Part 82 (1/2)

The ancient custom of painting, and of piercing the ears and lip, to hold pendants, is now restricted to the remote hill country, and ornaments are limited to a few strings of beads, sh.e.l.ls, and metal for the arms and neck, with an occasional pair of ear-rings; the women add flowers and garlands to their head-dress, especially on feast-days. Some mountain tribes of Guatemala wear red feathers in their cotton turbans--the n.o.bles and chiefs using green ones--and paint the body black: the paint being, no doubt, intended for a protection against mosquitos. The ap.r.o.n worn by the women is made of bark, which, after being soaked and beaten, a.s.sumes the appearance of chamois leather. The Lacandones also wore cotton sacks adorned with ta.s.sels, and the women had bracelets of cords with ta.s.sels. In Nicaragua, tattooing seems to have been practiced, for Oviedo says that the natives cut their faces and arms with flint knives, and rubbed a black powder obtained from pine gum into the scars. Children wear no other dress than that provided by nature: here and there, however, the girls are furnished with a strip of cotton for the waist.[962]

[Sidenote: GUATEMALAN DWELLINGS.]

The conquerors have left numerous records of large cities with splendid palaces and temples of stone, but these exist now only in their ruins.

The ma.s.ses had, doubtless, no better houses than those we see at present. Their huts are made of wooden posts and rafters supporting a thatched roof of straw or palm-leaves, the side being stockaded with cane, bamboo, or rush, so as to allow a free pa.s.sage to the air.

Generally they have but one room; two or three stones in the centre of the hut compose the fireplace, and the only egress for the smoke is through the door. The room is scantily furnished with a few mats, a hammock, and some earthenware. Their villages are generally situated upon rising ground, and, owing to the houses being so scattered, they often extend over a league, which gives some foundation to the statements of the conquerors reporting the existence of towns of enormous size. The better kind of villages have regular streets, a thing not to be seen in the ordinary hamlets; and the houses, which are often of _adobes_ (sun-burnt bricks), or of cane plastered over, containing two or three rooms and a loft, are surrounded by neatly kept gardens, enclosed within hedges. When a Guatemalan wishes to build a hut, or repair one, he notifies the chief, who summons the tribe to bring straw and other needful materials, and the work is finished in a few hours; after which the owner supplies the company with chocolate. Some of the Vera Paz tribes are of a roaming disposition. They will take great trouble in clearing and preparing a piece of ground for sowing, and, after one or two harvests, will leave for another locality. Their dwellings, which are often grouped in hamlets, are therefore of a more temporary character, the walls being of maize-stalks and sugar-cane, surmounted by a slight palm-leaf roof. During an expedition into the country of the Lacandones, the Spaniards found a town of over one hundred houses, better constructed than the villages on the Guatemalan plateau. In the centre of the place stood three large buildings, one a temple, and the other two a.s.sembly houses, for men and women respectively. All were enclosed with fences excellently varnished. The Nicaraguan villages seem to be the neatest; the houses are chiefly of plaited cane or bamboo frame-work, raised a few feet from the ground, and standing in the midst of well-arranged flowers and shrubbery.

Dollfus describes a simple but ingenious method used by the Guatemalans to cross deep rivers. A stout cable of aloe-fibres is pa.s.sed over the stream, and fixed to the banks at a sufficient height from the surface of the water. To this rope bridge, called _garucha_, is attached a running strap, which the traveler pa.s.ses round his body, and is pulled across by men stationed on the opposite side.[963]

These natives are essentially agricultural, but, like all who inhabit the warm zone, desire to live with the least possible labor. Most of them are content with a small patch of ground round their huts, on which they cultivate, in the same manner as did their forefathers, the little maize, beans, and the banana and plantain trees necessary for their subsistence. There are, however, a number of small farmers, who raise cochineal, cacao, indigo, and cotton, thereby adding to their own and their country's prosperity. In the more thinly settled districts, hunting enables them to increase the variety of their food with the flesh of wild hogs, deer, and other game, which are generally brought down with stone-headed arrows. When hunting the wild hog, they stretch a strong net, with large meshes, in some part of the woods, and drive the animals towards it. These rush headlong into the meshes, and are entangled, enabling their pursuers to dispatch them with ease.

[Sidenote: FOOD OF THE GUATEMALANS.]

Beans, and tortillas of maize, with the inevitable chile for seasoning, and plantains or bananas are their chief food. To these may be added meat in small quant.i.ties, fish, eggs, honey, turtle, fowl, and a variety of fruit and roots. Salt is obtained by boiling the soil gathered on the sea-sh.o.r.e. Maize is prepared in several ways. When young and tender, the ears are boiled, and eaten with salt and pepper; or a portion of them are pressed, and the remainder boiled with the juice thus extracted.

