal castle and its life 267
Chivalry 268
The peasantry 271
The town people 273
The aristocracy 275
The home 276
Women 277
Marriage 279
Dress 282
Food 285
Children of the ancient Britons 287
Children among the early Christians 289
Child and parent 289
Care and treatment of children 290
Apprenticeship 290
Military training for the young 291
Amusements 292
Education 296
The children's crusade 302
Other child-pilgrimages 310
XII. THE CHILD IN EARLIER UNITED STATES 313-455
Customs relating to land 313
The people 314
Slavery 316
Servants 318
The home 322
Women 334
Marriage 336
Dress 348
Infants' clothing 359
Boys' clothing 360
Girls' clothing 361
Food 364
Drink 369
Food and drink of children 374
Infancy 376
Number and names of children 379
Child welfare 380
Manners and courtesy of children 382
Diary of a Boston school girl of 1771 384
Inheritance 388
Sickness and death 389
The illness of children 396
Amusements 398
Games and sports of children and young people 407
Children's toys and story books 412
Holidays and festivals 413
Public punishments 416
Manufactures 421
Boys' work and manufactures 422
Girls' and women's work 423
Religion 428
The child and religion 438
Education 442
INDEX 457
THE HISTORICAL CHILD
CHAPTER I
THE CHILD IN MEXICO
=The People.= When the Spaniards entered Mexico, in the sixteenth
century, and conquered it, they found the ruling people to be the Aztecs
and whose capital city, Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), was on an island in
the lake of Tezcoco. The Aztecs were not the first inhabitants of Mexico
as they had entered the country some five hundred years before the
Spanish conquest and through alliances and conquests had become the
ruling power about a century before the appearance of the Spaniards. The
people whom the Aztecs found when they entered Mexico told them of a
great people who had lived before their time and the ruins of whose
great buildings remained and still exist to the present day and who were
designated the Toltecs. It has been claimed for the Toltecs a very high
state of civilization, much in advance of the Aztecs, and some even
holding that it really equaled the civilization of the present time.
Mexico at the time of the conquest by the Spaniards was a monarchy, in
which the king stood supreme as he was a priest of their great god,
commander-in-chief of the military forces, and supreme judge. The
throne, however, was not hereditary, as upon a vacancy a ruler was
selected by four officers appointed for that purpose by the nobles and
principal officials of the kingdom. The king was usually taken from the
ruling family and might have been a brother of the late ruler or a
nephew belonging to an elder branch. The office-holders were usually
appointed for life and at their death the vacancies were filled by
appointment by the king. The people were divided into classes. The
highest class was a landed aristocracy, who paid no definite taxes but
owed service to the king; a second class, who ranked with the landed
aristocracy, was a military nobility who held land at the king's
goodwill; the next class embraced the freemen, who held land in common
and paid taxes in common; below these were a class of freemen who rented
the lands of the lord and made payment to him for the same; and the
lowest of all were the serfs, who were bound to the soil. They
maintained a military system and made war upon neighboring tribes; at
the time of the coming of the Spaniards this seemed to have been carried
on mostly for the purpose of securing captives for the human sacrifices
demanded by their religion. They had an elaborate and efficient judicial
system and the laws seem to have been justly administered to all alike,
whether the ones before the courts were of higher rank or of the common
people.
=Women and Marriage.= The women were described by the Spaniards as being
pretty, with long black hair, and with a serious and rather melancholy
cast of countenance. It would appear that they were treated with much
consideration by the men who permitted them to engage in festivities and
entertainments equally with themselves.
Marriage was an important institution with the Mexicans and it was held
in such high esteem that there was a tribunal appointed for the sole
purpose of attending to matters relating to it. The customary age with
men for marriage was about twenty, women marrying at a younger age. When
a young man reached this age it became his duty to marry and sometimes
the high priest commanded it of him. The selection of the bride was made
by the parents and if a young man refused to abide by his parents'
decision and made his own choice, he was looked upon as being quite
ungrateful to his parents. Should he refuse to marry, it was his duty to
remain continent through his life and devote himself to the service of
the gods. Should he afterward decide to marry, he was despised by his
friends and publicly denounced for not keeping his vow to the gods and
no respectable woman would marry him.
When the parents had decided it was time for their son to marry, all the
relatives were called together and a feast given at which the father
announced to them that the son was of proper age to be married. The son
was then informed that his parents were about to select a bride for him,
to which the young man gave consent. Then they called in the priests
under whom the young man had received his education and their permission
was obtained and one of the priests addressed the young man with advice
for the occasion. The next step was to ascertain the day and sign of the
young man's birth and also the birthday and sign of the young woman,
which was obtained through astrologers or soothsayers. If the horoscopes
of both were favorable and showed that the union would have good fortune
all was well; if not, another girl had to be selected. If the augurs
were favorable to the union, two discreet and virtuous elderly women
were called in as go-betweens. These women were given their directions
and they called upon the parents of the bride and after a second visit
preliminaries were arranged.
The parents of the girl then called in the relatives and friends and
informed them of the affair and the girl was given much advice by them.
Then their decision was sent to the parents of the young man. A
favorable day for the marriage was found by the augurs and both families
made preparations for the day of marriage and sent out invitations to
relatives and friends. On the day set for the marriage the relatives and
friends of the bride went to her home as did also some of the
bridegroom's relatives and friends and in procession escorted her to his
home, where the best room in the house had been fitted up for the
occasion and the house festooned with green branches and garlands of
flowers. The bridegroom met the bride at the entrance to his home and
took her by the hand and led her into the room for the ceremony. They
were then seated upon a special mat, the woman at the left of the man.
