Part 77 (1/2)

Slavery existed among the tribes of Goazacoalco and Tabasco. Dona Marina was one of twenty female slaves who were presented to Cortes by the cacique of the latter place; and when her mother, who lived in the province of Goazacoalco, gave her away to some traveling merchants, she, to conceal the act, pretended that the corpse of one of her slaves who died at that time was that of her own daughter.[950]

[Sidenote: WEDDINGS AND FATHERS-IN-LAW.]

Among the Zapotecs and other nations who inhabit the isthmus of Tehuantepec, marriages are contracted at a very early age; it happens not unfrequently that a youth of fourteen marries a girl of eleven or twelve. Polygamy is not permissible, and gentleness, affection, and frugality characterize the marital relations. Certain superst.i.tious ceremonies formerly attended the birth of children, which, to a modified extent, exist at the present day. When a woman was about to be confined, the relatives a.s.sembled in the hut, and commenced to draw on the floor figures of different animals, rubbing each one out as soon as it was completed. This operation continued till the moment of birth, and the figure that then remained sketched upon the ground was called the child's _tona_ or second self. When the child grew old enough, he procured the animal that represented him and took care of it, as it was believed that health and existence were bound up with that of the animals, in fact, that the death of both would occur simultaneously.

Soon after the child was born, the parents, accompanied by friends and relatives, carried it to the nearest water, where it was immersed, while at the same time they invoked the inhabitants of the water to extend their protection to the child; in like manner they afterwards prayed for the favor of the animals of the land. It is a noticeable trait, much to the credit of the parents, that their children render to them as well as to all aged people the greatest respect and obedience. That the women are strictly moral cannot be a.s.serted. Voluptuous, with minds untrained, and their number being greatly in excess of the men, it is not surprising that travelers have noted an absence of chast.i.ty among these women; yet few cases of conjugal infidelity occur, and chast.i.ty is highly esteemed. Illegitimate children are not common, partly the result, perhaps, of early marriages.[951] Among the Quelenes, when a contract of marriage was made, the friends and relatives collected at the a.s.sembly-house common to every village. The bride and bridegroom were then introduced by the parents, and in the presence of the cacique and priest confessed all the sins of which they were guilty. The bridegroom was obliged to state whether he had had connection with the bride or with other women, and she, on her part, made a full confession of all her shortcomings; this ended, the parents produced the presents, which consisted of wearing-apparel and jewelry, in which they proceeded to array them; they were then lifted up and placed upon the shoulders of two old men and women, who carried them to their future home, where they laid them on a bed, locked them in, and there left them securely married.[952] Among the Mayas early marriage was a duty imposed by the Spanish Fathers, and if a boy or girl at the age of twelve or fourteen had not chosen a mate, the priest selected one of equal rank or fortune and obliged them to marry. The usual presents were dresses; and a banquet was prepared, of which all present partook. During the feast the parents of the parties addressed them in speeches applicable to the occasion, and afterwards the house was perfumed by the priest, who then blessed the company and the ceremony ended. Previous to the wedding-day the parents fasted during three days. The young man built a house in front of that of his father-in-law, in which he lived with his wife during the first years of his servitude, for he was obliged to work for his father-in-law four or five years. If he failed to perform faithful service, his father-in-law dismissed him, and gave his daughter to another. Widowers were exempt from this servitude, and could choose whom they pleased for a wife without the interference of relatives. It was forbidden a man to marry a woman of the same name as his father. They married but one wife, though the lords were permitted to make concubines of their slaves. Mr Stephens, in his description of the inhabitants of the village of Schawill, says: ”Every member must marry within the rancho, and no such thing as a marriage out of it had ever occurred.

They said it was impossible; it could not happen. They were in the habit of going to the villages to attend the festivals; and when we suggested a supposable case of a young man or woman falling in love with some village Indian, they said it might happen; there was no law against it; but none could marry out of the rancho. This was a thing so little apprehended, that the punishment for it was not defined in their penal code; but being questioned, after some consultations, they said that the offender, whether man or woman would be expelled. We remarked that in their small community constant intermarriages must make them all relatives, which they said was the case since the reduction of their numbers by the cholera. They were in fact all kinsfolk, but it was allowable for kinsfolk to marry, except in the relations.h.i.+p of brothers and sisters.”