When ripe, the fruit is soaked and then dried between the hands, previous to being crushed to flour between two stones. It is usually made into tortillas, which are eaten hot, with a strong sprinkling of pepper and occasionally a slight addition of fat. _Tamales_ is the name for b.a.l.l.s of cooked maize mixed with beef and chile, and rolled in leaves. A favorite dish is a dumpling made of maize and frijoles. The frijoles, or beans, of which a stock is always kept, are boiled a short time with chile; they are then mixed with maize, and again put into the pot until thoroughly cooked, when they are eaten with a sauce made of salt, chile, and water. There are a number of fluid and solid preparations made chiefly from maize, and known as _atole_, to which name various prefixes are added to denote the other ingredients used.

Meat, which is usually kept jerked, is a feast-day food. Gage describes the jerking process as follows: Fresh meat is cut into long strips, salted, and hung between posts to dry in the sun for a week. The strips are then smoked for another week, rolled up in bundles, which become quite hard, and are called _ta.s.sajo_ or _cesina_. Another mode of preparing meat is described by the same author: When a deer has been shot, the body is left until decay and maggots render it appetizing; it is then brought home and parboiled with a certain herb until the flesh becomes sweet and white. The joint is afterwards again boiled, and eaten with chile. The Lacandones preserve meat as follows: A large hole is made in the ground, and lined with stones. After the hole has been heated, the meat is thrown in, and the top covered with leaves and earth, upon which a fire is kept burning. The meat takes four hours to cook, and can be preserved for eight or ten days. Cacao forms an important article of food, both as a drink and as bread. The kernel is picked when ripe, dried on a mat, and roasted in an earthen pan, previous to being ground to flour. Formerly, cacao was reserved for the higher cla.s.ses, and even now the poor endeavor to economize it by adding _sapuyal_, the kernel of the _sapote_. They observe no regularity in their meals, but eat and drink at pleasure. When traveling, some roasted maize paste called _totoposte_, crumbled in boiling water with an addition of salt and pepper, and a cup of warm water, suffice for a repast. Fire is obtained in the usual primitive manner, by rubbing two sticks together.[964]

Most authorities agree that they are clean in their habits, and that frequent bathing is the rule, yet it is hinted that leprosy is caused partially by uncleanliness.[965]

[Sidenote: WAR, WEAPONS, AND IMPLEMENTS.]

Since the Spaniards a.s.sumed control of the country, weapons, as applied to war, have fallen into disuse, and it is only in the mountain districts that we meet the hunter armed with bow and spear, and slung over his shoulder a quiver full of reed arrows, pointed with stone. In Salvador and Nicaragua, the natives are still very expert in the use of the sling, game often being brought down by it.[966]

I find no record of any wars among the aborigines since the conquest, and the only information relating to their war customs, gathered from the account of skirmishes which the Spaniards have had with some of the tribes in eastern Guatemala, is, that the natives kept in the back-ground, hidden by rocks or trees, waiting for the enemy to approach. As soon as the soldiers came close enough, a cloud of arrows came whizzing among them, and the warriors appeared, shouting with all their might. The Lacandones occasionally retaliate upon the planters on their borders for ill-treatment received at their hands. A number of warriors set out at night with f.a.ggots of dry sticks and gra.s.s, which are lighted as they approach the plantation, and thrown into the enemy's camp; during the confusion that ensues, the proposed reprisal is made.

One writer gives a brief description of the ceremonies preceding and following their expeditions. In front of the temple are burning braziers filled with odoriferous resin; round this the warriors a.s.semble in full dress, their arms being placed behind them. A smaller brazier of incense blazes in front of each warrior, before which he prostrates himself, imploring the aid of the Great Spirit in his enterprise. On their return, they again a.s.semble, disguised in the heads of various animals, and go through a war dance before the chief and his council. Sentinels are always pacing the summit of the hills, and give notice to one another, by trumpet blast, of the approach of any stranger. If it is an enemy, they speedily form ambuscades to entrap him.[967]

I have already referred to the bare interior of their dwellings: a few mats, a hammock, and some earthenware being the only apology for furniture. The mats are plaited of bark or other fibres, and serve, among other purposes, as a bed for the children, the grown persons generally sleeping in hammocks attached to the rafters. Scattered over the floor may be seen the earthen jar which the women so gracefully balance on their head when bringing it full of water from the well; the earthen pot for boiling plantains, with its folded banana-leaf cover; cups made from clay, calabash, cocoa-nut, or wacal sh.e.l.ls, with their stands, often polished and bearing the marks of native sculpture; the metate for grinding the family flour; the _comal_, a clay plate upon which the tortilla is baked. A banana-leaf serves for a plate, and a fir-stick does the duty of a candle. Their hunting or bag nets are made of pita or bark-fibres. The steel machete and the knife have entirely displaced their ancient silex tools, of which some relics may still be found among the Lacandones. Valenzuela mentions that in the meeting-house of this tribe, the conquerors found two hundred hanging seats.[968]