The mother of the bridegroom gave presents to the bride and the mother
of the bride gave presents to the bridegroom. Then the priest made a
long talk to the couple, defining their duties to one another and toward
the married state. The couple then arose and the priest tied the end of
the man's mantle to the dress of the woman. A feast was then partaken of
but in which the couple did not participate as they were required to
spend four days in fasting and prayer in the room, closely guarded by
old women. Upon the fourth night two priests prepared a couch of two
mats and the young people were left to themselves. The next day they
underwent a baptismal ceremony and they were adorned with new apparel
and some more advice was given them by the mothers-in-law or nearest
relatives, another feast was given of which they partook, and the
marriage ceremony was then fully completed.
Cousins were allowed to marry but not nearer relatives. As a rule a
widow was not permitted to remarry except a brother of her deceased
husband and in case she had children by the first marriage, then it was
the duty of the brother-in-law to marry her that the children might not
be without the care and protection of a father. Divorce was allowed but
only after a careful hearing by the tribunal on marriage, and when a
divorce was granted the couple could not under any circumstances be
reunited. Concubinage was practiced and it might occur even with young
people under marriageable age upon the consent of the parents. In this
there was no contract or ceremony, the two simply living together. In
case a child was born to them a marriage was performed or else the woman
returned to her parents' house, taking the child with her which was then
considered as belonging to her parents. This was not considered
dishonorable on the part of the girl nor were her chances for marriage
in any degree lessened by her having thus lived in a state of
concubinage. Polygamy was permitted but perhaps it was not greatly
indulged in and it was chiefly among the wealthiest people. The
necessity for monogamy seemed to be understood, as a record is given of
a father counselling his son that for the proper perpetuation of the
race but one man is ordained but for one woman.
=Birth.= As soon as a woman was found to be pregnant the relatives and
friends were informed of it and a feast was prepared, to which all were
invited who had been present at the wedding. Speeches of congratulations
and of admonition were made to the future parents. During the period
before the birth of the child, the mother was careful and she observed
many rules. "Thus, sleeping in the daytime would contort the child's
face; approaching too near the fire or standing in the hot sun would
parch the fœtus; hard and continued work, lifting weights, running,
mental excitement, such as grief, anger, or alarm, were particularly
avoided; in case of an earthquake all the pots in the house were covered
up or broken to stop the shaking; eating _tzictli_, or _chicle_, was
thought to harden the palate of the unborn child, and to make its gums
thick so that it would be unable to suck, and also to communicate to it
a disease called _netentzzoponiztli_; neither must the edible earth, of
which, as we shall see in a future chapter, the Mexicans were very fond,
be eaten by the mother, lest the child should prove weak and sickly; but
everything else the woman fancied was to be given her, because any
interference with her caprices might be hurtful to her offspring."[2]
When the time of confinement drew near another feast was given and
speeches and suggestions were made. Among the higher classes a midwife
was procured and careful preparation was made for the confinement. A
woman dying in childbirth was honored by a burial with great ceremony.
When the child was born, there was rejoicing with praises to the mother
and congratulations to parents and grandparents, and even the child
itself was spoken to in welcoming words by the midwife as it was being
dressed.
=Casting the Nativity of the Infant.= Astrology was held in high esteem
by the Mexicans and it was used to decide the fortune of the infant. On
the birth of a child the astrologer was summoned and upon being told the
time of the event he cast the horoscope of the infant. If the augury was
favorable he told of the great fortune coming to the child and of the
honors and happiness to fall upon him. Should the augury prove
unfavorable, it was made less severe by the horoscopist who found
accompanying signs that helped allay the evil coming from the bad omens.
=Baptizing and Naming the Child.= The rite of baptism was early
performed upon the child, at which time it was given a name. The house
was decorated with branches and flowers, a feast was prepared, and
relatives and friends invited. Miniature weapons were used, if a boy, to
show that he was born a warrior, and, if a girl, small weaving utensils
as symbols of her future calling of housewife. The child, if a boy, was
usually named from the sign of the day or a bird or animal, and, if a
girl, was named from a flower. Sometimes a child took its name from some
important event which occurred at the time of its birth. A solemn
invocation to the gods was made, after which the head and lips of the
infant were touched with water, the name was given to it, and then it
was lifted up to heaven and a prayer of blessing said over it.
=Care and Treatment of Children.= Upon the arrival of a child into a
family, friends and neighbors congratulated them upon such, for it was
deemed quite a blessing. Although children were welcomed, yet the
discipline of younger children was rather severe and children were
taught to reverence and obey their parents and superiors. Both boys and
girls were carefully reared by the best parents.
The following admonitions of a father to his son show how greatly these
ancient Mexicans would have their children observe a right living:--
"My son, who art come into this light from the womb of thy mother, like
the chicken from the egg, and like it, art preparing to fly through the
world, we know not how long heaven will grant to us the enjoyment of
that precious gem which we possess in thee; but, however short is the
period, endeavor to live exactly, praying God continually to assist
thee. He created thee; thou art His property. He is thy Father, and
loves thee still more than I do; repose in Him thy thoughts, and day and
night direct thy sighs to Him. Reverence and salute thy elders, and hold
no one in contempt. To the poor and the distressed be not dumb, but
rather use words of comfort. Honor all persons, particularly thy
parents, to whom thou owest obedience, respect, service. Guard against
imitating the example of those wicked sons who, like brutes, that are
deprived of reason, neither reverence their parents, listen to their
instruction, nor submit to their correction; because, whoever follows
their steps will have an unhappy end, will die in a desperate or sudden
manner, or will be killed and devoured by wild beasts....
"When any one discourses with thee, hear him attentively, and hold
thyself in an easy attitude, neither playing with thy feet, nor putting
thy mantle to thy mouth, nor spitting too often, nor looking about you
here and there, nor rising up frequently if thou art sitting; for such
actions are indications of levity and low breeding.