In divisions of property women could not inherit; in default of direct male heirs the estate went to the brothers or nearest male relatives.

When the heir was a minor, one of his male relatives was appointed guardian, until the days of his minority should have pa.s.sed, when the property was delivered up to him. The Southern Mexicans were particular to keep a strict chronology of their lineage. Young children underwent a kind of baptismal ceremony. The Mayas believed that ablution washed away all evil; and previous to the ceremony the parents fasted three days, and they were particular to select for it what they considered a lucky day. The age at which the rite was performed was between three and twelve years, and no one could marry until he had been baptized. Habits of industry as well as respect for parents and aged people was strongly impressed upon the minds of the children.[953]

The Southern Mexicans are fond of singing and dancing, though there is not much variety either in their melancholy music or monotonous dances.

Their favorite instrument is the _marimba_, composed of pieces of hard wood of different lengths stretched across a hollowed-out canoe-shaped case. The pieces of wood or keys are played upon with two short sticks, one held in each hand. The sound produced is soft and pleasing, and not unlike that of a piano. Another instrument is the _tunkul_ or drum, made of a hollow log with sheep-skin stretched over the end; it is struck with the fingers of the right hand, the performer holding it under his left arm. Their movements during their dances are slow and graceful. The men are addicted to intoxication at their feasts, the liquor in common use among them being mescal and aguardiente, a colorless spirit made from the sugar-cane. Many of the natives have a small still in their houses.[954]

[Sidenote: CUSTOMS IN OAJACA.]

The Zapotecs are exceedingly polite to one another in their common salutations, calling each other brother, and to the descendants of their ancient caciques or lords the utmost reverence is paid. It is related by a Mexican writer that in a village not distant from the city of Oajaca, whenever an aged man, the son of one of their ancient lords was seen by the natives out walking, with a majesty that well became his fine form, position, and age, they uncovered their heads, kissed his hands, which he held out to them, with much tenderness, calling him _daade_ (father), and remained uncovered until he was lost to sight. They are a theocratic people, much addicted to their ancient religious belief and customs.

Those who live in the vicinity of Mitla entertain a peculiar superst.i.tion; they will run to the farthest villages and pick up even the smallest stones that formed a part of the mosaic work of that famous ruin, believing that such stones will in their hands turn into gold.

Some of them hold the belief that anyone who discovers a buried or hidden treasure has no right to appropriate to his own use any portion of it, and that if he does, death will strike him down within the year, in punishment of the sacrilege committed against the spirit of the person who hid or buried the treasure. One of the first priests that lived among the Zapotecs says that after they had entered the pale of the church, they still clung to their old religious practices, and made offerings of aromatic gums, and living animals; and that when the occasion demanded a greater solemnity, the officiating priest drew blood from the under part of his tongue, and from the back part of his ears, with which he sprinkled some thick coa.r.s.e straw, held as sacred and used at the sacrifices. To warm themselves, the Chochos, or Chuchones, of Oajaca used, in cold weather, towards the evening, to burn logs and dry leaves close to the entrance of their caves, and blow the smoke into their dwellings, which being quite full, all the family, old and young, males and females, rushed in naked and closed the entrance. The natives of Goazacoalco and other places practiced some of the Jewish rites, including a kind of circ.u.mcision, which custom they claimed to have derived from their forefathers; hence have arisen innumerable a.n.a.logies to prove the Jewish origin of these peoples. The Huaves still preserve ancient customs at their feasts. It is a remarkable fact that although nearly all these people are fishermen, very few of them can swim. The Mijes have a habit of speaking in very loud tones; this is attributed by some to their haughty spirit, and by others to their manner of life in the most rugged portion of the mountains. When bound upon a journey, if they have no other load to carry, they fill their _tonates_, or nets, with stones. This is generally done by them on the return home from the market-place of Tehuantepec. These loads rest upon their backs, and hang by a band from their foreheads. In ancient times, when they were in search of a new country to settle in, they subjected the places they had devastated to the fire proof. This was done by putting a firebrand over night into a hole, and if it was found extinguished in the morning, they considered that the Sun desired his children (that is themselves) to continue their journey. They are much given, even at the present time, to idolatrous practices, and will make sacrifices in their churches, if permitted, of birds as offerings to the false G.o.ds they wors.h.i.+ped before their partial conversion to Christianity. The natives attribute eclipses of the moon to an attempt by the sun to destroy their satellite, and to prevent the catastrophe make a frightful uproar, employing therefor everything they can get hold of.[955]