These natives still excel in the manufacture of pottery, and produce, without the aid of tools, specimens that are as remarkable for their fanciful forms, as for their elegance and coloring. Water-jars are made sufficiently porous to allow the water to percolate and keep the contents cool; other earthenware is glazed by rubbing the heated vessel with a resinous gum. Nor are they behind-hand in the art of weaving, for most of the fabrics used in the country are of native make. The aboriginal spinning machine is not yet wholly displaced, and consists, according to Squier, of a thin spindle of wood, fifteen or sixteen inches in length, which is pa.s.sed through a wheel of hard, heavy wood, six inches in diameter, and resembles a gigantic top. When used, it is placed in a hollowed piece of wood, to prevent it from toppling over. A thread is attached to the spindle just above the wheel, and it is then twirled rapidly between the thumb and forefinger. The momentum of the wheel keeps it in motion for half a minute, and meantime the thread is drawn out by the operator from the pile of prepared cotton in her lap.

Their mode of weaving is the same as that of the Mexicans, and the fabrics are not only durable, but tastefully designed and colored to suit the quality and price. The dyes used are, indigo for blue, cochineal for red, and indigo mixed with lemon juice for black. The Nicaraguans obtain a highly prized purple by pressing the valve of a sh.e.l.l-fish found on the sea-sh.o.r.e. Baily says that they take the material to the seaside, and, after procuring a quant.i.ty of fresh coloring matter, dip each thread singly into it, and lay it aside to dry. From the aloe, and pita, or silk-gra.s.s, which are very strong and can easily be bleached, they obtain a very fine thread, suitable for the finest weaving. Reeds and bark give material for coa.r.s.er stuff, such as ropes and nets. Mats and hammocks, which are made from any of the last-mentioned fibres, are often interwoven with gray colors and rich designs. Some idea may be formed of the patient industry of the native when we learn that he will work for months upon one of the highly prized hats made from the fibre of the half-formed _carludovica palmata_ leaf.

They drill holes in stones, for pipes and other objects, by twirling a stick rapidly between the hands in some sand and water placed upon the stone.[969]

[Sidenote: GUATEMALAN CANOES.]

Canoes are the usual 'dug-outs,' made from a single cedar or mahogany log, cedar being liked for its lightness, mahogany for its durability.

They are frequent enough on the coast, and even the north-eastern Guatemalans used to muster fleets of several hundred canoes on their lakes and rivers, using them for trade as well as war. Pim, when at Greytown, particularly observed the hollowed-out boats, some upwards of fifty feet in length, and straight as an arrow. He says that they are very skillfully handled, and may be seen off the harbor in any weather.

The paddles, which are used both for steering and propelling, are of light mahogany, four feet long, with very broad blades, and a cross at the handle.[970]

Their wealth, which, since the conquest, mostly consists of household goods, is the product of their farms and industry mentioned under food, implements, and manufactures. The coast tribes, in Salvador, have a source of wealth not yet referred to--balsam--and they are very jealous of their knowledge of obtaining it. The process, as described by Dollfus, is to make several deep incisions in the trunk of the balsam-tree, and stuff the holes with cotton rags. When these have absorbed sufficient balm, they are placed in jars of water, and submitted to a moderate heat. The heat separates the substance from the rags, and the balsam rises to the surface to be skimmed and placed in well-closed jars for s.h.i.+pment. These people possess no written records to establish owners.h.i.+p to their property, but hold it by ancient rights transmitted from father to son, which are transferable. The right of first discovery, as applied to fruit-trees and the like, is respected, and can be transmitted. Goods and lands are equally divided among the sons. There is a general interchange of products on a small scale, and as soon as the farm yield is ready, or a sufficient quant.i.ty of hammocks, mats, hats, and cups have been prepared, the native will start on a short trading-tour, with the load on his back--for they use no other mode of transport. The ancient custom of holding frequent markets in all towns of any importance has not quite disappeared, for Masaya, among other places, continues to keep a daily _tianguez_. Cacao-beans, which were formerly the chief currency, are still used for that purpose to a certain extent, and make up a large item in their wealth. The Lacandones at one time drove a brisk trade on the rio de la Pasion, employing several hundred canoes, but this has now greatly diminished, and they seem to grow less and less inclined to intercourse. Hardcastle relates that two shy mountain tribes of Guatemala ”exchange dogs and a species of very sharp red pepper, by leaving them on the top of the mountain, and going to the spot in turn.”[971]

[Sidenote: ART AND GOVERNMENT.]