"When thou art at table do not eat voraciously, nor show thy displeasure
if anything displeases thee. If any one comes unexpectedly to dinner
with thee, share with him what thou hast; and when any person is
entertained by thee, do not fix thy looks upon him.
"In walking, look where thou goest, that thou mayest not push against
any one. If thou seest another coming thy way, go a little aside to give
him room to pass. Never step before thy elders, unless it be necessary,
or that they order thee to do so. When thou sittest at table with them,
do not eat or drink before them, but attend to them in a becoming
manner, that thou mayest merit their favor.
"When they give thee anything, accept it with tokens of gratitude; if
the present is great, do not become vain or fond of it. If the gift is
small, do not despise it, nor be provoked, nor occasion displeasure to
them who favor thee. If thou becomest rich, do not grow insolent nor
scorn the poor; for those very gods who deny riches to others in order
to give them to thee, offended by thy pride, will take them from thee
again to give to others.
"Support thyself by thy own labors; for then thy food will be sweeter.
I, my son, have supported thee hitherto with my sweat, and have omitted
no duty of a father; I have provided thee with everything necessary,
without taking it from others. Do thou so likewise....
"Stay no longer than is necessary in the market-place; for in such
places there is the greatest danger of contracting vices.
"When thou art offered an employment, imagine that the proposal is made
to try thee; then accept it not hastily, although thou knowest thyself
more fit than others to exercise it; but excuse thyself until thou art
obliged to accept it; thus thou wilt be more esteemed.
"Be not dissolute; because thou wilt thereby incense the gods, and they
will cover thee with infamy. Restrain thyself, my son, as thou are yet
young, and wait until the girl whom the gods destine for thy wife
arrives at a suitable age; leave that to their care, as they know how to
order these things properly. When the time for thy marriage is come,
dare not to make it without the consent of thy parents, otherwise it
will have an unhappy issue.
"Steal not nor give thyself up to gaming; otherwise, thou wilt be a
disgrace to thy parents, whom thou ought rather to honor for the
education they have given to thee. If thou wilt be virtuous, thy example
will put the wicked to shame. No more, my son, enough hath been said in
discharge of the duties of a father. With these counsels I wish to
fortify thy mind. Refuse them not, nor act in contradiction to them; for
on them thy life and thy happiness depend."[3]
The girl was not degraded among the Mexicans, and she was treated with
tenderness and love. How well cared for was the girl is attested by the
following advice of an Aztec mother to her daughter:--
"My daughter, born of my substance, brought forth with my pains, and
nourished with my milk, I have endeavored to bring thee up with the
greatest possible care, and thy father has wrought and polished thee
like an emerald, that thou mayest appear in the eyes of men a jewel of
virtue. Strive always to be good; for otherwise who will have thee for a
wife? Thou wilt be rejected by every one. Life is a thorny, laborious
path, and it is necessary to exert all our powers to obtain the goods
which the gods are willing to yield to us; we must not therefore be lazy
or negligent, but diligent in everything. Be orderly and take pains to
manage the economy of thy house. Give water to thy husband for his
hands, and make bread for thy family. Wherever thou goest, go with
modesty and composure, without hurrying thy steps, or laughing with
those whom thou meetest, neither fixing thy looks upon them nor casting
thy eyes thoughtlessly, first to one side and then to another, that thy
reputation may not be sullied; but give a courteous answer to those who
salute and put any question to thee.
"Employ thyself diligently in spinning and weaving, in sewing and
embroidering; for by these arts thou wilt gain esteem, and all the
necessaries of food and clothing. Do not give thyself too much to sleep,
nor seek the shade, but go in the open air and there repose thyself, for
effeminacy brings along with it idleness and other vices.
"In whatever thou doest encourage not evil thoughts but attend solely to
the service of the gods, and the giving comfort to thy parents. If thy
father or thy mother calls thee, do not stay to be called twice; but go
instantly to know their pleasure, that thou mayest not disoblige them by
slowness. Return no insolent answers, nor show any want of compliance;
but if thou canst not do what they command, make a modest excuse. If
another is called and does not come quickly, come thou, hear what is
ordered, and do it well. Never offer thyself to do that which thou canst
not do. Deceive no person; for the gods see all thy actions. Live in
peace with everybody, and love everyone sincerely and honestly, that
thou mayest be loved by them in return.
"Be not greedy of the goods which thou hast. If thou seest anything
presented to another, give way to no mean suspicions; for the gods, to
whom every good belongs, distribute everything as they please. If thou
wouldst avoid the displeasure of others, let none meet with it from
thee.
"Guard against improper familiarities with men; nor yield to the guilty
wishes of thy heart; or thou wilt be the reproach of thy family, and
wilt pollute thy mind as mud does water. Keep not company with
dissolute, lying, or idle women; otherwise they will infallibly infect
thee by their example. Attend upon thy family, and do not go on slight
occasions out of thy house, nor be seen wandering through the streets,
or in the market-place; for in such places thou wilt meet thy ruin.
Remember that vice, like a poisonous herb, brings death to those who
taste it; and when it once harbors in the mind it is difficult to dispel
it. If in passing through the streets thou meetest with a froward youth
who appears agreeable to thee, give him no correspondence, but dissemble
and pass on. If he says anything to thee, take no heed of him nor his
words; and if he follows thee, turn not your face about to look at him,
lest that might inflame his passion more. If thou behavest so, he will
soon turn and let thee proceed in peace.
"Enter not without some urgent motive into another's house, that nothing
may be either said or thought injurious to thy honor, but if thou
enterest into the house of thy relations, salute them with respect and
do not remain idle, but immediately take up a spindle to spin or do any
other thing that occurs.