[Sidenote: DISEASES AND MEDICAL TREATMENT.]

The diseases most prevalent among the Southern Mexicans are fevers, measles, and severe colds. All these people possess an excellent knowledge of medicinal herbs, and make use of them in cases of pains and sickness. They still practice some of their mysterious ceremonies, and are inclined to attribute all complaints to the evil influence of bewitchments. Father Baeza, in the _Registro Yucateco_, says they consulted a crystal or transparent stone called _zalzun_, by which they pretended to divine the origin and cause of any sickness. When suffering with fever or other disorders, the disease is often much aggravated and death caused by injudicious bathing in the rivers. In ancient times tobacco was much used as a specific against pains arising from colds, rheumatism, and asthma; the natives found that it soothed the nerves and acted as a narcotic. They also practiced bleeding with a sharp flint or fish-bone. The Zapotecs attempted cures by means of a blow-pipe, at the same time invoking the a.s.sistance of the G.o.ds.[956]

When a death occurs the body is wrapped in a cotton cloth, leaving the head and face uncovered, and in this condition is placed in a grave.

Very few of the ancient funeral usages remain at the present day, though some traces of superst.i.tious ceremonies may still be observed among them; such as placing food in the grave, or at different spots in its immediate vicinity. Sometimes a funeral is conducted with a certain degree of pomp, and the corpse carried to its last resting-place followed by horn-blowers, and tunkul-drummers. As in the case of the central Mexicans, a memorial day is observed, when much respect is shown for the memory of the dead, at which times fruits, bread, and cakes are placed upon the graves.[957]

[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF SOUTHERN MEXICANS.]

The character of the inhabitants of the Tehuantepec isthmus and Yucatan is at the present day one of docility and mildness. With a few exceptions they are kind-hearted, confiding, and generous, and some few of them evince a high degree of intelligence, although the majority are ignorant, superst.i.tious, of loose morality as we esteem it, yet apparently unconscious of wrong. Cayetano Moro says they are far superior to the average American Indian. The Zapotecs are a bold and independent people, exhibit many intellectual qualities, and are of an impatient disposition, though cheerful, gentle, and inoffensive; they make good soldiers; they are fanatical and superst.i.tious like their neighbors. The women are full of vivacity, of temperate and industrious habits, their manners are characterized by shyness rather than modesty, and they are full of intrigue. To this nation the Mijes present a complete contrast; of all the tribes who inhabit the isthmus, they are the most brutal, degraded, and idolatrous; they are grossly stupid, yet stubborn and ferocious. The Chontales and Choles are barbarous, fierce, and quarrelsome, and greatly addicted to witchcraft. The Cajonos and Nexitzas, of Oajaca, are of a covetous and malicious nature, dishonest in their dealings, and much inclined to thieving. The Zoques are more rational in their behavior; although they are ignorant and intemperate in their habits, they are naturally kind and obliging, as well as patient and enduring. The Huaves are deficient in intelligence, arrogant and inhospitable to strangers, and of a reticent and perverse disposition. The Miztecs are grave and steady; they exhibit many traits of ingenuity, are industrious, hospitable, and affable in their manners, and retain an ardent love for liberty.[958] The Mayas exhibit many distinguished characteristics. Although of limited intelligence, and more governed by their senses than their reason, their good qualities predominate. Formerly they were fierce and warlike, but these characteristics have given place to timidity, and they now appear patient, generous, and humane; they are frugal and satisfied with little, being remarkably free from avarice. Herrera describes them as fierce and warlike, much given to drunkenness and other sins, but generous and hospitable. Doctor Young, in his History of Mexico, says: ”They are not so intelligent or energetic, though far more virtuous and humane than their brethren of the north.” The women are industrious, have pleasing manners, and are inclined to shyness. To sum it all up, I may say that the besetting vice of these nations is intemperance, but the habit of drinking to excess is found to be much more common among the mountain tribes than among the inhabitants of the lowlands. Quarrels among themselves seldom occur, and there is abundant evidence to show that many of them possess excellent natural qualifications both for common labor, and artistic industry; and that there is no cause to prevent their becoming, under favorable circ.u.mstances, useful citizens.[959]