The native's apt.i.tude for art is well ill.u.s.trated by the various products of his industry, decorated as they are with fanciful designs, carvings, and coloring. The calabash cups are widely circulated, and the artistic carving of leaves, curious lines, and figures of all descriptions, in relief, with which the outside is ornamented, has been much admired. No less esteemed are the small Guatemalan earthen figures, painted in natural colors, representing the various trades and occupations of the people, which may be said to rival European productions of the same character. The ornaments on their pottery bear some resemblance to the Etruscan. They are equally advanced in painting, for many of the altar-pieces in Central America are from the native brush, and their dishes are often richly colored in various designs.

Original lyric poetry seems to flourish among them, and is not wanting in grace, although the rendering of it may not be exactly operatic. The subject generally refers to victorious encounters with monsters, but contains also sarcasms on government and society.[972]

A reverential respect for authority is innate with these people, and the chief, usually a descendant of the ancient caciques, who is also the head of the munic.i.p.al government introduced among them by the Spaniards, receives the homage paid him with imperturbable gravity. These chiefs form a proud and powerful n.o.blesse, who rule with an iron hand over their submissive followers. Although governed to all appearance by the code of the country, they have their own laws based on custom and common sense, which are applied to civil as well as criminal cases. Among the Lacandones, the chief is elected by a council of old men, when death, misconduct, or the superior abilities of some one else call for such a step. Pontelli adds that the new chief is invested with lion-skins and a collar of human teeth to represent his victories; a crown of feathers or a lion-skin is his usual distinctive head-dress. The wife of the chief is required to possess some rare qualities. These people are very strict in executing the law; the offender is brought before the old men, and if the crime is serious his relatives have often to share in his punishment. The people of Salvador, according to Dollfus, have frequent reunions in their council-house at night. The hall is then lighted up by a large fire, and the people sit with uncovered heads, listening respectfully to the observations and decisions of the _ahuales_--men over forty years of age, who have occupied public positions, or distinguished themselves in some way. Gage makes a curious statement concerning the rio Lempa that may be based upon some ancient law. Any man who committed a heinous crime on the one side of the river, and succeeded in escaping to the other, was allowed to go unmolested, provided he did not return.[973]

[Sidenote: MARRIAGE AND CHILDBIRTH.]

Marriages take place at an early age, often before p.u.b.erty, and usually within the tribe. When the boy, in Guatemala and Salvador, has attained the age of nine, his parents begin to look around for a bride for him, the mother having a good deal to say in this matter. Presents are made to the parents of the girl chosen, and she is transferred to the house of her future father-in-law, where she is treated as a daughter, and a.s.sists in the household duties, until she is old enough to marry. It sometimes happens that she has by this time become distasteful to the affianced husband, and is returned to her parents. The presents given for her are then demanded back, a refusal naturally follows, and feuds result, lasting for generations. Gage states that when the parties to the betrothal are of different tribes, the chiefs are notified, and meet in solemn conclave to consult about the expediency of the alliance. The consultations often extend over a period of several months, during which the parents of the boy supply the council with refreshments, and make presents to the girl's family for her purchase. If the council disagree, the presents are returned, and the matter drops. When the youth has reached his sixteenth or eighteenth year, and the maid her fourteenth, they are considered able to take care of themselves; a house is accordingly built, and the father gives his son a start in life. The cacique and relations are summoned to witness the marriage ceremony, now performed by the priest, after which the pair are carried upon the shoulders of their friends to the new house, placed in a room, and shut in. The bride brings no dowry, but presents are made by the friends of the families. Several tribes in Guatemala are strictly opposed to marriages outside of the tribe, and destroy the progeny left by a stranger. The Lacandones still practice polygamy, each wife having a separate house and field for her support. In Nicaragua, where women are more independent, and fewer of the ancient marriage customs have been retained than elsewhere, the ceremony is often quickly disposed of, the husband and wife returning to their avocations immediately after. The life of the woman is one of drudgery; household duties, weaving, and the care of children keeping her constantly busy, while the husband is occupied in dolce far niente; yet their married life is not unhappy.

Although the female dresses scantily and is not over shy when bathing, she is by no means immodest or unchaste, but bears rather a better character than women of the superior race. Childbirth is not attended with any difficulties, for it sometimes happens that the woman, after being delivered on the road, will wash the child and herself in the nearest stream, and proceed on her journey, as if nothing had occurred.