"When thou art married, respect thy husband, obey him, and diligently do
what he commands thee. Avoid incurring his displeasure, nor show thyself
passionate or ill-natured; but receive him fondly to thy arms, even if
he is poor and lives at thy expense. If thy husband occasions thee any
disgust, let him not know thy displeasure when he commands thee to do
anything; but dissemble it at that time, and afterwards tell him with
great gentleness what vexed thee, that he may be won by thy mildness and
offend thee no farther. Dishonor him not before others; for thou also
wouldst be dishonored. If any one comes to visit thy husband, accept the
visit kindly, and show all the civility thou canst. If thy husband is
foolish, be thou discreet. If he fails in the management of wealth
admonish him of his failings; but if he is totally incapable of taking
care of his estate, take that charge upon thyself, attend carefully to
his possessions and never omit to pay the workmen punctually. Take care
not to lose anything through negligence.
"Embrace, my daughter, the counsel which I give thee. I am already
advanced in life, and have had sufficient dealings with the world. I am
thy mother. I wish that thou mayest live well. Fix my precepts in thy
heart and bowels, for then thou wilt live happy. If by not listening to
me, or by neglecting my instructions, any misfortunes befall thee, the
fault will be thine and the evil also. Enough, my child. May the gods
prosper thee."[4]
=Dress.= The men wore a long broad girdle or sash with the ends hanging
down before and behind, which sash often was figured and the ends
fringed or tasseled. They also wore a cloak or mantle, which was thrown
over the shoulders and tied around the neck. The women wore a short
tunic, usually without sleeves, and with it a short skirt under which
they would wear another skirt of longer length, these skirts often being
embroidered and ornamented. Over tunic and skirt they would wear a long
loose robe, which might have at its upper part a hood attached, for
wearing over the head. The material first used for clothing was of skins
and later of maguey and cotton. Mantles of fur and of feather-work were
also worn in cooler weather by both men and women. They wore sandals
made of deer and other skins and also of nequen and cotton.
The ordinary way of wearing the hair was to cut it short on the forehead
and temples and let it grow at the back. Unmarried girls wore their hair
loose, while the virgins who served in the temple had their hair cut
short. In some parts the heads of the children were shaved, with a tuft
left behind. Women after marriage on becoming mothers would sometimes
let their hair grow on all parts and arrange it on the head; one way was
to plait it and cross it on the forehead, another way was to braid it
and ornament it with flowers. Also, sometimes the women would use a dye
made of herbs on their hair, which gave it a violet shade.
The women used paint on their faces, one fashion was to paint the face
yellow and with a pottery stamp impress a pattern of red upon the
cheeks. They painted the teeth with cochineal and also they painted the
hands, neck, and breast. Among some peoples the women had their arms and
breasts tattooed, incisions being made with a sharp instrument and a
blue color inserted. Ornaments were worn by the men, women, and
children, and by all classes of people. The higher classes used gold and
gems, while people of the lower classes used shell and obsidian. There
were a great variety of ornaments made for the arms and neck and
attached to garments. Rings were worn on the fingers and rings and plugs
in the ears. There also were rings and plugs for the nose and plugs for
the lips, although it would appear that these were not so much in use as
were the other ornaments. "There existed very stringent laws regarding
the class of ornaments which the different classes of people were
allowed to wear, and it was prohibited, on pain of death, for a subject
to use the same dress or ornaments as the king."[5]
=Food and Drink.= There was quite a variety of foodstuffs in Mexico.
Maize was the principal product but also there was great use made of
other grain, yams, and beans, and there were fruits, as the banana and
plantain. Their supply of meat was obtained very greatly from the game
animals, among which were deer, wild hogs, rabbits, quails, pigeons,
ducks, turkeys, and geese. Turkeys, ducks, and geese were domesticated,
having been raised for their feathers as well as for food. Fish was
another important article of food and both salt water and fresh water
varieties were procured in abundance.
"Miscellaneous articles of food, not already spoken of, were
_axayacatl_, flies of the Mexican lakes, dried, ground, boiled, and
eaten in the form of cakes; _ahuauhtli_, the eggs of the same fly, a
kind of native caviar; many kinds of insects, ants, maguey-worms, and
even lice; _tecuitlatl_, 'excrement of stone,' a slime that was gathered
on the surface of the lakes, and dried till it resembled cheese; eggs of
turkeys, iguanas, and turtles, roasted, boiled, and in omelettes;
various reptiles, frogs, and frog-spawn; shrimps, sardines, and crabs;
corn-silk, wild-amaranth seeds, cherry-stones, tule-roots, and very many
other articles inexpressible; yucca flour, potoyucca, tunas; honey from
maize, from bees, and from the maguey; and roasted portions of the
maguey stalks and leaves."[6]
There were three meals a day, morning, noon, and night, and among the
higher class, at least, banquets and feasts were quite numerous. The
food was cooked and eaten from pots, bowls, and dishes of pottery.
Maize, when green, was boiled and eaten, as roasting-ears with us now,
and when dry it was sometimes parched or roasted. It was usually ground
into meal and prepared in the form of cakes. To prepare the meal, the
grain was thrown into boiling water, in which, lime had been placed, and
then the hull was removed. It was then washed and ground on
grinding-stones, called _metlatl_, and then kneaded and rolled into
cakes and baked, there having been many kinds of cakes. The meal was
also boiled and made into porridge or gruel. Beans were boiled when
green and also when dry. Meats were stewed, boiled, and roasted. Pepper
was quite freely used, as was also salt. Fruits were eaten raw, although
some, as the plantain and banana, were roasted and stewed.