TRIBAL BOUNDARIES.

Under the name WILD TRIBES OF MEXICO, I include all the people inhabiting the Mexican Territory from ocean to ocean, between lat.i.tude 23 north and the Central American boundary line south, including Yucatan and Tehuantepec. The southernmost point of this division touches the fifteenth degree of north lat.i.tude. A subdivision of this group is made and the parts are called the _Central Mexicans_, and the _Southern Mexicans_, respectively. In the former I include the nations north of an imaginary line, drawn from the port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, to Vera Cruz, on the Gulf of Mexico, and in the latter all those south of this line.

Going to the fountain-head of Mexican history, I find mentioned certain names, of which it is now impossible to determine whether they are different names applied to the same people or different peoples, or whether they are mythical and apply to no really existing nations. Still less is it possible to give these strange names any definite location; instance the Toltecs and the Chichimecs, and indeed almost all early designations, very common names used to denote very uncommon people.

Sahagun is the only one of the oldest writers who mentions the name of Toltecs, which in later years was used by Ixtlilxochitl and Boturini, and after them bandied about more freely by modern writers. After the conquest, the name Chichimecs was applied to all uncivilized and unsettled people north of the valley of Mexico, extending to the farthest discovered region. Of still other nations nothing further can be said than that they occupied the cities to which their name was applied; such were the Mexicans, or Aztecs, the Tlascaltecs, the Cholultecs, and many others. Some general remarks respecting the location of the princ.i.p.al civilized nations, will be found in vol. ii., chap. ii., of this work; and all obtainable details concerning the many tribes that cannot be definitely located here are given in volume v.

[Sidenote: OLMECS AND XICALANCAS.]

The _Quinames_ or Giants are mentioned as the first inhabitants of Mexico. 'Los Quinametin, gigantes que vivian en esta rinconada, que se dice ahora Nueva Espana.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 322; _Id._, _Hist.

Chichimeca_, in _Id._, p. 205. 'Los que hasta ahora se sabe, aver morado estas Estendidas, y Ampliadisimas Tierras, y Regiones, de la Nueva Espana, fueron vnas Gentes mui crecidas de Cuerpo, que llamaron despues otros, Qainametin.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 34. 'Les Quinames, la plus ancienne des races connues de ces contrees, etaient encore en possession de quelques localites de peu d'importance pres des villes de Huitzilapan, de Cuetlaxcohuapan et de Totomihuacan.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 196. 'Sa domination s'etendait sur les provinces interieures du Mexique et du Guatemala, et, a l'epoque du debarquement des Olmeques et des Xicalancas, les histoires nous la montrent encore en possession du plateau azteque et des contrees voisines du fleuve Tabasco.' _Id._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1858, tom. clviii., p. 258. 'Vivian hacia las riberas del rio Atoyac, entre la ciudad de Tlaxcala y la de la Puebla de los Angeles.'

_Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 28, 143-4.