There were two national drinks, _octli_ and _chocolatl_, now known as
pulque and chocolate, the first an intoxicant made from the maguey and
the second from the cacao. There were other fermented drinks prepared
from grain, and a kind of mushroom was used to put into drinks to make
them more intoxicating. Intoxication was excusable in older people but
the young people were severely punished for it and even in case of
intemperance death was the punishment paid to the young while with the
older persons only loss of rank and property was the punishment.
Tobacco was used by the Mexicans, having been smoked in pipes or in the
form of cigars, and also it was made into snuff and used. "A kind of
chewing-gum was prepared from resin or bitumen, though its use, at any
rate in public, was confined by custom to unmarried girls."[7]
Human flesh also was eaten. This was not used as a common food but as a
religious rite. The sacrifice was made on an elevated place and after
the victim's heart was taken out as an offering to the gods, and if a
warrior his head was taken off to be preserved as a trophy, the body was
then cast down the steps and taken by minor priests and prepared for the
table as other animals. A thigh was sent to the king's palace and the
remainder was taken to the home of the warrior who captured the victim
or if a slave to the house of the owner, who had the human flesh
prepared with other dishes and served up in an entertainment to his
friends. "This was not the coarse repast of famished cannibals, but a
banquet teeming with delicious beverages and delicate viands, prepared
with art, and attended by both sexes, who, as we shall see hereafter,
conducted themselves with all the decorum of civilized life."[8]
Although the eating of human flesh by the ancient Mexicans was not
merely to satisfy the appetite for such food but in obedience to
religion, yet there must have been quite a good deal of partaking of it
as the number of human sacrifices each year was very great. Too, must be
kept in view, the sacrifices included men and women, quite often young
people, and likewise children, even infants. One peculiar custom was
that the giver of the feast where the body of a human sacrifice was
served did not partake of the flesh of his own captive, having been
disbarred from this because he was supposed to stand to the victim in
the relation of father to son.
=Lore.= "Various portents were drawn from the animal world; the cries of
beasts of prey at night were supposed to forebode disaster to those who
heard them, and the voices of certain birds were believed equally
unlucky. The owl, so closely associated with Mictlantecutli, was
especially regarded as the harbinger of ill-fortune and death, and if
one of these birds perched upon the house of a sick man his demise was
considered certain. It was held unlucky to encounter a skunk or a
weasel, and the entry into the house of a rabbit or a troop of ants
foreboded bad luck. If a certain kind of spider was found in the house,
the owner traced a cross upon the ground, at the center of which he
placed the insect. If it went towards the north, the direction of the
underworld, it was regarded as a sign of death for the observer, any
other direction foretelling misfortune of minor importance.
"Besides these superstitions there were a whole host of popular beliefs,
of which only a few can be given here. Many of these were connected with
food; it was customary to blow upon maize before putting it in the
cooking-pot, to 'give it courage,' and it was believed that if a person
neglected to pick up maize-grains lying on the ground they called out to
heaven to punish the omission. If two brothers were drinking, and the
younger drank first, it was thought that the elder would cease to grow;
and it was also believed that the growth of a child was stopped by
stepping over it when seated or lying down, but that the effect could be
averted by stepping back again. Young girls were not allowed to eat
standing, for it was believed they would fail to get husbands, and
children were prevented from licking the grindstone for fear they would
lose their teeth. When a child lost one of its first teeth, the father
or mother placed the tooth in a mouse-hole, a proceeding which was
supposed to ensure the growth of the second tooth; and all nail-parings
were thrown into the water in the hope that the auitzotl, a mythical
water-animal which was believed to eat them, would make the nails grow.
Sneezing was thought to be a sign that evil was being spoken of the
sneezer, and there was a peculiar belief that the perfume of the flowers
which were carried at banquets and in ceremonial dances might only be
inhaled from the edges of the bouquet, since the center belonged to the
god Tezcatlipoca."[9]
=Human Sacrifice.= The sad and degrading side of the Aztec civilization
was that of human sacrifice. The number of sacrifices was very great,
estimated from twenty to fifty thousand annually, and on one occasion
alone, the dedication of a great temple, no less than seventy thousand
human beings were sacrificed to the gods. The great object of war, along
with the desire for the extension of the kingdom, was to obtain victims
for the sacrifices and hence an enemy was never slain in battle if there
was a chance of taking him alive. Mostly the victims were prisoners of
war but slaves also were used as sacrifices. Sometimes they offered up
children, generally infants, who were obtained by the priests, purchased
from poverty-stricken parents, who, perhaps, gave their children as much
from a sense of religious duty as for money. These children were dressed
in beautiful garments, and adorned with flowers. They were then carried
in procession of chanting priests through the city to the place of
sacrifice. The cries they uttered were not heard because of the chants
of the priests, and the tears they shed were favorable omens.
These sacrifices were so conducted as to exhibit something of prominence
relating to the deity being worshipped. The following illustrates
this:--
"One of their most important festivals was that in honor of their god
Tezcatlipoca, whose rank was inferior only to that of the Supreme Being.
He was called 'the soul of the world,' and supposed to have been its
creator. He was depicted as a handsome man, endowed with perpetual
youth. A year before the intended sacrifice, a captive, distinguished
for his personal beauty, and without a blemish on his body, was
selected to represent this deity. Certain tutors took charge of him, and
instructed him how to perform his new part with becoming grace and
dignity. He was arrayed in a splendid dress, regaled with incense and
with a profusion of sweet-scented flowers, of which the ancient Mexicans
were as fond as their descendants of the present day. When he went
abroad, he was attended by a train of royal pages, and, as he halted in
the streets to play some favorite melody, the crowd prostrated
themselves before him, and did him homage as the representative of their
good deity. In this way he led an easy, luxurious life, till within a
month of his sacrifice. Four beautiful girls, bearing the names of the
principal goddesses, were then selected to share the honors of his bed;
and with them he continued to live in idle dalliance, feasted at the
banquets of the principal nobles, who paid him all the honors of a
divinity.
"At length the fatal day of sacrifice arrived. The term of his
short-lived glories was at an end. He was stripped of his gaudy apparel,
and bade adieu to the fair partners of his revelries. One of the royal
barges transported him across the lake to a temple which rose on its
margin, about a league from the city. Hither the inhabitants of the
capital flocked, to witness the consummation of the ceremony. As the sad
procession wound up the sides of the pyramid, the unhappy victim threw
away his gay chaplets of flowers, and broke in pieces the musical
instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity. On the
summit he was received by six priests, whose long and matted locks
flowed disorderly over their sable robes, covered with hieroglyphic
scrolls of mystic import. They led him to the sacrificial stone, a huge
block of jasper, with its upper surface somewhat convex. On this the
prisoner was stretched. Five priests secured his head and his limbs;
while the sixth, clad in a scarlet mantle, emblematic of his bloody
office, dexterously opened the breast of the wretched victim with a
sharp razor of _itztli_--a volcanic substance, hard as flint,--and,
inserting his hand into the wound, tore out the palpitating heart. The
minister of death, first holding this up toward the sun, an object of
worship throughout Anahuac, cast it at the feet of the deity to whom the
temple was devoted, while the multitudes below prostrated themselves in
humble adoration. The tragic story of this prisoner was expounded by the
priests as the type of human destiny, which, brilliant in its
commencement, too often closes in sorrow and disaster."[10]
=Slavery.= Slavery existed, the slaves having been criminals, prisoners
of war, public debtors, persons who sold themselves into slavery, and
children. Slavery was never the birthright of any child born in ancient
Mexico. Children born to a slave were free. Yet children could be sold
into slavery and were often sold by their parents, mostly on account of
poverty. There was one peculiar thing in slavery here. With the consent
of the master the parents could substitute a younger child as it grew up
for an older one sold into slavery, which substitution could go on down
to the youngest child. Slavery must have been rather mild, as in the
presence of four witnesses the precise services were prescribed when a
child was sold, and a slave could have a family and even hold other
slaves, and, as was stated, all his children were born free, the worst
feature having been that slaves were liable to be sacrificed.
=Industries.= Agriculture was in quite an advanced stage in ancient
Mexico. Unlike in other parts of North America, the men engaged in the
work, performed such labor as preparing the fields, planting, and
reaping, while the women helped in scattering the grain, weeding, and
winnowing. They had no useful domesticated animals, so that the people
carried on all the kinds of farm work and the implements were simple,
as, the hoe, spade, and basket. They fertilized the soil, let it recover
from exhaustion by lying fallow, irrigated by means of canals,
surrounded the fields by adobe walls and aloe hedges, and built
granaries in which to store the harvests.
They mined silver, lead, tin, and copper. Gold was obtained in the form
of nuggets on the surface of the ground or from the sand in the beds of
rivers. They also got quicksilver, sulphur, alum, ocher, and other
minerals which were used in making colors and for other purposes.
Although there was an abundance of iron, it was not mined or used. They
made tools of copper, hardened with tin. Most of the instruments,
however, were of stone, such as axes and hammers. From obsidian, a kind
of volcanic glass, by means of pressure they detached long flakes having
a razor-like edge, which they used for making knives, razors, lancets,
swords, arrow-heads, and spear-heads. They quarried stone from the hills
and mountains and often transported large blocks for long distances and
erected great buildings.
The caste-system did not exist in Mexico but it was a custom, usually
observed, for the son to learn the trade of his father. Trades were
highly esteemed among them, being learned even by the nobles. A
particular part of the city was given over to a particular trade, which
had its own distinctive mark, something like a guild, having its own
god, festivals, and the like. The high standing of the trades is shown
by this advice given by an aged chief to his son: "Apply thyself, my
son, to agriculture, or to feather-work, or some other honorable
calling. Thus did your ancestors before you. Else how would they have
provided for themselves and their families? Never was it heard that
nobility alone was able to maintain its possessor."[11]
Among the manufactures were cloths made of cotton, maguey fiber, rabbit
hair, fiber of palm-leaves, and also the cotton was mixed with the
rabbit hair and with feathers in making a very fine kind of cloth. The
cloths were dyed in different colors as they obtained a number of dyes
from both vegetable and mineral substances, probably even excelling the
Europeans in the art of dyeing. They tanned the skins of animals both
with and without the hair. The making of mats and baskets was an
important industry. Paper was made from maguey fiber, sometimes this was
mixed with fiber from some other plants. Wood was used in making
household furniture and farming implements and they also made cups and
vases of lacquered wood. In the working of gold and silver they had
reached a high degree of perfection, making most beautiful ornaments,
which, in many instances, were superior to the work done in Europe. They
were quite skillful in the use of feathers. Feathers were mixed with
cotton and with other fiber for the making of clothing, tapestry,
carpets, and bed-coverings. Feathers were used as ornaments and
decorations, sometimes having been tipped with gold and set in precious
stones, most beautiful fans were made in this way. The work with
feathers they most excelled in was what has been called feather-mosaic,
in which beautiful designs were worked out and colors harmoniously
blended by the skillfully pasting of feathers on to cloth. For temporary
use, as for decorations on the occasions of special festivals, they made
designs with leaves and flowers similar to the feather-work. They were
quite skillful in working precious stones, making most beautiful
ornaments from the stones found in the country, emeralds, amethysts, and
turquoises being the most abundant. Pearls and bright colored shells
were used with the stones in the formation of necklaces, bracelets,
earrings, and other ornaments. "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."[12]
The making of pottery was one of the leading industries, which products
ran from coarse undecorated vessels to quite fine ware of various colors
and highly ornamented. "The quality of the potting varies considerably
according to locality, but the finer examples, such as the ware from
Cholula and the Totonac district exhibit a very high standard of paste,
form and technique, though the potters of this region of America cannot
boast such consummate mastery over their material as the early
inhabitants of the Peruvian coast."[13]
The agricultural and industrial products were not only used where
produced but also carried to the different provinces and even to other
countries by traders, which occupation was highly respected in Mexico.