The _Olmecs_ and _Xicalancas_ were 'los que poseian este Nuevo Mundo, en esta tercera edad.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chichimeca_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 205. 'Olmecas, Vixtoti, y Mixtecas. Estos tales asi llamados, estan acia el nacimiento del sol, y llamanles tambien _tenime_, porque hablan lengua barbara, y dicen que son Tultecas.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 136.

'Estos poblaron, donde aora esta Edificada, y Poblada la Ciudad de los Angeles, y en Totomihuacan.... Los Xicalancas, fueron tambien Poblando, acia Cuathazualco (que es acia la Costa del Norte) y adelante en la misma Costa, esta oi dia vn Pueblo, que se dice Xicalanco.... Otro Pueblo ai del mismo Nombre, en la Provincia de Maxcaltzinco, cerca del Puerto de la Vera-Cruz, que parece averlo tambien Poblado los Xicalancas.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 32. 'Atravesando los Puertos del Bolcan, y Sierra-Nevada, y otros rodeandolos por la parte de el Mediodia, hasta que venieron a salir a vn Lugar, que de presente se llama Tochmilco. De alli, pasaron a Atlixco, Calpan, y Huexotzinco, hasta llegar al parage, y Tierras de la Provincia de Tlaxcallan; y haciendo asiento en el principio, y entrada de la dicha Tierra, hicieron su Fundacion en el Pueblo, que aora se llama Nuestra Senora de la Natividad (y en Lengua Mexicana Yancuictlalpan.) De alli, pasaron a otro Poblado, el referido, llamado Huapalcalco, junto a vna Hermita, que llaman de Santa Cruz, al qual llaman los Naturales, Texoloc, Mizco, y Xiloxuchitla, donde aora es la Hermita de San Vicente, y el Cerro de la Xochitecatl, y Tenayacac, donde estan otras dos Hermitas, a poco trecho vna de otra, que las llaman de San Miguel, y de San Francisco, enmedio de las quales, pasa el Rio, que viene de la Sierra Nevada de Huexotzinco. Y aqui en este Sitio, hicieron los Hulmecas, su Princ.i.p.al asiento, y Poblacon.' _Id._, p. 257; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, pp. 145-6; _Motolinia_, _Hist. Indios_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 7. 'Vlmecatlh poblo tambien muchos lugares en aquella parte, a do agora esta la ciudad de los Angeles. Y nombro los Totomiuacan, Vicilapan, Cuetlaxcoapan, y otros a.s.si. Xicalancatlh anduuo mas tierra, llego a la mar del norte, y en la costa hizo muchos pueblos. Pero a los dos mas princ.i.p.ales llamo de su mesmo nombre. El vn Xicalanco esta en la prouincia de Maxcalcinco, que es cerca de la Vera Cruz, y el otro Xicalanco esta cerca de Tauasco.'

_Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 299. 'Hacia Atlisco y Itzucan los xicalancas: y en el territorio de la Puebla, Chollolan y Tlaxcallan los ulmecas, cuya primitiva y princ.i.p.al poblacion dicen haber sido la ciudad de Chollolan.' _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 153; _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., pp. 110-11, 196; _Id._, _Popol Vuh_, introd., p. x.x.x.; _Orozco y Berra_, _Geografia_, p. 119; _Alcedo_, _Diccionario_, tom. iii., p. 374.

The _Coras_ const.i.tute the north-westernmost nation of the CENTRAL MEXICANS, inhabiting the district of 'Nayarit o reino de Nuevo Toledo.... Al Oeste tiene los pueblos de la antigua provincia de Acaponeta; al Este los de Colotlan, y al Sur quieren algunos que se extienda hasta las orillas del rio Grande o Tololotlan ... el Nayarit se extiende entre los 21 20' y 23 de lat., y entre los 5 y 6 de long.

occidental de Mexico.' _Orozco y Berra_, _Geografia_, p. 279. 'En la Sierra del Nayarit.' _Pimentel_, _Cuadro_, tom. ii., p. 71. 'Los indios que viven en el centro de la sierra, llamados muutzizti.... Los llamados teakuaeitzizti viven en las faldas de la sierra que mira al Poniente ...