They took with them the products of their own country and brought back
the products of other countries. These traders not only engaged in trade
but also acted as spies for the king and brought to him much information
concerning the places visited by them. The products of the country and
those brought in from outside by the traders were displayed for sale in
the great market-places of the principal cities. "The great market in
Tlaltelolco moved the wonder of the conquerors; it is described as being
three times as large as that of Salamanca, and one estimate places the
daily attendance at twenty or twenty-five thousand persons. One of the
conquerors gives the following picture of it. 'On one side are the
people who sell gold; near them are they who trade in jewels mounted in
gold in the forms of birds and animals. On another side beads and
mirrors are sold, on another, feathers and plumes of all colors for
working designs on garments, and to wear in war or at festivals. Further
on stone is worked to make razors and swords, a remarkable thing which
passes our understanding; of it they manufacture swords and roundels. In
other places they sell cloth and men's dresses of different designs;
beyond, dresses for women, and in another part footgear. A section is
reserved for the sale of prepared hides of deer and other animals;
elsewhere are baskets made of hair, such as all Indian women use.
Cotton, grain which forms their food, bread of all kinds, pastry, fowls,
and eggs are sold in different sections; and hard by they sell hares,
rabbits, deer, quails, geese and ducks. Elsewhere wines of all sorts are
for sale, vegetables, pepper, roots, medicinal plants, which are very
numerous in this country, fruits of all kinds, wood for building, lime
and stone. In fact, each object has its appointed place. Beside this
great market-place there are in other quarters other markets also where
provisions may be bought.' Special magistrates held courts in the
market-places to settle disputes on the spot, and there were market
officials similar to our inspectors of weights and measures.
Falsification of the latter was visited with severe punishment."[14]
=Couriers.= The means of communication between different parts of the
country was by couriers, who were trained for this purpose from
childhood. One courier would carry his messages from one post-house to
another, where another courier would take them and carry them to the
next post-house, and so on. These couriers were so well trained from
childhood that they traveled with remarkable speed, so that as much as
two hundred miles a day would be covered by the chain of carriers.
=Amusements.= Feasts were of common occurrence and were given by people
of all ranks of society. Each man vied with the other in giving banquets
and it often happened that the host ruined himself financially by his
hospitality, as it was the custom to distribute costly presents among
the guests, and some went so far as to have sold themselves into slavery
to raise funds to give at least one big feast that would make a name for
them and thus be kept in the memory of their fellow-men. One form of
entertainment at these feasts was the use of jesters, similar to the
court-fools of European medieval times, who made jokes at the expense of
the guests, imitated people of different nations in dress and manners,
mimicked old women and well-known eccentric individuals, and the like.
"At the royal feasts given when the great vassals came to the capital to
render homage to their sovereign, the people flocked in from the
provinces in great numbers to see the sights, which consisted of
theatrical representations, gladiatorial combats, fights between wild
beasts, athletic sports, musical performances, and poetical recitations
in honor of kings, gods, and heroes. The nobles, in addition to this,
partook daily of banquets at the palace, and were presented by the
monarch with costly gifts."[15]
There were people who gave gymnastic performances and who performed
acrobatic feats such as of the present day and with equal or even
greater skill. There were running races, swimming matches, wrestling
matches, contests in shooting with bow and arrow and in throwing the
dart, and soldiers fought with wild beasts in enclosed places. Gambling
greatly prevailed, property of all kinds was put up as stakes and even a
man might jeopardize his own personal liberty on a game of chance. Dice
was the most general gambling game.
Dancing was one of the leading amusements of the ancient Mexicans. It
formed an important part in their religious ceremonies and much time was
given by the priests in instructing the youth in this art. Drums and
other musical instruments were used in the dancing and they were
accompanied by chants and other music of the dancers. In some of the
dances each sex danced apart, while in others they danced together.
Sometimes they danced in threes, two men and a woman, or two women and a
man, while again they danced in pairs, with their arms round one
another's waist or neck. There was one dance which somewhat resembled
the old English May-pole dance, in which ribbons were wound and unwound
about a pole. In some of their great public dances thousands
participated. These occurred in an open place, the musicians being
placed in the center, about them was formed a circle of the nobles and
elderly people, next came a circle of middle-aged persons, and then the
young people formed a great circle around them all. Each person was to
keep his own place on the circle while all circled about the musicians.
The inner circle moved with slow and sedate steps, the middle circle
moved more rapidly, and the outer circle of young people twirled rapidly
about with many fantastic figures. With drums beating and other musical
instruments going and all the dancers chanting, with arms, feet, heads,
and bodies all moving in perfect accord, leaders directing, this dancing
must have made a great spectacle to the onlookers.
There were not a great variety of musical instruments. They had drums,
rattles, gongs, trumpets, and whistles. There were bands of musicians
and choirs, each temple having had a choir composed of singers of
different ages, among whom were boys of four to eight years of age.
There were contests in music and prizes were given to the successful
competitors. There were a large number of popular songs or ballads,
which were well known to all classes of the people. The drama existed
among them. The plays were given on a terrace in the market-place or on
a porch of a temple. The players usually wore wooden masks or were
disguised as animals. The play generally was given in the form of a
burlesque and ended with the animal players giving exhibits of the
actions of the animals they represented.
"The national game of the Nahuas was the _tlachtli_, which strongly
resembled in many points our game of football, and was quite as lively
and full of scuffle. It was common among all the nations whose cult was
similar to the Toltec, and was under special divine protection, though
what original religious significance it had is not clear. Indeed, for
that matter, nearly every game enjoyed divine patronage, and
_Ometochtli_, 'two rabbits,' the god of games, according to Duran, was
generally invoked by athletes as well as by gamblers, in conjunction
with some special god. Instruments of play, and natural objects were
also conjured to grant good luck to the applicant. As an instance of the
popularity of the game of tlachtli, it may be mentioned that a certain
number of towns contributed annually sixteen thousand balls in taxes,
that each town of any size had a special playground devoted to the game,
and that kings kept professionals to play before them, occasionally
challenging each other to a game besides. The ground in which it was
played, called the _tlachco_, was an alley, one hundred feet long and
half as wide, except at each end where there were rectangular nooks,
which doubtless served as resting places for the players. The whole was
enclosed by smooth whitewashed walls, from nine to twelve feet high on
the sides, and somewhat lower at the ends, with battlements and turrets,
and decreasing in thickness toward the top. At midnight, previous to the
day fixed for the game, which was always fixed favorably by the augurs,
the priests with much ceremony placed two idols--one representing the
god of play, the other the god of the tlachtli--upon the side walls,
blessed the edifice, and consecrated the game by throwing the ball four
times round the ground, muttering the while a formula. The owner of the
tlachco, usually the lord of the place, also performed certain
ceremonies and presented offerings, before opening the game. The balls,
called _ullamaloni_, were of solid India-rubber, three to four inches in
diameter. The players were simply attired in the maxtli, or
breech-clout, and sometimes wore a skin to protect the parts coming in
contact with the ball, and gloves; they played in parties, usually two
or three on each side. The rule was to hit the ball only with knee,
elbow, shoulder, or buttock, as agreed upon, the latter was however the
favorite way, and to touch the wall of the opposite side with the ball,
or to send it over, either of which counted a point. He who struck the
ball with his hand or foot, or with any part of his body not previously
agreed upon, lost a point; to settle such matters without dispute a
priest acted as referee. On each side-wall, equidistant from the ends,
was a large stone, carved with images of idols, pierced through the
center with a hole large enough to just admit the passage of the ball;
the player who by chance or skill drove the ball through one of these
openings not only won the game for his side, but was entitled to the
cloaks of all present, and the haste with which the spectators scrambled
off in order to save their garments is said to have been the most
amusing part of the entertainment. A feat so difficult was, of course,
rarely accomplished, save by chance, and the successful player was made
as much of as a prize-winner at the Olympic games, nor did he omit to
present thank-offerings to the god of the game for the good fortune
vouchsafed him."[16]
=Education.= Annexed to the temples were buildings devoted to the
purpose of education for boys, youths, and young women. The education of
the males was in the hands of the priests and of the females in the care
of the priestesses. Thus the priesthood were enabled to mould the young
in their own way. They brought the young so well under their sway that
they were never able in after life to free themselves from such nor did
they seem so to desire to do.
The sexes were not educated together nor was any intercourse allowed
between them, and if such occurred the transgression was severely
punished. The morals of both sexes were very closely looked after.
Offenses were severely punished, sometimes by death. Love did not lead
the Aztec youth in education, but terror.
The children of the common people and those of the higher classes did
not attend in the same buildings. Both classes were taught such things
in religion, music, painting, and the like, as belonged to their
stations in life. The boys of the common people did the heavier and more
menial work about the temples, such as the attending to the getting of
fuel for the sacred fires and preparing the material for the repair of
the sacred edifices. The young nobles attended to the higher duties,
such as caring for the fires of the sanctuaries, keeping the upper parts
of the temples clean, and decorating the shrines of the gods with
flowers. The children of the common classes were obliged to sleep in the
school buildings but they took their meals at home while the young
nobility remained in the buildings for meals as well as for sleeping.
For the most part the girls who attended the schools belonged to the
nobility. They attended to the lower part of the temples, prepared the
offerings of meats to the idols, and wove and embroidered the fine
cloths for the altars. They were strictly guarded so that no intercourse
could take place between them and the youths. When they went out they
were accompanied by their teachers and they were not permitted to pay
any attention to any one, and if they did so they were severely
punished. They were instructed in religion, household arts, spinning,
the weaving of mantles, the making of feather-work, and the like.
In the higher schools, the noble boys were taught much that was given to
the other boys and also in many of the arts and sciences, such as the
study of heroic songs and sacred hymns, history, religion, philosophy,
law, astronomy, astrology, and the writing and interpreting of
hieroglyphics. Those destined to be priests were further educated in the
priestly duties, while those who were to enter upon a military life were
exercised in gymnastics, and trained to the use of weapons, to shoot
with the bow, to manage the shield, and to cast darts at a mark.
When the young reached the age when marriage was permissible or when
business cares should be entered upon, they were sent from the schools
with the commendations of the officers and teachers, which were of great
aid to many in securing positions in life.
LITERATURE
1. Bancroft, Hubert Howe, The native races of the Pacific states of
North America.
2. Barnes, Earl and Mary S., Education among the Aztecs. _Studies in
Education_, I, 73-80.
3. Joyce, Thomas A., Mexican archæology.
4. Mason, Otis Tufton, Woman's share in primitive culture.
5. Nadaillac, Marquis de, Prehistoric America.
6. Prescott, William H., History of the Conquest of Mexico.